- >You are Applejack
- >And you are staring at the limp form of a very odd looking animal.
- >”That wasn’t supposed to happen.”
- >All heads turned to Twilight at her utterance.
- >”That wall was just to keep it from advancing further, not kill it.”
- >You begin to tentatively approach the creature, ignoring the whispered scolds from both Twilight and Rarity.
- >The beast doesn’t move at all, and when you reach it, you lay a hoof on its back.
- >A slow, powerful throbbing tells you mountains.
- “It’s out cold, Twilight, but still very much alive.”
- >”We have to get it to the Library.”
- “That’s still over a mile away, sugarcube. How are we gonna move it without killing it with magic?”
- >”I am most certainly not touching that, Twilight.” Rarity remarked
- >You roll your eyes before sharing a glance with Rainbow.
- >Twilight paced for a few moments, deep in thought.
- “I know! I’ve been reading books on carpentry and wainwrights in my spare time. Here, just a moment.”
- >Who reads books on wagon making in their spare time?
- >Twilight.
- >Refocusing your attention, you see her horn aglow with magic once more, and a couple nearby trees split into dozens of pieces, only to reform into a small cart.
- >Are you kidding?
- >Not needing a direction to do the obvious, you and Rainbow move over by the creature, and through a strange series of maneuvers, the two of you hoisted it onto your backs.
- >The creature was surprisingly light; its size belied its weight, and you thanked all the princesses for that as you awkwardly shuffled it over the short distance to the cart.
- >Lowering yourself and wriggling your chest and rump, you slid it as gently as possible onto the cart.
- >Though it was mostly a success, the head slipped off and smacked against the wood a bit harder than you would have liked.
- >After he was in a stable place on the cart, you hitched yourself to the front, and your group began the journey back.
- >Along the way, Rainbow deigned to mention something that would have been nice to know earlier.
- >”By the way, the pegusi have a..”
- >CRACK
- >”Thunderstorm scheduled…”
- >KATHOOM.
- >Rain began to fall in buckets, and with grumbling just audible over the deluge, you quickened your pace to the Treebrary.
- >In a short time made long by rain, you made it to the library, and thankfully Twilight had the foresight or dumb luck to make the cart slim enough to fit through the door.
- >Pulling him to the center of the room, you bucked the cart gently to knock him onto the floor.
- >“Alright, Rainbow, I need you to fetch Fluttershy, as we may need her advice, and Pinkie.”
- >”Why wake Pinkie?”
- >”So she doesn’t feel left out, I guess. You remember the last time we left her in the dark.”
- >Rainbow gave a silent nod and zipped back out into the rain.
- >Twilight turned to look at you.
- >”Applejack, I’m going to need your help to restrain him. Do you have-”
- >You cut her off with a raised eyebrow.
- >”Good. Rarity, can you help us move him to the basement?”
- >”Of course, but I don’t want to touch him… directly.”
- >Looking at the creature for the first time in the light of the library allowed you to identify with Rarity to a certain degree.
- >You didn’t mind the dried mud and smeared dirt that covered most of his body so much as the layer of blood that had formed cracked scabs on his skin.
- “Just be careful where you push. That’s the best advice Ah can give.”
- >The next few minutes were spent pushing, pulling or directly carrying him down the stairs and into a bed at the back of the basement, where you proceeded to secure is hands at his sides and his feet together with your ever-present rope.
- >All through this, he slept deeply and his slow, rhythmic breaths presented a frustrating contradiction to your strained grunts.
- >As you tightened off the last knot, he stirred slightly, but returned to sleep almost immediately afterwards.
- >After your work was done and the reinforced basement door bolt-locked, the three of you headed back up to the library’s main room, and found an exasperated Rainbow in the company of a bouncing Pinkie and an apprehensive Fluttershy.
- >Silence dominated until it was broken by Rainbow Dash.
- >”So… What happened to our mystery monster?”
- >”We’ve secured him downstairs to ensure that when he wakes up, he won’t be able to escape,” Twilight answered. “I’d like to do a quick sight analysis of the creature, so if you all would follow me into the basement again, we can begin.”
- >All ten of you made your way back down the stairs once more, as Twilight began to persuade Fluttershy into taking a close look.”
- >Twilight paused at the bedside, scrutinizing the creature upon it.
- >”I’ve never seen anything like this before, even in my books. Have you, Fluttershy?”
- >”Goodness, no.”
- >”It’s apelike, but none of the primate species in Equestria are this hairless.”
- >”So it’s a shaved gorilla?”
- >”Not a gorilla, Pinkie, just an unknown species of primate.”
- >Obviously eager to begin, you watched as Twilight magicked over a notebook and quill, flipping the former open and dipping the latter in ink. She began to dictate her notes as she scribbled them.
- >”The classification will have to be very unique, and my hypothesis relies more heavily on assumption than usual, a full exam is not possible. Kingdom: obviously Animalia. Phylum: due to distinct traits later explained, Chordata. Class: clearly Mammalia, due to warm-bloodedness and the presence of nipples. Order: bears a strong resemblance to various primates such as forward-facing eyes, a reduced snout and five digits at the end of each limb, so Primate. Family: due to the lack of a tail, Hominidae. Genus: unknown, not physically similar enough to other Hominidae. Species: unknown.”
- >”Gender….”
- >Concentrating carefully so as not to touch the beast with her power, Twilight began to lift the garment enclosing its groin.
- >Thinking quickly, you and Rarity shuffled in front of the fillies as the mystery was solved beyond all reasonable doubt.
- >”Definitely male.”
- >A loud silence filled the room as Twilight collected a measuring tape, completely oblivious to the shuffling of some of her companions in her pursuit of knowledge.
- >”His height is 10.01 hooves in a comfortable standing position, as compared to my height of 5.40 hooves in a comfortable standing position.
- >”Observations. The subject is bipedal and extremely hairless compared to other apes, having only a mane of sorts on its head, eyebrows and lashes, as well as armpit and groin hair. Elsewhere on his body is an extremely sparse coating of very thin hair, possibly due to evolution in a warm climate. Another possibility is that the species commonly wears full-body clothing; however this member has only been seen in a loincloth. Subject has displayed extreme intelligence, and witnesses have held conversations with him. I await my chance to do so as well.”
- >Twilight took a deep breath, her excitement only growing with each note she took.
- >”Subject has also displayed extreme physical strength and agility, having bludgeoned a manticore to death unaided by other combatants or natural weapons such as claws, or improvised ones such as rocks or large sticks. He also displayed his prowess by effortlessly snapping the neck of a full grown cow and proceeding to run with said cow over his shoulder. His body is very powerfully muscled, giving the skin a taut appearance. I noticed in particular that the skin was very tight around his spine, making the laminae on his vertebral column appear like ridges.
- >Twilight raked her eyes across his form repeatedly, stopping here and there to poke and prod, each eliciting an unsettling stir from him. She started to fiddle with the fingers on his hands
- >Also, certain joints, such as the elbows, knees and the joints at the base of the proximal phalanges have small, extremely dense bone protrusions on them. Flexion of these joints causes the protrusions to jut outward slightly, and the joints to lock in place. I hypothesize that these are in fact the species’ natural weapons, augmenting the pain and tissue damage inflicted by striking a foe.”
- >Twilight visually toured her project several more times before conceding there was little more she could analyze with jeopardizing the subject or the rest of you.
- >”Well girls, I’ve done all I can. We should all head back upstairs and wait until he wakes.
- >Slowly, but not unenthusiastically, the group files out of the room.
- >You are the last to leave, and you glance back at the bed and furrow your brow.
- >On the way back up the stairs, your thoughts begin to turn in new directions, and you pout your lip in thought.
- >As you reach the lobby, a voice breaks through the ether separating you from reality.
- >Ironically enough, it was Fluttershy’s.
- >”I’m afraid he’ll escape…”
- “He ain’t goin’ nowhere, sugarcube. Ah tied those knots so tight, Gilda’ll be a Hackamoremon before he breaks free.”
- >You pulled a cocky smile as your friends let out a collective sigh of relief.
- >The calm lasted for a Manehattan minute.
- >A series of rattling clicks and dull thuds sounded from under the floor, and after a short hesitation six of you raced to the basement door, leaving Spike and the fillies behind.
- >”I can see her now, Elder Gilda.” Pinkie giggled as you rolled your eyes.
- >Just as you rounded the last corner, your captive discovered a solution to locked doors.
- >With a deafening smash, the unfortunate door exploded outward, splitting roughly in half around a familiar bed and sent splinters and steel anchor bolts flying in every direction.
- >The bed shattered against the opposing wall as everypony in the hall reeled in shock.
- >The prisoner slipped out of the room, his weird hooves making no sound as they touched the floor.
- >He swiveled to face the group, and his expression of determination shifted to one of reserved calculation.
- >Both parties regarded each other silently for a moment.
- >The palpable tension snapped when a loud rumble emanated from his body.
- >Recognizing the growl of an empty stomach, you steel yourself for a fight.
- >In a swift fluid motion, he charged your party, only to leap clean over it and land silently on all fours behind you.
- >Propelling himself forward with his arms, he shot up the stairs, with the six of you trying futilely to match his pace.
- >Disappearing around the corner, he made his way into the lobby, his location given by a squeal of surprise and three simultaneous utterances of “Hey, Anon!”
- >Rounding the corner yourself, you saw “Anon” standing at his full height in front of the exit, facing the door.
- >He grasped the door handle and pulled.
- >Unfortunately for him, it was also locked.
- >Unfortunately for Twilight, it was nowhere near as heavily reinforced as the basement door.
- >The wood of the doorjamb splintered as the still engaged bolt lock came free of its socket, and the door swung open hard enough for it to fly off of its hinges.
- >Without hesitation, he vanished into the night, at a speed impossible for you to match.
- >Rarity was the first to speak.
- >”Well, he certainly wanted out.”
- >A murmur of agreement came from a few in the room, before Rainbow Dash whispered in your ear.
- >”I was about to tease you that your knots weren’t up to scratch, but I wouldn't think it would’ve mattered either way. I think you’re gonna need a new rope.”
- >You cast a glance at Twilight, only to see her jaw working rapidly, yet silently.
- “You alright, sugarcube?”
- >”Yeah, I guess. I know I should be prepared for setbacks in science and discovery, but I’ve never had a test subject escape, much less smash my house to pieces as it goes.”
- >She put a hoof to her chin in thought.
- >”Maybe if...”
- “Ah don’t think it’s a good idea to go after him tonight, sugarcube.”
- >”If at all,” Fluttershy mumbled.
- >It took some convincing, but Twilight eventually gave in to reason, repairing the damages around her home with magic.
- >Realizing the lateness of the hour, or rather the earliness, the group dispersed back into the rain, each party bidding the others goodbye.
- >Noticing Apple Bloom nodding off to sleep, you gently lift her to your back, where she curls up and slips on to dreams in a heartbeat.
- >The walk home was a path so often trod that you could allow your mind to wander.
- >Leaving the navigation to your hooves, your thoughts turned to the proverbial elephant in the room.
- >You didn’t understand the burning curiosity that saturated your mindset.
- >You just gotta know, but why?
- >Was this how Twilight felt all the time, as if she was positively driven to learn?
- >Well, there’s only one solution to the conundrum.
- >You spend the rest of the walk home formulating your plan, doing your best to ignore the increasing rain.
- Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
- >You are Anon.
- >Once you made it to the forest, you slowed enough to address your situation.
- >You saved them from being a late night fourth meal, and they had knocked you out with some kind of purple light witchcraft, tied you up in their cellar and sealed you behind a bolted door.
- >Seems an odd way to thank a concerned neighbor.
- >You cast a glance over your shoulder back towards the treehouse.
- >They looked out the door way, searching for you, but the combination of rain and foliage made you nigh invisible.
- >They made no attempts to follow you, and eventually, the party split up, each heading in a direction different than you.
- >Turning your back and taking to the trees, you swiftly make for your camp.
- >Upon your arrival, you noticed that the camp was still undiscovered, a fact you reveled in.
- >Checking the stream, you saw that your food supply was still tied to the root, and safe.
- >A loud grumble snaps you to attention, and no investigation is needed to tell you that you are hungry.
- >You grabbed a few pieces, and tie the bag off.
- >Making a fire at the edge of the cave with some wood you collected before the storm, you cooked a quick snack.
- >As you eat, you toyed with the thought of moving your camp.
- >If it were a town of humans, you’d move, no question.
- >But these ponies intrigued you.
- >You decided to stay, even though it went against a few rules you were taught as a child.
- >After you finished, you staked out the rest of the night.
- >As dawn came, you returned to the cave.
- >Sleep came quickly, bringing with it dreams of what may happen next.

