Twilight Sparkle woke up in bed, she had been startled awake again by her dream, or memory as it was. She just kept repeating the previous days events, every time being startled awake when that creature fell out of the tube. Every time she awoke at that scene feeling terrified and at the same time extremely curious, almost to the point that she felt she was being pushed to going back. She then would toss and turn until she had fallen back to sleep, however this time she gave up and just sat in bed thinking.
What could be there? What was it? Why am I so afraid! Is it dange- She was interrupted by a light tap on her window. She turned to see the dark silhouette of Fluttershy hovering outside. After a short flurry of hooves she had gotten free of her blankets and crossed over to the window.
"Fluttershy, its late! What are you doing out here?" She whispered as she carefully opened the window.
"Oh um... Sorry Twilight... but I need your help with something."
"What do you need help with in the middle of the night?" Twilight asked quite irritated that her friend couldn't just leave it till morning.
"Well um... Zecora told me that she thought she heard coughing and sputtering from the bottom of that hole while she was picking some night blooming flowers for her one brew, and I am worried that a poor little critter could be down there hurt, and I want to go help it but it is dark and dangerous out in the Everfree, but I am really worried about what ever animal is down there so could you please come with me so I can try to help it?" Fluttershy blurted out in one breath, and followed up with a big, innocent smile.
"Well... I, uh." Twilight's mind was just flashing to the creature she had witnessed fall in that strange room and her previous terror returned to her. She was about to freak out again when Fluttershy spoke.
"Pretty please Twilight? What if it was a cutesy wootsey little bunny? Oh no... or maybe a little squirrel! Come on, Twilight! Please?" She said with a startling amount of force, already half carrying Twilight out the window.
"Ug... Fine." She grumbled and facehoofed, "I will come with you."
The two mares ventured back to where they had found the hole earlier that day. It was hard to find due to the Everfree's seeming ability to absorb all light and it was only until Fluttershy almost fell down it that they found it. They remained there, listening for a while. There was silence, except for the crickets and the hum of mosquitoes, but there was no sound coming from the hole.
"Fluttershy, I don't think Zecora heard correctly, I don't hear anything." Twilight said.
Just then, as if on cue, there was a faint wheeze which echoed up the hole, causing Twilight to sigh and Fluttershy to look restless.
"See Twilight! Oh! It sounds like it is hurt pretty badly, we have to help it!" Fluttershy said while leaning down near the hole to listen.
Twilight took a deep breath getting ready to go back down to whatever waited. She was just trying to buy as much time as she could before she had to travel back down into the unknown.
Come on Twilight, It can't be that bad. It might just be a bunny... Or that creature. I mean I have to help it right? I can't just let it lay there to die. It is my duty to help save it, no matter what it may be. Even if it could be a sharp toothed, pony eating, blood sucking, brain stealing....
"Come on Twilight! Lets go!" Fluttershy said, breaking Twilight from her spiral back into panic.
Twilight took one more deep breath before surrounding them both in her magic and teleporting them to the bottom of the pit. Just like last time, it was pitch black, which sent shivers down her spine.
Oh please just be a bunny, please just be a bunny! I don't want to have to face that... thing again. Not here. In the dark, where it could be lurking in every shadow! NO! Keep it together Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy needs you to stay calm. I can do this!
Twilight powered up her horn and preformed the light spell she was fairly familiar with, the light illuminated the area and left her in the same corridor as last time. Fluttershy stood next to her, she was attempting to look as brave as she could, always ready to help anything in need, however she was still observably shaking.
"Well it wasn't right here... but how were we hearing it then?" Twilight asked.
"Erm... Echo maybe?" Fluttershy suggested.
After a few seconds of silence there was coughing coming from down the tunnel, a weak, sputtering cough. It was bouncing off of the walls and funneling down to them.
"Oh my... it sounds r-really hurt... b-but how did it get so far into this tunnel?" Fluttershy asked forcing Twilight back to her previous fear. They were indeed returning to save whatever it was that came out of the pod. Twilight was still torn, she was thinking about how amazing a discovery this was! How she had stumbled on a different form of life never before seen. However the dream like encounter with the large black panel and the glowing pod left her with a constant fear. Something way beyond rational, it was a basic natural fear. Where this came from she had no clue.
"Well... We better go find it." Twilight said breaking the silence and trying to force her fear to the back of her mind. They continued down the tunnel till they came across the large room from before. The lights clicked on just like before, revealing the same dust covered room, nothing was different, except for the crumpled up being in the back.
"LOOK!" Fluttershy exclaimed rushing over to the body on the floor, "Oh no... It looks much weaker than I could have ever imagined."
Fluttershy attempted to wake it up by nudging it with a hoof. It only responded with a cough and a weak groan. Twilight remained standing a good distance from this weird being. Fluttershy appeared severely worried, all fear had been pushed from her body by her particular need take care of all living things. She attempted to wake it up again by shaking it by its head. Still no response.
"Twilight, we need to get it back to my house so I can have the proper supplies to save this poor... critter's life." Fluttershy said with some force, attempting to lift it but finding it to be too heavy for her. Twilight seeing her friend struggle was finally able to move a bit closer. She gently took grasp on this alienesque figure with her magic and lifted it into the air. Now that she was a little closer she started to take a closer look at it. It seemed to have only one small patch of mane on its head, which was quite small compared to its body. Its body, which was the largest part of the creature was roughly square in shape and didn't appear to have any remarkable features apart from its very short coat which covered most of it up till the neck and the top part of its forelegs. The bottom part of this coat was blue and covered it the whole way down to some of the weirdest hooves she had ever seen... were they even hooves? She had no clue at all.
This is the weirdest thing I have ever seen! How can it even walk on those? The front ones aren't even the same as the back! And it must get awfully cold with its face and forelegs uncovered with any sort of body hair. What a strange... thing! I will have to study it further!
Twilight had started to relax a little more as her mind switched to her research side. She became so busy studying the weird creature that the trip back to Fluttershy's tree house was not even in her world anymore. All she could concentrate on was studying this weird creature which in actuality was much less frightening than what she had made out of it.
Maybe it is of my initial encounter with it, or maybe there is something else to it, but seeing it helpless like this is definitely made it a little less scary. That will be helpful while studying it, It wouldn't help to have my notepad so shaky I couldn't write on it!
Twilight had started to smile, thinking about how much she can contribute to the scientific world from her discovery that she didn't see the door to Fluttershy's house get very close, really fast.
CRASH!
"Oh my! Twilight! Are you ok?" said a spinning Fluttershy.
"Er... I am fine." Twilight replied, shaking her head to stop the world from rotating. Just then the limp body she had been levitating with her finally crashed to earth, landing in a nearby bush.
"Oops!" Twilight exclaimed, lifting the creature back out of the bush and into the air. She grinned sheepishly, realizing how stupid she must have looked, being so distracted that she ran into a door and dropped what she was carrying. Fluttershy however wasn't concerned with that, she just wanted to make sure it was ok. After they opened the door and gotten inside, Fluttershy hurried to her supply cupboard and started rummaging through for anything she could possibly need.
"Twilight just put it on my sofa over there! Be gentle!" Fluttershy called from her closet. Twilight slowly hovered it down on the couch and yawned.
Well... I am bushed. Erg. Looks like I will have to leave the research for tomorrow.
"Twilight, you look a bit well... tired. Would you like to just stay here for the night? I could go upstairs and get some blankets and..."
"Thanks... That... sounds... great..." Twilight said very slowly as the full force of her fatigue hit her. A night of restlessness and a discovery of amazing importance would wear out anypony, and soon she was asleep on one of the many cushions that were littered around the room. Fluttershy took one second to smile at her sleepy friend before she remembered the terribly sick creature laying on her sofa, and then rushed back to her work.