//------------------------------// // 3 // Story: The maned ape // by sykko //------------------------------// It had been three days since Big Red had gone through the testing with Ink Blot, and establishing that he could write and had an alphabet with Cheerilee. He had been released into Twilight's custody. It would be a few days until the courts would decide who would be his guardian to prevent anypony from taking advantage of or harming him. She had made a set of flash cards for him similar to the ones for ponies who were non-verbal used, only smaller so his nimble fingers could better manipulate them, so he could communicate more accurately his wants and needs. Because the hospital had no wheelchairs that could fit Big Red's height and body alignment, they fashioned a pair of crutches for him from a few old IV stands so he could better walk around while his leg healed. He had made for himself a toga-like garment from one of the bed sheets, to the dismay of the hospital staff. Twilight promised to compensate them for the cost of the bed sheet, just send her the bill. Twilight was walking alongside Big Red through Ponyville, Spike riding on her back dozing in the warmth of sunlight. They were heading to the dentist's office so that his teeth could get looked at. Ponies who were trotting by on the way to whatever business they were doing would stop and gape at the tall creature who was walking with the princess' protege. Many of them whispered and murmured among themselves. "Is that some sort of minotaur trotting with Twilight?" "I think that's some kind of yeti or 'squatch." "Is it dangerous?" "Nah, it ain't no kind of minotaur. It ain't got no horns and no hooves." "What are those noodly, wiggly bits at the ends of its hind legs?" "It's not any yeti or sasquatch I've ever seen. The fur's too short and not shaggy enough." "Did somepony shave it? Did it have mites or fleas? Is that why it doesn't have much fur?" "I made muffins this morning before going out. I've got an interview at Quills and Sofas this afternoon. Do you think Davenport would like one?" Twilight noted the whispering and murmuring of everypony. She looked up at Big Red. He was turning his head back and forth. At first she thought he was looking at the town, or looking for somepony. Then she noticed his eyes darting about. He wasn't looking at the town, for somepony, or even at anypony. He was looking for something. He was scared. What was to be scared of in Ponyville? Then it hit her. He had been the victim of poachers nearly two weeks ago. This was a fear response. It was as clear as the horn on her head, the way he gripped the improvised crutches, the ripple of the muscles visible under his bushy red facial mane, the way he was raised up on the front portion of his good walking appendage at the end of his leg(she still didn't have a name for them), the slight increase in his breathing. Twilight gently laid a hoof on Big Red's leg to get his attention away from the town. Big Red jumped slightly, then looked down at her and let out a series of chattering hoots. Twilight lit her horn and telekinetically lifted the pouch on his hip holding the flash cards for him to communicate with. Big Red tentatively took the pouch from the aura, opened it and began picking through the cards. 'Me no danger' "Spike, give me my set of flash cards." The soft snoring of the baby dragon taking a late morning nap was the response Twilight received. "Spike, wake up!" She reached back and nudged the dragon dozing on her back. "*zzzz-snrkt* Huh? Wuzzat!" "My flash cards, Spike." "*yawn**smack-smack* Yeah, yeah. Keep your fur on." Spike dug through Twilight's saddlebags, pulled out the flash cards and passed them to her. Twilight rolled her eyes, took the cards in her magic and shuffled through them. 'You safe no threat town pony protect' Big Red seemed to visibly calm down. 'Where go' 'We go' Twilight quickly shuffled through the flash cards. 'Tooth doctor' 'What go tooth doctor' Twilight sighed. She had done her best to recreate the flash cards from memory, obviously her memory was a bit flawed...or the flash cards were only capable of relaying information in pidgin ponish and were meant to be supplemented with Equestrian Sign Language. "Spike, I need your help. You always won family charades night." "Zzzz." Twilight reached back with a hoof and shook Spike."Wake up!" "Zzzz--*snort* Huh? What now, Twilight?" "You always won family charades night. Do you think you can use your skills to better communicate why we're going to the dentist." "But I thought that's why you made the flash card, so you could easily talk with him." "The cards are limited on what information I can convey. They're meant to be used in concert with ESL" Spike gave a questioning look. Twilight gave her best "really" face, then sighed. "Equestrian Sign Language. They're meant to augment ESL to help ponies understand sign language." Spike jumped off of Twilight's back. "I'll have you know that I'm also the undefeated Canterlot Charades Champion three years running." He cracked his claws. "Alright, let the master work." Spike began using his charades skills as he mouthed the words 'We are going to the dentist.' Big Red eased himself down to the ground in front of Spike, cocked his head to the side, let out a questioning hoot and gestured with his hands. "He asked 'Why?'" "So we can better determine what he eats and so we can have his dental records on file in case something happens or he needs work done." Spike began signing and gesturing out the message. Pinkie came pronking up. "Hi Twilight! Hi Spike!" She froze midair, hovering in place for a few seconds. "Oooo! Are we playing charades? Me next! Me next!" She began doing a set of odd signs and gestures, then buffed a hoof against her chest fluff. "Beat that!" Twilight facehoofed. "Pinkie. We're not playing charades. We're using Spike's charades skills to better communicate with Big Red on why we're taking him to the dentist." "More like I'm using my charades skills to tell him why as your flash cards kinda aren't doing it." "You don't use charades to talk to somepony who doesn't speak the same language as you, silly! You use two-minute pictures!" Pinkie pulled a white board, an easel and a marker seemingly from nowhere, and set them up on the ground. She popped the cap off of the marker and placed one end in her mouth."Sho hwhy are oo kaking im koo she denkish?" Big Red looked obviously confused and disturbed as he tried to figure out where the white board and easel came from. Twilight simply patted him on the shoulder. Big Red scratched Twilight on her neck. Twilight leaned into the scratching as she cooed and her eyes fluttered slightly. The scratching felt good, better than it had any right to. She suddenly became aware of the ponies staring at Big Red and her. Her cheeks turned pink with embarrassment. She leaned away from Big Red and cleared her throat. "I'm trying to tell Big Red that we're taking him to the dentist to get his teeth examined so we can better determine what he eats, and to get his dental record on file in case he ever needs any work done. Can you accurately draw that out?" "Eashy peashy wemon shpeashy!" Pinkie began quickly drawing out the images on the white board. When she had finished, there was a surprisingly intricate series of drawings depicting a pony getting their teeth examined, photographed, and of papers being put into a file. She spat the marker onto the easel. "Not bad if I say so. And with three seconds to spare." Pinkie checked a watch on her fetlock that hadn't been there a moment before. Big Red studied the drawings, tapped his chin thoughtfully as he nodded, then let out a short series of chattering hoots and gestured with his hands. "He said 'Why didn't you say so?'", Spike stated. Twilight's left eye twitched. Individual hairs sprung loose from her mane, some of them curling. "But...but I did! Could it be that I misremembered how the flash cards were supposed to be?" She trembled as she slumped down on her belly and muttered to herself, "I'm going to get sent back to magic kindergarten for this!" Pinkie quickly wiped off the white board and drew a picture of Twilight with a hand petting her. Big Red nodded and began scratching Twilight behind her ear. She cooed at the scratching. He began scratching down her neck, causing her to lean into him. He began scratching down her back. Once his hand reached to the middle of her back, she rose to all four legs, arched her back into his scratching and stood on her tip-hooves. "Mmm! Oh yes! Right there! Don't stop! Don't stop! Don't stop don't stop don't stop!" Onlookers in the crowd fanned their faces. Some licked their lips. Once Twilight had calmed down, Big Red Stopped scratching her back, rose up to his good leg with a long grunt and secured the makeshift crutches under him. He then gave Pinkie's ears a quick scratch, patted her on the head and gave her nose a boop. "You are welcome!", the pink party planner said as she pronked off, the white board, easel and marker having disappeared. Spike held up a fist to Big Red. The maned ape made his own fist, bumped his knuckles against the dragon's, then pulled his fist back quickly wiggling his fingers as he made a noise that sounded like an imitation of a balloon popping, an earthquake and wind rushing. The crowd watched as the three walked off in the direction of the dentist's office, whispering and murmuring to one another. "I gotta figure out how to get me some of that!" "Those wiggly bits seemed to stop a full-on Twilighting." "Where did she find such a creature like that? You think Princess Celestia sent it to her for emotional support?" "Did you see how big its withers and forelimbs are? I gotta work out more." *** Doctor Pearly Whites held a dental mirror in Big Red's mouth to examine his teeth. "Hmm...let's see here. I count eight incisors...four on the top, four on the bottom, normal for a pony. I'm not sure if that's normal for a...whatever you are, so I'm going to have to assume it is. Four canines, two on the top and two on the bottom...hmm, ponies only have two on the top. Not sure if that's normal for your species, so I'll assume it is. Let's see...four premolars on each side...eight in total. Ponies have twice as many. Again, I'll have to assume that's normal for your species. Let's see...one...two...three...four...five...molars on each side...wait, he has two more on the bottom than on the top, that's ten in total. Again, not sure if that's normal for your species...so I'll assume it is. And what do we have here? Looks like somepony had some cavities filled. Tsk tsk tsk! Did somepony eat too many sweets?" Twilight who had been taking notes, paused in what she was doing. "He's had cavities filled?! How can you tell?" "He's got some sort of ceramic serving as fillings, they're a slightly different color from the rest of his enamel. Let's see...one...two...three. Whoever did this was highly skilled, the fillings fit tightly with almost no visible lines between the enamel and the fillings." Twilight ran her tongue across her two teeth that had gold fillings. Doctor Pearly Whites pushed the dental mirror further into Big Red's mouth. "Looks like you've had some dental surgery. That would explain why you have two fewer molars on the top." "Did he have them pulled?" "No, it looks like they were cut out." Doctor Pearly Whites pulled the mirror out of Big Red's mouth and laid it on the tray. "Considering that his jaws are shorter than ours, they were probably removed to prevent crowding. Sometimes it happens in ponies. They'll have an extra permanent tooth or two and have them removed to deal with crowding issues." He picked up a bite gauge. "Alright, I need you to bite down hard on this for me." "You'll have to demonstrate it for him, he doesn't speak our language.", Twilight interjected. "Not a problem.", Doctor Pearly Whites said. "I sometimes have to do this for foals when they first visit my office." The stallion made an over-exaggerated show of opening his mouth, then biting down while pointing to the two small flat levers and the small dial. Big Red opened his mouth and the dentist gently inserted the bite meter, then signaled for him to bite down hard. Doctor Pearly Whites looked at the meter as the arrow moved on its face. "Interesting." "What is it?" "He's got the bite force of about half of what a five year old foal generates. Most adult ponies generate a bite force of about seven hundred hoof-force units. Heck, even foals of five years of age can generate a bite force of about two hundred hoof-force units. I would have figured since his teeth indicate he's an omnivorous predator, he'd have a bite force similar to a pony." Doctor Pearly Whites ran his hooves along Big Red's jaws, inspecting the muscles. "Between how short his jaws are and that the muscles are much smaller, that accounts for his weaker bite force. In my professional opinion, he's an omnivorous predator that eats soft stuff." "Do you think he eats*urp* carrion?" Twilight felt sick to her stomach at the thought of possibly keeping rotting hunks of meat around. "It's a possibility. Of course he might be like a griffon and eat raw meat. Or maybe he eats fish like many pegasi and sea-going ponies do. He might also prefer his meat cooked like the minotaurs do. I'm not a dietician, so I can't say for certain. Maybe you can lay out different types of things prepared in different ways to see what he likes and go from there." Doctor Pearly Whites pulled a lollipop from a jar and patted the maned ape on his forelimb. "For being such a good colt, this is for you." Big Red took the lollipop from the dentist and popped it in his mouth. "Well we know he likes lollipops.", Pearly Whites chuckled as he went over to the sink to wash his hooves. "Why do you keep candy around?" "To ensure repeat customers. A stallion's got to eat." Twilight rolled her eyes and walked out of the dental exam room. Spike was sitting in the waiting room, kicking his legs. "He got a lollipop. Can I have a lollipop?" "No, Spike. You can't have a lollipop. You didn't see the dentist today, so you don't get one." Big Red pulled his hand from behind his back revealing three lollipops stuck between the fingers of his fist by their sticks. He plucked one his from fist and gave it to the dragon, who happily sucked on it. "Spike, you're going to rui-mmf...mmm!" Big Red stuck one of the lollipops in Twilight's mouth. As the unicorn looked up at him, he gave a briar-eating grin around the lollipop. Twilight pulled the lollipop out of her mouth and said, "I guess that's your way of saying 'Shut up and enjoy a lollipop.'" She turned to open the door, still sucking on the lollipop. With the unicorn momentarily distracted, Big Red pulled back one of the folds of his improvised toga and snickered at the secret stash of stolen sweets stuck away. Pearly Whites turned back to his dentist chair and noticed the lollipop jar. All had been taken but one. "I'll have to keep a close eye on that one.", he chuckled as he popped the last lollipop in his mouth. *** Twilight sat in Fluttershy's cottage explaining to the yellow pegasus about what the dentist had found out about his teeth and possible eating habits. Big Red and Spike strode along the shore of the creek that ran in front of the tree that had a cottage built into its hollows. The maned ape stopped to pick through some small stones along the bank until he found one he was looking for. "Whacha got there, a cool rock?" Big Red threw the flat rock at the surface of the water, making it skip several times across the surface. "That's so cool!" Spike picked up a small stone and threw it at the surface of the water, but because it was the wrong shape, it sank with a *ker-plunk*. Big Red picked through the rocks on the shore until he found a flat, slightly oblong one and passed it to the dragon. With a series of chattering hoots, he held his thumb and forefinger in a hook-shaped manner, then demonstrated how to throw it by flicking his wrist and extending his forefinger. He held one hand with the palm facing up, he brought his other hand with the palm facing down to the first, making little skipping demonstrations. "Oh, I see. I'm supposed to toss this little flat rock so it hits the water flat." Spike threw the flat rock, it skipped once across the surface before sinking with a *plunk*. "Whoa! That is so cool!" Soon the two were skipping stones up and down the little creek. Spike was able to make his stones skip five or six times, while Big Red was able to make his stones skip almost a dozen times. Rainbow Dash landed on the grass not far away from Spike and Big Red. "Hey Spike. Hey Big Red. Whachu two doin'? skippin' stones?" "Yeah! Big Red showed me how to do it." Spike threw another stone. "Six skips...not too bad. Here, let me show you how it's done." Rainbow picked up a stone in her hoof and threw it at the water. "Eleven skips! Beat that!" Big Red picked up a stone, rinsed it off in the creek and threw it. Rainbow's eyes went wide with surprise."Th-thirteen skips?!" Big Red brushed imaginary dirt from his nonexistent sleeves in an over-exaggerated manner, then grabbed his imaginary collar and popped it. Rainbow sputtered at the smug display. She flew up in the maned ape's face, pressing her forehead against his. "Bring it on! And don't think that just because you're a colt, I'm going to take it easy on you!" Bid Red let out a series of chattering hoots. "That better be monkey-talk for 'Oh, it's on!'" Soon Rainbow Dash and Big Red were in an impromptu stone-skipping competition. When the blue pegasus would win a round, she would fly up in the air, do a dance and chant, "Oh yeah! Uh-huh! Uh-huh! Uh-huh!" When the maned ape would win a round, he would let out a whooping hoot, would do a shimmying dance on his good leg and shake his plot at the rainbow-maned pegasus. Their little victory displays urge each other to compete against one another even fiercer. Rainbow Dash and Big Red each skipped a stone down the little creek simultaneously. *skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip* *whack-whack* "Ow! Consarn it!" Applejack had been wading through a fetlock-deep ford in the creek when she heard small splashes. Looking over she saw a pair of small skipping stones a split second before they hit her in the ribs. Big Red and Rainbow Dash had shocked looks on their faces, the former held a hand over his mouth, the latter held a hoof over her mouth. "Gonna leave a bruise.", the earth pony muttered as she waded out of the shallow water and trotted down the bank to the two. Rainbow Dash rubbed the back of her head as she chuckled nervously. "Uh...sorry AJ. We didn't see--" Applejack held up a hoof to cut her friend off mid-sentence. "Y'all didn't mean nuthin' by it. In th' future, jus' make sure there ain't nopony crossin' where y'all're havin' a stone-skippin' competition." The corner of her mouth quirked up in a smirk. "'Sides, everypony knows that th' Apples are th' best at skippin' stones." She picked up a small, flat stone and hurled down the creek. *skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip--skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip-skip* *thunk* *plop* Rainbow Dash, Spike and Big Red gaped and blinked in disbelief. Applejack had skipped a stone all the way down the creek and bounced it off of the bridge in Ponyville. The earth pony huffed on a hoof and buffed against her chest fluff. "Toldja! Ain't nopony better at skippin' stones than an Apple.", she said smugly. At that moment Twilight and Fluttershy came out of the cottage. "AJ? Rainbow? What are you two doing here?", Twilight asked. "Jus' skippin' stones an' boastin'." "Uh...what she said." Big Red let out a series of chattering hoots as he moved a hand in a series of jerky motions, followed by a sharp, quick, short chop accompanied by him clicking his tongue loudly. "You shoulda seen it, Twilight! Applejack skipped a stone down the creek all the way into Ponyville until it hit the side of the bridge!", Spike said excitedly. "Spike isn't too bad a skippin' stones himself.", Rainbow said as she gave the dragon a noogie. "Where'd you learn to skip stones, Spike.", Twilight asked. "Big Red showed me how." Spike picked up another small stone and skipped it across the water. "You should try it, Twilight. It's really fun." Twilight picked up a stone in her magic and tossed it at the water. *ker-plunk* Because it wasn't a flat one, it simply sank. She tried again a few times, but because she kept choosing stones they weren't flat, they kept sinking. "Ugh! Stupid stones won't skip!" She levitated a dozen stones and threw them at the water in frustration. "I gotta get back to th' farm. I got some chores that need finishin'. Ah only stopped by because they were skippin' stones.", Applejack said in an uncomfortable tone, then trotted off. "I gotta get back to the weather team. My break's over." Rainbow Dash leapt up into the air and flew off. Fluttershy signaled for Big Red to follow her into the cottage. Big Red walked with the timid, yellow pegasus to the door. *thunk* He didn't duck fast enough upon entering the door and bumped his forehead on the lintel. He rubbed his forehead and grumbled.When Fluttershy came over to help, he waved her off with a grunt. After he got his wits about him again, he placed a hand on the lintel and ducked under. Fortunately the ceiling was just high enough so he didn't have to stoop, but he did have to make sure that he didn't bounce around too much to prevent himself from bopping the top of his head. He had to turn himself slantways to get in as pony-sized doors were a bit narrow for him. Fluttershy directed the maned ape over to the couch. Big Red let out a long grunt as he sat on the sofa. After placing the crutches off to one side, he stretched out his good leg, leaned back and placed both arms across the back of the couch. Twilight quickly wrote down notes about how he sat. It appears that due to his height, Big Red has to duck to enter into doorways. Because of his breadth, he must also turn himself partially sideways when entering doorways. The only reason why this wasn't an issue at the veterinarian's office or the hospital is because the emergency entrances are always built double wide to accommodate trauma teams assisting an injured pony. Any home he were to live in will have to have special considerations to its construction for his specific body alignments. During his stay at the hospital he had been housed in an unused trauma room and upon his release the nurses had rolled him out of one of the emergency entrances on a gurney. Big Red sits with his plot and flanks directly under his spine with his hind legs extended to the front. Twilight thought about her time at school. Lyra Heartstrings had sat in a similar fashion. She wondered if her unicorn classmate ever had any dealings with maned apes. Fluttershy gently lifted Big Red's broken leg, pulled the coffee table closer, laid a pillow on it and gently laid the broken limb onto the pillow. She then made her way to the kitchen. She returned with a cold compress made from chipped ice and a dish towel. She placed the compress on the maned ape's forehead and moved his hand over to hold it in place. Big Red let out a sigh as the cold compress helped with the pain and swelling. He started scratching Fluttershy's back, who in turn started trilling. She climbed onto his lap and curled up, letting small trills as he scratched her back. Fluttershy rolled onto her back and Big Red started rubbing her belly. She gurgled happily and kicked her hind legs. Twilight cleared her throat. "I think it's time we started our experiment, Fluttershy." Fluttershy pouted and stuck out her bottom lip. "But Twilight*gurgle*, this feels so*gurgle* gooooooooooood!*gurgle*" Twilight lit her horn and telekinetically pulled the pegasus from Big Red's lap. "You can get your belly rubbed later, Fluttershy. We need to find out what he likes to eat first." Fluttershy whimpered as she gave puppy dog eyes to Twilight and Big Red gave the unicorn a nonplussed look. "Ugh! Fine! Five more minutes then we need to figure out what he eats." Fluttershy let out a squee as she flapped over to Big Red, landed lightly on his lap and rolled onto her back. She was happily gurgling and kicking her hind legs as he rubbed her belly. Once the five minutes were up, Fluttershy reluctantly rolled off of Big Red's lap. As she began to walk off, she felt a gentle tug at her tail. Turning her head back, she was pleasantly surprised when a lollipop was shoved in her mouth. "Fank oo!" Twilight and Fluttershy laid on the kitchen table several covered plates holding different foods, apple slices, steamed hay, irises, boiled and grilled carrots, shredded lettuce, whole cabbage leaves, slices of raw meat, a hunk of spoiled meat(Twilight wound up losing her lunch in the garbage can at that one), spiced oats, a chunk of cheese, slices of bread and a daffodil sandwich. Fluttershy motioned for Big Red to come into the kitchen. He rose from the couch with a long grunt. Once he entered the kitchen, narrowly avoiding bumping his head on the doorway between the two rooms, she gestured for him to sit at the table. He eyed the covered plates, quirked an eyebrow, then sat down at the chair with some difficulty. Fluttershy uncovered the dish with the spoiled meat first. Twilight's face turned green as she fought to keep from throwing up again. Big Red gagged and recoiled from the sight and smell of the spoiled meat. "We know he doesn't like spoiled meat.", Fluttershy said as she picked up the plate holding the spoiled meat and hurled it out the window. A pair of vultures landed and started ripping chunks from the rotting meat, gobbling it down. "Thank the gods!", Twilight exclaimed. "I don't think I could stomach keeping hunks of spoiled meat around." Big Red began pulling the covers off of the other plates. "You're messing up my experiment!" Twilight tried to stop Big Red from uncovering the plates, which got her a sharp flick on the snout and a barking hoot from the maned ape. Big Red picked up the plates holding bread, meat and cheese, and walked over to the stove. "b-be careful, Big Red. The stove is hot. Let me help you.", Fluttershy said. Big Red waved her off with a series of chattering hoots. He searched through the drawers and cabinets. he placed a spatula, a long sharp knife and a table knife on the counter. He opened the icebox and pulled out the butter. Lighting the stove, he pulled a pair of frying pans from the rack and laid them on the range. Twilight stared wide-eyed as she furiously scribbled down notes and illustrations. Big Red let out a series of chattering hoots as he pointed to the sliced apples on the table. Fluttershy nodded and fetched them for him. He cut thin slices from the hunk of cheese, cut the seeds from the apple slices and smeared butter on one side of several pieces of bread. Soon the kitchen was filled with the sound and smell of grilled cheese sandwiches, with and without apple slices, cooking. Once the sandwiches had been fried to a golden brown on both sides, Big Red moved them to a clean plate he had fetched from the cabinet. Big Red let out a series of chattering hoots as he pointed to the cabbage leaves and carrots. Fluttershy once again nodded her head and fetched them. Putting the frying pan he used to fry up the sandwiches in the sink, he pulled a pot from the rack, he filled it with water and placed it on the range to boil. He then started slicing up the hunks of meat into small strips and chopping the carrots into small bits. As the water in the pot started to boil, he dropped the cabbage leaves into it. He dropped a couple of dabs of butter into the frying pan, and put the meat and carrots in once the butter had melted. He stirred the meat and carrots with the spatula, occasionally flicking the frying pan to toss the cooking ingredients in the air. Big Red moved the boiled cabbage leaves to another plate, moved some of the fried meat and carrots onto them, and rolled them up. The smell of cooking food drew Spike into the cottage from where he was skipping stones. "Something smells goo-ood!" As Big Red moved the plates to the table, he looked at the plate of shredded lettuce, and rubbed his chin as he hummed. He extended a forefinger upwards as he let out a short hoot. He grabbed a bottle of vinegar, a bottle of oil, some spices he liked the smell and taste of, and a clean empty bottle. He combined the vinegar, oil and spices into the bottle, pressed his palm over the spout and shook up the dressing. Big Red placed four plates on the table, then placed two fried sandwiches, one with apple slices, one without, one each plate, then placed the plate with the fried meat and carrots wrapped up in boiled cabbage leaves in the center. He then poured the vinegar and oil dressing onto the shredded lettuce and transferred a bit to each plate. Twilight found she liked the grilled cheese sandwiches without apple slices the best. She tried a small nibble of the fried meat and carrots, but found that she didn't like meat that much. The lettuce with the oil and vinegar was fine, though she preferred creamy dressing. She topped off the meal with her favorite, daffodil sandwiches. Fluttershy like both types of grilled cheese sandwiches. She liked the fried meat and carrots wrapped up in the boiled cabbage leaves. Being a pegasus meant she had higher protein needs from the other two tribes of ponies, so it wasn't unusual to see one eating fish or sometimes meat. Once all had eaten, Spike let out a loud burp. "Manners, Spike.", Twilight scolded. Bid Red rubbed his belly and pressed his fingers in like he was pushing something around. He let out a long, loud burp that reverberated off the walls. He let out a series of chattering hoots as he gestured with his hands. "He said 'It's not bad manners, it's good food.'", Spike interpreted. Fluttershy let out a soft, dainty burp. "It was very good. Thank you." She began clearing the table. Big Red helped her move the dirty dishes to the sink. He picked up the plate of spiced oats and dumped them into a clean sack as he let out a series of chattering hoots. Fluttershy didn't understand what he was trying to say, but it was clear that he wanted the oats for something later, so she nodded and began washing the dishes. As the shadows began to lengthen, Fluttershy escorted Twilight, Spike and Big Red down to the bridge that crossed the creek in front of her cottage. Walking down to the bank of the creek, she looked down. "They skipped all my good stones!", she grumbled. "It's going to take me months to find more good skipping stones!" She picked up a flat stone and skipped it down the creek. Gerald stood in the alleyway between two abandoned buildings on the edge of Canterlot. He had left the iron wolves and is hunting at the camp halfway down Mount Lot so as to not scare any of the unicorns. He was waiting to hear from his contact, a rather puffed and stodgy unicorn known among poachers and black marketeers as "The Broker". *** A young unicorn stallion wove through alleyways, going from the mansions and manners of the upper city, heading to the lower city. He didn't notice groups of ponies wearing the purple and gold armor shadowing him. As the young stallion turned the corner in the mid-city where the laborers live to slip down an alley, he didn't notice a unicorn Royal Guard lighting his horn until the sleeping spell hit him. As the Royal Guard secured the scene, a carriage pulled by a pair of ponies wearing the gold and silver armor of the Solar Guard pulled up. Prince Blueblood, the adoptive nephew of Princesses Celestia and Luna stepped out. "I see you've caught our quarry. Does he have anything on him?" A unicorn guard pulled a slip of paper from the unconscious unicorn's tunic. "Sire, he's carrying a message. Probably from The Broker." Blueblood took the note from the guard and read it. Gerald, I am unable to come in pony as I am currently indisposed. I am sending one of my hired hooves to deliver this message to you. Though I am as of yet unable to discover the exact location of the maned ape, I have found it is somewhere in Central Equestria. The three most likely locations are the Lot Valley, the Everfree Basin, and the Rockville Plateau. I would have better information if you and your ilk had not made such a ruckus in Manehattan and drew the attention of the Royal, Solar and Night guards, so I must move very carefully to not draw the attention of the princesses. My buyers are growing impatient. You have six months to find the maned ape and bring its fresh carcass to me for processing, or I shall have to call in favors with another, more dangerous contact. The Broker "Has the origin of the messenger been confirmed?" "Yes, sire.", the guard sergeant replied. Blueblood let out an exasperated sigh. "Too bad. I liked him." Lighting his horn, he cast a duplication spell, making three identical copies of the original. He levitated a bottle of cheap whisky from within his chariot, pulled the cork out, poured some on the original letter, causing the ink to run and smear a little, he then walked over and poured the remainder over the unconscious unicorn's tunic and head, then dropped the empty bottle on the ground. Blueblood passed the original letter to a Royal Guard. "Make sure you rub that whiskey into his mane and fur, place a tracking spell on him, return the letter where you found it, thump him in the head a couple times, not enough to injure or bruise him, just enough to give him a headache and cast a delayed reawakening spell on him. Make sure you're not here when he wakes up." He passed one of the copies to the guard sergeant. "Give this to Captain Armor. I'll personally deliver these to the princesses myself. And remember, I was never here. If the press were to get wind I was cavorting where the commoner rabble lives, they'd have a field day." He stepped back into his carriage and knocked on the side, alerting the Solar Guard he was ready to leave. "Such a shame, JS. I really liked you." *** The young unicorn stallion woke up on the ground in the alley. He winced in pain as he placed a hoof to his head. He reeked of cheap booze. He didn't remember drinking. That night dozens of ponies wearing black cloaks milled around the edges of Ponyville. They were the princesses best trained guard, they were the knife in the dark, the Black Guard. Luna sat on the throne. Nopony ever came to night court. As her magic slowly returned, she had regained much of her original height, though she still had months more before she would regain her full strength. She still struggled to raise the moon and had to rely on Celestia to help. Though her mane and tail had yet to regain its ethereal quality, it had begun to flow in light blue waves moved by magical winds only alicorns could feel. As alicorns age, they gain new abilities. Luna decided in the calm and still of night court she would begin to further stretch those new magical muscles. She closed her eyes and reached out with her magic. She stood in a black void surrounded by silver orbs...the dreams of sleeping ponies. Luna dove into dream after dream. Though she couldn't mold and shape the dreamscapes of sleeping minds, or even directly communicate with the sleeping ponies, she still could whisper to them, could manifest as a mote of a light, a shadow or a reflection. She celebrated alongside her subjects accomplishments and successes, wept with their sorrows, and frolicked in the meadows with foals...she especially loved those dream as they reminded her of a happier and simpler time. Luna came came across an unusual dream. As she went to push through the membrane, it resisted her like a rubber sheet stretched across a doorway. She tried aligning her magical vibrations to it, it still resisted her. Finally she was forced to pour magic into her dream-self and brute force her way in. What she saw surprised her. The was Big Red, though the mane on his head and face were shorter, there was no mistaking that bright red hair. Standing by his side was another maned ape, her skin was the color of ebony wood and the mane atop her head was black as a raven's feathers and curly, like sheep's wool, her belly protruded, she was with foal. Between them was another maned ape, a smaller one, their foal. Another female. Her skin was the color of coffee with cream and her mane hung down in deep brown waves. Luna tried to use her magic to glean information from the dream like she had done with her little ponies, but the dream resisted too much and she was forced to instead listen to gain the information. "Daddy?" "Lilly-Anne?" "When is mommy going to have her baby?" The dream shifted and Luna found herself standing in a chilly room. The ebony-skinned female was laying in a silver padded box. Big Red was holding a little maned ape foal in his arms. His older foal, Lilly-Anne, stood by his side tugging on his sleeve. "Daddy? Why is mamma sleeping in that silver box? Is she gonna wake up soon?" Big Red knelt down, tears leaking down his cheeks. "No, baby. Mamma got sick. The doctors tried to make her well, but they couldn't. She's not sleeping, she's...she...in heaven now and she'll be waiting for us." A hand came to rest on Big Red's shoulder. He stood up, there were three other maned apes, two males and a female. Two of them, their manes were the grey-white of old age, the other, a male was of a similar age, with a blonde mane. The female with the white-grey mane took the foal from his arms and took Lilly-Anne by her hand. "C'mon, let's go talk to Auntie Stacy as daddy talks grown-up with Grandpa James and Uncle Greg." As soon as the foals were gone, Big Red fell to his knees and wept loudly. The other two males dropped to their knees and hugged him as tears leaked down their faces. "I don't know how I'm going to make it without Darla.", he said between heaving sobs. "I'm just glad she didn't suffer when the aneurysm burst." "Just let it out, Dave. Don't hold it in.", the older male said. The dream shifted again and Luna found herself standing on a gravel pathway. Bid...Dave was kneeling on the ground in front of Lilly-Anne. "Be good for Uncle Greg and Auntie Stacy. Help take care of your brother, Julius." "Where are you going, daddy?" Dave pointed. Luna looked and gasped. There was a chain of mountains in the distance, they had a slight purple tint. "See that big mountain there? There's a little cabin by a stream about halfway up. By the stream is a patch of flowers. They're called black-eyed Susans. I'm going to pick some for mamma's grave." "Can I come with you?" Dave chuckled softly and sniffled. "Not this time. Now don't pout. I'll take you and your brother up there real soon." "When will you be back." Dave held up four fingers. "Four days." The dream shifted one last time. Luna found herself standing on a mountain path. Dave was wearing hiking clothes. He stopped walking, took off the pack on his back, pulled something out, cut a hunk of it with a large knife he drew from his hip and popped it in his mouth, chewing it up before swallowing. Suddenly the sky turned from a clear, bright blue to a roiling pitch black. Winds both scalding and freezing blew furiously. Strange colored lightning flashed from cloud to cloud. Leaves, twigs and pebbles levitated up from the path. Dave ran for a small cave off the path. There was a deafening crack and a blinding flash. Luna stood by Dave as he sat up from the ground. He was in a low-lying. "What the fuck?" A pair of multicolored ponies approached him letting out chattering nickers. With a flash the dream ended. Luna wobbled on the throne and collapsed to the floor. "Princess!", a Night Guard exclaimed, running over. "Are you okay?" Luna let out a series of chattering hoots. The guard stepped back unsure of himself. "Princess?" Luna shook her head. "We art sorry, guard. We were simply disoriented and confused after getting ejected from the dream realm." "Are you okay?" "We art but a bit disoriented and tired. We thank thee for thy concern, but we art well." Luna rose to wobbly legs and the guard helped her up. "Please summon Our sister. We shalt receive her in Our chambers." Several minutes later a tired Celestia knocked on the door to Luna's room. Luna opened the door. "Tia! Come in! Come in! We have news of the visitor to our lands." "Twilight has been keeping me informed of his well being." "We hast managed to delve into his dreams and learnt his tongue and origins." "What?!"