//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - First Contact // Story: Study Buddies // by fitanon //------------------------------// ... WARNING: BRAIN has recovered from a serious error. Start BRAIN normally? y/[n] Start BRAIN in SAFE MODE? [y]/n ... Welcome, ANON PASS: ***** Password Accepted! Starting BRAIN in SAFE MODE .... You wake up...partially. Your consciousness rests in a twilight haze; awake yet dreaming. It's dark. There are voices but they are muffled. You feel yourself jostled to and fro, the biting texture of rough, un-sanded wood against your skin. You try to remember why you may be here. A tree...books...a talking purple- Fuck this. You fall back into nothingness. ----------Twilight Sparkle------------- "-and then he just fainted!" You conclude. "BAAA HAHAHA! What a weenie! He sounds like a total egghead Twi, the two of you should get along great!" "Speaking of eggheads, any idea when you are going to return the newest Daring Do novel I lent you Rainbow?" "Er-" The fluttering pegasus looks away with a blush. "When I'm done with it..." You and your friends share a laugh as Fluttershy's cottage comes into view. Getting out of Ponyville with the alien had been simple enough. Spike had been more than a little annoyed when you told him to stay at the library and clean up. He'd perk up when you brought him some food later. With one last *creak* the five of you reach Fluttershy's door. Applejack unhitches herself from her cart and gives her shoulders a roll. "That alien's awfully heavy fer a bookworm." Fluttershy floats over the cart, grabbing the tarp in her teeth. With a yank it slides off the wooden frame, revealing its prone occupant. The creature stirs in the light of the sun with a soft groan. "Oh my stars! Twilight, dear, I think he's waking up!" Rarity notes with concern. "Then we don't have much time." You respond with conviction. Reaching out with your magic you envelop the alien in a soft purple glow. He gently floats out of the cart and towards the door, which Rainbow opens. Carefully, you levitate the creature into the cottage. Many of Fluttershy's animals stir from their assorted homes and resting places, watching with curiosity. "Oh, um, up here would be best. In the spare room." You angle the creature and float him up the stairs after Fluttershy. You are led into the cottage's spare bedroom. Turning him around in mid air, you gently set the alien onto the bed. Fluttershy leaves briefly to get her medical kit. You, Rainbow, Applejack, and Rarity just stare in silence at the being, watching it move a bit in it's sleep. You feel a strange twinge in your chest when he snuggles into the pillow with a sigh. "So-" Applejack breaks the silence. "-what happens now?" "We wait for him to wake up and-" You giggle like a schoolfilly. "-communicate!" "...Right. Uh...communicate wut exactly?" "W-well-" You bring a hoof to your chin. "-all kinds of things! What he is, where hes from, or what he does for a living! There are literally an infinite number of things we could ask him!" "Perhaps you could ask where he bought such...rags. Honestly how can those even pass for clothes!" Rarity huffs. Fluttershy returns, the handle of the white medical case in her mouth. She floats to the bedside and places it on the night table. Opening it, she rummages through its contents, pulling out disinfectant and bandages. Carefully, the yellow pegasus dabs a bit of gauze with the disinfectant and begins to gently wipe down the small cuts that litter the creature's arms and legs.The alien groans and twists around in apparent discomfort. By some miracle however he doesn't wake. A few more minutes pass and the creature's injuries are cleaned and bandaged. "Whew! That should do." Fluttershy says happily. "Nice work Fluttershy. Do you think you could maybe examine him a bit? Animals are your talent after all." "Oh! Um..." The yellow pegasus' pink bangs fall over her eyes. "O-okay..." She takes a deep breath and begins to look the creature over. "Well...he reminds me of a monkey." She gently runs a hoof along one of his arms. "His coat is really thin and coarse...except for up here." She rubs a yellow hoof through his mane. She then moves the hoof the the creature's lips. Rainbow visibly tenses. "Be careful Flutters..." With a gulp Fluttershy gently lifts his upper lip- and squeaks. "What?!" Rainbow zooms over to her friend. "Did he bite you?!" "N-no...I was just surprised. He has...well, canines." She lifts a bit higher. "But they are small...and the rest of his teeth are flat. I'd say he's...um...omnivorous." "The heck does that mean?" Applejack asks, head tilted in confusion. "It means...he eats both meat and plants." Rarity gasps dramatically. "It...it eats MEAT?! How savage! How uncouth!" Rainbow is immediately at Fluttershy's side. "C'mon Fluttershy you don't want to have your hoof near that thing's- whats wrong Flutters?" Fluttershy is unresponsive, her eyes are locked on the creature's face. You take a few steps towards the bed. "Fluttershy what is-" You freeze as well. Rainbow turns to look at the creature and inhales sharply. "What in tarnation is wrong with y'all?! This aint funny!" Applejack huffs. Rarity looks uneasy. "I agree, you girls are scaring us!" Without turning around you whisper two words that root the two mares to the spot. "It's awake." -----------Anonymous------------ ... Okay BRAIN, recap time? Sure thing. You fell into a treehouse library...thing. Right. Go on. You promptly got a bookboner and began to try and read. Got that. Continue. Then a talking purple horse with a horn introduced itself and you fainted like a bitch. Yep. Keep going. You kind of woke up in a dark place made of shitty wood and then fell back asleep. Huh...okay. Any idea why a hard round object is touching my mouth? ...no fucking idea bro maybe you should wake up? Good idea! Your eyes open... And you find two large turquoise ones staring into them. You immediately stiffen. It's another tiny horse, this one yellow with...wings? What the f- You can't move...oh GOD YOU CAN'T MOVE BRAIN WHAT THE FUCK?! I DUNNO MAN. LIMBS ARE OFFLINE. MUSCLES ARE OFFLINE. CAN'T MOVE SHIT CAPTAIN. OH FUCK WHAT DO WE DO?! DON'T PANIC. WE DON'T WANT TO PASS THE FUCK OUT AGAIN. CAN YOU HOLD YOUR SHIT TOGETHER? I'LL FUCKING TRY DUDE BUT I AM FREAKING THE FUCK OUT. You attempt to ignore your unexplainable paralysis and assess the situation. You had been moved, that much was certain. You were lying on a bed, in a completely different room. You would look around but your eyes remained locked on the yellow horse's. Why the fuck wasn't she moving?! Why did she just keep staring like that?! "It...it eats MEAT?! How savage! How uncouth!" Oh God. There were others?! Oh God, they didn't like the fact you ate meat?! OH GOD THEY KNEW YOU ATE MEAT?! Suddenly another tiny horse enters your peripheral vision. This one is cyan, also with wings, and magenta eyes. Its most prominent feature however is its rainbow hair. "C'mon Fluttershy you don't want to have your hoof near that thing's- whats wrong Flutters?" Okay, the yellow one was...Fluttershy. Okay. This was good. Keep calm, assess EVERYTHING. What sounds like...hooves? Yeah, they are little horses after all. The sound of hooves draw closer and at the edge of your vision you see a blob of purple. The first one you saw! Twilight Sparkle! "Fluttershy what is-" she freezes when she sees that you're awake. At this point the cyan horse also looks at you and inhales sharply. "What in tarnation is wrong with y'all?! This aint funny!" Yet another voice. You can't see this one but you notice it has a southern accent. "I agree, you girls are scaring us!" Number five whimpers. Girls huh? So they WERE female...though the voices should have been proof enough of that. "It's awake." Twilight Sparkle whispers. The room is completely still. The tiny horses say nothing, and neither do you...not like you really can though.The tension in the air causes the seconds to drag on like hours until the cyan one speaks. "Why isn't it moving? Why is it still- Flutters are you giving him the stare?" Fluttershy nods. "I-I'm sorry! I didn't know what to do! When he woke up I just..." She trails off, her eyes still locked on yours. Speaking of which your eyes are starting to fucking BURN since you can't close them.The two horses in front of you notice the tears beginning to trail from your rapidly reddening eyes. The yellow one whimpers. "Oh dear...he needs to blink." And she fucking DOESN'T?! "Fluttershy." Twilight whispers, moving closer to the bed. "Release him. We won't get any answers if he can't move. Besides, I don't think hes dangerous..." The cyan horse whips her head towards Twilight. "He eats meat! We're meat Twi! What if he EATS US?!" "Ah don't wanna git ate!" Southern accent cries. "Neither do I!" Number five agrees. Oh Christ this is not a vein of conversation conducive to your survival. You need to clear this up...but you can't because you still CAN'T FUCKING MOVE AND YOUR EYES ARE BURNING LIKE SHIT! You try your hardest to plead with Fluttershy with your eyes. Amazingly she takes the hint. With a deep breath she addresses you. "Mr. Alien-" OH SHIT YOU'RE AN ALIEN?! "-I'm going to to let you move but you have to promise to be good and not...eat us." She punctuates that command with an adorable squeak. YOUR HEART OH GOD IT HURTS. You do your best to make your intention known. You aren't going to hurt them, you are terrified and want to live. The yellow horse's expression softens, and she gives you a small smile. HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNG "Okay..." She blinks. BRAIN?! We're back online! Keep your shit together though, no sudden movements. Right... Slowly, FUCKING slowly, you draw yourself back and into a sitting position. The cyan horse shoots back a few feet when you move. You now have a clear view of all the little horses. You can see that besides Fluttershy, Twilight, and Cyan horse there are two others in the room, both wear matching looks of fear. One is orange with a blonde mane and tail and a cowboy hat- wow really? Anyway that's more than likely southern accent. The other is...a marshmallow with a stylized purple mane and tail; Number five. Marshmallow has a horn like Twilight, while southern accent seems to lack both wings and a horn. Interesting. Bro? Yeah? This is fucking first contact. ...oh shit you're right...but I'm the alien here apparently. Does it fucking MATTER? Guess not... Don't fuck this up man. I'll try. Your gaze sweeps over the room once more before you take a deep breath. Slowly...EVER SO FUCKING SLOWLY, you raise a hand and- "Hi." A pause. It lasts only a second before Twilight Sparkle beams. "Hello! Welcome to Equestria!" Achievement Unlocked/Trophy Earned: First Contact; Establish contact with an alien race and not fuck it up. "Erm...thanks." You grin sheepishly before looking around the room again. The little horses seem a bit less frightened now. "Oh! Allow me to introduce myself. My name is- "Twilight Sparkle? We met at the library..." The purple horse blinks before blushing in embarrassment...it's cute. "That's right. Sorry again for surprising you like that." "It's fine...really, just a shock that's all." You say with a wave of the hand. You point at the yellow horse. "You're Fluttershy, I assume?" Upon being addressed the yellow horse squeaks and hides beneath her pink mane. "Yes...nice to meet you." she whispers almost inaudibly. "I, um...cleaned and bandaged your cuts for you...I hope that's alright..." HEART STATUS: CRITICAL BRAIN GET THAT SHIT IN ORDER WORKING ON IT BOSS "Appreciate it. Really." you respond with a smile, which she returns. Your gaze slides over to the cyan horse with then rainbow mane. While no longer appearing afraid, she is still eying you with suspicion. "That's Rainbow Dash." Twilight answers for her friend. "Sup." Rainbow shoots dismissively. You nod. "This-" she gestures to orange cowboy hat "-is Applejack." "Howdy." Applejack offers with a tip of her hat. You nod again. "And finally-" "Rarity the unicorn!" The marshmallow answers for her friend with a flourish of her mane. She bats her eyelashes at you demurely. "Charmed." Your eyebrows have relocated themselves to your forehead but you nod all the same. She had said unicorn...which you now realize made perfect sense since she has a FUCKING HORN. "Pleasure to meet all of you. My name is...is..." Your face scrunches in confusion. What the fuck? Twilight Sparkle quirks a brow. "Is something wrong?" Well BRAIN? Is there? ...okay don't be mad. Are you fucking kidding me?! I'm sorry dude but I can't find it! Scan drive C: for name.txt? [y]/n Scanning...0 results found. "...I don't know..." your head falls into your hands. "I can't...I can't remember my name..." Four gasps reach you through your sudden shock. You can hear Twilight sigh. "Perhaps it's a side effect." Side effect? Side effect of fucking WHAT?! "Still...what should we call you then?" You really, really, REALLY want to know what she means by side effect. You can remember everything else about yourself except for your name. She had a point though, what SHOULD they call you? It hits you like a bolt from the heavens. You look up toward the purple horse. "...Anonymous."