//------------------------------// // Research is Hungry Work // Story: To Serve Bronies // by Fuzzy Necromancer //------------------------------// “What part of the Everfree Forest did you appear in?” Twilight Sparkle asked. Her voice faltered a little as another hunger pang hit her. The two-legged deer, or “human” as Applejack called it, was still as scrumptious and feral as ever, but her hunger for raw flesh couldn’t keep up with her hunger for knowledge. At least, not until she got some quail eggs for the sauce. “A part with a big dark rock, lots of trees, and monsters that tried to eat me?” the animal said, lifting its shoulders and holding out its claws. “Did I say something funny?” Twilight Sparkle didn’t realize she’d been smiling. “Could you be more specific? I noticed a strange discharge of Everfree background magic a little while ago, and Zecora mentioned it too.” Maybe the events were related. Applejack had said the entire world this creature came from ran a lot like the Everfree Forest. Perhaps the Everfree Forest was actually an encroaching pocket universe, spawned by his reality and subtly weaving into Equestria’s native resonance, like a red shirt turning a load of white laundry pink. “You’d have to ask Applejack for details,” it said, making a shrug-like motion again. Stupid human. If she'd know the region, she could compare it with a rough estimate of the UV flash trajectory. This was an incalculable discovery in the field of xeno-thaumaturgy and recent runes, and she needed a better witness than a two-legged deer with a knack for improvised weapons and occasional meat cravings. "Spike, could you please pull down The Cantacles of Clover the Clever and Rowan Wand's Guide to Resonance Signatures? " Twilight Sparkle reached out a tendril of magic expectantly. Princess Luna had once told her something about the old pre-equestrian unicorn holidays being tied to natural high points in the background magic flux, like how earth ponies preferred to plant crops at the spring solstice. Maybe there was some deeper, older tradition that Hopestar Eve had been painted over? Where had a she read about a blood mirror being used to gaze out across possible worlds? And where was Spike? "I said the Cantacles of Clover the Clever and Rowan Wand's Guide to Resonance signatures, Spike." Twilight's telekinetic field remained empty. "Spike?" "I don't think he's here," the human said. She snorted. Why bother evolving speech if you didn't have anything intelligent to say? And how did they fit a voice box in that cramped little larynx anyway? Surely it would push on the air passages and esophagus a lot, making eating and breathing hazardous. They were curious creatures. Twilight Sparkle looked up at the bookshelf. She remembered Spike. Spike, who so often went off on harebrained schemes without considering the long-term consequences of them. Spike, who had been asking her about two-legged deer and was oh-so-eager to impress. Spike, a young, vulnerable member of the species that humans hunted for armor back in pre-pony history. She winked right in front of the two-legged deer's face. It jumped back and bared its stubby fangs in a feral grimace. It might not look dangerous, but they had pit traps where a creature without flight would just die of thirst, they could make spears and knives for hunting dragons out of dead dragons' scales and claws. Any advantage that nature could provide, the humans could usurp and steal. If Spike, who got in over his head when he tried to play with the big dragons or help out Applejack, got hold of the idea that he was going to hunt down the wild human, who would win? A naïve little Draconis Terrarium, coddled by ponies, or a creature that could evade unicorn hunting parties for days on end? She tried to block out the mental image of Spike's polished purple skin stretched and cured into a leather shield. "Think carefully," Twilight Sparkle said in a low voice, "did any other humans manifest along with you? Did you see or smell any creatures like yourself in the area?" The two-legged deer backed up against the wall. She didn't notice herself rearing up on two legs to wave a hoof under its nose. "No, I was all alone okay! Jeeze, what did I do?" Twilight drew in a deep breath and backed up. She didn't want to scare it away after all. "Sorry, I'm just worried about my s-, about Spike." She probed the sub-thaumic currents with the tip of her horn. "No problem," he said, easily. Twilight sparkle shuffled her hooves a bit. A hunger pang knifed through her. "Sorry," she said. She'd still feel better if she knew Spike wasn't looking for wild apex predators to bring home while intercosmic sinkholes perforated the Everfree Forest. "Um, you've got a bit of drool on your mouth," the creature said. She wiped it away. Yes, there was a good tide for winking in. She reached out into the aether and tugged on a small, dragon-like Signature. Spike popped up in a flash of purple light, banging his head against empty air. "-stupid, stupid, stupid, stupid!" He paused and frowned. "Twilight?" "Are you okay? Did something happen?" Twilight said, uneasily. She didn't often see Spike this angry at himself. She wanted to pat him with a hoof, but maybe that would make him feel awkward, like she was treating him like a little kid. He was a kid, obviously, but sometimes he resented it. "I'm fine," Spike sighed. "I just tried to...catch..." He looked up at the two-legged deer. His eyes went wide. "Could I have the key to that science thingy you strapped Pinkie Pie into?"