//------------------------------//
// Primal 
// Story: Thing a Day 
// by Rennoc215 
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Thing a day: Primal

Primal. It means beast-like. That's what I was called when I first met others. It was offensive, but I kept that to myself. After all, why would they need to know what hurt my feelings? I was just an animal.

"The eighth wonder of the world," my captors called me. I was a unicorn who grew up in the Everfree, away from any other of my species. When I was younger, I thought I was alone, unique, unlike all other creatures of the woods. My life was simplistic, eat and not get eaten, but to enjoy life as well. I found all sorts of wonders in those woods, and everything was good.

What probably suprised me most, in retrospect, was that I survived in those woods as a foal at all. Sure, food was plentiful, but so were the predators. I was defenseless unicorn foal, who had to fend for himself.

So, I grew up, big and strong. Then, my world was turned upside down when I found the structure. It was an ancient stone pyramid temple, carved out of yellow stones. Each step had intricate carvings on them, yet it wasn't a language, but a story. It told the beginning and end of the great civilization which once used the temple, among other things.

But that wasn't what rocked my world. It was the depictions of ponies interacting. Others, with horns, some with wings, some with both and some with neither, all cooperating and building. I wondered about what it would be like, as I played on the structure. After a while of reading the story, I soon learned about advanced concepts, like religion. But the one I was most fascinated with was magic.

I could do amazing things, like move objects, and even move myself. As I had learned the religion of these prehistoric ponies, I did everything in the simple names of the gods. Azor was order. Whenever things were done wrong, I prayed for forgiveness from Azor, and I would feel better about my mistake, as if he had actually forgiven me.

Niv was the god of knowledge and innovation. I prayed to him whenever I tried something new, like magic, and whenever I had an idea on how to build things. I think he helped me a few times, especially when I figured out a way to bring water to the temple. With water, and nearby food, I could stay at the temple for longer, and do more things.

Dos was lord of fun and work. Although life was meant to be lived to the fullest, you were also supposed to work in order to be worthy of fun. But, since I didn't know what kind of work was expected of me, I just cleaned the temple, and prayed that that was enough. After a good day's devotion to cleaning, I could have six days of fun, before I had to clean again. Of course, Svog was the god of cleaning and farming, so I felt bad for doing cleaning as my work, because I couldn't farm. So, by cleaning, I was worshipping two gods at the same time.

Vig was the god of healing, so I would pray to him whenever I hurt myself. Thankfully, I was a sturdy stallion by the time worship began, so I could ignore the hurt.

Although I've only listed half the gods, I feel I've slid down a tangental slope. Pardon me, but I'll go back to what happened after the temple. I lived there for a few months, happy and healthy, until I was interrupted, in the most cruel of manners. I was cleaning at the time, when I heard a rustling from the bushes. I laid low on the upper level, and watched. After all, most creatures avoided the temple grounds.

But then, from the bushes, emerged four ponies. I was stunned in the revelation that I wasn't alone, and then I wondered if they were the original caretakers of the temple, excited, but scared, I stayed hidden, and listened. They communicated amongst each other with varying noises, each one wavering and shifting melodiously.

It was far more eloquent than the gruttal sounds I would make while praying. All I could do was say the names of the gods, so I would chant it five times, hoping they would listen to my devotion and smile. But these ponies spoke their thoughts, and conversed with each other in strange ways. Whatever they were saying, it was disturbing the peaceful sounds of nature.

Besides, they didn't look like the depictions. Those ponies wore adornments, while these ones only had on vests and strange hats. I slowly approached them, remaining hidden, and watched as they observed the temple with wide eyes. I had taken that as a look of wonder, and so I decided they were new to the temple. Besides, it would be rude of me not to welcome them to my home.

So, I stood up, while they were looking confused at some of the carvings, and walked up beside them. I'm amazed they didn't hear me coming, so I decided to try and help them decipher the tablet. Thankfully enough, it was one depicting the worship of Mat, the godess of prayer. It was her job to make sure you prayed correctly, so I cleared my throat to get their attention.

They all jumped, drew shiny rectangles, and took on the appearance of cornered prey, like I was some sort of predator. I laughed, and they sighed. One turned to the others and said something I couldn't understand, and then turned to me. "Hello," she said to me. Of course, I had no idea what she said, and she sighed. She turned to the others, and said something more, before turning back to me. "Explorer," she said, pointing to herself.

I nodded. So she was explorer? what an interesting concept. Who am I? I wondered. I looked around the temple, and thought. She pointed to me and said "Ravnican?" The way the end was raised in pitch, I got the feeling that it wasn't quite a statement, more like she was asking something.

Ravnican sounded nice, but it was too long. I decided to listen to the names of the gods, and I shortened it. I pointed to myself and said "Rav." She nodded, and motioned with her hoof for me to come closer, and said "Come here." I listened, and walked closer. She pointed to the tablet, and said "what?"

It took me a moment to realize what meant she didn't know what it meant. I laughed again and pointed to the being the depicted ponies were worshipping. "Mat." I said, and she nodded. I pointed to the sky, and repeated her name, hoping he would understand that Mat was not here. It took me a while to learn that, but they looked like they were smart.

"Is Mat a god?" she asked. I cocked my head, unsure of what she meant. "Pray to Mat?" she asked, and again I was confused. Then, she kneeled, and began chanting Mat's name. That's when it clicked.

"Pray to Mat." I said, before kneeling myself, and I prayed to Mat as well. Explorer nodded, and took me to another tablet. This one depicted Niv, and I said "Pray to Niv." After, she asked Why, and again I had to figure out what she meant. But when I figured it out, I took her to my water machine. They studied it, and then asked if I made it, although much simpler terms. I was proud of my work, and they were excited.

For the remainder of a few days, I taught them about the ten gods, and in return, they taught me how to speak their language. Soon, I was praying whole thoughts to the gods, so that they could help me better. A few days more, and then the others with Explorer left. Explorer stayed with me, and lived my ways for a few weeks, before offering to have me come with her to civilization.

It took me some time to agree, after all the temple was my home. I told Explorer I would like to return home from time to time, and she agreed. But when we came back, they caged me up like an animal, and put me on display.

So here we are, me telling you fillies about life in the jungle." I finished, and a few of them clapped.

One raised her hoof. "Why can't you go home?" She asked.

"Because I'm not a citizen of this land, so I don't have rights. I can't leave until my captors say so, and they said never." I sighed. "But I pray to all the gods for help. And they tell me that soon, I will go home."

"And I will be primal once more."