//------------------------------// // The Pound // Story: World of Ponies: The Rise of Change. // by ShadowWalking18 //------------------------------// Castus found himself being lifted by that same aura of green after a short ride in the iron cart. If he hadn't been a mute, he felt sure he wouldn't have been able to speak anyway, so shocked and confused by this strange occurrence. 'How is this possible?' He thought, unsure of what to call this ability. ESP? Telekinesis? It didn't seem like it, in fact just being around this aura made his hair stand on end and made him feel a slight tingle on his skin. As he was carried, he spotted a building with the words. PonyVille Pound and Animal Control Center, on it. 'Pound? Do they think I'm an animal?' Castus thought, but after his little ride and how the pony people had acted with him; he felt pretty sure they did. Entering the building the guards brought Castus into a hall with several types of cages within. To the one side were rather large cages, in fact some had a large dog or two in them, and in one an especially big two headed dog thing that slathered and growled about. Then there were others with blanketed covered bodies of something crouching under them. To the other side, there were small cages holding a cat or two, or a small dog. Though most of the cages, if not nearly all, were empty. 'They must not have a lot of strays.' Castus thought as he was placed into one of the larger cages. Thankfully he was alone in it. 'Thank you god.' He thought, glad to know he wasn't sharing his room with the two headed monster dog. It didn't look friendly. "There ya go. Now try not to cause trouble ya hear." The guard said, the aura around Castus vanishing and appearing around the rope which removed itself from Castus. The guard closed the door and left Castus alone. Castus rubbed at his neck and wrists, which had gotten scratched and rubbed by the rope, so now they were a bit itchy. Thankfully his jeans had kept his legs less rubbed, but they were still sore. 'Darn pony girl can sure tie a knot.' He thought as he looked around his surroundings. It looked like any other pound he would have seen on his world, save the strange dog with two heads. 'Looks like a Cerebus reject.' He thought with a silent chuckle before looking at the other cage beside him. 'Hmm...what is that?' Castus wondered as he noticed a slightly huched over creature under the blanket within. Castus crawled over and leaned against the fence of his cage and looked closer. He could make out a hair, and what looked like...feet. Castus tilted his head, and his eyes widened as he saw something shift under the blanket and saw two pairs of dark eyes staring at him, a human head slowly appearing as the blanket slipped. 'A human, I'm not alone then.' Castus thought, but his surprise and relief soon turned to fear as the human before him suddenly growled and charged him with a roar, hitting the fence and causing Castus to leap back. The human shook the fence and made loud guttural growling noises as it looked at him with rage and hate filled eyes. Castus stared at the creature with shock, unsure if he could even call this behavior human. It acted more like a wild animal. The human continued to try and get at him, shaking the fence some before snorting and going back to sitting down, this time ignoring its blanket. Though it at times cast a glance and growled at Castus every so often, but largely ignored him now. 'Is that how humans here act? No wonder they threw me in here.....but now that I get a good look at him.' Castus thought as he got onto his knees and looked closer at the human before him. This human didn't look like him at all. He could tell it was male, and the lack of clothes only made that more apparent. The brow ridge was a bit larger then his, and it's cheeks were a bit more angled. It's body seemed a bit more stockier then his, evidence of a lot of muscle power in the body. 'I don't even think this is a Homo Sapien,' Castus thought, 'It looks more like a Homo Heidelbergensis....or maybe a Homo Neanderthalensis.' Castus had spent a lot of his college time studying the human fossil record, and he had seen enough to know that what he was looking at was not Homo Sapien. Did that mean that this world's human population consisted of the earlier versions? If it was Neaderthalensis, then he was looking at his species closest living relative in the flesh; an amazing experience. 'But why the growling? And this wild behavior?' Castus thought. It didn't make sense. The human, then suddenly leapt at him again, and Castus felt the fence hit him. The human growl at him again before moving away, apparently his staring had gotten annoying. Castus rubbed his face before getting up and giving plenty of space between him and the human before him. While interested, he felt that wondering on the evolutionary path of humanity in this world wouldn't do him any good on getting out of this place. If he even could. 'I guess I just have to prove I'm not like these guys here.' He thought, looking at the wild human one last moment. But was that wise? Castus rubbed his chin as he thought on that. If the humans here did indeed act like this, then showing he was intelligent might have its draw backs. Would he be let free, or would he be taken for study? Castus felt sure that the study part would be the most likely, if they treated an unknown occurrence of an animal the same way humans on his world did. 'Bah, worry on it later. I can't speak anyway, and I doubt these pony folk know sign language so unless I can get my hands on some paper and a pencil I'm relatively left speechless.' Castus thought with a silent sigh. He would just have to wait and see what presented itself. The sound of a door opening caught Castus' attention and he moved toward the gate of the cage and leaned as much as he could to get a good view of the hall. "Here to adopt some more animals Miss Fluttershy?" A voice called, this one different from the guard that had brought him in. "Oh yes. I just can't stand the thought that some of these poor dears don't have a warm and loving home to live in." A soft female voice said. "Well, we only have a few strays in. But you're welcome to see what you want." The other voice said. "Oh thank you. I won't be long." The female voice, Fluttershy, said. Castus watched as another pony person walked out, only this one had a yellow coat with a pink mane that hung over half her face; and wings. Wings. 'Horn....unicorn.....wings....Pegasus. Seriously.' He thought rolling his eyes. What was next? One with both? Castus looked at Fluttershy again. She wore a dark green sweater, her wings folded at her back, and blue jeans. Her eyes were a vibrant cyan blue color. He watched her as she went to each cage, even the one with the two headed dog. When she had slowly stuck her hand into the one with the two headed dog, he expected to see something from when Animals Attack, but all he got was a two headed dog laying on the floor, tail wagging, as it got the belly rub of its life. As Fluttershy went to each cage, a frown always was on her face when she looked at the animals in them, but she always smiled when she pet them and talked to them, as she jotted down something's on a notepad with her. 'Hey! If I could just get my hands on that....' Castus thought. Though he was a bit curious on why she was taking notes. She wasn't going to adopt all these animals? Was she? Then she approached the cage with the wild human in it, who growled low at her. Fluttershy held her notepad close and looked at the human in fear, hiding herself in her mane. Despite all of it, Castus found the effect incredibly cute. "Becareful Miss Fluttershy. That one's dangerous." The other pony person called, stepping into the hall some and allowing Castus to get a better view of him. This one without a horn or wings, and his coat was a basic brown with black mane and he wore a uniform with the same symbol and words as a patch on the shirt. An employee here Castus thought. "Oh, sorry Platinum Bolt, I didn't think he would be so territorial. Umm....what will happen to him?" Fluttershy asked. Platinum frowned, "We will probably have to gas him. We tried everything we could to rehabilitate him, but he just can't get use to anypony coming near him." Fluttershy gasped, and gave the wild human a look of great sadness as he growled and moved away from the fence. Castus could swear he saw tears in her eyes. Then she turned and saw him. Fluttershy looked surprised, and slowly got kneeled down and walked over. "Oh...h-hello there." She said slowly, approaching cautiously. "That's our latest arrival. Found him causing a stir in town, but your friend Applejack managed to subdue him. Not sure who he belongs to, but he was wearing those pants when he found him so we think he escaped from someponys place. We'll be sending out information concerning him before we placed him up for adoption." Platinum said, approaching and looking at him as well. "Oh, the poor dear must be scared. Don't worry, I'm sure your owner is looking frantically for you." Fluttershy said, extending her hoof slowly through the fence. Platinum seemed to be ready to yank Fluttershy back, but was surprised when she gently placed her hoof on Castus' head and pet him. Frankly Castus just stood there, looking at Fluttershy as she pet him. 'I feel like a dog.' He thought, feeling a bit degraded. "He is very well behaved. I don't think I've ever seen a human be so comfortable around new ponies." Fluttershy said, a smile on her face. "Yeah. Odd thing, he certainly don't look like most humans I've seen." Platinum said. Flutttershy giggled and patted Castus' head once more before standing up and going to the other cages, making notes on her notepad. Finally she turned and handed it to Platinum, he rolled his eyes as he looked at it. "I see you will be taking the ones who aren't set for adoption. Again." Platinum said. "Yes. Sorry, I hope it's no trouble." FLuttershy said, hiding in her mane again. Platinum shook his head, "No problem. This is frankly routine by now. I'll get the paper work." With that he left the hall, chuckling to himself. Fluttershy rubbed her arm, blushing a bit and muttered a sorry as she watched Platinum go. Castus just stared at her. 'She is really going to adopt all these guys? Even the two headed dog?' He thought. This girl was one heck of an animal lover. Still, she did have a kind air about her. Fluttershy looked over and spotted him staring at her, "Hello." She said, and moved over to him again. 'Maybe I should let her know I'm not like other humans here. She seems like someone who could help him. He didn't know why, he just had a feeling. Maybe it was her eyes, there was some deep feeling of kindness and caring in those eyes. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen a human like you at all. Your eyes have a brightness to them I've never seen before." She said as she smiled at him. Castus held out his palm and slowly scribbled his index finger across the palm in the sign of writing. Fluttershy gasped, "Oh! Yes, here you go." Castus watched as Fluttershy reached into a pocket and pulled something out before placing it in his hand. Castus looked at it and blinked. It looked like....caramel? A caramel candy? "You must be hungry, I'm sure you'll get some food soon. The ponies here are very nice towards the animals here, but you deserve something after your traumatic arrival. I bet you were so scared, being separated from your owner and lost in town." She said, gently stroking his head again. Castus stared at the candy and sighed. Fluttershy frowned, as if picking up on his disappointment. "Oh...is something wrong? I'm sure your owner is looking everywhere for you and you won't have to be here long. I mean it's not like you were abandoned. Please don't be sad." She said, looking distraught. Castus silently sighed again and flopped onto his back. Unless he could get his hands on some paper and pencil, or maybe some chalk, he was left to be viewed as an animal. Fluttershy frowned as she got up. She looked at the human laying on the ground. He looked so lonely and sad. It pained her to see a human who was so docile to be kept in a cage like this. She hoped that his owner was found soon. "Miss Fluttershy. I got the papers, if you can just come and sign a few things." Platinum called. "Oh. Yes." Futtershy said, giving one last wave to the human before walking off. She wished she could do more for it. Castus watched her go, before looking at the caramel candy in his hand. 'Well....its better then nothing.' he thought and tossed it into his mouth. Fluttershy signed at the papers covering the different animals she was adopting. She smiled as she thought of giving all the poor dears a warm home. But then she thought of the humans she had seen. She felt her heart break at the thought of the one who had to be put down. It was such a terrible thing, but she knew that humans were dangerous, even for a pony good with animals as she was. Still it was always sad to see a living creature being put down, even if there was no choice. But what about the other one? The docile and odd looking one. He didn't seem aggressive at all, he even seemed calm around strange ponies. His owner must have taken good care around him and acclimated him to strange ponies. Surely the owner was out there looking for him...but what if he had been abandoned? Humans were expensive pets, considering most were either too aggressive to be kept as such and were mostly just kept in zoos, so she felt sure that he wasn't. Still, just seeing such a sweet creature sitting in that cage broke her heart, and the thought of leaving him there brought a tear to her eyes. "Say um...Platinum Bolt." She said as she finished signing the papers. "Yes?" Platinum said, taking the papers and looking them over. "That human. The docile one...what will you do if you can't find the owner?" She asked. Platinum frowned, "Well, if we can't find its owner we will probably have to find him a new place, or send him to the zoo in Canterlot. Why, did you want to adopt him if his owner can't be found?" Platinum finished with a knowing smile. Fluttershy hid in her mane and said, "Um...well...maybe. Yes. If that's not a problem." Platinum smiled, "Well we will wait a week, and send out word to other pounds to see if anyone reported in a miss human matching him. If nopony shows up, he is up for adoption." Fluttershy smiled, "Okay. I hope you do find his owner, he was such a sweet one." "I'm sure. Well if that is all, I'll go get your new pets. See you in a week." Platinum said. Fluttershy nodded. She always came by every week to the pound to see if any animals were in need of a home. Mostly none didn't but ever so often she found one or two that nopony else wanted. Naturally she would take them home to take care of them. "Right then. Thank you." Fluttershy said, standing up and following to go greet her new pets and friends. The next few hours were rather crazy for Castus. He had been taken from his cage and stripped of his pants and left with a girl pony person in a similar uniform Platinum had been in and given what he would call the equivalent of a vet check up. Frankly he didn't feel comfortable letting a female so close to his junk. After that he was washed down, which had been embarrassing when he felt the vet pony washing his crotch. She actually giggled when he jumped, and thankfully left that area alone from her scrubbing there after. Then his hair was brushed and his teeth brushed as well, before being placed back into his cage. Sadly his pants were not returned to him, as the employees had taken it, in what Castus assumed was an attempt to find any clue of who his 'owner' had been. So he spent the remainder of the day sitting in a cage with only a blanket to cover him. 'I guess it is the waiting game, until either I can figure a way out of here or till somepony....adopts me.' He thought, rubbing his head. It was going to be a long wait. Platinum sat at his desk at the Pound, tapping a pencil against the surface as he stared at the items before him. 'What is this?' He thought, tapping the strange small black box. No matter what they had done they could not find an opening or figure out what it was. But it had been in the human's possession so perhaps it was something from his owner? And what were the cords attached to it of? As for the other box, Platinum found a series of strange cards with things like Credit Card and one with a picture of the human's face on it. It looked like an identification card, with basic information such as hair and eye color as well as a series of numbers. It was all a bit confusing. "Castus.....you are one strange human." Platinum said as he wrote down a few things in his report. He would send copies of this to other shelters and pounds to see if anypony was reporting a missing human matching his description. 'Must be one of those designer humans. Probably somepony from Canterlot owns him.' He thought. it would explain his strange appearance from other humans. Finishing the report, Platinum took the items and placed them into a box for keeping. The black box with the cords on it was the most mysterious, and if it turned out that Castus had no owner looking for him, he felt it would be the best to contact the Academy in Canterlot to better examine it. Just to make sure, whatever it was, wasn't dangerous. Checking the clock, Platinum decided to wait for tomorrow to send off the reports. It was getting late. Besides, if this was a designer human, it shouldn't be long before they found the owner.