//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 - Omni-huh? // Story: Sweetie Belle and the Journey to the Kingdom of the Frogs // by Thunderbug80 //------------------------------// "Pardon me, coming through." "Sorry! Let me just move out of the way for you. Oh, um, sir? Could you please not crawl onto my head?" "Oh dear, excuse me. So sorry, my friend." "Oh, it's quite alright. Don't worry about me any." Sweetie Belle stared, unblinking, as the line of ants politely made their way into an anthill. It had been a good half an hour since she'd sat down to observe the colony, and she'd been watching ever since. There was a kind of addictive quality to it, and she couldn't help but wonder if she were becoming like one of those insane ponies she had heard stories about. She should go home. This was not normal. Yet, despite her best efforts, she simply could not help but to sit and watch as the ants went about their business. In the time she had been there she had observed them gathering food, digging sand and dirt out from the anthill, and all the other kinds of things that ants do. They had been talking the entire time. They weren't supposed to be talking. "Oh my goodness, are you okay?" It took Sweetie a moment or two to figure out exactly which ant had said that among the rest of the chatter, but she eventually located him next to a fallen leaf wiggling his antennae towards another ant. "I am, thank you. How about you, are you alright?" The first ant lifted a tiny foreleg and patted the other on what might have been its shoulder. "Yes, thank you. That sure was a close call. That leaf nearly landed right on top of you! You should probably take the rest of the day off to recover." The second ant took a step back and waved its forelegs. "Oh, no. I couldn't possibly do that. Not with the knowledge that you and my fellow ants are still out here giving it your all for the good of the colony." "What a trooper!" the first ant cried. "You are a shining example to all of ant-kind. Shall we work together to remove this leaf from the trail?" "A fantastic idea!" Sweetie watched as several other ants came over to help, each of them proclaiming what an honor it was to work side by side with such upstanding fellows as their colleagues. A part of her wondered if all ants were this polite, or if she just happened to stumble upon the one oddball colony of the bunch. Another part of her realized that the very fact that she was wondering such a thing was an almost surefire sign that she had completely lost touch with reality. A voice much louder than those of the ants broke her away from her thoughts. "Hey there, Sweetie Belle. What ya doin'?" Sweetie looked up to see her friend Apple Bloom smiling at her. She looked back down at the colony below. "Watching the ants," she mumbled. Apple Bloom blinked. "Okaaay," she said slowly. After a long, awkward moment of silence she added, "Do ya want to come down to the pond with me and Scootaloo? We're gonna try and catch us some frogs." "I'm okay," was Sweetie's response. She was busy watching one ant in particular who had lifted its head up and seemed to be looking at her. She watched for a moment longer, then ducked her snout down and whispered, "Are you looking at me?" The ant's antennae shot straight up, and it took a step back. It tilted its head and studied her for a moment, then said, "I... I'm sorry, but are you talking to me?" Apple Bloom stared open-mouthed at Sweetie Belle, who had lowered her snout almost to the ground, a wide grin on her face, and was silently wriggling her ears back and forth as if they were antennae. She took a few steps back and raised her eyebrows. "I, uh... I'm just gonna go now," Apple Bloom sputtered. "You, um. You have fun with that." She left quickly, leaving a small cloud of dust behind as she did. Sweetie Belle wasn't paying attention, however. She had drawn down as close to the ant as she could, her eyes wide at the wonder before her. "You can understand me?" she asked. The ant wriggled its antennae in confirmation, and Sweetie's ears shot up in excitement. "I've got to tell somepony about this!" ..o0o.. "Oh ho ho ho. Now this is delightfully rich!" "Discord! you're not helping!" "Oh I know, dear Fluttershy. But honestly, can you blame me? Just imagine all of the wonderfully amusing possibilities of having an omniglot around!" Sweetie Belle glowered at Discord, but the draconequus simply grinned down at her. She had hoped to get some answers from Fluttershy, seeing as the timid yellow pegasus seemed to have a natural talent for understanding animals. What Sweetie hadn't been counting on was Discord being at Fluttershy's cottage for a visit. She had no idea what that word he just called her meant, but she was certain it wasn't anything good. As if sensing her thoughts, Discord sat down on Fluttershy's sofa, crossed his misshapen legs, and continued. "Oh, come now. You can't tell me you don't know what that word actually means," he said with a wink. "Give it a moment, I'm certain it will come to you." Sweetie looked over at Fluttershy, who had been kind enough to remove all her animal friends, save Angel, from the room. Fluttershy shrugged and said, "If Discord says you'll understand, then I believe him." Then, as if she had known all along, the knowledge came to her. "Omniglot..." Sweetie mumbled, startled at her own sudden understanding. "From the root word omni, meaning to possess all of something, and the word glot, meaning to possess a tongue." She furled her brow in thought. "The combination of these two words alters their meaning slightly to become: one who possesses the ability to read, write, or understand every language." Discord made a show of clapping. "Well done, Sweetie Belle, you've figured it out. And in your case, I believe all three might apply." He grinned. "It's just the kind of distraction we need to keep things interesting around here for a while." Sweetie Belle shook her head. “I don't want to make things interesting. I just want to know what I should do!" Fluttershy grimaced and put a reassuring hoof on Sweetie's shoulder. "Discord," she said, turning to face the draconequus. "Isn't there any way you can help her out?" Discord shrugged. "It would be a simple matter if her malady was one that I had created. A snap, really." He snapped his fingers to demonstrate, then regarded Sweetie thoughtfully. "Alas, this was of her own doing. I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle. I know you’d like to be able to better understand what has happened to you. Unfortunately—” he looked her in the eye “—I'm afraid you're going to have to figure this one out on your own."