//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Talking Ponies? // Story: A Zoologist Dream // by Sonson-Sensei //------------------------------// Chapter 3: Talking Ponies? “Were those things really real?” Chris asked himself for what had to be the tenth time. He wondered if his encounter with the timberwolves was just an illusion, that maybe his mind was playing tricks on him. No matter how he tried to slice it, what he had seen wasn’t possible in the realm of reality. As far as Chris was concerned reality was a boring mundane world. Wasn’t that the reason fiction based books, cartoons and movies were made? So that people could momentarily escape into a world of wonderment that suspended disbelief. Wolves made of timber definitely did not fit into the realm of reality, at least where he came from. Casting those thoughts aside, Chris looked up into the sky. He figured he’d been navigating that forest for a good eight hours, and if that wasn’t enough to confirm it, the burning sensation in his legs did the trick. Sitting down against a tree, Chris pulled off his shoes and rubbed his aching feet. He knew he needed to find shelter soon. If those Timberwolves were any indication of what could be lurking in the forest, he really didn’t want to be exposed over night. Recalling an episode of man vs. wild he chuckled at the thought that he actually found himself needing the knowledge Bear Grylls had provided during the show. Unfortunately, Chris couldn’t actually remember any of the important stuff Bear had said, considering he mostly tuned in to watch Bear eat something disgusting. Sighing to himself, Chris put his shoes back on and stood up. Assuming he had little daylight left building a shelter was already out of the question. His only option was to find shelter, preferably unoccupied by something dangerous. Finding a cave would be ideal, but the odds of it being livable and empty were pretty slim. “Can’t be helped,” Chris reasoned as he began his search. Elsewhere Keon’s eyes suddenly shot open. He had just had the strangest dream of being chased down by armor-clad, talking ponies. Normally he couldn’t even remember his dreams, but this one was vividly clear. It was more like a memory of something that had actually happened, as opposed to a dream. But he could mull over a random dream later, right now he wanted to know why he felt like hammered shit. He had a splitting headache and soar muscles. He wondered if he had gotten shitfaced the previous night and this was just the after effects. Sure, that sounded reasonable, except that theory didn’t quite add up, considering he was on an expedition with his zoology class in the Amazonia forest. Not back at the frat house with his friends. Finally taking notice of the room he was in, he stared around curiously. It was a padded white room with one large mirror and he himself was stationed on a cot, albeit a rather small one. Putting his hand to his head, he realized it was wrapped in gauze tape. “That explains the migraine,” he said, figuring he must have hit his head pretty hard. “But why the hell am I in a psychiatric room? Did I lose my mind?” he wondered, as he pulled the blanket off his body and raked his fingers through his messy dreadlocks. “Damn, bastards stripped me.” Keon groaned at seeing he was dressed in nothing more than a hospital gown. Standing up from the cot, Keon looked down as his foot bumped into a tray at his feet. Observing it carefully he cocked his eyebrow. There was a glass of water, an apple, a small dish of dried oats and what had to be a portion of hay. “What is this, do I look like a farm animal?” Keon muttered, before picking up the glass of water and downing it in one go. Taking the apple he gave it a once-over, it was strangely vibrant for an apple. Shrugging, he bit into it. He had to admit that it was probably the sweetest apple he’d ever tasted. After finishing what was actually editable on the tray, Keon walked a few paces around the room before shouting. “Okay, the joke's over, someone let me the hell out of here!” he ordered while pointing a finger at his own reflection. “I know that’s a two-way mirror, so quit screwing around,” Keon barked out. “That’s amazing,” Luna said from the opposite side of the window, to a guard that was positioned next to her. “How could he have known what this is, and figured it out so quickly?” The guard didn’t show whether he was impressed or not, but opted to speak on another matter. “Shall I retrieve Princess Celestia?” he inquired. “The Princess had requested she be notified immediately upon its awakening.” “But of course,” Luna answered. “I’ll keep an eye on him in the meantime.” The guard simply bowed before going to complete his task. Once the guard had gone, Luna returned her attention back to the occupant on the other side of the glass. Smiling to her self like a mischievous foal, Luna stretched out her hoof to a button to speak over an intercom. “Keon…Keon Demar Ikner. That is your name, is it not?” Luna questioned over the intercom. Keon instantly looked over to the small metal box positioned in the upper corner of the room where he could hear the voice coming from. “If you know that, I’m guessing you confiscated my passport then?” Keon deduced before narrowing his eyes at the intercom. “Listen lady, I don’t know what’s going on or where I am, but let me out,” Keon said in a forceful tone. “So, you do not know where you are then?” Luna said in an attempt to pry information about the subject at hand. “Well, I know I’m in a padded room, but how and why I’m here is the question I’m trying to wrap my mind around,” Keon answered. “If I got hurt or something I’m grateful for you patching me up, but I’m ready to leave now.” “Leave…and where is it you intend to go?” Luna prodded, growing ever more curious with this strange creature. “I don’t know, if I can’t find my class and professor I’ll get on the first plane back to Chicago,” Keon summarized. “But never mind all that, where the hell am I now, and what’s with talking to me over a damn intercom?” “My sincerest apologies for conversing with you in such a manner, but I believe this is the best method for now,” Luna spoke, considering she really didn’t want a similar fiasco like what happened when he first awoke. “But you mentioned you’re from the land of Chicago, what is that, and what’s a plane?” Keon had a look of bewilderment plastered on his face at the question. “Did you just ask me what a plane is?” he repeated, making sure he had heard the question right. “Indeed,” Luna said. “Is it how you arrived here?” “Here…as in Brazil right?” Keon asked, starting to feel strangely uncertain about his situation. “No, I mean Canterlot,” Luna answered. “Canter…what the hell is Canterlot? We’re in Brazil.” Keon shot back, becoming increasingly irritated with the woman. ‘Interesting, he believes himself to be in a place called Brazil, does that mean he came here by mistake then?’ Luna pondered to herself before turning her attention back to Keon. “Canterlot is the royal city and capital of Equestria.” “Er…what?” Keon asked dumbly. “Equestria,” Luna said once more. “Alright lady, are you sure you’re not the one who's supposed to be in this room?” Keon quipped. “You obviously have a screw loose.” “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Luna responded. “There are no screws loose as far as I can tell.” Keon could only slap his hand on his forehead. “Okay, now I’m certain the inmates are running the asylum. Where is the real staff? I’m ready to get the hell out of this nut house!” “I’m sorry, but we can’t at the present allow you to leave here.” Luna reasoned. “What why!?” Keon shouted. “Look I have a passport, I’m not here illegally and I haven’t done anything wrong, so what do you want from me!” “It’s true you haven’t done anything wrong as of yet, but we must be certain you are no threat to our subjects,” Luna explained. “It’s not everyday something as extraordinary as you arrive in our land.” “Extraordinary…?” Keon muttered. “No, I’m sure there’s nothing dangerous or extraordinary about me. I’m just your everyday black guy.” “I must disagree, you’re truly the most fascinating creature I’ve seen in all my time,” Luna said. “A mostly hairless creature that stands on just its hind legs, with remarkable intelligence, even capable of speech!” Luna squealed. Keon was simply silent for a moment as he processed everything the voice had said to him. The woman had sounded as if she’d never seen another person before. Suddenly that dream in the back of his mind about talking ponies was starting to feel like anything but a dream. His eyes suddenly wandered back to the tray of food that was left for him, the hay and oats still sitting there untouched. ‘Hay and oats…Of course, fucking horse food!’ Keon thought as he turned his attention back to the two way mirror with wide eyes. “Oh shit, that wasn’t a dream, you talking ponies were real!?” Keon suddenly shouted causing Luna to quirk her eyebrow. “…Talking?” Luna repeated over the intercom. “You mean to say you have ponies where you come from, but they can not speak?” “Hell no they can’t!” Keon confirmed. “Animals don’t talk.” He added. “Animals…?” Luna said feeling insulted. “We’re not animals, we’re ponies,” Luna began to argue, only to be interrupted as Celestia made her presence known as she entered the room, with three guards trailing behind her. “He’s awake?” Celestia questioned, sounding uncharacteristically excited. “Yes,” Luna said, “and he had the indecency to call us animals.” “He was speaking with you?” Celestia responded, ignoring that bit about being referred to as an animal. Luna nodded her head. “I can only assume he believed that what happened at his first awakening was merely a dream. But just now he was able to piece everything together,” Luna concluded as she pointed her hoof towards the glass. On the opposite side Keon was pulling on the padded walls in a pitiable attempt to find a way out. Turning her attention back away from the room's struggling occupant, Celestia addressed Luna. “Did he say anything else?” “He confirmed that he’s from a land called Chicago, and that he arrived on a plane,” Luna recited thoughtfully, “and apparently ponies can not speak where he is from.” Celestia bobbed her head in understanding. “We’ll need to know a great deal more, the most important being, exactly what is he?” “That may prove somewhat difficult,” Luna said. “He seems to have returned to his state of panic and hysteria.” “It can’t be helped; he must be very frightened by all of this,” Celestia reasoned sympathetically while pressing down the intercom button with her own hoof. “Please try to remain calm, I promise we intend to bring you no harm,” Celestia spoke softly over the intercom attempting to reason with her guest of sorts. Keon stopped his futile pulling on the padding of his chamber and remained still for a moment before finally speaking. “If that’s true, then why am I being held against my will?” “You must understand, we know little to nothing about you,” Celestia explained. “Are you an extraterrestrial; are you from a different dimension, what is your purpose for coming here?” “You think I’m here on purpose?” Keon challenged. “All I know is after some weirdness with some bird I woke up here on a table next to two talking horses.” “Ponies,” Celestia corrected. “Oh sorry, ponies then,” Keon sarcastically apologized. “I thought you arrived here on a plane,” Luna interjected. “No, I arrived in Brazil on a plane,” Keon said. “This place I have no fucking clue, hell I’m still convinced this is a dream or I’m dead.” “I can assure you that you are not dreaming nor are you dead,” Celestia responded. Keon simply dropped his shoulders in defeat as he walked over to the small cot provided for him and took a seat on it. Both parties were silent for a moment, before Keon spoke up. “If this is all real, then what do you want from me?” Keon asked in a somber tone. “Am I just going to be watched from behind that glass for the rest of my life? Or are you going to cut me open?” “Cut you open?” Celestia recited in a shocked tone. “Why in the heavens would we do such a barbaric thing?” Keon could only shrug. “Isn’t that what they do in all the movies? Find something new and you dissect it to learn about it.” “Wouldn’t something alive provide much more information, as opposed to something dead?” Luna questioned. “You’d think that, wouldn’t you?” Keon answered dryly. “But you never answered me, what’s next?” “It’s entirely dependent upon your cooperation,” Celestia said. “There’s so much we need to know, before we can proceed further.” Keon laced his fingers together and rested his chin on top of them in a thinking pose. He figured he didn’t have much of a choice but to abide by whatever they said. “Fine I’m willing to level with you, but at least give me a face to talk to,” he added. “This talking with a intercom is starting to get on my nerves, besides I need proof this isn’t a hoax.” “You wish to see us?” Luna asked. Keon simply nodded his response. “Is that a good idea Princess?” one of the guards spoke up. “What if he tries to escape again?” “I believe his previous reaction to flee was due to his initial shock,” Celestia reasoned. “He’s had time to come to terms with the situation. Besides, he seems like a reasonable being.” “So, we’re going in then, are we?” Luna asked. “Yes, we are,” Celestia said as she made her way towards the door, with Luna and the three guards following behind her. Celestia turned her attention to the guards before speaking. “Please remain outside,” She ordered. “But Princess,” one of the guards tried, but was cut off. “I wish to establish trust with our visitor,” Celestia spoke. “He can’t very well trust us if I can’t even speak to him without an entourage of guards.” Nodding their understanding, the three guards stepped back. Taking a deep breath, Celestia’s horn began to glow. On the opposite side of the wall, Keon’s eyes darted to a section of the padded room that began to glow in the shape of a door. A moment later the padding swung open and the two princesses strutted inside with their heads held high. Keon could only watch the two Alicorns speechlessly. He reasoned that they really were a sight to behold, now that he wasn’t scared shitless of them. They were unlike anything he’d ever seen from the equidae family. He couldn’t deny that they had the overall build of a pony, but subtle details differentiated them from what he was used to. For the most part it was their faces, their snouts didn’t stick out very far and their eyes were almost comically large. The wings and horns only further cemented their strangeness. An awkward silence enveloped the room as Keon scrutinized the two princess and they did the same. After a moment, Keon stood up and walked towards Celestia and Luna causing them to watch him carefully. “Say something,” Keon ordered bluntly. “I beg your pardon,” Celestia returned. “Well, you weren’t speaking,” Keon said as he walked a slow circle around the two princesses, studying them carefully. “I needed to actually see you talking,” he added while slowly reaching out his hand towards Luna. “What is it that you are doing?” Luna inquired just as Keon managed to place his hand on her side. “You’re warm and you have a heart beat,” Keon acknowledged before removing his hand and stepping back. “I guess my theory of you two being animatronic is out the window.” “Animatronic?” Luna questioned. “You know, robotic puppets; they use them for movies and theme parks,” Keon answered. “I had all my money on you two being just that,” he admitted. “Although that wouldn’t explain how your manes are doing that,” he added just as he resumed sitting back on his cot. “By the way, how are they doing that wavy thing?” “It’s merely a spell,” Celestia said matter-of-factly. “Yeah right, a spell, you mean like magic?” Keon asked with a snort of skepticism. “Exactly,” Celestia answered. “There’s no such thing as magic,” Keon rebuked. “But then again, I was sure there was no such thing as talking ponies too.” “Magic may not exist where you come from, but it’s very real here,” Luna interjected as her horn began to glow. “I’ll show you,” She offered while her magic enveloped Keon like a blanket and he was lifted off the cot and brought several feet into the air. Keon’s eyes were wide in shock. “This is impossible!” he said while struggling futilely against Luna’s magic. “Please release him,” Celestia ordered. “This is not the proper way to treat a guest.” “Sorry you’re right,” Luna confessed while lowering Keon back onto the cot. “It’s just he seems to be a species that has to see and feel things for itself to ascertain if they’re real or not.” “I suppose you’re correct, if feeling for your heartbeat was any indication,” Celestia said. Meanwhile Keon could only stare at the two princesses as they conversed about him as though he weren’t in the room with them. Sure, he was something alien to them, and the whole ordeal had to be exciting from their perspective, but couldn’t they at least wait until they were away from him to talk about their findings? After finally realizing that they were in the presence of another intelligent, sentient being Celestia offered an apology. “Forgive us for being so rude, but you have to imagine this is a momentous occasion. Everything we learn about you is so exhilarating.” “I could see that, if you two were in the field of studying strange animals or anomalies but you two don’t look the type,” Keon assessed as his eyes locked on to the crowns stationed atop each princess’s head. “Who exactly are you anyway?” he added. Celestia’s eyes widened as she realized that they never actually introduced themselves. “This is quite embarrassing,” Celestia said with a slight chuckle. “I suppose proper introductions were never given, were they?” “'Fraid not.” Keon answered bluntly. “Technically, they were,” Luna piped in, causing both Celestia and Keon to turn to her. “When you first awoke I introduced both me and my sister.” “Sorry, but I was probably too concerned with how you were talking to pay attention to anything you had actually said,” Keon retorted. “No need to concern ourselves with the past,” Celestia said, trying to brush the first encounter under the rug. “My name is Princess Celestia,” Celestia spoke proudly. “And I am Princess Luna, but you may call me Luna if you wish,” Luna offered. “Name's Keon, but you already knew that,” Keon said while eyeing Celestia and Luna. “So princesses, huh?” Keon muttered. “Well that explains the crowns, but it doesn’t explain why you’re the ones here,” Keon finished, as he folded his arms behind his head and laid down on the cot. “I mean isn’t that kind of reckless?” “How so?” Luna returned. “Well, you two are royalty, right? Why put yourselves in harm's way?” Keon questioned. “For all you knew, I could have been some lunatic ready to kill everyone the moment I woke up.” “When we found you I gave an initial inspection,” Luna argued. “Your teeth are relatively blunt and you have no claws to speak of. You’re not particularly big either. I’d wager you have a body weight of around 135lbs. This simple analysis lead me to believe that physically you’re more or less harmless.” “Touché,” Keon quipped, although he was sure that a couple guard ponies would protest to that. “I suppose when you talk about humans in that manner we do seem pretty weak in comparison to other animals, huh?” “Humans?” Celestia cut in. “Is that what you’re called?” “Yep, kingdom animalia, phylum chordata, class mammalia, order primates, family hominidae, tribe hominini, genus homo, species Homo sapiens aka human,” Keon professionally recited. “Anything else you’d like to know?” he wittily concluded. “Actually, that will be more than enough for now,” Celestia said. “For now?” Keon asked as he pulled himself back to a sitting position on the cot. “I thought you would have way more questions to ask an alien than that.” “All in good time,” Luna assured him. “It’s getting pretty late and we don’t wish to overwhelm you,” she said. “Besides, we must make arrangements to get you better accommodations.” “Accommodations?” Keon asked. “You mean you’re going to spruce up my little cell?” “She means we’ll be moving you out of here soon,” Celestia answered. “We can’t very well have a guest staying in such a place can we?” “Sure you can,” Keon said. “Especially one you don’t know a damn thing about.” “Are you saying we can not trust you then?” Celestia challenged. “No, I’m speaking more in general terms,” Keon said. “No one should be this trusting; I mean what kind of fantasy land is this?” “Is it wrong to have trust in somepony?” Luna piped in. “Or are humans a naturally cautious species?” “We’ll save this discussion for another time,” Celestia cut in. “As for now we’ll let Mr. Keon get some rest. But before we go, is there anything you need?“ Celestia questioned. “I can see you haven’t touched your hay and oats, was it not to your liking?” Keon stared down at the plate of what ponies would consider food. “Sorry, humans aren’t too great at digesting grass, and dry oatmeal is just nasty.” “Really?” Luna said. “We found a small plastic bag of grounded up grass in your bag. We assumed it was apart of your diet.” Keon quirked his eyebrow before he realized what Luna must have been talking about. “That’s a different type of grass and I wouldn’t suggest eating it,” he stated with a light chuckle. “As far as food goes I guess bread and fruits will do for now.” Luna nodded her understanding. “We'll send for some right away.” “Good night to you, Mr. Keon,” Celestia said as she and Luna turned to leave the room. Keon simply watched the two princesses leave before laying back down on the cot. He wondered just what was in store for him. The only thing he was able to discern for sure was that he was in a land overseen by talking ponies, that had obviously not had previous contact with humans. His mind then drifted to Chris. ‘I wonder if you’re here too.’ Was his last thought before shutting his eyes. Elsewhere Chris traversed tiredly along a path of apple trees. It was dark, but the moon provided enough light to distinguish where he was. He was sure he was in an orchard, an apple orchard to be precise. His search for shelter was short lived, for the forest had soon given way to his current surrounding. He was thankful, for if worst came to worst it would be decently safe to simply sleep underneath one of the numerous apple trees. Chris decided to weigh his two options. He was more than certain that someone had to be attending to the apples, considering he had passed several empty baskets that would have been used for carrying said apples. How far could the farm actually be, was the question. The orchard was huge and showed no signs of ending anytime soon. Not long after Chris found his dilemma solved for him when he came across a small tree house. Under the limited amount of light the moon provided the tree house looked well made, although it was terribly small. Even so, it was better looking than any tree house he’d seen in person. Chalking its small size up to simply being that it was made for small children. Chris shrugged his shoulders and walked up the small ramp leading to it. Opening the door he peered inside. He noted it was much too dark to get a proper view, but resting was currently priority number one and he dropped himself on the floor like a ton of bricks. Taking off his bag, Chris laid his head on top of it like a makeshift pillow. “I’ve never been so tired in my life,” Chris spoke to himself in the darkness of the room. “I’ve been clawing my way through that forest for over ten hours without an ounce of water to drink.” Pulling out one of the apples he’d plucked from a tree, he ferociously bit into the fruit. “Damn that’s one good apple,” Chris said as he finished the rest of the juicy morsel like a savage. Chucking the core out the nearby window, Chris shut his eyes and happily embraced the darkness that came with it. And another chapter down, I have to admit writing this is pretty fun. Anyway thank you to all the new people that added my story to their favorites list and thumbed me up. Well see you with the next chapter.