The Anthropologist

by Weavers of Dreams

-55- Diary Highlights #3

Apparently I'm not punished after all. After dinner, she and Noteworthy apologized and presented me with a cake. Which I shared with Twister and Henry. The other two can fend for themselves, their adults. I'm going to be upset for a while. I considered heading up to Canterlot, but I have work tomorrow, and can't afford the lengthy round trip. Which, I suspect, is something Bon Bon wanted. She's up to something. Check that, this whole town's up to something.

Earlier I was so upset that I didn't catch it. The whole town agreeing to something like that? Really? Darn it, if I wasn't so focused on getting some sweets to scarf down in front of that mare I would have noticed. They're all hiding something, and they kept me going around in circles so I wouldn't notice.

I only hope whatever their planning is worth this inhumanity(1).

* * *

I confronted Bon Bon about my suspicions. I was right, something is going on. But, when I pressed further, she informed me had made a Pinkie Promise. Even going so far as the go through the motions in front of me. I'm starting to get the idea of who's organizing this whatever it is. But, it's a little late to go talking to the second most powerful pony in Ponyville right now.

* * *

Bonny's really trying to make up for yesterday. I woke up to find a plate of chocolate chip waffles with whipped cream and maple syrup set out for me, with a small card and everything, as well as some extra goodies in today's lunchbox. I left her a note as well.

It's telling her to keep a close eye on Henry, so that I can actually fill the book with stuff about him. I really got sidetracked yesterday. I am looking forward to her report when I get home. I'll let her off the hook eventually.

* * *

Okay, this is interesting. I went to Suagrcube Corner to speak to Pinkie Pie about what's going on. Turns out she's not behind it. She even Pinkie Promised that she wasn't. I don't know what's going on anymore. Who's orchestrating this charade? I know it's not Ponyville's other great prankster, Rainbow Dash, this is too intelligently laid for her.

When I find out what's going on, someone's getting a black eye. Or two.

* * *

I stopped by Princess Twilight's castle on the way home. Boy is that thing an eye-sore, though you won't hear me say it out loud. The purpose of my visit, to meet with other members of the Anthropological Society to see if any progress has been made on the portal. Sadly, though we discussed it long, and the questions were good and well thought out, we're still stumped.

This is not the kind of news I don't want to bring home. This is the kind of news I shouldn't have to bring home.

There's quite an extensive list of problems Equestria, if not the world, is going to have to face if the portal's aren't up an running soon. Not the least of which will be the major upsets in the areas with higher human concentrations. That's the bad stuff, now then there's the sad stuff. The children, like Henry and Jessica, they're going to need a lot of comfort until this is resolved.

Then there's the other stuff. The Displaced, like Thrandor, can't be cured, by present methods. Sending them home is the only known method of snapping them out of it. Or even the amalgamations, sending them back to earth reverses the effects magic has wrought upon their bodies.

On a side note. Something else very odd is happening. Not only have we been unable to open portals to send humans back home, but nothing come over here either. At least, not since Monday.

* * *

Bon Bon gave me her report almost as soon as I walked through the front door. Give that girl a cookie. Which I would then promptly take away and eat in front of her.

She got him to meet some of the town colts today, in a decent attempt to help him make some friends. That's a good way to put him at ease. The colts around town are mostly good boys. It won't be long before they're dragging him all around town as part of their gang or something. And that's not a gang as they have back in the cities. Too many people get that wrong. They're just a group of tight-knit friends.

Bonny said that they got along fairly well. They mainly played a few games and watched some TV. But, with colts, that seems to be all it takes, usually. Something I don't understand about males that I find fascinating, is that two can sit in the same room, not say a single word to each other, and then leave as the best of friends, knowing almost everything about each other. How does that even work?

Though, it wasn't all perfect. The colts wanted to take him around to another house, and tried to drag him along in a sled. Reportedly, it scared him something fierce. Well, why wouldn't it? He still can't grip onto things, and those colts probably dragged it rather fast. I just hope they don't think he's crybaby. That would be a bad blow to him.

* * *

Bonny also told me he had a nightmare when she stayed up with him last night. I had no idea she was staying up with him. At first I thought it might have been brought about by my illustrated adventure deterrents. But, no, apparently it was about a white blood cell trying to eat him. Bonny couldn't get anymore information out him about it, so I took matters into my own hoofs.

I confronted him about it, to which he tried pass it off as "I don't know", but there is no way anyone, ever, has a nightmare about that without some kind of context. It took a little convincing, but I finally drew it out of him.

It was from a movie called the Fantastic Voyage, about some people who were shrunk down so that they could enter someone's body to heal him or something. Those details weren't important. What was important was the ending, where one of their members was trapped and then eaten alive by the white blood cell. Henry couldn't seem to help but hug my leg as he described the man's vivid screams as he was being devoured alive.

What. The. Hell? Who lets a child watch that kind of movie? Who makes that kind of movie? To make things worse, the reason he was so reluctant to tell me about this? His sibling called him a whiny crybaby and tried to make him watch it again. He's only ten years old. With siblings like that, it's a wonder he's not a nervous wreck. What a bunch of little sadists.

He also mentioned he has that nightmare a lot.

* * *

Despite being upset with Bonny, she doesn't need to stay up every night with the kid. I'm letting her and Noteworthy get back to making that second foal, while I sit up with Henry. He's really quiet, and likes the light coming off my horn as a write. Of course, he closes his eyes whenever I look back at him. Doesn't want to be caught awake. I'm assuming he doesn't mind the extra light. His nightlight's brighter, but my magic moves. I'm hoping it sooths him, like waves on the ocean.

It's taken him a while to fall asleep. I even gave him a glass of warm milk before bed. That usually helps. Or, so I've heard. Mama used to give me a glass before bed every night. Maybe it's just different for other people. But, I at least hope it will help keep him from dreaming about murderous white blood cells.

I'm thinking about having some warm milk myself, for both nostalgia, and to not dream about being eating alive blood either. It's really disturbing me. There are movies full of blood, that parents would never show their small children, ever. But a movie where blood is large enough to eat people is okay? That's a whole new level of crazy.

* * *

(1)That word actually holds a lot of meaning to anthropologists. Their motto is even "While We are Amongst Humans, Let Us be Humane".

Comments

[Si1verHunter]

... WOW

Was not expecting that.

[Son of Sanguinius]

New arrivals have dried up, you say? I'm starting to wonder if humanity pieced together part of the story, assumed they were facing an invasion, and built a defense. Would certainly cause problems, especially if Earth assumes the returned humans have been brainwashed.

[Ledgion]

I'm starting to wonder just how old Henry is. Fantastic Voyage is a very old movie. For a 10 year old kid from our era, he should be shaking his head at the cheesy special effects. But, if Henry is a soul from the past.....

[Macross84]

7638550

I would say if he was an "Older Soul", that he isn't that old as it is written Henry's older brother would make him watch it again. So I would say at least VHS Era.

[Dan]

That movie is awesome, though Isaac Asimov didn't care for some of the less plausible "soft" sci-fi they pulled.
They asked him to write the novelization and he did... then went on and wrote his own version of the story that doesn't handwave the physics problems away nearly so blatantly. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fantastic_Voyage_II:_Destination_Brain

And yeah, Donald Pleasence screaming at the end does stay with you. Though that movie didn't freak me out nearly as much as Logan's Run. Also, the gangsters graphically bumping each other off in Charade left me traumatized for years.