The Darkness Within Us All

As Fluttershy excitedly pranced about her cottage looking through books trying to piece together what this new species could be Twilight just sat watching the pegasus reach Rainbow Dash levels of speed.

"You said it seemed hairless?"

"Yeah, except for the top of its head there was only light hair on its forearms, legs, and chest, why?"

"Well according to this book some primates share a similar hair pattern in some species, more or less, and you said it was bipedal?"

"Yes, and it stood as tall as Celest-"

"Right, right, go on..." Fluttershy said absentmindedly as she began to flip through a book so large she didn't need to set it on a table for the pages to be at eye level.

"It also has fingers and toes like a Diamond Dog but more joints."

"So more simian-like in design?"

"If you want to put it like that, I guess?" Twilight was confused where Fluttershy could be going with this, it didn't have a tail, monkies don't eat meat, nor are their bodies in such lengthy proportions.

"and it had canines so you think it could eat meat?"

"That's what nurses and I the thought, plus it has been losing weight since it got here yet it devours everything it deems edible."

"Is it a picky eater?"

"No, well, only if it comes to anything with oats, raw tomatoes, or hay, otherwise the food goes faster than Rainbow Dash to the bookstore for the latest copy of Daring Doo."

"I think you girls are onto something, let's bring it some variety of protein to see what it likes or needs," Fluttershy suggested as she went to the kitchen and open up the freezer.

Twilight really had never seen the contents of her large freezer, she had an idea what was in there but never realized the extent of it, frozen steaks, fish fillets, smaller rodents and even some preserved insects!

"Fluttershy, you really keep all this stuff in your fridge?!"

"Uh huh, otherwise it would go bad too quickly for the poor animals to eat and I can't fly to the market that sells this so cheap every week."

"But I thought you loved the mice that live in the field? Why do you have dead ones?"

"For Mr. Snake, we have a deal, the mice are safe from him so long as he can eat them when they die all on their own, if there aren't any recently dead ones he eats some substitutes I make for him."

"And you're okay with that?" Twilight asked in disbelief.

"Twilight, you realize they are animals? They need to eat to survive and sometimes that involves eating each other, so this way they can but without anyone being a meany-face." Fluttershy said as she dug out a small red steak, a fish fillet, and some seasoned crickets some of the smaller reptiles who occasionally visited enjoyed. At this string of logic Twilight could only come to one conclusion, she didn't give the timid mare enough credit, she really had this down patent, who knew this squeamish mare could tame the circle of life? Twilight thought to herself until she heard the freezer door slam shut and Fluttershy began packing up the goods, apparently, she had some pre-cooked food.

"I thought Berry ate them raw?"

"Yes, but sometimes he likes it warm on cold nights, just as long as it is still red inside he's quite happy with it." She said cheerfully.

"Okay, just bring some utensils for it, we brought in some raw vegetables and he had a lot of trouble chewing through some of them, either he has a weak jaw or he's not used to this sort of diet," Twilight stated.

"Oh, thank you, I would have felt so bad if he couldn't eat the food I bought for him." She thanked as she fluttered over to the drawer near the sink and pulled out a sharp serrated knife and a large fork.

"Why do you have a knife like that?Don't tell me..."

"Berry is a civilized bear Twilight, he just doesn't always have the time to sit down and eat like we do." Fluttershy reminded her.

"Right, sorry," Twilight said sheepishly as her friend lead them out of the house and headed for town.

Fluttershy was giddy with excitement the whole ten minutes there, she had a death grip on the basket of meat for a possible new friend, Twilight was still a bit worried over the upcoming encounter with the patient.

"Fluttershy, you do remember it doesn't speak, or at least hasn't to us, giant, casually broke from adult pony restraints and was unphased by a nurse ready to stop him with sedatives?"

"Yup!"

"So how are you so calm because I am a bit nervous," Twilight said as she remembered him lurching at her, well not at her but in her direction still was a bit scary, it even seemed as if it didn't notice their existence.

"Well, maybe he's just as scared as you are?" It was almost as if Fluttershy also had read her mind.

"But-"

"Just because he doesn't show it doesn't mean he doesn't feel it," She pointed out, Twilight simply nodded in turn as they entered the hospital.

"Ah, welcome back dearies, here to see the unique case again?" The secretary asked as she signed the girls in.

"Yes, in fact, Fluttershy here brought some food to see if something has been missing from his diet."

"Ah, yes, he has been showing signs of muscle loss, although that could be from no exercise, the beginning signs of a minor case of anemia would lead us to the to that conclusion he is lacking protein."

"Anemia?"

"His blood isn't carrying as much oxygen as it could so he's having a bit of trouble catching his breath on occasion as has developed a terrible cough." She mused as she handed the two their visitor's pass.

"Oh my, could it be he is a carnivore?" Fluttershy wondered as she looked at the meager basket of meat and fish.

"I hope not, otherwise we've been feeding him the completely wrong thing, not a good first impression, that and he hasn't spoken or said anything since he's arrived."

"Well, we should get going, thanks, Barbara!" Twilight said as she pushed the frozen Fluttershy down the hall as the timid pegasus wondered if she should have brought more meat or some supplements, tea, snacks, or-

"We're here Shy," Twilight said shaking her out of her trance of worry for the patient.

"Oh, thank you, let's see if we can cheer him up with some home cooked food." Fluttershy hoped as she opened the basket, the smell of lukewarm steak was weak but was strong enough for Twilight to switch to mouth breathing, she never really hated meat but the smell was mildly unpleasant to her, call it unicorn stereotypes being somewhat true.

"Um hello, would you like something to eat?" Fluttershy asked the patient who was sitting straight up in bed staring out the window at seemingly nothing.

"C-Can you hear me?" Fluttershy questioned as she took a step closer, not getting any reaction from him.

Ignore them, they aren't real... They never are

You thought to yourself, this time the hallucinations were very persistent, you could swear you could touch them this time, but as the doctors have said countless times they are all in your head, just pretend they aren't there, pay them no mind and they will go away...

It's been over a week, how long will I have to endure this? Why must I suffer? What did I do wrong to deserve to not be able to tell what is real, what is fake, what is there, what is not, who I am or-

Who we are?

They're not real...None of them are...