Chapter 4- Threat Assessment

Isaac watched the ponies before him look about confused. He should have expected as much. To them he was alien and a voice in their head didn’t exactly help. They each were turning in place, glancing at each other and even at the guard before finally settling their gaze back on him. He had to admit it was a touch amusing to watch them.

“W-was that you?” Twilight asked, leaning closer to the bar only to have a hoof come up to her chest and push her back gently. She glanced over at the guard who shook his head slightly and spoke, “I would suggest you do not get so close, Miss Sparkle. Whatever he is, for the moment he is considered a threat as he attempted to assault me.” Twilight looked nervously at him, then back to Isaac before taking an extra step back from the cell. The others followed Law’s advice and stepped back as well. Everyone that is except for Pinkie Pie, who pushed her face right up against the bars of the cell despite the protests that came from the guard.

“Miss Pie, I must insist you refrain from getting so close!” He said, attempting to push her away.

Pinkie looked at him then back to Isaac before speaking. “You don’t look so scary! What happened to you? Why do you have wings? What are you? Wmmphhffthhh” She was cut off from her questions by an aura around her mouth. Rarity let out a breath and tugged Pinkie back by her tail.

“Really Pinkie, must you be so reckless? For all we know that thing could have reached out and grabbed you! And.. and who know’s what it might have done after that!” She visibly shuddered.

“If I had wished to harm any of you, I wouldn’t have the strength to do it at the moment.” Isaac said to them all. All of them put their hooves to their head and let out a soft groan. Each one of them felt as if a pressure was being applied to their skulls. It couldn’t be helped though, if he wanted to communicate with them this was the only way to do it. The pain would subside in a bit once they grew used to it. Twilight was the first to recover as she cleared her throat and looked at him, sitting down on her haunches.

“W-why are you communicating like this, are you incapable of speech?” Twilight asked.

Isaac stared at her for a moment before responding to her question, “I-I don’t know. My voice… my throat it hurts when I try to speak.”

Twilight gave him a quizzical look before nodding to him. Her horn lit up as she focused her energy and summoned a quill and roll of parchment. “If it’s alright with you… Isaac… I would like to ask you a few questions.” She smiled at him. Her scientific curiosity overriding her wariness and fear of the strange creature before him. Isaac appeared to think this over as his gaze moved from her, and to the wall beside him.

His contemplation seemed to drag on as when he finally did speak, Rainbow Dash appeared to be napping, laying near the wall opposite the cell and off to the left, snoring lightly. That was to be expected though, Dash never could keep her attention on situations like this. She deemed them too boring. Fluttershy had taken to sitting near Twilight, her eyes locked on Isaac, scrutinizing him almost. Twilight knew that look. It was a look her friend got whenever she was watching a new animal that came to her for help. The look she gave when she was checking for any obvious injuries or signs of problems to its health. It was also a look of judgement to see how dangerous it was going to be.

Fluttershy was just as her name stated, she was shy. But when it came to a creature or animal who seemed to be hurt or in ill health she went from shy to motherly and concerned. And while the apprehension and fright were still apparent in her eyes. Her need to take care of the sick or injured tended to override this.

Pinkie was snooping through the guard’s desk, occasionally pulling something out and asking what it was. Much to the guards annoyance, this went on for longer than Twilight had cared to notice. Though her attention was caught when Pinkie gasped a bit when she saw a card she had pulled up. “It’s your BIRTHDAY!” She bounced in place and eyed Law, who took a few steps back with a concerned look on his face. “Y-yes… it is, Ma’am.” His eye twitched while he watched Pinkie sit in his desk seat and look thoughtful. Twilight knew what was going to happen.

“Pinkie, maybe we should hold off on that until we’re done here?” Twilight asked with a slightly hopeful smile on her face. If she didn’t head this off now, Pinkie was likely to try and throw a party right here in the jail house. Pinkie looked at her with a pout before crossing her forelegs. “Alright, but you aren’t getting out of this, mister!” She bumped her hoof into Laws chest, causing him to grunt.

“What do you want to ask?” Isaac asked suddenly, causing them all to jump. Twilight turned back to him and cleared her throat once again, nodding her head.

“Alright, so what are you?” She asked first, the quill hovering over the parchment.

“I am-” He went quiet for a moment, a frown coming across his face. “Human... yes human.” He nodded to her as if confirming and solidifying his statement.

“Hyooooomahn…” Twilight said with her tongue sticking out of the corner of her mouth. The quill scratched across the parchment before she looked back at him. “And where did you come from?”

Now this was a problem, Isaac frowned once more and crossed his arms, staring at the ground. His wings twitched on their own accord to mirror his agitation. “I don’t remember.” He said, looking back up to her. “The last thing I remember was walking through… through white powder-."

“Snow?” Twilight offered.

“Yes… snow.” How did he not know something so simple as that? Surely he couldn’t have become so dull, could he? Why had he forgotten so much? He felt as if he was a child learning about life all over again. It was frustrating! “I was walking through the snow, and then I came upon this area, and that dwelling. I felt so cold, I needed to find warmth. So I went in and searched for anything to cover myself in. I did not intend to scare anybody, to harm anybody.”

Twilight was about to correct him on his use of anybody rather than anypony but decided for the moment that she’d leave it be. It was of course possible that wherever he came from used a different term to describe other ponies, or in his case humans. Instead she simply nodded to him and wrote down everything he said. “So you don’t remember where you woke up? Or how you got here?” She asked with her head tilted to the side. By then Pinkie Pie and Rarity had both sat down beside her and Fluttershy. Applejack had gone out to get something to drink for them, a nice hot cocoa is what they had all wanted. Something to warm their body.

“I do not.” Isaac said with a silent sigh that quickly became a ragged and painful sounding cough. Twilight glanced around before looking at Law. “Get him some water please.” She said before turning back to Isaac. A moment later a cup of water floated between the bars and to Isaac, who took it and sipped on the water, coughing a few more times before clearing his throat.

“Are you alright now?” She asked him, gaining a hesitant nod from Isaac.

“I would be better if I wasn’t caged like an animal.” His voice drifted through their heads, making them cringe slightly. It sounded bitter, but not hateful.

“I’m sorry Isaac but until the Princesses declare you safe, we can’t let you out. I hope you understand that we simply just can’t trust you on your word.” Twilight said, albeit sadly. She wanted to trust him, she honestly did. But she couldn’t, and the others couldn’t either. They didn’t know what he would do if he were let out. He could attack, could harm them. It would be up to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to decide what will be done with the human.

Isaac looked at her with a sad smile before nodding to her. “It is understandable. Were I in your position I wouldn’t trust an unfamiliar creature either. I do not hold it against you.”

Twilight let out a soft sigh and closed her eyes. She had written everything down that had been said so far. She took a moment to look it over, her eyes shifting left to right to left again and again. So far it wasn’t much. She was interrupted from her thoughts as a smaller gate within the cell door opened up and some food was passed through it. Typical jail food of some kind of mush and a chunk of bread. The gate closed once more and the food was set before Isaac, who immediately began to eat it. She glanced over to Law, who had brought the food. It seemed such a small amount for a prisoner, and it bugged her a bit.

“Is that all he gets?” She asked Law, who nodded to her in return. That seemed like so little for somepony of his size.

As if reading her mind, Law sighed and looked at her. “I know it seems like so very little, but consider for a moment how he looks, Miss Twilight. While he is considered a criminal we would never outright abuse them by starving them. He appears to not have eaten in quite a while, or at least eaten much. I don’t want to feed him a large portion of food only for him to scarf it down and throw it back up because he over did it. At least this way he will have something in his stomach to help ease it into a regular eating schedule once more.”

That made sense. Isaac did appear as if he had more or less starved himself for one reason or another. She glanced over at Fluttershy for a moment, who appeared to be watching him even closer now. “Fluttershy, are you alright?” She asked in a quiet, soft tone so as not to frighten her.

Fluttershy didn’t move at first, but eventually she did creep closer to the cage. “E-excuse me… Uhm Isaac.. sir? Can you uhm… if you would mind that is, open your mouth for me, please?” She let out a soft squeek as Isaac stared at her before moving close to the bars and doing as she asked. Fluttershy in turn leaned down slightly and began to move left and right, muttering to herself before glancing at Twilight. “Twilight.. can you light up his mouth for me please? I can’t see very well.”

Twilight nodded to her and focused a bit of light towards the human, lighting up his face before it narrowed down to light only his gaping mouth. Fluttershy whispered her thanks before moving closer and looking once more. Her wings quivered slightly while she ducked down a bit to look at the top row of teeth, then lifted herself a bit higher to glance at the lower row. “Twenty Eight teeth total.” She muttered to herself, motioning Isaac forward, who did as he was told. He found this very strange, to be examined by a pony. He looked down as best he could to see what she was doing as she continued, “Regular molars to the rear of his mouth, but near the front he has teeth typical to those of Carnivores.” This caused everyone present, save for Fluttershy to freeze up slightly. While meat eating species were not uncommon, it still was a cause to be wary at times.

Twilight moved a bit closer, “So he eats meat?” She asked curiously, gaining a nod from Fluttershy. “Yes but, he also eats vegetables. He is what is known as an Omnivore. He is capable of maintaining a mixed diet. Most likely he requires protein to sustain the body. Which can be supplemented, but it would be a good idea for him to eat meat’s once in a while to keep himself healthy.” She moved back as Isaac closed his mouth and moved back to his food.

The others had relaxed somewhat, at this news. Omnivores weren’t entirely unheard of in Equestria but they were rare. Twilight had written all of this down on the parchment. Gone was her wariness, replaced by excitement as she clapped her hooves together and began to prance around. This was incredible! This was a discovery of a life time! A strange, never before seen species and SHE was the first to really communicate with it, to learn about it! She paused when she noticed the other’s looking at her. “Hehe… sorry.” She looked down. They knew what was going through her mind.

The door to the jail house opened as Applejack returned, her saddlebags held the much wanted cocoa within them as she trotted over. “Ah’lright everypony!” She turned her head and began to pull out the drinks for them. They had been sealed to prevent spilling as she made her way back, so they all had to remove the seals to get at the drink. Applejack had even gotten one for Law. Though there was an extra one standing off to the side.

“Applejack… did you get that for-” Twilight started before she watched the farm pony balance it on her nose and walk over to the cell. With a nudge of her hip towards Law he opened the gate in it and looked to Isaac. “Ah figured ya wanted sumthin to warm ya up.” She said with a smile. Isaac looked at her before nodding and moving forward. He hesitated though, looking at Law. He watched the guard bring his hoof up to his eyes, then point them to Isaac.

Nodding Isaac reached out through the opening, and carefully took the cup and brought it to himself. Applejack moved away from the cell as she and the girls discussed what they had learned so far about Isaac while said human sipped at the drink. Eventually Twilight turned towards him again and walked back over to the cell.

“I just have a few more questions for you, Mister Isaac.” She said with a smile on her face, sitting down before the cell door as Isaac moved closer with a nod to her. “Do you know how old you are?” She asked, reading her quill once more.

Isaac looked at her for a moment, then down before shaking his head. “I’m sorry I do not remember how old I am. Like I said before I do not remember much of anything, honestly.” A slightly frustrated sigh escaped both Twilight and Isaac at the same time, causing them both to grin ever so slightly. “Alright,” Twilight said with a nod. She tried to think of what more she could ask him. But nothing was coming to mind. “If you happen to remember anything can you please tell me?” She asked.

“I will,” Isaac said with a nod before pausing. “I do think though, that I was part of some kind of research before. But I cannot remember exactly what it was.” He looked thoughtful before sighing and lowering his gaze to the ground once more. Why couldn’t he remember? It was as if it was right there, right at the edge of his thoughts, but every time he tried to reach out and grasp it, it seemed to disappear into a fog. What had happened to him? Why couldn’t he remember!

He blinked rapidly, an image forming in his mind, splotches of shapes. It was too blurry to make out, too difficult to see clearly. A shape, standing above another who looked at it from the ground. They had some kind of color to them. One was black, the one standing above. The one below, on the ground had a muggy white color. They appeared to be arguing about something but he couldn’t make it out. Beside the white one was another that stood slightly taller than it. It too seemed to be trying to make an argument of some sort. He reached out for the images and just like that, they were gone.

Isaac slammed his palm against the thin bed beside him, causing Twilight to jump and look at him nervously. He sighed and shook his head slowly. “I apologize, a memory began to surface, but I could not understand it. It was too blurry to make out.” Twilight nodded to him and smiled. “I could always try a memory spell.” She offered. But Isaac shook his head slowly.

“No… but thank you. I would rather they come back naturally. Who knows what would happen if I were to get them all back at once.” He smiled slightly at her. He appreciated the offer but he really didn’t want to risk something happening because of whatever spell she may cast upon him. Reluctantly Twilight nodded to him and looked towards the others as they talked amongst themselves. So many questions she had for this human, and yet there was so little she could get answers to until he gained his memory back. It was disappointing. But she was patient, and she would wait to get those answer from him.

Her head began to throb slightly, and she brought a hoof up to her temple, rubbing gently. Perhaps it was time they all went and relaxed. She had a letter to write to Celestia about this human anyway. “Well that’s all for now, Mister Isaac.” She said, turning her attention back to the human. “I wish we could just let you out, I honestly do.” She seemed slightly saddened by this, but rules were rules, after all. Isaac seemed to understand as he nodded to her and crawled up into the bed, turning on his side to face away from them all.

One by one they left, save for Law who had to wait for the next shift to come around to relieve him. This had been one hay of a day, he had to admit to that. A new life form had come into his town, and seemed intelligent enough to speak, though it was only through telepathy it would appear. If this didn’t get him a raise and promotion he didn’t know what would!

Twilight and the girls returned to their hotel room. As soon as they had left they all felt a slight relief of pressure from their heads. Twilight wondered if it was from Isaac, but he didn’t seem to be putting out any energy at all. Maybe it was just the weather, they weren’t exactly used to such an extreme cold if truth be told.

“So girls, what do you think?” She asked as they sat around a small table that served as the coffee table. Each one had taken up a cushion and were currently sipping at some tea that they had bought in the lobby of the hotel. Pinkie Pie was the first to speak up.

“He doesn’t seem like a Meanie McMeaniepants to me!” She said with her usual bubbly demeanor. It caused Twilight to smile at her and nod. “I have to agree, he doesn’t seem like he’s all that much of a threat.” She said. Applejack sipped the tea then shook her head. “Now hold on there Twi. We dunno one apple pickin thing ‘bout him. Yeah, he may seem mighty nice ri’te now. But for all we know. He could turn ‘roun’ and zap us all with some freaky alien magic.”

“I agree with Applejack!” Rainbow Dash said, hovering beside the farm pony. “We don’t know what he’s going to do. I mean sure he’s weak and seems nice enough but… but what if Applejack’s right and he starts attacking us?” Dash crossed her forelegs with a slight snort, “Course if he does that I’ll have to put him in his place.” She punched the air with her forehooves and did a spinning kick, nearly catching the side of Rarity’s head.

“Darling, please watch where you are swinging your limbs around!” She cried out, ducking under another wild kick by the equally wild pegasus. Rainbow Dash stopped, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “Oops.. sorry Rarity.” She giggled sheepishly before sitting back down. Fluttershy shook her head before speaking. “I think we should at least give him a chance. We won’t know if he’s bad or not until we find out, will we?” While her voice was soft, it was odd that it sound so full of conviction and certainty. So much so that they all looked at her with a quizzical gaze. “I mean… if that’s alright with all of you.” She squeaked, curling up a bit and moving away a couple of inches.

Twilight smiled and looked back to the others, “I think Fluttershy is right. We need to at least give him a chance. Remember when Zecora came into Ponyville. Everypony thought she was going to be a danger. Many judged her before they even knew her. We all came to find out she’s a very nice mare. So let’s do the same for Isaac. And at least give him a chance to prove he’s not going to harm anypony.” Her tail brushed at the ground nervously while they all stared at her.

One by one they all sighed and nodded their agreement to her. Though, Rainbow Dash held off a bit longer, mostly out of concern about her friends becoming too easily willing to let the human have a chance. But eventually she gave as she realized that it wouldn’t be fair to just assume he was going to harm them. The rest of the night was spent with them discussing what they would do in the foreseeable future involving Isaac. They all settled on one thing at the end. They would allow the human to prove himself to be trustworthy. They owed him that much at least considering they didn’t want to make the same mistake with him that they had done with Zecora.

One thing was for sure though, this was certain to be a very, VERY interesting adventure.

Author's Note

And here's the next chapter in the story! Hope ya'll enjoy it! As always a mighty big thanks to Zephyr for pointing out any mistakes and errors I may have made. And a big thanks to all of you for reading it and enjoying it! Snyperwulff signing off!