Harriet snuggled Ozzie closer as she opened her eyes. It was to find that Ozzie was still asleep. With a gentle giggle, she gave them a little nuzzle. They were already perking up, squirming around in her arms. "Awake? Good... um." She frowned with thought. "Are you a boy or a girl, Ozzie?"

Ozzie warbled and chirped, having no real answer to the questions.

"I'll check. Here we go." She used one hand to carefully check Ozzie's back end. The trick was that birds were tricky to inspect like that, and whatever alien creature Ozzie was, they were no easier. She couldn't find any obvious hints. "Sorry, buddy. Maybe later."

Fluttershy knocked before letting herself in. "Oh! You're awake. I'm so sorry, but I have no idea how to tell if a bird is a boy or a girl."

Harriet stood up carefully, leaving Ozzie to explore the floor. "You were watching me."

"I was." She flew in and landed near Harrier and Ozzie. "Nice try, um, but only experts would have a chance with an earth bird, and Ozzie isn't even one of those. But I can make a guess." She watched Ozzie's behavior for a while. "They are adorable, if mysterious." She reached out and Ozzie came in to press their beak against Fluttershy's hoof. "Aw."

Harriet slipped down to her knees. "What's the verdict?"

Fluttershy waggled her hoof side to side. "Either way, this little birdie is someone who likes to touch people. At least us. They are quite the adorable little thing. Now, how about food?" She trotted over to the feed bins and got out some of the pellets she was sure Ozzie would favor.

Ozzie let out a hungry warble at that, teetering over and grabbing at one of the pellets. They started to gobble it up with eagerness, their appetite fierce. Their calls became sharper as they ate, flapping their thick wings excitedly.

Fluttershy shook her head slowly. "We may need to provide water too."

Harriet picked up Ozzie with both hands. "Let's get some water in you." She carried them to a bowl of water and set them down. "There you go."

Ozzie almost leaped at the bowl, dunking their head in. Their feet latched onto the side of the bowl as they drank heavily from it. They made quiet noises of delight as they did so, wiggling their little butt while drinking their fill.

The moment they had their fill, then shook off most of the excess water and began to prowl away from the bowl. They sniffed the air and examined anything they could see, including the other animals in the pens. Their head darted back and forth as they found a lot to look at.

Fluttershy grinned with delight. "They seem curious. Maybe we can do some tests to find out how smart they are?"

Harriet shrugged lightly. "I'm sure Captain Roger would be up for that. Anything to keep them safe." She gasped suddenly. "They're the first, uh, second, of their kind we ever met. Maybe they're really smart. Maybe they're even smart enough to talk?"

Fluttershy wasn't quite as confident. "Maybe. I mean, I think it's a little much to assume they're like us. There are so many different species out there, and few of them seem related. They might have so little in common with us that talking is out of the question."

Harriet gently pet down Ozzie's back. "Maybe they can't talk, but they may understand us, eventually. We just have to keep talking around them and see if they figure it out or not."

Fluttershy dared to open the cage that contained Harriet's new best friend. "Well, we'll need to take them for a walk, as it were. Would you like to lead them?"

Harriet grabbed a harness with a lead and got it over Ozzie with a little work. "There you go." With her new avian on a leash, she struck a confident pose. "Let's explore the ship!"

Ozzie sharply cried. Excited? It was hard to know. But they were sure moving fast for such short legs. They moved towards the door of the animal area. The door slid open with a woosh.

Fluttershy shied back from the door. "Have fun." She vanished without another word.

They rounded a few corners without finding anything much to investigate, just walls and lights and so forth. "There must be something around here that catches your interest."

Ozzie sniffed at the air. Something for their attention and they pulled at the leash while trying to reach it with little warbles. Harriet had to fight them just to get them to slow down. "Whoa, easy. We're not going to run."

They turned a corner to find Susan Tappin and another crewmate adjusting a device against the wall. It wasn't hooked up to anything, just getting fitted in place for later. Ozzie scurried in almost a hopping gait as they hurried as quickly as Harriet allowed it to reach the humans and begin sniffing and pecking at them.

Susan jumped in surprise. She looked down at the source, then followed the lead back to Harriet. "What is that and why are you walking it?"

Harriet drew herself up proudly. "This is Ozzie. We found their egg on the planet and had to kill their mom when she attacked us."

The other crewmate winced at that. "Oof, and now we have their chick?" He crouched down, distracted by Ozzie. "Hello there."

Harriet blushed. "I'm raising them, but we're going to see if they'll get used to everyone. Um, so you won't get eaten."

Susan shrugged her shoulders. "If you think it'll work, I guess." She returned to helping the other crewmate with their job.

Harriet began to lead Ozzie away, the alien giving a few chirps and squawks before being dragged along. Each crewmember they came across, Ozzie hurried up to inspect them. To Harriet's delight, Ozzie wasn't attacking them, just inspecting them, and accepting touches that were attempted. She found she was right, Ozzie did love having his head rubbed, or anywhere touched, really. He cooed at anyone willing to give him a pet, and otherwise settled down for a bit of sitting quietly in the presence of a new person.

Twilight appeared without warning beside Harriet. "Curious." She inclined her head at Ozzie. "They do not conform to evolutionary pressures I'd expect in Earth animals, though that shouldn't be surprising. A wild animal should have more fear reactions, limiting how easily one could approach them. For a wild animal, being approached is a risk they can't tolerate, for good reason."

Harriet gulped softly. "What about a domesticated animal?"

Twilight smiled slyly. "That's exactly what I was thinking. They are behaving in line with a domestic animal." She reached a wing to brush it down Harriet's back. "Ponies and humans are domesticated, did you know that? That's why we're so easy to approach, and even pet, if they like you."

Ozzie trilled happily as he watched Twilight's wings.

Twilight brought one down where Ozzie could reach one. "We both have one of these, don't we?"

Harriet chuckled as she stroked over the wing Ozzie was nosing at. "You can't keep your hands off these." She shivered a little as her own fingers brushed against Twilight's soft feathers. "But, um, what does it mean? What could have domesticated them? They're wild animals."

Twilight inclined her head. "Whatever it was, it probably had to be quite intelligent. You can't simply teach an animal to accept being near and touched by others without first understanding that. Ozzie could have been domesticated once." She held up a hoof. "Not them specifically, but an ancestor. Ozzie may not have been wild to begin. Perhaps their species had simply gone feral, abandoned."

Harriet hugged Ozzie close. "If they were, we'll take good care of them now."

Ozzie continued down the corridor, inspecting anything and everything that came within range of his beak, at least as far as his leash allowed. He teetered and wobbled on his feet, but he could move, and so he did. He tugged against Harriet's hand to explore whatever struck his fancy.

Twilight laughed gently at the young one's antics. "He may make a lovely member of this crew. Still, their existence raises so many questions. What manner of creature shaped them, then abandoned them? Did they make something like us, just as we made things like us? Are they still around, or did they perish before our time? How much do they have in common with us, and will we ever find out?"

Harriet shook her head as she took a step after Ozzie. "I don't know, Miss Sparkle. I should finish Ozzie's walk though."

Twilight released a heavy sigh. "And the adults are all so serious. Even the young ones are largely responsible, the whole crew." She reached a wing over Harriet. "Take care of yourself, okay?" She vanished without another word.

Harriet tapped at buttons on her visor. "Captain, you busy? I'm having a good time with Ozzie, but I thought you'd want to know."

Roger laughed at that sudden report. "Glad to hear it. They aren't making trouble?"

Harriet made a face. "I still have to house-train them. Other than that, no?"

Roger chuckled softly. "Then take care of that before they get too set in their ways. Might make a bit more trouble if we wait."

Harriet found her own laugh came out quickly. "Got it."

The ship sailed on, refueled in supplies as it zoomed towards those that needed their help. It was mostly empty, and so most of the crew just spent time lounging, sleeping, reading, or whatever other leisure activity they wanted to use to pass the time. Ozzie made the rounds of those they knew, which included most of the crew. With time, they grew larger and more evenly shaped.

Like their mother, they had the vague look of a dodo, returned from extinction to stalk around the ship. They were also different, with sharper legs and bigger eyes, but their personality remained. They proved capable of being trained, even seeming to take pride when they got something right and earned the praise and adoration of Harriet.

For her part, Harriet kept up the lessons. They learned to come when called, to sit, stay, roll over, fetch, and various other tricks. They could also follow the orders to a greater degree, recognizing some words in English. They had clearly learned their name. Even when not specifically told to come, speaking their name was a good way to get Ozzie looking over, and likely approaching to see what was going on.

As they grew, Ozzie became more independent, choosing to explore areas by themselves without dragging Harriet around. However, the result of that was often Ozzie flying back to find her and show off something interesting they found. They really seemed to enjoy sharing the moment with Harriet, which she seemed to enjoy, even when the exciting new discovery was something she already knew about.

Ozzie had won freedom from their harness, stalking about the ship on their own, even when Harriet was nowhere to be seen. Like a friendly dog, if bird-shaped, they would find idle crewmembers and make pleased noises at them until they got their petting. Few were those who were upset at Ozzie's presence. Some would tell Ozzie off, but most were accepting, and kind of enjoyed having the new crew member around.

Susan smiled broadly as she petted Ozzie. "That's a good Ozzie. Have you met him?"

Sunset leaned in, looking at Ozzie curiously. "What is that?"

"Their name is Ozzie." Susan tickled under Ozzie's beak. "Harriet found them as an egg and has been raising them. He's really well-behaved."

Sunset perked with a laugh. "Is he? Oh, let me see!" She extended a hand for Ozzie to sniff. "Hello, Ozzie!"

Ozzie cooed at Sunset, wiggling as she pet him. "Aw! What a cute little guy!" She pet over his large wings. "Can he fly?"

Susan shrugged at that. "He has wings, but his mom didn't fly the brief time we knew her, and he hasn't either. Maybe they're like the dodos they look like. They didn't fly either."

Ozzie wandered off in search of more petting, and they found it. Ozzie really was everyone's favorite crew member.

Author's Note

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