//------------------------------// // A Theory // Story: Fuzzies // by Palm Palette //------------------------------// In the morning, Twilight was a ragged, dreary broken shell of her former self. Wrapped with a blanket, she stared at a steaming cup of hot coco. A white marshmallow dissolved into cream foam as it slowly melted in brown, bitter fluid. “Good morning, Twilight!” Spike said as he yawned and stretched. His cup clacked as he stirred his coco with a wooden spoon. She grunted, moaned and tugged her sheets closer. “Did you finish your report last night?” Sighing, she blew on her cup, and steam billowed off the surface. After a sluggish wait, she shrugged off her blanket and stared at the ceiling. “...no, but I did make progress.” The dragon just gulped his coco down, hot steam and all. The searing heat didn't bother him one bit. He wiped his mouth and set the empty cup down on a silver platter. “Spike, I had a revelation last night. What is more important, friendship or following your heart?” “Isn't that the same thing?” “Er, instincts, not heart.” Twilight blew at her mug, causing the foam to swirl around. Why did she say heart? She must still be having trouble coming to grips with this. “Friendship of course,” Spike said. He gave her an odd look, as if wondering why that was even a question. Twilight certainly wondered too. “Yes. Of course it is. I've been looking at this all wrong. I can't let this tear us apart. Our friendship is just too important, and that's really what's at stake. I've got to find some way of fixing the real problem.” She picked up her cup and tested the temperature with the tip of her tongue. When she didn't get burned, she took a dainty sip. “The real problem? You mean losing her as a friend?” he asked. The liquid was still to hot to drink quickly, and she set her cup back down. She nodded. “Yes.” “Do you have any ideas?” “I do. I've been thinking about this a lot, and developed a plan. But first, I'd like to propose a theory. I can't address the situation unless I properly understand it. Spike, are you familiar with the concept of evolution?” “Uh, yeah. The things that are bigger, stronger, faster, and smarter do better and pass on those traits so that species gradually improve over time. So what might start off as a tiny lizard eventually winds up as a fearsome dragon.” “Not exactly. That's a common misconception.” Twilight shook her head. “Evolution actually favors simpler solutions. Complexity only arises when there are enough resources to support it.” “Huh?” “But you do get the general idea, namely that what survives goes on to reproduce.” Twilight stared at her cup, and took a deeper swig. She smacked her lips and licked the foam off her cheeks. “But it isn't all fire-breath and roses. Spike, one of the most defining features of fuzzies is that they can't reproduce. They're always sterile. According to evolution, why do they even exist?” He scratched his head. “They shouldn't.” “They're a mistake of some sort. But the one thing that's truest about evolution is that it's a far cry from intelligent design. Mistakes are a part of life. There must be something about ponies, and animals in general, which allows them to happen. Some way we're built, some way we handle magic, perhaps it's even part of the mechanism which allows for variation in the first place.” “That makes sense, I guess. You can't have things that are better if everything's the same.” Spike sat on the floor and stared at her. She gave him a warm smile. “Yes. That's it exactly. Fuzzies might be an obvious mistake, but we're still better off with them than we would be if we weren't able to grow and adapt as a species, and thus they persist. Still, it does present a rather unfortunate dilemma. What happens to the rejects? Evolution must have something to say about that too, right? Animals might do whatever they want, but ponies form strong bonds and mate for life.” “Um...” “In order to 'protect' us from making a bad choice, evolution has 'gifted' us with a strong gut reaction against fuzzies that's capable of breaking those bonds. In addition, fuzzies are shunned, ostracized, and exiled so as not to waste a tribe's limited resources, well, not so limited after the tribes unified, but it resources were really tight in the old days.” “Ouch.” He winced. “Mind you, this is just my theory, and there are others, and this requires further study, but it all makes sense given what I know. It's easier to sweep a mistake under the rug, so to speak, than it is to fix it in the first place. And, as I've said before, evolution tends to prefer the simpler solution.” “Other theories? What else could explain it?” Twilight rolled her eyes. “Well, fuzzies have been around as long as anypony can remember, so the other ideas tend to be myths and legends. One of the more common ones being an ancient spirit of disharmony cursing pony kind to reshape us in its image, and sow chaos in our ranks.” She shook her head. “Dumb I know. Fuzzies are all kinds of hybrids, so how could that be 'in its image?' I prefer something that can be explained by science.” She finished off the rest of her drink with a big gulp and wiped the foam from her lips. “What are you planning to do?” Spike asked. He got up to pick up the dishes now that Twilight was done. “If I'm right, I may have an opportunity to finally fix this mess.” “Fix it?” he raised an eyebrow. “What do you mean?” “Ponies have reached a point where we can alter the nature of the universe itself. We've claimed dominion over the heavens, the sky and the earth. Evolution might be a force of nature, but we can shape nature to our will. It's time to bring an end to all this hatred for good. Spike, I want you to call for a townhall. Gather everypony you can and tell them to meet up at the town square at noon. The stage from the festival should still be there.” “Um...” He dashed off to the kitchen and chucked the dishes into the sink. When he came back, he pointed at the books lining the walls. “So... will you be wanting Mass Hypnosis: Fun for Everypony or Brainwashing Villages for Dummies, Because Only Dummies Brainwash Villages?” Twilight snorted. She gave him a flat stare. “Not this time, Spike. This is serious. Bring me my stack of notes cards and that old soap box. I'm going to lecture them.”