//------------------------------// // III - Boundaries // Story: Lampshade Tales // by Khenlos //------------------------------// The sun was rising gingerly over the land of Equestria, shining over the town of Ponyville. While most of the ponies residing in the small village, some business are already ready for work, and it was inside of these that our protagonist was taking his time to drink his coffee. Stan enjoyed his mornings in peace, quietly enjoying his breakfast inside ‘Cafe Mocha’, one of the newer business in town. It was a small coffee shop with a wide variety of hot and cold beverages and the best one to drink a nice, dark cup of coffee. Not like a Starbucks, far from it. More like those traditional places from way back when. His morning musings were interrupted though, as a couple of ponies sat across the table. “What can I do for you, ladies?” he politely asked. “You know why are we here, Mr. Dart,” replied Rarity, the local fashionista in town, as she looked at him with contempt. “I’m afraid I don’t know what are you talking about, miss.” “Don’t give us that, buster! We know you did something to our friend Pinkie!” almost yelled Rainbow Dash, the weather manager for Ponyville and local heroine alongside Rarity, Pinkie and others. “Do you even know all the facts?” Stan replied, calmly sipping his coffee. “Pinkie is all mopey because of you and that’s all I need to know!” Rainbow stubbornly stated, glaring at him. “Sorry to hear that, but it’s not my fault that she doesn’t know the meaning of ‘no’ and personal boundaries” Stan explained, “I really dislike being touched and parties, both things that Pinkie seem to be very fond of, and when she forced one onto me while invading my house and pulling me inside I explained to her why she shouldn’t do that again. I also told her that next time I was going to call the guard,” he finished, leaving both ponies speechless. “B-but you can’t say that to her!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, “Her special talent is making ponies happy and making them smile and she does that with parties!” “Tell me something you don’t like others doing to you, Rainbow,” asked Stan. “That’s stupid, I-” “She doesn’t like her hooves being touched,” quickly said Rarity, while Rainbow looked at her with a pout. “It’s perfect for what I want to explain. Now imagine that my talent was giving hoof massages, and my way to welcome you to my town was giving you one. You will obviously refuse but I’ll just be persistent and annoying and, when you least expect it, break in your house and give you a hoof massage. What would you do in that situation? Would you feel frustrated, or maybe afraid? Angry?” “I-I… I mean...” stuttered the rainbow pony. “Exactly. I managed to be polite through all of it, and now you come here and try to make me feel as I was the bad guy here. You should try to rein her in more, lest she gets depressed because someone said no to her about something,” Stan coldly stated as he glared at the ponies, making them flinch. “That was harsh and uncalled for, Mr. Dart. I believed our pink friend was being more tactful after the incident with Cranky Doodle, but there is no need to throw veiled insults against her,” Rarity said, defending her friend. “I’m trying to be restrained, Rarity, but when someone comes and sours one of the moments of peace I have it’s pretty hard to do. You should leave and see that your friend it’s fine, and if this affecting her so badly, then I’m sorry she got sad because I don’t like to do something she likes, but I’m not going to change my tastes for her, and I’m not sorry for saying no to her. She needs to learn that different people have different boundaries, and she needs to respect that,” Stan stated while finishing his coffee. “That doesn’t sound like an apology to me” Rainbow Dash grumbled. “That’s because I’m not apologizing for standing up to myself. If you don’t like that then too bad, because that’s how things work. She should just enjoy parties and hugs or whatever with the people who wants and likes that, and leave the rest of us alone. That way we will be just fine and dandy. Now, if you excuse me, I have to go to work. Have a nice day,” Stan said, leaving the money on the table and leaving the mares alone with their thoughts.