May 12th, 994
Doug smiles to himself as he walks into the town of Ponyville. The sun is shining brightly, sky almost clear of clouds, just what his schedule calls for. The few scattered clouds are all low altitude, likely resting places of the pegasi that prefer cloud napping. If his suspicions are correct, then one of those clouds might even be slowly moving towards him, courtesy of a certain rainbow maned pegasus.
He continues walking along the road, taking in the sights as he walks to his destination. The letter in his hand holds little clue to the purpose of the purported interview. His mares, suspicious as to the intentions of the sender, probably elected Rainbow to tail him and make sure nothing too bad happens.
Doug isn't surprised by the surveillance, given the circumstances. He turns, giving a wave to one of the nearby clouds. He sees a flash of color disappear before a cyan hoof waves out. He chuckles to himself, turning again to the cafe in front of him. The outdoor section is bustling with ponies but he doesn't see any empty seats or ponies waving to him. But, as he can't really make out any individual marks he continues walking to the maitre d'.
The mare looks up to him, narrowing her eyes. "Yes? How can I help you?" she says, her expression remaining neutral. The cafe has gone quiet, many of the ponies watching him closely for any suspicious movement.
Doug hesitantly replies, "Yes, I think I have a reservation here? A mare, an SG, made the reservation?"
Fortunately none of the ponies outside make a scene or leave as the maitre d' checks her book. She frowns, "Let's see. Yes, I have it here. SG, dining for two, inside. I may need to change the table. Wait here. Actually, no. Come inside, follow me." She turns her head away from Doug, not bothering to hold the door open as she walks inside. She makes her way to one of the sections located away from the door, placing a menu at a chair located out of sight of the front entrance. "You will wait here, and when you leave it will be out the back door." The mare leaves, not glancing back.
Doug sighs to himself as he takes his seat; he had hoped the ponies were past these reactions but apparently the news has not traveled completely through town. Spoiled Rich's decision months ago had been very polarizing; it looks like it worsened the opinions of any pony that it hadn't convinced. He glances at the menu; while slightly expensive it isn't terrible, and he spots a few dishes that he might enjoy.
The sound of hoofsteps breaks Doug's idle thoughts as two ponies draw near. One of them, he recognizes the maitre d', stops out of his line of sight, saying in a pleasant voice, "If you need anything, ma'am, be sure to signal one of the waiters. Bon appetit!"
The pink-purple unicorn comes to a complete stop as she rounds the corner, finally seeing Doug. She stares at him for a brief moment before shaking her mane, a purple with aquamarine highlights, out of her face. She gives a nervous chuckle, taking her seat across from him and glancing towards her menu. She gulps, stammering slightly before falling silent again.
Doug chuckles to himself before saying, "You know, when you asked me about this interview I thought you had an idea of what I was."
The unicorn blushes, "Oh, it's just, I mean, I had an idea, but you're much, um, larger than I imagined. I'm sorry, that was just awful, wasn't it? I didn't mean to judge you at all!"
Doug smiles, shrugging his shoulders, "Hey, it's okay, happens all the time."
The unicorn shakes her head, "No, it's not okay. In fact, that's why I wanted to have this interview. You see, I have a grand... I mean, I have a paper that I'm writing about the differences between ponies and how much better things would be if we were all equal. When I heard about your... different origins I wanted to find out what it was like where you came from and what it is like to not have a cutie mark."
Doug smiles, "Well, you'd be one of the few ponies to ask about what life was like back home, miss...?"
"Starlight Glimmer. I'm working on... well, let's just say a project where all ponies would be treated equally. That is how things were like where you came from, right? With no cutie marks-"
Doug bursts out laughing, louder than he intended, as he interrupts Starlight. He immediately quiets down, trying to stifle his reaction, but mostly turning his face red as he holds his breath. Starlight raises an eyebrow as Doug shakes his head, saying, "Well, I did not expect that. I'm sorry, I just... you want to know about humans, huh?"
Starlight pulls out several pieces of paper and a quill with her magic, setting them in front of her. An eager expression flashes across her face as she answers, "Well, yes. Would you like to order before we begin?"
Doug shrugs, "Sure, and thank you for paying. I haven't had the pleasure of dining here before, it certainly seems... like a lovely establishment."
Starlight signals the waiter who slowly makes her way over. "Hello everypony, my name is Tealove and I'll be here to take your order." She smiles at each of them, though Doug seems a little surprised by her lack of reaction.
Starlight says, "Daffodil and daisy salad, garlic bread sticks, and a bowl of carrot soup. Water to drink."
Tealove smiles before looking at Doug. He glances back at his menu before saying, "I'm surprised you didn't react worse when you saw me. Seems like a lot of the other ponies here were quite surprised."
Tealove laughs, "Oh, not me! Why, once I make it to Canterlot I'll have to deal with all sorts: griffons, minotaurs, you name it."
Doug nods, "Makes sense. I'll have the asparagus salad, wheat lasanga, and a glass of pear juice."
A small frown crosses Tealove's face, "The lasanga might take a little time to prepare, is that okay?"
Starlight nods, happily saying, "Oh, that won't be a problem for us. Just bring everything out as it is ready."
Tealove glances to Doug for confirmation and, seeing no reaction, smiles, "Alright, I'll be right back with your drinks."
As Tealove walks away Starlight looks back to Doug, raising her quill. "So, by your reaction I take it there is a lot of conflict in the human world?"
Doug nods, "You don't know the half of it. What kind of conflicts are you looking to talk about? Like, conflicts in a relationship, between groups of people, wars between nations?"
Starlight blanches a little at the last one, "We probably don't need to talk about war. Just, how do humans deal with conflict between each other."
Doug nods, thinking to himself. "Well, I suppose some background information would be a good place to start. Are you looking for information about me specifically or humans in general?"
Starlight considers, "Either would be acceptable, to get that personal touch. But if you want to talk in generalities that will also be helpful for my research."
Doug begins as their drinks arrive, "Well, humans have been in conflict with each other for a long, long time, as long as we have recorded history. We fight over... well, just about everything. Depending on how you want to define it, even normal interactions with each other can be a kind of conflict, as each person tries to improve their standing relative to each other. So you might see conflict just in how two people say hello to each other."
Doug leans back in his chair, enjoying his pear juice. "It all started, I guess, with resources. How well you were able to hunt, gather food, and defend yourself from others trying to take your stuff. The better you were at these things, the more you were able to reproduce and build yourself and your tribe larger and larger. I think pony history parallels this, at least until the unification."
Starlight nods, "Yes, we learn about that time and how much conflict there was during school. So humans also had a point where they learned to set aside their differences and live in harmony with each other?"
Doug's hand strokes his chin, "Well, sort of. It's more like, resources that we competed over became abundant enough and conflict over those resources destructive enough that it wasn't worth fighting over them. Instead, we compete over status, who is better than the rest. We have... probably our entire lives devoted to these competitions."
Starlight continues taking notes, perking up a little at the mention of competitions. "So, you think life would be better without those competitions?"
Doug lifts his glass, "Well, which do you think is better: apple juice or pear juice?"
Starlight considers, "Hmm. Well, I think ponies should be equally happy enjoying either drink."
Doug's eyebrows narrow as he peers into his glass. "Well, while I certainly enjoy both drinks I find the novelty of the pear juice to be refreshing. I drink apple juice almost exclusively at home, and I find variety to be the most important aspect. I mean, we can have our favorites, but eating the same thing or drinking the same thing would get boring very quickly."
Starlight gives him a questioning look, "Well, it's pretty obvious from that statement that you aren't a pony. Not that I'm judging or anything, but if you ask Applejack which her preference is I can guarantee you both that she prefers apple juice and she would be happy drinking apple juice for the rest of her life."
The salad for Starlight and asparagus for Doug arrives. Tealove asks, "The soup will be out when you are ready, but it will still be another thirty minutes for the lasanga. Would you like anything in the meantime?"
Doug considers, "A second order of the garlic bread sounds good. Oh, make sure they are wheat bread, no hay, thank you."
Tealove nods, glancing at Starlight's notes before heading back. Doug thinks back, "So, yes, I can see ponies being happy doing the same or similar thing all their lives. I think the whole cutie mark thing is the leading reason for this. At a very young age you find out what your 'true calling' is, what activity will bring you joy, more than just being happy. In fact, you even get skills and knowledge pertaining to your cutie mark."
Starlight glares, "Yes, I suppose one does. But, don't you think life would be better if nopony had a cutie mark?"
Doug's eyes widen, "Wow, I guess I hit a nerve there. But no, I don't think not having a cutie mark would make life better."
Starlight forces a smile back on her face, "What? But cutie marks just set ponies apart, they define what you can and therefore what you cannot do. They can tear friends and family apart if a pony gets a mark that takes them in a different direction. They can build resentment if a pony cannot figure out what their mark is supposed to mean. There would be less conflict and more harmony if every pony was equal."
Doug shrugs, "Well, maybe. In my experience humans found plenty to fight over. I mean, imagine if ponies were organized based on how close their coat color matched that of, say, Princess Celestia."
Starlight tries and fails to suppress a snort. "What? You think that doesn't happen? Of course, if you have never left Ponyville, you might not have noticed. But in Canterlot? Apparently that is a primary focus of most nobles. If your coat wasn't the purest white? Forget about being lead mare of one of the larger noble houses, and a stallion who had a slight off-white coat might resort to dyes to attempt to hide it. But, everypony knows who dyes their coat and who doesn't."
Doug raises his eyebrows, "Wow, you are right, I had no idea. Well, I suppose I'm not exactly the go-to font of Equestrian culture though."
Starlight chuckles, "Well, I haven't exactly spent a lot of time in Canterlot, so I don't know how exact those rumors are. But even so, I think we're a little closer in that regard than you thought. And wouldn't it be better for a pony not to be judged based on the color of their coat?"
Doug's eyes raise, "And instead on the content of their character? Jeez, how many parallels does this world have?"
Starlight shrugs, "Well, I would have said it would be better to not be judged at all, but I suppose what you said works too."
Doug groans as Tealove comes by, bringing a basket of breadsticks for Doug and carrot soup for Starlight. They thank her and quiet down, quickly devouring their food. Tealove returns with refills for their drinks as Starlight remarks, "So, you agree that it would be better to not be judged?"
Doug shrugs, "Well, I suppose it matters what you mean by judged. There are a lot of qualities about a pony that I might find attractive, and I like having the ability to decide if I would rather be with a pony I find attractive instead of a pony I don't find attractive, everything else being the same."
"Well, that just sounds like another way to drive ponies apart. Who wants to be the pony that isn't attractive?"
"Well, different ponies find different things attractive, so while I might be more attracted to, say, a hard working seamstress pony somepony else might have an attraction to a more flashy weathermare."
Starlight smirks, "But why choose between them when you can have both?"
Doug laughs, "Hah, well, sure. But there has to be a better way than declaring that everypony is equally attractive."
"Why not?"
Doug is momentarily taken aback, "Well, the obvious answer is because beauty is immediately apparent. Calling two things the same when they are not is, well, it's wrong. It denies reality and leads to less optimal results."
Starlight smiles, "But what if you are able to make them as beautiful as each other? After all, if beauty is in the mind of the beholder..."
Doug raises an eyebrow, "Pretty sure it's in the eye of the beholder, but I guess it boils down to the same thing, right?" he pauses, holding his hand to his chin and getting a far off look in his eyes. "If you could change someone's perception, then I suppose you could make two things appear equally as beautiful." He focuses on Starlight again, "But that seems like a lot of effort, especially if you have to do it to every pony you encounter."
Starlight looks thoughtfully at the ceiling, "Yes, I know I would need to start small." Upon seeing Doug's confused expression she quickly backtracks, "Oh, um, I mean, if I was doing any research for my paper, I would need to start small."
Doug nods, "And to keep other influences from messing with your research it should be out of the way, to avoid introducing other variables that might mess with the experiment."
Starlight begins writing furiously, the conversation coming to a pause. Doug watches with interest as she outlines her plan to build a small enclosure that would limit the outside exposure. Their food arrives to little fanfare as Doug begins helping Starlight with her plans, mentioning things like utilities, access (or intentional lack thereof) to roads, and water. He helps sketch the floor plans for a couple of the simpler houses as Starlight outlines her plans for larger meeting areas.
The two finish their meal and Tealove comes by, dropping the bill on their table. Starlight pulls out her bag, removing enough bits for their meal and a somewhat generous tip. She looks over to Doug, asking, "So would you be willing to answer letters if I had more questions? I may not be able to return to Ponyville, especially if my... experiment works."
Doug nods, smiling to Starlight, "I would be willing to do that, yes. Well, it has been wonderful meeting you, and I hope your 'research paper' works out!" He makes air quotes, winking at Starlight as he heads out the back door.
Starlight smiles as she packs up her notes. It looks like their town might not be that far off. She still needs to find a suitable location, but there are many areas that aren't fully explored or had been abandoned when relationships with Equestria's neighbors stabilized. Her magical scans of Doug have given her some insight as to the nature of living without a cutie mark, but she would need to find a suitable vessel if the real things prove difficult to contain.