The sun bears down its great scorching heat upon you with all the radiance Celestial could muster. It's the kind of heat that seems to bring about a bit of laziness in everyone, or at least tires them out. A few ponies shuffle about, dragging their hooves a little, as they make their way through the day. And you sympathise with them. As you sit beside Pinkie Pie, you think about how doing anything else is the furthest thing in your mind.
"Why is it so hot?" You almost drawl as a side effect of the dehydration you're only now managing to fight off thanks the slush drink Pinkie made.
"I dunno, Cloudsdale said something about too much rain recently," Pinkie replies while somehow managing to drink the entire time, "Aren't you the Mayor? Why didn't you step in?"
"I'm the Mayor of Ponyville, not Cloudsdale."
"So?"
You gesture to the wilder world and are about to get into the dynamic of the relationship between Ponyville and Cloudsdale when it comes to the weather, but give up. The shelter near Sugarcube Corner only does so much. But then, up in the sky nearby, a few pegasi move some clouds around which thankfully provides you two a better shade. There is an immediate sigh of relief as the intensity of the sun is diminished. Now every sip feels invigorating rather than being simple relief.
"Did you do that?" Pinkie gratefully booms.
"What, how?"
"With your... Mayoral powers, duh."
"Pinkie, do you have any idea what a Mayor does?"
"You... Rule things... Like a princess but over a smaller area."
"Not even close," you shrug.
"What about dad powers then?"
"What are you on about?"
"Dad powers."
You pause for a moment to think about what the stone-faced ponk is saying, then shake your head.
"I... I don't get it... Is that a reference or is this really the first time I'm hearing about dads getting superpowers?"
Pinkie rolls her eyes and clicks her tongue in frustration, "parents can do all sorts of amazing things. Even dads."
"Right, well Moonie isn't one of those weather Pegasus so I doubt I could do anything there."
Pinkie pouts after having her hopes dashed with you failing to meet some strange and unknown expectations. She says deeper into her seat, sipping away at her drink for a while. The two of you sit in silence for a time until Pinkie's slurping up the final dregs happens. And it goes on. Slurp. Slurp. Sluuuuuuurrrp. Once you glance sideways at her, she stops and grins at you with feigned innocence.
"I have a question."
"Ask away."
"How different do you think things would be if you never met Moonie?"
"That's an odd question. Where is this coming from?"
Pinkie shrugs, "I just had a thought--"
"We," you hastily interject before Pinkie's mouth works up the speed, "don't have to go into the whole thought process."
"Ok... So?"
"So, what?"
"What do you think your life would be like without Moonie?"
"I dunno, not that different. But, somehow, I bet you have some wild story on the matter."
Her shiny white teeth reveal themselves as she beams wildly. You find yourself getting pulled into the thought, and you do get curious what nonsense Pinkie would have made up. Then in the corner of your eye, you notice the approach of three mares.
"Hey Pink, Anon," calls out Applejack as she, Fluttershy, and Twilight walk over to your shelter, "What are you two talking about?"
"Hypotheticals," you answer flatly.
Twilight brightens up in glee, AJ's face screws up with confusion, and Fluttershy just gives that same old content but nervous smile she seems to never be without.
"Anon thinks everything would be the same if he never met Moonie," Pinkie states, her tone of voice suggesting she is personally offended by your statement.
"I dunno Anon," drawls AJ, "you've changed quite a bit over the years thanks to that little filly."
While you'd like to correct Pinkie, you were a little curious as to what kind of story she would make up and now it seems like you might get three more. So you leave it be, and try to probe each of them on their ideas.
"So, what do you think it'd be like if I never met her?"
Pinkie squeeze as she bounces up and down on her seat as if all the energy within is bubbling, getting ready to burst. But as she goes to open her mouth, Applejack begins her tale.
"You were a little bit of a No-Friend-Ned before.... So I bet you'd get even worse," Applejack states boldly and seemingly oblivious to the fact that some might find that claim offensive.
Everyone else glances your way just to check but you smile as Applejack carries on with her story.
"You'd stay locked deep within your house. We'd only see you a few times a week then in time that would be a few times a month but then you'd get so lonely and depressed that you wouldn't even leave for food. Deciding you'd rather stay inside forever, all alone. Ponies would have to deliver food to you, either some groceries for you or maybe even leave a tray of some home cooked meal for you."
"Do you really think I was that bad?" You chuckle at the idea but then you start to take her seriously when she doesn't join.
"We almost never saw you," she solemnly replies.
"Applejack, I worked at your farm on occasion."
"Exactly! Hardly ever," adds Applejack.
"And at Sugarcube Corner," Pinkie adds.
"You were always borrowing books at the library," says Twilight.
"Oh, um, and..."
Fluttershy was about to add but gets overwhelmed with shyness when everyone suddenly turns to her.
"And," you mention on her behalf, "I'd help Fluttershy with her animals, particularly ones in the Everfree."
Applejack looks around at all her friends before realising she is outnumbered on her opinion. Her body deflates a little, she lets out a sigh, and concedes.
"Well, I guess. But you did work a lot."
"Yeah but I wasn't that bad," you scoff.
In an attempt to quickly move onto the next subject, as if it could somehow stop the mood from getting worse, you turn to Twilight who notices your gaze even if she is miles away.
"Hm?" She sys but it's clear only part of her has returned from wherever she was.
"You look like you were working on a story there. Or were you somewhere else?"
She nods. And then you feel a sense of dread as she straightens up, clears her throat, and takes on that general aura she always has when she is about to go on a long winded talk.
"Most likely," she begins in her lecturing voice.
You spy Pinkie take a deep breath and lay her head on the bench in sorrow as she also tries to find the willpower to wait patiently for her turn. Watching the deflated pink party pony does make you feel a little sympathetic, but at the same time you end up looking forward to her idea more. Especially as even now, Twilight is droning on about the evidence she has to support the story she's about to say.
"Ahem."
"I'm listening, Twi'," as you turn your attention back to her to see her staring with a raised brow.
It's clear she doesn't quite believe you. As she eyes you carefully, you do your best to look innocent.
"Very well. So, the way I see it playing out then, you'd have never become the Mayor. This leaves Minister Mare to remain as Mayor Mare, constantly stressed with her workload and in desperate need of an assistant. In fact, if we go back more, you'd never have gotten that steady job at Sugarcube Corner. Meaning you'd still be doing odd jobs for everypony, living your life without being tied down. But no pony can live like that for long without becoming restless. And so you'd save your bits, before setting out and about to travel the world. Only, you don't know much about our world and would most likely end up lost somewhere or in prison in some other country due to offending them."
Everyone looks on at Twilight as she gets carried away, but then her eyes widen as a new thought occurs to her. The group are all startled when she suddenly gasps loudly from shock.
"Actually, how many out there in the world know about you? Likely you'd be treated like some kind of alien, or animal."
"Well, yes... I am an alien here."
"No, you don't get it. Not everyone out there is as inclusive and accepting as pony society. You could end up in a zoo, on a scientist's slab to be dissected and examined, or worse as food as some bigger creature. What if someone tried poaching you to make a one-of-a-kind leather saddlebag."
Twilight carries on inventing increasingly crazy and horrid things to happen to you in the hypothetical world where you go wandering. As everyone exchanges looks, you wonder if Twilight secretly has a sadistic side as she seems unable to get out of that loop.
With a wiz, Pinkie appears behind everyone to shout. Likely about how it's finally her turn, but once Fluttershy's tiny little voice manages to squeak out, Pinkie shoves a hoof in her mouth before zipping back to her seat to mope.
"I guess it's, um, my turn. Right?"
"Go for it 'Shy," you say with a sideways smile at Pinkie who responds by poking her tongue at you.
"Um, well, it's small really. But without Moonie around, I think Anon would grow more attached to the animals of the Everfree and probably move in there. Becoming a, uh, well, um, a hermit of sorts."
There's a silence before anyone realises that was all she had.
"I don't see Anon being the hermit type," Applejack ponders aloud.
"Oh, but a shut-in to the point of starvation is?" You mock.
AJ's face whips around to scowl at your smirk but neither of you say anything as it's still sort of Fluttershy's turn.
"I think it'd be," Fluttershy stammers, "nice."
"Yeah, that sounds more like something you want to do," you mention as you direct a smile AJ's way who returns it.
"Anon please, she already is as close as it gets to an Everfree hermit without actually being one. Don't give her the final push," scolds AJ in a jovial manner.
"MY TURN," bursts Pinkie Pie, causing everyone to jolt up a bit.
"Without Moonie's mischief and minor evils around to need to be in constant check, Anon himself would forget to keep his own... Urges in check," Pinkie tells everyone in an overly sinister way, "He'd turn into the villainous Anon von Doom. With a hooded cloak and everything."
You laugh aloud but it does nothing to break Pinkie's swing of things.
"He'd go around terrorising little colts, abducting young fillies, and plotting world domination. The constant thorn in our heroes' side, the elements of harmony, Anon would be immune to the magic of friendship as he have abandoned his heart long ago."
"I feel like you've thought this out before today," you remark in surprise.
"Anon, that's awful," AJ murmurs in horror.
"What?"
"You shouldn't... become a villain," squeaks Fluttershy in a quivering ball.
"Yeah Anon," Twilight says, finally out of her trance of you centred misfortune, "What the hell?"
"Oh. Very funny," you finally say as you catch on.
Everyone shares a bit of a chuckle at the idea of you being a villain before they then all look your way. There's a moment before Pinkie gestures to you expectantly.
"Alright, now you."
"Me?"
"Yeah, what do you think would change? Really."
You give it some thought briefly but then shrug. But you don't answer right away. It feels like while everyone was going on with their stories you were thinking about it. Though as like a kind of background thought. Possibilities come to the forefront of your mind. Some are silly and unlikely like everyone else's stories but you find yourself gravitating towards the more serious and likely.
"Again, I don't think much would change at all," you begin meaningfully by sitting up, "I mean... I don't think work-wise it'd be any different. I got that steady job at Sugarcube Corner because the cakes asked me, that had nothing to do with Moonie."
You look towards Pinkie who nods to confirm it.
"And then when I lost that job, though I'll admit I got the job in the Mayor's office thanks to Moonie but she was on the list of places I was going to look for a steady job. So that one could have gone either way I suppose. And Minister Mayor's promotion had nothing to do with Moonie either. So I think I'd still be mayor in the end."
As you return from your world of thinking aloud, you notice a couple unimpressed looks.
"Well, what would change then?" Twilight replies in monotone.
"We already established that I wasn't as bad as AJ thinks, and nobody believed I'd be a forest hermit. So, yeah, more or less the same."
"That's dull," whines Pinkie.
And they all nod in agreement so you concede to say a little more.
"Okay, fine... I can think of something. I'd be pretty lonely and," you pause to give it more thought, " I'd never know this kind of feeling."
"What feeling?" they all ask in unison.
You shrug once more. Unfortunately, you're a little unsure of how to put it into words. Various titles and descriptions flick through your mind but none seem to fit. Not properly. They don't seem to do it justice or paint the idea of what you want to say. And even going into a lengthy discretion doesn't seem like it would work either. But you take a breath to steel yourself to declare what would be the closest to that feeling, and you end up getting a little nervous as you've never admitted this aloud.
"I wouldn't really know... what it feels like to have a family."