“...Now, girls, I am sure that there is an explanation for everything Zecora does,” Twilight said to the other six mares huddled together in the dark room with her. She and her five friends, along with Applebloom and Spike sat in the unlit kitchen of Sugarcube corner, trying to avoid drawing the attention of the strange zebra in the town square, much like everyone else in the area. “And if anypony here was actually brave enough to-”
Suddenly, Applebloom chimed in “Hey! Looks like there’s somepony else out there now!”
“What!?” They all said in unison as they rushed over to the window where Applebloom was peeking out, Applejack piping up “Now who in tarnation would be brave enough to-gasp-”
The girls and spike joined her in her drawn breath as they saw the large, bipedal figure that was approaching Zecora. It appeared to be wearing clothing over most of its body. Its top half was covered by a dark-colored turtleneck, with a loose fit around the wrists and waist and the neck itself. The sleeves going over the ends of its forelimbs and obscuring them. Its bottom half was obscured by a set of equally dark-colored pants made from denim and a set of somewhat clunky-looking black boots. The only hair they would see on it was shoulder-length, and black in coloration, and fairly fluffy with slight curls. It had a flat face with small features and a set of glasses large, round glasses. Over its shoulders, there was some sort of saddlebag of a similar color to the rest of its outfit.
“What in the world is that?” Rainbow Dash said, being the first to resume speaking. “Looks like some kind of monkey.
“I ain’t ever seen a monkey like that before.” Applejack responded as she squinted her eyes trying to get a better look before turning to Fluttershy “What about you, shy, you ever seen anything like it?”
“No...but I think Rainbow Dash might be right, it does look like a primate…” she said softly as she tilted her head slightly in thought.
“Whatever it is, are you seeing its outfit?” Rarity cut in suddenly “I mean, the sweater is nice but the boots are absolutely atrocious!”
“Oh! Oh ohhhh! What if it’s one of Zecora’s eeeeeevil minions” Pinkie said dramatically, waving her hooves over her head as she did so. “I bet it’s telling her that it finished some sort of dastardly scheme!”
“It doesn’t look like It’s telling her anything, Pinkie.” Twilight said softly as she took a notepad from the countertop and took notes of what she was seeing, even including a small rudimentary sketch as a pencil moved across the paper in an arcane blur. “if anything, it looks confused. It might be lost. Let’s see what it does…”
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Ten minutes earlier
Anon, sighed softly as he made his way into the small, rural looking town. He had been walking for some time now, at least a few hours. He had no idea how he had managed to get himself into this predicament, one moment he had been on his way home from college, and the next he had found himself on a dirt road in the country instead of turning down the alleyway he used as a shortcut to get home.
Right now, he was simply operating off of the assumption that he had slipped and hit his head and was experiencing a lucid dream of some sort while either dying of exposure outside or being brought to the hospital, but the longer he kept walking, the less he was able to cope by using that as a flimsy excuse not to panic. A fair bit of time had passed, and he had been getting fairly nervous until he had been distracted by the sight of a town of some sort on the horizon. So naturally, he had taken the opportunity at face value and increased his pace, hoping to get there a bit quicker.
A bit later, he finally found himself walking through the town pepper. But there did not seem to be anyone around, strangely. The doors and windows of just about every building seemed closed and shuttered with the blinds drawn where not shutters were available.
“Hm...real warm welcome around here. I wonder what happened…” He said to himself softly as he looked around and continued to walk, coming to a clearing where there seemed to be a large variety of (still empty of course) shop stalls. It seemed to be a market of some type.
However, the only living thing in the market seemed to be….a horse?. A very small one at that, with stripes. So a very small zebra. That only raised further questions as he slowly approached. It was cloaked in some sort of hooded garment draped over its entire body to boot, only the lower half of its front legs visible as it pawed at the ground.
It seemed to notice his presence, turning around quickly, the hood falling off to reveal its face. It certainly did not look like a normal zebra. The proportions were all off...a bit more humanoid than one might be comfortable with. Personally, he thought it was sort of cute. That is until it started speaking.
“A strange new creature dressed all in black. What are you doing approaching my back?” it said calmly in a feminine voice as he observed it with wide, shocked eyes. It...she, apparently, was intelligent.
“O-oh erm, I am sorry, I was just curious is all, I have not seen something like you before, you look a lot different to the zebras where I am from, a lot er...smaller…” he said, tilting his head slightly as he put a hand to his chin.
She seemed to find this amusing, chuckling softly as she looked up at him and smiled, stepping a bit closer. “Perhaps it is not I that is so small, but rather you, my friend, who is very tall.” she said as she looked him slowly up and down. “But perhaps both perspectives are one and the same, now what exactly are you, and do you have a name?”
He smiled in return and gave a small laugh, he liked her little rhyming scheme. “My name is Anon, and I am a Human. It’s nice meeting you, ma’am,” he says as he gets down on one knee to be eye level with her, extending a hand in greeting.
She seemed to understand what she meant and reached out with her hoof and shook it. She shuddered softly as she withdrew her hoof, giving a slightly unsure look before returning to a more warm general demeanor. “The pleasure I’m sure, is even, I would say. What exactly, may I ask, brings you out this way?” she asked, continuing her line of questioning.
“Well, that’s the thing, really. I’m lost. Lost as a motherfucker, to be honest.” he said with a small shrug and a mildly worried expression “I really have no idea where here is, nor how I got here. One minute I was in my city on my way home then BAM, out in the middle of the sticks talking to a small equine.” he said with a small hum as he considered what he was saying before giving an exasperated chuckle.
She seemed to pick up on his anxiety on the matter and gave a small, warm smile “I am sure there is a good reason that you are where you are. Wherever your home is, I am sure it cannot be far.” she said, trying to make him feel a bit better about his situation.
“I appreciate that. Do nice little zebras such as yourself have names?” he asked her as he stood back up and dusted off his pants with a small hum.
“I would say that they do, lucky for you, and mine is Zecora, so you may know mine, too,” she said as she looked around with a small sigh of her own. “But it seems my name is all you can get in this place. All of the sales ponies seem to have evacuated this space.”
“Hm, yeah, there doesn’t seem to be any other zebras around here to operate these carts…” he said softly, getting a surprised look from her as he walked over “where is everyone, do ya think?”
She blinked slowly and looked downtrodden for a moment “it is ponies, not zebras, who would man these stalls. They fear me as different, and sequestered behind their walls.” she said, pointing to a gaggle of ponies looking through a window of an establishment which resembled a mishmash of baked goods in design.
He looked over at them and waisted an eyebrow, waving and giving them a small, prompting a muffled kerfuffle on the other side of the window as they seemed to all fall over one another as the curtains closed. “Ponies huh…?” he said as he started walking towards the building. “Hold on just a second, please, Zecora.” he said as he approached.
-------------------
“What are they doing out there now? “Rainbow Dash said as she slowly picked herself up off the ground alongside the other girls.
“I don’t know, I can’t see em anymore, but Zecora is looking over at the door now.” Applejack said as she stepped away and closed the curtains again.
Knock knock knock
The girls all jumped slightly and gave a collective gasp as they looked towards the front door in the dining area as they heard the knocking ring out loudly in the darkness.
“Nobodies home!” Pinkie Pie cried out loudly as she started to busily push a rather large rolling trolley towards the door, intending to block it off. She was stopped by a purple aura surrounding the trolley and dragging it back to its previous position, and Pinkie along with it as Twilight trotted towards the door, rolling her eyes with a small sigh.
“Come on girls, I’m sure it’ll be okay, let’s just try to be reasonable about thi…”
As she opened the door, her eyes slowly widened, her face paled as she felt an overwhelming sense of...dread, as if something was fundamentally wrong with what she was seeing in front of her. The human had looked relatively normal from a distance, but up close…
Up close the very sight of them seemed to make her want to scratch at her face with her hooves. She felt...empty, like something vital was being sucked out of her simply by him being so close to her. Even light itself seemed to eschew contact with the creature before her, rendering them a thing-shaped void in the doorway, save for the bright gleam of their glasses, by contrast, round portals of pure white, save for her own reflection staring back at her in wide-eyed horror. Even the air around the thing seemed to darken slightly, it's aura was absolutely...menacing.
And then, it extended its hand towards her, fangs bared.
---------------------------
“Hello the-” he managed to get out about half of the two words he intended to speak before suddenly, the little purple unicorn in front of him screamed and fainted with his hand still extended to offer a shake. “Oh...oh shit…” he said softly as he dropped down slowly to one knee, his hand sliding along her neck to see if he could find a pulse. He hoped he had not given the poor thing a heart attack.
“H-hey! Get your paws off of Twilight!” One of the other ponies in the group, a blue pegasus mare said as they dashed towards him. “Why don’t you pick on somepony with...some...g-guts?” She finished weakly as her running swallowed until she was within a few feet of him. She was not quite outright terrified the way that the purple one had been, but she was certainly not terribly keen to be around him it seemed.
He frowned and backed up gently, raising his hands “Hey now, I’m not trying to cause a problem, aight? I just wanted to know why everything is closed while she’s here.” he said, pointing over at Zecora, who was watching all of this play out with mild concern showing in her eyes.
Rainbow dash started backing up slowly at the slight hint of irritation in his voice “What do you work for her or something? Are you her familiar or something, her evil witch doctor assistant?” she said, trying to continue to put on a touch face as she looked up at him, failing pretty spectacularly.
He sighed and shook his head “No, actually. I just got here, I’m actually lost as hell. I was just asking because this all seems sort of mean to do for no good reason, so I was hoping there was some reason I shouldn’t be upset with you for being on this stupid shit.”
The others are looking at the blue one sort of funny as the two of them speak, seeming confused by her reaction. “Hey, are you alright, Rainbow Dash?” The orange one in the stylish hat asked as she came closer, starting to slow down her own approach and take on a look of horror as well, a bit closer than when the one she called Rainbow Dash had approached, and not quite to the same degree. She seemed more deeply perturbed and distressed than Actually terrified. “Oh dear Celestia that’s not right..” she said, slowly backing away a bit again. “R-Rainbow Dash, get her away from that big fella. I don’t think he’s very good news, somethin about him don’t feel quite right from here...” she said softly.
“You felt it too, huh, Applejack?” Rainbow Dash answered as she dragged the one they called Twilight away from him with some effort, seeming a bit surprised by her own difficulty with moving her. She tried to grasp her with her hooves at first for some reason, but when that failed she simply pushed Twilight with her head away from him, sliding her across the floor.
“You know, I am still here, could you tell me exactly what the problem is?” he asked them with a small scowl, crossing his arms as the trio finally rejoin their friends.
The three of them seem confused when they look back at him again, though still disturbed. “What are you talking about? You mean you aren’t doing that on purpose?” Rainbow Dash asked, seeming to get some of her prior attitude back as the color returned to her face.
“Doing what exactly? Breathing? Existing? Do any of us exist on purpose? He asked before trailing off a bit, looking down at the ground and rubbing his chin “Hmmm...shit…”
“Hey! She was talkin to you!” Applejack said with a small stomp of her hoof. “That thing you did where you made yourself feel wrong! Why did that happen?”
The other three seem just as confused as he does at that question, the white one with the purple mane speaking up. “Applejack, Darling, could you clue us in on what you are talking about?” She chimed in in a soft, refined accent of an English bent as she and the other two who had not approached him went to go check on the unconscious one.
“When we got close to em, somethin happened, the closer we got, the more...wrong he felt…” She said with a small shiver “It was like goin into the Everfree, but way way worse.” she finished as she stopped down to start gently prodding and skating Twilight with her hoof “Twilight here must have felt it too, she took it way worse than we did though from the look of it…”
His face dropped a bit, and he resisted the urge to go and help when he heard it may have been his fault “O-oh shit, I’m sorry. I didn’t know that would happen. It’s never happened to me before. Then again I don’t think I’ve ever met a talking pony before, so maybe it’s just you guys?”
They did not seem to be paying much attention to him at this point though. They were more focused on their friend coming around. A small purple reptile of some sort ran over on two legs to place its claws on her side as it gave her a concerned look. The man wasn’t sure where they came from. He must have missed them in all of the excitement.
“Twilight, a-are you alright?” the little scaly one asked softly as the unicorn got back to her hooves, shaking her head groggily before looking over at them and nodding slowly.
“Y-yeah, Spike, I’m fine…” She said as she looked back over at him, her eyes widening slightly in fear as she took another step back. “What exactly are you?” she asked as her eyes locked on to his softly.
“Well, finally, a question that makes sense!” he says with a small sigh. “I am a human, the name is Anon. I would say it is nice meeting you, but I honestly feel sort of bad about whatever just happened to you, so I’m on the fence about whether I would call this even remotely pleasant,” he said as he took a seat at one of the cramped little Pony-sized tables in the dining area, a distance away from them as a courtesy. “Anyway, Like I was saying, I was just wanting to know why you were all being really racist against Zecora out there for no reason. I just met her and she seems really nice.”
Twilight at least had the good grace to seem embarrassed about this. “I was actually just telling my friends here something very similar actually. And Applebloom was actually on the same pa-...” she paused her response as she looked around, seeming confused “Has anyone seen Applebloom?”
As if following a silent prompt, a child’s laughter can be heard alongside chuckling from Zecora. They all turn and look outside to see Applebloom giving Zecora an apple, the both of them seeming fairly at ease and happy as the transaction occurs with Zecora handing her some currency in exchange. Zecora smiles over at Anon and waves as she walks off “Thank you for speaking with me today, it seems you have shown somepony the way.” She said as she trotted off back towards the path leading out of town and out towards a forested area.
The one they called AppleBloom walked back inside, seeming pleased with herself, giving a shiver as she passed a bit too close to the human before rejoining her sister. “See, Ah told you she was a nice pony!” she said triumphantly as she held out a few small gold coins. “She even bought some apples and said i could go to her house and learn how to brew potions sometime if you said I could, Applejack. What do you think of that, huh?” She asked with the adorable smirk of a child who knows they are right when an adult is wrong.
Applejack snorted and gave a little adamant stomp as she looked down at what appeared to be her...kid? Her sister maybe? Probably sister, Applejack seemed a bit young for kids that age. Unless ponies aged really fast or something. “Ah will most definitely not be giving permission for any such thing to bad little filles who can’t even follow simple directions and stay in the building!” she said as she gave them a small disapproving scowl.
The Human gave a small sigh as he was once again ignored. One moment they were terrified of him, the next they had bigger problems, Fair enough, he supposed as he licked a fingertip and flipped to a new page of the book.
“Now Applebloom, you stay right here with Spike while the rest of us go and have a word with Zecora.” Applejack said with a small huff. “C’mon girls!” she exclaimed as she trotted out the door, the other five older ponies in tow, all making sure to avoid passing too close to the human on their way out.
“Hey! Hyoo-man, don’t try anything funny while I’m gone, Spike over there may not seem like much, but he's still a dragon!” She says as she dashes out, with him simply raising a finger at her at this point, the back of her hand facing her while he did not even take his face out of his book. She took that as a sign of understanding what she had said and the lot of them dashed out, slamming the door behind them.
The three of them sit in silence together like that for some time, the rest of the ponies coming back out of their buildings seeming quite relieved. Applebloom had the good sense to turn the lights back on at least, and Spike was helping himself to some cupcake while glaring over at the human warily.
Applebloom was the first to break the silence, she trotted over, stopping and shuddering when she got to within about fifteen feet of him and sitting on the floor as she asked “H-hey mister, whatcha readin there?”
He peeked over from the top of the book and gave her a small smile. “Oh, just a personal favorite of mine, here, you can look if you want. I have more in my bag, just be careful with it.” he said as he tossed it onto the floor in front of her gingerly.
She manages to catch it in one of her hooves, fumbling for it before managing to secure it between the flat of both of them, squinting as she read the spine. “The Ego and His own… What’s it about?”
“It’s a book about philosophy. It’s a bit of a hobby of mine.” he said as he pulled another book casually out of his bag, opening it and removing the bookmark within.
“Whats a philosophy?” She asked, tilting her head and looking up at him curiously. He smiled a bit wider down at her. She seemed like a fairly tolerable child. Polite, and inquisitive.
“It is just asking questions about life, mostly. Like what is it for, what should you do with it, why you are living it. Stuff like that for the most part.” he said with a little shrug.
“Why would you need to figure out how to live your life when you’ve got a cutie mark!” She said, seeming even further confused, her wide eyes betraying her genuine curiosity.
“A...cutie mark? Anon asked softly as he rubbed at the stubble on his chin “Alright, what is a Cutie mark, and why would it mean I did not need that question answered?”
She smiled wider, happy to be able to explain something to him that he did not know. A cutie mark is what a pony gets when they discover their special talent, they get a mark of it on their flanks and they usually just do that!”
His nose wrinkles slightly at this, seeming to find the concept distasteful. “No, humans do not get those, We just sort of do whatever we end up doing based on a number of factors. And Honestly, that sounds sort of awful no offense.”
She gasped, her adorably wide eyes somehow managing to get an uncomfortable degree wider with shock. “No cutie marks! I’m sorry mister but why wouldn’t you want a cutie mark! Not havin one sounds awful to me!”
“I guess it would for someone who has the idea ingrained into their culture like that. You probably don’t know what you would do without it. But have you ever stopped to ask...why?”
She seemed vexed by his question, cocking her head off to one side slightly “Whaddaya mean why? It’s just how it is!”
He gave a small sigh and put his book down to look at her properly again. “Well, Why is it the way it is? Has it always been that way? Did it happen one day? Is the origin of cutie marks recorded? If you don’t get one do you not have a special talent? What defines a special talent? Are special talents pre-determined by some form of pre-ordained fate or can different life experiences for the same pony in different situations result in different cutie marks? Do you get a cutie mark in something you end up liking doing or if it is pre-determined are you compelled to be inclined towards the thing you will eventually get your mark in?”
He stopped talking for a moment, watching the poor thing try to keep pace with all of his questions, her eyes spinning a bit in opposite directions until she closed them and rubbed her head “O-oww, too much thinkin at once…” She said softly as she re-opened her eyes. “Are ya sure your special talent ain’t for askin questions or uh, philosophy?”
He gave her a warm little smile and shrugged deciding to humor her “You know, maybe it is, little filly.” he said with a small sigh as he stretched out and relaxed a bit in his chair.
She carefully picked up the book he had passed her in her teeth and walked closer, seeming of course, uncomfortable, maybe even scared as she got closer before spitting it out and backing away again. “C-could you maybe read to me?” she asked softly as she sat back down where she was.
Spike decided at this point to come and join the two of them, sitting next to Applebloom “Oh, are we getting a story? That sounds like an okay way to pass the time.” he said as he finished one last cupcake.
He shrugged again and nodded, pushing up his classes as he opened the book front the beginning “I suppose I could do that for you. Sorry, this one is kind of dry, I hope it isn;t to boring, stop me if you have any questions..-ahem-”
All Things are Nothing to Me
What is not supposed to be my concern! First and foremost, the Good Cause, then God’s cause, the cause of mankind, of truth, of freedom, of humanity, of justice; further, the cause of my people, my prince, my fatherland; finally, even the cause of Mind, and a thousand other causes. Only my cause is never to be my concern. “Shame on the egoist who thinks only of himself!”
Let us look and see, then, how they manage their concerns — they for whose cause we are to labor, devote ourselves, and grow enthusiastic...