My Life In Fimbria

by Chatoyance

Every Possession A Duty

"Do you want me to come there? Do you want to come here? We can be together, Mara!"

Miriam stood at the threshold of the newly created, shimmering gate. I couldn't understand why she hadn't already just dashed through - I felt a little miffed, imagining that she somehow didn't trust my work and was frightened to test the thing. The entire exchange was odd - Mara the 'alpacacorn' just stood on the other side, virtual Peru behind her, also unwilling to just step across the threshold. They were acting like teenagers standing at the door to one of their parent's houses, unwelcome to enter without some specific permission.

"Miriam... oh lord... I'm sorry. I really am. But I can't just... Miri... I have a boyfriend now!"

The griffon's legs, lion and eagle, sagged. Her head dropped a few inches. "Miriam! It's only been two weeks!"

"I know! I know! But Tamañopingo - he's an earthpony - was really nice to me, and I was so scared after the machines got me and he was reaaally nice and..." I couldn't see much of the alpacacorn through the small gate, because of Miriam blocking the view, but, honestly, I had seen enough. I was dealing with adolescents, and I hadn't even known.

Miriam was crying now. "But I waited for you! It's only been TWO WEEKS!"

These accursed animal bodies follow cartoon age rules - on the show, and in the game, they are either toddlers, children, or adults. And the adults only come in two forms - forever young or ancient and withered. Nothing exists in-between these quantized states. Miriam had sounded a lot older than I currently was thinking she was.

I turned my back on the both of them and walked around my cottage to the front garden. I'd done my part, I reasoned - they could work out the rest from here. I wanted no part of that dramatic mess. I realized I was hungry, and decided to check out the Starcolts I had created. The Earthly inspiration had simple food items in addition to drinks, and I was hoping the ponified version would as well. If that failed, I could try the Traditional Inn. I assumed it must serve food - inns definitely did in fantasy stories and role-playing games. Actually, I think I had specified that? Whatever the case, both had the advantage of being nowhere near any adolescent soap operas. At least I hoped to god - and more importantly Celestia - that was true.

I rounded the Assorted Random Housing - the typical Tudor-inspired, pink-windowed multi-stories seen in the show - and headed directly for the Starcolts. The green circle with a Seapony in it might have given me a laugh if I had been in a better mood, which I was not. I approached the building and went inside. The tables were low, rustic - following the generic 'Renaissance era pony' theme of the show and game designs - and built for my new species. Two unicorns cleaned things behind the counter, a guy and a girl - stallion and mare, goddammit - and they gave off that proper mixture of trained cheerfulness that makes 'Starcolts' the special place that it is.

I studied the menu and picked out the All-Organic Watercress and Tomato Panini With Dill Aioli and a Dragon Fruit Refresher. Oh, yeah, this living parody was on the nose. The mare that came to the counter was perky and friendly. "Welcome to Starcolts! I wish I could take your order!"

"I'd like the All-Organic Watercress and Tomato Panini With Dill Aioli, please. Oh - and I'd also like one of those Dragon Fruit Refreshers too. Trenta size, I'm thirsty!"

The mare at the counter looked sad. "I mean, we could do that, we definitely have everything in stock, and, like I said, I'd like to take your order, but... I kind of can't."

"Whut." It came out a little more gutteral than I had intended. "I don't understand."

"Everypony in town's been trying to figure it out! We have stuff to sell, and we know what selling is, and we know how to make stuff - like, I know exactly how to put your order together..."

The stallion came to the counter "And I just know I can make your drink! All of the drinks!"

"Me too!" The mare beamed. "We know how to do it, but we can't do it because nobody has any money!"

"Whut." That was deliberate. That was deliberately low and gutteral.

"Our purpose is to sell food and drinks, see..." I was being 'stallion-splained' while my stomach grumbled "...but because nobody actually has any 'bits' - that's the name for the money we use - it's supposed to look like tiny round coins..."

"Golden coins! Kinda blank, but really shiny!" Counter Mare added, helpfully.

"...yeah! Small, round, kind of golden, and very shiny..."

"I don't think they have any printing on them or anything..."

"Yeah. I'm pretty sure you're right. Not that we've actually seen any. We just have the knowledge of them. Like how I know how to make the drinks here!" Counter Stallion seemed fairly proud of that last bit.

"I know how too!" Counter Mare gave him the side eye, briefly.

"Okay! Enough!" This took the two Counter Ponies quite aback, and I could see offense at my harsh tone rising within them. "Wait, WAIT" I raised both hooves in placation, as I sat on the floor in front of the counter. "I think I can solve everything. Make me my order, okay, and I'll be right back with a bag of bits. Money. You can fill up your registers and then pass it around to everyone else in the village, okay?"

They both stared at me like I was deeply retarded and deserved All The Pity. "But, our register is already full. So is the Day Vault in the manager's office."

With great effort, I actually refrained from a third 'Whut'. Barely. "You said you had never seen bits - money - before!"

Both Counter Ponies nodded. "That's correct."

The stallion turned to his coworker. "I definitely haven't. But I know that it's there."

The mare shook her head in response. "I haven't seen it either. But I know what it should look like! And how much there is, of course."

Counter Stallion snorted. "Of course!"

"NOT 'OF COURSE!' What kind of..." Then it hit me. Yes, of course. They literally were 'born yesterday'. Literally yesterday. These two beings in front of me had a total lifespan of only just about eighteen hours or so. I wasn't sure how long I had slept, or how much time I had spend faffing about in general. But it couldn't be much more than that. A single day at the most. They knew all sorts of things because they had come into existence with a significant store of relevant knowledge already inside them. But they hadn't had time to actually do anything with that innate knowledge. Clearly, they hadn't opened up the cash registers. They had lacked a reason to do so, because nobody who had stopped by had any money on them to take.

It must be that way for the whole village. All the newly minted ponies, the entire village population, must be either standing around waiting for customers who could never come. They all had money - these silly 'bits' - in their own registers or money boxes or whatever they had in their establishments, but since nobody had existed long enough for a payday, nobody had any pocket money. Not that they had pockets, because none of them wore any clothing. I had failed to think of creating a bank, so there were no suddenly created pre-existing accounts they could pull money out of. The economy was frozen in stasis, because all the cash was in the registers and not one citizen could imagine just taking it and using it. That wouldn't fit their stock concept of what they were supposed to do. Also, if any did have any petty cash available for purchases, they undoubtedly feared losing it, since that was all that they had, with no expectation of ever getting it back.

I briefly pondered ducking out and using my 'Create' ability to make a bag of coins to get the ball rolling, but I kind of figured I had done a little too much of that lately. Besides, the whole situation just struck me as so ridiculous that it demanded an equally ridiculous response.

"I want to buy stuff from you, but you can't sell it to me because I don't have any money, right?"

The two Counter Ponies nodded in unison.

"And you can't just give me the stuff for free, because you know that the rule is that you have to be paid, right?"

They nodded again.

"And you can't break that rule because, well..." I needed to be gentle. I was, after all, responsible for their very existence "...it's literally all you know to do, right?"

"Exactly. I'd feel... I'd feel terrible not doing what I was supposed to do!" Counter Mare looked to her coworker.

"Yeah. Me too. I'm... I work at Starcolts. That's my... job."

It was more than a job for these two. They were one day old. It was all the meaning they had in their lives. It was all they could even understand about existence itself. "It's important to follow the rules. I can see that." I felt troubled, as I considered their situation. What had I done? It all seemed so easy when I made the village the day before. "When I created this village..."

"And us!" They almost beamed. They seemed proud of the fact.

"...and you." I felt strangely protective toward the two of them "Uh... you both turned out great, by the way!" The effect was immediate.

If I could ever learn to smile like they did, in that moment, I would know I had found true happiness. "But, silly me, I forgot to make a bank. My fault. So..."

"It's okay! You did really good for a first try!" Damn, they not only came into existence knowing that I was their creator, they also knew that they were my very first creation, too. That felt kind of weird.

"...um... thanks..."

More smiles.

"...so, I'm going to do a little 'creative accounting', alright?"

They nodded, but looked confused.

"See, I also failed to make a sheriff, or a jail. So, in that spirit, would you please open up your register?"

They stared at me blankly. "Why?"

I tried to offer a gentle, friendly sort of smile. "Because this is a robbery. Wait! Wait!"

They had become frightened. Interesting that they even knew what a robbery was at all.

"It's okay! Really!" They began to settle down. "This is a 'friendly robbery'. It's kind of like a regular robbery, only you aren't in any danger, we're all friends here..." They smiled at that. "...but we still have to follow the rules. So, open up your cash register, and give me all the bits inside. Put them in a sack, if you have one behind the counter. Please." I smiled again.

The two Counter Ponies blinked, looked at each other, looked back at me, then blinked some more. Finally the mare levitated a paper to-go sack into my view, while the stallion opened the register with a 'DING' sound. He began floating horngobs of bits out of the drawer and into the bag. Finally, the mare folded the top of the bag closed, neatly, and set it on the counter in front of me. "Will that be all?"

I stifled a giggle. "Yes! You both did a fantastic job!"

Wow, did they glow at that! So happy!

"Best robbery ever!" I had never made any being more happy than this pair of one-day-old electric unicorns. "Now, I have to follow another rule."

"We accept your confession and your surrender!" they both said as one.

"No... no. That doesn't apply to 'friendly robberies' - this is a very different sort of thing." I made them, so I get to make the rules. "The rule I mean is that 'money has to circulate'. That's a general sort of economic rule. I have to actually use these bits now. Spread them around. Otherwise, what's even the point, right?"

"Oh." They thought a moment. "Yeah... hmmm. Okay!"

Time to jumpstart an entire economy - and finally get fed. "I'd like to order the All-Organic Watercress and Tomato Panini With Dill Aioli, and a Dragon Fruit Refresher. Oh - and make that Trenta size."

The two counter ponies gawked at me, their eyes almost wide, their mouths slightly open.

"I have money. I can pay!" It felt like playing with strange, adult-looking children, which, in a very real way, they were.

The two Starcolts ponies got straight to work. The mare fussed with a bin of literally-created-pre-wrapped sandwiches, while the stallion got busy with a very magic/steampunk machine that made whirring and grinding noises. They moved fast, big grins on their muzzles.

Counter Mare and Counter Stallion both shoved a bag at me, along with a remarkably earthlike transparent logo cup filled with a pink, iced fluid. "All-Organic Watercress and Tomato Panini With Dill Aioli, and a Trenta Dragon Fruit Refresher!" They said the words at the same time, in an almost sing-song way. "That will be six bits for the sandwich and four bits for the drink - " Counter Mare pressed brass lever-like buttons on the elaborate register "that comes to a total of ten bits please!" They bounced a little, standing there.

I used my hornfield to open the neatly folded bag of money, carefully counted out ten of the tiny golden coins, then added four more as a tip. At that, the two Counter Ponies seemed to brighten, I decided to go for Absolute Incandescence and added four more coins.

"Thank you VERY much!" They both marveled at what a big tipper I was. "Would you like anything else? Would you like a straw?"

I thought about the logistics of coping with the cup. "Yes, a straw would be nice."

They levitated a straw to me, and I took hold of it with my own hornfield. That was new - the very first time my telekinetic field had overlapped with another unicorn. It felt almost liquid, and slightly electric. It also almost had a smell. No, not a smell, a sort of feeling. It was like I caught a faint whiff of personality in the touch. That... was odd. Not unpleasant, just kind of alien. Sort of like the feeling of sussing a person you had just met, feeling like you kind of understood them. Interesting.

"Please enjoy your meal!" They both worked together to count the coins into the till, and shut it with a satisfied bang. "Wow! Our first sale, ever!"

The sandwich was surprisingly good, in every way. Unlike its real-world equivalent, and in violation of every expectation one might have of a pre-packaged food item, the watercress was fresh and crisp, the tomato likewise, and the bread not the least bit smushed, damp, or soggy from the ingredients. Truly, this was a magical land, even if it wasn't properly 'Equestria'.

I slurped down the last of my lurid pink beverage (also quite nice!) and sat for a moment, just to look at the village and the sky. I had chosen to eat outside of the Starcolts, on one of five benches conveniently placed in a very open circle around the Generic Centralized Well at the center of the nameless place I lived in. The sun was warm, the view was fairly pretty - if a little bit too much like an underpromoted Renaissance Faire - and even though it was only the second day of my Brain Rape Adventure Holiday... I had to admit, things were kind of okay. I felt remarkably well adjusted to my new unicorn body, and did not have even the slightest desire to run around in circles screaming and crying (thank you, artificial calm!). Honestly, this was the best lunch I had experienced in a decade of running away from The Horrible Machines.

I had nearly seen the end of the world itself, and on the whole, it was a lot less 'doomy' than I had been led to believe. I got up, levitated my wrapper and cup-with straw with one hornfield, and my sack of bits with another, and ambled over to the convenient garbage bin in front of the Starcolts. I wondered how refuse was dealt with in the village, until that made me struggle with trying to explain how my cottage had running water and magical steampunk appliances and lights, and then kind of let that train derail. I went to the trot-up order window on the side to thank the Counter Twins once more, only to find they weren't inside any longer. I reckoned they must be on break or something - it wasn't like they had a line demanding Alfalfa And Fescue Double Horserinos or anything.

I decided to head toward the Toy Store With Arcade. Everything really needed some names, I decided. And everyone - I had noticed, but deliberately not mentioned the two Starcolt unicorns' name tags: Barista 001 and Barista 002. I had deliberately ignored their tags at the time for several reasons, not the least of which was the fear that if I called them that, the names would stick.

My economic master plan, basically, was to visit all the stores and spend bits in each one. Since there was no reason I shouldn't enjoy my effort at financial reform, the toy store was an obvious choice for me. While my cottage was chock-a-block with the best science fiction books and records of all sorts, it decidedly lacked any awesome sci-fi, movie, or anime figurines and models on those lovely bookshelves. This was a severe oversight that I planned to address immediately.

That was when I noticed the deer.

It was clear she was a sapient animal, like myself and everyone else here, but she was not a pony, and she was not, well, busy. All the villagers seemed to be in their stores and shops, or out in the fields farming, but the deer was just standing in the bushes behind the Toy Store With Arcade sign. I literally said that - 'Toy Store With Arcade' - which was simultaneously kind of dreadful and also mildly endearing. I walked a little closer to the deer, who, thankfully, didn't bolt, and raised a forehoof in greeting. "Hello!"

The deer looked me straight in the eyes, locking me with the intensity of her gaze. "I need a job."

That caught me in up short. "Uh... hello? You... you need a job?" I definitely wasn't expecting that. "Are you... were you created with the village, or... are you an uploaded human mind - like me maybe?"

The deer studied the market for a bit and then put her gaze back on me. "I came into being yesterday. My name is 'Faela', at least that is what my mind tells me. Everyone else I have talked to so far came into existence with a job or a purpose of some kind already there for them. Being an innkeeper, or a shopkeeper, or a gardener, or whatever. But when I... began... I had no purpose. I just knew - that they all had a clear idea of what they were meant to do the moment they became conscious. But not me. I somehow know that you are the one that created all of this - and all of us too. If you... made... me... then... you must have had a reason, right? I need to know my reason to exist. I need a job."

I had a difficult time looking back into her large, brown eyes, because of the intense desperation in them. Looking away didn't help that much, all around us the villagers seemed to have suddenly gotten very busy. They were trotting about, increasingly engaged in visiting each other's places of business. There was now even a line forming at the Starcolts! I turned back to 'Faela' the deer... person.

"Uh... wow." Clearly I was at the top of my game with that comment. I fought my confusion at her request. How could she even exist? She wasn't an upload, and she wasn't a unicorn, and I had specified unicorns when I created... oh. I had specified unicorns in the original creation manifest, but I had also been very vague about the specific population size... and working to remember my actual wording, I might have been a little confused about how I stated what species they should be. Faela very likely was the result of that vagueness regarding a population of 'Thirty or so unicorns or whatever'... or what the hell it was that I had actually said. She was probably a result of the 'or whatever'.

Creating life seemed to demand surprising precision. It had been so easy for humans that foolish teenagers could do it while performing gymnastics in the back seat of a car. Here, it wasn't so automated.

Dealing with Faela felt quite overwhelming the moment she presented her problem, but it was also kind of familiar. In my human life, not knowing one's 'purpose' was universal and normal. That was kind of what being human was all about. Somehow, when I brought this village and its population into being, at least one citizen had not been assigned a role or place in the scheme of things. In that regard, Faela reminded me of what my own life had been like when I was a human - devoid of purpose in a universe that had brought me into existence for no real reason, at least other than backseat gymnastics, of course.

"You are right. This is my responsibility." I did make the poor creature, after all. "I brought you into existence, but somehow you ended up without a purpose built into your life. I don't know how or why that happened. This is completely new to me, too. But I do take responsibility for it." I thought for a moment. "You should know that how you are right now - existing without a predesignated purpose or job - that is how I have always been too! You are just like me, in that way. It isn't good or bad. It just kind of... is. But it does mean that you can do anything. Anything you want. You may not have a programmed purpose, but that also means that you aren't forced to be something either. Is there anything you might want to do with your life?"

Faela the deer fell silent. She stared at nothing, occasionally shifting her stance, or flicking her tail. Finally she met my eyes again.

"I'd like to be happy." She licked her own nose. I was startled by that, but then remembered that that was a thing real life deer did. Maybe they need to keep their noses wet or something? Deer were even more alien to me than ponies, and I already knew very little about them.

I couldn't help but nod at her statement, though. "Happy is good. I like to be happy too. What makes you feel happy, Faela?"

Faela's ears twitched, then then folded back. "I... don't think I have a basis to even know such a thing. How do I find out?"

Finally an easy question. "You live, Faela. You live and try things, experience things. Talk to people, share moments, read books, watch shows, spend time, play with stuff... try everything, basically. You sample existence until you build up enough memories that you can sort through them and get an idea of which things you got to do were the most fun. Or nice. Or satisfying. It takes time, but... that's how you find out." Human 101, and in this moment, I was the Great Sage, Master Of Wisdom. Of course, there was the issue that none of us was human anymore.

No, that wasn't right at all. Being human wasn't about the shape of your body any more than it was about the color of your skin or where you were born, or what some law said. 'Human' was a state of mind, and in this place, the only 'real' part of any of us was the pattern and state of our minds. There was nothing here but humans. My wisdom remained relevant, I decided.

"Do... do you know a place I could sleep? I spent last night right here, in these bushes. I wasn't given a place to live, either." Faela scraped at the grass with a two-toed hoof.

I felt my eyes roll, then hoped she hadn't noticed. "I have a couple of strange questions. First, what is your favorite color?"

Faela tilted her head, unsure of why I would even ask such a thing. "Um, well..." She motioned with a hoof at a nearby flower. "That. That color. Like that flower."

It was actually my favorite color. "Okay, 'heliotrope'. It's sort of purple, only also sort of pink. Got it. Like any patterns - flowers, stones, trees, stars, clouds..."

Faela smiled slightly, the first smile I had seen on her muzzle. "Clouds! I... I spent a lot of time watching them lately."

Yeah, I guess she would have, spending her first day of life hiding in the bushes. "I can work with that." I stepped a little closer. "I have a cottage - it's really, really nice. Big gardens, nice bathroom, lots of books, fantastic kitchen - " Like she'd actually turn it down "and it even has a soaking tub. I already have one roommate, she's really nice - she's a griffon named Miriam, originally from Jersey. She might or might not have a girlfriend over - anyway, just come live with us. I'll make you a bedroom done up in heliotrope and clouds. You'll love it. And I'm sure, given time, you'll figure out what you really want."

"Really?"

I sighed and nodded at the deer. "Hey, I literally created you, the least I can do is make sure you have a place to live, right?"