Trials and Tribulations
Chapter Four: My train of thought just crashed
Seth woke up in an infirmary, which didn't surprise him as much as it should have. He'd woken up in much stranger places recently. He took a second to get his bearings and collect his thoughts. He'd been trampled, kicked, bruised, beaten, and crushed within the span of half a day. He grimaced. With a track record like that, he should be dead within a week.
The nurse nearby took notice of his awakening and left him a tray of food. The nurse then left, presumably, according to Seth, to bring someone to interrogate him. He looked down at the food in disgust. Apples, flowers, and hay along with a small glass of water. What the fuck am I, Seth thought angrily. A horse? He immediately realized what he just said. Of course. Of course it's for a fucking horse, that's what horses eat. The reality of the situation finally hit him. I am in a children's cartoon, about magical ponies no less, while in the hospital after being nearly crushed to death. He shook his head. I do not belong here. Of all the places, why'd I have to be sent to the most juxtaposition-heavy one?
Seth looked down at his food again. He was hungry, albeit not for hay or flowers. He gingerly took a bite out of the apple and was relieved to find it tasted just as good, if not better, than the ones from Earth. He finished the apple quickly and downed the water. He was still hungry, but not for plants and grains. He needed meat. Steak to be exact. Seth never felt more alive after eating something that once had been. He thought about his predicament some more, specifically the small details. Every sentient creature here is a pony, therefore carnivores just do not exist in pony society. I'm sure the cartoon board would have wanted child-friendly foods as well. Also the fact that there's no electricity, that's a fairly big problem. Fuck, there's no meat, no power, no industry.
Seth thought about all the good things that came with the pony package. No murder, no slavery, no theft, no crime. Hell, the more he thought about it, the more hopeful he became. Nobody here resorts to crime or violence because everyone is treated equally. Well, almost no violence. Seth thought some more. But I was a specific case, wasn't I? I didn't listen to their request, nor even acknowledge that I heard them. Fuck me, but I thought they were hallucinations.
Seth was about to hop out of his too-small bed when the purple pony, the leader of the flying ponies that beat the shit out of him earlier, trotted in. Seth's attention immediately shifted to the pony's horn. The unicorn's horn. Seth started thinking furiously. If the events of yesterday were anything to go by, these ponies found another way of travel. For fuck sake, they flew in front of me. And if they can fly, then they must have magic. And if they have magic, they can get me the fuck outta here!
Seth was about to say something but Twilight beat him to it. “I’m terribly sorry about what happened yesterday,” she said while looking at the floor, ashamed. “It’s just, we’ve recently had trouble with the occupants of the forest you came from and we didn’t know what you were so we assumed you were a monster of some sort. Can you forgive us?”
Seth blinked several times before answering. My God, he thought. Well spoken, polite, and forgiving. I’m really starting to like this place. Seth cleared his throat and said, “I’m the one who should be asking for you to forgive me. I appeared here, alone and frightened and I thought that I was hallucinating the whole thing with you and the other five ponies floating there. It’s enough to make me question reality itself. I’m really sorry for any possible offenses I made. I know first impressions are important, and I kind of blew it.”
Hearing this, the purple unicorn felt uplifted. She had been feeling guilty for days after what had transpired. She said, “Oh thank goodness! You just seemed so, so angry after we used the elements of harmony on you. I would’ve never forgiven myself if an innocent creature was injured due to my negligence. I’m Twilight by the way. And you are?”
“I’m Seth,” he replied. “I’m sure you’re wondering what I’m doing here, but to tell you the truth, I don’t know myself. All I know is that…I died…and woke up in that forest of yours.”
Twilight looked at him curiously and said, “You mean, you’re not from here? From Equestria?”
“If Equestria is your planet, then no. I’m from a planet called Earth. It’s populated by humans, which is what I am.” Seth purposefully forgot to mention the fact that ponies were used as pack animals and that this was a made-up place created by a human.
Twilight looked at him thoughtfully and said, “You said you died, but you woke up here. Does that mean that when other members of your race pass on, they will wake up here?”
Seth shook his head vigorously. “If that was the case, Equestria would have been overrun by us long ago.” Seth thought some more before asking, “How many ponies live in Equestria?”
Twilight responded, “Which type of ponies? There are three kinds: unicorns, earth ponies, or pegasi? There’s about equal amounts of each.”
Seth fixed her with his second dumbfounded stare of the conversation. “You’re telling me that not only can you as a unicorn can fly with magic, but there are also ponies with wings?! I’m almost afraid to ask what special talent earth ponies have.”
“Earth ponies don’t have wings or magic. They do most of the labour while the pegasi tend to the weather and transportation. Unicorns tend to have jobs as storekeepers and teachers. As for me, I’m a student directly under Princess Celestia,” Twilight said proudly.
Seth digested this newfound information. A third of the population can do magic, a third can fly, and the other third is used for labour. Why haven’t the earth ponies risen up and revolted? Demanded that the unicorns make them equal to the other subspecies? It doesn’t make any sense…Unless. Seth’s thoughts turned to cold, hard realization. No one here had human ingenuity or human want. The want, the need to have freedom would be foreign to them. They wouldn’t think that they were handicapped if they never actually thought of themselves that way. In fact…he could change the future of this place, this ‘Equestria’, as easily as a slip of the tongue. He had to watch what he said.
Seth was afraid. He was afraid that he was given the power to destroy Equestria as it was. He never wanted that kind of power, not on Earth, and definitely not here. He could cause a revolution that would strike fear into monarchs and crumble a civilization.
Seth knew he shouldn’t, but he asked anyway, “What’s special about this Princess Celestia? Is she your ruler?”
Seth saw Twilight’s face glow in admiration of her mentor. “Princess Celestia saw magical potential in me and was my personal mentor for several years. She also helped me earn my cutie mark, for which I am forever grateful.” Twilight’s snapped out of her reverie and said, “Oh, but I’m sure you’re talking about her physical description. She’s around 6 feet tall, around the same height as you. She’s also an alicorn, which is a pony who has a unicorn’s magical talent and a Pegasus’ wings. As for ruling, she does so jointly with her sister Luna. She raises the sun in the morning while Luna raises the moon at night.”
Seth was intrigued. "I hope I can meet this 'Princess Celestia' as soon as possible. She can hopefully help me with my predicament."
Twilight's shoulders sagged a little. "But you just got here! I'd like to show you around, maybe introduce you to some of my friends. But if you're so anxious to get back to your planet, then I hold no ill feelings toward you. Everyone has a right to feel homesick."
Seth hated what he was about to do. He hated it because he knew it was true. No matter how much he missed Earth, he knew that Equestria was better. Kindness, loyalty, honesty, and generosity were the main attributes here. Cruelty, betrayal, jealousy, and unjustified violence were what constituted Earth's peoples. No matter what one person did, they were always overshadowed by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil men.
"You want to know something sad, Twilight?" asked Seth. She hesitated, then nodded slowly. "Where I'm from, what you did would set you apart from everybody else." Twilight shifted uncomfortably at the foot of his bed. "The fact that you blamed yourself for something you didn't do, the fact that you risked yourself to help me, sets you apart. There are very few people on Earth with your kindness and integrity, Twilight. In fact, I have no desire to return to Earth. The pollution, the noise, the scars that humanity has put on Mother Earth. It makes me sick. And I didn't even realize it until I died and appeared here." Seth chuckled softly. "I made it to the one place I never thought I would see. Paradise."