//------------------------------// // Chapter Five // Story: Trials and Tribulations // by Divide //------------------------------// Trials and Tribulations Chapter Five: A host of new problems "What do you mean by 'Paradise'?" asked Twilight. Seth thought for a moment about how much he should say. "On my old planet, there were many ideological belief systems called Religions. There were too many religions to count, some new, some ancient, but they all had two similarities: one, they all disagreed with each other and two, after death, if you were judged worthy, you would be allowed to live in 'Paradise'. This 'Paradise' was called many things. Heaven, the afterlife, the Æther. Whatever it's called, this would be a textbook definition of it. Kindness, equality, friendship. I was never a part of any religion, so I figured I would never get a second chance, but here I am." "So what happened if you were judged unworthy?" asked Twilight. Seth's eyes sunk back a little and his voice became haggard. "That's something you didn't talk about in polite company, and I sure as shit am not talking about it here." Seth face-palmed himself. Way to go Seth. Swearing in polite company. Twilight nodded. "Well, if you're able to walk, we should get you out of that bed. We don't want you to get bed sores, now do we?" "Bed sores?" Seth asked. "How long have I been out?" "Four days," Twilight responded."I came by every day to see how you were doing. Doctor Hooves said he never treated someone like you, so he wasn't sure if you'd ever wake up." Christ, thought Seth. With friends capable of putting him in a short coma, who needed enemies? Seth stretched and got out of bed. Realizing he was naked except for his boxers, he quickly jumped back into bed. "Umm, Twilight, what happened to my clothes?" Twilight scampered out of the room. She came back not ten seconds later with a bag in her mouth. She dropped onto Seth's bedside table. "Your pants and undershirt are fine, but your overcoat was ruined. We didn't find your shoes either. Sorry." Seth sighed. Those were his favourite pair of shoes. Only pair of shoes, he reminded himself. Hopefully I can acquisition a new pair to be made. "It's alright, I'll manage." He was about to slip on his pants when he noticed that Twilight was still in the room. "Uhh, Twilight? Why are you still here?" She looked affronted. "What do you mean by that?" Seth pondered his problem. Why didn't she give him privacy to change? That's a common nicety on Earth, isn't it? Why should it be any different here? Seth mentally slapped himself. Quit fucking thinking that this is like Earth. This the goddamn polar opposite of Earth. Of course they don't have any nudity taboos, they are all fucking naked already! "Sorry Twilight. Was thinking about how another human would react. You see, on Earth, us humans respect the privacy of the, umm, other parts of each other." Twilight looked confused, so Seth explained more thoroughly. "Humans wear clothes to cover our naked bodies, while I assume ponies wear clothes or garments to show their fashion sense or status. Am I right?" Twilight nodded. "If you would be so kind as to let me change into my clothes it would be...much appreciated," said Seth with a slight blush. Blushing herself, Twilight nodded and walked out of Seth's hospital room, closing the door behind her. Christ, thought Seth. That was a lot more awkward than it should have been. Fuck, I hope I can get some new clothes made for me. There's got to be a tailor here somewhere... With practiced motions, Seth tossed on his pants and buttoned his undershirt up. He hoped that his feet wouldn't get torn up too badly outside. "Alright, Twilight. I'm dressed and ready to check out," said Seth as he walked out the door. What he was not ready for, however, was Twilight's friends glaring daggers at him while Twilight was trying to calm them down. Twilight's two-toned blue Pegasus friend was the first to insult him. "You! Just who do you think you are acting friendly with Twilight! She's our friend, not yours, so back off, whatever you are!" Seth was in no mood for this after the kindness Twilight had showed him. He decided to give her a lesson in humility. "You should've learned by now, missy, that insulting things bigger than you has repercussions . Also, for your information, I'm a human, and I have recently died. So, for my sake and yours, would you kindly SHUT THE FUCK UP!?" Seth knew he shouldn't, but he enjoyed the look of shock and horror on the blue ponies face. "Good. Now that that's settled, introductions are in order. I'm Seth, and I'm from a different planet." Seth looked straight at the blue pegasus that had mouthed off earlier. "Your turn, missy." "I-I'm Rainbow Dash, the fastest flyer in Equestria," stammered the Rainbow Dash. Seth smirked and said, "Well then. That wasn't so hard, now was it? A little tolerance goes a long way, doesn't it? Alright, next!" And so, Twilight's friends introduced themselves to Seth, feeling both spiteful and embarrassed at how easily he shut down their attempts at calling him out. With everyone introduced, Seth could finally say what he wanted to since he woke up. "What in the hell did you hit me with?" Twilight took it upon herself to answer. "You see, we directed the elements of harmony into you in hopes it would get rid of your fear, anger, and hatred. We only did that because we were forewarned that a tall, loud creature was coming straight for Ponyville." Seth took this information and processed it. "A couple of questions: one, who warned you? Two, what are these 'Elements of Harmony' and how did you six come to possess the powers of it? Three, why would you want to 'purify' something that has fear, anger, or hatred? Those are emotions and feelings that make a person who they are." The tan-orange pony, Applejack, remarked, "Well, I can see why Twilight took a special interest in you, mister. You talk like a sophiscolt (hurray for making up pony-related words) from Manehattan, but you speak your mind, which I like." Seth wasn't sure how a pony could get a southern accent, but it seemed to fit nonetheless. With rosy cheeks, Twilight answered Seth's questions. "Applebloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo were exploring the forest in a vain attempt to get their cutie mark, but they ran by you and were scared, so they went straight to us. As for the elements of harmony, the elements are kindness, loyalty, honesty, generosity, laughter, and magic. Each one of us embodies one of the elements, which is why were able to harness their power." Rainbow Dash continued where Twilight ended. "We've had troubles with the monsters that live in the forest recently, so excuse us for treating you the same way. Except you didn't run back to the forest, you just collapsed." Ignoring the taunt, Seth asked another question, "I've never heard the term 'cutie mark' before. What is it?" Before Twilight could answer, Pinkie Pie started bouncing up and down in excitement. "Oh oh oh, I know, I know! A cutie mark appears when a pony finds that special talent that makes them unique!" Seth started laughing hysterically. "Thank fucking God, I thought everyone here just liked getting tattoos on their asses!" Seth started looking carefully at them. After he checked all of them, he announced, "Alright, lemme guess, you like butterflies, you eat apples, you get struck by lightning a lot, you like diamonds, you love party balloons, and you are a...sparkling star?" Rarity was the one to answer that question. "They aren't literal interpretations of our talents. We-" Rarity was cut off by the nurse at the counter coughing loudly, intending for them to leave. The message got across, and Seth and company started walking down the road to the heart of Ponyville.