What Separates

by Zurock

Chapter 6: Compassion

The trail winded down alongside the Everfree Forest. James stared into the dark gaps between the trees as they continued along to Fluttershy's cottage. The wild, untamed growth surrounding the trees wriggled and whispered as if the whole forest was breathing. It radiated its own life but not in the bountiful way the apple orchard did. It gave off a hungry aura. You could almost imagine being swallowed whole by the thick brush.

"That's the Everfree Forest," Twilight said as she noticed him staring. "It's a dangerous place. Don't wander into it."

"Dangerous how?" he asked, without looking away. After all the revulsion to violence, the mentions of the ponies controlling nature with magic, and the shop decorated with frosting and gumdrops, the idea of danger seemed like it couldn't exist in the fantasy land Equestria was making itself out to be. But there it was, a feral place before his eyes, different than everything he had seen since he arrived.

"The heavy growth of all the plants and the lack of major trails makes it easy to get turned around and lost in there. Some of the plants are even poisonous. Worst of all, the forest is teeming with dangerous creatures, some of which are aggressive and territorial. Nopony goes into Everfree Forest without a very, very good reason." Twilight gave a glance to the forest and the shadows falling between the tree trunks. She had only been deep in there a few times as necessary, and she's never liked it once. Usually her only regular passage into the forest itself was along one of the few existing trails that lead straight to the hut of Zecora, her zebra friend. Even though that was through a relatively lighter and tamer part of the forest it still had an unnerving quality to it.

James couldn't avert his eyes. The density of the trees wasn't so different than the forests of the suburbs he had grown up in, but each individual tree was so much more mammoth and imposing that it seemed like a jungle. The strange counterbalance this place made with Ponyville evoked such mystery. Why would the resident ponies set up their town bordering a "dangerous" forest? Judging by his and Twilight's current direction of travel, Fluttershy's cottage was right on the very edge of the selfsame danger. "Isn't there a problem with the creatures of the forest wandering out and causing problems in town?" he asked Twilight.

"No, not really," she said. It seemed like a silly assumption to her. Why would they ever want to or need to head into town? "Is there are reason you ask?"

"Ponyville is just so close to the border of the forest. It seems like it would have to happen from time to time," he answered. He was still staring at the tree line. No fencing here, no wall around town, no guards to keep a lookout for stray predators or foragers.

What he was saying didn't make much sense to Twilight. There was nothing the animals of the forest needed in town that couldn't be found in their natural habitat. "All the creatures of Everfree Forest are able to live within it without our help," she said. "They can live separately since there is nothing they need from us."

"I'm sure they know how to survive on their own," he said while finally taking his gaze away from the trees to look at Twilight. "It's just..." but he wasn't sure how he wanted to express it.

She stared at him expectantly with a raised eyebrow. With no immediate followup, she finally said, as if to push out a response that had gotten stuck in his throat, "It's what?"

He ran his fingers through his hair for a moment. If this path in the dialogue wasn't producing anything then maybe the approach should change up. "Human habitation tends to push animals away," he said. "Those animals that have been domesticated and can live mutually with people do. Some others become foragers that pick through the leftovers of the towns and villages they live near. But the rest of the wild animals will be driven back from the areas where people live because they often cause problems in the human societies."

"But why would they bother the towns at all?" she asked. Her pace grew slightly uneven as she felt more uneasy with the turn the conversation was taking.

There was something fundamentally different here. James supposed it was possible pony magic had taken over the role reserved for natural selection as well. "All animals try and survive," he explained. "Living in the same area as humans means they'll compete for the same resources. Space, food, shelter. Sometimes that means they'll try and take it from people."

That sounded horrible to Twilight. Animals getting caught up in the violence and the fighting and the wars of humans. There was a little extra kick of disgust because she knew that humans eat the meat of animals as well. The unruly barbarism of it seemed even beyond the ferociousness of the Everfree Forest. She wasn't sure she would have believed him about his world if, instead of finding him at a crossing between universes, she had found him walking out of the forest. The beasts there could be aggressive, and potentially even deadly, but even they had a kind of respect for the natural order. They didn't try to march into Ponyville to take things.

Her head drooped towards the ground. "They don't actually try to take anything by force, do they?" she wearily asked.

"Not exactly," he said, "in so much as it's hard to ascribe those kinds of motivations to animals." They didn't weigh their options and decide, "Well, I hate to be a bad neighbor and steal something, but I am hungry so forget morality!" They had instincts: eat, sleep, reproduce, survive. "An animal's goal is to survive," he continued, "so it's going to avoid fighting if it can. But if it has to in order to survive, it will. If the only way it can get food is by trying to take it, it will."

"And... there might not be enough food for the animals since all the humans and the animals are competing for the same resources?" She was calling back to what he had established earlier. But she couldn't reconcile things in her head, and shook it with uncertainty. "I don't understand... You had told me that nature in your world finds a balance, but I don't understand the balance in this competition for resources. Here, we work in harmony with all the animals that are willing to work with us, and we all get by. Those animals that won't work with us make their own way in the Everfree Forest. We leave them alone, and they leave us alone. That's our balance."

James folded his arms while walking, drawing his eyes downwards. There's truth to the idea that unity is power. Working together can yield results greater than individuals can do separately. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, after all. There was, in fact, a balance to this setup in Equestria. But he felt there was a missing piece. Like Equestria lacking war, he didn't see how that balance was created. When you already have no war and no problems with anyone it's easy for everyone to say no to beginning a war. When you already have enough food and space to go around for absolutely everyone it's easy to agree that fighting over those things benefits no one. But how do you get to that point? In nature, his nature, competition was the self-balancing mechanism. It creates that state of balance. And when things get thrown off balance, competition enters again to set things right.

He spoke up, saying, "In an environment that can only support so much, the competition is what creates the balance. Those who are able to fight, fight for what there is available with which to survive."

"But they all might be able to survive if they worked together to try to!" Twilight shouted.

"Twilight," James said with exasperation, holding out an open palm in front of himself, "the competition is already there. They're already fighting to survive. If you stop fighting to try and make peace then those that are still willing to fight can take what is yours without resistance. Then they survive better and you don't survive at all." He let out a heavy sigh. Maybe it was too aggressive an answer. He didn't want to try and convince her that she was wrong, only that he believed she didn't really understand. "It might be true everyone could get by working together, but if things are already a struggle then you bring a huge risk on yourself in trying to create that unity."

She looked away, depressed. The thoughts turned over and over in her head. Again, she felt when she really put her mind to it she could more or less understand the established logic of what he said. A shiver passed through her. She despised how there was any kind of sense that could make.

This wasn't the mood for her to be in before meeting a friend, James thought. She had approached all the others with such confidence. He tried to slowly steer things away. "This is the balance I don't understand." He made a big sweep with his arms. "A nice, great, old forest right here and I can't take a stroll through it? As a kid I used to scramble through the woods all the time." The mock disappointment carried clearly like the ringing of a new bell.

Twilight looked up at the wall of trees that made up the forest border. Beyond the leaves, through the shrubs, past the hanging vines, a harsh and dark place existed in there. Maybe his world was one big Everfree Forest.

Even though he was joking, she wanted to make the dangers clear. "Well, you won't be wandering through this one," she said to him, picking up her head while trying to put the troubled thoughts out of her mind. "Getting turned to stone ISN'T the worst thing that could happen to you."

He made a strong note of that. Maybe back home the most common risk was a scraped knee. A more unlikely but more serious threat would perhaps be running into a bear or other predator that had strayed too close to civilization. But if this forest was a place where an average fate was being medusa'd by some magical lurking horror, then it probably didn't matter how well he thought he could hold his own. "If that's the case," he said, "I think I can see why some animals choose to hold up with you ponies. I've observed ponies have a distinct lack of petrifying those they meet."

She snorted a suppressed laugh and shook her head. "You're about to really see how ponies get along with animals. Fluttershy absolutely adores animals. She takes care of a whole menagerie of them."

"In her cottage?" he asked.

"In it. Around it. Birds above it, rodents below it. The fish in the lake. You get the picture," she explained.

"Yeah, I get it," he responded. "What you're basically telling me is that I shouldn't mention what we've been talking about. Or the meat thing."

Twilight halted her movement with a snap, eyes wide. She hadn't even thought about that. "Yes," she said emphatically. "Do not talk about that. At all."

Pointing down the road to what looked like a bridge over a stream before a windowed mound of earth, James said, "Maybe you should tell me more about her before we continue."

---

There was a cacophony of chirps, thumps, squeaks, chitters, twitters, whistles, hisses, and every other animal noise imaginable. It played like a looping refrain which never faded, omnipresent throughout the air. Similar to the Everfree Forest, Fluttershy's cottage felt alive but in its own unique way. It was reminiscent of the hustle and bustle of a major city street on a business morning in its energy, but instead the commuters and pedestrians were much smaller when they were even visible at all. They were sure to be around somewhere though, as James thought he felt their stares.

Some things stood out to Twilight. Some of the animals were agitated, others looked like their feeding hadn't been thoroughly taken care of. She wondered if, perhaps, Fluttershy wasn't home. Regardless, she knocked on the stable door that served as the entrance to the cottage. Everything remained quiet for a time. Just before Twilight was going to suggest what she thought, a rushed flapping of wings could be heard approaching the door. The top half of the door swung and a yellow pony head poked out.

"I'm sorry, I just-" the pony quickly started to explain, before gasping and slamming the door shut again.

"Fluttershy?" Twilight asked, knocking again.

The top half of the door creaked open a little, with a cyan eye peering through the crack. "Yes?" the voice behind the eye questioned timidly.

"Fluttershy, it's me. Twilight."

The eye rolled back and forth, taking in what it could see through the sliver it was given. Then, in repetition of before, the eye spoke. "Yes?" she asked nervously.

"I want to introduce you to someone. He's a new friend who will be staying with me at the library for awhile," Twilight said.

There was the long drawn sound of achy hinges churning as a hoof slowly pushed the top half of the door open enough for Fluttershy to stick her head out again. "A friend?"

"Yes," the unicorn asserted. "On Princess Celestia's orders he'll be staying with me in Ponyville to learn about Equestria."

With a steadying hoof, Fluttershy pushed the bottom half of the door open as well, taking a solitary step out for herself. She took a brief moment to study her friend's companion before saying with a reserved awe, "I've never seen a creature like this before..."

Like with the introductions to all of her other friends, Twilight felt the specific details might be a bit too much right now. However, like Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy had not seen James' original arrival to Equestria. All six friends saw the tower at first but once it began sparking energy Twilight had urged two of them back to Ponyville. "That's because he's the only one of his kind in all of Equestria," Twilight said, trying to at least lay down the basic framework for later.

Fluttershy took the news in an unintended way, meshing it with some of the thoughts that were preoccupying her mind. "Only one? Oh no! Why? What happened?"

"It... it's a bit of a long story," Twilight said dissuasively. "I was just taking him around to introduce him to everypony."

Once again, James mustered his politest bow and said, "It's nice to meet you, Fluttershy. My name is James."

"O-oh," she muttered in response initially, shaking some of the busy thoughts in her head out. "It's very nice to meet you, James," she said, inserting a strong courtesy into her voice.

Twilight started to turn away. "Well, now that you've been introduced, we don't want to keep you any longer if you're busy with something."

"Oh!" Fluttershy sharply cried. "No! I'm not busy. I mean... I am. But I'm not."

James and Twilight exchanged a confused glance.

"Is everything alright, Fluttershy?" Twilight asked with concern. She moved in closer to her friend, who was trying to avoid eye contact.

"W-well..." the anxious pony began, shaking at the knees. She nervously looked around for a moment, thinking of what to say. "M-maybe you better come inside," she finally finished. She turned back inside, leaving the door open for the others to follow her in.

Like Twilight had mentioned, Fluttershy cared for animals with her whole home. The outside had been littered with little houses, cages, and pens but, in passing through the doorway, James saw that this didn't change on the inside. Much of the space was dedicated to homes for small animals, in addition to other spots set aside as play spaces. Various tiny steps and pathways had been set up, including holes in the walls, to allow critters to comfortably roam the cottage as they pleased. It all seamlessly blended with bits and pieces of furnishings meant for its chief pony resident, and even some of those seemed to be designed to double as convenient resting places for larger animals. Being inside still brought a certain quietness to the air, however. Perhaps the animals dedicated homes may be outside, with them being invited inside from time to time for entertainment or care.

Leading them in, Fluttershy took them to a room where most of the furniture had been shifted to one side and many makeshift animal beddings had been hastily set up, created from towels, blankets, pillows, and any other soft thing that could be found. Food and water bowls were laying about haphazardly with different edible contents and some clearly had not been used as much as the others. As they entered the room, Fluttershy gave a hush and put a hoof over her lips, slowing down her pace and creeping along more gently than before. She waved her guests over to a low sofa and coffee table where they could sit as she went over to the only bedding that seemed currently occupied. Her pet rabbit, Angel, was sitting alert next to the bedding, watching and worrying over the small critter curled up on it. A teeny little flying squirrel was laying there, sleeping but shaking with distress. Fluttershy picked up a loose part of the blanket with her mouth and tenderly wrapped in over the animal, tucking him in. She returned her attention to her guests, carrying a forlorn look on her face.

Straining under her friend's sadness, Twilight lightly asked, "Fluttershy, what's the matter?"

The pegasus' lips trembled. Something had been building inside her for a few days and she had to work up the will to release it. Eventually, she took a big breath and opened up while collapsing into a sitting position. With unreserved speed, she began pouring out, "Oh, Twilight! It's just been so terrible! That crazy thing that showed up the other day devastated a small piece of the outer Everfree Forest, destroying the homes of the animals that lived there! I've been gathering the ones I could find who didn't run away in fear, taking care of them and trying to find new homes for them, but I'm not sure they're all accounted for and then... and then this one," she gestured towards the sleeping squirrel, "this young one is the saddest case of all. His home was smashed and he can't find his parents and we were looking for them all morning and he's just been crying and crying and he finally cried himself to sleep and, and, and..." She had been overworking herself caring for the displaced animals and all the empathy she had been bottling up to keep her from being distracted came spilling over in near tears.

Twilight got up from her seat and rounded the table to sit next to her weary friend, patting Fluttershy's back and trying to comfort her with soothing whispers. Looking around, Twilight spotted a box of tissues on some shelves and levitated it over to herself, getting out tissues to begin drying Fluttershy's eyes.

James sat awkwardly in silence. The absolutely worst thing he hated about military work was collateral damage. There was a certain horror to fighting and killing other human beings and you needed the mental strength to push past that in order to serve, but you could find some of that strength in knowing and understanding that the people you are battling have also chosen to fight. A mutual contract of blood, an unspoken agreement that you won't begrudge their hostile efforts because they won't begrudge yours. It wasn't the same with innocent bystanders. They've done nothing to bring the suffering upon themselves, but they're still scarred by the conflict regardless. He never got along with the soldiers who so thoroughly believed that you couldn't make an omelet without breaking a few eggs. The ones who became reckless and uncaring in regards to who else got hurt. The chain of events that had brought him to Equestria bugged him when learned of the intelligence and society of ponies; it was a fight that never should have been brought to their front. But only now, with direct innocent casualties, did he really feel rattled. What confused him however, was why he was being so troubled over just a few animals. Forests get torn down all the time. It's a shame for the animals that live there, but as he had been discussing with Twilight, that's survival of the fittest. They would find new homes and habitats. In this case though, the distraught girl brought before him was somehow bridging an emotional gap, making things more real and critical.

"You've really done your best, and you've helped the animals a lot," Twilight reassured her friend. "Come on, now." She laid a crumpled, used tissue down on the coffee table.

"It's awful what happened," Fluttershy lamented. "I still don't know if all the animals got away safely."

"Don't worry," Twilight reinforced her words with a strong hug. "You've been doing all you can, and I'm sure all the animals are going to be fine. Even the little one's parents." She got out another tissue to dab at the misty eyes a few more times. "Why didn't you tell me or any of the others about this? We'd be glad to help."

"I've just been so busy with making space for the animals, and trying to look for missing ones, and caring for my other little friends. I haven't had the time," Fluttershy tiredly said. There were distinctive bags under her eyes to support her story, and her body had a slight shake that came from exhaustion as much as it did from stress. It didn't stop her from beginning to collect herself now that she had her chance to relieve all that built up tension.

Taking her foreleg off from around Fluttershy's back, Twilight said, "Well, now that I know, I'll definitely help out. We'll tell the others and I know they'll help as well." She finished her work with the current tissue and set it aside without drawing a new one. There wasn't a need to. "What do you need help with? What has to be done?" she asked her friend.

Calming herself, Fluttershy tried recalling where she was at in everything she had been doing. "I finished setting up new pens outside for all the unfortunate animals, to get them out of this temporary bedding here." She looked back at the sleeping squirrel. "All except for him. He needs personal care," she said quietly. "I'm still looking for lost animals, including his lost parents, and new permanent homes for the found animals."

"We'll get the others and start helping you look for everything," Twilight reasserted.

"Thank you, Twilight," Fluttershy said sincerely. She relaxed as best she could in her fatigue and gave a heavy sigh. "I wish I knew why this happened..." she moaned.

Twilight felt it wasn't really the time to be getting into the details. Fluttershy was already too tired for her own ordeal and starting an in depth discussion about where James came from or who he was would just be pulling her into places she might not be ready to go. This made it extra surprising to Twilight when James spoke up.

"I should take responsibility for it," he mentioned.

Both ponies looked up at him with surprise, but Twilight was extra incredulous. "What?" she asked, utterly baffled.

"I'll take responsibility for what happened," he stated plainly.

"No no no, that doesn't make any sense. It wasn't your fault," she stood up as she protested his claim.

"Not my fault directly," he countered, "but since I'm the only one left who can even rightly accept responsibility, I should." He shook his head with disappointment. "I hate when these disastrous mistakes happen to innocent people and no one steps up to answer for them. Someone should own up to it."

"That's still ridiculous! It's pointless to make a scapegoat out of somepony who isn't even-" She stopped herself. It truly was ridiculous. There was already a big enough problem that had to be solved with helping Fluttershy and dealing with nutty politics about who takes the fall was just a waste of time. Especially when nopony here was even at fault. She directed a hoof at him, "Look. You're not responsible. It doesn't matter who is. All that matters is setting things right again. And everypony should lend a hoof in doing that."

Lacking details, Fluttershy wasn't able to follow their argument closely. She was getting upset listening to them disagree, however. "I don't want anypony to blamed for anything," she meekly interjected.

Exasperated, Twilight shouted, "Nopony is being blamed for anything!" Her raised volume caused Fluttershy to recoil sheepishly, and Twilight exhaled in frustration. She took a second to calm herself before continuing. "Let's get the others and get to work fixing this."

"Oh... well..." Fluttershy began unsurely, "I think it's a little late in the afternoon to do any more today. It won't be long until evening and we shouldn't be searching the forest then. Many of the animals are also still tired from their trouble. The little one is finally asleep too..."

"I think you're also pretty tired from your troubles," Twilight told her. "You should get some well deserved rest also. I'll talk to the others as soon as I can." What a shame they hadn't visited Fluttershy first today. Then she could have spoken with the others as they saw them one by one. Now, when was the next time she would see them? Maybe she would have to go out to visit them all again tomorrow or... the party? Pinkie Pie can have a really quick turn when she is excited about getting a party going, and for this one she seemed positively ecstatic (by Pinkie Pie standards.) There was no telling when the party would be until she sent out invitations. But Fluttershy's troubles could sidetrack the party. Twilight's brain pounded itself against her skull in irritation. This is fast becoming one of those weeks.

"Thank you, Twilight," Fluttershy said to her friend. She closed her eyes and her head sunk slightly as she appeared to nod off, breathing slowly. With a shiver, she suddenly snapped her eyes open and looked at James. "I'm sorry, I haven't been a very inviting host. Do you need anything?" She struggled to try and make a suggestion, finally settling on, "I could make some raspberry tea if you'd like."

Twilight decided to jump on the offer. She felt like she could use some tea to clear her head. Besides, the tea would help Fluttershy herself relax a little more. "I think that sounds great. Why don't I help you make it? Would you like some, James?"

He was staring past her, brooding with his own thoughts. Offhandedly, he responded, "Sure."

After helping Fluttershy to her hooves, the two ponies made their way out of the room towards the cottage kitchen. James sat silently, alone save for the sleeping squirrel and Angel, who was quietly keeping vigil over the minute creature. The aural wave of Fluttershy's pets continued on outside but only came through the walls as a low rumbling noise in the room. By far the clearest sound was the regular, repeating tick of a clock with a pendulum hanging on the wall. It swung itself back and forth as James unconsciously lined up the blinking of his fixed stare to the beat of the clock.

At last he stood up and squeezed his fist into a ball, digging his nails into his palm. He really didn't care what Twilight said about this subject. She was probably just trying to stop a guilt trip, which is understandable. Or she didn't wanted him embroiled in the pony criminal justice system. Given how freely Princess Celestia had let him go and how resistant to his proposal Twilight was, he doubted the ponies had much of a harsh criminal justice system anyway. If they even had one at all. The whole thing wasn't about blame in his mind him, though. It was only the justice of the situation which was important to him. If everyone was pitching in for the restitution, that's fine. He expected that. It didn't bother him that others would try and make things right. What was significant was that, since the lives and livelihood of these animals was so important to them for whatever reason, someone should be held accountable for what unfairly happened to them. It was about the fact that he was the only one in Equestria now who was involved in any way with the catalyst event. The only one that could also truly explain not just what happened but why it happened. When they're hurt and suffering unfairly and they ask, "Why?", he could do the responsible bare minimum and give an honest explanation. And when it comes to injustice, people are owed at least explanations. He would be responsible. Twilight didn't have to accept it. He did.

He folded his arms and harshly exhaled through his nose. Taking a few steps around the coffee table, he observed the room in a bit more detail before settling on examining Angel. He was a good looking rabbit. Rabbits were actually the only pets he had ever raised himself growing up. His parents were against the idea of "family" pets, like dogs and cats, since they believed inevitably the kids would not subsume full responsibility in caring for the animals between school and friends, and his parents themselves were busy enough raising those very same kids. He was permitted to have a personal pet so long as it wasn't too high maintenance, which wound up being one rabbit at a time for many years. James couldn't place Angel's breed but, then again, maybe that didn't matter on account of changing universes. The only thing that struck him was that something about the rabbit was... different than anything he had seen before. It was in the eyes. There was a certain... expressiveness he had never seen before. As he stared, it was almost like Angel was studying him back. Not in the reactive way a watchful animal follows you around a room; in a way like the rabbit was wondering who he was and why he was here.

"You're a funny bunny," he whispered to Angel. The rabbit scrutinized him back for a few more seconds before looking down again to monitor the tucked in squirrel. James followed Angel's eyes to get a good look at the sleeper himself.

The soft fuzz of the yellow blanket folded around him covered everything but his dinky little head. With his tiny size you could hardly tell if he was breathing at all. James mused over the critter. This was an animal whose situation got a certain pony very worried. His home lost, separated from his family, he was taken from what he knew and was cast into a world that frightened him. He had been taken in and is being cared for by a pony who is working hard to make him comfortable. To make things right again. Now here he was, sleeping in the home of that pony. You know, looking at his eyes... it was almost like... he actually had cried himself to sleep. Can squirrels even cry?

James swiftly turned back towards the couch. He sat down and rubbed his forehead. What was he doing? He didn't even like tea.

Comments

[LayDownHunter]

Another introduction, not the way I would have thought it would have gone down. I thought Fluttershy would have been more scared... Oh well. So more we see that he wants to help look after the Animals he seems set on helping, because he seems to think it's his fault or at least he should take the blame. Interesting. Another argument on the differences of our worlds, brilliant stuff. Not the argument itself, but the fact that that's just another difference that everyone seems to forget about in these situations.

[Theresa]

3891421
He wants to take responsibility because he feels that since humans sent the thing out and he the only one that this is adult thing to do. Twilight is not good at empathy and responsibility for messing up. The concept is foreign to her. Harmony keeps such order that trying to fix your mess up and accepting that you messed up isn't done. You just say sorry and that it.