14. Mike
Riding in the truck with Mike, Twilight observed the passing scenery with great interest. She had not been able to observe very much during their outing of the previous evening. It had been too dark and her argument with Mike about cosmology had been distracting.
From the moment the truck had left the house, it appeared to be traveling on a gravel road. Twilight noted with interest, not that she was any expert in such matters, how smooth and broad it was. Equestrian roads typically became rutted by all the cart traffic. But there was no sign of any ruts in this road.
Ooof. There aren't any ruts in the road but they sure do have holes in them.
“Why are there holes in the road?” she asked.
“Those are called potholes. They are formed when a section of the road's surface gets weakened by pooling water. The weight of passing vehicles displaces material, starting a hole. Over time the hole increases in size.”
Twilight wrote down the information in her notepad. There was no chance that she would ever leave the notepad behind.
The truck reached the cross road she remembered they had come to last night. As it made the expected left hand turn Twilight noted how this road surface was different from the gravel road.
“This road is different from the one we just on. It's a lot smoother. And am I seeing lines painted on the road?” she exclaimed.
“It's still basically the same as the last road.” Mike answered. “Only now they've added an asphalt cap on top of the gravel base. The lines are used to inform vehicles when it is unsafe to attempt to pass another vehicle.”
“Asphalt? Unsafe?” she asked.
“Asphalt is a name we have for a crude form of pitch. What you see on the road here is a mixture of asphalt and gravel-”
Pitch I know about. It's a byproduct from burning wood to make charcoal. They must have used quite a lot of wood to be able to 'cap' this entire road.
Twilight did not pursue that issue. In truth she was not all that interested in the construction of roads. The passing scenery was too distracting.
Mike however, continued answering her questions. “-If you study the lines, you might notice that they are broken when you have a sufficient line of sight to be able to see oncoming traffic, should you be attempting to pass a vehicle in front of you. A solid line simply means 'do not cross', though that may be due to a variety of reasons.”
It's hard to imagine why they need such a system. Just stay out of the way of the other 'vehicles'. Twilight concluded, though she did begin observing the lines on the road, trying to verify Mike's words.
The mystery of the lines was soon revealed however. Their truck was just cresting a hill, when another vehicle coming from the opposite direction crested the hill as well. Within seconds both vehicles passed each other at a fairly high speed. Twilight suddenly saw the wisdom behind the road lines.
After they had passed the hill they found themselves passing between stands of what looked like pine trees. As they progressed further, the trees fell away revealing open fields interspersed with occasional sets of buildings.
Are these farms? Twilight wondered, observing a common pattern in the layout. A house, rather similar to Mike's house, was always situated closest to the highway. Then, further back, were several larger outbuildings.
Is Mike a farmer? He did mention something about growing up on a farm. Twilight looked over at him but he seemed to be fully engrossed with controlling the truck.
“Mike?” Twilight asked, drawing his attention. “Tell me about yourself.
“I mean, here I am, a pony that you've given a place to stay. You've cared for me, fed me and given me a bed to sleep in. Mike, you have repeatedly made promises to help me and I thank you for all of that. But I really know nothing about you at all.”
Mike drew in a breath and blew it out again. He lifted his right hand off of the mushroom, brushing it through his mane.
“That's a pretty boring subject Twilight. I'm sure that you don't-”
“Please Mike!” Twilight interrupted him. “Please tell me something about yourself.”
“Well... I really don't know where to start.” He blew another breath through pursed lips.
“How about you tell me what you do. You must have a special talent. Everypony does.”
“I─ I can't say that I do. I don't have any particular talent Twilight.”
“What do you mean you don't have any particular talent? You have a Cutie Mark don't you?”
“Cue-Tee mark? What's that?” Mike brought the truck to a stop in the middle of the road. Hanging suspended up in the air above the front of Mike's truck, Twilight saw a peculiar device with three circles on it, one of them was glowing red.
“A Cutie Mark! You know one of these...” Twilight used her left foreleg to place a hoof on her left flank. Mike glanced over.
“Oh that! Well I just thought that you had some kind of body art Twilight. And no, I've never been inclined towards getting myself tattooed.”
“That statement makes no sense whatsoever Mike. What do you mean 'you’re not inclined towards getting tat-too-ed, if that's what you call getting your Cutie Marks?”
Twilight noticed that the light overhead had suddenly changed. The red circle had gone dark; instead a different circle was glowing green. Mike started the truck moving forward again. Is Mike moving the truck according to those lights overhead? A part of her brain questioned.
“Well Twilight, I’m perfectly happy with my unadorned body. Besides getting a tattoo is said to be painful and carries with it a risk of contracting some nasty infection or disease.”
Mike's statement gave Twilight pause. Painful? Risk of disease? What-
“What exactly are you talking about Mike? Are we even talking about the same thing? This discussion feels a bit like the one we had on cosmology.”
“What do you mean Twilight? I was just saying that I didn't want to get a─ what did you call it, a cue-tee mark?”
“That's exactly it Mike. From what you said, I don't think a Cutie Mark and a tat-too are the same thing at all. What exactly is this tat-too thing you mentioned?”
Mike gave her a startled glance; coincidentally Twilight felt the truck swerve slightly. Um, perhaps I should have asked Mike to stop the truck, like he did last night. I'm starting to see how a distraction can cause─ problems.
Mike must have felt the truck swerve as well because he quickly turned his attention back to the road.
“A tattoo, Twilight, is a process whereby ink is injected subcutaneously under the skin. It involves, hundreds, no thousands of closely spaced needle pricks which pierce the skin and drag colored ink below the skin's surface.
“When completed, an image has been embedded into the subject’s skin. It’s a painful process and infections are a common occurrence. Unscrupulous tattoo artists, who do not properly sterilize their equipment, have been known to spread life threatening diseases from client to client.”
Twilight shuddered. “Thousands of pricks with a needle? Ugh, why would anypony subject themselves to that?” she asked plaintively.
“Well, it's called body art. People use it to express themselves and send non-verbal signals through the use of imagery. Teenagers especially get tattoos in the mistaken belief that it will help them to define themselves.”
Body art? Imagery to send non-verbal signals...
“Wait. You said earlier that you thought my Cutie Mark was body art. What exactly did you think it meant?” Twilight was curious as to how Mike viewed her.
“Well, to tell you the truth Twilight, I thought it was an attempt to attract the attention of the opposite gender, 'Hey look at my cute flanks'. Or is 'haunches' the prop-”
“WHAAAAT!” Twilight shrieked in mortification. The truck swerved again as her outburst startled Mike. Fortunately he was bringing the truck to a stop in front of another red light at the time.
Twilight could feel her entire face burning with the heat of a massive flush. Looking over at Mike, she saw that he appeared surprised at her reaction.
“Mike! That is not what my Cutie Mark means!”
“I'm sorry-” he began to say, but Twilight trampled over his words as she continued talking.
“A Cutie Mark appears on a pony's flank when he or she discovers that certain something which makes them different from every other pony.” Twilight quoted from a well-known speech given by Princess Celestia some four hundred and thirty two years previous. The speech was so famous that it had even become part of the school curriculum on Cutie Marks.
Twilight continued, adding her own thoughts, “A Cutie Mark shows everypony that you have found your path in life. For some, that may be finding that they have a special talent or skill, like my friend Rainbow Dash who is probably the fastest pony in all of Equestria.
“For others, it may show that they have found that place where they need to be, like my friend Applejack who runs Sweet Apple Acres and devotes herself to making it a thriving business.
“Sometimes a Cutie mark may show that a pony possesses a special character attribute, like my friend Pinkie who has a buoyant and lighthearted attitude. Her greatest desire in life is to see everypony smile.
“Um, the light is green.” Twilight paused in the middle of her rant to reminded Mike, pointing up at the mysterious device overhead. He had gotten so focused on her little speech that he appeared to have had forgotten where they were.
“Oh. Right. Thanks Twilight...” Mike said, even as the truck started moving forward again. Twilight noted that there was now another vehicle following behind them.
“I'm sorry for having made assumptions about you Twilight. That was highly inappropriate on my part.”
I think I'll forgive him that comment about my Cutie Mark. He didn’t know what it was, and he does pay such good attention to what I am saying. I like that about Mike.
Mike spoke again. “So I gather that this cue-tee mark carries a great deal of significance in your society. How are they applied? Is the process similar in any way to our tattoos?”
“You're making assumptions again Mike. A Cutie Mark is magical. It suddenly appears when a pony discovers that certain something in them. It's nothing like your tat-toos. It is neither chosen by the recipient nor is it given by any other pony. It simply appears.”
“Wow. So you are saying that every pony discovers something special about themselves and that they get one of those marks to show it? All I can say is that we humans have nothing like it. We just muddle through life, not knowing if what we are doing is the best thing or not.”
Twilight was shocked at what Mike was implying. Did he live in a society where no one knew what made them unique?
“Yes Mike, every pony has their Cutie Mark. So what you told me earlier, that you 'don't have any particular talent'...”
“I meant just that Twilight. Oh, there are some people who are born with a fantastic aptitude in some endeavor, such as music or sports, or even socializing. But most people are just ordinary beings without any special aptitude for anything at all.
“Speaking of aptitudes, I suppose that I do have one. I discovered that I loved reading at quite an early age, but so have many others; it’s nothing which makes me unique. No, we humans must spend years in school developing our general knowledge and perhaps practicing some skill we may have chosen to acquire.”
Twilight noted that they drove straight past another one of those funny overhead lights. It was showing green however.
“The truly sad part, Twilight, is that we sometimes don't discover that we made a mistake in our choices until years have passed by. And by then it is often too late. It is often too expensive both in terms of time and money to learn a different skill set.”
That's so sad, to waste a part of your life chasing after a path in life, only to find out that you’re on the wrong path. Twilight blinked her eyes, surprised to discover that a few tears had found their way into them.
She looked over at Mike. “What about you Mike? What skills have you learned? Have you found your path in life?”
Mike did not answer immediately. Twilight was hesitant to press him for an answer. The silence dragged out. Eventually the human spoke.
“I don't know Twilight. I drifted through several subjects when I was going to University. I started out hoping to become a scientist, eventually I ended up with a degree as an electrical engineer. But it was difficult to find work in my chosen field, so I ended up taking a job as a computer programmer.
“It's funny though. Even though I ended up in a field that's vastly different from where I first saw myself as being, I do enjoy the work. Maybe, by chance, I have found my path in life. And then again, maybe I haven't, it's just something that I don't find too objectionable.”
Twilight simply did not know what to make of Mike's statement.
He has no Cutie Mark. And he does not even know if he's even found his path in life. How can anyone live that way? Twilight felt herself growing frustrated at how little she could do about Mike's situation. I think it’s time to change the subject.
“What's your job like? You said you were a computer 'pro-grammar'? Arrgh! That phrase makes absolutely no sense! I thought you said that computers cannot comprehend speech, but your job involves promoting grammar to computers?”
Mike laughed. “The word is programmer, which is a word for 'a person who writes programs'.”
“Oh like those 'programs' you had on your computer. Well that makes a lot more sense.”
Twilight was smitten by curiosity. “What's it like? Writing programs I mean. You said you like doing it.”
“Yes I do. I find it simultaneously both stimulating and relaxing
“The stimulating part comes when you do the analysis and design for the new program. Making sure you have identified all of the program requirements. During the design phase, you might get to address difficult and obscure data manipulation problems, as you attempt to find effective and elegant solutions. Sometimes you might spend days thinking about some problem. The flash of insight, when it comes, is so rewarding it makes me feel like singing and dancing right then and there.”
Twilight smiled, imagining Mike doing just that. She noted that they had passed several more green lights.
“Then after all the analysis and design work, come the days and weeks of coding. I find this to be the relaxing part, where you turn your intellectual creation into tangible software.”
Twilight frowned. Soft-ware? What's that?
Mike continued. “Day by day the program grows, pieces being added to it as you write the code for its component parts. Each part needs to be tested. If some part is not working the way you envisioned it, you make revisions to the code and soon it starts working as expected.”
Suddenly, Twilight saw the light they were approaching turn─ yellow? Mike began slowing down the truck. Within a few seconds the light had turned red. The truck was now stopped in the leftmost lane.
Mike smiled. “You know, Twilight, I enjoy the coding so much that I have a little fantasy that I indulge in. I imagine myself as being a modern-day equivalent to an old-style blacksmith who stands in front of his forge, hammering away at his metal, shaping it into the form he desires. But in my fantasy, the forge is my computer, and instead of metal I’m hammering on the software. If something about the software is not correct I edit it, which is metaphorically akin to 'whacking' it with my 'hammer'.”
Twilight listened with interest to Mike's metaphor. She was also observing a steady stream of vehicles crossing the road in front of them. Looking to the side she noticed that the cross traffic had their own set of lights, and that theirs was green. Suddenly the red and green lights made sense to Twilight.
“Finally, at the end of the project, you get to reveal your intellectual child, and watch proudly as it metaphorically takes its first few steps.”
It sounds to me like Mike has found his path in life, even if he doesn't have a Cutie Mark. She felt happy for him.
“It sounds like you are really enjoying your work Mike.” Twilight stated with a smile. “Though you used a word I did not understand. What is soft-ware?"
As Twilight waited for Mike's answer, she watched avidly as the cross-traffic's light turned yellow. She noted that some of the traffic immediately slowed down and came to a stop, while other vehicles appeared to speed up. Some of them did not make it through before their light became red.
Now that's just wrong. She thought. The red light means they should be stopped, and I see that our light is now green. Something bad could have happened. Why is Mike not concerned?
“Software. A word used to describe the body of instructions that a computer performs. In other words, a program. You can think of the hardware as the physical part of the computer and the software as the program or programs the computer is running.”
'But I like to think of it this way. Hardware is a word which describes a physically tangible object. And software is a word used to describe tangible objects, the programs, which are not actually physically present.”
Mike had advanced his truck into the intersection but waited for the oncoming vehicles to pass, before turning left.
“I think there is something wrong with your explanation.” Twilight argued. “Tangible means something perceptible by touch. If it's not physically present it can't be touched.”
“I see what you mean. However, in a computer, a body of data can be properly thought of as an object. Would you be willing to stretch your definition of 'tangible object' to include touching and manipulating that object by means of a mouse pointer?”
“Oh I see.’Software'...” Twilight considered the word, realizing now that it was one single word. “I think I like that word. A name for the parts of the machine, the programs, which are tangible, yet are without physical existence.” She wrote down the new information in her notebook.
The rest of the drive was silent. Twilight entertained herself by trying to puzzle out the meanings of the various roadside signs.
----------------
A few minutes later, they had apparently reached their destination. Twilight looked out upon a sea of carriages as Mike drove slowly through their ranks. The sheer number of carriages, and the occasional truck, implied to her the presence of humans, lots of humans. It made Twilight feel uneasy to be in the vicinity of so many carnivores.
There's no reason I should be feeling nervous. There's no way they are going to see through my disguise. Take deep breaths... Calm down... Twilight quietly began the calming exercises that Cadence had taught her.
“Why are you driving in circles?” she asked in an effort to distract herself from her feelings.
“I'm looking for a space where I can park my truck. But it looks as if we arrived too late in the day.”
“Why are there so many of these carriages here. Is this normal?” she asked, again prompted by her feelings of uneasiness.
“No Twilight, this situation is not normal. All these cars are here because everybody is trying to get in their last minute shopping before Christmas. I was afraid this would happen.”
They're called cars, the not-trucks are called cars. Twilight shifted her focus onto that tidbit of information. I wonder if 'car' is short for ‘carriage’?
“I think I see a spot!” Mike crowed out suddenly. The truck accelerated sharply. Even as she felt herself being pressed back into the seat, Twilight noticed that another car was rapidly approaching from the other direction. Apparently it too had designs on the same parking spot.
It was plain to Twilight that the other car would arrive at the same time as Mike. Unhappily she realized that she was caught in the middle of a contention over a parking space.
Humans are carnivores after all, and carnivores will fight over scraps. Twilight prepared herself for the worst. Her feelings of uneasiness intensified.
Twilight was pleasantly surprised however when Mike brought his truck to a stop, graciously allowing the other car to reach the parking space first. It was plain to Twilight that the other car had made no such concession, continuing its race forwards to claim the prize.
“Why did you stop?” Twilight asked. Observing the other car slow down abruptly as it finally reached the parking spot.
“I let him have it. I saw that we would have both reached it at the same time, and from there we would only have argued.” They observed the car ahead of them as it slowly turned into the parking spot.
Mike continued. “I find it better to spend my time searching for another spot rather than engaging in a fruitless argument─ what is that guy doing?” The source of Mike's exasperation was apparent as they watched the other vehicle repeatedly back out of the parking spot and then attempt to re-enter it again. On each attempt the other vehicle was only able to enter the parking spot half way.
“I think the parking spot is too small for him, but he's either not too bright or he's very stubborn.” Mike commented on the scene in front of them.
I think Mike handled this situation perfectly, avoiding conflict and acting peacefully. Twilight was looking thoughtfully at Mike, his actions had left her feeling calm and relieved.
He doesn't behave like a carnivore at all. I think I feel safe with him and I shouldn't have any worries about being around other humans.
Eventually, the driver of the other vehicle came to the same conclusion about the parking spot Mike had reached a full minute earlier. The other car backed out for the final time, aligned itself with the parking lane and shot forward with an audible squeal of its tires, accelerating rapidly towards them.
As the other car passed them by, the driver was revealed to be a jowly woman with flaming red hair. Her face held an angry expression and she was apparently shouting something at them. She held up a clenched fist, out of which emerged a lone finger.
I wonder what she was doing with her hand. Was it some form of greeting between passing vehicles? Probably not, she seemed angry.
“Why was she so angry at us?” Twilight asked in a small voice, with her ears folded back. Twilight was rather sensitive to outbursts of anger.
Mike started moving the truck forwards.
“That Twilight was an example of a selfish and childish individual. Always ready to blame everyone but themselves for their own shortcomings. Instead of admitting to her mistake, she found some way to lay the blame, and her anger upon us.” Mike replied even as his attention was drawn towards the abandoned parking spot. “It’s quite easy to see that that parking spot is too small for either of our vehicles. She should have recognized that immediately, and not even bothered trying to park there.”
As they drove slowly past, Twilight looked at the parking spot. Where each vehicle should have been parked neatly between two lines, one of the adjoining cars had parked itself diagonally, intruding a good two feet into the empty parking spot. The car on the opposite side, though it was parked straight, was parked right up against the line separating it from the empty spot.
“Wait!” Twilight called out. “I'm sure we can park there.”
“Now Twilight, I just told you that that space is too small for my truck.”
“Please Mike. Just hear me out.” She pleaded. “I can move those two cars and make plenty of room for your truck.”
“What? That's not possible Twilight. Those cars weigh up to two tons─ each.” Mike's voice was a little loud, suggesting he was alarmed by her suggestion.
“That's really not a problem Mike, I can do it. Do you trust me?” she asked.
That last question silenced Mike’s protestations. When he spoke again, it was with a much quieter voice, “Are you sure Twilight? Can you really do this? I wouldn't want you to strain yourself.”
“Trust me; I've handled much heavier objects than those cars.”
It's just the truth. She thought. Though I hope Mike doesn’t think I'm boasting.
“Alright Twilight, let me just move the truck back a bit, to give you a better view.” Mike put the truck into reverse and backed them up until they had a good view of the parking space through the front window.
Mike made a show of looking around. “Okay, I don't see anybody around here. Do your thing Twilight.”
Twilight immediately began to focus her magic upon the two cars. A bright light shone forth from her horn and her brow furrowed as she brought forth and maintained an intense concentration of magic.
The familiar rosy glow surrounded both vehicles as they rose about two hooves into the air. Twilight was surprised when the wheels protruded downwards from the vehicles, allowing them to maintain firm contact with the ground.
She focused a little harder, increasing the magic's concentration and its gradient, which resulted in both vehicles being lifted up by another two hooves. She was rewarded with the sight of two cars floating in mid-air, their wheels dangling limply.
Twilight could hear Mike's hiss as he drew in a breath. She didn't hear him exhale.
I knew I could lift those cars, but this is much easier than I expected, it's hardly an effort at all. Maybe it’s because I'm an Alicorn now.
Slowly, because the cars had a lot of mass, and she did not want to give them any troublesome momentum, Twilight moved the cars into their proper position between the white lines and lowered them back down to the ground.
The breath Mike had been holding in was suddenly released in one explosive exhale. In an instant Mike began moving his truck. It took mere seconds for the truck to slip into the just cleared parking spot in one smooth motion.
“That─ was─ amazing! Woo-Hoo!” he shouted, startling Twilight. “I've always wanted to put those ignorant parkers in their place. That's showing them Twilight!” he turned to her with a broad grin on his face.
A matching smile formed on her face as well. “Heh. I guess I literally did 'put them in their place', didn't I?”
“You sure did. And you probably saved us half an hour of searching. Come on lets go shopping.”
As they came away from the truck, a car passed them by. It was the same jowly woman from before, still searching for her own parking spot. The sight of their truck neatly parked in the same spot that she had been forced to abandon earlier was apparently too much for her. She was gesticulating wildly and they could hear muffled screaming coming from inside her car as she hurriedly drove past.
“Mike? She did that gesture again, the one with the finger. What does it mean?”
“Trust me Twilight. You don't want to know that.”
“Oh.” Twilight reconsidered her speculations about the gesture. “Was it something rude?”
“Very. Let's just leave it at that.”
----------------
“I'm sorry for the long walk Twilight. It's just that it was not possible to park any closer to the store.”
Long walk? Mike thinks this is a long walk? I walk further to get to the market in Ponyville every day. She mused.
“It's not a problem Mike. I'm used to taking much longer strolls than this every day. In fact, if I sit around your house much longer I will need to start exercising.”
“Exercising, hmm.” Mike replied. “I could do with a bit of that myself.” He patted his abdomen a few times. “Though this is a really bad season for outdoor activities. This time of the year, we humans mostly find ways to exercise indoors.”
“I wouldn’t mind at all if you came with me for some walks Mike.” Twilight was a little surprised at herself. She wasn't sure where that statement had come from.
“Not making any promises Twilight, but I think I would like that.” he replied.
I had better shut up before I surprise myself again. Was Twilight's thought to herself.
As they had been talking they finally approached the entrance to something which labeled itself as
a 'SuperStore'. Twilight was slightly apprehensive as she observed the growing numbers of humans. Some were entering the building. Others were making their way out, pushing strange carts in front of themselves.
Mike made his way inside, Twilight following close behind. She observed with interest, how the doors opened of their own accord as they approached. It almost seemed as if someone was using magic to open the doors for them, though she knew from Mike's statements that humans had no magic.
Mike had procured one of the strange carts from a large alcove off to the side of the door. Twilight hastened to follow behind him as he made his way through a second set of magic doors. After passing through the doors Mike made his way over to a clear space, off to the side.
As she came through the doors Twilight was stunned by all the sights, smells and noises which assaulted her senses. The milling humans, each one pushing a cart, made her feel much more anxious.
“Excuse me? Would you mind not standing in the doorway?” The voice of a polite older mare pushing a laden cart towards the doorway helped Twilight to come out of her stunned daze.
“Sorry!” Twilight exclaimed, flashing an apologetic smile at the mare. Quickly she walked over to where Mike was waiting. She started her deep breathing exercises, attempting to regain her calm.
“What's wrong Twilight? You appear to be disturbed?”
“It's so─ so─ busy in here. All these humans, their voices, the smells, it's quite overwhelming.” She took a longer sniff and grimaced. “I smell blood too. There's meat in here, isn't there?”
“Unfortunately, yes. But I've planned our route to avoid those sections, so at least you won't have to look at any of it. Is that acceptable Twilight?”
“Yes. I think I can manage; the smell is not too strong. Do you mind if I stay close Mike? All these humans, carnivores, make me uneasy.”
Mike appeared surprised at her statement. “Of course you can Twilight, if it makes you feel better.
“But you shouldn't be afraid of people in that way. Even if you were here without your disguise, probably not a single one of these people would dream of attacking you. And they certainly would not have any intent of eating you. In reality you would start a mass panic and they would all run away screaming.”
“Really? They would run away screaming?” Twilight's expression was one of wry disbelief.
“Seriously. Most of these people would be thinking and screaming 'Help! There's a wild animal loose in the store! Somebody do something!’ Some few of the children, not having learned caution around animals will be going 'Mommy, I want to see the doggy!' or pony or whatever they think you are.”
Twilight frowned, trying to imagine such a reaction from all these humans.
I'll have to admit, that's pretty much how us ponies would react if a strange animal suddenly appeared. Twilight thought.
Mike continued. “But here's the real danger. Eventually the police would arrive in response to the commotion, and they would be obligated to 'do something'. The most likely scenario I can imagine is that you are captured and sequestered by the authorities for 'scientific study'.”
“The po-leece?” Twilight asked nervously.
“That's the name we use for our officers of the peace. People who are charged with the duty of maintaining law and order-”
They sound like Celestia’s guards.
“- and they do deserve our respect. But in your case Twilight, they would be more or less duty-bound to capture you and remove you from the public, all in the interests of preserving the peace.”
“I see.” She said uneasily. She shuffled closer to Mike, unconsciously seeking the comfort of a friend.
Mike stooped down suddenly and wrapped his arms around her, giving her a brief hug about her shoulders. “Don't worry Twilight. I'll keep you from getting into any trouble like that.” he whispered from somewhere near her left ear.
The hug, brief as it had been was just what she needed. Twilight could feel herself growing calmer again.
“Thanks Mike. So─ shouldn't we be trying to find some food?” she asked.
“Right. We'll Twilight, my plan is to avoid the far back wall of the store. That's where most of the meat is kept. I imagine you would not want to see any of that.
“So, along this wall and among those stands, is where the fresh produce is kept. Well start here...”
----------------
Two hours later Mike and Twilight came out of the so called 'SuperStore'. Mike was pushing a cart, well laden with groceries in front of him.
“Please tell me you don't have to go through all that every time you need to get some food.” Twilight grumbled to Mike.
“I'm sorry about that Twilight. I certainly didn't enjoy waiting over an hour in line any more than you did. And no, normally it's a much faster experience.”
It had taken them nearly an hour to locate every item (or a suitable substitute) on their shopping list. Mike was unfamiliar with many of the items necessitated by the new vegetarian menu, and they had spent a great deal of time searching through the aisles for them. Added to that was the problem of avoiding the blatant displays of meat in certain sections of the store.
At several points, in an effort to save time, Twilight had bravely volunteered to walk among the aisles of the dead. But Mike steadfastly declined her offers, he had seen how even the sight of a single package of meat in another shopper's cart had upset Twilight greatly.
The real delay had been due to another series of unfortunate events. First, as explained by their frazzled cashier, nearly a third of the staff had not shown up for work due to the aftereffects of the ice-storm. Next, the store had suffered a server failure, causing massive confusion at the checkout counters. For nearly half an hour, the scanners were off-line. In all probability the one person who looked after the computers had not made it in due to the ice-storm.
And lastly, it was the Christmas rush. Throwing nearly three times as many customers as were normally expected into this situation was a recipe for disaster.
As they began their trek back to the truck, Twilight commented to Mike, “I'm glad that's all over with. Shopping is so much easier in Ponyville.”
“Sorry to break the news to you like this Twilight, but we're not finished with all our shopping.”
“What!?” Twilight didn't quite shout her response, but it was close.
“But it's for you Twilight.” Mike's rebuttal left her confused.
“How do you figure that Mike? I don't need anything.”
“Well, I've noticed that your notebook is getting pretty full...”
OhMyGosh! It's two thirds full already! And I just started filling it this morning! Twilight felt a thrill of alarm coursing through her veins. I have to get more notebooks!
“Why yes, it is getting full.” Twilight's calm response belied her inner agitation. “It was certainly very thoughtful of you to notice that I needed more notebooks. If we have to do more shopping, I'll be happy to come with you.” Twilight said with a smile. In reality she was falling over herself to ensure she had a steady supply of notebooks.
“Um, where exactly do we need to go?” she asked in a coy manner.
“Well, the best place to get them is 'Staples', a store which sells office supplies and stationary. But it's located at the other end of the shopping mall.”
They finally arrived at Mike's truck and it took but a few moments to load the bags of groceries into the truck's rear seating area, especially with the aid of Twilight's magic.
“Are we going to take the truck to the other store?” she asked.
“On any normal day I would. But you saw how difficult it was to get this parking spot. No I plan on walking there. Come on, the first thing we have to do is return this cart.”
Twilight trotted up alongside Mike. Together they headed back to the grocery store. The prospect of a long walk did not bother her but the silence did.
“Mike. I asked you before if you could tell me about yourself, but we never finished that conversation. Could we maybe return to that topic?”
“I've told you before Twilight, that my life is a boring subject.”
“How can you possibly say that? How can any person possibly think that their life is boring?”
“Twilight, in my entire life no one has ever asked me for my story. And you know why? It's because I'm boring. I'm so boring that people even avoid me.” Mike sounded sad and slightly angry.
“Well I'm not a 'pee-pull', I'm a pony, and I am asking you because I am interested. Please, won't you tell me a little about yourself?”
Mike seemed to be debating with himself whether he should tell his story. Twilight recalled something he had said the previous day. “You said that you grew up on a farm. Why don't you start by telling me about that?”
“It wasn’t a real farm, more like a hobby farm.” Mike returned.
“A hobby farm?” She asked.
“Yeah. The name pretty much describes it. My parents bought a small farm, to indulge themselves in the 'pastoral life'. Perhaps they were nostalgic for the simpler life they experienced when they were children. Perhaps they did it for economic reasons; some things my father said led me to believe that jobs were scarce during that time. One thing you can say about living on a farm is that there's always plenty of food, if you’re willing to work for it.
Regardless, of why exactly they came to do it, we found ourselves living on a hobby farm. Nothing we had was sufficient to make the farm economically viable. We had fifty acres, four cows, two pigs, two dogs and numerous cats. For a while we even had a small herd of four sheep, but my dad got rid of them after the first spring.”
“Got rid of them? You don't mean-” Twilight was suddenly apprehensive over the fate of the sheep.
“It was nothing bad Twilight. My dad simply sold them to another farmer. The sheep had a tendency to destroy their pasture by grazing it too closely. With the pasture half devastated, we had to spend money to buy extra fodder for the other animals. And then when the sheep needed to be sheared─ let's just say it cost more to get a sheep shearer to come in and do the job than the wool from four sheep was worth. I remember my dad was really upset about that.”
Mike wore a tiny smile as he remembered that detail.
By now, Mike had returned the grocery cart and they had walked a ways past the entrance of the 'superstore'. Twilight could see that they were approaching another doorway where numerous humans could be seen entering and exiting.
“The point was, we had insufficient land for raising more than a tiny handful of animals. It wasn't enough to make the farm economically viable. But the animals and the apple orchard and the garden were an enormous help towards making our family self-sufficient in food.”
“An apple orchard? You grew apples?” Twilight was wide-eyed, astonished at the mention of an apple orchard. It reminded her strongly of her friend Applejack.
“If you can call a mere twenty trees an orchard. Half of those trees had grown too old; they were large and full of gnarled and dying branches. I remember my dad cutting them down and pulling the stumps with the little tractor we had. Then he planted new trees in their place.”
“It sounds like you enjoyed your life on the farm.” Twilight commented as they entered through the doors.
This is not a store. Twilight observed. It's more like a passageway in Princess Celestia’s castle, only it’s very broad and very plain.
“No. I hated it.” Mike surprised Twilight with his answer. “In my callow youth I resented all the chores my parents had me do, especially the gardening. Do you know how disgusting tomato horn-worms and potato beetles are? Every day I had to go out and pull them off the plants. Every day! Eeyyyucckkk!” Mike shuddered dramatically.
“When I was thirteen, we moved away from the farm and back into the city. I vowed I would never do those chores ever again.”
Suddenly they came to the end of the short passage and found themselves in what Twilight could only describe as a market, except it was indoors. Mike had turned left as they entered a very broad passageway. Twilight could see both sides of the passageway were lined with shops.
But what Twilight noticed above all else were the humans. There were masses and masses of humans walking up and down the length of the passageway. They walked singly, but sometimes they came in groups, chatting amiably amongst themselves. Some walked slowly, checking out the storefront displays, and others walked quickly, determined to get to their destination with as little delay as possible.
And they were all carnivores.
I know they won't suddenly attack me. And I believe what Mike told me, how they would be afraid of me if they saw me. But I just can't help it, I feel like a foal surrounded by Timberwolves.
Twilight could feel her unease growing by leaps and bounds. In short order she was pushing Cadence's breathing exercises for all they were worth. She started falling behind Mike. Before she knew what was happening she found that she had unconsciously drifted up against the bowl of a potted tree that was set in the center of the passageway. She huddled there, trying to appear small, trying to regain control of her emotions.
This is silly, I'm being irrational. Twilight shouted internally at herself, attempting to reason her way past her anxiety. These humans won't harm me. Just like Mike wouldn't harm me. Thinking about Mike suddenly made her realize that he was absent. Where's Mike? She thought. How could he leave me here all alone? A whimper escaped from her throat, she squeezed her eyes shut.
Upon opening them again she saw one of the humans was suddenly right there in front of her. Twilight's eyes dilated in shock and surprise, her ears folded back and she shied away from the intruder.
“Twilight!” the intruder called out quickly, and suddenly she realized that it was Mike, squatting in front of her.
Her relief was so palpable that she lunged forward and threw her forelegs around him in a hug. “Mike!” she called out happily. “I'm so glad you didn't leave me.”
“Urk! You... should know... I would... never... do that...” Mike was speaking in a strange manner, making a funny wheezing noise between every few words. But it didn't matter; Twilight could feel her anxiety melting away in the presence of her friend. She hugged him even tighter for the sheer joy of it.
“Uhhh... Twilight... too... tight...” Mike's voice was definitely degrading; she could barely make out those last few words. Suddenly the words meaning worked their way to the forefront of her mind.
I'm hurting him. I didn't mean to hurt him. Those thoughts coursed through her mind even as she released her tight grip.
Gasp! “Sorry, sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you. Are you all right Mike?” she asked.
Mike winced and took a few deep breaths before answering. “Ow! I can't believe how strong you are.”
Accompanying those words was a friendly smile, mitigating any damage they might have wrought.
Twilight smiled back, having forgotten for the moment the masses of humans passing by on all sides. “I take it that means you are all right then.”
Well this is a surprise. Mikes more than twice my size, how is it that he's so fragile? She thought to herself. I'll have to try and remember that so I don't hurt him in future.
Mike rose from his squatting position. “Never-mind about me, what about you Twilight? I was walking along when suddenly I discovered that you were missing. Fortunately I found you nearby, but it looked like you were having a really bad time. You didn't even see me approaching.”
Twilight's ears drooped back and she looked aside. “I'm just really nervous around all these humans Mike, these... carnivores.” she finished in a small voice.
“Well Twilight, you need to stop thinking of them as carnivores, because that's wrong. Whenever you do that, you also associate us with the concept of predators, and I assure you that these people are not predators. We are omnivores.
“Why don't you start thinking of them as 'people' instead? That's a word for intelligent and reasoning beings who would happily sit down with you to enjoy a salad meal. By that definition, I'm a person, and you’re a person, and they’re all persons.” Mike waved his arm towards the passing humans. “Together, collectively, we are all of us─ ‘people’.”
Twilight looked into Mike's face. Have I been frightening myself with a word? Have I been projecting my fear of predators onto all these 'pee-pull'?
“I'll try to do that Mike. But in the meantime, could I walk closer to you? I'd feel better if you were nearby.”
“Sure thing Twilight, I don't mind.” Mike stepped close and put a hand on her shoulder. “I could even hold you like this as we walked?”
“I─ I don't think that will be necessary.” she replied, afraid to show Mike exactly how uneasy the crowds made her feel.
Oh who do I think I'm kidding? These crowds make me really uneasy and I should accept Mike's offer.
“Suit yourself-” Mike began to reply pulling his hand away, but Twilight interrupted him.
“On second thought maybe we could try that... You holding me that is... For a little while... Until I can learn to relax around these─ pee-pull.” Twilight attempted to communicate her reconsideration without appearing to be desperate.
“Of course Twilight, come on, we still have a good ways to go.”
----------------
Twilight found Mike's close presence to be quite calming. His hand on her shoulder felt somewhat like a friendly nuzzle.
Under Mike's friendly hand Twilight was able lower her anxiety to the point where she could view the humans more objectively and began to practice thinking of them as 'persons' and 'pee-pull'.
Mike's right. I do need to change my mental viewpoint. These humans are pee-pull, not predators. Pee-pull, what a funny word.
Just then she noticed a sign that read 'Peoples Jewellers' on one of the store fronts.
Pe-o-ple, pee-pulls. A sudden thought struck her. I wonder...
“Mike?”
“Yes Twilight.” Mike halted their forward progress.
“I saw a sign back there, the name on that jewelry store. Is that how you spell the word pee-pull?”
Mike turned about and attempted to see the store in question through the milling crowd, as he did so he let go of her shoulder. When his hand left her shoulder Twilight was both pleased to discover that the presence of the crowds of humans no longer seemed to bother her so much, and saddened by the loss of Mike's touch.
“You mean the 'Peoples Jewellers' store? Yes Twilight, that's how we spell the word people.” suddenly he grinned at her, “Why, what strange phonetic spelling have you been thinking of up till now?”
“Never you mind.” she replied emphatically, pulling his hand back onto her shoulder with her magic and giving him a gentle push to get moving again back in the direction they had been traveling.
It's simply to distract him from that question. Yes, that's why I have him holding my shoulder. Not that I need it anymore. She told herself equally emphatically.
----------------
Soon they had arrived at the store Mike had been seeking. Twilight thought it had a very strange name for an office supply store.
'Staples' might be an appropriate name for a food store, for selling staple foods. But for office supplies it makes no sense.
Mike led the way past multiple aisles filled with all manner of items. Twilight never imagined that any office could possibly need so many different things. Soon they found the notebooks.
Twilight was amazed at the sheer variety of colors and styles the notebooks came in. She felt like a filly in a candy store as she lifted up a sample of every type of notebook with her magic.
Mike waited patiently as she compared notebooks.
It’s so hard to decide. I like the wire type I've been using because I'm able to record my observations serially. But this other kind of wire notebook has five built in dividers, allowing me to easily organize my notes and observations by subject!
Finally, reluctantly, she settled on three notebooks of the type she had already been using. She hoped that she could convince Mike she needed that many. She would probably use one per day.
“Only three?” Mike asked, surprise evident in his voice. “It would have thought, the way you write, that you would need a lot more than that.”
“You mean I can get more?” she asked eagerly.
“Sure, get ten or twelve if you want. If you don't use them than I'm sure I can eventually find a use for them.” was his nonchalant reply.
“Eeee!” She let out a squeal of excitement. “Thank you Mike.” In mere moments she had six of each type, in a broad selection of colors.
“Here, I think we could use a few of these as well.” Mike added some 'writing pads' to her collection.
“Why do I need these?” she asked. “I have plenty of notebooks with these lovely spring bindings.”
“These writing pads have detachable sheets of paper. I find that they're good for just scribbling out your rough thoughts and ideas, and then throwing away your rejects. They're also good for writing notes and letters, simply detach the page the note is on and send it.”
“Okay. I can see how that would be useful.” Twilight agreed. Suddenly she changed the subject.
“What about this pen Mike? Do you think it will last through all these notebooks?”
“Let me see.” he said, reaching for the pen. Twilight floated it over to him.
With a deft motion of his versatile fingers, he unscrewed the silvery tip of the pen. The interior components displayed themselves. Up until that point she had not considered the internal workings of the pen she had been using. She found it a fascinating sight.
“See this plastic tube here.” Mike pointed a finger on the offending object. “This holds the ink. When new, the ink filled it up to here,” he indicated a point near the end of the tube, where Twilight could see a faint demarcation of cloudiness, “but as you can see, the ink has almost all disappeared.” His finger now indicated the dark substance remaining at the other end of the tube.
“So, it’s nearly out of ink.” She replied glumly, her ears dropped down a bit.
“Looks like it. So, while we are here we should get some refills for it.” He looked at the stack of notepads she was levitating alongside her. “Lots of refills.”
Twilight squee'd for joy when she saw the selection of pens.
----------------
The walk back was uneventful, though Twilight continued to 'allow' Mike to hold on to her shoulder. In truth she rather enjoyed the contact and didn't want it to end. It seemed to satisfy something in herself she couldn't quite fathom.
I like this. I don't know why. But I like the feel of his hand on my shoulder. It's a little like being nuzzled. And it also reminds me, just a little, of Spike's weight when he's riding on my haunches.
Buoyed by her feelings of contentment, Twilight asked Mike to continue his story.
“You were saying Mike, that you hated being on the farm, and that your family moved to the city. Why are you back on the farm now?”
“I told you, I was a stupid kid-”
“Kid?” Twilight interrupted. “Are humans related to goats?”
Mike smiled back at her. “Child, Twilight, 'kid' is a slang term for 'child'. At one time its use was considered offensive to many. But now it has become the norm. Even the dictionaries have stopped identifying it as 'slang' terminology.”
“Oh. Sorry to interrupt. You were saying?”
“I was saying that I was a selfish and very willful child. I would constantly focus on all the chores I disliked so intensely. As a child, I ended up convincing myself that I hated the farm itself.
“It was only years later, that I found myself missing the peaceful quiet and open spaces that were part of my everyday life on the farm. I had been so focused on my dislikes that I totally overlooked the things that I loved about the farm. As I grew older, city life became less and less satisfying.
“Three years ago, I contributed into a lottery pool the office employees had set up. They had been playing that game for years, but for once, one of the lottery tickets they had bought won a big prize. There were sixteen of us in that pool, and the prize was eighteen million dollars.
When I received my share of the prize, the very first thing I wanted to do with it was to buy a farm. I spend a year looking for the right farm. I wanted a place that was not too far away from the city, so I could still work there. Yet I also wanted a farm with lots of space without being too expensive.
I spent a whole year looking for the right place. Then I spend another year having the house renovated and adding various other improvements.”
“So, you've only been living in your home for a year now?” Twilight asked, figuring the date from the time he claimed to have won the lottery prize.
“Um. About thirteen months now, I'd say.” Mike clarified.
“What were those other improvements you mentioned?”
“Oh, you've seen most of them. The garage where I park my truck is a new building. The back half of the building is my new workshop. Then there's the emergency power generator and the satellite internet service.”
“What do you plan to do with your farm?” She asked.
“I'm not sure yet. In reality, this is just my hobby farm, I enjoy my work too much to want to quit or retire from it. As for this farm, I might try to plant a small orchard, or even try my hand at cultivating some crops. But mostly, I just want to enjoy having all this open space around me. Whenever I have an urge to build or do something, there are no restrictions which prevent me from doing it.”
Their walk had taken them all the way back to the side corridor where they had entered the covered market. Twilight was so engrossed in Mike's story that she scarcely noticed when they exited the enormous building.
“I don't think you told me why your family moved away from the farm in the first place?” Twilight kept digging into Mike's past.
Mike drew a breath and let it out as a long sigh. “It was on account of my little sister.” he replied.
“You have a younger sister?” Twilight was surprised. Nothing Mike had said previously had suggested that he had any siblings.
Wow. Mike is an older brother to his sister. Just like Shining is to me. Oh I'd love to meet her and ask her what she thinks about Mike.
“She's gone now.” He replied with a sad voice.
What? She's dead? But I never got to meet her. Twilight was shocked.
“I was thirteen years old, when she got sick, I mean really sick. I remember that in particular because my parents got the news of her illness just two days before my thirteenth birthday. I was supposed to have a big party and I got so mad when everything fell apart and my sister became the center of attention. I told you that I was a selfish and willful child. I guess you can add shallow to that list.”
“I'm so sorry for your sister Mike. You don't have to say any more if you don't want to.” Twilight responded. She wanted to give him a comforting hug right then and there.
“It's all right Twilight, I don't mind. I think the best thing I can do for her now is to remember her, both the good parts and the bad parts. She was only ten years old when she got sick. In only eight months she was gone.”
“If you don't mind my asking, what happened to her?”
“She had leukemia. Acute Lymphocytic Leukemia was the exact diagnosis the doctor's called it. It's a type of cancer which affects the blood.”
“Cancer...” Twilight appeared to consider the word. “I don't think I've ever heard of cancer. What is it?”
Mike stopped abruptly. “You don't know what cancer is?” he asked incredulously.
“Mike, I just said that.” Twilight spoke gently, still mindful that the true subject at hand was Mike's sister.
“Cancer is a disease where some cells in the body become abnormal and begin to divide and reproduce uncontrollably, becoming an ever growing mass of abnormal tissue. These abnormal cells also have a nasty habit of spreading to other parts of the body. Maybe you know of the disease by another name.”
Ewww. Twilight suddenly imagined the cancer as being some kind of globular lump growing out of her body.
“That disease sounds absolutely horrible Mike. I'm fairly well read, but I've never heard of anything like that. I could be wrong, maybe it is known in Equestria, but I think it would have to be a very rare disease indeed.
Twilight paused, puzzled by one of the details Mike had mentioned. “You said this cancer causes the growth of a mass of abnormal tissue. How does that work for blood? She didn't fill up with excessive amounts of blood did she?”
“I looked it up years later. The cancer is in the marrow of the bones, where new blood cells are formed.-”
New Blood cells are formed inside the bone marrow? I didn't know that. I wonder if it's the same for ponies?
“-The leukemia starts growing increasing numbers of non-functioning blood cells. Eventually the dysfunctional cells start to outnumber and crowd out the functional blood cells. At that point the patient has a variety of life threatening symptoms. Poor blood clotting and anemia were the two symptoms that plagued my sister the most.”
They had reached Mike's truck now. Twilight suspended her curiosity while they stowed their purchases and climbed aboard. She kept her silence as they exited the parking lot, waiting until they had returned to the main road and proceeding on their way home again.
“Can the disease be treated?” Twilight was burning to ask that question.
“The standard method of treating leukemia is chemotherapy.” Twilight waited to see if Mike would explain the new term. Her patience was rewarded as Mike spoke up again.
“Chemotherapy is a treatment based on injecting special toxins into the body to destroy the cancer cells.”
They treat the patient by poisoning them? That's insane. No that's sheer criminal stupidity! Twilight was incensed.
“That's absolutely ridiculous! Whoever came up with that treatment should be arrested as a murderer.” She exclaimed heatedly.”
“You might think that Twilight, but it's not so simple. As far as any medication goes, those cancer cells are indistinguishable from normal cells. Anything that targets them will also target the normal cells in the body.
“But cancer cells have one slight vulnerability. They divide much faster than normal cells. So if you administer a toxin which destroys cells that are in the process of dividing, the toxin has a much larger impact on the abnormal cells than it does on the normal cells.
”So yes, the treatment amounts to slowly poisoning the patient to death. But there is a reasonable hope that the cancer cells will all die off before the patient expires.”
“Treatment by differential toxicological sensitivity...” Twilight mused out loud. “So... If the cancer cells are sensitive enough, the patient is cured, but if they aren't sensitive enough...”
“Then the treatment is a failure, and the patient is left extremely weakened, and feeling so ill that they might despair of life itself. And that's exactly what happened in her case. Four times they tried the chemotherapy, four times she suffered, and four times they failed.”
“Was there no other treatment they could have tried?” Twilight was aggrieved for Mike’s sister. “You mentioned that the key-mo-therapy was the standard treatment.”
“Her leukemia was simply too aggressive. The doctors tried to find a suitable match for a bone marrow transplant, but she died before they found one.”
“A bone-marrow-transplant?” Twilight tried to imagine what that might be, and failed.
“It's a process whereby they deliberately destroy the patient’s bone marrow. It destroys both the cancer cells as well as the normal cells. Then when they are sure all the cancer cells are gone, they transplant new bone marrow from a healthy donor into the patient.
“I gather that it involves some very large needles which penetrate into the marrow of the bone.”
That sounds so simple so elegant... except for the killing the marrow part. And the large needles. Nopony likes needles.
“That's so simple, so direct. Why didn't they do that in the first place?”
“With the bone marrow, you also acquire a copy of the donor's immune system. If the donor is not exactly matched to the recipient, the new blood will attack and begin killing every cell in the recipient’s body. That's called graft versus host disease.”
“So, despite the doctor's best efforts, they could not save your sister. How did that affect you?”
“When she first became ill, Twilight, I was an absolute monster. I was angry at how she had turned everyone's life upside down. And even though I hated the farm, I was angry that our parents sold it, so we could move into a house in the city, closer to the hospital.
“But it's funny. Little by little, I came to realize what my sister meant to me. I came to respect her incredible bravery as she met every trial and endured every treatment, and yet she stayed cheerful. I came to love her as the precious irreplaceable person that was my only sister. I...”
Mike’s voice choked off, Twilight could see tears running down his face. He reached up with his hand and to wipe away the tears.
“I− I'm sorry Twilight. I can't continue.” He rasped out.
“I'm so sorry Mike.” She extended her left wing and touched his shoulder with it. “You really loved her. I can see that. I'm sorry that I never got to meet her, she sounds like an incredible person.”
“She was, Twilight, she was.” Mike spoke softly, his voice trailed off.
They spent the rest of the journey home in silence.
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The Feels! The Feels!
You sir made me cry
nice chapter keep up the good work
Question:
If the ponies will appear in the Human World, will they all appear in the same place or will they be in different parts?!
PS: If you're afraid of spoiling, PM me the answer!
nothing more painful then a friend grieving from the loss of someone special to them.
you sir are very skilled with the words you write and the characters your story portrays.
can't wait to see how twilight handles a traditional Christmas dinner and how mike handles the explanation of hearths warming eve.
A moving chapter and wonderfully, cathartic read.
This story needs more chapters,you need to write more ... a lot more!
Yes, I am enjoying the story but it is taking so long.
Of-course this is from someone who's own fan-fic is more than a year over-due for the next chapter :).
5325937 It doesn't sound scientific if it doesn't use greek or latin words.
I prefer greek because of serveral 'greek' references in the MLP:FiM tv series.
...
WOW.
Wait a second...
lh3.googleusercontent.com/proxy/ctoF4W4E4qShhPP9MjoqUe1IbflX0N5mmjOJCc3mOBjY1sB0Cb2Q4kPlop0DyfUU7jVeRZa3RCYBnkOB-tRkQz7dgUs=w506-h285-n
IT'S THE PONYARCHY!
Do people actually believe this cynical shit? That a crowd would break into a panicked mob at the sight of a strange creature, instead of being I don't know curious. That every scientist would want to kill and dissect the strange and wonderful new creature even if it was sapient. I'm a pessimist and even I'm not that cynical. I'm also a biologist so a little biased on that one.
So the carnivore thing wont show up anymore passed here.... but their was no resolution? Has much has I am upset it existed in the first place not having a resolution is worse. I am able accept that people do stupid and irrational things. Overall this chapter was good. Twilight being wary of an unknown predator is believable. That problem has always been that Twilight wasn't so much displaying fear of carnivores has disgust. You put a conflict into this story, so you better finish the job and resolve it, not gest ignore it.
This action is performed in the entrance of a very crowed shopping center and supposedly Twilight's glamor douse not effect Mike. I got the image of mike crouching to hug a twenty something girl around the thighs his head pressed against her hip... in public. Is a wonder that didn't draw attention to them.
More missing words.
Twilight's glamor must convey her emotional state or else the waitresses actions make no sense. So people should of been seeing a twenty something girl laying on the floor in the fetal position. Good thing no other decent person went by before Mike returned.
The things Twilight levitates are shown being held in the hand of her glamor, but Twilight can levitate more then two things at the same time, and is often know to be forgetful in her excitement. Hmmmmm
6113117 Honestly, a large portion would. However, that'd only cover a portion of those. There'd also likely be some that may want to capture her to sell her for profit as a unique creature. And then, yes, there'd be some that'd be curious, but there'd be so much chaos from all the mixed views that, to put simply, it wouldn't be pretty.
As much as I enjoy this story, I feel that Mike should point out again that humans are omnivores, NOT carnivores. Carnivores eat only meat, while omnivores eat a mixture of meat and plants.
6119156
That, and there's the old saying: "A person is intelligent, people are stupid, dangerous animals." At least, I think it was something like that.
If only one, ONE (1) person reacts in a certain way, either with fear or aggression, usually, the rest of the surrounding individuals will react in kind. Herd mentality, if you will. If it was only a handful of people, then maybe, the situation could be saved, but we're talking hundreds of people. Once a mob gets going, there's barely any stopping them without superior numbers or superior force...
Believe me, it's not fun having a broken arm just because one idiot freaked out over someone having a metal briefcase at an airport and getting trampled by the idiots that follow him...
You really need to fix that "irrational Twilight paranoia regarding carnivorous sapient people." It really doesn't make any sense at all considering where she comes from (Canterlot, Gifted Unicorn School, Celestia's student) and in what she turned into recently (Princess, alicorn, co-leader of the country). They have carnivorous intelligent species in their own world and I am willing to bet she made contact with them at least once in Canterlot, perhaps even with a dignitary visiting Celestia.
The fact that Twilight stood up for Zecora and tried to defend Gilda at first from Pinkie's accusations, proves that she can be diligent with other species regardless of their dietary needs or 'strangeness'. Heck, she even POLITELY talked with a Dragon about him not falling asleep in that lair.
None of the girls were even THAT panicky when facing a manticore.
The way she phrases her thoughts is as if she was being racist against carnivorous 'people'. Prejudices of that kind I would expect from Applejack or her other friends, considering how they despised Zecora through simple rumors, but Twilight doesn't do that at all, being rather open minded or rational with other creatures.
That kind of behavior does not suit her well, since she is the well read and educated type. A little bit of fear and hesitation may be required at the point she learns about him eating meat, but at THIS point here in the story, after she had spent so much time with him already, she should not think like this at all. She can be anxious since it was crowded, but not because they were "Predators" as if they would jump her bones any moment, especially since Michael explained they don't eat 'earth' ponies at all. Considering their knowledge and technologies, it should have been driven home to her that they are anything but savages.
Denial: It's not just a river in
EgyptSaddle Arabia.Great chapter! Though, I will say that I was expecting Twilight to be a little more emotional about Mike's account of his sister. Though, I also realize that she may very well just not be showing all of her emotions outwardly.
Much of the potential in this story is showing an alien perspective of the mundane. A simple thing that we take completely for granted, like credit cards from a previous chapter, must seem completely bizarre to one accustomed to dealing with only coins.
if anything, I'd like to see more of Twilight's reaction to these things.
Twilight should already be perfectly aware that non-equines (like dragons and griffins) don't have cutie marks.
So, anyone else concerned about the parking lot security cameras? You know, the ones that almost all first world stores have these days?
I can only imagine the expression of the guard(s) assigned to monitor the system when the photon radiation from the spell catches their attention just in time to see two multi-ton vehicles float through the air...
7019013 I have answered posts similar to this one before.
I always maintain the position that unless a security guard happens to be looking at a monitor at the right time - nothing will be noticed.
1) It is highly doubtful that the security monitors have some sort of 'computerized alarm' to draw attention to 'unusual activity'. Mostly because I doubt our computer tech can do this (at least reliably and definitely not cheaply).
2) It's Christmas and the whole mall is jam-packed with crazy people.
3) Watching monitors is boring! My best guess is that when the mall is busy the security staff have other work to be doing. And when things are slow they would either play cards or read a book between walking their rounds.
4) The CCTV cameras and monitors are there mostly to record events. If a crime occurs, then there is a visual record the police can use to help identify the criminal.
But you are right. If there was a major crime in the parking lots - the police would review the video tapes very carefully and would then notice the shimmering glow from Twilight's spell as two cars raised themselves up and moved over.
The same goes for Twilight's presence in the mall. She is recorded on video, but who knows if those tapes will ever get reviewed?
I had a sister who died of leukemia when I was young. I know exactly what Mike's going through.
7763483 I'm really sorry to hear that. I can't even begin to understand what that must be like, going through something like that.
previews.123rf.com/images/sonyae/sonyae0611/sonyae061100028/639570-Horse-Crossing-Sign-Stock-Photo.jpg
So Mike thinks her flanks are cute, eh?
6113117
Yes, people are fearful of the unknown. One person screams and runs away, most people will follow, because of the - if one person saw danger, there must be danger response. It's called Group Think, where the individual looses themselves in the mob.
Twilight, I have never been more jealous in my life than I do at this moment. What I wouldn't give to be able to do this same thing.
*Gasp!*
6113117
Well, I think it's more to the effect that government agencies don't have a good grasp on ethics, so it stands to reason that they'd want to study the psicokinetic alien horse
Funny joke,ACAB always. And yes this comment is because Floyd and all the represión of the police around the globe
10278181
Yeah, yeah go burn a family store.
Im not sure where this dated info came from but (in the UK at least) Tattoo infections are incredibly rare and are usually caused by the recipient not caring for a fresh tattoo properly.
If you are stupid enough to go to some back yard unlicensed meth head that bought a tattoo gun from ebay that is your problem.
All professional tattoo artists have to keep their store and equipment to an extremely high standard and the needle its self is NEVER reused.
7033388
And thus you have plausible deniability (or whatever it's called; it might be the wrong term) on your side, meaning you, as the author in control of the story, don't have to make this "realistic" occurrence happen----even if it were interesting and in high demand----unless the plot calls for the conflict. Cause in cases like these, you considered one possibility just as plausible as the other. 😉
7033388
Sooo, if they did review the footage later... Would Twilight's spell be bypassed since it alters the mind of the people and the cameras would capture the true situation?