Just a Phase

by HorseStories

Part 1, Chapter 3 - Answers

It was midday by the time Sweetie Belle returned to Fluttershy's home, carrying her full stack of photocopies. Although it had crossed her mind to leave some of the photocopies behind, she had decided against it. Sweetie Belle knew Fluttershy had a remarkable capacity to read other ponies like a book, and didn't want to risk losing the only person she could be honest with.

Fluttershy saw Sweetie Belle approaching out of her front window. As Sweetie Belle ran through the door, panting, Fluttershy took the full stack before Sweetie Belle had time to reconsider, and promptly threw them in the trash.

'Well done, Sweetie Belle'. Fluttershy waited patiently for the filly to catch her breath before she answered.

'N-no problem, Fluttershy'.

'Is that all of them?'

Sweetie Belle looked up at Fluttershy and nodded.

Fluttershy paused momentarily, and then indicated for Sweetie to sit down.

'So, do you want to talk now?'

Sweetie Belle nodded. Come to think of it, she knew very little about ponies like her. While Twilight had plenty of books on medicine and psychiatry, Sweetie wouldn't know where to look to find information on other ponies like her. Presumeably, Twilight didn't stock books on the subject.

'Fluttershy, is there anypony else in Ponyville who's... like me?'

Fluttershy shook her head. 'There's two mares - a couple - I know of, but I can't tell anypony. There could be more, but I wouldn't know - it's dangerous to ask questions like that.'

'Do you know anypony else in Ponyville who won't care that I'm a fillyfooler?'

Again, Fluttershy shook her head, though this time Sweetie noticed something else. Bitterness? 'None, apart from the two I mentioned. Again, I can't be sure, because nopony is open about it if they support it.'

Sweetie was beginning to get frustrated. 'Okay, who will care?'

Fluttershy laughed, but it was an empty laugh, devoid of any happiness. 'Pretty much everypony, Sweetie Belle. All of my friends, the Apples, the Mayor...'

'All of your friends? Even Pinkie Pie?'

Fluttershy nodded solemnly. Sweetie Belle was stunned, unable to imagine Pinkie Pie hating anypony. And the Apples... presumeably that meant Apple Bloom, too. Sweetie Belle felt her heart sink in her chest.

'What about Rainbow Da-'

This time when Fluttershy laughed, there was genuine amusement behind it. 'Yes, Sweetie Belle. Lots of ponies make assumptions about Dash, but I'm afraid they're not true.'

Sweetie Belle moaned and sunk her head into her hooves.

'Is there anypony outside of Ponyville?'

Fluttershy nodded. 'In Canterlot, there's a... group. Called "Coltcuddlers and Fillyfoolers Action Lobby". But they're an illegal organisation, so you won't find it in Canterlot unless you go looking for it, and you certainly won't find it in Ponyville'.

'What do they do then? What's the point of an organisation that can't even campaign in public?'

'I'm sorry, Sweetie, but I don't really know. As far as I understand, they exist to publicize the existence of coltcuddlers and fillyfoolers in Equestia. After all, if people know they exist, they can't just ignore them.'

'What's it like outside Equestria? Like in the Griffon Kingdom?'

'Much worse. In Equestria, you can be operated on to change your personality, or just sent to a psychiatrist and imprisoned for milder cases, but the Griffons usually use the death penalty. The only place where it's legal is in the Crystal Empire, but only for crystal ponies.'

'Only for crystal ponies? Why?'

'To maintain good relationships with their neighbors, non-crystal ponies and griffons are usually sent back to their respective countries to stand trial. When the Crystal Empire first liberalized, it became a haven for coltcuddlers and fillyfoolers all across the land, and they restricted the right to crystal ponies, so they didn't gather a negative reputation for it.'

Sweetie Belle's vague plans to emigrate to the Crystal Empire crumbled to dust.

'Why is it illegal, Fluttershy?'

'I'm sorry, Sweetie Belle, but there's no good reason. It's just always been that way. If anything, its better today than it was upon the founding of Equestria. Back then, they used the death penalty, although I suppose that's not much better than what they do today.'

'So it got better for us once? Could it get better again?'

'Maybe, but I doubt we'll live to see that day. It took Equestria hundreds of years to stop executing coltcuddlers and fillyfoolers, and when they did, there were riots. It's a very sensitive issues for most ponies - when the Crystal Empire changed their laws, lots of ponies pressured the Princesses to invade. In fact, most ponies today think we would have, had they not limited the freedom to crystal ponies.'

'Why is it such a sensitive issue, Fluttershy?'

'Because it's the way we've done things since our foundation. Most ponies see "upholding tradition" as the mark of a civilized society. That's why most of the laws currently in place have been with us since Equestria's founding - even though most of them are archaic, ponies will still defend them to a fault.'

'What archaic laws?'

'Prohibition on intermixing, for one. Ponies who fall in love with griffons or crystal ponies are barred from "expressing" their love, usually on pain of death. Same goes for the Griffon Kingdom and the Crystal Empire.'

'I thought the Crystal Empire didn't care about things like that?'

'Not at all. Most crystal ponies see themselves as as superior to other races, hence the ban on intermixing'.

'Superior? But they're ruled by non-crystal ponies!'

Fluttershy nodded. 'That's because they're not actually an independent nation. They're under Equestrian control, but because they're a different race to us, we let them make their own laws, to an extent. But they're still governed by an Equestrian Princess - in this case, Princess Cadence.'

'So Princess Cadence wasn't responsible for homosexuality being legal there?'

'No. If she had her way, the laws would still be in place.'

'Why is intermixing banned in Equestria?'

'Once again, there is no real reason - it's just a rule we've had since day one. Griffons are pretty badly treated in Equestria, usually barred from owning land or businesses, and they're not allowed to become full Equestrian citizens. Crystal ponies have it better, but not by much.'

'Really? Nopony seemed to care when Gilda showed up. In fact, everypony was really nice to her, throwing her a party and everything.'

'Only because Rainbow Dash knew her. Everypony likes Rainbow Dash, so we were all nice to Gilda. Remember how rude she was? She was so used to ponies mistreating her that she never wanted to spend time with anypony but Dash, because she trusted her.'

Sweetie Belle sat back in her chair, having heard enough. Fluttershy looked at the clock, suddenly realizing how long they had been talking for.

'Sweetie Belle, you're going to have to leave now, or else you'll be late home.'

'What?' Sweetie Belle turned to check the time. 'Oh no. Fluttershy, I have to go. I promised my parents I'd be home early - they're gonna think I've been at the library again!'

Fluttershy nodded. 'Okay, Sweetie Belle. Take care and...'

Sweetie Belle turned to face Fluttershy, halfway out the front door.

'... come by anytime you want to talk, okay?'

'Okay, Fluttershy. Thanks.'

Sweetie Belle paused, as a sudden thought struck her.

'Fluttershy, the couple you mentioned earlier - why did they tell you?'

Fluttershy smiled. 'They didn't. They haven't told anypony - they're just bad at hiding it'.

Author's Note:

Not much happens in this chapter, but I felt the universe I was writing about seemed a little bare, and so instead of explain the lore of the universe in dribs and drabs I decided to use this opportunity to lay out my headcanon, and as a consequence not much happens in this chapter. This lore is going to be used throughout the story, so I hope you took notes

The story will resume next chapter!

Another thing I thought I should clarify: Sweetie Belle is entering her teens in this phase of her life, making her around 13-14 in human years.

Comments

[HorseStories]

7275678
That's how dialogue is presented in British English
vignette3.wikia.nocookie.net/mlpfanart/images/3/3e/Octavia_British_Flag.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20130831011456

[Ice Star]

7275693 Really? That's both interesting and confusing.

[HorseStories]

7275712
Gotcha. I'll read through the story and edit.

[Crescent Minor]

Much as I hate to say this, there was a little bit of justification from thousands of years back about why homosexuality was forbidden (you probably know all this, but I'll be pedantic with my general knowledge anyway. Skip it if you do know). It had to do with the high mortality of infants and wars with other tribes; they needed every baby they could get, so any sex that didn't make babies was frowned upon, which is also where we get our weird masturbation shame. It's also why we have the word 'sodomy', a dirty name given to anal or oral penetration, which of course doesn't make babies either. As well, there's the Jewish and later Christian and Islam ideal that greed is a cardinal sin: nobody believed there was such a thing as an exclusive homosexual, they just thought (and some still do think, I know this is the main theory on homosexuality in India) that if someone was erotically interested in the same sex, they must have an obsessive craving for any sex at all. They are considered 'sex gluttons'.
Though, Equestria doesn't have any Judeo-Christian roots to draw their archaic morality from, so I guess that wouldn't do for your headcanon. Still, if you don't mind my saying, it seems a little unrealistic that there's no justification for Fluttershy to give. I know there isn't any rationally, but common practice and prejudice does have to come from somewhere.

[HorseStories]

7275773
I fully agree with you when it comes to the reason for homophobia existing in our world, but there isn't really a religion in Equestria that I could use as a pretext for the homophobia existing, so I decided to chalk the preexisting homophobia up to 'Traditional Values' rather than invent a religion, which I felt would either:
a) Feel flimsy and fake, as I have invented this religion (which would of course have to play a major role in the story) as a plot device to explain the taboo on homosexuality, or:
b) Take a long time to create (and feel like an established religion that has stood the test of time), and would likely conflict massively with established canon (which would require more rewriting).
Additionally, Sweetie Belle isn't really asking why the rules were invented in the first place, but why they still stand today.
Still, thanks a lot for the feedback on this chapter. This isn't meant to be a definitive guide to my headcanon, just some important details. I'm likely to expand on the headcanon later on, though I doubt I'll be dedicating any chapters to it again.

[Ice Star]

Nice to see some lore going here.

One typo noticed:

'Oh no. Fluttershy, I have to go. I promised my parents i'd be home early - they're gonna think I've been at the library again!'

You might want to add a Fluttershy character tag if you haven't, since she seems important to the story.

[HorseStories]

7275944
Wow, well spotted. Thanks!