Life at the Equestra Retirement Community seems to mostly consist of waiting for it to end. It's the next-to-last stop, and all of the residents know it. They put you in Equestra when the next place they were planning on putting you is a grave, and despite the presence of swimming pools and sporting fields, the newest arrival in Bungalow 4G has no illusions about how he's going to be spending the very last of his time.
The appointment book left behind by the previous occupant has other ideas.
Now with author Patreon and Ko-Fi pages.
Chapters (1)
Author's Fairly Public Note: I'm aware of the two other stories which have used the same cover image: The Toss Of A Shoe by Hay and Tosety's Equestrian Diplomacy. That's because to a small extent, I started the process which set those stories off. I just finally decided to use my own concept for the picture.
If anyone else has any ideas being inspired by that shot, I don't think the site would object to a fourth-on-up.
7680878
Wait, does this mean that this time around you're taking full responsibility?
7680918
NEVER!
...I didn't put up the sign.
7680921
7680921 He just took one of the letters for a more appropriate purpose...
I'm sure his healing factor helped. Hey-o!
This is interesting.
Edit: So, I just realized I'd been mentally adding the I before the last a in every instance of Equestra that came up in this fic. It took me looking closely at the cover image to even realize this.
7680953
Faster than a rolling 'O'!
Stronger than silent 'E'!
Able to leap capital 'T' in a single bound!
It's a word, it’s a plan... it's
That is the single most creative magic-realm-transportation-thing I have seen in literature. The only one that might be better is the one from the Voyage of the Dawn Treader.
I'm just imagining the conversation.
"I know how he did it. I'm goning to be the new Gone Guy."
"Yeah? Where are you gonna go?"
"No idea. Want to come with me?"
"I guess it beats this place."
"I hope you like horses."
"Sonofabitch..."
Great job weaving the grim, hardscrabble realities of an assisted living facility with an undercurrent of hope and rejuvenation. This was much more thoughtful and melancholy than I generally expect to see in pony fiction. Really, with the most minute changes, it could stand on its own as a great work of original speculative fiction.
Estee, you have the most distinctive prose I've seen on the site, and I mean that as a compliment. You do a better job of conveying thoughts and emotions than anyone else here.
And, of course, you grok the quiet desperation of wasting away in southern New Jersey. Outstanding.
Very nice. I live in a 55-and-up mobile home park, and I've seen quite a few of those ambulances--none from the inside yet, thank God.
7681137 Wow I knew that this fandom has older people in it and I know that there are several older people(highest I can remember is like mid 40's) on this site as well but someone that is 55+ Wow that's pretty cool.
Very nice.
A much more positive look at humans travelling into Equestria when compared to the Tales Of The Canterlot Deportation Agency.
Not that those are entirely negative, just a few degrees harsher.
I certainly can't see our protagonist being shipped off to the 'temporary human settlement camp' should he completely make the trip across.
"Welcome to the magical land of Equestria, please come with me to a safe place you won't be able to leave."
Although that would be an unexpected twist.
☺ "Huh. Just like back in Korea."
Very unique and very smile-inducing. Good stuff.
7681031
I think Socket here said what I wanted to say, already. Especially the part about distinctive prose; your stories don't need your name to be attached to them to be instantly recognizable as Estee ones.
The place I live in isnt even gated, just a mixed building estate on the edge of a small town with no trains and only a couple bus services like The Lost World.
Also, too many ambulances, for left neighbours sister, and right neighbour, who died in a manner Im not even sure I can mention in these comments due to sites rules and story classification.
Am I sorry to say this made me laugh for a good minute. If only because I remember those days, when machines first played animations, and music, and multitasked, and Microsoft and Apple didnt have a clue what was going on?
I liked the future. I wish it would come back.
Sobering, yet with a spark of hope. I definitely agree about your distinctive voice and how that's a good thing. That blend of lavish description both positive and negative, wonder amidst banality, and being surrounded by idiots is practically your signature. I wasn't expecting this, but it was an incredible read, perfectly conveying the protagonist's emotional journey. My only complaint is that the opening's overwrought at times, to the point of having to remove myself from the story in order to puzzle out the sentences' incredibly elaborate construction. Aside from that, magnificent work. Thank you for it.
New Jersey. It has it's high points.
I'm from Jersey.
7680921
No, you just took that picture and
createdimagined a glue factory. YOU DIABOLICAL MONSTER!!!You're worse than a guard that needs multiple factors of authentication from the person that runs the place.
Good story
7682965
The intent of that line is that our protagonist is acknowledging that in his own eyes, he's a dead man very temporarily walking.
So no. If it pulled you out of the story, so it goes. But I'm not changing it.
Diana Trent wouldn't have gone for magical horses. She's a bit to grounded for that type of nonsense. Now Tom Ballard, he would leap the fence without a second thought.
7683129 Except that it was the narrator who said it not the protagonist. I was only trying to point out something you could mess with to make it better, I wasn't attempting to insult you in anyway.
7682335 As am I.
That's right, you live in the same place as the infamous Troll King Alondro!
Come to my meetup. I COMMANDETH THEE!!
7683305 I didn't interpret it that way at all. I can see what you mean, in where you're equating it to literally pointing out what it means, but as the author said it isn't really the narrator. We can clearly see quite a bit of the protagonist's thought, that particular line, being some of it, in my opinion.
7683710
Came from there, living much further south now alas.
Very enjoyable. Great prose writing. I could certainly see a follow up to this story.....assuming a fourth Cubs loss doesn't do in the seventy-something.
Reminds me of an old Steven King story called Insomnia. An old man, unable to sleep, starts to see the beings who work behind the scenes of everyday life.
I Don't quite understand why... But i did cry,...
I Hope to see a Follow up story.
Odd.
I suppose the infirm, the old and cynical and smart enough to still know it, are the sorts the Sisters would be interested in spending time with.
Humans act and think more agelessly than ponies, and it seems that trait makes our old folk feel kin to the Sister's own ageless selves, as our oldest ones are the most likely to think and trust in equal measure, without abandoning or obeying their sense of awe.
It must be very frightening to wait for your demise. But that doesn't mean life should be filled with terror.
I liked this story.
Wow. This was beautiful. I wasn't expecting it to be so simple in regard to his interactions with the sisters - I expected grand conversation, and a trip to Equestria. But their lack of verbal communication and their simple game of horseshoes was so much more... pure. This was my favorite paragraph:
I love the reminder that every person is still, in some way, who they were when they were younger. I also really love how you presented the frustrations for the elderly; it sickens me to be reminded of the way younger people like myself sometimes treat the elderly like brainless, helpless children, and yet I need to be reminded so I don't go that same route. Considering the general age of the audience on this site, I hope a lot of people got that same reminder, and will be more inclined to think of more aged people as having once been just like themselves, and that they are still worth spending time with and encouraging. Most of us are going to live to be old someday; but isn't it better to recognize that and treat those who are already there with respect, rather than ignoring the fact as long as possible until we reach that point and have no one to care for us, ourselves?
Anyway, waxing philosophical there. Your writing is stellar, a really great flow with very few typos that I noticed, and you made your character real without even giving us his name, which is impressive. Overall, excellently done. Thanks for sharing this heartwarming story!
Saw the title. For a second I legit thought it was a Spanish person's name.
men ??
This was bleak. Something you hope not to have to go through when you've aged to such an extent.
Loved the ending.
Well.
That was fracking terrifying. (The starting portion anyway.)
(Though that reaction may come as little surprise, given the whole Lich thing on the left there.)
For my part, desite the whole Evil thing: my surviving grandparent, my grandmother is 90 and unable to walk any distance even with her zimmer. We take her out to dinner once a week, and at other times when it is possible. She herself had learned to use the computer and it quite a dab hand at it most of the time. I like to think we do our absolute best to make sure she doesn't end up like the gentleman here.
Note to self: Call gramps more often.
My great grandmother died last week at ninety-seven, so this is pretty poignant for me. She, I suppose, was fairly lucky, because she was too confused to be sad, towards the end. That's not really relevant to the story.
This is good. It's the kind of thing that makes you think, and somehow also horses, because we wouldn't want it too depressing, eh?
7689828 My great aunt died later week, she wasn't in bad shape and she was all there. So, it came as a suprise when we got the call.
I guess I should've expected it since I had to help her move into a retirement facility last winter, but even then it seemed like it was because she wanted more people nearby since her neighbours moved away.
I would like to think that she chose to go, but I don't think she was ready either as she didn't make any calls the day before or anything.
... I need more horses to make me feel better now.
something about this story made me think of a short story by Harry Harrison, involving a prison for old criminals...it's unofficial name was "purgatory". but the protagonist was pretending to be older than he really was so he could organize a jailbreak!
and one of the other comments made me think of the newer Xanth stories by Piers Anthony, how fans who had died made cameos in the Xanth stories...
I know that all the reasons why you are not going to continue with "Princess Pupa" still stand. Still, I wouldn't object to seeing more of this. It's a great opening chapter, hinting at more...
It wouldn't be too hard to change that "complete" tag to something else. "Hiatus" if nothing else.
(Not enough good Human-in-Equestria, or Pony-on-Earth stories around.)
This...
This was touching.
Absolutely gorgeous, I've got tears in my eyes.
7680988 I'm high right now and that was a trip
I quite enjoyed this.
7681029
Third mover: "NOOOO IT'S SPREADING"
7716673 It was a Stainless Steel Rat short story: "The Golden Years of the Stainless Steel Rat", 1993, published in the book Stainless Steel Visions.
I have never been this happy to be this sad.
I work in a place like this a can really sympathize with the main character.
Once you reach a certain age, you no longer have any bucks to give anymore.
A great story, and innovative story telling.
Also, it is a much better story than Cocoon.
Severely underrated story. Very well written. Thank you.