The Life Of A Pony
I was on Celestia’s back again as she carried me to her dining hall after asking if I wanted to go there or eat in the room, deciding on the former. I figured it was better to see what there was to see instead of staying cooped up the whole time, even if I was sick, and it turned out to be the right decision. It was quite the sight, featuring a long table that extended over a red and gold carpet from one end of the room to the other, with a huge golden chandelier positioned over it. There were also multiple other tables in the room that I assumed would be for other guests, each having a good view of the large stain glass windows that lined the wall on each side of a golden door that lead to somewhere else. Just based on the sight, I almost expected the table in front of us to be already piled high with food to eat, but luckily, it was empty, which I thought was a nice sight to see. At least this princess wasn’t going to waste food it seemed.
“What would you like to eat?” she asked me as she set me down at the head of one side of the table. “Don’t tell other ponies, but I, myself, do enjoy a few slices of bacon every once in a while.”
“Bacon would be nice, please,” I responded, quickly realizing she was trying to make me not as self-conscious about asking for meat products. “And oatmeal if you have it, if that’s okay,” I added.
“Both of those things are absolutely fine,” she told me with a gentle smile. “I’ll have one of my chefs cook it right up for you.”
“Thank you,” I told her politely, watching as she wrote something down and then curiously letting it be burned to ash by a green flame before walking over to take a seat at the other end of the table. It seemed weird, like quite a long distance to be sitting and supposedly having a conversation, but somehow when she started to speak, her words sounded as though they were right next to me.
“Before we begin discussing other matters, I would like to ask how your time in Equestria has been so far, despite its relative briefness. I trust it has been well?”
“I mean, I guess,” I answered. “As well as it can be, given the circumstances.”
“How have you been adjusting?” she asked.
“Not great,” I responded. “I know I should be handling things better but… it’s hard… every day I’ve just been slapped with something different, and it’s been making it difficult.”
“Something different?”
“It’s probably normal for all of you, but, like, on Tuesday, I suddenly changed into a pony and was flown way too high all of a sudden by that girl, Rainbow Dash. On Wednesday I was thrown a party by that pink pony. On Thursday, I started school “officially” I guess, even though I went in on Tuesday. On Friday, I got sick, and now it’s Saturday and I’m talking to the pony princess who raises the sun and says she’s thousands of years old! It’s like I’m in a children’s show! It’s all just been… ugh, it makes me nervous and I don’t like it.”
“I understand,” she told me, not that I was sure she did. “I can only think about how difficult it would be to change from one species to another and be brought into a strange land and not know why. It would be concerning if you weren’t stressed.”
“I know, but I really try not to be. I don’t like being all… wait, how long did you say a year was? One thousand days?” I asked as a scary thought just came to me.
“Yes, one thousand days exactly.”
“One thousand days a year…” I got out nervously, feeling my stress return. “That means if I live to be eighty years old here, I’ll be… well over two hundred. Do- do ponies live that long here?”
“Yes, we do,” she calmly answered, “although eighty is a bit on the younger side. Because we age slower in comparison to the creatures in your world, we also die at older ages, one hundred twenty to one hundred thirty being considered typical. However, I’m certain if you took care of your body and with a bit of luck you could live to be past one hundred sixty. I believe the owner of Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville recently turned one hundred forty… although I would need to check to see when Ponyville was founded to be sure.”
“Oh, I don’t like that one bit,” I said, closing my eyes. “This is what I’m talking about. It’s just one thing after- wait, what do you mean ‘age slower’? Are you talking about actually growing up?”
“While the age range of rapid growth is likely the same for your kind as it is for ours, that rapid growth isn’t nearly as quick in comparison, and as a result, we live quite a bit longer than your kind. If I’m not mistaken, the average age of death where you come from is fifty?”
“It’s, like, eighty-five I think, but… we’re talking about a thousand days per year, so even if I died at fifty years old, I’d still be… ugh, I don’t like this at all.”
“Dying at fifty would be almost tragically short,” Celestia replied simply as I put my head on the table. “And while it’s much longer than what you’re used to compared to where you’re from and can be scary, you might look at it as an opportunity? If that would help you.”
“I really don’t like this,” I said again. “It’s like everything is set up to contradict… ugh!” I slammed my hooves into the table, then immediately regretted it because the volume of the noise made my head pound.
“Lord, why?” I silently prayed. “I just wish I knew why… I ask for you to give me the strength to continue on, even as scary and impossible as what’s revealed seems to be. I ask that…”
I felt that first tiny inkling of doubt in God starting to form as I prayed, and quickly stopped mid-sentence to change what I was asking for.
“I ask that even in the face of everything, you help me to keep my faith in you strong. In your son Jesus name, I pray, amen.”
I sighed once I was finished, noticing Celestia watching me carefully, and said, “I assume going back isn’t an option? Not that I think God would want me to.” I couldn’t help but have the words out a bit bitterly as I looked at the carpet, trying my best to catch myself.
“I do not believe it will be, simply because all the worldgates we had have since been destroyed. As well, we didn’t properly figure out how to reconstruct them, seeing no need to learn how. I’m sure one could be built, but as I previously told you, we’re speaking on the timescale of years or decades, at which point…”
“Oh, I already know I’m going to be here forever,” I said sadly, my voice cracking as I turned my head to the side and sniffed, then sneezed. “I’m going to be stuck as a pony for the rest of my life and I’m never going to see any of my friends and family again… and there’s nothing I can do about it, except cry I guess...”
I didn’t cry, but I did close my eyes, feeling the pony’s wing rubbing my back comfortingly a few moments later.
“It is hard, yes, but we must…” She didn’t finish her sentence, trailing off and letting the silence hang in the air.
“I’m sorry for getting emotional,” I sighed after a few moments. “I’m just… getting upset and nervous and doubtful when I shouldn’t be because I’m trapped in a world full of ponies as a dumb little girl.”
“I understand,” she responded, letting out a sigh of her own. “Although, about being a filly, I did want to speak with you on that.”
“Okay…?”
She wore a grimace for a moment before starting, “When you say you are a male, are you saying so because you’ve always felt you were a male, or because you’ve always physically been a male?”
“Both,” I answered. “I’ve never been a girl and I’ve never seen myself as one. I am a boy and have always been a boy.”
“Okay… well, on the off chance that it was a worldgate that did this to you and not a deity-”
“It was God. I know that for a fact.”
“Yes, but on the off chance-”
“There is no off chance,” I interrupted. “He absolutely positively did. You can’t explain any of this with Him not doing this.”
“Okay, I understand that,” she explained slowly, “But on the off chance that… never mind. Let’s just move on.”
Celestia was going to say that it was possible that the filly has always seen herself as a mare if the change was the result of a worldgate, but quickly dropped it once she saw that she just wasn’t going to listen to her or accept that possibility. It didn’t really matter to press it anyway. Whether or not she did or didn’t, she was a filly now, and changing that fact would be even more difficult than creating another worldgate.
“Anyway, I did want to discuss the fact that, even though you are a colt, you are currently resembling a filly.”
Asher blushed and looked at her hooves as she grimaced, telling her, “I know what you’re going to say, and it makes me a little uncomfortable.”
“What was I going to say?” she asked as she tilted her head.
“You’re going to say that you can’t do anything,” she replied. “And even if you could do something, I’m not sure if I’d let you because… argh!”
“What is it?”
“If God made me a girl, then that’s what I’m supposed to be, isn’t it? I can’t just go around saying I’m a boy because… ugh!” She put her head in her hand in frustration, weakly pulling her mane. “Why is this happening? This cannot be real...”
Celestia went silent for a moment before asking, “You said before you thought you were supposed to be learning a lesson?”
She huffed and answered, “Yeah, maybe, about why it’s not okay to be transphobic. I wasn’t mean out loud, but… I’m such an awful person…”
“Well,” the princess started, trying to change tactics, “you said this deity was benevolent, so how do you know you haven’t been gifted with something?”
“I guess that’s possible,” she agreed, sniffing again, “but it’s really, really hard to get into that mindset… I’m sorry.”
“That’s understandable, but perhaps thinking of it as so will help you acclimate better? I mean, this deity would have to have chosen you of all creatures to be brought here, even if it was to learn a lesson. I would imagine that being a great honor.”
“Yeah… that’s true,” Asher agreed, starting to feel a little bit better.
“So perhaps keeping that in mind will help you? Knowing that a creature you describe as benevolent wouldn’t lead you astray or abandon you?”
“Yeah…” she agreed, giving a tiny smile. “I know you don’t believe He exists, but hearing that from someone else really does help reorient me. Thank you.”
“No trouble at all, sir,” Celestia replied, rubbing her back a little bit more with her wing. “Although I would like to get back on the topic of you being a filly.”
“Okay…”
“I don’t believe we’ll be able to do very much about that. Body magic is… quite difficult, as well as risky.”
She blushed at that, her ears pressing down against her skull, saying, “I expected you to say that, and I know what you’re gonna tell me… and I really don’t want to be a girl.”
“I understand, but I do think it would be best if you got used to the fact.” Asher sighed sadly at that, lowering her head, and Celestia continued, “We can see what we can do, but I’m not sure we’ll be able to do much. I do believe it would be better if you grew accustomed to that fact now.”
“And then what?” she asked quietly. “I realize that I actually like being a girl? Or do I blush and cringe at myself every time someone calls me one for the rest of my life?” She stopped to take a breath before continuing, “I know that it’s better to think of this as an opportunity, but this is… a lot…”
She closed her eyes and took a few more breaths to stay calm, thinking to herself, “Think of this as a gift. If I need to learn a lesson, then I’m blessed to have the opportunity to learn it. Even if it is hard, I know that God wouldn’t give me more than I can handle.”
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Asher is reinforcing my belief that I should never work in the mental health industry.
I really like this
10770624
agreed.
And consider that some apparently live to be over 500.
Ponies IRL might, too.
With each of Celestia's arguments, there's a counterpoint you cannot deny without seeking to suppress Asher's self-image. To assign someone that which they never were, was forced on them, and don't identify as is akin to manufacturing a Cutie Mark to place upon a pony instead of them getting their own. Celestia can't argue Asher should identify as or want to be a pony instead 9f a human without arguing that non-ponies should all wish to be ponies, who are "better". This also brings up the argument that if Celestia were to cease being an Alicorn pony qnd turn into something else she should gi e up on being what she wants if being what others force you is good.
On the topic of God, even if Asher doesn't brook any other possibility other than divine action that still leaves many possibilities. Given that such a being us unknowable by mortals, unless there is a literal angel descending to tell you what's up the intention could be anything. With that in mind Asher has no reason to give up on eventually going home as a human male
One of those gotchas that really turns the rationality moot. Either it's His Plan and you just accept and move on, or it isn't and you deny but move on. Predestination is kinda morbid like that.
This would be an error on Celestia's part for a couple of reasons.
Average life expectancy and average life span are two entirely different things, and educators rarely get it right either.
Average life expectancy has certainly varied over the years--and there's substantial variation EVERY year as well as WHERE you live. This just comes from the fact that so many different things in the world would often kill you (from diseases, weather, starvation, and wars) before you ever reached adulthood, sometimes the average life span would dip down into the 20s, which would be barely long enough to pop out the next generation!
Average life span, however, hasn't probably hasn't changed much for thousands of years! Occasionally, someone might get into their early 100s, but most that got up into the range of "Old Age" did die between 80-90 years old.
I remember this one really old story about a depressed drunk becoming a foal (after some implied domestic abuse and life spiraling out of control) and ending up in a version of Equestria that skewed the norm towards more heavily matriarchal tendencies, which didn't make much sense when canon pony society is already fairly balanced across the gender aisle. The author eventually dropped it. A few more I've read before dabble with age and life span, but they never really bother with it in the long run.
I never really understood the point of making changes for these day-to-day details in long stories. Most writers are eventually going to 'ignore' it anyway, because characters themselves will naturally get used to it and pay it no mind. Sure it's strange because it is obviously not what we are used to. It's interesting to speculate how things would be if different beings aged differently, or if plants used oxygen and spat out helium instead, and for some of us, it's going to take some time to wrap our heads around. But why bother making such drastic differences if the character will eventually take it for granted like everyone else, and the 'difference' will just subtly slip back into the background? If their year is a thousand days long, what's the point when everyone is going to live relatively the same way as we do with our 365 day, 24 hour time frame?
11023886
You're talking about "Oh to be Old Again" aren't you?
The Pope once gave a like to a beautiful woman on Twitter and was warned.
11023886
Well, who's to say Equestria isn't matriarchal? All the alicorns, and original elements bearers were female!
Unless, given just many pony characters are female as well, the situation involves there objectively being more female than male ponies ...
Nice that Celestia offered MC to look at the situation as a potential blessing than a curse. MC starting to seem faithless with all the questioning of, “why?” ‘Why’ is not what a faithful person would ask ordinarily or even want to ask (Cite: Job). ‘Why’ is rooted in doubt. Faithful person would be more likely to say something like, “that happened,” and then ask, “now what?” Or “how can I make the most of this?” Or “where’s the silver lining here?”