A Cup of Philosophy

by Sandvich Choo

A Cup of Philosophy

Lyra stared blankly at the contraption before her. It was simple, painfully so, yet its creation had consumed several moments of her life. Now that she thought about it, it was funny how those moments would be condensed into a few seconds; how the object was to metamorphose into an obsolete, consumed remnant of an idea. The device itself was separated in two components; one which could be obtained without any form of difficulty and had barely any value, and the precious abomination she had created, the strangely enchanting beverage devised long ago by ponyfolk, far before Equestria was created.

The contemptible portion was not truly so, as long as it remained by itself. It was only sordid when compared to the sweet perfection of the paramount brew. Curved, white, polished walls gave the feeling of impenetrability, a sort of purity which would not be corrupted easily. An impenetrable prison of sorts, it only existed to contain liquids, to regulate all fluids’ obnoxious desire to expand and escape pony grasp. Various liquids were concocted for specific purposes. The irksome entities’ aspiration for freedom needn't interfere with the use applied to them. But was that right? Wasn't locking them into a path of servitude just as unethical as doing the same to ponies? Or was being enslaved just a part of their nature? Now that she considered it, didn't cutie marks lock ponies into predestined paths? Didn't they make ponies eternal victims to their destiny?

You’re drifting off, Lyra thought to herself. Just lie down, drink your hot chocolate, and drop the unsettling thoughts.

She decided to redirect her attention towards the second quantum. The matchless mix, the boisterous beverage, the entity that had consumed a portion of her life now stood before her, waiting patiently for its demise, yet impeding it. It was a thick, brown liquid that reflected light while distorting it in a particular manner. Meager bubbles clustered near the edge of the pure white barrier, small variations in the repetitive, dull color of the drink itself. Gentle wafts of steam rose from the elegant mix, while a delicious, creamy smell enveloped the air. The fragrance was faint and delicate, lulling her snout like a lullaby. It was bitter and sweet simultaneously, yet it most certainly wasn't bittersweet.

The smell would have been delightful under most circumstances, yet within the aquamarine mare’s situation, it was a merciless mockery. The brewery’s most treasured attribute was its taste, its smell being merely a pallid doppelganger, a faint shadow of the true paragon. It could not be enjoyed yet, however, because of the scorching heat the mischievous rascal stubbornly held on to. To Lyra, though, it did not seem like mischief after longer swathes of time had passed. It seemed like a rebellion, an impulse to survive that would shortly be disregarded, a defense mechanism that would not last forever. She was well aware of the fact that the brewage was not sentient, but she was unable to stop entertaining those sorts of thoughts. Lyra felt as if nothing she knew could be indubitable. If her drink was in possession of the gift of life, did she have the right to take it from it? She did create it, after all, for the sole purpose of consuming its vitality. The object, even if it was cognizant, was fated to be devoured, an invisible cutie mark emblazoned in it since the very idea of its birth emerged.

But wait, Lyra thought to herself, no longer attempting to distance her mind from her curious philosophical thoughts. Aren't cutie marks supposed to represent talent instead of fate? Why would they ever be something negative to a society, be it pony or not? She was right, of course, or at least partly so. But she decided to contemplate the issue through a peculiar filter. Don’t your talents lock you into the path your life follows? This, you obviously know, would be a silly and naïve question to ask in human society. “Of course not. You grow, go to college, study, and unless you’re talented at sitting in a cubicle, your talents don’t determine your line of work. They might possibly determine what you do in your free time, which is far scarcer.” Nevertheless, if you asked that same question in pony society, the answer would, of course, be a rotund “Yes”. In that apparently utopian land, your hobby was your job. You would live a happy life, yes, but you would be unwillingly locked into it. You would do as you pleased for the rest of your days, unless you wanted to change your mind. If you were dexterous at playing the lyre, you would play it for the remnant of your existence. A satisfying conclusion? Maybe. But most certainly not an optional one.

What would happen if she wanted to be a writer? A painter? A businessmare or a cook? Would she be doomed to fail? Would her cutie mark vanish? Would her true purpose be revealed, showing a flaw on the cutie mark system? The boundaries of the cup allowed the funny little creature to carry out its destiny, to achieve what it was fated to accomplish. Did the social boundaries of cutie marks do just that? Chocolate spilled from a container would just eventually dry, with its remaining excess being promptly washed away. Such chocolate’s existence would have been fruitless, inconsequential and by all means pointless. Would attempting to escape fate result in a life as futile as the spilled chocolate’s? Life was a consumable good, (or a consumable bad, depending on your perspective), just like chocolate. A rich, full life would fulfill its purpose in a satisfying manner, making everypony affected by it appreciate the brilliance it brought into theirs. As long as encounters with somepony made you believe in the potential of the species and in the joy anypony could bring to a life, that pony’s subsistence in the world was worth more than a thousand years of laying around without affecting anyone. For despite bounded by society, life, or even fate itself, one still can make some happy, unexpected surprises happen. A full, limited life is far more important that a barren immortality. A cup of chocolate left to dry would not fulfill its purpose; the effort applied to mark the pathway of its life disregarded enormously. Was dying worth it, if your life had brought joy upon others? Lyra could not think of any logical answer rather than an irrefutable yes.

Her horn began to glow softly a mint hue, covered in the glimmer of its magic. The glow enveloped the cup’s handle, which is the manner in which humans supposedly held cups. The entity that had received so much of her time rose slowly into the air. Lyra tipped the cup into the air.

This is for you, Bon-Bon. Your life shined bright and made mine glow. You fulfilled your purpose and did so much more. I hope I’ll be able to make someone as happy as you made me.
She took a sip of the thick brown liquid, remembering the first cup she had shared with Bon-Bon, when they first met.
The memory most certainly was bittersweet.

Author's Note:

The references to human society are supposed to be shameless author self-awareness, Lemony Snicket style. I understand the confusion.

In fond memory of Camila Morón

Comments

[Sorren]

Loved it. Sometimes, it really is the most simple of things that get you thinking, then, next thing you know, you're questioning your very existance because you looked at a certain something in a funny way.

Great idea, great grasp.

[Maphysto]

Interesting read, but you need to tone down the purple prose a bit.

Mark twain once said (and I'm paraphrasing), that a writer is like a general and the language he uses is like his army; and your use of the army should be proportional to it's goal. This is a short story with a simple premise, so concise, direct language would be best for it.

From a technical standpoint, your writing is good, although you made some very odd phrasing choices (Such as 'rotund "Yes"') that made me go over the sentence several times before I figured out what you meant. With practice, though, you could very easily improve.

[Woorali]

Brilliant story. And it answers some questions I considered for a long time. Thank you.

[The Fool]

One could argue that your language is verbose, and I wonder how Lyra knows so much about contemporary humans, but I fancy your interpretation of her character.

[Writey the writer]

-You can write well, but you really need to consider the end result even from the beginning, therefore reflecting themes. Your writing had many different tones or, if you'll allow me to quote a certain internetian colloquialism,'feels'. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, but in a piece this short it's a little jarring, throwing us around quite a bit.

-The premise was crude in construction, but I was happy with the delivery.Generally writing a lot about a little can make for easier reading if done well, but the sustained philosophy weighed it down too much, for me. The ending, too, was a little unusual; a bittersweet memory of somepony combined with the mention of that somepony's life implies a death, but the abrupt ending was a little like getting a text saying your entire family died. I know you were probably going for that whole 'Drop-them-in-it' thing, but in a story this short it is still odd. Sorta like trying to force a sad without buildup.

-Like a great horror movie, you can't just jump feels out of nowhere, it feels wrong. Just like if you were watching a movie and nothing happened until suddenly a zombie popped out from the toilet; you'll get a shock, but you won't get a feel. Build up the suspense to an impending moment and release The Kraken. You'll drown in their feels.

Overall, I enjoyed it. Have a thumb up.
*side note*- I really hated writing 'feels' but it was the easiest way. Try not to think less of me by too much because of it.

[Sandvich Choo]

2188542
Thanks for the criticism!
I sort of felt that way, too, but I just sort of went with my writing, and once I found something that I felt would be a nice closure, I couln't figure out how to integrate my other ideas
Well, this story was more of a test run to see if I could write well enough for the fandom.
I'll try to improve. I hope you liked it, despite the sudden ending!

[Sandvich Choo]

2188471
The language being verbose to the point of near ridiculous was sort of the point. I might've overdone it at a couple points, I was sort of experimenting with the online thesaurus's potential.
About Lyra knowing more about humans, I sort of wanted to imply shameless author insertion, Lemony Snicket style.
Thank you for commenting!

[Sandvich Choo]

2188438
You're welcome!

[MetaKnight145]

Wow, that was amazing. Here have five moustaches

[Sandvich Choo]

2188431
Using "rotund" was sort of a flop, as "rotundo/rotundamente" are both quite common in Spanish, my mother language. Welp.
And the prose was ridiculously verbose because I sort of felt it would deliver the philosophical thoughts in a more elegant manner. But it might've been a poor choice.
Also, as Pinkamena pointed out, there wasn't much buildup for the ending.
Well, I hope you're right about practice! I wonder what I'll do next, though.
Thanks for the critique!

[Sandvich Choo]

2188405
Thanks for reading! Glad you liked it

[Sandvich Choo]

2188675
I will gladly consume them, after dipping them in hot chocolate.

[Writey the writer]

2188652
I hope my comment didn't sound too critical, I really did enjoy it. Just with it being your first fic I thought it would be better to give as much advice as possible so to try and help you out.
Anyway, I hope it helped.

[undead_rattler]

wait Bon-Bon is....

[Sandvich Choo]

2189296
Don't worry, I really appreciate the help.
Also, what do you think would be good for my next fic?
I'd like to do something more lighthearted and silly :3

[Sandvich Choo]

2189369
Did I really incite those feelings in you?
Mission accomplished

[Writey the writer]

2189379 In light of recent episodes, perhaps a story relating to Twilights new experiences as a princess, perhaps abusal of her power toward others. I dont know, I'm not the best comedy writer, but give me sad/dark any day. Just remember not to try too hard on making people laugh, it can seem forced which murders humour. I suggest reading around in that area (fanfiction and published ) and trying to get a feel for what your doing.
I hope this helps, but I can honestly say I'm not a writer of 'silly lightheartedness' (yes, I have just made up that word, sue me.'

[Twi-Guy]

2189402
Whoa, that's deep. For me it felt more like a mug of philosophy. I don't know what to think about it, because nothing really happened. I'm sorry for the terrible comment, it's not very helpful.

[Sandvich Choo]

2189684
Don't worry, your opinion is not worth less than any(one/pony) else's
I understand it's not for everyone, so no need to apologize.

[silvadel]

The problem with the cutie marks is it requires Celestia to stop progress.

Think of what would happen if modern food cultivation methods hit Equestria. Tons of ponies would be out of work and they would not be able to adapt to a new life, their talent laying elsewhere.

Mid-life career change doesnt really exist for ponies.

Take it the other way. Lets say somepony figured out how to allow pegasi how to cast magic. All of a sudden you wouldn't have enough weatherponies.

It truly does slow their society down.

[Sandvich Choo]

2262571
That's one way to put it.
Didn't think of it that way before. It's an interesting idea.
So much ethical/philosophical stuff can be extracted from this show. I love that
Thanks for commenting!

[DynamicEquilibrium115]

Very good.

These philosophical queries certainly give one much to think about. Is there any particular reason you chose the concepts that you did? Or was it a spontaneous notion? Regardless of such the story itself intrigued me to quite an extent. You've done a marvelous job.