HUMAN By: Twilight Sparkle

by Razalon The Lizardman

Similar Opposites - Part 2

The first thing Twilight noticed about the jungle was that it bore a striking resemblance to the Everfree Forest, at least as far as condition was concerned. Just like the Everfree, the trees along the beach were being molested by an astonishing overgrowth of weeds and vines, a result of lackluster maintenance. Things were even worse inside the jungle proper, as Twilight sometimes couldn't take five steps before her hoof got caught on an overgrown tree root or her path was blocked by an assortment of bamboo sticks, poison ivy plants, thorn bushes, and various other plant life she had to rack her brain for the identification of.

It was times like these that Twilight was grateful to be such a magically-adept unicorn, as progress through the overgrown jungle was made easy with her magic. Every time Twilight came upon an impassable obstacle she would either use her telekinesis to push the plants out of her way or, when there was no suitable place to relocate them, cast a small flame spell onto them and watched as they burned to ash, always ready to douse the fires with a water mist spell should they get out of control.

Twilight kept this up for what felt like hours but was really little more than 15 minutes. All the while she trudged through the jungle, Twilight felt appalled that Yin Yang would let his home fall into a state of such disrepair and neglect, so to speak. While Twilight wasn't quite as concerned with home maintenance as say, Rarity, she was still always one to keep Golden Oaks at least somewhat spotless. True, Yin Yang probably would've cleaned out his jungle had he known she was coming well in advance, but Twilight still wondered how anyone could live in such decrepit conditions comfortably.

Eventually, Twilight came across a clearing in the foliage. In the middle of this clearing was a hut carved out of large bamboo sticks with a pile of smaller, dried ones next to it and surrounded by a thorn bush fence. Looking around the bush's perimeter, Twilight spotted an opening through it with a dirt path leading right to the hut, just off to her left.

This must be Yin Yang's home, Twilight reasoned.

She proceeded through the opening and along the dirt path. Since the hut hadn't an actual door, Twilight took the initiative to peer inside without knocking. Looking around, she noticed the inside was almost entirely barren of décor; no rugs on the floor, paintings on the walls, or anything else of the sort to indicate somebody made their residence here. The only thing that did, in fact, was the creature laying on a pile of dried grass along one of the hut's walls, just below an unfurnished window and facing away from Twilight. The creature had an identical color scheme to Yang Yin, except the patterning was different. It was somewhat akin to a bear in every other aspect; body shape, paws, fur coat, etc.

Twilight Sparkle, I presume?

Twilight gave a start at the sudden voice in her head before realizing Yin Yang was also communicating via telepathy. She stepped fully into the hut and replied.

"Yes, and you're Yin Yang, correct?"

Indeed I am. Yin Yang turned his body so he was facing Twilight and sat up straight. And according to Yang Yin, you're here looking for advice?

Twilight nodded. "For a character I'm trying to create; Yang Yin told you, didn't she?"

She did, but I was dubious as to its truthfulness. Yin Yang took a moment to readjust his position on the dried grass before continuing. Yang Yin, as you probably found out, is young and full of her own ideas, not to mention incredibly cheeky.

"I learned it the hard way," Twilight replied in exasperation.

As have many a foal. To that end, her telling me that Princess Celestia's protégé was here looking for advice on how someone could grow up spiritually detached from their own species left me scratching my head in confusion.

"I understand completely," Twilight replied. "I have a couple of friends who're just like her in that regard."

I pity you.

Both of them shared a good laugh at that for a minute before Twilight spoke up again. "So, can you teach me what I need to know? If you're not too busy, of course."

Do sloths get paid to hang from trees all day? Twilight's confused look elicited a silent chuckle from Yin Yang before he continued. Yes, I will tell you what you want to know, though, this is a rather unorthodox method of acquiring information.

Twilight's cheeks turned crimson in response. "Yeah, well, I'd spent too much time in my tree home lately; I figured this would be a great way to get some fresh air while still learning something valuable." She opened her saddlebag and levitated a quill and parchment out in front of her. "So, can we start the lesson?"

Yin Yang shifted again on his bed before replying. In a minute, Twilight. First, you must promise me that you'll speak nothing of our encounter here. Yang Yin and I enjoy our solo co-existence very much, and if word of our existence gets out to the mainland, we'll know who's responsible.

"I had no intention of saying anything to anypony about you two," Twilight replied. "I promise my lips are sealed."

And I'll hold you to that, Twilight Sparkle. Yin Yang's tone came off to Twilight a bit more stern than was previously. Now then . . .

Before Twilight could even blink, Yin Yang grabbed the windowsill behind him and did a backwards pull out the window. The suddenness of his action left Twilight speechless and her brain worked hastily to unscramble itself and process what just happened. Meanwhile, sounds of heavy footsteps resounded outside, moving away from the hut before stopping a short distance away. A second later, the footsteps returned and were coming back to the hut. Yin Yang jumped back in through the window and landed on his grass bed.

". . . What?" Twilight said.

Yin Yang brought his paws forward and opened them, revealing three rocks of different colors to her; one gray, one white, and one black. These should help in case you need a visual cue when learning.

Twilight briefed a glance to the rocks, then returned her gaze to Yin Yang which she held for several moments before snapping out of her stupor and readied her quill and parchment again. "Okay, I'm ready," she said.

Yin Yang nodded. He then placed the three rocks down onto the floor in a triangle pattern with the grey rock being closest to Twilight. Yin Yang then picked the white rock back up and spoke. Now, Twilight, how familiar are you with my namesake?

Twilight tilted her head in confusion. "What do you mean 'your namesake'?"

I suppose you ponies use different terminology, but think of this, he held out the white rock, as representing Yin and this, he picked up the black rock in his other paw and held it out for Twilight as well, as representing Yang.

Twilight nodded, scribbling away at the parchment. "So, what do they mean?" she asked.

Yin Yang put the rocks back down in their spots and replied. To use myself and Yang Yin as examples, imagine Yin as a symbol for everything that stands opposite that which Yang symbolizes. Some examples would be black and white, light and dark, high and low, left and right, hot and cold, fire and water, day and night, life and death, and so on.

"Oh, like the age old 'Good vs Evil' thing?" Twilight asked.

Yin Yang shook his head. The concept of YinYang has no room for moral judgments such as those. Whether something is 'good' or 'evil' is entirely perceptual and opinionated; YinYang deals with opposing physical forces, not ideals of any kind.

Twilight furiously nodded her head as she jotted down everything Yin Yang was saying.

As to how this relates to your query, he continued, imagine Yin and Yang representing two different ways in which a parent can raise their child.

Twilight quirked a curious brow. "And what would these two ways be?"

Yin Yang pointed to the white rock. Imagine the white rock is Yin, and that Yin represents teachings of love and tolerance. A child raised under such teachings would grow up to be kind, respectful, and seek to help others when in need. He pointed to the black rock. Conversely, imagine the black rock is Yang, and that Yang represents teachings of hatred and prejudice. A child raised under these teachings would grow up to be the opposite of the one raised under Yin; rude, spiteful, and cares only for their own welfare. Yin Yang narrowed his eyes. But remember, neither teaching is inherently good or evil; that's for one to decide for themselves alone.

Twilight finished copying what he said, then returned her gaze onto the rocks. "So, what does the grey rock represent?" she asked.

Yin Yang picked it up in his paw and smiled. In a way, the grey rock represents reality.

Twilight arched an eyebrow. "Reality?"

Yin Yang nodded, and set the rock back down. Truth be told, there exists no one whom resides entirely on the side of Yin or Yang. Everyone has a dual mentality; it just depends on the situation as to whether they'll choose to side one way or the other. If one were to look at this from a moral standpoint, there is no one whom is wholly good or evil. He picked up all three rocks and held them out once again for Twilight. In short, the black and white rocks are the two ingredients needed to make the grey rock. It's a fitting analogy, as black mixed with white produces the color grey. He set all three rocks back down again.

By this point, Twilight had filled an entire roll of parchment and started on a new one. "Fascinating," she whispered, finishing up Yin Yang's last sentence. "So, how would my character have to be raised to develop an alien mindset?"

Yin Yang adopted a blank expression as he responded. I'll answer your question with one of my own; Twilight, are you familiar with the concept of Wu?

Twilight frowned. "No, why?"

Once again, the terminology is different. Yin Yang pointed to the space underneath all three rocks, directly below the grey one. What do you see there?

Twilight looked to where he was pointing, and her frown deepened. "I see nothing."

Exactly, and that's how you'll want your character to be raised.

Twilight returned her gaze onto him. "I'm sorry, what?"

Yin Yang smiled. I see you have trouble connecting the dots yourself, Twilight Sparkle; allow me to cut the subtlety and be more direct. He waved his paw over all the rocks. While these rocks represent the nature of conflicting forces, there is a fourth, non-existent rock underneath them that represents the concept of Wu, which means 'the presence of nothing' or 'a lack of any physical force'. To put it another way, think of this as the train of thought representing complete and utter neutrality.

Twilight blinked slowly, then resumed copying all Yin Yang had said onto the parchment.

This is how a child would have to be raised in order to develop the mindset of your allotted character. Their parents would've neglected to instill teachings of either Yin or Yang into them and instead left them to develop perceptions of the world, their peers, and life in general on their own. Yin Yang picked up the rocks once again. But regardless, a sliver of both forces will exist in them, even after such an upbringing as no parent can raise a child without letting some of their influence shine through. It won't be prominent later in life, but their child will reflect back characteristics imparted onto them by their parents, intentionally or not.

Twilight took a moment to breathe deeply as her mind processed all she'd been told. "This is deep," she stated, and resumed her writing.

Yin Yang picked up the rocks. I don't doubt you. He chucked them out the window. Well, that's it for this 'lesson'.

Twilight nodded, finishing off her notes and turned to Yin Yang with a smile. "Thank you so much for helping me," she said, taking a moment to stuff her materials into her saddlebag and close it before continuing. "I think I've got the character down pat now, not to mention I've got a whole new subject to study in my off time."

I'm glad I could help. Yin Yang proceeded to lay back down onto his grass bed and turn back towards the wall.

Twilight levitated her saddlebag over her shoulder and began trotting toward the door when a thought occurred to her. She turned back to Yin Yang. "Hey, Yin Yang?"

Yes?

"Do you think that, maybe, I could come visit you and yang Yin sometimes?" She smiled nervously. "I mean, as long as I keep your existence a secret?"

Yin Yang shifted on his bed before replying. I suppose that'd be fine, assuming you keep the secret, of course.

Twilight's smile lost its nervous edge. "Don't worry, I will."

Then sure, you can come visit as much as you want.

Twilight beamed. "Thank you."

Sure. Goodbye.

"Goodbye." And with that, Twilight began making the return trip home to work on her vignette for HUMAN's sequel.

Author's Note:

Give me all the praise/criticism you can dish out.

Comments

[Bronze Statue]

polyvore.com/cgi/img-thing?.out=jpg&size=l&tid=21652468

[Mecha G]

This is some serious stuff, man.

[OmnipresentMicroorganism]

Let me guess. Tarzan?