“This really is an amazing town . . .”
Sitting beside a blanket laid out in the grass outside Ponyville, Nocturne looked out to the modest buildings and houses that made up the town he'd known most of his life. Despite growing up in the Everfree Forest, it was always here, and he knew it. There were no two ways about it; this town—indeed, the whole land of Equestria—was a part of him. And regardless of what others had to say, due to the inner machinations of one person, he was a part of it as well, at least to an extent. The simple fact that his words had been spoken, that he had been given form, made that all too clear.
Around the blanket, five other ponies—three stallions and two colts—sat with him, eating a picnic lunch and talking about life.
Next to him, leaning against a tree, Dactylic Pentameter shrugged as he put the finishing touches on his latest poem in his notebook. “I suppose,” he replied to Nocturne's tranquil words, “I mean, I've been writing ever since I got here. I've met some interesting ponies. And I've felt better than I have in a long time.” His ears drooped as he put away his notebook. “Of course . . . it's not like I can remember a time in which I ever felt better . . . .”
“There's a reason for that, Dac,” Nocturne answered back, concerned. “Some of us don't have as fleshed out a story as others.”
Dac sighed, dejected. “I'm almost afraid to know mine . . .”
“What makes you say that, Dactylic?” Deputy Captain Steel Saber spoke up from the other side of the blanket. “It can't be all bad, you know. Your story has yet to be completed. You have a chance to receive enlightenment, just like all of us do.”
“Maybe,” Dac shrugged again, “but considering the pain I've been through, I can only expect more, past and future . . . .”
Hoofenmouth took a step towards him from his other side and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Come on, that's no way to think,” he assured him. “Your story is about hope, and persevering in the face of dark times. You may have had a bad past, but it doesn't mean you'll have a bad future.”
Nocturne stroked his chin with a hoof and blinked his scarlet eyes. “He raises a good point though. The whole 'tragic backstory' thing doesn't make for a worthy past. I mean, I ought to know. Mine is probably the most tragic of anypony here.”
“Well, at least you have a friend,” Dac replied, his voice starting to break, “and Fluttershy is always there for you, no matter what. Me, I only have a bunch of ponies who feel sorry for me. I haven't even done anything to earn their concern. I don't even have a real reason to complain. I'm just . . . I'm just a bland kind of pony . . . .”
“Hey, there's no need to sell yourself short,” Nocturne interrupted. “You're a lot of things, but you're no Mary Sue.”
Saber sighed and shook his head before addressing Dac. “Blandness is in the eye of the beholder, my poetic friend. Besides, at least you have a story, and despite what you might believe, you earned the attention of others.” His head lowered and his voice grew somber. “You don't know what it's like to be given life just to be the brunt of a joke.”
Hoof scoffed in agreement, “Yep. I know that feel.”
“But your stories make everyone laugh,” Dac argued, “and a lot of them, too. My existence was a risk from the start. I mean, no one wants to put up with the drama of suicide! And no one ever tells a story like that correctly. In fact, readers actively avoid stories like mine just because they're done wrong so often.”
“And is that your fault?” Hoof questioned. “Just because no one else knows how to handle controversy doesn't make you in the wrong for trying. Do you realize how close my life gets to unwarranted sex, and how often? Besides suicide, what could be more controversial than that?”
Hoof felt a tap on his shin, and he looked down to see Stormy Knight looking back at him. Steadying his serious gaze, he uttered one word: “Autism.”
Sitting in the middle of the group, rocking back and forth as he grazed on tidbits from the picnic and smoothed out the blanket beneath him, was Calvados.
Hoof cringed, knowing he'd struck a sensitive spot. “Oh, man, I am so sorry,” he mumbled, running a hoof over his curly brown mane, “I . . . I completely forgot . . .” Hoof then gave a frustrated sigh. “It comes naturally when your only noticeable character trait is clumsy awkwardness.”
“We all have flaws, Hoof,” Nocturne reminded him. “You have social anxiety. Dac has depression. I, myself, have a pretty nasty temper . . . .” He trailed off, a tone of shame clear in his voice, before continuing, “But those flaws make us who we are. We wouldn't be the ponies we are today without them. So, we have to stick to them, for better or worse.”
Dac sniffed, not fully convinced. “You sure you should throw around things like autism as flaws, Nocturne? You're not sure how much of this he's listening to, or understands.”
“It doesn't matter,” Nocturne replied, “Cal may have a disability, but he's a pony. And he's one of us.”
Dac paused for a moment, then slowly nodded, semi-satisfied. “Well what about you, Deputy Saber?” he then asked the steel-grey Pegasus. “I don't see a Captain of Celestia's Royal Guard showing any flaws. How can you? You have to defend the crown at all costs, don't you? So, what exactly makes you not-so-bland?”
Saber glanced down at the ground, and a faint trace of a blush worked its way onto his face. “I say 'yes' way too easily . . . .”
At this, Nocturne rolled his eyes and Hoof cringed again. “Oh, yeah.” Dac nodded, nonplussed. “Your . . . issue with the princess . . . .”
“Well, that's kinda neat!” Stormy chimed, excited. “You work for Princess Celestia! I mean, she's the ruler of all Equestria! And you know her personally! That's so cool!”
“Not necessarily, kiddo,” Nocturne disputed. “In fact, ponies like us are way too close to major figures of contemporary Equestria. Saber works for the princess. Cal here is Applejack's brother. Hoof, Dac, you've each had multiple encounters with Twilight and each of her friends.”
Dac rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof, while Hoofenmouth began to subtly shiver. “Y-y-yeah . . .” Hoof replied, visibly trying to stay in control, “I-I guess . . . .”
“And I'm no stranger to getting close to established ponies,” Nocturne added, “or rather, them getting close to me. My life story led me to where I am because of Fluttershy. In fact, I've heard it said that more than one person ships her with me. I would, literally, be nothing without her.”
This served to only make Stormy more confused. “Well, why is that so bad? I think it's awesome to hang out with ponies like them!”
“Not everyone agrees,” Dac lamented. “No one wants ponies that no one knows about to step into an already perfect picture. It ruins the whole thing, especially if all six of them like you for basically no reason.” Dac blinked away a slowly-growing mist in his eyes. “Besides, who are we to intrude? We don't really mean anything in the long run. All we are is wish fulfillment. And bad wish fulfillment at that.”
Nocturne smirked at Dac's somber words, his eyes narrowed. “That's as may be,” he replied earnestly, “but the entire universe we live in is a result of wish fulfillment. One lady wanted to take something that millions loved and adored, and make it better. She wanted to give the world a good reason to love what used to be just silly, nonsensical kid stuff, but is now a titan in the history of culture. Think about it: it's the fulfilling of her wishes that makes us the fulfillment of someone else's.” There was a silence around the blanket as these words were being carefully considered.
“It's true,” Nocturne continued when nopony spoke, “the world we live in is the result of an intricate domino effect of imagination. One love for something good made that something blossom into so much more.”
“I think I see what you mean, Nocturne,” Hoof added. “And because of that, lots of others wanted their dreams to come true, too. Lots of them had the same dream, sure, and could even get annoying to some folks with how that dream is everywhere. But how many had the same dream before one lady took it and rose up to transform an entire universe for all our benefit?”
Stormy glanced between Nocturne and Hoof, befuddled yet engrossed. “So, some ponies have dreams, and lots of ponies have the same dream, but it only takes one to change the world? That sounds so cool! I wish I could meet this lady!”
Dac still didn't seem convinced. “Not everypony's dreams are welcomed into the world,” he murmured, his melancholy beginning to affect them all. “Too many ponies are walked all over. Ridiculed. Laughed at. Bullied. All because they don't fit everyone's vision of perfection. Some are joke characters. Others are walking sob stories. They have no real use to anypony. Sometimes, their stories don't get to be told, because no one wants them told, and before long, no one wants to tell them anymore. For them, it's hopeless. What makes them different from us?”
There was another brief pause, shorter than before. After a while, Saber broke the silence this time, “They aren't any different from us. As unusual, perhaps even bizarre, as some of them may be, they mean no less to others than we do. They were made with love, pride, and courage in the face of an uncaring populace. All because someone thought their lives mattered, that their story mattered. We exist because our stories matter. The joke pony, like me, matters. The sad, lonely pony made solely to make you cry, matters. The bland, unspecific pony with brown mane and tan fur, matters. And yes, even the red and black Alicorn matters. All because their creators show the same passion and love as the one lady who started it all.”
“Besides,” Nocturne added, “Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Twilight and Fluttershy all deserved recognition. They deserve to exist. There's nothing that says we don't deserve the same. They might argue that over-the-top characters destroy creativity. Well, creativity may be nice, and it may be what others demand, but what's the point in being creative if there are restrictions on it? When it comes from the heart, unvarnished and unchained, it has just as much right to exist as anypony else, or anything else, regardless of what others think. Why should fame and recognition give Twilight or Rainbow Dash the exclusive privilege of being a part of this world? They were made to entertain, and so were we. We may face a cruel, judgmental world, but we're here. And we have to do our best at what we were made for.”
Another spell of silence fell over the six ponies. Nocturne's heartfelt follow-up to Saber's words seemed to have a somewhat deep effect on Dac, Hoof and Stormy. Stormy sat in the grass, head pointed down and brow furrowed in thought. Hoof seemed to be tearing up slightly, moved by the speech. Dac neither spoke nor moved. He was nearly immobile, his face nearly expressionless. The simple thought that he deserved to exist seemed to impact him in a completely different way.
And all the while, Cal sat on the blanket, directly in their midst, keeping busy and having fun in his own way. If anypony judged him harshly, he would neither have known, nor cared what they'd said.
“I have a question,” Stormy spoke up and raised a hoof, as if in class. “You guys said that we're here 'cause of 'wish fulfillment'. What does that mean?”
Dac took a calming breath and explained, “Basically, it means we were made to be, or to do, what the one who made us can't. We're basically living out their dreams and fantasies for them.”
“Hmmm . . . then I guess we're a lot closer than I thought, huh?”
“What do you mean, young one?” Saber asked, looking intrigued by the statement.
“Well, I always felt like I had something, like, inside, you know? Something telling me something really important, but kinda hard to understand. Like . . . like I feel like I should have something.”
The four stallions glanced at each other, bewildered. “'Have something'?” Hoof asked.
“Yeah,” Stormy continued, a bit unsteady, “like . . . like, you know how my name is 'Stormy Knight'? And you know how a storm has thunder and lightning, and how a knight has armor and a sword? I just feel like I should have something, too.”
Saber and Hoof continued to glance around, not fully understanding Stormy's problem. Nocturne, however, stepped close to the colt and put a hoof on his shoulder. “You do have something, kid,” he assured. “You have a connection with your creator. It's something we all have, and it's different with each of us. But something tells me yours is a lot stronger than anypony else's . . . .” His voice wound down as he finished, “. . . maybe even more than mine . . . .”
Dac finally got up from his spot beside the tree and walked towards the two, stepping up to Nocturne's side. His face was still blank as he placed his own hoof on Nocturne's shoulder, but little by little, his face perked up into a poignant smile. “I think I get it, Nocturne.”
Nocturne smiled back as Stormy glanced from one Pegasus to the other. “We really are more than just wish fulfillment,” Dac continued, “we're more than a part of this universe. We're a part of someone who loves this world so much, that saw their only chance of being a part of it, and took it. We represent a great ideal, and we're here to live in a way that no one else can. And the deeper and more emotional our stories, the deeper that connection runs, because they come straight from the heart and soul. That connection is important to them, maybe more than anything in their lives.”
Nocturne's smile widened at Dac's enlightenment. “And it's on us to make it good, and make it last. Because if it's important to them, it has to be important to us.” Nocturne returned Dac's gesture of camaraderie, and placed a hoof on his shoulder. “Because you know, don't you, that we can't let that heart and soul go to waste.”
Hoof sniffed a bit louder, now visibly trying to keep from weeping. “That . . . that was beautiful . . . .”
Saber nodded and gave a respectful salute. “Hear, hear. Truly well said, Nocturne.”
Nocturne shrugged, feeling a touch of meekness make him recoil a bit. He looked over to each pony, and realized the gravity of his words just from the responses from Hoofenmouth and Steel Saber, who had proclaimed themselves as simple pointless jokes moments earlier. He had only said what he'd felt to be true, but knowing that he had moved his contemporaries gave a new dimension to the feeling. It was good to know that being an original character was not as shameful as it was made out to be.
Nocturne, Hoof, Dac, Saber and Stormy all heard a call from a few yards away, in the direction of the town limits, and they turned to Cal, who remained sitting on the blanket. He seemed to continue to enjoy himself smoothing out wrinkles in the soft fabric, not batting an eye to the outside world. No thoughts on the meaning of existence. No reflections of futility. No pondering on the harshness of judgment. He just continued doing what he wanted to do, and loving every moment of it.
There was another call, closer this time, and the stallions saw the familiar orange-coated country mare grinning and waving for her little brother to come with her. Nocturne looked over at Cal, and saw that he hadn't responded. Remembering Cal's behavior, he went to alert the colt, but Dac stopped him. “I got it,” the parchment-colored Pegasus grinned. Dac leaned down toward Cal and asked, “Hey, buddy? You're sister's here to pick you up. Time to go home.”
“Go home?” Cal asked, glancing up at Dac. “Ah Appajak?”
“Yep, that's her over there. Time to go.”
“Time to go . . .” Cal stalled for a few seconds, looked out to the town limits, and saw his older sister beckoning him back. Without another thought, Cal stood up straight and galloped over, giggling and calling back to his sister, “Appajak! Appajak! Go home?”
At the same time, two more had joined the Earth pony mare, both calling out to the boys for various reasons. One, a purple Alicorn, seem to require Steel Saber's presence, while the yellow Pegasus next to her called out to Nocturne.
“It seems the Princess needs me to return to the palace,” Saber deduced before turning to Nocturne. “Thank you for having us over, my friend. We must do this more often. You've all been a pleasure to see. You and Dactylic, and Calvados and Stormy, and Ho— . . . wait. Where is Hoofenmouth?”
Nocturne looked around the area, and saw that Hoofenmouth had indeed vanished.
“Uhh . . .” came Hoof's voice from behind the tree, “. . . I-I'd better go, too. Thanks for having me, Nocturne!” And with that, he too sped away, in the opposite direction, panting heavily and glancing over his shoulder.
Nocturne, Dac and Stormy all chuckled. “Ahh, still having mare trouble, I see,” Nocturne muttered and shook his head. They saw that Saber had joined the Princess and left, the Apples had similarly departed, and Stormy prepared to leave, as well.
“I had fun talking to you guys,” Stormy said with a friendly grin, “thanks for reminding me how cool it is to be me!”
Dac nodded and smiled back, and Nocturne reached out and mussed Stormy's mane. “Take care of yourself, kid,” he said with a mentor's softness, “and take care of that little marefriend of yours, too.” He added a wink and a mischievous grin.
“Sunny's not my marefriend, Nocturne!” Stormy complained, then took a breath and allowed his voice to settle. “But I will tell her you said hi. Thanks again.” As the colt trotted away, back into town, he stopped once more and looked back at the two remaining Pegasi. “You know, you're not a bad guy, Nocturne. And get better soon, Dac!”
“Thanks,” Dac called back as Stormy left. He then turned to Nocturne, his wealth of emotion displayed on his face. “And thank you too, Nocturne. You really helped me out here. I'm not so ashamed of where I came from anymore.”
When Dac held out a hoof, Nocturne shook it, and the two briefly hugged. “Glad to help, my friend,” said Nocturne calmly. “You think you'll be all right?”
Dac nodded, no emotion more prevalent on his features than relief. “I'll be fine.” There was another call from the Pegasus mare, who now stood alone at the edge of town, waiting for Nocturne. “You'd better go,” Dac said to his bat-winged friend, “she's waiting for you.”
Nocturne nodded, “That she is. Take care, Dac.” He then trotted toward Ponyville, ready to help with whatever his lady friend needed.
Dac stretched out, moaned in comforted relaxation, and went back to leaning against the tree, thinking back on the various ponies that shaped his story, while watching Nocturne canter away with the sweet, butter-yellow Pegasus that had shaped his.
Both of them, and their friends, had meaning in existence. But Dactylic Pentameter was perfectly fine with just being in one more story.
