Minds can be classified in many ways, but I find the best way to be using the different types of
intelligence and the sanity of one's mind. Analytical, decisive, deductive, book smarts, street
smarts and common sense. Many minds contain one of these types of intelligence for the most
part, but sadly the lesser part possess the last type. No matter where you go this is the case that
greets you. And to the insanity clarification, it’s a hard one to figure out quickly and effectively.
Sadly madness is very much like the fundamental law of gravity: all it takes is a little push to go
over the edge. Have I ever told you the definition of insanity? The definition of insanity is doing
something over and over and over again in the same manner and expecting something different to
happen each time. Most see the illusion of a perfect mind and one without problems or haunted
memories, but the truth is that no one has a sound mind. We are all plagued by something, be it a
memory of a past event or person, a mental disability, a certain tick or obsession, and addiction.
Most of us believe the world is run by a law that defines everything, a series of causes and effects,
but we are wrong. We acted and the universe reacted, and on and on and on flowed a ripple.
These acts all intertwined in a big mess of time and actions. Have I ever told you the definition of
insanity?
{From the scriptures of Seris and Equis} Universal Cause, paragraph 9, verse 4.
He stood as his day rolled by with the given sky folding to reveal the new breaking dawn. Clouds started to form to cover the wounds left by the dark nights. His eyes scanned over the landscape that lay before his abode. To his chamber he returned and upon his back he bestowed his leather and cloak. The cold leather chilled the sensitive skin on his legs and calmed his mind for this day ahead of him. His weapons went to his sheaths that hugged his barrel and thigh. As he stood there his breathing became even and steady while his mind blended into his surroundings and bled into the air. The slight creaking of the shifting wood and the smallest vibrations from the smaller animals echoed through the pine and spruce.
The flowing cloth lightly grabbed the air as he moved to exit his self-built home. He pushed the door open to reveal the forest that hid him from the locals that had resented him since his arrival 8 years ago. His skin bore an olive tone that blended with his cloak and his over-sized hood hid his cold, blue eyes, full of malice toward the world. He roamed through the forest and picked the fruit, mushrooms, nuts and spices that sustained him his life. Every day he played the same routine, a simple life. Picking up a red and white spotted mushroom he uttered a few words to himself, “Simplex viae est difficillimum.” A simple life can be the most difficult. It hurt him to say it, but he lived by these words. No other soul in his life, no purpose, no responsibility unto anyone but himself. It is a very simple life and that made it exceedingly difficult to live.
He was but a child upon arrival and the world hated him for being different. No, not the world, the pastel coloured inhabitants despised his difference. They looked at him like a stain on a white garment. An impurity in their perfect world. So he wandered for 5 years and travelled what seemed like an entire continent. Once he couldn’t see any sign of the dominant life he found himself in this dark forest of monsters and death. The Everfree, this world called it. It had become his home and his shield at the cost of his happiness and his name.
So is the life of a man reborn in this world as just a face. No name, no face, just a body and a voice for no one to hear. He did not need a name, only his mind.
The working day was starting off as normal in Ponyville. The bustling locals of the nearby town, hurried from building to building on their merry way, for shopping, or maybe a relaxing stroll. Signs were set up, mail was sent and delivered. A new addition to the town was the pegasus stallion named Snakecharm. His slim and lightly toned form was covered by a dark, maroon coat of fur. As he worked he kept having to brush back his flat, black mane to allow him to see his progress. He had found work aiding the local animal caretaker, Fluttershy, in anything that she needed assistance with, specifically relating to the local reptiles. He was amazing with snakes, as suggested by his namesake.
Presently, he was assigned to help clean out and maintain the animals’ winter shelters. With the growing season in it’s prime, it was difficult, due to runoff from nearby farms, but with the use of his wings he could dry the soil and use mud to patch up the structure, and thus he was able to ensure the dens’ integrity. As he blew a gust of wind into the rabbit hole, he was interrupted by a brush on the back, “Snakecharm, I think you should come in. Um, that is, if you don’t mind?” it was his employer, Fluttershy, “I mean you have been out here a while and you are sweating quite a bit so umm... maybe you’d like a drink?”
“Alright.” he complied. With a final flap of his wings he sent a last needed blow into the shelter and followed Fluttershy. ”Oh yeah, Fluttershy?” The mare in question stopped and cocked her head to listen, “What else do you need done today?” She tapped her chin with her hoof and hummed in thought. “I think the beaver lodge needs to be checked and the chickens might need some feed. Um, that’s all I can think of, if that’s okay. Why do you ask?”
“Just need to plan my day out. Plus, if I do it the right I can be back before lunch and whip something up for us.”
”Oh you don’t need to...”
“I must insist. I make a killer summer salad.” Fluttershy looked at the stallion her face perplexed. She silently smiled and nodded to show her gratitude. Before long the two were seated at her dining table sipping at a cool glass of much-needed lemonade. The water that rolled down the glass cooled Snakecharm’s inner hoof. His body relaxed and cooled as he thought of the past few weeks in silence. Over the past four weeks only Fluttershy, and a few of her close friends, had tried to associate themselves with or befriend him. He found it very contradictory to the reviews he heard about Ponyville. Fluttershy explained it was due to the recent activities and unfortunate events that transpired in the past. Dragons, minotaurs, hostile unicorns, etc. That was apparently the reason the local ponies were wary of new additions or visitors. He was staggered that such a small and relatively obscure town could experience such amounts of terrible events in such a small span of time.
He was snapped back to reality when he tried to take a sip of his lemonade and got a mouthful of nothing. “Thanks for that, Fluttershy, I needed that more than I realised. I’ll see you in a few.” As he reached the front door Fluttershy quickly called out, “Could you please check if the snake eggs have hatched? If you don’t mind, that is.”
”No problem.” He quickly exited and closed the door. He made his way to the area where the snakes lived. He approached the target nest and saw a few were ready to hatch. He smiled at the thought of watching the new hatchlings come out into the world. He whistled a tune and made his way to the chicken coop, grabbed a bag of feed and swiftly filled the feed bins for the chickens. Once he was satisfied that the chickens were fed, he left and strolled to the beaver lodge. He was greeted by the beavers, hard at work gathering and placing wood and sticks to build up the dam. He joined in, aiding the beavers. He flew up to the surrounding trees and pulled off specific branches to prune the trees, and gave the beavers the wood. It took an hour, but he had fulfilled the amount of work needed to help the beavers for the day. With the dam nearly finished they could rest a bit. Snakecharm returned to Fluttershy’s cottage and helped himself to the kitchen’s amenities.
He threw on the nearest apron and went to work. Pulling out various leaves and vegetables, he threw together a quick salad for both of them, garnished them and placed them on the dining table with some cutlery, glasses filled with water and a few decorations. In his childhood he learned that nothing should ever be done in half measures. Even a quick lunch. “Fluttershy! Lunch is ready!” he called. The graceful mare came through the front door and into the dining room. “Thank you Snakecharm. This looks delicious.”
The stallion nodded and proceeded to join Fluttershy at the table. Throughout the lunch Fluttershy attempted to engage in conversation with the stallion, but he was more of a quiet type. They ate lunch in each other’s company. When they finished, Snakecharm cleared the table, cleaned the dishes and bid Fluttershy his goodbyes and headed to his home. As a consequence of his rapid work, the stallion took a scenic route past the Everfree forest. Contrary to popular opinion Snakecharm found the forest to have an eerie charm he quite enjoyed. As he walked parallel to the edge of the forest, the reptilian wildlife joined him, as he enjoyed the summer afternoon. “How did I get friends like you guys?” Snakecharm joked, chuckling. the faster snakes wrapped around his fetlocks and slithered up to his barrel and began to rest on his back.
A rustle in the dense foliage caught Snakecharm’s attention. His ears perked up and his head turned to the source. All he noticed was said foliage and the thick brush of the forest. Unbeknownst to him a leather-clad, bipedal figure stalked him, using the dark shadows of the forest. The mysterious figure gripped his primitive weapons in preparation of any trespass of its territory. Snakecharm took a turn through an opening in the border of bushes.
Before he knew it, he was pinned to the ground. When he realised what was happening he started to panic. His reptilian company dispersed into the forest. Cold, sharpened stone parted the fur on Snakecharm’s neck, “If you try anything stupid you’ll find out first-hand how it feels to bleed out. Now answer me this and you’ll leave here alive: Why are you entering this forest? Usually you ponies see this place as some sort of forbidden zone.”
“I- I- I just thought I’d take a walk through it. I’m not scared of the animals here since I’m decent at dealing with snakes! PLEASE DON’T HURT ME!”
Snakecharm looked up at his attacker’s face. He saw the eyes of a troubled past and agonized soul. “I’ll let you go just this once, do not follow me. Understood?” Snakecharm nodded his agreement furiously. In an instant, Snakecharm was released and his attacker disappeared, leaving the quivering stallion, paralysed by shock and fear. When he mustered up the courage to move again, he shakily stood up and hurried back to his home at full speed. Barging through his front door, locking it and running to his room all seemed to take an eternity to do. He climbed under his covers and tried to sleep, hoping that he hadn’t been followed. Sleep crept its way into the frightened stallions vision, and his mind drifted away.
