The Existentialist

Thomas Camus. The H in his name is silent. And, the S is also silent. This reflects much on the silences of his own character. He spoke most often when he needed to. The standard of his voice and mind was clear. He did not waste his breath for naught. “Life is made up of two things,” he would say, “there are the breaths we take and the moments that take our breath away. I waste breath only a little, for fear that I won't have enough breath for the moments that take it from me.” It was a very dignified thing for him to say. And, I didn't care too much for his talking. His presence was satisfactory enough. Sometimes the best moments when I was witness to his countenance was when he just stopped to take a deep breath and smile at some significant incident in our natural lives that most if not all of us took for granted at one point or another. But not him, for he always had time to notice. Thomas noticed everything, even me.

Forgive me, I reminisce.

I should go on with the beginning. It was the day after winter wrap up. It was an odd day as far as weather goes. The sun was out, its golden rays were shining brightly, and yet, it was raining. The sun was shining, and little droplets came down in uncertain waves. The clouds were bumpering back and forth between small clusters, but they never collected enough to block out the sun’s light in the sky. And so, this was the surreal background to Thomas’ entrance into our world.

I was with my friends in the friendship court at Twilight’s castle. We were discussing our latest success in diffusing the recent conflict between the Gryphon Empire and the Zebra Tribes. Twilight was coming to a close when the map lit up. Looking closely, Twilight was the first to speak after a moment of silence, “The map is detecting an anomaly at the Friendship Castle.” She used her magic to bring the castle up to scale. There was this red light, like a flower, flashing and spinning. Then it happened.

The whole castle shook. A loud sound pierced our ears. It was as if thousands of carriages were racing across the air. This experience was echoed by another din that resembled the roar of a dragon. There was a heat that rose up with smoke and ash. At this time, the seven of us were occupied with the immediate chaos. It was no time to worry about one’s mane or fur.

Rubble and miscellaneous objects began to fall around us. The invisible heat grew with the sounds of screaming. The voices, young and old, were horrific all around with no distinction. “Mommy! I can't see you!” These voices cried so loud, “Oh my God!” None of these voices were our own, their volume and terror cast a darkness over our will that made us mute. A tremendous cracking came down in a boom. More voices cried out as if the whole world was on fire.

Then there was silence.

As we rose, subtle bits of ashes continued to flutter to the ground. When I rose, a blanket of dust and warm ashes fell from my back as I saw the silent horror that festered on the expressions of my friends. “What happened,” whispered Fluttershy who still cowered next to Rainbow Dash. Pinkie Pie just stood still with a single tear gathering in her eye.

My friend Applejack shook the dust from her hat as she turned to Twilight, “What happened.” That was all she could say in that immediate moment of dread.

“I don't know. The castle is still intact, so where did all this debris come from?” She looked at me. “Rarity, are you alright?”

“Yes, I'll be fine.” I wasn't really fine at all, but I felt it was necessary to lighten the stress of the situation by showing some ounce of fortitude. “Are you all okay?”

“Yeah I think so.” Applejack looked around to sum up any injuries. “No one seems to be hurt.” Then her eyes wandered around, taking in the spectacle of the mysterious rubble. “That's strange. Twilight, this debris ain't from the castle. See?” Applejack was of course right. The grey fragments, of what looked like cement, did not match the crystal-like material that made up the castle.

As we poked around the rubble, all sorts of possessions popped up. There was a stuffed toy bear that was missing it's left arm. There was a few thick paper cups with hot drinks spilled out of them. By the entrance of the map room, there was a half burnt newspaper. “Hey, girls, look at this.” We gathered around to look at the object in question. “New York Times.”

“Is that a date?” I pointed to a word and some numbers near the top of the page. “September 1st, 2001.” It was strange, but it made sense. It was like a ghost, something you've seen before, something terrible.

We left the map room to look at the rest of the castle. The same had happened in multiple rooms. More rubble appeared in abundance as we neared the entryway to the castle. Several of the new guards were alert and reported immediately to Twilight. They relayed similar information about debris and how the castle was still intact. Then they kept quiet as they directed us to the entryway.

The floor was fractured in a pattern much like a spider’s web. And, in the middle of the floor was a strange yellow box. It was rectangular, and it had four rubber wheels that held it up. It almost looked like a carriage. But, it had a compartment with windows, and what looked like the back half was loaded with strange crates and boxes that were tied down with thin red rope.

There was a sudden shuffling sound from inside the compartment. Suddenly, an orange light began to blink on and off on the one front corner. A click and squeak came with a door to the compartment opening. A figure, unlike any I had seen before, tumbled out and onto the floor. It struggled to get to its feet, though, its feet were oddly shaped. Its feet had laces, so I assumed there must have been coverings of a kind. It stood up on two feet. Its lower half was covered by a jean material while its upper half seemed to be covered by a slick black material that had faded and browned in spots. It had arms with pinkish appendages poking through the sleeves of its strange apparel. It's head was covered by a hat with a front brim. The had was marked by an emblem; it had a shield with the number sixty six in it. It's face, was the strangest.

Its face was a similar pinkish color as the appendages that protruded from its sleeves. A sort of mane was visible, that wrapped around the back of its head. It had ears like a chimpanzee, but it did not have the same muzzle. It's nostrils were supported by an external triangular form that rounded out in an organic way. That's the best I could do to describe how it all looked. The eyes were even more of a spectacle.

They were not colorful eyes as we had. Its eyes were very earthy with a strong presence of brown, speckled by elements of green. I only discovered the eyes’ color after it pulled off its tinted glasses.

“I'm neither dead nor dreaming.” It looked at us for some time before turning back, to what I assumed was its mode of transportation, and closed itself up in the compartment. We could see it drop its head onto some sort of wheel. This resulted in a sudden beep of a sound that echoed through the castle. It dropped its head multiple times. Then it grabbed the wheel and altered it, which in turn changed the alignment of the front wheels. It stepped out of the compartment and took another long look at us. “Oh, well shit.”

We were astonished by its language, and its apparent attitude towards us. At first, he mistakenly took us as absent minded animals.

“Of all the places! This is the lousiest prank. Disneyland! That's what this is, I didn't know they had a petting zoo. You poor creatures. They've dyed your hair. Someone! Start up the bandwagon for the next animal rights movement and get me out of this nightmare!” It looked up at the ceilings as if expecting to see more of his own kind. “No, that's not right. I wasn't in California. I was New York. And the towers...oh. God.”

“Excuse me,” Twilight stepped forward. “I know you're not from this world.” We all remembered Twilight’s stories about the other world behind the mirror. This was what those creatures looked like?

“Ha!” It took its hat off and ran its appendage through its mane. “Time to go.” He jumped back into the compartment of his transportation and this grinding sound started and stopped after some time. “So that's how it's gonna be. Fine.” It emerged again, this time carrying some sort of pack that it strapped to its back. He walked toward the rear of his transportation. “And, my taillight is out. Fan-freaking-tastic.” It made its way towards the entrance of the castle, apparently, to leave.

“Wait!” Twilight called after it, “Where are you going?”

It continued towards the doors. “Can't learn to swim if you don't jump in the water.”

“Wait.” Applejack spoke up, “If you jump into waters too deep, you're likely to drown before you even learn to stay afloat.”

“Ha. That is a true and an honest answer to a wayfaring man of grief. No legacy is so rich as honesty.” It looked at Applejack and nodded in defeat as it dropped its pack to the floor. “You seem keen on giving your council to me that I might understand your world, as it were. You're obviously not puppets, I've seen puppets; you're not puppets. Not literally, at least.”

I found myself bewildered by the strange and awesome presence of this being. It spoke with such command and poise that rivaled Celestia. It seemed to possess a secret power that made me uncomfortable to even be present in the same space. It knew something we didn't, and it filled me with fear. I decided to take a chance. “What is your name?”

It looked at me in surprise. “To climb steep hills requires a slow pace at first. I see you have taken the first step.” It smiled. “My name is Thomas. Thomas Camus.” It walked toward Twilight. “And before you ask and create an awkward air, yes I have a gender. It's one you're particularly fond of.”

“Excuse me!” Twilight took immediate offense to his statement.

“I'm right in reading even another species’ facial expressions. Astounding! You want to know how I know you've had eyes for another of my kind? For starters, you were the first to recognize me without confusion. Secondly, this was speculation but still, there was a bit of hope in your tone when you addressed me. Possibly, you were hoping I was the one you've thrown your heart to. Maybe, and maybe not, again speculation. And lastly, your quick defensive speech spoke volumes of confirmation that you have a secret you don't wish to disclose to your friends.” He stopped and scratched his chin. “I'm pretty sure they're your friends.”

“We are, Thomas Camus.” Fluttershy took a more calm approach to him than Rainbow Dash and Twilight, who seemed to become a bit hostile. Thankfully, Fluttershy’s interjection smothered those flames of temper.

“I commend you, kindly voiced soul, for being the first to use my name. And, what is your name, might I ask?” He knelt down to meet her level and took on a more calm demeanor.

“I'm, Fluttershy.” Her hushed voice made Thomas Camus smile.

“It is nice to meet someone so calm and sure as yourself. You don't have to call me by my full name. Just call me Thomas or Tom if you like.” He seemed to become more friendly.

“Tom?” I approached him still in caution. “I am Rarity.”

“Yes you are.” He smiled.

This statement puzzled me. “How would you know that?”

“You namesake reflects your personality.” He stood up and put his appendages in the pockets of his clothing that covered his lower half. “It is rare for anyone to be so courteous and generous to ask one’s name.”

Just then, Rainbow Dash flew down and took a defensive position between Thomas and Fluttershy. “I don't like you, I just want to make that clear.”

“That's fine. You're entitled to that statement. I understand you don't trust me. I don't expect you too. I don't believe it's personal. You're just looking out for your friends.” Thomas bowed his a head a bit. “I respect your loyalty.”

“Forgive Rainbow dash here, she ain't exactly the trusting type when it comes to strangers.” Applejack tipped her hat off and held it to her chest. “The name’s Applejack.”

Thomas turned his head stiffly towards Applejack. “Ah yes, the one who played savior to keep me from drowning. There was one problem with your words I'm afraid.”

Applejack raised her brow. “And what would that be?”

Thomas grinned. “I can't drown on dry land.” He did a little shuffle with his two feet to show that the floor was solid. He looked up and towards Pinkie Pie who was unusually quiet.

Her mane seemed a little deflated but not overly so. There was a single tear stain on the fur of her cheek. “I-uh, I can’t,” she was breathing heavily.

Applejack stepped up to Pinkie Pie. “Pinkie Pie, what's the matter?”

“I'm sorry,” she began to sniffle, “you had to read the last chapter.”

Thomas had this knowing melancholy look on his face. “Was it good?”

“What is she talking about?” Rainbow Dash interjected.

“Please forgive Pinkie Pie,” Twilight gestured Fluttershy to go comfort Pinkie pie, “she can be a little, well-”

“Crazy?” Thomas was blunt with that. “I know it’s not what you said, but it’s what you were thinking. It’s not you fault. Different people give that impression. Why? It’s very simple. Many are afraid of different. So, with no words other than crazy, that’s the ascribed status that falls upon the ones I prefer to call gifted.”

“Are you gifted?” I asked that question then, but, if I’d only known.

“Well,” Thomas shrugged his shoulders, “I’m nobody special. It’s just like your friend Applejack said. I’m just a stranger passing through.” He scratched his chin. “Besides, you asked the wrong question.”

“Did I now?” He was so strange.

“What did Pinkie Pie here mean by the last chapter. Does she mean the previous chapter, or the ending?” Thomas stared off into space for a bit and laughed to himself.