Creation’s Folly

The next day I was greeted again by Nurse Redheart with a tray of vegetable mush and what looked like fish fillets, setting it on the bedside table.

Odd for a bunch of herbivores to be so casual about ferrying around meat, I thought.

The food was tolerable, but not the best. “Not to sound ungrateful for the food, I really appreciate it, but is this actual meat?

“Yes sir. Some of the patients we intake suffer from the same ailment you do, so we usually keep some manner of protein in stock.” She tilted her head. “Is fish not to your liking?”

“It’s mildly unpleasant, but I’ll eat it. Do you guys happen to keep salt around?”

She grimaced at the mention of salt, but quickly adopted her professional demeanor. “Not unless you count saline, unfortunately. Some ponies have a problem with abusing it.”

“What do you mean ‘abusing it’? Is it not a seasoning here?”

She scoffed at the realization. “No, it is, but it acts a bit like a mild narcotic for ponies. While we can eat it in food like baked goods, technically it’s frowned upon to have it in a hospital, a place of health. The local pharmacy around the block keeps it in stock though.”

The more you know.

I continued to eat my bland goop and digest that little factoid at the same time. Nurse Redheart excused herself to continue her rounds, leaving me alone once again to ponder my existance. The sun shone through my window softly, warming the air faintly. There were birds outside deciding to glide by and eat whatever bugs were unlucky enough to hover for too long. I couldn’t hear their songs through the glass, but from the green of the tree they roosted in I could tell it was probably around spring or summertime.

If the seasons here are similar at all to Earth, I wonder what the weather will be like? I might need to move to somewhere more temperate if I can’t tolerate winter here.

The quiet of the room was broken up by the sound of hooves coming from down the hall. A new nurse I had not seen yet stopped by with another pony, this one lavender and dressed in a white blouse, brown sweater vest and navy colored skirt.

She cleared her throat and proceeded to introduce herself. “Good morning, sir. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I’m the one who brought you here and I’m coming to see how you’re doing after the whole… debacle from before.”

I sat up straighter and set my tray aside. “I’m managing. Could definitely be doing better, but I’m managing.”

She smiled at hearing that I was ok. “That’s good. After all you went through, I’ve decided to take a particular interest in you and was wondering if you would be okay with me stopping by to ask a few questions.” She stepped forward to fully enter the room and sat in a visitor’s chair a ways away from my hospital bed. “That is, if you’re interested. If not, I can always come back at a later time.”

She appeared to be studious and proper, her calm demeanor never dropping and seeming to adopt more curiosity than I’d seen in anybody before. I nodded in affirmation and I swear the smile on her face threatened to split her head in half as she jumped up.

“That’s wonderful! Oh I have so many questions!” Her horn levitated a quill and a small notepad out from her pink and indigo mane. “Firstly, I’d like to ask what exact kind of species you are. I’ve never seen anything like you.”

The realization hit me- none of them knew what a human was. That meant that until I heard of someone else appearing in this world, I was entirely alone. A hollowness and sadness started to eat at my heart, but I tried my best to hide it behind a smile. Though Twilight noticed my emotions dip.

Her expression quickly dipped. “I’m sorry, did I say something wrong?”

“No ma’am. I just sort of realized that I might be… entirely alone in this world as the only human.”

Twilight’s ears drooped at my admission and she looked as if she was searching for the right thing to say. “I’m very sorry about that. I can’t imagine how it must make you feel,” she said gently. “But if it’s any consolation to you, you don’t have to be alone in this. I’m sure everypony in Equestria could help you feel right at home.”

It did little to help raise my spirits, but I gave her a grateful nod anyway. “Thanks. That means a lot.”

She beamed and her natural enthusiasm returned in full force.
“Excellent. Now, about my first question: you said you were a human. What exactly is that?”

I gave her a quick lesson about my species, about how we were the dominant life form of our home planet and the rise from the stone age to modernity as best as I could.

Twilight’s quill danced across her notepad, taking in every detail I spoke. Evidently, it wasn’t enough to quench her thirst for knowledge, because she seemed eager to ask for more.

“Fascinating… and you say that on Earth, there’s no other intelligent life at all? Not even other animal species?” She asked resolutely.

“Well not entirely. As far as I’m aware, there aren’t any others that have spoken language, but recent discoveries suggested that some marine mammals used ultrasonic frequencies to communicate. Could be that most life was intelligent to some degree, especially social animals.”

Twilight’s quill paused mid-sentence to bring a hand up to her chin. “That’s an interesting thought. I never considered that the formation of language might have something to do with the emergence of intelligence, or vice versa. I’ll have to look into this more carefully…”

She shifted along the ground, before continuing to jot down her thoughts. “Now, about yourself. Do your species use names to differentiate yourselves among each other?”

I laughed at the notion. “Yes, I have a name. It’s Aurelius. Aurelius Diaz.”

She smiled and stuck a hand out toward me, which I shook. “Nice to officially meet you, Aurelius.” She shifted slightly, her posture straightening more in the chair.

“Now, about your sudden appearance a few days ago,” Twilight began, her tone changing to be serious. “You appeared shortly after an incredible burst of magic from the artifacts my friends and I used. It was… extraordinary to simplify it. Would you happen to know anything about that or what circumstances might have brought you here?”

I stayed silent, combing through the memories as best I could, but I only drew bits and pieces. “I can’t think of anything I might have done to cause all this. One second I remember laying down to sleep after work, the next I was falling through some shifting colors and then a sense of pulling as I saw a bright white light. Like I was caught in a tornado of… something.” I paused to scratch at my stubble. “Then I remember waking up around your friends and running away.”

She flattened her muzzle, dissatisfied at my answer, then scratched out something on her notepad. “Well, that at least shifts the blame off of you, but only brings up more questions.”

Without duplicating the exact circumstances and limiting variables, I don’t think the scientific method could help, much less answer anything. I certainly don’t want to go through any of that again unless it results in me going home.

I shrugged off the thought. “C’est la vie, I guess. No point in trying to figure this all out now.”

Twilight’s visit extended well into the afternoon as she asked me similar questions the hospital staff asked, which I obliged. It included, but wasn’t limited to human culture, dietary information, more history, what I used to do for employment or lack thereof, and more. Nurse Redheart returned with a lunch of more hospital fare and politely asked if Twilight would leave for now so I could go to minor physical therapy, which she begrudgingly agreed to. I found a sense of solace at being cared for in my time of need, helping to calm my thoughts and focus on recovery. Twilight and the staff l seemed nice enough.

As the sun finally climaxed the horizon, I looked back on the day and felt okay with my circumstances. I was left alone for the night to sleep and recover in peace.

—-

My dreams weren’t any less weird that night. They started off with me running through the same stone halls from before, being chased by some black cloud that threatened to swallow me, but it shifted to a calm starry void. I could feel a presence watching me from somewhere amongst the mist. Unnerving as it was, it didn’t appear overtly hostile like the blackness previously, rather it seemed content to just watch over me. I reached out to try and grab at one of the stars floating around, but the void blocked me from seeing anything further than a few inches away. It was as if I were inside a thick fog, not unlike the cool early mornings back home.

“Who are you?” asked the presence shortly before I woke up to a gentle tingle of magic fiddling with the remaining cuff. Seconds later and the cuff enlarged enough to slide off my wrist.

Nurse Redheart once more was the first sight greeting me for the morning, the cuff floating over into her lab coat’s pocket. She smiled when she noticed I was awake. “Good morning, Mr. Aurelius. How are you feeling today?”

“Better, now that my arms are free. I don’t know what it is, but I feel significantly nicer than I have in years!” I don’t know why, but I have the strangest feeling I could lift a rock twice my size!

She giggled at my enthusiasm. “That’s to be expected, but it’s remarkable that you’ve recovered as fast as you have. The main purpose of this cuff’s runes is to assist in mana regeneration and recovery, but not as quickly as that.”

“Wait, how long have I been here?”

Her smile grew the faintest bit. “Just over three days now,” she explained. “Normally it takes at least a week, depending on the severity. You came in almost entirely destitute of any mana flowing in your veins, which could have turned much worse.”

Holy Jesus, that bad?

She continued her assessment of my condition. “You said that you had never heard of magic before, hm?” I nodded. “That most likely means you have a severely underdeveloped CAM system and it seems that exposure to the ambient magic here in Equestria supercharged you, if that makes sense.”

I stared off into space while I tried to grapple with what that meant. The kindly nurse helped me all the while to get up and do a final once over before leaving to ready the paperwork for my discharge. I pulled out the bedside table’s drawer, assuming correctly that my clothes and shoes had been placed inside, and changed myself out of the stark hospital gown.

So what, am I just supposed to live normally with the knowledge that I’m suddenly superhuman without any indication on how to use those powers?

Every day so far had brought me nothing but questions that at the time were impossible to answer without a library. Luckily, the mare from before, Twilight Sparkle, seemed to be a student of sorts and had the knowledge I might need. She was currently standing at the check-in desk, scanning the room simultaneously conversing with a patient she recognized, before settling her attention on me and waving. Was she waiting for me?

Upon reaching said mare in question, she greeted me with nothing but a warm, scholarly smile. Her eyes sparkled at the chance to talk to me again. “Hello again, Aurelius. I take it you’re feeling much better today?”

“That I am, Ms. Sparkle. Like I told Nurse Redheart, I’m feeling fitter than usual. She says it’s due to being exposed to the ambient mana in the air.”

Her smile broadened at my response, a quill levitating over from the desk to the paperwork in front of her. It hurriedly flourished about, signing her name at the bottom of the page with her horn’s delicate lilac glow. “That’s wonderful to hear. I guess your condition wasn’t as bad as I thought. Here, I’ve gone ahead and signed everything on the release forms as your legal representative; so we’re all set to go.”

I stuttered at her reveal. “G-go? As in, I’m leaving with you? Where? And what do you mean legal representative?”

From behind the nurse’s station, Nurse Redheart grabbed the paperwork off the desk with her signature pink magic and flew them over to a holding basket. “Yes sir. Princess Celestia specifically requested that Ms. Sparkle, come discharge you as soon as you are well enough.” She bowed and gave me a smile to match Twilight’s. “Even though you appear to be well, I ask that you try to take it easy for the rest of the week to avoid accidentally injuring yourself.”

The nurse dismissed herself to return to her duties and Twilight started for the entrance of the hospital, into the bright sunlight that bathed the lobby. She paused at the entrance, her hands waiting on it ever so gently, as she turned to meet my stare. “It’s perfectly alright, Aurelius. After hearing about your sudden appearance during a tumultuous time as yours, she thought it pertinent to have someone well versed in the laws and customs of Equestria help you acclimate. And as your appointed legal representative,” she added with a hint of amusement, “I would be happy to help a new friend, if you’ll have me.”

I took a deep breath, before finally choosing to follow her lead. “I see,” I said steadily. “Well, if you would be so kind as to lead the way, Ms. Sparkle.”

“Just Twilight is fine, Aurelius. No need for formalities. We’ll take it one step at a time.”

As we proceeded down the path from the hospital onto the broader street laid before us, I could hear many indistinct voices from the town around us- the hustle and bustle of a lively little village, though that might be a poor description. Before me was a town right out of a coloring page or a cartoon. The buildings all had a comfortable peach colored brick and mortar, straw-thatch roofing with the odd house here and there with stone tile roofing. Nestled on the doorframe of some of the buildings were brightly painted iconography on the signs depicting the business and residences that building housed. The smells of the air wafted about, carrying all sorts of wonderfully nostalgic and homey moods, like a mix between a rustic farmhouse and freshly baked apple pies.

From the tang of the fresh produce, to the perfumes of the many residents, to the melody of their laughter and chatty attitudes, everything felt like it belonged in some picturesque landscape painting.

The feeling of the well-worn browns and grays of the cobblestones beneath my bare feet were comfortable enough, but I knew I would need shoes eventually.

Twilight snapped her fingers to shift my attention back to whatever she was saying. Her expression seemed to mirror my own wonder at the wider world outside my hospital room. “Welcome to Ponyville, Aurelius. Population: twelve thousand, four hundred and twenty two ponies, and one local human.

Twilight’s voice bolstered beaming and justified pride. “I would like to be the first pony to welcome you to your new home, however permanent or temporary it may be. Despite its size, the community here is unmatched anywhere else in Equestria. What I’ve learned so far in my short time here is that the sense of belonging and camaraderie here are the defining features of its ponies,” she started matter-of-factly

She lead me down the winding streets of the chaotically ordered blocks to the town’s center, which housed an ornate slate-gray fountain of a normal nondescript pony with its open hands reaching toward the sky. The babbling of its water reflected an almost mirror image of the clouds in the sky. “Over there we have a Ponyville’s mayor office, home and office of Ms. Mayor Mare. And to its right, is Sugarcube Corner Confectionery.” She pointed at the gingerbread looking house. “While not Ponyville’s only bakery, it’s one of my favorites. The Chocolate Lava cakes are absolutely divine.”

We continued on past a few more businesses, including the namesake Carousel Boutique, some furniture stores, supply stores and more, each of which Twilight had some small commentary about. We finally settled at a giant oak tree with a door carved in the front. Along the way, she stressed ‘Friendship and Respect are the two most important tenets of Equestrian law’ and that all laws reflected that. Basically the same common sense stuff that I remember from back home. Not that I was expecting anything unusual.

“We finally conclude our tour with Golden Oaks library, Ponyville’s premier place of information,” said Twilight, but her tone shifted to one of more nerdy bookishness. “And also double as my home. Would you believe me if I told you I’m beyond happy to have so many shelves of books?”

She pushed open the door and revealed that the interior trunk was simply lined with books, each shelf meticulously carved into the living wood of the building. I would even say coated with them. I couldn’t read any of the placards labeling each section, but there must have been at least a thousand. “Though I hate to say that it isn’t as large as the one in Canterlot, it has so many rare tomes on magical theory and history that I can’t think of any better place to end our grand tour. What do you think?”

Despite the air outside, I could feel that the airflow inside was perfectly cool. It definitely smelled of pages and ink, along with that of being lived in. The interior seemed cramped, but definitely large enough to live inside. I couldn’t wrap my head around how it managed to grow in such a way to be a building , but I quickly rationalized it as magic or maybe a skilled arborist. Made sense.

So a student lives in a library. Kinda cute in that sort of children’s nursery rhyme kind of way. Seems fitting. I’m almost at a loss for words.

“It’s… how do I put this… quaint. Very sparsely decorated.” Her expression dipped at my mention of her lack of furniture. “B-but that’s not a bad thing! It just means there’s room for improvement!”

Way to insult your host, dipshit.

Her disappointment shifted to a chuckle and she audibly laughed at my commentary. “I suppose that’s one word to describe my choice in decorations,” she said, her voiced laced with humor. “Not exactly the word I would have used. I prefer the term ‘simple and minimalist’. Definitely leaves room for improvement, as you said.”

She moved about the room with a familiarity only she could have, around the central table. She perused the shelves with a finger looking for something in particular. Twilight upon spotting the books she was looking for, levitated a small stack about eight books tall and set it over to the side of the reading station at the center of the room.

The books landed with a heavy thud. The way they moved about in the air so carefully, I thought the stack would be lighter! That’s got to be at least forty to fifty pounds of books! “There we are. It’s not an exhaustive list of everything you’ll need to know, mostly things for parents to teach their foals. But it does include a language primer to teach you how to read and write, if you can’t already, an Almanac of basic history in Equestria, common toxic plants and insects, and a few others,” she stated. “Anything else you might need, we can always cover at a future date when it becomes relevant. You can read it later this evening. For now, let me show you your room.”

She started towards a staircase jutting out of the rear wall, that the entire back bookshelf was built into. I didn’t see it before, but there was a whole other story to the inside of this place. Up above about ten feet from the actual library was a loft I couldn’t see the entirety of. It looked almost like a living room, complete with a nice looking recliner, end tables, a small pet bed shaped like a normal bed, and even a small fireplace. Her single-sized bed was nestled neatly in a corner that was carved out with just enough room to get into either side and the room was complete with a chest-height window to overlook the space behind the tree. On the far side of the little loft, opposite of the bed, was another set of stairs and a dumbwaiter, presumably to ferry food from a kitchen.

“I retract my statement from before about this place being quaint,” I said, which only caused Twilight to laugh considerably harder than was necessary.

We further dove into the belly of the great tree and passed by a fairly standard looking kitchen and into a spare room directly connected to it, secured with a presently unlocked door. Twilight pulled a small keyring out of her breast pocket and opened up the room up to reveal that it was more empty than the library down below. There was a single window which let in enough light that I could make out the texture of the wood making up the walls. From up here, I could make out the path we took through on the last leg through Ponyville, and could see the hustle and bustle starting to wind down for the day.

“So… this room is mine?” I asked in earnest.

She nodded and took its key off the ring, along with a spare key to the library. “It’s only fair to help out someone who was brought unfairly from their life by my own actions. My best guess right now is that it’s partly my fault that you’re here in Equestria now,” she started. “Plus I’ve never had the opportunity to have a roommate, until now. I thought it might be interesting.”

I took the key from her hands, a mix of emotions swirling inside me. I looked around the room, lost in its emptiness. “Thank you, Twilight. From the bottom of my heart,” I began, my voice cracking as my eyes started to water. “For all of this. It’s all so… overwhelming, but in a good way. To think someone who’s only just met me to show me such kindness. To… to… opening their home to me…”

Twilight, touched by my gratitude, softened and came close to offer me a hug. “Aurelius, it’s not a problem at all. I know it's a lot to take in, but I’ll help you out as much as I can.”

Of course I accepted her hug and cried. What else could I have done in a moment so tenderly? I knelt down to her four foot tall level and gladly accepted my new life and whatever it may bring.

With all that it DID bring.