I lost a pony I knew.
Last week, he was processing my test procedure specification reports--software stuff--really boring detail-oriented work. This week, he was processed into the ground--death stuff--really sad disturbing part of life.
We worked in the same place, he and I. Didn't interact too much. He'd been there a while. Me, not so much.
I never talked too much--not to him or anyone else. He was the only pony in the office, but I wasn't too curious about him--he was just another person who was there--who I saw in the hall very occasionally while I was hurrying to prepare my lunch while avoiding eye contact with everyone.
He kept to himself, as ponies who choose to work on Earth in his type of job often do. Keeping quiet is not a typical pony characteristic, at least that is what stereotypical television specials would have us believe. Everyone's watched "Growing Up Pony", "My Little Ponies", and "Coming to Equestria" and think they know everything about pony culture. But there are lots of ponies--so many types of ponies. There's a lot I don't know, and a digression into deep nuances of pony culture isn't really the point of this piece, so I can only talk in generalities. There is a little truth to the broad conceptions of what makes a pony a pony, but there's not as much that can be assumed as other people think.
Not everyone in Equestria is as bubbly as that overwhelming pink pony with the party balloons and that bothers some of those ponies--they're not part of the herd. They don't want to be part of that herd--at least. The pony at my work wasn't into big displays of heart or belting out in song at the drop of a chord. He had a lot of heart and he could sing--those who knew him best attested. He just didn't want to make a big scene. He was calm, cool, collected, and he'd always been that way. I'd heard that in Equestria, ponies treated him a bit different. He felt a lot of feelings--mostly uncomfortable--since he knew he made other ponies feel unsettled. So, he thought that Equestria wasn't the place for him. He'd had a family there--a spouse and a child and he'd been the best househusband he could. But although he was there for his child's cuteceñaria, he wasn't as interested in his mare as he felt he should be, and he was rather unsettled. His pairing had been encouraged from so many quarters that he had not spent time considering other options. In time, he found he perhaps could explore other options. A change of scenery would help. Equestria was not the place for him to be.
So he came to Earth.
We're less pastel and more monochrome. I've heard we live a slower mode of life.
He worked his way up in the business from janitorial, proving that a pony can do anything. People cooed and congratulated him in turgid detail about his promotion until "human" resources--we'll need to rename that--interceded, insisting that making a big deal about an achievement explicitly because he was a "pony" achieving the goal often was obnoxious and demeaning--even if it wasn't intended to be. After they stepped in and unwanted attention receded, it was better for him.
He was bright--passed tests and became a star in software engineering.
If you were working late, you'd find him there, helping cover for someone else who had a family emergency. If you were working early, he'd always be on time.
He even found a special someone. A human to live with.
When the laws changed and ponies could marry humans, he married his man and they lived together. It was a big turnabout from how he'd lived in Equestria. New place, new person, new species--everything--he'd found he himself was a new person too. Equestria didn't have a lot of stallions, but Earth did. And his relationship went well. It really did. Everyone was jealous of their happiness--mostly with happy jealousy. Both of them worked at my office, although they worked different jobs and were compensated in accordance--the pony was the breadwinner and he was proud to be in that position.
The pair's affection was not expressed much at work--even though they weren't the only couple there--they wanted to be professional since others might think them different. But everyone knew they were together and for them, that it was good. They smiled. They laughed. They went to office events together. And they were a model for other pony-human pairs. Pioneers. They gave advice and even helped a few matches.
And although he was in a new world and could have left everything he had before completely behind, he still kept in contact with his parents and child from Equestria. He loved them and they, he. They visited him and he baked authentic Equestrian dishes they didn't realize could be prepared in this strange land. His child came to live with him--a rarity for humans for a child to live with the father after divorce, but maybe it was more common with ponies. Either way, it spoke good to his character that his child cared so much about him.
But he didn't feel right. Earth was different from Equestria and it should have been a lot better for him. Everything added up to joy. But he had his past always with him: and that never added up. He tossed and turned with nightmares and chronic pain from a long-held injury suffered in Equestria... from something about a war against a Dark Lord--literally--the name of the villain translated to 'shadow'. He never went into details. But that darkness must have left a darkness on his heart. And there were sleeping pills for the weekend to help him rest. And he took a few too many. Maybe on purpose. Maybe not. And there were some prescriptions that shouldn't have been mixed. And some liquor. And he didn't wake up.
His spouse might have blamed himself. But they'd both been happy. It wouldn't have made sense for the new life to be the source of despair--that total couldn't reconcile. And, he'd left behind parts of the old life that didn't work. He'd made his new life work really smoothly; there wasn't anything that would give rise to an audit risk--to strain the metaphor. He was happy, but he'd also had a lot of melancholy. He'd lived and things had happened. Pain kept recurring and it wasn't anyone's fault except that Dark Lord's... and that one was long gone. Once he died, though, the pain would stop happening--he must have known.
I'm not sure what to take away from this tale, except that it's sometimes hard for people to be who they are no matter where they are. And the problem isn't avoidable even if there are good friends and family. The problem may not even always be solvable.
The pony's personal problem was solved. In a way. But it was solved by him not being here any more. And his spouse and his family... they're a lot less happy. I don't think he wanted that--of course, I didn't know him well, so take that with a grain of salt short of a salt lick. Still, that's why I think it was an accident.
It's important to hug ponies and people you know. Even if it doesn't change anything for them. Even if you can't do anything for them. If you have hugged them and let them know, then you know you've done what you could... for yourself if not for them--I'm not sure I did. And if you can't do it any more to your friend... then hug someone else. I did. I hope it was appreciated. It's important to remember when I-you-anyone encounter someone, that might be your last opportunity to share your happiness with someone or to enjoy their company... rather than just to enjoy their approvals of your reports.
Enjoy the ponies you know.
Author's Note
Can't get enough ponies on Earth?
Here are some other ponies on Earth stories by me:
EI Can't Ask Fluttershy Out
Fluttershy's human counterpart wants a date with the kind mare but success is elusive.
SparklingTwilight ·
1000 words
· 24
5 ·
559 views
T"Come with Me If You Want to Kiss"
Shining Armor stands in the way of a human dating his alicorn daughter.
SparklingTwilight ·
1.7k words
· 31
1 ·
649 views
