Staringing Across the Divide

[twilightpony]

In the cold cloistering season of winter, lounging by the fire in my reading room, I get to thinking. What would happen, if you take out the disorientation implicit in navigating a new geometry of a radically different universe, if a pony should step out into a city on earth World, or if a 'person' should step out into a city in Equestria?

Panic, probably. Like with Zecora, at first, in Ponyville. But eventually? I'd like to think that a person would become accepted as part of pony society, like a minotaur or a griffon, only harder to feed. I doubt a pony, especially a unicorn or a pegasus, would integrate quite so easily into a meat eating society where only one species can talk.

It's probably the hay. Winter fare slows a pony down. First cut hay dampens the metabolic fire to a slow, steady burn.

Comments

[flareblitzfury]

Yeah, hopefully if a human did they'd be accepted fairly quickly.

[borglord]

I don't think diet would be a significant factor in the experience of an interdimensional traveler. I've seen eggs and dairy products used in your cooking, and so long as legumes are also available, a human could live healthily (if perhaps boringly) on a subset of a pony diet. And I don't think you've ever mentioned eating anything that would be unavailable on Earth.

On the other hand, being the only member of your species in the world would be pretty major.

[algernon97]

Diet probably wouldn't matter much. We are omnivores, after all. Going vegetarian might not be easy for someone used to eating meat, but it's possible.

As for our world...a pony wouldn't have to be worried about people interactions.

Government interactions, however...

[twilightpony]

It might take longer than you think. If it was in Ponyville, the human person might find the town empty. In a larger town, animal control might scoop the person up and drop them off in some wilderness. It would be best to arrive under somepony's care.

[flareblitzfury]

Ah, yeah you're right.
Somepony would indeed need to explain the situation to the ponies in the case of Ponyville.

[twilightpony]

You've seen? Oh that's right, somehow you have a view on Equestria, or a parallel Equestria, and apparently without magic! I wonder how many alternate universes are peering in on us now.

It's true, it's easier to make cake with milk and eggs. So maybe you'd like our hay fries!

[twilightpony]

If it's any comfort, Fluttershy, Amethyst Star and other animal specialists would probably be put in charge of you. They should be able to meet your dietary requirements, they also feed ferrets, birds of prey and bears. It might not be what you're used to, but it would probably do. They're professionals.

The lead mare sets the standard for the herd and the herd provides the lead mare. If the governing person or persons are to be avoided, then it follows that many other persons are dangerous too.

[twilightpony]

If you sat down in the middle of the road and waved a white flag, I guess after a few hours somepony would feel brave enough to ask you what you were and what you wanted.

[flareblitzfury]

I would hope my arm wouldn't get too tired from all the waving!

[algernon97]

True. Like you said, things would probably end alright.

"The lead mare sets the standard for the herd and the herd provides the lead mare. If the governing person or persons are to be avoided, then it follows that many other persons are dangerous too."

Most people actually hate the government. This is because, at least where I live, the government is a democracy composed of two political parties (there are others, but they're far too small to have any impact) competing for control. Whichever party has a majority in Congress, which is a Senate of 100 members and a House of Representative with 435 members, is the one that has the biggest influence on how things are run. They create bills that, if passed through the House and the Senate by majority vote, end up on the desk of the President. The President can then approve the bill, making it a law, or he can veto it and send it back to Congress. The President and the members of Congress are elected by what is essentially popular vote.

The problem is that the two parties never agree on anything and constantly argue with each other, leading to almost nothing worthwhile getting done unless it gets a ton of additions that satisfy political agendas.

So, while they may technically lead the country, it's certainly not a herd mentality.

My comment about it was more of a weird joke, to be honest. A lot of science fiction media tends to portray the government as finding any alien species and hiding them in a top-secret facility for...whatever reason the story's author comes up with.

In reality, they'd probably be willing to help you out after you made contact with people.

[borglord]

Not too much, I hope. Do you deep-fry hay fries? If so, I think the oil would be the only part a human could digest. A human who ate a basket of hay fries would probably come to regret it. We're best off with at most 40 grams of indigestible fiber per day.

[twilightpony]

OK, not quite the grass eating omnivore, unlike bears.

[twilightpony]

I diarchy competing for the eyes of the herd did not go well in Equestria. I hope for a better outcome for you.