Heaven's BBS | Video

[letteropener]

[Celestia looks excited this morning -- but also unusually mussed, her magnificent flowing mane disheveled even as the color bands within it drift obstinately according to only their own whim.]

Hello, everypony! If I may, I wish to introduce you to a new arrival here in the Far Shore, who might otherwise be unusual enough that you might wonder about her otherwise. [She turns to address, to all appearances, her mane.] Do come out.

[After a moment, a purple-and-orange beak pokes out of the mess, followed by a flame-orange head with bright yellow eyes. This is as far as the bird can manage to get out of that immense mane.]

This is Philomena, and she is a phoenix. I think they are considered mythical to many of you, much as dragons are? I don't often have cause to keep her cooped up, so I hope that if you see her around the Far Shore, you will be courteous to her and as tolerant of her mischief as she deserves. That is, once we get her out of my mane...

Comments

[silentscales]

None of them? [Did only people talk, then?]

[letteropener]

[Celestia nods.] They are also not caretakers of the world, although that is also true of most other species as well.

[silentscales]

[Snake tilts his head and furrows his brow. That's a new idea to him.] Caretakers?

[letteropener]

Yes. In Equestria, we ponies are responsible for the weather, the seasons, and bringing day and night.

[This is a familiar line of explanation, one she has given many times before in the Far Shore.]

[silentscales]

Are you gods then? [He had done a little reading on the mythology of gods, at least, and that kind of responsibility seemed to be what made them Gods. Sure, it wasn't always those important aspects, or only a portion of them, but the responsibility over an idea seemed to be what all gods had in common.

He thinks this over in his head again while wearing a subtly thoughtful expression, feeling like he must be close to the mark.]

[letteropener]

[He isn't the first to voice that belief, and he won't be the last. Around here, it does seem more plausible, doesn't it?]

No, not at all. That is simply how Equestria works.

[silentscales]

Is that where you are from?

[letteropener]

Yes. We have no humans in Equestria, I should add, so coming here was as strange to me as hearing about my land must be to you.

[silentscales]

I don't know. [He's the only one he's yet met that looks like him. So he really doesn't know what his world was like. If more people were like him where he came from or if he was still strange.]

[letteropener]

[She slots him in as human, because well, why shouldn't she at this point?]

Well, I do manage to startle even shinki, so I think talking ponies must be quite unusual in all other places.

[silentscales]

I don't look like others either.... [But so far most people have been very nice about it, even if it causes him a decent amount of anxiety. He figures she might feel the same, even if she's very cheerful, and wants to reassure her.]

[letteropener]

Oh? Why do you say that?

[When it comes to the minor details, Celestia expects some variation, much in the same way ponies had different colors and manes and sizes and shapes and even wings or horns. They're still all ponies.]

[silentscales]

[He points to his face,] Scales, eyes, hair....

[He has white hair, yellow slit-eyes, and scales covering his skin. Some of these features might be a little more common here on the far shore, but still uncommon even among those here.]

[letteropener]

Oh, well, I suppose those are minor differences. From my perspective, I do not think of them as particularly significant?

[After all, her entire species is different in vast ways.]

Though I do understand why you feel that way.

[silentscales]

It feels very different, [He admits, his gaze dropping to the ground. It left him feeling very lonely.]

[letteropener]

It is not what is on the outside that matters, but on the inside. You may look different, but so do I, even more so -- but I have friends here.

[silentscales]

Adrien and Marinette.... [They had been so good and warm to him that even in the few days he's been here they've been so good to him.]

[letteropener]

It sounds like you do too. [And really, is that surprising?]

[silentscales]

[Snake's mouth relaxes as he thinks about his friends. They are friends, and already the only fuss they made about his looks is how pretty he is. He blushes a little and nods.]

[letteropener]

Our differences on the outside matter far less than how similar we all are on the inside.

[silentscales]

[Snake's expression softens and he nods. He thinks that's what really matters too. He just wished more people felt that way.]