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Organised by
RogerDodger
Word limit
400–750
All the Difference
“Whose woods are these?” Twilight asked Applejack as they trotted along the sun-dappled forest path.
Applejack looked at the sun and considered. “By now I reckon we must be on Caramel’s land. But he lives in town, so he probably won’t mind us bein' out here. He woulda built a fence or somethin' if he was worried 'bout it.”
Twilight tilted her head as they approached a fork in the path. Neither direction offered any sign of where it led. “Hmm. Which way should we go?”
Giving each of the trails a quick glance, Applejack shrugged. “I dunno, I never came out this way much. I reckon it don’t matter, we’re just lookin’ around, and they both look right nice.”
“Of course it matters,” Twilight said, studying at each trail. ”Every choice we make matters. What if one of these leads to a rocky hillside, and you fall and break your leg? That could change your life!”
Applejack paused for a moment. “I reckon I’d be laid up for a while, but I wouldn’t say it’d change my life.”
Twilight bit her lip, deep in thought. “It would if while your leg healed you developed insomnia. Then you'd start wandering around at night. But Ponyville is too quiet, so you'd move to Manehattan to have a symbolic atmosphere for your self-reflection!"
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Does that seem likely?”
“No,” Twilight admitted, shaking her head. “It was just an example.”
“Twi, even if that was somethin’ that might happen, we don’t know which of these paths goes to any rocky hillside, or if one does at all. They look just the same, so it ain’t a choice, just a flip of a coin.”
With that, Applejack started towards the left-hoof path.
Twilight’s magic caught her tail before she could set hoof on it. “Of course it’s a choice! Obviously there are differences; they go in different directions, and there’s a tree root in the middle of that one. All paths are going to look the same if you don’t consider the details, and you’re sure to take the wrong one eventually.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “If those details you’re talkin’ about are patches of thin ice or smoke from a fire-swamp, I reckon you’re right. You oughta keep your eyes open. But when the only differences you can spot are that one’s got a tree root, and the other’s got a blackberry bush beside it—”
“Oh, that’s a blackberry bush? Very observant!”
“I’m sayin’ that it don’t matter none.” Applejack waved a hoof. “Just pick one.”
Twilight looked between the two paths. The right-hoof path looked nice and flat, and it passed by the blackberry bush. The left one contained the tree root; somepony could trip on that. But that was unlikely, because they knew about it. More dangerous would be potential tree roots hidden on either path. She looked at the trees to the sides, the seemingly clear right-hoof path had fewer, so probably fewer roots, but that didn’t say anything about the depth of those—
“Twilight…”
“Think of the consequences!” Twilight blurted out, waving a frantic hoof at the paths. She took a deep breath. “Just… give me a minute. Let me gather all the information I can. It’ll make me feel better?”
Applejack shook her head and trotted over to a tree on the side of the path. “Okay. Fine. You go ahead and look all ya’ want.” She sat at the base of the tree, leaning back and covering her face with her hat.
“I’ve made my decision!” Twilight announced, an hour later.
“Alrighty!” Applejack flipped her hat back and hopped to her hooves. She trotted over to Twilight. “Let’s get goin’. Which one is it?”
Twilight grinned. “You see, the right-hoof side gets more sunlight. Now, looking at the sides of the paths, they're both narrow. You’d think that would mean only a few ponies take either of them, but the one on the right only looks narrow because the extra sunlight allows plants to regrow more quickly. The other path goes slightly uphill, at an incline of about two degrees. And it’s on the left; statistically ponies are more likely to turn right.”
“Uh-huh.” Applejack nodded, her expression flat. “So which way are we goin’?”
“To the left!” Twilight pointed triumphantly. “I always take the road less traveled!”
“Whatever ya’ say, Twi.” Applejack smiled and gave Twilight a pat on the shoulder as she trotted past, down the left-hoof path. “Whatever ya’ say.”
Applejack looked at the sun and considered. “By now I reckon we must be on Caramel’s land. But he lives in town, so he probably won’t mind us bein' out here. He woulda built a fence or somethin' if he was worried 'bout it.”
Twilight tilted her head as they approached a fork in the path. Neither direction offered any sign of where it led. “Hmm. Which way should we go?”
Giving each of the trails a quick glance, Applejack shrugged. “I dunno, I never came out this way much. I reckon it don’t matter, we’re just lookin’ around, and they both look right nice.”
“Of course it matters,” Twilight said, studying at each trail. ”Every choice we make matters. What if one of these leads to a rocky hillside, and you fall and break your leg? That could change your life!”
Applejack paused for a moment. “I reckon I’d be laid up for a while, but I wouldn’t say it’d change my life.”
Twilight bit her lip, deep in thought. “It would if while your leg healed you developed insomnia. Then you'd start wandering around at night. But Ponyville is too quiet, so you'd move to Manehattan to have a symbolic atmosphere for your self-reflection!"
Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Does that seem likely?”
“No,” Twilight admitted, shaking her head. “It was just an example.”
“Twi, even if that was somethin’ that might happen, we don’t know which of these paths goes to any rocky hillside, or if one does at all. They look just the same, so it ain’t a choice, just a flip of a coin.”
With that, Applejack started towards the left-hoof path.
Twilight’s magic caught her tail before she could set hoof on it. “Of course it’s a choice! Obviously there are differences; they go in different directions, and there’s a tree root in the middle of that one. All paths are going to look the same if you don’t consider the details, and you’re sure to take the wrong one eventually.”
Applejack rolled her eyes. “If those details you’re talkin’ about are patches of thin ice or smoke from a fire-swamp, I reckon you’re right. You oughta keep your eyes open. But when the only differences you can spot are that one’s got a tree root, and the other’s got a blackberry bush beside it—”
“Oh, that’s a blackberry bush? Very observant!”
“I’m sayin’ that it don’t matter none.” Applejack waved a hoof. “Just pick one.”
Twilight looked between the two paths. The right-hoof path looked nice and flat, and it passed by the blackberry bush. The left one contained the tree root; somepony could trip on that. But that was unlikely, because they knew about it. More dangerous would be potential tree roots hidden on either path. She looked at the trees to the sides, the seemingly clear right-hoof path had fewer, so probably fewer roots, but that didn’t say anything about the depth of those—
“Twilight…”
“Think of the consequences!” Twilight blurted out, waving a frantic hoof at the paths. She took a deep breath. “Just… give me a minute. Let me gather all the information I can. It’ll make me feel better?”
Applejack shook her head and trotted over to a tree on the side of the path. “Okay. Fine. You go ahead and look all ya’ want.” She sat at the base of the tree, leaning back and covering her face with her hat.
“I’ve made my decision!” Twilight announced, an hour later.
“Alrighty!” Applejack flipped her hat back and hopped to her hooves. She trotted over to Twilight. “Let’s get goin’. Which one is it?”
Twilight grinned. “You see, the right-hoof side gets more sunlight. Now, looking at the sides of the paths, they're both narrow. You’d think that would mean only a few ponies take either of them, but the one on the right only looks narrow because the extra sunlight allows plants to regrow more quickly. The other path goes slightly uphill, at an incline of about two degrees. And it’s on the left; statistically ponies are more likely to turn right.”
“Uh-huh.” Applejack nodded, her expression flat. “So which way are we goin’?”
“To the left!” Twilight pointed triumphantly. “I always take the road less traveled!”
“Whatever ya’ say, Twi.” Applejack smiled and gave Twilight a pat on the shoulder as she trotted past, down the left-hoof path. “Whatever ya’ say.”