I Was Not Prepared For This

I finished reading through Shortskirtsandexplosions' Background Pony roughly five minutes ago and I only managed to stop crying a few seconds ago.

I'm not even really expecting anyone to read this but I felt like trying to put at least some of my thoughts into a more solid form. This story was an example of something that fandoms, and this fandom in particular, are incredibly amazing at: weaving narratives around such infinitesimally small details as the characters in the background, characters that are on screen for a few seconds at most and yet someone was capable of writing a story that not only moved me to tears but also to laugh and all the different little emotions in between.

But that isn't all that's special about this little gem, it's not just an intricately woven feels-y roller-coaster but it is also a deeply philosophical look into memory, personality, the bonds between people and that which makes us who we are when all else is lost to us.

Possible spoiler ahead:Despite the conclusion and the frankly wonderful picture it ended on I will say that one thing I took away from this experience is that although it is certainly possible to live entirely in the moment and even be happy doing such I would always rather know why I was happy as opposed to simply knowing it was so. Memory is the guide by which I live my life, showing me where I have miss-stepped before and where I have found solid ground and giving that up is perhaps the grandest and most noble of sacrifices