//------------------------------// // Outbreak // Story: Journal of a Soldier // by SulliedInk //------------------------------// Day 20 I'm so sorry journal for having left you alone for so long. It's just that... These past weeks has been very depressing. I arrive in this small village at midnight, and there they were; ponies, starving on the paved streets. Some were dangling off windows, purposely falling off. The fall crushed their skulls, and splattered blood everywhere. There were others whose limp bodies dangled off a rope around their necks. Then, there were tho ones who feared death, too weak to end their misery. I knew I had to help them. As soon as I approached one, he pulled a knife and slid a wound in my front leg. The pain felt so instant, I collapsed on the ground. With what little strength remained, I looked up. The sergeant jumped on him, and slid open his throat in cold blood. The others charged at the other wanderers on the streets. They were armed as well. That's when I realized the truth; we didn't come here under diplomacy, we came here to suppress revolution. The days that followed weren't any better. I saw with my own eyes young widows begging soldiers for food. They were on the ground, crying in despair. Their lament could only fall on deaf ears. Some had caps of torn cloth. The foals, oh so desperate, were taking bites off one another. Naturally, the weakest fell, and became the feast. It was terrible. I never dared ask why we were doing this, for I was afraid to be one of them. Every time I walk the streets, I see them eyeing me, wondering why I couldn't interfere. That was true fear journal; knowing you're up against something big, and unable to stand ground before it. I can still feel the cold pavement beneath my hooves, the bricks of stone cooler than death, brushing up against my coat. At night, I still hear mice squeaking, worms crawling through my thick fur, and my armor piercing through my flesh. I never had the strength to carry on. I always fell before the end, and they wouldn't care. They had no sympathy. They had no rights for sympathy. Those foals... Just thinking about what will become of them. I'm brushing my head against these warm, fur blankets, fortunate to have been born here, amongst the rich. Day 21 Things started to change around here. I was given a new promotion. This time however, I didn't feel too happy about it. There are still so many things I need to tell you Journal. Out there on my own, amongst these ponies I barely knew. We were welcomed by spears and bludgeons. The pegasi, unicorns, and earth ponies watched as their husbands, brother, and other siblings took arms, only to die at the hands of their protectors. Even the rain couldn't wash away the blood on my hooves. For the first time, I felt alone, powerless against these forces moving everything around. It was a cruel reality. Now, of all days, I finally understood a fundamental concept taught to us at school; for there to be life, things must also die. Chills still run down my spine. I've only been back for a day, and yet I feel like I've been gone for years. Everything is happening so fast. I saw some of these other ponies bite the dust. The arms race kept escalating. On both end, better weapons were developed. Every day, we fought violent brawl amidst the paved streets. The angels above us must really pity our cause, for many tears were shed from the heavens above, as I watched them all die, one by one. And the foals... Oh what little innocence left flourished crushed by war and disease. I couldn't stand my ground. I could only frown. We had come not to save a people; we had come to silence it. Without them, this disease couldn't spread. Without them, these voices would never leave the vicinity of the city. Without them... Without our innocence... Day 24 Sorry I couldn't write yesterday journal. Unfortunately, I have only come back to tell you I shall be gone once more. Today, I read an interesting tome. It was a long, detailed work about these mythical equines of old; alicorns. They say the ala-cornus once descended from the earth above, and taught mortals what they know today. One day, the mortals grew envious of them, and themselves. They rebelled, and drove the alicorns to extinction. I closed the book. Mortals... We really are cruel being... Violence only amounts to violence. It keeps spinning round in a cycle, just as the seasons come and go. But violence never truly goes, for mortals will always have a reason to bring it back. I sigh before our foolishness. Yet somehow, I am still relieved to have survived. Those things we've done, they are done right? We've stopped the disease! We've stopped the outbreak! We... We... We killed the voice of the tortured... I... I helped kill the voice of the tortured... Day 25 We have to go now, but this time, I'll be taking you with me. Journal, you will be the book of my despair, chronicling my rise and fall. I have no idea where we will end up. I have no idea whether or not we shall live. However, the only wish I have is that you end up somewhere safe. I wish... I wish you could teach these others about my mistakes. It hasn't even been a month, yet I feel like it's been an eternity. Day 30 I see nothing but sorrow and misery ahead. Things are getting worse. More and more ponies have been affected by this curse. It's only been six days, but I've already traveled to many places, all worse than the last. By my lance, I had to kill them. Every night, I hear blood dripping. Each splash was worth a life. I can hear the rain outside. Heaven cries before the fool's wicked acts. Heaven mourns the loss of life. Heaven mourns the loss of sanity. *** Rainbow Dash set the journal down aside. When she did, a picture came out from between the pages. The mare grabbed it, oblivious to the calls of her mother. On the photograph was a white stallion and an azure mare. Rainbow recognized her mother, still in her youth. She bore the innocent smile of a newborn foal. Next to her however, the stallion's eyes were hidden by his golden helmet. Tears dripped down his eyes. He was cringing. "Dad..." she said to herself. "You were trying to smile, weren't you?" She flipped the picture over. Someone had scribbled a note, which read: "To my wife and future daughter to be. Do not remember me as soldier, but rather as a father, and as a husband." It was Dash's turn to cry.