May the muffins be forever in your favour.What is Life? And what is Death? Why do we pursue one of these things, but not the other? · 10:07am Aug 11th, 2018
Today, a little scribble. The prologue of Tempest Shadow's multi-chapter fic is well under-way and will be finished soon. It only needs some editing anymore. But today, just a little scribble:
"Have you ever asked yourself this question, Scoots?" Dinky turned towards the orange filly with the wings, face showing a slightly frantic expression. "Why do ponies never kill themselves? Some suffer, some suffer so much..... It seems that some never find peace, they just go from one blow of fate to another." The little unicorn filly's ears faltered and a few tears appeared in her eyes.
"They build up things, then they get teared down, but after a while, these ponies just get up again and try it again. Just to fail again one day and see their efforts ruined again..... But they never die, they never end it..... Why, Scoots? What does these ponies drive to go on?" Dinky's face was full of questions, her expression clueless and confused.
Scootaloo looked at her, her own ears pointing down, as well. "I don't know..... Is it fear from what comes afterwards? Or, from what doesn't come afterwards? Is it fear of nothing coming up afterwards? Or of ending up in the wrong place? Or, maybe it's determination....." She looked down on the rocky shore under their hooves, dangling just a few inches above the ground.
"Maybe, some ponies just don't want to die. Maybe they have so much hope that it always persists. A strong, dominant feeling of hope that never dies, hope that, eventually, things will get better? That they just have to go on and on and on and keep going until they eventually get a reward? Until they get the life they always wanted and true happiness? Maybe something like this....." She looked over at her friend. Seeing her sad face, Scootaloo put a hoof around Dinky, suddenly feeling a desire to comfort her.
"Mhm," Dinky muttered. "M-Maybe....." she sobbed slightly, then rocked back and forth a little.
Scootaloo looked up, into the sky. She fixated her eyes on the stars, drawing imaginary lines between them with her vision. As a shooting star caught her attention and she followed it across the nightsky, her face suddenly cleared up, a dreamy expression appearing on it.
"Or, maybe it's conviction that things have to be this way. Maybe there is some meaning in their suffering, a reason why they have to go through it, to reach a point where they are meant to be. It could be a trial....." She squeezed her friend, who got shaken by another sob, and pulled her closer, her head now touching her chest.
Scootaloo rested her chin on Dinky's head and continued. "A trial they have to go through, that has been bestowed upon them. A trial that is their destiny, a destiny meant to forge them into something, something they can only become if they have seen a lot of suffering, if they experienced it themselves and if they know how suffering feels." She gently moved Dinky away from her chest and looked into her eyes. "What do you think?"
The other filly didn't answer. Some tears ran down her face, the thin line they drew on her cheeks reflecting the light of the stars and the moon. Her face expressed great distress still, but she could not find words to describe her feelings.
After a few seconds of silence, Scootaloo pulled her close again. "It probably is that....." she continued. "It's something I thought every time after I got bad news about my wings. I thought it after they told me that something is wrong with my wings. I thought it when Diamond Tiara used to bully me for being flightless. I thought it every time a therapy for my wings failed and I thought it when the doctors gave my wings up and said that I will never fly..... T-That I'm meant to suffer like this." Scootaloo brushed over her nose and sniffed. Her eyes became wet.
"I don't know why and I don't know how, but I probably am supposed to go through all this, to find something, something important, at the end of this trying path..... And, maybe, other ponies are, as well. Maybe, all ponies who suffer one fate after another are. Maybe they are all meant to suffer to become something greater and to get rewarded for their suffering one day." She sniffed again.
"It's the only explanation I have, the only explanation why I never killed myself when this thought crossed my mind and why so many ponies choose to suffer, instead of ending the pain. Maybe, we are all meant for something higher and this is fate's plan for us."
She looked up into the sky again, observing more shooting stars that began to rain down.
"It is like this, I feel it. It's how my life in this world is meant to be, decided by some higher force and all I can do is to hope that it will be good for something in the end, that it will lead me to something fulfilling."
Scootaloo sighed. She pulled Dinky even closer, into her lap, and wrapped both of her forehooves tightly around her. Once again, she rested her chin on Dinky's head, then she closed her eyes.
"Maybe, suffering is a trial, Dinky. Maybe, we are meant for something higher," Scootaloo said, then lapsed into silence.
There it is. Just a little scribble, inspired by current events. Might or might not get turned into an actual story one day. But if it doesn't, you have this.
Looks good to me so far. Interesting to see that foals at younbg age would think about this. I mean, you would start to think abiut is as tenager or adult first.
4918288
It's because they're foals. Equestria is different. Foals are more mature than children on Earth are. They need to be, because Equestria is a dangerous land and they live on a dangerous world, so they need to be able to defend themselves, physically and mentally. So they are raised like this.
Foals are more mature, we've seen this in the show quite a few times.
4918293
Indeed. That's why we make them proactive in our stories. Stil, even if they, they have moments where they are scared, afraid to die. Even the most experienced soldier has that fear at times.
4918296
Everyone has fears. Having fears doesn't make you less mature. It's about how you deal with the fears. I think Scootaloo deals with them in a good way here.
4918298
Agreed. Speaking of fear, if you allow me.
My star wars story also shows Scoots fear of unable to fly at one point. And Pip willl also have to deal with a fear.