FoE: Snippet Story

by Windrunner


P.O.P.R.

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Nopony knows the trouble I've seen. And I've just about seen it all. I stole it you see. And it is all my fault. Not the war, not the death. No. Something far worse than those things. I did what you never, ever, do. I cannot tell you the rest of that. There is no time for it. Something we all thought we now had. What I can tell you is a story about a little pony. Just like every other one. What matters is the outcome. You see she had a really little secret. One of those little white lies that aren't supposed to hurt no one. Ever watched somepony rolling up a snowball? Starts real real small don't it? Now roll it down a hill. Seems innocuous enough does it not? All in good fun. Just watch it roll a while as it gets bigger, and faster.

All the little pony ever wanted was love. What the pony got is another matter. How far do we go to fix our mistakes? How much will we do to put that guilt to rest? This one went a lot further than the rest. For some, guilt is unbearable, but you never really know how hard it is for you until you're guilty of something. Then again, aren't we all just a little guilty? She stood a little taller than most. We won. They were finished. No doubt. Not in anyones minds..except the zebra. They had other plans I would surely say. Too bad those plans weren't any better than our own. For all our planning and posturing, just look what it got us. We lost our hope. We lost our future. Our world. We lost just about every little thing.

That little pony I was talking about? Well let's just say there are a lot of other things you can lose. Best keep that in mind going forward. The little things are what count for the most in the end. Don't just take my word for it. Find that out for yourself. A bunch of little things add up to one giant heap right quick. We started out only to defend ourselves. When exactly we took that wrong turn for the worse I don't rightly know. Somewhere along the line. Somewhere. Don't you worry none though, don't you worry at all. Everything is gonna be alright. What's that you say? How can it be alright when the whole world is turned upside down? Oh it's not what you're thinking. There's no magic at all that can just fix this mess.

It takes a lot of effort to make a mess this big. Just remember, everypony has got their little hangups. Sometimes you just have to press the right buttons..or the wrong ones. All depends now don't it? And there we stood on the brink. The very threshold of victory. It was right there. Our enemies backs broken, their dead machines and their folly apparent for all to see. They were all but finished. Fate seems to have this nasty habit of fetching the opposite of what we'd all like. So there we were, all very proud of our imminent victory. We couldn't lose. Could we? I'll tell you another story, one about good intentions. Actually, you probably know that one. If I had a bit for every time I've heard that one.

What does this all have to do with anything? Plenty, as it turns out. That little filly lead a hard life straight out the gate. No one seemed to know where she called home. Just drifted into town and stayed all alone. Kind of quiet and shy. Some said she had vacant, lost eyes. The kind that scare the daylights out of you if you chance to look too long into them. No one knew why and she never said. Maybe she was hurt. Maybe she hurt somepony. Who can tell? Perhaps she just wanted comfort over whatever it was. Something about her kept other ponies far far away. You ever felt that around another? I have. It is most unpleasant. Makes you want to turn tail and run for the hills.

A creeping chill along the spine like the coldest winter come to dampen the spirit and pull all hope from you. I've never been one for worldly things. I held onto few possessions, there just isn't much I truly need. To have even those taken from you is like losing your spirit. Some lost far more than I. She was one of them. Maybe we are the same. Probably not. She has far more problems than me. I am just a ghost of a memory. She's probably a little something more than that. Whoever is viewing this memory, I have to tell you. Watch out. You think the war ended? You think just because we all died that it was resolved? You have another thing coming. I know that, and I know I am dead.

Would have happened quite shortly after recording this. That blankness, why you can see only darkness and hear a voice, why it hurts so much to view this? That sudden pain? I wasn't quite far enough away. Thought I was in a good place, bit of a miscalculation on my part. Could have sworn I got it right for a change. Guess not. I can't even get to my hooves. I am blinded and injured seriously. What tiny bit I have left of my magic is little use. Guess I should have joined the medical corps after all. It's alright though. I did my part. It just wasn't enough. Seems we all made some big mistakes. Some a little larger than others. I tried to serve the greater good all my days. We failed on that point didn't we? Oof. Feel that?

My heart is slowing. Good luck to you whoever you are. I think this is it. Sorry to make you experience my death along with me. Is...is that you love?

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