Reflection

by sierra_seven_

Understanding

....................................................................................................By sierra_seven_

The pony sat cross-legged atop a small hill, looking over verdant emerald fields and sparkling rivers. The scene was as peaceful as one could imagine; a metaphorical oasis of calm and beauty in a world of constant pressure. This was her sanctuary, her place of solitude and reflection.

Beside her stood a magnificent oak tree, one that had stood in the spot for hundreds of years. It had seen centuries pass, generations blinking by in mere seconds. Or so she supposed. Its bark felt rough to the touch. She looked closer, realising that beyond the initial harshness of its touch, there was the soft reassurance of life; moss and insects thriving on the alien surface.

“Tree? You have stood here for aeons, but you stand as proud as the midday sun. How can you witness so much death and yet still remain hopeful of new life? Surely the endless cycle is as deadly to you as it is to the rest of us upon this Earth? My life shall pass in the blink of an eye, yet you will stand here for many centuries more. Eventually you shall die, and another will take your place. Do you not yearn for the chance to make more of yourself?”

The mare stood facing the tree for many minutes. All she felt was the cool breeze whispering through her mane and the soft rustling of the leaves overhead. She sighed, laying back down onto the soft carpet of rolling grass and cool mud. Clouds drifted overhead; magnificent, elegant spires that towered over the Earth she inhabited.

“Clouds? You have watched our races squabble and kill for millennia, but you continue to watch us with the same vigilance you have shown all these years. Sometimes you are harsh, and punish us with ferocious storms and pounding winds. You can be graceful. You can be kind. You can be malevolent. Do you care so little for us that you do not feel the effects of our suffering? Have you become so numbed by the passage of time that you no longer see us as the individual?”

Again, the mare was met with silence. Only the gentle ambience of the creatures and wildlife around her softened the lack of answer. Only the warm glow of the sun gave feeling to the emptiness she felt inside her. Only the gentle babbling of a nearby brook and the joyous cries of foals playing lifted her spirits above the low she was currently dipping into. She was without answers; without purpose. After many hours of deliberation, she finally turned her gaze skyward.

“O beautiful sun, you have maintained your elegance for as long as anypony can remember. You are the promise of a better tomorrow, the golden herald of a new dawn. You have watched over not just our planet, but those that follow your almighty guidance.” The mare began to sob, tears streaming down her eyes. “Yet in your life, you bring much death. The other planets of which our wise-men have spoken, burned mercilessly by your scarlet rage. The outer planets, orbs of rock encased in ice, frozen by your lack of care, your lack of attention. Nothing lives on those barren wastes for they miss the sweet embrace of your rays. Why are we worthy of being spared? What makes us worthy of living in this paradise, while countless planets are destroyed throughout the galaxy on a whim?”

In the skies above, the sun gracefully progressed across the azure heavens, casting its life-giving light into the meadows. The mare sighed, picking herself up off the warm ground and trotting back towards her home. She had tried. Tried to reason with the elements, trying to understand their motives, trying to understand how such powerful entities held such little regard for those beneath them.

The industrious earth ponies had built her town from the flesh of fallen trees, blissfully unaware that these were living spirits that contained more knowledge and more experiences than a pony could ever hope to dream of.

The majestic pegasi soared through the skies, clearing the ‘rogue clouds’ that filled the beautiful expanse above. They didn’t realise that the clouds themselves were a part of the planet, a part of the very thing that gave them life. The pegasi claimed to live off the sky, growing crops in their magnificent cloud fortresses. They didn’t understand that they could not live off something that wilfully gave them life. They needed to live alongside it.

And as for the wise unicorns? They believed that magic itself was responsible for the course of the sun, that magic gave their planet the energy needed to sustain life. Just from watching the sun move gracefully across the sky, she could see that it was its own creature. It didn’t live by the orders of so many ants on an insignificant orb in a miniscule galaxy in the vast expanse of the cosmos. It had the power to give and take life as it saw fit.

But life, life was the true key. Having observed the individual and the collective, she now understood the fine balance that ponies had cast themselves into. The tree would grow old and die, but it had harboured much life in its time, and its legacy would live on. The clouds provided life-giving rain to the Earth, moving stagnant weather around in a continuous game of tag. The sun, the burning mass that floated in the sky above, had granted the gift of life upon their insignificant planet.

Of all the chance in the universe, they had been born into the most beautiful of all imaginable locations. It was not cosmic interference, or the benevolence of a higher power. They had been the lucky few who had been selected to continue the cycle of life, to add to the experiences of the world. Each pony may think they may be insignificant, but they all made a part of the bigger picture. Each pony had an effect on another pony’s life, adding to the great tapestry of experience.

The mare sat down heavily. All around her, life was thriving. She hadn’t been ignored by the almighty oak, or the beautiful clouds, nor the exquisite sun. They had all been showing her exactly how they influenced the planet. They were not uncaring entities on a higher plane of existence. They were actively supporting the planet in a crazed cycle of renewal. Every storm wrecked villages that the ponies had built. They had built stupidly. They could not hope to command nature.

The storms cleared dead plants, leaves and the land-smothering sprawls of the larger townships. In their place, new life began to bud. Again, tears began to flow down the mare’s face. These were tears of wonder, not tears of sadness. The world around her was beautiful, and it was her job to protect it.

“My job...”

The mare leapt to her hooves and galloped into the small village she called home. All around her, ponies went about their lives, blissfully unaware of her revelation. Colts and fillies played in the streets while their mother gossiped idly in the market. Construction ponies erected a new store, glistening in the burning heat of the day. All around her, life was abundant.

Reaching the end of the street, she burst into a small cottage. Here lived her grandmother, the town’s elder. She had kept the town safe for many years, warning the mayor of impending cycles of renewal. The leafy house seemed unusually quiet, devoid of the usual sounds and smells of her grandmother’s cooking. Her grandmother was old, but still a spirited mare that was the lifeblood of the community.

“Grandmother?” she called anxiously, rushing through the small house in a desperate bid to disprove her fears. Eventually she reached the small bedroom, containing a small bed and an even smaller mare.

“Lilac? Are you here?” the old mare called weakly, trying to catch her granddaughter’s attention.

“Yes grandmother! Are you ok? I didn’t see you in the window like I usua-”

“Hush, my dear.” Lilac fell silent, tear once again budding in her eyes. She knew what was coming. “As you know, I cannot live forever. The world has been kind in allowing me to live long enough to see your coming of age. I can see the gleam in your eye, the pure wonderment of discovery. You will serve the town well as its elder.”

“But grandmother! I’m not ready! You’ve only shown me th-”

“That’s enough Lilac,” she muttered strictly, "my days as elder of this village are at an end. It is your job to learn from the elements and to use this knowledge to benefit your fellow ponies.” The elderly mare let out a long sigh, staring right at Lilac. “One day we shall be reunited again. I love you, my dearest Lilac.”

And with those final words, the village elder passed from the world into the everafter.

Lilac stood feebly, tears streaming out of her eyes. “I love you too, grandmother...”