Dear Journal,
This ‘city’ was unlike any other I had seen so far. It wasn’t too flashy or even too crowded. The streets were clean and everypony had a certain presence that made the ‘city’ glimmer even more. But I was treated no different than the other ‘cities’ I visited. Some ponies ignored me and some called me nasty names such as ‘zebra filth’ or ‘gutter trash.’ I asked if anypony had seen other zebras come by. I was rather exhausted in my journey and really wanted to find papa as soon as possible. Almost everypony turned their head up in disgust and walked away.
One pony came up to me and asked where I came from. I turned to him and saw the gentlest eyes gazing back. He introduced himself as Fancypants. I told him I came from a village far away seeking my father. He found curiosity in this and offered assistance although I was one of the few zebra he had ever seen around. He offered me a place of shelter to heal from my wounds and eat to which I readily agreed. I was starving mama! After a whole day, he came back later to inform me that no such zebra was found.
I thanked him for all the trouble he went through and wanted to leave so as to not be a burden to his charitable nature. He must have known what I was going to do and stopped me. He knew of a zebra in a neighboring town called Ponyville and thought it possible she knew where papa was. I was excited! I couldn’t believe how kind this pony was when so many I encountered were not.
He let me know that I should meet him at the train station in about an hour but had a few errands to take care of first. I agreed and watched him take his leave. Being much cleaner than I was before, I decided to take a walk around this ‘city.’ It was beautiful, mama! The ponies seemed to know it too…almost like they were exhibiting the very nature of the ‘city’ itself. It was like they didn’t see any darkness and only light. Is that a good thing, mama? You always told me that too much of a good thing was a bad thing.
It didn’t take long while wandering around to notice somepony following me. She was a unicorn with a white coat, pink mane, and purple eyes. At first it didn’t bother me, but I noticed the same smile from times before…the very same creepy smile. She followed me everywhere, mama! Panic was all I felt after a while so I rushed to the train station as fast as my hooves could carry me. She didn’t run after me though which was a relief so I slowed down when I was out of her line of sight.
When I arrived at the train station, Fancypants greeted me in his formal manner. Why couldn’t the other ponies be nice like him, mama? I boarded the train thanking him for all the generosity he had shown me. He said I should think nothing of it but I do. On the train, I thought about that ‘city’ and how wonderful it was! Sure the ponies looked high strung but they only displayed how they felt about their ‘city.’ Even better, at least some of the ponies helped their own and welcomed others with open arms.
Mama used to say not everything is Black and White. But, mama, all I ever see is the darkness and the light.