To the End
I walked through the hall, my hands bound behind me. Three people were in front of me. Three behind me. I wish I was at the front. At least then it would be quick and I wouldn't have the watch the first three times. Well, maybe I wouldn't have to if the crowd chose it to be all of us. It didn't really matter anyways.
My face was stoic and my heart was wrapped in ice. The end of the hall was coming up. I could here the sound of them. Shouting and yelling out horrible things. A few gunshots rang out. I didn't flinch. Years and years of it had taught me not to.
We were led out of the hall and into the outside world again after the many months of being in that jail cell. The sun hurt, but it was a familiar feel and therefore a welcome one. I kept my face straight. I wouldn't budge, not until the time was right.
We were lined up on the large wooden stage. I watched them drag off several bodies to the side and unceremoniously toss them into random places, whether off the stage or on it, to join a good forty other bodies. I knew some of them and the ice around my heart melts slightly, but my face never falters. To keep myself, I look ahead of me, into the thousands of staring eyes of them.
Food is tossed at me, at us, dirtying us even more than we already are. They shout the most hateful things I have ever heard. A gunshot rings out and my friend to my left drops, blood splattering the left side of my face. I glance down at him and feel my face give for a second. I want to cry.
Evil laughter rings across the stage and a man in body armor steps in to take order, but he's laughing to. That must be a joke to them. I want to scream at them. To tell them all to just shut up and let us be, but I know that it will never happen. I don't hate them. I pity them.
My friend's body is dragged off and thrown off stage. As I watch, a lump starts in my throat and for a moment, I'm not sure I'll be able to actually do it. But I swallow it and prepare. The crowd starts to chant for a group death and on the inside I smile a bit. Good.
As they prepare, I look back on my life. I was born into a decent world, but around my 18 birthday things started to go down. World war three had started and nukes were flying everywhere. I, and many others, only wanted peace. We wanted friendship. We wanted love. But no. One after another, governments collapsed. We were forced to fight for our lives. Against the others who thought we were silly for wanting love and friendship. They hated us, even before the war. Hate was the enemy and we were outnumbered. Several years after, here I am. My life about to end before I even turned thirty. Oh well. At least I won't have to listen to the hate or hear the gunshots every morning ever again.
“Foreveeeeeeer” Came a cute voice from my past. I almost smile. And then it is time.
Our bonds are cut and we are lined up. Around us, some sort of time bombs are set for thirty seconds. As soon as they are all started, I hold out my hands and grasp both hands that reached out at the same time. All of us are holding hands and I smile. We smile. And we start to sing. Each our own song of happiness and goodwill.
“Don't worry, about a thing, cause every little thing, is gonna be alright”
“This side of paradise, is where I want to be, this side of Paradise, for you and me”
“I see trees of green, red roses too, I see them bloom for me and you and I think to myself, what a wonderful world”
“Sometimes in our lives we all have pain, we all have sorrow, but if we are wise, we know there's always tomorrow”
“Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo, here comes the sun and I say, it's alright”
And I sing too. I look down at the pony on my shirt and smile even wider.
“My little pony, I used to wonder what friendship could be, until you all shared it's magic with me”
And we sang for what seemed like forever. But I knew it was all about to end. The bombs would go off any second now. For a brief second, I panic, but I look around me at the smiles and the voices and the faces of the people I have loved and then out to the ones I pity. They are trying to shout louder than us, but we are much too loud. Even for the thousands gathered.
Twilight Sparkle is smiling at me in my mind and at the moment, I couldn't be happier.
Then. Nothing.
Here comes the sun, so don't worry about a thing, sometimes in our lives we all have pain, and this side of paradise is where I, and we, want to be, where I, and we, see trees of green and red roses too and where the magic of friendship and love is accepted. So lean on me, and you'll see that it isn't so bad.
Love, Tolerance, Friendship
