When I was young, I went outside everyday I could to go pick flowers with my mother. We would go outside, pick some, and put them in vases. Of course, I wouldn't have had to collect them if they didn't keep dying. I was too young to realize they needed water and nutrients to live.
They would be picked against their will and dropped into a vase. Slowly, they would wither into brown crisps that got all over the house. We would throw them away after that.
Not only were they dying, but they were dying without a cause. No matter how it happens, a flower given to a child is another life lost. Yes, there are plenty of lives, but it isn't humane to waste them as such. To allow them to suffer, wither and die. But we do. And children, of all of us, are the ones to do it happily. Those innocent children unknowingly kill the flowers for fun. At least the parents don't find it quite so enjoyable.
The flowers we picked were just dandelions. Some consider them weeds, but I always thought they were beautiful. They don't compare to the elegance of a Rose, but they are quite beautiful nonetheless. There's just so many of them.
One day, we found a Rose. It was standing out in the ground, better than the rest. Growing from the ground and surrounding itself with spikes, protecting itself from the dangers of the weeds surrounding it. How it grew in our yard was a mystery, but it was worth picking.
I lit my horn and plucked the Rose. "Twilight," my mother had said, "what is that?"
"This?" I pointed at it. "I don't know, but it was in the yard. It's so beautiful..."
"Why, that's a Rose!" my mother exclaimed. She made a large, sweet grin as she looked at it. "It's so eloquent! How did it get in our yard?"
"We should replant it," I said. "Maybe we can get more!"
"Honey," my mom replied, "that isn't going to work. There's too many roots around here. Stupid weeds..."
"I thought you enjoyed the dandelions!"
"Well of course I do, sweetie, but they just get in the way..."
That was a stupid lie. I knew it right then, too. She only picked them to get rid of them. But this Rose... She really valued it. I wasn't sure why, but I did too. Perhaps it was just the pure beauty and incredible smell. Or maybe it meant more to me than I realized.
I went inside with it and found a cute blue vase to put it in. Carefully, I used my magic to lower it in. The Rose looked so perfect in the vase. This life wasn't going to waste. I went to the kitchen and fetched a small glass, which I filled with water.
I steadied the vase with my hooves and levitated the glass over my Rose. The water slowly poured on it. The Rose, however, did not grow healthy over the next few days.
No, I had used too much water. I was too attached to it, and cared so much, that I completely drenched it. The Rose was slowly drowning in my cruel treatment. It never did anything to me. I just mistreated it, like I had those dandelions.
This was different, though. I killed this Rose, despite how incredibly wonderful it was compared to my dandelions. I was going to be responsible for the Rose's death.
I could have stopped it. I could have poured out the water. But did I? No. Instead, I went crying to my mother. I cried to my mother like the selfish child I was. I wanted that Rose for me, and I didn't value its life. I just used it to improve mine. I was so ignorant, so demented. How could I have acted to selfishly?
"Mom," I bawled, "the Rose is dying!"
"Twilight, hush. It's okay. Some day, we can get another."
It was right then and there I realized the severity of what I had done. I could get another Rose, sure. However, I would never have MY Rose back. That would be lost forever.
Was it really my fault, though? I didn't mean to over water it. Plus, the Rose didn't belong in my yard. It was trying to belong where it wasn't meant to. I still to this day can't help but think... If I never said yes to go pick those first dandelions, those weeds, those fake flowers... Would I have ever met the beautiful Rose? If I never took advantage of it... Would it have died?
I remember the day after it died another Rose popping up in the yard. A sister for my Rose. This time, I didn't pluck it. Anything I messed with seemed to die a slow and brutal death. My mother urged me to, though. She only cared about the extraordinary sight of the Rose decorating her home. The life of another living being mattered not to my mother.
Any other day, I wouldn't have cared either. But today, I wouldn't have it. I stood up for that Rose. I pushed my mother out of the way and used my magic to destroy her shovel. I wouldn't allow her to dig out any Rose, dandelion or weed ever again. Even the annoying and pesky ones still deserved to live, at least a little bit.
For the next few weeks, I persisted to save living beings. When somepony was going to kill a bug, I stopped them. If someone wanted to punch or kick somepony, I stopped them. I tried to stop all violent actions against living creatures, for we all deserved to live.
Life is a wonderful right. We are all born with the right to continue to live, no matter what species we are, no matter how many horns or wings we have. We all deserve to live.
I even did this to my own mother. When she wanted me to pull weeds, I always made her stop. They aren't weeds. They are dandelions. Beautiful, magnificent dandelions. Our yard was a cheerful collage of yellow and white, and there was nothing wrong with that.
At first, my mother questioned my actions. However, she soon understood. I won the battle, and that was the greatest feeling I had ever felt. I made a difference. I saved and preserved living beings. I saved a lot of them. Even then, I knew something was wrong, something life-changing: my Rose was still gone.
I never got my Rose back, and still can't. That is not just my fault. That is not just my mother's fault. It is the fault of anypony who had ever interacted with that Rose. Had all ponies never been made, nopony would have messed with that Rose. It didn't get to choose its own path. We chose a path for it. A path of death and despair.
All ponies are like this. All beings are like this. We kill and kill without noticing. When will the blood end? When will we realize that anything alive deserves to stay that way? I fear we never will learn.
My Rose is gone, and I won't get it back. I have made it my mission to spread Friendship. Maybe if everyone is friends, nopony will get hurt. Maybe we can preserve life longer, make it more meaningful.
Everypony has a Rose. Hopefully, it doesn't suffer the same fate as mine. Hopefully their Rose's life has a purpose. Hopefully the Rose realizes it.
Hopefully, it isn't mistreated like all of the dandelions. Everypony can shine. Everypony can save their Rose. But for me, it's too late.
Goodbye, Rose.
