Just Like the River

by HopeForTheFew

Rating: teen
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Other, Tragedy, Slice of Life, Human, Sad, Original Character
Length: 2569

War comes at a horrible price for everyone...

For years ponies and humans fought in vain against each other in a war that seemed like it would never end. But now that war is over, and both sides have made peace. But for one man the war never ends, as he chooses to walk a path of memories long dead and gone.

Until the day comes where destiny shall remember him in the form of Ezra, a simplistic earth pony who shall do their best to ease the tension of the past.

For war comes at a horrible price for everyone...

Note: This story was written for the Everfree Northwest Scribblefest competition. I wrote a story for it last year, so I thought I would do it again.

Published 2017-03-08 04:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-03-08 04:30:01 UTC

Just Like the River

Blind Bill stood silently against a large, lonely oak tree. A small breeze flowed overhead, the leaves of the old oak shaking ever so slightly in its momentum. Spring had come and gone leaving trail to an early, warm summer. There was a clean silence around Bill, his thoughts the only thing keeping him occupied. There were no critters stomping within the woods around him; no insects trying to eat at the man, and few birds were chirping within the area.

Quiet beams of sunlight shone through the thick leaves of the tree; the shadows being pierced ever so gently by the great star in the sky. Blind Bill slumped down slowly, his eyes falling quietly. He sat on the bright green grass beneath him, his back against the great old oak.

He was wearing an old ragged army uniform. The camouflage was faded, turning to gray ever so slowly as time passed on. A simple PFC scratch lay on both sides of the arms and collar, revealing his simplistic rank to the world. He had also an old pair of jeans, there color faded and threads hanging loose. It looked as though he'd been around the world a little too much.

Blind Bills eyes started to dim, their lids closing ever so slowly as the time continued to pass. Thoughts of merry times and hard times alike filled the mans thoughts as sleep began to interfere with reality. Thoughts of all those who he had served with during the war. His friends, who fought side by side with him. Memories of fantastic colors waved through his mind, leaving way to memory of those colors that they had to face. The Unicorns were their worst enemy in the war. Their rainbows of magic would come down on them hard, the earth shaking harshly beneath them, and soon enough they would all begin to drop like flies.

A tear began to fall down the mans cheek as his mind started to wander into the horrible grasp of sleep once more. For in his dreams thoughts of all those times would float by, reminding him always of his inevitable failure, and the helping hand that he could not lend. Oh how he wished he could take those days back. The days when he and his friends would sit together in their barracks, talking about the new nurse in the medical center, or how Equestria would suffer for what they did.

But day after day would pass along, and his gaze would stare at the never ending white crosses that lined the hillside of his mind. All this happened years ago, but his broken mind would never allow him to let it go. So maybe it was time something else did...

Equestria and Humanity were in a war against each other for too long of a time. but in these recent years that war is ended, but it has left the land scarred and hearts bitter between each species. And this was the case for Blind Bill, his own heart bitter with all the horrors war introduced to him. He started with an eager heart back then, ready to fight back against the threat of their homeland, but that threat is ended now, and the shadow gone. But with so much more time in his life alone, how could he move on with nothing to do but sit and rot? He was all alone, his never ending gaze always staring out quietly at those white crosses.

Quiet hooves tapped against the grass softly, echoing the peaceful tranquility of the land. Ezra, a simple earth pony as they come, was walking down an old, overgrown field. She would come out here every so often, remembering old memories from the good of the past. Her parents brought her here when she was just a little thing. Oh how big the world seemed back then, before the war began...

Ezra had a semi-light green coat with a flowing brown mane, her cutie mark was of a bird, nesting in a tree. The days had come and gone, only to reveal to her a home of her own, a loving marriage, and a family she could sit and watch grow before her eyes. Oh how those little ponies would run with their free spirits. The end of the war brought about opportunities she could only have imagined while the conflict was occurring. But now that all the bloodshed was over, both species made peace and have built their lives once more.

The land was quiet today, so very quiet. It was a peaceful silence, but there was something lurking around, she could feel it. But it wasn't a bad thing, rather, it was like a stunning surprise that took awhile to fully grasp. And she still had some time to go before she could really grasp it.

Ezra trotted peacefully up a small hill, the butterfly's would pop out from the high grass around her, flying ever so peacefully. Though they were few and far between, they still did their part in making the land as it was; a beauty to be remembered. She could smell the flowers on the side of the hill, the fresh oxygen from the living things of the land. And so she drank it all in. This was her life, living with the land. It would always be so dearly connected to her, and her to it.

Ezra reached the top of a hill she decided to climb. It didn't look so high from down below, but as she stared out now the full capabilities of her vision became so clear around her. She's been up here before, of course, and as it so happened to be, it was one of her favorite spots besides one other, one that nothing could ever dominate. An old oak tree that lay on the south side of the old, large field. She could see it from here, along with something else...

She could faintly see it from here, a distinct form was laying down beneath the old, lonely oak. Her stomach turned ever so slightly at the sight. Even though that gruesome war was finished, still the thoughts and memories of Humanity flooded back to her. They were a vicious species, but one she had to respect nonetheless.

A small frown appeared on her face as harsh thoughts began to swirl in her mind. Until she saw something she did not expect. In the distance, even though it was so far away she could feel her heart turn for the man as she saw the state he was in. Old ragged cloths were on the mans back, hunks of cloth were hanging down from them, revealing flesh and bone. For some reason her heart wouldn't allow her to not care for him. He looked as though he hadn't eaten in a long time.

And so she began her decent, slow and steady.

It was late noon now, and the sun had just started to walk down the sky. The animals were starting to come to life too. The noise of them rustling through the woods nearby stirring the mans deep, dark dreams. Slowly his eyes fluttered open to sorrow. His dreams were of repetition, and would always bring him down. There was no escaping them in his heart and mind, they would haunt him to the end of his days. Memories of the good and the bad. Regrets, and loneliness would drop him to his knees. At this point, it was hard to find the will to even stand.

But in the distance his eyes caught a glimmer of something, slowly moving toward him. His tired mind couldn't make it out, and he didn't care. But something stroked fear in him, guiding his mind awake. That was, until his eyes gazed upon the truth. An Earth pony, a female, about forty yards away. The mans heart rate increased slightly, but he stayed put, letting the pony do whatever it was that their heart guided them to.

And so the pony, Ezra by name, crept up closer and closer to Blind Bill. The lonely oak tree began to grow nearer and she pressed on. Though, with every hoof step she took, the job grew harder and harder, the small ascent seeming like a mountain. She didn't like humans, never did, and the good ones were few and far between. But this one, something was drawing her to him. It was a mystery really, a curious expedition that she didn't want to partake in, but did so regardless of the risks.

She reached the old oak, her legs shaking slightly. The man looked up at her, tired and dead. Slowly the earth pony sat down next to him. They both that in silence there, for a time too long to realize. Until those first few words broke out...

"So, what brings you here, stranger?" Ezra asked curiously. Her anger was hidden quietly within, and she made sure to keep it that way.

"I wouldn't consider myself a stranger. I've been coming here for awhile and I've never seen you here before." The man replied, somewhat sarcastically.

"I haven't been here in awhile, but I was raised up right behind us." Ezra said with a hoof pointing in the direction. "I grew up in a farmhouse about a quarter of a mile away. My family weren't farmers though, that job was left to the diggers." She said this sarcastically, leaving question on who those diggers really were. "Still though, you haven't answered my question, what brings you here?" Ezra's curiosity started to grow now, leading her on to pursue the anwers she sought.

"They do." Blind Bill replied, pointing straight down the hill to nothing but a small group of trees in the middle of a large, unified field.

"I'm sorry?" Ezra replied, looking at the direction the man was pointing, but her eyes led her nowhere but to an open plain. The man however, continued to point in the direction. Ezra focused as much as she could, but her eyes led her nowhere but to the same endeavor. "I'm sorry sir, I can't see it."

"Nobody can, you know that? Not unless they really want to know." The man replied bitterly, his temper starting to rise ever so slightly, and Ezra could tell. "Nobody sees what I see." Blind Bills sorrow started to grow again. In the quiet of the large, calm field it grew, slowly, pushing him harder then most would be able to tell.

"So what is it that your pointing at then?" Ezra asked intently, but making sure to not push the man.

"I'm pointing at them." Blind Bill grouchily responded, his eyes fixed on the distant nothing.

Now Ezra was a mare of little patience, and even this small talk was starting to get to her, and so she began to push in, implicitly.

"Sir, I implore you, please, tell me what you see." Ezra was like a child sometimes, she would always want to know what was going on.

And so the man stood slowly, his aching bones cracking as he ascended. And Ezra rose with him, he had her curiosity, and she was going to follow him till the days end to see what it was that truly ached his heart.

Blind Bill led Ezra slowly down the hill where the oak tree stood, and brought her down to what his eyes truly beheld. Even though they were in an open field, there were still small groups of trees that specked the inside of the field. And Blind Bill slowly guided her to one of those groups that lay just beyond the bottom of their small hill.

They approached the small group of trees and the man led Ezra to a particular one; a small one, hidden within the shadows. He then pulled out a small flashlight from his old, ragged pants pocket. The light shone brightly upon the small, skinny tree, and the beam revealed a strange thing, carved deeply into its bark.

Carvings of a cross and small symbols were etched into the bark. But, as Ezra focused her eyes slowly, those symbols began to transfer into something different. Her eyes then beheld, within the cross, seven people, all kneeling down together like a yearbook picture at school. There were no emotions within the etchings, just scratches of seven human beings, all tied together in a bond she herself knew well.

They were friends, good friends by the looks of it, and they each had their own pose within the bark. But at the same time, they were all together, none being separated because of the bond they had with each other. A good friendship it was indeed.

"What is this?" Ezra asked as she curiously gazed at the etchings.

"These were my friends, brothers in arms. But they're gone now, and they aren't coming home." The man replied with earnest sorrow. He then returned the flashlight to its original location and started his way out of the secluded group of trees.

"And the cross they were etched into, what does that mean?"

"That's the only thing I have left to hold onto besides memories. It's a religion back where we come from; some old, almost forgotten tale of a savior, who has yet to show himself." He said sarcastically.

"And, why did you choose that tree?" Ezra asked quietly, this whole ordeal started to bring her down as well.

"That group of trees." The man replied in a correcting manner. "There are eight small trees there, one for each of us, and one for all of us. And they're small trees, resembling our rank." The man said, pointing to the small stripe on his arm. "The smallest trees we could find..." The man muttered to himself.

They both then traveled back up to the old oak. It was a lonely, quiet walk, both beings not saying a thing as they traveled the ascent. When they reached the tree, they both sat down for a little while longer. They talked some more, but the conversation never loaned itself to anything worth while.

And so they both packed it up, heading home against the southern wind. Blind Bill would return again and again to the same spot, dreaming of the good days, and the bad. But this time, he had someone else to dream with, and that was so very joyous to his heart. Even though he would probably never admit it.

Ezra knew of the mans troubles now, and slowly she would begin to work on them. She would become a good friend of Bill's, perhaps the only one other then what his God would become in due time. Slowly the two would come together as good friends, and memories of all those prior times would begin to fade, the war slowly fading into memory, but never dying.

And as for the distant friends within the lonely, child like trees: they would be remembered by both parties, only they would be remembered for the good, far more then the bad.

And so it goes, like the flowing of a river, as time will continue to float by.

Just, like the river...

Author's Note

Note: Please feel free to leave constructive criticism, it would help me out a lot. :twilightsmile: