Author's Note
Bad Religion and The Nightingale are the reason this story exists.
Sorrow
She watched.
Ponies of the land torture each other. Violence abounds. Vicious machinations of the mind plague the world below her. One country throws stones. Another throws them back. Fighting and ferocity become the norm between everything and everywhere.
She watched.
Peace is made. Hoof Shakes and smiles adorn the faces of all. Love, friendship, magic become the norm once again. There is no fighting, no remorse, no hate; peace and happiness abound. Days of war and violence are long forgotten, replaced by a placebo of security and righteousness. The cycle will continue.
She watched.
Another war. Another outcry for pain and hatred. A leader said the wrong thing. The wrong pony heard it at the wrong time. News travelled and the pain and suffering returned. The population increased to serve the purpose of war. Images of red and black engulfed the world below. The population fell again.
She watched.
A leader fit to rule. A Princess of glorious ability and persuasion. The soldiers lay their weapons down. The Princesses and Kings surrender their crowns to the people. A vision of pink and yellow proceed to take over. The violence is no more. The aggression has disappeared. It’s all at peace.
She watched.
And the cycle continued.
If only one could save the world from its madness.
Ponies not meant to direct even their hooves in front of them directing entire lands. Entire populations of ponies in servitude to those they deem fit to rule, only to be ruled back into the cycle of violence. Shackled to the fighting grounds to eternally befit their prideful lust for that which they don’t own.
If only one could arise that could find a way to purge the violence once and for all.
Then one could imagine…
She watched.
Who will rescue the land from itself?
The beautiful shores, forests, deserts and mountains try to save themselves from their captors. They scream in agony, shouting for help. But the help won’t come. There is nothing there for them but another war, another false peace and another century of destruction.
If only one could arise that would hear their cries. One that would give them what they so sorely desired. One that would save them from their pain.
Then one could imagine…
She watched.
A poor foal looks at the sky, nibbling on what the wasteful rulers didn’t see fit to satisfy. He wishes the grumbling in his stomach could finally cease, be it through food or release from his forced prison. Stumbling along the cracked streets of his cold home, he finds his legs unable to move, unable to bring him further any longer.
If only one could arise that would see his struggle and help him.
The one could imagine…
She watched.
A new soldier takes his first steps onto the hunting grounds. His hoof uplifts a cloud of dust dirt as he sees his enemy in front of him. A ferocity in his eyes, bred since birth, drives him further into the fray. He doesn’t notice the pain in his chest, only the hatred in his heart. He doesn’t notice the friend of years go down next to him. Only the suffering of the pony on the other side. He doesn’t notice the pain and suffering inflicted to the environment around him, only the malice he must quash to arrive at the gloried time of peace.
He wasn’t taught to love, only to hate.
If only one could step forward that would finally return to save the world from itself.
The one could imagine…
She watched.
A greedy ruler stares at the documents in front of him. A simple hoof signature will make him rich for ages. For all of eternity. Immortalized will he be. In the coming seconds, his life will go from great to greater. It’s a shame about the downtrodden and the good that will be trampled down in the process, but the payoff will surely be worth it. After all, there are no losers when the leader is the winner. He looks at the visage before him and smiles with glee. There is no second thought in his mind. Only the thought of victory.
If only one could arise and wipe the grin off his face. A true leader that will guide all the sufferers back to peace and prosperity.
Then one could imagine…
She watched.
A lone pony watches the world beneath her. A land of misery, of pain, of sorrow. What if every pony in existence could learn to be upright and loving? What if they had a leader, leading by example. One who cared for them and for their land. One who grew the nation back into prosperity and health, as opposed to the endless cycle of hatred and violence.
The land has a disease that needs to be rectified.
What if they had a leader who could heal their wounds, cure the disease afflicting the land itself?
She watched.
Alone pony feels a pain in her heart seeing the land she once loved falling into such disarray and madness. She only wants to see it filled to the brim with the peace and love it once had.
What if one could see this leader? What if one could find this pony and let it guide their steps for them, the steps they couldn’t ever find a way to guide on their own through the millennia.
What if one could find a way to summon this leader. Then the soldiers would finally lay their weapons down. The prideful leaders would surrender their crowns to the land and its citizens. There would finally be a reason to end the suffering and misery. The shackles of war and hate would be released. The mountains, deserts, forests and fields would finally halt their crying and begin to heal. The sky above and waters below would be host to a world filled with graciousness, generosity and kindness.
Just as things were in the years before.
If this leader could rise and put an end to the torment, then maybe one could imagine…
It would be easy to imagine that…
...There would be sorrow no more.
