Oh, How the Greats Fall
By: Wolfram Adolphus~~~ Tumblr: Here
I don't know where it's gone.
I used to be the most talented pony in all of Equestria. My cutie mark didn't proclaim a single talent, or two, or even five. My cutie mark was an image of the world, symbolizing that my talent was every talent known to ponykind.
Ponies would come from distant lands, and ask me questions. They would ask me things, such as, "Can you sing?" I would laugh, and then say, "Of course I can. I'm the most talented pony in Equestria." I would then proceed to sing whatever rolled off my tongue. I would have my eyes closed most of the time, but whenever I opened them, I saw my audience's eyes glaze over, their minds drifting off to a land of imagination that you could only achieve once in a lifetime, if you were lucky.
They would ask me if I could tell them a wonderful story. I would laugh, and then say, "Of course I can. I'm the most talented pony in Equestria." I would then proceed to tell the most magnificent story that they had ever heard, stories that I thought up on the spot. They would all sit, their gaze unwavering, their mouths watering at the marvels I spoke of. I wasn't even paying attention to the words I spoke, letting my thoughts instead focus on matters such as what I was going to eat for breakfast tomorrow or which town I was going to next.
They would ask me if I could beat them in a challenge, perhaps a race, or a game of chess, or maybe even something that they had come up with themselves. I would laugh, and then say, "Of course I can. I'm the most talented pony in Equestria." I honestly had lost count of such events, as they all blended together. Not a single pony was ahead of me at any given point in time. I was always far ahead of them, and every challenge given to me was handed back to the fools who thought they stood a chance, along with a side of defeat.
They would ask me if I could... Well, you get the idea.
I was the most talented pony in all of the land. In any and all areas. The most talented ponies in any given area couldn't come within a hundred kilometers of being close to spitting distance of my abilities. Except for flight, or magic, as I was only an Earth Pony, though with my skills, I had no need for either of these things. If I needed to get somewhere, I could get somepony to take me there. If I needed a spell performed, I could get some unicorn to do it for me.
Life was very easy for me. I had ponies who were willing to do anything for me, which was unnecessary, as I could do everything, but I allowed it, since it's nice to take a break sometimes. They would bring me food, transport me wherever I requested to go, and do... well, whatever I wanted them too. Life was great.
And then that day.
This was one day that I actually cared enough to remember.
I was sitting atop a cliff, staring out into the vast sea. I was brooding over the amount of ponies that had come to visit me in the last week alone, though I was having difficulty. I had lost track somewhere around fifty-four, but I knew there was at least three times that amount. It was too hard to keep track of it, though. I suppose "every talent," didn't include the ability to pay attention very well, or maybe I just didn't put it to it's practical use very well.
I hadn't noticed the pegasus until he said, "Is it true that you're the one with all the talent?"
I turned to him and looked him over. He was young, hardly out of school, and he had a cocky demeanor, with what appeared like strong wings to match it. "Of course I am. Who's asking?"
"Me?" He said. "I'm just the fastest pegasus in all of Equestria, Valen, but you can just call me the first pony to ever beat you."
"Is that a formal challenge?" I asked, a smile working it's way onto my mouth.
"Do the both of us have undefeated streaks?" He said, a confident grin on his face. "The answer to that is, yes. We're going from that rock," he pointed to a nearby rock, "to that town." He dragged his hoof across the landscape until it came to a stop at a village a few kilometers away.
"Challenge accepted, colt." I said. He didn't stop smiling, and neither did I. A few moments later, we were both lined up at a rock, readying ourselves to begin. I was thinking about what to do in the village first, once I arrived there. Perhaps I could order two meals, one for me, and one for young Valen, once he caught up, of course. I didn't have any Bits on me, but that didn't matter. I was so famous that I hadn't paid for a single thing in years.
He signaled for the race to begin, and we both shot off. I stopped paying attention to him and the race, focusing instead on the inner workings of my psyche.
I didn't start paying attention again until I saw him beat me.
I was a bit behind, not too far, but far enough that I couldn't hear his cheers of applause right away. Once I finally caught up, he still had that grin on his face, though my expression was replaced with one of confusion, anger, and shame.
"I suppose this makes me the most talented pony in all of Equestria now, huh?" He said. I didn't respond, but instead looked at all the townsfolk who had gathered to look at us. I could make out some of their whispers, their, looked like..., and their, no way..., gradually becoming replaced with a more excited chatter of other ponies who wished to challenge me. I accepted every one, more to prove to myself than to prove to them.
And I lost. Every challenge was met with defeat on my end. The next day, the same thing. And the day after that. And the day after that. And so on. And so on. And so on. Rumor spread pretty quickly, school ponies whispering from one to the next that their cousin had a friend whose father had beaten the wonder pony in this or that challenge.
Eventually, beating me was no longer something to boast about, as any pony who challenged me managed to beat me with ease. Ponies began talking about me less and less. If I mentioned my name, they would look confused for a moment, and then say, "Oh, I remember you." Then act as if it meant nothing. In time, they forgot my name altogether. I just became another face in the masses, though, unlike everyone else, no one cared about me. That was the hardest part about this. I had always been the most popular, the most famous, ever since I was a colt. And now it was almost as if I never existed. Like everypony else had moved on and I was stuck in the past, unable to escape.
And so here I am, in my home in Ponyville, making my decision. I've lived a long life, at the two furthest points of the fame spectrum as possible. And now, at my lowest point in this roller coaster, I was ready to get off.
I tightened the rope around my neck, and made sure that it was tightened to the ceiling above me. Once I was positive it would hold, I stared straight ahead. A bleak smile formed on my face, joined by wrinkles that I had accumulated over the years. I prepared myself for what I was about to do, my final action. I raised my hoof to kick the chair away...
And lowered it. I loosened the makeshift noose I had prepared and removed it from my neck. My life was near it's end, yes, but it was still a life. The old me wouldn't have given up on anything. Of course, the old me could never lose, but regardless, there was a lot that I could learn from my past, from my mistakes.
I stepped off the chair, and looked at it. I had just made the biggest decision in my life so far, and it was the right one. Perhaps this was a sign that I still could win at somethings. Only if you focused, thought through what was happening, and put in determination and effort. That was what I was missing when I was younger. Valen had everything I didn't, which wasn't a whole lot, but was still enough to best me in a competition. My pride caught up with me in every competition after that, blinding me from the one thing I needed. If I had just opened my eyes, then I wouldn't be in this situation in the first place. But it's never too late. There's always time to better yourself. And if you aren't happy with yourself, then no one else will be.
I walked outside and took in all around me. The sun seemed to shine brighter, and the scents seemed more vivid than ever before. Everypony in town seemed happy, and a group passing by even said hello to me. Nopony in town had once said a single word to me since I had first arrived. I spent most of my time in my home, only leaving it on occasion to obtain some groceries. Not a soul had bothered to talk to me, except for when I first came into this town, not even the most friendly ponies in the town.
I smiled and said hello back to them. They smiled back at me, then continued on. I smiled as I surveyed all that occurred in my eyes then, finally opening my eyes and looking, something I had never done before in my life. Sure, I had looked at beautiful sights before, but I had never actually looked. Never saw what I was observing and only it, with no thoughts to interrupt it's true wonder.
I walked around, taking in everything around me. The sounds, the sights, the smells, everything. I didn't stop until I passed by the children.
"He was the greatest pony in all of Equestria!" One of them said.
They were around the side of a building, out of sight of the main path. I crept along the edge of the house so as not to alert them to my presence and listened to their conversation.
"Sure he was. If he's the greatest, then how did my uncle beat him in a hay bale tossing contest?" Another said.
"I'm sorry, who are we talking about?" The third, and last, said.
"Pfft." The first said. "You two don't know anything. My dad told me all about the pony whose special talent was every talent. He was the best at everything! Nopony could beat him!"
"Yeah, except for everyone in his last few years, that's why Twig here doesn't know him."
The first kicked his hooves at the ground, and then he said, "Maybe he lost because he let them win. Maybe he wanted to do it because he couldn't handle being the best anymore, or maybe he wanted to give everypony else a chance to be the best. That's why he'll always be the greatest pony ever!"
The second laughed, and then said, "Yeah, whatever..." He might have said more, but I didn't hear it, because I begun walking away, as tears welled in my eyes.
That night, long after my tears had dried, I sat by my fireplace, on the chair that I nearly had used to end my life with earlier. I played the memory of the colts that I had passed by earlier over and over again in my mind. I thought about the one who, after all that had happened to me, still thought of me as the greatest pony.
Tears flowed from my eyes for the rest of the night, and I was able to live the remainder of my life, knowing that, despite not being able to do much anymore, I was still the greatest, at least in the eyes of one pony.
And it was enough for me.