The Bigger Picture

by Hyrule_ninja

Rating: everyone
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Original Character, Comedy
Length: 4446

A simple story about four ponies that hold themselves to a standard above the average.

Quite often, many people will invest themselves in their lives so much that they don't leave room for those around them. Everyone goes through adversity and it is up to them how they choose to face the trials. This story is about four different individuals that strive to live their lives from a broader perspective. The temptation to live a self indulgent life can be a struggle. But with a little self discipline and some friends that can confide in each other, many obstacles can be overcome together. (I have received permission from Emberslament to use Bae Breeze in this fiction.)

Published 2021-07-06 16:30:01 UTC
Last updated 2021-07-06 16:30:01 UTC

Introduction

Frequently, it is common for many individuals to be wrapped up in their own lives. Most individuals don't even realize when they are being a might self centered. Many typically don't want to help with demanding tasks unless there is something in it for themselves. Therefore it is quite common for people to adopt the mindset of self indulgence and don't want to apply themselves in a way that can be physically or mentally challenging. Swimming against the current can be quite the trial in life. But if it means that one can be a firm and righteous pillar of solitude for others in life, why would you pass up the opportunity to face additional tribulations? This is about four individuals that are challenged every day in their lives and they choose to make decisions with the bigger picture in mind.

The first individual is a pegasus named Bae Breeze. This young mare has an unfortunate upbringing. Most of her life consisted of her parents expecting her to reach goals that she was physically incapable of completing. She grew up being torn between a mother that never initially wanted to have foals as she had prior goals of being a competitor in the Equestrian Games. And a father that desired his foals to be strong and stout fliers so that they could one day be a part of the elite flying team of Cloudsdale, known as the Wonderbolts. Unfortunately, Bae's physique was of a frail and sensitive nature. Regardless of this fact, Bae's father still forced her to train uncompromisingly with her two older brothers. As she grew older, her father would become more abusive to her and her mother in particular from not being able to have offspring that could meet his demands. This led to her mother leaving behind her family and for Bae to finally make the decision to leave her home in Cloudsdale. With the land of Canterlot residing right below Cloudsdale, she settled on her attempting to find shelter in the high and proud city of Canterlot. After asking around for job opportunities for a decent amount of time, the ponies that she would talk to made it quite clear that they had better things to do. This would take a blessing of a turn when she would happen upon a wedding shop one rainy day. The mare that ran the shop noticed Bae's attempt to gain shelter from the rain and would invite her into the shop for some hospitality. The owner of the shop was Velvet Cake and after hearing about the rough upbringing of Bae, she immediately offers a job in the shop and a place to stay in an apartment that was built above the shop. Bae would find her special talent to be cheering up other ponies and to comfort them as she didn't want anyone to go through was she did growing up.

The second individual is another pegasus that goes by the name of Aeolian Flare. This stallion is currently living the high and elite life of a Wonderbolt. He is always training meticulously and has a hard time learning when to take a break. He came from an upbringing where much wasn't expected of him. He would grow up to be an only foal and this was primarily because his parents never cared for having foals initially. He would even find his special talent bringing joy to others through his wonderous performances in flight, all except his parents. So he grew up with parents that would give him the bare minimum of their efforts at all times. On the contrary from their expectations, Aeolian did have goals and standards for himself. But many times when he would present his accomplishments to his parents, he would never receive more than a shrug from the both of them. It frustrated him when he would place the time and the effort to accomplish something significant only to have his parents half-heartedly acknowledge him. Once he was old enough he wasted no time in moving out of the house. Which again received little to no reaction from his parents. He would finally pursue his largest objective in becoming a Wonderbolt. He immediately applied and was sent off to basic training for the Wonderbolts. The training barley phased him and without the emotional attachment to his parents, it was easier for him to make it past bootcamp as opposed to some other students in his class. Upon graduation, he was instantly recognized for his talent and potential. It wasn't too much longer before he landed a spot on the Wonderbolts and began to live out his dream for himself. Much to his disappointment he would soon come to realize that despite reaching the ambitious goal of becoming a Wonderbolt, this would not satisfy him internally. He would go about his days struggling to hold his head up high because of a lack of a legitimate emotional connection in his life. He would talk to the his other Wonderbolt friends and they could cheer him up for a while. But he still felt that he was missing something deeper in life. Regardless of this fact, he would still slay himself to bring joy to others with his performances as a Wonderbolt all across Equestria. In hopes of one day finding that one thing that would bring him internal peace.

The third individual is a unicorn mare named Orchid Drop. Growing up in the town of Ponyville, this mare lived more of her life being closer to her mother. The reason for this had to do with her special talent. It was always something that would work up her father in the wrong way. Her father still loved and cared about Orchid in the right way, but he wasn't the most delighted when her special talent ended up being video games. Orchid grew up having a difficult relationship with her father even though her father really wanted to support her for what she was called to do. But he couldn't get over the fact that her special talent was something that he didn't see as beneficial for her future. Her father would make attempts to get out of his mind for his daughter, but was always leaning back on his own understanding. And it made the relationship between Orchid and her father complicated. He wanted her to pursue something that he believed would be better for her, but he was at a loss when video games was her actual cutie mark. Despite that fact, he still couldn't fully come to terms with it; and their relationship has never been able to reach the potential that it was capable of. So Orchid would spend more time with her mother as her mother was a lot more supportive of her calling. Orchid would eventually start her career out as a streamer and was able to gain a great following because of her special talent. After only a few months of streaming, she was able to accumulate enough money through donations and subscriptions and was able to move out of the house to make her own living. She hugged her parents goodbye and lingered a bit longer with her mother. As she was leaving her parent's residence, she couldn't help but notice a look in her father's eyes that seemed to wish that he could have done more for her. She smiled back at him and her mother as she took off to pursue her own life moving forward.

Lastly, the final individual is a stallion named Hyruleninja. This stallion also grew up in the peaceful town of Ponyville. Hyrule grew up with a pretty close family. He had parents that loved and supported him and was also the oldest of three mare siblings and a younger stallion brother. He took his role as the oldest seriously as he would do anything to protect his siblings. He also grew up with friends that he trusted as much as his family. He was extremely committed to his relationships with his friends and family. He even went about living his life always giving people the benefit of the doubt. But this came with its own problems. Sometimes he would place his faith in those that would take advantage of him and it hurt more than it normally would. He would place his heart out for those he would interact with and some would break his trust through their own decisions. After a short period of heartbreak, he would eventually pick himself back up emotionally with the help of his friends and family. His loyalty and his undying trust he would place in individuals would eventually lead to him earning his cutie mark that signified his infinite passion for loyalty and for those he cared about. This would eventually end up with him enlisting in the royal guard for the royalty in Canterlot. He felt this calling in particular because he knew it would be a high standard of life and he endorsed the idea of being stronger for the ones that he loved. So he took on the challenge of being a royal guard and would spend the beginning of his time on his own, training to be a protector of the country and its royalty.

A couple of these individuals have already begun to feel the emotional struggle of life itself. But they will all learn more about the bigger picture and will soon come to encourage each other through some difficult trials that they will surpass together.

Author's Note

This is my first fiction and I hope ya'll will enjoy it.

Chapter 1

What is it that makes life so precious in the land of Equestria? To Hyrule, the answer was quite simple. The individuals that contributed to the productivity of society. Not to just themselves, but also to those around them. The great testament to the equestrian values can simply be found in the appointed Elements of Harmony bearers. The six mares that were recognized for their laughter, generosity, loyalty, kindness, honesty, and leadership. Hyrule was proud that their nation stood for great qualities, which helped in his decision to join the royal military. Being an earth pony, he didn't have the ability of flight, or any magical prowess. But he took pride in being the simpler of the three as it helped with humility. He loved seeing what other pegasi and unicorns could do with their abilities to bring blessings unto others' lives. He didn't mind being the way he was at all. He took his job seriously and focused on doing his do diligence.

After about three years into his first tour, the life of being in the royal military was wearing on him mentally. He didn't understand how some service members were able to place twenty plus years in the service. But he kept his head up as best he could, with a lot of encouragement coming from the letters his family would send him often. Equestria had been expanding on it technological development for a while now. If he could get his hooves on one of those small devices that made communication much more efficient by one hundred percent, he could talk to his family more and in a more direct way. But with the kind of salary he was making, there was no way he could afford something like that. Only the extremely wealthy citizens of Canterlot would be able to drop the bits on that kind of stuff. As he would see them using the fascinating devices while he was on post sometimes. The mental struggle of not having more of a direct pipeline to his family really bagged on him frequently. Especially when he knew there was an easy way to solve this issue that was locked behind a hefty price tag.

Hyrule knew that if he had any chance of reenlisting for additional tours, he had to find something or someone that would help him during the moments where he struggled and vice versa. He knew that the best kind of friendships were always two way, so he would want to be a pillar of strength for someone that he could be friends with as well. And not just using them to help him with his struggles and not return the favor. He thought for a moment that if he ever found a mare he was interested in, maybe he could share his life with that mare. But he retracted and thought:

"I just need to focus on forging a strong friendship first. Then maybe one day..."

It was always something that was on the back of his mind. It would help push him to be a better stallion for whomever she might be out there. For the day that they would meet, when the time is right... In the meantime, he just wanted to get out of his comfort zone and go meet new individuals. This would be difficult for Hyrule as he has never been the most social kind of stallion. And the typical snotty attitude of most individuals in Canterlot was disgusting to him. But he hoped that maybe he would be blessed by running into someone that had a more humble outlook on themselves and to those around them.

"This weekend, I will talk to at least one pony in an attempt to make a close friend!"

He stated in his mind to boost his confidence in himself. But right after he thought it, the possibility of that not happening already dwindled some of his morale. He shook his head,

"Really? You are your own worst enemy. Stallion up and do what you set out to do. Sheesh."

Meanwhile, in the main Canterlot town area of the high and mighty society of the grand city. Was a meek wedding shop that is run by a delicate pegasus that went by the name, Bay Breeze. This mare had been faithfully running the shop ever since the previous owner had passed. Bay had kept the shop spick and span and took care of it with every fiber of her being in honor of the shop owner that took her and her younger sister in when no one else had. The shop was always in pristine condition as Bay didn't have anyone else in her life other than her younger sister and the customers she would receive occasionally. It would be especially painful for her to remember what she did have growing up. Her older brother Coastal Breeze that had to leave for flight school, her close friend Neutron Star that she had to leave behind, and her mother that she never received closure on. She would be on the brinks of breaking down in the middle of work when she was alone. But she stood strong as best she could and focused on on her job running the shop. And taking care of her younger sister. When she had customers, she would always work herself to the bone as it helped keep her mind off of herself and more on what she was called to do. But deep down inside of her, she really wanted someone in her life that she could rely on to help lift her up in her darker moments. Her younger sister was only at the point where she was beginning to trot on her own. So it would be a while before she could have her younger sister to help her. But she hoped that maybe it wouldn't take that long for someone to come into her life to be a loyal friend for her. She thought about going out several times to make a friend or two, but the citizens of Canterlot were just so arrogant and it would always discourage her from making any attempts. She even had to put up with that kind of attitude with some of her customers, but it never stopped her from smiling and continuing to show kindness, no matter how difficult it was.

It was the beginning of a new weekend and Bay had to go out on her daily resupply run. She had to pick up a few things for the shop as well as provisions for herself and her younger sister. She trotted up to the exit of the shop, before leaving, she looked over her list of what she needed to make sure she wasn't forgetting anything.

"Okay, it's the same thing you do every other weekend. Just get what you need and come back."

She took a deep breath and put on her best smile as she opened the door to tackle her tasks for the day. She didn't know why, but every time she had to do this, she hoped that maybe she would come across someone promising. The hope of that happening was always easily short lived as just seeing the typical behavior of the residents in Canterlot made it easy to lose sight of that thought. But she still wore her smile as she knew there had to be at least a few residents of this city that didn't act like the rest. Heck, their very own two princesses, the princess of the sun and the princess of the moon, were known for their love and care for their subjects. If they could be kind, why wouldn't others in this city? That little fact made her smile a bit more genuine and she carried on with her task.

This weekend was also the weekend that Hyrule decided he would go out into the main town area to see if there was anyone he could befriend. He didn't have his hopes up at all as he was aware of how most ponies were in Canterlot. But he was at least going to give it an attempt. It wasn't difficult for him to distinguish who seemed like a worthwhile attempt and he wouldn't. He could tell just how a pony was carrying themselves if they were the kind of friend he would want to have. It was mostly vice versa though as he wouldn't mind being anyone's friend, as long as they were willing to give him the time of day, which added to the difficulty of this. There were some ponies that he observed would seem like a decent attempt to make. But gathering up the courage to initiate the conversation with a random pony was really tough for him to do. He wanted to walk over to anypony that seemed promising and just strike up friendly conversation. But even where was an opportunity, legs would freeze up and he would lose his chance. He spent most of the day just trying to work up the courage to talk to anyone. He began to lose hope and more confidence in himself as the dusk of the day rolled around.

"Oh geez, please can I just find somepony at all?:

Around that same time, Bay had just exited a food store and was looking down at list to ensure she had everything before she went back home. She nodded in confirmation and placed her list in one of her saddlebags. She begun to trot back in the direction of home when she actually bumped into another resident as she was looking back up, causing her to fall backwards on to the ground with some of her things falling out of her saddlebags. Unfortunately, this was one of those high and mighty ponies that held their muzzles in the air all the time. After receiving an entitled angry rant from the pony, the stuck their muzzle up in the air and walked past Bay leaving her with all of her stuff still on the ground. She began to tear up a bit, when a blue stallion that was Hyrule had seen what had happened. He shook his head in disbelief and quickly trotted over to the pink mare. He held out his hoof to help her up with sympathy on his expression. Bay looked up at him and took his hoof to be helped on her hooves again. She was surprised that someone completely random was helping her. The blue stallion spoke,

"I saw what happened. I honestly can't believe the residents in this place. That was completely their fault that they bumped into you. And then they have the audacity to fire off at you like that?"

Bay nodded and wiped the tears that were forming in her eyes. She grabbed her saddlebag and placed it back on her back again, then she began to start gathering up her things that had dropped out.

"Here, I will help you with that."

The blue stallion then started to help Bay with loading her belongings back into her saddlebags. This act of kindness was unprecedented to Bay as no one had really been like this before to her ever since the passing of Velvet Cake. Once he had finished helping her, she thanked him for his help and began to walk back in the direction of her home.

"Wait!"

The stallion called out unexpectedly. Hyrule saw this as his last chance for the day and he could tell there was something deep down with this mare that she was going through. When he helped her up initially, the look in her eyes were showing an extreme amount of pain and loneliness. He didn't wish to intrude but he thought that if she needed someone's help, that maybe he could be there for her.

"It's getting late and I wouldn't want you getting hurt, do you want someone to walk you home?"

Hyrule asked worryingly, afraid that he was stepping into unwanted territory for her. She looked back at him with her lavender colored eyes. They gaze they held lasted only for a few moments and in those moments, Hyrule's heart was pounding out of his chest, worried that he didn't make a correct move. After what seemed like an extended period of time, Bay lightly nodded at Hyrule. Hyrule sighed with relief as he regained his composure and trotted next to her side as they both made their way back to Bay's home.

Now that Hyrule had a start with the pink mare, the rest of this was downhill for him. It was just the initiation that was the largest obstacle. After walking for a few minutes, he decided to see if she would make conversation with him.

"So where exactly do you live?"

He was a bit surprised that she actually answered his question.

"The wedding shop in here in the main town has an apartment above the store. That is where I live."

"Oh, I didn't know there was a wedding shop out in town."

Bay nodded,

"Yep, just me and my younger sister."

"Ah, younger siblings, I have four of them myself. So I know what that is like. But are you having to take care of her on your own?"

Bay nodded again,

"Yes, I have been for a while."

"Geez, I have to appraise you for that. I may have four younger siblings, but I don't have to raise them on my own."

Bay looked at Hyrule in his eyes which caused him to gaze back. Hyrule grew a little nervous as he was afraid he might have said something wrong. But after looking into her eyes for a moment longer, he could once again see the agony he had noticed before. She gave him a slight smile before turning to look ahead again. Hyrule's heart sank for this mare as he could see that she had been through a lot. The only thing he cared about for this mare, was her well being, despite the fact that they just met. After only a couple more minutes of walking, they were in front of the wedding shop. Both of the ponies turned to face one another.

"I should have asked this already, but what is your name? Mine is Hyrule."

He held out his hoof for a hoofshake.

"Bay Breeze."

She extended her hoof and shook his. At this point in time, both of them had realized the potential of the situation they were in. And both hoped that maybe it could grow into a healthy friendship, depending on which note either one would decide to leave off with. Hyrule spoke first,

If you would like, I could stop by as often as I can and help out in any way. I can only imagine the difficulty of raising your own sibling must be. So if you ever require assistance or need some financial help, I would be more than happy to be of service."

(Heart beating out of his chest again.) The fact that some stranger was offering this kind of help to Bay was almost astonishing to her and this looked like this could be a very productive friendship. She just hoped that he had no intentions of taking advantage of her and this really was genuine. With her kindhearted and compassionate personality, she smiled and nodded at Hyrule.

"Yes. You are free to stop by at anytime and I would love any help that you offer. But I could never ask for any money from you. So you don't need to worry about that."

Hyrule shrugged,

"You never know when you might need the help of a friend in any way. I live on my own and I have no one else immediately in my life right now. So it wouldn't be a huge deal for me."

"I really appreciate that Hyrule. My door will always be open during working hours if you ever find the chance to come and help me!"

Seeing Bay smile so brightly after seeing her distraught only moments ago made Hyrule's heart soar a bit for this mare. She seemed so joyful after only making the offer to help her.

"Well, anytime I am not at work, I will be by for sure to help you with whatever I can help you with."

Bay nodded,

"Sounds great!"

"You have a nice night now okay? As well as your younger sister."

"Of course! You as well!"

Bay smiled at Hyrule once again as she made her way into the shop and closed the door behind her. Once she had locked the door, Hyrule finally let his shoulders relax and started to trot back to his residence. He would ensure he would put out for this mare and he would give her his all for this friendship that was seeming to blossom. Yes, Hyrule was happy he came across this mare and he would push himself harder from now on.