life is hard
people are cruel
your sacrifices are in vain
we are all complicit
the status quo remains
oh, and also: ponies ( )

I'll be honest, I didn't particularly like this short story. It is full of symbolisms and meant to parallel real life in a particular way, the wings representing people's freedom, the horn symbolizing power and the voice signifying the possibility to publicly announce your thoughts. But I don't need ponies as a metaphor of life, and although it was well-written, it was very expectable as to what its meaning was supposed to be. ( )

Obviously not as invested in MLP or ponies as I need to be in order to appreciate the full horror of this shortstory.

Social commentary via ponies? Sure, why not? MLP generation is sure to appreciate this more than I did.

This was weird. Not sure why anyone would want to join people who torture their ponies and IMO are the crowd to AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Just... WHY???

Personally, I never saw the appeal of Cool Kids and others like that. My average high school experience with them was pretty bland. Usually we talked first sometime beginning of the school year and it went something like this:

CoolKids: Hey there. (in condescending smug tones)
Me: Hi, guys. How about them Chems Maths? There's also StuffToDo for (insert subject/teacher/event).
CoolKiDs: Oh god. Chem! Do you get (insert topic)? Please also tell us about StuffToDo.
Me: ...Mm. Okay, sure?

Then we generally talked like normal people, with an occasional SaveUs thrown in. They weren't bad people, just needed to be dragged back to earth occasionally. They also provided entertainment with their manufactured drama. So, basically - can understand, cannot relate.

SIDENOTE.
Also - am I the only one who confuses (Popular) IT crowds with (Technological) IT crowds?
Because it changes LITERALLY EVERYTHING when the context suddenly becomes understandable in the freaking middle of a story. And then you have to re-read again just to wrap your head around it. Confusing much, no? ( )

This is the way it’s always been, as long as there have been Ponies. All ponies have wings. All Ponies have horns. All Ponies can talk. Then all Ponies go to a cutting-out party, and they give up two of the three, because that’s what has to happen if a girl is going to fit in with TheOtherGirls.

2010 Nebula winner for short story. It's a leetle bit too much fable, too hit-me-over-the-head sermon-ish for my taste. But it's free, 10 pages, and worth a read. ( )

This one honestly broke my heart and really horrified me. I mean, I think that was the point. And if you like horror stories that are trying to teach a lesson, this one might be for you, but it’s certainly not for the faint of heart.