Open Letter to the Hateful Tanker I Once Was

[sonofchrysalis3 3,719]

On February 15^th, 2015, a tanker was leading his team to victory at Boombox CTF.  He had just caught the Gold Box ten minutes before, and he was now carrying a flag back to his base with fifteen seconds left on the clock.  If he could capture this flag, which would be his tenth in the game, he would rank up to Sergeant Major and unlock a much-coveted turret and hull kit.

 

With five seconds on the clock and about a meter from the flag base, a wandering tank intersected his path, flipping him over just short of the base.

 

Game Over.  Score:  12-3, Red team wins, led by sonofchrysalis3 with a very high battle fund.

 

Was I excited with the battle’s outcome?  Oh, no.  I was outraged by the bumbling tank who kept me from a hard-earned rank up, and I said things to him that I will never forgive myself for.

 

The day after I published “Chat Traps to Avoid”, I was on a different site’s forum, where I received a PM that put me in tears.

 

“Remember me, sonof?  The... what was it you called me... the ‘(censored)’ that flipped you over at Boombox?  Yep, just read your article on Tanki where you said everyone needed to be kind and respectful.  Just wanted to make sure you know that you’re the biggest hypocrite ever.  ‘(Censored)’.”

 

I sat staring through burning, filmy eyes, wanting so badly to go back in time and kick myself in the face.

 

This is why I was reluctant to even write in the forum.  There are tankers out there who remember very well what I was like just a few months ago, and I’m surprised that they’ve stayed as silent as they have.

 

If I could write a letter to my former self, here’s what I would write.

 

Change your Attitude.

 

Celestia and Luna have been begging you to do this since you first took refuge in Canterlot.  That’s why they sent you to Ponyville, so you could learn about proper attitudes from Princess Twilight and her friends.  I know you hate to hear about it over and over again, but it is so crucial that you understand this lesson:  your behavior now will determine whether you spend the rest of your life in bliss, surrounded by friends who love you; or whether your life will be eternally overshadowed by the mistakes you’ve made.

 

1.)    Your attitude is a matter of choice.

 

Your rage boils inside you whenever somepony even mentions the word “attitude”.  You feel like you are being told to do the impossible, because you are attached to an incorrect view of yourself: that you are a product of your environment and upbringing, and therefore can’t change yourself.  You CAN and you MUST.  Remember when the Apple family’s entire crop was wiped out by disease?  That was a devastating loss of money, time, and back-breaking work, yet they picked themselves up and moved on.  They could’ve wallowed in their loss, but they decided that they would be happy in spite of their loss.

 

2.)    Your attitude now sets the bar for your life.

 

Ponies show attributes of their future selves almost from birth.  If a baby tends to be talkative and sociable, he will almost always grow up to be an extrovert.  Athletically inclined youngsters almost always grow up to be athletes.

Hateful and vicious individuals who make no effort to change will suffer the loneliness and regret that comes with such behavior.

 

3.)    Your attitude will define your legacy.

 

You think that your nastiness now will have no effect on you in the long term?  Correction: the ones you have wronged will remember what you have done, and, if you don’t make amends fast, they will come back to haunt you, tearing you down when you are doing well and kicking you when you are hurting.  You will develop a reputation of being unapproachable, and the one reason you left the Hive, finding somepony to ease the emptiness in your soul, will be forever beyond reach.

 

* * * * * * * *

 

Months ago, I learned that how you view yourself, your situation, and the important responsibility you have to others will determine whether you live in peace or in shambles.  And while I have changed quite a bit from the brawling little colt I was, ghosts from my past are still out to get me for what I have done and said amiss.

 

To the tanker who flipped me over, my conscience has never let me get past what I said to you.  I don’t expect you to forgive me, so I won’t ask, but please do understand that I would take back every word if I could.

 

To all the other tankers whose otherwise carefree visits to Tankionline were marred by my poor attitude, I sincerely apologize.  I allowed the mere act of capturing a flag to become far too important, and I lost my sense of the spirit of the game of Tanki.

 

"Enjoy the company of like-minded friends around the world and around the universe, even as you are blowing them to bits."

Edited January 29, 2016 by sonofchrysalis3

[Remaine 4,687]

Nothing short of absolute quality.

[Excyte 569]

Great story and explanation, Good Job!

[r_whyl0 9]

Wow that's quality, Well Done for posting this it will hopefully change the way Tankers talk to people who annoy them. :)

[falcosenna1 8,320]

Speechless in a positive way!  Quality indeed! It was great reading this, not only because of its quality, but because of the content! Well done! 

[eminem9870 605]

Nice.

[dilsharox 2,395]

nice

[LeIouch_Vi_Britannia 6,163]

Nothing short of absolute quality.

[anshi_bringitup 16]

It was so nice to read such an inspiring thing ...!!

[Klankill804 753]

Heh, I find myself raging at people who flips me over as well. Luckily, I don't show my anger in the battle. I swear in real life ;-;

[TriNitroToIuene 4,765]

Wow... you can write well in all kinds of articles!

[LaLisa_My_Queen 271]

 

 

Well done there. :)

[Lord-of-the-Snipers 1,620]

Don 't we all have moments like that? I know I do and it 's good to think

over how to improve your attitude.

 

An excellent article/story like this can make you do so:

plenty of serious content, enlightened with just the right amount of "pony".

 

Well done!

[robbie56 2,403]

tl;dr

[Lord-of-the-Snipers 1,620]

tl;dr

ts;dr (too short; didn 't read)

[Ihajkiller 39]

ts;dr (too short; didn 't read)

No he said Tl which means too long,didn't read

[robbie56 2,403]

ts;dr (too short; didn 't read)

Oh , so you downvote posts without reading them?

nice.

[Mr.Cashier 1,622]

Really interesting!! Good job ;)

[Lord-of-the-Snipers 1,620]

Oh , so you downvote posts without reading them?

nice.

Nope, I only downvote posts that are clearly asking to be downvoted.

 

So I indeed didn 't read it: instead I heard that post asking for a -1.

A request that was quickly granted! :)

 

(to be clear for others that may read this: I 'm not talking about the

first brilliant post that I upvoted also)

Edited August 30, 2015 by Lord-of-the-Snipers

[Ihajkiller 39]

Who cares this article is interesting  :D

[Darren4Turbo 4,913]

Nothing to say...

 

Just great!  ^_^

[Gunslinger300 45]

when some one annoys me or trolls me all i do is say

 

 

 

 

 

[Extant 154]

Great story!

[tuntematon1234567890 23]

i cant rage if i rage and hit my laptop it stops working  :P