Friends

1: Dear Journal

Dear journal, My name? Sweet Apple, I'm a 14 year old Pegasus. I have long orange and red wavy hair, which curls at the bottom. My coat is a pale yellow, much like my mother's. I can be described as a sweet and caring pony, which is always happy. No pony knows the truth, I try to look happy, and I do, yet I seldom am. I hide these feelings from my parents, mom would worry, and so would dad. They always worry it seems, whether it's about me, or something work related. Every day's the same, it seems. I wake up, put on my pink and yellow socks, and go eat whatever mom decided to cook for breakfast, and go to school. I have no friends.

I've been a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders since I was old enough to walk and talk. My aunt Applebloom started the club, it's a club dedicated to ponies who aim to gain their cutie marks. Every pony I joined with has gotten theirs already. Anyways, at school, I keep my mane in my face and hide behind it, hoping nobody will see me. I get teased for being a 'blank flank' I get called names; some ponies even go as far as hitting me sometimes.

I'm quiet at school; I take all the teasing and insults. Mom and dad don't notice my change in behaviour or clothing, I wear a short pink dress that hides my blank flank, and pink and yellow socks to hide the cuts that I make at night, when it all becomes too much. My only friend, Canyon Drop, told me things will get better, and then she too, started teasing me, along with the others. I won't end it; my parents would die, not physically, but emotionally. I put up with it, yet I think of ending it some days. No pony ever asks what’s wrong when they see me crying, they stand there and laugh. My name? Sweet Apple, this is my story.

2: Morning

I could hear birds chirping as I slowly opened my eyes and groaned. It was Monday. I hate Mondays; it's just another day I have to put up with Diamond necklace, and Silver Dollar. I closed my eyes and rolled back over in my fluffy, pink blankets. I could hear mom calling me, it was a quiet call, and I had to strain my ears just to hear her, even though mom was standing at my door. As soon as I noticed she was standing in my room, I shoved my hooves back under the blankets, hoping she didn't see the fresh cuts. She told me breakfast was ready, and to go downstairs soon, if I wanted. I told her that I'd be down in a minute, and she left my room to go wake up dad.

I slowly got out of my warm, fluffy cloud bed and stretched. I extended my wings as far as they could go, feeling he bruise I got from Diamond Necklace on Friday. I put on my comfy pink and yellow striped socks, my short. pink dress, and went downstairs. I could smell the hay bacon that mom made for me. My stomach growled, and my mouth watered. She made my favourite food on the Monday i dreaded most. I put on my smile and sat down at the table. I picked up a piece and bit into it. 'Mom sure knows how to cook!' I thought as i munched happily on the strips of hay bacon. When I was finished, I went back up to my room to brush my mane, and my tail.

I picked up the mane brush and looked in the mirror. What I saw, was something I never thought I'd see. My reflection was that of a happy, fun-loving pony. When I realized that that wasn't what was reflected, my smile faded and I saw the real me in the mirror. I saw a green eyed, sad little pony. I then put down the brush, flew out the window, and headed to school.

3: Friends?

As I flew through the crisp morning air, I sighed. 'Maybe today I'll make a friend.' I thought with a small, sad smile. As I kept flying, I thought about what it must be like to have a circle of friends you can talk to. I landed at the steps of Ponyville High and took in a deep breath and held it as I walked in. I let out a sigh of relief when I didn't see Diamond Necklace or Silver Dollar anywhere. As I walked to my locker, I heard them. "Hey, blank flank!" They said in perfect synchronization. 'They must practice this' I thought as I tried to ignore them and walk away. "Blank flank! Blank flank!" Was all I could hear as I walked to my locker. "Hey, Silver, when did you get your cutie mark? I got mine when we were six!" Even though it wasn't directed at me, I knew what was coming. "I got mine when we where seven! But imagine if we didn’t have them at this age!" That was what I was prepared for 'They're so predictable.' I thought as I reached my locker. They both came up to me, and I hid behind my mane. "Hey, Apple, isn't it embarrassing to still be a blank flank? Like not having a talent? Maybe you have found your talent. Is your talent being a blank flank?" Diamond said, with that snobby tone of hers. If I could, I would rip that necklace off her neck and cut off her long, curly pink and purple mane. I ran to the washroom and left them there, laughing.

I reached in my saddle bags and took out my knife; I pulled down my left sock, and pushed the blade into my soft, pale skin. Soon my pale yellow coat started to turn red near the cut. I pulled up my sock as the bell rang, signalling the beginning if classes. I threw the knife in my bag and ran to homeroom.

I arrived in class, just as my name was being called for the attendance. "Here!" I called as i went and sat down in the back of the class. Silver Dollar and Diamond Necklace came in and sat on either side of me. "Ladies, may I ask why you two are late?" Asked Miss. Cheerilee, our teacher. "We're sorry, Miss, We didn't hear the bell. We were outside, enjoying the wonderful fall air" They said, again in perfect synchronization. "Alright" Class was boring, as usual. Diamond kept calling me blank flank, and Silver just sat there, as usual. I thought about it, and realized that she didn't really do any of the teasing, only the occasional "blank flank".

The bell rang, signalling lunch. I went to my locker and grabbed my lunch, a daisy sandwich and some apple cider. 'Mom is the best' I thought to myself as I peered into the brown bag that held my lunch. I closed and locked my locker, and started towards the cafeteria. I sat at the empty table I always sit at, hoping someone would come sit with me. I looked over at the table where the 'popular' ponies sat, and saw my ex best friend, Canyon Drop. My mind raced at two hundred miles an hour with memories of when we were just careless fillies, running through the apple orchard.

I came back to reality when some pony tapped my shoulder. I didn't know who he was, but he was tall and looked very muscular. He had long, sandy blonde hair, and yellow green eyes. His coat was an emerald green. He was with a smaller mare, about my height. She had a ruby red coat with black hair and chocolaty brown eyes. Her cutie mark was a splatter of colours. "Is it alright if we sit here?" The colt asked me. I shyly nodded my head and moved over a little. 'Diamond probably put them up to this, why else would they sit here?' I thought as I started to eat my sandwich. "So why are you sitting by yourself?" The mare asked me. I responded very quietly and shyly, "I like to be alone." The colt then told me his name was Red Streak, and that the mare was his marefriend, Multicolour Splatter. "My name's Sweet Apple" I said, quietly. I soon realized that they chose to sit here, and they weren't told by Diamond Necklace. "Um, if you don't mind me asking, why did you sit here? There's plenty more tables you two could sit at." "Well you seemed lonely, so Red and I decided to see if you'd like some company" Multicolour Splatter said with a smile. "I'd like that" I said, with a genuine smile.

The bell rang, telling every pony to get back to class. "Thanks for sitting with me multicolour Splat-"

"Just Multicolour is fine"

"Okay, thanks Multicolour and Red Streak, for keeping me company." I said with a smile, and trotted off to get my saddle bags from my locker.

When I got close to my locker, i saw Diamond and Silver waiting for me. "Hey, blank flank!" She called out. I trotted closer and, in an annoyed tone said, "What do you want?" "Oh, nothing. Why would we want anything from a cowpony Pegasus? We only wanted to remind you of your special talent, being a blank flank!" The two then turned and walked away. I hid behind my mane, and i felt my eyes start to water. "You okay?" I turned my head, looking for the source of the voice. I saw a familiar ruby red coat, and realized it was Multicolour. "I'll...be fine, I guess." I said, in a somewhat sad tone. "Follow me." "Okay?" I said following her. "Where are we going?" I asked, a little nervous. "You'll see." She replied as she led me out of the school.

4: More Friends?

"Are we even allowed to leave?" I asked as Multicolour led me away from the school. "Not really, but it's okay, don't worry." She replied confidently. We trotted along the streets of Ponyville, suddenly, she stopped. "You know you can ditch the socks, right?" She asked me, expecting an answer. "Um.. I'd prefer not to..." I trailed off, not knowing if I could trust her with what was hidden beneath the fuzzy fabric on my front hooves. She turned to me and said, "I know why you wear them.” I was at a loss for words, so I said the first thing that I thought of, while looking at my hooves, "They're comfy". She looked at me with a face that told me that she knew I was lying. She didn't say anything else, she just continued walking.

After some time, we were in the Ponyville Park. We walked through the long, green grass, and came to a fence. I recognized the field on the other side if the fence to be the north east orchards in Sweet Apple Acres, my home. "Come here" Multicolour said as she climbed over the fence. "Um... Okay..." I said, nervously. I don't know why i was nervous, it was my own land. Maybe I was scared That Aunt Apple Jack would catch us sneaking out of school. I kept following her. 'I’ve never been here before' I thought as we walked through the rows of apple trees.

I looked ahead and saw Red Streak, and a few others I didn't recognize. One mare was a unicorn, she had a purple coat with a black mane, her bangs were blonde and she had a blonde streak in her tail. The other mare had a reddish mane and tail and her coat was a light shade of brown. I couldn't see her cutie mark from where I was standing. One of the colts was black, with dark brown hair and his cutie mark was a crazy smiling face, it scared me a little. The other colt was tall and a greyish blue colour, with a mahogany like mane and tail. Multicolour pointed her hoof at the unicorn, "That’s Fire Plume," then at the other mare, "That's Chocolate Heart," She then pointed at the black earth pony, "That's Insane Laugh," then at the tall greyish one, "And that’s Kitefly. Everyone, this is Sweet Apple."

I looked over at Fire Plume, and saw she was reading something, so I walked over and asked, "What are you reading?”

"Daring Doo." She said, not even looking up. "Every pony, Sweet Apple and I are going to go back to school, see ya!" Multicolour called. "Come on," She said "or else we're going to be late!"

5: Finally, Not Alone

As we were walking back to school, Multicolour stopped at an ally. "Come here," she said "don’t question, just follow." She walked into the ally, it looked scary, it was dark and I'm pretty sure I could smell mold. She stopped walking halfway through the ally. I coughed a few times because of the dust and mould. "Take off your socks." She didn't ask, she demanded. When I refused, she sighed and said, "Don't worry, I won’t tell, look." She reached a hoof towards me and showed me scars that she had on her front hooves. "Take off your socks." She repeated. I listened this time, and she pulled out some antiseptic cream from under her wing. "Hold still." She said as she put the cream on my legs. It stung. It felt like I had cut all of them open at once. She then did the same to the other leg. "Okay, put your socks back on and we'll head back to school."

At school, I walked into class and went and sat in the back. "Hey blank flank, what took you so long, trying to find your talent?" Diamond said in a mocking tone. The whole class started laughing. I looked at Silver Dollar, and saw she looked uncomfortable. I wrote 'water fountain in five?' on a slip of paper and passed it to her. She read it and nodded. I raised my hoof, and then asked to go to the washroom. Silver did the same.

"You looked uncomfortable back there Silver Dollar." I said, shyly, expecting an insult or to be put down.

"I was, to tell you the truth, I feel bad when me and Diamond tease you, even if you are a blank fl- Sorry, even if you don’t have your cutie mark yet. Our mothers told us it was okay to make fun of ponies like that. Sweet Apple, I'm sorry we made fun of you like that..." She said, almost crying. I stood there, I didn’t want to believe I heard that, but I did. What shocked me most is that it came from some pony I never thought I'd hear it from. We heard the bell ring and we walked to our lockers. I got my saddle bags and walked out of the school, took off, springing into the air.

I flew home with a true smile on my face. I skipped into the farm house with joy and called, "Hi mom! Hi dad!" and skipped up to my room. I jumped onto my cloud bed and grabbed my journal, and started to write.

Dear journal, my name? Sweet Apple, I'm a 14 year old Pegasus. I have long orange and red wavy hair, which curls at the bottom. My coat is a pale yellow, much like my mother's. I can be described as a sweet and caring pony, which is always happy...