Sunshine is leaking through the boards on my window. It’s not that the window is broken… it’s so I don't slip out and fall. Not that I can.
I want to stay in bed, but the last time I tried, Daddy became angry and pulled me out, and it hurts when he does that. I cast my sheets away and plant my hooves upon the floor.
I hobble on my two good legs, trying to ignore the small stubs of flesh that protrude from where the other two should be. I’ve spent my entire life looking at other ponies who never realize the gifts they’ve been given. All I’ve ever seen is what’s been taken from me.
My parents, at least, still love me... I think.
I carefully make my way down the steps, trying not to slip and hurt myself. This is another invention for normal ponies, but I’ve managed.
I do my best to trot up to the breakfast table, Mommy and Daddy already having their breakfast. Neither of them speak besides Daddy giving an acknowledging grunt, not looking up from his newspaper.
I know not to speak, so I get myself cereal, some milk, a spoon and a bowl, one by one. I accidentally drop the bowl, my treacherous mouth failing me as the small object falls and shatters on the ground. Daddy quickly comes up to me and hits my face. I slide to the ground as Daddy returns to his seat.
"Useless."
The word stings, but it sounds too familiar to stick anymore. I struggle back to my hooves and clean up the bowl the best I can. I feel my upper lip and find that it’s bleeding. I wash the blood off.
Mommy gives me a sad smile, but quickly hides it so Daddy won't see.
I decide to go without breakfast and grab my backpack, exiting through our front door. I give a hasty “Bye!” a second before I close the door, journeying into the Manehatten streets.
I hobble myself to school, ignoring the “awww”s and “poor filly”s from the ponies I pass by. Daddy says not to speak to any of these ponies, but never says why... I have to listen to him, though.
I reach my school. My friends are by the front tree, chatting up a storm. As soon as I step within school boundaries, they look over at me.
"Oh, guess who's here." One tries to hide his chuckle. I give them a smile, as I usually do.
The day thankfully passes quickly—it's already lunch. I stand in line, get my food, and make my way to the closest table. My friends come over and knock my tray from my mouth, making my food fall to the ground, the falling plastic reopening the cut on my upper lip, and making me tip and fall over. My friends laugh and I laugh too, but it's a hollow laugh, as I'd rather cry.
"Ha ha! You got me good guys!" One of them reaches their hoof to help me up, but as I reach for it, he pulls it away, making the other laugh harder. I struggle to push myself up and they leave to eat their food.
"Don't worry," I tell myself. "They're just teasing you. They're doing this because they love you." After I get up, I wipe the blood from my upper lip, which is bleeding quite badly. I decide to go to the nurse's office immediately.
As I open the door, trying not to fall, Nurse Redheart comes to help. "Oh, Locke, your lip! What happened?"
I told her what happened in the cafeteria as she bandages my lip. She shakes her head, but doesn't say anything. She had recommended for me to get help, but found out my parents won't help (not Daddy, at least) and the principal won't do anything.
I look at my face in the mirror. My bright blue eyes stare back, observing my purple fur and electric blue hair. My cutie mark is a key, because I can… lock and unlock things, apparently. I’m not able to take advantage of my talent very often.
Maybe if I had wings or a horn, my problem wouldn't be so bad.
"Locke, have the rest of my lunch. You must be hungry."
I look back at her briefly, then decide to take the food next to her.
Nurse Redheart suddenly says, "Sadly, today... is my last day working here."
I stop before the food reaches my mouth.
"What?!" I drop the food back onto the table and reach to hug her. "I don't... want you to leave."
She holds onto me and returns the hug. "I'm so sorry, but Ponyville needs more medical staff and... it seems like a nicer place. I'm leaving in a week." She grips me a bit tighter. "Maybe you want to come with me?"
I shake my head. "Daddy won't let me. He... would hurt us."
She sighs sadly, knowing about my situation well enough. "I won't forget you, okay?"
I nod and let go of her as the bell rings. I wave my last goodbye to Redheart and the rest of the day goes in a blur.
I pick up my backpack and trudge out of school. I go back home, ponies again giving me remorse as I pass them by, me once again doing my best to ignore them.
I enter the house as quietly as I can, so as not to wake Mommy or Daddy if they’re already here. I drag myself upstairs to my room and get to work on my homework.
It was going well, but as I leave my chair to get a snack, it falls over, giving a loud thump.
Almost instantaneously, Daddy runs into my room and starts screaming at me, hitting me. This feels like a daily ritual.
"Don't worry," I whisper to myself. "It’s only because he loves you...."
Daddy finally leaves and Mommy slips herself into my room. We both crawl up onto my bed and hold one another. It looks like she’s been crying. I don't mention it, but it makes me feel just as sad.
"You hungry?"
I shake my head. I’m not hungry anymore... just tired. Mommy nods, and she slowly starts squeezing me. She does it to a point where it hurt, and I whimper. She lets go, apologizes and quietly leaves. I get off my bed shortly after and quietly leave the house, not wanting to face Daddy anymore.
It isn't even close to sunset, so I decide to go to the park. My friends are hanging out there, having... uh... cigarettes, I think they’re called. They notice me and their eyes narrow. I ignore the feeling to turn around and leave; they'd just chase after me, anyway.
"Hey, we want to show you somethin'. Can you come with us?" They all look at me expectantly. I decide to go with them, so as to avoid Daddy for a bit longer.
They lead me to a glade, one that ponies wouldn't visit often due to the fact that it was outside town. Most ponies wouldn't care about a place like this.
Two of them grab me and the third one quickly ties my hind leg to the branch above me, leaving most of my body hanging, my front hoof left alone so I can hold myself up.
"What are you doing?" I ask when I have the chance.
"Don't worry, we'll be back soon."
They turn and leave so quickly I barely have the time to respond. So, I stay hanging there for a few minutes.
"Ha! Funny, guys! You can let me down now!"
Silence.
"Guys?"
I feel my eyes become a bit wet.
Okay, okay, they're just teasing you because they love you...right? They sure got me this time! Heh....
Time passes. Not just minutes, but hours. The sky grows dark.
"Oh, jeez... guys, this isn't funny anymore. I-I'm getting a bit hungry. I can't feel my leg."
Silence.
"Guys?"
I giggle, my eyes tearing up. "It's okay, you're not useless, you're not useless, you... whoops, almost fell asleep there... so silly...."
I can't see clearly anymore.
"MOMMY! Mommy! Mommy... please... I love you... Mommy... I'm so sorry...."
Still, silence.
"I'm not useless, I'm not useless... I'm not...."
I cry myself to sleep.
Cold. So cold.
I can barely think. Just... hungry and thirsty....
How long have I been hanging here?
I can't feel my hind leg anymore...
Somepony...
I shiver in the cold night air. It has recently gotten below freezing, and I've been hanging here the whole time.
So cold...
They didn't come back. Who needs them, anyway?
I can't cry anymore. My tears will just freeze on my face. It hurts, worse than Daddy's hoof.
So cold...
Just...
Please...
Silence.
I opened my eyes, the dim morning light leaking in from the window. I felt immensely tired. The sheets of the bed encapsulated me, warming my body.
Was I home?
I sat up and looked around my... uh, the room. This definitely was not my room.
"Here's some food. I figured you'd be hungry after all that time you were out there."
A dark blue unicorn walked in through the open doorway, his hooves grasping a small meal of yogurt and a banana, and placed my breakfast on my lap on the bed. "Your time on the rope did some damage to your leg, so I don't recommend putting pressure on it." He sat down in a chair by the desk on the other side of the small room.
Silence settled around the room as I ate my food, only the mild rustling of the wild outside of the window accompanying it. I wanted to ask him questions, but I couldn't force them out of my mouth, mainly because my mouth was full of the food I was given. After I finished my meal, he took the plate and headed out of the room.
"By the way, there's some books under the table next to you if you want to read. I'll be back in a few minutes. "He took a few more steps before stopping."Also, my name is Peur."
I tried reading some of the books, but most of them were adult novels, and they contained content I didn't understand. Peur, true to his word, trotted back in several minutes later and again sat down in the chair.
"So, would you like to tell me why you were in the state I found you in earlier, or who put you there, or should I just tell you about where you are?"
"I... would rather... you talk about you." The words barely squeezed out of my mouth, but I felt a little more awake, and a bit better from when I blacked out.
"All right. Right now you're in my apartment in Manehatten, and your leg's muscles tore from the way you were hanging. I apologize, but I had to give you some painkillers while you were asleep, because torn muscles are very painful. Anything you want to ask me?"
"Uh, heh, yeah. Did the... uh... painkiller cause this tired... redness?"
"Actually, that's because you had blood pouring straight to your head for a while. "He paused. "By the way, do you have any parents that I should bring you home to?"
I went to answer, but I paused. Did I really want to go back to my parents? Did... I really want to go back to them in this condition? Hell, Mom would probably give me up too.
"No... I don't."
Peur sighed. "Well, that gives me some time allow your leg to heal." He paused. "Is it all right if I know your name? You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."
Even though he talked a lot, he seemed... like he wasn't that bad, I guess?
"...Not right now, no."
He nodded. "You need anything, just call." He got up to leave.
"Actually, can... can I have a few books? Please?"
“What’s wrong with the books you have?” He gestured to the ones he’d left.
"I don’t understand very much in those."
"Sure, I’ll get you some better books. Give me a minute." He trotted off, only to return a few minutes later with a few books which seemed more for my age. He also brought a glass of water, "in case I got thirsty." He walked back out before I could say thanks.
I woke up again, my face lying on one of the books I was trying to read. There was a plate of haywiches on the table next to me. I pushed myself up to the window and saw that the sun was close to setting. I heard a light snoring from one of the other rooms. I reached over and fumbled with the food, but I managed to grip it and hoof it down.
I must've made some noise, because Peur's azure blue mane popped in and he grabbed the plate with his magic. "You still hungry?"
I shook my head, and he went off to put the plate away. He came back and went into his room, but I was more comfortable with words again. "Uh, Peur, why did you decide not to put me in the hospital? I mean, you wouldn't have to deal with me...."
"1: Manehatten hospitals do barely decent work. I mean, they basically slap a bandage on you and throw you out. 2: Neither of us could pay for it. I mean, I'm doing better than minimum wage, and I could bring you there for one night, but they'd kick you out as soon as you could walk, without any extra help or rehabilitation."
"Um... rehabilitation?"
He sighed and veered into my room. "Basically, you'd be on crutches for a few extra months. They wouldn't help you strengthen your leg."
"And why did you help me?"
"Well..." he started, sitting down in the chair again, "I'm not the type of pony to leave someone else for dead just because it would be a burden on me. See, I'm a... 'traveling doctor,' I guess. I help ponies for a living. And you'd be no exception." He went to the side of my bed. "It's been about 24 hours since I last used magic on your leg to help heal it, so will you allow me to do so again?"
I paused before nodding. I did want to be healed quickly. His horn gave off a light glow, and there was a warm but slightly painful pull on my leg. "Um... Peur? You haven't said a word about my... legs, and that's normally the only thing people talk about when they see me. Can I ask why?"
"There's nothing to say. You're missing two legs, and you'd need help for that, but that doesn't make you below any pony, or less capable. There are plenty of things you'll be able to do, even in your state, and what reason is there to criticize you?"
I felt... happy.
Someone... accepted me for who I was.
Over the next few weeks or so, Peur helped heal me. I slowly regained my ability to walk. I talked to him more and more, and I felt he was more of a father and a friend to me more than anyone else. Most of the time, he said what he wanted to say, straight and clear, but in a kind way. Once I was able to walk by myself again, I assumed I was going to the orphanage. Even though he helped me recover, I didn't expect him to... be able to take care of me... as a daughter. But, before we left, he said to me:
"You don't really want to go, do you?"
I paused. This was... a new question. One that I didn't expect him to ask, but I knew my answer. "No... I really don't."
He kneeled in front of me. "Uh, how to say this..." he paused and sighed. "How about you stay with me, then? You know, as an adoptive father?"
I didn't even need to say my answer, as I was already crushing him with what I could manage of a hug.
He gave a small chuckle. "A cheesy, happy chapter for both of us, then."
