The Spotted Alicorn

by Tartpelt dah Poneh

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Rainbow Dash, Sad, Original Character, Rarity, Tragedy, Random, Pinkie Pie, Twilight Sparkle, Gore
Length: 15474

*Warning!* contains swearing.

This is the story of how PinkiePie, Rarity, Twilight Sparkle, and RainbowDash help a spotted, adolescent unicorn solve a big problem. This young mare was born in Canterlot, and moved to Ponyville with her "family" when she was still a young filly. Why'd I put the quotes around the word "family"? Because ever since her birth, she'd never belonged to this family in the first place. She was originally an alicorn! Read on as the pegasus, earth pony and unicorns help this fallen angel and put together the puzzle of a prophecy that even has to do with her and them! And afterwards, the spotted mare will come back for revenge on those who've tormented her in her mortal life in Equestria.

Published 2012-03-30 07:44:02 UTC
Last updated 2012-08-30 23:00:25 UTC

Chapter 1: The Tragedy that Started It

December 20 1995; an undiscovered territory untouchable and unseeable by the mortal habitants of Equestria lied just beyond Cloudsdale. This unknown land was invisible to ponies for it was of another realm; the Heavens. Except, unlike that realm of which you'd expect to come to upon death, this little patch of cloud was semi-separate from the rest of the spiritual sky world. In fact, it was a kingdom all its own. However, this kingdom was a tad different from Equestria and the go-to place of the deceased; everypony in this spirit kingdom was an alicorn. However, they weren't just any old regular alicorns, who in Equestria would always be referred to as Princesses; they were their own race and they were actually pony angels and they came in both genders rather than exclusively female. Size differences were also quite apparent; the king and queen were, of course, as big as Princess Celestia, but the subjects grew up like regular Equestrian ponies in both height and body structure. They pretty much looked like Cadence did back when Twilight was still a filly, except they stayed like that.

This day was the first birthday of the King and Queen's son; Prince Blueberry Pancake. The King and Queen were setting up for the Prince's birthday celebration starting at noon in the ballroom of their castle. It was a quarter 'till, and they had made pretty good time being almost done with the decor.

"Toasty," Queen Maple Spots called to her King. "Are you finished yet with those streamers?" The waffle-colored, burnt-sienna-spotted alicorn was carrying with her magic a piñata that looked like a pancake with blueberries and whipped cream. But that wasn't the only thing she was carrying...

"Almost...nngg," King Buttered Toast grunted as he reached to hang up the last of the streamers. "Almost done honey! Nnngggg...gahhh. Got'em! So how's the foal doing?"

At first, Maple thought he was referring to Blueberry, who was playing with Toast's parents and former King and Queen, Huckleberry Muffin and Hazelnut Cocoa. But then she realized he was commenting on the foal squirming within her stomach. The pregnant mare was almost ready to have the foal, but it wasn't due for another two weeks.

The Queen chuckled. "Good," Maple giggled. "And, you do realize you could've just used levitation on the streamers, don't you?"

Ironically, Toast had forgotten about that. He suddenly realized the epic fail he'd made by spending half an hour just to put up all the streamers manually!

"Uhhhh...y-yeah," Toast stammered, blushing with embarrassment. "yeah I knew that, I knew that. I just wanted to...work up some front-leg strength. Heh heh...so what's left? Are we done?"

Maple scanned the room. The decorations were up, except for the piñata still grasped in Maple's magic, the refreshments were out, and the music was ready.

"Oh my gosh," Maple fretted. "Where’s the cake?!"

"Oh shit," Toast cursed quietly with a face-hoof. "I knew we were forgetting something!"

"You mean we don't even have it?!"

"Oh, no we do. It's just not, uh..."

"Not what?"

"It's, uh...not been delivered yet...eh-heh."

"Queen Maple," Peanut interrupted as the small, tan mare poked her head into the ballroom. "The bakery truck is here. I believe they're here to deliver the Prince's birthday cake Your Highness."

"Will you look at that," Toast replied excitedly. "Perfect timing!"

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

It was quite a big birthday party for just such a small colt, but that's the beauty of being royalty. The fillies and colts had fun playing games with the Prince and his grandparents on one side of the room, while the parents had their conversations on the other side with Toast and Maple. Blueberry busted open the piñata easily after all the other foals tried. He won in a game of hide and seek, and almost floated away to the very high ceiling when he grabbed four balloons at once! After he'd opened all his birthday gifts, it was time for the cake. The cake was very large, and had a single candle smack-dad in the center. The cake, just like the piñata, resembled a pancake, but with real whipped cream and blueberries, said "Happy Birthday Prince Blueberry Pancakes" on it, and it was a chocolate cake.

"Alright everyone," King Toast announced to the foals. "Who's ready for the cake?"

The young fillies and colts began shouting and cheering as they dropped what they were doing and ran over to the tables for cake. Maple came over, picked up her son, and sat him down in his little chair in front of his cake. Maple and Toast stood at either side of him. When Blueberry glanced back at his mother, he froze, gazing at her swollen belly that held his sister or brother, his excited expression fading to a spacing out sort of expression. He saw a vision of an older pony; a unicorn, a young mare. She was an adolescent and she looked very, very sad; miserable even, and she was lying down with her head up, looking at her hooves. The image was toned in black and white. She was some darkish color, and in said dark areas, he could just make out some slightly lighter speckles on her. She was chained up in shackles on her neck, around her waist, and on all four ankles, and she bore several deep cuts and scars. Some were old and healing and some were fresh and bleeding. The unicorn's mane was completely straight and lighter than the rest of her coat, but much unkempt and had a few white streaks in it. Suddenly, she began to cry. She began to cry harder and harder and harder until finally, she began screaming.

Outside Blueberry's vision, the other alicorns were murmuring exchanging confused glances. One other little tan and brown colt with sky-blue eyes prodded him with a hoof, and asked,

"Blueberry? A-are you ok?"

Pancakes didn't answer. He continued to stare frightened at his mother's stomach, his expression getting worse and worse as he endured the sight of the young, chained and scarred mare's physical and emotional pain. His mother took one step toward him, her belly moved, and Blueberry jumped in his seat, out of the horrific image in his mind, and shrieked in startlement, and the crowd became concerned. He then began to cry.

"Oh honey," The Queen comforted to her frightened son, embracing him. "Shh, shh it's ok it's ok. Mommy's here, nothing to be afraid of."

"What's gotten into him," The King asked. "It's like he saw something from a horror movie."

"Maybe it was a vision," Hazelnut suggested. "There have been some occurances of random visions here and there among our ponies. Sometimes, me and Huckleberry sent them to the mortals to help them, just out of our own kindness."

"Well, um..." Maple intervened. "why don't we move on and light the candle now shall we?"

Blueberry calmed down as his father lit his birthday candle, and the crowd sung the birthday song.

"Go on," a young tan-and-flowery-patterned filly enthusiastically encouraged Blueberry. "Blow it out and make a wish!"

Blueberry thought for a few seconds as he thought of something to wish for. I wish I knew what that vision was about. Who was that pony? Where were her wings? And with that wish, he blew out the candle with a few tiny blows and the crowd cheered. Suddenly, Maple shrieked in pain. Her foal was about to be born! The crowd became shocked and worried and some ponies even shrieked in return.

"It's alright everyone," Toast alerted the crowd with a raised voice. "Remain calm! The foal is on its way, and I'm just going to take the Queen to the hospital."

The Queen shrieked again, even louder this time, as another contraction came. Blueberry was frightened once more, worse this time, and started to cry again.

"Mom! Dad," Toast exclaimed. "Take Blueberry and the other foals to the park ok? And don't forget the cake!"

"Ok then," Toast's father replied as he levitated the cake and Hazel took Blueberry. Peanut had gotten the stroller and the party guests made their way out of the castle and towards the park. Blueberry stopped crying and looked back as his father and Peanut both carefully guiding his mother out-back after being put into his stroller. As his mother's belly moved again, the image of the chained-up mare wailing in despair and pain, eyes pouring out tears mixed with blood, flashed in his mind. At the vision, he jerked his gaze away from his parents to the front doors with a gasp. What does it mean, he thought. Somepony tell me what does it mean?!

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

"Nelly," Strawberry, the young doctor, called to her assistant. The pink and gray very young mare was tending to the tired Queen. "Are you finished yet with that foal?"

"Almost," Nelly replied. The small gray, dusty-pink and light gray nurse was cleaning up the newborn. She examined it, and found its gender.

"Congratulations Queen," Nelly announced happily. "Say hello to your new Princess!"

"Oh my goodness," Maple gasped excitedly. "Let me see her, let me see her!"

The filly was a beautiful milk-chocolate brown with and a red spot here or there. Her tiny horn and wings were slightly more golden brown, and her short mane was a dark blonde with little white streaks. Nelly picked up the filly with her magic, who was about to wake and begin crying, and was about to hand her to the Queen when she slipped and fell! And upon landing on the ground the filly was sent careening from Nelly's magical grasp, out the window, and through the clouds to the mortal world below!

"NOOOO," Maple wailed in distress. "NOO! MY BABY!"

Maple tried to get up to rescue her daughter, when Strawberry pushed right past and flew down to retrieve the Princess.

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie was heading to SugarCube Corner to make some of her famous cupcakes. RainbowDash happened to be flying by overhead.

"Hey Pinkie," Rainbow shouted from above. "Where are you going?"

"To get make some cupcakes," Pinkie stopped to reply. "and then some muffins! Wanna come to taste test?"

"Ok."

As the young fillies headed to the sweet shop, she noticed something falling in the distance. It looked like it was coming from beyond Cloudsdale. What is that? Rainbow thought. She strained to see, and noticed it was a small pony. It looked like a foal! Fast as lightning, she zipped away towards the falling pony.

"RainbowDash," a voice screamed from below. Rainbow looked down and was astonished to see Pinkie running after her.

"Pinkie," Rainbow exclaimed back. "What are you doing?!"

"Trying to keep up with you silly! What are you doing?"

"It's a young foal! It doesn't look big enough to fly, it seems to be unconscious or something and it's to be falling from somewhere beyond Cloudsdale! It's gotta be saved!"

"Oh! Don't worry! I'll help you catch it in case you miss!"

The two friends were rushing as fast as they could in attempt to save the tiny pony. But then, Rainbow noticed another figure rushing for it as well; this pony looked a little older than her, like he or she wasn't a colt or filly anymore, but they weren't an adolescent yet; they were right in between. Confused, then surprised, RainbowDash noticed the foal and the bigger pony were alicorns. Wait a minute, Rainbow queried in her mind. But that's impossible! There aren't any other alicorns except... Rainbow pushed the thought away and rushed faster and faster and almost had the brown foal, who she noticed was a filly. When the other alicorn, pink and gray, tried the grab the filly at the same time, she bumped into RainbowDash, and sent her spinning to ground and the filly flying towards Canterlot! Rainbow shook her head regained control and watched in mid-air as the pink and gray alicorn flew away towards the tiny filly.

"What happened RainbowDash," PinkiePie shouted to Rainbow as she halted below her.

"I missed," Rainbow replied, hanging her head. "And now the filly is headed towards Canterlot! There's another pony going after her, and there's no way either of us could reach it in time now."

"I just hope that little baby pony will be ok."

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

Nearly 20 minutes had gone by until Strawberry had returned. The doctor looked very disappointed and wasn't holding the Princess.

"Where's my filly," Maple fretted.

"I'm sorry," Strawberry sighed. "She disappeared above Canterlot. She's with the mortals now."

"What," Toast exclaimed in disbelief and anger. "You lost her?!"

"Well I would have gotten her if it wasn't for this other dumb, blue, rainbow-maned pegasus filly that got in the way and bumped her from above Ponyville to Canterlot! And the only solution we have now is --"

"Death," Toast interrupted. "She'll have to die, and when she does, we can get her back."

"I'm afraid that's not how it's going to work," Strawberry informed. "You know how the fairytales go. She's gotta grow up to at least an adolescent before she learns of her royalty and where her true home lies. And I have this unbearably certain feeling her life is going to be a fairytale of its own."

"Well it won't hurt to try now will it?"

Maple had begun sobbing, but brought herself to ask to Strawberry, "Wait. What's that you have in your hooves?"

"This is all I managed to grab of the Princess Your Highness," Strawberry replied as she showed the items she grabbed from the newborn Princess. All Strawberry had managed to grab was an angel halo and the princess's wings. When the King and Queen returned home, Maple took the wings, halo, and a little tiara and chest piece already made for the Princess, and put them on a mannequin of a pony's head. Blueberry had waddled into the room, and looked up at the mannequin. The wings were brown and had a few red spots. I have a little sister now, Blueberry thought, beginning to frown. Because his mother was brought in crying and only had these things she put on the mannequin, he realized they must've lost her somehow, but that maybe she's still alive. He began feeling very sad that he wouldn't have his little sister around to play with, but it changed to sudden horror as he examined the wings closer. Could she have been the unicorn in what I saw at my birthday party? Blueberry wasn't sure, and he had no idea what his sister looked like. So he crawled to the window, and looked down upon Equestria. Finally, he caught sight of a couple in a hospital with their newborn foal down in canterlot. The father was a dark sky blue with a black mane and hooves, and the mother was pink with a brunette mane and patches. In the pink mare's hooves was a little brown unicorn filly with a white chest and belly and a few red spots here and there on her body. It can't be! My sister was the unicorn with the dirty, jingly, shiny things?! But why? What's going to happen to her?!

Chapter 2: 16 Years Later...

Late November 2011. It was to be, yet again, another "warm" and soggy winter. Too much rain and too little snow. Everypony from Miss Cherrilee's class to the higher classes couldn't wait for winter break, which was only a good few weeks away. It was very cloudy and Rarity, wearing a very stylish, sparkly purple scarf she hoof-crafted herself, just happened to be passing by Sugar Cube Corner when she noticed Pinkie Pie was outside the establishment doing a strange dance with Derpy Hooves, their scarves slapping them in the face several times, though they didn't seem to care.

"Uh...Pinkie...might I ask what you are doing," Rarity asked as she noticed ponies staring awkwardly at the two funny ponies. "er...I think you girls are attracting quite a bit of attention. And not the good kind."

"We're tryin' to make it snow," Derpy replied, failing her limbs about, bumping into Pinkie Pie, and sending the pink mare falling to the ground.

"Oof!"

"Oops," Derpy apologized. "sorry Pinkie. I think I danced too hard. Did I mess anything up?"

Pinkie Pie got back on her hooves with a giggle. "No worries Derpy. We'll just start over! We were only a teensy bit into the beginning anyway." And so they resumed, hooves flailing and scarves slapping.

"And what makes you think dancing like crazy ponies will do anything to the weather," Rarity questioned the two as they resumed their awkward dance moves.

"I don't know," Pinkie replied cheerfully. "I just saw Derpy coming to get something from here, I mentioned how I was disappointed that it still wasn't snowing, and she told me it could snow if we did this dance I never heard of! And that was just a few minutes ago!"

"And you actually believed her?"

"Yup!"

"Come on Rarity," Derpy encouraged to the white unicorn. "Do the snow dance with us! I know it'll work if we work together! Whoop!" Plop. Derpy accidentally slipped in a small puddle and fell over. But that still didn't stop her from proceeding to get back up and continue.

Rarity looked around. Everywhere anypony passed, somepony would look at Pinkie and Derpy and look as if they're all thinking 'what the buck?' How come neither of these two weirdoes could see the awkward and questioning stares and glares they were getting from everypony else?

"Are you crazy," Rarity exclaimed in a soft voice. "I would never do something so absurd and humilia - "

RainbowDash cut Rarity off as she stopped in mid-flight to question the situation. "Hey guys. Pinkie, Derpy, what are you doing?"

Derpy bumped into Pinkie again, and then into the wall of the sweet shop they were dancing in front of, and both ended up lying in awkward positions on the ground. But of course, they just got up again and continued once more.

"Ugh, they're trying to make it snow by doing this silly dance nopony's ever heard of," Rarity groaned. "They actually think it's going to work, and they seem to have no idea how much embarrassing, negative attention they're getting!"

"Well," Rainbow thought out loud. "If they wanted snow they want could've just asked me."

Pinkie instantly stopped dancing and nudged Derpy to do the same.

"You can actually make it snow for us RainbowDash," Pinkie exclaimed.

"Sure! All I gotta do is take the right cloud and shake it like a snow globe."

"I love snow globes," Derpy said, enthusiastically.

Pinkie and Derpy looked at RainbowDash with big, pleading eyes and excited smiles. Even Rarity was begging for Rainbow to at least try so Pinkie and Derpy would stop embarrassing her with their silly flapping and flailing about.

"Ok then," Rainbow said before swooshing off to the clouds. She searched around for the biggest possible cloud she could shake that looked ready to precipitate clusters of ice crystals at least the half the sizes of bit coins. She found the cloud that looked most promising, carried it overhead of the other three below, and gave it as hard a shaking she possibly could. As easily as Rainbow could shake out the cloud's contents, little white flakes began to flurry out south to the two mares that had begun dancing again, in case Rainbow was unable to find a good cloud.

"Girls," Rarity gasped. "Look up! Rainbow's making it snow!"

"Really," Pinkie exclaimed hopefully. "Wait a minute...are you trying to pull our legs Rarity?"

"No really! Look!"

Rarity gestured upwards to the flurries coming from the loud Rainbow was shaking over their heads. when the two mares looked up, they began cheering and jumping with excitement. But when it reached them it melted into rain, drenched the three, and then a lightning bolt came down and shocked Pinkie and Derpy. Rainbow instantly stopped shaking the cloud.

"Oops...eh-heh," RainbowDash said sheepishly as she flew back down to the two dazed ponies. "I'm so sorry! I had absolutely no idea that was going to happen!"

"Ugh," Rarity grunted disgustedly, shaking off the rain water and ringing out her sparkling scarf. "You clearly didn't know it was too warm today for snow either. Especially when the snow is still falling in mid-air!"

"Pinkie Pie, Derpy," Rainbow worried. "Are you ok? Say something!"

The two ponies had been zapped face-first into the ground, their manes spiked out and slightly cooked. Rainbow nudged them both, then pulled their heads up. Pinkie Pie's eyes were huge with shock, her pupils and irises were almost no more than little dots, and her teeth were bared. Derpy's eyes were swirling in different directions, and her teeth were showing as well.

"That was awesome," Pinkie shouted out excitedly after shaking her head, fixing her mane, and getting up. Derpy shook her head and got up, too.

"Let's go again, let's go again," she chanted as she stumbled around bumping into everyone and finally plopping back onto the ground. Suddenly, they all stopped to hear somepony bursting out in laughter. In front of them was a unicorn laughing out loud at the ridiculous display she'd just witnessed them in. She was brown red speckles and hazel eyes. Her mane strangly looked an awful lot like Pinkie Pie's, but it was a dark blonde with white streaks. However, it looked a little light-brown against the rest of her coat. Her cutie mark depicted a rainbow puzzle piece with black paw prints and she wore black and lavendar rimmed glasses with flowers on the sides of the handles.

Wait a minute, RainbowDash thought as she eyed the laughing mare's coat. That brown and red speckeld coat...that streaked mane... *GASP* Could she be... RainbowDash remembered that one day a long, long time ago when she saw that newborn filly falling from the sky just beyond Cloudsdale. The filly had the same brown coat and a few spots the same red as the many covering this adolescent laughing her ass off in front of them. Could this unicorn have been the same filly from that day so long ago? And come to think of it, why wasn't Rainbow an old pony by now? Oh yeah, that's right, Rainbow thought again. It was only a birthday or two after I got my cutie mark. I was maybe a middle schooler then. But still she swore that this mare who's mane...appears to magically change its style seeing as how it went to a natural wavy look when she stopped laughing...was the same newborn she saw falling from the sky that day.

"What's so funny," Derpy asked, confused.

"You are," the speckled pony laughed, clapping her hooves. "That was hilarious! HAHAHAAA! Do it again, do it again!"

"Eh-heh, uh no," Rarity stammered. "We'd prefer not to."

"Well sti - well still, that was very, very funny! I'm Poppytart by the way."

"Hi Poppy," Pinkie greeted her. "I'm Pinkie Pie! And this is RainbowDash, Derpy Hooves, and Rarity."

"Pleased to meet you!"

"S'up!"

"Hiiiiii."

"So," Pinkie continued. "Are you new here? I've never seen a pony like you before! Do you have the chicken pox?!"

"No I do not," Poppy snapped back. "It's just - It's just how I was born. And yes, I am kinda new here."

"Well of all the ponies I've seen I've never met one covered in spots before. And I just realized something about you. You look like a tasty chocolate tart with a little bit of white frosting and red sprinkles! It makes me just wanna eat you!"

"I kno - I know right? It's kinda weird! I seem to stand strai - stand right out even among my own family."

"Are you ok darling," Rarity asked. "You seem to 'skip' when you speak."

"Oh yeah heh-heh," Poppy replied sheepishly, a little embarrassed, putting a hoof to her face and turning away. "Sorry, I do that sometimes."

"Poppy," A voice asked from elsewhere. Around the corner came an alicorn mare. Except this mare was a little bit shorter than Poppytart, and with a bit of a higher voice. She was sky blue with a yellow mane and hooves. Her eyes were a dark brown so dark, her pupils almost blended in perfectly with the brunette irises. Her cutie mark looked like a silver-sparkling cloud. "Who are they? Are they your friends from school?"

"No," Poppy replied to the blue and yellow mare. "I just met them. You sh-y'should've seen the hilarious thing they just did earlier! You totally missed it!"

"Oki. Tell me about it when you get back home."

"Kay."

"Bye Poppy."

"Bye Silver."

"Who was that," Pinkie asked.

"My younger sister, Silverglitter."

"She doesn't look like silver glitter. She looks like a sunny summer day to me!"

"Hey yeah, she does. Well, I gotta go now. See 'ya later."

"Good-bye!"

"Later."

"See 'ya later alligator!"

"Byyyye!"

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

The end of another school day and just two more to go before the weekend. Could this week go any slower?! Poppytart thought as she left school. She carried her pink-camo, ripped and beat-up saddlebag with her, holding a heavy math book, the poor thing. Who hates gemoetry raise your hoof! And it was killing her back as well. She was also wearing her sparkly-golden-pale-tan scarf and pink, grey and white winter hat as usual. She left the school unhappy...again. The other ponies would always taunt her with the most ridiculous and ridiculously unpredictable and stupid method she's ever known. And it's never stopped since she moved to Ponyville as a filly. First it was a predictable, normal method of bullying; name calling. But when that stopped, it went on to what's going on nowadays. She got it in 2 different ways; one in elementary school, and the next hasn't stopped since middle school. It's her second high school year and it's still going. Stupid right? And these ways of bullying Poppy has been forced to endure most of her life mustn't be spoken just yet.....however when you find out, please understand because she's the kind of pony that just can't tune it out it's just not possible. Anyway, as Poppytart got off the small school-carraige she rides home everyday when she got to the carriage-stop, head down, frowning, eyebrows somewhat in the agitated position and looking down at the ground, Pinkie just happened to be bouncing in her direction. When the pink earth pony noticed Poppy's body language, she stopped and decided to intervene.

"Hey there Poppytart," Pinkie greeted her. "What's wrong? You look down in the dumps today."

"That's what they always ask," Poppy muttered in irritance. "'what's wrong?' 'Are you ok?' 'What? What? What?' ghhhhh!"

"Well are you ok?"

"No."

Pinkie stepped in front of Poppy, stopping her in her steps, and grabbed her by the cheeks. She paused for a few seconds, staring into her eyes with a determined expression.

"Talk to me."

"Dick-heads. Assholes. Douchebags. Too many of them at school CELESTIA KNOWS WHY they must do this to me!"

"What are they doing to you? What are they saying?"

"EXACTLY! GAAHH!!!" Poppy yelled out loud, pulling Pinkie from her face with a loud stamp to the ground. She absolutely despised every time someone tried to ask her that. It always led to her eventually telling them, and they'd say "Why don't you just ignore it? Why can't you ignore it?" It was just as annoying as what the bullies have been doing to her since fillyhood! Geebus people can't you just understand?! Ignoramus much...

"Whoa whoa whoa," Pinkie exclaimed as she jumped back in surprise. "No need to shout! Now calmly tell me what are they s - "

"NOT 'saying', doing."

"...doing...to you?"

"Pfft like I'm telling you."

"And why not?"

"I kn-I know what you're-you're going to say! It's-i'ts the same thing 98% of the time!" Poppytart switched to a mocking tone to mimic said phrases that had been repeated to her too many times in her opinion, then spoke normally after. "'Oh, just ignore it.' 'O-Oh, why can't you just ignore it?' 'It's easy it's easy. Meh meh meh meh meh!' Well it's NOT easy!! I CAN'T JUS - I CAN'T IGNORE S - sgfgsf - WHAT...THEY...they-they do! pant pant pant pant."

There was a long pause. Poppy put her head down, hoof on her forehead, eyes closed.

"I'm sorry," Poppy finally said in a softer voice. "I-I'm sorry I-I can't tell you. It's too ridiculously stupid. And I'm not taking any chances with any...pony. I don't wanna hear the same dumbass question again and again. And they always say it in a rude tone that sounds like they think I'm being the stupid one or I'm just being crazy and it's just plain...d-degrading."

"I just wanted to help," Pinkie said softly. Poppy took her hoof off her forehead and said softly before proceeding to getting home, "I know you did. But again, I don't want to tell. All I can say is...it-it's too stupid."

Later, Poppytart was almost home walking from the carraige-stop when she was stopped by RainbowDash and Rarity along the way; and for the same reason. Rarity was the last one to stop her, and Poppy wasn't a tough enough nut to not get cracked.

"RARITY," Poppy shouted. "FOR THE LAST TIME! I'M NOT TELLING! MY CELESTIA JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"Well I for one am NOT leaving until I get an answer young mare," Rarity retorted back.

"Excuse me, are you my mother?"

"I didn't say I was!"

"Where did the 'young mare' come from?"

"JUST TELL US ALREADY AND WE CAN ALL CARRY ON WITH OUR LIVES WITH CLEAR HEADS!" Almost as quick as Rarity shouted that, Pinkie zipped in beside Rarity and RainbowDash descended lightly on Rarity's other side, hovering with her front legs crossed. "We promise you we won't judge you or ask any of those overly repeated phrases and questions as you said. Right girls?"

"Right," Pinkie and Rainbow agreed simultaneously. Poppy thought for a moment. Well they better not ask or say anything about trying to ignore them, she thought. Celestia knows I can't ignore them. My hearing everytime is too sensitive. If I want to block them out completely, I'd need special headphones that cover my ears enough to where my music can block them out better than my ear-buds. Even when the volume's at the highest it can possibly go with those little things I could still hear the morons in the background at the lunch lines.

"You promise," Poppytart growled.

"We promise," Rarity reassured.

"Fine. This is what they do." Poppy took a deep breath, covered her ears, and began clicking her tongue. Clack clack clack clack. When she finished, she released her ears and exhaled with a large shudder and a wretched, scrunched up face, teeth bared. As for the sound, if you don't know it, it's sounds like that sound kindergarten teahcers make when teaching the the students the sound a clock makes by clicking their tongue to mimic the sound of one. Know that sound? But of course you probably don't. No one ever does...always have to mimic it for them just for them to understand every time. But really, this is how Poppy feels and what she has to go through. You's hate it, too, if you lived like Poppy.

"Oh...uh..." Rarity stammered.

"...That's it," Rainbow asked.

Pinkie let out a small giggle.

Poppy gave a little scowl at Rainbow and Pinkies responses, but proceeded anyway to say, "Ok, you guys are pretty awesome. I like anyone who doesn't...question me or try to tell me to ignore that."

"Gee whiz," Pinkie exclaimed excitedly. "They're more childish than regular bullies!"

"Don't forget more pathetic," Poppy giggled.

"Well," Rarity began. "I suppose you've tried telling them to stop have you?"

"98% of the time it just made'em do it more," Poppy said with some slight irritation.

"Poppy," RainbowDash started. "You just tell my who they are and we'll get rid of them once and for all. Sound good to you?"

"Heck yeah," Poppy shouted enthusiastically, brohoofing Rainbow.

"So...uh," Rarity stammered. "If you don't mind...um...why, exactly, does that bother you?"

"DAMMIT," Poppy cursed, slapping her forehead with her hoof. "Ghhh I forgot all about that dumb question everypony asks!" She let out a deep sigh, paused for a second and gave her reason. "I have a mild...communication disorder, and...it uh...it effects my senses as well - as well as my communication itself so, I'm more sensitive to certain noises and things. That's why I can't ignore it unless I had the proper headphones to use with my music to block it out for real."

"Oh. Well that makes sense I guess."

"Does this disorder have a name," RainbowDash asked.

Poppy hesitated, but forced herself to say it. "Aspergers syndrome..."

Pinkie Pie began to snicker.

"Pinkie," Poppy began, stifling a snicker herself. "I know what you're thinking *pbst*...but it's A-spergers. *pbst pbstbspt Not 'ass burgers'! hee hee hee!"

At that moment Pinkie Pie burst out into laughter, followed by Poppytart. Rarity and Rainbow began to join in, And when everyone calmed down, the four said their goodbye's, parted ways and went on to their destinations and continue following their tasks.

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

Finally it's fucking Friday! Poppytart thought impatiently as she woke up and began getting ready for school. Fortunately is was a Schedule B day today which meant she had P.E. for first period and got to go to first lunch, which was after second period. The only downside to Schedule B days is English class. One hour and thirty minutes of BOOORR-riiiing! And seeing as how she'd been down south near Maneheim visiting her grandparents the whole first week of this month, April, she'd missed a lot including her English class beginning the reading of Julius Caesar. Week in Calhoofornia and missing some of it or not Poppy's brains would be disintegrating from the intense boredom of it all as soon as said class starts. Poppy went to the cafeteria and stopped at the table her friends were sitting at to leave her stuff behind while she went and got her breakfast. She was about to make it to the line when RainbowDash called to her from behind.

"Hey Poppytart," Rainbow called, waving to her from a short distance and trotting over to her. The rainbow-maned pegasus bore a visitors pin.

"RainbowDash," Poppy said questioningly. "What are you doing here?"

"Me and Pinkie are here to visit you today! We're gonna slap some sense into those jackasses!"

"Ok one, that would be awesome but it'd get me in trouble - "

"Trust me I know how we'll get away with it."

"...Okayyy...two, I dun' see Pinkie Pie anywhere."

Poppy was right to Rainbow's surprise. RainbowDash looked around wildly and finally spotted Pinkie Pie bouncing from the breakfast line holding a cinnamon roll and a 1 pint carton of chocolate milk.

"Pinkie," Rainbow whined irritantly. "You went to get breakfast?"

"Yeah," Pinkie exclaimed through the thick paper bowl holding her frosted cinnamon pastry. "I could shmell'em and they shmelled sho delishoush, I jusht couldn't reshisht! I didn't even get time to eat breakfasht at home anyway becaushe we had to hurry sho much. And can you believe that they actually have chocolate milk here? I thought thish wush a high shkool! Oh hey nice glashesh Poppy." Like most of the time, Poppy was wearing her pretty glasses this day. But how come Pinkie didn't seem to notice them when she was wearing them when they first met? Oh wait, yeah, probably the gazillion red spots all over her and her overall toaster-pastry-like appearance.

"It is a high school," Poppy said. "But even I don't even know why they have it here. I don't mind though, it tastes - it tastes good in the cereal, but they jus-they just have it in all the schools for who knows - for who knows what reason. Well I'm gonna get my breakfast now."

"Wait," RainbowDash said stopping Poppytart as she was beginning to leave for the breakfast line. "Let us come with you. Just in case." Nudge nudge wink. Poppy understood the message and let RainbowDash accompany her while she let Pinkie Pie go sit down and eat her cinnamon roll. Unfortunately, but also fortunately, nopony bothered Poppy in the lines. It was probably because Poppy always gets to school early so the breakfast line is always super short. Plus, there's hardly any other students around. Maybe a few outside the cafeteria waiting for the student store to open up so they can get their coffee, candy, muffins and bagels. And maybe here and there sitting at tables catching up on homework or simply visiting with each other waiting for other friends before getting breakfast. RainbowDash was a little disappointed seeing as how there were no asses to kick or at least anypony to threaten, but she did manage to get some cereal and milk. Poppy encouraged her to get chocolate milk for her to see what it would taste like to use chocolate milk in the cereal. It's actually pretty good.

P.E., tiring and frustrating. Poppytart's class had a free day where you could play volleyball, basketball, or simply walk and talk. Her teacher also allowed badmitten. But both sports had been incredibly annoying to Poppy because almost every time Poppy would try to serve the ball in volleyball, it would either go out of bounds or hit the net. And every time she tried to serve the birdie in badmitten, she'd either miss it completely or it would hit the net.

Chemistry, a little disappointing. They started a new unit on gas laws, when Poppy, ironically, just wanted to do more balancing single replacement, double replacement, composition, and so on chemical equations and figuring out what product the reactants will make. She enjoyed looking at all the numbers and letters (the elements' symbols) and figuring out where everything goes. One of the fun things in her opinion of her mild form of her disorder.

Lunchtime, same as usual. Poppy was just hanging with her friends like she always does, and she let Rainbow and Pinkie join her. RainbowDash was hoping someone would pass by the try and annoy Poppy, but nobody did. Poppy was rather content to that matter. And one strange thing that Rainbow had noticed that day that depending on Poppy's mood, her mane would magically change like a mood ring wood change color. When Poppy was happy and/or energetic, her mane looked like Pinkie Pie's. When she was feeling sassy, socialwise or anger/irritationwise, it'd look like Rainbow's or Applejacks. What was that supposed to mean? That Rainbow and Applejack were sassy? Well, RainbowDash can be arrogant at times and Applejack could be sassy if you piss her off, but thats beside the subject. Anyway, and when Poppy was actually thinking and talking smart stuff, her mane would look like Twilight's. When she was sad or hurt or embarrassed, her mane would look like Fluttershy's. And maybe if she was feeling pretty or elegant or even sexy or sassy fashionwise, her mane might look like Rarity's. But usually, her mane just looked like it's normal self because that's how much she'd be just herself like feeling creative or even simply drawing, writing, reading, or jammin' out to her music. This would be something interesting for Twilight to be studying, RainbowDash thought.

English was actually pretty cool. All day that day and yesterday in each class period, the students in the World Studies classes (mostly 9th graders according to Poppy's observations) were doing their presentations of their Latin projects at this Latin Fair in the school Library. Poppy's English class got to go and look at the projects. Poppy loved going to the fair mostly because her favorite part was the food. This time it was all pretty good. One display looked beautiful; a Cutecinera project. As for the food ones, there was another one with Mexican wedding treats, there was one with tamales (they were cold though), and one of her favorites was the one with hot cocoa powder mixed with some sugar.

Finally, 4th period; special ed. classroom. Poppy was, in a way, totally alone for this class because this was the safest of all her classes seeing as how none of those assholes were in this special needs program. RainbowDash was fine but PinkiePie wanted to come in as soon as she spotted something colorful inside. It was probably one of the sensory toys because the SCC (the special ed. room) had plenty of those for all the students. Poppy's favorites were the pivoty tangle toys and the peg toys because the tangle toys came in a variety of styles and textures; fuzzy, squishy, big and thick, bumpy, wavy-bumpy, clear, clear with glitter inside, and so many different colors. And you could even mix and match them by simply taking the pieces apart and puting them back together again. Some were hard to pull of and push in together and some were so easy to take apart and put together, they felt like they were loose enough to come apart themselves. As for the peg toys, they're these square things that have these pegs in them that you can push up from the bottom and it shapes exactly to your hoof or another object. Poppy always thought that was so amazing and trippy.

"PinkiePie," Poppy said trying to close the door. "You have to...nng...go now!...NNG!"

"But I don't wanna," Pinkie whined. "I wanna see what that pretty colorful thing was!"

"You can see it...nngg...later. Ok Pinkie? We're allowed to take our friends up here just during lunchtime."

"But lunch has been over for a long time now!"

"I know. NNGG!"

Poppytart then finally managed to shut the door. And somewhat as soon as the class started, it ended and Poppy gathered her things, turned on her music, and headed out for home to start the weekend. And this weekend was going to be sunny and warm out and just beautiful. Poor RainbowDash didn't get to kick anypony's butt today so she left disappointed with the knowledge that the closest she got was helping Poppy have more fun in P.E. that morning. That's what happens on a Schedule B day; its harder for ponies to bother Poppy because these things happen more often in here Schedule A day classes. Especially second period on those days.

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

Chapter 3: Any Action? Maybe Some.

RainbowDash has just been getting more and more pissed off how all of the sudden, ponies were leaving Poppy alone more than usual. But of course, every now and then through the few months somepony clicked and Rainbow would stare them down and they'd still laugh or giggle just as they do when Poppy does it. Poppy would join in, too, and then they'd turn away giggling but, of course, frightened because you could tell they were trying to hide it behind those fake smiles. That and one time one stallion admitted it. Rainbow would continue staring them down for another 5 minutes until she turned away again. But one day, in English class, Rainbow finally got some action! Poppy's class was doing pantomimes in separate groups of a scene from Julius Casaer when some stallions from another class came passing by. One of which, was a stallion from her P.E. class who was clicking during hockey. She asked him politely and calmly and nicely to stop, and he just giggled and laughed and said "ok" in a mocky, sarcastic way. That son of a bitch clicked again as he obviously must've noticed Poppytart in vicinity while he passed by. Rainbow caught it and flew right over to and in front of him, stopping him and catching him by suprise.

"I...heard...that," RainbowDash said slowly and darkly.

"Uh, heard what," The stallion stammered, slightly giggling and trying to deny his mistake. Poppy came up, too, to join RainbowDash in staring them down. Rainbow notices in the corner of her eye, her mane slowly straightened and lengthened, head and tail, until it looked like Pinkie Pie's when she'd gone crazy just because she and the others didn't want to go to Gummy's after-birthday party. She ignored it though. The two mares continued to stare him and his friends down until they stopped giggling, for once took this seriosuly, finally showed genuine fear in their faces and voices, and backed away until they were against the windows at the end of the hallway that looked out to the football field behind the school.

"Like you...don't...know," RainbowDash and Poppytart said menacingly, simultaneously, and in lowered voices.

"C-could you back off p-please," the frightened, blonde stallion in the middle stuttered. "Y-you're scaring us a-and y-ou're in our p-personal space."

Poppy began to softly chuckle, beginning to go into madness, eyes...actually turning to a burning red...kind of like this one character, who's apparently prone to madness, did in this anime Poppy likes.

"But that's exactly what we want," Poppy said in a pleasant-in-a-very-scary-way tone of voice, an evil grin crossing her face, slowly tilting her head to her right.

"We also want you to quit it with your little bully games," Rainbow continued, never taking her unblinking eyes off any one of the stallions and never changing the hostility in her expression. "Have you any idea how many times Poppytart here has asked ponies as calm, maturely, and kindly as she can to them to stop making that noise, her reason being it drives her INSANE?!?! AND IT'S TRUE! JUST LOOK AT HER FACE!" Poppy's face was actually more frightening and creepy than Nightmare Moon! It looked as if she had a flashlight shining up at her face from below her chin. Her eyes a bright, burning red so terrifying it seemed it could burn your soul itself, and they were slowly shrinking and looking like cat eyes to boot! She was slightly twitching and her grin was crooked, heck she looked like she was going to kill them and turn them into cupcakes with Pinkie Pie in about three seconds! The stallions flinched in terror at a single glance of such a sight, strong enough to give a little pony nightmares bad enough to traumatize them and last for however long it takes to drive them mentally ill.

"N-no! No I d-don't know how l-long, how w-would I know?!"

"Far too much," Poppy said, her grin instantly disapearing back to a hostile frown. "And for FAR TOO LONG!!!"

"When she says 'stop'," Rainbow continued. "She means STOP!"

Poppy added in, "Not for the class period, not for the day, not for the week, not for the month, not for the rest of the school year, but forEVER!! ARE YOU REALLY SO DAMN INCAPABLE OF SOMETHING SO FUCKING EASY?!?! HUH?!?!"

The stallions couldn't answer.

"ANSWER ME!"

"NO," the stallions finally shouted out in intense fear. Poppy's eyes were burning even more with fury than before. And what really unsettled RainbowDash was that her mane and tail almost looked as if it was changing color. In fact, her entire coat! The dark blonde with white streaks was tinting to an orange color with black streaks. her coat was tinting black and her spots were tinting the same orange as the dark blonde in her mane and tail. Her horn was slowly sharpening and growing longer, and on her back, little bat wings were forming and beginning to grow! Poppytart was turning into a Nightmare-Night-cookie-patterned demon! Even her cutie mark was beginning to melt away, probably to make room for a more suitable one. Everypony was staring with wild eyes filled with terror, stepping back as not to bother them, fearing that if they did they'd get hurt. Smart ponies.

"Now then," Poppy said, her voice changing as well as her appearance. "Will you stop and never ever do it again..."

"Or will we have to teach you a lesson ourselves?" Rainbow continued.

"Seeing as how to school's dicipline system can't be effective enough to keep up?" Poppytart finished. With the last sentence, Poppy seemed to have finished transforming into a full on, dark-magic, blood-thirsty, evil demon.Her cutie mark was a jaguar's paw with long, shining, sharp claws, dripping with fresh, glistening blood. Her evil grin slowly reapeared, and her teeth seemed to be razor sharp. That told the stallions exactly what she meant by her sinister threat.

"N-n-o no," One of the other stallions said, quivering, the living daylights scared out of him.

"W-w-we g-get the picture," another said, beginning to cry.

"Good," Rainbow said taking a step back, but never taking a eye off them. She gestured with a wing for Poppy to step back, too, and Poppy's scary expression calmed a bit, and started transforming to her normal self again. When the stallions got a the right distance away from Rainbow and Poppy, they broke out in to a run in terror, fleeing to get as far away from them as possible, crying and screaming like colts after seeing their first R-rated horror movie. At that display, Poppy began to chuckle and giggle insanely, a shadow over her eyes. Rainbow giggled a little, too. It's kind of like in an anime when a character is all insane and stuff, they start giggling all creepy-like and they have that kind of look on their face like when they're about to kill someone.

"Poppy," one of Poppy's friends/classmates began as she approached her. Poppy stopped giggling. "Are you ok?"

"Oh, uh," Poppy began. "Y-yeah - yeah I - I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Ok."

Unfortunately, seeing as how she threatened a few other students, Poppy received a detention. Thankfully, the teacher hadn't seen RainbowDash doing anything of the sort so she was still aloud to visit the school the help out Poppy. But luckily, since Poppy was able to get special accomodations, she was allowed to attend her detention elsewhere rather than the normal detention room to avoid more of those jackasses clicking at her. Especially when she can't block'em out with music through her new, pretty, hot pink headphones because it's no electronics allowed. She got to attend detention in the library again with the homework club. She liked the homework club because it was quiet, it was a friendly setting, and they usually had snacks. Last time they had cookies and those little containers of apple juice like the ones they have at breakfast, but it was about two or three times taller. This time, they had mini bags of cheese crackers that had letters indented into them to look like peices from a word making board-game. It was cool because these crackers don't usually look like this. Poppy took out an extra sheet of paper from her pink school binder and made as many words with the crackers as she could. A nice detention in her case, don't you think?

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

Sigghhh. Poppytart woke up Saturday morning remembering how lonely this weekend would be, seeing as how Bullet, her somepony, was grounded for whatever reason. Even though the school week ended with something fun in fourth period (a party for a student teacher's last day working in the special program on which Pinkie Pie and RainbowDash were welcomed to), the entire school week had still been pretty stressful. Poppy was really looking forward to unwinding with Bullet the whole weekend at her house; relaxing, watching TV, or sitting in the dining room playing a computer video game Poppy and some of the other SCC stallions liked called...should it be called, ManeCraft? Maybe, because you know how the word play goes...if that's what the pony version would be called. But Poppy liked it and had gotten Bullet into it a while back. If only they could both buy the game because one of Poppy's friends from the SCC, Flash Drive, who's a total techy and is pretty hyperactive at times, helped Poppy get the game only by giving her a copy of the client via one of his USB sticks. That didn't do anything to her ManeCraft account, so she couldn't play multiplayer for most servers, and that's what she wished she could do with Bullet. That way, when he's playing, she can help him out and play with him at the same time. Plus, they could change their players' skins. The whole day she spent on her computer playing a flash game about mice, which her parents didn't allow her to play anymore so she was doing it in secret, and watching videos on an online video site she went on frequently. Later that evening, nearing 4 o'clock in the evening, the phone rang and to Poppytart's surpise, it was Bullet!

Thankfully, this weekend wasn't completely lonely. The next day, Poppy got that hug she wanted from Bullet when she met up with him at the road bridge nearby Poppy's neighborhood when she made her way over as he did. When they got to the complex, they had to go inside for a little while first and then be able to go outside. Poppy tried to be as quiet as possible because she was actually rather scared of being in Bullet's living room. But that's not important here. She tried to imagine her and Bullet somewhere else, like her own living room, but she also tried convincing herself it wasn't her fault at all Bullet was punished. It made her feel a little better, but the memory of the before time still stung. When they went outside, they went to the small playground nearby the pool. They played on the swings, Bullet did some "ninja moves", and when Poppy tried to do one of them (running up a slide), she slipped in the grass as she tried to start running and got numerous small splinters in her left hoof from the piece of wood surrounding the bark chips. She tried to pick them out herself, but it wasn't working so they went back inside for a little bit to tweeze them out. Once they were all gone, they went back out and played some more. They were both enjoying this little poking game and Poppy was just cracking up the whole time!

Poppy had plenty of fun playing around on the playground with Bullet, but like all her visits, it ended quickly and the two were heading back to Poppy's place. And on the way, they played a weird game Poppy always liked to do with her grandmother when coming home from detention that she called "Sign Watching". You find two signs, or anything else that has words on it, then jumble them up together by putting each word in between each other. So, say you pass by SugarCube Corner, then maybe you see a tiny foal with a shirt that says "Daddy's Little Stinker". Rearrange the words so each word is in between each other (words composed of two individual ones get separated), and you'ss get "Sugar Daddys Cube Little Corner Stinker" (sounds like "Sugar Daddys, cube little 'Corner Stinker'"). The results don't always come out making sense. but sometimes they make so little sense that it's funny. Poppy and Bullet did it all the way back to Poppy's place, so Poppy had fun walking home as well as during this visit.

The next weekend was basically somewhat of a repeat of the last weekend; that is except for the hoof full of splinters. Saturday's weather was pretty cloudy, yet Sunday actually came out to match the day's name! And the weather report called for more until the following Saturday the next weekend. Poppy found that very fortunate seeing as how last time it was a beautiful day on a school day, she felt in the best mood she'd ever been in while in Ponyville because she and her friends ate outside that one day. Poppy had her cheery songs playing, too, through her new headphones.

Sunday night, she went to bed, and she had one of the most emotionally impacting dreams she's ever had. For once, she actually found herself in the metaphor she composed to describe her feelings toward her life under certain events or circumstances; chained up in a prison cell at night, covered in ever-bleeding scars, moonlight shining down in front of her through the small, metal-barred window. She put her head down and closed her eyes again, but then she felt the moonlight shift onto her. Then she realized, Wait a minute, that's not moonlight. She opened her eyes, still in the cell, and looked up to see a young, ghostly stallion in front of her. However, he looked more of an angel than a ghost. In fact, he was an alicorn. He wore a prince's crown, he was golden brown with darker brown hair, and he had pale blue eyes. His cutiemark depicted a red, heart-shaped lock with a gold crown and a golden key on the side. His facial expression was a very sad look, that of like someone who lost something so important, they couldn't bear life without it, and that it's been gone almost their entire life. They could see it right in front of them but they knew they could never take it back on their own. And for this stallion, it was apparently Poppy herself. She got up to say something, and was shedding tears, mane like Fluttershy's as she brought herself to say in a small voice,

"...B-Blueberry?"

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

Chapter 4: Spells, Spills, Stitches and Scars

"TWILIGHT!!!" Pinkie Pie hollered, burst down Twilight's front door.

"What is it Pinkie," Twilight asked, alarmed and worried at her panicking friend.

"I NEED YOUR HELP SUPER DUPER BADLY!"

"What?! What happened?!"

"Remember that speckly unicorn mare, I told you about?"

"...And?"

"SHE AND DASHIE GOT IN A FIGHT WITH SOME REALLY MEAN PONIES! Dashie took it easy no problem, but Poppytart was to weak for them! Wowie she sure isn't the best fighter I've seen. Anyway, her horn got broken! And we can't get Nurse Redheart out fast enough 'cause she's too busy! Do you have some sort of magic healing spell thingy that can help her?"

"Oh my goodness! How bad is it?"

"Her horn is literally broken in half! The pointy end to just dangling by a tiny piece of horn skin and it's gushing blood!"

"OH MY CELESTIA! I don't think I have anything on short notice --" Twilight began searching in the book shelves for a book that could possibly help with such a predicament. She didn't take any down, and she gave up almost as fast as she started, knowing there wouldn't be enough time to search before it was too late.

"Oh don't worry girls," another voice sounded from behind Pinkie. Behind Pinkie was Rarity holding a first aid kit with her magic. "I heard all about it from Fluttershy! The poor thing looked like she just saw all of Ponyville drop dead in front of her! Come on now, we must hurry!"

Rarity broke into a run and the other two mares ran after her. They twisted and turned through the streets of Ponyville until they found themselves at Poppy's school. Outside was a large commotion of ponies huddled in a crowd watching to see what was going on. They pushed their way through, and Twilight got a glimpse of the horrific scene. There were school items scattered among the ground; lunch trays, books, pencils, pens, and plastic knives; each one stained with blood. There were little drops and splatters of blood everywhere on the ground, too. Two mares and a stallion, beaten up and with huge, bleeding "goose-eggs" on their heads, lay unconsious nearby RainbowDash, who was bruised, cut, dirtied and scratched real badly. She had a black-eye and was holding a hing leg up, which was a little twisted awkwardly. In the middle of it all lay Poppytart, curled up crying and cowering in fear and trauma, Applejack crouching at her side with small amounts of nose and head blood on her hind hooves. She must've come in and knocked out Poppy and Rainbow's opponents to stop the fight. Poppy's face and body were scoured with bruises and cuts, a front leg was broken, and blood poured from her horn where it dangled, snapped in half just as Pinkie Pie described. When Twilight layed her eyes on it, it looked even worse than how she reinvisioned the graphicly described scene! She cringed trying to keep in vomit.

"POPPY," Pinkie pie called loudly to the badly injured pony, running toawards her. "DON'T WORRY WE'RE GONNA GET YOU BET --" Her hollering was inturrupted by a bloody math book that had thrown her off her balance, sending her tumbling to the ground, face first into a very small puddle of blood.

"Oh dear," Rarity began to frett. "I hope her face doesn't get stained! We'll have to clean her up later. Pinkie, let me take care of this. I'm the one with the first aid kit."

"Ah'll help, too," Applejack offered.

When the other ponies that Applejack knocked out woke up, RainbowDash scared them off again. Finally, Nurse Redheart had shown up, and guided Rainbow and Poppy to the ambulance for better treatment, as Rarity's first aid kit treatment was just temporary to last them to the hospital. Twilght, Rarity, and Pinkie climbed in with them to accompany them on the trip.

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

They waited for at least 45 minutes until the doctor said they could come in to visit their injured friends. When they came in, Twilight immediately asked what happened.

"You should've seen me," RainbowDash started in a tone like she's ready to tell an adventure tale. "I popped this bitch right in the nose so hard, it half soaked my hoof in blood! And Poppy picked up these books and got swingy with'em and boy she was doing good for the first bit of it, but then - "

"RainbowDash," Twilight interrupted sternly. "I meant how did the fight start. Not how it went."

"Yer no fun," she pouted.

"So what exactly happened Poppy? I could write a report about it for the Princess."

"Well," she began, her voice croaking from the aching left over from the pain killers. "I was walking to my school carriage with RainbowDash and she was just about to leave when that bitch came with those other two assholes and started clicking. I started tellin'em off...they just laughed...and kept going. Then I got all scary-lookin' and we started fighting. Next thing I knew, my front leg was broken again just like in kindergarten, but the pain was a little worse than I remembered...and a book flew and hit my horn. First migraine I've ever had." In the middle of the story she was telling, she began to shed tears. Pinkie Pie walked over to comfort her, then suddenly, Poppy's parents entered and she was "attacked" by a panic-stricken mother. They stayed for a while, then left the room when Poppy asked them if she could be alone with the others in there.

"There's another thing I've been meaning to share," Poppy began.

"Should I add it to the report," Twilight asked.

Poppy had to think about it for a bit, but she replied, "I guess that's up to you if you want."

"Ok. What is it?"

"...I had this dream last night. For once, I found myself in the metaphor I made to describe my feelings toward my life." She told them all about the spirit-like stallion, how sad he looked, the chains and scars, and the figures behind her she didn't recognize until she'd woken up from that dream.

"I was happy to see him and dispaired when he vanished because...sniff, sob...because I don't feel like I belong here...and I believe that I was born somepony else. He's supposed to be my brother, and I was hoping that that was the moment he was gonna take me home." She covered her face with her hooves and began crying.

"That's such a s-sad story," Pinkie Pie replied, still next to Poppy, as she took a tissue from a nearby tissue box and blew her nose.

"Sniff sniffle I'm not done yet," Poppy continued. "I've always felt that I was orignally an alicorn, too. That I was really born an angel; a princess even...and that my real family rule a kingdom of alicorns untouchable, unreachable, and unseeable by mortals because we're from the same world as the world of the deceased. Y'know, those in the afterlife. I believe that when I was born, I'd fallen from the sky and was forced to life here...where my life has been more of a living hell than any good. sniff sniff But I know why I've gotten this sort of life. It's because they always want me back...and I think the only way for that to happen is suicide. I'd end it all easy peasy at the right time but...the only thing keeping me from that is my coltfriend. sniff sob I'm just afraid that he's gonna move on from me and run off with somepony else, or worse, Silverglitter. It's possible because she's the closest thing to me he'll have left but it's also not possible because she's way more innocent minded than me and him...he's the total opposite. So i'm not sure if he would but I'm still scared that he might. And I'm also not sure if that'll happen or if he'll join me. But if he doesn't and moves on, I don't know what to do."

"...Ok," Twilght began when she finished writing. "that was a very sad story."

"Wait a minute," RainbowDash intervened. "the figures from your dream. They were us? How are we supposed to help you?"

"That's the thing," Poppy replied. "The only thing he said in the dream was 'Only they can help you'."

Twilight pondered this for a minute and thought, what would we be able to do to help her? Wait how are we supposed to help her?

"If there's anyway you guys can help me," Poppy started to plead. "please...help me...and whatever you do, don't tell anypony else what I just told you. You're the only ones that know. Ok? That goes for you, too, Pinkie." Poppy gave Pinkie Pie a stern look, intending to get the point across to the pink mare who'd probably be likely to blurt it out to ponies and then the rumor would spread. Nopony else needs to know Poppytart's deep, depressing feelings or secrets. She's known Pinkie Pie long enough to learn her nature of things.

"Don't you worry Poppy, my lips are sealed," Pinkie Pie reassured her as she made a lip-zipped motion after the sentence.

"Thanks Pinkie."

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

A nice relaxing evening with a good book and a cup of tea. A great way to end the evening after all this stress from earlier today, Twilight thought. She'd been reading on her bed for about only 20 minutes when a scroll dropped at her feet. She dropped the book and the teacup and opened the scroll. When she unraveled it, another scroll came out. but this one had no special ribbon on it. It was whiter and it had a faint glow and magical sparkle eminating off of it. Before opening the whiter scroll, she read the first one:

Dear Twilight,

That was a rather interesting report you sent me. As for that other poor pony, I feel so sorry for her. And what really unsettled me was that the story she told you included in the report I found out is actually true! I've sent you these photos this other alicorn sent me. He looked about Poppy's age and looked a lot like her, too. Perhaps they're frateral twins.

Twilight opened the shining scroll, and out fell three more, each opening by itself as they tumbled out. They were all photos of windows from an unfamiliar castle.

"Huh," Twilight uttered, bewildered at the images. "What's this? A prophecy?!"

The first picture showed a sad King and Queen; the king reminded her of a piece of buttered french toast and the queen like a leopard or like a chocolate waffle. They were looking down from a cloud. In the middle of this window was a small, brown, newborn foal, falling from the sky. Below it was Canterlot.

"That newborn foal must be Poppy," Twilight exclaimed softly to herself in astonishment.

The second picture showed the same foal as a miserable adolescent chained up in a dungeon, covered in scars. She looked exactly like Poppytart and the image was just like how Poppy described the dream she had. The third picture showed what looked like somepony pulling off a sonic rainboom three times in a row, the next one bigger than the last. Yet, each rainboom wasn't like the kind only RainbowDash can do, but they were shaped like flowers and the colors reminded Twilight of chocolate toaster pastries with white frosting and red sprinkles, being brown and white with red sparkles glimmering everywhere...POPPYTART! The pony performing these rainbooms was Poppytart! She somehow had huge wings and she looked almost like Celestia raising the sun in the morning. It was the way she had her wings spread out and forelegs outstretched above her head, flying right in front of the sun. And the final and biggest rainboom had created a huge rainstorm of poppies flurrying down to the ground out of thin air. And not to Twilight's surprise, she and her friends were watching and cheering as their friend pulled off what only a certain cyan pegasus could do. And that's actually a fact, because by the looks of it, Poppytart's sonic rainboom might be meant to literally kill her.

Finally, in the last picture was an image that almost brought tears to Twilight's eyes the image was so touching. In this window, Poppy was in the middle, and she looked bigger and happier. She wore a golden neck-piece that looked a lot like Celestia's, except instead of a sun, it was a simple flower, the petals being beautiful golden gems and the center a glimmering ruby. A matching princess tiara and slippers were also added with the shining necklace. She was surrounded by 5 other alicorns each beaming her with their magical auras, creating one, big, magical "flower" to bring Poppy back to her true state. The top and left alicorns were the King and Queen from one of the previous photos. The two bottom ones were a brown mare and a tan-flowery-patterned mare with a white mane and hooves. And the right one matched exactly to the description of the sad stallion from Poppy's dream. That last picture was like a happy ending to a sad fairytale. Twilight had to rub her eyes to keep the tears from escaping her eyes. She thought about these pictures for a bit and then it hit her. If Poppy is so miserable with at least most of her life and this prophecy fortells of it being turned around like this, then it must be up to her and the others to help her.

Twilight rolled up the pictures and the scroll, set them aside, and took out a quill and another sheet of paper and wrote,

Dear Princess Celestia,

Don't you or anypony else worry about this. I am determined to make sure we figure out this puzzle and that all in the prophecy goes as planned.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

Chapter 5: The Plan

Who would've thought that summer vacation would come so quickly, yet just blow by like a tumbleweed in a hurricane? It felt as if summer had just barely started when Independence day came, along with a couple of days of swimming for Poppytart, a traditional family trip to a berry farm twice this year, then followed by a sleepover with her friends just before August. Already it was the middle of August...wow. Just...wow. It was almost 6 p.m. and Poppy was in her room working on a redo build of an already previously built castle on ManeCraft. She followed a pixeled floor plan on her paint program and used virtual sticky notes on her computer desktop to keep track of the time she's spent on said project. So far, the project has been going for almost 58 hours, stretched over the course of several weeks of course, including the elimination of random herds of sheep, cows, pigs or flocks of chickens here and there in the entirely flat world. She recorded down the time it was when she heard the doorbell ring. She took off her headphones and left the room to answer the door. When she opened the door, outside was Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie Pie, RainbowDash, and Rarity. Spike was on Twilight's back, holding a thick scroll with a few whiter, shiny scrolls wrapped up tightly inside one another.

"Oh hi guys," Poppy greeted them, pushing up her glasses. "Whatcha doin' here? And whatcha holdin' Spike?"

"Come outside," Twilight answered. "We have to have a chat."

"Are you sure you don't wanna come inside?"

"Wait," RainbowDash butted in. "Why don't we go back to the library? I mean, we don't want Poppy's 'mom' to come in and interrupt us at all, right?"

"Oh yeeaaahh," Poppy said. "You're right Rainbow, that's a good idea. Lemme go ask my mom."

"No," Twilight interrupted urgently. "There's no time! If we're going to talk about this at the library, we have to go now."

"Besides," Pinkie added. "It's just a short trot away."

"Siiiggghhh. Mom," Poppy called to her mom behind her. "I'm going to the library were Twilight lives, is that ok?"

"How far away is it," her mom replied.

"It should - it should be walking distance, I won't be gone long."

"OK."

When the five ponies reached the library, Twilight immediately guided everypony to a nearby table to talk about whatever important thing she has to share. She'd already previously discussed the matters with Pinkie, Rainbow, and Rarity.

"Alright then," Twilight began. "You know that story you told us about Poppy?"

"Yeah," Poppy replied.

"Well, after I sent my report to Celestia, including said tale, she wrote back to me commenting on it." Twilight's horn began to glow, along with the first of the scrolls in the fat bundle of scrolls as she levitated it into mid-air and passed it to Poppy. When Poppy began to read it, not only did her facial expression change from straight-faced to wide-eyed, but her mane went crazy! First looked like Pinkie Pie's, then it looked like Fluttershy's, but then her mane was like Pinkie's and her tail like Fluttershy's, then switched to the other way around. In her facial expression, she looked like she was surprised, excited, and like she was about to cry all at once.

"Oh...my...Celestia," Poppy said quietly, almost whispering.

"Poppy," Twilight said, trying to grab her attention. But Poppy was too stunned and her focus was locked on the letter from the Princess. She was eyeing it up and down and all over the paper, her face and mane and tail continuously switching back and forth.

"I was right," Poppy whispered, beginning to smile and a tear escaping from her eye.

"But that's not all," Twilight continued. "That dream of yours wasn't just a dream at all. It was intentionally made to happen by somepony. This race of alicorns apparently must have some sort of special magic they can use to send dreams to us mortal ponies in Equestria. That young stallion you saw was telling you of this prophecy." Twilight unraveled the whiter, spirit-like scrolls with her magic and showed the photos to Poppytart. Poppy's mane went crazy again switching even faster now, but this time her mane and tail alternated between Pinkie Pie's and Rainbow's mane styles.

"Oh my Celestia," Poppy said, her voice rising to normal and her smile growing wider. "I knew it!!!"

"I've already discussed these matters with the others here," Twilight continued again. "I guess all we have to do is show you a good time by the end of the summer - "

"Wait no," Poppy interrupted. "Not by the end of the summer; by th - by the arrival of my next birthday."

"Your birthday," Twilight asked, confused.

"Because silly," Pinkie butted in. "It would make her next birthday the best one she's ever had! I know it would be for me if I were in Poppy's place. Then we could have a humongous super awesome party at that castle and all your friends can be invited and it'll be so much fun!"

"Ok, a couple of things first," Poppy began, her mane falling back to normal again. "Firs - first of all, yes, it should be for my birthday because I believe that I was born on my brother's first birthday. And if I were in his place, I know - I know the one thing I'd want for my birthday the most is for my sibling to come home. Second of all, how do you supposed you could help throw a party in a place you can't even see, let alone touch?"

"Easy," Pinkie replied. "Twilight can use that special spell to allow ponies that aren't pegasi to walk on clouds."

"But how will you be able to see the kingdom," Poppy repeated with emphasis. "In fac - in fact, I doubt you'll even see the cloud it's built on."

"Oh yeah," Pinkie realized as she recalled totally forgetting about that part due to her excitement.

"Well," Twilight began. "Perhaps there's a spell we can use to make it so we can see and reach the other kingdom."

"Wait a minute," Poppy started. "Princess Celestia is an alicorn, and so are my real family and their kingdom. Maybe that's how Celestia could see them."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, perhaps the only ponies in Equestria that can see my kin are other alicorns. Maybe - maybe they're immortal because I know my kin are immortal."

"THAT'S IT," RainbowDash shouted.

"What's it," Twilight asked.

"If only alicorns can see the other kingdom," Rainbow continued. "Then maybe we should try a spell that turns ponies into unicorns at the same time!"

"Ok wait," Poppy interrupted. "I said this race of alicorns are all immortal. That also means they're all equivalent to ghosts and spirits. I don't think just because somepony has a horn and wings from a spell makes them an immortal spirit, too. If Celestia isn't immortal, then my brother had to have made himself visible to her just like ghosts are suppos - are able to do. They can do that in front of mortals."

"Well then," Rarity began. "I think we know what'll have to happen there if a couple of spells doesn't do the trick. And you can certainly count me out of it unless it means I can go back to a mortal life afterwards."

"Actually," Poppy began. "Like I said, they're capable of making themselves appear and not appear in front of mortals. In fact, if they're in a room full of them they can choose any certain one or more of them out of everyone else to be visible to. All you guys really need are the wings spell and we'd do the rest."

"Oh...uh...well then...ahem you have a good point there I must say."

"However, I think that means only themselves themselves rather than all the clouds and buildings. But that's why we're alicorns. Probably just gotta touch our horns to your heads with a spell of our own to let you in and still be alive...mortals."

"Then it's settled," Twilight announced. "We all know what to do now, right?"

"Right," everypony replied expect for RainbowDash.

"Hang on a second," Rainbow stepped in. "If Poppy's gonna pull off any Sonic Rainbooms she's gonna need lots and lots of training. Luckily, you guys got me! If anyone can train somepony to fly so fast you should ask the legendary pony that pulled off such an awesome trick as a filly!"

"She's got a good point there, too," Pinkie responded. "I've never seen another pony fly as fast as Dashie!"

"Oh I can't wait to have those same dazzling wings I had last time when it's time for the party," Rarity squeaked in excitement, bouncing with delight.

"Actually Rarity," Twilight stopped her. "I don't think anypony here that can't fly is going to need wings this time. Last time I perfected the spell for that race neither me, Pinkie, or Applejack had wings at all."

"Oh...yeah," Rarity stopped bouncing as she recalled that day. Twilight was right which meant no dazzling, giant, butterfly wings for her. "eh-heh...that's right..."

"Ok then, now it's settled," Twilight finally announced as the five mares' meeting ended and everypony returned home.

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*

"Alrighty then," RainbowDash exclaimed toughly as she paced back and forth like an army leader in front of Poppytart, Poppy's mane fluffy and her expression determined and fearless. It was 9 AM, middle of the month, and it was the first day of Poppytart's flight training. Fluttershy was there, too, to help cover the VERY basics like getting off the ground period.

"Are you ready to get those artificial wings goin' like a winner?!"

"Yes ma'am!" Poppy exclaimed in reply.

"I said ARE YOU READY?!?!"

"YES MA'AM!"

"Good!"

"Alright. Step one." Fluttershy stepped in. "Flap your wings until you lift off the ground. But not too much because you don't wanna get too high."

Poppytart began to flap her wings, but nothing happened. Rainbow encouraged her to flap harder and harder, and it finally payed off. Poppy was then hovering 5 inches off the ground and maintaining it, as she instantaneously slowed her wings to regulate a safe distance from the ground.

"Wow," Rainbow said, surprised. "You really got the hang of it."

"Thanks," Poppytart blushed. "I tend to get the how-to parts on some - on somethings."

"Ok, Step 2," Fluttershy continued. "Can you land without dropping yourself?"

"She'll have to fly a little bit higher though," Rainbow reminded them. Poppytart flapped her wings a little harder until she was about two feet from the ground, then successfully landed by slowly and softly slowing her wing speed.

"Wow," Poppytart exclaimed. "I've been a unicorn my whole life and never knew what it was like to fly and already I must be a natural!"

"You can say that again," Rainbow chuckled. "You are originally an alicorn anyway, y'know."

"Yeah, that's right, that's right."

Throughout the day, Poppy got down plenty more of the basics in flying: flying higher and higher, getting used to sky heights, working out with light-weight to heavy clouds, flying from one place to another, increasing speed and distance each time. Poppy was getting down the routines and skills so quickly, she might not have to wait until her birthday to be ready for her super-magical sonic rainbooms! And come to think of it, how would sonic rainbooms turn Poppytart into the angel she's literally and physically supposed to be? And why three times instead of one? Even Poppytart can tell RainbowDash is stronger than her and fast flying is Rainbow's talent so she could definitely handle one rainboom. As for Poppy who's never endured such a thing, would she get hurt if she trying to attempt it? Maybe her artificial wings will get so worked up, they'll give out and maybe even fade away until they disappear in mid-flight? But if the prophecy foretells of the stunt being performed three times by the speckled unicorn to make the transformation, it must be possible. Because you know prophecies and prophecies never lie.

A week later in the end of the month, it was a beautiful Sunday and Pinkie Pie had just came into Sugarcube Corner for some cupcakes. Then, she noticed Poppytart came trotting in just after her, her mane matching her own and her average-pegasus-sized wings were spread out in a very positive expression. She seemed to be in a very good mood today.

"Hey Poppy," Pinkie greeted her. "How'd the flight training go with Dashie? Doesn't look like it was very hard today 'cause you don't seem all tired or sweaty."

"Oh, I didn't do any training today Pinkie," Poppy replied with a chuckle. "I requested to take the day off today because I was hoping to see my coltfriend, and I kinda needed the time to get ready. Today's our one year anniversary!"

"Oh congratulations! You know what this calls for?"

"WAIT PINKIE," Poppy quickly stopped Pinkie in her tracks. "Thanks, but a party is a little much. Besides, he's busy today, unfortunately. But we'll be seeing each other tomorrow. I'll be re-continuing training later today."

"Okie dokie then."

"However, I did want to come and get some cupcakes for another sleepover I'm having with my school friends this weekend. And me and my coltfriend were planning on doing something for our anniversary and if we can't tomorrow, then we might go out on Tuesday for ice cream."

"Sounds super! Hope you two have fun!"

"Thanks Pinkie."

"Your welcome! Oh, and happy anniversary!"

"Thanks again!"

After Poppy left, she flew off to find RainbowDash and explain that her coltfriend, Bullet, wasn't available today so she was free to do more training. Poppytart was able to fly at an average pegasus flying pace, seeing as she tackled the beginners practices in just a few days. The rest of the past week was just tests and an obstacle course. And after such a successful week, she passed her final flight test where she flew off a 2-meter-high drop off and the training was over for today. She decided to walk home today, seeing as her wings were tired as hell. But as she was making her way home, Poppy had realized she forgot to get the cupcakes she was going to get for her sleepover this weekend! Y'know what, Poppy thought to herself. That's ok. They would've gotten stale anyway. Cupcakes are better when they're fresh. With that settled in her mind, Poppy just kept walking home. Again, Poppy's wings wore very sore and becoming numb, a sign that the spell was beginning to wear off. Luckily, Twilight had taught Poppy in between training on how to do the spell to restore her wings herself.

The next two days had gone as planned. On Monday, Poppy and Bullet hung out at Bullet's neighborhood and walked around for a while. It was really hot out and the pool was open. Unfortunately for her, she was wearing one of her favorite t-shirts and she didn't bring her swimwear or an extra t-shirt. But instead, she decided to just dip her feet in. On Teusday, the couple went to an ice cream parlor that was within walking distance from Poppy's house. Poppy had a banana split and Bullet a root beer float. Poppy noticed Bullet's awkward expression as he was eating his cold treat, a bottle soda on the side.

"There's something wrong," he said.

"What's wrong," Poppy asked between spoon scoops.

"Why would they call this a root beer float if they didn't use root beer in it?" Some of Bullet's soda was used for the ice cream drink and he got to have the rest for free. However, it wasn't root beer; it was just a regular cola. "If they give you a root beer float, they shouldn't change the recipe. Instead of a cola they've got to use actual root beer."

Poppy gave a small giggle, even though Bullet was actually kind of serious (she had to agree with him though) and continued eating her ice cream until she got to the bottom. By then, the sweetness of the chocolate syrup was just way to much for her to handle and it was just downright disgusting. Soon enough, she and Bullet were on their way back to Poppy's place. The whole way back, Bullet was being his annoying-in-a-funny-way self again and constantly "bugging" her and joking around, having fun with her.

"This was fun," he finally said.

"Yeah, it was," Poppy agreed.

When the 20 minute trek was finally over, Bullet immediately plopped down onto one of the couches in Poppy's living room. It wasn't long before he'd fallen asleep. Poppy decided to sit down in front of couch and just watch him sleep, resting her head on an open spot on the couch. Suddenly, Poppy noticed his eyelids were twitching. Her mane relaxed back to it's original style as she began to realize something was wrong. At the moment, she didn't even know he actually fell asleep. Soon after, his face itself was twitching. She tried nudging him but he wouldn't respond. His face was was creeping her out so she moved to the other couch. It wasn't until now she realized he was asleep, so she went into her room and grabbed the teddy bear he'd given her earlier in their relationship because she knew how much he liked it when she brought it out. He'd always grab it and be like "lol claimage". When she came back, his eyes suddenly shot open. The was a wild furious look on his face she'd never seen before and he muttered something through clenched teeth. She could've sword she heard "I'm gonna kill-" in all that loud muttering. Her mane fell to the straight style of Fluttershy's mane as soon as she saw that frightening look. This worried her so bad, it scared her to where she ran out of the room, still holding the teddy bear with her magic, sent into tears worried sick. Sadly for her, she completely forgot about Bullet's slight insanity. He even told her what it'd look like a long time ago but she'd totally forgot it all in the fun she's been having with his company in the time between then and now. She loved him that much to where she always only cared about the good parts and ignored the bad parts. She quickly shut her bedroom door, jumped onto her bed, and hid under the covers. She hid there weeping for somewhere close to a minute or two before she heard a knock on the door.

"What, wha - who is it," Poppy answered between sobs.

"It's me," a quiet, sorry-sounding voice came from the other side of the door. It was Bullet.

"Come in."

Poppy brought herself to poke her face out from under the covers.

"I'm sorry," Bullet said to her quietly, trying to comfort her. "It's ok, don't cry please." He stroked her head trying to make her feel better, but he was still trembling after what happened back in the living room. That made Poppy shrink back into the covers more, but she quickly calmed down, too, and brought herself to get out from under the covers and give him a hug. She was just glad he was ok.

"I'm really sorry," he began again. "It...it was this...this car sound, it was just pissing me off."

"*Sniff* wh-what car sound," Poppy asked, confused.

"It was like this car door shutting and it kept waking me up over and over. But then I realized it was just your grandmother getting stuff from her car."

"Oh, really? I wasn't paying attention. I didn't even know because I was too busy paying attention to you."

"It's ok."

"A-and I'm sorry I ran away, I was just so worried. Thi-this isn't - this isn't the first time, though. One time, Fruitloop was eating toast for dinner an - and she began to choke on it. I thought she was gonna choke to death so I tried to run away be-because it was so scary anythi - anything like that will be super scary to me. Anything bad like that or like what happened back there, death, anything, it'll scare me to death." At this point, Poppy began trembling, too. Fruitloop, her youngest sister, had scared her a while back and she did try to run away. But when she tried to run, her father came rushing in past her and she froze before she could keep going. Bullet held her closer and she began to relax again. this frightful event that occured today haunted Poppy for the rest of the evening, but she kept her mind off of it a little by playing around on her computer on ManeCraft and doing random stuff on the Internet. All was fine while Poppy was goofing off until her parents called her out from her room. That's when everything took a terrible turn for the worst.

*~*~☾~✿~✧~★~✧~✿~☾~*~*