The Cruelty of Reality

by Unbridled Dolly

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Alternate Universe, Sad, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Rarity
Length: 1396

When the Magic is gone, and the idea of Friendship is but a dream, what reality remains?

The first four chapters of this story were written by UniqueSKD. All credit goes to him for those chapters, and for the idea. I do not know who drew the cover art, but it does not belong to me.
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You know as well as any other that the world of Equestria thrives on the principles of Friendship, and the Magic that comes from such a bond.

So let's take that world away from somepony, and show them what life is like when the Magic and Friendship is gone, no more than a silly little make-believe word frowned upon by adults with common sense.

Somepony's about to live life in a different Equestria, with our reality.

Because the dream can't last forever...

This story is currently on hiatus while I figure out what to do with it.

Published 2014-08-24 19:50:04 UTC
Last updated 2014-08-30 04:08:59 UTC

Waste of Life

The Cruelty of Reality

Happy met his mother. She looked so pretty, despite lying upon a cold metal table in a freezing morgue. The atmosphere chilled his little body, and Happy learned from that moment on that there was indeed truth to the old saying.

Death, is fucking cold.

No parent or guardian to look after him, little Happy packed his belongings, the foal services of Equestria escorting him to his new residence and place of living. The orphanage.

It wasn't so bad. Sure, Happy felt scared during his first few days here. Sure, Happy immediately gained the attention of the big bully of the place, and wound up with a broken leg the second day after arriving there. Sure, the owner of the orphanage 'accidentally' said hurtful things about the fillies and colts roaming the place now and then, but it really wasn't all that bad.

Happy got a nice warm meal at least. It might have lacked the loving touch that his mommy used to put into her cooking when she was alive, and it might have not tasted very nice a lot of the time, but it was food still, right?

And he got his own bed. That was nice too. Before, he had had to share a bed with his mommy, and now he had one all his own. Granted, it could have been a little better if it had a more colorful bed sheet, and preferably one without a big hole in it, but Happy on the plus side slept in a big room with lots of other colts and fillies, so he wasn't alone at night anymore.

It sure wasn't home, but then what did Happy know about 'home'? To the young pony, 'home' was just a funny word to him, and one of which its meaning eluded him.

Happy nevertheless dreams of what he believes this... 'home', is as he clutches his ragged teddy, his eyes closing as he drifts off to sleep. In the imagination of Happy's fantasy dreaming, not even the sound of an age-old stallion walking into the sleeping quarters, and approaching the bedside of an awake and trembling wide-eyed filly, is enough to stir Happy's mind away from his sweet innocent slumber.

Blatant Lies

Happy was not sure what to believe. There was a new princess... the Princess of Friendship. Her role as an Alicorn Princess was to spread the Magic of Friendship to all... but Happy disagreed. If she spread the Magic of Friendship to all, why was he here? Why was he stuck in the dump with no friends to be heard of? Why was he all alone every day, no one to talk to but himself?

If her job was to spread the Magic of Friendship, she was doing a terrible job at it.

***

Every day, Happy followed the same routine. Get up, get ready for school, go to classes, come back to do homework and chores, and collapse in bed with no supper. Every day, Happy followed this same routine all alone. There was no sign of this magical friendship thing the new princess was supposed to spread. It was all lies. Happy decided that she would not be a princess of Equestria to him. Not even an alicorn, for each alicorn and princess was supposed to contribute something. This princess contributed nothing. Happy still cried himself to sleep every night in the crowded, lonely room. The Princess of Friendship was doing nothing.

Author's Note

Yes, I have decided to continue with the short chapters. I liked the style that UniqueSKD wrote these in, so I continued it the same way. Enjoy!

It'll Never Last

The Cruelty of Reality

Once upon a time, two ponies fell in love with one another. They were just young lovers at their age, but still their adoration for each other was strong and true. After a short time, they inevitably wedded, unified by two rings of gold, before Princess Celestia herself, and an audience of witnesses to their blessed marriage.

After their wedding, the two lovers, now husband and wife, moved to a small little town called Ponyville. There they bought a small little house just outside of the town, and they lived there together happily and in peace.

Then one day, the wife revealed a most wonderful secret to the husband; she was pregnant. Both wife and husband embraced each other, overjoyed at the thought of finally becoming a family.

Months passed by quickly, and soon another new life was brought into the world, a strong and healthy baby colt.

The wife and husband named their newborn son, Happy.

Life is Unfair

The Cruelty of Reality

A few weeks after Happy was taken home by his parents, they fell into a state of aggression, the cryings of their new son depriving them of sleep and rest. The new mother and father would be awoken during the night by the sound of wailing sobs, and both would do their best to calm their son, but their efforts were for all for nothing.

In time, such was their lack of sleep, that the father began to fall behind in his work, and one day his tiredness resulted in a terrible accident, costing the life of a co-worker. The father was fired that day, and back home did he return, jobless, without a single golden bit to give to his wife.

The news immediately broke the mother, who began to quarrel with the father. How would they pay to live in their beautiful home, the house they had worked hard to keep? How would they afford food and essentials? The argument intensified, as the blame shifted between the two, until the father smacked the mother around the face.

On that day, Happy lost a father, and the father lost his family, his wife divorcing him, and leaving him to rot in the very house that once held such good memories. The ex-husband struggled to survive, scrounging the streets for coin, but what money he did find, was quickly spent away as the ex-husband would attempt to drown his sorrows in booze.

A month later, yellow tape surrounded the house where happiness once lived, a stretcher wheeled out of the front door. The limp foreleg of a stallion killed through alcoholic poisoning hung out from beneath the white sheets.

There's Nothing Good

The Cruelty of Reality

Happy and his mother lived together in a cheap little room in a Manehatten apartment block. Happy had recently turned just five years old. His mommy had found work when they moved here, but she never talked about it. Whatever her job was, it must have been something important if meant she had to leave her son at night, only to come back often in the early hours of the morning. It must have been a pretty tough job as well, since Happy would sometimes greet his mommy as she came limping through the creaky rusted-hinged door, as if she were sore. Happy would ask his mommy what was wrong, and she'd simply reply the same thing.

"It was a rough night, sweetie." She would collapse into a chair, and more often than not fall asleep. Work must really tire her out, but at least she compensated by playing with Happy on the days when she was feeling better.

His mother would always return home sad and upset, her make-up dirtied and that weird dress of hers occasionally torn in places, but once mommy had taken some of those wonderful white pills, Happy would see that smile he loved to see.

Still, he'd feel a little more comfortable if he could find the courage to leave the safety of his bed sheets at night, and confront the terrible supernatural creature that cried a sorrowful tone, sometimes during the early hours of the morning. His mother would usually wipe away a tear and tell him it was just his imagination, but Happy would swear that those creepy sobbing noises coming through the walls were genuine.

But it was alright. So long as Happy had his mommy close by, he had nothing to be afraid of. Mommy would protect him.

And then one night, Mommy went out after kissing her beautiful son goodnight to go to work.

She didn't come back.the following morning.