Mama Hit Me
By Ayla
Sweetie Belle looked out over the crowd, waiting for the hoof stomping to die down. She was singing for a charity event to help prevent foal abuse. What nopony knew was that she knew all about this subject personally. She'd even written a brand new song for the occassion.
When it became quiet, Sweetie Belle glanced at her cutie mark with a smile, seeing the pink heart with little purple stars around it. It had appeared once she'd sung in a school play. It meant she could touch people's hearts with her voice. She had been so happy when she got it. She turned back to the audience and began to sing.
You made me feel useless, you made me feel worthless,
You made my whole life feel just like a hopeless mess.
You enjoyed my suffering, and you enjoyed my pain,
And secretly I'd let the tears fall down like rain.
As she sang Sweetie Belle's mind went back to when she was still a filly...
She was laying in bed crying with her face buried in the pillow. Her mother had called her a stupid spoiled brat just because she had said she didn't feel like going to school that day because she felt sick.
Sometimes she wondered why her mother hated her so much. She wondered if she'd ever treated Rarity that way. Somehow she didn't think so. Rarity always seemed so perfect.
I was your punching bag, and your scape goat,
And now the truth I refuse now to sugar coat.
I just wonder why, I'll always wonder why,
You put me down then didn't let me cry!
She hadn't been quiet enough, and her mother had burst into the room with a snarl. "Why are you crying?!" Sweetie Belle froze, not daring to move or speak. Her mother waited for an answer, but getting none, she just snorted then slammed back out of the room. Sweetie Belle went back to crying, but this time she made sure that her tears were silent.
Mama hit me, Mama hurt me, Mama said nasty things,
Mama smacked me, bout the head sometimes, so hard that it rings.
Life already, can pass by so fast, it all seems to be a whirl,
So tell me how could you, in the time you had, do that to your little girl?
Sweetie Belle cried out as her mother's hoof connected to her cheek as she slapped her. "Go to your room!" Her mother screamed at her and Sweetie Belle fled, once again making sure she cried too softly to be heard.
You ruined everything, and nobody knew,
I didn't dare to tell them what all I went through.
My family and friends were, all so happy,
They never even guessed I drowned in misery.
Rarity never seemed to wonder why Sweetie Belle spent as much time as she could at her place. She never told anyone what her mother did. Nopony, not even her father, knew. She didn't want to mess up their lives too. They'd be sad if they knew. Besides she was scared to tell. Her mother warned her she'd make things much worse for her if she ever told. She couldn't wait till she was grown up and she could escape, but that seemed so far away...
And so when I grew up then I just ran away,
I'll never again give you even time of day.
Freedom feels so good, though you broke my wings,
They've healed now I can fly and now this songbird sings!
College had been the best thing to ever happen to Sweetie Belle. She was finally living away from that monster and she came home to visit as little as possible. After she graduated college her visits had become less and less until finally she'd stopped them altogether, making excuses and just sending cards and well wishes to her father.
Mama hit me, Mama hurt me, Mama said nasty things,
Mama smacked me, bout the head sometimes, so hard that it rings.
Life already, can pass by so fast, it all seems to be a whirl,
So tell me how could you, in the time you had, do that to your little girl?
Then last month, her mother had died from a heart attack. Sweetie Belle found that ironic. Maybe her mother's stone heart finally couldn't keep up anymore. She wasn't sad that she was gone, in fact she was relieved. Now she was really and truly free and she could visit Ponyville whenever she wished without having to run into her tormenter.
Even as an adult her childhood abuse had affected her greatly. It was a lot harder for her to trust anypony then it should've been. After all if her own mother treated her that badly, what would others do?
She'd finally secretly gotten herself into therapy for awhile and it had helped. She refused to let her mother ruin her life and now she was helping other foals who were going through the same thing.
And if I have a little girl that I can love,
I'll treat her like the gift she is from up above.
I swear that I will never ever be like you,
That's the best thing for her that I can ever do!
Sweetie Belle knew that if she ever had foals of her own, that she would treat them like the priceless treasures that she knew they would be. Nopony ever deserved to be treated like she was treated. She felt her eyes tear up as she sang the chorus for the last time.
Mama hit me, Mama hurt me, Mama said nasty things,
Mama smacked me, bout the head sometimes, so hard that it rings.
Life already, can pass by so fast, it all seems to be a whirl,
So tell me how could you, in the time you had, do that to your little girl?
