A few weeks had passed since Angel had collapsed, her mother had returned with various items from their old home as Autumn's last weeks began to draw to a closing. Only Ribbon knew about the filly fainting, Angel had made her promise not to tell anypony about it because she was afraid of worrying them. It just made the filly worry instead, why didn't Angel want her to tell?

Angel thought about what Ribbon must be thinking, sighing to herself. She was walking through on the the mansion's long corridors to her now shared bedroom with Ribbon, on her back rested a box of various of her clothes and a couple of other objects from her past. The filly glanced into the box.

Inside rested a pile of clothing of all colors, she loved to dress up and act fancy when she wasn't. Resting on top of the pile was a pink and purple swirled yo-yo. She smiled, picking the yo-yo up and began playing with it. She giggled when she made it go 'walkies', she put it back and kept looking. A box with writing rested next to the yo-yo, the writing said 'Rock and leaf collection'. She smiled, thinking back to the months following her mother finding her from the orphanage and how she and her father used to collect rocks and leaves and bring them back to the house. Lastly, covered by a cloth, was a black object.

Angel gulped, trying to pick it up. When she finally managed it, images of blood and gore filled her minds. And with a wounded pegasus stallion showing up in her mind, she let out a scream and collapsed yet managed to stay conscious while the object was set flying out of it's cloth and revealing it to be a toy gun.

She panted, tears filled her eyes as a hoof covered her mouth. She stared at the toy in fright, like it was trying to hurt her. She eventually went so white that she threw up, right on her hoof and so the sick flowed down her hoof, uncontrollable. The filly cried silently, throwing up some more and more.

Ribbon, who had heard the scream from the back garden, came upstairs. Her neck muffled by a scarf even though it wasn't cold outside, the filly looked very surprised. But that simple face changed into utter horror when she noticed the sick on Angel's hoof and on the floor, but she wasn't fussed about the floor. No. Not one bit did she care about the floor, she cared more about the sister she never wanted then a ugly carpet.

She rushed to the cream filly's side, trying to help her onto her hooves. ''Angel, you alright? Why did you let out that scream?'' Her questions went unanswered, the pegasus just couldn't find it possible to speak. But instead of getting a vocal reply, Ribbon say the toy gun on the floor. At first, she was simply surprised to see a toy so she picked it up and was surprised when Angel let out a another, yet less vocal, scream and threw up even more.

Ribbon wasted no more time in getting the filly and the box, which had spilled over the floor, to their shared bedroom. The walk was only a few moments but for Ribbon, it actually felt like a eternity before she managed to lay Angel on her new bed. Worry filling her pale purple features as she watched the younger filly threw up again. She summoned a bucket and placed it next to Angel's bed. ''Here, if you need to throw up, use that. Want some water?''

Angel threw up once more, this time in the bucket, and simply stared at her step-sister before nodding, ever so slightly, but Ribbon caught it and prepared to leave to get the small filly a glass of water but a small, weak voice stopped her from leaving the room. ''...D-Don't l-leave me please.....big sis.''

Ribbon looked shocked, not because the filly had called her 'big sis', she did that constantly but because of the 'don't leave me' part, Angel actually wanted Ribbon to stay with her, despite the fact that Ribbon was mean to her. It was stupid, very stupid but Ribbon didn't mind. Not at all.

She smiled, saying. ''I won't leave, don't worry.'' She summoned the glass of water, mainly to prove her point and helped Angel drink it by holding the glass in her magical auras as the filly drank. ''Now, can you tell me what happened. If you don't want to say, that's fine but I kinda want to hear.''

Angel coughed, when she first tried to speak but eventually managed on the second try. ''....I...wanted to see if I could....get over my trauma...''

''Trauma, of what?''

''....G-Guns...''

''Why do you have a trauma of guns....I mean, why is that a trauma? Everypony's scared of guns''

''....B-Because........I...c-can't h-hold them....without.....t-throwing up.....a-and s-screaming....'' mumbled Angel, before she threw up again. Sick pattered into the bucket, as the room made no other sound. ''......I.....Um....T-This fear...started when....I turned 5.......''

2 years prior.
Angel ran by a older stallion, a pegasus just like her and he processed her purple eyes. She was smiling brightly, despite her small size, which she didn't know was a illness back then. The stallion smiled back at her from his tall height. 'We're almost at the bank, sweetheart. We then can take out our money and get back to mommy in one piece.''

''Okay, daddy.'' said Angel, in a cutesy voice. Her voice was peaceful and happy, not the shy, timid and obeying voice that she processed when she got older.

The pair walked into the Ponyville bank, it wasn't very populated but it was pretty early in the morning. Angel's father smiled, turning back to her. ''Sit down over by the window, while I get this sorted with. Can you do that for me, Dusty?''

Angel nodded, giggling at her nickname. She ran over to sit by the window, peering out at unsuspecting passerbys. One of these ponies came towards the bank and walked inside. As he walked by her, he smiled yet it felt fake to Angel. Like he wasn't actually smiling, like he was forcing it or something. Her eyes peered at him, looking over his dark coat and hoodie and eventually spotted something silver and black, sparkling out of the hoodie.

Next thing she knew, a scream was made as the stallion had picked up the sliver object and fired it at one of the workers. Everypony tried to run as Angel realized what the object was, it was a gun. Her father had told her about them, and how they were really dangerous and made for evil uses.

She ran behind her father, trying to hide herself. Shy away from the stallion, hoping that her father would help her which she knew he would after all, he was blood related to her. ''...Daddy....h-he has....a g-gun....What are you going to do, daddy?''

''Run, Dusty. Get out of here!'' She didn't refuse to run but the loud bang of the gun rang through her ears, deafening her as the bullet slammed into her back leg. A ear piercing scream came from her small mouth as she landed on the floor, tumbling forward and slamming her head on the wall. Her father was wide eyed as he glared at the stallion. ''What do you want?''

''All I want is money. Money, money and more money! But I also want to get it through killing and if that means killing a very small foal then I'd do it. After all, she can't be more then 1 and a half years old, it's not like much of her life has gone. Who knows, maybe her life with be shit and then she'll beg for death.''

Angel gritted her teeth, as her hearing came back enough to hear what he had said. But her vision was blurring so she couldn't see her well but one thing she hated was being called a foal, it wasn't fair. She was five after all, not a infant that everypony should babyfied and coo out but a almost school-aged filly.

Despite the blur in her eyes, she got to her hooves, weakly because of the wound that was covered with thick, warm blood. She ran forward and slammed her body weight into the evil stallion, knocking him unbalanced and making him drop the gun. The filly grabbed the gun before he got it back and pulled the trigger, but it didn't just hit it's intended target.

Two stallions feel to the ground, one of which was her father. The killer growled before falling unconscious as the filly passed him, crying her eyes out and ignoring all the pain that her leg gave her. ''Daddy! I didn't mean to, I thought it was what I should do! Stay with me, daddy. Your meant to see my first school day and give me a baby brother or sister.....''

Her father looked up at her, weakly. ''I'm so sorry, Dusty...but...I can't keep our promise.........'' He coughed up blood, as his speak became slurred. ''....W-Will you a-always think a-about me?''

''Y-yes....but you meant to be with me!''

''...I will be with you, even if you can't see me.....'' And they were his last words, before falling unconscious as his left breath left him. Eyes shut tight and totally dead. Angel teared up, as she wailed out all her emotions. All on-lockers could do was stare at the filly, who had just killed the killer but had also killed her own father. They all felt sorry for her, but the filly didn't even notice and probably didn't care about it.

''....A-After that.....I wandered around....unable to go home......I just couldn't.....but e-eventually.....m-mother....found me.....And....I had to tell her what happened. I'm just a burden, who doesn't need to exist!'' cried the filly, tears flooded her eyes after she recounted her tale. One that she didn't want her have to think about again.

She just wanted to disappear, wanted Ribbon to agree with her, waiting for something but when something happened, it was expected. A pair of hooves wrapped around her tightly. At first, she tried to struggle away but Ribbon held her tightly to her, before saying. ''You aren't a burden, your mother loves you. Never believe that she hates you, I don't see it. She does everything for you, and not because she obliged to but because she loves you, like any mother should.''

''B-But.....''

''No! You are not a burden, I won't allow it. Never, you definitely not a burden and you'll never be. Little sis.''

Angel seized her argument and closed her eyes, falling asleep in her sister's warm embrace. It felt relaxing and she felt save within those kind, purple hooves, hooves that she now knew would never hurt her. Ribbon continued the embrace, even after figuring out that Angel was asleep but eventually she broke apart from the filly.

Resting the small pegasus's head on the blue pillow, Ribbon smiled and leaned in. Lips met, but only for a moment and Ribbon acted like nothing had happened. She then kissed the filly's forehead, whispering ''Goodnight...'' Before getting up and switching the light off, turning back one more time to look at the filly. The small that was placed on the foal's lips made Ribbon happy and peaceful, as she whispered out a few words. ''You're definitely not a burden. And you never will, not on may watch.''

Author's Note

This chapter by the way was meant to be later in the story, but I pushed it forward to add tension about poor Angel's trauma. And it obvious, I need to update the tags!