Chapter 9: Broken

I went too far...

Something in Fae snapped, leaving a husk of the pony I love sitting at the table. Everything went downhill fast when that plate broke above Fae's head. I'm ill informed regarding the subject, but it appeared to be some form of magic.

"What happen-" Clarie began to ask but was cut off as Fae resumed her story, as if she were on autopilot.

"She kept wanting me to try and graft some of my leylines onto her. I was adamant against doing it. I knew the risks and kept refusing, but she wouldn’t take no for an answer. She was very gifted in making ponies do what she wanted. I caved and attempted to transfer a very small portion of them onto her. I performed a transplant that has never been done before. It worked, but the magic was too powerful for her to handle. The leylines that were now in both of us, began to transfer pure mana across the gap. There was an explosion of arcane energy as they continued to sear her body." Fae sat there lifeless, yet again.

"Is she sti-" Kat tried to ask, but was interrupted by Fae.

"I was able to reverse the process and take them back, as well as transfer all of her wounds to myself, but it damaged her soul. Those scars are hers and she will wear them for the rest of her life. Right before she lost consciousness, she handed me her pendant. That was the last time I laid eyes on my sister."

We sat silently as Fae continued revealing information. I wasn't about to say anything else. It's my fault I started this. Clarie had lost the ability to fight her tears and was audibly sobbing.

"Two months passed, I was up and able to walk again, but my sister remained in a coma for eleven. Though she had no physical damage, the strain on her mind was too severe. Her body entered a state of near-death. The doctors said that she would never wake up, but I knew they were wrong, because I foolishly had to know if my sister was still in there. I began researching ways to read her mind without being close to her. I found a spell that would suffice and performed the spell before I had a chance to recover from my own injuries. I knew it would send me right back to the hospital but I didn't care."

"She once possessed the leylines in which I channel my magic, I have no way of knowing if being near her will cause another devastating reaction. It is possible that there are remnants that could attempt to harness my mana. I refuse to take such a risk."

It seemed as though Fae was telling the story to herself for the first time. She is pausing every few sentences, almost as if she does not know what happens next.

"I performed the spell. She was not brain-dead. I was able to read her thoughts, though all I could make out was her crying. I was hospitalized for another three months. It was worth it. I discovered that my sister still had brain activity, that was enough to keep me going. But her cries caused me to believe casting that spell caused her pain. I could no longer magically interfere."

"I did everything in my power to directly contact the highest authority, Princess Celestia. Nopony would deliver any of my messages to her, telling me I need to go through proper channels. That was unacceptable. That would have taken months, maybe years. I successfully had my message delivered by threatening to blow up half of the city. My magic was burnt out, but nopony knew that. I took advantage of the fear and paranoia everypony had of my abilities. I was arrested and taken into police custody in exchange for them hoof delivering a letter directly to the princess."

As the story continued, I prayed it was drawing to a close. It kept getting more and more depressing. I couldn't even stand to hear it... But Fae lived it...

"The Princess immediately took action and transferred my little sister to the most advanced hospital in the country, Canterlot Medical Center. Not only that, she exonerated me of all crimes, but it did not matter to me. She explained that she knew of the turmoil of causing pain and suffering to a little sister and that she had a personal investment in this case."

"I received daily reports on the status of my sister that only said that there had been no change in her status. A few months later, I received a letter with a royal seal on it. It said that my sister had awoken from her coma and appeared to have no brain damage. Also, that she was going to be kept in Canterlot another three weeks for observation."

"All hospital fees had been waived and Princess Celestia personally delivered my sister Miracle a goodbye letter from me even though she tried to reassure me that further contact between the two of us should not harm her."

Fae's full name is Forlorn Fate and her sisters name is Miracle. I couldn't help but wonder if those names were precursors for this tragic event, or if they were simply coincidence. Is it because of this that she goes by Fae? I had so many questions, but it would be nothing less than cruel of me to ask them.

"I left my hometown and moved to Ponyville revealing my whereabouts to nopony. She almost died because of me. I can't be near her. I love Meryll. I spent a month locked in this room lamenting over this until one day I just snapped. I went insane, but before I could do anything stupid, I used a spell to place a mental wall between me most of the details of this story."

"I was afraid I would pick at the wall if I blocked out too much of my memory. I left the details about me needing to place a mental block and about me not being able to be near my sister intact. I must have broken the wall when I started talking about my sister."

Silence overcame the group as everypony realized that Fae was in agony. I could tell, the three of us wanted to say words to help, but given the extreme response coming from her, I doubt anything would work. Tears had not stopped flowing this entire time and had started to form a puddle on the edge of the table.

We were all crying now. Fae was dealing with this the only way she could, by avoiding dealing with it. Until I dredged up the past. I'm an idiot. I'm such a fucking idiot!

I would give anything to cheer her up...

"I'm sorry I waited this long, Fae. I was selfishly going to use this to pull ahead of the others. I didn't know the amount of sentiment behind it. I'm so sorry."

Clarie walked over to her bed and reached under the mattress to retrieve something. It looked like... A necklace?

She placed the jewelry on the table next to the puddle. It was a pretty and simple pendant with a green gemstone hanging from it.

"It was wrong of me not to return it right away. But please... Cheer up. I don't like seeing you like this. You don't deserve to torture yourself and you don’t need to deal with things on your own. We are your friends. When you are sad, we are sad." Clarie was sobbing much harder than both me and Kat.

I really wanted to say something too, but couldn't get the words out.

"Don't you dare think about recasting the wall!" Kat spoke up. "You told me yourself, erasing your memories will erase who you are. In time, you will be right back where you are right now. You knew that this would happen before you even knew that this could happen. You saved me from making a big mistake and I refuse to let you make the same one again."

I am not sure what exactly Kat was speaking of, but there was a fiery passion in her eyes I hadn't witnessed before.

"You are the smartest pony I have ever met. Please Fae, listen to your own words. A painful past is behind you. You had the strength to make it as long as you did without anyone to help you. You did what you needed to in order to get by. Things are different now, we are here for you. You have three strong pillars of support who won't let you fall." Kats words were carefully selected to appeal to the principles of Fae. She is more wise than I was aware.

I'm useless, I caused this and I can't even say anything to help her. What's worse is that in this dark time, I'm feeling sorry for myself. Fae is suffering while the one who claims she loves her takes a backseat approach.

No, Fae needs me. I can't sit here and do nothing. I have to help her! I didn't know exactly what I was going to say when I started talking, but winging a speech is better than how I had been helping.

"Fae, I am sorry I helped blast open the wall. But try considering how your sister feels. Your sister doesn't blame you. She loves you very much. Her last conscious action was to give you a gift. She was in a state where she should have been worried for her own life, yet she used the last of her energy to try and tell you that she loves you and doesn’t want you to feel bad."

Fae rotated her head towards me. I must be on the right track. I have to maintain momentum!

"You don’t need to punish yourself for this. What happened what horrible, but it happened. Princess Celestia herself understood the situation and did everything she could to try and ease your suffering. Your sister will have scars and may have 11 months that she will never get back, but those will be nothing compared to the pain of losing you."

Fae opened her mouth to speak, but no words came. I need to push harder.

"Even though I don’t know her, I bet she tortures herself, believing she is the reason you got hurt. She doesn’t have the ability to block painful memories like you do. I understand if you physically can't be near her. So long as it's you refusing to take a risk of hurting her and not you trying to rationalize avoiding looking her in the eyes."

One more shove, then I will offer support.

"Nothing of what you said is stopping you from writing to her. At least communicate with her. Let her know that you love her and that you are still alive. For all she knows, you could be dead. That mindset would crush anyone."

I hate being so harsh with words at this crucial moment, but it is necessary.

"I will do everything I can to help you. Say the word and I will fly out there right now to go check on your sister. I will personally hoof deliver every letter you two write to each other if that is what it takes. I will not let this break you! You are far too valuable to everypony in this room. More than that, you have done so much to try and make us happy. All of that will have been for nothing if you don’t allow us to make you happy. We want nothing more than for your happiness."

Fae snapped out of it, inspecting the pendant for a prolonged period of time. She placed her head through the strap, letting it dangle around her neck.

"Thank you, girls. This means the world to me."

Once the blank look in her eyes departed, the three of us scrambled to give her a hug.

Clarie's contribution probably played the most significant role in reconstructing Fae. I know this should have been her moment, but this wasn't about any stupid rivalry. The only thing any of us wanted was to cheer Fae up. Nothing else matters. Not even the excruciating pain radiating my ribs were in from the hug that lasted for over 10 minutes.

No more tears fell from Fae. While we were all cleaning our faces, Fae went about without attempting to wipe her tears. I don't think she even knew she was crying. I am not sure exactly how much anything that was said got through to her, but she returned to her usual expressionless self. We made sure that she didn’t cast any memory spells. Even if she is still avoiding the issue, at least she is doing it on her own. Something she wasn’t able to before.

"Dinner is ready!" Clarie stepped up, changing topics. "Tonight we are having salad, with pretty much every ingredient you can put in it."

Fae spoke for the second time since coming back to us.

"Sounds good. Your meal preparation skills are unparalleled." She spoke normally, as if nothing had ever happened.

I spent most of my money buying the ingredients to make an "All the Things" salad for dinner. I'm glad that we all can get an excellent meal, that definitely helps to lift any residual feelings.

Plates were dished out and we ate dinner with no further mention of magic or sisters.

"You know what I miss most about my people?" I asked. "Meat. I really miss the carnivorous delicacies."

Kat and Clarie gasped at the thought.

"I have always wondered how meat tastes." Fae commented.

"Fae!" Clarie snapped. "That’s awful!"

"It happens in nature all the time. I'm not saying I want to slaughter everything that moves for fun, but I wouldn’t mind trying just once." Fae's expressionless face showed no remorse at her words.

"I'll cook for you sometime." I said with the sexiest wink I could muster. In my own excitement, it was really more of a blink, but I turned my head towards Kat so Fae couldn’t tell otherwise. My flirt succeeded as Fae missed her mouth, trying to take a bite of the salad and unintentionally stabbing herself in the cheek with her fork.

"Hey, I prepared the meal!" Clarie objected. "Stab yourself in the face for me too!"

"It's not like I meant to do that!" Fae defended.

Kat said nothing, but looked at Fae while blinking repeatedly.

"It doesn’t work like that, Kat. I'm a natural in the school of sexiness. Though, occasionally I will use skills from the school of temptation. There are 8 schools in the art of love." I said in a mocking manner. "You use a different school."

"Considering my luck, I guess I fall in the category of dojikko." Kat said.

"What's that mean?" Clarie questioned.

"Clumsiness," Kat answered with a sorrow filled frown.

"That can be a powerful asset in the art of attraction." I attempted to console her. "But I would say that you fall in the school of compassion. When others bear witness to your luck, they feel compassion for you which can also lead to feelings of love."

"What about me?" Clarie asked, excited to hear the answer.

"Easy, you're cuteness." I acted like a professional in this made-up art.

"What of me?" Fae asked, following along with the joke.

"Hmm... I say you fall in the school of Beauty." I answered, sticking my tongue out.

Fae reached up to scratch her cheek while averting her gaze.

"Hey, Beatrice. What was that word Twilight used earlier?" Clarie asked me.

"Oh right! Kat, what's yuri mean?" I asked.

Kat's face grew pink with embarrassment. I think she tried to answer, but they came out as little squeaks. Not as high pitched as Clarie's typical noise.

Fae began to subtly laugh, a relieving action.

"Seriously, Twilight said something about me liking yuri. Why are you laughing? What does it mean?!" I was starting to freak out.

Fae spoke up after a few more chuckles. "It means girl love." She followed it up with more laughter.

"Kat! You had us rent smut?! The library has smut?" Clarie went off.

"I'm going to need to read those when you are done with them, Kat." Consider my curiosity peaked.

"I almost forgot about the books. Did you find one about television repair?" Fae asked me.

"I got three of them." I said. "I don’t know which one you needed so I got them all."

Fae laid her head on the table and covered her head in disgust.

"That's so much reading... I guess it can't be helped."

She walked over to the counter and grabbed the books. Then she went to the nightstand and pulled out a pair of rectangular glasses, returning to her seat and clearing a space at the table.

"I didn’t know you wore glasses." Clarie said.

"They make things easier." Her horn appeared as the glasses became drenched in light. After a few seconds, the light subsided. She placed them on her face and began to read.

Or maybe not. The pages of the first book flipped in rapid succession at an absurd rate. In less than 30 seconds she sat the book down, repeating the action two more times for the other books.

"What are you doing?" Clarie asked.

Fae didn’t answer until she had set the last book down. "I put an enchantment on the glasses to speed read."

Walking around the table, I yanked the glasses off Fae to test them out.

"The magic must have worn off, I'm reading at my normal speed." I set the glasses down in disappointment.

"Actually the spell enables you to read at the rate your brain. can ..process... the.... words." Fae slowed down nearing the end of her explanation.

"Did you just call me stupid?" I said with an annoyed expression.

She paused for a moment. "I worded it the best I could!" She said in a loud whiny fashion.

"Oh, you mean that I have average intelligence but you are just a genius." I rationalized.

"That sounds slightly better I suppose." Fae responded.

"You do realize we can't keep meeting in the bathroom secretly right? One of those two will find out eventually." I said to Fae as we started our bedtime ritual.

"I know, I will think of a new sleep delivery system tomorrow." Fae said as she took four vials from her crate, passing it to me afterwards.

"How much is considered dangerous?" I asked with deep concern.

Fae sighed. "Please don’t lecture me."

"I just want you to be careful." I said with sincerity.

"I know my limits. I'm fine." I couldn’t help but wonder if she does.

Fae's sleepy time juice is so delicious. I'm limiting myself to half a bottle, this stuff is just too strong. I really don't think I need it anymore, but the sweet taste and great feeling it brings on is just too good to pass up. Oh... I think I just discovered what addiction means...

I could do without, though. It's not the potion I'm addicted to. It's the special connection Fae and I share. This is something that she does with me and me alone. If I were to opt out of our ritual, I'm afraid that I may lose what little progress I have made with her.

Even though I can clone her image, I can't even come close to the sheer beauty she wears. It's almost as if somepony were to ask me to describe what I look for in a woman and Fae is a more accurate result than I could have ever imagined.

Fae is the first pony to ever so much as give me the time of day to explain myself. What's more is that she listened to my story with an open mind. I've never had anypony accept who I am, let alone attempt to help me. Even though I now have other friends like Clarie and Kat, I doubt I could have obtained them on my own. It's because of Fae.

I care very deeply for both Clarie and Kat, but they scare me. They are a threat to my plans with Fae. Every word exchanged between those two and my beloved worries me more than the last. Especially Clarie. I only met Fae because I noticed the bond between them. It's like I joined a race late, after she already made it to the first checkpoint.

Kat on the other hand joined later than I did. I can only imagine how she feels. It's true that I wanted her to not sleep beside Fae anymore, but the main reason I bought her that cot is because I feel a little bad for her. I can tell Fae likes her as well, for reasons unknown. If I can get closer with Kat and learn what it is that makes her desirable, then I can adapt those qualities and gain an upper hand in this contest. It makes me feel dirty and underhanded, but I need to win this.

This slumber ritual we now share is the only time that I get to spend with Fae alone. I don’t care that it requires me to unnecessarily take drugs, I need seize this opportunity. Carpe noctem!

"Fae, I... I" I was stuttering, unable to get out the words.

"Right. You didn't get to feed today. Since we are alone now, go ahead." She incorrectly finished my sentence for me. I was trying to tell her my feelings. No, this isn't the time and definitely not the place.

"If you are positive that you are OK with it. Last time looked like it hurt you." The last thing in this world I want to do is hurt her. But, so long as I watch myself and stop before I go to far, there will not be any lasting damage.

"It stung a little, nothing I can't handle. You are fine."

I began drawing in Fae's essence at a slower rate than last time. I know it will make the whole ordeal take longer, but it will be easier to stop if I go to far.

The emotion I was eating from Fae was overwhelmingly disgusting. I was about to stop when I realized why. I was absorbing her dominant emotion, it's not always going to be the same. This time it was composed of pure despair. Fae was acting like she was OK for our sakes?

The taste was the worst thing I have ever experienced, it had a withering effect on my mind and body. However, I the more I drain from her, the less she will have in her, in theory. It may only be temporary, but I'll do what it takes.

Fae remain unphased by the entire process as I increased the rate I stole her feelings.

I drew as much as I could before nearly collapsing. I'm sure I didn't get it all. I'm not even sure if taking it from her will relieve her of it, but I have to try.

"That hurt you?" Fae voiced her concern.

"It was just a little powerful." I lied through my fangs while delivering a heartfelt hug to her. "It's no biggie."

Halfway through the embrace, my body started to relax and I lost my footing. The potions effects were too overpowering. Even though I am only taking a half of one, that's still like eight times normal strength. That is nuts.

"You don’t need to thank me. Come on, let's go to bed."

With a nod, we left the bathroom and crept back to our beds.

I awoke in the middle of the night from the sound of a loud thud.

I poked my head out to see what the hell had happened, but due to the sleeping potion, I was very groggy and half out of it. The sound of hoofsteps made itself present, coming this way. They stopped mere inches from my face.

"Fae, my cot broke. Can I sleep with you?" I heard Kat ask in a childish tone.

"I guess, I'll have to fix it tomorrow. Sure, take the side next to the wall, something tells me that an intruder will strangle you if you do not."

Damn her! I bet she broke it on purpose! That conniving witch!

I heard rustling from above. When it died down, another set of hoofsteps, this time much lighter than before. I crawled partway out of my cave in time to see Clarie approaching the bed with her eyes shut. Without a word, she entered Fae's domain, placing Fae in an uncomfortable looking hold.

"Don't exclude me. I'm coming up there too." I declared. Though, I don’t think I am up for any more fighting today. I'm too sore for all that jazz.

I climbed on top of my den, confining myself to foot of the bed. Stealing one of Fae's inner legs to use for a pillow. I noticed something about her that I was unaware of. Her hooves, they were completely unblemished and soft. No calluses were present, they were well moisturized and looked soft. I guess it shouldn't be surprising, she must not use them all that much. They were very clean and dainty. A very alluring feature of hers.

I can't say that particularly into this sort of thing, but having her hoof so close to my face made it very hard not to be. I brought my own hoof up to it, feeling just how soft they were. They felt like velvet wrapped in silk. It it was so entrancing, I could keep rubbing it all day.

"Pfft, Hahaha stop that!" I heard her react to my actions.

I fought all the urges to find out how it tastes, despite how high on the list of life goals it had made itself. After a few more strokes, I stopped. The desire to keep going was too strong and would drive me mad if I couldn't find a way to curb them. I turned over to face the other direction, using the same leg as a pillow. Moments later I turned back around, putting her hoof back in my sights. The other direction held much stronger urges...

I definitely have my work cut out for me, if I want to come out of this on top. I swear it, I will make Fae love me as much as I love her if it's the last thing I do.

Today was eventful to say the least, but major steps were taken to better everything. I could rest easy knowing that I was able to help Fae for a change. With my body's weakened state and Fae's warmth, I had no trouble at all falling back to sleep. The sleeping potion probably had something to do with it as well.

Author's Note

Drama bomb!

I will begin work on the next chapter immediately. If all goes well, I should have it ready in about two weeks.

Let me know down in the comments if this chapter had any effect on you, I know it did me.