* 3 hours earlier •
I walked with my two friends through the long corridor, not paying attention to a word they said, I kept my head down, swishing my tail along the floor as we walked.
"I'm so excited! Aren't you, Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle asked me in that soft voice of hers, turning hers and Apple Bloom's attention towards me.
"What? Oh...uh, yeah." I perked my head up, pretending I was listening.
"I heard Rumble is going to be there." Apple Bloom told us, smirking towards me. I gave her a dead look and frowned.
"I'm not interested in him anymore AB, I swear." She giggled and we arrived at the cafeteria. We swung the doors open. Everyone turned to look at us and stared. Apple Bloom in the lead With her silky crimson mane held up by a magenta ribbon. Sweetie Belle trailing behind, her soft green eyes and pure coat. And then there was me, hiding behind my beautiful best friends. My mane and coat didn't match, a vibrant purple on an orange didn't go well together. My eyes were lilac and didn't suit me. I was ugly, to say the least. I hated myself. We sat down at our usual table, surrounded by some sophomore ponies. They stared at us, not expecting some of the most popular ponies to be sitting there. Apple Bloom counted out the bits in her hoof silently, and I looked at them. She must feel lucky, to have all that money and be able to spend it on anything she wants.
"Okay, let's go get lunch." She announced, and we all got up to go stand in line. I followed them, making sure to be unseen.
"I'm not going to get anything, you guys go without me." I told them, and Apple Bloom looked at me with concerned eyes.
"Are you sure?" She asked.
"I'm sure." I turned away from them and walked to the bathroom outside of the cafeteria.
* 3 hours later •
I sat down on my quiet spot, a large cliff in Ponyville. My hooves under my chin and my head down. I looked down at Ponyville, watching the small city buzz with life. I watched the tiny ponies run around in a hurry, to get to parties, anywhere they could be going. I should be going to a big party with my friends tonight but I didn't feel like it. I didn't want to get abandoned by Sweetie Belle again so she could go with the stallion of her choice for the night or to be deserted by Apple Bloom so she could dance with her 'friends'; They usually ended up in a room with some guy, leaving me alone and apologizing the next day, leaving a ton of texts on my phone saying 'they'll never do it again' 'I'm so sorry', only to do it again the next weekend. I left my phone to vibrate next to me, turning it on silent after I'd had enough. I stared down for a while, my eyes closing occasionally. I decided to go home, I was cold and tired. I grabbed my shitty phone, about to put it in my bag as I read the multiple text messages from my father.
From: Dad
Come home right fucking now!
Sent at : 9:28 p.m.
Where the fuck are you?
Sent at : 9:46 p.m.
You're fucking grounded when you get home.
Sent at : 10:16 p.m.
I frowned, and I decided I didn't want to go home. My rapist, abusive father was a piece of shit. When I came home from school, every damn day he'd be drunk. He would drink more until he could barely walk and come into my room. If it's even qualified as a room, it's more like a closet. I sleep on a toddlers mattress, with a flat pillow and my old baby blanket. He'd come in, drag me out and beat me. He'd yell at me, he'd yell the worst things.
"You're a piece of shit!"
"Your mother should've aborted you"
"you're so fucking ugly, what kind of damn pony has a fucking bright orange coat?" He'd laugh at me. He'd laugh and beat me until I couldn't move. Kick, punch, scream. Anything to make me unable to move. Then, occasionally he'd drag me into his room and rape me. For hours, doing whatever he pleased. Whatever his sick mind came up with. My mom, I don't know where she went. The abuse all started when I was 9. The rape didn't start until I was 13, when I was grown up. Tears of anger and hurt welled up in my eyes as I thought about him, the things he said to me. I kicked a rock off the cliff in anger and I stomped my hoof. I didn't want to go home. I didn't want to go back to that fucking room with the fucking mattress and the blanket. I didn't want to sit in the dark, freezing and lonely. I don't want to cry myself to sleep anymore. I don't want to stare at the Wonderbolts poster on my wall, wishing I'd be like them. Wishing, one day I'd be like Rainbow Dash. Rainbow. I hadn't thought about her in a while and I missed her. I turned my head towards the cliff and pondered. I walked closer and flapped my useless wings. I closed them and kept them that way. I dropped my saddle bag and my phone on the ground, putting my phone inside. I looked around inside the bag. Books, homework, pencils. Nothing important. I wrote a note and left it inside the bag. I took a deep breath and walked over to the cliff, wiping my tears away from my eyes. I looked down. Could I die from jumping? I questioned myself and assumed, yes. It had to be at least a 80 ft. drop. I closed my eyes and breathed. I held my chin up, stepped to the ledge, and jumped.
* Sweetie Belle •
I paced around my room and looked at my phone, hoping for a text from Scootaloo. She would have texted me by now. I heard hoof steps up the stairs and saw my sisters girlfriend and roommate, Applejack. She was with AB. I sighed and sat on my bed, trying not to wrinkle my satin sheets and fur comforter.
"What's wrong? Ya look kind of..." AB asked, coming to sit down next to me.
"Nothing, I'm just worried about Scootaloo." I told her and she looked at me.
"Scootaloo? Where is she?" "I don't know." I sighed again and started walking around, staring out my large window.
"Let's just go to the party, okay?" I said and AB perked up. For the first time tonight I noticed she had a cyan bow on tonight. She nodded and we left together, with our phones and jackets.
* 2:04 a.m. at the party Apple Bloom's POV•
I woke up in a bed with a stallion, like I did last week. And the week before. I rubbed my eyes as I got up, looking him over. He was cute, I'm glad it was him this week instead of someone like Snails the last. That, was not fun. Mind you I was drunk, but still. He had a dark grey coat, a yellow and yellow-orange mane. He had bright yellow eyes. His cutie mark was a comet with the same color yellow and orange trail behind it. I got up carefully and grabbed my bow, jacket and phone. I read the texts carefully. My heart dropped to the floor and my whole body went cold.
From: Sweetie
Come outside, I need you.
Sent at : 12:38 a.m.
Where are you?
Sent at : 1:06 a.m.
Apple Bloom, come outside right now. I think something's wrong with Scootaloo.
Sent at : 2:00 a.m.
I called her and she immediately picked up.
"Apple Bloom, where the hell have you been?" My ears flattened and my heart dropped once more at the sound of my best friends soft, sweet voice cursing in such a mean tone.
"I'm in a room with..." I looked at the stallion and recognized him, once I was awake it was easier.
"With Comet." She scoffed and told me,
"go to the cliff. The one that the treehouse used to be on." She said, and I nodded.
"Okay." I hung up immediately. I heard him waking up and I ran out quickly, running down the stairs of the house and bolting through the door.
I arrived at the cliff, panting. I saw Sweetie and ran over to her.
"What happened?" She didn't answer me and pointed over to a familiar bag. I walked over to the bag cautiously and peered inside of it. I saw a note and took it out, carefully opening it knowing what was waiting for me. I scanned my eyes over the first few words and gasped. I heard Sweetie trot over to me and we read it together. I read it out loud to her, trying not to cry.
Dear, Apple Bloom. Dear Sweetie Belle. Dear everyone who reads this.
To you Apple Bloom, my bag. It is the most precious thing I have and I know you'll cherish it because I know you've been wanting a new one and mine is brand new. It isn't the best but I think you'll like it. To Sweetie Belle, my 'diamond' butterfly pendant. My mother gave it to me, and its pink and I know you love pink. I love you. You're both my best friends in the world and I couldn't even describe how much I love you. I'm going to miss your soft pink and purple mane with those beautiful curls I always admired. I'm going to miss Apple Bloom's charisma and the way she inspired me to do better. I love you both. You're both the most important things in my life. To my father. Nothing. Fuck you. I hate you with everything I have, and I don't have much. I hate you, and your damn face and your damn stubble and I hate everything about you. All the damn things you did and all the fucking times you beat me to the point where I couldn't even go to school. I was unable to fucking fly because you damaged my wings so bad when I was 12. I hate you. Did you kill mom? You told me you'd kill me. You said...you said you'd kill me. I did it for you, so I hope you're happy. I hate you.
Love, Scootaloo.
Sweetie was sobbing by the time I was done and I couldn't even cry I was in so much pain. How could we not know what was happening, this whole time? I pieced it all together. All the scars and bruises she had from the beatings we didn't know shit about. Tears flowed down my face as I realized what we'd done. I hugged Sweetie Belle and we sobbed into each others names. I pulled away and rubbed my eyes, pulling my mane into a ponytail tying it with my ribbon. A ton of anger flowed through me and I grabbed the bag and the note, trotting off with Sweetie to Scootaloo's house.
When we arrived, I swung the door open and stomped through the house, looking for the pony who did this to my best friend.
"What the fuck-" I heard someone shout, and I saw Scootaloo's dad come out from the hallway.
"Apple Bloom?" He looked at me. He looked at my fuming expression, my eyes bloodshot and wide. He looked over to Sweetie, and saw her crying and her messy mane.
"I haven't seen you two in...years." He said quietly.
"You fucking...monster..." I managed to breath out, stomping up to him and hitting him with my hoof, in the face hard. He was taken aback and stumbled backwards. I didn't care that he was bigger than me, I didn't care that he was almost 45 and I was a junior in high school. I wanted to beat the living shit out of him for what he did to Scootaloo. I bucked him in the side with my hind legs harder than I should have, sending blood up his throat. I threw the note at him and screamed more.
"You fucking monster! How could you fucking rape her like that and beat her and hurt her when she was one of the most important fucking things in my life! You cost a fucking life and I hope you feel bad about it because I'm about to beat the shi-" I stopped yelling as I was pulled back by Sweetie, and she whispered,
"I think we should go."
"No. I want to fucking see him read the note." I glared at him with ice cold eyes and watched him stand up.
"Read the fucking note." He coughed more blood and took the note in his hooves, reading it. Horror creeped over his face as he read more.
"Are you fucking proud of yourself?" I snarled at him, and he looked at me with tears rolling down his face. I scoffed and turned around grabbing Sweetie and leaving the house.