Chapters Chapter 1 - The Everfree Forest
Years have passed since Firefly had escaped the orphanage. She was now a fully grown mare, and she had managed to build her own house out of bark of the trees, and, after a few errors, made a fully-functioning farm. She learnt a lot of things during her time living in the Everfree, and even made a new friend called Zecora. Once or twice a week she would visit her to have some tea, and give advice to one another. Zecora also taught her how to grow fruit.
Her past weighed on her shoulders for a long, long time now, but despite her depressing nights, she remained happy throughout the day. She had a refreshing new start and made a new friend, so her everything was going well for once in her life. She also managed to keep herself hidden from any monsters that come across her home. Though, during nights she has nightmares of the same things.
She sees herself, cutting open ponies, turning them into stuffed toys. She sees herself go crazy, and then police arrive at her door. She then sees herself laughing in her cell, in which she is then put into a straight jacket. After that, she wakes up. The amount of blood she was covered in... The fact that it was innocent pony blood... It woke her up. Sometimes, she would have nightmares about the time her Fluttershy teddy decomposed right in front of her. She didn't know it was a real pony... But when she wakes up from those nightmares, she pukes.
Apart from the constant nightmares, scary monsters and bad weather, Firefly had a pretty decent life in the Everfree. She loved it there, and she had preferred it from her normal life back with her parents. To be honest, she was glad Nightlight had committed suicide. She never wanted to see him nor StitchedHeart again. But now, she has to decide what to do next.
Like always, she went to Zecora for help. She gave Firefly a lot of advice, and Firefly herself got used to the way her zebra friend talks. She understands her whenever she talks in riddles. Firefly went over to Zecora's house for some tea, and after a while of chatting she asked a big question that was on her mind.
"Hey, Zecora..." Firefly stuttered. "I need some help. I've got a good life in this forest, and you became my friend despite my past... But... I want to know what I should do next."
Zecora nodded her head. "A good question for a confused pony, perhaps make some new friends as you are quite lonely."
"Yeah, thanks for that." Firefly rolled her eyes. "But how am I supposed to make new friends? I bet half of Equestria hates me."
"A bet you are likely to gamble, but it is not you that left the town in shambles." Zecora circled her hoof around the rim of her cup.
"That is true..." Firefly admitted. "But I should have known... And they were going to bring me into their business!"
"If they would have told you, would you have said yes, or would you say no and protest?" Zecora sipped some more tea.
"I would have said no." Firefly stated. She drunk some of her tea, and then set the cup down back on the table carefully. "Then I would have told the police straight away!"
"Despite them being your parents?" Zecora added. "Would you have not considered them transparent?"
Firefly looked at her in confusion, then realised what she meant. "No, I wouldn't ignore the fact that they killed ponies." She looked down at her hooves and played around with her bracelets.
"Then what's all this fuss about?" Zecora chuckled. "Why not make some friends rather than shower yourself in doubt?"
"No, you're right." Firefly grinned. "You're absolutely right! But, er... Where do I start?"
"Ponyville is the friendliest place around!" Zecora insisted. "I'm sure they would let you live in there town!"
"But that's the place where my parents were arrested." Firefly slumped down. "Surely they would remember me. Besides, I want to live in the Everfree."
"You have adapted in this place, but you are endangered by it's grace."
"You mean by the monsters?" Firefly saw Zecora's head nod. "I can handle them, I guess. But you're right. I should start with Ponyville. I promise I'll visit."
"A promise I know you will not break. Go now, and leave no room for mistake!" Zecora put her cup down and smiled softly at the mare she had took care of. "Good luck, my little pony."
"Thank you, Zecora." Firefly hugged her friend, and raced out of her friend's house. She bolted home to pick up a few essentials and then stood at the frame of her door. Looking at her farm, she wondered what would happen to her. Would she get chased out of town? Would no pony like her? Or would they forgive and forget about what happened? There was only one way to find out.
As Firefly began trotting into Ponyville, the first thing she noticed were ponies staring at her and whispering to the pony next to them. Obviously they haven't forgotten what happened years ago, but who would? Her parents killed innocent ponies and turned them into teddy bears . They might think that she would do the same. However, Firefly ignored their judgements and carried on walking towards the town hall. She was hoping to find a cheap house to live in, and if she didn't have enough bits than she would go and find a job. Firefly had planned what she was going to do.
Entering the town hall, she found Mayor Mare signing some papers. Firefly fixed her mane so she would look a bit more professional, and then walked towards her. When the Mayor saw Firefly, her pupils went small and she stepped back a little, then gulped a lump in her throat.
"Hi there." Firefly greeted. "I'm looking for a place to stay!"
"O-Oh, are you..?" The Mayor darted her eyes left and right. "Well, er... A-Are you sure you want to live here..?"
"Yeah!" Firefly grinned. "This is the friendliest place in Equestria, isn't it?"
"Y-Yes, it... It is..." Mayor Mare looked to the ground.
"Is there a house I can get for fifty bits?" Firefly rustled her hoof in her saddle bag, and then took out a small bag filled with bits.
"F-Fifty?" The Mayor choked. "No, there isn't. Sorry." She let out a sigh of relief.
"Oh..." Firefly put her pouch back into her bag. "Well, is there any job openings anywhere?"
The Mayor's ears perked up. "Not that I've heard of."
"Oh. I'll look around, then. Thanks!" Firefly turned and exited the town hall. The Mayor swiped some sweat off of her forehead, hoping that no one gives her a job.
Firefly skipped down the town, looking left and right for a place to work. She had asked the dentists, the spa and the hat shop, but they all declined despite two of them having a 'employees wanted' sign on their doors. They seemed scared of Firefly, but she thought that they just need to get used to her. It wasn't her that killed the ponies anyway.
As she was walking around, she came across her old house. It was still condemned after all these years. Looking up at it, Firefly slumped down and sighed. This was where it all happened. If only she knew, then she would have turned them in. Firefly looked to the ground, and tears started forming from her eyes. She sniffled, before noticing that somepony put their hoof on her shoulder.
"Are you okay?" The pink earth pony smiled. "You look sad."
Firefly looked at the earth pony, and saw that it was that mare that helped arrest her mom. "D-Does e-everyone s-still remember..?"
"Seems so." Pinkie Pie sat next to her. "But don't worry! Once they see that you're a good pony, they'll change their mind about you!"
"What d-do they t-think about me..?" Firefly wiped her eyes.
"They think that you might be like your mom and dad! But I told them that you aren't! I asked them to give you a chance!" Pinkie Pie laughed.
"I-I'm trying to find a job..." Firefly stuttered. "But t-they're s-scared of me..."
"You can work at my place! Sugar Cube Corner!" Pinkie cheered. "And I'll be your first friend!"
"R-Really?" Firefly hiccuped.
"Yeah! It'll be fun! You can start in an hour! I'll see you there! Just remember to smile!"
Firefly turned to speak, but Pinkie was already gone. She smiled softly, still having tears trickling down her face. She looked up at the torn building she used to live in, and she smiled wider. She got up, wiped her face and then trotted off.
An hour passed and Firefly had arrived at Sugar Cube Corner. When she entered, she expected for any other worker that works there to be scared of her, but as she walked in, everything was calm.
"You must be the new worker Pinkie told us about." Said a blue mare. "My name is Mrs Cake and this is my husband Mr Cake."
"N-Nice to meet you." Firefly nodded, walking further into the room rather then lingering in the corner.
"Oh! You're here!" Pinkie cheered, hugging Firefly. "Mr and Mrs Cake, meet Firefly!"
"Nice to meet you, Firefly." Mr Cake smirked, and then rushed into the kitchen.
"Why don't we get you started? You can help Pinkie bake the goods." Mrs Cake stood by the cash register.
"I don't know how to bake." Firefly informed her.
"I'll teach you how!" Pinkie chirped.
Pinkie and Firefly baked some cupcakes together and set them in the front of the shop. Customers started piling in, but when Firefly stepped out of the kitchen to put the second batch out on display, the line of ponies in front of the register ran out of the bakery. For hours they didn't have a single customer, and when it was closing time all four ponies turned to each other.
"Strange." Mrs Cake sighed. "We didn't have a single customer since the second set of cupcakes came out. What happened?"
Firefly immediately looked down to the ground. Pinkie Pie saw her sorrow. "Maybe they weren't hungry." Pinkie shrugged, smiling at Firefly.
"But this has never happened before." Mr Cake pointed out.
"I-I'm sorry, it's my fault." Firefly tried not to cry.
"It's not your fault." Pinkie put her hoof on her shoulder. "They just need to get used to you. Once they do-"
"Pinkie, they'll probably never get used to me." Firefly sniffled. "It's hopeless."
"Please, just try and prove yourself." Pinkie's smile almost faded away. "So what if ponies don't come to the bakery for a few days? Sooner or later they will realise that you mean no harm! They will !"
Firefly nodded. "I'll give it a try, then..."
After a few days, ponies started getting used to Firefly working at the bakery. They found out that she can make some delicious cupcakes, and she had even made a cake with the help of Pinkie Pie. Pinkie and the Cakes have given her a chance, and now so have others. Although, not all of Ponyville still liked her.
Firefly was homeless, but she told Pinkie she wasn't. She lived in a cardboard box in an alleyway throughout the past few days, and sometimes a pony would come over to her and kick her in the face when she sleeps. The food she gets are from Sugar Cube Corner, as they give her free treats whenever she feels hungry. Sometimes, when she takes a doggy bag back to her box, somepony would swipe the cupcakes out of her mouth and stomp on them.
Despite the hate and the rainy days, Firefly was gaining a lot of bits so she could finally buy a new house. But that just made questions flow through her mind. What will ponies who hate her do to her house? She doubt that it would be anything good. If only they could forgive and forget, Firefly's life would become much, much easier.
Gathering around in the crystal castle that Twilight lives in, five ponies and a dragon sat at a table with a map on it. The ponies around it were Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Spike. At first, everypony's attention drew to the empty chair that had lost it's glow and crystal colour. The cutiemark of their diciest friend was pitch black. This was a deadly reminder that Fluttershy will never be with them again.
Twilight cleared her throat. She drew the attention to her and gestured to Dash to stop flying. The pegesus hovered back down on to her chair, frowning and occasionally gazing at her old friend's chair. She couldn't help but to think that Fluttershy might be there when she turns around.
"So, she's back?" Twilight turned to Pinkie Pie.
"Who's back?" Pinkie said in a joyous tone.
"Firefly."
"Oh, yeah, she's back." Pinkie smiled.
"Ugh..." Applejack grunted.
"Hey!" Pinkie turned to the country pony. "Don't be mean!"
"Me? Mean?" Applejack snorted. "Her parents killed mah sister!"
"Don't take it out on her!" Pinkie snapped, turning to Twilight. "She's actually a really nice pony. I gave her a job at Sugar Cube Corner and she's doing great! Some ponies have made peace with her!" She cocked her head back at Applejack. "Just like she deserves !"
Applejack rolled her eyes. "Let's say that she ain't like 'er parents. What'll we do with her?"
"Let her stay in Ponyville, I guess." Twilight sighed. "I haven't heard any complaints."
"She already has a house anyway!" Pinkie grinned. "She told me that it doesn't have a basement!"
"Firefly has a house?" Spike asked. "I didn't find any new residents marked down in the town hall."
"What..?" Pinkie stuttered. "She... Doesn't have a home?"
"That would be the logical explanation." Twilight said.
"She... Told me she did." Pinkie's smile faded away. "She's... Homeless..."
"We can get her a house, Pinkie." Rarity told her. "Do not worry."
"You're right!" Pinkie raised up her hooves. "We'll throw her a party! And then we'll give her a new home! Then she won't be homeless!"
"Ah get that some ponies 'ave gotten used to 'er..." Applejack tilted her hat. "But what about tha ponies that haven't?"
"I'll stay with her for a few days, to make sure she doesn't get vandalised or assaulted." Twilight raised her hoof. "After what she's been through, I'm going to do my best to help her."
"Ah still got a bad feelin' about that mare." Applejack retorted.
"Trust me!" Pinkie wrapped her arm around Applejack's neck. "She's on our side!"
"Ah hope you're right."
Water dripped down the walls of the cell. It was dark and damp and very smelly. The bars to the cells creaked at the wind blew through the small square windows, yet they were powerful enough to keep a pony in the cell. Chains hung in the cells and the bricks were mossy and mouldy. They obviously haven't been cleaned out in ages.
In one of the cells protected by elite royal guards laid a pink unicorn. She sat there in total silence, concentrating all of her remaining magic on a piece of chalk and dragged it to make a line. She had been marking down her days until her death sentence. She had an iron ring around her horn that drained her magic of any powerful spells that she might use to escape, hurt others, or defend herself. The only thing she could do with it was lift small, light things like the chalk she uses.
All of a sudden, this unicorn looked up at the small window, and grinned. She turned towards the beaten-down, iron bars and slammed her hooves around them, almost scaring one of the guards that was guarding her cell. Her grin widened, and she slowly told them.
"I heard my daughter was in town..."
Chapter 4 - Out with the Old
Firefly's green eyes opened ever so slightly. From her blurred vision she had just managed to make out the alleyway wall right in front of her. Shaking the ringing from her ears, she rose her head up and hit it on the top of her cardboard box that she sleeps in. The box was wet and quite mossy, due to the storm that happened overnight. Her nose was a rosy red, as she may as well have a cold. Crawling out of the mucky box, she shook her mane and brushed it down with her hoof, trying to flatten her hair down to look less messy, but failing as her mane rose back up in knots.
Her chin ached, due to the fact that some ponies still do not trust her, and they kick her chin whilst she sleeps. Rubbing the crust from her eyes, she trotted out of her alleyway and into the streets of Ponyville. As she was saying hello to many ponies that cross her path, she saw Sugar Cube Corner in the distance. Speeding up her walking, she accelerated through the doors of the bakery, having to stop herself by sliding on the ground.
She did her usual routine; say hello to Mr and Mrs Cake, wash her hooves, put on her apron, start baking, give a cupcake to the baby-cakes and then set the rest out on display for ponies to buy. What she usually does before all of this, though, is have some milkshakes with Pinkie. But Pinkie was no-where to be found. Firefly didn't worry, though, as she had been told that she was an element of harmony, and may have to be pulled out of work every-so-often.
When Pinkie Pie arrived back at Sugar Cube Corner, Firefly was thrilled. Her grin almost reached her eyes as Pinkie nervously stepped towards her. Firefly noticed that she was feeling uneasy, and her smile turned into a worried expression. She put her hoof on Pinkie's shoulder.
"Pinkie, are you all right?" Firefly asked her. Mr and Mrs Cake stopped to see what was the problem.
"Yeah, I'm fine, sorry I missed the opening." Pinkie tried to grin, but everyone could tell she was worried about something. "Though... I need to ask you something."
"Oh, go ahead." Firefly smiled again. "Ask me anything you want."
"I want you to answer truthfully , though." Pinkie warned her. "Pinkie Pie promise."
"Why? Don't you trust me?" Firefly looked at Pinkie, then rolled her eyes and sighed. "Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye."
Pinkie paused, then looked Firefly dead straight in the eye. "Do you have a home?"
Firefly fell back a bit. Her mind went woozy, and her vision went blurry. She could see the home of her parents when they were in Ponyville, and then her mind flashed to her 'cosy' cardboard box. The only other home she had was in the Everfree, and she didn't want to tell Pinkie about that. She was classed as homeless ever since she left the Everfree forest.
"N-No." Firefly gulped. "I don't have a home."
"Why didn't you tell me?" Pinkie's face dropped to the ground, but her eyes never left Firefly's face.
"I didn't want you to worry."
"Well that didn't help! I'm now worried!" Pinkie thought for a moment, and then remembered the storm from last night. "You poor filly..."
"I'm not a filly any more." Firefly said with a stern voice. "I needed to raise enough money for a house, that's why I was looking for a job."
"That makes sense." Pinkie gazed over at the Cakes, who were standing in the doorway. She gestured for them to leave the room.
"How'd you figure out, anyway?" Firefly sat down, and Pinkie mimicked her.
"I was having a meeting with the other elements." Pinkie stated. "Our baby dragon told us that your name wasn't registered on the residents list."
"Baby drago-?"
"So, we decided to get you a house! Three months free rent!" Pinkie laughed, and used her party canon to fire confetti. "Isn't that great?"
"Wh-What..?" Firefly fell again, regaining her balance halfway. "P-Pinkie, I..."
"Don't thank me." Pinkie raised her hoof in the air. "Just think of it as a gift. All you had to do was ask!"
"I asked Mayor Mare what I could get for a few bits." Firefly told her. "She told me that houses were more expensive."
"That's strange." Pinkie tapped her chin. "Usually shacks are affordable for only five bits...."
"It wouldn't be surprising if she didn't want me in the town." Firefly chuckled with a tear going down her chin. "After what my parents did..."
"Still not your fault." Pinkie grinned, trying to cheer her up. "Now, stop fussing over the past, and come with me to get your new house!"
Firefly quickly wiped a tear from her cheek. "O-Okay..."
A police colt trotted up to the cell bars. He nodded at the pegesi guards, and they responded by slamming their hooves on the bars. StitchedHeart's ear twitched at the loud noise. She slowly turned her head around, creepily glaring at the stallion that wishes to talk to her. She wiped dust off of her orange prison suit, and skipped happily towards the bars that kept her from freedom.
Putting her hooves around the muddy iron bars, she pulled her face as close to the police colt as possible. She breathed heavily, seeing her cold breath. She twitched her ears one by one, and tried using her magic to pull him closer, resulting in failure as it gave her a large electric shock which sent her backwards. She pulled herself forwards and pressed her face against the bars.
"You wanted to speak with me, ma'am?" The colt asked her.
"Yeah." StitchedHeart laughed. "I want a phone call."
"Irrelevant." The colt told her. "You're not aloud."
"Not just one?" StitchedHeart asked. "I need some social interaction."
The colt looked left and right. "Fine." He said. "But only one call."
Chapter 5 - In With The New
Firefly had just settled into her new home. It wasn't quite far from the bakery that she works in, and she had two good neighbours next to her. They were nice to her, and even treated her for a daisy sandwich. Unfortunately, some ponies saw Firefly eating the sandwich and knocked it out of her hooves with a stone.
She loved the smell of the new furniture, the new house and the new rooms. Having a house of her own with the sound of a muffled village walking past seemed to relax her more than anything. She felt exhilarated, calmed, even. Laying on her couch to get some shut-eye, she heard a loud pounding on her door. She shot right up so fast that her bow almost fell out of her mane. Fixing the hair accessory, she ran towards the door to see who it was.
It was a derpy-eyed pegesus. Her mail hat sat slanted, relaxing itself on her mane. She reached into her bag and grabbed a handful of letters, then rummaged through them and pulled one out. She gave it to Firefly, saluted, then flew off. The mare was surprised that someone had wrote to her, as she had only just moved into her house. No one should know her address except from Pinkie Pie.
The earth pony sat at her new oak dining room table, and then frantically opened the letter. She wouldn't be surprised if it was from Pinkie, so she embraced herself for confetti to fly out of the letter. But there was none. Confused, Firefly opened the piece of paper up and began reading the words that were shaken on to the page.
"Dear Firefly,
I have a message for you. Your mother has managed to convince the police station to phone the town hall. She told us that she had heard that you have moved into Ponyville; and she wants to talk to you. I promise that I do not know how she knew that you were in town, but if she tries anything funny, tell us. I have already contacted your friend Pinkie Pie about this. She will be with you when you talk with her. Obviously, it is your choice if you want to talk to her. But we want to know what she wants. If it is not too much to ask, could you please meet up with her and report back to us?
From Mayor Mare."
Firefly was struck at the thought that her sorry excuse for a mother wanted to talk with her. Why on earth would she want to meet up with her? After all that she had done, after all of the lies? Firefly thought for a moment. "It's probably an apology." She thought, but the more she thought the more she knew that she was planning to escape. Firefly was angry. All these years apart, you hear I'm in town, and now you only want me to get you out? Firefly smirked and laughed it off, turning towards her living room and flattening herself on the couch.
"I'd rather rest..." Firefly chuckled. "But fine. I can do that. But this time she'll see that I came back smarter ."
Pushing her weight back on to her feet, she rolled off the couch and trotted towards the kitchen. She carefully got out a few ingredients: Flour, sugar, eggs, a bowl... Might as well put her new skill to the test. Looking down at her flank, she realised that she had not gotten her cutiemark yet. What would her mother the murderer say? It has something to do with the 'family business '?
No, she was sure that, if she tried hard enough, her talent will be cake-making. She enjoys it, and that's what a cutiemark is supposed to be. A talent that you enjoy. Firefly thought long and hard about what would she do if she enjoyed turning ponies into stuffed toys. She thought about if she would turn herself in, or get help... But there is one thing for certain; she will not break her mother out of jail.
Firefly thought about her father and how he killed himself. The reason why he did it confused her. Maybe he felt bad? Maybe he didn't want to be in jail for a long period of time? Either way, he decided to take the coward's way out... Firefly thought on how she should probably appreciate him for doing that, as he probably did it for her.
After a while, Firefly had made a fresh batch of cupcakes and set them down on the dining room table. They had purple frosting (her favourite) and white chocolate stars as decorations. She thought long and hard on how she should make cupcakes for everyone in town... Maybe that would make them like her more. So far, only few treat her like a rug or a shadow. Maybe she should make some for her mother?
No. She does not deserve that. She deserves the death penalty that she will get in a couple of weeks. It is only a matter of time, Firefly thought. It is only a matter of time before that witch burns in hell where she belongs. Maybe then she will finally regret what she had done, because the last time they saw each other she looked so very happy about what she did. Killing innocents satisfied her very much.
Firefly puked in her mouth as she thought of how she had corpses for teddies... Then she recalled that one time where one of the corpses decomposed. She bit into her cupcake, trying to wash out the taste of sick, but only resulting in her stomach twisting and turning. She ran to the toilet and threw up. Wiping the sick from her mouth, she washed out her throat with water and heard a knock at the door.
"Are you ready to go?" Pinkie Pie said worrisomely as Firefly answered the door.
Firefly looked pale and sick. Her mane was tied in knots that couldn't be fixed with one swoop of a brush. Pinkie saw a bit of puke dripping off of her chin. Looking her up and down, the pink earth pony tried to keep a smile on her face.
"Cheer up!" She chuckled, wiping the green off of Firefly. "I'll be with you every step of the way!"
She felt like saying that reassured Firefly, but the poor mare couldn't shake the feeling that her mother might hypnotise her into doing something bad... Or worse... She nodded her head, slowly and painfully, then reached to the side to grab some headache pills. Downing two of the tablets, she followed Pinkie out of her house and through the streets of Ponyville.
Everyone that crossed her path knew that something was up. It was obvious that Firefly was tired, and every-so-often ponies could see her throw up in her mouth. Firefly kept repeating possible scenarios where her mother could make her do something she doesn't want to in her mind. Wiping crust out of her eyes, she soon realised she was at the Ponyville train station.
"Why're we here..?" Firefly sleepily groaned.
"StitchedHeart is on the top of the list of Equestria's most wanted." Pinkie explained. "So when they found out her identity and caught her, she was put in the most guarded prison; the Canterlot prison."
"Oh..." Firefly shook her head to wake her up a little. "Hey, do you have any... Caffeine?"
"No, but there's a coffee shop in Canterlot we can go to!" Pinkie laughed. "I'm not allowed any, though, or I'll get kicked out."
"What happened..?" Firefly asked.
The train to Canterlot came. On the way, Pinkie told her about her incident at the coffee shop, and why she was banned from it. Firefly seemed to have been cheered up a lot by the story, and even laughed more then she usually does. It has been the happiest Pinkie had ever seen her. Her smile died down when they arrived at Canterlot, though.
After going to the coffee shop, Firefly was ready to meet her mother. The espresso she had perked her up and she regained most of her energy that was thrown into the toilet when she was puking. The pair of earth ponies arrived at the Canterlot jail, looking up at the massive stone block building in awe.
Upon entering, Firefly saw tons of guards swarming the place from top to bottom. Going to the receptionist, all Firefly had to do was say her name and she was allowed through. However, Pinkie Pie wasn't. Firefly felt a lump in her neck when her friend was pulled behind, but continued when Pinkie told her that she would be waiting outside. Firefly was led by guards into a room with a visiting booth.
After waiting for a few moments, StitchedHeart was pulled into a chair on the other side of the booth. Her mane was in knots, her eyes were dilated, her fur coat was messy and dusty, and the grin on her face made it hard to believe she was even alive. She looked dead. Firefly looked at her up and down, analysing her every move.
"Hello daughter." Stitched cackled. Her voice wasn't as posh as it used to be, but more deep and weak.
"Yeah, some mother you are." Firefly snapped. "There are guards here, so don't try anything."
"Wasn't planning on it." StitchedHeart giggled evilly. "Am I not aloud to see my own daughter?"
"Don't call me your daughter ." Firefly yelled. She almost startled the guards behind her. "Riddle me this; why are you alive? The death penalty should have expired by now. You should be dead."
"Maybe." StitchedHeart chuckled. "But it keeps getting postponed due to... 'Unknown' reasons."
Firefly looked at the guards behind Stitched. "I see." She looked back at her mom. "Well, I can't wait until you burn in Tartarus where you belong."
"Oh, what's the matter with you?" The unicorn joked. "Hate your mother that much? My turn to ask questions now; how did you escape the orphanage?"
Firefly paused. "How did you know about that?"
"They told me everything that happened to you when you where in the orphanage." She explained. "Whenever you were punished, or being disobedient... And then you escaped somehow."
"I'm smarter then you know, StitchedHeart." Firefly smirked. "And I'm stronger now."
StitchedHeart grinned. "Got your cutiemark, then?"
The earth pony froze. "Um..."
"No?" StitchedHeart's eyes widened. "Good. Now that I know where you are, I can help you get it."
"Help me?" Firefly shot her eyes back towards the guards and leaned backwards a little. "How are you going to help me? And how did you even know I was in Ponyville?"
"I cast a spell on you the night we arrived in Ponyville." StitchedHeart told her. "So whenever you entered the town I would get a tickle on the horn. I guess I forgot to deactivate the spell. My bad."
"You bitch..." Firefly mumbled.
"Anyway, I'm going to help you get your cutiemark." Stitched leaned in towards the glass that separated the two. "I knew it had something to do with what me and your father was doing-"
"No!" Firefly bashed her hoof on the glass. "I am not like you nor Nightlight! I am not like you at all!"
"It's the family business-"
"Family business, my ass !" Firefly yelled in annoyance. "A talent is what you like to do, not what your stupid parents want you to do! Read a book, dumb-ass!"
StitchedHeart shot backwards. "You're in denial?" Stitched tilted her head. "Then what is your talent?"
"I like to bake." Firefly told her. "I have a job at a bakery. And I'm sure that I'll soon get a cutiemark because of it." She turned to the guards standing behind her. "I want to go now."
"Wait." StitchedHeart demanded. "Don't you want to know why your father killed himself?"
Firefly jerked her head to her mother, then leaned in as close as she could. "I already know why. He felt sorry for what he did. He wanted to take the easy way out." Firefly leaned back. "And you should too."
The guards pulled StitchedHeart out of the room and back into her cell, and the others led Firefly back into the reception. She thanked them, and went outside to see a pink earth pony firing a party cannon at her. She seemed excited, and when Firefly asked her what's wrong, she only replied by holding out some cupcakes she made within seconds.
On the way home, Firefly's brain was pounding to the beat of her heart. If she didn't get out of that room when she did, she would've had a heart attack. Going home was a relief, and all she wanted was a nice hot bath to soothe the aches in her muscles. Celestia was lowering the sun and Luna was rising the moon by the time she got home, and she was extremely tired. But for once she had stood up for herself against her sorry excuse for a mother, and that made her feel stronger.
Waking up early in the morning, the mare that was once a filly stretched in her bed and rolled out of bed, hitting her jaw on the wooden floorboards. Her muscles weakened as she tried to lift herself up from the dirty floor. She hit her head off of her bedside table and blood squirted out her nose. She coughed painfully and tried her hardest to get back on top of her bed. She felt like crap, as if someone had beaten her to near death.
Firefly trotted downstairs after restoring her energy a bit, and prepared some breakfast. It took her an hour to finish it. Once it was finished, she brushed her hair to the point where she couldn't due to it being too knotty, and set off to Sugar Cube Corner. On her way she could see ponies looking at her with concern. This has been the second time she had walked down the streets in an ill state.
Amongst arriving to her workplace, Pinkie immediately jumped on her and shook her around, which didn't help her headache. She was enthusiastic about something, but when asked what was wrong, she only responded with 'I'm glad you're here'. Firefly waited patiently for a response, and only got one three minutes later.
"You've been looking for some friends, right?" Pinkie jumped around the kitchen, grabbing certain ingredients for their first batch of cupcakes. She even grabbed some extra decorations.
"Yeah, I guess." Firefly shrugged, helping her get some ingredients. "I have you, and I would class the Cakes as my friends." She saw Mrs Cake smile softly in the corner of her eye.
"Well, that's just not enough!" Pinkie laughed. "You need a lot of friends!" She stopped flinging things on to the table and turned towards Firefly, who was looking quite confused. "You shouldn't just have 'a few' friends, silly! You should have tons !"
"Tons?" Firefly grabbed a bowl from the cupboard and set it on to the table, watching Pinkie as she poured in some flour. "I... Don't think that is necessary. Plus, no one really likes me."
Pinkie gave Firefly some eggs to put in to the mix, and then leaned against the counter. "That's what I thought! But then, I was like, what if there is someone out there who might like you? And then it hit me!"
Firefly looked up at Pinkie once she cracked the eggs and threw away the shells. "Might ?"
"Do you remember Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle?" Pinkie grinned, adding in another ingredient and then started to mix in the paste.
Firefly backed up a little, almost knocking a spoon off the table. "Uh, um... Y-Yeah, a... A little, yeah."
Pinkie stirred furiously. "Well, I thought, maybe they'd be friends with you! You know, since they knew you." Pinkie stopped stirring and gave Firefly the bowl, and then set the cupcake cases on the cupcake tray. "I didn't get a chance to ask Sweetie Belle, she's helping someone in Manehatten."
"Helping?" Firefly tipped the cupcake batter in each case and made sure they all had an equal amount of batter. "With what?"
"That's what the Cutiemark Crusaders do!" Pinkie's grin turned into a joyful smile. "They help ponies know what their talent is, help them get cutiemarks, remind ponies about their destiny... It's really cool. There used to be the three of them, but..." Pinkie looked at Firefly, who had no clue who the third one was. "Anyway, she was busy, so I found the other..."
Firefly took the tray and popped it into the oven. "You found Scootaloo?"
"Yep! She said she would be delighted to meet you again!" Pinkie turned on the oven and set the timer.
"Are you sure I should meet her? I left so soon..." Firefly leaned on the counter.
"She understands why." Pinkie told her, lowering herself to check the cupcakes. "So I told her to meet you tomorrow here!"
"Here?" Firefly watched Pinkie rise up from the oven.
"Yeah, just to meet up." Pinkie licked the spoon that had some cupcake paste on it. "You can go where you want from there."
"Seems fair." Firefly agreed. She laughed, and then saw Pinkie giving her a concerned look. "What's up? Something on my face?"
"Your nose is bleeding..." Pinkie told her. Firefly rubbed her hoof below her nose, and saw blood on her hoof. Her nose was actually bleeding. She ran towards the sink and splashed some water on her nose and wiped it off with a cloth. She leaned her face into the sink and started coughing up blood. She quickly turned towards Pinkie as soon as she stopped.
"I... Don't feel well."
Mrs and Mr Cake sent Firefly home. She was too sick to finish her shift. Sleepily trailing down the streets, she soon noticed that the path she was on wasn't even the correct one. It took her an hour to get back home. Sheepishly, she managed to find her house and entered. She then threw her body on the floor and slammed the door closed.
Her stomach started turning, her vision blurred and the room started to turn. If she stood up for any longer her head would start to bash itself into the walls. Tensing up her muscles, the earth pony crawled over to her sofa and attempted to rest her body on the cushions. She tried to relax her muscles, but couldn't.
After a while of resting and taking medication, Firefly finally gained more strength, and sat up. She jerked her head towards the window and daydreamed for a while. She thought of how she got sick a lot when she lived in the Everfree. Maybe she brought something with her? Coughing, she noticed smoke in the distance once she broke out of her trance.
Sugar Cube Corner was over there. She didn't seem alarmed, as it may have been some faulty cupcakes... Until she realised that overcooked goods do not produce that much smoke. She fell off the sofa, and quickly got up, racing towards her door and smacking her face on the wall. Getting up, she slammed open the door and bolted out her house, not bothering to close the doors.
Rapidly, she ran towards her work place, and saw a large gathering of ponies around it. Sugar Cube Corner was on fire. Firefly's pupils went small. Her ears pointed straight down and she lowered her body towards the ground. Her visions blurred again, and hallucinations filled her view. She began breathing heavily, until she saw Pinkie, Mr and Mrs Cake and the baby Cakes outside the blaze. She sighed in relief, and watched in awe at the ember rising into the sky.
Some ash went into her eye, and by the time she rubbed it out some pegesi came and began putting out the fire with buckets of water. Everyone began helping, carrying buckets filled with water to put out the flame. Firefly sat back and watched as they all helped one another. She wasn't in the right condition to help anyone, as she couldn't see straight. She felt a hoof on her back, and turned to see Pinkie smiling softly and hugging her with tears in her eyes.
Chapter 8 - Old Bonds and Trust Issues
"I'm very happy to see you again!" An orange and purple pegesus told the earth pony. "It's been so long since I've seen you."
Scootaloo and Firefly had finally met up a few days after the fire in Sugar Cube Corner. They had to re-schedule, thus having to meet up at a cafe that sells daisy sandwiches. Firefly was glad to get her old friend back. Her mother took a lot of things away from her, but she won't take away her friendship with others.
"I'm glad to see you too..." Firefly hastily responded. "I'm sorry I ran off, Scootaloo."
"No, it's fine, you were forced into the orphanage." Scootaloo took a bite out of her sandwich. "I used to be an orphan too, until I escaped."
"Oh, you escaped? I did too." Firefly mimicked her old friend, nibbling her lunch. "I fled into the Everfree. I lived there for years, but then I decided to move back into civilisation."
"Neato." Scootaloo smiled with glee after she stomached down the sandwich. "My flying skills have improved since you were gone, and I was also able to help a ton more ponies!"
"That's cool, Scootaloo." Firefly weakly smiled, then wiped her mouth.
"Hey, how come you haven't gotten your cutiemark?" The pegesus pointed to her flank.
"Dunno what my talent is." Firefly shrugged. "It's not farming, nor baking, or I'll have it by now. My mom... She thinks its something to do with what she did."
"Do you want it to be?" Scootaloo asked with haste.
"No." Firefly stood her ground. "If it was, I would kill myself."
"Don't talk like that..." Scootaloo put her hoof on the earth pony's shoulder. "Plus, it probably won't be, anyway. Bet you'll have an awesome cutiemark, just you wait and see!"
Firefly giggled. "Yeah, guess you're right." She swallowed a lump in her neck. "So, what have you been up to?"
"I'm now a filler-in for the Wonderbolts!" Scootaloo boasted. "You know, like if someone got hurt I'd have to step in for them. Rainbow Dash is also a Wonderbolt, and she thinks I'm good at it!"
Firefly stared at Scootaloo, listening to her go on and on about how cool it is to be a Wonderbolt. Though she had little knowledge of them, she was fascinated by how much she adored them and Rainbow Dash. She watched as her old friend boasted, but she didn't mind, as she found the sound of her voice very soothing.
She soon realised that Scootaloo had stopped talking. "That all sounds wonderful."
"I know, right?" The pegesus grinned. "But enough about me, I wanna know some things about you!"
"Me? What do you want to know?"
"Everything!"
Another gathering had been held in Twilight's crystal castle. Spike was still fast asleep, so they went on without him. Applejack was the last to arrive due to a family circumstance, but as soon as she placed her cowboy hat on the map table, they started talking about the new mare: Firefly.
"The fire wasn't her fault!" Pinkie yelled at Twilight, who was accusing the earth pony of setting the bakery on fire. "It was me who started it, not her!"
"Are ya sure, Pinkie?" Applejack sighed. "We know ya'll like this girl, but she just don't belong here-"
"What do you have against her!?" The pink mare snapped at the farm pony. Her hair went droopy, but not completely straight.
"We don't have anything against her, dear." Rarity tried calming Pinkie. "She just seems... Er... Suspicious?"
"Suspicious!?"
"Pinkie, please calm down." Twilight told her in a calm voice. "We just need to talk to you about her."
"Yeah, like, maybe you should stay away from her?" Dash interrupted.
"Stay away from her!?" Pinkie jerked her head towards the rainbow pegesus. "Dashie, how could you?! I thought you had my back on this one!"
"Now, I'm not so sure..." Dash replied. "The fire didn't happen until she came..."
"Why do you all distrust her so much!?" Pinkie slammed her hoof on the table. "It was her parents that did all of the killings, not her!" Pinkie's mane went completely straight.
"Listen, sugarcube..." Applejack muttered.
"No, you listen!" Pinkie raised herself from her chair. "I tried so hard to get her back on her hooves! She has a job , and friends that love her ! Don't think I will let you throw her out without throwing me out as well!"
After a long pause, Twilight sighed. "Fine, Pinkie. She can stay."
"Thank Celestia you finally listened to me!" Pinkie gasped for breath.
"Where is she, anyway?" Applejack asked.
"Having lunch with Scootaloo. They were old friends, so I got them connected again!" Pinkie's mane went poofy again. "Isn't that great?"
Dash's eyes widened. "Scootaloo is with a killer?"
Pinkie frowned. "She isn't a-"
"Right, sorry..." Dash stopped flying and landed on the floor. She almost broke her legs as she didn't know how fast she was going when she stopped her wings from letting her hover.
Pinkie Pie sighed, and began trotting towards the door.
"Where're you going?" Twilight asked, opening up her wings.
"You don't trust her..." Pinkie turned back to them. "Then I don't trust you."
"Wait- Pinkie!" Twilight took to the air and landed in front of the pony. "We trust her! Honest to Celestia, we trust her!"
"You sure have a funny way of showing it."
"Honestly, Pinkie!" Twilight desperately told her. "We trust her."
"Twilight, do you trust her?" Pinkie glared.
"Y-Yes! I do!"
"How 'bout you, Dashie? Do you trust Firefly?" Pinkie turned to the rainbow pegesus.
"Yeah. I do."
"Rarity?" Pinkie cocked her head towards the unicorn.
"Obviously, darling."
Pinkie twitched her ear and then turned to Applejack, the most honest pony in Equestria. "And you?"
"I..." Applejack couldn't lie... She couldn't tell the truth, either. If she tells the truth, Pinkie would walk out of that door. If she lied, Pinkie would sense it and leave. She wouldn't talk to her ever again. Pinkie closely examined her, and watched as she sweated on the spot. She could tell that she didn't want her to leave, but she didn't want to lie, either. The pink mare sighed, and walked up to her friend, hugging her tightly.
"I know you don't trust her, but try, okay? For me?"
They walked down the streets together, Scootaloo and Firefly did. The two have been inseparable ever since they found each other. Pulling them apart would make both of their hearts rip in two. So when it came to the point where both of them had to go home, they felt as if something was pulled from their body.
"This is your home?" Scootaloo asked, peering up at Firefly's house. "Neat."
"Well, I'm exhausted, and I haven't been feeling well..." Firefly smiled. "I'll see you soon, okay?"
"Pinkie promise! Cross my heart and hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye!" Scootaloo did the actions to the words.
Firefly's smile turned into a small grin. "I'll keep in touch." The mare opened her door, went in and closed it tight. Afterwards, Scootaloo paused, then flew off to her home.
She now lived with Rainbow Dash, as she had taken her in as her sister. Scootaloo adored her, and Dash needed an admirer. They loved each other in an odd sisterly way. When Scootaloo arrived back at home, she expected a proud Rainbow Dash waiting for her, about to boast about her day, but instead she came home to a worried Rainbow Dash.
"Where have you been!?" She asked, concerned.
"Out with a friend..." Scootaloo stepped back a bit. "What's wrong?"
"Let me guess; Firefly?" Rainbow Dash stopped flying, and landed near Scootaloo.
"Yeah, why?" Scootaloo replied.
"Well, she hasn't really got a good past, does she?"
"You think that she'll kill like her mother." Scootaloo stated. "Don't you?" She waited for Dash to answer, but she could already tell what she was about to say. "I knew it."
"S-Sorry, but-"
"Dash, she's a good pony! She told me that ponies thought that she would do the same thing, but she hasn't! No one has gone missing, she's just as innocent as she was when her parents tricked her into thinking that the corpses where teddies!"
"I'm sorry, but I was just worried about you..." Rainbow Dash slumped down, never feeling more ashamed in her life.
"It's okay, I know you were." Scootaloo put her hoof on her sister. "But don't worry about me, I'm fine! Just stick to being Rainbow Dash, and not an overly-protective mother, okay?"
"Okay." Dash sat up, putting her hoof to her head. "Got a headache, anyway. Stress must've worn me out."
"Get some sleep." Scootaloo smirked. "You've got a Wonderbolts show on tomorrow."
Night seemed like it was never-ending. All throughout it, Firefly was twisting and turning in her bed, not being able to shake the fact that her parents wanted her to kill like them. She kept asking herself: what if I agreed? What if I decided to kill? She kept on thinking about the outcomes: prison, death row, killing innocent ponies... She had various nightmares about these situations.
In her mind, ponies kept chanting 'murderer! murderer!'. The sound of their voices wouldn't go away... It was the same chant that they sung to her parents when they were dragged out in handcuffs. Ever since that day, she couldn't stop hearing the words of those ponies...
Finally... A dream she liked. A dream of where all of her friends that she made were there with her. Pinkie, Scootaloo, even Sweetie Belle... And Applebloom was alive too! And all the other ponies! She felt happy, she felt warm. Something inside her made her smile. The dream made her smile. Finally, she had a peaceful night.
Then she woke up. The light hit her eyes. She woke up at the crack of dawn, in her bed, and Applebloom was dead.
Applebloom's voice kept echoing through her head throughout the day. Her country-isms bounced on the walls of her brain and her face was always in the corner of Firefly's eye. She felt guilty... She thought that there was something she could've done. If only she was never friends with her, maybe she would still be alive.
Even though guilt was heavy on her shoulders, she tried to be positive. She went out to the market when the sun was at its highest and bought some goodies for herself; some fruit. Later on, she came across Applejack. She felt guilt-stricken ever since that day, and thought that it would be nice to let Applejack know that.
"H-Hello, Applejack." Firefly greeted as she trotted towards the pony.
"Howdy, Firefly." Applejack replied, trying to remain happy for Pinkie Pie.
"L-Listen, I know you probably don't like me..." She sighed. "B-But I want to let you know... That I am deeply sorry for what happened with Applebloom... I... I wish I could've saved her..."
Applejack paused, looking Firefly up and down. She was crying. "It ain't your fault, sugarcube."
"B-But it was..." Firefly started forming tears in her eyes. "I-If I wasn't her friend, then she wouldn't be..."
The orange earth pony lifted up Firefly's chin and stared into her eyes. "Listen, Firefly, I know it ain't your fault. It was your cursed mother that did all that junk! I've moved on, but ah still am angry. If there is anyone that ah would get mah revenge on, it'd be your mother!"
Firefly smiled. "Celestia as my witness, I wanted to kill that mare when I met up with her. She told me that my cutiemark had something to do with what she does, so I told her to kill herself. Would've spat in her face, honestly."
"That's mah girl." Applejack chuckled. "Now, stop feelin' sorry for ya damn self and think about who's the real murderer, got that, sugarcube?"
Firefly nodded. She saw in the corner of her eye Pinkie Pie, who was examining Applejack closely, but soon realised that she had made peace with Firefly. Her grin widened to the point where it would take up half of her face, and galloped off, but still keeping her eye on the two, just in case Applejack tried something bad.
Another day had passed, and Firefly was skipping down the streets of Ponyville once more. She was planning on meeting up with Scootaloo again, but she soon noticed that ponies were eye-balling her, as if she had done something wrong. It caused her mild discomfort, but she just carried on walking, pretending that she didn't see the ponies judging her.
Not long after walking around, she appeared next to a small group of ponies. They were huddled close together, not noticing where Firefly was, and the earth pony just managed to catch their conversation in her ear and stopped to eavesdrop when she noticed that it was about her and her mother.
"Didn't you hear?" One pony whispered. "She escaped prison!"
"I heard that she had a visitor not long before that." Another pony stated. "Do you think it was her?"
"I don't know." Some other pony shrugged. "Maybe we should of never trusted her."
Firefly's ears perked up, and she vastly trotted away from the crowd, trying to get as far away from any pony as possible. She ran into an alley way, then put her hoof to her head. Her eyes went small, and the area around her started spinning. She couldn't believe what she heard. Did StitchedHeart really escape prison?
The mare lifted up her head, and then raced out of the alley way, unaware of what was going to happen. She wanted to get to Pinkie Pie to find out if it was true or not. She saw Twilight's castle in the distance, since Sugar Cube Corner burned down, Pinkie and the Cakes lived there now.
When she came to the door, she knocked furiously on it, but a bit too hard. Her hooves started bleeding heavily, and so did her nose. She hasn't been freaked out this much since the decomposition of her 'teddy'. Finally, the door was opened by Twilight Sparkle. She immediately noticed the red liquid pouring out of wounds on Firefly's hooves.
"Is Pinkie Pie here!?" She panted, feeling a little bit feint.
Before Twilight could interject, or ask if she was okay, Firefly raced into the castle. She checked behind every door, causing bloodied hoofprints to follow in her path. If Twilight lost Firefly in the castle, she would find the hoofprints and race towards the source, resulting in finding the mare.
Finally, Firefly threw her body into a room with a map on a large table, with one unicorn, two earth ponies and a pegesus sitting around it. They all looked towards Firefly, quickly noticing that she was bleeding on the floor. Twilight ran behind her, stopping before she bumped into the mare.
Firefly took a running start and jumped on to Pinkie Pie, tears in her eyes. "P-Please... Don't tell me that my mom..."
Pinkie stroked Firefly's mane. "You heard, huh?"
Pinkie took hold of Firefly's hoof, examining it closely. The blood wasn't from any other pony, and Twilight told her that she banged on the door too hard. Firefly was still in tears, crying like a filly. Pinkie Pie realised that she might be a fully grown mare, but she still has a mind like a child. She smiled softly.
"Let's get these wounds cleaned up, and have some cake, okay?"
Firefly looked up at her friend in pain, but weakly grinned. "O-Okay..."
Pinkie Pie darted her gaze towards Twilight, who came in with a first aid kit. Pinkie Pie told Rarity to lead Applejack and Rainbow Dash into the kitchen and start decorating. Firefly didn't know what the occasion was for a party, but she was too agonised to care. She didn't know that Pinkie liked throwing random parties.
Once Twilight and Pinkie had patched up her wounds with painful stitching and bandages, they came into the kitchen to find that streamers and banners were hung up from wall to wall. Pinkie quickly went to make some baked goods, and the Cakes soon joined the party. Firefly didn't seem up to it, but Pinkie tried her hardest to get her friend happy.
Pinkie realised that she wouldn't cheer up, so she swung her arm around her. "What's up, chum?"
"She escaped..." Firefly gasped for breath within her tears. "P-P-Ponies think that I... I did it... But I-I didn't!"
Pinkie hugged her tightly. "I know you didn't." Firefly pulled away from the embrace. "I'll protect you, Pinkie promise!"
The tears clouded up Firefly's vision. "Why..?" She hiccuped. "Why do you protect me so much..? I-I don't deserve..."
"It's what friends do, silly!" Pinkie grinned. "It's what I do."
The party lasted all day. By midnight, Firefly had passed out on some cushions. It might not seem comfy, but to her, they were. She made acquaintance with Rarity and Dash, though she didn't talk much with Applejack nor Twilight. Pinkie seemed to have guided her throughout the night, to make sure that she was okay, plus she walked with a limp.
Her mind clouded with doubt. She had nightmares about her mother coming during the night to kidnap her and take her away from her new friends. She struggled through the night, her dreams plaguing her opinions, and her mind resorted to a vulnerable state.
Twilight, Pinkie, Dash and Applejack were still awake, chatting and laughing and eating cupcakes. They were having fun, until a loud knock was at Twilight's door. The four got up and raced each other to the door. The last pony there opened the door, and when it opened, it revealed StitchedHeart.
"Applejack, go and call the police." Twilight shouted at the orange earth pony. Pinkie had to put her hoof in front of her to stop her from attacking the unicorn. Twilight quickly lit up her horn and prepared a trap spell, and fired it at StitchedHeart, who deflected it off using a powerful shield with her magic.
"How'd ya'll escape!?" Applejack spat, ready to pounce on her. Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and quickly flew away to get the police.
"Simply, dear." Stitched smirked. "But I'm not here to chat. I just want my daughter." StitchedHeart's mane was messy and dirty, so she flicked a piece that was hanging in front of her eye back on to her head. "If you could so kindly show me where she is?"
Pinkie immediately stepped in front of her. "You're not gonna touch her, ya hear!?"
"Oh, don't worry, I'm just seeing if she's okay, and getting her into the family business!" Stitched laughed maniacally. Twilight noticed that she wasn't the same pony that she locked up years ago.
"You are a fool for coming here." Twilight spat.
"Ya'll better know what ah'm about to do!" Applejack jumped on to Stitched, who quickly teleported away before the earth pony could get to her. Applejack fell on her stomach, which caused her to breathe heavily.
"Better try harder, dear." Stitched appeared behind them, inside the castle. "My best guess is that she's here somewhere. I can feel her presence."
Twilight once again fired up her horn, blasting out a quicker beam, but Stitched still managed to dodge it. It caught a piece of her tail, and that's it. Stitched's horn lit up, and shot out multiple powerful beams. This was magic that Twilight had never seen before. She quickly teleported her and her friends away from the crossfire.
"Give up, StitchedHeart!" Twilight yelled down at her. "Police are on their way!"
"I'm not leaving without my daughter!" StitchedHeart lit up her horn once more, teleporting to several different rooms until she found Firefly, sleeping restlessly on some cushions. Stitched grinned evilly, levitating her daughter and prepared to teleport away, until Twilight found her. The alicorn quickly charged up her beam, and fired.
The unicorn got hit on the shoulder, causing her magic to deactivate as a flinch, and she dropped Firefly on the floor. Luckily, she landed on the cushions, so it didn't wake her up. Stitched bled fast on the floor, scrunching up her face to the pain. She quickly leapt out of the window, teleporting herself to the safety of the ground, and ran.
The police had arrived, but not in a happy state. If only Twilight would've distracted her for a little longer, they could've caught Stitched. Pinkie woke up Firefly, telling her to follow her into the map room. Firefly saw a pool of blood on the floor, and asked what was going on, but Pinkie didn't reply. Twilight told her not to tell her what happened.
Confused and sleepy, Firefly was concerned of the sight of the police. They asked Twilight if Firefly could be pulled out into questioning, but Twilight refused, protecting her new friend. Twilight, Dash, Applejack and Rarity seem to have accepted Firefly now, but she didn't know what made them change their minds. Maybe it was because of the party?
Firefly sat there, itching and picking at her bandage. Pinkie's pet Gummy was keeping an eye on her, though the two mainly had staring contests. Firefly gently put her face to the table, and relaxed her body. Her green eyes slowly closed, and she was soon drifting off into a deep sleep. But this time, the dream was... Happy.
Chapter 11 - Bloodied Hoofprints
Boy, were they itchy. The bandages that wrapped itself around her hooves irritated them deeply. She felt like the wounds were getting deeper and deeper every time she itches. Pinkie Pie and Rarity were put in charge of her, from what she heard was to make sure she was safe. Firefly had no idea what that meant. Did they still not trust her?
Firefly kicked her legs in the air. She was laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling and at her back hooves. She quietly turned her head towards her two friends. Rarity was busy creating a dress for her, and Pinkie was scribbling on some paper, occasionally looking up at her and smiling, then looking back at the piece of paper. Firefly put her tongue in between her teeth, biting lightly on them. She stared into the distance, then back at them. She coughed.
"So..." She said, looking back up at the ceiling. "Why am I confined in this room?"
Pinkie looked up from her paper, then at Rarity. They exchanged gazes for a while, then the pink one looked back at Firefly. "Um... What do you mean, silly?"
"I know that you won't let me leave." Firefly chuckled, biting her lip. "Every time I ask if we can go out, you two try your hardest to change my mind."
"N-No we don't, darling." Rarity gulped.
Firefly huffed. "When I asked if we can go and get something to eat, Pinkie said that she would make cupcakes instead." She looked at them, who were trying to avoid eye contact, then continued. "And when I asked if I could go home, you said that you were going to make me an outfit. When I said 'no thanks', you insisted ."
Rarity put down the dress she was sewing things on to, and then reassured her. "Well, I just wanted to be generous."
"Okay, guys, what in the hay is going on here?" Firefly angrily asked, but maintained control in her voice. "There are guards outside the doors and the castle. They aren't even protecting Twilight!" She turned her body over, and then got up. "Are you protecting me? Is someone after me? Or do you still not trust me?"
Pinkie paused, looking up at her. She frowned, and stood up, Rarity mimicking. She stared deeply into Firefly's eyes.
"Don't you ever, ever think that I wouldn't trust you." Pinkie steadily told her, trying not to raise her voice. "Twilight told me not to tell you why, for your own good. But, if you want me to, I can tell you what's going on."
"Please tell me." Firefly steadied herself.
Rarity put her hoof on Pinkie, and was about to interject, but Pinkie carried on talking.
"Your mom." Pinkie began. "She did brake out of prison. She came here last night whilst you were sleeping. She tried to take you, Firefly."
Firefly crouched down. She flattened her ears. "Did she..." Firefly stuttered. "Did she h-hurt you..?"
"Nah!" Pinkie snickered. "I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm invincible!"
Rarity coughed, as a sign for Pinkie to start being more realistic. Pinkie looked over her shoulder and saw Rarity frowning.
"Darling, if you really want us to... I could go out and get you something that isn't some junk food?"
Firefly sat down, and started itching at her bandages again. Soon, red liquid started trickling down her hooves without her realising it. "No, it's not like I d-don't like Pinkie's cooking... I just wanted to know why..."
Rarity acted fast as the liquid started to pour out of Firefly's hooves. She grabbed a sheet of white silk that she was going to use for the dress, and used her magic to wrap it around her bloodied hooves. Firefly realised what had happened soon after, but desperately wanted to scratch the irritating sore spot.
"It.... Itches.... Badly ..." She moaned, curling up into a ball. She refrained herself from scratching her wound with her hoof.
"We know, darling." Rarity put her hoof to her chest in a sympathetic way. "But until Twilight comes back from finding your mother, we cannot do much to help you."
"So that's where she went? With Applejack?" Firefly lowered her head. "Oh... But can't you heal it, Rarity?"
"Dear, I have never learnt how to do such things." Rarity explained. "I focus on my work, not other types of spells. If I knew that you needed it, I would've learnt it a long time ago."
Firefly smirked. "That... Makes me feel a little bit better."
Drops of red liquid were scattered towards the Everfree Forest. It was obvious that Stitched had headed there. Twilight, along with Applejack and a couple of police ponies, raced to find the unicorn. The word had spread that she was loose and near Ponyville, so all ponies had to stay inside at all times.
Earlier, Twilight and Celestia exchanged letters about the fact that they should kill her as soon as she was caught. As soon as she is caught, she will be taken to the Canterlot prison and strapped to a table for a lethal injection. There will be no hesitation when they inject it. As soon as she is strapped in, they will kill her. Simple as that.
Twilight followed the trail of blood towards the entrance of the forest. She then commanded some police pegesi to fly above the forest to get a birds-eyed view. Rage filled the alicorn's face, as all she wanted was to end what Stitched had started. They raced into the Everfree. Applejack followed behind her, occasionally over-taking her, as she wanted revenge as much as she did.
Occasionally, she came across dead bodies of monsters. Twilight could sense that magic was used on them, so she got the feeling that Stitched killed them to get through. Twilight carried on searching for the mare, excited to watch her die on the table. Everyone wanted the unicorn to die. Everyone. Even Firefly.
Applejack thought fondly of Applebloom and Fluttershy. She thought of what life would be like if they were still alive. Then she thought of Firefly, and what her life would be like if she had different parents. Water droplets formed in her eyes as she pictured a young filly dancing around with her parents, having a good life instead of being shipped to an orphanage when finding out that her parents were murderers. Applejack's face went red. She was more then determined to find Stitched.
A pink blur turned a corner. The blood trail followed. It was StitchedHeart. Twilight readied her horn. She memorised any painful or lethal spell that she could remember, and turned the corner to see that the unicorn had stopped. It was a dead end. Twilight stopped behind her, firing up her horn. Applejack was ready to kick Stitched if she needed to.
StitchedHeart quickly turned around. She grinned evilly and fired up her own horn. Applejack had a bad feeling about this. The police ponies backed up. Twilight blasted a powerful beam at the unicorn, and Stitched did the same. The beams hit each other, trying to overpower each other. Twilight was sweating as she struggled to maintain control over her beam, and Stitched grinned as if she had done this a hundred times before.
Twilight tensed her muscles, using all of the alicorn magic in her system. Stitched realised this, and then tried to pull back, but got hit by the beam due to powering down her horn. She was sent backwards, hitting a tree. Blood ran down her mouth, nose and ears, and her whole body was covered in burns, cuts and bruises. An ugly sight.
As the police ponies ran over to tie up Stitched, Applejack looked towards Twilight, seeing that she was about to topple over. She had used too much of her magic and needed to rest. Applejack ran to her side, acting as a support that she could lean on. The alicorn folded in her wings, and tried resting on her friend.
Finally, StitchedHeart had been caught. Twilight and Applejack took her back to the Canterlot prison, and Twilight went to Celestia to rest. Applejack quickly wrote a letter to Pinkie, Rarity and Firefly, telling them that they caught Stitched, and she has been immediately put up for a lethal injection. As soon as Firefly saw the letter, she and her two friends raced towards the train station to watch her mother die.
Chapter 12 - A Death Sentence
A room with a stretched table, big enough to fit a pony. The walls were a horrid grey colour, the floors a tint lighter. The table itself was pure white, and the straps were brown. Surrounding the table was several IV drips, connected to the straps. There was also a lever that triggered the IV drips to inject the pony on the table with a lethal injection.
StitchedHeart was surrounded by guards. The pink pony in prison dungarees was carried by pegesi, unicorns and earth ponies, all of which want her dead as much as the next pony. They mocked her, asking her why she didn't end it like her husband, but she just laughed, called them all stupid. Finally, it was time for her to die.
They strapped her on to the table, putting the IV drips into her body, on her hooves and one on her neck for good measures. They waited for Stitches' daughter to arrive, as she said very clearly that she 'wanted to see her die'. StitchedHeart's mane was tangled, and her pupils were small. She was going insane on the table, laughing very loudly.
On one side of the walls in her isolated room, a window showed another room. Not long after she was strapped there, families of the ponies she had killed were piling up into the room, excited to see her die. A few minutes later, Twilight Sparkle, Applejack, Big Mac and Granny Smith were in the room, awaiting her death. StitchedHeart could see them, and they could see StitchedHeart. It wasn't long until Firefly showed up.
When Firefly did show up, her mane was more messy than Stitched's, and she was panting, as she was racing to see her devil of a mother die. She took her seat next to Twilight, and behind her came Rarity and Pinkie, both wanting to see her die as revenge for Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash came last, fire in her eyes. She thought she missed it, but was relieved to see that they didn't start without her.
Twilight was the one that controlled when they would pull the lever. The lavender alicorn turned her head towards her friend. Firefly sighed, but then puffed up her chest, determined to watch her mother die. Finally, everyone she killed could be put to rest. Twilight smiled softly, coughed, then turned towards the guards, promptly nodding her head at them as a signal to pull the lever.
A guard responded with another nod, putting his hoof on the lever and jerking his head to StitchedHeart. "Got any last words?" He asked her in a disgusted tone.
"Yes, in fact, I do." Stitched grinned, looking dead at her daughter. "Firefly, you disgrace, you know this is all your fault, right?"
Firefly gulped, but didn't give in, so she remained staring dead at her mother with a fiery expression. Twilight gritted her teeth in worry.
"If you were never born, how many ponies do you think would still be alive, hmm?" Stitched asked. "Well?"
Twilight tapped on the glass, as a suggestion to pull the lever. Before the guard could react, Stitched yelled 'wait'.
"I have one more thing to tell her." Stitched smirked mischievously. "Firefly... You know that you would've been like us if it wasn't for the other ponies, right? If you wouldn't of talked to any of those ponies, you would of did what me and your father did! I hope you know that, darling."
Twilight tapped on the glass again, this time with her wings spread as a threat. She noticed that Firefly was tearing up. The guard nodded and, with a little bit of struggle, pulled the lever. Everyone watched as the liquid raced into Stitched's veins, and they watched as the colour drained out of the unicorn's face. She was laughing evilly until she started feeling weak. She quietened down. And then, she slumped her head to the side, all life drained out of her eyes.
Everyone in the room cheered. She was finally dead! Except for Firefly. She thought of what her mother told her. She couldn't get it out of her head. But, she was happy that she was dead. When everyone was walking out, she apologised to every family about her mother's actions, and hoped that they could all be friends. Afterwards, she went home with Pinkie Pie to Twilight's castle. They all had a party, but Firefly felt something in her stomach turn.
Was it really her fault? Was she really the cause of all those ponies dying? When asking Pinkie about it, she responded with a happy giggle, saying that nothing was her fault. Firefly was confused... Was she just saying that because she was her friend? Maybe she would of been like her family if it wasn't for the ponies that gave friendship to her. Soon, she started feeling happy again. Who cares? She's finally dead!
The party lasted until midnight. When everyone went home, Pinkie and Twilight refused to let Firefly go out at that time of night. They seemed to be treating her as if she was a filly, but considering her education, she basically is. Firefly didn't mind this, as she sees Pinkie as a big sister and Twilight as an Aunt. Plus, her parents weren't that protective of her. It's nice to have a change.
Over the past couple of days, everything seemed joyful in Firefly's eyes. She played with Pinkie and the baby Cakes, Twilight decided to improve her education by tutoring her, Rarity thought of a new fashion trend based on fireflies, Applejack allowed her to help around the farm and Rainbow Dash loved racing her for fun. But... Something didn't seem right. Something in the back of her head just repeats the same words over and over and over again...
I T S A L L Y O U R F A U L T
The ever-lasting thought sunk into her mind, infecting everything she thought hour after hour. Her opinions changed, along with her emotions and mental state. Pinkie obviously knew that something bothered her friend, but when asking about it she simply replies by running. Something doesn't seem right.
Firefly keeps scratching her head and her hooves. Every time someone tries to interact with her, she shuts them out. Eventually, her pupils became permanently small, and she usually hid herself in her bedroom, sobbing in the corner. This went on for several days without end. In every corner of Firefly's eye was her mother, and the same words repeated in her head over and over again...
I T S A L L Y O U R F A U L T
Pinkie Pie came over not long after realising that her friend kept shutting herself away from everyone else. Her pink mane was sprouting in different directions from the recent party, and her flank had a streamer hanging on it. Kicking it away, she lifted up her hoof to knock on the door, but instead stood there and shivered. After a long pause, she slammed her hoof against the door.
Small hoof steps could be heard from the other side of the room, slowly approaching the door. Pinkie noticed that all of the curtains were blocking the windows, so she couldn't peer inside to see if Firefly was okay. Eventually, the door opened, but only slightly. Firefly could be seen from the inside, shaking.
"Um..." Pinkie started. "Hiya, Firefly."
"Hello." Firefly said in a cracked, crispy voice. "What b-brings you here..?"
Pinkie's ears flipped upwards. "Oh, you know, just in the neighbour hood... Thought I'd stop by!"
"That's nice of you." Firefly's eyes bolted towards the back of the room. "Goodbye."
Before Firefly could close the door, Pinkie put her hoof in the way. "Wait! I just came to check up on you." Pinkie leaned in closer, examining Firefly. "You seem upset."
Firefly flinched. "Uh-huh..."
"C-Can I come in?" Pinkie asked with a weak grin. She was trying to play it strong. Firefly stared at her, then opened the door wider so Pinkie could fit in. "Thanks."
The room was messy, chairs and other types of furniture flipped over. Apple juice was sprayed on the walls and food was left on the floor to rot. Firefly's T.V was beaten up, probably by hooves. Her windows were boarded up behind the curtains, and insects crawled around as if it was their playground. Pinkie was surprised at the conditions Firefly was living in.
"Um..." Pinkie gasped. "I... Like what you did with the place?"
"Thank you." Firefly sang, weakly. When Pinkie saw the entirety of her, her mane was messed up, eyes had multiple bags underneath them, and she seemed to have blood dripping down from several bandages that were scattered across her body. "I forced myself to live like this."
Pinkie gulped. "Why..?"
"It's what I deserve, I think." Firefly coughed. She was clearly ill.
"You don't deserve to live like this..." Pinkie muttered.
Firefly glared at her. "I do." She quickly looked all over the place, as if she was missing something. "Would you like anything to eat?"
Pinkie looked at the state of her kitchen. It was growing mould and fungi, along with multiple spider webs strung across the appliances. "Um. No. Thanks." She said, sharply.
Firefly yawned. "What do you want, anyway?"
Pinkie frowned. "We need to get you outta this house!"
"We?"
Pinkie quickly shoved Firefly out of her house, then shut the door behind them. Firefly turned to face her, shielding her eyes from the sunlight. "We're gonna take you around Ponyville for some fun!" Pinkie laughed, throwing confetti in the air.
"I'd... Rather stay in-"
"Nonsense!" Pinkie giggled, hugging Firefly. "C'mon, let's go and have some fun!"
Pinkie took Firefly to numerous locations. The bowling alley was the first one, where Pinkie managed to score several strikes. Whenever Firefly threw the ball, it didn't hit any of the targets. The next place Pinkie took her was the hat shop, where they tried on many funny hats. However, Firefly just sat in the corner, watching. The last place she took Firefly was the Boutique. Rarity had finished making Firefly's dress, but she didn't want to try it on.
Firefly and Pinkie sat at a table outside a place that served daisy sandwiches. Firefly claimed that she wasn't hungry, but Pinkie bought two sandwiches just in case. For a while, the two sat in complete silence, waiting for the other to talk. Eventually, Pinkie broke the silence.
"So where do you want to go next?" She asked, cheerfully.
"Home..." Firefly lowered her head.
"Why don't you want to have fun, Firefly?" Pinkie questioned. "If there's a problem, just tell me, we can sort it together."
"Pinkie, please..." Firefly groaned. "Just... This isn't for me. I hate this..."
"What isn't for you?" Pinkie murmured, concerned.
"I... I can't go on much longer, I'm sorry." Firefly admitted. "I'm... So... So tired..."
"Then sleep!" Pinkie suggested. It wasn't long until she realised what she meant. "Wait, don't sleep!"
Firefly looked to the sky. "If I wasn't born..." She started to cry. "She said that if I wasn't born, then all of the deaths would have been avoided."
Pinkie's ears perked up. "You believe her? She's a crazy mare who just wanted to kill for fun, it's got nothing to do with you! It's not your fault."
'It's not your fault'.
"Firefly, look at me!" Pinkie demanded. Firefly looked down and met Pinkie's gaze. The sound of 'It's all your fault' and 'It's not your fault' battled in her mind as she stared at Pinkie's face. "Please. Just..."
"Pinkie..." Firefly sighed, crying. "I'm sorry. But I gotta do what I gotta do."
And, with that, Firefly ran off. Pinkie quickly stood up, yelling 'stop that mare'. As she galloped, she noticed a rainbow blur in the corner of her eyes. It seems like Pinkie had Dash to catch her. Firefly growled, moving in a zig-zag pattern to try and throw off the fast pegesi. It worked, surprisingly, and Dash couldn't tackle her.
Firefly remembered the old gun her grandfather used to own. It was passed on to her instead of her parents, and she had never known why. She kept it in a safe place all these years; in a hole in the Everfree. Charging towards the forest, she noticed Applejack yelling for her to stop. Obviously Pinkie told her what happened.
She was at the entrance of the cursed forest. Quickly, she dove behind a tree and reached down into a muddy, soggy hole. She pulled out a box covered in dark green moss. Hiding in the bushes, she waited for Rainbow Dash and Applejack to run by, then she raced out of the Everfree. They noticed her, and stopped, almost tripping over.
The mare raced towards her house so she wouldn't have to use her gun in public, but not before she was accompanied by Twilight, Rarity and Pinkie, all begging her to stop. Firefly couldn't hear them. She went deaf, and could only hear the same words that rang in her head over and over and over again.
'It's all your fault'.
Tears lit up in her eyes as she barged into her own house, diving on the floor and slamming the door shut. She locked the door, then covered it with a drawer. She sat in the middle of the room, hypnotised by the same words. Rarity, Twilight, Pinkie, Applejack and Dash were trying their hardest to brake into her house. They even tried slamming their own bodies into the boarded-up windows.
Firefly silently lowered her body towards the door, leaning in towards the old box. She carefully unlocked it with a pin that was lying down near the dresser. A small click was heard, and the box was open, revealing a desert eagle with five bullets next to it. It shone in the light that made its way through a crack in the wall.
Picking up the gun, she loaded it with one single golden bullet. One bullet, one life. As she put the gun to her head, she could hear the pleading of her former friends begging for her to reconsider. Firefly gulped, a tear rolling down her chin. She smiled weakly, laughing at her mind of how foolish they are.
Sorry, but they were friends with a dead mare to begin with.
BANG.
Rain pounded on the ground and thunder echoed through the orphanage walls. Everyone was fast asleep except the mares patrolling the halls and Firefly. The poor filly hated the orphanage with a burning passion, and she wanted to escape as soon as she gets the chance. It was midnight, and it was her chance of escaping. Firefly had peeked at the orphanage's blueprints and maps, and had also found an exit. She listened every night for when a mare comes trotting down her room's hallway, and she found out the pattern. Packing only a picture of her family in a blanket, she waited at the steel door that kept all of the fillies in their room.
Firefly had snook a key into her mane that unlocks the door, and it was only a matter of time before someone noticed that it was gone. She put her ear against the door, and heard a mare trotting away from her room. The filly counted a few seconds, then unlocked the door and crept her way out. She had to mainly crawl through vents and hide in lockers that were scattered through the halls. For her, it seemed like she was escaping a maze, despite knowing where to go.
She made her way to the entrance, knowing where the button is that opens the heavy titanium door. She also knew that there was a night guard watching the button and the entrance, so she had to distract him in order to get to the button. The guard was hard to distract, as he concentrated so hard on both the cameras and the button. Firefly threw a rock at the bin behind him, and once he had turned around to see what happened, she ran up to the desk and pushed the button, then quickly ran out of the room to get to the opening doors.
The guard cocked his head back towards the doors when he heard they were opening, and he saw the little filly run out. He slammed his hoof on a large switch which is only pressed when a filly escapes. A vast number of mares and stallions raced towards the entrance to catch Firefly, who was already climbing at the gates surrounding the orphanage. She managed to jump over the fence before anyone was able to catch her, and she started heading towards a forest that wasn't too far in the distance.
Firefly had entered the Everfree forest, and just managed to avoid being caught by any pegesi that were in the sky looking for her. No one was brave enough to go into the forest, so they let her go, knowing that a filly like her would probably die in under a minute. Firefly raced through the bushes and branches that were hitting her face, and tried looking for something, anything that would keep her safe for the night. She managed to find a huge hole in one of the trees, and hopped in it. It kept her dry from the rain, and would hopefully keep her hidden from any monsters that would try to find and kill her.
The door was finally forced open. The drawer was moved out of the way from the pounding of the door. In flew Rainbow Dash, who knocked down the door and let all of her friends inside. They looked aimlessly around for Firefly, hoping that the bang was just a misunderstanding.
But there she was. Lying on the ground. A pale face. A breathless body. Blood pouring out of a single hole in her head. The red liquid soaked into her bow, and stained her bracelets. Her heart necklace was shattered on the ground, also having speckles of blood on it. She was lifeless, just lying there. A corpse. Sickly staring at her friends with dead eyes.
Rarity had to barf. Applejack tried to stay strong, but instead decided to look away and try to make sure no pony else sees what happened. Twilight kept repeating 'oh no' in her head a million times. Rainbow Dash just stared at the body, speechless. As for Pinkie? She wanted this to just be a dream. She wanted Firefly to still be alive.
Sadly, we don't get what we want. If we end a life, we can't get it back. No sort of spell could fix that. Maybe if they would have tried harder. But now? All they can say is 'I wish I could have done more'.
I wish I could have done more.
However, something weird happened. Something the five ponies were not expecting. There, on their dead friend's flank, was an unfamiliar picture. A cutiemark! But this is not good news...
Her cutiemark is a gun.
