Where the Last Petal Falls

by AstraPony

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Sad, Original Character, Suicide / Self Harm
Length: 3399

After hopping from family to family for years, Wilted Rose is starting to question her life.

After hopping from family to family for years, Wilted Rose is starting to question her life. What will it take to save her.

Warning: Contains suicidal situations.

Published 2017-05-01 12:40:01 UTC
Last updated 2017-10-16 07:03:23 UTC

Unconscious

-beep- -beep- -beep-

Wilted Rose lays in a hospital bed, unconscious from the attempt on her life. Her mother, no, FOSTER mother was by her side. Her honey-gold hooves holding her daughter's crimson ones. Her orange mane, that hekd a tinge of yellow its flowy locks, hid Honeycomb's face. The Earth Pony couldn't believe the sight before her tear filles eyes. Then her husband walked in. A tall, black unicorn with a red mane and white streaks running through said mane. His eyes were green like a field of fresh grass. His cutie was a magnifying glass that had magnified a set of hoofprints.

"How could this happen?" Honeycomb asked her husband while choking back tears.

"Because you LET this happen!" Clue Detect yelled at his wife for, seemingly, no reason.

"Me? How could this be my fault?" the mare said, on the verge of tears.

"You were supposed to be watching her, but NO! You just had to take a nap instead!"

"I'm sorry if I get worn out by all the tedious things I do to keep you happy."

"Maybe you should get some more sleeo at night!"

"I can't! I have to stay up at night doing at the chores in the house, so you don't get made at me and HIT me in the morning!"

The there was a knock on the hospital room door. The arguing couple immediately stopped their argument and looked toward the door. The doctor, a short and gray-maned blue Earth Pony, walked in. His cutie mark was an IV bag.

"Excuse me, but may I ask what all the ruckus is about?" asked the quant little doctor.

"Oh, um... yeah," stuttered Clue. "Just, umm, arguing about the recent events." Clue nodded toward his foster child.

"Oh, yes! Tragedies like this can cause distress in familes," the doctor explained.

"We're -sniff- sorry about the -sniff- noise," Honeycomb apologized through her sniffles.

"Yes, but if you could keep the tension down while in the room, that would greatly helo lower any distress the patient madoctor," imformed the doctor. "Oh! Where are my manners? I'm Dr. Med, Wilted Rose's doctor."

"Nice to officially meet you. I'm Clue Detect and this is my wife Honeycomb." Clue introduced.

Suddenly, a groan came from Wilted Rose. Her eyes started to flutter open. "Uhhhggg..." Wilted Rose groaned again.

"Oh good! She's awake!" Dr. Med exclaimed.

"Rose! Oh, thank Celestia you're alright!" Honeycomb exclaimed also. She reached for her daughter's hoof.

"NO! Don't touch me!" Wilted Rose yelled. She tried to pull her hoof away, only for it to be stopped by a set of hoofcuffs. "Huh?" Wilted Rose said with a puzzled look on her face. "Wait, I'm dead. Aren't I?"

"No, your not," said the doctor.

'Good. Now you're getting a second chance. Please use it wisely; and don't kill yourself this time.' "SHUT UP!" screamed Wilted Rose.

"Calm down now child," soothed the doctor.

"Yeah, we don't want to hurt you," Honeycomb said to her crazed foster daughter in calming voice.

'Yeah, just calm down, please...' "NO!! I'm supposed to be DEAD! But I can't even get that right!" yelled Wilted Rose. "If it wasn't for you, I would finally be HAPPY!" she look straight at her foster parents while saying this.

Suddenly, Wilted Rose relaxed. She was so focused on her foster parents that she didn't notice the doctor putting a sedative in her IV.

"There, that should do it," said Dr. Med calmly. "Now lets leave her be. Shall we?"

"Yeah," said Clue.

As the trio of ponies walked out of the hospital room, Clue quickly trotted up to Wilted Rose and said to her: "You are in SO much trouble when you get home."

New Kid

Honeycomb and Wilted Rose walked along the worn path. The morning sun had not even peeked over the horizon. Dew drops lay silent on their beds of grass blades. Other parents walked with their foals, some young and some old. They laughed, talked, and played small games of tag, but the foster family remained silent.

The other kids looked warefully at Wilted Rose, having heard about her incident. They made sure to keep a distance whenever they saw the mark on her neck, as if it would cause the same harm to them that Wilted Rose had inflicted on herself. That wasn't the only mark Wilted Rose bore. A red hoofprint from a slap her foster father gave her after returning from the hospital a few nights earlier, but it was faint against her crimson fur.

"Now make sure to pay attention to Ms. Cherilee while she is teaching," Honeycomb instructed her daughter.

"I know," replied Wilted Rose.

"And make sure to do your homework and bring home any don't finish at school."

"I know!" The pair reached the front of the schoolhouse. The morning sun now peered over the horizon as if it was summoned by te school bell that was now currently tolling.

"And Rose," Honeycomb started.

"What?!" Wilted Rose snapped.

"please try to make some friends, ok?" the foster mother continued as if she didn't her hear daughter snap.

"Whatever," Wilted Rose said with an eyeroll as she walked in the school house.

Wilted Rose sat at her desk, bored. One hoof held her head up, the other held a piece of paper still on the desk, and her horn lit up with a pink aurora and was doodling with a quill on the paper. She doodled various ways she could kill herself when she got the opportunity. Ms. Cherilee droned on about something math related, but Wilted Rose didn't pay any attention.

Her concentration was broken by the door opening suddenly, followed by a frantic gallop of hooves.

"Sorry I'm late!" the pony cried. From what she could hear, Wilted Rose deduced that the voice was that of a colt's. Wilted Rose shifted in her seat to see around a pony that sat in front of her. Now tha she could see the front of the classroom, Wilted Rose had a good view of the colt. He had cream white fur, a light liliac mane with a few bubblegum pink streaks mixed in. His eyes were a light blue, but ponies blocked his flank so Wilted Rose couldn't see his cutie mark.

"Class, this is our new student, Ink Quill," Ms. Cherilee introduced.

"Hi..." said the colt in a shy voice.

"Quill, why don't you sit next to Rose," Ms. Cherilee motioned toward the desk to Wilted Rose's left. The colt walked to the desk. That's when see saw it, more like didn't see it.

"He's a blank flank," Wilted Rose whispered under her breath, barely even audible to herself.

Usually when a pony was called a blank flank, it was meant as an insult, but not in this case. Before Ink Quill joined the class, Wilted Rose had been the only pony without a cutie mark, but now she was not alone.

'Remember what your mom said "make some friends". This is the perfect chance to make a friend. He has no friends either!' the voice said.

"I know, but I don't know if we have anything in common," Wilted Rose replied in a whisper.

'And that is where you are wrong. Your both blank flanks! No offense.'

"None taken... I guess"

'Aproach him at recess, its the perfect opportunity to befriend him.'

Author's Note

Sorry for the delay... Stupid internet...

Friendship

The sun bore down on the school ponies. Ink Quill sat under a tree to protect himself from the princess' hot sun. Meanwhile, Wilted Rose say on a swing, thinking of what to say to him. Finally, she worked up the courage to talk to him. She hopped of the swing and trotted over to Ink Quill.

As she trotted over to him, Wilted Rose couldn't help but see that Ink Quill held a quill in his mouth and was writing something in a notebook. He appeared to be concentrating hard on his work. Although she didn't want to interrupt his focused state, but Wilted Rose's foster mother's words came back to her mind, pushing her forward.

"Um, hi..." Wilted Rose stuttered.

"Hi," Ink Quill whispered, barely audible.

"I noticed your new here."

"Yeah..."

"I, uh, also noticed you have no cutie mark." Ink Quill shifted to hide his blank flank. "Oh, its ok! I don't have one either." Wilted Rose showed her flank.

"Really?" Ink Quill perked up. The thought of not being the lone colt without a cutie mark at a new school released a huge weight off his shoulders.

"Yeah." Wilted Rose paused before continuing. "So, um, I thought maybe you might need a friend." She reached out her hoof for a shake.

"Yeah, I could use a friend," Ink Quill accepted the request with a hoofshake.

After moments of bonding, the two new friends began to get to know each other.

"Wait, so you like to draw?" Ink Quill asked curiously after Wilted Rose's comment on her favorite hobby.

"Yeah, I have since I was a kid."

"Well, I like to write!"

"Cool! So, what are you writing now?" Wilted Rose asked while trying to peek at Quill's work.

"Well, its about these creatures,"

"Uh-huh."

"and they're furless expect for the tops of their heads, they stand on their hind legs, and wear clothes all the time. Well, there IS more, but, um, that's the basic run down of them." Quill explained.

"Sounds kinda... creepy. In a good way!"

"It's ok, but they're actually sorta nice. Now back to you. Why do you like to draw?"

"Well, uhh," Wilted Rose stuttered, worried that sharing her past would cost her her new friendship. "my mom died during childbirth and my dad didn't want me so he abandoned me."

"Oh no!"

"And I have been going from foster family to foster family ever since. My drawings have been something I could always keep with me no matter where I went. The one constant in my life."

"That must been horrible! I lost my dad at a young age, but that is nothing compared to your life."

"Yeah..." Wilted Rise showed Quill the mark on her neck.

"Oh my goodness! You did that?"

"Yeah. I thought nopony cared." Wilted Rose said with shame and lowered her head. "I did it only a few days ago. Today's my first day back to school."

"Well, I care. I'm your friend now." Quill said with sympathy.

"Thanks." Wilted Rose said with a smile.

Ink Quill brought his new friend into an imbraced. It only lasted a few seconds before the school bell rang, ending recess. The two walked side-by-side to their desks, with one of Quill's wings around Wilted Rose to draw the hug out as long as possible. As silly as it my sound, Ink Quill thought he might be in love.

Spark

After school, Wilted Rise was radiating with joy! She was so happy to finally have a friend that cared about her. Finally, her life had some meaning. She couldn't wait to tell her mom. Skipping along the path home, Wilted Rose thought of all the cool things she and Quill could do together. Make friendship bracelets, play tag, have sleepovers. Oh! She could just explode with all the excitement that was bubbling up inside her.

Finally, she reached her home. The front lawn looked fairly unkept, but that could easily be fixed later. She had to tell Honeycomb the good news. The house they lived in was fairly nice compared to all the others in Ponyville, although it had the same style as the others. Wilted Rose's foster dad could afford nicer things seeing that he was the best detective in town. But while Clue Detect was seemingly nice in public, he was abusive in private.

He beat Wilted Rose when misbehaved in the slightest, made Honeycomb de tedious tasks that keep her up late at night and sometimes even hit her to. Infact, when Wilted Rose came home from the hospital, he repeatedly slapped Honeycomb for it, although nopony would suspect it. She used makeup to hide her marks as the same of Wilted Rose's. That was another reason she tried to commit suicide, to get away from him. But Clue never broke bones, that would only draw attention to his little secret.

Wilted Rose pushed on the brown mahogany door that lead to the inside of her house. Through the front door was a medium sized creme living room. To the right was a stairwell that lead to the second floor and basement; and to the left was a door frame that lead to the kitchen/dining room. The living room contained an almost barren bookcase, a couch, and a lazy-colt chair adjacent to it with a coffee table in front of the two. There was also a bathroom that hide under the staircase that made its way to the second floor.

Honeycomb walked out of the kitchen with a tray of snacks held within her teeth.

Seeing Wilted Rose, Honeycomb said an excited, “Hurrlr Rrrse.”

“Huh?” Wilted Rose asked with a puzzled expression.

Honeycomb set the tray down on the coffee table. “Sorry, hello Rose. How was school today?”

“It was great! I made a friend today!”

“Really? What’s her name”

“HIS name is Ink Quill.” Wilted Rose corrected.

“Oh, so its a colt?” Honeycomb said with a slight mischievous tone.

“Its not what you think it is. You see, he’s a new kid. And guess what!”

“What?”

“He doesn’t have a cutie mark either!”

“Ok then, what else?”

Wilted Rose the began to describe Quill to her: what he looks like, how that he likes writing, and how they meet at recess.

“Sounds like the two of you really hit it off!” Honeycomb exclaimed.

“Yeah, I guess we did. But we’re just friends.”

“Uh-huh, ok then Rose...” Honeycomb said with that said mischievous tone as before.

__--__--__--__--__--__--

The next day, Wilted Rose got up earlier than usual. After she had a shower, Wilted Rose brushed her mane and tail until they were nice and soft. She couldn’t remember the last time they were this soft, nor a time where she cared. With an unusual pep in her step, Wilted Rose scurried downstairs just as her mother was starting breakfast.

“Hey mom,” Wilted Rose said with a smile.

“Hi Rose. You sure are up early!” Honeycomb exclaimed.

“Yup! Just can’t wait to go to school.” The two ate their breakfast and then set off to the school house. As Celestia’s morning sun peacefully slipped above the horizon, Wilted Rose thought of her new friend. Then she remembered the hug, they way he had kept his wing around her back as they walked inside. A tiny spark of something Wilted Rose couldn’t recognize sparked within her. He cared about her. Finally, for once in her life, somepony cared; and so did she.

Wilted Rose was the first pony to arrive to class. She sat in her seat, eager to chat with Quill upon his arrival. Slowly, her fellow classmates began to join her within the classroom. When all of the other ponies were in their seats, Ms. Cherilee began her lesson. All, but Quill.

Speak of the devil. Ink Quill burst through the doors at full speed. “Sorry! Sorry! Am I late?” Ink Quill shouted. He was running so fast that he was barely able to stop before running face-first into the side of Ms. Cherilee’s desk.

“Yes, but I’ll give you a pass this time. Don’t make a habit of it.” Ms. Cherilee said with a small amount of scolding in her voice.

“I won’t. Sorry!” Ink Quill said.

Ink Quill had overslept. He was having a pleasantly wonderful dream about Wilted Rose, when he had remember that he was going to meet her at school. SCHOOL!! He jolted out of his dream-state and looked over at the clock. 7:50

“Oh, horseshoes!!” Quill exclaimed. “I overslept!” Ink Quills parents had to go into work early, so they were forced to intrust their so with getting up on time without their help. Didn’t go so well.

__--__--__--__--__

Ink Quill spotted the empty desk next to WIlted Rose that she had clearly saved for him. With a grin on his face, he trotted over to sit next to his friend. Quill sat down and Ms. Cherilee resumed her barely started lesson. While she was teaching, Wilted Rose was busy on a sketch and Quill was half listening, half not, because he was busy writing for his story. During some quiet reading time, although nopony ever did actually reading, Wilted Rose finished her sketch. She fold the paper up neatly and wrote a note on it for Quill.

‘Here is a sketch of what i thought you’re creatures looked like. Hope its what you imagined.’ The creature resembled an upright pony. It was furless excluding the top of its head and wore clothes.

After looking over the drawing and thinking of it s flaws, Ink Quill responded on another sheet of paper.

‘Close, but it has a flatish face, flat front hooves with grabby noodly thingies, and the rear hooves are flat against the ground and have weird other noodly thingies.’

The two went back and forth with their note passing, slowly perfecting the creature Quill called a human. The bell rang, signaling the school ponies to their small retreat from school work that they called recess. While outside, Wilted Rose and Ink Quill played many games. They played tag, hoofball, hide and seek, and hopscotch. Wilted Rose’s troubles were temporarily forgotten and the world slowly faded away. All that existed, or even mattered, was her and Quill. He had begun laughing at something they had just done. His laugh. It was enough to make her heat skip a beat. That spark came back again, but Wilted Rose was to happy to care.

But all good thing must eventually come to an end. The bell rang and recess was over.

‘Curse that dang bell!’ the voice said.

The two happy ponies walked back inside, side-by-side, and took their seats. They decided that they would actually pay attention to Ms. Cherilee for the rest of the day. Who are they kidding? They didn’t hear a word she said.

Resorting to the Last Resort

She sat in the basement on a lone wooden chair in the center of the room
She was hold some rope with her magic. She had started tying the rope. 'Maybe somepony will care. Maybe somepony will talk to you. Maybe you should just wait until tomorrow.' "NO!" Wilted Rose shouted at the voice. "Nopony loves me... Nopony care..." Tears formed in her forest green eyes. She brushed her dark maroon mane out of her eyes, thus revealing her horn. A tear trickled down her check, leaving a trail on her light crimson fur. She continued tying the knot that would end her life.

After an hour of attempts, Wilted Rose finally got the noose tied correctly. "I can't even kill myself right!" Wilted Rose cried. With the fatal knot hanging ominously over the chair, Wilted Rose knew it was time. With some paper and a quill suspended with her magic, she wrote:

'I have gone unloved and unwanted for too long. But its not like you care anyway. Don't be sorry for me. U might finally be happy. Goodbye.'

She stepped into the wooden chair. She started to slip the noose around her neck, but paused. 'Are you sure this is the right thing to do?' questioned the voice. "Yes, this is for the better. Nopony else will have to be burdened with me anymore." Wilted Rose replied. With those words, she slipped the noose around the rest of her neck. The rough, chafy rope pressed against her neck, making it hard to breath, and she hadn't even kicked the chair yet. Then again, this was preparing her for what was to come.

Then it happened. The wooden chair hit the hard, concrete floor of the basement with a thud. Wilted Rose was hanging in the air, off the ground, and couldn't breathe; but this was supposed to happen. She was committing suicide, but Wilted Rose couldn't be happier. Her vision was turning dark. 'Sweet release.' she thought. The last thing Wilted Rose remebers is smiling.