Not Her Fault

The soft melody of a classical melody whistled through an open window. The room in which the window was built was a rather formal bedroom with a lovely bed decorated with a black frame and purple-gold blankets and pillows. An ebony bookcase was filled with many books of science and few of fiction, all arranged in alphabetical order and coincidentally express ing a colourful pattern. A desk of matching ebony wood and a rather clean and slim computer decorated a corner facing the window, which was on a corner itself. There were posters and paintings of various scientists and philosophers on the walls, and on the ceiling a quite expensive gold and marble fan of extraordinary craftsmanship spun, with a elegant light in the middle.

The room was a rather enchanting sight, and really showed much beauty. Though it was such a great sight, it was not the one which truly brought beauty to the room.

A mare sat staring out the window, gazing up at the stars and wondering what truly was out there in the abyss. She wore no styling in her mane or tail, and was well groomed. She smelled of a sweet cherry to some but a lavender to others, and her fur softer than a fleece blanket. She wore a lavender coat and her mane two-toned with a cyan and violet shade.
Icy Star was a born imaginative mare. She always had something to imagine or think about. Her mind was always on the present and the future. She loved experiencing good things and loved to fantasize different futures.

“Icy, dear, it is time for dinner!” She heard her lovely mother shout. Smiling, she skipped to the stairs and made her way down toward the dining room. She nuzzled her little brother as he went to trot next to her.

“Icy, I think I am going to fly soon!” The little four year-old colt exclaimed, excited to be able to finally use his wings.

“That sounds great, buddy! Soon you will be flying with your big sister.” She ruffled his mane.

They then diverged to go to their own respective seats at the dinner table. Sitting next to her father, she smiled at her mother. “The dinner smells lovely, mom.” Then looking down at her plate, she smiled and gave a little cheer in her mind as she saw lavender and daisy salad coupled with a couple oranges.

“Thank you, darling.” Chilled Crystal told her daughter. “I thought I would give my only daughter one final meal before she moves into her own home fresh out of univer-vercity and get… getting her o-own j-j…” The mare teared up not much into the sentence and was now breaking down, not ready to let her only daughter go.

Spin Diesel quickly moved around the table to comfort his wife. He hugged her tightly and pat her back between her wings. She cried softly into her husband’s shoulder for the better part of five minutes. After she let her feelings out, she calmed down and breathed heavily. Looking at Icy, who was watching with worry, she said, “I-I am so so proud of you, my little filly…”

Icy smiled as Spin brought Crystal to his seat, switched their meals. The mother and daughter hugged, rocking for a little bit as Spin and her two brothers began eating.

Icy’s eyes opened wide before a humoured smile morphed her lips. Her mother had fallen asleep hugging her. She found that they had been hugging for twenty minutes and the other ponies were gone.

Looking at her mother, Icy saw one of, if not the most beautiful mares in the world. Crystal was always so confident and assertive toward other ponies, but her family always broke the barrier into her heart. She loved more than any other pony that Icy ever knew. Words could not express how much warmth and love the lovely mare gave to her husband and her foals.

Icy began eating with her mother hugging her sideways now. She took small bites and savored the flavor, knowing that Crystal poured her heart into this final home dish for her. After finishing, she pulled her onto her back and carried her to the living room and layed her by her father, who was watching television. He smiled and took her, carrying her to their room.

Icy trotted back upstairs and shook her fur out, feeling ready for bed. Grabbing her toothbrush and floss, she prepared herself for bed. After cleaning up, she lay down in her bed, turning the light off and falling into slumber, the window closing due to an automatic system for night. The music still played softly as she lay, comfortable and ready to step into the next part of her life.

Icy blushed deeply as her mother licked and groomed her fur, wanting to be able to do so one last time. She stared at herself in the mirror as the mare made sure to soften her coat.

The mare finished and said, “It is almost like it was when you were a filly. You still have the same smell as when I took you home from the nurse.” Nuzzling her daughter’s fur, she smiled and said. “Be something great, my dear, and reach for the stars. Do not let anypony discourage you.”

“Of course, mom. I love you.” Icy nuzzled her mother’s neck, squeezing her tightly before standing up and looking at her brother’s car, from which he waved. “Well… so long... momma…” Icy smiled and kissed her mother on the nose and licked her lips, just as she had always done when she was a foal.

The mother teared up and smiled, “I love you, my filly…”

Icy turned to her dad. “I love you, daddy… You are amazing…” She rubbed her nose to his and kissed the side of his lips, mimicking her actions toward him when she was a foal.

He clutched her to his chest for a good ten seconds, tears dripping down his cheeks and chin before kissing her on the ear.

Icy then trotted to the car, getting in the shotgun seat and waving to her parents as they watched, waving back.

Icy coughed as she woke up on a cold stone floor. She felt her cheek and sniffled as the wonderful dream she had washed away. She shivered and clutched her wings around her thin, skinny body, her fur short from being shaved. She whimpered as she backed into the corner of the small basement room. She began to sob softly, wishing the dream was true. She winced as she touched her bruised cheek, only pushing her mood down further. She saw the empty plate of food on the ground from the night before. Looking out through the small basement window, she only saw storm clouds and pouring rain. A small puddle was forming in the corner from some rainwater getting into the basement.

Using her night vision and the faint surrounding light, she saw the words ‘bat whore’ and ‘fanged monster’ written on the walls. She broke down and cried, wanting her father. He was the only of two ponies in the world to show her love or compassion and maybe still do, and he was far away, probably no longer even thinking about her, him having taken her loving brother permanently along his custody, and dropping the custody of her. For all he knew she was about to graduate from college.

Icy thought about her mother, and how she once treated her, before her father divorced her and Icy gained her more batpony features.

A memory began to form in her mind.

Sitting in her little crib, Icy cooed and smiled at her momma as she picked her up. She hugged her by her neck and pressed into her fur. The smell of her momma warmed the foal’s heart as well as making her feel loved and safe. She closed her eyes as she was carried into the bedroom. She smiled as she felt nestled and loved between her mother and father. The memory suddenly shifted and the mood felt darker.

Icy watched her as older brother, simply named Sky, ran to her and pulled her onto his back. She felt him carry her into the pantry and close it. She pressed close to him as they both heard their parents yelling at eachother outside the door. The colt was the only batpony Icy ever knew, and she loved him dearly. Then, the memory changed into a new one with an even darker mood.

Icy felt herself sitting in her daddy’s lap in a courtroom. She looked about and saw the lawyers talking to her mother and then her father and then the judge. After much of this, she saw her much trot toward her and pick her up, and she trotted out of the courtroom soon after, that being the last time Icy ever saw her loving father or brother ever again. The memory became dreadfully sad.

Icy was in a small jumper, looking up at her mother, teary-eyed but not crying. The mare was in the foal’s face. “This is all your fault! We always were close before you were born! You ruined everything!” The filly just whimpered and took it, not knowing what to do. It was then when she suddenly was struck in the face by the mare, and she yelped, never having felt such pain before. She began to wail and cry as a result, but this made the mare become even more infuriated and she got right into the foal’s face and screamed. “SHUT UP! YOU WILL NOT SCREAM OR CRY! IT WILL NOT HELP YOU IN THE SLIGHTEST!” She hit the foal again and the little filly was shocked before she instinctively began crying loudly again. This time she felt herself picked up and thrown onto the ground, breaking one of her wings and causing extreme pain. She was about to cry again before the mare got so close that her nose nearly touched the foal’s. The foal then stayed silent, whimpering from the pain but not wanting more. “M-momma…”

Icy cried on the floor of the basement room, She whimpered and cried but stopped as she heard a knock on the door. “Time to get up!”

The mare wiped off her tears as best she could and shakily trotted up the stairs. She opened the door and saw her mother. Even though she was now an adult, she was on the small side from malnutrition. She suddenly felt herself ushered to the bathroom, in which she did her business. She trotted out to see her mother again. “Alright. To work.” She nodded toward the back door.

Icy’s eyes widened. She was shaved short to “toughen her up” to cold temperatures, but in the morning and freezing rain, she would surely suffer. Though this was crossing her mind, she still trotted toward the door. The door was opened, and she felt a collar fit around her neck before the door was closed behind her. She yelped as the cold water hit her fur and made her quickly freezing. She shuffled down toward the garden, and, shivering violently, tried to trim the snowbushes.

Suddenly, she heard an electricity sound, and noticed it was the collar. Her eyes widened and she felt it. It didn’t shock her when she touched it. The cold rain must have shorted it! She used her hoof to pull on it and cut through it will a fang. She then ran off into the rain, crossing the street and running down the sidetrot. Her eyes widened as she saw the front gate to the community. When she got to the small gate for pedestrians, she pressed the open button to let her out. After having ran out of the place, she ran down one side of the street. She ran a long distance, adrenaline fueling her and distracting her from the freezing temp. It was just passing cars and wilderness here, and her hope began to falter right when she saw it.

There was much light through the growth and she ran right into a town’s downtown. She saw ponies with umbrellas and coats. Trotting into a cafe, she found herself forced out by the staff because she was dripping wet. She ran into this at many stores, growing weaker as she was refused any shelter of any kind. It was only when she trotted into the lobby of an apartment when she collapsed and passed out.

Icy yawned as she felt exceptionally warm, blankets wrapped around her and a heated pillow under her head. She looked around and saw a dull apartment. She wanted to see more, but knowing that meant abandoning some of this warmth, and she was not wanting of that. She suddenly heard some trotting from another room and turned her head to see a stallion standing at that entryway. He was a pegasus with grey fur and a jet black mane. He was very muscular and had a gentle, warm expression on his face. He could not have been out of his 60’s, but stood like a maturing 20 year old with some swagger. “Hey there. I found you soaking wet and cold as hell in the lobby.”

The mare just stared at the stallion, not knowing what to think of him. “H-hello… my name is Icy Stars…”

“May I approach?” He smirked, taking notice of her defensive fur standing up.

She nodded slowly and he trotted up to her, making her squeak as he adjusted her into a sitting position and sat next to her on what she noticed was his couch. “So why did I find you like this?”

The mare said, “I was escaping from somewhere. Ponies were using me for work and… getting out anger… during the storm my shock collar broke and I could get away.”

The stallion’s eyes widened and he said, “Well you are free from them now.”