Gretchen flicked her cigarette butt to the ground and stomped on it with slight frustration. She had been waiting outside Canterlot High for about a half an hour. School had ended, but so far there was no sight of her best friend. Of course, she had never been comfortable with the term "best friend". Not in recent years, at least. Bitter Honey liked the term very much, however, so she tolerated it.
They had been together since they were toddlers. Inseparable, some had called them. It wouldn't have seemed that way if judged solely by outward appearances.
Bitter Honey had consistently won the yearbook's "Most Cutest" superlative for as long as anyone could remember. Her freckles, short-cut hair, and stylish glasses made sure of that. She was the type who always tried to help and encourage everyone she could. She even had a reputation of being an innocent, as she often politely asked others to tone down their language. It was her art which won the most hearts, though. The main hallway of CHS was graced with a grand mural featuring charging Wondercolts which featured her name painted in neat cursive.
Gretchen, in contrast, looked like a classic delinquent. Leather jacket, ripped jeans, with half her head shaved. Her red eyeshadow was overapplied as if it were war paint, just as her mother used to wear it at her age. Many assumed she must have spent time in juvie at some point, but the truth was that she hadn't gotten into too much trouble and even earned decent grades in class. A lot of that was due to Bitter's positive influence. Not that she would admit that, of course.
They had indeed been close almost all their lives, however there seemed to be something going on for the last few days. Bitter just hadn't been herself. Her hyperactivity had dulled, her movements becoming sluggish and awkward. The joy she always had upon her face had faded more and more each day. Bitter would usually spend some extra time in the art room after the final bell, which was why Gretchen was currently waiting. It was time to get to the bottom of all this.
Gretchen snapped to attention when she heard the front doors opening. Out came Bitter herself. She seemed tense, clutching her backpack straps for dear life it seemed.
"Hey, Bitter Bitch!" Gretchen playfully called out. Usually, the prudish Bitter would chastise her for such vulgar nicknames, but that wasn't the case this time. She flinched and stopped cold.
"Bitter?" Gretchen asked as she approached her. "You okay?"
"Yes," she heard Bitter say softly. "I got to go..."
"Hold up!" Gretchen said as she grabbed Bitter's arm as she was about to walk away.
Gretchen swung Bitter around to face her. Gretchen's eyes widened when she stared into those of her friend. Bitter's eyes seemed empty. Without life. Almost zombie-like. If Gretchen didn't know her friend so well, she would of thought she was high on something.
"I... I'm looking forward to your party tomorrow..." Gretchen finally said, not able to come up with anything else.
"Okay," Bitter said distantly.
With that, Gretchen let go of her friend's arm. Bitter stared at her for another moment before turning and slowly walking off. Gretchen let out the breath she didn't realize she had been holding. All of their lives together, Bitter had made Gretchen feel many emotions. This day, Bitter made her feel one she never thought she would or even could give her.
Fear.
****************
Gretchen quickly got home after the encounter. She cranked up some death metal before relieving her anger upon her poor pillow. As her fists sunk deep into the fluffy material, she couldn't help but to think about how bad she had choked. She still didn't know what was up with Bitter Honey.
She gave her pillow one final blow before flopping onto her bed. She was exhausted, both physically and mentally.
A buzz was felt. Gretchen fished her phone from her pocket to see a message from Bitter. She immediately sat up to read.
94hnt dvj/erjqgmn ,,,aweewtg %<
"The fuck?" Gretchen uttered as she squinted at the nonsense.
She immediately texted back.
U ok?
Seconds passed, turning into minutes. Gretchen was about to send another message before there finally came a reply.
YESOP EKALB trust dont_hes a laZy hackkkkkkk
Bitter u need me 2 come over?
More seconds, more minutes. Gretchen began to wonder if this was even Bitter. Had her phone been stolen? Was she talking to some thieving troll? Oh, they were so going to get it if Gretchen caught them...
I'm sorry, Gretchen. I guess that I haven't been thinking straight lately.
Gretchen let off a sigh of relief. There was the girl who texted in proper sentences she loved and tolerated.
Whats the matter?
I'm not sure, honestly. Hey, are you and your mom still coming tomorrow?
Gretchen smirked and rolled her eyes. What kind of question was that? Even with all the recent weirdness, she wasn't about to miss such an important day.
Duh bday bitch
Gretchen laughed when she received an unamused emoji along with the word, "Language". Yep, Bitter was definitely back to herself. For now, at least.
And don't bother bringing a present or anything. I just want you there. Love you.
Lol no homo right?
A minute passed without Bitter answering. Gretchen's smile dropped as she braced herself for another bizarre reply.
Sure. No homo, as you say.
Gretchen stared at the message. She felt as if a specific tone was radiating from it. Was it... disappointment? She shook it off.
C u 2morrow weirdo
****************
Sour Sweet sat in the driver's seat of her mother-in-law's old station wagon. In her lap were two bags full of baking ingredients. Sour had first thought it was nice of Niban Person to offer the ride to the supermarket, however she was quickly reminded why she hated riding with her. Namely, the fact that Niban controlled the radio dial.
"See, folks, the problem with these kids today is that they are taught from Marxist kindergarten to Leninist college that there is a correct answer to everything," the obnoxious host droned on. "There's a correct answer to climate change. A correct answer to homosexuality. A correct answer to the theory of evolution. To the theory of gravity. To what color the sky is. To whether you should stick your weewee in the light socket after the vacuum tube didn't work out so well..."
"Niban, please turn to something else before my mind turns to mush," Sour sighed as she rubbed her temples.
Niban gave her daughter-in-law a gentle smile. "And that's the kind of attitude that will make me vote for Filthy Rich for another twelve years."
Sour rolled her eyes, deciding to drop it. Especially since she knew that Niban was the type to never deal in threats, only promises.
"But he does make a good point, though," Niban continued. "I still can't believe that you put poor Bitter Honey in that Canterlot High hovel. What was wrong with Crystal Prep Academy?"
Sour stared in disbelief at Niban. "What was wrong with Crystal Prep? What was wrong with Crystal Prep? You mean other than the miserable, toxic environment that both your son and I had the suffer through for four years? Gee, it's a complete mystery."
Niban shrugged. "Seemed fine to me."
"The only way it could've been decent was if Cinch had gotten fired right after her BS at the Friendship Games and Cadance replaced her." Sour sighed. "But that's the kind of stuff for alternate realities, unfortunately."
"All I know is that I would trust an exclusive and uniformed curriculum based on pure mental superiority over whatever new age, kumbaya garbage the ivory tower libs want to shove down the throats of our innocent children in public school."
Sour cracked a smile. "Niban, I find that your solution to elitism being just more elitism to be very endearing."
Niban fell silent for a moment, before responding, "I'll take that as a compliment."
Sour chuckled to herself. Sparring with her mother-in-law was fun in its own way, but she had more important things to focus on. Her daughter's sixteenth birthday was tomorrow. Everything had been planned out. There would be a small party at noon with family and friends and presents. Later that night, it was off for a private dinner at the Il Cavallo Regazza Italian restaurant. Thankfully, the ban which was handed down during Sour and Second's disasterious first date had long since been forgotten.
Yep, just a nice celebration with loved ones as well as dinner between father, mother, and daughter. Bitter had seemed a bit moody around the house lately, but Sour was sure tomorrow would make everything more delightful.
Nothing could possibly go wrong.
Bitter Honey sat solemnly in her room, listening to her newest friends. Some were downers, but some were amusing. She just wished she could see them.
Speaking of which, the smell of baking snapped her out of her daze. Her vision was filled with nothing but a blank spot of wall. How long had she been staring at nothing? She couldn't tell. Her mind wondered about the aroma. Cake? It smelled good. Was it a special occasion? Oh, yeah. Her 50,267th birthday. Right.
Bitter clutched at her head and sighed. She wished she could think clearly. She kept having to remind herself of her own name.
"I like it," Bitter said aloud to no one.
She then groaned and got up. She needed to get out of there. She also wanted a piece of that cake and wish whoever's birthday it was a good one. She went over to her door and reached for the knob.
Bitter froze at the warning. She would end up standing still for a half an hour contemplating whether or not to risk leaving the safety of her room.
****************
The Person House was already packed when Gretchen and her mother, Gilda arrived. Many of her classmates were there as Bitter was fairly popular. The rest were Bitter's family, such as her grandparents from both sides. Gretchen glanced over at Sour Sweet currently greeting someone she didn't recognize, however.
"Starlight!" Sour cheered as she hugged her. "How's it been?"
"Oh, just great," Starlight answered happily. "We've just established three more branches of Our Church. It's been quite a busy year."
"How wonderful!"
"Of course, some of us are getting a bit antsy with how things are going in the country lately. We may relocate and create a settlement elsewhere. We're looking into some land in Guyana right now."
"It can get pretty hot in South America, you know."
Starlight winked. "We'll pack plenty of Kool-Aid, believe me."
Gretchen peered around for the person of honor.
"Bitter's still upstairs," she heard a voice say.
Gretchen turned to see the friendly face of Bitter's father, Second Person. "Oh, hi, Mister Person. Uh, thanks."
She was about to head towards the stairs, before Second held something out to her.
"Party hat?"
Gretchen cringed when she laid eyes upon it. It was a floppy eyesore in the shape of a birthday cake, complete with cloth candles sticking up on top. She gave her elder an annoyed look. Did he really think Gretchen of all people would want to be caught dead wearing something like that? Then again, Second had always been a dork in addition of being the world's biggest simp. Or he could've just been trolling her.
"Bitter's been a bit down lately," Second began to explain. "It might give her a laugh." He gave her a wink.
Gretchen found herself not being able to argue with that logic. If she were to look like a fool, at least she'd be doing it for Bitter.
"It better give her a good laugh..." Gretchen muttered under her breath as she snatched the hat out of Second's hand.
Reluctantly, Gretchen put it on and glanced at her mother.
"Looks good on you," Gilda said, trying her best not to laugh.
Gretchen rolled her eyes as her mother and Second went off to join the other adults. Finally, she could go find Bitter. However, before Gretchen could take a step on them, Bitter Honey appeared at the top of the stairs. Gretchen opened her mouth to greet her before noticing the distant, emotionless expression upon Bitter's face. Bitter descended the stairs and passed her best friend without so much as an acknowledging glance. Not even to the stupid hat she was wearing. Gretchen's spine shivered.
Bitter started making her way through the crowd. Some naturally tried to converse with her, but she dodged them as if they were poisonous.
"There she is!" Sour Sweet cheered when she spotted her. "The birthday girl! Come on, everyone. A one and a two and..."
Everyone joined in for the chorus of the Happy Birthday song. As they did, Sour retrieved the birthday cake she had prepared. It was a grand confection with baby blue icing, the number sixteen written in white frosting with rainbow sprinkles, and complete with the same number of candles positioned around the top. Bitter didn't react to the singing, nor made a move to blow out the candles. By the end of the song, many began to notice as they exchanged awkward and confused glances. That included Bitter's mother and father.
"Uh, okay, Bitter..." Sour began with a concerned tone. "Let's dig into this cake, shall we?"
As she said those words, Sour held up a slicing knife in her hand. For the first time, Bitter showed emotion. Her eyes went wide in fear. That fear only lasted a moment, however, as it then turned into pure rage.
"I KNEW IT!!!" Bitter abruptly screamed, causing everyone to jump. "I KNEW YOU'VE ALWAYS WANTED TO KILL ME, HAVEN'T YOU, YOU FUCKING BITCH!!! YOU WON'T GET ME!!! CUNTS LIKE YOU NEVER WIN!!!"
Bitter shot her hand up and knocked the tray presenting the cake out of her mother's hands. The cake splattered upon the floor. With that, Bitter ran away and back upstairs. The slam of her bedroom door rang out. Everyone was left in stunned silence. Never before had any of them witnessed such anger, language, or action out of Bitter.
"Told you not to put her in public school," Niban stated flatly, breaking the silence.
"Mom, please..." Second whispered. He turned to everyone else. "Uh, it seems Bitter isn't feeling well. Maybe we can celebrate some other time."
Many visitors took the hint, nodded understandingly, and began to leave. Gretchen glanced over to her fellow students from CHS.
"OMG, what was that?" one sneered.
"I always thought she was strange..." another admitted.
"Oh, man!" a third laughed, quickly texting everyone in their contacts. "I wish I got video of that!"
Gretchen's fists tightened. Those fake bastards. They weren't Bitter's real friends. Gretchen was her real one and she wasn't leaving. Bitter needed her.
As the great majority filed out, Second let out a deep sigh. He looked over to his wife. Sour's eyes were fixed on her labor of love on the floor. She appeared as if she hadn't moved an inch since the bizarre outburst from her daughter. Finally, her gaze slowly met his.
"This is how it started," she managed to utter. A tear ran down her cheek. "This is how it started with me..."
****************
Bitter Honey felt like a small child again. She was cowering in the corner of her room, wrapped in a blanket for pseudo-protection. Her door was locked so her mother couldn't rush in to decapitate her. She only had her new friends to comfort her, even if she could barely understand them now. They were becoming more excited, talking over each other.
Suddenly, light began to show through the blanket's fabric. She could of sworn she had turned the light off of her room. Curiously but cautiously, she stuck her head out. She gasped as she realized that she wasn't in her room anymore. Nor her house.
A dark forest surrounded her. She stood, letting the blanket drop to the ground. She was about to take a step forward before a rustling noise halted her. Out from some bushes scurried a small, but fierce-looking animal. It looked as if it was half bird, half reptile. Before Bitter could react, the quick creature darted toward her and then the unexpected happened. It phased right through her legs as if it, or possibly her, were a ghost.
"Aw, what a cute chicken-snake," Bitter said in a sweet tone before growing sour and spouting, "Yeah, better run before I deep fry your ass!"
Bitter put her hand over her mouth. She had never spoken in such a tone-shifting manner. In fact, there were a lot of things she hadn't ever done before that she was doing lately. As she reflected on her behavior as well as her unfamiliar surrounding, she began to yearn for some kind of guidance. Any kind of direction would do.
Bitter's attention suddenly fixated on a specific point of the forest. She felt something pulling at her. Something telling her to walk that way.
She complied.
Bitter passed through the seemingly unending forest. Even the various chilling sounds of unknown creatures couldn't sway her attention away from the force that was leading her. Finally, she reached the end of the tree line. Ahead of her was a plank bridge covering a small crevasse and beyond that was the ruins of an ancient structure. In the middle of that, she saw the shimmering top of a pink structure. She knew that was the place she needed to be.
Her feet sprinted at full speed. She crossed the bridge, not even thinking of the possibility that the rickety thing could snap under her. She ran up the hill and swung open the large wooden doors to reveal the illuminated treehouse within. Bitter took a step forward when she was suddenly blinded by a bright glow. When it died down, Bitter found herself facing a sparkling being who looked strangely familiar.
"You do not belong here," it said in an echoing, yet monotone voice.
A stun locked Bitter Honey studied the being before her. It was small and resembled a pony. Only more... cartoonish? Especially with the wings. What really intrigued/irritated her, however, was that it somewhat resembled her mother. Its hair was the right mix of rose and grayish aquamarine, and its face had the right spattering of freckles. Its fur color was yellow, the same as her mother’s skin. Upon its flanks were symbols consisting of overlapping heart and diamond shapes.
"Who are you?" she finally managed to utter.
"Merely a Messenger," it answered while mimicking her mother’s voice. "You have a troubled mind."
"Well, I certainly didn't need a messenger to tell me THAT," Bitter sneered. "And why do you look and sound like my mom?"
"My form takes whatever it needs to make one comfortable."
"Comfortable?!" Bitter spat, throwing her hands in the air."Looking like the BITCH who wants to fucking BUTCHER me is supposed to make me feel all warm and fuzzy and cozy, you stupid HORSE?!"
The Messenger gently shook her head. "Deep down, you know that is not true. You must be aware that the reality which you currently accept must be corrected. Listen closely. I represent that which is responsible for the harmony in this world of Equestria."
"Equestria?"
"Equestria is experiencing a grave crisis at the moment. A powerful Alicorn has caused a great disruption to the balance of our land. This includes the dimensional veil, which is what you have been caught up in. Your mind is here but your physical body is still in your room."
Bitter groaned loudly in frustration. Her eyes fixed upon a chair and attempted to kick it. Her leg phased through it in a ghostly fashion. Because she acted so forcefully, her balance was thrown off. Her behind hit the ground painfully. Bitter yelped in both agony and confusion. How could she not touch anything but still somehow be hurt? What, did magic follow comedy rules or something?
"Why is this happening to me?!" Bitter demanded.
"It is complicated." Seeing her guest’s irritated eyeroll, the Messenger added, "All I can say is that you must have been exposed to Equestrian magic at some point in your life."
"Well, that’s just ridic—" Bitter froze. A memory began to arise. One that she’d could still only vaguely recall. It happened when she was four. A playdate with a strange blonde man and his daughter. Both of whom could do incredible things. All to entertain a poor girl waiting for her mother to come home from a mental hospital. "Wait. Does this Equestria place have anyone named Nicolae Carpathia and Screwball?"
The Messenger smiled all-knowingly. "It does indeed have a Screwball who also happens to have a father who can transform into beings which could call themselves 'Carpathia'."
Suddenly, the ground shook. Bitter once again lost her balance and ended up on the floor. Just what WERE the physics with this place?
"In here, guys!"
Bitter saw as three creatures rushed desperately inside the room. They were what appeared to be a griffon, a small dragon, and she wasn’t sure what the third one was. Some kind of gaudy-looking bug thing. Each appeared young, causing Bitter to wonder if there was a school nearby. They ducked under a table in pure panic.
"Um, what’s up?" Bitter asked, but no reply came from the terrified trio.
"They cannot sense you in any way," the Messenger explained. "You are barely existing in this realm, remember?"
"Right…" Bitter hesitated. "What’s wrong with them then?"
The Messenger waved a hoof. A bright light appeared before Bitter. She was blinded and covered her eyes for a split second, but when she regained her vision again, she was suddenly faced with a bewildering sight. Ponies. Thousands of ponies. All fighting each other. In fact, it seemed as if there were three distinct sides.
On one end of the battlefield, normal-appearing ponies in brown and green-colored uniforms loaded catapults with large boulders, launching them by bucking a triggering mechanism with their hindlegs. Bitter didn’t know why, but she could swear some of them were crying, “HERE COMES TOM!!!” while doing it. On the opposite side, purple and gold uniformed unicorns raised magical shields. They didn’t seem to appreciate the “Tom” taunts. Must have been some in-joke she was missing. God, she hated trolls. Finally, Pegasi clad in blue and white uniforms reigned down feathery vengeance upon the other two sides from the sky. They dodged the boulders while simultaneously trying to smash through the unicorn barriers.
Bitter’s horror and awe was then directed to the sound of cackling laughter. She looked and beheld a purple figure in the sky. The pony had wings, a horn, and the most obvious "I’m a villain" hairstyle Bitter had ever seen. Flames consumed her.
"W-what… is this…?" Bitter managed to utter.
"A kingdom is falling, Bitter," the Messenger stated. "Hatred and gullibility have ended it."
Bitter stared at some ponies clustered on the ground. Their bodies were injured. They groaned out in agony. Their eyes held no hope. They were members of all three warring sides. The only thing that was uniting them at that moment was pain.
The scene abruptly vanished, leaving Bitter shaken as she found herself back in the strange treehouse. She glanced back over at the three young creatures cowering under the table.
"This is the Treehouse of Harmony," the Messenger spoke again. "It has stood as a place where anycreature could seek refuge for many moons. But it will not be so for very long. It soon will not be safe for non-ponies to stay here. Then there will be the families…"
Another scene formed before Bitter’s gaze. One of a home. Her eyes widened as she came to recognize the three ponies therein. Standing guard at a window was a female Pegasi who resembled her mother (and the Messenger by extension). Her intense eyes scanned outside for potential danger.
Behind her, was an Earth pony who resembled Bitter’s father. His flanks were stamped with a "U" symbol. She had no idea what that signified. He worriedly sat next to a much younger mare who resembled… Bitter herself. She even had the glasses. Her wings obviously came from her mother. She was sound asleep, as if she'd exhausted herself out from stress. Her pained expression gave it away.
"Do you think they’ll actually come for us, Sour?" the Second pony asked, already knowing full well the answer.
"We don’t know what these separatist morons will do," the Sour Sweet pony said, trying to control her voice to not sound shaken. "Princess Twilight’s failed. Nopony’s coming to save us."
"You don’t regret it, do you?" Second asked. "Marrying a lowly, filthy Earth pony?" Again, he already knew the answer.
"Dork…" Sour muttered. She trotted over to hug him with one arm and to stroke their daughter’s hair with her free hoof.
"But, seriously," Second sighed. "We don’t have to tell anypony who we’re married to. I’ll join an Earth pony camp. You take Bitter to a Pegasi one. We’ll keep in touch. We can write letters in secret."
"Hey, this family is staying together," Sour declared, jabbing a hoof into her husband’s chest. "I’ll fight anypony who dares tries to separate us." Suddenly, she grinned. "Especially if it’s your mother."
That was what finally broke the tension. They laughed. They needed a good laugh. The Bitter pony stirred awake and witnessed her parents so full of joy. In her drowsy haze, she forgot what kind of situation they were in and smiled. She loved it when her parents were happy. Second and Sour noticed and quickly gave her a hug, apologizing for waking her up.
The visions ended. Tears streamed down Bitter’s face.
"I have no doubt that our immediate threat will be solved soon," the Messenger began. "But I also have no doubt of its lasting and severe impact. Equestria will eventually lose its magic. Great gains in establishing harmony will be wiped away. We will be thrust into a dark age of friendship."
"I thought I had problems…" Bitter whispered.
She then felt a wing on her back. Bitter glanced down at the ethereal being who was suddenly giving her a comforting smile. At that moment, Bitter was beginning to feel appreciative that her mother’s image was being mimicked to her.
"A pendulum always swings back when it has reached the other side," the Messenger imparted. "Yes, there will be strife. But that is when new stories can begin. New heroes emerge. But let us now focus on you."
Bitter scoffed. "Me? What about me?"
Light consumed her once again. She next beheld a scene of Gretchen pacing back and forth on the front porch of the Person House. She was muttering to herself while puffing on a cigarette.
Bitter clapped in hands in sudden happiness. "Daw, it's my true best friend, Gretchen. HEY! Is she smoking?! Haven't I told her a million times about those CANCER STICKS!?!"
"You may tell her the million-and-oneth time later, but for now listen to what she is saying," the Messenger directed.
"Dammit, dammit, DAMMIT!!!" Gretchen raged. “Why? Why must Bitter drive me so crazy?! Okay, Gretchen. You know what to do… you just don’t know if you have the words to do it…"
"Sup."
"Ah!" Gretchen whipped around to her mother standing there. Instantly she hid the cigarette behind her back, furiously grinding it out on the porch’s railing. "Oh, uh, hi mom… heh, heh…"
"We’ll talk about your little habit later, young lady," Gilda assured. "But for right now, I would like to know just what exactly you think you’re doing out here when Bitter’s in there?"
Gretchen sighed. "You know me, mom. I’m not good at feelings and junk…"
Gilda gently placed her hands onto her daughter’s shoulders. "Sweetie… STOP BEING A DWEEB!!!"
"Eh?" Gretchen muttered, stunned.
"I didn’t raise you to be some shell-closed loser!" Gilda barked. "If you got feelings, you let them out! Now pull up your big girl panties and go talk to Bitter! Do you understand me, you little brat?!"
To most people, hearing a mother yell at her daughter in such a way would be dysfunction. However, for Gilda and Gretchen, it was merely a heart-to-heart. Gretchen smiled, nodded, and immediately rushed into the house.
The scene then shifted to Bitter’s father, Second Person as he was coming up the stairs. He had just finished mopping the birthday cake up off the kitchen floor. All the while, he had his mother yapping about all the exorcists she had in her contacts. For Bitter’s own good, she kept repeating. He couldn’t stomach much more of it, so he was on his way to find where his wife went.
Find her he did in their bedroom. Sour Sweet was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring motionlessly at the crude crayon drawing of a little girl framed on the wall.
"Sour?" Second asked, delicately.
A tear rolled down her cheek. "Ten percent chance. Ten fucking percent chance."
Second went over and sat down beside her, gently placing her hands into his. He gazed at the picture as well. Long ago, it was an eerie premonition. A hallucination of a girl who wouldn't exist for many years after. If the events of the Friendship Games didn't already prove it, the incident would have made him a believer that there was magic in this world. But then again, where there was magic, there were curses also. Curses such as a mother passing down an unpleasant condition down to her daughter.
"I shouldn't have had her," Sour muttered. "All I thought about was what I wanted. I was so selfish."
"Sour, please don't say that..."
"It's true! I even ignored the signs. The way her hand used to twitch when she was young. The way she seemed to get too lost in her own head sometimes. I saw it all, and all I did was hope that it was a mother's paranoia. But it wasn't..."
"We've taken care of Bitter the best we could and –"
Sour ripped her hands away from his and stood up. "But YOU didn't give her schizophrenia! I DID! It's all MY fault. Now she's going to have to go through all the exact same bullshit I had to go through..."
Second sighed. "Sour, it's true that what's done is done." He stood to face her, staring straight into her eyes. "But you're wrong about one thing."
Sour sharply turned her head to avoid his gaze. "What's that?"
"Bitter's not going to go through what you did. You had parents that never experienced a mental condition before. Your dad emotionally distanced himself from you. You had to go through Cinch's hell. But everything's different now."
Second cupped the side of his wife’s cheek and motioned it so she would look at him.
"You gained the experience to help our daughter through anything," Second continued affirming. "And you know I'm never going to get scared away from someone I love. We even had the sense not to let her go anywhere near Crystal Prep. Sour, we can give Bitter the best care she could ever have. But we can't let any self-loathing or blame stop us."
As much as one part of Sour wanted to reject all what was being said, to continue to wallow in grief, the other part wanted to believe. Sour hugged her husband tightly. Years ago, she was a troubled girl, and he was a wannabe white knight. Somehow, they made it work. Sour truly loved Second. He had helped her through so much and she knew he would help their daughter as well.
"BITTER!!!"
Their attention was suddenly drawn to Gretchen as she zoomed past their bedroom down the hall. She was roaring Bitter's name with great determination.
"Bitter, get your freckled ass out here!" Gretchen demanded as she banged upon her friend’s door. "We need to talk!"
Second ran up to her. "Gretchen, I know you care for Bitter, but you can't force her out of what she's going through. We need to be gentle and – "
"With all due respect, Mister Person, that's bullshit," Gretchen bluntly said. "I read your book about your wife. You had to get forceful with her sometimes. You did that because you knew how to get through to her. And I know Bitter."
Second paused, staring at her in utter shock before a smile of dorky pride spread across his face. "You read my book?"
The vision abruptly ceased. Feeling odd, Bitter looked down at her body. It was beginning to fade.
"Your time here is at an end," the Messenger stated.
Another impact tremor from the outside fighting rocked the Treehouse. Squeals of terror came from the School of Friendship students underneath the table. They clung to each other in desperation.
Bitter winced with sympathy. "But… Equestria…"
"Equestria has its own story, but you have yours. Live it. And remember: You cannot fight the outer demons before dealing with the inner."
Bitter blinked and suddenly found herself shrouded in darkness, occupied by what sounded like wood being beaten to oblivion. She removed the blanket from over her head. She was in her room. She was home. Her door was about to be busted down.
"Bitter, if you don’t open this door right now, I’m gonna – "
Open it did. Startled, Gretchen froze as she beheld the unreadable expression of her friend’s face. She felt like the dog who had just caught the car.
After a moment of painful silence, Bitter finally spoke. "You got something to say?"
Gretchen gulped. "Ye-yeah. I do." It was now or never. "Bitter, I, no we, have known each other a long time. And we’re best friends. But, maybe we should, you know, not be best friends. Wait, wait, wait! Didn’t mean that! Oh god, I suck at this…" She wanted to die. "I meant that we should be… more than best friends. Ye-yeah. That’s I what I, uh... Because we’ve known each other all our lives. In some ways, we’ve always been a couple. Or at least, that’s what I’ve always thought. And you’ve felt the same way. Or I hope you do or did…" Where’s Truck-kun when you need them? "Look, what I’m trying to say is that I – "
A finger placed itself on Gretchen’s lips, instantly shutting down the awkward rambling. Her eyes widened. Her heart raced as the finger was soon replaced with Bitter’s lips. Right then, they were a troubled girl and a wannabe delinquent. Somehow, they both knew that they would make it work.
At a distance, Second and Sour held each other close as they witnessed the cycle begin anew.
****************
Bitter Honey stood out on the front porch, gazing at the world as it continued on with its business. She would be allowed to stay out of school until she could receive her medication. It was a relief considering with how Gretchen described their classmates’ reaction to her episode. It was going to be tough from here on out.
She then thought about Equestria and the collapse she witnessed. Those poor creatures. The Messenger’s words of hope for the future were her only comfort. There wasn’t anything she could do for them, but there was everything she was about to do for herself. She wasn’t alone, either. She had Gretchen and her family… well, minus Grandmama Person, of course, who hadn’t taken the "Your granddaughter is going to be dating another girl" news kindly.
There was a long road ahead, but Bitter believed it was going to be fine. Somehow.
Gretchen stepped out to join her on the porch. Bitter smiled at her, but then noticed the confused look upon her girlfriend’s face.
"What’s wrong?"
"Well, your mom just gave me something. We may need this 'in a few years when we are ready', she said." Gretchen then held up a roll of duct tape. "What did she mean?"
Bitter Honey’s face turned a deep crimson as she recalled "the talk" her and Sour Sweet once shared on the topic of sensitivity.
"Dammit, mom! I mean, I love you and everything, BUT DAMMIT…!!!"
THE END
