Rachel sat on the edge of her bed later that night. Body in extreme pain, nerves were shot.

Next to her on her nightstand was a bottle of pain pills.

She had no strength left, nothing to keep her in this world. Rachel wants to stop this life. She can't take this torture anymore.

Her father was never going to let her know peace. Never going to let her go.

She tried killing him before, and it backfired in the most exponential way possible. Costing her mother's life.

Her father was too strong for her to fight off. He'd hunt her down wherever she goes, there's no place in this world where he would find her. No matter how many times her and her mother had tried to leave the monster, he'd find them.

Rachel wants it to be over. She wants out of this miserable life. Out of her father's demented hands.

If she was going to Hell, it still would be better. She already has been going through just about every painful punishment the bastard brought onto her, Hell would be a goddamn paradise in comparison to the living shithole she was in now.

Rachel picks up the pill bottle with her good hand, grunting at the movement.

Normally, she would take any pain pills Justine would give her just so she could move during the day after being in the hands of her father. Over the small time she had known of her friend, she helped manage the teen’s pain. Rachel never considers herself as a pill junkie, but she has felt dependent on opioids.

The ones she had in her hand was one of the strongest pills she had taken in to manage her injuries.

Now, she saw them as a way out. Her idea was that she takes the whole bottle and just sleeps. Never have to be in Damian’s clutches again. Never had to endure this endless torture.

Her father will eventually kill her. Rachel knew it. She knew it would be a matter of time before she died by his hand.

This was one thing he had no control over. It was her life.

This was her way out.

Rachel goes to open the lid. To surprise, she didn't have the strength to pop it off. She whimpers as she tries to use her bad arm and hand to hold the bottle, but she can't seem to get it to open.

Please let me die, I want to die. Open you mother fucker!!!!

Rachel struggles for a good minute before ultimately throwing the bottle at the wall of her bedroom with a roar.

The pill bottle opened and the pills scattered.

To her dumbfounded luck, all the pills fell into the vent on the floor and went inside the closed dance studio below.

She stared at the now empty pill bottle in disbelief before she began laughing, going into a state of hysteria.

One of God's best damn jokes of all time.

As her mind was teetering towards a complete mental breakdown, feeling all of her sanity was going away, a random memory came to her mind. One that came all of the sudden.

She was around five. Her mother had just taken her for the third time in the middle of the night. Her being the near splitting image of her lovely mom. The two had stopped at a motel somewhere around Chicago.

Her mother was badly beaten but still fought to protect her baby. The two shared a bed, taking in each other for comfort and support.

“Why does daddy like hurting us?” Young Rachel asked her mother.

“Some people are just born evil, little Doppelganger.” her mother calls her, petting her daughter's long pretty hair, moving some out of her face. Little Rachel didn't get the full brunt of her father's torment but was still trapped.

“Will he find us?? I don't wanna go back home.” Rachel whimpered, clinging to her mother's shirt.

Darline, her mother, gazed down at her, giving her a kiss on her head. “He'll follow us as long as we stay in this world. He won't for long, love.” She tells her in a cryptic way.

“What do you mean by that, mama?” The girl asked, looking up at her.

Though her face was black and blue, Darline gave her child a hopeful, loving smile. “There are other worlds out there, Rachel. One full of life, love, and magic. Creatures, people living life in peace and harmony.”

“Can we go there now??”

Darline just hugs her. “Not right now…but you will go to this place when the time's right…”

The laughter died down as Rachel began recomposing herself. The memory still lingers on.

“There are other worlds….” She muttered.

A Portal to another world had just been discovered….

Rachel briefly lies down on the bed. Grabs a pillow and bites into it. She painfully pulls her bad arm above her head. Grabs it with her good hand and pulls. Fighting back the screams, the agony, she pulled and pulled before she felt another POP. Popping her shoulder back in place.

With a grunt, she tossed the pillow on the mattress and went over to her laptop, pulled up a chair and lifted the lid up. Screensaver was of her and her mother dancing in the studio.

She quickly pulled up the search engine and began an intense research on this Portal. A small flame was lit within her.

After combing through every sort of information ever regarding the Portal to Equis, grazing through the gossip blogs, conspiracy theorist sites, religious sites, she finally finds something.

She finds a website that is about Doctor Helena Jurgen, the scientist and archeologist that discovered the Portal and the Temple it resides in. A personal website built by the woman herself. Dictating how and her colleagues were originally trying to find more about vikings and their cultures when they stumbled to the Temple of Draconia.

Images they took were incredible. The statues looked like tall dragons on two legs. Seeing various bloody, amazing looking murals on the walls, piles of forgotten gems and gold.

And the image of the Portal itself. And a couple of images on the other side. Depicted a land called Equestria. Including a map of the continent.

Equestria, equestrian she knows it has something to do with horses.

Each second she spent researching the Portal and what she could know about this Equestria, the brighter her internal flames grew. It grew to become a raging firestorm coursing through her veins.

Towards the end of her research, Rachel had discovered a program Doctor Helena had started. A settlement project called the Two Hundred Application Trial. An exploration experiment to see how humans and the people of Equestria could coexist with the Portal leading to both worlds was opened.

And there was a limited time to sign up and apply to join it.

It starts in a couple of weeks.

Rachel stared at the website for the longest time. Damian has hunted her down all over America and parts of Canada at this point of her life. If she stays there, Rachel will only suffer more.

There was no one coming to help her. No police officer wants to help a killer and a thief…

A flip was switched inside of her mind.

If her father could find her in this world, Rachel would just have to go to another.

Without wasting a second longer, Rachel, now with rejuvenating energy, memorized the address before moving from her laptop.

She grabs her black school bag she hadn't used in awhile, dumped everything school related out and began packing what she could grab. Clothes, sketchbook, pencils, picture of her mother. Only grabbing what she needed for the trek.

Once changed into better clothes, ignoring the blaring pain of her back and body, Rachel grabs her laptop, opens it back up and breaks it over her knee. Destroying the screen before slamming the keyboard and motherboard to the ground and began stomping it to pieces. Making sure she left no trace of her whereabouts, destroying everything to the point it couldn't be put back together.

The same feeling she had in the first attempt to kill the sonuvabitch returned and it was in full swing.

She needed to make sure Damian never finds her again.

After collecting her items, Rachel slowly sneaks across the small apartment. She heard her father's snoring coming from the living room.

She had to be quick.

Rachel snuck into his room. After mom died, she never stepped foot in here. Now, she was on a mission for her life.

She slowly watched her step, trying not to make much noise that'll wake Damian up. She goes to the closet, digs in the back to his personal gun safe.

Rachel had memorized the code before and punched the numbers in. The door opened and a single Glock 45. stared back at her. She grimaced, knew her father had way more guns than this. Guns and bows with arrows.

She takes the gun, unloads the magazine and grits her teeth. Seeing that it was completely empty.

She dug around and realized that the bastard had planned far ahead, removing every gun and bullet and archery wise. Leaving only this empty paper weight.

“The one fucking time I needed a gun.” Rachel grunted but it didn't change her plan.

She went ahead and took it.

Rachel marched up to the living room. Seeing her sack of shit of a father asleep on the couch, some cans of beer littered around the couch and feet.

She raised the empty gun, pressed it up to his head hard enough to wake him up. Though her eyes were black and still swollen, she had the coldest, death-like glare in her eyes. Fire burning behind her stare.

Damian wakes up in a startle to see the gun pointed at her.

“Whatcha got there, baby girl?” He asked in a condescending manner. “That's not a toy for you to play with.” speaking to her as if she was a toddler.

Rachel said nothing as she pulled the hammer back. If there was a bullet, she would have pulled it.

There was no love towards him. Nothing warm and compassionate. Just pure, unadulterated hatred and disgust, just knowing that they share blood.

Damian let out a chuckle, pressing his forehead against the barrel. “Go ahead, shoot me, killer.” He taunted her. “You killed your mother, might as well add me too on your rapture. You don't have the balls.”

Rachel stared coldly at him. “Dumbass, there's no bullets.” She tells him, raising the gun and slammed the butt end of it to his face as hard as she could. Hearing his nose break on impact, drops the gun and runs into the kitchen.

“You fucking bitch!” Damian shouted out loud before hopping off the couch and running after her. His nose is now bleeding from the hit.

He ran in the kitchen after her, only to take a hit by the end of the fire extinguisher right in the face.

A tooth got knocked out with the biggest Pikachu surprise look on his face.

With a shout, Rachel hits him again in the head, again and again, finally knocking him to the ground. She takes the red canister and beats her father with it over and over again. Letting years of frustration, anger, pent up energy she had been boiling for years was released onto him. Letting out inhumane shout after shout with each hit.

NO MORE! NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE NO MORE!!!!!!!!!!

Once he was knocked completely out, the canister dripping in blood, Rachel gave him a few more hits with it with the rest of his body before tossing it aside.

“Mother fucking cum sucking bitch.” Rachel pants. The man was still alive, but it would buy her time, hopefully long enough until she's safely in Equestria. Where he'll never find her.

She grabs a pack of cigarettes and lighter from the kitchen, makes herself some peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for the trip and leaves the apartment.

The dance studio below, once filled with students eager to learn ballet, now turned into a catch all storage.

And she knew what she wanted.

Among the piles of junk stacked up over the two years, there was a gasoline canister.

She grabs it, feels how full it was, takes it outside to her father's truck.

Vividly remembers herself tampering with the old truck that got her mother killed, meant only for him, Rachel takes the gasoline and doused the entire vehicle with it. The outside, inside, the engine.

She knows the term burning bridges well, Rachel was willingly going to burn the whole world if it means getting as far away from Damian as possible.

She empties the gas can, tosses it in the bed of the truck and steps back. Rachel then took the pack of cigarettes out, took one out of the pack and put it between her lips. The cold did not bother her one bit as she lit the lighter. The end of the cigarette glowed red.

She took a few calming slow drags, letting the nicotine hit her system. Blowing smoke out of her mouth. “I'll see you in Hell, father.” with a flick of her fingers, the lit cigarette flew in the air.

It spiraled before landing inside of the truck. Immediately, the truck was engulfed in flames.

Before the fire fighters could be called from the neighbors nearby, Rachel takes off running into the cold night.

Despite being close to 9 degrees, she was covered in sweat by the time Rachel ran back to the junkyard. She raced into the hideout, goes to the mattress.

She pulled the bed out, seeing that the cash she and Justine stolen was still there.

Rachel takes the thirty grand and stuffed it in her backpack, filling it up to the brim. Ran back out to the train car.

She grabs the purple and green bear keychain, clips it to her backpack, leaving the phone behind.

Rachel then embarks her epic journey to Equestria. A world far away from this world.

In Equestria….

Morning has risen in Manehatten, sun shined over a set of brick townhouses.

Fifteen year old Lilysky was finishing making breakfast and coffee for her and her dad. “Dad, breakfast is ready.” she called out to her father, her voice light and airy like as she set plates of eggs, haybacon and biscuits on the breakfast table. Lilysky was a yellow pegasus with blonde hair with a streak of red in her mane and tail. Warm brown eyes filled with life.

She sits down at the table, father still not coming down the stairs. “Dad, you're going to be late for the train!” She called out again before she began eating. Ears flattened when she tasted eggshells in the scrambled eggs.

The tall red stallion by the name of Brimstone shuffles his hooves down the steps. Fixing the tie on his pressed suit. “I'm here, I'm here.” He said. His left eye covered in an eyepatch, silver hair slicked back, tail cropped short. “thank you Lily, you're a saint.”

“What would you do without me?" Lilysky joked with a giggle as she ate.

The stallion chuckled, looking at his child with his good eye as he sat down at the table. Grabs the fork and scoops the eggs into his mouth. Instantly tasting the shells. “I don't think scrambled eggs should be crunchy.”

“Adds protein.” Lilysky said as she ate.

Brimstone chuckled. Had no idea what he would do without his daughter keeping him humble.

After a few moments of eating the crunchy eggs, burnt bacon and biscuits harder than hockey pucks - desperately missing his first wife Darling Rose's or Penny Cents, his second wife's cooking, Brimstone looks to Lilysky. “Are you going to be okay with me leaving for three months?” He asked her.

“Yes dad, I'll be fine. I'm used to you taking trips when you worked for the university. But this, this program you got selected to, is the biggest thing of your career. Out of billions of Ponies, twelve were selected to cross over to earth and teach…what are the species called again?”

“Humans, baby girl.” Brimstone reminded her as he ate.

“Right. Out of billions, you got picked. Heck I would go if I was chosen.”

Brimstone chuckled. “Offer still stands if you want to come with me, it could be a vacation for the both of us.”

“Got school and you know it. You wouldn't want me to skip out on my academics, do you?” She asked as she ate.

Brimstone takes a drink of his coffee, just about the only thing that was well done. “No, I suppose not.”

When the older stallion looks up, he sees the time. “Oh I’m running late.”

“Told you so.”

Brimstone gets up, takes his leftover plate to the trash bin and scrapes the food out before tossing the fork and plate in the sink.

He quickly goes to grab his luggage, already packed and ready for the voyage out of the hallway closet. Brimstone walked back to his daughter as she ate, gave her a loving kiss on the head and hug and she reciprocated it.

“I love you, I'll be home soon, no boys in the house while I'm gone.”

Lilysky rolled her eyes. “I know the drill Dad. Love you too, have fun on your trip and please be careful.”

Brimstone nodded, grabbing his things. “You too hon. See you later.”

“Bye dad.” She waves him off.

Brimstone quickly leaves the townhouse, catches a rolling beetle taxi cart and makes his way to the Portal.

Author's Note

What I was listening to while writing this chapter.