“And don’t you ever think about coming back! You hear me?!” Cloud Dasher’s mom yelled toward him, slamming the door. He looked to the ground, tears in his eyes, and silently whispered.
Yeah, I heard you….
He starts his walk, slowly at first, then picking up some pace and soon he’s trotting away from his house. No… it wasn’t his house anymore. It wasn’t his home. It wasn’t his sanctuary. It wasn’t his life. Not anymore. It was nothing but a small smudge in his history of existence, slowly rotting away into the back of his mind— someplace he hopes he’d never have to dwell into again. He stops shortly after, catching his breath, and letting the start of a cry-fit come onto him. For the next hour, the only thing he was aware of— the only thing he could hear, smell, and feel— was the pain of losing his old life, and the realization that he will never get it back. He knelt down in the mud, as clouds that had formed over him began to shed their supple, welcoming, droplets of water. He sniffled, and fell further to the ground, sensing the squish of mud, and the soak of stray water as it ran through his coat and hooves.
His whole life. Gone. Nothing left.
When he got his first toy. That time his friend came over to spend the night. The time he got a kiss from the filly he liked. When he started his first chores around the house— at first being so excited— but soon becoming irritated to them.
He chuckled as the water feel both from his eyes, and the sky. He always hated those chores of mowing the lawn. But in the end, true it did always reward him of a few bits here and there. The chuckling subsided, and he heard— somewhere far out in the distance— his voice crying out into the open air, hearing the reverb as it bounced back from certain objects.
His dad. Oh how he loved his dad. When he gave Cloud his first week’s pay. How he would always drop him off at school, with that special wink in his eye, letting him know that everything was, and always would be, perfect. How he gave Cloud some money to go buy that filly-friend he liked so much some candy as a gift.
He sobbed, feeling the tears cascade down his check, and the tickle of them falling off his chin.
His mom, who always showed her love in the best of ways, gave him a special kind of pain when he thought of her. Those cold winter nights, spent eating warm, homemade cookies and gulping down delicious cups of milk. Those nights she read him to sleep, always the same story that he picked out from the library of books. Those soft, cuddling, kisses on the nose that let him know it was time to rest for the night, and the wonderful dreams of flying high up in the clouds along side his fellow pegasi. He opened his eyes, and looked down at the stubs that fluttered sporadically— like they always did whenever he cried— reminding him that his life as a Pegasus will never happen.
Much like the circumstances he was in now.
He tried to get up, and managed to come back to a kneeling position where he whimpered and sobbed until his eyes began to sting. With yet another, final, round of crying he shook his head just a bit and got up to his hooves. He stared up into the sky, letting the drops of water splash into his eyes, onto his checks, and flow down his shivering form. He focused on the clouds, trying his hardest to spot out the pegasi that would always fly by, breaking through the plump sheets of white, then being sucked back into them just as fast.
Yet he found nothing but water, and white.
He looked back down to the ground, and— while slowly shaking his head for even dreaming of some miracle like that— walked on. Problem was… where would he go? His mom and dad would never take him back, not in a million years. And his only relatives were those two ponies. So, outside of them, he had nopony else to turn to. He had nopony else to turn for a comforting kiss, or a blankey. Or even a simple hug.
He walked on, into the cold, unforgiving night, until he found another village far out in the distance. He perked up, just a little, and started his way. However the only thing between him and that small cozy-looking village was an immense wall of vegetation. His small smile faded, and he slumped just a bit further to the ground.
So now the only thing stopping him was a forest.
He looked up, determination on his face.
Well, then the only thing stopping me is a bush…
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As the night began to bloom, he looked up into the canopy of humungous trees to find Luna’s moon slowly making its rise into the air. He looked back down, and pushed on. Through the muck of the Everfree Forest’s ground, passed the tall itchy shrugs that stung him like a bee’s tail, and ahead of the eerie howls and cries from strange creatures. Finally he made it to the other side, where he found a small chicken coop nestled ever-so-delicately on a patch of grass. His smile grew and he quickened his pace to the front door of the chicken coop, where he found a cleared spot of hay to rest on. He sighed just a bit, and tucked himself in tighter, where he quietly fell asleep. As his eyes shut for one last time before the next day, he thought up an image of his mother and father, carrying him around the carnival when he was a colt. Their laughter happily emitting from their mouths, and flying cheerfully through the air, into the sun, gave him such a warm feeling. Yet soon, his dream of laughter and happiness slowly seeped down to the barebones.
His mother slapping him, calling him such obscene words, his father shaking his head and telling him how much of a disappointment Cloud always was to him, the feeling of hopelessness as they escorted him to the doorway, where he heard the shrill cry of his mother, as she yelled to the heavens for him to leave at once.
Everything good flashed by his eyes.
And everything bad, stayed for a prolonged visit, in his dream.
He heard a knocking on the walls, and hearing another, much deeper, voice call from outside.
“Hey! I know you’re in there! Get out of my chicken coop!” The loud smack penetrated the room, sending a shiver down Cloud Dasher’s spine. He quickly hopped up, smacking his head against the ceiling, then dashed off out of the coop and away from the pony. He felt tears again as he ran, and felt a small trickle of blood escaping his forehead. Cloud finally came to a stop, and searched around the street for some kind of cloth to wrap the wound in. He found a small white bandage, which would have to suffice under these circumstances, and carefully wrapped up the bloody pore on his head. Cloud began to feel the effects of the damage, and slowly walked to a nearby park bench where he laid down for more rest, seeing all the unfamiliar faces of different ponies alike as they started their days. A few in particular caught his eye.
A gentle looking mare, caring for a flock of ducks walked by giving him a lovely smile, another— purplish mare— trotted passed him, levitating a closed book by her horn, spoke to one another about things… something about ‘Fluttershy’s’ fears? Although the conversation seemed to be odd enough, they both looked like close friends… almost like a family bond.
He sighed again, feeling some pang of depression begin to crawl it’s way into his mentality, yeah… friends… like the ones I’ll never get…
“Hai!” he heard a voice, looking up to find a pink earth pony, with a light-blue balloon grasped— some how?— with her right hoof.
Cloud was taken aback, not used to being confronted by anypony he didn’t know— let alone with such a friendly disposition! “Uh… hello.” He said quietly, avoiding eye contact.
She wore a questioning look, “Are you alright? You seem down in the dumps.” She sat down on the bench with him, “Do you want to talk about it?”
It. How did she know there was an ‘it’ to begin with? He still looked toward the ground, shy as could be. He wanted to tell her everything, he didn’t know why, maybe because of the way she approached him? Maybe the way she seems to bright the mood of anything he sees? Maybe because… she was there for him?
A complete stranger, whom he had no prior knowledge of, actually came toward him.
He heard snapping, and looked up into her cyan eyes, “Hey, your head is bleeding, we better get you to a doctor!” She hopped up, and ushered him forward.
He looked up at her, questioning at first, but soon smiling as he rose with her. “Thank you, I’d… I’d like that a lot.” He flashed his toothy grin, only adding to her joyful-looking face. They walked off, into the afternoon sun, towards the town’s hospital, where he was surely to get fixed up right away. But there was something on his mind, something besides just getting a quick fix.
What is he going to tell her when the appointment is over and done with…?
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“Hmmm…” the doctor looked at Cloud’s un-bandaged head like a puzzle; figuring out the best possible alternative for fix his wound. “Well, I’m sorry to say, but it looks like the only way to properly heal you is with stitches.” He looked at Cloud with some minor sorrow in his eyes, “I don’t know how you managed to bang it up this bad, but nonetheless this is, indeed, fixable.” He looked to the ground, “But… eh… it’s not going to be cheap…”
Cloud looked to the ground, hopeless, as he figured out there wasn’t a way he could pay for the bill. Then he heard a voice.
“I’ll pay for it.” Said the pink mare, raising a hoof, “Whatever the bill is, I’ll pay for it.”
Cloud looked up, into her eyes, catching the hint of joy in those irises. So she really wanted to help him? But… she doesn’t even know who this pony is— there’s no way she could possibly…!
Pinkie Pie signed the documents, and winked at Cloud with that trademark smile she always carried around with her. So she really wanted to help him? Even if… even if she has no idea who he is, or what his past is like? Cloud felt a tear slowly peak through his lashes, and managed to blink it away.
“Thank you,” he said as he rose from the chair.
They quietly made their way out of the room, taking in the warm sun as it shone above them, bringing a feeling of… of hope to Cloud.
So maybe I’m not such a failure after all…
…Maybe there’s somepony that cares for me in this new town.
They walked on into the main street of the town, where Cloud saw passersby, continuing with their daily lives without a care in the world. He saw the purple mare again approaching them.
“Hey Pinkie Pie! Ooo, who’s this little guy?” She looked at Cloud Dasher with a curious smile.
“Well I’m… uh… I— uh— my name is… um…”
“Sorry, Twilight, but we have to get going now!” Pinkie Pie said giving yet another wonderful wink towards Cloud’s way.
“Oh, yes, I understand!” Twilight started off, but stopped and called back. “Oh and nice meeting you… uh… friend!” She called to Cloud.
Friend? Me? She thinks I’m her friend? That’s the first one… well…, he looked at Pinkie Pie, watching her flamboyant mane bounce cheerfully in the sunlight. My second friend.
Should he tell her? Being that she has been doing all these things for him, and only a matter of a few hours, it would seem like the right thing to do! But… he just couldn’t… it was just something too pain to talk about. However, eventually he was going to have to! There would be no other way but to tell the truth, and exactly why he’s here in the first place!
They reached the door to some odd-looking pastry shop.
This is it.
Nowhere to turn, nothing to say to stop this from happening, all it took was one little question, to ruin his stay in this town, where he’d be casted off— again— like some discarded trash. She opened the door to the store, obviously signaling for him to enter.
What? How does she know—?
“If you need a place to stay for the night, I have a spare bed for you!” She said as she walked by, heading upstairs.
Stay? The night? Me?
Cloud shook his head.
How could she have found out?!
Needless to say, Cloud most certainly did stay the night. As they tucked themselves in for the night, Cloud’s stomach filled with scrumptious bits of cookies and warm cider, he lay awake in the evening— and clear into the night.
Pinkie Pie sensed something amiss, being she has her special way of… doing anything she wants, and spoke out to the ceiling, feeling her breath carve into the cold silence that slept along side them. “Are you ok?” She turned over, looking bellow her bed where she met the cyan colored eyes of Cloud Dasher. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Oh no. Surely there was someway he could escape this moment in time! There’s got to be a way out of this, maybe he could try pretending he was asleep? Or maybe, although he doubted it, he could just say nothing was a bother, that everything was peachy-keen for a teenaged colt to be in her bedroom with nowhere else to go?! He was about to answer something like the latter when he heard someponies voice. And it wasn’t Pinkie Pie’s.
“Everything.” He answered.
Oh crap!
“I mean… not like… not like it is now.” He said, turning over to face Pinkie Pie.
She wore a questioning look, and asked, “Whadda’ya mean?”
Well… what’s done is done. Here goes nothing.
“I mean… ever since you picked me up from that bench… my life’s taken a drastic turn.”
No, no. Start from the basics… where it began.
And so he told her every last detail of his parents’ love, kindness and affection. Every memory he’d ever suppressed came spilling out of his soul, a lifetime of information blurred into one small hour as the night darkened in the shop. From his first kiss, to his first report card at school— he’d even mentioned some more… emotional things, things that would make anypony embarrassed for sharing with any other. But he persisted on, through the night until his voice began to fade. He took a deep breath.
Now is where it gets bad.
Cloud spoke of his parents’ slow-churning resentment towards him. Small events that didn’t mean much then, began flooding back into his thoughts— probably from the back of his mind— with much more impact than initial thought. Those mean-look glares casted towards his direction, complemented with his dad’s smile showing up less and less each school day since. His realization of their malice began to make him cry. Warm, salty tears began flowing down from his cheeks, streaking his face with lines of white. He remembers trying so hard to please them, whether it was becoming more active in things like sports or just studying harder and hard to get those “A’s” his father was always so pleased about. Yet, day after day it was always in vain, nothing new had ever changed for the better. Just for the worse.
Soon the mean looks turned to scowls and just straight up evil looking frowns thrown at him. Giving him a much more uncomfortable feeling in his own home. Eventually his mother stopped making his lunches for him, soon just flat out ignoring his presence. And for what? What could have possibly caused his parents to start treating him that way? What, what, what, what, WHAT?!
“What!” He shouted, throwing his forelegs into the air, and letting them fall back down, feeling the thump of them hit the mattress. He looked up from his view, and saw the look on Pinkie’s face.
She was worried.
No beyond that.
Something, deep down in her heart had broken into shards of glass-like crimson, and it began to show its way onto her face. Tears of her own perked through her lashes, only becoming illuminated by the soft glow of the moon in the window.
He calmed himself, and found his breathing sporadic, and checked his face to feel that he had been bawling for a while. He looked down, and found his coat soaked with his own eye liquid, warm and moist. “I’m… I’m sorry…” He looked toward the floor, sorrow and embarrassment plastered to his face.
Pinkie Pie placed a hoof to his face, and gently coaxed him to raise his head, making eye contact as he did so. “Don’t ever say that again.” She said with a serious tone. “It’s not your fault. So I don’t ever want you to apologies to me.” She left it at that.
Plain and simple. For some reason it… felt… better. That damned cloud of depression and sadness that hung over him had grown just a bit smaller. He smiled, with a small tear welding up in his eye, and lay to rest for the night. Just before he fell asleep he gave one last word before the suction of dreamscape took him in.
“Thank you…”
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