I lied on my bed, surrounded by darkness and fear. The hoof steps grew closer to my door and I sank under the covers. My door was locked, it always was, but sometimes I think that the little lock won't stop them from getting to me. The only light that intruded my room was coming from the hallway, but it was blocked out by the hooves standing in front of my door.
I hushed my breaths, trying not to be heard. I lied completely still, wrapped up in the covers, hoping they'd go away. The hooves stood there for a moment, the doorknob jiggled rapidly, and then one by one, they left. I quietly sighed in relief and tried to sleep through the fear that they'd return.
My name is Tagalong, I'm seven and a half years old, I'm a little colt from Manehatten and as far as I know, I'm an orphan. Ms. Carrie told me she had met my mom when I was a foal and that she didn't want to give me away, but had to. Ms. Carrie is the mare that runs the orphanage. She says that everyone here has a story, even me.
Sometimes I think she's wrong, though. Ms. Carrie's been the only pony to care about me since I came here. She's the only one I ever talk to, the only one that will listen. Everyone else hates me. I know that's an outrageous thing to say, but it's true. Everyone's seen what happens to me, but they don't help me, they just pass me by.
I'm talking about the bullies. I get bullied every day for no reason, just because they think it's fun. The bullies, Dark Sky, Talon, and Rough Edge, pick on me whenever they can. They call me names, push me around, take and break my things, and beat me up. I don't know what I did to them; I don't ever talk to anyone.
I've heard Talon say that beating me up is "too easy'". I guess they pick on me because I'm little. I want to tell Ms. Carrie about it, but if I do, she'll get mad at them and they'll just hurt me more. I try my best to avoid them, but it's like they always know where I am. The only relief I get is when I can make it to my room and hide until bed time. Ms. Carrie says everyone here has a story. I guess mine's a sad story then.
Most of it happens after class. We have classrooms in the orphanage and unfortunately, Talon and Rough Edge are in my room. Every day, I walk into the class and go straight to my seat. Talon usually throws paper wads at me while Rough Edge calls me names when the teacher can't hear him. I try my best to ignore them, but it's hard to ignore all the hate.
"Hey, Runt," Rough Edge sharply whispered. They always called me "runt"; they called me it so much it might as well me my name. I looked at him and he glared back to me. "After class, you're gonna get it," he said.
My heart sank and my fear rose. I bit my pencil hard and couldn't focus on my work. The knowledge that I was going to be pummeled once again made me shake in my seat. I couldn't get away; they were too fast for me. Dark Sky usually waits for them outside the door and he'd probably catch me before I got to my room.
The seconds quickly ticked away and my heart pounded in my chest. Talon continued to throw paper at me and I cried inside. It always hurt when they beat me up. I was always just left in the hall; no one paid any attention to me. I would pass out occasionally and wake up aching all over.
The clocks hands rounded the last five minutes of class. I slowly put up my books and sat in my chair, waiting for the bell to ring. Class was about to end and I was about to be beaten up again for no good reason. The final seconds ticked away and the bell rang throughout the building.
I stood up and slowly walked to the door, knowing what was going to happen. Talon and Rough Edge followed me out the door. I walked into the hall and stood, waiting for the beating. I saw Dark Sky walking towards us and my heart sped up, about to explode in my chest.
"Hey, he's not running this time," I heard him say from down the hall. The hallway was empty so no one could help me. No one ever does. Dark Sky reached us and looked down at me. He was older than me, at least fourteen while Talon and Rough Edge were about thirteen.
"He's not going anywhere," Talon said, grabbing one of my shoulders. I didn't struggle; I just stood in the empty wing. The grey pegasus looked at me with disgust. His eyes were cold and dark, uncaring and with no good emotions.
"I know. Looks like he won't try to put up a fight this time," Dark Sky said. Rough Edge grabbed my other shoulder and the two ponies pulled my down the hall to a corner. They liked to corner me, said I couldn't get away if I was in a corner. Dark Sky pushed me against the wall and swung at me. I flinched as I saw his hoof come close to my face.
His hoof made contact to my face and I felt my body shake as I crashed to the floor. My face hurt incredibly as I felt a bruise rising. I cried loudly, but my screams were silent. I was on the floor, writhing in pain and agony from one punch. Talon laughed at my cries and Rough Edge started to kick me in the stomach.
My insides turned and clenched as the kicks continued. I lied on my side in a near fetal position, taking one kick after another. Through the pain, I could hear all three of them laughing at my pain. My stomach heaved and I threw up on the floor. They were hitting harder this time, harder than they've ever hit me before. All three of them were beating down on me, something they've never done before.
Rough Edge was kicking me in the gut, Talon was stomping on my limbs and Dark Sky would get a punch in every so often. The pain was so intense at this point that I stopped crying, I couldn't cry. They continued to beat me for about ten minutes. I remember every painful second as time seemed to hate me as well and slow down to extend my beating.
Moments later, the bullies grew exhausted of hitting me, so they stopped their barrage of hits and kicks. Dark Sky peered down to my bruised, bleeding body and smirked.
"What a wimp," I could hear him mutter as he gave me one last hard kick. I started to fade, and it became harder to breathe. As the light around me slowly grew black, I thought they had killed me. I was in such pain that I couldn't move or make a sound and I barely even blinked my eyes.
"Dude, I think we hurt him bad this time," I could hear Talon's voice say before it faded out. My eyes closed and I was unconscious. The next thing I heard was shouting. It was muffled and fuzzy, but ponies were yelling at each other. I could recognize Dark Sky's voice easily, Talons and Rough Edge's as well. They were all yelling at someone, a fourth pony. I didn't know who he was, but I still couldn't move. The voices faded as I passed out again. It was a quick moment before I was woken up by someone shaking me.
"Hey, wake up, please," I heard him say. My eyes slowly opened and I saw the brown unicorn holding me up. He smiled when I opened my eyes and heard my short breaths. My eyes darted back and forth, scanning around for Dark Sky and the others. "It's okay, they're gone now," he said.
He picked me up and put me on his back, then started walking down the hall. "I'll take you to my room and patch you up," he said. I closed my eyes again, trying to rest. "I'm Ampliandam," he said, turning back to look at me.
"T-tagalong," I forced out. It hurt to talk, but I had to tell him my name.
"Well, Tagalong, you're safe now. They won't hurt you again," he reassured me. His voice was calming, it made me feel safe.
He carried me all the way to the third story, up to his room and lied me on his bed. He grabbed a first aid kit from under the bed and started treating my wounds. He put bandages on my cuts and ice on my bruises. I was conscious again and I was more aware of what was happening. He put his hooves on my chest and midsection and started to push.
"It doesn't feel like they broke anything," he said, moving his hooves again. My breaths quivered as the pain continued to ache through my body. He gave me two white pills and a glass of water
"This should make the pain go away," he said. I was familiar with medication, so I took the pills and guzzled the water. I gave him back the glass and I looked at my legs. There were cuts and bruises everywhere this time, they didn't hold back. Suddenly, a sharp pain came from my face and I yelped.
"Careful, you've got quite a shiner," he said. He pointed to a mirror and I saw the big black bruise on the side of my face. It was from when Dark Sky hit me the first time. I lightly touched it and cringed as it sent a jolt of pain through my face again. It covered nearly all of my left cheek, but it was okay, I healed quickly. In a couple of days, this bruise would just be another memory. "Where's your room?" he asked me. I turned to face him, my grayscale maned savior.
"It's on the second floor," I replied. Class was on the first floor so I had to try my best everyday to run to my room. He shook his head in disgust.
"I can't believe what they did to you," he started, "I had trouble with bullies when I was little too."
"Well, how did you deal with them?" I asked.
"I fought back," he said. My ears dropped at his reply. I couldn't fight back, not against them. They were almost twice as old as me and nearly three times my size. It was an unfair fight, three big kids against one little kid.
"I can't fight them," I said in my normal sad tone of voice. He put his hoof on my shoulder and smiled at me and I could tell he was really concerned.
"Well, they won't mess with you as long as I'm here," he said. I smiled because after years of being alone, I finally had someone there for me.
"Thank you," I said. I gave him a hug and I smiled. I felt him hug me back. If felt nice, knowing someone was there to watch out for me, even if they were a total stranger.
"You're welcome. No one should have to be put through that kind of thing, especially a kid. How old are you anyways?" he asked.
"Seven," I replied. His jaw dropped and he was shocked.
"S-seven?" he questioned, "and they're beating you up that bad?"
"I don't know why they do it. Everyone hates me here," I said gloomily. I knew it was true, I've seen people walk was me when the bullies pick on me or beat me up. They just look for a second then continue walking, like I'm invisible.
"Don't say that," the brown stallion said, "there's no way everyone here hates you." I looked into his eyes, so nice and caring. He gave me another hug and said, "I don't hate you, Tagalong." He's the only one who ever called me by my name. Everyone else never talked to me, and Dark Sky, Talon and Rough Edge referred to me as "runt".
"Thank you, um..." I said, struggling to remember his name.
"Ampliandam," he said with a kind smile. I returned a smile as I tried to memorize my hero's name: Ampliandam. He gave me a bag of ice and I immediately put it against the bruise on my face. I knew what to do with bags of ice, it was routine for me by now. Through my uncovered eye, I saw him frown.
"I hate to see anyone get treated like this," he said, looking at my injuries. I rubbed my sore stomach as I examined all my bruises. Ampliandam stood up and walked over to the nightstand by his bed. He rummaged around in the drawers until I heard jingling. He pulled out a small cloth bag full of bits in his mouth. He dropped it on the bed and looked down to me. I had never had more than a few bits before. I would try and save them for a snack, but I usually ended up losing them to Dark Sky. "You look hungry," Ampliandam said.
"Yeah, I am," I said still rubbing my stomach. It growled and I was a bit surprised. Ampliandam let out a small chuckle.
"How about I take you to go eat?" he asked. I moved the bag of ice and looked at him. No one had ever offered to buy me anything before, especially a meal.
"Okay," I said with a smile. He smiled back and my stomach growled again. He grabbed the bag again and put it into a saddle bag. I stood up and followed him out the door, my legs wobbled, but managed to carry me down three flights of stairs to the main room downstairs. "Where are we going?" I asked, scanning the room nervously, keeping my good eye out for my bullies.
"A diner," he replied, "I love that place, they have the best food in town!" he said with yet another smile. It was refreshing to see a smile. He walked out of the orphanage, the bright sun hit both of us and we squinted through the light. We walked down the sidewalk, passing up a few townsfolk. My bruises were still barely visible and I tried my best to hide the shiner under my eye. Ampliandam looked forward and halted. I stopped as well, looking back up.
A pony crossed the street and walked over to Ampliandam. He was a brown maned pegasus with an odd cutie mark. He had a grin on his face as he approached Ampliandam.
"Tagalong, this is Vocaleero," he said, pointing a hoof at the older pegasus. I looked at him and saw him smile at me. All these smiles were making me so comfortable, like I was around friends.
"Come on, let's get something to eat," Ampliandam suggested. Vocaleero nodded and we continued walking down the sidewalk. We walked for about a block until I was a giant neon sign reading "DINER". Ampliandam, Vocaleero walked inside and I followed. We all sat down at a booth close to the window. I sat against the wall, across from Vocaleero and Ampliandam sat next to me. A stallion walked over to us and gave us all menus.
"Hello, welcome back. Usual?" He asked. He had a very thick accent and I had never heard it before.
"Hey Strast," Vocaleero said, "yeah, the usual." the waiter wrote on a pad and looked over at me.
"Oh, hello," he said with his foreign voice, "you are new, who are you?" he asked. I sank in my seat and Ampliandam answered for me.
"This is my friend Tagalong," he said. The stallion smiled and nodded.
"Good, very good. What would you like, Tagalong?" he asked. I looked over the menu and then to the waiter.
"P-pancakes," I stuttered out. He nodded and wrote on the pad more.
"Say, "with blueberries"," Ampliandam whispered to me.
"With blueberries," I finished. Strast wrote some more then put his pen away.
"Good choice, that will take a few minutes, but it will be ready soon," he said.
"Hey," I said before he left, where are you from?"
"Oh me? I am from capital city Moscolt," he replied, "I am not from Equestria." I nodded and he walked away. I had never heard of "Moscolt" before. It must be in some other country, I thought to myself. We waited patiently as our food was cooked. There were a few other ponies in the diner, one already had his food and was eating. I could smell the food from here and it was the best thing I had ever smelled. The cafeteria food in the orphanage didn't smell good at all.
"Good call with the pancakes," Ampliandam said, "the ones here are great."
Moments later, our waiter returned with our food on a platter. He started handing out the dishes.
"Okay, soup for you, eggs for you, sunny side," he said with a smile, "and blueberry pancakes." He placed the plate in front of me; the aroma of the batter hit my nose. The blueberries had a sweet smell and it was doubled by the syrup glazing th
"Dig in," the waiter said, walking back to the kitchen. I took my fork and cut off some of the first pancake. I put the warm food into my mouth and was in love. I gobbled up the first pancake and was starting on my second. I saw everyone at the table looking at me and I shrunk down.
"Boy, somepony's hungry," Vocaleero said.
"I-I haven't had a decent meal in months," I stated, looking down to my food. Vocaleero's face changed into one of pity. I hadn't eaten well in months; I only ate when I could get food away from the cafeteria. Most of the time, Dark Sky steals it from me. Vocaleero started to eat his eggs while Ampliandam magically levitated the spoon up to his mouth and started to slurp away his soup.
After everypony had eaten, the waiter came back with the check. Vocaleero reached for his bag, but Ampliandam's hoof came up and stopped him.
"I'll pay this time," he said, grabbing the small bag of bits. He put a few on the table as a tip for the waiter and we all started to leave. I didn't want to leave, I wanted to stay. Anywhere was better than the orphanage. We walked back down the block, Vocaleero said good bye and walked away and Ampliandam and I headed back to the orphanage.
"What's wrong, Tagalong?" he asked me. He could tell I was upset and I looked up to him.
"I don't want to go back, I said, "I don't want to be alone again."
"You won't be," he said, "you've got me now, no one will ever mess with you again." I felt secure after hearing that, I felt safer. I smiled and hugged him.
"Thank you!" I cried out. I felt him hug me back and I cried tears of joy. We walked back inside and Ampliandam walked me back to my room.
"You're safe now, Tag," he said, patting my back. My bruises were still there, but they were going away. I walked into my room and lied on my bed. He shut my door and I dozed off.
I woke up to the sound of someone knocking. My first reaction was to hide. I thought it was Dark Sky and his goons again. Then I heard a voice speak up.
"Tagalong, it's me," Ampliandam said through the door. I sighed in relief and opened my door for him. We greeted each other and he escorted me to breakfast. I walked through the line with him and got my food. We sat together and I actually ate my food. I saw Dark Sky watching me from across the cafeteria and I shaked a bit. Ampliandam patted me on the back and I continued to eat.
After my breakfast, he walked with me to class. This is when I got scared. How could he protect me from Talon and Rough Edge? They'd pick on me and he couldn't help.
"Ampliandam, I'm scared," I whispered. He told me not to worry and ignore them. Class went like any normal day, Talon and Rough Edge throwing paper balls at me, calling me names, the usual stuff.
After the bell rang, I ran out of the room and right into Ampliandam. He waited for me. He was outside waiting for me the whole time. I hugged my guardian and we walked to his room. He helped me with my homework and talked about anything we could think of. I finally had a friend.
The months passed and I became used to having Ampliandam protecting me. He knocked on my door on a Saturday morning and I let him in. He had a gloomy look on his face and I knew something was wrong.
"What's the matter?" I asked. He looked down then to me.
"I have some news," he said lowly. It must have been bad news.
"What is it?"
"I got a job," he replied.
"How is that bad news?" I asked. He looked away from me again.
"It means I have to leave." I was silent as was he. "I'm sorry, Tagalong, I can't protect you anymore."
"Well, take me with you!" I frantically said. He shook his head in response. My eyes swelled up with tears for the first time in months.
"I can't, I have to be 18 to adopt you. I'm only 16." I cried. My best friend, my only protection from the bullies was about to leave me for a stupid job. He tried to hug me, but I pushed him out of my doorway and slammed the door hard. I cried for so long, it felt like an eternity.
Hours passed and I stopped my sobbing. I got up and saw something shiny coming from under my door as well as a white piece of paper. I picked up the long piece of bronze metal. I flipped it over in my hooves and saw the carved name "AMPLIANDAM" in it. I tossed it aside and grabbed the paper. It was a short note:
Dear Tagalong,
I'm sorry you feel like I'm abandoning you, but I don't want to. I need to make my own life and I can't stay at the orphanage for ten years waiting for you to grow up. If it was up to me, I would take you with me, adopt you as my little brother, but I can't. I wish I could, but I just can't I will always be your friend, so don't feel like you lost one. I found a job in a small town just west of here. Hopefully our paths would cross again.
Your friend,
Ampliandam
I crumpled up the paper and threw it at the wall in anger. Tears rolled down my face again. He was abandoning me! He was! He was leaving me for a stupid job, letting me fend for myself again. I sat on my floor for hours thinking about what I was going to do when Monday came around. I walked across my room and picked up the wad of paper and opened it up. I tried my best to make it look good again, but the words were crinkled, but still legible.
I put the paper on my dresser as well as his name plate. I wiped tears away again as I thought to myself. I did lose a friend and I might never see him again. I didn't even say goodbye. I lied back down on my bed and looked at the wall. It was only 1:30 and I was ready to sleep. I always kept my curtains shut; it always kept my room dark so I could sleep. It only felt like a few seconds, but I woke up again, the same feeling I had last year...
I lied on my bed, surrounded by darkness and fear. The hoof steps grew closer to my door and I sank under the covers. My door was locked, it always was, but sometimes I think that the little lock won't stop them from getting to me. The only light that intruded my room was coming from the hallway, but it was blocked out by the hooves standing in front of my door.
I hushed my breaths, trying not to be heard. I lied completely still, wrapped up in the covers, hoping they'd go away. The hooves stood there for a moment, the doorknob jiggled rapidly, and then one by one, they left. I quietly sighed in relief and tried to sleep through the fear that they'd return.
It felt just the same as it did, no one to protect me or save me again. I fell asleep again and didn't wake up until morning.
Sunday afternoon, the last day of the weekend. Tomorrow I'd have to go to class and get beaten up again. I wasn't ready for that; I didn't want to go to class! I lied on my bed for a few minutes, watching the clock. Almost 3 in the afternoon already. Ampliandam usually woke me up at 7 in the morning.
I got up and sat in my bed for hours thinking about how I would tackle tomorrow. 6 o'clock already... The day was gone and i was out of time. I got off my bed and decided to draw something. I never drew anything, but I thought it would help me feel better and get my mind off of tomorrow.
I grabbed paper from a drawer, my box of crayons and I sat behind by bed. I started to doodle a pony, a tall pony. I made him a stallion, colored his fur brown and his mane a darker shade. I made a mare, gave her nice colors, blue and white. I smiled at my work.
I started drawing with the orange crayon, I drew myself. I drew my orange coat, wings, and my purple hair. I wrote "my family" on the top. I held up the picture, it looked perfect to me. My family... I teared up again, but I didn't cry; I couldn't. I continued to draw, coloring my dream house, the green grass and bright yellow sun. It was my dream, my recurring dream of having a family.
I heard voices from outside my room, but I ignored them. I didn't want anything to distract me from drawing. I felt a presence in my room. Somepony else was here... I turned my head and saw a mare looking at me. Who is she, I thought to myself. Suddenly, she started crying and hugged me tight. I was confused beyond belief. I pushed her away and turned to see a stallion and Ms. Carrie.
"Who is she? Who's he? Why are they here?" I asked Ms. Carrie. She smiled and looked at me.
"Tagalong, sweetie, these are your parents," she said, "your real parents." I was confused again and looked at the couple.
"My... real parents? No, they can't be! If they were, why are they here now?" I asked loudly. I was upset, enraged that I didn't know exactly who they were. Could they be my real parents?
"Honey," Ms. Carrie said, "they've come back for you. They never forgot about you, that's why they're here now." Her words struck me deep. My real parents? The ones who abandoned me here and left me to be beaten up every day? I was angry, I wanted to run away, but I couldn't.
The mare grabbed me again and started crying on me. Ms. Carrie took us out of my room. I pulled away from them and ran back into my room. I grabbed my saddle bag and stuffed the letter and Ampliandam's name plate in my bag. I walked out of the room and shut the door. Ms. Carrie slid my own bronze name plate out of the slot and gave it to me with a smile. "Are you ready?" she asked. I nodded and we walked downstairs to the lobby.
The stallion I'm assuming was my father wrote all the information about me on a piece of paper Ms. Carrie gave him. I watched him write, then looked off and saw Ms. Carrie talking to the mare. The mare has started to cry, and then wiped away the tears. The stallion finished writing and walked over to the mare and Ms. Carrie.
"Here you go," he said, giving the clipboard to Ms. Carrie, "Pam, are you ready?" he asked to the mare. She looked at him then to me.
"Yeah, I'm ready," she said gloomily. Whatever she and Ms. Carrie had talked about must have made her upset. She dragged her hooves long the ground as we walked out and hung her head low. We left the orphanage. I was free, free from the bullies and free from everyone else there.
I walked side by side with my parents as we headed home. Home... I wonder what it looked like. I wondered many things as we walked for a few hours down the dirt road. The sun was already set and it was dark outside. The crickets chirped loudly around us and I saw the glow of a small town.
"We're here," the stallion said. I wasn't comfortable with calling them my parents yet. We walked down another dirt road and up to a small cottage. No pony said a word to each other and we all walked inside. The home was warm inside and very dark. The stallion walked down the hallway and opened a door. "This is your room, Tagalong. It always has been," he said.
I walked into the room and it was amazing. It looked so homey and cozy that I could fall asleep in an instant. He set my bag in the room and fixed the bed up for me. I lied on the bed and he put the cover on top of me. The comforter warmed me up instantly and my eyes drooped. I was in a nice, warm bed with my new family. I was happy and free.
That night, I woke up from a nightmare. Dark Sky had caught me and had beaten me up again. My bones were broken and he was laughing at my misery. I was crying and then looked around. It was the unfamiliar guest room and I was still in the cozy bed. I wiped the tears away and lied back down. I couldn't get over it, I felt like it would haunt me forever. My eyes closed again and i fell asleep.
