No Love - Simple Plan
A/N I did not take pleasure in writing this, but I feel that it was the best way to represent the song. I hope you people enjoy. Warning: Let’s just say the teen tag is there for a reason.
Colgate stood alone in her small, one story house. She was standing by a window, watching a blizzard raging outside. The wind howled furiously, as if it were angry that she was safe and warm. Only, she wasn’t happy. Most ponies would be together with their family, drinking hot chocolate, sitting by a fire, enjoying eachothers company.
But not her. She was waiting for Caramel to get home. She walked away from the window and sat down in her favorite chair a grabbed a book. It would be several hours before that bastard even considered coming home, so she might as well do something to occupy her time. Then, several hours later, as she had assumed, Caramel opened the front door and stomped in. He shook his head and hooves furiously, ridding them of any accumulated snow.
“Filly, go get me a drink,” he said to Colgate, who set the book down and glared at him.
“What am I, your slave? Go get it yourself,” she said snidely, glaring at him.
“Filly, I just got home from a very long day at work, and I would appreciate it if—” he was cut off by Colgate, who got up and stomped her leg on the ground.
“Work?! Is that what you call it?”
Caramel’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about filly?”
“Oh, bullshit. Don’t give me that act. I know perfectly well that you’re off in that new strip club downtown!”
“Filly, I have not been in a damn strip club! I work hard all day, everyday to put food on the table, and every day I come home, I get the SAME, DAMN, TREATMENT!” he roared at her, stomping on the ground furiously.
“No! You will not make this my fault, not again! You know that money that you’ve been out, ‘Working Hard’ for? Well, I looked at our bank statement! We’re nearly broke, because you’ve been out spending it every night before you come home!”
“You shut up,” Caramel growled threateningly.
“You shut up! You can’t order me around like those skanks you see downtown at that damn strip club.”
“DAMN IT FILLY, I HAVE NOT BEEN TO A FUCKING STRIP CLUB!” he screamed, and he stepped forward at her and lifted his hoof of the ground, as if to strike her, but hesitated at the last second. Colgate stood there, her smoldering glare burning into him.
“Okay, Filly. This is what’s going to happen. I’m going to go get myself a drink. When I come back in here, you better improve your damn mood. Got it?”
“Fuck you.”
Caramel took a deep breath, and stomped away into the kitchen. Colgate tried to do the same, to take a few breaths to calm down but she couldn’t, and—in a fit of rage—grabbed her book and hurled it at the wall as hard as she could with a scream. It did a surprising amount of damage for a paperback, and dented the drywall. It fell to the ground, and a single page came loose and fell out.
Her rage was now spent, and now she was just left feeling empty and sad. She fell back into her chair as Caramel joined her in the room, holding a large bottle of vodka in his hoof.. He glanced at the wall, and the book on the floor, and took several large gulps of his drink.
When he was done, he messily wiped his muzzle and belched without reserve.
“Wha’ happened?” he slurred out.
“I threw the damn book, what does it look like I did?”
“Shuddup bitch.” He took another large swig, and glanced at the nearly half-empty bottle with dismay.
“I don’t have to deal with this shit,” Colgate said angrily, getting up and moving towards the bedroom.
“Bitch! Get back here, I’m not done talking with you!” Caramel yelled at her.
“I’m going to bed asshole. Why don’t you go talk to those skanks at the damn strip club?!” she screamed back, slamming the door shut. Caramel slowly stumbled to the door, and tried to open it, but in his drunken haze was unable to.
“Bitch! You open this Celestia damned door right now, or I’ll beat you till you can’t breathe!” he yelled, slamming his hoof on the door several times.
“No!” came Colgate’s fearful voice from the other side of the door.
“DAMMIT BITCH! OPEN THE FUCKING DOOR!”
“No! Please go away!” She was almost crying now.
“OPEN. THE FUCKING. DOOR.” With each word, he pounded the door once again, putting dents in the wood. Slowly, as Caramel stopped to take a breath, the door opened, revealing a timid Colgate.
“You fucking bitch,” Caramel growled as he shoved his way in and shoved Colgate to the ground. “You just couldn’t keep your fucking mouth shut.”
“P-please,” Colgate whimpered, covering her head. “Caramel stop, please.”
“No! You need to be taught a fucking lesson!” He lifted his hoof up and slammed it against her face. Colgate yelped in pain as his hoof connected with her face.
“Fuck,” he said and he kicked her in the ribs. “You.” She slowly curled into a ball to protect her midside as he kicked her in the face.
“You, little, fucking, BITCH!” he screamed as he kicked her, before he finally stopped. Taking a deep breath, he stepped back. “Get up.”
Colgate refused to move, and stayed curled up in a ball, shivering furiously.
“I said: Get, up.”
Slowly, but surely, Colgate gently pushed herself off the ground and dropped her head to the ground. Bruises covered her face, and she was missing a tooth. Her whole back and stomach was too. She coughed, and she spat a globule of blood.
“Now, go to the bathroom and get yourself cleaned up,” he said gesturing towards the said room. Colgate obeyed without complaint and trudged into the bathroom. There was the sound of running water, and lots of banging. Caramel looked at his hoof, and saw it his wive’s blood coating it. He grimaced and shook it, but the blood had already soaked into his fur. He looked at the floor and saw Colgate’s missing tooth. He grabbed it and threw it out the window.
Slowly, the bathroom door opened and Colgate stuck her head out. Several of her bruises had gone down, and her cuts were cleaned.
“C-Caramel?” she asked.
“What is it?”
“H-have you seen m-my tooth?” she asked, shrinking back a bit.
“No, I haven’t. Get back in there and make sure you look presentable. We’re going somewhere tomorrow.” Colgate didn’t say a word, but instead walked back and closed the door again.
~~~~~
Colgate and Caramel walked down the street, the former lagging behind slightly. They greeted several ponies happily, and shared small talk as they walked towards their destination. When at last they reached the Carousel Boutique, the sun was slowing down and reaching towards the ground. They entered, and were thrust into a clamor of noise and ponies. Caramel looked around, looking for the owner Rarity. Personally, she had gone out of her way to invite them, and it was simple manners to greet your host.
After several seconds of fruitless searching, he found her, conversing with another pony with an orange coat and blonde mane. Her name was Applejack, if Caramel recalled correctly. They approached the pair, and Caramel flagged Rarity down. She gave him a smile and trotted over.
“Why, hello Caramel. And a hello to you too, Colgate!” she said cheerfully. When she looked at Colgate’s face, she gasped. “Colgate! Dear, whatever happened to your face?!”
“Oh,” she responded with a weak smile. “I tripped at the top of the stairs, and hit my face a lot on the way down.”
“But, dearie, don’t you live in a—”
“Well then!” Caramel interrupted. “It’s been nice talking to you Rarity, but we must be going. We don’t have much time on our hands, do we, Colgate?”
“Oh, no we don’t,” she said meekly.
Rarity narrowed her eyes, but nodded. “Okay then, it’s been nice seeing you again. I had hoped you would be able to stay, but duty calls I guess.”
“See you later Rarity!” Caramel called as the left the party. As soon as they were on the street and he knew they were alone, he smacked Colgate behind her head.
“What the fuck was that filly? You nearly blew my cover!” he snarled savagely.
“I-I just said w-what you t-told me to!” she whimpered, shrinking back.
“Bitch, stop making fucking excuses!” He whipped his hoof up and caught his wife under her chin, sending her sprawling to the ground. She scuttled away from him in fear, and then curled into a ball when her back hit a wall. When nothing happened to her, she slowly moved her hooves away from her face and saw Caramel looking down at her in disgust.
“Get up filly, we’re going home.”
Dutifully, Colgate got to her hooves and when Caramel started walking, she followed— trailing slightly behind.
All too soon, to Colgate at least, they reached their home. Caramel went in first and went straight to the bedroom, slamming the door shut. Now effectively locked out, Colgate dragged her hooves over to her chair and she looked at the small dent in the drywall, from when she had thrown her book yesterday. Looking down at the floor she saw it, and sighed a long sigh.
It had once been her favorite book; she had read it over and over, ever since she was a child. It’s main premise was one she enjoyed immensely; a dashing young stallion came along and rescued the princess from her scary castle prison.
And now it was ruined. She sat there and stared at the book for what felt like a few hours, but when she looked out the window, she saw the sun rising over the mountains in the distance. Had it really been a whole night? she wondered. The door to her bedroom opened, and Caramel walked out, groggy and disoriented. He didn’t spare her a passing glance as he walked into the kitchen.
Colgate wearily got up and trudged to the bedroom. She closed the door and wedged a chair under the handle. Opening the closet, she retrieved a small, old and worn cardboard box. After taking off the small lid, she came face to face with a picture of her in her wedding dress, holding her hoof around her new husband’s— Caramel’s— shoulder. She smiled as the warming memory touched her.
Caramel was once so caring, so kind. They had planned to have foals one day, after they had secure jobs and a secure financial situation.
“Where have the days gone,” she whispered silently, brushing the picture with her hoof. Colgate stared at the picture for a few minutes, but soon, the sound of the door trying to open interrupted her, followed by Caramel’s voice.
“Filly,” he breathed out, as if short of breath. “Open this Celestia-damned door.”
Colgate didn’t look up, or even respond in any way, she just kept staring at the picture in her hooves.
“Filly, open this door.”
Colgate stirred slightly, and got up off the bed, set the picture down, and shuffled around, looking for something. After a few moments of searching, she retreated, holding another box in her mouth. As Caramel started yelling and pounding on the door, she opened the box and pulled out a long rope noose.
Taking it out of it’s protective cardboard casing, she held it up to the light to admire it. She had made it several weeks ago, after Caramel had first attacked her. Ever since then, she kept it in this tiny little box, in the back of the closet, buried underneath mountains of junk in order to keep it hidden.
Every time he beat her since that one day, long in the past, she would look at the box; assuring herself that it was still there. That her one, inescapable, perfect escape plan was still waiting for her should she need it.
Then, as always, she would consider it. Stare long, and consider if it was worth it. She had tried, so many times, to get back up and stand up to him, like she had last night, but every time she did, he would just beat her back down. So many times... she thought.
But not here, not now. Not anymore. She held the noose tight, and headed for the open window. She looked back at the door, and suddenly became aware of the lack of swearing, yelling, and pounding coming from it. She paused and cocked her head nervously as she heard a triumphant shout from behind her.
She whirled around just in time to see Caramel jump in through the window, and drop his bottle of vodka, spilling the high-proof liquor all over the soft carpet with shards of glass. He took one confused look at what remained of his bottle and seemed to forget where he was as he worked his jaw, trying to comprehend what happened to his alcohol. After a moment, he looked up at a frightened Colgate, holding her rope noose.
“Filly.”
“N-no. P-please, Caramel, t-this isn’t w-what it looks like,” Colgate whimpered out, backing away.
“What. The fuck. Are you holding?” Caramel asked in a deadly monotone voice, a horrible look in his eye.
“I-it’s n-nothing,” she said quickly, tossing it to the side. Caramel said nothing and walked past Colgate, retrieving the noose.
“Filly, do you mind telling me what the fuck, this is?” he growled, holding up the noose and shoving it in her face. Colgate fell onto her flanks and tried to scoot further backwards, but was abruptly halted by the wall.
“C-Caramel, p-please, p—”
“NO!” he roared. “You have to be taught another lesson, don’t you, you little bitch?” He shook the noose furiously, and punched her across the face, and she fell over. He jumped over her body and slipped the noose around her neck and pulled it back, choking her.
Colgate started choking and coughing while Caramel pulled it tighter.
“What’s wrong, you little bitch, isn’t this what you wanted?” he snarled. Colgate’s only response was to start grabbing at the noose, trying to give herself a breath.
Eventually, right before she was about to pass out, Caramel released his grip on the noose and let her fall over. He gave her a halfhearted kick in the ribs before grabbing the noose and walking out of the room. Colgate lied there, coughing and trying to catch her breath.
After a few moments, she wearily got to her feet, and dragged herself to the window, and looked out at the bright, shining sun, and the happiness that lay just beyond her reach; and she cried. For the first time since he had started beating her, she cried.
