Chapter 1View OnlineBrokenChapter 1The three fillies sat under an oak tree in a corner of the schoolyard, chattering and smoking weed. “Are you seeing these colts from that field trip from Ponyville?” said Vinyl Scratch. “Ha, yeah. I’m thinking of moving to Ponyville,” Colgate replied. Lyra rolled her eyes. "Yeah, right. You'd only move to Ponyville if Time Turner did, too." Colgate turned bright red with giggles. “Hahahaha... yeah.” “It totally is!” Vinyl countered. “You’ve had a crush on him for over a year and he’s the only one that doesn’t know i-Whoa, check him out.” Colgate and Vinyl watched as a tall red earth pony walked by. “Daaaaaamn,” Vinyl moaned, “What are those hicks doing that’s making them look like that?” “I don’t know, but I think the guys here in Canterlot should be doing it because-because-” Colgate was reduced to giggles, leaning against Lyra. Lyra was struck with what she thought a fantastic idea. “Guys, let’s move to Ponyville. Just, like, leave everything behind, and just... just go." Vinyl also thought this was a fantastic idea. "Dude, totally. We can like, start a business selling... selling... cars!" "What's a car?" "I... I don't know!" Now Colgate wasn't the only ball of giggles. The three unicorns leaned back with their hooves clutching their sides. “Young lady, what are you doing?” While the fillies had been laughing, Vinyl Scratch’s parents had approached them unnoticed. “Huh?” Vinyl said. “Oh, uh, hey mom.” Vinyl quickly put out the joint in the grass, smiling innocently at her parents Fleur De Lis looked at her daughter and sighed. “That’s the second time this week I've caught you with marijuana. When we get home, it's straight to your room." "But mo-om-" "No buts!" “Now, honey,” Fancy Pants piped in, “we both smoked more than she does when we were her age, and I don’t recall ever being punished for it.” The white mare grinned. “We never got punished because we never got caught.” “Good point,” he chuckled. “Vinyl, it’s straight to your room when we get home.” “That’s what I said,” his wife complained, sticking her tongue out. “Why would you ever use your tongue like that when you can use it for much more useful things?” he said. “Why don’t you show me?” she replied, flicking her tail at his cheek. He did just that, earning an “ew, gross” from their daughter, and more giggles from her friends. “Ugh, can we go before everyone sees your grossness?” “Fine,” her mother said, coming up for air. “See ya later!” Vinyl called as she walked away with her parents. “What a milf,” a voice said, startling Lyra and Colgate. They turned around. “Oh, hey Pokey Pierce. Hey Time Turner,” Lyra said with distaste. “What do you want?” Twelfth-grade boys were so annoying. Scratch that, all teenage boys were annoying. Idiots. Idiots, all of them. “H-hey Time Turner!” Colgate managed to get out. She was head over heels; you could practically see the hearts in her eyes. He nodded at her. “Hey Colgate, how’s it going?” Unfortunately for Colgate, simply hearing him say her name was enough to smash her ability to form coherent sentences. That didn’t stop her from trying, and the string of random syllables that resulted were nothing short of gibberish. “Um, is she okay?” Time Turner asked. Lyra rolled her eyes. How could he not know Colgate has a HUGE crush on him? Just look at her, I’m surprised if she can even think, thanks to this jackass. “She’ll be fine. I can’t believe you can’t notice she li-mmph!” Lyra was interrupted by the blue hoof in her mouth. She rolled her eyes at Colgate, and used a telepathy spell to send a message: Fine, I won’t tell him, just take your stupid hoof out of my mouth. Colgate did as instructed, wiping her friend’s spit off on the grass. The two colts looked at each other, then walked off. Colgate watched them walk away, watched as the colt with her cutie mark left, then collapsed down onto the grass, crying. “I’m so stupid! What if he ends up with that stupid pegasus chick? He probably thinks I’m the stupid one. Why would he even like that girl, what’s her name again? Bright Eyes or something, I’m not sure. But why would he like her and not me? I’m an idiot! Ugh...” Lyra laid a hoof on her friends shoulder. “Everything will be fine. Honestly, Col, I don’t know what you see in him. You can do so much better.” “But his cu-” “Don’t even think about finishing that sentence. Just because you have the same cutie mark does not mean you’re meant to be together. Besides, for all you know, you’ll be the one walking down the aisle with him one day, and that dumb pegasus girl is gonna live alone with forty cats.” She did not tell the much more likely future, where neither Derpy nor Colgate ended up with Time Turner. “Easy for you to say! You’re not even into colts.” “That has nothing to do with this. The fact of the matter is that Time Turner is a jerk, and you can’t even talk around him, let alone to him. He’s with someone else, too, so unless you wanna be a homewrecker, you might wanna wait for them to break up.” “Break up... hmm... Now why would I wait for them to break up when I can make it happen myself?” “Woah, slow down. What if he found out? He’d never like you if he knew. Think about it. Do you really want a relationship built on lies?” “I guess you’re right. It’s just that he’s so perfect.” “No he’s not. You’re never going to get anywhere if you don’t stop putting him on a pedestal.” “I’m not putting him on a pedestal.” “Yes you are. You just said that he was perfect.” Colgate sighed. “Fine, Ly, I’ll stop putting him on a pedestal. Happy?” “No. I need you to prove it. Say one bad thing about Time Turner.” Colgate thought for half a second. “There’s only one of him?” “No.” “He’s with that pegasus instead of me?” “No.” “He’s... uhh... um...” “Think, Colgate! You almost passed out when he was here and he still doesn’t realize how you feel about him.” “I did not almost pass out!” “No you didn’t. Just like you acted like a perfectly normal pony who isn’t completely lovestruck.” “Okay, perhaps my vision did get just the teensiest bit fuzzy, and I maybe sorta got just a little tiny bit dizzy.” “Exactly. And he didn’t even notice.” “I guess... maybe... he’s a little oblivious... on occasion.” Lyra sighed. “I guess that’s good enough. Let’s go home.” “Alright,” Colgate said, “wait a minute. We’ve had this conversation before.” “Yeah, we have. And what were the bad things you said about Mister Perfect before?” “Well...” Colgate tried to think of the things she had said. “I, uh, can’t remember.” “You can and you will. Think, filly! What did you say?” Colgate thought and thought... and remembered. “He’s oblivious to my obvious crush on him. He’s a jackass. He’s kind of a perv. He’s... he’s... he’s not perfect after all. But nobody’s perfect! Maybe I can fix him! Maybe in the end he’ll leave that pegasus chick for me!” “Colgate! Look at yourself! What has this colt done to you!” “Shut up! Why can’t you just accept that I like him?” “Because he’s terrible!” “Not all colts are terrible! Not all of them are like-” “YOU SHUT UP!” “MAKE ME, BITCH!” Lyra did just that, punching her friend in the face. “Bring it on.” In less than a minute, everypony in hearing range had stopped what they were doing. They were far more interested in the fight. Interestingly enough. the two fillies were both fairly good with magic, but in their anger they seemed to forget they were even unicorns. They punched and kicked, dodged and bit, screaming insults that would make a sailor blush the whole time. It lasted only a few minutes before a teacher came between them. “Okay, okay break it up you two.” The fillies tried to get at each other, and succeeded. They went back to the kicking and the punching. Then the teacher came back with back up. It ended up taking two ponies to pry them off of each other, then keep them apart as they were taken to the school nurse. "Oh dear, why would you ever hurt each other like this? From what I've been told, you two are best friends." The nurse was a deep purple unicorn, with midnight blue hair in a messy bun and eyes the exact same shade of green as a grassy lawn right after it rains. Her words went mostly unnoticed by the fillies. They were both lost in their thoughts. Of course, those thoughts were radically different. Lyra: Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. When Dad finds out... Colgate: Oh no. Oh no oh no oh no. When Mom finds out... Okay, so maybe their thoughts weren't all that different after all.
Chapter 2View OnlineBrokenChapter 2Lyra took a deep breath as she walked through the door. I can do this. Maybe he's already passed out. Unfortunately for her, he was not. He was lying on the couch, a beer in his hoof as he watched the Wonderbolts. But he hadn't noticed her yet, maybe she could sneak up to her room, put her bags away, and get back out of the house... "What the hell happened to you?" Or not. "H-hey dad." "Answer the goddamn question," he said, rising up off of the couch. His frizzy red mane was a mess, and his sunny yellow coat filthy, as usual. His golden eyes looked at her in anger when she responded too quietly for him to hear her. "I, um, got in a fight..." "Louder." "I got in a fight," she said at an even lower volume. “Louder!” “I got in a fight.” “Louder!” “I got in a fight.” “Louder!” “I got in a fight!” Her mane was enveloped in a green light as her father dragged her across the room towards him. She locked eyes with him for a half-second, seeing the pure fury shining in the golden eyes that resembled her own so perfectly. She closed her eyes as his hoof connected with her jaw. "SAY IT SO I CAN HEAR YOU!" "I got in a fight!" she yelled. "You what?" "I got in a-" "I HEARD YOU!" Lyra's body trembled as she tried to stay as still as possible, salty tears matting her fur, not flinching as hooves pounded her face and body. ~ Colgate took a deep breath as she walked through the door. She is going to freak. Wait, or maybe she’s lying in bed and I can just check up on her and get out of the house. A sky blue unicorn with an unkempt blonde mane lay on the couch, deep green eyes darting around nervously. Colgate sighed. Damn it. As soon as the mare saw her daughter, she gasped. “Collie what happened to you who did this to you what happened?” The blue mare started hyperventilating. “Mom, I’ll be fine. I, uh, just got in a little fight, that’s all.” “You got in a fight? My baby’s been fighting! I can’t... I can’t... can’t...” Her mouth stopped moving and her eyes half closed as she passed out. Colgate sighed as she half carried, half dragged her mother to bed. ~ Colgate was the only pony who knew Lyra's secret. Lyra was the only pony who knew Colgate's secret. They were two lost souls who had found each other by chance, sitting next to each other way back in magic kindergarten. Lyra had lied, saying her bruises were from running into a door. Colgate had lied, saying her mother could not come to meet the teacher because she had the pony pox. The two fillies hid their secrets well. Lyra learned minor healing and illusion spells, masking her father's handiwork. Colgate learned to take care of both herself and her mother, doing the housework and other things that the mother should normally be doing. Over the years, the fillies grew closer, eventually sharing secrets. In the third grade, they went to each other’s houses. "C'mon, Ly, it can't be that bad." “It can, and it is. I don’t want you there.” “What if... uh... nevermind.” “What?” “Nothing.” Lyra grinned evilly. “I’ll let you come to my house if you let me come to yours.” Colgate hesitantly agreed, and that afternoon they went to Lyra's. Colgate saw everything. Then they went to Colgate’s house. Lyra saw everything. That day, they agreed to never go to each other’s houses again... Unless they positively, absolutely had to. ~ Lyra sunk into bed with a face full of bruises. She probably should use a healing spell now, instead of when she woke up and the bruises would be even more painful. But she was tired, so tired. She moaned, wishing her mother were there. But Gentle Harmony wasn’t home as much as her daughter would like. Lyra knew she shouldn’t blame her mother for being at work; her father was incapable of holding down a job for more than a week or two. It was just that she wished she didn’t have to face her father alone. ~ Colgate flopped onto her bed, exhausted. The day had been overwhelming. Waking up, getting ready, then going to school, where she worried about her mother, alone in the house. Then she went home, where she cleaned the apartment, cooked dinner, did her homework, talked to Lyra... All in all, she didn't end up in bed until around midnight. ~ A light green pegasus walked into a bedroom a little after midnight. The unicorn’s face was a mess of blood and bruises. The mare’s magenta eyes swelled with tears as she kissed her daughter’s forehead. “I’m so sorry...” ~ Several streets over, another, different mare walked into her own daughter’s bedroom. The little unicorn’s face was lined with worry and stress even as she slept, causing her to look years older than her true age of fifteen. The mare sighed, brushing the filly’s mane out of her face. A tear rolled down her cheek, then another, and another, and soon her vision blurred, face soaked as she wept. “I’m so sorry...”
Chapter 3View OnlineBrokenChapter 3Lyra trudged into the classroom. Upon seeing Bon Bon, however, there was much more pep in her step. “Hey Lyra!” While not quite as hopelessly head-over-heels as Colgate, Lyra was still seemingly under the effect of a love potion. “H-Hey Bon Bon!” Colgate, watching from her own desk, smirked at Lyra. Lyra didn’t notice until she’d passed Bon Bon. “Shut up.” “I didn’t say anything,” Colgate said innocently. Lyra stuck her tongue out at Colgate. Colgate stuck out her own tongue right back. Then Vinyl Scratch trotted in. “Hey guys! I heard you were fighting yesterday. What’s up with that?” “Oh, it was nothing. We just had a little argument, that’s all,” Lyra said. “Not from what I heard, it wasn’t. Somepony told me it took ten teachers to pry you guys off of each other.” “That’s not true! It only took two.” “Still.” “Yeah, whatever.” Colgate tuned out of her friends’ discussion, for there was a much more pressing issue at hand. Time Turner had just walked in in, and was approaching her. “Hey.” Vinyl and Lyra stopped talking. Vinyl narrowed her eyes at the colt. “What do you want?” “I wanted to talk to you,” he said to Colgate. Vinyl sat in her desk in a huff, irritated that he had completely ignored her. “Yeah?” Colgate said nervously. “I was wondering if you were free Friday night.” Colgate’s thoughts ran a mile a minute. Ohmygoshohygoshohmygosh did he just ask me out I think he did are you sure yes I’m sure maybe he just meant as friends or maybe- “Aren’t you dating Derpy?” Lyra questioned. “We broke up. So, Colgate?” “Yeah?” she said dreamily. “Are you free Friday or not?” Colgate nodded her head so fast it should have fallen off. “Yes.” “Awesome.” Time Turner trotted out of the classroom, pausing to wink at the filly, who practically melted. For the rest of the day, Colgate daydreamed even more than usual. The teacher, a light blue pegasus named Helping Hoof, had to repeatedly remind her to focus. “Colgate, what has gotten into you? You’ve always got your head in the clouds, but this is ridiculous.” The class giggled. They all knew what had happened. Some of them had been watching when Time Turner had asked out Colgate, and, well, gossip travels quickly. Colgate blushed. "I... uh..." "Do we need a parent-teacher conference?" "NO!" Helping Hoof smiled. That always worked. ~ Colgate walked into her apartment with the same dreamy smile she'd had all day. Jitterbug noticed. "What happened today?" "I've got a date! A date, mom! "That's wonderful, sweetie! Who's the lucky colt?" "It's Time Turner! This is going to be great! Unless... Unless..." Her horn glowed pink as she levitated the phone to herself, frantically punching in digits. "Hello?" "LyraIneedyouto-" "I'll be right there." Lyra was there in ten minutes. "What's wro-Oh." Colgate was a nervous wreck. Jitterbug was nowhere to be found, probably having a panic attack of her own. "Let's go to Vinyl's." The door was opened by none other than the party-loving unicorn herself. “Hey guys, come on in!” Lyra trotted into the house, with Colgate trudging in behind. “What’s wrong, Col? I thought you’d be excited, considering what happened today.” “But what if it goes terrible? What if he thinks I’m a loser and goes back to his ex or something or if-” “FIlly, you won’t get anywhere with that attitude. Today is Wednesday, you have until Friday. In those two days, we are gonna turn you into a-*gasp* MO-OM!” Vinyl had walked into her bedroom to find her little brother practically tearing it apart. The colt stopped everything as soon as he saw his sister and her friends. "Colgate!" he exclaimed, rushing towards the blu unicorn. She embraced the toddler, smiling wearily. "Nice to see you, too." Vinyl Scratch had already started putting her things back the way they were before when Fleur-de-lis walked in. "What is it this time?" "Mom, Pip was in my room messing up my stuff again." Fleur sighed in exasperation. "Pipsqueak, you know you're not supposed to be in your sister's room-" Vinyl blew a raspberry at her brother. "Ha!" "-And Vinyl, you shouldn't be so hard on your brother." "Oh, what!" "You heard me." "Ugh, fine." Fleur picked up her son, who was hiding behind Colgate. He promptly started screaming, reaching towards the blue unicorn. The sound of Pipsqueak's screaming stopped abruptly when his mother encased his head in a magical soundproof bubble. He didn't even notice, silently screaming as his mother carried him out of the room. Vinyl Scratch smiled. "Now that that's outta the way, let's get started. As I was saying, we are gonna turn you into a mare deserving of any stallion's affection." ~ "Don't let them fall!" "You told me that already!" "But they're leaning!" Colgate staggered around the room, trying to keep the pile of books on her head. Tripping over her own hooves, she stumbled into a wall, scattering the books everywhere. Lyra leaned back on the unmade bed, laughing. Colgate shot her an irritated look. "Shut up." "I didn't say anything." Vinyl interrupted her friends' bickering. "Col, stand up straight." Colgate did as instructed. Vinyl levitated the books back to her friend's head. "Now walk." Colgate took a few cautious steps forward, then walked determinedly to the wall. "Now turn around." Colgate turned back around, groaning when the books fell down again. "Let's try this again." This time, the books stayed put the entire time she walked the length of the room, turned, and walked back. Lyra groaned. "Finally! I didn't think you'd ever get it." "Hey!" Vinyl grinned. "Now on to kissing practice!" ~ Colgate trotted out of the house with Lyra. "That was weird. Did you know Vinyl had that mannequin in her closet?" "No, but watching you make out with it made my day." "I didn't even want to!" "You certainly looked like you did." "Somebody sounds jealous." "Am not." "Are too!" "Nuh uh!" "Yeah huh!" The fillies glared at each other, then busted out laughing.
Chapter 4View OnlineBrokenChapter 4Lyra crept pushed the door open with a hoof. She took a few cautious steps inside, shutting the door with a click. “Where were you?” She didn’t need to look to see who it was. She could smell the liquor on his breath, didn’t want to see his angry, bloodshot eyes. “I was at a friend’s house,” she said nervously. “You said you’d be home in an hour or two. Please tell me why it’s ten o’clock and you’ve just gotten home.” “I... uhh...” “I’m waiting.” “Umm..” He stepped towards her until he was practically on top of her, yelling. “You’ve been gone for hours! HOURS!” “I’m sorry.” “SORRY ISN’T GOOD ENOUGH!” he screamed with a blow to her chin. She whimpered in response. He punched her again, and again, and again, and again, until his anger subsided. She limped to her bed, not noticing as he flopped on the couch and drowned his remorse in another bottle, then another, finally passing out. ~ Colgate crept into the apartment, exhausted. Vinyl's methods had been... strange, to say the least. Colgate had seen no reason why she had needed to know what all that silverware was for, she and Time Turner were only going to go to a movie. The kissing practice as weird, but effective: out of the several hours they spent "preparing" Colgate for her date, they only spent fifteen minutes with her locking lips with a mannequin while Lyra turned blue in the face from laughing and Vinyl told her what she was doing wrong. They had raided Fleur's makeup drawers and experimented with them, and after an hour of that they had come up with a look that Vinyl was certain would dazzle the colt. At one point Pipsqueak snuck in, and lasted a good five seconds until his sister kicked him out. Colgate flopped down on the couch. There were dirty dishes to be washed, she needed to vacuum, she should probably check up on her mother, there was so much to do. But for once, it could wait. For once, Colgate would just sleep. ~ Solar Strokes tossed and turned in his sleep. The eyes, they watched. They were so clear, so enormous. “Come here...” He tried to run, but couldn’t move. He tried to scream, but couldn’t even whisper. “I paid quite a few bits for you...” They followed him, chased him. Those bright red eyes burned with lust, with hunger, with silent fury. “Just trust me...” He tried to run, but couldn’t even move. He tried to scream, but couldn’t even whisper. Nothing else existed, nothing but the eyes. They held him paralyzed. His fear of what was to come grew immense. Finally, he found he could move. He tried to run, but the eyes were right there again. Everywhere he turned, the eyes were always there. He collapsed on the ground, tears falling down his face. “There’s a good boy...” The eyes came closer, ever closer, until they were upon him. As the eyes approached, they became more. A sky blue body came forth, with a midnight blue mane from which a long horn emerged. The stallion was tall, so very tall, and skinny, like a piece of paper. He was strong, strong enough to pin the colt to the floor. The colt cried out as the stallion thrust himself deep inside, moaning in pleasure. He sobbed as he found out just how cruel life was. At only the age of seven, Solar Strokes lost all innocence he might have had. ~ Gentle Harmony looked at the stallion crying in his sleep on the couch. Why had she ever thought she loved him? This mess of a man, this emotional wreck. She’d thought she’d be able to save him, once. But over time, she found him to be unsaveable. But by then it was too late. When she found out she was pregnant, she had cried herself to sleep. Abortion was not an option, she considered it murder. So there were only two options. The first would be to have the child, then just give it up for adoption and continue her life as before. The second would be to keep the child, and put her dreams on hold to raise it. Over time, she found that she developed feelings for this thing inside of her. She grew to love the baby. So she put her career on hold, and decided to keep the child. The day her daughter was born was the happiest day of Gentle’s life. Holding Lyra in her arms, she knew that adoption was never an option. So for the next fifteen years, she took care of a child, and ran her late parents’ flower shop. There was just one problem. Solar Strokes. He had insisted on being a part of Lyra’s life. Gentle Harmony had relented and let him stay, thinking his intentions were pure. And at the time, they were. But over time, he became completely dependent on Gentle. His drinking got even more out of control than it already was; he couldn’t hold down a job for more than a week or two. Gentle Harmony could barely stand him, but she didn’t want him out on the streets. So she had to take care of him as well. Then she saw the bruises. Lyra was only five; five-year-olds don’t get in serious fights. Five-year-olds shouldn’t be getting bruises like this. So she asked her. Lyra told Gentle that she had tripped. Gentle had believed her. The bruises continued for months to appear in various places around Lyra's body, until things seemed to start to become better. They were getting smaller, they were healing faster. Lyra also seemed to be getting better at healing spells, and at illusion spells. Gentle Harmony didn't think anything of it, until she saw. Gentle had gotten home early, gotten home to see Solar Strokes strike ten-year-old Lyra. She ran inside to stop him, but the damage was done. Everything fell into place in her mind. The bruises. Lyra’s magic. Everything. It was like she had been seeing through a warped window, a window that was now broken. She had still had a small shred of hope that he might change. That there was still good in him. That little shred disintegrated as soon as she saw his hoof collide with his own daughter’s face. She dashed between them faster than Rainbow Dash herself, giving Solar a black eye. “What are you doing! Why did I ever let you stay! Why did I ever think you’d be anything but terrible! Why? Your own daughter! You BASTARD!” She practically screamed that last word, spittle flying out of her mouth. He sat on the floor, dumbstruck and speechless. “I...” “Get. Out!” He streaked out the door, leaving Gentle to her daughter. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Lyra looked at her hooves, ashamed. She put a hoof under her daughter's chin. “Lyra, please tell me.” she asked again, in the gentle, soothing tone that so many ponies knew her for. Lyra mumbled something unintelligible as tears filled her eyes and she hung her head, not looking her mother in he eye. "Lyra, please. Why?" Lyra's tears spilled from her eyes, falling down her face to the floor. "I...I...I..." She stopped trying to speak, collapsing into her mother as sobs shook her body. ~ Solar Strokes had left them alone for a while after that. In fact, Gentle Harmony and Lyra didn't see him again at all, until almost two years later. He showed up on the doorstep, begging for forgiveness. He'd changed, he said. He'd stopped drinking, he said. He'd never hurt one hair on Lyra's head again, he said. And that's what he did, for almost a whole year. For almost a whole year, he played the part of the loving father. For almost a whole year, he didn't drink a drop of booze. For almost a whole year, he was the father Lyra and Gentle Harmony had always wanted him to be. But old habits die hard. He was watching the Wonderbolts with a bunch of his buddies. "What happened to the old Solar Strokes? I wanna party with that guy, not this weirdo you are now." "C'mon, Sol, one beer won't hurt." Solar Strokes had finally relented, and had a drink. And another. And another. And another. He'd ended up crashing on his friend's couch, walking home the next morning with a cup of coffee in his magical grasp. As soon as he walked through the door, Gentle Harmony knew. The bloodshot eyes, the morning breath with a twinge of liquor. He dismissed Gentle's barrage of questions, saying it was "just a one time thing, I'll never do it again, don't worry." Gentle believed him. And, true to his word, Solar Strokes didn't drink again for weeks. But then again, he got drunk. Again, he crashed on someone else's couch. Again, he didn't come home till morning. Then, a week or two after that, it happened again. And again. And again. Until, once again, he was getting drunk every night. Whether with his buddies, or at home, or a a freaking parent teacher conference, he had booze in his blood. Alcohol was constantly coursing through his veins, keeping Solar Strokes in an obnoxious, aggresive, often violent state 24/7. There were holes in the walls from them being found by his angry hooves. It was only a matter of time before his angry hooves found Lyra once again. ~ "Jitter, it's been two years." "I don't care. I'm not leaving." "If you don't, then I will." "You'll come back. You've left us too many times to count, and you've always come back. You're a coward. Always have been, always will be." "Says the mare who won't even leave the house." "You wouldn't leave either if you knew what it was like." "They found the guys months ago, Jitter. You're safe now." "There's more of them, Sunny! Those two aren't the only ones in this Celestia-forsaken city!" "Can't you see you need help! You haven't left the house in two years!" Colgate didn't understand why her parents fought so much. But her mother said she would understand when she was older, and why would she lie? Mothers don't lie to their children. Right? Colgate treated every word that came out of her mother's mouth like it was gospel. "Never trust a man, you'll get nothing but heartbreak." "Don't go outside, it's dangerous." “Watch out for strangers, they'll hurt you." Sometimes Colgate didn’t understand, but it was okay. Her mother told her she’d understand when she was older. Colgate's train of thought was disturbed by a door slamming. Her mother was sitting on the couch, crying. Colgate jumped up on the couch, nuzzling her mother. Jitterbug embraced her daughter, crying into her mane. "It'll be okay, Collie. It'll be okay. He'll come back. He always comes back…" But that time, he didn't. It was the last time Colgate saw her her father for ten years. ~ Over the next decade, Colgate learned to adapt without Sunny Rain. By the time she was six, she had resigned herself to a fatherless existence. By the time she was eight, she had figured out how to balance a budget on the small alimony that was sent by Sunny Rain monthly. By the time her tenth birthday came around, she was fully capable of taking care of herself and her mother, who had gotten a little better. But not much. Jitterbug was still a nervous wreck who could barely take care of herself, let alone a child. Colgate knew her mother needed help, but she didn't want to end up in a foster home. She wanted to be in control. She needed to be in control. So she was left to fend for herself. Colgate didn't even think about her father anymore. She never daydreamed about how different things would be if he was still there. She never wished she had a real family, with a loving father and a mother who could take care of herself. She never woke up in a cold sweat because she had dreamt about someone finding out her secret. She never cried herself to sleep. No, she never did those things. Ever. She would never let herself.