>You were Miss Eri.
>Fuck.
>You became aware of yourself and slipped out of your admittedly wonderful dreams.
>You may need to wash your sheets later.
>Ugh.
>Princess Celestia needed to go back to bed.
>Your eyes fluttered open and you stretched a bit.
>The morning sun shone right through your window flooding your room with light.
>It was way too bright this morning.
>But you had a mission today so you needed to get up.
>You rolled off your bed and moved downstairs to retrieve a familiar bottle.
>’Take two 200mg tablets per day. WARNING: DO NOT exceed this amount.’
>You sighed and made you way back up to the bathroom.
>You opened up your cabinet and ignored the little box of blades on the bottom shelf.
>On went your sink and out came a little paper cup.
>You added painkillers to the mix today because of your leg.
>It was a bit clumsy in your stupid earth pony hooves but you managed every other day to make it happen.
>Today wouldn’t be any different.
>The medicine went down your throat with the cool trailing sensation of cold water.
>Hopefully it would work today.
>It needed to work today.
>You closed up the cabinet revealing the mirror and in turn... you.
>Your messy black mane with your artificial red highlights.
>If only it were natural.
>Your pink eyes had more life in them today.
>The lack of a horn was ever present but bothered you a little less.
>It was odd really.
>You went through your daily ritual like always.
>Hoping in the shower and cleaning yourself.
>Combing through your hair.
>Applying that little bit of make up.
>But today you did it with a bit more care than usual.
>Despite all that had happened yesterday, you felt...
>Ok.
>Maybe even happy.
>You didn’t really know.
>And it confused you.
>Has it been so long ago that you felt like this that you couldn’t even remember what it was like?
>You just felt good.
>Maybe it had something to do with your agenda today.
>After delivering your gift to Anonymous last night you felt really good imagining a smile destroying his sad features.
>In a way, he was a lot like you.
>Underneath that happy, care-free mask he has most of the time he was actually quite sad.
>And lonely.
>The thought of making him a little happier made you happier by proxy.
>So today was looking to be a great day.
>It would be all about him today.
>Your problems could sit on a back seat for a day.
>He was all that mattered
>Your guilt at burning down his house may or may not have been playing a major part in your decision but you didn’t really care.
>The way you saw it, you both could use the company.
>You looked closer at yourself in the mirror.
>Satisfied that you were at least a presentable ugly mud pony, you made your way downstairs.
>You went into the kitchen and browsed a bit before deciding that you weren’t hungry.
>You didn’t need to eat if you weren’t hungry.
>No need to fatten yourself up.
>You really had nothing else to do other than find a certain human.
>And with that you turned tail and trotted out of the kitchen to the door.
>You struggled with the friggin’ door knob again like you did every time you ever tried to open it.
>As always, it came unlatched with a bit of effort.
>Again, the first thing you would ever see upon leaving your house was the distant city of Canterlot.
>You always assumed your parents bought you this place for that reason.
>To remind you of your massive fuck up.
>But today was different.
>None of that mattered and you right now.
>You blinked as you realized how... nice it felt to just let it go.
>Looking at it, you appreciated the beauty of the mountain city for the first time.
>Sure, you still felt that twinge of knowing what mistakes you’ve made but for the first time since it happened...
>You just didn’t care.
>A small smile graced your lips.
>Your hooves carried you away from your house and you set off to find Anonymous.
>It was going to be a good day.

>It’s been about a few hours and there really hasn’t been a sign off him.
>Your first stop was the park but he wasn’t on the bench where you and Pinkie Pie had found him.
>There were crumbs on the ground below the seat suggesting he found and consumed the cupcake.
>But no sign of him.
>Hopefully he got what you wrote him.
>You would have asked around but you were a little too shy to bother anypony.
>They wouldn’t want somepony like you taking time out of their day after all.
>You really didn’t want to bother Pinkie Pie again after everything she did for you last night but if you were going to find him, she would be the one to help you do it.
>You owed her so much.
>Sugarcube Corner wasn’t too far away from where you were.
>Hopefully she was in today.
>More often than not she would be out with her other friends.
>You understood she couldn’t always make time for you but right now you really needed her.
>It wasn’t really your style to depend on others like that.
>If there was anything life has taught you it was that letting others in leads to pain.
>One way or another...
>Everypony you have ever put your trust in has hurt  you or let you down in one way or another.
>This had left a question in your mind.
>You made your way in town.
>You cut through the market to save on time.
>You knew better than this.
>You knew better... yet you kept walking.
>Why were you doing this to yourself?
>You entered the market.
>Normally you’d just avoid the place entirely.
>Crowds made you nervous.
>But in the name of making things happen as soon as possible you could endure.
>And you did.
>It was never as bad as you made it out to be in your head but the point stood.
>You just hated crowds.
>You were out of the mass of ponies and on the other side before you knew it.
>A few ponies may have been bumped into while you rushed through.
>You mumbled apologies here and there but you were never sure if you were heard over the din of the market.
>You kept moving past but that question was still there.
>Why were you setting yourself up for more heartache?
>Everything you’ve done and gone through was telling you to turn around and go back home.
>You looked up and could see Canterlot above the rooftops.
>This made you more determined to move forward and hardened your resolve.
>You were a mare on a mission.
>You don’t really know what got you thinking about that because Pinkie has never let you down.
>And maybe she won’t.
>If you were really lucky she wouldn’t let you down.
>Maybe if you were even lucki-
>No.
>You wouldn’t psych yourself out this time.
>You just needed to get a move on.
>After all, this day was for Anon.
>And today was going to be a good day.
>Not one where you lamented about your own problems.

>In a way you should have seen it coming.
>It would have made too much sense for life to let you have something easily.
>”Sorry dearie, she and her friends went off to Canterlot. I can tell her you came by, though.”
>How were you going to find him without Pinkie’s freaky powers?
>Back to square one you suppose.
“I-it’s ok Mrs. Cake, You don’t have t-to do that.”
>”Nonsense. It’s no problem at all.”
>She smiled at you from behind the counter.
>It made you uncomfortable and you tired hiding behind your mane.
>As if you had enough of one to do that.
>You had spent the next few seconds in silence.
>Was there some unspoken cue for you to say something in response?
>Probably.
>You were likely too slow to pick up on it.
>Regardless, you were wasting time standing here.
“I’m j-just... I’m just gonna go.” you say awkwardly.
>The bell on an adjacent counter rings signaling a customer needing service.
>The older mare’s smile falters a bit and she nods.
>”It’s fine. You have a good day now.”
>She turns and gets back to work letting you leave.
>After exiting, you let out a sigh of relief.
>You were never really any good at talking to others.
>Good old, socially awkward you.
>No matter.
>You still needed to find anonymous.
>You looked over the area around Sugarcube Corner.
>Various ponies milled about their day.
>But there was still no sign of that tall, lanky figure standing above everypony else.
>The one that almost always was covered in a formal suit.
>The one that not many ponies cared for these days.
>The one that would wave a greeting when nopony else would.
>Anonymous.
>There wasn't anything else to do except putting one hoof in front of the other.
>You still had to try.
>You just had no idea where to begin looking for him.

>Fuck.
>It was midday and you still haven’t found him.
>It wasn’t as if he was a friggin chameleon.
>He shouldn’t be this hard to find.
>Yet here you were.
>You’re sure you’d have an easier time with it if you were able to use magic.
>Not your stupid affinity for agriculture.
>Actual magic.
>Stupid earth pony.
>You needed to cover more ground.
>But you were just one pony.
>You couldn’t be everywhere at once. 
>The longer you were out, the more hopeless things seemed.
>Maybe he was avoiding you.
>For some reason, that thought makes the most sense.
>You’ve been over most of the town twice already.
>There was no reason you shouldn’t have run into him unless he was trying to keep away.
>You sighed and stopped in the middle of the road where standing.
>The ponies that were behind you filed around you as if you were simply an obstacle in their path.
>This was correct.
>You weren’t a normal pony anyways.
>Not somepony who does the things you do.
>So no.
>You weren’t a normal pony.
>Nopony would want to talk to a freak like you.
>You’d be alone forever.
>You could faintly hear little whispers in the back of your head that were starting to pick up.
>At this point you had nearly driven yourself to tears and decided it was a good a time as any to call it quits and head home.
>If Anon didn’t want to see you than so be it.
>Maybe he knew you were the one who burned his house to the ground.
>That had to be it.
>Maybe he was out getting things to do the same at to your house.
>The whispers agreed.
>A part of you thought if you got back to your house in time you could stop him.
>There wasn’t any telling what your parents would do to you if that happened.
>Especially Father.
>But a larger part of you and a few of the smaller voices that were making themselves known said you should just trot your useless tail back home and wait for it to happen.
>You had enough booze in the fridge to drink yourself into a coma.
>If you drank enough and took enough painkillers maybe it wouldn’t hurt.
>Burning to death couldn’t be that bad could it?...
>The whispering continued to grow louder.
>It was at this moment you took notice of your surroundings and realized you had been running as fast as your hooves could carry you for some time.
>You only had about a second before your vision exploded with stars.
>Pain erupted in your jaw.
>You were knocked off to the side and rolled end over end.
>W-what the...
>You find yourself lying on your back staring up at big blue sky.
>Various white, fluffy clouds lazily drifted by.
>A bird or two flew over the roofs of the two buildings the lied on either side of you.
>It was a beautiful day.
>And yet you were on the ground feeling terrible.
>You jaw throbbed with a hot sore pain.
>You felt around the inside of your mouth with your tongue and discovered you were missing a tooth.
>What the hell happened?
>You felt like you should have been more alarmed about this than you were but you couldn’t seem to make it happen.
>Your mind struggled to come up with coherent thought feeling sluggish.
What hit you?
>You tenderly reached for your face with a hoof but the moment you made contact you winced and bit back tears.
>It was definitely going to swell up.
>You make an attempt to get up and succeed rather shakily.
>It was at this moment that your brain started working and caught up with the situation.
>It started making note of various things that it should have long before hoof.
>Namely the five stallions arguing in a little ways from you in the street off on one side of the alley.
>They were all pegasi.
>Despite your lack of social knowledge or maybe because of it, you decided that they looked really shady.
>You didn’t want to be here.
>At all.
>You made yourself seem as small as possible and backed away as quietly as you could.
>At the same time you started listening to the group of bucks and the end of the of the alley.
>”-ome on! I can’t go back without having a little fun first! I’m going to jail anyways so whats a little longer eh?”
>One of the others gave him a look you couldn’t read.
>Stupid socially inept you.
>”No. Just no. Sucks to be you but you did it to yourself. There wasn’t any reason to buck her like you did but yo-”
>”She galloping straight at me! What if she had a blade? She could be working for those feathering Thunderhe-”
>The other one got into his face.
>”Does this look like Clousdale to you!? They don’t operate here! Besides that doesn’t mean you get to do that kind of shit! There isn’t an excuse for that kind of thing, Dumbbell.”
>There was no part of what they were talking about that you liked.
>You were halfway down to the opposite end and even that was too slow for you.
>You wish you could be faster but you didn’t want to make a noise.
>Don’t notice!
>Please don’t notice!
>”I just think you’re weak.”
>There was a pause.
>For a moment it looked like the two on the one side would fight the other three but one spoke up.
>”I had a sister in Manehatten that was railed. I tracked the the guy down and pounded him until he couldn’t move anymore.”
>Hubawhat?!
>They wouldn’t...
>Would they?
>You contemplated just running for it but they could fly.
>They had wings!
>If only you were a unicorn.
>You could have teleported out.
>But for right now you just needed to stay quiet.
>"There are some things that ain’t right and this is one of ‘em. I don’t know about all of you but I’m out. I won’t stop you but I want no part of this.”
>One of the pegasi trotted away and was soon followed by another.
>”Fine then! Leave More fun for us then. Hoops watch the street and make sure nopony is coming. You’ll get a turn.”
>”Right boss.”
>Oh no!
>You turned around and ran for all you were worth.
>Like it actually mattered.
>You didn’t get far.
>You were just an plain old earth pony after all.
>You were fast but not nearly fast enough to outrun flyers.
>You hadn’t made it to the end of the alley when they caught you.
>A hoof was put over your mouth forestalling any attempt to yell.
>You were dragged back into the alley against your will.
>It didn’t matter how hard you struggled.
>You had your earth pony strength.
>But they were two larger stallions.
>You kept struggling until one of them thrust a hoof into your face making it explode with pain.
>There was no telling what they would do to you if you kept fighting them.
>They made as much clear.
>Tears streamed down your face and you were thrust against a wall.
>A hoof held your face against the brick painfully.
>Then the fun began.
>Try as you might, you couldn’t force your conscious into that little corner of your mind where you would go when Father’s punishments got particularly bad.
>So you were forced to endure.
>Every thrust.
>Every spurt.
>Every time you nearly choked and died.
>And you've honestly never wanted to die any more than in this moment.
>Because you couldn't do anything about it.
>You just endured.
>All of it.
>Then more fun.
>A punch here.
>A kick there.
>You cried.
>But your tears didn’t mean anything.
>You screamed.
>But your pain didn’t mean anything.
>A thought had wiggled its way into your head while it all was happening.
>There was no way surrounding streets were empty this close to the market.
>Somepony had to have heard you yet nopony came.
>Maybe this was some kind of cosmic justice.
>For Anon’s house.
>Maybe this was just karma catching up with you.
>...
>Maybe you deserved it.
>However, you still wished to see him.
>For a different reason now.
>You wanted him to show up and save you.
>Or anypony really.
>But nopony would save you.
>You just weren’t worth it.
>Stupid earth pony.
>A final buck sent you flying into something.
>You didn’t know what you hit but it did pull you into the sweet embrace of darkness.
>You could have sworn you saw him in that familiar suit and tie.
>That last time before everything exploded to black.
>But it was probably wishful thinking.
>Because after everything, you didn’t deserve to be saved.
>So you took solace in losing consciousnesses instead.
>Hello darkness.
>Your old friend...

>”Do you dream?”
>Yes.
>Yes you do.
>”Do you REALLY dream?”
>Of course.
>Everypony dreams.
>Thats basic stuff.
>But sometimes dreaming doesn’t mean anything good.
>Dreams can quite easily and often do turn into nightmares.
>”It doesn’t have to be like this.”
>It doesn’t.
>But it happens.
>There was nothing you could do to stop it after all.
>You were just an earth pony after all.
>”So full of sadness, such bitter sorrow.”
>Yes...
>Yes you were...
>”Why?”
>Why...?
>You... you don’t really know.
>You’ve known happiness.
>It has touched your life before but those were always fleeting feelings.
>They never lasted usually because of what happened next.
>Or what was going to happen.
>Sometimes it was both.
>”That is a... a very bleak outlook on life.”
>It is...
>But for somepony like you...
>It was necessary.
>It was the only thing you knew.
>Doing something different usually meant more pain.
>You were content to a degree.
>Content in your misery.
>With you maladies.
>You wanted to be happy.
>But it just wasn’t in the cards for you.
>”That’s...”
>Awful?
>Weird?
>Disgraceful maybe?
>Some other descriptor that your feeble mud pony brain couldn’t come up with?
>You knew.
>Really.
>You did.
>You knew all too well...
>”...”
>It’s ok.
>That’s just the way life worked for you.
>A famous gryphon poet once said, “Life sucks and then you die.”
>That was the most apt way you had ever seen it put.
>”...What do you enjoy? What do you like to do?”
>Well... anything that would make you smile.
>You like to draw.
>You were decent at it.
>But there are other ponies who were better at it than you.
>You write.
>You had that novel you were working on.
>But nopony would likely ever see it.
>Your stuff just wasn’t good enough in your opinion to ever see the light of day.
>For the briefest of moments, bloody razor blades flashed across your mind but you suppressed it.
>Anything that would take the pain away, really.
>You even like to do nothing at all.
>As long as nothing was going wrong and nothing hurt, you would be content to just lie down and do nothing for a while.
>Just enjoying the moment where for a little bit, everything was just fine.
>The one time you actually spent time with ‘him’ flashed across your mind.
>That night.
>Last night if you weren’t mistaken.
>It was all fuzzy for some reason.
>Just you and him on your doorstep.
>Honestly one of the first ponie- er, people to actually give you the time of day.
>”How do you feel about ‘him’?”
>Indifferent.
>Or rather, you were indifferent.
>When he arrived those years ago, everypony was afraid of him.
>You just didn’t care.
>But he would greet you whenever you crossed paths.
>You would get shy and become unable to muster the words to return the favor.
>Yet he would continue despite this.
>It felt... nice.
>To be noticed.
>You liked the feeling.
>Then he came and sat with you on your doorstep after you had burned down his house because he saw you crying.
>So yeah.
>Anonymous was nice enough.
>At least he wasn’t mean to you.
>”It seems like you should spend more time with him.”
>Yeah...
>You should.
>He made you feel good about yourself.
>You knew he was relatively lonely himself after that incident with those... things a few months ago.
>But... he wouldn’t want you around would he?
>Not you.
>He had other ponies he could be with that weren’t as terrible as you.
>You didn’t deserve his company after you burnt his house to ashes.
>He couldn’t possibly want you around.
>Why would he?
>”That’s something you must discover on your own. It is nearing time for you to awaken.”
>Awaken?
>You were asleep?
>You felt a rushing feeling tugging on you.
>Pulling you towards something.
>”Yes. You may not be as much of a burden as you seem to think you are, child. I’ve seen his dreams too. Those who think alike often make good friends.”
>You moved faster and faster but that didn’t phase you.
>If the voice wasn’t your own thoughts then who was it?
>”That is my advice to you, my little pony. You have a lot to think about and a lot that needs done.”
>!
>W-what?
>It couldn't be...
>You are eventually pulled into a light.
>White assaults your vision.
>You woke up.

>The first sign that you were awake came in the form of horrible pain.
>Your legs throbbed.
>Your chest burned every time you drew breath.
>The area around your right eye was hot and stung against the slightly cold air of wherever the hell you were.
>You were on something soft.
>A bed maybe.
>You opened your eyes.
>Or rather, you tried to anyways.
>One of them, your right eye, flared up in pain when you tried and you cringed.
>All of your muscles tensing like that made you gasp as it let you know just how much of your body hurt.
>Which was pretty much all of it.
>Slowly, but surely as that last little bit of ignorance that always stuck with you after waking up faded away...
>The memories of today's events came back to you.
>They’d-
>Oh Celestia.
>Th-they’d...
>You didn’t want to remember.
>It hurt too much.
>You just wanted to die.
>As miserable as you’ve been in your life, you’ve never wanted to just roll over and die.
>And now...
>Despite the immense pain, you curled up in a ball and hugged yourself.
>Tears stung your eyes.
>You didn’t want to cry.
>Luna knows you didn’t.
>You were already pathetic enough as it was.
>You stupid fucking earth pony.
>The floodgates broke.
>At first it was just a steady stream of liquid.
>The the first sob hitched in your throat and you tried your damnedest to keep it down but it got out.
>Quickly followed by another.
>There was shuffling somewhere else in the building (you guessed you were in) and it made you freeze.
>The rational part of your mind knew it was unlikely that they were here but...
>You were scared.
>You opened your uninjured eye and took looked around.
>You were on somepony’s couch.
>They... they hadn’t taken you somewhere.
>Had they?
>Your breath starts to race which increases the burning in your chest.
>You can hear the hoofsteps getting closer.
>The house you were in 
was nicely furnished.
>Book shelves, tables, two couches, one of those hanging flower pot things.
>Your chest felt like it was on fire.
>You needed to get out of here.
>You fell on the floor after trying to roll of the couch.
>The hoofsteps turned into a gallop.
>Nononono!
>You tried to stand but found you couldn’t place any weight on one of your forelegs.
>There wasn’t anything you could do.
>They were gonna find you.
>It would start again.
>You could hide!
>You frantically swiveled your head trying to find someplace better than the obvious one.
>Finding none, you scrambled under the couch with great difficulty.
>You tried your best to calm your breathing but you were failing miserably and you knew it.
>And it absolutely terrified you.
>They were going to find you because you couldn't calm down.
>You needed to get a hold of yourself!
>Come on Miss Eri!
>Just be still.
>Be silent.
>Don’t move.
>Don’t breath.
>It was easier said than done.
>You dared open the your eyes despite the fact that you didn’t know you had closed them in the first place.
>Four brown hooves stood at the base of the couch which scared you to do what you should have done in the first place.
>You breath hitched in your throat, finally silent.
>You could hear your own heartbeat drumming away in your ears.
>The hooves moved away but you dared not let out the breath you were holding.
>You weren’t sure if you could keep it silent.
>You weren’t sure if you would just start hyperventilating again.
>You were just scared.
>There was nothing you could do.
>A pair of eyes peering underneath the couch made you yelp.
>You scrambled back as far as you could but it wasn’t nearly far enough.
>Your back hit a wall soon enough and it made you pause.
>At the same time the piece of furniture you took shelter under began to glow and was wisked upwards exposing you completely.
>This didn’t have enough time to get to you as your mind was still processing the fact that you had hit a wall.
>That was it.
>No more running.
>No more hiding.
>There was nowhere to go.
>You were caught.
>Golden eyes stared into yours.
>You peed on yourself.
>As pathetic as it was, you pissed yourself right then and there.
>And like a helpless little foal, you started bawling.
>You were so scared of what was going to happen to you.
>The strange mare in front of you made a move in your direction and you flinched back and cried harder.
>You just...
>You didn’t want to hurt anymore.
>She quickly closed the distance between the both of you, surprising you.
>What was supposed to be a scream of fear came out as a little mewl.
>And even more surprisingly...
>What you thought was a move to bring you more harm,
>Was just a hug.
>A comforting, pitying hug.
>S-she wasn’t hurting you.
>Warm.
>Kind.
>Caring.
>And most of all:
>It was painless.
>Such a small, almost meaningless gesture it was.
>Insignificant as most everypony received one on a daily basis.
>It was normal.
>But to you, Miss Eri.
>It meant the world.
>Somepony actually taking the time of day to care for somepony as pathetic and useless as you.
>You were a freak.
>You were ugly.
>You were shameful.
>And yet somepony was hugging you because you were in need.
>A complete stranger.
>All of this, somehow made the hug hurt more than anything you’ve ever felt in your life.
>Not at all a physical pain.
>Yet it was there.
>Not even a bad one.
>This was a good kind of hurt.
>It felt good.
>A bit of light in the darkness.
>So you just hugged back and held on for all you were worth.
>And you let it all out.
>All of your pain,
>Your misery,
>Your guilt,
>Everything came out with your tears in the embrace of another.
>And...
>It felt good.

>It was strange.
>Very strange, really.
>For the longest time you just sat there and cried into the embrace you found yourself in.
>The stranger for her part was a good sport about it in letting some weirdo like you do this.
>No, no...
>She was great.
>Whispering all kinds of reassuring words to you as you bawled.
>Not once complaining about it as much of a foal as you were.
>She was kind to you.
>It was... different.
>In which all honesty you hadn’t really had much experience with.
>After a while you ended up crying yourself out.
>You had no more tears to give so you kind of just sat there in the mare’s forelegs enjoying the silence and the company for a while.
>You were just numb at that point.
>In the silence you both sat.
>The mare holding you trying her best to comfort you.
>You just sat with your eyes closed watching todays events seemingly play on an endless loop on the inside of your eyelids.
>You were content to just sit in the silence forever but you knew it couldn’t last.
>Nothing good ever lasts.
>It never has.
>It never will.
>It is a fact of life that you know too well.
>Eventually the mare stood up, guiding you with her.
>You didn’t want to move.
>You really didn’t but you didn’t really have enough of a will to fight it right now so you just numbly followed along.
>You were led to a bathroom and directed towards the tub.
>She carefully removed the bandages from around your body and sat moved you into the tub before turning on the water.
>It was chilly but you didn’t complain.
>You just looked forwards and closed your eyes as she began to scrub you to avoid getting soap in them.
>Their faces were still there when you closed your eyes.
>Your eyes came open again.
>You could deal with a little soap.

>You wanted to be grateful.
>You really did.
>She had sat and held you after you pissed on yourself.
>She washing you because of that without your asking.
>Washing you because you couldn’t do it yourself right now.
>You really wanted to be grateful.
>But she might as well have been washing an empty container.
>You just couldn’t bring yourself to feel anything.
>You just sat as she washed and scrubbed at you.
>Your mane hung in front of your eyes making it hard to see.
>You both sat in that relative silence.
>It was such a fragile thing, that silence.
>The only sounds in the bathroom were that of both of your breathing and the bristles of a hoofbrush scrub-a-dub dubing.
>Eventually the mare broke it.
>Good things had to come to an end.
>”You are a really lucky pony you know.”
>Were you?
>Were you really?
>You didn’t exactly consider yourself lucky.
>Especially considering today's events.
>A bit of water splashed into your eyes and it forced you to blink.
>For that split second, they were there. 
>You really weren’t all that lucky.”
>In fact you were the polar opposite.
>Things like that don’t happen to lucky ponies.
>You responded but you couldn’t really find your voice and it came out as a whisper.
“No...” you said.
>You didn’t even look up at her.
“...I’m not.”
>For the oddest reason, saying that felt like a lie despite your mind knowing it true.
>You imagined that there were far more unlucky ponies in Equestria but you still felt that you could very well be the unluckiest earth pony of them all.
>You chuckled bitterly to yourself and another set of tears forced themselves out of your eyes.
>Your head tilted towards the ceiling in an attempt to stop the waterworks.
>A sad smile found itself gracing your lips as the irony hit you like a ton of bricks.
>A direct hit right in your fragile little feelings.
>This day was supposed to be a good day.
>It was supposed to be all about him.
>About Anonymous.
>That silly little human.
>And here you were lamenting about your own problems.
>Your violation.
>The way your body betrayed you.
>You dirty mud pony.
>In more ways than one.
>She continued to scrub.
>”Oh, I wouldn’t say that much.”
>But you would.
>And you did.
>”After all, They got what they deserved.”
>The way she said that and what she implied made you blink.
>You hurt your neck turning it so fast.
>The magenta maned pony saw the surprise on your face and continued.
>”They aren’t with us anymore.”
>No.
>She couldn’t have.
>A cold spike of fear drives itself up your spine.
>She didn’t look like she had it in her.
>Not many ponies did after all.
>Maybe you read way too many crime novels but you froze up and stare at her with wide eye.
>This earned you a little giggle.
>”Don’t look like that. I’m not going to murder you or anything!”
>Yeah.
>Saying as carefree as that made you feel WAY better.
>”And besides, I didn’t do it.”
>Huh?
>”It was actually a friend of yours.”
>But you didn’t have any friends.
>Well...
>There was Pinkie.
>Pinkie frightened you at times but you couldn’t see her killing somepony.
>...
>Maybe...
>But you really couldn’t picture it and had no idea who she was referring to if not her.
“But I don’t have any other friends except for Pinkie Pie and I I can’t see her doing something like that.”
>Celestia, it hurt to speak.
>Your throat was still sore from... that.
>The earth pony in front of you just smiled a knowing little smile at your confusion.
>”It wasn’t her either.”
>It was really aggravating that she wouldn’t just tell you but you wanted- no, needed to know.
>You didn’t want to make her mad at you by snapping or something like that so you restrained yourself with little difficulty.
>Somepony like you honestly didn’t have that much fight in them to begin with.
>You gave her a pleading look and she nodded.
>”Do you know, Anonymous?”
>Your brain shut down for a split second.
>”He told us he found them doing that to you and well... lets say he didn’t stand for it.”
>Your eyes are most definitely wide.
>He w-what?
>”Its lucky that you were knocked unconscious because from what he described it wasn’t pretty.”
>Anonymous had...
>He really...
>That piece of information sent you mind spinning at a mile a minute.
>Anonymous wouldn’t have...
>But he did.
>He shouldn’t have.
>Not for you.
>Not after what you made him lose...
>But he did.
>It made absolutely no sense to you.
>The feelings you were feeling were all conflicted.
>The thoughts in your head contradicted themselves and reality.
>Why was he so nice to you?
>Why did he save you when it was your own fault it happened in the first place?
>You will never know whether or not the mare said anything else to you after that.
>You kind of just shut down at that point with that revelation overloading your head for a while.
>Vaguely, you remember finishing up in the tub and being lead back to the living room.
>You might have been offered something to eat or drink.
>Maybe it was a blanket.
>You’ll never know because you don’t remember.
>The next thing you clearly remembered was making sure you were alone in the living room.
>You never learned the nice mare’s name and regretted not thanking her but you there was something you had to do.
>You slowly slid off the couch making sure to stay silent.
>The pain in your legs ebbed like a phantom memory.
>It was there but you couldn’t quite feel it.
>You were a mare on a mission.
>Your legs took you down the little corridor to the front door.
>It was rather difficult staying silent with a limp but you managed.
>You fumbled with the doorknob like you always did but eventually succeeded in pulling it open.
>Cool evening air entered your nose.
>You slid out the door and shut it without a sound, taking off into the Ponyville evening.
>The sun was just under the horizon and the last bits of light were quickly fading away out of the sky.
>You didn’t know where to find him.
>You really didn’t.
>But you wouldn’t worry about it.
>You were just going to your instincts and trust your feelings.
>Maybe you were just being melodramatic...
>But for some reason...
>You felt just a little lucky.

>It took you a little while and you thought about giving up a few times but you did it.
>There he was.
>He was about to board a train.
>He was about to board a train!
>You summoned your voice and found it.
“Anonymous, wait!”
>It was scratchy as hell from earlier but you didn’t exactly care because at least it hadn’t failed you this time.
>He pokes his head back out and stares at you in surprise.
>At least you thought so.
>You hobbled towards him for all you were worth.
>He steps back out of the train and looks at you with... pity?
>Confusion?
>Both?
>You don’t really know.
>His face is so... different.
>Not that it was a bad thing.
>It’s just that his expressions were hard to read sometimes.
>“What the hell are you doing up?”
>You flinched at the question but kept coming.
>Those injuries on your body wouldn’t stop you.
>They hurt but it didn’t matter.
>YOU didn’t matter.
>He did.
>You wouldn’t be dissuaded.
>He’s done so much for you.
>More than you could ever hope to repay.
>But you could at least do something for him. 
>You had thought about what you were going to say to him since you started walking.
>You stopped just in front of him.
>Looking up you could see his gaze was turned right back down at you.
>Good.
>You had his attention.
>You were just gonna do it.
>It was all planned out.
>You just needed to open you mouth.
>This was no time to be nervous.
>Eri get your crap together!
>You stuffed down the butterflies in your stomach with sheer force of will and opened you mouth finding the words.
>You were cut off by him before you could get them out.
>”I don’ know why you’re here and I don’t care.”
>H-he...
>What?
>He didn’t...
>Anon smacked himself in the forehead.
>”I didn’t mean it like that. You should be lying down and resting.
>Oh.
>He still cared.
>This silly, silly human.
>A different kind of butterflies entered your tummy but were quickly crushed by will again.
>You didn’t have time for your wants.
>You didn’t matter.
>Before you could argue your point Anonymous pointed back the way you came.
>”Go back to Heart Mender’s place. It’s closer than yours. She’ll take care of you for n-”
>He paused and his gaze turned to something beyond you.
>Turning your neck you could see that mare from earlier, running up the street.
>Heart Mender, apparently, just figured out you left.
>She had an urgent look on her face.
“Wha-”
>Police ponies were galloping in from different directions.
>Two Royal Guards ponies trotted up the stairs and onto the train platform.
>They pushed past you, one of them magicking you into the hooves of an officer while the golden clad unicorns spoke to Anon.
>You just watched until you saw one of their horns glow and he slumped over.
>You started calling out to them.
“But he didn’t do anything wrong!”
>You voice fell on deaf ears.
>They swiftly carted him away and you started struggling to break free of the pony who held you.
>He was too strong but that wasn’t going to stop you from trying.
>You had to get to him!
>He had saved you!
>Why weren't they listening!?
>Eventually the police pony got tired of you trying to break free and waved over one of the Guardsponies.
>You didn’t get the chance to speak your piece.
>The unicorn simply activated his magic.
>Darkness found you, ready and willing to take you to rest.
>You've had such a long day after all.
>No.
>NO.
>Now wasn't the time to sleep.
>Anonymous needed you!
>But you were so tired...
>You were vaguely aware of voices.
>"Why isn't the spell working?"
>"Oh something a big, bad Royal Guard can't handle? Here, let me help you out with that."
>You just wanted to close your eyes.
>A little bit a of shut eye sounds so nice right now.
>But there wasn’t any time for that.
>He needed you.
>You needed to move.
>”Geez she’s a fighter. What the hell is she made of?”
“L-let me go...”
>Your body was useless to you.
>You just couldn’t get your limbs to listen to you.
>You wouldn’t be able to get to him if you couldn’t move.
>”You two having trouble?”
>”Could you lend us a horn, this mare is tough.”
>Why weren’t they working?
>”Said the Royal Guard to the policemare. You stallions just need a mares touch. Move over.”
>You...
>...needed...
>”Sweet Celestia you weren’t kidding. You think she’s ok to move like this?”
>...to...
>”No. Not with this many fatigue spells on her. We need her unconscious or it might kill her.”
>...move...
>”Hey Cuffs, we could use some of your magic over here!”
>...g-go...
>”All of you? That’s not possible.”
>”We know but it’s happening. Just do it.”
>”Alrighty then... What’s one more spell?”
>A flash of pain made you more aware for merely a second before the world fell away.


END DAY 02