//------------------------------// // Forgive, and Grow Stronger. // Story: Following His Footsteps (Sequel to They'll Never Hear You) // by ianv64 //------------------------------// My mom kept hugging me tightly. She seemed as if she never wanted to let go. I couldn't make any eye contact with her. I finally spoke. I began to talk over her fading sobs. "I'm sorry Mom." I said almost not audible. "I'm sorry I'm an awful daughter. I don't deserve a mom like you." I began to cry, and sob again as I finished my sentence. My lip was quivering, as I tried not to cry. "No..." She said, tightening her embrace again. "You aren't a bad daughter, honey. We all make mistakes, and rash decisions. No one makes the right choice every time." She stopped sobbing. Tears still flow through her now red, irritated eyes. I looked deep into them. I haven't looked directly into my mom's eyes in a long time. She spoke again. "I will always love you my little Scarlet." She smiled through her tears. I tightened my embrace again. She finally let go. I trotted off slowly, into the kitchen. As i crept my head into the room, I saw Treble shedding a few tears. Even one tear was extremely rare. The fact that he cried because of me made me feel a little guilty still. I walked closer. He tried to dry his eyes before I reached closer. I stretched my hooves, and grabbed him in a tight hug. He returned the embrace. He cried, and sobbed softly, and sniffled into my shoulders. "I missed you sister." He said through his sobs. "I missed you too. I'm sorry..." I began to cry again. My mom came in, and stretched her hooves over the both of us. "I wish your father could see this..." Mom said nuzzling us. I felt another hoof grip my shoulder. I glanced back. It was dad, but he looked like a ghost. He smiled at me. I almost spoke. He put his hoof to his mouth, signaling not to speak. He then waved, and faded out of my vision. "I think He'd be happy..." I said. .......... I came clean an hour later. I sat down next to both of them. My stomach twisted as I thought about what they would think of me if I told them I could write the future. Or even worse, that I can see Dad. As we sat down, I tapped my hooves together as I tried to find something to open with. I took a deep breath. "I don't know if you'll believe me, but it's true, and I have proof." I took another deep breath. "I have this curse or something. It started a long time ago. I found out it was real when Treble got in trouble at school the first time. Before I got home, and saw Treble, I wrote a story for school that Treble got in trouble at school by hitting that kid that annoyed him." Treble looked very confused. Mom began to look anxious, and thoughtful. I kept going. "See? The exact same date, in writing class, the exact same date! And also, I wrote another short story that i would find 154 bits outside on the street somewhere. I did. Exactly 154. In fact, I also wrote out something I will never forgive myself for." Mom began to look nervous, and scared as to what I was going to say next. "Somepony bullied me a couple years later, and I was insanely mad, and depressed at the same time. I wrote out her death, and forgot about the curse. The next day, it was said that she killed herself out of guilt for people she hurt. I-I-I felt so guilty. That next day, I wrote out a punishment for myself." I began to tear up again. It makes me sick to think back to that. "I wrote out that another bully would come to school, and beat me mercilessly, and then I would fly away, and just disappear." I began to cry harder. "I tried....I went all the way to canterlot before I crashed of exhaustion. I went into a coma for a few days, and Princess Celestia came to my room, and told me you were scared. She read me a letter you wrote to her. I felt so guilty. I flew back. I-I-I just don't know who I am anymore..." I broke down, and plopped on the floor, and just cried my eyes out. The tears I didn't get to cry before were flowing out like fountains of sadness. Mom came down to hug me again. She rocked me back and forth as if she were trying to comfort a baby. The next day, I was allowed to stay home. Mom was out for the whole day to work. I woke up at about 10:30 AM. I woke up thinking really deeply. About my life, Dad, my brother, my curse, everything. What was the reason for it? What divine force is giving me such power? If I can even call it that. I Paced around my room. As I look at the dresser, I notice a book I haven't touched in a long time. "Separated Wings Never Fly as Fast," By Axel Z. Penn. I remember my Dad giving himself that name. I picked it up, and read it. I sat in my room, not putting it down. It was short. I read the whole thing in a few hours. I finished it, and closed it. It was so beautiful, it was about my dad finding himself through all the crap that was thrown at him. How he met Mom at such a young age, and didn't see her for 7 years. They got married, and had two foals named Scarlet Rose, and Treble Cleff. I flipped through the back pages, and something caught my attention that almost never would. The publication date. it was published 2 years before Mom and Dad were married. My mom came in, looking at me surprised. "Where did you find that?" She asked curiously. "It was in your room a long time ago." I said. "I wanted to read it." "I've read that book front to back at least a hundred times since your father passed." She said, sitting next to me. "It's very sweet." I said. "You know, he actually wrote the plot, and finished writing it at about 12 years old." She said. "That's impossible." I shot back, puzzled. "Or is it?" She said, as if she was hinting something. "You mean....?" There's no way....Is that even possible? My dad had the curse too? It sounds like more of a blessing. "Yup." She said, almost smiling. "You father had the 'curse' too. But you see, he didn't know about it for a long time. He wrote the whole book in one year. When it was finished, he wanted to forget about the book, because he wanted to forget me. He thought I was dead. Everything in the book happened to him exactly as he wrote it. In the end, he wrote a happy ending. After that, he stopped writing stories about him, his life, and other's lives. Instead, he wrote fictional stories. That's why every other book he's written is a children's fiction novel, or a poem." My dad had this curse. He was so happy though. It's as if it was never on his mind. My mom spoke again. "After the book was written, and we got married, we talked about the 'curse'. He told me 'If you control a curse, you have to turn it into a blessing'. What I mean is, you can change it!" It was so obvious. I didn't think of it before. I could write happiness! I began later that night. I thought of something that would be happy. My mom has a crappy position in her job. I will start my positive change. It was quite simple. My mom goes to work and clocks in, and her manager approaches her, and promotes her, with a pay raise. I hope this works. I felt satisfied with the wording, and story in general, and I went to the bathroom to wash up before bed. I looked at my flank, and I saw a cutie mark. I almost shouted. I smiled really wide. I didn't actually look at it until a minute or so after celebrating to myself. It was something I didn't expect. It was a heart. I'm not meant to express art, or music, or even literature. I'm meant for something different. I'm meant to express something everypony needs. I was meant to love, be compassionate, and kind. I went to bed, and smiled as I slept. I can sleep a little better tonight, knowing I'm not the horrible pony I always tell myself I am.