8
Autumn's Pass
-Cherilee-
Cherilee was heading to Golden's cottage after school. It was going to be so fun she thought. When she got to her house to drop off her stuff, there was a crowd of ponies surrounding her home. 'What's going on?' she thought. She made her way over to the crowd. It seemed like half the town was there. She saw her fellow classmates, Lyra and Bon-Bon, who were holding each other looking away from the scene, her neighbors, who were speaking to the some other ponies. Why was everypony here and sad? Before she got closer, Golden ran to her. She hugged Cherilee tightly and tried to lead her away.
Cherilee asked about what was going on, and that made her hug even tighter. She pulled away and ran through the crowd. Everypony wanted to stop her, wanted to keep her from seeing this, but she didn't care. As she closed in on the scene, the sounds of her sister, Daisy crying and her father calming her down could be heard.
Cherilee finally broke through the last group and looked down the three ponies. One was her father, Leo, who wrapped his arms in a tight hug with the second pony, Daisy. As Cherilee looked on to the third pony, tears poured from her eyes. She fell to the ground and looked closer.
The third pony. Her mother, Rose. She was being lifted and carried to a carriage by a group of doctors, and didn't appear to be breathing. She had collapse and passed out a few minutes earlier. Her eye lids fluttered slightly, but didn't open.
Cherilee ran to the carriage and hopped next to the body. She pushed the doctors away when they tried to grab her. She held her mother in her hooves and gazed on to her face. She looked to be asleep, in a blissful coma. No matter how hard she tried, Cherilee couldn't keep the tears from falling. She hugged the limp body and screamed for her mother over and over again, with no callback. Golden and Lyra attempted to get her to let go of the body, but she shoved them away. Shouting for nopony to get near her.
All until her father came up and laid next to her. He told her what happened and that Rose had a chance to live, and that can only be if she lets her go with the doctors.
Cherilee questioned him at first, but she let go anyway. Her father pulled her out of the carriage and she was then attacked by hugs from her friends. She replied by falling into Golden and hugging her, asking her why. She only hugged tighter.
Golden had never had to be the one to make somepony feel better in this type of situation, but this was different. This was Cherilee. She whispered in her ear and told her everything's alright and that she, Lyra, Bon-bon, Daisy, and the rest of them were there for her. Cherilee soon stopped sobbing and listened to her friend's words. Maybe everything was going to be alright. Daisy approached her sister and wanted to join this group hug, which she was welcome. 'I'm so grateful to be surrounded by so many caring hearts...'
The carriage pulled away from the crowd and headed towards the nearest hospital. The crowd dispersed and only the small group of ponies who knew Cherilee's mom remained. Leo was getting ready to head for the hospital with Daisy, when Cherilee left the comfort of her friends to ask if she could go. Seeing how she was still too young to understand what was happening, her father decided against it and to spend the night with a friend.
Daisy was several years older and understand the severeness of the situation. She begged and pleaded, but the decision was final. Leo and her sister, and several others, left together. Leaving the small group of fillies alone. Lyra had to head to band practice, so she couldn't have anypony over. Bon-bon had to prepare treats for her mom's meeting at her job. Leaving Golden.
Cherilee's frown turned into a big smile when Golden offered her to stay the night and she all most knocked her down in a tackle hug. She was still concerned about her mother's health and was confused about what had taken place, but was beyond grateful that she had Golden as such a great friend. When she told her so, she blushed. Cherilee laughed and walked with Golden to her home...
~*~~Golden~~*~
Golden sat on the side of the road, waiting for her parents to stop screaming at each other. This had been a little routine she did so their bitching wouldn't corrupt her mind. Golden hated the arguing, especially between her parents. This had been going on for awhile, and sometimes she wished she would just run away. But that would mean leaving her friends, her sister, her mother, and Cherilee. Golden wished she was here. Most of the time, she was the one to pull her out of the rut and dust her off. But not this time. She was alone, all until she heard hoof steps behind her. She turned to see Autumn. Tears soaked her cheeks and her eyes were red from crying. Golden understood and rushed to her side.
Autumn was Golden's little sister. She would call Golden 'Carrot' or 'Carrot Top' due to her hair. This was truly embarrassing, but adorable all the same. If anypony else called Golden that, however, there would be severe consequences. When her father would talk down to her, her mother, or Golden, she would try to hide from her father's reach, only getting beaten in the end. Her body was covered lightly in scars, mostly around the torso.
Their father was a relentless, self righteous, drunkard, fool. He had no respect from anypony and only wanted to please himself. He would rant harshly towards big things in Golden's life, including mare on mare relationships. Golden had a teacher who later turned out to be gay, and her father flipped. She and her sister had to move schools so that they would be 'free from the filly-fooling infidelity.' A word that both fillies had no idea of the meaning to.
That's how Golden met Cherilee. She first saw her eating with Lyra at lunch. Her heart thumped harder and faster the closer she got to her. When she tried to turn away, Cherilee spotted her and invited her over. After that day, they would become the best of friends. She always felt something more though. She didn't understand until she learned about it in her class a few days later. She was happy, because she was something that other ponies would probably find weird or unacceptable, but knew it was natural and that something between two ponies, such as love, could not be bounded by gender, species or whatever. Even more so, because it was because of Cherilee.
Autumn, of course, would also join in get-togethers with them. She was such a ray of light. With her faded lime green coat and slightly darker green mane, curly like Golden's. When she was happy, her sanguine eyes would glisten, even when no light was present. Suddenly the screaming stopped. And a door slammed indicating that their father was on the way. Golden stood in front of her sister. Prepared for anything her father would do.
He walked into her view of vision then stopped, staggering. He was drunk again, surprise. He had a half empty bottle of whiskey in his mouth and wobbled where he stood. His dark orange eyes read anger, defeat, and vendetta. He stare down the two fillies for a while. Suddenly, he rushed forward. Just as Golden was prepared to buck him if got anywhere near Autumn, she took that same whiskey bottle to the head. She fell sideways and staggered to get her footing back. Her father stared down at the small faded teal filly. Autumn shook with nervousness and looked faint, but she stood her ground.
She yelled at him for hurting Golden, and told him to go away. She said a lot to him, about how much of a failure he's been in taking care of their family, how cruel he's been, and how bad he makes Golden feel about his homophobic rants. Golden could only watch on as her little sister defended her. She was proud that her sister, for the first time ever, stood up against their father. But she was also frightened. Their father only grew angrier and angrier, his eyes twitched the more Autumn went on. He snapped and reared his hoof back and struck her down. Her body laid motionless on the dirt road as he toward over her, surrounded by the dust from the impact.
Golden screamed. She yelled for her sister to get up and tried to herself, but she felt dizzy and her vision grew hazy. She screamed for her mother, but she never came. All she could do was look on in terror over what her father is about to do to her and her sister...
~*~~Cherilee~~*~
Cherilee sat in one of the chairs of her mother's room. She had been sharing it with Golden and used her as her own little personal pillow. She slept soundly, her eye lids fluttered and she stirred when Cherilee giggled to her self. A nurse came in to check up on them and smiled when she saw them. Cherilee turned her attention from her sleeping friend and left the room to the nurse. She was told that her mother was okay and that she could go home. Cherilee shook her head and said she won't ever leave her mother until she's better. The nurse let out a sigh and smiled sadly at the little filly. She said goodnight and went back to her 'pillow'.
The next morning, Cherilee didn't wake up in the room that held her mother. She was in the waiting room, alone. Golden was gone. She left to go back to her mother's room, but the path was blocked by machines and other doctors. Golden came up to her with a cookie from the lunchroom and told her what had happened earlier that morning...
While they had been asleep, her mother's heartbeats had slowed in her sleep, causing doctors to rush in and remove them from the room so that they could perform tests. They had been doing so since then. Cherilee's eyes filled with tears. The thought of her mother's health diminishing brought her a deep sadness. What if she never got better, and she never woke up...
Golden, noticing her friends sorrow, wrapped her arms around Cherilee in a big hug. Cherilee responded by embracing her. She sobbed slightly. It hurt Golden to see her friend in such a disarray. Her mother, on life support and whose life is practically hanging by a thread, though she won't tell her that. Her father, too busy with work to be here with her. And her sister, whose out of town to with her friends. She promised herself, no matter what happens, she'll be there when the inevitable happens...
~*~~Golden~~*~
Golden awoke several minutes later, tied up in a garden patch she recognized. It wasn't too far from home, but far enough for her father's perspective. He loomed over the body of her sister in front of her, still unconscious from the blow earlier. He poured some awful smelling liquid on to them, mostly Autumn. Golden struggled to get by her sister, but felt a sharp pain in her stomach and was push back at the same time. Her father had kicked her. She looked up to the monster, his face was emotionless. He stared down at Autumn for a few moments, then turned to Golden.
He came close and pressed his lips against her ears, his cold and scratchy voice echoing in her ears. 'It's such a shame...she could have grown up to be a good mare, too bad she stood up for something like you...'
With those as his parting words, went to the can that held the terrible smelling liquid and pulled out a small box. He pulled what, from Golden's perspective looked like a small stick. He placed it to his hooves and scratched the tip of it. Suddenly a small flame was in his hooves. 'He's not going to...No. No! Please!' All that came out of Golden's mouths were please of forgiveness and mercy. None of which were present in this situation.
Autumn slowly regained consciousness and turned to her father. He held the match in his teeth as he reached for his whiskey bottle. She knew what was going to happen, and that if she didn't do something, both her and her sister won't get out alive. She rolled over to Golden, who was in a fit of sobs for help, and bit at the ropes that held her hooves together. Golden hadn't notice that her hooves were free until her sister started to cry. Golden turned to see her , rope in her mouth and her hind legs arched back. Their father drank the rest of his whiskey and flung the match in the air.
Golden looked on in fear, as she saw what Autumn was about to do, she bucked her off the side of the small cliff and whispered. 'I love you, sis.'
Golden tumbled down the cliff and came to a painful stop. Before she knew it, the top went a blaze. She fell to the ground and cried Autumn's name. Her sister, littler sister, had sacrificed herself. She laid there, on the ground, and cried loudly. Knowing that behind the wails, there was a small filly screaming through the final seconds of her life...