//------------------------------// // "From Bad To Worst" // Story: Rainbows Dark Origins // by Orangeblossom1212 //------------------------------// It had been around two months since Crystal Rain had died and Rainbow Dash was still heartbroken. The abuse from her father had only got worse, especially when he started dating a mare named Firefly. Firefly had never liked Rainbow, but she never laid a hoof on her. That was, until she started drinking and doing drugs. Firefly was good in some ways, but she was worse in others. She preferred emotional abuse, not physical. Needless to say, there was times where she had slapped Rainbow or pushed her into her room roughly, hurting her in the process. But she wasn't out to hurt Rainbow like her father, so in a way she was a tad better. On her bad side, Firefly had convinced her father that Rainbow was a murderer, and had killed Crystal Rain. Spectrum had believed her and made Rainbow’s life a lot worse than it already was. Firefly had taken all of Rainbow’s things, except for her bed and a few thin sheets. Now, that was the only thing she had to keep herself warm at night, and she often woke up at the middle of the night, shivering. The only other things she had were her saddle bags, school supplies, and a few other items she managed to hide away from Firefly. She kept the items in a secret pocket that was sown in her bag, at least before Firefly found out about it. In this pocket, she hid the few bitz she had and a special locket given from her mother. The only other thing she had was a scrap book that she had made and cherished with all of her heart. She kept it hidden in a gap on her bed, stuffing it tightly in and hiding it with her sheets. Her door that used to always be open and free now had dead bolts on it from the outside, trapping her inside her room like a prison cell. She was inside the all the time except for when she was at school. School was almost like home, but a bit better. The reason it was like home was because there was bullies who would taunt her non-stop. She would get angry and would’ve probably punched them in the face and they would never think even think about calling her ‘Rainbow Crash’ anymore, but she knew better than to sink to their level and get in trouble. Despite this, school was still a relief for Rainbow Dash. She quickly became friends with a very determined baby blue colt, named Soarin. He was the only one who knew about Rainbow’s condition at home. When they had met, he knew something was wrong. He got her to open up, and helped her become happy. Soon, they were best friends. But Soarin was worried for Rainbow, because he knew that she was planning to run away, and he didn’t want that to happen, so he had promised himself that he would help her, no matter at what cost. After school ended, Rainbow was always forced to make a decision she made every day. Go back home and be locked up, beaten, and possibly be starved another day. Or stay and go searching through the trash to find something to eat, and go home at night fall, hoping that her dad and Firefly wouldn’t realize that she came home late. Today was like most days. She would stay behind and attempt to find food, and prepare for the worst when it was time to return home. Rainbow went to look for food where she normally did when she was hungry. A popular food restaurant called 'Pony Joe's' where there was always plenty of food, and if she was lucky, she would be able to get some snippets. It was always busy, and ponies would always throw perfectly good food away. Rainbow would always take these as quietly as she could, so she wouldn’t get thrown out. The restaurant was also a high spot for collecting bitz. There were always some being dropped on the ground and left behind. Rainbow would never beg, and instead she would wait there patiently. Always, she would wait until the end of the day before collecting the coins, so this gave the bitz owners a chance claim them. She never wanted to steal, but she needed the bitz if she was going to do her plan. Today, she had gotten 12 bitz, so it was worth it. Then she came out of the restaurant and made her way to home. When Rainbow arrived before the door, she made the same wish she always made. "I wish my dad would quit drinking and love me again. I wish he will for once open his eyes, and say he loves me, just one more time.” "Rainbow?" She heard her father’s voice call. She stiffened, alarmed, but tried to keep her cool. "Yes Daddy?" She replied questioningly. He trotted up to her, Firefly following behind. Firefly laid her head on her father’s shoulder, making Rainbow wanted to scream in protest, but she knew better, and the scar on her back wasn’t about to let her forget it. "We have a surprise for you!" He said, surprisingly in a gentle way, but he had a sickening look on his face that made Rainbows stomach turn upside-down. "We're getting married!" They said together. Rainbow was shocked and heartbroken, sure that she had heard wrong. How could her father do this to her? "Now go to room right now!” Firefly yelled at her, back to normal, rude, Firefly Rainbow knew better than to disobey. She ran to her room and started to cry. There was no turning back now. Rainbow loved her father despite what he had done, but she had no choice. "I’m running away!"