Cutting Ties

by fic Write Off

Disqualified Entrant: To Find Where I Belong

This submission was disqualified for reason: Below minimum word count (1000).

Author: Malevolent Spoon.

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“Star Shine! Dinner!” came a call from the kitchen down below. However, there was no reply. Only silence for several moments before another call. “Star Shine!?” Again, there was no reply.

Frustrated, the elder mare climbed up the stairs to find her daughter’s door shut. However, a house rule called for it to stay open, so with an angry huff, she summoned her magic and opened the door with ease, and gasped.

The bedroom before her was empty.

“Star Shine?” she asked again, despite being sure that her daughter wasn’t inside. She was about to turn around to check the bathroom in the hallway behind her, when she spotted something on the bed. A small, curled piece of parchment, tied with a ribbon. “A... a note?”

With a flash of her horn, the paper was opened, on which was a letter:

Dear Mother and Father,

By the time you find this note, I won’t be “your daughter” anymore. I’ve figured it out. Sure, you guys could keep it a secret well enough, but not everypony in town felt the same.

How could you guys lie to me like this!? I have a right to know the truth as well as anyone! Do you know where they are!? Have you been hiding that too!? What kind of selfish, heartless

Look... I wanna thank you. You raised me as your own from long before I could remember. And even though I don’t think some of your methods were “appropriate,” there aren’t a lot of things I think I could do to repay you for that. But that’s not But, I know the truth now.

I’m leaving now, and I’m not coming back. I have to find them. At least for us to meet, face-to-face. I’m a full-grown mare now, I can manage on my own. You guys did your jobs. Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine. Just... try to forget, okay? Don’t think about everything for too long. It’ll only make it harder.

I think that’ll do it. Goodbye, I really do love you, and I’ll never forget.

Sincerely,
Star Shine

The letter slowly fell back onto the bed. The elderly mare didn’t shed a tear, her only visible emotion being a sad, empty stare out the window.

“What in the hay is takin’ so long up here!? I’ve been waitin’ for-” The mare’s husband, an old earth-pony farmer, stopped cold in the doorway. “... Honey? You alright?” he asked, slowly approaching his wife.

She turned to look at him, and as tears started to well up in her eyes, she embraced him tightly, letting out quiet sobs.

“What’s ‘a matter?” the husband asked, before he looked down and saw the letter. He took it into his hoof and read, and when he’d finished he sighed, and set the letter back down as well. Then, as he held his wife close, he repeated the same action, simply staring out the window, onto the single dirt road leading out of the farm, watching as the sun slowly set in the distance.

Comments

[Ezn]

There's no hyphen in earth pony.

This is my favourite of the disqualified entries. It's an effective little vignette. But rules are rules.

[WardenPony]

This is a nice little story. I'd say definitely my favorite of the DQ'd entries.

[fic Write Off]

Entry "What They All Want" has been removed for breaching content rules.

[fic Write Off]

Entry "The D Word" has been removed by request.

[TheOnly]

Busy all weekend, so I wrote mine in about 2 hours time. Had no time to edit and had to submit it right away.

I guess I'm feeling the repercussions in full force now. Oh well.