Pinkie Pie's Special Friends

by smirker

PTSD

Pinkie Pie was throwing a festival in Ponyville about appreciating Equestria's law enforcement, doctors, lawyers, judges, firefighters, security guards, and royal guards in keeping Equestria safe from threats smaller than the ones she and her friends deal with, the ponies partied and celebrated while Pinkie Pie thought about an old friend and could not smile for the occasion, Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack noticed and wondered what was wrong, she tried to play music and dance but had trouble focusing and performing, she stopped and sighed,

"Sorry, everypony, but I'm not feeling it right now, I need to rest." Pinkie Pie said, and she walked away while the others watched. She sat and sighed while thinking about an old friend and her other five friends came,

"What's wrong, Pinkie Pie?" Twilight Sparkle asked,

"I can't focus because I think about the everyday problems they face and how some of them scar and bother them, it's making me remember an old friend from before I met you guys and came here to Ponyville." Pinkie Pie explained,

"Was this pony somepony who kept the country safe, too?" Fluttershy asked,

"No, he was a deeply troubled and traumatized pony, we still write letters to one another and he's doing better now, but he still sometimes gets haunted by his memories." Pinkie Pie answered,

"Okay, so, he's bothered by his past, right? Was he badly bullied by others or something?" Rainbow Dash questioned,

"More than just bullied." Pinkie Pie replied,

"Still, darling, you shouldn't shun your duties because of that, the others are waiting for your performance." Rarity reminded,

"Yeah, Ah get days like that too where Ah don't wanna work and have to force myself." Applejack added,

"Hold on, let me recover first." Pinkie Pie spoke, and they left. She rested for about ten minutes and then went back up, she tried to focus and still had trouble but managed to finish, the others clapped and cheered while she sighed and went back into Sugarcube Corner, she reached for a box under her bed and unlocked it, she took out letters written to her by a pony named Warm Heart, tears fell from her eyes and onto his letters while she remembered him.

---

Pinkie Pie hopped through Equestria and there was a blizzard going on, her teeth chattered and she could not find a building anywhere,

"Brrr, this super duper snowy rainy coldy windy stormy blizzard is freezing, I've never had a blizzard this cold in my life." Pinkie Pie remarked while wearing heavy duty winter clothes and kept walking, she did not see any buildings in the blizzard but soon saw a very dim light up ahead and dashed to it. She arrived at a small house and knocked on the door,

"Hello? Is anypony home?" Pinkie Pie asked, she heard walking inside and someone panting heavily and frantically, she saw a pony look through the front door's window and opened the door, she was a little surprised to see his appearance, he had a dark red coat with scars all over his body, a long disheveled and unkempt dark pink mane and tail with split ends, light pink eyes, and his cutie mark was a big red heart, he had braces on all four of his knees, back, and neck, holding a walker with his front legs that had no wheels on it, and some of his teeth were missing,

"You need a place to stay?" the stallion asked, Pinkie Pie noticed by the sound of his voice that he was young and heard some strain in it,

"Yes, please, I'm freezing." Pinkie Pie stated while she noticed the stallion was shaking and nervous,

"R... right this way then." the stallion said, Pinkie Pie dashed in while he closed the door.

Pinkie Pie noticed the house had a lot of pictures of various animals on the walls, she wondered about them since she did not see any animals nearby outside, she looked around for a room to sleep in and saw a royal guard uniform, papers on the stallion being released from juvenile detention center and prison, she also found progress reports and report cards of him failing in school, him being suspended and expelled from schools, papers on him not getting hired for any jobs he applied for, she saw one more buried under the rest and she looked at part of it, she made out the words 'Dishonorable Discharge' on it, she began sweat a bit while feeling uncomfortable,

"Excuse me." the stallion said, Pinkie Pie screamed while turning around,

"Oh, sorry, didn't mean to startle you." the stallion spoke,

"No, it's okay, you're fine." Pinkie Pie replied quickly, the stallion was silent for a few seconds,

"I got your sleeping room ready." the stallion spoke,

"Oh, um... thank you." Pinkie Pie said nervously and he led her to it and left the room. Pinkie Pie checked the empty room for anything hidden but did not find anything, there were no hidden holes or cameras watching her and she sighed, she got her sleeping bag out and laid in it but could not sleep and looked at the ceiling all night.

The next morning came and Pinkie Pie heard noises, she peeked out and saw the stallion tossing and turning on the floor, he sprung awake and panted heavily, she noticed sweat on his body and tears in his eyes,

"You okay?" Pinkie Pie asked, the stallion got defensive and looked at her with rage and snarled,

"Whoa, relax, I'm not here to hurt you." Pinkie Pie said, the stallion panted and snarled but calmed down,

"What did you dream of?" Pinkie Pie asked, the stallion began panting heavily and got riled up, he stopped for a second and sighed,

"Sorry, but I have a lot of bad memories of my past." the stallion explained,

"Oh, if you wanna talk, I'm here, I'll see if I can cheer you up and make you feel better." Pinkie Pie suggested,

"I'm not sure if that will make me feel any better." the stallion spoke,

"Let's try, we haven't introduced ourselves yet, I'm Pinkie Pie, nice to meet ya." Pinkie Pie said while holding her front right hoof out, the stallion looked at her nervously,

"I'm Brain Neuron, glad to make your acquaintance." the stallion stated and shook her hoof,

"There, so, what was on your mind?" Pinkie Pie asked, Brain Neuron froze while having a horrified expression on his face,

"Oh, I guess it was a bad memory." Pinkie Pie deduced,

"Very bad." Brain Neuron stated,

"Well, take your time, and I'll be here if you wanna talk, now, if you'll excuse me, I gotta go to work." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"You have a job?" Brain Neuron questioned,

"Hmm-mm, I'm a party planner, party thrower, and merchant, sweets, snacks, and desserts are my specialty." Pinkie Pie responded,

"How far is your workplace?" Brain Neuron asked,

"I don't have a fixed place, I'm a traveler and sell wherever there's people." Pinkie Pie explained,

"You sound like you're famous." Brain Neuron deduced,

"I am, almost nopony has not heard of me." Pinkie Pie boasted,

"I don't pay attention to people or the news, so I'm in the dark with about everything." Brain Neuron said,

"I noticed your papers yesterday on you not getting hired, I can have you help me if you need a job." Pinkie Pie offered, Brain Neuron's eyes widened and he froze in place again,

"Oh, um, I'll leave you be for now and go ahead and work." Pinkie Pie commented, and she headed outside. She noticed the blizzard was still going and she dashed quickly while leaving a pink trail behind herself, she arrived at a town that was pretty close to Brain Neuron's house and the ponies recognized her instantly, they trotted to her and began buying her desserts, she sold her products very well and everybody was happy, she heard walking after a while and saw Brain Neuron coming,

"You wanna work?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Might as well." Brain Neuron replied,

"Come on over behind the counter then." Pinkie Pie stated, and he went. They worked together and the other ponies stopped buying for a minute and looked,

"Hey, everypony, look, it's that outsider pony who can't get or keep a job and been to juvenile hall and prison." a stallion called out,

"You now having random people hire you out of pity?" a mare taunted,

"No, she offered me the position without me saying anything." Brain Neuron stated,

"I bet it was because of your appearance and she took pity on you." another mare remarked,

"She hasn't said anything about my appearance." Brain Neuron remarked,

"What fake name are you using this time?" another stallion questioned,

"What?" Pinkie Pie exclaimed,

"In case you didn't know, he's always using a different name with whoever gives him work and when he tried applying for jobs in our town, even we don't know what his real name is, he only used one fake name here, but ever since he failed to qualify for jobs here, he's been using multiple." a third stallion explained,

"Is that true, Brain Neuron?" Pinkie Pie inquired,

"Uh..." Brain Neuron stated while sweating very heavily,

"I think you can tell by his body language that it's true." the first mare remarked, Brain Neuron sweated more,

"Come on, Brain Neuron, let's just work." Pinkie Pie said,

"Brain Neuron? That's the pseudonym you're using now?" a second mare inquired,

"Really. How many names are you going to use before you reveal your real name?" the third stallion asked,

"I... can't reveal it due to my past." Brain Neuron responded,

"Same answer as always." the first stallion remarked,

"Come on, guys, let's go ahead and buy stuff, him working or not doesn't make much of a difference in the products." the second stallion spoke, and they did, Pinkie Pie became sold out of everything and they went back to Brain Neuron's home.

They entered Brain Neuron's home and Pinkie Pie stood firmly and glared at him,

"You lied to me." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"I have my reasons." Brain Neuron replied,

"What is it?" Pinkie Pie inquired,

"I have made many enemies throughout my life, and I don't know who is connected to them and who isn't, I have to keep my name a secret so I don't get found by them or their acquaintances." Brain Neuron explained,

"Hmm, judging by your scars, injuries, the documents I found on you, your body language, and the way you're speaking, you don't seem to be lying." Pinkie Pie deduced,

"I promise you I'm not." Brain Neuron replied,

"Well, what is your name then?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"...Warm Heart." the stallion responded,

"You better not be lying this time." Pinkie Pie remarked,

"I'm not." Warm Heart reassured,

"Well, if that's your real name, I've never heard of you." Pinkie Pie said,

"Oh, really? Thank Celestia, can you do me a favor and keep my real name a secret from the town ponies?" Warm Heart requested,

"It's because you don't trust them and they might be connected to one or more of your past enemies, isn't it?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Yes." Warm Heart replied, he began to have an uneasy expression,

"Well, I won't go into questioning you since you're bothered, but I can't trust you if you're going to lie to me." Pinkie Pie said,

"Okay." Warm Heart responded timidly,

"I'll stay here for now, so let's try to get along and hope we can become friends." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"Friends? I... never had a friend before." Warm Heart lamented while tears fell from his eyes uncontrollably,

"Now, now, sure you have, you just don't remember." Pinkie Pie stated,

"No, I really haven't." Warm Heart replied while barely not crying,

"Oh, well, I'll go ahead and take a break for now, I'll start making my next batch of products to sell later." Pinkie Pie said, and she walked away. She looked at the dishonorable discharge certificate and saw 'Warm Heart' was written as his name, she smiled at seeing he was honest this time and decided to look at his progress reports, report cards, and papers on him being suspended and expelled from schools, she saw the name 'Warm Heart' on all of them, she got curious and read that he was suspended for arguing with the teachers and expelled for fighting his classmates, she put them back but saw papers fall out from under his school expulsion papers, she looked and her eyes widened when she saw they were hospital bills. She looked at them and saw a lot of his injuries were from serious beatings and all of their dates were very close to the expulsion dates on his school records, she also saw a record on him being injured in the royal guard and the date being several months before his dishonorable discharge. She sweated and took a deep breath while wondering what kind of enemies he has made, she heard slow walking and his walker hitting the floor with each step and she quickly put everything back,

"Trying to dig up my past?" Warm Heart asked,

"I mean, it was just laying here when I came here." Pinkie Pie replied,

"Before you get any ideas, they're not what they seem, the circumstances that led to me getting those have haunted me ever since." Warm Heart spoke with his voice breaking,

"Are you willing to talk about them?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"A... a little." Warm Heart responded,

"Why don't start from the beginning then?" Pinkie Pie suggested,

"Okay then." Warm Heart responded, and he got the photos of the animals and put them with his school suspension and expulsion documents, some of his hospital bills, and his juvenile detention center document,

"I was born in a poor village on the westernmost border of Equestria that had dragons and griffons migrating and living with us, the village adapted the dragons' and griffons' beliefs on being tough and powerful warriors. The village was also very strict on its society being orderly and structured, us ponies were divided by what pony type we were and the colors of our coats, what we can and can't do was determined by our genders, too, males had to do physical work, train to be fighters one way or another, provide money for the family, and know how to build and fix everything, females had to do mental work, take care of the kids and house, cook, do laundry, and home school the kids." Warm Heart explained,

"So females can't get jobs?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"No, they can, but it's optional, getting a job is mandatory if you're male, and even that's divided, males can only do blue collar jobs, females can only do white collar jobs." Warm Heart answered,

"How do marriages work?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"You can only marry someone who is same as you, unicorn can only marry unicorn, Pegasus can only marry Pegasus, and earth pony can only marry earth pony, same with dragons and griffons." Warm Heart responded,

"You're making it sound like you can't choose who to marry." Pinkie Pie remarked,

"You can't, marriages are arranged by both parents and all uncles, aunts, and grandparents in both families." Warm Heart answered,

"Oh, that's a surprise, I thought you were going to say the bride's father arranges it." Pinkie Pie said,

"No, he's just one arranger, the bride's mother decides too, so do the groom's mother and father, the bride's and groom's parents' siblings and parents have a say, too." Warm Heart stated,

"Oh, what about you saying males have to train to be fighters one way or another, what do you mean by that?" Pinkie Pie inquired,

"Need to become trained and experienced in combat, doesn't matter how, every male in my home was either a member of law enforcement, security guard companies, Equestria's royal guard, or criminals, ponies like me had to fight bullies in school and other people in juvenile hall and prison, and I think you can see from my injuries that I didn't fare very well." Warm Heart explained while almost breaking down,

"Did you finish your education?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"No." Warm Heart replied,

"How were you treated back at home?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"Really badly, my home had rules on what color coats we're born with, my coat color is only allowed for fillies, my parents, older brother, older sister, classmates, teachers, dragons, and griffons all picked on me and bullied me." Warm Heart answered,

"You mean like picking on you and calling you names?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"No, beatings, stuff stolen, meals stolen, locked up in dark and tight spaces!" Warm Heart spoke while getting angry and rising his voice,

"Whoa, calm down, Warm Heart." Pinkie Pie said,

"Calm?! You expect me to calm down?! I was locked in the school at night all by myself several times! That stupid dragon and his friends were the guilty ones! I didn't hide in the school! That dragon and his friends get no punishment because they're dragons and it's unfair treatment of their kind?! They were beating up other students, destroying property, and smashing eggs! They should be expelled and in jail!" Warm Heart ranted while his voice strained,

"Whoa, Warm Heart, calm yourself, getting mad and acting on it usually makes things worse." Pinkie Pie warned,

"And they get to do whatever they want and never be punished for it?! Why do they not get punished for beating up and hospitalizing others while people like me who are victims and those who try to defend themselves get punished?!" Warm Heart inquired with his voice straining more and he began to clutch his heart a little,

"Warm Heart, if you let that anger consume you, you will make your own life even worse, it's no use getting mad over the past if it was many years ago." Pinkie Pie said,

"Not in my case, I have had people mad at me and wanting to attack me even over a decade later." Warm Heart replied while calming down,

"You ready to continue talking about your past?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"Yeah, sorry I lost my temper there." Warm Heart responded,

"Good, but remember, don't force yourself." Pinkie Pie reminded, Warm Heart nodded,

"When I was expelled from my first school, I had to begin going out of the village and far to go to any school that accepted me, my parents and siblings thought it was funny that I was expelled for trying to fight back against my dragon bullies even though they attacked me first and sent me to the hospital, I had to walk alone and other ponies, dragons, and griffons would attack me on the streets, my brother and sister sometimes joined in and attacked me with them." Warm Heart explained while a tear rolled down his right cheek,

"Do you wanna stop here?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"No, I'll continue, the routine was the same until I left for the royal guard, bullied, don't get along with my family and village ponies, dragons, and griffons, end up in the hospital due to beatings, suspended and expelled for the one time I did fight back, and in my last year of high school, I was sent to court and juvenile hall for fighting back against a bully." Warm Heart responded in a sad tone,

"Wow, you had it rough." Pinkie Pie commented,

"If you don't believe me, I can tell you the directions to my home village." Warm Heart said,

"It's fine, now the last thing, the photos of the animals." Pinkie Pie stated,

"They were the wild animals I took care of as a colt and teenager, they provided me comfort, me liking animals is one reason why I was bullied and beaten, because it was seen as weakness and liking animals is a girl's hobby even though the girls in my village found them disgusting, the other village natives and my family slaughtered them whenever they discovered them." Warm Heart explained, Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped,

"Is that all to your past?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"Aside from my experiences in juvenile hall, yes, I left the village to join the royal guard as soon as I got out." Warm Heart stated,

"Alright, let's stop here, you look tired, it's getting a bit late, too." Pinkie Pie stated,

"Agreed, I can use some rest after looking back." Warm Heart responded, and he laid on the floor without having a meal and slept, Pinkie Pie looked at him worriedly and had chocolate cake for dinner and then laid in her sleeping bag and slept.

The next morning came Pinkie Pie was woken up by Warm Heart yelling and crying in his sleep, she went to go check on him and saw him tossing and turning on the floor, she called out to him and shook him and he woke up, he panted and wiped his tears away, he then stood up and looked around as if he did not know where he was, he rubbed his eyes and saw he was back in his current home and he went to his bathroom, he took a shower and brushed his teeth, he then looked at the photos of animals and stood there silently, Pinkie Pie left and went to the town. She began selling her baked goods and the ponies bought them, Warm Heart arrived to help her about thirty minutes later and they worked together, the ponies bought the items Pinkie Pie handed out but not the ones Warm Heart handed out, he panted a little but managed to focus and get through the day,

"Nice job, War... I mean, Brain Neuron, you got through without losing control of yourself." Pinkie Pie said,

"Thanks." Warm Heart replied,

"Come on now, I'd like to see the place you grew up at." Pinkie Pie stated,

"Uh... um..." Warm Heart quivered,

"Brain Neuron, if you don't face your memories, you may never be able to move on from them, let's go." Pinkie Pie said,

"O... okay, I'll point out the directions since I can't walk properly." Warm Heart responded, and Pinkie Pie carried Warm Heart on her back and he told her where to go.

Pinkie Pie dashed to Warm Heart's home village as fast as she could and Warm Heart struggled to hold onto her, she was still able to know where to go without him saying anything and they arrived at his childhood village,

"We're here." Pinkie Pie spoke, Warm Heart looked slowly and his eyes widened while he froze in place,

"Warm Heart?" Pinkie Pie asked, he did not respond and continued looking on in horror, she walked forward and saw the ponies, dragons, and griffons staring at her, she noticed the stallions all had either blue or green coats, blue, green, or purple manes and tails that were short, and blue, green, or purple eyes', the mares all had either red or pink coats, red or pink manes and tails that were long, and orange or yellow eyes',

"Hey, is it that soft and sensitive crybaby Warm Heart?" one male dragon asked,

"It is, any new animals you have that lay eggs so we can smash them?" another male dragon asked, Pinkie Pie gasped, Warm Heart breathed heavily and his mouth was wide open in horror,

"Look, Warm Heart's reliving another traumatic memory, I bet it's when my sister and I shot his stray puppies into the air with a catapult." one male griffon spoke, the others laugh and Warm Heart began to cry,

"Come on, Warm Heart, why don't you and I fight for old time's sake?" a Pegasus stallion asked,

"I'm injured and can't move properly anymore." Warm Heart stated,

"Good, let's get him." the Pegasus stated, and several other ponies, dragons, and griffons ran to them while cheering. Pinkie Pie tried to hold them back but a dragon and a griffon flew over her and took Warm Heart off of her back, the other dragons, griffons, and Pegasi flew to him and began beating him up, he screamed when they hit the braces on his knees, back, and neck, Pinkie Pie suddenly disappeared from everybody's sights and Warm Heart was also gone,

"Hey, where did he go?" a second griffon asked,

"Find him." an earth pony stallion ordered, and they searched the village. Pinkie Pie examined Warm Heart and noticed his legs and back were slightly bent unnaturally, she noticed tears falling out of his eyes and he panted under his breath, she saw the ponies, dragons, and griffons running around and holding baseball bats, pitchforks, and knives, she watched with a shocked expression and Warm Heart held himself tightly and sweated profusely,

"Warm Heart, you with me?" Pinkie Pie whispered, Warm Heart nodded,

"Can you point me to where your old house is?" Pinkie Pie whispered, Warm Heart nodded quickly and frantically and did. They arrived at Warm Heart's childhood home and Warm Heart began shaking his head around and panted heavily, she entered and saw photos of his family and Warm Heart was not in any of them, she noticed several dry and old bloodstains on the wall as well, she continued looking around and saw two beds in the children's room, she became uncomfortable when she saw one room had axes, machetes, hammers, and kitchen knives hanging on the wall, they all had old and dried bloodstains on them, Warm Heart looked and he had a horrified expression,

"They weren't used on you, were they, Warm Heart?" Pinkie Pie asked, he shook his head,

"The animals I used to take care of as a kid." Warm Heart replied, Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped, she noticed Warm Heart was getting worse and quickly left the room. She walked through the house and found certificates on excellent academic achievements for two people named Forewoman and Blueprint,

"Who are Forewoman and Blueprint?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"My older siblings, Blueprint's my brother and Forewoman's my sister." Warm Heart responded,

"Are your family members construction ponies?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Yes, my family has been construction ponies for generations, my dad did it for a living, my mom would help if she had free time and everything at the home was finished, my brother followed in my dad's hoofsteps, my sister is probably taking care of the house, but since she doesn't seem to be here, she might be helping my brother at work." Warm Heart replied,

"Where are your achievements?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"I didn't get any." Warm Heart answered sadly,

"You didn't do good in school?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"That wasn't the only reason, due to my coat's color, I wasn't treated worse by my teachers, too, if I did do good, I would get nothing, no rewards of any kind, and if it was a class or group achievement, I'm only one to get nothing, and if we failed or lost at anything, everypony blamed me, I got screamed at and beatings for that, too." Warm Heart explained with his voice breaking a little, Pinkie Pie stopped asking and continued looking around, she found photographs in a drawer and saw they were Warm Heart's siblings every year as they got older, there was not a single photo of Warm Heart, she then found two papers on the counter and read them, she noticed they were Warm Hearts' parents wills and they gave everything to Forewoman and Blueprint while specifically writing not to give Warm Heart anything, Pinkie Pie had a sad expression and continued exploring the house. She looked around and looked out a window and saw the village's natives were still looking for Warm Heart, she went out the house's back door when she did not find anything else and began sneaking away, she walked out of sight and stopped when she saw many unmarked graves up ahead and Warm Heart cried silently,

"What is this?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"It's... a graveyard... for the animals I took care of growing up before... my parents, siblings, and other village natives got them." Warm Heart explained, Pinkie Pie gasped a little,

"There were my only solstice from the people here, and they took them away, the animals gave me things I craved that others didn't give me, they gave me love, they gave me friendship, they gave me affection, they gave me kindness, they gave me joy, and my family and the villagers took it all away from me, they should've been tried in court and jailed but they weren't, even the other adults laughed and mocked me when my classmates and siblings took my pets out of my life." Warm Heart ranted while slightly raising his voice in rage, he rubbed his own heart while panting,

"Warm Heart, calm down, the others will find you." Pinkie Pie whispered, and he calmed down while panting, he glared at the unmarked graves with rage, Pinkie Pie noticed and quickly left the place. Pinkie Pie hid from the villagers while sweating and looked around for any places of interest, she heard loud noises around her and noticed the villagers were now kicking doors open and turning bookshelves and tables over, she quickly dashed away before they came to her location. She looked around and saw a big building up close, she went to it and Warm Heart held onto her tightly,

"Can we skip this place?" Warm Heart requested,

"What is it?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"My elementary school, I have a lot of bad memories of this place." Warm Heart stated,

"Sorry, Warm Heart, but if you don't confront your memories or come to terms with what happened, you will not recover, let's go now." Pinkie Pie spoke, and she entered while Warm Heart begged her not to. They entered and Warm Heart kept his face down, she looked at the class photos of each classroom from each school year, Warm Heart was not in them, she looked for anything on Warm Heart throughout the school but found nothing, she entered one hallway and Warm Heart held onto her tighter than usual,

"Can we leave this place? This is where I was bullied and beaten the most." Warm Heart commented, Pinkie Pie walked around the school while Warm Heart kept his head down, she then went out the back door,

"Can you point me to your other schools?" Pinkie Pie requested, and he did. Pinkie Pie found the next one and it was far away from the village, she entered and did not find much, he then gave her the directions to his other four elementary schools and found nothing while Warm Heart began shaking when she entered the last elementary school, he shook more when she entered one room and she noticed small bloodstains on the inside of one closet,

"Is that yours?" Pinkie Pie asked, Warm Heart nodded,

"One day when I was beaten by dragons and griffons, they locked me in that closet and I was stuck in this school all night by myself." Warm Heart explained,

"Wow, I'm surprised they didn't clean this, well, let's go, to your middle schools now." Pinkie Pie stated, and she left, Warm Heart pointed her to his four middle schools and she looked around, he then pointed her to his three high schools,

"This is my last high school before I got sent to juvenile hall and then left the village entirely to enter the royal guard." Warm Heart said,

"You went to the hospital, too, right?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Yes." Warm Heart answered,

"Let's go there first." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"O... okay." Warm Heart spoke, and he told her the directions. They arrived at the hospital and Warm Heart told her where his room was, she looked and saw it was a regular hospital, an earth pony mare came and Pinkie Pie noticed she was a nurse,

"Ma'am, outsiders are prohibited entrance or treatment in this hospital. Wait, is that Warm Heart, you weak and crybaby pony, you here to rest in bed again so me and the others can beat you up again?" the nurse asked, Pinkie Pie gasped,

"What?" the nurse asked,

"That is not what a nurse is supposed to do!" Pinkie Pie remarked,

"When a native of this village does not fit or meet our society's standards, then yes, I have every right to deny them treatment or give them the wrong medicine." the nurse retorted,

"WHAT?! You should be fired!" Pinkie Pie fumed,

"By this village's standards and rules, me denying him treatment and letting his bullies into his room to beat him up while he is bedridden is what I am supposed to do, so if you take me to court, it will rule in my favor because they consider me doing that to be the right thing." the nurse explained,

"This village is rotten to the core! No way would I sell my stuff here!" Pinkie Pie fumed,

"Everypony, Warm Heart's over here!" the nurse called out, Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped while the nurse smirked, they heard running and Pinkie Pie quickly dashed out before the others came. Pinkie Pie dashed away and went out of sight of the others,

"Okay, Warm Heart, how many more places from your past to see here?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"One more." Warm Heart responded frantically,

"The juvenile detention center, right?" Pinkie Pie asked, Warm Heart nodded while shaking,

"Can you point me there?" Pinkie Pie requested, Warm Heart shook his head quickly,

"I promise I'll protect you." Pinkie Pie declared,

"Girls are not allowed in the juvenile center I went to." Warm Heart replied,

"Don't worry, I'll get in, just watch me, point me to it." Pinkie Pie said,

"Okay, but try to keep me hidden, I have a bad reputation there, too." Warm Heart responded, and he pointed the directions out and she walked, she arrived at the juvenile detention center and saw a fence around, she squeezed through the spaces and then pulled Warm Heart under the ground and to herself, she put him on her back and entered the place.

Pinkie Pie walked through the place and kept her guard up while she heard ponies pulling on the bars up ahead, she entered the area and the teenage colts began whooping and whistling at her, Pinkie Pie became uncomfortable and walked around quickly,

"Hey, look, she's brought Warm Heart back here, looks like he wants another trip to the infirmary." one juvenile stated,

"Hey, guards, look who's back." another juvenile spoke, and they opened the cells, they ran to Pinkie Pie and Warm Heart and had many makeshift weapons, Pinkie Pie screamed when they surrounded her and began attacking them, she suddenly appeared outside with Warm Heart and the guards chased after them with spears and the unicorns shot zaps at them, she ran away and pony guards hiding around the corners came out and began beating Warm Heart's joints and bracers with their nightsticks, he screamed loudly and the others began running to their location, Pinkie Pie suddenly disappeared and the others looked for them. Pinkie Pie dashed back in and looked into the cells, she saw some of the juveniles had photographs of Warm Heart being on the floor heavily injured and other ponies, dragons, and griffons celebrating,

"Oh, Celestia, that's horrible." Pinkie Pie remarked,

"Can we leave?" Warm Heart requested,

"Sure, let's go before you get angry." Pinkie Pie replied, and she left. Pinkie Pie began to run out of the town and headed back to Warm Heart's home but stopped when she saw a stallion and a mare up ahead, the stallion had a blue coat, short green mane and tail, purple eyes, and his cutie mark was a blueprint, the mare had a red coat, long pink mane and tail, orange eyes, and her cutie mark was a yellow construction hat,

"Wha? Blueprint? Forewoman?" Warm Heart asked,

"Well, well, well, look who it is, our idiot little brother." Forewoman said,

"You come back here crawling to us because you're homeless again?" Blueprint asked,

"No, this mare here just wanted to see my home." Warm Heart answered,

"What? You found a girlfriend? We and the villagers now have more reason to beat you to make sure you don't have any kids." Forewoman stated,

"What? No, I'm just a party thrower and party planner, I'm just here to observe the village." Pinkie Pie explained,

"Then why is that loser and good-for-nothing on your back?" Blueprint questioned,

"Truth be told, I was traveling through a blizzard and needed a place to stay and Warm Heart's place just happened to be the closest." Pinkie Pie responded,

"So he's found a place to stay, I bet it's somepony's trash bin." Forewoman snarked while Blueprint snickered,

"Come on, let's just go." Warm Heart stated,

"Oh, no, little brother, not until sis and I beat and hospitalize you again, and you know any animals you have or adapted have to be handed to us, too." Blueprint responded, and they ran to them and Pinkie Pie dashed away, she heard clamoring and saw all of the villagers coming with weapons and her eyes popped out of her sockets, she quickly ran away and the villagers lost track of her.

Pinkie Pie arrived back at Warm Heart's home and looked at his injuries, she rubbed rubbing alcohol on his injuries with her mane and began patting the back of his head,

"I can tell you had it hard, Warm Heart, I may have not learned everything, but I can tell by how the villagers talk and how they treat you, if they're like that with everypony that doesn't fit into their standards and rules, then there is no way I'm throwing a party there." Pinkie Pie stated,

"You probably wouldn't be allowed anyway due to you being an outsider." Warm Heart replied,

"So, um, are your broken knees and scars from juvenile hall?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"No, my time in the royal guard and prison." Warm Heart answered,

"Wait, your time in the royal guard?! Don't tell me..." Pinkie Pie exclaimed,

"Yes, I have seen and experienced combat and war." Warm Heart stated, Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped in horror,

"Those nightmares I have at night are me reliving my times in war and prison, I thought school and juvenile hall were going to be the end at that time, but things got worse when I entered the royal guard." Warm Heart explained with his voice breaking,

"Go ahead and rest, Warm Heart, I've got to sell my stuff for today now." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"Thank you." Warm Heart replied, and Pinkie Pie headed outside. She headed to the village and began selling her baked goods, the ponies asked about Warm Heart and she said that he was not feeling well and resting for the day, she worked and sold her stuff until the sun set and it got much colder, she trotted back to Warm Heart's home and the door was locked, she slid inside through the keyhole and saw him sleeping on the floor, she picked him up and put him in her sleeping bag, she hugged him and fell asleep soon afterwards. The next morning came and Pinkie Pie woke up and noticed Warm Heart was panting in his sleep and sweating, he sprung awake and panted heavily, he reached to his right side and looked like he was trying to grab a weapon, he looked at his surroundings and sighed with relief, he went to go use the bathroom and then had breakfast which consisted of two orange slices and a cup of water, he moved slowly while using his walker he went to a window and watched the blizzard outside, Pinkie Pie noticed him not moving and then headed to the town. She began selling her baked goods and desserts and only a few customers came today, the sun began to set and she went back to Warm Heart's home, she saw him looking at photos of his former pets,

"Um, Warm Heart, don't you have any hobbies to make you feel better?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"No." Warm Heart replied,

"It never hurts to pick up a new one." Pinkie Pie suggested,

"Look at my condition, Pinkie Pie, I can't draw, I can't paint, I can't cook, I can't read due to me being unable to flip the pages and open and close books, I can't write due to the teeth ponies use for writing being knocked out of my mouth, I can't take pictures anymore, I'm terrible at trying to create stories or poems, I can't play instruments, I can't sing due to damages to my vocal cords, I can't craft for obvious reasons, I can't dance, and I can't do gardening, all I can do now is watching nature and look at old photographs of my pets." Warm Heart explained,

"Wait, damages to your vocal cords?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Yeah, I can still talk, but it puts a bit of strain on my neck, raising my voice a little is the most I can do, yelling and singing will really hurt my throat." Warm Heart explained,

"What about reading books?" Pinkie Pie suggested,

"I just said opening a book is hard for me, so is flipping the pages, trying to hold the cover and pages down so they don't close themselves is hard for me, too." Warm Heart responded,

"What were your hobbies before you got injured?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"Photography, I lost time to take pictures during my time in juvenile hall, the royal guard, and prison, I can't set up cameras properly anymore due to my front legs' injuries." Warm Heart replied,

"Oh, that's unfortunate, surely, you can still find something enjoyable." Pinkie Pie said,

"Only nature so far, nothing else is working." Warm Heart spoke,

"Oh, well, if you want, you can keep talking about your past if that makes you feel better." Pinkie Pie suggested,

"Maybe tomorrow, I'm still tired from yesterday." Warm Heart stated,

"Alright then, I'll go ahead and get ready for tomorrow then." Pinkie Pie replied, and she dashed to the kitchen and began baking desserts, she worked all day and night and packed them away, she saw Warm Heart was asleep and snoring, she laid in her sleeping bag and slept. The next morning came and Pinkie Pie heard Warm Heart talking in his sleep, she listened to him begging for mercy and he soon began screaming, Pinkie Pie sprinted to him and shook him, he woke up and panted heavily with tears in his eyes,

"It's okay, Warm Heart, you're safe, and I'm here." Pinkie Pie said, Warm Heart panted and sighed and then wiped his tears away,

"I think we should continue talking about your past." Pinkie Pie stated,

"My time in the royal guard and prison are not as long as my time in school and juvenile hall." Warm Heart replied,

"Let's get it done then." Pinkie Pie remarked, and Warm Heart got on her back and told her where to go.

Pinkie Pie and Warm Heart went a far distance away from his home while Pinkie Pie moved faster than the train, she arrived at the recruiting office and saw the place was closed,

"My recruiter's not here anymore either." Warm Heart remarked,

"Did you have any problems here?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"At the time, no, it was after boot camp training that I realized my recruiter lied about some things." Warm Heart answered,

"Oh, that's unfortunate, well, looks like there's nothing here, point me to the next place." Pinkie Pie spoke, Warm Heart began shaking but composed himself and told her where to go. They arrived at a boot camp and saw ponies training to be royal guards,

"This is where I trained, my drill instructor doesn't seem to be stationed here anymore, either." Warm Heart observed, they looked and saw some of the ponies were forced to wear diapers and suck their hoofs while being behind their groups when marching,

"Oh, that's so mean." Pinkie Pie said,

"I had to do worse here." Warm Heart lamented,

"Like what?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Let's watch and see what happens, I'll point out what happened to me if they do happen." Warm Heart responded, and they did. They watched the recruits train and some did extra exercises as punishment while Warm Heart looked at the place a bit and began sweating, Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped when she saw one recruit getting beaten by other ponies in his unit with soap bars wrapped in towels,

"That happened to me, too." Warm Heart stated while his body locked up, she continued watching and saw some of the ponies were digging for arrows in the ground, pulling grass out by hoof, forced to polish their uniforms and their drill instructors were never satisfied and yelled at them, she looked inside and saw of the recruits making their beds and the drill instructors were not satisfied and ordered them to take all of the blankets, sheets, and pillows off and redo them,

"I had to do all of those, too." Warm Heart remarked,

"Those ponies look sad." Pinkie Pie lamented,

"They likely are, their superiors will never be satisfied, no matter how well they perform." Warm Heart stated,

"What? That's mean." Pinkie Pie said,

"It's all to toughen them up mentally." Warm Heart explained,

"But still." Pinkie Pie spoke, and she watched the ponies train, her eyes widened when she saw some of them cleaning the floor and bathrooms with toothbrushes, she also saw the recruits eating low quality food for meals that made her stomach churn, she then watched the recruits get on with their days,

"Well, that's pretty much all I did here, I hope we can go back now." Warm Heart said,

"Nope, I wanna see where you went afterwards." Pinkie Pie remarked, Warm Heart quivered a little and shook,

"Warm Heart, pull yourself together, the faster you do, the faster we can finish." Pinkie Pie spoke, he did and sighed and told her where to go.

They moved through Equestria quickly and arrived at a fort stationed close to the Dragon Lands, Warm Heart panted heavily while he looked around frantically, Pinkie Pie reached above herself and touched his shoulder, he got startled and jumped while trying to reach for his back and looked like he was trying to take a weapon out,

"Warm Heart, calm down." Pinkie Pie remarked,

"Don't say my name around here, I've made a lot of enemies around here." Warm Heart whispered,

"Okay." Pinkie Pie whispered, and she trotted forward. Pinkie Pie saw the place was very dirty and had a lot of barbed wire and spikes on it, she saw various royal guards stationed there and one looked at them,

"Hey, look, is that Warm Heart there on that mare?" one royal guard stallion asked, another looked,

"Hey, it is, look at him now, looks better suited now than before on carrying all of our luggage on his back and forced to crawl like before." another royal guard stallion added, the other royal guards chuckled, Pinkie Pie suddenly felt someone grab and try to pull Warm Heart off of her,

"HEY!!" Pinkie Pie yelled while she turned around and saw a unicorn stallion wearing the royal guard uniform, she heard walking and saw a stallion in an officer's uniform appear,

"Well, well, you come back for more work, have you now, Slug?" the officer asked,

"Slug?" Pinkie Pie inquired,

"My nickname among the other royal guards here." Warm Heart answered,

"It makes sense considering he was the slowest one out of all of us in everything." the unicorn remarked,

"Hey, Slug, did you enjoy your time in prison?" another royal guard asked, Warm Heart began to shake,

"Begone, Slug, you're already dishonorably discharged, unless you want us to hand you over to the dragons again and make you a prisoner again." the officer stated, Warm Heart's eyes widened and his memories flooded his mind, he began snarling and threw himself off of Pinkie Pie and tried to attack her and the unicorn, his front legs made a cracking noise and he screamed while falling over, the other royal guards went to him and he threw his legs around while snarling and tried punching anyone near him. The royal guards began stomping and kicking him while smiling and Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped,

"Take him to the dragons, I bet they're still waiting for him to return." the officer said, and the Pegasi carried him to the Dragon Lands, they passed over several gravestones and Warm Heart struggled to break free but could not, the dragons saw him and they got weapons out, the Pegasi dropped him and flew away. The Pegasi flew over a settlement and the dragons glared and scowled at Warm Heart while holding swords, the Pegasi dropped him and Warm Heart screamed when he hit the ground, the dragons ran to him and they tied him up against a wooden post with ropes, they began using their swords on Warm Heart and he screamed while having flashbacks and he roared and snarled with rage while trying to break free. Warm Heart screamed in pain and rage and managed to break free from his restraints, he struggled to stand but managed and began punching, kicking, and biting the dragons, they knocked him down and began beating him while Warm Heart let out angry grunts while punching them as hard as he could and cracking sounds were heard in his legs, he screamed in pain and kept going forward, the royal guards ran to restrain him but Warm Heart punched them away, he got overwhelmed and the ponies and dragons tried to attack him with their spears and swords, they noticed he was gone and everybody began looking for him. Pinkie Pie watched in horror while the ponies and dragons competed on who could find Warm Heart first, they argued and began fighting, she looked around the place and gasped when she saw pictures of Warm Heart being tied up to wooden posts and cut with swords by the dragons, her jaw dropped when she saw more pictures of the ponies and dragons fighting one another and noticed there were pictures of injured people and pony skulls hung on the walls,

"This is awful!" Pinkie Pie remarked,

"Please, get me out of here." Warm Heart begged while clutching his heart,

"Where next?" Pinkie Pie asked, and Warm Heart told her where to go. They arrived a nearby hospital and saw a Pegasus stallion doctor filling out paperwork,

"Hey, is that Slug, you get kidnapped and hurt again?" the doctor taunted, Warm Heart panted while his anger began rising,

"He's hurt." Pinkie Pie remarked,

"Slug is always getting hurt, I bet he's come back to whine to me about his back hurting after forced to carry everypony's gear on his back and crawl through volcano rocks like how he did the first time." the doctor commented, Warm Heart became frozen with fear while remembering the memory and Pinkie Pie's jaw dropped,

"You're not getting treatment here, Slug, only time I made an exception is when you got court-martialed, and since you're dishonorably discharged, you have no business being here." the doctor remarked,

"I'm just showing this mare since she wants to learn about my past." Warm Heart replied,

"Well, you're not gonna learn much about Slug here, only things that happened here is him coming in here for treatment from his injuries in fighting the dragons, I had to send him away each time, only time I took him in was when his commander told me he was being court-martialed after escaping the dragons, guy just straight up began attacking a dragon settlement with non-combatants." the doctor explained,

"That wasn't me!" Warm Heart fumed with his voice and throat getting strained,

"Warm Heart, calm yourself." Pinkie Pie instructed, he panted heavily,

"Unless you want me to tell your former comrades you're here and have you restrained to a bed and beaten by them again, get out now." the doctor commanded, Pinkie Pie looked on in shock,

"You should be fired!" Pinkie Pie thundered,

"Complain all you want, the courts will take my side, leave now." the doctor said,

"Warm Heart, tell me where to go next." Pinkie Pie ordered, he did and she left. They arrived at a royal guard base in Canterlot,

"This is where I was court-martialed." Warm Heart revealed,

"Looks closed today." Pinkie Pie remarked,

"No, it's open, there's probably court cases going on inside right now." Warm Heart replied,

"Let's try to find records." Pinkie Pie stated, and she went in. She went into the records room and Warm Heart told her the date of his case, she looked and found it, she noticed he was on court for destroying a settlement of dragon civilians and taking no prisoners, all the royal guards present and the doctor testified against him despite Warm Heart constantly claiming innocence, she found pictures of the damages and saw craters on the ground,

"Hey, these look like unicorn blast impacts." Pinkie Pie observed,

"See? They said I did it." Warm Heart responded,

"What? You're an earth pony." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"Exactly." Warm Heart stated, Pinkie Pie then read the end of the record and saw Warm Heart was dishonorably discharged and sentenced to five years in a royal guard prison, he was pulled out while yelling and screaming at the ponies,

"Wow, well, let's go to the prison." Pinkie Pie said, Warm Heart's body tightened up and he quivered a little,

"Warm Heart, let's try to get this done." Pinkie Pie stated,

"O... okay, it is the last area." Warm Heart replied, and he told her the directions. They arrived at the prison and it was a fortress with wooden barricades made of sharpened sticks, barbed wires, and spikes all around it, she also saw a lot of stallions patrolling the place and armed with weapons,

"Hey, look, there's a mare, I think she's got Slowpoke Slug on her back." one guard said,

"Hey, it is, Slowpoke Slug returned, let's bring them in." another guard replied, and the Pegasi grabbed them and brought them in while Pinkie Pie got startled. They were dropped in a prison block and the prisoners began pulling and banging on the bars while Warm Heart looked down,

"Welcome back, Slowpoke Slug, what crime did you commit this time?" one prisoner asked,

"Maybe his mental capacities have finally waned, we can call him Brain Dead Slug like how we originally planned." another prisoner added, the others laughed while Pinkie Pie looked on with shock, she quickly trotted out while the prisoners whooped and wolf whistled at her, she saw pictures in some of the cells of Warm Heart getting beatings and attacked with makeshift weapons in the shower room and prison yards by the guards and fellow prisoners, she got out quickly while feeling uncomfortable and stopped when she heard screaming. She trotted to where she heard it and saw guards watching recordings of the fights in the prisons and laughing, she saw Warm Heart in some of the videos of him getting beaten and attacked with makeshift blades, she heard him scream when one prisoner hit his knees with a makeshift sledgehammer and another video where another prisoner stomped down on the back of his neck in the prison yard and onto a concrete ground and damaged his throat and neck and some of his teeth fell out, a big and muscular earth pony stallion then jumped and landed on his back and he screamed when loud crunching sounds were heard, she noticed he was being attacked by at least eight ponies in each recording, Pinkie Pie looked away while covering her own face and Warm Heart panted heavily while his memories flooded his mind, she heard him and dashed out quickly before the guards noticed them.

Pinkie Pie and Warm Heart arrived back in Warm Heart's house and he continued panting heavily and sweated a lot, she felt his chest and abdomen moving quickly on her back and Warm Heart began hyperventilating, Pinkie Pie put him down and began going through her things with her mane, she pulled out a cloth and a sleeping chemical and rubbed it onto the cloth, she put it over Warm Heart's snout and he passed out, she then sold her baked goods at the town for the day and headed home and saw he was still asleep, she laid down in her sleeping bag and slept. The next morning came and she heard Warm Heart groaned, she looked at him and saw him rubbing his own forehead,

"How do you feel?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Burnt out and sick." Warm Heart answered,

"You fought ponies and dragons yesterday, looked like you were about to have a panic attack when I brought you back here yesterday, too." Pinkie Pie explained,

"I remember, after I got out of prison, I was homeless and nopony would give me shelter, so I drifted until I found this abandoned house, I then went to the nearest town to look for jobs, but condition and appearance has made nopony wanting to hire me due to me not meeting the physical requirements, and I've been living here quietly ever since and accepting any job my visitors offered me." Warm Heart stated,

"How do you get food and drinks to survive, let alone money?" Pinkie Pie inquired,

"Work from whatever my visitors offer me to do, I let them stay if they really don't have anywhere to stay, I use a fake name, say I'm looking for a job, and they hire me for a short time." Warm Heart explained,

"Wow, you've had it hard, Warm Heart, and the people in your life are so mean, tell you what, I'll stay here and try to help you get better, like Equestria says, everybody needs a friend." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"Friend? What does a friend do?" Warm Heart asked,

"I'll show you, if you really haven't had any true friends in your life, then allow me to be your first." Pinkie Pie responded,

"Really?" Warm Heart questioned, Pinkie Pie nodded,

"I'll be somepony you can trust and be comfortable around, I'll show you that there is somepony out there who does care about you." Pinkie Pie declared,

"O... okay, I've already been betrayed once." Warm Heart spoke,

"I promise I won't do such a thing, I'll be here with you until you start recovering and can manage on your own." Pinkie Pie replied,

"You will?" Warm Heart questioned, Pinkie Pie nodded while smiling,

"Thank you." Warm Heart said, Pinkie Pie smiled and she began. Pinkie Pie began watching Warm Heart go through his day and held him up whenever he was about to fall over, he panicked and tried to fight her off,

"Calm down, Warm Heart, I'm trying to help." Pinkie Pie said,

"It's a reflex, almost every physical contact I've had in the past was to hurt me." Warm Heart replied,

"Well, try to relax, I won't hurt you, I promise." Pinkie Pie stated, and she guided him through his house and helped him do his laundry, cook meals, held books open so he could read them, hugged him, tried to calm him down whenever his memories began appearing suddenly, and helped him clean his home, they finished at the end of the day and Warm Heart slept, Pinkie Pie put a blanket on him and slept in her sleeping bag. Pinkie Pie woke up when she heard Warm Heart tossing and turning, she trotted to him and saw him wake up and he quickly stood up and reached to his right side as if he was trying to grab a weapon,

"Why do you reach to your right side like that for when you wake up?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Royal guard experiences, we always slept with our spears by our sides in case we were attacked, me trying to get my spear is a reflex and my first response whenever I feel like I'm in danger." Warm Heart explained,

"Oh, that's why." Pinkie Pie remarked,

"I'm ready to help you work today if you're going to town." Warm Heart remarked,

"Sure, let's go." Pinkie Pie replied, and they went into town. They sold baked goods but the ponies avoided buying things from Warm Heart, they all scowled and glared at him while Pinkie Pie assigned him to rearranging the baked goods and counting the money for her, he panted a little and Pinkie Pie touched his back,

"It's okay, Brain Neuron, you're safe here, nopony's going to hurt you." Pinkie Pie assured, he calmed down and managed to focus and Pinkie Pie smiled,

"Still using that fake name?" a mare asked,

"I don't mind, he's actually not a bad pony when you get to know him." Pinkie Pie replied,

"Then why is he using a fake name? Is he in some shady business or something?" a stallion inquired,

"Well, it's because he's made enemies in the royal guards and has to hide his identity so they don't come after him." Pinkie Pie explained,

"What? You disobey orders and give other ponies a hard time?" a second mare asked,

"No, I was stationed near the Dragon Lands and had to fight them." Warm Heart answered while sweating and panting a little heavily,

"You had to fight in war?" a filly questioned,

"Not war, small battles, but they were still bad." Warm Heart responded,

"Well, if you're ex-royal guard, some of your injuries do make sense, doesn't mean you should lie about your name and ask your visitors for temporary jobs though." a second stallion commented,

"I need some way to make a living since I've been unable to gain employment." Warm Heart responded,

"You would probably have a better chance of getting a job if you used your real name if you ever seek employment outside of our town." a colt stated,

"Come on, Brain Neuron, let's work, we're not making any money like this." Pinkie Pie said, and they did, a few ponies bought from Warm Heart and he and Pinkie Pie finished and went to his home. Warm Heart helped Pinkie Pie make tomorrow's sweets and she helped him move around, they got ready for tomorrow and Pinkie Pie then made dinner for Warm Heart and he ate, he then looked at the pictures of his past pets and tears fell from his eyes,

"Warm Heart, what did you want to do when you grew up when you were a colt?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"I wanted to make other ponies happy and take care of animals, I liked helping and healing others, everybody in my home village hated me for that because those are jobs for girls only there, it's one reason why everyone bullied me and went after my pets." Warm Heart answered in a sorrowful tone,

"What do you do here when you don't have visitors or a job?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"I sit, lay down, have my meals, use the bathroom, and look at pictures of my pets, I don't really do anything else, my memories plague me and distract me, they mess with my emotions, too." Warm Heart explained,

"What are you like when alone?" Pinkie Pie questioned,

"My emotions are more intense, especially my negative ones, my rage is greater, I cry more, I feel shame and regret too over me fighting back, I know it was in self-defense, but I don't like hurting others." Warm Heart answered,

"I'm sorry, I'm tired, Warm Heart, I'll be going to bed." Pinkie Pie responded,

"I'm tired, too, see you tomorrow." Warm Heart spoke, and he laid on the floor, Pinkie Pie put a blanket on him and then went in her sleeping bag and slept. Warm Heart talked in his sleep and begged for mercy, Pinkie Pie woke up the next morning and checked on him, he breathed heavily and panicked while sweating profusely and he soon began screaming, Pinkie Pie ran to him and shook him awake and he looked at his surroundings while he woke up, he panted slower and calmed down, he sighed and tried to stand up but could not, Pinkie Pie helped him up and got his walker for him, he went to the bathroom and looked at himself in the mirror, he then went to go get food out of his miniature fridge and had very little food in it and no drinks, he had one apple and a banana and sighed, Pinkie Pie looked at him and noticed he was lost in thought and decided to look around his house. She looked at his small portable refrigerator and freezer and saw no pictures or drawings on it, she then looked at his oven and stove and saw nothing, she opened the cabinets and drawers and they were all empty, she walked through the house's rooms and she noticed there were no furniture, no house decorations, no books, no board games, no toys, no treats, no pictures of family or friends, no letters, no birthday or Hearth's Warming cards, and no personal grooming items, she felt down over how little there was in the house and every floor, wall, and ceiling were a dull white color, she saw Warm Heart was still lost in thought and she went into town.

She began selling her baked goods while the ponies noticed Warm Heart was not present,

"Did he quit?" a colt asked,

"No, he's been lost in thought and unresponsive to everything." Pinkie Pie answered,

"Lazy as always." a mare remarked,

"Well, let's wait, maybe he'll be fired." a stallion added, and they bought Pinkie Pie's baked goods and she left, she arrived at Warm Heart's home and saw he was sleeping, she put a blanket on him and then slept in her sleeping bag. A week passed and Warm Heart was still having nightmares and Pinkie Pie tried her best to comfort him, the days went on quietly and Warm Heart helped her sell baked goods and desserts whenever he could focus, she helped him come back to reality whenever his memories flooded his mind and distracted him, she helped him through his day and everything went on like normal. About two weeks passed and Warm Heart showed no sign of recovery, she helped him exercise a little and conversed with him, he continued to get distracted and have nightmares, he helped her work and the ponies still did not buy anything from him,

"I think you could reveal your name now." Pinkie Pie said,

"Um... I don't think it's a good idea." Warm Heart replied,

"Come on, what's the worst that could happen?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"We never did learn what his real name is now that we think about it." a filly remarked,

"Come on, Brain Neuron, go ahead and tell them, I'm sure nothing bad will happen." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"I... It's Warm Heart." Warm Heart stated, the ponies stopped everything they were doing and looked at him,

"Wait, did you say your name's Warm Heart? I had relatives in juvenile hall years ago say they beat up a pony with that name." a stallion said,

"I had a cousin in the royal guard say they called him Slug due to how slow he was." a mare added,

"Weren't you in a prison, too? My brother said he used to beat up a soft and weak pony." another stallion remarked,

"I heard about you as well, there was something about you destroying a dragon settlement and taking no prisoners." a third stallion said,

"That wasn't me!" Warm Heart responded firmly,

"So you admit you were there, I've heard about you from my cousin there, he said you were dishonorably discharged for that." the third stallion remarked,

"I was framed!" Warm Heart rebuked,

"Excuses again?" the mare asked,

"Everypony, he showed me where he went and he's telling the truth, the ponies, dragons, and griffons he met were very, very mean." Pinkie Pie explained,

"You sure it wasn't because he made them mad?" a second mare questioned,

"Yes, I'm sure, I met them in person, they were mean to me for being an outsider in his home village." Pinkie Pie replied,

"Guys, he's acting weird." a filly observed, they saw Warm Heart stood in place with his eyes and mouth wide open, Pinkie Pie shook him and he did not respond, she waved her front left hoof in front of him and he did not respond,

"Warm Heart? You okay?" Pinkie Pie asked, he did not respond,

"Did we fry his brain?" another filly asked,

"No, usually when this happens, memories of his past are flooding his mind." Pinkie Pie explained,

"He never got therapy or made friends to help him get through them?" the second mare asked,

"Nope, everypony before he came here bullied and beat him." Pinkie Pie answered,

"Wow, he must be scarred for life if he's not responding to any of us." the colt remarked,

"Well, I'll go ahead and do my job, I just have to take him home and let him rest for him to recover." Pinkie Pie stated, and they bought baked goods from her and she carried Warm Heart to his home with him being unresponsive, he stood still for a while and soon came back to reality and panted heavily, he cried a little and saw he was home, he took a deep breath and laid on the floor and slept, Pinkie Pie put the blanket over him and then slept in her sleeping bag. About two weeks passed and the days were the same with nothing out of the ordinary happening, Warm Heart began to open up to Pinkie Pie and walking closer to her, they arrived at the town and began selling baked goods, Warm Heart and Pinkie Pie got defensive when they saw Forewoman and Blue Print standing in front of them,

"Well, well, well, so this is where our idiot little brother's been living." Forewoman said,

"To think this outsider from our village would give you a job, I bet she's a weak and soft bleeding heart like you, too." Blueprint remarked,

"What are you two doing here?" Warm Heart asked,

"Traveling to our next destination for constructing a building, we're already tired enough seeing idiots and losers wherever we go, having to see you again just made our trip a thousand times worse." Forewoman answered,

"If you two are not here to buy anything, then leave." Pinkie Pie ordered,

"You dare tell us where we are and aren't welcome?!" Forewoman inquired,

"No outsider of our village tells us what to do!" Blueprint fumed,

"This is my stand and where I work, and you two are holding up my other customers and halting my business!" Pinkie Pie explained,

"Normally, I would just beat you, but since you gave our loser brother a job and he's selling stuff to the natives here..." Forewoman remarked, she and Blueprint began punching, kicking, and bucking Pinkie Pie's stand and smashing all of her baked goods and snacks, Pinkie Pie screamed while they took pieces and threw into the town ponies' windows and at the desserts they bought from her and they splattered everywhere. The towns ponies ran to them and restrained them, Warm Heart tried to restrain them and Forewoman and Blueprint broke free and began beating him up, they hit his broken knees and he screamed in agony, Pinkie Pie dashed and carried him away in a flash and Forewoman and Blueprint looked for him but quickly stopped when the town ponies chased them out of town. Pinkie Pie tended to Warm Heart's wounds knees while tears fell from his eyes,

"Why did they have to come back now?" Warm Heart asked,

"I'll protect you from them as long as I'm here, Warm Heart, I'm blacklisting them from my shop, I don't think the town ponies are gonna welcome them after that either." Pinkie Pie responded, the town ponies came and checked on Pinkie Pie, the foals looked at Warm Heart and saw him laying on the floor,

"Are those your pets in those photos there, Warm Heart?" a filly asked, he nodded,

"Did your siblings... kill them?" a colt asked,

"Some of them, the other ponies, dragons, and griffons from my home village got the rest." Warm Heart answered, the town ponies' jaws' dropped,

"My, that's awful, growing up surrounded by such people." a mare remarked,

"Indeed, perhaps we were wrong about him on some parts, let's head home, everypony, sun's about to set." a stallion added, and they went home, Pinkie Pie put a blanket on Warm Heart and she laid in her sleeping bag, she was kept up for a while by Warm Heart until he cried himself to sleep, Pinkie Pie looked down and closed her eyes and slept. The next day came and Pinkie Pie checked on Warm Heart, he was quiet but tears were falling out of his eyes, she woke him up and he wiped his tears away, they rebuilt her stand in the town and the others helped them, Warm Heart moved slowly and Pinkie Pie helped him get around, he placed the pieces where they were needed and the others put them together, everybody painted while Warm Heart tried but could not, Pinkie Pie moved his legs around slowly and had him paint a few parts, they sold Pinkie Pie's baked goods to the others and then went home, they laid down and slept. The next day came and Pinkie Pie woke up when she heard Warm Heart growling and screaming, she ran to him and saw him tossing and turning, she shook him awake and he almost panicked but remained in control of himself when he stood up and saw her,

"It's alright, Warm Heart, I'm here and you're home and safe." Pinkie Pie said,

"Alright?! Home?! Safe?! There isn't anywhere safe for me! Relatives and friends of people who harassed and beat me in the past are in that town! And now my siblings found me there, there isn't a single place I have been able to live without a problem like this happening!" Warm Heart fumed,

"Warm Heart, those ponies have not contacted them to come after you here." Pinkie Pie stated,

"How do you know that?! It'll probably be a matter of time before they come here after me! The people from my past are not the types to forgive and forget, they're going to want to kill me if they learn I'm still alive, they will hunt me down to the ends of the world if they must!" Warm Heart thundered,

"Warm Heart, you have to calm down and relax." Pinkie Pie reminded,

"How am I supposed to be calm and relax?! I now got people from my past and those connected to them here in this area! I can't get a job either! There's also me having my memories! How do you think I feel about that?! Having to remember and relive every bad thing in my life, every day, every night, and no one to help me or feel bad for me until you came into my life! It's been one bad thing after another for me with no one to help me, all I wanted to do was make other people happy and take care of animals and I was beaten, bullied, scapegoated, denied help, denied friends, denied medical treatment and punished for talking and fighting back a few times for being like that because I did not meet my home village's society's expectations while those who killed my pets, beat me up, sent me to the hospital, stole my food and school supplies, framed me for their bad behavior and crimes, and locking me in the school all by myself at night in the dark are praised and rewarded! Even my own parents and siblings sided with them, they are proud of what they did and have no regrets! It is them who should be jailed and beaten, not me!" Warm Heart ranted while raising his voice,

"Warm Heart, please, you're going to hurt yourself at this rate." Pinkie Pie warned,

"I'M ALREADY PERMANENTLY INJURED, AND IT'S BECAUSE OF THEM!! I CAN'T PURSUE MY HOBBIES OR DO MANUAL LABOR ANYMORE BECAUSE OF THEM!! I CAN'T SEEK REVENGE EITHER!! THAT'S WHAT I NEED TO RECOVER FROM MY MEMORIES, NOT COUNSELING OR THERAPY, I NEED RETRIBUTION AGAINST THEM, NOT FORGIVENESS, IT SHOULD BE THEM BURIED UNDER THE GROUND FOR WHAT THEY DID TO ME AND MY PETS, THE FACT THEY ARE PROUD AND REMORSELESS IS MORE REASON, I'LL NEVER HAVE PEACE OF MIND AS LONG AS..." Warm Heart screamed and he grasped his heart and fell onto the floor,

"Warm Heart! WARM HEART!!" Pinkie Pie called out as she checked him and saw him having a seizure and struggling to breathe, she sprinted to the town while carrying him and the doctor took Warm Heart and began treating him, he slept and Pinkie Pie stood by his side, he woke up many hours later and looked forward,

"Pinkie Pie?" Warm Heart called out,

"I'm here." Pinkie Pie replied,

"I now have more reason to be mad and desire revenge." Warm Heart remarked,

"Let's try something else, why don't you just try to live in the moment and bond with me?" Pinkie Pie suggested,

"I still have lots of rage over what happened." Warm Heart stated,

"Look at where it brought you, your head, heart, and body got into lots of pain and you're in the hospital, you being mad and wanting revenge is probably what they would want you to feel so you end up in jail again if you act upon it." Pinkie Pie responded,

"I don't care what my fate in getting revenge is as long as those people from my past die before I do." Warm Heart remarked,

"Warm Heart, you will only spread more hate if you think that way." Pinkie Pie reminded,

"The people from my past are already spreading violence and pain for no reason, and I just wanna go after them and them alone." Warm Heart remarked,

"And that makes you different, how?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"You've seen how my brother and sister acted when they were here, they targeted the town's ponies, too, the people from my home village don't care who their targets are, they will hurt anyone whenever they feel like it." Warm Heart stated,

"Give it time, Warm Heart, karma and punishment will catch up to them eventually if they don't change their ways." Pinkie Pie remarked,

"Well, it's taking too long, and I'd be the one to give out the punishment if I could, and they shouldn't be jailed or fired for their actions, has to be death." Warm Heart stated,

"Well, it seems I can't change your way of thinking, all I can say is watch from afar so you don't end up in jail again." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"Fair enough." Warm Heart remarked, and he laid down while Pinkie Pie stood by him. Warm Heart was discharged from the hospital three weeks later and Pinkie Pie helped him with his life, nothing bad happened and he continued helping her and she gave him all of the bits she made from selling baked goods,

"You're the longest visitor I've ever had here, the friendliest, too." Warm Heart remarked,

"I'm glad to hear that, come on, let's get you through the day." Pinkie Pie replied, and she helped him and calmed him down whenever his memories came back. A week passed and Warm Heart was crying in his sleep and Pinkie Pie woke him up,

"I'm... still here." Warm Heart stated,

"What were you crying about?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Everything that's happened in my life, how people treated me, my dead pets, me being bullied and punished for their behaviors, expelled from schools, juvenile hall, prison, denied medical treatment, treated badly in the royal guard, dishonorably discharged because of being framed for crimes I didn't do, and my own family never helping me, I... I..." Warm Heart explained, more tears fell out of his eyes and he began crying loudly, Pinkie Pie hugged him and patted his back while he bawled, he cried his eyes out for about five minutes and began to stop,

"It's okay, Warm Heart, let it all out." Pinkie Pie said, he sniveled and cried silently for about ten minutes, he stopped and Pinkie Pie took him off of herself and saw he has fallen asleep, she laid him down and put the blanket and then laid in her sleeping bag and slept. Two weeks passed and Pinkie Pie was ready to leave,

"No! Please! Don't go!" Warm Heart begged,

"Warm Heart, I have to go." Pinkie Pie said,

"Please, don't leave me! You're the nicest person I've ever met in my life." Warm Heart stated,

"I'm sorry, Warm Heart, but I got other places to be, and you have enough money to be financially secure now, I'll be fine, I'm popular throughout Equestria, I can make more money easily, goodbye now." Pinkie Pie replied, and she got ready to walk out the door until Warm Heart grabbed her hind right leg,

"No! Please! Stay with me! I... I love you!" Warm Heart spoke, Pinkie Pie reeled her head back a little while looking at him with surprise and he looked at her with a pleading expression,

"I know I'm the friendliest pony you've met, Warm Heart, but love takes a lot longer and more time for it to truly bloom, you're probably just desperate and craving affection, I'm very sorry, Warm Heart, but I have to get going." Pinkie Pie said,

"NO!!" Warm Heart cried out with tears falling from his eyes, Pinkie Pie picked him up and hugged him while he cried,

"Goodbye, Warm Heart, I'll write letters to you, I promise." Pinkie Pie spoke,

"You will?" Warm Heart asked,

"Yes, I'll write as soon as I can, goodbye now." Pinkie Pie stated, and she left his home, Warm Heart cried while Pinkie Pie trotted away with tears falling from her eyes.

---

Pinkie Pie was looking at the letters and read them, he saw that he moved out of the house a week after she left and traveled around Equestria and struggled to gain employment due to his dishonorable discharge and criminal record and had relapses with his memories often, friends and relatives of the ponies, dragons, and griffons who bulled, wronged, and beat him in the past were everywhere he went and he was picked on and attacked by them, Forewoman and Blueprint also went back to the town after he left his home and questioned the ponies on his whereabouts but did not know where he went, they began destroying property again and the house he lived in. Warm Heart wrote letters about where he went throughout Equestria and was not welcome anywhere, so he decided to leave the country and go live near the Changeling Hive, he stayed there and made a living by reading changeling books out loud to their kids while the parents held the books for him, and he was never going back to Equestria no matter what, she put the letters back under her bed and slept. She woke up early the next morning and dashed out, she arrived in a wooden cabin by the Changeling Hive and she knocked on the door,

"Warm Heart, you home?" Pinkie Pie asked,

"Pinkie Pie?" Warm Heart asked,

"Yes, it's me." Pinkie Pie answered, he opened the door and he looked the same as before, his eyes widened at seeing her and he hugged her and cried,

"You came back." Warm Heart remarked, she hugged him back and smiled, they let go after about three minutes,

"What are you doing here?" Warm Heart questioned,

"There was a party in Ponyville yesterday to appreciate Equestria's law enforcement, doctors, lawyers, judges, firefighters, security guards, and royal guards, it made me remember you and I was very sad you didn't come, so I wanted to see you again." Pinkie Pie explained,

"I missed you." Warm Heart stated,

"I missed you, too." Pinkie Pie replied,

"So, did you... have second thoughts and still wanna date and marry me?" Warm Heart questioned,

"Sorry, Warm Heart, I don't love you, but you are my friend, just remember, if anything bad happens or your memories plague you, write to me, and I'll be here as soon as I can." Pinkie Pie answered,

"You actually helped me long-term, too, after you left, I thought about you a lot, your kindness and friendliness has helped me continue to keep living." Warm Heart explained,

"That's great, remember, no matter how far apart we are or if the mountains and sea separate us, we will always be together in each other's hearts, we share a bond and friendship that is unbreakable." Pinkie Pie stated, Warm Heart smiled warmly,

"Do you wanna come in for a meal or drink?" Warm Heart asked,

"Nope, I have to get back to Ponyville and open up shop soon." Pinkie Pie answered,

"That's too bad, well, thanks for stopping by, I hope you can come again one day." Warm Heart stated, and they hugged one another again and he went into his cabin and closed the door while Pinkie Pie dashed back to Ponyville, she opened up her shop in Sugarcube Corner and thought about Warm Heart and smiled while waiting for customers.