The Day the World Forgot Me

by Bomber

Act I - Part II: New Old Friends

My mind races in a thousand directions as I attempt to piece together the events of this morning. My heart claims that it was just a bizarre, thoroughly vivid dream. My family wouldn’t in a million years do anything like that to me. I love them. The feeling was surely mutual, no doubt about that. We were as tight and compact as could be. Nothing could separate us. But the few minutes after I woke up clarified that something was clearly amiss.

I opt to lie low in a random alley for a few hours to recuperate my thoughts. My stomach growls with great intensity as I constantly wipe streams of tears down my cheeks. The bright sun is positioned near the center of the cloudless, blue sky. I didn’t have to guess that it was around noon, meaning I normally would’ve already eaten two separate meals by now if it was simply another normal day. I remind myself that I would need to find place to get a decent meal. Water shouldn’t be an issue. There were a multitude of drinking fountains scattered throughout Manehattan, and if worse comes to worse, I could take a graceful dive into the Cherry Creek River bordering downtown. Although, the steam boats chugging along the river twenty-four-seven would be a concern I could deal with later.

Then the next problem arises. Where in Equestria would I hunker down during the freezing, autumn nights? An orphanage is the first thing that pops into mind, but I immediately shove that picture out of the way.
I already had a loving family. I didn’t need to be adopted.

I audibly sigh. This was just another item on a frighteningly growing list of items that absolutely needed to be dealt with. However, luck would not run in my favor if I sat on my haunches moping about something that was completely out of my control. The mystery behind my family’s sudden eccentric behavior I could pursue on the side while I take care of any basic necessities. I steadily work myself onto my four hooves, stretching various muscles that were previously feeling cramped and stiff. I canter towards an abandoned mirror propped against a chain-link fence. Styling my lemon-yellow mane to mimic something other than a total rat’s nest, I also check my eyes for any strains of redness. Feeling satisfied with my eyes looking somewhat normal, I’m ready to turn away, but my gaze inevitably drifts to my flank.

Additional tears attempt to break through, but I’m barely able to force them down. This is when Dad’s insult hits home. My dad called me a blank flank. My dad. My father. The stallion who taught me how to play sports like golf and hoofball. The stallion who taught me how to ride a bike. One of the most loathsome slanders one pony could call another, and my dad spat those two belittling words right to my face. I know that I’m a teenager and almost an adult, and I still haven’t yet discovered my special talent. But that is what families are for. To support and strengthen each other. Not to insult and downgrade. I’ve been fine living without a Cutie Mark for so long, but the terrible comments I receive every day were starting to catch up to me like a pony trying to ski away from an avalanche. If you’re not a pegasus, there’s no escape. I am a pegasus, and yet, it’s like my wings don’t want me to fly away. It’s a lose-lose situation, no matter what perspective you look at it.

Grabbing a nearby rock, I hurl the tiny object at the mirror with as much force as I can possibly muster, causing it to helplessly shatter into countless fragments. “Hey, ya’ll!” I hear a familiar, southern-accented voice call. “Is everythin’ a-okay over there?”

“Yeah!” I shout in return, chocking on another sob. “Everything’s fine!” I crane my neck to see two figures trotting in my direction, one much larger in stature than the other.

“Are ya sure?” the smaller one asks inquisitively in the same accent. “’S not every day ya see a pony break a mirror fer no reason, unless ya really wanted bad luck fer the next seven years.”

A quiet chuckle escapes my lips. “I’m just having a really bad day, needed to vent out some frustration,” I say with melancholy, scratching the back of my neck.

“Ah see. There’s no need ta explain, stranger,” the older one says, holding out a hoof. “Mah name’s—”

“Apple Seed,” I interrupt, finishing his sentence for him. “And this is your sister, Babs Seed.” The two siblings share a confused glance, glaring at me in a style similar to the way Harmony did before. Oh no, please in the name of Celestia, don’t let them forget me too!

“That’s right,” Apple Seed says with a hint of cautiousness, retracting his hoof. He raises an eyebrow, looking as if he’s afraid to say anything else. “Sorry if Ah don’t remember ya, but have we met somewhere?”
It takes the willpower of an army to restrain myself from bonking him on the head and yelling furiously, “I’ve been your best friend for the last eight years, you dolt!” Nevertheless, I calm my nerves even though I desperately want to bawl on the concrete alleyway for the next two weeks. He doesn’t remember me. Babs doesn’t remember me. Does anyone remember me?

Taking an incredibly deep breath, I then proceed to answer his question. “We’ve got a few classes together at Cottonwood High. Uh… third period Algebra and sixth period Magic Theory, I believe.”

Apple Seed taps the bottom of his chin with a lime-green hoof, pondering in deep thought. His pupils shift left and right, like he’s shuffling through every mental file in his pee-wee sized brain to locate his knowledge on me. “Sorry, pardner,” he apologizes after what feels like an eternity of waiting for him to respond. “Ah’m ‘fraid that Ah can’t remember yer face for the life of me. Ah would think Ah’d remember somepony who doesn’t have a Cutie Mark, but Ah guess my memory ain’t that good.”

Unbeknownst to me, Babs’ expression instantly brightens. “Well Ah’ll be. Ya really don’t have yer Cutie Mark!” she cheerily says, though her words metaphorically stab me, inflicting a deep wound. “Just for yer information, Ah’m the leader of the Manehatten branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders. You’re very welcome to join us to search for yer special talent. We’ve got activities and meetings goin’ on every week to find our Cutie Marks!”

“I’m sorry, but I’ll have to decline for now. I have some, uh, difficult things going on at the moment, and I really need some time to myself,” I say unhappily. I assume that Babs will be heartbroken over failing to recruit me, because I know how much this club means to her, so it’s no surprise that she utterly shocks me when she simply nods her head and shrugs it off like nothing.

“No problem,” Babs says, tossing her mane that’s continuously hindering her vision of me. “The position’s always open if ya want to come any time. Our headquarters are on 36th East over in Kings, top floor of the Bronx Apartment Complex, room 501.”

“Trust me,” I promise, “I’ll take you up on your offer as soon as I can.” If what she’s telling me is true, I might have just found a warm place to sleep. There is still a lingering likelihood that “HQ” might just be a glorified bedroom adorned with miscellaneous items (such as a cardboard podium, and a roll call sketched in crayon), but the chance that it’s a vacant apartment lifts my spirits slightly. After finding some food to satisfy my hollow belly, scoping out this place would be a number-one priority.

The thought of a decent, warm meal entices my stomach to rumble intensely. “Whoa, doggy! Was that yer stomach or did ‘nother earthquake hit Manehattan?” Apple Seed jokes, taking a few hearty snickers. He trots to the side of me, throwing an arm in a tight grip right around the back of my neck and leading me out of the alleyway like a puppy on a leash. “Me an’ mah sister were just ‘bout to head off to lunch. The least Ah can do is get ya somethin’ to apologize fer completely forgettin’ ya.”

“If it isn’t too much trouble,” I say humbly. “Though I’m afraid that I don’t have any spare change on me.”

“It’s no big deal, stranger,” Apple Seed says, the sudden change of light forcing to cover my eyes while they adjusted to the different level of brightness. “Ah just recently found a job at a deli not too far from home. The bits are rainin’ on me like that fancy, new-fangled precipitation-thingy over in Cloudsdale.” He pauses, glancing at me incredulously. “Ah hope ya don’t mind if Ah ask ya fer yer name. Probably should know if Ah’m dealin’ with a psychopath or whatever.”

My expression must’ve been disproportionate or something of the like, because the earth pony begins to cackle manically. “You shoulda seen the look on yer face,” Apple Seed laughs like there’s no tomorrow. “Ah’m just pullin’ yer strings, pardner.”

“The name’s Desert Sun, though most ponies call me Sunny,” I inform, gently thrusting his hoof off my neck.

Apple Seed looks up and down my body. “Ah have to say that your parents struck gold on yer name. With yer bright orange coat and yeller mane, ya’ll are probably a ladies killa if ya know what Ah mean,” he compliments (to a certain degree), nudging me with his arm. The bottom of my hoof connects with my face instantaneously. Good to know that Apple Seed certainly hasn’t changed even a bit.

“I’m not one for relationships,” I state, sidestepping out of the way of a few oncoming ponies. “Never understood the following for absolutely needing to be with another pony at all times.”

“C’mon, ya’ll at least have had ta kiss a mare once, right?” Apple Seed asks impetuously.

I shake my head. “Never have,” I say.

“Hmmm… that’s a mighty big problem ya got there, pardner,” he hesitantly says, his green eyes scanning the sidewalks around us. His gaze catches the sight of a few mares around our age chatting outside of some popular clothing boutique. A small smile creeps on his lips. He grabs me by the mane, forcing my legs move against their will. He hauls me until we’re only a few paces away from the clique of mares, and somehow, someway, they’re so absorbed in their conversation, they don’t even acknowledge our presence. This is when Apple Seed makes his move. “Howdy, ya’ll!”

The three mares halt their speech, turning around to greet us. “Uh… hi?” a mare with a coat of a dark purple hue says uncertainly in a form of a question rather than a statement.

“Ah’m Apple Seed, and this ‘ere’s Desert Sunny,” he introduces. Good ol’ Apple Seed, forgetting somepony’s name within minutes of meeting them. Way to go. I suppose he should still receive an A for effort, however, since he typically forgets their name and remembers them by the first object he notices afterwards. “Would either of ya fine mares like to go on a double date with the two of us?”

Their attention periodically deviates to Apple Seed, then to me. From what I can tell, they’re trying to gauge us on a “hotness” scale from one to ten, like most stereotypical teenage mares. The three form a circle, whispering to the point where my ears could hardly pick up what they’re saying. I shift uncomfortably while Apple Seed wears an enormous grin that’s honestly kind of creepy. Babs hides behind a lamppost like she usually does when around older ponies.

“Sorry, no can do,” the purple mare declines, breaking from their huddle. “He doesn’t even have a Cutie Mark. I bet he’s some sheltered pony who never leaves his home.”

I visually recoil from their hurtful words. At least I’m able to stand my ground and refuse to tuck my tail and run like I used to do when being rejected. “Sucks that ya’ll feel that way, but Ah’m still available. And looky ‘ere, Ah even got mah Cutie Mark,” Apple Seed says, wagging his haunch to make his point.

“We don’t like you either,” another mare with a coat colored similarly to mine out gruffly states. “The city isn’t a place for country ponies like you.”

“Oh, c’mon now,” Apple Seed says, desperately trying to conjure a way to impress them. “T’at ain’t fair, and ya’ll know it. Ah can be the nice stallion that gives ya flowers and chocolates, and the most badass one who can beat up anypony ta protect ya.”

“No thanks, we’re good,” the third one says. And with that, the three solemnly enter the boutique to retreat from the sight of us. Apple Seed’s head droops. This isn’t the first time that his proposals have been refused, but he’s always been the one to woo the mares with strength and decent looks. Babs jumps out from her not-so-clever hiding spot, running up to her brother and giving him the biggest bear hug she could give him.

“Ah’m sorry that you got tossed away like that, big bro,” Babs says, tucking her head into his shoulder.

“S’all right, ‘lil sis,” Apple Seed comforts, patting her on the back. “How ‘bout we go get that lunch Ah promised ya.”

The three of us remain in silence as we canter through several blocks to reach our destination, swimming our way through crowds of ponies off work for lunch hour. We eventually reach a deli which I recognize to be Apple Seed’s work place. He explains that he receives an employee discount when he has friends and family with him, which was the reason why he didn’t mind paying for my entire meal. I order one of the largest combos on the menu, scuffing down half of it and tucking the rest away for a later time.

Once we finish our lunch, Apple Seed notifies me that he’s on fairly tight schedule and has to get his sister home by one o’clock or else he’d been in a world of hurt. We bid our farewells, and I end up promising Babs that I’d come to one of the CMC’s meetings when I had the time. After they leave, I snatch a visitor’s pamphlet from the deli, which contained detailed maps on the whole city and its boroughs. I’m well acquainted with my neighborhood and its surrounding ones, but the city can act like a maze if you don’t know where you’re headed.

The warmth of the afternoon sun greets me eagerly as I once again take off into the sky with thoughts still dragging me down like a thousand ton weight. I open the map and begin to make my way to 36th East.

End Part II

Author's Note:

This is just an idea that I had, something crazy that I don't think has been done before (if so, than not in this manner). Feedback's appreciated.

Comments

[Ficta_Scriptor]

Your description intrigues me... This seems very different to any fic that I've come across.

I'm adding this to favourites and coming back to it another time. I'll let you know what I think about it as soon as I read through it.