//------------------------------//
// A Clock Chimes 
// Story: Will Ye No Come Back Again? 
// by Judge Holden 
//------------------------------//

"Loneliness is a slow acting but fatal poison."
-A troubled man




My birth parents never told me they were "disappointed" in me. If I did something to earn ire I would get sent out to the tree in the backyard to pick my own switch. I got sent out to that tree so often it was just a stump by the time I was done with it.

Hearing that request from my parents always sent a wilting feeling down my spine. Not because I fucked up, mind you. I would be horrified because it was equal parts a mind punishment as well as a physical one. You couldn't just bring in a twig because you get sent right back out. Likewise, you can't bring in a huge branch because it will probably break your spine. It's why I hated the kids down the block from me. Whenever they screwed up, they would be sent to their rooms for a "time out." I never understood back then what part of "I'm disappointed in you" was so debilitating to kids.

Seeing Pinkie Pie's mane drooping down over a shoulder and the look of utter sadness she had on her face, however, spoke volumes. For some reason, seeing such turmoil in the eyes of my adoptive family hurt me much worse than a switch ever could.

Well, mentally at least. Not a lot hurts more than being hit in the sun burn with a branch you missed a few loose splinters on.

"Please, sit," instructed Cheerilee. I looked over my shoulder at Rares. She was no longer in the doorway.
Hesitantly, I walked towards the open seat. Pinkie was eyeing me with more disappointment than when she found out I had lied about knowing Applejack.

Everyone was silent for a few moments when I sat. I could feel my ears drooping. 
"Did I do something wrong?" I whispered. Cheerilee was the one who responded.
"Sammy, it's important that you know that you aren't in trouble. None of us are mad at you. Just a little disappointed and concerned."

I said nothing, instead looking over at the doorway again. I could see Rares' eyes peering past one side of it.
"You have every right to sit where you want to sit," continued Ms. Cheerilee. "So long as you take notes and pay attention."
"I do," I said lowly. If anything, I needed to ask for a new notebook soon. Mine was rapidly filling up not just with what Cheerilee lectured, but even many tidbits she would mention off hoof about Equestria.

"I know you do. The problem isn't your notetaking. The problem is, you're not really talking with any of your fellow classmates. Yes, I saw you sit with the crusaders and two others once, but you spend the majority of your time, it seems, by yourself."

Now, I was confused. "By myself?"
Cheerilee nodded. "Like I said, you can sit wherever you like, but I was just hoping you might start to sit with the other foals more often. Being alone all the time is not healthy."
"You said you were going to bring a friend over today," Pinkie said softly.
I looked up at her, then back at Cheerilee. What the hell is going on?
"But I do sit with somepony," I protested. Cheerilee shook her head.
"Just once in a while is not enough to form a friendship. You need to sit with them more."
I shook my head now. "No, not them. I'm talking about Rares."
Cheerilee blinked at me. "I'm sorry?"

"I have been sitting with Rarity literally every day save for the one time she was out. What are you talking about?"
I could actually see clarity enter Cheerilee's eyes, but it was quickly replaced by the disapproving look again.
"Sammy, it's okay to have an imaginary friend, but-"
"No!" I shouted, slamming a hoof on the table. "She's not imaginary. Knock it off. I can prove she's real."
Cheerilee simply eyed me silently, and then looked at Pinkie for a moment.
"She's right outside. She's here. I just have to go get her."
I smiled at Pinkie. "I'll show you. Just let me go get her, okay? She's just outside the door."

The silence was all the answer I needed. I stood up, but was not asked to sit back down. They were going to humor me.
"I'm not some stupid foal with an imaginary friend," I grumbled as I made for the door. "How dare you make such an assumption."

When I reached the door, I found Rares starting to walk away while whistling innocently.
"Hey!" I called after her. "Come back. I need to talk to you for a minute."
She jolted at my voice, and grinned nervously at me. "I would love to, but I just remembered I have this thing. I need to uhh... do my homework! Yeah!"

"There was no homework today," I said plainly. 
"No, I mean homework! Like... work at home. Because that makes sense!" 
I chuckled nervously over my shoulder at the ponies. They were eyeing me with the same look as before. That would change very soon.
"One moment," I said to them, and then I approached Rares.

"Will you just come here already?" I growled. I ended up having to drag her to the door while she spouted every excuse in the book as to why she had to leave. Let's just say I wasn't listening. I didn't need the Element of Honesty to know bullshit when I heard it.

Her protests were for naught, because I finally managed to push her past the threshold of Sugarube Corner. I proudly presented my trophy to everypony after shutting the door behind me.
"See? This is Rarity. My first friend."
I smiled at Pinkie. "I told you I made a friend. She's a good friend. I met her when I first got here. I'm glad I could bring her here."
I looked over at Rares. "Well? Say something."
She looked at everyone. I could see sweat on her face. She didn't say a word and instead settled for waving a hoof uneasily. I looked proudly at the table again.

"I bet you feel silly now. How do you forget one of your students?" I asked Cheerilee.
I felt a sense of dread when I saw their faces. They didn't look happy to see my friend, and they didn't look relieved that I settled the misunderstanding. Come to think of it, they still looked really disappointed. The Cakes looked downright alarmed.

"Sammy," said Pinkie.
"There's nopony there," finished Ms. Cheerilee.
I felt as if I had been hit by a train. My body tensed up and I looked at Rares, who looked completely dejected.
I only stared at her. I didn't even look at the table when I heard hooves clop to the floor and approach me.
I didn't even flinch when Mrs. Cake put a hoof on my head.
"What they meant to say is you can play with her all you like. You two see her friend. Right?"
I didn't look up, but I could feel Mrs. Cake glaring at them. "Right?"
I heard Ms. Cheerilee agree, but say that it is better if I hung out with her after school instead. 
I said nothing, though my lower lip, ajar, quivered. I tried to say something, but...
I put a hoof out to her and sure as I was standing there, my hoof went right through. Hadn't I actually touched her once before though? 
She just faded away before me, looking sadder than I had ever seen anyone before, and believe me- I've seen sadness before.

"Sammy?"
My hoof remained outstretched at where Rares was. What did this mean of my first meeting with her? When I thought back, it started to occur to me: when we walked and talked, didn't the ponies in town give us a wide berth? 
Could it have been because they just thought me crazy?

"Sam?"
I felt the room spinning around me. This wasn't right. None of this was right.
I hit my head pretty good on the way down.




I was unconscious for an hour or two, and when I came to I was in the room afforded to me. I stayed on the bed for a while after that, sprawled out and staring at the ceiling in thought.

They had to be in on it. I'm sure Rares is real. She exists! Maybe she was using some kind of spell and what I brought back to Sugarcube Corner was an illusion?

Downstairs was quiet and I didn't have six ponies standing over me. Additionally, I didn't seem to be bound to the bed or anything.
I was going to demand an answer from Rares at school next time I...
My eyes widened. Oh, no. I was going to have to see Cheerilee at school.
I smacked myself in the face. I was going to have to see the Cakes and Pinkie when I went downstairs. I shot a look at the window of the room. To my dismay, it was still barred off. Though I knew the bars were decorative, I still felt imprisoned.
It was one of the only times I really hid in the room they let me use.

My heart felt heavy, and I could feel tears trying to find their way into my eyes, but to no avail. I barely moved on the bed for a long while, instead opting to stare out of the window. The clouds had rolled in and a rainstorm was brewing.
I tried to close my eyes again. Maybe I could fall asleep or something. I was pretty hungry, but so what? I didn't have the courage to go downstairs, so sleep could be my dinner.

I think I was beginning to drift off when I heard the door open gently. I cracked open one eye to spot the intruder.
She smiled gently at me. "Did I wake you? I'm sorry, Sammy."
I said nothing. Pinkie approached the bed and sat next to me. For a few moments she was silent as well.
"It's okay, Sammy. It's okay to have a friend like that. We just want you to make more."
"You don't get it," I muttered. "She's not real to me. She's real. That's all."

Pinkie said nothing while I sat up in bed. "I met her when I first got to town. She walked around with me."
I smiled a bit. "I remember telling her a few stories and she did the same. Funny stories."
"Did you tell her a funny story about a dead snake and the filly's room?"
My eyes widened slightly. "Yes, how did you know that?"

Pinkie was quiet for a few seconds. Or was it minutes? She put her arm around me and pulled me towards her.
"Fluttershy overheard you. She says you were very animated when you told the story."
I felt a bit of hope blossom in my chest, as well as dread.
"So, there you go," I said. "Proof that Rares is a real pony, and Cheerilee just has it out for her."
Pinkie's mane began to deflate, as did my hope.
"Sammy, do you remember if she was in the bathroom while you told the story?"
What difference did it make? I shook my head. "She was with me the whole time."

Pinkie let out a sad sigh. "Fluttershy said you were standing beside a door to the mare's room telling the story, but there was nopony with you. She figured you were telling it to a friend in the toilet."
Any hope that had found its way to life in my heart was dashed.
She looked at me. "You were alone when you told that story."
At first, I could say nothing. I only shook my head so slightly back and forth while I stared at her. Rares was my best friend. My only friend at the time. 

Pinkie was about to say something to me when I finally responded. "No," I whispered.
She was silent, and I pulled away from her. "No," I said louder. "I said no. She's real. Fluttershy is mistaken. Maybe she was in the bathroom! I- I..."
I looked down at my front hooves. "She can't be fake."
Pinkie picked me up and cradled me with my head under her chin. "Why don't you tell me what's really going on, Sammy?"
End of Chapter