//------------------------------// // Act 4: Betrayal, misfortune and loss // Story: Friendship is Failure #12- Amending Hearth's Warming // by DakariKingMykan //------------------------------// ACT FOUR No sooner did Shining Armor storm out did the rest of the family and Spike take off after him, wanting to stop him before he made things any worse than they were. “I know Shining Armor when he gets angry!” cried Cadance. “So do I!” added Twilight “I hope we’re not too late.” Suddenly, they all came to an intersection that had so many footprints in so many directions it was merely impossible to tell which way to go. The wheel tracks were nowhere to be seen making it harder. Cadance gave Flurry heart to her grandparents and Spike to watch over, “You guys keep looking down here. Twilight and I will search from the air.” The parents agreed, “Please be careful.” said Velvet. The girls promised, and then took off into the sky. “I sure hope they can find him.” said Spike. “I hope so too.” said Night Light, but he said it only to himself. Meanwhile, Helper Soul had stopped halfway across a large bridge that overlooked a frozen river below. He had stopped to rest and sooth his aching leg from dragging it on his broken dolly for so far on his way home. The pain was so immense it burned him inside, actually warming him from the cold, but this was complete torture for him. “You!!” shouted a voice, and Shining Armor galloped up to him. “UGH!!” groaned Helper “Haven’t you caused me enough pain already?!” Shining Armor realized he was already in enough pain, and if there was one thing his nobility as a knight taught him; it was never to kick a pony that was already down, and a knight was supposed to help someone, regardless of personal judgment. “Let me help you up.” “I said I DON’T WANT your help! Just leave me alone!” Shining Armor looked ready to burst, “What is your problem?!” he snarled “My sister went out of her way to try and patch things up between you and our father, and all you did was act like a stuck-up jerk, and not just to him, but to all of us. Look, I can understand you’re upset because of how your leg got busted, and true, my dad could've and should've save you, but things just happened. You can't keep blaming him and grouching at him, or his family!" Helper just sat there, not sating saying anything or even looking at him, until finally he hissed softly, “Your father’s done more to me than you think. Your mother too… They caused me so much pain, it’s not funny” Shining Armor looked confused. “What are you talking about?” Helper cringed softly, he hated being reminded of such things and was hoping not to have to explain it. “Your parents were once my friends, especially your father. He was always there for me, always being supportive of me, and I supported him back. In High School, the three of us, he, your mother and I… we were a great team. We were always there for one another. We helped each on school assignments, and together we even came up with a new kind of magic to help improve industrial technologies… thanks to my calculations and studying.” “This is amazing!” cried Velvet “With this kind of magic, think of the improvements we can make on society.” “Helper Soul, I can’t believe you came up with this.” added Night Light. “Well, I can’t take all the credit.” said Helper “You guys were my inspiration.” “Soon I would be on my way, to train for the Canterlot Knight’s Academy, but as time passed, I grew to love your mother, and deep down I thought she shared my feelings as well. Things would have been so perfect…!” It was all planned. About a week before Hearth’s Warming, Helper planned to propose to Velvet, he had bought a ring and everything that he had kept in his locker, waiting for the right moment. “Hi, Helper…” “Oh! Hey… Velvet.” He said nervously, “Um… listen, I… I have something I’d like to talk to you about.” “I have something to talk to you about too.” Velvet said excitedly, and that’s when Helper noticed she already had an engagement ring around her horn. “Night Light proposed to me! Isn’t that neat?! We’re getting married after we graduate!” Helper felt his insides being crushed like eggs, but he tried his best not to show his hurt feelings. “That’s… that’s wonderful!” he said with fake emotions of happiness. “Your father betrayed me! He took her away from me! He took my one and only love, and I saw how happy they were together. I tried not to let it get to me, but that’s not’s all that your parents did…! They stole my chance at making History! We presented our ideas to a group of scientists and engineers, and even though most of the findings and discoveries were made by me, the ponies only seemed to pay more attention to your parents, and your parents. They explained all my findings to the ponies, and didn’t’ bother to mention me. Though we all had our picture taken together, they became the talk of the school more than I was! I couldn’t believe what they were doing to me, and began to distance myself from them. Then came that night of the Hearth’s Warming Eve dance, where I was trapped under a mound of snow, and your father was too busy saving your mother. That’s when It happened! That strong beam fell from the roof, landing on top of me, crushing my right hind-leg, because your father didn't help me out when he should have! Even your mother was sane and fine enough to urge him to help me!” He paused a minute to remember the immense pain he felt and how he SCREAMED in agony! “I was rushed into surgery immediately. The doctors did their very best, but my leg would never be the same again!” “I’m afraid your leg was damaged much too severely. Even if by some miracle the bones heal, you’ll always have sudden episodes of weakness and pain. I’m afraid you’ll never be able to walk on it again.” "We also can't amputate your leg on the count the internal damages to the nerves and connections being far too severe-- from down at the phalanges all the up to the femur. Removing your leg would kill you instantly, and even if not, a prosthetic cannot be fitting on you-- you'd never be able to stand or walk! I'm afraid you'll just have to live with it." “That was it! My life was forever changed! Now I’d never be able to be royal knight. Never be captain. Never live out my father’s legacy that I promised!! I just couldn’t believe this. First my friends betray me, and then they rob me of self-esteem, and to top it all off, my so called best friend betrayed me and didn't help me!" he paused and looked down at his leg "And THIS... THIS is a result of your father's betrayal!" He took a moment to catch his breath. “I knew that I couldn’t stand to be with them any longer. I hated them both, especially your father, but I couldn’t bring it upon myself to lash at them. It wouldn't make things any better. I didn’t want them to be unhappy, so I did the only sensible thing… I packed up and left Canterlot as fast as I could; leaving a letter telling them I never wanted to see them again, and destroying the picture that was taken of us! I thought that by leaving them and my past behind there was nothing more I could lose, but I was wrong…! My mother was very upset to hear about my accident and my leg. She loved the idea of me following in my father’s footsteps and being captain of the royal guard, but that was forever lost now! We both tried to cope with it as much as we could, I even had my Cutie Mark permanently removed because your father helped me to earn it, but still, as the months passed, it was clear that my mother was severely depressed. It was as if I, losing my leg and my chances, was like hearing of my father dying all over again. It crushed her! When Hearth’s Warming Eve came, she collapsed, she had fallen ill with grief and sorrow from supressing her emotions so long, and she died of a broken heart! I was all alone. I had no one! No family no friends…! Just me and my busted leg which ached like my heart! I began to detest Hearth’s Warming, as all of my misery started on that night and long before, all because of your parents. For that, I decided to stop celebrating it. How could I celebrate that when it would celebrate my betrayal, my misfortune, and the death of my mother?! I managed to complete my education and became an insurance sales-pony. I remained secluded; always preferring to keep to myself and not make any new friends. I couldn’t bear the thought of being betrayed again after all that I lost! I never had a family of my own. No mare wanted a pony with a busted leg and who couldn’t do much and had constant aches and pains that required treatment! As the years passed, I began to heal a little, at least in my heart, and forgot all about things…” he paused and gawked at Shining Armor, “Until I heard of You…!!” “Me?” “The Royal Canterlot Wedding of Princess Cadance, and Shining Armor, the captain of the Royal Canterlot Guard, and son of Twilight Velvet and Night Light! My wounds were opened up really wide that day. It was hard enough hearing of your parents again, but you were captain of the guard, My dream…?! And then your sister, Twilight, she became the Princess of Friendship, adding more to your families great fame and honor. …And then, you and your wife had that brat of yours! You and your family were all living my dreams! All Things that I could have had, while all I had was my boring job, my lonely life, and this leg… this cursed leg that constantly ached and pained making it hard to sleep sometimes!” He stopped, his voicing sounding tearful and angry at the same time, “Your father robbed me of my life and cost me everything I had and ever wanted, and the anger and hatred I felt was so immense it made my leg hurt, but not as hurt as my heart… And yet, I still never wished any harm on him. I never wished harm on any-pony! Sure I had a few mood swings, but I didn’t hurt anyone. I even continued to donate to causes and to Hearth’s Warming Charites because I didn’t want others to suffer the same pain I go through. …But no amount of nobility, friendship or amending will ever allow me to regain what was taken from me! I hated Hearth’s Warming, I hated Night Light, and I hated his family, close friends, and anyone of anything to do with him. Everything was dead to me!” That was all he had to say!