//------------------------------// // Fall // Story: Cadere a Gratia (Fall from Grace) // by Echo Breeze //------------------------------// 'I just want it to end.' I thought to myself as I rolled over to look at my nightstand clock. It was a quarter after three in the morning. I had been trying in vain to fall asleep for five hours. I bet you're wondering why I had such a dark thought, so I will tell you... After the Battle of the Bands had come and gone, things were finally looking up for me. My friends had finally truly accepted me and the rest of the school had stopped hating me for my past transgressions. Winter swiftly followed the Battle of the Bands and Christmas was just around the corner. Applejack had come up with the idea of having sleepovers at everyone's houses leading up to a Christmas celebration at Sweet Apple Acres. It didn't get that far. A username on MyStable called Anon-a-Miss started spreading the secrets of my friends, starting with Applejack's family nickname. It only got worse from there. The school is now in utter turmoil, my friends all but abandoned me and not even the teachers believe my innocence. Now I lie in my tiny apartment, all alone, except for my thoughts. I hadn’t changed out of the dark grey hoodie and boy shorts I changed into after my failed attempt at proving my innocence to my friends at Sugarcube Corner, despite it being the middle of winter. I had no heat in the apartment, but it was okay. I didn’t deserve such a luxury. ‘Perhaps it would be better if I just ended it all.’ I thought darkly to myself as I reached under my pillow for the swiss army knife I bought after arriving here. I pulled it out, sitting up on the bed in the dim light of my bedside lamp. I pulled up my hoodie’s sleeves to reveal multiple scars lancing erratically up and down my arms in every direction. I had originally started cutting myself as an escape from the emotional pain I was feeling since this whole debacle had started: now I did it just to feel anything. I found a patch of untouched skin on my left arm, readying the blade, before drawing a two inch long line across it, the red of blood bubbling up in the knife’s wake. “Secret stealer.” I thought as I drew more blood from my left arm. “Anon-A-Miss.” “I can’t believe her.” I kept cutting, getting more and more erratic as I thought of all the hurtful, hateful words spoken to me over the last few weeks. It got so bad that I stopped going to school entirely for the last week of the semester. Once again, after closing the knife and stashing it under my pillow, I found myself staring at the ceiling, thinking of ways to end it. As always, I came to think of a certain bridge about a mile away from my apartment. I got up and pulled on a pair of black jeans over my boy shorts and walked out the door, leaving my journal open on the last page that had writing on it. The writing read as follows: Dear Princess Twilight I know you said in your last message to find my family, but I have failed. I thought I had finally found my family in the girls, but they abandoned me after this whole thing started. Kind of don’t blame them though. This does look like the sort of thing the old Sunset Shimmer would do. I just wish that I could have experienced the true magic of friendship before all of this shit started. Just know that what I am about to do is not your fault. You could not have foreseen that something this fucked up could happen. Just let the others know that I bear them no ill will and that they will always be my family. Your once and failed student, Sunset Shimmer. I found myself awake after a few hours, feeling that something was wrong. I couldn’t place it, but I knew something was horribly terribly wrong. I sat up and picked up my phone. Nothing was out of the ordinary, apart from a single, two worded text I got from Sunset that sent a chill through my spine. Goodbye forever. I started panicking. I knew that Sunset had depression after the whole Fall Formal fiasco, but she had gotten past it… by… Shit. How could I have been so fucking careless? She only got past it by becoming friends with us. I called Applejack. She picked up on the third ring. “Hello,” she drawled sleepily. “A.J. Did you also get a text from Sunset?” I asked, trying to hide the panic in my voice. “Dash. Ya called me in the middle of the night ta ask me ‘bout the traitor?” She spat, all tiredness replaced by pure anger. “Please, A.J. Just check.” I plead, all control over my emotions fleeing, leaving the panic in my voice open to be heard. “Okay, hold on. Ah’ll check,” She answered, a hint of panic creeping into her voice after hearing my panicked voice. “Yea. She sent me a text sayin’ “Goodbye forever”. What do ya think she means by that?” “I don’t know. I have an idea, but I hope I’m wrong. Gotta go. I’ll call ya later.” I replied and hung up. I jumped out of bed, throwing a pair of jeans and my winter coat over my flannel pajamas and headed downstairs to the garage. I hopped on my bike and headed toward Sunset’s apartment. “Please be okay, Sunset. I’m so sorry.” I thought, tears welling up in my eyes as I rode toward her apartment. A few minutes after leaving my apartment, I reached the bridge. I looked over the edge into the ice cold water of the Canterlot River churning below. For the first time in weeks, I had tears in my eyes. I heard a faint voice in the distance, but I toned it out. I set my resolve and climbed over the railing, the sound of the voice getting closer. Finally I jumped, the sound of the voice closer than before. “SUNSET!!!” I heard before the world went black.