Penn galloped home, tears running down his face. He ignored everypony, not wanting to talk to anypony. When he arrived home he slammed the door behind him, ignoring his mother's worries. He locked himself in his room, refusing to come out. "Penn", his mother's sweet voice called from behind the door. "Is everything alright?" "Just leave me the buck alone right now! I'm not in the mood!" His mother flinched at his "colorful" choice of words. "Oh dear, something must be wrong."
*FLASHBACK*
An adolescent Penn sat alone in his room. A few bottles of pills lay before him. Painkillers, allergy meds, cold medicine, pretty much all the pills he could find in the house. He dumped them all into his hoof. "Sorry, mom. Sorry, dad", he said in a sad voice, tears forming in his eyes. "I'm just not as strong as you would like me to be. I just can't deal with the stress anymore." Taking a deep breath, he stuffed the pills into his mouth, and swallowed.
Then things went horribly wrong. Instead of quickly killing him, his body started spasming uncontrollably. His parents were definitely going to hear the racket his quivering body was making. Hoofsteps could be heard sprinting up the stairs. They then started banging on the door. "Penn!? What's going on in there?! Penn! Open the door!" his father's strong voice shouted through the door. Something was slamming against the door now. Then his father burst through the door, knocking it off it's hinges. Both of his parents stared in horror at his quivering body, then to the bottles on the floor. Penn was begining to foam at the mouth now. It was obvious as to what he done. Scooping up the bottles, then him, his parents galloped out the door, towards the Ponyville Emergency Hospital.
*FLASHFORWARD*
Rarity slowly rose from the floor of her workshop, her face stained with tears, and her eyes were red and puffy. She had no idea just how long she had laid there. For all she knew, she could have been there for several hours. Luna's moon was now high in the sky, illuminating the night sky. She needed to talk to somepony. She needed to talk to somepony trustworthy, not overly-sensitive, and could offer her advice. Then it hit her. Twilight! She would know exactly what to do.
Stepping outside into the cool night air, she headed in the direction of the library. Approaching the large tree, she knocked on the door. Hooves could be heard shuffling around inside. Finally, the door swung open, revealing the lavender colored unicorn. "Rarity? Do you know what time it is?" the mare asked, concern painting her face. "Actually, Twilight, I don't. I just really need to talk right now." Her friend stood aside, allowing her entrance. Rarity looked over at the clock. 11:42 pm. There were open books scattered all around the floor. Twilight was obviously having a studying binge. "Rarity, you don't look so good. Is something troubling you?" the purple mare asked, her voice dripping with concern.
"Oh, Twilight! I am just the worst pony! Today I ran into an old classmate of mine, whom I didn't exactly treat very fairly. I also learned that because of my actions, I made him suicidal, and caused him to spend the last several years of his life in an institute! I don't know how to make this right. Please, you gotta helpe!" Rarity was sobbing uncontrollably now. Twilight walked over to her friend, stroking her mane in a motherly way. "Rarity, what you really need to to do is show him you would like to apologize. Tell him you will do anything to make this right. But, please, do it tomorrow. I don't think he would appreciate it if you visited him at this hour. You are welcome to stay here for the night if you need anything." Rarity thanked Twilight, and headed in the direction of her friend's couch. This was going to be a long night.
*FLASHBACK*
Penn's parents sat in the waiting room, praying that their son would he alright. They had known about what was going on at school. How could they not? Drug addicts and horny teens had been showing up at their doorstep over the past couple weeks, after hearing that this was a good place to get their fix, or have an itch scratched. They just thought Penn would ignore it. They thought he was, he hadn't shown any signs of being depressed. After what felt like weeks, the doctor finally entered. "Your son is going to be alright. He's awake now if you would like to see him. But please, keep it short, he needs to rest." His parents rushed into his room, to find him sitting upright, tears flowing down his face. His mother rushed over and hugged him tight. "I'm sorry, mom." he sniffed. It was all he could say. His father joined in on the hug. All of them were crying.
This would be the first time Penn tried to kill himself. It would not be the last.
*FLASHFORWARD*
A slightly older Penn was leaving the hospital. This is was the fifth time in over a year he was doing so. His parents did not say a word to him on the trip back home. They just stared on ahead in absolute silence.
Upon walking inside the house, Penn noticed something was different. Instead of furniture, the house was littered with cardboard boxes. "W-w-what's going on?" Penn asked. "Son," his dad spoke up. "We are extremely worried about you. This is the fifth time in over a year that we have taken you to the hospital because of some failed suicide attempt. How exactly do you keep slipping past your mother and I?!" His dad was angry. But Penn knew, that he was angry because he cared. "We are leaving Ponyville for a while. We will be living in Manehattan for a while. You will be going to one of the best mental hospitals in the country. We leave tomorrow. There, they will be able to keep a close eye on you. Your mother and I will visit as often as he can. It's for your own good." His dad had tears leaking down his face. As did his mother. It was his fault. It was his fault that they had to leave their jobs. It was his fault that he had to leave school. It was his fault that they had to move. It was his fault that he was costing his parents a fortune in hospital bills. And it was his fault that he had to go to a special hospital. He was so ashamed that he had caused this. "I'm sorry. I need help. I havent realized until now. This will be good for me."
...
The autumn leaves were falling from their trees, as the train rolled into Manehattan Station. The three of them slowly descended onto the platform, dragging their luggage along with them. A smiling unicorn in a white lab coat approached them. "You must be Penn." she said, giving him a warm smile. "I'm Dr. Hiccup. I'm from the Manehattan Rehabilitation and Psychiatric Clinic. That is where you'll be staying while you get better. Come along, let's get you settled in and introduce you to your new roomates." So Penn walked down the unfamiliar streets, in the unfamiliar city, with the unfamiliar pony, to the unfamiliar "home". His parents waved him off, smiling. They also had to get settled into their new home. This is just the begining.
...
AUTHOR'S NOTES: Whew, sorry this update took so long to come out. Almost a month! I had a horrible case of writer's block. I knew where I wanted the story to go, I just didn't know how to get there. And getting there is half the adventure, as they say. I know how to get where I want this to go now, so the next chapter should be out soon. Next chapter will most likely not talk about what's happening in "modern" times, but most likely be about Penn getting used to his new "home". That should be pretty exciting with what I have planned. See ya soon!