//------------------------------// // Troubled Past // Story: Diamond Heart // by Wayofthepen //------------------------------// I jolted into an upright position in the bed I was in. Looking around, I saw a bland room filled with green furniture, IV's, and a very startled nurse. I couldn't remember a thing, except for where I am from and somewhat on how I got wounded. "Dear Celestia, you gave me a heart attack." The nurse chimed at me. "Where am I?" I said, still looking around. She just gave me a smile, but I could smell the fear in her. "You're in the Ponyville Hospital. You took quite a wound there. A member of the royal guard carried you here and told me you had life threatening injuries." She seemed to relax a little. "Do you remember what happened to you?" Those were the exact words I didn't want to hear, but I gave it a try. The image in my head showed me trying to fight Nightmare Moon, but she launched something at me. It looked like a piece of the floor tiling, but I got a feeling that's not what happened. "I was...Fighting Nightmare Moon..." I saw the faces of the mane 6, as well as Celestia. "There were these six ponies...And one rather large one...Celestia." The nurse looked at me strangely, and called for a doctor. "There are these names in my head...They don't belong to anyone I know, though..." The names that rang through my head were Spade and Shadow. "There's more though, but I can't remember..." When the doctor came in, his entire body tensed. What's with ponies and the way they treat me? He slowly stepped towards me, wreaking of fear. The closer he got, the more his body tensed. "If I wanted to kill you, you would be dead already." He looked surprised. Again, I'm tired of all of this racism. I got the feeling of someone watching me and turned to the window, but saw nothing. "How long have I been out...?" "Three days. I would suggest keeping to light work due to your injury. We can't seem to get whatever it is out, at least not until your rib cage has recovered. Magic is wonderful, but limited. As for your memory, I am sure it will return to you." He gave me a hesitant smile, which I didn't return. Thoughts raced through my mind, mostly trying to remember who Spade and Shadow were, to no avail. I lifted the covers and got to my paws. "Sir, please stay down." "The name is Zin, and I can walk it off..." I tried taking a step forward, but I fell to my knees. The only reason I hadn't fallen completely forward was due to grabbing the bedside and the nurse. She helped me back into the bed and told me to rest. "Do me a favor, though." She came closer. "Can you find..." I thought for a moment at the six ponies in my head, and chose the one I could trust. "I think her name is...Twilight?" The nurse gave me a nod as I fell back in the bed, still having the feeling of being watched. 'Take care.' I jolted upwards at the sound inside my head. I looked around frantically, but saw no one once more. I disregarded it and went to sleep, hoping that I may recover my memory soon. Forgetting is always a pain, especially when it's something as important as Nightmare Moon. - - - - Four months later - - - - I was walking along the treeline where I originated, having recovered most of my memory. Everything up to the point of the showdown was a blank, which annoyed me very much. Twilight and her friends told me the exact same thing as what I remembered, but it felt like it wasn't my memory. The hospital ponies said that unicorn magic couldn't remove the object without damaging me badly, but that Princess Celestia or Luna could do it. She was too busy to help me, though. I always walked when things were troubling me at home. The stupid things like when my parents argued or when they were yelling at me. My dad used to be a man of honor, until the bottle got the better of him. My mom resorted to smoking as a relief, but I couldn't convince her she was killing herself. I shook my head, remembering that none of that mattered as long as I was here. On the ground, I saw something extremely shiny. Bending down, I picked it up and inspected it. It was my IPhone that must have fallen out when I arrived and ripped my jeans. I put it in my pocket and focused on the elements around me. The calming sounds and scents of the forest were relaxing. The trees, flowers, wildlife, Lisp. Wait, Lisp? I turned my head to find an angry pegasus flying straight for me. I put my arms to block his hit, but his velocity caused me to fly back. "Take my guitar, beat me with it, and help that stallion who slept with my marefriend. I knew I'd find you alone at some point, mutt." He had an evil smile across his face as he sat on me. I shoved him off and quickly got my claws out. "Come on, be reasonable. I am wounded and wouldn't be much of a challenge right now..." I said, pleadingly. "That gives me more of a reason to get my revenge here and now." He gained the same expression as Nightmare Moon when she took me down. I should have known better. He turned around and bucked me with all of his might, and to my luck, in the gut. I flew back a good distance to the forest, skidding on the dirt. The pain in my chest was once again acting up, due to the intense pounding my body had received. All I could do was moan as Lisp slowly trotted to my side. He stepped over me and proceeded to hit me at least three times. Something made him stop and look away as he suddenly flew off of me. Barely able to move my body at all, I managed to catch a small glimpse of the fight. Someone or something was attacking Lisp. Winning, too, I might add. When it finished with Lisp, it moved over to me. I could make out a small expression of surprise before the pain overtook my body, forcing me to pass out. - - - - - - - - "Are you paying attention, boy?" A voice called towards me. I opened my eyes, feeling tears around me. I saw my mother and father standing right there. My mom was trying to pull him away from me when he turned around and slapped her. The sadness in my body was soon replaced by a feeling of rage. "Woman! Don't lay a hand on me again." "Leave her alone!" I screamed at the top of my lungs at him. He turned towards me and I braced for the smack of his hand. What I felt was no hand, but his bottle of whiskey hitting the side of my face. I fell to my knees as a mixture of blood and alcohol dripped down to the floor. I looked around quickly as my dad started a drunken laugh. There it was, my old baseball bat from little league. I quickly made my way towards it and used it to support me standing. "What you gonna do? *Hic* Hit your old man?" I gripped the bat tighter as he gained his smile. When he saw me rush at him, his smile faded away. I smashed it in his side, forcing him off-balance and toppling to the ground. I walked next to him, gripping the bat even tighter. "You're in big *hic* trouble now." He tried to get back up, but I slammed the bat onto his back. He fell back down with a loud thud, along with a drunken groan. "D-Don't make me hurt y-you..." I stammered, tears forming at the eyes. My mother looked at me, both shocked and disturbed. "I-I'm sorry..." Tears now streaming from my eyes. I felt my dad grab my leg, and I swung at his arm a few times. I heard a loud crack, thinking it came from my bat. I heard him scream out in immense pain, realizing I just broke his arm. I dropped the bat at this point and ran into the kitchen. I took my IPhone from the charger and ran towards the front door. My mom called at me, but I couldn't bear to face her. I ran. Not knowing where I was going, but I decided to see my friend who was at the school's library. She would know what to do...She always does. The school's library had it's own separate wing, but she wouldn't be inside. I ran around back and found the ladder to the roof. She always loved places where she couldn't be seen. Climbing up with tears in my eyes, I heard the sound of shoes moving. "Sofia...It's me." I fully climbed up to see her move out from behind a vent. She had brown hair, glasses, and a insane laugh if you heard it. She was wearing her usual outfit, a black t-shirt, blue jeans, a messenger bag, and black/red sneakers. "I gotta tell you something..." She had a smile on her face when she saw me, but after a good look at me she noticed I was bleeding and crying. "The hell happened?" She sounded worried, but kept her calm attitude as always. I started walking towards her as she ran towards me. She reached into her bag and pulled out a small first aid kit. After prying out the shards with my yells as protest, she put a bandage up to my face. She looked even more worried now, only because I had been openly sobbing. I fell to my knees, and she bent down to my level. "Hey, take it easy. What happened?" I looked up at her, her face barely visible through the tears clouding my vision. "My...My dad was drunk and beating my mom. I yelled to stop him, but he hit me with his whiskey bottle. I fell to the ground and got my bat and tried to defend my mom...I broke his arm, Sofia. I can't go home, I could get taken away!" My stuttered scream echoed throughout the open space. I looked beyond her and saw the stars in the sky. Looking at each of them gave me a smile, and I fell to my back on the roof with her following me down. "Sofia, let me be honest with you..." I turned my head towards her, as she did to me. "I lost all of my self control in there...I regret what I did, but if I didn't...He would have hurt her or me even more..." I looked back towards the stars. A few minutes passed, us just staring at the stars. I felt something needed to be said to her...She had a right to know. "Sofia..." She turned to me with a smile, but I didn't return it. She figured something was wrong, and gave me a worried glance. As I was about to tell her, I backed down. "Nevermind. I think I will stay up here tonight. How about you?" "I don't need to be home anytime soon. Mom is out of town for a few more days, so might as well stay here with you." I thanked her and zipped up my jacket. I was starting to close my eyes as the memory around me froze. The vent's sound, Sofia moving around, even the cars in the street. I got to my feet and looked back into the sky to see something flying there. Only I knew that it wasn't supposed to be here. I instantly flew into the air and appeared behind it. It was an alicorn with a copper coat. He looked frantically around for me, but I let out a cough to show my presence. When he saw me, he literally flew back a few inches. "Get out of my head." My voice hit him with such force that I woke myself up, only wishing that I hadn't as the pain returned to extreme levels. - - - - - - - -