//------------------------------// // Never Give Up // Story: Never Give Up. // by The Asexual Jelly Bean //------------------------------// This is the story of Marne. He was a very socially awkward earth pony colt who lived in Ponyville. He had blue eyes, a yellow mane and an orange, with a slight tint of red, coat. He had a hard time making friends and he was pretty shy. The main reason for this, was the fact that he was bullied almost every single day. He was bullied for being a blank-flank, for being a nerd, etc. Every day when he went to school, he was pushed around by everypony. He was told what to do by all his Class mates. If he denied, he was punched. When he went home, he lay down on his bed, crying and shouting, and just being mad at the world. That was his daily routine. He wanted this to stop. One faithful day, though, he went to school. A new filly had joined their class. A unicorn. She had her cutiemark. It was a warm-looking heart. A red heart with a kind of heatwave surrounding it. He kept staring at her. He thought she was beautiful. He was getting a crush on a filly he didn't even know. Just staring at her magenta eyes, her long, blue mane with green stripes, and her green-ish coat. He was almost in love. In the break, he just sat there staring at her while she was talking to the fillies and colts in the classroom. She suddenly caught him staring, and he quickly turned his head away. He just wanted to stay out of the group of ponies surrounding her. He didn't want any trouble. After the break, she went over to sit next to him. He tried to keep himself, from glaring at her. He suddenly felt a hoof on his shoulder, he made a little hop in shock. He looked to see who it was, and to his surprise, it was her. He stared directly into those beautiful eyes, he felt his heart beating faster and faster. He'd never felt this way before. He started blushing, and everything went dark. It was like time stood still for a few moments. After around 20 seconds, she asked him”Uhm. Are you ok? You've been staring for a while”. ”Yeah. I'm fine." He said. Almost whispering, he added, "...I was just admiring your eyes...”. Unsure of how she'd react to it, he looked to the floor. She just grinned. ”I'm Twinkle Heart, what's your name?”. ”M-Marne.”. He tried to speak clearly, but his voice kinda cracked. ”I came over here because I noticed you seem really lonely. Why is that?” She asked in concern. ”I have some problems in the class. I don't feel like talking about it at school.” A tear fell from his eye. He quickly turned around and wiped the tear from his eye, and raised his hoof. His teacher looked at him ”Yes, Marne?” She asked. ”Can I go to the bathroom please? I'll be quick!” He said, trying to keep up a fake smile. ”Sure you can.” She replied, smiling. Inside the bathroom, he simply sat on the toilet and cried. He pounded his hoof against the wall in sheer frustration. ”Why can't I be like the others?! Why can't people just like me?! I know I'm the only blank-flank in the class, but why do people hate me for that?! It's unfair!” He cried out in the process of pounding the wall. He went back to class. Everypony stared at him. All of them were making faces, trying to provoke him into either crying or getting mad. Except for Twinkle Heart. She was smiling. He sat down on his chair next to her. Twinkle just put a hoof on his back rubbing it back and forth, trying to comfort him. He lightened up a bit And smiled towards her. His smiling face suddenly turned into a frown. ”I'm sorry I'm so different. I'm trying to be like the others, but I just can't.” He started crying again. To his luck, the bell rang. As he walked home, he heard somepony run torwards him. He prepared for a punch, but all he got was a ”Wait up!”. The voice he heard, made him sigh in relief. It was Twinkle Heart. ”Do you have to go anywhere, or are you just walking home?” She asked, curiously. ”I'm just going home.” He replied with a half smile, half frown. ”Mind if I come with you?” ”Uh... no. Not at all. That is, If you want to hang out with the most hated pony at school.” ”Lighten up..." she smiled towards him. "I'll come with you, then.” She said with an assuring smile upon her face, which turned Marne's half smile, half frown, into a full-out smile. On the way home, she asked him some questions. ”Why are you so down?”. ”As I said. I'm having some problems, in the class. ”What kind of problems? You can tell me. Don't worry. You can trust me. I won't tell anypony.” ”I guess you can say that I'm sort of bullied in the class. Every day. I'm called names, I'm pushed around, and...” He let out a sigh and paused. He started tearing up. ”Everypony... they all beat me up..- they just won't leave me alone.” She went to him and patted him on the back. She slipped a tear. ”The only reason they didn't do anything today, is because you're new in class, and they brought all the attention on you.”. The tears fell like a stream, but he also felt kinda relieved, because he could finally get this horrible nightmare out to somepony. And said somepony would actually listen and care. She grabbed him, and pulled him in for a comforting hug. He stopped crying, and hugged her back. He felt happy. Like everything had changed, somehow. Like nothing was able to break him down now. Until she loosened the grip, that is. ”Do you feel better now?” She asked, with a smile that told him Everything is gonna be fine from here on out. ”Yes. Thank you.” He sniffed. They went to his place. They didn't say much on the way there, though. They just awkwardly stared at each other, looking away once caught, and repeating that cycle until they reached his house. ”Hi mom! I'm home! I brought a friend, if that's alright with you!” He yelled, as they stepped inside the house. ”Okay! Come out here, so I can see your new friend!”. It was obvious how happy she was by the first word she said, after he told her he had gotten a new friend. They went out in the kitchen, and the mom let out a swift, and hard gasp, as she saw it was a filly. ”Hello. And who may you be?” She smiled widely. ”I'm Twinkle Heart.”. She said, shyly. ”Nice to meet you, Twinkle Heart.”. She grabbed her hoof and pulled her in for a quick hug. Marne thought it was kind of weird, but it was a short hug, so he didn't think much of it. He was just kind of worried that, maybe, his mom made it awkward. ”Well, uhm... we'll go to my room, mom.”. ”You have a kind mom.” Twinkle said on the way down the hallway. ”Thanks. I love her more than anything.” He said. He seemed more relaxed now, after finding out Twinkle wasn't weirded out by his mom. She let out a slight grinn, and she asked her next question. ”Where's your father?” He almost jumped in shock to that question and stopped in his tracks. Fortunately, they had reached his room. "He...he passed away... I think it was a year after I was born, so I barely knew him.". He sniffed once. ”How did he...pass away?”. She seemed to get sort of worried. ”Well, according to my mom, he got cancer in his bladder. It was just discovered too late.” She looked over at his table, where she saw a picture of a full-grown stallion. ”Is that your father on the picture there?”. She pointed at the picture of the stallion. ”Yes. It is.” He smiled slightly. ”He looks very nice. He looks a lot like you.” ”Thank you.”. He blushed. He had never been told he looked nice before. Not anyone else than his mom, anyway. ”Do you have any video games, or something like that?” She asked him. His eyes widened. ”Yes! I have a lot! I have a Playstation 3 with loads of games!”. He smiled as he never had before. The fact that somepony had the same interests as him. And even better was the fact, that it was a filly. And maybe even someone he might have a chance with! They went inside the living room, where the Playstation was, standing under a Plasma TV. ”I have Dragon Ball Z. If you wanna play that?” ”I love Dragon Ball! Let's play it!". She seemed really excited. So much so, that she caught Marne by surprise. Marne picked up the game, and put it in the console. Twinkle levitated one of the controllers towards her with her magic. Marne just picked the controller up with his hooves. Yeah, Unicorns have an advantage there. They just sat there for hours. Talking and playing, and yelling at each other for beating one another in the game. Of course. The yells were for fun. Twinkle put down the controller. ”I think I have to go home. The wheels on the clock are turning fast!”. She started laughing at her joke. He smiled at her. ”Alright, it's fine. It's been fun! Wanna hang out at school tomorrow?” ”Of course I do!” she smiled at him, assuring him that no one was gonna put a hoof on him that day. They went out to the door, where she pulled him close and kissed him on the lips. His eyes widened, his heart skipped a beat. His mom went out in the hall-way. confused about why she couldn't hear anyone talk. She just stood there, staring, as a tear fell from her eye. She was so happy. After what seemed like a few minutes to Marne, Twinkle let go of him. He just kept staring at her, and she stared at him. She finally spoke out. ”Nice to meet you, Marne. See you tomorrow, right?” She winked at him. ”Yes, of course! I'll see you then!”. He was all hyped up. He was happy, and he danced around like a psycho after he closed the door. He then stopped, and found his mom glaring and smiling. ”I'm so happy for you, son! Come here! Give your mother a hug!” she exclaimed, happy about the even that had just transpired. He ran to her, jumped into the air and hugged her tightly. It was late, and he had to go to bed. He couldn't fall asleep, though. He just lay there all night, thinking about Twinkle. He told himself that he loved her multiple times. He finally fell asleep. Once he woke up in the morning, he stepped out of bed, and was hyped to go to school! He went to the kitchen and got some breakfast. He kept singing all kinds of different songs. Love songs that he'd heard once and again, that he finally felt like he could relate to. His mom just laughed with him. He went to the door to the outside, about to leave for school. ”Bye, mom!” he yelled, opening the door. On the way to school, he saw Twinkle Heart. She ran towards him, grabbed him again and kissed him on the cheek. ”Hey, Marne. What's up?!” She grabbed his hoof. ”Not much. Just going to school. Which I take it you are, too?” ”Yes I am!” They went to school, hoof in hoof. At school, everypony just glared. And whispered to each other. He just smiled towards everypony, and turned back to Twinkle. She kissed him on the lips in front of the whole class. Everyone were shocked. But, it was school time, so they all went to sit by their tables. As they all sat down, Twinkle whispered something to Marne. ”Never give up, ok? I'll stay here with you forever...”. A few seconds passed by, and the words that came out of her hit him. Those words changed his futura life. ”I love you.” She smiled at him and grabbed left leg. He was almost in shock, and all he could say was ”You too.”. She kissed him again. The day flew by. They were together all day. Other ponies started talking to Marne, telling him ”Good job”, and the sort. They tabbed him on the shoulder, and on the back. He was so happy! He finally got his cutiemark. It was a piece of paper, with a feather-pen on top of it. He got it after the exams, where he wrote a short story based off the pre-chosen subject. The grammar in the story was fantastic, and the writing was perfect. For a 15 year old, his teacher was in awe. It was an A+. Twinkle and him were still together after school ended. He became a fairly big Book Author in Ponyville, and also expanded some of his greatest works to Canterlot. His books were read by all ages and genders. From child to adult. Twinkle became a Kindergarden Teacher and got pregnant. She was 8½ months in. At this point, they were around 30 years old. And Twinkle Heart was ill a lot. One day. She felt really bad, though. And she just never got better again. So she went to the Doctor. He checked her pulse. She got a CT scan, as well, to make sure. A few weeks later, she had gotten better, and was somewhat fresh to go to work. When she came home, however, she saw an already-opened envelope on the table, with a letter next to it. The envelope said To Twinkle Heart. From Nurse Redheart. She picked up the letter which basically explained she had gotten Lymph-Cancer. She had been suffering from Lymph-Cancer for around half a year at this point. She went into the bedroom only to find Marne crying. He stared up at her with red circles around his eyes. She lied down next to him, and grabbed hold of him. ”It's gonna be ok.” Twinkle Heart said, crying and sniffing all over the place ”I know it will...”. ”I hope you're right...I can't bear the thought of losing you...” Marne said, sighing. They fell asleep in each other's arms. The next morning, they went to the Doctor who told them that she had an operation ready in a week. Luckily, there were very few patients lately, so getting a good date wasn't too hard. The week flew by quickly, and they were very silent at home. She felt the water from the pregnancy running. Marne quickly called an ambulance, and told them what was up. At the hospital she gave birth to a little colt, whom they called Marney. He had a tiny hair sticking out of his, otherwise, bald head, which had a brown-ish color. He had a blue coat, and had brown eyes. There were two days left before the operation. The two days flew by so quickly. They played with Marney all the time, and stayed home from work, as well. Although, Marne's work was at home. But Twinkle Heart was starting to get worse. She began lying down to relax more often. During the operation, Marne had to sit outside the operation room. So, he had to wait for a nurse to come out and get him. Marney was being taken care of by Marne's mom at home. She was getting really old, too, but had more than enough energy to take care of Marney. … The operation had passed, and Nurse Redheart went out to Marne, almost crying. He looked at her in concern. "Oh god, please tell me she's alright! Don't tell me she's..." ”She's not dead... but... we're not able to save her. She'll have to stay here, and we'll put her under chemotherapy... you can come visit her all you want. We're not sure how long she'll stay alive, but time will tell us...” she sighed, thinking to herself. 'This is by far the worst part about this job.'. He ran inside the room in which she was lying. She looked tired. He grabbed her hoof. ”How are you feeling?” Marne asked, sniffing. ”I'm feeling alright for now.”. She smiled at him, but had a hard time doing so. ”I'm more concerned about you, though.”. Her smile turned dark, and she started looking worried. ”Just don't do anything you'll regret when I die, okay?”. Her voice was soft, and silent. ”Don't say that.” Marne started crying, as he looked into those big slightly magenta eyes. The color was slowly starting to drain over time because of the illness. ”I'm sorry, Marne. But you know they can't do anything more for me.” Marne grabbed her tight, as the tears from his eyes were sliding down her back. Days flew by. Marne visited Twinkle at the hospital every day, and even brough Marney once and again. Though, he usually stayed home with Marne's mom. 3 weeks passed by, when Nurse Redheart called him, and told him to come over as fast as possible. She cried through the phone. He quickly told his mom that he had to go to the hospital, and told her to, once again, take care of Marney while he was gone. He ran to the hospital, and when he was there, he ran towards the room she was lying in. The color from her eyes had completely faded now, and she looked very weak and tired. He looked at the heart scanner, and saw, that it was beating very slow. He went to her, and grabbed her hoof tight. ”Don't worry. You'll be fine. I assure you! You'll be fine!”. He refused to believe that she was leaving them. She just smiled slightly at him. ”No... Marne... I will not. The Doctors said this is my last day. They're unable to expand my time here anymore.”. Marne started crying, and grabbed her tighter than he ever had. "I know they can! Please! Don't leave me! I can't...". He could feel her grip loosen. He looked up at the heart scanner and saw her heartbeat going slower and slower. ”No! Don't die! Please don't!...” The tears ran out of his eyes as he heard the heartbeat scanner make an unending beep sound. ”I can't live without you!...” His voice softened ”Y-you made me who I am... If it wasn't for you, I wouldn't be here... If it wasn't for you... I... I...”. He broke down crying, holding Twinkle in his arms. Tears ran like a waterfall. ”Too soon...it's just...too soon...” The nurses came in and took her with them. A year had passed, and there he was, standing by her grave. He read a letter out loud to her. Dear Twinkle. I've got so much, that I want to tell you. If only I could find the right words for it... The years without you have been hard. I haven't been able to smile the same way. I've gone through it, though. I know, you want me to find someone else, but I can't. It's impossible for me to do it. I'll never be able to forgive myself.... but I digress... Marney has learned to talk a little. No more than a week ago he looked to me, while we were eating, and asked me where his mom was, because all the other kids had moms. I just don't know what to tell him. I usually just tell him that you're gonna be away for a while. I can't get myself to telling him that you're gone, and that you'll never be with us again. I just want you to know, Twinkle. Whatever happens in the future, if I meet somepony else, I will never forget you. I promise. I don't want to forget you. You're the one who made me who I am. And I'm forever thankful. I just wish there was something I could do to make you understand how much you changed my life when we met. Even when were just two teenagers. The words you told me back the... in the classroom, do you remember that? When you told me to never give up? In honor of you, I'm going to take that to heart and promise you that. Because I love you, and I always will. Your loving husband Marne. He read the words inscribed on Twinkle's tombstone. Never give up, Marne. Please. I'll always be there with you. Twinkle Heart, 1998-2029 He turned around, and walked away. A few years passed. He met another mare, and Marney started in school, but Marne had one routine that he never lost. Every month, he visited Twinkle's grave, and gave her flowers, and told her what had happened the previous month. He did that until the end of his own life. His grave was placed next to hers. His tombstone also had special words inscribed. I never gave up, Twinkle. I kept my promise And Marney. I love you. Don't you ever lose hope. Marne, 1998-2075