//------------------------------// // Prologue: Raindrops upon Cracked Soil // Story: The Unsung // by Eclipse Shine //------------------------------// A lone crusader stood in the pouring rain, her mane drenched with the cold threatening hypothermia. Yet it was peaceful, her own little sanctuary in the town in which she did not belong. The moon shone its rays upon her pelt, revealing mud stains on her once brilliant white coat. She had run through the muddy plains until she found a subtle tree where she could seek shelter and focus. She has to rethink her life on the daily bases, her flank threatening her with eternal blankness. Yet she tried time and time again to paint the empty canvass that brought her so much shame. Spring had just arrived and the skies threatened to crack as they thundered above her. It wasn’t the smartest idea to seek shelter under a tree that towered over her but at this point she had really no other choice. Her sister took it one step too far once again, her materialism shading her judgement and bringing only bitterness towards the poor little blankflank. So the blankflank ran. Ran through the plains. Ran for comfort in the elements that offered none. Shivering, she stood; her forehooves caressed her sorrowful visage that seemed to bring raindrops of its own. Why was she so weak? Why couldn’t she stand up for herself? A thousand questions left unanswered but in the end she only had herself to blame. Her sister was a good pony, generosity was always the first thing on her mind but sometimes she gets caught up in her work and dismisses the pleas of her younger sibling. Cries for attention. Cries for help. ~ Sweetie Belle got bullied a lot at school by a couple of fillies by the name of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon; this day was no exception to that rule. She came home, her trotting hooves slowly pacing through her sister’s working grounds, only causing annoyance to her majesty. Rarity was caught up in a project that overcame her. With the due date in less than a week, the mare snapped when Sweetie Belle stumbled on a misplaced spool of thread; knocking over one of her prized figures. Sweetie Belle’s immediate reaction was to bolt out of her sister’s domain to avoid further scolding. It seemed like even the gods above were ashamed of her and commenced their downpour of disapproval. Time seemed to slow as the lone crusader waited for the storm to cease its reign of terror upon Ponyville. She tried to seek solace in her thoughts but found none. Her worrying only grew when she heard a crackling sound as a tree in the distance collapsed to the ground. Startled, Sweetie Belle stormed towards the nearest shelter she could find, Sweet Apple Acres. There, her best friend and leader, Apple Bloom would welcome her; but not before her sister, Applejack would scold the daring filly. Regardless of what they would say, she knew that she was better off going there than freezing in the embrace of the icy droplets. ~ Trotting up to the door of the old farmhouse, Sweetie Belle pounded her forehoof on the wooden surface that would have probably fallen like the tree in her wrath if Applejack hadn’t answered it first. The door shut behind her as Applejack gave her brother, Big Macintosh, the orders to get a blanket while she prepared a seat for the shivering filly. “What were ya thinking, bein out in the rain like that?” Applejack’s southern accent was a soothing kiss upon the fillies eardrum compared to her sister’s constant whining. “I don’t know…I just felt like going for a walk. It’s been a long day.” Sweetie Belle met her gaze with a faked smile but the element of honesty saw through her façade. “Are ya all right, sugarcube?” Applejack exchanged a worried glance with her brother as he brought the blanket to Sweetie Belle and tucked her into the warmth. “What? Me, I’m fine!” Sweetie Belle offered a wider smile and thanked Big Macintosh as he found a place of his own beside his younger sister. “Well, ah would have Rarity come and pick you up but that ain’t gonna be necessary. She’s already here. She came as soon as you left, searching for your whereabouts.” Rarity emerged from the shadows with her gaze meeting Sweetie Belle. “What was that all about?! First you knock over one of my beautiful sculptures and then you decide to flee the scene! What has gotten into you?!” Rarity escorted Sweetie Belle out of Sweet Apple Acres despite her pleas to stay the night with Apple Bloom. She hadn’t even had a chance to see her mentor as her sister thundered out of the farmhouse. ~ As always, Rarity went on with her work while condemning her sister to her room. Sweetie Belle was supposedly grounded for the rest of her fillyhood but she knew that her sister would forget by the morrow. She sunk her head into one of her many velvet pillows as she searched for comfort in a seemingly unfamiliar place. She had only started to act out of character lately for unexplained reasons and that really upset Rarity who had no time for disciplinary actions. Sweetie Belle had tried to act normal, to stop her constant mistakes and accidents but they overcame her. Even she had no explanation for this phenomenon and only wanted peace from the world. She only hoped that one day she would find her special talent and that it would grace her flank with opportunity as well as meaning. A pony can’t remain a blankflank forever, can they? No, that couldn’t be true, even the most useless and lazy ponies in Equestria had some sort of “special talent”. But these thoughts still troubled her and the bullying she received at school only intensified their depths as the days grew longer and the nights blessed her with little sleep. Someday she would show them. Someday, they would listen.