//------------------------------// // The Breaking Point // Story: A Beautiful Swallow // by Skijarama //------------------------------// The time began to flow, one day leading into the next, the natural sense of progression fueling the day-to-day events of my life. School soon started back up again, and continued on its rapid path. One thing that is very easy for me to notice is that school, even with all of tension and stress that it drops on the students, makes their perception of time speed up, because something is always happening, be it a class activity, a lecture, an argument between two of the class idiots, etcetera. At least, that’s the way it works for me. The school week always seems much shorter than the weekend to me. Over the days that soon stretched into weeks, Swallow and I spent more and more time together. We worked together on school projects and helped our other friends deal with their own problems, but in the end we spent the most time with each other. It filled me with this warmth whenever I was near her, warmth I could not explain. Whatever it was, though, I found that I enjoyed the feeling a great deal. It made the world around me seem to be a much nicer place. However, I never allowed it to distract me. I still had the negative view I always had, even with the lighter tones tinting the image of the world I painted for myself. I was still skeptical, cautious, and as sarcastic and snarky as ever. Swallow didn’t seem to mind as I always found a way to make her laugh with my weird antics, which, in turn, made me smile. A mare like her should never have a reason to be sad. Eventually, as the month finally turned over to the next, an event would take place that would change my view of the world. For the first time, I would begin to see the true colors of those around me. Others may have tried to alter my perception of this matter, but it never happened. In the four or five years since this event, nothing has been even remotely capable of changing my mind. <^><^><^><^> Winter wrap-up was coming in another month, and I was eagerly awaiting it. I was determined to actually be useful this time, unlike last year where I had caused a rather large problem. Anyway, something was really beginning to bother me; Dusk Raider, a Pegasus who was to graduate at the end of the school year, had been giving me odd looks recently. Dusk was not a pony I was friends with, though we were by no means enemies. We simply let each other go about our individual business. He was, from what I had heard, very possessive. If he wanted something, he would go to extreme measures to get it. So far, he had managed to get all of the important things he wanted, including good grades, a number of friends, and even a fillyfriend. It was going around that he and she had recently broken up by mutual agreement that it wasn’t working, and that he was a little depressed. Still, that didn’t explain the looks he was giving me. I knew that he had been conversing with Swallow recently, but I didn’t think anything of it. It wasn’t my business, after all. His looks were either simple glances or blank stares. One day, however, after school, he gave me a scowl. I had never seen him scowl, and it was actually a little frightening. He was a grey pony with a slight tint of dark purple to his coat, and a bright, silvery blue mane and tail. His look sent a chill down my spine, causing me to pick up the pace towards my house. The sooner I was home, the better. I had homework anyway, so might as well deal with that sooner than later, anything to get me inside. The snow crunched under my hooves as I went, each crunch sounding ominous in the quiet town. I knew that Swallow had stayed behind since she had something at the school she needed to deal with. I think a friend of hers had gotten upset, so she was staying with them until the parents arrived. My street was coming into my line of sight, and I began to relax a little, slowing my pace. That proved a horrible mistake. As I slowed, I heard hoof steps that had been mimicking mine. Red flags shot off in my head, and I looked over my shoulder, trying to make it look like a passive glance at my environment. In the corner of my eye, I saw a burst of movement, and turned my head the rest of the way. A powerful physical blow connected with my front, and plowed me backwards behind a house. My eyes had snapped shut on instinct when the movement connected, and I was finding it very difficult to open them again. That was a big problem of mine. Fast movement that came close to my body caused me to seize up, which is one of the reasons I tried to avoid fights. Still, I managed to get my eyes open after a moment to see the force pinning me down. “Dusk?!” I exclaimed breathlessly, realizing that he had knocked the wind out of me with the impact. “Stinging Nettle” Dusk replied, voice low. He sounded very, very pissed. “What the hay are you doing? Get off of me!” I tried to shout, but the second half was cut off as he jammed his hoof into my mouth. I looked up at him with fearful eyes. “Shut up! You think you’re so smart. You thought I wouldn’t catch on, didn’t you?” he snarled, glaring down at me with an unspeakable hatred burning in his eyes like a tornado of fire. I began trying to struggle against him, trying desperately to push him off, but he was stronger than I was by quite a bit. “Well, let’s see how smart you think you are when I’ve pummeled you to the hospital!” He lifted up his other hoof, with the clear intent of striking me. I quickly grabbed his other hoof, the one stuck in my mouth, and was able to pull it out. “What are you-“ I tried to ask, but he struck my face with all of the strength I could imagine he could put into a punch. I became dazed as pain lanced into my system, colors exploding across my vision from the force of the blow. I tried to scream, but my mouth was sealed once again by his infernal hoof. Another blow hit me, and more pain shot through my system. I tried feebly to fight back, sending my own hoof up with what strength I could muster, but he knocked it to the side. Another strike, and another. Over and over and over again, I found myself being struck. I couldn’t see at all through the multitude of colors and spots dancing through my eyes. My ears were ringing loudly, every strike a loud boom in my mind. Finally, he removed his hoof from my mouth, I assume to strike me with both of them at the same time. It took me a moment to realize this, and when I did, I took advantage of it. “HELP ME!” I screamed at the top of my lungs, receiving another blow, harder than its precursors. The colors suddenly flared, sound faded away, and then all went dark and infinitely silent. All that remained was an echo, calling my name, and pain. <^><^><^><^> An agony I can’t even begin to describe filled my head. I heard echoes, echoes of voices. Some sounded worried, others sounded angry, and one sounded terrified. I tried to open my eyes, but beheld very little. My vision was fuzzy, and my eyelids barely even lifted enough for me to see light. What little I could see was various shades of blue. I felt numb all over, likely from the snow, and I found my mind just as empty. I could hardly think coherent thoughts. More echoes, slowly becoming clearer. One of them stood out from the rest. I could make out what she was saying, even if just barely. “Nettle! Please, wake up!” she cried. The way her voice trembled as well as the hysterical sobbing with it made me worried. Other voices slowly began to come into focus. “What the hay were you thinking!? You could have killed him!” That was my dad’s voice! The way he was shouting made him sound angry, angrier than I’d ever heard him be before. Another voice entered the picture. “And I should care, how?” That voice, I remembered. It belonged to the pony that put me in this condition. I finally managed to force my eyes open, and took in the scene. There was a small crowd, consisting of my family, Dusk Raider, some ponies I didn’t recognize who were holding Dusk back, and Swallow. I looked up at Swallow, who had turned to look at Dusk. “Dusk, I don't know what came over you, but the fact remains that you just hurt a friend of mine! If you wanted to win my heart, this wasn’t the way to do it!” Swallow shouted angrily before turning her eyes back down to me. She gasped, and looked back at my dad. “He's awake!” she exclaimed. Dad came to my side in a heartbeat, and rested a hoof on my back. “Hey, I'm here,” he said reassuringly, bringing me into a gentle hug. I was barely able to return it, but I did, my eyes looking at whatever they chose. Dusk was glaring at me, looking about ready to break away from the ponies restraining him to try and attack me again. A glance from him at Swallow, though, seemed to change his mind. Swallow was looking at me with a worried expression. I reached one of my hooves out to her, not really sure what my intended gesture was. She reached up with her own hoof, and gently connected her hoof to mine. “It's okay...” she whispered, a tear coming to her eye. I looked at Dusk, then back to Swallow, trying to find words that could answer my questions, but I could still barely think at all. Finally, I managed to get something out. “Why?” I mumbled weakly. Dad must have felt the vibrations from my talking, because he pulled back to look me in the eye. “What?” he asked quietly. I shook my head, and focused, trying to form a coherent sentence. “Swallow... Come here...” was what I managed to get out. She circled around my dad and sat down next to me, rubbing soothing circles into my back with her hoof. “Yes, Nettle?” she asked, a forced smile on her face. “Why did he attack me?” I muttered, gesturing at Dusk. Swallow sighed heavily, and glanced back at Dusk. There was a long moment of tense silence. “He... He wanted to start dating me. I turned him down. I can only assume that he thought I was already dating you, based on how often we were with each other...” Swallow said, hesitating every few words. “He's dangerous!” Dusk snapped. Dad turned to glare at him. “So are you!” my dad yelled at him, pulling me into a defensive embrace, as though trying to shield me from any kind of assault. “In fact, I'd say you're more dangerous! You attacked him without provocation!” “To protect Swallow!” Dusk replied, voice trembling. Silence prevailed for a moment, before he continued. “Nettle once attacked another student, as I'm sure you know, because he was playfully shoved. He almost attacked Diamond Tiara over something that wasn't even his business! He's harmful, so I did what I had to in order to protect Swallow!” The second he said those last 3 words, Swallow got to her hooves and marched up to him. I imagine her expression was scary, given how quickly Dusk shut his mouth. Swallow stood in front of him for several moments, then slapped him with what I imagine was all of the strength she could muster. “Protect me?! You hurt my friend, and so you've hurt me, too! I don't know what in Equestria made you even remotely sure that attacking him would be a good idea, and I don't care!” Swallow screamed at him, fury burning in her voice. Dusk didn't respond, but simply stared at her with watering eyes. Swallow turned away from him, and returned to my side. “Swallow...” Dusk muttered, but there was no response from the snow-colored unicorn. Swallow sat down next to me, and silence prevailed in the snowy area. <^><^><^><^> A few minutes later found the nurses arriving. According to an on the scene examination, I had a severe concussion. I was carried away to the hospital, while local officials showed up to issue a jail sentence on Dusk Raider. I found myself in that hospital for several days, eating crappy food, and incapable of much movement. My parents and Noctis made daily visits, and by my request, Swallow was allowed to visit every once in a while. The visits were solemn, subdued, and always fairly short. It was a week before I was deemed recovered enough to return home. But after returning home from the hospital, I found I couldn't sleep. I had always been knocked out by sleeping medication in the hospital for this very reason. I was suffering from these horrible nightmares. Either Dusk, or some other pony shrouded in darkness was hurting me in some way. Either by physically pummeling me while my family and Swallow were forced to watch, or by pummeling them, or even through words. In every case, I was always completely powerless, having to endure the suffering and agony. One of these dreams has stayed with me the entire time since the incident... <^><^><^><^> Darkness enveloped me in its cold embrace. The world around me was lit only by the faintest of lights emitting from a distant torch. My neck and back felt as though they were on fire, and my eyes burned from the strain of staring at that light for so long. I had no idea where I was, but it was terrifying me. Occasionally, I would hear a scream of pain or fear, a feminine voice desperately calling out for help. Every time I heard it, it was getting closer. I tried to form words, or even sounds, but nothing escaped my throat. Finally, I heard a sound that wasn't screaming. It sounded like a gate opening. I turned my gaze to the left, where the noise had come from, and was almost blinded as a much closer light struck my eyes. Shielding them, I tried to make out just what I was seeing. It was a silhouette, slowly drawing closer. Accompanying it were pained whimpers of despair and defeat. My eyes snapped open. I recognized that voice. The silhouette slowly drew past, dragging in chains behind it, a White Unicorn. “Swallow!” I crashed against the bars of my cage, trying to break them down, trying to push through, anything to get out and save her! Her eyes turned to look at mine, and I froze. Her eyes were dull, and filled with a fear that was frozen in place. I tried to push my hoof through the bars so I could try and grab her hoof, but she was past before I could. Moments later, life seemed to restore in her eyes as she started screaming again, reaching out for me. The figure snarled in disgust, turned, and struck her. She fell to the stone floor, motionless and silent. The figure turned to me, still shrouded in that darkness. He smirked, teeth visible as a large white crescent. He turned back to Swallow, and a horn I hadn't noticed lit up with an equally shadowy aura. The same aura surrounded Swallows neck, and lifted her into the air. My eyes widened, and I tried to scream for it to stop, but in the next moment, there was a sickening snap... <^><^><^><^> I would awaken screaming, and my family would rush in to help calm me down, and sooth me back to sleep. Eventually, I started back into school, but it was clear to everyone that I had changed. I saw it, too. I was far less trusting, far more cynical and rude, and also reacted much more negatively to the greetings of others. I don't know how many potential friends I might have shoved away, but I trusted nopony. My mind was aching from the recurring nightmares, and I became far more secluded. Even my friends and I became distant. On nights when I wasn’t haunted by nightmares, I’d awaken crying instead. The only one who refused to distance herself from my new behavior was Swallow. Frankly, I'm glad she stayed by my side. The only good thing I can think of that came from this is tied directly to a poem I wrote a few weeks after the incident. My blood begins to boil as you lash out. I raise myself up, ready to counter you, stout. The world slows to a stop, A single tear falls, a blue drop. The blow connects, and I fall. Another blow, the world seems to stall. Strike, strike, strike the hooves go now. But even with all your might bearing down, I will never bow. The sun dips below the line, And I know that my life is mine. As soon as the last period was struck by my quill, I felt an odd sensation going through me. A tingling all over my body. It felt... nice, honestly. I didn't think anything of it at first, but as I descended down the stairs, Noctis jumped in surprise. “Nettle, are you aware of what's on your flank?” he asked. I tilted my head, and glanced back. Almost as though tattooed, on my flank was a red quill, and instead of ink coming out of the tip, there was a single blue tear. I had found my cutie mark.