//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Darkest Day // Story: Just a Little Kindness // by Thunderstorm823 //------------------------------// Chapter One Darkest Day Stream's eyes shut, shivering from hearing the shouting coming from his boss. "Have you got any idea what you've done!" He shouted with unbelievable anger. "You could have killed ponies, what do you have to say for yourself?!" He asked. Stream looked up. "It was a mistake... a miscalculation... I'm sorry..." He looked directly into his bosses eyes. "This kind of screw up is unacceptable, the factory almost closed down because of you!" The boss shouted. "Hell it almost blew up! Taking half of Canterlot with it!" "But sir..." "I don't want to hear it! You got lucky when one of the workers realized what you were doing, as soon as the factory started shaking." The boss then sighed, walking around his desk and sat down. "I'm sorry Stream, but I'm afraid I'm going to have to let you go." Stream stood up. "But sir, this is the only job I have, I made one mistake, it was the only one I made since I started working here two years ago!" Stream argued, keeping the tears in. The boss shook his head. "My hooves are tied Stream, everypony sent in complaints today, about how you are starting to lose your edge." He informed. Stream sighed. "Oh... it's just the problems with my wife sir..." "I don't care about that, you can worry about your problems but that doesn't mean you have to bring them to work." The boss stared at him. "Gather your belongings from your locker." The boss said, his voice softer than it was before. "Goodbye Stream." Stream nodded. "Goodbye sir..." Stream turned and left. He entered the locker room and opened his locker, gathering all his stuff and putting them in a box. "The boss fired you huh...?" A voice began, Stream turned and noticed Chrome leaning against the lockers with a blank look on his face. "That sucks..." Stream nodded, wiping some of the tears away. "I'm going to miss you friend, I'm sorry about your wife also.". Stream looked up, chuckling softly. "Oh don't worry about that, it was going to end sooner or later..." Stream closed his eyes, more tears began to flow down his face and onto the floor. "Listen... if things get heavy, I know somepony in Ponyville that could help you out, she's actually a relative of mine." Chrome walked over and patted Stream on the back. "If you want..." Stream looked up at Chrome and smiled. "S-sure..." He stuttered. Chrome used his magic to pull out a slip of paper out of his coat pocket and levitated it over to Stream. Stream held out his hoof, taking the paper. "Thank you..." He smiled, looking up at Chrome. Chrome nodded. "It's the least I could do." He smiled, looking at the box of stuff. "Want me to help you with that?" Chrome asked. Stream shook his head. "Nah... I got it..." Stream stood up and hurled the box onto his back above his wings. His head turned slightly. "Goodbye Chrome..." Stream said struggling a little to speak. "Goodbye Stream Star, I hope it gets better for you..." Chrome said. Stream sighed, nodding, and began walking. The walk to the exit wasn't helping, from getting a few mean looks from some of his co-workers, and them trying to fix his mistake. Stream just wanted to get home, let's just hope his wife had left already. Stream opened the door to his house and closed the door behind him. He turned to the living room and stopped, his wife staring right at him with saddlebags on her back. Stream walked passed her and sat down on the couch. "Just go, don't let the door hit your rump on the way out." "You're home early..." She said. "Yeah... well..." Stream didn't look at her, all he did was stare at the coffee table. "I was fired..." He said softly. A silence filled the room, his wife looked at him as he began to wipe his eyes, she then started to have regrets, but the damage was done. She looked down. "Well... I should get going, I got a train to catch..." She said softly, slowly starting to walk away. Stream didn't reply and the world as he knew it finally crumbled, his head turned to stare back at his wife walking out the door, making his heart burn. As the door closed, the sound of it was the only thing that rang through Stream's head, and just like that, he headed to the fridge. He took out the half empty bottle of hard apple cider and poured some into a glass cup and chugged it down. He kept at it for a while, till his head began to hurt, he stared at the bottle and his grip on the counter hardened. He screamed, taking the bottle and throwing it at the wall, watching it shatter into pieces. He panted, staring at the wall with some of the apple cider dripping down the wall, he then tipped the glass cup over and headed for the bedroom that felt cold and dark... and lonely, just to get some rest. The next day, Stream woke up late, realizing he slept for a whole twelve hours. But he still felt exhausted, but he got up and grabbed the box of stuff out in the living room and a slip of paper fell out of it. Stream saw it and set down the box to pick it up, he then read it. 'Rarity, Carousal Boutique, Ponyville' The walk over to the trains was hard for Stream, from all the dirty looks he was given, and the rain that forcefully slowed him down. At least he was lucky enough to catch the last train to Ponyville. Stream stared down at the train floor, as the train bounced and shook. Since he took the last train, there was barely anypony on it. But the only thing Stream could think about right now was the pain that was both on the outside and inside. Stream heard a muffled voice but it zoomed past him, the same thought playing over and over in his head. "Is everything alright sir?" The voice got louder as Stream was touched on the shoulder. He jumped, looking up at the train stewardess. He growled slighty, leaning his head against the train wall. He waved his hoof towards the stewardess to leave. The stewardess sighed. "Alright... I'll come back later..." She said, leaving. Stream closed his eyes, getting more rest, Stream began to drift to sleep... Until the train hit a huge bump, and began to shake violently. "Huh...?" Stream opened his eyes slightly and it opened wide as the train hit another bump, launching Stream slightly. Stream got onto his hooves and looked out the window, looking towards the front of the train and saw it tilting, Stream's eyes widened as the train flipped off the tracks and off the cliff, into the fog that had surrounded a forest. The most dangerous forest of them all, and the train was crashing right into it.