//------------------------------// // Background of Loneliness // Story: My Little Friends: Wish Your Happy Ending // by SyforceWinterLight //------------------------------// “Wh-what?” Twilight simply asked. Faith wiped away the remaining tears that were still flowing on her face before facing Twilight again. “I … always lived in an orphanage ever since I was kid,” Faith started to explain, “I was told that was sent there as a year old baby. I was raised by the orphanage’s staff ever since.” “Didn’t you know who your parents were?” Twilight asked. Faith shook her head, “No, I didn’t. It … never really crossed my mind that I even had parents when I was young. To me, it was just myself, the staff, and whatever kids came and gone.” “But we don’t stay naïve and innocent forever. As I got older, I began to notice how the other kids were constantly coming and going. I grew … curious on why there were other adults that would come, meet some of the other kids, and take them away. Pretty soon, the questions in my head started to bubble to the surface, and went around asking the nuns about everything. They caved soon enough, and told me about the orphanage I lived in.” “Luckily, at the time, the implications had completely soared over my head. I decided to be like the other kids at the orphanage, and wait until someone came to pick me up.” “Of course, that never happened. Every time there were adults, every kid in the orphanage plus me tried their best to get their attention. The staff always told me to show my best self if I wanted their attention. But try as I might, some of the other kids either overshadowed me or I was just never noticed.” Faith chuckled sadly to herself, “I guess I was one of those children that just seemed far too… generic to the adults. I suppose adults also aren’t likely to adopt teenagers, because as I got older, the less adults starting to pay attention to me. Pretty soon, I guess the idea of being adopted became a pipe dream for me.” Twilight, who had been listening to all this, had been feeling nothing but shock and surprise about Faith’s life. She did indeed know the situation about orphanages, but she never heard of an instance where young foals were never adopted, not even in their early teens. Faith was quick notice Twilight’s saddened expression, and her face quickly showed regret it, “I’m sorry, I probably shouldn’t have said anything.” “No… please,” Twilight stuttered, “I didn’t… You haven’t …” “Do you mind… if I go get some fresh air?” Faith asked, looking down, “I feel I’ve done enough to dampen your day.” Faith got up and started to walk off, not waiting for Twilight’s response. Twilight turned, at first trying to stop her, “Faith… I…,” but her hesitation kept her from saying anything. A part wanted to say that she was sorry, but another part told her that Faith needed to be alone for a while. As Faith walked away, Spiked walked up to Twilight. “Twilight…,” he said softly, “You’re not going to stop her?” Twilight sighed, “She just needs some time alone. I guess you heard all that.” “Yeah. I never… heard anyone carrying that much baggage,” he replied, “are you sure she won’t try to run away or anything?” Before Twilight could answer, a loud thud could be heard at the door. “I’m alright. Just tripped.” “I don’t think she would get far anyway.” Faith sighed as she sat outside the library. She looked up to see that there were a lot of clouds. They didn’t seem like storm clouds, as they were much whiter and less fearsome looking. She thought about how she ended up going from staying on a good building relation with these ponies, to just plain ruining it with her sad, sad bio. Dammit, she cursed to herself, I’m really not good at this stuff by myself, am I? She heard the library door creak open, and she turned around to see Spike peeking from the doorway. He probably was trying to sneak a look at her, because he stepped back a bit when she made eye contact with him. “I can see you behind there,” Faith said, “I have a friend who always liked to play hide and sneak a lot. Even the smallest detail won’t escape me.” Spike sheepishly smiled as he walked out of the door, “Sorry, just wanted to see how you’re doing. Which, by the way, are you okay?” Faith looked down, then looked back at the dragon with the best smile she could muster, “I’m fine now. Well, not good, just… fine. What said otherwise?” Spike just walked up to her and sat next to her, trying his best to think of an answer. “Well, your… mane is all over the place,” he said before face palming at himself. Faith cocked an eyebrow before a hair fell in front of her eyes. She brushed it aside, and her hooves came in contact with her mane. It was actually surprisingly long, but also felt pretty disheveled. “Oh, I see what you mean,” she remarked, “I didn’t notice it at all, honestly. I was never one to be concerned about my looks, anyway. It’s not your fault.” “That’s good, I guess,” Spike replied, smiling sheepishly. Some more silence followed, as the two stared in different directions. Faith took a look at Spike, who in turned looked at her back. “What?” Spike asked. “It’s nothing,” Faith replied. Actually, Faith had a few questions in her head. Which had questions hooked to them as well, and ones hooked to those questions and well, and etcetera. Her thinking about that time with Indigo has basically transitioned into asking everything about the baby dragon sitting next to her. But the event that happened beforehand had made her too somber to actually try it. After more silence, Spike finally spoke up again, “I … actually overheard you talking about yourself.” Faith flinched when she heard him, “I’m so sorry…” she started to apologize. “No, no it’s fine!” Spike waved both arms, “I don’t think anything… bad about you. We just met, and that kinda was outta the blue. Just took me off guard, that’s all.” “O-oh, I see,” Faith sighed, relieved, “I just … felt that was a lousy way to introduce myself.” “I guess. But still, you’ve lived in an orphanage for, like, your whole life. It must be pretty lonely.” Faith looked to the side for a minute, “Well… you’re right… and wrong.” Spike looked curiously, “What do you mean?” “It… wasn’t bad… I wasn’t alone all the time. There were always the other orphans I would play with, before they had to leave. But then again, there wasn’t anyone my age that could stick around long enough that I can truly call a friend. But there were other orphans, who have been with me forever since I met them.” “Really? Who were they?” Spike asked. She smiled again, only this time it seemed to be slightly more positive. “The first one was Hunter. When he first came, he was a loner who tried to isolate himself from larger groups. At first I was one of the only kids to try to talk to him, and went for a while trying to avoid people. Eventually, I got him to open up when I beat him in a game of baseball batting. Now that I think about, finding out he hated losing was the first actual thing I learned about him.” “That sounds like somepony familiar I know,” Spike chuckled. “Is it? Well, Hunter and I have been the greatest of friends ever since. Then came the twins, Willow Evergreen and Maple Evergreen. First time I met them, Willow was the overprotective brother while Maple was the scared little sister. But I was quite curious about them, being twins and such, due to the fact that I never met a pair like that. Willow was stand offish, and while he would talk to me a little, he wasn’t completely opening up. Maple, on the other hand, while she was shy as heck, wanted to actually hang out with me. And some say, when one twin comes, the other follows. Maple started opening up to me, which followed with Willow being less hostile with me. We’ve just stuck together ever since.” “Then there was Indigo, the friendliest guy I’ve, but also the biggest mystery in my life. When he came on the first day, he was completely quiet. He wouldn’t say anything or talk, and he always sat by himself. I could barely get anything out of him. Then suddenly after a week of being there, he suddenly was possibly the friendliest person in the building. I was surprised, truth to be told, but after a bit, I welcomed the change. Still couldn’t figure him out, but he always that ray of sunshine on my shoulder.” “Last but not least was Raine. She was a strange case of being an orphan, in her terms.” “How?” Spike asked curiously. “Well, for one, she came from a rich family. Her life was … confusing, to put it lightly. She had a mansion, which was where she really lived. However, for some reason she kept getting dropped at the home we lived in. Needless to say, it wasn’t exactly a picnic for her. But my friends and I were always there to keep her company, and pretty soon she start visiting us all the time when she was a bit older.” Faith smiled fondly as she remembered the things that she her friends have been through. Most the memories she remembered were ones that certainly felt like they occurred yesterday. “Wow, they sound like great ponies anyone could have as a friend,” Spike complimented. Faith nodded, “Yeah, thinking about them right now has definitely made me feel better. Thanks for cheering up.” Spike rubbed the back of his head in bashfulness, “It was nothing. Anyway, Twilight probably wants to see you when you’re ready.” “Yeah, okay,” Faith said, “Where are you off to?” “Uhh… nowhere,” he smiled in an innocent-as-possible, “Just… taking care of some stuff… Uh that’s it. A-anyway, see-ya.” Spike ran off before Faith could say anything to stop him. Faith simply shrugged to herself as she got up and entered the library again. She made sure she didn’t trip again, or else she probably will need a trip to the doctor’s. She looked forward to find Twilight, along with piles of books next to her. She appeared to be completely engrossed in whatever she was reading. Faith walked over to her to try to get her attention. “Hey, Twilight,” the lavender unicorn didn’t respond. Faith walked closer, but did not see the single, loose book that just so happened to be at her feet. Inevitably, she tripped. “WHOA!” She fell into one of the book piles, which cause some of the books to fly into the air. Some landed on the floor, and some on her. One book landed on the open book in front of Twilight, which actually did cause her to look up. She turned her head to find Faith half buried in some books. “Oh my goodness!” Twilight exclaimed, “Faith!? Are you okay, what happened??” Faith poked her head out of the books, moaning, “I’m fine, just tripped. Again…,” she rubbed her head in embarrassment, and to comfort the imaginary bump of pain on her head, “What’s with all these books?” “Research material!” Twilight quipped, smiling sheepishly as she helped remove books off of her. “Research?” Faith questioned, picking up one of the books off of her and read the cover, “’Exploring the Aether for fun and profit’? Twilight, what…” Twilight cut her off, “I really want to help you. You said that your friends are the only ones you have left, right?” Faith nodded, “Yeah, so…?” “I’m gonna help you get home no matter what,” Twilight announced confidently, “You shouldn’t have to be separated from them like this. I’ll do what it takes get you home, okay!?” Faith was touched by Twilight’s proclamation. Besides her friends, no one who didn’t know her were that selfless to help her despite only knowing for a few moments. “Thank you,” she replied gratefully, “I… don’t know how to respond.” Some silenced was shared between the two, before a low gurgling noise completely broke it. Faith gripped her stomach, feeling her gut rumble for a bit. “Oh! Well… this is… pfft,” a silly looking grin showed up on her face, as she tried to stifle laughter. She looked up to find an equally ridiculous smile on the lavender unicorn’s face. “….HAHAHAHA!” Both ponies burst into laughter, unable to hold it back much longer. Both of them laughed their heads off as they rolled on the floor. “Oh goodness gracious,” Faith coughed out, still in hysterics as she calmed a bit, “I guess I should take care of my body first before all else, huh?” “Ye-yeah,” Twilight responded while wiping a tear, “I think the research can wait. Let me go fix you something before we start on our research.” As Twilight walked off to the kitchen, Faith got up and decided to reorganize the books she ran into. As she quick read each title, she heard a faint rumble from outside. She looked out of one the windows to see that the previously white clouds start to become grayer. She walked up to the window, seeing that the clouds were indeed a deep shade of gray and far more ominous than before. Why do I feel like my troubles aren’t over yet, she thought to herself worryingly. “Hey Faith, can you come here for a minute?” Twilight called from inside, “I need to know if you’re allergic to anything.” “Huh? Oh right, coming!” she responded as she walked to where ever Twilight was. Whatever was worrying her, she felt she was better off dwelling on it later. As she walked away from the window, a single drop hit the window, tapping it softly.