//------------------------------// // Chapter Four; Adjusting Pains- Moonshade // Story: Chance for a Better Life // by Kix //------------------------------// Looking at the house we stop in front of, I can’t help the shiver that runs down my spine. While Celestia and Sunset exit the car I look around at the other houses nearby, stopping to turn and focus on something that caught my attention. “Lily, does….. does that vehicle look….. familiar to you?” Whimpering, I try to point the vehicle out with my immobilized left arm but switch to my right. I hope I’m not right. The vehicle in question, a black minivan with darkly tinted windows, is parked a few houses down. “Sort of looks like Dark Heart’s van, but too far away to tell. Plus, you know he never let us look around when he took us for a few days. I can ask Celestia if she knows who that is, or you can.” “You can, but I’m already beginning to get a bad feeling, Lily. Please be careful,” I warn as the door opens with Celestia and Luna waiting. As gently as they can, they pull me out of the vehicle. The jostling causes my shoulder to ignite with flares of pain before they set me down in the wheelchair. “Is everything okay, Moonshade?” Noticing my focused gaze on the house, Celestia and Luna turn to look in the same direction, followed by Sunset. Something other than the vehicle caught my attention, but the pain mixed with the growing darkness make it hard to see. “Nothing. Just….. Let’s go inside please.” “Sunset, I meant to talk to you about this along with Applejack, Rarity and Fluttershy but forgot to. I know you’re on your way to achieving a perfect attendance record this semester, but think you could for at least a week stay and help Lily with Moonshade please?” Celestia’s question causes both Lily and Sunset to smile as I only groan at the idea of being babied and watched over. Sunset opens the door for the others and frowns a little at my facial expression. “Sure thing mom, I don’t mind.” “Here, I’ll take her the rest of the way to the room now Celestia. Unless you want to stay out in the living room, Moon?” “Room please, Lily. And if you don’t mind I’d rather not have all three of you crowding me.” Plus, the sooner I get some real privacy, the better. Unless Celestia or someone placed some hidden cameras in the room. As Lily begins to wheel me into the room Sunset sets a tray of confectionery in my lap, her smile not a fully happy one as I just look at it. “What is this for?” “Well, some of the girls stopped by and helped us get everything ready for you. They wanted to throw a welcoming party, but Lily talked us out of it. They left these here for you as a consolation. I hope you enjoy them, Pinkie baked them herself and she is an excellent baker.” “Thanks, I guess.” My dark tone matches the somewhat saddened voice of Sunset. Once said I close the door in Sunset’s face, my gaze focused on the ground at her feet. I can only imagine what Lily must be thinking as the door jam clicks softly in place. ‘This….. this is the room I’m staying in? Now I know to be cautious.’ “Well, what do you think, Moon?” Lily wheels me to the nearest bed and helps me onto it by supporting my weight. I can tell by how she plops onto the other and the sigh she gives out while snagging a cupcake from the tray on the nightstand between our beds that she likes it a lot. “Eh, it’s….. Ok I guess.” Reminds me of a few other foster homes I lived in. They buy you all this expensive stuff in hopes that it’ll open you up and allow them to abuse you however they see fit. “I’m getting tired Lily, I’ll see you in the morning.” As my eyes close, I hear a lid being put on the tray followed by the rustling of clothes before her weight bounces the bed a little. Subconsciously, I lift my right arm and make room for her next to me, knowing that she could use the feeling of comfort and safety along with me. ***** ***** ***** The sounds of others getting ready for the new day rouses me from the surprisingly peaceful sleep I was enjoying. When I notice that Lily is not next to me I just groan and fall heavily back into my pillow, yelping at the jarring pain. I forgot how much of a morning person she is, ugh. At Least I can lay around in bed all day. As if sensing I’m awake, she steps inside, smiling brightly. “Hey Moon, Celestia has breakfast ready. Here I’ll help you.” The tired glare I shoot her with my face mostly buried under the thick comforter only causes her to giggle as she approaches, which only makes me grumble. “Did you sleep okay?” “Yeah, just don’t want to be around them right now.” Or ever, if I had my way. “Think you can bring my breakfast in here, please?” “Nope, Celestia said if you want to eat you need to come on out.” Another grumble is followed by a few muttered curses as she helps me up and out of the bed and into my wheelchair, which she starts wheeling downstairs “Morning Moonshade, have a good night?” Celestia asks as I’m wheeled to the table and helped into a chair. A plate filled with an omelet, a few links of sausage and two pieces of toast are placed in front of me along with a large glass of orange juice. “We got these for you because according to the doctor, your nutrient levels are very low.” A couple different bottles of vitamins, calcium, iron and others are set to the side. “Thanks, and my night was alright I guess.” “You’re welcome.” A heavy cloud occupies the room as I eat cautiously, something Sunset and Celestia try to disperse with small talk, trying to include me to no avail. “I’ll bring you your homework when I get home, Sunset. There’s money for lunch if you want to order out, or you can help yourselves to whatever is in the fridge. Have a good day, girls.” Before she leaves, her arms first wrap around the older girl and then Lily, kisses placed on their foreheads which cause them to smile. As I tense, expecting her to try and hug me as well, she surprises me by just reaching down and giving me a pat on the head. “Take care Moonshade, and don’t be afraid to ask for help, no matter what.” “Sure.” I only manage to eat about a third of the plate before pushing it away, earning a glance from Celestia and Sunset. “I’m full.” The only things I touched were the eggs, some toast and a bit of the juice. Instead of picking the plate up Celestia just sighs. “You really do need to eat more, Moonshade. I’ve been made aware of some of your health problems, and you are underweight for a girl your age. I have also been told how little you ate during your stay in the hospital, and it isn’t healthy.” I wonder, does she really care or is she just pretending to while fattening me up to turn me over to Black Hearts? I swear that was his van yesterday, and whoever lives there was watching us. “Thanks mom.” As I look at Lily, she just shakes her head at me while Celestia looks hurt and Sunset is taken aback by my sarcastic tone. “Sorry,” I mumble as I take another bite while the woman leaves. “Well Moonshade, I know you’d rather return to the room, but Sunset and I think it’s best if you join us in the living room after you get a bath.” As the last part is uttered, I can’t help but start to feel sick to my stomach as anger begins to flood my veins. Try to calm down, Lily is here and you know she won’t let anything bad happen. I don’t trust Sunset, though. As Lily pushes me to the bathroom, I take a few deep breaths in an attempt to fight off the instinct to hit something. “Okay Moon, this might hurt some.” Before she goes to work getting my clothes off, Sunset tries to come in and help, only to receive an angrily slammed door in her face, resulting in an “ow” from the other side. The whole process of getting clean is difficult thanks to the cast and sling, but with Lily’s help I eventually feel clean and refreshed. “You know that wasn’t very nice. You need to apologize to Sunset when we get out of here,” her admonishment comes as she finishes helping me brush my teeth. “Fine, and thank you for helping me.” Once I’m dressed and back in the chair, we exit and head straight into the living room. “Sorry Sunset, the thought of a stranger seeing me….. naked makes me….. angry.” “No problem, it’s my fault. I should have realized that before getting my nose smashed in.” Sunset holds out her hand with a smile, which I take after a second. “What do you feel like doing? Watch some t.v. or a movie? Play some games?” As the two help settle me into the couch in a laying down position, I just shake my head. “I’d rather read or nap, you two can do whatever. Just be glad I’m willing to stay out here without an argument.” “Don’t worry Sunset, she just needs time to readjust. Once she opens up, she isn’t the grumpy angry girl you know now.” With a turn she just winks at me while sticking her tongue out in response to my scowl. “What video games do you have?” Great, go and ruin the my image, Lily. Thanks. As I continue to scowl at the two, I pick up the fourth installment of the Daring Do series and quickly filter out the outside world as I get lost in my own world. Maybe….. maybe I should take what Chrysalis said into consideration about trying to go on an adventure like Daring does. Time slips by with me oblivious to all that is going around me. I’m that into the book. A hand on my shoulder takes me off guard as it rests on my shoulder, unannounced and feeling unlike Lily’s usual grip, causing an unwanted flashback. ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ “Hey sweetie, what are you doing?” My very first foster dad’s hand on my shoulder causes me to jump and I look up at him, smiling. “Nothing, just reading a book a friend recommended to me.” I continue to smile as I show him the book cover. “Well, there is something I want to show you down in the basement. It’s a surprise.” ~~~~~ ~~~~~ ~~~~~ “NO! GET AWAY, DON’T TOUCH ME!” As I jump I lash out at the person with my good fist. The punch is awkward as I’m not right handed and the angle is poor. “MOONSHADE! IT’S ME, SUNSET!” Her shout of surprise comes just a second before impact. Lily just watches in shock as Sunset just lays on the floor, shocked as well by my reaction. A minute later, my vision begins to clear. “Oh my….. Sunset, I am SO SORRY! I….. I didn’t….. I’m…..” “Sunset, could you….. leave us alone for a few minutes?” All the fiery-haired girl does is nod while scrambling away from us. “Did you….. did you have a flashback?” I only nod as tears begin to fall and I hold her close. “Do you want to talk about it?” “It….. it was about the….. first time it….. it happened. I don’t want to go into further detail. I’m….. I’m okay now, Lily. Go get Sunset, I need to apologize.” She holds me for a few more minutes before going to go get her. Before I can say anything, Sunset walks in and just looks at me. “I overheard some of what you said, Moonshade. I’m sorry I startled you and caused the flashback.” “I’m sorry I punched you. It seems that we both have a lot to get used to. What was it you wanted?” “Well, Lily and I were getting hungry and wanted to know, what do you want to eat?” “I voted for Chinese, Sunset wanted pizza.” “Chinese sounds good. We can play a game as we wait.” The silence that follows as we wait becomes too much and I finally give in to the bad feeling I’m having after only a minute. “Hey Sunset….. who….. who lives down the street two houses away?” “I don’t know his name, never stopped to ask. He’s creepy though, caught him a few times watching me and my friends as we played in the pool. Why?” Please let me be wrong. “Can you describe him?” My heart rate begins to increase as I start to fear the worst. “Well, from what I have seen is that he’s about six foot and wears dark, expensive clothing. He has greasy, slicked back hair and a black soul patch. Moonshade, what is wrong?” “Relax Moon, it isn’t Dark Hearts. He never wore expensive clothes before. And he’s bald…..” “Lily, we need to leave here, NOW. It’s worse than him. What are you doing? Let me go!” “What’s wrong Moonshade?” “Call Celestia, Luna or that woman Chrysalis and tell them to get here now! Then you HAVE to hide me.” “MOONSHADE, WHAT IS WRONG?”