Ponyville Express

by GradientZero

Prologue: Depression and Anxiety

My name is Jack. I'm 20 years old and have been tortured throughout my entire life. You see, it wasn't always like this. I used to have a great family. We used to do so many things together. Then, Mom died. I was only 5 when the hospital called my Dad, saying that she was hit by a car.

“She’s….Dead?” My father asked.

There was the sound of a ‘click’ as the home phone was put back on the charger. I was hiding behind the door, listening to the horrifying news. I accidentally kicked the door and Dad threw all of his anger and frustration at me.

“GO TO YOUR ROOM!” His voice was cracked and filled with tension.

I ran as fast as I could, stumbling down the stairs, and making sharp turns past the wooden furniture and dark hallways. The door to my bedroom swung open and I shut it behind me, backing away slowly. My back hit the bed, and I slid down onto the dark blue carpet. My head was facing the floor, eyes wide with confusion and fear. My thoughts attacked me at that moment.

There were more incidents that were worse than this. Once Dad started drinking, He couldn’t control himself anymore. Sometimes, I’d end up breaking something and get slapped across the face. He always regretted it, but the hitting never stopped. At 11, I thought about suicide, but I just couldn’t do it. I stood in the kitchen, knife in hand. A barrage of thoughts and memories came to my mind right before I would have stabbed myself in the gut. Memories of the good times our family had together. The trip with Mom and Dad to North Carolina, Mom’s happy whistles in the kitchen, the photo of us at Disney World.

“I… I can’t do it…” The knife dropped from my hand as I collapsed on the kitchen floor in sobs and sniffles.

I grew older and went to a high school near the neighborhood. It was terrible over there, like a nightmare come true. I was 16 and was constantly picked on. The senior jocks were assholes. They always were teasing me, threatening me, and embarrassing me in front of the entire school. Then, that day came, the day that I earned my freedom. It was the day of my 17th birthday. They planned something terrible for me once they found out that it was my birthday. 2 of them came up to me in the hall as I was going to the bathroom, “Hey birthday boy! Get any presents? We’ve got something special just for you.” I had always prepared myself at home, for I knew that this would have come eventually. One of the guys tried to grab me, but I slipped away and socked him in the face as he bent down. The other guy’s eyes widened as he watched his friend slump to the ground in pain. They never did anything else to me for the rest high school.

I finally turned 18 and got a job. Dad always yelled at me for not getting one sooner. There was a website for a pet food shop and there was an opening. I loved animals when I was younger. They were so cute and cuddly. I arrived at the shop and talked to the owner about the job opening. “You’re hired!” He said with a happy smile. I was paid 7.50 an hour and made bucket loads of money. He put me in as a cashier and things went smoothly. There were, of course, customers that complained about the food that they’re giving to their dogs or cats. I knew a little about pets and their needs, so I tried to recommend one of the brands in the store. After a few months, I was able to afford my own apartment room. So, I packed my stuff in cardboard boxes and rented a U-Haul moving truck and brought it to the house. The boxes were put in the back shed and I got in the front. Dad was on the front lawn watching me with a half-empty bottle of whiskey in his right hand. I waved to him through the window and I got a middle finger back. I kind of expected that from him.

I reached the apartment complex in a few hours of driving. The moon was shone on me as I got out of the truck. I walked over to the building that had the administrators of the complex. Opening the door, I saw a lady in a black dress sitting at a desk. There was a chandelier on the ceiling and the floors were made of marble. It smelled like women’s cologne, that was probably the woman. “Hi, I rented room 36 on the website.” The lady looked up at me with bored eyes. “Your name?” she says. “Jack Caliendo.” I reply. “Alright, here’s the key, don’t lose it now.” I take the key from her hand and leave the room. I unlocked the shed and carried my boxes up to the 3rd floor. “Room 36, here we are.” I stuck the key in the hole and opened the door. It smelled foul. “Oh god!” I cover my nose in order to keep from inhaling the stench. I walk into the dark room and look for a light switch. I feel it on the wall next to me and switch it on. The place was disgusting. There was trash everywhere and rat poop on the carpet. I shut the door and looked for the spray I had in one of my boxes. I yanked it out and opened the door again. I let the spray work its magic and it eliminated the odor. Now that the smell was taken care of, I have to get rid of the crap. I pull out the dust pan I took from home and scoop the stuff up. I felt a little mischievous that night and dumped the pan off of the balcony. The poop fell on another person’s car and I burst out laughing. “I think it’s time to get unpacked before it gets too late.” I carried the boxes inside and shut the door. Unpacking proved to be easy, just throw my stuff everywhere and plop on the apartment bed.

One night, I was on my laptop, watching YouTube, and I spotted a link to FimFiction.net in the video I was watching. I felt curious to see what it was. So, I clicked on the link and I was greeted with a bunch of My Little Pony stories. At first I said, “What the fuck is this?” but after reading a few fics, I was addicted. I remembered watching My Little Pony when I was 4 or 5. It was entertaining and shaped a bit of me into what I am today.

I went to college and made some friends there. Classes were also easy and I passed them with A’s. My friends and I hung out a lot. They told me that they were bronies too, and that made me feel like I wasn’t out of place. We played Xbox together and kicked some ass in Halo Reach. Life was getting better and better by the day. I never found a girl to like me though, but hey, my friends were single too. We talked online and read fan-fictions sometimes.

It was my 20th birth day, and all of my friends celebrated with me. They went to a bar and got loads of beer. I wasn’t old enough to get liquor, but my friends brought a few cases to my apartment room. One guy trolled me and bought me a Rainbow Dash plushie. I was a big fan of Rainbow Dash when I watched the show, and all of my friends knew it. I always loved her adventurous attitude and bright rainbow colors. She almost reminded me of my mother.

The next day, I sent everyone home and took a shower. The smell of cigaretts covered my body, and I didn’t particularly like the smell. After I was squeaky clean, I put on a fresh pair of clothes and watched some TV. I felt unusually drowsy and just chugged down a 5-hour energy drink. This would usually wake me up instantly, but it did nothing. In fact, the more I fought to stay awake, the more I felt like sleeping. The world seemed to darken as my vision faded to black.