Why did it have to be this way? Why had she done this, and how did it happen? It was years ago-- six years, in fact, yet the guilt never left her. She tried to be happy, tried to smile every day, and everypony she knew bought it. They thought her craziness was her true nature, that she was just an odd earthpony. But no.
She was not. She was a pegasus who just wanted the welcomeness of the skies again. To feel the wind through her mane, and in her fur. The moistness of the clear skies and thin air to touch her again. To be free. Just one more time! Once more... To fly again...
But it was all her fault. The loss of the thing that brought her such joy was gone, and it pained her. Yes,The physical pain of the loss of her wings died off years ago, yet the mental pain got stronger and stronger. She just couldn't bare it. When all of her winged friends took to the skies, and flew free, she'd look up and smile. She smiled on the outside. But on the inside, she wailed.
Everyone, even her closest friends like Dart, Angel, Kora, Lilac, Luna, or the rest, never knew about her feelings. Her real, true feelings. They always cared about her, truly, they did. But.... they never knew. They never understood. Unlike her sister.
She'd know Misty since she was born, just a weak little pink pegasus, her sister the first face she ever saw. She was in shock, and looked down at her in wonder, but the rest of the memory was a blur. Misty had lover her, despite every fight they'd ever been through. They played together, laughed and talked and baked and ate... life was just.... just perfect.
No, it was not my fault! The stubborn filly told herself. It was not at all her fault! It was... yes! The storm! The great storm that drove the family apart! The storm that killed Vapor.....
She barely remembered it, the wind and the water. It destroyed Winty Wisk Hollow, her older sister's birthplace. It took away Vapor Breeze..... It killed Vapor Breeze. It sent them to a foster home. It lead her parents to no choice but to run away, as if they never cared for their children. Or Vapor.
The rain outside Cupcake's window pattered against the glass, trees beginning to sway. She jumped as one twig flew into the window, and slowly slid off. "You need to relax, Cupcake..." a soft voice in her ear whispered to her.
"You little coward! Afraid of a rainstorm? You're pathetic!" Another voice--a menacing voice told her. Cupcake closed her eyes, tight. She shook her head. The words everypony-- almost everypony told her. They didn't know.... They just.... just didn't know!
Tears began to run down her shut eyes, but she quickly wiped them away when she heard hoofsteps walk down the stairs. Her mother... "Is... everything okay, Cupcake?" a failiar voice asked her. She flinched.
"....yeah... Yeah, I'm okay, just watching the rain!" she said in her high-pitched voice, a huge smile placed on her face. Cherry, her adoptive mother smiled, and nuzzled her ear, then left. The smile on her face quickly vanished, as she place her chin back on the windowsil.
After about two hours, noon arrived, the sky still grey and cold. Just as the filly was about to doze off, her phone rang next to her. With a slight hesitation, she picked it up and answered. "H-Hello?" there was a long pause on the other end.
"Uh-uhm, hey..." a very failiar voice finally replied.
"Who's this...?" Cupcake groggily asked. Another pause. The caller cleared their throat for a second.
"I-it's Misty...." she finally answered.
At this point, a million thoughts raced through her head. Oh my gosh, what h-have I done? She nervously thought. I haven't spoken to her in.... years! I never called or anything! Never visited-- never..... remembered her! She's gonna.... gonna hate me!
Cupcake resister the urge to hang up when she was anxious, like she always did, but she just couldn't. It was like she was frozen in place, like time stopped, even the rain outside. All was silent for several minutes.
"Um... hello?" Misty asked, after about 3 minutes ticked by. Cupcake leapt to her senses.
"Oh... h-hi, Misty!" she exclaimed in her fake excitement. There was barely even a pause before her sister replied.
"I-I'm... so... s-sorry, Cupcake, I... I should have remembered... I should have!" she was gasping between her words, as if she was.... was that crying? Cupcake felt a hint of pity in her heart.
"It's okay! I'm okay.... I should have reached out to you long ago. I'm really, really sorry!" she pleaded in her actual voice. Her real voice that expressed her every emotion.
"No. It's really my fault! I should have said something! I should have.... should have cared! But... b-but I didn't! I just ignored you for so long, I--Oh, Cupcake, I can't believe myself..... I-I should have checked on you... like a..... a big sister should..." she trailed off, leaving the earthpony speechless.
Back when they lived together, Misty was soft spoken and afraid to speak her thoughts, her feelings, her mind. She was always horribly depressed, just scribbling away in her sketch book or just laying in bed in the dark for hours. She was friendless, and afraid of everything. Only her pets could bring her comfort, and she'd hug them, and sob into their fur for hours on end. It was dreadful. But now, It was like she didn't know Misty anymore...
There was more, uncomfortable silence, until the caller took a deep breath. "Look, would you mind if I.... came for a visit? I know, it's a long trip to Ponyille but.... but I'd like t-to see you again..... Cupcake...." Her words practically dripped with doubt, and the shy, softness Cupcake was failiar with. One last pause, but it was the light pink filly who broke it this time.
"S-sure.... Yes... I'd.... I'd really love that..."
It was about a few hours after noon, now, and Cupcake barely moved a muscle from her warm spot by the downstairs window. The storm began to worsen, as rain angrily beat the glass, doors, and trickled down the roof. Normally, she'd jump--run away from the booming of thunder, or the ear-piercing crackle of lightning, as it flashed it horribly brilliant light across the horizon. But this time, she just stared. Stared as if it was all perfect and harmless.
Cupcake Stared. She just sat there on her haunches on the cold floor, an untouched cup of cocoa sitting on the floor next to her. She breathed slowly and steadily, the rain the only sound in existance. Thunder growled and shook the ground, but Cupcake, she just.... stared.
She'd hung up on her older sister a couple hours ago, yet it felt like she'd just left her. And left her sibling to venture out into the snowstorm of Wintry Wisk Hollow for, Celestia knows, how many hours! "I can't..... I can't hover over this problem anymore!" Cupcake sobbed, tears dripping onto the white-wood floors, like the rain that splashed outside into the green-grass lawn.
There was that sound again; the hoofsteps. This time, it was her younger 'sister'. Everytime she saw her, she couldn't help but shed a few tears at the thought of her harsh past, nothing compared to her own. Balloon Burst-- or just 'Balloons' as she was unfortunatly called back in Kindergarten, had to watch her own parents die.
They loved her, so much, but one Christmas Eve, on a sleigh ride, it went out of control, after crashing into the side of a tree, spinning out of control. The reins latched onto a bush above the clift, as it hung over the edge, in the process, throwing several riders off.
It took three and a half hours for rescue to come, leaving the deerponies with severe frostbite. The survivors were more than greatful when help arrived, and the others, who fell over the edge were rushed to the hospital. Those victims were her parents, her older brother, and three stallions. There were four survivors. A foal and her mother, Balloons, and a young mare.
That mare was Cherry.
She, without hesitation, had adopted her, on Christmas Day, but Balloon Burst was scarred for life. It had been four years ago, the accident happening when she was just five years old, when she was brought into a new home for another chance. She had gotten badly injured, in fact.
She lost most of her tail, having it ripped off by the metal edge she was suffocating underneath for almost an hour. That hour, being her very worst. Fortunately she surived, but suffered lung issues for a few years. Several bones were fractured, and she was probably the luckiest one on that ride, having surived without too much major injuries, unlike the other passengers. Unfortunately, she had to get multiple stitches on almost every inch of her body.
Said filly came trotting down, blanket wrapped across her hot pink colored fur. It barely took a second before she spotted her older sister, she so much looked up to. "Hi, Cupcake!" she screeched. Cupcake jumped, tossing her head around. She breathed a sigh of relief. The filly scooted next to the older one and rested her head, covered in crazy black and red hair, on her shoulder. It was silent for several minutes, until the sound of Casey, one of the house cats, claws' clattered the wood floors, jolting the two back to reality.
There was more silence, even as the wind outside began to blow tree branches in multiple directions. Cupcake looked at the drowsy pony resting on her shoulder. "D-do... do you ever miss.... your parents....?" she slowly asked. Her immediate response was for her ears to uncomfortably twitch, and her eyes to go wide, but only for a short second. Balloon Burst took her blanket, and lay half of it on her sister's back.
"Yeah, of course I do! I... I miss them everyday, and... and my brother.... I remember all the fun times we had as a family... we had parties with our cousin, Pinkie Pie, and we'd...." she trailed off and looked up, as if she was reading her memories off the ceiling.
"I wish...." she quietly whispered, "I wish that.... that I could remember everything we did... I never got to really enjoy our time as a family together since we were all so young, I can barely remember their faces....." A tear rolled down her furry cheek, but she rubbed it off and her frown was replaced by a small smile.
"But you are my family, too, and I'm prepared to make new, fun memories with you...." her eyes fluttered closed, as she slowly drifted off, with a soft yawn. Cupcake pondered that. With a smile of her own, she recalled the crazy and fun things they'd done, even once, she had helped Cupcake to get to Lily's concert while her parents were out at the movies, and SugarSweet, her 17 year old friend she met at a bakery, had to foalsit them.
The two had gotten to Rainbow Dash and Pinkie, who drove them to the trainstation to Lily's place. The train, for some strange coinsidence, was out of service, so they had to drive back, and 'borrow' a helicopter, that Rainbow still claims was "Out in the open". Balloons had corrected her and said that Rainbow Dash had stolen it, but the pegasus remained stubborn.
"For the final time, I didn't steal it!" she'd rable. Anyway, Pinkie flew the thing over to the party, only to find that they were an hour late. The thing was, Sugar was too occupied watching Frost, the youngest of the family, Sunny Sweets, the thrid oldest, and Black Heart, the oldest-
Black Heart.....
"Oh, Black Heart....."
The unicorn's past life had been, for sure, one living nightmare. One that nopony should have ever experienced. One tale that ruinded her life. One that could have killed her....
*WARNING: This chapter involves deaths, some angst, and slight gore! You have been warned!
Black Heart....
She was the angry, lonely, friendless pony for a reason. It wasn't her fault. Not at all.
She was just ten years old when it really began. Her parents were gothic, and loved to tamper with the 'unliving' and old, ancient spells that even Celestia herself refused to touch. Black Heart had three sisters: Silver Night, the quietest, Lumi, the talented one, and lastly, Aurora. She never seemed to have a personality. She was just... paranormal. But unlike the others, Black Heart loved her.
One Nightmare Night, her parents, Emerald and Lucy, returned home late that afternoon to their uncomfortable large home. "Hey, girls! Would you like to see the spell your father and I found?" Lucy asked. The four all waited in excitement and nodded.
As usual, she rambled on about how the spell was found under the rubble of an abandoned cottage by a river. They never even seemed worried, scared or nervous about anything they did, and whenever somepony would ask, "Isn't that dangerous?" with fear engulfing their question, one would look back with a smile and say: "Don't worry...."
They were Insane....
But this time was different. Nothing seemed too strange or unusual like it normally did. They watched in such patience, as if they were willing to wait for days. Lights were off, all was dark, but the seven candles lit in the basement, where the family sat. Then....
It happened.
It was, within a matter of minutes, Aurora began to tremble. Was she cold? Or was it the fear of their parents' antics? "Aurora? Is... s-she okay, mother?" Black Heart asked, worried about her favorite sister. The other two stared at her in slight worry. "Mom, stop. You're scaring Aurora!" Lumi shouted. Her eyes began to water up, as her sister's shaking became for severe. The two parents opened their eyes and gasped. "Aurora, honey, it's okay...." Lucy reached her hoof out to the trebling filly. When she caught sight of her hoof, she screamed. "GET AWAY FROM ME! G-GET AWAY!" she began to cry, frightening Silver, who shrank back. Emerald got up, eyes wide. Father's gonna help her... he's g-gonna help her... Black Heart thought. But she'd thought wrong, as her ears drooped at the words she heard next. "Get out of my child, you....spirit," Emerald said in a low menacing whisper, as Aurora slowly backed away from the stallion.
"D-dad.... P-please...." Aurora whispered, as she felt something cold touch her flank. The wall. Lucy trotted up, a crystal vase held in her magic. She stared at her filly with wonder and sadness. Time just seemed to tick slowly, maybe none at all, until time sped up. It all happened so fast...
"D-don't hurt me...."
They hit her.
The vase's crash on the unicorn's skull echoed the halls, as her ear-piercing scream filled the house. Again. Again! The bashed her in the head with anything they could find, blood pouring freely down her face, bones crunching. Her scream. Black Heart's screams. Something that would haunt their dreams forever.
"DON'T TOUCH HER!" Lumi screamed at the top of her lungs, launching herself at the murderers they once called parents. Emerald gentl shoved the filly away. "Lumi, sweetie, stay out of this. We need to help Aurora-"
"HELP HER?! You killed her! You killed Aurora!" Lumi bawled, tears dripping the floor. She watched as Aurora breathed heavily, forcing her body to taking breaths. She could see the white of bone in her head, and the dark blood that puddled the floors. The scent.... unbarable....
"Lumi, I said stay out of this, or we'll have to-"
"HAVE TO WHAT?! GROUND ME OR MURDER ME? I don't gie a flying feather what you'll do to me! I don't even know you anymore, I TRUSTED YOU! I'D LOVED YOU!" Lumi had officially broken down now, releasing yells into the house, that shook the chandeliers. Black Heart and Silver shivvered in a nearby corner, watching the scene unfold. The two had gone blood-cold, faces pale as a ghost, and eyes wide as saucers.
"W-w-what if m-mom and d-dad find u-us......?" Black heart asked herself. Silver sobbed into her sister's yellow fur. They just layed there, for hours, as Lumi fought. Fought for her family. "I-I'm scared, Black Heart... I d-don't wanna d-d-die....." Silver sniffed, as Lumi ceased her arguement.
".....don't..... 'cause...... leave....!" they could barely hear. After that, Lumi disapeared from sight, and a door slammed shut. Lumi was gone. Silver's heart stopped. She leapt out of their hiding spot and dashed for the front door. "Silver, no!" Black Heart whisper-yelled.
"Where do you think you're going, young mare?" a familiar, unmotherly voice asked. Black Heart gulped.
"To get Lumi back! I won't stay here with... you...." her voice trailed off.
"You listen here. Nopony, and I mean nopony hears about our situation. Do you hear me?"
Silence. Black Heart guessed she must have nodded.
"And, you are confined to this house until further notice."
"Y-yes... mother..."
"Where is Black Heart?" The filly's heart went into her throat.
"S-she snuck out......"
"Very well. If you ever meet up with her or Lumi, tell them they are never to be seen in my house again."
Another sound of a door shutting. The parents left, with Aurora's body. Silver came running.
"We need to c-call help, Black Heart, before t-they find you...." Silver said, with determination she never even knew she had. Black Heart nodded, dazed.
"O-okay, but... Whatever happens next, I need you to be there with me..."
The attept failed, since there was no way to contact anypony until the phones charged, which happened to finally have enough energy when the parents returned. Silver hid Black Heart in the basement, and she swore, everynight, she heard the wails of her dead sister.
It scared her.
Silver rarely slept, since she kept a close eye on where they went when they got up at nights. It was a simple awakening spell, whenever a pony stepped out of the magical boundaries, she'd be woken up, as well as Black Heart. She also brought down food often, and water, and some nights, watched over her, and slept right next to her. And she could hear the wails, too.
Four weeks passed, until the perfect opportunity arrived. Black Heart was sick and skinny from lack of food and hydration, but the parents had gone out to search for more spells under rubble on the edges of town. They had the phone, radio, and the second they left, the two packed their things and finally, after a month, called.
Twenty-four minutes later, the police located and made way to the house, seconds after the two returned home. The two were sent to a foster home. Soon, it was Cherry and Sugar who ended up adopting Black Heart, and Silver was taken in by a pegasus family, who lived nearby Black Heart's new home in Ponyille. Weeks later, police returned with news.
"Emerald Heart and Lucy Silverwing have been sentenced to death, M'am." One stallion reported, solemly. Cherry was shocked. "Oh, goodness! What did they even do to the children? Didn't you say they murdered them? How many were there?" Questions were tumbling out of the mare's head.
" We......" he breathed in, "We're unsure, Miss, all we know is that they killed one of their four children, kicked one out, and two of them were able to contact us." He closed his eyes and shook his head.
"The poor things! Is Black Heart's sister doing.... fine in her new home?"
"Oh, certainly yes. She lives with a large, loving pegasus family. If... she wants, perhaps I can get in contact with them and ask for them to.... maybe, see each other again...?"
No, are you crazy? It'll bring back horrid memories, they might as well forget each other! Cheery almost said. But she felt a bit of pity in her heart. She remembered how it felt when her older siblings had left home, and onto their own lives, her being the youngest in her family. I can't imagine what she must be feeling... Now wonder the filly's been so distant..... she thought, sadly. A small, hopeful smile soon tugged at her muzzle. "Maybe...." she said.
"Wait!" Cupcake yelled, waking from her trance. She turned to meet gaze with one of her newly found friends. It was Angel. She just stood there, her crimson and naturally violent looking eyes stared back at her with concern as usual. She was, after all, a siren, who left her home years ago, and yearned to live like a pony. She'd cast a spell to keep her in her pony form-- a white pegasus with red eyes and long blond hair. Her wings were a light faded pink, as well as her hooves.
Angel tilted her head. "Oh, I'm... I'm sorry, y-your father let me in on his way home... I can go if you wa-" a pink hoof grabbed her necklace, that matched her glowing, red eyes. She flinched, having her necklace touched, and gently pushed the earthpony's hoof off of it.
"Sorry..." Cupcake said, shuffling her hooves. Angel nodded understandingly and sat down in front of her.
"It's okay... but.... are you okay?" Angel asked, more as a statement than a question, as she pointed a hoof to the pony in front of her.
"Yeah, of course. Why wouldn't I be...? I'm just watching the rain..." She paused, seeing Angel's hurt expression.
"W-why are you lying to me, Cupcake?"
Oh, no...
"Was it something I did?"
How could she forget?
"Cupcake?" Angel asked, as a red trail of magic began to leave Cupcake's body, and was engulfed by Angel's necklace. How could she be so foolish? I'm such an Idiot! Cupcake thought. Sirens fed off of negativity, and she could practically smell Cupcake lying to her!
"I'm so sorry, Angel... I.... It's not you! It's just something I don't want to talk about..." Cupcake looked in another direction, ears flattened. More of the magic, in larger amounts trailed into her pegasus friend who quietly gasped.
"Cupcake, please don't do this.... you're only hurting yourself. I know you want, and need to talk to somepony... just... I'm here. Here to listen." she straightened her place on the floor, and sat up, looking expectantly at the earthpony. The trail quickly faded, and Angel breathed a sigh of relief.
"You know... my sister Misty, r-right?" Cupcake began. Angel nodded, her mane brushing the floor as she did so. 'Well, she called me this morning... and the thing is..." Angel rolled her eyes, knowing this was the start of another fib. Cupcake noticed this, and sighed. "I mean, she felt guilty for not keeping contact with me for.... for so long, and now, I feel kinda-- r-really guilty...
I mean, she's my older sister, and... I wasn't, let's say, I never won the "World's Best Sister" award," she cracked a bit of a grin. "But, she actually appologized! T-to me! And... it was never..." Cupcake shut her eyes tight. "It was never even h-her fault! She was just lonely and sad... and misunderstood!" Cupcake's eyes glistened with fresh tears, as her friend wiped them away.
"Oh, Cupcake, I'm so sorry!" Angel pulled the other mare in for a tight hug. The two embraced for a few seconds, and soon, let each other go. Cupcake rubbed her eyes. "No, it's okay.... I really needed to talk to somepony, you were right." Cupcake was silent for a second. She looked away and took a few deep breaths. "Hey... Angel?"
"Yeah?"
"How do you do it?" Cupcake asked. The white pegasus tilted her head like a lost puppy. "Do what?" she questioned. Her friend took another gaze towards the window. The rainstorm began to turn to white, fluffy pellets floating in the grey skies. Snow. "You live on your own, no family or anypony to keep you company. How do you do it?" She repeated. Angel noticed the stubborness in her voice; no getting out of this one. "I have my friends. Six friends who are like family to me." Angel added with a smile. Cupcake quickly caught on and grinned slyly. "And who are those six friends?" she asked, her smile growing wider. Angel scooted closer to her friend.
"A purple unicorn, a black earthpony, a pink zebra, a peach pegasus, a grey hyrbid alicorn-"
"Angeeeeel...." Cupcake wined. The siren-in-disguise giggled.
"Lilac, Neon, Kora, Luna, Dart.... and Cupcake. Satisfied?" she playfully asked. Cupcaked beamed, ear to ear.
"How come we haven't seen them lately- I mean most of them?" Cupcake asked. Angel looked at the quickly piling snow outside. "Luna and Neon got a part-time job at the club, remember?" Cupcake nodded slowly.
"And.... That leaves you, me, Lilac, Kora, and Dart. They're just preparing for the Holidays.... with their families..." Angel trailed off. Her soft face now stone serious. "But, I'll be fine... I can... spend the Holidays with myself and....my pets....?" She began to think over spending Christmas with a tiny bird and three wolf siblings. She gulped.
"You can spend Christmas with the Saddle Club, you know? We're having a party on Christmas Eve, and you're welcome to join!" Cupcake offered. Angel grinned brightly.
"Great! Let's begin now, by... letting me stay here until the storm calms?" she said, half joking. Cupcake smiled.
