Stuck in a Rut: Pt. 3

Stuck in a Rut: Part 3

 

>Your mind distracts you from the blue p0ny waving her hooves in front of your face.

>Gradually, you hear a muffled voice calling your name.

>"Uh, hello?!"

>You shake yourself out of your daydream.

>She tilts her head to the side, raising her eyebrow in confusion.

>You shrug.

"Sorry, I kind of zoned out there..."

>"Yeah, I noticed."

>You look embarrassedly at the floor, your demeanour unconfident.

>Realizing what nerve she has struck, Rainbow Dash quickly apologizes. Well, in her own way.

>"Look, I'm gonna go. Sorry for being... yeah. I'll see you later, okay?"

>She looks at you with a sad smile.

>"Hey. I'm really glad I could tell you... well, everything."

>You work up all your might to return it.

"Yeah. Me too."

>A few moments pass.

>"I'll be on my-"

"Wait, Rainbow Dash."

>She pauses.

"Thank you. Thank you so much."

>Her lips curve slightly.

>She darts out of the window in a burst of colour.

>Well... that didn't go so badly.

>But now thrown in the fucked picture of your life here, is a lonesome Rainbow Dash with a penchant for you.

>You're unsure if this is a good thing.

>The first p0ny to try anything with you turned out to be insane.

>Insane for you, and other humans.

>The one question still lingers in your mind.

>It will never be answered.

>Why you?

>Falling back on your bed, you let out all your breath with a heavy sigh.

>Is it ever going to get better?

>Or are you doomed to be plagued by the memory of... her?

 

>You have been staring at the ceiling.

>Unsure for how long.

>You hadn't even gotten up to eat.

>It didn't matter. Your stomach hadn't barked at you demanding food.

>Yet, anyway.

>You have no motivation. Even if somebody did care for you, what was the use when you no longer cared for yourself?

>God, how could you have been so foolish?

>P0nies drinking... you moron, you MORON

>Did you assume that because they all respected one another, they'd somehow be nice to you?

>You were always kind of a pariah here. Why would they suddenly treat you differently?

>Even Applejack, your boss and only "friend", made remarks to you occasionally.

>About your freakish height, the weird way you spoke, amongst other things.

>And even Twilight, who simply found it funny your DNA was closely linked with apes.

>Fucking apes, man.

>That reminds you of that old police phone call recording, with the woman's friend getting killed by her pet chimp or something.

>What a way to go. Or was she still alive?

>None of that was of any consequence. You're too far away from there to even think of big events back home.

>Not that things there were much better.

>Birth.exe must've had a bug in the installation code, the setup was glitchy as hell.

>Your grandparents had all died long before you were born. Better that way, you thought, less heartache to deal with.

>Your crackpot mother, who, after leaving your father, was too busy scoring any drug possible to pay attention to you.

>She had left you home alone one night when you were 11.

>She never came back that night.

>You later found out she'd overdosed on rocks.

>There wasn't a word for what you felt. A mixture of confusion, misunderstanding, anger, and crippling sadness.

>A waste of a life. Leaving another life, yours, in the hands of a father who didn't care much.

>Your distant father, who you hadn't had a real conversation with since your mother had died.

>He was never one for deep and intricate talks, more of a reclused type.

>But after that had happened, he seemed to have decided that was the final straw.

>To the average passerbyer, they'd have guessed he was mute.

>And it was next to that with Dad.

>Before coming here, you hadn't seen him in a year.

>And lastly came your layabout, entitled foster brother.

>A year younger than you, he was shaping up to be a pretty great guy, to begin with.

>You saw him whenever you visited Father, then permanently after your mother's passing.

>You and him would often go into the forest behind the house and climb the hundreds of trees, racing each other to the top.

>After your mother left existence, and your father became practically mute though, things changed.

>Cries of "Daddy!" would ring from his throat at nights, but no father came to comfort him.

>After that, everything about him went downhill.

>He started throwing tantrums, breaking things, and screaming for hours on end.

>All while Father simply sunk deeper into what seemed like depression.

>It all seems a lifetime away.

>In a way, Equestria was no worse than Earth.

>Until things began to look up, you got a job, a couple of acquaintances, then the party.

>And the party changed everything.

>If only you had paid more attention to the cyan eyes in the corner, tracing your every step, your every word, your every... weakness.

>100% inebriation being one of them.

>Although, you could definitely go for a bottle of vodka right now. Or 2. Or 3.

>It's not as if you're an alcoholic, just... good at calming your nerves.

>And Fluttershy can't get you, she's stuck in her house.

>Maybe you'll go to your kitchen...

 

>Giving a small hiccup, you take another swig straight from the vodka bottle.

"Guh... Thiwaz-Thiwaz a bad idea."

>A knock on the door distracts you from your internal conversation.

"Hoocudd'atbe?"

>Walking gingerly through to the porch, there's another knock.

"Wait a second!"

>You pull open the door, and in front of you is Applejack.

>She notices your difficulty in standing still.

>"Uh. Hi."

>Wonder what she's doing here.

"Oh hello comonin!"

>She does so.

>"Just thought ah'd drop by, seeing as there ain't no work to do today and I was in town for supplies. Y'alright?"

>Attempting a lean against the banister was a bad idea.

>In seconds you're on your ass, with the orange p0ny laughing in your face.

>"What in tarnation are ya doin' down there?"

>Sheepishly you smile at her.

"Uhhh... Am kinda drunk."

>You point to the bottle on top of the drawer

>"Anon, what's all this here?"

"Yadidn'see nuthin'!"

>She looks at you with a stern but sad face.

>"What's gotten into you?"

>Applejack may be honest, but that wasn't the case for you.

>You can just avoid the truth.

"I'm just reaaal bored taddayanIdunno whaddado."

>"Uh-huh. Yer gonna tell me what's up. Or else."

"Orelze what?"

>She turns around, and lifts up one of her hindlegs.

>"Ya know exactly what."

>You knew the drill. She'd threaten you with her mighty bucking prowess, you'd give in, but she's never done it.

>So you're not gonna give in this time.

"Nah'p. You're not gettin' anythin' outta me."

>Taken aback by your defiance, she retracts a bit.

>You grin to yourself.

>"N-now wait just a second. Nop0ny's ever stood up to that threat."

"Nobody buhme!"

>"Well, fine!"

>Lifting up her legs, she begins to hesitate.

>And thus, she puts them down again.

>You knew she wouldn't have the guts.

>"Ugh... ya got me. But what's wrong, sugarcube?"

>You're not in the mood. Applejack will press for this though.

"It's nuthin' I can'handle. I'm gunna go. 'Less you wanna drink?"

>She resists temptation...

>...For no longer than 3 seconds.

>"Oh, what the hay, sure."

"Great!"

>She grabs a glass, snatches your bottle from you and pours the liquid throat-killer into it.

>"Ah'm only having the one, though. This far away stuff ain't got nothin' on my cider."

"Alrigh'!"

>Shifting yourself into the lounge, you flop down onto the couch with a thud.

>Applejack does the same, but in a more graceful manner.

>"Are ya just tryna clear out yer stocks or somethin'?"

"Well, I guessya could say that."

>She raises an eyebrow.

>"Whaddaya mean?"

"Eh... I'm notoo sure. I guessit's cos I been thinkin'."

>She turns to face you.

>"About what?"

>The tone in your voice drops.

"Home. Father. Mother. Gregor."

>"Anon... it's been 7 years. Don't you think it's time to let go?"

>You take another chug from the bottle.

"This is me letting go."

>Letting out a sigh, she begins to scold you.

>"Look, I don't want you to get in this kind of state. I know you don't like me so much, given I make jokes about y'all, but can't you tell me anything?"

>You look at the floor guiltily.

"I wish I could. Evertime I told somebody somethin' they'd slowly slip away fromme."

>Her eyelids half close in a crescent shape. Sadness.

>"Huh... Well, someday you'll come clean. Ah'll getcha."

>That's what she thinks.

"Maybe ya will."

>Silence falls upon the pair of you.

>But there's no uncomfortable feeling there. Working at Sweet Apple Acres was silent most of the time anyway.

>What else was there to talk about bar apples?

>You and Applejack share each other's company for a few minutes more, while she finishes her drink.

>"Ah forgot to ask, how did the party go for ya? Ah didn't see you after about 11. Where'd y'all go?"

>Shit.

>You freeze to the spot, midway through raising the bottle.

>Eyes shifting, she's in your view.

>Your hair stands on ends.

"It was fine. Atmosphere was good."

>"Nothin' went wrong at all?"

"No sir-ee. Nothing. It was a good night."

>She doesn't look convinced, but decides not to question you.

>For now.

>"Hmm... Okay. Ah'll see ya later Anon, I gotta go buy some ingredients for Granny Smith's pie."

>Thank goodness.

"Thanks for stopping by."

>She closes the door quietly.

>"Bye."

>You say nothing.

>If nothing else, at least Applejack was concerned.

>Worry was better than indifference.

>Not for you, though.

>The party was something you really were never going to get over.

>Taking one final drag from the neck, you collapse onto the floor.

 

////////

>That... was a catastrophe.

>It had been a couple of hours since you had left Anon.

>You had been to Clousdale since then, and went about sorting the weather. But he was still on your mind.

>The sorrow you feel for Anon can't be described with words.

>You always knew there was something with Fluttershy, even when you were just two fillies in flight school.

>But could you have expected this? Could anyone?

>The horror you witnessed...

>That might stay with you forever.

>But... Anon...

>It must be so difficult for him.

>You can't comprehend what he's feeling.

>At least flying takes your mind off of the whole thing.

>For now, anyway. You're on your way to check if Fluttershy is still in her prison home.

>The air swooshing past your face gives it a welcome chill on this warm day.

>Flying over the Everfree Forest leads you to a large chasm behind it. It drops off into an enormous ravine of sorts.

>No matter, that isn't your destination.

>Swooping down to the ground, you come to rest outside Fluttershy's home.

>Or whatever you could call this... place.

>You had locked her in the basement, so there was very little chance of her escaping, tied to that chair.

>Pushing open the door with your hoof, you observe the scene.

>Books scattered all over the place.

>Upturned furniture littering the room.

>...Fluids staining the carpets.

>You twitch in disgust at the last one.

>But it's not like you'd be cleaning it any time soon. And hopefully she wouldn't be either.

>Wait...

>Never mind.

>You go through the rooms, inspecting the damage more closely.

>Broken bits of glass, ripped packets of nuts for her animals, and other clusters of semi-broken items.

>...You really did leave this place in a mess, didn't you?

>She's definitely still in the chair, that p0ny is a whole different breed of crazy when it comes to cleanliness.

>Carefully, you make your way to the basement door, making sure you don't step on glass.

>Pushing open the door slightly with your hoof, you make your way down quietly.

>In the corner where you'd left her, was

>The chair that you'd left her in.

>But she wasn't in it.

>She

>Wasn't

>THERE?!

////////

 

End of Part 3.