>But then everything turns black
>The pond disappears
>Amber disappears
>Everything disappears
>Gone
>Lost in the shadows
>But you're still there
"Amber? Amber?!?"
>You call out into the darkness
>But no response
>Not even a sound of breathing
>But you aren't wet
>In fact, you aren't even swimming anymore
>You are laying on your warm bed
>Blanket covering your sore body
>The sillage of the night looms over you
>Creating an aporia of within your mind
>You place your hooves to each side of the bed
>Trying to reach for anything
>Anyone
>But nothing
>You rub your eyes and flip on the lights with magic
>Slowly, you make your way off your bed, and walk to the bathroom
"Amber? Dash?"
>No response, once again
>They probably went to Dash's house
>They don't want to be around a slut like you
>You get to the bathroom and turn on the lights
>Looking in the mirror, you see your face
>You see drained Maple, looking back at you
>Bags under her eyes
>Bloodshot
>You lose yourself in her bloodshot eyes
>How did you become this
>You almost don't recognize the Maple in the mirror
>You turn away in disdain, and walk out of the bathroom
>Realizing you are starving, you decide to take a walk by the kitchen
>Looking through the cabinets for a snack, you see some crackers
>Quickly, you eat the whole sleeve
>You pace around the house for a little bit
>Contemplating
>Reflecting
>Thirst grips you
>You walk back to the room and drink up the glass of water that Dash had given you
>Once downed, you sit on your bed and rub your tired, salty eyes
>You lay against your headboard and examine yourself
>Your lower body
>Your soft lips still hurt from their first time
>You close your eyes and throw your tail in front of your mare hood
>Embarrassed of yourself, you try to fall back asleep
>Where no one could see you
>You turn off the lights and lay back down
>Cozily, you wrap yourself with the blanket and close your eyes
>But then you remember your diary
>The lights turn on with a flicker of magic
>You levitate the book out from under your bed
>A shiver runs down your spine as you open it to the most current page
>Tears form in your eyes as you read the script, written on the small page
>'Dear Diary,
Today, I met a stallion at the sports store. Pennant is his name. A nice strong stallion. To my surprise, he started to hit on me!'
>You clench your eyes
>Feeling a tear run down your face as you relive your faint happiness
>So much expectations
>So much hype
>Just to be used
>A fuck toy
>Nothing more
>You force yourself to read on
>'And before I knew it, we have a date! Oh, it's gonna be so fun. He's gonna take me out for dinner! Maybe by me some hot cocoa and take a walk under the stars! I think we're gonna be boyfriend and girl friend!'
>The last line feel like a dagger piercing your heart
>For the second time
>A feeling of pain, and emptiness expands in your chest with every breath you take
>You shake your head violently and push your hooves up to your temples
>And you cry again
>You cry like the little bitch you are
>A slut
>A baby
>A toy
>That's all you are
>You open you eyes and look to the wall
>The deep blue curtains drape over the window
>Out of anger and hurt, you rip out that page from the diary
>Even the part about Amber being happy
>And even that makes you feel guilty
>You crumple it into a ball and throw it into the garbage can
>You let out a cry,
>A wail, like a banshee in the winds
>Before you curl up into a little ball
>And cry yourself to sleep
>You are asleep
>You don't dream
>You don't move
>Just suspended in a period of nothing
>Getting from point A to point B
>With nothing close to you
>Just rest
>You eventually wake up from the period
>You open your eyes once more, and look out the window
>See the faint sun peaking over the horizon
>Orange color paints the distance
>Somehow, you feel a little better
>Well, physically at least
>Your backside doesn't hurt as much
>But it's still pretty sore
>Like the day after you start working out
>Just hurts a little to move
>You slide off your bed and walk out of your room
>Once in the living room, you see Amber
>Crashed on the couch
>An empty beer can on the ground
>Well great, you made your sister relapse again
>Good going Maple
>You walk to her and pet her mane
>Running your hooves delicately through her silky mane
>It brings a smile to your face
>You see her toque on the ground as well
>The one you made for her
>You get a prideful grin
>At least there is something you can do right
>The stitching and workmanship is top notch
>Not quite Carousal boutique status
>But still good
>Good enough to make you proud
>You notice a newspaper outside inside your house
>Still caught in the mail hole
>That mail pony doesn't understand that newspaper isn't mail
>You levitate the paper up and walk to the kitchen to throw it out
>But then you see a familiar face on the front page
>It's Pennant
>A picture of him with a bow and arrow in his hoof
>And a string of dead squirrels hanging from his shoulder
>Fucker hunted too
>But what the hell was he doing on the news?
>You read the header
>'Serial rapist identified and killed by Military vet'
>The words stun your brain
>You don't understand
>You have to keep rereading the words
>And they still don't make sense
>Pennant was killed?
>By a veteran?
>You don't know how to react
>Feelings you've never known existed are coming out of you
>A mix of relief, fear, happiness, pity and anger
>Then the explanation dawns on you
>Why she wasn't here last night
>Why she is crashed on the couch
>Why she has a beer can by her side
>You may not be the smartest pony
>But you know what it means when the facts line up
>And it's pretty clear
>Clear as the light of day
>Amber killed Pennant
>You're shocked
>Stunned
>It feels so unreal
>The stallion that just last night was...using you
>Is dead
>Gone
>You don't know how to react
>She didn't waste anytime either
>She didn't get all the facts
>She didn't ask you what happened
>She just got up and killed him
>Well, you're sure she has her reasons
>But you almost feel relief wash over you
>You let out a sigh and walk to the coffee machine
>You make a cup of coffee, and grab the newspaper
>Leaving the house, the sun has come up a bit higher
>The sky is even more orange now
>A tint of amber paints the sky above you like a painting
>You take a seat on the porch, with the newspaper next to you
>Sipping on your cup of coffee
>While you watch the sun rise
>For this new day
>But even though he's gone
>It doesn't change a damn thing
>He still fucked you
>Plain and simple
>And you let him
>You let him inside of your body
>You let him fuck you
>Nothing will change that
>It will stay with you forever
>Like your cutie mark
>But this one is more like a brand
>Someone's property
>What are you saying?
>He took the innocence of many other mares
>Not just you
>Even though you might have deserved it
>Even though you were a disgusting whore
>Doesn't mean they deserved it
>They were innocent
>But you...
>You deserved it
>You deserve this
>This is what you get
>And this is what he deserved too
>You sit and lament for quite an amount of time
>Watching the morning ponies jog on by
>Little fillies running around, playing in the piles of leaves
>Enjoying their day
>You wanna be taken back
>To the times of your child hood
>Back to the pond
>Where you and Amber would play all day
>And the only thing you'd have to worry about is what's for dinner
>It's a shame you grow old
>Things are much simpler for fillies
>Then you hear the door next to you slide open
>You assume it's Amber
>Probably trying to get to Dash's house
>"Uh...Maple?"
>You don't respond immediately
>You wanna figure out how to play this
>This may be one of the last times you ever talk to your sister
>"What are you doing out here?"
>You take a deep breath
>"Maple, we should go inside, it's getting cold out here"
"He's dead?"
>You whisper to her
>You use your magic and lift the newspaper up to her
>Presenting it in front of her face
>You can't even look at her
>With all you've done
>You caused all of this
>She pauses for a moment, examining the newspaper
>"Yes...He's dead..."
>Even though you know the answer, you have to ask
"Did you kill him?"
>She confirms your theory
>She did kill Pennant
>You feel a tear slowly trickle down your face
"I...I wasn't the first he's done this to..."
>She doesn't reply
>She sighs and looks at the ground
"D-did you know that...When you...k-killed him?"
>She couldn't have
>Theres no way she could have
>She speaks up once again
>"I knew you weren't the first one...But not until I remembered..."
>She knew?
>How did she know?
>What did she remember?
"R-remembered? Remembered what?"
>At last, you look at your sister
>She doesn't look at you
>She just stares into the orange sky
>""He did the same thing to me..."
>The words come as a shock to you
>How could this have happened
>She's never seen him before
"What do you mean?"
>She sighs
>"Let's go inside and talk, it's kind of cold out here"
>You agree and walk inside with your sister
>The two of you sit on the infamous couch together
"So...What happened? What did you mean by Pennant did the same thing?"
>She grabs your hoof in hers and looks you in the eyes
>"I'm so sorry Maple...I should've remembered"
>Her eyes are soulful and clear
>You hold her hooves as well
"Amber?"
>She's holding back tears
>You can tell
>But then she releases your hooves and grinds her teeth
>Sucking back all the tears from her face
>She's all serious now
>"Remember at the hospital...I told you about my first time? Well, that was Pennant..."
>You sit there in awe
>Shocked at what your sister just told you
>It was him?
>All those years ago
>"I must've repressed his face or something...But he looked familiar. It was only until after I remembered..."
>Once again, you don't know how to react
>Total silence takes the room with a firm grip
>All you can imagine is your sister
>Being as hopeless, and alone as you are
>You wrap your hooves around her, with teary eyes
>You bring her close you, and hold her tight
>But not for you this time
>For her
>She reciprocates, holding you tight
"It's not your fault Amber...There was no way you could have remember..."
>She pulls away
>"But that doesn't change a thing..It still happened"
>You nod your head
"What happened last night"
>She takes a breath
>"Me and Dash went to go talk to him...Stuff got out of control, and there was a fight. He pulled a knife on Dash and slashed her...I bucked him in the face and he died..."
>And that's how it went down
>A little punk tried to scrap up against a trained solider?
>How foolish is he
"Did you get arrested? How are you here?"
>She fiddles around with the cushion on the couch
>"They questioned me, but I claimed self-defense. I don't think anything will happen to me though..."
>Good
>She shouldn't go to jail for defending you
"What about Dash? Is she okay?"
>She smiles
>"Dashie? Yeah, she's fine. She's actually leaving the hospital sometime today. I actually want to see her in a bit...Would you like to come?"
>You don't know
>You still feel pretty fucked up
>Your head hurts, and you can't think straight
>Every moment, you are reminded of what happened last night
>You forced your sister to kill
>Because of your ways
>It feel like a shell
>You want to block off contact to everyone
>Except Amber, your beloved sister
"I don't know Amber...She might be mad?
>She looks at you with a confused smile
>"Why would she be mad at you? What did you do?"
>You look down at the floor
>At the empty beer can
"I caused all of this...It's all my fault...I got her in the hospital, I caused all of your ain in the last few days...It's all my fault. And I deserved what happened"
>A silence looms
>The sound of her voice shatters it
>"Maple...You are smart and all, but that was the dumbest thing you have ever said. There is nothing, NOTHING, you could have done, that would have made you deserve what that scumbag did. Sure it's been a rough week, for both of us, but this is not on you. This is not your fault"
>Her words feel empty to you
>She's just saying what you want to hear
>She's too nice for her own good
>She doesn't see what you see
>She doesn't see the monster in you
"I...I just don't want to see her today...I can't...Not this soon"
>She hesitates again
>"W-what if I bring her here?"
>You get up from the couch and walk back to your room
"Please Amber...Please don't bring her here. Enjoy her, go out with her...There's no reason for you two to be cooped up in this house with me..."
>You hear a flap of her wings and she lands in front of you
>"You don't get it Maple...I LIKE spending time with you. You are one of the most important things in my whole world. You are a constant, a forever good. I'd never leave you, not in a time like this"
>You don't look her in the eyes
"You don't need me Amber... You're better off with out me..."
>You walk past her, and close your door
>After a few seconds, Amber knocks on the door
>"Maple please"
>You can't stand it anymore
"AMBER! Just leave me! Go to Dash's! Go to anywhere! Just go!"
>Her talking stopped
>The house is silent for a few seconds
>What did you do
>You snapped at the only pony who was trying to help
>You snapped on your sister
>And you immediately regret it
"Amber... I didn-"
>"No, no...It's okay, I get it...I'll just get going... If you need me, I'll be at the hospital"
>You droop your head
>As much as you wanted her to leave
>It felt like a knife knowing that she was going
>"Feel better Maple...I love you"
>She walks away from your room, and out the front door
>Not hearing your whisper
"I love you too..."