Stuck in a Rut: Part 3
Previously
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>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.