Author's Note: One more chapter to go and then we're finished with AAT! Then, I'll go into detail with the sequel and how we're going to work it out! Hopefully that you guys will enjoy it as much as we do. Though I can tell you guys that it's going to take place during the Second World War, and mentions of character death in that story will be present because some certain characters will not be on screen due to their tragic death.
Disclaimer: I know that the part of it is going to be a bit difficult to read because abuse is present in the story, but it was quite common during the beginning of the 20th century before laws were put in place. We do apologize if it offends anyone who suffered through it, but if you do know anyone who does or suffered through it, don't be afraid to get help from those who you can trust.
Ascending Across Time
Chapter Fourteen
"Where's Hugo? What have you done to him?" Sweetie Belle asked worry etched in her voice, walking towards her so-called fiancé, wondering what could have happened to him.
"It's simple," Daniel responded arrogantly, "he lost and I won. It's such a shame that you fell in love with that filth. He should've died on the battlefield. It'll be fewer men like him, that's for sure."
"You unimaginable bastard," Sweetie Belle scowled, her words laced with venom in her voice. She didn't care about being proper and elegant, and someone needs to put him in his place, "what the hell is wrong with you?"
Upon noticing the language that she was using, Daniel glared at her, his anger rising. She should have been afraid of him and not use such demeaning words. No lady like her should be that bold towards their husbands, no matter their background.
"You know I don't like that, Sweetie Belle," Daniel menacingly whispered, "It's unladylike and you're way out of line to talk to me like that." He lifted his hoof and prepared to smack her, "Your coltfriend isn't here to save you this time."
With that, he smacked her as hard as he could, wondering if she'd speak out once more like that towards him. He'd never liked it when a woman is this bold and could walk over their husbands.
"You're such a slut for running off with him, to begin with," Daniel said sharply, narrowing his eyes at her. He felt betrayed that she had the nerve to cheat on him with some trash who doesn't even speak English that well.
"A...what?" Sweetie Belle asked, dumbfounded by the word that he called her, "What did you just call me?" She winced at the pain when Daniel had smacked her. She didn't think that living with this brute would have such a negative impact on her. She felt the tears sting in her eyes, sniffling slightly at the pain.
"A slut," repeated Daniel, "You're engaged to me, and yet, you're sleeping with another man! I don't know how Rarity could not even figure it out."
Sweetie Belle gasped, when the realization hit her, "H-How did you know?"
"Oh, it was quite obvious, Sweetie Belle," Daniel retorted, "You loved him more than me, judging from the fact that you had slept with a street-rat."
Sweetie Belle looked down shamefully, biting her lip in the process. She yelped sharply when Daniel used his magic, lifting her and tossing her to the other side of the room. Tears finally streamed down her face, feeling the pain hurting her. She wished that she had the opportunity to run away with Hugo after she learned that he was exiled, but Daniel watching her every move made it difficult for her to do so.
Daniel walked towards her, once again hitting her to teach her a lesson. After a few minutes had passed, he narrowed his eyes directly at her, "Rarity will be disappointed in you that you had slept with another man," he stated coldly, "such a whore you are. We're going to get married in a week from today. I'll tell Rarity to make you a wedding dress. I hope you'll forget about that coltfriend of yours."
Sweetie Belle watched him leave out of her room, slamming the door hard, prompting her to shudder in the process. The last part of the words that he said made her heartbreak even more. She weakly got up, wincing in pain, walking towards the vanity. Looking directly at it, her face now covered in bruises. What'll her friends think if they saw her like this?
Swallowing, she felt her throat becoming hoarse since she'd screamed before the hitting began. For a while now, ever since Hugo left, negative thoughts started to appear in her mind. She'd become distant and withdrawn from Scootaloo and Applebloom, and feels guilty for doing so. She'd thought about ending her life at some point, but realizing that if Hugo had found out, he'll be devastated and wouldn't even think about coming back to Ponyville ever again.
The young mare doesn't know much about his past, she assumed that Louis was the only one who knew and decided to keep it from her for a while until Hugo was ready to share it with her. All she did get out from him was that his parents owned a florist shop to get by because it had been in his father's family for years. She knew that he was from Canada, West Vancouver to be exact, and that was it.
I wish you were here, Hugo. Daniel is such a monster, she thought, looking at the bruise she had received, I love you so much.
A week had gone by ever since Daniel had hit Sweetie Belle. When Rarity learned that her little sister had been sleeping with Hugo after she announced the engagement, she'd been furious at that moment and demanded explanation at once, but Rarity had shot her down, telling her that it was such a shameful act on the family, accusing her of doing something so vulgar. They both hadn't spoken to each other since, with Rarity wanting her to forget all about Hugo, but she wasn't having it.
She stood in front of the mirror, wearing a beautiful wedding dress with fake flowers attached to it. Her hair was straight, reaching past down her shoulders. She also wore a wedding veil, attached with tiny flowers onto it as well, along with pearls hanging from it. Makeup adorned her face, though she could care less about the tears ruining it. Still, she feared that Rarity might yell at her for smeared makeup too.
"Sweetie Belle, are you ready?" Pinkie Pie asked, looking at the young mare with worry, "you can't be late for your own wedding."
Sweetie Belle felt sick to her stomach at the thought of marrying Daniel. "I don't know, Pinkie," she said, tears streaming down her face, "I just wish that Hugo was standing up there. Not that bastard."
Pinkie Pie's frown deepened, looking at her with sympathy when she spotted Fluttershy walking towards them. "You go on ahead, Pinkie. I'll handle this," Fluttershy said quietly, earning a nod from the mare, "I know you miss Hugo Sweetie Belle, we all do. Louis and Twilight are at the wedding venue...though I don't think Daniel wouldn't be too pleased to see his bride late."
Sweetie Belle scowled, narrowing her eyes. "Did he tell you to say that?" she asked, wiping her eyes dry and reapplying the makeup once again.
"Yes...but that's not the point I'm trying to make," Fluttershy sighed deeply as she continued, "Hugo had told me that he still wants you to run away with him."
"I don't think that's possible," Sweetie Belle argued, finishing up her makeup, "what will Rarity and Daniel say?"
Fluttershy rolled her eyes, "I'll have a word with him later. Hugo is waiting for you after all." She smiled when Sweetie Belle threw her hooves around her.
"Thank you, Fluttershy...I don't know how to ever repay you," she said, once the hug ended.
"Like I tell everypony," continued Fluttershy, "sometimes we just need to be shown a little kindness."
"It definitely can go a long way," smiled Sweetie Belle, removing her dress and exiting the room at once, running off to see Hugo.
Fluttershy felt happier, then remembered a key detail, "Oh my…she doesn't know where Hugo will be."
Nearing the town's main, gated entrance, Sweetie Belle looked frazzled. She knew leaving so suddenly would only cause a further rift to form between her and Rarity, but she was also worried about how Daniel would respond and react after finding out.
Rarity's relationship is something I can mend, Sweetie Belle told herself, but what Daniel thinks I have with him is truly unfixable.
She rushed through the gates and started running along the path in front of her, hoping to find Hugo quickly. Unsure of where to go, Sweetie Belle thought it was best to gather her thoughts and clear her mind free of Daniel and Rarity. Figuring that nobody would be there, she took off for the old Castle of the Two Sisters, hoping it would be quiet enough to feel better.
With the castle's calm, yet eerie serenity, Sweetie Belle figured that this would be her best chance to rationalize any potential thought as to where Hugo may be. She hadn't seen him since he lost the duel to Daniel and wondered greatly if she had received her message.
Crossing over the bridge after running a bit, Sweetie Belle entered the castle slowly. Things were quiet, as was expected, and Sweetie Belle began walking through the main hallway, heading nothing but the sound of her hooves coming into contact with the ground and whatever faint wind had drifted into the crumbling structure. She walked up a small set of stairs and looked out over the area behind her that she just walked through. Eventually, she began to process her thoughts and calm down a bit.
"If I were him," she said aloud, "where would I go to meet me? I'd stay clear of Ponyville and he doesn't know too much about the rest of Equestria." She sighed and tried wondering where he could show up, given his limited knowledge of the land. She rubbed her forehead with her hoof, "For Celestia's sake, why must this happen to me? I didn't deserve any of this; I didn't choose any of this. Just because I'm the younger sister doesn't mean I don't know right from wrong!"
"Sounds to me like somepony is in the same ship I was in once."
Taking her hoof away from her head, Sweetie Belle looked around quickly, trying to find out where that voice had come from. She stammered a bit, calling out to whoever was with her presently.
"Relax, Sweetie Belle," Twilight smiled, revealing herself to the distressed unicorn, "I'd figured you would either come here or the clubhouse you share with Apple Bloom and Scootaloo."
"Am I really that obvious?" Sweetie Belle wondered, hoping she hadn't said that out aloud.
"Look, Sweetie Belle," continued Twilight, "I know how you feel, thinking that your big sister knows everything and all that. Believe it or not, Shining Armor and I were the same way when I was about your age."
"You were?" Sweetie Belle quickly asked.
Twilight nodded, "You see, when I was younger, Shining Armor, and I would fight a lot because he always tried his best to protect and guide me."
"Isn't that what he's supposed to do though," Sweetie Belle retorted, "you know, as the bigger brother?"
"Well, yes," protested Twilight, "but he would do it to the point where I couldn't make my own choices. Sound familiar?"
"Like Rarity and myself," said Sweetie Belle.
"I did have my own mother step in to help sort things out when it got to be a bit unbearable at times," Twilight continued, "and that's something I know can't happen for you right now since your parents aren't here."
"I know," sighed Sweetie Belle.
"Nevertheless," Twilight responded, "the fact that you are standing up for what you believe is right and what you want is an important sign that you are indeed growing up. Rarity has to learn that she can't micromanage your life the way she thinks is best; it's not hers to live."
"It's my own life and I need to make choices that I think are best for me," agreed Sweetie Belle, "even if that decision comes at the expense of a close relationship."
Twilight pressed on, "As your sister, Rarity should and will always be there for you, no matter what. She loves you just like you love her, and there will come a time where she'll understand that you're growing up the way everypony does. I think she just might be in denial right now because, to some, there is such a thing as growing up too fast."
Sweetie Belle nodded and realized that Twilight was right, though she could never even love Daniel, nor learn to love him. "I can see what you mean, Twilight. Hugo is different and he treats me like I'm my own pony while Daniel treats me like a butterfly trapped in a glass jar," Sweetie Belle said with a sigh, "I only wanted to get married to Hugo. I feel so stupid for not accepting his proposal in the first place."
Twilight's eyes widened, "You mean that you wanted to elope with him in the alternate world?" she clarified.
Sweetie Belle's cheeks turned pink, nodding sheepishly as a chuckle escaped from her, "Yes. We were planning on doing that, but Daniel had gotten in the way."
"Oh," Twilight said, looking down for a moment as a thought suddenly came to her, "are you going to stay here and possibly wait for him?"
Sweetie Belle shook her head, "No, I don't think I will. I have to go and find him, where ever he is."
Twilight affectionately nuzzled her and she smiled at her softly once she pulled away. "It's okay, Sweetie Belle. I know that you'll find him. You just have to look deep inside yourself and understand what the heart truly wants," she advised, "and, you have my blessing to elope with him. No pony, no matter their race could tell you otherwise."
Sweetie Belle stood up and nodded, a grin appearing on her muzzle as she hugged Twilight once more, tears of happiness spreading down her cheeks as she sniffled and walked outside of the castle. Wiping her eyes dry, she thanked Twilight once again for her advice and proceeded to walk away from the purple mare, a quiet determination appearing on her face.
While she was walking, however, she soon glanced up and noticed that something was coming towards her. Sweetie Belle watched as the familiar pegasus swooped down, letters scattering everywhere.
"I'm sorry that it took me so long, Sweetie Belle. Had a problem with the mail system," the grey pegasus said, reaching in her bag and pulling out a letter and handing it to her, "I hope that you stay safe out here."
"Don't worry, Derpy. Thank you," she said, watching as Derpy nodded and once again took off flying. Using her magic, Sweetie Belle levitated her magic and opened the letter, which revealed a single train ticket. She blushed, thinking that Hugo had must have paid for her train ride, to wherever he was.
Dear Mademoiselle Belle,
This is in response to your first letter. I stayed in Canterlot for a few days with Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee under the named Valerian. If you're probably wondering where I am, I am now in Chicacolt living in a run-down apartment. I paid for your train ticket for you to come here. I promise that I meet you at the place that I am staying. The address is on the bottom if you look at it. My English is good when I write it, I know. Though, my proposal still stands if you want to elope with me. Also, a new friend here agreed to let you stay at her jewelry store if she spots you when you arrive.
Love, Hugo Beaufort
As Sweetie Belle read the letter to herself, she sighed in relief and knew that she had a chance of meeting him and leaving Daniel and Rarity behind, only for a short while. Although Sweetie Belle wasn't the religious type of pony that she was supposed to be in the alternate world, she silently prayed and hoped for a safe journey.