Chapter Six:
A Little Road Therapy
Nopony spoke much during the first day of journey. Except for the occasional comment about the weather or a joking "are we there yet?" from Rainbow Dash, there just didn't seem like much to say. Twilight knew what it was they were doing, what they were getting themselves into, and her mind was too wrapped around those thoughts to bother with trying to carry out idle conversations. When this whole thing was over and done with, she knew they would not be the same ponies as they were now. This bank heist would change them in some way. What way that would be was hard to say at that time, and hopefully whatever it was wouldn't be too outwardly obvious that other ponies would suspect things. But no matter how they looked at it, they would be changed, and maybe it wouldn't be for the better. It was that thought that plagued Twilight as she and her friends made their journey to the bustling pony metropolis of Manehatten, and it kept her making any attempt at conversation.
She couldn't quite tell if her friends were having the same thoughts. She'd take a few glances at there faces now and then, trying to read their emotions and use it as any sign of what they were possibly thinking. Rarity looked as worried and distraught as ever; she was most likely still thinking of Sweetie Belle's future. Applejack still looked like she just didn't want to be there. Fluttershy's expression was surprisingly vacant. It was almost as if she wasn't thinking about anything at all. Maybe it was her way of dealing with things. If that was the case, Twilight had to admire her. She wished she could do that as well.
Rainbow Dash still appeared to be pumped up for the whole thing. There was a bit of frustration in her face as well, but Twilight assumed that it was part of what was driving Dash at that point. She had been so angry at the world for the past few days that she was excited to finally extract a bit of vengeance against it. Twilight couldn't really blame her; it wasn't like Dash had much to lose. She didn't have any relatives or significant others counting on her to succeed with this. If anything were to happen to her on this journey, then it looked like Tank would get make the Everfree forest his new home, which probably was no big deal for him.
Once again, Twilight found herself deeply disturbed by the expression that Pinkie Pie wore. She was smiling gleefully the whole time and had a bounce in her every step. It was actually very normal behavior for Pinkie Pie, and that was what bothered Twilight so much. Just yesterday Pinkie had been a miserable wreck; she looked as bad as Twilight had ever seen her. But once Twilight had explained to the group what she wanted to do, Pinkie had gradually seemed to improve. Now she was as jubilant as ever, maybe even more so than she had ever been before in her life. She didn't seem at all bothered by what they were about to do, and that really got under Twilights skin. Maybe she had taken Twilight seriously when she told her to think of it as a party, or maybe she had really believed Twilight when she said they would be getting back at the rich ponies of Equestria with this act, and she couldn't wait to exact revenge. The question was kind of revenge did Pinkie have in mind? Because it seemed to Twilight that the party pony had more in mind than just robbery...
One thing that the Mane Six were relatively grateful for was that weather did remain pleasant for most of the early morning. There were only light wisps of clouds in the sky and the light cool breeze felt good on their skin, especially in the areas they were beginning to sweat. By noon however, the sun was starting to become a bit too much. The breeze died down by that point and the air was becoming very dry. If they weren't careful, the group would easily run out of water before long.
"Fuck you Celestia fuck you Celestia fuck you Celestia," Dash muttered bitterly under her breath, clearly blaming Celestia for the scorching conditions they had to endure.
Before too long it became unbearable, and Dash had had enough. She took off into the sky and pulled in the nearest cloud so it was blocking the scorching suns rays from hitting the ponies. Dash was no longer legally qualified to move clouds, but that wasn't going to stop her from taking advantage of her ability to do so. Her friends didn't seem to care much either. They were grateful for the shade for one thing, and besides, if they were on their way to rob a bank, they might as well partake in a little illegal activity on the way, especially stuff that seemed mild by comparison. It felt oddly right all things considered.
The terrain they crossed on that first day was mostly flat green meadow lands. There were a few ups and downs here and there, as Applejack had pointed out the day before, but it was nothing remotely challenging. It was and extremely desolate landscape; there were no signs of life or civilization for miles. At times it almost felt as if the Mane Six were the last ponies alive in Equestria. It was as if some weapon of mass destruction or some viral outbreak had wiped out all life around them. Those were the kinds of disturbing thoughts that the six ponies just couldn't keep out of their heads. Once in a while though, an earth pony pulling a cart or a charter carriage would head pass them in the opposite direction, reminding them that Equestria was still well populated and at peace.
At around 4:00 that afternoon they came across a small general store on the side of the road. They stopped there to eat, grab some more food, fill up their water packs at a nearby stream, visit the little mares' room, and just basically relax for a while. Twilight went through her small pouch of bits that she had brought with her. There appeared to be at least seventy five worth in there, possibly all that remained for her. She hadn't asked what her friends had brought in terms of money, but she didn't feel it would do any good to ask now. They were well on their way and turning back just because they may not have brought many bits might as well be considered chickening out. Besides, her friends weren't stupid. They had to have brought a significant amount.
They found themselves able to travel faster without the sun beating down on them. They moved quicker and stopped less frequently. If they could do make the same good time they had early that morning and late that afternoon the next day, then it seemed very likely that they would be in Manehatten sooner than expected. Still, in spite of that good piece of news, nopony spoke much.
It had seemed like a good idea to set up a camp of some kind while they still had light, but their desperation to get to Manehatten kept them going until the sun had fallen behind a far off mountain range, creating a black ominous silhouette against the dark blue starry sky. Off in another part of the sky the moon was beginning its ascension. Twilight could almost make out the faint form of Princess Luna pulling it along.
"Pro'bly oughta hunker down fer the night," Applejack said with a yawn. "Ain't safe ta travel in the dark."
"Yeah, I'm wiped," Dash agreed.
"Alright, we should set up a good few yards from the road," Twilight said. "Maybe conceal ourselves if we can. I don't know what kinds of ponies travel these roads at night, and I'd rather keep it that way."
The others nodded agreement. They trotted about twenty yards into the soft grassy meadow on the right side of the road. There was a bit of a slope at that point that dipped downwards, acting as a perfect little shelter and hiding spot from any passing ponies. They rolled out their sleeping mats, Pinkie happily munching the crumbs and frosting off of hers, and settled themselves down. After a quietly mumbled "good night" to each other they drifted off to sleep, or... at least they tried to.
The pads they were using -with the exception of Rarity's extra thick pad- did very little in the way of offering any comfort from the hard lumpy ground. It also didn't help that the meadow grass was making them itch whenever it rubbed up against them. On top of that there were some crickets not to far off that were really putting on a show with their chirping.
By the time the night was about half over, Twilight, Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Applejack were in agony. Their backs were being ravaged by the hard lumps protruding through their thin foam pads. Several times during the night they found themselves lifting their pads and trying to clear the ground underneath of any rocks. But no matter how many times they did this, the ground remained as uncomfortable as ever underneath the pads. Maybe the problem wasn't the ground; maybe their pads were just really old and worn, and maybe it was the pads that contained the lumps. Rainbow Dash would've pulled down a cloud if she could, but there weren't any for miles. the one she had used for shade had drifted off a while ago and she was too tired to go looking for another one.
Meanwhile, the light snoring that was permeating from Rarity's pad indicated that the fashion unicorn was amazingly having no trouble sleeping in these brutal conditions, and when Twilight gave her extra thick pad a poke with her hoof, she understood why. As the night wore on, the young mares found themselves "accidentally" ending up on Rarity's pad one by one. It was only a matter of time before the peacefully slumbering mare was rudely awoken by a heavy breathing on the back of her neck. She gave an annoyed groan and rolled over to see it was Pinkie Pie, who was partially hanging off the pad. Rarity looked around to see that everypony else were partially laying on her pad, with Fluttershy actually wrapping a foreleg around the her underside.
Rarity was annoyed for a brief moment, but seeing how horrible the conditions were around her, she couldn't really blame them for wanting to take advantage of any comfort they could find. And even though the group had pretty much disowned their title as the Elements of Harmony, she supposed she could still have moments of generosity if she really needed to. First, she shot a white beam of light from her horn, the brightness of which waking the others instantly, having them all murming in confusion.
"Everypony off the pad for a moment, please," Rarity announced.
The others still looked a bit confused, a little hurt also that Rarity was most likely kicking them out of her private zone, but they all stepped off nonetheless. Rarity did as well, and aiming her horn at the pad, she hit it with a quick spell that caused it to expand to a large enough size for all of them.
"Climb aboard," she said as she made herself comfortable again.
The others all gave her warm, grateful smiles, which she returned. They laid themselves down a good distance from each other, wrapping themselves in their own individual blankets as well. There was no need to get too intimate in this situation (sorry, cloppers). The softness of the pad did wonders for young ponies, and they were all asleep before they knew it.
'Only one more night of this' was Twilights last thought before she drifted off. 'I hope...'
They were up early the next day. There was only a faint glow in the east to signal where exactly the sun would be rising, slightly obscured by the thin level of morning mist surrounding the area. It was comfortably cool out, which the ponies made sure to enjoy before it gave way to what was sure to be another scorcher of a day. Twilight left her sleeping pad behind, as did the others. If they were just going to share Rarity's, there was no need to haul their crappy ones around. It would be much easier on their still aching backs.
This days stretch of the journey proved to be significantly more difficult than the first. The Mane Six found themselves climbing much steeper sections of the road, squeezing their way through an imposing gorge not too dissimilar from the Ghastly Gorge, and crossing rather rickety bridge over a massive canyon with jagged spiky rocks lining the bottom (which they could've gone around but decided that would take to long). Thankfully nothing went wrong, and nopony seemed even the slightest bit intimidated by these obstacles. Maybe they were desensitized to this kind of danger by now, or maybe their desperation to see this task through outweighed their fear. Whatever the case, nopony complained; no pony spoke.
By around 3:00 pm they had managed to struggled their way through the the more difficult sections and found themselves on a long flat stretch of the road again. This was the most eerily desolate part of their journey thus far. They hadn't seen a carriage or any other mode of transportation for miles, and the surrounding landscape was much drier, almost desert like.
'Equestria sure has a weird geography,' Twilight thought to herself.
This was by far the most boring part of the whole road trip. There were no big beautiful natural landmarks to gawk at, no cute little animals on the sides of the road for Fluttershy to squee over, it was just boring boring desert. At one point they noticed a fairly large black speck soaring way above them in the cloudless sky; most likely a dragon. By this point the six ponies were so bored that they were almost hoping it would notice them and try to attack. Fighting it off would've at least been more engaging than just trotting along a dusty dirt road with nothing to do. unfortunately, the dragon either didn't notice them or had no interest in ponies that day, as he just continued on to wherever it was he was going.
Two hours had passed since they had hit this desert wasteland, and Rainbow Dash was starting to lose it. The sheer boredom she was feeling, mixed with the burning pain in her legs from walking so much was driving her insane. It got to the point where she could no longer bear being on her hooves anymore. She lifted herself off the ground and slowly hovered along with the others. Her slow hovering only lasted a while though. Being built for speed, Dash sped off as fast as she could down the road until she was out of sight. None of the ponies asked any questions or appeared to be confused. They knew it was just Dash being Dash, and she would come speeding back to them soon, hopefully with news on what the road had in store for them up ahead. And indeed the cyan pegasus sped back to the group looking somewhat relieved.
"There's another general store up ahead," she told them, breathing heavily. "It's a little decrepit but it should do fine for us. It's not like we're being picky or anything."
This admittedly perked the ponies up quite a bit, and their pace quickened considerably as they continued down the road. Unfortuantely, the term "decrepit" was a bit of an understatement when they actually saw the place. From the outside it looked as though the store had been abandoned some time ago. It was more like a creaky old wooden shack then a place of business. But when when the nervous little mares poked their heads in, much to their disgust, they saw that a crazed looking, backwoods hick stallion straight out of Deliverance was standing behind the counter, smiling a deranged, gummy smile at them.
In most circumstances it would've seemed like a good idea to just keep going and hope that another store would come up later down the road. But they couldn't risk it; they were dangerously close to running out of food and water, plus they need a moment to rest, their legs were throbbing horribly by this point. They bravely ventured into the shop and gathered up whatever sustenance they could find. Stale oats, greasy fried hay, moldy apples, dirty packs of water, it was wretch worthy, but it was better than nothing.
Meanwhile, Rarity had taken one step into the mares bathroom before she stumbled backwards retching and coughing. There was absolutely no way she would take care of her business in that disgusting, germ-ridden hole. She went outside and walked about 30 yards out into the desert and did what she had to do there, much to Rainbow Dash's amusement.
Desperate to get the hay out of there, the young mares approached the counter to pay for their goods. The crazed looking proprietor's toothless smile never faded as he rang up their items. The ponies did the best they could to keep from gagging and holding their noses at his stench. Twilight noticed that Pinkie Pie, who was the only one who didn't seem to affected by this place as she was beaming away as usual, had grabbed a bottle of soda. The unicorn tried to convince her friend that beverages like that weren't the best choice of drink for traveling as they only caused the drinker to get more and more thirsty, but Pinkie was quite insistent that sugar and caffeine were the best things for her; they kept her going better than anything else could. Twilight couldn't argue with that logic, so she reluctantly allowed it.
After paying for everything, and hearing a mutter from the gross old stallion that sounded scarily like he was saying something about Applejack "having a purdy mouth" the group hauled ass out of there and didn't stop running (Pinkie laughing gleefully all the way) until the store was far behind them.
"Maybe we should take a different way home," Fluttershy suggested curtly.
"Agreed," the others all muttered at the same time, except for Pinkie, who seemed confused by the fear in everypony's faces .
By around 7:30, the desert began to fade away as trees began to dominate the landscape. It was no Everfree forest, but there were enough trees to call it a forest of some sort. With the sun beginning its descent, Twilight decided it was time for them to settle in for another night, hopefully better than the night before. they found a small clearing in the trees not too far off from the road that offered a beautiful view of the starry sky above them.
Rarity rolled out her pad there, enlarging it again, while the others choked down some of the food from the shithole general store. Once they were all fed and watered, they settled themselves down on the pad, a good legs length away from each other, and just stared quietly up at the night sky.
Rainbow Dash's mind was far from at ease. She imagined all her friends were feeling the same way, but it was really starting to get to her that they had been so quiet during the whole journey. They were starting to feel more and more like strangers to her than her closest friends. She knew they were all suffering greatly, but was that any reason to completely ignore each other? Dash felt a sudden urge to ease the tensity of the situation; just get her friends talking again like they always used to on journies like these. She didn't care what it was they talked about, anything was better than this unnatural silence.
"Hey, uh... I think I might've strained my wing when I was flying today. Anypony up for giving me a wing massage?" She asked jokingly, receiving groans, eyerolls and scoffs in return. "Just tryin' to livin' things up a little," she continued in a tone of annoyance. "I mean, it's like I barely know you guys anymore. Nopony's said more than like... three words a day since we left. It's starting to bother me a little."
"Dash, we're all tired, we're all in pain, and we all have a lot on our minds," Twilight said. "Can you blame us for not being particularly talkative the past few days?"
Dash sighed.
"Whatever, can't say I didn't try."
But then Pinkie, who was laying next to her, rolled over to face the frustrated pegasus.
"I'll give ya a wing massage Dashie!" She offered with a big smile.
Dash smiled. At least Pinkie was willing to be reasonable.
"Nah, I was just kidding, Pinks," she said. "But what I could really use is a laugh. A joke, an impression, anything. Just give me a laugh, kid."
Pinkie thought for a moment. She brough a forehoof to her chin and stroked it as if she were pondering some sort of paradoxical question about the meaning of life. Suddenly her face brightened up and she reached into her bag, which was laying at the end of the pad by her head. She pulled out her soda bottle, which was still half-full, and took a few big swigs out of it, retaining the liquid in her cheeks. She set the bottle down and stood on all fours. She then began to shake and vibrate violently. Soon a gratuitous amount of foam was pouring out between her pursed lips and nostrils. Her eyes went kooky and wide, and one by one the other ponies began to chuckle at the silly display.
"Oh crap! She's having a fit!" Dash cried out jokingly. "Quick, somepony give her a tetanus shot!"
Now they were all laughing quite hard, harder than they had in a long while. Eventually the last of the foam escaped from Pinkie's mouth, she wiped it with her hoof, gave a jovial "ta da!" and took a bow, receiving a rousing round of applause from her friends.
"You're so silly," Fluttershy said with a cute giggle.
"Bravo, dear, that was quite amusing," Rarity announced grandly.
"Thanks Pinkie, 'bout time Ah had me a good laugh," Applejack added.
"Pinks, you are a comic genius," Dash chuckled.
Twilight didn't say anything, but she gave Pinkie a smile to show that she was grateful for the little show.
Pinkie blushed at the praise her friends gave her and settled herself back down.
"I do that for Mr. and Mrs. Cake all the time," she said with a blissful sigh. "It always makes them laugh so hard."
Pinkie suddenly seemed deep in thought about something. Most likely she was thinking of how her employers and caretakers were faring without her.
"They really mean a lot to you, don't they?" Twilight said quietly.
Pinkie wore a very serious expression now.
"You can't imagine," she whispered. "They're the best family a pony could ask for."
A brief silence followed that. It seemed Pinkie was serious when she considered the Cakes to be like parents to her. All this time her friends thought she was just exaggerating. After a moment the silence was broken by the rainbow maned pegasus.
"Hey, Pinks, why is it that you hate your real parents?" She asked rather lightly, as if it were no serious question.
Rarity gasped audibly.
"Rainbow Dash!" She scolded. "You know Pinkie doesn't like to delve into that part of life! How dare you bring it up so lightly?"
"I'm just curious!" Rainbow shot back at her. "I mean, here we all are out in the middle of nowhere, about to attempt the craziest thing we've ever tried... why not let loose a little and get a few things off our chests? A little therapy for the road, ya know?"
Rarity was still sputtering angrily at the pegasus, unable to think of anything to say. But after a moment Pinkie raised a hoof and silenced her gently.
"It's okay, Rarity. I don't mind," she told the unicorn, stunned by how suddenly Pinkie seemed to cave. She truly was unpredictable. She then turned back to Dash. "I don't hate my parents, Dashie; I don't hate anypony. I just... don't like to talk about them. They... they weren't really the bestest parents a pony could ask for."
All five ponies had their attention riveted on Pinkie Pie now. She was still smiling a bit, but there was definitely a sadness underlying that look. Pinkie continued:
"They... were really really really really really reeeeaaaaallllly hard on me whenever I was naughty. I mean, they were always soooooooo serious about their rock farm and keeping it all up and running, and whenever I... did something bad, my daddy had... really mean ways of punishing me. He... he would..."
Pinkie stopped there. She suddenly seemed very upset; her mane was starting to sag again and her eyes were starting to well up. Dash was starting to feel like she had made a mistake.
"I'm sorry, Pinkie," she apologized. "I didn't know it was that sensitive a topic. You don't have to say anything else if don't want to."
"I-I thought I was ready, but I just... I just... don't want to talk about it yet," Pinkie said shakily.
"It's alright, Pinkie," Fluttershy said gently as she reached over and rubbed Pinkies shoulder with her hoof. "We don't think you're weak or anything, and we're all very lucky to have you with us to keep our spirits up."
"I second that," Rarity said proudly. "Why just moments ago you provided us with the first real laughs and smiles we've had for a long while!"
"Ev'ry day's a joy havin' you around, hon," Applejack cooed.
"You're a wonderful pony, Pinkie," Twilight added. "And your friendship means the world to us, it really does."
Pinkie was smiling again. Her eyes were still a little watery, but her mane was starting to poof up again.
"Thanks, girls," she said quietly. "One day I'll tell you all more, I promise. At least, for now I have the Cakes, and I'll make it all up to them soon."
After a few more friendly pats on the shoulder, the ponies all went back to laying down. A brief silence passed, then another pony felt the need to share a little.
"Ah know what it's like ta have strict parents," Applejack said. "Mah folks were pretty hard on Big Mac 'n I; had us workin' 'til the cows came home on some days. They were always civil enough with us, I s'pose, but boy howdy, did they love that farm. Was their pride 'n joy; their livelihood. Didn't mess around when it came ta carin' for it. Punished us foals darned harshly if we ever messed around with it." She paused for a moment. "Sometimes Ah think they... cared more about that farm than they did Mac 'n I..." For a moment Applejack seemed close to tears. She garnered some concerned looks from her friends. "Still, they did what they could fer us, I reckon. Wasn't much, but... well, at least ah had Big Mac lookin' out fer me. He did a darn better job takin' care o' me than they did, that's fer sure!
"Then there was ol' Granny Smith. Ah always liked havin' her come over durin' the holidays. She always made the best dern apple pie ah've ever tasted! Even in her old age she ain't lost her touch with that, either. Once mah father died an' mother went all catatonic 'fore dyin' of malnourishment herself, she became our primary caregiver. Ah liked havin' her live with us, 'cause at least ah know she cared 'bout us more'n she did the farm. Still... this whole danged fire business..." she sighed. "That farm was everythin' ta my folks, then Ah had ta go an'... muck things up by lettin' somethin' like this happen."
"AJ, it wasn't your fault," Rainbow Dash said. "It's not your fault that little bastard punks are allowed to roam Equestria freely, doing whatever the fuck they want."
Applejack's expression suddenly became full of rage. She bit the bottom of her lip as though to keep herself from screaming.
"Wul lemme tell ya'll what," she began in a shaking voice. "If ah had those punks with me right here 'n now, Ah'd... Ah'd... aw shoot, Ah can't even say what Ah'd do to 'em! Ah don't think ya'll could handle it!"
None of the others made any attempt to prod her for more information. They were sure she was right: knowing what a strong pony Applejack was, they probably didn't want to hear it.
"Now Ah dunno why this had ta happen," the farm pony continued. "But Ah aim ta make it all right again. If mah parents truly did love that farm more'n they loved their foals, then... Ah might as well do what Ah can ta fix it all up, ta show that Ah care about that farm too. If not fer them, then fer lil' Apple Bloom. She's the true innocent in all this. She... didn't deserve what happened."
AJ stopped there. Thinking about her sweet lil' sister and what she must be feeling right now was proving to be too much for her to handle at that time.
"At least you had somepony who cared about you when you were young," Fluttershy interjected, much to the surprise of the others. "My mother and father didn't pay much attention to me at all when I was little. My father worked in a bank, you see... oh, I probably should've mentioned that a while ago! Maybe I could offer some insight on what to expect when we do our... little withdrawal."
"That would be very much appreciated, Shy," Twilight said. "But please, continue with your story."
"Oh, um okay. Well, my father worked in a bank and my mother was... well, actually she just stayed at home with me. Only... she didn't really do much for me. I always had to make my own meals, bathe myself, do my school work without any help... she just... didn't seem to care. My father was hardly ever at home, and when he was he rarely ever said a word to me. I don't know if I did something wrong or... or if he just... didn't like me. They never even gave me anything for my birthday. Actually, I never even had a party either. That was probably because I didn't really have any friends in school. I was always just too... shy.
"I felt so lonely; it seemed like nopony cared about me. It felt like my existence meant... nothing. Like Equestria was no better or worse off without me, like I was a... mistake. It wasn't until I discovered that I had a gift with animals that I finally started to feel... happy. Like I finally had something worth living for. That's why Angel means so much to me: he always made me feel wanted. Just knowing that there was something out there that needed me to love and care for, to give the kind of affection that I never got. He's been a better family for me than my parents ever were.
"Now, I don't know why my parents chose to ignore me. Maybe they just wanted me to learn how to take care of myself, to become self-reliant at as early an age as possible. Or... maybe they really just never wanted anything to do with me. Whatever the case, I... oh dear... I-I know I shouldn't think this way about anypony, but I... don't think I'll be mourning them when they... they..."
That was all Fluttershy could manage to say. She was clearly ashamed of herself for thinking that way. Rarity, who was lying next to her, reached over gently stroked her foreleg.
"Neglect is a terrible thing, dear Fluttershy," she cooed. "I know. Believe me, I know."
"Your parents ignored you too, Rarity?" Fluttershy asked.
"No, not me," the unicorn replied. "They were wonderful to me. Spoiled me rotten, they did. Sent me to the best schools, gave me everything I ever asked for, treated me like a princess," she paused for a moment, knowing she was coming to a difficult subject. "It was Sweetie Belle they didn't care about."
"You did mention that you didn't want to send her to her parents for reasons you didn't want to go into at that time," Twilight said. "Didn't you mention a long time ago that she had been left in your care because they were taking a tour of Equestria or something?"
"Indeed, I did," Rarity replied. "But, seeing as we're all being so open with each other now... I suppose I might as well explain the whole terrible ordeal." She took a moment to prepare herself. "That story I told you was a complete fabrication, because I had thought that the truth... would be too much for you all to handle. You see, I'd had no idea that my mother was pregnant with Sweetie Belle until she was eight months along. I had been living on my own by that time and hadn't exactly been keeping in contact with them on a daily basis, but I would've thought that they'd keep me updated with something as important as a pregnency.
"They didn't even tell me the exact day she was born. It was a week later when I finally heard the news. When I confronted my father about it, he told me that they had tried to send word but I was never available. I, of course, believed him at first. I had been very busy with getting my shop set up, for it was still in its early stages. In fact, I was so carried away with my personal life that I never got around to actually visiting my parents for at least three years after Sweetie's birth. I eventually got around to having dinner with them, hoping to finally meet my little sister. But... they told me she was out with her friends. I was... disappointed, but I just shrugged it off, said I'd try again some other time.
"I made it my business to visit my parents more often, to try and at least catch a glimpse of Sweetie Belle. But every time I went to them they gave me a similar cock and bull story: she was out with her friends, she was at school -they used that excuse on weekends amazingly-, she was taking a nap, anything that would bar me from visiting with her. I was starting to get suspicious by that point. Something had definitely seemed wrong with them whenever I would visit. Anytime I brought up Sweetie Belle, they seemed to get... nervous, as if they hiding something from me. They were still civil and polite with me, but... there was something else about them that I couldn't quite put my hoof on.
"Then, around the time of Sweetie Belle's fifth birthday, I decided to make her a dress as a present. I didn't know her size or measurements, but... I just wanted to do something that would get me closer to her somehow. When I went to deliver it to her, I was met at the door by my mother. I told her I had made Sweetie Belle a birthday present and that I wanted to give it to her personally. She went into a mild panic; she tried to hide it, but it was apparent that something was wrong. She once again told me that Sweetie Belle was out with her friends and that she didn't know when she would be back. She told me to just leave the dress there for her and that she would get it when she came home.
"Well, by that point I was having none of it! I forced my way in and demanded I be allowed to see my sister! I moved through the house calling out to her, hearing nothing but my parents' nervous babbling in return. It was when I got to the basement door when I heard the sobbing, and it was when I went down there that I... I finally laid eyes upon my sister for the first time..." there was a brief silence. "She... she was near death when I found her. She was so thin that her bones were protruding through her skin. She was shivering uncontrollably, rocking back and forth in a pile of her own filth. She had bruises and cuts all over her body.
"I... was... devastated! I couldn't believe my parents would so something like that! Keeping a sweet and innocent little filly locked up in such conditions like a dirty little secret! I demanded an explanation from those... ponies I called my parents. They had no words for me, only shameful looks. I cursed them and rushed Sweetie to the hospital, where after getting her stable, they told me that she was severely malnourished, and that if she had gone another day or two in that condition... she'd... she..." Rarity couldn't finish. She didn't even want to think about it.
"Holy shit," Rainbow Dash muttered quietly. She had been stunned to her core.
"Once she was good and healthy again," Rarity continued. "I took the whole situation to court, where I had her legally placed in my care. The last time I saw my parents was in that courtroom. They said absolutely nothing, they had no defense. To this day, I have no idea why they did what they did to her. I have no idea what that sweet, innocent foal could've possibly done to deserve such treatment.
"I gained custody over her, as you can imagine, but I was also warned by those presiding that a watchful eye would kept over me, and that at the first sign of trouble, Sweetie Belle would be taken away and placed in foster care." She paused for a moment. "The last thing I said to my mother and father before they were hauled away for foal abuse was that I had no parents, and that if I ever saw them attempt to come near Sweetie Belle again, if they so much as blinked in her direction, every ounce of rage I was feeling at that point would be taken out on them, even if it was in public. They only ended up serving six months of what was supposed to be a ten year sentence. Their attorney must've pulled some strings with the presiding judge or something. I don't know for sure how they got out early, nor do I care. I haven't seen them since, and I should like to keep it that way.
"Anyway, I took the little darling in, did my best to give her a good life, instill my values into her and whatnot. She still had a lot to learn about being a proper lady, but I must say she's coming along remarkably well, especially considering... everything she's been through." There was another pause. Rarity began to sniffle a bit. "Sometimes I look into her sweet little face and I still see that pain and fear, and... and I'd do... anything to take it all away. If... if only I'd gotten to her sooner. If only I'd put my damn personal life on hold for only a little while..."
Rarity was now beginning to sob quite freely. Twilight sat up and turned to look down at her fellow unicorn. her own eyes beginning to well up.
"Rarity, what you did was nothing short of heroic," she said meaningfully. "She'd have died if weren't for you. She has no idea how lucky she is to have you."
"I know," Rarity whispered. "I just wish I could do more for her. I hope one day to have her working beside me as we make dresses for royalty like Celestia and Luna. But... with the way things have gone recently, and with where we are now..."
"Everything's going to work out for us in the end," Twilight said confidently. "Once this is all over, Sweetie Belle's going to have the best fillyhood a foal could ask for."
Rarity closed her eyes and nodded. She had never spoken that much about herself before, never brought the whole parent issue up with any of her friends. She had always figured it was nothing they needed to hear, that she didn't need to bring them down with such a depressing story about something that had happened long ago. But they had been opening up to her, she had to do the same. It was only appropriate.
"Don't know how I'm gonna top that one," Dash said after a while. "But I guess I might as well give ya guys a little tidbit of my own shitty past. My parents totally sucked. That's the short version. Long version goes a little something like this: My pop was crazed alcoholic nutjob whose only joy in life came from drinking and beating the shit out of his family, especially me. Any chance he could get, he slap me around like it was nopony's business. Asshole was convinced I was filly-fooler, said I shamed him and everything he stood for. I imagine you went through something similar, Pinkie? By the way you were going on, it sounded like your dad might've slapped you up a bit."
"Something like that," Pinkie said sadly, she couldn't make eye-contact.
"Well, anyway," Dash continued. "My pop hated me, never wanted to have me, let me know it on a daily basis... happy foalhood, ya know?"
"Wh-where was your mother in all this?" Fluttershy asked meekly. "Didn't she do anything for you?"
Dash gave a loud laugh.
"My mother? What they hay was she gonna do about it? Whatever my dad did to me, he did to my mother twice as bad. She was nearly catatonic the whole time. She did absolutely nothing for me. Whenever pop decided to he wanted to bash her around, she just kneeled down and took it. At least I tried to fight back; couldn't make it too easy for the creep, ya know? I was pretty tough as young filly, got plenty of practice at school from those punks who used to gang up on me. calling me Rainbow Crash and whatnot. Fuckin' pricks. Always made 'em pay in the end though. Besides, look where I am now: winner of the Best Young Flyer competition, a bearer of an Element of Harmony -not that that ended up doin' me a lot of good- I'm adored by a good population of Equestria, and I did it all coming from a broken family."
Dash had a bit of a cocky look on her face, but it faded a bit when she came to a realization of something. She sat up and looked over each of her friends, who were gazing up at her intently.
"Look, guys" she began. "I know I'm kinda the odd one out for this whole robbery thing. I mean you're all doing this to help your loved ones. Twilight's thinking of Spike, Fluttershy wants to save her bunny, Rarity want to give Sweetie Belle a better life, Applejack wants to save her family's farm, and Pinkie wants to compensate her 'adopted parents. But me... I'm trying to bribe my way into the Wonderbolts. Talk about selfish."
"Hey, it's alright, Dashie," Pinkie said soothingly. "You really are the best flyer in all of Equestria! The Wonderbolts are totally nutty for not taking you in!"
Dash smiled at her good friend and fellow prankster.
"Thanks, Pinkie, but there's more to it than that. You see, I know a lot of foals out there kinda look up to me and all, especially Scoot. I can't help but wonder if some of them have had hard lives, kinda like mine. I... I just want them to know that if they have they can overcome that and do anything they set their hearts to, that if they believe in themselves they can do anything. I know it sounds kinda hokey but... I really believe that's true. I know that by robbing a bank to buy my way into the Wonderbolts, I'm kinda sorta cheating. But... none of them have to know about the means I took to get to where I wanted to be, as long as they see that I've reached my goal, they'll get the message. Isn't that what matters most?"
Quiet followed. It was an interesting, thought-provoking question, but the tired and aching ponies simply didn't feel like exercising their brains at that time.
"Maybe, Dash," Twilight said quietly. "Maybe."
More silence followed. Twilight was seconds away from peacefully drifting off, but Dash's voice jerked her back to consciousness.
"Alright, Twi, your turn."
The lavender unicorn sighed in annoyance.
"Aren't you guys tired?" She asked hopefully.
"Fuck that shit," Dash replied. "We've just spilled our guts to you Twilight, now we wanna hear from you."
"Come now, dear. You trust us don't you?" Rarity said.
"Please please please please please!" Pinkie begged.
"We won' judge ya, sugarcube," Applejack said kindly.
"If you don't mind," Fluttershy squeaked.
Twilight sighed again. There was no easy way out of this. Best to get it over with as quickly as possible.
"I never knew my father," she began abruptly, garnering a few small gasps from the others. "My mother was never married. She got close to some rough and tumble stallion when she was still in school. She was pregnant with me right after she graduated, and by that time my so called 'father' had run off, leaving my mother to endure the hardships of pregnancy on her own.
"She raised me all on her own, and... she did a pretty descent job of it too. She was always fairly kind to me, fed me, bathed me, sent me to the best schools she could afford. But... she never felt like my mother. I can't explain it, but she just felt more like the kindly mare I was sharing a house with. Maybe it was because there was no father around. I felt... incomplete, like if I couldn't have one form of parenthood, why should I have the other. She never talked about my father, even though I tried to hint at bringing him up from time to time, she always tended to avoid the subject. Sometimes I... I don't really know if I ever really loved her. Sometimes I think she didn't really love me. She just... tolerated me. Maybe she felt incomplete too.
"It wasn't until I was accepted into Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns that... I finally found a pony who was more suited to being called... my mother." She paused for a moment, thinking fondly of her alicorn mentor. "Celestia did more for me than my mother ever did, and I adored her for it. She taught me more about life, love and friendship than I could've possibly learned from anypony else, and isn't that what a mother's supposed to do? Isn't that what all true parents are supposed to do? Because that's what Celestia did... at least until she... just recently abandoned me. Abandoned us all."
Once again, there was another period of silence, this one feeling like the most profound of them all. Each pony reflected on their own parents, taking Twilights word into account. The more they thought about it, the more they began to feel like orphans, like they had never truly experienced the true kind of love that only a loving mother and father could provide.
Instead of this whole road therapy thing setting their minds at ease, it had filled them with anger and contempt at the world around them, the kinds of feelings that they wanted to immediately take out on any pony who would give them trouble in the future. If this whole robbery thing didn't work out for some reason, they may very well just end up going insane.
Nearly an half-hour had passed before Rainbow Dash felt the need to finally say something.
"Geez, never thought we'd have this much in common. I mean, the fact that we all came from fucked up families... I'm starting to think it really was fate that brought us together."
"I guess it's possible," Twilight said quietly. "But, thank you all for listening. I honestly don't think I've ever talked that much about myself before."
And one by one the Mane Six exchanged "thank you's" with each other for sharing and listening, doling out hugs and pats on the shoulders as they did. Then they all resumed lying down. they stared silently up at the cloudless, starry sky.
"Jus' think," Applejack whispered. "Tamorrow we'll be in Manehatten."
"Sleeping under a roof," Fluttershy added.
"Ready to get this whole thing underway," Rainbow Dash muttered.
"Our whole big celebration," Pinkie said blissfully.
"Indeed," was all Rarity could say before consciousness slipped from her.
Soon the night was filled with the heavy breathing and snoring of five ponies. Only Twilight lay awake still, unable to stop thinking about her biological mother, and who she considered to be her true mother. She thought of how after everything they had been through, Celestia was leaving her friends and her to fend for themselves, and how she just didn't know how to feel about that. She thought of Spike, wondering how he was feeling at that time. Wondering if he ever thought the same way about Twilight as she had thought about her mother.
In the distance, through the trees, Twilight could see a faint glow on the eastern horizon. It couldn't be the sun, it was only a little past midnight. It was the kind of glow that marked a major metropolis. Now she knew just how close they were.
Well, I hope you've enjoyed the more peaceful innocent parts of the story, because it's gonna start getting ugly real soon. The brutal violence is gonna be popping up in a couple more chapters. Thanks for reading! Please continue to review! Don't be shy, I like hearing from you guys!