Chapter 9: Ginger snaps

As I sat there, in a catatonic state waiting for Octavia to rouse from her comatose state, I felt anger.
For the first time in years, I felt anger. You cannot imagine how long it's been since this emotion had consumed me.
It was the only emotion I feared, even hated. Way back when, back on earth, I was a good kid, a nice kid, but…

Flashback

I used to get bullied a lot. More than a lot.

All the time.
It was harsh.
Everyday I'd wake up, usual morning routine, go to school.

As soon as I stepped foot on that bus, hell began once again.

I was taunted with various comments. "Hey ginger, get back min your biscuit tin"

I would block it out, but to no avail. They then decided to start hitting me.

Getting off the bus, I would quickly dart for the school library, only to be tripped by three of the
20 bullies who would continue to hound me until I left. It was the first year in high school.
They had started to pick on me for being ginger. I stood up and carried on.
Until I made friends, who would help me out on occasion, I was always trying to hide.
It had been 2 years since it began, and the bullies kept piling up, attempting to get some kind of reaction.

My third year of high school was with out a shadow of a doubt, the worst.

It all began on a Tuesday morning, art class. I had my clay work destroyed by three idiotic morons.
I got stressed and walked out; I walking out had become a regular thing at this point.
The teachers there pretty understood, until I flipped.
Not because of my destroyed art work.
Not because I had just about all I could take.

But it was simply because they gave up and turned their attention to my friends.
I did the most stupid thing ever. I picked up a stool, and pinned one of them against the wall.
My eyes locked onto his, and he could see rage in my eyes.
I spoke "leave my friends alone, if you want to bother someone, bother me" I then moved the stool
away and threw a fist into the wall… missing his head by a centimetre. I was pissed off.

But that was the catalyst. I had started a chain of events that I could no longer control.
At one point, it took the combined strength of my 6 friends to stop me from literally killing someone.
I had to go to anger management not long after that incident.
The teachers could see I was ashamed of what I had become.
I had become a hate filled justice seeker. I brought it upon myself.

But then again…

So did they.

It was a Friday afternoon.
Some douche had thrown me into a locker.
I gave up holding back, putting his head through a window.
The second person to piss me off that day had his head shoved into a locker. I slammed the door.
Third person had a stool thrown at him
The fourth person, I picked up a table with one arm and threw it. I missed luckily for him.
I had finally calmed down. But it was too late. I had hospitalized my best friend.
She forgave me. But I could never forgive myself.

End flashback

"…and now you know Noteworthy…" I was talking to the pony who attacked me once before.
The pony that almost killed Octavia.

"I'm sorry, c-c-c-can you forgive me?" the blue pony asked, his voice cracked and muffled by a broken nose.
"I can forgive you, but I don't NEED to," I narrowed my eyes. "You almost killed her, in fact, you did!" I exclaimed, without raising my voice.
The blue pony lowered his head out of shame as the royal guard's cam to arrest him. "Robert, you realize this is less than I deserve"
I placed a hand on his shoulder. "I know," I knelt down, and whispered into his ear, "and I forgive you"
The blue pony's face faltered until he was on the verge of tears, coming to terms with what he had done.

I returned to Octavia's bedside, I refused to leave seldom to relieve myself.
My guitar was resting in the corner. I promised myself that I would play her a song for when she wakes up.
I could never bring myself to leave the room. "Nurse Red heart, I need a bin, a lot of paper, twelve jammie dodgers, and a pot of coffee on the hour, every hour…."
She nodded as she wrote down the list until the final detail "and a fez"
"Why a fez?"

"Thought I'd cheer myself up" I said glumly, considering my own reference didn't work.
I sighed deeply as she hurried off.
She had re-entered the room with pen and paper. She then placed them on a table in front of me. I grabbed the guitar.
"Thank you Red" I smiled.
"Just let me know if…" I waved her off
"I will" I picked up the pen and started to write a letter.
I wrote the letter to Octavia's friends in manehatten, letting them know she's fine.
Letting them know I need their help with something.
I took a deep sigh, "nurse, hand this to ditzy doo, I need it delivered pronto"
I stood up, to leave, grasping the guitar. I took Octavia's trademark bowtie and tied it around my wrist.

I then leant over and kissed her forehead. "Wake up soon, sleeping beauty" I began to tear up.
I left the hospital that day, and returned home.
I sat in her room, I cried.
I then sat and wrote for 16 hours straight.

There was a sudden tapping on the window. It was rainbow dash.

"Hey dude, Twilight and the others sent me to check up ya"
I opened the window wider to let her in.
"t-thanks Dash," I hugged her "I don't know what to do"
Outside there was a few bits of crumpled paper, written on them were lyrics which made no sense.
"You need to get out of this place, man; I can't tell you how much it hurts seeing you, you…"
"Broken" I stopped… a wave of inspiration had struck me on the head like a hammer.
"Dash, thanks, just tell the others I'll be fine, oh and tell Pinkie that I have a plan for a piece of music at the glad-your-feeling-better party for tavi"

RD looked at me, something was bothering her. "How did you do it?"

"Do what?" I heard a sigh emanating from dash's lips.

"Oh, heh, I just asked while I was in hospital that day," I chuckled nervously. "If I hadn't I probably never would"
"So, what should I do?" I raised an eyebrow.
"About who? Dash, you can trust me"
"It's…" I heard her voice quieten down.
"Sorry?" I pushed the subject.

"Pinkie pie" I couldn't help myself but laugh.
"Well, that settles it, you won't help me" she got up to leave.
"Did I say that?" I place a hand on her shoulder, bringing her to land on the bed.
"Of course I'll help you" I smiled.

I then told her the best way to do it is to just go with the flow, "just tell her how you feel, Dash"
I summed it up the best way I could.
But the cyan Pegasus didn't buy it.
"Anyways, I need your help with something, Dash" her ears pricked up.
"I want you to listen to this song I just learnt"

I picked up the acoustic and started playing.

"You wrote that?" she asked as I pulled the cork out of the red wine.
"Sadly no, but I wish I did" I said glumly, there was a knock on the door.
"Coming!" I bolted down the stairs.
"Oh, um… greetings and salutations, I am Robert" I introduced my self to the vast amount of
musician ponies stood outside of the front garden.
"Um, yes quite, my name is Frederic Horseshoepin, I understand you are the coltfriend of Octavia?"
I simply nodded, "good gracious, well, let's get started then"
I handed them different sheets of paper each marked as their respected instruments.

"Ready Fredric?" I asked. He simply nodded and began to conduct.
After 5 hours of learning the different songs. I laid back listening to the concerto of music.
Then it came as quickly as it went the piece which I had chosen for the party.
I grabbed the BC RICH. "Ok, let's run through it properly"
They looked at me for a moment before beginning. I played the first few bars for the song.

The music began, as I faded in and out of a trance-like state of mind.
There was nothing I couldn't do at that point.
The microphone was connected up to a stand, awaiting my voice.
I grinned for a moment. They had never heard me sing before. "yeah! Come on!"
I headbanged for a moment with a chuckle. "all of my dreams that fell through have tasted so sour"
They listened to me play for a few moments.
the mark on my neck began to glow slightly.
I was lost to the music.
"in this one sacred hour!" the final lyric was sung. I held the final note.

After the song had finished, I glanced over to Fredric, who was sitting there
with another one of my music books. "you said you wanted to play one for Octavia?, how about this one.
He indicated the song with his conductors rod. "never thought you'd be interested in that sort of , oh… yeah I see"
I agreed to it, and learnt only the lyrics, his decision, not mine.
We then ran through it a few more times before we all got it right.

Looks like I wont be needing that spell after all I thought to myself.

It was a long night. They went back to the hotel.

I was suddenly called to the hospital.

As I walked through the hospital wards, I was accompanied by nurse
red-heart who informed me that "she's awake, and wants to see you"
I opened the door slowly, and walked in. "Hey Tavi," she was staring out the window in
contemplation "I'm here"

She looked over to me. "Sunstreak told me what had happened," I was
about to speak but "you brought me back"

I sighed. "learnt it in high school" she looked at me puzzled.
"had to really, never knew when it might come in handy" I chuckled.
"so, all your people can bring back the dead" I shook my head.
"you weren't dead, just not breathing" I sighed as I sat down beside her as her eyes widened.
"you haven't slept" she stated, clearly noticing the bags under my eyes. I simply nodded, holding up
the amount of fingers representing how many days.
A voice came from the outside of the room. "he came in every day, checking up on you to see if you were awake"
"I couldn't live with myself I f I lost you Tavi" I sighed, silent tears slowly rolling down my cheeks.
"you talk too much" she kissed me deeply for a few moments. After breaking the kiss, our eyes met.

I was lost in a sea of violet once more. "Like a ship, on the sea, your love, rolls over me" I sung quietly in her ear.
I heard her squeak. "you'll get the full package at Pinkie's Party" I smiled as I kissed her on the cheek.
"I'm back on the farm in the morning, just so you know"
I walked out, leaving a slightly giddy greyscale mare smiling away.

My revelation to the foolish noteworthy had made me think.
I thought about my life on earth, how it had shaped me into the kind soul I am today.
But then it struck me like a hammer hitting a nail. I was the only human here.
I knew the harsh reality from the offset. The word freak echoed in my mind for a moment. It then died down.

I looked up to the moon, taking in a deep breath of the cool night air.