“Anything you want to watch?” J asked.

“Anything is fine with me.” Star joked.

“Okay.” J shrugged, “We gonna do anything today?”

“Well I was thinki-” Star was cut off as Cadence angrily stormed down the steps.

“What the fuck is this?” Cadence questioned angrily as she held up a gun.

“Okay hey… If you’re angry about something we can work it out Caddie Bear…” J said nervously.

“Answer me Star! What the fuck is this?” Cadence repeated ignoring J.

“Where did you get that…” Star asked quietly.

“I found it in your room!” Cadence said, “Tell me why the fuck you had it!”

“Star…” J said looking right at him, “Why… do you need a gun… in your room?”

Star stayed silent.

“What’s going on?” Twilight asked as her and the others walked in from the kitchen.

“What’s wrong Cadence?” Fluttershy asked.

“This was under Star’s pillow.” Cadence said showing everyone the gun.

“U… under your pillow?” J said a little scared.

Star frowned, staring straight at the floor.

“We’re not leaving until you tell us why…” Cadence demanded.

“C’mon Star… please…” J said quietly. “Please…”

Star looked up at J, then Cadence, and then the others. “Can I tell you a story?” He asked.

“G… go ahead buddy…” J said.

“Let's say you're a kid. You grow up without any parents... No one to look out for you. You're alone... And you don't know why." Star said. "But things get a little better... You make some friends. They stick with you. They're nice... At least... To you."

Star sighed, "You and them grow close... You stick out for eachother...You care for eachother." He said, "Then a new person joins your group. And what do you do? You hurt her..."

“Star… You don’t have t-” J tried to say.

"She's the strongest of all all of you, the bravest, the smartest... And You hurt her... Beat her... Treat her like trash. And why? Because she's different. And do you know what she does?" Star asked, staring up at Cadence.

“N… no…” Cadence stammered.

"Nothing. She stays with the group. No matter how many times you hurt her... Or how you treat her... She stays loyal. Your group is comprised of thieves... Pickpockets... You steal food that doesn't belong to you. And she stays with you. She's loyal, and shows you nothing but the utmost respect and care... And you don't know why..." Star said, tears beginning to form in his eyes. "You don't realize it... Or notice it... Not until the worst happens. Not until all your friends fade away... And she's the only one left. She's standing over your broken body... All the memories of how you treated her flood back, how you cut her, bruised her... She could leave you there, on the bloodied ground, but what does she do?" Star asked.

J looked at the ground silently tears forming in his eyes.

“W...What?” Cadence asked quietly.

There was a long pause.

"There was a saying you had back then... When you can't run... You crawl... And when you can't crawl... You... You find someone to carry you." Star said.

There was a shorter pause.

"And... And that's exactly what she did. She grabbed your arm and slung it around her shoulder and carried you out. And you don't know why..." Star said, tears streaming down his face.

“St… Star I di-” Cadence was interrupted by Star.

"But as you're leaving, the unthinkable happens... You're dropped to the ground, and realize... She'd just taken a bullet for you. You hold her in your arms as her life slips away from you... It just keeps getting further... And further..." Star said painfully, his voice straining. "You look down at her... You expected her to hate you... To despise you. To call you scum. But what does she do? She looks up at you... And smiles. She... She smiles. You beg her not to speak, and you tell her that everything will be okay, but she doesn't listen. She knows what's about to happen. She opens her mouth... And her last words are… I love you… And you… You… I don’t know why.” Star’s voice cracked as more tears found their way down his face.

“S… Star…” J said quietly as tears came down from his face too.

"Months pass since that night... And you're alone again. You figure it's right this way... This is how it's meant to be. You don't deserve to be loved, all your hopes are gone and you... You have nothing left." Star said. "But again... The unthinkable happens. A man comes up to you. He takes you in. He gives you a home, he feeds you... He treats you like a son. He doesn't even know you, but does it anyways... And you don't know why..."

Star paused for a moment, "You think to yourself that... Maybe god doesn't hate you. Maybe he's giving you a second chance. So what do you do? You take it... You try to change yourself for the better. Maybe if you show the same kindness, you can repent for everything you've done." Star said with a weak shrug.

Cadence sniffled a little bit as tears rolled down her face. The gun fell forgotten to the floor.

Star smiled, "Then you run into a kid... A kid about your age. He'd broken into your house and... And he's stealing your food." He laughed, glancing over at J.

J looked up and gave Star a little smile.

"So what do you do? You take him in. You give him a home... You give him food... And you give him your heart. You... You give him everything. And... It feels good. It feels good and you don't know why..." Star shook his head, his smile growing a little.

J looks down silently and his smile grows a tiny bit. Tears started coming down a little harder from his face.

"Years pass... The two of you become best friends. And... You move to a new town together. You meet new friends... You... You fall in love." Star said glancing up at Cadence, then Fluttershy and the others.

“W… what if you… were already in love… but y… you were too afraid to show it…” J said quietly.

“Well… You wouldn’t be the only one…” Star said. His smile slowly turning to a frown, "But then the world wakes up to give you a slap in the face. You start to get headaches... Nosebleeds... At first you think it's nothing. You think maybe you're just sick. And... You couldn't be farther from the truth. You go to the hospital and are diagnosed with cancer.” Star said, his voice shaking again.

J looked up at Star for a few seconds, his smile was fading quickly.

“At first you don't believe it. But then the headaches get worse. And you come to terms with it. You go to the hospital and are about to have a very delicate surgery done to get it removed. Of course with all surgery there are risks... But you feel that this is just another trial. A trial you have to push through. But no pain compares to the thought of losing your friends. And thats exactly what happens." Star said, placing his hands on his head. "After it's taken out, you wake up and you've lost your memories. You're scared... And alone... And you don't know why."

“Star… you… don’t have to continue… y… you can stop…” Cadence stammered, “You can stop…”

Star looked up at Cadence, staring at her. A smile spread across his face, "Then a miracle happens... Like a blinding light you remember. You can see clearly again, your friends are back. You couldn't be happier. You start living again. You and your friends grow closer. You form bonds that you think are unbreakable... That will last forever. And it brings you closer than you thought were possible... You and your friends change, for better or for worse... You change." He said. Star’s hands started shaking, "And then... When you thought that there was nothing more the world could throw at you... You find out the cancer is back."

“W… what?” Cadence said.

“H… N… no…” Dash said shaking her head, “It… it can’t be back…”

“I… I don’t want to believe it…” AJ said as she started to cry again.

There was a loud thud in the kitchen.

“E… Ethan?” AJ said shakily.

“S… Star…” Twilight said quietly, “Wh… when did… y… you find out?”

J started sobbing uncontrollably and constantly shaking his head.

“D...Daddy?” Sarah said, not wanting to believe what she heard.

“I…” Serena mumbled before starting to cry.

“Star…” Pinkamena said.

Star looked up at everyone, seeming almost emotionless, "And at that moment you realize something. You realize that the only reason you're alive... Is to hurt people some more. At that moment... You know... You know why. You're a joke. You aren't important at all. You weren't given a second chance to help people... You were given a second chance to hurt them. Because in the end you're going to die. The world seems clearer then... You realize the world is killing you slowly... Slowly and painfully.” He said.

There was a short pause.

"And because of that... The people around you suffer. So what do you do? You sleep with a gun under your pillow. For that moment where you can’t stand to see it anymore. For that easy way out..." Star said, more tears sliding down his face.

J looked up at Star before staring back down at the floor.

"You think about going through surgery again... But that's quickly tossed aside. The possibility of losing everything again is stronger than your will to live. You don't want to be alone again... You... You can't be alone again. You figure out that… Those unbreakable bonds you heard about… That you think you made? Those bonds are called unbreakable… Because they come crashing down the hardest." Star said standing up and heading to the stairs, stopping next to Cadence.

Star looked Cadence in the eyes, “That’s why I sleep with a gun under my pillow.” He said before heading upstairs. Everyone heard the bathroom door open and shut, the shower starting shortly after.

J’s sobbing only got stronger as he fell to his side on the couch.

“J…” Cadence said quietly.

“N… no… s… stay away from me…” J said through his sobs.

Fluttershy started to cry, running out of the house.

Dash walked up to J and gently touched his shoulder only for her hand to be slapped away.

“I want… t… to be… left alone…” J stammered, “S… so… all… of you… j… just leave… me the fuck… alone…”

Dash stepped back, “O… okay…” She said quietly. “I… I’m… going to go… talk to Fluttershy…” She flew right out the front door without another word.

They all heard the sound of J’s sobbing stop and when they looked over to the couch he had vanished.

“I… I need to… to… apologize…” Cadence said as she quickly ran up the stairs.

She stopped outside the bathroom door. She knocked on it, “S… Star?” She said.

There was no response.

“Star… please… answer me…” Cadence said.

There was a loud thud on the other side of the door as something hit the ground.

“Star!” Cadence said a little scared as she teleported inside. The second she appeared she saw Star standing up, staring at her surprised. “You’re… you’re alright…” She said sounding a little relieved.

“Yeah… I just dropped the shampoo.” Star said picking a bottle off the floor, “Are ‘you’ alright?”

Cadence looked down at the ground, “How… can I be?” She asked quietly.

“Cadence.” Star said.

Cadence remained silent.

“Cadence I just wanted to say t-” Star was cut off.

“No!” Cadence said loudly, “I wanted to say I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have forced you to tell us like that… it was wrong of me to do that… and I can only ask for your forgiveness…”

“Cadence… You have nothing to be sorry about.” Star smiled.

“B… but I…” She said quietly. “Do…”

“Stop. Cadence look at me…” Star said sternly.

Cadence looked up at Star.

“I had to get it out at some point. You just happened to be the ‘trigger’... No pun intended.” Star smiled.

Cadence slapped Star and glared at him angrily.

Star laughed a little, “Yeah… I probably deserved that. But I deserve a lot worse than anything you could do to me.” Star’s smile faded. “I’m sorry…”

Cadence looked at Star, “No… you don’t have to be sorry… horrible things can happen to the best of people. It’s… not how sorry you are that matters. It’s how much you want to live that is…” She said. “The worst thing you could have done was just to give up. And if you do… death won’t be peaceful for you.”

Star sighed, “I know. I realized that yesterday… When me and J… ‘Bonded’...” Star smiled, “I’m just glad you found that gun but...”

“But what?” Cadence asked.

“I can’t go through with the surgery again… I just can’t.” Star said.

“You know… whatever you decide to do. All of us will be beside every step of the way.” Cadence said.

There was a long pause.

“FUCK!” Star screamed, throwing the shampoo bottle at the mirror and watching it shatter. He sat down against the bathtub, putting his head in his hands.

“What’s wrong?” Cadence asked quickly.

Star shook his head and looked up at her, his nose was bleeding.

“D… Do you want me to do anything… get you anything?” She asked.

Star stared up at her with a smile and started to laugh.

“Wh… why are you laughing?” She questioned.

“You want to know the thing I hate most about you? About all of you?” Star asked.

“W… what?” Cadence stammered quietly. “W… what are y… you talking about?”

“What I hate most about you… Is how much I love you.” Star smiled, starting to laugh again.

Cadence sighed, “O… oh…” She said.

“I hate it so much. The fact you can do this to me… It sickens me. And I love it all at the same time.” Star said, his head falling back and hitting the tub in annoyance. He started laughing again, more blood running from his nose.

Cadence looked away. “Well… a...at least I’m still a little wanted now…” She said quietly.

“What makes you say that?” Star asked.

“J… got really angry after you left… he told me to stay away from him… and then told everyone to leave him alone…” Cadence said, “And… then he just vanished from the couch…” She looked down at the ground quietly, “S… so I think… he doesn’t… w… want to see me anymore…”

“I’ll just have to go talk to him then.” Star said jumping to his feet. He took a couple steps before nearly falling over, catching himself on the sink. He put a hand up to his head.

“M… maybe you should wait…” Cadence said quickly as she stepped towards him offering a hand to him.

“No… This is all my fault… And I’m going to fix it.” Star said, taking a few more steps before stumbling again, catching himself on the door handle this time. “Just… A little light headed is all.”

“Then you should rest a little.” Cadence said.

“Just get me to J’s room…” Star said.