I sat in the corner of my room, on the floor and holding Midna in a death grip while I quietly cried into my pillow. Nothing was going my way at all this week! Fuck, this month even! First was the dogs ruining a camping trip I looked forward to since Spitfire brought it up. Second was the fact Celestia made me a fucking Empress of a country that I didn't want! Third was when I got struck down by Blue with the words, ‘I don't believe in relationships.’ The fourth was the being chained to Summer. Fifth was getting into a fight with Solar. Sixth was learning that I didn't have a chance with someone that my body said I was allowed to pursue and seventh was that fucking note!

Why did everything have to go to shit at lunch? Why didn't I eat the fucking note when I should? Now all my friends won't even look at me, what's worse was that Spitfire was in town and decided to pay a visit. She never said mean things to me and actually meant them. She...Why didn't she listen to me? Why did she look at me like that?

“Just....Why?” I asked myself as I curled into a ball and cried myself to sleep, again.

Earlier…

I walked down the hall from history class to the lunchroom. Since the back desks were the closest to the doors, I was one of the first ponies out the door. As I walked down the hall with hundreds of fillies and colts flooding the place with gossip and rumors. I was bumped into by a filly with a dark green mane with a light green coat. She gave me a sheepish smile and walked away like nothing happened. I shrugged and made a note to get an umbrella later as rain clouds began to form overhead by the local weather team.

I made a stop to using the bathroom, thankful that the magic chain didn't have a limited range while Summer and I were in the school, but after school, if we didn't have club activities, we were shocked until we were back in range. We learned that the hard way after Summer tried to flock off with her friends without me.

I did my business in the bathroom in peace for the most part. After I washed my hooves, which was redundancy at its finest. Sure I had to clean up whatever wetness I made between my legs from what was the nature of life, but having to walk on ground that had millions for germs than my strangely tasty nether region was just stupid.

After I cleaned myself up and left the bathroom, I began to hear whispers aimed at me as I walked down the hall to the dining room. The closer I got to the lunch room, the more dirty looks I got and the more inaudible mumbling was directed at me. 'Strange, what did I do?' I asked myself as it began to rain outside.

I tuned out the whispers and focused in on the soft pitter-patter of rain that gently pounded outside the school and against the windows. The sound of rain was one of my favorite sounds to listen too. There was something about it that made me feel like I just had to be in it, but the one this that beat that feeling was snow. Unlike rain, snow was a lot more beautiful, each snowflake was unique and held a story to it. Some were soft and timid in design while others were prickly and refined. They represented a person of the world, how they were born and when they would end.

It was sad really. Some snowflakes would get destroyed before they even landed on the earth. From buildings to trees, people to animals. There was something to end their life so quickly, so abruptly. It was almost synonymous to our own lives. Snow storms represented our wars while gentle flurries our times of peace. The snow, unlike the rain, is why I liked winter so much, nothing was perfect and all was equal in their fate.

I reached the dining hall and was greeted by the entire room of around a few hundred ponies looking at me incredulously. I frowned at them, causing them to look away as I trotted to the five-star buffet located at the west end of the room. As I surveyed the buffet for what I was going to eat, I began hearing a commotion coming from behind. I didn't think of it, figuring that something else happened that took me from the rumor fight. I grabbed a daisy sandvich and a cup of green tea, putting them on a tray and carried my food on my back. Just as I was about to go find an empty seat beside Summer so I could talk to her, I was tapped on the shoulder.

I turned around and was surprised to see, Blue, Lockheart, and Crimson right behind me, but that surprised vanished to concern. All three of them had a menacing death stare aimed right at me. All three of them, especially Blue, looked disappointed for some reason. As a safety measure, I turned on my Air Sight in case something bad was going to happen and gave them an innocent smile.

"Hey, girls, how's it going?" I asked obliviously, knowing that something was indeed going on behind my back. Lockheart spoke up in a dark tone.

"You think it's funny to mess with someone's heart, Untouchable Queen?" she spat, causing me to reel back at being called my nickname. 'Okay, what did I do to pissed her off?' I asked myself, but remembering nothing out of the ordinary.

"I don't know what you are talking about," I said nervously.

"Really? You don't know?" Blue hissed. I just stared at her in shock. "I think she needs to be reminded," Crimson joined in. Just as I was about to defend myself, I felt instant hostility and my body reacted before I could talk my way out.

I ducked under a punch that Crimson aimed at me and used her forward momentum against her by throwing her over my shoulder and onto the steaming hot metal. She screamed as her wings were singed from the hot food, but I couldn't stop myself. I dodged a kick from Lockheart that was aimed at my head, and with sickening speed, I broke her leg. She collapsed on the floor, holding her leg in agony as Crimson ran from the buffet and into the rain to cool her wings.

I finally regained control of myself and stared in horror at the screaming filly on the ground as Blue tried to comfort her while medics came to tend to her wounds. Just as I was about to check to see if she was alright as the medics set her leg back into place, Blue pushed me away with angry tears streaming down her face. She didn't say a word and pointed at me to leave. Not wanting to cause any more trouble, I flew out of the dining hall and into the rain to search for Summer to figure out what the hell was going on.

After a few minutes of flying around the school, I found her sitting in the rain on the roof of the school, hiding behind a chimney. I glided down to her and was greeted by seething glare as arcs of electricity flew off of her from the crystal embedded in her chest, yet, she didn't show any pain. My Air Sight was telling me that she wanted to murder me, and was ready and wanting to do so, but since the crystal in her chest was shocking her. She couldn't. I turned Air Sight off and walked over to her as the rain began to become of a torrent of water, soaking me to the bone. The closer I got, the more arcs of electricity flew off of her. I had to make sure everything was alright, otherwise, I might end up as enemy number one.

"Summer, what's wrong?" I asked with general concern. She stood up and flared out her wings as her eyes turned to pinpricks filled with hate.

"What's wrong? What's WRONG! You know what's wrong as you have my crush wrapped around your hooves! That's what's wrong!" she said before she threw a familiar note at my hooves. I didn't dare pick it up out of fear that it was there very one that was given to me. "I trusted you!" She continued to scream at me, causing my ears to flatten in fear.

"You said to ask him out and you know what happened!" I shook my head in response. "He said that we were just, friends. That I never stood a, chance! He said that the only one he liked was you! And what's worse was that a girl by the name of Spring Rose said that she overheard you flirting with him in when I wasn't looking!"

I froze in place and zoned out as Summer continued to go on and on about how much I fucked with her heart. I knew who Spring was as she was the master thief of the school and a big ass liar! She must have been the one that bumped into me and stole the note from my bag! Of course, it had to be her! I bet she made some fucked up rumor to give me a bad reputation in the school and because of her. I...I hurt my friends without thinking! I...They were my friends, they way Blue looked at me was like she never wanted to see me again and now...Now Summer never wants to see me again either. I hope that Spitfire never hears of this. I don't want to know what she would do to me.

I was brought back to reality after Summer slapped me across the face before she gave me a heartbroken look and flew away. I sat there, on the roof, rubbing my face as the pain set in from the slap. I was cold and soaked from the rain that was now a thunderstorm. Everything that could go wrong went wrong. There was no salvaging this situation anymore. I had no friends, the school hates me and I was alone in a place that was out to get me.

I screamed into the air as tears began to fall from my eyes. I didn't care if anyone saw, it's not like they could tell anyways from all the rain.

I turned around, slumping in defeat. I decided that spending the rest of the day in my room was the best course of action. Just as I took a step forward, I bumped into something soft and big and wet. All I could see was the ground and when I looked up to see who was up here with me, figuring that it was a teacher coming to get me. I instantly regretted that decision.

There, in the rain with me was Spitfire. She was wet and shivering from the rain, her mane and tail looked like a tangled mop and she was angry. All I could think about was why she was here. My clouded mind thought that the school called her over or something, but those thoughts were cut off when I met her eyes. Her cold, disappointed eyes that were absolutely livid with me in disgust. I cringed and looked away, pleading to Luna that this was all just a bad dream.

“Why the fuck are you up here?” she growled at me. I quickly made up a reason in the hope that she didn't know what happened.

“I was flying around after lu…”

“Bullshit!” she yelled, cutting me off and causing a rock to fork in my throat. “I have heard everything of what you have done today!” she screamed. “Here I was just walking to the school to come visit you while I was in Canterlot for the day and do you know what I heard?” she paused for a moment while I was too frightened to say anything. “I heard that you hurt two fillies at lunch! One of them won't be able to fly anymore because you threw her on a tray of boiling water! Then I heard you shatter the other fillies leg to the point that she will have a permanent limp!”

“I-I…” I choked through sobs but was cut off again.

“Shut it!” Spitfire yelled. “I figured that they were just a bunch of bullies, but when I learned that they were your friends. I had to figure out why they would try to hurt you and do you know what I found?” she asked. I gulped and replied with a timid,’what?’

“I found out that you were being a manipulative bitch and a fucking liar!”

“What?! No, I was…”

*Slap!*

“Shut the fuck up when I'm talking Empress Rose!” she screamed at me while I stood there in paralyzing shock after she hit me. “Speaking of Empress. When the fuck were you going to tell me about that huh? First, you fucking lied to me about everything, spend my money and now treat others like shit! You are fucking out of my house you little fucking piece of shit! And don't bother coming back to Cloudsdale either!” She screamed in my face as lightning flashed behind her. I slowly backed away from Spitfire. I was too terrified to say anything, too scared to do anything. She wouldn't even hear my side of the story! Now I have no home, no friends, everyone I cared about doesn't want to see me again not even the one person I cared for the most.

I walked back to the dorm in the rain.

Broken and alone.

Present…

Spitfire sat in her office at Canterlot castle, angry and betrayed. Never had she felt so dirty, so used before. The little filly that she called her daughter lied about everything! She lied about her friends, she lied about her title and worst of all. She lied about loving her. Spitfire fumed for begin used in such a way. If it wasn't for the fact that she stopped in her room and found her secret diary that was carefully hidden as a math textbook to learn what the little shit was planning, she would have beaten her until she did. Spitfire opened the book up to a page that was bookmarked and read it for the dirt she needed to get rid of her.

Dear Diary.

I am writing to you today about something that I have never told anyone about that haven't brain-raped me in recent history. The thing is, I hate Hearth Warming Eve and every single holiday of the year. My birthday is just under Hearth Warming for how much I hate it. The thing is, the main reason how I found myself on the streets was because I was tired of being beaten every single year on that day. Though, now that I think about it, the first ever memory that I have was on Hearths Warming. So, don't get mad, it's too late now.

It was the night before Hearths Warming Eve and I was only three years old. My older sisters moved out and I have yet to meet my father. It was just my birth mother and I, in that little apartment in Toronhoof. I went to bed early that night, hoping that Santa Paws got me something this year. I fell asleep in on a mattress in the corner of an empty room and had wonderful dreams of all the toys that I would get for being a good filly that year.

When I woke up to the sun on my face from an ice covered window, I ran to the door, with a bright smile on my face. Just as I turned the nob to open it, I quickly learned that my door was locked from the outside. I was confused and began to bang on the door, hoping that my birth mother would open it, but I regretted soon after.

In just a few minutes after the banging, she opened the door. I remembered the smell of booze and the look that she gave me. The look that she gave was of disgust like I shouldn't have been born. Just as I was about to go check under the tree for my presents I...I was picked up and thrown into the corner of the room.

I...I didn't understand what was going on, why I was in pain. When I looked up from my daze, a glass bottle was smashed over my face. I screamed in pain as glass was embedded in my face, but that wasn't the worst of it. She pushed me into back into the corner and began to kick me for hours, non-stop. I cried and begged for her to stop! For someone to come and make the pain go away, but it never came. The only sign that she stopped was after I blacked out from the torment.

I thought I was dead, that she killed me, but that never happened. I woke up, in pain and in bandages. I never left that room again, for if I did. I would have been beaten until I was a bloody pulp again.

Every single holiday was like that. I would wake up to a locked door then she would come in and kick and punch and throw me around until I was a broken, bloody mess of pain and tears.

I begged and pleaded each time, saying these words over and over again, hoping that she would stop. 'Please, I will be a good boy. I've done nothing wrong. I have done nothing wrong.'

But that was the past now. I am much happier now, well, now that I am no longer living on the streets, begging more money or food. I...I won't admit it, not yet anyway, but ever since Spitfire took me in. My nightmares stopped, I feel so safe and I am looking forward to a Hearths Warming that didn't end with me on the floor, curled up into a ball, bleeding, broken and afraid.

She is everything I wanted in a mom but never got. She is; nice, caring, loving, patient and understanding. All I want to do is see her smile, to make her proud. To curl up beside her, to hug and to love her.

I won't admit any of it of course, but I love her with all my heart, even though I have a hard time showing it. Without her, I...I can't imagine what it would be like without her.

Anyways. That's the gist of why I hate Hearth's Warming, but, I hope that I can turn that around and make happy memories with Spitfire.

Spitfire closed the book and threw it across the room in horror. She thought she took something that would tell her about Winter and why she was so secretive about her past, present and what she plans for the future. She knew something wasn't right when she came into town to report on the success of her mission. Call it a hunch, but her hunches came true.

Her hunch told her that there was something wrong at the school, that something bad happened to her little girl. And she was right. She knew she jumped to conclusions when that filly with the green mane told her that Winny was a con artist. She couldn't believe that her blunt little filly would orchestrate something to break another's heart, but when she saw that one sided fight and learned the aftermath. All she could think about how much Winny must have used her.

What's worse was the fact that Commander Luna told her that her sister was going to officially recognize her as a leader of a new country. Spitfire couldn't believe that either, but when she added to today's events. She exploded with rage that Rose used everyone and everything around her to get that title.

"I...I think I made a horrible mistake," Spitfire's voice cracked as she played back what she had just read. Nothing made sense to her anymore. What she thought was a tome to take over Equestria was actually just a collection of Roses deepest, darkest secrets of her past that she would never tell anybody. After playing it back in her head, she saw the error of her ways. Rose was the victim of this mess that used her friends against her, and because of that. Rose acted on instinct and didn't mean to hurt them in the way she did.

“She...She must be devastated,” Spitfire choked out to no one as she hid her face in her arms and laid down on her desk. “I...I made her the bad guy. I...I fucking hit her! She looked up to me and now she must think I am like her bitch birth mother!" she shuddered. “I told her that I didn't want anything to do with her anymore! That she has no home! I...Why didn't I let her explain! Why do I always hurt her when all she wants is someone to hold her for once?!” Spitfire sniffled not knowing what to do. She didn't notice the presence that entered the room nor it draping a wing on her to tell her that everything was going to be alright.

“Go to her Captain, because she needs you now more than ever,” Spoke a warm, yet all knowing voice. Spitfire looked up with red, puffy, tear-filled eyes and saw Princess Luna giving her a somber smile. “But she hates me now. I...I don't think she wants to ever see me again after what I did,” Spitfire whimpered.

“I cannot say anything that will fix this wound like it never happened, but what I can say is that she needs someone to be on her side to make the nightmares go away. Someone that she can look up to and call family,” Luna said wiping away her tears with a swipe of a wing. “But, don't you do that? You know more about her than I do,” Spitfire frowned. Luna stepped away feeling the jealousy of her Captain.

“Rose is one of the rare ponies that I cannot protect from her nightmares,” Luna sighed, knowing how horrific Roses night terrors are. “And yes, we know everything about her horrible past. How much she suffered until she met you. Most ponies would have ended their life if they were put into her situation for even an hour. That filly is strong. Stronger than most, but her greatest weakness is her fear of being alone and now she absolutely believes that she is, alone. How I came to learning about her past was out of safety for you in case she was a wild card. No more, no less, but it is up to her if she wants to tell you and if she doesn't, not me. Then you will have to respect that decision.”

“What the hell am I supposed to do?” Spitfire asked as her heart felt like it was about to break. She couldn't fathom at the hardship Rose must have gone through to even bring Luna to tears. What's worse was that Rose couldn't be saved from her nightmares, but what could she do to help?

“Go and ask for forgiveness. You will find her in her room. I suggest you go now as she is sleeping and is having a horrible nightmare...About you.”

Spitfire never flew so fast in her life. Her wings burned from having to push through the torrential downpour of today's thunderstorm, but she was determined to go through even Tartarus for her little Rose. Spitfire landed just outside the dorm and rushed in to find her filly. The mare behind tell desk gave her a worrisome smile and pointed in the direction to where Roses room was, even though she already knew it.

She ran like the wind up the five flights of stairs and down the hall to room 69. Spitfire couldn't help but chuckle at the number that was Roses favorite number for all the wrong reasons. She opened the locked door by using a trick that her own mother had taught her when she was young. She moved the tumblers in the lock by manipulating the air with her wings with practiced ease and opened the door to an empty room. She walked in and headed straight to the room that she knew Rose was hiding in.

Spitfire opened then the door slowly as to not startle the weeping filly inside. The room was dark, but, thankfully, not destroyed. She looked around, making note of the few Playpony posters as wells as a few Wonderbolt posters that decorated the wall. As she looked around, she could hear muffled sobs from somewhere in the room. She looked at the small bed in the right corner of the room, hoping to find Rose on it and not in the other place, but it was empty.

She cringed and looked down at the left corner of the room and found what she was looking for. Curled up in a ball of fur and tears, trembling from soaked fur and the nightmare Luna said she was having, was Rose, holding her tail and the little teddy bear that she won for her at the festival. Spitfire closed to door and grabbed the blanket off of the bed to cover up Rose. Just as she was about to wrap up the filly to dry her off, she jumped in surprise and stared in absolute horror as she tried to back into the wall as far as she could go.

“Please...I will be good! Please don't hurt me!” Rose begged as Spitfire took a step closer. Spitfires' heart sank deeper into depression as Rose curled up into the fetal position with her hooves protecting her head. Without thinking, Spitfire jumped to her side, causing Rose to scream in fear for her life.

“Winny, it's okay. I'm not going to hurt you,” Spitfire said as tears threatened to come back, but the filly didn't believe her as she continued to say those horrid words of her past. Spitfire, giving up on her mind and followed her instincts, gently grabbed the screaming filly and pulled her into an embrace. She carefully brought the trembling filly onto the bed and wrapped the blanket around them both like a protective cocoon to dry them off and to warm them up.

Spitfire nuzzled and kissed Rose promising that everything was going to be okay in an attempt to calm her down. It worked after a few hours had passed and the sun was passing the horizon. Spitfire had to shoo away Captain Emerald who had come to check up on Rose once the school bell was rung. The Captain saw that they were having a moment and quickly told them that Roses roommates were staying next door for the night and left them be.

It wasn't until late in the evening when Rose finally stopped trembling and crying in Spitfires' chest before she said something other than pleas for mercy, but Spitfire couldn't understand. Spitfire pulled away for a moment and saw a devastated filly with red, tired eyes and a damp face. Spitfire gave her a somber smile, causing her to look up at her in confusion.

"A-Aren't you going to hit me?” Rose whimpered. That question hit Spitfire like a steel wagon. Rose believes that she was there to hurt her more than she already has. Spitfire sighed and wrapped her wings around the filly to calm her down.

“I...I am not going to hurt you…” she mumbled. “...Never again.” Rose just stared in disbelief while Spitfire continued. “I-I'm sorry Winny. I'm so, so sorry for hitting you. I wasn't thinking straight from all the drama that took place. I didn't want to believe that any of it was true, that you were an evil mastermind controlling everyone, but everything happened all at once and that's all I could see.” She paused, letting everything sink in.

“When I saw that filly on the roof with you, I thought the worst. When I flew down to confirm my worries, I didn't give you a chance to remove them, to tell me that it all was a miss understanding, but I didn't. Now that I know the truth, I...I'm sorry for everything. I sorry for causing so much pain. I...I don't blame you for hating me, but just know that you will always have a place at home with me.”

Spitfire waited for rejection, waited for Rose to yell at her to leave and never come back, but it never came. Instead, Spitfire felt the filly bury her face into her chest. She looked down and saw Rose, already fast asleep. Spitfire didn't know what kind of answer she was going to receive when she woke up, but that didn't matter anymore. She was so tired of the crap that happened today that she just didn't move. Spitfire, instead, curled around the filly under the Wonderbolt blanket, protecting her from the nightmares and the ponies that might come to harm her.