MLP - Fractured. Shattered. (Part 1)

”Sky...Sky…!!”

Soft yet frantic knocking bounced off the walls of the dark hallway. Summer Rush stopped for a moment, her heart pounding as she listened closely for any sign of movement on the other side, although she already knew her brother was there.

After all, he was the first thing she had seen when she had opened her door, peeking out to investigate the strange noises that had woken her up at one in the morning.

‘But why is he holding his arm...?’

She began her knocking again, eyes rounded in anxious concern.

‘Why did he panic when he saw me?’

“Sky...?”

‘Why did he run?
What was that look on his face?
Why can’t he just talk to me?
Why?’

For a moment, she wondered if he had gotten into another fight with somepony. Not that it mattered to her what the reason was. If he had gotten hurt, she had to make sure it wasn’t serious. Even if he would no doubt hide serious injuries from their parents, maybe...just maybe, he could confide in her. Maybe this was her chance, without her mother claiming it was useless, to finally remind him that she was on his side. That whatever was happening, he didn’t have to go through it alone. Maybe she could remind him...that despite anything she might have done to hurt him, to make him shut her out, she cared. And nothing he did would ever change that.

With no sign of a response or acknowledgement, Summer sighed and leaned her forehead against the wooden door, speaking softly.

“Skychaser, please….I just want to know you’re okay…”

She waited. As expected, she was met with more silence. And yet...she couldn’t give up. No, up until now she had resigned herself into accepting her circumstances; of Sky keeping his distance, of her mother’s stern warnings to leave him be. But she knew this was more than just some…”phase”. It was more than being angry for the sake of being angry. It had to be. It just made no sense for somepony as kind and loving and hard-working as her own brother to turn around and coldy lash out. All because she took up the flight training he had abandoned…? No...there had to be more. Sky had to be shouldering more than he was willing to show.

Or perhaps that was her own denial, unwilling to bear the thought of this...being her own fault.

“...I don’t know what happened,” she began gently, keeping her voice calm. “But whatever happened, please, just let me help you.” Summer quietly pressed her hooves onto his door and gazed softly at it, as if face-to-face with the very stallion she was trying to reach. “Did you injure your arm? I...ha...promise I can do more than just Summer magic this time…” she joked weakly, giving a quiet, sad chuckle. “Or if the injury is really bad, we can go to the hospital together to check it out? W-we can even sneak out! Mom and Dad don’t have to know. I promise.”

…..

“...I’m...being kind of creepy, aren’t I? Sorry…” she smiled feebly, in an effort to contain the sting. Like every other time he had avoided her, she could feel an ache in her chest. Yet somehow, having him just out of arm's reach made it even worse. “I know you can take care of yourself. But...you don’t have to do it alone.”

Summer lowered her head, her guilt resurfacing. “Whatever I did to make you shut me out, I’m really, really sorry. But I care about you.
I’m sorry if I've never made that clear enough…”

…….

Then, as if electricity had shaken the air, Summer jolted as a quiet voice, only slightly muffled by the door, met her ears.

“Are you happy?”

Summer paused for a while. She hurriedly ran those words through her head a number of times, in an effort to decipher their meaning. As if to answer her silent confusion, he firmly spoke again.

”Are you happy here?

With her eyebrows narrowing back, Summer...couldn’t begin to understand where the question had come from. But if it was enough to make her brother speak, it had to be important to him.

‘I know he’s not happy...but if I can just get him to understand…’

“...I am.” she shone a shy, genuine smile at his door. “I know Mom and Dad can be strict, but they’re more supportive than you think. They just want what’s best for us. Once you find the right path again, Sky, I’m sure you’ll be able to see it too.”

Summer inhaled deeply. Hope and relief filled her mind. This was the first time she had genuinely held a conversation with her brother in ages. Finally, she could get her feelings across. Finally, she could reach out to him.

It was then that when Sky answered, it was with a shaking, grating voice, crackling with emotions she couldn’t even begin to decipher.

”Then Leave. Me. Alone.”

……

Summer took a slow step back, staring at the door in shock. Distress. In response, she could barely speak above a trembling whisper.

"W-what...?"

Even as seconds passed, her mind had difficulty processing their exchange. His words...the finality in them.

Like he wanted absolutely nothing to do with her. Just as her mother had said.

‘What did I say...why does he hate us…?
Why does he hate me?’

The pain in her chest was unlike anything she had experienced before. It was like everything had bottomed out beneath her. Perhaps, until this point, she didn’t want to believe her mother. Maybe she had hoped far too desperately that her brother still wanted her friendship, and had simply lost himself in whatever burdens were weighing him down. To have her fears proven right…to hear from his very mouth, and his very tone, that she might as well be a nuisance...

“...fine.”

It was soft. And in no way could she contain the pained shake in her voice. But it was all she could muster.

If he wanted nothing to do with her, then there truly was nothing she could do.

Without another word, Summer’s hooves quietly clacked on the ground as she stiffly walked away. Her very body felt heavy, and she could feel her lip tremble. But she fought it back, along with the tears that made her world blur. She walked on, approaching her room’s door just down the hall.

As she pushed it open, her ears caught a different noise downstairs. She hesitated for a moment.

Were her parents awake?
...should she tell them about Sky?

She shook her head to herself. No. Whatever happened was his business. Besides, he would only hate her more if she tried...maybe that was selfish. Or maybe her guilt wanted her to display some semblance of respect.

Summer Rush slipped into her room and silently closed the door behind her. But with her departure, with the click of her door, the young mare missed a soft, broken sob, muffled behind a door.
________________________________________________________

"Fractured" is the companion piece to "Shattered". While "Fractured" focuses on Summer's point of the view the night of Skychaser's disownment, "Shattered" follows Skychaser's POV. I didn't want to make it confusing, hence the choice in deviation title.

That morning, Summer woke up to find Skychaser gone and learned from her parents that they had kicked him out the previous night due to his problematic behavior. He was becoming a delinquent, they had said, and he clearly had no interest in changing. The disbelief and grief she felt was far more painful than Skychaser's rejection. But she forced herself to accept that her brother just didn't want to be helped, and couldn't be helped if he refused to welcome it.

After that day, Summer continued to train hard with Lightning Dust and enjoyed everyday life with her strict yet supportive family. But thoughts of her brother never escaped her. Even with her efforts to move on, not one day did his absence not weigh on her.

Don't worry, though. This isn't the end of their story.

Destinyverse Archives

Feat.

 Skychaser  Summer Rush

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