Originally posted on: July 2, 2019 at 2:19 AM UTC
> A Bit of Practice [w/ story]
> Read the previous stories from the following images in order for context:
> Discovered — [www.deviantart.com/billy2345/a…](https://www.deviantart.com/billy2345/art/Discovered-714378298)
> Street — [www.deviantart.com/theblingdsh…](https://www.deviantart.com/theblingdshizz/art/Street-w-Story-774824570)
> For Every Evil… — [https://www.deviantart.com/theblingdshizz/art/For-Every-Evil-w-story-800464077](https://www.deviantart.com/theblingdshizz/art/For-Every-Evil-w-story-800464077)[www.deviantart.com/theblingdsh…](https://www.deviantart.com/theblingdshizz/art/For-Every-Evil-w-story-800464077)
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> Ever since Tay took me in, I was surprised at how she treated me. She kept me well fed and cleaned, of course, but she did a lot more than that.
> When we arrived at her place, she got me bathed and fitted into some soft, clean pajamas while her maid washed my other clothes and even my bear. I was still scared at what Tay may be planning, but at this point I was really exhausted and all I wanted was sleep. It was a really long day.
> Once I got dressed, Tay took me to her room and set up a small air matress next to her bed. I almost immediately fell asleep as soon as I got settled in, but it wasn't long before I started getting nightmares. Just the image of my dad dying before me kept playing over and over nonstop, along with chimes of "It's all your fault" and "You abandoned your brother", started to torment me in my sleep until finally I woke up crying. Tay immediately went to comfort me and eventually I slept with her for the rest of that night. The morning after we had breakfast and she took me down to the shops close to where she lived. We would visit those shops and the park often.
> As the years went by I started to warm up to Tay more and more, and before long I started to call her "Mom" by the time I turned ten. She would spend time with me as much as she could whenever she was off work and taught me a bit about how the SS police and army worked, mainly about their ranks and positions. That was when I also learned about things like "blacking" records, which makes ponies who have their records blacked immune to enslavement, and The Seizure Squad, a special police force led by Pitch Black.
> When I turned thirteen, Tay drove us out to the countryside so that I could practice handling and using a gun. However, since it was my first time ever picking up a gun, I was pretty terrible. As well, I was still a little traumatized over my dad's death. Every gunshot caused me to flinch and hesitate. Eventually we took a break from practice, and that was when I started to break down. Not only from the trauma, but also from the fear of disappointment from Tay. I was scared she would be so disappointed in me that she would dump me back out on the streets.
> It was at that moment that Tay pulled me in for a hug. I held on until I ran out of tears and all the fear just washed away, and eventually we drove back to town to get ice cream and hang out at the park before we headed home.
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> Yeah, another glimpse at Mel's/Bling's childhood.
> Also huge thanks to [billy2345](https://www.deviantart.com/billy2345) for drawing the truck in the background.