Author's Note
71 Weeks later. Been a while since I touched this. I finally found a method of properly writing this story. I don't expect a heavy audience as before, given my absence.
Downfall
“Ditzy, please tell me what has you so upset. It makes me sad to see you in tears, Little Muffin.” Her mother’s voice soothed much of Ditzy’s anxiety, calming her once violent sobs into occasional sniffling.
“I-I don’t want to go to School today…” The little grey Pegasus retreated into herself, pulling her hooves and tail together into a tight bundle beneath her graceful form. Feathers belonging to her own wings wrapped about her fragile body, shielding it from a nonexistent threat. Ditzy’s left eye drooped as her focus slipped more and more towards her deepest fears.
“Little Muffin. How are you going to graduate Flight School if you don’t show up?” Ditzy’s worsening mood forced her mother to rethink her strategy. Taking a deep breath, Ditzy’s mother calmed herself before continuing. This issue would be better solved by talking plainly instead of scoldingly, she thought.
“Do you still want to be a Wonderbolt like I was?” Ditzy’s golden eyes flooded with another torrent of tears, the question burning in her ears.
“Of course I do! I could be the greatest Wonderbolt ever…” Hesitation flooded her voice just as the words of her peers drowned her thoughts. Mother’s intuition kicked in quickly, responding to her daughter’s signals.
“Who said you wouldn’t make a great Wonderbolt? Was it the dumb one or the fat one?” Somehow the simple descriptions of Ditzy’s primary bullies made her smile, relaxing her wings’ protective embrace. Witnessing the change of mood, her mother gently stepped to her side to drape a large, pale-yellow wing over her small back. The motion gave the Filly a clear view of her mother’s simple cutie mark. It was a white feather.
Covered in thick feathers, no one would be able to see how thin and fragile the little Filly just so happened to be. The Mother’s hoof, opposite the side of her draped wing, ruffled about her daughter’s blonde mane till she could stomach a reply. The two certainly didn’t have forever to dilly dally. Flight School had to start eventually.
“Can you tell me a story, Momma?”
“Do you promise to go to school if I do?” Shakily, the filly agreed to the bargain’s terms. Another day of hell was worth the ten minutes of heaven beyond her troubles.
“Good. Now, which story should I tell?” The pale-yellow mare hummed to herself as she thought ever so carefully. Whatever story she picked, it needed to be a good one. In any trade, it is important to be fair and honest. Deviating from this rule can have questionable results in the real world. Here, it would hurt her daughter’s desire to follow through with her side of the bargain. Education is important for the young mind, after all.
“Have I told you the story of the ‘First Hug’?” Ditzy’s face twisted in confusion, seeming to push one of her ears up for emphasis. Now focused, the filly’s eyes simultaneously focused on just her mother rather than her mother and the floor.
“I don’t think I’ve heard that story before, Momma.”
“Wonderful! I think you’ll like this quite a bit.” The pale-yellow mare visibly brightened as she escorted her child towards the rug before the brick fireplace at the west side of their home with a gentle push of her large wing. Ditzy found it hard not to follow suit, even as her mother lay down on her stomach. The hearth’s flames crackled gently as it fed on an odd material from the world far below her home.
The filly joined her mother as she did every time a story was told. She’d lean against her mother’s pale-yellow chest, placing her left ear to hear the residing heartbeat. It was a primal, natural method of calming oneself. In this position, Ditzy’s blonde locks fell over her left eye, hiding her Hypotropia. Somehow, this calmed her even more than the heartbeat alone. The story began as her mother took a deep breath, filling the silly little filly’s ear with the sound of rushing air.
“At the beginning of all things, before the birth of Princess Celestia and long before ponies made every inch of the world work correctly; There were two fluffy, white clouds.” Ditzy shifted against her mother, snuggling closer to her warmth as her words slowed the ever ticking hands of time. In response, the storyteller tightened her wing’s embrace over her child. She continued her tale with a soothing tone about her melodic voice.
“Back then, there was nothing special about these two clouds. From our view, they were special because of what they planned to do themselves. Their plan was simple. At high noon the following day, they would embrace one another to express every ounce of their love to one another.”
“Why did they wait so long?” Ditzy looked up to her mother’s autumn eyes, awaiting an answer despite her sudden interruption.
“They wanted to be sure. In most drastic things, it’s best to give those involved time to be certain…” The mare took a deep breath, thinking for a moment as to retrieve the place in the story she left off.
“The moment the clouds saw each other the next day, they hugged one another deeply and without hesitation. Two clouds became a single, dark cloud. This dark cloud was nothing the world had ever seen before that time. After all, clouds had never hugged before then.” Ditzy seemed horrified by the outcome suffered in the First Hug. What happened to the clouds? Were they okay?
“The Dark cloud looked to himself as he floated above the brown dust of the world below. He knew nothing of how he came to be, yet he felt the overwhelming love of the two who became him. The cloud felt sad and gloomy as he couldn’t even begin to understand what he was feeling.” The storyteller seemed to look into the flames of their white-brick hearth with sympathy for the fictional storm cloud. Ditzy responded to both the tone of the story and her mother’s expression by slightly tearing up. A yellow feather from the large wing which embraced her wiped away the tears beneath her right eye.
“His sobs thundered for many miles, bringing the attention of other clouds alike those who became him. His sadness was so deep that he began to cry. His tears watered the earth below him in a symphony of splashes.” Ditzy starred towards her mother in awe, leaning her snuzzle towards her mother’s in an attempt to coax more information out of her. She had to know the ending before she left their house in the clouds for a school among larger clouds.
“From the moistened Dust of the earth below grew a multitude of green vines. These plants felt the pain of their creator. With the help of the Sun, they grew towards their father, waiting patiently for their chance to comfort him. In the meantime, an audience formed around the stormy cloud to observe the spectacle unfolding before them.” Ditzy’s mother took a small breath, filling her lungs with air. She was preparing for the finale. Ditzy was on the edge of her proverbial seat, occasionally nudging her loving mother to finish the story. It wasn’t as if she were in a hurry for the conclusion. She just wanted to know how it ended!
“The vines took a very long time to comfort their creator. His plight was long and arduous, concluded by a loving hug from beings he didn’t realize he created. The stormy cloud felt happy at long lasts to be among his children of the soil. His audience, so moved by his creation, found their own soul mates with which to embrace and water the world. The desire of two clouds who loved each other forged the world beneath us, carving out valleys, canyons and mountain ranges.
“As the first clouds aged, they became the massive islands with which we built our city. Cloudsdale.” The Story concluded with a prideful smile, stereotypical of the Ex-Wonderbolt. Cloudsdale taught its citizens to have such pride, often to a fault as their citizens attempt to explore the world.
Ditzy’s mother’s smile rapidly faded to a more serious expression.
“Remember this when you go to school or even beyond this place. You are amazing and wonderful. The world is happy to have you in it. It’s best not to inherit the unending pride and arrogance of Cloudsdale as your peers have. Such a narrow idea will keep you from seeing beauty in the world. Do you understand, Little Muffin?” It was clear that the mother fought against her life’s brain washing by Cloudsdale. For what reason, no one else could say. Ditzy quickly nodded to the given advice, regardless.
The little filly couldn’t help but tear up just a little at the realization that the story had been concluded. It was time to go to school.
“Good. Now run along. I’ll see you at home for dinner. I’m certain it’ll cheer you up even if this day turns sour!” The promise of food was enough to get Ditzy to stand up, albeit after her mother rushed to the kitchen to find a pen, paper and ink to write herself a shopping list for that night’s feast.
The Hearth’s Fire was the central attraction of Ditzy’s small home. There were four rooms; The central lobby and living room were the entryway to the home of condensed cloud bricks. Pictures of all kinds littered the walls and flat furniture. A red rug sat before the fire, surrounded by several small tables of condensed cloud. These tables were just tall enough for a pony to interact with while laying by the fire. Several cushions dotted the remaining space proven unnecessary for regular traffic.
As the Hearth is along the northernmost wall, opposite the entryway, two of the three remaining rooms can be found to the east and west of the Hearth. The Kitchen, simply filled with essential comforts, sat at the western end of the home. The bedroom sat opposite the kitchen with a bathroom accessible only through said bedroom.
Bathrooms in Cloudsdale were odd to the rest of the world. A slab of condensed cloud stood as the base of everything. Showers and plumbing were limited to specific quantities outside the home. Waste falls through a waiting hole in the slab and into a container. Shower water falls from a similar hole in the ceiling attached to a rudimentary tank atop the home.
A worker of the city would come along in the dead hours of night to dispose of waste and refill shower tanks. Baths were unheard of. Condensed cloud can only be molded so thin before it evaporates.
A stack of odd cylinders sat beside the Hearth. Ditzy remembered her mother warning her about where she put these cylinders. If she placed them on normal clouds, they would fall straight through to the land below. This was most peculiar to Ditzy as most everything else she knew of, including every Pegasus in Cloudsdale and beyond, could stand on clouds of all kinds.
In fact, Pegasi are responsible for condensing clouds into bricks and other items in the first place. Unlike the other two pony races, the Pegasi had to forge their homes from scratch. Pegasi are stereotypically associated with technological innovation alongside arrogance. Cloudsdale is the only city in the world to have an efficient factory.
Feigning eagerness, Ditzy rushed to the kitchen herself. Her purpose there was simple. She needed her small lunch bag from the cooling cabinet. Such a contraption, forged of the same bricks the Pegasi stood upon, used a permanent winter storm to cool down the contents. Opening the cooling cabinet often showered its user in a veil of snowflakes.
Ditzy found her lunch bag amongst various bundles of food from the world below. What was that world like? She knew it had the plants from her mother’s story. After all, food does not grow within the clouds. At least, nothing flavorful.
“Momma. Why do you call me ‘Little Muffin’? I’ve never been sure what a muffin was.” The yellow mare froze mid sentence, relaxing the grip her feathers held over the pen. A smile spread across her lips.
“I call you ‘Little Muffin’ because of what Muffins are. They’re the most wonderful pastries in all of Equestria and beyond.” She thought for a moment, turning towards her daughter, feigning a lack of excitement.
“I’ll find you one to try when I go to the market. You’ll see exactly why I gave you the nickname.” Ditzy’s mother tilted her head ever so slightly. The grey filly’s eyes widened as her thoughts were brought back to her side of their earlier bargain.
Ditzy tugged the strap of her little blue bag over her head, securing it even if she were to fly the whole way there. Her wings wouldn’t accidentally flick it off mid-flap. She was as ready as she ever would be.
“Have a good day at school, Little Muffin. I love you.” The loving mother waved her free wing towards her child, waving her off as she opened the entryway to leave her home for the day.
“I love you too, Momma!” With that, the teenage pony bounded into the world beyond.
Roads and bridges of cloud-brick linked the small home with the rest of Cloudsdale. Private homes in Cloudsdale were not as expensive as grouped complexes. Ponies in the city adored closeness with their neighbors above seclusion. Why then, were Ditzy and her mother living alone?
The question quickly left the filly’s mind as she took her first step onto loose, raw cloud. The sensation was akin to standing on wet towels atop granite. It felt loose, yet Ditzy would never find herself falling through.
The Pegasus flexed her legs one by one, stretching them in preparation for a lengthy walk. She couldn’t help but look down to her rather uniform forelimb. Grey fur stretched over every inch of her visible body, including her hooves.
Ditzy remembered seeing a few Pegasi with exposed hooves, uncovered by skin and fur. These particular adaptations were limited to a select few. Common opinion suggests such ponies to have ancient genetic traits belonging to the horses which came before all ponies.
In the case of the majority, such limbs highlighted the bony structure beneath the skin rather than outside of its warm protection. These were free of the need of chiseled trimming or synthetic protection from the elements.
Ditzy strove onward, determined only by the love afforded by her mother. Otherwise, she would have stayed at home. The clouds beneath the filly’s hooves massaged their fleshy bottoms, bringing a pleasant smile to their owner’s pristine snuzzle. She loved to walk on clouds. Unfortunately, she eventually had to join the majority of Pegasi atop the brick roads of the first of many large islands.
The filly had only been trotting along the brick road towards flight school for a few short minutes before something went wrong. Something always goes wrong for someone in Cloudsdale. It mainly followed Ditzy and her Mother.
“Hey guys! It’s Daisy’s retarded kid!” The voice was rather low pitched, belonging to a fairly rotund blue Pegasus. Ditzy visibly winced as his voice echoed in her ears. She could feel her fur coat standing up slightly upon her back. If nothing else, she was ready to run and take to the grand blue skies above or just below.
“Hey Lil’ Miss Broken Eye! Stop so we can have a chat.” Ditzy found herself caught between the rotund pony and her continued path. He’d been flying by before just so happening upon his “Favorite Toy”.
”What do you want, Gust?” Ditzy had little choice but to respond at this point. A crowd of ponies alike him were cutting off her exits.
“I just want to talk.” A harsh shove pushed Ditzy back a few steps. Gust was a heavily set Pegasus. He was a rarity with such a group of athletes.
“Talk, then. Sooner you run out of stupid things to say, the sooner I get to be on my way.” Ditzy spoke in a cold tone. Her eyes remained focused on a space behind Gust. She felt it important to hide her deformity amongst this group. A quick glance revealed many familiar faces in a large sea of color.
“Hey Breeze!” Gust called out into the crowd, allowing for an unusually thin white Pegasus to rush into the open center of the steadily tightening doughnut of ponies.
“What is it, Gust?” Breeze spoke in a very odd fashion. It was the sort of talk which felt fake and practiced. The two bullies were planning something.
Cautiously, Ditzy covered her flanks with her wings. “Blank flank” was a common insult for ponies her age.
“Do you remember what we talked about the other day?” Gust grinned to himself, clearly finishing his crucial line in an ultimately twisted performance.
Several ponies floated above the circle on the side with buildings. This crowd was forming beside the vast edge of one of the larger cloud islands. There was no logical escape from this situation if it turned sour.
“I do, boss. It was about the broken blank flank!” Breeze let loose the first true insult. The crowd rippled with the words, throwing it back between the determined faces. Ditzy felt her focus slipping as the word echoed, highlighting her blank flanks.
The echoing words took much of Ditzy’s confidence away. She felt her left eye drooping lower and lower. The crowd pointed their hooves, laughing hysterically. Gust interrupted the crowd with his deep, booming voice.
“Good news, though. We’re all here to fix one of your deformities.” Ditzy raised an eyebrow as she wiped away a few of her tears. What was he on about?
“It’ll be easy we promise!” Breeze chimed in, vibrating with anticipation. From within the crowd, a third pony wandered into the clearing. This rather normal male with slicked back hair sported a pair of goggles atop his head. Several tools of varying purposes poked out from beneath each of his wings.
Ditzy appeared greatly confused by the third pony’s appearance. Was he here to stand up to the crowd of bullies or build a birdhouse?
“Ratchet here is at the top of our factory engineering class. We’ve asked him to fix your eye for you!” A twisted grin snaked across Gust’s face amidst his words. The insanity of the situation sank into Ditzy’s mind as a rock would a pond. Tension built within the filly’s muscles as fear overwhelmed her.
Time seemed to slow to a crawl as Ditzy tried to access the situation through her fear. A voice rang from far away, alerting the islands one by one.
“Stay above the islands! We have a massive storm raging down below in the fly zone!” One Wonderbolt yelled frantically. His cause was noble, but potentially dangerous for the large crowd of bullies.
Gust and Breeze began their approach, fully prepared for what they intended to carry out. Ditzy leapt into the air as she saw them mouth the words: “Hold her down!” Immediately, yells rang out from all around, chanting those words with fierce command.
The grey filly found herself flapping vigorously to avoid the many flyers attempting to divebomb her out of the air. One close call removed her lunch bag, snapping its strap. She watched behind horrified golden eyes as her bag fell through the white clouds around the brick road and into the storms below. Ditzy’s heart pumped harshly and painfully from the exertion. She thought she might pass out.
Options once again ran thin as the majority of the crowd took to the skies. At this rate, Ditzy was sure to be caught and mutilated! The crowd grew nearer and nearer, flapping their wings quickly. Some pushed and shoved to get to her before the others.
Air rushed by Ditzy’s ears as she continued to flap upwards despite the pain inside her chest. Higher and higher she flew, yet closer and closer the crowd came. At this rate, she would pass out from the lack of oxygen high over the city. To that end, she would still be caught.
Only one way out remained in the blonde Pegasus’ mind. Surprisingly to the crowd, Ditzy sharply changed direction towards the empty airspace between the islands. The crowd followed without a care, still very much determined to finish what was started.
Ditzy could hardly hear the voices of either her pursuers or onlookers from other islands scream out for her to stop. The filly folded her wings against her body. One last escape from mutilation.
The pegasus immediately rocketed downward through the center of empty airspace and to the stormy clouds below. Darkness swirled loudly as she fell, consuming all but the voice of one pony who dared to follow her.
A rainbow of colors flashed passed her eyes for only an instant before the dark clouds consumed her surrounding vision. At last, Ditzy was safe from her pursuers. Unfortunately, given her “Abilities” as a pegasus, she now needed to avoid the clouds rushing passed her. Rain pummeled her feathered wings, setting their impacts ablaze with aching pain.
Ditzy unfolded her wings quickly, giving herself the means of steering through the darkness. How stupid she had to be to do this ridiculous thing. The grey filly was far beyond the point of no return. Clouds shifted in and out behind and before her too quickly to undo. Hard winds pulled her downwards amidst flashing bolts of lightning, further finalizing her descent.
Familiar fear gripped the Pegasus’ aching heart. How would I ever get back to my mother in all of this? How will I ever survive this?! Ditzy’s thoughts practically rippled with such ideas amidst hard-learned reflexes. For once, she was happy to have attended the Wonderbolts Academy for a time.
Ditzy settled on this topic for her thoughts. She needed something to reflect on to calm herself down. Panic would lead to certain death. The Pegasus did her best to ignore the pain ripping at her body, allowing her thoughts to partially wander.
There was once a day in which Ditzy could have been a Wonderbolt just like her mother, but far sooner. The grey pegasus was a fairly gifted flier, easily trumping the majority of her “Competition.”
It wasn’t a point of pride to have been qualified so early for such harsh training and discipline. Such acceptance was a forced honor. Her city demanded that she attend as requested.
Ditzy learned many currently necessary skills in her time there. Constantly racing through horribly crowded obstacle courses filled with painful pitfalls. Failing the course initially resulted in repeating it in front of the rest of the recruits, whom are instructed to throw bricks for the failure to dodge. Few ponies failed more than a hoof ful of times.
Ditzy reached Graduation Day with flying colors. However, there was a catch. She had to pass several tests made up by the acting general. The Filly just so happened to fail the vision test “randomly” assigned to her. Ditzy’s Hypotropia made her unfit to be a Wonderbolt.
The scrutiny of her deformity immediately preceded her empty trip homeward. Devastated, Ditzy told her mother that she just had to finish school before they could accept her. What a horrible lie.
Tears filled Ditzy’s eyes through the gusting winds, clouding her vision slightly. She quickly wiped away the intruding liquid. The moment of darkness suffered by this action turned out to be a grave mistake.
Pain shot through Ditzy’s wings as she felt their largest bones snap in two. Two clouds near the bottom of the storm cluster had clipped them in just the right way. Screams filled the filly’s throat and mind in overwhelming pain. Ditzy no longer had control of her flight path.
Wind tore harshly at her wings, slowing her down considerably with impossibly overwhelming pain. She swore they were about to be ripped apart by the ligaments and muscle which kept them in place.
Ditzy found herself screaming, begging for her mother to save her. She plead for Princess Celestia, in her benevolent grace, to let her survive. The filly continued to beg and plead until the moment her body slammed chest-first into something even more solid than any cloud. Further snapping and cracking of smaller bones echoed inside Ditzy’s body before she finally lost consciousness, succumbing to seemingly endless pain...
****
Air rushed into Ditzy’s lungs as thunder awakened her from a painless slumber. Every sensation flooded back to the filly’s mind, recalling every smidgen of agony she had suffered. The simple act of breathing sent shockwaves of pain rushing through her multitude of cracked and broken ribs. Harsh rain fell upon her body from above alike tiny needles, reminding Ditzy quite suddenly that her wings were broken!
The pegasus screamed out as a stray drop impacted the bruised skin surrounding the very much abused breaking point of her right wing. It seemed very clear that such pain previously made her pass out just to interrupt such an ordeal.
Tears flooded Ditzy’s eyes due to both her agony and encroaching hopelessness. How would she get home without her wings? Fog obscured the filly’s vision of most things in this very alien place. Great shapes reached towards the heavens in a wide circle all around her point of impact. Lengthy, curling green ribbons hugged Ditzy’s body as it lay upon the ground.
Whether due to pain or delirium, the pegasus entertained the idea that her mother’s story was completely true. In such a case, the little green ground protrusions as well as the tall shapes all around were simple plants. Just as those birthed by the storm cloud within the story. However, unlike Daisy’s tale, there were countless storm clouds.
Ditzy could feel her consciousness threatening to leave her in blackness for a second time. Yet, something snapped her attention to the base of the large plants at the edge of the great circle. The pegasus could see little sparkles of light twinkling up and down before fading suddenly one by one. Another wave of such sparkles taunted Ditzy, seeming to demand she follow them.
Sheepishly, the filly flexed the muscles within her legs, feeling the tightness produced by a prolonged lack of motion. With a deep breath, she pushed against the ground with all her might. Despite the loose nature of the plants, such a surface remained solid. Amidst the motion, Ditzy clenched her teeth as waves of throbbing pain radiated from her broken wings. The bases of which instinctively flexed against such pain, worsening such unintentionally. She felt as if the two limbs were about to fall off. One lazy eye was hardly the center of Ditzy’s existence anymore.
Each of the feathered limbs broke their largest bone nearest the body, making every resulting step into an agonizing journey as each wing dragged uselessly against the grass beneath her fleshy hooves.
Ditzy’s watering eyes focused in unison upon the dancing sparkles. In her mind, the only way to stay alive was to get out of the icy rain. In the cover of the larger plants, the pegasus would be free of agonizing bombardment. With such thoughts, she pressed on with renewed hope. Ditzy whimpered in place of harsh screaming, adjusting her pain threshold according to the throbbing constant. Whether rain or tears streamed down her grey face, no one could say. She was alone in her torment, guided to safety by a series of gently sparkling lights. Ditzy would certainly come off as insane to anyone she decided to share this story with.
The pegasus shivered harshly, feeling the cold of the rain pierce beneath her moderately thin fur coat. Should she remain in the rain for too much longer, she’d suffer a far more worrying consequence. Wet grass squished beneath her hooves, pushing cold water towards the pink skin beneath.
Thunder rang through the air in a loud crash as lightning split the sky, forcing the pegasus’ hairs to stand on end. Frightened, Ditzy pushed herself to a faster pace, shifting from one hoof to another in a brisk trot.
Just as her body moved from the storms and into the shade of numberless plants, Ditzy’s right hoof slipped from its intended position. Surprised, the filly attempted to compensate, shifting her body into the mistake. The stray hoof landed upon the largest feather of her right wing, tugging harshly in her correction. Pain reignited her senses, flooding the limb with pain. In an unsettling turn to gaze upon the damage, she could see a thin trickle of blood running down her feathers as well as her flanks. The bone shard at the base of her break pierced through the skin, furthering the wound’s severity.
Horrified, the pegasus averted her eyes from the now far worsened injury. Ditzy’s seemingly unending strength despite the odds had met its end. Cold and at risk of losing one or both of her wings if she hurried herself along, she felt as if she might simply give up.
Then the sparkles flared up in her view once more just ahead. Something about the way they danced up and down in the air filled Ditzy with sudden determination. Now unwilling to submit, the grey pegasus pushed herself forward. She no longer cared about the pain of her body or the burs which snagged at her blonde tail and feathers. At last, she had something to strive towards. Simple sparkles in the night of all things. Something about them begged Ditzy to continue onwards.
After some time, the sounds of harshly falling rain faded from her senses. The trees all around began to thin, opening out for a large field of green.
Harsh warmth erupted from the horizon, bathing the injured girl in a brilliant orange light. For a single instant, nothing else mattered. Ditzy felt consciousness threatening to leave her. In the sunlight, she practically welcomed her body’s much needed resting embrace. A flash of pink pervaded the corners of her vision, followed by transparent sparkling orbs. They were bubbles of all things. How funny.
“Oh my gosh! Are you okay?” The high pitched voice echoed in Ditzy’s mind as she tried, only a little bit, to stay awake.
“Not really.” Her reply was weak, practically silent. The rush of air resulting from her collapsing form was the last thing she noticed before at last losing her war with fatigue.
