The Fractured - Farcture-verse

So, time for a little mental compartmentalisation. Aria and I were no longer at the school. That much was very clear. Where exactly we were was very much up for debate. The sky was grey and we found ourselves in the most unusual of locations. The ground was solid, that was clear from neither of us falling through it. However, that was where its normal state ended, especially when we came to an edge.

Somehow, I wasn’t yet sure of the cause, but Aria and I had landed on the top surface of an island floating in the sky. We found this out in two ways. First, we discovered the edge, which we followed until we reached our starting point. The second was far more obvious. We could see other islands floating all around us. Above, below, across, near or far, it didn’t matter. And yet, those weren’t the strangest things.

We were no longer human. As Aria put it, we were now pastel coloured ponies. Well, she was pastel. I was still my monochromatic self. Only now, instead of hair and skin, it was fur and mane… and a tail. And for me, I wasn’t even the same gender. That wasn’t much of a sticking point but it was still rather jarring for my brain. Although, considering every other bit of me which had changed, it didn’t seem so far-fetched. Just… I was used to being male. I guess you could consider it a norm for me. Being a mare was different, besides the obvious pony bits.

By the night, my brain was a mess!

Trembling in annoyance, Aria glared over her shoulder at me and growled, “Would you knock it off?!”

I stopped slowly turning on the spot, trying to continue my physical investigations, and grinned sheepishly.

Aria shook her head, turned her attention back to our surroundings and muttered, “Nitwit.”

“Sorry,” I sheepishly apologised. I couldn’t help it. This body was new to me and I was curious about how every part worked.

“Whatever,” Aria murmured. “Now that I have your attention. You ready to help get us moving?”

I blinked at her. “What do you mean?”

Aria clenched her jaw, turned to face me, and thrust a hoof at the nearest island beyond the edge. Even further beyond the island, I could make out a mountainous outcropping with a haze of grey clouds draped around it in the far distance.

Following her direction, I stepped forward to peer out over the edge. There was an island, smaller than the one we found ourselves on. It had a grand total of two trees and what looked like a small pond of water between them. It was definitely more than here with its patches of long grass amongst the barren dirt.

I looked back to Aria. “So…”

“Ready?”

I arched an eyebrow. “Really? You did notice that big space between here and there, right?”

Aria rolled her eyes, moved close and tapped me in the chest as she spoke. “You. Have. Wings.”

I stared at her flatly. “That I don’t know how to use.”

“Then this is your chance.”

I eyed Aria, flicked my gaze back to the other island, then back to her. “And you don’t have wings. I doubt you can jump that far. How do you expect to get us both over the gap? Me carry you?”

Aria didn’t answer. She simply stared at me for several long seconds.

I felt my tail droop and my ears fold back as I cringed with realisation and concern. “You sure you want to try that?”

Aria continued to stare at me. I continued to shrink and squirm under her gaze.

“Okay,” I reluctantly said. “If you want us to plummet to our deaths, you better climb on my back.”

Aria didn’t need to be asked twice. I can’t say she was the greatest of climbers, though. Not that I was able to stand very still as she did her best to drag herself onto my back. I swear her knees and rear hooves found every tender spot in my side then back as she scrambled herself into place.

Once Aria had tried to choke me by wrapping her forelegs around my throat to brace herself and, subsequently, altered her hold to let me breathe, I glanced back at her over my shoulder and asked, “You sure you want to try this?”

I felt a prod to my sides as she squeezed me with her knees. “Get ya wings out already.”

I sighed and mumbled to myself, “Like I know how to do that yet.”

Aria shifted one of her back legs, rubbing at my sides. I shuddered as the movement sent a chill up my spine. Aria gripped me a little tighter and I felt leathery wings whip out from my sides. They snapped into place at full stretch while I still tried to recover from the chill.

“There,” Aria said. “They’re out. Let’s get moving.”

I sighed again and closed my eyes. “Our funeral.”

Not giving her a chance to bite back at my utterance, I snapped my eyes open, peered over my shoulder and started to back up a few paces. If this was anything like using a hang glider, I was going to need some speed. And speed needed room.

Aria gave me a sharp stab to the side with her hoof. “The island’s forward, dingus.”

I rolled my eyes. “You may have instant confidence in my flying abilities, but I’ve never done this as a horse with wings attached to my body before. I don’t exactly want my first day as a pony to be my last even before the sun sets.”

Aria squeezed my neck a little and gave an involuntary shudder. Maybe I had finally got through to her about my lack of confidence in what we were about to do. She leaned in close to one of my ears and hissed at me. “Never say that name to me!”

The venom in her voice sent another chill down my spine. What had I said? Why was she so mad? I can’t remember saying a name.

Doing my best to shake the moment aside, I stopped backing up and took a few seconds to steady myself for what I was about to do. I checked my wings. They were still extended and appeared ready for use. I let out a sharp breath which tapered off into a soft whistle. Come on, Monochrome. What was it people facing tough situations would usually say? No guts, no glory? Seize the day? You only live once?

It was time to see if I really could fly.

Aria dug in her heels again. Wow, she was getting impatient to die.

Fine! I scraped my right forehoof against the ground then started forward. I did my best to gain speed while keeping Aria from jostling around too much. Thankfully, my pace grew steadily as the edge came closer and closer. I drew in a breath and held it as my hooves passed the edge. My legs continued trying to run as I threw myself out into the space between islands and hoped…

My wings caught the wind, hurling us up as we approached the island. Our height didn’t exactly drop once we reached our destination. Instead, we kept on going. Aria had some choice words about the situation at that point. She also decided to make her protests physically known. Can’t say it helped.

As we passed over the far edge of our target island, she pulled my head to the side. Suddenly thrown off angle, my wings banked down. Then my nose. I wished I could say our next movement was gentle. I really did. Instead, we nose-dived.

Winds which had held us aloft suddenly whipped at our bodies. My eyes began to sting with the rushing air stabbing at them. It was oh so very familiar. Why was it that I found myself yet again falling to my imminent doom along with Aria? At least this time I could actually blame her.

Aria pulled back on my throat. I let out a strangled gurgle but her grip kept my words from escaping. Okay. Falling fast. Got… wings. Breathe. Breathe…

We were still pointed down. I could see a scattering of more floating islands, with the rolling blue of deep ocean waves further below. Aria wrenched back on my neck again. I winced. There just wasn’t enough air. My eyelids drooped. My throat and lungs were burning. Aria was screaming something, but I couldn’t make it out. My eyes closed. Sound vanished.

My body gave a jolt. Then another. Guessing we clipped an island before plummeting into the sea. Well, such is life, I guess. A third jolt. My limbs all spasmed as feeling returned to my body. I opened my mouth and air surged into my lungs. Aria was still clinging to me, but not so tightly I couldn’t breathe.

I could feel the air in front of me shift. Cracking my eyes open, I spotted the long tail feathers of a bird. It was no more than a pony length from my nose. Its body sliced through the air in front of me, disturbing it enough to keep the wind from stinging my eyes. I shook my head. The air was also strangely refreshing in the wake of the bird.

Something about this bird’s presence calmed my racing heart. My body subconsciously fell into formation with the bird, my wings and head shifting just enough to stay right behind it. Aria shifted position, her grip easing as the bird took a slight bank towards the nearest floating island. I followed. The bird angled down, I lowered my head.

We were coming in fast, but at least we had a target now. I blinked. Did the bird just glance over its shoulder at me?

“Ground!” Aria yelled in my ear.

My attention snapped back to the wider world. The top of the island was so very close. My wings shifted and I tried to thrust my feet forward, hoping to lessen the impact.

We hit the ground. Hard! My legs stiffened and my hooves dug into the earth, carving little trenches as I tried to bleed off the speed. Aria was once again trying to pull my head back. I guessed she thought it was somehow helping. Truth be told, it wasn’t.

My front hooves struck a rock embedded in the ground. My hooves went out from under me and I tumbled forward, hurling Aria from my back. I tumbled end over end a couple of times before finally flopping to a stop on my back, my gaze staring up at the clouds and other islands high above. I lay there for a few moments, giving the rattling of my brain a chance to settle before letting out a nervous chuckle. The tension in my body gave out, causing my legs and wings to splay out on the ground either side of me.

I heard the rapid flap of feathery wings as the bird landed next to my head. It eyed me for a bit, turned its beak to face me, bent forward out of my sight and gently thumped its head against mine just in front of my ear. It lifted its head, looked at me again and gave a series of clucks which sounded like it was trying to talk.

I eyed the bird, lifting my head to face it better. My brain still felt a little scrambled from the landing as I rolled onto my side. The bird hopped back a step but kept its attention centred on me.

“Hey there, birdy,” I said, trying to put as much kindness into my voice as possible. I cringed. All it did was remind me of how feminine I now sounded. Rising onto my hooves, I tried to shake off any dust from the impact and check for injuries. Seeming to have a mind of its own, my fringe flopped into place covering my forehead and most of my right eye. I tried to shift it but it stubbornly returned. Looking to the bird, I found it still watching me.

It was a decently tall bird. Including tail feathers, it was probably as long as my body from the top of my head, down to the bottoms of my front hooves. It was also incredibly sleek with a graceful mix of white and pale blue feathers. What kind of bird it was, I couldn’t say. I’d never seen anything like it before.

A grumbled, wordless curse caught my ear. I turned to the source and stopped at what I found. It was a very interesting view, I had to admit. I gave a whistle. The bird snapped its attention to me and cocked its head as if to ask, what? I would’ve questioned that if it weren’t for the more immediate scene before us.

Aria snorted to herself. Her chin, throat and chest were pressed into the dirt. Her rear was propped up on her stiff hind legs with her tail draped down her back, the end of which was tickling her nose from above. She let out a loud exasperated sigh before rising to her hooves again. After a quick once over in search of injuries, Aria shot me a death glare.

“What?” I asked, an oddly goofy grin on my snooter. Yes, I am very aware it is called a muzzle, I just don’t care. I did my best to spread my leathery wings and said, “Not like I’ve ever used these things before.”

Aria said nothing. She simply snorted, flicked her tail in irritation then turned her attention to our surroundings. While Aria was preoccupied, I let out a soft breath. All changes aside, I could note one particular thing, girls, mares in this case, definitely still interested me.

“You keep playing with the bird,” Aria grumbled. “I’ll look for another way down.”

The bird looked at me, bowed low, spread its wings, then launched itself into the air followed by a trail of glittery white powder. It swung around the island, gaining speed before aiming for Aria and tucking in its wings.

The bird swooped low over Aria’s head, the trail of soft powder landing on her scalp, covering most of her hair and snooter in what looked like snow. Aria stopped her search and snapped her head about to glare at whatever had brushed over her. Her furious eyes fixed on the bird. The bird swiftly landed in front of me, bobbed its head and chuckled.

I snorted a laugh, my eyes bulging a little as I tried to hold it in with a hoof. Aria’s fierce glare shot to me. She narrowed her eyes on me then snorted in annoyance. She plonked down on her rear and did her best to dust the powder from her twin-tails and head, muttering under her breath the whole time.

I looked at the bird. Somehow, it twisted its beak to grin up at me then cawed. I smiled at it, reaching out to rub its head with my hoof when I noticed something. The ground where it had launched from and the other spot it landed on was splashed with the same white powdery substance as had been on Aria’s head.

Redirecting my hoof, I lightly brushed at one of the spots. Oddly, it was cold to the touch, even through my hard hoof. Leaning down to examine it, I blinked and said, “Huh. Looks like tiny icicles. Kinda like frost.”

“I hadn’t noticed,” Aria muttered, adjusting her hair a little. “Keeping it as a pet?”

“Hadn’t intended to,” I replied. The bird hopped up, fluttering a little before landing on my head. Apparently I was being adopted. The bird leaned down to continue watching me. My eyes crossed as I tried to focus on what was an upside-down bird face to me. “You want to stick with me?”

The bird bobbed its head.

Okay. “You have a name?”

Another head bob.

“And I have to guess it?”

Two excited bobs. I could feel its claws as the bird shifted a little on my head. Okay. I rubbed at my chin with a hoof. I frowned to myself, wondering what its name could possibly be. Considering what we had already seen it do, maybe something that sounded cold. Something about that felt right to me. While running through a mental list, my mouth, as usual, decided to spout something detached from thought. “Sickle?”

The bird bobbed its head rapidly at me and cawed with excitement.

Huh. It accepted the name. Maybe that gut feeling I’d had truly was right.

“Come on, bird brains!” Aria called from the other side of the island. “Let’s keep moving!”

Sickle squawked and hopped down onto my back as I trotted over to Aria.

* * *

We made pretty good progress from there. At least that was my opinion. If the islands were close enough, Aria would hop the gap herself. The longer ones, however, meant she had to climb onto my back again. She wasn’t exactly pleased with the idea, considering what happened the first time. But resigned herself to it as there was just no other way to move forward.

At least the short hops gave me a little practice for the longer ones. Sickle flew alongside me at first. When she noticed me struggling, she looked concerned. She then slipped in front of me doing her best to guide me forward. We continued on that way for what felt like hours. At least the mountainous outcropping we had seen earlier was a lot closer by the time we stopped to rest.

I did my best to lay like I would as a human, but that wasn’t very comfortable. I shifted several times until I found the best position when laying on the exposed ground. Oddly, it meant curling up like a cat. Sickle took roost on the lone branch of our current island’s poor excuse for a tree. The night was chilly. Pony fur was a good insulator. Not the greatest, but good.

I felt a little warmer when I awoke in the morning. I raised my head and blinked sleepily as I surveyed the area. I froze when I found Aria curled up against me. I didn’t move until she finally woke up. She stretched as she rose to her hooves, doing her best to ignore the fact I was staring at her.

She looked at me from the corner of her eye then turned her head away. “Don’t read too much into it. It’s cold out here.”

Her voice quavered as she spoke as if she was trying to force her grumpy nature to the fore. Doing her best to forget the incident happened, she said, “Let’s move. I’m sick of these islands.”

We restarted our journey. Hopping from island to island. Gliding together only when absolutely necessary. Breakfast was a rather strange affair. Well, strange for a human. Simply put, it was grass. The meal was rather drawn out too, considering the small amounts available on each island.

I want to say it was about midday when we finally came to land on a narrow ledge of the mountainous outcropping. I dropped to the ground for a breather. Eyeing Aria, I was sure she was just as winded. Not that she allowed herself to show it. I was definitely beginning to see how her apparent grumpy nature actually stemmed from a stubborn streak as thick and long as the mint colour in her mane and tail.

I took a chance to examine the island we had just left. Its nearest face appeared to have the exact same pattern and shape of broken rocks as the cliff beside us. Maybe it and the other islands had broken away at some point in the past. Exactly how, I was at a loss to explain, but it was interesting to think about.

Our rest came to a quick end with Aria ordering us onward. I couldn’t blame her really. Wherever we were, there was clearly no sign of nearby civilisation. At least the ledge we were confined to meant we no longer had to hop from place to place just to move forward. That was alright with me. My wings were sore from all the gliding, particularly holding them so still every time.

It wasn’t long before I heard a bellowing rumble as it echoed off the mountains beside us. My ears perked up. Okay. That was an interesting sound. Not unlike something I had heard in a few fantasy movies I had snuck in to watch over the years. I turned in time to see Aria sprint past, her hooves pounding the ground as fast as she could manage.

“Run, you dingus!” she yelled back at me. “It’s a dragon!”

“A drag—” I repeated, still unmoving. Okay. Interest piqued! I looked back over my shoulder in time to glimpse a giant winged-lizard of yore lumbering through the sky just beneath the blanket of clouds. At this distance, it appeared to mostly be a white blur. A very large white blur.

A very large white blur which appeared to be lumbering our way. Sickle flew at me, screeching and flapping in my face.

I glanced at the dragon again. It wasn’t much of a blur anymore and was definitely coming towards us. It let out a roar. I shrank at the sight. My ears pressed back against my skull. It was time to go.

I spun on the spot in search of Aria. She was so far ahead already. I slammed my hooves into the ground and bolted after her. The world became nothing more than the pounding of hooves and panting of breath as I chased after Aria in an effort to escape the incoming beast. Thankfully, Aria wasn’t the fastest on her hooves, something I would probably be cursing any minute.

“Is every day in this world as crazy as this?” I yelled, doing my best to try and come alongside Aria. Sickle was flying next to me. Now that I was moving, Sickle didn’t look so flustered about our situation like we were.

“Only if you aren’t the beast hunting some prey!” Aria shouted back. Her head was down and eyes fixed on the narrow cliff edge ahead. There was a sharp left turn coming, one which would trap us against the mountainside if we didn’t move fast enough.

Glancing back, my eyes widened and my pupils shrank in fear. The dragon was a lot closer. Its wings struck the air with a terrible whomp sound from every flap. It was so big and close. Only ocean-going cargo ships would come anywhere near to a similar size and girth.

Its huge jaws opened. So did my tiny ones. Those were some terribly fearsome teeth and a colossal tongue it had.

I faced forward. Aria was barely half a length in front of me. Keep running! Keep running! The corner was so close now. Unfortunately, so was the dragon. Its head reared back as it appeared to draw in breath.

I lowered my head and forced myself forward as fast as I could. Aria was slowing to start the corner. Knowing what I had seen, I threw my left hip and shoulder into Aria, shoving her to the side just as a chilling roar ruptured the air and the coldest, most intense blast struck my right side.

My face twisted in agony. My right front leg suddenly refused to move. I could barely feel it. Same with my right wing. I missed the next step and crashed to the ground. There was a terrible shattering sound. My right side hit the ground and I slid on it before crashing to a halt against the side of the mountain.