My eyes fly open, leaving me staring at the ceiling. Gallons of sweat run down the sides of my face as I heavily pant. For a moment, I believe I'm somewhere else, as someone else, living in a world where I can talk to others with confidence, where I was known. Where both of my parents were still alive and thought highly of me. Where I could be a hero, no, where I was a hero.
Averse, I crawl off of my bed and look into my mirror. In the glass pane, a pitch black pegasus with blood-red hair gazes right at me with his somehow even darker black eyes. He also has the same mark as me: a capitalized A. I don't know what it means, and I doubt he does. I've been told that red and black are colors of wickedness, and that's probably not helping either of us. Briefly, maybe that's why I'm not good with other ponies. Still, maybe that or because I literally can't talk above a whisper.
I extend my wings, and, subsequently, he does likewise. I fold them back, look away from him, and step outside. Immediately, I'm blinded by the burning morning light. I brace my eyes with the support of my wings. Afterwards, I feel the gentle breeze of the wind, whilst walking in and soaking in the moisture of the morning dew in the ever-so-green grass.
A new day.
Walking. That's been my answer to stress. What I mean to say is, throughout my life of observance, everyone (or, a large sum, for the most part) has something they fall back on. As I had just said, mine is walking. I have wings, yet I don't usually fly; I genuinely prefer to walk. You should know however, when I say "I don't usually fly", I'm being serious: I haven't flown in over a month. Never had to, and most likely, probably won't anytime soon.
I stumble into the entrance of the Everfree forest, as this is my usual stopping point. I ponder as to enter, but finally decide not to. I have this odd thing where I subconsciously pace myself in places without knowing.
I turn around to see my ever-so-dear friend Summer Solstice, the only pony so far that had been able to make me smile on the inside (but only once) besides my mother, and now, the only one. To illustrate, she's orange like the little area between the sky and the sun during a sunset, with bright blue eyes the color of the sky, and an even brighter yellow mane and tail. We'd been friends since before either of us could remember, and we've always had each other's backs, since both of us had lost our parents early. (we don't discus this often) She's older, but shorter than me, something that irritates her. Most don't notice: I slump as she stands at attention.
"Hello dere!" She says in her cute, light voice. It's seriously misjudging, as she used to swear alot. I look back at her, then nod.
"Guess what? Guess!" She exclaims excitedly. I tilt my head, a sign of confusion between us.
"I got tickets to a Wonderbolts performance! Won't it be exciting?" I put on my best smile (which isn't all that good) for her, and slightly nod.
"So what're we waiting for?! Let's go!" She bursts off, and I follow slowly her.
"Tickets, please," A rough, low voice growls. Summer presents them, makes it a bit obvious, that one is for me, and lets out a little squeal. I hear a little chuckle and a mutter as we make our way in, and take a seat.
After about ten minutes of concession ponies walking about and offering goods, pegasi in blue costumes and yellow bolts flew out, and do crazy stunts with smog appearing behind them. The crowd cheers them on with their every move.
About an hour or so later, they finish off, and fly away, making the audience erupt noisily. I look to my left, and notice Summer seems to be cheering the loudest. I'd usually not attend things like this for entertainment, but Summer seems to be having the time of her life.
"That was great! We need to go to performances more often, don't you think, Chirus?" I nod in reply. "Same place as usual, alright?" I nod again. "Great! Meet me at 12, 'kay?" I nod once more, and she soars away, striving to imitate the show she had just watched.
I make my own way to the ground, and turn to Ponyville. I cruise down on my way there, walking pretty slowly. From the point of the sun in the sky, it should be about somewhere from 9 to 11, so I relax myself the moment.
When I walk alone, I like to close my eyes and listen to nature. It's the most soothing and relaxing thing in the world, I tell you. Listening to the rustle of leaves, and chirps of wildlife. I haven't met anyone else that has shared this opinion with me.
I walk for about 10 minutes or so before reaching the famous bakery Sugarcube Corner. I open the door, and immediately greeted by "I'm sorry" and "Are you alright?" by many ponies. By the look on my face, they obviously know I don't know the situation. But when I look around and not see Summer, I've already pieced it together. My eyes widen, and my heart starts to ache. Despite being in a room full of ponies, I've never felt so alone.
Pinkie Pie walks up me. Funny, she usually hops around. "A-Are you okay?" She asks gently. I nod, then decidedly after, I shake my head. "Look, we'll go to the hospital, okay?" She assures. I close my eyes for a moment, attempt to breathe, then nod.
The rest of the bakery scoots aside as we walk by. Pinkie walks to a certain direction, and I follow behind, worried about what happened. Is she dead? I thought to myself. No, stupid! She just wasn't at Sugarcube Corner.
I have a mental argument with myself for a moment, until Pinkie stops. "We're here. You're gonna be alright, right?" She inquires. She took my silence, as a 'yes', but I regret it immediately.
"Wait," I manage to get out, making her stop. Thing is, I haven't exactly said anything to anypony since my parents' accident.
She turns around. "You need something?" I nod, and inhale a deep breath as to say a lot.
"Could you come with me?" I inquire quietly. She seems somewhat amused for a second, then nods. I sigh in relief: If the situation is as bad as the ponies in the bakery reacted, I'm going to need somepony by my side.
I take an even deeper breath, and walked in.
"Who are you?" A nurse interrogates. I blink, then turn to Pinkie.
"Oh-uh, he's Chirus. A friend of Summer's..." The nurse's head tilts, then she kind of... studies me.
"Yes... Summer has sleep-talked about you a lot, Chirus..." I honestly don't know how to respond to that other than by nodding confusedly.
"I need to ask you some questions. Is that alright?" I hesitate before nodding again.
"Alright, first off, have you and Summer gotten into any fights lately?" I shake my head. Why would they consider that? We were best friends!
"Next, where and when have you seen Summer Solstice last?" I hate non-polar questions.
"At the Wonderbolt performance this morning..." I murmur quietly. She ponders for an instance, then turns to us, and gestures to a door.
"Alright, you two. I shouldn't, but go see her."
I exhale the huge breath I was holding in, and hesitantly open the door...
...and almost break down into tears.