Chapters It all started as my friends and I were having a picnic atop a pleasant grassy hill overlooking a lake on the outskirts of Ponyville. I was ecstatic, telling my friends about an exciting new cave I had found in the forest. I was pretty sure no one had ever seen it, and I was excited at the prospect of us being the first to explore it.
I was just a little colt at the time. I had just gotten my cutie mark: a cloud, symbol of the sky. I was full to the brim with happiness, a feeling foreign to me during that time. See, I was enrolled in Flight School at Cloudsdale, and, being the very last to receive my cutie mark, was the favorite target for the bullies to pick on. Before me, two fillies, the slender yellow Fluttershy and the bold blue Rainbow Dash, were the main targets, and I was the colorless colt the bullies would pick on in between harassing those two.
Through that time of abuse and shunning, flight had been my only friend. No matter how hard the bullies hit me, I could always escape my woes in a single minute of feeling the wind through my mane and feathers.
We sat in silence, finishing our meal. After we paid the bill and left, we parted ways beneath the setting sun. I took off and lazily floated around. Thinking to myself that there was no hurry to get home, I let my wings wander just for the heck of it. I happily let my mind wander, lost in the bliss of flight once again, free without a heavy harness and clouds to tow around.
It was right after I returned from my escapade to the jungle after being bullied. I had found that my parents had, indeed, been distraught at my disappearance. They met me with open arms, overjoyed and crying happy tears. I slept well that night, being very exhausted, and showed up at Flight School, determined that I would no longer be unnerved by any bullying I received.
Those two had shown me that day that no matter how bleak the future looks, there is always a reason to live. The bullies never bothered me again after that. I guess a mysterious spectator relayed their brutal try for revenge and made sure that they were never again without supervision. I know that they seethed at me behind their watchers’ backs, but they never tried anything again, to me or any other pony.
“Get up, lazy pegasus.” Wither kicked my neck.
This thought was confirmed when another group of the parasprite humans showed up. They shouted at the bronies, “Take this, fags!” and then the pelting of stones began.
I heard a strange roaring sound coming from the east. I saw a cloudbank in the direction of the noise. Huh. Storms don’t usually make noises like that. I decided to investigate.
As he walked away, I felt just a bit better. The news that my fate to be grounded was now sealed dragged on my heart like a weight, but the fact that somepony cared lifted my spirits just a tad.
Weeks passed. I grew more and more listless as the essence of this world sucked the life out of me slowly. My absent wings shrieked with pain every now and then, even though they weren’t there. I had heard of this “phantom pain” that amputees sometimes got, but I never thought I’d ever get it. It all just seemed like one cruel joke on the part of my body.
I sat in my new paddock, listlessly. Nowadays, I just existed in that small space, among the dried grass antithetical to my very nature. My imaginary wings twinged more and more each day. I really don’t know what’s my body’s problem. If losing one’s wings were insult enough, I saw no reason for this madness. To make matters worse, my body thinned depressingly, poisoned by the nature of Earth. My ribs were clear as day, and my joints swelled out from my emaciated legs.
A suction feeling. A flicker of light. We’re on the other side of the buildings. We’re safe!
I woke up in the Everfree, entangled in a bush. I inhaled, rejoicing in the feel of my world. It feels so… right. My state of bliss was interrupted by some familiar voices…
As I came to, I could make out the blurred faces of several humans leaning over me. I tried to move, but found I was tied down to the floor in a white room. The humans, who were dressed in orange jumpsuits, sneered at me, lying on the floor. One kicked me, and the others began poking me. Weak as I was, I couldn’t even protest, just make a few halfhearted whinnies.
I woke once again, lying on grass. I found that there were bandages around my wing stumps, as well as some other places, like my sides. I shifted around–
