Plight of the Pegasi

'Paradise?'

“Freedom” no other word greater describes what it is to be a Pegasus. I can travel impossible distances at the flick of an ear, I can soar high over the ground and all at a whim. I am just one of the dwindling numbers of pegasi left in Equestria now. I am becoming somewhat of a rarity. I see my brothers and sisters of the sky and feel a gentle breeze of peace as I imagine their beautiful wingspans spread across the sky; blotting out the sun. I then look solemnly at my reflection in a liquid mirror in the dirt. We however are not free anymore, far from those crystal spires have we fallen, far from our blood right to fly, we are all fallen.

My reflection blurs further as ripples ebb from a passing ponies hoof. I do not speak to them however; they are my better. I dwell on my past, my lost freedom, and my friends… my friends. No more. My days which were once brimming with excitement now sour in the maw, beautiful days but alas no longer. I am a lonely soul, treading carefully in this alley so opposing to my home above. I wonder from this hovel I now call my bed and board and brave the cursing light of a brand new day. Skies lay empty, they are but paintings now. I scrape a hoof off on a sharp paving slab to remove the muck which clung like plaster to it. I feel as if I have lost purpose, lost reason, lost any motivation to go on. I have a creeping feeling like I am meant to be doing something but cannot remember. So long have I been grounded, the sky and all my hopes, they are nothing but dreams now. Great banners flutter about in the faint breeze as if their joyful movement was only to mock me. I then catch myself in a frosted shop window; winter didn’t seem all that fun anymore. Looking back at me was somepony I could not recognize. So dull, so lack lustre and grey, this couldn’t be me. But despite my denial it is me, even a mare as vibrant as I is grey from those polluted skies. I look sharply from this reality, my reality, the one which aims to break me. Those windows I spied are also just dreams now. No cupcake shall touch my lips, no hay fries shall I enjoy, and not even pittance shall be mine. The world is darker now, no bright manes light up the sky, no smiles shine down over pony ville.

I turn to return to my cold and unwelcoming dorm and continue unnoticed till another wing flap sounds behind. Dust clouds blow meekly across my path and a face enters my sight. But still I will not speak, I have nothing to say. I know my place. I know the mare, maybe only vaguely. She is familiar nonetheless, perhaps she hails from my previous life. Her subtle dirtied yellow coat is something of a clash against the dankness of the underworld.

“Umm… He… Hello” She breaks the silence.

“Leave me alone” I whisper back

“But… but Rain…”

“I am not the pony you knew, that part of me is dead now”

The more I become cold the more she warms

“Rainbow you need a friend right now”

I had the urge to fly, but the cost. The cost was more than I could bear

“I am not her anymore Fluttershy” I spit through gritted teeth

“I don’t understand” she whimpers back

I rear up and kick my back legs out as warning

“Fluttershy! I said I am her no more! Now leave me be. Leave me be!”

She fails to hide her teary eyed expression, she turns and walks away. We all have wings still. But none fly. Not the common pony anyway. I once again turn to my beckoning urine covered mattress and yield to its call. I finally grant myself rest for it is the only thing I still have, what I still have from before. I test a hoof against the fabric before committing to the sleep, creatures scurry about my dwelling; nibbling at the cardboard walls of what I called a home. What is home? Is it a place where you are safe? Because this, this does not feel safe. I am out, a lonely grounded Pegasus, in the shadow of the factories flanking where I lay. I catch a glimpse of my cutie mark before drifting off.

‘Waking’

I wake up to the reeking pestilence I had grown to endure. The sun was just dipping behind the horizon; evening had fallen earlier than I am used to. I shake myself frigidly to dislodge the snow that had fallen whilst I was sleeping. I wonder back out of the alleyway to the street, much quieter now. I am desperately hungry. I haven’t been able to beg for morsels in some days now. A chill creeps up my spine which spurs me to check behind me; I had the oddest feeling I was being watched. I then saw my filthy hoof prints in the snowy canvas, I am so cold. I catch sight of the market, well where the market would have been if I hadn't slept another day away. But I have however caught the scent of some overripe apples. I follow my snout; hoping it might gain me something. Soon I find something, such a find. I creep as quietly as I can up to an open garbage cart. Some of the apples were poking out of the concrete of rancid slush. I tentatively move my hoof up to snatch a meagre portion of food when I slip on the compressed snow and collapse onto the floor. A stallion stands over me; his face told me I was not welcome.”

“Get away from that you filthy urchin!” he shouts

“I… I’m so hungry” I plea, trying to gain purchase in the ice.

“I don’t give a flying feather! Don’t mess with my stuff!”

“Oh please! I need the food. I’m starving here!”

“It’s not my problem winged rat! Now clear off!” he shouts once more before taking his position at the front of the cart and wheeling it away. I grip onto my emaciated stomach. Heaving as I do I climb to my hooves and pursue the cart. As I hurry my pace I can feel my hooves slipping beneath me. I daren’t fly, the risk, the risk is always too severe. I can tell I am falling behind, in my starved and tired state I cannot muster the energy to keep up. The cart pony ahead turns around a corner sharply and to my pleasure the cart topples and the delicious nectar tumbles out of it. I take my chance and dart towards the fallen bounty; I progress quickly till a sudden pain in my cheek hinders me. I turn to see another dirtied, hungry Pegasus rearing up for another kick. I am far to dazed by the first strike to even consider dodging the second. Blood erupts from my open face wound. I fall to my stomach again and tightly close my eyes in fear of more unpleasantness.

“Cloud Chaser?” I call after the out of focus shape in the distance.

I hear them laughing at the grandeur of their plunder, that they might live to see tomorrow. The cart pony tries to fend the group off but is attacked brutally with teeth and hooves until he drags his dishevelled self away.

“Hey lookie here it’s Rainbow Crash” one of the stallions says as he approaches me

“Just don’t laugh at me okay? Just leave me be. Just leave me be…”

“Hey you look hungry Crashie… Don’t you want one of these apples?”

“No I want nothing from you”

He holds the apple tantalizingly close to my muzzle before snatching it away; leaving my teeth slamming shut.

“She actually thought we would share? You’re no better than us now Rainbow. On the ground you’re nothing!”

“I just need to eat something… I don’t know how much longer I can…”

“Aww too bad, it’s a dark and scary world Crashie. Pegasi are starving every day. What makes you so bucking special?”

“I don’t think that…”

The large stallion placed a hoof on the back of my neck and presses down.

“Go back to hole you crawled out of. Leave us to our feast” he orders as my face sinks further into the snow. I concede however. I leaver myself back to my hooves and drag my sore face and pride back through the winter battered streets back to my piss stained cardboard home. What is one more day without food? It’s been months now…

‘Punishment’

I wake to a heavy flurry of snow. I also wake to a horrid feeling of nausea. I feel as If I am about to be sick, and so surely. Shortly I am sick, only bile though. I haven’t eaten in weeks. I have made up my mind; if I don’t eat today I will die. I hobble out to the empty streets. A baker wheels his pies towards his shop. Why was he out so early in the morning? I try to sneak up on him. My time runs short. He takes a cautious check over his shoulder and spots me, he spots me as I stalk him. He pushes his trolley as fast as he can but he can’t escape me. I decide I need to eat today, it was worth the risk. I open my wings and try to take off, I fail at first. But flying runs in my blood, it is my right. It is what gave me my cutie mark. I eventually take off and swoop down on the trolley and relieve him off some of his pies. I fly out of sight and land back in my home. I have what I need to get through another day. Stale apple pie is on the menu, there is only one thing on the menu. I begin to dig into the pie before I hear the ill-fated squawk which sounded the end for most of my flying brethren.

A shadow licks across the rooftops until the great sharp talons come into view. I trot then break to a gallop but the griffin above still relentlessly pursues me. I try dodging through the tightly knit streets of the slums but it simply stalks me from above. How poetic. Now I was the pie, defenceless. And there was me, a hungry desperate mad mare.  The Griffin closes in as my chase once more leads onto the wider main streets. I am running as fast as I can before I take to the skies and try to best the beast. I flap my wings tirelessly; every beat only exhausting me more. The talons finally meet my soft back and drag me down onto the ground. I cower as the long sharp blades pull out of me and rest back in the snow. The griffin leaves a parchment on my back and lets out a final squawk before returning to the skies. After I am sure he is gone I roll over and investigate the note. It has the Celestial stamp emblazoned on it. I peel the wax seal away carefully before ripping the cover off.

“You have not paid your flight tax. You cannot fly without this. Any flight whilst not taxed or insured will result in a fixed penalty of 17 bits. Failure to comply will result in a custodial sentence to be served on the moon”

I let the letter drop out of my hoof. I then let a tear drop from my eye. Why did Celestia decide to put a price on freedom? Freedom, no word is more out of place in this new world. I cast my pain to the side for it has no place here either. If I let small scraps like this stop me I’d have died weeks ago. I make my way back to my ‘home’ and allow myself a blessing of rest. I had eaten, if only a small morsel. I would still live to greet the new morn. But nights, nights are the stuff of chaos…

‘Goodbyes’

Nightmares, they used to be so rare. But now I feel they are the only dreams I have. I can no longer dream of those happier times; no longer can I hope to see my friends and their smiling faces. I drag myself off my piss stained mattress and once more brave the morning bright. I still hear screaming from the back alleys and hidden hells where my brothers and sister sleep. They scream from the terror of what finds them, this is no day for laughter. They send out their dogs to check on us strays, even though they put us here. Slobbering jaws and even viler attitudes they are here only to scare us. They mean to keep us weak, though we had so little strength to begin with. My assigned mutt scans me with this bloodshot eyes, he smirks.

“You’ve been flying again haven’t you?” he interrogates.

“No I would never!” I say, pressing my flank against the wall

“Do I really look that gullible? Do you think me that stupid?” His rhetoric spills, he makes gestures to himself as he speaks.

“I haven’t been flying, you are mistaken” I square up to him.

“I’m not out of the loop you know, I sent the Griffin myself” he grunts, thrashing his giant paw into my face.

“Then why do you ask you slobbering meat-brained fool”

“Because it’s funny to watch you squirm”

“Okay so you caught me, now what?”

“Seems you don’t really have a leg to stand on here” he says with his teeth now bared.

“Not again Brutus”

“But I thought we got along so well” he leers, his paw brushing through my tattered mane

“No” I shout. I knock his offending paw away and bare my teeth

“Then enjoy a stint as a resident of her majesty’s royal prison! Then…”

“At least I’ll eat or at least I’ll be safe from you! You bucking mongrel!”

He clenches his paw and strikes me down. I feverishly pull myself away before I feel him grasp my tail. He wrenches me back to him and places a collar over my neck. A chain unravels from his shoulder and this clips onto my indemnifying collar. As soon as I am attached I am dragged away. All through the streets I resist but the mutt is too strong, he simply pulls a little harder and I soon fall into line.  Eventually I am thrown into a Pegasus-pulled carriage. Off course the Queen’s royal caravan can afford the flight tax. But most Pegasi cannot hold down jobs in this unjust existence; 5 bits a week is too steep. A sack is positioned over my head before a whip cracks over the flanks of the two Pegasi. I am in two minds over my lengthy incarceration, will I be fed or will I just stand as an example for any Pegasus who wants to step out of line and be starved and die just like I would on the streets?

The carriage is carried off into the great expanse that lies between our lowly PonyVille and the blistering heights of Canterlot and its gleaming golden spires. As we near the place where my trial will air I hear the jubilant sounds of the bustling utopia. This elegant ambiance grows until it becomes far too overwhelming even for me. At last the carriage touches down to the sound of clattering hooves and roaring crowds. This was somewhat of an entertainment for the masses; well I did always want to be the centre of attention. Finally I am allowed the privilege to see the mess of faces that stare back. They chant the words, the words which I cannot place a reaction to. They chant.

“Send her to the moon”

And they chant it in rounds, so rehearsed and perfect. It is just like most things in this heaven on Earth show these idiots have all grown to believe. A detail of guards carve a path through the screaming masses, the masses wanting my blood spilt that day. Brutus, my ‘escort’ strikes a whip hard against my side. I fall into line again, with great urgency I scrape myself off of the paving slabs and start down the path made for me. I am still in severe pain, my every stride a particular torture on my worn out hooves. More betters shout out bitter torments and digs at my expense, some try to trip me up. They parade me in front of the thirsty herd now not much dissimilar to cackling hyenas. I am placed on a shallow stage and allowed to rot a little longer under the judgemental stare of the unholy Queen.

“My Royal Subjects, one has been betrayed on this most woeful of days. This, this pathetic rebel seeks to undermine my laws, she seeks to turn others against me!” she addresses her willing public.

“Punish her!” The crowd explodes

“She is the cloud that dims the light I bless you all with; she is the devil to the Goddess before you. She is a Luna sympathiser and a traitor to my empire” she preaches. She stabs her shined hoof at me.

“All hail the Celestial empire!” reply the crowd

“Cast this bad seed away, cast this child of the moon to where she belongs! My loyal ponies, she will never leave our perfect prison”

“Send her to the moon!” They all chant once more

“And what does it have to say for itself?” she asks he public, her tone quietens. She turns her head down to my height.

My heart sinks far from where I can reach it, and in this moment I need to speak from my heart. I look around me and notice the blinding glint off of sharpened spears and honed blade. The crowd still grows in the animosity they hold towards me. I’ve not a friend for miles, and all who attend here come only to see us punished. Celestia holds her bejewelled hoof into the sky and proclaims.

“Bow to my empire. Be my follower! Or face the cold empty loneliness so many of your rebel brethren have enjoyed so!”

Soon after she finished her rehearsed lies she makes the sun shine brighter than ever before, as if she means to turn me to dust in front of the engrossed audience. Through trembling hoof, covering my eyes; I finally make my plea.

“Ponies everywhere are dying. But only the Pegasi die. Only the Pegasi starve. Only the Pegasi sleep on the streets every night wondering what awful evil this cruel dictator will unleash onto them next. Ever since the other alicorns disappeared Celestia has grown mad with power! Can you not see the evil she has cast over our once peaceful lands? Can you not…”

I am thrown in my speech as a rock smashes against my head. More objects are thrown by the brain-washed crowd. The Hyenas out there laugh in their thousands, each wanting me to suffer. Not a single one of them knew me, or at least they could not remember. I look back to where Celestia had been enthroned and step aback as her fake smile hovers over me. Her grace has seen fit to return the sun to its normal state so at least now I can see clearly. She riles the willing onlookers with her false charm and her endless repertoire of lies. She then settles to my level and places and hoof under my chin.

“Join me Rainbow Dash, become my enforcer and you need not face this fate” she lends her contempt bathed hoof.

“Not in a thousand years!” I deny her any glory, any release in seeing me fear her.

“My ponies you have seen she will not see reason! You have seen first hoof she will not be rational! Now does anypony here see any reason why this traitor should not serve her punishment on the moon?”

“No” they obediently shout

“Bring me the brander, she may have had some purpose before but now this anarchist shall face indignation for her betrayal of my fair rule”

She utters a few orders to a royal guard and he returns with a burning hot branding iron. For once he places the instrument upon her hooves do the patriots cheer. And they cheer for blood and pain and they will soon be granted with this reward.

“You have cut my heart child of the moon. You have made me look a fool in front of my loyal ponies. Your talent for flight and intrepid adventure is yours no more! Forever be known the child of the moon for your own mark shall be one you share with her”

Before I can deny my ensuing torture the glowing iron presses into my flank. I tear at the feeling of my coat being burnt away and my skin underneath being scarred. The brander is kept there until the Queen nods for release, the iron pulls away and I am left stamped with the mark. A metal device is strapped around my throat before I they cajole me away from the satisfied crows. An event they relish so greatly had gone better than they expected. A touch of drama and a dash of tragedy, this was stuff of theatre, not a trial in its simplest description. The device is released and Brutus is let loose to suffer me for my so called betrayal. I am beaten to within an inch of my life before I am finally tossed aside to rest only against a brick wall. The detail of guards returns to protect their exulted queen. They form a horseshoe shape around her and a few raise their spears in pre-empt of an attempt upon the God-Queens life. She does not bless me with any more of her well-thought out speeches and instead just ignites her horn with a pillar of light.

“To the moon with you!” She bellows. The light of her horn glowing more intensely before it out-competes the sun.