“Do this list of chores by 12:00 or you’re going to be punished.” Said the colts mother, handing him a piece of paper with the things he was to do. Air Glider was a 6 year old colt; the tasks his Mother gave him usually were beyond what a normal colt his age should be expected to do. He started to work at 11:00, this being when his mother gave him the list, he had been working for about half an hour before his father interrupted him, telling him to go play, which he obliged with a smile.
Air Glider was an athletic pony; he loved to fly as fast as he could. Most of the time flying was spent racing his two brothers. His sister loved to read, she would read just about anything. All his siblings were older than him and treated him like family but his Mother treated him like shit. It was only 10 minutes before his Mom saw him and yelled, “Air Glider Get your ass in here!” His reply was a whispered “ok”, him being scared about what his Mother would do.
“You know you’re not allowed to do anything till your chores are done!” She said with a bitter tone in her voice, “But Dad said I could go out.” Air Glider replied, angering his mother and without hesitation she slapped him “Don't blame your father for slacking off.”
“But he did!” Air Glider protested, now crying from the sting of his mother's slap, her only reply being a harsh threat; “Go to your room before I beat the shit out of you!”
He didn’t say another word as he rushed upstairs into his room, still crying and now hoping his mother wouldn't hurt him.
A few minutes passed before his sister knocked on the door “Air Glider it’s me Light Star.”
“C..Come in.” He replied, wiping tears of his face, the door opened and Light Star came in
“Air Glider what happened?” She asked worried about her brother
“D..Dad said I could go outside, after a bit Mom called me inside and yelled at me for slacking off, but I was really taking a break. I told her Dad said I could but she slapped me right in the face and said not to blame him for slacking off.” Air Glider explained tears now running down his face
“None of us get why it’s you she is most hard on, but at least you still have the rest of us that love and care for you.” She said hugging Air Glider
“Y..Yeah but not my own mother” he tearfully replied
This was becoming a daily occurrence for Air Glider. Every day he would talk to Light Star and every day he kept getting quieter. His father had not seen these changes but his siblings did. Usually his sister would cheer him up while his brothers played. Nopony really understood why their mother hated him, their mother would always complain about how she never wanted a fourth foal and every time Air Glider heard it his heart was broken. He considered running away, he wished he could but who would care for him? He loved his siblings and father, and it would break their hearts if he left.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Air Glider was woken late that night by a nightmare, he went downstairs to use the bathroom, and after he was done he went to get a quick drink before going back to bed, but then he heard somepony coming down the stairs. He was hoping it wasn’t his mother, but it was,
“What the FUCK are you doing up.” She demanded, starting to raise her voice
He mumbled.
“SPEAK THE FUCK UP!” The noise had disturbed the house and his father came downstairs, asking “What’s with the yelling?”
“This little fuck is still up.” She said her voice full of anger
“He probably needed to use the bathroom.”
“Then why the fuck is he in the kitchen?” She said raising her voice again, this time directed at her husband.
Air Glider was shaking in fear, he wanted to tell her, to explain, but the words wouldn’t come out, turning towards the stairs he saw his siblings.
“What’s with the yelling?” Light Star asked, repeating her fathers’ question.
“None of your god damn business now get your ass upstairs and in bed!” Mother said, this was the first time she ever yelled at the other three.
“THEY DON’T FUCKING HAVE TO!” The children were silent at the unexpected rage coming from their father, but their mother returned the violence with a harsh “FUCK YOU.”
*Thump*
Their father was on the floor, having been hit in the face. Hard. He was knocked unconscious, the sudden event shocked Air Glider, who instinctively sprung up and flew out the room via the open window
“AIR GLIDER COME BACK!” his sister yelled to him, running up to the window he had flown from. She was crying; scared for her brothers’ safety but also out of anger.
“YOU FUCKING BITCH!” Light Star yelled at her mother as she flown off for Air Glider, a first for her, having never in her entire life used that kind of language to anypony.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Light Star was out for two hours looking for Air Glider. She ended up passing by a stray cloud, she was going to pass it by when she heard crying
“Air Glider is that you?” She whispered, the concealed pony perked their ears up and flew over and hugged her
“Light Star it’s you! I missed you!” he cried, tears flowing down his face
“I couldn't just leave you Air Glider, I love you.” She said, her own tears forming around her eyes before returning the hug
“What about Dad is he ok?”
“I don't know I really don’t know what’s gone wrong with this family.”
“What did Mom do to him.”
“He was knocked out,” she explained, “I know this shocked you but I really want you to know that he will be ok and I want you to stay near me you'll be safer.”
“Ok.”
“Moms probably going to go hard on the both of us.” Light Star said with a tear running down her face
“B..Bu...But why?”
“It was really sudden but I had said some really bad things to her, now she might ground me.”
“But Light Star do we really have to go back?”
“I don’t know what to do or what we should do, I don’t even know if we should go back.” She was now crying, tears flowing freely down her face as she sat beside her youngest brother.
“Light Star we shouldn’t go back it would be safer for the two of us.”
“B...bu...”
“I don’t know about our brothers, but I know you got in trouble and Mothers probably going to be very angry, she already hates me. What’s the point of staying at that house anymore.”
“I guess it would be a good idea to just stay away from that house, but where do we go?”
The colt was thinking of places they could seek refuge, he thought they could go to the nearest house to ask if they could stay the night. He saw a cottage in the distance
“Hey Light Star maybe we can ask the pony at that cottage if they will let us stay a day.” Air Glider said pointing at a cottage, her response was a simple “guess so”.
The two flew over to the cottage, hoping they would be accepted in to the home and when they got there Light Star knocked on the door. It was cautiously opened be a Yellow and Pink pony who has seemingly just woken up
“Hello” The pony asked “who are you?”
“I’m Light Star and this is my little brother Air Glider, we ran away from our homes because of our mother.”
“What about your mother?” She asked
“She hates me.” Air Glider,
“And she probably hates me now.” Light Star explained
“Here, come in out of the cold” She said, opening the door wider, introducing herself as Fluttershy
“Thanks for letting us in Fluttershy.” Light Star said
The yellow pony lead the foals into the building before asking the circumstances which lead them to her home.
“We really don’t know why she hates my brother but I said pretty terrible things to her for something she did terribly wrong.” The filly explained.
“What did she do?”
“I don’t want to talk about it.” Light Star hesitantly said, not wishing to appear rude but not wanting to relive the argument.
“Oh I'm sorry, so you two need a place to sleep?”
“Yeah.”
“Here follow me I'll let you two use my bed I’ll sleep on my couch over here.”
“Thank you.” Air Glider said, his sister quickly repeating him.
Fluttershy lead them upstairs and to her bed where they could sleep in comfort. For once Air Glider felt safe to go to bed, every night he would wish that he knew the next day would be perfect and everyone would be like a normal family but it never happened. When Air Glider got in the bed he smiled, actual comfort at last, on the day he thought would never happen.
“Good night you two I’ll find you a good home tomorrow.” Fluttershy said
“Thank you for your kindness.” Light Star said
Fluttershy went downstairs, Light Star looked to the side and saw Air Glider laying down smiling, the sight of him being happy for the first time in years made her tear up. It was heart-warming to see her little brother happy rather than the fear usually found in his expression afraid. But now he was safe, and had someone who loved him with him.
Air Glider woke up after a good night’s sleep; he nudged Light Stars’ shoulder lightly until she woke and told her to get up. The colt then walked cautiously to the stairs of the cottage where he could see Fluttershy. She was talking to a pink mare, who noticed Air Glider
“Hey, uh, Fluttershy… who’s that?” The pink mare asked curiously
“This is Air Glider, he came to my cottage with his sister. They ran away from their home because of their mother” she explained before turning and looking at me.
“Air Glider, this is Pinkie Pie. She’s one of my best friends here in Ponyville.” She said
“Hi Pinkie Pie.” The colt said, nervously greeting her.
“Hi.” She said back
Air Glider went upstairs to go get his sister who was still in bed, this was unusual for her as normally Light Star would be up by now, but Air Glider thought due to last night she had an excuse for being so exhausted. After 5 minutes of attempting to get her up she finally complied. The two went down to the living room where Fluttershy was waiting with Pinkie. “Light Star and Air Glider I want you two to follow my friend Pinkie Pie. She has a nice place for you to stay” Fluttershy told them with a comforting smile.
“Ok Fluttershy, again, thanks for your kindness.” Light Star said, her gratitude was obvious in her voice.
Air Glider and Light Star followed Pinkie Pie to Sugar Cube Corner, they walked in to see Mr. and Mrs. Cakes baking, and the couple saw the two foals and greeted them, welcoming them in. Pinkie Pie told them they needed a place to stay and could stay there with her since she lived there too. Pinkie Pie, Light Star, and Air Glider went upstairs to her room where an extra bed had been set up.
“Here's a big bed for you two, I keep it just in case I'll ever need it.” Pinkie said with a wide grin.
It was a bed fit for two ponies, Air Glider the youngest pony who had always been hated by his mother was actually being loved, but his fears that he would see her again or that his family would come looking for him and Light Star, or his mother would come get them but only for Light Star still haunted him. He didn’t think too much about it because he knew that it was unlikely to happen. They explained to Pinkie Pie that this was actually their first time in Ponyville; she asked if they would like to take a look around Ponyville and they enthusiastically accepted the offer. The pink earth pony took them to all her friends and showed them all the best parts of the town; they met Twilight who Light Star got along with really well. But the pony Air Glider got along with the most was Rainbow Dash; both of them were athletic ponies and loved to fly everywhere, going as fast as they could. Rainbow and Air Glider wanted to meet up again and Light Star and Twilight wanted to meet again too. Life was just going perfect for them, but they felt it was too perfect. Not long after, during noon time they had lunch and Air Glider and Light Star talked about what to do if their mother came back, Pinkie was with them and they told her most of how life went in that house and their so called “Mother”.
Listening to the tragic story of how Air Glider was just abused and outspoken by their mother, a few times Pinkie even cried at the thought of the terrible things she did. After lunch the trio went back to Sugar Cube Corner, but along the way they saw a pony in the crowd, this particular pony caught Air Glider's eye and he knew who it was instantly. It was his Mother. It looked like she was asking other ponies about them or at least Light Star he thought bitterly, still thinking of how she hated him. When they got to Sugar Cube Corner, Air Glider told Light Star about how he saw mother, fear written in her expression. She did now know what her mother would do if she caught them walking with a mare she didn't know but she did not let her little brother know she was scared. Light Star reassuringly told Air Glider to not worry about it. Before they had time to discuss the situation properly there was a harsh, sharp rapping at the door. Light Stars’ protective instincts kicked in, telling Air Glider to go upstairs. The two ponies that were left downstairs then approached the door, the older mare opening it. It was the one person Light Star had feared it would be, her mother, the filly was terrified and, disregarding the brave façade, she flew upstairs and went straight to Air Glider “Quick we got to get out of here!” She said, panic making her voice waver.
“Why?” Air Glider questioned, noting the fear in his protectors manner
“Mother she’s found us, now let’s go!” The filly explained.
Light Star opened the window and her brother immediately flew out and she went out soon after, her mother caught a glimpse of them flying out the window and flew towards them, mainly aiming towards Light Star who had sworn at her during the argument, Light Star always tired easy because she had not flown much. Light Star started to slow down because she was tiring out, but mother gained speed and tackled her down on a stray cloud. She was about to punch her but Air Glider interrupted her with a harsh yell “Fuck OFF!” He yelled and bucked her in the nose, knocking her down off the small cloud they were on. Air Glider yelled at Light Star to just keep going. Air Glider was worried about his sister because she was always the one to tire easily, but the adrenaline coursing through her veins seemed to kick in and her desperation to get away from mother made her fly faster. Their mother gained consciousness after a matter of moments and she managed to get close to the filly before hitting her wing, knocking her off balance causing her to fall. The filly couldn't get her balance perfect and crashed on the ground, her wing had been broken from the fall and she lay there crying, tears flowing freely down her face as her mother flew down and snatched her up before starting to fly back to her home.
“LIGHT STAR!” Air Glider yelled but he noticed she had been knocked unconscious, it was hopeless, through all the things he's seen this was the worst; he had been separated from his sister the most caring pony he had known. In desperation the colt fell to the cloud below him and watch helplessly as his mother sped off out of his grasp, he was young, the stress and massive amount of adrenaline took their toll and the colt passed out in the security of the cloud.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Their mother got back to their house and she went in with Light Star on her back, she yelled for her colts to come down, they got down and stared at her she flipped the knocked out Light Star on the ground before growling a brash warning “Don't let yourselves get in trouble like this bitch, or you'll end up the same.”
The two colts stood there looking at the injured filly, shocked at the horrific state she had been left in. She had cuts and bruises spread liberally across her whole body and her wing was obviously broken and twisted to an unnatural angle. They couldn’t hold the tears back any longer, the salt water stinging their eyes and started to stream down their faces as they stared at their little sister. They were dismissed by their mother and were ordered to take the filly to her room and to then go in their own. The two colts obeyed, primarily out of fear. The image of their injured sister burned into their mind.
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
Air Glider had regained consciousness, and realizing where he was, called out for his sister before remembering what his mother had done. At the thought he began to cry, a heart wrenching sob emitted from his chest, it was a primal roar of sheer, pure pain, causing him to choke, the emotion burning his throat. He was so angry his mind was flooded with thoughts of hurting that so called “Mother” of his. Any real mother would care for their kids, not abuse or hurt them. His heart broken into pieces he knew what he had to do, he had to return home and get Light Star.
Two hours pasted before he reached his home, he peered through his sisters’ window and saw the filly in her room, with cuts and bruises and a broken wing, the sight of his sister so damaged made him sick to his stomach. He opened her window cautiously but the filly heard him and jumped before she turned around to see Air Glider, her face was wet with tears,
“Air Glider it’s you!” She whispered in excitement, amazed to see her brother safe and unharmed.
“We need to get you out of here, I’ll go get Speed Breeze to help”
Air Glider peeked in his brothers’ bedroom, both of them were sitting on their bed. He knocked lightly on the window and his brothers both turned to face the window. Speed opened the window in shock.
“Air Glider what the heck are you doing here! Mother will catch you and you will look the same as Light Star” Speed told him, fear piercing his voice.
“That’s why I’m here” the colt explained, “I need you to help me carry Light Star onto a cloud.”
“Ok ill help but I’m not going with you I don’t want to end up like Light Star.”
“Ok I just worry about Light Star she’s in worse trouble.”
Speed Breeze pushed against the air with his wings and hovered silently from his room to Light Stars open window, he helped pick her up and they flew her out of the window and carefully placed her on a passing cloud. The youngest colt thanked him as he went back to his room, silently closing Light Stars window along the way.
“You're going to be all right Light Star I won’t let her get to you.” Air Glider said with a confident smile on his face, the filly returning the expression.
“I love you Air Glider no matter how bad things are we will stick to together.” She said wearily, her wounds taking a toll.
“Ok” Air Glider said, considering their options “First of all we need to you to a hospital”, he looked at his sister as she nodded her head weakly in agreement.