> Flying Lies > by Heartbolt > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Finding out > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flying Lies By: Heartbolt Everyone lies at least once in their lives. But could someone lie forever? As soon as Moongazer was born, she didn’t open her wings like normal pegasi. So the doctors passed her off as an earth pony like the rest of her family. There had never been a unicorn, there had never been a Pegasus. It was straight earth. Moongazer never opened her wings, so they were never noticed. Even on those cold nights were mother would hold her tight and stare at her child. In everyone’s eyes, including hers, she was an earth pony. And it stayed that way for several years. But one night, Moongazer decided that she should see if earth ponies could fly. She knew it would never happen, but she wasn’t jumping from very high. So, she toke a deep breath, shoke herself around, and jumped. She panicked and her wings opened for the first time. She landed on her stomach, but decided she was fine when she saw the wings on her back. “These can’t be mine. I’m an earth pony.” She whispered to herself. She fluttered them around a bit to make sure. “I’m…I’m a Pegasus.” She knew that she must never open her wings in front of her parents, for they would be ashamed and maybe angry. So she folded them up, and went to bed. She was feeling so many mixed emotions. She was sad she would have to lie to the ones who had raised her, yet happy she could do something no earth pony could do. She was angry nobody had noticed she was a Pegasus, and surprised nobody had noticed she was a Pegasus. But she lied down in bed and shut her eyes to be alone with her thoughts. > flying high, falling hard, > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- The next morning, she opened her eyes to a bright new dawn. She quickly remembered the previous night and walked up to her full-body mirror. She opened her wings. “So it wasn’t a dream.” She sighed. She closed them and walked out to eat breakfast with her parents. Knowing now that being around her parents would be awkward, she made sure to talk a lot so there was no silence. That terrible, awkward silence. After she had finished, she told her mother she would be going down to the park for a while. Her mother said it was fine, so she headed down. It was a hot day, so the park was abandoned. When Moongazer got there she sighed once more. She looked back at the feathered wings on her back. “If I have these, I might as well use them.” She said, to nobody. She opened them, and cast herself into the air. She loved flying! But it didn’t feel right. She had known life as an earth pony for so long. Could she really just fly away and leave it all behind? Her filly days, when mother taught her to clap and laugh. And when father grilled delicious dandelions and set up the sprinkler for her to play in on a hot day. She landed and closed her wings. She didn’t want to use them. She couldn’t use them. It went against everything she had ever known. It didn’t seem right. Its couldn’t be right. Earth ponies can’t fly. She walked home, barley spoke to mother and walked straight up to her room. She didn’t want these wings, but had no unicorn there to take them off. She sat on her bed for what seemed to be hours. She paced around her room for at least 20 minutes. Thinking, flapping ,thinking flapping ,thinking ,sleeping. She woke up in the middle of the night. She opened her door to find a small thing blocking it. She slipped out, and looked to see what it was. It was a cake, her favorite kind. Vanilla with baby blue icing. She saw a note next to it. She picked it up and read her mother’s hoofwriting: I saw that you were not feeling to well today. So I hope this cheers you up a bit. I’m sorry about whatever is making you so sad. You know you can always tell me. She stared at the last sentence. “You know you can always tell me” she whispered those words in her mind over and over. “You know you can always tell me, You know you can always tell me, You know you can always tell me.” But she didn’t know if she could tell her mom this one. She packed the cake in box, and grabbed a suitcase. She laid the case on her bed and opened it. She packed all the things she held dear. Including a picture of both her parents and her. She closed the suitcase, opened her window, and flew away. But before she did, she left a note where the family picture once stood: Dear Mom and Dad, If you’re reading this, I’ve been gone for a while now. My destination is unknown. I don’t know if I will be able to find my way back if I decide to come. But if I don’t, I want you know: know that I love you. And I could never love a single thing in this world more than you. And I want you know this isn’t your fault. This is simply a matter of fate that has fallen and crashed. I feel I must rescue it and set it free to live once more. I feel it is my duty to guide others into doing what’s right. So I must guide myself to the right path in life. And I want you to make sure that you know that I love you. All the years you spent with me are and will always be the most magical years of my life. And if we ever meet again, I’ll be sure I didn’t forget you. And if I was brainwashed and can’t remember, then I wouldn’t want to live any more. And remember, earth ponies can’t fly > the aftermath of the takeoff > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mother woke up and walked down the hall. She stopped and glanced at her daughters door. The pastry she had left was gone. She smiled, and hoped she felt better today. She walked to the sink to wash the dishes from the cake. She saw the sink empty and knocked on Moongazers door to see if she could retrieve the dishes. She got no answer. She twisted the knob and slipped into the door, carefull not to wake her sleeping daughter. She took a look around the room, confused. For see saw no dishes. She didn’t see Moongazer ethier. She made sure there was nobody in the room, and went to wake her husband. “dear, wake up. I cant find Moongazer.” “wh-what? Whats so important I have to wake up at 7:00 on a Sunday?” he mumbled. “I cant find Moongazer.” “WHAT?!” her father jumped up. “What do you mean you cant find Moongazer!?" he shouted, alarmed. “calm down dear. She probably whent to the park. I woke you to tell you I was leaving. Ill be back in a half hour.” “ok. Ill look around the house for a sign of her.” Her father sighed. He was afraid that one day their filly would feel smothered and would not want to be near them. Her mother left, and Her father began his search. She wasn’t in the house, and she wasn’t in the yard. Her father searched her room for some sign of a stuggle or of her notifiying where she was. He found the note, but he was driven to wait until his wife came back to read it. As soon as her mother walked in the door, he handed her the note. “have you read it? Were is she?” “I don’t know. I didn’t want to read it without you” “ok. Ill read it.” Her mother took the note and read it aloud. “and remember, earth ponies…cant fl-fly.” She stuttered, tears filled her eyes. “Bluewish?” she whispered and sat down next to Moongazers father. “what dear?” he asked quietly. As the mare leaned on his shoulder. “promise me shes alright. I don’t care if its true. I just want to hear someone say it.” “Anything for you, Tenderheart, shes alright. I promise.” He whispered, warm tears rolling down both of their cheeks. And for the rest of the night, they laid in each others arms, thinking and whispering about the filly they both loved. > the worst sickness is homesickness > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moongazer flew. She flew far and fast. She left behind two lukewarm trails of salty tears. She hadent stoped flying since she had left. It was to hard. Her wings were hot with pain from flying so far. But she didn’t stop until she saw the bright city lights of manehattan. She laid down on a cloud, and tried desperately to sleep. But the most she could do was stare at the blurry city beneath her and blink away the tears. She saw couples of ponies walking together. Ponies walking alone, and ponies walking in small groups. But one group caught her eye.it was a family of three. A soft-red mother, a dark-blue father, and a tiny, fluffy, black filly. She saw a tear fall off the cloud. And below, it splattered gently behind the family. Many tears followed, all splashing the side walk one-by-one. One unicorn looked up to see if it was raining, but saw nothing but darkness in the night. Finally, Moongazer was able to sleep, but the sleep was disturbed by happy memories of her family. Memories only half of her wanted to see. She woke as the sun came. The cloud was soaked in cold sweat and tears. She flew on, leaving behind the big city. Again, she flew until her wings hurt. And this time she landed in a forest below her. It was starting dawn again, but she didn’t care. She trotted to the edge of the forest, and curled herself behind a thick bush so the sun wouldn’t see her. She closed her eyes. Her wings were open in the night, she didn’t are for them, she hoped someone would notice them if they were open, and tell her how to get the accursed feathered things away from her. Her sleep was dreamless and cold. But still haunted with pictures of her parents. But they were not smiling this night. They were crying, and holding each other and angry. She didn’t want them to be upset. She didn’t want any of this! She became frustrated quickly, and screamed in her sleep. She needed comfort, any kind of it. But there was none to be found. She sobbed and tossed in her sleep, tiny animals hiding in the grasses to watch the miserable Pegasus. Most of them had not the slightest idea of the ordeal she had gone through, or of how much emotion was in those tears. She woke, covered in leaves. She washed her fur and feathers clean in the stream, and set off once more, this time by hoof. She wished nothing more than a smile and warm welcome from someone. Anyone. She sobbed a little more. She was hungry , thirsty, and had not had a proper place to sleep in three days. > dealing with the damage > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Tenderheart and Bluewish woke simultaneously. “Moongazer!” they shouted together. They looked at each other and giggled because of their words. They both walked into Moongazers room and frowned. She hadn’t come home. It hadn’t been a dream. Something in them knew Moongazer was alive. So they temporarily accepted the filly’s absence and proceeded to cook breakfast. They made some eggs and muffins. They sat down, thanked Celestia for their food and began to eat. Bluewish turned the TV higher, to block the silence. The ponylimpcs were on, and Dustrose was winning the swimming competition. They finished, and Tenderheart washed the dishes. Bluewish went outside and trimmed the lawn. Then, Bluewish went inside to vacuum, and Tenderheart went outside to weed the garden. After the chores were done, they sat down and pondered what would cause Moongazer to run away. “maybe someone was bullying her at school” Tenderheart suggested. “maybe we were smothering her” Bluewish contemplated. “no.no. she spacifically stated in her note that it wasn’t us.” Tenderheart defended. For she would not be told she was smothering her child. “ok then, maybe she did something wrong and was afraid to admit it.” Bluewish offered. “My baby, do something so shamefull that she couldn’t tell me!? No! she would never do that!” Tenderheart shouted. She knew Moongazer could never do something that bad. Tenderheart walked into her bedroom. “im not going to be told by my own husband that there is something wrong with my child!” “YOUR child?! I guess my seven years of rasing her was worth nothing!” Bluewish fought back. “all you did was sit on the couch and tell her she was pretty while staring at the TV! “oh yeah? Who cooked all the barbacues, who was the only one who knew how to set up a sprinkler? Who was the one that helped Moongazer get better when she had the flu and mom was on a business trip! Not you, it was me! I love her just as much as you! And I put in just as much work!”by then, half of Tenderhearts closet was packed, her suitcases were full, and she was opening the door. “im going to my cousin dreamdust. Have fun by yourself, and send the rest of my stuff to her address.” Bluewish stopped talking. “no. you cant leave just because of this! Moongazer would want us to be happy.” “I cant leave can i? watch me!” Tenderheart walked out, and slammed the door behind her. Bluewish sat, defeated on the couch. Right then and there, he wished that he didn’t have a voice to fight with. > youre just never happy these days, are you? > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moongazer had been walking for two days. She had been gone eight days. She was more lonesome than ever. Hunger was the worse she had ever experienced. And all she could do when she tried to speak was cough of thirst. For the rest of the day she slowly trotted on. Then as night fell, her prayers were answered. A bush of small purple berries grew by a stream. She ate, drank, and washed herself. But those were not the worst of her problems. The playful sparkle had left her eyes and she walked with no trace of happiness. When she came to a town, she faked a smile and walked a little straighter. But she had nothing to look forward to. Now she was walking through a barren field, its crops harvested a long while ago. Beneath her eyes was stained gray against her snow-white coat. She looked up at the warm, inviting lights of the farm`s house. She began to walk up to it, to seek a shower and a warm bed for the night. The farmer allowed her to shower, but nothing more. He was a crooked stallion, hanging onto his cane as though his life depended on it. After Moongazer was clean, she gave the stallion an earring worth 20.00 for her payment. The stallion accepted the earring, and slammed the door. Her coat was crystal clean and stood out white in the dark. But she still wasn’t happy. At that point, she decided to not prolong the journey into the unknown, and flew. For it was much faster than by hoof. When you saw her flying, her hoofs were limp and she looked forward with a frown. Bluewish sat on the couch again today. That had become his routine. Sit, chore, sit, eat, chore, sit, sleep. And every other day he went to work. He felt that he knew nothing about the mare he had married. His orange-cream eyes were a little duller than usual. And he fell asleep on the couch. Tenderheart was enjoying life with her cousin, even if she could be a bit snobby. “im delighted that you finnaly got away from that mouse of a stallion!” Dreamdust reported. “ok now Dreamdust. Hes not that bad. He`s just upset about Moongazer.” “I think you shoudlt have even considered having a foal with that stallion!” Dreamdust had a habbit of stating her opinion until everyone agreed. But Tenderheart wasn’t going to. “stop it Dreamdust! All you ever do is downtalk him! I just so happen to love him!” Tenderheart burst into tears on Dreamdusts fancy chair. Dreamdust frowned and walked over to her cousin. “ill try to let it slide. Just stop crying on my chair. It 500.00 for a new one” she said, gently running her hoof over Tenderhearts head. Bluewish watched the television. He saw a white flash zoom past the window. “what?!” he stared at the window for a few minutes, nothing. He past it off as imagination, and watched Dustrose bring in the gold medal. > flight school > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Moongazer sat on a cloud, wondering for the first time were she could go. “I could go to cloudsdale and learn to fly. Or I could go to canterlot and meet the princess, mayby she would know what to do with me-………or….i could go home…and tell my parents once and for all, and if they kick me out, ill think of another option!..... but that’s a nine day journey……..ill go to canterlot, an hour journey, and find a unicorn who knows teleportantion! They could teleport me home, and back if I wanted.” And so she flew to canterlot, and found a unicorn willing to teleport her. “thank you again mam`” Moongazer said to the pink uniorn. “and if you clap your hoofes three times, teleport you back?” “yes. Exactly.” “are you ready to go?” ready when you are!” *zap* Moongazer opened her eyes to her backyard. The garden was overgrown, and so was the lawn. “hmm” she flew up to a window and looked in. she saw he father, sitting on the couch, alone. She looked in every window, in every room. Her mother wasn’t there. Had they gotten into a fight over her? She didn’t want that! She didn’t want that at all! She zoomed past the living room window, grabing her fathers attention. She clapped her hooves three times in panic, and opened her eyes to the pink unicorn. “would you mind teleporting me to cloudsdale?” she asked. “no problem! Close your eyes, youll be there when you open them!” said the unicorn cheerfully. She opened her eyes to clousdale, the city of great flyers. She asked a few pegasi for derections to flight school. When she got there, she enrolled in three classes imediantly.