A Pegasus’ natural ability. One we use every day. One that helps us in more ways than we can imagine. One we take for granted.
Flight is what makes a Pegasus a Pegasus. It gives us the ability to walk on clouds. To mold them to our preferences. All Pegasi can do it. Except me. I can’t fly.
You know me. I walk around town all the time. Or ride, usually. I cause all sorts of chaotic mischief with my friends every day. Breaking stuff and fleeing the scene. Running into trees and fruit stands, getting coated in juice and sap. Hanging with Rainbow. Trying to learn to fly, pretending to make the best of it, and going home… sitting in my room, reading and studying on how to fly, how to do it right, wondering what I’m doing wrong, when I’ve adjusted so much and fixed everything I could find.
Waking up, going to school, crusading with my friends, even after we’ve gotten our marks, going home and studying, trying to fly, failing, failing, falling, getting hurt, desperate, and upset, acting like I’m still fine, like I feel someday soon I’ll do it, when I lost all hope years ago, and I’m only still doing it to pretend I’m alright. Every day, I imagine a future where I can fly, faster than Rainbow. I’ll be famous and rich and happy and have fans and friends and… not feel… so… forlorn.
I can reshape clouds. I can walk on them. But I can’t reach on my own. I’m too low. And I can’t get any higher.
I’m what they call a dirt eater. A grounder. A winged Earth pony. They look down on me, the best ones, who were born to fly. My wings are just a little too small. It shouldn’t make a difference. It doesn’t, actually. My mother is a Pegasus. Her wings are smaller than others, but she flies fine. It’s my dad. He’s an Earth pony. Don’t get me wrong, I love him, and would trade anything for him, even my flight. I just wish I didn’t have to.
He feels like it’s his fault. But it was just the timing. He did nothing wrong. I love him, and I try to tell him it’s okay every day. He listens and understands that, but he still feels sad. Mom comforts him too, and we all understand that things are the way things are, usually for good reason, and we can’t change that. But that doesn’t mean we can’t be disappointed, or wish it were different.
I have a rare condition that only comes from cross-racial or cross-species breeding. In cross-species, sometimes a pony of any race may find that they have less magic, and in some rare cases, that can cause a dysfunction in the ability to use that magic.
With cross race, it’s still relatively the same, but it only happens to Unicorns and Pegasi. The magic from the other race mixes with the Unicorn or Pegasus’ usual magic, diluting it and rendering it useless. It is possible to learn to separate it- which I can do to a small degree- but without professional help, it’s very hard.
Add that to the smaller size of my wings, and then you have a recipe for disappointment.
My scooter helps aid in the usage of my wings, as a sort of crutch, something I can kinda lean on, to “fly” a little, even though it’s isn’t real. The sensation is similar but different enough that it still can’t possibly compare. It helps in gaining strength in my wing muscles though, and with all the years I’ve used it, my wings are possibly one of, if not the, strongest I’ve ever seen. Shame I can’t really use them, because I’m sure I’d be able to beat Dash in endurance.
My wings also have a few other rare-ish features, which I’m quite proud of. Not nearly as rare as my flight condition, and you can see them reasonably often in places like Cloudsdale or, say, maybe even Las Pegasus, where there’s plenty of Pegasi. But they still make me feel less like trash.
First off, I have extra fluff at the base of my wings. Second, I have a small extra row of feathers. Those are fluffy as well. I also have a weird joint thing, where my wings can bend in any direction. Then my feathers sometimes curl at the ends if I scrub them too much in the bath, or soap them too much. It’s not much, but still. Rainbow doesn’t have any of that, so I get the right to feel good about it.
I guess things aren’t too bad, but they’re really not looking all that bright for me either. I still can’t fly, and Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon never really helped any, though they’ve actually been somewhat supportive the last time they walked past me while I was training.
Maybe I’m luckier than the others. Maybe I just try harder. It’s all the same to me since it doesn’t change my ability to fly. But at least it’s not all worthless, or Id’ve given up by now. I have supportive friends and family, I live in a good town with a supportive community, I’m probably better off than plenty of ponies, even if they don’t have my condition, and hey, at least I can still enjoy youth while it still lasts.
I’ve jumped off buildings, trees, lampposts, and even the top of Miss Cheerilee’s schoolhouse. I can glide a bit, and sometimes I’m even able to hover for a few seconds after jumping off something. I can’t turn, though, and that has led to more than a few… accidents. I broke a bone once, jumping into the Ghastly Gorge and gliding right into a giant boulder at high speed. Listen, I’m a dumb, reckless kid, and I’m desperate, okay? Judge me all you want, but I still did it, and let me tell you, I’ve been led to do stupider.
My life can be just awful sometimes. Sometimes it’s great. But just so long as there’s something to look up to, I cat tolerate it. I still don’t think I’ll ever fly. But there’s always a chance. Even still, in the unlikely situation that I ever do fly, as I said, I have plenty of ponies here to support me.
Wherever life takes you, right?