//------------------------------//
// Broken Family - (01) The Pegasus 
// Story: Twilight Abuses the Cutie Map 
// by Cxcd 
//------------------------------//

KA-BLAM
	Lightning rocketed across the sky, creating a sickiningly beautiful spider-web of electricity.
Up above the clouds, the six brave pegsus were defiantely beating back the storm, working near constantly to keep the dark thunderclouds at bay on a dark, stormy night.
There happened to be one problem- their small team was vastly outnumebred by the sheer quantity of thunderclouds rolling in from over the Everfree Forest. Everfree storms weren’t unheard of. A storm forms over the Everfree and eventually rolls itself in. What was unheard of was two storms in a row. The Ponyville Weather Team were on their last ponies.
If they let this storm roll over, they would have to rewrite their entire schedule for the next year. That, and getting an earful from their favorite team captain would be their biggest concern.
Through the dark night sky, a whistle blew, stopping the Weather Team in their tracks. Their wings had been horribly abused, almost all of them on the verge of plummeting back down to Equestria. Hearing the whistle made an audible sigh of relief break the monotonous of thunder and lightning.
Together they gathered in between two cloud layers, joining in a circle around tonight’s weather manager, Harrow Black.
“I know we’re all soaked and tired.” He said, gauging the varying states of reaction from the pegasus. “We’re gonna go back to HQ and call in the reserves.”
Like a light switch flipped, the several pegasus immediately cheered up. Harrow liked their reaction, letting a small smile cross his own muzzle.
“But what about the storm?” A voice from the back piped up. The imaginary light switch was flicked back off, the several pegasus dropped a few feet in the air, hanging their head low. “I mean, we’re gonna loose a mile of progress!”
“Bullet-”
“Tell you what, I can make it back to HQ in ten seconds flat!” The pegasus rose from the crowd, displaying his white coat in all of it’s glory. He had a blue mane, blue eyes, and a cutiemark of racing rings.
“I’m sure you can. I’m suggesting going back as a group ‘cause these guys need it.”
“Then they’re chumps!” He said, getting several angry looks. “S-Sorry. But it’s true! If I run back-”
“Fine. I’ll strike you a deal. If you can call in the reserves without taking a nap when you get there, then we’ll stay here and fight the storm. If the reserves aren’t called in within ten minutes, we’re heading back.” Harrow turned to the rest of the group. “How’s that sound? ‘Cause if we go back now, we’ll never hear the end of it from Bullet here.”
As much as they hated it, the group begrudgingly agreed with a few soft nods and murmurs.
“Alright Bullet. Just remember, no flying through storm-”
“Thankyou, Thankyou, Thankyou!” He said, grabbing the manager’s hoof and violently shaking it. Then, he saluted. “I won’t let you down!” He said. Much to Harrow’s absolute dismay, Bullet closed his wings, and started plummeting straight down.
“Bullet! NO!”
In truth, this was the perfect excuse to get as much speed as possible. Bullet’s game was speed. He was the physical reincarnation of Spitfire, the harrowing Wonderbolt from years gone by. If reincarnation was real. For all he knew, it was. Then, he’d be the most awesome pegasus twice.
The wind caught his mane as he reorintated himself towards the earth. He extended his hooves out infront of him as he dipped into the cloud layer like an athletic swimmer.
His plan was simple. Gain speed. More speed. Even more speed. Then, at the last moment, pull out of his dive. Although his angle was entirely wrong and not diagonal, he was still confident he could pull of the mythological rainboom.
His heart thumped in his chest as the all-too-familiar electric feeling tingled across his hooves and down his spine. Ten seconds flat? Maybe that was a little too far, but this journey would take him less than a minute, for sure.
Just a few more seconds! He thought to himself.
Every hair and feather started standing on edge, clasping his wings tightly to his body, creating the perfect cone shape into the ground. Any moment, he would break the clouds, and pull up. He could feel it. The anticipation. The energy. The adrenaline coarsing through his thematic passages.
The electricity.
…
Wait-



KA-BLAM
Another spider-web of lightning rocketed below the several pegasus, all staring stone-faced at the hole Bullet created through the clouds.
Harrow couldn’t even think. Slowly, and automaticially, they lowered themselves onto the cloud where Bullet dipped below. The group of once-six now-five looked on in awe. It was Harrow who finally spoke.
“I- I think we just lost him to the storm.” A silence drew over the group. Harrow could feel a lead ball forming in his stomach. How would he explain it to the higher-ups? ‘Sorry, but we just had our first death in well over a century.’
“Let’s go back as a group.” He finally decided. Silently, the five pegasus drew their wings, flying away and back towards the nimble town known as Ponyville.



Hours Later…



“Ollie, baby, could you come down for a sec?” Her mother called.
Oliver was currently slouching over a decently sized book. ‘The life and times of Joseph E. Hawley,’ it was titled. She had planned on investing her entire weekend into finishing the book. Fortunately for her, two-hundred thousand words was a cakewalk.
“Ollie?” Her mother’s voice finally broke her laser-focused concentration.
“Uh- coming!” She sputtered through the house. She dramatically pushed her chair backwards, latching her book shut with her olive-green magic. She had a brown mane and light-green coat, and noticably lacking in the cutiemark department.
For a thousand generations, her side of town could manipulate the natural forces present in everyday life. Ollie’s family in paticular had always been more gifted in magic. While someponies could only do specific, job-centric spells, Ollie’s family was more general. They could learn practically anything, as long as it concerned magic.
All this to say, Ollie teleported downstairs, scaring the socks off of her mother, Patchwork.
“Ollie! How many times have I told you to use the stairs?”
“S-Sorry. It’s just so much quicker.” Their house was quaint, with barely enough room for a kitchen, dining room, and living room within the footprint of a particular traveling magicians trailer. One thing, however, was how abhorrently blue the entire home looked. Blue walls. Blue cabinets. Blue mom. Yes, even Patchwork was blue. For a moment, Ollie’s eyes gazed over her mother, looking for her, before noticing her blue eyes.
“You’ve been holed up in your cave the entire weekend, dear.” Her mother said, levitating a saddlebag over.
“Sorry. I’ve just been reading this book about-”
“I’m sure it was great.” She stopped her, mid-rant. Patchwork knew better than to let her daughter start that. “But I want you to go outside. Get some fresh-air.”
“I could always crack a window.”
“No. I want you outside.” She placed the saddlebags across Ollie’s withers.
“What are these for?” She asked.
“Those are for berries.”
“Berries?”
“Mhm. I’m running low here. Your father gets home tonight, and I want to make him a meal to remember.”
“So instead of buying berries, you’re making me scrounge for them?”
“Oh hush. It’s not that bad. Naturally grown berries always taste the best!”
“Mom, we live in Ponyville. Everything is naturally grown.”
“Go on, I won’t hear another word of this!” Patchwork started pushing her out the door, much to Ollie’s dismay. With a loud thump, Ollie was sitting outside on the dirt, moistened from last night’s unplanned thunderstorm.
Unscheduled rain was nothing to be scoffed at. Infact, it was impressive to have a storm get through the Weather Team.
In all fairness, those feather-brained maniacs have no idea what they’re doing. Thought Ollie spitefully. If I grew a pair of wings tomorrow, I could do a much better job. Atleast, that’s what she tells herself.
Ollie started walking down the street. A cart being pulled by a cream stallion was levitating the fallen sticks from last night’s storm into said cart. Everypony had a different color to their magic. For instance, Ollie’s was golden, like her eyes. Different color, and everypony had a different strength. Someponies could barely lift an acorn. Others, like Ollie, could maybe lift an entire house.
Ollie dipped behind a few dank allies, and eventually popped out to the other side of the road, away from the residentials and into the business district. Shop-fronts lined the buildings as ponies tried desperately to sell half-grown potatoes.
As much as Ollie hated to admit it-
Earth Pony magic would come in handy to make every dinner taste like food and not like a useless pile of sand.
Every stall that lined the walls, and everypony walking the streets, were all unicorns. Not a single pegasus or earth-pony in sight. And there was a reason for this.
“Buy some apples here! Best apples… this side of town.”
“The sun’s always beatin’! Need a hat? Come buy a hat!”
“Want some defense against the other tribes? Invasion is always looming!”
Pegasus and earth-ponies were dangerous. They were brutes, snobs, and above all else, baby-eating psycopaths. Unicorns were the most sophisticated and civilized of the three tribes, this much was clear. Unicorns had never threatened anypony. ...Right?
Ollie had arrived at her destination. The long alley full of stalls eventually opened up into a large clearing. In the middle, much like the Town Hall was in the middle of Ponyville, stood a triple-story bakery with a brown chocolate-colored roof. It was overbearingly decorated with candy-canes, gum drops, and other pieces of candy.
To somepony like Ollie, it was aboslutely garish and freaky.
Not only that, but the building was falling into a state of disrepair. The candycane’s red had long since faded and has started flaking off. The windows had become fogged, and the chimney no longer blew smoke. Yet, the line outfront told a different story.
The young unicorn weaved her way through the crowd. Eventually, with enough ‘excuse me,’ and ‘pardon me’s,’ Ollie found herself inside the small building, more specificially, the unusually deserted dining room. Everypony was here for to-go, and nopony had time to sit down anymore.
Her senses were suddenly filled with the distinct odor of various cookies oozing out of the kitchen. She turned to the smell, like a cartoon following a line of cloud.
Ollie spotted a light-pink stallion behind the counter. He was tall and brutish, yet his eyes were full of joy. He shook a hoof, taking the money with his magic and delivering a box of treats to the customer. His cheeks were red from smiling, and lines shown the age on his muzzle. Despite this, he never stopped smiling. Ollie was sure he even smiled while sleeping.
It only took a moment, but the man stopped taking orders when he spotted Ollie.
“Whe-hey! Who’s this chump?” He projected, whispering something to his co-worker, then leaving the confines of the counter.
“Hey, Candy.” Ollie waved. The stallion bounded over to the yearling, basicially towering over the small unicorn.
“What’cha doin’ here? Don’t usually come this time o’ day, right?”
“Right. But mom wants me out of the house. Is there anything that I could do? To help out?” Ollie broke eye contact for the moment, before regaining focus. The stallion looked like he was thinking, putting a hoof to his chin.
“Well, we could’a used a toilet scraper a few minutes ago?”
“E-e-w. No thanks.” The face Candy made Ollie think he already knew what she was gonna say. He chuckled for a moment, before turning more serious. Well, as serious as a smile can get.
“How bout’ this- I have a poster Mayor Mare has been raggin’ on me to get up since thursday. I hadn’t had the time to do it me’self. But, if you wanna do it, be my guest, little miss.” Finally, something Ollie could get behind.
A moment later, Candy exchanged levitation spells with Ollie as she grasped a rolled up paper and a roll of duck-tape. She strolled to the window, facing out to the large crowd. With her magic, she rolled it out across the window, placing four pieces of tape on the four corners.
…
Then, the tape wasn’t straight enough, so she had to do it again.
…
Okay, maybe using four seperate pieces of tape was too much. Instead, Ollie just rolled two pieces of tape across the top and bottom.
…
The corners didn’t perfectly line up with the edge of the poster. With a snip of scissors later, going at a snails pace, it was finally perfect. With a wave to Candy, she left the shop.
Squeezing past the mare currently taking up the entire door frame, Ollie took a few steps backwards to look at the poster, to look at her handiwork.
The sky was black. The ground was blood-red. Two figures took up the poster, one on the ground, and one, with red, evil eyes, flying above the grounded pony. The pegasus held a spear, pointing at the helpless, and defenseless unicorn.
Ollie felt a pang of guilt. Guilt at this misrepresentation. If only Ollie could study those wings up close-
No. The pegasus were scary. The pegasus don’t deserve kindness. The pang of guilt was suddnely flushed outwords with anger.
That anger continued to double as she heard a voice behind her.
“Ooh- Ollie the cave dweller that never leaves her room. What a sight!” The very entitled english voice came over her shoulder. It came from another yearling, about the same age as Ollie. She was shorter, and had a light-purple coat. Her mane was stylized upwards in a bun that screamed fashion statement. Ollie knew this menace, however. It was the local school-bully.
Although school had been out for a few months, that fact didn’t make the bully dissapear.
“Wow. What a sight. She didn’t even get her cutiemark yet.” A second voice spoke. Next to the short unicorn was an even shorter and more annoying unicorn with a lightblue coat and darker hair. She looked slightly younger than the first.
Ollie rolled her eyes and shoudlers, letting out a defeated ‘ugh,’ before trying to walk away.
“Where are you going, blank flank?”
“What do you two want?” She asked, still walking away, and still irritatingly being followed by the two ponies.
“We just wanna see our favorite blankflank before school starts!” Said the purple one.
“I appreciate your-”
“That’s right, Platty.” Said the blue one. “We’re just here to give a warm welcome!”
“I don’t need-”
“Yeah, Nimbus, we wouldn’t want to leave our newest friend hanging?” Said the purple one named Platty.
“Look, I appreciate-”
“Sorry, but I don’t know if we-”
“LISTEN.” Ollie suddenly, turned around, shouting at the two fillies. “Leave me alone, dammit!” Ollie yelled, before galloping off towards the forest, leaving a stunned two fillies.
“Yikes. Like, what was her problem?” Asked Nimbus.
“I dunno. We should follow her.”
“Why?”
“’Cause I gotta plan.
Ollie, on the otherhoof, had decided to finally start picking those berries her mother wanted. She crossed the threshold of the forest, delving deeper into the Everfree. She knew to stay close to the edge, no matter how tempting some of the flaura seemed.
Mother always told her to never eat the blue flowers. Even if they looked amazing.
Ollie had stopped at a nearby bush, picking with her magic the blue spheres. She levitated a couple into her bag before continuing to the next bush. She was careful to only take a few. Leaving none for the critters would’ve been mean and hurtful to the biome.
A crunch of a twig turned her attention behind her, looking over her shoulder towards the sound. Yet again, the two ponies had followed her.
“Didn’t I-”
“Wait!” Said Platty. “We’re here to apolagize.” She said, looking down, eyes full of tears. Something went off in her head, though, telling her they were lying.
“Yeah. We’re, like, totally sorry for being rude.” Said Nimbus.
“I-”
“But, like, we need a favor.”
“Yeah, a huge one.”
“If you could be, like, kind to help us?”
“What?” Ollie asked, tilting her head.
“Just say yes, and I’ll tell you.”
“But-”
“Just say yes.”
“Ugh.” Ollie lowered her head in defeat. “Fine.” To be fair, she didn’t have anything else to do. What else was she going to do, pick some more berries and post more posters? “I’ll do whatever you-”
“Great!” Platty yelled, crossing the distance between the two. “You’ll need this-” She levitated a map, to which Ollie begrudgingly switched spells. “And we’ll be waiting!”
“Wait- you still didn’t tell me-”
“Oh yeah. We, like, lost our backpack.” Nimbus said. “And we need your help.”
“Sure you-”
“It’s true!” Platty piped up. “You don’t want to leave your new friends hanging, do you?”
“Ugh. Alright, I’ll go. Jeez.” Ollie turned around, leaving a snickering pair of ponies behind her wake.
“Quickly. Go tell the mermaid.”
Although Ollie knew there was going to be nothing at the edge of the map, taking a hike to the scariest forest this half of the hemisphere was more exciting than anything else she had planned for today. Well, nothing and that book she so desperately wanted to get back to.
The map in question was so obviosuly scrawled in under ten seconds, Ollie sworn a crayon fell out when she uncurled it. It was a simple piece of yellowed-paper, reminiscent of the pre-dissaperance days. It simply showed a brick road to follow.
Eventually, Ollie’s hooves met brick as she linked from wild forest to laid path.
Ollie wondered why the ponies laid a brick path through the worst forest in the world. It’s apperance was decieving, however. Perhaps it was laid before the forest grew to the way it was now. Although it looked fresh, it could’ve easily been half-a-millennia old.
Instinctively, Ollie willed a new piece of paper from existance. This one had nothing written on it, yet Ollie also willed a quill from the depths of her room.
She wrote on the top in big, large letters.
Scary Forest Checklist.
Big Tree. Check.
Old Road. Check.
Map. Check.
Rustling sound to my right. Check-
Wait a minute.
Instantly, Ollie dropped the checklist with a ragged and sudden gasp. With a kick of her hooves, she threw herself behind a nearby bush.
Her heard started thumping perhaps a little harder than that little exertion should’ve made her. She threw a hoof over her mouth, breathing deeply into it. Whatever that was couldn’t of been large, judging on how it’s entire body was hidden inside of the bush to her right.
Ollie went through the possible things it could’ve been. A snake could easily curl up in a bush that size. Or perhaps a spider! It could even be a cockatrice! If Ollie was turned to stone out here, it’s extremely likely she wouldn’t be found for years. And survivors of the cockatrice have stated that the pony gains full conciousness, even while petrified.
Slowly, Ollie peeked her head over the bush, braving a look. If she saw a chicken, she would have to play it careful.
Her eyes met beady ones.
A squirrel ran from the bush up a nearby tree.
She let out a long sigh, brushing sweat from her brow. Magicailly, she hoisted the list from the ground, straightening her quill back out.
Scary Squirrel. Check.
As she continued down the path, she noted how far she had actually came into the forest. Never before had she ever been deeper in than a few house lengths. Now… she’d been walking for all of ten minutes. That’s a long time! Her legs had started to ache a few moments ago, and she breifly considered taking a rest.
Although it was bright right now, the sun streaming through the canopy, Ollie had no idea how long that would last. After all, the Everfree creates it’s own weather.
Independent Weather System. Check.
Actually, she had no idea if this was true. It was scheduled to be sunny today, and the sun was currently out.
She scribbled that one out.
After a few more moments of walking, she crossed a small, yet upkept bridge. Without even chancing a second glance, she crossed it.
Suprisingly Nice Bridge. Check.
Yet, unbenounced to her, a creature lurked in the water, just underneath the surface. It’s pony-like eyes stuck above the water, watching the pony from a distance.
“Dammit.” He whispered to himself. “Just missed her. Gotta wait ‘till she comes back.” He said to nopony in paticular. The creature slipped back under the warm embrace of the water, deciding to bide his time, waiting for the oppertune moment his prey come back.
“Nice.” Ollie said, looking around the surrounding area. This is where the map led. It ended here, yet there was nothing. Ollie had seen it coming from miles away, but for the sake of adventuring, she took the bait and found nothing. No prize. No ‘congratulations’ banner. Just the end of the small brick road. To be fair, she hadn’t expected anything else, and it was just a short ten-minute jog out here, but the stinge of dissapointment still hung loosely in the air.
Frustrated, she kicked a rock into the bushes just beyond the clearing, and turned around to trot away.
…
thunk
…
“Ow.”
…
Ollie stopped, two hooves still in the air awaiting a firm step onto the ground. Soon, she fell off-balance, resting on her knees. She was blankly staring forwards, her mouth open in shock. Something told her to stay still, make herself as small as possible, to which she did. Something was out there, and that something sounded…
Like a pony.
She took a chance, looking behind her, heart still thumping. There, behind the bushes, she could see- still nothing. She rested on the dirt floor, taking a few deep breaths to reorintate herself. Whatever she had inadvertantly hit with a rock didn’t seem to be attacking her.
That, or it was biding it’s time.
That thought stopped Ollie in her tracks once more, still staring blankly at the bushes infront of her.
She sat there for over five minutes, her ears flickering back and forth at the swaying of tree leaves, trying to hear whatever caused that noise. Eventually, she started calming down. She thought it could’ve been nothing more than a coincidence. Hitting a rock just right to make it sound like a pony saying ‘ow.’ That was, currently, the only explanation.
Finally, with weak knees, she stood onto her fours. There, she took a sharp turn, to see if the mystery monster had finally decided to pounce. Yet again, there was nothing but the ever-growing expanse of green shrubbery.
She wanted to start trotting away again. She wanted so desperately to leave the woods and return to her house. Lock herself in her room again, and never step foot outside again.
Yet, there was that pony nature. Curiosity. Curiosity seeped through her veins as she felt like a marionette, being tugged by the strings towards the horrifyingly real pony voice. Curiosity killed the cat… but who’s to say the cat didn’t witness something spectacular in it’s dying moments.
She bent branches out of the way with her magic. A few rough patches released a cracking sound, which temporarily haulted her, ears swaying for any sound. Yet, nothing came out.
Ollie was on the verge of turning around, until she came out to an open clearing.
Above, the tree canopy was damaged. The usual monotony of forever leaves was broken apart via a hole in the ceiling. The branches had been forcibly pushed out of the way, a few branches even being snapped. A godly orange glow fluttered down and unto the green grass below. Despite being the Everfree, nopony could deny the overwhelming peace that perminated across this current field.
Ollie’s eyes slowly drifted downwards.
There, in the center of the clearing, so cozily curled up into a ball, was a pony.
A colt with the cutiemark of racing rings, a flame trailing behind them. Where should have been a white coat was instead a hazy gray, burned and singed hair covering his body from head-to-hoof. His mane was no better, what looked to be bright burning blue was instead a dull, almost purple haze.
His head was resting on the ground, soft breathing sounds coming from his muzzle. The dirt was being blown away with every exhale, the grass peacefully swaying in the wind. His legs, curled up against his body like a cat. Every once in a while, his hind one would give a small kick.
To Ollie, her heart fluttered upon seeing the blissful scene. It was peaceful.
That was, until she saw his wings.
“Fuck!” She yelled, throwing her entire body behind the bush she had just rose from moments before. Once again, her heart started thumping.
This wasn’t good. They were always, always warned about the other tribed. The scary ones. The ones who were wrong. The ones who teamed up against unicorns to overthrow, and ultimately kill, Queen Celestia and Princess Luna.
Their history was covered in blood. Unicorns were raised from day one to fear the powers of flight, or the strength and endurance of earth-ponies…
And there was one, currently no less then a dozen hooves away from Ollie, taking a nap.
She had to think fast. With yet another painfully loud pop, she summoned a blank piece of paper and a new, dirt-free quill. She started writing.
Option one: Turn and run away.
Pros – come out with your life.
Cons – If he it wakes up, it’ll smell your trail and hunt you down.
Option two: Kill it.
Pros – No more trail-hunting. Come out with your life (not guarenteed)
Cons – Other pegasus will be alerted to the death of their own. May have only a few minutes to escape.
Well, a few minutes were better than none at all.	
Without hesitation, Ollie levitated a nearby rock. It was decently-sized, easily enough to put a hole in somepony’s head. The fact she was thinking about this at all made her slightly woozy, but she decided it was the best way to ensure survival.
Slowly, she moved away from the comforting sense of shelter, moving outwards and into the open. There, she once again laid eyes on the pegasus. His dirty, filthy coat burning into her eyes as she took shaky step after shaky step. The blood was pounding in her ears as she approached, a burning sensation coming from her horn as she focused more and more of keeping the levitation spell up.
This wasn’t right, that was for sure.
But she would be regarded as a town hero for slaying a pegasus.
A real pegasus! That’s what she wanted.
Right?
Her shadow loomed ominously over the pegasus. It’s eyes were still closed, resting peacefully. She tried convincing herself that it wouldn’t feel a thing. Just a flick of the horn and it would all be over.
Carefully, the rock moved position a good few hooves above the pegasuses head. This was it.
All she had to do was cancel the spell.
…
All she had to do was cancel the spell.
…
Yet, she couldn’t do it. She could feel her magic faultering, being mentally exhausted. But for some reason, she still poured magic into the rock, managing the spell, and stopping it from canceling.
It was only now, while she was a few inches away from the pegasus, she noticed something striking. It’s wings. Not only the fact that it has wings, but the condition they were in. The white was covered in soot, and the ridge of the wing where the feathers connected looked bent at an unweildy angle.
If Ollie didn’t know any better, she would assume it was broken.
…
Broken. A pegasus, on the ground, covered in black soot, with a bent wing.
She wasn’t slaying a creature. She was killing a wounded.
With a sharp gasp, she took a few steps back. She felt like throwing up. Why was she feeling like this? It was a pegasus! Some of the most feared creatures outside the Everfree! Yet, here she was, taking mercy. What kind of unicorn would her parents think she was? Not killing a pegasus? Would they hate her more for killing a wounded one?
Finally, after moving the floating rock next to her, she canceled the levitation spell, letting the boulder hit the ground.
She breathed out. She could probably make it home still. Maybe if she was fast enough, it wouldn’t catch her.
Before turning around, she caught one last glance at the creature. Once more, it was laying peacefully. It’s head resting on the dirt. It’s bright baby blue eyes, gazing back at Ollie.
…
They were making eye contact. Ollie could only watch in abstract horror as the monster slowly raised itself to it’s hooves, keeping direct eye contact. Soon, he stood up, and Ollie realized his impressive wingspan. Easily thirty hooves in width, Ollie felt small. Insignificant. This would be the last emotions running through her mind before her untimly death.
Rooted to the ground, she felt at peace with the world. What happens next, happens. No matter what she does, the outcome of this situation can no longer change. Fate is in Celestia’s hooves-
“WHAT THE BUCK?” A ghastly screech came from the pegasus. It backed up, it’s flank hitting the tree, and uncerimoniusly falling down, kicking it’s hooves into the dirt. “Holy shit! You’re an earth-pony!” He yelled.
“What? I’m a unicorn, you dope!”
“Oh Celestia, even worse!” It said, closing it’s eyes. “Please don’t melt my brain with your super powers, please!” It’s hooves went over it’s eyes. Ollie could only stare, completely agast at the change of events.
Not only did this pegasus not sink it’s horrible fangs into her neck, but it also appeared scared. Of course, this could be a trick. Yet, as hard as Ollie looked into his cowering eyes, she couldn’t find any trace of acting. This had to be genuine.
Which started to egg the question- why was this pegasus scared of unicorns?
Instantly, her brain boomed with a million more questions. This was it. Her opportunity for research. Further develop pony-kind into understanding the introspective of every-day life.
First things first- are they kind?
“Calm down.” She practically breathed. “I’m not going to melt your brain.”
“Then- Then- what are you gonna do to me?” He shivered, peeking his eyes out from under his hooves.
“Well. I was going to melt your brain, but seeing you scared is enough satisfaction.”





Suddenly, transition to humans! Because IDFK dude what was I thinking.





“Holy shit! You're a stronger! Please, don’t eat my insides!” The man yelled, while blocking his face with his arm.

“What? I’m a Magical, you dope!” Ollie retorted with a tone which surprised even her.

“Oh god, even worse!” The man looked away, and squinted his eyes shut. “Please don’t melt my brain with your powers, please!”

“Calm down, I can’t melt your brain.” Ollie admitted.

“You- You can’t?” He lowered his arm, only to reposition himself on the ground.

“No. Of course not, that’s not how magic works.”

“Then- what- what are you gonna do?” The man questioned intently, with piercing eyes.

“Well, I’m going to school to become a family doctor, if that's what you mean.” She shrugged her shoulders. The man looked on with interest. All things considered, she was being surprisingly calm. Even she surprised herself.

“Can you levitate that rock?” He pointed to the same rock Ollie dropped moments before. The tone in his voice changed from pure terror to curiosity in a matter of moments.

“Well, yeah.” Ollie faced her palm towards the rock, and within a few moments, the rock was engulfed in a haze of gold, the color of her magic. It lifted a few inches off the ground. Then, it fell back down with clutter. 

“Too heavy.” She said, still eyeing the man. Was this just a distraction still?

“Too heavy? Is- Is there a limit to how much? How much magic can you use?”

“Yeah, I get a headache-” Ollie kept looking at him. Deep in his blue eyes, she saw innocence and curiosity peering back. Just like a child. A magical child, that is. He seemed just like a Magical, just with large wings.

“So.” Ollie’s voice changed back to demeaning. “What is your name?”

The man, feeling the presence change, adjusted his demeanor as well, shrinking back into a state of fear. “Oh- um, My name is- It’s Trent.”

What a human name for a Flyer.

“What is yours?” Trent peered back.

Ollie put her hands on her hips, flipping back her hair. “It’s Oliver.” She said, somewhat demanding. “But you can call me Ollie.”

A squeal of pain made her lose her focus. Trent had let his broken wing touch the ground. It shot pain through his back.

Ollie looked at the creature she was conditioned to fear her entire life. Here it was, squealing in pain from a broken wing.

Maybe she could help it? She had never healed a wing bone before. Sure, broken legs, broken arms, a few ribs, but what was the process of a wing? Was it any different?

Her body flinched. For a moment, she was going to take a step forward, but her body told her not to. After seeing him with piercing curiosity, being in pain, she realized one simple truth: This thing was a human, as much as Ollie herself was. Just because it didn’t have magic doesn't mean she should treat it any differently… right?

Finally, she took a step forward. Trent stopped focusing on his wing, and looked at the approaching Magical. Her demeanor had changed. She was no longer threatening, her face wore a mask of sympathy.

“What are you doing?” He questioned with fear the looming figure. She crouched down next to him. He could feel her presence, and she looked fearless.

In reality, the question he asked was going through her brain a million times. What was she doing? Was she insane? Why was she doing this?

But all Trent saw was a hand extending out to grab his wing. She tentatively grabbed it, and brought it towards herself.

“O-okay.” She said, her voice quivering. “This might hurt a bit, I’m going to relocate the bone.”

“Alright.”

“On three, three-” She cracked it back into place, before Trent even had a second to prepare. He flinched, but the immediate relief brought with the bone clicking back into place was immeasurable. He let out a sigh of relief.

“I thought you said you were gonna go on three?” He questioned.

“I did. I went on three.” She clasped her fingers around the broken bone, and closed her eyes. Within a moment, a wave of warm air encompassed the split. His wing glowed with a hint of gold, and Trent could feel the bone being maneuvered back into place.

“What was that?”

“Healing spell. That should hold it together until you can get a cast. I wouldn’t recommend flying for a few days.” Ollie looked at her handiwork. She couldn’t tell from the outside, but she assumed she did a good job.

Ollie turned to look at Trent again. “By the way, why were you sleeping on the ground?”

“Oh.” The question took Trent by surprise. He looked upwards towards the hole in the canopy. His face scrunched up as he tried to remember the night before.

“Well, there was a storm we were trying to fight off,”

“It did rain last night.”

“And I ‘accidentally’ dived through the clouds, got struck by lightning, I think.” He put a finger to his chin, deep in thought. Suddenly, his eyes lit-up. Not with excitement, but with absolute fear, and maybe a twinge of sadness.

“Oh no! My parents must think I’m dead!” He put his fingers through his singed hair. “I gotta get back!” Trent got on his legs in an instant, closing his wings into a surprisingly small footprint.

“What?” Ollie looked on in awe, as she got onto her feet a fair while after Trent stood up.

“My parents!”

“You have parents?”

“Yes?”

“I just thought you were all orphans.”

A silence broke through the two of them, as Trent looked on, not in anger, or dissatisfaction, but confusion.

“I thoughtyouwere the orphans.” He said. “Your tribe was too snobbish to have children.”

“I thought your tribe was too violent to have children.”

Again, they sat in silence. What else were they lied to about? Could this be the single example of an enemy being friendly, or were they all like this?

Ollie looked down to the rocks below. The rocks that started it all. She adamantly kicked one across the ground, and then looked back towards Trent.

“So… We gonna head back to the village?” Ollie asked.

“I hope so. I dunno the way out.”

“There’s an old brick path not far from here. We can follow it all the way back, if you want to.”

“I mean, sure. We can talk a bit too, can't we?”

They both walked back onto the brick path from before. Trent took a little longer to walk through the brush, as Ollie extended her palm, pushing the twigs away like a gust of wind, Trent was left to shimmy and squirm through..

Trent noticed where he was. God, he only assumed the crash zone was a little out-of-the way of the village. But looking down at the trees, all he could see was more and more trees.

“Hey- Ollie. How far out are we? From the village?”

Ollie turned around to face Trent, and with a slight smile, “Oh, only about thirty, thirty-five minutes.” Trent cringed, the thought of being so far away from home.

The ceiling of the forest never seemed closer until now. If only he could fly, he could make it back in ten seconds flat.





It wasn’t long before he realized how long walking took. After all these years, flying almost constantly, things seemed smaller while moving fast. Small dots made up people down in the town, but with every step he took, Trent could almost feel his legs start to atrophy.

But Ollie pranced in front of him, almost like nothing was wrong. Which was ridiculous, considering she had to have walked all the way here first. Her legs must be on fire.

Not only was the long distance killing him, but the break in his wing started to bother him again. Maybe Magical’s magic wasn’t all it was sought-to-be.

Even though there was no walking and talking through the journey, Ollie recognized the impatient nature of the man behind her. Every few minutes, he would readjust his wings, making a slight groaning sound, increasing in volume every time he did so. It was enough to make the simplest of minds go insane, but Ollie wasn’t no simple mind.

She stopped suddenly, and turned on a dime towards Trent. He hadn’t seen her for a moment because he was looking towards the ground. He almost ran into her, but stopped a foot away in a jut.

“Alright, enough complaining, what’s wrong?” Ollie snapped at him.

“What?” Trent, apparently surprised by her short fuse.

“You’ve been complaining ever since we left the hole I dug you out of!” It took Trent by surprise, the awful tone of her voice made him shrink, something only his mother could do.

“It’s- I’m used to flying everywhere. My wings usually get more exercise than this.” With a motion, Trent moved the broken wing in a circular motion, indicating the strain. “They kinda hurt. There’s nothing to rest them on.”

“If your wings hurt so bad after being cooped up, what do they do with normal bone-breaks?”

“Well, doctors usually use a jacket to hold the wings close to the body while it heals.” Trent thought deeply, looking towards the sky. In the half-hour of travel, the canopy of the trees had noticeably lost density. They must be close to the village by now.

“They- So like a cast? Hold on.” Ollie took off her backpack, and with a sharp rock she found on the ground, cut a hold in the  back, a slot large enough to fit wings in.

“Here, does this help?” Trent quietly pulled the backpack, and with a little maneuvering, his wings snugly fit inside. The contents of the backpack pushed against his wings, pinning them against the inside.

“Uh- yeah. That helps a ton, thanks. By the way, whose backpack is this?”

“My moms.”

“Your mom’s? Is she going to be mad?” Trent’s face contorted.

“No, or yes, I dunno. Wanna go say hi?” The question came from nowhere, and confused Trent slightly.

“Wh- go say hi?” He asked, still unsure of what she meant.

“Yeah. Maybe pop by for a visit.”

“In your district? That sounds like a horrible idea.”

“But who would know? You got a backpack on, you look just like us!” It did sound tempting. Getting to see how the ‘other side’ lived. Luxury? Dump? It was all a question to him. But he needed more convincing.

“Are you sure? What happens if I get caught? Do they lock me in prison for trespassing?”

Ollie, surprisingly, let out a small chuckle. “I don’t take you for the cautious. I didn’t think Flyers could be cautious.”

“Yeah? Well- I didn’t think Magical could be so generous!” Trent snapped back. Ollie was taken-aback. Not because it was insulting, but because it was supposedto be insulting?

“Was- was that an insult?”

Trent’s face scrunched up. “Yeah!”

“That was adorable.”

“No it wasn’t!” Trent’s face went red with embarrassment, but all the same Ollie understood his anger. She had felt the same way many times before. Instead of belittling him, like has happened to her many times before, she let it go.

“Alright, I believe you. But I still want you to come.”

“Why should I trust you?” Trent asked. It took Ollie a second to come up with an answer. She hadn’t thought of why, only how to do it.

“Because when will you get the chance again?” Her head tilted. She could watch his face work, debating. Juggling the mental issues, and weighing the danger. Secretly, Ollie was hoping he would say yes. Although she still knew nothing about his kind, although they could still be blood-thirsty brutes, Ollie felt inclined to trust him. She didn’t, but the seeds were planted.

“Ugh-” He sighed. “Fine, you convinced me.”

Ollie jumped slightly, honestly surprised. This was it, she could show him the other side! Curiosity pushed back the superstition, and for the first time since meeting him, she wanted to hug him. Unrelenting happiness, Ollie looked at Trent like another human.

It only lasted for a second, she quickly came down from the high, but for the rest of the walk, she had a slight bounce in her step. Trent was still uncertain, and compared to Ollie, it looked like he was trying to walk on glass.





What… What did he just see?

A flyer? With a Magical? Impossible. It was just as probable as raining cats and dogs. They should’ve been ripping at each other's throats.

He sank back under the water. Maybe harmony would return to earth? Was he witnessing the renaissance in progress? He had to tell the other two. After all, they were his friends. But this was not part of the plan. It was just to scare Ollie while walking back.

He swam quickly, breaching the surface of the water back at the village-stream. There, a few feet to his right, the two sat on the bench.

“Oh, look, Cassandra, it's the mermaid again!” The shorter of the two pointed towards the breached person.

“Not a mermaid, I’m a-”

“Shut it. Did you do what we wanted?” The creature looked down towards the water, and shook his head.

“What? Can you seriously not follow simple instructions, water-brain? Seriously, just appear out of the water, and she would be running for the hills-”

“We have a bigger problem.” The creature cut Cusandra off. Cusandra was noticeably taken aback by being interrupted.

“Oliver is with a Flyer.” Instead of the reaction he expected, he only got a scuff of the nose by Jill, the shorter of the two. “A Flyer? Seriously? You wanna scare us now? We thought better of you.”

“I’m being serious. He was complaining about his wings, and Oliver gave him a backpack to cover them up. This is serious.”

“Jill, I think he’s telling the truth.” Cassandra said. Jill looked at her with a squinted eye.

“Why?”

“Because, look.” She grabbed Jill’s shoulder and pointed towards the tree line. Out of the brush, two teens came out. One with black hair cut to her shoulders, wearing a purple t-shirt. The other one, with dirty blonde hair, wearing a black-stained white shirt, and an oversized backpack.

The three kept staring, watching them cross the grassy knoll that separated the buildings from the forest. She looked almost happy. Happier than she went in, atleast. Which was not part of the plan.

“Oh my god. Did- did she walk in with anyone else?” Cassandra asked Jill.

“No. We watched her.”

“Did anyone else enter the forest after her?”

“No. We watched the forest.”

They sat in silence for a few more moments, taking in the scene. Although they didn’t want to believe the creaturethey had taken advantage of, his story added up. The person that walked out with Ollie was a Flyer.

Ollie was a traitor.

“We have to tell someone.” Cassandra stated.

“Who?”

“The Mayor. The Mayor would understand.” Quickly, they both stood up, and started walking away, like they were both on the same brain wave.

“Wait! What about me?” The creature in the water shouted.

“You didn’t scare her, you don’t get your pay!”

“Bruh.” The creature splashed the water in frustration before dipping back below the surface.