Another Sappy HiE Fic

by exsnaggerwes

Regrets

I felt naked, and not just because I wasn't wearing clothes; although that might have had a lot to do with the matter. The night sky was dark enough to make the horizon invisible. The only signs we weren't on the verge of crashing into the ground from misdirection were the clouds we idly passed through. The two more experienced fliers kept pace with each other ahead of me, chattering about the Wonderbolts and which pony was a bigger fan. They made me feel transparent and less important. They each were living their dreams as far as I could tell, and I was yet to even grasp the big things in their world, let alone relate to them. I knew that Celestia brought the sun and Luna the moon. I knew which princesses ruled over which domains to some extent, but not about the others. Were there others? Could there really only be four princesses of Equestria, or was Equestria just one nation with a few rulers?

As we passed through cloud after cloud, I considered the many questions I should have asked upon arriving. I knew all manners of hoofshaking and wingslapping, where appropriate. I learned about common etiquette and untranslatable phrases, even picking up some body language along the way. I wasn't practiced in flight, but I wasn't bad either, it was like it came naturally to me. Controlling weather was even within reach after Rainbow and Umbra finally told me that I could only manipulate clouds with my hooves and mouth, and the act required conscious effort to do. Of all the things I knew and all the fantasies I was living, I still felt empty and cold. I wasn't unfamiliar at all with the feeling I was getting, and the more I thought about it, the worse it would get. Actively avoiding the thoughts didn't help much either, and as the sinking in the pit of my stomach increased, I slowed down to be left in the dust of my new companions.

Who was I to think that I could just leave my home and not feel sick at all? For years, all I cared about was leaving to make a new life for myself. Whenever I had to spend an extended period of time away from my family and friends, I found distractions easily enough to never get the opportunity to miss them. I lived for the moment no matter what I was doing, and I never lingered on negative thoughts or homesickness. Even with all of the strength and callousness built against my fellow humans, I still felt guilty for leaving them behind. Kanon didn't deserve to be left alone in an unfamiliar city with nothing but what she needed for the trip and no way to explain what had happened to me. I even had the audacity to renounce her name and pretend she was somebody, nay, somepony else in order to feel like I could trust her.

Throughout my meeting with Luna, the last thing on my mind was the friend whom I had addressed by the diarch's pet name for the past few years. For all I knew, she could have been admitted to a mental institution after seeing me disappear through a statue, or she could have been arrested for trespassing.

I wanted to fly back through the portal to see her again, to make sure she was okay, but I also wanted to hide from her if she were. Of all my friends over the years, she had listened to my crazy harebrained schemes. She was the closest to consider my disappearance, and she would have been the first to know something was up if I just stopped calling one day. Granted, she and I weren't very close, but she was the only one who agreed to take me as far without second-guessing my motives. The truth was that I had something to hide from, and I had a place to run. Sure it was immature, but a life of fear was not one worth living. Here I could be free from the stresses of life and I could live my own life. Here was where I belonged, and here was where I decided to stay, but I still wasn't fully convinced that I had made the right choice.

“How are you doing back there?” Umbra called back to me. My pace had slowed considerably, and I had fallen behind quite a bit.

“Do you need to take a break?” Rainbow teased condescendingly.

I quickly caught up and kept pace with the duo, composing myself to not give off any negativity. “Sorry.”

Rainbow Dash smirked. “Are you sure you don't need a breather? We're not even halfway to Cloudsdale. It's probably past your bedtime anyway.”

I refused to respond to her attitude and simply flew towards the only visible light source in the sky other than the stars and moon.

---

[Somewhere in Canterlot]

There came a whisper from a dark room. “Max? Max, where are you?”

“I'm over here,” responded another hushed voice in a lower and calmer tone.

“Do you have a flashlight? I can't move my arms at all.”

“Yeah, hang on... and close your eyes.”

“What? Why?”

“Just do it. I think I know why you can't move your arms.”

A pause hung in the air, followed by several vibrating noises and the room became bathed in a radiant white light.

“Don't move,” Max said as he watched the other griffon struggle under their bindings. Her wings were mostly free, save for the bases which were restrained tightly to the back by a dark purple fabric secured in the center by small metal clasps. Max crept across the dark room, leaving his torch on the ground, and unhooked the bindings. He was quickly greeted by a wing forcing itself across his face.

“What the hell are you do-” The griffon's voice became lost as she processed the scene which had unfolded before her. As far as she could tell, a man had just unclasped her bra and she slapped him in response. It was somewhat close to what actually happened, but she still couldn't believe what she saw. The creature who she thought had violated her personal space was in fact a griffon, and the appendage he was assaulted with was shedding white and brown plumage. She could swear her vision was also being obstructed by feathers hanging from above her face, but she knew that couldn't be right.

“It's okay, Kanon. It's me. Your bra was constricting your wings, and that's why you couldn't move them. Are you alright?”

“...” Kanon's beak hung open for a moment as she tried to take in the fact that a freak of nature was talking to her.

“Kanon, talk to me. What's going on?” Max tried to struggle out of his own shirt to stretch, but ended up tearing it apart instead. “Shit, I liked that one.” He was more careful with his pants, which he was sure he would need later, and successfully pulled them off without tearing the already worn fabric. His shoes were nowhere to be found and his socks were already shredded before he could get to them. He peeled the remaining fabric off before strolling to his friend and comforting her.

“You're going to be fine, let's just get this done and get out of here. Okay?”

Kanon barely registered his words and hugged him closer, still horrified at what she had become. She simply nodded in agreement before he let go to retrieve his phone that was serving as their torch.

“We should probably get out of here before someone finds us. I don't see any guards around, so now's the best time to act. Can you move?”

“I... I think so.”

“Those pants are only going to slow you down. I promise I won't look at your dirty bits, but we have to go now, and we have to hurry before this thing closes.”

“But-”

“Sh! Someone's coming, hide!”

Comments

[Phenrys]

Very interesting. I can't wait for the next chapter! Griffins, huh?