Pegasus of Raphinae
Once upon a time, there lived a pegasus named Princess Raphinae. She was born in Cloudsdale two thousand years ago, long before Equestria was even formed.
Since she was little, Princess Raphinae was raised by the awesomest aunts ever, Auntie Quiltlescent and Aunt Excursio. Auntie Quiltescent was cool, and Aunt Excursio was cool too. And in Cloudsdale they liked coolness, so they could live right in Cloudsale instead of a few stops away, and Princess Raphinae got to see her aunts every single day, not just once a month!
Princess Raphinae was special. She was the daughter of Commander Hurricane, the brave and glorious military chief of Cloudsdale. Commander Hurricane was a great flier, yet for some reason Princess Raphinae couldn’t fly. Her wings were malformed at birth, and as a result they weren’t strong enough to fly in air.
Commander Hurricane disowned his daughter because she couldn’t fly. Most of the time he went out on long military exercises to faraway cloud kingdoms, without Princess Raphinae. Princess Raphinae couldn’t go with her dad because her dad said she wasn’t strong enough to fend for herself, even though Princess Raphinae was even braver and tougher than him.
The foals at school made fun of Princess Raphinae because she couldn’t fly. The worst two ponies were Diamante and Argentum. They were the most popular fillies at the Cloudsdale Schoolhouse. They always called Princess Raphinae names because she couldn’t fly, and because she didn’t have “real” parents.
“We’re pegasi. We fly,” Diamante said. “Flying is what separates us from the rest of the ponies. So what’s a pegasus that can’t even fly!?” And then they laughed at her.
But then one day Princess Raphinae did one thing that shut them up forever.
There was one thing that Princess Raphinae was really good at. She could run. Fast. Because she inherited her father’s super strong leg muscles. One year, during the huge Cloudsdale Young Pegasi Race, she ran the whole twelve laps, instead of flying. Even though running on clouds is really really hard (it’s like running on soft beach sand, now imagine doing that for three miles!).
And Princess Raphinae won! At least fifty yards ahead of all the other fillies and colts! She could run even faster than any pegasus could ever fly! And Princess Raphinae got a big gold trophy and a big ticker tape parade down Cloudsdale Main Street. And Diamante and Argentum were so amazed that they never made fun of Princess Raphinae ever again.
For a while, though, Princess Raphinae wanted to fly. Maybe if she could fly, then her dad would take her out on adventures to faraway lands. While all her friends at school were out flying to the Halo Ice Cream store perched on a really high cloud, Princess Raphinae jumped off of roofs, seeing if the wind would pick up enough that her wings would keep her up.
One time she jumped a little too high, and even though the clouds broke her fall, her whole spine and ribs and collarbone was fractured. She spent years in intensive rehabilitation, wrapped in bandages and slings and a million IVs poking out of her. It was a miracle that she survived.
And one day, when Auntie Quiltlescent sewed her a nice soft quilt to sleep under, Princess Raphinae asked Auntie Quiltlescent why she couldn’t fly.
And Auntie Quiltlescent said, “Not being able to fly isn’t a bad thing. You only think that because this isn’t the right place for you. I’m sure somewhere out there, there’s a place where you belong, where everypony will accept you for who you are. And your purpose in life is to find that place, or create such a place.”
Although Princess Raphinae was the only pegasus who physically couldn’t fly, there were other pegasi in Cloudsdale who weren’t fliers either. Some of them were too timid to fly (kind of like Fluttershy, but worse). Others just liked the feeling of soft clouds pressing on their hooves (it does feel really nice). Others were good fliers, but they just wanted to be friends with Princess Raphinae.
And Princess Raphinae was a good friend to everypony. She tried especially hard to be a good friend, because she knew what it was like to be bullied and how bad it was.
Soon, Princess Raphinae gained a whole following of fans. They had fan club meetings every week in a cloud house with a ladder, so even if you couldn’t fly you were still welcome. And soon Princess Raphinae was the most popular young filly in Cloudsdale. It didn’t matter that she wasn’t the most popular filly in school, because she was the most popular filly in real life. And real life was more important than school.
But soon, Diamante and Argentum became bad again and so they got mad at Princess Raphinae. They couldn’t let a “fake pegasus” like Princess Raphinae be more popular than them! So they gathered a whole regiment of followers who they threatened to join them.
Diamante’s army and Princess Raphinae’s army squared off at dawn in the town square. When the top edge of the sun passed over the roof of the military courthouse…
…CHAAAAAAAAAAARGE!
BOOM! CLASH! BANG! SCHWACK! It was such a majestic sight. The still mist of the morning air, the fiery orange glow of the morning sun. The full-winged pegasi would come swooping down at high speed towards them, and Princess Raphinae would courageously shield her friends with her own body, her heart not even skipping a beat!
Whether her dad believed it or not, Princess Raphinae was just as strong and tough as him! She could face off against any wild animal, any wild creature that came her way! She didn't need her dad anymore!
She didn't need her parents anymore. She would be fine if they just didn't exist.
But alas, even Princess Raphinae’s strength wasn’t enough. That's because Diamante, being the evil pony she was, cheated. Diamante donned the Magical Tiara of Doom, which she had stolen from the vault where it rightfully belonged. With the magic, she rested her hoof upon the floor, punching a giant hole through the clouds!
Princess Raphinae and all her fans were caught by surprise, and they all fell straight through. “Hahaha!!!!” Diamante cackled. “Puny excuses for pegasi! Good riddance!”
But little did Diamante know, Princess Raphinae was so strong that she could break the fall of the every single pony, and they all landed safely on the ground!
In fact, Princess Raphinae and her fans landed on a lush tropical island in the middle of the ocean.
The island was totally uninhabited. They were the first ponies to arrive. At the coast there was a huge sandy beach where everypony could go swimming underwater, and do glides and barrel rolls and flip turns, just like in the sky. And uphill was a lush mountain peak, two thousand feet high, where you could stand on the edge of the cliff, look down, and feel like you were a bird soaring in the air!
This land was paradise for a flightless pegasi like Princess Raphinae. The island was so isolated from the rest of the land, there were no predators to fly away from. No creatures except for a few harmless insects and lizards. Every twenty paces was a fruit tree, with fallen fruits on the ground to eat. Mangos, durians, lychee, bananas, you name it! As she ran through the dense forest, her tiny stunted wings helped steady her in the sloping, irregular terrain. And swimming at the beach was just as fun as flying!
In other words, nopony would ever need to fly on this island to survive and thrive. And so with each successive generation, the pegasi living on the island naturally evolved to fly less and less. Their wings became smaller and smaller, until they were used only for stability, and propulsion in water.
Princess Raphinae lived a long, happy life on the island. She grew up and she had four flightless pegasi children, and they all lived long, happy lives too. And all her fans, too. Everypony worked together as one big family. If you didn’t have any parents, it was okay. Everyone worked to raise each other’s children. To take care of the sick.
Then one day, Princess Raphinae was ninety-seven years old, having seen generations of strong, healthy flightless pegasi being born. She stood upon the stone podium at the beautiful tropical sandy beach, and made a proclamation. “Henceforth, I hereby proclaim this island to be the Kingdom of Raphinae. A land where you don’t need to fly, or to have parents, in order to belong. We are pegasi of Raphinae. We are pegasi, just as much as every other pegasi in the world.”
Princess Raphinae was my ancestor. I am a pegasus of Raphinae Island. I was born on this island, and adopted by my parents during their travels. And that is why I can’t fly.
Scootaloo dropped her pencil when she heard a knock on her bedroom door.
“Hey, Scootaloo. It’s Aunt Holiday. Can I come in?”
“Yeah, it’s open.”
The door squeaked open. “Hey…” she said in a sympathetic tone. “How’re you feeling, dear?”
“All right,” Scootaloo muttered.
“I heard from Miss Cheerilee what Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon did to you at school today. I know it's hard, but don’t let those bullies get you down. Remember, they can only hurt you if you let their words get to you.”
“No, no, I had some time to…think about it…and I’m actually feelin’ better about that now.” Scootaloo turned to glance at the fresh scribbles in her journal. She smiled for a moment, but it quickly disappeared. “Aunt Holiday, do you and Auntie Lofty really have to leave Ponyville tomorrow?”
Aunt Holiday gently raised her niece’s chin with her hoof. She sighed. “Unfortunately yes, dear. I’ve got my job over there, and, well…Auntie Lofty and I can’t stay here for too long. I told you before, dear. Ponyville’s a small town, and…well…some ponies here just don’t like to see two mares in love with each other.”
“It’s not fair! You two are the coolest aunts ever! You’re the best parents any foal could ever want!”
“What do you mean, dear? We’re not your parents. Your parents are Snap, and Mane Allgood.”
Scootaloo huffed. “No, they’re not!”
“Of course they are, dear. No matter how far away they are, they're still your own flesh and blood.”
The filly’s eyes began to tear up. “I know that,” she muttered through clenched teeth. “Just go along with it and pretend that they aren’t for a moment, will you!?”
Aunt Holiday gave in. She silently gazed out the window with a look of scorn on her face. Snap and Mane Allgood had been gone for ten months now, on some trip to catalog declining oryx populations in Saddle Arabia—was it really that important!? She never did approve of how her brother "raised" Scootaloo. “I’m sorry, dearie,” was all she said.
“It’s still not fair that you have to leave Ponyville tomorrow, Aunt Holiday.”
“I know it’s not fair, Scootaloo.” The earth pony sighed. “But times will change soon. I’m confident of it.”
“How soon?”
“Very soon.”
“Very soon like before tomorrow morning before your train leaves?”
Silence again.
“Have you started on your homework yet?” Aunt Holiday asked.
She looked at her desk. “Yeah, a little bit.”
“What creature did you choose to research for your project?”
“The dodo bird.” She had checked out a few thick volumes from the library. One of them was open to the title page: Anatomy and Physiology of Raphinae, aka Dodo Bird. “I started working on the report, but then I got kinda distracted. I hope I get a good grade.”
“Oh, don’t get so worked up about it, dear. Just do your best. It’s only homework. Real life is much more important than school.”
“I know,” Scootaloo said. “You were the one who taught me that.”
“What do you say we go downstairs and I’ll fix you a snack? How about some sliced mango?”
“Sure!”
Scootaloo took one last glance back at her journal before running to catch up with Aunt Holiday.
She could run. Fast. She had her father's leg muscles.