Override

I reached a hoof and grasped at the ledge above me.

My body ached and my lungs felt like they had been filled with gravel.

I pulled myself out of the indent in the ground I found myself in.

The sunlight above felt pale and only half there, yet still bright enough to feel like someone was stabbing my eyes.

I fell to the ground, landing on a mound of upturned dirt and snow.

The pebbles in my lungs ground together as my chest heaved.

I pulled myself forward, dragging myself out of the freshly and violently dug ditch.

Dimly, as if it were happening to another person, I felt the bite of the Winter wind on my face.

I fully extricated myself from the crater and felt too sore to continue.

Thwipthwipthwipthwip.

I turned an eye skyward...

A military helicopter was passed by overhead.

Damnit...

With the strength of the Greek titan Atlas, I pushed myself up onto my hooves.

Owowowowowow... Fuck that hurts!

It felt like I had been put into an industrial grinder, only that grinder had hammers instead of teeth.

The helicopter banked and turned right, beginning to descend.

I had to move.

My legs refused to budge.

Come on! Move!

I felt like a stone statue that could somehow feel pain.

Move! Move damn you!

With agonizing slowness, I moved my front right hoof forward a few inches.

More! You need to move more!

Slowly, my momentum picked up as I forced myself forward, like breaking the rust off encrusted iron gears.

Thwipthwipthwipthwip.

The helicopter descended to the ground, and a squad of soldiers jumped out with rifles raised at the surrounding terrain.

A voice roared over the gale, both familiar in cadence and tone.

In the distance, a flurry of swan wings left approached and descended on the landed helicopter.

A bout of weariness forced me to close my eyes for a second.

When they opened, I could clearly see Celestia angrily yelling at the soldiers. They seemed intimidated and milled about sheepishly, their guns pointed calmly down at the ground.

Have to... Leave.

I forced myself to turn away.

Must leave...

I trudged over the upturned dirt and snow, going around the crater I had found myself in, away from the helicopter. A short distance away was a treeline.

I had crashed into a field.

If I could get to the trees...

Can't... Stop...

Red out of the corner of my eye drew my attention.

Blood.

Almost half the crater was covered in it.

A smear trailed on the ground, right where I had pulled myself out of the pit.

My eyes wandered to my back.

I wish they hadn't.

Blood caked the coat all along my right flank.

And my right wing...

It was gone.

All that remained was a jagged shard of broken bone, sticking out of a mass of flesh and loosely attached secondary feathers.

Blood seeped from the stump.

A deep panic rose in my throat.

And for the first time in what felt like forever, the voices in my head fell silent.

Those wings were mine! I had earned them fair and square! For fucks sake, I had soloed Pony Dracula for them! And in a life full of keeping Luna "at rock bottom", those wings were one of the few perks I had! What was the God damn point if after everything, my sole reward was losing them?!

The urge to find my missing wing consumed me.

I frantically looked around the crash site, despite my exhaustion.

I needed to find it!

The blood soaked pit. Not there!

A mound of overturned dirt and snow. Not here!

The scattered debris field. Not anywhere!

"No no no no no!" I mumbled - scrambling back and forth despite my weariness - beginning my search of the area again.

It had to be here! I needed to find it! It must be-

"Luna?"

It was that familiarly sweet voice again...

I slowly turned towards the sound.

Celestia had approached while I was distracted, her head lowered meekly, as if she were addressing a foal.

But the soldiers, maybe 20 meters behind her with weapons raised, told a different story.

"Came alone was it?" I snarled, turning towards the larger mare.

I spread my "wings" aggressively.

"What have I ever done to you?!" I cried hysterically, letting her see exactly how I was hurt.

She gasped, taking a step back.

"Luna! I-"

"Can never apologize enough!" I shouted, interrupting the gigantic white Pony.

The shadows around me flared like fire in a stiff breeze, picking themselves up as if they were the rotting tentacles of an abandoned giant squid on the floor of a forsaken fishery.

"Luna... I swear to you I had no idea they were here!" she pleaded.

"L̵͈̪̑̕I̴͔̝͂̆Ȧ̵͈̩͆R̶͔̒!" I screamed. "Y̵̦̭̎́Ỏ̵̫U̷̧̍̕ ̷̨̂K̸̬̭̊N̸̟̟͆̄Ȩ̶̦̇͘W̵̉͜!̶͍̋͜͠ ̶̙̕Y̵̭͇̔O̷͓͝U̸͕͋ ̷̝̈́K̷̡͓̋Ǹ̸̡̮Ę̷̲̾́W̸̡̛̐ͅ ̵̫̳̀̔F̵̓͜R̶̟̩̾Ṑ̷̙M̷̢̦̂ ̷͖͎̊̀T̴͚͈̑͋H̶̩͈̾E̵̺̮͆ ̶͙̩̃͂Ṃ̴̺̅͛O̵̘̔M̵̭͌̽Ę̴̣̈́Ň̷̠̝͗T̷͈͔͑ ̵͖́Ḭ̷̍́͜ ̶͔̓̍ͅD̵̜̔Ř̵̦͝A̸͈̹͠G̸͚͇̓̕G̶̛̻E̷͐ͅD̵͈̃ ̴̯́̐Ỵ̶̽Ơ̸̧̈U̵̝͎͊̓ ̴̞̓͜F̶̧͌̍͜Ȓ̶̢̏O̴̩̍M̴͖̓͆ ̸̗̌̈́Ṵ̷̪̀̏L̶̡̒L̶̥̇A̵̡̲̋Ḩ̶̹̃̈́Ḍ̶͊M̴̼̈́̚A̷̡̽͊I̵̘̘͗͠D̵̞̜̋Ẻ̶̻̓N̵̳͘!"

Celestia froze in her tracks, stunned.

"Y-You remember..."

I lashed the tendrils of shadow forward.

Oh fuuuuuck!

The vibe: https://youtu.be/rERo2BYdVnY