Ponyville outskirts

60 years ago

Your every hoof-step echoed around the silent, early-morning mist. It was barely daylight, but this was the time you were due to catch the ever-approaching pegasus-chariot just outside of the small town. Your heavy saddlebag didn’t slow you down as much as it would the average pony. Years of exercise.

You could just about see the chariot that will take you away from Ponyville. But you couldn’t say you didn’t want this; to become a Scarlet Wing, some sacrifices had to be made. One such sacrifice had been left in her bed as you quietly packed your things and disappeared.

Your ears picked up on the hurried rhythm of a gallop behind you. You knew all too well whose hooves they belonged to.

“Wait! Don’t go! Please!”

No, no, no… why was she following you? Weren’t you in enough pain?

Annabelle caught up to you much faster than you thought she would. She even skidded in front of you with her momentum, and thrust her fore hooves into your shoulders, stopping you in your tracks.

Her hair was mussed up and unbrushed. Her eyes were watering. You were afraid of that.

“Don’t do this! Don’t leave like this, please-!”

“Annie,” you raised a hoof to hers, in an attempt to lower one from your shoulders. It went down unwillingly. “We’ve talked about this. You know that I can’t choose between you and-” you waved a hoof towards the dot in the sky; the approaching pegasus-drawn chariot, “…this.”

“But you don’t have to go for it!” Her voice let loose a panicked raise in pitch, as if each second lost was a another risk of losing you. “You can just, I dunno, stay at the farm and… and…”

“Spend my life in a barn while you live out your dream of owning an orchard?” You knew she’d never be able to see it the same way to do. “I haven‘t been preparing my whole life for this just to walk away from it.”

Something caught in Annabelle’s throat, as if she were about to say something, only to reconsider last-second. You had the feeling she was about to retort with ‘I’d do it for you’.

Of course, she wouldn’t. She had a family here, one of the first families to arrive on the settlement no less. Without her family, there’d be no Ponyville, so there would be no chance of convincing her to come with you. Not when she’s only just found a place to call home.

You, on the other hoof, have always wanted to go higher and higher in life, that final goal being acceptance into the Scarlet Wings. But if that meant you’d have to let things go, even those you held dear? Even Annie Smith?

You always thought you’d have to choose between your love or your aspirations some day. You just didn’t know which one you’d pick until you were up against the fence. The answer surprised you, in truth.

The pegasus-chariot was drawing ever-closer. Your ride away from this life, and to the one you’ve always wanted. There’s no denying that.

With your head hung low, you walked past the pleading mare. “I’m sorry” was all you could whisper above your hoof-steps.

“No!”

Your whole body jarred; a sudden drag from behind. Turning your head back, to your frustration, you saw your tail clenched between her bared teeth.

“You’re not leaving me just like this! Not after three whole years of being together!” Despite a mouth full of your tail-hair, her growling was still audible. “I thought we were in love!”

“Do you think I wanted it to be like this, Annie?” you shook your tail in an attempt to shoo her away. She didn’t budge. “If I don’t leave now, I’d just spend the rest of my life regretting it! You don’t want that for me! Be reasonable!”

“You be reasonable!”

You tried to continue trotting towards your incoming ride. She dragged across the floor for a foot or two before digging her hooves into the ground. In the end, you turned back to her and tried to pry her off your own tail.

“Let go of me!”

“No!”

“I’m leaving!”

“You aren’t!”

“Get OFF!”

“NEVER!”

How it descended into a scuffle so quickly, you couldn’t quite recall. You eventually tried to shove her away from you at full force.

Her retaliation was haphazard, her fore-hooves flailing away at you to push you away. One swooped through the air carelessly, before it connected at full force with your upper lip. The involuntary yelp stopped the in-fighting that instant.

Annabelle’s jaw dropped, letting go of your tail. Your brought your hooves up to your face, although the pain had already subsided. The damage had already been done, however, in the form of a chipped upper tooth.

“Oh my stars, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-”

She was cut off by the silent raising of your hoof. “Just go, Annie.”

Annabelle’s face, rife with regret and sorrow, had already burned itself into your mind. The lasting memory that was known as the last time you ever saw her.

By the time you looked up again, she was already a pale-green dot against the backdrop of Ponyville’s young streets. And out of your grasp forever. While you’d endured pain before, heartbreak is something nopony could just prepare themselves for.

The sound of multiple hooves hitting the ground. You turned around; the chariot was waiting for you.

You felt sick. Too dizzy to strike up a conversation with the military-hardened pegasi manning your transport. Instead, you just give them a short, weak nod before slumping yourself onto the carriage, heaving your saddlebag from your side.

The ride itself was a haze. You don’t know how long it took. All you knew was that every moment was spent replaying every moment with Annabelle in your mind. And every memory wrenched your heart as it turned to ashes. She was gone. You wanted this. You got it.

You finally touched down by the Scarlet Wings’ academy. Though your legs were weak - though not via a physical ailment - you still picked up your belongings and numbly thanked the pegasi at the helm. Another pegasus, no doubt a high-ranking member of the flight team judging by his attire and attitude, guided you towards the barracks. You were one of the first members to arrive, thanks to your early transport. You had the area to yourself for the first few hours. The high-ranking pegasus said something about using the spare time you had catching up on sleep. You weren’t really listening.

The guide showed you the designated sleeping quarters before leaving.

The moment you were alone, you calmly closed the door, slumped onto your bed, curled into a ball and wept like a foal as your heart broke.