A loud, booming noise awoke Odd Feathers from her slumber.
The Pegasus pony rolled out of the cloud which formed her bed and fell onto the floor, her mind groggy. She looked around tiredly, her legs aching from lack of sleep. Her frizzy blue mane blocked her vision; which caused her to slip blindly at any attempt to stand back up. Giving up, the yellow mare settled back down on her floor.
"Pumpkin Harvest! Get the fillies up and ready for school!"
The speech of Odd Feathers' parents didn't process in her mind. She let her head fall onto her hooves again, trying to block out the upcoming argument bubbling downstairs.
"Let them sleep. They'll need all the rest they can get."
Another smack echoed into the room.
"Ow!" She could hear her father stumbling across the cloud floor. "Pony feathers…" He mumbled.
"You idiot!" Her mother snapped. "I'll go wake them up. It's not like they are going to die from being tired."
"Mhhm."
Odd Feathers expected another kick or slap, but there was no noise except for the light pitter-patter of her mother's hooves on the ground. She bit back the urge to crawl under the bed and hide.
"Odd Feathers?" The mare's voice rebounded against the walls. A loud facehoof followed after. "Celestia dang it; did you fall out of bed again?" With an irritated growl, a shadow formed over the yellow mare's form.
"Sorry, Sunny Cloud." Odd Feathers muttered, getting to her hooves with a stumble.
Her mother stomped her hoof. "Call me mother, not Sunny Cloud." She spat.
I can call you what I want. The thought echoed in the frizzy haired pegasus' mind as she staggered across her bedroom floor. She brushed her mane out of her face, only to trip and come tumbling down the stairs.
"Are you okay?" Pumpkin Harvest's voice called. Her father's hoof moved to her's, pulling his daughter up. Odd Feathers responded with a mere 'mhhm'.
Another filly came running down the stairs, eyes open. "What's for breakfast?" She chirped.
The yellow mare looked towards her sister. "I have no idea."
"Pancakes." Her father responded with a light yawn. He looked towards the backpacks, which lay on a table in front of the kitchen.
"Pumpkin pancakes?" Her sister pressed hopefully.
"Nah, sorry Patchwork. Not enough time."
The golden-brown Pegasus pouted.
Odd Feathers looked at Pumpkin Harvest. His curly redish-brown mane was combed back neatly, and his lime green eyes shined. As usual, he wore his 'pumpking harvesting champion' medal, which made a small clicking sound as it bumped against his chest. His cutie mark was two pumpkins in a patch of light green grass. Patchwork watched as he flipped a pancake.
The yellow mare switched her gaze to her sister, who was a golden-brown Pegasus who had almost blurred darker lines against her coat. Her cutie mark was a hand-sewn scarf with a sewing needle to top it off. Her pale green eyes glimmered as she watched the pancake plop onto a plate. She took the plate with her mouth, stumbled backwards, tilted to the side, then managed to set the dish down on a nearby table with a pant.
Sunny Cloud came down the stairs, an angry look on her face. Her hair – which usually was like Patchwork's diced-looking hair – was forcefully brushed back into a ponytail. A splash of make-up covered most of her face. Her cutie mark was a sun in the sky with two clouds in front.
"Pumpkin, take the fillies to school." Her mother growled.
"Why can't you?" He retorted, passing a pancake over to Odd Feathers. The yellow mare took the treat hungrily, shoving her face into the plate.
Sunny Cloud bit her lip. "I have things to do."
"So do I."
"I asked you first!"
"Shut up."
Patchwork flinched, exchanging worried looks with her sister. Her parents' fighting had increased slowly as they got older. Odd Feathers' hated when they fought. It made her stomach queasy at the thought of them…divorcing. But how could two ponies – bound together by love – get divided by hate?
"Buck you, Pumpkin. Buck you." Sunny Cloud glowered, clenching her teeth together. Patchwork gasped, covering her hooves over mouth. Odd Feathers' flinched, squeezing her eyes shut to prepare for the upcoming yells.
"You…" Her father seemed at a loss for words, "Fine. You take them next time. But, after that, no more complaining."
Pumpkin shouldered his way towards the two fillies, took their schoolbags in his mouth, and made his way out the door.
Odd Feathers' stretched her wings out, feels the light breeze ruffle her discolored feathers. She took a deep breath and admired the fresh smell of the passing clouds. It was an amazing scent, really. It had a sweet earthiness to it; when you inhaled, it felt like it skimmed down your throat and shot right into your heart, expanding it with a surreal happiness. She loved this smell.
The three ponies stood on the cloud that stretched a bit away from their house, like a long porch. Patchwork shuffled her hooves, staring into the pool of endless blue before her. She had never been a very good flyer, despite her father being a weather pony plus pumpkin harvester and her mother being part of the weekly cloud patrol.
Odd Feathers' took a lot of pride in being a good flyer. She loved the feeling of soaring through the sky, tearing through gravity at high speeds. To feel nothing holding her back from spiraling into the endless azure atmosphere. Her hooves itched to get off the cloudy surface and fly.
Pumpkin flared his wings, beating them once or twice. He dived off of the cloud, thumping his wings as he began to strike through the clouds. He was a blaze of orange now as he threw himself through the firmament without a care in the world. Odd Feathers' stuck her tongue out of the corner of her mouth before chasing after her father, completely forgetting about her close-to-flightless sister.
"Dad!" She giggled, flapping her wings desperately as she fought to keep up with his rapid pace. Pumpkin shot her look over his shoulder, starting to slow down as they got nearer to school.
"I'm surprised you could keep up so well while helping your sister," He stated proudly.
Odd Feathers' froze. "What do you mean?"
The male Pegasus whipped around, his eyes tinged with fury. "What?" He spat. "You left your sister behind?"
"I-I didn't think about it!" She stammered, feeling a growing lump in her throat.
Before Pumpkin could respond, Patchwork came up behind them, hanging onto a loose cloud. She was propelling herself forwards with her feet. Her father's eyes softened.
"Sorry." He apologized, before turning back around and continuing to Flight Academy.