She Fell From Grace

III

   The next morning, Pegasus woke up leaning against a palm tree, feeling the scratchy bark rub up against her milky white coat. Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, she crept out from under the tree's shade and squinted up into the sky, expecting there to be that same burning sun that shone above Mount Olympus every day. Only to find that the sky was still coated in that exact same thick fog that she had yelled at just the other night. As she stared longingly up at the sky, she suddenly remembered the young messenger that had defended her in front of Zeus. Sure, he could be pretty clumsy at times, but he was one of the very few gods that had bothered to stick around and get to know her. Granting gods and goddesses passages to places that they couldn't travel on foot was a great job, and Pegasus adored it. But it wasn't exactly the sort of one where you make tons of good, close friends.

    A sudden dark feeling crossed over her mind as she walked quietly out of the vegetation and onto the beach. He probably wasn't going to come after her. And why would he? She couldn't fly anymore, and she was the one who had caused him so much trouble in the first place. Maybe it would be better to just disappear, like her crumpled up wing had.

    A lone tear slipped down her cheek as she trotted up to the water, watching with glossy, emotionless eyes as the water lapped up against her hooves until splashing up her legs. She lowered her head to drink some of it, cringing at the bitter taste of the water. Well, that's what she got for being such a dim-witted horse in the first place.

    But as she yelled at herself within her mind, she didn't realize that there was someone creeping up behind her. Pegasus lifted her head back out of the water and glanced out at the water line, her ears flicking forward, trying to detect any slight breeze that could give her signs as to where she was. Wind usually flew from the south, right?

    "Pegasus." The sound of the voice frightened Pegasus as she jumped, whipping around to face whomever had spoken. She crouched down slightly, spreading her one wing out wide, attempting to repeat yet again on her other side before the pain ignited once more. Letting out a slight cry, she took a moment to take in the floating figure in front of her. It was a girl, surely, but she appeared to have a pair of luminescent wings sprouting from her back, with long, flowing golden hair, and big, blue orbs for eyes. Her skin was so clean it almost appeared white, and she wore a baggy yellow dress that, despite her floating a decent height in the air, still trailed across the sand below her. She didn't carry anything in her hands, however, as she simply made up for it by treading her hands across the air, back and forth, like she was icing a cake. She offered Pegasus a slight smile of greeting, a look of pity written clear in her eyes.

    Pegasus stared at her in an annoyed state of confusion, a green envy filling her mind as she stared at her properly functioning wings. She didn't know how lucky she was.

    "Who are you?" Pegasus demanded, her tone dripping with venom. "Did Zeus send you to scold me even more? Because I'm making sure that I get beaten to a pulp, I can assure you."

    The floating girl shook her head no as she slightly leaned forward in a sort of bowing motion. "I am Cadence, Miss Pegasus. I am your inner conscience. I've come here to warn you that you need to stop blaming yourself for Bellerophon's killing. It was not entirely your fault."

    Flames of anger flashed through Pegasus's eyes as she shot daggers mentally at Cadence. Her inner conscience? What kind of idiot did this fairy think she was? "If you're my inner conscience, then how you here talking to me? And furthermore, it was actually my fault because if I hadn't fallen for the golden bridle, I wouldn't be stuck here! And warn me about what? If anything, I should be the one warning you," she carefully crept closer to Cadence, each step filled with more and more menace. But, despite Pegasus's malicious state, Cadence refused to falter her disappointed expression. "Warning you to get your little fairy wings out of here before I kick you all the way back up to Olympus."

    She paused to watch for any changes in her state. A sudden fear in her eyes, a slight curve of her back, anything to show she was scared. But, to her dismay, she merely just floated there, shaking her head sadly. "To see you like this saddens me, Pegasus," she spoke softly, like she was talking to a child. "You used to be so happy and full of light. I've come to warn you about yourself." She floated slightly closer to her. "Because you have decided to make yourself your own enemy, if you do not stop and forgive yourself and Zeus for your actions, you will become a slave to your own mind."

              Pegasus stared at her for a moment before bursting out laughing. "Forgive that monster? A slave to my own mind? Ha! Did Zeus put you up to this? Some sort of sick trick to turn me into this sappy little filly?"

              Cadence shook her head. "No. I only speak words of the truth, Pegasus. If you do not stop torturing yourself and forgive yourself and Zeus, you will become a slave to your mind. Symptoms include waking up to find a pair of golden cuffs and chains  around your legs. You have already given up on your wings. If you do not stop beating yourself, you will lose your legs as well."

              Pegasus glared at the fairy as she flew there, that sickeningly melancholy expression still on her face. She must've sensed that Pegasus wasn't taking in anything she said, for next thing Pegasus knew, she was soon fading away. Literally. Her arms began to disintegrate, along with her legs.

              "I can not make you believe, Pegasus, but maybe those golden cuffs will," her fading mouth opened and shut like a fish under water as she spoke. "The only way to break the cuffs is to forgive yourself."

              And, just like that, she was gone just as quickly as her annoying little body had arrived. After that, Pegasus seemed to forget completely about the encounter as she went along the beach line, walking along the freshly wet sand in search for any signs of life other than vegetation. But, at the end of the day, her search came out negative with nothing but a raspberry bush and an abandoned bees nest.

              She failed to listen to Cadence's advice as well, for as she stood under the same palm tree as before, she couldn't help but want to wade into the water before her and never emerge. It felt almost impossible to be able to forgive herself, for she truly believed with every bone in her body that it was her fault. And as she stared up into the foggy sky, she wasn't sure whom she hated more; Zeus or herself.