This story is a sequel to Cutie Marks and Broken Wings
Learning how to fly had been the start of Tawny's life: a real one, not the shoebox-sized concrete cage her captor had neatly shoved her into as a filly. But the shoebox had been familiar, if claustrophobic, and safe—a known quantity of hoofsteps and ceiling cracks, unlike the outside world of Equestria.
Learning how to live was proving to be infinitely more complicated.
Fourth place in the of the Quills and Sofas Speedwriting 'Expanding Universes II' contest. Each entrant was tasked with expanding the universe established in another author's story—my prompt story was Holtinater's Cutie Marks and Broken Wings .
Cover art by a lovely unknown artist! If anyone knows the name of the artist in question, please let me know, I would love to credit them.
Which story is the first place winner?
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Oh! You probably don't know this, but the way the Expanding Universes contest worked was that people would write a sequel or prequel to someone else's fic, thus expanding the universe, you know? It's always produced absolutely incredible and unique results, but since each person's fic that they got to write a sequel/prequel to were so wildly different, it made voting on any singular criteria next-to-impossible. It's not like a traditional contest where everything fits in a category.
Also... it's kind of rude to ask who the first place winner is on someone's fic. At least comment on this fic! It's beautiful, and it was personally one of my absolute favorites from the contest. Lost's prose is memorable and the ending had me nearly in tears.
You can read some of the other posted entries in the contest folder here! I highly recommend reading the original fics that they're a response to before reading the contest entries. They're such a great selection of different genres and writing styles!
The identification of self-worth and self-identity at the end feels fantastically earned. I feel this story has done much to expand the world, tone, and concepts of the original. Great job!
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Thanks, homie!
A fantastic story, and such a great subject to tackle. You handled it all wonderfully and with a great look into Tawny's thoughts and processing of everything too.