//------------------------------//
// Honor be damned 
// Story: The wolf & the whisperer 
// by The worst at everything 
//------------------------------//

I screamed in protest of the hands gripping my neck. Bubbles surged upwards from my mouth. I kicked wildly, without aim. I clawed at the arms of my attacker. My efforts were all for naught.

The icy cold water washed the tingling from my skin. The sharp pain of the broken ice digging into my back ebbed into a light itch. The energy flowing to my limbs slowed, and with it, their movement.

I did not imagine it would end like this. I had no enemies that I was aware of. I did not seek to win this tournament. I had dishonored no filly or colt. But there I was, being drowned by a boy I'd never met, only one of dozens slain by the river. Though I supposed, this was mostly my doing.

The color seeped out of my blurred vision. I was pushed deeper as I grew slack; my opponent was taking no chances. My eyes shut, or at least the light went away. By Faust, I was dying.

Mother, Father, I bring honor.





One hour earlier...

I lazily bit into my apple. The stampede steadily drew nearer. They marched in the distance like ants. My legs dangled off the edge of the rock upon which I rested. It was a long drop down the gorge.

The River Sol is and always was a bloody battlefield. According to my father, the yearly fighting at this spot began centuries ago, when several colts, riveted by the tales of the Pegasus Civil War, began cleaving at fellow Runners here. It was the perfect location. The river running through the ravine was quite narrow.

It made it rather hard for the aerial watchers to tell who was who.

Nopony knows for sure if that's really how it started. And nopony really seemed to want to end it. Parents would warn their foals about the River Sol. If they were from warrior clans (such as mine very own, Rainbow), they were trained in hand-to-hand in addition to survival skills. If they weren't...

It helped to be fast.

Honor be damned, fillies and colts would die there, as they have for generations. Runners looking to wipe out others from enemy clans, settle quarrels, avenge dishonors, preen the competition, or just see blood spilled for the fun of it. Plenty of foals had at least one reason to kill.

I wasn't worried. I was way ahead of most of the Runners. And it wasn't likely that I would be spotted way up on top of the gorge. Unless they decided to fly over. Some do. Most try to test their luck and save their strength for scaling the mountain, but for those who want nothing to do with the fighting, flying over it is the best way to go.

Occasionally I saw a Runner dart past below me. Trying to beat the chaos. Enjoy the lead while you can, I mentally snickered at them. As soon as I know Fluttershy is safe, I'll be back in front where I belong.

I studied the fast approaching horde. There were a few stragglers here and there, maintaining a safe distance from the rest of the Runners. Fluttershy would certainly be among them. She was to my right when we started, so she would be approaching from my left. I squinted.

I thought I saw her. Maybe I should have sought her out while on the lake, and just guided her through the battle. I had considered it. But I had to win. Fluttershy knew how to survive the cold. As long as she could just make it past the river, she would be fine. I'd be able to drop down and fend off anypony that tried attacking her if need be. They wouldn't expect to be attacked from above. But I doubted that'd be necessary; Fluttershy was a master at avoiding detection.

I grunted in pain. Looking at the apple in my hand, I discovered that I had stripped it of its flesh, and had in fact just bitten myself. Annoyance evident on my face, I let the core slip from my fingers, allowing it to plunge down onto the frozen hard ground below.

I stood up from my perch and stretched. The Runners were already growing closer together as they reached the river. I needed to get a closer view if I wanted to be sure I saw Fluttershy. Making sure my pack was secure, I unfurled my wings. Before I could take off, I was struck.

Searing pain stabbed at the back of my head. I had just been hit, hard. My vision went grainy and purple. Not good.

"Well, well, well. Hello Crash."





My heart thundered loudly in my chest. The fighting had begun. It had started with a few random slashes. Quick, concise strikes against targeted foals, who whipped around this way and that to spot the danger. Then more knives were drawn in defense. The first blood had spilled. Soon followed the first kill.

Sounds of pain filled the air on the frozen river. Within minutes, over a dozen fillies and colts laid on the ice, blood trickling from their many wounds. This was only the beginning.

The smart ones took to the sky. I desperately wished for the strength to join them. Most powered through the carnage. They shoved past each other, racing to break past the ravine's end into the snow-covered plain. It was at this point too that the first teams began to emerge.

Friends looking out for each other, foals with a common rival, loners tagging together to stay alive, or even brutes teaming up to take down whoever got in their way. The mindless brawling ended as the group thinned out. Most of the Runners were now halfway across. Only a few individual fights went on.

One colt used his hunting knife as a throwing dagger. He hurled it at a gaggle of fleeing Runners. The knife sank into the back of a filly, who collapsed instantly. The colt scowled; he must not have hit his intended target. Clearly he wasn't too distressed over the mistake.

I didn't even realize I was crying from the terror. I inched along the river's edge, my back pressed to the rocky wall. I remained crouched, as low as I could go without hampering my ability to move. The only Runners that remained were those who now picked over the corpses of the ones they'd killed.

Vultures, scavenging food and clothes from the packs of colts and fillies who no longer needed them. I tried not to watch, but I couldn't look away. There must have been close to forty bodies littering the ice. I moved my right foot to keep slithering along. I winced when it landed on something soft.

I choked back a sob when I looked to see my shoe on the arm of a petite grey filly, curled up on the rocky riverbed. A knife stuck out of the bloody cloth over her shoulder. I saw her widened eyes under her straw-colored mane. I... I knew this filly.

Little Muffin. Most foals that knew her called her Ditzy Do. She had been a failed Seer, much like myself. Unlike me, she hailed from a renouned warrior clan. Her clumsiness in training and her affable composure had tragically earned no affection from her parents.

She was one of the Blanks. No land to own, no clan to serve, to name to pass on. In the days leading up to the Solstice Run, she had assumed one of the many monikers she had collected over the years: Derpy. How little it meant now. Unless her parents suddenly decided to honor her sacrifice, she would have no burial.

She would burn with the garbage.

I clamped one hand over my mouth. Squeezing my eyes shut, I shifted my foot; I had to keep moving. But I heard a noise when I did so. I froze. It was like a sound of displeasure. I looked back down. Derpy hadn't moved underneath me, but her arm felt... tense.

She couldn't have frozen so quickly. I tilted my head to look directly into her eyes. Her left eye rolled up to stare off into nowhere. Her right eye was locked onto me. I blinked in surprise.

"...Derpy?"

Derpy stiffly brought her index finger to her lips. I smiled in amazement. Looking back at the knife, I then noticed that it had not pierced her flesh, but instead was tucked tightly into place with her arm. The blood on her top wasn't even hers.

She was playing dead.

I nodded at Derpy. I took my foot off of her, stepping down on the ground next to her. I still needed to move. There was no point in sticking around and possibly getting Derpy discovered. I silently wished her good luck, and prayed that the colts scouring for supplies didn't turn their heads my way.





I rolled over. Somepony was coming up fast. My ears rang, but I still had the sense to fight him off. I pulled my legs back, coiling like a metal spring. Like a swinging hammer, I bucked straight into his gut.

The Runner, whom I hadn't yet identified, buckled and dropped his knife. I struggled to my feet, and gingerly felt the back of my head. There was a slight gash. He must have thrown a rock at me. I growled at my attacker.

"Not a smart choice," The little dots dancing around my vision faded away, revealing who had just attempted to end me. "Striking a foe from behind? I should have known, Hoops."

Hoops coughed. "Your family line is over, Crash."

I looked around as Hoops stood back up. "Where's Dumbbell and your band of stooges? I know you wouldn't take me on without them," I crossed my arms smugly. "Luna knows you couldn't beat me otherwise."

Hoops seized his knife once more, twirling it in his hand. "Let us find out."





"Hey! Get her!"

My first instinct was to freeze. My next was to run. I burst up and sprinted, with speed that I have never known before in this life. Surely they wouldn't kill me? The aerial watchers must have had a good look now. I decided against taking my chances. If those colts didn't kill me, they would certainly take my pack, and I would perish within the hour.

I heard footsteps rapidly approaching behind me. I didn't look back. Right when I felt them about to overtake me, Derpy whizzed right by me. She too bolted faster than imaginable. They must have realized her little trick. I pushed to catch up with her.

We were barely through the gorge. They were faster and stronger, and would definitely catch us before we made it out. The wind was picking up from outside, blowing the snow in large bundles of swirls. I flinched at the gust of cold wind.

I dared to look behind me. There were six colts chasing us. They seemed to be taking greater care not to slip. When I turned my head back, I gasped. The snow was hurtling towards us. It had begun to storm already. Derpy, who had been only yards in front of me, vanished into the white haze.

I began to panic. I could try hiding. But if they found me, nopony would be able to see. I could keep running. But I would have no idea where I was going.

My inner debate came to a grinding halt when I heard a monstrous cracking sound. I shuddered, and looked down. The ice looked solid, but underneath it, I saw, very clearly, running water.

"Oh dea-"

I didn't even finish my thought before the underneath me gave way, dropping me into the deathly cold water.





I dodged his attacks easily. He was a big, lumbering goon. This was almost like a game for me. I didn't even brandish my own knife. I resolved to bring him down with my bare hands.

Hoops swiped viciously. He was growing frustrated with each miss, pouring more energy into each savage move. I smirked at his foolery. He would wear himself down before I even laid a finger on him.

"You're hitting a lot of air," I taunted. "I suppose it is easier to strike a target when you have somepony holding it down."

Hoops narrowed his eyes. He lunged, and I sidestepped again, dancing frivolously along the cliff edge. I spread my wings to help keep balance when the wind increased in velocity. I didn't plan on taking a dive, but nature holds no favorites.

"Help!"

My ears twitched. I saw from my peripherals that the fighting below had ended. And yet, somepony was screaming.

"Help me!"

Mother of Celestia.

I swiftly swung my leg up, bringing my boot back into Hoops' stomach. With him staggering backwards, I scanned the river below. The snow from the mountain was already dusting the ground below. I swallowed nervously at all the dead foals lying still.

Where are you, where are you, where are you?

I stiffened. There she was. Fluttershy was sticking out of the river, a portion now cracked open and freely flowing. Her arms slapped at the frozen surface, trying to find a grip to pull herself out.

"Hold on Fluttershy, I'm comi- AAGHH!!!"

I shrieked in agony. Something struck me with such force that I felt a sickening crunch. I tumbled forward, spilling off the edge. I fumbled furiously, twisting around so I could dig my fingers into the icy ledge for any purchase at all.

"Finally. I finally got you, Crash." Hoops laughed triumphantly.

I panted. My left wing was dangling uselessly. The bastard broke my wing! I stared up at him in shock, fear, and hatred. He relished it.

"How's this for honor?"





I shivered helplessly. The six colts gathered around the broken ice, ensuring they didn't step on a part ready to send them down, as well. I looked up at them pitifully.

"H-h-help?"

The colts chuckled. Help was far from likely. I whimpered as the closest one grabbed my pack. He yanked me closer, using his knife to saw the straps. I exhaled. I knew I was going to die. I shouldn't have tried.

The boastful cheers from the colts came to a sudden stop. Puzzled, I looked back up. I yelped when I saw the knife sticking out of the eye of the one who held me. I whipped my head to the side. There stood Derpy, paused in a throwing stance, and looking very, very regretful.

The colt's grip went slack, and I splashed back down. My pack, now frightfully unsecured, was tugged free by the current, and disappeared under the ice. I would soon follow it if I didn't get out.

I grabbed the arm of the colt who tried stealing my pack. His pale blue coat was stained by the red stream trickling from his eye. My stomach would have churned in any other circumstance, but at that moment all I could focus on was getting out. I seized hold of him, using his body as an anchor. I somehow dragged myself up, free from the water.

I coughed and shuddered. Derpy just saved me. I hoped so, at least. She never did have a good aim. Maybe she was trying to give me a quick death. Either way, I had to get to her. I had to-

"Oh Luna."

The five remaining colts were not merciful. I tried dragging myself closer. They beat and kicked Derpy with all their might. I think I coarsely screamed at them to stop. I don't know. I don't remember.

All I knew was that they were killing her.





Hoops raised his knife above his head, his eyes gleaming greedily as he went in for the kill. I hastily threw a handful of powdery snow in his face. He groaned in aggravation.

"Save yourself for a few precious seconds, go ahead," He muttered darkly. "But I still have you right where I want- AIIEEE!"

With one long arc, I planted my blade directly on its mark. The knife skewered his wing, nailing it into the side of his ribcage. I spat at the sobbing colt, who collapsed in pain.

"Try that," I grunted. I began to pull myself up. As my weight shifted, I felt a disturbance run through the ice. My eyes widened. "Shit!"

I scrambled to get up before it was too late. I didn't even get one leg up before the entire peak of the cliff snapped clean off under our weight.





I didn't think I could stay awake for long. They had finished Derpy. It must have been my turn, now. I sighed as they came to me. Hopefully I wouldn't be able to feel it.

But before they could reach me, I heard a large, terrifying crash. Little bits of ice were flung at my face, scratching at my skin. The frozen river underneath cracked some more, threatening to separate even further. I examined the mess hesitantly.

A large chunk of ice fell out of the sky, landing on the boys. I looked up in confusion. Where? How?

I crawled closer. I heard groaning. So somepony survived that. I had to run. I clambered to my feet, ready to wander into the snow. As I stepped over the white hunks and splinters, I paused. My jaw dropped at what I saw. How was that possible?

"Oh. There you are, Fluttershy."