Flock moved swiftly through his facility. Clearly not swiftly enough, though. The rainbow-Pegasus spotted him from a high vaulted intersection and descended. Flock did not need to see her. In fact, he could almost not see at all, nor did he need to. Instead, he felt the approach of his dial. It ticked with the same frequency of the spell that had bound him eternally to the material plane, an everlasting reminder of his greatest mistake.
“Hey! You!”
“I have a name,” retorted Flock.
“Yeah,” said Daring Do, landing several meters from Flock. As if she were afraid. Flock immediately felt a slight tingle. He liked when ponies were afraid of him, although it had grown to be a quite rare feeling. “You do have a name, don’t you. One you lied about.”
Flock stopped walking. He turned his head back suddenly to see if Rainbow Dash would jump. She did not even flinch. That was not a good sign.
“So the other one told you,” he said.
“Yeah. That you’re Gxh…Gxd…Al’habane- -”
“Stop trying. You’re wasting my time and looking like an idiot. Or rather more of an idiot than normal.” Flock started walking again.
“You were in the Crystal Library.”
Flock stopped once again and turned. “I built most of that library. Did you know that? No, of course not. Why would you. I’m pretty sure I’ve been redacted from history. Which is fine by me.”
“That day. When I was there. I saw a book. The Hand was in it.”
Flock’s eyes narrowed. “You weren’t meant to see that one. Nopony was.”
“Why?”
“Why? Are you that thick? Look at the mess we’re in right now! That’s what happens when ponies know things they aren’t meant to!” He turned away from her. “I had hoped to solve this cleanly. Without you or any others knowing anything. Although I suppose that if the Hand is destroyed, the whole moronic ordeal becomes moot.” His eye flicked toward her. “It’s your fault, you know.”
“Wait, mine? What the heck?! How?!”
“I don’t know, I’ll figure it out later. And give me that!” He pulled the dial from Rainbow Dash’s chest. “You look like a stallion wearing it in the center, it’s not flattering. Of course you’re already hideous anyway. All those feathers…and colors.”
“Yeah. Colors that are pulling your soy-bacon out of the fire.”
“Only by coincidence,” snapped Flock. “Now go do something pointless that results in as little property damage as possible.”
“I have a question.”
Flock paused. “Not my problem,” he said.
“But it’s one you would know the answer to.”
Flock started walking. “I don’t care. Ask the elderly mare.”
“Well I’m not leaving so deal with it. I’m pretty sure you can’t outfly me.”
“No, but I can turn send you back to Equestria. Without the dial.”
“Yeah right. And then who’s going to use the Spear? Caballeron?”
Flock grumbled, annoyed. “I forgot how annoying having other ponies around was,” he said. Then, more softly. “Silversmith would never have been this obnoxious.”
Rainbow Dash either did not hear him or did not care. “So I was thinking,” she began.
“Don’t. It doesn’t suit you. I’ve eaten sheep with better mental acuity than you.”
“I don’t know what ‘acuity’ means but I would bet you all the bits I have that I have loads of it!” She paused. “If I hadn’t spent them all on cider…”
“My point. Go away.”
“No. No, this is important.” She shoved Flock, turning him around. She then immediately recoiled after feeling just how disgusting his texture was. Still, she met his eyes. This terrified Flock deeply, and he froze.
“The Spear of Extinction. It’s Exmoori, right? As in, one of those Exmoor guys made it.”
“Yes.”
“And the Spear was locked to Commander Hurricane, right? Because it was her spear?”
“It was given to her as a gift. I believe I mentioned that.”
“But that doesn’t make sense, then.” Rainbow Dash’s brow furrowed. “All the legends say that that was the spear Commander Hurricane used to…you know…the last Exmoor pony. And that weird skeleton thing at the gate said it really did have blood on it. So…”
“So what?”
“The Spear was a gift from an Exmoor pony…but Commander Hurricane used it ON an Exmoor pony…”
“The same pony, in fact.”
Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened. “Wh- -what?”
Flock smiled, seeing a chance to cause pain. “The Spear is not complex enough to have been made by the Exmoor matron, the one we saw. It also bears traits not characteristic of the Exmoori that indicate that it was forged by her son, Gigantes.”
“But- -he was supposed to have been one of Commander Hurricane’s elite soldiers, one of her most trusted advisors- -”
“And one who gave this spear to her as a gift. A spear that she later tuned back onto him. Hence its name.”
“Name?”
“Its Exmoori name. ‘Extinction’ is a loose translation. It’s the same word that means ‘doom’ in ‘Hand of Doom’. It means death, dishonor, extinction, termination…and most importantly, it means betrayal.”
Rainbow Dash took a step back. “But that’s not- -she wouldn’t! She can’t!”
“Commander Hurricane predates me, but only slightly. I recall when her legend was young. She was not a nice pony. Quite ruthless.”
“No! You’re lying!”
“Why would I?”
Rainbow Dash shook her head. “But…he was her friend? Right? He had to be, to give her something that epic. But she…she…” She looked up at him. “She…”
“Betrayed him. Perhaps that was how she finally managed to defeat an Exmoori warrior. Because he did not expect the spear to come from behind.”
“NO!” screamed Rainbow Dash. She was panting hard; her body in the shadow-realm was weak. Still, she hardly seemed to notice. “But- -but I’m the Element of Loyalty! And she- -”
“Is your ancestor. She quite clearly did not share your obsession with such a quaint and pointless topic.”
“But…he was her friend…”
Flock turned around and returned to his tasks. “What I cannot comprehend is why you asked in the first place. You had somehow already managed to reason most of it out. What, did you expect me to lie? My advice: be more like her. Everypony is disposable. Each and every one of them.”
“Even Sombra?”
Flock looked at her suddenly. Had he not seen the look in her eyes, he would have struck her. It stopped him, though, and something stirred within him. He had forgotten what it was named.
He gave no reply, and turned away. He could not answer, because he did not know to.