//------------------------------// // The Past Returns // Story: Flash: Redemption // by FlutterTank //------------------------------// Chapter 2 The Past Returns Singing was always a great time for Flash. As a younger colt, he'd always loved to sing on his way to and from flight school. But now, as an adult, Flash's voice, though sounding normal when speaking, had taken on a deep, resonating, baritone quality when he sang. This, accompanied by Fluttershy's sweet, lovely melodies and Pinkie Pie's giggly touch made for a marvelous ensemble. They sounded fantastic and passersby stopped and took a break from their busy shopping to listen and become rapt in the festive tunes the trio sang. Some even sang along, only adding to the spirit and the ever-present aura of the holiday season. At one particular part of their rendition of Bruce Haystein's "Santa Hoovs is Coming to Town," Flash was belting out his wonderful solo with all the passion and soul in his heart, trying to spread cheer to every pony in Ponyville. Then he heard a scream. Flash had never had the misfortune to her Fluttershy scream before. But as he heard the horrible, high-pitched squeal, he knew it could be nobody else. His eyes opened and he turned his head to the source of the terrified shriek. Flying away from Flash were two large, deformed pegasi, one black and the other blood red. But that was where the differences ceased. Their maladies and deformities were all but identical. Scar tissue covered their front sides, a result of an explosive fire, which also left only a few strands of hair for their manes. Their wings, however, were their most shocking feature. Large and leathery, they were like those of bats, caused by the works of serious dark magic. These two figures of evil, who held in their grasps the pony who meant everything to Flash, could be none other than the two nastiest thugs in all of Fillydelphia. Grendel? Vinny? But how? Why? No, no, no, no, no. This can't be happening! "Flash, what are you doing? Go save Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie was yelling in his ear over the gasps, shrieks, and shouts now filling the town square. Her usual cheerful demeanor had been diminished to that of a soldier in combat, serious and angry, barking out orders. "I'll get Rainbow Dash. Now GO!" She accompanied the last word with a buck to Flash's hindquarters, sending him into the air. But he was in too much shock to fly effectively and soon enough, the sinister pair and their hostage had disappeared over the horizon. Flash blacked out at that point and plummeted to the ground. Flash awoke in the middle of a massive wasteland. He heard shouts and screams in his ears. He opened his eyes and two blurry images quickly fused together, creating one horrific scene. Every noise was muffled as if invisible glass walls separated him from the outside world. Before him was a battlefield, strewn with bloodied bodies and charred shrapnel. Flash stood up, slowly, shakily, as he heard a faint zip in his left ear. Then, a mighty explosion went off, throwing a fountain of dirt into the air like a cannon ball in water. The mortar explosion shattered the imaginary walls, making every sound crisp and loud in his ears. The screams of dying stallions, their bodies separated from their legs, flying through the air, falling to the ground in crumpled, broken heaps, rang like a gruesome symphony. A gruff, angry voice from behind him yelled out, "What the hell are you doing? Get up and plant the charge!" Obediently, knowing the command was for him, Flash grabbed a package of primed C4 from the mangled hooves of a fallen comrade and galloped towards a large tower, dented and damaged from combat, but still standing strong. He planted the charge underneath the foundation of the tower, which had been exposed by heavy mortar fire. He dashed back and dove into a nearby trench. He scrambled in the slippery mud, frantically trying to stand back up. He groped with his bleeding hooves for the detonator, blinded by the reddened mud splashing in his face. He felt it, picked it up, and turned back to the building, standing tall and imposing, and impossible barrier to all but Flash himself. He began to pull the trigger on the detonator, but paused when he heard a scream from above his head. It was a familiar scream; Fluttershy's scream. His head jerked up and he saw her, bound to the side of the building. If he blew the charge now, she'd be caught in the collapsing building, crushed by the falling rubble. Then, in his ears an ear-shattering, high pitched blast rang out as the scream of agony, explosions, and gunfire were muffled down, nearly mute. BEAM BEAM BEAM BEAM! Flash looked behind him and saw the commander, who was none other than Soarin from the Wonderbolts. He was screaming at Flash, his eyes wild, taken over by his will to win and survive. Flash turned back and saw Fluttershy, looking as if she were being crucified, weeping with her limbs outstretched on the tower's outer wall. Flash looked back at Soarin, who was still angrily screaming at him, at least until a bullet buzzed through his head. Blood sprayed from where the bullet entered and then gushed from where it left. Soarin's eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed, his white coat stained red and brown, his mouth lolling open, his wings hanging limp at his sides. Flash's sightwas turned to the skies, where he saw a cyan pegasus, fighting against several foes. Her wing was clipped by a heavy bullet and torn from her side. She began to spin, out of control, blood spewing in a spiral around her falling body. Her eyes closed, her blood-stained, multicolored mane whipping at her face as she placed her right hoof across her chest and slammed into the ground with a sickening crunch. He turned his head to the right and saw Pinkie Pie. She was crying and screaming, embracing the remains of a dead friend with her disembodied torso. Flash felt the world collapsing, spinning around him. BEAM BEAM BEAM BEAM! The noise made Flash cringe and cover his ears. When his vision, blurred and warped by the intense sound, came back into focus, he saw before him two large, demonic figures, one black and the other blood red. In between them stood Fluttershy, looking down at Flash, an expression of worry on her face. "Oh my. Are you okay?" she asked with fear and urgency in her voice. "Yes, I think so." Flash looked at the two figures and recognized them immediately. "Vinny! Grendel! Why are you here? What's going on? Get away from Fluttershy!" Fluttershy... Fluttershy! She wasn't strapped to the building. He could blow the charge now! But the detonator was no longer in Flash's possession. "What's the hurry, Flashy dearest?" Fluttershy asked, her compassionate expression and voice suddenly becoming scornful and mocking. The detonator was in her hoof now, and the devious smirk on her face told Flash she didn't plan on activating it. BEAM BEAM BEAM! "What are you doing?" Flash asked weakly, his energy suddenly drained from his body. "I'm just going to hold on to this for a while." Her smug little smile was unnerving. "You don't have anything to worry about anymore, sweetie." She was just as beautiful as always, but her features were darker and more sinister. "Grendel, Vinny, relieve Flashy here of his duties." She promptly turned around and sauntered off into the tower, which was still standing tall against its diminishing enemies. BEAM BEAM BEAM! Grendel and Vinny side-stepped into the center of Flash's view, blocking out Fluttershy as she disappeared into the darkness of the building. They wore smirks similar to Fluttershy's on their mangled, disgusting faces. They raised their assault rifles, the barrels mere inches from Flash's face. There was a bright flash, and then everything faded to white.