Flurry’s breath came out in pants, her wings beating as hard as they could. Her aunt’s last words rang in her head.
Flurry, get out of here. Find my friends. GO. Flurry shook herself and risked a look over her shoulder. She didn’t see any guards in pursuit, but that didn’t mean they weren’t coming.
She had to find Red. Aunt Twilight had told her about the pegacorn who had chosen to fight with the Equestrians rather than the Anoians because she knew in her heart that it was the right thing to do. She might know what was happening with her mom and her aunt. And she was also probably the only other pony who knew where her other aunts were.
Landing in front of the guardhouse, Flurry folded her wings close to her side and disguised herself as a pegacorn. She trotted inside to little resistance and scanned the doors lining the hallway, trying to figure out which one was Red’s. One of the first ones she saw said Lieutenant Berry, so Flurry decided to try that one. She knocked once and pushed the door open.
A red pegacorn with brown curls and green eyes was sitting behind a desk. She looked up as Flurry entered. Flurry knew that this must be her.
Red’s eyes widened when they saw Flurry, but there was recognition in those intense green eyes, like she’d seen Flurry before. Maybe Red had seen her during that period of time of which Flurry couldn’t remember anything.
“Are you Red?” Flurry asked. Red nodded and stood up.
“I am. And you’re Flurry Heart.” It wasn’t a question. “Did Twilight free you?”
“Yep. And she and my mother just got kidnapped.” Flurry was straight to the point. She couldn’t waste any time.
“What?!” Red looked absolutely shocked. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t her doing.
“Uh, huh. And she sent me to find her friends. So…?”
“Oh. Um, her friends are over at the prison house, freeing everypony.” Red pointed out the window.
“Really? Well, isn’t that just fascinating.”
Flurry and Red jerked their heads to the door. Standing on the threshold was a gray pegacorn with shiny black hair and black eyes. Next to him was a light purple pegacorn with a turquoise bun and light pink eyes. She was very interested in the floor and wouldn’t meet Red’s eyes. Flurry and Red narrowed their eyes in unison.
“You.” Flurry’s snarl dripped venom. It was directed at the gray pegacorn. This was the same pony who had ordered everything. He had kidnapped her and dozens of other innocent ponies and creatures.
Lupines smiled.
“Yes, it’s me. You don’t seem too excited.” His humorous words didn’t match his deathly tone.
“How could you?” Red cried. Flurry realized she was glaring daggers at the other pegacorn. Marylyn shifted her hooves.
“I had to,” she mumbled.
“I trusted you!” Tears filled Red’s eyes and choked her voice. “I told you everything! And this is how you repay me?”
“She did the right thing, and you know that,” snarled Lupines. “You would never have won. I would have figured you out eventually. I already knew there was something suspicious about you. That’s why I had you under such close surveillance.”
“You’re lying,” Red snapped. “You thought there was something suspicious going on, but you had more doubts than you did suspicion. You had me under close surveillance because you couldn’t stand that I might have gotten past you. And you put me in charge because you hoped that I wouldn’t destroy you. You know that if I put my mind to it, I could overthrow you and win this war for the Equestrians as easily as I could breathe. Face it, you’re scared of me. You’re scared of what I might do. And here’s a little tip.” Red approached Lupines without an ounce of fear in her body. “Everything you’re scared I might do… I’m going to do it. Starting with winning this war. And you.” Red whipped around to face Marylyn. The fury in her eyes made Marylyn flinch. “You were scared Lupines would find out your secret. You just want to be on his good side and make sure he never finds out, because if he did, you would be dead before you could say ‘sweet Celestia’. The only reason you betrayed us was to save your stupid flank. You might have cared, but you let your fear get the best of you.” Red stopped for a moment. She was breathing heavily, and her rage was still fresh.
Lupines looked shocked, but he quickly regained his composure. Marylyn looked fearful, and Flurry was just watching the whole ordeal go down. She wished she had some popcorn.
“Now, Red, you made that up. Now you’re a spy and a liar. This is not good. I’m afraid I’ll have to execute you. My, my, this will be fun. And as for the little princess over there in the corner…” A rush of fear flowed over Flurry. “I’m afraid I have no more uses for you. I have much better bargaining chips now.”
Lupines launched himself at Flurry, tackling her to the ground. He was heavy and quickly pinned down all her limbs. Flurry wriggled and squirmed, but it did nothing. Red roared and pushed Lupines off Flurry and shoved him into the wall. She lit her horn and stood in front of Flurry protectively. Flurry scrambled to her feet while Lupines slowly got to his. His sleek black hair was in disarray, and he seemed kind of mad about that. He lit his own horn and shot a blast of pure black magic straight at Red, but it was blocked by Flurry. She made a shield appear in front of the red pegacorn and deflected the blast.
“Impossible!” Lupines roared. “I am the most powerful pegacorn that has ever lived! I have more power than everypony else combined!”
“That’s because you steal the magic of everypony you hate and kill,” Red said matter-of-factly. She blinked and looked shocked, as if she didn’t know where the words she was speaking were coming from.
“Oh, really?” Flurry said in a mocking tone. “Well, have you ever fought a pony born with more power than everypony else? You see, Lupines, here’s the thing.” Flurry stepped in front of Red and lit her horn threateningly and spread her wings. “If you steal the magic, it can always be stolen back.”
“You don’t have enough power to do that to me!” A crazed and insane look entered Lupines’s eyes and he smiled a strange smile. “Not even the two of you together! No pony can! I’m safe! Ha!”
In response to this, Flurry and Red stood next to each other, both of their horns lit and their wings spread. They combined their magic into a magical blast directed right at Lupines’s horn. When the blast met the horn, Lupines’s horn lit up and his magic started being sucked out of him and into an orb of light. Lupines roared again and twisted his head and tried to break the connection. Sweat broke out on Red and Flurry’s foreheads. They were running out of strength. Lupines were right. They couldn’t drain him of his magic.
A new blast of magic joined Flurry and Red’s, and the last bits of Lupines’s magic was sucked out of him. Flurry and Red looked to the side and saw Marylyn, her eyes determined and her horn lit. Lupines screamed in rage but was too weak to do anything. He collapsed onto the floor.
“Wow,” Flurry murmured. “Um… thanks,” she said to Marylyn.
“This doesn’t mean I forgive you.” Red eyed Marylyn, and she winced. “But thanks anyway.”
“Sure thing.” Marylyn turned to the black orb containing Lupines’s magic. “Um… what do we do with this?”
“My aunt Twilight told me about stealing a pony’s magic,” Flurry said. “You either have to take the magic yourself or put it in an artifact of some kind.”
“Here.” Red used her magic to lift her necklace up off her neck and held the pendant in her hoof. “Use this.”
Flurry smiled and blasted the necklace with her magic. The black orb was sucked into it, and the pendant glowed black for a second before dimming. It looked perfectly normal. Red set it on her desk carefully.
“We’ll worry about what to do with it later,” she decided. A moan came from the corner where Lupines lay. He opened his eyes and slowly pushed himself into something like a sitting position. He glanced around and stared at the ponies for a moment too long, as if he was slowly processing what he was seeing. Then he suddenly lunged at Red and fell short by about a foot.
“You!” he shouted. His eyes were bloodshot and wild. “You must… stop… green eyes… future… read… thoughts… too dangerous… must be… killed!” Gathering the last of his strength, he grabbed a spear that had been abandoned outside the door and stabbed at Red with it. But she dodged it easily and leaped to the other side of the room. Flurry Heart and Marylyn backed up until they were in the hall, just outside the door.
“Must be stopped!” Lupines’ head lolled to the side, and he grinned like an insane pony and charged at Red. He managed to stab the base of one of her wings, drawing blood. Red cried out in pain and pushed him away again, knocking the blunt end of the spear into his chin. “Must be killed! Too… dangerous…”
In a final attempt to end Red’s life, Lupines straightened himself as best as he could and threw the spear at Red’s chest, right where her heart would be. Red grabbed the spear a moment before it touched her, whipped it around, and charged at Lupines. Her green eyes were cold with fury. She knocked him down and stabbed him with the spear in his neck.
Lupines tried to speak, but he just gurgled blood. His wings flapped like he was trying to fly, and his hoof twitched. Red stepped back, horrified at what she’d done. The cold light drained from Lupines’s eyes, and he stopped moving.
“Oh, my,” Marylyn muttered.
“That’s the mild way of saying it,” Flurry said wryly.
“I… I killed him,” Red mumbled, staring at Lupines’s motionless body as if it would suddenly come back to life. “I can’t believe I did that…”
“He was trying to kill you,” Marylyn pointed out. “It was your life or his. And he probably would have died soon anyway.”
“What was he trying to say?” Red asked, nudging one of the gray pegacorn’s sprawled-out limbs tentatively. “Something about green eyes and the future…”
Marylyn shrugged. “Beats me.”
Flurry was silent. She was thinking about a possibility, but this theory needed confirmation.”
“Red,” she said slowly, “what am I thinking?”
“You’re thinking you know what Lupines was talking about,” Red said automatically. She stopped. “Wait… Where did that come from?”
“What’ll happen to Aunt Twilight and my mom?” Flurry pushed on.
“They’re currently at the guardhouse, but Twilight’s friends are gonna take on the guards and free them. They’re going to be here in about fifteen minutes looking for you.” Red’s large, green eyes blinked in shock. “How do I know that?”
“Because you can read minds,” Flurry said, “and see the future.”