Windy spent her days alone at home, Dash rarely visiting since she was often occupied with the Wonderbolts or embarking on adventures with her friends. All Windy had left were memories from her youth—days when she was vibrant and Dash's birth brought immense joy. There was also the memory of Bow promising a forever together, a pledge that turned out to be nothing more than a cruel deception.
A tumultuous mixture of anger, sadness, and a strange sense of relief enveloped Windy. As she ruminated on Bow, she found herself pacing around the house, vocalizing her thoughts. "Why did I have to fall for him? I walked into his trap, everything felt so sudden. I never imagined he was capable of such deceit," she muttered, suppressing the urge to cry.
Windy's hooves ached from the endless circles around the room. In a final effort, she gathered photographs with Bow and meticulously cut out every trace of his presence. Sitting on the sofa, she arranged the severed images on the table. Scissors poised in her wings, she began the painful task of erasing Bow from her visual history. Tears fell onto the photos, transforming the act into a painful journey through a museum of memories she wished to forget.
The images, arranged chronologically, retraced the trajectory of their relationship—from the enchanting beginning to the bitter end. Even the photograph of Rainbow Dash's birth, one of the most precious, was tainted by Bow's presence. Windy struggled to erase him, wanting no reminder, not even in pictures.
In the midst of this emotional turmoil, memories of the day they broke up flooded Windy's mind. As she looked at the photos for the last time, she couldn't escape the flashbacks, and her daily routine consisted of talking to herself and creating scenarios that would cause her less pain.
Windy's Flashback: Broken Promises
"What's going on with you, Bow? You don't talk to me like you used to. I feel like you're avoiding me. You don't even touch me. Did I do something wrong?" Windy's voice quivered on the edge of tears.
Bow remained silent, finishing his coffee with a detached air. Finally, he released a weary breath. "If I tell you, will you finally stop pestering me?"
Windy, taken aback by Bow's response, felt something within her shatter. Throughout their time together, arguments were infrequent, making her sense that this was something more serious.
"What do you mean by pestering?" she asked, bewildered by his words.
"I'm leaving you," Bow declared, offering no elaboration. He seemed uninterested in providing explanations.
"WHAT?! You can't be serious. You have to be joking, right? I'm not in the mood for jokes," Windy pleaded with a strained smile.
"I'm not kidding, and don't call me honey. We're no longer a couple. In fact, I was just about to leave," Bow asserted, heading towards the living room where his suitcases waited. He was moving in with his new mare.
In pursuit, Windy confronted him face to face. Her eyes glistened, struggling to hold back tears. "I don't understand. Why are you leaving me? There has to be a valid reason, right?" she implored.
"I'll tell you why, so you finally leave me alone. The reason I don't want to be with you anymore is that I've been cheating on you all this time. It's been many years since we met, but unlike my other adventures, this was just for fun. While ours seemed serious, you're kind and cute, and I enjoyed every moment with you, but I can't continue like this."
Disbelief swept over Windy. All this time, she had believed she had somehow caused Bow's distant behavior, enough to end their relationship. However, the truth was that he had been deceiving her for years, using their time together as a diversion until he grew bored and sought new mares. The sadness she felt transformed into seething anger, making it difficult to find the right words. A moment of silence lingered until Windy finally expressed her discontent.
"Are you even listening to yourself? You've been cheating on me, and now you act like you care about me? I won't fall for your lies again. We built a beautiful family, raised a daughter together for years, and you throw it away because you can't be with just one mare? How could you sink so low, Bow?"
Bow nonchalantly replied, "I'm sorry this happened, but it had to happen at some point."
"You're sorry? You manipulate me emotionally and claim you're sorry? Let me tell you something. Stay away from Dash. I don't want to see you near her. I can't imagine how she would react to discovering what her father truly is."
"I think that's enou-" Bow attempted to interrupt.
"You have no idea what it means to be in a relationship. You're a tiny stallion in a little bubble of fantasy, thinking you can date any mare as if it's a foal's game."
"Oh Windy-" Bow started to say.
"Don't you 'Windy' me! You played with my feelings, took advantage of me, pretended to love me. You never cared about Dashie; you only cared about other mares. Every time you said we were going to buy something or go out, you were meeting your pathetic lovers."
"I've heard enough," Bow said, grabbing his suitcase and heading out of the house.
As Windy followed him to vent her anger, she unleashed her frustration. "That's right, Bow. Walk away, run away from your problems. Do you know what you are? You're a bacteria, a disease that contaminates and destroys everything it touches. I don't care about you anymore. You are nopony to me. I've explored every corner of Equestria that you can't even imagine. All the pain I endured while pregnant with your foal, you don't know what I'm truly capable of. I'm far beyond you."
Fed up, Bow flew away towards an unknown destination, vowing never to return to Cloudsdale, especially after Windy's words spread among the pegasi who overheard the confrontation. Windy continued to yell with all her might, experiencing a level of anger she had never known before.
"I'M LIKE AN ALICORN IN A PEGASUS CLOAKING. I CAN CAUSE TORNADOES AND TSUNAMIS WITH A SINGLE FLUTTER, LIGHTNING BOLTS SHOOT FROM MY HOOVES!"
Windy sighed, the anger she expelled transforming back into profound sadness.
Lilac, who had been listening, approached Windy and said, "Miss, are you okay?"
"No, I'm not okay. Leave me alone!" Windy ran back home, crying, and locked herself in her house for many hours. Eventually, she curled up in a fetal position, crying for hours.
End of Flashback
Back in the present, Windy finished collecting all the paper fragments, each representing a cut from Bow's presence in her life. She placed them in a bag and tossed it into the trash can.
Feeling hungry after the emotional exertion, primarily from hours of cutting photos, Windy grabbed a few bits from the table on her way to the Ponyville market.
"I have learned in the worst way that betrayals never come from enemies; they always come from those close to you. Maybe with a full stomach, I can feel better," Windy whispered to herself.