//------------------------------//
// Commencement 
// Story: Flash: Redemption 
// by FlutterTank 
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Chapter 5


Commencement


"Okay, let me get this straight," the purple unicorn asked as books and supplies were snagged off shelves by the violet energy emitting from her horn. They all funneled down into a pair of saddlebags that rested on her back, while Twilight's reduction spell helped her fit more into each bag. "Fluttershy's been kidnapped by your spiteful father, who is the head of an omnipotent mob in Fillydelphia, and who also wants you dead. So, we're going to deploy a massive heist to get Fluttershy back and, in the process, secure enough evidence on your father's operation to get him and the whole mob sent to prison."

Flash, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash sat there in awe as the door closed behind them. They had only just walked in to find Twilight frantically packing away supplies for a very long trip.

"Umm... yeah," Flash said, still in shock, "How did you kno-"

"Mind reading spell. I don't normally use it, but I sensed a lot of stress from the three of you as you came towards the library, so I poked around a bit." Twilight looked back at them and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry," she said.

"That's fine. I don't mind at all," Flash responded, brushing off her invasion of his privacy. "I mean, if it gets us packed and gone faster, I have no objections."

"Well that's good. I'm almost ready now. Just a few more things I need to pack." A quill and corked bottle of ink, wrapped in a purple halo, shrunk and glided lightly into the bag, resting on top of the stacks of hundreds of miniature books as the flaps to the saddlebags snapped shut. "Alright, that should be good," she said with finality. "Let's get going then."

"Well alright, then. Let's go," Flash said, just now realizing Pinkie had been yammering about something or another the whole time they'd been there.

"- and I said oatmeal? Are you crazy?" She finished her joke to Rainbow Dash, who burst out laughing, only to look over at Twilight and Flash. An awkward silence ensued, broken suddenly by the shameless, young earth pony. "Well alright, everypony!" she said with a wild jump and a foolish grin, "Let's go!"

"I literally just said that," he muttered under his breath.

"What's that, Flash?" Twilight inquired.

"Nothing, I was just agreeing with Pinkie. Let's get a move on!"

Upon stepping outside, Flash wrapped Pinkie Pie in his hooves and flapped his wings until he got himself to a decent height. Rainbow Dash took off as well, taking time to show off in her typical style with a few loops and a nose-dive.

Well, at least that means her mind is off of our predicament. Let's hope it stays that way.

Twilight then wrapped herself in the violet light emanating from her horn and lifted herself into the air. With a collective glance and nod from three ponies, and a rather vigorous nod from the fourth, they took off, heading for Fillydelphia.


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So began their mission. They flew through the night, stopping shortly for rest every now and again, and even then Flash was hurrying them along to get airborne again. Their only sources of light were the pale sheet Luna's moon spread over the land below them, and the radiant glow from Twilight's horn as she levitated herself through the freezing night air. Flash had Pinkie Pie wrapped tightly in his numbed hooves, her shivering making it difficult for him to keep his grip. He felt his wings begin to ice over and looked to his left, only to see a similar glistening sheath around Rainbow Dash's feathers. Flying was becoming very difficult for Flash, especially with the cumbersome weight of an additional pony beneath him. So, he made a simple request.

"Twilight, hit our wings real quick, please," he called out.

"Sure thing," came her response through chattering teeth.

Flash felt a sudden burst of warmth in his wings. He flapped once, hard, and quickly ruffled his feathers to break loose the frozen remnants. He gave another hard flap and felt, with satisfaction, the biting air billowing under his wings, giving him a good ten feet of lift. Gliding back down to his previous altitude, he began to feel his hooves and face pulsing with the magical warmth as well.

"No, Twilight," he said sternly, "save that for Pinkie and Dash. They need it the most. I'll be fine." In actuality, Flash was anything but fine. His nose, hooves, and ears, underneath their frozen coat, had become a sickly purple color and stung like spurs digging in each time he shifted them around. Every breath he took in was sheer agony on his throat and lungs. To put things frankly, he was freezing his flanks off. But the pain kept Flash focused, concentrated on his objective. While the other ponies wore expressions of fatigue and misery, his was one of sheer, unwavering determination. His eyes were constantly turned forward, looking towards his only purpose.

After a few hours, the four ponies encountered a light snowstorm, which Rainbow Dash indicated as the blizzard that was supposed to hit Ponyville the following night. Flash was grateful the weather decided to remain mild for their trip. Even a snow this light was enough to bring down even a somewhat experienced flier. Had Flash and Rainbow Dash not been as great at flying as they were, the group would have certainly had to camp for the night. But had this been a blizzard, there would be no flying whatsoever. To fly through a blizzard, even for an experienced weather pony like Rainbow Dash, would be like skiing off of a cliff while wearing stilts; it meant certain death. A less-skilled flier would be thrown by the winds and disoriented by the white-out conditions until they couldn't tell up from down. Chances were that, from there, the unfortunate pegasus would careen into a tree or a cliff-side, breaking several bones and leaving them stranded in the wild, provided they didn't snap their neck and die upon impact. If there was one thing you learned at flight school, it was to never fly in a blizzard.

After several more hours of grueling flight and many more defrosting blasts from Twilight's invaluable horn, as a trace of orange sunlight was visible on the horizon, the four battered companions came upon the city limits of Fillydelphia. They followed Flash to the run-down foreclosure home that once belonged to his close friend and quickly made their inside. Twilight used her magic to hastily start a fire in the filthy fireplace and the three fillies gathered around it, soaking up every drop of the glorious warmth. They quickly fell asleep, while Flash, after thawing out and tending to his frost-bitten hooves and face, sneaked out the front door of the house. While Celestia's sun rose from the depths of the ocean to cast its magnificent, warming rays on the cold, desolate cityscape, the lone shadow of a young stallion pegasus swept through the sky on a mission of reconnaissance.