Every nerve on my neck jolted at the touch of Flash’s blade. The sight of the swordstaff’s bloody tip below my chin made me shudder, puffs of white smoke made from my breath. I stood rooted, not sure if I was waiting for death or a way out.
“Nice try,” Flash growled. “Tell me, Changeling, where did you hear that search pattern from?”
I forced my breath to slow down. I’m not dead yet, but definitely on thin ice.
“You’re the one who told me about the pattern in the first place.”
“Liar!” He pressed the blade in. I jumped, eyes wide. “There’s no such search pattern! That is a sloppy lie, even for scum like you.”
“Flash, calm down,” I urged my voice to sound as calm I could manage. “Remember how you talked about developing maneuvers with Sergeant Shine Spark? This was only a week ago.”
Flash paused for a beat. “What are you talking about? Who is Shine Spark?”
What? He’s the one who told me all about Shine Spark and how they worked closely with Shining Armor in the first place! Either he’s even crazier than I thought, or maybe this flashback is somehow messing with his memories. I have to make him remember, or else I’m dead.
“You’ve worked with her when you transferred to the Crystal Empire. There was a mission involving crystal drakes attacking trade routes. Shining Armor found out they hid in a crystalline cavern near the empire and went in with you and Shine Spark.
“The drakes ambushed you all and Shining Armor disappeared in the confusion. You told me how both of you had been at each other’s throats until you worked together to come up with that search pattern. That’s how you learned about it.”
Please try to remember, Flash. I really don’t want my life to be decided by a damn pop quiz.
I almost fainted as the blade shifted.
Flash groaned, a tremble reverberating through his spear. “Ngh, y-you’re trying to trick me! I won’t fall for it!” Flash’s blade trembled almost as much as his voice.
I think it’s working! I have to keep trying!
“Listen to me; something is messing with your memories. Remember how you transferred to Ponyville to protect Twilight from an assassination? You trained me–er, Spike–to help you out. There’s also Sunburst and,” I gulped, “Trojan. You have to remember us and wake up! Don’t do something you know you’re going to regret for the rest of your life!”
Huh. Did the area just get colder, or was it just me?
“Those names. But… n-no, that can’t be… agh! That’s enough!”
“Gah!” I yelped as Flash’s steadied blade bit into my scales enough to draw blood. It scared the world out of me, though I was thankful he didn’t hit any arteries.
“I won’t let you manipulate me like you did with the others! I heard you talking to your buddies! You’re trying to lure me into a trap!”
Oh damn. He sounds ready to kill me any second. Think, Spike, think!
The temperature dropped even further. I shuddered.
Thoughts of the old fable sprung to mind. Talks of blizzards created by windigos when they fed off enough strife and anger. The snow that followed Flash fell harder. Winds picked up in strength. My gut churned from anticipation. Winter was coming.
I can’t wait for him to come to his senses. I need to create an opportunity to slip away and get to Twilight, fast!
“Flash, you need to-ugh!” I gasped and clutched my chest. The blade twitched and agitated my cut.
“Hey, what are you–”
“T-Bolt, this is Dragonfly. Wake up,” I whispered low enough he could only hear me in his mind.
“Huh? Who said that?” The blade moved a few inches away from my neck.
Now!
I turned my head and bit down just below the blade on the swordstaff.
The cold rattled the nerve endings of my teeth as I held with all my strength. My head jerked as Flash tried to yank his blade out. I blew a stream of green dragonfire onto the spear. The weapon glowed in a soft sky blue light. The next second, Flash’s spear disappeared, a small wisp of energy that was once a swordstaff shot out of his grip and zipped towards its destination.
Hope I don’t scare Twilight too much when she gets that Dragon Mail.
Flash yelped as he found himself pulling nothing but air with all his might. By the time his flank touched the ground my next move was already in motion: get the hay out of dodge.
A rush of icy wind swept around me, accompanied by a bone-chilling roar from Flash.
Yep, time to go.
I leapt, rolled through, and maneuvered my way through the forest, driven by pure fear and survival instinct. Flash’s heavy hooffalls trotted far too close for comfort and drew closer every second. My only solace was his rage-addled mind combined with the weaving and winding paths of the trees that prevented him from having a straight path to outpace me on.
That is, until he swooped down at me from the sky.
The sounds of shattered tree trunks saved my life as I threw myself to the side to dodge the explosive dive bomb. I ducked and rolled under his punches as Flash launched himself at me. His hoof shattered a portion of the tree that happened to be behind me at the time. Mental images of what such a blow would do to my skull was plenty motivation to bounce to my feet and sprint away.
Again I used the trees to break line of sight and gain distance. Yet it was never long before Flash dove at me from the sky and continued the chase. Every additional attempt increased with accuracy and force.
He’s just going to keep doing that if I only slip out of his view and run. I need to change tactics, or his next dive is going to kill me.
I paused just long enough to give him a false sense of security and make him fly down at me. Once I judged his distance by shadow and the chill that emanated off him, I pulled a feint and dove for the opposite direction into some bushes. I scurried away in my prowl stance, just in time to avoid a leaping lunge. The area ahead of me was thick with foliage and cover to hide from Flash as I moved soundlessly.
Trees and tall obstacles obscured his vision of me. I moved in sporadic directions and used rocks and twigs as misdirection to keep him guessing. I spied on Flash through tiny slits in the greenery as he lashed at spaces he thought I hid at, muttering angrily to himself. A wild animal jumping at their own shadow.I tore my eyes away in disgust after a minute and kept moving.
...Until a huge boulder crashed right in front of me.
I froze, not daring to move a muscle. My heart nearly burst out my chest as I slowly shifted my gaze to look back.
More Rocks, some times my size, flew through the air and crashed in random areas, each one followed by a slew of curses and death threats from Flash. Some were hurled at poor misguided animals who made the mistake of creating noise.
The distorted voice. The rage. Memories of the day Pinkie Pie was consumed by pathos flickered briefly.
I shook my head and took a few deep, quiet breaths before moving on, ignoring the nauseating sensation that coiled in my stomach.
After minutes of crawling, dashing, and skirting Flash’s view, I finally found the mouth of the forest. Only a few meters away and I was home free. A surge of adrenaline broke through my discipline as I shot onto my feet and sprinted towards the exit. Five meters. Four–
–A white blur crashed into the ground in front of me, the force throwing me back.
Of bucking course he would show up now!
The broken remnants of Flash’s gold armor and torn cloak fell off upon landing. In its place was a thick layer of jagged, pitch black ice coated over his body, throat and legs. Tucked under one of his hooves was solid ice shaped similarly to his swordstaff, obsidian energy crackling within. Magical essence burned off his irises as he glowered with a malicious grin.
I’m so bucked.
My hands rose to guard, ingrained training saving me from a left hook. The world spun around me as I was knocked off my feet and sent tumbling along the ground, only to make a hard stop at the base of a tree. Anguished screams ripped out of my lungs as I gripped my now limp left arm. I squinted an eye at the injury.
Damn that hurt! Hey, why can’t I move my arm? Oh Celestia, is it broken? I need to–oh shit, he’s coming!
I rolled to the side in time to avoid Flash’s spear that skewered the tree I stopped at, bounced to my feet, and used my working arm to draw my Niekinis blade. A surge of adrenaline flooded my veins, and I used that moment of pure focus to review my options.
There was no grace or calculation in Flash’s attacks, only pure murderous intent backed by fury. His predictability and my speed was my only saving grace as I fought for my life, especially since I only had one arm to work with. Every parry and riposte with my blade against the ice spear caused the black energy inside to crackle and pop like an aggravated electrical current. This gave me an idea.
I hopped away to avoid an overhead slam from the staff, and scrambled behind a tree for cover. The next second, wood exploded in my ears as his spear pierced clean through the tree, barely an inch away from my face.
Now’s my chance. Here goes nothing.
I twisted, swung, and pierced the icy exterior and crackling black energy of the spear with my dagger.
It screamed.
The spear vibrated violently, like something inside was trying to get away from the blade. I grit my teeth and pushed my weight against it, preventing it from retreating back through the tree. It began to rapidly warp and lose shape, almost resembling some kind of bizarre black snake rearing back to strike; but then it shattered. I turned my head away from the spray of ice shards, but found that they lacked any real force, as though whatever was behind them had simply vanished. All of what I assumed was the pathos energy dispersed and faded away like ink in water.
“What?!” Flash gasped, just as surprised as I was. My moment of elation died as he growled and bent down to pick something up. I expected him to grab air, only to see another spear forming in his hooves.
Don’t stand there staring like an idiot, run!
Seeing my chance, I slipped the dagger back into its sheath and dashed towards the entrance of the forest.
Too late did I catch Flash at my side.
He grabbed my throat and threw me down on my back, the wind knocked out of me. A cold hoof crushed into my stomach to stop any chance I had to get away again. All I could do was wait for the end as he lifted his spear. A vile grin spread on his muzzle as he drove his spear towards my head.
Only to get crashed into by a sky blue blur with prismatic highlights.
The two disappeared into the depths of the forest. Pained yelps and broken trees echoed further and further away. Once I realized I wasn’t dead, my mind raced.
Those colors. That speed. Was that Rainbow Dash? That means…!
In my stunned state, I hadn’t noticed the lavender grip of magic around me until I was already in mid flight, pulled out of Everfree’s Forest and into purples forehooves.
“Spike! Thank Celestia you’re safe!” Twilight nuzzled my cheek with all her might. Relief and exhaustion crashed into me as I nuzzled back just as fiercely.
“Boy am I glad to see-agh!” My arm reminded me that it was still broken and I almost died. I slumped against Twilight, short on breath and dizzy from exhaustion and pain.
Twilight carefully laid me down on my back. It was from this position I could see the others staring at me with worry: Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie.
“Ah’m gonna help Dash deal with Flash. Ah need the rest of yall to tend to our dragon here,” Applejack rattled off the words as she charged into the forest.
“Me too! Ain’t nopony gonna be mean to my friends! CHARGE!” Pinkie charged after Applejack.
Rarity hurried to the side of my broken arm, her horn already lit up as she cast a healing spell on my arm. Tears formed in her eyes as the injuries I suffered dawned on her. “I’ll get you patched up, darling. Though I must say I am most cross with you. Why didn’t you call on us before going into Everfree? You know how dangerous it is!”
I looked away, sighing as I felt the pain lessen on my arm. “I know. Everything just happened so fast. I just wanted to find Flash.”
Wish I could tell you, Rarity. I really do.
At the mention of Flash, Rarity’s gentle eyes burned with fury. “Speaking of Flash, we saw the spear you sent to Twilight. Did that brute do this to you? When I see him next time, I’m going to–”
“Rarity, now is not the time.” Twilight’s eyes were hard as she looked over my body, then towards the forest. “Applejack and the others should be running back to us any second. We need to deal with Flash before things escalate further. Rarity, please move Spike away from here.”
Relief instantly turned to fear as I realized my friends were about to deal with somepony who had just finished butchering twenty changelings like they were nothing.
“Hold on,” I raised my hand to urge Rarity to stop her magic from moving me as I got to my feet. I was thankful she continued to mend my arm. Though I couldn’t move it, at least the pain was no longer so intense. “You can’t take him on in a fight. He’s too strong. We have to go after the others before it’s too late.”
“I know. Zecora warned me of something similar, so I made sure everypony was aware to play it as safe as possible and draw him out. From the sound of it, I think he’s suffering from PTSD. If that’s what the windigo is feeding off of, calming him down is not going to be easy.”
Twilight’s musing was interrupted by panicked cries that erupted from the forest. Rainbow, Applejack, and Pinkie, all covered with small cuts and bruises, ran towards us. Their eyes were wide, faces pale.
“Okay, I don’t know what’s up with that windigo nonsense, but Flash is definitely messed up!” Rainbow said.
“Yeah, he looks super freaky! And he started shouting that I was a Changeling out to get him! It’s freaking me out!” Pinkie wailed.
“But that ain’t the worst of it. He’s freezin’ up everythang!” Applejack illustrated the point by showing the frosted portions of her stetson. “We gotta do somethin’, Twi. Ain’t a fan of that murderin’ look in his eyes.”
The sky rumbled and cast a shadow over us. It started snowing.
When I looked up, my jaw dropped.
Luna’s moon was covered by a thick, rapidly expanding cloud that stretched over Ponyville. My scales crawled at the malevolent presence that filled the air. The concentration of falling snow was densest over Everfree, ice enveloping the trees and encroached in our direction. Twilight and Rarity shuddered, their affinity for magic likely responding to the dreadful sensation brought on by this magic.
Flash emerged from the now iced-over mouth of Everfree Forest. There were more bruises on his body than I remembered. The ice armor cracked on portions and he had a black eye. His teeth gnashed together with effort as he leaned on the spear for support, his breath coming out in pants.
“I won’t lose to you, bastards!” When his eyes landed on us, we tensed up and got into a combat ready stance, preparing for him to charge at us. Flash staggered as he pointed his spear. “I’m going to save everypony, and not you, or your Celestia-damned queen will… w-will...!”
Whatever anger that had been in him was suppressed by shock and horror. After everything I saw today, I couldn’t fathom what he saw in us that got him spooked. I followed his gaze and found the source of his fears: Twilight.
The wind stopped.
“S… Sunset?”
All eyes turned to Twilight, who stood frozen with surprise.
What in the… how does he know Sunset? Why is he even seeing Sunset in Twilight rather than one of his squadmates?
Twilight swallowed as she took a step forward. Flash took a step back. “Flash, what has happened to you? Why are you doing this?”
Flash shook his head, eyes wide with disbelief. “Why are you here? No, this has to be a trick! But how could they know?” I couldn’t tell if he was talking to Twilight or himself. Everything about his demeanor was frantic.
Twilight took another step forward. Again, Flash stepped back. A bead of sweat rolled down Twilight’s cheek. “Flash, listen to me carefully. I’m not Sunset Shimmer. You are not in Canterlot, and there are no Changelings here.”
I winced at that last one.
A brief light flickered in Flash’s confused gaze. “No! T-this is all wrong! You have to be a Changeling! You are not real!”
Twilight frowned. “I’ll prove that I am real. But I need you to trust me. I will come to you.”
“No!” Flash jerked his spear at Twilight. The wind started up again. “S-Stay back!”
“I’m not sure this is a good idea, darling,” Rarity warned. “It’s quite clear you are not Flash’s favorite hallucination to see at the moment. He could hurt you.”
“Ah say we group up and tackle him. Knock some sense into his fool head,” Applejack said.
Twilight shook her head. “In the stories, windigos fed off violence and hatred. Have you noticed how the weather shifted when he started panicking? Any amount of fighting we do will only feed it and make things worse for all of us. If I can calm him down and get him to wake up, I might be able to force the windigo out of him and deal with it.”
Her eyes set on Flash, determined. “Until I give the signal, do not approach him.”
“I don’t like this plan,” I said. “I might’ve been more confident if he actually recognized you. But for some reason he’s picturing Sunset.”
“That’s why this is going to work. When we first talked about Sunset when he initially arrived, something about the name unsettled him. I have a little theory about that, and that may be the only reason he hasn’t attacked me already.” There was unmistakable confidence in Twilight’s words. Whenever she got like that, I knew she had her mind set. As to what that theory entailed, I had no idea. I could only hope it kept both of them safe.
My eyes flitted between Flash and Twilight, weighing my options. A frontal assault hadn’t worked for the Changelings and I didn’t dare entertain that option with my friends. The approaching snowstorm increased in strength, matching Flash’s panicked state. If Twilight was right, calming him down was the smartest solution. Possibly the only one.
Twilight’s hard eyes told me I was not going to change her mind. At the very least, I could warn her about the nature of the windigo. “The windigo seems to act alongside his hallucinations. Don’t take any chances.”
“I’ll be careful. Thanks Spike.” With a nod, Twilight slowly walked towards Flash.
Please be safe, Twilight.
“I said stay back!” Flash screamed. A sharp gust whipped through us.
“I’m not going to abandon you, Flash,” Twilight said as she stepped forward. This time, Flash didn’t step back. “I understand you’re scared. Angry. Hurt. You’ve been through a lot, haven’t you?”
Flash shook his head. His breath quickened. “I know you’re a changeling. You can’t fool me!”
“If I was a Changeling, I wouldn’t approach you without weapons or backup, would I?”
The spear trembled in his grip. The wind slowed down.
Twilight moved with cautious steps. “Tell me; what do you see right now?”
He hesitated, eyes sweeping his environment. “I… I see fire. Crumbling buildings. C-corpses, both pony and Changeling.”
“Who do we look like to you?”
The wind lessened.
“My old squadmates. And… and you, Sunset Shimmer.”
Twilight stood just before the end of the spear. It took everything in me to not run over there and get her out of the way. The look on everypony’s faces told me the feeling was mutual. I had to strain my hearing to catch their words at this distance.
“Flash, you are suffering a flashback. You are not in Canterlot. You are in Ponyville, just outside Everfree’s Forest. I’m Twilight Sparkle. Back there is Spike, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rainbow Dash. Your friends.”
The gust diminished to a mild breeze.
Flash lowered his spear, staring as if he saw her for the first time. “This… this isn’t real?”
Twilight nodded. “That’s right. Now, take a deep breath. Breathe in.” Her hoof moved to her chest and inhaled. “Breathe out.” She pushed her hoof outward and exhaled.
Recognition flickered in Flash’s eyes as he repeated the notion with his free hoof. Breathe in. Breathe out. Breathe in. Breathe out. Both took synchronized breathes again and again. I stared in amazement at how Twilight handled this.
A flicker of black energy shimmered around Flash. Whatever happened caused Flash’s face to contort in agony. His mouth moved to mutter something, a strong gust of wind muffling his words.
Panicked, Twilight moved forward, speaking too low for me to hear clearly.
Flash lifted his spear and slashed Twilight.
The world crawled by as I watched Twilight’s body get flung to the side, blood flying from her face as she crashed onto the ground
My heart sank. She didn’t move.
“Twilight!”
My eyes blurred from tears as I ran for Twilight. There was movement at the corner of my eye. That was the least of my worries as I collapsed next to Twilight and observed the damage done.
Oh Celestia. There’s so much blood!
A tear of flesh stretched from the base of her cheek, crossed diagonally over her right eye, and stopped just below her horn. The gash was deep. My claw fell on her neck to check for a pulse. It was low, but there was a heartbeat.
Thank the stars! She’s alive!
I forced myself to breathe, gritting my teeth against the powerful winds that blew towards Ponyville. It was so hard to think with all the yelling and cursing going on behind me, but I had to ignore it. Twilight needed me.
I caught the saddlebag on her side and sifted through it. Luck shone through as I found a roll of gauze and a wound cleaning kit. My hand trembled as I started applying the tape, though whether from panic or the sheer drop in temperature, I didn’t know or care at the moment.
Practiced breathing and focus drilled into me thanks to Trojan’s teachings saw to my cleaning and patching of the wound. Twilight needed to see Nurse Redheart as soon as we could, but with only one working arm, I had no way to move her to a safe location. There had to be a way to get Twilight out of the way.
Once I cleaned, disinfected and secured the gauze I looked over my finished work. It was clearly a rush job, but far better than nothing. I cupped Twilight’s cheek and bit back tears. I know Twilight’s hurt, but I did everything I could until we get her to a hospital. I have to help the others and make sure they aren’t killed.
I gasped with a start and jumped to my feet. My attempt to run to help out the others was stunted as harsh winds of the now full-on blizzard threw me back on my knees. Horror gripped my chest as my eyes fell on my surroundings.
A field of white streaked across all of Ponyville, turning the landscape into a winter wonderland. Several pegasi were already in the air, fighting uselessly against the powerful winds. It wasn’t until I looked at Flash and the others did I catch how terrible my tunnel-vision had been.
Flash zipped across the battlefield, dodging Rainbow’s furious dives and strikes and Pinkie’s party cannon attacks. Rarity dropped a hail of magical bolts at him, accompanied by Applejack rushing at him full force.
Though they held their ground, Flash was in a league of his own. When he threw his spear, he waited until it was just about to hit one of them before he moved like a deadly blur, catching the spear mid-flight and striking out with a swift and unorthodox angle of attack. His speed and combat prowess were matched only by the teamwork of the girls, saving each other from a fatal strike to counter and distract Flash to open an opportunity for somepony else to hit him.
Before I could even think to help fight Flash, a fierce gust threw me off balance and face first into a tall layer of snow. Rarity and the others were also buffeted by the blizzard, at the mercy of Flash who threw them around like they were nothing.
I should have been freezing, yet I could only feel heat coil in my stomach and flood my veins.
That son of a bitch hurt Twilight! He almost killed her!
My claw curled into a fist, a puff of smoke escaping my growl.
He also killed all of those Changelings, and almost killed me too! He’s a murderer! I’ll… I’ll kill him! Rip out his fucking throat!
“Spike! What happened?”
My eyes widened, shock and relief overriding the moment of rage. That voice!
I connected the Dragon Whisper link. “Trojan!”
“What the hay is going on? There’s a blizzard that whipped out of nowhere! Everypony’s panicking over here like it’s the end of the world!”
“Flash got possessed by a windigo! The pathos got him, and he’s causing the blizzard!”
“For the love of… Where are you and Flash?”
“At the entrance of the Everfree Forest! Hurry!”
“I’ll be there as soon as I can. Where is Twilight and the others?”
“Flash knocked Twilight unconscious. The others except Fluttershy are fighting Flash.”
“What?! How did all of this happen in just a few hours?”
“Doesn’t matter! Just hurry the hay up before he kills us all!”
“Alright, I’m enroute. Do what you have to do to keep the others alive.”
I released the call and turned my attention back to Flash and the girls. Outside of a few cuts and bruises, I was thankful none of them had been seriously hurt. Their faces were contorted with frustration as they huddled together under the safety of Rarity’s magic barrier to keep from getting blown back.
As for Flash, he leaned into his spear that was embedded into the ground. His body was littered in so many cuts and wounds I was amazed he could still stand. One of his wings was bent in an unnatural position, splayed out uselessly on his side. Despite all of this, his eyes were still ablaze with determination and rage.
“I will not falter! The enemy must die!” Flash’s distorted voice howled through the frosty winds.
The enemy. Enemy this. Enemy that. Flash will probably kill everyone in Equestria while trying to ‘save’ us from Changelings. Damn windigo is going to get us all killed.
A light went off in my head.
That windigo was inside Flash when he killed those Changelings. In fact, it seemed to get stronger by absorbing that white magical essence that came from their corpses. But how did that make sense if the windigos were working with the Changelings?
Fighting. Hatred. Conflict. War. The enemy.
My eyes went wide.
Chrysalis was the one to find this partner. Sometime after that, she sent Trojan to find Twilight through the hive mind link that this partner is capable of monitoring. That means… Chrysalis never wanted to assassinate Twilight. She was trying to warn Twilight about the windigos.
Chrysalis was asking for help!
I pulled out my knife and crawled my way to Flash, forced to squint my eyes to see through the flurry of snow. As the winds increased to almost hurricane levels, I had to pin myself to the ground to keep myself from flying off.
Glancing back at the town, the damage from the blizzard was already escalating. Roofs were getting torn apart. Buildings swayed dangerously. Ponies hung on for dear life to keep from flying off. Weather control pegasi couldn’t keep up with the wind as it continued to pick up strength.
If windigos were truly partners with the Changelings, it wouldn’t have empowered Flash to kill them. This bastard of a partner is probably playing both sides against each other for his own, selfish benefit.
I crawled inch by painful inch as I attempted to close the distance. The sheer cold sapped at my strength and made me shiver uncontrollably. The rushing air made breathing a chore. Though he was on the ground, he seemed so far away.
I can’t get through this. This is impossible.
“Spike….” Flash’s voice, his normal one, echoed in the back of my mind. “I know everything hurts right now. Things look bleak and out of reach. Right now, you’re probably telling yourself this is impossible for you and you want to stop. But look at how far you made it. Look at how close you are to the finish line.”
I forced myself to look up, seeing Flash roar into the sky. The winds picked up even more.
“Every inch you make is one that could save a life. Every inch you refuse to take could end a life. At this very moment, you have the choice to take that inch.”
Forcing myself to breathe, I concentrated on making it to the next inch.
“Focus on your breathing. Take it one move at a time, but don’t let yourself stop. Once you give in to the temptation, it’s all over.”
I couldn’t just lie down and let everything go to Tartarus. I had to remember my training and keep moving forward. With every shift forward, I took in whatever gulp of air I could take in and pushed forward. Just like with the doorstep, I kept myself moving, slugging through the snow and dirt.
“No fear!”
I pulled myself forward.
“Yes I can!"
Another inch forward.
“No fear!”
I felt heat in my chest as adrenaline rushed through me.
“Yes I can!”
My mantra continued with every pull, closing the distance more and more. The more I struggled, the more I shouted. The harsher the winds blew, the harder I pushed. Before I knew it, there was a shadow cast over me that wasn’t there before. I looked up to see Flash stare down on me.
“That chant… only the real Wind Stride would know that chant.”
Another voice came to the forefront of my mind.
“One day, you may be forced to make a choice. Perhaps it is your own life at stake. Perhaps somepony else’s life. But one day, especially knowing now that Elytra is involved, you may very well have to choose who lives and who dies. This isn’t about which you choose. This is about making sure you are ready and able to choose.”
I smiled, despite feeling no happiness in the expression.
Trojan was right all along.
“S-sure thing, Flash. I learned it from you,” I bit back tears. His hoof fell on my shoulder. The winds lowered.
“Wind Stride, I know things are rough, but we have to stay strong and kill the enemy before they kill us. We can’t let them win!”
“You’re right,” I moved closer and slipped my working arm around Flash. I held tight and shut my eyes. “I can’t let the enemy win.”
Flash tensed up to react, but it was too late as I drove my dagger into his barrel.
The wind stopped.