The Wings Have Eyes

by Prophet Of Doom

Chapter 5: In The Mountains

Fluttershy was struggling to keep up with Rainbow Dash, who was essentially jumping from peak to peak of the many mountains and tall hills that surrounded Three Feathers Rise. Reaching another peak, Dash once again bellowed out Glare Wing's name.

"Dash, I pretty sure that Glare Wing won't respond to his name. I mean he must have heard it been called by the townsfolk and..."

"Well, he must be deeper in the mountains. C'mon," Dash Beckoned her to follow and took off. Fluttershy Sighed and followed. Unaware to both of them, Swiftsure was catching up to them from behind.

Leading the way, Dash flew between two of the taller peaks and headlong into a low cloud. Fluttershy followed and immediately regretted it. She couldn't see a thing. Her vision was less than five paces. "Dash!?!"

"This way, Fluttershy!" came Dash's echoed response. Fluttershy flew to where she thought the voice was coming from and angled towards it. This, however, put her in a current of strong wind that buffeted her about as if she were a leaf. She flailed about in a mini panic, as she tried to break free. Diving straight down to get out of it, she didn't see Swiftsure ride the winds and overtake her. She, in turn, didn't see Fluttershy and flew on.

Fluttershy had almost gotten clear from the current when one last mighty gust threw her hard into a cliff face. Pain emanated from her left wing and she started spiraling down to the ground. Her landing on loose gravel was rough and undignified but she rolled out the worse of it. Coming to halt on her belly, "Ouch."

Getting to her hooves, Fluttershy checked her new surroundings. The low cloud almost blotted out the sun and was just touching the ground, giving everything a dark, foreboding visage. At least to Fluttershy. "Oh dear, this is not a good place to get trapped," -She glanced anxiously- "With not being able to see the jagged rocks, deep ravines, hidden cliff edges, possible landslides and all mana of nasty..."

She stopped herself, taking in a deep breath and reminding herself that Rainbow Dash could still be nearby. She looked to the sky and called out for her in her meek way. Unsurprisingly, there was no response. With this, she filled up her lungs and tried again, "Help!" This call, however barely echoed once in the valley she was in.

"A pony!"

The voice was coming from behind. Just down the valley, in the low cloud."Erm, hello," Fluttershy called.

"It ssssounds like a pony!"

Fluttershy strained to see where the voice was coming from, "Hello! Can you help me?"

"Oh, it is a pony-y-y. And it seems to be-e-e in trouble. How unfortunate."

A second voice. This one was sounded like it belonged to a sheep. It was soon followed by a third, far more growly voice, "Then we should Help her then."
A silhouette appeared in the low cloud, filling Fluttershy with hope but as it came into view, fear gripped her. It was a chimera, a young adult with three menacing heads of a tiger, a goat, and a snake. All staring at her with a mixed look of surprise and ill-intent.

Fluttershy tried to unfold her wings but the left one was painful to move, making her wince. This did not go unnoticed by the head of a tiger, "Ohh, is the little pony hurt?".

The goat head giggled, "Unable to fly-y-y, I think."

"Um, yes, kinda," Fluttershy responded, trying to exclude confidence. Wich, the chimera wasn't buying. "Um, could you be kind enough to tell me how to get back to town?"

The heads looked at each other before returning their gaze to her. The tiger chuckled, "Why we would love to show you the way but first, we would be remised if we didn't invite you," -it licked its lips- "To dinner."

Fluttershy started to back up but the beast kept pace. She almost jumped when she backed into a small boulder. She attempted to regain her composure, "Oh, that's alright. I'm not really hungry."

"Oh, but we inssssssist you join us." the snake hissed. They collectively chuckled and licked their lips, toying with her. Fluttershy continued to back up with the chimera drawing closer.

Bump. She backed up into something again but this was no rock. It was soft and had some give to. Fluttershy twirled her head around and locked eyes with a griffon. Glare Wing.

Fluttershy almost turned white. He was just as intimidating as before, despite his complete lack of menacing action or any action for that matter. His eyes, in particular, were not filled with any sort of malice or emotion but they seemed to peer straight into her soul. Fluttershy felt very small in his shadow.

"A griffon!" The goat cursed under its breath. The three heads growled at the newcomer.

"Move along my friend, if you know what is best for you," the tiger demanded, as Glare Wing Raised his eyes to meet theirs. "We will not share our meat with you!"

Glare Wing narrowed his eyes and donned the defensive pose that Jagged Claw had demonstrated to Fluttershy earlier. He unfolded his mighty wings and stretched them out wide. For a moment, Fluttershy the two black dots on the underside of his wings. They were circular and benign, and not at all scary but in an instant, they changed to a sharp oval. And with the upward curve of his wings gave them the look of a pair of threatening eyes of a large predator.

Fluttershy couldn't stand to look at it a second longer and hunkered down low to the ground, covering her face with her hooves. However, the incomprehensible ramblings coming from the chimera drew her intention. Its three heads were all in a state of panic and confusion. Thier eyes were glazed over, indicating the presence of a hex.

Glare Wing slowly took a step forward beside Fluttershy with his wings still outstretched. The chimera took one step back. He took a couple more steps forward. The chimera matched his movements. Then he dashed forward three paces, causing the beast to jolt back and tripping over himself. Now fully panicked, the chimera turned tail and ran into the gloom.

It was not until he could no longer hear the beast that Glare Wing folded up his wings and turned to Fluttershy, who was getting back to her hooves. She breathed a sigh of relief, "Thank you ever so much for saving me." Glare Wing acknowledged this with a nod.

Fluttershy rubbed her hoof, trying to think of what to say, "It's...It's Glare Wing, isn't it?" The griffon was surprised that Fluttershy knew his name. "I've just come from Three Feathers Rise," She explained. "And I learned of what happened a couple of years ago."

A wave of shame washed across Glare Wing's face as his bitter past was brought up. This caused Fluttershy to clam up somewhat, seeing her words inflict pain.

"I can't go back."

It was Fluttershy's turn to be surprised. She was expecting his voice to be strong and prideful, or deep and intimidating. Glare Wing's was low, raspy and laced with pain. "I just can't." -He turned around and started walking- "Come. I'll guide you back to town."

Fluttershy, still frown off by his voice, watched him walk away. She quickly followed him, not wishing to be left alone in this place. Slotting in behind him, she pondered how to approach the thorny subject of ending Glare Wing's exile.