"Bravery"
The air became dense and breathing became a chore. Coughing vibrated through the air.
Thunderous roars, the deafening sound of a fire blast piercing the sky.
They were here.
The show had just begun.
Dragons, the true kings of the sky. They were right there, towering above us, reminding us of how insignificant we pegasi were in comparison. We were no longer soldiers of Equestria’s royal legion, but prey.
We expected orders, the commanding voice of our sergeant to tell us our next course of action, how we should proceed. We expected our sergeant, the one supposed to lead us to victory, to have a plan. But the orders never came. Instead, he yelled at us to retreat, his voice as full of fear as we were.
Any hopes of making it out alive vanished that very instant.
My body would barely respond, just enough to move my wings as I stood there shaking and could only watch my entire platoon turn around and flee, leaving me and other two cadets behind. My fight or flight senses kicked in, adrenaline running through my veins. A giant shadow loomed above us and then the world spun around me as I was launched downwards. I was only barely able to halt my fall as another cadet struck by the same blow rushed past. I caught him for a moment, before a green claw rose from the clouds and plucked him from my grasp.
And I hovered helplessly there. There was nothing I could do.
Nothing.
Nothing but watch my comrades struggle in their grasp.
Their screams of help echoed in my head.
I could do nothing but fly away.
Until my body moved on its own, commanded by the only dominating thought in my mind.
No.
But before I could chase after the dragon in a reckless act of heroism, a fast pair of grey hooves flew towards me, tackling me to the ground.
As I was lying there, the first thing I noticed was that the smoke and black skies had cleared out, returning to its peaceful blue.
The second thing I noticed was the numerous pairs of eyes looking at me from above.
A loud and dramatic voice rose from all the whispering, making my already hurting head hurt even more.
“Who dares to interrupt the great and powerful Trixie’s magic show?!”
Ponies don't know what bravery is.
“It's okay Maud, let him go. Flash, Flash! Are you alright?”
It's not their fault of course. The true meaning of the word bravery has become lost in time as those stories of the “pillar of bravery” were passed from generation to generation, until the present, arriving to the current generation that is now surrounding me, curious eyes wondering why I, the pillar of bravery, am lying on the ground shaking like a newborn foal.
“Isn't that Flash Magnus?”
“Mom, why did the soldier try to tackle the great and powerful Trixie off the stage?”
Even with my headache I can still guess what they are saying between whispers, what must be going through their heads. I'm glad the ringing in my ears makes me unable to hear what is going on. I feel small already.
“Everypony please step back, let's give him some space. Oh sweet Celestia, you are shaking a lot, is everything okay?”
“Whats going on in here, why did this lowly pony try to-”
“... I will let you deal with this Starlight”
As I was starting to come to my senses, I managed to recognize one of the unicorns approaching me. Starlight Glimmer. There was concern in her eyes... and pity. I had to break out of that stare. They wouldn't see me like this!
“Gosh he is sweating so much. Hello, anypony home?”
"Ugh!" I coughed. "Ow! My head! You can stop waving your hoof in front of me, I can see you!"
That mission was supposed to be only a rendezvous... Fly over to the other side of the mountains, meet the other battalion, reunite around the campfire and unwind after a long day of flying... None of our previous encounters ever prepared us for what stood between us and our objective. Especially as a cadet.
To fight the enemies of Equestria, whatever race they may be, was hard enough on itself. But standing face to face against fire breathing beasts, the perfect predators of nature that massively dwarfed us, was another. We only heard legends because few were lucky enough to survive an encounter against them. And talking from experience, I can safely say they don't even begin to do them justice.
“Flash! You are back!”
It was almost a miracle that they only got two of us. It was even more of a miracle that the dragons didn't chew my comrades on the spot. I got away, while they didn't. That's a weight I would have to bear on my shoulders for the rest of my career.
“What's gotten into you?”
“Nothing, it's just that… Nevermind, forget about it.”
It didn't matter the fear, or the dread building up inside that I may be signing my entire squad for dead if things went awry. What mattered was that my fellow soldiers would suffer a terrible fate if I didn't act. So despite all that, I pushed through, looked at my sergeant in the eyes, gulped, and went ahead with my plan.
The moment he gave me the shield of Netitus, I knew there was no turning back.
“Trixie´s glad that he is back to Equestria from whatever world he was in but, maybe could you do this somewhere else? He has stolen the spotlight enough from me.”
“Let's take this elsewhere, maybe go for a walk around Ponyville so you can tell me what happened.”
That was true bravery. To do the right thing despite being absolutely terrified and at the brink of panicking. But that came with the price of reliving that moment once again in my own flesh, for years to come even to this day. Everypony else remembers a fabricated tale about false bravery, while I can't hear a loud roaring without remembering what I felt that day.
“Nothing happened, seriously. I have to go now.”
It would be almost ironic or funny if it wasn't so sad. How can I face some of the most lethal creatures Equestria has ever seen, yet I can't even talk to anypony about this. Not even my fellow pillars, who have fought alongside me for countless battles. I could not look anypony in the eye if I did, if only to avoid their shaming, mocking look, as if I had sworn I saw a ghost in one of the castle of friendship´s rooms. It’s not the dragons that haunt me, but the feeling of betraying my own title as the pillar of bravery.
I can't go through that.
“Wait!”
“Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?”
I am not brave.
“Thanks, but it's okay. I am okay. Sorry for causing trouble.”
I am just a coward.