Flare of Hope

It had been quite a few hours since the two alicorns had escaped the two assassins, and took off through the frozen tundra around Manechorage. They had a long way to go to Ponyville, and they had been running the whole time, which left the two of them extremely tired. This was the furthest Flare had ever walked in his life, and Star wasn't exactly too keen on walking either.

The weather had taken a turn for the worse, as the pleasant snowfall had turned into a full fledged snow storm. After a what seemed like days of fighting the blistering winds and harsh cold, the storm finally let up, much to the relief of the two alicorns. However, good things don't come free, and the couple realized this, as the silence was stained by the sound of flapping wings.

Flare turned his head, in search of the source of the sound only to find five heavily armored pegasi with coats as black as the night, their armor shining against the light of the moon, which had surprisingly not set, even after what seemed like days of traveling. The choice had to be made. Run, or fight. Both of them were exhausted, but they could easily fight off this small group. But if any survived, they'd be back with an army. If they ran, there was a chance that they'd get away, but if they made it to a settlement, there was a chance the enemy would come back and burn it to the ground, regardless of whether or not they were still holed up there. Every possible outcome raced through Flare's mind, not one of them sounding appealing in the slightest, but the moment finally came. A choice had to be made. "Star... Keep moving ahead. I'll catch up to you."

"Flare... No, I ca-"

"Don't think about it. Just run."

"Flare..."

"Go!" Without a warning, Flare lifted his wife with his magic, and carried her into the distance, setting her down a good distance from him.

Star started back for Flare, only to hear his voice call to her in the distance.

"Run! I promise I'll find you! Just run!" And she did, rather hesitantly, looking back from time to time, in hopes of seeing Flare running up behind her with a patch of singed fur and a witty remark, but he didn't.

Meanwhile, Flare was having a bit of a rough time in his tired state. Facing multiple opponents with his focus greatly hindered, he would dodge one attack, only to be hit by another. He knew they wouldn't kill him, even if they could, but he'd rather die than be captured. He had a promise to keep, and by the heavens, he was going to keep it. He looked to his left, and spotted one of the pegasi charging at him, the blades on the tips of its wings glinting in the moonlight. He hopped back, only to feel the cold sting of another set of blades cutting his right side from back to front, as another pegasus flew past him from behind. He staggered, feeling his energy fade. He looked at the pegasi that had now surrounded him. His vision began to fade, and he suddenly remembered a lesson that he had been taught by the mare that was now his wife.

His mind raced with the possibilities that now lay before him, knowing that he was surrounded by a massive source of energy. A source that he had drawn from in the past, but not in this world. Before, he used this source to simply keep himself from tiring out, but since the abundance of energy around him was almost tenfold, he had no limits on himself.

He only required a short amount of time to begin tapping the energy of the natural surroundings under his hooves, drawing life energy from the grass below, from the surrounding trees, from the very world, itself. He opened his eyes, blue flames crackling from the corners of his vision, as the pegasi began their charge again. He stood perfectly still, as the pegasi drew near, the blades on their wings tearing through the illusion he had left behind. The assailants hovered, puzzled as to what had just happened, up until a brilliant streak of silver and aqua slammed into one of them, hurling the pegasus a decent distance before it landed, sliding through the snow, and leaving behind a smear of black in its trail, contrasting the soft white. The other four attackers looked around, searching for what had struck down their comrade. They formed a perfect square, each facing outward to keep a lookout, as they backed into each other. However, even with their tactics, they were unprepared for what came next.

Unseen by the outward facing attackers, the same streak of silver and aqua shot straight down from above, creating a shockwave which was followed by a wave of white hot flame, as the speeding mass hit the ground, sending the two that weren't reduced to ashes flying. The survivors of the blast hit the ground, and slid.

After a few seconds, they barely regained their composure, rising to their hooves. The first to rise stood frozen in awe, as a being of pure aqua-colored flame trotted near, its outstretched wings blazing brilliantly, as its eyes shone a pure silver. The pegasus felt something burning deep inside its body, growing more intense as the being drew nearer. He felt his stomach contents beginning to boil until he couldn't hold it in any longer, spewing a bubbling pool of bile into the snow before him. The fire inside him continued to burn ever hotter, his blood itself boiling, as he looked into the silver eyes of the blazing stallion. All at once, he felt the fire inside expand, causing his body to be torn to pieces by the resulting explosion.

Soon after, the squad's token mare had finally got herself to her hooves just in time to find herself staring down the smoking barrel of the same stallion-shaped inferno that had just destroyed her comrade. She backed away, shaking in fear, as the mass of flame approached her slowly, each hoofstep melting the snow beneath it, and instantly turning the melted snow into steam. She found continued backward until her hoof caught a stump, and sent her tumbling backward. She looked up just in time to feel her bladder release itself in fear, as she saw a circle of white hot flame form around the trotting inferno's horn. Before she even had the chance to make her peace with her gods, Flare released the massive amount of energy in the form of a stream of flame hot enough to melt even the mare's bones. Satisfied that he had eliminated all of the attackers, he continued on in the cold, the flames around his body slowly dispersing, leaving behind his beaten and bloodied silver coat, as he trotted in the direction that he had sent his wife, praying that she had found refuge.