(I hope you like it @Echolake!)

Echolake shivered as she felt cold air blowing from the north. It was a good thing that they were migrating now, if they hadn’t, they could have gotten trapped in a snowstorm.

Her friends walked beside her, Woodwind, Twistflight, and Caita. They had bonded together because of a common threat, bullying. Both Echolake and Twistflight had been bullied, but Woodwind and Caita had helped stand up for them.

They were walking through a dense forest now, and the air was dry. They set up camp for the night and began sharing stories.

While Woodwind shared a scary story, Echolake raised her head, thinking she smelled smoke. After a while, she lowered her head, confident that the smoke was no problem her friends couldn’t handle. She had no idea how wrong she was...

~

Farther away, a fire raged. Sparks were being carried by the wind and igniting nearby trees and bushes.

The fire was being carried closer and closer to Echolake and her friends...

~

It was nearly night time, almost time to go to sleep. Echolake yawned, tired from the long migration walk.

Woodwind began telling a new story, but stopped and lifted his head up sharply. “Smoke.” He warned. “There must be a fire.”

Echolake stepped closer to her friends, grateful for their comfort and security.

“The smoke is coming from that direction.” Twistflight pointed behind them. “We should better keep moving.”

Tired, the four friends continued to move. They were aware of the rising heat behind them and sped up.

“Shouldn’t we just fly?” Echolake nickered as she nearly tripped over a log. “We would be able to go much faster.”

Caita snorted. “If you don’t want to be able to breathe, sure. You wouldn’t be able to breathe through all that smoke.”

Echolake looked up and realized that Caita was right. She couldn’t see the moon through all the smoke in the air.

Woodwind tripped over a bush and fell over. The three friends quickly got him back on his hooves, but the damage was done. Echolake could see the flames behind them clearly. She began to sweat from the heat.

The sparks from the fire ignited the nearby trees and bushes. “Hurry!” Caita screamed as she jumped through the gap in the flames.

Twistflight jumped through next, followed by Echolake, but as Woodwind was about to jump, a flaming tree fell in his way.

“Woodwind!” Echolake screamed, tears in her eyes. It was too late. The flames and smoke obscured Woodwind, and she couldn’t see him anymore.

~

Echolake cried to herself as they finally arrived at the nearby ocean. “Woodwind!” She sobbed, trembling, thinking of her friends bravery.

“It was a pleasure to burn.” Caita whispered, remembering the story Woodwind had started before they had to run away from the fire. “It was a pleasure to see things eaten, to see things blackened and changed*”

“What nonsense.” Echolake sniffled. “It is not a pleasure to see anything burn.”

Twistflight looked down at his hooves, obviously missing his friend. “He was brave.” He nickered. “Even in the face of doom.”

“Are you talking about me?” Some voice nickered, carried on the wind. “I am still here.”

“Woodwind?” Echolake gasped, crying in relief to see the pegasus stepping out of the trees.

“Yes.” Woodwind nickered, throwing his wings around his friends. “I was able to find a stream, and I waited out the fire.” Woodwind’s green wings were stained black with soot and ash.

“I thought you were gone!” Caita sniffled. “I thought you were dead.”

“Good thing I am not.” Woodwind snorted, still hugging his friends. “It is only when I thought that I would lose you that I realized how much you all matter to me.”

~

A year later...

Echolake flew, side by side with her friends as they migrated to warmer weather. When she looked down between her hooves, she could still see the damage the fire had caused.

However, the presence of new life warmed her. The wildflowers, and the green stubs, just starting to grow back.

“I know that I can do anything with my friends at my side.” She nickered to the wind.

*Excerpt from Fahrenheit 451