Shining Armour stood up at the head table at the royal wedding reception inside the hall of the Canterlot Castle. As the best stallion, he had a speech to give. He stood above the three others at the head table. The prince of the Crystal Empire and captain of the empire's guard had his new brother-in-law to his right. Beside the groom was the bride, Twilight Sparkle. Finally, beside the bride was Shining Armour's own wife, Princess Cadence, the best mare.
Twilight Sparkle looked up at her brother as the stallion looked around at the guests, who were all talking and enjoying themselves. She knew exactly how happy he was for her. The entire day Shining Armour had been a little more emotional than usual. He was sentimental towards losing his little sister, but he was mostly proud of her. So were her five closest friends, Spike, and her beloved parents, who were all sitting at the circular table just to the right of the head table. The parents and brother of the bride all shed a tear or two at the wedding that happened a few hours prior.
The stallion unicorn held his wine glass up via telekinesis and cleared his throat to speak. Flash Sentry clinked his glass with his spoon to quiet down the attendees, who were made up of old friends, family, and members of both the Canterlot and Crystal Empire's forces. The crowd quieted down, and Shining Armour began to speak.
"Today is a day that I was both excited and nervous about for a long time," the unicorn prince started. "It was a day I looked forward to. It was also, in ways, a day I feared greatly. 'Why?' you may ask. Well, the reason why is that I was worried that I would be losing my beloved little sister, Twilight Sparkle." Shining pointed his hoof to his little sister, who was blushing and shying away from all of the smiling faces in the crowd.
"I knew from the moment Twilight was born that she'd be destined for greatness," Shining Armour continued. "And she never disappointed me. Not for one day."
Shining looked out at the crowd once again. The day was a very emotional one for everypony, actually. And it showed. Some of the mares had cried tears of happiness at one point or another during the wedding. It was also a day that many feared would not have come with the events that took place two weeks prior, so the relief that it all went smoothly was comforting for all in attendance.
Shining looked over to his sister once again, continuing, "Twily, I am so proud of you. I really mean it. I know I haven't been the best brother at times, like the time when I didn't tell you I was getting married myself." Twilight squinted her eyes and nodded her head in agreement with a smile, which caused a few chuckles in the audience. "But there's one thing that has never changed or faded: my love for you. I've always loved you and wanted the best for you. You're the smartest, kindest, bravest, wisest, most caring pony I've ever known."
"Excuse me?" Cadence asked jokingly from across the table, causing more laughs in the audience.
Shining grinned and winked back. "Okay, the second kindest and most caring pony I've ever known," he said, looking at his wife, who seemed to have a look of approval. "But you definitely are the bravest, smartest, and wisest pony I've ever known. Sorry, dear."
Cadence couldn't disagree with that statement, though. Everypony knew of Twilight's intelligence and how brave she was. It's what got the new princess this far in life.
Shining once again looked at his little sister, continuing, "And I've probably never told you this before, but you're really beautiful, and it shows today."
Twilight blushed once again at the compliment. Flash put his hoof around her shoulders to distract her from the embarrassment. Nopony could deny the bride's beauty on this day. Rarity had really outdone herself for this wedding. The unicorn made Twilight the most beautiful white dress she could come up with, crafted from only the best silk and lace imaginable. The fashionable mare also styled the princess' mane upwards, which was a new look, and it was a good one.
The best stallion continued, "I've always wanted the best for you. I always wanted to help you achieve your dreams and make you happy. But that never happened." Twilight moved her head and raised an eyebrow with intrigue. "No. Instead, you achieved your own wildest dreams all on your own. You found happiness all by yourself. And because you were happy, you've made me happy. Along the way, you've not only saved my life, but you've saved the lives of everypony in one way or another. That's why I am so proud of you."
Shining looked out to the crowd. He could see every mare in the audience getting teary eyed. "What? What happened? What's with all the liquid pride?" he asked as he saw a few mares wiping their tears. His question caused a few laughs and lightened the mood.
The groom shook his head with a chuckle at his best stallion's speech so far. It was far more sentimental than Flash imagined it to be. But the pegasus' face turned from a grin to straight as Shining turned his face towards him.
"And now, on to the groom. Flash... Flash Sentry... Where to begin?" Shining said, creating a few more chuckles from the audience. "Um. You're a great guy, and good luck with the marriage!" he said with a swing of his hoof and then sat down. Flash looked to his best stallion with a peculiar look, almost as if asking, 'Are you serious?'
Shining picked himself back up. "No, no. I have a lot more to say about this great stallion. Flash Sentry, I think that my Twily will make you the happiest stallion on earth."
"She already has," Flash said, then kissing his bride on the cheek.
Shining continued, "Yes, well, she will never fail to do so. I remember one time when Twilight was a filly, playing dress-up in her room, saying that she dreamed of being a princess one day. I told Twily that her dream was ridiculous, which made her cry and got me grounded for the weekend." Everypony let out a laugh after that. "But what's funny now is that I was the ridiculous one. Twilight achieved her dream, all the while making the dreams of her friends and family come true."
He looked back down to Flash Sentry. "I may have been hard on you from time to time, Flash. I know that I may have confused you at times, and I may have made you feel uncomfortable. But I did all of that for Twilight. I wanted to make sure that she chose a stallion who she truly deserves. And when I say that you deserve Twilight, that is the greatest compliment I am capable of giving. Flash, you're a great stallion, and I am proud to call you my brother."
Flash Sentry couldn't hold back. He actually had a teardrop fall. Those kind words meant the world to him. He got up and hugged his new brother-in-law, causing a few more squees from the audience.
As Sentry sat back down, Shining Armour continued speaking. "As I said, I always wanted the best for my Twily. I wanted her to find a stallion who would stick up for her when she was in danger, who'd protect her when she was scared, who'd comfort her when she was sad, and who'd put up with her know-it-all-ness when she would get into an argument. Flash, you're a goof and a cheeseball, but I do not doubt for one second that you will be a great husband."
Shining looked over to the family table for the bride. Twilight's five closest pony friends, her parents, and even Spike were choking up. "Guys, come on. This isn't a funeral," he said to lighten the mood again. "Okay. I'm done with all this sappy talk. Anypony want to hear a fun story?"
Different shouts of "Yeah!" and "Yes!" were sounded from the audience, and everypony looked up with intrigue as Shining began to talk.
"Well, this is the story of Flash Sentry's bachelor party. And boy, it's a doozy. Well, not really."
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Flash Sentry whistled a happy tune as he trotted down the hallways of the castle in Canterlot. This day was different. This day was something special. It was the blue-maned pegasus' first day as being the captain of Canterlot Royal Guard. From this day forward everything would be different. He no longer had to take orders from his future brother-in-law. Now Flash Sentry would be the one giving the orders.
The promotion came as a shock to everypony. A week earlier Shining Armour introduced Flash Sentry as the new captain in front of the entire force. It was met with mixed reaction by the other members, but that wasn't a massive surprise to the new captain. He didn't care too much. After all, he was now on top of the world.
As the new captain wandered the hallways of his new domain, he received salutes from passing guards.
"Mornin', gentlecolts," he said with a tip of his helmet to his new subordinates. It would definitely take getting used to.
Flash Sentry made his way to his old barracks. He trotted over to the locker room in the basement that he used to share with plenty of other guards. Two in particular always gave Flash Sentry a hard time when he would work with them. Sentinel and Optimus, who were both seasoned veterans on the force, would usually give the newbies a hard time. As one of those newbies, Flash Sentry wasn't excused from the hazing.
Flash made his way closer to the locker room. He could hear a few voices coming from inside the open door as he was about five metres away from the room. He stopped in his tracks to listen to the conversations going on.
After a few seconds of guy talk, the conversation then turned sour.
"All right, gents, today's going to be very different," Flash could hear Optimus say.
"Oh yeah, I forgot," Sentinel replied. "Today's the day that Flash Sentry takes over as captain. Celestia help us all!"
"Hey, come on, guys," said another stallion whose voice Flash did not recognise. "If Shining Armour thinks he'll be good, let's just give him a chance."
"I don't know, Starscream," Sentinel said. "I mean, don't you think it's a little fishy that Flash Sentry gets named captain after he proposes to the former captain's sister? I mean, come on! She's also a princess! That dude is so lucky it's ridiculous."
"Listen, guys, just give him a chance," said another voice in defense. "Maybe the reason why neither of you two were chosen as captain is because you're both too busy criticizing instead of focusing on your own work."
"Don't be such a wet blanket, Jazz," Optimus replied. "We're just speculating and joking around. We'll still listen to the new captain."
"Whatever," Starscream responded. "I'll see you guys later."
"Yeah," Jazz added. "I'm off to my post."
Flash Sentry watched from the hallway as Starscream and Jazz came out of the locker room. The two of them gave a respectful salute to their new captain.
"Gentlecolts," Flash said.
"Captain," Jazz said. "I'm not sure how much of the last conversation you just heard."
"I heard enough of it," Flash responded. "I just wanted to thank you two for sticking up for me. I know most of the guards won't like working under a newbie, but I promise I will try my best at this job and hopefully you'll all be happy working for me."
"Good luck, Captain," Starscream said in salute.
Flash saluted back. "I'll see you two around."
Flash watched as the two of them walked by him and down the hallway, headed to their own posts for the day. The captain then made his way into the locker room, interrupting a conversation about sports between the two remaining guards.
"Oh, hey Captain," Sentinel said sarcastically.
"Sir!" Optimus mocked with a salute.
"Listen, I need to talk to you two," Flash said.
"What? You're going to fire us on your first day? Bold move," Sentinel said.
"No, I'm not," Flash responded. "I know you two haven't respected me since the beginning, but you know what? I don't care. I don't have to be liked by anypony. I never would have thought that I'd be made the captain However, Shining Armour trusts that I'll do a good job, and I have to trust him on that. I know you two don't respect me and probably never will, but you can't talk bad about me to other guards. Don't even try to spread rumours or cause division. That won't affect me. All that'll do is affect the other guards and bring down their spirits."
"Captain, listen," Sentinel tried to say.
"No, you two have to listen to me now!" Flash Sentry barked. "I don't care if you don't respect me on the inside. I'm not particularly fond of you two, either. But all I command of you is that you two at least try to show me some respect. I have the power to fire both of you now, but I won't do that. But I demand that you two show me some respect so that it doesn't cause any problems for the force."
Sentinel and Optimus were taken back a little by their new captain's much stronger, authoritative voice.
"Okay," Optimus responded, looking Flash directly in the eyes.
"All right, sir," Sentinel said while looking down.
"Thank you," Flash Sentry responded. "Now, get to your posts, and focus on your work."
Flash Sentry left the locker room with a smile, feeling proud of himself for speaking up.
A few weeks went by. Flash Sentry helped his bride-to-be with the preparations for the upcoming wedding, all the while preparing the guards for the wedding itself. Risk of an attack on Canterlot was at an all-time low, but preparations still had to be made to make sure that nothing catastrophic would happen at this royal wedding. Flash Sentry prepared his stallions for anything.
As Flash Sentry shared his tactics with the other guards, preparing them for the upcoming wedding, the respect that the members had for him grew. He was a different pony that Shining Armour. Flash's style was different. He mostly built up his guards by rewarding good work and ideas while rarely pointing out or condemning poor work, while Shining Armour, even though he was a nice guy for the most part, could be intimidating at times. Flash Sentry was nowhere near as tough as the previous captain, but he still was happy that he started to earn the respect of his workers in his own ways.
The preparations for the wedding went by smoothly. Twilight Sparkle chose Princess Cadence as her best mare, which was greeted with mixed emotions by the mare's five closest friends. However, when Twilight explained that she just couldn't choose between the five of them, they accepted the result. They would all still be bridesmaids and have a big role in the wedding and in the preparations.
As the date of the wedding got closer, Flash Sentry began to get more nervous. For one, getting married was already a scary thing to begin with. It would change his life forever. But what added to it was that he would become a prince on his wedding day. Also, as the captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, if something were to happen during the wedding, all eyes would be on him. It was definitely a daunting task.
But help was on the way. The week of the wedding, Shining Armour came with his wife to finish up preparations. Shining helped Flash prepare the guards over the last few days, adding suggestions that would help increase the safety of the event, since the unicorn prince had already gone through this himself a few years prior. They planned to have every guard on duty for the wedding, with guards on every balcony of the castle, and all around the walls of the city. Having his future brother-in-law by his side for the last few days before the wedding helped Flash Sentry to calm his nerves down.
Finally, the night before the wedding came. For a very, very long time, like two weeks, Flash Sentry wondered about what his bachelor party would be like. Shining Armour was in charge of it, and Flash Sentry eagerly awaited what could be his best night ever. Well, until the next night, of course.
Flash was busy in his office, finishing up his own preparations for the wedding. His staff were prepared for nearly anything that would come their way. The only thing left to do was party, get married, and then party some more.
As Flash Sentry held a pen in his mouth, writing down some things on his calendar, Shining Armour barged right in.
The pegasus quickly raised his head, a little startled from the noise, but smiled politely as he saw who it was.
"Well, well, well, if it isn't my arch-enemy... Shining Armour."
"Very funny, Flash," the unicorn said with a straight face. "So, you getting nervous about tomorrow?" he asked while sitting down in the chair in front of his old desk.
"I'm more nervous about tonight," Flash said with an eager smile, lightly tapping his front hooves together on the desk. "Actually, more like nervous-cited!"
"Uh-huh," Shining responded unconvincingly. "Nervous-cited for what?"
"My bachelor party! Duh!" Flash responded with some sass.
"Ooooooh," Shining said while leaning his head back. "Yeah, that." He shifted his eyes from left to right. "Yeah, I totally remembered that. Did I tell you where we were going?"
"Nope," Flash responded with another grin. "You said it was a surprise!"
"Oh yes, now I remember," Shining said, remembering that he forgot all about Flash's bachelor party.
"You forgot, didn't you?" Flash responded in a more quiet tone.
"Noooooo! No, no, no. Yes," Shining responded, looking Flash in the eyes with a hesitant face.
"That's okay, dude," Flash responded with a comfortable smile. "I had a feeling you'd forget with all the wedding planning and regular things you have to do."
"Thanks, Flash. Sorry again. I guess things just got in the way."
"Not to worry, Shining," Flash said while getting out of his chair. "So, what do you suppose we do, then?"
Shining pondered for a second, and then responded, "Listen, how about I just take you out to the bar or something? I'll pay for your food and drinks. Just something simple. That way you won't get a hangover for tomorrow or anything. How about it?"
"You know what, Shining?" Flash said while putting a hoof on his former captain's shoulder. Flash could see and feel Shining squirm a little at being touched by a stallion, causing Flash to take his hoof off. Flash continued, "That sounds great! Something safe and simple. Let's go!"
Ten Minutes Later.
"Flash Sentry, I've got to tell ya something," Flash said to Shining while swinging his cider mug in the air. The two of them sat at the bar of the Choke-and-Puke, a local bar on Mane Street in Canterlot.
"I'm Shining Armour, dummy," Shining Armour responded while taking another sip of his cider.
"Gazuntite!" Flash responded. "No, what I wanted to hic tell you was that I've found my own very special somepony."
"I'm flattered, Flash," Shining responded. "But I'm happily married, and I'm not interested, no matter how sexy you are."
"Nooooo, silly!" Flash said while booping Shining on the nose with his hoof. "I mean I'm getting hic married tomorrow. And I love her!"
"Oh, yeah, yeah. That," Shining responded. "Tomorrow will be fun."
"Yeah, tomorrow I'm gonna marry Princess Twilestia!" Flash said while raising his glass in the air triumphantly.
"Twilight," Shining corrected.
"Yeah, yeah, that." Flash took another sip. "Hey, hey, I got hic I gotta joke for you."
"What?"
"So, I went to the Virgin Islands last week," Flash started.
"And?"
"And now they're just virgins!" Flash responded, laughing hysterically.
"I, uh, I don't think you told that one right," Shining responded without laughing.
"Awwwww poop," Flash responded flat-faced. "Oh no," he continued as he finally realised how poor his joke was. Shining watched as a single tear fell from Flash's face. The pegasus then buried his face in his forelegs on the bar counter.
"Flash, are you... crying?" Shining asked, leaning in closer.
"No!" Flash yelled back with tears streaming down his face. After a few sniffles, he continued, "Ah, come on! Who am I kidding? I'm a failure, and Twilight will never love me! Oh Celestia, I'm pathetic!"
"Flash, that's just the alcohol talking."
"No, it's not!" Flash said, continuing his crying. "I'm just an earth pony, and Twilight's a princess!"
"For one, you're a pegasus," Shining corrected. "And two-" he stopped as Flash continued to cry. Shining saw that only half of Flash's first drink was finished. "Hey, bartender!"
"Hey, Shining, what's up?" the long-time bartender stallion came over and said.
"What'd you put in Flash's drink?" the unicorn asked the bartender. "He's acting all crazy."
"Um, he himself ordered a 'Virgin Screwdriver'," the bartender responded with a serious look.
"You mean, an orange juice?" Shining responded, shocked.
"Yep," the stallion nodded.
Shining turned his attention to the crying stallion and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Ow! What the ffff-fudge was that for?" Flash responded loudly.
"Flash, you're not even drunk! What's wrong with you?" Shining barked at Flash.
"Oh, Captain, my Captain. I'm just scared about tomorrow," Flash responded, his tears starting to dry up. "What if Twilight says 'I don't' to me at the alter? What if I die before I get married? What if I'm gay?"
"Flash, you're self-destructing here!" Shining responded. "And I'm pretty sure you're not gay. Come on," he said, patting Flash on the back, "just think positively. Tomorrow will be the best day of your life. I'll take care of everything. All you have to worry about is making my sister happy."
"Oh no," Flash said, realising the task at hand. "Make a mare happy? That'll the hardest thing I'll ever do! What if-" Shining Armour rolled his eyes and smacked Flash on the back of the head. "Thanks," Flash reluctantly responded.
"Come on," Shining said. "Get some real drinks in you. Let's have some fun tonight. There's nothing to worry about."
"Aye-aye, Captain," Flash said with a salute, looking into the menu.
Much, much later.
"I wonder how many stars there on in the sky," Flash Sentry said while lying down on the front steps of the Canterlot Castle, looking into the sky.
Shining Armour, who was also lying down on his back right beside the pegasus, so close that their fur touched, started counting the stars in the sky. "Ten," he responded, after a minute of counting.
"Wooooow!" Flash responded in awe at how much Shining Armour knew about the galaxy. "One of these days, I'm gonna fly up there and and land on one of those stars!"
"And I'll be right there with you," Shining responded as they continued to look up into the sky.
"Hey, what're you two doing?" asked a familiar voice from in front of them.
"Twily!" they both yelled out in unison as they saw the mare they loved standing a few steps down from where they were resting.
"Are you two... drunk?" the princess asked.
"I swear to drunk, I'm not Celestia!" Flash responded adamantly.
"Guys, what happened to you two?" Twilight asked. "You've only been gone half an hour!"
"What?" Shining yelled out. "What time is it?"
"Almost nine," Twilight responded.
"Come on, Flash," Shining said while getting up, looking his friend square on. "We still have some fun that needs to get done!"
Twilight watched with a smile as her brother and fiancé quickly got up like a couple of young colts. The two of them ran into the castle, looking for more fun activities to do.
Twenty minutes later.
Flash Sentry sat down in a soft, lilac-coloured chair in a very luxuriant room of the castle, concentrating on something in front of him. On his forehead was a sticky note with "Flash Sentry" written on it in very primitive writing.
The new leader of the Canterlot Royal Guard glared directly at the pony sitting across from him, the former captain, Shining Armour. On the white unicorn's head was a sticky note with "Princess Luna" written on it in similarly primitive writing.
Flash Sentry, deep in thought, pondered what he was going to ask next. He rested his head on his front hooves as he leaned forward in the chair.
"Am I... pretty?" Flash asked.
"No," Shining responded.
"Hmm..." Flash pondered further. "Am I important?"
"To some ponies, yes," Shining responded with a chuckle.
"Am I buff?"
"No."
"Am I smart?"
"Not really."
"I got it!" Flash said while raising his hoof in triumph. "I think... Am I the current king of Equestria?" he asked with a little bit of slurring.
"We don't have a king, dufus!" Shining Armour barked back. "Okay, my turn. Am I... a stallion?"
Flash looked closely to remember what he wrote. "To be honest, I dunno... I haven't had a close enough look," Flash responded.
"That doesn't help me, Flash," Shining responded. "Okay, am I famous?'
"Yes," Flash responded.
"Am I... Spitfire?" Shining asked.
Flash Sentry snorted out laughter. "No, you're not. My turn," he said, drifting into thought once again. "Okay, so I'm not pretty, somewhat important, but not buff, or smart, or the king of Equestria."
"Correct."
"I know who I am!" Flash said triumphantly. "I'm you!"
"What?" Shining responded. "No, you idiot, you're you!"
"That's what I said!" Flash defended.
"No, I mean that you're 'Flash Sentry'," Shining Armour corrected.
"What does it say?" Flash mumbled as he picked the sticky note off of his forehead. "'Flash Sentry'. Good choice, Shining. It really kept me guessing."
"Who'd you choose for me?" Shining asked as he grabbed the note off of his head. "'Princess Luna?' Flash, how'd you not know if Princess Luna was a mare or not?"
"Hey, I don't ask you why you don't know jack-squat!" Flash yelled back.
Just then, however, the door to the room burst open.
"Flash? Shining? Guys, what're you doing?" Twilight asked as she stood at the door, coming back from her own quiet bachelorette party with her closest friends.
"We're having a very important meeting over here!" Flash barked back.
"How much have you had to drink tonight?" Twilight asked as she took her jacket off.
"An orange juice, a glass of water, and two glasses of water," Flash responded while counting with his hooves.
Twilight looked over to Shining Armour, hoping to get confirmation. Her brother was fast asleep.
"I guess you two don't go out very much," Twilight said while trotting over to Flash.
"What time is it, anyway?" Flash asked.
"Just after midnight," Twilight responded.
"Wait a minute," Flash said, pondering for a second. "That means we're now married!"
"It doesn't work like that, sweetheart," Twilight said, kissing her future husband on the cheek. "Go to sleep. The wedding's in fifteen hours."
"Way ahead of you!" Flash said, leaning his head back and falling asleep almost instantly.
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"So that's the story of Flash Sentry's bachelor party," Shining concluded at the end of his speech.
The visitors were in hysterics at different parts of the story. Shining loved having the spotlight. "Yes, but now, let's go back to something a little more serious. Earlier I said that I wanted Twilight to find a stallion who would protect her like a soldier is supposed to, even laying his own life on the line, if needed. Well, Flash Sentry proved that, even under the most harsh of circumstances. Would you like to hear that story?"
The ponies audience all looked at each other. There was definitely a buzz in the crowd as the visitors remembered the events of two weeks prior. Just the mention of it created quite the stir. Shining looked down to his now brother-in-law, who was holding Twilight tightly as they remembered the ordeal they had to go through.
Shining continued to the crowd, "Some of you may know all of what happened during this couple's original wedding day, but some of you may still be in the dark. Flash said I could retell the events, but I warn you all, it may get a little sad. At long last, here is what happened to this lovely couple two weeks ago today."
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Flash Sentry, decked out in his white shirt, black tuxedo, and purple tie, stood in front of the crowd next to Shining Armour, waiting for the wedding to begin. On the left side of the room were the ponies whom Flash Sentry invited to the wedding, who included family, friends, and members of the Canterlot Royal Guard, as well as the Crystal Empire Royal Guard, for when Flash Sentry was in training in that northern kingdom. It had been a complete whirlwind of a year, but it was all worth it. On this day, Flash Sentry was going to marry the love of his life, and become a prince.
Shining Armour nudged Flash and said, "Hey, bud, you're shaking like crazy right now! You okay?"
"I-I-I-I'm fine," Flash said. He lifted out one hoof that was clearly trembling "See? I'm calm as could be!"
"Yeah. sure you are," his former captain replied teasingly. "Listen, Flash, everything's going to be okay. You obviously know that Twilight is going to say, 'I do,' and you know you will say it back. Most of the force is outside patrolling. You've got Sentinel and Optimus at the front gates-"
"That's what I'm a little worried about," Flash interrupted. "They're going to plan to prank me or something. I'm sure of it."
"If they do, they will feel my wrath," the unicorn assured. "Trust me, Flash, everything is going to be fine. Just take a deep breath and relax."
The pegasus did just so. The breath helped his nerves to calm a bit.
The groom looked over to a table on the side of the stage, where his bride's Magic Element crown was, along with his own small prince's crown that he would put on after the wedding. He looked out to all of the happy ponies sitting talking to each other and finding their seats. He also imagined his soon-to-be wife trotting down the aisle with her father, a stallion whom Flash respected very much. He looked down to his parents, who were both sitting in the front row. His mother could not have been more proud, and his father looked like he was just itching to get up and come over to give his son a hug to encourage him. Or a smack to the back of the head. Flash Sentry was never quite sure what to expect with his father.
Shining Armour looked at his watch. Knowing that there were only a few minutes to go until the wedding was to begin, he wanted to give the groom a quick pep-talk. "So, Flash," Shining started, "you have no reason to worry. And do you know why?"
Flash Sentry bounced up and down like a boxer waiting for the bell to go off. "Because I'm Flash Friggin' Sentry and I'm a motherbucking pimp!"
Flash stopped bouncing and looked to Shining Armour, who had an eyebrow raised and a half-open mouth. "Uh, no," the white-furred stallion responded. "You shouldn't be worried because you love my sister and she loves you back. We've taken care of everything, so there's nothing to worry about."
"I like that reasoning better," Flash responded.
"Me too, Flash. Me too."
The groom watched as the remaining ponies filed into the hall in Canterlot. Twilight's parents were sitting down with the bride's five closest friends. Spike finally came in and stood beside Shining Armour with the rings on a pillow. And soon after, Princess Celestia came in and stood at the alter. Princess Luna gave up her sleep that day to stand on the balcony of the tallest tower of the castle, helping keep watch for intruders.
Everypony went quiet and sat down as the back doors closed. Flash Sentry could hear his heart pounding during the few quiet seconds. But the quietness ended as the music began.
First to come down the aisle were the three Cutie Mark Crusaders, who threw out flowers along the way, just as they did during Shining Armour's wedding. The three fillies sat beside their sisters in the front row. Well, except for Scootaloo, because she was a loser who didn't have a real sister.
Next to come out was Shining Armour's wife, Princess Cadence, the best mare. She gracefully trotted down the aisle in her beautiful, long, purple dress that matched Shining's purple tie. The unicorn stallion smiled all the way as his wife made it up to the stage and stood beside them, facing the crowd.
Everypony stood up as it was time for the bride to come out.
The music changed and the doors opened again. Flash Sentry stared in delight as his bride came down the aisle. Rarity, along with Twilight's other friends, helped to make the dress and the rest of her appearance. As she made her way down the aisle, Flash looked closely at her details. Twilight stared back at him with a grin, her blue eyeshadow, curly-styled mane, purple star in the left side of her mane, and turquoise flower on the right side.
The princess let out a soft nervous giggle and covered her mouth with her hoof as she stood beside her groom. The couple turned their attention to Princess Celestia as the music stopped and everypony in the audience sat back down.
Twilight could see the pride in her mentor's eyes as Princess Celestia began the marriage talk.
"Marriage is what brings us together today. That blessed arrangement; the bringing together of my most beloved student, Twilight Sparkle, and the new captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard, Flash Sentry. Today is a glorious day for the entire kingdom."
Meanwhile.
"Hey, Sentinel, we've got a visitor," Optimus said as the two of them stood at the main front doors. They could hear Princess Celestia's speech coming from inside as the wedding just began.
"Great. She looks like trouble," Sentinel replied as the two of them stiffened up, readying themselves for a possible situation where they would need to defend the couple getting married, and possibly even all of Canterlot. It wouldn't have been the first that a royal wedding in Canterlot would have been interrupted by a crazed mare.
"Out of my way, peasants," yelled the mad mare as she tried to make her way into the front doors.
Sentinel and Optimus quickly shuffled over, blocking the entrance.
"And just who do you think you are?" Sentinel asked the possible intruder.
"Let's just say that I'm an... old friend of the bride," the mare responded.
"Are you on the list?" Optimus asked.
"Um, well, uh, no," she replied, stumbling.
"Well then, you can't come in," Sentinel said firmly.
"The Great and Powerful Trixie demands entrance into this wedding. Twilight Sparkle is an old acquaintance of Trixie's, and Trixie would like to show her respect for the new couple," the mare who now revealed her identity responded in her purple outfit and pointy hat.
"Sorry, 'Great and Powerful Trixie', but if you're not on the list, you can't come in. Simple as that," Optimus said, not budging.
Trixie's face scrunched up in anger as she was denied entrance.
"F-fine then. Trixie will go have her own wedding... with blackjack and hookers! In fact, forget the wedding!" she said as she stormed off.
Sentinel and Optimus looked at each other and snickered as the crazed mare stormed off.
"Celestia, some ponies are nuts," Sentinel said.
"Speaking of nuts, I think we have company again," Optimus said.
"Hello, gentlecolts," said another mare proudly approaching them.
Back inside the Canterlot Hall.
"And love, true love will follow you two forever," Celesia said as she continued her speech.
She was suddenly interrupted with the sound of a screaming young filly. Sentinel burst through the doors in a panicked state.
"Everypony down!" the guard yelled. Seconds later, he was shot with a beam of turquoise-coloured unicorn magic. He was blasted against the wall, knocked out cold, as screams from inside the crowd were heard.
"Sunset?" Flash Sentry mumbled under his breath.
"What?" Twilight asked as she quickly turned her head towards her almost-husband.
"I think we're in trou-"
"Twilight Sparkle, we meet again," sounded Sunset Shimmer as she proudly trotted her way into the hall.
"Sunset Shimmer," Celestia spoke up. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm just here to see the wedding," the fiery unicorn responded loudly while looking around the room at all of the well dressed ponies. "Only, this should have been my wedding! I should have been the princess up there."
"Sunset, you very well know that this could have been you if you only had some patience like I told you," Celestia said back.
Twilight took a step forward. "Sunset, how are you here? The portal closed!"
"Yeah, but only until the next full moon, stupid!" Sunset yelled back. "Twilight, you not only stole my rightful place on the throne, but you also stole my old coltfriend in two different worlds. And now you're finally going to pay for this!"
Twilight Sparkle bent forward, preparing herself for battle at her own wedding, as Sunset Shimmer's horn started to glow. As Sunset powered up, she raised her head to fire. Twilight watched as the beam of magic was fired directly in her direction as she stood closely beside her groom. The bride quickly shoved Flash out of the way to protect him and quickly braced herself to be hit. She closed her eyes, preparing for impact.
Impact that never came, even though a loud sound was heard, followed by many screams.
Twilight opened her eyes, looking directly at Princess Celestia, who was now on the ground with a wound mark in her chest.
"Princess Celestia!" Twilight cried out as she went to her mentor's side. Sunset quickly ran over as well. As Twilight went over to the princess who took the blow for her, Sunset pushed Twilight away, sending the purple alicorn sliding on the floor.
"You could have just given me the throne when you had the chance, grandmother. But you didn't. And now look what you've done. You rejected my mother, and you rejected me. Now do you see how badly you failed?" Sunset said while standing above the injured Celestia.
"Grandmother?" Twilight asked while still on her back as Flash Sentry came over to help her up.
"I know nothing about this," Flash whispered as he picked up his mare, who gave him a kiss on the cheek in thanks.
"Oh, Twilight, are you ever in the dark! There is so much that Celestia has not told you," Sunset yelled out.
"So, you're Celestia's granddaughter? From the daughter that Celestia had with her husband who was a royal guard?" Twilight asked Sunset.
"This really isn't the time to tell you my back story, Twilight Sparkle," Sunset replied. "Right now is the time for you to pay."
"What're you going to do?" Twilight asked bravely as her five friends finally got up and stood by her side. "You're vastly outnumbered, you haven't really been in this world for years, and nothing you will do for revenge will get you anything as a reward!"
"Oh, you think you're strong because you have friends?" Sunset asked sarcastically. "Well, I don't have any friends. I wasn't shown friendship even after I was sorry back in the other world. I don't need any friends. I'm powerful enough on my own. And besides, I think I know what my reward is. My reward will be seeing you suffer for all that you've taken from me, and that's all I want right now."
"And how are you going to do that?" Rainbow Dash asked as she flew above Sunset Shimmer, looking the unicorn directly in the eyes. "Are you gonna shoot her? How will that make you happy?"
"Oh, I'm not going to shoot her," Sunset Shimmer replied with a smile. "I'm going to make her whole world crash down."
"Well, you kind of already did that, Sunset," Twilight responded. "You ruined my wedding and you hurt Celestia!"
"But that's not even the final act yet," Sunset said as she made a mad dash towards the stage. There was the crown once again, the crown with the Element of Magic, something that could make Sunset Shimmer nearly unstoppable.
"Sunset, you don't know what you're doing," Flash Sentry yelled out.
Sunset stood up beside the side table on the stage, the crown just a few inches away. "I think I know exactly what I'm doing."
"We'll just beat you with the magic of friendship like I did in the human world!" Twilight rebutted. "I don't need even need the crown to stop you!"
"Is that so?" Sunset said as she grabbed the crown with her cyan-coloured magic and placed it on her head. Almost instantly, her transformation began. Her magic turned dark and she was raised into the air with a bright blue light dancing around her. Twilight and the rest of the ponies watched as Sunset Shimmer turned into the demented creature form of herself; a disgusting exterior to match what was truly in her heart. Her fur turned red, her mane styled up, fangs instantly grew, and new wings spread out from her sides.
With a maniacal laugh, Sunset Shimmer had the attention of the entire crowd. Screams of terror could be heard around the town as the ponies inside awaited what the crazed mare was going to do.
"No matter what you do, Sunset, you won't win!" Twilight still shouted out. "With my friends at my side, we'll always be able to defeat you!"
"That's why I'm going to do this," Sunset shouted as she her eyeballs turned to swirls and multiple beams went out from her horn, instantly controlling the minds of Twilight's five friends. "After her!"
Twilight turned to behind her to see the five mares she loved staring back at her with all-blue eyes. With moans and groans like a horde of zombies, they stumbled towards the purple alicorn.
Shining Armour and Flash Sentry took a quick glance at each other and nodded their heads. They had prepared for everything at this wedding, including a crazed moment like this. Shining Armour quickly shot out a beam from his horn, hitting Sunset in the back, distracting her while Flash Sentry took off to save Twilight.
With Sunset Shimmer's attention and anger now on Shining, who danced around, trying to distract the demon, Flash hustled over and slid forward, placing his bride on his back before her zombified friends could catch her. At that time, many ponies in the audience started to flee the hall, hoping to find safety for themselves.
"I wonder, Twily, did you expect something like this to happen today?" Flash asked while looking up at the mare riding on his back.
Twilight, panting and nervous, replied, "Strangely enough, I did."
"Well, let's get ready to fight," Flash said as he put his war face on and spread his wings. "Quick, while she's distracted, I'll fly up and you shoot her with something from your horn."
"It's a deal," Twilight said.
Flash flapped furiously, taking flight with Twilight on his back while Sunset was still focused on catching Shining, who had so far done an amazing job at distracting her. But soon enough, Sunset Shimmer shot a light blue beam from her horn, knocking the unicorn into his wife, who was standing further away for safety.
Twilight readied herself to shoot a beam at Sunset. Instantly, though, the creature turned back and shot without even looking; a perfectly placed beam that hit Flash right out from underneath Twilight, causing the groom to fly back against one of the walls while the bride fell down on the floor.
Sunset looked around and watched the zombies she created all doing random things. Rainbow Dash was chewing on Fluttershy's mane while Applejack was painting the wall with her own feces, Rarity was drooling, and Pinkie Pie was chewing on a pillar. After all, their brains weren't functioning properly.
"You morons!" Sunset groaned. She turned her attention to Twilight on the ground. The princess raised her head to look back at the creature looming over her.
"Wh-what are you going to do to me?" Twilight asked.
"Make you suffer," Sunset replied as she made a dash right past Twilight and over to Flash Sentry, who was just picking himself up from the previous hit.
Twilight could only watch as she was too much pain to pick herself up yet. She watched as Sunset flew over and used her magic to pick up Flash Sentry. The groom hung in midair with a blue and black cloud of magic around him.
"Sunset! P-put him down!" Twilight said as she tried to pick herself up, her hooves quaking.
Sunset flew over to a large floor-to-ceiling window with Flash Sentry still dangling upside down.
"Face it, Twilight. You lost this time. Without your friends, you have no way of stopping me!" she said. In an instant, she turned around, smashed through the glass, and was gone.
Twilight struggled to get over to the open window and watched as Sunset flew away with her groom dangling in the air. It was very faint as he was now far away, but Twilight heard Flash shout her name in fear. Twilight called out his name in return, but he was now too far to hear her reply.
The alicorn turned and looked back into the room. All at once everything changed. Just a few minutes ago, she was standing in front of Princess Celestia with the stallion she loved. Now, Celestia was still out cold on the ground with Shining Armour and Princess Cadence standing over her, trying to see if there were any vital signs left. Twilight glanced over to her mindless friends, who were now of no help to her. Even more so, she knew she had to save them as well.
Twilight let a single teardrop fall from her right eye. Her whole world came crashing down in an instant, all because of a jealous mare. She trotted over to check on her mentor.
"Is... is she going to be okay?" Twilight asked.
"She's going to be fine," Cadence responded after raising her ear from the sun-princess' chest. "She's knocked out, but she'll be fine."
"Twily, we have to go after Sunset," Shining quickly said.
"Shiny, I have to do this alone. I can't let anypony else I love get hurt," Twilight responded.
She then felt a tug on her dress. The mare turned down to see Spike, whose eyes were red from fear. He had concealed himself from all the danger by hiding under a chair a few rows in.
"Twilight, I... I'll come with you," Spike said.
"No, Spike. It's not safe. This may very well be the toughest thing I've ever had to face," the mare responded while gliding her hoof along Spike's cheek to comfort the scared young dragon.
"No. Twilight, I need to go with you. Your friends aren't able to help you this time. I can't let you go alone," Spike responded.
Twilight looked over to Shining, who nodded in approval. "Okay," Twilight responded to Spike. "Sunset Shimmer thought that she'd win by defeating my friends, but she forgot about my most loyal friend of all."
Twilight leaned down as Spike jumped up to give her a hug. He then climbed up on her back. The mare's wedding dress was torn up, her friends were now brainless, her mentor unable to wake up, and her groom gone, but she couldn't sit there and cry. There was no time for that. Now was the time for justice; to be the hero she had always been.
"Be careful, Twilight," Cadence said with worry.
"I will."
Shining Armour took a step closer to his sister. "Please come back safe," he said with brotherly concern. "In the meantime, we'll try to revive Celestia and fix your friends."
"Thank you," she replied. Twilight trotted over to the open window with Spike on her back. "Well, this is it," she said to the dragon. "There's no turning back."
"It's time to be heroes again!" Spike shouted with optimism.
Twilight's wings shot out, not knowing what awaited her.
--------------------------------------
Shining Armour looked out the wedding reception crowd. All of the ponies were staring intently at him, deeply into the true story of what happened only a short time ago. Many of the ponies were there when Sunset Shimmer broke in, but most of them had fled without knowing how bad it truly got.
Shining continued talking with the crowd's attention on him. "With Princess Celestia down for the count, Princess Luna nowhere to be found, and her friends out to lunch, Twilight gave me a look just before she took off into the unknown. It was a look of fear and love. It was a look that said, 'I know I have to do this, but I don't know if I'll ever return.' The 'I love you's' we said to each other
at that moment were far more meaningful than anything we'd ever said to each other before, and that even includes when I left to join the Canterlot Royal Guard. Twilight didn't know what awaited her, but she loved Flash enough to put all her fears aside and go save him. And that is something that I'll always love and respect Twily for."
Flash Sentry, who still had most of that fateful day in his mind, kissed his bride on the cheek at that moment. He watched as Shining Armour cleared his throat and continued his retelling of the events.
--------------------------------------
The land of Equestria was always a beautiful place. Often a pegasus never had enough time to fully take it all in. The fresh air in the sky, the sights of the mountains, plains, and forests, and the light breeze in one's mane- there was nothing quite like it. However, a this point of time, with Twilight Sparkle flying with Spike on her back, going off to save Flash Sentry, there was no time to take in the glory of the open air.
Twilight Sparkle still wasn't fully used to the joy of flying yet. Flash Sentry and Rainbow Dash helped Twilight to learn how to fly better, but it would still take a long time to master it.
The alicorn furiously flapped her wings, her focus solely on Sunset Shimmer, who was just a speck in the distance at this point. The creature form of the yellow unicorn was a much faster flyer than Twilight was, and she also had quite the head start. But the princess was never one to give up. Even though she was knocked down, her friends turned to mindless nincompoops, her almost-husband stolen, and her mentor down for the count, Twilight Sparkle did not give up. She still had a lot of fight in her. And the will to save her love was what kept her going.
She had but one helper with her. Spike, the young dragon who had been at the mare's side all his life, was now her only friend capable of helping her take down the villain they were chasing. Twilight didn't have a plan as she flew in pursuit of Sunset. She didn't know what kind of challenge awaited her, but she couldn't just let Flash Sentry be taken away from her. Even though she didn't have her friends or the Elements of Harmony to help her defeat this villain, the mare knew that there just had to be some way of stopping her.
Even though the princess was tired, she still kept up a fast enough pace to have Sunset Shimmer in her sights. Though the crazed mare was kilometres away, Twilight still had hope as long as she could see the direction that Sunset was flying in. And at this point in time, Sunset appeared to be flying in the direction of Rainbow Falls, the location of the Equestria Games' aerial event qualifications.
After an hour straight of flying with a small dragon on her back, with the stress of the event and the few knocks she took in the battle inside the Canterlot Hall, fatigue was starting to settle in. For a few moments, Twilight's vision went blurry and she started to slow down. The only thing that kept her going was Spike reminding her the task at hoof. He would yell in her ear over the wind, pleading for her to keep going.
Eventually, though, the fatigue and the pain the mare was suffering from became too much. In fear of crashing, the mare slowed down and aimed to land softly on the ground. She flapped slowly to counteract the fast drop of gravity, lightly lowering herself to the ground, inside an area of many trees.
"Twilight, is everything okay?" Spike asked as soon as the mare touched the ground.
Twilight took a few seconds to catch her breath. "Yeah, I'm fine," Twilight replied. She looked around the area she landed in. The sky was partly blocked by the tall trees that surrounded them. The dirt on the ground was dry, and the sound of a light creek flowing was the only thing that could be heard, other than the chirps of the birds that lived in the area.
"I hear water coming from behind us," Spike said. Twilight was almost motionless. She sat there on her haunches, looking at the ground. The only movement that she made was her chest puffing out from the breaths she took. "Twilight..." Spike muttered as he took a few slow steps forward.
Twilight did not respond, though. It was hard for the young dragon to tell what was wrong with her. He cared for her deeply, and seeing her quiet like this was something that he wasn't used to.
"Twilight?" he asked again, this time standing right beside her. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine, Spike," she said back lifelessly.
"Come, we need to get some water," he replied. Spike grabbed her hoof, and Twilight followed him without a word.
The dragon led the pony for a few minutes in the dense, slightly hilly forest, until they eventually found the creek that was making the noise that echoed throughout the trees. Spike looked down at the flowing river, which was no wider than two metres.
"Twilight, you have to drink something," Spike told her.
But Twilight didn't respond. Instead, the mare took a few steps forward and looked directly down at the water. She could see her rippled reflection in the slow flowing water, and she didn't like the face that looked back at her.
After a few more nearly motionless minutes, Twilight finally opened her mouth. "Spike, look at me," she said quietly.
"What's wrong, Twilight?"
"This was supposed to be my wedding day; a day where I could be with all my friends and the love of my life and just enjoy myself. I looked beautiful this morning. Now look at me." Twilight could see her mangled mane in her reflection, to go along with her ripped up dress, tired eyes, and sore body. "What did I do to deserve this?"
"Why are you asking me?" Spike asked. "You're the one who usually has all the answers."
"Spike, I have no answers. I only have questions. Like, why did this all have to happen? Why today? Why did this happen to me on my special day?"
Spike stepped closer and closer, eventually leaning his head on the mare's side. "I don't know all the answers, but I do know one thing, Twilight. You didn't deserve this at all. Sometimes we don't even do anything wrong and we still get bad results." Spike could see Twilight slightly nod her head as a teardrop gently fell from her face and into the river. "All this happened because of jealousy. You didn't do anything wrong, and you deserved to become a princess and to marry Flash Sentry. You did nothing wrong. All of this happened because Sunset couldn't admit that you were better than her."
Twilight turned her face to the dragon and actually let out a small smile. She lightly gave her loyal friend a pat on the head with her hoof.
"Thank you, Spike. I know I can always count on you to cheer me up."
"So, what're we going to do now?" Spike asked happily, trying to pick up the spirits of the mare.
"Well, I guess we're going to have to go be heroes again!" Twilight replied.
"That's the spirit!"
"Even though we're probably going to lose," Twilight continued.
"That's not the spirit!"
"And then Sunset will probably either force Flash to marry her or kill him, and she'll take over all of Equestria while our bodies lay in coffins in the ground and-"
Spike interrupted her by lightly slapping the mare on the cheek. Twilight glared back, but then let out a chuckle.
"Twilight, you haven't been a spaz for a while now. You've been confident with yourself. Don't become what you were!"
"Since when did you become a motivational speaker?" Twilight asked with a bit of sarcasm.
"Hey, I've been by your side for years. Part of the job of being an assistant is to say the right words when needed!"
"All right, fine," Twilight responded. "We'll go. We'll defeat Sunset Shimmer and get back my crown and Flash."
"Yes. That's it, Twilight."
The mare leaned down to the water and took a quick drink from the pond. Spike followed suit. With high hopes and her tiredness gone, the mare was ready to head back into her journey. She bent down to allow Spike on her back, and spread her wings to fly once again.
Meanwhile.
Flash Sentry went through an entire series of emotions from the moment he was kidnapped.
He went with denial. As he dangled in the air with Sunset Shimmer carrying him off into the unknown, he muttered to himself, "There is no way this is happening. I'm still dreaming." The sad truth was that, however, he was not.
Then came anger. "Sunset, if you don't let me go, so help me Celestia I will do something we both will regret!" he remembered yelling out to his captor. When Sunset asked what that was, Flash just kept quiet. He really had nothing to retaliate with against a crazy ex-marefriend.
Thirdly came bargaining. "Sunset, my dear," he said, "if you let me go back and get married to Twilight, I'll invite you to the wedding!" That, of course, did not do the trick.
Therefore, next came depression. Flash sobbed like a little baby as he watched the ground pass beneath him. "Sunset is going to kill me, Twilight will die of a broken heart, the kingdom will be in ruins, and it's all my fault."
Finally, though, Flash accepted his fate. "Well, we all have to go at some point!" he said, settling his emotions.
However, this all happened in the first five minutes of being picked up. He went through the same cycle of five emotions over fifteen times while in the air.
Eventually, though, the swaying, the sound of Sunset's large wings, and wind against his face made Flash Sentry fall asleep. A single drop of drool fell from his mouth and propelled towards the ground, landing on a small rabbit, instantly drenching it with the force of the falling saliva from above. The poor rabbit never stood a chance.
When the stallion finally opened his eyes, he was tied up in ropes in a dark cave, with the demonic Sunset Shimmer staring directly at him with a huge grin.
"Oh, great, I died and went to pony hell," he moaned out. "I always knew I was bound to go there."
"What?" Shimmer replied with a cock of her head. "No! You've only been asleep for five minutes! You're now my prisoner in one of the caves of Equestria!"
Flash looked at Sunset for a minute. "Yeah... I think I'd rather be dead right now."
Sunset Shimmer rolled her jet-black and turquoise eyes and backed off for a minute. When the mare turned her back, Flash Sentry wiggled and moved desperately, trying to break free from his rope bonds. But Sunset would turn her head occasionally to keep an eye on him, and Flash would smile guiltily in return.
"Do you know why you're here?" Sunset asked Flash as she slowly trotted forward towards him.
"Because you're a psycho?"
Sunset let out a fierce roar in Flash's face. He coughed at the smell of her putrid breath.
"No!" she barked. "You're here because this is how it was supposed to be."
"I was supposed to be tied up, with you looking like... that? What kind of weird things are you into?"
"I was supposed to be the next princess of Equestria, being both a descendant of Celestia's, and her most cherished student. I was supposed to be together with you forever. But it didn't end up that way, did it?"
"And whose fault was that?" Flash asked boldly.
"Obviously, it was Celestia's!"
"Right," Flash replied sarcastically.
"She always said that I wasn't ready to become a princess. She always said that I needed patience and to develop some better qualities. And then, when I finally was ready-"
"When you thought you were ready," Flash interrupted.
"When I was ready," Sunset continued, "she still didn't give me the crown. And that's when everything happened."
"Yes, that's when you went mad and left me and went into the human world," Flash answered.
"...Yes. This all happened because Celestia didn't give me what was rightfully mine! Don't you understand? She gave it all to Twilight, who was just some random unicorn! Don't you see how unfair that is?"
Flash could hear a slight change in the mare's voice. She went from being hostile and angry to a little more tame and reflective.
"Well," the stallion replied, "Celestia probably would have given you everything. But probably in her own time."
"You're probably right, Flash, but I ruined my chance when I freaked on her."
"What happened, Sunset?" Flash asked in a more concerned tone of voice. "If, of course, I may ask. You never actually told me."
Sunset, still in her possessed form, trotted over and sat beside Flash Sentry.
"My mother was Princess Celestia's rebellious daughter. But I never wanted to become like her. Instead, Celestia wanted me to be the daughter she never had. So I left my mother and became Celestia's new protégé. Throughout my studies, she told me time and time again about the things I needed to work on. She said I was too prideful, and thought that I needed time to get a smaller head before I could accept new responsibilities. Well, I worked on it for years. Then, when I finally felt I was ready, I approached her respectfully and told her I was ready to accept my fate and become a princess. She told me one final time, though, 'I still don't think you're ready for it. You need to prove to me that you're humble enough to become a princess.'"
"Wow. I still can't believe you never told me that."
"I, just, I loved you too much to tell you all this. I didn't want you to think that you were too 'normal' for me."
Flash Sentry paused for a second. He started to see a slight connection between his old marefriend and Twilight Sparkle, and he could now see what Celestia saw in both of them. Sunset Shimmer was never really a horrible pony. She only wanted too much for herself. And both her and Twilight found comfort in him. Even though he really did feel like a lowly pegasus stallion.
"Sunset, then, what happened? You could have just waited a little while longer, and everything would have been different!"
"Flash, I was young, and I wanted to be a princess so badly. I responded harshly. I'm not proud of it. But, it is what it is. When she told me that one last thing, I looked down and closed my eyes. Anger consumed me. I screamed at her that I worked so hard and that I finally deserved it. She then looked at me and told me that I am still definitely not ready. I was angry, but the final straw came with what she said next. 'You're just like your mother.' That pained me to no end. That's when I shot her with a beam of my magic, and left in anger. Yes, I regretted it, but I still wanted to get what I deserved."
"I, just, I never saw that anger in you, Sunset," Flash responded. "Only at the end."
"Flash, you were the one thing that kept me calm. You were always caring and knew what to say at the right time. Only, at the very end, nothing could stop me from trying to get what I want. Soon after I freaked on my mentor, she chose Twilight as her new protégé. That's when I made my plan to disappear, only returning after Twilight became a princess herself."
"So that's when you left for the human world."
"Exactly."
Flash looked up as he could see Sunset's demeanor now completely changed from just a few minutes ago. She even had a teardrop fall from her dark eyes; the result of her regretting what she had done.
"Sunset?"
After a slight sniffle, she responded, "Yes, Flash?"
"I don't think you're a bad pony. I know you're sorry for what you did, and for that, I say that you're forgiven."
Sunset's eyes softened. She put one of her large hooves on his head. "Thank you, Flash. Here, let me untie you," she said as she leaned in closely.
Meanwhile, Once Again.
"Spike, it's hopeless," Twilight said as she landed for a rest on the side of a cliff. She had gone in the general direction of Sunset Shimmer, but the hostage-taker could be anywhere by now.
"Come on, Twilight!" Spike responded. "You can't give up!"
"Just forget it, Spike. She probably killed him by now. We'll never find-"
"Found him!" Spike interrupted, pointing his claw into the cave directly behind them.
Twilight trotted in, her eyes adjusting to the light. She looked closely as she could see Sunset Shimmer, a smile on her face, leaning into the tied-up Flash Sentry.
Twilight instantly glared and leaped forward. "Don't lay a hoof on him!" she yelled as she powered up.
"No! Wait!" Sunset defended as a lavender beam was shot from Twilight's horn.
"Stop, Twily!" Flash also yelled out as the beam was in the air.
Almost in slow-motion, Flash watched with shock, and Twilight with awe, as she delivered a powerful strike right to Sunset's chest, knocking her back and into the dark side of the cave.
Twilight quickly ran over to be at Flash's side. She quickly wrapped her hooves around Flash and kissed him all over the face.
"Twilight."
"Oh, Flash, I was beginning to think that I'd never see you again," she said as she continued to kiss him all over.
"Twilight."
"I thought you were dead."
"Twilight!"
"What?"
"Sunset was just about to untie me. She's sorry for what she's done."
"Oh..." Twilight said as she settled down. She turned her head to the darkness, and Sunset Shimmer slowly trotted out. With a loud roar and anger in her eyes, she slowly returned to the light. With one look at the Sunset's face, Twilight's ears instantly went down, and her heart sank. Spike quickly ran and hid behind a stalagmite while Twilight awaited her doom.
"First, you take my crown."
Twilight gulped.
"Then, you take my coltfriend."
Twilight's heart began to pound.
"Now, you hurt me as I apologize."
"Um, I can explain," Twilight said as she raised her hoof.
"Now, you're going to finally pay for all that you've done," Sunset said with a surprisingly calm tone though her anger. But that quickly changed as she powered up her horn.
Twilight quickly looked over to Flash, who was still tied up, then to Spike, who was still hiding. She gave a quick, sad smile to the two of them. "It's going to be all right," she said quietly as she closed her eyes, listening for the sound of the shot to come.
It was all bound to happen. Her fiancé was tied up, her friends weren't by her side anymore, her crown on the head of the mare in front of her, and all hope gone. She awaited for sound of the shot.
The shot that never came.
The only noise she could hear was the sound of wings flapping and hooves stomping. She quickly opened her eyes to see that Sunset had stopped her powering up, and Twilight was now protected by five other ponies- her best friends, all with their Elements of Harmony necklaces around their necks.
"You have to get through us if you want to get to this princess!" Rainbow Dash yelled out as she flapped directly above Twilight.
Twilight Sparkle instantly grinned from ear to ear as she was now fully protected.
"What she said!" Pinkie defended as well, readying her party canon.
"How did you mares get here?" Twilight asked eagerly. "How did you find us? And how are you not all crazy?"
"We're all a little crazy, Twilight!" Pinkie said cheerfully as she hugged her princess friend.
As her other friends stood in between Twilight and Sunset, Rarity stepped over to answer. "Darling, Shining and Cadence were able to awake Celestia when they went to get Luna, and the two princesses knew a spell to bring our minds back to normal."
"That's incredible!" Twilight shouted in happiness. "But how did you find us?"
"That's not important, Twilight," Rarity said. "What's important is that we are here for you, and we are all in full mental capacities. Please, darling, let us never speak of that again."
"I won't. Nopony will ever know what happened to you."
"You promise? Don't even let Shining Armour tell people when you redo your wedding! It's rather embarrassing!"
"I Pinkie promise. Not even then will anypony know," Twilight responded while giving her unicorn friend a truthful hug, promising to keep the account of her friends becoming brainless a secret. A secret that would surely never be broken.
So, the six friends were finally reunited, and they stood up against the ever-angry Sunset Shimmer.
"I'm still tied up here, you know," Flash Sentry muttered from the corner. Nopony listened to him. Not even Spike, who found a bunch of gems in the corner and was now gorging on them because he was nervous. Flash just rolled his eyes and awaited to be freed. For once, he was the damn-stallion-in-distress, or, whatever the male equivalent of damsel-in-distress is. I don't know what it is, for I am only the narrator, who is narrating the story that Shining Armour is telling at a wedding reception. I am not an English teacher. But if I was, I'd probably be a lot better off than I am now.
Anyway, back to the story. The six mares stood up against the demon. They were ready against whatever came their way. They'd faced off against Discord, crazed animals, poison plants, tentacles, King Sombra, an army full of transformer-ponies who were made of rotten Swiss cheese, and won every time; they could surely take on Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset Shimmer glared back down at them. "Oh, goodie, your friends are here to bail you out again," she said to Twilight.
"They're not here to bail me out, Sunset Shimmer," Twilight defended. "I would have taken you on my own to save my one true love! My friends are here because they are loyal to me and we said that we would stick up for each other always! That's something that you will never experience!"
"I don't care for friendship," Sunset yelled back. "Nobody in the other world wanted to be my friend; nopony in this world wants to be my friend now. I'm better off alone as the rightful ruler of this kingdom!"
"No you're not, Sunset," Twilight rebutted. "If you just stop all this madness, you still can have a second chance here!"
"I don't want a second chance! I want my kingdom!" Sunset yelled out, her voice deepening, her anger rising. "And the only thing stopping me from getting it... IS YOU!"
Sunset's horn lit up as she sent multiple beams toward Twilight. The princess was able to dodge every shot, but the crazed villain only shot more at the younger mare.
Rainbow Dash quickly grabbed Fluttershy by the hoof. "Come on!"
"Oh goodness," the yellow Pegasus frightfully responded as Rainbow pulled her towards Sunset, who was flying in the cave, aiming her horn towards Twilight.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy dodged the Twilight-bound beams of magic and started to fly around the fiery creature's head.
"Hey, Sunset, you never really seemed like a smart mare to me," Rainbow said as she caught Sunset's attention, which gave Twilight enough time to catch her breath, while Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Rarity went behind Sunset Shimmer. Flash Sentry still sat tied up, while Spike was now asleep from stress-eating gemstones.
Rainbow Dash blew a raspberry at Sunset while Fluttershy nervously flew in circles to try and distract the villain a littler more.
With a swing of her hoof, Sunset Shimmer knocked Fluttershy away. She then took a deep breath, releasing her deadly breath. It wasn't the smell that was deadly, though. It was a factor, but the real deadly part about it was that her breath was made of fire!
Rainbow yelled as she was scorched by the garlic-smelling fire.
"I... didn't know she could do that," the now charred pegasus muttered before she fell to the ground. Twilight watched with sadness as her two Pegasus friends were defeated easily.
"I'm still here, you know," Flash said to nopony in particular.
Sunset then turned her attention behind her. Down on the ground were Twilight's three other friends. Pinkie readied her party canon, which she somehow brought up the mountain and to the cave. Rarity and Applejack boldly put up their hooves, indicating that they were ready to fight.
"That's cute," Sunset said as she flew closer and slung her tail, whipping the three smaller ponies towards the cave wall.
"Uh, Twilight, I think you need some help now," Flash Sentry said.
Twilight looked over at her coltfriend. "Flashy, I'm so sorry," she said. "I thought Spike would have untied you by now!" She looked over at her dragon assistant, who was fast asleep with a full stomach. "Nevermind." She trotted over to her stallion in the hopes of untying him. He was her last line of defense now that her five other friends were defeated, and as the new captain of the Royal Guard, he needed to complete his duties.
Twilight gently stroked Flash's cheek with her hoof as her horn lit up in order to untie him.
"Um, Twilight?" Flash said as he could see that Sunset was powering up for a hit.
"What?" the mare asked as she looked at him with eager eyes.
"Watch out!" he screamed while reaching his now freed right hoof. That was all that Twilight could untie, though.
The princess turned around just in time to get hit with another beam of magic, sending her sliding on her back. The only thing that could be heard was her scream. Her friends were all down and injured in various parts of the cave, and Flash was now desperately trying to free himself to be at his mare's aid.
Trembling, sore, and afraid, Twilight lifted her head to see Sunset flapping her large wings as she came towards her.
"Do you know what's going to happen now, Twilight?" she asked condescendingly.
"N-no," Twilight responded without much energy.
In a matter-of-fact way, Sunset responded, "Before you came here to fight me, I was just about to let Flash free and go back to make things better. But now look what you've done. Now I'm going to kill you and make things right again. I'm going to bring things back to the way they were."
"T-things will never be the way they were, Sunset," Twilight responded as she tried to pick herself up. "You had your chance, and you blew it. N-now all you should hope for is redemption."
Sunset Shimmer began to laugh maniacally. "I won't need redemption. After all, the kingdom will soon be mine." Sunset Shimmer powered up her horn for a final fatal blow. Flash Sentry now desperately started wiggling his way out. He was able to get both of his front hooves free. Twilight looked at Sunset's horn, which was surely going to blast a fatal blow. She then looked around the room to her friends, who were all struggling to get themselves up.
This was it. This was the end. There was no escaping it. Twilight was lying on the cold, hard ground, injured, upset, and defeated. There was nothing else to say. Her fate awaited her. Sunset moved her head down, aiming her horn right in the princess' direction.
With a heavy heart, Twilight looked at Flash Sentry, who was nearly free. She smiled to him for the final time as she closed her eyes.
Bang! Snap!
Two separate sounds were heard simultaneously as Twilight awaited her final blow. She could hear the sound of her coltfriend screaming, "No!" as he would watch his mare get killed before his very eyes.
Twilight felt a breeze blow her mane back as she held her eyes closed. A loud bang was heard and was echoed throughout the cave. A cloud of dust filled the area.
"T-Twilight," Fluttershy muttered.
The rest of the mares, all sore and injured themselves, slowly and shakily made their way over to where the mare last was before the fatal blow was shot.
The dust slowly cleared the room as Sunset Shimmer stood triumphantly on the ground.
Twilight's friends looked on with sadness as they awaited the revealing of the damage to their princess.
The dust finally fully cleared, and the scene was set. The five Ponyvillians looked at their princess and best friend, who was still huddled in the same position, with her eyes closed. She slowly opened her eyes, looking around at what happened. She didn't die. In fact, she wasn't even hit.
Her friends quickly ran by her side as Sunset Shimmer threw her front hooves in the air, turned around, and started muttering swear words to herself.
"T-Twilight, you're okay!" Rainbow Dash said as all five of them gave the mare a group hug. Grunts and groans were heard in the hug as the six of them were all injured in different ways.
"Girls, how am I still alive?" Twilight asked. "Why wasn't I hit?" Through the hug, Twilight looked over to where Flash Sentry was tied up. The only thing that was there was the rope used to hold him. It was now in a pile, and Flash Sentry was nowhere to be seen. "Oh no," Twilight said quietly as she broke off the hug.
She panned around the cave, but he was nowhere to be seen. But upon looking on the ground, she noticed a line of dirt that was about the width of her stallion. She followed the line, which went right to the area near the entrance of the cave. At the end of the line was Flash Sentry on the ground.
Twilight quickly ran over to her coltfriend's side. He was lying down on his side, facing the outdoors.
"Flash? Flash? Speak to me, please!" Twilight begged as she saw his eyes were closed and his mouth was wide open. Through his already tattered suit was a large hole, revealing a severe hit to his chest, where Sunset's beam had struck him. "Come on, Flash, speak to me."
Twilight's friends all awaited close by, hoping for a sign of life to be found in him. Even Sunset Shimmer, after she was done venting her frustration that she still could not defeat Twilight, came over to see what had happened.
Twilight looked out through the opening of the cave and at the beautiful setting sun, a calm difference compared to her racing heart.
"Flash, please, say something," Twilight said as her eyes began to water up. "Flash, please," she said as a single teardrop fell down her cheek. "I need you..."
All of the other mares, even the demonic creature who towered above the rest, started to get emotional.
"Flash, don't leave me," Twilight said as she gently stroked his cheek with her hoof. "Flash, today... today was supposed to be our special day. I can't live on in this world without you. I need you."
She put her ear against Flash's chest. "It's beating," she said. "But very slowly."
The only sign of life from Flash Sentry was a cough. But it was enough. Twilight quickly breathed in. A little bit of hope was there.
"Flash! Flash, Flash, Flash! Say something! Please!" she pleaded, her voice cracking with anguish.
After a few more light coughs, Flash opened his eyes. "T-Twilight?"
"Flash! You're alive!"
"Barely, my love."
"I can't believe you took the hit for me," she said, her heart now racing with hope.
"W-what else was I supposed to do? I'm... I'm the captain of the Royal Guard.... It's my duty to protect you."
"I know it is, but I'd rather you live than die for my sake!"
"And I'd... rather you live than die coming to save me. You... you have so much more to live than I-I do."
"Don't... don't say that, Flash," Twilight responded, her heart slowing down, and her eyes watering up again.
Flash could feel a deep pain in his chest. He knew his time was short. "Twilight?"
Twilight sniffled. "Yes, Flash?"
"You're going to live a long, satisfying life. Please... p-promise me something."
Twilight vehemently denied in her heart what was going on, but in her head she knew the reality . There was only one way to respond. "Anything, my love."
Flash took a deep breath and closed his eyes momentarily. When he opened his eyes, they were filled with water. "Please, be happy. Live your life happily... for me. I won't be there by your side, but... but if you live the rest of your life depressed, I-I would have died for nothing. Stick with your friends. They'll treat you right."
Twilight finally came to grips in her heart the reality of what was at hand. Tears freely streamed down her cheeks now. "I-I will, Flashy. I promise," she said as she lightly stroked the top of his mane.
"Thank you. I'm sorry. I'm sorry I won't be there for you from... from now on."
"You were there for me when I needed you most," Twilight said as she lightly laid her face on Flash's face. They both looked out towards the sunset together. "And for that, I will always be grateful to you. Thank you."
They quietly watched the beautiful red, yellow, and orange hues in the skyline. The colours calming them down were the same colours as the mare who caused all this sorrow, Sunset Shimmer. But at this point, even Sunset was crying, along with all the other mares.
"Hey, Flash?"
"Yes, Twilight?" Flash said as his heartbeat started to slow down.
"Let's say out vows... like we were never able to today."
Flash sniffled as a few tears fell from his eyes and to the ground of the cave. "All right, Twily. I... Flash Sentry, take you, Twilight... Sparkle, to be my... lawfully... wedded... wife."
Twilight teared up as she began to breathe heavily. She listened as Flash Sentry's breaths became shallow and rare, and her heart became empty. "I... T-Twilight Sparkle, take you, Flash Sentry... to be my..." She listened intently as Flash Sentry took his final breath. "Lawfully wedded." She listened quietly. Flash Sentry was now gone. "Husband..."
The princess watched as a single teardrop fell from her left eye and onto the cave floor. She then looked on into the same sunset she watched with Flash, but life felt different now. Her heart was nearly broken. The love of her life was now gone. She lifted her head slowly, looking over to her friends, who were all in tears. Even the creature who caused all this was crying.
But Twilight's emotions were not done changing yet. The sadness she felt inside her was not the only emotion she had. On this day she went from happiness and glee, to bitter sadness and emptiness, and now a new emotion started to surface from the moment Flash Sentry died. It was anger. She closed her eyes as her heart began to pound. When she opened her eyes, they were angry, filled with emotion. They were filled with hatred.
"Sunset Shimmer," she said with a glare.
"T-Twilight... this... this pains me as much as it does you. I-I loved him too," she replied.
Twilight took a step forward. And then another one. And another one. "This is your fault."
"It's not! I never meant to kill Flash! That was meant for... you."
"Sunset, you're going to pay," Twilight said in a calm but angry tone. Her heart raced. Twilight closed her eyes.
In an instant, Twilight opened her eyes and flew into the air. As her anger consumed her, her eyes turned green, her pupils turned red, and blue lines of mist came from her eyes. Her horn's magic turned purple, just as it did when she performed a dark spell in the Crystal Empire when deciphering the mysteries of King Sombra's chamber. Her five friends stepped aside nervously, giving the alicorn a clear shot of Sunset Shimmer.
Sunset Shimmer's ears instantly went down.
The normally calm, caring Twilight Sparkle was now hovering in front of the villain who just killed her fiancé. Twilight's whole world was just taken away, and now she was ready to carry out justice.
"Sunset Shimmer!"
Sunset, who was now hunched over, nervous, responded, "Yes, Princess Sparkle?" in all sincerity.
"You killed my one true love in your blind rage caused by jealousy. Instead of being happy with what you had, you craved more. You not only ruined the rest of my life, but you're about to have yours ended."
"What... what are you going to do?" she asked in fear.
Twilight looked down at the now trembling creature form of Sunset Shimmer, who was now reduced to a frightened ball of fur. "Something I should have done the first time."
Twilight shot a beam of powerful dark magic from her horn directly at Sunset Shimmer. Flash Sentry's murderer was sent back by the force of the beam. With a scream, she flew back as a purple cloud surrounded her. The crown wielding Twilight's element flew off her head and landed on the ground. Sunset's screams could be heard as Twilight's spell engulfed her.
Most of the mares watched with pity, while Pinkie Pie watched with excitement, as whatever was happening to Sunset Shimmer was happening before their very eyes.
After a few seconds passed, the purple clouds around Sunset Shimmer cleared. The mares watched as Twilight landed back on the ground, and her normal look returned. The five mares trotted up closer to see what happened to Sunset as Twilight went over to retrieve her crown.
They looked on as Sunset Shimmer was now on the ground, covering her head with her hooves. She was back to her normal form, though her fur and mane were tattered, and she was sore with many injuries. Twilight trotted over and joined her friends.
"Sunset, you caused so much pain no matter where you went," Twilight said. She spread her wings and took to flight behind her element-wielding friends. "I turned you back to your normal form, so that when the ponies come to retrieve your body, they will at least find you the way you were before jealousy consumed you- a scared, small, filly."
Twilight's friends all turned and looked at each other with wide eyes, shocked.
"Whoa," Rainbow Dash whispered to Pinkie Pie. "Twilight's a badass when she's angry!"
"I knowwwwww," Pinkie 'whispered' back.
Sunset Shimmer was now almost weeping uncontrollably. "I'm... I'm sorry," she said as she raised her head from under her hooves, tears coming from her eyes.
"That's what you said last time," Twilight responded.
"I... I really mean it this time. I never meant for things to go this far," she replied. "You... you gave me a second chance in the other world, but nobody else did. I still never meant to cause all this. I loved Flash Sentry too."
"Sunset..." Twilight responded, her heart softening a little. She didn't want to feel pity because of the anger she also felt, but it was also always in Twilight to forgive. It was just who she was.
"Twilight, I'm really, really sorry. If you let me live, I'll... I'll fix this. I promise!"
"And just how you will fix this?" Twilight asked, not really believing her.
"Celestia is my grandmother, so she was closer to me than she ever was to anypony else. I was her prodigy, and she taught me everything. Even things she didn't teach you. She even taught me how to raise somepony back up who recently died."
"Likely story," Twilight said angrily, glaring back at her. "I don't believe you."
"No!" Sunset shouted back. "I-I mean it! Look, you have to believe me. In fact, if you let me live, I'll teach you how to do it so that you can have the joy of raising him back to life and being the first pony to see him again!"
Twilight had conflicting emotions. She genuinely wanted to believe her, as if the mare was telling the truth, she could see Flash Sentry again. But if Sunset Shimmer was lying, it could spell disaster. Twilight had a big decision ahead of her.
"Do you promise that you will do nothing else but teach me how to bring him back to life?" Twilight asked.
"Yes."
"Pinkie promise?" Pinkie asked.
"Pinkie promise," Sunset replied while raising one hoof in the air.
"That's not a Pinkie promise," the pink mare responded.
"Well I don't know what a Pinkie promise is!" Sunset said in her defense. "But I promise. I'm sorry, and I want to make this right."
Twilight looked at the ground, breathing. Just breathing. "I... I believe you," she responded.
"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" Sunset responded, bouncing around with joy. Sunset bounced her way over to Twilight, and faced her squarely. Sunset's face was apologetic, and Twilight's face was surprisingly forgiving. Sunset leaned her horn in, touching it with Twilight's. The two of them closed their eyes, as the sound of a spark was heard.
Twilight shook a little bit as the knowledge was transferred from former student of Celestia to another. After Sunset lifted her horn, Twilight shook her head.
"This... this is actually a pretty easy spell. Why didn't Celestia ever teach me this?" Twilight asked.
"Well, what can I say? I was a very special student of Celestia!" Sunset said proudly, but in a kind way. She was happily proud of something, which Twilight could tolerate.
Twilight slowly and nervously trotted over to Flash Sentry, and the other six mares followed closely behind.
Twilight leaned down on her belly right in front of Flash. At this time, the sun had already set, but there was still some light in the sky. There was also some hope left.
She leaned her horn in close to Flash slowly, eventually touching her horn on his forehead. She closed her eyes, remembering the spell that Sunset Shimmer had just taught her. Her horn lit up, and she gave off a hopeful smile.
Lights from her horn surrounded Flash Sentry's body, and some lights went into his head. Eventually, Twilight's magic went through his body, and light came out from the wound in his chest. After a few seconds, the light slowly diminished, and his wound was closed. As the light eventually faded out, Twilight's hopes were raised. She opened her eyes and perked her head up, hoping for the best. The six other mares all leaned in, eagerly awaiting the result.
A few seconds passed and nothing happened. Then a minute, and still nothing. Just as Twilight was about to lower her head in sadness, though, she heard a slight noise. It was cough, and it came from Flash Sentry.
Twilight let out a gasp as a smile came across her face from ear to ear. Flash Sentry started to stir as he coughed a few more times. Twilight looked at her friends, and they were all grinning in like.
After a few seconds of stirring, Flash Sentry opened his eyes. He could see the little bit of light still in the sky in the background. Right in front of him, however, was Twilight's adorable smiling face.
"Am I... in heaven?" he muttered.
"Oh Flash!" Twilight said with an eager, high pitched voice. Flash smiled in return as he lifted his head from off the ground. Twilight leaned in front of him and threw her hooves around his neck, and he put his hooves around her back. "I can't believe you're alive!"
"I can't believe I'm seeing that pretty face of yours again!"
Twilight giggled and then lunged forward, right into Flash's lips. He had no choice but to respond by giving her the most passionate kiss that he had ever given her.
Spike walked over as Flash and Twilight were kissing and let out a yawn. "Did I miss something?"
Everypony rolled their eyes. The rest is history.
--------------------------------------
Shining Armour looked out at the crowd. He looked to the family of the new married couple, as well as all their friends, and the rest of the guests. There wasn't a dry eye in the audience.
"So much liquid pride..." Shining Armour said with a smile while shaking his head. He waited for the crowd to settle down, and then continued, "So, the couple got married earlier today. They forgave Sunset Shimmer and reunited her with Princess Celestia, who accepted her back and assigned her as Twilight's own assistant. She would have been here today, but she is now on her very first mission from Twilight: to fix the problems that she caused."
Shining Armour was referring to the human world. However, in order to keep that hidden from regular ponies, he was ordered to keep silent on the matter.
Shining had one final thing to say. "In conclusion, I said earlier that I wanted Twilight to find a stallion who would protect her, comfort her, and be there for her. Flash proved to be that stallion. He not only did it because he's a guard and that's his job, but he did it because he loves my sister, and he would rather her live than him. And for that, I thank him. And I give you two my blessing. But I just want you two to remember a few things."
Flash and Twilight looked eagerly at Shining's concluding words.
"Marriage is not always easy. That's why you two need to have strong love for each other always. All you need is love. Love is all you need. You need it because love is patient and kind, love does not get jealous, does not keep account of the injury, does not rejoice over unrighteousness, but it rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails, and it is all you need to be happy. So, Flash Sentry, take care of my sister. I know you will."
At this point, Shining Armour stopped talking. He finally had a few tears in his eyes. "Okay, I'm done," he said sadly as he went to sit back down. The crowd applauded, and when she sat back down, Flash Sentry gave him a hug.
The reception party went on into the late hours of the night. It was a night of rejoicing and of happiness.
After the party was finally over, Shining Armour, the other three princesses, the new couple's parents, and Twilight's five closest friends and her loyal dragon assistant stood by as the couple were about to go into their wedding chariot.
Flare, the groom's father, came up to his son, and said, "I'm proud of you."
"Hi, Proud of You, I'm Flash," he said as he gave his father a hug.
Flash's father could not have been any more proud. "You've learned from the best," he said to his son. "Now, go out there and rock the casbah!"
"I will, Dad, I will," Flash said proudly.
The two of them went into their honeymoon chariot. They waved goodbye to their family and friends as they went off on their honeymoon. Back on the street, Pinkie Pie was crying sadly.
"Pinkie, why are you crying?" Spike asked. "This is a happy ending."
"Because, Spike," Pinkie responded sadly, "this means that the story is over!"
And the pink mare was right. The story was indeed over.