Just a Glimpse/Suddenly, Spikey

by Jade Ring

Just a Glimpse

I hope I didn't sound too eager when I volunteered to be Princess Cadance's escort to Ponyville. The boys in the corps give me enough guff as it is. How can they understand? They don't know what it's like.

I'll never forget the first time I saw her, when she walked into the Crystal Palace. I used to laugh at the guys who talked about falling for a mare at first sight. Never in a million years did I think the same thing would happen to me. To say I was struck dumb at her beauty would be an understatement. Maybe it wasn't her beauty that entranced me. Maybe it was the way she walked, still trotting down that line between peasant and princess.

She looked so nervous.

I made sure my introduction was flawless, perfectly enunciated. Maybe if I did it perfectly, it would comfort her somewhat.

I thought she looked at me then... but that must have been my imagination.

What wasn't my imagination was the moment when, three days later, she bumped into me in the corridor. I managed to keep my cool, to offer a witty remark, and walk past her. I could feel her eyes on me as I walked away.

It was obvious to everybody I noticed her.

It was shocking to me that she noticed me at all.

Princess Cadance told me about it later. She insinuated that Princess Twilight might have a crush on me. She also hinted that she would do her best to arrange for me to meet her properly the next time she came to visit.

Time always slows to a crawl when you have something wonderful to look forward to.

I kept waiting for her to return to the Crystal Empire after that, but I waited in vain. There are important things she must attend to, I assured myself. She is a princess after all.

Plus there was that whole business with the Everfree Forest and the sacrifice of the Elements of Harmony.

And what chance did I have, really, with a princess?

But then... Prince Shining Armour was a guard like me, and he still ended up with Princess Cadance.

It's thoughts like that that keep me going, that remind me that maybe there is a chance after all.

When Princess Cadance announced that she needed two escorts to Ponyville, my hoof was the first in the air. I heard the snickers from those around me, but I didn't care. Here was my chance to see her again.

I was of course chosen alongside strong Amethyst. I was glad for that. The crystal pony was one of those who detested gossip, and I knew that he wouldn't pester me the whole train ride about my pipe dreams and lofty ambitions.

The train seemed to crawl from station to station. Time moved slower and slower the closer we got to Ponyville. I began to doubt I would ever see the modest little village and would just be forced to endure this endless stretch of track for all time.

Ah! There it was!

This was the moment I'd been waiting for. Amethyst and I took our places on either side of Princess Cadance as the train ground to a stop. The doors opened, all three of us stepped out...

There she was.

A vision of purple loveliness, the widest smile on her face... just as I'd remembered her.

Did she remember me?

Greetings were exchanged between the two princesses. I made ready to introduce myself. I opened my mouth, wet my lips...

Princess Cadance's nod signaled us to return to the train, to return to the Crystal Empire.

I turned, but I stole one final look back, vainly hoping that she would meet my eyes once again. I knew that if our eyes met, I could tell her everything I felt with just one look.

There! Was that contact? I wasn't sure. I had no time to look again. I boarded the train. The doors shut behind me and the great crystal locomotive began to roll once more.

With a sigh, I collapsed onto my chair and closed my eyes.

There she was, her lovely face hiding behind my eyelids. Just as I'd seen her. Just as I would remember her.

I had volunteered for this long ride because I knew I would see her, even if it were just a glimpse.

Just a glimpse is all I got.

But somehow... I knew that just a glimpse would be enough.

Until we met again.

Author's Note:

This may or may not have been written while angry at all the ridiculous Flash Sentry hate.

I think he'd be a cool guy if we just got to know him.

Comments

[Alchemystudent]

Well of course he would be awesome if we got to know him. Heck, I had a smilar experience myself on a show I love.

[NVC]

Yeah the Flash Sentry hate was just ridiculous. I was kinda hoping for him to maybe become a more recurring and get some character development between him and Twilight, and yet nothing. It seems like such a waste to ruin Season 3 with mediocre attention for Equestria Girls (which was alright I guess), then never reference or follow up the events from the movie in the actual show.

[Yami Vizzini]

That was probably the most heartfelt piece I have seen written around this guy.
He's nowhere near deserving of hate, but I will admit to enjoying the reactions in chat when he walked off that train. (It helps being able to actually watch it on the Hub and thus be a minute ahead of the crowd.)

[Titanium Dragon]

I liked this a lot more than I liked the second chapter. Poor guy can't catch a break~

Of course we all know Twilight is a xenophile, and was imagining him in his freaky human form. I guess that's what happens when you grow up around a dragon and a freakishly large pony.

[Poptard]

Ooh, I like this. Fits perfectly into the show. I both cringed and smiled at Flash's cameo, because I knew it would bring a ton of Flash hate... but also it would spawn more fanfics like this, which make it all worth it in the end. I hope this story won't be your only passage on the HMS FlashLight,

[Peaceofpie]

Love flashlight anyone who hates is nuts

[Mew Universe]

Well, I really liked the fic! :D More Flash Sentry for everyone! YAY!

[moonlit scribe]

I hate Flash Sentry haters.
THOSE! BIG! MEANIES!!

[Carnation83]

I have nothing against Flash Sentry. But I don't think it's believable for Twilight to like him when she had all the warm fuzzy moments with the EQ Flash Sentry. It's just not healthy to grow close to someone who just happens to be an alternate reality version of a guy you did like. But that's just me.

[akajulester]

I absolutely love the FlashLight ship, but only with pony-Flash. Human-Flash/Brad is a garbage character that was only created so that the writers could cram in a stupid love plot in an otherwise pretty cool movie (until that horrible climax lmao).

I never understood why Twilight was instantly attracted to Brad, seeing as how he's a completely different species from her and she barely ever talked to him. Twi has never struck me as the kind of person to fall in love solely because of looks or even believe in love at first sight, so that made it doubly weird.

Flash was such a wasted character that could have been so cool. It would've been fun to see how he differed from his "human" (what even are the Barbie doll monstrosities in the movies?) counterpart. The dude is in the army, and I refuse to believe that any of these characters are still in high school, so it could've been really interesting to show that he wasn't the same character. I totally believe that he's still adorkable, but in like a cool way - he's a geek but could totally wreck a monster's day, y'know?