“Gay?” Twilight blinked, looking at Celestia in confusion. Celestia swallowed. She was already regretting her decision to open up, and her confession of her sexuality. The awkward pause had stolen her fleeting faith in Twilight’s plan to bring them dates, and the gaping look on Twilight’s face might as well have been a scowl for how quickly it drained her confidence.“Gay...but I thought...well the books said...You do mean gay as in the secondary, colloquial term, right? ‘Cause I’m having a good time, too, but I don’t think that has anything to do with romantic preference.”
Celestia gave an over-wide smile at this, trying to gain a bit of confidence back. “It’s not important what I meant. We’re trying to get dates for--”
“Both of us.” Twilight stressed. “Which means that...Well…” She gave a sigh. “I guess…”
Celestia made to bow her head, but noticed at the last moment that Twilight, too, was looking at her hooves. Celestia once again attempted to gain some composure, giving a weak smile. “If it makes you uncomfortable, Twilight, I won’t hold it against you.” And at once, Twilight’s head snapped up.
“What?! No! No, it’s not that I find it weird or anything! I could never--no, it’s just…” Twilight sighed again. “I don’t really know anything about you, do I? I just assumed that I knew enough about you to find a date for you because I read some books from a hundred years ago that told me what they thought you liked. I should have consulted you, and, like you said earlier, I got so swept up by my wanting to find a solution to a problem that I ignored how you were feeling. I’m sorry, Celestia.”
“I could hardly hold attempts to make me happy against you, hasty as they may have been. Apology gladly accepted, Twilight.” The pair smiled at each other, a look of understanding passing like electricity between their charged bodies. Relief flooded into Celestia, but a well-ingrained caution made her pose another question for her companion. “And you are certain preferences aren’t offensive to you in some way? You aren’t upset that I kept this from you?”
Twilight gave a chuckle. “I’m a little confused, actually. Why did you think that would upset me?”
Celestia sighed. “Force of habit, I suppose. It is an expectation that I, as princess, would select a mate who could give me an heir. Your books will have mentioned genealogy, of course. Bloodlines are very important in the upper class of Canterlot, and the idea that I would willingly choose to not expand mine is far less palatable than the idea that I am a virgin queen beyond the sway of romantic feelings. The nobility is forever trying to convince itself that I expressly approve of their culture and am ingrained in it, when, as you know, I find myself far more involved with the farmers and shopkeepers than their lifestyle.”
Twilight tilted her head. “O...kay. But I’m not a noble. Well, I was born to one of the houses, but you know what I mean. I don’t live anything like them, either. You didn’t think I would react like they would, did you? I mean, I don’t know a pony richer than Rarity in town, and I don’t care.”
Celestia smiled. “You are correct, I did give you more credit than that. As I said, it is hard to reveal something I have hidden so long. I’ve even taken to referring to my old flames as “he”, when that was rarely the case. However, there was a second reason.” At this, Celestia’s smile strained ever so slightly, but she kept her composure nonetheless. “I was afraid I would alienate you when I mentioned it. After all--” Celestia bit her lip, uncertain as to how to proceed. “I...how shall I put this? As a homosexual, it is possible that I could be attracted to you, and I imagine such a revelation would greatly unsettle you. Of course, I did not have a crush on you at any point in your tutelage, but the very possibility might paint all of our interactions in a newer, much less favourable light.” It was only years of practice that saved Celestia from blushing, and her less experienced partner had no such luck. “The thought of raising a barrier like that between us made me stay my tongue, but I thought the better of it. It felt deceptive to let you continue on your way like that, especially after all you’ve said, and I suppose I should apologize for it.”
“I...I know what you mean. About the barrier, I mean. But I feel the same way. What I feel for you, and what I’m starting to realize you feel for me...it’s...special. It’s something I’d never want to ruin, and I guess there are some things about me I would want to hide because of that. But at the same time, I think that just as I wouldn’t want to ruin it, I wouldn’t let something ruin it either. At least, not unless it was something really, really bad. And you being gay definitely isn’t that.” Celestia smiled. Twilight smiled back. In an instant, they had closed the gap to give each other a quick, strong embrace, then broke apart. There had been no command or biological impulse that drove the embrace. It had simply felt like the natural thing to do for both.
“But that said,” Celestia pulled away with a cautious smile, “you can imagine why I would hesitate to bring this up, given the assumptions you might have made, and how uncomfortable it may have made you.”
“Yeah...that would be kind of...weird. I never thought of it like that. But I wouldn’t have taken it like that. I mean, it’s not like you would have a crush on me. I’m not any of those things you said when you were listing things in a pony you were looking for. Besides, you said you wanted something more than just dating from me anyway. Oh, if I’d just written down what you said about an ideal pony before! I’d be able to change my locations to search for a date for you without any trouble. Oh well. We should still be able to find a pony for you before Hearts and Hooves Day is done with.” Twilight looked over at Celestia, who was still smiling at her. In her haste to find an ideal lover for Celestia, however, she missed the way in which the expression had shifted back to its forced, safe and emotionless norm with the words she had said. “To Ponyville?”
Celestia gave a nod. “Yes, to Ponyville. I will search the barracks, and will find us a resturaunt. I think a location in Ponyville itself is likely the most comfortable. Once I’ve found a date and a date location, I will come find you. ”
Twilight smiled. “Right. Meet you soon.”
The pair embraced again, and then Twilight teleported with a lavender burst of light. Celestia turned towards the barracks, an inviting, neutral smile falling over her face.
---/人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\---
Twilight knocked on Blossomforth’s door, a rictus smile upon her face. “Hi!” She blurted out with unsettling cheer. “Do you want to go on a date with Princess Celestia?!” A blank stare met Twilight’s manic request, leaving the two standing in silence. After a pause, Blossomforth managed to say:
“As in...a date with Princess Celestia?”
“Exactly!” Twilight’s tone made the grey mare jump. The size of her eyes suggested she equated the situation with being caught in the path of a runaway freight train.
“I...would...um, love too. But...I have this thing...I’m...uh...sky...painting? Yes! Painting the sky! With Pinkie Pie! I’ll talk to you later, Twilight!” The door slammed shut in her face.
Twilight waved away the fearful imagining with a sigh. “Let’s...not try that. I don’t even know any gay mares! At least, I never asked. Bon Bon and Lyra are pretty close...but so are the girls and I. Urgh!”
Twilight stalked past the Ponyville market with a slump in her shoulders, searching across the public square for some lonely-looking potential homosexual. The local mailmare walked past with a pink, heart-shaped letter sealed with an hourglass stamp. Miss Cheerilee was leading a group of foals towards the fountain, pointedly not looking at Big MacIntosh. Raindrops sat by herself, a slump in her shoulders...until an exhausted and anxious Pokey Pierce made a beeline for her table and bolted into a chair with an apology the entire square could hear. Twilight groaned again. It was a fruitless search, and she knew it.
“What I really need is somepony who knows all about the love lives of everyone in Ponyville, and somepony who isn’t afraid to share them, either. Somepony I know I can trust, and somepony who wants everyone around her to find a perfect special somepo--” Twilight instantly knew where she needed to go. Without another word, she sped off to find Ponyville’s resident romance expert.
---/人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\---
“At ease.” Celestia disarmed the guards with her usual smile. “I am not here for a particular mission, nor do I require any civil duties from you. Rather, I come to you with an offer. Princess Twilight Sparkle has announced she is looking for an official date for Hearts and Hooves Day. She has further stated that she may be interested in a guard.” At this her tone dipped into one of confiding mischievousness, and her smile grew to a more jovial grin. She watched in amusement as expressions of awe, joy, fear, and, in the case of one unfortunate stallion, arousal, spread across the barracks. To her disappointment, however, not a single guard stepped forward, most of them either running for their young lives, moving on in disinterest or blushing and freezing up. One stallion, however, immediately pushed to the front of the group.
“Your majesty! Did you say...Princess Twilight?”
“That I did.” Celestia paused. There was something in the young stallion’s eyes that was decidedly unsettling. He seemed distracted, his face taking on a distant, vacant smile. Nonetheless, she pressed on, reasoning that she would be able to better gauge the stallion’s personality as she talked with him. “Would you be interested in accompanying her for the evening?”
“Absolutely. Her Majesty has been a huge inspiration to me since I was a colt. I’d be honoured to date her.” The guard’s airy smile did not dissipate, but it did seem to grow more earnest, if a bit more distant still. Celestia bit the inside of her cheek.
“The location would be Twilight’s current home, Ponyville, and would likely be a restaurant significantly below the standards of inner city Canterlot you would be used to. Is that acceptable?”
“Absolutely.” The stallion turned to look at her, his glazed eyes seeing past her. Celestia decided it was fully possible that there was merely something wrong with his eyes. “It doesn’t matter where we meet, so long as it’s her. If I could make her happy, even for a little bit, that would be a dream come true. I joined the guard to protect ponies like her and her Majesty, Princess Cadance.”
This struck Celestia as a perfectly reasonable position, but despite what the stallion had said thus far, she could not help but shake the feeling there was something decidedly off about his demeanor. Regardless, he had presented himself where no other guard would, and if he was as fixed upon making Twilight’s date night a success as he purported, she saw no reason not to allow him the chance.
“One more condition.” Celestia took a breath in, searching for the best way to state her presence as diplomatically as possible. The stallion had thus far had a peculiarly singular focus upon Twilight, so she reasoned that framing her attendance through Twilight’s perspective would be the most logical step. “Twilight was hoping that I might attend the date, both as a companion in case she feels uncomfortable and because she hopes I might enjoy the holiday on my own terms. I hope to be as unintrusive as possible, and will only intervene if the date becomes especially uncomfortable for either party.”
“That should be fine, Your Majesty. Anything to finally get a chance to meet her.” The blue-maned stallion gave her a breezy smile, still seeming not entirely in the same reality as Celestia. The Princess pursed her lips.
“Very well. Would you like to help me find a restaurant?”
He nodded, giving a casual toss of his mane with his confirmation. Celestia met his bland smile with a more natural one of her own, and with a flick of her horn she dissipated the pair, leaving a garrison sighing with relief behind her.
“...Why didn’t you ask her, Heavy?”
“Are you crazy? You think about what would happen if it went pear-shaped? I happen to like living on the surface of celestial bodies that aren’t on fire, myself.”
“...Yeah.” His comrade agreed wistfully. “Yeah, but it’s still a damn shame.”
---/人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\---
Twilight knocked on the door of the Carousel Boutique furiously. “Rarity!” Knock, knock, knock. “Rarity!” Knock, knock, knock. “Rarity!”
The door replied with a wail of despair. “Go away! I won’t see another soul today, save if they have come to sweep me away to freedom from my endless vigil of maidenly solitude! I will not have any ruffian come and disrupt my despair on today of all days for some filthy dress!”
Twilight’s eyes narrowed, her expression going from concerned to deadpan in a heartbeat. “Hoity Toity said no, didn’t he?”
“He said he had 'other concerns'! What concern could possibly be greater than the power of true...of true lo-o-o-o-ove!”
Twilight sighed, shaking her head at the sob that permeated the door. “Rarity, I’m coming in.”
“Coming in?! Oh, goodness, no, darling! You can’t possibly see me like this! To see me so, so, unfashionable? So miserable? On a day when you should be out shining like a brilliant star? Unthinkable! Just...just leave an old maid to her loneliness.” The last of these words was delivered with comparative calm and quiet.
Twilight’s eyes softened at the words. “I’ve told you before, a date would never come before any of the girls, and that includes you. Now come on. I’ve got some good news for you...And a few questions. But they all have to do with love!”
“Love, you say? Well why didn’t you say so, darling! Come in! Come in!”
Twilight muttered “I was trying to…” under her breath, but trotted in with her best supportive smile nonetheless. At once her smile turned to a look of worry. “...Rarity?”
Wrung, wrinkled, and fur covered dresses were strewn across the floor, some of them damp with what Twilight assumed were tears. A large fainting couch took up the centre of the room, and tubs of discarded ice cream were strewn across the boutique. The centrepiece was Rarity herself. Her mane looked as though she had been pawing at it all day, with strands of loose hair curling from her scalp in all directions and several places where it had been parted into clumps down to the root. Mascara streaks ran down to her chin, where they mingled with chocolate mint stains spread like a patchwork around her mouth. Her coat was raised and matted, the static from her dresses having pulled it in whichever direction she had been mangling them. Lastly, red-rimmed eyes stared out at Twilight with a bittersweet smile.
“Hello, Twilight dear. Let’s...let’s hear this good news, shall we?”
“Right.” Twilight made her way through the sea of ice cream tubs, noticing now that there were a few discarded romance novels hidden amongst them, and stopped beside Rarity’s couch, resting a hoof on the fashionista’s shoulder and giving her a tender smile. “I decided to take your advice.”
Rarity blinked. “What advice?”
“You said I should find a special somepony for Hearts and Hooves Day as part of the proper Princess decorum, and, well, I decided you were right. It only seems right that I try to explore what the holiday has to offer. I tried getting a few dates on my own…” The pair of them shared a collective cringe, one at the memories and the other from her knowledge of how the scenario likely developed. “Yeah. That was...that was a mistake.”
“So now you’ve come to ask for my advice?”
“Sort of. There’s a bit more. I thought about coming to you, but I knew you were probably busy trying to find a date yourself, so I decided it was best not to bother you unless I really needed to. Which is what’s happening now.”
“Who did you go to, then?” Rarity wet a handkerchief at the sink, levitating it towards her face once it had sufficiently saturated with water.
“Princess Celestia. I assumed she must have loads of dating experience, given she’s been around for so long. Not to mention, I already know she’s a great teacher. The best, really. So I thought she could teach me a bit about how to date, herself.”
“And?”
“Well, instead of dating advice I learned a lot about the Princess’ life. She...she hasn’t had a very good dating life, either. Which is where you come in. I asked the Princess if she’d like to go on a date with me, and now I need you to help me find the dates.”
Rarity’s eyes lit up, but the expression was cut off by a look of concern. “Erm...Twilight? You do know that when you say “can I take you on a date?” you are typically asking a pony to be your date, yes?”
Twilight blinked. “What?”
“With the way you worded your question, Princess Celestia likely thought you were asking her to be your date.”
Twilight only laughed at this. At first, nasally giggles came forth, barely restrained by her hoof. Eventually, she could hold them no more, and open, unguarded laughter came from her in quick succession. She leaned on the couch for support.
---/人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\---
Celestia rarely cantered, usually contenting herself with a gentle, peaceful walk, but she had to confess Pinkie Pie’s excitement had been perhaps more infectious than she had imagined. Of course, the pink mare had been ecstatic to see her and a New Pony in town, and had naturally decided a party was in order. Unfortunately for her, and mercifully for Celestia and Twilight, most ponies were either too involved in their own plans or too demoralized to be interested in a large celebration, and so Celestia had discreetly suggested that making the party a Secret Dating Party set for herself, Twilight and what company they brought could be a unique and invigorating challenge. Pinkie, of course, had thought this was a splendid idea, and had set to work preparing Sugarcube Corner for “Sparky and Celly’s Hearts and Hooves Soiree” with gusto.
In the process, Celestia had learned Twilight had recently bolted toward the Carousel Boutique, and so, with the kind hearted but somewhat air headed orange colt in tow, Celestia had made her way through town. The sound of Twilight’s nasally laugh and the mention of her name pulled her to one of the windows of the boutique. Her higher thought and moral compass fought a losing battle with her heart over Twilight’s privacy. She chided herself on her cowardice in not simply asking herself, but she wished to hear what Twilight thought of her in private. Thoughts of too many old friends and lovers with hidden resentments buried for her sake pushed her to know, as did a pleading need to know if her selfish wish had even a ghost of a chance, shame her though it did that animal fear and attachment had bested Twilight’s promise to tell her nothing but the truth.
So she pushed herself against the window sill, hoping against hope that neither would draw back the curtains, all of which had been ominously pulled back. Her open ear met the sounds of Rarity giving Twilight a rebuttal. It was only then that she noticed the blue-maned colt had joined her in eavesdropping. She raised an eyebrow at him, and he cast her not barely a glance for her effort. Her raised eyebrow pulled back down into a furrowed brow, her scrutinizing gaze penetrating the stallion and what exactly his motive might have been. Perhaps allowing this to go as far as it has was a mistake…
---/人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\---
“Hehehe...Celestia date me. Yeah, good one, Rarity.”
Rarity became indignant at this, her nose wrinkling in agitation. “Well, what? It’s perfectly plausible that’s how she took it, given your behaviour around her in the past.”
Twilight looked up at this, tilting her head to one side. “My behaviour?”
“You know, your...you...ness. How whenever Celestia comes to town we need to prepare everything just so or else the world will end? Or how you went to the Gala just so you could talk alone with her? And you said that that would be the best night of your life?” Twilight looked down at this, her ears drooping. “Or that business with the missed friendship report? And how you rush to embrace her the instant you see her?”
Twilight’s eyes raised in a hard stare, her ears still drooped. “Is that...is that really what you thought it was? That I had a crush on her, or something?”
“Well, it was one of a few theories,” Rarity said lamely.
Twilight gave a sigh. “Rarity, I--she’s my idol, Rarity. I’ve wanted to be like her since I first met her, because of how much good she does. She’s a wonderful pony. We owe her our lives. Everyone I know and love, my entire world would be impossible without her and the sacrifices she made. Multiple times over, too. And she doesn’t care about any of that. She cares about everypony as a person and she never spares a moment for herself when she could be helping somebody else. And she calms me down. Everypony else is afraid of me when I...when I have my episodes.” Twilight’s gushing was interrupted by a look of naked shame, her entire body bowing under the weight of her darkest, most painful flaw. She shook her head, regaining her composure and her good cheer with a speed that suggested experience in hiding this particular wound. “But she’s not. She’s always there for me, always knows just what to say, and is always happy to hear what silly thing I’m worrying about this time.
“I’ve known her since I was a filly. She defined my whole life, Rarity. Without her I never would have met you girls, never would have become the magic expert I am today. Never would have met Spike or Cadance, never would have had the life I have here. And...and I guess I mean a lot to her, too. Without us she wouldn’t have Luna back, or stopped Discord, or seen Cadance find her own kingdom to rule over. Without me she wouldn’t have Spike and Chrysalis would’ve...she wouldn’t have been able to save Cadance. And now she’s starting to open up to me, and tell me about herself and let me be her friend. What we have is...magical. It’s...special. I couldn’t take her on this date any more than I could take one of you or Spike. I could never make our bond out to be something so...silly? Flirty? Shallow. I could never be that selfish, and never that shallow.”
---/人◕ ‿‿ ◕人\---
Celestia’s open lips leaked air from her lungs, and it was only when they began to protest that she realized she had stopped breathing. Shallow. Selfish. Twilight had perhaps chosen the best words for her attraction in one fell swoop. She pushed away from the window, looking down at the sill in disgust. The grass against her hooves were like a thousand tiny slaps bringing her back to reality, reminding her a foggy dream of romance had almost betrayed the greatest bond she had ever held with another pony.
But even that ignored the ugly truth. The same clingy, selfish, shallow need for another in her life to be with romantically had almost ruined Twilight’s greatest and happiest bond. How much she meant to Twilight, and vice versa, had been laid out in perhaps the most loving rejection never delivered to her. With a soft sigh, Celestia sat upon the grass, examining her reflection in the gems of her shoes, imagining, accusing and regretting.
If it doesn't I'll be fine. If it does I'll be fine. I don't care one way or the other.
Too late. My hit team are already on their way.
Welp, I need to go buy a torch!
and not the British kindForgot to close the italicize at the end there bud.
Once again, goddammit, Twilight.
GAH! Twilight is so dumb! Rarity needs to smack some sense into that filly... and don't get me started on Celestia... Eavesdropping is no way for a princess to behave. All in all good chapter, thank you for assuring us that there would be no Flashlight... Temporary RariFlash would be an okay way to get Celestia and Twi alone again though... Oh or even better! Pinkie could kill Flash Sentry.
What? you thought I was going to make a joke? No. No jokes on that one. Crap now I'm inspired to write a story... It has nothing to do with Rarity or Twilight or Celestia... It does have something to do with Flash being murdered though... all the murder will be for him... yay.
Dear goddess those italics.
Twilight...
TAKE A BLOODY HINT!
i.imgur.com/q8pG7zz.jpg
Bond, I believe you meant.
Also, I think the italics was supposed to end at that paragraph, but it continues on through the last few bits of the story.
Great update though, look forward to reading more.
Everything after this:
seems to be in italics.
Can flash get splattered by a runaway wagon please
Seriously though, my ocd aside, this story is going on my read it later and I'll hit it up once it's complete because I like the idea.
person....PERSON
</i> </em> </span>...I don't know the syntax of the story editor, but I'm pretty sure you're missing one of those.
I think this needs a Teen-rating just because it's Twilestia, honestly.
Just make a contract with me, and you can become a Magical Girl('s fillyfriend)!
cloudchief.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/kyubey2.jpg
You want to, Celestia. You need to. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
Just make a contract with me, and you can become a Magical Girl('s fillyfriend)!
cloudchief.tv/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/kyubey2.jpg
You want to, Celestia. You need to. Search your feelings, you know it to be true.
hmm... I wonder, will they both be killing Flash by the end of this story?
4767899 Your profile picture looks like he's actually saying your comment...
I can't put my finger on it but the feel of the story seems to be different from the first few chapters. I'll toss this on my read later list to check it out again when it is complete as this might all be in my head.
Poor Celestia So much for the old saying "eavesdroppers never hear any good of themselves". Who'd have thought it would be so much worse to hear that someone thinks you're better than you really are?
The inclusion of Flash Sentry amuses me. And given what he's seen and his lack of intelligence, he may yet prove useful to cluelessly recount the events for Twilight's interpretation
Rarity's explanation of Twilight's behavior is just how I always preach about why Twilestia is best ship
Why the hell is number spelled out in this chapter title but not in the other three? You are a monster.
Sure a lot of dumb Flash hate going on here! I hope he's just a changeling or something and you aren't portraying him completely not how he was in the show for the sake of catering to the Flash haters.
This is brilliantly written! Keep up the good work!
Looks like your italics slipped towards the end.
Loving the story thus far Knight of Cerebus, looking forward to seeing more.
4767372
Something like 'GroundFlash Day' where he relives a day of dying over and over again but without the happy resolution?
"You just gestured to all of me..."
*facepalm* Well then, one step forward, two steps backwards. I'm not sure which one of them I want to slap over the head the most. Goddammit Celestia, this is a glaring example of why you do not eavesdrop on conversations involving yourself! It rarely ends well, and misunderstandings are practically guaranteed...
As for Flash Sentry, I thought his inclusion into the story was kinda funny, though his behavior, as Celestia noted, is a bit... off. I suspect he'll end up doing something stupid which will help Twilight and Celestia to get together somehow. Not sure why everyone is hating on the guy, though. Seems just a tiny bit exaggerated...
OMG that Big Bang Theory reference! Knock knock knock penny....I mean rarity!
Brad, excuse me, Flash is acting between the weird and the scary. Please make him suffer.
I still don't get why everyone hates flash sentry.
He was a Plot element in a more-then-decent movie.
THAT'S IT!
I think you forgot a somewhere.
Everything after this paragraph is in italics.
As for the chapter itself, that was one of the roughest Twilestia rejections I've ever read, made even harder by the way its presented. Since this is marked Twilestia, I'm going to assume it ends in them together, and I can't stress enough how much I'm looking forward to the journey
4768333 You mean the one background appearance in canon in which he said a single line with a vacant stare? Or that movie in which his entire character and all of his actions involved making Twilight happy and he was given no personality beyond a transparent Nice Guy who acted like an idiot whenever Twilight was around?
4767358 4767839 4769002 4767515 Huh. It looks fine on my end. Blame my shitty Nova Scotia hotel Wi Fi. I'll fix it once I touch down in Ottawa.
4769032 He didn't really have a vacant stare, in all his cameos he always appeared like a perfectly regular pony guy, and there was never any sort of hint of any creepy feelings towards Twilight. At most he just seemed amused by her. The pony version is a different person from the human version, after all. Still, even the movie didn't suggest anything wrong about him, or anything extraordinary about his feelings for Human Twilight - just a simple infatuation, nothing creepy or over the top, how you've started hinting here.
I maintain that people who hate on Flash for no reason are silly and should reevaluate their way of thinking. There's no reason to hate him unless you were overly attached to your waifu Twilight, and that's just another level of pathetic anyways. The way people are acting in the comments here is incredibly immature, and the way you portray him manages to clash with even what little of his pony version has appeared in the show, which is quite a feat.
4769052 He dated Sunset Shimmer. That speaks volumes about how intelligent and legitimately romantically interested in his objects of fixation he is. He never does anything for himself, instead always for Twilight (besides a cutaway shot of him teaching kids to play guitar, which is, once again, at Twilight's behest). He becomes depressed at even the idea that Twilight turned him down, making that assumption based upon the fact that she started screaming the word "no" over and over within his general proximity.
I'd say I'm doing a fine job of representing him. The difference is that I'm writing how the other, three dimensional characters would react to him if they got a chance to slow down and learn about him. Friendly, helpful, but also shallow and obsessively focused on Twilight.
4769077 I disagree completely. Nothing about what you listed is out of the ordinary for a sudden crush. I'm not seeing shallowness nor obsessiveness in anything he did in the movie. Besides, again, that is a different Flash from the pony version, which hasn't even been indicated to have any sort of similar feeling towards Twi in the slightest. Even if you were writing the human version, I'd take it as a complete misinterpretation and a bad parody at best, but you're not even writing the same character that you insist on seeing in a way that wasn't shown at any point (even if the one you're writing you also insist on seeing in a way that wasn't shown at any point, but you're backing it up with bits and pieces of a different character).
As for Sunset, she's crafty (not too crafty but it apparently doesn't take much to completely manipulate even the "hair five"), she could've easily presented an entirely different image of herself to him... or he could've been into "bad girls" and recovered from that after leaving her. Either way, again, nothing really indicates that he's stupid or shallow. Maybe not the most brainy or suave character around, at worst.
4769107 We don't see him nearly enough to draw any conclusions about his pony character, except that he's always talking about or near Twilight in some way, and otherwise is acting like an on-duty royal guard. Treat it as an expansion of his off duty personality if you really feel this is such an insult to his "character".
And if you really can't see any obsessiveness or shallowness in his actions around his crush, you will never get why people hate him beyond assuming they're all interested in Twi romantically, nor will you understand why people like him don't get the girl in real life or why I have written him the way I have.
4769130
This is a bit ridiculous, he has mentioned her once in the movie because that's what he was required to say, and talked to her once because they bumped into each other. He didn't at any point talk to or about her without a reason, and he's only "near twilight" because she's among the main characters and we only see him when he happens to be nearby! You're really stretching here, we see enough of how he behaves around her (completely normally) to safely conclude that he does not in fact have any unhealthy or weird feelings towards Twilight.
And yes, there really isn't any obsessiveness or shallowness in his human counterpart in the movie. I'm calling bullshit on that entire sentence, it's way too easy to say "well, I guess you'll never understand" and not bother backing up your claims. I completely understand all those things, and I think it's you who does not. In truth, it all really looks unmistakably like people are angry at him for either daring to have a crush on a character they like (with or without being obsessed with the character themselves), or simply being a writers' tool to introduce an admittedly unnecessary romance subplot, and you have written him this way out of sheer pettiness and spite - it practically seeps from this chapter's pores! And the "people like him don't get the girl IRL" idea is just something you want to believe for the same reasons. It's childish is what it is.
4769158 So this has devolved into personal attacks, on both myself and my readers. I knew I'd get some rabid criticism for including Flash, but congrats on exceeding my expectations in how fast you were. Here's the door. I don't need patronage from the likes of you.
4769164 Right, not like you started it with your thinly-veiled "well I guess you'll never understand" or anything! That was more of a personal attack than anything I've said (worst of which is "childish").
4769169 No, I seriously meant that exactly as it was. You will quite literally never understand if you're always as rabid as you are right now. Once again, here's the door. Please, leave with some good grace.
4769204 Blocked. You can take your accusations to somebody who has patience for them. I, on the other hand, would like to deal with legitimate readers.
4769158
So. You would complain if this was catering to Flash haters. That makes you a hypocrite. Because you are obviously a Flash fan and are arguing points as though you want your opinion to be more important than those of the Flash-haters. Your hypocrisy completely invalidates any and all points you thought you were making. Doubly so if you try to weasel your way out of coming to that irrefutable realization. Cerberus has been correct this whole way through, and he's not even been catering to those of us who hate Flash - he's been pointing out factual truths that you are trying to deflect using opinion and head-canon, the proverbial Icarus' Wings. Neutrally. Without rancor. Would you like to see the difference between what Cerberus is doing and what a Flash-hater looks like?
It's vitriol. Because FUCK that worthless trash character. Just added to be a romance subplot with not one LINE of legitimate character in his entire conception. 'Brad' literally exists because Twilight does, creating unnecessary romantic tension in a movie with no fucking need of it. A movie, I will remind, we were told would have NO bearing on the show canon and would not invade show canon in the slightest - then the piece of garbage shows up escorting Cadence. What was even the POINT of that? "Durrhurr look at me, I'm in ur canon." Eating bags of dicks, apparently. And why in fuck's salts was he even in the Crystal Empire to begin with? He's not a crystal pony! Every other guard was made of living diamond! He has no purpose! He has no character! He's less than one-dimensional and yet somehow HE deserves to be canon? We've created characters for background ponies far and away superior that could have been more useful to either story! Flash Sentry is a fucking parasite, and you will not sit here and bitch and whine because there happens to be a story on this site that doesn't portray him as some deep and complex character so all the rest of you can have a circle-jerk about 'that's how he really is, they just didn't show it' like I hear every fucking time I mention I don't like Flash Sentry. But no, we're not allowed to dislike Flash Sentry. Any time he's not written as some heroic, seasoned character, hardened veteran, or suave heart-throb you people crap your diapers and throw them in our faces! Get OVER yourselves!
That is the difference between a solid Flash-hater, and Cerberus. Feel free to compare the two arguments. Feel free to continue liking the gelded wastrel. But do NOT feel free to roll up here and start acting like it's hell on earth because Flash isn't written like some fucking messiah. It annoys me to no end. And since I have a reputation for being a combative loudmouth, I can do this all week if you don't stop and just accept this story doesn't conform perfectly to the fantasy world between your ears. Accept it, move on, and stop pestering these comments and this author.
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4768572 No more like he says something about or does something to Twilight that is horribly unforgivable and Twilight's friends might be inclined to not forgive him... violently... with a rake...
Also GroundFlash Day? that's a real story? and they gave it a happy ending? I don't know how I feel about happy Flash. I still might check it out for inspiration.
4769234 He has already ragequit the Twilestia group and downvoted both the story and any comments relating to the Flash Sentry element of it.
Forget it, Jake, it's Flashlight town.
4768822 right? so good that my first instinct was to stop reading and check to see if there were other comments about it.
4767869 "everypony as a pony" sounds dumb.