• Published 8th Dec 2016
  • 503 Views, 9 Comments

A Day in the Life of Flash Sentry - Silver Inkwell



Follow Flash as an ordinary regular day turns into a not so ordinary or regular day. Nightmare Shadow forces him and other ponies to play some deadly mysterious games, can he survive and win? Will the others?

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The Third Challenge

But now instead of the same message that had been repeated to the other contestants, this time a different and new message was relayed to all the contestants who now stood in all the same magical mysterious black bubble.

“Hello contestants of my games, you have completed the first two challenges quite well, but those were quite easy compared to what I have next for you.”

“Easy, you call what we endured easy?” Celestia asked.

“I would have to agree with Celestia on that,” Flash said.

"Well I don’t know about you guys, but it was easy for me, it might have been hard for you guys, but it was totally not the way with me,” Rainbow Dash said.

“It does not matter what your opinion or thought were about what you have endured or been through, some of you have had your element tested, your honesty, generosity, kindness, and loyalty. Others had to face one of their worst fears or nightmares. Some had to be loyal, generous, kind, and honest.

But this next challenge will be your hardest, but not your last one.

This time you will all face your worst fear and nightmare, your very worst one.

The only way to move on is to accept it, and stand up and face it.

Good luck to every one of you, and welcome to the third challenge.”
With that said Nightmare Shadow remained silent and suddenly the group was split up once more, but not in pairs, they were on their own now, all alone.

They had no one else with them to face whatever was going to be shown next.

1. Applejack’s POV

“Facing my worst fear?” she said to Ness, “I think I can handle that.”

“You would be wrong then,” Nightmare Shadow said, “You are all wrong.”

With that said Applejack was suddenly on the farm back home with all her friends and family, and they were waiting for her with anticipation on their faces as well as expectation, and she prepared herself for what she might face.

“Hey there every pony, what are you all doing here?”

“We were waiting for you,” Apple Bloom said, “We need to talk to you about the harvest and crops, they’re all gone and destroyed, there isn’t anything left.”

“Well that’s just horrible and terrible granny, but how did it happen?”

“Because of you, if you hadn’t been so lazy and careless we might have, could have saved the farm! But now we’re losing the farm to Flim and Flam.”

“No that can’t be true, tell me that it isn’t true!”

“I’m afraid it is big sister, all of it is true, every word I speak, but then again I don’t think I should call you that anymore, especially after what you did and after what happened to the farm, after all it was because of you that we lost this farm, so we as a family, we have all decided to disown you from our family, I’m sorry Applejack, but you are no longer part of the apple family.”

“No,” Applejack said, it was as Nightmare Shadow said, her worst fear was here, and she had to face and accept it, but she didn’t know how to do that.

“Oh, and one more thing, your friends are here to see you out of town, you’re no longer part of their group because they say they can’t have any pony who is so lazy and careless as to let their farm and family ever get this way.”

“I can’t believe that this is actually happening to me,” Applejack said.

“Well you better believe it, because it is happening.”

“Well I just have one question for you?”

“What’s that?”

“Where are Granny Smith, and Big Mac? I don’t see them.”

“They died, and I’m just about on the brink of death too.”

“That can’t be true, what you say, this can’t be true.”

“I’m afraid it is,” Twilight Sparkle said, “Your family died and you were disowned, you never even got a chance to fix your mistake, and your friends left you, even me, and I just wanted to say how I feel to you before you left.”

“Wait, what are you saying, my entire family is dead, because of me?”

“Yes, don’t you remember? They have their gravestones at the farm.”

And with that said Applejack was somehow at the farm where the graves were, and somehow she must be going through time at a different rate because one moment she was at the farm talking to Apple Bloom, and then at Twilight’s house speaking to her, and now she was back at the farm again facing her fear.
It was a sad sight to look at, and she cried, but she finally accepted it.

She accepted the fact that death comes to all ponies, especially to the ones you love and care about the most, even to her friends as she stood at their graves.

2. Rarity’s POV

Rarity stood in her house with her friends all around her, but it was not her house exactly, it was in shambles and in ruin, dark and abandoned.

“What do you mean that my fashion business failed?” she asked in a panic.

“Well that’s just it, ponies here never appreciated or brought any of your dresses, and because of that your dream of having one in Canterlot and in all the other places across Equestria has failed, and you’ve been forgotten.

Well actually worse than that, you lost your sense of style and fashion, and you ran out of new and original ideas, and you promised to make another dress again so long as you lived, and then you tore down your house and became socially isolated, and we’re so sorry for you, but we can’t help you, even though we tried to, but no matter what we did, the fault lay with you alone.”

“Well of all the worst possible things to happen, this is the absolute worst!”

3. Pinkie Pie’s POV

“All my friends have abandoned me, and no one wants to come to my parties!” Pinkie Pie cried out in despair and sadness and some disbelief.

Even her party canon was broken in this worst fear and nightmare of hers.

4. Fluttershy’s’ POV

It was literally everything, Nightmare Night, her shadow, dragons, bats, bears, all the big mean nasty stuff, to say it all would literally take too long.

But suffice it to say she couldn’t stand up to any of her fears all alone.

5. Rainbow Dash’s POV

She was in the Wonderbolts Hall of History, but what she saw was scary.
Instead of being featured on the wall or hall as she thought she would, she instead hanged on the Hall of the Worst Fliers in History.

But even then her name was eventually forgotten, and no one remembered who she was, which was almost worse than or just as bad as being the worst.

“This can’t be happening,” she said to herself, “I was supposed to be one of the best, not one of the worst, I was supposed to be remembered, not forgotten. How could this happen, especially to an awesome pony like myself?”

“Sometimes you can’t get or have everything you want in life, especially your dreams and passions, Rainbow Dash,” Nightmare Shadow said.

“Yeah, well we’re going to kick your butt so hard that you won’t even feel it for weeks afterwards, and then after that you’re going to be sorry for all the things that you’ve done,” Rainbow Dash said trying to put a brave face on.

“Oh Rainbow Dash, you and all your pony friends make me laugh inside when they say they will defeat me, and I might keep you alive just for that when your use has expired, but I won’t because I do not play favorites, and after your use has expired and my plans succeed, there is no telling how much of a wild card that you may or will be. And I cannot, I simply refuse to have any wild card in my deck, I like to know the odds I’m against and then play, I need a puzzle image before I put the pieces together, and finally, I need an opponent in all my games, especially the game of skill, tactic, and logic, the game of chess itself.”

“I find chess and puzzles boring; I like action and adventure more.”

“Well of course you do, and I know that, and let me reassure you that before your journey is done or complete, and before these games end, you will lose something that you have held dear and close to your heart, something you kept out of the thoughts of your mind as well as your ideas, but not your dreams. I do not lie when I say that you cannot expect to truly win these games I have.

No matter how much you or your other friends try, no matter what they do or how far they come, or how much power, strength and knowledge they gain, you will all lose something in the end, and it’s going to be something that will hurt all of you, after all, you can’t fight a war against me or any other pony and expect not to lose something in the end, to expect that is to expect failure, it is a false hope and lie, and when we meet for the last and final time, do you want to know what I’m going to say to all of you? I’m going to say this, ‘You Lose’.

And when I finally get to say it, I’m going to relish that moment, I’m going to savor it and remember it forever, because no matter what happens with this war, whether or not I lose or win, I will always have the knowledge that all of you lost something in the end, and that will be my final and last victory.

For you can never truly get rid of the darkness and shadows inside your heart, mind and soul, you can never ever forget the ideas, dreams, thoughts, and fears that you had, they will remain a part of you, never to be forgotten, and even if you try to move on past them, they will always stay with you to haunt you until the day you die. And that is why no matter what, I will never ever truly be gone, for I will live in your minds, thoughts, dreams, ideas, and fears for as long as you live, and I will haunt you until the day that you die.

And so long as I do live inside of you, you can never ever be truly happy, for you will always worry about me, just as your thoughts, ideas, fears, and dreams, even if you try to move past me I will be there in your mind to haunt you, there will always be some small part of you that remembers the past, the part that will remember me, and wonder and question if I will escape and return, and the answer to that question is yes,
I will always escape and return from whatever cage or prison or chains you bind me with to hold me down.

For you cannot trap or bind the darkness and shadows and thoughts and ideas and fears and dreams, they are a living thing that is a part of you and every other pony there is in the land of Equestria. And it will remain that way forever, for the darkness and shadows cannot die or be killed, after all, you can’t kill an idea, especially one as old as the darkness itself, for it will always be there.
I hope that you can remember this talk, for when you do you will know that I was right, and then you’ll be in pain and regret and always ask yourself this one question, why didn’t I do anything to stop him? Why couldn’t I change anything? You’ll ask yourself what you could have done more, and when you do, you will be the subject of you own pain that you inflict upon yourself.

And when you do, that will be my one last final victory I have over you.

That is all I have to say about this matter Rainbow Dash, so do not forget this, not that you could, even if and no matter how much you may want to.”
And with that said Nightmare Shadow remained silent, and Rainbow Dash was left all alone in the darkness and shadow waiting for the next challenge.

6. Twilight Sparkle’s POV

Twilight had an almost similar experience of failure and disappointment as Rainbow Dash had, but in a much different way and manner instead.

“You have failed me my student,” Celestia said to her (or at least a fake image and likeness and replica of her), “I sent you to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship, and you have failed me, I’m disappointed in you Twilight Sparkle, I expected so much more from you, I wanted you to be a leader, a symbol of hope and pride for all of Equestria, but then again, I guess I got my hopes up too high for the wrong pony, something that I should never do, and it’s something that I will never do again, so at least you have taught me one thing Twilight Sparkle, it is to never get your hopes too high for any pony.”

“Princess Celestia, surely you must be wrong and mistaken, I learned so much about the magic of friendship, I sent you letters; don’t you remember any of that or have you forgotten all of that for some strange mysterious reason?”

But the princess must not have heard or was ignoring her because she did not even look at Twilight Sparkle when she talked to her next.

“You are no longer worthy to even be called my student anymore, and therefore your stay and time at Ponyville with your ‘friends’ is no longer needed or required, and you will be sent back to your old home in Canterlot at once, perhaps you will be more useful to us and me if you just read your books.”

“I can’t believe that I am hearing this right now,” Twilight Sparkle said.

“And I cannot believe that it has come to this, your reckless behavior and actions have put so many ponies at risk, danger, and peril of their lives.

And despite the fact that you and your ‘friends’ clean up the mess, there are times where it has or could have gotten out of control, and that would mean I would have to act, and I have enough problems as it is already.”

“I’m sorry I failed and disappointed you, but please tell me this; is there any way that you can forgive me? Is there any way that I can have a second chance to start over again? Please tell me, I want to know the truth, Celestia.”

“There are no second chances for those that have failed and disappointed me; there is no redemption to be found for you my former student of mine.

I am sorry Twilight Sparkle, but this is the only way that you can help now, go away, stay away, and never come back, and have your name forgotten.”

And with that said Twilight Sparkle stood there in the depths of her very worst fear and nightmare waiting for the next challenge to come so she could escape this place, she did not like it here, and so she prayed and hoped it would end soon, but the end would only come once all had finished the current challenge and task and round and level and stage, and so she prayed for them to finish.

7. Flash Sentry’s POV

His fear was also failing the princess too, and then being sent off the royal guard force, and then being demoted to only being a cleaning pony, but then it got worse with him being fired, his name being dishonored and forgotten and in ruins, and his reputation and status and money and house were also in ruins, and were also dishonored and forgotten. He was literally living out his worst fears and nightmares because it was his worst fears and nightmares being shown to him, and he couldn’t escape for it, the only thing that he could do was wait and pray and hope for the other ponies to finish up the challenge.

8. Princess Celestia’s POV

Celestia faced Nightmare Moon all over again, it was one of her worst fears that her sister would fall into her old ways and habits again despite her being there for her now, and she also feared that this time she would lose, and she did so, or at least she saw an image of what would happen should something like that ever incur (and it was very odd, strange, and unusual to watch a fake and false image and replica of her, it was almost creepy in some sort of odd way, but to avoid any and all confusion let u call the fake false mirror image Celestia 2).

But then her other fear was shown as well, one that was far worse than the last one that she saw, she stood over the dead body of her sister as Nightmare Moon and she knew that despite all her attempts to save her, she had failed once more again, and she could not live with the pain or the knowledge that she had killed her sister, even if it was for the good of all the citizens and ponies of Equestria, and so Celestia 2 killed herself (or at least her false fake mirror image did so in an accurate representation of what really would happen should that event ever incur, but it was still odd and unusual to watch, but Celestia couldn’t help but to cry as she saw these images before her).

Then finally she stood before her last and final fear, she stood over the grave of her dead sister Luna, and though she knew that this time that she didn’t kill her, the pain and sorrow she felt was still too much, and it drove the false fake mirror image of herself insane and mad, and instead of being the kind and gentle ruler she always knew, she turned into a monster like her sister Luna had, for now she was blinded by rage, guilt, pain, sorrow, and loneliness.

But Celestia didn’t have to or try to name herself, she did it for herself.

She called herself Nightmare Solar or Solar Shadow or Nightmare Dawn.

But it mattered not what she called herself, for now she was only a mere reflection or shadow or nightmare of herself, and not at her true power and strength, now she was corrupt too as her sister once had been long ago.

These were all her fears, losing her sister in any form, shape, or way, and then becoming a monster instead of the ruler and leader that Equestria needed.

But that was the end of her fears and images, no more needed to be shown, and now all the other ponies had been shown their fear, except Solar.

But the plan for Solar was something special that required every pony and it would be something revealed in the fourth and final challenge of the games.

And with that all the ponies suddenly found themselves at the last challenge.

Author's Note:

I couldn't resist using a catchphrase by Rarity.

Next Chapter: The Fourth and Final Challenge

Stay tuned for more.