How to Disappear Completely

by shortskirtsandexplosions

Free

Mr. and Mrs. Cake were stacking up the last of several dishes onto a rolling cart. They marched down a length of tables and gathered whatever was left behind by the Equestrian patrons.

As the final batch of musicians packed up their instruments and left the front stage of the Banquet Hall, Vinyl Scratch and Octavia Melody worked together on disassembling DJ-P0N3's turntable. After checking in on them, Lyra Heartstrings descended from the platform and joined Bon Bon in sweeping up a corner of the large chamber.

Off in the distance, Filthy Rich and Fancy Pants held a quiet conversation over half-empty martinis. Neither seemed rather thirsty at the moment. A few spaces over, Derpy Hooves continued packing several rows of decorations into a large crystalline container.

There was a loud, pronounced creak, followed by the clopping of hooves that echoed up and down the chamber.

Everypony froze what they were doing. With perked ears, they looked over, their eyes narrowing... then widening.

Soarin trotted slowly into the room. He was accompanied by a lowly yellow-orange figure. Flash Sentry lifted his head, and the dim lighting of the once-crowded area caught the glint of his ocean blue mane.

Everyone stayed still—everyone except for Derpy. With a happy grin, she flew across the way and almost tackled Flash with a hug.

"Heeeeeeey! Mister Bard!" She gave him a sisterly nuzzle and leaned back, eyes aimed at either side of his skull as she smiled wide. "They let you out!"

"Yes, Miss Hooves." Flash Sentry nodded. "They let me out." He bit his bottom lip.

Derpy blinked. Her smile faded. She looked curiously at Soarin.

From afar, the rest of the ponies watched with tense breaths. Mr. and Mrs. Cake leaned against one another. Vinyl and Octavia craned their necks from up stage. Lyra and Bon Bon shuffled around the edge of multiple tables. At last, Fancy Pants and Filthy Rich shuffled closer, their eyes blank—yet tinged with the trace of worry.

Soarin looked at the group, then at Flash. He arched an eyebrow and motioned slightly with his head.

Putting on a brave smile, Flash spoke to the group: "I talked with the Princesses. I... uh..." His smile faded as he sighed. "They're not forcing me to go anywhere."

Several ponies exhaled breaths of relief. The crowd ever so slowly gathered closer.

"I... uh... I wanna say I'm sorry for not being here when you needed me most," Flash said. "For when the festivities began. From what I hear, Soarin went above and beyond to oversee that everything went smoothely. That's pretty boss of him... and still super lame of me..."

"Oh Brad..." Bon Bon shook her head with a soft smile.

"It's quite fine, ol' chap." Fancy Pants winked behind his monocle.

"You still saved the day for everypony here in the Empire!" Filthy said. "From what I hear, Blueblood's still hostin' the Hawkeye Pack and makin' them feel right at home!"

"Still... all of this was very uncool of me," Flash said.

"Why would you say that?" Lyra asked, eyes narrowing. "You gave us all the chance to prove ourselves!"

"She's right, dear!" Mrs. Cake smiled hopefully. "Carrot here and I have already given our names out to over a dozen hosts who would love to benefit from our catering services!"

"That's right-indeedy!" Mr. Cake grinned. "And the music here was a real knee-slapper! You should have heard Miss Melody and Miss Scratch playing some of your well-chosen tunes!"

Flash sighed, gazing down at the floor. "I really wish I could have been here with you guys."

"You're the reason we were assembled in the first place to facilitate this event," Octavia said from the stage. "In a way, Brad, you were here with us."

Flash looked at her. With a deadpan expression, he murmured, "My name's not Brad."

Octavia didn't flinch, nor did she interject.

The teenager continued. "It's Flash Sentry. And... in case you're all worried..." He turned to look at the group at large. "I'm not a changeling. But..." He fidgeted. "...I'm not a pony either."

The Cakes exchanged glances.

Fancy Pants stroked his chin in quite contemplation.

"But... if you're not a pony, Mr. Bard..." Derpy blinked, standing nervously closer to Soarin. "...then what are you?"

"I'm a human... from a place called Earth... my Earth, a world beyond a magical portal in Princess Twilight's castle basement. It... it's all super hard to explain. But—I promise you—I'm not dangerous. I couldn't even harm you guys if I wanted to. But... still... I wasn't being honest with you all this time. And that's totally not cool." He took a breath, gazing past them. "I like to think that I was more concerned with what I did than who I was... but that's no friggin' excuse. You all deserve better... all of you. It's because of you that the day's been saved. Not me. If I was honest from the beginning, then maybe... just maybe... I'd get to share in the fruits of your labor. But that simply hasn't been the case. The truth caught up to me... and... well... here I am now."

Silence.

Soarin glanced at the group, then back at Flash.

The teenager sighed, hanging his head.

There were hoofsteps. A gentle hoof tilted his chin up.

Flash found himself looking into a pair of amber eyes.

"You say your name is Flash Sentry?" Lyra asked.

Flash nodded. "Uh huh."

"Hmmmm... cool..." She smiled. "You deserve a last name. Besides... 'Brad' was pretty unexciting."

"Positively plebeian to boot," Octavia said with a knowing wink. Vinyl smiled behind her.

Derpy giggled while Filthy Rich let out a good chuckle.

"I... uh..." Flash squirmed where he stood. "I don't think you guys understand what I've done here."

"We understand plenty," Fancy Pants said with a proud smirk. "And we're just happy that you're free now, my boy."

The group collectively nodded their heads.

Soarin smirked at Flash.

And Flash...

...he gazed into the warmth and color that formed the whole lot of them. His smile was limp and his ears drooped but his voice was more alive than ever. "Yeah..." A slight shudder, pleasant and hopeful. "I'm free now."

Comments

[Bruno]

I don’t want the story to end here, by any means, this is just the first lull we’ve had and it feels like it could possibly be an ending. (That, and 120 is a nice round number to end off on, if you were going to.)

[IceKitsune]

A very understanding bunch. Expected nothing less honestly. I bet the next chapter is going to be a ton of questions from everyone though.

[harts fire]

aww a super good slice of life chapter.

[moonbutters]

I wonder what Derpy’s gonna call him now? Fresh Scantron? Fish Smelltree? Foosh Spleentea?

[Booster Spice]

More give to give than there is take to take. Save the panicking for when the worlds ending?

[KitsuneNoYomeiri]

8881690
Naked Watchman?

[AdmiralTigerclaw]

8881690
We give our thanks to Blast Hardcheese!

[djthomp]

I kind of hope that Derpy keeps calling him Bard.

[remnants]

8881944
Only you can save us, Roll Fizzlebeef!

[Leftover of Saikano]

And now the real problems can begin.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Hmm. Well, the truth is out everywhere but the human world. Now to see what Flash does with his life.

8881690
Splash Re-entry, Pony from Another World!

[Chadbane]

Great chapter! I would really like to know more about how this will affect things on the other side of the mirror, though. Like, will Sunset Shimmer be given closure over what happened to Flash? Will she attempt to visit him to change his mind? Only time will tell...

[Galaxy of Equestria]

Yah.

[FloydienSlip]

smoothely

Goddammit, man.