This story is a sequel to The Prisoner of Zebra
In the second installment of The Flash Sentry Papers, Carrot Top (a.k.a. Special Agent Golden Harvest) calls on noted rogue Flash Sentry for a Very Important Mission. Soon enough, Sentry is dragged into another misadventure, this one involving feuding families, young lovers, and a troop of very angry flying baboons.
Which, given Flash's luck, is par for the course.
Written for Jake the Army Guy's Horse Words Extravaganza! Let's hear it for Obscure Shipping, folks!
Huzzah! More of the Flash Sentry Papers. This should be quite good.
I love how much this says about both Carrot Top and Flash.
Very intriguing opening. I look forward to seeing just how disastrous the reunion gets.
This is all some insidious plot on your part to get me to read the first Flash Sentry Papers story, isn't it?
...Well, it's working.
Yet again, this fascinates me.
I think your italics got screwed up a little ways in.
Don't make me feel sorry for him. Don't do it.
Good beginning, here. Very reminiscent of a certain Miss Amberly. ;)
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You mean you haven't already? I thought you were legally obligated to read any story containing Carrot Top.
Oh, you chose to continue? I'm curious already!
Also, considering what a nice fellow his mirror counterpart is/was, maybe those sceptics have a point. Proof, not so much, the one in the know appears unwilling to share.
That is the single greatest name I've ever heard and nobody will convince me otherwise.
Oh dear.
I take it Over the Top experienced some hearing loss back when his job was blowing stuff up on command.
Carrot's family is quite nicely presented, and the hint about the future conflict is tantalizing indeed. Looking forward to seeing where things go from here.
Love the banter between Carrot and Flash. Great names for her family, too. :D
What, what? Over the top sounds like a proper fellow.
I have to ask, since this always looks looks horribly ugly to me: why do so many people spell it like that? I know people use "pegasi" because they think "Pegasus" is Latin for winged horses in general (instead of the name of a specific winged horse in Greek), and try to make a plural using the one Latin rule everyone remembers: "us" -> "i". And "pegasi" is common enough in the fandom that it's stopped looking silly by now. But what rules are people following to end up with "pegusai"?
Because, when Carrot Top does the whole angsty teenager bit, she goes all out.
Is there a Dickus clan?
Eh?
His fault nothing, he didn't do anything and it's your fault for implying you have a coltfriend and then dragged him along.
I rest my case.
That's stupid.
And just when I thought it couldn't get even more hilariously stupid,you prove me wrong.
Oi, bad puns are my thing.
Wow. Didn't think it could get any more hilariously stupid, but I was wrong.
Hmmm... I liked the old style for the footnotes better. This way may be more "authentic", but it makes reading them a real pain in the ass. You have to either keep scrolling back and forth through the chapter as you read it, or hope you remember what all of the different numbers were attached to by the time you get to the end.
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A valid point! The changeover to the new site made the footnote code in The Prisoner of Zebra go a little wonky, but it might be fixed now? I may go and edit the footnotes once I'm sure.
I need more of this in my life.
I'm sure Flash Sentry's stellar public image was helped quite a bit by Celestia's personal spokespony, Spin Top.
Ah, a classic Romeo and Juliet situation. Hopefully this one will have fewer deaths by the end.
Also, I'm inclined to believe that second cause for the Top-Bottom feud. That pig was never the same again.
You're alive, so, there's that.
Great action with Flash, there. I like the baboons. :D
Lol. That last line was gold.
Should have taken a breather on a cloud
In my mind, you're now voiced by The Scotsman from Samurai Jack.
I mean, there's a fine line between heroism and stupidity, it's sadly often crossed.
Oh yeah. Kinda feel bad for Flash, he never wanted to be a hero and yet here he is being dragged into these sorts of adventures.
Normally I'm not a fan of these sorts of vague endings, where the tension never really gets resolved, but in this case I think it fit perfectly. Your Characterization of Flash and Carrot was fantastic, and their relationship is one that's defined by the tension between them. I don't think either one would really be able to stick with a relationship that wasn't like that. This tension fits them, whether they want it to or not, and really makes their relationship feel real, far more so than any sort of actual conclusion ever could.
In case it wasn't clear that Over the Top is pony BRIAN BLESSED!
In any case, another excellent entry in what is quickly becoming one of my favorite series on the site. Eagerly looking forward to future installments.
Another assignment? Nooooooo!
Great ending. Good idea leaving it open-ended like this.
That last line. This cannot be allowed to stand.
I think I have like this more if it were a standalone. It doesn't hold a candle to Prisoner.
Thanks, Bones,
Well when will Flash get it through his skull, get out of being a Royal Guard, that way Fancy can't drag him into any of his missions that he sends Carrot Top out on.
Somehow, I suspect this entire story was an excuse to use that line.
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I so wish we'd hear more of Cain's (mis)adventures...
Remember though, Princess Bookhorse knows some magic spells.
This is so much fun to read if you imagine the fic and the show as different but both entirely unreliable narrators.
How? How is every sentence so on point?
Methinks flash has a problem with strong women. Every time he considers her negatively it's because he's reminded of how competently she can fight.
The story ended just when you thought it was about to start. Which was a bit odd, but the more slice-of-life oriented scenario was a welcomed change of pace.
Am I really the first person to catch that?
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You're slipping, Shadow.
Ha! I see what you did there!
Something's a bit off here.
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I was wondering when someone would catch that gag. :)
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Just imagine if it was Spinning Top, and this crossed over with the Civil Serviceverse.
He'll save every one of us!
I really enjoyed this. It's definitely a different tone from the first installment, but I'm a sucker for romance stories. At the end of this story, Flash and Carrot Top could either be friends, or could move onto being a romantic couple. Either one could work in the next story, so I'm eager to see what direction the next story takes this couple.
This is brilliant. It was such a cute little story. I'm just disappointed Brian Blessed pony didn't say, "Chiswick, fresh horses!" Ah, but you can't reference every single one of Brian Blessed's miraculous roles.
It's not the worst pun I've read on this site, but it's a contender.
I'm really liking your writing-style here. It's smooth and crisp.
Side note, Jan 08 2020: Apparently I could still edit my comment more than a year and a half after I made it. Interesting, that.
Uncle ZeeZee, I think "Sharp Dressed Man" it the right sound track for this.
Was the bit about the Kung Fu master foreshadowing for Five Friendly Venoms, or did it just work out that way?