It was black. A different black.
The first thing that Flash felt was fuzziness. Fuzziness inside him, around him, and beyond him. He moved—and the fuzziness moved. He exhaled, and a curious softness spread outward from his lungs. It felt like being hugged from the inside out—but by what?
So, he leaned back in an effort to sit up. This was when he realized his hindquarters were... heavier than before. Limbs flailed as the world toppeled above him. His eyes squinted, catching a glinting flash of shiny light, and then he was wincing from having landed upside down. He lay on his spine across a smooth surface while a lofty ceiling loomed above him—crystalline, cold, and distant.
Flash blinked... then blinked again. Four strange stalks were stretching up around him—all orange. When he reached out to feel them, he saw the stalks flexing and unflexing. It took a few more blinks to realize that these appendages were extensions of him. The only extensions.
"Mrmmmff... hrmmm?" His voice was more than inquisitive. It was softer. Curiouser. He opened his mouth all the way—and felt cold air entering inward with a monumental rush. His maw was stupidly huge, his lungs huger. A slight tremble overwhelmed his figure, sending a shiver up his spine. Amidst the shock, his nerves took over, and he rolled until the world felt right. Four distinct clops anointed the air, and when Flash next flexed his muscles—he found that he was standing up.
Standing on all fours.
He looked down. It was then that he realized that the orange appendages were hooves. Amidst the nonsense, some things were starting to make sense. Flash made sure not to ask too many mental questions, and instead chose to observe, learn, digest.
He straightened his spine—something that he thought would make him stand taller. It didn't. So Flash locked his knees instead, and that achieved it. Now—looking around loftily, gazing—he found that he stood in the center of a massive room with steep crystalline walls. At the far end there was a set of stairs leading towards a lofty doorframe. As he tried to see where the stairs began, his eyes caught a tall elliptical structure situated on a pedestal. It was the only object in the spacious room, and Flash could only guess that it was the thing that brought him here... although it hardly looked anything like the base of the statue in front of Canterlot High.
Canterlot High... even the name tasted queer and alien to his tongue in a place this peculiar. Gone were the concrete and grass of the high school courtyard. The humid air and stench of car exhaust were nowhere to be inhaled. All was still—almost eerily so. If Flash had any decency... any sense of self-preservation at all... he would walk... or trot right back through that portal and reenter the safe, ugly, familiar world that he was born into.
Flash immediately scaled the stairs.
Once at the top, he discovered that the door had no handle. When he pressed his hoof against the frame, he realized that it didn't need one. The door opened easily with an ancient creak. Purple and green light haloed his figure. He squinted, entering an enormous hallway with tall, arched walls of polished crystal. Stained glass windows stretched before him, and doorframes a'plenty. Wherever he was, the building had an incredible sense of antiquity, yet the walls and floor felt shiny and new. There was something very special... very holy about the place. For the first time since trespassing on this side of the mirror, Flash felt a slight pang of shame.
But Flash's hunger outweighed his guilt. He had never felt this way before, and so he capitalized on it.
"Uh... hello?" He crept forward, feeling small... incredibly small. The lofty ceiling of that particular chamber wasn't the only reason. Even when he had looked at the portal downstairs, he had felt far tinier than normal. Right now, with each pensive step forward that he took, Flash couldn't shake loose a precious sensation of delicateness, vulnerability. His heart beat heavily, and the sensation warmed him from the chest and outward, giving him the courage to maintain his pace and vocalizations. "Hello? Is... is anybody there?"
His voice echoed. Nevertheless, the emptiness was far from daunting. The warm colors of the place embraced the sounds of his clopping hooves. If he closed his eyes, he could almost imagine the lights reaching down to hold him tight. There was something about the hallways, the corridors, and the tapestries that made him feel... safe. Wholesome. Healthy.
It was a very... very strange thing to feel well. Flash's teeth started to chatter. Right at this moment, he found one of the large doors cracked open. With no other recourse, he decided to slip through and into the room beyond.
"Hello—?" He froze in place, blinking. The room was circular—as was the table elaborately placed dead-center within the sanctum. A series of thrones surrounded the dais. Seven thrones, to be exact—or perhaps six and a half, if Flash was to describe them. One was considerably smaller than the rest, as if constructed for a child. The backs of the chairs were stupidly tall, and they were adorned with simple, colorful icons: pink butterflies, red apples, blue diamonds.
Flash's eyes narrowed. He looked up.
The roots of a tree curiously dangled from the ceiling like a chandelier. Various gemstones and rubies hung from the jutting branches.
Flash whistled. He looked down.
He was close to the thrones now, as well as the table in their very center. The teenager could make out a series of contour lines etched into the smooth surface of the dais. It appeared to be the makings of a topographical map, Flash thought. But just as he came even closer, an orange pony approached him.
"...!!" Flash jolted to a stop.
The pony likewise stood in place.
Flash cocked his head to the side.
The pony tilted its head in the same direction.
Flash's mouth hung open.
The pony stared at him, exhaling in a sense of wonder.
Breathless, Flash approached the shiny surface of the throne that was facing him. He reached his hoof up to the reflection, watching in dumb amazement as the pony—as he stared back at himself. This was no normal horse. This was the substance of dreams: a crayon drawing come to life. The orange in his coat was immaculate, and as he saw himself stroking his own face and neck and blue hair—he shuddered at how soft he felt... how soft everything felt. He tried to grimace, but his jawline naturally produced a smile. It looked silly. Everything was silly. Bright blue eyes blinked—also silly... and huge... and Flash chuckled. It was nervous laughter, but there was something else to it. Something bright and bubbly... but still slightly subdued.
"No clothes..." He murmured. Then—for the Hell of it—he spread all four of his legs and looked at the lower end of the reflection. What he saw—or rather what he didn't see—somewhat surprised him. "No shit." His eyes traveled up—catching the first signature of imperfection against his orange coat. Curious, he flexed his spine and pelvis. At last—after much fiddling—he presented his flank to the shiny surface of the throne. He saw a curiously familiar image: a yellow lightning bolt set against a blue shield with four tones. It didn't take long for him to make a connection. That image—in some way or fashion—had been constantly present in his life. It was a totem that adorned most of the custom t-shirts he wore—or re-wore—to school. It was also the insignia he had once had emblazoned on the hood of his ill-fated sports car.
And just like that, Flash Sentry sank into the dark mire of the past. He thought of the shadows that had consumed his life—the lonely months and putrid mundanity. So many cold, cold layers of reality that separated him from the shiny brightness currently surrounding the teenager in this alien place.
He sighed, and the reflection sighed. He looked up—and did a double-take. The ears of the pony were drooped, and the eyes large and glossy like a sad puppy's. Just as the surprise racked Flash's body, those two orange ears shot up—adding further startling. He cocked his head in surprise, watching as the ears rotated outward in an almost-feline manner. Flash leaned forward with a suspicious squint, and the ears folded back. He stood in silence for a few seconds, then thought of a Beyonce video he used to have bookmarked on his browser's toolbar. The tips of the ears burned red.
He laughed. Or maybe he giggled? The ears shot up again—perky. Happy. He reached up, licking his muzzle as he pulled one ear. He then let go, watching in the mirror as the ear flopped straight back up. He giggled once more—definitely giggled, then toyed with those fuzzy lobes again and again, watching as the pony grew sillier and sillier.
He was so immersed in this mirthful moment that he hadn't noticed the feminine presence in the room until she was clearing her throat: "Uhm... may I help you?"
The two orange ears shot up like flares. "Gah!" Flash spun around, trembling slightly as he pressed himself back against the throne. "I'm sorry!" He didn't know who he was apologizing to or why; he just felt instantly ridiculous.
The scrunched expression on her muzzle shared the feeling. "Ponies are only allowed in here by appointment," she said. Her coat was soft pink; her eyes softer. She sported a swirling purple mane with a streak of teal. Flash couldn't help but gawk; the pony looked as though she belonged right on the quilt of a baby's crib—along with yellow ducklings and teddy bears. He imagined that if he hugged her, she would fall into tiny clumps of stuffing. It was all in shocking contrast with her disgruntled expression and stern tone. "What are you doing in here?"
"Uhhh..." Flash trembled. He gulped, eyeing her up and down. "Wow... you're bright."
Her stern expression broke under the weight of adorable confusion. "Huh?" She raised a forelimb and tilted back, looking even cuter.
Flash felt bad for not feeling bad. So he cleared his throat and blurted a murmur of honesty: "I'm afraid I'm lost."
"Let me guess." The mare sighed, rolling her eyes. "You saw a window cracked open and just decided to fly your way in. I swear... Rainbow Dash is setting a bad example for all pegasi around here..."
"Fly... in?" Flash blinked. He was too confused to register the familiarity of the name that had just been dropped.
"Are you visiting from Cloudsdale?" she continued, trotting closer. She appeared less and less menacing with each inquisitive step. "Las Pegasus?" The mare exhaled. "I don't know if anyone told you, but in earth pony towns like this one the locals appreciate their property and sanctity of privacy." She smiled gently. "It took me a while to get used to it when I moved here as well."
"How... could I have flown?" Flash asked stupidly.
"Uhm..." Starlight looked at his side. "How else?"
"Hmmm?" Flash flexed muscles that he didn't even know he had. Two sets of feathers stretched and unstretched around him. "Whoah!" He jolted, tail flicking as he observed an orange pair of wings. "Jesus Christ!"
"Er... who?"
"That's... this is..." Flash's trembling eyes reflected quills and fibers. He sucked his breath in. "What's next? A teletubby antenna?"
"Sir, are you... feeling okay?" she asked.
With a sober breath, he turned to face her. "I'm so very sorry for intruding. For real... I never meant to—" His eyes traveled up to her forehead—or more specifically the pink horn in the center of her forehead. "Whoah. Pointy."
"Yes." She nodded, droning: "I would hope so."
"Forgive me. I'm not from around here."
"That much I can tell." Despite the awkwardness of the situation, she reached forward to rest a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. The softness of the moment doubled, and Flash centered himself on the warm words coming from her muzzle. "Let's start over. My name is Starlight Glimmer. I guess you could call me the court wizard of the Castle of Friendship." This statement came across as improvisational, and Flash could tell that it amused her for some reason. She sported a dumb smile as she continued: "What's your name?"
"Uh..." He looked across the throneroom and answered without speaking. "Flash. Flash Sentry."
"Now that's a pegasus name if I ever heard one," she said in a pleasant tone.
He flashed her a look. "You mean you've never heard it before?"
Starlight Glimmer merely blinked. "No." She arched an eyebrow. "Should I have?"
He felt his ears drooping again. He winced at how hard it was to mask his own feelings all of a sudden. "It's... it's not important I guess..."
"Well... I think you'll find that—here in Ponyville—it's easy to make friends and get to know one another." She patted his shoulder. "Just... so long as you don't spontaneously trespass on the property of Princess Twilight Sparkle—"
His ears shot right back up. "Who?"
Starlight leaned back. "Twilight Sparkle. The Princess of Friendship...?"
"... ... ...this is her place?" Flash asked in a dry tone.
"Uhhhhhh..." Starlight nodded. "...yeah?"
Flash's jaws clenched tight. He felt his ears tilting backwards. "I would very much like to see the exit now, please."