Winter was soon to arrive in the city of Canterlot. The high class ponies of the city were busy preparing for the arrival of Cloudsdale's weather clouds and the many winter wonders that would follow like snow, frost and of course Hearth's Warming Eve. It felt just like any other day.
However, today was different.
At one of the most well known jewellery stores in town, the ponies walking outside suddenly felt something unusual. The ground beneath their hooves was softly shaking, as if the concrete was having a massage. But, as each second passed, the shaking grew stronger and stronger until it was like an earthquake. Suddenly, the front of the jewellery store exploded, the force sending several ponies flying as a dust cloud formed from the attack.
A few moments later, the ponies still standing looked to the remains of the store and saw a figure in the dust cloud. The figure looked towards them and though they couldn't see it, they knew he was frowning. Seconds later, a green light shined from his head and suddenly something fired off and all went blank.
"Are we there yet?" Flash rolled his eyes after hearing Rainbow whine for the fifth time since they'd left. The Mane Seven were all on the Equestrian Express, on route to Canterlot. Spike and Springer had been left behind, since they all expected to stay in the big city for a couple of days.
"For the last time, NO!" Twilight told the impatient pegasus.
"Well, how much longer do we have to wait?" Rainbow moaned from her spot, laid out on an entire train seat.
"Another hour at most," Twilight replied before rolling her eyes at the sound of her moan.
"Can I remind you that you were the one who suggested coming?!" Flash yelled with a facehoof, "the letter only asked for me to come."
"I just wanted to check Canterlot out," Rainbow whined, "but if I'd known getting there would take forever, I would have just flown!”
"Oh come now Rainbow," Rarity said, entering the conversation. "We are about to arrive in the most elegant of cities. It's only right that we arrive there in style."
"You call this style?" Applejack raised an eyebrow as she asked, gesturing to the train around them.
Not wishing to answer that, Rarity turned to Flash. "So, why do you think Grand Hoof ordered you to Canterlot Flash deary?"
"No clue," Flash shrugged, "his letter sounded urgent and lacked a lot of details. All it said was to come to Canterlot and bring my Celestic Gear."
"Well, whatever it is he needs you for," Twilight said as she patted his shoulder, "we'll be there to help."
"Thanks girls."
An hour later, the announcer called out their next destination, Canterlot. Grabbing their luggage, the group headed to the doors as the train came to a steady halt. Once safely disembarked, five of the Mane Seven looked around at the city in wonder.
"Take a gander," Flash told them once they left the station, "you won't be disappointed."
"I can't believe it," Rarity said as she looked around, "Canterlot. It's everything I imagined."
"It's so...big," Fluttershy quivered as she looked around.
"And LOUD!" Pinkie screamed.
"It sure is impressive," Applejack continued.
"Tell me about it," Rainbow finished as she pointed to one of the skyscrapers, "could you image how high up I could fly if I started from one of those buildings?"
"Excuse me," the seven turned to see a pair of white pegasus guards standing a ways off, "Flash Sentry?"
"That's me," Flash said, stepping forwards.
"We are here under the orders of the princess to escort you and your friends to the palace," one of guards said with a cold, statue-like stare.
"Okay," Flash nodded as he gestured at his friends to follow. Seeing this, they followed the guards and found they were being lead to a large chariot. The guards attached themselves to the chariot as the group got in and were soon pulled into the air. As they rode in the chariot, the rest of the girls were looking over the city.
"Incredible! It truly is magnificent!" Rarity exclaimed, her eyes filled with wonder at the sight.
"Hey," Applejack said, pointing at a building, "what's that place?" It was the largest building in the city besides the castle, and it looked over two hundred feet tall.
"Oh, that's the Canterlot Cathedral. It's one of the largest churches in Equestria."
“Oh my goodness! That's the Canterlot Cathedral?!” Rarity gasped as she placed a hoof on her chest, "I've heard of it. Supposedly, it's the most glamorous place to get married after the castle."
"My parent were married there," Twilight replied as she heard that comment, "and my mom always talked about how I'll get married there someday." They all saw Twilight roll her eyes at that.
Eventually, the palace came into view and the chariot began to descend, aiming at a small patch of concrete in the middle of the grass lawn. It touched down with perfect precision and came to a stop. The guards unhooked themselves and walked over to open the chariot door for them.
"Thank you sirs," Twilight said to the guards as they stepped out.
"Wow!" Rarity literally squealed, looking around at the beautiful marble architecture that the castle was built from. "This is amazing! Canterlot truly is the city of elegance!"
"Yeah," Flash replied, sounding bored. "I guess."
"How could you say that?!" Rarity exclaimed as she smacked his shoulder. "Such beauty should be adorned with respect!"
"Well, after a while, it just feels like another building," Flash told her as he pointed to the castle. “To me, its just a castle Rarity. That's all.”
"Tell me about it," Twilight said before Rarity could respond, "now come on. We're supposed to meet up with the princess soon." They headed over to the main doors and went inside, Flash navigating them through the corridors on route to where they were meant to meet up. Finally, they arrived at the main hall where six guards stood on watch.
"The princess is waiting for you," one said as he opened the doors and let them in. The seven walked in and saw that Celestia and Grand Hoof were inside, waiting.
"Hello my little ponies," Celestia told them as they bowed to her, "please rise. I see you decided to bring your friends along Flash."
"That's okay isn't it?" Flash asked with a slight tine of fear in his voice, "the letter wasn't clear if I should come alone or not."
"It's perfectly alright," Celestia told him before frowning, "though Canterlot isn't the safest place for them right now."
"What do you mean princess?" Twilight replied as her head tilted slightly.
"The reason we summoned you here Flash," Grand Hoof explained as he walked up to his pupil, "is because Canterlot is in crisis."
"What kind of crisis?"
"A unicorn named Shake Shocker has been causing mayhem," Celestia told them. "He's been on a major crime wave, stealing from anyplace in the city."
"Er no offense," Rainbow said, butting in to the conversation. "But this sounds more like a job for the police and guard. Not so much the Royal Knights."
"This pony is extremely dangerous," Celestia remarked back, "not only is he a thief, but he's also highly skilled in vibration magic. He can create a powerful concussive blast, which he uses to leave a trail of destruction in his wake. Several ponies have been injured because of him."
"Normally, we would entrust this situation to Captain Shining Armor," Grand Hoof continued, "but he's away with Princess Cadance. With him away, I thought this might be the perfect job for you Flash."
"You want me to catch him?" Flash pointed to himself, his gear slightly shaking from the command.
"Yes," Grand Hoof nodded, "as an apprentice knight, this is your first major assignment. Capture Shake Shocker and prevent any further injury or destruction."
"Right," Flash said as he scratched the side of his head. “Alright, I'm down for that.”
"Just wait until that Shake Shocker has to face us," Rainbow grinned as she pumped her hooves together. “This sounds like fun!”
"He won't know what hit him," Applejack agreed as she tipped her hat.
"Actually, I'd like Flash to take this mission on alone." Grand Hoof flashed his hoof, causing the two to stop.
"What?!" Twilight replied with a slight hop, "but you just said this guy was dangerous! Why make Flash face him alone?"
"This is Flash's first major assignment," Grand Hoof told her while shaking his head, "I'd like to test how much Flash can handle on his own."
"You got it," Flash said before turning to his friends, "sorry girls."
"I don't like this," Twilight told him.
"This sounds really dangerous," Fluttershy gulped as she tried to hide behind her mane.
"I'll be fine," Flash shined his usual cheeky grin as Twilight just let out a worried sigh.
"Good luck Flash," Celestia said as she walked down to her student and patted her with her wing, "we await your return."
"I'll have this guy taken down in no time," Flash said, before they turned to leave.
A little while later, we find Flash and his friends at the exit of the castle grounds.
"So, how are you gonna find this guy Flash?" Applejack asked.
"No clue," Flash said bluntly. "I guess I'll have to patrol until I find him. Really starting to regret not bringing Springer since he could probably sense where this guy is."
"But that could take you forever," Twilight told him as she got up in his face. "You could be on one side of the city while he's attacking on the other! You know, we could help you-"
"No Twilight," Flash shook his head, "Grand Hoof wants me to do this on my own and that's what I'm gonna do."
"But that's ridiculous! We can help you Flash!”
"I have to agree with Twilight," Rarity commented as she flipped her mane, "we're here, so why not let us help?"
"I said no and that's final.”
"Sounding a little desperate, aren't we Flush?" Flash froze at the sound of that voice. He slowly turned to see the annoyance that was Lightning Blitz standing a ways off.
"What do you want Lightning?" Flash grumbled as he clenched his sword. “I don't have time for your nonsense today.”
The Mane Seven with the exception of Twilight went wide-eyed as they saw Flash get suddenly angry. They had never seen him look at somepony with such hatred. "Who's that guy?" Rainbow whispered to Twilight, noticing that she wasn't surprised at Flash's sudden change in demeanour.
"Lightning Blitz," she replied with a slight glare at Lightning. "he's Grand Hoof's grandson."
"Him?" Rarity said, looking disgusted. “Those headphones he's wearing do not go with his mane.”
"What's the matter bright eyes?!" Lightning barked at the white unicorn, "time with the riffraff dampen your sense of taste?" The unicorn then scanned Rarity over and let out a slight purr. “Then again, you ain't half bad looking honey.” Lightning walked up to Rarity, trying to put his hoof on hers. “How about you and me go make some sweet music somewhere away from these street vermin?”
“As if!” Rarity barked back, swatting her hoof away. “Like I would ever let a fashion disaster like you-”
"Enough! Leave them be Lightning," Flash put his hoof in front of his friends, "I'll ask you again. What do you want?"
"Nothing much," Lightning replied with a shrug and a sly smile, "heard the old coot put you in charge of bringing Shake Shocker in and I decided to come and watch you fail."
"Flash isn't gonna fail! He'll kick his flank!" Rainbow yelled as she got in front of Lightning's face.
"Yeah!" Pinkie continued, "he's the toughest apprentice knight I know, and also the weakest...and the only one I know."
“Gee, nice compliment there Pinkie.” Rainbow deadpanned as she smacked the side of Pinkie's head. The pink pony only giggled at her mistake.
"Whatever," Lightning said as he adjusted his headphones, "it's not like you actually stand a chance. When the situation becomes too much for you to do on your own, then give me a call Flush Sen-turd-y! After all, I can show you how a real knight brings a criminal in."
"That won't happen. I'm bringing Shake Shocker in on my own."
"Really?!" Lightning guffawed, "Sure you can, especially since you have your friends here to bail you out. Though I have to say, I'm surprised that you decided to leave that little pet of yours at home."
"Springer's no pet," Flash yelled, his eye twitching. The orange pegasus turned around before spreading his wings, muttering under his breath. "I'll show you." With that, Flash took the skies, his friends screaming at him to turn back.
"Flash!" Twilight called out but Flash was already to far away. With him gone she returned her attention to Lightning, "you jerk! Why did you do that?!"
"Not my fault your coltfriend can't handle a little criticism," Lightning laughed before turning to walk away. “Oh, and tell him to call a real knight after Shake Shocker beats the snot out of him.”
"What a brute," Rarity said once he was gone. “How dare he talk to us like that!”
"Hard to believe he's Grand Hoof's kin," Applejack remarked as she held Rainbow down as she wanted to put Lightning down a peg or two.
"Forget about him," Twilight said as she looked back at the sky, "I'm more worried about Flash."
“Me too.” Fluttershy remarked as she gave Twilight a slight hug. “I hope he's okay.”
Flash was flying over the city, his head still playing back what Lightning had said. "Focus," he told himself as he landed on a rooftop, "letting Lightning get in your head is exactly what he wants."
He sat down and looked over the city. Somewhere out there, Shake Shocker was waiting for him, preparing for his next big score. But this time, Flash would be there to stop him.
"All I need is a clue of some kind, some way to figure out where he is." Flash said as he flared his wings, ready to take flight. “Where are you?”
BOOM!
As the noise of a loud explosion occurred several blocks away, Flash turned his head and saw a large smoke cloud rising above the buildings. "That works," Flash said with a shrug before jumping off the ledge to take flight towards the explosion.
The street was a mess. It looked like the place had undergone a round of cannon fire, with most of the ground being ripped to shreds and buildings having chunks ripped out of them. Streetlamps were torn in half while several layers of concrete could be seen torn asunder from under the former streets.
"Oh no," Flash said as he landed. Hearing a groan, he looked over at a pile of rubble and gasped, seeing an earth pony buried under it. "Are you alright?" he asked as he rushed over and began pushing the stone off the pony.
"I'm okay," he said as he shakily got up.
"What happened here?"
"Some unicorn came waltzing up the street and then used some crazy magic to cause that building to explode."
A ding went off in Flash's head. "Looks like I've found him. Which building was it?"
"That one," the pony pointed to a building with an obvious giant hole in it.
"Should've guessed."
Slightly leaving caution behind, Flash stepped towards the building. He poked his head inside, only to see a veil of darkness. "Hello? Anypony here?"
In response, a small green light appeared in inky black void, but before Flash could do anything, he suddenly felt himself be struck by some force. Before he could react, his body was sent flying into a wall opposite of the building.
"What the-what the heck was that?!" Flash exclaimed as he extracted himself from the wall. Looking back at the building, he saw a figure slowly step out of the smoke. It was a slim unicorn, with red fur and a yellow mane and tail. A pair of money bags could be seen on either side of him. "Let me guess, Shake Shocker?"
The Unicorn looked over at Flash and smirked, seeing Lightbringer in its scabbard. "I am," the unicorn replied with a low, yet raspy southern accent, "and you must be another one of the princess's lackeys that keep coming and trying to bring me in."
"Name's Flash Sentry," Flash said as he pulled Lightbringer out, "and I am gonna bring you in."
"The princess must be getting pretty desperate if she's sending a colt to do a stallion's job."
"Don't underestimate me," Flash barked back as he took to the skies, "let's see if you call me a colt after this. Flash Cutter!" Flash swiped the sword, unleashing an energy blade that flew towards Shocker. Shocker's horn glowed green as the attack got closer, only to unleash a self-surrounding sonic energy field that deflected the attack with ease. "What?!"
"Did you really think that silly little letter opener could stop me?" Shocker laughed as his horn continued to glow.
"The thought had crossed my mind," Flash said before charging at Shocker and began spinning in the air. "Flash Driver!"
Shocker once again created a sonic barrier around him, which Flash's attack struck and caused the two to push at each other. The struggle continued until Flash's magic wore off, causing him to bounce off.
"Maybe you shouldn't underestimate me kid," Shocker said as his horn glowed again. This time though, light shot out of his horn as Flash watched in amazement as the sonic magic swirled into a new shape. This time, it turned into a tornado, which quickly shot itself at the orange pegasus. As Flash jumped out of the way, the attack dislodged Lightbringer from his grasp as Flash tumbled to the ground. "Wotcha gonna do now colt? I'm pretty sure you need to give up now.”
"How about...THIS!" Flash yelled as he quickly got up and threw himself at Shocker, tackling the unicorn and wrapping his legs around him. "Now just hold still!” Before Flash could do anything else though, his voice became shaky as Shocker began living up to his name. Flash felt his entire body vibrate as if he was in a blender. He glared at the unicorn who just smiled as the vibrations increased, causing Flash's grip to loosen as Shocker easily slipped out of his hooves.
"Impressive," Flash said as he swiped his tail around and cut Shocker's legs, making him trip, "you could hire yourself out as a kiddy ride."
"Thanks," Shocker replied, as he looked up and fired another sound blast, this time hitting his target as Flash went flying back. "But I already got a job I love."
As Flash tried to pull himself up, he noticed he'd landed next to Lightbringer. Quickly grabbing the weapon of light, he glanced back up and saw that Shock was no longer looking at him.
"This was fun and all colt, but it's about time I make like a tree and leave." Shocker looked over a spot where the earth pony from before was, and then up at the building above him. Shining a malicious grin, Shocker's horn glowed one more time as another blast followed.
Flash watched as the sonic waves flew towards the building, striking it with an even greater force than before. An explosion soon followed as Flash got up and yelled, "NO! Watch out!" Flapping his wings, he shot toward the earth pony and raised his Celestic Gear. The rubble that the explosion created rained down on the pegasus as he got above the citizen just in time. Unfortunately, as the rain of debris finished, all that was left was nothing but dust and a pile of rocks.
"Reckon that'll do it," Shocker chuckled before turning to leave.
Not ten seconds later, the rocks began to move before the top one was pushed off and rolled down the pile. From the now created hole, Flash and the earth pony climbed out as Flash groaned, "That was close. I'd heard that bargain hunting could be dangerous, but wow!" As he helped the citizen back on this feet, he looked around and saw that Shocker was gone, making him growl at the missed opportunity. “Darn it. This isn't good.”
Some time later...
Flash had returned to the castle to make a report, mainly over his failure despite saving a life. Princess Celestia and Grand Hoof had been there when he arrived and, much to his annoyance, so were his friends.
"You thick headed, irresponsible...block head!” Twilight growled as Applejack kept her pinned down from giving him more injuries. “What were you thinking?!"
"That I'd find the guy and take him down?" Flash sarcastically replied as a castle nurse looked over his injuries. "It's not like I did anything dangerous."
"You flew towards a rock slide!" Twilight almost yelled.
"How is he?" Applejack asked the nurse as she continued her struggle with Twilight.
"Surprisingly, nothing more then a few scrapes and minor bruises."
"See? I'm fine."
"Hardly darling," Rarity said as she flipped her mane, "it's a miracle you're still in one piece."
"Well, the next time I see that guy, I'll even the score."
"I'm afraid not," they turned to Celestia, who had been silent until now, "this may be to much for you. I'm assigning a portion of my elite guards to assist you in his capture."
“Now hold on princess, I can-” Flash tried to reply, only for another voice to speak up.
"You don't need those wimps," everyone froze and turned to the entrance, only to see Lightning Blitz. "Just point me in his direction and I'll get the job done."
"Lightning," Grand grumbled as he glared at his grandson, "this is none of your concern."
"I beg to differ," Lightning said as he put his hoof on his chest, "I'm offering my skills in taking this slimeball down. At least I won't get distracted and let the pony escape."
"Flash was protecting an innocent," Twilight told him harshly. “He was doing his job.”
"He was supposed to stop a criminal," Lightning replied as he pointed at Flash with a look of disgust, "but instead, he wasted his time saving some idiot who didn't get out of the way."
"That's enough Lightning!" Grand yelled as he slammed his hoof down. Seeing his sudden outburst, Grand took a deep breath to calm down, "yes, Flash let Shocker get away but he did the right thing. A Royal Knight's first priority is the protection of the public, all other objectives come second."
Lightning just grunted at that. "And that's why the Royal Knights have grown weak. All they do now is waste their time looking out for the weaklings who can't look after themselves."
"Leave this place Lightning," Grand said as he walked up to his grandson, their eyes locked. “Leave now.”
"Don't get mad at me just because you picked an apprentice who can't even do the simplest task gramps. I'm just telling you the truth, simple as that." And with that, Lightning turned and walked out the door, causing Grand to just rub his forehead in frustration.
"What a grumpy pants," Pinkie said as she glared at door.
"He's just a jerk," Rainbow continued.
"But as much as I hate to admit it," Twilight said as she looked Flash over again, "he's right. Flash can't take Shake Shocker down on his own."
"Says who?" Flash finally spoke up, having been silent for a while. "I can stop Shocker."
"Oh no you don't!" Twilight exclaimed, "I'm not letting you put yourself in danger again."
"I said I can handle it," Flash told her before turning to Grand Hoof and Celestia. "Please, I can do this. Just give me one more chance."
Celestia and Grand looked into his eyes and saw the determination that blazed within them. They knew he was going to go after the criminal even if they said no. After sharing a glance at each other, they came to an agreement. "Very well Flash Sentry," Celestia said as she looked back at him, "we will allow you one more chance at capturing Shake Shocker. But be warned, I cannot allow another."
"Rest for now kiddo.” Grand continued. “You'll need your strength if you wish to stand a chance."
"I understand," Flash nodded as he bowed and turned to leave.
"Flash!" Twilight exclaimed as she grabbed him, causing everypony to stare at her. "I don't care what the princess just said, I'm not letting you do this on your own."
"NO!" Flash almost yelled, making everypony flinch as he swatted Twilight away, "I got this." And with that, he left the room.
"Flash?" Twilight asked as she fell onto her flank in shock as everypony gasped at this. “What is...what's wrong with you?”
Several hours later, Twilight sighed as she walked down another hallway of the Canterlot Castle. Unable to find Flash no matter where she looked, she had sunk into a small pit of despair. Her friends had agreed to help find him, but due to the night coming, most of them were now going to bed. As the night sky began to appear, Celestia slowly lowered the sun, as her sister began raising the moon in its place.
"FLASH!" Twilight called out again, only to hear no response, "oh Flash, where are you? Why were you so angry?" She prayed he hadn't gone out after Shocker again.
"Looking for Flash lassie?" Hearing the sudden voice, she turned to see Grand Hoof.
"Yes," Twilight said, looking down.
"Well, if you want to find him, might I suggest looking higher.” Grand pointed at the ceiling, “He's a pegasus after all."
"Right," Twilight said sheepishly, wanting to facehoof as she heard such an obvious fact. "Thanks Grand Hoof."
"No problem. Just do one thing for me lass."
"Yeah?"
"Go easy on him. Take it from a fellow warrior, Flash isn't going to back down about letting you help."
Twilight didn't reply and instead, just headed up to the highest battlement of the castle. After another half hour later, she finally found him, sitting on the wall of a balcony while staring out at the setting sun.
"Flash?" Twilight said in low voice, only to get no response. Thinking she wasn't loud enough, she walked up to him, but he didn't even turn to face her.
"I'm sorry about yelling at you, I shouldn't have done that."
"No, I shouldn't have been pushing you so much. I'm sorry I...we did that." Twilight replied as she sat down next to him. With that, they sat there in silence as they watched the sun and moon swap places. The sight was truly magnificent as they saw the world change into a new sheet of darkness for the day.
"I have to do this Twilight," Flash said, breaking the silence.
"No you don't," Twilight shook her head, "you're always there for us and we want to be there for you when you need us."
"And I'm grateful for it," Flash replied as turned his head toward Twilight, "but there will come a time when I won't have you all around. As much as I'd want you there, I have to be ready to face any threat on my own. If I'm ever gonna be a Royal Knight, I have to know I can handle it.” Flash looked at his hooves and Lightbringer as another sigh went out of his mouth. “This is about proving myself, not to Celestia or Grand Hoof or even to Lightning. This is about proving it to myself."
"But you have," Twilight told him as she put her hoof on his shoulder, "look at everything you've done. You became the Element of Courage, you helped us so much!"
"But I never did any of that on my own," Flash complained as he put Lightbringer away. "We defeated Nightmare Moon together, I needed Springer's help saving those foals when they fell into the river and Trixie was the one who ended up defeating Big Score and his cronies. Sure I had a part in that, but I didn't do it on my own."
Twilight became silent hearing that. Was this really why he was so determined to do this on his own? Letting out a small sigh, Twilight poked him on the shoulder. "Okay, if you're that sure you can do it, then I guess I owe you my complete support."
"Tch, thanks Twi," Flash said, a small smile appearing on his face.
"And if I owe you my support, then I'm guessing you'll need this," Twilight's horn shined as she levitated a piece of paper towards him.
"What's this?" Flash asked as he took the paper and opened it. Inside was a map of Canterlot, with several red dots drawn on. Some of the circles were close together and some were far apart.
"This is a record of every place Shake Shocker has struck," Twilight explained as she pointed at the map with her hoof.
"Okay, and this helps me how?"
"I was looking to see if I could find a link between the attacks and determine his next target, but instead, I found something else."
"What?"
"If you link them together, what do the dots form?"
He looked back down at the paper and began mentally connecting them, only to find they formed a perfect circle.
"I was going to show the princess this since I figured she'd know what to make of this." Twilight said, winking at him.
"I think I get what you mean. You got a pencil?"
Twilight floated a pencil towards him, which he took and began drawing on the map. He started at one dot and began drawing several lines, all of them connecting to each other. When he was finished, he showed the map to Twilight, who just gave a small cheeky smile. In the center of the circle, the lines intersected, which Flash pointed to.
"There, each spot is the same distance from this location. I'll bet that's his hideout."
Looking at the location, Twilight saw it was the abandoned opera house, which was set to be demolished in a few weeks. "The perfect place for Shocker to hide." The two of them looked up from it and shared a glance before Twilight gave him an approving nod. "Go get him."
It didn't take long for Flash to locate the opera house. It had once been one of Canterlot's greatest attractions, a place filled with ponies in the past. But time had not been kind to it and now it was a rundown old building with crumbling walls with spiders live in every nook and cranny.
Hoping to sneak in, Flash opted to find a way in other then through the front and managed to locate an opening through the roof. "Here shocky shocky shocky," he called out as he flew down into the main room. His eyes shifted around, trying to find the culprit, only to be met with same darkness as before. That is, until the room was suddenly filled with a familiar green light. Before he could do anything, Flash was struck by a sonic blast, shooting him through several rows of seats. As he let out a yelp of pain, Flash glanced at where the attack came from, Shake Shocker standing on stage.
"I really thought I'd ended you colt, but I see that you got more lives then a bag of cats. Still, I reckon we can remedy that situation." He pointed his horn at Flash and sent off another sonic blast, the force striking Flash through the remainder of the seats and into the back wall. As Flash tried to recover from the impact, he looked up and saw Shocker a few inches from him. "One more at close range should do it," he said as his horn glowed once again.
Not wanting to risk testing that theory, Flash threw all his strength into his back legs, kicked himself up just enough to barely dodge the blast. He opened his wings and let the force of the attack push him up into the air. Seeing the sudden advantage, Flash quickly pulled out his signature weapon and fired off a Flash Cutter attack back, but Shocker was still one step ahead, casting his sonic bubble to protect himself. Looking back up at Flash, Shocker began firing off blast after blast which Flash continued to barely dodge.
"I do admire your spunk son," Shocker chuckled as he kept firing attacks, "not enough to let you live of course."
"You'll admire me a lot more when I put you behind bars," Flash said as he aimed his weapon. “Flash Force!" The lazor flew out of the crossguard towards Shocker, who fired off his own blast. The two connected quickly and turned into a stand still, the two beams just sitting in the air. Eventually, Flash's wavered and Shocker managed to push back and force him to leap out of the way and take to the air again. As Flash began flying around, dodging more of Shocker's attacks, he noticed that Shocker was below a chandelier. A small light bulb went off in his head, giving him an idea to fire off a Flash Cutter to cut the chain and send it flying down.
"Nice try," Shocker said as he formed his usual the defense bubble to protect him. As the chandelier hit the bubble, Flash notices that the shield began to shake from the impact, but was still stable. As this information went into his brain, Flash dodged yet another sonic attack. This blast barely grazed Flash as he flew down in a small downward spiral as the attack hit one of the opera houses support pillars, destroying it. This gave him an idea.
"Well, the place is condemned," he said before firing another cutter attack, this time hitting an old curtain which flew down on top of Shocker.
"What the?!" Shocker yelled as he struggled beneath it before using his sonic blast to throw it off him. "You know, it really ain't wise to make a dangerous pony look foolish."
"You don't need my help with that," Flash replied, flying in front of a pillar, "you looked in a mirror lately?" He saw Shocker fire another blast at him, but dodged it with ease at it shattered the pillar behind him. "I mean talk about incompetent," he said as he flew in front of another pillar, "you've had more shots at me then all the street thugs I've beat combined...and done about as well."
"They were all punks! This is my profession colt!"
"You do this for a living?" he asked as he dodged another, "with that accent, I was thinking rodeo clown." he did a cheesy southern accent as he hid behind another pillar.
"DON'T YOU MOCK ME COLT!" Shocker yelled as he fired off another blast, once again striking the pillar with an even greater force that before.
"I mock," Flash chuckled as he jumped out the way, "I'm a mocker, its what I do. But more than anything, I'm a Royal Knight!" He drew his Celestic Gear and swung it at the last pillar, firing a Flash Cutter that made the stone crumble into a pile of rubble.
With this, the last pillar fell as the opera house began to shake and rattle as Flash flew upwards, quickly hopping out of the hole created in the roof. The roof began to collapse as the debris fell towards Shocker. The unicorn's eyes went wide, seeing the collapsing building about to fall on top of him. He summoned his defense shield again, but as the rocks fell on him, the shield quickly gave out and shattered. With this, the building completely collapsed and buried Shake Shocker, who had lost consciousness when his barrier broke.
When the dust cleared, all that was left of the building was the stage, which Flash landed on with a massive smile on his face. "And that's what they call," Flash said with an exaggerated bow, "bringing down the house."
As the sun rose above the horizon Flash watched with extreme glee, as a squadron of guards escorted a severally chained Shake Shocker away. They made sure to put a magic suppression ring over his horn, preventing him from casting any spell.
"Well well well," Flash turned and smiled, seeing Celestia, Grand Hoof and his friends had arrived. "It seems you were capable of bringing him in after all. Excellent work Flash Sentry."
"Thank you, your highness," Flash bowed.
"Quite impressive," Grand Hoof continued as he looked over the area, "you knew you couldn't overpower him, so you used his power against himself. Looks like somepony remembered his training."
"I was taught to use any advantage given to me, even the ones given to me by an enemy."
"I was right to assign this case to you," Grand Hoof said as he patted Flash on the back, "well done kiddo!"
"We're so proud of you darling," Rarity told him.
"You sure showed that varmint not to mess with yah," Applejack said.
"I'm just glad you're alright," Twilight cheered as she moved over and hugged him, causing the others to chuckle.
"I also look forward to learning how you apprehended Shake Shocker," Celestia replied as she looked over the pile of rubble. “Especially if it caused this much destruction and he still lost.”
"Yeah Flash," Rainbow nudged Flash on the shoulder, "you gotta tell us how you did it."
"I bet it was really fun! Did you trick him with a surprise party?!” Pinkie asked, causing the others to facehoof.
"I'm sure you'll know in great detail," Grand cut in. "I'll hand you a copy of Flash's report."
"Report?!" Flash yelped, not liking the sound of that. “What report?!”
"Of course," Grand nodded, "how else will we prosecute Shake Shocker without knowing every detail? I expect a ten page report on my desk before you can go home."
"You gotta be kidding me!" Flash groaned, falling to his knees.
"Single spaced, size twelve font. I want every detail of the battle, including whatever the two of you said to each other."
"You mean I got to write down that pony's crazy gibberish?!"
"In triplicate.”
"Oh come on! That'll take forever Grand!" Flash whined, before turning to his friends. "You girl's will help me, right?"
"Oh we would," Twilight said coyly, "but I think it's best if you prove you can do this on your own."
"I hate you all," Flash moaned, making everypony laugh at his plight