//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: Flash Sentry, Chaos and Disharmony // by Banshee531 //------------------------------// Several days had passed since Discord's defeat. Despite the Elements of Harmony managing to reverse all the chaos Discord had created, they were unable to repair the normal things that had been damaged by the chaotic creations. Celestia and Luna were working to organize the repairs to most of Equestria, with some cities already having plans on how to fix themselves. Twilight had been put in charge of organizing Ponyville's restoration, which had been completed the previous day. As for Flash, he was happy to see that none of his friends had any lingering side effects from Discord's trickery, and they didn't hold any negative feelings over what they all had said and done to each other while enchanted. The last few days had been helpful in this regard, as they quickly banded together in the relief effort as well. The element bearers were back to being friends again, something that was desperately needed after the events. Right now though, they had other things to focus on since the repairs to Ponyville had just been finished. The princesses had summoned the seven to Canterlot, which caused Twilight to almost have a panic attack, mainly due to her thinking that Celestia would punish her for not repairing Ponyville quick enough. Thankfully, Flash had been able to calm her down, with some help from the tea Fluttershy had made. The seven were now waiting outside the main hall, ready to see why Celestia had summoned them. "So...what do you think this is about?" Rainbow asked out loud. "Think we're getting an award for kicking Discord's flank?" "If that's the case, I better get the biggest award." Flash mocked back, a slight groan in his voice. "I took a beating compared to you girls." "Yeah yeah, sure." Rainbow replied, rolling her eyes. "I'm pretty sure I was the most awesome in this whole thing. I better get a double awesome award!" "Rainbow, despite your...boasting," Rarity commented with a roll of her eyes as well. "I'm pretty sure Twilight and Flash should be rewarded the most. They were the ones that saved all of us from the...horrid versions of ourselves." She shivered at those last words. "Ah agree." Applejack nodded, tilting her Stetson hat. "We owe it all to them. We woulda lost otherwise." Twilight slightly blushed before shaking her head. "That's not true Applejack, we all did this together. Even if some of us played bigger parts, we only won because we all worked together in the end." The others nodded in agreement to Twilight's statement. As they did, the doors to the hall they were standing in opened, revealing the room beyond. There, the seven's eyes went wide, as they saw a room jam packed with many different ponies. They looked at each other for a second, trying not to gape at the sight. Then, as if on cue, Twilight and Flash began to lead the group inside. As they walked in, they began to see many of their friends in the crowd. Night Light, Twilight Velvet, Trixie and Moondancer were just a few to name in the mass of ponies. Gorgenia, Wild Smile and Solid Script were there as well, though in the back, away from most other ponies. Seeing this, they soon reached a spot in front of Celestia, Luna and Cadance, which was on a small stage. There, they saw Springer, Spike and Grand Hoof, just off to the side of the stage. Grand Hoof nodded to his apprentice as they made eye contact, Springer doing the same as well. The three princesses then looked down at the seven young ponies, smiling with pride and gratitude as they did so, before turning to the rest of the room. "We are gathered here today," Celestia announced, causing the crowd to go silent, staring at the regal princess. "to once again honor the heroism of these seven friends who stood up to the villain Discord, and saved Equestria from eternal chaos." The crowd cheered, happy that their protectors had once again triumphed over the evil that threatened their land. "This will be a day for all of Equestria to remember," Luna called out, "a day which will stand as a reminder of the power that the Magic of Friendship possesses." In that moment, Cadance's horn glowed and magically opened a pair of curtains, which revealed a new stain glass window. Said window was depicting Discord with a surprised look on his face, while the image of seven young ponies that could be seen at the bottom, wielding their Elements at the monster. The seven friends smiled as they saw the image, before turning towards the crowd, who were all cheering for them. This went on for a few minutes, until Celestia spoke once again. "As a celebration for this heroic act, we will be holding a gala dinner in these ponies' honors." The seven all cheered after hearing this. It seemed that things were truly back to normal. Several hours later... The gala was in full swing. Though it appeared at the last minute, the ponies found it to be quite the spectacle. The same musicians from the fall formal were playing music, while ponies conversed about their experiences during the chaos storm. "And then when I got out of bed," Fancy Pants explained to a group of already giggling ponies, "I tried to go down my stairs, only to discover that I wasn't moving. Turns out, my staircase had been transformed into an escalator!" Everypony chuckled after hearing this. As they all laughed, Twilight Velvet walked into the middle of crowd, ready to give her own chaotic encounter tale next. More tales soon followed as everypony continued to laugh at the past few days. That is, expect for one pony. It was Flash, who was currently sitting outside on a nearby balcony. He was watching Luna magically bring out the stars, his eyes staring at the black sky with a look of pure thought. Despite the merriment that was going on inside, the young pegasus didn't feel like joining. He had too much on his mind. "Flash?" He turned around to see his friends stepping out of the gala hall and trotting over to him. "Are you alright?" Twilight asked him. "Yeah..." Flash said in a melancholy tone, turning back around to look back up at the sky. "Just decided to do a little stargazing." "Ya do realize ah can tell when yer lyin, right?" Applejack told him. Flash just sighed, knowing he was caught. "Whatever is the matter darling?" Rarity asked him. "Yeah," Rainbow added with a nod, "we beat Discord and everything's awesome again." "I know," Flash replied, still not looking at his friends. "Then why aren't you smiling?" Pinkie cried, her lip quivering with a big frown on her face. "You're not still mad at us for how we acted, are you?" Fluttershy asked timidly. Flash shook his head, a small smile on his face. "Oh course not. I told you that there was nothing to forgive about that. It wasn't your fault." "Then what's wrong?" Twilight asked as she stepped up and sat next to him. "Please, we want to help." Flash just sighed and looked back up at the sky. "It's not you girls, its just...its just me." The girls all raised an eyebrow at this, confused by what he meant. Seeing this, Flash continued, "Discord's magic barely had any effect on me. I mean, he had to really try when he took my wings and when he tried to corrupt me..." Twilight tilted her head as she asked, "Wait a minute, you told me that it didn't work because you remembered all the great things about your friends. The same way we fought it off, right?" "Yeah," Flash nodded before staring at his hooves, "but I didn't just remember it. Someone or some...thing showed me visions of my past, all the good things that came from all my friendships. And that's what worries me." He looked back up at the sky, spotting the constellation of Orion as it appeared. "This isn't the first time that something unusual has happened to me..." he said, his voice slightly trembling. "A few instances like this have already occurred and...and I don't understand it at all. Its like...its like I'm something that shouldn't be a pony." Flash's friends all shared a glance at each other, before turning back to him. A second later, the whole group began to hug him. As they did, Twilight spoke up. "It doesn't matter what this thing is Flash. It doesn't change the fact that you're our friend." "Darn tootin," Applejack added. "You know it," Rainbow continued. "Absolutely darling," Rarity said. "Yep yep yep," Pinkie cheered. "We're all friends," Fluttershy finished. Flash just smiled after hearing this. "Whatever this thing is, we'll figure it out together." Twilight said as they pulled out of the hug, "And if it turns out that this something dangerous, then we'll deal with it together. Got it?" The others just nodded in agreement. "Now, no more being sad, alright?" Flash smiled back and nodded, before turning back towards the gala hall. "You're right." he replied before letting out a small chuckle. "Come on girls, we can't be missing our own party, can we?" The others all nodded before heading back inside. As Flash reentered the hall, he thought back on what his friends had said. They were right. Whatever it was that caused Flash to be immune from Discord's magic, it didn't matter. It didn't change him and he knew one day that he would learn the truth. But until that day, he wouldn't worry about it.