//------------------------------//
// Flash Sentry 
// Story: Code Red 
// by StarsWillAidInHerEscape 
//------------------------------//

Flash Sentry‘s tears are running down his face and onto his guitar. His knuckles are white from squeezing so hard. All the emotions are screaming their way through his mind. Screams...screams. He screams himself. Flash gives himself over to the music and the memory.

Flash was in his favorite class, AP physics. The class was small, few people wanted to take such a difficult class. Still, Flash had always liked math and science, and it was essential for any good STEM career. And of course...Twilight Sparkle. Any class with her in it was worth any amount of homework and headache. 
“You will be completing your odd questions in class and the even ones for homework. Work with student sitting directly across from you.”
Flash’s heart leaped up into his mouth with joy. Sunset Shimmer had left the room, so he had been paired with Twilight! Suppressing his emotions, he coolly walked over to her. 
“I did not know you took AP physics!” She exclaimed.
“Yeah, well, I don’t really seem like it, but I love this stuff. This first problem looks fairly easy. Not to many variables.” The two began to work, conferring after each problem. 
They were in the middle of working a problem when over the speakers came Principal Celestia. Her voice was high pitched and nervous. “Code Red...Code Red...this is not a drill...this is not a drill.”        
Spikes drove through Flash’s heart and his heart raced. Twilight paled and grabbed his hand and squeezed it. Normally Flash would be delighted by this, but now he just thought about his panic...panic...panic.
”Into the closet! Into the closet!” The teacher shrieked. Flash swung open the cloest door, pushed Twilight in, and jumped in himself. 
It was a tight fit. A tear slid down Twilight’s cheek. “Oh Flash, what is going on?!?” Flash shook his head in solemn silence. 
The door handle. Someone was jiggling the door handle! “Help!” Screamed a voice from outside the door. “It is me! Sunset Shimmer! She is gonna shoot me!” 
Twilight’s face expressed pure horror. “Sunset!” She cried. Twilight, crazed by the fact that her friend might be at the door, thoughtlessly grasped her necklace and shoved the closet door with her shoulder.        
Flash’s sensitive ears immediately told him that something was wrong. “Twilight no! That is not Sunset!” He cried. It was too late. 
The teacher did nothing, she was petrified by fear. Twilight opened the classroom door. “You are not Sunset...” she murmured, face pale.
The gunman stepped into partial view. Flash still could not tell who she was. Some students were murmuring prayers, some were closing their eyes and hiding their faces. Flash had never really been a religious person, but now he hoped fervently that some greater force would intervene.
Twilight ran at the armed person. She made a gesture with her hand and a desk flew up into the air towards the intruder. “Imposter!” She cried. “You murder.” The intruder shot at the flimsy desk and it fell apart. “Where is Sunset?” Twilight demanded. The gunman turned the gun on Twilight. 
Flash reached his hand back into the closet, hoping for something, anything to help. His hand closed around a heavy textbook. It was too late. The gunman shot. As the sound rang through his ears, Flash hurled the textbook at the gunman. The gun clattered to the floor. So did Twilight. 
Another text book hurtled through the air. And another. For a brief second, he saw Big Mac throwing, and he knew the other students were helping too. 
The gunman grabbed another magazine from her back pocket. Flash could tell it was her last magazine and she had no extra ammunition. A gun typically has seven rounds. It was crystal clear to Flash. He had to get her to shoot seven times so she could not hurt anyone else.      
Flash accpected terror, but all he felt was cool acceptance. He leaped our of the closet and charged at her, tackling her to the ground. She shot at him as they fell to the ground, thankfully missing. Six shots left. 
Flash wrestled it out of her hands. Flash knew nothing about shooting a gun, and he did not want to accidentally shoot anyone, but he had to get the bullets out of the gun. He tried to shoot at the wall, but he missed and hit a bookshelf. That was three shots. Three shots left. The bookshelf fell and blocked the closet doorway. Now no one could help Flash. A stab of fear shocked him. He needed help, but his classmates were trapped inside the closet. 
The gunman charged at him and he caught a glimpse of her face. Green hair, amber eyes. She was familiar, but he could not quite who she was. 
While he was trying to remember, she snatched her gun. Flash dove to the ground as she shot again. Two bullets left. 
He leaped to his feet, fighting back nausea from landing on his stomach so hard. Flash fell against the wall. She glared, aimed, shot, and hit. Flash looked at his sweatshirt. A blossom of red was blooming on the front. One shot left. Just one more shot, he thought. Almost done. 
Gasping for air, Flash tripped her. Before he could take the gun, she sat up and shot one last time. The bullet was headed towards his face. Then it stopped and fell to the ground, glowing purple. Shocked, he stared at it cross-eyed. 
Twilight Sparkle pulled herself up with a desk, one leg dripping blood from a bullet wound. Her necklace glowed from her magic usage.
The gunman ran out the door, gun useless. She could cause no more harm. Twilight could not run after her because of her shot leg. 
Flash Sentry finally remembered her name. “Wallflower” he murmured. “Wallflower Blush.” He coughed violently, blood coming out of his mouth. He had to chase her, but his eyes were getting heavier and heavier, and his gun wound hurt really badly. 
Twilight tried to get closer to Flash, but her leg would not let her. 
Flash’s last thoughts before fainted were so many questions, some of which he knew he would never find the answers to. Who was Wallflower? Why did she shoot them? Would Twilight be ok? Where did Wallflower go? When the police arrive? Were his band mates ok? 
Flash shut his eyes, the world was spinning. Gotta stay conscious. Flash could not stay conscious any longer, he was bleeding too heavily and he hurt to much.                                   The police and ambulance arrived and he and many other students were rushed to the hospital. When he woke up, a couple days later, the gunman had already been arrested.

 This is the first moment Flash Sentry has had alone since coming home from the hospital. Somewhere in him, there were stitches and healing tissues. In his mind, he had been torn apart and stitched up again, and like his physical state, he was still recovering from the experience. It had left its mark on him forever. Flash stared at his guitar and begins to play it slowly, getting faster and faster. He sings and plays for as long as he can. And then he writes a song. Many songs. Flash knows he would never be the same. Now his goals are greater than ever. Life is so much clearer now, he knows what is important to him. He will never be the same, but maybe that is not a bad thing.