"Pffft! 'Will we get there in time'?!" A gray-mane'd pilot scoffed before returning to the steering mechanism of Prince Blueblood's prized skiff. Cloudtops and tufts of air blurred by as the vessel barreled its way southwest. "We're not called 'Canterlot's Finest' for nothing! Heck..." He smirked, lowering a pair of goggles over his peering eyes. "...if it weren't for the pesky cargo limits, we would have conducted the initial mission to High Paw ourselves! But—his Highness' partners had a heavy load to deliver, so we were patiently waiting on backup duty and—"
"You don't need to give me the hard sell, buddy," Soarin muttered. "We're already on board." His mane whipped in the high winds. Glancing towards the stern, he saw the shiny sight of the Crystal Empire fading in the distance. There was very little room for the three ponies on board the gondola to stand. The bulk of the ship's mass was dedicated to the balloon and the massive propellers bulleting it along. "All I care is that we can get to High Paw and back within the necessary time."
"We'll be there before you blink!" the pilot boasted. "Can't lie. I'm crazy excited! Is this some secret mission? Is Blueblood backstabbing Mr. Pants and Mr. Rich by offering the diamond dogs a special deal under the table?"
"Er... no. Nothing of the sort." Soarin's muzzle scrunched. "But I'll keep in mind that you're open to such a crazy idea."
"Hahahaha! Don't mind me, Mr. Wonderbolt." The pilot steered the craft along. "I've been super bored this whole time—waiting to be of use to His Highness. You two are the high point of my week!"
"Yeah. Uh huh. Look..." Soarin gestured. "When we get to High Paw, just let me do the talking, alright?"
"You got it, pal! Now how about you sit back and rest easy, hmmm?" The pilot gestured back. "Seems like your young friend's got the idea."
"Thanks..." Soarin trotted back towards the rear of the gondola.
There, Flash Sentry sat slumped against the interior of the sparse cargo hold. His eyelids were heavy, and the manic cheer that had brought him to that point was hanging by a thread as he threatened to teeter into full unconsciousness. All that kept him awake—so it seemed—was a desperate glimmer in his eye, bright like the pale clouds gleaming by.
Soarin sorely wanted to leave Flash alone so that sleep would finally claim the teenager. But—somehow—the Wonderbolt knew better. "So... remind me again..." He slowly sat down across from the younger stallion. "...how exactly has Princess Luna been sticking her neck out for you?"
"Hrmmmmmmm..." Flash rubbed and rubbed his forehead. He looked at Soarin. Past him. "Remember... h-how I let slip that she's visited in my sleep...?"
Soarin slowly nodded. "Via dreamwalking? Yes. I'm still flabbergasted."
"It's... because she knows..." Flash gulped, his eyes darting towards Soarin directly. "...about me being human and such."
Soarin took a breath. "I guess that makes sense."
"She's been monitoring me from the very beginning," Flash continued. "No doubt to make sure I'm not... like... trouble or nothing..."
"Does she think you're trouble, dude?" Soarin asked, punctuating the question with a sly grin.
"Well... she hasn't told her older sister where I am," Flash said. "Or any of the other Princesses, for that matter."
"But now they know..."
Flash slowly, slowly nodded. "And I don't think she can afford to hide the truth any longer." He shuddered somewhat, then looked at Soarin again. "She told me something a while ago, Soarin. She told me that she sensed that I had 'much to accomplish' in Equestria. It was her 'royal intuition' or whatnot."
"I guess you took that really seriously."
"How couldn't I have?" Flash bit his bottom lip. "When one of the supreme magical horses of the world you're visiting tells you that you've got some divine purpose to do..." His words trailed off as he teetered sleepily.
Soarin smoothed his bangs back. He sat in heavy thought for a bit, then remarked, "You have done an awful lot for us, Flash. I can't emphasize that enough. The lengths you've gone for Equestria, Ponyville, the Crystal Empire..." His eyes narrowed. "If Luna expected you to 'accomplish much' during your visit, I'd say you've covered that thrice over and then some!"
"Still..." Flash slowly shook his head. "...I don't feel like I've done it. Not yet, at least."
"Is that in Luna's words? Or your own, bro?"
"I just... I-I just sense that something's left undone..." Flash fought the urge to shiver. "It doesn't add up."
"What more could possibly be done?" Soarin asked. "And do you really—honestly think that bringing the Hawkeye Pack to the celebration will somehow cinch it?"
"I've got to try, Soarin," Flash said. "I've got to try everything I can."
"And how do you know you're trying in the right areas, huh?" Soarin shrugged. "I don't know the Princess of the Night personally, but I can't imagine she's the kind of pony to lead you on a wild goose chase. From what I've heard—from what the likes of Rainbow Dash have told me—she's pretty straightforward to those whom she visits in the Dream World."
"... ... ... ... ..." Flash merely hugged himself.
Soarin nodded, carefully pivoting the subject matter by a few degrees. "What... precisely has turned this into such a crazy race against time?" He cocked his head to the side. "Can you at least tell me that?"
A sigh, and Flash muttered aside: "I don't belong in this world, Soarin..."
"It's gotta be more than that," Soarin said. "You're not some crazy friggin' monster, dude. What's the real reason, huh?"
Flash winced. He avoided Soarin's gaze. "I... I kinda sorta ran away..."
Soarin raised an eyebrow. "'Ran away?'"
"Mmmmm... from my home... from my school... from my folks..." Flash glanced back at Soarin. "How old do you suppose I really am, Soarin?"
Soarin shrugged. "I... I-I hadn't actually bothered to put my hoof on it, exactly—"
"I'm sixteen," Flash Sentry said. "When I left the human world... when I came through the mirror and entered Equestria... I did so without telling anybody."
"Anybody?"
Flash shook his head. "For all anyone back home knows, I'm probably dead by now."
"Oye..." Soarin tried not to wince, but failed. "Not exactly smooth..."
"Well, I didn't exactly care at the time," Flash grunted. His brow furrowed momentarily, but soon the angry resolve had lessened. He let it out through flaring nostrils, gazing at the clouds whipping by. "In a lot of ways, I sure don't."
"Don't you think your parents would be worried for you?"
Flash was deadpan.
"Well..." Soarin leaned back. "You certainly picked a dramatic way to find out."
"That's not why I left without saying a word."
"Then why did you?"
"Because I couldn't live another day in that... that hell," Flash Sentry spat. "Day in and day out. Lost in the shadows. Poisoned by... by all that heartlessness all around me..."
Soarin chuckled slightly.
Flash blinked at him with a curious expression.
"Ahem... sorry... just..." Soarin smirked. "You sound 'sixteen' alright..."
Flash rolled his eyes, then sank his muzzle into his forelimbs.
Soarin winced slightly. He leaned closer. "Look... I can't pretend to know all about you or what life in the human world is like. But... family is family. Even with all the mistakes your mother and father could have made, wouldn't they be worried about you? Or... or your friends...?"
Flash remained slumped over, his head in his hooves.
Soarin gulped. "Surely it can't be quite as awful as you think..."
"Sometimes... sometimes I wonder..." Flash muttered into his fetlocks. "...how much I should tell you... how much you should know..." He weathered a shakey breath, then lifted his muzzle. He stared at the clouds with a glazed expression. "...but that would ruin the reason I'm here in the first place."
"And what reason is that?"
"Living," Flash Sentry said. "Or something close to it." He slowly rubbed his hooves together, squirming. "Such a crystal clean pond. I... I don't want to dirty it. I don't want to soil everything..." He bore a bitter-sweet grin. "Back in my world, there's a concept known as 'baptism.' Ever heard of it?"
"Can't... say that I have."
"Doesn't matter." Flash hung his head again. "It's just a word," he muttered.
Soarin rubbed his chin, thinking hard. "There's something that I still don't quite understand. Like... Luna sensed your arrival in Equestria, right?"
"Uh huh."
"And she's been hiding your presence from the others... giving you time to get situated... do your thing..."
"Uh huh..."
"... ... ...then how come the Princess of Friendship knows you're here?" Soarin asked. "How—exactly—are ponies catching up to you?"
"Sunset Shimmer," Flash murmured. "It had to have been her. She obviously wrote Twilight and once Twilight read what Sunset had to say, she started searching..."
Soarin's muzzle twisted in utter confusion. "Huh???"
Flash sighed hard. He ran a hoof through his mane. "Remember when I told you about Marefriend Number One and Marefriend Number Two?"
"Yeah... ... ...?"
"Well..." Flash fidgeted. "...they were originally from Equestria."
Silence—save for the whipping winds.
"What...???" Soarin exhaled.