No less than three dozen guards poured into the steamy interior. They firmly moved the servants and caterers aside, forming a clear space between them and their target in the corner. Glossy helmets reflected the teenager's lone, seated figure.
As they formed a phalanx, a particularly stalwart-looking stallion in ornate armor trotted down the center, flanked by a familiar looking Lieutenant.
Flash Sentry stood up.
The two lead guards came to a stop. The rest brandished polearms and formed an impermeable semi-circle around Flash.
Bon Bon and the Cakes looked on with fear and concern, shivering.
With a flicker of blue telekinesis, the lead guard removed his helmet. Through thin ocean blue eyes, the pale stallion regarded Flash with a steely gaze.
"See?" The pony beside him pointed with a yellow-orange hoof. "I wasn't kidding! It's spot-on—"
"You did well, Lieutenant," the leader said. "Now... step aside, please."
"Y-yes, Captain." The slighter stallion stepped back.
The leader stepped forward, standing tall and resolute. "I am Captain Shining Armor, appointed steward of the Crystal Empire, and acting commander of the Imperial Guard."
Flash gulped. "Well that's just super." He tried to smile.
Shining Armor wasn't amused in the slightest. "Do you know who you are?"
The teenager glanced at the Lieutenant standing behind Shining, then back at the lead guard. "My name is Flash Sentry."
Shining Armor's eyes sharpened. "That is not possible."
"Believe me..." Flash droned. "I think the same thing every day I wake up."
Shining stepped forward. As he did so, the guards crowded in tighter—aiming their polearms at Flash, as if he might leap at them at any moment. "You are beneath the Palace of the Crystal Empire," Shining said. "You are no longer lost in the frozen north... or taking shelter in the hive of your matriarch."
Flash merely blinked.
"Queen Chrysalis is no longer in charge of the changelings," Shining said firmly, annunciating each phrase with bombastic authority. "King Thorax is now supreme ruler. Your kind are no longer bound by the need to thirst on love and emotion. You can be free to be your own individual... your own pony... your own personality."
Flash's eyes darted back and forth. His lips pursed, and he lowered his head as he regarded the guards in a new light. "I... I am not one of these 'changelings' that you speak of..."
Shining Armor merely stared at him.
Flash exhaled. "But I'm not the Flash Sentry you know either. Nor am I from this world." He gulped. "Nevertheless... I will... f-fully comply with whatever it is that you ask me to do." He shook his head. "I'm not going to fight you guys." A crooked smile was aimed in the direction of some of the fairer specimens of the armored guard. "Or girls."
The Lieutenant glanced at the leader.
Shining took a deep breath. "Is that a promise?"
"Yes." Flash nodded. "I will not resist." His brow furrowed. "Now you promise me something."
Shining leaned back, nodding. "Name it."
Flash breathed with relief upon getting such an honorable response. "I... deceived many ponies to get here. None of them knew any better." He shook his head. "Whatever happens... don't take it out on the Ponyvilleans or Wonderbolts or any member of Fancy Pants' brigade. Is that a deal?"
Shining Armor breathed. "I shall see what I can do." And he gestured forward with his hoof.
Several guards advanced on Flash Sentry at once.
"By the authority granted in me by the Crystal Empire, I am hereby putting you under arrest until the nature of your threat to this kingdom and Equestria abraod can be fully ascertained."
The teenager hung his head. There was no sense in expecting anything better than this. He held his hooves out as he felt iron manacles placed around them. Then—with the gentle prods of guards on all sides—he shuffled slowly forward... towards whatever formidable destination the soldiers had in mind.
With more than a little bit of trembling, Bon Bon, Carrot Cake, and Cup Cake looked on... silenced through sheer shock.