"Flash!"
The bathroom of his military dorm was in shambles. Humidity completely filled the room from one corner to the other and the whole place reeked of shampoo and wet stallion, both getting worse by the fact that the windows were locked shut. Warm water formed puddles on the tiles as if somepony had stepped right out of the shower and moved about without care, towels had been left in a ridiculous pile and smears of dark red stains can be seen on the cloth. The shower door was not the only thing sporting hoofprints, the foggy mirror above the sink as well and, oh my Celestia, there are drops of blood in the sink.
Flash Sentry looked up from where he was leaning over the sink, sporting a purple shower gown and a towel wrapped around his wet mane with a knife in his left hoof. A number of cuts can be seen along his muzzle, drops of blood flowing out of recent ones and dried blood stopped his old cuts from bleeding further. His eyebrows rose in question at his captain's stupefied look. "What?"
"W-What do you mean 'What?'!" Shining Armor exclaimed, still trying to calm himself from the initial shock, lowering his heart rate to a comfortable pace. He nearly had a heart attack at the sight of all that blood, but now he had located the source, no words can express his fury. "What- How did- What the heck did you-"
"Chill out, I'm almost done," Flash said and turned back to the mirror. "You'll have plenty of time to perm your mane or whatever the heck it is captains do in here..."
Shining strode forward, activating his magic, and took the knife from Flash's hoof, ignoring his protests. "Almost done with what? Taking pleasure out of self harming?"
"Give that back!" Flash snapped, making a grab for the blade that Shining levitated high in midair, not that it was a problem for a pegasus. "I need it!"
"What you need is to be locked away in a mental hospital, you cheeseball!" Shining retorted. "Just look at what you did to yourself in the mirror? Look what you did to the bathroom! If you weren't in here carving your face off, I would have thought it was a crime scene! Just because you're my best guard doesn't mean you can mess up my stuff-"
"Captain..."
"And what could you possibly need to shave for anyway? I know I said we higher-ups frown on untidiness during these inspections, but none of us would get riled up over a little colt fuzz-"
"Look!" Flash shouted in distraught. He grabbed Shining's chest floof and yanked him down, presenting his mutilated face for observation. "Just look!"
Shining was going to inhale long and deep so he can keep shouting, but he ended up gasping instead, blinking in surprise when he realised what he was seeing. That was not a colt fuzz. That was a full-blown facial hair sprouting from Flash's face, slightly longer strands jutting from his upper lip like whiskers and fading to stubbles and revealed skin where he sliced off too much. Its orange colour camouflaged itself real well with the rest of his coat, preventing Shining from seeing it from a distance. He took Flash's head in his hoofs and turned it left and right to get a good look at his facial hair from every angle, amazed by how such a tiny change made Flash appear so much older. Like a stallion of twenty-ish years old instead of seventeen years he actually was.
"Well, I'll be damned." Shining murmured to himself.
"That's what I said." Flash growled and slapped his captains hoofs away. He shot his reflection in the mirror a challenging look and then switched his glare to Shining. "What're you smirking for? This isn't funny!"
"Of course not," Shining said, smiling broadly. "In fact... It's splendid!"
"What?"
"Kid, facial hair is a sign of masculinity!" Shining exclaimed while Flash looked at him in disbelief. "You should be proud of yourself. Now, the training instructor can't call you a filly!"
"Hey," Flash started, "I'm not proud! This is the worst day of my life!"
Shining couldn't hold back his laughter and lightly bucked the pegasus on his side. "I hate to say it, but it's only going to get worse from here. This is only the first step in the insufferable journey to stallionhood."
"It's not that, Captain!" Flash howled in anguish. He braced his hoofs on either side of the sink, staring at himself in despair. "I look like him!"
"Like who?"
"Sir Spearhead!"
The silence rang in Shining's ears as he felt even more laughter rising up from deep within. Most of the younger or lower ranked guards would look up to ones with higher ranks, but to think that his old buddy Spearhead, who's now a renowned artist with magnificent facial hair, was the subject of despise for his younger subordinate might be the funniest thing he's ever heard. Fair enough, before Spearhead left, he was the previous training instructor and was known to be ruthless.
He burst out in a hearty laughter as he saw the resemblance between the pegasus and the soldier turned artist. Wow, puberty hit him hard, and not in a good way. In fact, facial hair isn’t the only thing that had changed about the pegasus. Examining his profile now, the difference was clearly evident. Mane a gleaming sapphire blue and eyes filled with determination. Shining realised that it wasn't only his face that had changed over the years, but his body as well. The weak body had changed throughout the years. From a wiry build, filled out when he was given proper care, to a muscular build from all the training he did after he joined the Royal Guards, burning away all his chubby fat. The pegasus was almost as tall as he is and, even when his life depended on it, he couldn't remember when that happened.
"Hey, it's... not that bad," Shining lied quickly, disturbed by the dawning realisation that Flash was... growing up. It had to happen sometime, but he couldn't help feel a strange twist in his heart as he wondered what happened to the young broken colt he found years ago on one of his patrols when he was still a low ranking guard.
"I can't believe I didn't notice until now," Flash groaned, "I mean, I noticed. It must have started weeks ago, but you could hardly even see it so I just left it alone. And then... And then, I woke up and it was just there. Like it magically appeared overnight!"
Shining sighed and swept his hoof through his mane, still dishevelled from sleep. "Well, that's what happens when you're a teenager. All the hormones start kicking in and-"
"I'll stop you right there!" Flash's head snapped up, eyes blazing. "Don't you dare tell me this is normal! There's nothing normal about looking in the mirror and seeing that guy's face!"
"Are you really going to do this, kid?" Shining said impatiently, not in the mood for adolescent drama this early in the morning. "Come on, even you're smart enough to understand that you can't choose your instructor, that's how it works here and that's how life is."
"Easy for you to say," Flash grumbled, his words spiteful and bitter. "You probably had Princess Cadance give you bypasses and stuff like that. Life never used you to wipe his or her flank."
Shining notices his own reflection became grim and fought to control it before Flash noticed.
He had not even once let his relationship affect his duties. He earned his title as Captain of the Royal Guards through endless hard work. He went through the same boring routine, patrolling or standing guard all night in one place. He went through the same dreadful training. If not, even worse because his training was before Princess Celestia had made a ban on some of the more life threatening training. Of course, he saw no reason to share the information or to continue the argument. It wouldn't do any good.
He stepped back and peered at the clock in the other room. The inspection wouldn't officially start for another hour and a half, but since it would take so much time to get everypony lined up in formation, they were expected on the fields in about thirty minutes. That is, of course, not counting the time it takes to line up for breakfast, there was actually only about ten and a bit more minutes before they really had to get going.
To think, Shining had thought making Flash spend the night at his place would make this inspection less of a hassle. At least, this way he wouldn't have to get somepony to wake his sorry flank up out of bed and hope the kid would make it to the fields on time with a dent armour and helmet tucked in his hoof. Flash had viciously opposed the idea at first until Shining informed him that his rank allowed him a dorm with two separate bedrooms connected by a common area. Then, the pegasus ditched all his worries and made himself at home by flying in with a large grin through the window, leaving his armour in a mess outside his temporary bedroom. Shining had dutifully placed their armour on an armour stand, the crests neatly combed and steel polished beyond belief, ready to go at any time. He also set his alarm clock early to be sure they wouldn't be late before hitting the hay himself, confident he had done all he could to ensure the inspection would go off without a hitch.
He should have known something would come up. He should have known...
"I've got to get rid of it!" Flash cried in desperation, interrupting Shining's musings when he flew and snatched the razor in midair with his mouth, startling Shining causing him to dispel his magic.
Right away, Shining casted his magic hold back on the razor. "Look, there's no time. You'll just have to deal with it later."
"I'm not going outside like this!" Flash said fiercely, biting down on the knife's handle harder. "I'm not! They can do the damn inspection without me!"
"Need I remind you of the consequences of skipping inspection?" Shining said in exasperation. "Are you really so eager to take KP duty for the next few months?"
Flash merely made another attempt at keeping the razor away. At last, Shining bucked him, making him drop the knife in favour of rubbing his muzzle softly in an attempt to reduce the pain.
"C-Captain!"
"Just wait a minute," Shining barked, putting Flash in a sullen silence. He considered his options and let out a defeated sigh. "At the rate this is going, you'll end up slitting your own throat. If I show you how to do this correctly, will you calm down and act like less of a child for a change?"
Flash's eyes flicked to the razor suspiciously. "You're not going to try and...?"
"I said I'd show you," Shining sighed again, "You're seventeen, you can damn well shave yourself."
Flash shifted in place, teeth grinding as he seemed to struggle with his instinct to deny that he needed needed any form of help. A sideways glance at his disgusting reflection seemed to decide him. "What do I have to do?" He muttered.
Shining pushed past him to get a cabinet. "It's more a matter of what you should have done. First of all, you skipped the shaving cream."
"Does it matter?"
"If you used it, all of this might not have happened," Shining informed him, pointing at every stain of blood in the room. He levitated a small bottle of shaving cream and some fresh towels, but paused when he spotted a couple of razors in the cabinet. He gazed at the knife on the floor in confusion. "Why did you use a knife?"
"Not like I was gonna use your razor." Flash scoffed.
"Aren't you a little old to be worried about cooties?" Shining teased, snickering when Flash blushed. He levitated a razor from the cabinet and set it on the sink before him. "Just use it."
"Why can't I use this?" Flash whined, his hoof making its way towards the knife.
Shining snatched the knife before Flash did, wincing when it drew blood because he held the blade instead of the handle by accident. "Because this one is clearly dangerous. Did you sharpened it just for this? Hair don't exactly put up much of a fight."
Flash grumbled under his breath as he snatched up Shining’s razor, shaking it about as he warned, “I swear, if I catch some kind of disease from you…”
“I haven’t used it in months, and I washed them thoroughly.” Shining assured him, passing him one of the smaller towels before joining him in front of the mirror. He eyed the gruesome mess in the sink and turned on the faucet to rinse it out, letting the water run. “Now, wash your face up first with warm water. I usually shave right after I shower, but thanks to you, there’s no time for that now.”
“Not like I asked for this.” Flash muttered as he wet the washcloth and started washing his face brutally. He winced when one of the cuts reopened, forcing him to scrub with more care.
Shining picked out his own towel and threw it over his shoulder to his other side, letting it hang around his neck and followed suit, one eye always on the clock. He squirted some foam onto his hoof and handed the bottle to Flash who turned it over to read the label.
“Use it as much as you want.” Shining said, “Believe me, I went through plenty when I was first learning.”
Flash pulled his damp mane back messily and began lathering an large amount of cream over his neck and muzzle. By the time he was done, he nearly resembled Starswirl the Bearded. He glanced over in hesitant curiosity as Shining slapped some cream over his own growing whiskers. “Did… Did someone show you how to do this?”
“Somewhat,” Shining explained while he hesitated to use his magic on the razor, grabbing it instead as to show the younger pony how it’s done without magic. “Like you, I joined the around your age. My dad showed me the basics just before I left home. When you live with forty other teenagers who are also going through puberty, you kind of figure these things out.”
“Hm,” Flash mused. He fiddled with Shining’s spare razor, eyeing it with deep mistrust until he finally raised it only to be stopped yet again. “What now?!”
“Excuse me for making sure you don’t scrape your face off,” Shining retorted. “Now watch. You don’t jab it. Tilt it at an angle so the blade slides.”
Under Flash’s grumpy but watchful gaze, he demonstrated with a few deft strokes across his cheek, slicing it enough to be in length with his coat, then nodded at him to try. Flash sweated in uncertainty as he placed the razor against his face and, slowly, dragged it across, clearing somewhat a straight trail through the lather. He poked at the perfect smooth patch of hair in satisfaction. “That easy?”
“That easy.” Shining agreed, relieved that his companion caught on quickly. “Just go slowly and watch out for those cuts. Make sure you shave in the same direction it grows.”
“That’s important?”
“Prevents razor burns and keeps the length in line with the rest of your coat. If it gets out of hand, you’ll feel like you washed your face with poison ivy and it’ll look like weird layers.”
Flash took a few more experimental swipes on his other cheek and seemed to garner a little more confidence. “So you do this all the time?”
Shining tipped his head back to start on the underside of his muzzle, moving with the ease of long practice and pausing every so often to rinse the blade. “Every other day. I can afford to let it go once in a while, but with the way yours look, you may need to make this a daily routine until those bald patches grow back and line up properly.”
Flash scowled, clearly not taking to the idea. He leaned closer to the mirror and a few nimble flicks erased the whiskers just above his upper lip. He watched in satisfaction as the long hairs made circles in the sink before slipping down the drain and out of sight. “Take that, you little bastards.” He said with an evil grin.
“Am I going to have to listen to this commentary the whole time?”
The only response he received was a faint grunt before Flash turned his full focus on his reflection, making the most comical faces as he waged war on those little scraps of fuzz. Shining allowed himself a tiny smile and very carefully continued his own treatment with the overly sharp blade. A comfortable silence fell as they settled into a rhythm, trading off the faucet to rinse their razors. He noticed with some amusement that Flash kept peeking at him out of the corner of his eye and attempting to copy his technique. He would stop the second Shining looked his way, but that just made it all the more entertaining when Shining pointedly let his attention wander only to snap his eyes back to try and catch the young pony in the act. Flash would give him an utterly blameless ‘What did I do?’ sort of look before flashing a bright grin and returning to their task. It was just shaving, but it felt like with everything else, Flash seemed determined to get it right the first time.
Shining could almost admit it was more fun this way. It didn’t even feel like they were captain and subordinate anymore. More like comrades, except more intimate than that… similar to and yet entirely unlike shaving alongside, say, Spearhead. Perhaps it was Flash’s youth or the fact that this was his first experience with something most stallions dismissed as mundane or the fact that Shining had been the one to teach him…
It’s the sort of thing fathers do with their sons…
His reflection’s eyebrows flew up as that thought drifted through his mind, the razor in its movements. A memory followed right on its heels, flashes of his father, Night Light, appeared in his mind. His father was ecstatic when he gets to teach the only other male pony in the family about chivalry with mares, about the rough sports only colts could play, about shaving…
Shining’s stomach gave an uncomfortable lurch, a gut reaction at the very thought of fatherhood. Most of it was from the firm opinion that twenty-four years old was far too young to even consider having foals, especially with the rest of his career still before him. Besides, Princess Celestia would most likely not appreciate him impregnating her adopted niece before marriage. And what if his son takes after him? His mother had told stories of him being quite the bundle of energy as a colt and his father became sleep deprived because of him.
“Celestia, I beg of you, bless me with a daughter.” He unknowingly spoke out loud.
“What?”
“Nothing.” Shining said hastily and tried not to look too carefully at the oddly domestic image they made, side by side with twin razors and foam on their faces, Flash looking at him with an attitude tempered by the tiniest bit of concern. He set the razor aside and leaned over to rinse off the remaining lather. Shining dried his face off and motioned for Flash to do the same while he took some aftershave from the cabinet. “I expect you to know what this is. I usually don’t use it, but the alcohol will help with your cuts. Be careful, it…”
Flash splashed a hefty amount of aftershave in his hoof and slapped it on his face. He let out a high-pitched neigh and snatched up the nearest towel to scrub off the offending liquid.
“…stings.”
"Agh! Couldn't you have said that a little sooner?!" Flash said crossly, rubbing his reddened bald patches with a wounded look. He ran a careful hoof over the rest of his muzzle. "I missed some spots..."
"It's hardly noticeable." Shining said with a quick look at the clock. "We've only got a few minutes. Go equip your armour while I finish up in here."
"Fine." Flash muttered, throwing Shining another bemused look as he was ushered out. They had made quite a mess, but with Shining's magical capabilities, it'll all be cleaned in less than a minute.
In the bathroom, the captain was draining through his magic by having multiple rags and cloths wipe the sink, floor, mirror and every other surface Flash had managed to get his blood on. The towels, he dumped in the laundry basket. The ones Flash used would probably just be thrown away, but Shining didn't want to be the one caught explaining blood stained towels in his trash. He levitated a comb through his mane and then went to equip his own set of armour, noting that Flash had retreated to his own room to get ready.
Shining was just buckling on the last part of his armour when the door cracked open. Despite Flash's time in the military, Shining hadn't yet seen him in fresh and clean full uniform. He tended to always forget either his helmet or some other piece of his armour. So, Shining allowed himself a moment to take in the once-in-a-lifetime sight of Flash Sentry, rookie guard of the year, swathed in a golden set of armour. Shining could even see his own distorted reflection upon the shiny plates. Overall, the younger pony was a precise and exquisite image that would make the higher-ups preen at having such a young guard appear far superior in terms of tidiness.
How odd, for some reason Shining was a bit irritated. Flash had missed something. Some sort of indicator. Ah, right.
"Where's your saddle?" Shining asked.
The blue saddle was an indicator that Flash, while quite low in rank, is under the captain's supervision and may be called in to be a part of his personal platoon when he is ever needed in an operation.
"I don't like it," Flash mumbled, fiddling with some buckles. "It feels weird getting stared at."
It's true, Flash would occasionally get stared at for having a bright blue saddle, making him stand out from the rest. He would also get glared at by guards with higher ranks who don't have the coveted blue saddle. That was something Flash wish to avoid. He didn't even want it in the first place, but that was exactly the reason Shining gave him the additional piece of clothing. Flash earned it through giving it all he got in every job he's assigned to as well as his modesty.
"Fine, I'll let it slide." Shining said. He knocked Flash's hoof away and lifted his wings, horn flared as he adjusted the buckle into a more comfortable state. "At least stop slouching, maybe then you'll be proper royal guard."
"At least, I am a royal guard." Flash shot back flippantly, walking back into the bathroom and looked in the mirror. The cuts had finally stopped bleeding and most were hardly even visible. He rubbed a small razor burn on one of his bald patches in discomfort but stopped when Shining came up to the mirror as well, observing their reflection one last time.
Finally, Flash sighed in relief. "I don't look like him anymore..."
Shining let out a small chuckle. Looking at Flash now, he could hardly recognise the colt he first met years ago in the young stallion before him. In fact, in a year, he would turn eighteen and be a full-fledged stallion. So much could happen in such a short amount of time and Shining found himself wishing that the next few years would bring about Flash's greatest wish to become a Captain of the Royal Guards as well. Perhaps he was asking for the impossible, Shining would never give away his position that easily, but if somepony could go from a broken colt to an impressive stallion that earned his praise on his first year as a Royal Guard, Shining was inclined to believe that nothing was impossible.
But instead of saying all that, he merely smiled playfully and nudged Flash. "Nope. Now, you look like me."
"I do not!" Flash protested, pushing Shining back out the bathroom door in order to trot away in anger.
Shining held the door open, expecting Flash to be right behind him, but the pegasus was still in the bathroom, looking back at his reflection with an odd expression. He watched Flash touched his clean-shaven face and then used a hoof to fix a few strand of blue bristles of his helmet's crest. Then, the pegasus brought a crooked smile to his face.
"Flash?"
"You're right," Flash said abruptly, sweeping out of the bathroom and bypassing Shining with that smile still in place. "I guess it's not so bad after all."
Shining couldn't bring himself to ask if they were still talking about the uniform or not.
END