//------------------------------//
// Shipping 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S4 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

It was another beautiful day in Ponyville, the citizens still in a euphoric state of bliss due to the town's victory in the Equestria Games that had ended only a week ago. Now, the townsponies were back to their day to day lives. This included the town's resident princess, who was currently helping her friend Pinkie look through several books. "How about this one?" Twilight asked as she levitated another in front of the earth pony, the party pony humming at the sight.

"That could work. Put it in the maybe pile." Twilight rolled her eyes before closing the book and levitating it over to a pile that was twelve books high and had roughly six towers. Beside it was another pile, this one only three books tall with two towers.

"I think this is the first time I've ever seen a pile that's bigger then the no pile. You do realize putting almost every book in that pile doesn't make your search any easier."

"Maybe...but I can't risk missing the perfect recipe because I threw the book it was in away after overlooking it."

Twilight giggled at her response, impressed by Pinkie's enthusiasm. "I have to admit, it's kinda sweet how serious you're taking this. You must have made thousands of cakes before now-"

"Twenty three thousand, seven hundred and eighty two to be exact," Pinkie interrupted as she scanned another book.

"Exactly. So to see you so focused on this one cake is kinda adorable."

"Of course! As with all things involving a party, I have to take it seriously! This is Wild's first birthday in Ponyville, and I need to make sure everything's perfect!" Pinkie let out a long sigh with a warm dreamy look on her face. "He puts so much effort into other ponies' birthdays, so it's only right his own is great!"

Twilight rolled her eyes again with a smile on her lips. Ever since the two had started dating, whenever Wild entered Pinkie's head, she'd get this goofy grin that was usually only preserved for when she saw something delicious for the first time. "Well, we'll just have to keep looking. Luckily, we've got plenty of time. Wild's birthday isn't for another two months."

"Are you kidding?!" Pinkie barked back as she threw another book into the pile, "That's hardly any time at all! I should've started planning this party over a year ago at the latest!"

"But you didn't even know Wild a year ago."

"That's no excuse!" Pinkie yelled as she took another book, pointing at the princess, "When it comes to parties, you need to be prepared, and then prepared again! That is why-" her voice stopped as they heard a click, their heads turning to see Flash and Springer walk into the building. "Hey guys, have fun training?"

"About the same amount of fun as usual," Flash replied as he pointed his head at his partner, "Would have helped if a certain somepony had his head in the game." Pinkie and Twilight saw what he meant when they saw Springer, a pouty expression now on his face.

"Oh dear, that's not good." Pinkie put the book aside and bounced over to the jakhowl, patting his head, "What's the matter? Tell your auntie Pinkie Pie all about it."

Springer let out a long huff and growled, "Magma and Blizzard are getting together." This statement caused Twilight and Pinkie blink at each other.

"Err...come again?"

Flash rolled his eyes. "He's talking about his Kamen Pony comic. Two of the characters are about to get together."

"That's...good, isn't it?" Twilight asked with a half-frown.

"No!" Springer almost yelled, "It's coming completely out of nowhere! Blizzard obviously belongs with Storm, so why are they pushing this angle!"

A look of realization appeared on Twilight's face, Flash giving her a nod that confirmed her suspicions, "Oh. You're angry because your ship is sinking, aren't you?"

"Ship?" Pinkie turned to Flash, "Nopony told me Springer has a boat! And what does it have to do with comic book characters?"

Twilight released a gentle chuckle, "Not that kind of ship Pinkie. A ship is what you call the idea of a pair of fictional characters getting together."

Pinkie blinked at this, her head tilting, "But why call it a ship?"

Flash and Twilight both opened their mouths, only for no sound to come out. They gave a worried expression next, Twilight rubbing her chin as she started to explain, "Um...well...think of it like this. What do you think would happen if you put a mare and a stallion, who have a lot in common and get on really well, onto a boat in the middle of the ocean?"

Pinkie tapped her chin, a nod following. "Umm...they'd starve?"

The others all anime fell, Flash moaned as he got back up, "And they have enough food and water to last them until they get back to shore Pinkie. That part doesn't matter."

"Oh....okay!" Pinkie tapped her chin again, an imaginary math equation appearing above her head, "Hmm...I guess they'd try to sail home."

"And what would they do while they're sailing home?" Twilight added.

"Err...are there games?"

"No."

"Books?"

"No!"

"Musical instruments?"

"There's nothing on the boat other than the ponies and their food!"

"Oh...then I guess they'd have to talk."

Twilight let out a long sigh, glad to finally get somewhere. "Exactly. And what do you think would happen if two ponies who had a lot in common spent several days talking to one another?"

"They'd...become really good friends." Twilight's head slumped, her hooves on her head.

Flash tapped Twilight's shoulder, "Let me give it a try." He turned to his party loving friend, "Pinkie?"

"Flash?"

"Imagine if the ponies on the boat were...Soarin and Rainbow before they got together."

"Don't they have wi-"

"Their wings are broken! Now, if Soarin and Rainbow had been stuck on a boat before they become a couple, then what would have happened if they had to spend several days on a boat."

"Or Fluttershy and Iron," Twilight interjected. "Or...even you and Wild before you started dating."

Pinkie did as she was told, imagining what would happen it the three groups of ponies they were talking about were stuck on a boat. One by one, the scenarios played out in the exact same way. "Oh...Ooooh."

Both Flash and Twilight sighed in relief. "Thank Celestia," they said in union.

"So shipping means putting two ponies on a boat and making them make-out?"

"Not in that literal of an extreme," Twilight explained as she patted her friend with a wing. "Its a couple you think would end up falling for each other if they were in that scenario."

"And it doesn't even have to be fictional characters. Remember the Big Mac, Cheerilee problem on Hearts and Hooves Day?" Pinkie laughed at that memory, remembering the massive hole she came back to find at the bakery. "My point is, it happened because my sister and her friends were shipping those two."

This statement made Pinkie blink, her brain starting to go in overdrive as she thought about all the ponies she knew. As she did this, Flash walked over to the large pile of books she and Twilight had created. He then noticed one at the bottom and started sliding it out, only for the tower to start rocking.

"Flash!" Twilight yelped as she tried to stop him, only for him to pull the book out. This was followed by a loud assortment of thuds, the book pile collapsing on the duo. And as they struggled to get out of the pile, both heads popped out with spirals in their eyes. Twilight then took this moment to shoot Flash a dirty look, the apprentice knight replying with his own trademarked smirk that caused Twilight to roll her eyes with a smile.

Pinkie slowly dropped her jaw at the sight, a steady gasp following as her brain drew a pink crayon heart around the two. She started envisioning the ship scenario, the two standing alone on the deck as the boat sailed across the ocean. The sun started to set below the horizon, their lips leaning closer and closer...

She let out a high pitched squeal at the mental picture, catching the attention of the three others in the room. "Pinkie, you okay?"

Pinkie's mental bubble popped as she looked back at the two. "Oh...yeah. Right. I'm fine. Listen, I uh...gotta get going."

"Going?" Twilight asked with a tilted head, "But what about your cake recipe search?"

"Oh..." Pinkie quickly snagged one of the books that had toppled over, "This one'll do. So anyways, I got places to be and ponies to see. Bye!" With that, she shot off so fast that she left a Pinkie Pie shaped dust cloud that quickly faded.

Flash, Twilight and Springer all shared a confused look, soon shrugging it off as Pinkie being...Pinkie. "Right...welp, now that that's over, you two can help me re-shelve these books." This caused Flash and Springer to both moan.

"I wasn't even the one who knocked them all over!" Springer complained.

"Maybe, but you're still helping." Springer shot his partner a dark look, the pegasus replying with a nervous smile as they started grabbing and shuffling books.





Later that day...

Applejack and Rarity were walking towards Sugarcube Corner, the two having received a message from Pinkie Pie to meet her in her room. And as they arrived at the bakery's doorstep, they spotted Fluttershy and Rainbow flying down to the building.

"You two get a message to show up as too?" Rainbow asked.

"Eeyup. Any idea what Pinkie wants to talk about?"

"It must be important if she called us all here," Rarity added as she batted back her hair.

Fluttershy put her hooves over her mouth, "Oh dear, you don't think she and Wild broke up, do you? Oh, that would devastate her."

"I doubt its anything that serious," Rarity replied as she let out a small cough. "If that had really happened, I don't think her message would have been written the way it was. I suspect it was the same for the rest of you?"

Earlier...

Rarity had been enjoying a calming cup of tea, having slept-in due to needing to work late on finishing her next order. There, a pink paper airplane flew in through her open window, landing right in front of her. The unicorn raised an eyebrow at this before putting down her tea and picking up the paper, unfolding it as she rubbed her chin in thought.



Dear Rarity,

I need to talk to you about a matter most urgent. Meet me at my place as soon as you can.

Signed, Pinkamena Diane Pie.

PS. This message will self destruct fifteen seconds after ope-



BOOM!

A puff of smoke now covered Rarity's head as the letter faded away. It soon vanished to reveal a deadpanned look on Rarity's face, along with a sheet of soot. A cough followed this, "Oh dear..."

The Present...

The others all nodded, confirming they had gotten the exact same message and suffered through the exact same explosion. "If Pinkie and Wild had broken up, I doubt she'd have the energy to rig four exploding paper airplanes."

"You're right," Fluttershy added as she wiped her forehead. "Thank goodness."

"So...what does she want us here for?" Rainbow asked next.

"Only one way to find out," Applejack stepped into the bakery and found the Cakes along with their twin foals. "Hay y'all."

"Hello dearies. Pinkie told us you'd be dropping by."

"You know where she is?"

Mrs. Cake pointed to the ceiling, "Up in her room. She said something about serious planning." The four nodded and headed up the stairs.

Rainbow knocked first, "Hey Pinkie, you in there?" Seconds passed with no answer. Rainbow was about to knock again, but the sound of several loud crashes made them stop and jump back. Then, the door opened with Pinkie's head popping out through the gap.

"Oh good! You're all here!" she opened the door fully, "Come on in." She stepped aside and allowed them in, the four all going wide eyed when they found her room's walls were plastered with drawings, timelines and other detailed papers.

"Err...Pinkie?" Rarity spoke up. "May I ask what all this is?"

Rainbow nodded, "Yeah. And why did you send us those messages?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Pinkie asked, the four all shaking their heads no. "I'm making a detailed plan for Flash and Twilight's relationship!"

"RELATIONSHIP?!" The four yelped in unison. "WHAT RELATIONSHIP?!"

"The one we're gonna help them realize they want to be in, duh!"

The four all glanced at each other, looks of uncertainty on every face before Rarity went up and patted Pinkie's shoulder, "Pinkie darling, what are you ever talking about? We can't make Twilight and Flash into a couple."

"Why not? Hooves up who thinks the two belong together more than cake and frosting?" This question was met with dead air. That is, till Fluttershy raised a hoof. This was followed by Applejack's hoof, then Rainbow's. Finally, Rarity sighed and raised her hoof. "Exactly! The two are perfect for each other. One, a bookworm who started off anti-social, the other, a great knight who follows his heart. Alone they are nothing, but together they bring out the best in each other. They're a match made in heaven!"

"Even so," Rarity interrupted while shaking her head. "We can't just make them fall in love Pinkie."

"Oh please, they're already in love. We just have to make them realize it. I have it all planned out." Pinkie went over to a long piece of paper that was stuck to the wall, taking it off and showing it to the four. Taking a closer look, they saw a line with dates connected to it, all with several crayon drawings surrounding them. "First, they fall in love. Then, Flash asks Twilight out and they share their first kiss during a beautiful sunset. They start dating for several months before getting engaged, followed by a huge wedding on par with Cadance and Shining's-"

"Minus the changelings," Rainbow pointed to a drawing of a changeling with a red X drawn over it.

"Yup!" she then pointed to the picture of a foal carriage. "After that, a little prince or princess is born and they become best friends with our foals."

"Ain't ya'll overthinking all this?" Applejack asked while tipping her hat upward. "How do yah know they even want foals?"

"Who doesn't want foals?" Pinkie replied.

Rarity then spoke up. "And do you really think Flash would propose after only a few months? He may want to wait a year or two before popping the question."

"We can burn that bridge when we get to it. Right now, we just have to get this ship sailing."

"Ship?" Fluttershy asked with a tilt of the head.

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "The terminology used when you mentally pair one pony up with another, duh."

"Oh..."

Applejack shook her head as she placed a hoof on Pinkie's shoulder, "Listen sugarcube, ah want Flash and Twilight together as much as the next pony, but ya'll can't just...force two ponies together like that. It has to be somethin' they figure out fer themselves."

"Applejack's not wrong." Rarity added as she rubbed her chin in thought, "But...to be completely honest, I guess it couldn't hurt to at least try and help them realize their affection for one another."

Rainbow flew up next to her with crossed hooves, "You can't be serious. You do realize what you're implying, right?"

Rarity replied with her trademark smile. "Oh, but I am serious. I'm not saying we do it to an extreme that Pinkie is suggesting, but we could at least put the two into a situation where they can finally realize how much they care about each other."

"Exactly!" Pinkie cheered as she pointed at her list. "If we leave it to them, they might never figure it out! Then when they're old and gray, they'll figure out their mistake, but it'll be too late to do anything about it! No foals, no grandfoals, no great grandfoals….all because we didn't help them get together!" She placed both hooves on Applejack's shoulders and began to shake her, "Do you want that Applejack?!" Her shaking became more violent, "Do you want that?!"

"Alright, alright!" Applejack barked back, making Pinkie release her as the farm pony backpedaled from the shaking. "Alright...we can try if ya'll really want. Though ah can't help but think this won't be easy."

"Yay!" Pinkie exclaimed while jumping six feet into the air, Rarity now turning to Rainbow and Fluttershy.

"What about you two? Do you wish to help us in this little endeavor?"

Rainbow shrugged her shoulders, "Sure, why not?"

Fluttershy's face turned to a shade of light pink, "It would be nice to know we helped them finally discover how they truly feel."

"Yeah...and maybe we should get Princess Cadance to help!" Pinkie suggested as she floated back to earth. "She is the Princess of Love. She must have tons of idea for getting two ponies together!"

Rarity crossed her hooves at this, "Maybe...but even if she wanted to help, I doubt she could. There's supposed be a royal summit taking place next week, so I'm sure she'll be extremely busy with its preparations."

Pinkie's mane slightly deflated at this, "Oh...yeah, you're right."

Applejack took this moment to chime in. "Now hold on there. Ah don't see why we can't write to her for advice."

Rarity nodded at this, "True. We just need a quick way to get in touch with her."

It was here that a knock at the door sounded out, the wooden frame opening to reveal a certain purple dragon. "Hey, sorry I'm late. Twilight wouldn't let me leave until all the books were properly shelved. So, what's the urgent matter?" His question went unanswered as the four girls all gave him a knowing smirk. "What?"





The next day...

It was another beautiful day at the defenders' canyon training ground. At this moment, Flash and Springer were sparing against Iron and Lightning.

"Gatling Spark!" Lightning yelled as he unleashed a barrage of electric bullets, only for Flash to jump behind Springer.

"Aura Guard!" The protective bubble appeared around the duo, blocking the attack with ease. But as the shield dropped, Iron charged ahead with Piecemaker in hoof.

"Iron Saber!" He swung his blade at the jakhowl, causing Flash to block it with his own sword.

Flash smirked as Lightbringer began to glow before he pushed Iron back, "Flash Cutter!" The light blade shot out, only for Iron to change his sword into a shield seconds before the attack hit. Flash then leapt into the air, "Now!" Springer nodded before creating an Aura Blast, which he tossed up at Flash. "Here goes...special combo move!" He slammed his glowing blade into the Aura Blast, propelling it back down at Iron and Lightning.

The two watched as the sphere was enveloped by the light, making them tense up, only for the two forces to completely vanish. They all raised an eyebrow at this, Flash then letting out a huge sigh, "Augh! Its another goof....and I was so sure we'd have it this time!" And as Flash started to flutter down, everyone's eyes noticed something flying over the canyon. Seeing this, Flash grabbed the object, revealing it to be a paper airplane.

"What that?" Springer asked as Flash flew down, the pegasus opening it up.

"Let's see...Dear Flash, the girls and I are all going to have lunch together at Café Sabot. If you're not busy, feel free to come too. P.S-"

Boom!

Flash blinked as his face was now covered in soot from the explosion. He then released a cough, letting out a cloud of smoke. "Should have seen that one coming."

Lightning raised an eyebrow at this, "Café Sabot, huh? That's gotta be the fanciest dinning place in all of Ponyville. And that's saying something since I'm a Canterlot colt."

"Huh. Well, you guys wanna come?" Flash asked next.

Springer nodded, "I could eat."

"Same," Iron and Lightning agreed as the four picked up their equipment and made their way back to town. But no sooner had they stepped hoof back in Ponyville, Wild and his puppets suddenly showed up.

"Lightning! Hey bud!"

"Hey bud, hey bud."

"Hey, what's up?"

"We just got a letter from Script. Figured you'd wanna read it."

"Cool," Lightning added as he leaned up to his friend, "Where is it?"

"It's right...huh?" Wild reached into his bag and kept fumbling around. "Hmm....must have left it at home."

"Of course." Lightning huffed before turning to the others, "You three go ahead. I'll meet you at the place." They nodded before his horn sparked, making him disappear as Wild began to walk off.

"Hey Wild, wanna join us for lunch? Pinkie's gonna be there."

"Sorry, but I've already got plans. I'll head over there as soon as I'm done." With that, he ran off, making them glance at each other before shrugging.

Continuing on their way, when the group was only a few blocks away from the restaurant, Fluttershy suddenly flew around the corner, a look of pure worry on her face. The sight made Iron tilt his head, "Hey shrimp. Something wrong?"

"Oh...hello everypony," the pegasus did a small bow, "You haven't seen Angel anywhere, have you?"

Flash shook his head, "No. Why?"

"Well, I was gonna give him his monthly flea bath, but he ran off. I've been looking all over for him. I need to find him because if he doesn't get his bath, he'll spread his fleas all over Ponyville." She turned to Iron, "Can you...um-"

"I'll help look for him," Iron replied before Fluttershy hugged him back. As this finished, she turned to Springer.

"I'll look for his aura."

"Me too," Flash added. "Let me help ya."

"Oh, no!" Fluttershy responded, a little more excited than she should have been. "I mean...somepony needs to tell the others the rest of us might be late."

"Oh, alright. If you're sure you don't need my help."

"I'm sure. Feel free to order without us. If it takes too long, I'll treat them to something at my place." With that, the three left Flash on his own. The Pegasus blinked at the sight, a small lonely sigh following this.

"Huh...guess I'm going solo today." he shrugged as he made his way to the restaurant, soon spotting Twilight at a table. "Hey."

"Hey," Twilight smiled back before looking around, "Springer and the others aren't coming?"

"Soon," he responded as he started to explain where the others were.

Hearing this, Twilight nodded, "Huh. That's too bad. But I'm sure they won't be too long. We'll just have to save them a seat."

"Yup."

In that moment, Savoir Fare stepped up to their table. "Can I take your order?" he said in an exaggerated French accent.

"Oh, sorry but, we're still waiting for our friends to show up." The pony nodded before turning away.

While this happened, behind several bushes a bit away from the place, four of the mane seven were now watching the two. "Oh goodie!" Pinkie almost squealed, "Things look like they're going good."

In that moment, Wild and Lightning walked up to them, all while being careful to not draw attention to themselves. "Alright, I got him here." This resulted in Pinkie giving Wild a kiss on the cheek.

"You're the best!"

"What the heck is going on?" Lightning asked.

"That's what we'd like to know," they turned to see Iron, Springer and Fluttershy. "Fluttershy just said something about boating Sentry and Sparkle."

"Shipping dear," Rarity corrected before explaining what they were doing. "And then we sent Princess Cadance a letter, which resulted in-"

Yesterday...

After the girls explained their plan to Spike, they had him write and send a letter to the princess of love.

"So how long do you think it'll be before she writes back?" Rainbow asked.

"Oh, who knows darling. Cadance is a very busy pony. She might not even get to read our letter for days, let alone-"

"BURRRRP!" Spike belched out a load of ash, which spiraled into a scroll.

"Then again, "Rarity grabbed it in her magic, unfurling it. "Perhaps not. Let's see here..."



Dear girls.

I'm so happy that you all want to help those two figure out their feelings. As you know, they're so hopelessly oblivious-



This made Rainbow, Pinkie and Spike all snicker, causing Rarity to shush them before continuing to read. She then skipped ahead to the point where the advice actually started.



The biggest issue the two are facing is that they don't have any time to actually spend alone together. Whenever the two are together, it's usually when somepony else is there or they're in a situation that requires the two to focus on something else. It also doesn't help with Springer, Scootaloo or Spike being there, which may also interfere. My advice would be to find a way for them to be alone together for an extended period of time. Either have them be out for a romantic dinner, or a picnic. Granted, I've done this in the past...but I will admit I did when it was too early. They were too young at the time to figure it out...and they still had Celestia and Grand to interrupt them, mainly Grand. As such, as long as they only have each other to talk to, then I see no reason why it can't work.

Yours sincerely, Princess Cadance.

P.S. Please tell me the results as soon as possible. I've wasted too many years trying to get those two together! In fact, they're the only couple I had to give up on, and you will not believe how many-



"I think that's enough." Rarity added as she furled up the letter. "Alright, we have a plan. We need to get them alone together, with no Spike, no Springer, no Scootaloo, no everypony. Just the two of them, on their own, in a romantic setting." She looked down at the drake, "No offense darling."

"Its cool."

"Alright, we have an idea now." Applejack piped in, "But how are we gonna get them in that kinda shindig?"

Rarity hummed for a moment, only for a light-bulb to appear above her head. "Idea!"

The Present...

"And this was your idea?" Lightning asked with a raised eyebrow, Rarity nodding back before returning her focus to the two.

"Time to put the plan into phase two," she nodded at Pinkie. The earth pony gestured back before pulling out two flags, which she started waving in rapid succession.

Further down the street, three little fillies spotted the flags and started heading down the street. Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom spotted their targets, Scootaloo trotting up to them, "Hey bro!"

Flash smiled at the sight of his sister, "Hey Scoots. What's up?"

"Rainbow asked me to tell you she couldn't make it to lunch. Wonderbolt reserve meeting just came up."

"Oh, that's too bad."

"And Applejack's busy too," Applebloom added. "Granny Smith threw her back out, so everypony's gotta do her chores."

Flash cringed at this, "Ouch. Welp, tell her we hope she gets better soon. And make sure Applejack doesn't overexert herself, especially since we don't want another bunny stampede." The three giggled before Sweetie handed a note to Twilight.

"Rarity asked me to give this to you." Twilight nodded and took the note as the three ran off.

"Sorry darling, but a large order came in moments before I was about to leave. Don't worry about me, just enjoy your luncheon. Sincerely, Rarity."

"What are the chances all our friends would end up busy?" Flash asked as he put his hooves behind his head. "What's next? Pinkie sending another of her airplanes?" In that moment, said object landed in front of the two. Flash's eyes went wide before pushing it towards the princess, "Here you go."

Twilight gave him a confused look before opening the note. "Sorry everypony, but I've come down with Pinkie Pox. No need to worry, will get over it quickly but won't be able to make it to lunch. Have fun and don't bother researching Pinkie Pox." She looked up and saw Flash was shielding himself with a menu, "What are you doing?"

Flash just did a small shrug, "Hearing that makes me just want to eat, so I'm just seeing what their special is. Oh, sweet! Onion spring rolls...sounds nice."

He licked his lips while Twilight opened her own menu, her own shrug happening, "Guess you're right. Might as well order something."

Over in the bushes, the group watched while snacking on the treats Pinkie had packed for them. "Phase two is working. Onto phase three."

In that moment, the CMC walked over to them, Applebloom asking, "How's it going?"

"Give it a moment," Applejack told her as they saw a certain pony and her violin arrive right on cue.

"Hello Octavia," Twilight added as she looked up at the musician. "Are you playing here today?"

"Oh yes," the musician replied. "The restaurant often invites me here to play." She unpacked her instrument and started playing a particular song, Twilight and Flash both smiling at the tune.





"I know that song," Spike piped in. "It's Twilight's parents' wedding song."

Rarity nodded at this. "Cadance suggested it. She figured hearing her parents' song might get Twilight in a romantic mood."

"Smart," Springer replied as he scanned their auras. "It definitely seems to be working. I can feel her getting...a mushy feeling."

"What about Flash?" Rainbow asked next.

"He's just enjoying the music."

"Give him time," Rarity said while turning to Pinkie. "Is the listening device ready?" The earth pony put her hoof into her mane, pulling out a pair of headphones and a speaker.

"Of course," she plugged the headphones into the speaker, Flash and Twilight's voices caming out of it.

"So how was training today?"

They heard Flash sigh before saying, "Not bad. Springer and I still can't seem to get that combo move right. The light is mixing with the attack, but it seems to just make it vanish quicker."

"Eh, you'll get it. Eventually."

"Maybe, but I'd like to have it ready before I really need it. With our luck, we'll probably end up fighting some super big bad soon enough."

"Don't remind me."

"Sorry. So, how's the research with the chest going? With all the stuff that's been happening, I can't imagine you've gotten much done."

This time, Twilight was the one sighing. "No, I haven't made any progress. The tree must have given it to me for a reason...but nothing I do with it works. I even tried casting a locksmith spell to create keys that fit perfectly into the keyholes, and that didn't work. Not only that, any research on the tree resulted in even less clues. All I found was some weird groove in the tree."

"Really? Why would that be there?"

"Not sure...there's no evidence of...well, anything related to the box."

As they continued to talk, the ones listening in all frowned. "This ain't sounding very romantic," Applejack commented. "In fact, its kinda boring."

"Give it time darling," Rarity told her. "The date's just started. I'm sure they'll go onto more romantic topics soon enough. Trust me-"

"AAAHHH!" The group flinched as Twilight let out a high pitched scream, which blasted through the speaker. They looked back at the duo and saw Twilight had fallen off her chair, looking absolutely terrified. The ponies all raised an eyebrow at this, until Spike released an exhausted sigh and pointed at something Flash had just picked up off the table.

"A ladybug?" Fluttershy asked in confusion as Flash released the insect into the air.

Spike let out a long groan, "Twilight's terrified of them. A swarm apparently got into her house when she was a filly. Shining also said their black spots were extra eyes as a joke that Twilight...took way too seriously."

"But they're so cute." Sweetie whimpered, to which Spike just shrugged.

Rarity tapped her hoof, getting everypony's attention, "More to the point, look what getting rid of the bugs did." They turned back to the two and saw Flash help Twilight back into her chair, comforting her as she shook like a leaf. His words seemed to sooth her, making her smile as their food finally arrived. "Thank you ladybug. I'm sure they'll be kissing any moment."

And so, they watched as the two ate, spoke, ate, laughed and ate some more. Things seemed to be going well, till a light green earth pony colt that appeared to be only two or three years older than the crusaders trotted past them. It was here that his eyes spotted Flash, causing him to gasp before racing over to the defender.

"What's he doing?" Rarity asked as she squinted her eyes. "This isn't one of the phases." They listened to the speaker as the pony wagged its tail in front of Flash.

"Wow! You're Flash Sentry!"

"Err...yeah, I am."

"Hi, I'm Sandbar! My family just moved to Ponyville and I've heard all about you. You're an apprentice knight, the one who won The Battle of Canterlot!"

"Well, it wasn't exactly a competition," they watched as a smug expression appeared on his face. "But yeah, I guess I technically won it."

"You also helped stop that Changeling invasion and took down Doom Raizer!"

"He had help you know," Iron mumbled while Springer nodded.

"Can I have your autograph?"

"Uh...sure." Flash wrote on a napkin and handed it to the colt, who hugged it to his chest before running off while saying thanks.

Rarity shook her head, "Oookay. That was a little setback, but I'm sure that's the only-"

"Wow!" They turned to see a pair of fillies run up to Twilight, "Its Princess Twilight!"

Twilight giggled at the sight, "Hello little ones."

"You're so amazing!"

"How can we become princesses like you?"

"You can start by studying really really hard," Twilight replied, only to get a moan from the pair.

Lightning turned to Rarity. "I think I spotted a small flaw in your plan."

"Oh dear. I believe I see your point Lightning." Rarity moaned as they continued to watch more and more ponies come up to the pair, distracting them the entire time. And as they finished their lunch and paid, the group were hoping they would take a romantic walk....only for them to give goodbyes and walk off in different directions.

"Well that was a disaster," Applejack commented as she crossed her hooves.

"Those two are too popular for their own good," Springer moaned while Pinkie's mane deflated.

Rarity stomped her hoof, "Well, I don't give up that easily. There has to be a way!"

"So what do we do?" Wild asked as he re-inflated Pinkie with an air pump.

Everypony opened their mouths...but nothing came out. That is, till a certain voice spoke up from above them. "Well, if you ask me, you weren't going extreme enough." They all looked up, right into the eyes of a certain draconequus.

"Discord?!" Iron growled as the others backpedaled at the sight, "What are you doing here?!"

"Is it so wrong of me to come pay my good friends a visit?" He asked as he floated down. "Besides, Flash said I could come whenever I want as long as I don't annoy ponies."

"Well...that's true," Lightning replied as he reached for one of his daggers, "But-"

"You just straight up surprised us, and now I'm guessing you want to annoy us." Rainbow interrupted as she pointed at the creature of chaos, "We're busy Discord. Leave us alone."

"Yes, I saw." He snapped his fingers, changing into a cupid guise, "You're trying to get the love birds together." He fired a heart shaped arrow into the sky, only for it instantly hit the earth. "How fiendishly manipulative....and fun."

"And let me guess," Applejack grumbled. "Ya'll wanna help."

"Is that so wrong?" Discord asked as he changed back to normal. "And you have to admit, my powers would make it a lot easier for you to ship them."

"How'd you know about that phrase?" Pinkie asked next.

"I read the chapter title, and I'll show you how to do it later Pinkie. Now..." he put both hands under his chin and batted his eyes, "Do you want my help or not?"

The group glanced at each other, uncertainty on most faces until Fluttershy gave them a passionate nod. Seeing this, Rarity let out a sigh as she turned back to Discord, "Alright Discord, you may assist us. But you have to run everything you plan on doing by us, we clear?"

Discord morphed into a crystal statue of himself, making them roll their eyes at the sight. "But of course!" He morphed back, only to start multiplying himself as he whispered into each individual's ears, "You were on the right track, but lacked a little foresight. Here's my idea..."





The next morning...

Flash let out a soft yawn as he raised his head up, his eyes cracking open. "Mmmm...morning Springer." he moaned out as he blinked his eyes. The sound of soft waves graced his ears as he felt them twitch, causing him to stretch out his hooves, "Springer? Are you...huh?"

His eyes shot open as he put his hooves down, now feeling a hammock instead of his mattress. The defender then felt the boat rock, causing him to twitch slightly as he started darting his eyes around, "What the heck?!"

He then turned his head and saw another hammock, now seeing a snoozing occupant in it. "Twilight? What is..."

She let out a small snore, her hooves moving like she was turning a page of a book. Small mumbles followed, all about lockpicking spells she had just read. Below her was several wooden chests, along with some covers that had fallen off of the princess during her tossing and turning. After a minute of pulling himself free from the hammock, he trotted over to Twilight and began to shake her. "Twilight! Twilight, wake up!"

Twilight moaned as her eyes slowly fluttered open. "Flash?" They opened a little more, her head lazily lifting off of the hammock. "What are you doing in my room?"

"We're not in your room, and before you ask, we're not in the library. Sweet Celestia, we're not even in Ponyville right now."

"Huh?" Twilight muttered out as she stared at him like he was insane, only to turn and see what he meant. "WHAT!?" She leapt out of the hammock, remained in the air for a good five seconds before falling to the floor with a thud. She moaned as she picked herself up, rubbing the back of her head while Flash trotted up to her.

"You alright?"

Twilight nodded as he helped her up, "I'll be even better once I find out where the heck we are."

"Well, it's some kind of ship."

"I can see that. Come on, let's get above deck." The duo trotted up the starts, soon seeing they were on a mid-sized sailboat that was anchored in the middle of the ocean. The was no clear vision of land in sight, showing it would take days to sail back to Equestria.

"Welp, this is bad."

"Don't be so sure." Twilight's horn started to glow, "You're forgetting who you're with. I'll just teleport us home, and then we can figure out who put us here." With that, the two were enveloped by her magic, blinding both in the purple light.

But when it faded and they opened their eyes, they saw they were still on the boat. "What?!" Twilight tapped her horn a few times before attempting the spell again, only to result in the same outcome. She tried three more times, all failures as well. "What the heck?! What's happening?!"

"Looks like we're flying home," Flash spread his wings and took to the sky. But a he flew just a few inches from the boat, he yelped out as he a sudden invisible wall. "OW!" He cried as he face was smushed into the barrier, his body peeling itself off with the sound of ripping duct tape before falling back down to the deck. "Well, that didn't work."

Twilight stepped over to the edge of the boat and held a hoof out, feeling the barrier that Flash had hit. "This is...runes. And a lot of them. Stacks of rune magic...I can't tell how many."

"That probably explains why you can't teleport," Flash said as he rubbed his head. "Think you can undo it?"

Twilight shook her head. "I'd need to see the formula. But if it was placed on the ship's hull, then there's nothing I can do."

"Great...so we're stuck here without anyway to get home."

"Don't be so sure." Twilight responded as she went up to the ship's wheel. There, she spotted a compass weighing down a folded piece of paper. She took the compass and unfurled the paper, revealing a map that showed the Equestrian coastline and a small red dot with the words 'you are here'. "Well, it seems whoever put us here wasn't trying to make us lost."

"Dats ood," she looked up at Flash with a raised eyebrow, only to see him chowing down on a chocolate bar.

"Where'd you get that?" Flash pointed at a nearby chest, which Twilight now saw was filled with chocolate bars. "Well, at least we won't have to worry about starving. Are there any more food chests?"

Flash rubbed his chin, shrugging afterword, "I'll go below and see what we've got to work with."

"And I'll start plotting a course."





Back in Ponyville, Discord and the rest of the mane seven were in the library along with Spike, Springer and the CMC. They watching what was happening on the boat, via magic movie projector that the draconequus had rigged up with a live feed.

"This is going great," Pinkie commented as she snacked on a bunch of nachos.

Rarity let out a glum hum, "Don't you think we've taken this a bit too far?"

"Oh, don't be such a party pooper," Discord replied as he 'sipped' up a cup of chocolate milk. "You wanted them alone, and how much more alone can they be?"

Applejack shook her head, "Ah guess. They've got enough food and water to last, right?"

"Of course," Discord replied before snapping his fingers and materializing a scroll. "Here's a list of everything on that ship."

Applejack took the scroll and began reading the contents out loud. "Over a hundred bottles of water, fifty chocolate bars, one hundred Sweet Apple Acres apples-" She stopped and gave Discord a dirty look, "You'd better have paid for those." She looked back at the list, only to go wide-eyed, "Uh-oh."

"Problem?" Discord asked, only for the scroll to be shoved in his face.

"Why'd you put those on the boat?" Applejack asked as she pointed to the item in question.

Discord cocked an eyebrow. "What? Flash said he doesn't get to have them very often."

"There's a reason for that, and that reason is on the boat with him!"





"AAAAAHHHHH!" Twilight screamed as she saw what was in one of the chests.

Flash was beside her in a...flash, "What?" He looked into the chest, gulping at the sight, "Uh-oh."

"Get them off this boat!" Twilight engulfed the chest in her magic, screaming as she tried to toss them overboard, only for the chest to bounce off the forcefield. The following motion made the box spill its contents, showing a mess of quesadillas.

"Don't worry, I'll get rid of them." Flash admitted as he started shoving them into his mouth. Ten minutes later, the chest was empty as Flash laid on his back with an oversized stomach. "Ooooh...that's a lot cheese."

Twilight giggled at the sight, stroking his mane. "Thank you."

"No problem," Flash replied while releasing a cloud of cheesy breath right into her face. The alicorn took a whiff of it, making her go green as she put her hoof in her mouth. "Sorry."

Back at the library...

Everyopny was laughing, tears starting to appear in their eyes as Scootaloo clapped her hooves, "Okay, that was funny! Though...I do wonder what those things even taste like..." Her question was answered when a silver platter appeared in front of her, covered in the cheesy delicacy. She and her friends, including Spike and Springer, took one and all moaned in delight. "Not bad."

"Don't see why she has a problem with these," Springer added as he took a bite. "These are good."

"A question for later," Rarity interrupted as she pointed at the screen. "I think they're about to start talking."

Back at the boat...

Once Flash had recovered, he unfurled the sail of the boat while Twilight lifted the anchor. A quick wind spell into the sails and they were off, Twilight having plotted a route home thanks to the map and compass. Thanks to this, they had nothing to do except sit back and watch the clouds above them take shape.

"Alright," Twilight said once the wheel was locked in place. "That should do it. We're good to go."

"Good..." Flash sat down while taking a sip from a bottle of water. "Now all we have to do is wait."

"Waiting....yeah, that's the fun part." Twilight sat down beside him, letting out a small sigh, "Sure wish I had a book with me."

"Eh, don't worry about it. We'll soon be back to the house."

"Yeah..."

It was here that they laid down, looking up at the sky in comfortable silence. And as they did this, the ones watching to slowly become bored, now seeing that Twilight and Flash...wouldn't talk at all. They just laid there, nothing happening at all. Seeing this, it wasn't long till a few were about to ask Discord to make the boat do something that would break the silence.

Thankfully, Flash broke it as he turned to his shipmate. "You ever stop and think and...realize that our lives are kinda freakin' weird?" This question got a confused look from Twilight while their viewers all anime fell.

"That came out of left field," Twilight commented as she raised an eyebrow.

Flash just shrugged. "Not really. Its just this whole scenario's got me thinking. When we first met, I was just a thief and you were the princess's newest student. Can you honestly say that back then you knew you were gonna end up fighting against demented alicorns, psychotic chaos spirits, shape shifting insects or malevolent shadow ponies?"

Twilight thought back to when she was the little filly who bumped into Flash that day. Back then, all she cared about was learning everything she could about magic, not seeing anything else being as important. If somepony had told her about all the adventures she'd go on, she'd call them crazy and probably ask them to let her do a scan on their brain. "Guess you got a point. Even so, I wouldn't want to change anything about it."

"Me neither," Flash admitted as he let out a long, happy sigh. "But imagine if something did change. Imagine if on that day, I wasn't in the park at that time. We never would have become friends."

"You never would have come to live with us," Twilight continued.

"I'd never have become Grand's student."

"And you wouldn't have come with me to Ponyville and met all our friends. Springer might have been eaten by the Timberwolves, Scootaloo would still be living in the orphanage and...Celestia knows what else would be different."

"Yeah..." Flash stared at the sky, "it's been was heck of a crazy ride. But like you said, there ain't one thing I'd change about it. Heck, if I woke up tomorrow ten years in the past, I'd do everything exactly the same."

"Everything?" Twilight turned to give him a quizzical look, "Even the mistakes?"

Flash chuckled back. "Of course! I mean, why wouldn't I? They're what made me who I am. Like what Grand told Spike at the Equestria Games, you don't just try and ignore your mistakes. You embrace them, learn from them, and do your best not to make them."

Twilight rubbed her chin, only to giggle, "You know...you're right. What's that old saying? Wisdom is just the name we give our mistakes?"

"Truer words were never spoken." The two laughed at this, silence soon following again. It was here that Twilight leaned her head against Flash's shoulder.

"You know...if I could relive my whole life knowing what I know now, there is one thing I would change about it."

"Oh yeah? What?"

Twilight lifted her head off his shoulder, a big smile on her face. "I'd try and meet you sooner. Try to make you apart of our family sooner."

"I...thanks Twilight." Flash barely replied as the two now stared into each others' eyes.





"This is it!" Pinkie cheered with pom-poms.

Rarity shot a glare at Discord. "Please tell me you're recording this."

"Every second," the chaos lord replied as the rest glued their eyes to the screen, watching as Flash and Twilight unconsciously drew their faces closer and closer. And just as they were inches away, the viewers' hearts beating a mile a minute, the entire ship violently rocked against something, knocking both away from one another.

"OH, COME ON!" Sweetie screamed.

"What just happened?" Fluttershy yelped with her hooves over her mouth.





"Whoa! What the heck was that?!" Flash groaned as he picked himself up.

"I don't know..." Twilight went to the side and looked as far over the side as the barrier allowed. "I think we might have hit a reef...but I don't think there's any damage."

"That's good," Flash added as he walked up to her. It was here they remembered what they were talking about, a small tint of pink appearing on Twilight's face. That is, till the princess looked away as Flash tried to say, "So...anyways..."

"We should probably focus on not hitting anymore reefs."

"Yeah, good thinking Twi." Flash replied as he went to the front of the boat, Twilight going to the wheel and unlocking it. And as this happened, the duo kept pure focus on getting home and nothing else.





"NOOOOOO!" Pinkie bellowed through the library, the others facehoofing or banging their foreheads into something.

"Five more seconds," Rarity growled. "Five more seconds and it would have happened! Why?! Why did that have to happen?!"

Rainbow flew up to Discord's face, "You didn't have anything to do with this, did you?!"

Discord huffed as he crossed his arms and looked away, "Of course not. I didn't put that reef there and you were the ones who chose where I warped them to. If you had told me to account for reefs, maybe I would have moved it away. So don't go blaming this on me."

"He's right Rainbow," Fluttershy told her as she flew up to the pegasi, "It's not nice to accuse somepony without proper evidence." Rainbow let out a groan and flew back down, Discord blowing a raspberry behind her back.

"Ah guess this is just the world's way of sayin' we shouldn't be messin' with ponies hearts," Applejack added as she watched the couple continue to work on the boat.

"It's not all bad," Springer commented as he pointed at the screen. "Flash and Twilight might get another moment."

Rarity shook her head, "I doubt it. The way they're blushing and trying to keep out of each others way...they're just too awkward around each other right now." Everypony slumped at hearing this. That is, till Pinkie flared up with a fiery determination now in her eyes.

"We have to fix this!" She turned to Discord, "We need a hundred candles and the most romantic song in your arsenal playing!" Discord nodded and was about to snap his fingers, only for Rarity to grab them in her magic.

"We can't do that. If candles and music just start appearing out of nowhere, they'll know what we're trying to do and that they're being watched. That'll do the exact opposite thing we're trying to accomplish."

"Then...what do we do?"

Rarity sighed. "I'm afraid there's nothing we can do Pinkie. We'll just have to let nature take its course and hope they figure it out on their own."

The others sighed at this, but nodded. It was here that Springer lifted his paw, "So...question. What do we do when they get back and found out we haven't sent a search party out to look for them? They'll figure out we were the ones behind this."

"Leave that to me," Discord said as he floated down next to him. "I just need something with Twilight's horn-writing. Know where I can find it?"

"You could use our friendship journal," Pinkie suggested as she pulled the book out of her hair.

Discord took the book and flipped through it, nodding as he did so. "Yes, yes...this'll do nicely. Thank you."

"You're welcome!"

"Discord...what are you gonna do?" Fluttershy asked next as Discord replied with a simple yet strangely unsettling smile.





That night...

A flash of light filled the room, quickly fading to reveal a pair of very tired looking ponies. Both Flash and Twilight had bags under their eyes, exhaustion embracing them as they had spent the last few hours making sure the boat wouldn't sink to anything. And when they'd arrived at a port, the ship's runes disappeared, allowing them to teleport home.

"Hey you two!" they turned to see Scootaloo, Springer and Spike sitting around the table playing a card game. "How were things in Canterlot?"

"Canterlot?!" Twilight yelped as her almost started to flare in magic, "What are you talking about?! We were kidnapped and placed on a boat in the middle of the ocean!" She pointed at the trio, "Why weren't you all wondering where we were?!"

The three glanced at each other before Spike held up a piece of paper, which Twilight taking in her magic before reading aloud.



Dear Spike,

If you're reading this, then Flash and I are still busy in Canterlot. Celestia summoned us last night while you were asleep, needing our help in a small political matter. We'll be back as soon as we can. Tell the Defenders where Flash is and keep an eye on the library.

Signed, Princess Twilight



"Signed Princess Twilight...what the heck?! I didn't write this!" She almost screamed.

"You didn't? But it's in your horn-writing." 

Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, scanning at the letter while blinking, "How did...did whomever do this got their hooves on something else I wrote and used a spell to copy the words?! That's...really smart."

Flash glared at the three. "So...none of you thought for a second that something might be up with any of this?"

The trio shook their heads, trying to look as innocent as possible. "No/nope/na-ah," they watched as Flash glared at them, sweat pouring down their foreheads.

That is, till Flash shrugged his shoulders. "Eh, whatever. I'm going to bed," he headed for the stairs. "Too tired for this garbage."

"Same." Twilight added as she followed him. "Nopony wake me up before noon."

Once they were gone, the three all sighed a breath of relief and fell onto their backs.

"They fell for it," Scootaloo gasped. "I can't believe it."

Spike clutched his chest, "I think I almost had a heart attack."

Springer nodded, "Same here. Next time somepony tries to ship somepony else, let's just stay out of it."

"Agreed," the other two replied in unison.





Over at Sugarcube Corner...

"Done," Pinkie said as she finished writing and closed the book. "There. A whole chapter about not trying to force something you think should happen to other ponies and just letting things play out naturally."

"Why'd yah say it like that?"

Pinkie shined a cheeky grin. "Just a little background for anypony who just arrived in the conversation when I finished writing."

"Oookay." Applejack commented before tapping Pinkie's shoulder, "But uh...what are we gonna do about Princess Cadance. She wanted an update on this, right?"

Everypony grimaced at the question, only for Rarity to wave her hoof, "I'll handle it darling. I'm sure she'll understand if we explain it to her...in every detail."

"Yeah...come on girls!" Rainbow headed for the door. "Let's go see how those two are doing now that they're back." They all nodded, Pinkie placing the journal on a desk before switching off the lights and following the pegasus out of the room.

And as soon as they were gone, the journal suddenly started floating. A cunning laugh filled the room as Discord materialized with the book in hand. "Now...let's take a closer look at you."