When Flash Magnus returned to Sire’s Hollow, the old-timers welcomed him with friendly jibes that he was 'only' three weeks late as they brought out their cider mugs. Laughing right along with them, the battled scared pegasus assured his comrades that he had a good reason... this time.
"What... you were having a nap?" inquired one.
"Maybe he stumbled upon a barrel of good cider?" guessed another.
"He was probably hoping one of the tour buses would save him a flight up the mountain," opined a third.
"No, no, and no...Though I'll remember that last one for next year," Flash Magnus replied with a hearty chuckle. "Actually, I've taken on a new apprentice."
The room grew still as the codgers waited for the punch line.
"He's serious?"
"Of course I'm serious," Flash Magnus replied in injured tones.
The group exchanged incredulous glances, and a wizened old unicorn asked, "And just what are you planning to teach him?"
"Don't underestimate me... or him for that matter," Flash Magnus grumbled. "He's the son of a fine general who used to be in my battalion; the lad learned plenty from his father before he passed on."
"So that's it," one of his friends chimed in slyly. "You didn't take on an apprentice, you inherited one!"
"The freeloading son of a freeloader!" declared another, and the room exploded with laughter.
Another round was poured, and someone asked, "So where is this apprentice of yours?"
"Eh? Oh... he can't have gone far," Flash Magnus replied, glancing around. "Knowing the lad as I do, the first place to check would be..." Just then, a chorus of feminine shrieks from the direction of the bathing pools, and the pegasus nodded wisely. "Just like his father, that one."
Within moments, one grimly smiling dragon held one fast-talking teenage pegasus by the ear as he led him away from the mare's side of the village's communal bathing area. Meanwhile, Sunset Shimmer trembled with anger as she stomped towards her house, still dripping from her rudely interrupted bath. "I'll kill him," she vowed to her young friend.
"I'll help," primly replied Starlight.
The following day, Starlight watched their newcomer with growing concern. Flash Sentry might have been a first-time visitor to Sire’s Hollow, but he was no newbie. The fifteen-year-old knew how to fight. As one pony after another was toppled off the rocks into the river, the ten-year-old mare watched for patterns and hoped for a weakness. Unfortunately, she found none that she could exploit.
When the official sparring matches ended, the triumphant pegasus leapt back to shore and fluffed his feathered wings as he scanned the onlookers. Several pretty young mares received jaunty winks as the crowd slowly dispersed. Placing herself in the older pony's path, Starlight waited to be noticed, and when Flash Sentry's brows lifted in inquiry, she cleared her throat. "I'm Starlight Glimmer, a unicorn of Sire’s Hollow, and I challenge you."
An easy-going smile spread across the young pony’s handsome face. "As much of an honor as that would be..."
"I do not fight for your honor," interrupted Starlight Glimmer in a firm tone that only seemed to find her in a pinch. "I fight for mine and my friend’s honor."
"Ah," Flash Sentry replied, though he still seemed confused. "And in what way did I compromise your honor, little one?"
"You...!" Starlight hunched her shoulders and checked to see if anyone was listening in. An embarrassed and angry flush crept over her cheeks as she leaned close and whispered, "You were peeping last night!"
The young warrior spread his wings wide, "I was just acquainting myself with the village. How was I to know that particular fence was screening a bevy of bathing beauties?"
Starlight's face scrunched up. "There's a sign... and you can see the steam... and hear the girls. It's really pretty obvious."
"Yeah," agreed Flash Sentry with a lopsided smile. "So which lovely lady are you standing up for, besides yourself?"
She cast about and spotted Sunset and Sunburst whispering together a short distance away. "Her," she replied simply.
"Oooh, I see." Dropping his voice to conspiratorial tones, the pegasus said, "How about you wait a few years before you challenge me? You'll be less short, and your colt friend will be less skinny."
Her blush grew even darker and she gritted her teeth trying to keep her composure, but Flash's knowing smile told her she wasn't doing a good job at it.
"I will fight him." Starlight turned to find Bramble at her side. The deer's golden eyes were fixed calculatingly on the young pegasus, who was a shade taller. "Allow me to defend your honor by showing this pony his place."
Flash Sentry smirked and asked, "Who’s this deer?"
Starlight frowned disapprovingly at the pegasus disrespect, but his flippancy didn't seem malicious, so she let it go. "This is Prince Bramble, son of King Aspen."
The teen straightened, and he had the decency to nod. "Then the honor really will be mine. Where and when?"
"The gathering meadow... now," replied the young lord.
By the time the two faced off in the meadow on the edge of the village, nearly everyone in Sire’s Hollow ringed it. Sunburst clapped his hooves and whispered, "This is exciting! Who do you think will win?"
Sunset Shimmer rolled her eyes. "The leech doesn't stand a chance."
Starlight nodded. "It'll still be interesting to see how long he lasts."
"You mean... ten minutes or something?" Sunburst asked.
"More like ten seconds," Sunset corrected with a knowing smile.
“But…he’s a Pegasus, doesn’t that give him an unfair advantage against Bramble?”
“Deer’s are just as fast as a flying Pegasus, if not more so.”
As soon as the match was underway, a hush settled over the audience. However, as the combatants dueled, a murmur began rippling through the crowd. Confused, Sunburst whispered to his friends, "What? Is something wrong?"
"He's still in there," Sunset replied, her eyes glued to the action.
"Erm... yeah?"
Starlight's gaze also remained on the two as she explained, "Bramble is matching Flash Sentry's strength and speed. He's limiting how much magic he uses to even the odds."
"Ohhh," he said. "So... he's doing well, then?
"The pony's crazy," Sunset replied with feeling. "But yeah... he's actually pretty good."
When all was said and done, Starlight’s and Sunset’s honor was upheld. Flash Sentry was still breathing heavily when he followed Bramble off the field. It seemed as though the victor had insisted upon a formal apology, for he smiled winsomely at the two mares. "You may rest assured that nothing of the sort will happen again!"
Sunset lifted her chin haughtily and retorted, "Only because Spike posted a guard."
Flash Sentry's smile deepened. "True."
"You're insufferable!" she snapped.
"And you, my dear, have potential," he replied. "I've got my eye on you!"
Sunset's eyes narrowed, and she muttered, "Likewise."
Sunburst blinked and murmured to Starlight. "That's not the same as when Bramble said that to you... right?"
The young mare glanced between her friend and her new nemesis. "Huh... no. Not even close."