//------------------------------//
// Two Friends 
// Story: Flash Sentry Chronicles: Friendship Games 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//

Earlier that morning...

Twilight was still working on her remodelled energy detector, the device now looking like a compass, round in shape with several lights around the edges. It was made to open like a compact mirror, mainly to keep her from looking out of place while still being able to do research.

"Perfect," she chimed while activating it. A loud yawn followed this, making her turn to see Flash getting off the couch, stretching as he rubbed his eyes.

"Morning. I'm guessing you not waking me up to go home meant you didn't go home?"

"Yup," she replied while nodding, "But it was worth it. Now I'm ready to find and capture that energy source and earn me a place in Everton."

"And how much sleep did you manage to get while working on it?"

"Point zero two." She responded, only to see a giant frown on his face, "I'll sleep later."

"Later never comes Twi." Flash grumbled as he went to a nearby wardrobe, pulling out a clean uniform for them both. "I need a shower. I'm assuming you called home?"

"Mom and dad knew we were staying over."

Flash didn't respond, instead opening the door to see a deserted hallway, "Alright. I'll get you a coffee on the way back. You should probably think about getting a shower too, as I suspect you'll be reeking after your little escapade yesterday."

Twilight was about to retort, but Spike took this moment to take a whiff of her and started moaning before covering his nose. Flash let out a laugh until Twilight grabbed one of her many stress toys Flash had given to her a while back before throwing it at him. Quickly shutting the door in response, he continued to laugh as he made his way through the halls to the gym shower room.

But as he made his way, a certain woman stepped around a corner. She was in her early twenties and had blush red skin with dark scarlet hair. The woman was wearing a pink suit and had a pair of silver glasses hanging around her neck.

"Hey Ruby," The woman looked up from her clipboard and growled.

"How many times must I tell you," she bonked him on the head with her pen. "When we're in school, it's Counselor Scarlet."

"Sorry, force of habit." Flash replied while rubbing his head, "I knew you as Ruby long before I started coming here."

Ruby rolled her eyes, "I'm guessing you being here means Ms. Sparkle had another late night science project?"

"You know us too well."

"Yes, I do." Ruby looked down at her clipboard, "However, I'm actually glad I ran into you. Have you given any further thought to what we discussed in your last session?"

Flash looked away, trying to form a smile. "Yeah...and I'm fine as is."

This made Ruby sigh, shaking her head, "Flash, you can't keep putting your life on pause."

"I'm not."

"Just one club, that's all I'm asking. One club, team, any extracurricular activity."

"I told you, I'm not interested."

"No, you just don't want anything that might get in the way of you keeping an eye on Twilight." Flash suddenly seemed very interested in the floor at that moment. "Flash, I'm not saying you can't keep looking out for her, but you can't let it be the only thing you do with your life. Your grades might not be anything to write home about, but you've got more skill than most kids your age would dream of. It's thanks to you that we won the baseball championships this year."

Flash huffed, remembering how a bout of food poisoning had laid out half the team and he had volunteered to step in to help fill the last spot they needed. He then managed to score six home runs, despite never having played the game before. The coach immediately asked to try out for the next season...only to decline the offer.

"Then there's your football skill." Flash sighed again as she continued, "When you hopped in for the student that had twisted their ankle in practice, you helped win that game no problem. If the professional teams saw how good you were, your future would be set."

"Sounds interesting," Flash muttered as he looked away again, "Let me think about it." He then tried to walk passed her, only for her to grab his shoulder.

"I would if you were actually gonna think about it. If you don't want to play sports, there has to be something else Flash. I've seen how good you are with the guitar. Have you thought about putting a band together?"

Flash shook his head, "Nah, playing's more of a hobby. It would suck all the fun out if it was something I had to do work for."

Ruby shook her head, "Fine. But if that's the case...have you thought about police work? Most of your grades are just above average, but your chemistry skills are close to Twilight's. You're always watching those crime shows: Murder in Paradise, Midsummer Slaughter and whatever else. I'm sure you'd love studying forensic science."

For the smallest millisecond, a look of intrigue appeared on his face...only to disappear as he shook his head. "That doesn't really sound like my kind of thing." He then lightly pushed her aside, "Sorry Counselor Scarlet, maybe next time."

"Flash..." She almost growled, making him glance back at her, "Do you think Twilight would like it if she knew you were throwing your life away because of her?" Flash didn't say anything, just looking away as she continued, "You can't always be there for her. There will be a time where she'll need to be able to stand up for herself, and you watching over her isn't going to help that. What do you think will happen if she gets into Everton? You can't be there for her then."

Flash continued to say nothing as he started to walk away, Ruby sighing at the sight. And as this exchange happened, a certain bespectacled girl leaned around a corner, showing herself to be Twilight. She had her hands over her mouth, trying to keep quiet as she had listened to the entire conversation.

But despite listening to it, it wasn't anything she didn't already know. She had always needed Flash to keep her from getting bullied, as it was one of the things she loved about him. However, she could only sigh as she walked away. The girl wanted to walk into the conversation, telling Flash to stop and find his happiness...but she couldn't do it. This was why she had to get into the Everton's Independent Study Program. No one would pick on her there, meaning Flash wouldn't have to watch over her.

"I need to find out what those energy readings are..." She whispered to herself, "I...have to. For me and Flash."





Flash sighed as he walked under the water, letting the liquid hit his body as he stood there. He could feel the water turn cold as memories flowed through his head.

Ten years ago...

Flash had lived in an orphanage for as long as he could remember. He had been dropped there as a baby, now living there for seven years. It was the first snowfall of the season that day, Flash now with the rest of the children at a nearby park. They had just finished a snowball fight, Flash knowing they were about to head back soon.

It was here that Flash made his way to a swing in the park, a fun idea popping into his head. He started to swing back and forth, getting some leverage before leaping as high as he could. "WOOHOO!" he cheered, only to fall into a large pile of snow. "COLD!" he yelped as his head pulled out of the pile, quickly trying to climb out of the clump of snow.

The boy started to shiver, grabbing his sides as he walked out of the snow with a huge smile on his face. But as he turned to go back to the group, his ears spiked as he started to hear the sound of laughter. He then turned around, now seeing a trio of older boys in the distance. There, they were all staring down a bespectacled girl with purple skin and hair.

Blinking at the sight, he tiptoed over to the group, now hearing one of the boys, "What's the matter four-eyes?!"

"Aw, I think she's gonna cry."

"What a baby."

Flash then saw what they were talking about, the girl was now close to tears. "Hey! Cut it out!" he yelled as he started running at the three, only to start slipping on the snowy, icy ground. "Hey!"

"Huh?" one said, all turning to him as he then added, "Hey, look at that shrimp."

"Who are you?" The lead bully continued.

"I'm Flash Sentry," he declared before pointing at the three, "And you better leave her alone if you know what's good for you."

"Oh yeah?" The last one asked, "And what if we don't?" They all stared at Flash with grins, only to see Flash clench his hands into fists.

"Then I'll make you! RAAAHHH!"

One quick and painful fight scene later...

Laughter filled the air as the three boys looked down at the moaning boy, bruises covering his body as he laid on the ground. The girl had watched in frozen fear-filled horror, tears now going down her face as she saw the bullies glance up at her.

That is, till a voice yelled out, "Hey!" The laughing stopped at this, making them turn to see an older boy and girl running up, one having white skin and blue hair while the other had pink skin and hair.

"Oh crap!" One yelped.

"Run!" Another cried before they all ran away, the two teens arriving just as they left.

"Twilight!" The teen girl grabbed the younger one and looked her over, "Are you okay?"

The girl nodded, "I'm fine." She then pointed at Flash, "But he got hurt because of me."

The teen boy glared at the fleeing boys, only to look down at Flash, seeing the injuries on his body. But before they could do anything, Flash's eyes shot open before suddenly sitting up, "Hey, I'm not done!" He started swinging his fists around randomly, "I'll teach you not to mess with me!"

But as he said this, he blinked as he saw that the trio was gone, two teens now staring at him, "Huh? Who are you?" He then clutched his face as he started to register the pain. "Oh..."

"Are you okay?" The teen girl asked, the younger one hiding behind her leg. She saw how badly he had been beaten, surprised he wasn't breaking out into tears.

"Yeah, it's nothing." He picked himself up and started to walk off, patting his sides as he started to stumble. "Ow..."

"Wait!" he looked back, the glasses girl quickly zipping in front of the teens as she stared at the ground.

"Yeah?"

She slowly looked up at him, "I uh...I um...Thank you for helping me. Even though it meant you got hurt."

Flash shined a tiny smile, flinching at the pain, "Eh, it was nothing. Any decent person would do it, right?"

The two teens both shared a glance, nodding as the male stepped up next, "Hang on there kid, we need to thank you. Come on, we'll take you back to your parents. Are you here with your mom or your dad?" But as those words left his mouth, they saw a huge frown grace Flash's face, "What's wrong?"

"I...don't have a mom. Or a dad."

"Oh. Sorry." he replied, gulping at the response before asking, "Um...why don't we start somewhere else then? I'm Shining Armor, and this is Cadance and Twilight. What's your name?"

That was the day Flash Sentry was introduced to Twilight and her family. Afterwards, they would invite him over to play with Twilight, this leading to them asking him to come live with them. Flash would spend the next ten years looking out for Twilight, who seemed to be a magnet for those looking to push someone around...that is, when Flash wasn't there.





The Present...

Sunset let out a long sigh, her eyes glaring at the sheets and graphs she had set up in the library. She kept thinking back to the assembly Celestia had allowed Rainbow to do to get everyone psyched up for the Friendship Games. This involved the marching band playing a huge musical number, which ended up actually helped everyone get pumped up. Sunset was also in this group of being psyched, only to start panicking as Rainbow suddenly ponied up with no explanation.

This made her have nothing but a headache, now remembering an experiment she had set up a few weeks ago. She had set up a test where her friends all played their instruments and ponied up as she recorded the results...only to get the results of being buried by apples, slammed by cannonball balloons, and splatted by a rainbow of color.

In the end, she had only one conclusion: She had zero idea how magic worked in this world.

However, despite this failure, she knew that if they were gonna start ponying up out of the blue, it was going to be a problem. Vice-Principal Luna had asked her to figure this out, fearing the appearance of magic might be seen as cheating by the other team.

Sighing at the memory of the request, she put down the graphs and pulled out her journal. "I can't do this alone. If you need help, you ask a friend, right Twilight?" She said to herself before opening it up and taking a pen to paper:



Hey Twilight, haven't heard back from you yet. I know you must be pretty busy with your role as princess, but I could really use your advice right now. You see, I've been given the job of keeping magic under control here at CHS, even though I still haven't quite wrapped my head around it. And now after seeing Rainbow Dash pony up the way she did, it makes me think her magic might be... changing. Everyone is looking to me to figure things out, and I really don't wanna let them down. I...I don't think I have enough experience with friendship magic to solve this.

Please help me, your friend Sunset.



She shut the book, sighing as she leaned back in her chair. "Oh...I so hope this doesn't turn into a huge deal."





Crystal Prep...

The bell rung to signal the start of the lunch period, multiple doors opening as the students of Crystal Prep ran out into the hallway. Flash was among them, barely even looking where he was going. No one dared to get in his way, as he was well trained in self-defense, something Twilight's brother had taught him to help keep her out of trouble. He had only ever needed it once, and it was when he and Twilight first entered the school. That one time had been enough to make sure almost no one tried to mess with him, almost no one.

"Hey Sentry!" The teen came to a halt at the voice, spinning around to see and sigh at the sight of five certain girls. They were Sour Sweet, Sugarcoat, Sunny Flare, Indigo Zap and Lemon Zest, the top students in both academics and sports at Crystal Prep. The only one who trounced them in academics were Twilight, and not to brag, Flash in sports, with the exception of one student that was nearly his equal in that regard.

The six growled at him, Indigo Zap now walking right up to his face. "What's this about you not competing in the Friendship Games?!"

Flash's face remained stoic as he reached up to poke her in the forehead and push her back to a reasonable distance, "I would have thought it was obvious. I got picked to join the Friendship Games, but then I said no. Nice chat, let's do it again some time. I'm free the January after the next."

He turned to walk away, only for Sour Sweet to zip around him with a big grin. "That's so funny. You're so funny." She growled in a dry tone, "But there's nothing funny about a guy who shirks his responsibilities!"

Flash rolled his eyes at this, "Seriously?! Why do you care?! Haven't you all been going on the last few weeks about how you could win the Friendship Games single-handedly?"

"We can!" Sugarcoat barked while crossing her arms, "But the rules clearly state we need a team to compete against Canterlot High, and it's only logical that the best students are on that team to best ensure the most efficient means of victory."

Flash just shrugged, "Wow...I'm so moved by your awe-inspiring speech. I think I'll go rejoin the team," He said while trying to hold back his laughter.

Sunny Flare then growled at him, stomping in front of the teen, "Don't mock us! Heck, why do you even bother coming here if you're not gonna make use of Crystal Prep's reputation?! I bet if that Twilight girl didn't come here, you wouldn't even show up for school!"

"Eh, I don't know about that," Flash replied, shrugging again.

"Oh please!" Indigo screeched, "All you ever do is nip at her heels. She might as well have two dogs instead of one. What, gotta hard-"

"Don't finish that sentence if you know what's good for you," Flash hissed before turning to Lemon. Out of the five girls, she was the only one he would be willing to call a friend since they shared a similar interest in rock music. "What's your view in this?" Lemon just shrugged, making him shake his head, "Yeah, I thought so. Welp, if we're done here, I suddenly have a craving for a grilled cheese. Later girls."

"Oh no you don't! We're not done here!" Sour Sweet yelled.

"Leave him alone!" ordered a new voice, making them turn to see four new students walking up. Leading the group was a taller teen boy with yellow skin and spiky white hair, a pair of headphones hanging around his neck. Next to him was a shorter boy with red skin and green hair that hung down to cover his right eye, while another was the tallest boy of the group, having blue skin and spiky short black hair. The last one was the only girl of the group, who had green skin and orange hair that was in a ponytail with a pair of thin glasses over her eyes.

Sour huffed, "Lightning Blitz. What do you want?"

"Nothing," the teen replied before pointing to Flash. "I'm just here for him." Flash raised an eyebrow at this as Lightning continued, "Dean Cadance sent me to search for you. Principal Cinch wants to talk to you and Twilight."

"Okay..." Flash replied, walking past the girls, "Later ladies." He then reached Lightning, the five all turning away from the girls as they all growled at the sight. "Thanks man," he said once they were safely out of earshot. "Man, those girls can be seriously annoying."

"I wasn't making it up," Lightning countered.

"Principal Cinch does wish to speak with you," the green hair boy added, "I assume she intends to get you to join the Friendship Games."

"Great..." Flash moaned, shaking his head.

"Come on, its not all bad." the black haired boy continued while slinging an arm around Flash, "I hear CHS has some cool kids over there you could meet at the games. What was that one you said was a wild party animal Lightning?"

"That's Pinkie Pie," Lightning replied, "She might just be the only person in the world more insane than you."

"Nice. That should be fun."

"Ah, that's right," the girl added as she pushed her glasses up, "You used to attend CHS, didn't you Lightning?"

"Not till they kicked me out," Lightning responded while shrugging, "Even though I was framed, they decided to give me the boot. Not that I mind though..." he shined a grin at the three. "I mean, I got to meet you guys."

They were all about to give happy replies back, only for Flash to see Twilight coming down the opposite side of the hallway. "Hey Twi, did you get told about this to?"

"Yes," Twilight replied, nodding as they both turned to the door, the frame giving off a vibe that made it look three times the size it really was. Twilight gulped as she turned to see Flash's accompaniment begin to head off.

"Good luck," Lightning told him.

"You're gonna need it," the girl added as they headed off. Once they were gone, the two turned back to the door.

"Well, might as well get this over with." Flash pushed the door open, the piece of polished wood giving off a creak as they looked into the room.

The room was almost in pure darkness, the place being illuminated by a single overhead light and several small lamps stationed around the room. At the far end was a large wooden desk with a large chair behind it and two small stools at the front. They then stepped inside, spotting a woman they both knew as Dean Cadance standing next to the door. She gave them a big grin, both shining nervous smiles back before sitting down on the stools. And as they did this, the two heard the door slam shut, making them turn to see that the door had been hiding a white-skinned man with blue hair wearing a purple jumper with a shield insignia on it.

"Shining Armor?" Twilight asked.

"What are you doing here?" Flash finished before Cadance walked up to them.

"As an alumni, Principal Cinch thought he could provide an unique perspective."

"Perspective on what?"

"Why the Friendship Games, of course." The teens spun around at the voice as the large chair did the same, revealing a late aged woman with blue skin, multi-purple shades of hair, half-moon glasses on her face while wearing a blue suit. This was the woman in charge of Crystal Prep, Principal Cinch, who was now staring at Shining, "You competed in the games, did you not, Shining Armor?"

Flash looked back around and smirked as he saw Shining dreamly stare at Cadance, only to clear his throat and nod, "I did."

"And do you happen to recall who won?" This question was met with a chuckle from Shining, who crossed his arms and leaned his back against the wall.

"Crystal Prep did. We always win."

Cinch nodded before turning back to Twilight and Flash, "We always win."

Flash rolled his eyes as Twilight did a small gulp, both now seeing Cinch move over to a trophy case as Twilight asked, "Why did you ask to see us?"

"Well Twilight, I'll be honest." she started polishing a trophy, "It doesn't matter whether or not Crystal Prep wins or loses." She glared into the trophy, seeing her own rotten reflection. "The important thing is we are expected to win because Crystal Prep has a reputation." She turned back around, glaring at the two, "And it is that reputation...my reputation, that is responsible for everything we have here. For everything you've done here. And you've done quite a lot, haven't you?

"I don't know," Twilight replied, slightly shrinking back at the principal's glare, "I guess."

"Oh, don't be so modest. You're the best academic student this school has ever seen." Cinch sat back down and turned to Flash, "And you Mr. Sentry, have competed in at least one game for each sports team and has been the reason for victory in each of them."

Flash just shrugged in response, "Eh, I was just helping when they needed someone to fill in for a missing player. It's not like I've done anything too groundbreaking."

"Don't sell yourself short," Shining chimed in. "Some of those games were recorded, and I got to see them. You've got mad skills. You could go pro if you just applied yourself."

"Exactly," Cinch added while snapping her fingers, "That's the whole reason I allowed you to attend this school despite your average test scores. But what I can't understand is why my best students wouldn't want to compete in the Friendship Games."

Twilight tilted her head with a frown, "But...me and Flash aren't competing."

"Hold on there Twily," they turned to Shining again. "I know it's not really your thing, but representing the school is kind of a big deal. Plus, they could really use your help."

Cinch nodded as she reached into a drawer and pulled out a sheet. "It seems Canterlot High is undergoing something of a renaissance. Test scores are up, grades, even athletics are on the rise. You see, they are developing somewhat of a reputation. This can not happen!"

"Why not?" Flash asked, "Who cares if we lose? Heck, who's bright idea was the name of these games anyway? If the whole point is to try and improve relations between the school, then wouldn't pitting them against one another be kinda..."

"Counterproductive?" Twilight finished for him.

"Exactly."

"How the games came about is none of our concern. What is our concern is claiming absolute victory in them. And with you two working together, that victory is absolutely assured."

Twilight took this moment to speak up. "Principal Cinch, I can't possibly participate in the games. My work here is very-"

"Ah yes, your work." she almost hissed, her tone making a shiver go down both Flash and Twilight's spines. "Cadance, could you and Shining Armor find my contact sheet for the Everton Independent Study program?"

"Of course," the dean nodded before the pair left the room.

"And you Mr. Sentry, can you please go get Counselor Scarlet. I'd like to hear her opinion on the Friendship Games." Flash frowned at this, not wanting to move, only for her to look up and glare at him, "Now, Mr. Sentry." He let out a growl before sighing, him and Twilight sharing nervous glance as he left.

As the door to the office closed, Cinch began to smile again as she spoke up, "Twilight, I understand you've applied for the Study Program." She pulled out a folder. "You see, one of the advantages of having a reputation is the ability to have a certain amount of influence in such things." She placed the folder in front of Twilight, "So let me offer you a deal. In return for contributing your agile mind to these games, I will use my influence to guarantee your application is approved. Though, I suppose I could also have it...denied."

Twilight's eyes shrunk, now seeing where Cinch was going with this, "Wait, that's...that's blackmail."

"Is it?" Cinch replied as her grin began to grow, "Or is it just a simple business proposal?"

"You shouldn't be making deals," Twilight responded, shaking her head, "As a teacher...you should be doing your best to make sure every student has the best possible chance to succeed."

Cinch shook her head, hiding a frown before leaning back in her chair, "You're right. I should be making sure my students have the best possible chance. But you know, sometimes that requires...sacrifice."

"What?"

"Well, if Crystal Prep were to lose, some of our sponsors could decide to transfer their funding to Canterlot High. If that happens, there will need to be cutbacks to ensure the school stays afloat. One of those cutbacks would be to expel a small number of students." Twilight gasped at the suggestion, only for Cinch to open another folder, "Let's see...if I was forced to expel someone, who would be the student at the top of that list? The one whose grades are below the normal standard and isn't part of any school team...." Twilight started to shrink in her seat as she heard this, Cinch shining a big grin as she took a file out of the folder, "Ah, that's right." She placed the file and pushed it over with a slight nudge, "One Flash Sentry."

Twilight's eyes slowly grew larger at the sight, making her stutter out, "B-B-But..."

"Ms. Sparkle, let me ask you this. What do you think I should do?" Twilight looked up into the principal's eyes, now seeing the look of a viper now glaring at her.

Twilight knew only one thing at that moment. She knew Cinch was serious with her threat. If Crystal Prep lost, Flash would be expelled.

And she couldn't let that happen.