Flash
A lesson I learned early on in this dream realm was how time worked. In short, I had a surprising amount of control over it. While I couldn’t stop time completely in here, with some practice and Fury’s instruction I could stretch real-time minutes into days. Such an ability was invaluable, both for meditating on matters I didn’t normally have time to dwell on as well as spending time working on Fury’s redemption.
“No, Fury, ripping off Discord’s limbs is not an adequate punishment if he disrespects you.”
Didn’t take more than a day to realize spending any extra time stuck here with him was a terrible idea.
‘Quality time’ with Fury was a fate I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. If he wasn’t pushing my buttons, he was trying to get in my head. If he wasn’t trying to get in my head, he was finding every possible loophole in our redemption agreement that allowed him to grievously harm Discord. On top of that, he always wanted to train. He would attack me if I ever lowered my guard or he felt I had a long enough break.
Even now, trying again to quell his hatred for Discord, we were exchanging blows inside Fury’s snowy chamber.
“You know he can easily grow it back,” Fury’s bladestaff rained upon my head, blocked by my spear. “I’m trying to be reasonable here. I already agreed not to claw his eyes out if he glared at me. Show me at least some leeway here.”
“I know you’re messing with me again, so I’m not even going to entertain that little farce.” I pushed off the blade. “Having dealt with Discord, I know how much of an asshat he can be, but that still doesn’t excuse—”
A loud door creek rang out from behind me.
I turned to find a golden door bearing my cutie mark that was slightly ajar. That was new.
“I see. That time already.” Fury sheathed his blade.
“I didn’t summon this door. Doubt you did either. What is it?”
“Time to wake up. It’s not something you would normally see, since the transitions between mind and reality are usually instantaneous. Thanks to my tutelage and your awareness, you can control when to wake up.”
I rolled my eyes. “You don’t have to take credit for every little thing. So, bragging aside, all I have to do is open that door to wake up?”
“Yes. Just bear in mind that such a transition will be a little jarring—”
I opened the door.
“Hey! I was still talking you little—”
For a single instant, there was nothing. No lingering soreness from sparring. No chill from Fury’s wintery realm or headache from dealing with his nonsense. As if all of my senses were sucked into a void. Then, all at once, the void spat it all back into me.
I gasped as life was thrusted into my being. Stiffness greeted me in both atmosphere and muscle. For a moment I lost track of whether I was awake or just suffered a strange experience in the mind castle. As if I was forced into a weaker, stiffer body. The answer was clear the moment I opened my eyes.
The crystal-edged furniture and bed were a dead giveaway, as was the size of the room that dwarfed my personal quarters at the Crystal Empire. But there were new differences, too, such as the cracks running along the crystal walls that looked hastily repaired with metal plates, as well as the metal-reinforced door. Besides all these, I couldn’t be happier with the result.
“Home sweet home. Better late than never, I guess.” I croaked, throat drier than Blueblood’s humor.
I twisted and turned in my cloth sheets, wrapped head to hoof in bandages. Legs moved like wood planks as I sat up on the edge of my bed. To my surprise, my magically conjured wing was still there. It acted as a perfect copy, even able to feel sensation and movement. Solid golden light given form and function.
It was the same wing, yet nothing like it at all. The lack of weight left a hollowness to the magically crafted prosthetics. A hollowness that resonated within me.
...What am I now? Am I still even a pony?
I sighed. Regardless of choices made, necessary or otherwise, whatever I was now didn’t matter. All that mattered was what I did with this gift.
*When you have a moment, take a look out the window.* Fury said.
The window? What’s on your mind?
*Just do it. Even you will be able to figure it out.*
Alright, fine.
The bed creaked as I shoved off it and hobbled towards the closed curtains, minding the diminished strength in my legs. Closer I drew to the curtains, the more I suspected Fury was onto something. A dulling sensation washed over me, going stronger as I neared the window.
Opening the curtain, a number of concerns and suspicions were immediately confirmed.
Metallic grates were placed on the windows. Through them I could see a number of skeletal construction frames strewn across the ruined town. My joy of seeing the town undergo recovery was countered by recognizing the warped metal not only barring window access, but seemingly hollowing out what little strength I had left.
I stumbled back from the window, then took a second look at the metal plates installed all over the room and on the door. Upon closer inspection, shards of crystal were embedded into each of the metals. If memory served, Sunburst called them disruptor gems.
*I knew it,* Fury growled. *Not even you are absolved of imprisonment.*
“But… but that doesn’t make any sense!” Panic swelled as I paced about the room, careful to avoid the ‘disruptor plates’ on the ground. “They should still believe you’re sealed inside me. They should know I’m not a threat. Why would they do this?”
*That assumes they didn’t check on your seal again.*
A block of ice sank in my stomach. "Ugh, you’re right. Of course they would check. That would be Discord’s first priority once the fighting stopped. But… why didn’t he just seal you back up?"
The longer I pondered over this, the more I disliked the possibilities. Maybe couldn’t.
*A broken sword is more dangerous to the user than the enemy. Consider yourself lucky they didn’t kill you. Yet.*
“Don’t be dramatic. They wouldn’t do that.”
*I’ll remember those words at the gallows. For your last meal, I’ll show you how to make draken mead and spice bread. A parting gift for my foolish, naive champion.*
Rather than respond to his jab, I gathered my wits. They would’ve killed me already if that was their only option, not that I really believed they would entertain such a thing. Assuming they knew about the broken seal, keeping me in here was a good call. Guess I’ll use this chance to get my bearings.
Curiosity pulled me to the mirror on the dresser, illuminated by the afternoon sun filtering through the parted curtains. I probably looked like a mess.
With all the bandages wrapped around my face and body, I would’ve certainly won any Nightmare Night costume contest “Guess I should consider myself lucky that I still have all of my limbs.” I glanced at the ‘Spark wing’. “ Well… Almost all of them.”
“You’re lucky to be alive at all.”
I blinked owlishly. Did that mirror just… talk?
My answer came in the form of confetti exploding from the mirror.
I whinnied and flailed as I scrambled back, promptly and painfully falling on my flank. It wasn’t until the cackling form of Discord slithered out of the mirror I started calming down.
*This must fall under the ‘fisting doctrine’ with Discord! Punch him!*
For the last time, I’m not calling it the fisting doctrine! And I’m not punching him, either!
… at least for now.
A guttural growl echoed within my mind, followed by the sound of a door being slammed shut.
“This is cause for celebration!” Discord snapped his fingers, poofing a long gold and blue banner over my head. I craned my head to read it: ‘Congratulations on not being dead again, Flash Sentry!’
Fan-freaking-tastic.
“Are you trying to give me a heart attack?!” I bellowed, still shaking.
“Oh relax, Flash-bang, you’ll be fine! I’m just so excited to see you up and about I could just explode!”
And then Discord literally exploded in tiny confetti-like pieces.
...By Celestia, I traded Malice for this.
Discord poofed back into reality behind me, scooping me into a bear hug and spinning so fast my mind could barely keep up.
“My boy, you’ve made me the happiest draconequus in the world! Why how could I ever repay you?”
“Put. Me—urp. Down!”
I was another spin cycle away from hurling before Discord dropped me.
...Into a bowl of marshmallows.
For a moment, I contemplated if there was room for me where Fury escaped into.
“Discord, would you cut it out?!”
“As you command, best buddy.” From somewhere behind his back he pulled out a director’s clapboard. “Aaaaand cut!”
The confetti, banner, and bowl of marshmallows poofed out of existence. Still reeling from the spin, I staggered and stumbled onto my wobbly hooves. “Phew! Okay, while I’m glad to see you again, mind getting me up to speed on what I missed?”
Discord raised his fingers.
“—With just words? Please?” I huffed, exasperated.
“Hmph. Well you’re no fun!” he pouted. “But alas, I suppose I can forgive you. After all, you got Chryssy and I out of that tree and kicked Malley’s booty outta here. A lot happened since you took your three-week nap.”
“Three weeks?!”
“Hey, you’re lucky to be up at all. I worked quite a bit of magic to speed up your healing. I even had to use one of my Megaelixirs. Do you have any idea how rare those are to get?”
“Uh, no?”
Discord shrugged. “Eh, still got ninety-eight left. Never know when you need them.”
I facehooved. “Discord, please get to the point.”
“Alright, alright. Good news is you haven’t been fired or kicked out. Yet. The bad news is… well, don’t worry about it. Just focus on getting back to full strength.”
That… that didn’t tell me anything! More importantly… !
“Being fired is the last thing I’m worried about! What happened to Spike? Noble? How are—”
Discord conjured and flashed a stop sign at me. “Whoa, slow down there, Flash-in-a-pan. Let’s cut to the chase here; everyone’s fine. Okay, perhaps a little wear and tear here and there, but nothing some good ol’ elbow grease and time can’t fix. You’ll get a chance to hoof bump all of your buddies soon enough, alright?”
Annoying vagueness aside, all I could assume at this point was most of the danger being past. Speaking of danger… “Not so fast. There’s something else I need to know, and you’re going to tell me. Are you aware about what happened to your seal?”
“Of course I do! What do you take me for, an amatuer?”
“Considering that was your first time doing something like that, yes.”
“Hmph. Smartass.” With a snap, he teleported onto my bed, kicking his foot/hoof up as he sighed, for some reason sporting a construction worker’s hat and vest. “It was a real mess in there. It’ll take a whole lotta duct tape and mommy kisses to fix that thing.”
“That begs the question; can you repair it?”
“Absolutely! Though Shining’s gonna be mad that I have to ask Cadance for those mommy kisses again. Maybe Twilight would give it another shot if I told her it was for science. Who said I couldn’t?”
I choked. “Excuse me?!”
With the world’s most innocent look, he dared to say “What? Don’t think Cadance got enough mommy kiss power? Guess I could ask Celestia again, but Cadance gets jealous when I do that.”
“What—I—h-hold up!” Okay, WAY too much to unpack there. Priorities come first. “You’ve asked Twilight for kisses before?!”
*Really? THAT took priority?* Fury grumbled.
“I’m with Fury on this one. Really, Flash?” Discord smirked coyly.
“Why are you both tag-teaming me? Wait… HOW did you hear that? And know his name?”
“I might’ve listened in on one or two campfire stories. Still, Fury Stormguard? Not even his sword is as edgy as that name, and that cut still hurts!”
I heard an audible cracking of knuckles inside my mind. *This bastard’s insisting on a fisting…!*
For the last time, no fisting! With the heftiest of facehooves, I chose to focus on the other actual issue I had with his statements. “Nonsense aside, if you can repair it, why didn’t you?”
“You’re the only one who knows that I could fix it. I told everyone else it was impossible. It would take a little bit of tinkering, but it's nothing I couldn’t handle.”
“That makes no sense!” I barely contained my rising voice. I wanted as many answers as I could pull out of him before letting the others know I’m awake. “Why lie about it and take such a stupid risk? You’ve seen what he could do!”
Discord sighed. “You see, that’s the sticking point; I did see what he could do. That’s why I couldn’t bring myself to trap him again.”
Of all the excuses I expected him to have, that wasn’t one of them.
At my silence, he continued with genuine seriousness. “I was able to see the whole fight from the tree. Fury had every chance to walk away, and that was if he was feeling merciful. What did he decide to do while you were trapped under all that rubble? He saved you, Flash. Saved you, and returned to his prison—more like a vacation home now—willingly. Do you have any idea how crazy that is?”
That confirmed what I saw when he lifted those rocks off me, though another point was made I hadn’t considered until now: There’s nothing stopping him from leaving. In fact, he could probably jump out and slice Discord to ribbons right this second.
Well, he did say I earned a slight change in his priorities. Maybe that meant more than I gave him credit for.
“That got me thinking,” Discord continued, “I wasn’t all that different before dear Fluttershy took me in. Perhaps I got soft in my old age, maybe even a little nostalgic of the days we weren’t trying to murder each other, but I couldn’t bring myself to seal him again. Not this time, anyway. But if he’s listening, I hope he can understand what I’m trying to say here. Understand why I wanted to pay it forward.”
Well, Fury? Anything to say to all of that?
Silence.
I expected at least a snarky response from him. No doubt he was listening, probably while sharpening his blade. Knowing Fury, his refusal to speak was an answer in itself. “I think he heard you, Discord. Just don’t expect him to show up at the next brotherhooves social.”
“Works for me. Equestria can barely handle me as the party-crasher extraordinaire. Throwing him into the mix would only set even more things on fire.” With a snap, Discord appeared above me, hovering. “Sappy stuff aside, just remembered a message for you from Shining Plot-Armor.”
With a snap, a bluish, flickering pony appeared next to me. Who I expected to be Shining Armor turned out to be a milky white mare in a dress, her mane spun into two buns.
“Pony-Wan, you’re my only hope…!”
“Whoops, wrong message!” The figure disappeared with another of Discord’s snaps. Taking her place was the Shining Armor. “Ah, there we go.”
Something about Shining felt different. There was the obvious; a flickering, transparent image not unlike when Noble and I summoned him for team meetings stood before me. But I knew my captain all too well. Something was missing beyond the result of Discord’s hologram. He stood straight and stalwart, but his exhaustion went deeper than military rigidness could cover up. Even at his most serious, he always held that spark, that fire in his eyes. Now, it was nowhere to be found in his stoic features.
“Take twenty-four. Aaaand action!” Discord’s voice and the sound of clappers echoed in the background. Though visibly annoyed, Shining Armor sighed.
“Flash, if you’re getting this message, that means my time in Ponyville is up. Malice’s incursion was a shot in the leg for all of us. All the princesses have been updated by now and are working to develop countermeasures for any future occurrences, and I’m needed elsewhere. Tried to get you transported back to the Empire, but Twily was adamant about keeping you at her side despite the risk… fought like she was battling for foal custody.”
Pretty sure I was not supposed to hear those mutterings, but he cleared his throat and continued.
“Noble Heart’s report on the state of the changelings hints at the onset of a civil war among the broods. Her brood has apparently allied itself with our cause thanks to her influence, but it is suspected that the remaining changeling “Shadows” are setting out to become queens of their own. We don’t know what this means for Equestria, but measures are being taken to avoid a recurrence of the Ponyville incident. Furthermore, the Tree of Harmony has barely a hint of life left in it, and it will no doubt take a lot of time before it grows back... if it ever does.
“That aside, Twily accepted the Prism Guard as part of her kingdom. Sunburst and Thorax will additionally be standing by to see you through this mess. Shine Spark will be acting captain of Twily’s guard until you get your hooves back on the ground.”
There was a pause, as if something was distracting him from his script. His eyes trailed off to the distance. When his focus returned, he had shaken off at least some of his rigidity.
“It’s not looking good, Flash. Without the tree, without its power, we are…” His look went to the floor. “We… ugh, screw it. That’s the last thing I want to talk about with you.”
Ah, there he is. Dropping the facade, Shining armor shifted uncomfortably where he stood, averting his gaze.
“Look, I’d rather talk to you face to face about this, but we don’t know when you will wake up. If you will wake up. Even then, we don’t even know if you will be yourself, so I don’t want to leave things off without saying… I’m sorry. I’m sorry for going off on you. For not trusting you. I lost my head, and got no excuse for it. You’re a good soldier, and a better bro, Flash. No matter what happens, just know that I got your back.”
“Boss…” It took everything in me to not run over to the kingdom and give him the biggest bro hug of his life.
“When you get better, swing by the Crystal Empire. Don’t let that bastard inside your head get the better of you, alright? And take good care of Twilight… assuming she hasn’t already mauled you.”
Shining Armor disappeared, taking all the positivity he gave me with him.
“Discord,” I gulped, “what did Shining Armor mean by that last part?”
“Remember the whole thing about not telling Twilight about your super secret mission? Yeeaah, about that…”
I gulped. “She’s mad.”
“This isn’t just any ordinary mad. We’re talking Ghost Pepper levels of mad. The kind of mad that would make Malice look like the king of happy town! Good thing for us ninety-percent of that nerd rage is locked onto you.”
Sweat stained the bandages wrapped around my forehead. This was not helped by the raucous laughter of a certain warmaster. “Um, yikes.”
“‘Yikes’ indeed. Boy you should’ve seen the way she was ranting and raving. Talking about the utter betrayal of trust…”
Oof…
“How she trusted you and thought you were a good stallion…”
Ugh…!
“And the stuff she said she would do to “That good-for-nothing, lying scum of the earth”... okay, that last one I might’ve paraphrased a bit.”
“Alright, I get it!” My heart couldn’t take anymore abuse. “I saw this coming a mile away. Even if I meant well, it never sat right with me. I need to set this right with Twilight. Make up for lying to her. How I’ll do that… I don’t know yet.”
“Not my problem,” Discord shrugged. His ear twitched, followed by the most insidious grin I’ve ever witnessed since his Malice. “Why not start with just talking to her? Here, I’ll help a brother out!” Discord laughed as he floated through the door.
“Wait, what? What are you trying to—” I swung the door open to chase him. Then I froze mid-step.
Two familiar Prism Guards—Silent Night and Blade Dancer if I’m remembering right—were posted by my door, all color draining from their faces as they gaped at me. Between them, seemingly caught in mid-conversation, was none other than Twilight Sparkle. Behind the stupefied princess was a snickering draconequus that I really, really wanted to punch.
Disquieting silence filled the air between all of us. After several of the longest seconds of my life, I closed the door.
*Colt,* I could hear every ounce of disappointment in Fury’s tone. *What was that?*
...I panicked.
I could hear a muffled commotion behind the door. I backed away, preparing myself to get an earful of anger at a minimum. If what Discord about Twilight had even a hint of truth, I was in a world of trouble.
“I’m coming in. Stand away from the door.” Twilight’s voice boomed.
“Okay!” I called back. “I’m away from the door. Go ahead!”
*Ah, so that’s how she’s playing it.* Fury mused. *This should be entertaining.*
Not in the mood, Fury!
The double doors swung open. Dancer and Night flanked her, grips on their spears tightening as they watched on with bated breath. Twilight stepped into the room, sporting a cold, calculating gaze that twisted my stomach into knots. The lack of anger in Twilight made her even more menacing. She nodded to the guards, cueing them to seal the doors behind them.
I gulped.
What do I do here? Apologize? Say hello? Shake her hoof? If the barrier and Shining’s words are any indication, they probably don’t really know who they’re talking to right now. Okay, let’s start there.
I cleared my throat. “Twilight—”
Her hoof shot up. I stiffened and stopped talking.
She’ll do the talking. Got it.
Twilight’s horn glowed. “Before we start anything, I need to make sure who I am talking to. To that end, I need to take a small peek into your mind, alright?”
I swallowed hard. In most other cases, that would be a smart course of action. Considering who we were both dealing with, however, that was a gamble not I wanted to make. I’d barely begun to redeem Fury, and if he did anything suspicious—and knowing him, he freaking would—that would put me at an even worse disadvantage.
“Twilight,” I took a shaky, nervous breath, “there’s something you should know first…”
“I already know, Flash.” A hint of anger slipped through her glare. “I know everything, and am prepared for any eventuality. Don’t make this difficult.”
Fury, I’m begging you here, please don’t mess this up for me!
*What, me? Do something to make your life miserable? I am but a humbled warmaster looking after his prodigy. Perish the thought!*
...I am so dead.
“Fine.” I surrendered. “Just be careful. He’s, ah, a little difficult.”
Twilight’s horn brightened. “Don’t you worry about that. I can handle difficult.”
I really didn’t like Fury laughing at that. *If it bothers you that much, I could always conjure a vassal so I can personally introduce myse—*
Over my dead body!
*I’ll bear that in mind next time you’re asleep.*
What—
Tendrils of lavender magic leapt from her horn and onto my head before I could question him. I tensed a little at invasive threads of magic drilling into my mind like a dozen prickly needles . It took considerable effort to even out my breathing and calm myself. Fury was surprisingly, and thankfully, silent while Twilight’s magic permeated deeper and deeper into my mind. After a small eternity of watching Twilight’s face twitch and grimace, occasionally even contort with visible discomfort, I couldn’t help but check in on her.
“Is everything okay? Nothing fighting you back or making snarky comments?”
Twilight paused to throw me a weird look before continuing her scanning. “Don’t get what you mean about snarky, but I’m not getting any resistance. Just going through quite a few really weird—”
As if on cue, much to my horror…
*Welcome to our humble abode, oh princess of Ponyville. Pardon the mess; I’ve been trying to get Flash to get off his lazy ass and clean things up around here, but you know how he is.*
Twilight choked. I nearly had a stroke.
Fury, you son of a bitch!
*Such foul language! And in front of a princess, no less. I’m glad somepony can finally witness the horrid abuse I’ve endured all this time.*
You… I… that is just…!
Rarely have I wanted to strangle somepony so much in my life. Only thing stopping me from giving him the berating of a lifetime was Twilight making the face of a mare who clearly stumbled into the wrong room.
*Um… who is this?* Twilight asked within my mind, concern and confusion overlapping.
*I am the warmaster who saved your captain’s life. I am the force of nature that will make your enemies beg for mercy just from hearing my name. You shall know me as Fury Stormguard, Flash’s instructor and guardian. And yes, I’m also responsible for helping to save your lives. You’re welcome.*
Twilight looked even more confused than before. *Just so we are clear… Are you the same warmaster created by Malice? The same one who tried to take over Flash and kill Discord and Chrysalis?*
*The very same. Speaking of Discord, I would like to offer a personal apology to him. If you can bring him in here so we can talk in private—*
"Please don’t indulge him, Twilight. We haven’t gotten over his I-must-kill-Discord issue yet."
“I never intended to fulfill that request in the first place,” said Twilight.
Fury tsked. *A real shame. Regardless, you’re free to search wherever you like for evidence of treachery, princess. However, you will save all three of us a considerable amount of time if you simply talk to your captain and savior instead of treating him like a prisoner. You only need to fear me if you intend to harm my champion.*
*I… see. Thank you for your help and advice. I think?* Twilight released her mind-scrying spell, then threw me an odd glance. “He isn’t anything like Discord described to be. Or what anypony said for that matter.”
“It’s a very long story.”
“Good thing I’ve cleared my schedule for the day then. Now that everything in your head checks out…”
All warmth suddenly drained from the room.
I apparently haven’t suffered enough for saving Ponyville, because Twilight’s glare pierced through me in ways not even the original Malice could. Combined with the eyepatch, it took everything to not cower before the furious princess.
Inside my mind, the sound of Fury irritatingly munching on popcorn echoed.
“I’ve been informed of everything.” Twilight’s words were clipped. Harsh. A bomb ready to explode. “Malice. Secret mission. Changelings. Pathos. I. Know. It. All.” Somehow, her glare sharpened even further. “You’re going to recount everything from beginning to end. And I mean everything. Do I make myself clear, Flash Bolt Sentry?”
Last time somepony used my full name, my mother tore me a new one for getting suspended in grade school. That was an act of mercy compared to dealing with Twilight right now.
I pulled together what little pool of courage I had. There was only one way to answer the beautiful, terrifying mare who was ready to kill me.
“A-absolutely! Everything.”
*See? I assured you I would be well behaved.* Fury could not have sounded prouder.
Screw you!
I recounted everything that transpired from mission start until now. Twilight listened intently, a laser-like focus on every word and detail. The more I confessed, the harder my screw ups struck me. How much would’ve changed had I not ran off on my own or acted the way I did? How many lives could’ve been saved if I’d avoided getting possessed by the hunter? Admitting this in front of Twilight was simply crushing.
The entire time, Twilight stayed quiet. I imagined she was cross-referencing what everypony else said or at least putting the pieces together. By the time I finished, all the guilt I’d carried until now threatened to boil over. She said nothing for a minute, likely deliberating over my story. I decided to take the chance while it was open.
“I’m… I’m sorry, Twilight,” I spoke with the utmost sincerity. “There’s no excuse for what I did. I betrayed your trust and lied to you. I failed you as both a captain and a friend. Circumstances weren’t favorable at the time to tell you everything, but I understand if you see that as only an excuse. I couldn’t think of a way to tell you everything while ensuring your safety.”
“Yeah,” she clipped, “I can see that.”
I winced, forcing myself not to look away from the source of guilt. “Y-you’re right. I… I even hurt you when you tried to save me. I am the worst kind of guard. So, if you want to kick me out, or punish me, or… or anything, I deserve it.”
Nothing happened for some time. I glanced back to find her sighing.
“Everyone vouched for you. Discord. Chrysalis. Shining. Spike. Zecora. Elytra. Noble was especially repentant and willing to take all of the blame on her shoulders. I know you had good intentions, and the sensitivity of the mission you recognized at the time called for you to be discreet. I figured that much almost immediately.”
She grasped my chin with an iron grip.
“But never again, Flash Sentry,” her voice was almost a hiss. “You may have meant well, but you still involved Spike and put others at risk. Never pull a stunt like this ever again with me. Got it?”
I gulped. “Y-yes, Princess.” Her glare nearly split my soul in half. “I-I-I mean Twilight!”
A sharp cracking sound lashed within my mind. Took me a second to realize it was a whip.
Go to Tartarus!
Twilight lingered a few beats before releasing me, warmth returning to her smile. “I understand you meant no ill will about it, so I’m willing to forgive you. This time. Not to mention Shining helped fill the gaps regarding your PTSD from Canterlot… and Sunset.”
My heart skipped a beat, suffering a new, deeper level of terror as I gazed deep into Twilight’s sorrowful eye.
“I can’t imagine how you must have felt revisiting such a nightmarish event when that vassal possessed you. Then you saw me as Sunset… it was rather hard to stomach how much you’d gone through. Maybe if I had reached you sooner, pieced the clues together back when you were terrified on stage, I could’ve prevented you from going through all that.”
“Twilight, I—”
“Shhh,” Twilight’s hoof silenced me, “I know. I shouldn’t have pried so deep into your personal life and history. I admit, I’m still a little shaken about everything that happened, especially what you went through concerning those changelings you fought. But no matter how I look at it, you acted in a way any pony would in that situation. It’s not your fault.”
At the mention of the slain changelings, something hot bubbled out of me before I could stop it. “Not my fault? Twilight, I can’t just look away from this!” Indignation boiled over, and I was powerless to stop it. “What I did to those changelings, it...it wasn’t right! I didn’t just take them down. It was a fucking massacre! And then I...I almost…” Looking at her eyepatch again, I quickly shut my eyes to keep in the tears. “I almost killed you, Twilight.”
“But you didn’t.” Her warm hoof fell over mine. “You were able to overcome your episode and come back to us. As for the changelings... I agree, what happened to them was horrible. There’s no denying that. But in that situation, what else could you have really done? It was kill or be killed, and the influences of pathos only made things worse.”
“But that’s just it; I let it get to me. I could blame the pathos all I want, but controlling my actions is my responsibility. Those changelings didn’t deserve to die the way they did. You shouldn’t have gotten hurt like you did. If anything, all this proves is that I will always be a risk to you. To everypony.”
“Flash,” Twilight’s voice grew quiet, barely enough to make me listen. “Do you know why I’ve decided to let you stay by my side, knowing that your pathos could hurt me and my friends at any time? Why I decided to give you another chance?”
It was a good point. I failed her before when the pathos took over me. To do so now, knowing Fury was unbound... “Why would you take such a huge, unnecessary risk?”
“My question wasn’t rhetorical, and don’t answer my question with another question.” Twilight smiled. “You’re a smart stallion; figure it out.”
I was well and truly lost. Trapped in an ocean of questions. I carefully organized my thoughts in hopes to reduce the chance of saying something stupid.
“W-well, I suppose the short answer is that you trusted me?”
Twilight nodded. “Partially right. That’s currently a work in progress, but why would I think you’re worth trusting again?”
“Because…b-because…” What was even the proper answer for this one? Because we are friends? Because Shining, her brother, trained me? Or perhaps there was some deeper reason I didn’t dare entertain the thought of? “Because we are friends?”
“While that’s true, that’s not it. You’re warm though.”
...No. No way. She’s not seriously going there, was she?
“I...I don’t know what else it could be.”
“It’s because you’re a good pony, Flash. You always have been, and I believe you always will be.”
“Twilight…”
I allowed hatred to drive me. I harmed her and committed an unforgivable atrocity against changelings. I yelled at her, even attempted to close myself from her. Twilight had seen me at my worst. Witnessed all of the anger and spitefulness in me.
And yet, after all of that, she still considered me a good pony.
Whether it was her warm smile, those heartfelt words, or the fact it was Twilight telling me this, something in me broke.
“I need to let everypony know that you’re okay. I wasn’t the only one worried sick about you. Sit tight while I spread the good word, okay?” I could only nod numbly. “I’m sure you must be starving. I’ll try to bring some food and water for you as well.” She turned to leave.
“A-alright.” My voice was so small I doubted she even heard me. I was entranced.
*Hmph. Is that really it? All you’re going to say?*
I… I… Pretty sure my brain was broken.
*Where was that courageous pony who fought their worst nightmares alongside their nemesis? The one who toppled a mad god?*
When I lifted my head to look, Twilight was halfway across the room.
*You know what to do. What you must tell her.*
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. My chest tightened further and wings rustled in the bandages. The words wouldn’t reach me, but I knew what I wanted to say. The mere thought paralyzed me with fear. Fear at not what I would be admitting to her, but to myself.
Fury sighed. Silence. Then, a rhythmic thump echoed, as if stomping. *No fear. Yes you can. No fear. Yes you can.*
Twilight’s hoof touched the door handle.
I knew if I didn’t say it now, I would not get the nerve to do so again. I owed Twilight that much. I owed her everything, and I would be damned if I couldn’t meet her halfway.
*No fear… yes you can!*
Whether due to Fury’s chant or something more nefarious, possibly both, I sprang to action.
“Twilight, wait!”
I hobbled onto my hooves and hurried after her. That’s when the underused muscles in my legs betrayed me. Within seconds I went from chasing after Twilight to collapsing on the cold floor.
*...You had one job.*
“Flash!” Twilight rushed over, lifting me to my shaking hooves. “What in the world are you doing? You’re in no shape to be running around like that.” She tried to guide me back to the bed.
Instead, I wrapped my hooves around her. Tight.
Twilight gasped and went stiff. I could feel her heart pounding just as fiercely as mine did.
“Twilight, don’t put yourself at risk for me like that again.” My voice quivered, raw. “I know you were trying to save me. I can never thank you enough for how much you sacrificed to help me. But please, never do that again.”
After a moment, Twilight relaxed and hugged me back. “I’m sorry if I scared you, Flash. Believe me, I don’t make a habit out of putting my life in danger if I can help it. But I don’t regret doing what I did if it meant I could save you.”
“Stop it.” I pulled back to meet her eyes, being careful to hold back my anger. “Just, stop it. I get how brave you are and how far you are willing to go to save somepony. You’re one of the bravest ponies I know, no question about that. But you need to understand how important you are to everypony.”
“I get it, Flash. I know that being a princess is very important and how—”
“That’s not what I’m saying!” I took a deep breath. “This has nothing to do with you being a princess, me being a soldier, or any of that. You’re more than just a smart alicorn who has saved Equestria numerous times. You’re more than some title. You’re somepony who has changed so many lives for the better and is the best damn thing to ever happen to Equestria. If something were to happen to you, Equestria would…” I trailed off.
...Oh, who am I kidding?
“Sorry, I’m not being completely honest.”
My voice lowered, nearly a whisper, “I know I can’t stop you from wanting to save somepony. I know I can’t always be there to protect you and make sure you’re safe. Hay, you’ve done more to protect me than the other way around. But I can’t lose you, Twilight. I don’t care what I have to do or what I have to lose. I refuse to let you go.”
“Flash…” Twilight squeezed me, then broke the embrace to throw me a guilty glance. “B-before you go any further, I need to be honest with you about something.”
Her hesitation did awful things to my heart. “W-what is it?”
Twilight swallowed hard as she looked at me with such intensity. I wasn’t sure if she was angry or just determined. “I… I know that you’re in love with me, Flash, and have been for awhile.”
Of all the things I expected to come out of her mouth, that was not one of them. “...What? B-but didn’t Noble tell you the truth about that?”
“That’s right, Flash. It’s what Sassy—that is, Noble Heart—told me after things settled down. While I understand most of what I thought was true turned out to be fabricated, I can’t help but imagine at least that much was true, given this evidence.”
I found myself speechless, though not for the reason Twilight might’ve suspected. Fury was decidedly unhelpful, dying with laughter.
Of all the things for Noble to spill, THAT was the one thing she decided to keep her word to? Son of a…
“Twilight, hang on a—”
“Please, just let me finish,” Twilight pleaded. “I’d been trying to figure out how I felt about you for awhile now. Unfortunately, there’s something I haven’t been completely truthful about myself, which has been eating at me for the last month since you’ve been here. It’s about the human I had a tiny crush on way long ago. That human, ‘Brad’, that’s not his real name. It’s actually, um… F-Flash Sentry.”
All of the sudden, even Discord seemed more tied to reality than what I was hearing. “You… you’re joking, right?”
Twilight shook her head. “The mirror world is an alternate reality from ours. There are versions of all of us in that world, usually sharing the same name, and they often have similar traits or even color schemes. You’re certainly more, well, extreme than your variant, but there’s no denying how similar you two are. It’s been a little, u-um, confusing for the heart, to put it mildly.”
Her words sunk in like molasses. Assuming I’m not going insane or Twilight is indeed not trying to mess with me, she just admitted to having a crush on an alternate version of me… the same version Sunset dated after—
I slammed the breaks on those thoughts. That was a headache for another day. Had enough craziness to tackle right in front of me. “I think there’s a lot we both need to clear up here. First and foremost, I’m not in love with you, Twilight.”
She threw me a blank look like I told her the sky was liquid frosting. “W...what?”
“It was a story Noble made up to misdirect you from our objective. In other words, I was used as bait. I had no idea that was even going on until the day I bolted from the castle and, well, crap went south. It was all her idea, and believe me, I gave her an earful when I realized what she told you.”
A blank look washed over Twilight’s face, soon followed by a wave of pink flooding her cheeks as she covered her face. “Oh. Oh gosh. I can’t believe I fell for that for so long. Please don’t tell me Spike knew too.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “Y-yeah, it was kind of a team effort on their part.”
“I... I don’t know whether to be mad, embarrassed or both. Of all the things to hide from me, why that of all things after the Malice incident was cleared up?!”
“Shining Armor.”
“...Eh?”
“Shining Armor made that my mess to clean up. Which I’m doing now.”
“Shining Armor told you… and that meant… ugh, that liar!” Twilight suddenly stamped angrily, almost screaming. “I’m going to strangle him next time I see BBBFF! What else could possibly be kept secret from me?”
“There is one thing.”
I ended up surprising both of us as I peeled the hooves off her face. My heart pounded a mile a minute.
“They... weren’t completely wrong about how I felt about you.”
Twilight’s breath got caught in her throat. “H-huh?”
“Twilight,” I started, forcing down the screaming instinct telling me to abandon this crazy plan, “I know I’ve messed up by you. Did a lot of things I regret. For all I know, I might make even more mistakes. But one mistake I refuse to make again is not being honest. With you… or myself.”
I swallowed to force down the unraveling nerves threatening to make me shake like a leaf. Part of me wished for Twilight to look away, blink, do something other than stare at me like that. “After nearly losing you, remembering the time we spent together, whether it was confidence sessions or just casual conversation, I realized something is there. It’s not love—”
*A work in progress. I expect powerful foals from you two by year’s end.*
Shut. Up. Fury!
“—but there’s certainly potential for, well, more. A connection worth pursuing, but under more honest conditions. If it’s okay with you Twilight, I would like to start over. I want you to get to know the real me, and I want to get to know you better too.”
A shuddering sigh threatened to escape my lungs. Somehow got all of that out of my chest without succumbing to frayed nerves. My insides threaten to fall apart in protest of what had to be the dumbest, craziest thing I’ve done since soloing Malice. Twilight’s petrified silence did little to help my electrified nerves.
“S-so, uh, with that said,” I forced through what had to be the world’s most awkward grin. “I know this really great spot behind the Equestrian Museum in Canterlot. It’s got some of the best Mexicolt food you can find. When things settle down, perhaps we start getting to know each other there? My treat.”
Twilight studied my face for what felt like eons. I had no idea what was going through her mind, or if she was panicking as hard as I was. All I could do was give her the best grin I knew.
“Wow…I... that is just… um, so… t-those confidence sessions really helped, didn’t they?” Twilight laughed nervously.
“Uh, y-yeah. Guess they really did,” I laughed with her, if only to smooth over the building nervousness in my chest. Decided to keep the fact a certain love guru compelled this crazy line of thought.
“I have to admit, for somepony who unintentionally blinded a princess and just heard said princess decline a pre-emptive, albeit slightly misunderstood, love confession, you got an impressive amount of nerve.”
I winced. Whatever she saw on my face made her panic. “S-sorry, that came out wrong. I only meant that it’s rather brave of you to come forward with that despite everything that happened.”
A pause. Then, a soft, almost shy, smile as she brushed a bang over her ear.
“And… with courage like that, how could I possibly refuse?”
I found myself unable to stop smiling, heart soaring from the ashes and into my throat with confidence I didn’t know existed.
“However,” Twilight added, jabbing a hoof to my chest, “I’m not letting you off the hook quite yet. You still lied to me, and we’ll need a lot of time before I can learn to trust you again. Although I don’t see why we can’t ‘modify’ our confidence sessions to be something more… appropriate.”
I know she hadn’t meant it that way, but what went through my head right then was far from ‘appropriate’.
Twilight must’ve sensed something because she glared. “Something weird crossed your mind just now, didn’t it?”
I froze up. “What? No, nothing like that.”
“Flash,” she leaned a little closer, scrutinizing me like an inquisitor, “you better not be lying to me again.”
“I-I’m not lying! Nothing weird crossed my mind… thought provoking and perfectly healthy, sure, but not weird!”
“Uh huh,” Twilight deadpanned. “‘perfectly healthy’ like the magazines Spikes thinks he can hide from me?”
Fury roared with laughter. *I like this one! She’s sharp!*
My mind scrambled for something to speak in my defense without outright lying to her or explaining what actually went through my mind.
Thankfully another, unfamiliar voice cut in from the door.
“Hey Twilight, what in the world hap… pened?”
The dark maned mare burst into the room, and subsequently froze as she stared wide eyed at Twilight and I. Once my brain caught up, I realized it was none other than Starlight Glimmer, back from her mission in Saddle Arabia.
“...What the f—”