//------------------------------// // ~VI~ // Story: Twilight's Sentry // by GemstoneTheUnicorn //------------------------------// Flash Sentry woke abruptly, realizing he was not sleeping in his own bed. Or his room, for that matter. It took a moment for Flash to remember the events of the previous day. He recalled taking out some bandits and spending a few minutes in Rainbow Falls with his new fillyfriend. Eventually, he remembered spending the night at Twilight’s. Flash could not, however, remember sleeping with her. Twilight Sparkle was gently snoring atop of Flash. He tried to get up without waking her, failing miserably. “Five more minutes, Mom…” Twilight mumbled, then realized where she was. Blushing, she exclaimed, “Oh, Celestia! Flash, I’m so sorry! I forgot to tell you that I sleepwalk....” Twilight’s face looked like an overripe tomato as she crawled off of his back. “Um, okay,” Flash said a bit surprised. “Hey, I was just going to make breakfast. Would you like to come help me?” he asked, changing the subject. Silence. Twilight had fallen asleep again. Chuckling softly to himself, Flash got up and tip-hooved across the library, to the kitchen. He walked through the kitchen, coming to a halt when he reached the refrigerator. Opening it quietly, Flash discovered milk, cheese, lettuce, and… “Ah hah!” ...Hay bacon. He inspected the package and found that this was Bear’s Head Hay Bacon. “The best kind!” Flash’s mouth watered. After searching a few cabinets, Flash found a skillet. He set in on the stove and started cooking the hay bacon. Letting the food warm up, Flash searched the pantry until he found AppleJacks and EarthQuake’s Oats. “I should really consider moving in. Twi’s choice in….” Hold on, Flash. You’re getting ahead of yourself. Again searching the cabinets, Flash found a pot and began cooking the EarthQuake’s Oats. After a few minutes, Flash checked the hay bacon. It was burning. He swiftly jerked up the skillet, launching the hay bacon in the air, and flapped his wing once. All the strips flipped uniformly and landed perfectly placed in the pan, as if by magic. “That was pretty impressive, Flash.” “Spike, buddy! When did you get down here?” “I came down when I heard Twilight say ‘sleepwalk.’” A faint, rosy color appeared briefly on Flash’s muzzle. “Um...yeah. That was...something.” “Don’t worry, you’re not the first pony Twilight’s slept with,” the young, innocent dragon stated. “Huh…? You know what? Nevermind, I don’t want to know,” Flash said, thoroughly confused. He went to check the hay bacon. “Spike, would you get some bowls and the milk out?” “Sure thing, Flash,” Spike responded with a salute. Flash gulped. ********** “Mmmm…. This is really good. Did you make it, Spike?” Twilight complimented. “No, actually Flash made breakfast, Twilight.” “This is amazing, Flash. You even burned the hay bacon a bit, just the way I like it!” “I’m glad you like it, Twi. Would you--” “Twi?” she asked. “What, you don’t like it? I’m sor--” Flash began. ‘No, I like it, I’ve just never heard it before. It’s cute. I really like it, Flash,” Twilight confirmed. “Anyway, would you believe me if I said I burned the hay bacon on purpose?” Flash asked. “Probably not.” They chuckled. ********** “Ready?” “Ready! Ish!” “Remember: if you fall, I’ll catch you!” Flash shouted up to Twilight. Twilight was standing on a high cloud a few hundred feet above the ground, where Flash was. Her wings spread wide, Twilight jumped. She glided down easily and peacefully. Actually, no. Twilight plummeted. “Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!” “Don’t worry, Twi, I gotcha!” Flash shouted as he zoomed to catch her. He grabbed Twilight and gently deposited her on the cloud. “Um, yeah. Let’s wait a while before--your wings! Have you been preening, Twilight?” “Preening? I thought that only pegasus ponies did that,” Twilight said, confused. “All creatures with feathered wings have to preen, Twi,” Flash added, worried. “Are you saying that you’ve been an alicorn for three months and you haven’t learned about preening?!” “No….” “Well, it’s a good time to start,” Flash suggested. “Here, I’ll show you.” Flash turned to look at his left wing. He gently tugged on feathers individually. “The trick is to be soft. Gently, very gently, pull on each of the feathers. If it’s a bad one, it will come loose. The good feathers stay put unless you’re not careful.” “Ow!” Twilight exclaimed. “I said, ‘careful,’ Twilight.” “Ugh! This is impossible! Will you help me, Flash?” Twilight pleaded. “While I’m no specialist on alicorn wings, I think that’s a bad one,” Flash stated as he pointed his hoof at a feather facing the wrong direction. “Thanks. But I mean help me preen. Please?” Twilight gave Flash the biggest puppy eyes ever. Flash sighed. “Fine, but only because you’re just so dang cute.” He walked closer to Twilight. “I’m only going to do one wing, so watch carefully.” Flash started to gently grab Twilight’s feathers with his muzzle, pulling out loose ones and leaving good ones. He did this about ten minutes, until there was a small-boulder’s-size pile of leaves on the ground. “Your turn, Twi.” “Okay.” Twilight tried repeating Flash’s actions, but at a much slower pace. After twenty-five minutes of feather pulling and the occasional “ow,” Twilight finally finished preening her wings. “See, that wasn’t so bad, now was it?” Flash asked. “I guess not,” Twilight admitted. “So, how do your wings feel?” “Oh, they feel amazing, Flash! Healthy, light, strong even,” she replied. “Good, good. I would recommend a break after that intense preening session. Wouldn’t you, Twi?” Flash suggested. “Oh, definitely, Flash. In fact, I think it’s worthy of an ice cream break,” Twilight added. “Of course it is.” ********** After a twenty minute ice cream break, Flash and Twilight returned to the cloud to finish Twilight’s flight lesson. “...And…jump!” Flash instructed. Twilight leapt gracefully from the cloud, Flash following suit. “I-I’m doing it, Flash! I’m doing it!” Twilight exclaimed gleefully. “You’re a natural, Twi!” Flash shouted above the wind. “You just need to take better care of your wings, and you’ll be a pro flyer in no time!” He sped down to glide at the same level as Twilight. “I think you’re right.” The ponies soared in silence until they reached the ground. Flash landed on the soil, Twilight directly following. Slowly trotting through Ponyville, the couple reached Twilight’s home. Flash grabbed his saddlebag, and headed for the door. “You can stay a bit longer if you’d like, Flash. I’m planning to reshelve the books,” Twilight offered. “That actually sounds pretty tempting,” Flash admitted. “But I really should get going. Thunderlane’s gonna give me a beat-down when I get back.” “Bye, then. And good luck.” She pecked Flash on the cheek. He flew off as Twilight closed the door.