//------------------------------// // Intermission: Hail Cadance // Story: Bluebelle of the Ball, The Musical // by mr lovecolt //------------------------------// The lights were off in Canterlot Castle. Nopony was in sight. Suddenly, from the top of the staircase, there was a scuffling of hooves. A few moments later, Flash Sentry emerged from behind a stone column, covered in a violet aura. “Why do I have to be the one to do this?” Flash Sentry asked. Flash Sentry’s hooves scraped against the marble floor as another figure emerged from behind the column. “Because we need to make sure that everypony knows that we haven’t forgotten about them.” Prince Dusk Shine replied as he set Flash Sentry in the middle of the grand staircase. “But why me?” He pleaded. “Why?” He replied. “Because you’re Flash Sentry, that’s why! You’re the most beloved background character of the show!” “But I hate being alone when I sing!” Prince Dusk Shine simply turned and walked away back behind the column. A single light appeared from the ceiling and centered on Flash Sentry. He felt his heart race, but he couldn’t move. He looked down and saw that the aura from Prince Dusk Shine’s magic was still around his hooves. From the side, he heard the sound of flutes and violins begin to play. Flash Sentry took a gulp. Ave Cadenza Gratia amor Cadenza, gratia amor Cadenza, gratia amor Shining, Shining Armor permanet coram te hic, crystallum et arcu tuo mannis ad corde tuo ut nostri amor coniunctos aversatur, Sombra Ave Cadenza Flash Sentry had hoped the music would stop. He prayed that it would stop. But it didn’t. The spotlight burned into his fur and he tried to regain control of his breathing. Why me, he thought, I’ve always been nice to everypony. Why do I always end up being the plot end of jokes like this? The bridge ended, and Flash Sentry knew that it was time for him to continue. He closed his eyes and took another breath. Ave Cadenza Mater amor adiuva nos mannis crystalli tum se mutuo ipsos, Adiuva nos mannis ipsos et se mutuo Nunc et in reliquum tempus Et in reliquum tempus Et in reliquum tempus Et in reliquum tempus Ave Cadenza Flash Sentry opened his eyes. He hated this feeling. He hated feeling like the center of attention. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see the beginning of the Hall of History from the hall where he and Prince Dusk Shine had been hiding. In the distance was the stained glass window of how the Crystal Empire was saved. At the center of it was the Crystal Heart. Help us ponies love ourselves and one another, he thought as he felt the magic on his hooves loosen. He rushed off of the staircase and back to the hallway, where Prince Dusk Shine was waiting. “There now, that wasn’t so bad now, was it?” Flash Sentry looked over to the stained glass window in the distance and smiled. “It’s about overcoming your darkest fears, I suppose.” Prince Dusk Shine smiled. “It is.”