//------------------------------// // A Flash From The Past // Story: Canterlot Academy: Knights of the Dark Moon // by LordLycaon //------------------------------// A few days after Hearth’s Warming, the Academy had been left more or less empty of its students, save for the small hoofful who stuck around for learning’s sake. Very few shared Twilight’s love of learning and education, but that was something she could live with, especially since she at least had two of her friends sticking around. While Fluttershy remained mostly to help care for the animals in the Academy’s arboretum, she managed to spend her free time with Twilight and Flash. Flash Sentry, on the other hoof, had less free time. Twilight had unwittingly made sure of that. The young stallion squinted at the book Twilight had set in front of him, his dyslexia fighting him as he tried to make sense of the title on the cover. Despite the bold lettering, it was no simple task for him. As always, the words just seemed to hover around, spinning and morphing as if in a deliberate attempt to actively make him feel dumb. “‘A… An…’” He tilted his head slightly. “‘An… Idi… Idiot’s… Guide to—’ hey!” He glowered at Twilight, who couldn’t help but giggle. “Yeah, this is hysterical. Care to explain?” “‘An Idiot’s Guide to Language,’” the unicorn said. “It’s a part of the ‘Idiot’s Guidebook’ series, written by Silver Tongue, edited by Pencil Pusher. The title is purely meant to be humorous, Flash.” The pegasus blinked at her. “What?” “One of the ponies who worked on this thing was named ‘Pencil Pusher’? Seriously? That’s way too specific of a name. That’s like a store being called ‘Sofas and Quills’ because that’s all they sell.” Twilight rolled her eyes at the ridiculousness of her friend’s oddly specific analogy. “Scoff if you must, Flash Sentry, but Pencil Pusher has done a lot for modern writing and education in the language arts. She’s a pretty big name in the publishing business.” His ears leveled. “Her name is Pencil Pusher.” “Focus.” The mare place a hoof next to the book. “This was the simplest book on reading that I could find in the Academy library without going into the section for foals. In here, you’ll find simplified, easy-to-understand explanations on grammar, pronunciation, variations of words and phrases, and other things along those lines.” She opened the book to the table of contents. “The entire book is written in a way to help dyslexic ponies like you understand what’s written. I want you to go over everything you can tonight and take until classes start back up to write up a report for me on what you’ve learned from it.” Flash heaved out a mighty groan. “Can’t you just give me some flash cards instead and quiz me later?” She turned her nose up. “The best way to learn is to do it the hard way, Flash.” The orange pegasus heaved out a defeated groan as he opened to what he assumed was the beginning of the first chapter. As he stared at the first page, he had the distinct feeling that this was going to be a long day. -o- Two stallions stood in front of the prodigious Academy, one glaring at the grounds with spite, the other with mild interest. The one who was glaring, a large, burly pegasus, snorted at the sight before them. “You sure this is the place?” he asked his unicorn companion, who gave a quiet nod with a little smirk. The pegasus scowled. “I always hated schools like this. Buncha uptight pricks.” He shook his head, spitting to the side. “Whatever. Come on, let’s go find the kid and get outta here.” The unicorn nodded and followed his ally into the famed school, admittedly somewhat eager to step hoof into such a prestigious place. He might just get to engage in his personal favorite pastime, if he was lucky. Wouldn’t that be something? -o- Flash stumbled into his dorm room, staggering from the weight of the saddlebags on his back. How could Twilight be so cruel as to make him read all of these? It was supposed to be Hearth’s Warming break! He shouldn’t be studying so much when he was supposed to be relaxing. He plopped onto his bed, burying his face into his pillow, groaning to himself as he peered past his pillow to see that it was still too early to fall asleep. “Ugh, what can I do to pass the time?” He turned a harsh glare at his saddlebags and the books peaking out of the bags. “Without reading more,” he tiredly added. Books were gradually becoming the bane of his existence, and they already weren’t very kind to him before. With a grunt, he rolled over, turning away from the volumes and facing a wall. Maybe he could just go to sleep or something. ‘Yeah, that’s a plan,’ he thought to himself as he closed his eyes and tried to force himself to sleep. For several minutes, rest eluded him. Counting sheep didn’t seem to work as well as it did when he was a colt. He tossed and turned, trying to find a comfortable position to sleep, failing miserably. Eventually, he let out a groan of annoyance as he lay on his back, staring at the ceiling in boredom. There was a knock on his door. He immediately found it odd; he wasn’t expecting anyone. The knocking came again, sounding a bit more impatient. “Yeah, I’m coming,” he said as he hopped off of his bed. “Just keep your horseshoes on.” He opened the door, not really paying attention to who was visiting at first. “Can I help you?” “Been a while, Flash,” spoke a deep, gruff voice that the pegasus recognized all too well. Before him stood another pegasus, this one much larger than he was, with a dark brown coat, an unruly yellow mane, and a cutie mark of some minotaur thing. Brass knuckles, or something weird like that. Next to the burly pegasus stallion stood a dark red, orange-maned unicorn who was less built than his partner, but Flash knew better. This unicorn lived up to his knife cutie mark frighteningly well. The orange pegasus blinked as he recalled the names of these two ponies. “Brawn? Knives? What… what are you guys doing here?” The older pegasus, Brawn, smirked. “What? Two guys can’t visit their old pal?” He threw a hoof around Flash’s shoulder. “We just wanted to see ya, kid. How’ve ya been?” He grunted when Flash moved away from his grasp. “I don’t want any trouble, guys,” said the young stallion, shooting a quick look at the unicorn. “What makes ya think we wanna give ya trouble, huh?” Brawn nudged him slightly with a chummy grin. “Come on, kid. Whaddaya say we go down to that cafeteria and catch up? What’s the worst that could happen?” “The worst will happen now that you’ve said that,” Flash muttered under his breath. Brawn laughed while Knives gave a light chuckle. “Still a joker, eh, kid?” said the burly pegasus. “Come on, we’ll grab some grub, maybe hit the town for a bit, ya know, for old time’s sake, and then we’ll be outta your hair. No worries, right?” Knives nodded his agreement. Flash eyed the two for some time. Every instinct he had was telling him to say no and close the door in their faces. A small part of him agreed with Brawn, saying that nothing really bad could happen if they just shared a meal and talked a bit. A third part of him just wanted them to give up and leave, knowing full well that that second part of him was a blatant liar. Against Flash Number 3’s advice, he gave a sigh and nodded. “Fine. Just try not to draw any attention to yourselves, all right?” Brawn smirked. “Trust me, we’ll be no problem at all.” -o- The cafeteria was mostly empty, save for a few other souls who had remained on campus over the winter break. It didn’t have the constant uproar of conversation to it, and it seemed to Flash that it was too quiet for his liking. This only made it worse when his two old friends stormed in. Brawn wrapped a foreleg around his withers. “Ah, so this is where you high-and-mighty Academy sorts get your grub? What do they got for us to eat around here, kid?” Flash stepped away from the burly pegasus, frowning faintly at his attitude. “Depends on what they’re serving today.” He looked at the two pointedly. “You’ve got money to pay for it, right? You have to pay unless you’re a student.” “Really?” asked Brawn. Then he shrugged. “Sorry, kid. We don’t got any cash on us.” The young pegasus heaved out an exasperated sigh. “Of course you don’t,” he muttered, his voice barely audible. “Fine. It’s on me, then, I guess.” Brawn grinned. “Looks like the kid’s finally learned how to be considerate, eh, Knives?” The unicorn silently smirked and nodded, which sent a subtle chill down Flash’s spine. Knives was always the creepiest stallion he had ever known, and he held that position even today. He shook his head to clear the feeling away and led them towards the lunch line. The cafeteria pony showed a friendly smile as they approached. “Good afternoon, Flash. What can I get you today? Corn dogs? A hayburger? Ooh, would you like a bowl of our spicy bean chili?” The older mare remained loving to her job as always, Flash noticed. “Some chili, please,” he answered. He then motioned to Knives and Brawn. “They’re food’s on me.” The mare nodded and took Flash’s friends’ orders; Knives got himself the biggest hayburger they had to offer, while Brawn got a whole tray of corn dogs. The young pegasus resisted the urge to groan in irritation when the mare gave him the price for their food. Thirty-four bits gone, just like that. ‘This place is outrageously expensive sometimes,’ he thought glumly as he and the others made their way to a table, where Brawn began to gorge himself on his meal, while Knives ate more slowly and - somehow - more methodically. At the risk of being redundant, Flash reminded himself that that unicorn was the creepiest guy he knew, and this was just another example. Even the way the guy ate was unsettling. The three ate in relative silence, the only sound being Brawn’s noisy consumption of his corn dogs. Silently, Flash hoped that this would be over soon. He would much rather these two leave sooner than later. If anyone found out just who they were - especially someone he knew - it had potential to be a— “Hey, Flash.” —complete disaster. The orange pegasus cringed when the voice hit his ears, and he turned to the lavender mare who had greeted him. “Hey, Twilight,” he said halfheartedly as Knives and Brawn regarded the unicorn with slightly puzzled expressions. “What brings you here?” “Well, it is time for lunch,” she answered with a slight smirk. She motioned to the tray of salad that floated in her magical aura, which was accompanied by a single apple and rather large book whose title he couldn’t make out that hovered over it. “Do you mind if I sit? I’m not interrupting anything, am I?” She waved a hoof towards Flash’s present company, both of whom were looking her up and down, Brawn looking impressed and giving Flash a congratulatory smirk. With a sigh, the young stallion said, “No, you’re not interrupting anything at all. Take a seat.” She smiled faintly as she set her tray of food down and took her seat. She then turned her gaze to the two ponies across from her. “Hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle.” Brawn gave her a huge smile. “Name’s Brawn. I’m an old friend of Flash’s.” Her smile was a bit restrained before she looked at the other pony. “And you are?” “Knives,” the other stallion said. Flash couldn’t help but frown at the way Knives was regarding Twilight. He was looking at her as if he were a butcher appraising a slab of meat. For better or worse, she seemed to be completely unaware of Knives’ stare. “It’s nice to meet you both.” She slid her book closer and flipped the cover open before taking a bite of her salad. “So, what brings you two to the Academy?” “Yeah, what does bring you here?” Flash echoed as his gaze remained on Knives. Brawn bit off a large bite of corn dog. “Came to see how Flash was doing. We ain’t seen him since he left our old gang years ago,” he said, despite his mouthful of food. “Can ya believe the guy never once wrote a letter or visited us in years?” He shrugged grandly. “You think ya know a guy, huh?” “That does seem pretty rude, Flash,” Twilight admitted. Flash lightly groaned. “I’ve… been busy.” “For two years, kid?” Brawn asked with a laugh. “Come on, we’re still cool, right? Hell, I’d say we should go out on the town tonight. You know, for old time’s sake? We can even bring your marefriend along.” Knives slowly nodded his agreement, while Flash and Twilight blinked, their faces crimson. “She’s not my marefriend!” “I’m not his marefriend!” The pair blinked again and stared at each other when they processed the fact that they had spoken at the same time, to which Brawn let out a heavy laugh. They looked away from each other in embarrassment, their faces beet red as they waited for the older pegasus to stopped guffawing so he could speak again. After a few breaths, the burly stallion managed to stop himself, wiping a tear from his eye with a wing. “You kids could’ve fooled me. Flash used to be pretty popular with the ladies, you know. You should count yourself lucky, little filly.” “We’re just friends.” Twilight and Flash blushed furiously as they spoke in unison once again. “That’s what they all say, eh, Knives?” He elbowed the quiet unicorn with a grin. Knives smirked faintly as he glanced at Brawn. “Always.” Flash frowned but moved the conversation along. “So, you two are heading back to Manehattan now?” Brawn scoffed. “We just got here, kid!” He pushed his plate of devoured corn dogs aside. “There’s gotta be some fun to be had in Canterlot, and I bet you know where all the good places are.” “I just go to school here,” Flash explained. “The only reason I’m in Canterlot is because I’m in the Academy.” “I know a few places where we could go,” Twilight chimed in with a smile. Flash nearly choked on a bite of his own food when she spoke up. He stared at her with a warning look, but she didn’t seem to notice. Brawn grinned. “That so? What’ve ya got?” “Well, there’s Donut Joe’s, where you can get all kinds of great donuts and coffee. There’s also the Canterlot Museum of Art and History, some great bookstores around the city, a—” An orange hoof clamped over her mouth, Flash giving a slight, totally-not-awkward chuckle. “Could you guys excuse us for just a minute?” he asked in a tone that was somewhere between calm and anxious. The two stallions shrugged, and Flash almost literally dragged Twilight away, out of earshot of Brawn and Knives. He faced the mare, his hoof still over her mouth. He cringed at the all-too-familiar death glare she was giving him. “Look, Twilight, I need you to listen to me. I don’t want you anywhere near those two.” The unicorn moved Flash’s hoof away from her mouth, which was set in a firm scowl of disapproval. “What’s the problem? They seem nice enough. Why are you suddenly being so paranoid?” “Because I left those guys in the past for a reason,” the orange pegasus half-explained. “They’re bad news, okay? Brawn is trouble, and Knives is worse.” Twilight raised an eyebrow, skepticism painted on her features. “I find that very hard to believe. Sure, Brawn may not have the best table manners, and Knives makes Fluttershy seem overly talkative, but I doubt they can possibly be as bad as you’re saying.” “But—” She gave him a pointed look. “Flash, if they’re old friends of yours, then we could at least humor them and show them around the city. What could go wrong with that?” He mumbled a curse under his breath. Today was completely not going his way. He looked at Twilight, who was giving him an expectant stare, just waiting for him to argue with her. Knowing her, there was no way she was going to stop until he admitted defeat, even after he’d won. Eventually, he heaved out a sigh. “Fine. You win.” Twilight nodded and followed as Flash returned to their table, Brawn and Knives looked up as they approached. “So, you two done making out?” Brawn laughed as the two blushed rosily. Knives’ own grin grew a bit at their reaction. “Where did you guys wanna go?” Flash uttered through clenched teeth, wishing that the heat in his face would go away. Brawn rubbed at his chin thoughtfully. “How about that donut place you were talking about? I could go for a good donut or three.” Flash wanted to rip his mane out. “You… you just ate a plate full of corndogs!” Brawn seemed unfazed. “Yeah. I call it dessert!” This time, Knives actually gave a humored grin. Shaking away her embarrassment, Twilight looked to the larger pegasus.  “I can show you where Donut Joe’s is. It could be fun.” “Twilight, you don’t—” Flash started. “We’d like that,” Knives said, pushing his stool back and standing. “It’ll give us a chance to get to know each other better.” “Couldn’t have said it better myself,” Twilight said, pointedly ignoring Flash. “We can go now, if you want.” “Let’s,” Knives said, glancing at Flash for only a second. While the others turned away, Flash scowled. There was something in that look that Knives gave him that he hated, and remembering particular events from his past with these two, he had good reason to hate it. With a huff, he followed after them, keeping close to Twilight. -o- While spending time with Knives and Brawn was the last thing he wanted to do, Flash had to admit that the way Brawn wolfed down a baker’s dozen of donuts was rather impressive. The stallion always was a bottomless pit, he recalled. He would’ve been more impressed if he’d been paying more attention, though. He kept eyeing Knives, who would occasionally glance over at Twilight with that appraising look he gave to everypony. Twilight munched down on her own persimmon filled donut, unaware of both Flash’s nervousness and Knives’ stare. “Mm, Joe always makes the best donuts,” she said, cleaning the glaze from her muzzle. “You weren’t lying either,” Brawn said, thumping his barrel before belting out a deep burp. “Ah, hit the spot just right.” Slowly, trying to keep the disgust off his face, Flash flicked away the bit of donut that splatted against his face. “Yeah,” he mumbled. “Right in my face. Great.” If Brawn heard Flash’s comment, he didn’t show it. “So, little filly, where to next?” The lavender unicorn beamed. “Well, the museum I mentioned earlier is opening a new exhibit. Some archaeologists have found several lost artifacts crafted by Starswirl the Bearded himself! I’ve been dying to see it for myself!” Flash noticed a slight gleam in Knives’ eye at Twilight’s words. The young pegasus bit his lip in his anxiety, knowing far too well what that little tell meant. “Eh, museums were never really my thing,” said Brawn as he stood from his seat, stretching out his wings. “Let’s just take a walk around town, see what we find.” “Oh. Well, okay.” Twilight’s shoulders slumped a little, losing her initial excitement. “I guess there’s nothing wrong with that.” Their plans agreed upon, Flash (much to his further agitation) left some bits at their table as a tip, paid for their donuts, and headed out into the streets of Canterlot once again. Brawn had somehow taken the lead, his head turning whenever he saw something expensive or a pretty mare walking past him. Most ponies avoided them, most of them giving unnerved looks at Knives, whose lanky frame and ominous smirk would give Princess Celestia chills. ‘I’d bet even Faust up in Elysium is freaked out by him,’ Flash quipped silently, trying to calm the sense of unease perturbing his thoughts. Not an easy thing to do when the most nerve-racking pony in Equestria was just two feet to his left. Twilight gasped suddenly, stopping in her tracks in front of what looked like a bookstore. She was eyeing a poster with a wide grin on her face. “The new R.A. Stalliontor book is out!” She clapped her hooves with as much enthusiasm as Pinkie Pie after a good prank. “I have to go in and get it! Be right back!” And without another word, she darted into the store, leaving Flash alone with Brawn and Knives. A pregnant pause filled the air between the three. Flash glanced between his two old… associates. They were both scanning the crowd of ponies that walked by back and forth through the streets, like hungry predators stalking their prey. Dark glints could be seen in Knives’ eyes, while Brawn grinned whenever he saw a particularly shiny set of jewelry on some of the more wealthy-looking ponies. “This town is like a candy store,” the burly pegasus said with a laugh. “What I’d do for some of…” He trailed off. Flash gulped quietly as Brawn turned to face him. “Ya know what, kid? Whaddaya say you go out there and… get us something shiny. For old times, ya know?” Flash almost wanted to scream at him. “Sorry. I left that life behind me a long time ago, and both of you know it.” Brawn threw a foreleg around the younger pegasus’s shoulder. “Aw, don’t be that way, kid! We made good money on those runs. Come on, just once.” His expression became dark. “Unless, of course, you’d like that sweet little marefriend of yours to hear all about your colorful history with us. Or, maybe…” He glanced over at Knives, who wore an all-too-eager smile. Flash hesitated as Brawn’s words sank in. The last thing he wanted was for one of his friends to find out about his less-than-glittering past. He wanted even less for Knives to get his hooves on Twilight, or anypony, for that matter. With a desolate sigh, he nodded and said, “Fine. I’ll do it. But I won’t like it.” He muttered the last sentence too quietly for either of of his old acquaintances to hear. He stepped away from the older stallions and entered the crowd, looking around as he trotted past multiple ponies, all looking decently wealthy, or at least like they might’ve been carrying a fair number of bits on them. Canterlot was rife with riches just waiting to be nabbed, from jewelry, to money, even to some nice-looking articles of clothing, like high-quality scarves and hats. Eventually, Flash’s gaze settled on a pair of unicorns who appeared to be a well-to-do couple, both keeping their chins upward, looking exactly like the stereotype of snooty rich ponies. ‘I guess they’ll do.’ Keeping a casual trot, he approached the couple, who were busy talking about what they were going to spend their money on next. He kept an eye on the mare’s purse in particular before turning his eyes away, pretending to look around at the sights until… “Hey!” the mare said as she stumbled, knocked off balance when Flash bumped into her. “Watch where you’re going!” “S-sorry, ma’am,” Flash replied, backing away sheepishly. He quickly made his escape as the mare and the stallion Flash assumed to be her husband began complaining about the audacity of young ponies these days. Brawn and Knives gave him an expectant look when he finally returned. “Well?” asked Brawn. With the umpteenth sigh of the day, Flash unfolded his right wing, an obnoxiously expensive-looking coinpurse hanging by the string from his primaries. Brawn grinned as Knives took the purse, opening it to find a good number of bits inside. “You’ve still got it, don’t ya, kid?” “What does he still have?” Twilight asked as she exited the bookstore, having only caught the tail-end of everything. Flash shook his head. “It’s nothing, Twilight. Don’t worry about it. Let’s just head back to the Academy.” “Actually,” Brawn interjected, “Knives, here, was just telling me he’d like to get to know Twilight a little better.” Flash froze at that, glancing between the older stallions and Twilight, the latter of whom seemed oblivious to the implications. Thankfully, Twilight denied the offer. “Sorry, but Flash is right. We really should be getting back soon.” Brawn spread his forelegs out. “Oh, come on, doll. What’s life when you pay attention to the rules all the time, eh? Come on, let’s check a few places out first before calling it a day, huh?” Twilight’s eyes flattened at him. “Doll?” Flash winced. He knew that look meant, and he almost felt sorry for Brawn. “Did you just call me ‘doll?’” she asked, glaring up at the burly stallion. He raised an eyebrow curiously before shooting a look at Knives. “Yeah, is there something wrong with that?” Flash stepped away as steam seemed to rise off of Twilight’s coat. “Don’t ever call me doll again.” She tapped him firmly in the sternum. “Ever.” A humored grin crossed Brawn’s face. “All right, all right. I won’t call you doll no more. But come on, let’s enjoy the evening out. What’s playing a little hooky gonna hurt, right?” She stepped away from him but her glare didn’t lessen. “It means I’m going to have less time to study, and it’s already getting late as it is.” She turned on hoof and started walking for the Academy. “And here Flash was telling us how fun you are.” Brawn shrugged with some dramatics. “Guess he was lying to us.” She turned back, her eyebrow raised at him. “He said that?” “Sure did.” Brawn swatted the other pegasus on the back. “Didn’t ya, kid?” It took everything Flash had to keep from planting his face into the pavement. “I guess I did.” Again, Brawn shrugged. “But if you’d rather head back and put your muzzle in a book, that’s fine, but you’re gonna miss out. And here we thought you were fun.” Twilight looked between them for a moment. “I-I can be fun.” A slight sneer crossed Brawn’s face. “Then prove it, do—” Knives elbowed him and shook his head at Twilight’s seething glare. “—Twilight.” She turned her nose up. “Fine. I’ll show you how to have fun. Come on, Flash, I know just where to go.” Flash found himself being dragged behind her, and he glared at Brawn as he was carried away. Knives watched the exchange for a quiet second before following after them. Brawn laughed at them for a moment before looking down at his chest, where he noticed a fresh singe mark on his coat. “Now when did that happen?” He shrugged helplessly and flew after the others. -o- Brawn’s laughter rang through the arcade, causing many other ponies to look at him oddly. His laughter only seemed the insulting kick while Flash was down as he looked to the game over screen on the arcade booth. “Ha!” Brawn slapped him on the shoulder in his boundless mirth. “She really beat ya there, Flash. She beat you good!” There was no arguing it, and his expression was helpless as he stared at the screen. “She did… she really did...” Twilight brushed her mane out of her eyes smugly as the screen celebrated her flawless victory. “Told you, you shouldn’t have challenged me to a game of Ogres and Oubliettes. I’ve been playing it with my brother and his friends since it was just a quill and parchment game.” Flash scowled as Brawn erupted into another howl of laughter. “Why don’t you take her on? Are you scared?” His grin faded a bit, but his eyes still shown with humor. “After seeing how she mopped the floor with you six times in a row, I ain’t taking the chance.” Flash grumbled as he looked about the arcade. Many younger ponies and even a few other Academy students milled about the game booths as they wasted the evening away. Flash never knew Canterlot even had an arcade until Twilight dragged him here, let alone expect her to beat him so bad at a game. He never thought the bookworm would also be good at games as well. Twilight levitated another bit. “Care to try again, Flash?” Flash backed away with his hooves held up. “I’d prefer to keep what little dignity I have left, thank you very much.” Twilight chuckled and looked around the arcade for a curious moment. “Say, where did your friend go?” “Who?” Flash looked around as well. “Knives,” she clarified. Brawn shrugged. “Said he had to go to the little colts’ room. Guess he had too much to drink earlier.” While Twilight accepted that with a shrug, Flash frowned. He knew that Knives was not the sort of pony to just use a public restroom. Knives was surprisingly sophisticated for a stallion in his business. And he could hold his bladder for a ridiculously long time, waiting until he got home to relieve himself. Public restrooms were beneath him. “When did he go to the restroom?” Flash asked. Brawn shrugged, giving him an odd look. “What? You gonna go help him?” He again roared out in laughter, and Flash could only facehoof at the other pegasus. Leave it to Brawn to make anything into a dirty joke. “Whatever. I’m gonna go get some snacks.” “Get me some hay fries, please,” Twilight requested as Flash left, her eyes still on the arcade cabinet’s screen. The snack bar was fairly busy, with some adults just standing around while their foals ran around playing games. One stallion nodded to him and held up a glass of soda in a gesture of greeting, and Flash returned it with a nod of his own. The young pegasus placed an order for nachos and Twilight’s coveted hay fries, then took a seat on a stool to await the food. While he waited, he scanned the crowd, keeping an eye out for any sign of Knives. He should’ve kept a closer eye on him. Brawn was far more straightforward, which made it easier to guess what he would do. Knives, on the other hoof, was nothing like Brawn. That callous, cold, calculating stare he always wore meant trouble, and if he was walking around without someone to keep him in check, Celestia only knows what could happen. “Your snacks, sir,” said the lanky stallion at the counter who had taken Flash’s order. Flash took the food, but just as he about fork over the ten bits it cost him, a shrill scream pierced his ears, and a mare came running into the arcade. “Somepony’s been stabbed! We need help!” The response was instant, with ponies filing out of the arcade to see what had happened. It didn’t take long for Flash to figure out who the culprit was as a rust red unicorn trotted up to him, a disturbingly satisfied smile on his face. “You’re sick,” Flash said with all the venom he could spit out. Knives merely smirked in silence and began humming an eerie tune as Flash headed outside to survey the damage. Dozens of ponies had already gathered at the entrance to an alley next to the arcade. Flash pushed his way through the crowd where he saw a pony on the ground, clutching his bleeding side while his wife screamed at them to get help. Her mascara ran down her face as she cried over her husband. A few ponies tried to lend what help they could while a few more ran off calling for the guards. Flash recognized the victim as one of the noble ponies he had seen walking the streets before with his wife and colt. “Dad? Dad!” A young colt pushed his way through the crowd and his eyes widened in horror. “DAAAD!” The wife grabbed hold of her son and tried to have him look away from his bleeding father. “Mom! What happened to Dad? Who did this to him!?” Seeing both the wife and colt cry sent a seething rage through Flash. He wanted nothing more than to go back and give Knives a piece of his mind, as well as his hoof right in the unicorn’s eye. “Flash? What happened here?” Twilight asked as she caught up to him. The look on her face was one he wouldn’t forget. “Oh, no! Where are the guards?” “Some ponies went to go get them. They should be on their way,” he said, gritting his teeth. “Who did this?” She turned her look towards him. As much as he wanted to scream it out loud, he knew that it would only lead to further trouble—as well as uncomfortable questions he wasn’t ready to answer. “I don’t know. From what I can tell, nopony saw who did it.” She looked back at the wounded pony as the guards finally arrived on the scene, pushing ponies away from the wounded as medics turned to help the family. “This is so horrible…” “That’s not the half of it,” he growled. She looked at him oddly. “What did you say?” His ears flickered. “Nothing, Twilight. Come on, we should get back to the Academy. It’s not safe out here right now.” “What about your friends?” Flash scowled. “They’ll take care of themselves. Come on.” He lead her away from the scene and back down the road towards the Academy. The sooner he got her safely back to the Academy, the sooner he would be able to have words with Knives and Brawn in private. “Flash, what’s going on?” she asked him firmly as they walked. “What is it about your friends that you don’t like them anymore? They don’t seem like bad ponies, just…” She fumbled for a moment. “They just seem a little different from the ponies we know.” The pegasus gave a quiet sigh. “You have no idea how right you are.” Her brow furrowed at him. “What?” Flash refused to respond any further on the subject, focusing solely on the road to the Academy. Once they got back to campus, he’d be able to leave Twilight in relative safety. The last thing he wanted was for her to be anywhere near his old “friends,” especially now that Knives had proven he was still the same guy Flash had once known him to be. When the Academy was finally in sight, Flash bid Twilight farewell and watched her head to the mares’ dorm before hardening his expression. He had a couple of thugs to talk to before calling it a day. -o- Twilight’s horn glowed slightly as she focused on opening the door to the dormitory. At least, it would’ve been focused on the door if her mind hadn’t been fixed on Flash’s weird behavior. He’d been acting strange all day ever since Brawn and Knives showed up, and that worried her. Flash was usually a bit of a joker, and was typically the first one to wise crack, even before Wanderer sometimes. That pegasus rarely took things too seriously. She bit her lip as she struggled over what she should do. On the one hoof, it was very likely that this was one of those situations where the pony in question would prefer to handle the problem themselves. On the other hoof, Flash was her friend. The unicorn sighed in some sense of regret over not spending more time around other ponies when she was little. She’d probably have a far easier understanding of all this if she had. ‘A friend needs help. Go to him.’ She blinked and looked around, trying to find whoever had just spoken. Nopony else was around. She shook her head. She was just hearing things, probably. Returning her attention to the door, but again hesitated to open it. Twilight soon found herself thinking back to how Flash had been acting today. He was… he wasn’t himself. It almost seemed like he was hiding something, like he had some dire secret that he didn’t her to know about. Twilight Sparkle wasn’t a fan of secrets, especially when they were secrets kept from her. -o- It didn’t take long, for better or worse, to find them near an alley. Brawn was fuming, his normally brown face beet red with rage, while Knives remained perpetually cool and collected as he always did, even as Brawn viciously chewed him out. “Are you completely brain-dead!?” the burly stallion bellowed in his fury. “Stabbing a guy!? Really!? Do you have any idea how close I was to getting Flash back on our side!?” Knives offered a nonchalant shrug. “About as close as Canterlot is to being farmland.” “You idiot! Getting the old gang back together was the only reason we came to this snob pit in the first place!” He growled and threw his forelegs up in frustration. “I should’ve known better than to bring you. You always manage to screw things up!” He kicked a trashcan clear down the alley with one good kick. “All this time wasted playing nice with that colt.” “I’m not a colt,” Flash interjected as he approached the older stallions, who both blinked in surprise at him. “I should’ve closed the door on you guys the instant I realized it was you. All that nice talk, and it was just to try and get me back into your business.” Brawn grimaced briefly, but he soon managed to work a grin onto his face. “Oh, come on, kid, we had a good thing going back in the day. Would it really be so bad to get the old team back together again?” “Gee, I’m touched,” came the younger pegasus’s sardonic reply. “I’m not the least bit interested in what you guys have to say anymore. I left that life behind me a long time ago.” He glowered at them. “Besides, you guys left me holding all the proof the police needed to take me in. I was just lucky my uncle was there. Otherwise, I’d be in a very different place than the Academy right now.” “Hey, that was just instinct taking over, kid,” Brawn assured him. “We honestly thought you were right behind us.” “Well, I wasn’t. Nowadays, I see I should’ve been the one to leave you guys behind. And I should’ve done it sooner.” Flash jabbed a hoof into Brawn’s barrel. “I want you both out of Canterlot, now. I don’t ever want to see your faces around here again, got it?” Then, the two pegasi entered a staredown, with Knives on the sidelines looking between the two with mild interest. Even though Brawn easily towered over Flash, the younger stallion remained resolute, his determination unwavering. Knives was starting to wish he had some popcorn right about now. The tension was getting to be rather entertaining. Brawn displayed a vehement scowl towards the orange pegasus in front of him. “I can’t say I like your tone, kid.” There was moment of silence as no one said anything else. Then, Flash smirked. “I can’t say I like that haircut.” Flash was ready for him. The moment the larger pegasus made a grab for him, he beat his wings and got clear of the attack. “Come on, Brawn. I thought you were faster than that.” Brawn scowled up to the hovering pegasus. “Kid, I’ll give you one warning. Piss me off, and I’m gonna do worse to you than Knives did that snob in the street!” “Doubtful,” Knives uttered while still watching the two with faint amusement. “Shut your damn mouth, Knives!” he snapped at the unicorn before turning his glare at the pegasus. “If you wanna fight, kid, I’ll gladly remind you why you never beat me in a fight.” Flash remained resolute. “I said leave.” Brawn seethed before he suddenly calmed, his red face returning to its normal coloring. “Fine then, kid. We’ll leave.” Knives shot him an incredulous glance, but remained quiet. “But to show you we got no hard feelings…” he reached around and produced the stolen bit purse from earlier. “We’ll give you this back.” Flash’s head snapped back in surprise. “You didn’t spend it?” “‘Course not. We were saving it for something after the arcade, but that ain’t an issue now.” He shook the bit purse. “Spend it, keep it, or give it back to that family you stole from. I don’t care.” Flash looked at the other pegasus in shock. He never once believed that Brawn would do anything like that. Still, he had the purse, and he seemed honest about giving it back. He flew back down and reached out to grab the purse. “Thanks, Brawn.” “Don’t mention it, kid.” Flash didn’t recognize the growl in time to stop himself from being launched down the alley, the larger pegasus grabbing him by the foreleg and throwing him with brutal strength. Flash bounced with a pained grunt and skidded across the alley before settling against a wall in agony. “You’ve lost your touch, kid. Falling for that old song and dance.” Brawn chuckled evilly as he stalked the down pegasus. “And just like old times, I’m gonna beat the respect into you until you learn it for good!” Flash spit onto the ground. “How can I respect a guy who doesn’t even know how to work a shower? Seriously, the trash in this alley is like a field of flowers compared to you.” Brawn roared like a demon out of Tartarus itself, and brought a hoof down at the pegasus. “Hey!” Brawn’s hoof stopped just short of Flash’s muzzle. All eyes turned to a familiar purple unicorn, who wore a disgruntled frown on her features. Knives blinked as his interest was piqued at her sudden appearance. “Leave him alone, Brawn!” Twilight demanded with the most forceful tone she could muster, her horn already alight with power. The larger pegasus chuckled in dark humor. “Oh, this just keeps getting better and better.” Flash got back to his hooves. “Don’t you dare touch her!” Brawn grinned at the pegasus. “I won’t.” He nodded at Knives. “He will.” He grinned wickedly. “Have fun with the lady, Knives.” The grin that Knives gave sickened Flash to his very core. “Oh, I shall.” The red unicorn’s horn started to glow and a wickedly edged knife floated into view. “I’ve been waiting for this all day.” “No!” Flash rushed ahead at the unicorn, but was knocked aside by a swat from Brawn. “You and me ain’t done talking, kid.” Brawn said as Flash was quickly back on his hooves. “Once he’s done cutting up your marefriend, we might let you clean up the mess.” His grin turned even nastier. “Like we always have.” “She’s not my marefriend!” “I’m not his marefriend!” Flash and Twilight shared looks at their simultaneous outburst. “We really have to stop doing that.” Flash muttered. “You’re the one who’s doing it!” she shouted back as she faced the other unicorn, their horns alight in their fury. “Well, she ain’t gonna be much longer!” Brawn swung out at Flash, who was forced to dodge the blow at the last moment, the hoof chipping the stone wall it smashed into. Flash used the opening to kick at the other pegasus. He winced as he hoof connected, and he used his wings to get away from the retaliatory counter. Rubbing at his sore hoof, Flash was reminded how Brawn earned that name of his. -o- Twilight faced the grinning unicorn in front of her, and her eyes narrowing at him. “It was you, wasn’t it? You were the one who stabbed that pony at the arcade!” The other unicorn tutted her, his knife swaying in front of him like a snake preparing to strike. “He shouldn’t have looked at me the way he did. He’s just lucky I didn’t carve his eyes out. Had his wife not been so close by, I would have.” “Who are you really? What sort of pony just does that sort of thing!?” She spread her forelegs wider in a stance ready to charge. He followed suit. “The kind that gets enjoyment out of hearing others scream in agony.” He licked his pearly white teeth. “Let’s hear your screams, Miss Sparkle. I want Flash to remember them for the rest of his life.” “You’re sick!” Twilight blasted a ray from her horn to which the other unicorn side stepped, the blast sending an unoffending trashcan scattering across the alleyway. “Your aim is off, but mine isn’t!” he yelled and launched his knife at her. Twilight gasped in fear and ducked at the last second, though the knife still grazed her cheek, drawing a small trickle of blood. “Ah, first blood goes to me.” The blade returned to hovering in front of Knives. “Like it always does.” Twilight fumed and launched a barrage of bolts at the offending unicorn. Knives nimbly dodged many and swatted aside any that he couldn’t with his own magic. He then quickly closed the distance between the two of them and lunged at her with his blade leading. Again, she gasped and jumped aside, barely missing being skewered. Knives’ creepy laughter chased her as much as the unicorn himself did. -o- “What’s the matter, kid? Where’d that fire you were showing earlier go, huh?” Brawn taunted Flash as the latter panted from his exertion. He took in a gulp of air before responding. “It probably died from lack of air because of your stench!” “Mouthy brat!” The larger pegasus took to the air and chased after him. Flash saw the attack coming and dodged aside, shoulder rushing Brawn as he passed by. The blow knocked Brawn for a loop, but a few powerful wingbeats had him upright again. He swooped back down at Flash, but the smaller pegasus was the faster in the air. As the larger pegasus passed by, Flash wasted no time in driving an elbow into Brawn’s side, earning him a satisfying grunt of pain. Brawn flapped his wings to get himself away, holding his side painfully. “You’re gonna regret that!” “I’ve regretted a lot worse.” Flash rubbed at his shoulder. “And I’m not going to regret this at all.” Flash flapped his wings and took off like a shot at Brawn. The larger pegasus growled and took off to meet that challenge. Just as the two were about to collide, Flash feinted above Brawn and kicked straight down with all of his strength. The surprise attack caused Brawn to plummet downward until he bounced off a wall and back into the alley, landing in a dumpster with powerful crash. “Hey, look!” Flash said with a smirk as Brawn climbed out of the dumpster, a banana peel clinging to the side of his head. “You’ve found your way home!” Brawn shouted an expletive not to be repeated in decent company. “That tears it! I’m gonna make you wish you were fighting Knives!” “At least he’s classy.” Flash briefly thought on his statement. “Well, relatively speaking. Compared you, at least.” Seething with rage, Brawn charged back into the air, both forelegs aimed out and ready to pound Flash into the dirt. The younger stallion immediately took off in the same direction Brawn was coming from, diving past the burly pegasus, who instantly stopped and gave chase, his eyes brimming with unbridled fury. “I was always faster than you, Brawn!” Flash called up. “And you know what else?” Just before he hit the pavement, he swerved back upwards, while Brawn collided into the ground with enough force to crack the concrete. “I was always smarter than you.” Brawn’s only response was a muffled groan of pain as he slipped into unconsciousness. Flash smiled to himself until a scream caused him to whirl at the source. -o- Twilight couldn’t believe how fast Knives was. Every time she thought she had an opening to use her magic, he either dashed away or swatted her attack aside. Worse yet, she couldn’t completely keep him at bay; her magical barrier showed numerous rends and scratches on its surface, evidence of where his knife had struck. This was a legitimately bad situation she’d gotten herself into. Why didn’t she just try to call the nearest guard? This whole situation could’ve been solved just like that. But no, she just had to play hero! ‘Well, nothing for it, now.’ Her eyes darted all over the alley as her brain tried to piece together a plan of action while Knives continued hacking at her shield with frightening glee she’d only seen in horror movies. Maybe she could— She screamed as her barrier failed, the magical shards flying past her face. She fell backwards from the blow and found herself laying prone with the demented Knives holding his blade above her. “Time to scream, little lady! Scream nice and loud for me!” Twilight’s mind raced in desperation. She closed her eyes, her horn glowing as she reached for something, anything, she could use to defend herself with. “Whatever you’re planning, it’s not going to do you any—” Something hard and metallic slammed into the back of his head, and he staggered as the sound of metal hitting pavement was heard behind him. He looked back to see a trash can lid hitting the ground. Before he could fully process what was happening, there was a shock on his back, and he suddenly couldn’t move, no matter how hard he struggled. Twilight let out a sigh of relief that was interrupted by adrenaline-fueled panting. “Thank you, paralysis spell,” she muttered to herself as she caught her breath. She heard hooves touching down on the ground, and looked up to see Flash giving her a look that was somehow a mix between relief and frustration. “You all right?” With a nod, Twilight rose back up to all fours. “I’ll be fine. What about you?” Flash gave a shrug. “I’ve been through worse. I’ll live.” An awkward silence grew between them. Twilight rubbed her foreleg in her discomfort, while Flash settled for looking away briefly. “We need to talk,” they both said simultaneously. They instantly turned rose red in embarrassment. “We really need to stop doing that,” Flash said with a sigh. “You first.” Reluctantly, Twilight nodded. “I’m sorry about today. I should never have pushed you into spending time with those guys. They just seemed so nice at the time, and I couldn’t understand why you were being so hostile toward them.” She scowled at the twitching Knives. “I guess I see why now.” “It’s not your fault,” said Flash. “You didn’t know at the—” “Oh, get a room,” Knives said in disdain, earning him a glare from the two younger ponies. “I forgot paralysis spells don’t stop a pony from talking,” Twilight mused aloud, scowling at the paralyzed unicorn. “We should go get some guards and have them take these two in.” Flash nodded and volunteered to watch them while Twilight headed out to find the proper authorities. Nothing else happened, save for Knives grumbling about his fun being ruined until Twilight returned with a pair of guards following her. Once Brawn and Knives were cuffed and being taken by the guards, Flash and Twilight made their way back to the Academy. As they walked, Twilight glanced at Flash, who seemed deep in thought. He was still not quite himself yet. “What did you want to say?” He turned a quick look to her.“Huh?” She glowered at him and pointed a hoof at him. “Don’t try to play dumb. You wanted to say something, too. You’ve already heard what I had to say. What about you?” There was a flicker of reluctance in his eyes before Flash let out a breath of acceptance. “I… I just feel like you deserve to know the truth.” Twilight stared at him, which only made his tail swish in his nervousness. “When I was kid, I hung out with a lousy crowd. I was a part of the same gang as Brawn and Knives. And I was pickpocket. Nopony in our gang was faster than me, and my hooves were quick enough to get into ponies’ purses, pockets, or whatever else, get some money or valuables or whatever, and get out before anyone even knew what was happening.” She hadn’t expected that. Growing up in a rough crowd, maybe, but thievery? “What made you stop?” “We robbed a convenience store. The police got there before we could all get out. The others got away and left me for the cops.” He hung his head low, ashamed. Twilight blinked in surprise, it took her a moment to find her voice again. “What happened then? Something must’ve happened to get you out of trouble enough to avoid being sent somewhere.” “My uncle’s a cop. Or… he was. He retired when my parents died. Took a job as a day shift guard at a mall in downtown Manehattan so that he could have more time to take care of me without too much worry. He was pretty respected from his time on the force, so he managed to pull a few strings to keep me out of juvie. All that put a lot of things into perspective for me.”  He lifted his head again, staring straight ahead. She looked at him as he continued to speak. “I learned that that wasn’t the type of life I wanted. After all my uncle did for me and all the trouble I put him through, I realized that I was…” “Being a mule?” she supplied. He smirked wanly. “To put it nicely, yeah.” Twilight smiled back at him. “There’s the Flash Sentry I’ve come to know.” “Good to be back,” Flash joked. Then, a blush crawled onto his face. “So… I just thinking, and… would you like to go back to that arcade sometime? Just the two of us, you know, hanging out?” “Oh, uh…” A fierce blush crept on her face, and she hesitated briefly. “Well, I… I don’t see why not. Sure. I’d like that.” A warm smile crossed his face. “Great. So… Saturday, maybe?” Her smile wasn’t as wide, but no less warm. “Sure.” -o- The rocking of the cart carrying Brawn and Knives only pissed the former off more as it seemed to find every last hole and rut in the street. All he could think about was how his head was killing him and how much he wanted to kill the one who caused it to hurt so bad in the first place. Flash might’ve been a good pickpocket, but he was more trouble than he was worth. Knives’ constant mumbling didn’t make things any better, either. When the cart hit a particularly large bump in the road, Brawn finally had enough. “Are you idiots trying to make this ride worse than it already is!?” He was met with silence. What else could he expect? Oddly enough, the ride suddenly became a lot smoother. Weirdly smooth. Almost like— “We’ve stopped,” Knives pointed out. Brawn nodded. There were no windows in the cart, so he couldn’t look outside to see what was happening. Something was off. Suddenly, the door to the cart was enveloped in a red glow, and was pulled open. There stood a stunningly beautiful unicorn mare, whose mane, tail, and coat were all snow white, and her eyes a bright, bloody red. She wore a black cloak that bore a series of astral symbols, moons being most prominent. “Brawn and Knives?” she asked coolly, her crimson eyes boring into them like cold drills. “Who wants to know?” Brawn scowled. Knives settled for giving the mare his trademark appraiser’s stare. “Someone who is interested in hiring your services,” she answered, returning Knives’ look with one equally disturbing, if not more so. “Call me White Star. My master is interested in recruiting you both into our… organization.” Brawn gave her a skeptical glare. “And what do we get out of it? We don’t work for just any broad.” “I could leave you here until the guards wake up and take you to prison,” the mare said with a flat voice. “Or, you could come with me and be paid handsomely to do what you love. I promise it will be most… pleasurable.” “I’m sold,” Knives said with a tiny grin. “What do we have to lose?” The burly pegasus grumbled, stewing in his frustration as he looked between the two unicorns. Seeing his opinion was clearly outvoted, he sighed in defeat. “Fine. It’s not like we’ve got anything better waiting for us back in Manehattan.” White Star’s horn glowed crimson, and the chains on their hooves, Brawn’s wings, and the magic-dampening ring on Knives’ horn all fell apart, collapsing on the cart floor with metallic thuds. Her smile grew to a predatory leer. “Gentlecolts, welcome to the Knights of the Dark Moon.”