//------------------------------// // Finding Him Part I Soarin's POV // Story: Left in the Darkness // by TheUndiscoveredPony //------------------------------// “I promise you,” Rainbow Dash says venomously and I flinch at her harsh tone but… I deserved it. In all my life, I never thought I would find the one I thought I would spend the rest of my life with and I was lucky, I found her. I messed it up though… My stupid tactics cost me the most important thing in my life, the one thing that seemed to keep me from going insane in this crazy town. But I am going to change that, I will find Flash Sentry, the pony I used to call best pony friend. Quickly after her response, I take off from the ground and start speeding towards Canterlot to start my search for Flash. The wind whips by, blocking my ears but I have tunnel vision and my soul focus was reaching Flash in time before he did anything stupid. Flash may have left Twilight but one thing I knew about my best pony friend for sure was that he loves and I mean LOVES Twilight Sparkle there was never any doubt about it. Why he left… Well, that was unknown to me. He has always had his secrets and I never did pry but now, it seems that whatever secret he’s kept has caught up to him. An hour later, Canterlot comes into view and my heart accelerates. Anticipation runs through my veins and adrenaline makes me fly faster. Soon enough, I’m weaving through the town and I land in front of the princess’ castle, the best place to start. A couple minutes later, I’m stopped by the royal guards. A white stallion adorned with gold armour steps forward and approaches me. “What is your business here?” He asks, looking at me. Recognition passes over his eyes when he figures out that I am part of the Wonderbolts. “I’m here looking for information. My… eh… friend is missing. I need to find him. He used to be a guard and I thought that maybe… You would know where he was? His name is Flash Sentry.” I say hesitantly, unsure of their future responses. Something flashes in their eyes and I think, maybe it was a bad idea to ask here.... A few seconds later, the stallion speaks up again. “He used to work here. We can’t help you. We don’t know where he is… Or what he is…” The guard says the last part under his breath but I catch it before he turns around and leaves. “Wait! Guard! What do you mean?” I shout out before he gets too far. Confusion and curiosity burning deep in my core. What does he mean? “We can’t help you. Now go home.” States the guard firmly, turning around and marching back to his post leaving me utterly in disbelief. “BUT I NEED TO KNOW! I NEED TO FIND HIM!” I yell out but it doesn’t reach their ears. I have to find a new way of finding him. Walking around Canterlot, I stop at a couple of shops to ask if they’ve seen an orange stallion with a blue mane but none of them have. Frustration is building inside and all I want do is scream. I can’t get Rainbow Dash back if I don’t do this… I had to protect her… Shaking my thoughts away, I sit down at a cafe and look around. Ponies are running across streets to get shopping, there are merchants selling their sweet smelling food, everything looks normal. Somewhere where it isn’t easy for someone with an orange coat to blend in with… A thought occurs to me, what if Flash Sentry never entered Canterlot? Maybe he is in the forest! Or in the mountains… The mountains are dangerous though, which mean ponies are least likely to venture. “The mountains!” I exclaim out loud which draws some unwanted eyes towards me. Slapping my hoof against my mouth, I smile sheepishly and run out of the cafe heading to square before taking off. Looking down from my position in the sky, Canterlot looks miniature. As if it is a model version of Canterlot. The wind picks up, making me lift my head and focus on my task at hand again, looking for Flash. I race off in direction of Foal Mountain and hoping that Flash Sentry is there. About 45 minutes later, the tall mountain peaks come into view and helps me increase my speed. Soon enough, I’m weaving through the mountains calling Flash’ name and stopping every now and then to look around. “FLASH! WHERE ARE YOU?” I yell at the top of my lungs. In response, I hear an echo but no other pony speaks. “FLASH! FLASH! ANSWER!!!” I shout in anger, “PLEASE! I NEED YOU TO ANSWER!” Frustration builds when I don’t get a response. I thought… I thought he was here… I really did… I’m never going to get Rainbow Dash back now. I lost the most important thing to me. “AHHHHHHHHHH!” A scream belts out from inside one of the mountains near by. Someone’s in trouble! “I’m coming!” I cry out hoping the pony hears me and I dart towards the sound. The sound leads me to a cave that I would have never found just flying by and as I land, I see a familiar orange coat and blue mane. “Flas-” My voice fades in the sound of his screams. Paralyzed in fear, I stand there just looking at him. He withers in pain and his eyes meet mine, pleading but all I hear is his agonizing screams and my pounding heart. I’m frozen, I can’t even move. My breathing rate increases and it becomes difficult to get air in and out of my body. A searing pain erupted from the back of my head and I fall to the ground, hitting it hard, as the darkness consumes me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ My eyes flicker moment a moment before a searing pain hits my head and causes me to close my eyes again. Groaning, my hoof rubs my head and I slowly open my eyes again, this time taking my time. Though, I freeze when I hear his voice. “Are you okay?” Flash Sentry asks from the other side of the cave we are currently in. “What happened?” I groan while trying to lift myself from the floor. I fail and fall to the ground but I keep trying till I’m standing unsteady on my hooves. The room spins and I lean against the wall to support my weight. “Well…?” I prompt him, my memory failing me. Everything was fuzzy, I only remember landing in the cave to find Flash and then… Blank. Flash stays silent, not even looking at me. I stomp my hoof and his head jerks up in response. Our eyes meet and everything comes back to me. The blood drains from my face in realization and I instinctively take a step back. “N-No. It’s not what it looked like!” Flash sputters. Crippling fear runs through my veins and I keep my distance. “Not what it looked like? You hit me over the head! You are-are a m-monster!” I spit out, taking another step back. This pony was not my best colt friend. He was a monster. “What happened to you? Were you always a monster? Were you even my best colt friend? Why did you leave? Why?” I fire question after question at, not stopping. I need answers and I am done waiting. “I can’t tell you! No! Of course, I was! And I can’t tell you! I can’t!” He yells to me, tears well up in his eyes and begin rolling down his cheeks like rivulets. It looks at it physically pains him not to tell me, it looks like he regrets everything. “Why can’t you tell me!?” I yell suddenly very frustrated. He left and he has no explanation? I need to bring him back. I need to. “I just can’t!” He shouts, “Why are you even here?” he continues exasperated. “I’m looking for my best colt friend! But he isn’t here.” I stare at him venomously, I know my words are harsh but if he couldn’t explain, then I would leave. Flash suddenly slouches and that’s when I see how much he hasn’t slept or eaten. He looks significantly smaller and thinner. I falter when I see him like this, my inner feelings fight with my mental reasoning. I should go but I can’t leave him like this… I want to know why… He was my best colt friend, I want to understand. So, I ignore my brain telling me to go and walk up to him and help him lie down closer to the entrance in the light. “Wh-What?” Flash blinks utterly confused. I look at him and harden my face, it’s time for answers. “I’m going to tell you why I’m here but you have to tell me what is wrong with you and explain why you left. You are going to tell me everything. Nothing less.” I state looking at him in his eyes. Flash nods and I see the honesty shinning through, it’s enough. As I sit down nearby, he waits for me to speak again. “I’m here because I was looking for you,” I start, “I have to be honest and say that I didn’t plan to look for you…” Hurt flashes through his eyes but I keep going, “I thought you had made your choice. I thought maybe you didn’t love Twilight anymore and you didn’t want to deal with it anymore. But you left without an explanation, leaving Twilight heartbroken and alone. Dash…” My voice cracks when I mention her, her hurt face appearing in my mind and leaving. “She was the only one who really stayed by Twilight but then… I-I di-did somet-something st-stupid…” I slip into a silence, tears building up and I blink them back. “What did you do, Soarin? What happened?” Flash asks, needing to know more. How can act so concerned? He’s not even my friend! “Don’t act like you care.” I growl at him. Flash shakes his head and looks to the ground. When he looks up again, he has a poker face and makes a motion for me to finish what I was saying. “I…Cheated on Rainbow Dash…” Flash didn’t change expression, “But I had a good reason!” I quickly add in but their is no justification to what I did… Or almost did… I sigh and shake my head, “Look it doesn’t matter but I made a promise to Rainbow Dash and I fully intend to do it. It’s the only way she’ll listen to me so that I can explain.” I finish and look away. The mountains look haunting and lonely from this view, I observe. There is no life and silence fills the space. It’s so empty… “What’s the promise?” Flash asks, even though I’m not looking at his face, I know he’s wearing a skeptical mask. “I promised to bring you back. To explain.” I state simply, there is no point in beating around the bush. After a pregnant pause, Flash answers in a grim voice. “You know I can’t do that, right?” “You have to. It’s my last chance.” I look back at him with a serious expression. It’s true, he is my last chance. “I can’t.” He repeats. Desperation and anger fills every crevice inside my body and I explode. I can’t hold it in anymore. “What do mean you can’t?!? Do you NOT care that you are ruining my only chance to salvage my relationship?!?” Standing up, I glare at him but he simply doesn’t take my bait. “You ruined your own relationship. That’s your fault.” A burst of anger throws all my logic away. “WELL, I’M SORRY I CAN’T BE PERFECT! I MADE A MISTAKE BUT AT LEAST I’M TRYING TO FIX IT! BUT YOU WON’T HELP ME!” I howl at him. HE DOESN’T UNDERSTAND! “I CAN’T! I’M GOING TO HURT YOU IN THE END AND THERE IS NOTHING I CAN DO TO PREVENT IT! IT IS GOING TO TAKE OVER AND I’M GOING TO BE POWERLESS TO STOP HIM! THAT’S WHY I LEFT! I DIDN’T WANT TO HURT THE ONES I LOVE THE MOST! ESPECIALLY TWILIGHT!” He cries while bursting into tears, I stop short when I register what he said. “What did you say?” I ask, my heart pounding. Flash Sentry’s eyes widen when he realizes what he said, he visibly gulps. “I can’t tell you…” He says turning away. “You said you couldn’t protect us from IT and that you didn’t want to hurt us.” Confusion weaving through my brain, “Hurt us…? Protect us from IT…? Being useless…? Flash, you have to tell me what’s going on and I don’t give a bucking for your excuses.” I glare at him. “I CAN’T-I CAN-” I interrupt him before he can finish. “YES, YOU CAN AND YOU WILL! Now sit down and explain.” I bark at him. I’m done, he is going to explain. Flash sighs and looks away, he wears a defeated expression and finally he nods. “I don’t know where to begin…” He mumbles, struggling to look up at me. “Start from when all this began.” His head looks up and I catch his eyes, showing him how serious I was about getting an explanation out of him. Flash takes a deep breath and starts his story. “It all started a couple of months ago…” To Be Continued...