//------------------------------//
// Hilarity Ensues 
// Story: Equestria Girls: Secrets Beyond the Stars 
// by GoldenGoomba900 
//------------------------------//

Lemon picked up the phone as it began ringing, Indigo coming over.
"Girls, I need to ask something really important." Twilight's voice began.
"Who is it?" Indigo whispered.
"It's Twilight."
"Don't let her know we lost Flash, no matter what!"

"Hey, Twilight!" Lemon said. "I was just spending some time with Flash! You know, that pretty boy we all like and would never do anything to ever, ever bring him harm! He sure is a nice guy, bringing me lemonade and striking up conversations! He's getting along really well with the kids!"
"I-"
"Yes, we sure do enjoy spending time with our good friend Flash. We have had all sorts of conversations about all the great things we've done and actually did do them. If anything ever happened to him you'd be the first to know, yep." Indigo gave Lemon a thumbs up from a distance.
"H-how much did you... what did you talk about?" Twilight asked, worried.
"Uh," Lemon looked around her house, trying to spot something to bluff. She caught sight of her father's polo trophy. "Horses. We talked about horses and ponies and stuff."
"Do you think they told him about-?" Sunset asked, worried.
"Inapan already knows that stuff and I don't think these girls know that much about it to worry."

"Yep, he's in the other room, with the little crusader kids, talking about horses and stuff. " Sweetie Belle began crying again, the two girls panicking as Indigo ran in to try and comfort them.
"What was that?" Twilight asked, worried.
"It was uh, Sweetie Belle was watching that Old Yellow movie, y-you know, with the dog? I told her not to, but you know kids!"
"Is Flash still there?"
"O-of course, why wouldn't he be?"
"Put him on the phone, we need to talk."
"Well, he's kinda-"

"NOW!" Twilight shouted, Lemon fumbling the phone at the sudden boost in volume. Indigo looked up to see her and returned.

"What's wrong?"
"She wants to talk to Flash! And she won't take no for an answer!"
"Well what am I supposed to do?"
"Impersonate him! I'm not good at voices, and you're the most mannish of us anyways!"
"I- give me that." Indigo took the phone, coughing and clearing her throat to get in pitch.

"...Flash?"
"Yes, Twilight?"
"You're not Flash."
"Wha-"
"We know your secret, "Flash"."
"Let's just hold on here, I don't think you rea-"
"We realize plenty, we know that you have made a MASSIVE mistake, and we have sent our friends over to handle it!"
"Whoa, whoa, Tw-tw-twinkle. I think we ju-ju-just need to calm down here!" She adopted the stutter, thinking quickly.

"We know you're not Flash." Twilight continued. "We know you have something hidden from us, and we know that we are not happy about being used like this!"
"I know what you're saying, b-but it is me! I-I'm your friend, come on! Y-y-you can trust me!" Indigo's Flash impression just seemed to improve the more she used it.
"What did you do with the real Flash?! Where is he?! What are you doing to the Crusaders?!"
"I AM Flash! I'm right here, nothing's wrong, kids just cry all the time!" Indigo said as Lemon looked out the window, gasping.

"It's Twilight's friends!" The rocker said, panicking. "They'll know Flash went missing!" What do we do?!"
"I don't know! I-"
"Where is Flash!?" Sunset shouted over the phone.
"WE DON'T KNOW!" Indigo shouted, hanging up and turning her attention to the girls who were there.

Twilight and Sunset Shimmer, meanwhile, looked at one-another, confused.
"Did Flash turn into-?" Sunset asked.
"I think we're missing something." Twilight redialed, slightly worried.

Indigo ignored the phone as they watched Rarity, Applejack, and Rainbow approach.
"Oh no, what do we do, what do we do?" Lemon asked.
"Stall them, I have an idea!" Indigo shoved Lemon outside.
"Indigo no-" She looked to the girls standing in front of her, impatiently. "-body told me you girls were coming!"

"Well here we are. We need to talk to the crusaders." Applejack tried stepping past, but Lemon backed up to block the door.
"NO! No, let's all stay out here. I mean, I've wanted to know more about you guys since we've met?"
"Didn't you literally ignore us until we began asking your friends for help?" Rarity asked, trying to maneuver behind her.
"No! No, I've been trying to get your guys numbers all the time!" Lemon blocked her.
"Listen, we need to talk to Flash and the crusaders, they're in danger!" This made Lemon's hair stand on end. She needed to do something!

Before she could blurt anything out, a voice came from behind her: "Hey g-g-girls!"
Lemon turned and frowned, seeing Indigo in a poorly made Flash disguise. "No, no, you know what? I'm stopping this right there." She said, taking off Indigo's wig and using it to wipe off her spray-tan.
"B-b-but it's-"
"Scrap Plan A, this is stupid." Lemon cut in. "We'll just tell them." The other girls watched as Indigo was revealed, confused. Lemon turned to them. "I'm taking a page from Sugarcoat's book here but we lost Flash."

"So he's not here?" Rarity asked.
"Not that we can tell." Indigo admitted.
"And the Crusaders?" Rainbow pried, "where are they?"
"Inside, in the living room, spending their last few days crying." Lemon stepped aside to let them in.
"And how long has Flash been missing?" Applejack asked.
"I think he ran off sometime last night."

The three girls looked at one-another, breathing a sigh of relief.
"Oh thank goodness!" Rarity declared. "I was worried that we'd be too late. We need to get the girls to safety, it's a long story but they're not safe here anymore."
"But then neither are we?" Indigo asked, annoyed. "Where are Lemon and her parents supposed to go?"
"I can bunk with you, can't I?" Lemon asked. "It'll be great, we can throw a huge block party and put on a huge mosh pit and scream as loud as we want!"
"Why didn't you do that at your own house?" Indigo asked.
"There's too much stuff to steal, and I already own it all, so I can't steal from myself." As Indigo and Lemon discussed kleptomania, the other girls entered the mansion to look for their sisters.

"Girls!" Rarity shouted, entering the room. The three little girls looked to the source, and all began smiling brightly, even as they continued crying.
"Oh thank goodness! I thought we weren't gonna see you or our families again!" Apple Bloom said, holding her sister tight.
"Is it over, did you beat her? Can we go home now?" Sweetie asked. The elder girls released the hug, backing up and looking at one-another, worriedly.

"Well, about that." Rainbow began, "we need to get you somewhere safe. There's a bit of a-"
"Problem?" Inapan's voice came from behind the three.