• Published 2nd Jul 2013
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A Guard and a Princess - TorontoFCBrony



The now-completed comedic romantic adventure of Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle.

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Chapter 16: A Human's Story, Part 2

Flash stood there, leaning on his arm on the window sill as he looked at all of the people passing by. It was the Friday afternoon of his first week on campus, as classes started the following Monday. His first week was nothing short of a disaster. He expected to go to parties, meet new friends, and simply enjoy his time. Instead, Flash found himself to be the victim of multiple pranks, he hadn't met anybody that he knew previously, other than Pinkie Pie, made any new friends, or was even invited to any parties yet. Something about him was off, especially because he was one of the most charming and popular guys in his high school.

After letting out a soft sigh as he watched the wind blow in the trees and the other students walking by, Flash thought about the things that he did have; things that made him happy. Back when he first started high school, he was popular, got good grades, and was dating the perfect girl, or so he thought. Sunset Shimmer was quiet, caring, and smart. She was the perfect loyal companion for him. However, he couldn't help but think of what came soon after. After Sunset won her first Princess of the Fall Formal crown, she then changed, and it almost seemed as if it happened overnight. She became more prideful, which was something that Flash never expected from her. She also became abnormally ambitious and could only talk about herself. It was a far cry from the normal Sunset Shimmer, whose only problem was that she thought too little of herself at times.

Flash remembered the last time he enjoyed being with Sunset, which was many, many months before he finally had enough- the day when he finally had the courage to break up with her. On that final day, the two of them, still young and full of life, spoke about the future. They talked about the potential of graduating together, going to university together, and even though they were young, the possibility of getting married in the future- things that never ended up happening. After his final conversation with Sunset, the day before he left for university when she had one final go at asking for him back, Flash hoped never to see her again. He had no knowledge, nor any want to know, of what Sunset was now going to do with her life. But, quite frankly, he couldn't care less. The only thing he could care about at this time was thinking of what could have been if things had just stayed the same. But, alas, things change, and people change, despite how many times we hope they won't.

And then there was Twilight Sparkle, the cross-dimension traveling pony-thing with a talking dog. Flash couldn't help but think of her. They only spent a few hours together, but there was something different about her. It was almost a love at first sight, at least for him. He didn't know much about her, except for the fact that she wasn't actually a human, but he longed to find out more. All he needed was time, but that time never came. After only an hour or so, she was gone from his life, and gone forever. Now, all he wanted to do was just stand there and think of what was and what could have been.

As Flash Sentry watched the leaves dance in the wind as they fell from the trees, he also pondered over what was to come for him. He had unlimited potential in certain subjects, but chose to focus on his musical career, which was what he enjoyed the most. He often daydreamed as a child of being on stage in front of arenas, stadiums, or even open fields of crowds reaching up to six-digits. He dreamed of the screams coming from the thousands of girls whose panties would drop at the announcement of his name over the speakers. He sometimes laughed about the daydreams he used to have. They seemed quite silly to him now. The potential of being a music teacher or working in a recording studio was far more realistic than being an idol for millions, but it definitely wasn't as glamorous.

Something, however, caught the eye of Flash Sentry as he leaned against his windowsill. It even caused him to open his normally squinty eyes a little more and lift up his head. He heard the barking of a dog down below, and something about it seemed familiar. He looked from side to side through his window to see if it was coming from the large area in front of him. After the barking, there seemed to be quite a commotion. He saw other students laughing, and some yelling and pointing as well. Then, the barking got louder, until it eventually stopped and was accompanied with the sound of young men yelling. Then, right in front of his eyes, a small purple dog with green ears ran by with a Frisbee in his mouth. His tail wagged as he ran along the path just outside Flash's window. Just seconds later, about five or six male students came running, chasing the dog with the disc in his mouth.

Flash squinted his eyes again, trying to get a closer look at the running dog. Squinting did nothing to help. It was more of a psychological thing than anything else. However, the dog, who seemed to be having the time of his life running away from the guys who obviously were enjoying themselves before he came along, stopped to look back at his pursuers. Coincidentally, when the dog turned around, Flash was able to get a good look at the happy canine with his tail wagging joyfully.

"Spike?" Flash asked as he leaned his head back a little. He never got a good look again, though, as the dog then took off again and was followed by a group of angry students, trying to get back their flying disc. After Flash wiped his eyes, the dog and the crowd that were chasing him were gone.

Flash Sentry felt a grumble in his stomach. It was about six, and Flash had nothing to eat on this day except for cereal and ramen noodles. He had some money in his wallet, though, left over from what his parents gave him to start off. A good treat to end the week seemed like a good thing to have. Remembering the commercial area diagonally across from the university, Flash figured that going to the restaurant he saw, which he didn't catch the name of, would be a good place to go. The only thing Flash remembered about it was that they had band night on every Friday, but that was good enough for him.

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As Flash walked along the path leaving the campus, his hands in his jacket pockets, looking down and crunching every leaf underneath his feet, he ignored the world around him. It was as if nobody else existed. He just didn't care. Especially after he had been looking forward to being at the University of Canterlot for such a long time. There was just nobody special for him to share this point of his life with, except for his parents, of course,. But they weren't there to experience it with him. He felt alone. There was no Twilight by his side, and no Sunset on the horizon.

With only his mind accompanying him, Flash made his way to the local restaurant for band night. He forgot the name of the restaurant specifically. He only remembered the look of it. He continued to look at the signs. He was able to see the Fu King Chinese Restaurant, the Toss My Salad Bar and Grill, Frying Nemo's Fish and Chips, Sofa King Furniture Store, and The Wok and Roll, but none of those were the restaurants he was looking for.

"Ah, here it is," Flash said as he walked along the parking lot, approaching where he recalled it was. He could see it up ahead. The restaurant was quiet the last time he saw it, but he could already see that it was buzzing. As he approached further, he read the sign out loud, "The Hugh Jazz Pub." He then mumbled to himself, "I should have been able to remember that..."

There were people outside smoking, loud radio music playing on the inside, and there was overall a positive energy coming from the pub. It was a place that he wanted to be, and it put a smile on his face already.

As Flash walked in, he could just smell the barbecue. He took a deep breath in through the nose and was filled with the pure joy that was the smell of murdered animals frying on the grill. It brought a feeling of ecstasy to him.

His smile grew bigger as he saw a server coming up to him. She was a blond, wearing the tightest of clothing and a miniskirt that was high even compared to the girls he went to school with.

"Are you here for Band Night?" she asked Flash with a menu in her hand.

"Um, yes!" Flash responded happily while trying to remain eye contact.

"All right then, it's in the basement," she said while putting the menu back down and smiling.

"Thanks," Flash responded with a grin in return. He passed by the main part of the pub, which had multiple rows of tables and chairs on the left and a bar on the right. He passed by the doors to the kitchen and the bathroom, and went down the stairs to the basement. He could already feel the excitement building inside him, which was a much better feeling than how he felt most of the week so far.

He finally opened the door to the basement, revealing a room that could have about two hundred people standing in it, and a stage at the front with an electric piano, electric, acoustic and bass guitars, and a drum set. The parquet floors and dark wood panel walls were a nice touch in the room, which was lighted by wall lights set a few feet apart. There were already some young people standing at the very front, but Flash was able to get a spot just to the left side of the stage near the piano.

After waiting, and waiting, and waiting, watching the room slowly fill up all the way to the back, Flash reached up and fist-pumped as the first band took to the stage. The sounds of over a hundred screaming girls filled the room, as well as an extremely loud feminine scream coming from a roughly four-hundred pound balding man.

The band had a bassist, a pianist, and a drummer, as well as the lead singer who would play lead guitar as well. He stood up to the microphone after putting his guitar over his shoulder. Flash envied the guitar that the band's lead member had- a flame-patterned Fender Stratocastor.

"Hello Canterlot," the singer said into the microphone with a British accent, which was greeted by even more screams. "We're 'Oh No It's Them,' and we're so happy to be back in Canterlot. It's a wonderful city and we've got a bunch of good songs to play for you tonight. We've come a long way from London-"

"Woo! London!" came a manly shout from a few rows of people back.

"Thank you!" the singer yelled out in response while pointing out to the crowd. "It's an honour starting off the show tonight, and we'll try to give you one hell of a performance."

The drummer tapped his drumsticks together four times, and the first show started with the pianist playing chords. The singer's lyrics were sung along by quite a few members of the crowd, though quite poorly, but it indicated that the band did have some popularity. They played the rest of their half-hour performance energetically and passionately with the typical sound of a British alternative rock band, and it was overall a fun experience for Flash Sentry, who even bounced around with his arms in the air during some parts.

"Thank you, Canterlot!" the singer yelled at the end of their seven-song set list. They took a bow in front of the crowd, who cheered and clapped in response.

After they left, the crew came on and changed all of the instruments, exchanging them with the next band's equipment. Flash felt envious once again as the lead guitar was a beautiful red Gibson Les Paul guitar. A blue bass guitar was placed, and a new drum set was also laid. After another wait, the second band finally came out, to more shouts and screams from the crowd. There were only three members this time, however.

The lead singer, who was also the lead guitarist as well, came up to the mic. "Hey everyone," he said in a New York accent. "We're 'The Virgin Punchers' and we're here to blow your bloody minds!" The excitement coming from the crowd was a lot louder upon hearing that. "Without wasting any more time, one, two, three, four!"

The crowd erupted as the band played in their very hard rock style. Flash nearly went deaf from the sound coming from the speakers that were close to him, but he really didn't care much. He looked around as the room quickly became more and more energetic as the performance went on. During the final song, everybody in the room started jumping up and down, and Flash joined in the fun. He could feel the floor shake behind him.

"Screw America!" the lead singer said with a fist in the air after finishing the final song, which was accompanied with a roar. "We'll be drinkin' upstairs throughout the night if you wanna join us," he said as they also bowed and left the stage.

Two shows in, one more to go. The night was now much later on, so the crew quickly changed the instruments, coming out with an acoustic guitar, a bass guitar, drums, and an electric keyboard. The next act quickly came on, waving to the crowd. Three guys took to the bass guitar, drums, and piano, while a young lady took to the acoustic guitar and the microphone, which caused a roar from all of the males in the audience. The brunette singer stood up and smiled to the crowd as she leaned in close to the microphone with her hands on it.

"Good evening, Canterlot. We're 'Pony Princesses', and we're the final act on the night. We're happy to be back in our home town." The sound of that made the entire room erupt. However, as everybody was focusing and cheering the fact the band was from their own town, Flash couldn't help but think of somebody, or rather somepony in particular- Twilight Sparkle. He quickly gave his head a shake to try and get her out of his mind and just focus on the performance, which seemed to work at first during the first few songs, but occasionally he would look over at the drum set and see the name of the band, reminding him of the true pony princess that he loved.

The performance went on, sounding like a typical soft rock band with a female singer, nothing too special, but Flash's mind was unable to move on. He just couldn't forget about the mare. She dominated his mind, and everything seemed to remind him of her- the band's instruments, the t-shirts on the members and on fans in the crowd, and the fact that she was standing and jumping up and down right behind him.

"Twilight?" Flash yelled out loud as he faced the girl behind him. The hair, the purple complexion, the overall cuteness- it just had to be her.

"Uh, yeah?" she screamed out loud as the performance went on. "Can I help you?" she asked in a loud and weirded out voice.

"It's me, Flash," the young man screamed out.

"Dude, shut the hell up!" sounded a man from beside him.

"Oh, sorry," he responded. He turned to Twilight behind him, "I'll talk to you after the performance," he said to her. She didn't seem too excited to hear that, and quickly focused her attention back on the performance, which went on for another two songs.

After all the noise had finally quieted down, and the room started to empty out, Flash, with his ears ringing, could see that Twilight Sparkle was just behind him. "Twilight, it's me, Flash Sentry, remember?" he asked her as she looked at him with confusion.

"Uh, no, I don't think so," she replied.

That answer felt like a punch in the gut to the young man. "Twilight, you have to remember me. We danced at the Fall Formal, remember? What're you even doing here?"

"Uh, I live here," she responded. "And Fall Formal? Never heard of it. I don't even know who you are. I've never seen you in my life."

'Okay,' Flash thought to himself. 'She responded to Twilight, she looks like Twilight, she's here in Canterlot... How could she not be my Twilight?' "I... just... this doesn't make any sense. You won the Princess of the Fall Formal crown at Canterlot High School, did you not?" he asked.

"Canterlot High? Uh, no. I never went there. I went to the Canterlot Academy for the Gifted."

"Oh, I guess I confused you for somebody else," Flash responded, hoping that she would forget the fact that he knew her name.

"Yeah, maybe," she replied. "Maybe you've just seen my name around campus or something. I just started at the University of Canterlot. I'm majoring in chemistry. You go there too?"

"Yeah I do, actually," Flash responded, which was accompanied with a smile and a nod from the girl in front of him. "Yeah, maybe that was it." Flash thought for a second, and then continued by inquiring, "Hey, are you the one with the dog that stole the Frisbee today?"

Twilight had a look of embarrassment on her face. "Um, yeah, that was my dog-"

"Spike," they both side in unison.

"Uh, how did you know that?"

Flash could feel his entire body tighten. "I, uh, um, lucky guess? It's a pretty common name for dogs."

"Okay... yeah, I you're right with that one," Twilight responded, and seemed to have nothing else to say.

"Sorry if this has been awkward for you," Flash responded. "It has been even more so for me."

"It's fine," she replied. "It's happened before. Some pink girl hugged me today and called me 'princess'. I didn't know who she was, but she seemed to want to be my friend, which is kind of nice because I don't make friends very easily."

Flash knew that that girl must have been Pinkie Pie, but he just couldn't say anything about it. He didn't want to weird her out any more than he probably already did. He also didn't want to create any more questions in her mind, especially because there were just far too many questions in his own mind already.

Instead, Flash just let out a chuckle. "Yeah, that is weird. Well, sorry about the mix-up again. I guess I'll see you around campus then?"

"Yeah, I'll see you around," Twilight responded with a smile as she turned to leave.

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Flash let out a sigh after he wiped his mouth after putting down his pint of beer at the bar of the pub soon after. He became drinking age over the summer that he had, and having a cold beer seemed like a good way to calm his nerves, which were bothered by the fact that he met a girl that he loved, and she didn't seem to have ever known him. Questions raced in his mind, along with scenarios. Was this the Twilight he knew? Did she have some kind of amnesia, forgetting who he was? But she never attended any school, so was she a different person altogether? But she also had a dog named Spike.

So many things went through his mind.

"Girl trouble?"

"Huh?" Flash responded to the guy sitting beside him, who was a man in a flat cap that seemed to be about his age.

"You don't look too happy. It must be about a girl," the man beside him said while looking into his own drink.

"Uh, yeah," Flash responded while turning on the bar stool towards the other guy. "A girl I know just basically told me that she has no idea who I am."

The man beside Flash turned to him and gave a consoling look. "Yikes. I've been in that situation before," he said while stroking his very short beard with his hand. "I have girl problems constantly. I'm starting to think that I'll be alone forever."

"Oh come on, dude," Flash responded. "You're not bad looking and you seem to be about my age. You still have lots of time to find somebody special."

"I appreciate that, but I'm not very optimistic considering the situations I've been in," the man responded. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Flash Sentry."

"Flash Sentry? That's cool, man. You go to U of C too?"

"Yes, I do actually. Just started."

"Nice. Me too. The name's John," the man replied while sticking out his hand to shake Flash's.

"John? That's a weird name. It's so foreign to me," Flash responded while shaking John's had. "You from another country?"

"No, I'm from here," John responded. "My parents are rich so they just named me something weird. Rich parents seem to do that a lot."

"Yeah, I've noticed that," Flash responded.

Flash and John conversed about sports, economics, and politics. They seemed to have similar interests and opinions on certain topics, and every disagreement they had was minor and they would laugh about it. Flash let out a yawn and looked at his watch. Upon seeing that it was two in the morning, he wiped his eyes, and said, "I really like talking with you, dude, but I really have to go back and get some sleep."

"That's cool," John responded. "I'll leave in a little bit myself. I'll see you around?"

"Of course," Flash responded while giving a fist bump to his new acquaintance.

Flash Sentry stumbled home, tired from the long day and long week he had. Even with the minor emotional setback with seeing Twilight Sparkle again and having her not know him, this day was much better than the other days he had earlier in his first week on campus. He was able to get home safely, falling on his bed like a sack of potatoes, falling asleep nearly instantly, even with all of his clothes still on.