A Little Visit

by Annabelle RTH

Chapter 8

Twilight’s POV

I walked past the halls and felt… really happy and excited to see Flash. There was a little skip but glide to my step. I could hardly feel the ground underneath my hooves. It was strange... but I liked it, it was a nice feeling.

I really hope this goes well with Flash. I know this isn't a real date, but he could ask me to a real one tonight afterwards… I hope that I don't make a fool of myself. What if I say no but actually mean yes again? Would he have the courage to ask me again if I accidentally said no? What if I can't say anything at all? What if he takes that as a no?

What if-oof!

I hit my head against the wall. I was supposed to turn left. I rubbed my head and looked towards the way that I was supposed to go. I shook my head and got up before continuing on my way. Okay Twilight, relax. It's not a date. It's a casual outing with a colt, a really cute colt… but an outing, not a date. It's just like back in Ponyville... we'll be out for a few hours and then go home. It'll be fun, nothing to it.

I took a few deep breathes to help calm my nerves while I made my way through the castle and then to the courtyard. I saw Flash with his backside to me. I smiled and said, "Flash."

He jumped and hid his face in his hooves. "I won't lay a hoof on her I swear." He crouched down shaking like a leaf.

"Flash, it's me… Twilight." I walked to him. He took his hoof away from one of his eyes to look at me and then came right back up to his hooves with a smile on his face.

"I'm so glad it's you, I thought I was in trouble for a second." I saw him take in deep breaths. Shining must’ve done a number on him.

I smiled at him but I looked at him worriedly. "I'm really sorry about what Shining did."

"He didn't hurt me Twilight, he just… scared me and-What was that?" He looked off into a direction away from me.

"Flash… it's probably nothing." I said trying to calm him down. I honestly never thought someone could fear my brother so much. My heart sank a little at the thought of it. He wouldn't be this paranoid if I didn't hug him when I saw him.

"I'm sorry Twilight." He looked sheepishly at me. "I just-" There was a rustling in a bush. He turned his attention to it for a few moments. A bird flew out of the bush. He sighed in relief but then he looked annoyed and angry. "I can't believe this. I really am sorry Twilight." He turned to me.

"You don't have to apologize Flash. It's not your fault."

"Funny, that's not what the captain said."

"Then the captain is wrong."

He looked at me curiously.

"Listen Flash, you don't have to be scared of Shining Armor."

"That's the thing Twilight. I don't have to be, I don't want to be. I just am. And I can't believe I let your brother get inside my head like that." Afterwards, he started mumbling things to himself and he paced around the courtyard inattentively before plopping himself down and covering his face with his hooves.

I walked up to him and sat down next to him. I'm not sure why, but I felt like I should.

"I'm really sorry about this. Some first night at the Crystal Empire huh?" He took away his hooves from his face but he didn't look at me. He looked up to the sky.

I did too. "It's beautiful though… and again, you have nothing to apologize for."

"Twilight. I can't go anywhere without thinking your brother is watching my every move." He sat up and looked at me. Then, he looked at the ground. "But you know, I can see where he's coming from."

"Right, you do have younger and older sisters."

He nodded. "Yup, I'd be lying if I said I never played the overprotective brother, even if I was the little brother… most of the time."

"Has Cardinal brought a colt home?" Cardinal is Flash's second youngest sister.

He sighed. "Yup." Again, he looked away from me.

"Flash… you didn't do anything rash did you?" For a few more moments he still didn't look at me, but I knew his eyes darted around a few times.

"I scared him, that's all. I did the same thing Shining Armor did to me. And believe me, I still feel awful about it." He finally turned to face me. "He was such a young colt and I made him afraid of his own shadow and for what? Neither one of them wanted to talk to me after that… all because I was just an idiot."

He looked down and contemplated his actions. I was surprised to hear this from Flash but at the same time I felt a bit of sympathy and understanding. I placed my hoof on his shoulder. "They did forgive you after sometime, didn't they?" I guessed because from what he has told me, he’s always had a good relationship with his sisters.
He looked at me and took a moment to answer. "Yeah, after weeks of silence and after I apologized to him."

"Was he all right after that?"

"Mostly…” he cleared his throat, “it kind of took him a while before I could come near him without him hiding or something." He sighed again. "I still can't believe I did that."

"You learned from it though, right?"

"Sure, but it really… got to me. My sisters and I hardly ever fight and when we do, it's like for two days. This was different. This was me trying to be a good brother and instead I made my own sisters hate me. I couldn't stand it. I couldn't do anything with them mad at me. I couldn't eat, my grades slipped and I couldn't sleep."

"I'm sure they didn't hate you Flash. They might have been angry and upset, but I don't think they could ever hate you, especially since you're so close."

He smiled slightly and closed his eyes for a moment. He looked at me and said, "Thanks Twilight." He got up on his four hooves. "So, shall we go my lady?" He bowed.

"Huh?" I blinked a few times.

He chuckled and held out his hoof to me. "There's no point in sulking when we could be out like we planned."

I smiled and took his hoof.

"Besides, I doubt the Captain will get off my back if I just cower."

"So, you're not scared anymore?"

He shook his head. "Nope, but…"

"But?" I cocked my head to the side.

"I still can't escape the feeling that we're being watched." He turned around and looked in different directions. I looked around too. There was nothing. "Mmm, maybe I am still a bit paranoid." He shook his head. "Anyway, um why don't we get going?"
I nodded and followed him out of the courtyard. We walked a bit before he said anything else.
"So, I didn't get to ask you, how was your trip here?"

I felt a blush reach my muzzle before I could say anything. I remembered how the girls talked about us… together… Flash and I…

"Twilight?"

I blinked and came back to my senses. I looked at Flash who was in front of me now. We had stopped walking and I said the first thing that came to my mind. "It was fine. Same old… train ride nothing-nothing to get worked up about. Heh."
I looked away from him and started walking forward again. I looked back with a weird smile and saw Flash looking at me confused.

"Um, okay… if you say so Twilight."

"So, come on, um lead the way." I found myself smiling so hard that my cheeks started to hurt.

He walked up to me, looked at me from my hooves to my head with his head tipped sideways. "Sure… follow me."

We walked for a little bit in silence. I tried to keep myself focused on where I was going but my head kept going back to the cute stallion walking next to me and even though it wasn't a real date it did feel like one. I started to blush thinking about it.

"So, tell me, what was Shining Armor like as a colt?"

I looked at him surprised.

"I mean it, I actually want to know."

"Well, I always thought of him as the best big brother any filly could have."

"Sounds familiar."

I nudged him.

We walked and I continued to talk about Shining and our times together when we were younger. He listened, smiled and shared his own stories.

"Oh, here we are."

It was a diner, but seemed a bit more… classy than the average one and it wasn't just the fact that it was made from crystal, but the outside had patio furniture and some ponies were already taking advantage of it.

"Would you prefer to be outside or inside?"

"Um… inside actually."

"You got it."

We continued to walk in and a mare walked up to us and said, "Aw, Flash you finally came around huh?" She was an older mare, not much older than my own mom.

I saw Flash smile. "Hiya Mildred."

"Come here you." She hugged him… or rather squeezed him.

"Easy Mildred, I still want to be able to fly tomorrow."

She giggled, smiled and let Flash go. "I wouldn't have to give you so tight of a squeeze if you'd come by more often."

Flash chuckled and caught sight of me just observing him and this mare. It was clear they knew each other and her name was Mildred. "Oh, um Mildred, this is Princess Twilight Sparkle," he cleared his throat, "Twilight, this is Mildred. She and her family own this place."

"Pleased to meet you," I said.

"Oh, no, the pleasure is all mine your Majesty." She bowed.

"Uh…"

Flash cleared his throat again. "Um, Mildred?"

"Hm? Oh, um will you be dining inside or outside?"

"Inside this time Mildred," Flash replied.

She nodded. "Follow me." She took a few menus on her way as we followed her deeper into the restaurant. We made to a booth and she said, "Your waiter will be right with you." Then, she left us alone.

"Well, she seems nice." I picked up a menu and started look through it.

Flash chuckled. "Yeah, just wish she'd spare my wings." He lifted them up and examined them. "She nearly crushes them sometimes." He gently poked at his wings before letting them down again and picking up his menu.

"At least you can control them." I placed my menu down.

"I thought you said it's gotten better." He did too.

"Sure, but when they do just fling up on their own… well the results just weren't in my favor."

"Did anypony get hurt?"

"Thank Celestia no, but you never know. Sometimes I wish I never got them in the first place."

"Aw, having wings isn't so bad, I ought to know. I was born with them."

"It's different for me though."

"True."

"Hello, sorry to interrupt, but are you ready to order or do you need more time?"

"Um…" I wasn't sure at the moment.

"Why don't you give us a few more minutes?"

"Sure."

"Thanks."

"No problem." The waiter dashed off.

Afterwards, it wasn't long for me to choose something familiar and the waiter came back. He took our orders and walked away.

"Have you tried to fly in the past few weeks?"

"Only once and it was an accident."

"What happened?"

"Oh, I accidentally transported myself to the top of the library and then I uh… well I fell."

"Were you hurt?" His hoof shot out and he touched mine. I blushed and looked at him. He just looked concerned. He didn't seem to notice he was touching my hoof.

"Well, no actually. My wings just sort of flew open again and I flapped a little. My landing wasn't so smooth but I was fine."

"Wait, what were you working on that made you transport to the roof?"

"Just that, practicing."

"I thought you already knew how to do that."

"I do, but I thought it would do me some good." Truth be told, I was a bit rusty with that spell. And there really were times when it could have come in handy.

The waiter came by and served us. For a while, we didn't say anything but that was okay. It didn't feel awkward, just calm… very still and comfortable. We were enjoying each other's company and that was the point wasn't it? We don't have to necessarily speak the entire time. It was nice.

"So how's Ruby?"

He coughed a little.

"Sorry." I was hoping for a calmer reaction.

"No, no it's okay." He wiped his mouth with his napkin. "She's um, well according to Mom she's slowly… letting it go…?"

"Is she eating at least?"

"Yup, a little but, it's still going to be a while before she's at least okay."

Ruby is Flash's youngest sister. She's very attached to her older siblings and so when Flash and his older sisters before him left home to be on their own or off at a camp, she didn't take to the change very well. From what Flash described, I can see a young filly with no energy, walking around with empty eyes. I shivered at the thought.

"When does your family normally know when she's back to normal?"

"Either when we come back home, or when she starts to play hide and seek again."

"Hide and seek?"

He nodded. "She loves hide and seek. I remember, every summer… she'd have the entire family play at least one game together." He laughed a little. "One time, I remember, Breeze-" He laughed again. "She got her head stuck in the hole of a tree where squirrels were living." We laughed. "It took us hours to get her out."

We laughed again. The rest of the dinner went by in the same fashion. We told stories and made each other laugh. I had never felt this comfortable with somepony before, let alone a colt who isn't my brother.

We left the restaurant soon after and I had that bouncy, very light feeling again as we stepped outside.

"So, how about a walk in the park and then we turn in?"

"Sounds perfect to me."

"You'll love it. It's so beautiful at night especially with a full moon." I glimpsed up towards the sky and noticed the moon and the stars. Luna did a good job tonight. I continued to follow Flash until we made it to a path that led into the park. I noticed a large pond and that the path stretched along the edge of the pond and then forked off into different directions. The pond mirrored Luna's sky perfectly and the water had a certain glow and bounce almost making it seem like the stars themselves were dancing. Even the grass and trees seemed to glisten. I stopped when we made it to the middle of the pond and stared at the moon's reflection. Flash stopped with me and stood next to me. Small bugs danced across the water and illuminated the pond even more.

"You were right, it is beautiful." I took a moment to look at the trees, bushes and grass again.

"Would you like to sit?" I looked at him. "There's a bench right there." He pointed his hooves to a bench behind us.

"Yes." I wanted to look out at the pond a little longer. It was very entrancing. We turned to walk towards the bench and I slipped and fell. I closed my eyes expecting to land in the water… but I didn't. Instead, I felt like somepony wrapped their hooves around me. I opened my eyes and saw that Flash was holding me. I looked up at him and blushed.

"You okay?" I saw his muzzle turn red too.

I smiled and nodded. Maybe Cadence was right. Maybe Flash actually does like me.

He set me down and we walked to the bench. We sat together and stared out at the scenery. Now, it felt kind of awkward. We couldn't stop taking glances at each other and then looking away. And for some reason I giggled every few times we glanced at each other. Then, I couldn't take the silence anymore. It was weird.

"I'm sorry about that Flash."

He struggled for a moment to smile. "Well, you're not soaked, that's gotta mean something."

I smiled a small smile. "I can be a bit clumsy sometimes."

"Everypony has their moment." He started to laugh a little.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing really, I just remembered I let Cardinal go to school in her pajamas… on a Sunday." I laughed a little but I couldn't for long, the poor mare must've been mortified and one little detail caught my attention.

"You let her?"

He cleared his throat and looked guilty. "Well, I…"

"Flash…"

"Well, she woke me up with her horn. And I think I was about to perform for a crowd of thousands before she woke me up."

"Crowd of thousands?"

He chuckled. "It was a good dream."

I gave a yawn. "Oh, sorry. I'm just so tired suddenly." I didn't feel sleepy at all until I yawned. I guess it has that kind of effect.

"Well, it's getting late. Best I get you back to the castle, besides, I think we both have a big day tomorrow."

"Oh, I can't wait to have fun with my brother again." We started to head back to the castle.

"I'm sure it'll be like old times. Well, you know, minus the whole princess and Captain of the Royal Guard thing."

"True, but we haven't changed much."

"I was just teasing Twilight. Anyway, you'll have a great day tomorrow. I'm sure of it."

We continued to talk the whole way to the castle and then to my room.

"Wait, so did your friend actually go head to head with a dragon?"

"Well, she didn't fight him." I was telling Flash about the time Fluttershy told a dragon to leave Ponyville. "She has this way with creatures that allows her to reason with them."

"Hm, I wonder if she could've done anything about my mom's chickens."

"Your mom had chickens?"

"Oh yeah, we lived outside of the city so we had chickens. Every morning it was the same thing. Just noise. During the school year, it was fine, but in the summer it just… wasn't good for me." He had a pained expression on his face.

"Hm. Oh." I noticed we had stopped at my door. We looked at each other and then at the floor. What's happening? All of a sudden, I was nervous again and I couldn't look Flash in the eye. I blushed again.

"Say, Twilight?"

"Yes Flash." I managed to look at him now.

"I was wondering if you'd like to come with me to the history museum before you leave?" I saw him glance behind him and his muzzle turned redder.

"Like a-like a-"

"Like a date," he spoke up, "with me." He looked away.

I smiled a little, feeling butterflies in my stomach, but I wasn't so nervous anymore. I was really happy. "I'd like that."

He smiled at me.

"I had a good time tonight Flash. Thank you."

"The pleasure's all mine, Princess." He bowed.

I giggled and opened the door to my room with my magic, turned on the light and stepped inside the doorway before turning back to Flash. "Good night Flash."

"Good night Twilight."

I took a step back and closed the door. I took a deep breath and heard a few squeals from behind me. I let my breath back out and turned around to find my friends and Cadence on pillows in a circle. All except for Pinkie Pie.

"Uh-"

"Oh, I'm right here." Pinkie popped out of nowhere. "Sorry I'm late, I forgot that we were going to surprise her but I just got so excited that I followed her and Flash and then I came back to tell you guys. I went to tell Rarity but she wasn't there, then I went to Fluttershy's room but she wasn't there, then I went to Applejack's room but she wasn't there, and then I went to Rainbow Dash's room but she wasn't there and then I went to-"

Rainbow Dash put her hoof and Pinkie's mouth. "We got it Pinkie."

"You followed Twilight and Flash on their date?" Rarity asked.

"It wasn't a date Rarity," I said plainly. "And you can take your hoof out of Pinkie's mouth now Rainbow."

She did and said, "Sorry Pinkie."

"That's okay Rainbow."

Heh, I guess Pinkie's the reason why Flash had that feeling we were being watched.

Cadence asked, "So, how did it go?"

I should've known they wouldn't wait until morning.

Author's Note:

Happy Easter everypony. I hope you all have a nice time in Spring.

Comments

[TorontoFCBrony]

A FlashLight story I haven't seen yet? Well, time to read again!

[SageBrony07]

Thanks for the update. I really enjoy this story. I can't wait for the next chapter.

[OmniFox]

I know how to get Twilight's wings erected.