X Steps Through The Portal

by Tennis Match Fan

4. Flash Sentry

"So, dudes, I was just minding my own business, struggling to do my homework, and Rose Heart comes up and she's like 'Wanna help me with my homework?' and I wanted to slap her," Flash explained to his bandmates as they walked through the halls of Canterlot High. "I mean, I know she didn't know I was struggling with it."

"But it's the way she said it?" Brawly Beats guessed.

"Yeah." Flash nodded in confirmation. "I couldn't help it."

"Rose Heart makes everyone hate her," Ringo added, placing a hand on Flash's shoulder.

"Nah," Flash disagreed, playfully flicking Ringo's hand off. "I wouldn't say that. Cloudy Kicks likes her."

"Cloudy's a cute girl, and she's really nice, but she likes everyone," Brawly argued. "She doesn't count." The guys reached the door, and Brawly opened it for them.

"You know what I just realized?" Brawly continued as the door swung shut behind them. "We're gossiping like a bunch of girls."

"Don't even say that, Brawly!" Ringo adjusted his sunglasses. "Flash Drive is the manliest band at CHS." Flash gripped the strap of his guitar case.

"You're acting like girls are bad," he pointed out. Ringo elbowed him.

"We never said that. And besides, you're just smitten with that Twilight Sparkle from the pony world!"

"She's a pretty pony with magical powers!" Brawly said in a high-pitched tone. In his normal voice, added, "Her dog is weird. He spoke to me!" Flash's cheeks burned red with embarrassment.

"Don't insult Twilight or Sp-" As he was speaking, Flash had turned around to face them. Big mistake. His snaeaker slipped. Flash fell backwards. His guitar case escaped from his hands. The last thing he saw was Brawly and Ringo catching it. Flash was then engulfed in a swirl of colors.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeelp!" He yelled, hoping his bamdmates would hear him.

Maybe this is what being in a coma feels like, Flash thought as he screamed, after all, I DoD hit my head pretty badly on the statue. At least, I think I did. Flash felt the forces of gravity twist him and turn him every which way. His back pained him, and the only thing he could see was colors- colors everywhere! Flash closed his eyes and just hoped he was safe.

At some point, Flash realized the spinning and gravity and stuff had stopped. He still remained perfectly still, unsure of what to do. After what seemed like forever, Flash peeked an eye open.

Twilight? He thought, because the crystal around Flash reminded him of the lavender girl. Flash lifted his head. The whole room was made of crystal. That was when Flash looked at himself. His cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment. He was a pony- but he wasn't just a pony, he was naked (at least from Flash's perspective, he was)!

"Dang it, I need clothes!" Flash groaned, twisting his neck to get a better look at himself. There was a pair or orange wings on his back, and he had a navy blue tail, but other than that, Flash had nothing on.

"What if Twilight finds me like this?" Flash panicked, hastily standing up. "Or the guys come through the portal? Oh man, they'll never let me live it down!"

Flash looked at his reflection in a mirror. His lack of clothes made him feel really uncomfortable. The only thing that caught his eye was the mark on his butt. It was a shield with a lightning bolt over it, which reminded Flash of the logo on his currently absent shirt.

"I've got a butt mark," Flash deadpanned. "I better get going, then." Suddenly, an even worse thought struck him.

"What if, when I return, my clothes don't return?" He thought out loud. The mere thought cause a blush to form on his pony face. Flash accidentally backed into a wall. He turned around and gazed at his naked reflection.

"That's it, I'm going to find clothes!" Flash unfurled his wings; it was quite easy, like he was unclasping his fists.

"Would it be safer to walk or fly?" Flash mused, looking from his hooves to wings indecisively.

"Yeah, nobody will see me if I walk," Flash decided. He took a step forward. No easy task. He found it hard to find balance, and fell back onto his butt tattoo.

"It must be the wings," Flash murmured, rubbing his head. "They're keeping me off balance." He stood up and tried again, this time with his wings pressed tight against his back. It was easier, but Flash still fell down.

"I'm never going to get this!" He groaned. Flash looked to the stairs across the room. He suddenly remembered pillow surfing as a kid. He would put a pillow on the stairs and slide down on it. Flash smiled as he recalled the memory.

"Hey! Maybe I can slid across the floor," Flash suggested to himself. It would be mildly humiliating, but nobody was around to see him, was there?

Flash plopped down in the floor and used his front hooves to propel himself across the shiny floor. When he slid down the stiars, Flash giggled like a young boy. Man, he was so glad Brawly and Ringo weren't here to see this!

After a quart of an hour, however, Flash's ideas began to wear thin, almost literally. He was beginning to get sore on his behind, and Flash did not want to scoot around like a foal outside. So he was forced to pick himself up.

"Come on Flash!" he grunted, pulling one hoof in front of the other. "You just need a leaf! A leaf to cover your parts!" He was out the door now. The area around him was a deciduous forest, and it seemed to continue for miles in all directions Flash could see.

But Flash wasn't interested in the scenery; all he carried about was the vegetation that would serve as his clothes. Somewhere around halfway to the nearest tree, Flash figured out how to walk with balance. He continued over to the tree, now much more confident.

"That one looks pretty big." He observed a bright green leaf near the bottom of the tree. Flash stretched out his neck and grabbed the leaf with his teeth. Triumphantly, he returned to the ground.

"Yes!" He exclaimed happily.

That was when he heard it.

Flash looked towards the dusty road and saw many, many girl ponies walking towards the castle. The combined sound of their hoofsteps created a low rumbling.

"They'll see me!" Flash squeaked. Clutching his leaf, Flash trampled up and back into the castle. He scrambled up the stairs and back to the portal.

"I can't say I'll miss this place," Flash said softly before jumping through the portal. This time, he shut his eyes for the entire ride.

When the spinning stopped, Flash opened his eyes. He was surrounded by Brawly and Ringo.

"Dude, are you alright?" Brawly asked, offering him a hand.

"Why did you tie a leaf around your waist?" Ringo asked, stifling a laugh. Quick as a flash, Flash grabbed Ringo by his shirt and pulled him in close.

"You do not know what I had to go through back there," Flash told him, eyes wide. "So don't ask." Ringo and Brawly nodded in unison. Flash relaxed and let Ringo go.

"Let's go," he said, picking up his guitar case. Brawly and Ringo exchanged confused glances, but followed him anyway.

Author's Note:

Can we assume that the herd of mares Flash saw was coming for a book club?

Comments

[coolstorybrah]

I loved this!

[keaton-furman-prower]

...I can't help but feel that Pony Flash will go through the portal and be embarrassed about wearing clothes and decide to strip everything off

[MustacheMerlin]

5482173 Even better, he does that while human Twilight just happens to be walking by!

[honeyhoneyhoney]

...

[MythrilMoth]

You know...

When I saw this story and the premise? I was excited to read it.

Then I read four chapters of it. WIth each chapter, I hoped--prayed--that at some point, this story would live up to the unbridled potential of its premise.

But each chapter was just as disappointing as the one before it, full of just as much wasted potential.

What went wrong here? Almost every chapter is "X goes through portal, exactly one person/pony sees them, X goes back home." Very little variation, absolutely NOTHING to keep it interesting.

By the fourth chapter, I just...lost interest. I'm sad that this story held such promise with its premise, but has such dull, uninteresting execution.

Very disappointing.

[thebronythatlikesspike]

is this just to show what an idiot flash is?