Shellstrings

by shortskirtsandexplosions

Don't Talk Back

Crystal Imperial Camp

Sergeant Garnet trotted briskly to a neighboring tent. With a flick of his hoof, he opened a tent flap wide open for the other two stallions marching behind him.

Captain Shining Armor was the first to enter. Flash Sentry followed swiftly behind.

Immediately, Shining Armor caught an eye-full of yak hair and torchlight. The Yakyakistani ambassador loomed in the center of the room. He and several Yakyakistani guards in thick armor stood in a rigid circle around Damn Thickerhoof and the rest of the militants—still cast in irons. Princess Cadance lingered off to the side, and upon seeing the arrival of her husband—she brightened noticeably.

"Shining Armor!" she exclaimed.

"Ambassador..." Shining Armor gulped. He stepped straight past Cadance and bowed low. "On behalf of the Equestrian Interim Government here in the Crystal Empire, I wish to apologize most sincerely for the violent, mindless actions of my subordinate—"

"Where is he?!" The ambassador frowned, his beady eyes flaring from beneath his matted hair. "Where is the winged pony who dared attack my nomadic yak brethren?!"

"He's... uhm..." Shining Armor side-stepped. "He's right here, your eminence."

Flash Sentry quietly shuffled forward.

"You!" The ambassador pointed. "You're the stallion I've been wanting to see!" Jaw clenched, the yak marched straight towards Flash and raised his hoof.

Garnet and Shining both flinched. The Captain's horn glowed as he contemplated erecting a magical shield in front of Flash—

Th-Thap! The ambassador patted Flash's shoulder. Hard. "Hah hah hah hah!" He brandished a smile full of dirty teeth. "Well done, brave pony! You single hoofedly took out twelve hardened warriors! A most maginicent display of yak-sackery!"

Flash Sentry said nothing. He merely blinked.

"I... uh..." Captain Shining Armor gulped, glancing at Garnet, then at the ambassador again. "I-I don't understand..."

"Beloved." Princess Cadance quietly shuffled over to his side, stretching a wing out. "Thank you for joining us on such short notice." Clearing her voice, she stepped in close and spoke in the direction of the yaks. "Our loyal ambassador from Yakyakistan was just informing me about how he intends to praise the Crystal Empire in his next address to the Yak senate—right after he escorts these militants to the northern prison."

"Intends..." Shining Armor blinked across the tent. "...to praise?"

"Most definitely!" The ambassador boomed, still grinning. "We had no idea that the puny pony populace possessed so much courage, tenacity, and guile! This changes everything! With strong neighbors such as ponies, the yaks will remain strong and healthy in the frozen north!"

"I... I don't understand..." Shining Armor stammered.

"Hah! What's not to understand?!" Damn Thickerhoof hollered. Everypony in the room spun to see his grinning, bruised face. "The strongest yaks in the world were all bested by a single pony! And a most magnificent siege it was!" He spat on the ground, smiling bloodily. "Not since the Battle of Blue Hydra Taint have I seen such fearless bravado!"

"He claimed many of our teeth!" shouted another yak.

"I got a yak concussion!"

"Haah! You think that's something?! My yak leg is still broken!"

"Not as broken as mine!"

"Rrrrrrgh!"

"Silence!" the ambassador growled at the prisoners. He pointed at Flash Sentry. "Can't you see that you're in the presence of your better?! Let him have the yak boasting of yak defeat!"

"You..." Shining Armor blinked. "...you enjoy being defeated?"

"My dear puny pony prince..." The ambassador's eyes swept his way. "We yaks respect all strength and fortitude. Never before have we seen it displayed so prominently by prissy princess horses!" His hairy nostrils flared. "But that all changes today! The Crystal Empire has shown all yaks that they've earned their foundations in the snow! Let this be a name forever remembered in yak poetry! We have new brothers and sisters!"

"But..." The Captain grimaced. "...all this talk of war..."

"Pffft!" Damn Thickerhoof rolled his blackened eyes. "Such strong warrior ponies! Would be a waste to crush them!"

"Much more fun and honor to be had in waging a war alongside powerful puny ponies!" The ambassador thundered. "Hah hah hah!" He slapped Flash Sentry's shoulder again. "A dozen medals for this horse, I say! One for every thick-headed yak he clobbered!" His smile left in a brief hiss. "Would be most direspectful if he was not rewarded for such yak sacketry..."

"Ahem..." Princess Cadance stifled a smirk. "I assure you, your eminence, we shall deal with the Sergeant in as honorable a fashion as Equestrian society permits." Her eyes glanced aside to her husband.

Shining Armor gulped. "Yes... yes, of c-course..." He smiled crookedly. "After all... wh-who are we to shame the pride and joy of both Equestria and Yakyakistan?"

"Good to know that we are all on the same yak page!" The ambassador stood up tall, chin tilted back. "I go now to deliver messages of mirth to my yak brothers and yakette sisters." A meaty salute. "Strength and hairiness!" He marched off, whistling aside to his guards.

The armored yaks clattered their spears. On command, the twelve prisoners stood up and limped out in a solid train, escorted by Yakyakistan's finest.

"Best wishes and blood to you, puny horses!" Damn Thickerhoof managed to wheeze as he bowed through a tent flap. "We shall sing song of today's battle in the Yakitentiary!"

The rest of the militants grunted, growled, and cheered in agreement.

Soon, the muscle and the hair and the smell was all gone. Only the ponies remained.

Sergeant Garnet glanced silently between those standing around him.

Shining Armor stared at Cadance. Shuddering, he turned to look at Flash.

Flash Sentry stared back, deadpan.

"Mrmmffff..." Shining Armor stumbled off, rubbing his head. "I think I need a drink."

Princess Cadance lifted her hoof to say something... lingered... and eventually sputtered: "Make that double." She hobbled off after her husband.

---

Crystal Empire – Military District – Army Barracks

Orange hooves removed the last armored plate, hanging it inside a thick locker. The fetlocks shook from where they outstretched. Flash Sentry bit his lip. Breathing slowly, he drew his hooves back towards themselves... and held the limbs together in a effort to steady them. His eyelids fluttered shut as he stood quietly in place.

"Sergeant Flash!"

A pair of blue eyes opened. Flash looked over his shoulder.

One of several crystal pony guards trotted through the barracks, pausing to salute. "Well met."

"A fine job, Sergeant," another said, smiling.

"Those families owe you their respect... and so do we..."

Flash said nothing. He merely nodded... then proceeded to close the locker that housed his armor.

Not long after, Sergeant Garnet shuffled up behind. He leaned against a wall and calmly said, "Everypony's talking about you all across the compound. There's already talk of putting a statue of you next to Spike the Dragon's."

Flash's nostrils flared. "You crystal ponies are too friggin' quick to praise..."

Garnet arched an eyebrow. "After what we've been through with Sombra, we're in dire need of heroes."

"You've got Shining Armor and Princess Cadance," Flash muttered, hoisting a saddlebag over his figure. "You should be trusting them."

"And we do," Garnet said. "But you should give yourself credit too."

"For what?" Flash fumbled with the straps of his saddlebag, clenching his teeth. "The only thing that saved those foals today was luck." His ears drooped. "If things had gone even the slightest bit differently, we'd be at war right now and they'd be burning an effigy of me right next to the Crystal Heart."

"So..." Garnet cocked his head to the side. "...do you regret what you've done?"

Flash exhaled, glaring straight ahead. "Not one damn bit."

Garnet cleared his throat. "In any case..." He stood straight. "...those hostages are alive and your career isn't in shambles. Seems like you should be proud of that 'luck.'"

"Don't be too hasty," Flash muttered. "I know the Captain. He's a big fluffball at heart, but there's no way in Tartarus that he's going to let you slide."

"How's he going to punish you for this?" Garnet blinked. "You're a savior in the eyes of both yaks and ponies."

"He'll find a way. He has to. His sister—the Princess of Friendship—is far too straightlaced. He'd be making a laughing stock of himself if he tolerated my insubordination. The same goes for Princess Cadance." Flash Sentry sighed. "The bitter truth of it is... I frankly don't care what they do to me."

Garnet squinted. "Is that the whole truth?"

Flash Sentry lingered. "No," he eventually blurted. "More than even that... I'm still angry..." His fetlocks trembled again. "I feel like I've got a million things left in this world to hit... and hit hard."

Garnet merely gazed at him.

"If nothing else, I'll likely be suspended," Flash muttered. "Whatever. It'll probably be for the best." He made to leave—but he lingered at Garnet's side. He turned to look at him. "You and I have been through a lot these past few months."

Garnet swallowed. "I would like to think of you as an honorable friend."

"Don't," Flash grunted. "That would be your first mistake. And your second?" His brow furrowed. "It would be to emulate me in any way. Especially where you're headed now that this whole mess is over with." He pointed into the other Sergeant's chest. "At your next post, Garnet, do what you're told. Obey the rules. You'll enjoy the long life of a respected soldier. A cool stallion like you deserves no less."

"And what about you?"

Flash sighed, shuffling off with his saddlebags. "I think I've had my fill of respect for a lifetime." And he was gone.

Garnet stood alone. Slowly, the crimson stallion pivoted about, his eyes resting on a map of Equestria haphazardly pinned to a bulletin board stretched along a wall of the lockerroom. In the dead-center of the map a note had been pasted with the words "Good luck, Sergeant Garnet" playfully scribbled. The stallion's eyes rested on a rustic windmill... and a strangely out-of-place palace made out of rigid crystal.

Comments

[david bennett]

come on no one builds up this much get to the main part of the story

[Booster Spice]

Strength through insecurity.

Yaks are just a country worth of Babs Seed.

Except hairier and more combat orientated.

Its the ones that dont stop when they get hit back that are the problem. The ones that just have to be the best that ever was. The ones that cant accept they are not gods. Becasue they dont want to be looked at as just another dog.

Looks like Flash has a very good chance of just dissapering, and end up wearing the last suit he will ever need.

Beware the Pinkie Pie my son, the teeth that smile, the hooves that bake, the voice that laughs, the delicious cupcake.

[SteampunkBrony]

7381207

that last line... i'm stealing it.

7381196

a good author that's who. think of it this way: he's setting the stage. with reading you don't get the conviniance of being able to have what you're writing shown through an image. if this were a movie, this whole thing with the yaks could have been shown in a 5 minute clip in the intro. for example: there is a book I very much enjoyed called Dragon Rider by the same person who wrote Inkheart. You don't even see the antagonist until after the first third of the book.

[zaponator]

7378971 is totally right. Flash is gonna be involved in all this superhero business fo sho.

[Warrior Kitten]

7380031
Dude. Calm the fuck down. It's implied in that comment that I'd stop commenting about it.
Not only that; who the fuck said you had to read the comment? No one. Ignore it if you don't like it for fuck's sake.

[Derpmind]

Eh. I'm not a fan of having Shiny and Cadence not knowing they were doing the exact wrong thing here. Like, it is the kind of misunderstanding that I could see happen in an episode of the show, sure. But when a story has life and death stakes making things all serious, I tend to expect characters to act a bit smarter and more insightful than they do in those episodes where the plot demanded a character to make a few obvious errors.

Maybe it's just me. *shrug*

[MidnightReflection]

Whelp. No doubt about Flash being an important character now. Why doesn't he have a tag of his own in this story? We've seen about as much of Lyra as we have Flash.

So presumably, Lyra is going to be going to Appleloosa soon for the next therapy session. And then... Chrysalis happens! With this current pacing, Midnight predicts that we'll have Shellstrings by sometime next week.

[Telaros]

And that's one more for S.M.I.L.E. I guess. Captain Equestria all up in here. xD

Way to wrap up this Crystal Flash arc here. Glad he acknowledges and doesn't feel proud of what could have gone wrong but still firm in sticking by what he did despite the risks. It's important to stand by what you feel is right and make no excuses. You say or do something you better own up to it and take responsibility for it.

Shame I don't hate pony Flash as much as so many seem to. Then I could say "This made me like Flash Sentry a bit more" or some such silliness.

Oh well, weekend is over. I'll try and keep up with the dailies but meh will likely come back again to read next weekend. The Flash arc was pretty nice. This one really cemented him as not just some hot-headed guard who just triggers at any little injustice he sees and takes action without thought or care for what may happen. I like that he was made aware of the lives he took into his own hooves.

[Razzy]

Huh, good accidental job, Flash.

Chryssie, Chryssie, we want Chryssie!

[Doctorfoxwolf]

I think Flash Sentry is a pretty cool guy. Eh beats Yaks and doesn't afraid of anything.

[Lightning Bearer]

This Flash sure is a hoot. Things literally couldn't have gone better, and still with the angst.

[Cotton Fluff]

"Much more fun and honor to be had in waging a war alongside powerful puny ponies!" The ambassador thundered.

41.media.tumblr.com/8b9666dbda1479127d1150ee07509e55/tumblr_o0edlpCMzJ1uhnruuo7_1280.png
I don't quite think the Yaks get what it means to be a warrior culture, but okay. I'd expect them to want to go to war with the Empire even more now that they've proven themselves a worthy adversary. After all, how will they become better warriors and prove they are the best if nothing challenges them? I suppose, in the end, peace is still the best outcome here but it's a strange one.

Flash Sentry lingered. "No," he eventually blurted. "More than even that... I'm still angry..." His fetlocks trembled again. "I feel like I've got a million things left in this world to hit... and hit hard."

Flash... Hulk?

[Jern]

7381196

come on no one builds up this much get to the main part of the story

Oh boy, then do I have the story for you.

My advice would be to drop the story for a month or two and binge read later on once there's a little more substance to the story. The daily update format isn't everyone's cup of tea.

[Warrior Kitten]

The comment section on this story is poisonous.

Anyway, on to the matter at hand. Everyone's saying that Flash could be a part of a group similar to the Avengers, with Lyra & Chrysalis. But he's had a bad experience with the changelings, he lost his parents to them, apparently. In my opinion, I think he'll be against Lyra and Chrysalis. Like, he'll be that one cop that hunts down the vigilante to the ends of the earth.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Different cultures, different species, different mentalities, and different values. Expecting yaks to behave or believe exactly like ponies is naive at best and dangerous at worst. I feel like someone should be writing a letter to Celestia (or maybe Twilight) after this.

[Shortsighted Fan]

7383300 Well, aside from tragic backstorys and climatic endings, I shouldn't expect it.
I am with you on the emotions as Skirts always manages somehow; death need not apply.

[QueenMoriarty]

"I just saved Equestria for zero consequences. I must retire to a city rooftop to brood."

He's like Batman. Except with no money, gadgets, respect, or anything to prevent him from becoming a shell-shocked emotionless asskicker who just stands in the corner and slouches until he spots an injustice.

I have legitimately never understood the appeal of such a character. That said, if anyone out there does, I'd love to have a nice, civil discussion about it.

[Skeeter The Lurker]

Still with the baggage... Best learn to drop that fast, I suspect his life is going to go even more crazy.

~Skeeter The Lurker

[Bubbler]

This is exactly what I was afraid of. A "hero" takes a delicate situation into his own hands, understanding and ignoring the consequences, and gets praised as a hero. It's the proble. I had with Cap in Civil War, and it's the problem I have here.

Flash is no hero and doesn't deserve to be treated as such. Oh, such short badass risking war because he doesn't care about anything and has personal issues.

And no, he isn't like Batman. Batman has a moral code that would never allow him to endanger innocent lives, and even if he does do something that would regularly be a national incident, his identity allows him to work outside of the law and absolve the law of any and all consequences. He's responsible. He very rarely lets his emotions fuel his actions. Flash did none of this. The only reason he doesn't get punished is the most retarded luck in the world. And he blames Shining and Cadence for something they couldn't control, so he's an ass too.

Jesus Christ, I was so ready to ignore all the anti-Flash bull crap this place perpetuates and give him a chance aso a character, and all it took was a few chapters for me to have just reason to dislike him.

[MajorDanger]

7386199 He isnt really like batman. Batman might have done something similar but only after minutely analyzing the cave and having planned out every contingency and alternative. Something like "Luck" isnt part of Batmans plans.

Batman is the polar opposite of most superheroes, which makes him interesting.

[Scorch215]

Well st least he acknowledges what he did was beyond wreckless. If he becomes a super hero or something he is going to get people killed as luck eventually runs out and then you don't just have a destroyed national monument in your hands but a lot of dead civilians too.

[Pretentious Narwhal]

7386199

He's like Batman. Except with no money, gadgets, respect, or anything to prevent him from becoming a shell-shocked emotionless asskicker who just stands in the corner and slouches until he spots an injustice.

That makes him sound like Rorschach from Watchmen, which is not a good thing.

[Spiritus Arcane]

Ok, I take it back. War wasn't inevitable...war was needed. To continue my Klingon analogy, apparently like them, the Yaks need a good kick in the balls every once in a while to maintain their respect.