Flash Sentry and the Secret of the Bloodmage

by AdrianVesper

Chapter I

Flash Sentry stood stock still. Keeping unwavering eye contact with the pony in front of him, he did his best to ignore the itch developing on his nose. Across a desk in front of Flash Sentry, Captain Storm Mouth fixed him with a smoldering glare.

The Captain leaned forward, placing his hooves the desk. “You’re walking a thin line, guardspony. Do you remember what I said to you after the incident with Discord and the two Princesses?”

Flash Sentry dipped his head in an almost imperceptible nod. “Perfectly, sir.” Like that was my fault, he thought. Besides, what could I have done about a giant death worm?

The Captain reached into a drawer with a hoof and retrieved scroll. He spread it out on the desk. “You want to be a Royal Inquisitor, don’t you guardspony?”

Flash Sentry’s heart shot into his throat. The Captain had his application spread out on the desk. Every blank was filled in, all the paperwork in order, even the signature of approval. He recognized the signature as Shining Armor’s. How long has Storm Mouth been sitting on this? he wondered, swallowing. “Yes sir, I do.”

“Inquisitors travel throughout Equestria for the Princesses, covering affairs both internal and external. They need to be able to operate independently. Between this latest screw up, and your history of negligence, I can’t even trust you with a princess protection detail.” He gestured at the application. “How can I trust you without oversight?”

“Captain Shining Armor trusted me,” Flash Sentry said. “And last I checked, he’s still the Captain of the Royal Guard.”

Storm Mouth rose out of his chair and slammed his hoof down on the desk. “Don’t get smart with me, guardspony! Since Shining Armor is too busy playing prince to live up to his title, I’m the one in charge here, and I don’t have any time for insubordination!”

Flash Sentry clenched his jaw, keeping his mouth shut.

For a few moments, Storm Mouth glared at him in silence. He settled back into the chair. “Right now, I don’t see why I shouldn’t send you over to the City Watch.”

“What?!” Flash Sentry said, his voice a bit too loud. “I haven’t done anything wrong, sir! The incident with Discord was well out of my control!” He pointed at the application. “Look at what it says there! My service record is excellent! I’d be wasted on the City Watch, sir!”

“You know what else it says? You’re ‘adaptable’. You aren’t afraid of grey areas.” The Captain eyed Flash Sentry. “You know what that means to me? You play fast and loose with the rules, like yesterday, when you let that hooligan within stabbing distance of Princess Cadance because you did not observe proper defensive diamond formation protocols!” He pointed a hoof at a report on the desk. “Because of your negligence, she was attacked with a pair of scissors!”

“Firstly, all he wanted was a lock of hair. Secondly, the Princess felt we were being threatening and she wanted to interact with the crowd on a more personal level, sir,” Flash Sentry said. “Frankly, sir, Cadance can handle herself. She was fine.”

“Is that it? You’d shit on the entire legacy of the Royal Guard?” Captain Storm Mouth glared at him. “What about Blunt Root, who took a spear of magic meant for Princess Celestia, and every other hero who’s given their lives for everything that we hold dear since?!” With that, he tore Flash Sentry’s application in half. “I’m sorry, but I can’t keep ponies like you around. With your attitude, you’ll drop the ball when it really matters.”

Flash Sentry watched, stunned, as Storm Mouth casually tossed the fragments of his application into a wastebasket. “I’ll expect you to have your armor turned in by the end of the day. Report to the City Watch in the morning. Dismissed.”

Flash Sentry’s heart thundered as he found his voice. “No, sir, when it really matters, and something happens, that’ll be on you, because ponies like me won’t be around to pick up your mess!” With perfect form, he turned and marched out Captain Storm Mouth’s door.

“Stop, guardspony,” Storm Mouth ordered.

Flash Sentry halted and glanced over his shoulder.

“Aren’t you forgetting something?!”

Flash Sentry grit his teeth. He was supposed salute a superior officer when dismissed. “No Sir, I don’t think so.” He stormed out of the office.

“I’ll take your rank for insubordination, Lancer!” Storm Mouth shouted after him.

Ears burning with anger, Flash Sentry moved swiftly down the corridor within the Guard’s Wing of Canterlot Castle. The guardsponies he passed eyed him. Most looked away when he glared back at them. He made his way straight to the armory.

Half in a daze, Flash Sentry undid the straps of his armor, letting the golden plates slide off and clatter to the ground. He gathered the plates and went to the equipment issue counter. The guardspony behind the counter raised a hoof in salute as Flash Sentry turned in the uniform. Returning the salute, Flash Sentry. “Goodbye, Sergeant Tough Nut.”

The Sergeant chuckled, drawing a smile from Flash Sentry. “I think I’ll be seeing you around, sir.” He lowered his tone to a conspiratorial whisper. “You’re going to fight this, aren’t you? Captain Shining Armor will be visiting in a few months, you could take this to him.”

Flash Sentry sighed, his hoof resting on his helmet. “I don’t know, Tough Nut.” He handed the helmet over. “I might not last that long.” He turned, waving over his shoulder as he left.

---

BRRRRIIIIIIINNNG!

Flash Sentry slammed his hoof down on his alarm clock, silencing the ringing bells. Groaning, he slumped back onto the pillow. He glanced at the clock, then at the window. 0500, he thought. It was still dark outside. It’s too early even for Celestia. With another groan, he rolled out of bed. Time for a miserable first day of City Watch briefings.

By the time the sun was up, Flash Sentry had exercised, showered, and eaten. He stepped out the front door of his narrow townhouse into a sleepy Canterlot street. A faint layer of mountain mist still hung in the air in the shadows between the buildings. He adjusted a scarf around his neck, spread his wings, and jumped into the air.

His initial powerstroke carried him a couple stories up. With a couple more heavy beats of his wings, he cleared the tops of the buildings. He shifted into a leisurely rhythm and circled until he spotted the City Watch gatehouse. Unlike the Royal Guard, the City Watch was not housed in Canterlot Castle proper, but instead had its headquarters built into the city’s outer wall.

Flash Sentry beelined toward the City Watch headquarters, falling into an easy glide down a steep Canterlot slope. He shivered in the chill air, numbness setting into the leading edges of his wings. After a few minutes of brisk flying, he circled the gatehouse once, then headed for one of the towers where he saw pegasi coming and going. They wore the uniform of the Canterlot City Watch, a purple and gold cape with golden chain mail.

Flash Sentry smiled wistfully as he touched down. At least it’ll be lighter than the Royal Guard plate, he thought. Almost as soon as he was hooves down, a Private, identified by the single hoof symbol on his cape, approached him.

“Uh, Dragoon Flash Sentry?” the Private said, his foreleg cocked nervously.

Flash Sentry sighed. “That’s me.” Wow, Storm Mouth worked fast. The captain had already stripped him down a rank.

The private snapped his cocked foreleg into a smart salute. “Good morning, sir!”

Flash Sentry flicked his hoof in a lazy salute. “Relax, I’m not even in uniform, and good morning.”

“The Sergeant told me to give you this, sir!” the watch pony said. He fumbled with a satchel at his side, and produced a scroll a few moments later. Dipping his head, he presented the scroll to Flash Sentry.

Quirking a brow, Flash Sentry took the scroll. He blinked. Pressed into the wax sealing the scroll was Celestia’s cutie mark. The chill of the air instantly faded. With the edge of his hoof, he tore the seal and pulled open the the scroll.

Dear Flash Sentry,

Please report directly to my secretary Raven Quill at your earliest convenience. Tell nopony else where you are going, or why. I have something very important to discuss with you.

Sincerely, Princess Celestia.

Flash Sentry stared at the scroll. Un-freaking-believable, he thought. His chest felt tight. She must have heard about what happened to Cadance. He re-rolled the scroll. Well, it’ll be the first time I’ve been chewed out by a princess. He sighed. Though, if she’s taking the time to talk just to me, I doubt all I’m getting is chewed out, he thought with a sinking feeling. Holding the scroll in a hoof, he touched it to his forehead. “Later, Private.” With that, he turned and took to the air once more.

---

Still shivering from the chill mountain morning, Flash Sentry arrived at Raven Quill’s office in Canterlot Castle. He paused in the open doorway. The black maned unicorn sitting at the desk inside the office didn’t look up. He raised a hoof to knock on the doorframe.

“Flash Sentry?” Raven Quill said before he could knock. She made a mark on some papers on her desk with a quill floating in her magic.

“Uh, yes ma’am,” Flash Sentry said.

Raven Quill floated a stack of papers over to him and stood up from her desk. “Follow me. Carry those.”

Flash Sentry awkwardly balanced the stack on a forehoof. Raven Quill swept past him, heading for the end of the corridor. Almost dropping the stack, Flash Sentry followed her on three hooves. Raven Quill came to a stop at double door at the end of the hall. It towered over the two ponies, the golden filigree reflecting light shafting in through the corridor’s windows.

Raven Quill knocked once on the door. It opened almost immediately. “Wait here,” she said, and slipped through the opening. It slid shut behind her.

For a moment, Flash Sentry stood there alone in the corridor, holding the stack of papers. He eyed them. Discharge form, he realized. He swallowed. I’m finished. It wasn’t fair. It’s not my fault I’m bad at politics. I didn’t do anything wrong! He took a deep breath.

The door opened, and Raven Quill stepped out. “Princess Celestia will see you now.” She smiled. “Good luck.” She walked past him, leaving the door ajar.

Suddenly feeling very small, Flash Sentry faced down the doors. He took another deep breath, using his belly instead of his chest, in through the nose and out through the mouth, but couldn’t quiet his frantic nerves. With his jaw set, he poked his head through the opening.

The room beyond was bright, and full of books. Above him, standing on a balcony that wrapped around the room’s second story, Princess Celestia stood backlit by morning light shafting in through the window. Her ethereal mane glowed with the sunlight shining through it, casting a rainbow pattern across the floor of the room. In one hoof, she held an open book.

“Come in,” Celestia said, her voice firm.

Flash Sentry stepped fully into the room. He dropped to one knee, bowing, struggling to hold the papers in his other hoof. With the tinkling sound of magic, the door shut behind him. He felt the stack shift, and he lifted his head, reflexively shifting to catch it. Before he could react, it floated away in a golden aura. He overbalanced, and barely caught himself before he plowed chin-first into a plush rug.

“Stand,” Celestia said.

Ears burning, Flash Sentry picked himself up. Celestia deposited the stack of papers atop a desk on the first floor. She gazed down at him. “So, what’s this I hear about my favorite niece being accosted by a crazed, scraggly madpony?”

It wasn’t the first time Flash Sentry had talked to a Princess. In fact, he’d dealt with Princess Cadance on a near daily basis for the past month. But, with Princess Celestia’s disapproving gaze on him, it was all he could do to keep his hind legs from trembling. He bent his knees slightly. You didn’t do anything wrong, he reminded himself. He met Princess Celestia’s gaze. “Princess Cadance was fine. More than fine, really. She scolded the Corporal who tackled the pony in question, gave the pony a lock of her hair, and sent him on his way. Frankly, Princess, I’m wondering what Captain Storm Mouth told you to get you to waste your time on a pony who was just doing his job.”

Princess Celestia flicked her book shut, her gaze burning. “So what you’re telling me is that Princess Cadance was not the least bit perturbed by your failure to constantly hover around her and disrupt her daily activities, but your protective detail was close enough to intervene if anything serious occurred?”

Flash Sentry blinked. “Um, yes?”

“I’m afraid I simply cannot stand aside when I see such performance in my Royal Guard,” Celestia said. “And to think that you’re not the least bit repentant! Clearly, the fact that you’re still a Royal Guard at all is a travesty.”

“Princess, if that’s what you think, then remove me from your service,” Flash Sentry said. “Given the situation on the ground, I did what I thought was best, and I will never be able to do anything less.”

Princess Celestia laughed. Quickly, she daintily hid her face behind a hoof. “You’re exceptional.” She chuckled again. “So stoic, after practically falling face-first onto my rug.” Smiling, she jumped over the balconies railing, spread her wings, and touched down lightly on the floor in front of him.

Flash Sentry stared up at her, feeling blood rushing to his face and ears. A scolding, he expected, but not to be made fun of. “At least I’m not cruel enough to make a pony carry his own discharge papers to you!” he said before he could bite back the retort.

Princess Celestia’s expression softened. “It’s that easy to believe that I would send you on your way without good reason?”

Flash Sentry furrowed his brows. “That’s why I’m here, isn’t it! Captain Storm Mouth must have twisted the story, and you heard about it!”

“Oh, I heard,” Celestia said. She closed the distance between them in a few strides, and towered over him. “And, in my outrage, I took the time out of my day to deal with a single Royal Guard personally? So I’m cruel and gullible.”

Flash Sentry swallowed, his ears flattening. “That’s not what I meant, Princess.”

“I’m not angry,” Princess Celestia said. “Ponies could learn a thing or two from you. I mean, I can’t be infallible right? Surely I am capable of making mistakes, and you weren’t afraid to call me out.” She eyed him. “Are you sure that was wise? Are you aware the power that ponies have vested in me? I could have you banished, or executed, with a word.”

Flash Sentry had to stop himself from taking a step backward. He shook his head. “You’re not like that.”

“How do you know?” Celestia said. “You called me cruel a moment ago. I could be like that, couldn’t I? I hold your life in my hoof, and you don’t even know me.”

Flash Sentry drew himself up. He still felt small in front of Celestia, but he squared his shoulders. “You’re not. I signed up because I knew you cared about everypony, and if I was good enough to be on your team, I wanted to be.”

“How do you know I care for everypony?”

“Because we wouldn’t be what we are without your leadership, Princess.” Flash Sentry said. “If you were cruel, if you were terrible, then Equestria would be a far worse place to live.”

“You’re right,” Celestia said. “And also wrong.” She sighed. “Do you know how difficult it actually would be to care for everypony?” She leaned in. “Do you want to know a secret, Flash Sentry?”

Before Flash Sentry could respond, she continued. “I really hate some ponies.” She took a step back, and turned away from Flash Sentry, walking over to her desk. “I hate ponies who kiss my hooves, hoping to get on my good side. I hate cowards. I hate ponies that are afraid of seeing things change. I hate ponies that use the words ‘breeding’ and ‘bloodlines’. Sometimes, I wish I could just take their money and throw them in the dungeon.”

She lifted up the first piece of paper on the stack Flash Sentry carried. “But you’re right, I’m not like that. Instead, I play a very long game, a game I can afford to play because I have a very long time to play it. The problem is, the ponies that this game actually affects have so much less time.” She readied a quill, dipping it in the inkwell on her desk.

Flash Sentry felt his mouth go dry. She’s actually going to sign it! “Wait!” he cried, raising a hoof. “You’re making a mistake!”

Celestia quirked a brow, eyeing him over the page. “Can I make mistakes?” She signed the document.

Flash Sentry dropped his hoof in defeat. He hung his head, closing his eyes tight. A wave of exhaustion, brought on by frayed emotions hit him. His eyes burned.

“On all official and public records, you are now a civilian,” she said. “However, on unofficial ones, or I suppose super-official ones, you are an Inquisitor with the rank of Knight.”

Flash Sentry lifted his head, his eyes widening.

“Arise, Knight Inquisitor, and repeat after me,” Celestia said.

Flash Sentry picked himself up, squared his shoulders, and stood at attention.

“I, your name, having been appointed as a Royal Inquisitor, will serve the Princesses of Equestria,” Celestia began.

“I, Flash Sentry, having been appointed as a Royal Inquisitor, will serve the Princesses of Equestria. I will be their hooves where they cannot walk, their eyes where they cannot see, and their sword where they cannot fight. Where there are shadows, I will banish them with the light. Where there are lies, I will hunt them with the truth. I will never blindly follow. I will always question. Above all else, I will stand for the weak, the innocent, and the broken. This is my oath, my words, and I accept the weight they carry for as long as I can bear it.”

Despite the words of the oath, Flash Sentry felt lighter having said them. The sun in the window seemed brighter. He smiled, then raised a hoof to wipe the moisture from his eyes.

“I’m sorry for playing with your emotions like that,” Princess Celestia said. “But, I find the truth of a pony comes out the most when they are strained. You are brave, but not foolish. Confident, but not arrogant. Most critically, you don’t believe I am infallible.” She paused, touching a hoof to her chin. “Well, perhaps you’re a little arrogant, but none of us are perfect.”

Flash Sentry smiled. “Thank you, Princess.”

Celestia sat behind her desk. “Don’t thank me yet. I’ve just gained a pawn is all.” She took the next paper on the stack and signed it, simultaneously sliding open a drawer in her desk and lifting out a token on a chain made from links twined with gold and silver. The token itself was a crescent moon twined around a blazing sun. She floated it over to Flash Sentry.

“This is an Inquisitor’s Mark. Any government official that sees it will comply with any orders or requests as if they came from me. Abuse my word, and I will not be kind,” Celestia said.

Flash Sentry nodded. “Understood, Princess.” Celestia slid the chain over his head. As it fell around his neck, it glowed with a faint blue light, then vanished completely. Flash Sentry blinked, staring down at his chest where it had been a moment ago. He could still feel the weight of the chain around his neck.

“It is keyed specifically to you, and will glow when you touch it. This property verifies its authenticity. It will vanish unless you concentrate on revealing it, in order to protect your identity,” Celestia said, moving through papers. “It has two major enhancements. The first will be familiar from Royal Guard armor. It makes you stronger, faster, and you will recover from injuries more quickly. The second, which you can thank my sister for, speeds your reflexes and will allow you to see and hear what others cannot.”

Flash Sentry focused, and the token appeared around his neck. He stared at it, chest swelling. “Thank you, Princess.”

“Normally, I would give these enchantments some time to take effect, but I’m afraid I must assign you to a mission immediately. You will make best possible speed to Ponyville.” She passed him a paper. “At this address, you will find a compartment beneath a floorboard under a rug in front of the fireplace. In the compartment you will find a deed to the property, and instructions on how to proceed.”

Flash Sentry allowed the Inquisitor’s Mark to vanish. “So, Princess, was this all set up?”

Princess Celestia sighed. “Unfortunately, no. Captain Storm Mouth can be a buffon, unfortunately Shining Armor couldn’t think of a better pony to cover his duties. I make the best of what I am given.”

“Ponyville,” Flash Sentry mused. “Why there? Isn’t that where Princess Twilight Sparkle lives?” He’d only encountered Twilight Sparkle a couple of times, but when he thought about her he found himself wishing he had the opportunity to spend more time near her.

Princess Celestia grinned. “Why? Are you hoping this mission has something to do with her?”

Flash Sentry’s ears burned. “No, I was just curious.”

Princess Celestia smiled knowingly. “Like I said, the details of your mission are at the safehouse. However, you were just dismissed from service in the Royal Guard for dereliction of duty. You are going to Ponyville to live in a house left to you by your uncle. You feel bitter, and betrayed. It is vital that you maintain this cover story.”

Flash Sentry nodded. “Understood, Princess.”

“Get moving, Inquisitor,” Princess Celestia said.

Flash Sentry saluted sharply, about faced, and exited Celestia’s office. He trotted down the corridor outside, feeling light on his feet. This is the best day ever.

Comments

[OmniFox]

(singing) Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles
Waffles, waffles, waffles

[ApplejackM]

6520416 I don't get it

[SIGAWESOME]

(Note to self: the title is "Secret of the BloodMage" not "Secret of the Blancmange")

Just picked this up off my RiL list, and I am intrigued as to where this is going...