A Day in the Life of Flash Sentry

by Silver Inkwell

The Games Begin

With that said the room suddenly changed and Flash was no longer in a room with white walls that were completely blank and devoid of anything, but now instead they were painted blue, and there was actual furniture now, chairs, couches, and a piano and piano bench, all black, and a fancy chandelier hanging high above their heads giving off what appeared to be actual light.

“What in Equestria is going on here?” Flask Sentry asked with confusion.

“I do not know Flash Sentry, but I intend to find that out exactly soon enough,” Celestia said gazing around the room, “And it would appear that we must play his game, not just for the sake of Equestria, but because there are no doors or any other ways to get in or out of this room, we are trapped here at his mercy.”

“Can’t you use your magic to get out?” Flash asked.

Celestia tried to use her magic to teleport out, but it failed, “No I cannot, he is the only one it seems that can get in and out of this room at will, and if we ever want to get out we will have to play his game, as I said, we are at his mercy.”

“But how did he bring us all here? I mean I see ponies here that weren’t even at the party, room, or castle, how is any of this possible? How could he possibly have enough power and strength and knowledge to do any of these things?”

“I think I might know how, but I dare not say it out loud or else we would the one element of surprise that we have left against him, and you are right, there are ponies that were not at the party, room, or castle, his power and strength must have grown so strong that they extend out farther than I could have previously imagined before, maybe even so far as all the lands of Equestria itself, and if that is true, then no pony can ever escape his grasp of power and strength, his knowledge is far beyond than which I have anticipated before.”

“That is very bad and very dire news if what you say is true Princess.”

“I’m afraid it is so, but come, let us play these games and talk no more.”

With this said Celestia and Flash went to the middle of the room and gathered every pony around to talk to them, all except for one pony, Rainbow Dash was still trying to escape the room by bashing her head and hooves against the walls, she had been doing so ever since she had come into the room and realized that there was no apparent escape, and apparently she was trying a method of force to escape, one that was clearly and obviously not working.

Well it was clear and obvious to all, except for Rainbow Dash of course.

“Rainbow Dash,” Flash said shouting at her to catch her attention, “Give it up, it’s never going to work, you can’t bust these walls down with any kind of force, didn’t you hear what Nightmare Shadow said? We have to play his games.”

“Yeah well you can do what you want,” Rainbow Dash said, “But… this… will… work… if… I… keep… on… trying… the… walls… have… to… give… in… and… out… and… up… eventually… at… some… point… right? It… has… to… work.”

In between every word Rainbow Dash hit the wall over again trying to break it down, but eventually she got tired enough to float on down to the ground breathing heavily in gasps of air trying to recover her stamina and strength.

“Have you had enough yet?” Flash asked her with some sarcasm in his voice.

“Are you kidding me? I could do this all day and not even break a sweat.”

“Really, because to me it seems like you just got tired right here and now, you should probably also take a break sometime soon before you get too tired and worn out” Flash said to her because she was sweating and breathing hard.

“That was just a show of kindness for the other ponies on my part, I can’t make all the rest of you feel too bad now can I? Because every pony knows that I’m awesome and that they can never ever be as awesome as I am, and that’s why I do something called pretending, I’m sure that you’ve heard of it, right?”

“Sure thing,” Flash said sarcastically, “But can we get back to the group now? I’m sure that will be more productive and useful to actually get us out of this place, and it might answer some of the questions that you surely have about this place and as to why we are here, I know that I have questions to ask that need to be answered, and I’m sure a pony like yourself has questions too.”

“Fine then,” Rainbow Dash said with an angry sigh, “But don’t expect me to be happy about it, because I’m not, and I won’t be, and don’t expect me to sit back and relax and take all of this calmly in, because that won’t happen either.”

“Alright, your point has been fairly noted,” Flash said, and with that they went back to the main group which stood in the middle of the room waiting for them.

“Well everyone,” Celestia said speaking up, “I’m sure that you all have things that you would like to say and questions to ask, but I would ask you to remain and stay calm and listen to me, we cannot panic, and I shall try to answer any and all questions that you may have at the end once I am done talking to you.

Should anything be left out at all, it is only to protect you and keep you safe.

But do feel free to ask your questions at the end once I am done talking to you.

Now then, we all are here today because Nightmare Shadow, a product and result of Nightmare Moon’s thoughts, dreams, fears, ideas, and actions.

We are all here because he has selected us to play a game which he is sure that we will not win, but we must prove him wrong, we will win, and we will prevail.

I do not know why he picked each of us specifically, but I know that together we can win this. We have to win this for the good of the citizens and ponies of Equestria, and we cannot afford to fail them or this game, to do so would be tragic. But before we begin I need to know that every one of you is ready and willing to do this, I will not force any pony to do this if they do not wish to do so, and so that is why I must ask you to express your doubts here and now.”

“Well if this involves action and adventure and kicking his ---, then count me in,” Rainbow Dash said kicking the air in a move as if she was kicking an ---.

“Anything for you and the ponies of Equestria, Princess Celestia,” Twilight said.

“Of course I’ll help you all in this game, it’s just like what Twilight said, we can’t put the lives of the ponies of Equestria at risk, can we now?” Rarity said.

“Of course, this Nightmare Shadow needs to be bucked and put in his right place once and for all, even if we have to tie him up to do it,” Applejack said.

“Well I would just love to help, but can you make sure that we have fun while we’re doing it? Oh and lots of party canons and confetti too!” Pinkie Pie said.

“Sure thing, anything to help you out, Princess Celestia,” Fluttershy said.

“I do not like the sound of this Nightmare Shadow, he sounds like a bully and a monster, and I hate bullies, and I put bullied in their right place, and I take care of monsters, so I will help you with these games” Iron Will said.

“Hey, weren’t you that assertiveness trainer that Fluttershy had?” Rarity asked.

“Yes, yes I was,” Iron Will said, “So what? I teach many ponies how to be strong and not be pushed over and taken advantage of, she was just another pony.”

“Is that all I am to you, sir? Am I just another pony, another customer? Another pony that has to be 100% satisfied to pay your class cost that you demand?” Fluttershy said in a very loud and very demanding voice hovering above him in a very demanding pose, “Because I am not just another regular pony for your information sir! I represent an element of harmony! And as such I demand to be treated with the fair kind respect that I deserve and have earned. I have faced up to my wort fears over time and again, and each time I got through with the help of my friends, and I will not let you talk about them or me in this manner or way, each pony has a special and unique talent that makes them different, and as such we all deal with fear in different ways.”

“I can see that now, and I am sorry for how I treated you, but there is no changing that now, there is only finishing these games by working together.”

“Alright fine then, I accept your apology Iron Will, for I believe that it is real, honest, and sincere, but never treat others rudely, do you understand?”

“Yes, yes I do understand that Fluttershy, but can we move on now?”

“Fine then, we’ll move on, for the sake of the game,” Fluttershy said.

“I am already loyal to you and Equestria my princess, your very word is my command, for I shall do whatever you wish or ask, even to death,” Flash said.

“What about you?” Celestia said pointing to the last pony who wore a black cloak over his or her entire body; and since he or she had not spoken one single word at all, which was very odd and strange, an what was even odder still was that he or she had not moved at all except to come and join the group in the middle, it was as if they had something to hide, some dark secret to keep hidden away from them, and since he or she had a cloak covering their body, their gender was impossible to tell at this point in time or guess or determine.

“I will play these games, not for the ponies of Equestria or for the princess, but only because Nightmare Shadow is my enemy,” the last pony said resolutely, but Flash still couldn’t tell the gender of the pony just by their voice alone.

“But what can we call you strange pony? For I have never seen you before in my life or past encounters, journeys, travels, or quests, and you look so very new here, so you surely must have a name to be called by,” Celestia said.

“You can call me Solar Eclipse, Solar for short, but come, let us play these games; you know our allegiance now, so let us move on with this now.”

“So be it then,” Celestia said, “But there is still one thing that even I do not know about these games Nightmare Shadow,” she said to the room, “What are the rules exactly? You never have explained them; at least not clearly for us to understand them enough, so can you please elaborate on what for us to do?”

“I already have elaborated,” he said with his voice echoing through the room, “And the rules, well there are no rules, you just have to solve the riddle and puzzle of the room and then move on to the next round and stage, and there are no time limits here, both you and I have all the time in the world to use.

But the levels and stages and rounds will get harder as you go on, this is merely just a small sample of what I have in store for you today”

“Well do you have any clues or hints for us? Any help at all?”

“No, I don’t, you have to solve each level or stage or round on your own, that is all, good luck to all of you, and as I said before, may the best pony ‘win’ this.”

With that said the voice cut off and the room went and remained silent once more. Obviously Nightmare Shadow had nothing left of importance to say to them, and that meant that they truly were on their own, but that was to be expected of course, Ness was probably trying to play mind games with them.

But they wouldn’t let him get in, no matter what the cost might be to pay.

“Come on every pony,” Flash said, “You heard him, look around the room for clue or hints, a piece of paper, a book, a flower, a mirror, anything at all!”

With that said every pony scrambled into action looking around the room for any sign of a hint or clue, “There’s nothing here,” Rarity said moving a very lovely and very fancy curtain aside from the wall (but no window), “But I must say that this curtain is very lovely and very fancy, can I keep it after all this?”

“NO!” every pony shouted at her and then she pouted and said, “Fine then, have it your way, but to me this just seems like a perfectly good waste of very lovely and very fancy art work and style, and so many things and ponies could use that, as well as an actual sense of style that some ponies do not seem to possess,” she said looking straight at Applejack at the last part of her sentence.

“Are you implying something at me?” Applejack said to Rarity.

“Well of course not, it’s just some ponies don’t prefer to get dirty all the time.”

“Well hard work can get you dirty sometimes, and if you ever did any in your life, then you would know that, but you haven’t so you don’t as a result.”

“I do too work hard, all my dresses have so many long hard hours that I put into every single one of them, no dress is left out, every part of the dress has accurate precision of thought and work and detail, every part has love in it making it not just another regular dress, but a work of art and love expressing the very nature or thoughts or ideas of a pony without words ever being spoken at all, a very fine detail that common ponies do not ever take notice of.

Not that you would know anything about fine detail and that at all just being the common simple apple farmer pony that you are, no offense my dear.”

“Are you implying that I’m just another ‘common’ pony?” Applejack said.

“Well with all your hard work and dirt and grime, I would say yes darling.”

“Why I have never been more insulted than this in my entire life.”

“Girls, stop arguing and fighting each other and get back to work trying to find clues or hints that will get us out of here, standing around and arguing and bickering and fighting about something so silly as hard work and dresses isn’t going to get us anywhere,” Flash said, “So get back to work right now, please.”

“Alright we will, sorry Flash,” Applejack said lowering her hat down as a sign of respect or perhaps in this case and this time it was a sign of apology instead.

“Yes, we’re sorry for what we did, me especially, and I’m sorry about what I said to you Applejack, I should never have called you that, all of Equestria knows you’re more than that, you’re a hero and a friend to us all,” Rarity said.

“Aw shucks, I can’t stay angry at you after that apology,” Applejack said, and with that the two girls hugged each other and then went back to work.

“There’s nothing up here,” Rainbow Dash said high above near the ceiling.

“I can’t find anything,” Fluttershy said hiding in a corner away from the rest.

“I can’t find any books or scrolls or anything else at all in here,” Twilight said.

“Well there must be something here in this room, I don’t think Nightmare Shadow would us to stay in this room and not move on with his game that he has for us, lying, maybe, confuse and separate us, definitely, and trick us perhaps, but just keep looking for something, you’ll find it, eventually” Flash said trying to give every pony a boost of confidence and hope that they needed.

“You are doing well to keep them steady and straight and going,” Celestia said to him as the ponies kept working after what Flash had said to inspire them.

“I do not think that I could say it much better myself, and it seems to me that you are a natural born leader of others, just like me, my sister, and Twilight are, perhaps after all this you would like to consider a higher position and rank, perhaps captain of the guard even? I’m sure that you could do it.”

“I thank you for your offer and compliment, but perhaps this would be best at another time, when all of this is over so that I have a chance to think about it.”

“Of course,” Princess Celestia said, “Take all the time you need, I can wait for an answer, after all, I am a being of immense power, strength, knowledge, and age, if I couldn’t wait for an answer than I might not be where I am at today.”

With that said Celestia wandered off in the room all alone, and Flash as well; he wandered off alone looking for clues and hints that might be in the room.

He couldn’t find any hints or clues, and neither did the Princess Celestia, or Twilight Sparkle, or Rainbow Dash, or any pony else in the main group, but the pony who did find the first clue or hint came as a complete shock and surprise

“I think I have found something,” Solar said pointing at the very large, very fancy, and very old mirror in the middle of the room which all of them had first seen when they entered or to be more accurate, were trapped in the room.

“Look at what it says around the outer edge of it,” Solar said, “There are words and letters there, granted words and letters that make no sense at all, but do not mind that, I’m sure that there is somebody in this room that can tell us what they mean, or how to crack them, or read them, or give any kind of help at all, and as I have heard Princess Twilight Sparkle is rather good at this.”

“Well I am good,” Twilight said looking at the mirror, “And I am an expert on these things, but I have no idea or clue as to what language this could be written in, I have never even seen it before in any of my books that I study.”

“I think I know why,” Solar said, “This is a mirror, perhaps the words and letters are not written forwards, but instead backwards, and in a way that if you held a mirror across from the words you would see their true meaning.”

“Of course, it’s so obvious now! Great thinking Solar! I wouldn’t have thought of that myself, even if I tried. Anyone have a mirror to spare?” Twilight said.

“I do,” Rarity said pulling one out, “I always have one on hand to spare.”

“Of course you do,” Twilight said holding the mirror across from the words, and writing down what she saw on a piece of paper that she just so happened to have on hoof. It took her some time but she eventually stopped and then said, “I think I figured the phrase out guys, before it was messed up, but when I held the mirror up it said, ‘Edih tonnach turteht noitcelferym nir ofdnim ruoyfoton dnat reah ruoy fohturt ehtwoh sylno itey tcepxeuoy hcihwtaht fogniht etheb tonyam eesuoy tahwrof erawebtub Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi,’ and if you flip the words and then fix the spacing it roughly says this instead,
‘I show not your face, but your heart’s desire, but beware, for what you see may not be the thing of that which you expect, yet I only show the truth of your heart and not of your mind, for in my reflection the truth cannot hide.’

I don’t know what that means, but it must mean something important.”

“Wait; there is more on the bottom,” Solar said, “Another phrase to decode.

Though I cannot imagine what more it could possibly have to say to us.”

Quickly Twilight looked at the bottom and held the mirror across from the words and then quickly fixed the sentence that she saw in the mirror’s face.

“Okay this is a short one, before it said, ‘Erad uoyfiem otnikoolos’, but now after fixing the phrase it now says, ‘So look into me, if you dare’. That’s curious, I wonder what that’s supposed to mean, perhaps a warning?”

“Maybe it has a double meaning, it I both a warning and a challenge. I think that this may be our challenge, I think that we’re supposed to look into it. But do you think that each one of us is supposed to look into it?” Flash asked.

“I suppose so, but I’m afraid of what I might see in it,” Twilight said.

“So am I, but you would have to be crazy not to be afraid,” Flash said.

“I suppose you’re right,” Twilight said, “Alright, I’ll go first, any pony object?”

No one did (probably because of their fear they had for it, or perhaps it was because Twilight was a leader, but in any case no voice was raised or opposed to this motion), and so Twilight went and stood in front of the mirror while everyone else stood far aside and away so that she would have a clear view of the mirror with no pony else in the background or back sight or view.

“What do you see?” Flash asked her as she stood in front of it looking at it.

“I see myself in a library, I’m reading my favorite books, but wait, Celestia is there, and she’s handing me a paper saying that I have all the best grades in Equestria, and I’m with all my very best friends, and it is very beautiful.”

“Interesting, Princess Celestia, do you want to go next then?” Flash said.

“I will,” she said standing in the place where Twilight had been and then she looked into the mirror too facing whatever truth and image lat in there.

“I see me and my sister, we’re united and together, we’re hugging and crying, and I can tell from what I see that we just defeated Nightmare Shadow, but not alone, but as two sisters united together with a common cause, purpose, and goal, and I also see my parents there standing with us, and we’re a family at last, we’re all together and united after so many years apart and away from each other, and we’re all hugging each other in a tight embrace of love.”

With that said Celestia moved off and away crying to herself at the image she saw and she said, “I’m so sorry, but this sight, this image, it’s just so personal and touching to me”, “Okay then,” Flash said, “Who wants to go next?”

“I will,” Rarity said stepping up to look in the mirror next, “Oh, I see myself, I’m looking at the newspapers, and they all say I’m the greatest fashion designer in all of Equestria, and in my closet I have the most wonderful and loveliest of dresses that I could have ever imagined or dreamed of, oh and there stands all the princesses, and even they say that what the newspapers say of me is true.”

“Okay then, good,” Flash said, “But come on now, who wants to go next?”

“I will,” Rainbow Dash said pushing Rarity out of the way and to the side, “Just as I thought, I’m totally being awesome and showing off my moves, and I’m in the Wonderbolts, I’m flying with them in the air doing my moves and stunts.”

“Great,” Flash said, “Alright then, good so far, who’s next up in the line?”

“I’ll go,” Fluttershy said stepping up in front of it, “Oh, I’m in my garden, and all the animals I love are around me, but I’m being taken care of by them, oh, it’s so nice to be treated with love and kindness as I do with my animals.”

“Alright then, we get it, but I’m next,” Applejack said stepping up, “Oh, I see myself standing next to the biggest apple there ever was and that I ever saw, and my whole family is there to see me win the number one best apple pony farmer, and not just in the town, but all over the lands of Equestria too.”

“Oh me next,” Pinkie Pie said rushing over to stand in front of it, “Oh, I see myself at a party, lots of parties, and I have my party cannon and confetti, and cake and all sorts of games, and every pony is having fun and laughing.”

“Me next,” Iron Will said pushing Pinkie aside, “I see myself standing in Canterlot Castle, and I am being rewarded with the title of strongest creature ever in the lands of Equestria, and I also see myself with tons of gold bits.”

“And as for me,” Solar said pushing Iron Will aside with a hoof, “I see myself standing over the body of Nightmare Shadow, he’s been defeated, and I stand with the win and victory and glory, and I see nothing else in this mirror.”

“And finally for me,” Flash said pushing Solar aside, as Flash looked into the mirror he saw what he feared and thought he would see, he saw Twilight and himself kissing, under the night sky, at the beach, at their wedding, “Uh, I see myself getting promoted to Captain of the Guard by Princess Celestia,” he said lying and trying to think of the most convenient thing that a lowly guard like himself would want, but as he moved aside he saw Celestia glancing at him with a look that seemed to suggest she knew more than what he had told them.

“Well that’s it,” he said, “Everyone has gone, so why isn’t anything happening?”

“Because one of you has lied,” Nightmare Shadow said with his voice booming and echoing off the walls, “You must tell the truth in order to move on to the next stage, round and level, but one of you has not told the truth as it is.”

“Who has lied?” Twilight said, “Which one of you was it? We need to know.

Don’t be afraid to confess because we have to win this game, and in order to do that you need to tell the truth, and if you don’t we’ll never move on from this place, so please help us out, I know that you want to leave so please help us.”

“Alright,” Flash said, “It was me, I lied; I just couldn’t bear to tell the truth.”

“Why not, you do want to leave this place, right” Twilight asked him.

“Of course I do, it’s just that the truth is so embarrassing, I don’t know if I can say it out loud, or at least not where you can see my face or hear me.”

“Wait, are you saying what you saw in the mirror involved me in some way?”

“Yes, yes I am, and I just can’t bear to tell it, especially to you, Twilight.”

“Oh but you must Flash, this is the first test, to admit your heart’s desire in front of every pony especially in front of the one it concerns most,” Nightmare Shadow said with his voice echoing and booming once more again, “Anyhow, do what you wish, tell the truth, or keep it in until your mind finally breaks.”

“Please Flash; just tell us, I’m sure it’s not as bad as you think it is,”

“It is! And because of that I just can’t tell you, despite how much you need me to, I just can’t bear to say it out loud in front of all these ponies looking at me.”

“As I said before,” Nightmare Shadow said, “You ponies are all so pathetic and weak, you won’t even confess your true feelings, thoughts, ideas, dreams, and fears, and if you can’t even do that how are you supposed to stand up for your friends, family, town, or even all of Equestria? You can’t, that’s the answer.”

“Flash, I have a spell that can help you tell the truth, and it will be easy.”

“No cheating Twilight Sparkle,” Nightmare Shadow said, “No spells, no magic, no potions, he has to tell all of you on his own free will and power, if he does not then you’re all stuck here, so I hope you can find a way to make him talk.”

“Hey, you didn’t say that I couldn’t use magic before!”

“Well that was before, this is now, the rules can change in the middle of the game Twilight, despite there being no rules, except for the one I just made up for this round, level and stage, but other than that you’re basically free to do what you want to do, and should you need anything at all just ask me for it.”

“Alright fine then,” Twilight said, “I and the others will not use any magic on him to get him to talk; he’ll do it of his own free will and power as you said.”

“Good clever girl, I should give you a reward or treat, but I won’t.”

With that said Ness remained silent and Flash tried to be brave to talk.

“I don’t know if I can do this Twilight, not in front of you,” he said.

“Yes you can, because I believe in you, I have faith in you, I know that no matter what you’ll do what’s right, because that is who you are deep down inside, it doesn’t matter what a mirror shows you, your actions and words determine who you are, not what others say or think of you, so be brave, and stand up for what you believe in, and don’t be afraid of the truth, it can’t hurt you, maybe it will hurt others, but it will only hurt for a very short moment.”

“Alright,” Flash said taking a deep breath in, “I think I can do this now, thank you Twilight, alright, what I really saw was this, I saw me and you, and we were kissing, at the beach, under the night sky, and at our wedding.”

“Wait; are you saying what I think that you’re saying to me?”

“Yes, it is true Twilight, I have kept my feelings hidden from you for too long, but I’ll say it right now so that you know, I love you Twilight, I always have.”

With that said both Twilight and the room went into a silent shock, no one wanted to speak or say anything, and no one wanted to be inappropriate either.

“Can you believe this is actually happening? Flash is telling his true feelings towards Twilight! I thought that would never happen, but I guess it just did,” Pinkie Pie said to a wall, or to be more accurate, the viewing audience.

“Who is she talking to?” Flash said looking at her.

“I have no idea, but you’d be surprised at how much she does that.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it.”

“But let’s not talk about her, let’s talk about how you feel instead, I mean I never knew that you had these feelings for me, if I had I would have…”

“Twilight, I’m going to stop you right there,” Flash said, “Firstly, let’s not talk about how I feel, I don’t want to and this probably isn’t the best place or time, secondly if you had known sooner you wouldn’t be able to perform your royal duties, or focus on anything, you would have been distracted by me, and as a royal guard of lowly status I couldn’t have that, and the romance would never have worked between us, and I was also afraid to tell you, but today I did something I would never have thought possible, I told you my feelings for you.

“And it may have taken me a while to say them, but they’re here at last.”

Author's Note:

Next Chapter: The Second Challenge

Previous Edit of Rarity's Line (Mid Page)

["...besides, I think Nightmare Shadow needs some fashion tips,” Rarity said.

(At this every pony glared at her and she chuckled and laughed with some guilt and said that hat she had spoken was not false, but they moved on.)]

And to respond to RaylanKrios's comment

5.) Borrowing heavily from other sources (I haven't read the whole story but the whole mirror that shows your deepest desire.....c'mon Harry Potter anyone)

Here is my Official Response.

"When I write, I write with my heart and mind, and if one (or both) have been inspired by something (like a You Tube Video, Facebook or Twitter Comment, TV Show, Movie, New or Relevant Information to something, etc.

So if I have learned that the Mirror of Erised had a secret message I will (most likely) share it somehow, whether it be in a blog or post or story (idea/ thought).

So therefore I am not at fault and apologize if you take offense, I just merely wish to inform others who don't know this little fact in my own little way.

Besides, everyone has to draw upon something (or everything and everyone else).

And I also apologize if I drew from it 'heavily'.

But I do not wish to change it.

So with much respect and many wishes and my deepest regard.

The Author, Mr. Allan."

Stay tuned for more.