How to Disappear Completely

by shortskirtsandexplosions

Bro

Flash Sentry blinked.

He stared silently past the sterile reaches of High Paw... past the fuzzy and furry figures huddled around the nearby negotiating tents... past the dark hull of the Midnight Oil looming against the gray veil of evening.

Soarin gazed at the visiting stallion. The Wonderbolt raised an eyebrow below his resting goggles.

At long last... after a full minute of silence... Flash Sentry opened his muzzle...

...and he hesitated again.

Hooves shifted. Fetlocks flexed and unflexed. A tail flicked, flicked again, and was limp once more.

Silence.

Soarins lips pursed. Eventually, he breathed: "You... can't think of a single thing? Something about humans that you're proud of?"

Flash winced. His eyes wondered... did a full halo... then twitched slightly. Just then—with a gasp—he turned and grinned squarely at the older stallion. "We've got Jackie Chan!"

"... ... ..."

"I mean... pffft..." Flash Sentry rolled his eyes. "Of course there are plenty of things to be proud of where I come from! It's not all ugly, y'know!" He chuckled—more like wheezed—and fumbled with his blue bangs while his eyes searched the plateau behind Soarin once again. "It's not all cruel diplomacy... heartless capitalism... asshole m-media..." He gulped hard. "...and hopeless futures..."

Soarin was silent. He merely cocked his head to the side and waited... listened...

In a meager tone, Flash eventually delivered: "There are nice people... nice humans. Really, Soarin, there are. Benevolent leaders... charity volunteers... wise people... kind people... generous people." He cleared his throat. "Doctors. Nurses. Missionaries. Rescue workers. Mentors. Neighbors."

"Friends?"

"... ... ..." Flash bit his lip.

Soarin leaned back, inhaling slowly.

"I've... j-just not really been... mmmm..." Flash fidgeted a bit more. "...in a place to pay attention to it all. Or... b-believe in it." He clenched his jaw tight after that.

After a while, Soarin lowered his head, eyes peering like a sympathetic uncle's. "It was something about all of this that brought you back, wasn't it?"

Flash was silent. He looked to the right...

"Or perhaps..." Soarin smiled knowingly. "...something to do with Girl Number One?"

Flash looked to the left... ...

Soarins brow furrowed. "... ... ...or maybe Girl Number Two?"

At that, Flash's nostrils flared. When he looked back at Soarin, it was with a vulnerable expression. "Honestly, Soarin? I pretty much stumbled here in search for Boy Number One."

"...?!" Soarin leaned back, ears pricked like daggers.

"... ... ..." Flash's entire muzzle hardened. His teeth showed: "I'm talking about ME."

"Of course!" Soarins eyes rolled. "Tch—bro, I KNEW that."

"Good. Glad you know that."

"I do know that."

"I know that you know that."

"Great."

"Super great."

Awkward, pregnant silence.

Both stallions casually scraped the opposite horizons with squirmy pupils.

At last, it was Soarin who cleared his throat and dared to speak: "Do... you think you've come any close to finding yourself?"

"I..." Flash sighed, hanging his head. "...I dunno."

"Annnnnd..." Soarin glanced up at the stars above. "...in the meantime... you've just sorta been... wingin' it... huh?"

"Mmmmmmmm... yeahhhhhh..."

"And all this business back in Ponyville and cosying up to the likes of Filthy and Fancy and helpin' with the expedition—?"

"I-I just wanna do the right thing!" Flash blurted.

Soarin raised an eyebrow.

"I... I want to be nice for a change..." Flash insisted. He adjusted the weight of Vinyl's headphones over his neck and exhaled heavily out his nostrils. "I-I wanna be of good use to somebody."

"You can't do that sort of thing back home?" Soarin asked in an innocent tone. "You can't be of good use around your fellow humans?"

A sound rattled beneath Flash's throat—close to a growl. "It's a lot easier making others happy here."

Soarin lifted his head. "Oh?"

Flash was silent.

After a while, Soarin nodded and said, "Well, I think you're a good pony, Flash." He smiled ever so slightly. "A good human pony."

Flash looked at him suddenly. There was a noticeable gloss to his eyes.

"Maybe—if you ever do find 'Boy Number One'—" Soarin winked. "—you can tell him that for me."

Flash exhaled. A chuckle escaped his muzzle... or perhaps it was a giggle. He smiled sideways, raising a hoof. "Bro..."

SWOOOSH! Spitfire flew in thunderously, hovering above the two with a glare that pierced the shadows. "Heads up, ya frilly ladies." Her head pivoted slightly. "And Mr. Brad."

"Heh..." Soarin rolled his eyes. "...cute."

"I mean it." Spitfire pointed towards the tents. "Things are coming to a head. Stay alert in case it all goes south."

Soarin and Flash Sentry tuned into the conversation at the negotiation tables...

Comments

[bloons3]

I'm still pretty sure SSnE is not entirely human...

[B_25]

Welcome back.

[Autumn Colors Fall]

And here I thought the punchline was that the story was going to disappear completely halfway through.

[Davidp1522]

Flash x soarin is now otp

[Xenophylia]

cool to see the return of this story =)

[Marauder15]

Nice to see this story back

[djthomp]

Jackie Chan is pretty good.

Does it count as finding yourself if you just find the native pony version?

[DoctorDerpy]

Yeeeeessssssssss I’ve been worried this wouldn’t continue!

[Booster Spice]

Heads South?.. Well, Dash went East and Cadence West.

[Mix-up]

Nice to see this story back on track again. It was interesting that Soarin see what bothers him for the most part and that he is trying to help Flash find himself again.

[Hawattie]

8754875
Who will go north?

[Booster Spice]

8754954

Oliver Others?

[The Great Derpsby]

Flash turned to look away. Far away. "There are lots of nice people out there. Wonderful people. Wonderful friends. I could look for them any time I wish. I know they exist. But I can't feel they exist. Because something inside of me is broken. And whenever I do look, I just see nothing."

[Rhawkas]

8755337
I know they exist, but it doesn't seem like something that many ponies would be particularly familiar with. And for a pony to use "hands" instead of "hooves" in a phrase like that suggests that the pony spent a great deal of time in a society where the majority of the population had hands and would use the phrase with hands instead of with hooves.

[IceKitsune]

Oh boy, things are happening!

[Silentwoodfire]

Typical teen uninformed angst

may it never get less awkward when heard

[Bruno]

The shipping is entirely intentional at the point, I swear.

[Detsella Morningdew]

Midnight Oil

This many chapters, and that still makes me chuckle. Now, if it catches on fire, I'll actually laugh.

[Spanner]

This played right when I started this chapter. Super eerie.