Jakhowl
We find Flash patrolling Ponyville once again. He had just finished his watch over the west side and was heading up to the north side, only to notice a wooden bridge he had asked Mayor Mare about before. He remembered that Mayor Mare had condemned it, but the construction ponies she had hired to replace it weren't scheduled to arrive for another three days. However, he couldn't help but think that it would be a problem regardless of it being fixed later.
After finishing up the northern side, Flash began flying over the Everfree Forest. He decided to make sure nothing dangerous strayed too close to town or Sweet Apple Acres...that is, till he felt something odd.
"Help...me."
Flash stopped as he felt the strange sudden voice. It was as if somepony or something was calling out to him, but not through it's voice.
"Help me please."
He felt it again, but this time he got a feel for which direction it was coming from. Flash turned around to an area of the forest just beyond his patrol border. He scratched his chin, wondering if he should find out what was going on. But he knew if somepony was in trouble, he had to go find out what was wrong. He circled the area three times, looking for anything that could have been what called out to him, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary until...
"HELP!"
Feeling the new surge, Flash flew at high speed to the area he felt from earlier. He wasn’t sure what it was, but he knew he had to find it. That is, till he found the source of the disturbance.
Timberwolves.
Applejack had warned the apprentice knight about these creatures. Myths spoke of how the spirits of real wolves who had died in the Everfree Forest. They had remained in said forest and took physical form through the process of merging sticks and leaves. That and they had an incredible blood lust. Three of these monsters seemed to have cornered another, smaller creature against a tree.
It was some kind of bipedal canine creature, shivering as it stood on it's two feet. It was mainly blue, but it had black legs and a black torso along with a blue tail and a yellow collar. It had rounded bumps on the backs of it's forepaws and a black 'mask' over it's red eyes. It also stood on it's toes instead of it's entire foot.
One quick look showed that the creature was injured, as it was holding it's left arm in it's right paw and it looked it was trying to keep it's weight off it's right leg. As he saw the Timberwolves prepare to strike the poor creature, Flash's brain went into overdrive, thinking of everything he could do to stop them. Applejack had told him that Timberwolves were easy to surprise but wouldn't stay that way for long, so if he wanted to use a surprise attack, he'd need to do it quickly.
Flying down as fast as he could, Flash found himself smashing into the center wolf, it's splinters flying as his tackle hit with full force. He then quickly grabbed some of it's pieces and threw them at the other two. The pieces hit them at high force, causing them to fall apart as well.
Knowing he only had seconds before they reconstituted, Flash sped over to the creature and grabbed it with a quick snag. Before they both knew it, both were in the air in milliseconds. As he flew, he looked down at the creature in his hooves and smiled. "Don't worry little guy, I got you." The creature just turned it's head in a confused manner, letting out a sound you'd hear from a dog.
Deciding to land before whatever he had just saved decided to get either fidgety or violent, Flash flew over to an area of the forest he had set up as a training ground to practice. Once there, he put the blue animal down and landed a little ways off to give it some space. Now that the danger was gone, Flash looked him over and scanned his brain for anything that might tell him what this creature was, but as far as he could remember, he hadn't seen anything like it before.
"So, what are you?" he asked, finally giving up.
The creature once again turned it's head and then held up it's hands...paws...whatever, as it shut it's eyes. As it did this, it's droopy ears flared up for a second. When the ears stopped fidgeting, the creature opened it's eyes and smiled, quickly rushing over and throwing it's arms around Flash's front leg in a hug.
"Somepony's friendly." Flash chuckled, deciding he liked this animal.
Once it let him go, Flash walked over to where he had kept his saddlebag for later training and opened it up, pulling out an apple he was saving for later. "You hungry?" he asked as he walked back up to the creature. The creature sniffed the fruit before grabbing it and taking a small bite. Instantly, it's eyes lit up and it started munching down on the fruit.
Happy it was at least healthy enough to have an appetite, Flash looked over the creature's injuries, knowing they would need to be treated as soon as possible. "Hey, listen little guy." he said, kneeling down to get to the creature's eye level, "I have a friend named Fluttershy who is really good with animals. She'd be able to fix you right up. So, you wanna go meet her?"
The creature stared at him for a moment before nodding happily with a yip. Letting out a small laugh, Flash smiled and turned, pointing at his back as the little one climbed on board. Seating itself into a comfortable position, they took to the skies.
One flight later...
Fluttershy had just finished feeding her animals when she heard a certain knock on her door.
"Hello?" she asked as she trotted over.
"Fluttershy," Flash's voice came through the door, "I need your help."
The yellow Pegasus opened the door and found her male friend standing there with a blue dog like creature sitting on his back. "Oh," she squealed, seeing the creature as her eyes went wide, "Who is this?"
"I found him in the forest being attacked by Timberwolves," Flash told her as he turned to his side, showing her the creature. "He's hurt and he needs help."
"Oh dear." she said as she looked him over, "The poor little thing." As she went to take hold of him, the creature flinched, making a small growl that made Fluttershy pull back. “Oh my.” she replied as she slowly presented her hoof. “It's okay little one. I don't mean you any harm.” As these words flowed into it's ears, it held up it's arms and closed it's eyes like it had with Flash. It's ears flared up for a moment before opening it's eyes again, now smiling at the mare. No longer sensing hostility, Fluttershy picked him up and flew him over to her couch. She did a quick look over before going to her dresser where she pulled out a medical kit.
"So?" Flash asked, "Is he okay or should I take him to an actual vet?"
"He's fine." Fluttershy replied as she applied some kind of gel to his injuries and wrapped it in a bandage, "Just a few scrapes and a sprained foot. A few days rest and he'll be fine."
"Great," Flash sighed in relief, "Next question, what the heck is he?"
"I don't know," Fluttershy shook her head as she responded back, "I've never seen a creature like him before."
"But you're an animal expert." Flash replied, surprised at this fact. “You've never seen anything like that little guy before?”
"Normal animals maybe, but if you found him in the Everfree Forest, then I can't say I would know anything about this poor little one."
"You might not," Flash said as he scratched his chin, "But I know somepony who might, or at least have a book about it."
"Twilight?" the yellow pegasus asked, getting a nod in return.
"I'll head over to the library to see if she can find anything. You don't mind looking after him, do you?" He turned towards the door, only to then hear a whining sound, making him turn back.
"I don't mind Flash, but I don't think he wants you to leave," Fluttershy chuckled before she noticed it was trying to get off the sofa. "Oh no little one, you need to stay off your feet until the gel finishes absorbing into your skin.”
The animal looked at Flash and gave him, for the lack of a better word, puppy dog eyes to stay.
"Maybe I should stay." Flash sighed as asked Fluttershy. "You mind heading over to Twilight's and asking?"
“I don't mind.” Fluttershy nodded and headed towards the door, turning back around as she said to the room. "Please play nice everypony."
"Who's she talking about?" Flash asked himself, only for him to look around and find that the room was now filled with animals including cats, rabbits and even...a bear. "How did I miss you?" he asked to the bear who just waved back with a little smile. While this happened, the creature seemed to chuckle and then slowly got off the sofa. He then began softly limping over to him, looking a little better now. "Man, you're bouncing back faster than a spring."
A little later...
"Blue fur?"
"Yes."
"Floppy ears?"
"Yes."
"Bipedal?"
"Um?"
"Stands on two feet."
"Oh...yes." Fluttershy replied, nodding for the third time.
Twilight sighed and threw the book she was reading on top of another pile. She, Fluttershy and the rest of the gang were in the library, shifting through an ocean of books. Though it was more like Twilight was shifting through an ocean of books with Fluttershy's help while Applejack and Rarity were skimming through one or two. Pinkie was looking through an animal colouring book, (it counts) and Rainbow was relaxing on one of the empty shelves.
"I'm sorry Fluttershy," Twilight said to her friend, "But I can't find anything that even resembles this animal."
"Are you sure these are all the books on animals you have?" Rarity asked as she flipped through another page.
"Yes." Twilight groaned as she levitated another book in front of her, "And I've read them from cover to cover. Equestrian Wildlife, Amazing Monster Habitats, Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. Nothing has anything close to what she described."
"Why are we even looking so hard?" Rainbow asked, getting a glare due to her use of the term 'we'. "The thing came from the Everfree Forest, so it doesn't belong here. We need to kick it back into those woods where it belongs."
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy scolded her friend, "That animal is injured and it needs our help. Plus, it's not even dangerous, it's sweet and even a little shy."
"You could say the same thing about Spike." she replied, pointing at the small dragon who was currently re-shelving the books Twilight had tossed away, "Doesn't mean we'd let a full grown one stay here."
"Like a dragon would show up around here," Twilight growled, angry that Rainbow would say that about Spike.
"My point is, that thing might seem cute and cuddly now, but when it gets bigger, it might not be so friendly."
"But this could be a great discovery," Twilight barked back, pointing her hoof at the lazy pegasus. "If it isn't in any of my books, then maybe it's a previously undocumented animal or..." Twilight froze, her mind suddenly seeing their solution.
"Or what?" Applejack asked, just now entering the conversation.
However, Twilight ignored her and moved over to another shelf. There, she began flinging off books, much to Spike's disapproval. After a minute, she finally stopped at a certain book. "This is it.”
Meanwhile...
Back at Fluttershy's cottage, Flash was busy teaching her animals to play go fish. He wanted to try to teach them poker like Grand Hoof had once taught him, but he found that there were too many rules for their tiny minds. "Got any sevens?" he asked Harry the bear, who shuck it's head. Flash let out a sigh as he now had to go fish.
After this, it was the demon, I mean, Angel's turn and he turned to Flash and stomped his foot three times. "No," Flash said with a huge cheeky grin, "Go fish."
Their game was interrupted when the door suddenly opened up, revealing the girls and Spike. "We're here," Fluttershy exclaimed, happy to see her animal friends again before noticing that cards were their hands-er...paws and claws. She gasped and flew over to Flash, getting right in his face with a violent glare. It felt like she was staring into his very soul. "Are you teaching my animals to gamble?!"
"Go fish," Flash said, trying to keep his cool. "It was either this or fifty two card pickup and well..." Fluttershy's glare only got stronger as it almost turned on her 'Stare', causing Flash to gulp and weakly reply, “Okay, I tried to teach them poker but...only Angel kinda understood it. I swear I didn't teach them how to gamble.”
“Grrr...alright.” Fluttershy growled before looking at her animal friends again. “They don't need that kind of knowledge.” This statement was followed by a wipe of the brow and a sigh of relief from Flash.
Twilight stepped forward, sighing as she remembered when Flash taught her poker. And took all of her allowance, causing her to never play with him again. "So, where is the little guy we've heard so much about?"
"I took him upstairs. He's probably fast asleep, getting the rest he needs." Flash replied as he dropped his cards and patted Harry. "I'll go get him." He flew up to Fluttershy's room and a few minutes later, he returned with the creature on his back, looking weary at the sight of the new ponies. "Everypony, say hi to Springer."
"Springer?" they all repeated in confusion.
"Had to call him something," Flash chuckled as he put the newly named animal on the couch, "And he seems to like it."
"Well, hello there Springer," Twilight smiled as she began to walk up to him, only to see Springer flinch back. The creature once again closed it's eyes and held up it's paws. A second later, it's ears flared up like before. This lasted a bit longer this time, but when it finally finished, it opened it's eyes and presented a large smile in return.
"What was that all about?" Rainbow asked, furrowing her eyebrow.
"Not sure," Flash replied as he patted Springer's head, "He seems to do it every time he meets somepony new."
"Fascinating." Twilight said as she levitated a notepad and pencil out of her saddlebag and started writing.
"What are you doing?" Flash asked, already slightly regretting what he was asking.
"I'm documenting everything I can about him," Twilight replied, not looking up.
"Does that mean you couldn't find anything in your books?"
"In a way," Twilight's horn shined as she put down her notepad and levitated a book to him. Flash took the book and read the title.
Equestria's Top One Hundred Extinct Animals
"Extinct animals?" Flash asked, slightly surprised. "Why'd you bring this?"
"Go to the bookmarked section," Twilight told him as she picked up her notepad again. Flash did so and found himself looking at a crude sketch of Springer. Next to it was another creature that looked like a bigger version of him, though with some slight differences. At the top of the page was a single word.
Jakhowl
"Jakhowl?" Flash read as he looked back at his new friend, "Is that what you're called Springer?"
Springer let out a confused dog sound, obviously not understanding the question. Flash returned to the book, but found that there wasn't anything else written on the page.
"There doesn't appear to be anymore info on Jakhowls other than it's name," Twilight explained sadly as she began making a new sketch of Springer. "That's why I'm documenting anything I see Springer do. He might just be the last one in existence, and this might be our only chance to study them."
"Huh." Flash said, looking back at the book. On closer inspection, he noticed that the Jakhowls in the picture were both carrying some kind of ball in their paws, though that could be anything.
Meanwhile, Fluttershy was looking over Springer's injuries, carefully lifting his paw to examine it. "It looks like the gels are doing their job, that's good. But you still shouldn't exert yourself any time soon Springer. I must say though, your scrapes were nowhere near as bad as I thought."
Springer nodded with a yipping sound.
"So...he's okay to move around?" Flash asked, giving the book to Spike.
"Yes," Fluttershy nodded, "But I'll need to check up on him in a couple of days just to be sure."
"Yeah yeah yeah, he's fine." Rainbow complained, earning another glare from the others. "Can I still remind you all that we still don't know anything about this thing?! It's from the Everfree Forest!"
"But he's obviously intelligent." Twilight replied, pointing at the happy Jakhowl. "And it's not like we can tell him to go back into the forest."
"Plus, just look at him," Rarity said, walking up to pet the creature. "He's just so cute."
"Don't get any ideas," Spike told Springer with a slight growl.
"Well, where do you suppose we keep him?" the cyan pegasus asked, a slight hiss in his voice. In that moment, Springer jumped off the couch and back onto Flash's back, a giant smile on his face.
"Well, that answers that darling.”
"He does seem to be attached to Flash more than anypony else," Fluttershy giggled as she rubbed Springer's chin, causing him to yip again.
"Then it's settled," Twilight smiled as she finished her sketch, "Springer can stay with us until he's back to full health."
"You hear that little buddy?" Flash asked, looking back at Springer. "You're coming home with us."
Hearing this, Springer let out another bark of joy. Seems their new friendship was already off to a great start.
And that was how the young Jakhowl came to live with Flash, Twilight and Spike. Fluttershy had lent them a basket, which they filled with blankets for Springer to use to sleep in. They found out later that he even slept like a dog, curling up in the blankets in a ball like form. That, and he preferred Flash's room to sleep in.
They also quickly learned just how intelligent Jakhowls were since Springer only had to see them do or explain something once to know how it worked. Things such as door handles and the purpose of the bathroom became second nature for Springer very quickly. Flash was especially glad for the bathroom one, since explaining it once was awkward enough.
Despite his hesitance, Spike soon grew to be fast friends with Springer. After all, the two were non-pony creatures and he found himself enjoying himself as he introduced the Jakhowl to his favourite things such as comics and gems.
"He's really settling in," Flash told Twilight as they watched the two play. “And we just met him today!”
"He is," Twilight replied, still writing in her notepad, "But seeing him like this still makes me wish we could find out more about him."
Flash nodded, only for his eyes to shoot wide open when he realised something. "This library might not have anything...but what about Canterlot?"
Twilight gasped and slammed her hoof into her head. "How could I not think of that? I'll send a letter to the princess tomorrow and ask if she knows anything."
"Sounds good to me."
The next morning, Flash woke up the second Celestia raised the sun above the horizon, filling the room with light as it struck his face. Slowly getting up and stretching, he crept towards his door, trying to not wake Springer up. However, a sudden yip caught his attention. He turned to see Springer sitting up in his new basket, looking at him in a puppy dog stare.
"Sorry bud, did I wake you?" he asked, but the Jakhowl just shook it's head. "Well, I'm off to start my morning patrol."
Springer got out of his basket and walked over to him, jumping up onto his back. "You want to come to?" Springer nodded in return. Letting out a chuckle, Flash decided to just go with it and the two were soon flying over the town, looking for any situation Flash would need to deal with.
An hour or so later, they finished their patrol. Seeing this, Flash flew them over to his private training area where Flash took a pair of apples he had stored in his saddlebag and handed one of them to the Jakhowl, who happily munched it down.
"Well Springer," Flash said, finishing his own breakfast, "I need to do some training."
Springer looked up from the apple and gave him a quizzical look.
"I'm a Royal Knight in training," Flash explained while patting him on the head, "And I'm this town's peace keeper. I have to train to make sure I'm in top form to face anything that comes my way."
Springer's eyes widened, hearing this.
"Watch and be impressed." Flash said as he walked over to some trees with coils of rope wrapped around its trunk. Springer looked around the rest of the training area and saw many different things you wouldn't see in a forest. There were different sized rocks Flash had excavated from Ghastly Gorge that now functioned as different weights along with swing-like elements hanging on trees. They were made with rocks and logs, which the Jakhowl guessed were part of an assault course of kinds. Finally, there were different trees wrapped in rope, one of which Flash was busy punching like a boxer. "I try and work out for at least an hour a day," Flash panted as he did a one-two punch, "Life is pretty normal around here, so its not hard to find the time."
Springer nodded and walked over to a pair of rocks connected by a thick stick and rope. He grabbed the weighted instrument and tried to bench press with slight difficulty.
"Hey, don't push yourself," Flash told him as he stopped boxing. "You're still not back to full strength yet."
Springer continued to try and lift it, but suddenly froze as his ears flared up. He then looked up, shocked at something.
"What's wrong buddy?" Flash asked, but Springer didn't answer and instead leaped onto his back before signalling to the sky, as if he wanted Flash to fly. "Wait...is something happening?" Seeing Springer nod, Flash shot up into the air. He didn't know why, but he just knew that Springer was worried about something and followed his directions. Soon, they were flying over to a strong flowing river, filled with giant rocks and raging water.
"FLASH!" the knight in training looked down and saw Scootaloo running along the river, but she wasn't alone. Applejack's little sister Applebloom was also there, along with Rarity's sister Sweetie Belle and some other young ponies he'd seen in town.
"What's going on?" he asked once he was low enough to hear. He soon got his answer as three young screams caught his attention. Looking towards the source, his heart almost gave out as he saw three foals he remembered as Rumble, Twist and Button Mash were being swept down the river. "Oh crud!" he yelled before he felt Springer leap off his back and onto the shore. The Jakhowl began sprinting to the school ponies, surprising Flash for a second. However, his back soon reminded him that his baggage was now at zero, allowing him to freely fly down in an sharp aerial dive. With one quick swoop, he managed to pull Rumble out of the water and onto dry land. But as he turned to get the others, fear plastered itself on his face.
The other foals had entered a part of the river that ran alongside a rocky area known for its breakaways. As they were washed down the current, a rock slide appeared, quickly falling towards the river, right where the foals were headed. "Oh come on!" Flash yelled as he started redirecting himself towards the slide. As he landed in front of the rocks, he focused all his strength as he began smashing several of them to dust. Eventually, he hit a rock to big for even him to smash and was caught in a scenario very similar to the night with Nightmare Moon. Seeing this new problem, he knew now that if he moved even an inch, he would lose the battle with the incoming boulder, which would then crash into the foals. To make matters worse, the rock slide was still going as smaller rocks rolled past him.
"We need to do something!" Applebloom yelled, fidgeting in fear.
"But what?" Sweetie asked in panic, biting her hoof as she watched the situation worsen.
It was in that moment that Springer acted. With one great leap, he threw himself over the river, placing himself between the rocks and the foals.
"SPRINGER! What are you doing?!" Flash yelled, looking back as sweat began to pour down his forehead.
As the rocks drew closer, Springer closed his eyes and placed his paws together. Everypony watched in confusion as to what he was doing, only to gasp as they saw him begin to glow a soft blue aura that seemed to just traverse up his body, towards his paws. Then, when he slowly pulled his paws apart, something formed between them. It was a ball of some kind of light blue energy, which grew larger and larger until it was about the size of a Buckball. Springer's eyes shot open and he spun around as threw the energy ball at one of the larger rocks. The energy ball struck the boulder and shattered it to pieces, only for the other rocks to be struck by the attack's debris, reducing them all to dust.
"What was that?!" Flash exclaimed, only to see Springer do it once again. This time though, he threw the ball at Flash, its speed increasing with every second. Realising what the Jakhowl was intending to do, Flash let the boulder go and quickly flew up as the sphere destroyed it. Not one to waste an opportunity, Flash flew down the river and snatched the other two foals, easily getting them to shore. The danger finally gone, Flash looked over to Springer, who quickly leaped back to their side of the river, looking exhausted. "Springer...huff, huff...what was that? What did you just do?"
The Jakhowl let out a small bark before falling to it's knees right before Flash rushed over to help steady him.
"What is that thing?" Scootaloo asked, looking Springer over.
"Whatever it is, it just saved us." Twist said with a slight lisp.
"Yeah," Button Mash agreed, "We would have been toast if he hadn't stopped that boulder."
"That reminds me,” Flash groaned as he glared at the clearly soaked trio. “How exactly did you three end up being carried down a raging river?"
The three foals looked at the ground, obviously not wanting to answer. Seeing that they weren't telling, Flash's mind decided to use a little deductive reasoning. After all, this river flowed around the outskirts of the town and the only reason these ponies would be anywhere near it would be...oh. "You guys used the condemned bridge, didn't you?"
The three continued to look at their hooves for a few seconds, but eventually nodded.
"Do you have any idea how stupid that is?!" Flash almost yelled at them. “Do you have any idea what would have happened if me and him weren't here?!”
"We're sorry," Twist said, tears slowly appearing under her eyes.
"It was my fault," Rumble continued, his head hung low. "We were running late for school and I suggested we use it as a shortcut."
"And...we agreed to," Button Mash finished, his lips quivering from confessing.
Flash sighed after seeing their sad expressions and decided to drop it. "Come on," he moaned while picking up Springer and placing him on his back, "I'll take you all back home and explain what happened. Your parents, and probably Cheerilee, can decide your punishment." The young ponies all nodded and then returned to town.
After they returned to town, Flash explained everything that happened at the local schoolhouse. Due to the incident, school had been cancelled for good reasons. Now, the school ponies, minus the three now severally grounded foals, were in the park, playing with Springer who was now back to being his usual cheery self after a little rest.
"Go long Springer!" Scootaloo yelled, throwing a ball towards the Jakhowl, who was running to catch it. The other foals cheered as they watched grab the ball and throw it back.
“Over here Springer!” exclaimed Sweetie Belle as the ball soon came to her.
As they continued to play, Flash found himself explaining what he had seen Springer do to the others. They were initially shocked at the news, surprised that their new visitor had such strange powers.
"So, Springer can use magic?" Twilight asked, cocking an eyebrow as she jotted a few more notes on her notepad.
"I'm not sure." Flash replied, rubbing his chin in thought. "It didn't look like any kind of magic I've ever seen. At least, nothing like unicorn magic. It was like...his 'magic' just sort of flowed through his body and into that energy ball."
"So this thing can fire magic blasts now," Rainbow grumbled with a roll of the eyes. "Perfect."
"He used it to save lives Rainbow." Flash said with a glare, "And he saved mine. Isn't that enough proof to show you that he's not dangerous?" He turned and pointed at Springer and the kids playing, "I mean, look at him. He's over there, having fun with the foals."
Rainbow looked over at the kids playing with the animal and sighed, "I guess. Its just...he's so mysterious that its unsettling."
"I do kinda agree. I wish we knew somepony who knew more about him." Twilight commented as she finished the last sentence.
"PERHAPS I CAN HELP WITH THAT!" Everypony looked up and gasped at what they saw. It was Princess Celestia, descending down to their level. Seeing this, everypony immediately bowed at her presence.
"Princess!" Twilight gasped as she quickly bowed as well.
"Rise my subjects," Celestia chuckled with a smile. As they stood back up, Springer stepped over to Flash and eyed Celestia. The alicorn caught sight of the Jakhowl and her eyes widened in amazement. "It really is a Jakhowl! Incredible!"
"Princess...you know about Jakhowls?!" Twilight exclaimed, instantly shocked at the news.
Celestia nodded and drew closer to Springer. The small blue canine eyed her wearily as she came up to him and said, "Hello little one. I am Princess Celestia. It is an honour to meet you Springer." Springer closed his eyes and held up his paws, his ears flaring for a moment. After this, he opened his eyes and smiled at her.
"Again with that. What is he doing?" Rarity asked, tilting her head in confusion.
"And he did it to the princess." Rainbow mumbled, gritting her teeth.
"It's okay." Celestia told them as she gave Springer a scratch behind the ear, "Tell me little one, did you like my aura?"
"Aura?" everypony asked in confusion.
"Indeed." Celestia nodded. "I rushed over here as soon as I got Twilight's letter this morning. I had to see if you'd really found an actual Jakhowl."
"But...what is a Jakhowl princess?" Twilight asked as she pulled up her notepad again. “I've never seen one except in books over extinct animals.”
"A Jakhowl is a creature who lived here in Equestria many centuries ago," Celestia explained as she petted Springer, a small yip following the treatment. "They lived alongside ponies and were just as important to the land as the ponies were."
"But if they lived here alongside us, why have none of us ever heard of them?" Rarity asked as she tried not to giggle at Springer's obvious love of affection he was getting.
"And why aren't they here now?" Applejack continued while giving Rainbow a slight glare.
"I wish I could say," Celestia said as her expression turned to one of slight depression, "It was during a time of great conflict in Equestria. During that time, Jakhowl numbers slowly began to drop until...well, until they were gone. It was said by many that the Jakhowls left Equestria to find a new place to call home, away from the conflict that threatened them. If you managed to find one, then maybe those rumours were true."
"But, what about that stuff you said about he liking your...aura?" Flash asked as Springer left Celestia and went to hug Flash, "What's an aura?"
"Aura, my dear Flash Sentry, is the spiritual life energy that all living things possess. It flows from us and reflects our very souls."
"Huh?!" Rainbow asked, obviously confused despite just half listening to the conversation.
"So, its like body odour for the soul?" Pinkie giggled, making Celestia laugh.
"If you want to think of it like that, then yes," Celestia chuckled. "Jakhowls are capable of seeing aura and use it as a defense mechanism. Whenever it meets somepony or something new, it reads it's aura. Doing this allows the Jakhowl to know if they can trust that being, as their auras will reflect their intent and show whether they are lying or not."
"So that's why Springer kept doing it whenever he met somepony new," Flash said while petting Springer. “Interesting.”
"Indeed. He was seeing if he could trust you or not Flash." Celestia said with a slight smirk "And obviously, he believes he can."
"Awesome." Flash said as he gave him a little pat. "And that blast you used earlier, that was aura too, wasn't it bud?"
"Ah, I see you've already seen Aura Blast," Celestia replied with slight surprise. "Jakhowls can shape their aura into a concentrated blast for defensive purposes, but using it too much can tire them out. Of course, that is only one of the abilities they have."
"There's more?" Twilight asked as she kept jotting down new notes.
"Yes," Celestia nodded, "In ancient times, some Jakhowls could even develop the ability to speak our language, though this only happened to those who had a strong aura."
"Speaking..." Flash pondered as he stared at his friend."So, that really was you back then."
“Back then?"
"Yeah, before I met Springer, I heard a voice. Though, it wasn't so much hearing it as much as I felt it. After hearing this though, I'm willing to bet it was Springer who was speaking out to me through his aura."
Everypony whispered hearing this, trying to understand what he met. However, none were more shocked than Celestia. "If you could hear him through his aura before you even met him, then...I'm willing to bet that you two might share the same aura."
"Share an aura?" Fluttershy gasped as she went over to pet Springer. "Is that even possible?"
"It's rare, but Jakhowls and ponies sharing auras has been seen before. Those who do share auras usually share a strong bond. Even after their first meeting, those who have similar auras are known to become life long partners and friends."
"Partners...huh." Flash said, turning to the Jakhowl, "That sounds good to me. What do you say Springer, wanna stay here with me?"
Springer looked up at Flash with wide eyes, yipping at the idea.
"Seeing how you helped save those younglings today made me think having you around might help me in my duties. I never would have even known about them if you hadn't told me, which I'm guessing you knew through that aura stuff.” Springer slightly nodded at Flash's explanation. “So, what do you say? Wanna be my partner?"
Springer continued to stare into Flash's eyes for what felt like forever. After the slight stare down, he finally smiled and hugged Flash with a happy bark. Everypony awed at the sight of the two new partners. Even Rainbow Dash, who looked like she might cry.
"I guess that's settled." Celestia giggled as she scratched Springer's ear again., "This may be the beginning of a new start. If one Jakhowl is in Equestria, then perhaps the rest of them may one day return to these lands. I hope that day comes soon."
"So do I Princess." Flash said with a bow.
"Well, I must take my leave now, my little ponies."
"Your leaving already princess?!" Twilight gasped, despair covering her face.
"I have many duties to attend to," Celestia told her student, "But before I go, would you like to give me your latest friendship report?"
Twilight looked around in a panic until she saw Flash and Springer. Seeing their bond, she grew calm before nodding. Letting out a small 'ahem', she began.
Dear Princess Celestia. I've learned today that even between two separate species, the Magic of Friendship can exist. It is not the differences between each other you should look at, but the similarities. Many times when you do, you'll find that not only could you be friends, but you should be friends.
"Very good Twilight." Celestia nodded before extending her wings, taking to the skies.
Everypony remained silent for a moment, watching the royal pony leave. That is, til Pinkie finally spoke up. "Hey, you know what we should do to celebrate?"
"Let me guess." Flash chuckled before he and the rest of them all called out in unison, "A party?"
“Aww...how did you know?”
Some time later...
At Sugarcube Corner, everypony celebrated Flash and Springer's new partnership. Everypony in town attended, all curious at their visitor. Springer made sure to read all their auras and found each one to be to his liking. Springer then enjoyed a large cake that Pinkie quickly made at the end of the party. After devouring the treat, Rarity came up to him with a small box. "Here you go sweetie, a little something from all of us to welcome you."
"It was Rainbow's idea," Twilight cheekily continued, making the pegasus blush.
Springer opened it and found a brown bandanna inside. On its front was Flash's Cutie Mark, causing his eyes to widen.
"A lot of ponies in this town see that mark as a sign to believe they're safe." Twilight explained, giving the cutie mark's owner a nudge, "So, we thought what better way to help you show others that they can trust you to keep them safe."
Springer took the bandanna and smiled before holding it out to Rarity with a happy bark.
"I think he wants you to put it on him." Flash said with a small smile.
"How can you tell?" Fluttershy asked, surprised that Flash understood what he had said.
"I'm his partner." Flash laughed as his smile got bigger. "Of course I know what he's saying."
Rarity then took the bandanna and tied it around the Jakhowl's neck, making him look cooler than ever.
The next morning, the library doors opened as the two new teammates stepped out, ready to do another morning patrol.
"Okay bud," Flash said as he glanced at his new friend. "I'll keep an eye out and you keep your senses open."
Springer barked a 'yes' before they shot into the sky, ready to protect their home.
And so, it was then that Flash Sentry and Springer the Jakhowl came to be partners, protecting the town of Ponyville
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I was not expecting that. But, I do approve of Flash having a pet that seems to function like a cross of a D&D Druid/Ranger Animal Companion and a D&D Wizard/Sorcerer Familiar.
7952805 Okay. Sorry never played D&D so I'd have to take your word on it.
A Riolu, awesome! Imagine if it can evolve into a Lucario, or if there is some equivalent to Mega Evolution in Equestria. That does seem like the perfect pet for Flash.
I was not expecting that.
Riolu's one of my favourite Pokemon. So I take it Jakhowl is a corruption of Jackal.
Also I laughed hard when I read the Fastantic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Keep up the good work sir.
Fluttershy, welcome to friendship with guys.
Also, Flash's pet is a tiny Lucario! So adorable.
I up until now I didn't know what Riolus were called. I've just been calling them tiny Lucarios just because that's what I'm familiar with. 
Can I ask a couple of questions?
First on Suited for Success are you going to have Rarity make a suit for Flash, or will he go to the Gala in his uniform?
And if it’s the later will it be his armour or will he have some type of ceremonial uniform like Shining Armour had for his wedding?
If it’s ceremonial dress will it be the red? Like the Foot Guards of the Household Divisions (better known as the Grenadier, Coldstream, Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards). If so I don’t think Flash would look good in that vivid scarlet.
There’s this image http://chainchomp2.deviantart.com/art/Pony-Wedding-Commission-Twilight-x-Flash-442815412 which has a uniform colour more suitable for Flash.
If you do take it you may need to come up with an excuse why it's different, like say a different regiment of the guard, or maybe to denote his status as an apprentice Royal Knight, like the blue and more ornate uniform is that of the Order of Royal Knights.
You don’t need to take my suggestion of course, you are the author.
My final question concerns the Jakhowl, I’m creating a character for an up and coming story and I’d like him to have a pet, but depending on what I do I may need it to be quite active, so can I use the Jakhowl for it? I will credit you for it. I can change my plans if you don’t wish me to.
7956194
-For the first question, Rarity will be making Flash a suit for the Gala which I'll show when I get to that episode.
-Secondly sure, you can use Jakhowl. PM or comment to me when the story comes out
7956392 Thank you.
7953511 I suggest you reread the story now that the editing is done. You might like the card scene a bit more.
I love your stories. I totally found the Riolu.
So Flash get's a Riolu as a pet/partner, any chance any other Pokemon will show up in Equestria, if so I would love to see each of the mane 6 get pokemon related towards their talent, of course I would LOVE to see the CMC with pokemon too, Bloom getting Bulbasaura, Sweeite getting Squirtle and Scootaloo getting Charmander.
So Jahkowl's are based off of Riolu from Pokemon? Fascinating!
SPRINGER IS A YOUNG DOG LIKE CREATURE CALLED A JAKHOWL. THAT MEANS HE CAN SENSE AUORA AND FIGHT ALONG SIDE HIS FRIENDS AND PARATERS.
This is where Flash and Springer become partners and always have each other's back ever since.
This chapter is where the series finally found their foots and stand on their own and let the readers knows this series ain’t another adaptation of the show series and tell their own original series and lore.
The introduction of Springer lead to not only him becoming the important character of the story but his species, Jakhowls are part of the series' overarching storyline along with Flash's origin.
It's ironic that Springer who was antagonize by Rainbow Dash in this chapter was the one who encouraged her and Soarin to open up about their relationship to the public.
It’s kind of weird that it was Celestia who explains about Jakhowls to the heroes than Luna since Jakhowls are more associated with her than Celestia. (But to be fair, she was recovering from being possessed by Nightmare Moon at the time.)
As for Rumble and Button Mash, those two colts will be little bit important later on and you will learn why.
Up next, Banshee will make the biggest change on a magician mare named Trixie and how his version of Boast Busters change the character forever?
Yay! Harry Potter reference!