Galloping Indeed
Flash hadn’t slept. His eyes dropped and he felt tired, but after having told Cocoa everything last night about Iron Wall and then finding out that Cocoa was secretly a bug moose, it had made Flash reach the rare state of ‘so exhausted that he wasn’t tired’. Today was going to be Tartarus.
Though, if Flash was to be honest, he was happy that he got to at least enjoy the view of his colt friend's sleeping face. Sure it was a little creepy, but they were dating. It was something that only Flash could see and it made him feel special.
Cocoa had also been tired the night before, so he had gone to sleep without transforming back to his earth pony form. They were both curled up next to each other, snout to snout and breathing in perfect sync.
Flash found himself smiling and wagging is tail in contentment as he leaned in just a bit closer.
He took a deep whiff of Cocoa’s ‘fur’ and smiled bigger at his familiar chocolate scent. Even in bug moose form, he still smelled exactly like he was supposed to. It gave Flash the same warmth that always came to him when he was this close to his colt friend.
Flash studied Cocoa’s Changeling form again. His fur was scratchy and hard, it also rubbed against Flash’s fur in a way that felt really good. Sort of like full body head scratches. It was, on closer inspection, a very very dark blue instead of what Flash presumed was pure black.
His mane was long strips of something that were slicked back into his usual manestyle. By his side were two long, thin wings that he kept close to his side. On his head were two long horns that reminded Flash of a tree with several ‘branches’ that came off of the main ‘stem’.
Flash leaned in closer to Cocoa’s muzzle and rubbed against it. Flash was rewarded with a slight moan from Cocoa and the opening of his beautiful light brown eyes.
“Mornin’, Bugaboo,” Flash smiled warmly.
Cocoa groaned louder and said, in his rich as chocolate voice, “Can’t you have picked any other pet name?”
“Well, it’s Bugaboo or Bug Moose,” Flash narrowed his eyes in what he hoped was a serious expression, “Pick one.”
“Bugaboo, if only because it’s not nearly as insulting as Bug Moose,” Cocoa frowned, “Though I have to wonder how you know what a moose even looks like. They are not exactly common in Equestria.”
Flash grinned sleazily, “Let’s just say that Shining has exotic tastes, and he may or may not be a long time subscriber to The Hot Rack magazine.”
Cocoa furrowed his brow, “I don’t think I want any more details on what Shining likes in his alone time.”
“Who said he saves it for his alone time?” Flash giggled when Cocoa scrunched his face up in disgust, “Honestly, Shining is into some pretty weird stuff.”
“And you’re not?” Cocoa quirked his brow.
“Of course not, since I have great tastes,” Flash nuzzled Cocoa on the side of his muzzle, “I have you don’t I?”
“Oh, somepony is trying to get extra cuddles today,” Cocoa smirked, but it soon turned into a frown, “You’re sure you’re okay with this? You don’t find this-” Cocoa paused and bit his lip to find the right word, “Wrong?”
Flash scooted closer and rubbed up against Cocoa’s fur to enjoy the body scratches.
“Yep,” Flash stated simply as he finally reached under Cocoa’s head and started nuzzling in his favourite spot, “Couldn’t think of somepony better for me if I tried.”
Cocoa leaned back against Flash and they enjoyed the close contact.
“You are really cold,” Flash shivered.
“Changelings are cold blooded,” Cocoa replied, “We’re attracted to warm bodies, and you’re a walking furnace.”
“Well, at least I’m a cute furnace,” Flash wrapped a wing around Cocoa, “Or at least I would hope so.”
“You are,” Cocoa let himself relax further into Flash’s wing, “You'll let me know if you’re hurting?”
“Of course, Bugaboo,” Flash giggled, “I’ll demand kisses on my boo boos to make me feel better.”
“No, you goof,” Cocoa frowned, “I meant the other thing.”
Flash frowned as he felt his happy mood drain somewhat, “Oh, my mark.”
“Yes,” Cocoa breathed out, “I don’t like that your mark hurts you whenever you try to protect others.”
“Cocoa, it doesn’t matter-”
“Maybe not to you, but it does to me,” Cocoa interrupted, “I care about you and I don’t like seeing you in pain. We also don’t know if there’s a limit to what your mark can handle. Honestly Flash, what if your mark could kill you?”
“I’m pretty sure, having gone through the experience of second hoof decapitation, that I don’t have to worry about that too much,” Flash said coyly.
“That’s what I don’t like,” Cocoa growled, “Your flippant attitude about this. I don’t like how you seem to not care whether you’re in pain or not. I don’t want you to protect everypony else at the expense of yourself.”
“Cocoa, of course I’m going to choose the ponies I love over myself.”
“And I wish you’d be more selfish,” Cocoa huffed.
“Cocoa, have you met me? I am definitely a greedy pony, at least when it comes to you,” Flash softened his expression, “Look, Cocoa. I’ve lived with my mark for years. Despite how I act, I’m a grown stallion. I know my limits. Let me decide what’s worth protecting, okay?”
Cocoa looked like he wanted to say more but held his tongue, “Alright, but I still don’t like it.”
“And that’s fine, but I’m not worried. If I get into any real trouble I can always rely on my big strong bug to protect poor defenseless me,” Flash grinned cheekily.
Cocoa snorted, “Flash, I’ve seen what you lift. ‘Poor’ and ‘defenseless’ don’t suit you. I am almost certain that you could probably knockout most earth ponies if you wanted to.”
“Eh, probably, but it helps knowing I have my big strong bug to back me up,” Flash looked up at Cocoa’s horns and an odd thought occurred to him, “Hey, Cocoa. What do your horns taste like?”
Cocoa’s eyes went wide and he blushed a deep shade of crimson, “F-Flash, why would you even ask that?”
“Dunno, I just kind of want to nibble them,” Flash leaned in closer to Cocoa’s horns and took an experimental sniff, “You know how some ponies nibble on their special somepony’s ear? I figured that would be like with your horns.”
“N-No, I don’t,” Cocoa stuttered, “Honestly, why would you even-”
Cocoa let out a squeak and a low moan as Flash gave a big lick on Cocoa’s horns. They tasted like how they had smelled: chocolate licorice. Flash was quickly realizing that if he ever wanted to satisfy his sweet cravings all he had to do was lick his colt friend.
“Cocoa, I think I can live without your hazelnut bars if you just let me take a big lick of you every once in a while,” Flash looked down and noticed Cocoa breathing heavily, “Hey, Cocoa are you …?”
With no warning, Cocoa stood up and caused Flash to flop upside down onto the bed. There was a fwoosh and Cocoa was back in his earth pony disguise.
“It’s starting to get late into the morning,” Cocoa said stiffly, “We should get ready for the day.”
Flash blinked at Cocoa’s stoic expression then looked down.
“Before that,” Flash said innocently, “You want me to deal with your other horn first?”
Cocoa’s body went stiff and his mane bristled as he said resolutely, “NO.”
Cocoa proceeded to gallop out of the room and slammed the door behind him with a loud bang. Flash blinked and then righted himself into a lying position. He licked his lips experimentally, and could still taste the licorice from Cocoa’s horns. It tasted really good.
Flash smirked to himself, “Eh, I’ll get him one time.”
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Flash stood stock still in his designated corridor for the evening. He was so still that one would assume he was sleeping while standing up. That would be absurd, of course, as Flash was a serious pony and he did things seriously. That and nopony could possibly hear his soft snoring unless they were right next to him.
“Private Flash!”
Flash Sentry yelped and drew himself into a salute, “Yes, Sir!”
Captain Blue Charge glared at him, “What are you doing sleeping on the job?”
Flash looked away from the Captain as he leaned in close, “Sleeping, Sir? I would never.”
The Captain narrowed his eyes and got closer and closer into Flash’s face. Flash started to feel uncomfortable. He didn’t understand why ponies were always putting their face in his face. It was creepy and weird and it made Flash really nervous because he felt like he always felt like he had done something wrong. Especially when he had, in fact, done something wrong.
Flash finally lost in the battle of wills and yawned loudly, “Sorry, Sir. I’m just really tired.”
The Captain leaned back to appraise Flash and knitted his brows together, “Problems at home, Private?”
Flash blinked as he felt himself wake up at the question. He looked to the left and right and noticed that the corridor was empty. He had been assigned to this corridor specifically because it had low traffic and Flash had been working hard with the aftermath of Nightmare Moon.
What they didn’t know is that with how tired Flash was as soon as he was given the less stimulating work he immediately felt the drowsiness kick in. It was annoying, especially since because Flash knew how tired he was, and he had specifically requested to do something more physical to counteract it.
Flash was also avoiding the question since it was weird for the Captain to ask that, and he was debating whether he should answer.
“No, Sir,” Flash finally responded then thought better of lying, “Well, yes, Sir,” Before the Captain could reply, Flash quickly added, “But it’s okay, Sir! My colt friend and I worked it out last night.”
The Captain narrowed his eyes, “Colt friend, Private?”
Flash immediately didn’t like his tone and felt a rising heat, “Is that a problem, Sir?”
“Nope,” The Captain shook his head, “Just wanted confirmation. How long you been together?”
Flash blinked in surprise, “A few years now, Sir.”
“Well done, Private,” The Captain whistled, “You did well for yourself then. Hope I get to meet him at the Guard Ball next week.”
“The Guard Ball?” Flash tilted his head in confusion.
“It’s an annual gala that’s done just for the guards as we can’t attend the Grand Galloping Gala since we’re guarding it,” The Captain said.
“I didn’t know we had one, Sir,” Flash fidgeted, “I would be honoured to attend with my colt friend.”
“‘Honoured’?” The Captain snorted, “Flash you don’t talk like that. What do you actually want to say?”
Flash grinned maniacally and bounced in place, “That sounds super fun. I haven’t gone dancing with Cocoa in months,” Flash settled himself quickly into a neutral stance, “Sir.”
The Captain laughed, “Then I’ll see you there. It’s exactly a week from now and takes place at eighteen hundred hours.”
Flash nodded, “Got it, Sir.”
The Captain nodded, “Also, Flash?”
“Yes, Sir?”
The Captain leaned in close, “Don’t let me catch you sleeping on the job again.”
Flash saluted and replied, “Yes, Sir!”
The Captain nodded in approval and trotted off. Flash held his salute until the Captain was gone then dropped back into a neutral stance. He immediately felt his eyes droop and his mind wander off.
This was going to be a long day.
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“Hi,” Flash groaned as he trotted through the front door and into the kitchen.
“Welcome home,” Cocoa greeted in his earth pony disguise as he prepared dinner.
Flash looked to where the chairs were in the dining room, looked down to where his current position was, and calculated the distance between the two to determine the the most optimal route.
The most optimal route was determined to be lying down on the floor with his belly up and wings spread out. Flash had great critical thinking skills.
Cocoa glanced over at Flash who let out a long moan, “Long day?“
Flash grunted in response and started to wiggle out of his armour. He tossed every which way, but it was futile as his armour was strapped on and Flash always buckled everything a little too tight. He did manage to flick his helmet off with a toss of his head and deactivate the enchantment.
“Really, Flash?” Cocoa sighed, “You couldn’t just get up and undo the straps before deciding to lie on the floor?”
Flash just looked at Cocoa with narrowed eyes. He couldn’t understand why Cocoa didn’t understand that doing something so logical and straight forward was hard.
Cocoa rolled his eyes and put down his cooking utensils. He lied down next to Flash and, in one quick movement, undid the straps and removed his armour. Flash sighed in relief. The floor was much more comfortable when there wasn’t steel plates in the way.
“Better?” Cocoa asked.
Flash nodded his head and wagged his tail happily.
Cocoa snorted, “Really, Flash? Sometimes I think you’re just a dog passing itself off as a pony,” Cocoa tilted his head in thought and a mischievous smirk grew on his face, “Actually, that’s an interesting idea. Maybe I should test that theory.”
Flash narrowed his eyes suspiciously. He was about to comment, but was interrupted when Cocoa started rubbing his belly with a hoof.
Flash was scandalized. What did Cocoa think he was doing? He wasn’t an actual dog, he was a pony. He was a big studly pony with pony needs who - Wait, actually this felt pretty good. Really good. Flash wondered if maybe Cocoa would scratch just a little to the left…
Oh, yeah…
Unbidden to his will, Flash’s tail thumped on the floor and his right back leg kicked out in sheer bliss. His mouth opened, and he panted. Belly scratches felt good.
Cocoa smirked as he continued to rub Flash’s belly. Once Flash got over the initial pleasure, he tried, unsuccessfully, to pout in disapproval of his colt friend treating him in such an undignified manner.
This lasted until Cocoa started scratching him with both hooves because Flash found himself not giving a flying pegasus about how he was being treated because damn belly rubs were the best.
Cocoa leaned in close and said in a high pitched goofy voice, “Who’s a good colt?”
Flash’s ears perked up and he excitedly said, “I’m a good colt!”
Cocoa choked back his laughter, “Well, I don’t know if I agree with that.”
“Nuh uh,” Flash whined, “I’m the best colt, like, the BESTEST.”
Cocoa nodded seriously as he fought to keep his expression neutral, “Well, good colts get ear scratches.”
Flash’s tail wagged into overdrive as Cocoa moved one of his hooves to the back of Flash’s head and started scratching just behind his ears. Flash’s rear leg thumped in approval and his tongue lolled out as he beamed happily up at Cocoa.
Cocoa then abruptly stopped and went back to preparing dinner. He got halfway through the fruit he was cutting before he started laughing so hard he had started banging his hooves on the table.
Flash just stared at the ceiling with a vacant expression. Was he a dog pony? Were dog ponies a thing? Was he secretly a Changeling? Can you be a Changeling and not know it? If Flash was a changeling he must be a super good one since he didn’t even know he was a Changeling. Why did he enjoy belly rubs so much? Is it okay for him to enjoy being treated like a dog?
Most importantly though, Flash was hot, heavy, and very very turned on.
Dammit Cocoa, why won’t you at least help me deal with this you bucking bastard. It’s not even my fault this time since YOU STARTED IT.
“I hate and love you so much right now,” Flash stated, “I demand extra cuddles tonight in compensation.”
Cocoa let his laughter taper off, “Alright, but you’re getting off the floor and helping me with dinner or you don’t get any.”
“What if I don’t want to,” Flash said and quickly continued, “What if I never want to move? I could just stay here forever being a general nuisance. I’ll be like that one piece of furniture that nopony likes but everypony has to deal with and you’ll just live with the minor inconvenience of having to go around me to reach the dining room. I’ll be a such a minor annoyance.”
“I’m making tangerine and mango salad,” Cocoa deadpanned.
Flash immediately got up and hovered behind Cocoa as he asked how he could help Cocoa chop faster.
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Flash looked up at the entrance to the High Rise. It was a humongous glass dome that stood at the highest point of Upper Canterlot. Flash was curious to see if he could break the whole building by just giving it a poke with his hoof, but thought that would not go over well for him. Mainly because he didn’t think he could do it and not get caught.
This was, shockingly, the location of the Guard Ball. Probably helped that the event is crown sponsored.
That wasn’t important though, as Flash was currently embroiled in a heated argument with Cocoa on sensible fashion choices.
“I’m telling you, a hoodie would have been fine,” Flash whined.
He pulled at his collar again with a hoof. He was dressed in a fine navy blue tuxedo with a rather eccentric swirly yellow tie. Cocoa, who stood beside him, was wearing a burgundy suit with a chocolate swirl bowtie.
Flash thought Cocoa looked damn fine and he couldn’t wait to show him off. Cocoa, that is; his suit could be burned away and suffer for all he cared.
Cocoa smacked Flash’s hoof to stop him from fiddling with his collar, “Stop fussing with your collar, you’ll damage it. Also, you cannot wear a hoodie to a gala.”
“Why not?” Flash snorted, “They’re comfy, easy to move in, and possess the greatest invention of ponykind,” Flash waved his hooves in front of him in the motion of a rainbow, “Pockets.”
Cocoa snorted, “First of all, this a high society function with the entirety of your peers.”
“Yeah, my peers who are the guard,” Flash rolled his eyes, “How fancy could they possibly be?”
“Not the point,” Cocoa growled, “Second point, I’m pretty sure your hoodie is possessed.”
“It’s not possessed,” Flash grumbled, “It’s friendly.”
“If by ‘friendly’, you mean ‘face eating’ then yes it’s very friendly,” Cocoa furrowed his brow in agitation, “That does not, however, stop me from joining Shining Armour, Night Light, Velvet, and that poor server from the Tropics Shack from joining team ‘Burn the Hoodie’.”
Flash gasped, “You wouldn’t.”
Cocoa with eyes filled with tartarus’s flames resolutely said, “I would.”
“Aw, seriously? Now, I have to hide my hoodie from you too?” Flash whined.
“Yes, I will burn it with no regrets,” Cocoa said, “Though, I have no idea why you would have so many problems with your suit.”
Flash glared at Cocoa who was smirking at him. Smugness and bemused confidence was a very hot and very annoying look for his colt friend.
“Really?” Flash said indignantly.
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It was the sixth hour of Flash’s ‘super quick and easy’ suit fitting. The ‘quick’ part apparently meant at least another two hours of standing on a podium while fabric was thrown across him and the ‘easy’ part required several years of guard training since Flash couldn’t possibly think of another pony that could do this without passing out.
The designer, Chic Magnifique - a purple unicorn with a wavy turquoise mane and cutie mark of a spool of thread with sparkles - was prancing around Flash. He was checking every angle and making slight adjustments to the fabric strewn across him in what Flash presumed would eventually be a suit.
It was also cutting into his fur and especially in one particular part that was enjoying the attention a little too much.
Cocoa, being the ever supportive colt friend he was, was giving helpful suggestions from a lounge couch across the room. By helpful, Flash meant annoying. By annoying, Flash meant that Cocoa had made Chic redo his suit five times because it just wasn’t ‘right’ for him.
Flash was at war with himself. One side demanded screaming as loud as possible and other wanted him to toss Cocoa off of his stupid lounge chair for being so smug.
“Hm, I don’t know, Chic,” Cocoa tossed his head side to side, “I don’t know if this is flashy enough for my dearly beloved.”
Flash’s face forcibly stretched itself into a grin. Though he was smiling, Flash’s eyes promised sweet vengeance upon his colt friend when no witnesses were present.
“Ah!” Chic cried, “Really, Cocoa. I don’t have any idea what to do with you. Nothing seems to be flashy,” Chic said with a dramatic toss of his mane, “Enough for you.”
“I only want the best for my colt friend,” Cocoa smiled warmly at Flash.
Flash was not fooled. He saw the malice and devious intent behind those beautiful eyes and he would not accept defeat.
“Well, dearest colt friend,” Flash said through gritted teeth, “I don’t suppose you would like to hurry up and decide so we can get my suit done within this month?”
Cocoa tapped a hoof against his muzzle and mulled over his thoughts. Flash internalized his screams of frustration. He would just wait until Cocoa dropped his disguise and then lick his horns until he begged for mercy when they returned home.
“I suppose this will do,” Flash breathed a sigh of relief, “But I really do want to see him in the other five suits to make sure. Wouldn’t want to decide on second best.”
Flash snarled. This had the unfortunate consequence of causing Flash to flex which is bad for a rather beefy pegasus in a tight fabric suit.
Rip.
Flash blushed as the sound reverberated through the room.
“No!” Chic cried out, “Now I’ll need to repair this. It will take me at least another hour of work.”
Flash’s brain shut down and he banged his head against a nearby post, while Cocoa continued to smile at him with his stupid smug face.
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“You know what you did,” Flash scowled.
“Yes, and hopefully this will mean you will tell me about events such as this with more forewarning then two days prior,” Cocoa glared.
Flash had the self awareness to at least look askance. It wasn’t his fault that he gets distracted easily, or that he had been kept busy with belly rubs. Belly rubs were much more important at the time.
“Well, let’s just let go of your significant shortcomings in planning,” Cocoa said in a way that suggested they would be discussing the topic much later, “And simply enjoy the evening together.”
Flash grinned and nuzzled Cocoa in his favourite spot, “Awesome, this will be fun.”
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Flash had to admit that the interior of the dome was impressive. The inside had three floors and was massive. There were hundreds and hundreds of ponies inside all mingling, dancing, and chatting. Flash could hear an orchestra playing from one part of the room and the small plates of food that several ponies held promised a refreshment table.
Excitedly both Flash and Cocoa had entered the fray and mingled with the attendees.
Cocoa had a blast as he greeted and shook hooves with various guests. Several of Flash’s casual acquaintances and many more of Steel Bastion’s - and by extension Cococa’s - would notice them and trot over to say hi. It was an almost endless stream of ponies.
Flash, on the other hoof, was not enjoying himself.
It started when he got hungry and couldn’t find the food table through the crowd of ponies. He had said it was fine and that they would find the table eventually. He just had to be patient.
Then he wanted to get closer to the Orchestra so he could hear better, but the crowd was too thick and they couldn’t push through. Again, it was fine, Flash was sure the crowd would lessen later on in the evening and they could get closer then.
Finally, there were the ponies. Most of them were fine, but soon Flash found his left eye twitch, and his wings fidget as he repressed his desire to throw said ponies out of the closest available open window. This was because the most dreadful of social nuisances had begun.
Flirting.
Ponies would walk up, see Flash with his ‘friend’, and decide they had a shot with him. Flash handled them as he normally did: pretend to be oblivious and ignore them until they got the hint and left him alone.
For the more persistent, Flash would take them to the side, smile politely and say how flattered he was that they found him cute. He would then follow up by grinding that bastard’s hoof into the floor because they were wasting his time and taking him away from his colt friend.
Those ones tended to gallop off very quickly.
Look, Flash knew he was good looking. Many years of physical training and Shining drilling in proper hygiene did make him into a stud in the eyes of many a pony. He didn’t necessarily mind the attention as long as ponies respected his boundaries. The problem was that he forgot a teeny, tiny, small, minor detail.
Cocoa was damn fine.
It really should have been obvious to Flash. His sexy bug with his hard muscular physique, midnight black hide, long curving beautiful horns and… wait, wrong Cocoa. He meant his other super sexy earth pony Cocoa with his muscular body, chocolate brown coat, perfectly swept back blonde mane, and beautiful milk chocolate eyes.
And everypony else had apparently noticed as well.
A large number of ponies kept trying to hit on Cocoa. Some were more subtle with their flirtatiousness and would politely back off when Cocoa didn’t reciprocate. Most would ask him to drop his friend and hang out with them since they were so much better than Flash was.
Flash could feel his teeth grinding together more and more for every pony that said it.
Cocoa for his part handled everything exceedingly well. He politely declined the majority and for the ones that insisted they were simply ‘friends’, he would just stand closer to Flash until they took the hint.
Flash was really happy when he did that.
Flash was also very well behaved. He had only growled at five ponies, wrapped Cocoa in his wings possessively twice, and headbutted one pony into submission.
In that one pony’s case, he had grabbed Cocoa by the flanks. Frankly, he was lucky that Cocoa didn’t condone massive head trauma or leg breaking since Flash wanted to do much much worse. Nopony did that to his colt friend, including him.
It was driving Flash insane. Why wouldn’t ponies just respect that Cocoa and him were in a relationship? Flash didn’t go around flirting with everypony and grabbing at them. Other couples didn’t seem to have this problem. Was it because they were two stallions so it wasn’t considered to be serious? Well that wasn’t fair! He was just as devoted to Cocoa as any of those other pony couples. Possibly more so with how many times he caught those ponies staring at him or Cocoa.
Flash found it hard to breathe. The more he worked himself up, the worse it got. There were just so many ponies and they were all closing in on them and it was so wrong and uncomfortable.
The dome was huge but everypony seemed to be crowding into each other. He still hadn't found his friends or Captain Blue Charge and he was beginning to wonder if he ever would.
He was acting like an overprotective jerk and he knew it. Cocoa hated it when he did that, but everything was just grating on him. The din of ponies talking kept getting louder and louder and he was finding it hard to hear the orchestra. He couldn’t move easily with all of these ponies crowding him and it was making him feel penned in. He was also really hungry and he still hadn’t found that bucking refreshment table.
Flash felt his breath come out more ragged with every passing moment. He found himself flapping his wings experimentally and trying to locate the nearest exit which he quickly determined was going to be through the stupid glass dome.
He saw one pony give a scathing glance along his flanks and he wanted to buck that pony so hard in the face his teeth fell out. A mare was hitting on Cocoa for the fourth time and he wanted to scream in her face. Another pony had the most stupid laugh that could be picked up from anywhere in the room and Flash wanted to hunt that pony down and make him shut up.
Flash’s eyes shrunk to pin pricks and he felt light headed. His fur was soaked with sweat and he knew he smelled something awful because of it. He was a complete embarrassment and that just set him off more.
Flash was fine with crowds. He was fine with parties, but this was too much. He wasn’t near his friends. He needed to go. He needed to fly. He need to run. He needed-
“We can leave.”
Flash stopped. Cocoa was in front of him and looking at him in concern. He gently nuzzled the side of Flash’s face and Flash felt the tension and panic subside into a dull murmur.
He took a deep breath and steadied himself. He felt better.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” Flash whispered.
“Not if you’re miserable,” Cocoa answered.
Flash smiled for first time that night. It was the best thing he had heard the entire evening.
“Let’s focus on finding my friends,” Flash grinned, “I really do want to introduce them to you.”
Cocoa smiled back and kissed Flash on the snout, “Alright, but let me know if you need to leave and I’ll bulldoze our way out.”
Flash giggled at the mental image, “Stay close?”
“Always.”
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“NOPONY BESTS PINE SAP!” Pine Sap screamed from atop a stone railing that enclosed the lower floors of the dome.
“Not the piledriver!” Silver Mist cried out in distress from his position nearby, “Pine Sap, you know what happened last time!”
Pine Sap let out a guttural roar as she dove onto two hapless finely dressed mares cowering below her. The mares screamed with shrill cries of fear as they were flattened under the awesome power of Pine Sap’s Canterlot banned piledriver.
The result was a bloodbath.
“Dammit, Pine Sap,” Silver Mist stomped a hoof, “All those tomatoes they were eating are spilling all over the floors. Stop making it harder on the poor janitorial ponies.”
Pine Sap let out another roar as she slammed a nearby stallion, who had watched in growing horror at the display of amazing wrestling maneuvers, into the floor with a supplex.
The stallion never stood a chance.
Silver Mist heaved a huge sigh before realizing Pine Sap’s next move, “Wait, Pine Sap! PONIES CAN'T BEND LIKE THAT!”
There was a resounding snap and the unequine scream of a stallion who had suffered the greatest pains. Cocoa flinched, but Flash just grinned as he recognized the stallion as the one who had grabbed Cocoa’s flanks earlier.
Karma was a beautiful thing.
Flash rated the performance with a seven and regretted not bringing his numbered cue cards to let everypony know he thought that. He also regretted not bringing pom poms and foam hooves to cheer Pine Sap on. That mare was on a roll.
“... Friends of yours?” Cocoa asked.
“Oh, yeah,” Flash cheered with the rest of the surrounding ponies as Pine Sap slammed a mare into the floor with a flying hoof drop, “How could you tell?”
Cocoa watched with raised eyebrows as one stallion grabbed Silver Mist’s tail in order to beg for mercy from the excruciating pain that was Pine Sap. Apparently, Silver Mist did not like his tail being touched and he had a mean haymaker.
“Lucky guess,” Cocoa deadpanned, “Do you want to go meet them?”
Pine Sap let out a roar from atop her conquests of two mares and three stallions. Silver Mist soon joined her and took a huge chug from a punch bowl he had grabbed from somewhere. The audience gave a deafening cheer in response.
“Nah,” Flash said, “I think Pine Sap found the special punch and is probably drunk. I don’t really want to find out which one of us has a better kick.”
“Fair enough,” Cocoa said, “Shall we try our luck elsewhere?”
Pine Sap took a swig from the punch bowl Silver Mist was drinking from and flexed for the crowd who roared in approval, “Yeah, I guess. Kind of disappointed we didn’t get to see the whole thing though. I always wanted to see Pine Sap in action.”
“I’m thinking if you continue to hang around her you’ll get your chance,” Cocoa noted.
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“Hey, Flash. How are you?” Status Quo greeted cheerfully.
“Fine, but, uh,” Flash stared past Status, “What’s wrong with them?”
Status turned to look at what Flash was looking at. There were two stallions cowering in fear. Both flinched when Status turned around and started blubbering meaningless nonsense.
Status turned back to Flash, “Oh, nopony of import. Just two stallions that needed a good lesson in polite conversation.”
Flash and Cocoa both blinked as Status’s grin became wide, and slightly disconcerting. They could feel the ill intent and malice radiating off of that smile.
It promised pain.
It promised misery.
It promised a downright vicious lecture on proper manners.
“So anyways, this is my colt friend Cocoa,” Flash introduced.
Cocoa and Status nodded to each other.
“We are also now going to leave because I’m concerned about what you’ll do if we stay,” Flash quickly said and added, “I also don’t want to be an accomplice to whatever this is.”
“Probably best,” Status stated, “Enjoy the rest of your evening. I need to return to teaching these fine gentlecolts how to properly treat others.”
“Right, bye then,” Flash waved.
Flash and Cocoa then quickly escaped in a calm galloping fashion. It wasn’t that they were scared. It was that they were terrified.
They also ignored the two stallions calling out to them, begging for mercy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
“Oh, wait, Cocoa, I think I see Captain Blue Charge over there,” Flash said.
“How can you tell?” Cocoa asked.
“For some, it’s difficult,” Flash started, “But I just look for unicorns, then find whichever is the most grumpy.”
Flash and Cocoa pushed through the crowd to Captain Blue Charge. He was grinding his front hooves into the floor and growling. A small mint green unicorn mare with a white mane was busy trying to calm him down.
“Good evening, Sir!” Flash saluted, “How are-”
The Captain shoved himself in Flash’s face and growled, “Are you being a little shit, too?”
Flash’s eyes became pinpricks. The captain by himself was scary enough, but now he was up in Flash’s face. Flash hated when other ponies put their face in his. It was so scary and intimidating.
“No, Sir!” Flash said then added quickly, “But I am a little shit, Sir!”
Blue Charge opened his mouth to continue but was stopped by the unicorn mare who glared at him and pulled the stallion back by the ear with her magic. The Captain then shouted ‘ow’ over and over as he was pulled up by her telekinesis.
Flash could relate to the pain since Princess Celestia would always do that when she caught him stealing her tea cakes.
“Honey, what did I tell you?” the mare nagged, “You need to give your subordinates a chance to defend themselves at the very least before tearing into them like that.”
The mare released her magic and the Captain rubbed his ear with a hoof and a sheepish look on his face, “Sorry, dear. I’m just a little high strung right now.”
The mare sighed, “Could you please perhaps not be then?” She turned to Cocoa and Flash next, “I’m sorry about that. Now that my husband has stopped acting like a complete goofus, whom do I have the pleasure of addressing?”
Without missing a beat Flash saluted and replied, “Private Flash Sentry, ma’am!” He then gestured to Cocoa, “This is my colt friend Cocoa Print, ma’am!”
Cocoa sighed and nodded his head cordially in the direction of the mare, “A pleasure.”
The mare nodded back, “A pleasure indeed. My name is Lush Garden,” she focused on Flash, “Also, Flash, sweetie?”
“Yes, ma’am,” Flash stood rigid in his salute.
“You can stop anytime now,” Lush giggled, “I don’t actually have any authority over you. That’s only for my husband”
“Yes, ma’am,” Flash dropped his salute, but still stood straight and true.
Lush rolled her eyes and turned to her husband who was growling at some ponies across the room. Before Lush could stop him, Captain Blue Charge charged towards the apparent troublemakers and started barking orders.
“Oh dear, what will I do with that silly pony?” Lush sighed heavily.
“What exactly is going on anyways?” Cocoa frowned, “The guard ponies have been acting ridiculous all night.”
“Oh, well some noble ponies decided to ‘crash the party’ as we planned the gala during the time they wanted to have a garden party,” Lush waved a hoof dismissively, “They’ve been harrassing the guards ever since they arrived. They seem to forget that the guards aren’t afraid to fight back.”
“That does explain the elevated violence this evening,” Cocoa nodded.
“Yeah, it’s awesome,” Flash said excitedly, then realized who he was talking to, “I mean, unfortunate, ma’am.”
Lush giggled, then frowned when she heard the distinctive sound of a pony being thrown onto the floor. Hard.
The mare sighed heavily, “You colts go enjoy yourselves, I'm going to go stop my husband from sending ponies to the hospital,” Lush glared in the direction of where her husband had gone, “Again.”
Lush trotted after her wayward husband and left Cocoa and Flash by themselves. Cocoa turned to Flash who still stood rigidly in place.
“Are you going to stand like that all night?” Cocoa quirked an eyebrow.
“Yes,” Flash asserted.
“Then I’m using you as a battering ram.”
Cocoa then proceeded to push Flash in the side with his head. It was very effective in carving a path through the pony sea.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flash leaned heavily on the wall and drew in deep gulps of air. Cocoa trotted calmly behind him. Both had escaped into a side corridor when the fighting had started. Behind them, battle cries rang out. A single punch bowl could be seen sailing through the air along with a stallion screaming about the ‘revolution’.
“They’re getting pretty rough out there,” Flash leaned his head on the wall and willed his heart to stop beating at a mile a minute.
“They are,” Cocoa got close to Flash but didn’t touch him for fear of making things worse, “I’m not even sure where everything went wrong.”
“You know noble ponies,” Flash replied casually as he felt his throat stop constricting his airway, “Their pompous attitudes make them super aerodynamic and very throwable.”
Cocoa snorted, “I don’t think that is scientifically accurate.”
Flash laughed hoarsely. He felt raw and nauseous. He wanted to break down and cry. His head was pounding and his body was screaming at him to gallop as fast as he could in any direction so long as it was away from all those ponies and this horrible building.
Cocoa nuzzled Flash, “Are you okay?”
“... No,” Flash whispered, “I might have overdone it for one evening. I’m sorry.”
Cocoa scratched Flash behind the ears with a hoof and Flash smiled at the comforting feeling it gave, “Don’t apologize. It’s nothing you can help. Honestly, I’m more surprised that you have this problem, you don’t seem the type.”
“It mainly for places like this,” Flash took a ragged breath, “I like parties, but there is usually less ponies around and I know most of the attendees.”
They both stood for a time side by side until Flash felt his panic subside and his breathing finally return to normal.
“Um, do you mind if we go home?” Flash asked quietly.
Cocoa smiled warmly, “Of course not.”
Flash grinned back and they both started trotting down the corridor to one of the building’s many exits.
“You know I’m surprised I haven’t seen Shining anywhere,” Flash observed, “You’d think he would be-”
Both stopped before a nearby utility closet. They had both heard the bang and rattle of the door as well as the loud moans from within. Both ponies gave each other an odd look and in silent morbid agreement, Flash opened the door.
Inside were Shining Armour and the pink alicorn Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza. Both were in rather compromising positions and showing off everything they had. They were also blushing furiously at having gotten caught in the act.
“I’ll make this brief,” Flash stated.
“This is my colt friend, Cocoa,” Flash gestured to the mentioned pony with a hoof as the couple awkwardly waved back, though in the case of Cadence, it was more of a wiggling motion.
“Pleasure,” Cocoa said flatly.
“Next, sweet Celestia, Shining; I didn't realize you were serious about the whole ‘dating the Princess of Love’ thing,” Flash grinned, “Proud of you BBFL. I want to hear everything later and preferable without you inside her.”
Shining nodded in affirmation. He was about to adjust himself to give Flash a hoof bump, but realized that he wasn’t really in a position to be moving around much. He opted instead for a sheepish wave.
“And finally, damn Cadence. You are one flexible mare. I didn’t even know ponies could bend like that.”
Cadence giggled, “Takes a lot of practice.”
“I’m sure it does,” Flash laughed, “Anyways, I’ll let you two get back to it. I’ll catch up with you later, Shiny.”
“Oh wait, Flash before you go,” Flash asked, “I’m getting a promotion in the guard soon and was wondering if you might want to join my squad with Pine Sap, Silver Mist, and Status Quo?”
“Shining, why are you even asking?‘ Flash rolled his eyes, “Of course I will, though I’d prefer you tell me the details another time.”
Shining blushed a brighter shade of pink, “Oh, uh, right. Have a goodnight then.”
Flash waved and made his way with Cocoa down the corridor.
“Can I get you to bend like that?” Flash asked Cocoa innocently.
“I can’t believe you would even ask that,” Cocoa deadpanned, “Maybe.”
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Flash and Cocoa trotted back home. They had finally left the Guard Ball and travelled side by side in the chilly night air with the stars bright overhead. Both stallions had their tails entwined together and trotted perfectly in sync with each other. Flash felt more calm in this moment then at any other point in the evening.
They both decided to stretch the night out a little longer and took a detour through the Canterlot Gardens. Under the glow of a single streetlight, a violinist played an up tempo waltz from the top of a small wooden box with a black cap next to him filled with a small amount of bits.
Flash trotted up to the violinist and threw a few more bits into the cap, “Could you start over?”
The violinist nodded his head with a smile and started the piece from the beginning.
Flash turned to Cocoa and offered a hoof, “I never asked you to dance tonight.”
Cocoa took Flash’s hoof in his own, “I’m glad you finally did.”
Both stallions danced across the cobblestones streets in time to the violinist’s melody. One piece turned into four and both Flash and Cocoa found themselves laughing and smiling throughout their waltz together.
It was joyous. A beautiful moment to end the night after a terrible evening. Flash was warm and happy and, for the first time that day, everything felt right.
Even if he had said it a hundred times in his letters, and every morning since he had returned from Dodge City, Flash wanted to say it again just to see if Cocoa would finally respond in kind.
Flash kissed Cocoa on the snout, “I love you.”
Cocoa paused before melting into a warm smile. His cheeks were aglow and his eyes spoke of how much Cocoa cared for Flash.
Flash felt that the moment he had been waiting for since Dodge City, when he had realized Cocoa was the one for him, was finally going to happen.
He was finally going to reply.
“I love you, too.”
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You delivered.
Cute gay stallions were cute gay stallions.
8979772
Happy to keep my promise.
Rated A for adorable. I don't know if I can handle that, sounds intense.
And dog Flash was amazing.
8980365
I'm stuck between my favourite Flash of either Concussed Flash, Drunk Flash, or Dog Flash.
Well, this was a very....interesting chapter. I enjoyed it very much. I must say, I think Status Quo is my favorite of the background ponies in this story.
8980980
Glad you like it, and if you need a quick summary of the chapter before to catch up I would be happy to PM you the main points.
8980894
they're all great.
I wish I'd found this sooner because I absolutely love what you've done with Flash. Heck, I love all of the characters that you've come up with. I can't wait for the wedding.
8988478
Thanks! Really glad you like the characters. Also you won't have to wait too long since the wedding is coming up really soon.
Ahahaha, yaaaay. It's about dang time Cocoa responded in kind. I was very happy to see him finally say it. Jeez poor Flash though.
For more than one reason it seemed. between the claustrophobia and the other things it's good he has Cocoa paying attention to him.
Cocoa is a good egg. More than that he is good for Flash.
Also Flash as a dog? 900% believable and identifiable. Being a doggo is good.
ahaha, alright, i'll give you this one
yes that's right, Flash! it's not weird if you just have very good taste, that is my motto
so true
ahaha nice
aww, and bringing it back to the chocolate-heavy beginnings of the story! very nice
ahaha, Flash is good at flustering!
aww, that's a nice bit of worldbuilding!
oof, #relatable
ahaha, now you're just being adorably ridiculous
haha, love this series of existential questions that Flash is sent off on
augh this silly ridiculousness is so fun!
aww, poor Flash!
bad pun? no, bad you!
aah, i can just picture that automatic head-banging
aww, so restrained!
so true
aww!
i love Pine Sap so much
these Canterlot ponies seem like a wacky bunch!
hehehe
brain hurty
aww! love this romantic moment you've set up, just so very picturesque