Flash Sentry is just concluding his first week of training for the Royal Guard and he is doing great. Nothing can break his focus. Especially not the hot Stallion that runs the Chocolate Shop down the street from the Barracks.
He also most certainly does not want to date him. That would be silly.
Though Flash Sentry was silly...
Spoiler Tag: Changelings
Inspired by vdrake77's story Changeling in the Guard
Rated Teen for suggestive material.
Sex tag included for the same reasons.
Profanity added due to Chapter 10 and light comedic use throughout.
Drama recently added due to some heavier content.
Art Credit goes to me.
Editted by Cyanhyde
Editted by LuckyChaosHooves
Chapters (16)
Concussed Flash might very possibly be best Flash.
I like this. The whole thing has a really nice feel to it, and I found myself smiling throughout the whole chapter.
8897599
Thank you! I am very glad you like it.
I also think concussed Flash is best Flash.
Oh, I love this. I love this so much. This is great.
Boy, I sure hope Cocoa isn’t a changeling or anything...
That aside, this was a thoroughly delightful chapter. Drunk!Flash is great, Cocoa is great, this story is just great so far.
8909333
Thanks, glad you like it.
So far it is a lot of fun to read Flash being an impulsive mad colt and doesn't know on how to date girls or boys or even common sense for that matter.I can't wait to see what the second date is going to be like.
8919335
Well, I can assure you that he will fail and succeed spectacularly.
This was a good chapter loved cacaos visit to his father wonder what will the relation between Steel and Flash in the future will be like.
oh my gosh I love this! rarely see a gay pony flash sentry fic unless it's a clop (which is fine too) or even eqg but they're few and far between.
the character pony flash being a crazy, awkward loveable goofball. also love cocoa print's character being an independent hard working pony & a badass (that fight scene with his dad was so awesome) reminds of female protagonist from ouran high school host club her name escapes me right now.
lastly love your icon pic it's so cute, following you, gave your story an up vote & putting this in my favorites!:)
8920264
Thanks so much. Really glad you enjoyed it
oh the clique of a date gone then get a do over! delightful chapter made me laugh at certain points:)
I just want Flash to be happy, dammit!
Well this was interesting wasn't expecting to see Cocoa prefer Slash wacky self, wonder how things will go in bed. I wonder if Flash knows about Twilight yet and if shining has something to do with this?
8926155
Yes, I particularly liked the French restaurant scene myself.
8926633
He will be!
... Eventually.
8926957
Flash knows of Twilight but we won't be dealing with her for a while yet.
Also what do you mean by if Shining has something to do with this? Confused by what you mean by "something"
8927176
I mean that Shining in intensionally keeping keeps Flash away from Twilight.
8927392
Ah, probably. Have you met Flash? If I was a big brother I also wouldn't want Flash's crazy to rub off on my sister.
Though, doesn't help that Twilight basically lives at the palace and never leaves.
I just have this little spot of paranoia in the back of my brain, like something’s gonna happen. the first chapter and the spoiler in the description are really just fueling it.
This was an interesting chapter, It was nice to see how Flash and the Sparkles dynamics worked and how the love life between him and Cocoa progress over the period of more or less then a years, which I like that it had a slow pace to it. I wonder why Flash seems to have a problem with Nightlight? I Think Steel is going to regret ever thinking that intimidate or wear out Flash in his relation with his son. Can't wait to see what will happen next.
8935599
Paranoia is valid and things will go down, but we still have some cute fluff to get through first ~!
Too many things & references to make & point out!
This review is brought to you by the group,"A for Effort".
Name of Story: Side A - The Guard
Total Score out of 10: 7
Pros: An enticing story with fun jokes and decent pacing. A thoroughly entertaining romantic comedy. The characters are freshly written but not so dissimilar to the norm to create any mental or emotional friction. No noticeable spelling errors, either.
Cons: Consistent misuse of commas and your/you're, but not often enough to break immersion.
Additional Notes: Make sure to proof-read once or twice before posting new chapters. If need be, look for a proofreader who can comb through for any other errors. Otherwise, this is a well-made story I may have to continue reading.
Just got caught up with this story. I'm really liking it. This flash is something else.
8941631
Glad you think so. I like my crazy Flash.
Thank you for the warning at the beginning, you have just broken my streak of ‘trying to end the night with a nice bit of fanfiction and having it end up being terribly sad’. As such, I’m going to save this chapter for later.
8943639
No problem, it was for that reason I put the warning. I didn't want to blindside anyone.
It was a sad but good chapter, keep it up.
Aww poor flash! I wanna hug him.
Wait...Steel bastion (cocoa's dad) is gay too! oh my god, i totally expect that!
Oh, I absolutely love this new cutie mark mechanic. I’ve been binging Starlight Over Detrot lately, and it also has a sort of active cutie mark thing going on, so I was very excited when you incorporated something like it into this story. Of course, everything else in this chapter was great too, as per usual.
8958319
Thanks. I really wanted to do something interesting with his mark, so I'm happy to hear that you liked it.
My reaction to seeing this chapter pop up in my bookmarks: “oh, another chapter so soon? That’s almost a bit worrying...”
After reading the content warning, I can see my suspicions were well-founded. I may end up skipping this chapter, I’m not sure yet.
8961583
That is perfectly reasonable. I added the warning specifically so people have a chance to skip it. Like I said everything is covered early next chapter as a sort of recap specifically so people can skip it.
That's the kind of thing that really makes you look at Starlight and see that her mark removal spell could have some potentially positive use.
8961651
Yes, I'm fairly certain Flash would actually jump at the chance to have his mark removed.
wow, that was intense.
Something has been bugging me with the last two chapters. What's the timeline for this story? I originally thought that this was set significantly further in the past given where Shining is at in his career, but we had nightmare moon's return. How long do we have until the invasion?
And we have our reveal. Next chapter should be interesting.
8961894
Okay so confession: When I first wrote the story I goofed up the timeline a little and then had to fix it a bit. Currently, the timeline is as below:
Warning: spoilers
Twilight's Age: 18 (Celestia' student)
Flash's Age: 24 (Finishing studies)
Shining's Age: 25 (Finishing studies)
Cocoa's Age: 26
Training in the Guard
Graduation from Guard => 1 year
Dodge City => 1 year
Palace guard duty => about 1 year (Twilight is about to go to Ponyville)
Nightmare Moon's Defeat => Just after here
Current Ages:
Twilight: 21
Flash: 27
Shining: 28
Cocoa's Age: 29
Shining is promoted just before Discord then promoted again before the wedding and drags Flash with him as a second in command. He had been dating Cadence for about ten years at this point.
I'm super sorry if that's unclear, but I genuinely goofed and didn't think of the timeline until like chapter 6 when I realized my timeline was wrong.
Invasion happens three chapters from now. So effectively:
C11 => Adorableness
C12 => Discord (Also known as Flash and Cocoa get along with Discord for some reason)
C13 => Invasion
C14 => Epilogue to the Guard
8962322
oh, I didn't realize that they spent a year in the castle, or that they were that old (I was assuming younger). As for the invasion, I was thinking about years, not chapters. I was trying to figure out how long it took for shining to go from basic to captain of the guard because it seems a little quick.
Well, it tool long enough to see I was originally right him, still it was much later, still it was a good chapter. Looking forward to the next chapter.
8962813
Yeah, that's again my bad as I don't know much about military protocol.
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.
So, I ended up having to read (parts of) this chapter anyway, because I didn’t know what the hell was going on in the chapter after It. Suffice to say, it’s not surprising that Cocoa is a changeling, considering I called it very early on in the story.
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.