Flash Sentry Chronicles: War of the Lost City

by Banshee531

Journey's End

Flash let out a long yawn, his eyes fluttering open before going wide-eyed, "Huh?!" he yelped as he started to stand up, now seeing he was in a giant white void. "Oh, come on! If I never see another white, black of even rainbow void again after this, it'll be too soon!"

"I'm sorry to have to summon you like this so soon." Flash hopped in place at the sudden voice, making him turn around to see a bubble of golden light floating beside him.

"Faust?!" Flash raised an eyebrow, "What's going on? Where are we?"

"You're still where you were when you fell asleep. I've summoned your consciousness here to discuss an issue that has come up."

Flash let out a long sigh, "Please don't tell me Shadow's friends are causing trouble already."

"Thankfully, no. This problem is more...interdimensional."

Several questions filled Flash's brain at this, a more nitpicky one coming to the surface, "Wait, how are you talking right now? Did you take Soul over again?"

"No. When I granted you your upgrade, I also gave you the ability to understand me. I won't be needing a medium to communicate with you any more."

"Huh. Alright, what's the problem?"

"It'll be easier to show you." The bubble started flying around him, causing a bright flash to occur.

"What's happening?" He asked as he tried to look through the light, only for it to fade into a figure standing in front of Flash. "What?" He asked, only to go wide-eyed as he recognised the outline. "Wait...this is-"

His words mumbled out as the Faust orb now floating beside Flash took in the image of...himself.

The defender was looking at a near perfect copy of himself, or at least what he looked like when he travelled to the human world. A teenage boy with blue hair and orange skin, the only difference being the longer hair along with a white shirt and purple pants.

He blinked at the doppelganger before turning to Faust as she spoke up, "Portals have started opening up between Equestria and the world you've visited twice before. One such portal, this version of you leapt into." Flash went wide-eyed at these words, only for his other version to speak up.

"Hey! Don't ignore me!" He turned back to his counterpart, "Twilight's in danger, and its because of your world's magic!" Though he managed to show little emotion outside of a raised eyebrow, Flash gulped at his words before gesturing for the human to continue. "My friend created a device that was able to absorb magic. She used it on these girls from a school called CHS and when she did, she started opening these weird portals that caused giant killer plants to appear and try to eat us. Now she's been forced to unleash the magic and it transformed her into some kind of...madwoman that's trying to open a portal to your world. But if she does, she'll rip mine apart and....and my Twilight might be lost forever. So please...help me save her. There has to be something you can do."

Pony Flash turned to Faust, the bubble pulsing as she spoke. "If we don't do something, a serious imbalance could occur due to the destruction of this world. And if these portals grow larger, it may end up doing damage to Equestria." Flash nodded back as she continued, "You can't go with him, but I should be able to transfer a tiny bit of your power to him. Not much, but enough for him to hopefully fix this."

Flash nodded again before turning back to his human counterpart, "Okay, I'll help ya." Human Flash shined a big smile, only for his pegasus lookalike to shake his head, "But I uh...can't do much. For one, I can't come back with you. It's...complicated."

"I'm really starting to hate that word." Human Flash grumbled back, making pony Flash chuckle.

"Sorry. I'm guessing you've had a few long days with no explanations, am I right?" Human Flash did a slow nod in response, "Yeah, I know how you feel. Anyways, I can give you a little something that might help." He lifted his hoof and put it on Faust's sphere, a gold mist flying out. "I'll lend you a bit of my power."

"Really?"

"Just a little. Hopefully it'll be enough to level things with your Twilight. Oh and uh...it won't last long. You'd better make it count." Human Flash nodded as they moved closer, the bubble moving between them. "Get ready."

Human Flash blinked at his words, "What do you mean? is this a bad idea?"

Pony Flash let out a long sigh, "This power I wield...its a lot to handle. Trust me on this, and I'm you."

Human Flash was about to backpedal at his, pony Flash seeing the uncertainty in his eyes as the human replied, "Maybe this isn't such a good-"

"Stop." Pony Flash pointed at him, "You're a version of me. You can do it. I was gonna tell you that this power...well, it isn't for you, as it isn't mine either." Human Flash just tilted his head at this, the sight making the pony chuckle again. "Don't worry, I know its confusing. I'll just say this: Don't use this power selfishly, or it won't work. It only works if you want to use it to protect those you care about. If you do that, it'll never betray you."

Human Flash shined another big smile at this, "I like the sound of that. If this power let's me save her, I'll do it!"

Pony Flash let out a laugh before pointing at the sphere, "Now that's what I'm talking about. You're more than worthy of the power."

Human Flash nodded as he took a huge breath before placing his hand on the bubble. As he did this, the mist within shot into him, the bubble's light pulsing as Faust spoke. "Yes. Despite his lack of a Genesis Gene, he should be able to wield a small amount of your power. He won't be as strong as you, but it should be enough. And don't worry, I'll make sure to send him back where he came from."

Flash nodded as the bubble began to surround him again, preparing to send him back to his world. The defender turned back to the human, now hearing the teen say, "Thank you."

---

"Whoa!" Flash gasped as his eyes shot open, the pegasus sitting up. Rapidly blinking at this, he turned to see he was still in the meadow, having chosen to sleep outside with Soarin, Cold and Ruby since there wasn't a lot of room in the house. The others were all still asleep, though the rising sun would soon awaken them. The defender quickly got up and walked into the house, seeing Heart and Soul in their hammocks while Trixie was in her sleeping bag on the floor. He smiled at the sight, now seeing Springer sleeping with his head on the table while the eggs sat comfortably on several pillows and blankets.

Leaving the hut next, he let out a sigh, "Was that real? I know me and Twilight have never met another version of ourselves except the time spell scroll thing..." He groaned as he rubbed his forehead, "Note to self, have Twilight check her journal when we get back to Ponyville."

"You say something?" He heard Soarin ask as the sun hit the Wonderbolt's face, waking him up in time to hear Flash talking to himself.

"It's nothing," Flash replied before walking over to the Wonderbolt, "Come on. Let's get everypony up so we can get ready to head out." Soarin nodded as the sun awoke Ruby and Cold, the two waking up.

"Morning," Ruby mumbled as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

"Morning," Flash responded before heading back into the house, now seeing Trixie whispering in her sleep.

"Fillies and gentlecolts," she mumbled as she turned over. "Prepare...prepare thy selves, for the...for the great and powerful...Tricks...Trixie." Flash chuckled before gentnly shaking the mare awake, Trixie gasping as her head shot up. "Eep!" Her eyes went wide as she saw a smiling Flash right in her face, her brain quickly catching up.

"Morning."

"Uh...morning." Trixie replied as she looked away, "Ugh...this is why I'm a night pony now."

Flash chuckled again before turning to Springer, "Mind picking up the eggs?"

"Sure," Trixie sparked her horn and lifted the two into the air before Flash poked Springer in the cheek.

"Get back!" The jakhowl's head shot up, almost getting into a fighting stance before hitting his knee on the table. He then turned to the furniture, now seeing the eggs weren't there.

"Relax," Flash instantly chimed in before pointing to the eggs, "They're fine. Though you might not wanna sleep so close to them from now on."

Springer glanced over at the eggs before sighing, "Right...sorry." He began to twiddle his paws, "Maybe I'm not ready for this responsibility."

Trixie giggled as she put the eggs down. "You're just starting out. I'm sure you'll learn in time."

"But I'm still not used to being in battle form all the time! What if-"

"You'll be fine." Ruby interrupted as she walked into the house, "You should have seen your father the first time he was asked to hold an egg. He was so scared of breaking it that he always held it at an arms length. Your mother kept volunteering for babysitting duties so he could get more comfortable around them. It worked...eventually."

Everypony laughed as this as Heart and Soul began to wake up, "Morning," the colt whispered before rolling out of his hammock, flapping his wings to keep from crashing. He flew over to the cupboard and opened it, "Milk." He closed the door, letting out a yawn before opening it, "Huh?" He closed it, "Milk." He opened it again, only for nothing to appear, "What the-why isn't this working?"

"Looks like the cabinet power is gone," Flash said as Soul flew down.

"So what are we supposed to do now?" She asked, her stomach rumbling. "I haven't eaten anything in over a week."

Trixie giggled before reaching into her bag. "Luckily for you, we still have a bunch of food from our trip here." She opened it up and pulled out some candy bars, floating them over to the two.

"And the river's giving up plenty of water," Cold announced as he and Soarin walked in with canteens. "Besides, we'll be in Equestria before you know it. The princesses will likely have an all you can eat buffet prepared for you."

"And wait until you meet Pinkie Pie," Soarin added, "She'll wanna throw a party for the two of you as a welcome to Equestria. She makes the best cakes ever."

The two licked their lips at this, the group chuckling at this while Cold took out the orb Faust had given them. As he did, Springer asked him, "So, where are we gonna teleport ourselves too?" The others turned to him, "What? I know we're heading back to Equestria, but where in Equestria should we go too? Ponyville?"

"I suggest we teleport straight to Canterlot," Cold instantly replied, "We need to report to Princess Celestia, and she can easily send a message to Princess Twilight and the rest of your friends, letting them know we're back and okay."

"I'm down with that," Trixie added.

"No complaints from me," Soarin continued.

"Canterlot's the easiest city to get to the Crystal Empire from," Ruby nodded.

"Alright then," Flash responded as he took the orb. "We'll teleport to the Royal Gardens. That's probably the best place, as I don't wanna spook the castle guards. No need to making a fuss this early in the morning."

The others nodded and as they finished their breakfast, they began to pack up everything they needed. "Why do we have to wear these?" Heart asked as Ruby put a cloak over him and Soul, both being ones Rarity had made for them to travel in, though they had to be cut down for the younger ponies.

"It's to keep your identities a secret until you meet the princesses," the Crystal Knight replied, "We don't know what'll happen with that orb. We might end up getting sent to Appaloosa by mistake." She turned to Soul and made sure her wings were properly hidden. "If news gets out that there's a new alicorn in Equestria before Celestia and Luna can decide how to deal with the situation, it could cause major commotion."

"Really?" Soul asked with a long gulp, only to feel Ruby pat her head.

"Don't worry. The princesses will be sure to help you with your public image. But until then, best to keep your wings hidden."

"Besides," Trixie added as she used her magic to gather the toys and other objects Heart and Soul had obtained during their time alone in the city. "It's sure to add a little extra push to your reveal when we present you to the princesses."

"You don't really have to take those," Soul told the mare as she picked up the boxes.

"Don't be silly," she replied as she took them outside, "These items have been a part of your life for a long time. Since we're teleporting and probably not coming back here, there's no reason to leave them behind."

"But...they're not important," Heart said as Trixie put the boxes down.

The mare shook her head before taking a wooden toy train out, holding it up to Heart. "You've played with this, right?"

"Yeah."

"You enjoyed playing with it, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then I say it's important to you." She placed the toy back in the box. "If you really don't want them, you can donate them when we're in Equestria. But I'm sure you'll realize you don't want to part with them, at least not yet."

The young ponies shared a glance, both hiding a smile as the rest began to set everything up. "This looks good," Flash added as he wrapped up the rest of the things, the are now surrounded by everything, including the eggs that were wrapped up in blankets. "Looks like we're ready to go. Everypony ready?"

"Wait!" They turned to Ruby, a frown on her face, "Where's Sombra?" The group went wide-eyed, the group quickly glancing.

"Shoot! I forgot about him! Don't tell me he ran off," Soarin said as he flew up to look around.

"Of course he did," Cold growled. "He knew what would happen when we arrived in Equestria. I'm such an idiot for not tying him up or something."

Flash turned to Springer, seeing him close his eyes to sense his aura, "Anything?"

Springer was about to respond, only for a voice to speak out, "Looking for me?"

They spun around to see Sombra walk out from behind the house. "Sombra!" Ruby barked, "Where have you been?!"

"I wanted some alone time to think," he replied, "Sorry if I made you worry."

"Yeah we were worried," Soarin growled as he landed. "Worried you had run off!"

"You should have told us where you were going," Trixie added.

"If I had told you where I was going, you would have followed me, or even just force me to take one of you with me. Then I wouldn't really be alone."

"Can you blame us?" Cold finished, "Now if you're done with your alone time-"

"Hold on," Sombra held up a hoof. "There's something I wish to say." The others didn't respond, only for the former king to take a deep breath before saying, "I'm not going back to Equestria with you."

"WHAT!?" Most of the group screamed, their eyes going wide with several jaws dropping.

Cold then glared at him, "I don't know what you think you're playing at, but if you think we're just going to let you go, you're-"

"Let's hear him out." They turned to Flash, the defender raising a hoof at this, "We should at least hear what he has to say before dismissing it outright."

"You can't be serious. He's a criminal and-"

"Hang on Cold, I want to hear what he has to say too," Ruby chimed in, making them turn to her as she kept a glare on Sombra, "Sombra...if you're not coming back to Equestria with us, what are you planning on doing?"

"Righting a wrong I did a long time ago," Sombra replied, now turning to directly stare at Ruby, "I know I have done a lot of terrible things. And because of what happened to me, I...I can't stand myself for what I did. I can't give back the thousand years I stole from you and the rest of the Crystal Empire, and I can't undo the horrors I forced upon the Crystal Ponies." He sighed as he looked away, "And I know I can't make up for what I did while under Armalum's control." He glanced back at Ruby, "But I can undo one mistake I made: Princess Amore."

Ruby's eyes went wide, everypony except Flash all raising eyebrows at this as the knight spoke up, "You're gonna go find her, aren't you?" Sombra nodded, Ruby shaking at the gesture, "You...you really think you can locate every single piece?"

"I told you I could sense them, didn't I?" He turned to the mountains Flash and his friends had first come from so long ago. "If anypony has a chance of finding her, it's me."

"Does somepony wanna fill me in?" Soarin asked.

"Yeah...I'm lost." Trixie added.

"Princess Amore was the ruler of the Crystal Empire," Flash chimed in, "She lead it until Sombra took over the kingdom."

"I transformed her into a statue and shattered the pieces...then scattered them far and wide." Sombra admitted before sighing, "But if those pieces are gathered together, she can be restored to her former self. And as the one who cursed her, I'm connected to the pieces. I can sense where they are."

Everypony went wide-eyed at this, Cold the only one not reacting as he glared at Sombra, "So you want us to let you go so that you can start traipsing around the place looking for some rocks?"

"Yes."

Cold turned to the others, "We're not seriously considering this, are we?"

Everypony turned to Flash, making him let out a sigh, "Well...ever since Sombra was freed and made into a real unicorn, I've been able to sense his intentions. I can tell if he's lying, and...well, right now he's telling the truth. He does intend to go and search for the pieces of Amore."

"But you can't be completely sure," Trixie chimed in, "Sure, he might be planning to find the pieces right now, but it could all be a ploy to save himself from going to prison."

"I won't lie and say that isn't one of the reasons I want to do this, but I do wish to make up for what I've done." Sombra said as he took a deep breath. "I'll search for the pieces of Amore, and when I have them all, I'll come back to Equestria and then you can decide to do whatever you want to me."

Everypony shared some glances, Ruby speaking up next, "How long do you think it'll take to gather the pieces?"

Sombra shrugged back. "Could be a few months, could take decades. I'm not sure."

Cold turned to Flash, "You're sure you can trust him."

Flash nodded while Springer spoke up. "I'm not sensing any deception from him. I think he's genuinely being honest about his intentions."

Cold just glared at the jakhowl, Soarin, Trixie and Heart all showing indecisive frowns.

"I think we should give him a chance." They turned to Soul, the filly looking up at Sombra with a smile before turning to Ruby. "I know he's done some terrible things, but he's also done some good stuff." Ruby raised an eyebrow at this, "He's the reason Flash was able to push himself when it looked like he had lost against Shadow."

"That's true," Flash added with a nod, "He reminded me what I was fighting for." He turned to Sombra. "If he hadn't been there, Shadow might have won that battle. He helped save Equestria from being conquered by that tyrant."

"But does that really justify letting him go?" Cold instantly responded.

"We've forgiven others for less. Besides, we're not letting him go." Flash replied as he stared at Sombra. "Alright, you can go and search for the pieces of Amore. But remember, we're connected. If you eventually decide to change your mind and stop searching for the pieces, I'll know, and I'll hunt you down and bring you in."

Sombra nodded. "I understand...but I won't change my mind. I won't stop until Princess Amore has been restored. Only death will keep me from achieving this goal."

"Well make sure you don't end up killing yourself," Cold added, "If anything, death would be a release and not a punishment."

"I know." Sombra replied before turning to Ruby. "I hope the next time we meet, I'll have proven myself worthy of your forgiveness."

Ruby refused to meet his gaze, looking down at the ground instead. "Maybe... maybe I could come with you? Princess Amore was like a mother to me. I want to help save her in any way I can." She waited for Sombra's answer, only to get nothing but silence. The knight looked up, now seeing him shake his head.

"No, this is my task. I can't simply pawn it off to somepony else. I must complete this mission alone. Only then can I truly repent for the sins I've committed."

Ruby sighed before glaring at him, "Very well...but be warned. Flash won't be the only pony who'll come after you if you so much as consider abandoning this mission. You will complete it and return to Equestria, and whatever the princesses decide to do with you, I will support."

Sombra nodded back, "I know." He then turned back to the mountains, "Well...I should get going. I have a long journey ahead of me and so little time to do it. I can already sense a piece not too far from here. A week or so away."

"Then I guess you'd better be off," Flash replied, the pegasus starting to fumble his words, "Just...be careful, okay?"

"I will be," Sombra responded before turning to Ruby. The mare gave him a sheepish stare before pulling her eyes away, Sombra frowning as he began to walk away.

"Goodbye," he stopped before turning back to her, still seeing her look away, "I'm not going to say it again."

"You didn't have to say it the first time Ruby. This...isn't really goodbye. It's until we meet again." This made Ruby finally look at him. "And when that time comes, it'll be the day Princess Amore is restored back to normal." Ruby nodded back as he began his walk again, the group unable to look away as he reached the base of the mountain.

And as he began to climb, Trixie glanced at Ruby. "You okay?"

"I will be," Ruby barely replied, "It's strange. A piece of me wants to never see him again...but another part of me wants him to complete his mission as quickly as possible." She turned to the others, "Is that strange?"

"No," Springer shook his head, "It's normal."

"I still have reservations about this," Cold told Flash.

"Well if he does fall off the wagon, you can tell me I told you so the entire time we're hunting him down." Flash nonchalantly replied as he pulled out the orb, "Come on, let's go home." The others nodded and gathered around their things, Heart and Soul pulling their hoods up as Flash raised the sphere up, "Remember, we've all gotta think of the same place. Canterlot, the royal gardens. You ready?" They nodded again as Flash took a deep breath, "Then here...we...GO!"

With that, he threw the orb down. It struck the exact spot he was aiming for, shattering before releasing a light that formed an expanding ring. Flash landed between Heart and Springer as the ring grew large enough to fit them and all their things, soon completely forming as a pillar of light consumed them. The pillar began to grow taller, all watching it go up to the sky as Flash held out his hooves. Heart and Springer smiled as they took both before holding their own to the pony next to them. Soul took Heart's and Ruby took Springer's while Trixie took Soul's and Soarin took Ruby's, the two holding theirs out to Cold. The Frozen Wanderer sighed and shook his head before taking the hooves.

As he did, the light around them grew so bright that they had to close their eyes, the friends still clutching their hooves together. Up at the top of the mountain, Sombra had reached the peak and turned to pillar. He couldn't pull his eyes away as it got brighter, covering the entire meadow as the light made him look away before the pillar suddenly vanished.

He turned back to the where the light was, now seeing that Heart and Soul's house was also gone. The unicorn let out a sigh before turning back to the mountain, "Alright world, what have you got for me?"

With that, he began to climb down the other side of the mountain, the meadow no longer in sight. Had he stayed at the top a little bit longer, he would have noticed something pop out of the ground where the house had once been. It was a plant, one that grew exceptionally fast and eventually matured into a small thin tree...one that would eventually age into a big strong oak.

---

Canterlot...

The gardens that surrounded the castle were peaceful as always, the flowers being in bloom while the animals that lived there were all peacefully sleeping. Several Royal Guards were currently patrolling the grounds, knowing that nine times out of ten patrols would end with nothing happening. But this appeared to be one of those tenth times.

"WHOA!" One of the guards yelled as he was almost blinded by a bright light that had just exploded a ways off. Several other guards ran to his side, all pointing their weapons at the light.

"That's...teleportation!"

"Be ready stallions," one of the higher ranking guards announced. "If it's something dangerous, we must protect the princesses." They continued to stare at the light until it started to fade, allowing them to see a bunch of figures standing in it.

One of the guards gasped, remembering the knighting many months ago. "That's Sir Sentry!" The light then faded around the defender, the fading pillar starting to reveal the other figures.

"Go tell the princesses," one of the guards yelled as they identified the Knight of Friendship. That guard nodded and turned to run off while the rest continued to surround the group as the light completely dissolved.

Once it did, the ponies in the light opened their eyes, Flash smiling at the castle above them, "Yes! It worked!" he let out a laugh before getting a spear in his face.

"Identify yourself."

"Whoa!" the pegasi backpedaled before replying, "Flash Sentry, Knight of Friendship. Clearance code alpha, delta, four, tango seven, one. And please put the spear away."

The other knights quickly followed this, "Ruby Scarlet, Crystal Knight. Clearance code bravo, two, delta, echo nine, four."

"Cold Steel, Frozen Wanderer. Clearance code six, echo, tango four, alpha bravo."

Upon hearing these statements, the guards all lowered their weapons and appeared to be at ease before glaring at the five remaining figures, Flash flaring his wings, "Relax, they're fine. One of them is the princess's student, after all."

"Isn't that one of the Wonderbolts?" Another guard asked, Soarin smirking at the recognition as Flash and Ruby turned to Springer.

The jakhowl was looking over the eggs, "I don't think the teleport did anything...I think." They nodded as the guard from earlier returned.

"Sir Sentry," Flash turned to him. "You and your cohorts are ordered to report to the princesses at once."

"Figured as much," Flash gestured to the others. "Let's get going."

"Hold on," Trixie picked up Heart and Soul's boxes before they disappeared in a flash. "There. Just sent them to my room. Better then hauling them all over the place." The others nodded as they picked up their bags and began to trot toward the castle, Ruby helping Springer carry the eggs.

The group headed through the castle after the guard, eventually arriving in front of the doors leading to the main throne room. Flash stood at the front of the pack, staring at the doors before taking a deep breath. "Here we go."

With that, he pushed the doors open, the lights streaming in through the stain glass windows blinding him for a second. His eyes quickly adjusted, only to gasp as he locked eyes with a certain pony, "Twilight?"

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in the middle of the room, a tear-filled smile adorning her lips as she stared at him. "Flash." She replied before the two ran up to each other, embracing the other in a tight hug that lasted almost a solid minute. "I can't believe you're back." She pulled back and looked into his eyes, smiling as she started looking him over. "Looks like you actually managed to keep your promise. Not a scratch on you."

Flash's face turned red, about to tell her it wasn't that simple...only to see somepony standing behind Twilight. Starlight Glimmer.

"Get back!" Flash yelled as he yanked Twilight behind him and reached for his sword, "What's she doing here?!"

"Wait!" Twilight screamed as she teleported between the two, spreading her wings. "Don't Flash. Starlight's changed." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, his sword shaking in his hoof, "It's a long story, but she wants to make up for what she did. I've...taken her on as a student."

"Seriously?" Flash yelped as he now saw Starlight slowly walk up.

"Hello Flash. It's uh...been a while."

"Yeah..." Flash nodded, "It has."

Starlight looked away, gripping one of her hooves, "I um...I know I've done a lot of bad things in the past, especially to you and your friends. But I do really want to make up for what I did. I understand if you don't think you can trust me, but...but I just want a chance to prove you can." She was now rubbing her leg as she glanced back up, "So...I hope we can start over."

Flash stared at her before looking at Twilight, the princess smiling and nodding. "Alright...if Twilight believes you can be trusted. But I'll be keeping an eye on you."

"I know. I understand."

"Good," Celestia chimed in as she walked up to the three, "Now that that's out of the way," she smiled down at Flash. "Welcome back Flash Sentry. I look forward to hearing the tales of your adventures."

"We all do," Luna added as she moved up to her sister, now seeing Trixie and Ruby behind Flash, her smile brightening as she calmly galloped past the knight. The two did the same, the trio quickly hugging one another. "I am pleased to see you are both alright."

"We're happy to see you too," Trixie replied while Ruby just nodded. As this was happening, the others moved further into the room, Celestia spotting the two cloaked ponies, only to gasp at Springer as she saw what he was carrying.

"Springer, are those what I think they are?" Luna turned to Springer, also gasping as her eyes grew to match her sister's.

"It can't be."

"They are," Springer nodded before holding them out. "Two jakhowl eggs. Hope for the future of my race." The three alicorns gasped as Luna took them in her magic.

"It is true," she whispered as she looked them over. "Real jakhowl eggs." Her eyes squinted at the gold one. "Strange, I've never seen an egg this color before."

"I can probably explain that," Flash spoke up. "Along with a lot of other things."

"Yes, I'm sure you all have a lot to tell us." Celestia added as she turned to the two cloaked ponies, both foals shrinking at the staring alicorn, "Starting with who your new friends are."

Everypony turned to the two as they both lowered their heads, keeping their faces hidden. Seeing this, Flash walked in front of them, "Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Twilight," he pulled down the two's hoods. "Please say hello to Fire Heart and Shining Soul."

Celestia shined a big smile and leaned down, "Hello little ones. Its nice to meet you."

Both ponies eyes shrunk as they saw the towering alicorn smiling at them. Blushes appeared on their faces as Heart replied, "H-h-hello princess."

Celestia then turned to Flash, "May I ask how you came to meet them and why you decided to bring them back with you?"

"Errr..." Flash rubbed the back of his head, "That's a tough one to explain."

"Yes," Ruby added before sighing, "To be honest, I'm not entirely sure how to report what happened to us during our adventure."

"Maybe we should have practiced," Soarin chimed in, Trixie and Cold nodding in agreement.

"May I be of some assistance?" the group's ears perked up at the sound of that voice, making them all look up to see a creature that was an amalgamation of different creatures: Discord.

Soul screamed as she tried to hide behind Flash while Heart got into a battle ready position, the pegasus blocking him with his wing. "It's alright. This guy's...okay."

"It's nice to see you too Flash," Discord chuckled as he floated down before landing on Celestia's back. "This place as been far too boring since you left."

"How long have you been here Discord?" Celestia asked with a roll of her eyes

"Oh, I've been around since the start of your little tea party with Twilight. I must admit, her tale of alternative timelines was something I wish I could have seen." Flash shot Twilight a look, the mare shrugging. "As I was saying, I can help our friends with reporting what happened to them."

"How?" Twilight asked.

"Simple." He snapped his claw and a flash of light happened next. Before anypony could say anything, the group of eight now had a helmet on their heads. The helmets had cables coming off them that connected to a now appearing movie projector. "They just have to think of what happened and it'll all be recorded. Then you can play the events whenever you want." They all blinked at the sudden invasion of space, all asking questions as to why Discord suddenly did this. A few minutes later, they agreed to it and closed their eyes, soon thinking about their time at the city.

And before they knew it, the images of those events started flashing in front of their eyes. The entire war seemed to play out at super fast speed, showing every fight, loss, and revelation. After a minute, it came to an end, the eight blinking as the helmets disappeared.

"There we are," Discord chuckled before handing the device to Celestia. "Whenever you're ready to watch."

"And you're sure this'll capture every detail?" Celestia asked.

"If it's missing something, I'm sure our stars will be able to explain it."

"Huh. Okay." Celestia turned to the group, "You ready to see this?"

"Hang on," Flash held up a wing before turning to Discord. "Think you can do one more thing for us?"

"Which is?"

"I'm sure my mom and dad will wanna see this. And if they're here, Scootaloo will wanna be here too."

"I'd sure like to see Rainbow again," Soarin added.

"I'm sure all our friends will wanna learn about what happened," Trixie finished.

Celestia nodded in agreement before turning to Discord. "Please bring all their friends here to watch this."

"Oh alright," Discord was about to snap his claw, only for Celestia to hold up a hoof.

"Don't just bring them here. Go and tell them what you're doing."

Discord let out a long sigh, "Aww...no frights?" A series of glares was the reply, "Fine. Party poopers. Who do I go to first?"

"My sister," Flash replied, "Then my parents, then Rainbow and the others can follow in any order." Discord nodded before completely vanishing, followed ten seconds later by a flash as three ponies suddenly appeared in the throne room.

One was Flash's sister, but the others weren't his parents.

"What do you mean royal decree?" Applejack asked before she, Scootaloo and Apple Bloom realized where they were. "What in tarnation?" The farmer turned to Twilight, "What the heck is going on?! Discord just showed up and sorry, royal decree."

The others rolled their eyes as Flash let out a cough, catching his sister's attention. "FLASH!" She exclaimed before leaping into his hooves, "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too," Flash chuckled as he patted her head just as his parents appeared in the room.

The two gasped at the sight, "You're back!" Misty began to cry as she hugged Flash, Trail following suit as another pop revealed Rainbow's arrival.

"What the-" She blinked as started blinking. "What just happened?!"

"Dash!" She turned to see her boyfriend tackling her, hugging her tightly while both started laughing.

"You're back!" Soarin laughed as they continued to embrace each other. This was followed by the rest of their friends showing up, Rarity and Sweetie Belle first before Lightning, Grand, Iron, Fluttershy, Pinkie and Wind Smile. Even Spike appeared, running over to Springer before gasping as he found out the jakhowl was now permanently in battle form.

Discord then popped up next to Celestia, "is that everypony?" Celestia did a head count before looking at him.

"We're just missing Cadance and Shining Armor, but it's probably best you leave them due to Cadance's condition."

As this was happening, the others were talking to their newly returned friends. "So what happened out there?" Grand asked the three knights that had gone off.

"Yeah!" Iron added, "What amazing adventures did you get to have while leaving us with the extra workload?!"

Flash and Ruby chuckled back, "Oh, you'll find out." The defender then gestured to the group, "But first, some introductions." Everypony turned to him, most now noticing the two little ponies. "Everypony, I'd like you to meet some very important friends of ours." He turned to the colt and removed his cloak. "First, please say hello to Fire Heart, my new apprentice."

Everypony watched the colt shrink back at those words, their brains quickly processing what he had just said before Grand walked up to him, "Flash...are you really taking on a squire?"

"You bet," Flash chuckled as he patted the colt's head, "Trust me, this kid has what it takes. With a little training, he'll be an amazing defender of the peace."

"Um...hi everypony," Heart waved with his wing, "It's nice to meet you all."

"It's nice to meet you too," Twilight nodded while Iron properly looked him over.

"Honestly, he doesn't look all that impressive."

Heart showed a growing frown before Flash patted his shoulder, "Don't count him out. Trixie, can you help me?"

"Need a shield?"

"Yup." Flash replied as he backpedalled, Trixie sparking her horn before a blue bubble appeared around Heart. The sight confused everypony as Flash crossed his front hooves, "Do it."

"Got it." Heart smirked before his entire body exploded, the shield keeping his flames at bay. Everypony gasped at the sight, the transformation completing as Trixie dropped the shield. This allowed him to take to the air, leaving a trail of fire behind him with a big smile on his face.

"How is that possible?" Celestia asked as they watched him.

"Okay...that's impressive." Iron admitted as Heart landed and transformed back to normal.

"How is something like that even possible?" Rarity asked before slowly turning to Discord, "Is this your doing?"

Discord shook his head, "Don't look at me, I'm just as amazed as you."

"All will be explained," Ruby chimed in, "We still have one pony left to introduce."

They all turned to Soul, the filly shaking at the many eyes staring at her. Her eyes shrunk as she tried to pull on her cloak's hood, Lightning speaking up first, "What, can this one turn into ice?"

"Not exactly," Cold responded.

"It probably would have been best to introduce her first," Misty told them. "After that fire show, her introduction might be a little overshadowed."

"I'd hold that thought," Flash replied before leaning down, helping Soul walk up to the group as Trixie and Ruby stood besides her. "Everypony, please say hello to Shining Soul." With that, the mares slowly pulled the cloak off her back, the filly now spreading her wings.

Once again the room was filled with gasps as they stared at the silver wings connected to the unicorn's sides. Twilight then began stuttering, "An...an...an...alicorn?!"

"Um...surprise," Soul softly said.

"How...is this possible?" Luna asked while Celestia just stood there with a raised eyebrow.

Flash then walked in front of the filly, "Soul here was a pegasus until about a month ago, where she was transformed into an alicorn in order to fulfill an important task. Now that the task is complete, the power she has is hers to do with as she sees fit. That's why we brought her here." He turned to Twilight. "I know you've already got a student, but do you think you can take another one?"

"Me?!" Twilight asked as she pointed at herself.

"I'll be teaching her brother, and they clearly want to stay together. So if they move to Ponyville, Soul will need somepony to help her learn."

Twilight showed a slight frown at this, only for Celestia to walk up and pat Twilight's shoulder, "I think it's an excellent idea," Twilight looked up at the tall mare as she moved over to Soul. The filly shrunk back again, only to stare at Celestia's warm smile. The sight made her cast away those fears as she spoke up, "Don't be frightened little one. I know the power you have seems like a lot to take in, but I'm sure you'll learn to properly control it with some help."

"Oh...uh...thank you," Soul squeaked out before turning to Twilight. She began to twiddle her hooves, "I um...I want to learn to control my power, so uh...I don't have to fear it." She then bowed, "Please help me."

The purple alicorn stared at her for a moment, only to walk up and present her hoof to the filly, "I'll do my best to help you. I don't have much teaching experience, but I'll do what I can." Soul looked up at her, taking the hoof as Celestia turned to Heart.

"And you, young one. You truly wish to be a knight?"

Heart nodded before igniting his hoof. "I have these powers, and I want to put them to good use. And when Flash offered to make me his apprentice, I realized there wasn't a better use for 'em! I wanna save as many ponies as I can and protect my new home, just like how Flash protected us in the war."

The others went wide-eyed at the word 'war', but Celestia just nodded back, "I like that mindset." She turned to Grand, "Your thoughts?"

"Still too early to tell...." the older knight replied before smiling at Heart. "But if Flash believes he's got potential, I look forward to seeing it myself."

Celestia nodded again as she looked back at the siblings. "Then let me be the first to welcome you to Equestria. I hope you come to see it as much of a home as the rest of us do." The two nodded as the CMC ran over, introducing themselves while telling the two how much fun living in Ponyville would be. The siblings were a little overwhelmed by the three, only to be distracted by a certain pony.

"Hooray!" Pinkie squealed as she bounced up and down, "I can't believe it! Our friends are back and we have new friends as well! I'M SO HAPPY!" As she said this, she leapt into the air before her entire body blew up until she was like a balloon. She remained like this for about five seconds before her entire body exploded into confetti that quickly fell to the floor with the other five females of the mane seven looking down at it.

Many ponies in the room stared at this in horror, Flash turning to Twilight as she stared at the pile. "Wait for it," Rainbow chimed in.

"Three," Twilight said.

"Two," Applejack continued.

"ONE!" Pinkie screamed as she shoot out of the confetti, which seemed to be absorbed into her body.

Flash and the others just stared in absolute shock as Wild laughed and leaned next to the Knight of Friendship. "Yeah, the two of us found out she could do that when she gets really, really excited. Pretty cool, huh?"

"Clearly I missed a few things at home," Flash sighed while Soul spoke up.

"How is that even possible?" She turned to the others, only to see normal expressions on their faces. "Um...she exploded. How are you okay with this?"

Scootaloo laughed as she nudged the alicorn filly. "If you're gonna live in Ponyville, there's a saying you gotta learn."

"IT'S PINKIE PIE, DON'T QUESTION IT!" Everypony from Ponyville exclaimed before bursting out laughing,

Heart and Soul shared a look before smiling, now seeing what they had to look forward to. "Alright then," Celestia said as the laughter began to fade. "I think it's about time we see what happened to our friends on their adventure." She turned to Discord, "If you would."

"I thought you would never ask," Discord chuckled before snapping his fingers. In a flash the throne room was transformed into a miniature movie theater with a large screen in front of some seats. Spike and the younger ponies sat down in the front row with the taller ponies in the back.

Pops of light appeared in front of them as popcorn bags and sodas appeared in their hooves, the group smiling as Discord activated the projector. The device shot out a light that covered the screen, showing numbers counting down as everypony got comfortable, Twilight placing her head on Flash's shoulder as the movie started.

It all began by showing the kingdom of Equestria before moving over the many landscapes Flash and his friends had traversed to get to the city, finally arriving at the valley just in time to see Flash sneeze. The friends gasped as they saw the giant city, quickly cutting to them meeting Heart and Soul before the Cult of Shadow appeared.

And as its many members showed itself, Celestia went wide-eyed as Tempera was the first to appear on the screen. "That mare...why does she look so familiar?"

Her words made others turn to her, Discord stopping the footage as Flash asked, "You know Tempera?"

"Tempera?! Is that her name?!" The defender nodded back, making Celestia gasp, "It can't be...so that's what happened to her."

"You know this mare sister?" Luna chimed in next.

"Yes. She was a student at my school several years ago," the princess let out a sigh at this, a look of slight hesitation on her face, "She wasn't awfully skilled when it came to magic, but she had one spell that intrigued everypony on the review board that got her in."

"This spell didn't happen to involve bringing things to life, did it?" Trixie's question came a with a nod, "Well she got a lot better since then. She can teleport and fire magic blasts."

"I see," Celestia muttered while shaking her head, "Considering how you're all acting, I suspect she went down a dark path....which if I'm honest, it might have been inevitable for her."

"What do you mean?" Trixie asked as they saw the frown grow on Celestia's face.

"Tempera was always...sad. She was known for her amazing art talent, and the art teachers believed she had the potential to take the art scene by storm with her abilities, including earning a degree in the subject. However, she had no motivation, no ambition to take her abilities to their limit at my school." The princess shook her head again, "I suspect it was her family as to why she was like this."

It was here that Springer spoke up, "Let me guess, they didn't show her any love, did they?"

Everypony turned to the jakhowl, surprised at the dark statement as Celestia nodded, "Yes. She came from a family of very...uncaring nobles. Her parents are known for their ambition, though they've lost their influence over the years...probably since Tempera disappeared."

"When did she vanish?"

"I'm...not exactly sure. She was first reported missing by some foals she would help entertain."

"Foals?" a few asked, Twilight then asking, "Wait, her parents didn't report her missing?"

"No." Celestia swiftly replied, "In fact, when I had guards investigate, the parents tried to pay them a large amount to not be investigated. We still did of course, but there was no evidence. It wasn't till we interviewed the staff of the nobles' mansion that we found out she had ran away. I sent some to see if we could find her...but she completely vanished." Celestia did a small sigh before glancing at Discord, "Let's not dwell on this. Please continue."

Discord snapped his claws, resuming the footage as the rest of the cult came into view. But as the pegasus known as Storm Blade showed itself, two ponies in the audience went fully wide-eyed. It was Grand and Celestia, the knight yelling, "Stop!"

The creature of chaos sighed as he stopped the film again, everypony turning to them as Flash stared his mentor. He had never seen the expression on Grand's face, it was if he had seen a ghost. "Grand? You okay?"

"It can't be..." the knight whispered as he and Celestia stood up.

"Grand, is that who I think it is?" Celestia added, Grand nodding back.

"It is. Its Swift Wing."

Flash and the others all exchanged glances, the defender knowing he wanted to ask questions about the cultist, he suddenly felt an extreme chill. This was followed by Discord yelling, "Oi! No freezing my theater!"

Everypony turned to Cold, his seat now covered in ice as they now saw the usual emotionless knight wearing a long dark glare in his eyes. He slowly turned around, ignoring Discord as he hissed, "What did you just say Grand?"

Grand glanced at the knight, slight hesitation in his voice, "I said...that pony is Swift Wing."

"Swift Wing is dead." Cold instantly replied. "I've read the report Grand. He died along with Noble." He then pointed at the footage, "Are you telling me that's Swift Wing?!"

The knight was about the reply, only for Celestia to interject, "He's telling the truth Cold." She glanced at the screen before sighing, "I...I honestly don't believe what I'm seeing, but...that pony is Swift Wing." The princess grimaced at her next words, "I still can't believe it. We thought he was dead."

Cold opened his mouth in response, only for Flash to speak up, "Hang on everypony!" He pointed at the screen, "Grand, you know this guy, right? Cuz when we fought him, he said he studied under you and...no offense, I really didn't want to believe him Grand."

"I know lad, and I don't blame you." He crossed his hooves next as he let out a sigh, "Let me explain, as you probably have questions." He stared at the image Storm Blade, certain memories going through his head, "Several years before I met you Flash, I was training a group of guards. They all wanted to be knights, but two of them had more potential then any of them...Noble Banner and Swift Wing." The knight chuckled as he said his next words, "You couldn't meet more polar opposites. Noble had the heart of a knight through and through...but had no skill. Swift on the other hoof, had skill in spades. He could take on a group of thugs before the first week of training, but he didn't have the mindset. He always hesitated on everything."

"That doesn't sound like him at all." Soarin chimed in, four others nodding while Cold just continued to glare at Grand.

"Well, that was how he was." Grand leaned back in his chair, now staring at the ceiling, "And the two were inseparable. Noble would always push Swift to be better, while Swift taught Noble true skills. However, that all changed when they took a test to be knights. Noble passed his, but..."

"Swift failed?"

"Yes." Grand slowly nodded, "It was a test over his hesitation, and he failed it. After that, he...changed. Swift became more violent in his work, repeatedly getting reprimanded and...I was considering discharging him for good. However, I then found out that Swift didn't want to take the test, but Noble pushed him into it." A dark expression covered Grand's face next, "Noble told me he regretted doing it, not knowing that Swift would change. He thought he could save him, and asked to bring him along to a mission."

Cold spoke up here, "Grand...that was the mission Noble died on, wasn't it?"

"It was." Grand replied, "Noble and Swift were supposed to take out a group of bandits and had been given a package that would deliver Noble's Celestic Gear crystal." The knight sighed as he stared at the weapon in Storm's hoof, "It seems things were even worse than we thought when I first investigated."

"You investigated?" Flash asked next.

"I took a team to the site, though it was a few days after the two had left for the mission. We found a massive battle in a canyon filled with bodies. It wasn't long till we found Noble, who was buried under some rubble with a burnt pegasus. We couldn't identify the pegasi, but we did find a blade by Noble that was both severely burnt and had Noble's blood on it." He shook his head, "We...we thought that was the Celestic Gear, and that worst had happened to both. Though seeing this, perhaps something even worse ended up happening."

It was here that Cold finally looked away from Grand, his body shaking as whispered out, "Noble...was that what happened to you? You always told me about your happy times with Swift..."

He began to mutter to himself, Grand noticing the unicorn looking away from everypony. The knight could only turn to Discord, "Please continue."

Discord replied before snapping his claws, the film continuing to show the battle taking place between the two forces until the moment Flash and Shadow met, leading to Faust's first intervention and the creation of the castles that sucked them inside. The sight made most of the audience confused, but they kept their questions to themselves because they didn't want to interrupt the video again.

This was followed by the team unable to escape the building and being summoned by the map room. And as the first three vs three fight began, everypony shook as they watched Flash, Soarin and Trixie clash against Storm, Salix and Terror. When they saw Soarin getting sliced in the side, Rainbow gripped his hoof before turning to see there was no scar. Raising an eyebrow at the sight, Soarin just chuckled before slinging his hoof around his lover.

While this happened, a certain thought went into Flash's head as he remembered how this fight went. This was followed by Salix disappearing, some gasping as he vanished before seeing Soarin about to meet the same fate until he grabbed the orb, confusing the group as they saw the battle suddenly end. More questions came next as they saw Soarin's injury vanish, leading to the film moving to the next day.

They kept their questions as they saw the next match, most unable to believe their eyes when saw the amount of different types of magic Shadow could use. Luna and Celestia were also curious about Armalum, the pony reminding them of somepony. It then showed Ruby fighting the armored pony, Luna growing concerned when she saw the expression on Ruby's face as his armor broke.

"What's impossible?" Spike asked the Crystal Knight as the scene cut away before showing what was under the armor.

Ruby half smiled as she looked away, "Just...wait and see."

The movie continued to show Cold's battle with Shadow, Flash suddenly yelling, "Pause it!"

The others turned to him, the defender grimacing at a few glares. "Sorry. I know we've been stopping this a bunch, but...it's probably best we don't show them this part." he stated as he pointed to the younger ponies and Spike.

"What?!" Scootaloo yelped, "Why?!"

"Yeah!" Heart added, "We haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet!"

"He may be right," Ruby responded while Soarin nodded.

"What's about to happen ain't exactly PG."

"Seeing it might cause some serious nightmares," Trixie finished. "And there's gonna be a lot more of those scenes before this thing ends."

The other older ponies grimaced at this, knowing what this meant as the younger members glared at them. But before anything could be said, Discord chimed in, "If I might be of assistance," He snapped his fingers and caused a flash of light to appear in front of team Flash. The light faded to reveal a black box with a red button in the middle of it, which had the word censor written above it.

"What's this?" Soarin asked as he pressed the button, causing another flash to appear around the younger ones' heads. When the light faded, they saw the six were now wearing blindfolds and headphones.

"Hey!" Spike yelped as Soul tried to remove her blindfold, "I can't hear anything!"

"It won't come off!" The alicorn filly cried.

Flash took this moment to press his button, causing them to vanish, allowing them to see and hear again. He then looked up at Discord as the chaos creature replied, "Now they can watch this and not be traumatized. Think this'll work?"

"I don't see a problem with it," Twilight chimed in.

"So, we can keep watching?" Scootaloo asked next.

"Only if you don't complain about this," Flash told her before pressing the button again. Once the six were shielded, the movie continued, now showing Cold get stabbed. They all gasped at this, Fluttershy's entire body shaking like a leaf as Iron hugged her.

"Um...can I get one of those censor things?" She asked Discord as Cold vanished, Flash taking the moment to press the button, letting them watch again. Everypony continued to worry at Cold's disappearance, but breathed a sigh of relief when they learned about the recovery rooms.

The movie continued to go through the battles, Luna frowning at Trixie's defeat by Terror despite Soarin and Cold managing to learn to work together. Then came the battle that shocked everypony when they saw Soul being selected to fight while Ruby started attacking Armalum in a rage.

"Flash!" Twilight yelped while turning to her boyfriend, having just seen him take a fireball to the face while protecting Soul.

"What?" He shrugged, "You'd prefer I let Soul get hit by that?"

"I'd prefer you find another way of saving her without injuring yourself," she growled before turning to see Soul unleash her alicorn power for the first time. The less restrained ponies all cheered and clapped at seeing filly blast all three enemies away, Soul looking away at the sight of her unrestrained power.

But all cheering stopped when Armalum's helmet fell apart.

"Sombra?!" Celestia gasped while Luna turned to Ruby, the princess now understanding the rage her friend had felt.

"How is that possible?!" Twilight added, only for Flash to grip her hoof.

"Just keep watching. That one will explain itself, trust me."

The others turned to him for a second as he gave them an assuring nod. This was followed by them seeing Flash's dream over the first part of Shadow's past, surprised looks on every face as they saw him be a happy-go-lucky colt. After this, they were cheering as they saw Trixie beat Terror, only to see Ruby lose to Shadow.

After this was Flash vs Armalum, Twilight clutching Flash's hoof as she watched him struggle while her eyes flickered to his scar, seeing it hurt him. This was followed by everypony gasping at Sombra's memory restoration, revealing the reality of Armalum's identity.

"Living armor?" Lightning asked.

"How ghastly," Rarity irked, "I can't imagine how many other ponies have suffered through that torture."

The movie went on, now showing Flash and Springer beat Storm and Wingill with ease. Cheers followed this, only to change to grimaces as Soul was picked again. This was followed by Shadow chasing her, the sight making some growl while Heart held his sister, Soul looking away from the screen.

"Don't you touch her, deluded one!" Rainbow suddenly yelled, the others turning to her as she saw their stares, "What?! That's this creep's new nickname! He's completely deluded in thinking he deserves whatever this place's power is!"

The others nodded or chuckled at her declaration, only to grimace as they now saw Shadow capture Soul, Fluttershy screaming as she saw what he did next.

"He...he has Tirek's magic?!" Twilight gasped.

"How?!" Celestia asked.

"I don't know," Flash responded while crossing his hooves. "But trust me, he won't be using it on anypony ever again."

This statement made many of the ponies turn to him, only to look back as Soul go super alicorn on Shadow. Their questions soon faded as Soul beat him, some cheering before seeing Soul not return to the castle. But before they could ask, Flash quickly hit the censor button as it switched to Flash's dreams.

The foals groaned at this, whining as Flash told them to be quiet as the rest saw Shadow get tied to the table. And as the dark ritual began, most had to look away as Luna whispered, "How horrible."

"Ah can't believe somepony's parents would do somethin' like that," Applejack growled.

"What'd they do?" Applebloom asked her sister.

"You don't need to know. Just know its very bad." Grand replied as Flash turned the censor off as the dream ended.

This was followed by Heart being selected for battle, the colt cheering, "Yes! This is my bit!" The younger ones blinked at this, only to then see Flash get sealed in a tomb. Twilight was horrified at the sight, but the defenders were all impressed by Heart's skill in getting him free, only to see him talk to his sister. The touching reunion made everypony smile, only to cheer as he performed his first transformation before creating his Fire Force.

This was followed by the triple attack of ice, light and fire that wiped out Storm and Salix, Flash then getting his Sacred Light. However, this enthusiasm was gone as the next battle came to a conclusion with Shadow getting his Corrupted Shadow back...followed by Flash's third dream.

"So he gained the Corrupted Shadow because of that ritual?" Twilight asked Flash as he blinded and deafened the kids again.

"What happened?" Sweetie asked when the dream part ended, turning to her sister, "What did Shadow do to those ponies?"

"Um..." Rarity twiddled her hooves at this, "They were uh..."

"Sent to the Shadow Realm," Lightning chimed in, "It's a prison that Shadow created, full of darkness that puts its captives into an endless sleep."

"Yes!" Rarity added, "Its...truly horrible."

"I'm sure they're free now though," Flash continued, "Probably waking up at this very minute to go about their daily lives."

"Really?" Scootaloo replied with a raised eyebrow, her brother telling her to just keep watching. Everypony now saw Springer, Soarin and Trixie were going up against Shadow, gulping as they saw him destroy part of the city was ease. But this all changed when Springer went Mega Mode, everypony cheering as they watched him start to turn the tables.

"Truly marvellous," Luna told the Jakhowl. "Your father would be so proud that you've become so strong."

"Thanks, but uh...I've still gotta a ways to go. And now I have to look after these too," he pointed to the two eggs that had been placed on a bunch of pillows to keep safe.

"Do not worry, as you won't be alone in this endeavour. Should you require any advice, I'll be happy to help."

Springer nodded back as the others turned to see Soarin now fighting Wingill and Terror, Rainbow frowning at the lack of confidence he showed at the beginning. The others were just as worried when they saw Ruby and Flash struggle against Armalum, only to cheer as Soarin suddenly overwhelmed his opponents.

"You've got Theta Mode?" Rainbow asked her boyfriend, the Wonderbolt smirking as he showed her his white eyes.

"You know it. I'm now twenty percent cooler." Rainbow rolled her eyes as they watched Soarin pummel the hippogriff.

The screen then changed to show the battle with Flash and Armalum, Twilight and Flash's relatives going wide-eyed when he entered Sombra's mind. Everypony blinked as they saw Shadow do the same thing, both clashing as they started sending shockwaves out into the city.

"What's going on?" Scootaloo asked, "Why is that happening when they fight?"

"Could it be..." Misty hummed before Trail turned to Flash.

"Your Sacred Light and his Corrupted Shadow are reacting to one another, aren't they?" Flash nodded, telling them to just wait for an explanation. They turned back to see the battle rage on, ending in Faust's intervention and Sombra's transformation into a unicorn.

"So he's a pony now?" Rainbow asked, "I thought it was a...what's it called again?"

"Umbrum," Ruby replied, "And he was. But he was transformed into a pony to stop from turning to dust."

This was followed by the conversation between Flash, Ruby and Sombra, Twilight turning to Flash, "He was inside of you? As in, that's why you acted like that after your fight with him?"

"A small portion of his soul was," Flash corrected her. "We should be glad it was, since it's what turned him to the side of good."

"And almost turned you to the side of evil," Twilight deadpanned.

"But I wasn't thanks to you and everypony else," Flash chuckled as Twilight let out a sigh.

"You are taking this way too casually," she replied as the movie moved on to the 'final' battle, now showing Flash and Shadow facing off. They cheered when Heart managed to take down Armalum by himself, only to cringe at the sight of Tempera becoming a giant art monster. This was followed by the orb being split in two, some asking how that was possible.

After that was the two seven on one battles, everypony constantly flinching when they saw their friends get taken down, the child censor button constantly being hit until it ended with Flash and Shadow the last ones standing. Their fears increased when it was revealed the rest of Flash's team was nowhere to be found, leading to him and Sombra discovering the key and opening the mystery door.

"Discord," Flash spoke up, "Can I get a notebook and quill?" Everypony raised an eyebrow as Discord snapped and the aforementioned items appeared, Flash giving them to Twilight, "You'll be wanting these pretty soon." Twilight blinked at the items as Flash and Sombra entered the crystal chamber, Shadow's arrival soon following before Faust revealed herself.

Flash was right about Twilight wanting to write everything down as Faust began to explain the origins of the universe, even asking Discord for subtitles so she didn't mishear anything. "Genesis gene," she whispered while turning to Flash. "Who would have thought you'd be the most pure breed pony in the world."

At the same time, both Celestia and Luna were in shock after seeing the image of the two ponies they now knew were their parents. Both felt themselves tearing up, having long since wondered what they had looked like.

"Sister..." Luna turned to Celestia as the tall mare wiped a tear from her eye.

"I know Luna," she replied before a flash of light appeared in front of them. When it faded, they saw a pair of identical pictures showing a still shot from the movie. It was an image of Celestia and Luna's parents holding them tightly as they slept. The two stared at them before looking up at Discord, who gave them a wink while the pair smiled back.

The movie went on as Faust went on to explain the final battle, everypony gasping when they heard what Shadow demanded if he won.

"He can't do that!" Spike yelled, "That would doom all of Equestria!"

"We know." Flash deadpanned as his movie version yelled at Faust about the circumstances, only to be forced to accept them. Everypony was on the edge of their seats as they watched Flash and Shadow take one another on, most gasping as they saw Lightbringer shatter before Flash was almost taken down.

The many mares began to tear up at hearing his internal monologue while the stallions growled at Shadow, these emotions getting replaced by shock when Sombra called out to him. Despite being told about this before, Ruby could barely believe how Sombra was trying to help Flash, now seeing the defender pick himself up. They all felt incredible pride when they heard his speech, leading into his final transformation and battle with Shadow. This was followed by every emotion possible on their faces, mainly shock when the ghostly images of themselves appeared before cheering as Flash finally claimed victory over the deluded unicorn.

"Well done," Celestia told him as the aftermath played out, only for everypony to grimace as they saw Shadow attempt to steal the power himself. To say they were surprised by the result of what Shadow's actions did was an understatement as they watched him vanish, Flash feeling a bit bad to censor it as well.

The group then turned to Flash after he was given the chance to become an alicorn, Rainbow even waving her hoof over his head to see if their was an invisible horn there. But when they heard Flash's decision, they smiled before seeing his new form.

"That's awesome!" Scootaloo exclaimed, "What can you do with it bro?"

"No idea," Flash replied while shrugging, "I haven't used it yet."

Twilight hummed as she stared at the still image. "Who wants to bet you can do actual magic in that form." Flash raised an eyebrow at this, "What? We'll have to test it to be sure, but I bet you could cast spells now."

"Geez," Iron huffed, "How much more overpowered are you gonna get?"

As he said this, the movie now showed the fate of Shadow's followers. Flash turned to Cold, now seeing him growling at the sight of Storm, "I know you're probably more angry now about what happened to him."

"You have no idea," he whispered before taking a deep breath. "But...I spent a long time letting my anger at the past decide my life. I'm sure if Noble was here, he wouldn't want me to give into my rage."

Celestia smiled at this. "Cold Steel, you've really changed." Her eyes shifted to the other ponies, "Each of you are so different. It's clear going on this adventure has changed the lot of you for the better."

Luna nodded in agreement, "I see it as well. These battles shown to us have helped you evolve into the ponies you were always meant to be, both physically and mentally. You should all be proud."

The others nodded as they watched the city vanish before Flash offered Heart the chance to be a knight. "Definitely deserving of it," Grand added with Iron and Lightning nodding.

The movie came to an end, everypony sighing in relief before seeing Sombra announce his intentions, making Rainbow yell out, "Seriously?! You let him go?! Are you nuts?!"

But before he could reply, Lightning chimed in, "Hey, he saved Sentry's flank in that final battle, and this whole thing showed us he's willing to be good. Is that any different from what the princesses did for me? Besides, Sentry can sense him if something goes wrong."

Flash nodded in agreement, even closing his eyes and thinking of Sombra. He could now feel what Sombra was feeling, the unicorn right now exhausted from a long day's travel. "Everything will be fine." he said as he opened his eyes, assuring his friends.

As he said this, Celestia and Luna shared a glance as the night princess asked, "What should we do if he actually manages to find all her pieces?"

"I'm...unsure. I guess we'll just have to wait and see what our own judgement tells us." Celestia replied, "I will say this, I do hope he manages to find her. Seeing Amore again will be a glorious day."

Luna nodded back as the movie ended, teleporting them to Equestria. As the screen went dead, Discord warped the throne room back to normal, everypony noticing just how much time had passed, now time for Celestia and Luna to swap their heavenly bodies.

"I can't believe you said no to becoming an alicorn," Rarity told Flash with a sigh, "I'd certainly jump at the chance if it was offered to me."

"Not to mention you gave up the chance to become Equestria's new king," Scootaloo joined in. "Why would you give that up?"

Flash chuckled and shook his head, "Like I told Faust, it's not my destiny. That and I don't think I can handle being a king."

"I don't know," Grand added, "I think you would have made an excellent ruler of Equestria if you had to. You're fair, caring and brave enough to stand up to any enemy that the kingdom would face. You would make a great ruler."

"Would he really become a king though?" Rainbow asked before turning to Celestia as she lowered the sun. "Is becoming an alicorn the only qualification you need?"

"Does that make me a princess?!" Soul squeaked out, hugging herself while shaking like a leaf.

Celestia giggled as she turned to Flash. "I admit, had Flash become an alicorn, I would have to consider making him a ruler on Twilight's level. But he's definitely a long way from being ready to become its sole leader." She then let out a sigh, "Though the idea of letting somepony take over for me isn't a terrible idea."

"But we should probably wait a few years," Luna added as she raised the moon. "I will admit though, the eight of you have done Equestria a great service."

Celestia nodded in agreement, "You've defeated a great evil and spared Equestria from both a future attack and a more recent one that we may have had no chance of winning." She then turned to one of the blank stain glass windows. "I hope you all are willing to allow us idolise this accomplishment. It certainly deserves it."

This made six of the eight go wide-eyed, Flash and Cold being the only ones not reacting due to Flash knowing it was coming as Discord floated over them, "Oh, this is too priceless." he chuckled before summoning an artist costume that was carrying what looked like a leaf blower on his back. "Allow me." He pointed the device at the window, firing out a rainbow that struck the glass.

And as the rainbow splashed over the glass, it now showed an image of Flash in the center in his old Sacred Light form with the rest of his team around him. Even Sombra appeared in the group, with smaller versions of the cult of shadow all defeated with an image of the city in the background.

"What do you think?"

Flash and his team stepped up in a line, smiling as Soarin spoke up first, "My wings are a bit small."

"And Trixie's mane is off color."

"And my nose is much too long," Ruby finished, Discord growling at them as they giggled at him, only for Flash to fly up and pat his shoulder.

"it's perfect." He then heard a cough, making him turn to see Twilight pull a camera out of Pinkie's mane.

"I think this moment needs to be idolized as well." She said as she gestured the group together, Twilight ordering Cold to smile as she positioned the camera, "Say cheese!"

"Cheese!" They replied as Twilight took the picture.

After that, everything was a blur for Flash. The conversations broke out into a full-on party, Pinkie somehow managing to pull enough food out of nowhere that it was able to cover a ten foot long table Celestia had conjured up. Everypony grabbed some food, splitting into groups to talk about certain things.

"It's too bad you couldn't learn about how those healing chambers worked," Misty told Ruby from their group with Trail, Grand and Celestia. "They might have helped a lot of ponies if we could have discovered what Faust did to heal you so quickly."

"I don't think so. I think it was her magic, and the recovery chambers probably wasn't what was healing us." Ruby replied, "My guess is that they were a form of stasis that kept us from dying. The dusting only seemed to happen when we took a form of major, life threatening, damage."

"That makes sense," Grand added, "But who knows what kind of side effects you experienced from being healed like that. It may have even shortened your life."

Celestia nodded in agreement, "I doubt it would be something that bad...but you should all have medical tests done to make sure you're alright," She then turned to the two young ponies as they were now talking to the CMC. "I already plan on having them be properly examined. They haven't received any form of medical treatment in over two millennium."

Grand gulped at that, "They haven't developed any of the resistances most ponies are born with. Even getting a cold could kill them."

"They're gonna need a lot of vaccinations," Trail continued, "They ain't gonna like that."

"Seriously?" Flash yelped as Twilight finished telling him about her adventure in an alternative timeline, "An evil version of me?!"

Twilight nodded. "His powers were awfully similar to Shadow Corrupter. He was able to control shadows and morph them into weapons. It was crazy."

Flash's face shined a huge grown, "I can't believe there's a version of me out there that's...evil."

"It was only one version of you," Spike pointed out. "All the other versions we saw of you seemed to be pretty awesome."

"He even said he was the only Flash that was like that," Starlight went on. "And I don't think you have to worry about it. We might never even see him again. He fell into the time stream and could be anywhere. Either in the distant past or the far off future."

"We should still be prepared if he does show up again," Twilight huffed before turning to Flash. "But with you more powerful than ever, I'm not worried."

Flash nodded back, only to hear both Soul and Scootaloo letting out a yawn. "I think it's time we all get to bed."

Celestia giggled at this, "Yes, we've all had a long day. Filled with surprises, worry, excitement and much much more. You're probably all exhausted after it. I've already prepared rooms for you all, but if any of you wish to return home, I'm sure Discord will be happy to help."

The draconequus sighed, "I'm being much too nice today." This was followed by a thank you and hug from Fluttershy, agreeing to let her go home first to care for her animal friends. Iron, Lightning and Grand then chose to return, many fearing Ponyville might have exploded by now. Pinkie and Wild also asked, Pinkie now remembering they were meant to foalsit the Cake Twins tomorrow. And since it was a school night, Applejack and Rarity chose to take the girls back home.

"Aww," Scootaloo pouted before turning to her brother. "But I wanna stay and catch up."

Flash patted her head, "Don't worry. I'll be back home before you know it. Then you and me will hang out and spend some quality time together." Scootaloo gave him one final hug between them and their parents, Discord sending her and the others home.

"We should get going too," Misty told Flash.

Trail nodded. "We were preparing for a very important lecture before all this. But once it's done, we're heading straight for Ponyville."

"Really?" Flash asked.

"Of course," Misty nodded. "We haven't seen you in a month. Plus, we just learned how the universe began. This is every archaeologist's dream." She turned to Twilight, "Still have those notes?" Twilight nodded back, "Well, maybe we can write a book about it all using them."

"I look forward too it," Twilight replied before Misty and Trail shared one final hug with their son. They were soon warped away, leaving only Twilight, Spike, Starlight, Rainbow, the princesses and Team Flash.

The eight members of that team stepped into a circle and shared a glance, Flash speaking up first, "So....this is it."

"Feels kinda weird," Springer added, "It's only been a month...but it feels like so much longer."

The others nodded as Flash turned to those who wouldn't be returning to Ponyville with him. "So what are you all planning on doing?"

"I'm anxious to get back to the Crystal Empire," Ruby replied, "I'm glad Grand agreed to let a few extra soldiers to be there, but I need to see it's safe for myself."

"Back to the Wonderbolts for me," Soarin chimed in, "With my new Theta Mode, I'm gonna clean up in our next race."

"I'll be back to studying," Trixie announced as Luna spoke up.

"Yes, and I think you've proven you're ready for some much more advanced spells." She then turned to Ruby and Springer, "Ruby, will you help me with the jakhowl eggs before you leave? I think I can arrange some incubators for them."

"Of course."

Flash glanced at Cold next, "What about you Cold?"

Cold did a small shrug, "I'm not certain. With Shadow and the higher-ups gone, the cult will probably fall apart. There's some investigating over their smaller parts, but...I guess I'll just move on to the next mission."

"This may be a good chance to expand your horizons," Celestia chimed in, "It's clear you've learned more about working with others during this adventure. Perhaps you can use that to leading a new team. You may find it to be an interesting opportunity."

Cold glanced at her for a second, the others smiling that Cold would even show consideration.

It was here that Flash raised a hoof, making them all turn to him. "If you don't mind, I'd like to say a few things. You see, we might all be going our separate ways now, but that doesn't change what happened. We'll always be a team. We've fought together, bled together, helped pick one another up when times were hard. We formed a bond and no matter what, that bond won't go away. Even if one of us never sees another again, we'll always be friends. We'll always be...team Flash." The others chuckled at this as Flash held out his hoof, Springer bringing his paw in as Soarin followed this. The others did the same, all pumping hooves as they showed their unbreakable bond.

After this, everypony headed off to bed. Trixie showed Heart and Soul to their rooms while Rainbow and Soarin found theirs. Ruby and Cold chose to stay up a bit longer, Ruby wanting to properly catch up with Luna while Cold stayed to talk to Celestia.

As this happened, Flash and Twilight headed off to their room, side by side as Twilight spoke up, "I've missed you."

"Same." Flash responded as she rested her head on his shoulder. That is, till Flash said, "Oh yeah, you might want to check your journal when we get back. Something...weird happened when I woke up this morning." Twilight blinked at him, the defender soon explaining his dream.

"Sounds like Sunset's having trouble."

"It's probably a bit too late to really help now," Flash replied, "If Faust is right, the universe should have been ripped apart by what happened. Since it hasn't, things are likely fine."

"Still, I'll teleport us home tomorrow to check." Flash nodded at this as they reached their room. "Until then," Twilight grabbed him in her magic, pushing him through the door. "You've been gone a month. You've got a lot of making up to do." Flash shined the biggest grin as she shut the door behind them.

---

Several days later...

All the medical tests now done, which involved a lot of poking and prodding, team Flash had been given an all clear to return home. Now Flash, Twilight, Springer, Heart and Soul were riding a pegasus drawn chariot through the skies. Flash had suggested this to show Heart and Soul their new home the same way he and Twilight had. Plus, he had a feeling a train might be a bit overwhelming for them.

Spike had been warped ahead along with the siblings' possessions, the dragon and their friends having been getting two new rooms ready. As for Springer's eggs, they were being held in special cases Luna had made for transportation.

"It won't be long," Flash told the two as they pulled themselves through the clouds.

---

Cloudsdale...

Soarin was now walking onto the Wonderbolt's runway, happy to be dressed in his uniform again. And as he marched onto the turf, he was met with the smiling faces of his teammates.

"Where you been Clipper?" Spitfire asked as they ran over, a barrage of questions over his adventure coming next.

---

Canterlot..

Trixie was with Luna as the princess showed her student a new pile of scrolls. The unicorn unfurled the first one, her eyes almost going wide at the complex spells they showed. However, a smile graced Luna's face as she saw confidence appear on Trixie's face, the mare knowing she had the determination to learn these spells.

At the same, Cold was in the barracks, meeting his new team. The guards all saluted him as the knight nodded, a little bit of nerves entering his mind as he took a deep breath. He quietly asked Noble and his friends to watch over him as he began to ask the soldiers who they were.

---

The Crystal Empire...

Ruby stepped off the train, a smile on her face as she took a deep breath. She felt her being almost overwhelmed by the beautiful air she had missed for the last month.

Walking into the city, she noticed a nearby cloud, stopping to see it was in the shape of Sombra, a day star acting as his right eye. The star twinkled, making it look like Sombra was winking. This made Ruby smile and nod before heading to the castle, knowing she would need to inform the royal couple of Sombra's restoration, but she had a feeling it would be best if the rest of the city was kept out of the loop.

---

As the chariot descended through the clouds, the ponies riders all got a great view of the town. "Heart, Soul, welcome to Ponyville." The siblings gasped at the sight, their jaws dropping. Despite looking nothing like the city, the town gave them the same feeling. The feeling of being home.

And as they got closer to the ground, they spotted a large group of ponies in the center of town. They headed to the crowd as the ponies in it all cheered and waved, now seeing a large banner that hung between two houses.

Welcome Home Flash and Springer/Welcome to Ponyville, Heart and Soul

The chariot touched down with the occupants getting out, the five being crowded by their friends and many other ponies. Several said hello to the newest occupants of the town while others were asking where the two original defenders had been all this time. Laughter filled the air as the town almost broke into a festival level party, the ponies of the town simply happy for them to be there.

---

In Flash and Twilight's bedroom, a new picture hung from the wall.

It had been placed there by Spike, and was identical to the pictures that were now in Springer's room and the two rooms that would soon be Heart and Soul's. The picture showed the eight ponies that had saved all of Equestria, grouped together in front of a stained glass window.

Each were smiling, having been through something that had bound them together as eternal friends. They were the victors, in the War of the Lost City of Faust.

<The End>

Author's Note:

And thus, the biggest Chronicles story finally comes to an end.

It's strange to think that It's done. When I first started this series, this was as far as I planned up too in the early stages. Back then, I never thought I'd get this far. But here it is. And I couldn't have done it without you all.

To my awesome editor that's put up with my difficult demands. To the first few readers that commented on the Element of Courage and helped me find the drive to keep going. To the newer readers that joined in part-way through or only comment every now and again.

To all of you, I say thank you. You're the reason this series exists. You're the reason I kept going, though the hard times and the boring times. So, thank you.

And now, phase two of this series begins. I hope it's as awesome as phase one was. And starting that off is Flash Sentry, Defender of the Peace S6.

However, that'll have to wait. This story has seriously exhausted me. I'm gonna take a week off before starting the story. But don't think you won't be getting anything from me. Check out my One-Shots story next week. You might find something interesting there.

This is Banshee531, signing out.

Comments

[Great White Prime]

Until next time Banshee!

[Ragnarok17]

Look like Flash and Twilight will be the caretakers for Heart and Soul.

I’m surprised you have this one to tied in with Friendship Games when Pony Flash meet Human Flash, nice way to tie in.

"Yes. She was a student at my school several years ago," the princess let out a sigh at this, a look of slight hesitation on her face, "She wasn't awfully skilled when it came to magic, but she had one spell that intrigued everypony on the review board that got her in."

Goddamn it, Celestia! How many former students turned villain do you have, Celestia?!

First Sunset Shimmer and now, Tempera.

Flash chuckled and shook his head, "Like I told Faust, it's not my destiny. That and I don't think I can handle being a king."

Oh, be careful what you said, Flash because in the future, Twilight will eventually rule all over the Equestria.

Take a good rest, Banshee..... you deserve it!

After 1 week break from Flash Sentry Chronicles, the first chapter of Flash Sentry Defender of the Peace Season 6 will be.....

The Crystalling

Good news for Flash and others that they don’t have to deal with villains and I smell a new character?....... the bad news? They have to deal with disaster..... uh oh.

[SuperSonicHeroes]

That was a seriously epic story! You successfully made another masterpiece, and it is just a shame that it doesn't have more attention. I loved this story, everything in it. It is kinda crazy to think that everything in the series has slowly been building up to this, and that this was just the conclusion to "Phase 1". This felt more like "Endgame" material which was during "Phase 3". I am excited to see what "Phase 2" and beyond will have. I guess the easiest answer will be Season 6 is next, and start things off with the introduction of Flurry Heart, the cutest baby in the entire show.

I am also looking forward to see the outcome for Sombra's personal mission. Collecting all the shards for Princess Amore might take awhile, and it will be interesting to see what happens to her if and when he succeeds. If I were to take a shot in the dark, I would say he might be done by Season 7, since that season already had a lot of legends of Equestria returning, so it would fit the theme.

I also enjoyed this epilogue with everyone explaining what happened to the others, and getting to watch it themselves thanks to Discord. This whole thing felt like a novel for an action movie, and then everyone gets to see it like it is an actual movie. If this was a real movie, I think this would be a fitting song to play during the credits:

Also, I see you worked Pinkie's exploding into confetti gag from Pony Life. It actually works perfectly here, just another one of Pinkie's many surprises.

"What happened?" Sweetie asked when the dream part ended, turning to her sister, "What did Shadow do to those ponies?"

"Um..." Rarity twiddled her hooves at this, "They were uh..."

"Sent to the Shadow Realm," Lightning chimed in, "It's a prison that Shadow created, full of darkness that puts its captives into an endless sleep."

"Yes!" Rarity added, "Its...truly horrible."

"I'm sure they're free now though," Flash continued, "Probably waking up at this very minute to go about their daily lives."

Loved this exchange. It was hilarious because I knew what you based it on. Though at the same time, I personally always enjoyed the the Shadow Realm stuff and thought the Shadow Realm as a concept was absolutely terrifying and way worse than simply dying. As the saying goes "there are some fates worse than death".

Until then," Twilight grabbed him in her magic, pushing him through the door. "You've been gone a month. You've got a lot of making up to do." Flash shined the biggest grin as she shut the door behind them.

Oh yeah I expected that. I have a feeling Soarin and Rainbow were going through something similar.

So until next time, enjoy your break from Chronicles! And thank you for all that you have given us!

[SpikeSmolder fan]

Sweet finale to this awesome story, glad we got the Friendship Games hook-up before it ended. Also glad Sombra was giving a chance at redemption by looking for Princess Amore's pieces, shame I can't say the same about Storm but something tells me we'll be dealing with him one way or another!

Also it was sweet of Discord to do *that* for Celestia & Luna during the team's movie, not to mention having Heart & Soul under Flash/Twilight's care, the Crystal Castle's occupants keep growing!

And to cap off this epic story, here are the final Highlights :

The defender was looking at a near perfect copy of himself, or at least what he looked like when he travelled to the human world. A teenage boy with blue hair and orange skin, the only difference being the longer hair along with a white shirt and purple pants.

Was wondering when this would be touched upon!

"Fillies and gentlecolts," she mumbled as she turned over. "Prepare...prepare thy selves, for the...for the great and powerful...Tricks...Trixie." Flash chuckled before gentnly shaking the mare awake, Trixie gasping as her head shot up. "Eep!" Her eyes went wide as she saw a smiling Flash right in her face, her brain quickly catching up.

lol seems Trix haven't lost that side of her!

"Righting a wrong I did a long time ago," Sombra replied, now turning to directly stare at Ruby, "I know I have done a lot of terrible things. And because of what happened to me, I...I can't stand myself for what I did. I can't give back the thousand years I stole from you and the rest of the Crystal Empire, and I can't undo the horrors I forced upon the Crystal Ponies." He sighed as he looked away, "And I know I can't make up for what I did while under Armalum's control." He glanced back at Ruby, "But I can undo one mistake I made: Princess Amore."

Yes, so glad Sombra got this chance!

With that, he began to climb down the other side of the mountain, the meadow no longer in sight. Had he stayed at the top a little bit longer, he would have noticed something pop out of the ground where the house had once been. It was a plant, one that grew exceptionally fast and eventually matured into a small thin tree...one that would eventually age into a big strong oak.

Hmmm sneaky way to leave us off about this place!

"Whoa!" the pegasi backpedaled before replying, "Flash Sentry, Knight of Friendship. Clearance code alpha, delta, four, tango seven, one. And please put the spear away."

Yeah, would be quite the bummer to just *bought it* after all of these hair-raising fights!

Princess Twilight Sparkle stood in the middle of the room, a tear-filled smile adorning her lips as she stared at him. "Flash." She replied before the two ran up to each other, embracing the other in a tight hug that lasted almost a solid minute. "I can't believe you're back." She pulled back and looked into his eyes, smiling as she started looking him over. "Looks like you actually managed to keep your promise. Not a scratch on you."

Heh heh, yep not a scratch on him, nosirree!!!

Flash stared at her before looking at Twilight, the princess smiling and nodding. "Alright...if Twilight believes you can be trusted. But I'll be keeping an eye on you."

Welp, that was awkward!

"Oh, I've been around since the start of your little tea party with Twilight. I must admit, her tale of alternative timelines was something I wish I could have seen." Flash shot Twilight a look, the mare shrugging. "As I was saying, I can help our friends with reporting what happened to them."

You're not the only one with a tale to tell Flash!

And before they knew it, the images of those events started flashing in front of their eyes. The entire war seemed to play out at super fast speed, showing every fight, loss, and revelation. After a minute, it came to an end, the eight blinking as the helmets disappeared.

"There we are," Discord chuckled before handing the device to Celestia. "Whenever you're ready to watch."

"And you're sure this'll capture every detail?" Celestia asked.

"If it's missing something, I'm sure our stars will be able to explain it."

Discord's movie night, I'm down with that!

"How is that even possible?" She turned to the others, only to see normal expressions on their faces. "Um...she exploded. How are you okay with this?"

Scootaloo laughed as she nudged the alicorn filly. "If you're gonna live in Ponyville, there's a saying you gotta learn."

"IT'S PINKIE PIE, DON'T QUESTION IT!" Everypony from Ponyville exclaimed before bursting out laughing,

Truer words were never spoken!

It was here that Springer spoke up, "Let me guess, they didn't show her any love, did they?"

Everypony turned to the jakhowl, surprised at the dark statement as Celestia nodded, "Yes. She came from a family of very...uncaring nobles. Her parents are known for their ambition, though they've lost their influence over the years...probably since Tempera disappeared."

Glad to see those 2 got what they deserved!

Flash and the others all exchanged glances, the defender knowing he wanted to ask questions about the cultist, he suddenly felt an extreme chill. This was followed by Discord yelling, "Oi! No freezing my theater!"

Was expecting this reaction from Cold, can't say I blame him since I feel the same!

"What's this?" Soarin asked as he pressed the button, causing another flash to appear around the younger ones' heads. When the light faded, they saw the six were now wearing blindfolds and headphones.

"Hey!" Spike yelped as Soul tried to remove her blindfold, "I can't hear anything!"

"It won't come off!" The alicorn filly cried.

Flash took this moment to press his button, causing them to vanish, allowing them to see and hear again. He then looked up at Discord as the chaos creature replied, "Now they can watch this and not be traumatized. Think this'll work?"

Nice way to go around the censors there Banshee!!!

"Living armor?" Lightning asked.

"How ghastly," Rarity irked, "I can't imagine how many other ponies have suffered through that torture."

You and me both, here's hoping he enjoys his *current* host cause they sure deserve each other!

"Don't you touch her, deluded one!" Rainbow suddenly yelled, the others turning to her as she saw their stares, "What?! That's this creep's new nickname! He's completely deluded in thinking he deserves whatever this place's power is!"

*squee* sempai noticed me!!!!
Seriously though, glad you liked my nickname for that jackass during this story Banshee!

As he said this, the movie now showed the fate of Shadow's followers. Flash turned to Cold, now seeing him growling at the sight of Storm, "I know you're probably more angry now about what happened to him."

"You have no idea," he whispered before taking a deep breath. "But...I spent a long time letting my anger at the past decide my life. I'm sure if Noble was here, he wouldn't want me to give into my rage."

Indeed, quite the change from when you first introduced him!

Flash's face shined a huge grown, "I can't believe there's a version of me out there that's...evil."

"It was only one version of you," Spike pointed out. "All the other versions we saw of you seemed to be pretty awesome."

Yeah, one jackass Flash was more than enough!

In Flash and Twilight's bedroom, a new picture hung from the wall.

It had been placed there by Spike, and was identical to the pictures that were now in Springer's room and the two rooms that would soon be Heart and Soul's. The picture showed the eight ponies that had saved all of Equestria, grouped together in front of a stained glass window.

Take a bow Banshee, you deserve it!!!

Quite the amazing tale, you earned some time off after this! Hoping to see what's in store for the gang in future stories when you get back!

[Godslittleprincess]

Okay, now that I've read it myself, maybe you should make Pony Life-related gags a Pinkie only thing. I think having everypony else manifest those abilities would be a tad out of place. I sure hope your next installment is a tad calmer because this was exhausting, enjoyable but exhausting.

[Kayceejr91]

Hey Banshee here's some fan art on this fic of your.
https://www.deviantart.com/xxxkayceejrxxx/art/Flash-sentry-chronicles-war-of-the-lost-city-853865690?ga_submit_new=10%3A1598992309

And I get the felling we'll be seeing Fire heart and/or Soul take on Cozy Glow in season 8 to 9 in this fic.

[Ragnarok17]

10414871
Speaking of Cozy Glow, I'm interested of the interaction between Heart & Soul and Young Six.

Let's hope Heart doesn't get jealous when Flash spent more times with Young Six than his own apprentice.

Fire Heart: Flash! Can we train?

Flash Sentry: Sorry kiddo but I need to teach the students first! I train with you later.

Fire Heart: (sign in disappointing) Ok.

[Banshee531]

10415061 Yeah, that's not gonna happen.

[Ragnarok17]

10415064
Well, that’s relief.

Look like we don’t have to deal with Fire Heart being all jealous about Young Six or students.

[KennyBrony19971]

This was an amazing Stories Series are there Going to be more of the Story Series. Like. What's happening fill those three eggs like are they going to be hatch or Not also you did an amazing job on it. Hope you keep this story series going

[AmethynniaTheDragon]

Yay, this was a fantastically written story. Exhausting, so very exhausting. I now have a greater appreciation of those slice-of-life episodes, like, I understood their purpose, but wow, if this isn't proof that you need something to break up the drama and excitement, then I don't know what is. But other than finding the read exhausting, it was well written and very exciting.

I'm glad Sombra is reformed, the way you did that was quite interesting too. And I feel sorry for most of the villains and hope they can turn their lives around. And then Fire Heart becoming Flash's squire, I love how you constantly alluded to an eventual fire knight through all the previous adventures. I also expected Cold Steel to become angry at Storm (the jerk), but 'sniff' my little tsunderi boy is growing up (Assuming I spelled that correctly). Honestly Cold Steel might be one of my favorites of your original characters.
I look forward to reading future adventures of these fantastic heroes, keep up the great work