The Truth About Flash Sentry
The Crystal Guard hated Flash Sentry, their newest recruit, for three reasons.
One: He was a pegasus, while most of them were Earth ponies. He was not a crystal pony. He was not one of them; instead, he was transferred directly from Canterlot by order of Princess Celestia herself. He was different.
Two: He seemed to be under the impression that his differentness made him special. It was frustrating. His armor did not have the disguising enchantment that all the Royal Guard had, turning his coat white or gray. His coat remained the same bright, obnoxious orange whether his armor was on or off. And he appeared perfectly fine with that, even proud of it. He had the nerve to refer to the Princess simply as "Celestia," without the proper title!
Three: He was weird. Things he said. The fact that he always glanced around a room before entering it. And those who slept in the barracks with him often mentioned him twitching or crying out in his sleep.
Flash knew all of this. He didn't care. They didn't know, couldn't possibly comprehend, the bizarre gift he had...
...
The first time Flash saw Princess Celestia, he was just a colt, not even old enough for a cutie mark. It was a parade... it had been so long, his mind had clouded the details. It was a parade. He had seen the procession, watched with ever-growing eagerness to see the Princess herself.
The purest white coat, wings elegantly folded. He was so little then, it seemed that her head reached far into the sky, the tip of her horn touching the clouds. She turned to the side, taking in the crowd, a perfectly serene smile on her face...
Her eyes glanced over him and stopped for the briefest of seconds.
Flash Sentry did his best to stand tall and look brave for the Princess. She dipped her head ever so slightly to him, and his heart pounded. He would do anything to defend her.
...
A few months later, he started to see them. Odd creatures, standing on their hind legs all the time, with hooves that split into several... appendages. In time, he would learn the words: humans, hands, fingers. They had brightly colored hides - not coats, they seemed too smooth for that, and they had manes but no tails. They covered their hides with clothing - every one of them wore clothing, often with a particular symbol emphasized, almost like a cutie mark.
After about a year of visions, he started to see six humans in particular.
A white girl with an elegantly curled purple mane.
An orange girl with a yellow mane, tied back in a practical manner. He often caught glimpses of others behind her: a little girl, a slightly older boy, an elderly woman.
A yellow girl with a long pink mane. It often covered half her face.
A blue girl with a rainbow mane.
A pink girl with a crazily curly pink mane. In his visions, she often looked directly at him and smiled, as if she could see him. He had begun to dread seeing her.
Lastly, an orange boy with a spiky blue mane. His clothes prominently featured a blue shield with a lightning bolt. Watching this one always gave Flash a shivery feeling, like something was wrong.
They were all young then. Perhaps they were his age.
...
He couldn't remember exactly how old he was when he got his cutie mark. Third year of flight camp, probably. The instructor had been going over basic cloud manipulation, and a swarm of... something attacked. Without thinking, Flash pushed all the surrounding clouds to make a barricade and charged them. It was indescribable - electric current flowing through the clouds and a sense of rightness flowing through him. When the... ugh, what were they? When the creatures crashed into his barrier, they were zapped. Thus warned, they fled and hopefully never bothered anypony ever again.
Flash felt a tingling sensation in his flanks. When he glanced down, they had a blue shield with a lightning bolt emblazoned on them; the same as the orange boy in his visions.
He saw the boy again that night while dreaming, playing an electric guitar. It sounded okay - not great, but he would improve with time, surely. Nothing about him seemed familiar - sure, they had the same orange color on their coat or hide, and maybe their manes were same two-toned blue, but did that really mean anything? But there was the symbol on the boy's shirt; Flash's cutie mark exactly. Is he... me? As a human?
...
It was after Flash had been recruited by the Royal Guard that he first met Celestia. He was doing some basic combat drills in the courtyard, when he heard an amused voice. "Has the training dummy really offended you that much?"
"Huh?" He whirled around, only to see a tall white alicorn smiling down at him. "Princess! I'm so sorry!" He hastily saluted.
"Shh," she put a hoof to his lips. "I don't want them to know I'm out here. I'm going to go walk in the gardens. Don't tell them?" She winked.
"Um-" His superiors would definitely want him to report that the Princess had left the castle to wander the gardens. But she'd basically just ordered him not to tell anyone. And the guards obeyed her orders, so... he nodded.
She paused. "A guard more loyal to me than to the guards? Interesting."
"Wha-?" Flash started to sweat. "I, uh-"
"No, it's fine. Why don't you walk with me?"
"I'm supposed to be doing combat drills."
"You seemed fine."
"I- Commander Katana will ask why I abandoned my drills."
"Then tell her you were walking with the Princess."
"She'd never believe me. Because she doesn't know that you're out here, because nobody told her, remember?" Realizing his mistake, Flash blurted, "I'm sorry, Princess!"
"It's alright. Just tell her to ask me, and I'll confirm it. Could you tell me your name, please? I haven't met all of the recruits yet."
"Flash Sentry, your highness." He saluted.
"Alright, let's try this again. Flash Sentry, would you like to walk with me in the gardens?"
"Um, yes, your highness."
She turned gracefully and walked out into the gardens, and he obediently followed.
"So, Flash, tell me about yourself. What do you like to do?"
"I like to listen to music, Princess. And I like to- um. Never mind."
"What is it?"
"You'd think it's weird," he mumbled, looking at the ground. "Everypony else did."
Celestia stopped walking. "Flash, look at me." He obeyed, turning to face her, but still staring at the ground. He felt a hoof lift his chin until his eyes met those wise, purple ones.
"I have seen and done so many strange things in my lifetime that nothing you could say will seem weird. I promise. Now, will you tell me, or do I have to royally order you to tell me?"
"I- I'll tell you, Princess."
There was an expectant pause.
"I've had these- these visions, ever since I was young, and everypony thinks I'm weird when I talk about the weird creatures I see. But they're so fascinating, I really like watching them, and, um- are you okay?" The white alicorn was shaking.
Celestia laughed, a delicate giggle that confused him. "Princess? Did I say something wrong? Please don't dismiss me from the Royal Guard!"
"No, no. It's just- oh, I can't believe you think you're weird because of those visions!"
"What do you mean?"
"Come with me, Flash. I'd like to show you something."
He followed her to a statue of a bizarre creature that looked like it was made of several beings cut up and stitched together again. "What is that?"
"This - he - is Discord, a creature with magical chaos-powers. I have seen him turn clouds to cotton candy and reduce trees to a puddle of green frosting. Compared to that, how could you think your visions weird?"
"If you say so, Princess."
"I know so. And please, just call me Celestia: if I'm right about you..."
"What?"
She ignored him. "Then you won't be in the Royal Guard for much longer."
"Oh no. Is it something I said? Is it because of the visions? They don't happen so often anymore. Please, Princess, please don't dismiss me!" He was shaking and starting to sweat.
The alicorn noticed and frowned. "Flash, what's the matter? Why are you so desperate to remain in the Royal Guard?"
How to explain, how to tell her that she had inspired him to protect others, to protect her as she protected the nation. "I- I wanted to protect you." How lame it sounded when said allowed.
"What of others? Other Equestrians?"
"Well, of course, b-but I really w-wanted to protect you because- you're just so strong all the time and you protect all of us but who's there to protect you when you don't feel strong?" He blurted the last half of the sentence in one breath and stood panting.
"Flash Sentry. You are a very brave pony, to speak to your leader that way." Flash opened his mouth to apologize again, but she cut him off. "No. You're very thoughtful. You know, I could have used somepony like you nine-hundred and ninety-eight years ago. But, your visions." Her horn ignited, creating an image of a woman with a white hide and a pastel multi-colored mane. "Do the creatures look like this?"
"Y-Yes, Princess."
"Celestia."
"Wait... Pr- Celestia, is that you?"
"My human twin."
"Human... How did you know that they were the creatures I was referring to?"
"I see them too."
"Really?"
She smiled at him. "Yes. I think I will have to help you with your visions, though. After all, it wouldn't do to have you blacking out every time you have a vision. How does that sound?"
...
And so Celestia became Flash's mentor in visions of the human world. She taught him all the terminology and how to prevent black-outs when you felt a vision coming on. Even how to deliberately trigger a vision, though that took a lot of work to get used to for a pony who'd spent years trying to avoid them. He gradually became more comfortable addressing her as 'Celestia,' and one day he finally worked up the courage to ask her what she had meant when she said he wouldn't be in the Royal Guard for much longer.
"I was going to arrange for you to be promoted," she admitted. "There's something... I'll show you in a very short time, I promise. But you've come so far with your training now... I think you might as well become an official member of the Royal Guard."
Two weeks later, he was officially Flash Sentry, a soldier in the Royal Guard, and Celestia showed him the mirror that would lead into the world of his visions. "You are to guard it, and to let nopony who you don't trust through it," she ordered.
"But how do I know if they're okay to trust?"
"You'll know. I trust your judgement. Oh, and Flash?"
"Yes, Princess?'
"Don't tell any of your Royal Guard friends about this mirror or your visions. Don't tell anypony. After all, it wouldn't do to have the civilians knowing there was another realm full of strange creatures who look like them, would it?"
"No, Princess."
"Good." She turned and left.
...
About four years later, the mirror was moved to the Crystal Empire and Flash Sentry was reassigned to the Crystal Guard. Cadence was under orders from her Auntie to have Flash Sentry guard the mirror. So he did.
His visions seemed to increase, and a new girl appeared. Orange skin, red and yellow hair, and a nasty attitude. He was afraid of her, but she seemed to be near his mirror-twin a lot. Some of the things she said, the evil grin that flashed across her face from time to time... something about her was wrong, very wrong.
One night, the night that Princess Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony (and her personal dragon-assistant) arrived at the castle, Celestia had a strange request. "Flash, I need you to not guard the mirror tonight."
"Celestia, you told me to guard it and let nopony through."
"Yes. And now I'm telling you not to guard it."
Against his better judgment, he agreed.
That night, he dreamed of the girl with the red and yellow hair coming through the portal, stealing Princess Twilight's crown, and escaping through the portal.
The next morning, Celestia confirmed this report. "It's such a tragic event," she said with amusement. "What a shame nopony was guarding the mirror."
"I could have guarded the mirror! I could have been there to stop her!" Flash argued.
"I told you to prevent ponies from going through the mirror, not to prevent humans from coming through."
"But- she was a pony! A unicorn!"
Celestia sighed. "Please drop it, Flash." So he did.
"But why not send guards through to retrieve it?"
"Princess Twilight Sparkle is a grown mare, who is perfectly capable of taking care of herself. Besides, none of the guards know about the mirror. Right, Flash Sentry?"
"Of course, Princess Celestia." He saluted in the most formal way he could. "Then why not send the Elements of Harmony with her?"
"They'd meet their mirror-twins, and can you imagine the awkwardness? Twilight needs to take this journey alone, to discover that she truly has what it takes to lead."
Still somewhat resentful, Flash deliberately triggered a vision. He kept seeing a purple girl that had dark bluish hair with a purple and pink streak. From the awkward way she stumbled, as though unaccustomed to walking on two legs, he guessed she was Princess Twilight. He watched as she and human Flash kept bumping into each other awkwardly.
"You having fun watching?" a high-pitched voice interrupted his vision.
"Greetings, Miss Pinkamena." Goodness, she was nearly an exact match for the pink girl in his visions - balloon cutie mark and all.
"It's Pinkie," the mare insisted.
"Of course, Miss Pinkamena."
"What in Equestria are you two looking at?" Rainbow Dash interrupted.
"Just watching Twilight's adventure in the human world." Flash nodded tiredly. These mares had done nothing but sit and talk since Princess Twilight had left... he was so tired... he could have been there to stop the red and yellow haired girl... and here he was, reduced to a quiet audience of Princess Twilight's triumph. Glancing at Pinkie, he saw that she'd produced popcorn out of nowhere.
Applejack raised an eyebrow.
"Really, darling. Pinkie I could probably understand, but a Crystal Guard 'seeing visions of another world'? I'm sorry, but that sounds unnatural," Rarity commented. Rainbow and Applejack nodded their agreement.
"Royal-" he cut himself off. Not anymore. Not since Celestia transferred him. Sometimes it doesn't pay to be special.
Pinkie looked at Fluttershy, as though she could help. She shook her head and retreated behind her mane.
...
Could his visions really be imaginary? Not the visions themselves, he knew they were real, but could what they showed be pretend? Some sort of crazy movie where the writers took the characters of real ponies and twisted them into bizarre stereotypes? Were he, Pinkie, and Celestia just watching imagined scenarios dreamed up by a crazy foal?
Before he started wondering what life was and if ponies were just the playthings of a higher power, he began trotting down the hall to get away from all the mares and clear his head. Hoofsteps clicked behind, and he turned reluctantly and bowed.
"Flash, stop that," Celestia scolded. "I didn't mean to snap at you. I'm sorry. That mare... she means a lot to me. So does Twilight."
He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, Celestia. I've been guarding this mirror for so long, and now, something's happened, and I- I just wanted to be useful."
"Flash." He looked at her. "You are not useless. You are a wonderful stallion who always knows how to make others smile, and would stop at nothing to protect others."
"But, my visions-"
"What about them?"
"Are they real? If even the Elements of Harmony, the heroes of the realm, don't believe them..."
"Twilight will believe them. Pinkie will believe them. The rest of them will come around eventually. But if you really want to test them... Twilight will be back in about five minutes." She winked at him.
...
"We've got to stop bumping into each other like this."
From Twilight's blush, his visions had been very real.