A Flash of Twilight

Hey guys! This isn't my first fanfiction but its the first one I'm actually posting. I'm a bit apprehensive about it as I'm not extremely confident about my writing but I guess we'll see what happens. I'm keeping the rating at teen for now but expect some smut/lemons/fluff in later chapters.
This story takes place right after Equestria Girls, and is a romance fic between Flash Sentry and Twilight Sparkle. I'm mainly focusing around that pairing but possible hinting of other pairings will include Fluttermac, SoarinDash, and Discopie. (All of which are my favorites) Please r&r and enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do NOT own my little pony friendship is magic or any of its characters. This amazing show belongs to Hasbro, not me.

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The sound of hooves trudging along marble floor echoed around the castle halls, slowly and steadily reaching their destination. It wasn't normally this quiet in the royal home, but the castle had sufficiently calmed down after Twilights return. It had taken over an hour for things to finally settle into a less-than-normal serenity, and after all that dancing a certain lavender mare was so exhausted she felt as though she would drop any minute now. Unfortunately she couldn't, since the whole crown fiasco finished, there was still work to be done. She'd have to relay all events that happened while she was in the alternate world and Celestia would no doubt want all the information known about the humans and their culture-and nopony except Twilight Sparkle had even a glimpse of it. Celestial would probably also request that Twilight give full profiles on the friends she'd met too. Or at least that's what Twilight assumed would happen.

Earlier that evening as Twilight was preparing to sleep she received an urgent letter from the princess requesting that she report to the throne room ASAP. Yawning tiredly, Twilight had of course followed instruction because it was her duty, whether she a new princess or not.
Spike had been curled up in his basket, blanket askew and shivering. Twilight looked down on him lovingly and pulled the blanket up to his chin.

"Goodnight Spike," she'd said before planting a small kiss on his forehead. Trotting through the chilly halls of the castle was the opposite of what she wanted to be doing right now. The only thing Twilight wanted right now was to be warm and cozy snuggled up in her bed (even if it was only 9:00). But right now she was walking to undoubtably a session of work. Lucky her.

Twilight soon reached the tall pillars that led to Celestia and Luna's throne room shying herself around the corner to catch a glimpse of what was going on before she marched in. It appeared that Celestia was talking to a guard that Twilight couldn't quite recognize from the angle he was standing. The guard was a pegasus stallion with golden armor-only high ranking guards wore that kind of armor. The highly ranked guards were only used for special or difficult tasks like spying and protecting important ponies when necessary. The only encounter Twilight had ever had with any of them was after the discord problem. The special guards were only there to protect Celestia in case Discord tried something funny. So.. that meant Princess Celestia couldn't have called Twilight in for a simple report. If she didn't call Twilight in for that.. then, what was going on?

Confused, Twilight corrected her posture and proceeded to trot towards the royal throne. Celestia turned away from the guard and looked at Twilight with one of her more uncommon serious expressions. The kind of expression that would make any guilty pony shake in their boots. This couldn't be good.

"Thank you for coming Twilight, I'm sure you must be extremely tired but we have recently discovered that a threat has been made." Celestia spoke with a sense of worry and urgency in her voice.

"Threat? Against Equestria? Are the elements of harmony involved?" Twilight didn't feel so tired anymore, instead anxious and stressed in the light of this news. Equestria recieved many threats, but most of the outlying regions who made them were too stupid to follow through. Few threats were taken this seriously because of it, as Luna and Celestia could detect a pattern in between the more dangerous ones and the less lethal ones. So any threat that Celestia would be telling twilight this urgently must have been serious.

"No," Celestia responded, "The threat is against you."

Twilight felt cold. If she was anxious before, it was nothing compared to how she felt now. A creeping sense of someone watching her began to fill her mind, her feet went numb and her head became hot. Why would someone want her? She was barely a real princess! Is this what being a princess meant, constantly being in danger all the time? First the crown, then the portal, now someone's put a bounty for her head. This isn't what she wanted, being the most important element of harmony was scary enough!

Celestia continued, "As you know, most threats are directed towards Luna or myself and are considered harmless. But I'm afraid, Twilight, that this has come from a citizen here in Canterlot and must be taken seriously. The elements of harmony are famous, yes, but we haven't yet revealed their names to the public. This gives the royal guard reason to believe that the persecutor is here in the castle. Whoever is after you knows what you are and most likely what your friends are too. We need to effectively take action immediately." Twilights jaw dropped, her ears bent back and she crouched low on the ground. Tears were welling in her eyes and before long she couldn't keep them from rolling down her face. Luna glided away from Celestia's side and covered a trembling Twilight with her wing protectively.

"Don't be scared little one. Celestia is assigning you one of our most trusted guards to protect you. Nothing can bring you harm," Luna said comfortingly to the lavender mare.

"No.. That's not it," The sisters both looked at Twilights drenched face in confusion. Twilight was simply afraid for her friends. The fact that someone near her, possibly in this very castle, had the ability to kill any one of her friends terrified her.. And it was all her fault.

"Then what is it my little pony?" Celestia inquired.

"I don't want my friends to get hurt for my sake," the mare in question said quietly. A fresh stream of tears came rolling down her face as Luna continued to comfort her by stoking her mane. Twilight was scared. Chilled to the bone scared. But not an ounce of that fear is for herself, she was scared for her friends. That this "assassin" or whoever would hurt them trying to get to her.

Celestia looked down at Twilight with a determined look on her face. "I will not allow it." Celestia said, "Twilight, this is in no way your fault and either way I will not allow any of my subjects get hurt. Especially the ones I have known as my little ponies for some time now. Which is why protocol 'G17' is taking effect immediately."

"G-g17?" Twilight asked still shaking with tears. G17? That sounded like one of those weird names you hear in spy movies.

"Yes, as Luna has already told you, we have assigned you a personal guard. He's one of our highest ranked stallions next to your brother Shining Armor and will ensure that both happens to you. You must never be separated or out his sight. His duty is to you and only you." At that Twilight turned her head to fully take in the stallion for the first time. She noticed his orange skin and spiky blue hair and at that moment a huge realization hit her.
This wasn't just a guard.
This was Flash Sentry.

He stepped towards Twilight with a gentle but serious half smile on his face. This couldn't have been coincidence. Did Celestia know about what happened on the other side of the portal? ...she couldn't have.. No this HAD to be coincidence. Of course one the highest ranked ponies had to be him. Of all the stallions in Equestria he had to be one of the best.

"Princess, we must leave Canterlot tonight. For your safety and comfort you will be staying near your friends in Ponyville for now but please be aware that there is always a chance that we cannot stay there for long. Until the assassin is caught I will be at your side 24/7." Flash said. Twilight could hear a hint of anger in his voice along with an emended amount of worry. She wondered if he was angry with her, that he was angry because he had to babysit some useless princess.

"Tonight? But what about the other elements?" Twilight asked anxiously. She didn't want to leave them behind and risk her not being there lest something important happen.

"They will leave in the morning," Celestia said as Twilight turned towards her. "As they are all fast asleep I need not worry until morning. You're in much more need of protection than the rest of them, which is why I called for you to leave now."

"So you're leaving them helpless? What about them, doesn't their safety matter at-" Twilight began but was cut short by Luna.

"Yes, little one, their safety does matter immensely. We have already sent soldiers to be stationed in and around Ponyville. Tomorrow they will be escorted by even more guards on the train. Do not fear, as they are not in as much danger as you." Luna said assuringly to Twilight. "Right now you need to quickly pack your things. Your guard will escort you to your room."

Twilight stood, lifting herself away from Luna's wing. She still had that odd feeling that someone was watching her, it was more paranoia than anything. Flash walked toward Twilight and said, "Come, princess. We need to hurry, the train is already waiting outside." Twilight nodded and silently followed him through the corridor. Though she looked toward the ground, she could tell that Flash was huge in comparison to her. His body was well built for a pegasus and he looked as though he was taller than even Big Macintosh. Twilight admired his features, feeling safer already as her creeping feeling wasn't as intense. It surprised Twilight that Celestia had taken such immense measures. Even after going up against Nightmare Moon, Discord, and even Queen Crysallis, Celestia never assigned personal guards. Those were for more important ponies, such as the royal princesses themselves. 'I guess I am a princess now..' Twilight thought. Even though she'd gotten a crown and wings, it hadn't really sunken in yet. The thought that she was now extremely special, that she was immortal, that she was a Goddess in the eyes of other ponies just didn't feel normal. Twilight guessed becoming one of the most important ponies in Equestria wasn't normal by any means, so feeling weird wasn't so weird after all.

Just as they were nearing Twilight's room Flash slowed to walk next to her. She hung her head slightly away from him because her face had not yet dried of all her tears. "I don't think I've properly introduced myself yet, princess," Flash said in gentle tone as not to scare her.

'Yes but I already know your name' Twilight responded in her head.

"My name is Flash Sentry. I've been working for the royal sisters since I was old enough to join the guard. I know you don't know much about me.. but please know that I'll do everything I can for you no matter what. I won't let anyone lay a hoof on you, they'd have to do it over my dead body," He said with confidence and genuine feeling. Twilight was touched by his words. She looked up at him, eyes still a bit watery, and smiled a small smile for the first time since she'd left her room only twenty minutes prior. Flash looked down towards her and gazed into her eyes. Neither had realized they'd stopped walking as purple met blue in an intense gaze. Flash felt like he was floating, the moment seeming longer than it was. He felt compelled to move in, to get closer to Twilights face, to her lips. His face was moving closer without his consent ever so slowly. Just before he was about move in Twilights cheeks became a rosy shade of red and she turned her head to begin walking again. Flash mentally kicked himself. Why did he need to be such a dumb ass right now, the princess is under a lot of stress and has important things of deal with. She wouldn't want him. She barely even knew him. HE barely knew HER. He blamed his colt hormones acting up, it was stupid of him to almost even consider the princess that way.

Twilight kept walking regretfully. That moment was fast and slow at the same time. She'd grown scared and looked away out of fear of looking dumb. He reminded her of the other Flash, that was it. She knew they were different people though and thinking about him that way would complicate their future guard-and-client relationship.
When they arrive at Twilights door Flash cleared his throat, "I'll wait for you outside Princess, be quick and pack what you need."

Twilight walked through the door and made a mental checklist of all the things she needed to get. She raked through her closet and threw all necessities into her saddlebags. Bustling around to find all her books, throwing things this way and that, she scrambled to mAle sure she had everything and headed for the door.

"...Twilight?" A small voice croaked sleepily. Twilight turned, Spike was rubbing his eyes and yawning. "What're you doin?" Through all the packing she'd completely forgotten Spikes presence in the room. It made her want to cry again knowing it would be a long time before things could become normal again. But she wasn't going to cry again, it wouldn't change things anyway.

"Go back to sleep Spike," she cooed, "I'll see you soon, don't worry." And with that the baby dragon yawned and fell back into his slumber. Twilight loved the way he could sleep so easily, it reminded her of how young he was even though he worked so hard. She left the room and tore away from Spike. No need to get sentimental again. Not now, she needed to hurry.

As she opened the door Flash glanced at her and nodded for her to follow. They walked faster now, almost trotting towards the exit. Twilight head for the main entrance of the palace but was quickly stopped by Flash, "I'm sorry princess, but for extra precaution we must take a less noticeable exit."

"But.. Isn't that the only door in or out of the castle? How else would we leave?" Twilight asked confused. Flash nodded towards one of the stone glass-less windows. He began to fly out, but when he turned to check on the princess he saw that she was still planted firmly on the ground, head hanging lower and red stained cheeks.

"Uh.. Princess Twilight? Are you ok?" He asked fluttering down beside her, head bent so he could get to eye level. She stood there quietly resembling one of her pink haired friends.

"I uh.. I don't know how to fly yet. Still getting used to the new wings." She said obviously embarrassed. Twilight hadn't gotten the time to find a teacher yet and flying was more difficult than if seemed.

"Oh.. Oh! I'm sorry princess, I'd just assumed..." He trailed off contemplating what to do when an idea arose. "Here just climb on my back princess," he said. It really was the only way out of here without going through the main entrance, and he didn't want to risk Twilights safety by making her attempt something she didn't fully know how to do. Twilight looked a little apprehensive about it, more she was self conscious than anything. "C'mon," he smiled, "I don't bite." A little eased by his words twilight began to walk towards him. She raised a hoof but then planted it back on the ground. Even as he crouched in front of her he was to big for twilight to climb on. Looking back at her he chuckled and instead scooped her up without warning, she gasped aloud at the sudden movement. "You okay?" he asked and Twilight nodded. "Right. Now hold on tight, princess."

Sorry for the short chapter, ill have the next one up within a few days. Reviews, suggestions, constructive criticism, and anything of the sort are always welcome!