Without saying a word, Flash Sentry sat down next to Rainbow Dash near the rail of the ship and joined her to stare at the distant horizon. Rainbow Dash took a deep breath when Flash sat down, turned her head to look at him, and then she raised her eyebrow as she pulled her head away from Flash Sentry, as though she needed a little distance to take him all in.

“Look, I was drunk, you were drunk, and we both know that nothing happened, so let’s not make this weird, mmmkay?” Rainbow Dash said in a low voice. She felt a growing sense of irritation when Flash did not turn to look at her, and she struggled to keep her hooves to herself to get his attention.

“I need your help,” Flash whispered, still staring off towards the horizon.

“You… need my help?” Rainbow Dash asked, her voice filled with confusion and a hint of sarcasm. She wanted to prod Flash Sentry with a hoof but knew it was a bad idea. She had just made a resolution to work on keeping her hooves to herself and already she was having trouble sticking to her own plan. Her last bit of hoofiness is what had caused the black eyes on both her and Flash Sentry.

“I don’t know how to talk to her… it’s easier when I can write her a letter, and it is a little easier when I am sloshed, but now that I am sober, I don’t know what to say and being around her makes me so nervous and I nearly threw up when I bumped into her in the mess hall,” Flash Sentry blurted out.

“Woah… you mean to tell me that you actually have the stones to come to me and ask for my help so you can woo Twilight Sparkle away from me even though I’m busy plotting on how to keep her for myself… oh my gosh you are some kind of special!” Rainbow Dash responded, her voice rising into a raspy reedy whine. “You are like the ballsiest stallion that ever lived… I can’t believe you!”

“If you really loved her you’d want her to be happy and you would want her to be free to make a decision between the both of us,” Flash argued, his voice firm.

“Oh… you jerk!” Rainbow Dash retorted. “Fine… you know what, since I am so confident that I have confidence to spare, I’ll help you out.” The lithe blue pegasus mare leaned over towards Flash, very respectfully and carefully wrapped a foreleg around his neck, pulled him down low, and then with slowly spoken words, she whispered something into his ear, which flickered from the feeling of her hot breath upon it.

Flash Sentry nodded, smiled, and as an extra friendly gesture, nuzzled Rainbow Dash’s bruised cheek with his swollen tender snoot. “Thanks,” he said graciously. “You are a loyal friend.”

Feeling nervous, Flash Sentry swallowed a few times. He made the terrible mistake of looking into Twilight Sparkle’s large reflective eyes. For a moment, he nearly stumbled and fell into those eyes, leaving himself lost forever. She was only a few feet away, and he had caught her as she was coming out on deck. She stood just outside the door, the wind whipping her mane and tail wildly, and she was almost too beautiful for words.

It was even worse because he knew that Rainbow Dash was only a few yards away and watching every move he made. He noticed the way her ears moved in the wind, it was clear she wasn’t a pegasus, one of the many contrasts that he loved about her. She had wings, but she clearly wasn’t a pegasus. Her ears flapping in the breeze were distracting and he found he could not stop staring at them. Most pegasus mares had strong stiff ears that didn’t budge unless there was a hurricane.

“Is there something you wanted Flash?” Twilight asked, raising her eyebrow and looking at the tall stallion. She realised she was now the same height he was since her alicorn growth spurt. “You don’t have to be nervous just because I’m a princess.”

Flash wanted to tell her he wasn’t nervous because she was a princess, he wanted to tell her that he was nervous because she was too beautiful for words. His mouth opened and a croaking sound came out, completely destroying his plan.

“Are you okay?” Twilight asked, taking a step forward and lifting her head higher.

“Twilight Sparkle, if I told you that you had an amazing body, would you hold it against me?” Flash Sentry blurted out in a squeaky nervous voice, repeating everything that Rainbow Dash had told him to say.

Twilight’s eyes went wide and her pupils became large black voids. Her ears, still flapping in the breeze, tried to perk forward a bit. Her mouth fell open and she inhaled sharply. Her nostrils flared as her breathing increased, and she gazed into Flash’s eyes.

And then, Princess Twilight Sparkle exploded into laughter. She laughed for several moments, and then her laughter faded into a giggle, punctuated by snorts. She couldn’t stop giggle-snorting to save her own life, and she backed a few steps away from Flash Sentry.

“Oh my gosh, you’re such a dork,” Twilight tittered, her cheeks turning a bright purple red. She rushed forward suddenly, planted a swift peck on Flash Sentry’s cheek, pulled away, turned tail, and then darted through the door to go back inside, still giggling madly as she retreated and the door closed behind her.

Rainbow Dash crossed the deck and came to Flash Sentry’s side. “I can’t believe that worked,” she said in stunned disbelief. She looked nervous for a moment and her wings fluttered. “Well, of course it worked, I told you to say it, I just can’t believe your smooth execution of it. You were so slick in your delivery!” Rainbow Dash explained in a strained voice, her eyes darting around nervously under her nearly swollen shut eyelids.

“She kissed me… oh my gosh you’re like the best friend a pony could ask for,” Flash Sentry gushed, sweeping Rainbow Dash into an extra squeezy pegasus hug.

“No… no no no, this is sappy, cut it out, somepony might see us and get the wrong idea or something,” Rainbow Dash pleaded, trying to escape Flash Sentry’s crushing embrace. Much to her dismay, she found that she didn’t want to escape his vice-like squeeze. For just a moment, her body betrayed her and relaxed into his, delighting in the feeling of taught muscles just under a fine silky pelt. She rubbed her bruised cheek against his corded neck, and felt electric tingles running down her neck, down her spine, and crashing like a bowling ball into pins when the shuddery tingles finally reached her dock.

“So, what else do I say?” Flash Sentry inquired, letting go of Rainbow Dash, who looked strangely disappointed as he pulled away. He chalked it up to his victory, getting a peck on the cheek from Twilight Sparkle. “That was like the wittiest thing to say… I never would have thought of that on my own… I thought it was the stupidest thing I had ever heard when you first said it, but I trusted you that you wouldn’t lead me astray and it actually worked. You’re the best Rainbow Dash.”

“Oh, um, well, gee, thanks,” Rainbow Dash stammered, a blush overtaking her cheeks. “What are friends for, right?” she added as she tried to squash down the conflicted feelings welling up inside of her. “I have a million pickup lines… I’ll have Twilight madly in love with you in no time.”

Feeling rather predatory, Flash Sentry stalked his prey, his confidence soaring. She was trapped on an airship with him, and that made it easier. All he had to do was find Twilight, deliver Rainbow Dash’s stunning flirts, recover himself, and then find her again after she ran away.

He found her in the library, and when he entered, he saw her cheeks turn bright pink. He took it as a good sign. He felt strong… empowered. He allowed himself to strut just a little, his wings flared out and his tail hiked high.

“Hi Twilight,” Flash Sentry greeted.

Twilight immediately began to giggle-snort, much to Bucky’s dismay. There was a long heaving sigh from the stallion from behind the book he was reading.

“So… Twilight, would you like to go get a drink? I could get you a gin and platonic or would you like a whiskey and sofa?” Flash asked, daring to bare his teeth in a cocky grin, hoping that Rainbow Dash’s witty words would once again help him out.

Something didn’t go right. Twilight sucked in her breath and held it, and Flash felt a moment of panic. He watched the mare biting her lips, and her whole body squirmed. There was a loud groan from behind Bucky’s book. Flash took a deep breath and made ready to apologize, but then, something happened.

Twilight Sparkle howled with laughter. She fell from her chair, rolled on the floor clutching her sides, and, after several moments of suffering from paroxysms of mirth, she managed to get to her hooves, her breath heaving, and she fled the small library, pushing past Flash Sentry, who blocked the door. She galloped for the bathroom, hoping she would make it before her bladder burst, as her laughter echoed from the narrow halls.

Bucky, dropping his book, looked up at Flash Sentry with his remaining eye. “Smooth,” the annoyed stallion announced. “Real smooth. You should tell her that you want to rearrange the alphabet so you can place U and I together. Or better yet, tell her that her eyes are like limpid pools of primordial ooze, and you are the protozoa that wish to swim in their depths.”

“Hey, that’s a good idea,” Flash Sentry announced as Bucky disappeared behind his book. The pegasus departed, off to find Rainbow Dash and tell her what happened.

The wily mare was on to him. Twilight immediately began to giggle as he approached, her eyes narrowing and her wings fluttering. There would be no more surprising her Flash Sentry realised. He lifted his head up high, cleared his throat, and looked Twilight bravely in the eye.

“I’ve brought my library card… I was hoping to check you out,” Flash said slowly, a smile spreading over his muzzle as he spoke.

“Flash… you’re killing me!” Twilight giggled. She covered her mouth with her fetlock and giggle-snorted yet again. “You’re too much!” Twilight, unable to deal with the sudden embarrassment, took off running yet again.

Flash Sentry watched her go, fleeing the room, her titters and giggles lingering in his ears like sweet music. As he watched her retreat, he heard Rarity’s cultured voice trying to reach him.

“Darling, that was dreadful!” Rarity said. “If you want to reach her heart, you have to be classy and witty… say something like… I dunno, Sorry, but you owe me a drink… and when she asks why, and trust me, Twilight will ask why, she’s unfailingly polite, tell her that when you looked at her, it caused you to drop your drink… see, this is witty, classy, and it breaks the ice in a most delightful fashion, don’t you agree dearie?”

Nodding, Flash Sentry couldn’t help but agree. Twilight’s friends were full of helpful advice. “You’re the best Rarity, thanks!”

“Oh, I know,” Rarity agreed. “There’s no need to go around announcing it, goes against my modesty.”

“Flash… fancy meeting you here,” Twilight Sparkle said, seeing Flash approach her yet again. She felt a hot flush of nervousness blossom just under her dock, spread up over her croup, along her back, and through her wings. In one of their previous encounters, he had told her that her eyes were like limpid pools, and that he was the protozoa that wished to swim in their depths… or something to that effect. It was the most nerdy romantic words she had ever heard in her whole life and it had made her heart go pitter-pat. She felt her pulse quicken just thinking about her last encounter and how she had acted like such a dork, giggling like a school filly when she had heard the words “limpid pools” in reference to her eyes.

“Hi Twilight,” Flash Sentry greeted.

“We keep bumping into one another,” Twilight remarked, her throat feeling far too dry. She swallowed, and then her whole mouth went dry. Her lower jaw dropped open slightly and she brought herself up to her full high, which made her feel a little self conscious, she was now taller than all of her friends.

“You know Twilight… you’re the only girl I love right now… but in ten years, if I get lucky, I will have to make room in my heart for another girl…” Flash Sentry stammered. This was a line that Rainbow Dash had spent a whole ten minutes thinking about, and his guts flooded with fear from saying it. It sounded dangerous to say, and it could easily be taken wrong. If Twilight slapped him, he hoped that Rainbow Dash had a plan to help him apologise.

“Oh… really… another girl?” Twilight inquired, her eyes narrowing as she looked at Flash Sentry, wondering where this line of dialogue might go. She wondered if Flash was interested in starting a herd.

“Yeah,” Flash replied. “If I am really, really lucky, she’ll call you mama,” Flash said in a dry raspy voice, looking Twilight in the eye as he spoke.

“That’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard Flash…” Twilight replied breathlessly.

Author's Notes:

I'm not sorry... not at all.

Well, I am sorry for typos if you find one. I'll fix those.

I bet some of you pulled a face muscle when you cringed. Goddess I hope so.