Looking upon the serving ponies and their work, Celestia couldn't help but smile, nodding with approval at what was transpiring. Said action was the installation of a device to the interior of what was, let's be honest here, a skull. The skull of a full-grown alicorn stallion, who was currently propped up on a glistening pedestal within a vast, marble chamber, looking like a revered deity. It was an awe-inspiring, if somewhat grisly image to behold, and for Celestia there seemed to be no greater cause for celebration, given the happy way she clapped her hooves together. "At long last. After so many years without him, we will finally be reunited with our dearly-departed father."

"Technically, we were never really parted from him. He's been here the whole time," a voice called from the side.

Celestia turned, seeing her younger sister, Luna, emerge from the shadows. To this arrival, the former princess rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean, Lulu. He's been unable to communicate for so long now, simply having him speak will be like bringing him back from the deal."

Luna arched an eyebrow, then gestured to the skeleton. "You do realise that he was never dead, right? Just reduced to a near deathlike state and kept preserved here in the depths of the castle for centuries."

Celestia waved her off. "Same difference."

Looking to her long-silent parent, Luna scratched the side of her head. "You know, do you find it odd we never discussed him being here with anypony else until today? Not even Twilight?"

"Nope," Celestia answered.

"Or that what we're doing here is technically just one step down from full-on necromancy? Which we've always frowned on?"

"And that one step is all it takes to make it okay. And before you ask, I know this because I specifically wrote it in the country's laws," Celestia elaborated.

A dry chuckle escaped the mare of the moon. "Oh boy, Twilight's going to have the mother of all headaches when she reads that one."

Celestia would have undoubtedly retorted, had it not been for the timely sound of the previously-mentioned mare clearing her throat to gain everypony's attention. All eyes turned to see her gesture to the skull she'd been working on, after which she smiled, giving Celestia all the information she required. "Ah! The work is done!" She nudged Luna in the side. "Now, after so long, we'll be able to converse with Father, just like old times! Finally, his great wisdom will be with us, just like it was during the golden age of ponykind! Oh! Think of the possibilities!"

Luna looked to her sister with doubt. "I think this is just a weird way to start our retirement."

Again, Celestia ignored her, looking instead to what, generously, could be called her father's cold corpse. Clearing her own throat, she took a single step forward, then spoke aloud in the voice with which she commanded Equestria for a millennium. "King Solaris! Great leader of Equestria's past! It is I! Your daughter, Princess Celestia! Besides me stands Luna, and together, we wish to speak with you once more!"

For a few moments, there was nothing but silence. But then, in the long quiet, there began just the tiniest flicker of sound, as if the machinery now embedded within the kinda-sorta-dead alicorn began to spring to life. "E...E...E...E...E..."

Celestia stepped forward again, followed closely by Luna, and hope began to fill the former's eyes. "Yes...yes? What is it you wish to say, Father?"

"E...E...E...EVERYPONY FORGOT ABOUT ME?! HOW IN THE EVER-LOVING TARTARUS COULD ANY PONY FORGET THE GREATEST KING WHO EVER LIVED?!"

Celestia blinked, clearly not expecting these to be his first words. And while she stumbled, Luna returned the nudge she was given earlier. "Well, you wanted him back, so go ahead. Answer him."

Celestia frowned to her sibling, then put on a smile for her father's benefit. "Well, Father, you must realise that it's been a very, and I mean very long time since you've been an active ruler in Equestria. Stories tend to get lost over time, and we're talking about an specially long absence."

"STUFF THAT! THIS IS SOMETHING KIDS SHOULD BE TAUGHT IN HISTORY BOOKS! I SHOULD BE AS WELL-KNOWN AS BOOGEYMEN LIKE SOMBRA OR TIREK!"

Celestia averted his gaze. Or at least, what would have been his gaze, had he the eyes to have one. "Well...they were forgotten too."

"...SEE, THIS IS WHY I TOOK OVER IN THE FIRST PLACE. CLEARLY THESE PONIES CAN'T BE TRUSTED TO RULE THEMSELVES. THEY'D PROBABLY FORGET THEIR OWN HEADS IF THEY WEREN'T STUCK TO THEIR SHOULDERS."

Luna grimaced. "Okay...starting to remember why we haven't done this before."

"DON'T YOU BACKTALK TO ME, LITTLE LUNA. I'VE GOT CENTURIES OF BEING AN IMMOBILE SKELETON UNDER MY BELT AND I'M IN NO MOOD FOR SASS."

Luna chuckled and leaned in closer to Celestia. "Better make sure he never meets Rainbow then," she said under her breath.

Celestia stifled her own laugh, before again resuming her more regal and refined tone. "Father, I realise that the past centuries have undoubtedly been difficult for you...

"YOU'RE DAMNED RIGHT THEY'VE BEEN DIFFICULT! FIRST YOU BURN ME TO MY BONES WITH THAT FRIGGIN' SUN OF YOURS AND THEN YOU STUFF ME IN THE BASEMENT FOR THOUSANDS OF YEARS!"

To that, Celestia frowned and stomped her hoof down. "Oh, you are never going to let that go, are you? I was six! I didn't know how to move that thing around properly yet! And who are you to talk when you just came up to me one day, said 'here, take over this for me, will ya' and then walked off?! What did you think was going to happen?!"

"NOT ME BEING BURNED ALIVE FOR ONE THING, CELLY!"

Celestia facehoofed herself. "Ugh! How Mother tolerated you for so long I'll never know!"

"HEY! DON'T YOU START GIVING ME SASS TOO, YOUNG LADY!"

Looking from one family member to another, Luna started to develop a small smirk. "Okay, now it's starting to feel like a proper family reunion."

Guess which webshow I've been binging while I was away?

Also, on a related note:

"SO, MY CHILDREN, LET US GET DOWN TO BUSINESS."

Celestia smiled as she stepped closer to her long-gone father. "Yes. Of course. We have much to catch up on. I'm sure you're wondering all that we have done since we assumed stewardship of Equestria."

If Solaris could actually move his head, he'd have nodded. "INDEED. FOR INSTANCE, HOW GOES THE GREAT CAUSE I CHAMPIONED?"

Celestia blinked, and while Luna looked to her with a knowing smirk, she herself remained nonplussed. "The...cause, Father?"

"YES. TAKE THAT PONY WHO WAS INSTALLING THIS DOOHICKY IN MY HEAD A WHILE BACK. I COULD NOT HELP BUT NOTICE THAT SHE WAS NOT, IN FACT, AN ALICORN."

Instantly, understanding came for the elder sister, and she glanced to Luna, who simply shrugged. "Well, sister? Do you want to tell him, or should I?"

Celestia grumbled, then forced a smile for her father's benefit. "Well, Father, I realise that idea was very important to you all those years ago, and I realise too that it would indeed be of great benefit to many ponies..."

"YOU HAVEN'T DONE IT, HAVE YOU?" Solaris interrupted.

Celestia, in a move she probably hadn't done in thousands of years, drooped her ears like a child being scolded. "Well...no, Father. I haven't."

Walking beside her, Luna patted her sister's shoulder before looking to their parent. "With respect, Father, we did attempt your great vision for a time after we assumed responsibility for this nation. But, after a while, we felt it might be for the best if ponies were allowed to live out their lives. To not impose some great standard upon them and pressurise them into becoming something they might not be ready or willing to become."

"WHO, IN THEIR RIGHT MIND, WOULD NOT BE WILLING TO BECOME AN ALICORN? IT IS THE ABSOLUTE PINNACLE OF PONY POTENTIAL, AND A GOLD STANDARD THAT ALL, FROM THEIR WAKING MOMENTS, SHOULD ASPIRE TO BECOME. DO NONE OF THEM APPRECIATE THE GREATNESS THAT WAS MY HOPES FOR OUR KIND?"

Luna rolled her eyes as she kept her voice quiet. "Here we go."

"IMAGINE IT, MY CHILDREN. A REALM FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH NIGH-IMMORTAL FLYING MAGES. A SHINING BEACON OF POWER AND GREATNESS THAT ALL OTHERS IN THE WORLD WOULD LOOK TO WITH AWE AND RESPECT. A NATION WHO RISES HIGH AND PUTS ALL OTHERS TO SHAME WITH THEIR SPLENDOUR."

Celestia nodded and sighed. "I'd almost forgotten how much you liked saying all that, Father...every, single day."

"YOU'RE DARN RIGHT I LIKE SAYING IT. AND I THOUGHT I'D ONE DAY WAKE UP TO FIND IT HAD BEEN DONE. APPARENTLY NOT."

Here, Celestia decided to refute him. "For your information, it's not as if there have been no new alicorns since our day!"

Solaris paused, but only for a moment. "OH? THEN TELL ME. EXACTLY HOW MANY ARE WE TALKING HERE? A THOUSAND?"

"...No," Celestia confessed.

"...A HUNDRED?"

"No."

"...FIFTY?"

Luna facehoofed herself. "Oh for the love of... it's three! There have been three new alicorns!"

"IS THAT IT? ALL THOSE CENTURIES AND THREE WAS THE BEST YOU COULD DO?"

Luna shrugged. "Well, technically speaking, Celestia only really guided one pony to alicornhood. The other sort of happened without us and the third was the child of the latter. So...yeah."

"...YOU KNOW, I ALWAYS WONDERED WHAT SOME PARENTS FEEL WHEN THEIR KIDS COME BACK FROM SCHOOL WITH AN 'F', AND NOW I KNOW."

Celestia rubbed her temples after that. "Practically bring him back from the dead and this is the thanks we get. Typical."

"VERY WELL, IF THE DREAM OF THE GREAT ALICORN RACE IS TO HAVE A PIN IN IT FOR NOW, THEN SO BE IT. BUT I HOPE AT LEAST YOU'VE SUCCEEDED IN HAVING EQUESTRIA TRIUMPH OVER ALL OTHERS?"

Both sisters looked to him with, if possible, even more unease than before. "Ah, yes. Part two of your grand scheme. World domination," Luna remarked with no small amount of sarcasm.

"I TOLD YOU ONCE AND I'LL TELL YOU AGAIN, LUNA. I AM NOT SOME CONQUERING WARLORD. BUT YOU KNOW AS WELL AS I DO THAT IT IS THE DESTINY OF PONYKIND TO STAND TALL ABOVE ALL OTHER PEOPLES OF THE WORLD. FOR EQUESTRIA'S FLAG TO FLY PROUDLY WHEREVER THE WIND BLOWS. FOR ALL WHO LIVE TO LOOK UPON OUR KIND WITH AWE, WITH WONDER, AND ABOVE ALL WITH RESPECT. THAT WAS MY DREAM. NOT SOME BASE POWER FANTASY OF WARMONGERING AND SUBJUGATION."

Celestia chuckled drily. "Oh, certainly, I can definitely see how your dream sounds totally different from the mindset of a conqueror. I don't know what we were thinking mistaking one for the other." Like Luna, her sarcasm was palpable in this moment, and the two princesses shared an amused look to one another. "You care to take this one, Lulu?"

Luna nodded briefly before looking again to the skeleton before them. "Well, Father, as you've no doubt assumed by now, that too is something we have yet to make happen. And I hope you realise that we weren't exactly comfortable with the idea of making everycreature in the world feel like they were subservient to us."

"I JUST HOPE YOU UNDERSTAND WHAT A LETDOWN THIS IS FOR ME. I GET STUCK HERE AS A SKELETON FOR CENTURIES, HOPING THAT ONE DAY MY DAUGHTERS WOULD MAKE MY HOPES FOR OUR PEOPLE A REALITY. AND WHEN I WAKE UP, WHAT DO I FIND? THAT EQUESTRIA IS IN EXACTLY THE SAME STATE I LEFT IT IN. ONE WONDERS WHAT YOU TWO HAVE EVEN BEEN DOING ALL THESE YEARS."

After the sisters looked to each other again, then turned, putting their backs to their father, with Celestia especially looking stressed with the whole ordeal. "Lulu, I love Father to bits, but I really don't know how much more of this I can take."

Luna nodded in agreement. "Indeed. He always was the type who was best in small doses." She tapped her chin. "But we can't just leave him here alone."

Celestia pondered that. "True. He needs someone to stand beside him now that he has returned. He needs a guardian. A..." She smiled. "He needs a custodian!"

Luna scoffed. "I was going to say 'glorified babysitter', but your word works too."

After that, Celestia appeared deep in thought. "But who could we get who'd be willing to put up with him just because a princess asked them to?"

At that exact moment, the doors of the chamber creaked open, and a familiar, armoured pegasus entered, bowing instinctively to the elder alicorns. "Excuse the intrusion, my ladies. But Princess Twilight heard you had returned to Canterlot, and so wished me to bring you to her so you may speak."

The two sisters blinked to him, looked to one another, then looked back to him with a shared mischievous grin. "Mr Sentry...how would you feel about a promotion?"

Well, wouldn't be a TTS homage without a golden boy to soak up all the craziness

"I must say, Sir, this is a real honour," Flash said with a big smile on his face.

"FOR YOU, MAYBE," Solaris responded.

"I mean, me, being appointed as a personal bodyguard to the father of the princesses? I'd never have guessed my career would ever go in that direction."

"I'M JUST GLAD I GET TO HAVE A BREAK FROM ALL THE BAD NEWS I'VE BEEN GETTING FROM MY DAUGHTERS. BETWEEN YOU AND ME, I CAN'T REALLY SAY I'M ALL TOO PLEASED WITH HOW THE NATON HAS BEEN SINCE MY TIME AS LEADER."

Flash, naturally, seemed taken aback by that. "But Sir, if you'll pardon me for saying so, I see no reason for you to feel let down. Ponies like myself have prospered and been happy under that rule for generations. Ask anypony in the street and they'll say nothing but good things about your daughters."

"BE THAT AS IT MAY, I ENVISIONED PONYKIND MOVING FORWARD TO GREATER AND GREATER HEIGHTS, NOT SIMPLY TO KICK BACK AND BE CONTENT."

Flash thought for a while on how best to answer that. "Well...can you at least be happy that Celestia and Luna will be remembered fondly? Now that they're retired?"

"...PARDON?"

"Sir?"

"WHAT THE FLIP DO YOU MEAN RETIRED? THEY'RE NOT IN CHARGE ANYMORE?"

"Well...no. Princess Twilight now rules in their stead."

"I'M ASSUMING SHE'S ONE OF THE MERE THREE NEW ALICORNS MY CHILDREN INFORMED ME ABOUT?"

"Er, yes, Sir. She is. She's been an alicorn princess for some years now, but she assumed the throne of Equestria a few days back. It was a wonderful ceremony, Sir."

"I DON'T CARE HOW GOOD THE CEREMONY WAS. MY DAUGHTERS SHOULD NOT HAVE STEPPED DOWN. AS ROYALTY AND AS ALICORNS, THEY HAD A RESPONSIBILITY TO WATCH OVER PONYKIND AND EQUESTRIA."

The young stallion before him looked somewhat nervous after a remark like that. "I'm sure you feel that way, but I can assure you that, while we ponies may miss the days of them being in charge, Celestia has certainly ensured a great legacy for herself, and will no doubt go down in history as one of the most beloved leaders in Equestrian history."

"AND LUNA TOO, I'M ASSUMING?"

Flash's smile returned, and he nodded firmly. "Oh yes, certainly. Ponies really grew to love her just as much as her sister, even in spite of her long absence."

"...WHAT?"

"What?"

"ABSENCE? WHAT ABSENCE? WHERE DID SHE GO?"

Instantly, Flash started to look worried, turning to look to the great doors of the chamber. "Oh, I just thought, I mean, I figured they'd..." Realising that he was going to be the one to have to talk about this, he steeled himself, taking a deep breath before again looking to his new charge. "Well, Sir, about a thousand years ago there was...a bit of a disagreement between your daughters. Princess Luna became somewhat resentful over the fact that everypony seemed to like Celestia more. You know, what with everypony else being asleep when Luna was in charge?"

"UNDERSTANDABLE. DID SHE JUST UP AND QUIT FOR A WHILE TO MAKE EVERYPONY APPRECIATE HER?"

Flash winced. "Well...actually...she sort of took on a new identity. Nightmare Moon. And she attempted to usurp Celestia and become Equestria's sole ruler, ushering in an era of eternal night."

"...ARE YOU SERIOUS?"

"I'm afraid so, my Lord," Flash answered sheepishly.

"SO I WAKE UP TO FIND OUT THAT NOT ONLY HAVE MY HOPES AND DREAMS FOR PONYKIND NOT BEEN MADE REAL, BUT A FULL-ON CIVIL WAR HAS ERUPTED BETWEEN MY CHILDREN?"

Flash avoided his gaze for a while. "It's...actually worse than that. When it looked like Lu...like Nightmare Moon was going to win, Celestia used the Elements of Harmony, and their magic banished her to the moon for a thousand years. It's only in the last few years that she's been back among us."

"ALONE IN THE MOON FOR A THOUSAND YEARS. I'M SURPRISED LUNA DIDN'T GO INSANE DURING THAT TIME."

Flash, perhaps in a desperate bid to cheer up the mood, put on a smile. "Well, she's back now and everypony likes her. That's good, right?"

"GOOD, YOU SAY? HALF OF MY PROGENY ALLOWED THEIR RESENTMENT TO LEAD THEM TO FALL PREY TO DARK POWERS, THEN WENT TO WAR AGAINST THE OTHER HALF. I MUST BE THE ONLY RULER IN HISTORY TO HAVE EVER HAD SUCH A THING HAPPEN IN THEIR FAMILY."

All of a sudden, Flash took on a more confused look. "Huh, why do I feel like I should refute that point?" he muttered to himself.

"SO TELL ME, SONNY-JIM. EXACTLY HOW DID THIS MESS OF A SIBLING RIVALRY GET RESOLVED?"

Here, Flash seemed a touch more relaxed. "Oh, Princess Twilight and her friends were able to get the Elements of Harmony and use their power to turn Luna back into her old self, thus saving the day!"

"WELL, I CAN CERTAINLY SEE WHY MY DAUGHTER TRUSTED THIS TWILIGHT PERSON TO TAKE ON HER ROLE AS LEADER."

"Agreed, Sir!" Flash responded enthusiastically. "There's barely a pony out there who thinks anything less of her."

"BUT HOLD UP, WHY DIDN'T THE ELEMENTS CHANGE LUNA BACK TO HER OLD SELF WHEN CELESTIA USED THEM?"

"I..." Flash paused, blinking a few times before speaking up again. "Huh, why didn't they?"

"NEVERTHELESS, I'M GLAD THIS CONFLICT BETWEEN MY CHILDREN IS OVER. THOUGH IT DOESN'T DO WELL FOR MY CONTINUED BELIEF THAT THINGS IN THIS NATION HAVE GONE TO TARTARUS SINCE I'VE BEEN IN CHARGE."

Flash stepped forward after that. "Oh, you needn't worry, Sir. There have been a few bumps along the road, but Equestria is as good as it's ever been."

"YOU MAY THINK THAT, SMALL FRY. BUT I DO NOT. THINGS SHOULD BE BETTER THAN THEY ARE. THEY SHOULD BE MAGNIFICENT. AND ABOVE ALL THINGS LIKE MY DAUGHTERS TURNING ON EACH OTHER SHOULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED. SO HERE'S THE DEAL. YOU'RE GOING TO TELL ME EVERYTHING CELESTIA AND LUNA ARE CLEARLY TOO WORRIED TO TELL ME ABOUT. EVERY BIG DISASTER, EVERY CHANGE THAT'S OCCURRED WHILE I'VE BEEN GONE, ALL OF IT. I DON'T WANT A SINGLE DETAIL LEFT OUT, ARE WE CLEAR?"

Flash stared at him for a while, then glanced back to the chamber's doors, before again looking to his new responsibility. After a full minute of looking like he was putting puzzle pieces together in his head, he took on a more exasperated look. "Ah...the princesses just dumped a job on me that they didn't want themselves, didn't they?"

"WELL, LOOK AT THAT, THE BOY ACTUALLY HAS A BRAINCELL OR TWO."

Extremely tired custodian mode activated 😏

"SO THEN, LET'S START THINGS OFF IN THE LOGICAL PLACE. IF MY CHILDREN NO LONGER REIGN OVER PONYKIND, I WISH TO KNOW MORE OF THIS YOUNG ALICORN WHO NOW STANDS IN THEIR PLACE."

Flash gave a quick bow of his head before replying. "Of course, Sir. Anything specific?"

"I WANT TO KNOW HOW SHE FIRST APPEARED ON CELESTIA'S RADAR."

"Well, while she may have been a relative unknown for the first few years of her career, details of her life began to trickle out after her ascension to alicornhood. From what I've heard she spent most of her life here in Canterlot, and one day she was inspired to study magic after witnessing Princess Celestia during the Summer Sun Celebration."

"THE WHAT NOW?"

"Oh, it's, well, it was an annual ceremony taking place on the longest night of the year, when Princess Celestia would publicly raise the sun for all to see. It was very popular with the children."

"I WARNED MY DAUGHTERS NOT TO LET PONIES GET THE WRONG IDEA ABOUT US, AND THAT RIGHT THERE SOUNDS EXACTLY LIKE HOW CULTS START."

"...So...shall I continue?" Flash asked with understandable wariness.

"PLEASE DO."

Flash cleared his throat before carrying on. "Well, after that she tried to enter Celestia's special school, and during her entry exam there was some sort of magical outburst taking place. Celestia calmed the situation of course, but it was clear from the situation that Twilight was no ordinary filly."

"MY CHILD ALWAYS DID HAVE A KNACK FOR FINDING MAGICALLY-TALENTED PONIES. IF I KNOW HER, SHE TOOK TWILIGHT UNDER HER WING AFTER THAT ENCOUNTER, CORRECT?"

"Yes, Sir," Flash answered with a nod. "I imagine Twilight was pretty ecstatic about it. From then on she was her apprentice, learning all she could about magic. This will come as no surprise to you, but she was, without question, the most devoted and trusted follower Celestia ever had, at least during our generation. Sure, we all loved and respected her, but Twilight took it to a whole other level."

"AH, SHE WAS A CELESTIA FAN-FILLY. THAT EXPLAINS A LOT. STILL, I CAN GUESS SHE WAS SOMETHING OF A MAGICAL PRODIGY IF CELESTIA TOOK ON THAT LEVEL OF CARE OVER HER."

Flash glanced to the side. "I would guess so too, given that magic was how she ascended to begin with."

"OH? DO TELL."

"Her change, or so I've heard, came as a result of completing some old spell from the legendary Starswirl the Bearded. That, apparently, was enough of an achievement to transform her."

"STARSWIRL, EH? I CAN JUST SEE THE LOOK ON THE OLD ONE'S FACE. A YOUTH MANAGING TO FINISH SOMETHING HE COULDN'T. OH WHAT I'D GIVE FOR HIM TO BE ALIVE NOW."

"Um...he is. As well as the rest of the Pillars."

"...OKAY, ONE MORE TO ADD TO THE LIST OF THINGS TO TALK ABOUT. BUT, GETTING BACK TO THE NEW PRINCESS."

"Well, in addition to what I've said already, Twilight and her friends have gone on a number of adventures, saving Equestria numerous times and bringing us closer to our neighbours. Dragons, Yaks, you name them, we've befriended them."

"WHILE I'M HAPPY TO HEAR THAT EVERYCREATURE IS ALL FINE AND DANDY WITH ONE ANOTHER, I STILL WOULD HAVE PREFERRED THEM BEING DEFERENT TO US. STILL, THAT'S QUITE A RESUME FOR A YOUNG ALICORN. SMALL WONDER MY CHILDREN SAW HER AS A POTENTIAL SUCCESSOR. BUT YOU SAY SHE DID NOT DO THIS ALONE?"

Flash shook his head. "Oh no, Sir. By her side through every trial and tribulation were her friends from the village of Ponyville. Two pegasi named Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. Two earth ponies, Applejack and Pinkie Pie. And what was a fellow unicorn, Rarity. Oh, and we can't forget her trusty companion, Spike, a young dragon whom she personally hatched during the aforementioned magical incident."

"AH, I SEE. AN ELITE SQUADRON, SET OUT TO THWART ALL ENEMIES OF EQUESTRIA WHEN THEY REAR THEIR UGLY HEADS."

"Well...yeah, kind of, I guess. I mean, they never went out looking for trouble, but they were always there to stand up for us when the bag guys turned up. I don't even want to think about how bad a state Equestria would be in if they hadn't been there for us."

"REMIND ME TO TELL YOU ABOUT LOOKING INTO PARALLEL TIMELINES SOMEDAY. IT'S QUITE A SIGHT."

"If you say so, Sir," Flash answered with some scepticism.

"AND NOW, AFTER ALL HER HEROICS AND ACHIEVEMENTS, TWILIGHT SITS UPON THE THRONE. A BIG RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY PONY TO DO ALONE. PRAY TELL, HOW OLD IS SHE?"

Flash pondered that for a time. "Um...my age, I think? Maybe a touch younger?"

"WOW, THEN HERE'S HOPING THE KID'S GOT IT IN HER."

His guard, eyed him suspiciously. "So...you don't have any secret plans to resume rulership of Equestria again? Because I'll be honest, that's kind of the vibe I've been getting from you so far. What with all your talk about how disappointed you've been with the present state of things."

"I'LL PUT A PIN IN THAT FOR THE TIME BEING, IF ONLY BECAUSE THIS TWILIGHT PERSON SEEMS TO BE KEEPING THE SHIP AFLOAT FOR NOW. AND SPEAKING OF WHOM, YOU SEEM TO KNOW A GREAT DEAL ABOUT HER FOR ONE OF THE RANK-AND-FILE. DO YOU TWO KNOW EACH OTHER?"

Instantly, Flash's face turned as white as a sheet, and he stood upright. "Nope! Not at all! Barely said a word to her! We've no real association whatsoever and if anypony tells you otherwise they're totally wrong! Nope! Nada! I have nothing at all to do with her! So you don't need to trouble yourself with any questions about what she and I have together! Or don't have together! Because that's what we have together, absolutely nothing!"

All of his words had been rapid-fire, and naturally this led to some curiosity for the skeleton king. "OKAY, IF YOU WANTED TO THROW ME OFF THE SCENT, THAT WAS A PRETTY POOR WAY OF DOING IT."

Flash's eyes darted left and right. "No! Er, I'm not avoiding the subject, I...ah!" He reached to the side, pulling back what appeared to be a fully-armoured member of the Royal Guard, complete with face-concealing helmet. "How about this pony, who has apparently been here the whole time? How about we talk about them?"

"...SUSPICIOUS FLASH IS SUSPICIOUS."

"...SO, HEARD ANY GOOD JOKES LATELY?" Solaris sat quietly, not that he had much choice in the matter, as he awaited the new guard's response. Unfortunately, said response consisted solely of the latter giving a single nod, and had Solaris the power to do so his voice likely would have had the tint of annoyance from this. "NOT MUCH OF A TALKER, ARE YOU?"

After the new guard gave a silent shake of their head, Flash cleared his throat. "Um...was there anything else you wished to discuss, Sir?"

"SURE, WHY NOT? BESIDES, I NEED TO THINK UP WHAT TO DO WITH THIS OTHER ONE HERE. A STOIC, SILENT CHARACTER OBSCURED BEHIND A COOL-LOOKING HELMET WHO DOESN'T DO MUCH? I CAN PROBABLY MAKE A MASSIVE FANDOM OUT OF THAT."

Flash blinked. "...Okay?"

"PUTTING THAT ASIDE FOR NOW, I'M ASSUMING THAT HAVING TO DEAL WITH MY WAYWARD YOUNGER DAUGHTER WASN'T THE ONLY CHALLENGE PRINCESS TWILIGHT HAD TO CONTEND WITH?"

"Oh, certainly not. We in this country had some big crisis about once every year from the time Twilight first set out for Ponyville."

"TYPICAL. YOU GO FOR CENTURIES WITH EVERYTHING BEING NICE AND QUIET, AND WHEN TROUBLE COMES IT ALL COMES ALONG AT ONCE."

"You're telling me," Flash remarked with understandable tiredness.

"WELL THEN, WHAT HORRIBLE ABOMINATION DID THE YOUNG MARE HAVE TO FACE FIRST?"

"Oh, that would be Discord, Sir."

"I HAD A FEELING THAT NE'ER-DO-WELL WOULD SHOW HIS FACE AGAIN SOONER OR LATER. HE COULD JUST NEVER KEEP HIS NOSE OUT OF PONY BUSINESS."

"If it makes you feel any better, Celestia and Luna actually kept him trapped as a statue for a thousand years," Flash explained.

"IT DOES INDEED MAKE ME HAPPY. TEN CENTURIES OF NOT HAVING TO LISTEN TO THAT GUY WOULD BE A REAL BLESSING. BUT ALAS, CLEARLY NOTHING GOOD LASTS FOREVER, SINCE TWILIGHT APPARENTLY HAD TO COPE WITH HIM."

"True, but she coped with him all the same. She and her friends used the Elements of Harmony, just as they did with Luna, and they re-stoned him."

"YOU'D THINK HE'D LEARN FROM HIS PAST MISTAKES, BUT APPRENTLY NOT."

"Either way, it was a real victory for Twilight. Though it did kinda make things tense between her and Discord when he came back for his reformation."

"...I'M SORRY, DID YOU SAY REFORMATION?"

"Er...yes, Sir?"

"AS IN BEING WELCOMED BACK INTO THE FOLD IN THE HOPES THAT HE'D BECOME A BETTER PERSON AND STOP BOTHERING US?"

"Basically, yeah."

"AND WHO, DARE I ASK, HAD THAT BRILLIANT IDEA?"

His voice was as mechanical as ever, but even so Flash recognised sarcasm when he heard it, and so nervously scratched the back of his head. "Well...um...Celestia?"

"...THE DISAPPOINTMENT JUST ADDS AND ADDS, DOESN'T IT? SHE'S MY ELDEST CHILD. SHE SHOULD KNOW BETTER. YOU CAN'T IMPROVE A CREATURE LIKE DISCORD. HE'S THE EMBODIMENT OF DISHARMONY. HE'S CHAOS PERSONIFIED, AND SHE SHOULD KNOW FULL WELL HOW I FEEL ABOUT CHAOS."

"That you...don't like it?" Flash asked cautiously.

"YOU'RE DARN RIGHT I DON'T LIKE IT! I WAS ALREADY WORRIED ABOUT THE STATE OF THE WORLD AFTER MY BEING GONE FOR SO LONG, BUT CLEARLY THINGS HAVE BEEN EVEN WORSE THAN I FEARED."

"It's not all bad, Sir," Flash responded. "By all accounts Discord's a fine and upstanding member of society these days."

"YOU'LL FORGIVE ME IF I HAVE MY DOUBTS, LAD. ONE SUCH AS HE DOES NOT SIMPLY CHANGE INTO A BETTER PERSON. BUT, IF I AM TO ACCEPT THIS CHANGE TO THE STATUS QUO, THEN I'D BETTER SEE IT FOR MYSELF."

Flash had no idea what he meant by that, but before long he noticed that not only was the enormous alicorn skeleton before him staring to vaguely glow, but the entire chamber around them was gently vibrating. Understandably worried, Flash asked the obvious question. "Um, Sir? What are you doing?"

"THIS, MY BOY, IS WHAT WE IN THE ALICORN COMMUNITY CALL A FLEX."

Flash didn't like the sound of that, and his mood wasn't improved when, to his shock, a sudden burst of light popped up right next to him, causing him to back away. After squinting at the sight of it, his eyes widened when the light died down. For there, standing in the centre of the chamber, and looking quite confused, was the unmistakeably mismatched form of the very topic of conversation, Discord himself. Naturally, it took all of five seconds for this new arrival to gain an irritated look to him. "Who...who dares?! I am Discord! Spirit of Disharmony!" His gaze caught Flash, and instantly he was right up in the stallion's face, glaring at him angrily. "I don't know what your game is, kid, but I cannot be summoned like some mongrel pup!"

"YOU CAN IF I SAY YOU CAN, MY OLD FOE."

Slowly, Discord's fury disappeared, replaced instead with a look of both disbelief and concern. Eventually, he turned, only now noticing the massive alicorn skeleton on its pedestal. "...Solaris?" Then, his shock turned to rage once more. "Solaris?! The Skeleton-King himself?!"

"BELIEVE ME, I'M NOT ALL THAT THRILLED ABOUT YOU BEING HERE EITHER. ESPECIALLY SINCE MY DAUGHTER GOT IT INTO HER HEAD THAT YOU COULD EVER BE ANYTHING MORE THAN A THORN IN MY SIDE."

Discord folded his arms. "Well, I'll have you know that I'm a good friend to your precious ponies now. So you can go ahead and apologise for all those times you said I'd never amount to anything."

"LIKE TARTARUS I WILL."

His ancient opponent narrowed his eyes. "Be careful, Solaris. From the looks of things I'd say you're not exactly in prime form right now, so best restrain yourself from pushing me too far."

"YOU'RE ONE TO TALK. I DON'T RECALL QUITE SO MUCH GREY IN YOUR FUR BACK THEN."

Discords flew right up to his face. "Hey! I've bene under a lot of stress in the past few millennia!"

"GOOD. GLAD TO HEAR IT. NOW THEN...FLASH?"

"Er, yes?" the stallion asked warily.

"IF DISCORD HERE SAYS HE'S NO ENEMY, I'D LIKE TO HEAR EXACTLY WHAT HIS TIME AMONG PONIES HAS BEEN LIKE SINCE HIS RETURN."

Flash, his eyes widening, looked from one centuries-old powerful figure to the other and back again, each one definitely giving him their full attention. Clearing his throat, he started backing away to the chamber doors. "Well...how about I get us some nice, relaxing, calming tea before that?"

"Milk and seventeen sugars, if you would," Discord requested.

"I DON'T HAVE A STOMACH, SO GET ME WHATEVER."

Turning, Flash's sweat-covered brow was on full display now. "Oh boy, this day isn't ending anytime soon."

Carrying a tray of tea on one's back without spilling a single drop was usually a delicate task for anypony, especially for one who had to walk along old and cobbled hallways. But for Flash, he seemed perfectly fine bringing the requested beverages back to the chamber he'd been posted to. And in all honesty he just looked content with not having to deal with the likely ruckus that Solaris and the newly-arrived Discord had been stirring up between them while he was gone. So, after reaching about the halfway point between the kitchens and the chamber, he glanced over his shoulder to take inventory. "Ok, milk and blasphemous amounts of sugar for Discord, total black for King Solaris and one milky tea with a side-order of aspirin for me." He nodded to himself before resuming his walk. But, after taking a mere few steps forward, he paused again, sniffing the air with a look of confusion about him. "Is...is that... mane-oil?" Then, his confusion disappeared, replaced instead with a look of exasperation as he let out a long sigh. "Oh...no."

Turning around, he watched as he saw his gut instincts proved correct. For there, suddenly appearing into view, was a trio of stallions who leapt onto the scene in a manner so utterly flamboyant that Flash could've sworn he heard some kind of weird chorus heralding their arrival, complete with a bright sparkle of light all around them to emphasise the point. Though Flash said nothing, his face gave away his dismay at their being there, and the first of the stallions, a unicorn, stepped forward with a look of likely undeserved self-importance. "Ah, Mr Sentry, what a pleasure to come across you here."

Taking a deep breath, Flash assumed his more professional stance and tone as he responded to both him and the other two. "Guardsman Blueblood, Guardsman Zephyr, Guardsman Trenderhoof. What...joy to see you too," he said through gritted teeth.

The second of the two stepped forward to join the first, looking fairly pleased with himself. "I know, it's great, right? Who'd have ever guessed I'd be let back in after that whole crown debacle?" Zephyr remarked.

"Not me, that's for sure," Flash muttered under his breath.

The last of them joined the other two. "I tell you, my fans are just gonna love the scoop they'll get from me after this! A genuine, insider experience of the Royal Guard. That kind of thing is very in right now," Trenderhoof commented.

"Especially if you don't go with the traditional uniforms, it would seem," Flash countered, looking over his fellow guards.

Trenderhoof looked especially proud of that one. "Oh yes, I felt that gold was a bit old-fashioned. In need of updating, you know? New colours, new materials, that sort of thing. You wouldn't believe how much black leather draws ponies' attention," he explained, making sure to pose so that said leather was in full view.

"I would definitely believe it," Flash answered, trying his best not to look at the more exposed areas the three's new uniforms had.

"In any case," Blueblood began, walking further to the more experienced guard. "We haven't been seeing much of you in the rest of the castle lately, Sir."

Flash arched an eyebrow. "Well, nice to know one of you remembers I'm your commanding officer." He looked over his shoulder. "To answer your curiosity, I've been assigned as the personal guard of Solaris. Former king of Equestria and Princess Celestia and Luna's father."

Naturally, such a juicy tidbit of information had the expected result of all three of them, as unprofessional as they may have been, being taken aback, looking beyond Flash to the great doors at the end of the vast hallway. "Wait, really? That dude's still alive?" Zephyr asked, astonished.

"...Define...alive," Flash wondered aloud.

Blueblood, transfixed by the sight of the chamber door, took a step or two past Flash to get slightly closer to it, much to the latter's chagrin. After a moment of silence where he merely tapped his chin, the prince glanced back to his superior and smirked. "Pardon me for saying so, Lieutenant, but mayhaps the great king would be more comfortable having a member of the nobility serving as his aide? Royalty alongside royalty and all that?"

Flash frowned. "Need I remind you, Private, that your position within the Guard was solely due to your Aunt's intervention? Since you apparently couldn't get any kind of job otherwise?"

Blueblood shrugged. "Well, now that I'm here it behoves me to try and achieve a position befitting my station."

"Your station is where you've already been assigned. And speaking of which, that is where you should all be right now, not down here and suggesting intrusion into the king's chambers," Flash explained, and not without undue frustration in his voice.

Another shrug from the alabaster stallion, who made his way back to his comrades, opening the floor for Trenderhoof to add his voice to the matter. "Is it alright if I go in and get a photo or two? The readers of my newsletters would send me asks by the bucketload if I got them an exclusive with somepony this important."

Flash, as one might expect, had just about had it by this point, and after taking a moment to keep his tempter in check, addressed them in the commanding tone expected of one of his rank. "That would be a no, Guardsman. In fact, I must give you an ask of my own. That you all return to the main entrance of the palace. Doubtless Princess Twilight will be wondering why you're not at your posts, especially since she intervened on your behalf in particular to remain within our number, Zephyr."

The stallion in question scratched the back of his head nervously. "Yeah...good point. Don't want my sister getting on my case about that."

Blueblood sighed. "Very well, Sir. We'll return if we must." He gestured to the other two, who promptly began walking in the other direction. But, as he too began to leave, Blueblood cast one final smirk back to his commander. "Oh, and thank you for the tea. It was delicious."

His eyes widening, Flash glanced to his back, wherein he saw that the teacups were indeed empty. How they'd managed to pull that off he didn't know, only that this whole encounter had left him tired and irritated. So, after letting out a long groan, he turned and started making his way back where he came. "Okay, back to the kitchens then...and note to self, double the aspirin this time."

Well, for those wondering if we'd get a certain trio of bothersome underlings, here you go

Flash knew he couldn't put it off indefinitely, and having stood outside of the great doors for almost a full minute now he maintained that grimace he'd been wearing the whole time. But, after steeling himself, he finally pushed through, making sure not to spill a single drop of the newly-acquired second round of tea while doing so. The moment he entered though, he found one of the cups snatched off him by Discord, who gulped it in one go before unceremoniously throwing the cup back onto the tray. "Finally! What took you?"

While grateful the two hadn't killed each other during his absence, Flash was still somewhat irritated at the spirit's behaviour, though he kept his feelings in check as he spoke. "Sorry for the lateness. I was...distracted."

Solaris, of course, was as hard to read as ever, especially with his purely mechanical voice. "WELL, YOU'RE JUST IN TIME TO HEAR OF MY LATEST COMPLAINTS, BECAUSE DISCORD HERE HAS BEEN TELLING ME ALL ABOUT HIS SO-CALLED TURN TO THE LIGHT."

Discord, naturally, rolled his eyes. "You'd find cause to complain about anything. It's your nature. Just accept that I'm one of the good guys now and we can all get on with our lives."

"NOT A CHANCE, BUCKO. FROM WHAT YOU'VE TOLD ME YOU CAN'T SEEM TO HELP BUT MESS THINGS UP FOR MY BELOVED PONIES."

He was waved off by the mischievous ancient. "Pfft! You're blowing things up way out of proportion. I mean I may have had a few lapses here and there but it never hurt anycreature, right?"

"OH NO? THEN WHY DON'T WE ASK OUR FRIEND HERE?"

Flash sighed. "Okay, here we go."

"SO LET'S HEAR IT, KID. HAS DISCORD HERE REALLY CHANGED FOR THE BETTER, AS MY DAUGHTER HOPED HE WOULD?"

Discord narrowed his eyes to the stallion. "Choose your words carefully, friend."

Flash looked from one to the other, before finally taking a massive gulp of the tea he'd brought for himself. He considered diplomacy for a time, but in the end he knew that wouldn't cut it. So, he just stepped forward and looked the old king right in the eye. Or eye-socket in this case. "Sir, with the greatest respect to both your daughter and to Princess Twilight, my feelings towards Discord and his efforts to ingratiate himself with pony society have been...mixed."

"SEE? WHAT DID I TELL YOU?"

Seconds afterwards, Flash found himself looking right into Discord's eye as the latter went within an inch of his face. "And pray tell, little guard, what exactly gives you so low an opinion of me?"

Flash frowned right back. "I was part of the guard here at Canterlot when Tirek was on his rampage. A rampage you helped him with." The stallion watched as Discord, just for a moment, showed a brief flicker of regret in his expression. But the latter said nothing, allowing Flash to continue. "My power was stolen along with everypony else's. And that was just one instance. When you resurrected Sombra, I was again set out to defend the city along with the rest of the guard. And like before, we were no match. Both were a threat you had aided or unleashed, and many were hurt by it." He sighed. "I put my trust in Celestia, and in Twilight who followed her. They told us all that you were to be accepted, treated as one of our own." A pause, after which he looked to him angrily once more. "But while words say one thing, experience shows another, and it's unlikely I'll ever be able to forget all the hurt you've caused for me and countless others during your time among us."

Discord allowed his eyes to stray from Flash, though whether it was embarrassment or shame couldn't be ascertained. Meanwhile, Solaris had his part to say. "WELL, DISCORD? WHAT SAY YOU TO THAT?"

Discord stood tall again, folding his arms. "What I say is that I am not one to be judged by some lowly commoner in a shiny, gold suit." He paused, his eyes briefly darting to Flash, after which he sighed. "But...I'd be lying if I said he hasn't brought up points I've considered myself. Even my friends saw fit to scold me about my actions once we were away from prying eyes." He winced. "And perhaps...just maybe...I'll concede that my attempts to help Twilight grow as a ruler might not have gone the way I expected or wanted. If even my precious Fluttershy can find herself a prisoner because of what I set in motion...then yeah, it can't be argued that what I did left a good taste in my mouth." With his shoulders slumping ever so slightly, he finally looked down to Flash. "I'm...sorry."

Before the young stallion could respond, Solaris interrupted. "PARDON ME...BUT WHAT DID YOU SAY?"

Discord frowned to him. "I said I'm sorry! Didn't you hear me the first time?!"

"FIRST TIME IS RIGHT. I HAVE KNOWN YOU FOR COUNTLESS YEARS, DISCORD, AND NOT ONCE IN ALL THAT TIME HAVE YOU EVER APOLOGISED FOR ANYTHING."

Another look of annoyance from the draconequus. "Well I'm sorry for this."

"...HUH. THEN IT IS POSSIBLE MY JUDGEMENT OF YOU WAS NOT ENTIRELY ACCURATE."

"Say what now?" Discord asked with an arched eyebrow.

"IF ONE SUCH AS YOU CAN FEEL TRULY SORRY AND APOLOGETIC FOR YOUR ACTIONS, THEN PERHAPS YOU HAVE INDEED CHANGED FOR THE BETTER."

Discord scoffed. "See? Told ya."

"YOU ARE STILL A THORN IN THE SIDE OF PONYKIND, HOWEVER. YOUR ACTIONS HAVE HURT THEM MANY TIMES, BOTH PAST AND PRESENT, EVEN IN SPITE OF WHAT YOU COULD ARGUE WERE GOOD INTENTIONS, AND YOU WILL STAND TRIAL FOR THAT THE REST OF YOUR IMMORTAL LIFE."

Here, Discord's smirk vanished, replaced instead with a look of regret. "...I know."

"BUT THAT YOU CAN RECOGNISE THIS, AND EVEN WISH TO MAKE UP FOR IT, IS A SIGN THAT I TOO WAS WRONG. THAT YOU HAVE IMPROVED AS A PERSON, AND CAN LIVE AMONG US, ALBEIT WITH INCREDIBLY WATCHFUL SUPERVISION."

Discord's grin returned. "Well, so glad to have your approval, O mighty king." After a moment, he looked again to Flash, stretching out his paw. "So...friends?"

Flash looked to the offered appendage, then exhaled deeply before accepting it. "For the sake of the princess who trusts you...sure." He looked to him skeptically. "With wariness, I hope you understand."

"I'd consider you a fool otherwise," Discord replied with a smile.

"GOOD START. ONE DOWN, A WHOLE NATION LEFT TO GO, EH DISCORD?"

Instantly, Discord cast him a dark look. "Don't spoil the moment."

"Well then, now that we're all on good terms..." Discord began.

"Debatable," Flash muttered quietly.

Discord cast him a frown before continuing. "I think it's time we get down to the truly important business. Namely...little Flashy's special relationship to the princess," he finished with a wicked smirk.

Instantly, Flash's face turned a shade paler. "...Pardon?"

"ABOUT TIME. I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR HIM TO SPILL THE BEANS ABOUT THAT FOR AGES."

"There's nothing to spill!" Flash insisted.

Discord, knowing he was already under the stallion's skin, looked very pleased with himself as he snapped his fingers. The resulting magic conjured up what appeared to be a small movie screen in front of the three, and after a brief moment of some old-timey static, an image was presented. It was grainy, but the picture was clearly that of Flash, clad in his armour, standing in the middle of Canterlot on a dark and rainy night. "But...why?" the image spoke.

"Wha...what is this?!" the real Flash understandably asked.

But the others weren't listening, instead engrossed in the film, especially as the Flash within it stepped forward. "I just don't understand. Why do you wish to end what we have? Why...Princess Twilight?"

Immediately, the actual Flash covered his ears with his hooves and shut his eyes tightly. "Lalalalalalala! I'm not seeing this!"

The screen's image shifted to the left, revealing, as stated, Princess Twilight herself, or at least a facsimile of her, who shied away from the distraught guard beside her. "Oh Flash, I am so sorry. But I cannot deny the call of my heart."

"Ooh! Drama!" Discord declared with delight, snapping his fingers and bringing forth a bag of popcorn for him to enthusiastically munch on.

"You are a good stallion, Flash," the movie's Twilight continued. "But while I love you always, I cannot deny my feeling any longer." With her horn igniting, she lifted up what appeared to be some really old library book, looking to it with fondness, after which she hugged it tightly. "I have chosen to be with Book-Chan." Looking back to the other Flash, she took on a sympathetic expression. "I'm sorry...but this is the end...of us."

That Flash fell to his knees, the rain intensifying all around him as he watched Twilight and her new paramour walk away from him. In this moment of utter loneliness, he looked up to the heavens and howled in despair. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!"

And that, thankfully, was the end of the film, as the conjured screen vanished into thin air, leaving sheer silence in it's wake, save for Discord's aforementioned popcorn munching. After a while though, the real Flash lowered his hooves from his ears, looking to the spirit with seething irritation, prompting a shrug from the latter. "What?"

"What?! What do you mean what?!" Flash yelled, pointing his hoof at Discord.

In response, Discord rolled his eyes. "Well, somepony doesn't like talking about his love life."

Flash buried his face in his hooves. "This isn't my..." After groaning with exasperation, he looked to the king. "Sir, you don't really think what he showed you was real, do you?"

"OF COURSE NOT. WHAT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR? I'VE KNOWN DISCORD LONG ENOUGH TO KNOW ONE OF HIS TRICKS WHEN I SEE THEM."

Flash stared at him, then at the still-smirking Discord, before again looking back to Solaris. "...Then why did you humour him like that?"

"SIMPLE. ANYTHING WOULD BE BETTER THAN YOU STONEWALLING ME ABOUT WHAT'S UP BETWEEN YOU AND THE PRINCESS."

Another long sigh from the stallion. "There isn't..." He paused, rubbed his temples in a clear sign of stress, then looked to the king once more. "Okay...if I tell you, will you stop asking? Both of you?"

Discord placed one paw over his chest and raised the other. "I make no promises."

Flash narrowed his eyes, then relaxed a touch. "Okay, well...some years back, a rumour started floating around that Princess Twilight had grown close to somepony. I happened to be in the same general place as her, and the one in question had a name similar to mine...I think?" He shook his head. "Anyway, once the rumour was out I had to spend the next few months on the receiving end of every form of teasing from my fellow guards as you can manage." He frowned as he looked to the side. "How's your latest date with the princess, Flash? How's the waifu, Flash? When's the wedding, Flash? And so on and so forth." He grunted. "I've only recently managed to get ponies to stop, and I'd very much appreciate not being reminded of that time." A few seconds later, and after he looked a little bit calmer, he continued. "Princess Twilight is a fine mare, and a national hero, but she and I are not, I repeat, not a couple!"

"...BUT YOU WANTED TO BE, RIGHT?"

"What?! No! She and I have barely said a word to each other, and that was..." He paused to mouth some numbers before finally getting back to him. "Quite a few years now."

"YES...BUT SHE'S ROYALTY AND AN ALICORN. SO THAT MEANS YOU WANT TO GET TOGETHER WITH HER, CORRECT?" After Solaris failed to get anything other than a silent stare from him for a solid minute, he continued. "EVERYPONY KNOWS THAT ALICORN ROYALTY ARE THE MOST DESIRABLE TYPES OF PONY AROUND. TWILIGHT SHOULD BE GETTING SO MUCH ATTENTION THAT SHE WOULDN'T EVEN KNOW WHAT TO DO WITH IT. SO COME ON, SONNY, WHAT'S YOUR EXCUSE FOR NOT GETTING IN ON THAT?"

Slowly, Flash again facehoofed himself, keeping his eyes shut as he again spoke, albeit in a tone with barely-restrained tiredness. "Sir, with all due respect, somepony else being an alicorn doesn't mean I'm going to just drop what I'm doing to go and start a relationship with them. Nor does it mean I'm going to see them as the absolute pinnacle of somepony I might want to spend my life with."

"...I DON'T FOLLOW."

Before Flash could get another word in, he was stopped when Discord gently placed a paw upon his shoulder. "Don't bother, kid. His own daughters tried for centuries to get him to stop thinking of alicorns as better than everycreature else. So don't expect to do so today."

After a while, Flash sighed again. "Okay...starting to see why they haven't been back down here again since waking him up."

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"Nothing, Sir."

You all knew I'd have to do something like this eventually

"PUTTING FLASH'S LOVE LIFE ASIDE FOR THE MOMENT, I'D LIKE TO GET BACK TO THE MORE SERIOUS MATTER OF DISCORD'S PAST TRANSGRESSIONS. NAMELY HOW, WITHIN THE LAST FEW YEARS, THIS CITY, THE VERY HEART OF PONY SOCIETY, HAS BEEN INVADED NOT ONCE, BUT TWICE."

"Oh no, Sir," Flash corrected. "It's actually been attacked four times."

"...WHAT THE FLAPJACK? DID YOU THINK TO JUST LET THAT POINT SLIP, DISCORD?"

The draconequus raised his paws defensively. "Hey! Don't look to me this time, skeleton! I just caused two of those occupations!" He paused, then grimaced as he looked to the side. "Okay, that sounded less guilty in my head."

Flash shook his head to that, then looked to the king once more. "He's right Sir. Heck, he wasn't even responsible for the first attack the city faced. That honour goes to the Changelings."

"WHAT IN THE WIDE, WIDE WORLD OF EQUESTRIA IS A CHANGELING?"

Flash shrugged. "An insectoid, pony-like race who feast upon the energies caused by feelings of love. We don't exactly have a clear understanding of their origins. And even at the time they attacked we didn't even know they existed. So as you can imagine, it was quite a shock to be introduced to them that way."

"I'LL SAY. AND MORE TO THE POINT HOW DID THEY SUCCEED IN THEIR EFFORTS?"

"An infiltration," Flash explained. "As you've probably guessed from the name, they're shapeshifters. With that power, their leader, Queen Chrysalis, managed to get into Canterlot and replace Cadance, once of the alicorn princesses. Afterwards she manipulated Cadance's then-fiancé, Captain Shining Armour, who was largely responsible for the city's defence. At their sham of a wedding the shield was broken and the swarm attacked."

"A WHOLESALE INVASION. WERE YOU INVOLVED IN THE FIGHTING?"

Flash's expression was a serious one, clearly thinking back to that dark time. "I did. In fact I'd just been officially inducted into the Guard that very day. I wasn't attending the wedding of course, veterans only and all that, but I was down in the barracks trying out my new uniform. Before I knew what was going on, these weird bugs came bursting in and trying to get us all rounded up." The stallion smiled. "Thankfully, I wasn't totally helpless..." He looked down to his hoof. "Managed to give one of them a good shiner before I was overwhelmed."

"GOOD LAD. I HOPE THERE WEREN'T TOO MANY CASUALTIES IN THE REST OF THE CITY?"

Flash shook his head. "None, thankfully. There was certainly a lot of ponies captured and held prisoner by the invaders, but no harm was done, thanks to the Captain."

"OH? HE WAS ABLE TO OVERCOME THE QUEEN'S INFLUENCE THEN?"

"Yes, but not without the help of his beloved. Cadance had been freed thanks to Twilight Sparkle, and together their love was able to reignite the shield and repel the invaders."

"HOLD UP. THESE CREATURES, WHO FEED UPON LOVE, WERE DRIVEN OUT BY A MAGIC THAT WAS FUELLED...BY LOVE?"

Flash paused, glanced to Discord, then fumbled his words a bit before answering. "Well...yes?"

"...HOW DOES THAT MAKE SENSE?"

"With respect, Sir, I stopped trying to figure out how magic makes sense a long time ago."

"Probably for the best, given the limited capacity of non-magical folk to understand such powers," Discord remarked with a grin, taking delight in Flash's look of annoyance afterwards.

"I VERY MUCH HOPE THAT WAS THE LAST EQUESTRIA HAD TO DO WITH THEM," Solaris added, getting the conversation back on track.

Flash sighed. "Afraid not, Sir. There was another attempt at infiltration and conquest, but it was several years later. But, as before, Chrysalis was defeated and Equestria was saved from her evil plans."

Discord puffed out his chest somewhat. "With a little help from yours truly and his sidekicks." He saw Flash giving him some side-eye, causing him to roll his own eyes. "Okay, fine, one of you ponies led and I followed. Happy?"

Flash didn't answer him, instead just smirking briefly over his minor victory over the chaos spirit before getting back to the ancient alicorn. "After that second victory, however, there came real change for their people."

"APPROPRIATE, GIVEN THAT THEYR'E CALLED CHANGELINGS AND ALL."

"One of their number, Thorax, had actually befriended us ponies some time prior to the second plot. And through him, other Changelings were convinced to turn against the ways of Chrysalis, thus leading to a radical transformation of both them and their entire society. Chrysalis was deposed, replaced as leader by Thorax, and the Changelings became our good friends afterwards."

"FROM BITTER ENEMIES TO CLOSE ALLIES? THAT'S SOME SURPRISINGLY SUCCESSFUL WISHFUL THINKING RIGHT THERE."

"Believe it, old friend," Discord interrupted. "Like me, they turned over a new leaf. Thankfully, I never took on a whole new colour scheme when I defected. Ugh, so garish."

"I dunno, I think the new look suits them," Flash countered.

"Pfft! You ponies always do. All that bright colour obsession you always have."

Before Flash could respond, Solaris spoke. "AND THE QUEEN? WHAT OF HER?"

Flash said nothing for a time, looking deep in thought and even looking back to Discord for a moment. The latter regained his look of guilt, not meeting Flash's gaze, and soon enough the guard finally spoke. "She continued to cause problems, even banding together with other defeated villains. But in the end, thanks in no small part to her former subjects coming to our aid against her, she was vanquished for a third time, along with her allies. Now, she stands as a statue, just as Discord once was, and I doubt we'll see her troubling us again in our lifetime."

"GLAD TO HEAR IT. THE LAST THING I NEED IS TO HEAR THAT MY PEOPLE ARE UNDER SEIGE FROM A HORDE OF HUNGRY BUGS."

Flash smiled. "Agreed. And I must say the Changeling Empire has been a staunch friend to us since their turn."

"EMPIRE? SO THIS THORAX STYLES HIMSELF AS AN EMPEROR?"

"No, Sir. As a king, like yourself."

"...THEN IT'S A CHANGELING KINGDOM THEN, NOT AN EMPIRE. IF THEY'RE GOING TO BE A NEW AND IMPROVED NATION BY OUR SIDE THEN THE LEAST THEY CAN DO IS GET THE PROPER NAMING CONVENTIONS. WE SHOULD SEND SOMEPONY UP THERE TO CORRECT THEM."

"That...might cause some diplomatic issues, Sir."

"IF THEY COMPLAIN, JUST REMIND THEM THAT WE NEVER OCCUPIED THEIR CAPITAL. THAT'LL SHUT THEM UP."

"You're...not really one for letting things be, are you, Sir?"

"DON'T SASS ME, KID. ONLY ONE OF US IS IMMORTAL."

"Message received loud and clear, Sir."

"Well, as fun as it's been to catch up, I'm afraid I must depart for now," Discord declared with feigned unhappiness.

"OH? GOING TO CAUSE SOME MORE PROBLEMS FOR PONIES?"

"No. If you must know, I have a tea appointment to keep, and I do not miss those. So..." He smirked as he readied his fingers for snapping. "Toodles!"

As promised, he willed himself away from the chamber, leaving only Solaris, Flash and the as-yet unnamed and silent guard in the corner. "AS GLAD AS I AM THAT HE'S NO LONGER AN ENEMY, I DO CONFESS TO BEING FAR MORE AT EASE WITH HIM NOT BEING HERE."

"Preaching to the choir on that one, Sir," Flash concurred.

"IN ANY CASE, I STILL NEED TO KNOW WHAT CHALLENGES OUR NEW PRINCESS HAS HAD TO FACE OVER THE YEARS. KNOWING CELESTIA, I SUSPECT SHE MADE IT A POINT TO KEEP HER NICE AND BUSY AS SHE WAS PREPARED FOR HER GRAND ROLE."

"Well, let it never be said you can't be right about some things, Father." All eyes turned to see that the chamber suddenly had a new occupant. The former Princess of the Moon, Luna, whose arrival caused Flash to bow in her presence. Luna, for her part, gave the guard a smile and a nod as she passed him, before eventually standing before her parent. "I hope you're keeping well."

"ABOUT AS WELL AS CAN BE EXPECTED FOR ONE WHO WAS DITCHED BY HIS CHILDREN."

"Father, with all due respect, you can be a bit much sometimes. You can't blame me and Celestia for wanting to take a break from you."

"YOU HAD OVER A THOUSAND YEAR BREAK FROM ME! HOW MUCH MORE COULD YOU NEED?!"

Luna frowned. "Well, I'm here now. Isn't that what matters?"

"...WHERE IS YOUR SISTER?"

Luna knew he was suspicious of her arrival, and so, knowing there was no getting around it, she sighed before answering. "We flipped a coin to decide who was coming down...and I lost."

"YEP, THOUGHT AS MUCH."

"Don't get us wrong, we love that you're back in our lives, but some of your views were...a struggle to deal with."

"MY VIEWS WERE ALL IN AID OF PONYKIND AND THEIR DEVELOPMENT. AND HAD MY PLANS GONE OFF WITHOUT A HITCH WE'D ALL BE IN A BETTER WORLD RIGHT NOW. RIGHT, FLASH?"

Flash winced. "Oh, please don't drag me into this," he whispered to himself.

Luna, perhaps recognising the pegasi's discomfort, carried on without his input. "Father, I realise you had the best of intentions, but there were several positions that, in hindsight, weren't actually to the benefit of ponykind."

"I FIND THAT HARD TO BELIEVE. ESPECIALLY SINCE EVERYTHING SEEMS TO HAVE GONE AWRY SINCE MY DEPARTURE."

Luna was undoubtedly doing her best to appear unoffended at that, and after taking a deep breath, she resumed speaking. "Father...let us take the issue of dark magic, for instance. Both of us, and Celestia too, recognized it right from the start as a problem that needed dealing with. Ponies and other creatures frequently delved into its temptations and became a problem, and all of us sought to ensure that Equestria's future would be free of it."

"YES, AND HAD ALL PONIES ADHERED TO MY PLANS, THAT'S EXACTLY WHAT WE'D HAVE HAD."

"Yes, your plan," Luna mused. "You refer to the plan to not only, eliminate all dark magic within the mortal realm, but to ensure that future generations would grow up never knowing that such powers even existed? To forever keep them, if you'll pardon the phrase, in the dark about it? The idea being that they'd never seek it if they didn't know of it?"

"CORRECT."

"Well...you were inadvertently making the problem even worse."

"...COME AGAIN?"

"You see, despite your best efforts, dark magic persisted in our world. And by keeping ponies ignorant of it, you also kept them ignorant of what to do when faced with it. After all, one cannot defend against a foe they know nothing about."

"SURELY PONIES HAVE ENOUGH BRAINS TO RECOGNISE WHEN THEY'RE FACE-TO-FACE WITH THAT WHICH THEY SHOULD NOT TRY TO PARTAKE IN?"

"You'd think so, but if they, say, knew in advance that getting involved in such damaging power was bad for them and those around them, then at least we'd have our bases covered. As opposed to staying quiet and just hoping they wouldn't make the wrong choice because they didn't know that choice was there."

"SHALL I ASSUME THEN THAT PONIES HAVE INDEED INVOVLED THEMSELVES WITH THOSE RUINOUS POWERS OVER THE YEARS?"

"Sadly, yes. And as your custodian will have undoubtedly informed you..." The younger sister glanced to Flash, who looked away with further discomfort, before again addressing her father. "I myself was among those unfortunate enough to make that choice."

"I WAS WONDERING IF YOU WERE GOING TO BRING THAT UP. WHAT IN THE WORLD COULD HAVE DRIVEN YOU TO TURN TO SUCH DARK POWER, MY CHILD?"

Luna, at first, looked very uncomfortable, but then steeled herself before frowning at the skeleton. "Don't underestimate the damage one can do to themselves when feelings of jealousy or insecurity are allowed to fester."

"...A FAIR POINT, MY DAUGHTER. I AM SIMPLY GLAD THAT YOU MANAGED TO MAKE IT OUT THE OTHER SIDE."

Though slightly taken aback by his words, the mare eventually smiled, albeit with a small one. "Thank you, Father."

The mood was pleasant after that, and even Flash, who had taken to trying to avoid interfering with this father-daughter conversation, finally spoke up. "I wish I could say we ordinary ponies would have resisted such temptations, but I suppose it's inevitable that we'd make poor choices."

"NOTHING IS INEVITABLE, MY BOY. ALL HAVE THE CAPACITY FOR GOOD AND ILL WITHIN THEM, AND FOR THE MOST PART YOU PONIES SEEM TO HAVE CHOSEN THE FORMER. THOUGH I STILL QUESTION SOME OF YOUR CHOICE OF ALLIES." Before anypony else could speak, another flash caught them off-guard, revealing the now-returned Discord, who looked more than a little peeved. "WELL, SPEAK OF THE DEVIL," Solaris remarked.

"Hmph," Discord replied. "Seems my bestie is a little busy at the moment. She and Twilight had some scheduled get-together that I, unfortunately, was not informed of."

Flash looked to him with interest. "The Princess was with her?"

"It would appear so. So, when Fluttershy said she was busy, I thought it best to just pop back here, after telling her where I was going of course. Don't want her worrying where I'm zipping off to after all."

A silence followed, and both Luna and Flash looked to one another before again regarding Discord. "So...Twilight knows where you are? Who you're speaking to?" Luna asked.

Discord arched an eyebrow. "Yes? Why?" Then, realisation slowly came to him, and he looked to the side, to Solaris. "...Oh. Oh!"

"WHAT? WHAT IS IT?"

Then, before anypony else could say a word, a sound could be heard. Something that, to begin with, was distant. But as the seconds passed, it became louder and louder, eventually being recognised as the sound of galloping hooves. All turned their attention to the doors of the chamber, and within moments they burst open, with a lavender blur zipping past all of them and halting right in front of the ancient king's bony face. And here, the former ruler of Equestria found himself staring into the wide and enthusiastic eyes of a very excited-looking alicorn mare. "How long ago did you rule?! What was Celestia like as a child?! Do you still have magic?! What can you tell us of Equestria's ancient enemies?! Tell me everything!"

After blinking to this, Flash cleared his throat, taking a step forward before speaking up in his more professional tone. "Um...King Solaris? Allow me to introduce Princess Twilight Sparkle."

"...HELLO."

Discord being bored was nothing new, but having him actually show some measure of restraint definitely was. Leaning against the wall outside Solaris' chamber, the ancient draconequus contented himself by playing with a simple ball-in-a-cup toy, missing the mark several times. Of course, Discord, being Discord, naturally tried to spice things up by making the ball part of the toy look exactly like Solaris' head, which led to a smile on his part. But, as always, even this began to grow tiresome to him, and he vanished the thing without even bothering to snap his fingers this time. However, this proved to be good timing on his part, as the doors of the chamber opened, revealing not only Princess Luna, but Flash as well, both of whom closed the doors behind them, leading to some understandable curiosity on Discord's part. "So, how's the old king coping with Equestria's latest ruler?" he asked with a smirk.

Flash sighed. "Well, as you'd probably expect, Princess Twilight hasn't stopped since she got there. Solaris is answering best he can, but there's no telling when Equestria's longest interrogation is going to end."

Luna looked to him with interest. "Don't you mean interview?"

Flash didn't look at her, instead maintaining a deadpan expression. "I know what I said."

Discord chuckled. "One almost feels sorry for the stallion." Then, he squinted. "Almost."

Luna glanced over her shoulder, to the doors. "Doubtless my Father will provide our young friend with a wealth of information. Unlike Celestia, he was never really one to withhold knowledge until the right time."

Folding his arms, Discord looked to her with scepticism. "You mean he just blurts out whatever comes to mind?"

"...More or less, yes," Luna admitted. They all had a brief laugh together over that, but when it was over the mare of the night looked over to Flash. "I hope he hasn't been too much for you to deal with, Sir Sentry. I know Father isn't the easiest pony in the world to like."

Flash considered that, thinking on his response for a moment before finally answering. "I'll admit, it can get stressful at times." He frowned to her. "Especially given the likely reason I was assigned to him to begin with."

Luna, realising she'd been outed, at least had the good sense to look embarrassed. "Yes. And for that I must apologise. Celestia and I were so eager to get him back we...well..."

"Forgot how much of a headache he is?" Discord finished for her.

Luna glowered at him, then relented. "A not-inaccurate description of him." Again, she looked to Flash. "And I realise too that your selection was simply us rushing to find somepony to stay by his side while we made our escape. And for that, I admit to hoisting a truly unwarranted position to you."

Flash knew she was being sincere, and so his earlier irritation began to cool, his expression softening. "It's fine, really. Your Dad might be a bit of a hoof-full, but he's still an important figure in Equestria. And I'd be remiss in my duties if I wasn't at least willing to guard him."

Luna smiled to that, but Discord was unimpressed, scoffing from the side. "Oh please, as if cadet like you could actually do anything he couldn't do himself. He's an alicorn, I'll remind you. An old and skelefied one, granted, but still..."

"Lieutenant," Flash stated.

Discord looked to him with confusion. "Pardon?"

"It's Lieutenant Flash, not Cadet."

In response, Discord rolled his eyes. "Oh, lah-dee-dah! What, did you get promoted for holding the record for longest time standing by the throne in silence or something?"

Flash frowned. "No. I got it after a mission escorting visiting dignitaries back to their homeland. There was an incident involving a Cragadile and me and my unit had to deal with the beast for our charges to get home safely."

Discord blinked, then looked to him with renewed interest. "Hold up. Do you mean to tell me that you, Flash Sentry, have actually seen battle?"

Luna smiled to him, chiming in on the matter. "It may surprise you, old friend, but the Royal Guard are recruited for their ability to guard."

"Or did you think we simply led the lives of gold-plated shelf ornaments this whole time?" Flash asked with similar amusement.

Discord looked away with a huff, but that mood changed instantly when, at the other end of the hallway, all three sets of eyes could see the arrival of a familiar face. A small, purple dragon, hovering over to them with what could only be described as a look of frustration. Once he reached them, he set himself down, looking to the massive doors and then the odd collection standing beside it. "Let me guess...she got told somepony really magical, ancient or knowledgeable was behind these doors and just rushed on in, right?" After a collective nod from the three, the young dragon sighed, rubbing his temples before, in a move that stunned the onlookers, walked on in without even so much as looking daunted by the matter.

Now alone again, the three looked to one another, definitely surprised by their newest visitor. "Well...if we wanted your father to be convinced by the Princess' efforts to unite ponies with other races, I'd say we couldn't have asked for a better first example," Flash reasoned.

Luna's smile returned. "Indeed. And it's nice to see him attend to his duties so diligently. We can't have Equestria's leader down here spending her time asking questions of my Father all day after all."

As if the universe itself wanted to prove her right, the doors again opened, and all looked on to the rather intriguing sight of Spike walking back out, this time holding onto Twilight's tail, which he put all his strength into dragging behind him, with the attached alicorn doing her best to claw her way back inside. "No! Stop! I've only asked ten percent of my questions! There's so much I need to knohohohohow!" she whined.

But Spike continued, undeterred, getting his lifelong friend to go back with him whether she liked it or not. As for the rest, they simply had no idea what to make of all that, and so elected to just go back inside the king's chamber, wherein they looked up to him and, despite the lack of any kind of flesh on his face, realised immediately that he was feeling utterly taken aback by the visit. "WELL, SHE WAS...INTERESTING."

Luna giggled. "Oh Father, you have no idea."

"SO, THAT'S WHAT A MODERN-DAY EQUESTRIAN LEADER LOOKS LIKE, EH?"

"In all fairness, Father, Princess Twilight is usually far more professional than that. She just...gets excited sometimes. Especially about anything concerning my sister," Luna explained.

"SO I GATHERED. I DON'T THINK I'VE EVER ENCOUNTERED A PONY WHO WAS THAT ENTHUSIASTIC ABOUT FINDING OUT MORE ABOUT HER."

Luna shrugged. "Well, she was her student and mentor for much of her life. It's hardly surprising."

Flash nodded in agreement before looking to Solaris. "I trust you were able to answer her questions?"

"AS WELL AS I COULD. THOUGH I ADMIT I STUMBLED ON THINGS I'M STILL NOT UP-TO-DATE ON."

Discord raised an eyebrow. "Oh? Like what?"

"LIKE THESE WONDERBOLT PONIES I HEARD HER MENTION."

"Why would the princess ask about them?" Flash enquired. "Surely she knows they weren't around in your time?"

"OH, SHE DID. SHE WAS JUST CURIOUS IF I HAD SOMETHING SIMILAR IN MY DAY. WHICH I CAN SAFELY SAY THAT I DID NOT. BUT REGARDLESS, WHO ARE THEY AND WHY ARE THEY SUCH A BIG DEAL?"

Stepping forward, Flash cleared his throat, ready to get back into his job. "Well, Sir, it all began a thousand years ago, back when...er..." He stopped, glancing nervously to Luna, before making sure to phrase his response appropriately. "It was during a time when the nation had gone through a...difficult time."

Luna sighed. "He refers to my exile, Father."

Flash winced, afraid he'd offended her, but a quick look of reassurance from the princess told him otherwise, allowing him to continue. "Yes...basically, since Equestria only had one princess left to defend it, it was decided that a new, supplementary defence force needed to be established. Enter the Wonderbolts, a collection of ponykind's greatest fliers. They were brought together and quickly established themselves as an effective quick-response against whatever dangers reared their ugly heads in those early years of Celestia's time as sole ruler."

"I SEE," Solaris responded, clearly intrigued. "AND DO THEY STILL SERVE AS ABLY TODAY?"

Flash considered that before giving a shrug of his own. "Actually, Sir, it would be a stretch to say that they do. Equestria has been through such a long period of uninterrupted peace in the latter part of Celestia's reign that the Wonderbolts have just had less and less reason to do any fighting. These days they simply style themselves as a group of renowned aerial acrobats, flying higher, faster and more capably than any other pegasi."

"SO THEY'RE ONLY THERE FOR SHOW? THEY DON'T DO ANYTHING USEFUL?"

Discord snorted. "Not if their more recent efforts at being heroes are any indication. Just ask our dear Spike."

"I wouldn't say that, exactly," Flash remarked, making sure to narrow his eyes to the draconequus before resuming his answer to Solaris. "Many a pegasi colt and filly have grown up with stories about them, often dreaming about maybe joining their ranks. They're a group that inspires young fliers, and inspiration can be pretty good in and of itself."

"WERE YOU SUCH A COLT, SENTRY?"

Flash bore a nostalgic smile as he answered. "I confess, I was. Standard story, me going with my parents to a Wonderbolts show, then obsessing over joining up once I was old enough." Another shrug from him. "But, when the entry tests came along, I guess I just didn't make the cut."

Discord chuckled. "Oh dear, so being in the Guard was your second choice? How disappointing for you."

Flash frowned to him. "I wouldn't trade my career here in Canterlot for anything. I've done good in the Guard and I'm happy with how my life turned out. As hard as this may be to grasp, Discord, few childhood dreams ever become the reality those children want. We feel the disappointment, and we move on. To linger wouldn't do anypony any good at all."

Luna nodded firmly. "Well said, Sir Sentry."

Discord, clearly irritated at not being able to give similar annoyance to Flash, just grumbled to himself for a bit, leaving the floor open for Solaris. "ANYTHING ELSE YOU CAN TELL ME ABOUT THEM?"

Flash paused, scratching the side of his head for a moment before finally speaking. "Um...they all have blue uniforms?"

"GOOD TO KNOW. HENCEFORTH I SHALL CALL THEM THE BLUEBERRIES."

"...Why?" his custodian asked.

"BECAUSE IT'S HILARIOUS TO ME TO DO SO."

"Alright then, Sir," Flash answered, clearly just going along with it, much to Luna's amusement.

"YOUR DESCRIPTION OF THEM INTRIGUES ME. IF THEY ARE HEROES TO THE NATION, LET'S NOT HAVE THEM REST ON THEIR REPUTATION, SHALL WE? DAUGHTER, SOME PARCHMENT AND QUILL, IF YOU WOULD."

Luna sighed, looking like she knew where this was going, and after igniting her horn she did indeed conjure up the requested items, hovering them in front of her before looking up to have father's bony face. "Ready when you are."

"AHEM...TO THE DISTINGUISHED LEADER OF THE WONDERBOLTS. I, KING SOLARIS, ONE-TIME RULER OF EQUESTRIA, DO HEREBY GIVE UNTO YOU A SACRED QUEST. YOU AND YOUR BEST PEGASI ARE TO SALLY FORTH AND RETRIEVE THE GOLDEN EGG OF A ROC. DO NOT ASK FOR THE REASON, AND KNOW ONLY THAT EQUESTRIA WILL MARVEL AT YOUR COURAGE AND ABILITY SHOULD YOU SUCCEED."

Luna looked to him sceptically. "Anything else? Maybe snatch a precious gem from the biggest, angriest dragon in the world while they're at it?"

"NO, THE EGG WILL DO FOR NOW," Solaris replied, recognising her sarcasm instantly.

Shaking her head, Luna lit up her horn, causing the parchment to be teleported away, presumably to the Wonderbolt leader, all while Flash looked on with understandable confusion. "Er...what?"

Luna looked to him softly. "Oh, don't mind him. My Father just liked to do this sometimes. Find ponies who have big, important reputations and see if they're worth it. Setting them off on dangerous quests and such."

"IF ONE IS REGARDED AS A HERO, THEY SHOULD JOLLY-WELL SHOW IT. IF THESE WONDERBOLTS FAIL, AS YOUR REPORTS OF THEIR RECENT LACKLUSTRE PERFORMANCE SUGGESTS THEY MIGHT, THEN AT THE VERY LEAST IT MIGHT MAKE THEM REALISE THAT THEY NEED TO UP THEIR GAME."

Flash looked uncertain about that, but before he had a chance to speak up about it, all were surprised to find another small teleportation spell right in the middle of them, wherein another roll of parchment appeared. Taking hold of it in her own magic, Luna opened it and lightly skimmed it, after which she developed a rather satisfied look about herself. "Well...seems they succeeded."

"...WHAT?"

"The Wonderbolts," Luna explained. "Seems they went out as you requested and actually acquired the egg. They'll be sending it over later today."

"HOLD UP, I THOUGHT YOU SAID THEY HAVEN'T BEEN SUCCESSFUL AT ANYTHING LATELY?"

Flash started to look a bit embarrassed. "Oh. Right. Yeah, I should probably have mentioned that one of their members is Rainbow Dash, one of Princess Twilight's friends who helped her save Equestria. So...yeah, they're probably more capable these days."

"...NEXT TIME, TELL ME THAT BEFORE I SEND PONIES ON SURE-TO-FAIL TASKS."

"SO TELL ME THEN, GIVEN THAT THESE APPARENTLY VERY CAPABLE WONDERBOLTS ARE ONLY RECENTLY GETTING BACK INTO THE SWING OF THINGS, I ASSUME THAT MEANS A GOOD CHUNK OF MY TIME AWAY FROM RULING HAS BEEN QUIET?"

"Massively, Sir," Flash confirmed. "In fact, I daresay that the time under your daughters was probably the longest period of peace and quiet in Equestria's history."

Luna frowned to him. "More Celestia than me, if you'll recall."

Flash cleared his throat nervously. "Yes. But regardless, most ponies nowadays will have grown up during a time when they never really needed to worry about anything."

"A boring time all around," Discord added, much to the chagrin of the other two.

Solaris, meanwhile, was intrigued. "A FAR CRY FROM THE EQUESTRIA I REMEMBERED THEN. BACK THEN YOU COULDN'T GO A SINGLE DAY WITHOUT SOME BIG DANGER THAT NEEDED MY ATTENTION. HYDRAS, DRAGONS, SOME FOUL SORCERER, THAT SORT OF THING. THE LAND, THE WORLD, WAS DANGEROUS, AND PONIES WERE UNDER NEAR-CONSTANT THREAT."

Luna smiled to him. "Well, Father, I'm happy to report that's no longer the case."

Discord chuckled. "Well, unless you count all the myriad threats that have sprung up recently that our dear Twilight has had to face off against." A smirk came to him. "Yours truly, for example," he finished, not without some small measure of pride in doing so.

Flash looked to him with disapproval. "Not something you should be happy about, Discord."

But the ancient draconequus waved him off. "Oh pfft! Let me have my fun! I'd been stuck as a statue for a thousand years, remember? You can't blame me for wanting to have a little fun after all that, right?" Seeing the scowls from both Flash and Luna, he relented a little. "Okay, fine, maybe I did go somewhat overboard with it all."

"SOUNDS ABOUT RIGHT FOR YOU," Solaris added.

Discord looked to him, naturally unhappy with the remark. "But it still proves my point. You talk of Equestria no longer being dangerous, but by my count the ponies have had nothing but danger after danger these past few years." He tapped his chin. "Almost as if the world was just waiting for Twilight to set off for Ponyville before deciding to go crazy. Weird, huh?"

Luna shook her head at him. "Twilight is not the only princess who has had to deal with dangers in her time. You'll recall that Celestia and I not only had to battle you, but Sombra as well."

Discord laughed to that. "Oh, and a wonderful job you did of that too! Two threats gone! Except, oh no! They weren't gone, were they? It all came back and, yet again, Twilight had to finish off the mess left behind."

Flash knew that what he was considering wasn't going to win him any favours, but even so he knew he had to voice his own thoughts on the matter. "Princess...he's not wrong." After seeing the mare look to him with surprise, he continued. "A lot of threats might have been defeated back in ancient times, but none of them ever stayed defeated. Sombra, Tirek, Discord, the Pony of Shadows, the list goes on. It really does seem that, whenever heroes of the past fought an enemy of Equestria, the most they could ever do was figuratively stuff it in a box, write 'do not open' on it and then walk away hoping nopony opens it."

Discord pointed to him. "See? This guy gets it."

Flash shot him a look, then softened as he turned to Luna again. "I mean no disrespect, but the fact that so many of what Princess Twilight has had to face was some evil of the past...it's not something we can ignore."

Luna clearly wanted to say something to refute that point, but after what appeared to be a full minute of thinking, she sighed, giving a slow nod. "Flash...you're not wrong. I wish I could say that Tia and I did as well as we could have done...but clearly it wasn't enough."

Flash, realising he'd brought the whole mood of the room down, considered what to say or do for a moment. Then, he smiled and, in a move far more forward than most of the guard, stepped towards her and placed his hoof upon her shoulder to gain her attention. "It wasn't for nothing. You and your sister? You gave us a millennium of peace. That's not nothing, and it's a feat that me and everypony else will be eternally grateful for."

Luna looked to him, taken aback by his gentle words, but like him she too smiled after a while, giving an appreciative look to the stallion. "Thank you, I...thank you."

"WELL, ISN'T THAT SWEET? BUT IT REALLY DOES PROVE MY POINT FROM CENTURIES AGO, DAUGHTER."

Luna facehoofed. "Oh no, here we go again."

"YOU SHOULD JUST EXECUTE YOUR FOES, AS I ALWAYS DID."

Flash looked to him with shock. "You...you killed them?!"

"IT WAS A DIFFERENT TIME. FORGIVENESS AND RECONCILIATION WEREN'T AN OPTION. ONE HAD TO BE RUTHLESS AND DIRECT TO PROTECT ONE'S OWN BACK THEN."

Luna looked to Flash, her face one of clear discomfort. "You'll recall, Flash, how even my sister and I often tried to vanquish our foes instead of reconcile with them in those far-off days." Then, her mood became more serious, and she narrowed her eyes at father. "Maybe it was necessary to be ruthless back then, but you probably went too far in making yourself ruthless, Father."

"FEELINGS LIKE UNCERTAINTY AND SYMPATHY FOR THOSE TERRIBLE ENEMIES WOULD'VE GOTTEN MY SUBJECTS KILLED. I HAD EVERY RIGHT TO CAST THEM OUT OF ME."

"You...you what?" Flash asked.

Looking to him, Luna explained. "My Father, in an effort to make himself into a stalwart protector of ponykind, exorcised many of his own personality traits. Traits he considered detrimental to his work. In essence, he carved out a piece of his very soul and discarded it."

"That's...that's insane!" Flash declared.

"Indeed," Luna agreed, with appropriate tiredness in her voice.

Flash paused, thinking on that. "But...where is it? That piece you threw away?"

"NOT SURE, ACTUALLY. NOTHING LIKE THAT EVER STAYS GONE FOREVER, SO MAYBE IT GOT ITSELF BORN AGAIN SOMEWHERE DOWN THE LINE. SO HEY, IF YOU EVER COME ACROSS A PONY WHO SEEMS LIKE THE EMBODIMENT OF GENTLENESS, CARE AND KINDNESS, YOU LET ME KNOW."

Now, Solaris might have expected something along the lines of a witty retort from Discord over that, but what he wasn't expecting was for those three before him to suddenly look stunned and almost worried, looking to one another and knowing they all thought the exact same thing. "You...you don't think...?" Flash began.

"No...no, total coincidence, has to be," Luna added.

"It would certainly put my relationship to her in a new and uncomfortable light," Discord said with a grimace.

Luna tapped her chin. "Though it would explain why she was resistance to your manipulations when you two first met."

"And why Princess Celestia had such a good feeling about her being the one to bring you into the fold," Flash speculated.

Discord slapped his paws over his own ears. "Ugh! Stop! That's all I'm going to be able to think about now!

"WHAT ARE YOU THREE BABBLING ABOUT?"

After again glancing to one another, the three had no real idea how to respond, so Flash, stepping forward, answered the king in possibly the least-convincing manner imaginable. "...Nothing?"

"Okay, can we just go back to that sort of important point?" Flash began. "You took out a piece of your soul...your own soul?! That's...that's not something ponies can typically do, your highness!"

Luna smiled to him. "It might have caught your notice, Flash, but my Father is hardly an ordinary pony."

Flash sighed. "Oh, no questions there, Princess. He's powerful, he's royal, he's an alicorn, and he's ancient beyond reckoning." He paused, then added one. "Oh, and he's also currently a talking skeleton, so there's that." After letting his own words sink in, he looked to the king with an apologetic expression. "No offense."

"NONE TAKEN," Solaris responded. "BUT MY DAUGHTER WAS NOT REFERRING MERELY TO THOSE POINTS, BUT TO A MORE...SUBSTANTIVE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN MYSELF AND OTHER PONIES."

Discord chuckled. "The same thing that makes me different from you ponies really."

Flash looked to one and the other, clearly confused by what they were suggesting, so it eventually fell to Luna, who placed a hoof upon the guard's shoulder before speaking gently to him. "My Father is, well...he's a Greater Power. One of a select few who stand above all other beings in this world."

Slowly, Flash's eyes widened, and he was clearly shocked to have heard that, his attention darting back to the enthroned king. "You...you're a god?!"

"I DON'T LIKE THAT WORD, BUT SURE, I GUESS THAT'S A GOOD COMPARISON FOR A PONY LIKE YOU TO UNDERSTAND. SMALL G THOUGH." After seeing Flash arch an eyebrow to him, Solaris continued. "YES, I KNOW THIS SPEECH DEVICE MAKES IT IMPOSSIBLE FOR ME TO ACTUALLY USE SMALL G'S, BUT THE POINT STILL STANDS."

Again, it was upon Luna to elaborate. "There are, as you probably suspect, great forces in our world. And there are those that are born as representatives and embodiments of those forces. Powerful, immortal, for all intents and purposes you were right in your initial description. But they are not, nor require, to be worshipped by mortal peoples as a deity might."

Flash, clearly struggling to absorb all this, took a moment to gather his thoughts as best he could, then finally got some words out. "Okay, so...what kinds of beings are we talking about here?"

Luna gave him a nod. "You'll have likely heard of more than a few of them, especially in recent years. And all of them exist as a result of not only inevitable forces within our world, but also the feelings, thoughts and emotions of those who live within that world."

Discord stepped forward, chiming in. "And something you need to know right here and now is that they embody all of those aspects, even the parts we don't like to think about." He smirked. "For instance, the Pony of Shadows comes across as this big, malevolent monster from a child's story book, but that's because he embodies something all mortals, whether they want to admit it or not, have felt. Resentment." He started counting off his fingers. "If you've ever felt abandoned by others, unappreciated by them, or just generally felt that the world was unfair, then boom! You've seen a big ole load of fuel for that shadow."

Flash frowned. "But I thought the Pony of Shadows was just that unicorn, Stygian, letting himself get corrupted by dark magic or something."

Discord waggled his finger in front of him. "Nope! Wrongo! You see, my lad, the Greater Powers often can't exist in the physical world the way you do...unless somecreature gives them a chance. Like, say, an unhappy stallion who'd just been rejected by his friends. He opened his heart and soul to those bitter feelings and, well, the rest is history."

"A grim prospect," Flash mused.

Luna nodded in agreement. "Indeed. But..." she continued, starting to smile. "That same way into our world was how we got the power that later took on the name of the Tree of Harmony."

That admission caught Flash's interest instantly. "The Tree? Where the Elements of Harmony are?" He grimaced. "Or...were, I suppose."

"Quite," Luna concurred. "That power took form in our realm when my mentor, Starswirl, and the heroic Pillars planted that seed into the ground. And as the name suggests, it is the embodiment of harmony. When peoples work together, when they cooperate, when they befriend one another, be they ponies or dragons or yaks or anycreature else, it grew and strengthened, eventually yielding the fruit of those friendships."

"The Elements," Flash put together himself.

Luna smiled to him again. "Correct. And you needn't concern yourself with the Tree's fall, Flash. The power remains, as does it's purpose. The form may be gone, but what was important about it still acts upon the world, always growing with every friendship formed."

Flash thought on that. "But...the Tree was just a, well, tree. It wasn't a thinking, speaking being like the Pony of Shadows...was it?"

A mischievous look came to the moon princess. "I have visited the dreams of many of the young, my friend. You'd be surprised."

Though Flash definitely wanted to ask further about that, he also knew there were other, more pressing questions to ask right now. "Any others out there I need to know about? Or worry about, even?"

"PROBABLY. HAVE YOU HEARD THE STORY OF THE WINDIGOS?"

Flash shrugged. "Who hasn't? They're the monsters from the story of the very founding of Equestria. And all of us got a good reminder of how real they are recently."

Discord, appropriately, looked embarrassed after that remark, but said nothing as Solaris continued speaking. "WELL, THEIR PURPOSE IN OUR WORLD IS FAR MORE UNPLEASANT THAN THE TREE, BUT IT IS JUST AS INEVITABLE. THEY ARE THE COLD BITTERNESS OF ISOLATION. THEY ARE THE HARM ONE INFLICTS UPON THEMSELVES AND THOSE AROUND THEM WHEN THEY DRIVE OTHERS AWAY AND CONSIDER ONLY THEIR OWN INTERESTS."

Luna again added her voice to the matter. "If the Tree of Harmony is the warmth and light of friendship, then the Windigos are the dark and cold of what remains when those friendships end."

Flash nodded slowly, accepting that. "Let's hope we never have to face them again."

Discord finally spoke up, his tone one of amusement. "Small chance of that, m'lad. Like everyone we've talked about, these forces will always be there. They may be diminished, even forgotten about entirely, but they'll always be there, waiting, lingering on the edge of the world and in people's minds, looking for the right opportunity, the right opening, to make their comeback."

It wasn't a pleasant thought, but it was one that drew Flash's attention to Discord. "And you? You say you're one of these Greater Powers?"

In typical Discord fashion, he gave a sweeping and theatrical bow to the stallion. "Indeed, my good Sentry."

Flash looked to him sceptically. "And what do you represent? Chaos, I'm assuming?"

Another laugh from the draconequus. "Oh, far more than that. You know the old saying, variety is the spice of life? Well, that's me! I'm that special ingredient in the world that makes life interesting and fun. You're welcome."

Immediately, Discord got himself a psychically-created hoof slapping him at the back of the head, followed shortly by the monotone, yet still irritated, voice of Solaris. "STOP MAKING YOURSELF SOUND BETTER THAN YOU ARE."

Discord grumbled for a bit, then sighed. "Okay, fine, if you want me to be boring about it!" Folding his arms, he looked to Flash again. "I'm the embodiment of just how impossible it is to control the world and one's own life. You may make all the plans and contingencies in the world but in the end there will always be things unaccounted for that throw a wrench into the works. Maybe it'll result in something good, maybe something bad instead, it's a total coin-flip. But in the end, it's a force that nocreature will ever be truly rid of." His smile returned. "Twilight making intricate schemes to win at trivia trot? Enter Pinkie, the unexpected and unaccounted-for to turn the event upside down and make Twilight realise her own faults. And that's just one example." He stepped closer to Flash, patting himself on the chest. "That's what I am, Sentry. I am the unexpected, the unplanned and the unpredictable."

Flash blinked, then considered all that. "Well...that certainly gives me a lot to think about."

"I should hope so," Discord remarked.

Then, after a long silence, the stallion glanced up to his current charge, curiosity clearly growing in him. "And you, Sir?"

"I AM THE EMBODIMENT OF THAT MOST ESSENTIAL OF FORCES. ORDER. THE NEED TO MAKE SENSE OF THE WORLD AND ENSURE STABILITY FOR THOSE WITHIN IT. IF YOU HAVE EVER FELT THE NEED FOR YOUR LIFE, OR THE LIVES OF OTHERS, TO KNOW PEACE AND SAFETY, IT HAS BEEN I THAT YOU HAVE BEEN CONTRIBUTING TO. PONYKIND WORKING TOGETHER, BEING A NATION UNIFIED IN THE SHARED GOAL OF LIVING IN A WORLD FREE OF DANGER AND UNCERTAINTY, THAT HAS BEEN MY PURPOSE."

"Basically, he's everything I'm not," Discord countered. "If I'm fine with things going with the flow, he wants to know where it's all heading. If I'm the unexpected, he's the expected. And so on and so forth."

Flash looked from one to the other. "So...you two are each other's opposites." At long last, a smile came to him. "No wonder you don't like each other."

"Oh no," Discord interrupted. "I don't like him because he's a complete and utter flank-hole."

"TAKES ONE TO KNOW ONE."

"Ugh, here we go again," Luna groaned.

Walking up to her, Flash spoke to Luna with a renewed feeling of understanding. "So you and Celestia are demigods? That...actually explains a lot."

Luna looked back to him, regaining her smile. "Trust me, the glamour of it gets old after a while." The two turned in unison, seeing the spat between Solaris and Discord continue to flare up, with insults being thrown back all over the place, eventually leading to Luna taking a deep breath before turning to head out of the chamber. "Care for another tea break, Lieutenant?"

Flash, looking from her to the two Greater Powers, eventually trotted after her. "Yeah, sounds pretty good right now."

"So," Rarity began. "You mean to tell us that there's a giant, talking alicorn skeleton beneath this very castle as we speak? How utterly dreadful!"

Applejack frowned to her. "Hey now, come on, that's Celestia an' Luna's Pa yer talkin' bout."

"Oh, I know, but when I stop and think of how many times we've been in this palace, and now thinking this apparently powerful ancient alicorn has just been beneath us this whole time?"

Twilight smiled as she sat upon her throne, clapping her hooves together enthusiastically. "I know, right? To think, all that ancient knowledge, right there within easy reach of me. Oh, the things I can learn!"

Pinkie giggled as she zipped on right up to her. "Gee, Twilight, I'm surprised you didn't spend all day asking him questions down there!"

Here, Twilight frowned. "Oh, believe me, I'd have loved nothing more, but somecreature decided to come and interrupt me!"

Spike, looking totally unconcerned, shrugged. "I won't apologise for getting you to your meetings on time. It is why you wanted me as your aide in this job, remember?"

Twilight groaned. "Uuuuuuugh! Okay, yes, fine. I needed to be there, you're right." She pointed to him. "But as soon as all my appointments are over, I'm going right back down there to ask as many questions as I want, deal?"

"Deal," Spike agreed, with a happy shake between them to confirm it.

Walking closer to her royal friend, Applejack took on a look of curiosity. "So what's he like, this Solaris fella?"

Twilight opened her mouth to speak, only to stop as she pondered that question. "Huh...you know, I spent so much time asking questions I never really got a feel for his character. But I have to assume he's cut from the same cloth as his daughters. So we can likely expect a lot of wisdom and sound judgement." After seeing her friends look to her with uncertainty, she too shrugged. "Look, I'm grasping at straws here. I didn't even know the stallion existed until recently."

Fluttershy, who had been quiet for most of this, smiled to her friends. "I know he's an unexpected arrival onto the scene, but I don't think we'll be seeing anything bad from him."

Rarity looked to her with interest. "Fluttershy, dear, you've never even met him. How can you be so certain?"

Fluttershy thought on that, then resumed her smile. "Just a good feeling about him, I guess."

Before any other pony could speak though, they were interrupted by the sound of Spike clearing his throat, seeing him hold up a clipboard and pointing to it. "I know this is big news and all, but we do have a lot to get through today."

Twilight nodded, using her magic to levitate her crown onto her head. "You're right. We're the Friendship Committee after all, and we have a job to do."

The others all nodded in agreement, getting to their respective chairs, with the exception of the one whose place was still vacant. "Any word on Rainbow?" Rarity asked.

Applejack shook her head. "Nope. Some new mission they got. Keepin' her pretty busy I hear."

A brief "ahem" from Twilight got them all to attention. "In any case, we can catch her up when she arrives. Now..." She levitated some documents Spike had been holding for her to look at. "First order of business is Las Pegasus. We've had a number of complaints recently that the gambling problem is getting out of hoof over there."

Pinkie giggled again. "Er, sorry to pop the bubble here, Twilight, but Las Pegasus was made for gambling."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yes, Pinkie, but not to the point of leaving ponies destitute! This is a real problem and we need to consider restrictions and limitations, at least on just how much the casinos encourage ponies to take part in all that." She took on an irritated look. "I suspect a certain pair of brothers might be behind this."

Pinkie tapped her chin. "True, but we can't just make a law to..." Then, her eyes widened. "Wait...can we make laws?! As in us? Right here?"

Twilight looked uneasy. "Technically I make the laws, but you're all free to make suggestions certainly."

Pinkie rubbed her hooves together with a look on her face that wouldn't have been out-of-place on a supervillain. "In that case, can we outlaw clown-goblins?"

After staring at her for the expectedly long amount of time, Applejack broke the silence between them. "What in tarnation is a clown-goblin?"

Pinkie pointed to her. "Oh, they're real! Don't even pretend that they're not!"

This typical Pinkie Pie craziness might well have continued if it wasn't for the sudden and timely arrival of Rainbow Dash, bursting through the doors of the throne room and gaining everypony's attention. "Sorry I'm late, I was just busy being awesome!"

Twilight, thought still smiling, shook her head to that. "Nice to have you join us, Rainbow. I trust your mission went well?"

Rainbow cackled as she flew over to her chair. "Oh yeah! The Wonderbolts have been getting a whole bunch of missions lately. Go here, do that, try and recover this long-lost, super-dangerous artefact. You know, that sort of stuff. And we've just been acing it every time."

Fluttershy patted her on the shoulder in a gesture of encouragement. "It's nice the Wonderbolts have been doing well."

Rainbow shrugged. "Weeeeeeell, most of them kinda fumbled on a lot of them, especially the new recruits." She jumped up, standing on her chair before placing one hoof upon her chest. "But then I, Rainbow Dash, showed those youngsters how it's done, and boom, we had our win!"

Realising that the matter of excessive gambling was clearly going to have to wait with everypony's focus elsewhere, Twilight rummaged around the papers before settling on one that reported a far more attention-grabbing subject. "Well then, shall we perhaps get to the problem of an apparent manticore attack in the far-western reaches?" That did the trick, and all eyes were on her, much to her satisfaction. "We'll need to investigate. Rainbow, since you're on a bit of a hot-streak right now, how about you?"

Rainbow saluted. "Consider it done, boss."

Twilight's eyes then fell to Fluttershy. "You should go too, Fluttershy, If anypony here has a chance of de-escalating a dangerous situation with a manticore, it's you."

Fluttershy nodded. "I'll do my best."

Rarity looked to her friend, leaning back into her chair and just smiling warmly to her. "There's no doubt of your success. I must say, Fluttershy, I will never fail to be amazed at just how easily the taming of dangerous foes comes to you."

Thinking about that, the former bearer of Kindness simply smiled back. "Just a gift."

No new chapter next week, as there's another story idea that's been brewing in my mind for a few days now that I want to start on

With cups of coffee in-hoof, Flash and Luna begrudgingly made their way back down the ancient hallways. It had been a pleasant break from their time there, but they knew they were going to be needed back sooner rather than later. "So, think things have calmed down between them?" Flash asked.

Taking a sip of her beverage, Luna glanced around. "Well, given that the palace is still here in one piece, I'd say so. At the very least they're showing more restraint than I'd expect of them."

Sighing, Flash looked to the former royal. "Dare I ask if the two bothered each other this much back in your day?"

Luna chuckled dryly. "Oh no, they stayed far away from one another. I think we can thank the passage of time for them being so, how do you say it nowadays, mellow? Relatively speaking of course."

"Of course," Flash concurred. Eventually though, the two stopped, just shy of the great doors that led to the enormous alicorn skeleton they knew they'd have to return to. After taking in a deep breath to calm himself, Flash again looked to the blue mare beside him. "Well, back to the grindstone, Princess?"

"If only to keep Father from getting any crazy ideas after speaking alone with Discord."

And speak of the Devil, that very draconequus now burst out of the doors, looking utterly infuriated. "Why, in all my years, I have never met an alicorn so completely devoid of humour! Even Celestia knew how to take a joke better than that guy!"

Looking on at him, Luna finally finished off her coffee before she proceeded past the old spirit of chaos. "Alright then, I'd better go in and calm Father. Wait here until I give the go-ahead, Flash."

The stallion saluted. "Will do, Princess." Once Luna was inside, making sure to magically close the doors behind her, the guard arched an eyebrow to Discord. "You know, given how much you hate the guy, I'm surprised you've been willing to stick around this long."

Discord, upon hearing that, waved him off. "Oh, you know how it is. Fluttershy would never forgive me if I just gave up on a chance to befriend somepony." He narrowed his eyes. "Even a pony as difficult to like as Solaris."

Flash smirked to that. "Well, for what it's worth, I'm sure she'd appreciate you putting in the effort. Though for the record I doubt the two of you will ever really be the best of friends."

Discord shrugged, leaning against the wall. "Oh, certainly not. At least not with my current methods."

After a brief pause, and after noticing the clear signs of wheels turning in his head, Flash looked to Discord with understandable wariness. "Meaning...?"

Conjuring a halo above his head, Discord put his paws together in mimicry of a prayer, no doubt to make himself look innocent. "Why, I mean nothing, dear pony. I assure you I have nothing but good intentions in the works."

"...Yeah, I ain't buying it. You're up to something, and if I'm going to avoid another headache, I'd at least like to know what that something is ahead of time."

Frowning, Discord took hold of the halo and proceeded to take a big bite out of it, as though it were a donut. Once that was done, he began to drum his fingers together in a totally not-suspicious way. "Well, friend, if I am going to make this attempted friendship between Solaris and me work, I'm going to need to prove my good intentions by doing good for Equestria."

Flash continued to stare at him carefully. "Makes sense. But how do you plan to do that?" His eyes narrowed further. "And not for nothing, but are you sure it's good for you to do that? The last time you tried to 'help' you wound up losing all your power and unleashing three of our deadliest enemies upon Princess Twilight and her friends."

Discord shrugged to that. "Yes, I admit my track record of helping hasn't been totally perfect, but I assure you this plan can have nothing but positives for ponykind."

"And that's because you're going to...?"

"Well, Mr Sentry, I plan to..." With a snap of his fingers, Discord brought out a duplicate of himself who was equipped with a drum, all in order to give a drumroll for what he apparently felt was a big and dramatic reveal. "Revive Solaris to his former state!"

Flash hadn't known what to expect, but that was clearly not it. "So...you're going to make him not just a skeleton anymore?"

Dismissing his double, Discord gave a firm nod. "Indeed, my dear fellow. Solaris, for all his faults, was the most powerful pony who ever lived, and who devoted his very being to the enrichment and protection of Equestria. To have him return, to have him stand alongside Twilight in her pursuit of guiding ponykind, can only be a good thing for all of you...assuming you can all tolerate his stick-in-the-mud attitude of course."

After a moment of silence, Flash looked to him with doubt. "You're just doing this so you get to have something to lord over him, aren't you?"

Discord, for a brief few seconds, tried to appear unfazed by those words, only to then sigh. "That predictable, am I?" Seeing Flash nod, he continued. "Okay, fine, maybe I'd use this as something to remind him of what I've done for him...every hour or so. But I'm not wrong in saying it'd be a help to you ponies."

Though he was still uncertain, a quick glance at the king's chamber doors caused Flash to soften in his expression. "So...what's the plan then? You just snap your fingers and turn him back?"

Discord shook his head. "Alas, no. He and I are both greater powers. As such I can't get rid of him any more than I could get rid of the Tree of Harmony back during my bad guy days."

Stepping forward, curiosity began to take root in Flash. "Then...what exactly do you plan to do?"

Here, Discord resumed his earlier smirk, leering at the stallion. "That, Flashy, is where you come in."

Of course, Flash didn't like hearing that in the slightest, as evidenced by the step back he took. "Me?"

Nodding again, Discord brought his face right up to Flash. "Have you ever heard...of the Alicorn Amulet?"

Flash had been staring long and hard at Discord for a few moments, and doubtless the spirit had expected some sort of gasp or overt reaction after dropping the big reveal he did mere seconds ago. Naturally, he was disappointed to see Flash maintain his usual stoic attitude towards him. As for the stallion himself, he continued to be wary of just what his current colleague was up to, and so finally decided to humour him with what little knowledge he had on the subject. "I've heard of it...but only a little. The amulet is meant to be some sort of ancient magical artefact, yes?"

Discord seemed satisfied that he knew that much at least. "Indeed it is. And a notorious one at that. It is an object capable of massively increasing the power of those who wear it. Whatever ability you have, that thing will improve it far beyond your wildest dreams."

Flash's eyebrow remained arched after hearing that. "And how is that supposed to help the king exactly? In case you hadn't noticed he seems to be pretty well covered on power."

Discord waved him off. "Pfft! What you've seen are mere trifles, my lad. I assure you, his true power is lost to him in his present state. But with the amulet, he would be restored to the magical prowess he once possessed."

"And...that would give him the means to heal himself?" Flash asked, his curiosity growing.

"Correct! About time you got the picture!" Discord declared happily.

Flash, after frowning to that attitude, looked again to the chamber doors. "Well...I suppose it would remiss of me to dismiss any way of getting my current charge out of a bad situation." After thinking on it another moment, he sighed, looking once more to Discord. "Alrighty then, let's try it out. Bring the amulet here."

To that, Discord nervously twiddled his thumbs. "Yeah...about that."

It took no time at all for Flash to get his meaning. "You can't summon it here?!"

Discord pointed to him. "Hey! Don't go blaming me for that! I already tried earlier! Wherever it is, it's clearly got some kind of anti-Discord protection over it."

Flash blinked. "That's...that's an option?"

Folding his arms, Discord pouted. "More frequently than you think. Chrysalis' kingdom was immune to my power until her throne burst apart. And after I was freed from stone a second time the Elements of Harmony had a charm placed upon them by dear old Celestia to make them impervious to any effort on my part to hide them." He looked away. "I have no idea who did this to the amulet, but clearly they're a careful sort."

With that revelation, Flash started rubbing his temples. "Okay...so you can't heal him yourself and now you can't bring in the one thing that could. Gotta say, Discord, your plan isn't looking too good right now."

In response, Discord took on a more characteristically wicked smirk. "Unless, of course...I had help with it."

Looking him right in the eye, understanding dawned for Flash. "You want me to go out and get it?! Why can't you do it?!"

Discord shrugged. "Hey, if the embodiment of chaos goes missing for too long you ponies tend to ask questions. But if some random, unimportant guard goes? That's another story."

"Gee, thanks," Flash replied with obvious irritation.

"Look," Discord continued. "Solaris needs this if he's going to be any kind of positive force in Equestria again. If it came from me, he'd just reject it. Centuries of mistrust and all that. But you? One of his own, precious ponies? Well, that just might be the ticket to getting him to going along with all this."

Flash's certainty remained as shaky as ever, but in the face of an argument like that he had little ground for debate. "I suppose...if it'll help him, and Equestria in the long run, it's worth a try at least."

Discord patted him on the back. "That's the spirit! The somewhat half-hearted spirit, granted, but spirit all the same!"

Pushing Discord's paw away, Flash looked to him sternly. "Okay, I'll go along with this for now, but I can't just go off into the blue with no direction. I'll need to investigate the amulet's whereabouts, and I'll also need to gather some additional forces to accompany me."

That piqued Discord's interest. "Oh? Getting together some sort of super-cool taskforce or the like?"

"Not exactly. It's not recommended for the Royal Guard to go far afield unless we go in significant numbers. And if I'm hunting down some ancient, magical artefact I have to assume some dangers are on the way." He tapped his chin as he pondered that. "I have a few friends in the guard who'll likely be on-board with this plan. And I know a few other names that might be useful, given that we're going in blind here."

Giving a slight bow, Discord gestured to the direction that led out of the hall and into the palace proper. "Well then, don't let me keep you, good Sir."

Flash shook his head. "Not so fast. First of all, if any of this turns out to be a trick, or makes things worse for anycreature, please know that I will be blaming you for this debacle!"

Folding his arms, Discord mulled that over before nodding. "Tough, but fair."

After a pause, Flash exhaled. "Also...I'll need to arrange a replacement to assume my duties for the king during my absence. Somepony trustworthy and capable who can do all Solaris requires of them. Who has the knowledge and awareness of the wider world so they can satisfy all the burning questions he no doubt has after his centuries-long entombing here."

At that very moment, the monarch in question bellowed from the other room. "SENTRY! ARE YOU COMING BACK OR NOT? I DON'T PAY YOU TO STAND AROUND AND DO NOTHING!"

"You don't pay him at all, Father," Luna's voice could be heard replying.

"WELL THAT EXPLAINS THE LACKLUSTRE PERFORMANCE RIGHT NOW."

Flash stood absolutely still during all that, after which he took a deep breath before looking back to Discord. "On the other hoof, I know a trio of stallion who've been dying to prove themselves useful, and I'm sure the good king would be delighted to see some variety in the guard."

"Why Flash!" Discoid exclaimed. "Who knew you could be so...impressively devious?"

Walking away, Flash did his best to maintain a nonchalant look. "I'm sure I don't know what you're talking about."

With an almighty push, Discord opened the doors of the king's chamber, strutting in like he owned the place before giving a deep bow to everypony inside. "Fear not! Discord has returned!"

"OH JOY, ALL IS RIGHT WITH THE WORLD AGAIN," Solaris responded with his usual unheard sarcasm.

Discord ignored him as he walked over to Luna, who watched the draconequus with suspicion. "And where, pray tell, has Flash gone to?"

Discord shrugged. "Oh, I dunno. Guess he wanted some personal time or something?"

Luna narrowed her eyes to him. "You're hiding something."

Her fellow ancient seemed almost touched by that. "Why Lulu, you know me so well!"

Solaris, naturally, had little time for Discord's antics. "SPARE ME YOUR MISCHIEF. IF FLASH IS GONE WHO IN TARTARUS AM I GOING TO TALK TO?"

Discord grinned in a way that all knew was going to mean trouble. "I'm sure you'll get somepony eventually."

Doubtless the king would have wanted to ask further about that, only to be stopped before he could ask by the sudden and unexpected sound of some sort of chorus in the background. "WHAT IS THE WIDE WORLD OF EQUESTRIA IS THAT NOISE?"

Luna, with recognition coming to her, gave herself a facehoof. "Oh no."

Much like Discord had done shortly before, the door opened, and into the chamber leapt a trio of stallions whose mere presence caused a grimace not only on Luna's face, but Discord's as well. The stallions, Blueblood, Trenderhoof and Zephyr, grinned to the ancient skeleton before them, and the first of their number stepped forward to give a bow, though much like Discord it was clearly not done with any genuine reverence. "Greetings, my glorious overlord! Behold, your new custodians."

"...WHAT THE WHAT?! WHO ARE YOU THREE SUPPOSED TO BE?! AND WHY OH WHY AREN'T YOU DRESSED IN PROPER GUARD ATTIRE?!"

Stepping alongside Blueblood, Trenderhoof stood in a manner designed to show himself and his leather garb in as much of an exposed way as possible. "A great look, yes?"

"NO! BY THE GODS I DON'T BELIEVE IN, NO!"

Zephyr, the last of them, added his voice to the matter. "Hey, since we're just starting out here, should we maybe sort out things like overtime pay and break-length? I mean, not that I don't like work and all, I just wanna set the ground rules for when we can ease back on it, ya know?"

"...WOW, I WASN'T EXACTLY IMPRESSED WITH FLASH, BUT SEEING YOU THREE MADE ME REALISE HOW GOOD I HAD IT."

"Oh come now," Blueblood replied. "I can assure you that we can prove to be just as able at keeping you company as that lowborn commoner. I mean, you're speaking to a true thoroughbred aristocrat here..." He glanced to his two sides. "And also some extras. That's got to count for something."

"...DAUGHTER?"

"Yes, Father?" Luna responded.

"I'M GOING TO HAVE TO SERIOUSLY START QUESTIONING THE RECRUITMENT STANDARDS OF THIS COUNTRY IF THIS IS GENUINELY CONSIDERED CANDIDATE MATERIAL."

"You and me both, I fear," the princess acknowledged.

Discord, holding back the laughter, muttered to himself. "Oh, if he had actual flesh on his face, his expression in this moment would have been simply priceless."

"KNOCK IT OFF, CHAOS-LOVER. THIS DAY IS BAD ENOUGH WITHOUT YOUR SNARK MAKING IT WORSE."

The draconequus shrugged. "Meh, the day's still young. And this is Equestria after all. The unexpected is to be expected, you may have noticed."

"AT THIS POINT I'LL TAKE ANYTHING UNEXPECTED IF IT MEANS BEING DISTRACTED FROM MY SO-CALLED NEW CUSTODIANS."

"Harsh," Zephyr remarked.

Then, as if to answer the king's prayers, there was a sudden burst of light right in the centre of the room, in-between everycreature present. All eyes turned, and when the light died down they found, to their understandable confusion, that there was a newcomer in their midst. Namely a unicorn filly, pale in her fur and bearing a mix of purple and pink in her curly mane. Luna recognised her immediately, and the filly herself, having had her eyes shut tightly since she arrived, slowly opened one. This was followed shortly by her taking on a look of pure joy as she bounced happily in place. "Yes, yes, yes! I did it! Twilight's lesson really worked! I know how to teleport now! I can't wait to tell Apple Bloom and Scoot...aloo?"

Her words had grown slower with the sudden realisation of where she was and who she was surrounded by. Luna she was happy to see, but everycreature else had her feeling wary, especially when her eyes finally landed in the enormous alicorn skeleton upon the throne before her. And speaking of whom, Solaris, having been given a perfect excuse to ignore the less-than-likeable stallions he'd just been introduced to, leapt onto this chance. "HELLO THERE, LITTLE ONE." When Sweetie Belle failed to respond, he continued. "MAY I ASK YOUR NAME?"

Sweetie Belle, with justifiable fear of this horrifying image in front of her, fumbled her words. "I'm...I'm...I'm...

"SORRY. TAKING TOO LONG, YOU WILL BE KNOWN AS FILLY FROM HERE ON OUT."

Luna, after doing another facehoof, walked over to the new arrival and placed her hoof upon her shoulder, leaning forward and speaking gently. "I'm sorry about this, but just humour him, okay?"

Sweetie Belle nodded, though still clearly having no idea what was going on. As for the king, his monotone voice was nevertheless giving the impression of one who was growing frustrated. "CAN WE PLEASE HAVE THIS DAY GO SOMEWHAT NORMAL FOR ONCE? HOW ABOUT WE TALK ABOUT PRINCESS TWILIGHT AND HER FRIENDS AGAIN?"

Zephyr looked to him, smiling. "Oh, that's easy. One of them is my sister, Fluttershy. I can tell you all about her if you like."

"...WHAT? ONE OF THE GREAT DEFENDERS OF EQUESTRIA IS RELATED TO YOU? TRULY, THIS NATION IS DOOMED."

Discord glared angrily at him, and was likely on the road to responding angrily, when he was halted dead in his tracks by a new voice, calling out and echoing through the chamber to get the attention of all of them. "Stop. You must not speak ill...of Fluttershy."

"WHAT? WHO DARES TO MAKE SUCH DEMANDS OF ME?" No words answered him, and instead he and everycreature else looked on to see the silent guard, who had been little more than a statue for most of Solaris' revival, still clad head to hoof in armour, striding forward. "WELL NOW. ARE YOU FINALLY GOING TO SAY OR DO SOMETHING INTERESTING, GUARD?"

The guard stood still for a time, before finally speaking up, the tone calm and measured. "King Solaris. Your unknown guard was really I..." With a single motion, the helmet was removed and discarded, finally revealing the face underneath. A mare of grey fur and a purple mane. "Maud Pie."

"GASP...I HAVE NO IDEA WHO THAT IS."

"Maud? Why are you here?" Luna asked, giving her friend's outfit a quick look-over. "And why are you dressed like that? Did you join the Guard?"

Maud shook her head. "No. I was here in Canterlot visiting an old friend from my education days. I took a wrong turn and wound up among some Guard recruits. Their instructor mistook me for one of them and ordered me to the barracks to get my uniform. I just sort of went along with it until now."

Luna blinked. "...Why?"

Maud shrugged. "I figured it'd be good material for my stand-up routine when I get back around to it."

"HOLY GEEZ," Solaris remarked. "IT EXPLAINS SO MUCH ABOUT THIS COUNTRY THAT YOUR PRIMARY PROTECTION FORCE CAN BE MADE UP OF RANDOM PEOPLE BROUGHT IN OFF THE STREET BY ACCIDENT."

Luna, glancing to the three guards who had come in to take Flash's place, sighed. "Yes...I cannot disagree."

Blueblood scoffed to that. "I'll have you know, dearest Princess Luna, that I am most certainly qualified for this position. Just ask Auntie Celestia, she'll vouch for me."

Luna arched an eyebrow. "If by 'vouch' you mean she'd agree that this was the only place she could put you to finally give you something useful to do, then certainly," she said with utter bluntness.

Blueblood looked to her, aghast. "I say! That is most certainly..." He thought on that for a moment. "...About ninety percent not true."

"HOLD UP," Solaris interjected. "DID YOU JUST CALL CELESTIA YOUR AUNTIE? LUNA, IS THERE SOMETHING YOU'D LIKE TO TELL ME?"

Luna facehoofed. "Father, I assure you, he is not mine!" she said in a manner that made it clear that this was not the first time she'd had to clarify such a thing.

Blueblood swept some of his mane aside. "Indeed, good Sir. My family and Celestia have been friends for many years. I simply spent time in the palace a great deal during my youth and I came to view the princess as a sort of aunt that I never had."

"THAT'S A RELIEF. FOR A MOMENT I WAS WORRIED YOU AND I MIGHT ACTUALLY BE RELATED. THANKS FOR SAYING THE ONE PLEASANT THING YOU'VE SAID SO FAR."

As before, Blueblood seemed indignant to that. "Well! I never!"

Meanwhile, Discord had been giving Maud some close attention, looking to her with confusion and curiosity. "You know, it's weird. You're a total straight-mare. Completely evening out any of the wacky personalities you'd find in this chamber."

"Guilty as charged," Maud admitted in her usual deadpan manner.

"But we already have such a person here with the group when Luna joined up again," Discord added, pointing to the alicorn in question.

"Also true," Maud replied.

Discord stroked his beard. "Huh...it's almost as if some higher power had plans to introduce you way back when but then ditched the idea for your part in the story when Luna was brought back...then introduced you anyway, thus leaving us with two mares to do the same job."

Maud shrugged. "Well, I was here before Luna came back, so I guess there was no alternative."

Placing his paws upon his hips, Discord shook his head while sighing. "Well that's just lazy writing."

"HEY NOW. WHAT DID I SAY ABOUT GETTING META?" Solaris asked with annoyance.

"Nothing. This is the first time you've mentioned it," Maud answered flatly.

"...WELL I'M MENTIONING IT NOW. STOP BEING META."

Discord folded his arms and pouted. "Pfft! You're no fun! Meta is half my schtick!"

"No wonder my sister likes being your friend," Maud pointed out.

A chuckle escaped the draconequus at that. "Ah yes, Pinkie always was one of the more sensible ponies."

"YOU'RE PINKIE'S SISTER?" Solaris asked, clearly intrigued by this new information.

"Yes. Her older sister."

"FIRST WE GET THAT FLUTTERSHY MARE'S BROTHER IN HERE AND NOW YOU. I'M STARTING TO THINK I NEED TO START WRITING UP SOME FAMILY TREES TO KEEP EVERYPONY'S INFORMATION IN-CHECK."

Luna looked to him with bemusement. "It's really not that big a revelation, Father. Just a happy coincidence." After glancing quickly to Zephyr, she continued with a quieter tone. "Happy being an admittedly relative term in some cases."

Having been quiet for a while, Trenderhoof cleared his throat so that all paid attention to him. "Anyway, now that we're all here, I'm sure we can prove to you that we're just as good to have as your aides as old Flashy-boy was. Just tell us what you want us to do and we'll do it."

"...ALRIGHT. I'LL PLAY BALL. WHAT CAN YOU TELL ME OF THE CURRENT RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN EQUESTRIA AND THE HIPPOGRIFFS OF MOUNT ARIS? I'VE BEEN MEANING TO ASK."

Hearing that, Trenderhoof blinked a few times before looking over to Zephyr. "Well, you heard him, Breeze. Go on."

After fumbling for a bit, Zephyr stepped forward. "Oh! Right! The Hippogriffs. Well, I hear they're really...hippo-y?"

"...IF I COULD MOVE MY HOOF, I'D BE GIVING MYSELF THE BIGGEST FACEHOOF IN THE UNIVERSE RIGHT NOW."

Luna who had actually done such a motion, spoke. "Way ahead of you on that one, Father."

Blueblood, shaking his head to his compatriots, walked over to look at the old monarch. "Sir, why bother with the minutia of far-distant lands and uninteresting topics such as this? Everypony knows that little of importance takes place outside of Canterlot after all."

"THAT IS THE MOST ISOLATIONIST, BACKWARDS THINKING I'VE EVER HEARD. THERE'S AN ENTIRE WORLD OUT THERE, AND IN CASE IT SLIPPED YOUR NOTICE I HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO SEE MUCH OF ANY OF IT FOR THE PAST FEW CENTURIES. I NEED PONIES AROUND ME WHO WILL ACTUALLY KEEP ME INFORMED. SAY WHAT YOU WILL ABOUT FLASH, BUT HE ACTUALLY SEEMED WILLING TO LIFT HIS GAZE HIGHER THAN THE GROUND, WHICH IS MORE THAN CAN BE SAID FOR THE THREE OF YOU." His new custodians hung their head, though Blueblood in particular seemed just plain irritated as being spoken to like that. Solaris, who noticed Discord taking great satisfaction in their reactions, was next on his agenda. "AND YOU. I KNOW A PLOT WHEN I SEE ONE. SPILL IT. WHERE DID SENTRY GO?"

Discord smirked as he looked off into the imaginary distance. "Oh, I'm sure he's getting up to something very important right now."

After a long while of him just staying in that pose, Solaris spoke up again. "ARE YOU SERIOUSLY WAITING FOR A SCENE TRANSITION RIGHT NOW?"

The draconequus never looked back to him as he meekly replied. "...Maybe?"

Sweetie Belle, looking to all the people she was now in the presence of, looked over to Luna glumly. "Can I go home now?"

Flash knew that going to some mysterious, far-off place to retrieve something he knew next to nothing about wasn't a task one undertook lightly, especially given who it was that had given it to him. Thankfully, the stallion knew reliable ponies when he saw them, especially when they worked alongside him in the capital. And right now, he was looking at one such pony. In the centre of the castle grounds, overlooking a drilling of some of the Guard's latest recruits, was a peagsus much like him, clad in armour that even novices would recognise as being far older than the standard uniform typically worn nowadays. But he was also very clearly a professional, observing and commenting where needed and being looked at by the troops with the uttermost respect. It was only when said stallion finally gave his cadets permission to depart to the barracks that the questbound Flash approached, giving a quick salute to the other before speaking up. "Sir Magnus."

Flash Magnus turned, giving a quick smile before saluting in return. "Ah, yes. Flash, was it? Pleasure to finally speak to you."

Flash smiled. "The pleasure's all mine, Sir."

Magnus scoffed. "Please, no need for that. Last I checked you and I were of equal rank."

"Be that as it may, you're the living legend here, not me," Flash countered.

A chuckle from the ancient hero. "Flattery will get you nowhere, my boy. So..." He took on a sterner look. "I assume you're not here for a social visit?"

Flash shook his head. "I am on a quest. A task of great importance that could well be the most important thing I or anypony in the Guard has ever done for Equestria."

Slowly, Magnus's sternness changed to one of interest. "Well then...you have my undivided attention."

Flash smiled to him. "Sir Flash...I ask you to join me in this endeavour. I realise I myself have little renown, but it would do me great honour for you to accompany me as the first of my companions in this."

To that, Magnus' own smile faded, but only a little. "If the journey is as rewarding as you claim, the honour would be mine, Flash. Alas..." He turned, looking up to the royal palace. "I have obligations here. Fresh new hopefuls for the guard have been pouring in almost daily since Princess Twilight ascended the throne. And I have committed to training them." He looked back to his namesake solemnly. "I have no time to spare for anything else. So, with heavy heart...I must decline."

Flash let out a deep sigh, but nodded all the same. "I understand. In truth I realised that having you join me was a long-shot. Still, there are many others I can ask, so I won't be wanting for company."

Magnus looked to him with curiosity. "Dare I ask what you look for, exactly?"

Flash shrugged. "Difficult to say. Where I'm going is unknown at best. Perilous at worst. Above all, what I need for this expedition is for the ponies who come with me to be good in a scrap. I need strength, fortitude. I need....I need brawn."

"Did somepony say...brawn?"

The new voice caught both stallions off-guard, and they turned in unison to see the arrival of one most unexpected. With an almost ethereal light emanating from behind him, Magnus' fellow Pillar, the great Rockhoof, had come to them, looking as imposing as ever. Magnus, naturally, smiled happily to his old comrade-in-arms. "Rockhoof! My friend! What brings you to the capital?"

The hulking stallion bellowed with laughter before answering. "Princess Twilight invited me to speak at Princess Celestia's school for gifted unicorns." He tapped his chin. "Well, I suppose it's Twilight's school now of course. She believes the students there will benefit from a few stories told by an old pro."

Flash gave him a bow. "They couldn't be in better hooves on that count, Sir."

Rockhoof, finally regarding the younger pony, took on a more intrigued look. "Apologies, by lad, but I couldn't help but overhear your predicament. You say you need ponies of strength for a great quest? Then I volunteer my services."

As expected, Flash was quite surprised by that, as evidenced by his brief fumbling of his words. "I...I mean...wow. Don't think me ungrateful, but what about your stories?"

Another hearty laugh from the old hero. "Ha! Think nothing of it, little Flash."

"Little?" Flash whispered to himself.

"A good story will be told, rest assured," Rockhoof continued. "But once it is done I will be free to join you. And join you I shall! We shall be as warriors of old, forging new ground and facing the dangers of the unknown for treasure and triumph!"

Flash scratched the back of his head. "Well...yeah, we kinda would, I guess. But I want it clear we're doing this for Equestria, not for ourselves."

Rockhoof gave him a pat on the back, which given his strength really knocked the wind out of him, before speaking up in that usual boisterous tone of his. "Oh, I would expect nothing less of one who wears the shining suit of a knight. Why, it's as if Magnus is reborn in you!"

Magnus frowned to that. "I'm not dead yet!"

Rockhoof looked to him, then to Flash, then back to Magnus. "I know...but I assumed you and he were kin?"

Magnus continued to stare at him. "Wha...why would you think that? We've known each other for years, Rockhoof. You must know I don't have any children."

Flash sighed, looking to his similarly-named compatriot. "I think it's because we share the same first name. I've actually had a few ponies ask me about that."

Magnus seemed indignant by the remark. "What? Is that all it takes for ponies to assume relations these days?"

Flash shrugged. "Apparently so."

Magnus facehoofed in response. "Honestly..."

Rockhoof, for his part, was nowhere near as frustrated as the other two, and so looked out to the horizon before pointing to it with vigour. "Tell me, good Sir! To where do we journey first?"

Looking to the legendary figure, Flash regained his earlier smile. "Well, we can't leave yet. We still need to find more to join us. A party of two won't get far in the unknown regions. But, if we're lucky, we'll find somepony at least as strong as you to help us out."

"Oh? Is that what you need?" another new voice said to them all. The three stallions turned, looking in unison to a shadowy alleyway nearby, within which could be seen a figure coming towards them. The voice had been that of a mare, that much was certain, but only when the unknown pony stepped out of the dark was she seen and, from Flash's view, instantly recognised. It was indeed a mare, her fur a dark maroon while her mane carried a distinct mohawk style. Eyes, one of which bore a scar, looked to the three intently, and after a while she smiled. "Well then, if strength is what you need, perhaps today is your lucky day."

"DISCORD, YOU SHOULD KNOW ME WELL ENOUGH BY NOW TO KNOW THAT I DON'T LIKE SECRETS BEING KEPT FROM ME. SO SPILL. WHERE IS MY CUSTODIAN AND WHAT SCHEMES ARE YOU UP TO?"

For his part, Discord looked to Solaris like he was a total spoilsport, but as the moments passed he realised that it was a sentiment shared by everypony else in the chamber. So, after groaning with some irritation, he raised his hands. "Ugh! Fine! I was going to have this be a surprise for when he got back, but I guess you were the kind of foal who just loved to peek at his Hearth's Warming Eve gifts before the big day." He cleared his throat. "I, Discord, the master of chaos, in my generosity and goodwill..."

"DOUBTFUL," Solaris interjected.

Discord frowned, but continued all the same. "Long story short then, I've decided to aid you in restoring you to your former self, so you can, as you so often like to think, be a positive force in Equestria yet again."

Naturally, all were taken aback by that, with Luna especially seeming flabbergasted. "You...you mean...you can return Father to what he was before his...um..."

Discord chuckled. "Before his skelefication? You'd better believe it." Placing his claws upon his hips, he looked to Solaris with smugness. "And how will I achieve this, you ask? Why, it's simple. I've sent dear Flashy on the greatest quest of his career. To retrieve the legendary Alicorn Amulet. With it, your power will grow to its former levels, giving you the means to undo your own injuries and resume your living status." He sighed, sounding quite content with himself. "No need to thank me all at once. You can all form an orderly line, if you wish."

However, contrary to what he'd expected, the looks on everypony's faces were not ones of gratitude, but horror, with Sweetie Belle, of all people, being the one to voice their shared sentiment. "You what?! Are you out of your mind?!"

Discord blinked, his expression blank. "Okay...kinda hoped for a different reaction there."

Luna stepped forward, looking furious at him. "You fool! Do you have any inkling what you've just pout into motion?!"

The draconequus stepped back, looking to his fellows with surprise and confusion. "Hey now! What's all this about? I'm trying to do the old boy a favour here. He ain't getting any younger, if you haven't noticed."

"PUTTING THAT INSULT ASIDE FOR THE MOMENT," Solaris began. "YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT NOT ONLY HAVE YOU PLACED FLASH'S LIFE IN DANGER BY SENDING HIM TO THE FARTHEST REACHES OF THE MAP, YOU INTENDED TO HAVE HIM BRING BACK AN ITEM OF INFAMOUS DARK MAGIC? TO HELP ME?"

Discord rolled his eyes. "Yes! The alicorn amulet would increase your power many times over, and with that you could heal yourself in a way your current magic wouldn't let you!"

"THAT IT MIGHT, BUT DO YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE IT WOULD DO?"

"Make you infinitely more grateful, I hope?" Discord remarked under his breath.

"IT INCREASES POWER, YES. BUT AT A COST. THE USER'S VERY SOUL WOULD BECOME TWISTED AND CORRUPTED, HEIGHTENING THEIR AGGRESSION AND PARANOIA UNTIL THEY WERE NOTHING BUT PETTY TYRANTS, WEILDING POWER AGAINST ALL AROUND THEM."

Discord waved him off. "Pfft! That's just an old mare's tale! Nopony knows for sure that the amulet would do that!"

"Yeah, we do!" Sweetie Belle declared, hoof pointed straight at him. "Trixie used it years ago! Made herself super-powerful and super-scary!"

Discord looked to her, surprised. "Wait...seriously?"

"Seriously!" Sweetie Belle confirmed. "She threw Twilight out of Ponyville, locked the rest of us inside and turned the town into her own personal kingdom! It was horrible!"

Slowly, Discord scratched the back of his head, looking more than a little embarrassed. "I...hadn't actually heard about that."

Zephyr, who had been just as quiet as the other two new guards this whole time, seemed incredulous about that. "Really? All that time you spend with my sister and she never once mentioned it? It only happened, like, a month before you were let out of your whole statue thing."

Discord folded his arms, clearly insulted that Zephyr, of all people, was trying to school him on anything. "Well excuse me for not asking Fluttershy about every little thing that's ever happened to her." Then, a smirk came to him as he stroked his chin. "Trixie, you say? What, did she have some menacing cape or something? Because that wouldn't just been hilarious."

Sweetie Belle, with a courage the trio of stallion guards clearly weren't willing to display, marched right on up to the spirit of chaos and spoke to him with all the fury a child such as her could muster. "The whole town had to band together to stop her and get it off her! Twilight made sure it was far, far away so nopony could ever find or use it again!"

Discord shrugged. "Well, guess Flashy's got his work cut out for him then."

Here, Luna responded. "Discord, you will go to Flash this instant and bring him back safely. Who knows what kind of horrors he'd have to face on this foolish quest of yours?"

Discord's shoulders slumped. "Okay, maybe I put him in more danger than I needed to. But hey, he's a member of the Royal Guard, remember?" He gave the three stallions close by some side-eye. "A competent one at the very least. So maybe he'll succeed? Overcome the dangers. Besides..." He frowned, pointing to Luna. "In case you've forgotten, Lulu, you're one to talk given all the time you and your sister have sent ponies out into danger before."

Luna seemed downright insulted by the insinuation. "When we sent others out we never did so with the certainty that they'd be facing fatal danger. You, by contrast, most assuredly have!"

Discord bellowed out a dry and humourless laugh. "Ha! Oh, what, you saying ignorance makes your quest-giving any better?"

"ENOUGH!" Solaris called out, silencing all others. "DISCORD, I WANT IT PERFECTLY CLEAR THAT I WOULD NEVER HAVE USED THE AMULET. AND NOT JUST BECAUSE THE IDEA OF OWING YOU ANYTHING MAKES ME SICK TO MY STOMACH. OR AT LEAST WOULD IF I STILL HAD ONE." Taking a moment to appreciate the disdainful look Discord was giving him, Solaris continued. "I VOWED LONG AGO TO NEVER PARTAKE OF DARK MAGIC FOR ANY REASON, EVEN IF THAT REASON IS MY OWN RESTORATION. I HAVE MY OWN PLANS FOR THE LONG-TERM ALREADY BREWING, AND YOUR INTERFERENCE IS NEITHER REQUIRED NOR APPRECIATED."

Realising that he wasn't going to win this one, Discord folded his arms and have a childish huff. "Oh, very well then! If my plans aren't even going to earn me a 'thank you' then fine, consider the quest over."

He raised his hand, no doubt ready to snap and bring Flash back. However, before he did so, Solaris spoke once more. "BUT YOU WILL NOT RETURN FLASH TO US."

All looked to him with confusion, none more so than Luna. "But...why, Father? If you won't use the amulet, why allow Flash to go through this?"

"I HAVE...PLANS. NO MORE NEED BE SAID."

Discord, wide-eyed, gestured angrily to Solaris. "Oh, so when he makes super-secret plans, it's fine! But when I do it apparently I'm the worst person ever?!" He facepalmed himself. "That's it, I'm getting a coffee."

Flash Sentry, newly-elected Doge of Venice, stood outside the gates of the palace of that great city, looking to all the assembled citizens, all of whom looked to him with eagerness and hope. Beside him were his closest allies, and after taking a deep breath, he finally spoke aloud his first words as the leader of this small, but serene nation. "People of Venice! We are but a handful of tiny islands in the Adriatic. Founded by those fleeing the disasters of the mainland. But through our sheer will to carry on and do great things, we have forged this shining city. A beacon of prosperity, of progress, and of freedom. Gone are the days of tyrants and petty monarchs that our ancestors once chafed under. Instead, our republic shall serve as an example to all! He stretched out his hoof, towards the horizon. "Go forth! For a day shall come when every port of the Mediterranean and beyond shall see our ships and our merchants! For we are Venetians, and the sea is our true treasure!" A cheer erupted in the crowds, as did a cacophony of applause. Flash smiled to the enthusiasm of his people, then looked to the stallion at his side. "Shipmaster Rockhoof, if we're to see this dream through, we'll need ships. And lots of them."

Solaris, draped in all the purple finery of a Byzantine Emperor, smiled as he looked down to the vast crowds of the city of Constantinople, looking to them from the balcony of his imperial home. He took a moment to appreciate the adoration with which they looked to him, then spoke in that authoritative and booming voice one of his station was expected to have. "People of the Empire! Hear me well! Long has our great domain been in decline. Gone are the days of Justinian and his dreams of reunifying the old empire. But this decline is not the end for us! For we are Romans! We made civilization! And on my word we shall endure, we shall expand, and we shall remind all upon the great Mediterranean why our forebears ruled from coast to coast. One day, we shall look up to see the flag of the eagle soaring mightily across all lands as it did in the days of the Caesars!"

A cheer rose up to greet his words, pleasing him mightily. But that enjoyment was short-lived as the eldest of his two daughters, who had been standing beside him through all that, coughed deliberately to get his attention before whispering in his ear. "Um, that's all well and good, Father. But I'd like to remind you that we're currently have word of a dozen plots against you at this very moment from your various vassals."

"Not to mention several murmurs of rebellions for a number of provinces," Luna added.

"As well as talk of plague coming in from the east," Celestia continued.

"And let's not forget the fact that we're still technically at war both in the east and in the north?" Luna finished.

But Solaris simply frowned to them. "Glory now, trifles later."

"Sir," Rockhoof spoke to his leader. "I'm happy to report that construction on the new hospital you commissioned has been completed. And we're already seeing a number of those with signs of the illness being treated."

Leaning back into the chair of his office, Flash breathed a sigh of relief. "Good to hear. I was worried when all this talk of plague came in. But thankfully our citizens rose to the challenge to get it fixed." He tapped his chin. "You know, I should show them thanks." He turned to the mare beside him. "Miss Berrytwist..."

The maroon aide narrowed her eyes to him. "I prefer 'Supreme Mistress Tempest' if it's all the same to you, Doge."

"...Um...alright then, Supreme Mistress. We have quite a few barrels of cider down here in our storerooms. Let it be known that I will be hosting a garden party for all the labourers who built the hospital. Oh, and let them know that the doctors should attend too. And their families, should they wish."

Tempest raised an eyebrow. "For...surveillance?"

"What?" Flash asked, surprised. "We're just throwing them a party to show them how grateful they are for all they've done for the city."

"...I don't follow."

"So...how bad is it?" Solaris asked.

Sighing, Celestia stepped forward, bring out some parchment and reading it out. "Well, in no particular order, we have an uprising in some of our Anatolian provinces, we've lost southern Italy after our unsuccessful war against the Lombards, the Abbasid Caliphate is ready to move against us to claim the territory closest to Antioch, we're at and all-time low with our relationship to the Pope..." She flipped a page. "Oh, and we're also broke."

"...No money at all?" Solaris said with concern.

"Nothing at all," Luna concurred.

The older stallion stroked his beard. "Well, that is a pickle. Still, no problem that can't be fixed."

Celestia facehoofed herself. "Father, with all due respect, I think that's a bit too hopeful, even by my standards. One problem we could fix, maybe. But everything all at once? We'd need a miracle to get things back to how they were at the time of your ascension to the throne!"

Solaris merely chuckled to that. "Oh, my dear daughter. One problem is already fixed." He gestured to her. "Behold! Our treasury problem is officially death with."

Celestia blinked, and soon both she and Luna were looking at the parchment. Instantly, they took on stunned looks, seeing that what was once a zero was now quite a bit more than that." But...but how?!" Celestia asked with disbelief.

Then, slowly, Luna looked to her imperial parent with suspicion. "Father...did you just use the games 'get more money' console command?"

After a moment of silence wherein he looked just a touch guilty, Solaris merely shrugged. "Hey, a wise leader always uses whatever means necessary to avoid a crisis in their nation, right?" Seeing the simultaneous facehoofs his daughters showed, he frowned again. "...What?"

"...Vikings?" Flash asked.

Tempest nodded solemnly. "I fear so, Doge. They came in from the north and started pillaging a number of villages on the coasts of Francia. They say Northumbria got hit pretty badly too."

Flash sighed. "Horrendous." He looked up to her. "Send some gold to the people in those areas, they need all the help they can get to try and rebuild their homes."

Tempest looked to him warily. "Are you...certain we can afford that, my Doge?"

Here, Flash smiled. "I promise you, we can." He offered her some parchment, then looked on with some satisfaction as her eyes widened to the sight of the numbers upon it. "Well, that's what we get when we don't spend our money on fighting wars all the time."

After taking all that in, Tempest put the parchment down, looking again to her leader. "This is all well and good, Sir. But I must remind you that we still have bands of these northern pirates causing havoc for the rest of Europe. What do you intend to do if they should look to the vast wealth of our city and decide they want a piece of it?"

Flash opened his mouth to speak, only to be halted when Rockhoof entered his office, looking like he had urgent business to attend to. "Sir! Apologies for the intrusion! But we just had a small raiding party of Vikings spotted beyond our ports!"

Tempest gave her leader a quick I-told-you-so look, but stayed silent as the latter looked to his shipmaster. "What happened?"

Rockhoof, for a moment, just scratched the side of his head. "Well...they tried getting to our city, but, well, all those defences and walls you invested in sort of stopped them from ever making any progress here, so...they just turned around and left?"

Tempest seemed utterly astounded by that, but said nothing as Flash looked to her with a genuine smile. "To answer your question, Supreme Mistress...that was what I intended to do."

"Viking raid...Viking raid...Viking raid..." Celestia sighed, as was her frequent pattern by this point. "Aaaaaand they've just raided Athens. Well, that's just grand, isn't it? I mean they're practically at our doorstep now!"

Luna patted her on the shoulder. "There, there, sister. I'm sure Father is coming up with a plan to deal with them as we speak." She saw the incredulous look her elder sibling gave her, then slumped her shoulders. "And only now that I've said that out loud do I realise my folly."

With a great bang, the doors of their chambers opened up as their father strode into the room like he owned the place. To the sisters' terror, however, he was accompanied by what appeared to be a number of Viking warriors, each armed with very sharp-looking axes. "Father!" Celestia called out with alarm.

But Solaris merely bellowed with laughter. "Fear not, my daughter! These fine fellows are not our enemies, but our friends!"

"...What?" the older sister asked emotionlessly.

"You see," Solaris began. "After realising that we had little defence against these guys, I thought to myself, why not hire them? And so, you see before you, the Varangian Guard! They shall be my personal escorts. Oh, and also yours, if you wish."

Blinking slowly, Celestia stepped forward. "You saw the problem of Vikings raiding the coastlines of our nation?"

"Yes," Solaris answered.

"Killing our people and stealing our treasures?" Celestia continued.

"Correct."

"And your big plan to deal with them was to give them a job?! And thus result in them getting even more gold from us? As well as direct access to the very leaders of the nation they've been fighting against?!"

Solaris paused here, looking to the incredibly dangerous guards he now had by his side, then turned again to face his daughter. "...What's your point?"

The result was a facehoof so loud it would likely be heard from the furthest corners of the world. Thankfully, Luna, who also seemed tired by her father's antics, seemed to have a cooler head on her right now, stepping forward and looking to him with curiosity. "And...how exactly did you pay for them? Our empire is ninety percent gone and their raids took more or less everything we had le..." She halted herself, exhaling deeply before looking to her father with disappointment. "You used the money cheat again, didn't you?"

To that, Solaris pouted like a child who'd just been told he couldn't have a second helping of dessert. "What's the point of having the means to control the entirety of the world if I'm not allowed to use it?!"

Slowly, Luna looked to Celestia. "Okay, next time...we'll just stick to Pong."

I considered "Kings and Crusades" as an alternative title for this chapter, to better show which Paradox game I was basing it on. But then I realised that the chapter featured neither kings nor crusades, so I decided against it

"TELL ME, FILLY."

"Um, it's Sweetie Belle, Sir," the young pony replied.

"...TELL ME, FILLY, YOU ARE OF SCHOOL-AGE, ARE YOU NOT?"

Though she sighed at having her name ignored, Sweetie Belle did put on a smile for the sake of appearances. "I am, Sir. And it's a pretty great school too. All of my friends go there with me and our teacher, Miss Cheerilee, is one of the nicest mares around!"

"GOOD. I'M HAPPY TO HEAR A PONY YOUR AGE HAS SUCH A POSITIVE SENTIMENT TOWARDS YOUR EDUCATION. WITH LUCK, IT'S THE SAME WAY ACROSS THE REST OF EQUESTRIA."

Luna smiled to him. "Thankfully, it is, for the most part. Education was something Celestia valued a great deal during her centuries as the nation's sole ruler, and because of that she made sure that every colt and filly received proper tutelage. she even went so far as to have a school of her own, giving gifted unicorns personal attention in developing their magical talents."

"PLEASED TO HEAR IT. A RULER SHOULD ALWAYS BE SURE TO DO WHAT THEY CAN TO ENCOURAGE THE DEVELOPMENT OF FUTURE GENERATIONS. SHALL I ASSUME THAT YOU WOULD HAVE DONE THE SAME HAD YOU BEEN PRESENT, DAUGHTER?"

Luna considered that, then nodded. "Well, I certainly like to think I'd have done all I could in such a case. Although..." She looked down to Sweetie Belle, giving her a pat on the shoulder. "I haven't exactly been slacking when it comes to guiding the young."

The two shared a silent moment of understanding, and while Solaris would have undoubtedly wanted to ask further about that, he allowed them this private moment. "WELL THEN, IT'S GOOD TO KNOW EQUESTRIA IS IN GOOD HOOVES WHEN IT COMES TO EDUCATION AT LEAST."

To that, Zephyr scoffed. "Yeah, except when you meet the ponies running the show of course."

Luna grimaced at hearing his words, but it was Solaris who asked the natural question. "OH? AND WHAT, PRAY TELL, DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"

Only now did Luna speak up on that matter. "I believe he refers to the Equestrian Education Association, Father. Specifically its head, Chancellor Neighsay."

"...WOW. THAT STALLION'S PARENTS MUST HAVE HATED HIM TO GIVE HIM A NAME LIKE THAT."

"They wouldn't have been the only ones," Zephyr continued. "From what my sister tells me basically nopony liked him. Right from the moment Twilight opened her own school he was trouble."

"DO YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THIS STALLION DIRECTLY INTERFERED WITH THE PLANS OF THE PRINCESS?"

"Unfortunately yes, Father," Luna admitted. "Twilight's goal with the school was to help foster goodwill and cooperation not only among Equestrians, but among our many neighbours and allies. As such it featured students from among the Changelings, Dragons and others." Luna frowned. "Neighsay, alas, was not happy with this arrangement, and he even used his authority to close down the school against Twilight's wishes."

"NEVER BEFORE HAVE I GONE FROM BEING SO HAPPY WITH THE STATE OF AFFAIRS IN THIS COUNTRY TO BEING SO DISAPPOINTED IN SUCH A SHORT TIME. SO IF I'M TO UNDERSTAND THIS CORRECTLY, THE STALLION CHARGED WITH THE OVERSIGHT OF EQUESTRIA'S EDUCATION WAS AN INDIVIDUAL OF SUCH BIGOTRY AND INTOLERANCE THAT HE FORBADE A SCHOOL FROM EVEN EXISTING BECAUSE NOT ALL OF ITS STUDENTS WERE PONIES?"

"That would be the gist of it, yes," Luna conceded.

"Yeah! He was a total meanie!" Sweetie Belle added. "He even went and locked up some of those students because he thought they were doing something dangerous! Which they weren't!"

"I'M GOING TO HAVE TO HAVE SOMEPONY EXPLAIN THIS TO ME VERY, VERY QUICKLY. TELL ME, EXACTLY HOW IS IT THAT A STALLION OF SUCH POOR CHARACTER WAS ALLOWED TO RISE TO A POSITION OF SUCH POWER AND AUTHORITY UNDER MY ELDEST DAUGHTER'S WATCH?"

Luna stepped forward to her father's skeleton as she answered. "In Celestia's defense, Father, it's likely that she did not know this about Neighsay when she appointed him. Remember, a school that allowed for mixed classes like this had never been done prior to Twilight's arrival, largely because of the once-negative relationship Equestria once had with its neighbours. As such, it may simply be a case that, without such a school to look at, Neighsay's bigotry was never given an opportunity to reveal itself."

"BE THAT AS IT MAY, I'D HAVE THOUGHT CELESTIA TO BE A BETTER JUDGE OF CHARACTER THAN THIS. YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT SHE HAD NO INKLING OF NEIGHSAY'S POSITIONS IN ANY OF HER PRIOR DEALINGS WITH HIM?"

"I believe I can step in here, Princess," Blueblood remarked as he walked past Luna. "Your Majesty, I fully believe that Auntie Celestia would have indeed discerned this about him, but outside of her initial appointment of him she rarely ever spoke to him. Most of the time it was left to other castle dignitaries..." He took on a smug look. "Such as myself, for instance, to speak to him at official gatherings." He groaned. "And believe me, those were no pleasant conversations."

"WELL THEN, THAT SETTLES IT. IF A STALLION SUCH AS YOU FOUND HIM INTOLERABLE, THEN THAT'S JUST THE FINAL NAIL IN THE COFFIN AS FAR AS MY OPINION OF HIM GOES."

Luna cleared her throat before speaking up again. "To his credit, Father, he realised the error of his ways after an incident at the end of the school's first year. Since then he's been completely supportive of Twilight and her goals of furthering relations with our foreign friends." She smiled. "In fact, he even led a coalition of our allies against a more recent threat, so I think it's safe to say that he's softened on non-ponies by this point."

"...VERY WELL. IF THAT IS THE CASE, THEN I SUPPOSE NOTHING MORE NEED BE SAID ABOUT HIM."

"Agreed," Luna said.

"AND LET ME TELL YOU, IT'S FORTUNATE THAT YOU TOLD ME THIS ABOUT HIM, DAUGHTER. HAD I BEEN LEFT WITH THE IMRPESSION THAT HE HAD REMAINED A CLOSED-MINDED FOOL WHO HAS ACTIVELY STOOD IN THE WAY OF THE PLANS OF EQUESTRIA'S LEADERSHIP, I WOULD HAVE HAD...THOUGHTS."

Slowly, Luna arched an eyebrow. "Such as?" she asked warily.

"WELL, NAMELY THAT I WOULD HAVE SENT HIM A LETETR SAYING THAT THE EQUESTRIAN EDUCATION ASSOCIATION WAS NOW DISBANDED, THUS PROVOKING HIM INTO SUCH ANGER THAT HE'D MARCH DOWN HERE TO DEMAND AN EXPLANATION, AFTER WHICH I'D REQUEST THAT DISCORD HERE USE HIS POWER TO SEND BOTH HIM AND HIS CLOSEST ASSOCIATES DOWN TO THE DARKEST DEPTHS OF TARTARUS."

Discord, upon hearing all that, grinned wickedly as he drummed his fingers together. "Oh, that would have been an utter delight!" He then looked to Luna with disapproval. "Seriously, why'd you have to go and spoil a perfectly good plan by saying Neighsay was better now? For shame, Lulu!"

The blue mare rolled her eyes. "Well call me old-fashioned, but I don't typically agree with the sentiment that a pony should be sent to an underground realm of eternal punishment just because they're an old grouch."

Discord wagged his finger at her. "I repeat...for shame!"

Flash had lost track of just how long they'd been out here, but in the Guard one never complained about how long was required for a task. Or at least, that's what they always told themselves. But even he, steadfast a stallion as he was, was starting to question just how long he could keep this quest going. Rumours and myths surrounding the Alicorn Amulet and its whereabouts had been aplenty, but for every lead he and his comrades had found, they'd come across one dead end or another. Now, after having scoured far and wide, they were on their last chance. One last whisper, gleaned in dark markets on the very fringes of Equestrian society. Stories of a far-off ruin where a trinket of great power lay hidden. It was all he had left, and so he and all who had deigned to follow him were heading there now, walking over craggy ground and withered plants, beyond the point where any living soul had been seen for hours. Glancing over his shoulder, Flash at least had gratitude for those who had joined him on this. Rockhoof, famed for his strength and storytelling. Tempest Shadow, the lightning unicorn who had once brought all of Canterlot to its knees. And behind them were many others of the Guard, unicorn, pegasi and earth pony alike, though many were feeling the effort of their long journey now. "I promise you all, if this lead proves false, I will call an end to our quest."

Though many took on a brief look of relief at his declaration, several of the younger, and thus more eager, members of his entourage spoke aloud in response. "Sir! For the good of Equestria we will follow you however long it takes!"

Flash smiled to this, appreciative of the enthusiasm at least some of his followers had for this task. By contrast, Tempest rolled her eyes to the younger ones' remarks. "Some ponies really don't know a lost cause when they see one, do they?"

"Ha! No cause is lost so long as there is but one fool left to fight it!" Rockhoof bellowed happily.

Flash looked to him with an arched eyebrow. "That...probably sounded more encouraging in your head, friend." When Rockhoof tuned to look to him, it seemed as though he was going to maybe try for some other kind of motivation. Alas, he was prevented, as Tempest, who had been just a few steps ahead of them now, came to a stop, prompting Flash to look to her. He saw her eyes narrow, and so turned again to what she was looking at. When he did, his expression became one of disbelief, for in the hazy mist ahead, something could be seen. A structure, like some kind of long-crumbled pyramid. How old it was or who had built it, he could not say. But one thing he knew for certain. "I think...this is it." He looked back, to his escort. "Keep watch, Guard! We have no idea what we'll find here!"

All saluted to him, save for Tempest and Rockhoof of course, and soon enough the three leaders of the party were making their way closer to the ancient building, with the others not far behind. Tempest's horn crackled, no doubt showing her anticipation of some upcoming fight. Rockhoof, for his part, seemed disappointed that this place lacked any kind of grandeur, which was understandable, given how long it had been since anycreature had likely called this place home. As for Flash, his attention was focused purely on the centre of the place as they entered, which appeared to be an old courtyard, albeit with a mix of colosseum stands around them for good measure. After looking the place over, he looked to Tempest, who shook her head at him. "Sorry, Lieutenant...but there's nothing here."

After taking a deep breath, Flash sighed, nodding slowly. "Well...I guess that's it then." He looked up at the ruin around him. "I suppose...the only thing I'll be delivering to the King is bad news."

"Oh? A king's champion, are you?"

All eyes turned, and found, to their shock, that there was a new arrival among them. There, standing at the far end of the courtyard, as though she had appeared out of thin air, was a beast of deep maroon, who towered over all of them. Her general shape was feline, and though many did not recognise her, Rockhoof most assuredly did, raising his famed shovel and pointing it straight at her. "You?! What foul trickery is this?!"

Chuckling, the beast stepped forward, watching with amusement as all of the Guard began to take up defensive formations at her approach. "No trickery, old one. Your eyes do not deceive you. I am indeed who you suspect I am."

Flash looked to his companion. "Rockhoof? Who is she?"

His fellow stallion narrowed his eyes. "This, lad...is the Sphinx!"

Flash's eyes widened, and his head snapped back to the newcomer. "As in...the ancient foe of Somnambula?!"

"The very same!" Rockhoof confirmed.

Tempest's horn ignited again. "No need to worry. All of us against her? This'll be over in a heartbeat!"

But the Sphinx raised a paw towards them. "Peace, warriors of Equestria! I am not your enemy this day!"

Flash looked to her warily. "No? Then what are you this day?"

The Sphinx bowed her head slightly. "I am the final barrier between you and that which you seek."

It took a moment, but Flash put two and two together. "You...you're the guardian of the Alicorn Amulet?"

"I am."

Rockhoof laughed, but it was one of incredulity rather than amusement. "She lies! She is an enemy of ponykind! Why would anypony entrust such an artefact to one of our most infamous adversaries?!"

The Sphinx looked away, to the ruins around them. "Rockhoof speaks true. For many a year I tormented mare and stallion alike. Such games were my greatest joy. But after my defeat at the hooves of Somnambula, I wandered far from pony lands, with naught but my thoughts of my own actions." She looked back to them. "In time, I recognised my deeds for the heinousness that they were, and sought to never again harm your people. To this end was I eventually sought out to be the keeper of the Amulet. My last great task in this life, to ensure that such power would never fall into the hooves of the unworthy and malevolent." Slowly, her gaze focused upon Tempest. "And besides, is it truly so inconceivable that one who has done wrong would commit themselves to making up for it?"

There was an awkward silence after that, and Flash was quick to notice Tempest not wanting to look at the guardian. Respecting her position on this matter, Flash instead turned again to the behemoth, stepping beyond the defensive line of his comrades, much to their shared concern. "If what you say is true...then know that we do not seek the Amulet for personal gain, but for the benefit of our fellow ponies. The benefit of Equestria itself!"

The Sphinx nodded. "Yes...a King resurrected. A golden age to usher in. Lofty dreams indeed. And perhaps you shall succeed, should you obtain your goal."

Flash sighed. "Then...what must I do?"

Taking a few steps closer, the Sphinx looked the stallion over, then smiled. "Answer me...these riddles three."

Tempest, upon hearing that, groaned in frustration. "Ugh! Really?! A pop quiz?! To get one of the most powerful artefacts in pony history?!"

The Sphinx looked up to her. "It was deemed necessary that the Amulet should only be given to those who are possessed of wisdom. The wisdom to take great power but only to use it for the best of causes. Never for oneself. Righteousness has brought you here, but let us see if you also bear this quality." She again looked to Flash. "Well, little stallion? Shall you partake of this challenge?"

After a while of thinking it over, Flash looked her right in the eye. "I have come all this way. I have no intention of walking away when there is even a chance we can do this." He took a deep breath. "I accept."

The Sphinx nodded. "Very good." Then, she started walking around him, with the others watching her closely as she did so. After a while, she stood in front of him again before finally speaking. "There is a house. A pony enters it blind, yet comes out seeing. What is this house?"

There was utter silence as Flash considered this first riddle. His first instinct was to say it was a hospital of some kind. Somewhere injuries and illnesses could be treated. But his gut told told him that it was unlikely to be anything straightforward like that, especially since blindness wasn't exactly known for being curable. Then, an idea popped into his head, and in spite of the seriousness of the situation, he smiled. "...A school."

The Sphinx smirked. "Are you certain?"

Flash nodded. "We go into schools blind. Ignorant. But we come out seeing. Understanding. A school is my answer."

A pause, but then the Sphinx's smile grew. "You...are correct."

There was a cheer from behind as his followers called out with delight over his success. But Flash looked back to them. "Not yet, friends. We're not out of the woods here."

Silence fell again as the Guards respected their commander's wishes, and Flash looked again to the Sphinx as she began to speak her second riddle. "What goes on four legs in the morning, on two legs at noon, and on three legs in the evening?"

Whatever confidence Flash might have felt at his prior victory was snatched away from him after hearing that. He had absolutely no idea what the Sphinx was asking him here, and a dread crept into his heart as he considered the possibility of failure. In this silence he wondered to himself how much easier things would be if Princess Twilight was here. That mare knew riddles and quizzes like nopony's business. And it was on that thought that something came to him. Something that he remembered hearing about regarding that very mare. Something that had happened to her, and who she had met, just around the time he and she had first bumped into one another so many years ago. It was a gamble, he knew, but at this point it was his only option. "...Humans?"

The Sphinx took on a serious look, squinting at him. "Meaning?"

Flash looked up to her again. "A human crawls on all fours when it is born, in the morning of their life. When they are full-grown, at noon, they walks on two. As for the evening, they walk on three legs because they use a cane to help them."

All waited with held breath to see what the Sphinx would say, and after almost a solid minute of quiet, the beast smiled. "In this...you are again correct."

All breathed a sigh of relief, even though there was still trepidation about what the final riddle would be. Tempest, for her part, leaned over to Rockhoof and whispered to him. "What in the name of Equestria is a human?" A question that Rockhoof could only shrug at.

As for Flash, he awaited his final test, which the Sphinx was all too willing to give him. "And now...the last riddle." She gave him as moment to take a breath before delivering her challenge. "This thing all things devours. Birds, beasts, trees, flowers. Gnaws iron, bites steel, grinds hard stones to meal. Slays kings, ruins towns, and beats mountains down." She leaned down, until her face and his were but mere inches away. "What. Am. I?"

Much like with the others, uncertainty gripped Flash with this riddle. And though he did not look to them, he could hear his fellows muttering to themselves in their own desperate attempt to figure it out. The stallion wracked his mind for any conceivable answer to such a question. Thinking on stories he'd heard in his youth of creatures that could lay waste to villages. Or perhaps some powerful magic with great destructive ability. Nothing felt right to him. In his ponderings, he glanced to the side, taking in the sight of the ruins they were in, and thought, for a moment, just what this place might have been like in its heyday, way back in the distant past. And that was what it came to him. The answer. Something he mentally kicked himself for not guessing earlier. With a confidence he'd not felt before in his dealings with his opponent, he gave his final answer. "You...are time."

All held their breath, and the Sphinx stared into her challenger's eyes, perhaps to see even the tiniest flicker of uncertainty of fear. She found none, and the moment she realised that she drew to her full height, her seriousness giving way to genuine gladness. "Congratulations, Flash Sentry...you have passed."

And thus the cheers rang out. Guards hugged one another, Rockhoof jumped for joy and even Tempest looked on to her leader with pride over what he'd done. As for Flash, relief didn't even begin to describe how he was feeling right now, and after taking a moment to just recover from all of this, he looked up to the much larger being. "Out of curiosity...what would you have done if I'd failed?"

She chuckled. "Oh, I'd have just had to find a new hiding spot for the Amulet. And speaking of which..." Reaching down with her paw, she opened it, revealing to Flash the tiny object he'd travelled so far to get. An artefact of black and red, whose very appearance unnerved Flash to no end. It was a token of dark magic, that much was certain, but he knew that obtaining it would lead to a greater good, and so, with humility to his host, he nodded to her as she finished her words. "Be well, Flash Sentry. Pray you fare better with this than the last pony who bore it."

Though the journey to find their quarry had been tiresome and fraught with doubt, now there was a renewed sense of hope among the group. Mutterings about what kind of new world they'd be bringing about because of the Amulet were abound among the lower-ranked members of the Guard, and of course Rockhoof was busy refining his story for when they got back to Equestria proper. As for Flash, he was at the head of the group as they journeyed, looking down to the tiny artefact that they'd spent so long trying to obtain. "It's strange, isn't it? So much power, so much hope, all inside this tiny, little thing."

Tempest smirked to him as she walked alongside him. "I just hope this King of yours appreciates it."

Flash chuckled as he set the Amulet aside in his saddle-bag. "Having spent as much time with him as I have, I'm not sure if 'appreciate' is something that can really be applied to him." He paused, albeit briefly. "But...it'll be pretty interesting to see how this all turns out. I was unsure about Discord's plan at first, but now?" He took a deep breath. "Now...it actually feels like things are going to turn out okay."

Moment after, Tempest's ears perked up, and she looked skywards, which was grey and overcast. Her eyes narrowed as she kept her voice quiet. "There's an old saying, Lieutenant. Never count your chickens before they're hatched."

Flash looked to her with confusion, but as soon as he saw her wary expression, he halted. He knew concern when he saw it, and so raised his forehoof up high, where all the followers could see it. Without even a word, all of them had stopped, and the sense of joviality that had been in the group until now had vanished, replaced with a sudden unease. There was utter quiet all around them, with nothing but large rocks and dead trees upon the grounds ahead of where they stood. But there was something else. A sense of something unseen. However, it did not remain unseen for long, as Tempest's eyes widened immediately, darting over to Flash and tackling him to the ground. "GET DOWN!!!"

All did as she said, just in time to see, to their shock, a torrent of fire hurl down from the cloud-cover above. It missed them by a hair's breadth, but the effect was the same. Panic. The Guard looked to their leader who, after giving Tempest a look of thanks, got to his hooves and spoke aloud to his escort. "Royal Guard! Defensive formation! Unicorns divisions, barriers up now!"

The soldiers carried out the orders instantly, with the unicorns of their number forming a circle around the rest, igniting their horns and combining their magic into a single, magical shield that domed over the entirety of the party. Tempest's horn flickered with her own power as she kept her gaze squarely on the skies, looking for their unseen assailant. "Cloud or not, I know the fire of a dragon when I see one!"

Rockhoof, shovel in hoof, looked to her with confusion. " I thought they were our allies now?!"

"Tell that to the one attacking us!" Tempest countered.

A loud bellow from the clouds seemed to confirm her suspicions, but that was far from the only movement that concerned them. Down on the ground level, new figures were emerging from behind the aforementioned rocks and trees, and Flash made sure to note every single one of them as they came into view. Unchanged Changelings, ragged-looking Storm Guards, even a few unsavoury ponies. A coalition, clearly, and ones that weren't happy to see them. Flash, knowing they needed to act fast with a dragon in play, called out to their attackers. "For what reason have you engaged us in battle?!"

One of them, a stallion in a fedora, smirked to him as he stepped ahead of their assembled enemies. "Name's Biff, friend. You may know me as a former enforcer of the famous Dr Caballeron." After seeing the nonplussed look on the armoured ponies, he continued. "The famous looter and pillager of ancient Equestrian artefacts?"

Flash frowned. "So...you're criminals then? That still doesn't explain why you attack us."

Biff chuckled, as did his fellow former henchmen. "Oh, I think you do know, buddy. We'll be taking that little trinket off your hooves for you."

Rockhoof pointed his shovel angrily at the stallion. "We will not be cowed by a mob of loathsome degenerates such as you!"

Biff shrugged. "In case you missed the memo, big guy, we've got you surrounded and outgunned here. Turns out there's quite a few folks out there with some serious beef against Equestria. And they were mighty willing to lend us a hoof in getting that old amulet off you. Putting that thing on the black market? Oh yeah, it'll fetch a pretty penny alright."

The pieces all fell into place in Flash's mind. He gazed around, seeing the patchwork of forces arrayed against them. Changelings unhappy with the new regime of King Thorax. Storm Guards eager for revenge against those of the nation who deposed their fallen ruler. And as for the dragon, he knew there were plenty who'd be willing to cause problems for Equestria against the wishes of Dragon Lord Ember, especially if an infamous treasure was on the table. And though he was loathe to admit it, their enemy was right. They were seen in all directions, cutting off any escape, and their numbers surpassed their own. But as for being outgunned? Well, that was something Tempest was sure to comment on. "Let me out of the barrier, Flash! One good shot and their leader is toast!"

But Flash shook his head. "No. They could be waiting for that. You're our heaviest hitter. If the dragon comes down for some serious fighting we'll need your power to fend it off." As if the beast had heard him, a loud roar caused all to look upwards, seeing that the draconic opponent was now divebombing from the clouds. He was a big fellow too. Not quite on the same level as the one that had sent up plumes of smoke from Ponyville's adjacent mountain all those years ago, but certainly in a class above the younger generation that Ember belongs to. With claws outstretched, it collided with the barrier, causing the unicorns to flinch under the impact. Flash, turning again to Tempest, gave his command. "Now!"

And strike she did, letting loose the full force of her electric magic against the beast that stood atop their protection. It found its mark, hitting the dragon squarely in the chest and causing it to yelp in pain, as well as forcing it to retreat back above the clouds. The ground forces that surrounded them saw this as a clear sign that their reptilian friend wasn't going to be the one-shot victory they'd hoped, and so, after a whistle from Biff, the other charged. The Changelings transformed themselves, becoming enormous, insect-like beasts, Yaks, Storm Guards and any other burly creatures they could think of to bolster their strength. And together, they and the genuine Storm Guards collided with the barrier, again causing a collective wince among the unicorns. Rockhoof looked to his leader, speaking aloud what they were all thinking. "We need to fight back, Flash! We cannot simply defend forever!"

Tempest walked alongside the pegasus stallion as she surveyed the continued assault outside the barrier. "He's right. Equestria has no clue we're in trouble out here. We either fight, or we give them what they want."

Flash looked to her, and his expression gave away that her words had triggered inspiration in him. "That's it!"

Biff looked ahead as best he could, trying to see within the magical barrier. Through that obscured sight he could make out Flash speaking to Tempest, holding up his saddle-bags to her. The criminal knew, from looking, what those bags must contain. "Keep up the attack, lads! We've got our target in our sights!"

Meanwhile, within the bubble, Tempest sighed before giving a solemn nod to Flash, who gave her a quick salute before turning to look to his fellow guards. "On my command! Lower the barrier!" There was understandable surprise over this order, but the dutiful guards nevertheless obeyed it, lowering their spell and leaving the entirety of their group exposed to their foes. Flash, flapping his wings, launched himself into the sky, causing all of their adversaries to look to him. "You want, this, Biff?" He began, holding up his bags for all to see, before promptly fastening them to his back yet again. "Then come and get it!"

Biff watched as the pegasus flew off in the other direction from where he'd come from, back towards the ruins of the Sphinx. Enraged, he grabbed hold of one of his cohorts before angrily pointing in said direction. "Well?! Don't just stand there! Get him!"

One of the other criminals, seeing all of the other assembled ne'er-do-wells follow that order to pursue Flash, nevertheless felt the need to speak up. "But Biff! What about the rest of them?"

"Ignore them!" His leader answered. "The Amulet is what matters!"

And so, with all of his enemies now firmly fixed on him, Flash breathed heavily as he flew as fast as he'd ever flown before. "Okay...going against a small army by myself now. Not how my day was supposed to go, but there we are, I guess." And his day soon became even worse as a familiar roar caught him off-guard, causing him to look up. "Oh, right, that guy." It was only thanks to the faster reflexes of pegasi that Flash was able to dodge the incoming ramming of the dragon flying down from the clouds. But this was more than just out-flying a single beast now. He was needing to keep ahead of dozens of others. Dust was kicked back from the sheer number of those on the ground chasing after him, and many of the Changelings too had taken to the sky, to join the dragon in trying to catch him. On and on they flew, and after a while Flash knew that tiredness was starting to creep in, which was where his pursuers took their advantage. The dragon raised its claw and struck, finally managing to land a hit on the Lieutenant. With a yelp of pain, Flash plummeted to the ground, and it was only by righting himself at the last moment that he avoided a full-on meteoric slam against it. But still, he knew that flying away again was no longer an option, as he was yet again surrounded, but this time with no fellows to help him fight. The ground forces were around him and the dragon above, leading to a sigh on his part. "Well...this day just keeps on getting better, doesn't it?"

A laugh drew his attention to one direction in particular, where Biff walked ahead of the rest of his fellow conspirators, heading straight for an object upon the ground. Flash realised, to his dismay, that it was his saddle-bag, which must have been knocked off him when the dragon struck. Biff, casually picking it up, twirled it in his hoof before smirking to the downed guard. "Well, let it never be said that you didn't lead us a merry chase, Lieutenant. But, all good things must come to an end, and your fight certainly has." Flash watched with narrowed eyes as the enemy leader opened the bag, putting his hoof in to rummage around its contents. But then, that look of victory on the stallion's face faded, and he brought the bag up to get a better look inside. Then, after panting furiously, he threw it upon the ground, pointing to Flash. "Where?! Where is it?!"

In response, Flash shrugged. "Oh, I gave it to Tempest before the barrier was lowered."

"...WHAT?!?!" Biff bellowed angrily.

"Yep," Flash continued. "I'd wager it's been taken across Equestria's border by now. Naturally, this will make things a lot harder for you if you plan to go and get it." He smiled to the stallion. "Though I'm sure these fine fellows who've followed you wouldn't mind you letting their prize get away, now would they?"

There were numerous growls that proved that Flash's obviously sarcastic comment was far from true, and Biff, realising the precariousness of his current position, was fuming. "You...Do you realise how stupid you've just been? You sent that thing away but now you're totally done for! Look around! We surround you, you're not flying away again and you've got no chance of making it out of here alive! What's wrong with you?!"

To that, Flash's smile vanished, and he narrowed his eyes before scraping his forehoof against the dry ground. "What's wrong with me? I'll tell you. I am Flash Sentry. Lieutenant of the Canterlot Royal Guard. Servant of the royal house of the sun and moon. And if it comes down to me letting Equestria's enemies undermine its future or giving my life...then I give my life gladly." He stood tall, looking to his assembled captors with defiance. "Do what you will."

Slowly, Biff's own eyes narrowed, and he took a single step forward. "...If you get on your knees and beg...I might overlook this and just ransom you back to them."

Flash, in spite of everything, chuckled. "Sorry, Mr Biff. But I'm not giving you the satisfaction of making even a single bit from this attack of yours."

Caballeron's former underling was flabbergasted by all this. "But...why?! Why throw your life away like this?!"

"Because..." Flash took a deep breath. "In a land of hope and friendships like Equestria...there can be a victor!"

Grinding his teeth, Biff again pointed to him. "In that case...GET HIM!!!"

All charged forward, the dragon foremost among them, and the beast raised its mighty claws, ready to strike the pegasus with a single swipe. Flash stood his ground, never flinching nor even closing his eyes. He awaited his inevitable end, looking his doom right in the eye, which was fast approaching as the draconic claws were brought down. But then, mere milliseconds from being hit by them, his brain suddenly registered something. He wasn't in that desolate landscape anymore, and nor was he surrounded by his enemies. Instead, after spinning around to get his bearings, he found himself in a very familiar-looking chamber, and on all sides were smiling, friendly faces. Blinking, and naturally unsure of what had just happened, Flash slowly looked up to find a massive, alicorn skeleton upon a pedestal. "WELL THEN. SEEMS YOU'VE HAD QUITE A TRYING TIME, HAVEN'T YOU, MY CHAMPION?"