Flashlight

"Twilight? I'm not sure I can do this."

Flash Sentry was nervously walking up one of the main streets of Canterlot, worried with every step that today might go wrong. Beside him was a mare who drew the attention of all the ponies they passed along the way. Twilight Sparkle, latest princess of Equestria. It was her idea that the two of them come here for this. She felt it was needed, out of courtesy if nothing else. But she knew Flash well enough to know that it was something that caused him a great deal of nervousness.

"Relax Flash. I’m sure my parents will love you."

She could not blame him for his hesitancy. From what she'd heard, meeting the parents of somepony you're involved with was always a stressful and nerve-wracking experience for anypony, mare and stallion alike. And, in truth, there was a part of her that also felt nervous at this. She hadn't actually told her parents that she'd started a relationship with a stallion. From what Flash had told her, her brother, Shining, already knew, but the fact that she'd received no letters from her parents made it clear that they still knew nothing about it.

Still, the last thing her new colt-friend needed right now was for her to appear as nervous as she was, and having now had some experience at being a princess had, fortunately, given her lessons in how to keep calm in situations like this. Were you to look at her, you'd never think that she was nervous about anything. Still, she looked over at Flash, and from one look at his face knew that this meeting was dominating his thoughts. Smiling, she gently placed a hoof on his shoulder, catching his attention.

"You don't have anything to worry about Flash."

Whether genuine or forced for her sake, Flash smiled back. At the very least he was trying to act calmer for her, which she appreciated. They continued to make their way down the street, earning many looks and whispers from passers-by. It was something that caused Twilight some degree of annoyance. She didn't want her personal life, especially her romantic life, to be the subject of big city rumours and gossip. But, there was little she could do about it now, so she tried her best to ignore it. As they carried on, her attention was one more drawn to Flash as he spoke up.

"Tell me, if it's not too rude to ask, but have you ever done this before?"

Twilight looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"You mean introduce a colt-friend to my parents? I'd have needed a colt-friend for that."

That caused Flash to have a look of surprise.

"I'm your first? Really?"

Twilight felt she should be flattered by a reaction like that. Flash had told her many times that she was an impressive mare, and one that any stallion would consider lucky to be with. And though those words had made her happy to hear, there were times when all it did was remind her that, for all her accomplishments, she'd always been lacking when it came to romance. Still, she was grateful that Flash thought of her like that. Even so, she nodded in response to his question, which left him surprised.

But, as she considered his question, she suddenly realised that, even after all the time they'd spent together, she knew virtually nothing of his own love life. She was, needless to say, rather apprehensive about it.

"And.......what about you? Has there been anypony else.....beside me?"

Twilight began to regret her words almost as soon as she'd asked, for Flash's expression changed immediately to one of great discomfort. He looked away from her and seemed to be struggling with some rather unpleasant memories. This was not the reaction she'd expected, but it nevertheless confirmed her suspicions.

"Who was she?" She asked.

Flash clenched his eyes shut before answering.

"Twilight, if it's all the same to you, I'd rather not talk about it. It wasn't a good time for me and I'd rather forget about it."

Those words were all Twilight needed to hear,. There had been another mare in his life before her, though from the looks of things it had clearly not been a good or happy relationship if he was this uncomfortable thinking about it. Even though she remained curious about his past in this regard, she knew it wasn't a good idea top press the matter, at least this early on in their own relationship. Respecting his wishes, Twilight simply nodded and turned her attention ahead of her.

And when she did, her expression lit up once more as her eyes locked onto a very familiar house along the street. She placed her hoof on Flash's shoulder and, after he looked at her again, she pointed towards the house in question. Flash looked ahead to where she was pointing and guessed immediately that this was the homer of her parents. And he would have guessed right. This was the very home Twilight and her brother had been raised in, a place of many fond memories for her. It brought her joy to see it again, so much so that she sped up to reach it quicker, with Flash himself also walking faster to keep up with her.

Once Twilight reached the door, she was practically jumping in place as Flash took his place beside her, watching with bemusement at her reaction to this place. But she eventually calmed down and turned to face him.

"This is it. Are you ready?" She asked.

Flash considered that for a moment before exhaling and looking at the door.

"As ready as anypony can be I suppose."

Twilight could tell he was still nervous, but nevertheless used his response as permission to go ahead and knock on the door three times. There was a pause afterwards, during which Twilight stayed perfectly quiet, listening carefully for any sounds on the other side of the door. Eventually, she heard the distinct sound of approaching hoof steps and waited eagerly for the door to open. Mere moments later, it did so, and on the other side was an older unicorn mare, with white fur and a white-and-purple mane. Twilight's mother, and namesake, who took only a moment to look upon her daughter before breaking out into a massive smile.

"Twilight! Oh my goodness, it's been so long!"

The mare practically leapt forward and wrapped her forelegs around her daughter's neck, embracing her in a hug which Twilight eagerly returned.

"Hi Mom! It's good to see you again!" She said.

The two, after some time, broke apart from each other, still smiling.

"Oh my sweet little princess! I can't tell you how much your father and I have been hoping you'd visit."

Twilight blushed a little over her recent nickname of princess, and Flash, in an attempt to conceal how amused he was over it, turned his head away. It was at this point that Twilight Snr realised that her daughter was not alone. Noticing that she had come here with a stallion caused her to tilt her head in confusion. She looked at her daughter, who'd noticed that her mother had noticed him, back to the increasingly nervous stallion. The looks on the two young ponies' faces pretty much gave it all away, as Twilight Snr gained a look of shock and joy all at once.

"Oh my stars! It's happened, hasn't it?! My little girl has found somepony?"

Twilight opened her mouth, ready to give an answer, but suddenly realised she had no real way of just outright announcing this new relationship to her mother. Instead, she simply nodded whilst smiling. The smile on the mother's face grew even wide as she stepped forward towards a taken-aback Flash.

"I can't tell you how pleased I am that my little girl has a special somepony."

Flash looked from the mother, to Twilight, who had a look that made it clear that he should start speaking right now. A request he was actually able to do.

"Well......thank you ma'am. I'm Flash Sentry. Pleased to meet you."

Twilight Snr chuckle briefly at that.

"Ma'am? How very formal. Are you one of the royal guard?"

Flash began to speak, but he was cut off by Twilight.

"I'm sure Flash would love to tell you everything Mon, but maybe we could go inside first? I'd like to say hi to Dad if he's in."

A look of realisation his Twilight's mother once she heard that.

"Of course! Your father will want to know this!"

The elder mare turned around and made her way inside, and the younger ponies soon followed her. They entered into a modestly-sized entrance hall, with a staircase leading upstairs on the side. Mrs Sparkle stood at the base of the stairs and started to call up.

"Honey! We have a visitor!"

The two younger ponies looked up the stairs and, soon enough, an older stallion, with blue fur and a dark-blue mane started walking down. Nightlight Sparkle, Twilight's father. He only came halfway down before he noticed his daughter and smiled at the sight of her. Twilight returned the smile and ran up the rest of the stairs to embrace him.

"Dad! I'm so happy to see you again!" She said.

Her father's smile grew as he replied.

"And you kiddo. It’s been too long."

The two eventually broke away from each other and, before Mr Sparkle could speak to her further, he looked past her to the unfamiliar face of Flash standing next to Twilight's mother. His expression immediately became more stern as he raised an eyebrow at the young stallion, causing the latter to suddenly return to his previous bout of nerves. Twilight could see the look on her father's face and could tell that he'd already figured out who Flash was and why he was here. The elder stallion walked past his daughter and towards Flash, who was doing his best to stand his ground at this point. The young stallion cleared his throat before speaking.

"Um.......Hello Sir. I'm......Flash. Flash Sentry."

There was a near-unbearable silence between them all as Mr Sparkle simply looked at the guy and was considering him carefully. Flash's eyes darted up to Twilight, who simply shrugged, unsure of how best to proceed with this. But his eyes quickly came back to her father as he began speaking.

"So then.......you and my daughter?" He said sharply.

Flash considered answering him, but much like Twilight with her mother, simply resorted to nodding. there was another pause and it seemed for a moment that this meeting wasn't going to go as well as Twilight had hoped. But then, much to everypony's relief, Mr Sparkle cracked a smile and held out his hoof in front of the younger stallion.

"Good to meet you Flash. Welcome."

Flash couldn't help but exhale deeply in response to that. He looked up at Twilight, who was smiling over the fact that her father seemed okay with all this. In response to Nightlight holding out his hoof, Flash raised his own and shook it.

"And you Sir."

Though still smiling, Mr Sparkle raised an eyebrow.

"Sir? You're a guard pony, aren't you?"

Flash seemed taken aback that both of Twilight's parents had managed to figure that out. Seeing the look on the guy's face, Mr Sparkle explained.

"Lad, don't forget my son was captain once. You never forget the look of a guard pony."

Flash nodded at that before Mr Sparkle gestured to the next room. The four of them made their way in, where there were two large couches for them to sit on. As they made their way inside the room, Mrs Sparkle tapped her husband on the shoulder and whispered into his ear.

"I'm going to make us some tea. Do carry on." She said.

Mr Sparkle nodded at her as she made her way off to the kitchen. Twilight and Flash sat down on the nearest couch, while Mr Sparkle sat on the opposite one. After getting themselves comfortable, Mr Sparkle began the questioning.

"So then, Flash. Tell me a little about yourself."

Flash considered how best to answer that question, though it didn't take him very long.

"Well Sir, I was born and grew up here in Canterlot. When I came of age I decided I wanted to become a guard pony, so I enlisted for the training academy. After the changeling attack during your son's wedding, it was decided that more guards were needed, so mine and others' official induction into the guard was brought forward earlier than usual. And as for recently, I was transferred over to the Crystal Empire platoon, guarding the palace specifically."

Twilight's father nodded at that, taking a genuine interest in what his daughter's new colt-friend was telling him. Twilight was happy things were going so well. Her mother and father didn't seem to have a problem with him, at least none she could sense, and Flash himself seemed to be getting on well with them. It was at this point that Twilight heard the sound of her mother approaching, and turned to see her re-enter the room, using her magic to levitate a tray with four cups of tea on it. She gently placed it down on the table in-between the two couches before speaking up.

"So tell me something you two. How did you meet?"

That remark caused a slight knot in Twilight's stomach. She knew full well that her parents had the right to know details like that about their relationship, but in truth Twilight wasn't all too eager to talk about that particular aspect of it. After all, her parents had not yet been made aware of all the things that had happened to her while she was in the human world, least of all her involvement with the human incarnation of Flash. It was her connection to that Flash that had led her to seek out this one in the first place. And Twilight had revealed as much to the Flash sitting next to her right now.

If he were to tell them what she had told him, their current happiness over her being in a relationship might not last. They may assume she's doing it for the wrong reasons, or perhaps some other concern they might have. Looking over at Flash, she could tell that the same thing was on his thoughts. He was thinking hard on a way to get around that particular detail before finally settling on what he thought was the best response.

"Well, we met shortly after I was transferred to the crystal palace. It was a couple of days after the princess summit and I had been assigned the night shift. It was then that I met Twilight formally."

He turned to Twilight, a small smile on his face, which she returned.

"She was having trouble sleeping and was walking about the palace, trying to get some fresh air. That's when we met. We got to talking for a bit and, eventually, I invited her to join me for a walk to a nearby lake outside the city the next day. The rest is history."

Twilight had to fight with all her might to avoid exhaling with relief. He'd done it. Flash had managed to explain their first meeting without giving away the details that he knew she'd rather keep to herself at the moment, and all without speaking any falsehoods. She thought to herself that she'd have to thank him in some way later on. Looking at her parents, she saw them nodding at each other, apparently satisfied with the tale they'd just been told. The two elder ponies then looked at them again, Mr Sparkle speaking once more.

"So Flash, is my daughter the first mare you'd been involved with?"

Both Twilight and Flash suddenly became uncomfortable upon hearing that. Twilight had only just discovered about Flash's past relationship with an as-yet unknown mare, and even though he was honest about that, he was still not in a place where he was comfortable talking about it openly. She'd respected his decision to remain silent on it, and knew that it was only proper courtesy that she stop her parents in this particular line of questioning.

"Dad. I don't think Flash wants to......"

But she was stopped from finishing her sentence by a raised hoof from Flash. Twilight looked at him as he turned towards her with a serious look on his face.

"It's okay Twilight. I'm seeing their daughter. They have a right to know this."

He started turning away from her before pausing for a brief moment, then looking back at her with a more softened expression and a smile.

"But thank you. I appreciate what you were about to do."

Twilight returned the smile. She still wasn't fully okay with how he was being led into talking about something he didn't want to, but if he said he was willing to do it, then she was going to accept his decision. Flash turned to her parents, who were still patiently awaiting his answer. He took a deep breath before answering.

"In all honesty Sir, yes, I have had a relationship with another mare before. It didn't last long though, only a few weeks. It became clear to me early on that our being together was a mistake. We never agreed on anything, our dates never ended up well and I just never felt that either of us were right for each other. We wended it some months ago and I've been trying to do my best to move on since then."

As much as Twilight didn't want Flash's past divulged in this way, she couldn't help but be curious. This part of her colt-friend's life was a complete mystery to her, so the secretly thanked the chance to be able to find out more about it. Her parents gave each other a look before Twilight's mother spoke up next.

"What was she like, this mare?"

Flash considered that before answering.

"She was.......outspoken. Very talented in magic, something which was a source of great pride for her. She was so good at it that it even earned her a spot in the royal academy for gifted unicorns during most of her childhood. But I haven't heard anything from her since we broke up so I couldn't tell you any more than that."

Mr Sparkle nodded for a moment before speaking.

"What was her name?"

Twilight looked up at Flash, increasingly curious about his past filly-friend. Her curiosity had been piqued further by the mention that she attended the Canterlot academy for magic. She herself had been officially enrolled in that school, even though most of her education had come from Celestia rather than the official teachers of magic there. There was a chance then that Twilight might have met this unicorn mare he'd been with. Flash took a deep breath before giving Mr Sparkle his answer. And the answer he gave made Twilight's heart sink. She couldn't believe it. It wasn't true, she told herself. But she knew it was. She knew that this poking into Flash's life would make things worse, and now it was. And the reason was because Twilight DID know the mare he spoke of. And if Flash found out how, then their relationship was in jeopardy.

"Her name.......was Sunset Shimmer."