I opened the door to the barracks and walked past several soldier ponies, who saluted or greeted me politely, as I made my way through the room. I gave each of them a slight nod, while walking by, towards the General's office, which was located in the back of the officer's mess of the barracks. All of those soldiers knew me, since I was visiting the General quite often, so none of them ever got the idea to stop me.

I knocked at the sturdy wooden door and a dampened voice called me in. I entered the office accompanied by my child, that was waiting behind my legs. By looking around the room, with its brick-built walls, which got decorated with some badges and medals the General had earned during his period of service, I saw him sitting on a wooden chair at his large desk, writing into a massive tome with a quill. The room was lit by a tiny candle, standing next to him and the warm light of the afternoon sun, that shone through the window near his desk. He just put the quill back into the ink jar and turned towards us.

"Uncle Flare, Uncle Flare!"

My son called cheerfully as he dashed over to the General. He rose from his chair and embraced my son, by kneeling down before him and playfully lifted him up into the air. The General repeated gently throwing him up and down several times, apparently enjoying the cheerful laughter of the foal, before he put him down onto the ground again. Then he turned his attention towards me and smiled.

The General wore a green vest with golden buttons over his yellow coat. His light orange mane with its white streaks being uncovered, since the associated visor cap laid on the wooden table next to the big book, he was writing into before.

"Forti, long time not seen" he greeted me, looking happily into my face.

"Yeah, because one has to come here to see you. No visit, no letter, no message at all. I haven't seen you in weeks, Flare, since you spend every minute in your office or are elsewhere occupied," I said with a slightly upset tone, to tease him, before I nodded towards the book on his table.

He followed my nod and looked at the book, before he sighted and replied:

"You are right, I should go out more often, but there are so many things I need to manage, Forti."

"Yes, I know.." I replied in a softer tone, delivering an understanding smile towards him. Both of us stepped forward now finally hugging each other, like we do every time we see each other.

"Is Cherry Blossom OK with you staying in your office all day long?" I asked him then, wondering about his wife.

"I guess she is. She knows that I love her and that she can trust me. She got used to be on her own early in her life after all and she understands my ambitions."

Of course he has been busy ever since the surviving soldiers had elected him to be the new General of the Canterlot Force. Although some of the higher ranked guards survived Sombra's onslaught, they gladly supported the request of everypony to make him their new leader. They all agreed, that the pony, who not only defeated a seemingly invincible foe, but also led an army of feral beasts to victory, might as well lead an army of ponies. After a short period of hesitation, he finally accepted and was gladly installed in his new office by Princess Luna. He soon grew into his new position, being a fair but strict superior, like his past superior had taught him. I never understood, how he managed to date and wed his long-term crush between his duties.

Five years have passed since then, but Flair had spent his time to rebuild and enhanced the shattered defense of Canterlot, he recruited new guard-ponies, that got attracted by the tales of heroism and he reformed the Force from scratch. In addition, he trained his new cadets personally, since there were not that many veterans left to teach them. The first and most important lesson he was teaching to his new soldiers was to always believe in yourself and never give up. Even one unremarkable pony can make a huge difference and he was the best example of that statement.

After the victory over Sombra, the Draconequus Discord, healed all surviving ponies, who by then got freed from Sombra's will. Immediately after, Flare traveled to the Crystal-Empire, accompanied by Luna and Twilight Sparkle, to rescue Princess Cadence and her husband. He also returned the Crystal-Heart back to where it belongs, but not before he was reminded by Cadence, that he will be its new master from now on.

Thankfully she appointed him as her private Champion and awarded him with a valuable crystalline badge, shaped in the form of a heart, that should signalize his special position in the Crystal-Empire, while he thanked her for her trust and advice in return. This glowing jewelry also enabled him to talk with Cadence, no matter the distance between the two of them. He wore this badge attached to his collar and was never seen without it, ever since.

"Uncle Flare, will you come outside to celebrate with us? I saw a market stall offering ice cream, near the Star Stripe Monument outside!" my son asked him pleading with big adorable eyes.

It took Princess Celestia six whole months to finally come outside of her private chambers, because she had locked herself into her room, bemoaning the fallen, almost drowning in her own guilt. In the end, Twilight Sparkle, Princess Cadence and her sister Luna were able drag her out of her own hole of sorrow, convincing her to abandon her grief. After her return, she overcame her shame and solemnly apologized to everypony. Although it was hard for those who had lost relatives during the war, which soon got dubbed 'The war from within', they ultimately forgave her. Being forgiven, she eagerly listened to the new General's ideas and suggestions, appreciating the wisdom he displayed, despite his young age.

It has been Flare as well, who encouraged the 'Princess Appreciation Day', a day where the Princesses's devotion for their subjects got honored. The day soon became a national holiday, where the Princesses didn't need to handle anything, since the high council of Canterlot took over the government for a day. This day was meant as an opportunity for the Princesses to relax from their duties. They also got lots of letters and presents from their faithful subjects, to let them know how much their work is appreciated. The local security squads, the fire department and the whole force were on high alert, to assure, everything would be peaceful during that day, without the need of a Princess's intervention. This day also reminded the ponies of Equestria, to not depend on the help of their Princesses that much.

The day after this day was dubbed the 'Memorial Day', another holiday that got introduced, because of Flare's suggestion. It was meant as a day to remember the brave ponies who had fallen, while defending the citizen of Equestria. This was also the day of the year, when he visits his former Sergeant's grave. His deceased friend's painting got displayed in the Royal Gallery, praised by the critics of art and soon became the crown jewel of the exhibition. Also, the tale of the bravery of the former General Star Stripe got repeated from mouth to mouth and he soon became an Equestria-wide legend. An effigy of Star Stripe, commissioned by Celestia herself, now decorated the yard in front of the barracks - right next to the ice-cream stall.

With Equestria slowly recovering from the scars Sombra's rampage had left and the now reinvigorated force being set up properly, Flare started his biggest project thus far. Encouraged by Princess Luna and supported by Princess Sparkle, he started to gather all information about ponies and creatures with power, who may become a threat to Equestria and documented each strength and weakness in his book, along with possible ways to counter them. He talked to all of those ponies, to get as many details as possible and all of them offered their support, without any hesitation. Even some of the dwellers of the Everfree Forest offered their help. He also added a chapter briefly documenting his experiences during the war and asked Luna, if she'd like to add her own point of view, which she gladly accepted.

Flare remembered, that Star Stripe had asked for such a source of information, during the first attack, but something like this could nowhere to be found, so he figured, that gathering information and bundling them all together in one manual, would help a lot, in times of emergency. The 'War from within' had shown, that even the most loyal pony could mean a threat to Equestria and thus he collected ways to fight them in his book. Still Flare hadn't forgotten Sombra's promise to return and take revenge on those who defied him, so he did his best to prepare himself and his subordinates for this day to come.

"Flare, I can't believe how much you have matured, ever since I first saw you. I mean, look at you. You were afraid of pressing your point and disliked responsibility, but now you are in charge of so many ponies who look up at you. You were so unconfident before, that it seems like you are a completely different pony, compared to the one you were before Sombra showed up."

"I am still unconfident, I just learned to always push myself harder," he grinned, while his cheeks reddened as he started to blush.

He dodged my gaze staring to the ground for a moment, apparently being embarrassed by my words, which reminded me of his still youthful heart. Despite his wisdom and the maturity he radiated, besides the care and love he showed towards me, my foal and his subordinates, he still was the same cheerful colt deep down inside and I appreciated that.

"And you are still that strong-willed mare, you used to be from the start, that acts like my voice of reason. Of course you are right, I should step down a little," he lifted his head and looked at me smiling.

He took a deep breath and stretched his legs, before he continued speaking.

"OK, why the hay not. Let's head outside and have a good time, just give me five more minutes to finish that chapter I am currently writing," he replied towards my son's request, bowing down once more to tousle his mane.

"OK, Uncle Flare!"

Ever since the incident, Flare has become so much more than just a friend of the family. Not only did he save our lives back then, he has kept supporting us ever since. It was he who suggested the name for the child and he also became 'Uncle Flare', since he gladly accepted to become Feint's godfather.

"Come, Feint, leave the General to his work. We will wait for him outside, while having some ice-cream."

"Yay, ice cream!" Feint cheerfully yelled, while both of us exited the office.

Before gently closing the door, I took another look at Flare, who had turned his attention towards his book again, scribbling something onto the empty pages. There before me, sat the greatest hero of Equestria, the one who, despite his self-doubts, stood up to an ancient power and saved all of our lives and yet he seemed so normal and down-to-earth as one pony can be.

“A flare is a beacon of hope even in your darkest hour. Equestria is in good hooves now,” I thought chuckling to myself, as I averted my gaze from him, finally closing the door.

THE END

Author's Note

I started writing this in late February 2012.
This Fic was inspired by Skeeter the Lurker's "Pony Boss Fighting Guide" (No link yet), which I was allowed to pre-read. I then imagined, what would happen, if the mightiest of ponies turn evil and it is in the hooves of the most unremarkable pony of them all, to save the day. I especially enjoyed turning the ever graceful Celestia evil.

With a raw idea in mind, I began to flesh out the plot, allowing Sombra to finally kick some major flanks. I am sorry for the displayed brutality, but I think it was necessary to show Sombra's ruthlessness or to keep the plot going. I tried to not go into detail that much, since I didn't want to disgust the reader, I rather wanted to build up the hate, the reader feels towards Sombra. I imagined him as an ancient Force, that controls the dark side of the heart. If that is indeed true, he cannot be killed or banished from the realm entirely, unless everypony abandon the dark emotions of their heart, since bad feelings make him only stronger. In my mind, he might be a (distant) relative to the royal duo, evenly powerful if not even stronger.

I encountered quite a lot of trouble during the post production. I cycled through many proof-reader, since some of them quit working without telling me, some only volunteered only to read the story and some wanted to change the whole thing entirely so that not much of the original idea was left. I finally grew tired of looking for a proper proof-reader and shelved this story for quite a while, however I then decided to upload it in its current flawed state so maybe someone can enjoy it.
If you liked this story and want to see it cleaned up send me a PM.

Special thanks to Nonagon who offered valuable criticism.

There are a lot of easter-eggs and references to other media or events in the show, like Celestia quoting Superman, or people (ponies) hiding in a basement from a merciless foe (Inglorious Basterds) or parts of Fort Minor's lyrics of "Slip out the Back".

Sombra's powers and the fight with Twilight was inspired by Omny87's comic strip: http://vervv2.tumblr.com/post/45863164887/fisherpon-a-somber-meeting-by-omny87

Fluttershy's nature was hard to describe, I hope I have pulled it off well enough to be believable.

I also add the 'Alternate Universe' tag, to counter those nitpickers, that enjoys to point out flaws in timeline, geography or other 'cannon' stuff.

Featuring the voices of:

Flair - Vincent Tong
Fortitude - Kathleen Barr
Fluttershy - Andrea Libman
General Star Stripe - John de Lancie
King Sombra - Jim Miller
Captain Steel Helm - Lee Tockar
Captain Stone Hide - Brian Drummond
Major Gold Star - Trevor Dervall
Princess Celestia - Nicole Oliver
Princess Luna - Tabitha St. Germain
Princess Sparkle - Tara Strong
Private Eagle Eye - Michael Daingerfield
Private Paint Brush - Peter New
Princess Cadence - Britt McKillip
Staff Sergeant Feint - Scott McNeil
Discord - John de Lancie
Spike - Cathy Weseluck

special guests:
Andy Serkins as the smiling Manticore
Al Pacino as Scarface the Timberwolf

just kidding :)