For as long as he could remember, he'd always loved travelling on trains. True, as a pegasus, Flash was not required to journey in such a way. For him, making a trip such as this would have been easy by air, perhaps even faster. But even so, there was just something about the feeling of being on a train, the way one could just watched the landscape passing by, that put him at ease. It was a comforting experience to say the least, but not comforting enough to make him feel any less nervous about why he was here and what he was doing.
Because this was no ordinary train trip, but a royal visit. He and a member of the Crystal Guard had been selected to escort a very important person down to the village of Ponyville. The one they were escorting was none other than the Princess of the Crystal Empire herself, Cadence. There was a time when Flash was in utter awe of her, as to see an alicorn was a rare thing for any pony, even those who served in the Royal Guard as he did. But, having served so many months of duty up in the Empire, he'd become quite accustomed to seeing her around. Even so, he didn't feel any less honoured about being chosen to escort her.
Although, he harboured a suspicion that it was not merely his record as a guard that had got him chosen for this posting today. A smile crept onto his face as he considered that, just maybe, the Princess of love had arranged him to be here for another reason. If that was so, then he would have to remember to thank her later on. It might not have been very long since he last saw her, but even so, his heart was warmed by any opportunity to be near to the mare he loved. And that was exactly where this little visit of Cadence's was going to take him.
Twilight Sparkle. Equestria's latest Princess, and the love of his life. The two had been together for many months now, almost as long as he'd been working up in the Empire. Their relationship was known by pretty much anypony who cared to know about it, including Cadence. Flash smirked a little as he considered this. If he was right, then it would certainly not be the first time the Princess had arranged for the two to see each other. However, his heart sank a little as he considered the upcoming visit. He would not have the opportunity to be with Twilight for any lengthy amount of time. His job was just to see Cadence to the station and return North afterwards. The most he would get of his beloved filly-friend would be to see her as Cadence got off the train, nothing more.
He let out a sigh of disappointment as he dwelt on that. The last time he'd seen her, he'd made perhaps the biggest leap of his whole life, asking her a question that he'd been wanting to ask for some time. And even though the answer he got was not what he would have wanted, his love for her had not diminished in the slightest. Still, for his next opportunity to see her to be so brief seemed unfair to him. But, he had a job to do, and his duty had always been important to him. His smile, though small, remained on his face as he gazed out of the window of the train, at the beautiful countryside they were passing. His attention was focused on this even as he heard the sound of hoof-steps behind him, one of the other passengers no doubt. But, the steps stopped and the unmistakeable sound of a pony clearing their throat was heard.
Turning his head, his eyes shot open as he saw that it was Cadence, looking at him with a smile and a raised eyebrow.
"Enjoying the scenery, Sentry?"
His soldier's instincts kicked in as he leapt up from his chair and gave a salute.
"Princess! How can I serve?"
The pink alicorn gave a giggle as she raised a hoof, giving him permission to be at ease.
"Relax, Flash. I don't need anything from you. I was just wondering how you were doing."
Flash relaxed, though only a little. He knew full well why Cadence was asking that question, but he didn't want her to be concerning herself with his personal issues.
"I'm fine, Princess."
Cadence's smile faded a little, followed by a return of her raised eyebrow.
"Flash...I know it'll be difficult for you to only see her for a brief time. I was wondering if you're okay."
The young pegasus knew that the Princess wasn't going to give up until she got an honest answer out of him, so he just let out a sigh and relented.
"I'll be fine, Princess. Really, I will. This visit is about you and Twilight,. I wouldn't want to intrude on that."
Cadence watched him carefully after he said that. In truth, he was right. Her whole reason for coming down here was to try and re-establish her friendship with Twilight,. Despite being family by way of her marriage to Twilight's brother, the two had barely spent any real quality time with each other for years, not since the days when Cadence was Twilight's foal-sitter. Every subsequent time they've reunited, there has been some terrible catastrophe going on. It sometimes boggled Flash's mind at how unfair the world could be, that two friends had been prevented from seeing each other as friends because of all this other craziness that had been going on in their lives.
His attention was then drawn to Cadence once more as she spoke up again.
"You know...I could arrange it so that I require a bodyguard during my visit. Perhaps you could..."
Flash knew what she was going to suggest, a way for him and Twilight to be together. He appreciated what she was trying to do, but the last thing he wanted was to butt in on Twilight's day with her sister-in-law, so he raised a hoof, stopping the Princess in mid-sentence.
"Thank you for the offer, Princess. Really, I appreciate it. But Twilight and I have seen each other far more than you and she have in recent months. It wouldn't be fair to give you two anything less than each other's undivided attention today."
Cadence looked a little taken aback by that. She knew as well as anypony how much Flash loved Twilight, and here he was, rejecting an opportunity to be with her just so she could be with her sister-in-law. After a few moments, the Princess broke out into a smile.
"It's times like this when I see why she loves you so much."
Flash turned away, trying in vain to hide a blush that was threatening to emerge on his face. The Princess giggled at this for a moment before letting out a little gasp of surprise. Flash looked at her to see that she was now wearing the biggest grin on her face as she looked past him. Turning, Flash saw what she was looking at, through the window, and understood. For there, approaching in the distance, was the tiny village of Ponyville. The young pegasus smiled at the sight of it and turned to face the Princess once more, giving a traditional salute as he did so. He moved past her and towards his crystal pony counterpart, who like him had gone to the carriage door in preparation for their inevitable stop.
That stop came just a few minutes later as the train slowed down considerably before halting completely. Cadence joined the two guards as the door of their carriage opened up. The three could hear the sound of trumpets being blown outside, a part of the arrangements for Cadence's visit, but also a signal to the two guards. Flash and his crystal counterpart began marching outside in formation, taking their place on either side of the outside of the door. It was here that he finally saw her. There, standing among her closest friends, was Twilight herself. As she stood there, flanked by Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Applejack, she seemed to be surprised to see him, which he didn't blame her for. After all, Cadence had neglected to inform her that he would be here today, which was admittedly a little annoying.
Even so, he gave her a quick smile, one which she returned. But both of them knew that there were formalities to be had here. This was a royal visit and they knew they couldn't just charge forward and hug each other, even though that's what they both wanted right now. It was here that Flash noted that one pony was absent from this scene, Fluttershy. It was quite odd to see this group of friends gathered without her, but he figured she must have been off doing something important if she couldn't be here today. For now though, he merely stayed in his spot as he heard those same hoof-steps from before. Sure enough, with her wings outstretched, Cadence walked past him and towards the group of mares. Twilight's smile grew even wider as her beloved sister-in-law approached her, a smile now upon her own face. The young alicorn began to move towards her when Cadence broke the silence.
"Your highness," she spoke.
Cadence gave a bow towards Twilight, and the latter gained a look of confusion on her face, clearly not expecting this kind of behaviour from Cadence today. As she looked at her friends, it was clear that they too had not expected this. Even so, they all knew how to behave at this, and Flash looked on as they all gave a bow in return to her.
"Your highness," Twilight replied.
After a few minutes of silence, Cadence broke out into a quick giggle, which Flash had a resist the urge to raise an eyebrow at.
"I'm teasing, Twilight. We're sister-in-laws. There's no need to be so formal."
Twilight smiled at that as she and her friends got up from their bowing position. With the ice broken, the time came for the one moment Flash had not been looking forward to. Cadence turned her head and gave him and the other guard a nod. This was the signal that they were to return inside the train and make their return journey to the Crystal Empire. The crystal pegasus went first, leaving Flash to follow afterwards. The young pegasus, as he turned, gave Twilight one last glance, smiling as he did so. Twilight saw this, smiling back in an affectionate manner. Flash knew she was as smart as they came, and that she knew that he could not stay, and why. Twilight had never been the kind of mare who would question this, as she knew how his guard duties often kept him busy. He would be needed back in the Empire, hence his return. Even so, both she and he kept their eyes on each other has he re-entered the train, the door shutting behind him.
Turning, Flash looked though the window of the door at his beloved Twilight, who in turn kept her eyes on him. It was here that the train began to move once more, and soon it was picking up enough speed that Twilight was no longer in his sight. Knowing she could no longer see him, he let out a sigh. To be so close to her, just a few feet away, and not even be able to speak to her, it was a challenge for him to say the least. Had he not been taught such discipline during his guard training, he might not have been so composed right now. He finally moved away from the door as the train continued to pick up speed, finding his seat from before and sitting down. There were days when he cursed his profession, and this was one of them. Still, he could not deny that to see her, even for so brief a time, was a gift in itself, and he appreciated it.
Leaning back in his chair, he resigned himself to simply enjoying this quiet and uneventful trip back North. However, his attention was soon drawn to his crystal pony companion, whose nose was practically glued to his window on the other side of the carriage. Raising an eyebrow, Flash cleared his throat, gaining his attention.
"See something interesting?" he asked.
The crystal guard had a look of confusion on his face as he considered his answer.
"Well...I could have sworn I just saw some spinning blue thing in the sky."
Flash looked at him, somewhat taken aback at hearing such a strange statement, before shrugging his shoulders, chuckling briefly, then looking back out of his own window.
"I wouldn't worry about it. It's probably nothing."
