The Everfree Kingdom. A small nation, and a young one, but nevertheless one that had already gained a great deal of respect. For this was the domain of Princess Twilight Sparkle, a mare who had saved Equestria many times. Life in this new Kingdom had not changed much since it's independence was granted by Princess Celestia, but there was nevertheless a great deal of happiness and pride by it's residents, both in their new status and their unwavering faith in their leader, whom they had come to respect and admire for many years.
But, not all in this new Kingdom revolved around Twilight or her amazing friends, as there were plenty of mares and stallions in this land who also had much to contribute in establishing this place. One such stallion was, at this moment, attending to his many duties. Flash Sentry, a young pegasus that had served in the royal guard of the Crystal Empire, had very recently been granted the position of Captain of the newly-formed Everfree Guard by his lover, none other than Princess Twilight herself. It was a shock for many, Flash especially, but he had endeavoured to work hard at his role.
And speaking of which, that was exactly what he was doing at this very moment. Standing just beyond the gates of the grand crystal palace that served as Princess Twilight's home, Flash was standing tall, looking upon those who had gathered in front of him. As was expected of a stallion in his position, he was garbed in the traditional armour of the guard, save for the green oak tree symbol on his chest-piece which marked him as a soldier of the Everfree Kingdom. Sternly, he kept his gaze on all who now stood before him.
"You all know why you have gathered here today. You have deigned to join the Everfree guard and serve this new nation as it's troops, it's protectors. As the first Captain of this guard, I welcome you here."
The young stallion began to pace up and down as he continued talking.
"I will not lie to you. The life of a royal guard is not easy. There will be hardships. The training will be long and arduous. And at all times, we must be ready to do our duties at a moments notice."
He finally stood still as he made his final statement.
"But I have confidence that, in time, you will become a corps that will be known and respected throughout Equestria!"
With his chest somewhat swelled with pride after that little display of authority, Flash afforded himself a small smile before carrying on.
"Are there any questions?"
This would, in any other circumstance, have been seen as a fine display by the new Captain. He'd stood his ground, looked impressive and gave an air of authority as he spoke to those before him. Yes, this would indeed be a moment to cherish.
That is, it would have been a moment to cherish, if the group assembled in front of him was not, in fact, little more than a collection of young fillies and colts, all of whom usually spent their days at the local elementary school. If this wasn't bad enough, most of them either looked bored out of their minds or, in the case of a few young fillies, distracted by a passing butterfly. Eventually though, after an almost unbearably painful silence, Flash looked to see that one of the children, a grey pegasus colt named Rumble, raise his hoof before speaking.
"I gotta pee!"
Flash frowned at that.
"But you just went five minutes ago!"
Rumble looked uncomfortable as he relied to that.
"But I really gotta go!"
Flash groaned at that and looked down at the ground for a moment before addressing the group once more.
"Urgh! Okay, anybody else need to go?"
Within but a moment, every single filly and colt had their hooves shooting upwards, leaving Flash more than a little frustrated.
"I...but...you...okay, fine!"
With that "order" given, the children all leapt up and started running off, leaving Flash with the very real sense that he wouldn't be seeing any of them come back anytime soon. Letting out another groan of annoyance, he raised a hoof and took off his helmet before rubbing his temples, hoping in vain to make the stress of this embarrassing little fiasco go away. Unfortunately, that stress only deepened when he started hearing the unmistakeable sound of somepony chuckling behind him. Turning his head, his expression became one of worry as he saw who was standing there.
An older unicorn stallion, with bright white fur and a dark blue mane. This was Shining Armour, Prince of the Crystal Empire and Flash's former commanding officer. More importantly, at least to Flash, he was the older brother of his beloved fillyfriend, Twilight. But, at this moment, the guy just had a look of pure amusement on his face as he began to approach the younger stallion. Needless to say, Flash was in no mood for his "kind of brother-in-law" to start making fun of him for this. Thankfully, Shining had a bit more grace than that as he began speaking.
"Trouble with the recruits?"
Flash looked a tad annoyed at that statement before letting out a sigh and speaking.
"I dunno. I guess I was just hoping that my first volunteers for the guard would be a little..."
Shining raised an eyebrow.
"Older?"
Flash turned to him before answering.
"I was going to say "taller", but sure, that works too."
Shining, seeing the dejected look on Flash's face, gave a brief chuckle before putting his hoof on the latter's shoulder.
"Don't worry about it, kid. The Everfree guard has only been around for a few weeks. Give it time. I'm sure you'll eventually have more recruits than you know what to do with."
Flash sighed again.
"Did you ever have any problems back when you first got the Captain job in Canterlot?"
The older stallion, to Flash's surprise, let out a heart laugh before answering.
"Oh, I'd say so! Before you, I was the youngest Captain in Equestrian history, remember? Right from day one, I had pretty much all of the top brass saying that I shouldn't have had the job, not to mention some of the stuff my subordinates used to say to me."
Flash had heard of such things, though this had taken place long before he'd personally met Shining himself. But by that point, he'd only ever known him as a figure who had received nothing but respect from those who served under him. Thinking on this, Flash spoke up again.
"So...what did you do?"
A brief look of nostalgia passed Shining's face for a moment before turning to look at Flash with a slight smirk.
"Simple. I proved them wrong."
It was to-the-point, that much could not be denied. But even so, Shining's words didn't really help him at this present time. Still, he knew that his former Captain was right, that he would need time before the Everfree guard was what he wanted it to be. And much of that would be down to him. After all, the best leaders of the past had all led by example, and Flash knew he would have to be such an example himself if he was ever going to expect others to follow him. Needless to say, he still had doubts about his ability, but even so, he'd been charged with this duty by somepony very important to him, and he was not about to disappoint her.
And speaking of whom, Flash's attention was then diverted from his thoughtful state as he felt Shining clear his throat. Turning, he saw the older stallion look away, towards the crystal palace, leading Flash to turn his head in the same direction. A smile crept onto his face as he saw she who, in his eyes, was the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria. Twilight Sparkle, who was now walking towards both of them. Unlike her other peers, Twilight never went about wearing the garb of royalty, not even her own crown, not that Flash had ever minded such a thing.
Still, his monarch was approaching, and so he stood at attention once she was within just a few feet of her. Seeing this display from her coltfriend, Twilight had to stifle a giggle before speaking up.
"At ease, Captain."
Still smiling, Flash ceased his salute before letting Twilight continue.
"I've been doing a lot of thinking, and I think it's time that I make efforts to really get to know as much as I can about this new Kingdom of ours."
Flash nodded at that, though inside he'd afforded himself a chuckle. That was indeed Twilight, always willing and eager to learn new things. And she had a point, a leader should know as much of their lands as possible. So, he kept his gaze on her as she carried on, though he only now noticed that her expression had changed from a smile to one of seriousness.
"Captain...I have decide that you shall go on an expedition, along with my brother."
That caught Flash's interest a great deal, as he turned to look at Shining, who seemed equally surprised. Seeing this reaction, Twilight cleared her throat before speaking again.
"An expedition...into the Everfree Forest."
With those words said, all three of the ponies turned their heads away, looking at the vast forest land which was just on their doorstep. Although Flash was a relative newcomer to this part of Equestria, even he had known of the Everfree for as long as he could remember, as had virtually everypony who lived in this land. It was a dark place, the source of many a story that pony parents would tell to their children. As one might expect, he considered this a strange request, and as such was more than willing to voice this to Twilight.
"If I may ask, Princess, why the forest?"
Twilight looked at him, her face one of understanding, before giving him his answer.
"Although most of what happens in this Kingdom is centred in Ponyville and the surrounding countryside, the vast majority of this Kingdom is taken up by that forest. It's part of my domain, and even though ponies have known of it for hundreds of years, our knowledge of it remains very limited."
That much, Flash knew well. Many a time a pony had ventured into that place, but had never come out again. Manticores, hydras, dragons and all manner of beasts inhabited it. And though some had learned how to deal with such creatures, such as Applejack and her family, most remained ignorant of just what else that forest could contain. Flash looked to her as she spoke up yet again.
"Besides, this was not always such an uncontrolled wilderness. A thousand years ago, this part of our land was Equestria's capital, where the two sisters themselves once lived. Time has caused ponykind to lose much of what was once there. But now that I rule, I think it's time we made efforts to take some of it back."
Flash cracked into a smile at that, a feeling of pride sweeping over him as he looked at his beloved fillyfriend. The way she looked, so determined, was quite infectious. It really seemed like she was coming into her own as a leader of this place. And even though venturing into the Everfree was not something he'd have wanted to do, he knew she was right. This place contained many mysteries, as well as many dangers. A great deal of Equestria's history was tied up in that dark forest, and like Twilight said, time had eroded much of that history in the eyes of ponykind. As Captain of this Kingdom, he knew it was his responsibility to, as his Princess commanded, learn as much as he could about this place, if only to better know how to defend Ponyville and the like from those who lived within it.
However, his attention was then drawn to Shining, who now spoke up.
"Don't think me unwilling, Twily, but Flash and me aren't exactly experts on this place. How are we supposed to find our way around in there?"
Twilight gained a rather mischievous smirk on her face, a look that Flash rather liked as a matter of fact, before answering her brother.
"Don't worry, BBBFF. I've arranged for a suitable guide."
Flash and Shining looked at each other, equally curious as to who this guide could be, but their attention was then diverted as all three began to hear the sound of approaching hoof-steps. Turning their heads, Flash's eyes widened with surprise as he saw not a pony, but a zebra. Though he'd met zebras a couple of times, such encounters were few and far-between, as most kept to their own lands. But, if what Twilight had told him in the past was any indication, this could only be Zecora, a friend of hers who, in stark contrast to what any pony would do, had actually taken to living in the Everfree itself.
It was here that Flash understood Twilight's purpose. Zecora would be their guide. And if she'd indeed been living in that place, then there was nopony better suited to guiding them than her. Once the zebra had reached their group, she stopped and gave a bow, where Flash saw that she'd taken to wearing a couple of saddle-bags on her back, before speaking.
"I tell you now I am glad to see, a group of friends such as thee."
Flash tilted his head in confusion, clearly taken aback by this unusual way of speaking. He briefly turned to Twilight, who smiled and gave him a look that basically said "yes, she always talks like that". The young pegasus gave a brief chuckle before addressing Zecora.
"It's a pleasure to meet you, Miss."
After rising from her bow, Zecora nodded before turning to Twilight, who gave her a nod of her own. This was clearly a sign on her part as Zecora then turned around and began to walk the other way, straight towards the Everfree. Shining, letting out a sigh, nevertheless seemed to accept this new assignment, as he walked over to Twilight before embracing her in a big hug, which Twilight promptly returned. The two siblings parted and smiled at each other before Shining began to make his way after Zecora.
So, it was now just Twilight and Flash. The young stallion looked upon his Princess, his lover, and like the disciplined guard he was, saluted her once more. Twilight though merely chuckled before stepping forward and leaning in, taking Flash by surprise by giving him a vigorous kiss on the lips. It took only a moment before the Captain began to return the kiss, and though neither of them would have wanted it, they soon parted. Smiling, Twilight looked upon him lovingly before speaking, her voice soft.
"Come back to me."
Flash smiled at this before giving yet another salute, looking the part of the Captain once more.
"I always do."
