Flash Sentry steals your Waifu!

You are Princess Celestia again.

You are on your way back to Sweet Apple Acres to update them on this dire situation. Your scholars have indeed identified why Flash Sentry is such a threat. You don't know how he got it, but he possesses a mystical artifact that grants him control and influence over other ponies. The actions you were hoping to avoid you now must take, for there is but one pony who can help you and defeat Flash. You land at The Apple Family homestead to be instantly greeted by Apple Bloom, who has a terrified look on her face.

"APPLEJACK IS MISSING!!!" she sprints toward you to break the bad news. She jumps ad hugs you as she begins sobbing. You wrap your foreleg in a comforting embrace. "It was Flash Sentry, I didn't recognize him and Applejack confronted him and now she's gone and it's all mah fault!"

"It weren't yer fault!" the commotion attracted the attention of Granny Smith. "That filly's too strong willed! We told 'er she couldn't do sumthin', so o'course she's gonna do it!"

"I'm sorry, Apple Bloom, I'm afraid this is MY fault!" you shift the blame.

"Nah!" Granny Smith interrupts, " 'taint yer fault neither! We Apples are too proud to submit and too stubborn tah change! AJ knew what she was doin' an' did it anyway! If anything, it's her own fault! But Ah blame that Flashy feller! Promise me you'll give him what for, Princess!" she points her hoof at you as if she were giving orders.

"I cannot," you admit, "for his power is growing. He has my sister, he has Princess Twilight and her friends, he has an unknown number of supporters or slaves, and he is hiding somewhere beyond my understanding. I do not even know how I may fight him, for if Cadance or myself were to confront him, we may very well fall prey to him as well. ANY female would".

"So, we just send yer Royal Guard to search and fight 'im," Apple Bloom suggests.

"It could take months, or even years to find him; he could vastly improve his numbers by then. And they would subsequently have to battle through all his followers. No, there is only one way I see us winning this, and it is what I fear to do." You look around, trying to find the reason you needed to come to Sweet Apple Acres, "where is McIntosh?"

Big Mac sat under a tree on top of a pronounced hill overlooking the orchard. Normally he would sit in his favorite spot to think or be alone, but this time he sat with a purpose: he was keeping watch. He already lost one sister to this cowardly traitor, he would not lose anypony else! Should he spot the wanted pegasus, he would sound an alarm alerting all Ponyville to his presence. Mac, like most stallions, now had an important duty and running the farm would just have to wait.

As you land, he flinches and grabs his pitchfork he brought with him for defense. You clearly startled him. Once he identifies you, he drops the tool and his head in reverence to the unexpected royal visitor. You feel uncomfortable with the honor, especially with what you are about to ask of him.

"Please, young McIntosh, there is no need for that for it is I who will burden you with a troubling task," you greet as he peers up in confusion. "Come, let us sit a while. I have much to ask," you offer, taking a seat by his side.

"I'm sorry about your sister," you offer, noticing your sunset seems in the perfect placement in relation to your vantage point.

"Eeyup..." his response lacks conviction.

"She can be so determined, so proud. It must be difficult living with such a dominating personality."

"Eeyup."

You've never thought about it, but their relationship appears similar to that of yours with your sister: one dominant sibling overshadowing the other. The difference here is that the dominant is also the younger sibling. How humiliating and difficult that must be! Worse yet, poor Mac seems to be burdened a second younger sister with an assertive personality, and a grandmare from which they all inherited it.

He must have the patience of the sea as it wears away a cliffside. If I were in his position, I would have sent them ALL to the moon years ago!

Joking thoughts aside, you know he misses his sister terribly and will not relent until he is satisfied to know she is safe.

"If I were to ask, would you risk danger and destruction to rescue her?"

"Eeyup!" he replies with greater fortitude.

You find yourself desiring not to hear that response. If he accepts, then you must go through with your plan. The fate of your crown, if not all of Equestria, now lies with a single farmer against an enemy with so many unknowns. However, it is the only way you know of to stop Flash Sentry.

"Then listen well," you commence in telling him of your plan, "we know Flash Sentry is abducting mares, we can even assume why, but do you know of how he is doing it?"

"Nope." he shakes his head.

"My scholars have researched, and we believe he came into contact with an ancient mystical artifact. One that allows him to quickly influence mares into believing and admiring him: the Necklace Of Pure Evil!"

"Nope?" Mac cocked his brow.

"Exactly!" you chuckle at the fortuitous acronym, "we do not know how he got his hooves on it, but it makes mares powerless to resist him".

"Nope!" he gasps, your last line seems to upset him, but you can deduce the subject.

"At ease, gentle McIntosh," you console his fears, "the artifact requires time to fully influence mares into doing THAT. Your sister should be fine and her honor intact. The rest of his followers should be untarnished as well as he keeps the artifact on him while he's been flying all over Equestria. But they cannot stop him. Our only hope lies with stallions. We can't send in a battalion after him; we don't know where he is and a battle will end in serious bloodshed for an unknown number of innocents. Our only hope is to send in a single, brave stallion to catch him unawares."

"Eeyup!" he jumps up, knowing that you are asking this of him. Realizing he volunteered without knowing all necessary information, Mac looks toward the ground, troubled that nopony knows where it is he is going. He sits back down

"I can see you are confused, wondering as to where is his location," you acknowledge.

"Eeyup..."

"That is where my part comes in," your mood wanes, "for I will have to let him capture me".

He stares, taken aback, eyes widened at the audacity of this plan. If you are captured, then Flash has won!

"Before I succumb to his power, I will have my mane and tail give off a slow-diminishing light in a wavelength long enough where it can not be seen with the eye. I will enchant your eyes so you can detect this light. Then all you have to do is follow it back to his hideout."

The both of you sit in silence for a while. No doubt, he is considering the desperateness of your plan and the severity should it fail. After moments of contemplation, he does something you do not expect.

"Why me?"

HE SPEAKS!

"I'm sorry?" you believe this is the first time you actually hear him talk.

"Why me?" he reiterates, "you have many guards, and Twilight's brother would certainly agree to this. Why would you pick a simple earth pony farmer with neither magic nor wings?"

You say nothing for a time, wondering which way to put it. Finally, you find the best way to approach the subject.

"Mares in Equestria sure do like to talk, don't they?"

"Umm...Eeyup?" he responds, confused.

"We sure do talk a lot! It's one of the things we like best, and most mares now seek stallions who talk quite a bit themselves."

"E-eeyup..." he has no clue where this is going.

"You don't like to talk, do you?"

"Nope."

"And yet, it seems every mare in Ponyville, and many beyond, all have their eyes on you!"

He blushes.

"Why is that, you think? Why is it such a quiet stallion, who rarely leaves his farm, can instantly earn all the longing glances and wants for affection from nearly every mare and filly he comes across?"

He says nothing, embarrassed to be complimented by The Princess herself, especially in such private matters.

"It is because YOU have a magic inside you, as well. It is rare; I have only sensed it a very few number of times and it is something that can still not be explained. But you definitely have a power that can attract any mare, and I have never felt it as powerful as I am sensing it within you. The closest thing I can call it is a slang term used by much of the youth: Swag. You seem to carry yourself with such cold confidence that you do not need to constantly advertise yourself by talking all the time or dressing flashy. You might not realize it, but it is painfully obvious for any mare to see. Even..." now it is your turn to blush, "even I can't try fighting it".

"And..." he tries to ask, blushing redder than his coat, "how am I s'posed to use this against Flash? He is still a fully trained guard!"

"By fighting fire with fire, as it were," you reveal your intention, "he controls his followers in a similar way. But, using your own power, you might be able to turn his own followers against him. Outnumbered, he should pose little threat allowing you to capture him and destroy the artifact".

You sit a while longer, just enjoying the view as you gently lower your sun beyond the horizon. You take a bit longer than normal as you find yourself oddly at peace, just sitting on his hill and enjoying the slow pace of the farm. Unfortunately, this moment can't last much longer as you both need your rest in preparation for the difficult tasks you both face tomorrow. You stand to possibly say your final farewells.

"Are you certain you wish to go through with this? I will not think lesser of you should you wish to back out," you feel guilty having to depend on the farmer.

"Eeyup!"

"Then get some rest, My Little Pony, for all of Equestria might very well rest on you," you turn back, planting a kiss on his cheek. His eyes widen and mane stands on end, clearly surprised by the royal sign of affection. You smirk as you leave him to enjoy your moon rising.

"I now see why Luna did it..."

"Yes, here will work just fine," you tell your royal guards.

You wanted to lure Flash into approaching you away from the bustle of Canterlot, yet close enough to Sweet Apple Acres and the Everfree Forest so Mac would see you and not have to run all over Equestria. You found a secluded creek within a wall of trees so that Flash would assume you desire privacy as you bathe in the water. If and when he approaches, you will spring your trap with your guards acting as backup. If all goes well, you will relieve Flash of his power without need of McIntosh.

You dismiss your guards as you enter the running water. "Ooh, COLD!" you hadn't planned on that! No matter, you submerge your mane as to try to look as alone and vulnerable as possible.

It's not long before you hear the flapping of wings. It's Flash Sentry! You act nonchalant, pretending not to notice. You hear him land, and his hoofs quietly attempt to sneak in toward you. He chooses a position behind you so he may strike at you while unaware. Your heart races, you take your time, you wait for the perfect time to strike. Moments creep as you hear every beat of your heart, every breathe grows louder as your entire focus shifts to the trespasser behind you. He creeps a few more steps. Finally, the time to strike is now!

You whip around as quickly as your head can turn and fire a stunning beam of energy from your horn. Flash leaps back in shock as your magic hits its mark. The beam hits Flash directly on the necklace. This hit should stun the pegasus and remove the vile artifact. However, the magic just seems to dissipate around his body like some form-fitted shield. The blast never even so much as moved him.

"Tsk tsk, Princess," he mocks as the energy disappears. It's clear that magic has no effect on the item.

You look for alternatives. Maybe magic won't work on the item, but you can use magic to strike him by proxy. You levitate a nearby boulder and fling it directly at Flash. The boulder hits its mark and shatters in an explosion of dust and debris. Standing defiantly after the dust settles is the traitor, completely unfazed, even laughing at you.

"Gonna have to do better than that..." he brushes off dust from his coat.

You find his cockiness enraging... yet also...arousing. This treasonous pony stands on the bank above you, giving him the advantage of higher ground. You make one last magical attempt to remove that advantage by grabbing him with an aura and drowning him in the water. Alas, this too fails as you start to weaken from the exhaustion of such desperate spells. He continues to stand over you, looking glorious and majestic in his inevitable victory.

No! Fight it! you struggle to keep your senses. "Where...are...my guards?" you ask yourself.

"You think I trusted you to act alone?" he lords over you, "I brought a certain disciple to take care of THEM!"

Your sister Luna lands by his side. After noticing you struggle in the creek, she pins you down with her magic, your face barely above the water level.

"Luna! Help!" you beg, "sister...please..."

Flash slowly moves in closer to enjoy a more private conversation, his muzzle just inches from your ear.

"Can you believe she thinks I love her?" the arrogance and disrespect in his voice overt, "they ALL think I love them!"

"You monster!" you struggle to breathe in the splashing water. You want to physically rip that smirk off his face; his beautiful, well-chiseled face...NO! You try to fight it, but this guard's conviction is curiously...attractive. Surely more interesting than the sycophants at the castle.

"Wondrous thing, this artifact," he flaunts the N-O-P-E, "I'm getting better at using it. It's taking less and less time to win over you silly mares!" He starts walking backing to Luna. "Soon, I will have you all completely under my control. Then we'll really start the fun!" he slaps Luna across the flank, causing her to blush and lose control over you.

You slowly emerge from the water, a murderous rage building inside as you approach the pair.

"Get...away!" your horn starts to glow, "HE DESERVES BETTER!" your words surprisingly directed at your sister.

You can't believe you just said that! You find yourself losing all control of your free will as your eyes start to grow dark. Soon, you will turn into a mindless husk, doing whatever your glorious and handsome leader bids.

You take your last moments of conscious thought to cast two final spells. The first spell being the long lasting infrared spell that you place on your mane and tail. The final spell being a voice spell. You mute yourself so you can no longer be able to inform him of McIntosh.

All hopes of liberation now lie with him.