Things Always get worse...
This story is the sequel to The View from the Closet. It is not part of my official Harmony and Valor series, but it shares a lot of the same material to the point where I may have to sue myself for plagiarism.
All necessary characters are aged up to eighteen for legal purposes.
Flash Sentry didn't know that he was going to have a bad day until his final period started at forty after two. Like many students at Canterlot High, he had permission to use that time to practice with his band, Flash Drive. That changed, however, when the other two members, Brawly Beats and Ringo, made a surprise announcement.
“What do you mean you guys are quitting the band?!” he demanded.
“We're sorry bro,” said Brawly Beats. “It's nothing personal. It's just that we've realized that Flash Drive isn't going anywhere. I mean, we didn't even get third place in the Battle of the Bands!”
“Are you still upset about that?” asked Flash, rolling his eyes. “Come on guys, it was just a school contest. The only reason we took it so seriously was because of the sirens.”
“No, the only reason you took it so seriously was because of the sirens,” Ringo retorted. “You act like you're serious about your music, but the truth is this band is just a hobby for you. But for me and Brawly Beats, we actually want to make a career out of our music.”
“That's fine and all, but we're still in high school. What's wrong with just having some fun while we still can?”
“Do you know how hard it is to break into the music industry?” asked Brawly Beat. “If we want to make it while we're still young than we need to start focusing on our music right now.”
Flash was fuming, but he sucked in a breath, held it for a second, and then let it out with a sigh.
“So after three awesome years, this is how Flash Drive ends,” he said softly. “No farewell performance or anything. Just a surprise announcement at the last possible minute.”
“We're sorry man,” said Ringo. “We're still friends, but...”
“It's fine, I get it,” Flash assured him, waving his hand dismissively. “You guys have to do what's right for yourselves.”
He picked up his guitar. “So, one final jam together before we make the break-up official?”
Brawly Beats nervously tugged at the collar of his shirt. “Yeah, um, the thing is, we didn't know how this was going to go down, so we scheduled to try out for Trixie and the Illusions right now.”
Had he been holding anything but his prized guitar in his hands right then, Flash would have dropped it in shock. “Are you kidding me? You want to join Trixie's band? The 'great and powerful, always talks in the third person, always pulling smoke bombs out of her butt,' Trixie?”
“Everyone knows that they would have won the Battle of the Bands if the sirens hadn't interfered,” Ringo insisted. “Plus, well, they have some really cute girls.”
“Whatever,” sighed Flash. “Good luck, you guys.”
“It's been a blast, Flash,” said Ringo, shaking his hand.
“I'm gonna miss you, bro!” Brawly wailed, sweeping Flash into a bone-crushing hug.
“Geez man, we're moving to a new room, not boarding a bus to another city,” said Ringo, rolling his eyes.
Once the guys had left, Flash sank into a chair with a sigh. He spent the rest of the period practicing on his guitar, but it just didn't feel right anymore. Eventually, the final bell rang at three-thirty, just like it always did. Normally, Flash would have stayed and practiced for a few more minutes, but there really wasn't any point to doing so anymore, so he just packed his things and headed out.
As he passed by the principal's office, he heard two voices inside that sounded like they were arguing. In spite of himself, Flash crept closer to the door to listen in.
“I'm just saying that I think maybe you should wait a few more days before moving in with him,” he heard Principal Celestia say, “just so that I can learn a bit more about him.”
“You've had seven months to 'learn' about him,” Vice-principal Luna's voice retorted. She was using the same tone she always used whenever she was reprimanding a student who had stepped out of line, only she sounded much more frustrated than usual. “Why don't you just cut the crap already and tell me what you really want to say.”
“Fine then,” Celestia said in a steely tone. “I don't support what you are doing and I think that you are making a big mistake.”
“Why are you being such an ass about this?” Luna demanded. “You have been telling me that I need to get out and connect with more people for years, yet the moment I actually do so, you start acting like a petulant child!”
It dawned on Flash that he was eavesdropping on a very private conversation, so he left before he could be caught.
Outside the school, he saw that the damaged statue that served as a portal between Gaia and the magical land of Equestria was glowing. Sunset Shimmer stood in front of it. A moment later, Princess Twilight Sparkle popped out.
Flash raced down to the statue just as the two girls were saying hello to each other. “Hi, Twilight.”
“Oh, hello Flash,” said Twilight, giving him that adorable smile of hers that always made his heart race.
“So, uh, what brings you to Gaia?” asked Flash. “Is there another magic related crisis happening at school?”
“No, nothing like that,” Twilight assured him. “Sunset just needs my help with something.”
“Which we need to get started on right away,” said Sunset, grabbing Twilight's hand.
“What are you two doing?” asked Flash. “I could help if you like.”
“No!” Sunset snapped. “I'm sorry Flash, but you really need to stay out of this for your own good.” With that, she dragged Twilight away.
“Okay, well, nice talking to you,” Flash called awkwardly after them. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately.
Feeling a hand on his shoulder, he turned around to see Ditzy Doo standing behind him, smiling sympathetically. She offered him a muffin.
“I think you need this more than I do,” she said.
“Thanks,” said Flash, accepting the treat. He sniffed it and smiled—blueberry, his favorite.
“I'd love to stick around and chat, but I promised that I would pick up Dinky after school,” said Ditzy.
“Go on ahead, I'm good here,” Flash assured her. He was lucky to have a friend like Ditzy.
He had walked all the way to his car when he realized that he had left his key in his locker. To save some time, he cut across the school-yard.
Flash was just about to sink his teeth into the delicious smelling muffin when, without warning, the ground beneath his feet disappeared. Luckily it came back a moment later, only to smack him in the face.
Spitting and gagging, Flash took stock of his situation. He seemed to be at the bottom of a rather deep hole in the ground. He was also covered in dirt. It was in his eyes, in his mouth, up his nose, and worst of all, in his hair. Also, his wonderful, mouth-watering muffin was covered in dirt as well, rendering it completely inedible.
“Are you okay Flash?”
Flash looked up to see Canterlot High's trio of gem obsessed troublemakers known as the Diamond Dudes peering down at him from the top of the hole.
“Did you guys have something to do with this?” he demanded.
“Sorry Flash,” said Rover, the Diamond Dudes' leader and smartest member (which really wasn't saying much). “We just dug our hole deeper than usual to find gems, but we had to cover it up before Vice-principal Luna saw and gave us another month of detention.”
“Well maybe next time you should fill the hole up before someone falls in it,” growled Flash.
“Yes, yes, we’ll do that right now,” said Spot, a curly-haired dwarf with virtually no neck. He and the Diamond Dudes' final member Fido began to rapidly shovel dirt into the hole, pelting Flash.
“Hey, knock it off!” he cried, only to receive another mouthful of soil.
“Stop! Stop you idiots!” screamed Rover.
“What?” asked Fido. “We're filling in the hole like we're supposed to.”
“Don't you think that maybe we should pull Flash out first so that we don't bury him alive?” Rover growled.
Fido and Spot gasped as if Rover had just made a brilliant suggestion.
“Oh yes, good idea,” said Fido. “Sorry again Flash.”
“JUST GET ME OUT OF HERE!” Flash roared.
Since he had left school earlier than he usually did, Flash had to wait until his sister True Action finished filming a segment of what was apparently a heavy metal adaptation of an old Disneigh film. He had no idea what was going on, and he didn't really care anyways. He had never been able to take those old school Disneigh films seriously with how the main character and his or her love interest always seemed to fall for each other the very instant they first met.
After True, Flash picked up First Base from baseball practice. By then, it was ten after four. Everyone had just gotten buckled in when he received a text from Sandalwood.
Hey man, a couple of us are working on a small project at the old field, and we could use an extra pair of hands. You free?
Flash knew which field he was talking about. A few weeks back, Sandalwood and the other Eco kids had actually managed to convince city hall to declare an unused field a park rather than turn it into another parking lot. Flash texted him back:
Sure, I've got time. BRT.
“Change of plans guys. Some friends of mine from school needs help for some project.”
“What is it?” asked True.
“I don't know, but Sandalwod said it was a small project. It shouldn't take too long.”
“I'm sorry, what are we doing again?”
Flash, True and First Base stood in the grassy field along with the Eco kids. Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were there as well. They had what appeared to be a small forest worth of baby trees with them, plus several buckets, shovels, bags of mulch, and a big tank of water.
“I told you, now that the field is officially a park, we need to plant all of these trees so all of the birds and little animals will have a place to live,” explained Sandalwood.
“There must be over a hundred saplings here,” said Flash. “You told me that this was just going to be a little project!”
“There's no such thing as a big project when it comes to saving mother nature,” Sandalwood declared solemnly, placing a hand over his heart.
“This is going to take us hours," said Flash. "Shouldn't we wait until the weekend to do this?”
“The weekend is already booked,” said Sandalwood. “We're going to protest the demolition of an old building where a family of raccoons live.”
“For some reason, I really want to punch this guy in the face,” muttered True.
“Um, please don't punch anybody in the face,” whispered Fluttershy.
Sighing, Flash rubbed his temples. “Sandalwood, in the future I would appreciate it if you told me exactly what you need help with so that I know what I'm getting into.”
“Sorry dude, my bad,” Sandalwood apologized. “If you wanna ditch this...”
“No, it’s fine, I already promised that I would help,” said Flash. He checked his watch—it was now twenty-five after four. “I can stay until six or six-thirty. True and First Base can help out as well.”
“Whoa, hold on a second!” cried True, throwing her hands up in protest. “Why are we being roped into this?”
“Because you two are not going to sit in the car while I work and sweat in the dirt,” said Flash, taking his jacket off.
“I can do my homework while I wait for you,” offered True.
“We both know that you won't.”
True sighed in defeat. “You're right, I won't.”
Before work started, Flash logged onto the website of his mother's favorite deli and placed an order for some garlic chicken, mashed potatoes, steamed corn and garden salad.
Everyone split into teams of two. First Base was paired up with Rainbow Dash while True went with a girl named Flower Power. Flash was partnered with Fluttershy, who seemed very disappointed with the arrangement. Flash couldn't understand why, until he realized that Sandalwood had teamed up with Tree Hugger.
“So, why couldn't the rest of the girls come?” Flash asked Fluttershy as they dug.
“Well, Applejack had to work on the farm, Pinkie Pie's babysitting the Cake twins, Rarity had to work on an order at the boutique, today is Cadance's birthday so Twilight wanted to be with her, and Principal Celestia needed Sunset's help with something after school.”
Flash recalled Sunset’s hurried attitude from earlier. “Did she tell you what it was that Celestia needed help with?”
“She wouldn’t say,” said Fluttershy. “Whatever it is, Sunset seemed to be a bit disturbed about it.”
“Do you think it could have anything to do with Vice-principal Luna moving in with her boyfriend?”
“Why would you think that?”
“I overheard the two of them arguing about it earlier,” Flash admitted. “I know that Principal Celestia doesn't like her sister's boyfriend, but I've never heard her sound so…spiteful before.”
Their hole was deep enough by that point, so Flash filled it with water from a bucket. The two of them then took the burlap sack off of their tree's root bell, placed it in the hole and carefully shoveled the dirt back in.
“I suppose it's not impossible,” said Fluttershy. “But I don't see how Sunset could be of any help with that.”
“Well, whatever it is, it must be pretty serious if she's willing to call Twilight – sorry, Princess Twilight – over to help.”
“Princess Twilight is here?” Fluttershy asked eagerly.
“Yeah, but don't expect to see her soon,” Flash cautioned her. “Sunset didn't even let me have one minute to talk to her before she dragged her off.”
“I’m sorry to hear that,” said Fluttershy.
“It's fine,” Flash assured her.
Once the soil was level with the tree's root collar, they spread some mulch around it before moving on. The two of them worked on the next tree mostly in silence save for the occasional small talk.
They were halfway into their third hole before Fluttershy spoke up again. “I almost forgot---next week, the Rainbooms are having a concert to raise money for the daycare center.”
“I know, Mrs. Sunny Smiles told me all about it,” said Flash. He worked as a volunteer at the center on Tuesdays. A few weeks ago, a big storm had sent a tree crashing right through their wall. They had managed to patch it up temporarily, but they needed a lot more money to fix it.
“Well, we were wondering if Flash Drive would be interested in performing with us. Your band is pretty popular, so it would help us attract more people and make more money. Also, it would be a lot of fun.”
Flash winced at the suggestion’s horrible timing. “Yeah, the thing is, Flash Drive just broke up.”
“You’re kidding me!” gasped Fluttershy.
“It’s true. Brawly and Ringo quit first thing during final period to go and join Trixie's band.”
“Oh Flash, I'm so sorry.”
Flash shrugged his shoulders. “Eh, they had good reasons. They wanted to make a career out of their music, and I never had any intention of doing so. Honestly, it was going to happen sooner or later anyways.”
“Wait a minute, I thought Trixie was going to join her family's business after college,” said Fluttershy.
“Yeah, I didn’t have the heart to tell them that,” admitted Flash. He had also felt just a tad bit vindictive at the time, but he didn't see any reason to tell her that.
“Well, would you like to play with us anyways? I'm sure we can work something out.”
Before Flash could answer, someone yelled: “Look out!” Unfortunately, his first instinct was to look up to see what was happening. As a result, his face met with the bottom end of a heavy bucket.
As the fog over his mind cleared, Flash became faintly aware that someone was holding his head in their hands. He also realized that his face hurt like he had been sucker punched, which is a strange way he supposed he had. It also felt like he had something stuffed up his nose.
“Why isn't he waking up?” he heard True ask frantically.
“Maybe we should call an ambulance,” Fluttershy's voice suggested.
“We should try giving him CPR,” a voice Flash recognized as Tree Hugger's said. “Like, does anyone here know CPR?”
“I know CPR,” Sandalwood's voice offered.
Flash shot up out of True's hands. “No guy is putting their lips on mine!” he declared. Wincing, he applied pressure to the throbbing part of his face.
“Oh thank goodness!” said Sandalwood. “That you're okay, I mean. Thank goodness that you're okay.”
“Take it easy bro,” Tree Hugger told Flash. “You got smacked hard enough to mess up your chackras.” She smiled coyly. “If you wanna drop by my place later, I could totally help you fix it.”
“My chakras are fine,” Flash told her briskly. This wasn't the first time Tree Hugger had tried to proposition to him. “What I want to know is why are our buckets suddenly flying kamikaze?”
“Oh, our idiot brother just wanted to show that he could land his bucket into one of our holes from thirty paces or something," said True, jabbing her thumb at First Base.
“Rainbow Dash told me to do it!” First Base cried.
“No I didn't, I dared you to do it!" Rainbow Dash protested. "A-As a test, I mean! A test that you failed! I'm very disappointed...”
“Stop, just stop,” said Fluttershy in exasperation.
First Base and Rainbow Dash both hung their heads in shame. “We're sorry,” they said in unison.
Flash stood up and glared at the two of them. “First Base, when we get home, I am confiscating all of your video games for a week. And Rainbow Dash, I want you to write 'I will not tell kids who are as dumb as I am to throw buckets around' one hundred times in the dirt.”
“Hey, you're not the boss of me!” cried Rainbow Dash defiantly.
“Does this,” Flash pointed at himself, “look like the face of somebody who cares?”
“No sir,” Rainbow Dash whimpered. She moved to a clear spot, knelt down and started writing.
“So how bad is it?” asked Flash.
“Just some scratches and a bloody nose that we've already plugged up,” Fluttershy assured him. “We have some bandages in the first-aid kit.”
“That's a relief. Alright everyone lets get back to work.”
“Are you sure about that Flash?” asked Sandalwood. “We'd totally understand if you wanted to call it quits for today.”
“Nah, it's fine. C'mon, we still have a ton of trees to plant.
Flash and his siblings worked until ten past six (Flash made sure that he “accidentally” walked over the lines Rainbow Dash had written ever so often, forcing her to rewrite them over again) before calling it a day.
“Why do we have to get dinner from the deli?” asked First Base from the back seat. “It's Thursday; you're supposed to cook for us.”
“We've spent nearly two hours planting trees, and I still have training and homework, plus violin practice, so I don't have a lot of time to cook,” said Flash.
“But you always cook for us on Thursdays!” complained First Base.
“Sauerbraten's food is just fine,” insisted Flash. “Heck, it's better than fine, it's great. It has to be, considering how much they charge.”
First Base sulked, but he didn't press the issue any further.
Flash drove on in silence for a few minutes until he witnessed something that caused him to slow down; three guys around his age had surrounded a much smaller kid with dark brown skin, light red hair with an even lighter streak running through it, and a propeller beanie on his head. The older boys were pushing the younger one back and forth between themselves like he was a ball in a cruel game of catch.
Although Flash didn't recognize the younger boy, he knew the other three all too well. Hoops, Dumb-Bell and Score were well-known bullies at Canterlot High, although they were considered small fries compared to the likes of Sunset Shimmer before she changed her ways or the long-ago expelled Gilda. While they enjoyed tormenting their victims physically, they were not nearly as vicious as Gilda had been; they usually preferred to simply push and shove and elbow jab those smaller than themselves, although they occasionally took things further. They also lacked Sunset's talent for covering their tracks, so they were constantly serving after-school detention, and they had been suspended several times.
Flash parked his car along the curb of the road. “Wait here, but be ready to call the police just in case things go south,” he instructed True and First Base as he got out.
“Don't do anything stupid,” warned True.
“Hey, you know me,” Flash said lightly.
“Fair enough,” conceded True. “Don't do anything too stupid.”
Flash strode towards the gang as they continued their assault. The kid had fallen to the ground by that point, and Hoops was drawing his leg back to kick him.
“Back off!” shouted Flash.
Hoops turned around to glare to glare at him through his mop of brown hair. “Oh great, what are you doing here Sentry?” he growled.
“You know exactly what I'm doing, now back off!” Flash snapped.
Despite their dark scowls, Hoops and his friends quickly stepped away from the kid. Although all three of them were bigger than Flash, they knew perfectly well what he was capable of. During their sophomore year, Flash had caught them harassing Micro Chip for his lunch money. When he told them to stop, they just laughed at him, dismissing his as a puny pretty boy. Then Hoops tried to shove him. All it took was a quick pinch of one of the nerves in his hand, and Flash had him on his knees, squealing and begging for mercy, while his friends could only stare in shock. The next day, the three of them caught Flash alone in the park and declared that they were going to teach him a lesson with their fists. Fortunately, Sun Lee, Flash’s personal trainer, had already taught him how to fight multiple opponents; Flash, in turn, taught them how easily he could take them all down in seven seconds flat. Since then, they were happy to give him a wide berth.
Kneeling down, Flash offered his hand to the kid, who stared at it in surprise for a moment before taking it. Flash helped him get up.
“You okay, kid?” he asked.
“Uh-huh,” the younger boy mumbled.
“So what’s your name?”
“Button Mash.”
“Any particular reason these guys were picking on you, Button Mash?”
Button Mash began to cry. “I-I was just walking home when they s-surrounded me a-and told me that they thought m-my beanie looked s-s-stupid, a-and I realized that t-they wanted to hurt me, s-so I tried to use Final Fantasy's ability to pixelate them and rearrange their limbs, b-but it didn't work, and they got mad and asked me what they h-heck I was doing, and I realized that we weren't in 'Starchild Congregation' and that I was just doing that t-thing I do w-where I get reality and video games mixed-up, a-and I tried to a-apologize to them, b-but they called me a r-r-retard, and t-they started pushing me, and... and...”
“It's okay, you're safe now,” Flash assured him. “Why don't you come with me, and I'll give you a ride home.”
“M-my mom says I'm not supposed to accept rides from strangers,” said Button Mash.
“And ninety-nine point nine percent of the time, she would be absolutely right,” said Flash. “But at the moment, your options are to either go with me, or stay here with them.
He pointed at the three bigger boys who were still glowering at them.
“Good point,” admitted Button Mash. “Let's go.”
They had just taken a few steps when Button Mash froze. “I just remembered! They also took my Playstation!”
Sighing, Flash turned around and marched back up to the goons. “So which one of you apes have the kid's Playstation?”
Hoops pulled a Sony Playstation Vita out of his pocket.
“Hand it over, Hoops,” commanded Flash, holding his hand out.
Hoops mouth turned up in a suspiciously sly smile. He winked at his friends.
“I don't think I want to,” he said snidely. “I’ve always wanted one of these things, so I think I'll keep it and save myself some money.”
“I know for a fact that you already have one of your own Hoops, so cut the crap and give it back,” said Flash.
Hoops snorted. “Fine, then maybe I'll just smash the stupid thing.”
“NO!” cried Button.
“I'd be doing you a favor kid. These things will rot your brains, and you need what little you have.”
“Hoops, I’m warning you, if you so much as scratch it…” Flash started, but Hoops cut him off.
“What are you going to do, beat me up over a gaming system? You're way too much of a goody-goody to do that, Sentry.”
Flash clenched his fist, but he knew that Hoops was right. Hitting someone in self-defense or in the defense of others was one thing, but hitting them over a toy was something else entirely.
As Flash pondered his next move, he suddenly realized that something was amiss. Hoops and Dumb-Bell were standing right in front of him, but where was Score?
Had Flash acted just a split-second slower, it would have been too late; he side-stepped Store’s attempt to tackle him from behind, grabbed him by the back of his shirt and drove his knee hard into his solar plexus, knocking all of the wind out of him. When Dumb-Bell swung his fist at him, Flash dropped Score like a sack of potatoes and smoothly deflected the blow before striking Dumb-Bell on the underside of his jaw, laying him out cold.
“Give me the PlayStation right now, Hoops!” Flash snarled. Now that the other guys had attacked first, anything was fair game.
“Okay, okay, here! Take it” cried Hoops desperately, holding the PlayStation out. Flash took it and handed it over to Button, who was staring at him in shock.
“There you go…”
“Secret ninja!” Button shrieked, pointing a finger at Flash, who was taken aback by the sudden outburst.
“Excuse me?”
“You're a secret ninja sent by the Water Blade Clan to assassinate me for slaying the clan head and stealing his dragon heart gem, but I've seen through your act just like I always do, and I will never let you succeed in your plot to destroy all the technology of the world in order to restore the Mystic Age!” Button babble.
“Wait a minute, are you talking about that “Ninja City” game?” asked Flash. “Kid, I'm not…”
“Armor shattering kick!” roared Button, kicking Flash in the knee.
Ever since he had started training under Sun Lee when he was seven, there were two things that she always incorporated into every single lesson: First, all it really took to win a fight was one really good hit. Second, even if you were vastly faster, stronger and more skilled than your opponent, there was always a chance that they could get lucky. Flash had never really appreciated the significance of the second piece of advice until now.
Pain surged through his leg. As he was clenching his knee and jumping up and down on one foot while chanting words that would have gotten him slapped on the mouth had his late grandmother heard him, Button snatched the vanity pack clipped to Flash's pants that held his own piece of expensive technology.
“Ha! Now that I've incapacitated you, I'll be taking your giman no buki as my prize!” Button raced down the street screaming, “LIIIIBERRRTYYYYY!”
“My phone!” cried Flash. He tried to chase after Button, but the pain in his leg threw him off balance, and after just a couple of steps he fell flat on his face.
Hoops burst into laughter. “I guess today wasn't such a bad day after all.”
Flash just groaned into the concrete.
After reporting the incident to the police, Flash proceeded to pick up dinner.
Although Sauerbraten’s Delicatessen was technically a deli, it had more in common a high-end restaurant where customers took their food home with them. The door had soft electronic chimes that played whenever it was opened. The floors were polished marble, and its walls were shining white. There were big, soft leather couches for customers to sit and wait in while music played over the intercom. At the counter, there was a big touchscreen menu that customers could use to examine their choices before placing their orders to the cashier, or “head waiter”, as Fine Service preferred to be called. He was a tall and very thin man with milky white skin and neatly combed jet-black hair. He also had a thin mustache to complete the look, although it was most likely fake.
Flash would have preferred someplace more casual, but his mother loved the place. And they really did make good food.
“Hello Mr. Sentry,” said Fine Service. “How are you on this fine day?”
“I'm doing alright,” Flash said with irony. “Is our order ready?”
“Let me check.” Fine Service tapped at his computer for a moment. He frowned. “I'm so sorry, but it will be another ten minutes before it is done.”
Flash checked his watch; it was currently six thirty. “That's okay, we can wait.”
The three of them made themselves comfortable on one of the sofas. While they waited, First Base played games on his phone, while True showed off the pictures she had taken of Flower Power with her own. She had become very comfortable with her sexuality ever since learning that Flash had known about it for years, and later coming out to their mother, who assured her that she didn't mind. First Base was still too young to really understand, so the jury was still out on how he felt. Flash, having no phone at the moment, simply passed the time by reciting song lyrics in his head.
The sound of chimes drew Flash's attention to towards the door. When he saw the three girls who had just walked in, he leapt to his feet in shock.
Adagio Dazzle walked in the lead. She wore a brilliant red button-up blouse that was open enough to show a generous portion of her cleavage and bright blue tight-fitting jeans. On her right was Aria Blaze. She wore black jeans, a purple leather jacket, and an artfully torn shirt that exposed her midriff. Sonata Dusk wore a short indigo tank top and vest, plus a violet skirt. Their hairstyles were the same as before, including Adagio’s; it was still as stupidly poufy as it had ever been.
Although they would appear to be perfectly ordinary girls to most people, Flash knew what they really were. Nobody had seen the three sirens that had brainwashed nearly everyone at school into fighting one another in a music competition like a bunch of starving dogs after the Rainbooms had destroyed the gems that had served as the source of their powers. Many had hoped that they had skipped town, but unfortunately, that did not appear to be the case.
“True, First Base, go wait in the car,” Flash said quietly.
True looked up in surprise. “What's wrong?” she asked. First Base was too engrossed in his game to notice anything going on.
“Just go!” Flash insisted.
True frowned, but took First Base’s hand and pulled him outside.
Flash stood up and approached the sirens, who were currently arguing with the cashier.
“What do you mean our order isn't ready yet?” demanded Adagio. “We specifically said to have it ready by six thirty, and it is currently six thirty-three.”
“I'm very sorry ma'am, it's just that we've received an overload of orders today, and we're just a tad behind schedule,” Fine Service explained. “But I promise, your food will be ready in three minutes.”
“Hey buddy,” growled Aria. “When we tell you to have our food ready by six thirty, we expect it to be ready by six thirty; not six forty-five, not seven o'clock, but six thirty.
Fine Service wrung his hands anxiously. “Please, our chefs are…”
“Totally incompetent, we know,” said Sonata. “Seriously, I could cook circles around these guys any time of the day. Why are we even here?”
“That's what I'd like to know,” said Flash.
The three girls turned to look at him.
“I'm sorry, do we know you?” Adagio asked disdainfully.
“That's Flash,” said Sonata. “Don't you remember him? He competed against us in the Battle of the Bands, plus he was the Princess’s boyfriend.”
Adagio sighed in annoyance. “Yes, thank you Sonata. I'm sorry Flash, I would have remembered you, but you're just so forgettable…”
“You also said that he reminded you of someone, but you couldn't figure out who, and it totally drove you crazy, even after we lost our magic and ran off,” Sonata continued.
Adagio groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“This wouldn't happen if you would just let me sew her mouth shut,” said Aria.
“Your mouth needs to be sewn shut, Aria,” Sonata shot back. The two of them glared at each other.
“Just what are you three up to?” asked Flash.
“What makes you think we're up to anything?” asked Adagio.
Flash looked the siren's leader right in the eye. “I know girls like you, Adagio. Hell, I've dated a girl like you. You're always up to something.”
“He's not wrong,” said Sonata.
“I also know that you're not the type to take a crushing defeat like the one the Rainbooms handed you lying down,” Flash continued. “So the only reason I can think of for you to have crawled out of whatever hole you've been hiding in is that you finally have a plan for revenge.”
“That was a brilliant deduction,” Adagio said in a condescending tone. She started tapping her chin thoughtfully. “But I can't help but wonder---assuming that I did have some sort of plan, what exactly would you do about it? Really, what did you plan to accomplish by confronting us like this?”
“That depends on what you do next,” said Flash. Truthfully, he didn't have any plans, but he wasn't worried about that. He came up with some of his best ideas when he was making things up as he went along.
“Geez, what's your damage?” asked Sonata. “What did we ever do to you?”
“I tend to hold a grudge against people who brainwash my school,” Flash answered dryly.
“Oh, right, that's a thing.”
“Well, your girlfriend and her posse destroyed out gems,” Aria said bleakly. “So I’d say fair's-fair.”
Flash glared at her. “I also don’t like people who make me hurt someone I really care about.”
“Is this about how you badmouthed Twilight?” asked Adagio. “I hate to break it to you, but our magic didn't work that way. We couldn’t control anyone's thoughts or actions; all we could do was put ideas and desires in their heads, so if you wanted to win so badly that you would break your girlfriend's heart, that’s on you.”
Adagio's words would have hit Flash right where it hurt, except that he had spent several months thinking about the subject before coming to his own conclusion.
“Please, I know that I can turn into an ass when I get competitive, but I was never that bad. As far as I’m concerned, none of us would have taken things as far as we did if you hadn't pushed up.”
Adagio shrugged nonchalantly, like she couldn't care less, although Flash detected a bit of annoyance in her eyes. “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” she said.
Fine Service placed three bags on the counter. His demeanor had become rather anxious; beads of sweat were sliding down his brow. “Your orders are ready, Miss Adagio and family,” he said.
“About time.” Adagio and her sisters took the bags. “By the way Flash, could you do me a favor?”
“Only if it involves taking a weedwacker to that bush on your head,” he snipped.
“Just tell those girls to enjoy their winning streak while they can, because what goes around, quite often comes back around.”
With that, the sirens turned and marched towards the door. Flash, however, ran ahead to cut them off.
“So you are planning something,” he growled.
“I feel like I’ve already asked this, but what makes you think we’re planning anything?” asked Adagio.
“You LITERALLY just threatened my friends,” Flash pointed out.
“When did I say anything threatening?” Adagio asked innocently. “I was simply implying that they would come to regret standing against us.”
Flash swore that if this girl was any more of a smartass, she would literally be talking out of her own butthole.
“Well, I don't like it when people imply things about my friends.” He cracked his knuckles while looking each girl in the eye in turn. “Things tend to get painful for them.”
Aria and Sonata both backed up nervously, but Adagio simply continued to smile smugly. “Oh my, are you threatening us?”
“I'm simply implying that messing with the Rainbooms will result in severe bodily harm for you.”
Adagio's derisive laugh was disturbingly similar to what Sunset's had been like in the past. “Are you actually threatening to beat us up? Is the big strong boy actually going to hit a bunch of girls?”
Flash was quite pleased when his own laughter actually wiped the smirk off of Adagio's faces. “You're actually trying to play that card? Let me tell you a story that’ll teach you how that’s going to work out for you. There’s a girl named Lightning Dust who plays for all of Cloudsdale High’s sports teams---she's basically their version of Rainbow Dash, except that she and some of her guy and girlfriends liked to give themselves an edge by attacking and injuring a rival team's star players the night before a big game. Naturally, several of us, specifically Applejack and myself, took exception when they tried that shit on our own athletes. So when they went after Rainbow Dash, we stepped in, and the short of it is that I personally relieved Lightning Dust of some of her teeth. Speaking of which, you girls have dental insurance, right?”
Squeaking in fright, Sonata his behind Aria, who clearly did not appreciate being used as a human shield. Adagio, on the other hand, had a hard look in her eyes.
“Watch yourself, boy,” she hissed. “Don't think that we can't break you just because we don't have our gems anymore.”
“Sunset Shimmer herself couldn't break me,” Flash said haughtily. “And considering how things turned out for you when you tried to go up against her, I‘m not particularly worried.”
Before Adagio could retort, Fine Service placed himself between them. He was sweating profusely by now, and his skin had become even paler than usual, making him look rather haggard. “Please Mr. Sentry and Miss Adagio, could you not have this confrontation inside of my delicatessen?” he pleaded.
“Sorry Fine Service,” Flash apologized. “We'll finish this another time.”
“Wait, hold up a minute,” Adagio demanded. “What did he just call you?”
“He called me Sentry,” answered Flash. “Because that’s my name --- Flash Sentry. Didn't you know that?”
The look Adagio gave him actually caused him to take a step back. It was as if she was actually seeing him for the first time, and was not happy with what she saw. Behind her, Aria and Sonata whispered amongst themselves.
“That would be a family name, wouldn't it?” she asked softly. “Those are quite rare, you know. By any chance, would your family have a tradition of only passing the name on to the firstborn child in order to strengthen their sense of responsibility?”
“So what if we do?” asked Flash, keeping his tone neutral to hide how surprised he was that she knew that.
“Please you two, can't you…” Fine Service started to beg, only for a raised finger from Adagio to silence him. With a wave of her hand, she sent him shuffling back against the wall.
“So tell me, Flash Sentry,” Adagio spoke the name like it was poison, “do you have any relation to a woman named Flare Sentry?”
“Before I answer that, what does a woman who died centuries ago have to do with anything?” asked Flash.
“More than you might think,” Adagio answered. “My sisters and I have been around for a very, very long time. Thanks to the magic in our gems, we were able to keep ourselves alive and young for thousands of years.”
“That explains why you suddenly have all of those lines beneath your eyes,” quipped Flash.
“Hilarious,” Aria sneered, right before she pulled out a compact mirror and began frantically checking her face.
“My point is," Adagio continued, "we have seen and done it all. We've watched empires rise and fall. We've witnessed the human race go from living in log cabins to conquering the stars themselves. We've even gotten to personally meet some of the most important figures in history. For us, the most memorable of them all was Dame Flare of the House of Sentry. Tell me, what do you know about the War of the Two Ponies?”
Flash suspected that he wasn't going to like wherever this conversation was headed, but he answered anyways.
“Well, it all started when Lord Arthus Arcturus usurped the throne of the Kingdome of Bitan somewhere between the late 5th and early 6th centuries and then decided to conquer the rest of Stirrope as well. His campaign was notable for both its extreme brutality and the almost ridiculous ease by which he defeated all who opposed him. He had managed to expand his empire across half the continent in just three years before an alliance between the remaining kingdoms managed to push him back and eventually defeat him. Incidentally, the reason it was called the War of the Two Ponies was because Arthus’ armies had a red pony for their crest while the Alliance forces had a blue one.”
“All true,” said Adagio. “However, what the history books don't tell you is that we were the ones who made it all happen.”
Flash waited for her to say “Ha! Just kidding!” But Adagio just stood there smiling smugly like she had won some big talent show.
“Are you actually saying that you three were responsible for one of the bloodiest conflicts in the western hemisphere?”
“I did tell you that we've been around for a long time,” Adagio reminded him. “The day we were banished here, we decided that if we couldn't have Equus, than we would simply rule over Gaia instead. To that end, we used our magic to gather followers for Arthus. We even provided him with magic of his own to ensure that no one could defeat him. Everything was going perfectly, untilshe decided to interfere!”
Adagio had a faraway look in her eyes. Flash had seen that look on many of the residents in the assisted living center whenever they talked about the days of their youth, but while they had been nostalgic, Adagio’s expression was one of dark fury.
“The first time I met her, I never would have believed that she could accomplish anything great,” she said softly. “She was just so awkward when it came to anything social. She couldn't say more than two words without tripping over them. And she was always so kind and eager to help everyone.” She said it like she was describing an embarrassing habit. “Yet for some bizarre reason, people were drawn towards her, falling in love with her for no apparent reason. And as if that weren’t enough, underneath that awkward exterior was the mightiest warrior I had ever encountered in the two thousand years I've been alive. She even managed to become a knight in spite of the fact that she was a woman. I doubt a child of this day and age like you could truly understand how utterly impossible that should have been at the time. Ultimately, she was the one who brought the Alliance together and led them to victory. She ruined all of our plans. If it hadn't been for her, this sad and pathetic world would ALREADY BE OURS!”
Adagio's voice rose into a shriek with the last part, with specks of spit flying out of her mouth. Her eyes burned with a wild, furious light.
“Oh, but that's not all she did,” she continued. She started unbuttoning her shirt. “The last time we saw each other, Flare was nice enough to give me this.”
She pulled her blouse wide open. Fine Service gasped in shock.
“Miss Adagio Dazzle, please co---OH MY LORD!”
With a surprisingly well-toned stomach and tits that were just barely contained by a lacy bra, Adagio's body would have been incredibly hot, were it not for the long, hideous scar that ran down her chest and belly, splitting her navel in two.
“Like it?” she asked venomously, letting her shirt hang open. “It hurt like a bitch when it happened. If it hadn't been for my magic, I would have died for sure. Whenever I look at it, I remember the way she had looked at me, like I was just some vermin that needed to be exterminated. So tell me, right here and right now; are you in any way related to Flare Sentry?”
Flash probably should have just lied. A little voice in his brain begged him to lie. Unfortunately, common sense was not high on his list of strengths, which mostly consisted of things like beating the crap out of assholes and acting like a complete doofus most of the time anywyas.
“If what you've said is true, then I'm prouder than ever to say that I'm her direct descendant,” he declared
“I should have known,” Adagio hissed. Her fists were clenched so hard, they had turned white. “I can't believe I didn’t make the connection sooner. You have her hair, her eyes, her skin. It's almost like I’m seeing her again.” She began to advance towards Flash. For a moment, her eyes seemed like they were glowing red.
Out of nowhere, True stepped in between them and kicked Adagio hard in the knee, causing her to stumblevback with a pained yelp. First Base was there as well.
“Back off sister!" snapped True.
“True, First Base, what are you doing here?” demanded Flash. “I thought I told you two to go wait in the car.”
“And we did. Now we're back to help you deal with these girls.”
“If you want a piece of our BBBFF, than you’re going to have to go through us!” declared First Base.
“So there's even more of that wench‘s spawn running around than I thought,” Adagio growled. She started to march towards them again.
Flash quickly positioned himself between his siblings and the menacing girl and assumed a stance. “Take one step closer, and you die where you stand,” he warned.
Adagio stopped, but she smiled savagely. “My, what a protective older brother you are. Flare was quite protective of her own brother and sister as well. Pity it didn't amount to much in the end.”
Before Flash could deliver a rebuttal in the form of a spinning kick to the cranium, Aria grabbed Adagio's shoulder and pulled her back.”
“Take it easy ‘Dagi,” she hissed. “This isn't the right time or place.”
Adagio fumed for a moment, but she took a deep breath and let it out. “You're right Aria. We'll leave it at this for now.” She turned back to Flash, giving him a hateful scowl. “Enjoy your peace while it lasts, Flash Sentry. This isn’t over by a long shot.”
She turned back around. “Let's go…wait, where's Sonata?”
"Oh, she said that she didn't want to listento you rant so she was going to sneak into the kitchen to show everyone how to actually cook," Aria explained.
The moment she said this, Sonata burst out of the door to the kitchen. She hurried over to the group and began to push everyone frantically towards the door.
“Let's go. Everyone out. Keep moving people. Pick up your feet. Let's go, let's go.”
“What's going on?” demanded True.
“No time for questions, keep moving, everyone out.”
Everyone had just exited the building when an explosion rocked its foundations. A massive column of fire burst through the roof and into the sky above.
“What the heck just happened?” asked Aria as everyone stared in shock.
“Too much grease,” Sonata answered.
Author's Note
I had originally wanted to publish this as one big thing, but the length of it, and my desired deadlined made me decide to make it a multi-chapter fic instead. I will be publishing the next chapter plus future official Harmony and Valor material will be published as soon as I can.
