Flash Sentry had seen many things in his very brief life of service. But a unicorn stripper serving as a crime boss while moonlighting as a costumed vigilante? That surprisingly wasn't one of them.

Before we get into that, however, let's focus on his background check first.

Prior to the present, Flash was just a young Pegasus who aspired to follow in his father's hoofsteps as one of the Royal Guards. He never actually knew why exactly did he desire to be a part of the royalty service, other than the fact that he (and his great granduncle quoted) "saw the ad and thought it would be fun". And so, despite the instant ridicule he received from schoolmates and additional family members that weren't his parents, younger sister, and great granduncle, the young Pegasus soldiered on and vowed to become a Royal Guard, discovering a new reasoning to join them: to protect and serve. Ultimately, his parents (both of whom were former Royal Guards themselves) found themselves impressed by their son's persistence and promised to train him properly. A few years later, he was enlisted in the Royal Guard Captain Shining Armor invited him to his wedding as part of a training exercise in order for him to prove his worth.

Little did either of them know, said training exercise would be taken too far.

Although he didn't attend the kangaroo court trial that would ultimately result in Twilight Sparkle's exile, the fact that such a kindhearted young mare like her was accused of such a heinous crime made him lose a tremendous amount of respect for the Royal Guard. He had never personally met her in person, but from what he heard from the townponies and his own family, the younger sister of the Captain was held in the highest regard as a living legend, if not more so than her own older brother. To see and hear her being falsely charged of an unforgivable offense was just as heartbreaking for him as it undoubtedly was for those who saw her as a hero. It would seem that an serious error of judgment had been carried out that fateful day, seeing as a full-fledged invasion commenced during the wedding reception of Captain Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who turned out to be a Changeling Queen in disguise. This event proved to be the last straw, for he swore to never associate himself with anything that related to the Royal Guard ever again. Of course, this didn't stop him from co-leading the resistance against Chrysalis just a year after the disaster, which unfortunately resulted in mass casualties from both sides. His faith in peace and harmony was mostly extinguished following the accusations that caused the banishment of a complete innocent pony.

The amount of bloodshed he witnessed was just rubbing salt in the wound.

The very moment victory was declared, Flash immediately discarded his Royal Guard uniform and raced back to his surprisingly still-standing Canterlot residence to pack his belongings, the intent of taking an extended leave of absence crystal clear on his mind. Although his sister begged him not to leave, Flash promised her that his little trip wouldn't take long and just needed a break from all the chaos the Royal Guard had to offer. His parents, not knowing the true cause of his abrupt truancy (until much later), understood and allowed him to go as he pleased, knowing that parting ways with him while exchanging distasteful words would be unwise.

And that's how he ended up here. Bitter, cynical...and accidentally in love.

Flash glanced around in Klugetown and saw everything was unlike any other city he had seen beforehand. It was dirty, polluted, and completely overrun with crime...but still on the way to somewhere special. The citizens paid him no attention whatsoever, far too focused on themselves in order to go about their daily business. Some of them actually had jobs to make ends' meet, others desired to party until they stopped, dropped, and/or vomited. The rest... Well, they merely wished to visit the establishment he was currently standing in front of at this very moment.

He didn't want to be here at all. Nonetheless, he felt...compelled to do so. He didn't know why he was here, he was just here. Here standing a mere foot away from this filthy establishment. He figured that he can cross this off his bucket list now.

Entering inside, Flash was immediately greeted with a stench of whiskey and a puff of smoke. And flashes of neon, as well. Fanning away the smell in revulsion, the Pegasus ventured deeper and deeper inside the building, stopping only when he reached the center stage. Cats and dragons among other creatures danced around their stripper poles wearing nothing but rather scantily-clad lingerie; for the others, it was their good old-fashioned birthday suits.

The pony he saw next was decidedly not one of the others.

Whoa... Who is that?

She was a lavender unicorn with a sapphire blue mane emblazoned with purple and raspberry streaks that came with violet eyes. She donned jet-black lingerie with leather gloves and a matching fedora. She was looking right at him...

"Hello, good sir... What's your name?"

Too stunned to properly talk for a full minute, Flash stammered all over the sentences he thought up before making out, "F...Flash. Flash Sentry, ma'am."

"Flash Sentry... Mmm, you seem to have been taught some proper manners by your parents." Twilight leapt down from the catwalk and landed quite gracefully in front of the former Royal Guard. "You do have parents, right?"

"I...do."

"I see. Are you...a member of the Royal Guard?"

Flash seemed to have caught on and smirked if only a tad. "It depends. Are you some sort of psychic?"

"I wish. I can be if I wanted to."

"Hmm. Okay. I was a member of the Royal Guard. Something bad happened...and that something is something I needn't elaborate any further."

"But you do have combat expertise?"

"Enough to help survive up to six years or more."

. . .

"Good. Flash Sentry, you're hired."

"What?"

"I need someone for a Captain of my army. Someone I can trust."

"What's in it for me?"

She smirked and leaned in close so that nopony but them both could hear what she had to offer Flash. He himself took interest in said offer and smiled back. "All right, Your Majesty. It seems that you have yourself a deal."

"Thank you for looking into my offer. Now, if you excuse me..." She turned to face an unruly customer abusing a poor worker, smirking devilishly as she turned back to face Flash. "I have clients at my disposal."

"Wait! I never got your name!"

. . .

"It's Midnight!"

As she turned tail to leave the awed Flash behind, Twilight scowled under her breath at what she saw was a failure to come clean in regards of her true identity. Damn it, I'm already dirty enough as it is... Why should it matter, anyway? Oh, well. I'll tell him my true name once we hit off.

. . .

If we hit it off...

Needless to say, Rainbow Dash was completely and utterly miserable.

Four years had passed following the disappearance of her friend Twilight Sparkle, and there were still no viable leads that could jumpstart a proper investigation. She, among with the rest of her friends, was beginning to lose hope and give up right there, right now. However, to give up hope and quit the search for a friend in need was the last thing on her mind, because if she did so, she would deem herself not worthy as a loyal friend and ally to her. On the other hoof, though, overexertion was unhealthy and taking temporary breaks were ideal.

She settled on an annual Daring Do convention in order to get A.K. Yearling sign a book for Scootaloo. This is where she met her future coltfriend, an insufferable know-it-all and fellow Daring Do fanatic by the name of Quibble Pants. An Earth Pony unlike the Pegasus that she was, he met Rainbow Dash when she wasn't in the best of moods at the current moment. Sympathetic to her situation, he offered to accompany her around even if they got off to an admittedly rocky start due to his dismal towards the sequel trilogy. Eventually, their friendship blossomed into something more (a silver lining that went completely unnoticed in this black-and-white world of dark times), despite their repeated insistence that said friendship evolved into that of a complex and nuanced romance.

Their deep devotion for each other nonetheless shone through on multiple occasions. Case in point...

"Rainbow...! Rainbow!"

The Pegasus shot up from her bed and frantically scanned her surroundings. Gasping for air, she calmed herself upon realizing that this bed she woke up in wasn't her own. Judging by the IV tubes with its bag, the type of window that the night sky seeped through, and the light blue gown seemingly blending in with her fur coat, it was safe to assume that she was in the hospital...somehow...

Turning to her right, Rainbow found Quibble asleep in one of the three chairs and attempted to call out for him, but the volume of her shouting voice was beyond coarse. However, it caught his attention anyway, his head shooting up and his eyes opening wide before he rushed over to her side.

"Rainbow! Rainbow! Deep breaths! Deep breaths..."

Listening to his advice, Rainbow regained parts of her voice. "What... What happened?"

"You and the others... Your friends, the Royal Family, and the Princesses... You were captured by Queen Chrysalis. You were the last to be taken because you fought back, but a small army managed to overwhelm you."

"... And you saved me?"

"Yes...with the help of a few others, anyway. Starlight, Trixie, Discord, and Thorax, I think that was his name. Starlight led the quest to the Changeling Hive and managed to stop Chrysalis's plan. Most of the Changelings are good now, but Chrysalis went into self-imposed exile and escaped with a few loyalists. Those same loyalists did a good number on you, too, because you were unconscious when we found you."

"... And the others?"

"They're okay."

Rainbow felt tears welling up in her eyes and her attempts to wipe away didn't go unnoticed; Quibble pulled her into a warm hug as a result. She didn't feel like fighting back like she did towards the hostile shapeshifters from before. She could only melt in the snug embrace of her coltfriend and let the waterworks run their course. For the first time in forever, she felt powerless. Powerless that she couldn't defend herself or her closest ones.

Needless to say, Rainbow Dash was completely and utterly miserable.

But at least she had a loving coltfriend who cared deeply about her...

Author's Note

Please note: This chapter is unfinished, so feel free to judge me. So proceed with caution and believe me when I write this... Twilight is a stripper for a reason.