“Flaaaash! Darling, sweetheart, love of my life? We have to go now, otherwise we’ll be late!”
Sunburst waited for a moment for a response, and upon hearing none, pursed his lips and sighed. He moved again to the mirror near the front door, returning to fix his unkempt orange mane and straighten his dark blue, though cyan-dotted, bowtie.
It wasn’t the first time Sunburst had called up to remind his boyfriend of the time, nor the second or the third. Four times he’d yelled up the stairs, only to get a small, or now no, response from Flash.
If he didn’t know how immensely capable Flash Sentry truly was, he might have started to worry.
And yet, as he readjusted his bowtie perhaps a bit too tight, he felt a small bit of anxiety beginning to brew.
A hoofstep echoed down the staircase.
Sunburst could immediately tell that the heavy step was Flash’s, the weight of the pegasus near-threatening to put a dent in the hardwood flooring every time he took a step.
As the hooffalls slowly continued, Sunburst found himself surprised at how tentative they sounded. Normally, Flash would be bounding down the staircase towards his lovely boyfriend, especially with the promise of food in his future.
As Flash slowly meandered his way down the stairs, stopping at the landing between the ground and first floor, Sunburst soon saw why.
“Uh, heya Sunny! Finally ready to go!”
Standing awkwardly on the landing, Flash gave a grin down at his boyfriend. The tan suit he wore stretched tightly across his wide, muscular chest in a way that threatened its structural integrity with every breath he took. It took Sunburst more than a few seconds to realize that Flash’s tie tying left a lot to be desired, leaving his lime-green tie more crooked than anything.
The entire suit was like this, of course, not just the chest. But it was the chest especially that threatened Sunburst in several ways. A hot blush quickly spread across his face.
Laughing warmly at this, Flash carefully continued his descent down the staircase, walking close to Sunburst and puffing out his chest with a cocky grin. “Hey, you like what you see?”
Sunburst grew more flushed, stammering for a moment before turning his head to face away from the highly flustering sight. “W-where did you even find this suit? It looks like it’s about to—”
A pop could be heard from the suit, as if responding to Sunburst, followed by a ripping as Flash flinched at the sound.
“Aw, dang it, suit!” Flash said as he quickly inspected his suit for where the tear had occurred. “That’s, like, literally what I was trying to avoid here!”
As he lifted his right foreleg, both he and Sunburst could see his orange coat peeking through the armpit of his suit. He lifted and lowered his foreleg a few times, letting out a small giggle as he did. “Huh, breezy. You think they’d let me in the restaurant like this?”
“Depending on how fancy a place you picked, I’m completely unsure.” Sunburst said, having to hold back a snicker as Flash continued to flap his foreleg.
Instead, he reached out with his magic to grab a needle and thread he kept around just for these occasions. With it in his magical grasp, he tapped Flash’s hoof with his own. “Lift.” He said simply, to the immediate obedience of Flash.
Sunburst quickly put to work the skills he’d learned in his many years of Cloak Fixing, and as he did he took the opportunity to lean against his large boyfriend.
He was quickly disappointed to find that the fabric of his suit was rough, and not for nuzzling. As such, he pulled back with a sound of soft disgust. “Ugh, seriously where did you get this thing?” he asked, rubbing his hoof against the fabric. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you in it before, so please don’t tell me it’s new.”
Flash smiled bashfully, though thankfully, he shook his head. “Nah, I got it a while back. Think I only wore it to, like, one captain promotion, then sorta just forgot about it.”
“For good reason, it seems.” Sunburst muttered as he tightened the thread and, for now, patched the hole in the suit. Stepping back to admire his handiwork, he let out a soft hum as he looked over the suit itself. “You know, I don’t remember you wearing anything like that when we went to Gallus’ promotion party. Did you change for that, or…”
Flash smiled nervously, carefully scratching the back of his head. “Well… I didn’t say it was for Gallus’...”
Sunburst blinked. “Well, if it wasn’t Gallus, then the last Royal Guard promoted to captain was…” After a moment of thinking, Sunburst looked up to Flash in shock. “Flash Sentry, Shining was promoted twelve years ago! You cannot tell me the suit is that old!”
With a low chuckle, Flash simply shrugged. “What can I say, I don’t have much reason to dress up these days.”
“Well when you said we’ll be going to a ‘super duper fancy restaurant with suits and junk’ I figured…” Sunburst trailed off with a sigh, shaking his head. He looked up at Flash, his eyes apologetic. “Ugh, I don’t know why it matters. You look great, Flash. Maybe a little compact in that suit, but I think it adds to the charm.”
“You look great too, Sunny Bunny!” Flash exclaimed, ruffling Sunburst’s recently fixed mane with a hoof. “Though you definitely don’t need any help with the charm stuff.”
Sunburst flushed again, and while he wanted to be mad that Flash had mussed his mane, he simply leaned up to kiss his lover’s strong jawline. “You’re too kind, sweetheart. Now why don’t we get out to… wherever it is we’re going.” He pulled back, stroking his goatee with a thoughtful smirk. “Come to think of it, I don’t think you ever told me.”
At this, Flash flashed a wide, cheesy grin. “It’s a surpriiiiiiiise~” he hummed, leaning down to give Sunburst a smooch right on the white bit of his snout. “And I know how much you love surprises.”
“I do!” Sunburst chirped with a wide grin, though it dimmed slightly as he pushed his glasses up with a hoof. “Well, when they’re artifacts or blindbags maybe, but I’d prefer to have a menu to peruse a few days beforehand. I mean, what if they only serve Caesar salads, or they slather all of their mushroom steaks in that terrible Hay1 sauce. Or even—”
“Sunny,” Flash interrupted, booping a hoof on Sunburst’s nose. “You’re doing it again.”
Sunburst blinked, stopped in his tracks, then giggled softly. “Sorry. I need to trust you more. Especially when you’re willing to spend the bits on a fancy Canterlot restaurant.”
Flash grimaced slightly at the mention of price, but shook it away to nuzzle Sunburst instead. “I’ve got it handled, babe. Covered all the ups, downs, lefts, and rights, so don’t worry about it!”
“Consider me unworried then.” Sunburst sighed as he leaned up against Flash’s nuzzle. “Okay, maybe a little worried. I mean, look at the time.”
As hard as it was to pull away from the intense nuzzling session, Flash somehow managed it to look at a clock nearby. He blinked, seeing how late it had already gotten, then turned to Sunburst with shock. “Woah, how’d that happen? Sunny, you didn’t tell me we were gonna be late!”
“Hm, must have slipped my mind.” Sunburst said, fighting back a chuckle. Instead, he nodded towards the front door of their home. “Anyhow, shall we?”
“We shall!” Flash exclaimed as he made for the door as quickly as possible which, considering the state of his suit, wasn’t very fast at all.
“Ah, wait, hold on.”
Flash slid to a halt, threatening the stability of his suit yet again, then swung around to face Sunburst with no undue amount of confusion. “What’s up? Did you wanna bring your cloak after all?”
Instead of explaining himself, Sunburst simply lit his horn with golden magic, taking Flash’s tie in it as well. He quickly got to work readjusting Flash’s tie so that, while still a bit crooked, it was much straighter than either stallion.
His task finished, Sunburst breathed a sigh of relief. “S-sorry, that’s just been bothering me for a bit.”
“...and that’s pretty much why Cadance and I aren’t allowed near the Human Portal without supervision from Twilight or Spike.” Sunburst sighed as he finished his explanation, shaking his head. “I didn’t know Love Magic would echo like that through them and cause that big a problem, but that’s what experiments are for, I suppose.”
As Sunburst regaled Flash with the latest in Crystal Empire gossip, he also struggled to keep up with the pace of the larger stallion as they walked through the streets of Canterlot to their destination. He almost considered just hopping up on Flash’s wide back and riding him to the restaurant, but decided to perhaps save it for after dinner.
“I dunno why you’d wanna go back to that human place anyway. It all seems super freaky.” Flash said, a cold shiver running down his spine. “I mean, walking around on your hindlegs everywhere and being stuck in high school forever? Meanwhile another you is hiding somewhere and ready to kill you.”
Sunburst blinked. “Why would they want to kill you?.”
“That’s what clones do, Sunny. They kill you, take your place, and make out with the ponies you love.” Flash explained, rolling his eyes just a little bit.
“Flash, they aren’t clones. They’re simply versions of ourselves from a wildly different universe.” Sunburst said. “And secondly, I don’t think human-you would even be able to kill you. He was, you know, a bit of a dork.”
Flash’s face fell, and he slowed down his trotting in order to look at Sunburst seriously. “You already met him? Tell me, what was he like?” He gulped. “Has he already seduced you with his charms?”
Sunburst laughed again, this time taking advantage of Flash’s slowing down to catch up and nuzzle against his side. “There’s only one Flash Sentry charming enough to seduce me, and that spot’s taken,” he said with a soft smile, finally catching up enough to give Flash a quick peck on the cheek.
Then, with a tilt of his head, Sunburst shrugged. “The most charming thing he did was pull out his guitar and try to serenade both Twilights. It was weird.”
Still pouting a bit, Flash slowed down to return the nuzzle. “Be honest, was he as cute as me?”
Sunburst thought for a moment, the scariest moment in Flash Sentry’s young life, but came out of it with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “Not even close, sweetheart. He was, uh, a bit twinkish anyway. Nowhere near as handsome as my favorite pony hunk.”
With a cocky grin, Flash chuckled and puffed out his chest. At least, he tried to. Upon feeling his suit tense and strain across the muscular shelf Flash had forced into it, the stallion stopped in his tracks and felt his chest for any tears.
Sunburst, stopping along with, fought to keep his hooves to himself as he watched this display. Instead, he simply leaned in and gave his love a gentle nuzzle. “Is your suit okay, sweetheart?”
Finding that everything was alright, especially while lavishing in the attention of Sunburst, Flash gave a wide smile. “Yep! Just, uh, probably shouldn’t be flexing too hard in this.” His eyes flicked from looking down at Sunburst lovingly to looking up at the building they had stopped in front of. “Oh heck. I think we’re here!”
Looking up as well, Sunburst could see a smattering of fancy, besuited ponies whose attention was drawn to the pair due to Flash’s loud shout. Beyond them stood a sleek, black building, more modern and minimalist than the buildings that surrounded it. So minimalist, in fact, that no iconography related to its purpose could be seen aside from one small word emblazoned above the door.
‘Dorsia’
Upon seeing this, Sunburst’s eyes grew to be the size of saucers. He quickly did a double, triple, and even quintuple take between Flash and the sign.
“You got us reservations to Dorsia…” Sunburst muttered, shock shaking his voice as he finally, definitively turned to Flash. “You got us reservations to Dorsia‽”
At this shout, the ponies surrounding the restaurant began to chuckle among themselves. This was swiftly shut down with a quick glare from a very imposing Flash Sentry.
Turning back to look at Sunburst, a wide grin spread across his face. “Well duh. Only the best for my little Sunny Bunny.” Carefully, he lifted a hoof and ruffled it through Sunburst’s mane.
Sunburst giggled hopelessly, throwing himself against Flash and wrapping his hooves around the large pegasus. “They’re so impossible to get though. How'd you swing that?”
Pressing a hoof against Sunburst’s lips, Flash’s grin grew wider. “Shhhhh, don’t worry about it. Let’s just enjoy the night and not worry about the things I had to do for it.”
Sunburst pursed his lips, but his worried expression quickly fell back to a grin as he sighed. “You know, if it were any other night I’d have questions. But let’s just have fun tonight.”
As the two moved to enter the restaurant, Flash quickly stuck his tongue out at the fancy ponies still milling about the entrance. Seeing their shocked expressions, he strutted his way in with a smile on his face.
Upon entering, both stallions were immediately greeted by the most intense fancy ambiance they had ever experienced.
For Sunburst, royal dinners at the Canterlot Palace could now never try and compare.
For Flash, pizza night with Princess Luna was nothing.
To contrast with its dark exterior, the inside of the restaurant was blindingly white. Everything from the linen tablecloth, to the white orchids on the tables, to even the ivory piano settled in the center of the restaurant.
A griffon sat at said piano, expertly playing a classical piece that mingled well with the soft, pleasant chatter of the restaurant’s patrons.
A light throat clearing drew both stallions’ attention to the wooden stand directly before them, at which a light-grey unicorn stallion stood staring at them pleasantly, though with a bit of professional detachment.
“May I help you two... fine gentlemen?” he asked, his professional demeanor briefly faltering as he looked over Sunburst's messy mane and Flash's straining suit.
“Aaaaaaaaaabsolutely, my good gent.” Flash grinned, meandering his way closer to the stand. “Me and my lovely boyfriend are here to make good on a reservation I made a week ago. You’ll probably find it under ‘Flash Sentry’.”
The maître d' nodded, then looked down at the wooden stand he stood at. He lit his horn with a cool, blue magic, his eyes lighting bright with magic as well, as he began to flip through the book of reservations at an unnaturally swift pace.
After only a few seconds, his task was finished and he cut off his magic, though his eyes maintained their eerie blue glow as he looked back up at Flash.
“Ah, I apologize, sirs, but your reservation doesn’t seem to be in the books,” he said, offering a smile that, while not malicious, stabbed Flash slightly. “Perhaps there could be another name you used?”
Flash quickly wracked his brain for anything to grasp at.
If it wasn’t under his name then…
“What about Spearhead?” Flash near-shouted, causing the griffon pianist to produce a discordant chord in response. Blushing, Flash carefully scratched the back of his head with a hoof. “He’s the guy that got me this reservation, so maybe he made it under his name instead?”
Nodding again, the host stallion quickly got to work searching.
It was a long few seconds before his frosty blue eyes bore their way into Flash again.
“Well, there is a reservation under that name,” the maître d' began, immediately getting Flash’s hopes up. “Or, I should say ‘was’. They were made for last week exactly, and it seems the party never showed up. We did call, but no answer there as well.”
“I was busy modeling a week ago.” Flash breathed sourly.
Snapping his book closed, the maître d' looked at Flash apologetically. “Sir, I apologize, but there isn’t much I can do here. If you’d like to make a new reservation, and perhaps keep it this time, you may be waiting upwards of six months to a year.”
Flash bit back a shout of shock, lest he interrupt the pianist again. He was really vibing to the slow paced music that was playing, and it may have had a hoof in keeping him as calm as he was currently.
Another factor was the small orange unicorn tapping his side with a hoof. Turning to look down at Sunburst, Flash could see a calm, yet uncomfortable look on his face.
“Let’s just go, Flash,” he said softly. “It’s fine.”
“Just give me a sec, Sunny. I’ll take care of it,” Flash told Sunburst with a grin before turning back to face the maître d'. “Listen man, what’s it gonna take to get me and my boy a table tonight? Do I need to, like, bribe you or something?”
At this, the stallion laughed. Much like the rest of him, the laugh was light, professional, and unassuming. “As fun as that sounds, I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to get you a table despite this. Unless, of course, you’d prefer to dine alone?”
Flash blinked, then squinted questioningly. He looked down to ask Sunburst what the stallion meant, but was quickly shocked to find that the little unicorn had since disappeared. There was just the small jingling of the front door to remind him that Sunburst was even there.
With one last lingering look towards the maître d', who quickly went back to his own business, Flash Sentry rushed out the door in chase of Sunburst.
Thankfully the stallion, ever the habitual creature, wasn’t too hard to find.
Across from the restaurant sat a small, peaceful park. Within that park was a small fountain depicting the Two Sisters and the celestial bodies they formerly controlled.
And on the edge of that fountain sat an orange unicorn, dragging his white dappled hoof in small circles along the dirt beneath him.
As Flash approached tentatively, he wasn’t sure whether to make his presence known or to let Sunburst process whatever it was he was feeling alone.
His decision was quickly made for him moments later, the sound of hoofsteps drawing Sunburst’s eyes towards Flash.
Sunburst gave a soft smile. “Hey.”
“Hey.” Flash said, then pursed his lips.
He slowly made his way to the fountain, though he simply stood beside Sunburst instead of sitting down.
There was a brief moment of silence, the only noise being the constant trickling of water from the fountain and light, muffled classical music still heard from the restaurant.
“So, I guess there’s no table?” Sunburst asked to break the silence.
This elicited a deep, mournful sigh from Flash, who leaned against the fountain as he gave Sunburst a pensive look. “I’m sorry, Sunburst, I really am. I just… I wanted to make tonight special and I just screwed it up.”
“Flash, I—”
“And I shoulda figured this’d happen anyway!” he continued, cutting Sunburst off. “I mean, duh, it’s what happens whenever a dumb dink like me tries to plan anything without you.”
“You didn’t-”
“You’re just so smart and great, and all I am is a big, dumb screw-up who—”
“Flash!” Sunburst finally shouted, interrupting Flash this time.
Sunburst wore a serious expression as he lit his horn, the golden magic extending to Flash’s lime green tie. For a moment Flash assumed his tie had come undone again, another embarrassment to add onto the embarrassments of the day.
What Flash didn’t expect was to be dragged down by his accessory. Suddenly eye level with Sunburst, he caught the full brunt of the scowl and glare his boyfriend wore on his face.
“Don’t you dare ever talk about my boyfriend like that,” Sunburst growled. “He’s a sweet, thoughtful, and adorable stallion who always tries his best.”
Flash blinked. “Uh, Sunny? I’m your boyfriend.”
Leaning in for an angry kiss, Sunburst hummed in response. “Doesn’t matter. You can’t talk about you like that. Not allowed.” He released his magical hold on Flash’s tie, but still gave him a gentle nuzzle while still eye level with him.
Flash nuzzled back eagerly, peppering Sunburst’s cheek with quite a few kisses. “You know, you’re kinda hot when you get intense like that,” he crooned, a loving grin crossing his face.
Not knowing how else to respond, Sunburst began to giggle. It was a wild, bubbly sound that echoed through the park as he nearly doubled over.
Flash began to giggle as well, cherishing the sound of his lover’s unbidden laughter and joining its musical sound with a bassy laugh of his own.
Their giggling continued for more than a few moments, every time one of their peals of laughter waned, the other’s continued giggles brought it to life again.
When finally finished, both stallions breathless and leaning against each other, Sunburst ran a hoof through Flash’s mane. This made Flash eagerly lean down against Sunburst, resting his head on Sunburst’s lap for just the moment.
“You’re not a screw up, Flash.” Sunburst sighed, continuing to pet his boyfriend’s mane. “Maybe a bit spacey, and a bit of a doof sometimes, but that’s part of why I love you.”
“That and my hunky bod,” Flash mumbled, nuzzling up against Sunburst’s hoof.
Another giggle from Sunburst, who cupped his hoof under Flash’s chin and gently raised his head. “Yes, that too. That and a million other things that a dumb fancy restaurant would never change.”
Flash Sentry still frowned despite this, looking away from the loving stare his boyfriend was giving him. “But you were so excited. And I wanted you to have a great night.”
“Flash, you dork, I always have a great night when you’re around.” He leaned down to yet again smooch Flash’s face. “We could be at home, or in the human world. Or, heck, we could even go to the hospital again. If you’re there, I’m happy.”
Flash smiled warmly and he opened his mouth to speak, but he was quickly interrupted by a loud growl from Sunburst’s stomach. A large flush crossed Sunburst’s face, and as it did, Flash gave his belly a gentle nuzzle.
“Looks like wherever we go it’s gonna need to have some food.” Flash chuckled. “But, uh, I dunno where we can go this late. I dunno if any of these places are gonna take any walk-ins.”
Sunburst shrugged, moving one hoof to cradle his stomach. “Well we could always go to that one hayburger place near Joe’s.” He flashed a small, embarrassed grin. “I think I’m having a bit of a craving.”
Flash stood himself up quickly, a smile drawing across his lips. “Hayburgers? Sunny, don’t you think we’re a little overdressed for that?”
“Sweetheart, I wear a cloak for a living.” Sunburst said as he stood as well, drawing closer to Flash and pressing himself against his chest. “I’m no stranger to being overdressed. Although…”
Looking towards the restaurant across from the park, Sunburst could see the ponies still milling about Dorsia looking at the pair and talking amongst themselves. Following Sunburst’s eyes, Flash could see that the fancy folks were laughing openly at the two and their acts of public affection.
With a soft growl, Flash broke away from Sunburst to fully face the group, drawing a gasp from them.
He breathed in deeply, drawing all the air he could into his chest. Then, with one flex of his forelegs, his suit finally gave up the ghost as the sleeves tore off completely to reveal the small, muscular tree trunks Flash called forelegs.
Upon seeing this, the rich ponies scattered. They ran too and fro through the streets of Canterlot, leaving the entrance of Dorsia empty and lifeless.
With a wide, cocky grin, and finally comfortable, Flash turned back to face Sunburst. “So, hayburgers?”
Sunburst stood wide-eyed, staring at his boyfriend with a blush that turned his entire face a bright red. His nose began to tingle, indicating a nosebleed was about to be brought on.
“Y-yeah. Hayburgers.”
