In a Flash: Old Times
By: Rainbow Flash
Many years ago...
Dash and I were in the large living area of the cloud house. I was sitting in a chair, and writing some notes down on a scroll. "So," I started creating small talk, "How was camp?" Dash looked at me while she was sitting in her usual seat on the couch across the room. "Oh you know, same as yesterday, and the day before that..." "Those three colts still there?" I asked. The response I got was a nod. I continued, "Well, as long as they don't hurt you, because then I might have to return the favour." That made Dash laugh, "Yeah, right...like you could hurt a fly."
I was alone, in Twilight basement, with different shapes and assortments of bottles in front of me. "Now, let's see," I spoke with myself, "We have some red stuff, and some purple stuff..." I shrugged, then poured clear water in to a beaker. I put the beaker filled with water over the bunsen burner then ignited it. I turned down the flame, to prevent the water from evaporating too much, then I fixed two tea bags with various leaves in them, and placed the tea bags on the table. While the water was heating, I took the time to thoroughly explore around the room. Twilight didn't have many things down here, there was the small lab, a random thing in the corner, and along one of the walls there were large canisters. The canisters didn't look like they held anything in them. I checked the water, it was now slightly bubbling and steam was rising from it. I took the beaker off of the burner, then stopped the gas flow to the burner, which blew out the flame.
I moved up the stairs, and peaked my head in to the main room, where the others were standing. "Twilight," I asked, "Do you have two mugs, teacups, or maybe glasses?" Twilight nodded, then started to go to the other room. After a short moment, she travelled to me and hoofed me the two mugs. I held them in my right hoof and trotted back downstairs, without saying another word. When I reached the basement, I placed the mugs on the table. I then poured the hot water in to the mugs, half of the water in one, and half in the other. Then I placed one tea bag in each mug. I carried one of the mugs in my hoof, and carefully went up the stairs. I reached the room where the mares were, and gave the mug to the white unicorn. "You get it first, because you yell less." I said. She looked at the liquid in the mug, then spoke, "This looks like tea to me, don't you agree?" I began to go back downstairs, but replied with, "Well, that's because it is." Twilight joined the conversation, "Hold on, you said that you had to make a potion! Tea isn't a potion, it's a drink." I stopped before the stairs the led to the basement. "Yes," I nodded, "I did say that I had to make a potion, and I do know that tea is a drink. I'm not an idiot. I'll explain when I get back." Twilight demanded that I should explain right now, but the other unicorn softly said that it wouldn't hurt if Twilight had some tea anyway. So I just trotted back down to grab the other mug, and when I got back, Twilight didn't seem very amused.
I gave the mug to Twilight, then moved near the middle of the place surrounded with books. "Alright," I began, "I'll try to put the events in order from oldest, to most recent. When I was in the forest, I did disable Twilight ability to use magic, and I said to her, 'since this is your first time, it might take a while for you to get your magic back.' Correct?" Twilight slowly nodded. "And when I was at the barn, I said that 'I had to make a potion,' to Applejack. I never said that the potion I had to make was specifically for anypony, I just said that I had to make it. The reason why you don't need a potion, is because you need to calm down to speed up the healing process. So when I said, 'since this is your first time,' I meant that literally. Since you never had that happen before, it might take a while for you to calm down. By the way, I could of made the potion first instead of the tea, and make you wait another thirty minutes or more. Except, I decided to be friendly to you, and make the tea first. So, am I aloud to go back down, and make the potion now."
The five mares all looked at one another. "What are you going to make?" Twilight asked, and I responded with, "Do you want me to be honest, or lie so I seem less evil?" I was nervously touching my two front hooves together. "I'd like it if ya told the truth." The orange pony spoke up. Then I continued, "Well, I was going to make a small amount of liquid resiniferatoxin..." "No." Was Twilight's quick response. Applejack spoke again saying, "Oh come on Twi, he did explain how to cure ya. Kinda." Twilight turned to face Applejack, "Do you know what resiniferatoxin is Applejack?" "Well, no." "Then don't join the conversation!" There was a moment of silence, and Applejack was tilting her head downward, which made her hat hide her face. Twilight sighed, "Listen Applejack, it's just-" "No, no, it's fine."Applejack interrupted while she was still hiding her face. Her voice seemed more silent then normal. "So," I awkwardly began, "That's a confirmed no then?" Twilight turned to look at me again, "The answer is no. Everypony should head home, it might help me relax." Twilight showed us the way out, and everypony left the building. The four mares all went their separate ways, but I continued following Applejack.
I figured that I shouldn't ask why Applejack acted so upset after Twilight yelled at her. I just followed where ever she went, which was directly back to the barn. We traveled the long way, which was trotting around the edge of town. The guards must still be patrolling the town. I could see the farm in the distance, then Applejack said, "You go ahead, there's some things that I need to do. And once again, feel free to munch on a few apples." I did a quick nod, then she turned and went in a different direction. She sounds normal now, but surely there was something going on with Applejack and Twilight. I wouldn't of forgiven a princess that easily, even if it was something minor. I decided to roam around town a bit, waiting at the barn for hours wasn't very exciting last time.
I tried to stay near the outskirts of town for a bit, but even that got boring after a while. I looked around, and I saw a mare unicorn. She had a white coat, but it wasn't the same unicorn as the one I saw before. This mare had a blue mane, dark and a lighter blue actually. It looked like her mane was striped, and she was just standing there. Standing there, while randomly bobbing her head. It didn't look like anypony else was near her, she was just standing by herself. I casually trotted up to her, and stood in front of her view. She didn't seem to care, she just smiled and bobbed her head. Nice to know that somepony isn't totally afraid of me. The mare was wearing glasses, the glasses has a black frame and purple lens. "So...what's up?" I asked, but I got no response. I stood there for a minute or two, but all she did was bob her head. Guess she's the background type. I then heard a voice from behind me, "What are you doing here? Go! Shoo!" I turned to see another mare, earth pony, brown coat, black mane, and a music related cutiemark. Now that I think about it, the unicorn had a music related cutiemark also. I took the earth pony's advice and left them.
I began to wonder where Applejack was. If she beat me to the barn, she would surely be looking for me by now. I shrugged and continued wandering around town. I still was careful though, didn't want any guards to catch me. Wait, what about those guards right before I bumped in to that yellow pegasus with the pink mane, the one that sang in her cottage. If the guards were truly trying to catch me, they would of done it by now. I thought while I was travelling to the middle of the town. There were no guards on patrol anyway, so I'm totally safe. The tower at the core of town looked like it had multiple floors, or just one floor with ridiculously high ceilings. I pushed open the doors open and showed myself inside. It was very quiet. There wasn't a single pony in sight, and the whole place looked like it was a grand event hall. There were various flags on the ceiling, each one with a different design, and a red carpet leading from the entrance to the small stage at the front. "Enjoying the new scenery?" Was the words I heard. I then turned to see a stallion standing beside me, he was a unicorn, one that I've never seen before.
"I heard that you were back," he continued, "But it took me a while to believe it. Still good? Haven't lost any of your skill in the past few years?" I just turned away from him and continued looking at the decorations in the building. He proceeded, "Nice, nice. I know how you operate, and I'm giving you a choice to accept this. The company that I work for is very discreet, and there is this peculiar pony who is snooping around. If this pony finds us, it will compromise the identities of our clients, many hundreds whom don't want to be found." He handed me a photo of a pony, which I quickly tucked under my wing. It was difficult with the rope, but I was eventually able to do it. "A little bird told me that this pony was going to be at an event, one in Canterlot. It's a small private party, strangers are not aloud. I want you to stop the pony from investigating and getting in to our business. In return, I owe you a favour. The event is tomorrow. Can I expect you to be there?" I did a single nod. "We have an agreement then." He began to leave, then added, "One last thing, stop him at all costs. This pony must not find us."
He left the building, and I did shortly after. I galloped back to the apple orchard, hoping that I could still beat Applejack there. After I sprinted back to the farm, I slowed down to a moderate pace, and acted like nothing happened. I was just about to go in to the barn, but then somepony stepped on my tail. "Where have ya been?" Applejack said with a frown, "Ya know, I was goin' to take that rope off, but seein' how ya failed the simple task of walking back to the barn, maybe I should keep them on a bit longer." I pulled my tail from underneath her hoof, then suddenly turned around to face her. "Actually, could you do me a favor and cut the rope now?" I pleaded, "I have something really important to do." She asked me why. I then continued, "Well, as I just said, I have something important to do. And I'm pretty sure that I'll need my wings to do it." Applejack continued questioning me, "What do ya have to do, exactly?" I took a deep breath. "Alright, how about this," I decided, "If I truthfully tell you why I want this rope off, you have to take it off, no matter what. You're aloud to ask one question, and I promise that I will be back later. Deal?" I held my hoof out for her to shake, she hesitated for a moment, then firmly shook my hoof.
"The rope is kinda tight and hurts slightly." I said, then Applejack replied with, "Alright, now what's the real reason?" There was a short moment of silence. "That is a real reason." I answered. Applejack didn't like my reply and asked, "What's another reason?" "Whoa, whoa," I quickly said, "You were only aloud a single question, remember?" Applejack frowned, "I really hate ya sometimes." She easily untied the rope, which made me wonder how I couldn't do it before. Although, I did only try to untie it once. "Ya better come back!" Applejack yelled at my face. I nodded and said that I would, then I spread out my wings to give them a stretch. I closed my eyes while I stretched, until I heard a voice say, "Does this have to do anythin' with your important thing to do?" I opened my eyes to see an angry earth pony holding a picture in front of my face. I quickly snatched the photograph. "I said you only had one question," I replied, "And I meant that. I'll be back, I assure you." I then went out of the barn, looked in the distance and saw the Canterlot Castle. I should start heading there now, it seems like it's a decent distance from here.
I spread my wings and took to the air without saying another word to the farm-raised mare. As I flew over the slightly rustic looking town, I scanned the ground to double check if there were guards. There were only a few citizens traveling around, except for that white unicorn whom only bobbed her head. She was just looking at me, while...you know...bobbing her head. Surely she couldn't have a song stuck in her head for that long. Also, that earth pony which shooed me away wasn't there. I just shrugged then looked straight ahead while picking up speed. While I was flying, I memorized the look of the pony in the photo, then let go of it. I wanted to get there early so I could find anything useful. Plus, the genius that gave me the mission, he didn't even tell me what building it was in. I should be able to find it though, I just need to follow the sound of clinking glasses and proper sounding voices. They'll probably have some music playing also. Even though I was soaring at a quick speed, the flight seemed very relaxing. A bird's eye view of the grassy fields, the pure white clouds in the air, the sound of robins and other birds flying around, it was all very calming. Also, there was no way that you couldn't enjoy the wind blowing through your mane.
Many years ago...
Dash and I were in the large living area of the cloud house. I was sitting in a chair, and writing some notes down on a scroll. "So," I started creating small talk, "How was camp?" Dash looked at me while she was sitting in her usual seat on the couch across the room. "Oh you know, same as yesterday, and the day before that..." "Those three colts still there?" I asked. The response I got was a nod. I continued, "Well, as long as they don't hurt you, because then I might have to return the favour." That made Dash laugh, "Yeah, right...like you could hurt a fly."
***************
I was alone, in Twilight basement, with different shapes and assortments of bottles in front of me. "Now, let's see," I spoke with myself, "We have some red stuff, and some purple stuff..." I shrugged, then poured clear water in to a beaker. I put the beaker filled with water over the bunsen burner then ignited it. I turned down the flame, to prevent the water from evaporating too much, then I fixed two tea bags with various leaves in them, and placed the tea bags on the table. While the water was heating, I took the time to thoroughly explore around the room. Twilight didn't have many things down here, there was the small lab, a random thing in the corner, and along one of the walls there were large canisters. The canisters didn't look like they held anything in them. I checked the water, it was now slightly bubbling and steam was rising from it. I took the beaker off of the burner, then stopped the gas flow to the burner, which blew out the flame.
I moved up the stairs, and peaked my head in to the main room, where the others were standing. "Twilight," I asked, "Do you have two mugs, teacups, or maybe glasses?" Twilight nodded, then started to go to the other room. After a short moment, she travelled to me and hoofed me the two mugs. I held them in my right hoof and trotted back downstairs, without saying another word. When I reached the basement, I placed the mugs on the table. I then poured the hot water in to the mugs, half of the water in one, and half in the other. Then I placed one tea bag in each mug. I carried one of the mugs in my hoof, and carefully went up the stairs. I reached the room where the mares were, and gave the mug to the white unicorn. "You get it first, because you yell less." I said. She looked at the liquid in the mug, then spoke, "This looks like tea to me, don't you agree?" I began to go back downstairs, but replied with, "Well, that's because it is." Twilight joined the conversation, "Hold on, you said that you had to make a potion! Tea isn't a potion, it's a drink." I stopped before the stairs the led to the basement. "Yes," I nodded, "I did say that I had to make a potion, and I do know that tea is a drink. I'm not an idiot. I'll explain when I get back." Twilight demanded that I should explain right now, but the other unicorn softly said that it wouldn't hurt if Twilight had some tea anyway. So I just trotted back down to grab the other mug, and when I got back, Twilight didn't seem very amused.
I gave the mug to Twilight, then moved near the middle of the place surrounded with books. "Alright," I began, "I'll try to put the events in order from oldest, to most recent. When I was in the forest, I did disable Twilight ability to use magic, and I said to her, 'since this is your first time, it might take a while for you to get your magic back.' Correct?" Twilight slowly nodded. "And when I was at the barn, I said that 'I had to make a potion,' to Applejack. I never said that the potion I had to make was specifically for anypony, I just said that I had to make it. The reason why you don't need a potion, is because you need to calm down to speed up the healing process. So when I said, 'since this is your first time,' I meant that literally. Since you never had that happen before, it might take a while for you to calm down. By the way, I could of made the potion first instead of the tea, and make you wait another thirty minutes or more. Except, I decided to be friendly to you, and make the tea first. So, am I aloud to go back down, and make the potion now."
The five mares all looked at one another. "What are you going to make?" Twilight asked, and I responded with, "Do you want me to be honest, or lie so I seem less evil?" I was nervously touching my two front hooves together. "I'd like it if ya told the truth." The orange pony spoke up. Then I continued, "Well, I was going to make a small amount of liquid resiniferatoxin..." "No." Was Twilight's quick response. Applejack spoke again saying, "Oh come on Twi, he did explain how to cure ya. Kinda." Twilight turned to face Applejack, "Do you know what resiniferatoxin is Applejack?" "Well, no." "Then don't join the conversation!" There was a moment of silence, and Applejack was tilting her head downward, which made her hat hide her face. Twilight sighed, "Listen Applejack, it's just-" "No, no, it's fine."Applejack interrupted while she was still hiding her face. Her voice seemed more silent then normal. "So," I awkwardly began, "That's a confirmed no then?" Twilight turned to look at me again, "The answer is no. Everypony should head home, it might help me relax." Twilight showed us the way out, and everypony left the building. The four mares all went their separate ways, but I continued following Applejack.
I figured that I shouldn't ask why Applejack acted so upset after Twilight yelled at her. I just followed where ever she went, which was directly back to the barn. We traveled the long way, which was trotting around the edge of town. The guards must still be patrolling the town. I could see the farm in the distance, then Applejack said, "You go ahead, there's some things that I need to do. And once again, feel free to munch on a few apples." I did a quick nod, then she turned and went in a different direction. She sounds normal now, but surely there was something going on with Applejack and Twilight. I wouldn't of forgiven a princess that easily, even if it was something minor. I decided to roam around town a bit, waiting at the barn for hours wasn't very exciting last time.
***************
I tried to stay near the outskirts of town for a bit, but even that got boring after a while. I looked around, and I saw a mare unicorn. She had a white coat, but it wasn't the same unicorn as the one I saw before. This mare had a blue mane, dark and a lighter blue actually. It looked like her mane was striped, and she was just standing there. Standing there, while randomly bobbing her head. It didn't look like anypony else was near her, she was just standing by herself. I casually trotted up to her, and stood in front of her view. She didn't seem to care, she just smiled and bobbed her head. Nice to know that somepony isn't totally afraid of me. The mare was wearing glasses, the glasses has a black frame and purple lens. "So...what's up?" I asked, but I got no response. I stood there for a minute or two, but all she did was bob her head. Guess she's the background type. I then heard a voice from behind me, "What are you doing here? Go! Shoo!" I turned to see another mare, earth pony, brown coat, black mane, and a music related cutiemark. Now that I think about it, the unicorn had a music related cutiemark also. I took the earth pony's advice and left them.
I began to wonder where Applejack was. If she beat me to the barn, she would surely be looking for me by now. I shrugged and continued wandering around town. I still was careful though, didn't want any guards to catch me. Wait, what about those guards right before I bumped in to that yellow pegasus with the pink mane, the one that sang in her cottage. If the guards were truly trying to catch me, they would of done it by now. I thought while I was travelling to the middle of the town. There were no guards on patrol anyway, so I'm totally safe. The tower at the core of town looked like it had multiple floors, or just one floor with ridiculously high ceilings. I pushed open the doors open and showed myself inside. It was very quiet. There wasn't a single pony in sight, and the whole place looked like it was a grand event hall. There were various flags on the ceiling, each one with a different design, and a red carpet leading from the entrance to the small stage at the front. "Enjoying the new scenery?" Was the words I heard. I then turned to see a stallion standing beside me, he was a unicorn, one that I've never seen before.
"I heard that you were back," he continued, "But it took me a while to believe it. Still good? Haven't lost any of your skill in the past few years?" I just turned away from him and continued looking at the decorations in the building. He proceeded, "Nice, nice. I know how you operate, and I'm giving you a choice to accept this. The company that I work for is very discreet, and there is this peculiar pony who is snooping around. If this pony finds us, it will compromise the identities of our clients, many hundreds whom don't want to be found." He handed me a photo of a pony, which I quickly tucked under my wing. It was difficult with the rope, but I was eventually able to do it. "A little bird told me that this pony was going to be at an event, one in Canterlot. It's a small private party, strangers are not aloud. I want you to stop the pony from investigating and getting in to our business. In return, I owe you a favour. The event is tomorrow. Can I expect you to be there?" I did a single nod. "We have an agreement then." He began to leave, then added, "One last thing, stop him at all costs. This pony must not find us."
He left the building, and I did shortly after. I galloped back to the apple orchard, hoping that I could still beat Applejack there. After I sprinted back to the farm, I slowed down to a moderate pace, and acted like nothing happened. I was just about to go in to the barn, but then somepony stepped on my tail. "Where have ya been?" Applejack said with a frown, "Ya know, I was goin' to take that rope off, but seein' how ya failed the simple task of walking back to the barn, maybe I should keep them on a bit longer." I pulled my tail from underneath her hoof, then suddenly turned around to face her. "Actually, could you do me a favor and cut the rope now?" I pleaded, "I have something really important to do." She asked me why. I then continued, "Well, as I just said, I have something important to do. And I'm pretty sure that I'll need my wings to do it." Applejack continued questioning me, "What do ya have to do, exactly?" I took a deep breath. "Alright, how about this," I decided, "If I truthfully tell you why I want this rope off, you have to take it off, no matter what. You're aloud to ask one question, and I promise that I will be back later. Deal?" I held my hoof out for her to shake, she hesitated for a moment, then firmly shook my hoof.
"The rope is kinda tight and hurts slightly." I said, then Applejack replied with, "Alright, now what's the real reason?" There was a short moment of silence. "That is a real reason." I answered. Applejack didn't like my reply and asked, "What's another reason?" "Whoa, whoa," I quickly said, "You were only aloud a single question, remember?" Applejack frowned, "I really hate ya sometimes." She easily untied the rope, which made me wonder how I couldn't do it before. Although, I did only try to untie it once. "Ya better come back!" Applejack yelled at my face. I nodded and said that I would, then I spread out my wings to give them a stretch. I closed my eyes while I stretched, until I heard a voice say, "Does this have to do anythin' with your important thing to do?" I opened my eyes to see an angry earth pony holding a picture in front of my face. I quickly snatched the photograph. "I said you only had one question," I replied, "And I meant that. I'll be back, I assure you." I then went out of the barn, looked in the distance and saw the Canterlot Castle. I should start heading there now, it seems like it's a decent distance from here.
I spread my wings and took to the air without saying another word to the farm-raised mare. As I flew over the slightly rustic looking town, I scanned the ground to double check if there were guards. There were only a few citizens traveling around, except for that white unicorn whom only bobbed her head. She was just looking at me, while...you know...bobbing her head. Surely she couldn't have a song stuck in her head for that long. Also, that earth pony which shooed me away wasn't there. I just shrugged then looked straight ahead while picking up speed. While I was flying, I memorized the look of the pony in the photo, then let go of it. I wanted to get there early so I could find anything useful. Plus, the genius that gave me the mission, he didn't even tell me what building it was in. I should be able to find it though, I just need to follow the sound of clinking glasses and proper sounding voices. They'll probably have some music playing also. Even though I was soaring at a quick speed, the flight seemed very relaxing. A bird's eye view of the grassy fields, the pure white clouds in the air, the sound of robins and other birds flying around, it was all very calming. Also, there was no way that you couldn't enjoy the wind blowing through your mane.
***************
Eventually, I reached Canterlot, the complex looking, heavily populated city. It wasn't the most active city in Equestria, but it was definitely close. I checked a street that was a considerable distance away from the castle, and landed there. Canterlot followed a very dazzled theme. It was where the richest ponies decided to live, and it was also the province's capital. All of the ponies there wore clothing, mainly suits and dresses, they also wore accessories most of the time. None of them seemed to care too much about me being there, most of them were just turning their head the other way. I heard a pony's voice welcome me and the clop of hooves moving towards me. I turned to the sound and said, "I'm sorry. Could you repeat that?" The stallion unicorn repeated himself, "I said, welcome to Canterlot. I couldn't help but notice that everypony here is trying to avoid you. Care to tell me why?" He was a well-dressed, white-coated unicorn, he also wore a monocle and had a blue mane. "Oh, I don't know," I answered, "It's probably just the stereotypical rainbow mane." "Indeed," the stallion agreed as he held out his hoof, "Name's Fancy Pants." I accepted his hoofshake, then calmly replied, "Flash." I thought that Fancy Pants was an odd name for him, especially because he didn't wear any pants.
"Well then," Fancy Pants continued, "We can't have you traveling around Canterlot looking like that. Come, let us get you some proper attire." He began trotting down the street, and I willingly followed him. "I have a personal tailor that will make you some clothing. It will take some time, but it should be finished before tonight." Fancy Pants turned his head to look at me while he was still leading me. He then asked, "You actually look somewhat familiar... Have we met before?" "I do not believe so," I replied, "You must be mistaking me as somepony else." The unicorn nodded and agreed. "I just presumed that you were one of Rarity's friends. There are not many ponies with a mane like the one you have. Rarity inspired me. She taught me how a dress can still be simplistic and still look appealing. Rarity is a unicorn with a purple updo, very fitting for this location I shall add, but yet she lives in Ponyville. If you ever see her, thank her for me. Will you?" I'm pretty sure that Rarity is the unicorn that I gave the tea to. "I shall when I see her." I returned. We went in to a building that followed the general design of the city, I think the only difference between this building and the others is that there is a tailor sign hanging above the doorway.
"Here we are." The monocle-wearing stallion spoke, "Just tell him what you would like, and I'll pay for the bill. And of course, we can't have you getting a new suit without you showing it off. I'm hosting a party tonight, if you would like to come, I could tell the guards to let you in." I did a single nod and replied, "I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and hospitality, and I would be honored to go to your party." Fancy Pants ended the conversation, and left the building. I trotted to the counter where the owner of the store was standing. "I overheard you speaking to Fancy Pants," the store owner noted, "One of my finest customers. How may I help you?" "Just a classic black jacket and a white coloured shirt." I requested, "Also a tie, not a bow tie, and you might as well surprise me with the colour of the tie, for I can't think of a nice colour at the moment." The store owner said that it would be no problem, but he'll just have to take a few measurements. I let him, of course, because you can't wear a suit that doesn't even fit. After the measurements, the store owner repeated what Fancy Pants said, "It will be done by tonight. You may pick it up then." I thanked him and stepped outside. I then checked my watch, it should be two or three hours before sundown. I strolled around the city, seeing the sights that I've already seen before, and smiled as I watched most of the ponies try to avoid me. Clearly Celestia didn't tell everypony here about me, or I would of been caught by now. Maybe she didn't expect me to be here.
A few boring hours of doing nothing but pointlessly travelling around Canterlot with no destination. At least the sun was setting now, so I could probably get the outfit which the tailor made. My business is almost done here, I just need to get the suit, go to the party, and stop that pony's investigations. Easy. Like, how many parties are going to be in a single night? Fancy Pants must be inviting me to the one my target is at. I eventually found my way back to the tailor's and showed myself inside. Sure enough, the tailor was waiting for me. He was standing beside a table which had every part of the suit on it. I walked up to the table near the tailor and he showcased the tie to me. The tailor asked, "Do you like the colour?" The tie was a shade of purple, it looked like it matched my eyes. "I do." I answered, but I really didn't care at this point. As long as I complete my task, I'm fine with any colour. The tailor helped me put the suit on, and finished by tightening the tie around my neck. "I give you my thanks." I spoke as I went out of the building, and sure enough, Fancy Pants was waiting outside. "There," he commented, "Now you look like a true Canterlot citizen. Em...minus the horn of course." Oh joy, looking like a Canterlot citizen was my life long goal...
Fancy Pants did a gesture that told me to follow him. We both started heading down the street. "Tell me about yourself Mr. Flash." Fancy Pants began a conversation, "Surely you must have some story to tell me." I ignored him for a minute or two. The unicorn didn't let up, "Mr. Flash?" "I'd rather not tell you." I quickly replied, "All of my stories would either bore you, or make you never see me the same way again." The blue-maned stallion understood, and we continued traveling to the party. "I do have to ask you one question though." Fancy continued, "What made you come to Canterlot?" I didn't turn to look at him, but I answered, "I have some buisness here. It's almost over. In fact, I don't think I'll be able to stay for the entire event." The white pony sounded upset, "Shame. Truly. I was hoping that you were going to stay a while. Just remember, if you ever see Rarity during your travels, thank her for me." I gave a little nod and said, "I told you that I would, and I will." We arrived at a large event hall. The hall had many windows along the walls, and the entrance were open double doors, with a guard on both sides. Both of the guards didn't look very happy.
As Fancy Pants trotted past the two guards, he explained to them that I was with him. After that, the guards let me through, but still didn't like it. I saluted the guard to my right, then went inside the event hall. Fancy Pants was almost instantly surrounded by a bunch of other ponies wanting to speak with him. That easily gave me the chance to slip away. I was looking for the pony in the photo, while listening to classical music from the stage at the far end of the hall. I eventually found him. The stallion who was standing at the side, scanning the room as if he was looking for somepony. I eventually worked my way over there. I was trying to look normal, and grabbed a drink before going towards him. I didn't care what the drink was, I probably wasn't going to have it anyway. "I wouldn't recommend taking another step towards me." The stallion said. I just stood in front of him. "Well you seem like your enjoying this party." I replied, "Would you like to hear the message?" His eyes stopped wondering, and the only word he spoke was, "Two." I told him that I didn't understand. "Before I speak to you," he narrowed his eyes, "You must answer the code correctly. So...two." "You really think that they will tell the code to a messenger who was paid to only give you one message?" "Of course. Take a wild guess if you don't know." I thought about all the things that there were two of. Eventually I remembered that Equestria was ruled by two, "Sisters." I answered. The stallion was silent for a while, but then finally replied, "Lucky guess. What's the message?" What kind of code was that? I was able to guess their password in one try? I think they need to change it... "I can't tell you here," I said, "Wouldn't want anypony to overhear us, would we?"
We both went out by the back door, which is probably the way I would of gone if I didn't meet Fancy Pants. It was a fenced in area with various kinds of plant life, such as flowers and trees. No pony else seemed to be out here because the band was playing, and I took my drink with me. "Alright, care to tell me now?" The stallion asked. I finally took a sip of the drink that I've been carrying around with me. "Interesting," I spoke, "Some kind of chardonnay... Oh, right. Your employer wants to cancel the job." He didn't believe me, not at all. "Fine," I continued, "I'll be a bit more clear." I suddenly threw the glass at his face, and continued pushing him back until I pinned him to a tree. "My employer wants you to quit the job." I revealed, "Surely you fancy your life don't you?" "Yes, yes, I do! I'm just a hired private investigator. I don't know what most of my jobs are about and who I'm dealing with." He panicked. "Then who hired you?" "The host!" The stallion squealed, "The host of this party." I explained that I was never here and all of those cliche things, then I slammed his head in to the tree which knocked him out. I think. I began trotting back inside, and I saw, through a window, that the brown earth pony who shooed me away was in the band playing at the party. She was playing the cello. I'm pretty sure that I saw her turn her head from me, but she didn't seem very distracted from her playing.
The crowd around Fancy Pants now dissipated. I moved to Fancy Pants and explained that I had to leave. The white unicorn understood without asking me any questions. I left through the front doors, where the two guards were still standing. I didn't bother looking back at the party, there was no point. I continued wandering down the street until I heard the words, "Did you have fun?" I turned my head to the left to see a pony sitting at a table by himself. It was the pony who gave me the picture. There were two seats at the table, so I sat down in the other chair. "If you were so close to the location, why didn't you go and force him to quit?" I questioned him. He confidently replied while rolling his eyes, "I wanted to see if it was truly you! Obviously." "Obviously..." I repeated, "Anyway. I would like to ask of a favor now." "Go on." "I require a secluded way to get to Galloping Gorge." "Hm..." The stallion thought, "I can't give you a hidden path at the moment, but I can definitely give you a way that won't get you killed. I could give you public transit, since the gorge is directly right of the tracks, I'll send you by train. I'll teleport you to the train station. Also, to reduce risk, you'll be in a rented cart. No pony will be able to enter without your permission. All you'll need to do is make sure you get on the right train, and don't miss your stop. Simple." I agreed to the plan. The plan didn't cost him much, but benefited me greatly. I would by the ticket myself, but I didn't have the bits with me at the moment. "Then I guess I'll get you a ticket. And don't bother moving, it'll just slow things down." The stallion said before standing and teleporting away.
I sat there for a few minuted before seeing a flash in the distance. It was just the pony who was getting me the ticket. He placed the ticket on the table, then he said, "At eleven, so about an hour. Any train earlier or later will lead you to a different destination. Cart at the end of the train, the conductor will let you in. Got it?" I grabbed the ticket and gave an indication for yes. I was then beamed to the train station, just as we agreed. During the night the station isn't very busy, so there were only a few ponies there. One of them seemed very startled when I suddenly appeared near her, but I just ignored it. This is it. This is when I get to...one of the destinations that I want to go to. I just hope that the place is semi-operational. During the wait, I would mainly just stand there doing nothing, but every once in a while I would play with my tie or a rock on the ground just to keep myself entertained. The ponies saw me as a normal pony, maybe they didn't before because I wasn't wearing clothes?
After a while, I heard a whistle in the distance. It was just the train whistle that they do right before they reach a station. I shook my head to help wake myself up, and stood closer to the tracks. As the train was going to a halt, I began to move myself to the end of the carts. A stallion wearing a conductor outfit stepped out of the last one, and motioned for me to go to him. I did so, and handed him my ticket. He put a stamp on the ticket, handed it back to me, then invited me on board. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Flash." He said, "I think you will enjoy the trip." I thanked him, went inside, then sat down in the empty private cart that was rented for me. I then looked at my ticket. The destination was the Crystal Empire, which I found odd, but the strangest thing that I found, was that the ticket didn't state my name...
"Well then," Fancy Pants continued, "We can't have you traveling around Canterlot looking like that. Come, let us get you some proper attire." He began trotting down the street, and I willingly followed him. "I have a personal tailor that will make you some clothing. It will take some time, but it should be finished before tonight." Fancy Pants turned his head to look at me while he was still leading me. He then asked, "You actually look somewhat familiar... Have we met before?" "I do not believe so," I replied, "You must be mistaking me as somepony else." The unicorn nodded and agreed. "I just presumed that you were one of Rarity's friends. There are not many ponies with a mane like the one you have. Rarity inspired me. She taught me how a dress can still be simplistic and still look appealing. Rarity is a unicorn with a purple updo, very fitting for this location I shall add, but yet she lives in Ponyville. If you ever see her, thank her for me. Will you?" I'm pretty sure that Rarity is the unicorn that I gave the tea to. "I shall when I see her." I returned. We went in to a building that followed the general design of the city, I think the only difference between this building and the others is that there is a tailor sign hanging above the doorway.
"Here we are." The monocle-wearing stallion spoke, "Just tell him what you would like, and I'll pay for the bill. And of course, we can't have you getting a new suit without you showing it off. I'm hosting a party tonight, if you would like to come, I could tell the guards to let you in." I did a single nod and replied, "I cannot thank you enough for your kindness and hospitality, and I would be honored to go to your party." Fancy Pants ended the conversation, and left the building. I trotted to the counter where the owner of the store was standing. "I overheard you speaking to Fancy Pants," the store owner noted, "One of my finest customers. How may I help you?" "Just a classic black jacket and a white coloured shirt." I requested, "Also a tie, not a bow tie, and you might as well surprise me with the colour of the tie, for I can't think of a nice colour at the moment." The store owner said that it would be no problem, but he'll just have to take a few measurements. I let him, of course, because you can't wear a suit that doesn't even fit. After the measurements, the store owner repeated what Fancy Pants said, "It will be done by tonight. You may pick it up then." I thanked him and stepped outside. I then checked my watch, it should be two or three hours before sundown. I strolled around the city, seeing the sights that I've already seen before, and smiled as I watched most of the ponies try to avoid me. Clearly Celestia didn't tell everypony here about me, or I would of been caught by now. Maybe she didn't expect me to be here.
***************
A few boring hours of doing nothing but pointlessly travelling around Canterlot with no destination. At least the sun was setting now, so I could probably get the outfit which the tailor made. My business is almost done here, I just need to get the suit, go to the party, and stop that pony's investigations. Easy. Like, how many parties are going to be in a single night? Fancy Pants must be inviting me to the one my target is at. I eventually found my way back to the tailor's and showed myself inside. Sure enough, the tailor was waiting for me. He was standing beside a table which had every part of the suit on it. I walked up to the table near the tailor and he showcased the tie to me. The tailor asked, "Do you like the colour?" The tie was a shade of purple, it looked like it matched my eyes. "I do." I answered, but I really didn't care at this point. As long as I complete my task, I'm fine with any colour. The tailor helped me put the suit on, and finished by tightening the tie around my neck. "I give you my thanks." I spoke as I went out of the building, and sure enough, Fancy Pants was waiting outside. "There," he commented, "Now you look like a true Canterlot citizen. Em...minus the horn of course." Oh joy, looking like a Canterlot citizen was my life long goal...
Fancy Pants did a gesture that told me to follow him. We both started heading down the street. "Tell me about yourself Mr. Flash." Fancy Pants began a conversation, "Surely you must have some story to tell me." I ignored him for a minute or two. The unicorn didn't let up, "Mr. Flash?" "I'd rather not tell you." I quickly replied, "All of my stories would either bore you, or make you never see me the same way again." The blue-maned stallion understood, and we continued traveling to the party. "I do have to ask you one question though." Fancy continued, "What made you come to Canterlot?" I didn't turn to look at him, but I answered, "I have some buisness here. It's almost over. In fact, I don't think I'll be able to stay for the entire event." The white pony sounded upset, "Shame. Truly. I was hoping that you were going to stay a while. Just remember, if you ever see Rarity during your travels, thank her for me." I gave a little nod and said, "I told you that I would, and I will." We arrived at a large event hall. The hall had many windows along the walls, and the entrance were open double doors, with a guard on both sides. Both of the guards didn't look very happy.
As Fancy Pants trotted past the two guards, he explained to them that I was with him. After that, the guards let me through, but still didn't like it. I saluted the guard to my right, then went inside the event hall. Fancy Pants was almost instantly surrounded by a bunch of other ponies wanting to speak with him. That easily gave me the chance to slip away. I was looking for the pony in the photo, while listening to classical music from the stage at the far end of the hall. I eventually found him. The stallion who was standing at the side, scanning the room as if he was looking for somepony. I eventually worked my way over there. I was trying to look normal, and grabbed a drink before going towards him. I didn't care what the drink was, I probably wasn't going to have it anyway. "I wouldn't recommend taking another step towards me." The stallion said. I just stood in front of him. "Well you seem like your enjoying this party." I replied, "Would you like to hear the message?" His eyes stopped wondering, and the only word he spoke was, "Two." I told him that I didn't understand. "Before I speak to you," he narrowed his eyes, "You must answer the code correctly. So...two." "You really think that they will tell the code to a messenger who was paid to only give you one message?" "Of course. Take a wild guess if you don't know." I thought about all the things that there were two of. Eventually I remembered that Equestria was ruled by two, "Sisters." I answered. The stallion was silent for a while, but then finally replied, "Lucky guess. What's the message?" What kind of code was that? I was able to guess their password in one try? I think they need to change it... "I can't tell you here," I said, "Wouldn't want anypony to overhear us, would we?"
We both went out by the back door, which is probably the way I would of gone if I didn't meet Fancy Pants. It was a fenced in area with various kinds of plant life, such as flowers and trees. No pony else seemed to be out here because the band was playing, and I took my drink with me. "Alright, care to tell me now?" The stallion asked. I finally took a sip of the drink that I've been carrying around with me. "Interesting," I spoke, "Some kind of chardonnay... Oh, right. Your employer wants to cancel the job." He didn't believe me, not at all. "Fine," I continued, "I'll be a bit more clear." I suddenly threw the glass at his face, and continued pushing him back until I pinned him to a tree. "My employer wants you to quit the job." I revealed, "Surely you fancy your life don't you?" "Yes, yes, I do! I'm just a hired private investigator. I don't know what most of my jobs are about and who I'm dealing with." He panicked. "Then who hired you?" "The host!" The stallion squealed, "The host of this party." I explained that I was never here and all of those cliche things, then I slammed his head in to the tree which knocked him out. I think. I began trotting back inside, and I saw, through a window, that the brown earth pony who shooed me away was in the band playing at the party. She was playing the cello. I'm pretty sure that I saw her turn her head from me, but she didn't seem very distracted from her playing.
The crowd around Fancy Pants now dissipated. I moved to Fancy Pants and explained that I had to leave. The white unicorn understood without asking me any questions. I left through the front doors, where the two guards were still standing. I didn't bother looking back at the party, there was no point. I continued wandering down the street until I heard the words, "Did you have fun?" I turned my head to the left to see a pony sitting at a table by himself. It was the pony who gave me the picture. There were two seats at the table, so I sat down in the other chair. "If you were so close to the location, why didn't you go and force him to quit?" I questioned him. He confidently replied while rolling his eyes, "I wanted to see if it was truly you! Obviously." "Obviously..." I repeated, "Anyway. I would like to ask of a favor now." "Go on." "I require a secluded way to get to Galloping Gorge." "Hm..." The stallion thought, "I can't give you a hidden path at the moment, but I can definitely give you a way that won't get you killed. I could give you public transit, since the gorge is directly right of the tracks, I'll send you by train. I'll teleport you to the train station. Also, to reduce risk, you'll be in a rented cart. No pony will be able to enter without your permission. All you'll need to do is make sure you get on the right train, and don't miss your stop. Simple." I agreed to the plan. The plan didn't cost him much, but benefited me greatly. I would by the ticket myself, but I didn't have the bits with me at the moment. "Then I guess I'll get you a ticket. And don't bother moving, it'll just slow things down." The stallion said before standing and teleporting away.
I sat there for a few minuted before seeing a flash in the distance. It was just the pony who was getting me the ticket. He placed the ticket on the table, then he said, "At eleven, so about an hour. Any train earlier or later will lead you to a different destination. Cart at the end of the train, the conductor will let you in. Got it?" I grabbed the ticket and gave an indication for yes. I was then beamed to the train station, just as we agreed. During the night the station isn't very busy, so there were only a few ponies there. One of them seemed very startled when I suddenly appeared near her, but I just ignored it. This is it. This is when I get to...one of the destinations that I want to go to. I just hope that the place is semi-operational. During the wait, I would mainly just stand there doing nothing, but every once in a while I would play with my tie or a rock on the ground just to keep myself entertained. The ponies saw me as a normal pony, maybe they didn't before because I wasn't wearing clothes?
After a while, I heard a whistle in the distance. It was just the train whistle that they do right before they reach a station. I shook my head to help wake myself up, and stood closer to the tracks. As the train was going to a halt, I began to move myself to the end of the carts. A stallion wearing a conductor outfit stepped out of the last one, and motioned for me to go to him. I did so, and handed him my ticket. He put a stamp on the ticket, handed it back to me, then invited me on board. "Welcome aboard, Mr. Flash." He said, "I think you will enjoy the trip." I thanked him, went inside, then sat down in the empty private cart that was rented for me. I then looked at my ticket. The destination was the Crystal Empire, which I found odd, but the strangest thing that I found, was that the ticket didn't state my name...
***************
After an hour or two, I stood up, opened the window, and peeked out of it. I didn't do much during the ride, but the train did go through Cloudsdale. While it was going through there, I had to be vigilant, just in case something was going to happen. Thankfully nothing did, and now I'm close to my stop. There wasn't actually a station there, I just had to jump off of the train. If I were any other race, that would actually be a big deal. A forest was up ahead, so I went to the back of the cart, where there was a door. Then I opened the door, and a large gust of wind blew my mane and tie to the side. I used the door frame for support, and waited until the train was beside the forest that was around the one half of the gorge. When the train was where I wanted it to be, I took a little leap. When I landed, I did a couple rolls to have a bit of fun, and to reduce the impact. I swiftly stood up, galloped through the trees, and jumped in to the large chasm at the end of the woodland. The sensation of falling is way better if you have wings. Before I reached the ground, I spread my wings open so slow down my momentum. I softly landed in the rough, rocky ravine. I took the time to fix my mane and straighten my tie.
"I am back." I spoke confidently, as I turned around and saw a towering stone wall in front of me. I began pushing on various areas of the wall, until I found a section that moved. I drove in to that section and it rotated to the side, revealing a dark hallway which it's walls and ceiling were made of carved stone bricks. I began traveling down the passage, while wishing that I had some kind of light source. Then I noticed, in the distance, that there was a little flicker of light, probably from a candle. That couldn't be right, candles that I lit would of burned out completely by now, and even if somepony got in here, how would they know about this place? I had to check it out. I started heading there at a moderate pace, then slowed down the closer I got to deaden the noise that I made. The light was coming from right around the corner. I hugged the wall, and slowly poked my head out, so I could see what was going on. There was an older stallion, probably in his late forty's. He was wearing a pitch black suit, pure white collared shirt, and a midnight black tie. He was a grey-coated pegasus, and he was carrying a copper candle plate, with the lit candle that I was wondering about. "Hello, Doctor Flash." He said, "I trust that you had a good trip?"
"I am back." I spoke confidently, as I turned around and saw a towering stone wall in front of me. I began pushing on various areas of the wall, until I found a section that moved. I drove in to that section and it rotated to the side, revealing a dark hallway which it's walls and ceiling were made of carved stone bricks. I began traveling down the passage, while wishing that I had some kind of light source. Then I noticed, in the distance, that there was a little flicker of light, probably from a candle. That couldn't be right, candles that I lit would of burned out completely by now, and even if somepony got in here, how would they know about this place? I had to check it out. I started heading there at a moderate pace, then slowed down the closer I got to deaden the noise that I made. The light was coming from right around the corner. I hugged the wall, and slowly poked my head out, so I could see what was going on. There was an older stallion, probably in his late forty's. He was wearing a pitch black suit, pure white collared shirt, and a midnight black tie. He was a grey-coated pegasus, and he was carrying a copper candle plate, with the lit candle that I was wondering about. "Hello, Doctor Flash." He said, "I trust that you had a good trip?"
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