The Date
Twilight stepped out of Carousel Boutique after what was not all that bad of a fitting. Things were still awkward between the three, but things were better than when they started. Things were looking up. She would have her crown back in no time.
Her happiness disappeared into a torrent of emotion when she saw Flash in another car with no roof, grinning at her. “Hey Twilight. Are you finished?”
“Uhh, yes, I am,” she said. Spike, in her arms, just rolled his eyes.
“Cool. But... Spike probably wouldn’t be welcomed at any of the restaurants I could take you. Can one of your friends take him home?”
Spike looked annoyed, and Twilight, figuring that would hurt his feelings, began scratching his ears in an attempt to comfort him. “I suppose I could. Let me go ahead and ask one of the girls to...”
“That won’t be necessary,” Celestia’s voice said. Both teens jumped a bit in surprise and saw Principal Celestia getting out of the car behind Flash’s. “I was on the way home when I realized that you’d have Spike with you. Since most restaurants don’t allow pets, I thought that I’d come by and take him home for you.”
“Oh thank you, Ce... Aunt Celestia,” she said. “Flash, will you wait a moment?”
“Of course.”
At this, Twilight walked toward Celestia, handing off Spike. “I’m sorry about this, Spike. You know pets aren’t allowed in many places for the same reason they aren’t in Equestria. I’ll make it up to you when we get back to Equestria.”
“Yeah, I guess...” Spike muttered. “I really didn’t want to see you make kissyface with some guy anyway.”
Celestia giggled, and Twilight flushed. “It’s nothing like that, we’re just going to have dinner. I’ll tell you what, once we get back to Equestria, I’ll buy you a whole box of new comics.”
This placated the little dragon. “Okay. I’ll see you back at Celestia’s.”
Twilight patted Spike on the head, then said her goodbyes to Principal Celestia. As she turned, she noticed the principal looking at Flash, giving him a look that seemed benign at first glance, but was really saying, “You better not upset her.”
The now slightly nervous Flash opened his car door for Twilight and helped her inside. As soon as she was seated, he closed the door and got in on his side. “I hope you’re hungry. I picked out a nice restaurant that is vegetarian-friendly.”
Twilight was half-hoping that Flash would mess something up to give her an excuse to break things off again. But none came, Flash was a complete gentleman throughout the beginning of the date. He had picked a nice restaurant that served pasta, pulled out her chair for her to sit, and had been all-around polite. And as frustrating as it was that he was not giving her the excuse she needed for the inevitable break-off, it was becoming more frustrating that she was becoming more and more charmed by him, and didn’t want him to mess up.
“I hope you like this place,” Flash said. “There’s another place I considered that serves tacos and quesadillas, but I thought this place had more options for vegetarians.”
“That’s good. I... don’t like quesadillas too much.”
He blinked. “Why not?”
She suddenly blushed. “Oh, it’s...” she debated not saying, but Flash’s look, which was one of genuine curiosity, coupled with genuinely being put at ease. “I... when I was a little f... girl, I went on a picnic with my family. My mom made quesadillas. When I was about to eat mine, I saw a squirrel a few feet away, and I like animals so much I decided to go take a look at it. But while I was looking at it, a bunch of ants crawled into my food. So when I took a bite..."
Flash snorted, but managed to hold in any further sign of amusement. Twilight blushed in spite of herself.
"Hey, cheer up," Flash said. "I've had worse experiences with food."
"Really?"
"Yeah. There was the first time Sunset took me to a vegetarian restaurant..."
Flash trailed off, realizing bringing up his ex on a date wasn't the smartest move.
Twilight noticed the discomfort, but misinterpreted it.
“It must have been hard, losing Sunset.”
Flash was a bit surprised, but he went along with it. “It was, at the time. But l don’t miss it. She wasn’t who she pretended to be. I never had anything with her.”
Despite his words, Twilight could hear a tinge of sadness in his voice. She reached over and placed a hand on his.
“It’s a shame. You didn’t deserve all that.”
“What we deserve isn’t always what we get,” Flash said. “We deserve a Sunset-free school, and we’re not getting that. We deserve to have one of the sisters be superintendent, and we’re not getting that.”
A bitterness was creeping into his voice. Twilight really wanted to change the subject.
“So, what’s your family like?”
By the look on Flash’s face, Twilight could tell she had made a mistake. A flash of pain crossed his face, and Twilight’s mind started racing, trying to find a way to change the subject.
“They’re nice,” Flash said. It was quick, abrupt, and clearly said out of a lack of anything else to say. “I don’t see my mother much since my folks split. My dad is alright, but he has to work a lot. What about your family?”
Twilight could tell that Flash really wanted the subject changed. She thought about pressing the matter, trying to help him. Then she remembered she was looking for an excuse to distance herself from him. She decided to answer his question.
“My father is a... government worker. He helps decide budgets. I’m a little fuzzy on the details.” This was a lie, she understood her father’s job inside and out, but she didn’t know how to translate it into a human government. “My mom is a writer. She writes romance, mostly. And I have an older brother who’s in the military.”
“Really? I thought about joining up myself, after high school.”
That interested Twilight. “Shiny says that it gets you the kind of relationships that you don’t get in civilian life.”
“That’s what I heard,” Flash said. “My grandfather was a general, and he used to tell me all kinds of stories about how things were then. He told me that he could meet another military man and spend half an hour talking about nothing but the army.”
“I believe it. My brother can go on.”
“Is your brother overseas?”
She paused. The answer to that question was yes, but she had to be careful not to answer in a way that revealed her ignorance of what overseas was in this world.
“Yes. He’s not allowed to say where actually.”
Fortunately, Flash didn’t press. “I want to see the world, get out of Canterlot. The military could help with that.”
“You want to leave Canterlot? Why?”
Flash suddenly got quiet again. “Well, there are things in Canterlot I want to leave behind.”
Twilight looked at him. “Do you mean Sunset? Did she hurt you that badly?”
“Not just Sunset,” Flash said, now looking like this conversation was going in a direction that he didn’t want it to. “It... it might be a little heavy for a first date. Why don’t you take over? What do you want to do after high school?”
Principal Celestia had helped her prepare for this. “I was to be a scientist.”
“What kind?”
“Any kind!” she said. “I love to learn. And whenever I don’t understand, I love to find out.”
“Really? Think you can figure out Pinkie Pie?”
“I want to be a scientist, not a miracle-worker.”
The two laughed.
The pasta had come, and the conversation had gone on. Twilight felt herself getting lost in the conversation. That was bad. She needed to watch what she said. Any slip up might reveal more about herself than she could let on.
Still, she enjoyed the meal. Flash was hard to keep talking. His family was clearly a topic he was unwilling to discuss, and she wasn’t about to bring up Sunset. But keeping him talking about his bandmates was something she could do.
He told her about how they had chosen their band name, Flash Drive, which started a coin flip which ended up growing into best three out of five to best five out of nine until finally it was settled through arm wrestling. She laughed again when he told her about how Ringo struck out with two girls when he made the mistake of taking dating advice from Brawly.
He told her some more stories. How he, as a kid, got lost in town one day and managed to find his way home before his dad missed him. How he had once tried to cook a cake and ended up with a loaf of bread. He told her about how his grandfather had died a few years ago, and hearing him say that Flash would go on to great things.
They had walked until they had made it to an ice cream parlor. After confirming that Twilight was a vegetarian and not a vegan, Flash ordered them two chocolate cones. Twilight decided they tasted about as good as the ones on Equestria.
They walked a bit absently as they ate, chatting and talking. Even years later, Twilight wouldn’t remember half of what they talked about, only that she had enjoyed it.
By the time they had finished their cones, the topic had turned to music.
“I got my guitar when I was ten years old,” Flash said. “I absolutely loved it. I started to learn to play, and it was... well, amazing. I had liked listening to music, and once I had my guitar I started playing around with it. I started by copying other songs, but then I started playing around with it and writing my own songs... It was just so amazing, getting to make something out of thin air.”
“I’ve heard you were good, but I haven’t heard you play yet,” Twilight said. “Do you usually bring your guitar to school?”
“Usually. If you’d like, you can come by the music room and hear me play.”
“What about the rest of your band?”
He shook his head. “No, we have a strict ‘no outsiders’ policy during rehearsal. But we are planning to perform a few songs at the Fall Formal.”
“Oh. That would be fun.”
He nodded. “Well, Sunset might run it with an iron fist, but we still try to enjoy the dances. Still, I don’t think we’ll be able to compete with the Dazzlings, but we should get some praise.”
They were nearing Canterlot High. The sky was beginning to dim, and the moon was rising over the building. It was a surreal sight for Twilight, seeing the sun and the moon in the sky at the same time. Even during Discord’s day of chaos, he hadn’t allowed them in the sky at the same time.But she had read about the moon moving through gravity, and the bizarre fact that this planet revolved around its sun, and knew what to expect.
“The moon looks pretty tonight, doesn’t it?” Flash said, pulling Twilight from her thoughts.
Twilight decided to go along with why Flash thought she found the sky so interesting and decided to play along. “Yeah.” She looked at the roof of the school. “I don’t suppose there’s any way for us to get back on the roof, is there?”
“Want another dancing lesson?” Flash asked, unable to keep the smugness out of his voice.
Twilight was grateful that the darkness was hiding her blush. “I think I would.”
“Well, I don’t think we’ll be getting back on the roof,” Flash said. “But I can give you a quick lesson in the parking lot. Who’s going to be driving into it at this time of night?”
Twilight couldn’t answer that question, so Flash led her into the lot. Indeed, the cars were all missing, so there was plenty of space. It wasn’t quite as nice as the rooftop, but it would do.
Af first, it was a repeat of the lesson from yesterday. Flash took her hand, wrapped another around her waist, and led her at the dance. However, there was one difference this time.
This time, there was no talking. There was no conversation on how to defeat Sunset. No discussion about worries or fears, not even any dancing instructions. It was just the two of them in complete silence.
They forgot everything. The threat Sunset posed, the troubles with winning the crown. In that moment, it was just them.
For the rest of her life, no matter how many times she thought back to this moment, Twilight could never remember moving forward to kiss him. She wasn’t even sure she did. Maybe he moved forward to steal the kiss. What she did remember was that, even if he had been the one to initiate it, she had kissed him back.
And it had lasted quite a bit before Twilight realized what she was doing. She pulled apart, looking at Flash. He looked happy.
“Twilight...”
“...I have to go.”
Twilight ran. Flash called after her. She didn’t look back. She didn’t listen. She didn’t want to look back. She just needed to get away.
Celestia and Luna didn’t even have time to register that Twilight had run in before she was up in the guest room. She closed the door behind her, fell onto the bed, and began to cry.
She was starting to feel a regret she hadn’t felt since she decided to move to Ponyville. It was the regret of wasted time, feeling like for all her accomplishments she missed something truly important in her life.
She hadn’t realized how badly she had wanted a partner before now. She hadn’t realized how big a mistake it was, refusing to go to any sort of school dance, and turning down any suitor. Granted, that last one was a good trait to have when you were in a position to be taken advantage of by the social climbers and gold diggers, but she wished she had given them a chance.
But now, she had to become attracted to a boy in a world she couldn’t stay in.
She wasn’t in love with him, she kept telling herself that. And he wasn’t in love with her. They had known each other for a few days, and he was young. It was a foolish infatuation, one that they couldn’t act on.
But it still hurt, knowing that they would never know where this relationship would go. She would never know if they were truly compatible.
She might never get another chance at love. Her connection with Princess Celestia ensured that. Every suitor would come with the worry that they were after her because of her status. She would never have the anonymity that would free her from that.
“Twilight?” Spike’s voice cut through her despair. She looked. Spike was staring at her.
“W-what happened? Was Flash a jerk? I can bite him for you if...”
Twilight pulled her son into a hug, cutting him off. He stayed silent as she hugged him, not knowing what to say.
A knock came at the door. “Twilight?” Celestia’s voice came through. “Is everything alright?”
After a moment, Twilight released Spike, then moved to answer the door. She opened it up and saw the principal’s worried face. “Twilight... did something happen?”
“Yeah,” Twilight said. “...I had a wonderful time.”
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Yes! Update! Nice to see Flash and Twilight really bonding here and Twilight know unsure of her mission because she'll leave Flash behind soon.
Oh dear, Twilight ended up getting attached.
Excellent job on this latest chapter. It took a while, but was QUITE worth the wait. I absolutely enjoyed the work that went into the exchanges, characterizations and future chapter set-up in all the right places. Yeah, greatly enjoyed seeing Twilight comforting Spike before she went on her date. And, the chats concerning their families and life plans were great stuff (especially with the origin of Twilight's quesadilla issues, Twilight TRYING, but failing, to think of how to explain her father's job to Flash and the little ironic reference to how Twilight DID try to figure out Pinkie Pie once). And, yeah, I can see where she could be torn between thinking about the time table she was on and how the date actually went SO well that she was actually starting to regret her behavior toward perspective suitors in her ACTUAL younger days (and, actually, being on guard from gold diggers and social climbers MIGHT actually be ONE of the biggest reasons BLUEBLOOD is such a jerk [especially if you go by some of the comics that actually showed him to be a competent diplomat when he put in the effort]). But I digress.
At any rate, I'll definitely be looking forward to more of this, and I am fully aware that you have OTHER projects too.
As a Flashlight shipper I loved this chapter, especially that kiss. I do worry how Twilight will deal with needing to go back to Equestria after all this. Unless something drastic happens like Flash coming back with her or something.
I do like the small references that were snuck in, like Twilight’s fear of quesadillas (nice reason for that by the way) and Flash saying he accidentally baked a loaf of bread instead of a cake once (I blame Bon Bon).
Also, I feel like that ending was a small reference to Prince Zuko’s first date. Nicely done once again.
I kind of bounce between FlashLight and FlashShimmer. I kinda like to think they eventually get back together after Sunset became a better person if Twilight decides it won't work out.
Great to see you alive and well!
I too, hope I don't need to wait 3 more years!
God be with you and be safe!
Nice to check back in on these two.
So Flash has dark backstory too... curious to see if that has occasion to come up again.
I hope this continues updating as it is nice. And oof on that closing line.
Aww this was cute
I think Twilight is gonna have a real hard time leaving this world 😅
hope its gonna get updates
11210568
Well... I apologize for saying this to you, especially so long after you said this yourself, and perhaps already learned of it... but unfortunately, this story won't gey any further updates. Much to the sadness of many people on this site, myself included, Darth Link 22 passed away almost four months ago. While unfinished stories are certainly not the saddest thing about his departure, this story and many others he wrote will be left unfinished.
My apologies for sharing the news, especially if you already learned them yourself in the meantime.
11279252
no i did not know that :/
that really sucks :/
may he rest in peace :(
thank you for informing me
11279592
You're welcome.
11279252
Thanks for the information. May he Rest In Peace.
11297119
You're welcome.
11279252
Any chance of someone else adopting this story and trying to pick up where DarthLink22 left off?
11782372
I'm sorry to say this, but no.
It's been almost two years at this point, and also, the only story of his' being continued is one that a friend of his' was helping with, and his friend both also had access to some chapters and knew how the story was intended to go and end. All other of DarthLink22's unfinished stories were known only to him and no one has access to them, so they will unfortunately remain unfinished.