---
“Dazzle, come back here!”
Shining Armor watched in amused exasperation as his daughter peeked out from the top of a Celestian banner. She waved at him before darting away, her small wings seemingly working with the power of a full-grown pegasus as she shot down the tall hallways of the castle, her father charging along behind her in an attempt to keep pace. Shining had no doubt that any other parent would have run out of steam long before he did, but few other parents were as fit as the Captain of the Royal Guard. His horn glowing, he built several layers of barrier beneath his hooves, lifting him up to within wingspan of the filly.
“Can’t catch me, Daddy!” zot
Then again, no other parent had a foal who could both fly and teleport. In tandem.
“Aw, horsefeathers…” Shining mumbled, still wearing a warm grin. He let himself slide to the ground, walking slowly as he listened for the telltale giggles of mischief that any small foal got whenever they believed they were bending the rules in some way. A tittering laugh brought him into one of the larger chambers, overlooking the area outside of Canterlot. His ear immediately focussed on a suit of armour, which shook slightly when his gaze fell upon it. As the giggles ceased, he began emphasising his steps, placing one hoof in front of the other theatrically as he looked around the room for his ‘hidden’ daughter.
“Let’s see… not in the plant pot… not behind the bookshelf… I wonder if she’s… no, no, she wouldn’t do that, only the most brave and fierce Princesses ever hide out there…”
The armour wiggled. Shining’s grin took on a stronger edge.
“I mean, the balcony’s such a dangerous place, so high up, with nothing around it, all open air and sky... no, the Dazzle I know plays it safe.” He began tromping towards the armour, still acting as though he was thinking of where she might be hiding. “And armour is certainly a safe place to be.” The armour’s movement ceased. Shining posed like a cat, ready to pounce. “So that means… hya!” He leapt at the armour, crashing into it just as a small pink and blue blur shot out from it, beelining towards the balcony.
One short teleport later, and he had Dazzle in his hooves.
“Aw, Daddy!” She pouted, though the sad face gave way to giggles as he nuzzled her. “You tricked me!” Shining’s face took on a mock indignation.
“What? Trick you? Young lady, an honourable noblestallion would never trick such an innocent filly as yourself!” He set her down and began strutting, stiffening his upper lip as she watched in glee. “To insult my honour in such a fashion is a duelling offence!” He declared, lifting a hoof up high before bringing it down to tap on his chin. “However, you are both too innocent to duel and a member of the Royal Family! I cannot honourably challenge you! As such, in accordance with noblepony law section one, subsection one, article two, paragraph three, line five, (starting from the eighth word, of course) as your father I must duel myself in your stead. Have at thee!” An ethereal form of Shining appeared in full duelling regalia on the opposite end of the room. Shining cantered into place, his every move mirrored by the magical copy. The two stallions charged at each other, leaning away and missing each other at the last second. They turned and charged again, this time scoring a small blow on each other. Once more, Shining spun, facing off against his doppelganger, charging at the magical pony form, letting go at the last second and rushing through the resulting mist as though he had destroyed the construct with his charge. “Haha, victorious! And yet defeated at the same time…” He shook his head, turning to face his daughter and bowing. “No matter! The important thing is that the young lady of the event was entertained! Were you not, Milady?”
“Yay! That was really cool, Daddy! You must be the greatest unicorn ever!”
“Alas, I cannot lay claim to that title. It belongs to your aunt-“ He caught himself, but not before that word was out. Unfortunately, Dazzle’s foalish attention span chose that one word to latch on to.
“Auntie Twilight? Is she okay again?”
Shining sighed. “I… I’m not sure, sweetie. I haven’t seen her for almost as long as you.”
“But the barrier’s gone! You said she’d be back when the barrier left!”
Shining’s brow furrowed. He turned around, looking out past the balcony at the spot where for three weeks a large barrier sat, impenetrable to any and all attempts to access the inside. His gaze fell upon the Ponyville clocktower, the charred remains of the Town Hall, Sweet Apple Acres, and a large tree that sat near the centre of the town and served as its library. None of them were blocked from sight by the barrier.
“It’s gone…” he breathed. Picking up his daughter, he galloped off to the throne room.
---
“Wait, why did you need to put that part in?”
“Because the rest of this is fairly bucking depressing to me. Excuse me for trying to remember happier things.”
---
Shining watched as the carriage descended. An eye flicked, on instinct, at the two pegasi drivers – they weren’t guardsponies, that much was obvious from their size, but they nonetheless wore what appeared to be guard armour, coloured tan-black-gold instead of the usual gold-gold-gold, which set Shining Armor on edge a paltry amount more than he already was. He caught a driver’s eyes as they landed, and he could see her tense, the steady guardspony attitude momentarily replaced by anger and anticipation. He smirked inwardly; these weren’t guards. They were foals playing pretend.
His visit to the throne had been brief – he hadn’t been the only pony made aware of the barrier’s absence, and amidst her sending several waves of heavily-armoured guardsponies to awaken her sister, Celestia had quickly made him aware of the letter that had been sent by his sister.
“She sent it in dragonfire.” She had stated. He glanced at her in confusion while taking the letter.
“But Spike…” he began. Celestia nodded. Shaking his head – how Twilight had found another dragon so quickly, he couldn’t figure – he began to scan the contents of the letter.
Then he blinked, and reread the letter. And again.
“This… isn’t this what she sent you when she submitted the Charter?”
Celestia nodded. “Very close to it.” She sighed. “Did Twilight ever fail at anything when she was a filly, Shining?”
The stallion thought. “Only once, though I can’t precisely remember what it was…”
“And how did she deal with the failure?”
“She freaked out. Got really angry, then really sad, so on and so forth, and eventually just resubmitted the fixed project. Then she passed and everything was fine.”
“That’s what I feared.” Celestia said. Shining cocked an ear.
“Wouldn’t it be a good thing, Princess, if she went back to normal?”
“Yes, Shining, but that is impossible. This was not merely a school project, as the Riot and Spike can attest. Her Charter has had an irreversible effect due to those events; even if that effect may be healed over in time, the scars will remain.” The solar princess shook her head. “With the submittance of the Charter for rereview, in the same manner as it was before, she is appearing to show that she either doesn’t care about the ramifications of its rejection, or that she does not recognize them. Neither of which are acceptable, for her safety or that of those around her.”
Shining found himself nodding. “So what do you want to do, Princess?”
“We listen to her. We see if she’s still rational, or if her mind is clouded by anger or grief. We take steps to ensure that nopony more is hurt than already have been.”
Shining blanched. “Princess, you can’t-“
“I hope I’m not.” She said, gently cutting him off. “But I don’t want to risk any innocent ponies getting hurt. If Twilight is lost, I need you to be sure that you can treat her as anypony in her situation should be treated. Understand?”
“Of course, Princess.” Shining said after a small silence. Drawing himself up, he took in a breath. “I hearby swear, on the grace of Princess Celestia, the duty of Princess Luna, and the love of Princess Cadance, that I shall ensure to the best of my ability the safety and protection of all innocent ponies from the unicorn mare Twilight Sparkle.”
Celestia had nodded and waved him away.
Now he stood in the centre of the courtyard, three guardsponies – real guardsponies – behind him, two dozen more around the yard. The carriage skidded to a halt halfway between him and the entrance, inch-deep furrows cutting the ground apart. The drivers unhitched themselves, quickly running around to the side of the vehicle to open the door. Shining spread his legs into a more battle-ready pose as the first head emerged.
Two brown-maned, orange-coated earth ponies stepped out first, wearing smatterings of guardspony armour, again recoloured from the radiant gold of the Equestrian National. They quickly stepped into place around the door, blocking any sight from the sides. The next head to emerge was rainbow-maned – Dash, Shining recalled. Rainbow Dash, element of Loyalty. Then was a purple and white unicorn – Rarity, Generosity – and a pink and pink earth pony – Pinkie Pie, Laughter. Rarity looked almost afraid, and Pinkie appeared to still be slightly out of it from the Riot. Dash simply glared at Shining. All three were decked out in the same colour scheme as the armour, though they wore cloth instead of steel. Dash and Pinkie wore some odd hat that appeared to be a small boat turned upside down; it took Shining a few moments to place the design, from his dealings with the Gryphons. Military officer’s caps.
All three of them walked forward, clearing the space in front of the door. A purple-coated, dark-maned unicorn stepped out. Shining’s heart froze.
Twilight wore on her face a steeled determination, her eyes flat above the large dark furrowed bags that hung above her cheeks. She kept her expression controlled, neutral, betraying no emotion; it left her face empty and cold, eyes levelled at Shining Armor without apparent recognition. Shining shivered. Twilight shouldn’t look like that.
In terms of coverings, she wore an outfit similar to the rest, with the addition of a cloak being the only major difference. One side of the cloak rested slightly away from her back. Either the Charter or a weapon. Shining thought. Then he realized that he had just thought of his sister as a possible enemy.
The six ponies walked forwards, the earth ponies on the sides, the Elements in the centre, and Twilight in the middle of them. Shining noted that the drivers continued their station at the carriage, ready to hitch up and lift off quickly. The group walking towards him walked slowly, deliberately, clearly focussed on a mission and drilled for such an event. They halted about five metres from the trio of guards.
“Shining.” Twilight said stiffly.
“Hello, Twilight.” The stallion responded, screaming at himself inside his head. Keep it professional, keep it professional, she’s not special, she’s your sister dammit… Twilight made a show of looking around him for something.
“I thought petitioners dealt directly with the Princess.” She said. It was a statement, not a question.
“Normally, they do, but… Celestia wanted to make sure that you were okay, sis.”
She snorted, a small frustration breaking through her mask. “Okay?! She wants to know if I’m okay?!” Then she caught herself, taking in a few breaths. Her face was carefully blank again when she continued addressing him. “I could be called ‘okay’, I suppose. Having your brother murder your best friend can set you off a bit, though.”
“Excuse me?!” Shining coughed. “I didn’t kill Spike, I was nowhere near the area when-“
Twilight waved a hoof, stepping around Shining’s group of guards. “It doesn’t matter anymore. Come. I’ve made some changes to the Charter that the Princesses can’t refuse.” The rest of her group moved to follow her. Shining stepped forward, followed by his guards.
“You go in alone, Twilight. I don’t know why you brought these ponies with you, but your Charter only needed you last time.”
“I brought these ponies with me to bear witness to history, Shining.” Twilight answered. “And if the Princess is truly so afraid of her ponies as to isolate me, then-“
The wind spoke. “I fear no pony, Twilight Sparkle.”
Everypony turned to watch the rulers of Equestria appear. Celestia and Luna both stepped from air, Celestia out of the sun’s glare and Luna from her sister’s shadow. Celestia’s eyes met Twilight’s. “I am curious, however, as to why you felt the need to bring a guard with you, my faithful student.”
Rainbow Dash spoke up. “Because last time she was alone, your guards killed Spi-“
“Quiet!” Twilight hissed. The prismatic pony shut her mouth.
“Ah, yes…” The Princess said. “I do not know if you received my letters of condolences, Twilight, but I assure you that any actions the Guard took against Spike were within what they believed to be necessary.”
“But Princess-“ Shining began. Celestia raised a hoof, and the stallion stopped.
“Necessary?! Spike was trying to save ponies’ lives, after your guards attacked without reason!” Rainbow blurted out. Celestia levelled a gaze at her, while Luna turned to Pinkie Pie.
“Element of Laughter. You were present for the event spoken of. What is your recollection of it?”
Pinkie cantered back a bit, wilting under the Princess’ stare. “I… I couldn’t really see, I was just trying to keep myself busy and then a bolt of magic launched through the window and went boom and the Corner started shaking and Spike jumped in and we went up and got the foals and… and-“ She started hiccoughing, turning and pressing her face into Rainbow’s shoulder.
“It. Doesn’t. Matter.” Twilight repeated, bringing both Princesses’ sights back to her. “We’re here to present the Charter. Edited to ensure fairness of justice.” Her horn glowed, and a roll of parchment emerged from her cloak. It floated towards Celestia, who took it in her own magic, rapidly unrolling it and reading alongside her sister. Their expressions darkened as their eyes descended.
“This is outrageous!” Luna bellowed, blowing the hat off of Rainbow’s head. Celestia rerolled the document, dropping it beside her.
“Twilight, it appears as though you simply emphasised the areas of the Charter that we took issue to upon its initial submission. You’ve written that the government must be immediately torn apart and replaced with an elected body, without any attempt at transition or integration? You’ve required every guardspony to be dismissed to ‘eliminate the pervading corruption’ in our justice system? You’re now demanding that Luna and I, as well as every noblepony, immediately rescind our titles and ‘face judgement for the exploitation of the underprivileged’? Do you know what would happen if we gave up rulership of Equestria, even without setting anypony of noble blood including ourselves up to be prosecuted? There would be chaos!”
“What would happen is that those of us not lucky enough to be born into fortune would be able to affect what their leadership does to them. What would happen is that anypony, regardless of their social station, would have a choice in the range of their lives. What would happen is that the common worker would find himself at eye level with the pony supposedly superior to him. What would happen is that ponies would rise and fall based on their actions, not the endorsement of the upper class. What would happen is that ponies could decide how their lives were lived, who they met and loved and married, and not have their choices be strangled by a force that doesn’t even care for their existence. What would happen is that those born into stature would be treated as they deserve to be treated rather than superior based on the size of their bank. What would happen is that every dressmaker, every confectioner, every weatherpony, every farmer and caretaker and doctor and guard and student and teacher, what would happen is that everypony, no matter their tribe, gender, love, would be equal.” Twilight breathed, taking in the wide stares of Luna and Shining. Celestia merely blinked.
“I am sorry, Twilight, but I cannot accept this… proposal. It asks for radical changes that would only lead to disharmony and chaos throughout Equestria. I ask that you let this topic go, Twilight, as it appears that you have been deeply affected by the events of several weeks ago. You are not in any state to petition us, and we must request that you undergo examination to ensure that you are not suffering from permanent trauma.” The Solar Princess nodded at Shining Armor, who stepped forward. Several other guards near the group stepped closer to them, forming a loose circle. Twilight simply laughed, turning to face her allies.
“You see? She is unwilling to allow her ‘little ponies’ any freedom in their own lives, and when it is demanded she accuses mental illness! The ‘Princess’ is nothing but a false representative, one who claims to love all ponies but is a willing slave to her precious nobility. She is unwilling to allow the common pony power, power that will allow them to see her corruption and infection plaguing their lives and decide for themselves how to treat it! She swats down any attempt by lower ponies to aspire to her level, and why?” Twilight’s horn glowed, and a spark shot up into the air. She levelled her now-burning eyes at Celestia. “Because she is afraid. Afraid that they will find that she is nothing more than a pony like the rest of us. Afraid of the threat we pose when we choose our own path, outside of her dominance.” The ground rumbled. “Well, Princess, let’s see how you deal with two threats at once.”
A great dark shadow appeared in the sky, accompanied by a damaged but nonetheless terrifying roar. It shot up from under Canterlot’s edge, one wing enough to cast half the courtyard in shadow. Twilight’s group broke into a run for the carriage, barrelling through the barriers set up by the guardsponies behind them, followed quickly by the guards themselves. Shining moved to block them from it, but his attention was soon drawn back to the shadow in the sky, rapidly growing larger as it descended towards them. He brought a barrier up around the entire yard, strengthening it to a level that could give pause to an Ursa Major. The shadow hit the barrier, cracking it and pushing through, landing with one huge claw crushing the fountain in the centre of the courtyard, the other three forming holes deep enough to become ponds. The creature had colour now, its purple scales offset by its green belly and spines. It looked down at Shining and the Princesses, all rooted into place from identical shock. Its eye was clouded and dead, no intelligence left behind it.
“Spike…” Celestia breathed. The dragon cocked an ear towards the sound. A low growl formed in its throat, and it leaned down to face the alicorn. Another growl set the ground rumbling again.
Then a piercing whistle, and the dragon leapt, its great wings catching it and sending huge winds down. Shining looked down from its ascent, and the carriage was gone.