//------------------------------// // The Damage and the Mare // Story: Shining Dash // by Ianpiersonjdavis //------------------------------// While, Shining Armor’s memory of the past week may have been more or less a blur, one thing that he wouldn’t be forgetting anytime soon was first waking up in the hospital and learning just how horribly things had turned out. --- “CADANCE-Gahh!” Shining tried getting up, but an agonizing pain in his side forced him to lie back down on the bed. “Easy there Cap,” A familiar voice spoke. He titled his head to the side to see Flash Sentry standing beside him. “Flash, what happened?” he asked, struggling to remember anything before taking the fall. “Where’s Cadance?” Flash ran a hoof through his mane while nervously turning to avert Shining’s gaze and sighing before hanging his head. “You took a really bad fall…I had just taken care of the evacuation, so I followed upstairs. I was too late to stop the one that tackled you, but your struggle distracted the other changeling long enough for me to kill it.” “A-and Cadance?” Shining asked, sitting up despite the pain in his torso. “Is she okay?” “I’m fast, but there are some speeds even I can’t reach…I was able to stop it from slicing her neck open…” Shining felt his heart slow down as he knew that whatever Flash had to say next wouldn’t be good. “But, that hook…thing the changeling had morphed its hoof into had dug into her lower back and I guess it was still organic even when it was in the form of a blade like that because…” he stopped. “I’m sorry, Cap. I shouldn’t be telling you this now, the doctors say you need your rest and-” “Tell me what happened.” The command wasn’t loud, but it was low and threatening enough for Flash to realize that his best option would be to comply, lest his Captain wind up injuring himself more by trying to force the information out of him. “There was internal damage…bleeding…” he sighed. “Captain, I-” “Is she still alive?” “Yes, for now at least-she’s in critical condition, Celestia herself has the top medical experts in Equestria working on her with the best magic and equipment available.” Shining sighed deeply as he dropped his head back onto the pillow. “So the best thing we can do for now is hope for the best.” He glanced towards Flash again, before looking down at the blood soaked bandages around his ribs. “What about me-how bad of a shape am I in?” “Well,” he replied facing him again. “You will be glad to know that the bastard that attacked you was crushed when you fell on top of him…but, even though we could tell you were still alive you weren’t doing too hot, either.” “Meaning?” “The doctors said it was nothing less than a miracle that you survived a fall like that…your armor was broken, pieces of your ribs were sticking out and you were losing a lot of blood…they also said it was amazing that all of your organs were still intact.” He explained, still hardly believing the story as he relayed it. “That wasn’t luck…or a miracle.” Shining sighed. “As long as I remember I’ve always been protective of my sister, so I took my time to learn all I could about shield spells and being an older brother I guess it wasn’t much of surprise to anyone that turned out to be my special talent.” “So, you cast a shield spell beneath you like a trampoline or something to cushion your fall?” Flash asked, looking at him curiously. “No, I’ve had family members in the guard and I know that we get hurt in the line of duty all the time-something which Twiley, Cadance, and my mother constantly reminded me-they loved me and they were proud of my accomplishments, but they still worried about me.” He elaborated. Flash nodded in understanding. “So that’s when I realized that I could sort of…‘enchant’ my armor, I guess…using a combination of some of the most powerful Shield Spells I knew.” “Yeah, but something that takes up so much magical energy must have worn you out…no matter how good you are-right?” “It did. And to be honest I think I must have pushed myself too hard because the next morning I felt like crap, I was tired and every muscle in my body was aching…but, I pushed my self through doing my duty.” “Couldn’t you have just let Celestia know you were sick?” Flash asked, cocking a skeptical eyebrow. “Maybe.” Shining agreed. “But, I was the youngest Captain of her Guard in all of Equestrian history-and I wanted her to believe that she made the right choice-of course, I looked so terrible that day I don’t think I fooled her for a second.” They shared a laugh before Shining Armor winced as another jolt of pain surged through his ribcage. “Gah! Dammit!” he growled to himself. “Note to self; don’t laugh.” He then turned his attention back to Flash. “So if I was as bad as you say when you found me-then why aren’t I being scrapped off the concrete along with the Changeling?” Flash moved over to the far wall to lean against it. “Like I said before; Celestia brought in the top medical experts in Equestria as soon as she realized what was going on and they patched you up-more or less.” “Then why does it still feel like they’re broken?” Shining shot back, half-jokingly as he tried to reposition himself into a more comfortable laying position. “They might be good, but their not miracle workers.” He began to chuckle, but stopped when he saw his Captain’s melancholy expression, undoubtedly thinking about Cadance and her injuries. “B-but, hey if push comes to shove I’m sure Celestia will use her own magic to heal Cadance, I mean she wouldn’t just let her own niece die-right?” “Yeah, but how do we know she even has that kind of power” Shining asked cynically. “What do you mean?” “When Nightmare Moon first returned we literally had no idea who or what we were dealing with, we weren’t briefed on anything let alone the fact that she was a corrupted version of Princess Luna…the only one that did know anything was my sister based on a book she found based on legends and old mare’s tales.” “So?” Flash pressed. “I’m still not sure where you’re going with this…” “When Discord returned, she told Twilight that she and Luna had sealed him away before, but now that she was no longer connected to the Elements of Harmony-she couldn’t do it.” “So what you’re saying is….” Flash began. “How are we supposed to trust Celestia’s judgment when she can’t even trust us enough to let us know what we might be up against. Even when we’re the ones putting our lives on the line everyday to protect her and this country?” “The reason I never told anyone about Luna was because I found no other option, but to imprison her, the decision broke my heart. An emotional wound so deep that I never wanted to return to it again if I could help it.” They both looked towards the doorway to see Princess Celestia, standing there with an expression that wasn’t of anger, but of deep regret. “Forgive me for my intrusion, but I was on my way to see how our Captain was faring, just before I felt my ears burning.” The room seemed so much smaller now that the tall, white Alicorn had entered. “Shining Armor, I pray this never happens, but if Twilight Sparkle was to become corrupted and dangerous to all life in Equestria, with no way to revert her back to her original self, what would you do?” she asked sadly. At that moment he felt his throat lock up, as unlikely as the hypothetical scenario Celestia presented to him was, he had never even thought that was a possibility. “Th-that won’t happen! It couldn’t! Not to Twilight…she’s special!” Shining insisted. “So was Luna, but that didn’t prevent her emotions from getting the better or her. In fact, I believe that actually may have been what had drawn those nightmarish forces to her in the first place. All of her fears and insecurities made it easier for them to whisper in her ear and manipulate her actions.” Celestia's voice lowered to the point where it was just above a whisper. “If you were faced with a choice like that, to either imprison or kill your own sister to fulfill your duty, what would you do instead? No matter what decision you make, you would regret it for the rest of your life, justified or not. How would you deal with that guilt for century after century?” At this point Shining Armor had averted his gaze, opting to look at the floor rather than experience the guilt and shame he felt looking into her face. “It is true that my age, power and wisdom surpass many...but, I will be the first admit that I am not perfect. Contrary to what many of Equestria’s citizens may have led themselves to believe, I make mistakes and sometimes my emotions do get the best of me,” She continued, placing a hoof to her neck as she lowered her head and closed her eyes with a solemn expression. “I-I’m sorry…” Shining stuttered as a new wave of guilt began to wash over him. “No,” she replied, looking back at him. “It is I who should apologize, I realize that after your ordeal that you are understandably upset and were just venting. One of the points you’ve made with Luna is still a sensitive topic for me and I am truly sorry for my overreaction. Even after a thousand years I have not been able to condition myself to keep all of my emotions in check one hundred percent of the time.” “So do you have any news on Cadence?” Flash asked, trying to break the awkward silence. “Yes, thanks to you and Shining Armor, Cadence is still alive and undergoing one of her surgeries,” She replied. “Wait, ‘one of’?” he repeated. “Just how much damage did that thing do?” “I have the top medical professionals in Equestria operating on her and monitoring her between surgeries, however much like the procedures themselves the body is a complicated thing-even more so among Alicorns, and Cadence is barely twenty years of age, which means her body isn’t fully matured so the regeneration of damaged tissue is more unpredictable,” She explained. “But, you can just use your magic to heal her, right?” Shining asked, hopefully. “I could,” She conceded. “However, I am neither knowledgeable nor experienced enough in medicine to risk tampering in a field like this, especially given my niece’s delicate condition, a single slip-up may cost her life.” “Yeah,” Shining sighed before turning to Flash. “I get it, magic takes a lot of concentration especially with the more advanced spells. Twiley always used to get mad when she was trying to practice and I’d hammer something together to help Dad for ruining her concentration.” “I will learn as much as I can on the subject, in case things take a turn for the worse,” Celestia continued before turning to Flash again. “We still don’t know why the changelings have attacked Canterlot, if it was planned or just a group’s desperation for a quick meal, I need you to take a small group and discover anything you can about them.” “Okay, but why are you telling me…I mean Shining Armor’s still Captain, isn’t he?” “Yes, but in his current shape he is in no condition to carry out this task. We need to know why they attacked, what they are planning, and where they will strike next so we may be prepared. Shining Armor will be temporarily relieved from duty until he is well again.” --- Shining Armor’s thoughts were cut off as soon as something collided with his head, knocking him out of his nostalgic reverie. “Ha! Ha! Whoops, sorry about that!” A raspy female voice giggled as he looked down at the ball that had hit him. The mare that had launched the projectile was unlike anything he had ever seen before, she was a cyan Pegasus with magenta eyes and a rainbow mane. “Hey, you mind kickin’ it over?” she asked. He did as instructed, only to have his ribs groan in protest at the strenuous activity. The ball went sailing through the air before she bounced it off her head. “So, you’re Twilight’s brother, huh?” she asked still bouncing the ball. “I could tell by your Cutie Mark…Twi has that star-thing, too.” ‘What is she, part seal?’ he thought to himself as he noticed the perfect balance she had kept while keeping the ball perfectly balanced of her nose when she got tired before returning to bouncing it off of her head. “Uh, yeah…Shining Armor.” He replied. “You?” “Name’s Rainbow Dash!” she exclaimed proudly, while keeping her focus on the ball. “Future Wonderbolt and Equestria ball-bouncing record holder!” It was at this point that he could hear voices overhead, particularly another raspy one-only this sounded like it belonged to a male. Two Pegasi dropped down before them the one ahead of the other appeared to be the leader. He had a brown coat, a light grey mane, and a Cutie Mark in the shape of a dumbbell. “What’s up…uh, Rainbow Crash!” another jeered. This one had a light brown coat and a mane that obscured his eyes, he also had three basketballs for his Cutie Mark. The first one hit him upside the head. “Hoops you idiot!” he shouted. “You have to rotate your insults otherwise she’ll get use to them.” He then turned back to Rainbow Dash, who had stopped bouncing her ball to glare at the newly arrived duo. “What’s up, Rainbow Dyke?” “I don’t know. How are things with you…Dumb-Bell?” she growled in response. “Do you two know each other?” Shining asked, seeing the way that the two were glaring at each other. “Oh, are you her new coltfriend?” Dumb-Bell cracked noticing Shining Armor. “It’s funny. You’re so butch you almost look like a stallion!” “And where is the other one?” she asked. “We kicked him out,” He replied coolly. “Oh, so he finally realized how lame you guys are?” Dash shot back. “No. Ever since you created that ‘Sonic Rainboom’ last year, Score got a crush on you. Sorry, we tried telling him that you’re a dyke that cheated with the help of that Unicorn friend that cast that cloud-walking spell, but he just won’t listen to reason.” Shining Armor noted the fact that while speaking about having a crush on Rainbow Dash, Hoops’ face appeared to be turning slightly red. “Well, it’s good to hear his taste in mares has improved. Here I thought he was only interested in you two.” “Funny.” Dumb-Bell remarked dryly. “What are you two losers doing here anyway?” she challenged. “Boss says you’re fired.” Dumb-Bell replied, grinning sadistically. “Yeah right,” Dash retorted. “Who could possibly replace someone as awesome as me? I’m the most efficient weather manager Cloudsdale has ever had!” “Thunderlane.” Dumb-Bell replied, enjoying the mixed look of anger and dismay that contorted Rainbow Dash’s face. “THUNDERLANE!?” she shouted in outrage. “That stupid, lazy…” “Not as lazy as you Rainbow Trash!” Dumb-Bell laughed. “He wants to see you in his office tomorrow morning so he can make it official.” He then gave a few experimental flaps of his wings before taking of into the air again. “Hey, Rainbow Dash?” Hoops asked, scratching his foreleg nervously. “Sorry about your job…I mean we give you a hard time, but you know we don’t mean it…right?” The death glare she shot him caused him to take off like a bat out of Tartarus.