Shining Dash

by Ianpiersonjdavis

Preparation

Sunset emerged from her room to see Flash passing by in the hall.

“Have you been up since last night?” she asked.

“No, why?”

“Well, Celestia just raised the sun like, fifteen minutes ago and I didn’t think anyone else besides me and the Princesses would be up.” She replied.

“I’m a guard.” He reminded her. “I’ve been trained to keep a very strict sleep regimen-even if I’ve been awake longer than usual.”

“Wait, so you…were waiting for me last night?”

“Yeah, the Captain returned with a mare from Ponyville-Rainbow Dash.”

“Which one is she again?” Sunset asked, remembering that name as one of Twilight Sparkle’s closest friends.

“Uh, the Pegasus with the rainbow mane.” Flash replied.

“Yeah, I know that-I’m not an idiot. I mean, which Element of Harmony does she represent?”

“Oh, that-I think it was either Honesty or Loyalty…at least I’m pretty sure it was one of those two.” Flash continued, tapping a hoof to his chin thoughtfully.

“I’ve never had much use for either.” Sunset muttered before she began walking down the hall with Flash beside her.

“Sunset, if you don’t mind me asking-what were you and the Princess talking about last night?”

She was silent as they continued walking.

“Sunset?” Flash repeated, concerned.

They stopped.

“Celestia and I talked about the night that I ran away…she forgave me, said that she was willing to take me back under her wing as student.” Sunset replied, staring down at one of the tiles on the floor.

“That’s good, isn’t it?”

“You don’t understand…” She continued, barely above a whisper.

“What don’t I understand?” Flash pressed.

“For years I’ve believed that Celestia was withholding knowledge from me to torture me or exert her superiority over me somehow, but after our talk last night-it was the first time that it ever occurred to me that I might have been…wrong.”

“Okay, so you made a mistake.” Flash replied. “Everyone does-even Princess Celestia has admitted to make them every now and then.”

“Yeah, but that one assumption has shaped so much of who I am today-I’ve done many terrible things before you met me Flash Sentry.”

“Like what?”

Flash asked cautiously.

“I’ve stolen, sold drugs-even done a few, but I’ve also killed-it was always in self-defense, though!” she quickly added upon seeing the alarm in Flash’s expression.

“At least, until the Changelings abducted me in my sleep…after that something just snapped and I wanted nothing more than for them suffer-that’s when I burned down the hive they had me imprisoned in.” Sunset continued.

“But, you were still their prisoner and they were trying to kill you.” Flash reasoned.

“Yeah, but a big part of me enjoyed seeing them suffer, writhing in agony as my magical flames consumed them, hearing their screeches of agony as their last breaths.” She continued.

“That’s why I think there’s something wrong with me-at first, I blamed Celestia for twisting me into this sadistic monster, but now I’m worried that I was always like this-and that I’ll always be like this.”

“Sunset, why are you telling me this?” Flash asked softly.

“I don’t know…I guess I’m worried about what Celestia’s reaction will be if I tell her-especially now that we’re on good terms again, but also because even though when we first met, despite the way I treated you-you didn’t shun me, try to kill me, or lock me up.” She replied.

“I know how pathetic this sounds, but it’s easy to forget that there are good people when you’ve spent so long living on the streets and being a cold-hearted bitch had served me pretty well on that end, if I’m being perfectly honest.”

“Sunset…” he was about to put a hoof on her shoulder to reassure her before hesitating a moment, but ultimately decided to do it anyway.

“I don’t think of you as any of those things…when I first met you, you reminded me a lot of myself-someone who’s angry and hurt and has made a lot of mistakes in their life.” Flash confessed. “And I think the fact that you’re worried about this behavior makes you the opposite of a monster because you acknowledge these problems and you want to work to fix them.”

“Yeah…” Sunset agreed, softly.

“Why don’t we get some breakfast?” Flash suggested.

And with that, the two of them continued to the dining hall as Flash inwardly felt relieved that Sunset was beginning to open up to him more.

---

“Princess Luna, I appreciate the threat that the Changelings pose towards Equestria, but can we please stop or at least take a break?” Twilight pleaded. “We’ve been working practically nonstop for the past week! How can I help defend Canterlot if my magic is completely burnt out from all of this training?”

“You…make a fair point, Twilight Sparkle.” Luna conceded.

“My sister has great faith in you and my gratitude for helping me adapt to this modern age has not diminished-we are merely concerned for your well-being.”

“Is that the royal ‘we’ or are speaking for Princess Celestia as well?” Twilight asked, slyly.

Luna chuckled.

“I see that the intensity of your training and studies have not diminished your wit. And if I am not mistaken, there are a few visitors here to see you.”

Twilight turned around to see two ponies approach her.

“Shining Armor!” she exclaimed joyfully as she jumped onto the stallion, who tried catching her before their combined weight sent them both toppling to the floor.

“Twiley, you should know by now you’re too big to jumping on your big brother like that.” He playfully chastised.

“That reminds me,” she replied, getting up with a scowl. “Why didn’t you tell me you and Cadance were dating?”

“Well, it’s kind of complicated…” he replied, massaging the back of his neck with a hoof. “I mean, I’m already Captain of the Guard and you can imagine what others might think if our relationship became public knowledge.”

“Wait, how have you kept it a secret for this long?” Twilight asked, suspiciously. “I mean any real date in public would have been covered by a journalist or paparazzi.”

“Let’s just say, for being the Princess of Love-Cadance can be surprisingly mischievous.” Shining laughed.

“Yes, it would seem that our niece has learned quite a few of my sister’s personality traits.” Luna agreed.

“That reminds me; I haven’t seen Cadance since I’ve been back in Canterlot and every time I ask Luna or Celestia they just tell me not to worry and focus on my training and studies-but, how can I not be worried? She was my foalsitter for pony’s sake!”

“Hey, Twiley relax.” Shining reassured her calmly. “I spoke with her last night, there was an accident when the Changelings attacked, but she’s fine now-I promise, right now she just needs to rest.”

“I believe there is another here to see you as well.” Luna spoke, jerking her head in the direction of Rainbow Dash.

“Rainbow Dash!?” Twilight exclaimed in a mixture of joy and confusion. “What are you doing in Canterlot!? Where are Spike and the other girls? Did Princess Celestia summon you?”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Dash exclaimed putting up a hoof. “Slow down, the others are back in Ponyville because we thought we were under a time crunch, and we came here to tell Princess Celestia about the Changelings that were kidnapping and impersonating people in Cloudsdale and Ponyville.”

“WHAT!?” Twilight shrieked. “That’s terrible! What about our friends, do they know?”

“Yeah, we told the Mayor and she said that she’ll talk to the officials at Cloudsdale and warn everyone in Ponyville-the Changelings that we know about are locked up tight.”

“That is…troubling.” Luna frowned. “I shall personally bring word of this news to my sister, Captain.”

“Thanks,” Shining replied. “I didn’t want to be rude, but we rushed all the way here only to be stuck waiting all night.”

“Yes, the business with Sunset Shimmer.” Luna recalled.

“Who’s Sunset Shimmer?” Twilight asked, “I’ve never heard of her before.”

“Neither have I.” Shining added.

“I would not think so.” Luna continued. “My sister spoke of her to me the eve you freed my from my Nightmare form, Sunset Shimmer was her personal student before you, however, much like myself, her pride and ambition led her astray…undoubtedly her return would have been an opportunity my sister saw to rectify past mistakes.”

“Yeah, I keep hearing that name, but I’ve never been able to place it.” Shining replied.

“Sunset Shimmer was quite a prominent and gifted student, my sister cared for her very much and it is likely that the subject was too painful for her to speak about…she has an unfortunate tendency to keep things bottled up that would make her appear vulnerable to her subjects so as not to alarm them.” Luna explained.

“If I recall correctly, even the revelation that we were siblings came as quite a shock to a fair few once I reverted from Nightmare Moon.”

“Captain, would you mind accompanying me to the throne room so we may inform my sister of the situation spreading throughout Equestria regarding these Changelings?”

“Of course, Princess.” Shining replied before following her to the throne room, leaving Twilight and Rainbow Dash alone.

“So, I see you met my brother.” Twilight commented.

“Yeah, he’s pretty cool.” Dash replied.

“I just don’t understand Princess Celestia’s though process….” Twilight sighed.

“Huh?”

“Well, in the past when she needed us to deal with threats like Nightmare Moon and Discord we used the Elements of Harmony, but now she and Luna are training me…to take on a whole army or magical shape-shifters!?” Twilight continued.

“Well, maybe she just has a lot of faith in you-I mean you’re better at magic than any Unicorn I’ve ever met…besides, maybe she thinks we’re using the Elements as some kind of crutch?”

“Yeah-wait, what?”

“I said; ‘Maybe Princess Celestia thinks that we’re using the Elements of Harmony as some kind of crutch?’ and she wants us to learn to solve problems without them?” Dash repeated.

“No, I mean how do you know that terminology?” Twilight clarified.

“Well, duh-I’m not an idiot, Twi-if you ever paid attention to sports, some teams that I’ve grown up watching over the years have one signature play and if that fails, then sometimes that means their out of options, I thought that was called a crutch?”

“I guess you have a point, I mean if they Elements ever become lost or stolen again, then we’d be out of options…” Twilight muttered to herself.

“So, what’s your take on this Sunset Shimmer?” Dash asked, casually.

“Well, I really can’t say anything for certain until I’ve actually met her…”

“But?” Dash prompted.

“But, it sounds like she has lot in common with Luna-I mean the Princess certainly sounded sympathetic when she was speaking with her, I just feel terrible knowing that Princess Celestia had to go through all of that a second time after Nightmare Moon.”

“Yeah, that really sucks.” Dash agreed. “But, are you sure we can trust her?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean we don’t know very much about her, she could be working with the Changelings-or even one of them! And as powerful as Celestia is-she still has feelings, right?”

“Where are you going with this?” Twilight asked, suspiciously.

“Look, I’m not trying to accuse anyone of anything-but, I just want to point out that it’s possible that she could be a Changeling, that’s trying to feed off of Celestia to weaken her and make itself stronger.”

“That’s pretty paranoid.”

“Maybe.” Dash agreed. “But, we already found out that these things feed on love for power and with someone as old and powerful as Celestia, that could be a problem-especially when we’re up against a race of shape-shifters and an old student of hers just happens to come back out of the blue while we’re at war with these thing? I’m not buyin’ it.”

“All right,” Twilight reluctantly sighed. “We’ll keep an eye on her just to see if she’s exhibiting any suspicious behavior, but until then we won’t say or do anything rash-that goes double for you, Rainbow Dash.”

“Hey! Why are you singling me out?” Dash demanded.

“Because I know how impulsive you are.”

---

“Thank you for bringing this to my attention.” Celestia spoke. “I will send guards to both Ponyville and Cloudsdale to retrieve these Changelings.”

“And then what?” Shining pressed.

“I do not know.” She admitted. “So far the only thing I can do is contain them to prevent them from spreading any more chaos throughout Equestria-I do not believe in torture-even if I did, Sunset Shimmer has told me all I needed to know regarding their plans and while I am willing to do whatever it takes to protect my subjects, I am also sympathetic to the Changelings’ plight.”

“Wait,” Shining then had an idea. “Princess Luna, you watch over the dreams of ponies, right?”

“Shining Armor, I appreciate what you are inferring-but I believe that if these creatures knew of an alternative food supply, they would have sought it out by now.” Luna replied.

“Well after finding out about their dependence on live, it wouldn’t feel right to kill them just for doing what they need to do to survive-or order others to do the same.” Shining sighed.

“Watching an entire species starve into extinction is not something I’m too thrilled about, either.” Celestia agreed.

“Luna, I understand your reservation, but we would be eternally grateful if you would look for an alternative solution for these creatures to feed without harming our citizens-someone, somewhere must know of an alternative feeding method.”

“Very well, sister.” Luna replied. “I can only promise to do my best.”

“That is all we ask.”

Luna then took her leave as Shining Armor and Celestia looked at each other.

“Princess, I realize this might not be the best time, but have you spoken to Cadance at all today?”

“I have, and I believe you will be pleased to learn that she is doing quite well-in fact, the doctors are allowing her leave her room, now.”

“That’s good.” Shining sighed in relief.

“How is she feeling?”

“Quite well, it’s almost as if she were never injured in the first place except…something’s missing.”

“Missing?” Shining repeated.

“Her personality seems incomplete, she smiles and laughs as she always had but, I know my niece-she seems…sorrowful, as if she lost something important.”

Shining Armor felt his heart stop.

What would Celestia’s reaction be if she found out about their break up? Did she already know about it? Had Cadance said anything to her about it?

“Did…did she say anything about us?” Shining asked.

“No, she has not-whatever has been going on in your relationship is your own private business, I merely let Cadance know that I am always willing to listen if she needs to talk.”

Shining felt his heart-rate return to normal, but began having feelings of guilt creeping in.

Was she still feeling bad about the break up?

“Princess, I have…sort of a confession to make.” Shining sighed.

“Oh?”

“Yeah…you see, Cadance and I-we…sort of broke up.”

“I see.”

“Yeah, but it’s a bit more complicated than that-you see; after she found out that I got hurt she sent me a letter to break up with me because she’s worried about me staying alive as a guard, so when I came back to Canterlot last night we talked to each other about it because being a guard has always been my dream and it makes me happy, but now she feels guilty for it.” He explained.

“Well, that would certainly explain why Cadance is so hesitant to talk about it.” Celestia replied.

“Yeah, I could talk to her again and see if I could make her feel better…” Shining offered.

“I would be grateful for that, and even if you are unsuccessful I’m sure Cadance would appreciate the sentiment.”

“Princess Luna said that Twilight can take a break from her studies and magic, right?”

“That is correct, as she pointed out, without proper rest, her magic won’t be of much use when the Changelings invade.”

“I’m sorry, ‘when’?”

“That’s correct, Sunset Shimmer has informed me that the Changeling Queen herself plans a siege on Canterlot in an attempt to overpower and dethrone me-that is why there have been no other large scale Changeling attacks.” Celestia explained.

“And you want Twiley to fight with us?”

“I would rather settle matters through a peaceful debate however, what Sunset has told me does not inspire confidence for such a scenario and I am certain that both of us would like to have Twilight’s safety ensured if the worst case scenario were to occur.”

“If her safety were the main concern, then why have her here in Canterlot at all?” Shining frowned. “It’s not that I don’t trust you Princess it’s just-this is my baby sister we’re talking about here.”

“As an older sibling I understand your concerns, but the truth of the matter is there are important things Twilight needs to learn if the worst shall happen to befall us.”

“But, there’s still Luna and Cadance if you-” his sentence was cut short as the implications of ‘worst case scenario’ finally sunk in.

“How long do we have until the Changelings show up?” he asked, shakily.

“Three days, starting tomorrow.”

Shining Armor turned to leave before Celestia’s voice stopped him.

“And Shining Armor, I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell Twilight why Luna and I have been teaching and training her so aggressively-you know how she has a tendency to worry.”

Comments

[Rainbow87dash]

This gets better with each chapter! Keep up the fine work brony!

[REDD]

I dunno what to say... So here's a mouse dancing

stream1.gifsoup.com/webroot/animatedgifs3/2115255_o.gif

[moguera]

I would appreciate it if you didn’t tell Twilight why Luna and I have been teaching and training her so aggressively-you know how she has a tendency to worry.

Because being completely blindsided by a changeling invasion with no warning whatsoever is soooooo much better.

[Elsa Alicorn]

Awesome story! Keep up with it and upload soon, please!