The Luna Shift

by GJT_Productions

Faithfulness

AT CANTERLOT GENERAL HOSPITAL...

"Captain incoming!" a posted Upper Class Guard says as Guard Captain Gibraltar entered the hospital room where the unconscious Princess Luna had been admitted to - both rank privileges and the importance of the patient had allowed the bypassing of usual policies regarding patient visitations. Lieutenant Captains Fidelitas and Shining Armor, having agreed between themselves to stay beside Luna until they were ordered otherwise, both stood up and saluted as Gibraltar enters the room.

"At ease, you two. How is she?" Gibraltar states, his tired face creased even more with the efforts of worry as he observes Luna in the hospital bed. The moon princess looks peacefully asleep, and her breathing is the only other sound to be heard in the room besides the regular beep of a heart monitor.

"The nurse says she's stable, but she'll be out for some time yet. We've decided to stay here until she awoke or you ordered us otherwise, sir." Shining Armor reports.

"I see. Well, that's a load off my mind." Gibraltar states, the creasing on his face becoming slightly less pronounced. He then turns and speaks to the pair of Upper Class Guards posted at the door of the room: "Did you two hear that report?"

"Yes sir." one of the guards replies.

"Good, I want one of you to return to the castle and relay the news to Princess Celestia doubletime! As soon as the news is relayed, return to your post, also on doubletime." Gibraltar orders.

"Going right now, sir." the guard that had not spoken previously now states, quickly followed by a fast rhythm of clip-clopping hooves that echo through the otherwise quiet hospital corridor.

"Confound it all! I knew this was going to happen right from when she got that crazy idea..." Gibraltar growls out in frustration as the clip-clopping noise fades away. After a moment, he shakes his head and lets out a snort.

"I'm sorry, sir." Shining responds in a weak attempt to be apologetic.

"Oh on the contrary, there's nothing for either of you to be sorry about." Gibraltar quickly corrects. "This was entirely the result of Her Highness being stubborn. Fortunately, Princess Celestia seems to have been scared into seeing reason. She has told me she'll continue the moon-raising duties until Luna feels she is ready to take the duty on again."

"That's all good to know, sir, but what are we to do now?" Fidelitas asks the Captain.

"I'm going off duty - this day has gone on too long already. Fidelitas, you are free to return to quarters at your own discretion - the guards posted outside should be enough protection for the princess. Shining, you have operational authority for the night - don't worry about your paperwork, I've already ordered the Lieutenants to do what they can themselves and then bring it to me for processing at the end of the shift. Luna must come first, you understand." Gibraltar explains.

"I understand, sir. Have a good night, sir." Shining answers with a salute.

"I'll try, Shining, but there's no guarantees." Gibraltar states as the weariness descends over his face again. He turns and takes a few steps toward the exit before stopping again.

"Something wrong, sir?" Fidelitas asks when Gibraltar stops in his tracks.

"I almost forgot something." Gibraltar says, turning back to face the two Lieutenant Captains and managing a glimmer of a smile before continuing: "I'm very proud of both of you. Something even worse could've happened had you two not intervened when you did. As soon as I get a chance in the morning, I'm entering commendations for gallantry in both of your records."

"Thank you sir!" both Fidelitas and Shining Armor say almost simultaneously.

"I'm really the one that should be giving thanks here, you two. Now, to bed. I have a feeling tomorrow is as going to be as long a day as today was. Good night." Gibraltar replies as he finally exits the room, the weariness finally breaking through in the pace of his walking.

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Once the echo of Gibraltar's hoofsteps faded out, the room was silent again save for Luna's quiet breathing and the beep of the heart monitor. Shining Armor and Fidelitas are sitting beside each other watching the unconscious Luna.

"Wow, operational authority. That means you're the highest authority in the division right now - several hundred ponies, at least." Fidelitas says to break the awkward silence.

"I won't lie, sir, I'm a little nervous right now." Shining replies.

Fidelitas chuckles a bit before speaking again: "You don't have to call me 'sir' anymore, remember? We're equal in rank now - partners, not superior and subordinate."

Shining blushes and looks down for a few moments before speaking again: "I know what this mission means - not just for me, but for all of Equestria. Twily... that spark she had saved us all, pulled Luna out of that darkness. Now Celestia trusts me to keep her out of that darkness. But... am I alone in this?"

Fidelitas edges over to beside Shining, and puts a foreleg around his back. When Shining looks over at his fellow Lieutenant Captain, he is asked how long he had served as Fidelitas' subordinate.

"Let's see... I was transferred to your command in Canterlot after the mandatory field tour following Academy, so... four years?" Shining hesitantly answers.

"Give or take a few months." Fidelitas acknowledges. "But in those four years, I've seen you're different than every other stallion in the Guard. And I don't just mean because of your little sister and that Princess Cadance is your marefriend. There's this... 'air' about you, Shining. It's the same kind of 'air' the Princesses have. It's the same kind of 'air' your sister has. It's... a feeling you can reach a higher tier than the rest of us, I really can't explain it any other way. And that's why I can believe you can succeed. You'll go farther than I, or any other pony in the Guard for that matter, ever could. Not just because of who you know, but because of who you are."

"You really think so?" Shining Armor asks after a moment's hesitation.

"I know so. We all have moments where we can show who we really are, and what we can achieve. Your moment has come now. My moment came on my second field tour."

"I remember hearing of that. 'The magic beam that could cut through anything' - that's your special talent. It saved the entire North Division command."

"Just about anything - you and your sister are the only non-alicorns that have ever been able to block it, with that shielding spell. But yes, it did save a lot of lives once. First year of my second field tour - that was my fourth year of service, you started Academy and your sister became Celestia's apprentice the same year."

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EIGHT YEARS AGO...

The location was the Northern Division HQ, a small wood and stone fortress surrounded by walls, placed at the head of a frigid valley to watch for the return of King Sombra and the Crystal Empire - supposedly. Most of the garrison didn't believe in Sombra or the Crystal Empire and thought those were just a cover story for building a fort in the middle of some of the coldest climes known to ponykind.

One of the worst blizzards in many years had struck, cutting the HQ from both resupply and communication with its outposts around the northern Equestrian frontier. Fidelitas, then a Guard Upper Class, was one of the soldiers trapped in the fort during that storm. In command was the Northern Division Captain, a unicorn named Ursus.

"It's no use, Captain. The headwinds are too strong, there's no way the couriers could reach us with fresh supplies." a scouting pegasus, half-frozen from being out in the storm, reported through his chattering teeth.

"Then we'll have to stretch what we have. Everypony will go on half rations until the storm subsides." Captain Ursus states, followed by a chorus of reluctant acknowledgement among the guards in the fort.

The sound of the howling wind outside came to dominate again, then there was a small rumbling underhoof. This rumbling grew louder and stronger...

"Earthquake?" one of the guards suggested.

"AVALANCHE! Everypony brace for impact!" the Captain shouts out as the rumbling grows into a roar that overpowers the sound of the wind.

Within seconds, the avalanche front hits the fort, causing a jolt that knocks several ponies off-balance. The rumbling continues for a number of seconds, plunks of debris bouncing off the stones of the fort mixed in, before finally subsiding and the wind whistling again becoming the predominant sound.

"Status report!" the Captain roars out.

"No serious injuries sir, just a few bumps and bruises." comes the voice of one guard.

"We have structural damage, sir!" comes another guard's voice.

"Get me a damage report. Also, try to see how much got buried." the Captain orders.

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In an annex of the fort, a Lieutenant gives his report: "No injuries, but we believe the complex has sustained serious structural damage. Several walls were cracked by debris impacts, and it's been reported the roof is cracking in places from the snow load. The main door leading out of the fort is completely blocked by snow, trying to open it resulted in a drift falling inside."

"You mean we're completely buried?!" Captain Ursus exclaims in shock. The others in the annex - the Lieutenant Captain and several Upper Class Guards, including Fidelitas - exchange worried glances.

"It looks like it, sir. It seems the entire side of the valley slid down. We can't even get outside to observe the full extent of the damage - besides the main door being blocked, our observation deck was smashed by the avalanche debris and the stairs leading up to it filled with snow. We'll have to tunnel through the snowbank outside the main door if we want anything to get in - or out."

The ominousness of the Lieutenant's warning is enhanced by the sudden sound of cracking. Looking up, the assembled group sees cracks beginning to spread across the stone roof.

"The roof is too weak for the snow load it's being asked to bear. If that thing comes down on top of us, we won't make it through the storm. We'll need to evac to whatever parts of the complex aren't too badly damaged and wait for the storm to pass. Guard Upper Class Fidelitas?" the Captain states to the group before turning to face Fidelitas.

"Yes, sir?" Fidelitas says with a slow salute.

"Will you be able to cut through the snowbank with your magic sword?"

"I believe so sir, but I don't know how far I'll need to go before I break through. It could be minutes, it could be hours, sir."

"Then get started as soon as you can. Cut a channel big enough to evac through straight out the main door until you hit open air. And I know you'll need a team both to clear away the snow and keep the channel open. In order to have enough authority to perform the operation, I'm giving you a field promotion to Lieutenant and assigning two Upper Classes as the team leaders. I promise, if you get us out of this situation, you will finish your field tour a full officer. You understand, Lieutenant Fidelitas?"

"Yes sir, I do."

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The entry area of the fort was chilled from the mound of snow in front of the opened main doors. A wall of snow faces Fidelitas and those under his command outside the open door. Fidelitas grimly ascends to the top of the snowpile. His horn glows a silver-gray, then a thick, laser-like beam colored the same way slowly forms around the horn. This beam extends several feet straight out in front of Fidelitas.

The two teams, and Captain Ursus, watch as Fidelitas positions himself at the top of the snow mound and the beam begins slicing into the snow wall. After Fidelitas makes a cut into the pack big enough to move around in, which takes a few minutes, the teams get to work, one expanding the initial hole by digging while the other placing reinforcing props to prevent the tunnel from collapsing.

It's cold, tedious, numbing work that seems to take hours, but finally Fidelitas breaks through to the storming outside and the evacuation begins. The sense of urgency is compounded by the cracking ceiling and walls of the fort - breaking through outside revealed a very large slide had indeed buried the complex under mounds of snow, the only things still visible above the pack are some watchtowers that are the target point of the evacuation.

The evacuation proceeds without significant problem until the end, after the Lieutenant Captain had exited with the last group of guards to evacuate. Captain Ursus was still inside the complex, searching for anypony that might have been missed. The rumbling started again, and Fidelitas sees both the escape tunnel and the area where the complex had stood collapsed into mounds of snow-covered rubble.

The storm was still howling, and Fidelitas was worn out from the effort, his hooves cold and numb. Nevertheless, he broke for the extended rubble pile, only to be psychokinetically tugged back by his tail. The Lieutenant Captain was doing the tugging, and his expression was a sad grimness.

"Sir, the Captain was still in there! I have to try to find him in case he's still alive!" Fidelitas shouts over the howling wind and snow.

"No Lieutenant, even if he survived the collapse we don't have any way of treating his injuries. I'm the Acting Captain now, and I can't afford to lose you trying to tunnel into that debris pile!" the Lieutenant Captain responds at the same shouting level.

"I have to at least try, sir! Remember what they taught us at Academy? 'No pony left behind'?" Fidelitas pleads.

The Lieutenant Captain considers the plea, his fierce eyes focused on the sad, pleading expression of Fidelitas as the storm continues raging around them both.

"... Take a small team with you. If you find him, bring him to Evac Point B. Don't dig into the pile alone." the Lieutenant Captain finally decides.

"Thank you sir!" Fidelitas exclaims as a small, hopeful smile spreads across his face.

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BACK IN THE PRESENT DAY...

"'No pony left behind'... I guess that's why you're here, telling me this story." Shining Armor stated with a smile on his face.

"Exactly. To finish this long story, my team and I managed to get Captain Ursus out of the rubble, but the injuries he sustained in that collapse forced him into early retirement. I think he's living in Baltimare now." Fidelitas concludes.

"Did they ever figure out what caused the slide?"

"No. It was whispered that Sombra caused it trying to escape his imprisonment. I didn't believe the whole story about King Sombra and the Crystal Empire, but now with Luna here, I'm not so sure it's just a story anymore..." Fidelitas answers, looking over at the sleeping Luna.

"I can imagine." Shining says through a chuckle, blissfully unaware that one day he would become part of that "legend" himself.

"There's a lot of beliefs that are being challenged, and I think some are going to oppose you because they prefer the status quo. But we can't go back to that. And it's important that you know who is with you and who is against you on this. And I am proud to give my sword beside your shield in helping out Luna."

"Thanks, Fidelitas. That means a lot to me." Shining replies through a smile, the first true one ever since he had arrived in the hospital with Princess Luna...

Comments

[ParadigmShift]

Moaaarrrr..

[i_am_the_jam]

Odd, I thought I faved this too...

[Starfall13]

More plz..

[dawn seeker]

love it