//------------------------------// // 328 - Duty of Care // Story: Lateral Movement // by Alzrius //------------------------------// “We’ve searched the castle top to bottom,” announced Shining Armor as he moved to stand next to his wife. “They’re not here.” Cadance gave only a soft grunt of acknowledgment, staring out the window at Canterlot’s nighttime cityscape. While Shining Armor could appreciate the view – like most of Equestria’s major cities, Canterlot never truly slept, and on a clear night like this its bedazzling array of colored lights was a sight of behold – he doubted that Cadance’s mind was on the scenery. “I’m keeping most of the guards here just to be safe, but I’ve sent a squadron to the train station,” he continued. “They’re going to perform a manual search of every train there, and inspect all passengers before they board. The air-docks are going to be a bit harder, but I’ve sent messengers to post notices at each of them asking that takeoffs be delayed at least until morning. If those five try to leave Canterlot, we’ll find them.” “Maybe it’s better if we don’t.” Shining Armor frowned at Cadance’s reply, but in worry rather than consternation. Regret wasn’t something he heard in his wife’s voice very often, but it was there now. “What do you mean?” Finally dragging her eyes away from the window, Cadance gave him a mournful look. “I think we…no, I think I handled this all wrong.” Shining Armor didn’t say anything in reply, letting Cadance proceed at her own pace as she turned around and slunk over to the couch in the middle of the room. A glance from Shining Armor was all it took to make the guard that was by the exit nod and leave the room, closing the door and giving them some privacy. While it was slightly disconcerting to be in the same room that those five ponies had escaped from, the guard had checked it thoroughly – going so far as to remove the potted fern that had been in the corner – and declared the place secure. It was a small comfort, one that Shining Armor hoped marked the beginning of the end of the turmoil that had by now gone on for far too long. While he’d initially felt optimistic about tracking the fugitive ponies down quickly, it hadn’t happened. At first they seemed to have vanished entirely, only for a report to eventually come in that they’d been spotted exiting the castle. But he’d barely started to formulate a plan when the guard they’d left with Cozy, Aisle, and Pillowcase had come rushing in, saying that the fugitives had actually broken into where those three were being quartered…but that they hadn’t done anything to them. It had taken a few minutes to calm the guard down to the point where he’d been able to clearly explain exactly what had happened, since he’d started getting blubbery every time he’d tried to explain. Eventually, they’d managed to get the whole story out of him about how the ringleader of that gang had some sort of heart-to-heart moment with Cozy at Pillowcase’s urging, something which Cadance had been happy to hear. But once it had ended, those five had apparently slipped out again, still intent on sneaking back to Vanhoover, of all places. That had been enough to inflame Shining Armor’s suspicions; why, after all, keep trying to escape like that if their victims had forgiven them? It just didn’t make sense. To that end, he hadn’t called off the search. Instead, he’d personally taken command of it, while Cadance had stayed behind to talk with Cozy and her stallions some more. Worried that the reports of those five leaving the castle had been some sort of feint, and not wanting to take any chances where Cadance’s safety was concerned, he’d made confirming the castle’s security the top priority, sparing only modest resources toward trying to stop those ponies from potentially escaping Canterlot. It had been a frustrating decision, but there had been no helping it, not after what had happened to Cadance during the elemental bleeds… As it was, those five ponies didn’t have any pegasi in their group, and since Canterlot was built on top of a mountain that meant that there were only a few ways for them to leave the city. The most obvious was the train station, which was why he’d sent what guards he could spare there. The air-docks were another story. Made to receive zeppelins and airships, there were several of them scattered around the city, and unlike the train station they had no real oversight since they weren’t meant for the general public’s use, being owned and operated either by companies – mostly shipping outfits and cruise lines – or rich ponies who owned aircrafts as luxury items. Leaving the air-docks unguarded was a risk, but it was a calculated one. Shining Armor wasn’t a fan of flying (not that it made him airsick or anything, because it didn’t), but from what he knew piloting those things required a crew with specialized knowledge. That made it unlikely that the escapees would be able to hijack one and use it to escape, which was a good thing since there weren’t enough members of the Royal Guard to secure every aircraft at each dock. If everypony obeyed the notices and suspended any nighttime departures, that would eliminate the risk of them stowing away on an outbound flight, at least for a little while. Of course, another option was for him to use his magic and raise a force field around the city. But while that would have made any chance of their escaping the city nil, Shining Armor didn’t need to ask Cadance’s opinion to know that course of action was completely out of the question. Not only would such a thing have panicked the populace – Canterlot’s residents still remembered quite clearly how, the last time he’d done that, the changelings had broken in and attacked shortly afterward – but there wasn’t a doubt in his mind that the escaped ponies would immediately go to ground if they saw that. Canterlot was a big city, and the Royal Guard weren’t a large force; trying to flush them out would have been only slightly better than trying to find five needles in a haystack. All of which meant that, as frustrating as it was, the best bet was to watch the trains and wait for those five to make a mistake. Once they did, the guards would drag them back, and they’d be able to get some answers. On paper, it wasn’t a bad plan, but Shining Armor couldn’t help but feel slightly anxious all the same. A plan that relied on your opponents making a mistake was a plan that was guaranteed to fail if they didn’t. But he put that out of his mind as he sat down beside Cadance, waiting for her to say what was bothering her. It wouldn’t be very long, he knew; it wasn’t in her nature to hide her feelings. He was proven right a second later as she gave him a sad look. “I don’t think I treated those ponies with enough compassion,” she confessed. Shining Armor couldn’t help but raise his eyebrows at that. “‘Enough compassion’?” he echoed. “Cadance, you treated them with more compassion than anypony else would have. They confessed to murdering somepony, and not just anypony but somepony that we both know, and the worst thing you did was raise your voice to them. After that you had them wait in a place that could hardly be called uncomfortable,” he waved a hoof to indicate the extravagant room they were in, “and they still attacked a guard and ran away as soon as they could. None of this is your fault.” But Cadance was already shaking her head. “I didn’t try to convince them that everything was going to be alright. They told Cozy that they weren’t sure if some or all of them were going to be thrown into Tartarus or worse for what they did to Pillowcase, and that’s why they were escaping. I should have assured them that I’d never do that. But I was so worried about Cozy that I didn’t even consider their feelings.” Shining Armor put a foreleg around her. “I think you’re being too hard on yourself. Cozy’s a friend of yours, and she needed help calming down, so of course you put her first. And it’s not surprising that those five would be worried about what was going to happen to them, after what they did.” “You didn’t see the bonds of love between them.” Cadance leaned against him lightly as she spoke, still sounding remorseful. “Those ponies care about each other deeply. That’s why they were jumping in front of each other to confess: they were protecting each other.” “Or,” interjected Shining Armor, his voice gentle, “all five of them really are guilty.” “They aren’t. Not all of them.” Cadance heaved a sigh before explaining how she was so certain. “Pillowcase told me what happened to him.” “Oh…” “They were trying to protect each other when they all confessed,” repeated Cadance. “I knew it at the time, with how they were acting, and I could see how much they meant to each other. I should have known that they’d be afraid.” She gave another shake of her head. “This is all happening because I handled it wrong.” She finally looked over at him. “I’m not sure why they’d want to go back to Vanhoover after what Cozy and her stallions told me, but if that’s where they feel safest, maybe we should let them go.” Shining Armor was silent, taking a few moments to digest that before he spoke up again. “Have you heard anything from Celestia or Luna?” “No. Not yet.” “Then that means you’re in charge. If you think that letting them go is the right thing to do, then I’m with you one hundred percent.” “…and what if everything I’ve been saying is wrong?” There it is. It had been obvious to Shining Armor for a little while now that something was bothering Cadance. His wife wasn’t the type to mope like this; she was a pony of action. If she thought that she’d done something wrong, her instinct was to go out and try to fix it, not stare out the window in depression the way she had been when he’d come back. But while he’d had a pretty good idea about what was bothering her, he hadn’t been sure until just now. If she’s second-guessing herself about this, especially after everything she just said, then that means she’s thinking about before… Shining Armor licked his lips, letting out a slow breath. He didn’t want to revisit this; it was a painful memory for him, even if he knew it was worse for her. But he couldn’t stand the sight of his wife doubting herself like this. “Cadance, listen to me. This isn’t like what happened during the elemental bleed.” He felt her go rigid then, and counted it as a good thing when she didn’t pull away from him. “It might be.” “No, it’s not,” insisted Shining Armor. “You weren’t wrong to try and talk with those creatures. I was the one who should have done a better job protecting you when that didn’t work. If you want to talk things out with these runaway ponies now, I won’t make that same mistake again if they become hostile.” The intensive training he’d thrown himself into after what had happened would make sure of that. He’d worked harder to hone his physical and magical skills over the last few weeks than he had in the last several years, and he knew it wasn’t conceited to say that the results had been impressive. The next time something tried to attack his wife, nothing would stop him from placing himself between her and danger. “You didn’t fail to protect me,” murmured Cadance, her voice thick with emotion. She hadn’t found Lashtada until after it had happened, and it was thanks to the goddess’s love that she was able to talk about it at all now. Even so, the memory still tore at her heart, and she knew it was the same for Shining Armor. Neither of them had been able to bring themselves to confide in anyone about what had happened until recently; it had been that painful to recall. “I was the one who told you to focus on getting everypony to safety while I tried to resolve things peacefully.” “I still should have been there.” Shining Armor reached a hoof over, gently placing it on Cadance’s lower belly. “For both of you.”