//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Lover // Story: Friendship Prevails // by Purple Patch //------------------------------// “Hold them back!" The amethyst prisms flared with electricity as the zombies outside the borders of the Crystal Empire swarmed in their countless numbers, outstretched palms reaching out at their prey, gnashing, bloody jaws hungry for flesh. In fact, ‘swarm’ was the wrong word for it. It was honestly more like a tide, halted only by high walls and constant vigil. Shining Armour felt his brow baking under his helmet. Removing it a moment, he cast his eye out across the Empire’s defences. There was a deafening hum and the unicorn had just enough time to shield his eyes as blinding violet lightning shot down into the ground, tearing up the soil and the zombies that stood upon it. Crystal-operated technology was the best Equestria had. But whether it would be enough to weather down this foe grew more and more uncertain. Contact with Canterlot was necessary. And contact with his sister. His azure mane blowing in the breeze, he yelled out over the din of battle. “Geomagi! Assemble Aversion! Sunstone and Pearl! Now!” Unicorns in rich garb stood up on their towers. On one of them, a rotund but intimidating old stallion in shimmering cloth of gold and ochre lit up his horn and chanted a Crystalline incantation in a booming baritone, similarly-dressed adepts and initiates praying with him or tending to the massive crystals their namesake bore. Upon another tower, in very much the same fashion, a lithe young mare with colourless eyes and a veil of lustrous beads sung in a high, lilting hymn. There came a thunder from between the towers and a massive wave of magic erupted and thrummed across the field, over the undead tide. The effect was astounding. At least three dozen lines of the undead caught fire and fell, almost tiredly, to earth, dissipating into dust. The ground below them shone and shimmered with many colours, rippling like the surface of a bubble in the sunlight. The oncoming horde fell as they trod upon it and melted into nothing. They never screamed. When they died a second time it was as if they were ready for it. They fell as a pony would fall into long-deprived sleep. They almost seemed relieved to be free from this hell. The Sunstone-Pearl Geomagic had worked well. It would at least bide them sufficient time to set up full defences. Wiping his brow with the flat of his forearm, Shining Armour turned to his lieutenants. “Colonel Vale Tiger!” An earth pony mare with a slate-black coat mottled with silver spots and streaks saluted. “Hold the bulwark. We’re on full defensive. As far as possible keep our soldiers out of harm’s way. If they get through, hold the line by any means necessary.” “Right you are, Captain.” She nodded. “Commodore Comb Jelly!” A silver-blue male pegasus with steely purple eyes and dreadlocks tied with brightly-coloured beads of every colour of the rainbow saluted. “Muster up any air support available.” Shining Armour glanced at the near-blackened clouds and relentless lightning in the distance “It’s rough skies ahead but do whatever you can for as long as you can. We had word from Nitro Harmonic that a detachment of Wonderbolts are due to arrive led by Angel Wings, Ace Ray and Gilda. Make way for them and we should break free of this squall.” “Aye, sir.” he said with a salute. “Lord Rupicola!” A unicorn stallion bowed, a strange, stout, wild-eyed individual with a brilliant orange coat, his waxed, twisting tomato-red mane fashioned into an arching quiff-like plume over his head thanks to his opal coronet, his jet-black cape with a high collar and a bejewelled necklace denoting his rank and title. “Assemble the Geomagi, Crystal Monks and any other battle-mages at this point. Work closely. I don’t care about any old grudges, unpaid debts or crossing ideals they have with each other. The lives of every mare, stallion and foal in the Empire are at risk.” “As you command, Exalted One.” he said effetely with a bow. “I will be back soon. Keep me posted.” Shining turned and headed for the grand spire. “Captain! Captain!” Four young ponies approached, dressed in the armour of the city guard. The one that spoke was a pegasus, scarlet-coated with a scruffy blonde mane and anxious, milky eyes. The others wore face-concealing visors. “Soldier?” “Assassins! Conquest’s chosen! They broke into the spire, scaled its walls!” He caught his breath “They were heading for the royal chambers.” Shining’s blood ran cold. “Cadence...” he whispered “Flurry...” “Hurry, sir! We can take the lift!” Rushing to a great marble disc fastened to rose quartz nodes and a thin spiralling cylinder that made up the lift of the Crystal Spire. The five leapt aboard it as it gave a loud but serene swishing sound as it rose, faster and faster, heading fast up to the royal chambers. Shining’s chest and temples felt tight with anxiety. His fingers tightened at the hilt of his blade. He thought he heard a hiss of metal. Was that a knife? He’d realised he was alone with three ponies who hid their faces. “Is there something wrong, sir?” the red stallion asked tentatively. Shining Armour held up a gauntleted hand and tilted his head. “I have a question for all of you. It’s not a very hard question but I demand it answered right now.” “...Of course, sir.” One of them answered flatly. “Where were you posted two weeks and three days ago?” There was a pause. “I was on the Citrine Tower.” “I was on patrols down After-Eight Street.” “I was practicing lance-work in the garrison.” The red pegasus without a visor hadn’t answered. All three of the guards were lying. Two weeks and three days ago, Prince Fratello had been welcomed back into the Crystal Empire and Cadence had declared three days of celebration. The Geomagi had banded together to ensure the magical crystal constructs would take guard duty for the duration of the celebrations as each military service-pony was given the day off. Shining Armour put his helmet back on and checked his gauntlets. Despite all the finery of his armour, Shining Armour was actually one of the least gaudily-uniformed officers in the Crystal Empire. He preferred efficiency over flamboyance. Particularly in close quarters. He heard the hiss of a drawing blade. Just as the knife raised above the shoulder of the guard that held it, the fist of Captain-General-Emperor Shining Armour met his visor, crumpling the metal against his face and slamming him against the wall of the lift. Ducking as the other two sought to pick up where their comrade left off, Shining Armour slammed an elbow into the chest-plate. Before the retching guard even had time to fall to his knees, the Captain-General brought his knee up into his face. Turning, he saw the red pegasus wrestling with the last guard. “Shining Armour!” he yelled, trying to force the assassin’s knife out of his hand. The Captain-General rushed forward and delivered a heavy kick to his foe’s flailing leg. The guard roared in pain, his leg twisting at an unpleasant angle. The red stallion threw the assassin out at Shining who caught him and slammed him face-first into the lift-wall, leaving him sprawled out like a paper doll. The two stallions left standing breathed heavily and looked to each other. With a heady smile, Shining clapped his fellow on the shoulder. “Nice one.” he chuckled. “Th-thanks...” the stallion seemed to have reeled from the touch. He was hardly guard material. Maybe one of the fresh recruits. He’d certainly get something for saving the Captain-General’s life. The lift came to a stop. Crystal guards, unvisored ones, rushed forward. “If you’re gonna’ salute, don’t bother. Just get these three to lock-up and then back to your posts!” Shining Armour ordered, putting his helmet back on, and grabbed the red stallion by the shoulder “With me, kid.” They sprinted down the reflective corridors. If they were equine, they’d be galloping. Shining heard a whining skid as the red stallion behind him slipped and fell. He stopped, turning to the unfortunate private clambering out a corner. “It’s okay! You go!” he mumbled. Giving him a grateful nod, he rushed onward. Stopping just short of crashing into the door, he felt icy daggers slam into his heart, one after the other. The handle to the nursery door was broken. “Cadey!” he screamed as he threw it open “Flurry!” The nursery was empty. There was no sign of violence. But someone had written something on the walls. Big bold letters in red. THIEF His fingers shaking in his gauntlets, the sound of his boots on the marble floor the only sound in the room. Shining Armour threw off his helmet and fell to his knees beside the empty cradle of his baby daughter. “No...no, no, no, no, no...” he whimpered. ‘Not good enough!’ There were many moments in his life he remembered hating himself. The abduction of his wife and the impersonation he’d allowed Chrysalis to play with him, nearly breaking his little sister’s heart in the process. Letting Fratello die, watching as the life of the brother he’d never had faded away, not even allowed to mourn him. Not being there when his little sister died fighting for everything she loved. And now, his baby was gone. “Shining Armour?” he heard the red stallion’s voice. He shook his head, fighting to expunge the biting doubts and curses from his head. He needed to focus. “Quickly,” the Captain-General was trying to brush his mane out his cold, sweaty brow “Get in touch with the Princesses. Tell the Heartstone Wardens to make contact with-” Clang! With a cry of pain and a crash of metal, Shining Armour was bowled over, knocking over the cradle and hitting the painted wall. Blood ran from a gash in the side of his temple, running down his brow, shutting one eye. Fighting to regain his balance, Shining stared up at the red stallion who’d struck him across the skull with his own helmet. He was staring at the Captain-General with cold, murderous eyes. Shining cursed himself, finding another moment when he did so. He’d made a serious lapse of perception. On the lift, his attacker had called him ‘Shining Armour’. Anypony who knew him well would have just called him ‘Shining’ and anypony who didn’t would have referred to him by a title. He’d slipped on the marble floor. Crystal ponies, or at least those who spent a long time in their Empire, never did that. And he’d never even answered the question when the other guards did. He had his opportunity and he took it. “You...” Shining mumbled “Wha...What’s Conquest done to my baby?!” “He doesn’t have your baby. Unfortunately for her.” The red stallion hissed and slammed the rising Shining up against the wall, grabbing him by the collar. The helmet in his hand clouted the Captain-General again and again. Raw hatred burned in every strike. “You lost! You hear me!” he growled “You lost what was most precious to you! I’m gonna’ take that from you! Then we’ll be even!” “Who...Who are you?!” “Who am I?” The pegasus clutched Shining by the hair of his cheeks and stared into his eyes. Memories came flooding back to him. The restless sepia-coloured eyes. The scraggly corn-yellow mane. And the underlying look of resentment that had stopped being underlying. Shining Armour gasped out the name. “Strings?” The helmet struck him again. His legs gave way and his vision blurred but his attacker’s voice echoed in his head. “Ah, so you do remember...” His wife’s admirer, for lack of a better word, gave a sickly grin “Good...Because I want this to hurt, Shining Armour. I want this to hurt as much as you hurt me!” * Wind. There was wind billowing across his mane, over his ears, at every angle of his. It chilled him to the bone. He was without his armour and most of his clothing. Only his pants remained on, short plain things. Everything else was bare, making him all the more cold. There was salt in his mouth. No...it was blood. Dribbling down his mouth. Was it from his lips, his tongue or his gums? He ran his tongue around his teeth. He wasn’t missing anything. He tried to cast a healing spell and earned a headache for his trouble. He realised to his chagrin that somepony had fitted an anti-magic ring to his horn. However long it would last would up for question but for the moment, spells were out of the question. He wasn’t used to sleeping standing up, though that was only because there wasn’t room to sit. As his vision returned, Shining Armour realised he was in a hanging cage, a cold, crude monstrosity, hanging from a creaking chain. Every joint in his limbs was screaming at him but that was nothing compared to how much his head hurt. It stung to even raise his eyelids but he managed. Dried blood had covered an eyelid, keeping it half-closed. The cage was hanging from some kind of outcrop overlooking a shadowed ruin, entrenched in thorns and creeping vines. Storm-clouds blotted out the sky above. Combined with the cold air and scant light, Shining Armour couldn’t quite remember the last time he’d seen anywhere quite so...loveless. The entire place emanated a sense of everything Equestria and its Elements had guarded against. He knew he’d feel cold just by looking at this place in a picture, winds or not. As his focus finally returned to his eyes, his heart constricted, feeling colder than he’d ever imagined he could. In the centre of the ruin was an elevated platform, a table of shiny slate-grey stone. Atop it was the unmoving form of Flurry Heart, lying on the stone in her swaddling cloth. He may well have held his breath until his lungs burst had he not noticed her little tummy rising and falling with each breath. If he could fall to the ground, he would have done. He found a small amount of his voice, coughing several times, spitting a mouthful of blood before croaking his daughter’s name. “Flurry...Flurry, you okay? C...Can you hear me?” There came no answer. “Flurry...” “She can’t hear you.” A voice as cold as the wind through the cage sounded. The red stallion emerged again. He looked different. His scraggly yellow mane was uncovered, his sepia eyes wide and fierce. He was wearing a dark cape that covered almost all his body. The sight of Strings turned Shining Armour’s stomach. With a snarl, he grabbed at the arms of the cage. “What have you done to my baby girl?!” Pullo Strings shot him a hateful glare. “She should have been my baby...You took my baby from me, so I’m taking yours.” “You’re out of your mind, Strings!” Shining cried “Where’s Cadence? What have you done with her?!” “Oh...You’re thinking about Cadence, huh?” Strings’ eye twitched slightly his voice steadily growing louder “Well, isn't that a coincidence? I was just thinking about her...For the last thirteen years!!!” He screamed, his face inches from the bars of the cage. It was all the opportunity Shining needed. His fist fitted just enough through the bars to catch Strings right on the muzzle. The red stallion gave a wail, grabbed his muzzle and took several steps back as blood trickled between his fingers. “Argh! You...bastard!” “Consider that thirteen-years late.” Shining growled “Just what are you up to and what the buck have you done to my family?!” “They’re MY family!” he screamed, blood dripping from his nostrils. “No, Strings, they’re not.” Shining’s tone was tired, disdainful “You still don’t understand. You had a problem. And instead of being mature about it and trying to better yourself, you took the easy way out, blaming everyone but yourself! And I would’ve thought, after thirteen years, you’d have grown up but I guess my sis was right! There are some jerks you just can’t talk sense into, not because they can't accept it but because they won’t!” “You’re all the same!” Strings snarled “Big kids like you think you can just take whatever you want!” “I didn’t take anything, Strings. Cadence chose me.” “Shut up!” The scarlet stallion’s eyes had shrunk in rage, looking like a pair of burning key-holes “Your daughter’s life depends on your actions right now, Shining Armour!” “It always does. She’s my baby. And you’re tangling not just with a baby alicorn with powers you can’t comprehend but also her very pissed off daddy.” Shining Armour barked, determined not to show fear in the face of one who lapped it up like a thirsty rat “Now, what the hell are you doing here?” Strings fixed him with another hateful glare as he surveyed the scene. “Grand Ruler’s ultimatum.” “Grand Ruler’s dead.” “In body. But he was a ruler who was enlightened beyond compare. He trusted no-one.” “You seem to be confusing enlightenment with paranoia.” Strings ignored him. “As soon as Celestia and Lightning Dawn became poisoned with your Equestrian lies, he began work in secret to create a second Starfleet in reserve, to keep his spirit safe so that he may return, through the power of believing.” “Really?” Shining Armour just looked unimpressed “You do realise you’re not a Unicornicopian, not that that’s anything to be sad about.” “Silence!” Strings kicked the cage, pretended not to limp, and continued “Grand Ruler will make us perfect. He’ll make us gods. Then we’ll see who’s second-best!” “Uh-huh...And Flurry?” Strings gave a sick smirk. “It takes the death of an alicorn to make one...At least that’s how it should work. Your daughter will die here, slowly, painfully, and you’ll watch every minute!” Shining blinked, his chest feeling tight, his fingers feeling frozen. He fought harder to hide his fear than he had before any battle he’d seen. “You’re crazy.” he growled “Grand Ruler has no use for you. You said it yourself, he trusts no-one.” “He had no good reason to...Everyone betrayed him.” “Oh yeah, they did, didn’t they.” Shining retorted sarcastically “His wife, his student, damn near every one of his subjects. Gee, it was almost as if he was kind of an unlikable prick, wasn’t it.” Strings ignored his insult, no easy feat for him. “We will prove to him his way is right and we’ll burn this miserable world and rule over the next, while you watch!” Shining took a deep breath. If Strings was allowed to continue, his baby girl would die and Equestria’s most loathed sovereign would retake the throne in the ruins of his homeland. There seemed only one cause of action in his current state. Stalling for time. “It’s not like you to trust others either, Strings. And I don’t see any other five members of this so-called Neo-Starfleet.” “They’ll be here soon. When the pieces are all in place...Until then, you’ll stand in that cage and know what it’s like to be me!” “No, if I knew what it was like to be you, Strings, I’d have walked into this cage and pretended the door was locked.” There was a pause. “What the hell do you mean?!” Shining Armour sighed, did his best to look relaxed in his cage and spoke calmly. “Have you ever asked yourself why Cadence chose me and not you? And I don’t mean a ‘Why, why, woe and wangst, how could this happen to me?’ horse-crap. I mean, genuinely, sincerely, do you actually remember what happened and how?” “All I remember, Shining Armour,” Strings hissed “Is living in a shadow.” “Exactly.” Shining nodded “Because the shadow was what you loved.” There was another pause. “What?” the red pegasus barked “I loved Cadence!” “No, Strings, you didn’t. You loved the idea of Cadence! You never loved her, you just wanted her to love you! Because having a beautiful princess love you was probably the only thing that would convince you that you deserved to be loved, you’re That! Bucking! Insecure!” “Th...That’s a lie!” Strings was close to screaming “Why are you acting like I've done something wrong?! The only thing I'm guilty of is loving Cadence!” “Yes, and how did you love her? From afar!” Shining Armour barked back “You were never in love with her, you were in love at her. And rather than get to know her as she was, you chose to distance yourself from her and know her only as you wanted her to be!” He leaned in closer, nearly spitting the words. “As a pretty face.” “Shut up!” The pony who’d lusted after his wife beat his fist impotently on the bars of the cage “You took her from me! Bullies like you take everything from me! You were big and strong and I was weak and helpless! That’s why I let her go because I knew she’d never love me!” “Let her go?” Shining shook his head “You can’t let go of what you never had to begin with. Clearly you remember things differently. Let me refresh your memory! When I first met Cadence, I wasn’t a ‘big, strong bully’ as you claim. I was an awkward little geek with a face that resembled a pizza with capers. And like you, I never thought she’d look twice at me. But she did...And I owed it all to one pony.” * “Um...Excuse me?” A high-pitched voice came from outside the classroom of higher crystal-craft studies. The last-remaining student in class paused her packing-up and turned to the door. Standing before her was small, sad-eyed lavender-coated filly with an indigo mane with a pink stripe down the middle, her sides adorned with heavy book-bags. Young lady Mi Amore Cadenza gave the filly a tender smile. “Hello, little one.” she cooed “Are you okay?” “Um...no...” the filly sniffled “I...I can’t find my BBBFF.” “Uh...huh...” the slender pink pegasus nodded “I’m sorry but please could you tell me what a ‘BBBFF’ means? I’m afraid I’ve never heard of them before.” “Oh, it’s an acronym. It stands for Big Brother Best Friend Forever.” “Heh...I see.” Cadence giggled, impressed that one so young knew what an acronym was “And where is your, uh, Big Brother Best Friend Forever?” “He...He’s in the Academy of Princess Celestia’s Royal Guard. He’s a trainee.” The foal mumbled “But I don’t know the way. He stays there very late so my mummy and daddy come to pick me up about now but...there’s really bad traffic today and I...I...” Tears were appearing in her eyes “I...I hate being alone...” “Oh sweetheart, come here.” Cadence wrapped her forehooves and wings around the whimpering filly gently rubbing her back and nuzzling her cheek a moment before looking at her with bright, helpful eyes “I know the way if you’d like me to take you there. My studies are done too.” “Oh, um...I don’t want to give you any trouble.” Cadence gave a chuckle. “Little filly, I don’t think you could give me trouble if you tried. Come on, I’ll give you a lift.” She gently lifted the filly onto her back. “Wow...Thank you, miss. You’re very kind.” “I just like to help out...And between you and me, I hate being alone too. So let’s find your...” she tried to remember exactly what she’d called him “BB....BFF, together.” “Thank you, thank you, thank you.” the filly chirruped. Trotting out the door to the schoolyard, Cadence and her new friend made their way to the training yard of the Royal Guard’s Academy, a wide expanse of marble tiles surrounded by gleaming white pillars and statues of old heroes. “Yah! Hah! Hwah!” Cadence heard a strange series of grunts and yells of battle. “What on Equestria is that?” “That’s my brother!” The filly was close to standing on her hind legs as her whole face brightened up with joy. Sure enough, in the centre of the courtyard was a young white colt with a messy head of blue mane and an imposing expression on his otherwise unimposing face, betraying the greasy, stubbly teenage awkwardness. There was a broom in his magical grasp but from the look of his stances, he must have been under the impression it was a sword or a glaive, whirling it round him acrobatically, no doubt trying to recreate scenes of action from books or films he enjoyed. “Huwah! How d’ya like that, Tirek? Not so hot without your horns, huh?!” he yelled “Now Equestria’s finest knight is gonna’ take you to task! Once and for-” “Hi Shiney! The colt jumped and froze, eyes wide, as he stared at his little sister, waving at him with a smile, as she stood perched on the back of an unusual mare about his age. “...Uh...” Shining Armour stared blankly at his little sister perched upon this newcomer. Pegasi didn’t often make appearances in Canterlot Royal Academy. The school was magic-orientated but all three tribes could learn the higher mysteries of their own magic. It simply didn’t appeal to most. Particularly not toward the normally secluded pegasi in their cloudy cities. Yet this pegasus was unlike any he’d ever seen. She was skinny, some might have said slender, bright pink of coat and a mane of magenta, purple and cream like a blushing sunset with small, speckled wings like a peahen. The most prominent thing about her, Shining Armour noted, was her peculiar eyes. She had the most drawing eyelashes she’d ever seen. She seemed to resemble the eyes of the Princess herself. Her cutie mark was particularly striking. A many-faceted crystal shaped like a gleaming heart bordered left and right by ornate golden coils that resembled something between a dolphin and a long-tailed bird. It denoted a mighty past, perhaps some form of noble lineage. One always heard about princesses, noble ladies and heiresses attending the School but Shining had never seen one himself. She was wearing a little jewellery. A modest little heart-shaped pearl pendant around her neck and a rose quartz brooch that wrapped her mane in a tail behind her head. Shining Armour stood transfixed. She was a remarkably pretty mare. And the strangest thing there was nothing that indicated that she was trying to be. The way she held herself, the way she looked at him, it was all perfectly sincere. She looked odd, though, that couldn’t be denied. But sometimes, for Shining Armour, odd was nice. However, the thing that most caught his attention was Twilight Sparkle clambering on the mare’s head so as to reach down and give her brother a ‘boop’. “Oof...Careful up there, little one.” Cadence gave something between a grunt of discomfort and a chuckle of awkwardness as Twilight swayed, her perch losing balance. “I got her.” Shining’s horn lit up and the little lilac unicorn floated upside-down in mid-air and gently pressed her hoof to her brother’s muzzle. “Boop!” she squeaked with glee “I missed you, BBBFF!” “Uh, Hi Twiley.” Shining said nervously, gently putting her down, one eye fixed on the pretty pink pegasus “Are mum and dad back yet?” Little Twilight’s mouth, as usual, ran like a motor. “No, they say they’ll be running late. But all my friends had gone home and I got lonely but this big filly was really nice and...” “Okay, okay, that’s great, Twiley. Come up for air now.” Shining Armour ruffled his little sister’s mane and gave the pegasus a smile “Um...Thanks...Miss...Sorry for the bother.” “No, no, no bother at all. Your little sister is one in a million.” She craned down and nuzzled the filly lightly. Twilight Sparkle gave a dainty giggle. “Well, thanks. Thanks for all your help, miss...” “Oh, I’m Lady Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire-In-Exile.” The pegasus mare said plainly, pausing at the sight of the dumbfounded expressions on the two before her. “Call me Cadence.” “Great...that’s...great.” Shining cleared his throat “I’m Shining Armour. Cadet in Her Highnesses Royal Guard. And this is my little sister, Twilight Sparkle.” “I’m at the top of the test charts in Magic Kindergarten!” Twilight said, wagging her four little hooves excitedly in Shining’s hold “The Princess says I’m reeeeeeaaaaaaally smart.” “I’m sure she does, Twilight Sparkle.” Cadence gave her cheek a little rub “A very nice name for a very nice filly.” Twilight beamed. “I like her. Can she stay with us, big bro?” “Uh...it’s not that easy, Twi.” “Sure, it is.” The pretty pink pegasus gave a shrug, “I’m sure the Princess won’t mind me seeing her safely home at least.” At her words, Shining’s eyes boggled and Twilight gave a little gasp. “You...know the princess?” Cadence rocked her head side to side bashfully. “Manner of speaking. I’m certainly allowed to freely explore, as long as there’s a member of the Royal Guard close by.” She gave him a smile “Glad to know you’re around.” “Uh...yeah. And in any case, my dad was in the guard so he’d vouch for you. He writes military history and strategy now but it’s close enough.” “That sounds pretty cool.” Shining was taken aback by her informality but honestly found it quite refreshing. The mare’s smile he found, was really quite enchanting. “What does your mother do?” she asked as sincerely and politely as he'd ever heard from a pony “My mom? Foal psychology. She makes her money as a writer though.” “Nice. I’d really like to meet your parents. They sound great. If that’s not too much trouble.” “No, no, no trouble, right Shiney?” Twilight gave her big brother a hopeful look. Shining was finding her little sister trying, as she often was when overexcited. ‘The trouble with a  foal who’s smarter than other foals,’ his mother sometimes said ‘is that what they really want is to be smarter than grown-ups.’ All things considered though, he was finding himself agreeing with his little sister. Whatever his or his sister’s feelings about her, Cadence was interesting. He’d like to see what she thought of his parents and what they thought of her. And it’d be a relief to have somepony else around who could handle a precarious, precocious little filly besides. “We’ll see, Twiley. We’ll see.” Hoisting his bags atop his back and his sister atop his bags, he, Cadence and little Twilight Sparkle headed off. Five steps in the journey, as he looked at Cadence’s smiling face once more, Shining Armour noticed something amiss. There was a pony watching them. A head was poking out between the trees in the orchard that marked the edges of the Academy entrance. He was a skinny pegasus with a red coat, scraggly blonde mane and wide, staring eyes. Shining felt uncomfortable under his gaze and even more uncomfortable when he realised he wasn’t looking at him but at Cadence. It wasn’t that the colt was ugly, not in himself. His looks were nothing to write home about but no more so than most of the colts Shining knew. But, like how it made Cadence look so much prettier, how this colt held himself made him seem more unpleasant. His head was lowered, slunk between his high, close-set shoulders and pricked wings in an almost predatory stance, as if ready to pounce on something. His coat and mane were ill-kept, looking as if he hadn’t washed or groomed it in weeks and slightly dulled. His wide, staring eyes looked as if they were ready to pop out of his sockets, combined with his drooping lips, nostrils flaring in suspicion, lowered ears and collectively morose expression made him look like some sort of terrified fish. And there was something about him that looked as if he hadn’t seen the sun for over a month. If he was staring at Cadence with adoration, Shining might have understood. He wasn’t that far from it himself, all things considered, albeit close enough to say it with words. But he wasn’t. This colt was staring at the two of them with what could only be described as scorn. Somehow this kid felt threatened by her. Or by him. Or by him being with her. “Er...Cadence?” Shining found the name harder to come to his tongue than he thought but he pointed subtly enough to keep it hidden from the colt in the distance “I think somepony’s watching you.” Cadence’s smile faded a moment. She didn’t turn to look. “Red colt? Blonde mane? Big, sad-looking eyes?” “Face longer than a ten-mile hike and the high probability of a ‘kick-me’ sign as his cutie mark? Yeah.” The young mare gave an uneasy frown. “Yeah...Just ignore him. He doesn’t follow me outside of the Academy.” “What, you know?” Shining exclaimed “Why haven’t you told anypony?” “I don’t want to make a fuss. I’m hoping he just grows out of it.” Cadence said quietly as they continued on. “Is he a bad pony?” Twiley piped up, a nervous twinge in her voice. Cadence was quiet a moment. “I’m really not that sure.” she replied carefully “A while ago, I helped him against some bullies and he started sticking by me. But he never got on with any of my other friends. Lemon Gem, Alma Rose, Fleur de Lis, I don’t know if you know them.” “Well, I know Fleur. She’s into Fancypants, he’s a friend of mine.” he sniggered “They started off insulting each other all day, every day, but secretly we all know they’re really into each other. You know what I’m talking about.” “Oh yeah, posh colt. Wears a monocle, right? Yeah, he’s lovely.” Cadence’s face brightened a moment before continuing in her level tone “Well, not too long ago, Alma said he was being clingy. I mean, she only meant there and then, he was stopping me talking to anypony else. But he just lost it. Tried to hit her. This was in class too! I stopped him before he could do any damage, told him to knock it off, told him that I have a life and friends and if he didn’t want me having that he can get lost ‘cause real friends don’t act the way he does.” “Seems fair.” Shining replied “And what did he do then.” “Well, he ran off, I think he was crying.” “I don’t see why. It was your friend he tried to hit and he’s gonna’ play the victim like that?” “I guess. I don’t know if he was really upset or not. I tried to ask him, you know, explain it’s for his own good. But ever since then, he’s avoided talking to me and just kind of hangs around too far away. I don’t think he realises I know he’s watching but...I’m hoping if I pretend I don’t notice, he’ll stop.” Shining Armour gave a look of distaste. “Sounds like a total creep!” he snorted. “Maybe. I just want him to get it out of his system and learn his lesson. If not from me, maybe from himself.” Shining was torn. On one hoof, what he found himself wanting to do was walk back over there, drag the creepy colt out by his ears, give him a proper lesson about treating mares with respect with his back-hooves as teaching assistants and knock some sense into him, the cadet’s way. On the other hoof, everypony he knew, loved and respected from his parents to his mentors to his little sister had always told him that a careful, patient, non-violent course of action was often the most effective in complicated circumstances and they often proved to be right. He had a feeling Cadence was no exception. “Well, I admire your restraint.” he said at last, “But if he tries anything.” “Don’t worry. If he does, I’ll handle it myself.” Cadence shook her head, “Let’s not talk about it now, that’s what he wants. I wanna’ know more about you and Twiley.” Shining Armour managed a chuckle. “Heh...Well, I’m sure Twiley has a lot more to say than me. Right, sis?” * “And that's how Equestria was made. Or at least my relationship.” Shining said with a small smile, “I got as far as you could have done if you’d actually treated her right. How does that feel?” Strings was quiet a moment, staring at Shining with those cold, suspicious eyes of his. He spoke at last. “How do you know about the bits you weren’t there for?” “That’s not the question you should be asking right now.” Shining replied, rolling his eyes “I know what you’re up to. And I’ve known for quite a while. I wasn’t allowed to say anything. What our quote-unquote ‘national heroes’ did to Ace Ray and Flash Sentry showed me what might have happened and I didn’t want to do that to Cadey, Twiley or anypony else. ‘Cause, you know, unlike you I actually have ponies I care about.” “Up to?!” Strings hissed venomously “Your arrogant little bitch sister came to me expecting me to ‘move on’. I told her how Cadence broke my heart and she spat in my face! She knew nothing!” “Wrong again. You’re on a roll now.” Shining Armour raised an eyebrow “Twilight knew you more than you know yourself. She may not know everything but she knows a pattern when she sees it. A paranoid, secluded stallion, supposedly a legendary lover yet unable to tell when a mare a block from his house is head over hooves for him? A lie. You've never even known another mare apart from Cadence and, as it turns out, you didn't even know her to begin with. I remember, Strings. Celesto made sure the memories his favourite was conjuring were there in Cadence's mind but like everything he'd rather not think about, he chose to forget me. I remember you. The face behind a tree. Or a school-block, or a doorway or a lamp-post. A sad, lonely little face staring at Cadence like a moth to a lamp.” “No!” Strings clutched his own ears, his eyes wide and manic. “There were flaws in your story everywhere! The school for Gifted Unicorns? Since you were foals? Cadence only came to Canterlot once she'd found her Cutie Mark and even then, she was a pegasus! I remember! Why couldn't you unless, oh I don't know, you were just a lying sack of crap?! And despite how close you were, you never spoke at all about what she went through. Bits you weren't there for, chose not to be there for.” “What are you talking about?!” “You know. When she got her braces? When she got in a food-fight and got salsa in her mane. That...incident with the bad avocado. You were nowhere to be seen and I know why. Because seeing Cadence as anything other than a pretty face destroyed the image you loved so much more than Cadence herself! You refused to see her as anything other than perfect because you didn't want anything other than perfect!” “But that's why I should have had her! I loved her more than you! I saw her as perfect!” “She didn't want to be perfect! She wanted to be a friend. For any who would get to know her. For what she was. Like I did. You never loved Cadence, Strings. You loved somepony else. A  very pretty mare who looked just like Cadence, every little detail, on a good day. But she's not called Cadence, no. Her name is 'String's True Love'...The last and greatest of your pathetic little lies.” With a high-pitched screech, Pullo Strings grabbed the handles of the cage and shook them frantically. Shining rocked back and forth his shoulders, knees, elbows and head smacking into each side of the cage. Dazed and nursing a bleeding lip, Shining slumped back. Then he remembered Strings and the lies he’d told to make Equestria spit on his little sister, the mare who only wished to help others. The righteous indignation that had saved his kingdom time and again took hold and Shining Armour threw his weight against the front of the cage. The bottom-edge of the cage knocked Pullo Strings in the groin sending him flying back with a pained squeak. The cold-hearted red pegasus landed on the floor and writhed, making noises one would find in a sheep suffering a monumental gastric attack. Shining leaned against the bars and cast him a look of disdain. “Oh, stop your whining, you stupid colt. It doesn’t work. Not on me.” he barked. “You...You...” Pullo Strings fixed him with a look of pure loathing, spluttering threats and profanities. “Twilight saw right through you, Strings. It wasn’t enough for you to try and drag Cadey’s name through the mud that is your life but you could have made the story a little more convincing. At least Sun Rae proved willing to see reason. It was from her we got part of the real story.” Strings cast a quizzical look. “Who?” Shining didn’t even know why he was surprised anymore. “Wow. Okay.” He said in a deadpan tone “Mare right next door, thinks the world of you, despite how you treat her. Came to Twilight asking for help in getting you better and went to all the trouble that should have been your own. And you don’t even remember her name. That about sums you up, doesn’t it? Only you would make The Renegade look like a step-up in terms of romantic partnerships.” “Who’s Renegade?” Strings snapped. Shining shrugged. “Guy I knew in the Guard. A lecherous, cowardly, compulsively lying layabout who drinks his problems away, has no dignity whatsoever and whose capability for temperance would be compared favourably to a bull jackalope on experimental aphrodisiacs...And yet both me and Rae prefer him to you.” Pullo Strings hissed through his flared nostrils. Shining gave a cheeky grin. “Oh, I see. This is one of those ‘Baby Wants The Toys He Wasn’t Playing With Back’ ain’t it. My mom was a foal psychologist after all.” “Shut up!” “Have you really no retort other than that?” Shining Armour asked in a tone of tedium “I guess it speaks volumes, doesn’t it? You were calm and controlled when you knew Grand Ruler had your back but now that things aren’t going your way, you’re a mess. You really are Starfleet material!” “Not going my way?!” Strings screamed “That’s why this is happening! Why we’re doing this!” He threw his forehooves around him feverishly “All of us! We’re sick of you and your pathetic ‘lessons of friendship’ stopping us getting what we deserve! You preach these worthless lessons that never help us and-” “Is the concept of ‘cause and effect’ alien to you?” Shining Armour folded his arms in front of the bars “You chose not to let it help you. You chose to be a completely unpleasant pony who nopony in their right mind would enjoy the company of. And Grand Ruler was so desperate to disprove the Magic of Friendship, he cobbled together this story, illogical in concept and malignant in practice, to paint you as victims of society in a world that doesn’t care. When in reality, all it was was jerkoffs being jerkoffs.” “You see, that’s the kind of thing I’m sick of.” Strings’s eyes looked ready to pop out of their sockets “I’m sick of you telling me I’m wrong, that my way is the wrong way, that I’m the one who needs to change, to accept the way things are!” “Oh, really? Well, silly me then, I’m sorry for reminding you of reality!” “No, you don’t see it do you!” The side of Strings’ lips twisted in a sick-looking smile “We don’t have to change to let other ponies find us ‘pleasant’ or ‘agreeable’ or ‘social’...Not if, with Grand Ruler over us, we can just change reality instead of letting it change us. Make our way the right way and everypony else wrong! That’s how it should be and that’s how it will be! We reject your ‘reality’ and soon, the rest of the world will too!” He gripped the sides of the cage again and spoke to teeth so clenched, they threaten to break. “Now...you and your pathetic little ‘friendship’ will be the ones who are wrong...And you will know just how that feels!” Shining gave him a look that registered nothing but mild concern. “Strings, you’ve got problems.” “Well, soon that won’t be my problem. It’ll be EVERYPONY ELSES!” the red pegasus was screaming now. Shining shook his head at the spectacle. Strings was insane. That had been fairly clear to him from the start. Realising the full extent of just how insane he was still alarmed him somewhat. Strings continued. “The Magic of Friendship and Harmony that brought us nothing but PAIN will be DESTROYED! UTTERLY! NOTHING will remain of it! NOTHING! It’ll be the MOST DESTROYED THING IN ALL OF EXISTENCE! And Grand Ruler will RISE AGAIN with a NEW Starfleet at his command! And if you thought it was bad BEFORE, oh...” He shook his head, one eyelid twitching “The old Starfleet? They crushed you and made you feel like nothing because that’s what they were TOLD! But us?” He gave a giggle through his strange vocal mix of quiet snarls mixed with emphasised screams that only further clarified his lack of mental stability. “We’ll be doing it out of PRINCIPLE! And we’ll enjoy EVERY MOMENT! And let me tell you Shining, I’ve got a LOT of VERY special things in store for Cadence...that I’ve been putting off for a LONG time!” He took a step back. “You’ll bear witness to our triumph! Our revenge! And we’ll fly resplendent through the multiverse making OUR way the ONLY way! As HEROES of STARFLEET!” He threw off his cape and held out his arms. “BEHOLD!” Shining Armour looked at what Pullo Strings was wearing beneath his cloak. There was a pause. “My gods, that is so lame!” Shining Armour nearly doubled up laughing, or would have done if not for the cage. Pullo Strings gave an indignant look, standing in what could only have been described as a harlequin costume designed from sea-slugs. Its peculiar pattern was separated in two, one of which was a white and grey rippled pattern, the other was magenta and orange splatter-patterned spandex. His shoulder pads and legs were spiked with pink-tipped copper polyps and fixed to his half-mask were a set of white plumes, trailing like worm-tails out the right side of his head. “It’s not funny!” he snapped, “It’s meant to be a picture for my heartbreak and the wrongs done to me!” Shining couldn’t stop laughing. “You look you came to the costume ball dressed as a Foreskin Inflammation!” “SHUT UP!” Strings was hopping in fury “Do you even realise what’s happening?! Your daughter is going to die!” “No, she’s not.” Shining Armour spoke in a relaxed tone “You forget, Strings, you’re not in Grand Ruler’s United Equestria now. You’re in Celestia’s Equestria and nasty pieces of work like you always get what’s coming to them here. Believe me.” “You pathetic fool! Once Grand Ruler returns-” “It’ll be a great opportunity for everypony he ever hurt to give him the smackdown he deserves.” “NO!” Strings stamped his forehoof “He’ll burn your world and everypony you love! And nopony will mourn them because THEY’LL be the ones who were wrong! The ones who got what they deserved! The ones who SUFFERED! And NOPONY CARED! And I will personally make sure Cadence dies in ways more painful than ANYPONY can IMAGINE! So that everypony knows what happens to ponies who TELL ME TO ‘MOVE ON!’” Shining half-closed his eyes and gave a small ‘tut’. “So it was never about love, was it?” he said frankly “You finally admit that, huh? It was all just ego, Cadence as your darling Princess clinging to your shoulder. And if you can’t have her, nopony can? Is that it?! Your content being that kind of pony?!” The side of String’s face flickered like a flame, as if something inside snapped. Then the pegasus gave a slow nod. “If it finally gets me what I want then yeah, I suppose so. Why not? Grand Ruler will give me a world where I can finally be true to myself.” “Yourself being a violent, self-centred psychopath?” “I’ve reached the point where I stop caring about what ponies like you think of me, Shining Armour!” Strings hissed, narrowing his cold, dead-looking eyes “We all have. And that’s why nothing will stop us. You lose today, Shining Armour. Nothing will change that because now we’ll be deciding what changes, what’s good and bad, what helps and what hurts, we’ll be gods of the new order...” his lips stretched into a morbid grin “And you know...I don’t think anypony’s going to laugh at me again after that.” Shining said nothing. He simply fixed Pullo Strings with his unimpressed little frown before the impatient pegasus turned and headed further up the old black stairways of the ruin they stood upon. All the unicorn could do once he’d left was look to Flurry. She was okay. Still breathing. But the thought of what may have been done to her or would be done made his blood run cold. Then warm. There was a warmth in his heart, sudden but not abrupt and soothing. It healed a lot of his smaller injuries, staunched his cuts, soothed his bruises, fought the chill creeping through every extremity. There was a little voice, not in his head but somehow in him regardless. A filly’s voice, high-pitched but soft. And scared. “Daddy?” it asked, wavering, as if close to tears “Are you okay?” Shining found himself answering in the same way, not speaking through his mouth yet answering back, purely through thought, through the heart. “I’m fine...You don’t need to worry, I’m fine...Flurry.” “Daddy, I’m scared.” the voice whimpered “Who are these ponies? And why are they so horrible?” He thought of a reason. It didn’t come easily. “Some ponies are just...not right. Somehow they feel like good or bad doesn’t mean anything as long as it gets them what they want...In a way, they’re more like babies than you could ever have been.” “But...” The voice was quieter. More afraid of the words that would follow than the actions she’d seen “Are all ponies like this?” “No. Flurry. There are some like this. Very few. But that’s why there are ponies like me and your mother and your auntie Twiley to stop them hurting anypony.” There was a pause. “Are you scared, daddy?” The filly asked. Shining gave another pause, feeling the chill starting to creep back. “Yeah. I am. But not for myself. You need to promise me something, Flurry.” “Yes, daddy?” “I know how I’ve always told you not to use your powers and to let me, mum or any other nice ponies help you and take care of you but...if anything happens...You need to use any power you have to keep you safe. Nothing else will matter as long as you’re okay. That’s all I ask. Can you promise me, Flurry?” “I promise daddy.” The voice sounded less afraid “Don’t be scared, daddy...Mommy's coming. I can feel it...Mommy...And auntie Twiley...” “...Yeah...” Shining felt the colt ebb away steadily, resting his back, doing all he could to feel relaxed standing in a cage, feeling more relaxed and hopeful for the future than he had done in a very long time. “I feel it too.”