Shining Armor watched his wife across the richly appointed table. It was always nice to just be able to spend time with Cadance, but today something was missing. He sighed, looking at the leftovers marking his plate. The familiar taste of the food here in Canterlot was just that little bit better than what was available at home in the Crystal Empire. Things would be perfect if it was not for all the things to worry about.
“Shining?” Cadance's beautiful voice conveyed her worry. Her warm, loving eyes glanced down at his plate.
He followed her gaze, he had been pushing his food around the plate, again. He stopped, sliding the plate away. “Cadance, how can you be so calm away from the Empire for so long?”
A reassuring smile graced his love’s face. The room seemed to brighten just from that one expression. “You know we left it in good hooves, Shining. Sunburst and Amethyst Quill have everything under control,” Cadance said calmly.
Shining knew her too well, there had to be something else to it. Last time they were away for so long, especially with Flurry Heart there, Cadance was anxious to get back. This time there was none of that. “I don't like leaving Flurry Heart on her own all this time. I miss her.”
“I do too,” she said, but something seemed a little off to her tone. “Shiny, we have to be here for Twilight and Aunty Celestia, now more than ever.”
“I understand that, Caddy,” Shining said. He looked at the food again. He normally would have devoured it by now. There was just too much going on. He had found out so much about his little sister. He still almost couldn't believe that she was not his first sister, but a copy made by Celestia. He looked back into the kind, loving eyes of his wife. “But it would help if I had all the information.”
Cadance sipped her tea, clearly buying time to consider her next words. It was a gesture so similar to Celestia. It was almost like she was treating this as a diplomatic negotiation. He knew how she acted during them, he had guarded her during enough of them. The lack of trust hurt, was she about to manage the truth? Was she going to lie to him?
Her expression fell, she reached out with a wing and caressed the side of his face. “Shiny,” she said, her eyes pleading.
Without a thought, he abandoned his seat. He wrapped both forehooves around her, letting his actions speak far more than mere words could.
Cadance relaxed and melted into their familiar embrace resting her horn against his.
“Caddy, please just tell me.” He whispered.
She tensed if only a little. Another might not have noticed, but to Shining, it was clear as Celestia's day. “There are things I can’t tell you. Things that only Alicorns can know.” Cadance's quiet voice admitted.
Shining was conflicted, he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she truly loved him. That did not change the fact this felt like a small betrayal. He had thought they had no secrets, that they shared everything.
Cadance hugged him tighter, the almost crushing force making it a little hard to breathe. When had she been working out? The discomfort in his ribs did not matter, he just tightened his own embrace. They loved each other, that was the important bit, they could work past the details.
A knock broke the moment. Cadance pulled him into a quick, loving kiss. It was brief, but it shouted louder than words. She loved him, and that was the most important thing in her world.
The kiss faded into a gentle nuzzle as she broke the hug. A faint blue glow wiping away a few tears from Cadance’s eyes. “Come,” she called out in her professional princess voice.
One of Blueblood’s private guards stood at their imitation of attention, their tacky uniform pristinely pressed. “Prince Blueblood sends his regards and requests a brief audience with you, Princess.”
Cadance studied the guard, a small thrum of power seemed to radiate from her. “Is this a matter of urgency?”
“My prince believes so, your highness,” he responded with trained neutrality.
Shining Armor wanted to sigh, but proper decorum would not allow him to. Oh, how he hated the political games here in Canterlot. As soon as anypony else was around, on went the masks for both of them. At least in the Empire, they could be themselves. Their servants would probably think they were changelings if they saw how they acted here.
Cadance regally rose to her hooves, fully playing the role of an Alicorn Princess. “Shining, I will return shortly.”
He watched as the guard escorted his wife to whatever meeting that spoiled stallion had in mind. The door clicked closed. He sighed, letting his mask drop. The clops of their hooves rapidly faded into the distance. He was left alone with his thoughts.
Shining looked at the ceiling. Like everything here in Canterlot, it was far older than him. There was so much history here. How many lies or little deceptions had Princess Celestia spread over her many years. Even himself, the captain of her guard, knew nothing of Nightmare Moon until after his sister had defeated her, saving Princess Luna. Tartarus, he did not even know that he used to legally be part of her harem.
Now even his wife was keeping secrets from him. He let his head fall and hit the table. He repeated the action a few more times to see if it would make the world make any more sense. The expensive crockery jumped and danced along the table with each impact. Is Cadance following in Celestia’s hoofsteps?
Shortly turned out to be over half an hour. Shining had settled his mind by tending to his equipment. He always found the simple task calming. He could have done it with a simple spell, but his training caused him to take a more hooves on approach. One by one, his weapons and armour had joined the now cold plates of food on the table.
The familiar chiming sound of a unicorn's aura caused him to look up, pausing sharpening his sword. The door was glowing with Cadance’s light blue magic.
His wife gracefully walked into the room with a bemused look on her face. It shifted slightly, a small amount of disapproval crept in. Her eyes pointedly fixed on the weapons and armour on the table. “Shiny, how many times do I have to tell you, not at the dining table?”
Shining let out a sheepish laugh.
Cadance shook her head a little bit, letting this disappointment vanish. “Well, at least it's not our table this time.” She glided across the room, her aura claimed the sword from his grasp and placed it on the table as she advanced on him.
If it was not for the loving look on her face, Shining would have been scared he had done something wrong. She lent her neck against his, resting her head on his back and her soft wings enfolded him. This time the hug was warm and loving.
Even over the distinct smell of the oils used to maintain his equipment, the delicate scent of Cadance’s rose shampoo filled him with calm. Her warmth and the sensation of her soft coat pressed against his body relaxed him.
He breathed deeply, letting some of his worries fade away. If it was not for everything going on these days, this could have been just another perfect moment in their lives together. Thinking back to all the years they had been together, he smiled. Even though it was one of the happiest moments in his life, he was still amazed Cadance had agreed to marry him.
Leaving his pleasant thoughts behind, he brought himself back to the moment. “So, Caddy, what did Blueblood want?”
“Oh, two things. The first some advice with mares. The second to pass on what Twilight has been up to.”
“What's he complaining about this time?” Shining groaned, annoyed that Blueblood had wasted his wife’s time, again.
Shining felt her shake her head. “Nothing, he was actually praising her.”
“Him?” Shining didn't even try to hide the doubt in his voice.
“Yes,” she said as she stepped away from the hug. Shining missed her warmth immediately. She made her way around the table to her own seat. As she settled, she shifted her wing, pulling out a newspaper.
There on the front page in full colour was a pony he had seen in Ponyville. Scootaloo, the flightless pegasus, was suspended in the air by Twilight’s magic. Instead of the tiny almost crippled wings, full-sized wings spread from Scootaloo’s back. The new lavender markings on Scootaloo’s feathers clearly advertising who had helped her. He did not even bother reading the headline as he looked up to his wife. “What did she do?”
“I don’t know how she did it, but she healed Scootaloo’s wings. She also has some of the nobility in quite an uproar.” Cadance smiled, a pleased twinkle in her eyes. “She said she will heal any and all hybrids that come to her. Do you know what this means? And all the foals she will save?” Cadance’s eyes shimmered with happy tears.
Shining knew what a tragedy it was to find that an unborn foal was a hybrid. It means almost certain death for the foal, either before birth or within the first few years of life. Then there was the risk of death for the mother.
Cadance offered him the paper, he accepted and began to read, starting with the recounting of his sister’s little speech.
After reading the newspaper and a few others, Shining shared a look with his wife. They did not need words; they both knew what they would be doing next. They were determined to head straight to visit Twilight. As always in Canterlot, there were complications.
One thing Shining Armor really resented about being royalty was how long it took to do anything. The simple trip to go and visit Ponyville was going to take hours to prepare. With the leader of the Sombra cult still out there, Celestia was insisting on increased security.
Even with the Crystalguards they had with them, the Solarguards would not let them depart the city without an escort. Celestia demanded a small army of pegasi if they flew or a detachment fortifying the train if they travelled that way.
It had taken Cadance’s calming words to stop an argument between the two forces. So here he was in a sunlit courtyard drilling with his swords. His wife had received a painting from a Nightguard. She had a slight blush to her face and was still refusing to let him see it.
He shook his head and returned to his workout. He may not be a guard anymore, but the habits were still ingrained. He was not going to let himself go to pasture.
In the corner of his vision, he saw the painting being carefully wrapped up again. Maybe it was a grand gift from an admirer? Some of the gifts that someponies thought were appropriate to send the Princess of Love were very much not so.
Cadance’s wings twitched and her expression froze.
Shining paused his current sword drill. He walked up to the shaded bench she lay upon. “Honey?”
Her head turned as she gazed off into the distance. Her whole body quivered, ready to launch into flight as her eyes focused far past the wall. It was as if she could see through it. She had been doing this a lot lately, it was as if she could see things that nopony else could. This time she seemed to be, if he judged right, staring towards the noble district.
He reached out, laying a hoof on hers. The simple act letting her know he would be here for her forever. Shining accepted his wife was the Alicorn of Love; thus, she could sense everyponies’ emotions. She tried not to show it, but she was affected by how every single pony around her felt. Lately, she just seemed to be able to notice these things at a much greater range.
Cadance’s head turned as she looked straight towards the throne room. Her expression relaxed somewhat, her wings still tense, but no longer ready to propel her into action at a moment's notice. She returned her gaze back to where it had been. She placed her other hoof atop his and held it. Whatever she had noticed was clearly not good. Maybe a pony caught cheating on their spouse and a messy breakup?
He saw Cadance flinch, wings flaring. He felt an impact, a sense of motion and everything went black.
Shining woke up confused, a hammering in his head and the taste of dirt and flowers in his mouth. “What happened?” He groaned.
“Shiny, you're alright.” His wife's warm voice came from somewhere. The familiar sensation of her healing magic vibrated throughout his horn. Warmth ran over his face and the left side of his body. Fortunately, there was none of the near searing heat healing a broken bone would have caused. So whatever happened was likely only bruising.
Lifting his head, the world spun. Two of his wives seemed to be standing before him, their horns glowing. He banished possible fun thoughts. He needed to figure out what happened, who had attacked them. His possible concussion was making it hard to think.
“Wha…” He coughed and sputtered, some soil and flowers dislodging themselves from his mouth. “What happened?”
“I had a little overreaction and accidentally … knocked you into the wall.” Cadance moved closer and nuzzled him. “I’m so glad you're alright.”
She still smelled of roses, and given he was laying in a flowered bed, he smelled of flowers as well. He returned the nuzzle and pulled her into a hug. He did not kiss her, a soil flavoured kiss would likely get him banished to the couch for at least a night.
“What startled you?” He asked.
“Twilight, she's here.” Cadance lit her horn. “We have to go to her!” Her intense purple eyes stared into his own.
The spell array of a teleport started to form around them. Shining dragged himself to his hoofs, his aura pulling his swords from the ground and returning them to their scabbards.
As always, Cadance’s magic was soft and gentle as it wrapped around them. Unlike normal, it felt like a cold spike of fear laced through it.
“Ready?” Cadance asked.
He nodded. He had no idea what was going on, but with the worry on her face, he would do whatever he needed to do to help Twilight.
The world vanished, leaving nothing but a sphere of his love’s light blue magic around them. He only had time to glance around for a moment before the arcane bubble around them burst. This was not the same as other teleports he had been through.
In a flash of light, his hooves were on soft grass. Unlike his sister's teleportation, there was no sense of motion or vertigo. As his vision recovered, some noble's gaudy estate was revealed before him.
Several alarmed cries behind him demanded his attention. Shining rounded on the sound, his aura grasping the hilts of his swords.
A crowd of ponies flinched back from him as if he was the threat. He was very glad he did not draw his blades. Gathered in the garden seemed to be all the household staff there, most of them shaking in fear, more than a few with tear marks staining their faces. He let his aura fade, there was no danger here.
Cadance looked around the gathered ponies and put on a beatific smile. “Everything is going to be alright,” she said soothingly.
Shining could feel himself relaxing from his battle-ready stance. “What happened?”
A well-dressed unicorn broke from the crowd, marching towards him. “Your sister has quite some nerve!” The young noble accused, eyes blazing with fury.
Shining Armor narrowed his eyes but restrained himself from any other response. He did not like them attacking Twilight like this. Just like a Canterlot noble, answering the question without conveying any information.
“What did Princess Twilight do?” Cadance queried, still in her calm voice. She adjusted her wings, it looked natural, but Shining could tell she was hiding her distress.
“She burst into our home, destroying the magical wards and ponynapped my family,” the noble stated bitterly.
Shining looked at the manor house. Yes, the noble was right, he couldn't feel any of the many wards a place like this should have. Instead, there was a residue. A massive amount of magic had been used here.
“Do you have any idea why…” Cadance started.
“I have no idea why that fake does anything.” The noble scoffed.
Shining wanted to facehoof. How many times would Twilight have to save the world to get the respect she deserved? He deliberately kept his tone level. “She has done more for Equestria than you ever will.”
“Whatever you say, your ‘highness’,” He said sarcastically. He bowed respectfully to Cadance before he turned and walked off. “I shall see what Celestia has to say about how reprehensible her former student is acting.”
Cadance’s gentle wing wrapped around him for a moment. By the slight trembling to her body and the small crater under her hoof, it seemed it was more to keep her calm than him.
“Disrespecting royalty is still a crime...” Cadance said with lethal sweetness.
The noble's ears shot straight up and then flattened against his skull. He slowly turned and bowed more respectfully. There was fear visible in his eyes for the briefest of moments before he lowered his gaze to the ground. “My sincerest apologies, your highness’s. I am not quite myself with the… incident that happened here. I beg your leave to regain my composure.”
Cadance waved a hoof. “Leave us,” she commanded.
Shining had never seen a noble move so fast that was not towards a huge pile of bits.
“Shiny, can you investigate the house, I will talk to the ponies,” Cadance said, doing her Celestia impression again.
Shining nodded, “Are you going to be alright?” He whispered to his wife.
“Yes, it's just fools like that who get to me. More so as there is almost no love in his heart,” Cadance replied, sighing. She nuzzled him once before trotting off to the gathered servants.
He made his way to the building as his wife’s tender voice started asking questions. His horn started to tingle in a way he had not felt for years. He stopped, studying what he felt, there seemed to be nothing here. “Hmm, I wonder?” He lit his horn, elaborate spell runes illuminated themselves under his mage light.
“Ha, just like you, Twilly.” He recalled all the notes and little pranks she, no, the first Twilight, used to leave around for him, things that would only show up if illuminated with a blood relatives magic.
He studied the spell forms for a few minutes. Its full scope was beyond him, but he could tell it was a selective barrier. At least a quarter of it was clearly inspired by his own speciality shield spell. He smiled, one of these days he would have to show her all his secrets when it came to shielding magic.
He crossed the threshold. Twilight’s magic tickled over his coat. The magical barrier welcoming him in like a light embrace. He had no idea how she had used an invisible writing spell to make the shield itself invisible.
All sounds from the outside world vanished as soon as his ears breached the boundary. A chill ran down his spine. Why would Twilight need to trap ponies in here and with a sound barrier? He knew she had been using dangerous wards in Ponyville. If she was having another lesson zero moment, what else could she have cast here?
Standing just inside, he visually assessed the entrance hall. The lavishly furnished home appeared intact. He could not help himself from admiring the decor, unlike the outside the inside had class. No signs of violence or damage... yet.
He carefully sniffed the air, the sound seemed deafening. Under the expensive wood and polish, there was something else, a slight hint of his sister's lavender shampoo and ashes still floated in the air. She had been using the same scent since she was a foal. He inhaled again, there was not even a hint of blood.
“Twilight?” He shouted. “LSBFF, are you here?” his voice rang out into the stillness. He waited, ears pivoting around, seeking any replies. After a full minute, nothing. He figured either she was not here or did not want to answer.
He recalled a simple forensic spell. It was only basic, outdated, and any halfway competent unicorn that spent the time could hide from it. Focusing on it, he pushed some power into his horn.
Magenta marks appeared, glowing hoof prints leading into the house and lines where Twilight's wings must have trailed across things. By the spacing, she was walking. By how much they were glowing under his spell, he was surprised the wooden flooring was not at least singed.
Following his sister's winding path through the house, he came across the first sign of damage. A broken window. It looked as if somepony had tried to shatter the window to escape, only to have Twilight's barrier deny them. Glancing down at the illuminated hoof prints, it seemed his sister had sat on her haunches. He shifted closer to the window. Dozens of hoof strikes had hammered into both the glass and frame.
He turned to backtrack and almost walked into Twilight. His sister, with a sadistic grin, appeared before him. She just sat there, eyes blazing with power. The sounds of glass, wood and something else repeatedly fractured behind him. It was like somepony hammered against the window with their hooves, frantically trying to escape.
Instinct made his body step back, training made him flash cast his shield. The dome formed, and Twilight vanished. The sounds behind him stopped instantly.
He blinked, shaking his head to banish the hallucination. He took a few deep breaths. No, that could not be Twilight. “I knew there was a reason they retired that spell.” He reassured himself.
Calmed somewhat, he looked around, gathering his wits again. The glowing hoofprints and drag marks where his sister had trailed her wings along the wall were gone. His shield spell had disrupted the forensic spell.
He set about searching the house systematically. Checking every room one by one. After that terrifying visage of his LSBFF, he really did not want to cast that faulty spell again.
His hoof falls and breath were the only sounds. The near-total silence was getting to him, after that vision of his sister, he did not want to be on his own in a dimly lit mansion. Despite that, he continued on. Bravery, he knew, wasn’t not feeling any fear, it was refusing to let it control your actions.
He continued his search. Most things were in order, but a few things were out of place. A dropped wine glass here, its crimson contents now staining the carpet. An open bag of bits on the floor there.
He turned down the next corridor. A half-drawn sword discarded with its scabbard lay upon the floor. A few strides further on, a helmet crushed flat. Up ahead at the end of the corridor, one of the rooms was missing its door.
Advancing forward for a better look, Shining Armor gawked at the two still-burning hoof prints in the doors that were now embedded in the wall opposite the doorway. “Well, that's one way to make an entrance,” he spoke aloud into the silence.
He looked around the room. Other than the destruction the doors made in their flight, the room seemed intact. The whole place was infused with Twilight’s magic, it felt just like her room used to when some of her less well thought out magic experiments exploded in her face. He recalled a soot-stained filly looking up with wide eyes, uncomprehending of what just happened.
He crept into the room, something here made him want to hide. It felt like being in the Everfree where a predator could jump out at you at any moment. His aura wrapped around one of his swords, his ears stood alert, constantly pivoting.
Step by step, he drew closer to the relocated doors. He reached out, holding his hoof next to one of the burning hoof prints. The flames calmed and died as his hoof drew closer. They were the same size as his sisters, but he could never imagine her having the strength to do something like that.
“Uncle Shining,” called Twilight's voice from the distant past. A flash of magenta and a small filly was hugging his neck.
“Twi…” He started, before the filly’s words reregistered. “Little Star?”
“Who else would it be, silly?” Star giggled just like the original Twilight used to.
“What are you doing here?” He asked.
“I have a quest from Candice, come on. I have to get you back to Aunty Cadance before I can borrow one of your guards.”
“Wh…” He did not even get to ask his question before the world twisted. The familiar vertigo and feeling of being compressed consumed his senses in a bright flash of magenta.
“I got him. Now let’s go!” Little Star insisted.
Shining couldn't even blink away the light from the first teleport before Star cast a brighter, more powerful one.
Shining’s horn tingled from the shock of Star’s unexpected teleport. His magic would be useless for a second or two. That filly has far too much magic. Shining thought, rubbing his horn. If he had even half a second’s warning, he could have been able to brace for the surge of magic. He could just see foal-sitting Little Star was going to be just as exhausting as looking after Flurry Heart.
His nose twitched as it found the tempting scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. He looked around, the inside of Twilight castle revealed itself, but everything seemed shorter. He realised he was standing on the Map table, he was not alone. Cadance to his left, Little Star perched on her back and rounding out the group were two very confused looking Crystalguards.
Star was hungrily eying a tray of still-warm cookies levitating in her aura. Seemingly completely unconcerned by the fact her horn was steaming. Shining stared at the heat haze rippling around it. He winced, if his horn was that hot, he would be gritting his teeth in pain. Little Star on the other hoof didn’t display even the slightest discomfort. She was still using her aura and looked quite content as she hungrily devoured a cookie.
The sound of shifting wings drew his attention to more ponies in the room. Former RGIS intelligence officer Candice and the Wonderbolt Rainbow Dash both were looking at them. It seemed he was not the only pony surprised by their rapid relocation.
His eyes fixed on Candice’s purple metal necklace. It had a crystal depiction of Twilight's cutie mark around her neck as an insignia of her position. It was a little old fashioned. It empowered her to act with nearly his sister’s full authority. Declaring her either as Twilight’s Guard Captain or Seneschal.
The first thing he noticed about Rainbow was her distinctly non-standard issue hoofblade. The second was that she was a mess. Small cuts and bruises marked her blood and sweat-stained body. By the placement of the wounds, she had definitely been in a fight. One of her feathers looked like it had been nicked by an arrow or quarrel.
Shining turned his gaze back to the blade. By the red sheen to the metal, it must have been infused with blood magic. Now, how was he going to ask how and why she had such an illegal weapon? Given how casual she was being, did she even know what she had?
A rapid series of flashes and pops caught his attention. Little Star rapidly blinked around the room. After what must have been her tenth teleport in under three seconds, she was back on the table. In her aura, she held six gems filled with blood. Shining Armor's eyes narrowed. Somepony had taught this little filly blood magic? What was Twilight thinking?
He opened his mouth to say something but was interrupted. Cadance’s warm wing wrapped around him as she whispered into his ear. “This is not blood magic, this is just magic cast upon blood.”
“I hope you're right,” he whispered back, not liking the technicality of his wife's statement. He could not help but think back to what Celestia did to Twilight when she learned blood magic.
Rainbows' voice snapped him out of his brooding. “I should get the weather patrol to keep their eyes open.” As soon as she finished, she turned to fly out, oblivious to the Shining’s concerns.
“I'll keep an eye on the scrying. If something pops up, you might be teleported back.” Candice called after her.
Rainbow did not even look back, merely waving a hoof. “Just make sure there’s food and drink.”
Now that the Wonderbolt had departed, Candice formally bowed. Her oversized wings flowing out in a graceful motion. "Princess Cadance, Prince Shining Armor."
“Captain Candice?” Shining asked.
Candice rose and folded her wings with a rustle of feathers. She nodded and smiled, filled with pride and determination.
The sound of happy munching drew his eyes to Little Star again. The tray of cookies was now missing three. The hungry look she gave the remaining cookies was seriously cute, it was an effort of will not to break out into a wide grin at the adorable little filly. She froze for a moment, looking sheepish.
He just smiled reassuringly at her. She was just a foal, and he would not blame anypony for being tempted by those cookies. They smelled almost as good as his mother’s.
The light blue glow of his wife's aura removing suspiciously cookie-like crumbs from her own muzzle made him want to laugh. She winked at him. It was hard to be worried with the happy little twinkle in her eyes.
Little Star’s horn rippled with a heat haze as it lit with magenta magic, just like Twilight’s. Two cookies lifted from the tray, one floating up to him as the other went to Candice.
Accepting his little chocolate gift in his aura, he looked back to Candice. She simply plucked the cookie out of the air with a hoof. She was also smiling at Little Star. Candice’s wing glowed as if it was a horn. A matched glow formed around Little Star’s horn. The little filly sighed with relief, as the heat haze faded and her horn cooled.
Candice summoned and presented a scroll to Little Star who started reading it immediately. The filly did not even look up as her aura levitated another cookie to Candice in exchange.
“Perhaps we should have this conversation when we are not standing on Twilight’s magical table?” Cadance stated, effortlessly flapping her wings and alighting on the ground.
Shining hopped off the table, the impact of his hooves much louder on the crystal floor that Cadance’s were. The two guards jumped down, their armour adding to the racket as they marched over to the doors and assumed guard positions.
“Are either of you here to take operational command?” Candice asked in a professional tone.
Cadance let out a little laugh. “No, I am only here in my capacity as the best foalsitter ever.” She looked fondly to Little Star.
"Understood." Candice turned to Shining.
He did not even know what the situation was, let alone that there was an operation to take control of. “I'm just here to find out what is going on with Twilight and keep my wife safe.”
“Very well. Are you going to offer any advice or just observe and assess?”
“Candice, this is just a family visit. You do what you need to.” Cadance subtly adjusted her ears in the ‘play nice’ message for him, backed up with a brief warning look.
Shining huffed. "If she is going to be my sister's personal guard," he breathed out.
“Prince, you are my former Captain,” Candice stated. “You are also the older brother of Twilight, whom I am in love with.”
His mind blacked for a few seconds, “Wait, you what!?”
Cadance moved closer and nuzzled him. She had added the scent of chocolate cookies to her normal roses. “You were part of Celestia’s harem Shiny, remember, Twilight just seems to be more… willing to make use of her’s than Aunty Celestia.”
His eyes widened with shock. His LSBFF, doing that? He could just not imagine the bookworm doing anything of the sort. Off the top of his head, he could not even remember her going on a date.
“Not to mention it was Luna that gave me to Twilight.” Candice casually stated, as if it were nothing.
He had heard about some of the ‘things’ that Luna and her Nightguards got up to. He had hoped they were just rumours. It seems that at least some of them were clearly true. Shining shook his head for a moment. He could deal with this later, there were more important things. He dropped back into more official demeanour. “What is the situation? Why did Twilight… apprehend most of a noble family?”
“Because they were paying mercenaries to stop hybrids from reaching Twilight alive to get aid.” Candice reached out with a wing and pulled a scroll from Twilight’s throne, presenting it.
That his little sister had a reason eased his mind a little. He opened and began to read his sister’s decree. His face darkened with each moment. With this, Twilight could do anything she wanted to them. The glowing eyes and evil grin from the hallucination filled his vision for an instant.
He closed his eyes, rubbing his face trying to banish the image. The problem was, he could not get it out of his head. He sighed “Captain, do you have any idea where she is now or what else she is planning on doing?”
“No I don’t, outside of gathering up any others that were part of this. She has tasked me with helping any who seek her aid. I need to get my plan into action.”
“Go ahead,” he said.
“Alright, back to the operation,” Candice said, nodding to Little Star before returning her attention to Shining. “I respect your position. I expect you to be critical of me. I want you to be critical of me. If I can improve, I would be a fool to not seek ways to do so.”
“Very well, what is…” He started before a bright magenta glow from the map table demanded his attention. His horn was lit and a shield spell half-cast as he turned and placed himself between Cadance and the powerful magic he was sensing.
Little Star’s horn blazed bright, pressed against the crystal table. The six blood gems orbiting around her. Everypony in the room was now watching the foal’s display. The glow intensified and Star’s horn started to smoke. The heat in the room started climbing, and the filly’s mane started to singe.
“Star,” Cadance called out, in a near panic. Shining felt the same panic rising. A unicorn could kill themselves by channelling too much magic.
The filly smiled happily. “Yes, Aunty Cadance?”
Again, Shining felt his mind run into a brick wall. What the buck? He thought, seeing the same mix of surprise and confusion replaced the worry on his wife's face.
In a flash, all of that magic was channelled into the table. Its crystal surface erupted into countless colours. Hundreds of symbols. No, hundreds of Cutiemarks floated above its surface.
Little Star sat back on her haunches, looking satisfied. Small trails of smoke curled up through the air from her horn. “I can’t wait to show Mummy Twilight my new spell.” She clapped her hooves together in anticipation.
The smoke was replaced by steam as Candice’s magic wrapped around Star's horn in a powerful cooling effect, again. How often did she have to do this?
“So… are all these ponies meant to go on friendship missions?” Cadance asked.
Candice gave an approving nod towards Little Star. “I am pretty sure those are the current locations of all the hybrids in Equestria.”
“The map is showing anypony that does not match one of the six tribes of ponies.” Little Star lectured, pointing at Luna’s cutiemark over Canterlot.
Wait, six tribes? Shining thought. There were only three tribes, four if you counted Alicorns. Cadance looked mildly curious. Candice did not seem to think it was anything out of the ordinary. There were yet more secrets being kept from him, it seemed.
Nodding, Candice asked, “Little Star, would you be able to do scrying windows for each one?”
Star stood tall in the center of the table and lit her horn again. She closed her eyes and looked like she was mouthing some words.
Traces of light danced over the table. All around the room, in bursts of colour, scrying window after scrying window appeared on every surface. Shining could not even see the doors anymore. The floor, ceiling and wall were all utterly covered.
Shining turned on the spot, taking it all in. Hundreds of ponies all being spied upon, this must have been the ex-intelligence analyst's wet dream.
Candice spent a few seconds just looking in apparent awe, lips moving silently before slowly looking at who was turning out to be the most powerful unicorn in the room. Until then, Shining still held a small hope it might be him.
Cadance looked at Little Star and after a few seconds, the foal nodded, looking a little contrite. Candice paused for a moment, looking between the two.
What, were they all having a conversation he was not invited to somehow? If it was not for the impenetrable mental wards he could feel on his horn here, he would think they were using a telepathic spell. Maybe it was that mare to mare silent communication that stallions like himself just could never understand?
“Would you mind assisting me in sorting through these, Prince Armor?” Candice asked.
It only took him a moment to agree, lives were on the line, and he was still a guard at heart. She wrapped both her wings in her white magic and formed the complex time acceleration spell that she had such a reputation for wasting on paperwork.
The world slowed to a crawl and then slowed more. The other ponies in the room became still as statues. He looked to Cadance. She did not even seem to be breathing, her mane was frozen unnaturally as she was just turning her head.
Candice swept a hoof towards the windows. He nodded and they set to work.
Shining blinked his tired eyes. It had taken subjective hours to sort through the scrying windows. They even had to bring Little Star into the Time Acceleration just to be able to move the windows around to sort them. There were just too many to sort through without being able to organise them.
Now before them was frozen images of the hoof-full of ponies that needed more immediate help. Off to one side were the ones that required aid but could wait, behind them were all the ones that seemed fine.
Shining continued munching on some hayfries that Little Star provided and Candice was drinking some ice-cold water. Little Star was looking forlornly at the now empty tray she had with her. She had likely eaten far too many cookies and would pay for it later.
Candice gestured to one of the windows that held a dirty looking pony chained in a filthy dark cell. “Those don't look like guard cells, what do you think?”
Shining Armor went to study the map, searching for said pony’s cutiemark.
“They’re under a Noble’s house,” Star interjected, now eating mixed flower flavoured ice cream. “Do you want them here?”
“Yes, are the areas warded against teleportation?” Shining asked.
Star smiled. “Yes, but I can burn their wards out,” she answered, more invested in her next scoop of ice cream.
“You might want to slow down on the sugar intake. You are likely consuming far more calories than you’re using,” Candice cautioned.
Little Star manifested some scrolls and started scribing numbers down. It seemed that justifying why she should be allowed to have more ice cream was more important than saving the ponies. Shining had to admit, the time magic did strip away a lot of the urgency from situations like this.
“You can do that later. We are on a mission right now.” Candice lightly chastised.
“Right, mission.” Little Star saluted, and her horn started to surge with power.
“Hold on,” Candice said immediately, with well-practised haste.
Star just looked up with her innocent eyes. She tilted her head to one side, looking curious.
“Let’s find the ones that are in immediate danger first,” Candice stated encouragingly. “Now that you know how to Accelerate Time, you can do those faster. Going around the wards would be better. We are also going to have to document where each one came from so we can hold their captors responsible.”
“So no fireworks.” Star looked a little crestfallen. “Ok.” Then she was just gone. No flash of magic, no sensation in his horn.
“Sorry…” Candice started before she registered that Little Star was already gone.
Shining Armor rubbed his forehead again. Not only did they have no idea where Twilight was, now Little Star was off teleporting to only Celestia knew where. He wondered how much trouble he was in now.
"She's very good, but can be impulsive. She’s still in the castle, probably." Candice said.
“She seems very much like …” He cut himself off, memories of how Twilight, the original Twilight, used to be before Celestia got to her.
"I know," Candice said, her compassionate tone speaking of how much she must know.
Shining could not help the little bit of suspicion rising in him. “Did she tell you? Or did you find it in some file?” He asked with deliberate calm.
“She's told me a lot.” Candice’s expression saddened. “I help her with the trauma.” Candice took a steadying breath. “She's been through so much, a normal pony would have broken... or ended themselves already.”
Suicide? Shining thought, shocked. He had never considered that she could, that she might. A new wave of fear for his sister flooded through him.
“She's still here, still doing the best she can.” She looked at him, eyes filled with resolve as a reassuring smile crossed her muzzle. “I’m doing the best I can to help her recover from what she's been through.”
“I know. To find out your not who you think you are...”
Candice just nodded, turning her focus back to the windows.
A flash of magenta drew his attention. Little Star had appeared in one of the scrying windows along with Twilight. It was not the one she was meant to be going to help. Twilight appeared unharmed and looked to be behaving normally as she pulled Little Star into a slow-motion hug. The fact she seemed to be moving at all meant she was either moving very fast or using time acceleration.
Shining blinked before tapping Candice on the shoulder. The relief on Candice's face upon seeing Twilight could not have been faked.
Twilight slowly looked up and smiled straight at him out of the window as if she could see him. Her eyes though were hard, unyielding. She lit her horn, he watched as the patterns of magic crawled over her horn. He could only recognise less than half of the runes forming into a highly complex spell array. At least three of them were restricted, and one was outright banned.
He frantically tried to work out what she was casting, all the while staring into those ancient-looking eyes.
A wave magenta magic washed over all the scrying windows. His sister's magic lingered on some of them. The sound of crackling electricity and shattering glass filled the room. The view of Twilight vanished. The window was not dark or light, just a complete lack of anything, a completely colourless void. Looking at it made his head hurt.
More of the horrible sounds rippled out as most the windows that they had sorted for immediate action, and a few others, followed suit.
“What now, Captain?” Shining asked.
“Looks like our task has been taken over by Twilight,” Candice replied.
A glaring glow of Twilight's magic started to form between them.