Shining honestly wasn’t sure what the centaurs were making such a big deal over. Compared to the Everfree Forest, this particular forest seemed downright peaceful. It was hard to even imagine something in this silly, colorful world being dangerous–although to be fair, his own world was rather colorful and danger still managed to rear its ugly head quite often. He would keep an eye out, but he had a feeling that things wouldn’t be quite as dangerous as Wammawink was insinuating. She did seem like the type to worry more than necessary.
For their parts, most of the herd seemed very intrigued by their new surroundings. Maybe a bit naive about them as well, if the way that Zulius had just taken off running and stumbled over a fallen tree was any indication.
“Oww!” Zulius moaned as he rubbed his forehead.
“Careful, Zulius!” Wammawink exclaimed as she rushed to his side. She wrapped her arms around him, gently helping him to his hooves. As she did, she sang softly to him, welcoming the others to join her embrace.
”One careful step at a time.
Please watch yourselves as you go.
Better safe than sorry
Never made it this far
We ought to take it slow.
For we are all just fragile things
Soft and small
And haven’t been here before
Where the outside can harm you
Reject you
But just stay close
And I will protect you.”
Shining watched the scene, conflicted on how he felt about it. Seeing Wammawink so caring was sweet, but it still felt like a bit much. Maybe the rest of her herd was a bit naive–Glendale should have really noticed that wasptaur hive before Wammawink had to guide her away from it–but there was such a thing as smothering. Also, was it wasps or wasptaurs? That was unrelated but Shining couldn’t help but wonder. Once he saw the arms on the creatures, he decided that wasptaurs it was.
If there was one thing that Shining had already learned about this world, it was that singing tended to get one’s point across. He had already brought the herd to his side by singing. It couldn’t hurt to try again. With a confident nod and an ear that was thankfully good at picking up on melodies, Shining stepped in front of the herd.
”Oh, I see your face, I see your fear
You can’t back down when threats appear
Though these lands get ever stranger
Steel yourselves and face the dangers
You can all be fearless too
You can fight for yourselves
You’re alright by yourselves
Cause you know
You’re strong enough to protect you.”
The herd, as they did earlier, gave Shining their full attention, even joining in his song with backup vocals. He quietly took note of this as he sang. Once he got home, he would have to see if he could use this same tactic to influence other ponies. He could think of a lot of intense debates in the royal court that could have been circumvented with a nice song.
“No!”
Wammawink’s shout broke Shining out of his thoughts and his part of the song. She began to sing her part again, but Shining wouldn’t be defeated that easily, and reprised his lyrics as well. The other centaurs were startled by the conflict between their protector and their new bold friend, and it only got worse when the two began to butt heads.
”This is why I should be leading the way!” both sang at each other, Wammawink trying to beat out Shining’s voice by getting louder. The two began to gallop along the road, the others frantically following them.
”Because I’ll keep you safe!” Wammawink insisted.
”Make you strong!” Shining retorted.
”Stop it! Clearly you’re wrong! the two sang in unison. ”Just believe me when I say…”
Whatever the two were planning to sing was forgotten as the entire group, more focused on the song than the road, ran over the edge of a small cliff. The six tumbled down the side, doing their best to brace themselves before landing in the dirt below. Whatever irony there was in arguing over who should lead while simultaneously leading their crew over a cliff was lost on Shining and Wammawink as they pulled themselves to their hooves, each moving to help the others up before meeting each other’s eyes.
”Just stay close to me…” the two sang in unison. An intense moment of silence followed, a rare occasion where none of the group had a word to say on the matter. Then Shining turned away, resuming his travels. The rest followed suit, letting the awkward silence hang in the air for a moment.
“…I don’t like it when mom and dad fight,” Glendale whispered to Zulius.
“Mom and dad?” Shining asked, looking back at her. “I’m pretty sure we must be close to the same age?”
“It’s not polite to ask a lady her age,” Ched said, fluttering over to land on Glendale’s head. “Typical thoughtless horse.”
Shining stopped in his tracks, turning to face the group fully.
“Do you have a problem with me?” Shining asked, trying to keep his tone calm. He could forgive a barb or two, but when barbs were practically all that Ched offered him, it was starting to get a bit frustrating.
“Oookay, haha, okay!” Wammawink quickly interrupted, getting between the two before Ched could respond. “That’s enough of that, no reason to argue!”
“He started it,” Ched lied, letting out a hmph as he relocated from Glendale’s head to Durpleton’s. Shining scoffed, but opted to be the bigger man–metaphorically, as he already had the literal part handled.
“I don’t care who started it,” Wammawink said. “I’m ending it. We have to be civil with one another if we’re going to help…”
Wammawink hesitated, before an embarrassed blush colored her cheeks.
“…I suppose we really should have asked your name by now,” Wammawink said, awkwardly steepling her fingers.
“Oh oh!” Durpleton exclaimed, poking his head between the two. “Is it Arthur? Bumbleton? Harrimaloo? I once had a pet rock named Bumbleton so I hope it’s not that because it would get very confusing. Unless you want to be my new pet rock?” The giraffetaur smiled innocently, even adding in a single sparkle blink.
“Why would I…” Shining started, before letting it go. “No. My name’s Shining Armor.”
“Shiny Boy!” Glendale exclaimed. Shining rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t help a small smirk.
“Sure,” Shining responded. “I guess you can call me that if it makes you happy.”
“Uhh…” Glendale said, tugging on an ear. “I guess I could, but I was kinda talking about that.” She pointed past Shining, drawing his attention to a glittering crystal on the ground.
Shining’s ears perked. The crystal certainly was shiny. And it was cut so perfectly, almost flawlessly. Being around crystals so much had gotten him used to what made for an especially beautiful and valuable crystal, and this one absolutely fit the bill. Every facet seemed to catch the light in just the right way. It reminded him so much of home, of the kinds of crystals that his wife loved, of the type of gemstone that would elicit such a big smile from his daughter.
Shining wanted that crystal.
The unicorn turned towards the crystal, staring intently at it. It would be so easy to go pick it up. Then it would be all his, and his alone. No one would be able to take it from him. All he had to do was grab it, and…
…Something felt off.
Shining pressed a hoof to his temple as he stared at the crystal. Why would someone leave such a beautiful gemstone in the middle of a forest like this? And why was he suddenly so interested in it? Cadance had plenty of gemstones, as did Flurry, and he never had an especially strong interest in them.
Something was definitely wrong. Shining’s magic might not have been with him, but he knew what magic generally felt like, and he was feeling it right now.
Shining felt as if a fog was lifting from his head, and he was quite thankful for that fact, as it gave him enough reaction time to dive into Glendale just as she was about to touch the gemstone.
“Don’t!”
The two hit the ground, Glendale looking completely bewildered. In an instant, the rest of the herd surrounded them.
“What was that?!” Wammawink exclaimed.
“He’s turning on us!” Ched shouted. “Can’t trust horses! I tried to tell you!”
“You’ve got it all wrong!” Shining said, climbing off of Glendale and offering a hoof to help her up. “I was just-“
“Stopping her from stealing?” Zulius asked. “Oh, Shiny Boy, if you’ve got any aspirations of that, you might be biting off more than you can chew.”
“No, no,” Shining insisted. “I was getting a bad vibe from-“
Shining gestured towards where he was sure the crystal was, and was only somewhat surprised to find that it had vanished.
“Oh yes,” Durpleton said, now wearing a pair of reading glasses. “That does look like it might be poison ivy.”
“That doesn’t look like ivy at all!” Shining insisted.
“Poison ivy is known for its stealth,” Durpleton asserted. Ched nodded in agreement, likely because he knew it would annoy Shining.
“Wha…” Shining started. “…Never mind. There was a crystal there. It felt weird. I didn’t want her to touch it.”
“Hm…” Wammawink said, rubbing her chin. “I don’t know how a crystal can feel weird, but I suppose I do appreciate you looking out for my herd.” Then she adopted a haughty smirk. “Do you see what I meant now? About how they need protection? That whole song of mine that you tried to usurp?”
Shining frowned. He really wasn’t hoping to prove Wammawink right immediately after that whole duet. He looked over to Glendale, who wore a heavy pout. Part of him wanted to think it was because she didn’t like the way Wammawink was insinuating that she was helpless, but it was just as likely that she was disappointed at the failed theft.
“Being careful is fine,” Shining said. “Important, even. But there’s a difference between being careful and being overprotective! How do you expect them to learn to keep themselves safe if you’re hovering over them all the time?”
A collective gasp came from the group.
“Ohhh, he said that…” Glendale muttered.
“Excuse me?” Wammawink retorted, narrowing her face. Not her eyes, her entire face. “Have you not noticed all the dangers we’ve been seeing in this short walk?”
“Yes, I have,” Shining answered. “And if you’re constantly shielding them from those dangers, what do you think will happen? What if you’re not around to protect them? What if you’re the one in danger and you need them to help you? If you keep sheltering them from everything, they won’t know what to do without you!”
“That won’t be happening,” Wammawink said sternly. “I can protect myself.”
“And you don’t think they can do the same?” Shining asked. He looked to the rest of the herd, who all looked rather uncomfortable with the fighting. “I don’t know why you think that way, but I think they can all be very capable if need be.” This elicited a little hopeful look from Durpleton and Zulius.
“I’m not saying that!” Wammawink answered. “I’m just trying to protect my only family from danger! From…from the wasptaur hives! The fernblades! Whatever this thing is!” She reached down and picked something up, showing it insistently to Shining.
Shining’s pupils shrank as he saw Wammawink holding the very crystal that he had stopped Glendale from grabbing. A long, black tendril was attached to the other end, a detail that was likely hidden by the underbrush previously. Wammawink noticed his reaction and turned her attention to the object in her hand.
“Oh,” Wammawink said, her smile desperately attempting to hide a combination of awkwardness and fear. “I guess I shouldn’t have picked that up, huh?”
The ground started to rumble, causing the group to nearly lose their footing.
“Drop it!” Shining shouted.
“I can’t, it’s stuck!” Wammawink shouted back, waving her hand frantically.
Then the ground opened up, and the alpacataur was lifted off of her hooves.