//------------------------------// // Banana Bread, // Story: My Little OC: Creativity Is Magic // by FiddlesticksThePony //------------------------------// It was a bright, sunny day in Canterlot. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the faint smell of lilacs wafted through the air. In simpler terms, a textbook example of a perfect day to be spent indoors. In the distance a small, hyperactive furry ball raced through the winding halls of the Canterlot museum of history. Lagging behind was a old and wrinkled stallion; his bones crackling loudly with every step. Despite his advanced age, the stallion moved about with a spring in his step and viewed the world through twinkling eyes.  “Slow down, champ,” he beckoned, unable to keep up to the pace of the energetic youth. “Your grandpa’s still as strong as an ox, but he’s not as young as he used to be.” Several moments passed, but still the young colt was nowhere in sight. Fearing for the safety of his grandson, he quickly rounded the corner with surprising speed. Thankfully for him, the young colt hadn’t ran too far off, but was instead frozen in awe at the sight of an elaborate portrait.  The young colt gave the painting a quizzical look and pointed toward it with one of his hooves.“Grandpa, who’s that pony in the picture?”  The aged stallion chuckled heartily. “Son, didn’t you learn anything in school? He’s just the most important pony to grace the earth in the last two hundred years.”  The seed of curiosity quickly grew inside the colt and within a few moments he was already begging for answers. “Who is he and what makes him so special?” the young colt inquired. eager to learn of the past.  “Nothing much, he’s just the champion of harmony, savior of Equestria.”  “Please, oh please grandpa, tell me more,” begged the young colt as he put on his best puppy dog look.  “Fine, I’ll tell you a story, but I’m going to need you to settle down,” said the stallion, much to the glee of the young colt. Without any further instruction, the colt sat down in place; much to the dismay of his grandfather. With a sigh, the stallion began to regale the colt with an essential piece of history. “Okay, listen up son, for here is the great tale of Shining Armor, captain of the royal guard,  annihilator of the black and red menace.” ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------  The early morning sun blazed overhead; its rays gently reflecting off of the vast wall of muscle and steel below. Leading this formidable force of various pony species was a single unicorn stallion clad in fine steel and brass; his masterfully crafted armor outshining the very sun itself. The majestic stallion stood atop a tall hill, his glistening figure available for all to see.  “My most trusted subordinates,” said the gleaming figure. “Today will forever be etched down in history as our greatest triumph. Today shall be the day we rid ourselves of the-”  A single flash of blue caught the attention of the glimmering figure; halting his speech. Out of the stoic and highly trained regiment, a single hoof was rised. “Captain, permission to speak?” called the pony as he attempted to make his way to the front of the crowd. After several moments, out popped a cyan pegasus clad in solid steel armor.    “Permission granted, Quicksilver,” responded the gleaming figure.  “Sir Shining Armor, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble could you step down from that hill? I can feel my retinas sizzling away.”  “I’m afraid I can’t do that,” disclosed Shining Armor. “I have to gather as much intel of the battlefield as I can.”  The color quickly drained from Quicksilver’s face and his lips began to tremble. “Battlefield? Are we going to do battle or something?”  The foolish question caught Shining Armor completely off guard; leaving the stallion befuddled. “Why . . . yes, this is a war. What other reason would we have to be here?”  “Holy flank, seriously? I thought we were having a picnic!” exclaimed the cyan pegasus, followed by a wave of nods from the crowd.  Shining Armor sighed and placed a hoof on his face. “Show of hooves, who else thinks this is a picnic?” Following the short question, in unison, three thousand hooves rose up in response. Slowly, Shining Armor’s face became a deep shade of crimson, yet he still maintained his composure. “I’ve been planning this with both the princesses and three other generals for several months now. How could three thousand ponies possibly not know we’re about to wage war?”  Three thousand ponies shrugged and looked away in shame. “We were told we were having a picnic by Princess Celestia herself several months ago,” Quicksilver announced, procuring an invitation and a large basket from within a hidden crevice in his armor. “She just waltzed right into our barracks several days ago to remind us to bring food and drinks. Look, I even bought some banana bread.”  The surprising revelation left the stallion with his mouth agape. “Wait, hold on a second. Did you just say that Princess Celestia herself told you that this was going to be a picnic?”  “Unless years of being exposed to experimental magic has finally taken its toll, then most probably yes,” Quicksilver responded.  With a bit of flair and magic, Shining Armor pulled out a quill and a small piece of parchment from thin air. “Could you hold on a second?” Shining Armor announced as he began to write. “I have to send a certain princess a very sincere letter.” The letter was a simple love filled message consisting of two words written in big bold print. With another puff of magic, the letter was instantaneously delivered to a large pile labeled ‘from my little ponies’. Nearby, the regal solar princess herself shoveled the ever increasing pile of correspondence into the dancing flames of the castle furnace.  “Well, that should show her a piece of my mind!” the unicorn boasted, puffing out his chest in pride. “However, there are more ‘important’ matters at hoof. Seriously, I mean we have been marching for five day’s now; all your food should be spoiled or hard as stone. Shouldn’t that have rised any alarms?” The disgruntled captain glared at all of his three thousand subordinates. Not a single pony could meet his gaze, but one cyan pegasus.  “Sir, I beg the differ,” countered Quicksilver. “The invitation clearly states that we would be hiking for several days. Knowing this, my friend Fiddlebottoms enchanted all the food with a simple stasis spell.” The pegasus withdrew a loaf of bread from the large basket and struck it against his helmet. The resulting metallic clang droned through the air. “It keeps our food from spoiling, but I have no idea how we’re suppose to eat it.”  Shining Armor’s vision gained a red lense and he began to speak in a slow, dangerous tone. “We are clad in full bodied plate armor, equipped with the finest weapons in all of Equestria, and supplied by a dozen caravans day in and day out. Still, not a single one, not a single pony thought ‘Hey, this might not be a picnic after all.’”  “Well, to be honest sir, now that you mention it, carrying all this equipment is kind of strange-,” Quicksilver remarked, finally feeling the burden of the heavy steel draped upon his body.  “Yes!” the ranting stallion shouted in glee, interrupting the pegasus speaking before him. “You feel that coursing through your veins? That’s logic, pure sweet logic. Never before have I felt prouder in my life. I just knew you guys are the best subordinates a pony could ask for.”  “However, I thought you were merely punishing us for that prank involving love poison and that incident with your sister,” the pegasus divulged, leaving his captain blushing furiously followed by a wave of nods from the crowd. “Not to mention we’re at the very gates of Tartarus itself. Carrying all this armor and equipment might not be such a bad idea for a picnic after all.”  Shining Armor sighed and placed a hoof upon his face. “You know where we are, yet you still insist on a picnic?”   “Well, yeah,” Quicksilver retorted, shrugging his shoulders. “We kind of noticed it a day ago. I mean it’s kind of hard not noticing a giant flaming gate. Besides, its not like we get the chance of having a picnic at the very gates of Tartarus everyday.”  Shining Armor’s eyes burned like hot coals due to the nonchalant personality of the pegasus before him. “Do you honestly have any idea? Any idea on what we’re dealing with?” bellowed the stallion.  “Well to be honest, no,” Quicksilver replied.  “Are we dealing with Cerberus or something? Because using three thousand ponies is kind of a waste. I’m pretty sure a single pony with a ball could subdue the beast.”  The short comment was followed by murmurs of agreement among the crowd; much to the dismay of Shining Armor. “By great Celestia’s beard, stop agreeing with him!” Shining Armor roared before regaining his composure. “No, we are dealing with something far more dangerous. We are dealing with the very spawn of the deepest depths of Tartarus. We are dealing with the black and red menace.”  “Black and red menace?” wondered Quicksilver before a thought struck him. “Oh, you must mean those immensely powerful, perverse alicorns always lying around everywhere. Well they don’t really seem like a problem. They’re not too intelligent and they usually give angst laden monologues before they go about doing anything. I mean just the other day I convinced one of them to teleport into the sun for a lollipop.”  “Amusing tale, Quicksilver,” Shining Armor replied, quickly taking note of the brilliant strategy. “But I am sure that the more intelligent of the species will not fall for such a simple ruse.”  “I beg the differ captain,” Quicksilver chuckled. “Thing is, I never even gave him the lollipop. I said I would give it to him afterwards and he immediately agreed.”  Several months of planning replaced by a lollipop finally snapped the disgruntled captain. With a sigh, Shining Armor began to descend the hill. “I need some time alone,” he whimpered as he made his way to the caravans.  “But captain,” Quicksilver replied, his voice dripping with concern. “Can we still have the picnic?”  Too dreary to express any anger, Shining Armor reluctantly agreed. With a simple nod, Shining Armor walked off into the distance; abandoning the cheers of glee and merriment behind him.