//------------------------------// // TCE: Captain // Story: Blooming Days // by Hoofprintz //------------------------------// They're useless... They're all completely useless... The three Crystal guards splayed on the ground before me were barely clinging to consciousness. If these were the best the Empire had to offer, Cantata had to be in more trouble than she'd led Celestia to believe. "This can't be it," I scoffed, staring down at the spent ponies. Shining Armor had picked me and Twilight up from our room hours ago. We were given some basic meals before the two of us were quickly whisked away to the Crystal Guard's training grounds. It was a mostly acceptable arena. Since the majority of the Crystal Ponies were unicorns their training was clearly angled toward building on that foundation. Mana stress tests, precise telekinetic maneuvers, and other such things filled the wide outdoor area. Unfortunately, it was easy to see where they were severely lacking as well. Any kind of aerial assault was completely foreign to the guard. Sure, they could put up shields to protect themselves from attacks coming from the air, but that doesn't exactly stop an attacker. And so, I'd decided to test them. Directly in front of a crowd of their peers, I requested the best step up to challenge me. They were found wanting. "Maybe you should take it a bit easier on them, Starlight," Twilight foolishly suggested, though I'm certain her heart was in the right place. "I gotta agree with Twilight, Star," Shining Armor spoke up for the first time since I'd began testing his "most promising" guards. "We're not trying to discourage them." Of course he'd agree with her. "This isn't some experiment, Spa- Twilight," I was already at the clenched teeth phase, I really didn't want to have to progress to the all-out shouting phase. At least, not yet. "Guards are meant to protect their kingdom and its ponies no matter what the personal cost. If they're treated like a bunch of foals..." I glared down at the defeated weaklings, sweeping a hoof towards them. "This is what you end up with. Dross." "Still..." Twilight clearly wanted to protest, but she knew I was right. "Isn't that what you're here for, Star?" Shining Armor said smugly. "Stop..." I whirled around to face him and his sister, wanting nothing more than to blast him into little Itty-bitty pieces. "calling me that." I kept my rage under control, but there was a threatening undercurrent in my voice that I couldn't hide. "Star..." Twilight said quietly, obviously wanting me to calm down a bit, if for nothing else than for her. "C'mon, Star. We're all friends here," he said, his pompous smile growing tenfold. I don't know what it was. His stupid face. His complete lack of respect. His utter disregard for what it meant to be somepony's friend. Maybe I was just done acting friendly with another stallion I didn't trust. Whatever the case, I let loose a blast of mana directly at the arrogant whelps face. "SHINY!?" Twilight shouted in pure panic, the attack too fast for her to stop. My spell collided with a magenta shield, the impact sending sparks of energy flying in all directions. After my mana grinded into the blockade for several seconds both flickered and then faded to nothingness. Shining Armor stood there just as confidently as before, a smirk on his lips, though he was breathing much harder than a second ago. "No need to worry, Twily. I can take care of myself," he chuckled nervously. "I gotta admit, though... you're a lot stronger than you look, Starlight." "A guard is only as strong as its leader," I sneered at the stallion. "Why don't we see just how strong the Captain of the Crystal Empire really is." "Sounds fun," he didn't take his eyes off of me. "So long as you don't try to kill me or anything," he joked. Or maybe it wasn't one. I didn't really care either way. "Let's see where the day takes us, Shiny," I mocked him and that dumb nickname of his. "Starlight!" Twilight was next to me in a hot second, a furious expression on her face. "We're supposed to be helping not-" "Do you trust me?" I asked calmly, not taking my eyes off of her brother who'd moved to help his troops back to their hooves. "I..." When she didn't answer soon enough I turned my gaze to her, seeing that she'd turned away. "Twilight!" I snapped at her, drawing her surprised face back to me. "Do YOU trust me?" I was more than a little worried by her reserved demeanor. She didn't even want to look me in the eyes, her gaze locked to the side. "I... I think so..." Her voice was barely above a whisper. "I think I do, Starlight." It hurt a little, but I understood. It was the best I was going to get from her right now, and the honesty was much appreciated. "Then let me do things the way I know how," I smiled weakly at her. She finally looked at me, a tired frown on her face. "Fine," she sighed as she stepped away from me. "Just promise me you won't kill him." "For a friend?" I chuckled. "I'll do my best." "STAR!" she glared at me. "I'm kidding, Sp- Twilight," I grinned back. "He'll be juuuust fine when I'm done with him." He was finished attending to his embarrassed guards, now waiting for me and Twilight to finish our spat. His cocky smile hadn't left his face, although I could detect that same uncertainty as before when he'd blocked my spell. He must've known I could squash him like an insect if I wanted to. Either that, or he was trying to convince himself that he somehow stood a chance. "Soooo... what did you have in mind, Starlight?" He was being much more polite now. As if I'd care. "A one-on-one magic duel. First to make the other concede or lose consciousness wins," I explained the terms of the game plainly. "Then can't I just-" "Look around yourself, Shining Armor," Twilight cut him off. He did just that. I guess Twilight understood my plan as well. Each and every guard was filled with determination. Filled with the hope that their captain could put the one who'd ridiculed their allies into her proper place. A glint came to his eyes, a spark of something that wasn't there before that I couldn't quite identify. Whatever it was, it made all the hairs on my body stand on end. "Alright, Starlight! I'll show you what I've got!" he roared confidently, his horn shining brightly. "Bring it on, SHINY!" I fueled my own horn, prepared for any kind of attack he might throw at me. "SHOW HER HOW IT'S DONE, CAPTAIN!" "TEACH HER A LESSON, SIR!" "SHUT THAT PRETTY LITTLE MOUTH OF HERS, CAP!" Every single pony currently occupying the training grounds looked at the third guard that had shouted. "BIG! I MEANT BIG!" he waved his hooves in front of himself. "BOO! BIG MOUTH! BOO!" "And you wonder why your guard is lacking," I returned my attention to the stallion in front of me. "They're so pathetic they'd rather fawn over an enemy than fight them." "Can you really blame them?" he shook his head, clearly amused. "To be fair, you are REALLY cute." "Y-you..." I blushed fiercely. Not because I was flattered or enticed by his words, but because it was just so darned embarrassing. "YOU'RE ENGAGED!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, hoping to toss back some of that embarrassment. "Ironyyyy!" Twilight called out in a sing-songy voice. "SPARKLES!" I was fuming, but I didn't take my eyes off of my opponent. "YOU'RE NOT HELPING!" "I am," Shining Armor shrugged. "Doesn't change the fact that you're quite a looker, Star." "Shining Armor..." I lowered my head, pouring more mana into my horn. "If you're not going to make the first move, I'll gladly take the initiative," I growled through gritted teeth. "Ladies fir-" A crash of turquoise lightning slammed into him directly from above. The crack of thunder it produced enough to force everypony except Twilight and myself to their behinds. The debris and smoke that had been kicked up from my blast took nearly a minute to fully clear. To his credit, Shining Armor remained standing, but he was visibly wobbling. His coat was singed and there was no barrier or shield around him to be seen, but the fact that he wasn't out cold meant he'd protected himself well enough. "SWEET CELESTIA, STARLIGHT!" he shook his head, getting the cobwebs out. "Warn a stallion when you're gonna do something like that, would you?" "I did warn you," I said as a slight smile lifted my lips. It was nice seeing him in a state other than smug overconfidence. "Staaaar..." Twilight's reprimanding voice carried all the irritation she must've been feeling. "You said not to kill him, Twilight," I began charging another spell. "He's not dead." She huffed angrily at my response. I was holding back, but that didn't mean I wasn't going to teach him a lesson. Don't buck with me, cretin! "Alright," his horn flickered to life again. "Definitely don't wanna get hit by something like that again." "Tell you what, Shiny," I chuckled. "I'll let you have the next attack." His confused face told me just how caught off guard he was by my declaration. "If you by some miracle manage to impress me, I'll follow your orders for the duration of my stay in the Empire." He closed his eyes, a wide smile coming to his lips. He laughed riotously for almost a minute straight before wiping away a tear from his eye. "How unlucky can one stallion be?" he sighed, his smile persisting. "Hm?" I lifted a brow. "I thought it was awfully magnanimous of me to make such an offer." "Oh, it's beyond generous," he admitted. "Unfortunately, I can't take advantage of your kindness." I looked at Twilight in the hopes of getting some context or clarification. She shrugged, lifting a hoof lazily. "As far as I know, ever since he was a foal, my brother has never trained up his offensive spells." His sister's words nearly caused me to fall over. ... He's a bleeding PACIFIST!? Another snap of lightning flicked the ground right next to him, the bolt of energy not restrained by me at all. He recoiled from the arc, but the thunderclap right after was powerful enough to knock him over. Had I hit him with the spell I was confident he'd be a goner. "YOU'RE A BUCKING PACIFIST!?" My mind was reeling. It made no sense. He was the Captain of the Guard. He was the one who had to ensure the safety of an entire kingdom... and he... "Guilty as charged," he was staring at the charred ground where my attack had landed. "Is that really such a reprehensible thing?" "You're supposed to protect ponies!" I wanted to walk over to him and deck him in the face, but we were still dueling. For all I knew this could just be a ploy to get me to let my guard down. "How do you expect to do that when you won't even fight for them!?" "By protecting them," he replied with no doubt in his voice, his horn shimmering brightly. "YOU-" "STARLIGHT!" I glared at Twilight, wondering exactly why she'd deem it necessary to interrupt me when I was trying to "help" her brother. "WHAT, SPARKLES!?" I growled. I'm pretty certain veins were bulging somewhere on my neck. "Look around yourself, Star," she replied calmly. What does she... As I took in my surroundings better I realized what she wanted me to. The crowd of guards surrounding the three of us were covered in Shining Armor's magenta magical aura. He's... I don't know why, but discovering what he was doing, what his strategy was for our duel... it sent me right over the deep end. So there really are ponies like him in the world? I charged my horn with even more mana, the energy growing from it several inches longer than the actual spire. I was no longer raging. On the contrary, I was as calm as the peaceful sea. Where were ponies like him when I needed them? "You honestly think you can protect them without fighting me?" I turned my wrath back to the weaklings. "S-Star?" Twilight's voice had a smidgeon of panic lacing it. She was correct to feel such a way. I was going to see if his ideals held true and his soldiers would be the perfect test subjects. If he's not fit to lead... they'd die eventually anyway. "I'll show you why Princess Celestia chose me to protect her," he smirked. "Celestia?" I raised a brow, the revelation that he was part of her inner circle throwing me off a bit. "How utterly... predictable." "Wanna elaborate?" he asked, his horn still trying to sing louder than mine. "It makes sense you served under her," I snorted. "She's all about peace and virtue until..." Her eyes, those nightmarish eyes, flashed through my mind. "Until she isn't." ... "You talk like you have first-hoof experience." It wasn't an insult or anything of the sort, merely an observation, but it made me bristle with anger. "I've come face to face with an enraged Sun Princess," I confessed. He didn't flinch. "When push comes to shove, she'd burn a pony to cinders without a second thought." His eyes lit up, his smile growing wide as he licked his lips. It was like that was exactly what he wanted to hear. As if I'd walked right into his trap. "Oh I see what happened," he laughed, clearly mocking me. "You did something stupid and fell into the hooves of a living goddess..." his smile grew along with my rage. "I'm not sure what you did, but... I'm betting paying for your crimes isn't something you ever thought you'd have to do, huh?" The barb was meant to hurt, I knew that. It wouldn't have worked, but for some reason I'd decided to look at Twilight at that very moment. I don't know what I was expecting. Maybe sympathy? There was none to be found in her. She stared back, the cold judgment on her face making me flinch before my head fell. "Villains always loathe their actions getting brought into the light of the sun," he continued his onslaught. "I'm... I'm not a-" "You sure act like one," he wasn't going to let me talk. The magic duel had become a mental battle... and he was annihilating me. "CRIMINAL!" "VILLAIN!" "YOU'RE A NIGHTMARE!" "I... I..." My mana failed me, my horn immediately flickering out. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know what to do. A monster? Sure. A villain? A... Nightmare? ... "STAR!" I snapped to attention, looking back at the violet unicorn. "T-Twilight?" "FOCUS!" she ordered me. I stared at her, my mouth agape. "Or are you intending to lose?" "S... Sparkles..." I shook my head, determination flowing through my veins. I may be a monster. I may be a villain. I may even be a Nightmare. But... There was one thing I knew I wasn't, and it was time to prove it. "Enough chitchat," I flared my horn, ready to take on the entire world as I refocused on the Captain of the Guard. "This is a magic duel, not a conversation." "You better be thankful for my sister," he snorted. "You were pretty much done for." "I said," my spell was complete. "ENOUGH TALKING!" Shining Armor looked completely confused as shadows began to overtake all of us standing in the training grounds. He slowly raised his eyes to see a countless number of flaming meteors falling from the heavens directly towards him and his troops. "STAR-" Twilight's voice made me alter my tactics just a bit. I teleported the purple unicorn right behind myself. "light?" "You'll be safe here. Just don't move," I explained, casting a barrier around her. If I wanted this ploy to work, he had to believe it and I wouldn't just leave Twilight unprotected if I was trying to blow everything up. As soon as he noticed I'd moved his sister a look of true concern finally came to his face. "Haaaave fuuuun..." I cooed. His horn pulsed, a ring of energy blasting out in all directions as he scrambled to protect all that he could. "BELIEVE IN CAPTAIN ARMOR!" "YOU CAN DO IT, SIR!" "WE BELIEVE IN YOU!" Won't make a difference. No matter how strong his spell might be, it wouldn't be able to stop what I'd conjured. And his little underlings could do all the cheering they wanted. None of it would change anything. It was an illusion. There were no projectiles. The rocks would fall and explode into harmless particles as soon as they made contact with any solid object. If he was as righteous as he claimed to be everything would be fine. If he was a coward he'd look one in front of his guard and his sibling. If he wants a battle of wits, I'll give him one. He glared at me. The look in his eyes told me he knew there was no way he could stop such a catastrophic attack. The swarm of molten spheres was drawing closer and closer and the soon to be prince was trying to formulate a plan of action. "Tick tock, SHINY!" I had to have been glowing. There was nothing he could do. Not a thing, other than begging or running. "... can't just..." Twilight was saying something behind me, but I couldn't make out all of it. The stallion's face lit up like a Hearth's Warming tree. What is he- A gleam came to his eye, something I'd never experienced flying directly at me. I was able to dodge at the very last moment, whatever the projectile had been clipping some of my mane off. Before I could even react my meteors landed. Fountains of magical sparks fell, covering the ground and the ponies all around me. Shining Armor stood up straight, shaking the magical dust from his body. He was literally and figuratively glowing. He'd stood his ground. He hadn't run away. I couldn't care less. "WHAT WAS THAT!?" I bellowed stomping my way up to the stallion. He simply lifted a brow in reply, his smile growing wider. "I SAID WH-" "STARLIGHT!" I was grabbed from behind, pulled roughly backwards. "S-Sparkles!?" She had a firm grip on my withers, much firmer than I'd ever expect from somepony with such a meager frame. "We NEED to talk," she huffed as she dragged me away from him. I looked back at the arrogant captain. "This ISN'T over!" I growled. He merely raised his chin in response, his smug smile growing even wider.