Disclaimer: The below story contains characters and settings that fall under the rightful domain of Her Imperial Majesty, The Alicorn Lauren Faust. This story was written purely for fun, and in tribute to Her masterful accomplishment, My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. I, as the author of this work, receive no monetary gain from its publication or distribution, nor do I ever intend to seek such consideration. This disclaimer is hereby affirmed this, the sixth day of November in the year Two Thousand and Twelve of the Gregorian Calender.
What Might Have Been
Chapter 8: To Crash a Secret
As Dusk Shine made his way from Princess Luna's private chambers, his mind began to churn with ideas. He was headed for the royal archives with the intent of doing any research he could into the Elements of Harmony, and this mysterious Magic Key. Book titles and authors fell into line and were organized with regard to their potential usefulness. Questions bubbled up in his mind and lines of inquiry were identified for finding the answers he needed. One thought however, did not fall neatly into place and brought the unicorn mage up short.
Of all the resources Princess Luna had put at his disposal, and of all the ponies that were now sworn to aid and protect him in his mission, there was one above all the rest who he needed to see immediately. This pony was one of the Princess's most trusted servants and held a position of great honor and responsibility in Luna's court. This pony was resourceful, and knew the workings of the new government-in-hiding inside and out. This pony was a highly trained magic user and an even more talented tactician. This pony was brave and strong and kind. This pony was Dusk Shine's sister, Gleaming Shield.
The purple colt quickly turned his hooves away from their path toward the archives, and began making his way out of the palace. According to the Princess, Gleaming Shield had gone into hiding with the rest of the royal guard in preparation for the coming of Solar Flare. Of course, being the captain of the royal guard meant that though she was in hiding, she had not gone far.
Currently Capt. Shield was staying as a civilian guest in an upscale townhouse a few blocks away from the castle gates. The house belonged to a mare by the name of Mi Amore Cadenza. It was a vaguely familiar name to Dusk Shine, but the purple colt was unable to place it. In his private meeting with the Princess, Luna had claimed Miss Cadenza as one of her distant descendants, and also a princess in her own right of the lost Crystal Empire.
Dusk had to admit he was impressed by the accommodations his big sister had scored. Apparently being captain of the royal guard came with some rather nice perks. It was a little added bonus for the violet mage to get to see the inside of such a fancy abode. The more he thought about it, the more he was looking forward to the meeting.
It did not take long for the spry young colt to make his was to the home in question, and as he arrived he was pleased to see the shape of a pony in the upstairs window. Encouraged by the fact that somepony was home, Dusk knocked on the door and waited for a response.
As he stood on the doorstep, the words of his mentor came bubbling up to the forefront of his mind. You are so blessed to have a sister like Gleaming Shield. Cherish that. And don't ever let it slip away. Truly it had been too long since he had last spent time with, or even seen his big sister. With his ever intensifying studies and her never ending responsibilities as a captain, the two could hardly ever find time for one another. It was a real eye opener for Dusk that it took such apocalyptic circumstances for them to...
Wait a second, what exactly is taking her so long to answer the door?!? thought the colt. He had been standing on the threshold lost in thought, and only now realized how long it had been since he knocked.
Trying again, this time with more force, Dusk called out. “Gleaming, are you there?” there was not response. “Miss Cadenza?” Cautiously he tried the door. It was unlocked.
Though he did not want to trespass, the violet colt had little time to spare. He needed to see his sister and tell her of his mission, as well as question her for a better understanding of the underground government. On top of all that, he still had to visit the royal archives to do any research he could on ways to stop Solar Flare, and he needed to do all of this before the Mare in the Sun showed up in Canterlot. In short, he really couldn't wait.
Cautiously entering the high class home, Dusk called again. “Miss Cadenza? Gleaming? Is anypony home?” Again he was met with silence.
The entryway in which he stood was magnificent in its decor. Black and white checkered tiles made crisp the sound of each of his hooffalls, and the warm wood paneling lent the place a cozy elegance. A rich red carpet tightly hugged a finely carved staircase that lead up to the second floor and wide archways on either side gave way deeper into the house.
Since he had seen somepony in the upstairs window, Dusk chose the staircase as his first route of investigation. It was a testament to the skill of the carpenters and crafts-ponies who were responsible for its construction that the stairway made not a single creek or groan as the purple colt ascended. Feeling more like an intruder every second, Dusk tried to call for his sister again upon reaching the top, but in his nervous state his voice came out strained and low. “Gleaming?”
Pausing to listen for a response, Dusk faintly made out the sound of soft voices coming from behind the doors at the end of the hall. Unable to make out any words, the purple colt warily made his was forward, the plush carpeting underhoof muffling the sound of his hooves. As he neared the door, which appeared to lead to the master bedroom, the violet mage began to pick up mumbles and gasps coming from within, but he still could make out no decipherable words.
Perplexed by the situation at hoof and noticing that the door was ajar, the curious colt moved to open it fully. It took hardly any pressure at all for the door to glide soundlessly open on well oiled hinges, providing Dusk Shine with a sight he was unable to understand.
Laying in the middle of a grand fourposter bed with the pillows and covers haphazardly strewn about, was his sister Gleaming Shield and strangely, his childhood foal-sitter Cadance, both tangled in each others arms and in a very compromising position.
Perhaps it was a lack of experience in these sorts of matters, or perhaps it was a cognitive reluctance to compute the information he was taking in, but whatever the reason, the reality of the situation was not quite registering in Dusk's mind, causing a flat “Uhh...” to leak from his mouth.
And then it clicked.
The purple colt having finally made enough noise to be noticed, Gleaming Shield’s ears swiveled around and locked onto the source of the disturbance an instant before the guard captain's battle trained reflexes. A scream of mortal terror erupted from Dusk Shine's lips, not because of the rock hard wall of violet magical force racing toward his face, but because of the fact that what he had just seen could never be unseen.
The wall of conjured force slammed into the traumatized colt and blessedly threw him from the scene of his horror. Gleaming Shield immediately followed up her spell by jumping off the bed and chasing after the now screaming intruder.
For his part, Dusk quickly regained his hooves and began a frantic sprint down the stares and into the rest of the house. He was lucky enough to find himself in a very well stocked and provisioned kitchen, and he made a bee line for the sink. Unfortunatly no mater how hard he scrubbed his face, eyes, and head, the image of his most beloved sister doing that would not remove itself from his brain.
A moment later Gleaming Shield herself rounded the corner fully prepared for a fight to the death, her horn blazing a furious lavender. Her battle charge was brought up short however, by the sight of her little brother grinding sudsy water into his eyes and yelling at the top of his lungs.
“Dusk Shine?!?” She exclaimed in confusion.
As a response, the distressed colt snapped his gaze around to her and pointed, still shouting incoherently. He proceeded to make confused and dysphoric gestures while continuing his distressed tirade.
“Dusk Shine!” Gleaming repeated sternly, trying without success to get some form of intelligible communication out of her little brother.
The purple mage just turned his head back to the sink and dunked his head under the soapy water, his pained wails turning into noisy bubbles.
Fed up with her brother's antics, Gleaming Shield grabbed the traumatized colt roughly by the shoulders and gave him a solid slap to the face. “Dammit Dusk! Snap out of it!” She commanded.
The slap did its work and silenced the distraught colt, but Dusk Shine was still far from copesetic. He stood there stunned for a moment before both ponies began to talk over each other.
“What in the world are you doing here?”
“What in Tartarus were you doing up there?”
“...”
“...”
“I should be asking you the same question!”
“I should be asking you the same question!”
“...”
“...”
“Stop copying me!”
“Stop copying me!”
“...”
“...”
“Quit it!”
“Quit it!”
“Children, please!” commanded a third voice. With more grace than would be expected in such a situation, Princess Canance entered the kitchen and put an end to the siblings' dispute. Both brother and sister had the good sense to looked embarrassed by her comment before she spoke again. “I realize this situation seems a little awkard-”
“More than an little, dearheart.” interrupted Gleaming Shield with a weak smile and a strong blush on her face.
“Yes, well...” The pink alicorn valiantly fought off a blush of her own as the though of what she had just been caught doing was brought to the fore. Pressing on, she addressed the purple colt. “Dusk Shine, I don't know why you're here, but I think we all have some explaining to do. Perhaps it would be best if we went and sat down?” With this Cadance gestured in invitation toward her living room, hoping that her hospitality could make up for any mental scaring she had inadvertently inflicted on Dusk.
The young mage however, was still very confused by the current state of affairs. Most notably by the fact that he had found two ponies who he knew very well, both in the house of somepony who he was certain he knew nothing about.
“Wait. I was told this house belonged to a mare named Mi Amore Cadenza. Forgive me for being so blunt, but what are you doing here Cadance?”
The princess of love paused for a moment before understanding came to her. With a warm smile she explained. “Dusk Shine, my full name is Mi Amore Cadenza. This is my house. Now please, come sit down. I think we all have a lot to discuss.”
“Some more than others I'd wager” Dusk said shrewdly while shooting his sister a sharp glare.
Rolling her eyes, Gleaming Shield followed her unicorn brother and her alicorn lover into the living room. When they were all comfortably seated (comfortable being a relative term considering the circumstances) she decided it was time for some answers. Her younger brother however, was quicker on the draw.
“So, uh... How long have you two been together?” As usual, the purple colt went right for the most awkward topic possible without even realizing it. Cadence looked confused by this question though.
“Didn't Gleaming tell you?” She asked.
“Tell me what?”
“About our engagement silly. Your sister asked me to marry her almost a month ago.” gushed the alicorn. Enthusiasm and euphoria filled her as she got to relive that magical moment. “It was the most romantic thing. I still get giddy just thinking about it” leaning over to her betrothed, Cadance gave Gleaming a lovesome nuzzle.
The guardsmare by contrast, was clearly not comfortable with the attention. Not for any reason having to do with her fiance of course, but because of the shocked and betrayed look she was receiving from her dear little brother. Somepony was busted.
“Engaged!” He exclaimed in surprise. “You two are engaged?”
“Yep! I thought you knew already?”
“No.” replied Dusk, hurt creeping into his voice. “Do mom and dad know about this?”
Despite her well known courage and years of combat training, Gleaming Shield was quite obviously losing her nerves. She had indeed wanted to tell her little brother about her relationship, but for one reason or another she never seemed to be able to find the right moment. Now Dusk had found out in perhaps the worst possible way, and all she could do was come clean with the whole sordid truth.
“Well, yeah. Actually when I told them, Dad went and got our great grandma Twinkle's wedding ring for me to give to Cadence. So uh, yeah... they know.” She said while closely examining her hooves.
“Gleaming, I'm your brother. Why didn't you tell me?” He pleaded
The hurt in Dusk's eyes and voice cut deep into Gleaming Shield. “I wanted to Dusk, I really did. But the princess has had me so busy lately that I could hardly spare a minute to see Cadance, let alone you. I know that's not much of an excuse, but I am sorry.”
Dusk could plainly see Gleaming's remorse on her face and hear it in her voice, though he was still a bit peeved. He huffed in frustration at his boneheaded sister. “Yeah well, I guess I can forgive you. But I'm still mad at you for this.”
“Would it help if I said that I want you to be the colt of honor?” Gleaming offered.
“Really?” he said, leaning forward in his seat, nearly overcome with excitement.
The guardsmare smiled to see her brother so pleased with the idea. “Of course. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“Oh Gleaming, I'd be honered!” enthused the violet mage as he leap up and hugged his sister. No sooner had he done so than he pulled away again and coughed modestly into his hoof. “I mean, uh... Yes. That will be sufficient recompense for your previous transgression.” he said keeping a neutral tone.
“Well that settles it.” Cadance chimed in. “If there was ever any doubt before, it's gone now. You two are defiantly siblings!” she said with a chuckle.
The air in the richly furnished living room now significantly clearer, Dusk once again took hold of the conversation. This time however, he had a plan.
Being captain of the royal guard, his sister rarely had an opportunity to speak to Dusk about her work. Mostly this was due to security protocols and the trust of the state. However now that Dusk was in possession of Luna's Writ of Agency, he could technically be considered Gleaming Shield's boss. This was of course, an opportunity too good to pass up.
“So Gleaming, you said the princess has had you busy lately. What exactly has she been having you do if not guard the castle?”
Gleaming's face drew into a frown. “Dusk, you know I can't talk about work to ponies without security clearance.”
Feigning surprise, Dusk went on. “Oh really? … Huh.” The colt took a deep breath through his nose and turned to look out a window and up at the morning sky, all the while only just managing to keep the grin off his face. In a casually distracted manner, he made a comment on the weather which wasn't really about the weather at all. “You know, I've always found the sunlight welcome.” The purple colt turned back in time to see just what he was hoping to see.
Had she not already been sitting down, Gleaming Shield would have fallen flat on her rump. As it was, her jaw was hanging open and her eyes were wide in shock. The grin Dusk had been keeping in check finally slipped out as he leaned in closer to his sister. “What do you think, dear sister?”
For a moment the white unicorn mare could only stammer as she tried to find her words. “Uh, bu... Y-yes, but you won't get burned in the shade” she finally forced out.
The purple colt couldn't help it any more and burst out into gales of laughter, falling back into his seat and clutching his sides. “You should see the look on your face!”
Cadance, being the only pony not in the loop at this point, spoke up. “Um... Did I miss something? What's going on between you two?”
Her betrothed looked over to her with a sheepish grin. “Uh, Cadence dear, could you give Dusk and I a chance to talk in private for a bit?”
The alicorn princess of love was only more confused by this request and was about to say as much.
“Please honey.” Gleaming added quickly, giving the pink mare a brief nuzzle. “It's important, I promise.”
“Ok... I guess I just go make up some tea for us all then.” Cadance replied hesitantly before getting up and leaving the room.
As soon as the alicorn princess was out of earshot, the white guardsmare turned to her brother. “I was told to be ready to aid Princess Luna's chosen champion. I never though it would be you though.” she said still trying to get over her surprise.
“Is that really what she called me?”
“Yes actually. All the other officers and I were told that the princess was going to leave one pony with a singularly important mission, and that it was our first and highest duty to protect and aid this pony in any way possible, even at the cost of our own lives. We were told that this single pony was the key to stopping Solar Flare and saving Equestria.”
Dusk took a deep breath as he absorbed his sister's words. “That's about the gist of it.” he said slowly. “It's also part of the reason I came here in the first place. But it's not the only reason.” He got up and moved to sit next to his big sister. “Things are going to get very bad very soon, and I didn't want to pass up the opportunity to see you.”
“I know Dusk. I'm glad I get to see you too.” Gleaming said as she put an arm around the younger pony.
For just a little while they stayed like that, in a quite embrace. In the time to come both ponies knew that such familiar comforts would be few and far between, so the took what they could.
“There is something else I need to ask you.” Dusk said as he pulled away. His sister nodded once and suddenly the violet mage was looking into the face of a captain of the royal guard, calm, controlled, and ready.
Letting his intellectual mind take over, dusk began his explanation. “The mission Princess Luna's given me is still something I need to do substantial research on, and the best place for me to do that is in the Canterlot Royal Archives in the palace. However, once Solar Flare returns, she'll most likely come here, to Canterlot to start her conquest. I need to be away from here when that happens, but unless I stumble upon a promising lead in my research I have no idea where I should go after that.
“It won't help my cause any if I simply go into hiding just anywhere. I need a place that will have at least some chance of furthering my quest. You've been through tactical training so I thought I'd ask you. After Solar Flare arrives in Canterlot, what will be my best move?”
Gleaming took in all this information form Dusk with a calculating expression, slowly weighing the options available to her brother and trying to anticipate future events. Though she had been taught how to make sound tactical decisions based on incomplete information, there was one point of data the seemed critical to this whole problem. “What will the princess be doing when Solar Flare returns to Equestria?”
“Luna said that she expects Flare to hunt her down and challenge her to a fight. She said that two warring goddesses should be nowhere near a major city, so she left Canterlot just after sunrise. I can't tell you everything, but the short version is that it's a fight Luna knows she won't be able to win. Suffice to say that once she has been overpowered by Solar Flare, Princess Luna will be lost to us until we can put a stop to the Mare in the Sun.”
Gleaming thought on this for a moment as well, then she gave her opinion. “You're right that once Flare takes hold of the city, Canterlot will be a very bad place for you to be. I don't know the specifics of your mission and you shouldn't tell me, regardless the more information you can gather on your enemy the better. Nowhere are you going to find a better place to do that than the site of the princess's and Solar Flare's battle. If its information you need, I'd go there.
“Where exactly has the princess gone to wait for Flare?” She asked
Dusk thought back to his moment on the balcony with Luna just hours before, and to the image of that little town down in the valley.
“She went to Ponyville.”