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// Under Your Muzzle (Shining Armor) 
// Story: The Wandering Star 
// by Priceless911 
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I rushed as fast as I could to the location that the witness spoke of. The whole time I galloped, I was thinking to myself, “We finally got him! We finally caught Commander Bolt!”
As I rush up to the sight I could already see a few of my soldiers waiting for me, so I asked, “Where is he? Did you get him?”
They both shook their heads as one spoke, “Captain Armor… the neighbors say he left this morning, they said he was on his way into the Griffin Kingdoms from here. If this is true then he’s probably crossed the border by now.”
Once again, I was just plain ticked off. Princess Celestia ordered me to bring him to her weeks ago… but so far, I haven’t even seen his face yet. All I have are rumors and witness descriptions of him.
One pony from Trottingham says he is a tall buff alicorn… one from the Everfree Forest says he is a spirit who watches over the Kingdom. A few of my guards claimed he is a demon who shoots lightning from his eyes. When I asked Princess Luna what he looked like, she said he was a sweet strong pegasus, Princess Celestia says he is a confident yet untrusting stallion, and the list goes on and on. So far all I can say is this. He is near impossible to catch. But now he is in the Griffin Kingdom so I know I can’t just send soldiers there to look for him… nowadays the griffins will find any excuse they can to start a war. I looked at my soldiers and gave them an order, “Increase Security on the borders between the Griffin Kingdoms and Equestria, he will be back. This is his home after all.”
The same solder replied, “What about the griffins sir?”
“If they ask, a fugitive has crossed their borders and will return soon. That’s all they need to know.”
The soldier nodded his head and replied, “Yes Sir, we will do that right away.”
After another long day of chasing around a rumor I decided to clear my thought and get some cider at the local pub, it’s been a while since I was able to get that stallion off my mind. After a few minutes of searching, I found a quaint little hole in the wall place to get a drink so I went inside and sat beside another stallion at the bar. As soon as I sat down I started to take a good look at this stallion, I wanted to see if he fit the descriptions, but then I stopped myself and put my hoof on my head, and mumbled to myself, “Oh… Shining Armor… you really need to give it a rest.”
The stallion seemed normal enough; he was a strong looking pony wearing a cloak. At first sight, I would mistake him for a traveling merchant, but his saddlebag seemed too small, perhaps he was a delivery pony. The stallion looked over at me and spoke, “Rough day?…”
I looked at him and replied, “Is it that easy to see?”
The stallion took a sip of his drink and replied, “Yep… but don’t worry about it… you know what the best thing about a rough day is? There’s another one coming tomorrow.”
The stallion smiled at his joke while I couldn’t help but laugh as I commented, “Too true. Meanwhile I spend my days searching for some kind of alicorn, spirit, and demon. Who is sweet, and untrusting… sheesh, sometimes I wish I could just say let him run free. You know?”
The stallion shook his head, “Freedom comes in many shapes and forms, what some would consider freedom, may seem like a prison to others. I mean look at me, I’ve seen many things in my travels, I’ve faced snowstorms, dangerous mountains, blistering hot deserts and still have the strength to find work whenever I can… but sometimes I just want to settle down and enjoy the feel of the surroundings you know?”
While he spoke I ordered my drink, this pony seemed to know a lot, so I had to ask, “Are you a traveler?”
The stallion replied, “Yep… Been one for a while now, though I prefer the term wanderer.”
“Really? Why?”
The egotistical pony replied, “It appeals to the mares more… don’t you think?”
We both laughed at his joke then I couldn’t stop myself from asking, “Have you ever heard of a pony named Commander Bolt?”
The stallion nodded his head, “I’ve heard the name before… but I'm afraid I haven’t seen him, rumors say that he died a number of weeks ago.”
I was disappointed to hear his answer but I decided it was probably for the best, “That’s what was said, do you happen to know what he looks like?”
The stallion thought to himself, “According to the stories he is a fearless leader who kills without mercy and can use an ability known as the Lightning Orb. but that’s all the stories have told me.”
Once again I was disappointed to have no new leads to capturing him so I sighed, “Oh well… it was worth a shot to ask anyway.”
The stallion tapped his mug signaling the bartender for another drink while he spoke, “Why is this stallion so important anyway?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well did he commit some crime?”
I replied, “Well… yes… and no…”
The stallion gave me an annoyed stare, “That’s not an answer.”
I nervously replied, “Well… it’s complicated.”
The stallion continued as the bartender gave me my drink and gave him a new one, “Complicated? How can it be complicated for the captain of the royal guards to not even know why he is trying to capture this stallion in the first place?”
I continued, “Well… he did commit a crime, Treason, An attempt at a Coup-de-tat, I guess property damage and mass murder if you decide to claim that he wasn’t a real commander… but he served his sentence for that.”
The stallion seemed to tighten his grip on his mug as he replied with a slightly more tense voice, “And… What was his punishment?…”
Trying to ignore the obvious tension in the stallion’s voice I replied, “Well Princess Celestia sentenced him to an eternity imprisonment in the stars… but somehow he escaped along with Nightmare Moon after only one thousand years.”
The stallion continued, “So… one thousand years imprisonment huh… must have been terrible…”
“I'm sure, but it’s not like he missed anything. He could still see the world.. However, he couldn’t interact with it… I bet it was interesting to see how the world would change in one thousand years.”
The stallion mumbled to himself, “It must be terrible to not be able to interact with it though, to see lives begin and end with no form of contact with them.”
I knew what he said, but I didn’t know if I was supposed to, so I asked, “What was that?”
The stallion shook his head, “Oh… it’s nothing. So you don’t think one thousand years in a prison isn’t a bad enough punishment for his crime?”
I knew what to say to that… but I felt like I was saying the wrong thing as I answered, “actually… I think it was a suitable punishment for him… but princess Celestia continues to have me search for him… I honestly don’t know why.”
“And what does her sister, Princess Luna, think of this plan?”
I lowered my head as I replied, “Princess Luna… the poor pony… she knows nothing about this plan… in fact she thinks that Commander Bolt is dead… I think that is for the best... But the connection those two ponies shared went beyond that of a simple guard and his ruler… it went much deeper.”
As I finished my drink, the stallion replied, “Beyond a simple connection? hmm so… were they in love or something like that?”
I honestly couldn’t answer that question with a proper answer so I just replied, “Rumors say they were… buy I can’t trust rumors in this case, so I'm not sure. But what I do know is this… Princess Celestia believes Commander Bolt is alive but for Luna’s sake, she wants her to believe he is dead. I think it’s because she is worried that Commander Bolt will hurt her in some way. She feels that it’s best that for now he is dead.”
The stallion looked at his drink, swished it around and spoke, “Do you think there is a reason why he hasn’t returned? Maybe he wants Princess Luna to believe he is dead.”
I started thinking to myself about his question then replied as I tapped my mug for another drink, “To be honest, I never thought about it that way. Maybe he is ashamed to fail nightmare moon in such a way that he doesn’t want to admit he lost a war when the only battle he lost was his last.”
The stallion mumbled to himself again… I think he said “Close but wrong.”
I ignored his previous comment as he spoke up, “Or… maybe he is ashamed to look at Lu… the Princess again.”
“Really, how so?”
“Think of it like this, are you in love?”
I thought that was kind of a personal question but out of curiosity I decided to answer, “Yes, in fact we will be married soon.”
The stallion smiled, “Well congratulations.”
“Thanks”
“Anyway, you’re in love, but say you wanted nothing more than to make her happy, but she starts making decisions that are a bit rash, but to make her happy you complete them anyway right?”
I was curious of where this was leading to so I replied, “right, every stallion wants to please the one he loves.”
The wanderer continued, “But one day, she looks back on her decisions and feels ashamed for what she lets you do, and starts to feel disgusted with her decisions and your actions. What would you do about those?”
I thought to myself then replied, “I’d simply forget about them and refuse to talk about them from that moment on.”
“And what if she can’t even look at you without thinking about those decisions… what would you do to make her happy?”
Finally, I saw what he was talking about so I answered, “I’d find ways for her to forget about them, but removing myself from her sights would be too extreme, especially if she didn’t want to leave me.”
The stallion took a sip of his drink and continued, “So the only logical choice would be to remove yourself from her sights… but if she didn’t want to leave you, how could you keep her away?”
I knew the answer to this question… but I didn’t want to agree with Commander Bolt’s decision so I shrugged my shoulders as he replied, “You make it so that she wouldn’t search for you… in other words, make her believe you’re dead.”
I didn’t like the answer so I tried to argue, “But wouldn’t that hurt her even more?”
The stallion replied, “Princess Luna is immortal… unless she is killed by unnatural causes, she will live forever. In her lifetime, she has seen friends come, and go, and I wouldn’t doubt, with her beauty; she has seen many suitors come and go. In time, the heart will heal, and it will make her stronger. I… I mean I bet he, wanted her to just forget about him and her past so that she can continue her life happily… at least… without him.”
As much as I hated to admit it, the stallion had a point, as the saying goes, if you truly love something set it free. I looked down at my drink, swished it around a few times and sighed, “I see your point, but… okay… I guess I agree with his decision. Nevertheless, as a royal guard, it’s my duty to do what I have to until he is captured. As the princess orders it, I have to obey.”
The wanderer smiled, “Why?”
I couldn’t help but smile at the silly question, “What do you mean why? It’s my duty as a Ro…”
the stallion slammed his drink down after drinking it and interrupted me, “That’s not what I asked!… What I'm asking you, not Captain Armor the Royal Guard, but Shining Armor the unicorn, is why do you have to obey the princess?”
I didn’t like the tone he was using so I replied as I stood up, “Because I am loyal to her and I must obey her! It’s MY job and MY duty!”
The stallion smiled and replied, “Funny… I’d imagine Commander Bolt would have said the same thing about what he did for Nightmare Moon.”
I don’t know what it was that stopped me from drawing my sword and removing this stallions head, it could have been the look in his eye, the clarity in his logic, or the confident boldness of how he replied. Nevertheless, I had never felt so enraged before, yet I only sighed and sat back down. There was a small moment of silence that passed before I finally replied, “You’re right… you’re so right… but an order is an order. And I can’t fail my princess.”
The wise stallion replied, “Then complete your mission and find him. But I warn you, I don’t think he will go easy on you, so be careful.”
I finished off my drink, tapped my mug asking for another and replied, “You know, for a wanderer, you’re very wise.”
The stallion smiled, “Thanks, and for a guard, your loyalty is inspiring, but if you’re getting married soon you might have to start thinking for yourself.”
I smiled, “Don’t worry I plan to, once the wedding is over anyway, I will no longer be a guard.”
The stallion was curious, “Really? Are you quitting?”
I tried not to gloat, as I replied, “No, it’s just impossible for a prince to be a guard is all.”
The stallion was in the middle of his drink when my reply caught him off guard, he coughed as he sat his drink down then replied, “What?... Prince?... You mean… you’re marrying a princess?”
I bet I was blushing a little when I replied, “Yea… I am.”
The stallion wiped his mouth with a paper towel then replied, “Wow… way to set the bar.”
“Tell me about it.”
Then he looked a little nervous when he asked, “So… which one is it?”
“What?”
“You know… which princess?
“Oh… Princess Mi Amore Cadenza… or Cadence as we call her.”
The stallion looked relieved as he took a sip from his drink and replied, “Mi Amore Cadenza … My love Cadence…  My love song. Very beautiful name, you must be very happy.”
I took a sip from my drink as I replied, “I am.”
The stallion smiled, “Commander Bolt would be envious.”
“Envious? Why would you say that?”
The stallion replied, “Think about it, if he truly was in love with Princess Luna, then I bet he was nervous of how other ponies would react to a guard marrying a princess. In fact, instead of you hunting him, I wouldn’t be surprised if he began hunting you.”
I couldn’t help but smile at the thought, I doubt he could beat me… but I do know that it would make my task so much easier. As the stallion smiled at his own comment, he took another sip of his drink, so I had to ask, “So what are you drinking?”
He replied, “Zap apple cider… good stuff, but earth ponies and unicorn can’t handle it too well.”
I was curious, “Really. Why is that?”
The stallion looked at me and replied, “The zap apples leave a sort of stinging sensation in the cider, its harmless enough… but pegasi are used to electric shocks so it has no real effect on us.”
Taking the remark as a challenge, I looked at the bartender and asked, “Could I get a small bit of zap apple cider?”
The bartender shrugged his shoulders as he replied, “Okay… but no refunds.”
When I got the small glass from the bartender I looked into the cider, it looked like regular apple cider, only every few seconds you could see a faint spark in it. The wanderer smiled and spoke, “like looking into a distant lightning storm right?”
I couldn’t help but agree, “Yep… and with no knowledge of how bad it will be either.”
The stallion nodded his head as he held up his drink, “To us! May we find whatever it is we seek, whenever and wherever it may be!”
“Here, Here!”
As I took a drink of the unusual drink, I immediately cringed at the taste. It started out like regular apple cider, only sweeter, and then came the zap. It was like placing your tongue against a battery terminal, only the feeling was all over your mouth, as if you were chewing on a battery. I immediately started coughing at the numbing feeling that followed, so he started patting me on the back, “I warned you didn’t I? Don’t worry I'll finish this one off for you and get you another drink.”
As he poured my drink into his mug I had to ask, “How is it that you can handle drinking that stuff without so much as tensing your jaw? Doesn’t that hurt you?”
The stallion replied, “When you deal with electricity as much as I have… the stinging is kind of soothing… it makes you forget everything else for a split second. It lets you know that you’re still alive and that you have to keep going.”
As the stallion looked at his drink, I wanted to ask about what it was he was trying to forget, but I knew it was his business and I didn’t want to open any old wounds, and with the way, he looked at his drink… I could tell that he had many old deep wounds in his past. As the stallion looked at the clock in the corner of the room, he finished off his drink, sat a few bits on the table and spoke, “Here is the money for your drink and a little extra for another one on me. As for me, I gotta get back on the road, the only way to afford drinks like this is to find work whenever and wherever I can.”
“So where are you headed?”
The stallion put the hood on his cloak over his head and replied, “Don’t know… I'll just get on the road and see where it takes me."
I nodded my head and replied, “Well good luck stranger, I hope you find what you’re looking for. If you ever find your way into Canterlot, look me up, we will share another drink… on me this time.”
The stallion smiled as he turned towards the door, “I might just hold you up to that.”
when he turned around  saw what looked like a sword on his side as he turned but it didn’t surprise me, travelers need to protect themselves from bandits and monsters just like everypony else, but as he reached the door I had to stop him, “Wait a second! I never got your name!”
The stallion turned to me and replied, “You can call me… S.B.”
“S.B.? Wait, those are your initials right? You won’t give me your real name?”
The stallion smiled, “That is something you will have to figure out on your own.”
As the stallion left the pub, I turned back to my drink and thought to myself, “An odd but wise stallion. I hope I get to meet him again someday.”
As I took a drink, I started thinking to myself, “Hmm… S.B…, S… B…, S… Bolt?... S Bolt!?!... Star Bolt!?! … STAR BOLT!!!”
Realizing what just happened, I dropped my mug on the counter, pushed myself from the bar, and rushed outside as fast as I could, but by the time I got outside and into the street, the only ponies I could see were the normal citizens of the town. There was no sign of the stranger at all; it was as if he vanished into thin air. Feeling annoyed that he was right in front of me the whole time, I could only mumble to myself, “If you come for that drink, you better enjoy it Bolt, because it could be your last.”