Twilight Sparkle has cast an unknown spell on herself and vanished. It’s unclear whether it was in an escape attempt or suicide. Be on the lookout for her and investigate all bases for any magic books or scrolls that she might have possessed. Apprehend all followers, but avoid violence whenever possible.
With his soldiers notified, Shining Armor surveyed the scene. He was inside Twilight’s base now, a repurposed apartment complex that Twilight had secretly purchased a few months ago. His soldiers were combing the area for scrolls, spellbooks, or anything else Twilight left behind.
The sun had risen far too early, to aid with the search. Shining glanced outside to see Luna kneeling outside, clearly exhausted despite her physician’s ministrations. He hoped to make this quick; he had an idea, but he’d need something…
“Shining Armor!” One of the unicorn guards came up to him, carrying something in his magic, “Is this what you wanted?” Shining took a close look at it. A strand of purple mane. Perfect. Perhaps too perfect. The shade was unmistakable, but Shining was a little wary. His sister eradicated all traces of herself when she attacked the hive, it was why it had taken so long to find her. Could her paranoid self really have overlooked this?
Still, it was worth a shot. Shining nodded, “Yes. Thank you.” Taking it up with his own magic, he sent another message to the changelings he had left at Canterlot Castle. Tell Spike that I need him to send…what was it again…Spells for the Royal Guard: Hunting Fugitives, by Temperence and Hoofner.
I’ve informed him, your highness. He’s hesitant. He knows it’s about Twilight.
Shining sighed. Of course Spike was hesitant. Twilight had abandoned everything in her rage against the changelings, and he still didn’t know how the dragon felt about the whole matter. He’d become very quiet and reclusive after he moved into the Royal Canterlot Library, and Shining wondered if he was hiding something about his…departure from Twilight’s service. Spike never talked about it, or about the rest of his friends.
Tell him the truth, Shining finally responded, Twilight has vanished, and we need the locator spell to find her.
Nothing happened for a minute, but eventually there was a green flash, and the spellbook appeared in front of Shining Armor, with a bookmark on the locator spell. Shining had never been good at memorizing spells like his sister, he needed the book right in front of him.
Taking the hair in his magic, Shining cast the locator spell. Where are you, Twilight Sparkle?
----
Luna was just about ready to pass out when Shining came flying out of the window. “Let the sun set, Luna,” he sighed, his voice weary and resigned.
Luna blinked, and then complied. The sun quickly went beyond the horizon, covering the area in blackness once again. Night washed over the dark alicorn, gradually restoring her energy. She got back onto her hooves and shook her head clear. “Have you found her?”
The white changeling lowered his eyes. “When I cast the spell…there was nothing. No trace of her. She’s not in Canterlot, not in Equestria, not in the surrounding areas. I even checked the moon, just in case. She’s gone.”
Luna blinked. “You mean…she’s…”
Shining turned away, trying to hide the tears in his eyes. “She has to be. There’s no other explanation…nothing that I can think of…I…” The changeling king groaned, his head starting to hurt. Before Luna could stop him, he spread his wings and flew away, not looking back.
It was almost an hour before Luna regained the strength to fly after him, but that didn’t matter, she knew exactly where he would be.
On the south side of Canterlot’s gardens, out of sight of Discord’s twisted effigy, was a statue of two alicorns. One stood tall, regal, and proud with a gold crown and a sun emblazoned on her flank. The other was smaller and humbler, but no less beautiful with her kind smile and heart-shaped crystal cutie mark.
Kneeling in front of the smaller statue was the changeling king. The tears flowed from his eyes freely, with no creature around to watch him. From the way he hiccupped, Luna had just missed seeing him sobbing like an infant. He knew she was there.
Luna landed beside him. Gently touching him with her wings, she spoke comfortingly, “I know how it feels, Shining Armor. I truly do.” Her eyes were starting to brim with tears as she looked up at Celestia.
Shining leaned against her, all his energy spent. “She was…she was my sister…” he breathed. “When did it all go wrong?”
--------
The easy answer was ‘just after the wedding rehearsal’. That was when it all started, at least. But it seemed too simple to pin the entire thing on that one incident.
It was supposed to be perfect. Everything had gone perfectly. He was going to marry Cadence, the mare he loved, Twilight would be his best mare, and Celestia would preside over the wedding. It had all been going so smoothly, at least, he’d thought so. He couldn’t be sure anymore.
He remembered the rehearsal. Twilight had come in late, gasping for breath. She said she was sorry, that she had been talking to Spike and it had held her up by accident, and she went through her lines with aplomb. But Shining noticed Twilight glancing at Cadence with a harshness that troubled him. He was about to ask, but Twilight beat him to it.
“Hey…” she’d whispered in his ear. “Can I talk to you later? Privately?”
“Sure.” He always had time for his LSBFF. He knew he hadn’t been the best of brothers lately, but hopefully he’d be able to make it up to Twily soon.
After the rehearsal, she had led him to one of the side wings. They were walking by the stained glass windows when Twilight finally spoke up.
“I need to talk to you about Cadence.”
Shining Armor blinked, “What about Cadence?”
Twilight sighed. “The way she’s been acting…Something’s wrong. She was short with Applejack, she insulted Pinkie, she’s driving Rarity up the wall…she’s not acting like herself at all!”
“It’s a very stressful time for her. She’s under a lot of pressure. I’d think you’d know how that can change a pony,” he chuckled, elbowing her.
Twilight just groaned. “Yeah, I just heard it from Spike. But seriously Shining, she’s been acting horrible and I…uh…saw what she did to you.”
Shining froze. “What do you think she did?” He did not like the way this conversation was going.
“After we talked…you and Cadence got into an argument and then she hit you with something…a spell…you got really spacey…”
Shining sighed. “That’s just to treat my headaches, Twiley. Keeping this shield up is giving me migraines…” He suddenly winced as another headache came on and Twilight immediately cast a spell on him, touching his horn and making his head feel a lot better. “Thanks, Twiley. I feel a lot better…that didn’t feel like the spell Cadance was using.”
“Maybe it wasn’t a headache spell she was using…”
Shining was glaring now. “What are you saying?” he growled.
“I’m saying…” she answered. “Are you sure this is same Cadence we knew years ago?”
“Of course I’m sure!” he insisted before storming away. Looking back, Shining didn’t know why he’d gotten so angry. Maybe it was because of...her spell…
Justifications and excuses had run through his head. Twilight was just being possessive, she didn’t want to let go of her brother, she’s just bitter about the invite, Cadence was just stressed, she wanted the day to be perfect, she’s just tense about the wedding.
But that doubt Twilight raised kept gnawing at him. When he ran into Cadence again, walking the halls and discussing the ceremony with Celestia, he decided to put that doubt to rest. With a calm smile and a cheerful demeanor, he casually asked Cadence if she remembered their first date, at the Canterlot Theatre where they were performing Sweeney Trot.
She tried to dismiss him at first, but when she saw that Celestia, and Shining were pressing on, she started waxing poetic about how she would never forget that first date, how romantic it all was, and how she knew he was the one for her after that.
The only problem was that the theatre wasn’t their first date. Their first date was then they’d gone out for ice cream in Ponyville. The trip to the theatre was their worst date ever, done out of a dare that Shining had taken. Sweeney Trot was a lot of things, but it wasn’t romantic. Their relationship had almost fallen apart after the trip, and Cadence hated being reminded of it.
When Shining confronted her with those facts, she accused him of trying to trip her up and humiliate her, but Shining wasn’t buying it anymore. He kept pressing ‘Cadence’ for answers, and since she was between an increasingly angry Shining Armor and a suspicious Celestia, she couldn’t use her spell to make Shining more agreeable.
Screaming like a cornered animal, the changeling queen revealed herself. “I should’ve just killed you!” If he had been just a little slower with his shield, he would’ve died then and there.
The changeling queen—he later learned her name was Chrysalis—wasn’t able to put him under complete control, but she managed to drain a lot of his energy. He couldn’t hold her off for very long. The other elements of Harmony arrived, having heard the commotion.
Celestia tried to stop Chrysalis by herself, to keep everypony safe.
And the unthinkable happened.
“Ha ha ha ha…Shining Armor’s love is even stronger than I thought! Consuming it has made me even more powerful than Celestia!”
None of them could believe it. Celestia hadn’t just been defeated. Chrysalis, in her cornered desperation, had killed her. He’d never get the image of Celestia’s last breath out of his head. The sun had unceremoniously dropped behind the horizon, the sudden darkness highlighting the tragedy. The explosion rocked the entire city, breaking the foundation of the caves underneath the castle.
If Luna hadn’t come to investigate, Chrysalis would’ve killed them all. The second Luna saw what had happened, she’d used such overwhelming force against Chrysalis that there was nothing left of her but ashes. But it was too late. Nothing would revive Celestia, and they found Cadence buried under a cave-in days later.
Twilight had told Shining that she’d never forgive him. That this was all his fault, that he wasn't her BBBFF anymore, that he wasn't her brother anymore, period. She might have killed him if her friends hadn’t intervened.
The worst accusation of all was the underlying implication that he didn’t care about Celestia and Cadence like she did. Celestia was like a second mother to him, and Cadence…Cadence was the love of his life. She was everything to him.
Luna told him that Twilight was simply grieving, and that he should leave her be and let her mourn Celestia and Cadence. That she’d come around in time. That everything would be all right, eventually.
With Celestia dead, Luna had to assume responsibility for moving the sun as well as the moon. It was a difficult task, but she managed, if only just.
He hadn’t been much help, he was ashamed to say. Feeling like an utter failure, he tended his resignation as Captain of the Guard. Too paralyzed to get out of his house, he never got around to finalizing it. Too shocked to do anything and too miserable to care, he ended up missing the funeral, which almost certainly fueled his sister’s increasing hatred of him. It was weeks before he finally got out of his stupor, determined to do something other than mope. That was what Cadence would’ve wanted.
Changelings had been appearing all over Equestria. They were in scattered groups, often found wandering as if they were in a daze. Apparently, these were the threats he had shielded Canterlot against. But with their queen dead, their hive mind was shattered.
The Royal Guard brought them in, and despite not officially being in the Guard anymore, Shining was asked to speak with one of the more vocal of the prisoners. It had told him that the main nest was hidden in the badlands.
Shining had volunteered to be on the expedition. He wasn’t sure why he’d volunteered. To avenge Celestia and Cadence? To give his life meaning again? Just to have something to do to keep him from going insane? Whatever the reason, he was the first pony to step into changeling territory. He remembered promising to himself that he would reduce the place to a smoldering crater.
Things…changed when he took a good look at the nest. He’d been expecting a den of monsters like Chrysalis, not a broken society on the brink of starvation. The original nest was actually composed of several dilapidated buildings that one of the more historically-minded of his party recognized.
Further inspection revealed a shocking truth. Apparently, the story of Hearth’s Warming neglected to mention that a large group of ponies hadn’t come to Equestria with the others. Whether out of misplaced pride or stubbornness, members of the three tribes remained in their ancestral homes even as the windigos ravaged the lands. Surprisingly, they managed to survive until Discord happened along.
In a twisted mockery of harmony, he merged the three tribes into an entity with qualities of all three, and then forced them to feed of love and emotions in a twist on friendship and love. The changelings had been living there for centuries, barely surviving on each other’s affections. Several early attempts at returning to Equestria had failed, and the invasion had been their last, desperate effort.
Shining couldn’t help but feel a bit of pity for the creatures. Without a leader, they would soon die. And despite what had happened, he knew Cadence wouldn’t have allowed him to kill these creatures. But what could he do?
Then he found out about conversion. As a survival tactic, changelings had found a way to adapt their magic so they could transform a pony into one of them. The converts maintained their own personality and were connected to the hive mind. And, in theory at least, a convert with a strong enough will could become leader.
Shining Armor weighed his options. He couldn’t bring himself to exterminate these creatures, and they couldn’t function without a leader. A creature like Chrysalis could appear again if he left them alone, but if a pony with a strong will, who understood customs of pony society, and who was trusted by the majority of Equestria took charge, he or she might be able to integrate the changelings peacefully, and keep an incident like this from happening again…
Of course, if Shining was honest with himself, he’d admit that not all of his reasons were purely selfless. After losing the mare he loved, he was desperate for a purpose. He needed a meaning, a reason to keep going. He needed to protect something. Save something. Save anything. It was his life’s calling. It was what he wanted more than anything else.
After a lot of consideration, consulting with Luna and prayers to Celestia, he made his decision.
--------
And here I am now. The changeling king. The one who brought peace over a pile of bodies, including Celestia, Cadance, and my sister.
He’d run out of tears now, and looked forlornly over the horizon. “Luna?”
“Yes?” the dark alicorn replied.
“Was it worth it?”
Luna sighed. This wasn’t the first time Shining had asked that question. “What do you mean?”
“I…I mean….think about it. We stopped an invasion, removed a tyrant, saved an entire race of Discord’s victims from starvation and death, and now we’ve got a society of ponies and changelings, slowly but surely working together for a better future for both races.”
Shining Armor snorted. “And all that it cost was the death of two…three of the greatest mares in Equestria.”
He shook his head. “What do I…what do I even call this? There’s still ponies like…still ponies who think like Twilight did, and I don’t know if I can ever convince them that I’m not a…what if I am…I…”
Luna brought herself closer to the babbling changeling. Shining felt the gesture and sighed, composing himself for a second. “Did I do the right thing? Have any of the things I’ve done been right? “
Luna looked the white changeling in the eye. “Shining Armor, listen to me. This wasn’t your fault. None of this is.” she said firmly.
“How can you be so sure?”
“Because I know you.” Luna gently kissed Shining Armor on the forehead. “You gave an entire race a second chance where others would’ve just slaughtered them. You’ve worked hard to integrate the changelings into Equestria, and you succeeded without becoming a tyrant. That is what Cadence and Celestia would have wanted. Never lose sight of that.”
Shining Armor turned away for a second. This wasn’t the first time Luna had told him that. And it wouldn’t be the last. “I guess I can’t help but think about how things could’ve gone differently. That day was supposed to be perfect, and instead…”
“I know.” Luna gulped, thinking back. “There isn’t a day I wonder what would’ve happened if I hadn’t slept in that day. If I’d just woken up sooner…” Luna swallowed her tears for the moment. “But…we can’t dwell on the past forever. We just have to…keep going forward. Do the best we can. That’s…all we can do, really.”
Shining Armor scoffed. “Easy for you to say.”
He knew she was right. He still had his responsibilities as the changeling king, and they would be waiting for him. Just as Luna still had to raise the sun every day. It would eventually be morning, and the world would keep going.
But for now, he could just mourn the dead and dwell on past mistakes, wondering how things could’ve been different…how things might have been.