//------------------------------// // Shining Armor's Twilight // Story: The Quest For Iscanter // by eternalsquire //------------------------------// Even with tears falling down her cheeks, Twilight Sparkle stayed calm and began relating to Princess Celestia her own actions just prior to the start of Operation Empress. . . . The rest of the Mane Six were at her underground quarters, along with Spike, awaiting the arrival of her brother, Shining Armor, along with his wife Princess Cadence. Twilight had placed the Elements of Harmony around her friends' necks and donned the crown. This was going to be major magic they were about to be doing. The interior of Twilight's personal space was arranged as far as cushions, curtains, library, and everything were concerned, to be identical to her home in Ponyville which had once stood on the surface. Twilight made it so long since, just to help maintain her own sanity, but now it would also serve the purpose of giving her brother a restful place where he could feel absolute trust. Shining Armor would need to lower his own emotional shields down to zero, never mind the actual ones, in order for what his sister had in mind to be able to work at all. The couple finally made it. "Welcome!", Twilight said. Then she asked them, "Have you said your goodbyes?" Cadence said, "Yes." The couple enjoyed one final lingering kiss, this one seasoned with their tears. "We had joy, we had fun, we had seasons in the sun.", Shining Armor said to his wife. Twiight said, "I want you, brother, to lay down on this pile of cushions. I want you as absolutely relaxed as you can manage. While you get yourself situated, I'm going to make the room dimmer. Cadence, you need to go now. I'm sorry." "Goodbye, Shining Armor", Cadence said sadly. "I love you. Always and always and always." "Goodbye Cadence.", Shining Armor responded. He made a weak grin as he said, "I'll see you on the other side, my love." As Cadence left, Twilight turned down to lighting to nearly complete darkness. Her brother was looking up into her loving face, her own eyes welling with unfallen tears. "Goodbye, Sis.", he said. "Not forever if I can possibly help it.", she declared, wiping her eyes dry with her foreleg. "Now, just how much do you trust me?" "With everything I have. Everything I am.", he replied. "Good.", Twilight said as she powered up her horn, which lit dimly, then casted a sleep spell on her brother. She held back, because she wanted him just midway between sound asleep and fully awake. "I want you to close your eyes and relax. You're feeling tired, after all your labors protecting us and defending us. Everywhere you've ever been, everypony has learned to love you. I love you, more than I know how to say. But now it is time for you to finally rest. How are you feeling?" "Like I'm floating on clouds.", he answered. "All right.", she replied. "I want you to imagine a treasure chest with its lid open." "Okay.", he replied. "I want you to put everything you know about Luna and Celestia into it, including their names, including all your memories of them.", she instructed. "Done.", he replied. Twilight adjusted the power of her sleep spell, increasing it slightly to make her brother relax further. He was now in a highly suggestible state. She said, "Now, I want you to put everything you know about your wife, Cadence, who you love, including her name, including all your memories of her, into that treasure chest." "Done.", he said. Twilight breathed. "Now, I want you to put everything you know about me and our parents, including my name and theirs, including all memories of us, into that treasure chest." "Done.", he told her. "Now, I want you to close that chest and lock it.", Twilight instructed. "It will only open with a key. The key will turn the lock open and all contents of the chest shall be restored to you, if and only if you consummate your love with the only mare who is worthy of it. The love of your life." "I understand.", he said, drowsily. "Now, I want you to put the locked chest into a place where nopony, not even you, can ever find it.", Twilight instructed. "That chest is now lost forever, unless the key turns its lock. Nopony or any other creature in the universe can read your mind to find it. No torture or temptation will ever persuade you to reveal it. Not even you know its there anymore, so how could you even reveal what isn't there?" "Done.", Shining Armor said. Twilight Sparkle signed inwardly. That was the easy part. How the really hard part begins. She tapped her forehoof on the floor, twice. That was the signal for the other ponies in the room to focus their will on Twilight's brother. The Elements of Harmony glowed slightly in the darkness. Twilight's tiara also glowed slightly as well. It was time. She poured her power dimly over Shining Night's reclining form, saying as she did so: "I want you ready to reach inside yourself, and with all your might and your love for all Equestria and the Crystal Empire forget everything you know about Celestia, including her name and appearance. I also want you to forget everything you know about Luna, including her name and appearance. I also want you to forget everything you know about Cadence, including her name and appearance. I also want you to forget everything you know about your parents, including their name and appearance. I also want you to forget everything about me, Twilight Sparkle, including my name and appearance. I will now be a nameless and disembodied voice to you. Are you ready to do this?" "Yes.", Shining Armor said. "Go.", Twilight Sparkle commanded. Shining Armor tensed. She tapped her forehoof twice more on the floor. The entire room lit while the Mane Six intensified thier power of friendship upon the resting stallion, bolstering his own will to obey. Memory upon memory flashed through his eyes for all to see, as he twitched with his own efforts reinforced by magic, to seal away his own memories. And then it was done. His twitching had stopped. The room went completely dark again, aside from a dim purple glow. Shining Armor heared a nameless and disembodied voice instruct him: "Shining Armor, you are an orphan. You do not even know who or where your parents are, and you have no known relatives. You lived within the Ponyville orphanage. You got your cutie mark by using your shield to cushion the fall of one of your fellow orphans. The only thing you know about alicorns is that they are rare and special but you don't know why.. You have never seen an alicorn up close, only very, very far away. You are a general in the Ponyville militia forming after the rocks began to fall on our world, and as the bravest pony in the land you volunteered to lead a diversion as part of Operation Empress. That is who you are. Everypony adores you for your courage." He heard a double tap on the floor. The purple glow intensified, more colors shone throughout the room, then he could see the brilliant white glow of somepony's eyes flash directly above him, briefly more intensely than the sun. Then the entire room went dark once again. He now felt completely certain everything the voice told him was the absolute truth. The disembodied voice said, "When I count to three and I click my hooves together, you will awaken in a dark room feeling completely rested and refreshed. Somepony will lead you out of the dark room and escort you to your ship." The last he heard from this voice was this: "One... Two... Three..." This was followed by a: Click. . . . "Now you are just starting to learn how ruthless a ruler must be sometimes on behalf of the subjects.", the teacher told the student. [ "Absolutely brilliant, Nova!", Derek said to his wife in appreciation. ]