//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Answers // Story: Bolt of Love // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter 9 Answers “No bucking way is this going to work.” Midnight said as she walked with Lance through the marble hallways of Canterlot castle. “Have some faith Nighty. It’s fool proof.” He said in a convincing tone. “How are you even going to get Shining to the Cafe?” “You let me worry about that. Just go find Cadence and tell her to meet us there.” He said with a reassuring smile. “I’ll handle Armor.” He said with a wicked grin. “Okay fine, but I still think that this is a bad idea.” “Less talking, more fetching.” He said in a hushed tone as they neared their room. Midnight rolled her eyes and flew out a nearby window towards the pink Alicorn’s home. Lance smirked and let out a deep breath. He looked through the key hole and saw Shining writing another love letter to Cadence. “WHAT’S UP SHINING?” He yelled as he kicked in the door. “Holy Celestia!” Shining said in a shocked tone. The recruit spun around to see the door open with his roommate standing with a smile on his face. “Why did you just do that?” “Felt like it.” Lance said with a shrug. He then noticed the piece of parchment sitting on his teammate’s desk. “What’s that?” “Nothing!” Shining said as he started to sweat. The blue mane’d guard quickly held the letter to his chest. “Can I see it?” He asked in an innocent tone. “No!” “If it’s nothing then why can’t I see it?” He asked with a smirk. “It’s just...” Shining tried to find a reasonable excuse as his friend’s eyes bore holes through him. “Promise not to tell anypony?” “On my soul.” Lance said as he put a hoof over his heart. “I...I have a crush on somepony.” “Really? Who?” Lance asked in an innocent sounding voice. “You wouldn’t know her.” Shining said with a sigh. “You’d be surprised who I know Shining.” He said with a smug grin. “Fine.....her name is Cadence.” “You mean Celestia’s niece?” He said in a shocked tone. “You know her?” “Oh yeah, Midnight and I ran into her the other day.” He said with a smile. “Good choice. She is really nice.” “I know.”
 “Not to mention beautiful.” Lance said as he slowly walked towards the doorway. “That’s her.” Shining said with a sigh. “She’s also an excellent kisser.” Lance said as he got into a running position. “Yeah I-.....Wait what?” He yelled as he glared at the white stallion. “I said nothing!” Lance said as he broke into a gallop and ran away from the room. Shining bolted up from his seat and gave chase. Lance looked back to see an enraged Shining Armor gaining on him. As he cleared the Castle gates Lance hoped to Celestia that Midnight would be on time. Otherwise she’d be scraping him off the side of the wall if Shining ever caught up to him. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The bat pony and the pink Alicorn trotted along the streets of Canterlot with smiles on their faces. “So Midnight, why did you want to eat out?”
 “I just figured it would be nice to have some girl talk.” She lied with a smile. “Shining and Lance are cool and all, but it’s nice to have some time away from the stallions.” “Tell me about it.” Cadence said as they arrived at the cafe. “So have you made a move on Lance yet?” She asked with a smug grin. Midnight’s face turned red at the question. “I’m not into him!” She stammered. “Your face says otherwise.” Cadence said with a giggle. Midnight groaned and hid behind her menu. “What about you Princess?” She spat out. “You have your eyes on somepony?” “Other than the letter writer?” Cadence said as a small blush appeared on her face. “Maybe?” She said with a coy smile. “Really? Who?” Midnight asked. Cadence looked from left to right and motioned with her hoof for the bat mare to come closer. Midnight leaned her head and smiled. “Shining Armor.” Midnight let out a sigh of relief at the name. “Why?” “Well, he’s kind, strong not to mention cute.” She said with a giggle. “Plus-” The two were cut off as they saw a familiar white stallion galloping towards them. “Is that Lance?” She asked as she squinted. “Get back here!” A voice yelled from behind. The mares looked to see a white stallion with a blue mane chasing after him. Lance stopped in front of the two with a smile on his face. “Hey Cadence!” He said as he looked at the pink Alicorn. “Sorry, but Midnight and I have to meet with the Sargent about something!” He said as he put a hoof around the bat mare. “Wait what?” Midnight said as Lance’s horn flared and the two vanished just as Shining arrived in front of the table. The white stallion took a moment to catch his breath and realized that he was standing in front of his crush. He quickly stiffened his posture and gulped. “H-Hey Cadence. Wh-what are you doing out here?” He asked in a nervous tone. “Midnight and I were about to have lunch, but it looks like that won’t be happening.” She said in an annoyed tone. “Oh...I see. Sorry to hear that.” He said as his hooves started to shake. “I-I’ll see you around then.” He said as he turned to leave. “Wait.” Cadence said as she held up her hoof. Shining froze and turned back around to see the mare blush a little. “Do you want to stay for lunch?” The gears in the guard’s mind stopped as the words left her lips. “Um.....sure. I guess.” He said as he took the seat that was previously occupied by the bat mare. Across the street and up on the roof of the building across from the cafe. Lance had a smug grin plastered on his face as Midnight’s eye twitched. “I don’t believe it. Your idiotic plan is working.” She said in amazement. “I amaze myself sometimes.” He said with a laugh. Midnight rolled her eyes and sat on the roof with the stallion. “Don’t count this as a victory yet pal.” She said as she poked his chest. “They’re just talking and anything could happen.” “Exactly.” He said with an evil smirk. “What did you do?” She asked as she cocked an eyebrow. Lance put an arm around her and stared at the couple. Midnight’s face turned scarlet red at the motion and felt her heart beat rise. “The universe works in mysterious ways my bat winged friend.” He said as his horn flared and a familiar red Phoenix was teleported onto his head. The bird let out a caw and looked at the two with it’s head cocked. “Sorry about this Philomena, but I need you to deliver this message to the pink pony down there.” He said as he pointed to Cadence with his hoof. The Phoenix let out a caw at the rolled up piece of parchment that the stallion had in his hoof. Lance rolled his eyes and summoned an orange. He quickly cut in half and gave one to the bird. Philomena quickly devoured the fruit and set her sights on the other half. Lance held up the sliced fruit and stared at the phoenix. “You’ll get the other half when you finish the job. Deal?” The bird picked up the parchment and took flight towards the couple. The bird landed on the table and caw’d at the pink Alicorn. “Philomena? What are you doing here?” Cadence asked as she looked at the bright red bird. The bird outstretched it’s talon that was holding the parchment. Cadence took it from her and the bird quickly flew back towards the building and devoured the other half of the fruit before flying away. “What was that about?” Shining asked. “Looks like a letter.” She said as she opened it up. The mare read the letter to herself and cocked an eyebrow. “What’s it say?” Shining asked as he took a sip of water. “It’s a letter from my secret admirer.” She beamed. The white stallion’s eyes shrank in surprise and spat his water out. “What?” Shining said in shock. The pink Alicorn looked at the white stallion in confusion. “Yeah, I’ve been getting these love letters from some pony for the past few months.” She said as her face turned red. “Really?” Shining said as he felt a bead of sweat form on his brow. “Wh-what do you think of them?” He asked with a gulp. “At first I thought they were kinda creepy.” The white stallion held his head in shame. “But, as they kept coming I found that it was sweet and the pony is just too shy to come out and say it to me.” The guard looked up with hope in his eyes. “And this last letter just proves my point.” “But I didn’t send-” He quickly slammed his hoof over his mouth. Cadence’s ears perked up at the almost sentence. “What did you just say?” She asked as she cocked an eyebrow. “Nothing!” He said as he felt a wave of panic take hold of him. Cadence’s face turned from intrigued to cross as her eyes bore holes through the stallion. “Shining what did you just say?” Cadence’s tone was sharp enough to cut through hardened steel. The guard knew that he’d been found out and let out a heavy sigh in defeat. “I was the one who wrote you those letters.” He said with a gulp. The pink Alicorn’s jaw hit the table in surprise. “I always thought you were cute and when I really got to know you, I started to like you.” The pink mare was beside herself. Shining looked into her eyes only to me met with a slap by a pink hoof. The guard held his cheek in confusion and felt sadness welling up inside his heart. “That was for being so sneaky!” She said in a cold tone. Cadence raised her hoof again. Shining closed his eyes and waited for the pain. He felt the mare’s hoof grip the back of his mane and pull his head forward. Shining felt a warmth touching his lips. His eyes shot open and he saw a view of pink fur. His mind short circuited as he felt the mare’s tongue starting to explore his mouth. As she broke the kiss Shining’s mind was starting to recover. “That was for being so cute.” She said with a giggle. “Y-you’re not mad?” “Well, I’m a little irritated that you’ve been hiding from me this long.” She said as she put a hoof to her chin. “However, I am willing to look past it if you do something for me.” “What?” Shining asked as his teeth chattered. “Will you be my date for the rest of the day?” She asked with a small blush on her face. Shining’s brain clicked as he put the words together. “Y-yeah. I’d love to!” He said with a massive smile on his face. “Great. Just one thing.” The Princess’s horn flared and Lance along with Midnight were teleported in front of the pair. Lance and the bat mare had a guilty grin strewn across their faces. “Enjoying the show?” “A little.” Lance said with a smug grin. Shining then face hoofed and smiled. “Now I get it. You just told me that you kissed Cadence to lure me out here.” He said with a chuckle. “Man, you really had me going there.” A long silence fell over the ponies. “That was just a lie right?” “Um....I gotta go see Bronze!” Lance said as he vanished in a flash of red light. “I gotta go see Comet about.....something.” She said as her wings flared and she took flight into the bright sky. Shining then shifted his attention to the blushing Alicorn. “So....where should we go for that date?” She asked trying to change the subject. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Back in Ponyville Lance woke up early and heard the sound of a sewing machine coming from the other room. He let out a yawn and trotted over to the door and gave a series of knocks. “Come in.” Rarity said in her usual singsong voice. Lance entered and gave the mare a nod. “Sir guard.” She said in a stagnant tone. Lance cocked an eyebrow at the mare who narrowed her eyes on the stallion. “Do you need something?” “No I was just checking-” “I’m perfectly fine.” She said in a stagnant tone. “Okay, where did that come from?” He asked in surprise. “What?” “You’re usually not this....harsh.” He said in an annoyed tone. “Well, considering as to how you told us off and scared us half to death yesterday, what do you expect?” She said as she trotted up to the white stallion and glared at him. “Oh, that.” He said as he rolled his eyes. “Yes, that.” She said as she adjusted her glasses on the tip of her nose. “Honestly, I thought you were a gentle colt and then you go and threaten not only me, but my best friends? The same group of ponies you were sent to protect.” She said as she scrunched her nose in disapproval. Lance let out a sigh and hung his head. “You’re right.” “And another thing I.....Pardon?” The pretty seamstress blinked twice and looked at the guard in surprise. “I’ve been out of Equestria for a long time on a mission and I’m still having trouble....adapting to being back.” He said with a sigh. “How long are we talking here dear?” “Two years.” “What?” She yelled in surprise. “Two yeas on the same mission?” “Yup. During that time I was half expecting somepony to try to slit my throat every time I turned around.” He said with a shrug. The mare coked her head in surprise and sat on her hind legs. “What exactly happened on the mission.” “It’s-” “Classified?” She said with a groan. “That and difficult to talk about.” He said as he shivered. Rarity put a hoof on his shoulder and smiled. “Look, at least let me try to apologize to you and your friends.” “I suppose I can give you that since you’ve saved my life twice now.” She said with a coy smile. Lance nodded and his horn flared. Hello? Twilight you there? Who, what, where? It’s Lance. Look, I want to apologize for my behavior yesterday. .....I’m listening. The voice said in an agitated tone. Not now, get everypony at the library. I figured that they’d listen to you better than me at this point. Good idea. I’ll open up a five way channel. The stallion thought as his horn glowed brighter. Hello? Is everypony there? An just what do you want? A familiar souther accent ran through his mind. Look, I don’t have a lot of time before this spell wears off. Just meet at the library and I’ll explain there. Why in the hay should we? The cyan Pegasus thought in an aggravated tone. Just give him a chance Dash. Twilight interjected. Fine. Rainbow’s voice said before cutting out. Lance’s horn stopped glowing and the stallion started panting heavily. “Are you alright dear?” Rarity asked as she looked at the stallion. “Yeah, that spell just takes a lot of power to use.” He said as he let out a breath. The stallion got to his hooves and made his way out the door with the seamstress following close behind. As the two walked through the doorway to the library They saw the other five mares patiently waiting for them. The guard could feel the glares coming from the Wonderbolt enthusiast and apple farmer. “Well, we’re here.” Applejack said as she sat down. “Right.” Lance let out a sigh and looked at the six mares with a blank expression on his face. “Look, I’m sorry for how I acted yesterday. It was unprofessional and extremely impolite.” The mares all cocked an eyebrow at the stallion. “As a peace offering, I will allow you girls as a group ask me a question.” “That’s it?” Dash spat out. “Not just a question Rainbow. You can literally ask me anything. Classified or not, I will answer with complete honesty.” The mares looked at the stallion in surprise. Applejack glared at the stallion and let out a sigh. “He ain’t lying.” “Anything eh?” Dash said with a wicked grin. “Bear this in mind.” Lance said as he narrowed his gaze on the cyan mare. “If the answer is classified, then you can’t discuss it ever again or else we all will face criminal charges.” He said in a flat tone. “Also, if I deem something that is too personal then you have to chose another question to answer. Does that sound fair?” The mares got into a huddle and talked it amongst themselves. Lance excused himself from the room and waited outside with an old pipe in his mouth. His horn flared and lit the heirloom his father had given to him. The guard only smoked it to calm his nerves. The door to the library swung open to revel the lavender mare. Lance looked at the mare and let out a smoke filled breath. “We’ve talked it over and we’ve made our choice.” Lance extinguished the pipe and made the implement vanished. The white stallion nodded and followed the librarian back inside. He faced the mares who all held a blank expression on their faces. “Hang on a second.” He said as his horn flared and a massive red bubble enveloped the group. “This is a soundproof bubble. I don’t want any wandering ears to hear whatever it is I’m about to say.” The mares all nodded and gulped. Lance walked over to a chair and sat down. “So ask away.” Twilight let out a sigh as she and the others sat down. “You said that you’ve been out of Equestria for the past two years on a mission.” Twilight said as the white stallion nodded. “What happened during those two years?” Lance bit his lip and let out a sigh. “After the Changelings invaded Canterlot during your brother’s wedding. I managed to find an injured Changeling soldier and capture it.” He said as he summoned the pipe. “Can I smoke in here?” “That’s not healthy.” Dash said as she narrowed her eyes. “It helps.” He said in a flat tone. Twilight rolled her eyes and nodded. Lance lit the pipe and drew in a hearty breath and exhaled a cloud of smoke. “After I ‘persuaded’ him to talk, I had found out that they had taken a few hostages with them.” The ponies all looked at him in shock. “So you went to go find them?” Applejack asked. “Yes, I had to go through quite a few guards and a lot of Changelings to-” “Wait, what do you mean guards?” Twilight asked. Lance let out another sigh. “You see, when I found this out I wanted to go and find them. Celestia on the other hoof wanted to wait and secure our borders first.” The mares looked at him in surprise. “That would take over three months. I wouldn’t wait. So I went out on my own to find them.” “You went AWOL.” Twilight said. “AWOL?” Applejack asked. “It stands for Absent With Out Leave. Meaning I left without getting the green light from above.” Lance said in a stern tone. “Celestia was very upset with my little stunt. She even went as far to send my best friend after me to try to stop me.” The white stallion cast a glare at Twilight. Her eyes shrank as she put the pieces together. “Shining Armor.” Lance gave a reluctant nod. “Yes, we fought one another harder than we ever had.” He said in a flat tone. “So who won?” Dash asked. “If I had lost then we wouldn’t be having this conversation.” He said in a flat tone. “I wasn’t about to let my comrades suffer at the mercy of Changelings.” He said in an angered tone. His horn flared and the bubble vanished. “There. Now you know.” He said with a sigh. “Remember that you can’t tell any-” He was cut off as the room filled with light and the blue maned Captain stood before them. “Oh good you’re all here.” He said with a smile. Twilight immediately rushed up to her brother. “Shining, did you and Lance ever fight? Like for real?” Shining cocked and eyebrow and looked at the other white stallion. “How much do they know?” Shining asked. “Just enough for them to grasp the situation.” He said in a flat tone. Shining looked at his little sister and sighed as she glared at him. “Yes, we did. It was a long time ago and I’ve regretted it ever since.” “Likewise.” Lance said with an apologetic look on his face. “How bad did he hurt you?” Twilight asked. “N-not that bad.” Shining lied as he threw on a fake grin. “Shining I know when you’re lying to me!” Twilight yelled. Shining looked over at Lance who gave him a nod. Shining let out a sigh and removed his armor so his broad white chest showed. His horn glowed a faint pink color and his image started to alter. The girls all let out a gasp as they saw the center his flawless white chest break apart. The illusion cracked like a mirror to reveal a massive scar that dug deep into his flesh. Twilight slowly put a hoof on her brother’s old wound and started to cry. Shining wrapped her in a hug and comforted her. “Hey it’s okay Twiley.” “How is that okay?” She yelled. “How can you still trust him after he did that to you?” Twilight asked as she casted a death glare at the other guard. “It was a long time ago and Lance was in the right.” Shining said in a sad tone. “I should have gone with him.” “Then you wouldn’t have been able to be Captain of the royal guard.” She said with a sniffle. “I actually owe Lance for that.” The mares’s jaws dropped in surprise. “What now?” The farmer yelled. “When the former Captain retired, the brass approached me for the position.” Lance explained. “I turned them down and recommended Shining for the job.” He said with a grin. “I also gave him the idea of making you his best mare at his wedding since you got the late notice.” Twilight blinked and tried to process all the information she had just received. “Wait, so if he’s a Captain. Then what does that make you?” Dash asked. “Colonel.” Lance said with a shrug. The ponies all looked at the white stallion in shock. Rarity almost fainted as she realized that she had been fantasizing about such a high ranking officer. “So, what happened on your mission?” Pinkie asked. “Did you save them?” Lance held his head in shame. “You see-” He was cut off as the door burst open to reveal a frightened baby dragon. Spike’s eyes were filled with fear as he raced over to Twilight and the others. “Twilight! You gotta come quick.” “Why what’s-” She was cut off as she heard a gut wrenching roar echo through the library. “Was that what I think it was?” “Majorly.” She gasped and quickly galloped out the door with the other ponies right behind her. The eight ponies looked ahead to see a very large and hungry Ursa Major. Lance inhaled long breath from his pipe before speaking. “Well buck.”