//------------------------------//
// Chapter 61 - A Matter of Honour 
// Story: My Family and Other Equestrians 
// by Blade Star 
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    It was just before noon the next day when Princess Celestia and her entourage arrived. She’d written back to Twilight the following day, promising that she would come to Ponyville as soon as she was able to, in an attempt to reverse what Discord had done to my little sister as some sort of misguided practical joke. Her chariot, pulled by two pegasus guards, touched down just in front of the library as she said they would. However, the solar diarch was not alone. 

In addition to the two guards that had hauled her chariot across the sky from far off Canterlot, she also had two of her senior and seasoned guards with her. Captains Shining Armor and Strong Shield had accompanied her. Why I wasn’t quite sure. 

We, that is, myself, the Elements, Lizzie and my parents, promptly bowed to the snow white alicorn, with the exception of course of Twilight. Even now I think she finds it strange that her former mentor views her as an equal. She still could not resist going over to hug her though. 

As for me, I was somewhat uncomfortable at the moment. My last meeting with Strong Shield had been decidedly unpleasant. For him, not for me. For Celestia’s sake, I’d all but strangled him in some god-forsaken dungeon beneath Canterlot castle. Twilight had been bugging me to get back in contact with him, but until now I’d put it off. I had no problem with the changeling turned Royal Guard, but I figured he probably took issue with me. I couldn’t help but feel ashamed for what I’d done to him, and I didn’t expect that he’d ever truly forgive me. 

As he and Shining disembarked, he quickly spotted me amongst the group of assembled ponies and humans. He didn’t react that much, as his guard training dictated, but his eyes definitely locked with my own for an instant. He definitely wanted to talk. 

Finally, there was my little sister, who had now been a pegasus for a little over a day and a half. After Twilight had gotten a response from Celestia, she had relaxed noticeably. Her behaviour had been similar to my own shortly after my transformation; a mixture subdued shock and an interest in her new abilities. Rainbow was apparently planning to give her a few basic lessons and take her up to Cloudsdale sometime this week. 

Now Lizzie had learnt a fair bit about her new form, mainly from Fluttershy over the past day or so. She’d gotten walking down easily enough and could now go at a steady trot. She could even open and close her wings at will now. However, one thing that Fluttershy and everypony else had neglected to tell her, was the issue surrounding pegasi wings, and an affliction which only affected males in most species. 

As Shining Armor stepped out, Lizzie quickly began to, well, check him out I suppose is the right word. It was nothing serious; just puppy love, but she’d been doing it pretty much since she first met him back in Canterlot. As a human, there had been little to indicate this. As a pegasus though, the results were…unfortunate. 

*POMF*

And with that, Twilight’s little welcoming lost any semblance of sanity. Dash and I lost it and began laughing like hyenas in an effort to hide our own embarrassment. Twilight and Rarity blushed madly, whilst poor Fluttershy almost fainted. Lizzie and my parents; who were of course unaware of the implications of what was happening, were dumbstruck. Celestia, being a paragon of self-control, aside from some slight sniggering on the other hand, merely cleared her throat to get attention and spoke.

“Perhaps we should continue this discussion inside the library, Twilight?” she offered, doing her upmost to wipe the grin from her face. Then Lizzie went and made the whole situation even funnier.

“Hey Twilight, what’s wrong with my wings?” Even a glare from my mother couldn’t stop my laughter. 





With that, incident out of the way, we all settled ourselves in the main hall of Golden Oaks library. Celestia had Lizzie sit herself down in the middle of the room and like Twilight had done, began to scan her with her magic. Just as I had done, she noticeably winced upon touching the chaos magic that Discord had used. By its very nature it is an unnatural thing, even more so than dark magic. Eventually, Celestia finished her inspection and walked over to my parents.

“I’m afraid what Discord said is true. As far as I can tell, the spell he used to alter your daughter is bound and deadlock sealed. Nothing can break that; not even Discord’s own chaos magic.” My parents looked understandably worried. “However, he was also being honest when he told you of the spell having a natural decay built in. It has already begun to degrade quite well. I’d say in a week’s time at most, Lizzie will turn back to her normal self.”

“What will the reversal be like for her, your highness?” my father asked.

“Well, given that she slept through her transformation, I’d say it will be barely noticeable. Though I suggest that she’s put into a relaxed position shortly before it happens, just to make sure she doesn’t hurt herself.” She softly snorted in irritation. “I’m just sorry that Discord has done this. He’s made many strides in his reformation but at times he can be quite unpredictable.” For once the princess appeared a little distressed.

It was then that my father did something completely unprecedented. Leaving his wife’s side he walked over to the alicorn princess and embraced her in a hug. I may not be a member of the court, but I’m fairly sure there’s some sort of protocol forbidding that.

“Hey, it’s okay, Tia,” he said, pausing to release her. “There’s no harm done, and I’m sure Discord didn’t mean any of this. He probably thought it was a fun idea. You know what he’s like.” Celestia rolled her eyes.

It was then that it dawned on me. Tia. My father had addressed Princess Celestia as ‘Tia’. Since when had he been doing that? She seemed to be awfully relaxed around him than with any of her other advisors. I knew my dad meant nothing by it, but he seemed very friendly with his supposed superior. I made a note to interrogate him about it later. As I plotted, Celestia continued to speak, this time to Lizzie.

“I’m awfully sorry we can’t fix this sooner, Lizzie,” she said apologetically. “Just try and view this as a learning experience and I’m sure it will be over before you know it.”

She then took her leave along with the two look-alike guards who had brought her here. In addition to dealing with this issue, she was also going to pay Discord a visit, naturally, and also briefly speak with Mayor Mare, who had requested an audience to discuss some important matters. When Twilight asked her why the two guard captains were with her, she merely replied that she thought it would be nice to for Twilight to see her older brother and one of her old friends again. 

Our little gathering consequently also broke up. Lizzie and Fluttershy went with Rainbow to Ponyville Park; Dash was insistent they start flight training immediately. My parents, particularly my still slightly concerned mother, followed them closely. Applejack and I were going to head straight back to Sweet Apple Acres. Most of those infernal brambles had been trimmed back to a safe distance but we’d be keeping a watchful eye on them. Before I could leave with her though, Twilight pulled me to one side.

“Blade Star, why don’t you take this opportunity to go and talk to Strong Shield? Now is as good a time as any. He and Shining have gone to the Tavern I think. I was going to catch up with them anyway. Why not tag along?” I briefly considered declining her offer, but she was right. I needed to set things right properly with him. I told AJ that I’d catch up with her later, and I followed Twilight. 





As was something of a custom of his, Strong Shield, along with Shining Armor had worked their way to the Tavern. There was hardly anywhere else they could go for a drink, since it was Ponyville’s sole watering hole. Twilight was a little uneasy about going into such an establishment. Though she was a full grown mare, she had chosen not to drink that much, and she certainly didn’t fancy going into bars on a regular basis. I know for certain she disapproves of my taste for whiskey. 

Still, with me for company, and knowing her big brother would be in there, she set aside her inhibitions and followed me inside. The place was just as I remembered it, a little dark when you initially entered, owing to the dim lighting in the place. However, as your eyes adjusted, the place took on a very homely atmosphere. It sort of reminded me of a cross between Steers bar back in Canterlot, and an old English pub. Berry Punch was behind the bar as usual, undoubtedly sneaking a few glasses of the good stuff for herself. And sitting at the bar, in full uniform I might add, were the two captains. 

As soon as Twilight picked out her brother, literally shining from the lamp light reflected by his uniform, she quickly galloped over to him. I think having his little sister come up behind him and wrap him in a hug killed the ‘guys only’ mood that had previously permeated the bar. I couldn’t help but crack a smile as Shining tried to pry his sister off of him, with Strong Shield chuckling at the stallion’s misfortune.

I held back for a moment, I was still not sure what I was going to do. I mean I could hardly just walk up to him and say ‘Hey, Captain. Sorry for nearly killing you because I found out you were a changeling’. Still, from the way he had looked at me when he’d arrived, and given that Twilight motioned me to join them at the bar, it seemed he wanted to talk. 

I settled myself down nervously next to Twilight, who was sitting next to her brother. This left me between her and Strong Shield. Either it was luck that had caused this to come to pass, or Twilight had planned this more thoughtfully that I had expected. The two guards were nursing some of the non-alcoholic ciders (they were on duty after all and it was still early morning). I decided to follow suit and got myself one, whilst Twilight ordered herself some of that herbal tea she likes. I still find it strange the range that the Tavern offers; when I’d been here last I’d had a whiskey, whilst Thermos had had himself a hot chocolate. Still, it seemed to work. 

Twilight began to happily converse with her big brother. Even as a princess, it was still difficult for the siblings to meet up to talk and hang out on a regular basis. Plus of course, Shining does take his work extremely seriously, even more so now that he has to defend two kingdoms. This left me to talk with Strong Shield. I knew it was going to be at least a little awkward no matter what, so I decided to just go for broke. 

“Hey, Captain. It’s been a while.” Okay, I admit, I could have chosen far better opening lines, but I was stressed. 

“That it has, Rookie. That it has,” he replied in his typical, slightly gravelly voice. “How have you been handling things down here? Twilight told me that you’ve really settled down.” I nodded.

“Yeah, Ah suppose so. Been over six months now, and it looks like Ah’m here to stay.” I paused to take a sip of cider. “How ‘bout you? How have you been keeping, Captain?” It was then Strong Shield broached the inevitable topic.

“Well, after I got released, the princesses themselves interviewed and debriefed me. Neither of them had any objection to what you’d suggested so they sent me on my way. As far as anypony except the CO knows, nothing’s changed. I’m due to start working with the new recruits next week.” Seeing as he’d mentioned the incident, I started to raise it myself.

“Captain, can Ah speak plain for a minute?” He nodded, and I took a further gulp of cider. Even without the alcohol, it served as Dutch courage. “Ah understand if ya hate my guts. And Ah understand if ya never want to cross paths with me again. But let me just say; Ah’m sorry, for everythin’ that happened.” I turned to look him in the eye and waited for a response.
The seasoned guard seemed to be held in deep contemplation for a fair while. He looked to me, then to Twilight and then to Shining. All the while he was thinking, and thinking hard. Finally, he spoke again.

“Rookie, you listen to me good for a minute. I don’t care for what you did to me in that dungeon. You knocked an innocent pony silly and were planning to take his life in some sort of petty revenge. It was mean, and cruel, and went against everything Equestria stands for. But I’m sure you know that. I can see it’s torn you up more than a bit since we last met. I doubt there’s anything I can say to make it any worse than that. You know that what you did was wrong. Shining came at me with pretty much the same speech after I got paroled. Now, I can say I forgive you, but you’re gonna need to forgive yourself, or else you’re never gonna be yourself around me.”

I listened to him, and took in what he said in silence. A part of me still refuses to believe he’s a changeling. I look at him, and I just can’t see it. A changeling is a parasite, a thief. Strong Shield is neither of those things. But he is still a changeling. But the strangest thing is how wise he can be at times, yet the typical drone appears to be guided by only a limited sentience. 

He was, as he always is, right. I was not looking forward to this encounter due to my own shame, and my own self-loathing. The day I’d interrogated him, I’d let loose a sick, twisted, darker part of me that I’d never seen before. And that is what I had to really confront; the fact that I’m not always nice, the fact that I can be just as evil as anyone else. No one likes to contemplate that. 

It was then an idea entered my head. 





“Rookie, are you sure this is a good idea? Or legal even?” Strong Shield asked as we stood facing each other. 

“You’re quite safe from the law, Captain. As long as we both agree this was an ‘accidental encounter’, there’s nothin’ wrong with it. Just don’t say anything about arrangin’ this, ya hear? Now, twenty paces good enough for you?” Strong Shield sighed.

“I know you have this whole sense of honour thing, but are you sure this is necessary?” he asked again. 

“Captain, what Ah did constitutes an insult for which I refused to apologise for at the time. This is the best way to settle it and restore my own honour. Now, Shining, if you would?” Shining nodded.

“Alright, gentlecolts. Back to back.” We both complied. “On my signal you will each take ten paces forward. On the tenth you will both turn and fire using stun spells at your opponent. The matter shall be deemed settled when either of you is rendered defenceless. No more than three shots and no dumb firing.”

So, that was the plan I’d come up with. In order to forgive myself for what had happened, I had convinced Strong Shield to agree to a duel. And not a sissy magic duel like Twilight had undergone, this was a proper affair. This was something of a way of atoning for what I had done. While neither of us would be dead at the conclusion, the injury caused by stunning each other would be good enough for me. With that, the matter could be settled and closed and we could get back to the Tavern before Shining and Strong Shield had to meet up with the princess to return to Canterlot. 

“Good luck, Rookie,” he said as we stood back to back. I smiled and briefly let my accent slip back to its old British charm.

“Don’t trifle with me, sir. Shoot me.” And with that Shining began to call out the paces and we began to walk. Off to my side, I could see Spike and Twilight, who had been roped in as mine and Strong Shield’s seconds respectively. 

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!” Shining called.

I turned as quickly as I could on four hooves in an effort to get a bead on my opponent. Of course, the idea of me having any chance of winning this engagement was something of a long shot. Strong Shield was a seasoned veteran captain in the Royal Guard. He had seen more combat than most and was known to be both a crack shot and quick on the draw. Thus it was no surprise when I felt a sharp bolt of pain shoot up my side. Quite quickly, the force of the impact knocked me over onto my side. I lay there a moment, wincing. A few seconds later, Strong Shield along with Shining, Twilight and Spike appeared in my vision. 

“There. Are you happy now?” Strong Shield asked. I nodded, still sore from taking the hit. “Good, because it’s too damn hot out here and I want to get back to the Tavern.” With that, he extended a hoof and helped me up. 

My shoulder had taken the brunt of the impact and had some light singing. Luckily for me, as I had a dark grey coat, the marks didn’t show up too badly. In any case, honour had been satisfied and so had I. I had hurt Strong Shield and in turn he had hurt me back. Things were once again balanced, in harmony if you will. 





Back at the pub, all the awkwardness of our initial meeting completely evaporated and all of us chatted like the friends we were. By the time the two captains had to depart, we were all laughing and joking. Strong Shield and I even had a bit of a laugh poking fun at Shining Armor, telling him Cadence had better watch out in the future.  It still makes me smile seeing the Captain of the Royal Guard blush beet red. 

We all gathered outside the library as the princess departed back to Canterlot. Lizzie and Rainbow Dash returned from their flying lesson. So far, she’d managed to just about get airborne and keep herself steady, but Dash insisted she was a better student than Twilight, which made the alicorn snort in annoyance. 

Celestia also returned to the library after finishing up her business in Ponyville. By all accounts she’d pretty much verbally boxed Discord’s ears for his little stunt but was going to hold off the whole ‘turning him back to stone’ threat for the moment. Like I said, it may have been stupid of him, but it wasn’t evil like he used to be. Just Discord being Discord, that’s probably as close to reformed as you’re going to get with him. 

It was then that I turned to my father. His odd actions had been bugging me all day. In the end, as Celestia departed, I cornered him by the library and asked him what had been going on. I explained to him the semi-serious social faux pas he had made hugging the princess, but then went on to ask him why he had called her Tia.

“Dad, Ah only know one pony in the world who calls Princess Celestia by that name, and that’s her sister. When did you start usin' it? Ya haven’t picked it up from Discord have ya?” My father shook his head and wore a look of surprise.

“Good lord, Bones, no. Celestia herself asked that I call her that. She just said she wanted me to be a bit more informal with her outside of court. It’s got to be at least a little annoying having less than ten people address you by name instead of title. It’s just so she has someone she can talk to informally besides Luna and the other princesses.”

I honestly hadn’t considered that, why I have no idea. Sometimes it is easy to forget that the princesses are still ponies, albeit extremely powerful ones. They still need ponies to talk to and be friends with. I think that’s one of the reason Celestia likes the idea of Twilight being a princess. Additionally, the same could be applied to Luna. After all, that was why she occasionally dropped in on my dreams; to relax and just be herself for a little while. It was nice to know that both of them had somepony they could turn to.