“Defender of Equestria”
By TwilightSparkle3562
Chapter 1
“A Prince’s Nightmare”
Ever since he had become Prince of the Crystal Empire, Shining Armor felt like he had accomplished what he had set out to do from the time he was a colt. He had a dream of being Captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot and had dedicated his life to achieving that goal. When he first met Mi Amore Cadenza when there were in Canterlot Academy, he had another dream: to marry the mare of his dreams and be at her side until their dying day.
However, that goal was nearly tarnished by Queen Chrysalis and her race of Changelings who had kidnapped Cadence and assumed her identity. By the time Shining Armor could realize what had happened, it was already too late and he had to be saved by Cadence and his younger sister, Twilight Sparkle, whom Shining Armor had accused of attacking Cadence because she was being too possessive of him.
But, thanks to his sister’s instincts and dedication to him, Shining Armor, along with Cadence, were able to use the power of their love to defeat the Changelings and their Queen once and for all.
Now, a short time had passed since that dark moment in his young life. Since then, Shining Armor had faced off against two more of Equestria’s darkest threats: King Sombra, the evil unicorn king who had placed a curse on the Crystal Empire that kept it hidden for 1,000 years and Lord Tirek, the escaped demonic centaur from Tartarus that had drained Shining Armor’s magic and left him powerless while he had thrown Cadence and her aunts, Celestia and Luna, into Tartarus, all because Tirek was imprisoned by them in the first place.
As he slept one evening, Shining Armor could only toss and turn as he began to think of the horror’s that ran through his mind, the times where he failed to defeat those that had threatened Equestria. On this particular evening, the anxieties of his failures came to a breaking point.
“No, Cadence!” he cried, jumping out of the bed he shared with Cadence, screaming. “Where is she, Chrysalis? Where is she?”
Shining Armor had been shaking so much, that he bumped his wife out of bed and on to the floor. Almost immediately, Cadence got up and quickly used her magic to turn on a candle that was beside their bed.
“Shining Armor, calm down,” she said, trying to calm her husband down. “You just had a dream, that’s all. Now, just relax and I’ll get you some water.”
But Shining Armor could just breathe heavily and hear his heart beat a mile a minute. For as far as he was concerned, the threat of his three greatest enemies was still out there, despite the fact that Chrysalis had been exiled, Sombra had been destroyed and Tirek had been sent back to Tartarus.
“Cadence,” he gasped, clutching his bed sheets while still trying to catch his breath. “I had a vision…a vision of you being tortured in the Crystal Caverns…by Chrysalis, disguised as you.”
As far as Cadence was concerned, she thought that Chrysalis had been permanently destroyed thanks to her aunts when they entered her dreams. However, Cadence could not help but wonder of the stress that her husband was under. After all, the recent rampage caused by Lord Tirek had struck fear in the Crystal Empire, even though Tirek and Discord, who had betrayed to Tirek’s side, managed to not come into the empire.
“I guess the recent events with Tirek may have caused your anxiety to go up, Shiny,” said Cadence, bringing the glass of water to Shining Armor’s side of the bed. “Maybe it’s time we got away from being rulers of the Crystal Empire for a while. I’m pretty sure Twilight would invite us over to her new castle. She’s certainly earned it.”
“Yes, she’s earned it, until the next enemy comes along and destroys it like what that monster did to her library,” replied Shining Armor, calming down slightly although still tense.
“The Crystal Empire will always be safe, Shining Armor,” said Cadence, reassuringly. “It will be safe as long as the Crystal Heart remains in its place. After all, it’s what kept Tirek and Discord from coming in here after all.”
However, Shining Armor was not convinced and went over to the bedroom window, sitting down and staring at it blankly. It seemed for a moment that he thought that everything he had ever built himself to achieve this goal was all for nothing.
“Don’t you see, Cadence?” asked Shining Armor, pounding his hoof on the edge of the window, causing Cadence to jump. “Don’t you see what is happening to me? I’ve faced three of Equestria’s most feared enemies and I have failed to defeat each and every one of them. You probably made a mistake marrying somepony who is supposed to protect you from harm.”
This caused Cadence to storm over to her husband’s side and make him turn towards her. It was bad enough seeing her husband suffer, but for him to be questioning their marriage over something so silly was something that she didn’t take lightly at all.
“Why would you even question yourself like that, Shining Armor?” retorted Cadence, her voice rising slightly. “I married you not just because you were Captain of the Guard in Canterlot, I married you because I love you for who you are. I married you because Twilight was the one who saved me from the Canterlot Caves because she was dedicated to us.”
Shining Armor was still unconvinced and merely turned away from his wife with a look of shame on his face.
“Of course, Twily saved you,” replied Shining Armor, bitterly. “She only did it just so she could be my Best Mare again. She was the one who defeated Sombra and was the one who defeated Tirek and…”
“That’s enough, Shining Armor!” interrupted Cadence. “Don’t you see what you are saying to yourself? The only one who is being hurt because of what has happened to you, is you alone! You are your own worst critic, Shining Armor and you didn’t have to be the one to save the day from all of Equestria’s threats. But, I know that there is something that you are not telling me and I wanted to know what it is right now!”
But, Shining Armor stayed silent and just walked away from Cadence, his head down in shame as he began to hear an echoed voice in his head, a voice that took him back to his days at training for the royal guard.
“All right, Cadence,” said Shining Armor, sitting back on the side of the bed. “I’ll tell you, but you must not tell anypony else, not even Twily.”
Finally getting some headway with him, Cadence trotted over and sat down next to her husband, who took in a heavy sigh.
“Do you remember the original Captain of the Royal Guard of Canterlot?” Shining Armor asked Cadence. “The one who was forced out because he was declared to be a loose cannon by Princess Celestia?”
Cadence then began to think of the pony that Shining Armor succeeded as Captain of the Royal Guard. But, she remembered this pony as a wise and caring leader almost as much as her aunts.
“Do you mean Lock Down?” she wondered to her husband. “The pony with the hook for a horn, the one who you said was like an idol to you?”
“Of course he was an idol to me, Cadence,” replied Shining Armor. “You remember that he was the one instructor who taught me everything I needed to know. When I was a colt, I was taught from the very beginning that the enemies of Equestria needed to receive swift and immediate judgment. He said that any creature or pony that is a threat to Equestria would need to be shown no mercy and be destroyed instead of being imprisoned.”
Shining Armor took in another heavy sigh as he felt Cadence rub her bare hoof on his back, stroking it gently.
“But, didn’t you say to him that there was another way?” asked Cadence. “I remember you saying that directly to him.”
“I did say it to him, but he wouldn’t listen,” explained Shining Armor. “I do remember that he was brought before Princess Celestia and Princess Luna several times for his poor treatment of criminals. Even when he was disciplined for his actions, Lock Down still reiterated the message to me that if you are faced with adversity, you show them no mercy.”
“Which is why you were so harsh with Twilight…?” began Cadence, but Shining Armor placed his hoof to her mouth and silenced her, not wanting to relive that dark moment of their wedding. This caused Cadence to immediately fall silent.
“Before he was dismissed as Captain of the Royal Guard,” continued Shining Armor. “He told me at my swearing in that if I and I alone, failed to defeat any threat imposed against Equestria, that I would be the biggest joke that Equestria has ever known. So, I guess that prediction has come true.”
Shining Armor then laid himself back down on the bed and looked up at the ceiling above their bedroom, sighing heavily once again. The thought of what his mentor and teacher had said to him continued to circulate through his mind.
“But, that doesn’t matter,” said Cadence, trying to get him to change his mind. “Maybe if you could just talk to him about the events of recent, you would…”
“He won’t listen to me, Cadence,” interrupted Shining Armor, harshly. “If I told him how I failed to protect you…”
Shining Armor tried to explain his reasoning behind his decision to not face his mentor, but he couldn’t find the words.
“He won’t change,” he continued. “Princess Celestia deemed him unfit and he retreated to the edge of Equestria where he would continue to spread his message as a bounty hunter.”
“Time heals wounds, Shiny,” said Cadence, lying down next to her husband. “Maybe you must have misremembered what Lock Down said to you. I’ll tell you what, Twilight and I can find him and try to talk to him about your situation. Besides, you are probably just tired from all the sleepless nights over this problem. You are more than what you say you are, Shining Armor and I know that as much as you.”
But, Shining Armor was too tired to think any further and he closed his eyes, falling back asleep. As he slept, Cadence knew very well that while Lock Down was deemed a loose cannon in the eyes of her aunts, she knew that despite his reckless nature, Lock Down was wise and that he would be the one to get Shining Armor over the self-doubt that he was causing to himself.
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of the Empire, a black pony-like figure with holes in his legs and green eyes was watching the Crystal Empire and smiling evilly.
“Enjoy your moments while you can, Shining Armor,” whispered the creature, chuckling evilly. “For when I am done, our queen will be avenged!”