//------------------------------// // Chapter 39: One Bad Day // Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition // by SuperPinkBrony12 //------------------------------// Shining Armor was running. To where, he did not know. But one thing was for certain, he could not afford to stay put. For everytime he looked back, the dim light revealed something that was all the encouragement Shining Armor needed to keep on running. "Run, run, as fast as you can. You'll not escape me, I'm the chaos man!" an omionus voice echoed, and from the darkness emerged a creature consisting of all sorts of different animals. Said creature was giving chase to Shining Armor, and appeared to be slowly closing in with every movement he made. "Just leave me alone, Discord!" Shining Armor pleaded, as he continued to run. The dark landscape remaining constantly the same and never changing, no matter how far Shining Armor ran. "No, Shining Armor, I won't. I will never rest. Not until I have driven you absolutely bonkers." Discord replied, a fiendish smirk registering clearly on his face. "You've already lost, you can't corrupt me. I won't fall for your mind games!" Shining Armor shouted defiantly, even though the sweat pouring down from his face indicated just how uncertain he was of his statement. "Oh, on the contrary, you will," Discord said with a grin "Throughout my many eons of existence, I have come to learn that it just takes the right amount of pressure to break any individual. Some like to think that they're above madness, that they can resist it. But in the end, all it really takes is one bad day, to make even the sanest of minds lose its grip on reality. For some, it takes longer than others. But sooner or later, madness becomes the only option available." Shining Armor said nothing more, he just continued to run and run. He kept trying in vain to put more distance between himself, and Discord. "That's it, run! Run as fast as you like! There is no way you can escape me, young Shining Armor. And neither can you escape your fate," Discord taunted "One way or another, you will be mine!" "Nooooooooooo!" Shining Armor shouted, and woke up with a start. He looked all around, and breathed a much needed sigh of relief when he saw that he was safely in his bed at the Golden Oaks Library in Ponyville. It had all been just a dream. "B.B.B.F.F, what's wrong?" Twilight asked softly, having been woken from her sleep by her brother's scream of terror. "Nothing, Twily. I just had a bad dream, that's all." Shining Armor replied, intentionally leaving out what the dream had involved. There was no need to make his sister worry, she had enough problems to deal with. "Well, keep it down will ya? Some of us are trying to get some sleep." Spike protested, having also been woken up by Shining Armor's scream. "Sorry about that, I'll try not to let it happen again." Shining Armor apologized. "Don't take this the wrong way or anything, but are you sure you're okay?" Spike asked Shining Armor "You've been having bad dreams for at least two weeks now. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure that's not normal." "I'm fine, Spike. These dreams are sure to stop, eventually." Shining Armor quickly replied, and went back to sleep. -------- Shining Armor slept peacefully for the rest of the night, but when the rays of Celestia's sun began to peek into the windows of the Golden Oaks Library it didn't take much for him to wake up. One didn't even need to look closely to see the bags under his eyes. "Good morning, B.B.B.F.F," Twilight called, a huge smile forming on her face. "You're up early this morning." "Well, I've got to get a head start on my daily patrols," Shining Armor replied, letting out a light yawn "Princess Celestia is counting on me to make sure Ponyville is recovering smoothly, and I won't let her down." "You'll have plenty of time to worry about that after breakfast." Twilight said kindly, as Shining Armor followed her downstairs "Today is a beautiful day. You should enjoy it." "I will, once I know for sure there's nothing to worry about. Call me a security freak all you want, but I'm not willing to let my guard down just yet." Shining Armor said seriously. Twilight came to a halt upon hearing Shining Armor say those words. Over the past week, Shining Armor's mood had changed considerably. He used to be laid back, cheerful, upbeat, and above all else, cool and collected. But now it seemed that he seldom had a smile on his face, and he was much more serious and blunt. He was even starting to act a bit paranoid, and wasn't shrugging it off as his fears geting the best of him. In short, Shining Armor seemed like a completely different stallion from the one Twilight knew and loved. Yes, ponies could change. But never had Twilight seen a pony change so drastically. She frowned at the thought of what her big brother had become, but she said nothing. She didn't know what Shining Armor had to endure, and she couldn't say for certain how she would react if the roles were reversed. Even so, Twilight was worried. It was not too long ago that she herself had snapped, and got all of Ponyville fighting over an old doll. And that was through an old spell she'd never intended to use. Shining Armor knew hundreds of combat and defense spells, and if he broke down as badly as Twilight did, the consequences could be much worse than just an entire town fighting over a doll. "Shining Armor, don't you think you're taking this assignment a little too seriously?" Twilight asked. "You can never be too serious when it comes to security, Twilight." Shining Armor replied, and that was all he said on the matter. He quickly made his way downstairs and ate breakfast. -------- "Let's go, Spike!" Shining Armor ordered, once breakfast was finished "The sooner we get started on these security sweeps, the better. We owe it to Princess Celestia to be on the lookout for new potential threats." Spike wanted to protest and tell Shining Armor that there was no need for them to patrol Ponyville, but before he could get a word in edgewise Twilight looked at him with eyes that clearly read "Go out with him and keep an eye on him. I'm worried that he might be letting his fears get to him." Not one to disobey an order from the pony who'd helped raise him, Spike reluctantly climbed onto Shining Armor's back, and the two of them headed out to check out nook and cranny of Ponyville. "I don't know what's gotten into you, B.B.B.F.F, but I don't like it." Twilight thought to herself, as she watched Shining Armor and Spike leave The Golden Oaks Library. -------- "Alright then, where to first, Spike?" Shining Armor asked. "Hold on a second," Spike replied, and pulled out a checklist. Said checklist had all of the locations of Ponyville labled on it, with a box next to each picture that could be checked off once the location was visited. "It says here that our first stop is Sweet Apple Acres. But you already knew that, didn't you?" "Maybe I did," Shining Armor half admitted "But it certainly didn't hurt to double check. Better safe than sorry." "This is going to be a long day." Spike thought unhappily to himself, as he followed Shining Armor along the path that led to Sweet Apple Acres. In only a matter of seconds, the familiar sight of apple trees greeted the eyes of Shining Armor and Spike. A tell tale sign that they were on the right path. But suddenly, Shining Armor saw a sight that he knew he shouldn't be seeing if everything was as it should be. There was Soarin, decked out in his Wonderbolts flight suit and goggles, and he was attacking a barn with a series of high speed kicks and punches. All the while, Big Macintosh was watching from a distance. Crouching down in the safety of a nearby trench as wooden boards flew overhead. The fact that the barn in question seemed abandoned and neglected wasn't ignored by Spike, but Shining Armor certainly took no notice of it. Because he turned to Spike and said seriously "Soarin must've gotten into another fight with Big Macintosh, and now he thinks vandilism is an approprite way to get back at him," then, with a sigh he added "I'll probably have to sort out whatever silly dispute caused all of this, which means I'm going to be late for the rest of my patrols." Soarin was unaware of Shining Armor's presence, as he continued to chip away at the barn board by board. But, as he prepared to drive home another kick, he was surprised when he felt his hoof bounce off of a deflective magic bubble. Contact with the pink colored bubble caused Soarin to be shot back into the sky for a second, before he crashed onto the ground. "Ow! It's times like this that make me really glad I'm a pegasus." Soarin groaned, as he slowly got up and dusted himself off. Luckly, he wasn't hurt. "Soarin, as your friend I'm asking you to stop this reckless behavior at once!" Shining Armor scolded, walking up to the Wonderbolt Co-Captain. "Reckless behavior? What are you talking about?" Soarin asked. He wasn't aware that he had done anything wrong. "Don't try to play innocent with me, Soarin!" Shining Armor said angrily, holding his friend in place with the magic from his horn "I can tell by your actions that you and Big Macintosh must've gotten into a serious arguement. But whatever it is, there's no reason for you to just start destroying property." "I'm not destroying property!" Soarin protested. "Oh really? Then why were you attacking that barn just a few seconds ago?" Shining Armor asked "I highly doubt Big Macintosh just walked up to you and said 'Hey, Soarin. How would you like to destroy my barn?'" "Well actually, that's exactly why I was attacking the barn." Soarin replied. "What?!" Shining Armor exclaimed "Is this a joke, Soarin? You know how much I hate it when you joke about stuff like that." "It's no joke, Big Macintosh flat out asked me if I wanted to destroy his barn for him, and I said yes." Soarin told Shining Armor. "He's tellin' the truth." Big Macintosh spoke up. "But why? Why in Celestia's name would you let him do such a thing?" Shining Armor asked, scratching his head in confusion "I fail to understand the logic behind that." Big Macintosh just laughed "Oh Shining Armor, you just don't get it do you? Take a look at that barn for a second and you'll understand everythin'. It's a dump, an eyesore!" "Whatever you call it, it's a mess." Soarin added. "I've been wantin' to put up a new barn to replace it, but Granny Smith said this old barn had to come down first," Big Macintosh went on "Rather than pay for a bunch of expensive explosives, I figured I'd help Soarin stay in shape by givin' him somethin' to practice his fightin' skills on. Never hurts to be prepare for a fight." "And it gives me a good workout. 'Bout the only thing that tops it are the exercises Spitfire puts me through," Soarin finished "Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time for me to get back to work and finish the job!" And quick as a flash, Soarin took off into the sky. "You might wanna find a good place to hide, Shining Armor." Big Macintosh said seriously, as he jumped into the trench and doned a bright green helmet. "What do you mean?" Shining Armor asked nervously. "Let's just say, you ain't gonna wanna be standin' here for the next couple of minutes. Soarin's got a new 'signature move' he's been workin' on, and I think he's found the perfect opportunity to give it a field test." Big Macintosh explained. "He's right!" Soarin called from above "This new trick is gonna really bring down the house! I mean it!" Shining Armor and Spike looked up, and what they saw made their eyes grow wide in horror. With seconds to spare, Shining Armor lit up his horn and teleported himself and Spike into the trench Big Macintosh was hiding in. Then, there came a deafening roar, and a huge shockwave shook the ground. Shining Armor, Spike, and Big Macintosh were burried in a heap of rubble. Fortunately, none of them were hurt. And they all pulled themselves out and dusted themselves off, just as Soarin came in for a landing. There was not a trace of the old barn left, Soarin's "trick" had completely demolished it. "Oops, sorry about that. Guess I don't know my own strength." Soarin said sheepishly. "You did a fine job, Soarin. I knew I could count on you to help me demolish that old barn!" Big Macintosh replied happily "Now, whadya say I treat you to some hot apple pie as a reward for you hard work?" "You had me at apple pie." Soarin said, licking his lips in delight. Ever since The Grand Galloping Gala, Soarin had developed a craving for apple pie from Sweet Apple Acres. Soarin and Big Macintosh set off happily together, leaving Spike and Shining Armor standing alone at the sight of the demolished barn. Only now it looked like they were standing in the middle of an empty field. "That, was, amazing!" Spike exclaimed "I thought only Rainbow Dash could do that sort of thing. I wonder if she taught it to Soarin?" Shining Armor, however, was more concerned about the fact that Soarin's little show had made him late for the rest of his rounds. "Come along, Spike. We've wasted enough time here, we must move onto the next area." Spike sighed, and reluctantly pulled out the checklist. It was no use arguing with Shining Armor. "It would seem our next stop is Carousel Boutique." "Well, knowing Rarity, she's bound to have some sort of overblown problem that she'll inevitably need help solving." Shining Armor said flatly, and he and Spike headed back along the path they had followed to reach Sweet Apple Acres, as it was the only way back to town. -------- On the way to Carousel Boutique, Shining Armor and Spike bumped into Braeburn. "Oh, sorry there, Shining Armor. Really should've watched where I was goin'." Braeburn apologized. To Braeburn's surprise, Shining Armor responded as if he'd been approached by a random stranger in an alleyway. "Braeburn? What are you doing in Ponyville? Shouldn't you be back in Appleloosa?" "Don't you remember, Shining Armor? I did go back to Appleloosa, but Discord didn't really do much to the town. It didn't take us too long to clean up and get everything back to normal." Braeburn explained. Surely, Shining Armor hadn't forgotten about that. "And how long have you been in Ponyville? I don't recall seeing you around, which is very suspicious given your love of parties." Shining Armor said seriously, pointing his horn towards Braeburn as if he deemed him a threat. "There haven't really been a lot of parties for me to attend. Even Pinkie Pie's stopped throwin' them every single day," Braeburn quickly replied "But I'm really lookin' forward to this 'Nightmare Night' I've been hearin' about. Growin' up in Applewood, we never really celebrated such a holiday." Shining Armor was silent for a moment, and his horn remained pointed firmly at Braeburn. But at last, he said to Braeburn "Ah, sorry about the misunderstanding. Given the circumstances, I wanted to make sure you weren't an imposter. As you can see, I've taken the liberty of upping the security around here, so watch your back." All the while, Shining Armor kept up his serious demeanor, and did not smile. Something that Braeburn found extremly unsettling. "Uh, Shining Armor. Are you feelin' okay?" Braeburn asked nervously. "Of course I'm okay! Why wouldn't I be okay?!" Shining Armor replied quickly. Braeburn took one look at Shining Armor's face, and he immediately decided that he wanted to be anywhere but where he currently was. With a gulp Braeburn said to Shining Armor and Spike "Well, I hope I'll see you two around. Now if you'll excuse me, I think I'm gonna go see what Pinkie Pie is up to, bye!" And Braeburn took off at a speed that would've made Rainbow Dash jealous. "Well, that was odd. Wonder what's gotten into him?" Shining Armor wondered outloud. "Probably you." Spike replied. But Shining Armor didn't hear Spike. He was already focused solely on getting to Carousel Boutique as fast as possible. He was hoping to make up for lost time. "Something is not right with you, Shining Armor," Spike thought to himself, as he followed his friend "And I owe it to Twilight to find out what it is." And with that, Spike made a silent vow that he would pin down the case of Shining Armor's change in behavior, and hopefully correct it before it got out of control. -------- It took longer than Shining Armor would've liked, but at last he and Spike arrived at Carousel Boutique. Normally, Spike would've delighted in the opportunity to see Rarity again. But for right now, he was more concerned with Shining Armor's behavior. He didn't like it at all, but Shining Armor seemed to ignore all the stares he was getting from random citizens as he passed them by. "Ah, Shining Armor and Spike. To what do I owe the pleasure?" Fancy Pants asked, greeting his unexpected guests. "Well, I thought I'd stop by and see if your assistant has any sort of problems she needs help with." Shining Armor explained in his flat tone of voice. "I appreciate your concern, my good stallion. But I assure you that Miss. Rarity is perfectly fine." Fancy Pants replied Just then, there was a high pitched scream from upstairs. Shining Armor couldn't make out exactly who had uttered it, but he was certain it was a scream of worry. "That doesn't sound fine to me." he said, and before anyone could stop him he raced upstairs and burst through the door of Rarity's workshop. Much to Shining Armor's surprise, both Rarity and Fleur seemed completely okay. There were no signs of injuries, outside of a small red patch on one of Rarity's hooves. And although Rarity seemed a bit unnerved, it didn't appear that either she or Fleur were in any sort of imminent danger. "Oh, Shining Armor. What an unexpected but pleasant surprise." Fleur commented, upon noticing the young captain standing before her. "I heard a scream. Is everything alright?" Shining Armor asked, obvious signs of concern and worry emerging onto his previosuly serious face. "Everything is just fine, darling. I just, lightly pricked myself while repairing one of Fleur's dresses and it gave me quite a surprise." Rarity explained, going to considerable lengths not to show off the pricked hoof. "So, that's what all the screaming was about?" Shining Armor asked, hoping beyond hope that such wasn't the case "You're sure it wasn't anything else? Not even something as trivial as a mouse?" "Fluttershy does a great job of keeping her smaller animal critters out of danger. And even if a mouse did slip in, Opal would send it packing in a matter of days." Fleur said to Shining Armor, as she used her magic to clean and disinfect Rarity's wound, before putting a bandage on it for protection. "Well, guess I won't be sewing any new dresses or suits for a while," Rarity said glumly, as she observed her bandage wound "But thank you for patching up the wound for me." she said to Fleur. "Think nothing of it, Miss. Rarity. And I already have the perfect idea in mind to make it up to you," Fleur smiled "Why don't I do your sewing work until that hoof of yours is better? You've been working so hard lately, and you deserve a break." "You really don't have to do this, Fleur. Just taking care of my wound was enough." Rarity protested, but Fleur refused to take no for an answer. And so Rarity had no choice but to reluctantly agree to Fleur's terms. Seeing as there was nothing that commanded his attention, Shining Armor marched out of Rarity's workshop and back downstairs. "See, I told you that Miss. Rarity was perfectly fine," Fancy Pants said to Shining Armor "But as long as you're here, why not stay for a spot of tea? I've been itching to try out this new brew I obtained from Zecora, she tells me it is very enriching for the body and the mind." "Sorry, gonna have to take a rain check on that tea. Crime waits for nopony!" Shining Armor said seriously, and turned to Spike "Come on, Spike. We've wasted enough time here, we need to get back to work and finish the rest of our patrols." -------- The rest of Shining Armor's patrols passed uneventfully, even when visiting Fluttershy's cottage. Rather than return home, however, Shining Armor set off for the park in the middle of town. He made it perfectly clear to Spike that he wished to be left alone, for a couple of hours at least. "I just don't understand it," Shining Armor said to himself, as he lay on a park bench, watching Celestia's slowly shift its position in the sky. The changing rays of sunlight giving the stallion a noticeable shadow "It's been only a couple of weeks since Discord made this town the center piece of his empire, and yet there's not a problem in sight. It should've taken at least a month to undo the damage." Either unaware of the attention he was drawing to himself, or simplying not caring about the countless number of eyes watching him, Shining Armor continued to ponder out loud about what was going on. "There are no leftover puddles of chocolate milk. The animals are behaving normally. And the roads are their usual dirt selves. Everything is how it was before Discord came along, and yet I'm as on edge as I was when I met him. But why?" Shining Armor paused during his contemplation to take a moment to fix his hair. A few loose strands were starting to show, and Shining Armor wanted to look as presentable as possible. He had a job to do, and that required him to remain in tip top condition for as long as necessary. Upon completing his hair repair, Shining Armor lay back down on the park bench. He said nothing, but if one were to look at his face, they would see signs of a stallion who was deeply troubled about something. Shining Armor closed his eyes, and prepared to drift off to sleep. But just as he was about to do so, the nearby clock tower struck the hour. Ringing a total of five times. By the time the ringing had ceased, Shining Armor had realized something very important. Rising from the bench with a start, he took off running. "How could I have forgotten?! I hope I'm not too late!" he thought anxiously to himself. -------- On a hill just outside of Ponyville, Big Macintosh, Braeburn, Soarin, and Fancy Pants had all gathered for a little get together. Big Macintosh was currently laying out an alternating red and white checkered picnic blanket on the ground, checking it carefully to ensure there were no ants. Braeburn brought over a picnic basket loaded with all sorts of delicious baked goods. Some of them homemade, and some of them having come from Sugarcube Corner. Soarin had changed out of his flight suit, and was now wearing a pair of sunglasses to protect his eyes from the bright sunlight. "Where's Thunderlane? And what about Shining Armor? They should've both been here by now. They're late." he said with concern. "Thunderlane must've gotten held up at home with something," Fancy Pants replied, even though his answer amounted to little more than a guess "As for Shining Armor, I have no idea. It is not like him to be late though." "I was thinkin' the same thing, unfortunately." Big Macintosh said, a small frown forming on his face. "Now come on ya'll, let's not think like that," Braeburn quickly spoke up "I'm sure both Shining Armor and Thunderlane have very good reasons for bein' 'fashionably late' as Ma always used to call it. In fact, if I'm not mistaken, here comes Thunderlane now!" Sure enough, Thunderlane was slowly making his way up the hill to his friends. Strapped to his shoulders was a saddle bag with a miniature lightning bolt printed onto it. "Hey guys." he called nervously. "Well, it's about time. What kept you? The guys were worried something had happened to you, myself included." Soarin said seriously. "I would've been here a little bit sooner, but I forgot about the plates." Thunderlane admitted, blushing slightly in embarrasment. "Again? That's the third time this month you've let that happen," Fancy Pants scolded, shaking his head "Perhaps, next time, you could do us all the favor of leaving a reminder, so you don't forget." "I'll keep that in mind." Thunderlane considered, as he dug into his saddle bag, and set the plates down on the blanket. Just a few seconds later, Shining Armor finally arrived. But just by looking at him, his friends could tell something was wrong. He was out of breath, and his mane and tail seemed rather disorganized. His eyes had noticeable bags under them, and even seemed a tad bit shrunken. The smile on his face looked anything but welcoming, it looked rather unsettling. In short, Shining Armor looked like he'd just gotten out of bed after suffering a horrible nightmare. Despite it being nowhere close to night time. "Sorry, I'm late." Shining Armor said, pausing to catch his breath. "What took you so long? I was starting to think you'd never show up." Soarin asked Shining Armor. "My patrols took longer than I thought, and I guess I lost track of the time." Shining Armor replied, his eyes twitching for a second. "Uh, Shining Armor, are you feelin' okay?" Braeburn asked. "Yeah, you ain't lookin' too good right now." Big Macintosh added. "I'm fine guys, just a little bit tired out, that's all." Shining Armor said nervously, a faint laugh escaping his mouth, followed by another twitch of his eyes. "Uh, don't take this the wrong way or anything, but you're kind of creeping me out here." Soarin spoke up, as he and the others took note of Shining Armor's behavior. It was making them all feel really uneasy. "Yeah," Thunderlane added, gulping a bit "We don't like it." "Whatever is troubling you, we just want to help." Fancy Pants said kindly, extending a hoof out to Shining Armor. But Shining Armor brushed the hoof aside, in his mind he no longer saw his friends. Rather, he saw a bunch of Discords, and they were all closing in fast. "No! Stay back, all of you! Don't come any closer!" he shouted, his horn sparking to life. "Come on, sugarcube. Just please let us help you," Big Macintosh pleaded "Don't do somethin' you'll end up regrettin'." Unfortunately, nothing his friends said or did could snap Shining Armor out of his paranoid state. Everywhere he looked, he could see Discord. He felt trapped, surrounded, unable to escape. His heart racing a mile a minute, Shining Armor did the only thing he could think of doing that would get him out of his situation. In a sudden flash of pink magic, Shining Armor disappeared and took off running. "He's getting away!" Thunderlane shouted. "I can see that!" Soarin replied "We've got to go after him before he hurts somepony, or even himself!" "No! He's too dangerous!" Big Macintosh protested, grabbing Soarin by the tail. "He's right, I'm afraid. Shining Armor is far too powerful for us to engage him head on." Fancy Pants said with a shake of his head. "But then, what are we suppose to do?" Braeburn asked anxiously "We can't just turn our back on him." "We've got to find Spike. He's the only one who's got a direct link to Princess Celestia!" Big Maicntosh said seriously "Whatever's goin' on with Shining Armor, we're goin' to need her help to stop it!" "She's not gonna be very happy to hear her captain has gone crazy." Thunderlane said nervously. "Probably not, but desperate times call for desperate measures!" Soarin replied "Like it or not, it's our only option at this point." "Then let's stop talking and get going. The sooner we can find Spike, the better." Fancy Pants shouted, boldly taking charge. "Fancy Pants is right. The time for talk is over, let's move out!" Big Macintosh instructed, and he, Braeburn, Soarin, Thunderlane, and Fancy Pants, all raced off to the Golden Oaks Library. Even if Spike wasn't there, Twilight was sure to know where he was. "Hang on, Shining Armor. Whatever's causing all of this, you've got to fight it!" Big Macintosh thought to himself, as he and the other stallions raced through the streets of Ponyville. So far, everything was quiet. But Big Macintosh had a sinking feeling that it wouldn't be quiet for long. -------- It wasn't long after Shining Armor ran away from his friends, that the rational part of his mind managed to take back control. But by now, Shining Armor was a mess. Looking at his reflection in a puddle, he could see just how on edge he was. "What's wrong with me?" he said to himself, as his reflection stared back at him "I can't believe I almost attacked my friends. They were only trying to help me, and I pushed them away." Shining Armor was expecting his reflection not to talk back to him, and he was quite surprised when it did "But why should that matter? They don't understand the reality of the situation the way you do. You're the only one who's actually worried about the possibility of another attack from Discord. Everyone else seems content to ignore the danger." "What danger? I haven't noticed any danger. And I should know, I've been patrolling constantly for the past several weeks." Shining Armor said to his reflection. "That doesn't mean you can relax. The moment you lower your guard is the moment that Discord will strike!" Shining Armor's reflection said angrily in response "You must be on guard twenty four/seven. It is the only way you and everyone you care about can be kept safe." "But Discord has been defeated, he has been sealed away in stone once again. And he will remain that way for a long time," Shining Armor protested "There can't possibly be any way he could still be a threat." Shining Armor's reflection shook its head "Oh, but that's just what Discord wants you to think." "This is ridculous." Shining Armor said to himself, and shook his head. When he did, his reflection no longer talked back to him, and remained silent. Deciding that his lack of sleep was the cause of his 'hallucinations', Shining Armor lay down on the same park bench he'd rested on earlier. He closed his eyes, and drifted off to sleep as the rays of Celestia's sun began to slowly shift away from him. -------- Shining Armor was running once again, but this time was different. He hadn't been running for very long, when he suddenly felt himself lose his balance and trip. Shining Armor tried to get up, but the inky darkness seemed to work against, preventing him from escaping. "It's like I said, there's no way you can escape me, Shining Armor." Discord said with a laugh, as he slowly approached his target. Shining Armor tried, in vain, to get back up and run away again. He was truly at Discord's mercy. "You put up quite a fight, young Shining Armor," Discord said, savoring his moment of triumph "Not since Celestia herself have I seen a pony fight off my influence for so long. But it was all for naught, I'm afraid." "You, won't, get away with, whatever it is you're planning, Discord." Shining Armor protested. "Oh, Shining Armor, you don't understand. I'm not here to hurt you, I'm here to help you." Discord explained. "Help me? I doubt that very much." Shining Armor snorted. Discord did not reply to Shining Armor's comment, he simply snapped his fingers and changed the landscape to something a little more suitable. The inky darkness still existed, but now Discord was dressed in a doctor's outfit, and Shining Armor was strapped to a table not unlike the ones patients sat on in doctor's offices. "Just sit back and relax, Dr. Discord is going to make you feel all better." Discord smirked, and began to use his magic to probe Shining Armor's mind. Shining Armor tried, in vain, to keep Discord from reading his thoughts. Now he truly wished he'd learned from Princess Celestia how to protect the mind from unwanted invaders. "Hm, oh dear, this doesn't look good at all," Discord said seriously, once he'd finished the probe "You've got so much stress piled on inside that mind, it's a miracle it hasn't already collapsed from the pressure. You've been holding it in for so long. But don't worry, I know just how to correct that little 'problem'." And with a snap of his fingers, a screw driver appeared in his hands. Shining Armor took one look at the screwdriver, and began to feel beads of sweat pour down his face. He was extremly worried, and did not like what Discord was going to do to him. "I'm just gonna loosen up a couple of screws really quick, no need to worry yourself," Discord explained to Shining Armor "You won't feel a thing. In fact, by the time I'm done, you won't be able to feel much of anything besides fear." And with that, he inserted the tip of the screwdriver into Shining Armor's head. True to Discord's word, Shining Armor felt nothing at all. At least, until he could feel the fearful and paranoid part of his mind taking over. He tried to fight off the take over. But in only a matter of seconds, all he knew was fear. "Come and get me, Celestia. I'm waiting for you." Discord thought to himself, as he returned to his normal form. -------- Shining Armor awoke with a start, and everywhere he looked, he could see Discord. Some Discords were big, some were small, some were in between. But all of them were looking at him, laughing and smirking. Some of them even drew close while saying "We want to help you, Shining Armor." "No! Keep away! I don't need your help!" Shining Armor shouted at the top of his lungs, and ran away as fast as his legs could carry him. Unfortunately, everywhere that Shining Armor went, he saw nothing but Discord. He felt trapped, stuck in an unending nightmare with no escape. And it was only by a fluke that he managed to get away, and find a place to hide. "This is just what I feared," Shining Armor said to himself "Discord has created an army of look alikes that all have the same powers as him, and he's going to use them to take over all of Equestria. And what's even worse is that Princess Celestia is completely unaware of this. There's nowhere I can run where I'll be safe." Upon realizing this, a rather creepy smile found its way onto Shining Armor's face "So, Discord has made his move, has he? Well, I think it's time I made mine. I'll teach him not to mess with me, and I know just the spell to do the trick." -------- In an open field of grass on the outskirts of Ponyville, the four founding members of The Cutie Mark Crusaders were taking a break from their usual crusades. They were currently bouncing a ball back and forth amongst themselves, all the while enjoying the pleasant weather. What they didn't know, was that they were being watched. From the safety of a nearby bush, Shining Armor observed The Cutie Mark Crusaders as they played their little game. Unfortunately, with his mind overcome by fear and paranoia, Shining Armor could only see a quartet of Discord look alikes. They were staring at him, taunting him, and laughing fiendishly. "Just keep on laughing while you still can. This party's about to be crashed!" Shining Armor thought to himself, as he charged up the one spell he had swore he'd never ever use. It was a powerful stun spell, one that was said to leave the target completely immobilized and at the mercy of whoever had cast it. -------- "Is it finished yet?" Twilight asked Spike. Spike was currently writing a letter, while Shining Armor's friends and Twilight waited anxiously inside of The Golden Oaks Library. "I'm writing as fast as I can!" Spike replied, and turned to the stallions "So, let me see if I've got all the details. Shining Armor showed up to the picnic looking like he was on the brink of insanity. And when Fancy Pants reached out a hoof, Shining Armor snapped and ran off?" "Eeyup." Big Macintosh said seriously. "Hurry up and send that letter to Princess Celestia! There's no telling what Shining Armor will do!" Soarin added. Wasting no time, Spike wrapped up the scroll on which he had written the emergency letter, and quickly set it alight. It disappeared in a swirl of green magic, and a few seconds later, Spike belched up the reply. He read it outloud to the worried ponies: Dear Elements of Harmony Bearers and my faithful student, I'm on my way! Please try to track down Shining Armor and keep a close eye on him. Make sure he doesn't do anything he'll regret once he returns to normal. But do not engage him directly, he's bound to see you all as a threat. Sincerely, Princess Celestia "Well, orders are orders! Let's move out and find our friend before it's too late!" Soarin instructed. "He couldn't have gotten far, but we'll have a better chance of finding him if we split up," Fancy Pants chimed in "Soarin and Thunderlane, the two of you take to the sky and see if you can spot Shining Armor from the air. Braeburn and Big Macintosh, you come with me and we'll search Ponyville on hoof." "And no matter what happens, don't go off on your own!" Braeburn added "Shining Armor's not himself, and we don't know what he'll do to us." "But we should try not to hurt him. Regardless of what's going on, he's still our friend." Thunderlane said considerately. "We'll all keep that in mind, but the time for talk is over!" Big Macintosh shouted, taking charge of the situation "Let's move out!" "Hey, aren't you gonna come along with us, Twilight?" Soarin asked, when he saw that Twilight wasn't joining the search. Twilight shook her head "I don't want to see my brother in the state he's currently in. I don't want to have to go through the tramua of seeing the stallion I looked up turned into a monster. I'm staying here." "If Twilight's staying, then so am I," Spike said seriously "She's going to need my help to get through this situation without breaking down. She already had a crazy episode once, I don't think anyone wants to go through a repeat." "Fine then, you two stay here. We'll come back and notify you if we manage to save Shining Armor." Fancy Pants said, reluctantly accepting Spike and Twilight's decisions. "You mean when we manage to save Shining Armor! Failure is out of the question!" Soarin replied. "Enough talk, let's move out!" Big Macintosh shouted, and the five stallions took off. "Please hurry, Princess Celestia." Spike thought anxiously, as he observed how stressed out Twilight was "The longer Shining Armor's out there, the harder it's gonna be to keep Twilight from going crazy as well." -------- "Catch, Rumble!" Scootaloo shouted, bumping the ball to Rumble with her nose. Rumble quickly moved into position to catch the ball, and prepared to bump it to Apple Bloom, who would then bump it to Sweetie Belle, who would then bump it to Scootaloo. And then the cycle would switch up a bit. But suddenly, just as Rumble was about to hit the ball, a small veil of pink magic appeared around it. And with a pop, Shining Armor appeared before the four young ponies, completely destroying the ball in the process. "Hello." Shining Armor said slowly, his ears twitching a bit. "Uh, hey there, Shining Armor," Apple Bloom nervously spoke up "How you doin'?" "Oh, I'm fine. Just fine." Shining Armor replied, despite the look on his face showing clear signs that such was not the case. "Are you okay?" Sweetie Belle asked Shining Armor. She had never seen him quite like this before, and she didn't like it. "I will be, once I take care of a little 'problem' I've been having." Shining Armor said ominously, traces of magic appearing on the tip of his horn. "What sort of 'problem'?" Scootaloo asked, as she and her friends slowly began to back away. Shining Armor's behavior, combined with the expression on his face, was enough to make them all feel uneasy. They didn't want to be around Shining Armor when he was like this. "Not one that concerns the likes of you!" Shining Armor shouted, pointing his face directly in front of the CMC. "What are you talking about? Did we do something wrong?" Rumble asked nervously. "Don't play innocent with me, you know why I'm here!" Shining Armor said ominously, slowly working his way towards the CMC. But in his mind, he saw himself slowly but surely closing in on the four Discord clones he'd been spying on earlier "I'm going to see to it that every last one of you is exterminated, one way or another!" By the time he had finished saying this, Shining Armor's horn was surging with magic, and was giving off an ominous buzzing sound. Said buzzing sound gave the CMC all the incentive they needed to run. And they did so without hesitation! "Go ahead! Run all you want! You won't get away from me! I won't allow it!" Shining Armor shouted, and chased after his targets. Shooting off beams of magic as he tried to catch up to them. "What's gotten into him? Why is he chasing us?" Rumble asked, as he and the other CMC tried to get away from their pursuer. "I don't know, but I don't want stick around to find out!" Scootaloo replied. "Less talking, more running!" Sweetie Belle interrupted. "Don't let him catch us!" Apple Bloom screamed. Unfortunately for the CMC, Shining Armor was catching up fast. And his beams of magic were becoming harder and harder to dodge. "I have you now!" Shining Armor shouted, as he fired off another beam of magic from his horn. This one eventually managed to get close to Rumble. Scootaloo, seeing what was about to happen, raced over to Rumble and quickly pulled them both down to the ground. The beam of magic whizzed right over their heads, striking a nearby tree. "That was too close! Thank you for saving me." Rumble said to Scootaloo. "Thank me later, we've got to get out of here!" Scootaloo replied, and she and Rumble took off once again. Shining Armor tried his best to catch up his targets, but they proved to be too fast for him and they got away. "Curses, I almost had them!" Shining Armor said angrily to himself "Oh well, I'll worry about them later. For now, I've got to take care of the rest of Discord's army." But before Shining Armor could do anything, there was an angry cry of "Shining Armor!" that seemed to come from the clouds, followed by a blinding flash of light. Standing before Shining Armor was Princess Celestia, but something was wrong. She wasn't at all pleased by what he was doing, in fact, she looked rather disappointed in him. The frown on her face being a living testament to that. "Shining Armor! I order you to stop at once!" Princess Celestia commanded. "Stop now?! When there's still Discords to defeat?! Surely you can't be serious!" Shining Armor replied "I'm not going to stop until Ponyville and all of Equestria is one hundred percent safe!" "But it already is. You've done a fine job." Princess Celestia told Shining Armor, her voice changing from loud and authoritive, to soft and considerate. "No, I haven't! I've allowed for Discord to build up his own army, and if I don't stop him now, it'll be too late!" Shining Armor protested "You just want me out of the way because I'm doing what you won't!" "Shining Armor, I will not ask again! Stand down, or face the consequences of your continued agression!" Princess Celestia warned. "If you're not with me, princess, then you're my enemy, and I will destroy you!" Shining Armor bellowed at the top of his lungs, and charged at Princess Celestia, preparing to strike her down. But Princess Celestia wasn't frightened in the slightest. She easily halted Shining Armor's advance with only one spell from her horn. Then, even as Shining Armor continued to struggle and squirm about, Princess Celestia lowered her horn to Shining Armor's forehead. "Time to heal the wounds." she thought to herself. -------- In the corner of Shining Armor's mind, a light appeared. Discord recognized at once who it was coming from. "Ah, Princess Celestia. Right on time." he said with a smile, as he greeted the mental projection of the alicorn. "Enough games, Discord! You have gotten my attention." Princess Celestia said seriously. "Oh, you don't understand. I didn't contribute to Shining Armor's breakdown, at least not that much," Discord replied "I was only trying to help lighten some of his mental burden the only way I knew how. But hey, at no point did I claim to be an expert on psychology." "That's not the real reason you did of all this. I can tell you have a different motive than the one you just gave me," Princess Celestia said crossly, and began to slowly walk towards Discord "So tell me what it is! I'm in no mood for games!" "You know me all too well, Celestia. But I guess I should've expected you to be able to see through my stories." Discord said glumly. "I won't ask again, Discord. Tell me the truth!" Princess Celestia demanded. "Alright, alright. You caught me redhanded," Discord admitted "This whole thing was a test, to see if you still had the ability to stand up to me, even without your connection to The Elements of Harmony. And you passed with flying colors." "And you thought that using Shining Armor, the bearer of the Element of Magic was the best option?" Princess Celestia asked angrily. "Well, I was going to use your faithful student, Twilight Sparkle. But then she went and broke down over that deadline before I could get to her. So, I decided to go for the next best thing." Discord explained. "So, you took an already fragile mind and pushed it over the edge?" Princess Celestia said to Discord, steam emerging from her nostrils to indicate just how angry she was. "Guilty, guilty, and oh so very guilty as charged," Discord replied, looking the angry alicorn in the eyes "But what are you going to do about it? You and I both know you don't have the power to send me away for good, or you would've done so by now." "That's true, but that doesn't mean I don't have ways of ensuring you don't have access to the same option twice!" Princess Celestia said, her voice rising to a tone that it rarely got to, even when she was angry "I am banishing you from Shining Armor's mind, and I'll make sure you can't get into the minds of anypony else! Your days of playing mind games on my subjects are over!" And with that, she lit up her horn, producing a powerful flare of golden yellow magic. Said flare washed over Shining Armor's mind like a wave of water, expelling Discord, and allowing for the rational part of Shining Armor's mind to regain control. -------- Shining Armor was surprised to see Princess Celestia standing before, and was even more surprised to see himself standing on the outskirts of Ponyville, looking like he had tried to go up against the very pony he had to thank for his promotion. "P...Princess Celestia, I...." Shining Armor began, but the rest of the words never made it out of his mouth. For at that moment, the effort he had put forth to fight back against his corrupted mind finally caught up with him, and he collapsed onto the ground. Just then, Shining Armor's friends came running up on the scene. And what they saw made them all horrified. "What did you do to him?!" Soarin demanded of Princess Celestia. "You promised not to hurt him!" Thunderlane added, barely able to restrain his anger. "And I didn't," Princess Celestia replied, and explained "This whole time, he has been battling himself in his mind, struggling not to lose control to the fearful and paranoid part. But he needed my help to finally overcome it and regain control, and that battle has exhausted him physically as well as mentally." "But why didn't he tell us? If he was hurtin', we could've helped." Big Macintosh said with concern. "I suspect that Shining Armor thought none of you would understand how he was feeling, and so he kept his struggle a secret from everyone," Princess Celestia said somberly "We probably won't know for certain until he wakes up though." "Speaking of which, I think we'd better get him back home. Twilight is sure to be worried sick about him by this point." Fancy Pants suggested. -------- Shining Armor slept soundly for the first time since Discord had been defeated. Now that his struggle for control was over, he could properly lower his guard without fear of being taken over. But upon awakening from his sleep, Shining Armor found that his short term memory was a bit foggy. The last thing he could remember before he'd ended up face to face with Princess Celestia, was talking to his reflection in a puddle, and realizing how stupid it made him look. After that, however, everything was blank. "Why can't I remember what happened after I fell asleep in the park?" he thought nervously to himself "Could it be that I did something that someone doesn't want me to remember?" Just then, Shining Armor felt the onset of a massive headache. It was so powerful, that it made it hard for him to concentrate on much of anything other than the pain. Even looking at what lay in front of him proved to be difficult, but somehow he managed. "How are you feeling, Shining Armor?" a familiar voice asked in a warm and gentle tone. Shining Armor looked up, and saw that Princess Celestia was standing at the foot of his bed. Immediately, Shining Armor tried his best to forget about his headache and make himself look presentable "Ah, Princess Celestia! Please, forgive me! I wasn't expecting your presence!" "At ease, Shining Armor. You musn't worry yourself," Princess Celestia said calmly "I came here at the request of your friends, and it's a good thing they gave me a call, because you clearly needed my help." "Your help? What are you talking about?" Shining Armor asked. "You may not remember exactly what happened, but you suffered a mental breakdown and almost attacked four innocent children." Princess Celestia said seriously. "I did what?!" Shining Armor exclaimed, horrified at the possibility. He'd always convinced himself he would never do such a thing. Had he really sunk that low? "You didn't do it intentionally, but your mind was worn out from stress and constant nightmares. And when Discord entered the picture, your mind wasn't able to hold on for any longer. You snapped." Princess Celestia explained. "So then, how did I snap out of it?" Shining Armor reluctantly asked. "I was able to cast a spell that drove Discord away, and enabled the rational part of your mind to regain control. But it looks like it also erased your memories of the event, at least temporarily." Princess Celestia said glumly, a frown forming on her face. "I'm really sorry that I allowed that to happen, Princess Celestia," Shining Armor apologized, and slowly rose from his bed and kneeled before Princess Celestia's hooves "Whatever sort of punishment you wish to inflict me on, I will accept." "You are not entirely to blame for what happened today, Shining Armor," Princess Celestia began "Against Discord's power, there is little you could've done to prevent him from messing with your mind." Shining Armor breathed a small sign of relief, but he knew that he wasn't out of the woods yet. And he was right, as Princess Celestia continued with a stern lecture "But, Discord likely would not have targeted you if you had not kept your feelings of worry and parnoia bottled up inside you all this time. If your battle with Discord truly unnerved, you should have sought out help. You have friends, Shining Armor. Friends that would've dropped everything to come and help you, if they had known you were suffering." Now Shining Armor felt really guilty. How could he have been so foolish as to think that he could keep his feelings a secret from all of them for so long? How many times had he been willing to help them out of a crisis, only to never let them return the favor when he needed it most. "Are you going to make me step down as Captain of The Royal Guard?" he asked Princess Celestia. Princess Celestia shook her head "I won't go that far, seeing as nopony got hurt and the accident wasn't entirely your fault. But you will be put on an unpaid leave of absence for a while. And it will be up to my sister, Princess Luna, to determine if you are fit to return to active duty. If she decides you aren't, your leave of absence will be extended to half a year at the very least." Shining Armor said nothing, he just accepted the punishment as any good solider would accept a court martial ruling that deemed him guilty. "And, in the hopes of preventing future incidents such as these, from now on you and your friends may write to me whenever you discover something important about the magic of friendship," Princess Celestia added "But feel free to write to me whenever you want, even if it's just to talk about what's going on in your life. Don't hesitate to tell me if something is troubling you, and make sure that you let your friends know as well. Do you think you can do that for me, Shining Armor?" "Of course, your majesty. I won't let you down." Shining Armor vowed. Princess Celestia smiled "Very well then, I shall return to Canterlot. And I look forward to hearing more from you, and your friends, very soon." And with that, she took off for the royal palace. -------- Just as Princess Celestia had predicted, the memories of Shining Armor's 'episode' did eventually come back to him. And when they did, he was so ashamed that he refused to show his face around the CMC. For a couple of days at least. As the weeks passed, and Nightmare Night drew closer, Shining Armor began to return to normal. He became more cheerful and upbeat, and spent more time with his friends. But Twilight and Spike knew all too well that deep down, Shining Armor's mental breakdown had left him deeply scarred. It was unlikely he would ever truly forgive himself for what had happened. Shining Armor's future seemed really uncertain. But whatever the future held, Shining Armor could be sure of one thing, his friends and family would be there to help him face it. And they would never abandon him, no matter what might happen.