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// Three: Although I Wasn't There 
// Story: The Mare who Sold the World 
// by CodenameOne 
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The shouts of instructors and the sounds of marching cadences filled Shining Armor's ears as he strolled along the gravel paths of the Equestrian Imperial Training Grounds, located on the edge of Canterlot. It was here that new recruits were turned into the Empire's finest, forever ready and willing to lay down their lives for the safety and propagation of the Equestrian Empire, her Divine leaders, and her citizens. As the Captain of the entirety of the Empire's army Shining Armor believed in these ideals with all his heart and mind, and would see them fulfilled. Indeed, Equestria had just won a war against the Fascist Felines. The reasons, as always, were political and trivial, but Shining had commanded the Imperial Army to victory.

As Captain of the Imperial Army Shining Armor had attained the highest rank possible, and as such had free reign of every installation, garrison, and base he visited. As Captain, the Imperial Training Grounds were sort of his mother base, which was a bit of a bother as his home was located in the Crystal Empire, but the recent war had kept him in Canterlot when he was not on the battlefield.

His trek came to an end as Shining Armor reached the captain's barracks, typical military wood shack with an appearance like that of a cylinder cut in half, the flag of the Equestrian Empire waving proudly on the pole outside. Shining's boots struck the flagstones with a characteristic crunch. At the touch of his magic the door opened, the think oak riveted in place by the Unicorn's mind. It was uncharacteristically cold day for it being the Summer, and the wind bucked at the open door as Shining closed it.

Inside the barracks was as luxurious as such a utilitarian facility could get, with accommodations made specifically for Shining Armor's comfort when visiting the base for extended periods of time. It was larger than most barracks, with several rooms. The main room was the office, which sported a large walnut desk flanked by two flagpoles, on one the flag of the Equestrian Empire, the other the flag and coat of arms of House Sparkle, a white, blue, and purple affair with a shield over it, a sword jutting out of one side of the shield and a magical bolt of energy jutting out of the other. A high-quality rug dominated most of the floor, keeping the room relatively warm, in addition to the windows which captured the sun's rays.

Behind the desk were three doors, which lead to the other rooms in the barracks. On the far left was a private armory, where Shining Armor kept several weapons he had been issued and awarded in service to the Empire. As an officer, most were pistols, which he rotated in his daily carry when his rifle was not needed. Chief among these pistols was a Model of Pyrrhic 70, or MP-70. Designed by Pyrrhic Victory, a renowned weapons designer and member of the royal court advising Princess Celestia on matters of military strategy and logistics, in the year 1170 After Nightmare Moon. Firing a 40x20mm cartridge from a nine-round magazine the MP-70 was the issue pistol for all commissioned officers of the Empire. Shining Armor preferred his personally-owned K20, a large frame .44 caliber revolver, but his love of the wheelgun had to give way for the practicality of an automatic on most days. In addition to these there was the MP-55 and the K15, an automatic and revolver, respectively. These were both chambered for a 7.65x25mmSR cartridge, SR standing for semi-rimmed. The MP-55 and K15 were the issue pistols for enlisted soldiers all the way up to Sergeant, firing this .32 caliber bullet from 11 round magazines in the autoloader and from a seven-round cylinder in the revolver.

The middle door, directly behind Shining's desk, was a bathroom, and the door on the far right held his private quarters. Inside the features were relatively spartan, featuring only a bed, desk, and bookshelf. The bed was placed in the far corner, sitting beneath two windows. There were mornings when Shining Armor merely lied in bed, silently thinking to himself as he watched the coming dawn.

These days the one thing that dominated Shining's thoughts was the recent war against the Fascist Felines, and of course his wife. Shining had oft-wondered how such a beautiful and majestic creature had ever fancied a military stallion such as himself, and had joked with Cadance that such a love was one of the mysteries of the world.

As far as the war with 'them' goes, we won, as we rightfully should have. My stallions and I still have to contend with attacks from rogue Feline soldiers, but I suspect to quell these upstarts within a few months Shining thought. He traveled over to his desk, his mind transferring to work mode as he settled in to take care of the day's work. First things first was to review the log of cadets graduating into full-fledged soldiers, oversee the testing of several new weapons, and even meet with dignitaries from the Canine Republic. Ordinarily mundane tasks were a blessing after the tours of combat Shining Armor had recently returned from.

Sitting down at his desk Shining retrieved the appropriate files pertaining to the various cadets who would be graduating later in the day, as well as his keynotes for the speech he would be required to deliver. Several files stuck out, with red-colored flags marking their respective ponies as having demonstrated remarkable fortitude during training. Chief among these was Lance Corporal Strong Spear and Corporal Gleaming Bullet.

Strong Spear and Gleaming Bullet... Shining mused, cracking open Lance Corporal Spear's file first. She was a young but capable mare, having displayed strong leadership capabilities during her training. Shining had put her in charge of squads sent out into the wild on training exercises, and she had shown a strong ability to adapt and command authoritatively, despite her rather small size when compared to that of the stallions she commanded. Shining attributed this to her nature as an earth pony, possessing a natural strength and more authoritative voice than a mare of Unicorn or Pegasi persuasion. Her light blue coat and shortly cropped mane was spartan, and made her appear as a no-nonsense sort of pony. All of this combined with her schooling in military strategy to create the ideal leader, who would be naturally suited to the job. The post-graduation portion of her file had been marked by the Princess as 'general service', to be deployed wherever it would be necessary in the future.

Shining marked her file with an approval stamp and moved onto the next; Gleaming Bullet.

Gleaming Bullet's file particularly interested Shining Armor, as the stallion was not graduating from basic training, but rather advanced placement. Gleaming was graduating into the Officers' Corps as a Lieutenant, putting him in the same league as Shining Armor. He was a veteran of several wars, including one against the Minotaurs. His mother, Heavy Bullet, was an admiral in the Air Corps, and apparently a rather well-esteemed one. He was a light gray stallion with a blonde mane, and a physique that just screamed 'stallion', the muscles burgeoning beneath the surface of his skin. His post-graduation had been marked by the Princess as 'Royal Guard', which was what most piqued Shining's interest, as it meant Gleaming would be deployed solely as a member of the castle guard in direct service to Princess Celestia to herself. It might even be that one day Gleaming Bullet would replace Shining Armor as Captain of the Empire, but that was not of much concern to him.

Shining was sure these two ponies would go on to do great things and have a lasting impact on Equestria.

Having stamped his approval, Shining moved onto the rest of the files. No more were flagged, and as such it was a quick process to simply look the file over and mark it with an approval or denial stamp, as necessary. The matter only took but an hour, and Shining had a courier summoned to deliver the sealed files to the Princess for final approval. With this matter resolved Shining Armor left his office to attend the next matter of the day's itinerary, which was the test of the new weapons up for potential adoption by the Empire.

Trotting across the base Shining Armor proceeded to the proving grounds, a single acre of grass specifically adapted for the testing of new firearms. Targets and various other amenities had been supplied for the testing of accuracy, durability, reliability, and ergonomics of a potential new adoption.

As was par for the course Shining was early to the showing, and having nothing more to ponder or occupy his time the Captain simply settled into a relaxed stance, patiently awaiting the arrival of the inventors eager to demonstrate their weapons to the leader of the Imperial army.




Several hours later Shining Armor had been shown demonstrations of all the contenders vying to have their particular weapons selected, and among the ones shown Shining had taken a particular liking to the ones known as the Solar Pulse line, developed by a mare who seemed more than a bit unhinged, but whose science and magic blend had actually worked in creating a cartridge type that fired a bullet that ignited into fire upon impact, and two guns who could fire it; the Solar Pulse Rifle model 16, and the M6 Solar Pulse Pistol. These two weapons had shown to be the most reliable, accurate, and durable of the many tested, and their unique properties had all combined to earn Shining Armor's approval. The Princess would have the final say, but Shining was confident she would see the advantages of these systems.

With this matter taken care of all that remained for Shining Armor to take care of was meet with the Canine dignitaries who were due to arrive in Canterlot soon, and ensure they were given a proper welcome to Equestria for their visit. They were meeting with the Princesses for some reason or another over the next few days, and it was Shining's job to escort them around the castle during that time.

Heading down through the underhalls of the royal castle Shining Armor exited out onto a landing pad for vertical take off and landing vehicles, where a transport carrying the Canine dignitaries would be arrive upon. Unlike the weapons designers the Canines were actually on time and Shining watched as their transport came in, stepping back to allow the hovering vehicle to come in and land. Shining's mane whipped wildly as the rotors of the aircraft still spun, gradually slowing down as the engines were shut off. A side door opened and three Canines stepped out, their coats a mix of gray and brown. The middle one seemed to be the ranking one, and he approached Shining Armor.

"Greetings, Equestrian! I am Under-Commissar Bulldog. My cohorts and I are here to see your Princesses on matters pertaining to state relations" the Canine declared in perfect Equestrian, though his Canine accent infected his speech. Shining nodded, indicating that the Canines follow him.

"Of course. I am Shining Armor, Captain of the Equestrian Imperial Army. I will be your guide and escort for the duration of your visit to the capital of our fair and grand Empire. We have already prepared private rooms for you all to stay in, with the most luxurious of comforts and standards included. We will, of course, also try to accommodate your every wish and do our best to ensure your comfort during your stay. Please, if you have any questions, do not fear to ask me" Shining said.

"Thank you, sir. We are fine for now, but we are quite eager to speak with the Princesses as soon as possible" Under-Commissar Bulldog declared.

"Very well" Shining replied, leading them upstairs to the private rooms reserved for the meetings and summits of dignitaries both foreign and domestic. Shining Armor opened the door to the meeting room he had been indicated to bring the Canines to and found the Princesses already waiting for them, bowing as he saw them. The Canines filed in after him and respectfully stood at their end of the table.

"You are relieved for the day, Captain Armor. Leave us, now" Princess Celestia commanded, Shining bowing quickly before leaving the room, ensuring the door was locked behind him. Turning back down the hall towards the stairs Shining sighed and relaxed a bit, already eager to return to his house in Canterlot and relax. Having the rest of the day off thrilled him, and he silently thanked the Princess for granting him such a reprieve.

Heading down the stairs a thought came to Shining Armor, and he permitted himself a smile. 

I wonder how Cadance is doing right now?