Chasing Shadows

by Yukito

9 - Seeing Double

Shining Armor rubbed his head as he lay on the ground, waiting for the pain to subside. “Ow… What they hay were you thinking?” he asked Sunset Shimmer, only to receive no response. “Hey,” he called out, opening his eyes and looking around the empty lot he was in. Neither Sunset nor Cadance were anywhere to be seen. “Where are they?”

“Captain!” Shining Amor rose slowly to his hooves and took another look around, trying to determine if he had been here earlier. “Captain!”

“Huh?” Shining looked down at the short pony standing before him, dressed in armour and wielding a spear as he saluted. “Uh… Hi?”

The guard raised an eyebrow. “Captain sir, are you feeling well?”

‘‘Captain’?’ Shining gasped as he realised what this must mean. ‘I get it! The Shining Armor of this world is a Captain of sorts! Wow! Way to go me!’ “Er, yes, I’m quite fine, thanks… How are you?”

The pony tilted his head to the side. “A-Anyway, I have a report. A stallion matching the target’s description was seen passing through 57th Street just ten minutes ago.”

Shining Armor nodded. ‘It’d take too long to explain what I really am, and the Director asked us to perform this mission without alerting the inhabitants of this world to our presence, if possible.’ Shining looked past the guard, to what seemed to be the only way out of this fenced-in lot. “W-Well then, I guess I’ll go and pursue the target then. Thank you for this report, Private.”

“Lieutenant,” the pony corrected. “Uh, Lieutenant, sir.”

“… Er, yes. T-Thanks, Lieutenant.” Shining ran past the guard quickly, not looking back as he made straight for the exit into the streets of Manehatten. “I have to find Cady and Shimmer,” he muttered to himself.

As he walked through the crowded streets, Shining Armor couldn’t help but smile at how easy walking on four hooves as opposed to two feet was starting to feel. He was really getting the hang of this, and was wondering if he could even start using magic soon.

Not that he wanted to stay in Equestria longer than was necessary, of course. As soon as he found his comrades and apprehended Sombra, he would be out of there without a second thought… “Sombra, he knew how to use magic… If we’re going to capture him, I might have to start studying up on this world’s way of fighting…”

“CHANGELING!” Shining jumped as he heard an ear-piercing scream directly to his right. He then gasped as he recognised the owner of such a scream. “SHINING! HELP!”

“CADANCE!” Shining Armor rushed into the alleyway to his right with all haste. As he rounded a corner her found Cadance, still a Pegasus pony, on her back on the ground, with a white stallion pinning her down from above. “GET OFF OF HER!”

“What-” The stallion didn’t have enough time to respond properly as he was pushed off forcefully by Shining’s forehooves. Cadance wasted no time scrambling to her hooves and taking cover behind Shining Armor’s back. “Another one?!”

“Cadance, get out of here!” Shining shouted.

“But-” Cadance began.

“Shining, the spell!” the pink pony standing behind the white stallion shouted. Shining Armor was startled by what her saw. Minus the accessories and the horn on her head, the pink mare was a dead ringer for his Cadance. “Use the spell our researchers developed!”

“That’s right,” the stallion muttered as his horn lit up. “You two are finished! This spell was designed to attack a changeling’s unique biological structure, rendering any and all changelings within a one hundred yard radium immobile for some time!”

“Wait, please!” Cadance pleaded, moments before a blue barrier stretched out from the stallion’s horn.

“… W-Why didn’t they change back?” the stallion asked himself in a whisper.

“Cadance, get out of here,” Shining Armor repeated. “I’ll protect you, no matter what.”

“I said wait!” Cadance screamed into Shining’s ear, making his ears ring for a few seconds before he brought a hoof up to rub it. “Honestly, would it kill you to listen once in a while before you act?!”

“Tell me about it,” the other Cadance said with a roll of her eyes, before giving the stallion a deadpan stare.

“Now, if we’re done screaming and kicking here,” Cadance started as she approached her two assailants, “Perhaps you’d give us the courtesy of explaining who we are and why we’re here. Is that alright with you, Shining Armor?”

Shining’s eyes widened as he stared at the stallion before him in complete disbelief. “W-What?!” Shining looked the stallion up-and-down very closely. “You mean, this is what I look like as a pony?” A few more seconds of close examination, almost a little too close for the other Shining’s comfort. “… Nice.”

Comments

[Burnasius]

I'm actually confused, who defused the fight and who asked who for what?

[Pinklestia]

Yeah, Shine is starting to like being a pony.

[Emperor]

“CHANGELING!” Shining jumped as he heard an ear-piercing scream directly to his right. He then gasped as he recognised the owner of such a scream. “SHINING! HELP!”

Princess Cadance, despite being an Alicorn, still needs to call for help even though other Cadance is pretty harmless?

Sounds like Touhou's fanonised Princess Kaguya and her 'Help me Eirin!' moment to be honest.