Chapter VIII: A Royal Arrival
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0615 HOURS
ONBOARD THE HMS ILLUSTRIOUS
NORTH SEA, OFF THE NORWEGIAN COASTLINE, BOUND FOR KARELIA
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Shining Armor pressed his forehead against the porthole, feeling the hum of the chopper blades through the glass, taking in the view of the Illustrious from above and trying to keep his jaw from going slack. Here they were, a species with no magic and no unified ruler, and still they had managed to build the massive supercarrier now filling his view: a floating city capable of housing thousands of them and launching dozens of their fighter aircraft at a moment’s notice! Why, imagine what they might have accomplished if she had allowed them…
Shaking off the encroaching thoughts, Shining Armor returned his attention to the cockpit. “Pilot, how long until landing?” He asked, his Chinese accent thick, though his voice carried a calm, sure tone to it that ensured anyone around him would be instantly intimidated.
“Uh…about five minutes, your highness,” the Royal Navy pilot replied. “We…uh…weren’t expecting such an impromptu visit. Mind me askin’ what it’s about?”
“Yes, in fact, I mind,” Shining replied curtly, his face never leaving that steely neutral.
“Ah. Yes, sir,” the human replied, quickly returning his eyes to the windshield and firmly closing his lips.
Shining Armor returned his gaze to the view, looking out over the water, trying not to think about her, about the past, about the wars fought and the lives lost…so many lives…Flash Sentry…Thunderlane…Cloudchaser...
Twilight…
NO! It was me! It should’ve been me!
Shiney, we have to go! She’ll only be distracted for so long!
It wasn’t enough for you to ruin her life, you had to take it too you evil motherbucking…
Shining! Oh Maker above, your face! She got your…
“Prince Armor?”
Shining awoke from the memory with a grunt and a placid stare back into the cockpit.
“We’ve landed, sir,” the pilot said with a half-hearted, obviously-faked smile. “If you need help reaching the bridge, we can have…”
“No, thank you,” the unicorn replied, shrugging off his harness and stepping out onto the tarmac. “I have it now.”
The pilot nodded as he began the rotor’s shutdown sequence, the whine of the chopper’s engines slowing filled Shining’s ears as he trotted towards the massive structure rising out of the otherwise flat surface of the ship’s flight deck. He cast a final, passive glance over his shoulder and caught an obvious look of relief in the pilot’s face as he trotted away. Welp, looked like he had that "special" effect on someone yet again. The kind that left everyone just waiting for him to leave, begging whoever might be listening that the scary unicorn would go be someone else’s problem. Oh well.
His passing earned a few curious stares from the men still working feverishly on deck, most of them morphing from curiosity to sudden recognition and avoidance. Sure, there was the odd human that would meet his gaze with a smile, but they always saw something, something that made their gazes break off suddenly, the smiles fading. Not that the unicorn royal ever noticed or cared.
He was greeted just outside the bridge’s entrance by a tall man in a uniform, which he recognized as symbolizing the human rank of admiralty. Being former military himself, it was no surprise that he’d taken to learning the customs and hierarchy of human military structure like a fish to water, even if such learning had earned him quite a few black marks back when she was in charge. He made it a point to pause, stand ramrod straight, and salute the Admiral as he approached. “Admiral,” he said curtly.
The Admiral paused, seemed mildly unsure of himself for a split-second, then apparently settled on just a short bow, bending slightly at the hips with his head low. “Your majesty,” he said. “This is…quite the surprise.”
“I am aware,” the Prince replied, stepping past the human and into the hallway, his hooves tapping against metal.
The Admiral could only sigh and follow at Shining Armor’s side. Surprisingly enough, he actually attempted to keep the conversation up. Usually, most people took one look in Shining Armor's eyes and all talk came screeching to a halt. That he kept talking had to be a testament to the old man’s ability to think on his feet. “Might I compliment you on your lingual skills, your majesty? I hear you only started learning English a couple years ago. It has come along quite well.”
“If I am to represent the new Equestria to Earth, I will need to in her multitudes of languages,” the unicorn replied curtly. “Am also learning Spanish, German, French, and Japanese.”
The Admiral froze at the Prince’s words. “Your highness…that last one…it’s kind of…”
“I am aware,” Shining Armor interrupted, still not looking at the Admiral as they walked along, his hooves clacking against the metal in time with the Admiral’s heels. “But we all have a duty to remember what was lost, and as one who took up royalty after…the last one…that duty is mine more than others, bùshì ma?”
The Admiral looked like he was about to say something for a second, but then decided against it. Probably for the better. At any rate, his desire for conversation was apparently slaked, as the pair continued the rest of the trip in silence, the only sound being the occasional spillover from one of the dozens of control rooms and bunkers spaced throughout the structure, and the tapping of their heels on the metal floor. All this left Shining in a place he knew only far too well: with his own thoughts. It wasn’t so bad there. At least, not as bad as it used to be, back in the days after the war’s end…
His secretary, Cadence, looked up at him, her eyebrows raised, her jaw agape. He panted, his heart racing, hooves shaking, yet he didn’t know why. Around him, his senators and governors all stared, the less brave ones suddenly focusing on the salads before them. He looked down at his quivering hooves and noticed indentations where they had hit, a blackened scorch mark tracing the entire table’s length, leading to the vacant spot at its head.
“I…I just wanted to know how you were coping with your sister’s loss…” the pony next to him said quietly, his voice shaking. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean…”
Shining Armor grimaced as he forced yet another memory back down. That had been a full-fledged image this time, not just a snippet of dialogue! Ugh, he was not going to do this now, he hadn’t gone through all that therapy on top of his royal duties just to slide back now, at a moment as important as this!
“Your Highness?” The Admiral asked, an eyebrow arched questioningly.
“Headache,” Shining replied, lowering his hoof back to the ground as he continued walking.
“Ah,” the Admiral nodded, picking up the pace now that the pony had all four hooves on the ground again. “Stress of the job, I understand.”
No, Shining Armor thought. No, you really don’t. “We almost there?”
“Almost,” the Admiral led him to the elevator and began the process of opening the secret lift, tapping in the absurdly-long code without even looking, his fingers working on muscle memory. “We have a UNCDI team with Target Alpha already. They should be interrogating her as we speak.”
Shining Armor’s hooves quaked, though not from fear. This was the same quake that his hooves had held all those years ago. Something deep, dark, and primeval rose up in his chest, filling his very being, awakening parts of his soul most ponies (and even some humans) had forgotten they’d possessed. “I guess I arrive at right time?” He asked, his accent coming through thicker than ever.
The Admiral said nothing, but spared a tiny smile for the young royal. “I guess you did.”
“UNCDI, so one Chinese?” Shining Armor asked.
“Yes, so he should be able to act as a translator should you grow tired of practicing your English,” the Admiral stepped aside as the wall slid open. He waved a hand, ushering the unicorn in. “They should be able to let you in, at any rate.”
“Thank you,” Shining replied as he stepped into the car. “I thank you for your hospitality, Admiral. I understand my visit a bit…unexpected.”
“Not at all, your majesty,” the Admiral said, a small ounce of pride entering his smile. “We’re military men! We adapt to the situation, isn’t that right?”
Shining, she’s gone! You’re just gonna have to accept that! Just put down the knife, please, put down …
“Very true, Admiral. Have a good day,” Shining said, only somewhat aware of the ice that had entered his voice.
The Admiral’s smile flickered. “Yes, um…you too, sir.”
Nodding, Shining entered the elevator alone, sighing with relief the moment the doors whisked shut behind him. He took a moment to rub at his scar, massaging his eye with a hoof. The damn thing always hurt when the past started popping up in his mind. Fortunately, that’s why he’d grown used to forcing those memories back down, forgetting them for at least a little while until…yep, there we go. The pain was gone already.
A few minutes later, the doors whirred open. Two men stood in the doorway to greet him, one a thinner man of the Asian race with narrow-framed glasses, the other a somewhat more stout Caucasian man with just a bit of gray appearing in the hair at his temples.
“Your majesty,” the older man said in an accent so obviously Russian it might as well have been swilling vodka and calling everyone “comrade.” Both men bowed at the waist, keeping their heads high.
”{Your majesty,}” the Asian replied in his familiar Han Chinese. ”{I am Liu Guo with the People’s Republic of China. This is my associate, Anton Beloglazov of the Russian Federation}.”
“{It’s a pleasure,}” Shining Armor replied simply. Now was the time to utilize his skills as a diplomat, another thing he’d developed out of necessity. ”{I believe I shall stick with Chinese for the rest of this trip. I know most of you speak the language of the nation you are based in, but I’m more comfortable with this tongue. If your associates don’t mind, of course.}”
“{Oh, of course not, sir, whatever makes you more comfortable,}” Liu replied. {“Do tell us, though: to what do we owe the honor of this visit?}”
“{I am here to take part in the interrogation of Target Alpha,}” he replied simply and curtly, making note of the quick flickers of dread that momentarily washed over the human’s face. Anton saw the look and immediately grimaced. They must have known this was why he was here, but still, hearing it spoken with such affirmation obviously hit them like a slap in the face. Oh well.
“{Sir, with all due respect, this is…}”
“{Just another part of our attempts to build relations with humanity,}” Shining replied, stepping right past the pair. “{Of course, as a foreign dignitary, you could get action from the UN General Assembly to stop me. That should only take, what, six months?}”
Though he didn’t show it, Shining Armor was beaming on the inside. He might never acquire the level of political skills his predecessor had, loathe as he was to admit, but damned if he didn’t like to think of himself as a quick study.
Both humans were visibly struggling to maintain their grins. “{Of course, sir, we’ll look into that. In the meantime, I take it you wish to see her?}” The Chinese man said through gritted teeth.
“{Of course,}” Shining replied, motioning for him to lead the way.
The Chinese man mechanically pulled an about-face and walked down the hallway, his light stride suggesting an internal grace that Shining couldn’t quite place, but admired nonetheless. It didn’t take long for him to reach a small room that he might have confused for a living room had it not been for the massive control panel and the airlock along one wall. Keep your back to that wall, and you might just forget what was being contained here. Four other humans lounged in high-end recliners until he walked in, when they all promptly leapt to their feet and bowed. Shining nodded his acknowledgement, but it was obvious his mind was going to the window long before his body actually reached it.
The Prince gazed at the glass on one of the readout gauges, ignoring the one with the shattered face. His partial reflection was just visible enough to show the line of scar tissue running down the side of his face and the glimmer of the bejeweled magic suppressor on his horn. He glanced at it, smiling knowingly as the humans chatted behind him:
“You sure about this?” One voice whispered. Male. American. Mid-to-late twenties.
“Well, he does have his suppressor on, what’s the worse he could do?” Female. British. Twenties as well.
The knowing smile spread across his face into a savage grin. You’d be surprised, he thought as his focus left his reflection and went to the airlock. What would she look like, he thought? Like her counterpart under lock and key in that Russian hellhole? Or perhaps she would be a little bit roughed up? He certainly hoped it was the latter. He wasn't sure if he could control his temper if she looked at him with that same disgustingly haughty stare, the one she had used so often when addressing her little ponies (a nickname that sent shivers up his spine), or when...
You dare question your Princess!?
I do when her actions reveal what an evil, genocidal pile of horse-apples she is!
Traitor! Trait…
“Your majesty?”
Shining Armor blinked, instantly banishing the memory from his mind. He could see the reflection of the Russian standing just behind him, again just barely visible. The older man looked down at him with a mixture of concern and deep fear. “Are you alright?”
Shining Armor looked at the bound Princess before him, drinking in the despondent, worried look in her vermillion eyes. “Yes,” he replied, a tiny smile playing at his lips. “Yes, I am.”
The human smiled, and though there was warmth to it, Shining could sense the growing unease buried underneath it. The human didn’t like him being here, and he really didn’t like that he was about to walk into the holding cell practically unsupervised. Oh well.
“As you may have already learned, the Princess arrived with prior knowledge of the English language,” the Russian said. “Just like with you, it appears as though the magical anomaly that produced the initial bridge between worlds allows the ponies on the other side to communicate in the most commonly-spoken language in the region where the portal appears. I’m afraid this means you will not be able to communicate in your native human tongue.”
“My English has improved,” Shining Armor said.
“As I noticed, sir. Now,” rather suddenly, one of the Russian’s large hands landed on Shining Armor’s shoulder and gave a good, firm squeeze, catching the unicorn completely off-guard. To say he wasn’t expecting such a heartfelt gesture during his time here would be an understatement. He would have found it more likely to arrive on-deck in the midst of an alien invasion being led by his secretary than to receive any sort of emotional support during his stay. And yet here it was. And that bitch wanted to wipe them out...God damn her...
“Are you sure about doing this?” The human asked.
Shining shrugged his hand off in a heartbeat. “Very. Open the door.”
The Russian looked down at the Prince sadly, dejectedly reaching over and pressing the small, red button to open the hatch leading into the cell. As the cell door slid open, titanium bars and Tachyon containment fields sliding out of place, it hit Shining that the Russian’s sadness was probably the only genuine emotion he had seen on anyone all day, pony or human. Hell, if he looked back, he might be able to extend that to all week! A week without genuine, emotional contact, and he hadn’t even noticed!
Oh well.
From this point on, dialogue in brackets {} are in a language other than English. The italics was getting a little confusing. 
The just normal stuff in italics: big blocks of text like this, are Shining's memories. So there.
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So Xenolestia's being held down in Russia. Twilight was killed, and so I can only imagine Shining flipping out when he finds this version is still alive.
Wow, your Xenolestia sounds more monstrous by the chapter. Celestia's kind and calm demeanor is probably going to give Shining Armor mood whiplash.
... I now really want, when Celestia's eventually freed, for her to smack her counterpart around a bit, verbally or otherwise.
Well it looks like Japan had a bad day.
So, when is somebody going to mention the purple alicorn?
I'm not familiar with the source material, did something happen to Japan?
The shining armor is cloudy and broken.
an into the den of the Dragon, nice chapter, Keep going
4790381
It was taken out by... The Wall.
Is it just me, or does it feel like Shining is acting VERY hostile towards the humans? I mean, sure, he's hurt and damaged, but he seems to have this air around him that he can do whatever the heck he pleases. That shouldn't be appreciated, especially not with military men, like an admiral. I can say that I would NOT want to have a conversation with Putin if I had that attitude.
Ok, what is this? Shining armour should have no authority over these people of a foreign nation, so I really don't get how he's able to do this. You can't very well talk about diplomatic exchange or whatever when talking to celestia because this is a prisoner they're talking about not a diplomat
And what was that about the UN general assembly taking six months to stop something like that, the UN isn't that unwieldy.
Why are the Americans bowing to Shining? Especially the ones in the military (or former military in this case)
In the U.S. military, soldiers are trained not to bow to royalty. And Americans in general simply don't bow to royalty, or lower themselves to anybody, especially not a monarch. Or prince, rather. You can thank the revolution for that.
>>Hydraxius Krayt I'd have to go back and reread the preceding chapters to be certain, but I'm pretty sure that they're on a British naval vessel.
4792649 I agree with you. A U.S Soldier is more likely to beat Royalty to death than bow.
Why did Shining get a free pass to do what he wants? Those are foreign powers in foreign territory...Equestry should be AT BEST a protectorate. And when they realize he removed his limiter ring it could start a witch hunt. He will be removed from power or have a more permanent solution for his magic. Maybe an implant of horn removal.
4793879 Personally I term the TCB Celestia Assholestia, and the canon-like Celestia in this story or canon Celestias on Earth Xenolestia. Xenolestia for the response that humans have in sci-fi games to aliens (otherwise known as xenos) most of the time: cold-blooded murder.
4892278 Assholestia.
That's brilliant, bravo, good sir, bravo.
4792649 they still do in some cases, as a gesture of respect
7533477
He's seen some shit
I'm (half) Japanese, and that doesn't sound good.
Control yourself, Shining Armor. Don't do anything you will regret.
TELL ME Xenolestia did NOT wipe out the blessed homeland of manga, anime, light novels, and so many AMAZING video games! Oh this B
CH needs to pay.
oh idk
KILL HER!!!