Chapter 46- A Tale of the Past
Seven years ago
Shining was walking down the halls leading his squad of four. Brick Break, a rugged, brick-red earth pony stallion with a brown mane and eyes, Tempest, a middle-aged, light-purple pegasus stallion with a blue mane and eyes, and Silica, a young, sandstone-colored unicorn mare with a white mane and light-pink eyes. They'd been called to the office of Bastion, the current Captain of the Royal Guard. For many years, those four have been in the same squad, and during those years, they'd had success after success. Their only failed mission being a joke-mission to beat the other guards and ranked officers in a drinking contest. As they continued down the long hallways, they began talking amongst each other as to why they would be called over there.
"So, boss," Brick said with his gruff voice, "what do you think the captain wants?"
"I can't say," Shining answered.
"Perhaps it has to do with you taking over his position next month?" Tempest guessed. "I mean, the guy is getting pretty old. What is he now? Like sixty-six?"
"He's fifty-five, Tempest," Silica corrected. "But I don't understand why he'd want to retire. He still seems more fit than most of the guards."
"Yes, he is," Shining nodded. "However, after so many years in service, I'm sure that he's more than earned his right to retire by now."
"I heard that Princess Celestia ordered him to retire due to his age," Brick said.
"Hehe, I'd bet. I'm sure that he wouldn't be willing to otherwise. The guard is his life after all."
With a round of agreeing nods, they continued their walk in silence until they came to the door of Bastion's office. Giving the door a few knocks, they waited until they heard and old and strong voice tell them to enter. Obeying, they each went into the room and stood side-by-side at attention. They remained like that until a stone-gray earth pony with a black mane and gray eyes turned around from looking out of his window to his visitors.
"At ease," he told them, allowing them to relax before giving them a smile. "So, how are you doing today, Lieutenant Shining Armor?"
"Good, sir," Shining said, saluting.
"Hehehe, it's alright, lad," Bastion lightheartedly told him. "I'm about to retire, and you shall become Captain of the Royal Guard in my stead. So, in the meantime, when we're alone, even with your squad, let us talk simply as two ponies, instead of stallions of war."
"Yes, sir- I mean, yes, Bastion."
"Good. So then, how are the rest of you doing?"
"Good, sir," they all answered in unison.
"Good to hear."
"Excuse me, Bastion," Shining spoke, "but while I do enjoy chatting with you, I don't believe that that's why you've called my squad and I over here."
Chuckling, Bastion took his seat behind his desk. "You're right about that, lad. So then, you want to get straight to business, huh?"
"Yes, sir."
"Very well then. In that case, why don't you four take a seat."
Waiting for the four to be seated, Bastion looked over the parchment on his desk. Once they were all sitting down in their chairs, he looked back up to them.
"Earlier today," he began, "I was givin this message about a string of abductions from several villages. All of which are within ten miles from the border to the Dragon Kingdom."
"Sir," Shining spoke, "you don't think that this is the dragons' doing, do you?"
"No, I don't believe so," Bastion said with a headshake. "We've gotten witnesses reporting that whoever these abductors were walking as both bipedal and quadrupedal. And, while most were seen at a distance, they were seen wearing what looked like armor, some vests, and most noticeably, each had claws, fangs, and a fur coat."
"So, diamond dogs then?"
"That would be my guess, but that doesn't mean that they'll be easy to hunt down and defeat. You all know of how they tend to hunt in packs, and how big their dens can be."
"If I recall," Shining began, "the largest one that we four have seen held over a hundred of them."
"Yes, I remember the report. However, if they're being so bold as to ponynap ponies from several villages, then their den will more than likely be bigger than the one that you four had discovered."
"If this report is true, Captain, then are we going to have any backup, or are we going in alone?" Brick questioned.
"You'll be receiving support from a group of creatures living near the village you'll be sent to," Bastion said with a smirk. "Tell me, have any of you heard of 'kirins'?"
"Sorry, can't say that I have," Shining answered, the others nodding in agreement.
"I didn't think so, considering how few of them that we've seen. A kirin is the hybrid offspring of a pony and a dragon."
"What?!" the four shouted in surprise, earning an amused chuckle from Bastion.
"That's right. There are pony-dragon hybrids living within Equestria, though they tend to stay near the Dragon Kingdom, which makes them the perfect ones to assist you on this mission. With their knowledge of the terrain, and their tough dragon-like bodies and ferocity, they'll be a huge asset to you. Any questions?"
"What'll be our means of transportation?" Shining asked.
"There'll be an airship that'll bring you four to the village where the last abduction was located at, and bring you back when you return. It leaves in two hours, so take that time to prepare yourselves. It'll also be the same place where you'll rendezvous with the three kirins. Once you do, you seven will search for the den that the diamond dogs are holding the ponies captive. You're authorized to do whatever you need to do to rescue them and see everypony back safely."
"Is there anything else that we need to know?"
"Nothing special. Just remember to stay safe, watch each other's backs, and return home alive when the mission is complete. And remember, Lieutenant Shining Armor, this'll be your last mission before I retire, and you become the new Captain of the Royal Guard. Now then, if none of you have any questions left, then let us commence with the mission!"
Saluting to their captain, Shining led his team out of his office to prepare for their new mission. As Brick and Tempest split away to the armory to arm themselves, Shining and Silica both made their way to Cadence's chambers. Acting casual, the two soon reached her bedroom door, gave a quick knock, and walked in to see her reading a book on her couch.
"Well, this is a surprise," Cadence happily said as she put the book down and gave the two a hug and kiss each. "You two aren't playing hooky, are you?"
"Sorry, hon," Silica said, "but the captain has given Shiny and I a mission over by the Dragon Kingdom's borders."
"Really? Why?"
"Apparently there have been a series of ponynappings along the borders from what the reports says to be led by diamond dogs," Shining answered.
"So, the captain wants you two to go and rescue them then?"
"Brick Break and Tempest Keeper will be coming along as well, hon, and we'll also be getting some additional support when we land."
"That's... somewhat relieving. I still wish that you could get some more help though. This doesn't sound like it'll be very easy."
"Hey, we'll be fine," Shining told Cadence with a reassuring kiss before looking over to Silica. "Isn't that right, Sila?"
"You know it," she replied. "After all, we're the best squad in the history of the royal guard."
Letting out a small giggle, Cadence leaned forward and kissed Silica for a while before turning her affections towards Shining. With both her coltfriend and fillyfriend having received their good luck kiss, Cadence then pulled them into a group hug.
"Just, promise me that you'll both be careful?" she worryingly asked, getting both Shining and Silica to nod in agreement before giving their princess a kiss on both her cheeks.
"We promise to be careful," Shining softly spoke.
"And we also promise to watch out for each other," Silica equally replied.
"I know you will," Cadence smiled, letting the two go from the comfort of their hug.
After making a brief trip to the armory to get themselves some gear, Shining and Silica found Tempest and Brick waiting by the airship docks, both with their armor, a shield, and a spear on hoof. With them all together, they made their way over to the airship that would take them to the village where the last ponynapping happened, and departed into the skies. Five hours later of riding on the airship, they finally caught sight of the town coming into view. However, the sun was about to set, so they would have to delay their mission until tomorrow morning.
Landing the airship, Shining and his squad unboarded and made their way to the local inn, letting the airship's crew tend to it themselves by the crew's request. Not letting time slip by, once they got to the inn and paid for their rooms, they each ate a late dinner together before heading directly to sleep afterwards, wanting to be up and early with the sunrise. For Shining though, the thought of meeting a race of ponies who he'd thought were just an old mare's tale kept him awake. Of course, he was worried about the ponies that were ponynapped, but he also had a chance to meet and work with a rare breed of ponies.
By the time daybreak came, Shining and his squad were already up and waiting for the kirins to accompany them on their hunt for the diamond dog's den. As they waited by the road to the Dragon Kingdom on the outskirts of town, Brick started shifting uncomfortably.
"Something wrong, Brick?" Shining asked, noticing his movements.
"Just a tad nervous, boss," Brick answered him. "Had an uncle who was eaten by a dragon, and since these guys are half-dragon, I'm not sure what to expect from them."
"I get where you're coming from, but they're also half-pony, so we shouldn't be too worried about them. Besides, we'll be outnumbering them, and we're the best squad in the royal guard."
"Darn right we are!" Tempest proudly agreed.
"For a bunch of ponies, maybe," an extra voice said.
Turning to look at the direction of the voice, the four ponies were met with the sight of three kirins. One had blue scales with green spines and eyes, another with red scales and eyes with orange spines who carried a longsword strapped to his waist, and the last one with brown scales and spines, and golden eyes. All of which had two pairs of horns growing from the back of their heads. While the three males each stood a head taller than Shining, neither him nor his squadmates felt intimidated by them.
"I take it that you are the ones who'll be helping us with this mission," Shining said, more of an observation than a question.
"We are," the red one spoke. "I suppose since we'll be working together, we might as well introduce ourselves. My name is Ru, the brown one is Rock, and the blue one is Sapph."
"Nice to meet you three. I am Lieutenant Shining Armor, and this is my squad. The pegasus is Tempest Keeper, the earth pony is Brick Break, and this unicorn lady, is Silica."
"A mare, huh?" Sapph said, grinning as he approached her. "Hey, how about after we're done with this we-"
Before he could finish, Silica slapped his claw away from her and glared at him.
"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm already happily called for," she told him, trying her best to avoid glancing at Shining who was smirking at them while the other snickered.
"Alright, that's enough of that," Shining told them. "We came here for a reason, now let's go."
With an agreeing nod from Ru, Shining and his squad followed after him and the two other kirins, one of which was nursing his stinging claw from the slap it received. As they walked, Shining trotted up alongside Ru.
"So, where are we heading exactly?"
"The Wastelands to the east," Ru answered Shining. "About two days travel by ground. We could be there quicker, but we're not too keen on carrying ponies on our backs, or in our claws while flying."
"Fine by me. Unless it's by airship or chariot, then I'm not all to comfortable with being up in the air."
"Very well. Anyway, as I was saying, we've spotted some diamond dogs over in that area, but haven't had any problems with them, so we've let them be. That is, until we received word from Princess Celestia that those mutts been drakenapping you ponies. Now, as part of our... agreement, we three will help you find the diamond dog den and rescue their captives. However, we're not by any means responsible for what may happen to you on this mission, that includes whether or not you come back in one piece, or even at all."
"Understood."
"Good."
Three days have passed since they left the village in search for the diamond dog's den. They ran into problems with the storm that suddenly appeared, causing them to find refuge in a nearby cave and lose an extra day's worth of rations. Thankfully though, before they left, they had decided to pack extra food and water incase the mission took them longer than they expected. Once the storm had finally passed, they exited the cave and continued following Ru and the other two kirins.
By the time noon came around, they broke for lunch up on a small cliff overlooking a valley. Half way through their lunch, their ears perked as they heard something running along the bottom of the cliff. Walking over to the edge to take a peek, they all saw a pack of three diamond dogs running. While two of them wore leather armor, the one leading them too wore leather armor, but was studded with gems.
"It's a scouting party!" Ru told them. "Rock, Sapph, let's get them!"
"Tempest, you go with them!" Shining ordered. "We'll pack everything up and be right behind you!"
Saluting, Tempest took to the air and followed the kirins after the diamond dogs. Quickly breaking camp, Shining, Brick, and Silica ran down the path leading down the cliff to catch up with them. A few minutes later, they met them with each kirin with a diamond dog pinned underneath them, and Tempest looking at them with a mixture of confusion, worry, and alarm.
"Well done, guys," Shining commented. "Now, let's start-"
"Please!" the lead diamond dog pleaded. "Don't hurt us!"
"Why should we listen to you? You diamond dogs have been ponynapping ponies from the nearby villages."
"That not us!" another one said. "It was dragon-ponies who did that!"
"We been running from dragon-ponies after they take diamond dog's den from us!" the last one added.
"They right," the leader said. "They come to den with big numbers, kill diamond dog solders, kill females and pups too, and skin dead diamond dog for their pelts!"
"What?" Shining said confusingly. "Why would they do that?"
"Diamond dogs not pupnap ponies, that dragon-ponies doing! They wear pelts to look like diamond dogs! Diamond dogs get falsely blamed while dragon-ponies-"
"ENOUGH!" Ru shouted with a punch to the pinned diamond dog's face. "These lies end now!"
"You the one who lie! You kill most of den and take over for yourselves! Survivors flee, try to regroup and find new place to live!"
Confused, Shining looked back and forth from Ru to the diamond dog trapped beneath him.
"Hey, Shining?" Silica whispered.
"Yeah?" he whispered back. "Something up?"
"I don't think that those diamond dogs are lying."
"What makes you say that?"
"Well, for one, that kind of story isn't something that one would just come up with on the spot like that. Plus, you know that I'm a pony person, and they don't seem all that bad. Now, the kirins on the other hoof have been giving me an uneasy feeling ever since we've met them."
"Yeah, I've been getting that feeling too," Shining quietly agreed. "But, I didn't want to jump to anything without getting to know them first."
"What are ponies whispering about?" the lead diamond dog nervously asked.
His attention drawn back to them, Shining walked over to the downed diamond dog. After thinking how to go about this for a moment, Shining mentally nodded with his choice before addressing the diamond dog.
"Will you tell us where this den is?"
"Does that mean that ponies believe us?" the lead diamond dog asked, his eyes now with a spark of hope in them.
Before Shining could answer him, Ru gave a subtle nod to the two kirins and each of them swiftly bit down on the neck of the diamond dog the each had pinned below them. With an audible crack and some brief gurgles, the three diamond dogs lay dead with their necks snapped and blood leaking from the wounds while the kirins got off of them.
"What the hay was that for?!" Shining snapped at them. "They were about to tell us where their den was!"
"Calm down!" Ru snapped back. "Once they talked about their den, I knew which one he was talking about, so we didn't need him or the others. Besides, letting them go would alert them to us, and keeping them as our prisoners would only deplete our rations before we made it back."
"You still didn't need to kill them! We're soldiers and warriors, not murderers."
"Sorry to say this, but things here aren't like what they are where you come from. The world here by the Dragon Kingdom is far more savage than what your ponyland is." After a pause of silence, Ru unstrapped his sword belt and held it out to Shining. "Here. As a show of loyalty, I give you this weapon."
Hesitantly, Shining took the sword in his magic and unsheathed it. "What is it? I've never seen a sword red like this before."
"That there is a sword made from Draconium. It's a rare red metal that's very lethal to dragons, and by extension, us kirins. I give it to you as a show of good faith and of our loyalty to our... alliance."
If that's true, then why does it feel like he's lying? Shining mentally asked himself. And why would he give me a weapon like this if it's dangerous to him? Is he that confident of himself and his two companions, or is he just stupid? Either way, I should play this safe.
"Thank you for this gesture, Ru," Shining thanked while sheathing the sword and strapping the sword belt on. "So, how far is this den then?"
"It's at the base of that mountain range, just past the other side of this valley," Ru answered him. "If we keep at it and not take any breaks, we can be there by midnight."
"In that case, let's go."
With an agreeing nod, Ru and the other two kirins began leading the ponies across the valley. Within a few minutes of beginning their trek, Shining's squadmates came up to him, each with the same concern.
"Hey, boss?" Brick quietly spoke, getting Shining's attention. "Is it really a good idea to trust them?"
"Yeah. After all, you saw what they did to those diamond dogs," Tempest added. "It actually looked like they were willing to talk to us and tell us what we needed to know before those three killed them."
"I know," Shining calmly said. "Which is why I want all of you to be on guard around them. Though I don't quite believe what those diamond dogs said, if they do happen to be right, then I want us to be prepared."
"And what if they were lying to us?"
"Better to be cautious and be wrong than to not and end up in trouble. Which is why for now on, each of us will be taking watch shifts. Even if one of them are on watch, I want a set of our eyes watching."
"If by chance the kirins were to betray us, why would they then give you a weapon that they said is lethal to them, sir?"
"Probably to lure us into a false sense of security and trust," Silica quietly answered for Shining. "And if that's the case, then we'll have to be careful of not only their strength, fire breath, sharp claws and fangs, but also of their cunning."
"Exactly," Shining agreed with a nod. "Also, if they do try something on us while we're asleep, I want whoever is on watch at the time to wake the rest of us. Once we're all awake and alert, we'll begin our attack on them. While they may be stronger than us individually, together we can beat them."
"Yes, sir!" the three quietly replied before returning to their prior positions.
Keeping silent, the four ponies cautiously followed behind the three leading kirins. As they walked, Shining quietly ordered for them to keep their distance, but to not make it look like they were keeping their distance. Though they did while at the same time keeping an eye on their guides, they soon lost track of time and found that the sun was about to set with their destination just coming into view. A few hours later after the sun set and the moon sat high in the sky, they found themselves at the other side of the valley. Walking up the pathway leading up, they made their way to the top of a small plateau that gave them a great view of the Dragon Kingdom.
"We'll rest here for the night," Ru told them. "Stone, go get what firewood you can."
With a silent nod, Stone flew off to find the wood, returning in a few minutes with an armload for the fire. Once lit, everyone gathered around and got themselves a bite to eat before Silica let out a loud yawn.
"Guess we better get ourselves some sleep," Shining suggested.
"In that case, I'll take the first watch, boss," Brick said, getting up from his spot and climbing up to a ledge up above them for a better view of their surroundings.
"That's not needed," Ru told him. "Rock will take the first watch and Sapph will have the second."
"Thanks," Shining spoke, "but I'd rather have one of my guys on watch. Besides, there's only three of you and four of us."
"Yes, but we're used to going days without sleep if needed."
"Why don't we just have one of our guys and one of yours go on watch?" Silica suggested. "That way, everyone gets to have someone on guard while the rest of us sleep until our watch rotation."
Looking over to her, Shining slowly nodded in agreement while Ru, after waiting for a while to see that they wouldn't budge on it, eventually nodded too. With everyone in agreement, Stone flew up to Brick's perch and took a seat alongside him while the others laid beside the fire and soon fell asleep.
Shining startled awake by a blood curdling scream. Shooting his head up from its resting place, he quickly looked around to take in his surroundings. As he did, his heart sank when he saw that Brick's and Tempest's bodies were scattered around their camp sight, leaving almost everything around Shining covered in red. With fear and panic, Shining looked over to where he heard the scream coming from and saw Silica pinned to the ground by Sapph, who had a hungry look to him while Ru stood beside them smirking.
"What are you doing to her?!" Shining shouted, getting all of their attention before noticing that Silica was without her armor, had an inhibitor ring on her horn, and had a steady stream of tears flowing from her eyes.
"Oh, nothing much," Ru smirked. "We're just going to have ourselves some fun before we take her and toss her in with the rest of the female slaves."
"What?! So those diamond dogs were telling us the truth?!"
Ru laughed out loud into the night sky before stopping abruptly and looking back to Shining with a wicked grin.
"Yes, they were, but that doesn't really matter now, does it?"
"Then what about this sword you gave me? You said that it was a sign of good faith and loyalty!"
"Heh, I lied. Just like I did to everypony before you who fell for that exact same trick."
With an angry snort, Shining unsheathed the Draconium sword, determined to return it to its original owner in his chest. Before he could get a running start though, he felt something hard hit him on the back of his head. Dropping straight to the ground and causing his magic to sputter out, Shining then felt a spear being driven through his stomach, which thankfully missed his vital organs, before being yanked out. Feeling his consciousness quickly slipping away from the pain and blood loss, Shining was able to hear Ru's last words. Words of which made Shining's blood both boil with rage, and run cold with dread.
"Rock, place this on his horn. I don't want him interfering with his magic." Ru paused as he licked his lips at the fearful Silica." Now then, who want's to have a go at her first?"
Shining didn't know how long he was out for. He tried lifting his legs, but they felt too heavy for him. However, with Ru's last words ringing in his ears, he forced himself to move, earning him the feeling of his hoof sliding against the rocky ground. Just as his body started to obey him again, he heard a pained scream, which for some reason, also sounded like a dragon's roar.
Opening his eyes, Shining saw Silica laying on the ground, panting for breath while blood leaked from the corner of her mouth. As he saw her laying there broken-looking, he also saw Rock and Ru standing by her, laughing and pointing at Sapph, who was writhing on the ground with his front claws on his crotch, and his back legs crumpled up against him. After a few moments, Shining saw him bring one of his front claws from his crotch, stained in his own blood.
"Hahahaha! That's what you get for getting too greedy with her!" Ru laughed at Sapph.
"Yeah," Rock agreed with a chuckle.
"I didn't want to be left out of the fun!" Sapph snapped before glaring venomously at Silica, who weakly smirked back at him. "Apparently, she's too much trouble to keep around."
"Seriously?" Ru scoffed.
"HEY! Maybe next time, you can be the one to have her bite off your-"
"Alright, alright, fine! We don't need to bring her with us."
"Good."
While royally pissed at what they did to her, Shining managed to smile at what Silica did to them, though he was cringing on the inside at the thought of it. Glancing over to Sapph, he watched as he moved his shaky legs, made it up to his claws, and walked over to Tempest's spear. With an angry snort, Sapph grabbed the spear, turned around, and slowly made his way back to the downed Silica.
Knowing what he was going to do, Shining tried forcing his body to move, but it felt incredibly heavy and wasn't responding as he wanted. He then tried using his magic, but felt something blocking it. Glancing up, Shining saw that he too had his horn slapped with an inhibitor ring. With his magic blocked and no strength to move, Shining watched in slow motion as Sapph neared Silica while Ru and Rock watched him expectantly, unaware of Shining being conscious again.
Once he was directly in front of Silica, he reversed his hold on the spear and held it above his head with the spearhead pointing downward. Knowing that her last moments were upon her, Silica took a last look at Shining, seeing him looking back at her as he tried to keep his tears from overflowing. Seeing him alive, the fear on her face faded as she gave him a sad smile before mouthing to him "I love you". Seeing Shining's eyes widen, she knew that he knew what she just silently said to him.
Closing her eyes, she waited for the spear to drop, which came immediately as she felt it impaling her through her back and burying itself into the ground through her front. Though it hurt a lot, she didn't cry out in pain, only grunted and softly whined. But, while she was in a lot of pain, her smile to Shining never wavered, not even after a few moments later when her eyes became heavy and she laid her head down to sleep.
The three kirins watched Silica's body in silence. After a minute had passed, Sapph nudged her to see if she was still alive. When he didn't get any reaction out of her, he pulled the spear out from her back and kicked her away... right towards Shining. Seeing her stopping at his hooves, he reached out to her and pulled her onto his lap. With a hoof, he brushed her mane out of her face to see that she still retained that smile that she died with. Unable to hold back anymore, Shining buried his face into his dead fillyfriend's coat, allowing his tear to run free with his muffled cries. Hearing the muffled sound of someone crying, the three kirins looked over to see that Shining was awake.
"Well, crap. I though that he'd be unconscious for a few more hours at least," Rock said somewhat embarrassed.
"Do you think he saw Sapph kill her?" Ru wondered.
"Who cares!" he snapped. "She's dead and that's all that matters. Now, let's grab him and get back to the den. I want to get to the healer to see if they can do something to regrow my-"
Sapph cut himself off when he felt a rumble beneath his claws. It started out small, but increased in magnitude by the second. Then, for reasons unknown to them, the blood and loose rocks surrounding them started floating off of the ground. While they looked at their surroundings in confusion, they soon saw a glow coming from Shining, who was still holding Silica tightly against his chest. As they looked at him, they soon saw that the phenomenon around them was coming from him, and the magical inhibitor, which began to crack under the magical pressure it was under.
"UUUAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!"
With a piercing cry of rage and agony, something in Shining snapped as his horn erupted with power, causing the inhibitor ring to shatter in a blinding magical light. Once the light died down, Shining's coat became hot-white while his mane and tail became like fire, his eyes turned red and burned like a pair of suns, and the wound in his stomach had started to heal itself, but just barely. And as his tears continued to pour from his tear ducts, they immediately sizzled away, creating a constant stream of steam from his eyes.
Breathing heavily, Shining looked up from Silica to her killers, who all flinched away upon seeing the murderous glare from his burning eyes. Gently laying Silica's body on the ground, Shining got up to his hooves before noticing a glint of light from the Draconium sword in the corner of his eye. Using his magic, he took the sword in his aura before turning his attention back to the three kirins and slowly made his way over to them.
Feeling a sense of fear, Sapph immediately turned around and started to fly away. But, before he could flap his wings to get away, Shining quickly used his magic on the spear that Sapph had used on Silica, and impaled him as he did to her, until the spear was lodged firmly into the stone ground. However, though the area that Shining impaled him in was near his center, me was sure to not hit anything vital so that he could keep him alive for a while.
Seeing their companion stuck and unable to move, Ru and Rock both charged Shining, who just stood in place, unmoving. As the two flew closer towards him through the floating blood and small rocks, Shining's horn began to glow, and before either of them knew it, Rock found himself impaled from behind with Brick's spear, piercing his chest and ending him on the spot. With him being the only one left and feeling in great danger, Ru stopped his flight path and turned around to fly away, but instead found himself trapped in a magical barrier and slammed into the ground.
Before he could shake the daze from the slam away, he felt a sharp pain traveling through his back and out his front. Sparing a quick glance, Ru saw that the spear from Rock's body was gone from him, and was instead what had pinned him to the ground. Looking from the spear up in front of him, Ru saw that Shining was now standing mere feet away from him with the Draconium sword that he gave him held high above his head. Resigning to his death, Ru closed his eyes before the sword severed his head.
With two kirins down, Shining cleaned the blade of his sword off on the dead kirin before making his way over to the last of them, who was still struggling to break the spear that held him firmly in place. Using his magic, Shining removed the spear from the dead Ru and impaled it into another area of Sapph's stomach, causing him to roar in pain. Once it became bearable, he looked up to see Shining glaring directly into his eyes.
"What? Do you think that I'm bad? Do you think that you've won?" Sapph chuckled before spitting out a glob of blood. "Let me tell you something, pony. That entire diamond dog den is full of kirins like me, some of them much worse and far more cruel than I. And, once they find out that you killed us, they'll be coming for you, your family, and everyone that you care about!"
"Then I'll just have to kill them first," Shining coldly stated before raising his sword and pointing it. "Starting with you."
"Go ahead. It's not like you can beat us all. There are a thousand kirins inside the den. You'll be walking into your own grave."
"Yes, it will become a place of rest." Shining paused and raised his sword, "but it won't be my grave. Instead, it'll be a tomb of kirins."
Wasting no more time, Shining brought the sword down upon Sapph's neck, severing his head before taking it into his magic and throwing it off the side of the plateau and down into the valley. With the traitorous kirins dead, Shining saw to his fallen comrades and fillyfriend. Gathering the remains of Tempest and Brick, Shining laid them down next to each other before taking their blankets from their saddlebags and covering their bodies with them. Then, he turned his attention towards Silica, who he took into his magical hold and gently kissed her forehead before setting her down with the other two and covering her with her blanket. With the three laying side-by-side and covered, Shining casted a magical barrier over them to preserve their bodies.
"I'll be back for you," Shining quietly told them before looking out towards the Dragon Kingdom. "Right after I wipeout the kirins and save the prisoners."
With a salute to his fallen squadmates, Shining turned around and began making his way into the Dragon Kingdom. Before he left the plateau though, he walked past the corpse of Sapph and removed the two spears impaled through his back, intending on using them some more. That though was shattered though as both spearheads had been dulled and bent from the hard contact of the kirin's scales, and instead decided to leave them with their original owners and return them with them.
Resuming his travel despite it still being late into the night, Shining didn't have much trouble seeing his surroundings thanks to the moonlight, and the glowing from his rageshifted mane and tail. For almost an hour he continued walking, searching for any signs of anything that would indicate the location of the diamond dog's den. Soon enough, he saw a cave in the distance with a faint glow coming from inside. Feeling like he was close now to his goal, Shining galloped the rest of the way to the cave. After ten minutes of a hard gallop, he finally came to the mouth of the cave and quietly walked inside.
Keeping close to the walls, Shining snuck in and made his way down deeper into the tunnel. While he would've been concerned for his rageshift giving him away, he soon found himself deep enough where torches began lining the cave walls. Within a minute of walking into the tunnel of torches, Shining peeked around a corner to find a pair of kirin guards in iron armor.
Giving a snort, Shining thought of a way to take them out before they could get a chance of alerting the others. Remembering his skills with shields spells, Shining encased the two kirins in a barrier and brought them over around the corner to him. But, instead of increasing the size of the barrier like he normally would, he instead shrank it until they were crushed. And, while doing so would normally be taxing on his magic, his rageshift allowed for it to be no harder than crushing an apple beneath his hoof.
With the two guards dead and out of the way, Shining walked down the tunnel they'd guarded and continued with the same treatment for every kirin that he passed. Five minutes and thirty crushed kirins later, Shining exited the tunnel and entered into the diamond dog's den. However, it wasn't what Shining had expected.
"This isn't a den," Shining said in awe to himself, rotating his head around to get a look at the massive cavern. "It's a small city!"
For a while, he took in the sight around him. Along the walls were cave entrances leading into what he guessed were their individual homes. And at his hooves, down the large ramp leading down to the center of the cavern below him, was what appeared to be a temple with an eerie-looking, onyx-black statue of a slender, bipedal creature with long claws, a tail, wings, a pair of horns, and a faceless head. As he continued to look around, he was unaware that when he spoke, his voice had echoed off of the walls and alerted all of the kirins to his presence. It wasn't until he heard that the cavern had gone quiet that he saw that all of the kirins had locked their gazes upon him.
"Uh-oh."
Seeing Shining standing there on the top of the ramp overlooking them, the kirins all let out a unified roar before flying up to him. Seeing the swarm of kirins flying at him, Shining retreated back into the tunnel to bottleneck them. Casting a few shield spells to further thin them out, Shining began firing beams of magic from his horn at the incoming kirins. While normally his magic wouldn't be that strong against them, with his rageshift still continuing, Shining's spells either wounded them, or killed them, depending on where the shots landed.
As time went by, Shining would back away from them, keeping his distance while the kirins were starting to have to to climb over their dead just to get at him. After ten minutes had passed, the first of the kirins finally got within twenty feet of Shining. Once it did though, Shining quickly cut it down with his Draconium sword while continuing his magical barrage. Before Shining knew it, forty-five minutes had passed and the kirins were starting to fall back.
Pressing his advancement, Shining continued firing one beam of magic after another while slicing those with his Draconium sword that got too close to his liking. Soon enough, Shining found that he'd pushed them back into their "city", and started firing at them from the top of the ramp. With him in the open, the kirins could now fly at him while those on the ground charged at him up the stairs. As he continued to shoot any kirins flying at him out of the air and threw any of the nearby dead down the ramp, knocking those charging up back down to the bottom, Shining began to notice something.
Where are their weapons? he wondered. They have armor, and yeah, they have cudgels and some swords, but where are their shields, spears, axes, and bows at? Are they really that confident in their natural strength that they didn't think that they would need them? And why aren't they using any magic? Can kirins even use unicorn magic?
Clearing his mind from those question for now, Shining focused on the kirins that were still attacking him. Over an hour had passed since this had started, and while he would've been exhausted at this point, his rageshift kept him fighting. With a few more blasts of magic at the flying kirins, and sending those charging up the now slick ramp tumbling back down, Shining looked around to see that only a few hundred remained.
Looking up, he saw a stalactite hanging just above where he was standing. Firing a blast of magic at the base of it, Shining knocked it loose, causing it to fall down onto the ramp in front of him, and roll down, crushing the kirins beneath it as it rolled over them and into the giant statue, destroying one of the legs and toppling it over. With that one move, over half of the remaining kirins were lost, leaving the remaining eighty to begin flying away from Shining. However, he wasn't willing to leave until he knew that every single one of those kirins were dead and rotting in this soon-to-be tomb of theirs.
Taking aim, Shining then began to snipe them out of the air from his spot. While he got most of them in mid-flight, there were some who flew into some of the cave homes in the side of the cavern. They weren't safe though as Shining would fire several blasts of magic into them and cause them to cave-in on top of them. Not seeing any more of them, Shining took a few minutes to listen carefully for any sounds of any of them still being alive. Hearing no sound coming from anywhere, he began making his way down to the bottom the slick and bloody ramp.
After taking longer than he needed so he wouldn't slip and fall down all the way, Shining walked around to the side of the statue where he saw a large tunnel with rail cart tracks leading down them. Curious, he went down into what he supposed was a mine and entered into the main chamber where he saw several dozen, half-dead stallions chained together at work. With another look, he quickly saw the taskmaster and charged him.
With Shining's speed, the taskmaster didn't know he was coming at him until he turned his head to see Shining's Draconium sword at his neck. Witnessing the death of their taskmaster and recognizing Shining as a member of the royal guard by his armor, the ponies cheered for him while he grabbed the keys to their shackles.
"Everypony!" Shining called, his voice echoing across the mines. "You're free!"
With another round of shouts and cheers, Shining broke the keychain and tossed the five keys on it to five different ponies for them to free themselves and the others with. Seeing that they could free themselves just fine, Shining went back up the tunnel and exited the mines in search for the mares and foals that were also ponynapped.
Entering back into the cavern and walking around the fallen statue, Shining's nose was greeted with the scent of perfume. Taking a few sniffs, he followed it in the direction of the temple. Getting an idea of where the mares could be, Shining went up the small flight of stairs and into the temple. Making his way inside, he saw that the inside of it was lined with stone pillars on either side of him as he continued deeper into it. Coming upon a large set of heavy wooden doors, Shining used his magic to push them open, revealing a room full of blankets, pillows, and weeping mares with collars with chains that anchored them down to the ground.
Princess Celestia isn't going to like hearing about this, Shining thought.
While he felt his rage building again at seeing what they were using them for, Shining kept himself from exploding and began looking around. Spotting a set of keys on a hook on the wall, Shining walked over, picked it from its hanger, and walked over to the closest mare to unlock her collar with one key, while using the other on the inhibitor ring on her horn. With one freed, Shining went over to the next to unlock her collar too, but used a third key to undo the strap holding her wings down.
After he freed the second one, he gave the keys to the unicorn mare that he freed, telling her to free the others before getting tackled in a hug by the pegasus that he'd just freed. As he hugged back the weeping pegasus, repeatedly being thanked for saving them, the others were being freed one after the other. A few moments later, Shining lifted her head up with a hoof to look at her.
"Tell me, are there any foals around here?" Shining tenderly asked.
"I-It doesn't m-matter," she croaked. "Th-They'll be b-b-back f-for us."
"No they won't. There aren't anymore kirins around to hurt you or anypony else. So, please, tell me where the foals are."
Still sobbing, instead of telling him, she pointed a hoof towards a corridor from the side of the room. With his thanks and a promise to return to them with the foals, Shining made his way down the hallway in search for the foals. He didn't have to look very far though as he could hear crying just ahead of him. Turning the last corner, he saw a large, locked prison cell filled with several dozen foals, ranging from infants to those in their younger teens. Feeling angry again and needing to take it out on something, instead of looking for the key, Shining used his rageshifted magic, and with some strain, he pried the iron door off of its hinges and threw it hard against the wall. With the door out of the way, Shining walked over into the cell of foals who began scampering away from him in fear.
"It's alright, I'm not going to hurt you," Shining softly spoke to them before laying down in front of them to make himself look less intimidating. "I'm here to help you and take you all home."
Seeing that some of them looked a little more relaxed, he held out a hoof to them. A few moments later, one of the younger fillies walked closer and placed her hoof on Shining's. Noticing that she was becoming more relaxed, he leaned forward and gave the filly a reassuring nuzzle, which caused her to return it with one of her own. Seeing that their friend wasn't being harmed, a young colt walked up and joined them. Soon enough, the foals came up to Shining one-by-one to either hug or nuzzle him while crying in relief. Letting them have a moment, Shining waited until they began to calm back down before getting up.
"Alright, kids," Shining addressed them, "let's get you all home."
Turning around, Shining led the foals down the hallway he came from and into the chamber where the mares were now all freed and waiting for him. Once they say him walking in with the foals following in after him, most of the mares ran over to them and picked their child or children up to hug them. While it was heartwarming to see the mother crying with their reunited foals and he didn't want to interrupt it, Shining reminded them that they still needed to leave this place and return them home, to which they all agreed with.
Leading them out of the room and into the massive temple hallway, Shining stopped before remembering what awaited them out there.
"Alright, kids, we're going to play a little game," Shining told them, causing the foals to cheer in joy. "Now, what we're going to do is like Follow the Leader, but with our eyes closed. Do you want to play?" Once he saw them all nod in agreement, Shining smiled, hoping that this plan would work. "Good. Now then, one of you come over here and grab onto my tail with your mouth. After that, I want the next pony to do the same to the one gabbing onto me, and so on. And don't worry, my tail isn't actually on fire, it just looks like it is. Now, can you kids do that?"
With another round of nods, Shining quickly found his tail being held tightly in the mouth of the young filly that had first approached him. Giving her another soft smile, he waited for the other foals to follow her example. After a few corrections, Shining was leading a train of foals out of the temple with their eyes all shut. Before they got out though, one of the mares walked up alongside Shining.
"So, why did you want the foals to do this?" she asked him.
"I didn't want for them to see what's out there," Shining whispered. "And by staying in line like this, none of them will stray from the one in front of them."
"Alright, but what's out there that you don't want them to- oh my Celestia," she whispered, seeing the dead kirins littering the ground around them. "Now I see what you mean. Did you do all of this?"
"Yes, but we shouldn't stay her any longer than we need to. I can see the stallions at the exit clearing the tunnel of the kirins up there."
With him heading them, Shining led the foals along a path that wouldn't let them accidentally bump into any of the dead kirins while using his magic to toss aside any that would. Once they got to the base of the ramp, he told the foals that it was slick with water instead of telling them the truth an scaring them, so they would need to take it slow so nopony would trip and slide down. Although they had a few close calls, they all made it to the top without anypony slipping and falling down.
"Good job, everypony," Shining complimented the foal. "We're almost done."
"Cah we ofen our eyhs het?" one of themcomplained through their mouthful of tail.
"Not quite yet. Just wait a little longer and I'll tell you. Besides, you want to win this game, don't you?"
Smirking at his plan working, Shining continued to lead them until a few minutes passed after passing the last dead kirin. Allowing them to open their eyes and let go of each other's tail, the foals all cheered for winning their "game" before running back to their moms. After some more time had passed, they finally exited the cave to see the moonlit surface where the freed stallions all waited for them. While most of them ran to their families, a few approached Shining.
"We thought that it would be a good idea to bring these carts with us," one of the stallions said while gesturing to the ten carts behind them. "Most are filled with supplies for the journey home, but some are unloaded for the foals and any who are injured to ride in."
"Good thinking," Shining said approvingly. "I wouldn't want the foals to make the trip back there on hoof anyway."
"How far away is the nearest village anyway?" another asked.
"It took three days and nights to get here, and that was with having to hunker down in a cave from a storm." Shining paused when he remembered something. "Hey, can I ask you guys something?"
"Of course, sir."
"Can we spare one of the carts? My squadmates and I were attacked in our sleep and they didn't make it. I would like to return them to Canterlot so they could be properly buried, but I don't want the foals to see them."
"Oh... I'm sorry to hear that. Of course we can spare one for them."
"Thank you. You'll find them up on the plateau over there," Shining told them, pointing a hoof in the direction they were at.
"It almost sounds like you're not coming with us."
"I'll catch up with you all later. First off, I need to return back into that cavern and make sure that nopony can get in or out."
"You think that one of those things might've survived?" one of the stallions asked fearfully.
"I don't think so, but I don't want to take any chances. Now, you lead them to the plateau and I'll catch up with you there. And don't worry about the barrier that I placed around them. I'll remove it from here."
With that, Shining dispelled his barrier around his squadmates and turned around to galloped back into the cave. Feeling no sense of fatigue, he continued his pace until he came out into the cavern. Taking a few breaths to steady himself, Shining fired a beam of magic up at the ceiling and dragged it across it, causing the stalactites and loosened rocks to start falling down. Soon enough, the entire cavern started shaking as it began to cave-in. With no time to spare, Shining booked it as fast as he could back the way he came, keeping himself ahead of the cave-in that was starting to follow him. With falling rocks behind him, Shining didn't keep track of how long he'd been running for until he could see the moonlight shining again. With a final push, Shining leaped out of the mouth of the cave and rolled against the rocky ground before coming to a stop and panting heavily for air.
Taking a few minutes, Shining laid where he was, allowing his burning lungs a chance to rest. Once he felt like he could breathe without his chest burning, he got back up onto his hooves and took one last look at the caved-in entrance before regrouping with the survivors. With him being by himself trying to catch up to them, Shining was able to travel faster than the caravan of survivors could, and was able to meet up with them just as they reached the plateau where his squadmates rested.
Leading them over to them, Shining took the three into his magic and gently placed them down into the empty cart they reserved for them. Placing another barrier around them to preserve their bodies, Shining looked both sadly and happily back to the survivors to go over the plan with them.
"Alright, everypony!" Shining called out. "It'll take us two to three days for us to reach the nearest village. From here, we'll cross this valley to the other side. After that, there'll be a road that'll lead us directly to the village. To make this trip smoother and quicker, we'll rotate who rests and who pulls the carts. The foals and any who are injured or weak will of course be exempted from doing this. Now let's go home!"
Hearing the roar of cheers for their journey home, Shining smiled before turning around to lead them. However, after taking his first step, he felt suddenly tired. A second later, Shining's rageshift ended, and his magical and physical fatigue both came crashing down on him, causing him to collapse onto the ground and pass out.
Present day
Dark looked in confusion with watered eyes as the image from the gem faded. Looking over to Shining sitting on the couch beside him, he saw that his eyes were filled with unshedded tears.
"I passed out after that, so the gem ends at that point," Shining went on to explain. "When I woke up, I was in the hospital wing of Canterlot Castle with Princess Celestia sitting beside me. She told me that the survivors loaded me up into the wagon with my squad and carried me back. Thankfully, my directions to them were simple and specific enough that they were able to handle it without me leading them."
Choosing to remain silent, Dark simply nodded while Shining continued.
"After I told Princess Celestia about everything that had happened, she told me to never speak of it to anypony other than her, Captain Bastion, and later on, Princess Luna and Captain Iron Guard."
"If she ordered you, then why are you telling me?" Dark questioned. "I know that you said that I deserve to know, but aren't you going against her orders by doing this?"
Shining sighed. "In a way, I suppose that I am. However, given who and what you are, I think that she would've filled you in on it eventually."
"Alright. By the way, how'd you get your Draconium armor?"
"I was told that when the stallions began loading the supplies into the wagons, they also loaded the Draconium ore that they found and were planning on giving it to me as a gift for saving them. When I was told that, I requested the ore be forged into the armor you saw me wearing."
"Ah. Well, that answers that." Dark paused as he remembered what had happened to Shining, turning him somber. "Thank you for telling me all of this, Shining. I see why you were so distrusting and aggressive towards me when we first met. Also... I'm sorry about your squadmates... and Silica. She didn't deserve what they did to her."
"No... s-she didn't."
Shining was now on the verge of breaking down as he began to softly sniffle. Unsure of how to help him, Dark did the only thing that he could think of, the same thing that his dad would do for him when he was younger and was feeling sad. Scooting a little closer, Dark raised his claw and gently patted Shining on the back. And, though unintentional, that small show of support was enough to push Shining over the edge.
Letting his tear flow, Shining silently bawled while Dark continued to support him. After a moment had passed, Shining shifted to face Dark and pulled him into a brotherly hug. And though Dark was initially shocked by his sudden action at first, it quickly died down as he returned it. There, the two remained in their brotherly embrace while Shining quietly crying for the memory of his dead fillyfriend and two friends. They remained silent like that for some time. No other noises could be heard besides the sound of sniffling, and the cracking of the wood in the dying embers in the fireplace. However, unknown to them, they weren't the only ones awake at the time.
At the top of the stairs, Twilight and Cadence were both sitting down, hugging each other from hearing Shining's story.
"I can't believe that that actually happened," Twilight quietly said, finally getting her sniffling under control. "I mean, I though that his reason would be bad, b-but not like th-that."
"I know, Twilight," Cadence softly replied, stroking Twilight's mane like she did during her foalsitting days when Twilight was sad.
"I also can't believe that you and Shining had a fillyfriend, and how well you kept it secret from everypony."
"I know, but that doesn't matter anymore. Silica is gone... but, hopefully we'll see her again."
"I would've like to have seen her." Twilight wiped her eyes before pulling back to look at Cadence. "So... what about her funeral? Shining didn't say anything about it."
Cadence gave Twilight a sad smile. "Silica and the others each got a funeral and were recognized for the success of their mission... even if they didn't make it. They're all being held in the mausoleum where the bodies of important royal guards are laid to rest."
"Really?"
"Yes. They were the best squad in the history of the royal guard, even to this day, and were deemed worthy of their resting places."
"That's nice to know, at least," Twilight said, a faint smile crossing her lips before letting out a tired yawn. "We should probably get back to bed before the guys find us."
"Okay, but should we really leave them alone together though?" Cadence questioned. "Should we be concerned that this story of what happened might resurface Shining's old hatred?"
Breaking their hug, Twilight leaned down the stairs to take a peek at them. When she saw the scene between Dark and Shining, she smiled and looked back up to Cadence.
"I wouldn't worry about those two anymore. If anything, I'd say that they've both taken a giant leap towards being friends."
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By the throne... I knew that kirins were responsible for Shining hating them, but... You've managed to shock me speechless and pull on the old heartstrings at the same time...
*Claps in respect* bravo sir, bravo....
More ... PLZ more ps more
7143572 I have warhammer 40k dark crusade on steem
7144244 Not really helping mate...
7144256 and warhammer total war it comes to this may and a bout it last crismis on steem
7143572 7144240 Thanks guys. I was a little worried about what everyone would think about it, but am now glad to see that it's met with approval.
Formatted for find || replace. Chapter numbers are by title.
Ch. 36: If I wanted too, I || If I wanted to, I
Ch. 36: when your... || when you're...
Ch. 36: slowly said. || slowly said,
Ch. 37: note. " || note, "
Ch. 38: at lest || at least
Ch. 38: ahold of another." || ahold of another.
Ch. 39: more vulnerable the he is || more vulnerable than he is
Ch. 40: Celestia even awoken || Celestia even awoke
Ch. 40: apart || a part
Ch. 40: it's transfer || its transfer
Ch. 40: And incase || And in case
Ch. 41: play ticks || play tricks
Ch. 41: " That depends || "That depends
Ch. 41: "I know," Dark confirmed || "I know," Death confirmed
Ch. 42: their gone || they're gone
Ch. 42: your longue || your tongue
Ch. 42: we checkup || we check up
Ch. 42: say on || stay on
Ch. 42: rub-off || rub off
Ch. 43: It's been nearly || It was nearly
Ch. 43: Through the heavy wooden doors would bring you into the waiting room where premade items were on display and where you could also place your order. || Through the heavy wooden doors was the waiting room, where premade items were on display; and where ponies could place their orders for custom work.
Ch. 43: apart || a part
Ch. 44: knowing to him || known to him
Ch. 44: checkup on || check up on
Ch. 44: ball room || ballroom
Ch. 44: them to see what they wanted." || them to see what they wanted.
Ch. 45: apart of || a part of
Ch. 45: was retractable || was a retractable
Ch. 46: themcomplained || them complained
Ch. 46: simple and specific || simple and clear
Critique:
Ch. 37: Just started noticing this in the past few chapters. When splitting a quote around an action by the speaker, that action is usually either not a complete sentence, and/or ends with a comma rather than a period. By the way, fun fact: Since Discord can affect mass alterations in Equestria, if he was looking for something specific his magic didn't effect he could just make everything tie-dye for a day and then everything /else/ would stick out like a sore thumb. Then again that's the kind of observation that people don't think of until afterwards. Then they facepalm.
Ch. 39: By the way, just so you know, the Angel of Death's name in the Chamber's English dictionary is Azrael. Which frankly sounds a lot more bad-ass to me than just calling him Death.
Ch. 40: ... Telekinesis can just grab him, and after the first flash they should have wised up. Every time there's a confrontation with a major antagonist it just feels completely shoehorned. The plot armor! It's neon pink with flashing lights!
Ch. 43: Don't address readers if you can possibly help it in a third-person narrative.
Ch. 46: Skimmed most of this chapter. I universally hate flashback chapters, episodes, and stories. If it's important enough to know, it's important enough to either have its own story and not bog down a different one. At least it was only a chapter long. Still this one's jsut a personal gripe.
Story as a whole:
Markedly improves as it continues, and an enjoyable enough read for a first go. You've handled the romance better than I was expecting, too. You do need an editor, however. Especially since my corrections were just those that caught my eye.
My biggest gripes are: Do not sideline other strong characters so yours can be the Big Damn Hero so much; everypony is important, and is at the center of their own story. For the love of gods tone back the plot armor.
And finally... Did everyone seriously forget Nocturne has two breath-weapons? Fire, and whatever the hell it was that reduced an entire village to skeletons.
7147196 Let me start by saying that I've read all of your comments and have taken everything that you've said under consideration, and I completely agree with your comment of Chapter 39 about Azrael.
As for the last part of your comment about the his second breath, I myself didn't think that it would be a good idea for him to use it just yet. I do, however, plan on bringing that up within the next few chapters.
Too OP, you should take off a zero from all your numbers. Even then it would be pretty unbelievable. Hard to suspend my disbelief when you try to convince me a single unicorn can somehow killed thousands of kirin in a couple of hours. That's more deaths than the number of soldiers that get killed in any given year this century.
Several thoughts come to mind:
1. Since Ponies and Dragons can successfully crossbreed, some of the chained down mares were probably pregnant. What happened to the offspring?
2. With so many Kirin in one place, there HAD to have been baby Kirin who were innocent of the crimes of their parents. They were needlessly killed.
3. While I find no fault with ass-hat slaughtering the adult Kirin in the cave, he made a mention that he took steps to ensure ALL Kirin were killed. That seems to indicate he searched out other groups and slaughtered them, whether or not they were dangerous.
7484144
For your first point. The ones that raped the mares were not dragons....They were Kirins and for all we know Kirins could be sterile...
Shining still shouldn't have treated Dark like he did. Lets switch places and say that Ponies are the ones who killed Mrs. third wheel...That gives Shining every right to kill every single Pony he comes across?...Yeah no.
Also. Just mentioning the lack of 'D'...
Not that one. 
When you forget the D in 'Used'...And it happens alot.
I pity the three ponies that were killed by the kirins, I however don't pity Shining Armor and his reasoning for attacking Dark.
7639491 Very true kirins could be like mules half horse and donkey, but due to the uneven number of chromosomes all mules are sterile. It is possible for kirins to be the same
...Ok, now that I FINALLY and actually got to read of Shining Armor's reasons for trying to kill Dark from the moment of knowing he exsisted...
Insufficient.
Even leaving aside the questions this chapter leaves unstated and/or unanswered, there is simply not enough here to justify Shining's outright murder attempt on Dark nor is there enough here to justify Shining not being immediately arrested and/or being stripped of all authority and duties pending psychological evaluation due to psychotic actions.
Now, I give you credit, you almost succeded in justifying Shining's action in the past. Almost. The rageshift after watching his 2nd fillyfriend die like that was good. The duration was a bit of a stretch, but passable. I'm surprised that, upon realizing the Kirin had no real weaponry or apparent magic, he didn't use his iconic City Shield to crush the Kirin against the ground. But there can be good reasons for that. But the big thing that leaves this as "almost" justified is a big question you left unanswered.
Were there Kirin children in the city?
The impression from what has been said before is that he had no mercy...AT ALL. Think the scene when Anikan Skywalker comes back to Padme and tells her what he did to the Sandpeople on Tatooine, that's the impression it leaves. And holding back any revelation of enough information to clarify any difference, even just to this point, is too long to wait. Not only does it leave too negative an impression on Shining's character, this chapter still fails to clarify the difference.
Now, if it was a small city of just adult Kirin, I could understand. I would expect Shining to have faced some serious consequences from the Princesses Celestia and Luna in the past, but I could have understood. I would have understood more if this small city was actually just the hub of an organized crime gang. Or maybe a cult of some kind. But even then it wouldn't have been enough to justify Shining's outright murder attempt on Dark. Princess Cadance should have been forced into taking action against Shining, if not Princesses Celestia and Luna.
Leaving out other things that shouldn't have happened around Shining when he tried to kill Dark, this is not enough for him to escape severe consequences. And if Shining did kill Kirin children that should have and possibly still be affecting Princess Cadance. As the Princess of Love and a mother she shouldn't be unaffected if it is the case.
Now, all that being said I have one question that I can't quite remember enough to answer. If only Princesses Celestia and Luna along with Captains Bastion and Iron Guard knew what Shining did- Ahh, DO NOT get me started on their lack of proper actions. Just don't. Can o' Worms that should be left closed right now, please. But if those four were the only ones who knew, why do I remember Dark hearing about Shining killing all the Kirin from some other guard?
...I'm gonna look back for that someday, but not before I finish the rest of the story. I've stuck it out to read the reasons, might as well see if anything else is reveled. The only thing I can suggest at this point is what I suggested before: This story deserves a rewrite. It is almost good enough to be great IMHO. We'll see what I say at the end and along the way
P.S. Just to be perfectly clear: No, there was nothing right about Anakin getting away with what he did. Understandable, it was part of his fall, but nothing right about it.
While understandable, that does not in any way excuse his actions towards Dark. Plus, the fact that was a city, there was a very high possibility there were Kirin children and foals within, and Shining killed them all without remorse. He is a child killer in my eyes, and will remain so until proven otherwise.