• Published 29th Nov 2015
  • 5,109 Views, 302 Comments

The Twilight Years - Crimmar



Short stories about Twilight's and Raegdan's life in the years before the events of The Lunar Guardsman

  • ...
28
 302
 5,109

Repercussions

“Go Shining! Run, run!”

His friends were too far behind him to aid him in any meaningful way, other than desperately urge him to carry on. He held in his magic their last hope. Time was running out, and victory or defeat would be settled in the next few, dwindling seconds. His target was right in front of him.

A beast of a pony stood before him. Shining would scoff if he could spare the breath. Did they honestly believe this was enough to derail him? Let him come. He will climb over his fallen bo-

Two more joined his opponent from the sides. As one they all stood together for a fraction of a second before galloping towards him. Shining Armor was going to meet this trampling wall of muscle any moment now. So yes, that might actually be enough to derail him. All the way to a hospital.

Thankfully, a voice behind him let him know he had an ace up his non existent sleeve. It was large, fast, and crazy enough to tackle three opponents at once. His ally put on a burst of speed, overpassing Shining Armor, and ran towards the obstacle in their path. The large biped charged the pony in the middle with his own body, while his long arms spread to the sides and hooked the other two by the neck in the nook of his elbows. They all collapsed in a mass of choked breathing, bruises, and covert, illegal, blows from both sides.

Shining Armor simply jumped over them. He may have needed to boost himself a bit by stepping on an unfortunate skull, though he had no idea to whom it belonged. The end was in reach. His magic lifted the hoofball and brought it down to the ground in a triumphant arc.

“Goal!”

Shining’s teammates went wild. They had actually won. Trainees against full fledged Royal Guards, and they won! They lifted him on their backs, starting to parade him around the field in victory. As he passed the continuing scuffle he called out to one of the combatants.

“Hey, Raegdan! We won. You can stop now.”

“We did? Nice. I’ll be right with you.”

“Ha!” one of the struggling guards taunted. “Is the little babysitter late for her shift?”

“Match is over, right?” Raegdan asked. “Fouls no longer apply, is that correct?” Shining nodded from his place on high. Raegdan kicked.

Somewhere in Canterlot, a certain guard’s wife looked at her son with deep sadness. For some reason she had a hunch he’d never have siblings, no matter how much her husband and her wanted more foals.

The referee whistled sharply. Shining and his friends, many of whom were now exchanging hoofbumps with Raegdan, stood in front of the referee, grinning like drunken idiots, waiting for him to announce them as the winners before renewing their frantic celebrating.

“The Royal Guards are the winners of the match!”

“Yeeeahh- wait, what?” one of Shining’s teammates shouted in disbelief. The whole team rose up in protest, shouting in uproar and making their displeasure known. “But we won! Check the points.”

“The points don’t matter,” the older pony said. “A team that cheats is instantly disqualified. These are the rules,” he shouted in turn so he could be heard over them.

“We didn’t cheat!”

“Yes you did,” The referee insisted. “You got that on your team.”

Raegdan scratched at his beard, looking nonchalant at the whole unfairness that was taking place. “Let me guess; I’m the cause. How exactly did I cheat this time?”

“It’s obvious isn’t it?” the referee said, not bothering to look at Raegdan himself. “Nopony can throw like he does. It’s completely unfair and you know it.”

Shining Armor couldn’t believe what he was hearing. This guy was trying to snatch victory off for his buddies based on the flimsiest of excuses. His horn lit up with magic, intending to give a practical lesson in why you don’t try to pull this to a bunch of guards in training who really want to try what they recently learned. His friends and fellow rookies took a step along with him in support.

The fact that it was Raegdan that stopped them was bordering on the surreal. His hand extinguished the magic Shining Armor had been gathering as easily as snuffling out a candle.

“Shining, your sister, Celestia, and Cadence are watching,” Raegdan warned him.

Shining backed off, taking a glance towards the stands. Princess Celestia wasn’t really looking at them. She seemed more interested in conversing with Cadence, but Shining wasn’t fooled. Her eyes kept peeking towards the field. His sister wasn’t even bothering with showing any interest at the game. She had laid on the bench with a book held in her magic and read all the while.

Cadence’s eyes were glued on the scene.

Raegdan stood in front, taking the lead. “We can resolve this very easily. You claim nobody can throw like me? I’ll prove you wrong. A couple of minutes and you’ll see how all of the team can throw as well as I can,” he told the referee pony with an evil smirk.


Cadence kept a saccharine smile on her lips as she finished explaining what the two males had plotted and done. She didn’t know how yet, but they were going to pay. They would rue the day.

“...and the moment I bluff and tell him I had already made plans with Shining Armor he backed off. He uttered some line about asking Shining to make sure, and left.”

“But how can you be certain it was a setup?” her aunt asked.

“He showed me the tickets he supposedly had. When we arrived at the theatre with Shining Armor guess which seats we had?” Cadence seethed with the rage she had been too stunned to show that night.

She had tried to explain it away. Faulty memory, or perhaps Raegdan had simply stolen the tickets from Shining Armor. He wasn’t above doing that. Yesterday however she had kissed Shining Armor on the cheek before she left. She turned back to see him before going out of view and she saw Shining Armor smile thankfully at Raegdan, who shook a tight fist near his chest approvingly. She stopped to take a few breaths, in and out, after seeing that instead of going off with her first instinct, and jumping at them to gnaw off their throats.

“I see. You are not happy with the outcome then?”

“Auntie, I don’t mind the outcome. I don’t even mind they tried to… outcupid cupid. What I do mind is how they went about it. Do you have any idea how terrifying it was to have Raegdan brush my cheek and- and-”

“Oh. Oh my,” Celestia said with sudden understanding. “That must have been awkward.”

“These creeps probably thought it was fun!” Cadence didn’t scream. She barely whispered.

Celestia looked down at the unfolding scene, thoughtfully. “Well then. I suppose it is time to even the score then, isn’t it Cadence?”


“You need to make sure one of your grips is at the front and one of them in the back so you can spread the weight as evenly as you can. Now, you have two options; Options one. You can stand up and lift over your head with a cold start, though you need to be careful that you lift with your legs. Never lift with your back or spine. Option two. If you have a good grip you can do sort of a twist around yourself and use the momentum to lift your object over your head easier. If you want, you can use this method further to throw your object straight away, adding your own strength to the momentum of your swing.”

“This is definitely not allowed by the rules!” the terrified referee called out his last card in a vain attempt to avoid his inevitable fate.

“I’m a rebel,” Raegdan said calmly. “I’m gonna aim for that garbage bin. Is it full?”

“Yes!” the hapless referee screamed.

“Good.”

Raegdan fished him out a few seconds later and dragged him back while the poor projectile was busy coughing out rotting garbage. “He’s gonna get ripe before too long so not everyone might be able to get a try. Come on Shining, you are next. Let’s see how you throw.”


“What kind of idiocy has Raegdan gotten them into now?” Celestia asked.

“Throwing ponies from the look of it,” Cadence answered. “It’s probably his idea of a useful lesson. In what kind of world would anypony even need to know how?”

“I have no idea. Look at them,” Celestia said. “They’re actually having fun.”

Cadence scoffed. “Any ideas on how to pay them back auntie?”

“One or two.” Celestia smirked as she came up with a particularly good idea. It was low class, humiliating, and childish. Perfect for their targets.

Cadence saw Raegdan and Shining Armor wave at them. She lifted her own hoof to wave them back. Shining Armor’s smile became dazzlingly bright. Cadence thought her own might resemble more that of a shark.

“How much do you wanna bet they’re being really proud of themselves right now?” Celestia asked Cadence.

“None. They’re stallions. Of course they’re proud for being total idiots.”


“Look at her Shining,” Raegdan said with pride. “You’re her hero.”

“Yeah,” Shining Armor said, still a little drunk on victory. He nailed that pony throw in one go. Apparently he had a knack for it. He conquered his enemies and got the mare. He felt invincible.

“Play your cards right at the picnic later on, and you might end up feeling lips somewhere else than your cheek this time,” Raegdan advised.


Raegdan covered Twilight with a thin blanket. He had gently coaxed a small pillow under her head moments before. He looked at her sleeping for a few seconds before sitting next to Celestia.

“She needs to exercise more,” Celestia observed. “It worries me how little it took to tire her out.”

Raegdan shook his head. “It’s not that. She stayed up half the night reading again.”

“I thought you said you were going to stop her from doing that.”

“I’m trying to, but it’s been kind of hard to stop her ever since you taught her how to turn small objects invisible. She hides them everywhere. I look like a blind guy trying to find his way out of the room when I search for them. I think she’s also sticking them up on the ceiling.”

Celestia laid on her side, catching as much sun as possible. “Do you want me to come over and look myself before her bedtime?”

Raegdan shrugged, and laid down on the grass himself. “Either that or get me a ladder.”

Cadence wiped the edges of her mouth with a napkin, using the movement to nod slyly at her aunt. Operation “Male Humiliation” was go.

“Shining, would you like to take a walk with me? I think I might have overeaten a tad.”

Shining Armor looked at her with surprise and messily packed the half eaten slice of pie back into the basket. “Sur-” He coughed and started again. “Sure. I’m done anyway!”

Raegdan leaned to whisper in Celestia’s ear. “So freaking smooth…” She held back her giggling with some effort. The poor young colt was so completely infatuated it was borderline ridiculous at times. Celestia had to hold herself from laughing out loud. Shining Armor was never going to live down what would happen in a few minutes.

“You might not be wrong however,” Raegdan said.

Celestia took her eyes off the leaving couple. “I’m sorry?”

“Twilight. Maybe she does need some exercise. Maybe we could give her some self-defense lessons?”

“I doubt they will hold her interest. Her magic will be more than enough to protect her in almost every case.”

“Still, it’s never a bad idea to know how to kick somebody in the balls.”

Celestia rolled her eyes at Raegdan’s plain argument. “Won’t she need somepony to practice on?”

“Ah. As for that, I can get-”

“If you plan to have Twilight kick one of my guards’ stallionhood, I will practice the maneuver on you right now.”

“...a doll? Ok, fine,” he said, seeing her unconvinced expression. “Maybe she can do that yoga thing that Cadence won’t shut up abou-” Raegdan stopped talking, and a horrified look haunted his eyes.

“Raegdan? Are you ok?” Celestia asked, feeling concerned. She rose up and waved a hoof in front of his face.

“I think I might have just figured out why the Princess of Love is so interested on being so nimble,” he whispered.

A feminine shriek sounded from the direction the young pair had headed too. Raegdan was instantly on his feet. Celestia followed along, though not as quick. She checked on Twilight to make sure she didn’t wake up. The silence spell was holding just fine.

Shining Armor was running towards them, still shrieking, with Cadence following close behind.

“Shining Armor. Cadence. What happened?” Celestia asked. It took so much out of her not to grin. She did her best to stay in character. This was only the start after all. The best was yet to come.

“Help me, oh help me,” Shining Armor shouted.

“Shining Armor had been bitten by a Rottersnake,” Cadence explained. It was of course a complete fib. She had simply poked Shining Armor with a sharp stick in a very sensitive area. When she told him what had “bitten” him he was too panicked to actually look for the nonexistent serpent.

“What the hell is a Rottersnake?” Raegdan asked.

Is the name too subtle?” Shining Armor shook Raegdan by his shirt, completely captured in the throes of panic. “It’s a snake and it rots off the part of you that it bit! Oh help me, help me!”

“Is that all? I bet Celestia can-”

“There is no spell cure,” Celestia said. She probably looked pretty grim the way she tightened her lips. If only they knew it was the only way she could stop herself from laughing at the way Shining Armor was jumping around. She made a point of not looking at Cadence. She knew neither of them would be able to control themselves if they made eye contact.

“I’m done for!”

“So what, there’s nothing you can do?” Raegdan asked.

Celestia pretended to think. “Rottersnake venom is magical in nature. Unlike other venoms you can’t suck it off the wound as it would spread to the other pony too. But,” Celestia pointed out, “that’s not a problem for you, is it? You can give him a fighting chance.”

“Ok, that’s settled then. Easy enough. Where did you get bit Shining?”

Shining Armor hesitated. “Ah, uh… at my… backside…”

Raegdan moved beside Shining Armor. “Near your mark? Which side? Left or right?”

“No… under…”

“Your leg? Come on, let’s get this over with.”

“No, it bit me under my… tail.”

Raegdan’s eyes widened. “You mean… on your-”

“No! No, it bit me on the… uh… exit.”

Celestia and Cadence had never seen Raegdan stand so still before. Celestia was tempted to poke him, if only to make sure he hadn’t turned to statue like her old foe Discord had.

“Raegdan? What are we going to do?” Shining Armor asked, desperate.

Raegdan blinked twice fast, and got out of his stupor. “Here’s the plan. You’re going to sit over there quietly while I tell Celestia about a medical operation where they connect the intestine with a special hose and removable bags.”

“Raegdan!” Celestia admonished him. “Shining Armor needs your help.”

“I do!”

“He’s a dead pony-”

“Are you going to tell Twilight Velvet you let her colt suffer?” Celestia asked.

“...fuck my life. Fine. Just- give us some privacy while I suck on his taint, will you?” Raegdan got a good hold of Shining Armor’s mane and pulled him out of view behind a thicket.

As soon as they disappeared Celestia and Cadence bit on one of the remaining blankets, trying to drown out their snickers and wiping their eyes.


“Raegdan, I feel dizzy. I- I think the venom almost got me.”

“Yeah, I feel dizzy too. Heavens, I can’t believe I’m doing this.”

“Why are you not doing anything?”

“...I was hoping you’d fall dead if I delayed a bit. No, I’m looking for the bite. I might need to cut your skin a little bit to do this.”

“Is that going to hurt?”

“A cut on your asshole? No, of course not. You will never even feel it. I can’t find it. Where did you get bit exactly?”

“Right there! Can you see better if I bend over like this?”

“Too much. Way too much. I now know more of your personal anatomy that I ever wanted to. Considering I didn’t want to know anything at all I feel exceptionally blessed.”

“Can you see anything?”

“No! I can’t find it.”

“I’m running out of time Raegdan.”

“Well, I’m sorry, but all I see here is a small bruise. Did you crap too hard or something? There’s nothing- hold on.”

“What? What?”

“...It’s a splinter. There’s no bite. You just have a small splinter here. You damned sissy!”

“It can’t be! Cadence said she saw a Rottersnake.”

“...yeah, she did, didn’t she?”


“Oh heavens help me, I think my lungs are going to collapse,” Celestia said. “I can’t wait for them to come out.”

Cadence laid on the ground with her eyes closed, trying to regain control of her normal breathing. “Aren’t they taking too long?”

Celestia bit on her hoof for a moment. “They probably need a few moments to gather their courage.”

They heard the thicket they had made their way in rustle. They quickly adopted serious expressions and waited for their victims to come out.

Only Raegdan did so. His hands and the front of his shirt were covered in blood. Celestia and Cadence gasped as one at the grizzly sight.

“Raegdan,” Celestia said after a moment. “What happened?”

“I- I don’t know. Shining Armor’s skin suddenly swole, his veins got thick, and then they… they just broke. There was too much blood, I tried to stop it, but… I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. He was dead in seconds.” Raegdan fell on his knees. “What am I going to tell Twilight?”

Cadence screamed. It was a prank, it was just a silly prank. This wasn’t supposed to happen. “Shining!” She tried to ran for him, to see him, to fix him, but her aunt grabbed her before she could move.

“Don’t, Cadence. Don’t. You shouldn’t see him like this. Raegdan, what exactly happened?” Raegdan didn’t answer Celestia. He kept staring at the ground, and shook his head looking lost.

Cadence started to sob. “Shining! He’s got to be fine aunty, he has to! I love him, he has to be ok, he has to-”

“You do?” Shining Armor asked.

“I do!” Cadence answered. “I love you so- Shining?”

Raegdan rubbed his face angrily, smearing his cheeks with blood. “You were supposed to wait until I gave you the signal you idiot.”

Shining Armor approached Cadence in a trance. “Cadence… did you mean that?”

“Shining…” Cadence whispered.

“Yes?” A hopeful smile appeared on Shining Armor’s lips.

I’m going to kill you!” Cadence screamed.

“Yikes!” Shining Armor did the only sensible thing. He ran. He ran fast, and he didn’t look back at the vision of horror that was screaming for his blood. He didn’t stop until he made it home to mommy where he was safe.

Raegdan didn’t choose that option. He knew Twilight Velvet would kick them both out for the mares to eat them when she heard what happened.

“Where did all that blood come from?” Celestia asked, furious.

Raegdan showed her his cut palm. “Never try to bullshit a bullshiter,” he said before starting to run at the opposite direction himself, aiming for the safety of the forest.

Celestia spread her wings. Raegdan was a fool if he thought he could outrun her to escape her. She had the perfect way to override his pesky magic immunity too. The forest gave her enough ammunition. Dozens of rocks floated in formation around her as she soared into the sky.

This was going to be one of those days. She made her way around the fleeing Raegdan and aimed for his knees, as well as a spot higher and in between. Time to talk in his language.

Author's Note:

I dedicate this chapter to BeardedRedMane for planting the seed of inspiration for this chapter.