Guarded Emotions: Old Ties

by Alabenson

Inconvenient Timing

Ever since Princess Twilight Sparkle had first announced her plans for Equestria’s first ever Friendship Festival ponies everywhere had been buzzing with excitement. The Crystal Empire’s royal family were no exception, and with the festival only a few days away Cadance, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, along with Sunburst, were making their way to Ponyville to help with preparations.

“Who’s excited to see her Aunty Twily? Who’s excited to see her Aunty Twily?” Shining Armor asked as he nuzzled his daughter. Flurry Heart responded with an excited squeal as she wriggled about in her stroller. “It’s going to be nice to finally spend some time with Twily as a family without having to worry about some huge emergency.”

“It should also be interesting to see what Moonwhisper’s like when he isn’t in the middle of having an anxiety attack,” Cadance added.

Shining Armor’s ears went flat at the reminder that his younger sister now had a coltfriend. “Oh, right, I had almost forgotten that Twily and Moonwhisper were a thing now.”

“I thought you’d be looking forward to seeing both of them,” Cadance replied. “After all, isn’t Moonwhisper a friend of yours?”

“One, it’s kind of awkward talking to a guy after you’ve walked in on him with your younger sister,” Shining Armor said as he winced a little at the memory. “Two, calling Moonwhisper a friend is…well, with him it gets kind of complicated. I mean, I respect the guy, sure. As far as guards go Moonwhisper would tie with uncle Noble Deed as the guard I look up to the most. But, friend? Honestly, the Moonwhisper I knew never really did the whole ‘friendship’ thing.”

“That’s the impression I always had of him as well,” Cadance remarked. “To be honest I still don’t really understand what it is Twilight sees in him.”

“Actually, in hindsight I can kind of understand why they got together. You remember what Twily was like before she went to Ponyville, don’t you?” Shining Armor asked.

“Of course! Twilight was one of the sweetest little fillies I ever sat for.”

“You’re leaving out that Twily was also so obsessed with her schoolwork that she really didn’t have any friends,” Shining Armor added. “Look, I love my little sister but you’ve got to admit that if somepony back then told you that one day she was going to be Princess of Friendship you’d have thought they were completely crazy.”

“For any number of reasons, but I suppose I can see your point,” Cadance conceded. “And Twilight certainly seems happy with Moonwhisper. I guess I just have trouble seeing past the pony that Moonwhisper is on the surface.”

“Well, maybe this big festival Twily’s putting on will help with that,” Shining Armor said hopefully. “I mean, Moonwhisper’s got to ease up once in a while now that he and Twily are – uh, Cadance honey? Why are you staring at me like that?”

“Shining Armor, look! Your cutie mark!” Cadance replied as she pointed a hoof at her husband’s rump. Confused, Shining Armor looked down to see that his cutie mark was glowing and pulsing with light.

“Oh my, I’ve actually read about this phenomenon in the letters Starlight Glimmer has sent me,” Sunburst said excitedly as he looked up from the book he had been reading. “According to her this is how the Cutie Map alerts ponies that they’re being summoned for a friendship mission.”

“So, that would mean that I’m being called to go on one of those missions then?” Shining Armor asked as he gave Cadance and Flurry Heart a look of concern. “So much for having an uneventful family visit, I guess.”

“Maybe it won’t be quite as bad as you think,” Cadance suggested. “After all, from what I’ve heard these friendship mission usually only take a day or two to handle. I’ll bet you’ll be able to get whatever the map needs you for sorted out long before the end of the festival.”

“Not to mention the fact that we have no way of knowing where in Equestria the map needs you to go,” Sunburst added. “It’s entirely possible that this friendship problem is located in Ponyville or Canterlot.”

“Huh, that’s actually a pretty good point,” Shining Armor said. “In any event, it’s not like I can just refuse to go or anything. After all, I have to set a good example for this little filly here.” As Shining Armor spoke he leaned down and nuzzled his daughter once again. For the next several minutes, Shining Armor and Cadance speculated as to exactly what sort of mission the map needed him for. “I honestly can’t think of a good reason why the map would want me specifically,” Shining Armor said as he scratched his head. “You’d think Twily would be a better fit for this sort of thing.”

“Don’t be silly, dear, you know plenty about friendship,” Cadance assured him.

“I’m pretty sure there’s a difference between having friends and whatever it is the map needs me for. Although, maybe this mission has something to do with the guard. That would explain why the map wanted me and not Twilight or her friends.”

“Actually, we don’t know for certain that the map hasn’t called Princess Twilight or one of her friends as well,” Sunburst commented. “As I understand it, the map typically sends ponies out in pairs to tackle these missions, so it’s quite likely that somepony else will be joining you.”

“Huh, I wonder who I’ll be paired with,” Shining Armor mused.

“It looks as though we’re going to find out in just a moment,” Cadance said, gesturing out the window as their train squealed to a halt into the Ponyville Station. A glance outside revealed that Twilight was already waiting on the platform. The Princess of Friendship had a manic grin plastered across her features and she was giddily hopping up and down as though she could barely control her excitement.

“Shining Armor! Cadance!” Twilight exclaimed as the group disembarked from the train.

“Gu Bah!” Before either of her parents could respond, Flurry Heart awkwardly flapped out of her stroller and launched herself at her aunt.

“Aw, and how’s my favorite niece doing?” Twilight said as she nuzzled the giggling Flurry Heart.

“Yeah, she was really excited for this trip,” Shining Armor said. “Speaking of excited, it looked like you were a little more hyped up than usual. I’m guessing that this has something to do with this.” As Shining Armor spoke he gestured back towards his cutie mark.

Twilight’s smile widened even further at the sight. “I just couldn’t believe it when Spike told me you had been called by the map for a mission. And the best part is who its decided to send with you!”

“Really? Who is it?”

*********

“And you’re absolutely certain there’s nothing wrong with the map?” Moonwhisper asked as he eyed the pair of cutie marks circling above the surface of the Cutie Map.

“For the last time the map is working just fine,” Starlight Glimmer replied irritably. “There hasn’t been a thing wrong with it since Twilight and I used our repair spell on it.”

“But are you sure that’s the case? What if this is the result of a delayed reaction to being teleported by Miss Trixie? There’s also the possibility that there could have been issues caused by the spells Star Swirl was casting on the map during the Pony of Shadows debacle. Perhaps Star Swirl did something to knock the map’s magic off kilter.”

“Ok, first of all do you honestly think Star Swirl the Bearded would have accidently broken the Cutie Map?” Starlight asked incredulously.

“To be frank, my opinion of Star Swirl is considerably less adulatory than Princess Twilight’s” Moonwhisper said through tightly clenched teeth.

“Wow, I know Star Swirl was a kind of a jerk, but – actually, you know what? I’m not going to get into that with you. All I have to say is that there is definitely nothing wrong with the map.”

“Very well, but can you conclusively rule out some form of outside interference?” Moonwhisper suggested hopefully. “Perhaps Discord has manipulated the map somehow.”

“Oh, for the love of – why would Discord mess with the map to make it send you and Twilight’s brother on a friendship mission?”

Moonwhisper shrugged. “For his own personal amusement? That does seem to be Discord’s primary motivation for doing just about anything.”

Starlight pondered Moonwhisper’s response for several moments before replying. “Ok, I’ll give you that, but I’m pretty sure messing around with the Cutie Map would be going a bit far even for Discord. Besides, I think I heard Spike mention that Discord’s gone off somewhere for the next week or so. Something about an old acquaintance and the letter ‘Q’.”

Whatever response Moonwhisper had to this was abruptly cut short by the sounds of hoofsteps heading towards the map room. Moments later the doors to the main hall burst open as Twilight and Shining Armor into the room, Cadance and Flurry Heart close behind. “Moonwhisper!” Shining Armor called out a soon as he entered the room. “Can you seriously believe this? The two of us being sent off on a mission together. It’s just like old times, isn’t it?”

“We’re being deployed to a remote corner of Equestria with no support and only the vaguest idea as to what our objective is. I suppose this does bear a striking resemblance to the last time we were deployed together,” Moonwhisper replied sourly. “Hopefully you’ll be able to get through this without getting yourself seriously injured this time.”

“Now I’m sure it’s not going to be that bad,” Twilight admonished, eliciting a mumbled apology from Moonwhisper.

“What I’m curious about is where in Equestria the map is sending the two of you,” Cadance said as she stepped forward.

“Our apparent destination is somewhere in the southwestern Equestrian Badlands,” Moonwhisper replied. “I’d estimate it’s approximately half a day’s march from the nearest train station, which would be Dodge City. Air transport has to be ruled out due to the proximity of roc nesting grounds to our objective. A detour around the area would be possible, but we’d end up losing more time than just going by hoof.”

Shining Armor chuckled. “Heh, same old Moonwhisper. I’m surprised you don’t have a checklist of everything we’ll need already put together.”

“We actually finished the checklist before you and Candance got here,” Twilight said. “Spike and Lieutenant Silver Streak are already out getting everything together. They should be back pretty soon; Moonwhisper had sorted the checklist based on which shops carried what for maximum efficiency,” Twilight added in a dreamy tone that elicited eye rolls from Cadance and Starlight Glimmer.

“Mostly I just want to get this mission over with as quickly as possible,” Moonwhisper added before turning to Twilight. “With a high-profile event like this Friendship Festival of yours I should be by your side, not running off to solve some random pony’s interpersonal issues.”

“Hey, believe me, Moonwhisper, I’m right there with you on this,” Shining Armor said as he glanced back at his wife and daughter. “But we’ve got a job to do and you’re the one who’s always saying how a guard’s duty to Equestria trumps everything else. Besides, what sort of example would I be setting for Flurry Heart if I didn’t do this.”

“I wasn’t suggesting that we refuse the mission,” Moonwhisper replied, sounding slightly offered at the suggestion. “I was merely expressing my concern that the timing of this mission is less than ideal.”

“Moonwhisper, I know how seriously you take your duty as my bodyguard, but I’ll be fine,” Twilight assured Moonwhisper as she brushed him with one of her wings. “Its not as though some giant army is going to attack Canterlot the one time you’re away on a friendship mission. And whatever it is the map needs you to do I’m sure you and Shining Armor will be able to handle it.”

Not to mention the fact that this will be a great chance for the two of us to finally catch up on things,” Shining Armor added as he draped a foreleg over Moonwhisper’s withers. “So, how soon are we gonna leave?”

As Moonwhisper struggled to extract himself from Shining Armor’s grasp, Cadance pulled Twilight over to one side. “Twilight, I know you’re not really the type to question these map missions, but isn’t there something about this that just seems a little odd to you?”

“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.

“Why in Equestria would the map send Shining Armor and Moonwhisper to solve a friendship problem? I’m not saying that either of them wouldn’t be able to solve a friendship problem would need both of them?”

Twilight pondered Cadance’s question for a moment before shrugging. “Honestly, I have no idea. But the map hasn’t been wrong yet, so whatever is going on I trust that Moonwhisper and Shining Armor are the best ponies for the job. Who knows, maybe the map finally found a problem that has to be solved by kicking something in the head until it stops twitching,” Twilight said with a laugh before noticing Cadance’s expression. “That’s how Moonwhisper sometimes describes what he does as a guard. I know how it sounds, but when you consider how often Moonwhisper fights pony-eating monsters…”

Cadance help up her hoof before Twilight could go on. “That’s alright, I think I understand what you’re saying. Well, whatever it is they’re being called to deal with it hopefully won’t be any more treacherous than your festival.”

Comments

[Onyx Quill]

Yay!! New Guarded Emotions story!! Instant fave.

[Dxinsider]

Liked and added to favs. also following you

[ChakatRedstripe]

Sooooo I hear Murphy will be at the friendship festival