(23) The Homefront
Shining Armor awoke to a cold chill and an empty bed. Not to say he wasn’t expecting it, his wife had been gone for 2 days and, as per Princess Luna’s orders, he was not to send a rescue or reinforcement party for another day. If there was one thing that peeved him the most, especially in times such as these it was that, ‘I can’t believe she can order me around,’ he thought as he pulled the soft white covers off of him. He stretched his neck and heard a few pops as his joints began to get ready for the day, ‘Especially in the Empire.’
After showering, brushing his teeth, and donning his armor, the Prince of the Crystal Empire, while still slightly irritated, was ready for the day. He opened the door to the hallway outside his and his wife’s bedroom. He sighed. His mind wandered as he started to make his way to the situation room.
So many times he had seen and greeted tour groups of students from various schools, both inside and outside of the Empire. From Elementary schools to the Royal Canterlot University. So many times he would joke with the guards who were patrolling the hallways. So many times they would be there to lighten up his day.
“Some cider after work your Highness?”
“Hey, Captain, the guys and I are…”
“Do you need anything, sir?”
“Ugh… Those darn rookies… am I right, sir?”
He looked to his left and to his right and the guards that lined the hallways and corridors of the castle. There was no banter between his guards. No polite hellos or good mornings. No nice greeting wishing him a good day. No talk about the colts, foals, fillies, or families. That was reserved for a better time, a happier time. He looked out of one of the many windows as he walked. He actually wished for it to still be January… to be his daughter’s birthday…
He and his daughter would hold massive prank wars, the guard, or his wife, often getting caught in the middle. A smile tugged at his lips, Jeez, I still can’t believe she got half the guard in on a plot to ambush me with snowballs.
He thought back to that day, one moment he was humming to himself, walking around the entrance to the castle. Then, he rounded a corner and came face to face with a line of his guards all holding balls of snow in their hooves led by his daughter. He nearly let out a chuckle as he remembered the smug look she gave him.
He looked to his left for a second, lieutenant Ruby Snowflake was one of those guards. He nearly stopped to talk to her, see how she and her fiance were doing. But he decided against it. He merely continued trotting down the now empty and devoid halls.
So many times the halls were filled to the brim with petitioners asking for advice, assistance, and help. Nearly every day there was something to laugh about at dinner. A ludicrous request, a slip up in court, or some other thing...
He longed for those days. Even if it had only been a scant few months ago. He reached to door to the situation room. A long hoofful of months… He grimaced as the smile he had gradually gained fell away to the stoic look. Reminiscing on those times, It could’ve been a lifetime ago… he told himself.
The room was empty, aside from the giant central circular map of the Crystal Empire and the frozen north. He looked at his usual seat, next to where his wife would usually sit. On the small section of the desk in front of his seat, there was a mountain of papers. And he was going to have to read all of them.
He dropped his head, sat down, and got started.
He skimmed through paper after paper, request after request. Each time he carefully contemplated what would benefit the pony or the Empire, in some cases.
After getting through what felt like the hundredth piece of parchment, Shining Armor yawned and fell back in his chair and put another piece of paper down. He wasn’t a stranger to paperwork, and, often during his Captaincy of the Canterlot guard, he had to work late into the night and sometimes, into the morning, much to his wife’s disappointment. That was especially true when you were dating the Princess of Love, who often wanted to do certain things that were definitely not work-related.
He sighed as he realized his mind was getting off on a tangent. He pulled himself forward and took a look at the next piece of paper.
And immediately dropped it as the room began to shake.
It wasn’t much, and only for a moment, but it was enough to shake the table and papers off the desk. The papers that the prince immediately forgot about as he ran out of the room.
He turned to the guards who were positioned outside the doors of the situation room, but both were turned, looking past him and at the window. He turned and saw what they were looking at, “What the…” A bright beam of light shining like the sun, but from the north. He had to squint. It was as if he was staring directly at the sun at the height of the day.
Shining Armor ground his teeth together, only one thought on his mind Is that Cadance?
The situation room was filled with activity; ponies going in and out, giving reports and leaving, sometimes so fast that the Prince barely notices anypony was ever there. This continued for several hours, with guards, officials, and advisors continuing to enter and exit. It was well into the next day’s morning that Shining Armor got a concrete piece of news from the Northern outposts. Other than the blinding light creating a massive panic in the streets of not only the Crystal City, but also every other town and village in the Crystal Empire, it was also seen from Yakyakistown, Veapolis, and some parts of northern Griffonia.
Shining Armor had received a message from both the Griffonian Empire and Changeling Lands.
The Griffonian Emperor, Grover the Sixth has only just ascended to the throne, but already proved to be a smart, charismatic, and capable ruler. Before reading the note, Shining Armor had thought the new ruler wanted to know what was going on, or perhaps was requesting that he be allowed to send a representative to the Crystal Empire to witness the ongoing events and how they unfold.
But no, it appears he has invited himself over to the Crystal Empire to get some answers. I guess he is a bit cocky too… Shining sighed. And as for Thorax and Pharynx, both of them were also coming to discuss more in-depth the current situation.
And to top it all off, the ponies of the press were clambering for a meeting with the tired Prince; rightfully wanting answers to many important questions. And as much as he wanted to give them those answers, he really just wanted a break. He was tired after nearly twenty-four hours of constant work.
And he was about to get a little more tired.
His ear twitched as he heard the door open and quickly close behind him. The tired ruler turned around, expecting to find an armored guard or suited bureaucrat. Instead, he could’ve sworn he was hallucinating a nightmare. “Excuse me, your highness, I would like a word with you about-” Nope, she’s real.
Can I please just pass out right now! He screamed internally. But Faust or whatever god has seemed to have forsaken him, Oh my Celestia… why does everything have to go wrong now? He sighed and begrudgingly turned back to the pony.
A pink pony mare with a red mane was standing there. She had a notepad and pencil levitating in front of her. The reporter had somehow gotten past every single guard. That should’ve been impossible. It must’ve been impossible. As he tunned her out, he tried to place from where she was. Let’s see, a unicorn, so the Crystal Daily, Pegasus Times, and Cloudsdale Times are out, probably Canterlot Daily… he guessed, Maybe it’s Manehatten Times?
The Prince put his hoof on his head and supported the ever-weighted Prince. “Before I even attempt to answer, exactly who I have the pleasure of speaking to?” His voice was hoarse from giving orders and lack of drinking and eating all day. “And how in the world did you get in here?” In all honesty, he really wanted to know the answer to the second question, if she had made it passed all his guards, he could try and convince her to become a spy.
“Uh,” She made her way to the Prince, her hooves slightly shakey. “Well, my name is Flawless Charm and I am a reporter from Canterlot Daily.” She answered sheepishly, “And as to how I got in…” She smirked, “Well…”
“I think I get it,” Shining sighed heavily, “Is this your first time?”
“Uhh… What?”
“Well you look like you’re pretty young for a reporter or journalist,” Shining pointed out, “And you keep acting all…” How did Snowflake put it? “Just so… Green.”
“Green?” She asked back.
“Yes, Green,” He returned, “You know, new to this…”
Flawless blinked three times, “OH!” She squeaked, “Yes,” She smiled, “I only just graduated from school a few months ago.” She answered, “I… thought if I could… you know… get an interview directly from you it would… impress my superiors, I guess.”
Shining looked back at the barely mare with half-awake eyes, his response came out in a sigh, “Or sate your insatiable need for more information?”
“I… guess that does sound better, doesn’t it?”
“Yes, and in all honesty, I’d rather have an interview with you than anypony else outside,” Shining yawned.
“Why?”
He chuckled a bit, “You won’t know all the tricks that the regulars have.” He saw her face contort into a mix of anger, confusion, and happiness.”
“Alright, since you were dying to get an interview…” Shining grabbed a chair in his own magic and pulled it toward the mare, “I suppose I have some time before I pass out,” She gingerly sat down. He could’ve sworn he heard her sigh a thank you after making herself comfortable on the seat.
“Thank you, Prince Armor,” Flawless said. The mare cleared her throat and began her to read her questions off of her notepad, “First things first,” She fidgeted slightly, “Is there anything you can tell me about the massive ball of light and the subsequent tremor felt yesterday?”
Shining thought long and hard, “No, sorry, I wish I could though,” Shining exhaled, he heard the pencil dance across the notepad, “We haven’t been able to ascertain the nature of the… light, but we can suspect it has something to do with-” Princess Luna and Princess Cadenza’s expedition “The attacks both In January and in early May.”
The pencil stopped moving on the notepad. Flawless flipped the page and looked up at the Prince, “I wanted to ask you a few questions about the initial attack and aftermath back in January,” She began, “You did eventually come out in May and say that the castle was infiltrated by both a creature and a previously unknown species to capture said creature,” She looked up from the notepad, “Is that correct?”
Shining gulped, Where is she going with this? “Yes.”
“And you said that you had captured one of these ‘humans’ as you called them? Correct?”
“That’s what they called themselves, but otherwise, yes, and they were… less than accommodating with our questions.” That’s an understatement. He looked out the window as she wrote down his response.
“As the conference with Princess Luna kept being delayed and eventually canceled, the public still has some… lingering questions that need to be addressed, namely, what exactly did the creature tell you?” The reporter looked back up from her notepad, “Anything at all?”
Shining Armor blinked. His eyes roamed over the table and eventually found the tape recorder with the 106 files in it. It would surely have the answers the public needed or at least what the press wanted. But can she handle it? He eyes the reporter before giving his response.
His magic took hold of the object and levitated it over to him, “While in custody, the human didn’t reveal much, other than the fact that the organization he was apart of is older than Ponykind, Griffonkind, and most likely all the other species on the planet,” Her pencil began to scribble across the paper again, “They… gave the impression, that they were the original dominant species on the planet.” The reporter ate up the information, her pencil scribbling furiously against the parchment. “Other than that, we figured out how to work this device that was in his possession.”
Flawless nodded, her voice barely hiding the tone of excitement, “Thank your highness for the answer. Before we get to the device you mentioned, I would like to ask you if the subject of Princess Flurry Heart’s sudden… disappearance... has impeded your ability or your wife’s ability to perform as the Ruler’s of the Crystal Empire?” The question had been on Shining Armor’s mind for quite some time.
Cadance and I… affected by the foalnapping? Of course, He squinted, affect our ability to rule effectively? His mind was brought back to him rashly interrogating Ross, the human. And then when they took Twilight to escape… He blinked, Should we have let somepony else make the decisions for us while we… dealt with Flurry being gone?
Shining looked at the mare in the eyes “If you are asking if Flurry’s foalnapping has impeded me in any way?” Shining Sighed, “Yes. Me, my wife, Princess’s Twilight, Celestia, and Luna, we were all impacted by this… and… while we all wish we could’ve done somethings better, I think we have done no better then if the circumstances were changed.” Shining nodded as he spoke. “I wouldn’t take back any of the decisions I’ve made.” He added.
“Understandable, your highness,” Flawless Charm now looked at the device in Shining’s hooves, “Now…” She smiled as she looked at the device in Shining’s hooves, “may I ask exactly what this thing is?” She flipped the page on her notepad and began to get ready to write.
Shining nodded, “Of course,” He answered with a tired voice, “It replays voices that were recorded, currently,” Shining said as he put it back on the table, preparing to press the button to start the recording. “Think of it as one of the many hoofpods out in the market that replay’s music.”
“What is currently recorded?” Flawless asked. Shining could hear the anticipation in her voice, “Something to do with the humans?”
He nodded, “A dossier, of sorts… on the creature, the one that took my daughter” He answered solemnly, “If you… want to, I will allow you to listen to its description, but it’s… somewhat disturbing.” More than that, Shining thought, It’s downright terrifying.
Flawless didn’t miss a beat, “Yes, of course I want to listen.”
Shining sighed, “Don’t say I didn’t warn you.” His magic pushed down on the mechanical play button.
Shining looked at Flawless, the mare struggling to hold herself together. The pencil had long since stopped moving across the paper and instead fell out of her magic just after the recording ended. She was shaking, but still tried to maintain her professional persona. “Th-Thank you, your highness, I…” She’s looking for an excuse to leave, The prince surmised. He preempted her. Not the best look to see a reporter running out of the castle crying.
“If you need some time,” He tiredly said, “You can wait,” He offered, “I… know it is a lot to process right now. It took me some time before I was-”
“Able to get over the fact that your daughter might be dead?” Flawless cut him off, her professionalism breaking.
“Dea- What… no, I know for a fact that Flurry is fine,” Flawless raised her head, “I’ve gotten Princess Luna to communicate with Flurry while she slept,” He smiled, “She survived that monstrosity of a thing, and I fully plan on her coming home safe and sound.” He declared.
Flawless looked back down, “I... “ She breathed, “That’s good,” She said, “That’s really good.” She looked back up at the Prince, “Did you… See it?”
Shining laughed a dry laugh, “Yeah… I did… scarier than King Sombra and Chrysalis combined,” he gave a wry smile at the young reporter, “Imagine my shock when we find out that sour Castle had been infiltrated by a creature that hated everything.”
Flawless chuckled, “I can…” She shivered a bit.
The reporter mare sat on the chair, looking between the Prince, who had begun going back to his paperwork, and the device that sat on the table next to him. Over time, her shivers and shudders subsided until they ended entirely. Shining occasionally glanced back over to her, but she either turned away or had her eyes closed.
When I offered her to stay, I didn’t think it would be, he glanced at a nearby clock on the wall, half an hour… he looked back at her, then again, it took me a month to get over the fact that that and creatures like 106 exist. He turned back to the paper on his desk, something about how the current situation had affected trade between companies in Equestria and companies in the Crystal Empire. Surprising she didn’t ask about that, or our current response to the threat, he looked out a window, or where Princess Cadance is…
Shining heard the chair move. He turned and Flawless had already begun to trot to the door. “I… Thank you, your majesty, for allowing me to get my head in order,” She magically levitated her notepad and pencil over to her, “I… guess I hope to see you in the future?” She half stated, half asked.
“Good luck to you and your future career, Miss Charm.” Shining nodded back, “If we do see each other in the future, please use the proper channels, you can imagine the scandal there would be-”
“Yeah,” She interrupted, “I’m Sure Princess Cadenza would have both your and my head mounted on a fireplace.” She laughed dryly. She blinked, Shit, “Wait, where is Princess Cad-”
The door to the situation room opened in a with a reckoning, gaining both the young reporter’s and Prince’s attention. “Your highness,” the exasperated stallion said, “We have received word that two human flying machines are on their way.” It was only then that the stallion noticed Flawless Charm, “Who-”
“Flawless Charm,” She smiled as she stuck out her hoof, “Rep-”
She barely got past the first syllable, “Should I have her removed sir?”
Both pairs of eyes found their way to Shining, She’s already heard they’re on their- His eyes widened, “They’re on their way and you’re concerned with removing a lone reporter?” Shining asked, making the stallion freeze up, “For Celestia’s sake,” Shining Armor’s voice rose, “Deploy the guard!”
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DING DING, We've found the EaW Player!
10415723
I actually wrote a EAW story a while back.
https://www.fimfiction.net/story/472332/equestria-at-war-the-end-of-an-empire
10416135
Oh wait YOU’RE the one who made that. I keep forgetting who writes what every now and then.
Hopefully shining doesnt let his emotions get the better of him when they arrive, cause it would mean his prior guard training and likely officer training would have been for naught if he cant even control himself
Real excitement happening next chapter! Xd
Oh, boy, this will be interesting to watch happen!
-Senior Researcher Schwabauer
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also can you Please add half-cat