The Day of Discord

by GJT_Productions

Ready to Pass

"Thank you for bringing me this paperwork, Fidelitas. I really appreciate it, considering I'm going to be stuck in here for a while yet."

"Not a problem, sir. I know this stuff still needs doing, despite whatever is going on in Canterlot."

"Certainly, but there's something else I need you to do yet."

"Oh? What is it, Captain?"

"Once Twilight Sparkle and her friends defeat this... whatever... currently plaguing Equestria, I want you to prepare to 'pass the torch' to Shining Armor."

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Lieutenant Captain Fidelitas recoils slightly from what he had just heard coming out of Captain Gibraltar's mouth, because he knew full well what it meant - the de facto resignation of Gibraltar as Captain of the Canterlot Guard and the specific choice of Shining Armor as his successor in the post. It was a tradition carried over from the guards of the unicorn rulers, so Fidelitas knew it would happen at some point. Nevertheless, the timing still alarmed him.

"Sir, are you absolutely sure about doing that? Even with your injuries, you are still capable of performing administrative tasks. Let Shining finish the task Princess Celestia gave him, and then maybe..." Fidelitas begins to object.

"No, Fidelitas. For a very long time, Princess Celestia has made it clear that Shining was to eventually become Captain of the Canterlot Guard one day. I will not stall or deny her will any longer." Gibraltar answers, shaking his head. "The events of the release of 'Discord' will cause the Congress to demand a sacrificial lamb in any case. The easiest thing to do is to offer myself up to Celestia for that task, which will solve two different problems at once."

"Even so, sir, he would still be the youngest Captain of the Guard on record if we went through the process of 'passing the torch'. I'm not even sure Princess Celestia would approve the appointment considering it is rumored he is planning to propose to Princess Cadance in the near future..."

"The truth or falsehood of those rumors are not relevant to whether he can become Captain of the Guard or not - he will be capable of handling both duties, trust me. And you, Lieutenant Captain, should know well how qualified he is to hold the position despite his relative youth. The politicians will pontificate long and hard, as they usually do, but they will approve the appointment in the end because they don't want to look like ungrateful bastards. Especially if Twilight Sparkle and her friends can indeed get us out of this situation."

"And that brings up my other concern, Captain. I believe all this talk is premature when 'Discord' is still loose and causing upset in Equestria."

"That may be true, Lieutenant Captain, but my mind is made up and will not be persuaded otherwise. I don't want to hear any more arguments about this. The process should be ready to begin once 'Discord' is defeated or otherwise under control. Is that clear, Lieutenant Captain?"

"Perfectly, sir."

"Very good. Make sure to have somepony come by every hour on the hour to keep me updated on the current situation while I try to finish this paperwork."

"Yes, sir. Am I dismissed, sir?"

"If this is all the paperwork accounted for, then yes, you are."

As soon as Fidelitas turned away from Captain Gibraltar and got out of earshot, he blew out a sigh. This was certainly not how he, or maybe even Princess Celestia, wanted things to play out, but there was no use in arguing about things now. He would just have to follow what Captain Gibraltar wanted, and hang on for the ride that would follow...

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MEANWHILE, IN CELESTIA'S ROYAL SUITE...

"At least we found Shining alright... what's Aunt Lulu upset about now?" Princess Cadance explains to her aunt Celestia as Lieutenant Steelwing, acting as an escort, warily regards a pouting Princess Luna.

"Something going on with the batponies, they've never been entirely comfortable with going out in the daytime, and Luna thinks they're trying to wriggle their way out of their obligation with fake orders. Hopefully Fidelitas can figure out what exactly is going on with them." Princess Celestia answers.

"Permission to come in, Your Highnesses?" Acting Captain Shining Armor pipes up from just outside the royal suite.

"Permission granted, Captain. I have a few questions to ask of you." Princess Celestia answers, Cadance and Lieutenant Steelwing turning around so that both of them are beside Celestia as Shining Armor cautiously enters the royal suite.

"He should really be getting those batponies doing what I originally ordered them to do!" Princess Luna interjects from her pouting in the corner of the suite.

"The Lieutenant Captain is perfectly capable of untangling that mystery without additional help. The focus needs to be on what happened to both the Elements of Harmony and the ponies supposed to bear them against 'Discord'." Celestia counters, again provoking wary looks in Luna's direction from Steelwing and Shining Armor.

When Luna gives no further objection, at least verbally, Celestia continues on her speech: "Unconfirmed reports is that the Element Bearers have been teleported back to Ponyville along with 'Discord', and I need as much information as I can get out of the Captain, as he was in the maze when the teleportation was triggered."

"I don't have a lot of information to give, Your Highness, but I definitely know the magic possessed by 'Discord' was distorting the area." Shining Armor answers. "I was able to see Twily and some of her friends, and could definitely see he was manipulating them, somehow. Especially Rainbow Dash, who flew away from the maze and seemed to trigger the temporary disappearance of the maze."

"My intuition is confirmed, then." Celestia states, her face turning grim as she does so. A rectangle of yellow magic resolves into a floating screen, showing Discord with Twilight and her friends in the hedge maze - although not on camera himself, Shining Armor does recognize some of the scenes from his recent experience.

"I wondered if Discord's magic was distorting the monitoring spells, but it looks like based on your account the events are at least partly true." the sun princess continues. "With Rainbow Dash gone, I fear any attempt to use the Elements of Harmony will fail miserably. Utilizing 'the backstop' will be necessary, and I must know as soon as possible when to activate it."

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"What does that even mean, Your Highness?" Shining Armor naturally asks, quite puzzled by the cryptic 'backstop' reference.

"You will find out soon enough, Captain, because I want you to come with me and Princess Cadance." Celestia orders. "Lieutenant Steelwing, I want you to stay with Princess Luna and wait for further instructions regarding the batpony situation. If anypony else comes by, I want you to relay that we will not be available until after 'the backstop' is activated, and that this information should also be passed on to Captain Gibraltar in the medical ward."

"Understood, Your Highness." Steelwing replies in a salute, although still looking rather warily at Luna's unhappy mood.

"Come with me, doubletime. Things may need to happen very quickly, I fear." Celestia states to both Cadance and Shining Armor, starting out of the royal suite as she does so.

Shining Armor looks over at Cadance, who only gives a shrug before scrambling to catch up with her aunt. Very quickly, Shining Armor begins doing the same thing, leaving Lieutenant Steelwing in the suite with Luna alone.

"Whatever this plan is, I hope it works..." Steelwing comments to himself, nerves rising about the idea of being alone with an unhappy, sleep-deprived Luna...