Recollections

by ShiningBeacon

Starting for Real

Shining Armor relaxed as water flowed over his body, letting the hot shower work out the tension that had been building in his muscles all week. After a passionate make out session he’d started feeling exhausted again, so he said goodnight to Cadance and returned to the officers’ barracks to get some sleep. Even though he was ready to drop, he still couldn’t shake the feeling he’d forgotten something important. After lying in bed for an hour, he’d giving up trying to sleep for the time being and tried to relax. He’d gone for a walk, cleaned his weapons and armor, and was now resorting to standing in the shower with the heat almost hot enough to scald him. He sighed as the muscles in his back and neck slowly loosened, his tension headache starting to ease. He stood there for a couple more minutes as the water continued its work, then decided he was sufficiently relaxed enough to go to sleep. He turned off the water then grabbed his towel and started walking back to his bed. He was almost to the door when he heard muffled pounding. Turning back, he checked to make sure that he was alone in the bathroom. While both nicer and more private then the ones used by the guards, the officers’ bathrooms were still communal in nature.

“Hello? Is somepony here?” He stepped back into the bathroom, looking around for the source of the noise. He hadn’t heard or seen anyone else come in while he was in the shower, which was a little odd, but he was tired and everyone was working overtime while there was a threat to the city, so he hadn’t thought much of it. Walking through the bathroom, he noticed the noises seemed to be coming from the sink area.

“Hello? Everything okay?” He stood in front of the sinks, confused. The pounding was definitely coming from here but he couldn’t see anything causing it. He was about to dismiss the noise as a prank when the pounding become more frantic. He looked up at the ceiling and saw out of the corner of his eye a faint outline of a shadow moving in the mirror. Shining Armor’s ears flattened and his horn glowed as he summoned his magic, ready to cast a spell at any moment.

He stared at the shadow, and realized that the movement wasn’t over or on the mirror, but in it, obscured by the fog on the surface. If this was unicorn magic, it was like nothing he knew about. Moving slowly, he used his towel to wipe away the condensation. When he finished he dropped the towel and stepped back in horror. There, on the other side of the mirror, was his reflection, but not as he stood. The Shining Armor in the mirror was screaming and slamming up against the other side, trying to break out. The real Shining Armor slipped on a puddle and started to scramble back away from his mirror self. This is wrong, this is all wrong. Even as he watched, the cracks started to appear the other Armor started bucking the mirror over and over again. As the cracks got bigger, the screams became more intelligible.

“She’s in danger!”

Shining Armor was rooted in place, unable to force himself to move. Unable to fight or run, or even call for help, he did the only thing he could do.

“W-who’s in danger?”

“Cadance! She’s in danger!”

“What do you mean? I just saw her, she’s perfectly safe!”

“Cadance isn’t Cadance!”

“Wh-what are you talking about?”

“She’s not Cadance! Cadance is in danger, you need to find her!”

“I don’t understand, I’m so confused…”

“No time! She’ll be back at any second, you need to find her!” The repeated kicks had cracked the mirror to the point Shining Armor could no longer see himself through it, though he could still hear him bucking it.
“Help me breakthrough!”

“Who are you? What are you doing here?”

“I’m you, you’re me!” The other bucked the mirror again, and a small piece fell out. Through the gap, Shining Armor could make out his counterpart's eye staring back him.

“That makes no sense!”

“There’s no time! We have to-“ the pounding stopped. “Too late. She’s here.”

“Who’s here?”

“Listen to me,“ the other Armor said, “you need to remember: SHE’S NOT REAL. You need to find her.” The cracks in the mirror began to shrink.

“FIND WHO?”

“Cadance!” The cracks slowly faded in reverse, as though the mirror suddenly remembered it was supposed to be whole.

“But Cadance isn’t missing.” The fog began to cover the mirror again. “I don’t understand, Help me understand what you’re saying!” He saw the fog cover everything except the hole where the other Armor's eye gazed through, clearly terrified of something. The other Armor was shouting, but it came through muffled, as it had earlier. However, this time it began to echo off the walls of the bathroom, growing louder with each repetition.

Find Her. Find Her. Find Her. Find Her.

"Find Her"

---

Shining Armor woke up. He was still lying in Cadance’s bed, the echoes of his dream fading even as he struggled to recall it. The first thing he saw was his fiancée standing over him, the glow of her horn winking out just as he opened his eyes. She stared at him, a look of concern on her face.

“Ugh. What happened?” He asked groggily.

“You started thrashing in your sleep. What did you see?” Cadance’s voice was cold and unpleasant, which stuck Shining as unusual for some reason he couldn’t quite recall.

“I… I don’t remember. I think you were in danger?” Cadance’s posture relaxed slightly, then she leaned over to nuzzle him softly.

“It was probably just the stress causing nightmares, darling.” Her silhouette towered over him, her back to the open window casting her face in shadow. She was as beautiful as ever, her hair perfect even though she had to have slept alongside him. So why did he feel something was off about her?

Wait. Shadow. He looked at the window, seeing the sun starting to peak over the horizon. Shit. I overslept again.

“Right.” Shining Armor sat up, groaning as his muscles protested in a way they hadn’t since he was in the academy. I’m too young to feel this old. Ignoring the pain, he rolled out of bed. “I need to go.”

“You need to rest, Shiny. You haven’t been yourself,” Cadance gave him a gentle smile, ”Come sit and eat some breakfast with me. Enjoy the morning for once.” Shining Armor rolled his eyes. I’m not the only one who hasn’t been themselves late- The thought was cut off by a sudden, blindingly painful headache. He clutched his head and shut his eyes, hoping the pain would recede. It didn’t. He stumbled towards the door, too disoriented to notice the upturned edge of a rug that lay in the center of the floor. Falling to the ground, he lay there in agony for a while, unable to focus on anything but the pain. Eventually the pain started to fade and he realized Cadance was sitting beside him, slowly rubbing his back.

“Oh, you poor thing. Here, drink some water, you’ll feel better.” A glass of water floated in front of him, hovering just about the floor. He sipped it gingerly. The water was unusually refreshing, and he felt the aftershocks of the headache begin to fade as he drank. By the time he was finished the pain was gone, as were any thoughts he’d had before the sudden headache. Sitting up, he returned the glass to Cadance, giving her a kiss for good measure.

“Thank you, Cadance, but I really must be going. I’m overdue to replenish the shield again, and I’m late for my shift.”

“Dear, you can’t expect to be of use to anyone while like this! Besides, your shift today is already covered.”

“What?” Shining Armor asked, baffled. Cadance shrugged.

“Well, after you passed out last night, I realized you were in absolutely no condition to protect anypony. So, I informed Celestia and the guard that you were unwell and would not be able to attend to your duties today.”

“Cadance! You can’t do that! I’m perfectly able-“

“Oh, I’m sorry, I’m new here, is falling asleep while kissing your lover normal for you?”

“Of course not-“

“Well then it is my decision as Princess that you are too tired to attend to your duties, and must therefore spend the day in bed. Preferably with me, where I said I would be as well, seeing how I too suddenly felt under the weather.” She turned and walked over to the table where a single hot breakfast sat ready to be eaten, then gave him a smirk. “Of course, I could just tell the Princess that I’m feeling better and can go about my day as planned, leaving you here alone instead.”

Shining wavered. A war raged inside him between duty and desire, and duty was in serious danger of being routed. The chance to spend a full day with Cadence for the first time since… well, he didn’t think they ever had spent a full day alone together. Steeling himself, he clung to the last unshakable fact preventing him from crawling back into bed.

“But what about the shield,” he asked, “no one else knows the how to utilize the spell matrix I’ve been using to maintain the dome over the city. I have to return to my post!”

“Just cast the shield spell from the door, Darling. No need to publicize the fact both of us are blowing off our jobs while in the same apartment.” She winked at him, sending a pleasant shiver down his spine. “Other ponies might get the wrong idea.”

How terrible.

“Very well, then. For you.” A few minutes later he was chatting with Cadance, enjoying having a hot meal and nothing to do for the first time in a long time. When he asked Cadance where her breakfast was, she smiled and said she’d eaten while he slept. Afterwards he went into the bathroom to freshen up, though he was very reluctant to look in the mirror for some reason.

Afterwards he joined Cadance in the poster bed for snuggling, which led to kissing and nips on ears. However, after a few minutes she pushed him away and produced a familiar book.

“Now then, mister, I believe you owe me a few more stories before we get carried away.” Shining Armor tried to slide the book away and roll on top of her at the same time, but he found himself blocked on both counts. After several unsuccessful attempts to coax her back into foreplay, he gave a sigh of defeat and flipped open the scrap book to where they left off the previous night.

---

3 Months Later…

A lot had changed in the months since Shining Armor and Barrel Roll had arrived. The height of summer was upon them, and with it came the hottest, most grueling heat waves. The rain schedule out here in the wilderness was intermittent, with almost a week between the sweet relief rains brought to the Camp. Unfortunately, the Drill Instructors did not have a similar schedule, rousting the troops from their beds at the crack of dawn and leading them through grueling exercises every day. After a break for a light meal, it was right back to training, mixing workouts with obstacle courses and endurance marches in the afternoon. Now, those months of effort were beginning to pay dividends. Every day they were running just a little bit faster, marching a little bit longer, pushing themselves a little bit further. While in a rush one morning, Shining Armor accidentally threw his cot and footlocker across the room with magic. Barrel Roll, already in top shape when he arrived, could now fly for days without landing. Spear Head had been picked out by the Drill instructors as ‘soft’ when they had arrived, now the muscles in his back and chest ripped like a stream when he flew. Yellow Cake, who’d been at the very upper limit of acceptable age for recruits stood taller and moved with a liveliness that had been missing when he’d boarded the train in Canterlot.

Together they watched as their fellow trainees were slowly whittled away by the challenges presented to them. Some fell prey to the strain on their bodies and minds, others were forced out due to injuries they sustained. When they had arrived here, there had been almost 500 ponies who had signed up. Barely half of those remained. One morning, after returning from a brutal three day march, Shining Armor awoke to discover that he and Rare Breed were the only unicorns left in their barracks, the rest having quit or been discharged during the night. For Shining, the only thing keeping him going was the mutual support from his friends and the letters he received from home. Every night before sleeping, he would take out the letters he’d received and read through them, fighting back tears as he shared in their lives a world away. Occasionally, he’d find time to write back to them, telling them about his new friends or about how much he’d changed. Today’s letter was of an entirely different sort.

Dear Mom, Dad, Twily, Spike,

I Made It.

Yesterday they told us that the Physical portion of boot camp was completed, and that every one of us would pass on to combat training at the start of next week. If you heard a faint cheering yesterday evening, that was us. As you know, it’s been a tough couple of months, but worse than that, it’s been extremely boring. Everypony is ready to get on with the REAL training, and that includes the Drill Instructors as well. I miss you guys like crazy still, but I’m staying busy, and I’ll be even busier soon, so if I send fewer letters in the future, don’t worry.

I sent the letters all at once this time, I hope you guys read this one first, I’ll tie it…

Why am I telling you this? I’ll just do it and it will be obvious.

I included separate letters for you all*, just give everypony theirs. If Picture Perfect isn’t there, give it to her when you see her next. I love you all.

Your Son, Brother, and BBBFF

Shining Armor folded the letters and slide them into separate envelopes, then checked the time. If he hurried he could drop them off before the weekly train back to Canterlot left for the weekend. He ran out the door and sprinted towards the administrative office that had the rickety wooden box that the camp used as a postbox. As he reached the building, he opened the door with his magic and charged into the room, then turned a corner and ran face first into another pony. Letters scattered as Shining Armor and the unlucky pony tumbled over each other onto the tiled floor.

“Ow.”

Shining Armor raised his head and saw, to his horror, Rare Breed’s crumpled form lying next to him.

“Prince!” Shining Armor scrambled up and helped the prince to his feet. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine.” Rare Breed straightened his uniform as he glared at Shining Armor. “What on earth has gotten into you, running like Cerberus himself was chasing you?”

Shining Armor blushed, humiliated. Ever since arriving here, Prince Rare Breed had gone out of his way to bond with his fellow recruits, supporting stragglers on long marches and trying to use what little political influence he had back home to improve Camp Nowhere ramshackle conditions. His willingness to suffer and train alongside commoners, rather than accepting a military commission as a political appointment had earned the respect of everyone on base, Shining Armor included.

And Shining Armor just knocked him on his ass.

Shit.

“I-I am so sorry, my liege, I was trying to drop my letters off before the train leaves…” Shining Armor desperately hoped that didn’t sound as pathetic to Rare Breed as did to him, now that he’d said it out loud.

To his surprise, Rare Breed’s face softened, and he nodded. “Very well then.” His horn glowed, and the scattered letters lifted off the floor and floated in a neat stack next to Shining. “Deliver your messages, then return to me.”

A wave of relief washed over Shining. “Yes Sir!” He grabbed the letters with his teeth, ignoring the slight buzz caused by Rare Breed’s magic aura and trotted down the hallway. The process of addressing the letters only took a few minutes and soon he was back in the hall, standing awkwardly next to the prince.

“Walk with me, Mr. Armor.” Shining Armor followed Rare Breed down the hall and out of the Administrative building. Rare Breed was silent until they were out of the building. “Tell me about them.”

“Who?”

“Who the letters were for. I’m curious as to who could inspire such passion in the heart of one of my fellow soldiers as to trample over anything, or anyone, in their way.”

“Right. Sorry about that. Again.”

Rare Breed chuckled. “Your minor transgression is forgiven, have no fear.” He winked at Shining Armor, “However, it is generally polite to answer the questions of those one has trampled.”

“Right.” Shining Armor flushed again. “I was writing to my family back in Canterlot. Some of the messages were a little time sensitive, so I was trying to beat the train.” They came to the edge of the parade grounds, an open dirt square in the middle of the camp that was the site of their morning rally and early exercises. One side of the field had a low fence along the perimeter, the side they now approached from. Rare Breed sat down under the fence in the shade and motioned to Shining to sit next to him. Once he was seated, Rare Breed continued.

“So tell me about them. How are they holding up? They can’t be all bad if you missed them so much when we got here.”

“They’re doing okay, I guess. Mom’s set to get a promotion soon, and Dad wants to take her to Las Pegasus to celebrate it.” He gave Rare Breed a lopsided grin. “I’m guessing they’ll leave Twily and Spike when they go.”

“Siblings?”

“Yeah, two. My little sister and adoptive brother, Spike the Dragon.” He watched Rare Breed out of the corner of his eye to see his reaction. He was not disappointed. Rare Breed sat up, his eyes wide and nostrils flared as he stared at Shining.

“A Dragon you say..?”

“Yep.” Pride swelled his chest as he spoke. “Hatched by my sister when she went in for her entrance exam for Princess Celestia’s school for Gifted Unicorns. Nopony had ever seen anything like it!”

“And now she’s Celestia’s personal student.” Rare Breed grinned at Shining Armor. “Don’t act so surprised. You don’t spend as much time as I have growing up in Canterlot’s court and not hear about the amazing Twilight Sparkle and her gift with magic.” The corner of his smile twitched. “Your parents must be very proud.”

“All of us were. Although, when Princess Celestia decided that Spike would come live with us, things were pretty crazy for a while. Baby proofing a house is one thing, but baby-dragon proofing a house is another.”

“I suppose it would be, at that. What about your mother and father, what do they do?”

“Dad works in the ministry of public services. He’s in charge of the lighting infrastructure. Mom works for Reined In, that fashion shop at the corner of 23^rd and Hoofington. She’s an assistant manager there now, but they’re promoting her as soon as her boss Mink Sash retires.”

“Fascinating.”

Shining Armor got the distinct impression that Rare Breed was anything but fascinated by this topic.

“What about your family? I don’t know as much about your parents as I probably could. What’s it like, growing up in the palace? Did you see the Princesses?”

“Not as much as you would think,” Rare Breed snorted. “Hardly at all really. The Palace grounds are huge, and my parents… well, my family isn’t exactly favored by the Princess right now, so they did their best to keep me out of her way, lest I cause more trouble.” He pursed his lips, then sighed. “My father… well, he used to be somepony, back before my grandfather was accused of treason.”

“Oh.” Shining Armor sat in silence. What could you say to something like that? “Oh, you mean Attempted Treason right? Since, you know, it obviously didn’t work.” After a minute, Rare Breed spoke again.

“Not to say we were particularly well liked before, mind you, it’s just after that my father retired from public life, and I can hardly blame him for that. The stigma I have to deal with is bad enough, I can’t imagine the pressure on him.”

“That’s rough, buddy.”

“Yes, well, it is my pack to bear,” he said with a dramatic sigh. Shining resisted the urge to roll his eyes at the display, choosing instead to become very interested in a ladybug that had crawled onto his leg.

“Speaking of packs, I’m ready to be done with PT.” Shining Armor carefully picked up the insect with his magic and floated it up to the tree branch they were sheltering under. “I don’t know about you, but after months of being screamed at, I’m ready to go toe-to-toe with a couple of our Sergeants, you know?”

“The feeling is mutual, I assure you.” Rare Breed noticed another Lady Bug crawling up his own leg. “The other day, one of them called me something so utterly vile, the mere memory of it makes me want to gag.” His horn flashed, and the ladybug disappeared in a puff of smoke. “And I overheard some of them talking the other day. Apparently I have earned the distinction of my own nickname.”

“Oh really?”

“Yes.” Rare Breed’s visage twisted into a deep frown. “Apparently, I am commonly referred to as ‘Breeder’ among the instructors.” Shining Armor nodded along, his face neutral as he could make it. Barrel Roll started calling you that months ago. I wonder which Drill Sergeant he shared that little joke with.

“Well, don’t let any of instructors see it bothering you. You know what happens when they know they can get under your skin like that.”

“I know that…” He twisted his hoof into the ground next to him. “I’d like to meet whoever came up with that little jest one day and… instruct them on proper respect for the royal family.”

Shit.

“Well, whoever it was, they’ll be long gone from here by the time you’re in a position to do anything about it.”

“Yes, I suppose you’re correct.” Rare Breed grinned. “I suppose I’ll just have to make the most of my time here then.” He gave Shining Armor an intense look. “Can I count on your assistance in this matter?”

Tartarus no.

“Sure,” he lied.

“Excellent.” Rare Breed stood and stretched, “We should be heading back, we’ve a long day ahead of us tomorrow, I dare say we’ll wish for those runs before the sun set tomorrow.”

“I hope not,” Shining Armor chuckled. “Only thing worse they could do is kill us, and they’re not going to do that.”

---

Shining Armor was killed almost immediately.

It wasn’t at all how he imagined. The tragic stories he loved as a foal always made the hero’s death dramatic and impactful, something that changed the course of history, that inspired his allies to greater feats of courage and led to the ultimate downfall of whatever evil threatened the world. He knew better now. Now, he knew that death felt like having the wind knocked out of you, your legs swept and then being sat on by a small mountain of an earth pony.

“So, what did everypony learn?” the husky voice of Drill Sergeant Achy Bones bellowed out at the crowd of onlookers.

“Blocking is good!”

“Stay away from the pointy end!”

“Keep your eye on your enemy’s weapon, not just him.”

Achy Bones grinned. “Very good, Barrel Roll! You’re correct, maintaining awareness on the battlefield, especially of your opponent and his weapons and equipment, are essential to surviving any engagement.” He shifted his position slightly so that instead of sitting on Shining’s barrel, he was now resting in his ribcage, forcing all the air out of Shining’s lungs once again. “Now, another thing to remember is that big, flashy strikes may look pretty, but jabs with your spear are just as effective and require far less effort to achieve a similar effect,” He patted Shining’s withers, “Armor probably expected me to come in with some wide swing that he would be able to block.” Achy Bones eyes gleamed. “That was a mistake.

“We are not in the business of being gentle with our enemies. You are soldiers, sworn to defend the Princesses and the realm. If you meet one of Equestria’s enemies on the battlefield, they will not hesitate to cut you down, and you must be willing to do the same. Ending the threat as quickly as possible will save your life and the lives of your comrades.”

The speech was somewhat lost on Shining Armor, who was still struggling underneath the much larger pony. Desperate and humiliated, his horn lit up as he prepared a spell to launch the Sergeant as far away as possible. Instead, Achy Bones rapped his spear on Shining’s horn, sending a streak of pain through his head and neck and dispelling the magic.

“Another Lesson for those of us who cannot use magic: It is essential that you engage any unicorns in hoof-to-hoof as quickly as possible. A unicorn’s greatest advantage is the ability to attack from a distance, so we counter this by getting up close and introducing them to our best friend Mr. Spear.” He hefted the mock weapon over his head, and one of the pony’s in the crowd whooped. “Now, barring your ability to make your opponent even more intimately familiar with your weapon then you are, your next objective should be to disrupt their ability to cast magic by giving their horn a little tap. As any unicorn can tell you, Horns are as sensitive as your 'cojones' and very nearly as important, so keep that in mind when you are fighting.” At long last the Sergeant stood up, letting Shining Armor breathe properly.

“Now, some of you may be wondering why you are here, learning to fight as an earth pony. The answer is simple: Everything we learn here also applies to you as well. While you may not be assigned to a close combat unit, you must know how to fight without your wings or horn, in case you were to attack an anti-magic field or defend a tight hallway.

“Your Commanders will do their very best to give you an ideal battlefield, but as in all matters, sometimes things may be… less than ideal. In those cases, you need to be able to defend yourself and support your fellow soldiers, and today, we’re going to begin to learn how to do that.” He pointed to a large pile of spears with wooden spearheads. “Grab a weapon and rejoin the formation. Be ready in 2 minutes.”

The tight ranks of recruits broke as individuals rushed to grab a weapon. Ignoring the chaos, Achy Bones turned to face Shining Armor, who was struggling to his feet. Shining glared at the drab earth pony, his anger building as he regained his breath. He was about do something stupid when Achy Bones held up a hoof in becalming gesture.

“Shining Armor, I wanted to thank you for assisting me with this little demonstration.” He held out Shining’s practice spear, “Take this and pair up with somepony else.” Mollified, but still not trusting his voice, Shining nodded and took the spear. He began to walk back to the group when Achy Bones called out to him.

“And Shining?”

“Yes, sir?”

“I’ll remind you that during this time, there is to be no magic.” Achy Bones gave him a knowing look. “I’ll forgive this lapse of memory once, but not again. Understood?”

“Clear As Crystal.”

“Good.”

Shining Armor limped back to where he’d been standing next to Barrel Roll, who was eyeing him warily.

“You aright? He asked.

“I’m fine.”

Liar.

Behind him, Achy Bones blew a whistle. “Listen up! The ponies closest to me will strike first with a stab to the chest.” He demonstrated the strike on a dummy that had seemingly materialized out of nowhere.

“Partners, you will take a step back to avoid the strike as they attack, then return to your original position. You and your partners will repeat this attack until I say otherwise. Is that clear?”

“YES, INSTRUCTOR!!”

“On my command…”

---

A knock on the door interrupted Shining’s story. Before he could react, Cadance leapt out of bed and glided over to the door. She motioned for him to hid under the covers, then cracked open the door and peaked outside. Even from beneath the bed’s comforter, Shining could hear she was upset with whoever she was talking to right outside the door, though from his position he couldn’t tell what she was saying, or to whom. After a minute, she closed the door abruptly, locked it, and then returned to the bed.

“Sorry, dear. A princess is never really off duty, you know.” She snuggled into him and wiggled so her wings could extend behind them. “Now where were we?” Sighing softly, he kissed her forehead and turned the page.

Author's Note:

*Letters will be given their own chapter, labeled as 3.5

I have Posted a new blog post with some of my thoughts on the process of writing this chapter, feel free to take a peek at that as well!