Chapter 8: Her Protector
“I’m sorry, Cadance. I just can’t think straight. I’m so worried about her."
Shining Armor sat in front of the flickering fireplace in the castle suite. The reddish light caught the cerulean highlights of his mane, streaking his hair with purple. Cadance sat behind him. She rested her head on his shoulder.
“I don’t want to say, ‘I’m sure she’s fine’. I know that will just eat away at you.” She looked her husband squarely in his tired eyes. “I’ll say that I’m genuinely worried, too. And that as soon as we can, we should try to find her.”
Cadance lifted her head up and stepped in front of Shining, blocking the glow of the fire. “I am sure I speak for both of us in that we refuse to let her just go on her own that way.” She stomped down her hoof, shaking the nearby table lightly. “I know she’s an adult now, but is she really in any condition to be running off?”
“You don’t have to drag yourself into this,” Shining Armor said, turning away from his bride and facing the wall, “I can find her myself.”
“I know I don’t have to, honey. I want to,” Cadance sighed, “even if I didn’t care about Twilight, I can see how much this is affecting you. That’s reason enough.”
“You didn’t hear what she said to me, Cadance,” Shining Armor said, “I’ve never been so perplexed and helpless. There was nothing I could do to stop her.”
“What sort of things did she say?”
“It was all incoherent. It was like she was trying to explain two years’ worth of dreams to me in one breath. And she sounded deeply hurt by it.”
“Why didn’t you tell me about any of this sooner?” Cadance said, her voice filled with the ire born of concern.
“I couldn’t even begin to collect my thoughts. All of this happened so suddenly. It was only a few days ago that I stood on that altar with you. In all of that chaos with the changelings, I was powerless. And now, my sister wakes up, shouts at me, and leaves, and once again, I can’t do anything.”
“You can do something,” Cadance started, “No, we can do something. We can go to Celestia. I’m sure she can figure something out.”
“You don’t think I’ve tried that?” Shining Armor said, anger tingeing his voice. “Every time I’ve tried to make contact with Celestia, I’ve gotten nothing. And with what Twilight said to me before she left, this is all too disturbing.”
“She said something about Celestia?”
“Well,” Shining Armor looked to Cadance, and his voice grew more dismal, “when I mentioned that she should go see the Princess, she nearly fainted. She acted as if Celestia had done something to her. She sounded terrified to her core.”
“Are you implying that my aunt somehow scarred her?”
“No!” Shining said, swinging his head, “Twilight obviously has had some issue, real or not, with Celestia. So it’s intuitive that if there’s any substance to it, Celestia would know about it.”
“True,” Cadance said, “I mean, I can see why you would be suspicious. Both teacher and student are exhibiting odd behavior.”
“It was beyond odd, Cadance,” he said, “there were countless bizarre things she said to me before she left. Some of them weren't even words; they were just thoughts that had been scrambled before they made it out of her mouth. And she made this wild accusation about Celestia, calling her a ‘lie’.”
“That is it, Shining Armor,” Cadance said, lifting herself up and facing the door. “We are speaking with Celestia, this instant. I don’t know what to think about any of this.”
“You’re right,” he said, quickly levitating over a poker and shovel to the fireplace. He separated the logs and covered the smoldering fire with ash. “There’s no reason she cannot speak to us.”
With a nod from Shining Armor, the two rushed out of the door and into the Canterlot evening. They wove through the frost-tinged verdant hedges of the garden. Cadance looked over to her husband as they trotted, seeing the dejection on his face. She lowered her head, her tail stilled and her gait slowed.
After a few minutes of walking, they had reached the front entrance. They dashed through the foyer. The foyer was once again nearly empty. When they walked up the carpeted stairway and up to the double-doors that led to the throne room, they were met with the stern faces of two guards, with wings crossed over the door.
“Let us through,” Shining said, “I have an important inquiry to make with the Princess.”
The guards remained silent, their wings unwavering.
Shining Armor snarled. “What sort of insubordination is this? I am your captain. You report to me, first and foremost. Stand down and let us through.”
One of the pegasi whipped out a scroll from his armor. He spoke in an atonal voice. “We have direct orders from the Princess to not permit any entrance. Your standing does not overrule this, captain.”
“Of all the—”
“Guards,” a muffled voice from behind the door called. The guards instantly diverted their attention to its source. “Let the stallion in. Please escort my niece back to her room.”
“What?!” Shining Armor scraped at the floor with his hoof. “She stays here. There’s no reason why she can’t—”
“Honey, I’ll be fine,” Cadance said, “if she doesn’t want to deal with me, that’s her decision. Don’t stay out too late, though.”
With that, the guards departed with Cadance in tow. Shining could not help but watch as she gave a reassuring parting glance before the front door of Canterlot castle shut behind them.
The large double-doors to the throne room creaked open as he slipped in. Celestia stood only about a yard away from the entrance. She gazed down upon him imposingly.
“What is this about?” Shining Armor said, looking directly into the Princess’s eyes. “Why are you commanding my guards? They are under my jurisdiction.”
“I apologize, Shining Armor,” Celestia said, “I assumed that, since you are newly married, that you would rather have time to spend with your bride, rather than writing out commands.”
“That doesn’t mean I want you to—”
“If I am not mistaken,” Celestia interrupted, “you didn’t come here to talk about your men. You came here to discuss Twilight Sparkle.”
“You are correct, Your Highness,” he said, “but why my bride cannot be present for such discourse is beyond me.”
“I do this only out of consideration for my niece, Shining Armor. Such discussions are not intended for the softer-hearted.”
“What could you possibly say that she could not handle?”
“We shall see, Shining Armor,” Celestia said.
Shining Armor shook off the confusion from Celestia’s vague statement. “What do you know about Twilight’s condition and the means by which she woke?”
“I know nothing but that her dragon companion was somehow responsible for her awakening.”
“She stated that to me. Do you know her motives for leaving, and in such a hurry?”
“No.”
“She did not tell you?”
“She did not.”
“I assumed she had met with you before she came to me,” he said, “am I right?”
“She did no such thing.”
“Then why, pray tell, did she come running to me in hysterics, accusing you of being a liar?” Shining Armor said, furrowing his brow.
“You honestly trust the judgment of a mare who believes—” Celestia stopped herself, covering her mouth with her wing and turning her head to the side.
“Who believes what?” Shining Armor said, taking a step to the side and staring angrily into Celestia’s quivering eyes. He pondered for a moment, rubbing a hoof beneath his chin. “You’re hiding something, aren’t you?”
Celestia remained silent. She averted her gaze from Shining Armor’s sharp eyes, looking around the throne room.
“I doubted my sister. Of course I did. But you’re doing an amazing job of affirming my suspicions.”
“And what are those suspicions?” Celestia asked, still refusing to make eye contact again.
“I’m unsure, at this point. But I’m certain that whatever happened before she came to me was shattering to her. And, forgive me, Your Highness, but I have no reason not to assume that you were the cause.”
“Stop right there, Shining Armor,” Celestia boomed. She flapped her massive white wings, blowing gusts of wind at his face. “Regardless of your standing in my family, you do not accuse me of such an act.”
“You are doing nothing but validating my accusations, Princess.”
“How dare you. I would never mistreat my protégé. I care for her more than nearly any other citizen of Equestria. She is like a daughter to me. I was devastated upon discovering her that one morning. And I was thrilled to hear that she had awoken. And you have the gall to state that I had done something to harm her?”
“You don’t care about her at all. You’ve been locked up in here ever since the news that she woke up had reached you. You’ve made no effort to pinpoint her location. You’ve been sending out royal orders to keep anyone from seeing you, but not to find your beloved protégé.”
Bolts of magic radiated from Celestia’s horn, sending sparks downward, singeing the carpet. “You spoiled little child! I generously offer my niece’s hoof in marriage to you. I entrust you with one of the most prestigious duties in all of Canterlot! And one demented mare’s ramblings send you off in a fit of disrespect?”
“She is not demented. I am left to assume that whatever she was trying to say you did to her was entirely true, and was enough to completely shake her to the point of hysteria.” Shining Armor turned from the Princess and began walking towards the door, swishing his tail angrily. “You are of no use to me. I am going to find my sister, and she’s going to explain everything she couldn’t manage to before.”
“If you value your marriage to my niece, I advise that you refrain from doing that.”
Shining Armor stopped in his tracks.
“Take one step into Ponyville and you can consider Cadance to be out of your life forever.”
“You can’t! You have no—”
“I am the presiding ruler over this land. And I will not tolerate disobedience, especially from one to whom I have given so much, expecting only gratitude in return.”
Shining Armor held silent, lowering his head to the ground.
“I shall be merciful and allow you to maintain your position as captain of the guard, as well as the right to my niece, so long as you make no mention of this conversation, or of the unicorn known as Twilight Sparkle.”
Shining Armor crawled over to the door and exited. He walked down the stairwell, looking at his hooves as they made gentle contact with the carpeted stairs. He felt another body brush past him. He sluggishly lifted his head.
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Like I said before Celestia is a child...
Please let karma come and teach her a lesson!
1361083 She's a child who's incredibly fun to write
I can't fathom the karmic backlash she deserves.
At first I thought this was going to be a TYRANT!!! Celestia story. Now I'm thinking it's more of a foal Celestia, one that throws tantrums when she doesn't get her way. Only problem is that this foal has a lot of weight to throw around. I'm eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
1361107 Haha, I feel a bit mean since it's already finished and being edited, and, just to be a tease, I'll say it's my favorite chapter so far.
I also think it's a bit jerkass-woobie Celestia, but maybe I'm too nice to her. Most certainly not tyrant, I agree. Trying to avoid that trope.
Cadence: How dare you! How dare you threaten my husband, my marriage! Understand this Aunt, I am the Alicorn of Love and I know all types of love. I have also become quite familiar with hate, from my imprisonment by Chrysalis and feeling it when I help ponies repair their relationships with each other. If you ever do something like this again, I shall drain every bit of love every one of your "little ponies" feel for you. They shall despise you more than Discord!
1361239 Haha, you wanna take over the writing? (Actually, seems pretty in character. May 'borrow' some of this.)
1361239
Questionable, did Discord really happen? The Changelings did but Discord has yet to be mentioned.
1362422 Well, Discord happened, and was stopped by Celestia and the mane 6 sans Twilight nine hundredish years ago. Did "Return of Harmony" happen with the new mane 6? Not saying, but it really doesn't have much bearing on the story anyway.
Im still confused about what really happened to Twilight, did she actually become Celestia's student like in the show, but without the rain-boom or the dragon and all (but then why is spike the one who woke her up? why would he do that to her if he was Celestia's and didnt even know Twilight)
My guess is Twilight did nothing of any sorts and it was all in the dream , but it all starting just 2 years ago? Wouldn't it really then be confusing to Twilight that it changed her foalhood memories, at least when she woke up or some time after?
She did have a little temper tantrum when she woke up, but her mind was messed with for years, true that she has the voices in her head.
Maybe make it so that some places make memories flood into her mind and she falls unconscious.
And this being AU you decide what happened and what has a bearing on the story and what not.
1363320 Well, it's supposed to be confusing because there's currently no confirmation of what is true and what is the fabrication. I'll say that, as stated by Shining Armor, the fabrication only started two years ago (a day before the first episode started), and before then, Twilight was Celestia's student, and yes, Spike exists and was Twilight's assistant.
There are things confirmed in the story that answer some of your questions, just I tend to hint at them rather than state them outright. Twilight is under the impression that Celestia recruits students/proxies by making a fake sonic rainboom and amplifying their magic (Chapter 6). I won't confirm or deny this.
Twilight's trying to sort all of this out, and so are most readers. I will neither confirm nor deny whether or not Celestia retroactively altered Twilight's memories of any time before the fabrication started.
1363495
Aha,the point is that the reader should also be confused, ok then all "makes sense"
Also Mare Child Celestia is a pretty good one. 100% better then just Tyrant Celestia
But the story so far is more Tragedy then Dark.
1363699 Well, I kind of have the readers in the same boat as Twilight, with some extra background. It's not supposed to be "confusing" in that it doesn't make sense, (I have all of the timeline figured out, and all of the differences between Celestia's reality 900 years ago and the fabrication, etc. I'm trying to be thorough), it's just that there are things you don't know, and things you may never know. I hope it's fun to try and piece it all together. It will all make sense, promise.
As for the genre: when I think "tragedy", I think a more traditional literary idea of either a hero rising to fall (Greek/Classical tragedy) or falling to rise (Christian tragedy). This story is not intended to follow that structure. Something can't be both "tragedy" and "sad" in my mind, since the main emotion tragedy is intended to evoke is catharsis rather than just sympathy. Since the story deals so much with Twilight's psychological torment, I consider it to be sad and dark. I may end up dropping the "dark" tag, since it is most associated with gore/rape etc, and the really dark elements are more subtle, but it's definitely not a tragedy in my mind.
Sorry for literary rant.
1363774
In her own head Twilgiht was a hero,had everything she could wish for. Then she woke up to be a nobody with no friends and traumas(the fall).
When i look at a story i take into consideration both what i feel and what i think the character would feel.
Of course everyone is entitled to his opinion and you are the author so you decide.
And most of my confusions about this story come from me reading the first 7 parts in like 1 in the morning , skipping most non dialog
Ill just re-read it properly now. 
I hope Luna interferes and tells the truth about Celestia. She is a bitch that needs to be put down, and a great liar. She doesn't give a shit about anyone other than herself.
Shining should tell Cadance, after all, aren't they the rulers of the Crystal Kingdom?
1364881 Wait till next Saturday.
I know everypony likes Luna.
Don't worry, I'm not done with Cadance and Shining Armor. But I don't know anything about the Crystal Kingdom, since nothing's been established in the show's canon, and it won't be considered in the story. Not sure how that would effect their authority over Celestia, since Ponyville would be under her jurisdiction. Kind of just hand-waving it off, sorry, but since I've already planned out the story, it's not something I will be addressing.
1365275 Just tell me she is getting her just desserts in front of everypony. PLEASE.
1365425 The story would end too quickly if I did that now.
1365435 But... eventually?
1365465 Hmm... not saying. Sorry.
1365499
AHHHHHH!!!!
Anyways, how many chapters do you have planed? You update pretty fast.
1365515 Somewhere in the vein of 20 to 30, but I'm unsure right now. I actually have up to chapter 11 written, but I'm going to slow updates. I'll be updating every Saturday night if possible, to give me time to work out kinks and get a backlog ready. I'm foreseeing a time in which I won't be able to write for a while (taking some intense college courses
) but I want to keep updates consistent.
1365538 WHAT?! HALF A YEAR TO FINISH?! AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
I need to buy some patience on Amazon.
1365547 Oh, sorry. I meant weekly updates for a while, (maybe a month or two) not permanently. If it gets to the point where I have a lot of chapters to publish, I'll work something out. Be patient with me
This is pretty amusing, let's see where it goes!
Also, can't wait for the inevitable fallout.
1369671 Excuse me while I squee for the next five hours.
Thank you. Glad you like it.
We have a hypocritical tyrant with personal influence over one of the only characters who could otherwise do something. I have a feeling that Celestia might end up on the sun later, though.
Very interesting developments. You are weaving an intriguing nexus of character ties; keep at it, but don't get it tangled.
Have a nice day!
--Not a brony