The Duty of a Royal Guard.
Pacing the halls with his stomach in knots, Shining Armor’s mind was fogged with the thoughts that could be.
Had he done something wrong? Something to be dismissed from the royal guards entirely? He couldn’t recall doing anything, but maybe it was something that he wouldn’t have thought was bad himself.
Perhaps it was something worse then that? Maybe, much worse then that? A death of a loved one? An injury? Twilight was practically Celestia’s little prodigy after all. Had something happened to her? His beloved younger sister? Something that only Celestia could explain to him?
Gulping deeply his eyes began to grow wide. He was never good at thinking straight when he began to worry, often over thinking. The fact that he was asked to see the Princess right away, and ordered into the waiting room of her official chambers, did absolutely nothing to calm his nerves.
Sometimes your mind can torture you just enough, to the point where it begins to tell you things. Things that you would never dream of doing in your entire life, yet do so on a whim as your brain malfunctions into a pile of brain mushy goop due to being in suspense for too long.
And that is exactly what happened when Shining found himself attempting to jump up high enough to escape the top window and hide into the night. Yes, no one would ever find him in the dark surrounded by tree’s and forest.
Not even when it turned light outside, or when Celestia had ordered thousands of her royal guards to search the entire of equestrian to find a missing pony.
Well what can be said? His brain had malfunctioned into a pile of mushy goop after all.
Slight coughing could be heard. This had quickly turned Shining’s head as he continued to jump like a spring controlling an out of control jack in the box.
Standing tall, with her ivory coat and mane of magnificent colours, was the Princess of the sun. The princess of Equestria in all her glory, she only had one thing to say.
“What are you doing dear?”
Stopping dead in his jump, he knew he had to think quick on his hooves, and fast. As if he was an entirely different pony, his brain had asked himself that question too. How exactly, was he going to survive a fall from the highest point in the castle?
Coughing, he decided to smoothly wiggle himself out of the matter.
“Checking the floors your highness. You never know when you might find a weak tile you step on, and then POW”
Shining Armor had karate chopped, and pounced into the air for the effect of his next words to linger. “A princess is down, natural order destroyed, the nation of Equrestria falls. But you mark my words, not on my watch”
Standing completely still, Celestia blinked softly. “Uh hu… Yes well… Come right in Shining Armor…” She said the words delicately, but also spaced out enough to imply it was all she could say.
Gulping he followed her inside her quarters.
Sighing with heavy regret, she looked outside her window, clearly troubled by something. With the most terrible thoughts clogging her mind, she shook her head, as if she shook it enough, she just might shake the problem away itself.
Biting his lip, he began to Stallion up. He was a member of the royal guards after all, protecting the princess was a big part of his duty, and so holding his head up high, he tried his best to comfort her.
“Is something the matter, your highness?” He asked clearly.
Sighing, she nodded. “Yes there is. And I am going to need your help in making sure Equestria doesn’t fall into the wrong hooves.”
With his eyes as wide as basket balls, his ears collapsed backward onto his head, as a reluctant, yet natural reflex.
“M-My help?” His words trying to come out powerful, yet not doing.
Nodding her head, she turned to him.
“Our world, it runs off natural power from the most powerful things that surround us. One of those things? It’s love.” Her voice began to become more desperate and frantic with every word that dripped off her tongue and out her muzzle.
“There are many types of Love Shining. Without the power of it, we wouldn’t be able to fall into it, or create platonic love between family members, or feel the special love that creates friendship itself. It’s one of the most powerful magics Equestria has”
Shining nodded, he could see what the princess meant. Love was just as important as water they needed to drink, or food to eat. It was in fact, what helped Equestria’s natural balance go round.
“I understand your highness, but what does this have to do with me helping?” He enquired, wondering just how his jigsaw piece fit snugly into this puzzle.
“Ah yes” Said the princess, understanding his curiously had most likely got the better of him now. She had kept him waiting outside for such a long time, the poor colt. Although she had no choice as she had to put her plan into action before she called upon his company.
A single sentence, which created a rising panic within the young stallion was spoken. “Somepony wishes to steal that power”
“But how? Why!?” Shining’s voice hysterically shouting, vexed at the thought somepony could even think to do just a thing.
“A rising threat that understands the order of love, wishes to capture the one who holds this power, and enslave her forever. With the knowledge he has, using the power from her, it’s possible that…” The princess trailed off. The sentence fading away into almost a whimper.
Gulping once again, Shining knew that the loss of words did not symbolise a good thing. But standing tall, he was determined to help.
“Enslave her? Do you mean… Miss Cadance?” Shining had knew her from the days of Twilight being foalsat by her. He had never understood her power fully, but he remembered how kind she used to be.
Nodding her head she trotted over to him. Her eye contact set onto him, the words that left her mouth were nothing but serious.
“Shining Armor? I’m going to need you to disappear with Cadance, without a trace”
