The Artifact

Shining Armor gave a contented sigh as he set down the last file he had to read that day. Nothing complicated, nothing gruesome, just tactics and intelligence. He dragged a hoof down his face as he leaned back in his chair.

"Only one more item on the to do list..." He mumbled to himself as he got to his hooves. He opened his desk drawer and pulled out a small silver rank insignia. One of his guards was long overdue for a promotion, and it was time to surprise that guard by giving it to him. Unfortunately he had to get approval from Celestia first, but he knew she'd give it to him without much question. He slowly made his way to the door of his office, stepped outside, then proceeded to close and lock the large oak door. Putting on a smile for the diplomats that could often be found walking down the halls of Canterlot Castle, he quickened his pace and hurried to the throne room. It wasn't far from his office, and as usual he was able to get to it within five minutes. He noticed with great displeasure that not only were the massive throne room doors closed, they were sealed shut by magic so only the guard outside the doors would be able to open them. Shining Armor sighed and turned to the grey-coated unicorn guard outside the doors.

"Any chance you can get me in there, Swift?"

It was no secret that Shining Armor knew almost every one of the castle guards by name. He made a personal effort to make sure he did, and it paid off in full. The guards respected him as their Captain more as a result, and he also noticed they seemed more comfortable around him as a result. Even now, Shining Armor noticed Swift break his stone "one duty face" to frown at Shining Armor, though only for a moment.

"Sorry, Sir, but I have orders from Celestia herself sayin' that nopony is allowed in th' throne room until further notice." Swift glanced awkwardly around the halls with only his eyes to ensure nopony was listening before leaning in to speak in a conspiratorial whisper. "Though I'm not gonna lie, sometimes I think you ought ta be th' one sittin' in th' big chair in there."

Shining Armor chuckled to himself.

"Believe me, Swift. That's the last chair in the world I ever want to sit in."

"You an' me both, Sir." Swift replied as he resumed his position of rigid attention.

"Please, Swift, we can be on a first name basis here."

"Not while we're in uniform, Sir. I know how you are about droppin' formalities, but I'm afraid I just can't do that, Sir."

Shining Armor laughed as he clapped Swift on the back with a hoof.

"Understood, Second Lieutenant Swift," Shining Armor said with a cocky grin before continuing. "Well, when Celestia lets you open those doors, you let me know. Keep your telepathy spell ready."

Swift cocked an eyebrow at Shining Armor.

"Uh, can't I just tell you, Sir? I mean, you're right here..."

"Sorry, Swift, but I've got some errands to run. I'll be around when those doors open," Shining Armor said with a salute before trotting off. As soon as he rounded the corner, he checked his surroundings to make sure nopony was watching. As soon as he knew the coast was clear, his horn glowed violet and he pressed it against the wall of the throne room.

Let's see what the fuss is about... Shining Armor thought to himself as he began his eavesdropping session.

"You three are to protect...to protect this mare with your lives, do you understand? No harm is to come to her, no matter what the cost, and each one of you is going to have to be at the top of your abilities. The heart of the Everfree Forest is a dangerous place, no matter how well trained you are."

Shining Armor instantly recognized Celestia's voice, and caught the noticeable pause in her speech. He knew right then that his magic had been noticed, but it didn't matter to him. What mattered to him was why Celestia found that protecting a VIP was such an important mission that it couldn't go through his office.

Something's not right here... Shining Armor thought to himself.

"Understood, ma'am. It will be done."

Shining Armor's jaw dropped when he heard Arcane Fire's voice.

"She's sending Wraiths to protect a VIP? That doesn't make sense at all..." He muttered to himself.

"I hope you learn something from this assignment, Delta." Celestia said warmly, dropping her "strictly business" tone of voice to speak as if she were a mother talking to her children. "Twilight is very wise, despite her youth. She can teach you a great many things. Who knows, maybe you'll even learn something about yourselves along the way."

Shining Armor's jaw hit the floor. When he managed to pick it back up, his face twisted into a storm of pure, unadulterated fury. He immediately pulled away from his eavesdropping session and made his way back to the large double doors to the throne room. When he got back to the large entryway, he nodded to Swift.

"Open the doors." Shining Armor ordered. Swift shifted uncomfortably. Despite his respect for Shining Armor, he had no desire to disobey a direct order from Celestia herself.

"You know I can't do that, Sir. Although I'd sooner take an order from you than Celestia any day-"

"I said, OPEN THE DOORS!" Shining Armor barked angrily. Unfortunately for Shining Armor, Swift held his ground, taking an offensive stance in the event that Shining Armor tried to muscle through.

"I'm sorry, Sir, but I can't do that." Swift reiterated sternly. "As I said, I have orders from Celestia herself that nopony is to be allowed inside, not even-"

Before Swift could finish his sentence, a golden glow enveloped the doors and the slowly swung open. Shining Armor grunted and stormed through them, not even blinking as they slammed shut behind him.

"Shining Armor! What in Equestria do you think you're doing eavesdropping on me?!" Celestia demanded. Fire burned in her eyes as she stared down the captain of her personal guard, yet even the wrath of the Sun itself couldn't stop him in his own fury.

"What in Equestria do you think you're doing sending Wraiths to escort my sister on a dangerous mission?!" Shining Armor roared back, unphased by Celestia's piercing glare. "Why in Equestria are you sending her on a dangerous mission in the first place?! And why in Equestria did you feel the need to keep it a secret from me?!" Shining Armor had finally finished his approach to the throne, and now stood fuming before it. He knew that his actions went beyond insubordination and borderlined on treason, but he didn't care. Even Celestia was shocked, but her fury was enough to keep her standing firm.

"Shining Armor, you will mind your place in my court!" Celestia roared. "Your actions give me every reason to strip you of your position in my guard! Not to mention that this is an assignment that Twilight personally requested, not one that I called her to!"

"I DON'T CARE!" Shining Armor fired back as he stamped his hoof. He took a deep breath and composed himself, knowing that Celestia would easily win any shouting match he could bring. "If Twilight is going on a mission for the crown, I'm going with her."

Celestia sighed and dragged a hoof down her face.

"Again, Shining Armor she's not doing this for me, she's doing this for herself! Besides, you know you can't just leave. I need you here, in Canterlot. This is where you belong now, keeping the nation ready for anything. I didn't want you to know about this assignment because I knew you'd be distracted knowing that your sister was putting herself on the line." Celestia paused as Shining Armor shot her a glare cold enough to freeze molten lava. It was all she could manage to keep herself from exploding at Shining Armor's insubordination as she tried to make him understand her position. "I can assure you that she'll be well protected, but for now I need you here to keep things in order at home."

"Princess, if doing my job means staying behind while Twilight leaves for whatever dangerous task she's going on, then you can consider me resigned." Shining Armor paused to let that sink in, before lowering his head and sighing. "I'm not losing her, too." Shining Armor winced at his own words as he realized what he said. As soon as he said it, all of the wrath left Celestia's face, replaced with a mask of pity.

"You miss him very much, don't you?" Celestia stated more than asked. Shining Armor simply nodded and sighed. There was no use in trying to hide his emotions anymore. He didn't cry, but the hole that was left inside him was immediately filled with a lead weight.

"He was like my younger brother. I still haven't forgiven myself for...for what happened." Shining Armor looked away, unable in his moment of weakness to meet Celestia's gaze. Celestia placed a hoof on his shoulder, and Shining Armor gratefully accepted the comforting gesture.

"It wasn't your fault, Shining Armor," Celestia said as she stepped down from her throne. She made her way to Shining Armor and sat back on her haunches next to him, offering whatever support she could while maintaining a regal air about her. "There was nothing you could have done."

"It was my job to protect him!" Shining Armor exclaimed, stamping his hoof for emphasis. "It was my job to make sure he got home safely! Especially on a simple patrol like that! It was a milk run at worst, and-"

"You were ambushed by the last enemy you ever could have expected, with the last tactics you ever could have expected," Celestia said reassuringly. "You did everything you could have done."

"It should have been me." Shining Armor groaned bitterly. "I should be the one underground. It would be better that way...Especially for...you know..." Shining Armor trailed off, leaving Celestia to fill in the blank. She did so immediately, and again a wave of pity washed over her.

"Do you honestly think that losing you would have been any easier for Twilight? Do you think that losing you would have been easier for him?" Celestia asked calmly. Shining Armor sighed for what seemed to be the thousandth time that night. Every time this particular stallion was brought up he wholeheartedly wished it had been himself that was killed. For himself and for his sister. After all, why could he have Cadence when his sister was left without her own lover? Why did he have to deal with the pain of losing his closest friend? Why did he have to hold a dying stallion and tell him that everything would be alright, all the while knowing full well that their wasn't any hope left for him? But Celestia was right, of course. It was selfish to wish it had been him. Not in principle, but in his reasoning. He just didn't want to deal with the emptiness the loss of his friend left, and he certainly couldn't bear to see his sister's sobbing face as he told her what happened. Why would it be any easier for anypony else to carry that burden?

"No. No, it wouldn't have been." He fought back a wave of sorrow before turning to face Celestia, a new fire in his eyes. "I'm not going to let anything happen to Twilight. I'm not losing anypony else that I care about. I'm sorry, Princess, but I'm going with her, and nopony can stop me. Not even you." Shining Armor stared straight into Celestia's eyes, determination burning across every crease one the skin of his face and into the darkest depths of his sapphire irises. Celestia sighed in resignation, knowing he had won the argument. She turned from him and made her way up to her throne, sitting down to face Shining Armor to officially admit her defeat.

"Very well. Your request has been granted," Celestia said calmly. "You will lead the expedition for the Artifact. I will allow you no more than twenty-five guards to help you with this assignment." Celestia took a deep breath before continuing. "You may take the next two days before the expedition is set to leave to gather your team and prepare a substitute to serve in your place until you return."

Shining Armor snapped to attention and saluted Celestia. After lowering his hoof, he relaxed his stance and nodded gratefully to Celestia.

"Thank you, Princess." For once, Shining Armor didn't have anything else to say. He suddenly just felt tired, drained by painful memories of loved ones passed.  Celestia simply nodded and motioned for Shining Armor to leave. Shining Armor bowed respectfully and obliged. He had two very full days of work ahead of him, and he was eager to get to it. As he completed the long walk down the throne room and exited the large double doors, he turned to Swift and snapped a crisp salute. Swift returned the gesture and Shining Armor relaxed his posture. It then struck Shining Armor that he had forgotten the very reason he went to speak with Celestia in the first place.

Eh, it's just a formality, Shining Armor thought to himself. He then looked Swift up and down. His bronze armor was on tight, nothing out of place. He was standing at rigid attention, completely unmoving save for his eyes, which were scanning the halls for anything that might be out of the ordinary. Fully alert and devoted to serving the Crown, even if he didn't always agree with how the Princesses ran the nation. Yes, he was far overdo for this promotion.

"I'm sorry for losing my temper, Swift. It was unprofessional, and I commend you for following your orders despite of me. Congratulations, First Lieutenant." Shining Armor pulled a small, silver bar insignia from the pocket of his uniform with his magic. He then removed the brass bar from Swift's armor, replacing it with the new insignia. "This is long overdue for you, Swift. Consider it official for now. Come by my office tomorrow and we'll get you fitted for some new armor and deal with the paperwork. And possibly a slightly disgruntled Princess," Shining Armor added with a wink.

Swift was dumbstruck, not just by the promotion but by the entirely unofficial issuing of it. Promotions always entailed a small ceremony of sorts, never just a simple "Oh, and here you go." He mentally shrugged it off. Stepping outside the bounds of protocol wasn't exactly uncommon for Shining Armor anyway. Instead of worrying himself with protocol, he snapped a crisp salute to Shining Armor.

"Thank you, sir!" Swift exclaimed, more cheerfully than he intended. He didn't really care though, he knew Shining Armor would have been disappointed if he hadn't shown his gratitude in his voice. Shining Armor simply laughed and clapped him on the shoulder.

"Don't thank me yet, Swift. I've also got an assignment for you. Make sure you spend some time with your family in the next few days, because I'm not sure when we'll be back."

With that, Shining Armor trotted away as if the last conversation had never happened. Swift, still dumbstruck by his sudden promotion and now the mention of a new assignment, resigned himself to sigh.

"I hate it when he just drops things on me like that."

Wraiths were not an outfit to frequent the training room to relieve stress. They had far a far better handle on their emotions than most ponies, and they didn't need to let their stress out. In fact, stress wasn't an emotion Wraiths usually even understood. But after receiving their last assignment, all three members of Delta were using the facility; Arcane to keep his combat skills honed as always, Angel and Stinger to vent their anger through extensive workouts.

"What in the hay is the Princess thinking, sending us to protect some scientist while she plays in the mud?!" Angel grumbled as she fired a powerful lance of magic into a concrete barrier on the range, shattering it as if it were sugar glass. "We're a high-risk infiltration team, NOT FOALSITTERS!" Another concrete barrier exploded at the force of her magic.

Down the range, Stinger was taking part in live combat training. Despite his use of non-lethal spells, several of the Wraiths he was training with were currently being treated for extensive injuries. Nothing the medics couldn't handle, but enough that the trainers had decided to kick him out of the ring to take a breather. Quiet as he was, he didn't say anything, but a veil of raw fury had spread over his features, warning everypony who looked at him to keep their distance.

Arcane, however, remained completely calm as he trained. He tirelessly blocked, repelled, dodged and countered each and every spell the training drones sent his way. Sure, he was irritated that he was getting stuck foalsitting some scientist in the Everfree, but it wasn't his job to decide where he was needed. If Princess Celestia thought this was an important assignment, then he would carry it out with dignity. So, as always, his face was a calm mask of grim determination as he trained. The only emotion he showed was a minor irritation, brought about when the trainer running the drones cut the spell to have a word with him.

"Arcane, you need to get control of your team. Either they relax, or they hit the barracks. Honestly, if they keep this up I'd be more than happy to toss them into a cell until they can get a hold of themselves. I've never seen such immaturity out of a military outfit before, not even from the grunts."

Arcane sighed with frustration as he looked at his squadmates. Angel was blasting away barrier after barrier faster than the trainers could set them up, and Stinger was moving back into the arena and making good use of his cloaking and teleport abilities to best any and all foes that were sent his way. Without a word to the instructor, Arcane contacted both of his squadmates telepathically.

Stinger! Angel! Get over here, now!

As soon as Stinger and Angel received the message, they complied without question. As soon as they saw the look on Arcane's face, they knew they were in trouble. Before they could say anything to Arcane, he fired a powerful wave of magic directly into them, sending both Stinger and Angel flying across the room and slamming them into it's concrete wall more than thirty feet away. The two ponies groaned as they got back to their hooves. Arcane, still standing in the drone field, again contacted them telepathically.

You two done?

Yes, Sir, Stinger and Angel responded in unison. Even though they were communicating telepathically, Arcane could almost hear the angry grunts in their responses. He cast a disappointed frown at his teammates as they got to their hooves and again made their way to him. Wraiths were as powerful of a unit as they were because they never allowed their emotions to get the best of them. Such a display from any military outfit was disgraceful, but from two Wraiths it was downright unheard of, let alone from the most elite team in the outfit. Deciding to show some form of mercy to his squadmates, Arcane opted to continue his reprimand telepathically instead of further embarrassing them by shouting out loud for everypony in the training facilities to hear.

What in Equestria has gotten into you two?! Arcane demanded. You two are far better than this! Angel, how old are you?!

Nineteen, Sir, Angel replied while lowering her head.

Stinger? Arcane asked as he turned to his other squadmate.

Twenty-Two, sir, Stinger replied shamefully.

Then I think it's time you two started acting your age! Arcane reprimanded, to which he received two ashamed nods from his squadmates. Arcane nodded, and then cut the telepathic link.

"Alright. You two take the rest of the night off from training. You've already overworked yourselves as it is. I'll meet you in the mess hall."

Stinger and Angel snapped to attention and saluted smartly.

"Yes, Sir!" Angel exclaimed.

"See you there, Fire." Stinger added, his tone more resigned than his counterpart. Arcane watched quietly as his squadmates left the training facilities, neither of them making a sound the entire walk to the door. As soon as they had left, Arcane turned and made his way back to the drone field and nodded to the trainer, indicating that he get the training drones back in the air.

"How many do you want, Arcane?" The trainer asked calmly, as if nothing had happened.

"Eight. And don't hold back this time," Arcane responded, his voice betraying absolutely no emotion. The trainer grinned.

"You say that as if you think you'll be able to beat eight of them."

"I say that because I know I will."

Twilight woke slowly as the late-morning light filled her irises. She had been up late studying, and although it was almost noon, she still felt it was too early to wake up. To her vast displeasure, rolling over and shielding her eyes with her pillow weren't going to help her go back to sleep. The pillow blocked the sun, but not the abominable racket just outside her window. Rather, on her window, as Rainbow Dash repeatedly pounded it with her hooves to pull Twilight from her slumber.

"Twilight! Twi, I know you're in there! Wake up already, will you! Don't eggheads have some sort of "sleep schedule" that they're supposed to follow or something?"

Twilight groaned as she threw her pillow at the window.

"Not now, Rainbow. Sleep good, wake bad." Unfortunately for Twilight, Rainbow didn't take the hint from the pillow, and she certainly didn't hear her friend's sleepy mumble from inside. Thus, she continued pounding at the window. Twilight, being in no mood to deal with her friend's antics, used her magic to make a rope appear from nowhere and tie Rainbow's wings together. Before the unfortunate pegasus realized what was happening, she fell from the sky, hitting the ground below her with a powerful thud. Twilight simply gave a contented sigh.

"Finally, some peace and-"

Before Twilight could finish her sentence, a loud knocking came from the front door to her library.

"Alright, Twi, that just isn't fair! Let me in, it's important!"

With an exasperated growl, Twilight finally accepted that sleep was no longer an option. She rolled out of bed, groaning as each one of Rainbow Dash's knocks seemed to resonate inside her head.

"I'm coming, I'm coming! Just stop knocking!"

As soon as Twilight requested Rainbow to stop knocking, she regretted her word choice. Immediately, the knocks not only became more frequent, but they also became much louder. Twilight groaned again, her brain pounding at her temples in a desperate cry for mercy. After what seemed like an eternity, she managed to reach and open the door, thus stopping the abominable racket her impatient friend was making. It crossed Twilight's mind to knock the pegasus unconscious with one of the many very heavy books in her library, but she opted against it. After all, what if she damaged it's spine?"

"What. Do. You. Want. Rainbow. Dash," Twilight growled. Rainbow Dash, entirely unphased by Twilight's borderline threatening statement, snapped the rope around her wings, rocketed inside the library and began frantically searching it's shelves. To Twilight's great dismay, that meant throwing every book that she wasn't looking for onto the floor. Twilight was in no mood for much of a cleanup today, so she decided it was acceptable to simply grab Rainbow Dash with her telekinesis and pull her to a stop. With little effort against Rainbow's struggle, Twilight moved her friend to an acceptable talking distance from her.

"Let me go!" Rainbow grunted as she struggled against Twilight's grasp.

"Only if you promise to SIT STILL." Twilight said flatly. Rainbow flew through the motions of a Pinkie Promise, and Twilight dropped her to the floor. Immediately, Rainbow was hovering just off the floor in front of Twilight, an eager grin plastered on from ear to ear.

"Do you have it?!" Rainbow Dash almost squealed her sentence. Twilight, in her current state of weariness, managed absolutely no comprehension of what Rainbow was talking about.

"Have what?" Twilight grumbled.

"The new Daring Do!" Rainbow exclaimed. "I've been waiting for it to come out for like, two whole weeks!"

Twilight groaned and dragged a hoof down her face as Rainbow resumed zipping around the library, quickly examining books two or three at a time before rocketing over to a different corner of the library. Twilight had just gotten the book in the day before, and Rainbow Dash had begged Twilight to let her have it early.

"Come on, Twi! Just one time, I swear I won't ask again!

Not until tomorrow, Rainbow Dash. There is no reason you should get to read it before everypony else.

Fine, I'll see you tomorrow then. Bright. And. Early.

"I have no doubt it'll be bright by the time you get here, but early? Not exactly your thing, Rainbow Dash.

Twilight regretted teasing Rainbow with that last line, now. Because here was Rainbow Dash, wide awake and destroying Twilight's library. Bright. And. Early. Twilight knew right where the set of novels was. With her magic, Twilight levitated one of her many new copies of Daring Do and the Temple of Fire to her nearly crazed pegasus friend. Rainbow Dash stopped in midflight and squealed before rocketing towards the book. She snatched it from Twilight's magical grasp and raced out of the library, giggling like a crazed fangirl the whole way. Twilight simply sighed as she locked the door of the library and made her way to her bedroom. On her way up the stairs, she checked the clock to see just how much time she had before she needed to get up to open the library for the day.

"Six thirty-three," Twilight grumbled to herself. "Rainbow got here almost an hour and a half before I open..."

Six thirty-three meant Twilight still had exactly twenty-seven minutes to sleep before she got up again at seven o'clock. She would then spend an hour getting ready for her day and then open the library at eight. It was her schedule every weekday, and today was no different. After she finally finished dragging her way up the stairs, she pushed open a door marked "Private." As it was, the Ponyville Library wasn't just a library, it was her home. While the main room of the ground floor was open to the public, the rest of the library was off limits to everypony except for herself, Spike, and any guests she personally invited inside. Most ponies wondered why she was so strict about this. She had always said that "everypony is entitled to her privacy when she wants it," and that seemed to satisfy anypony who felt the need to ask. However, the truth of it was a simple secret. A secret that was kept in Ponyville between Spike, Twilight, and three picture frames that she kept in her home. One in her basement laboratory, one in the kitchen, and a very special one on the nightstand in her bedroom. Even when she personally invited a guest beyond the restricted areas of her home, she always made sure to hide the pictures before her company arrived. Even now, as she entered her bedroom and let her eyes fall upon that very special picture, she knew that nopony could know. No matter how badly she wanted the world to know, no matter how badly she wanted to share her sorrows with the world, nopony could know. Not yet. Not until she had found what she had searched so many long years for. She rested her hoof on the photo by her nightstand, traced it around the curves of his face as it smiled eagerly back at her. Twilight felt the familiar ache of her empty heart craving to feel him against her again, and ten words from her early research into the Artifact rang in her mind. Ten words that she had kept entirely to herself, going as far as to destroy the scroll she found them on so nopony else would have access to the information. Ten words that kept her searching like mad, even when it seemed there was nothing to find.

"It wields the power to breathe life to the perished," Twilight said to herself with a determined grin. She pulled her hoof away from the picture and slowly climbed back into bed. She knew she wasn't going to be able to fall back to sleep, but she could at least rest before she had to start her day. She had barely slept the night before, either. Her excitement kept her up well into the night. Finally, after years, she could have him back. Valiant, the love of her life. Killed in the line of duty five years prior. With the Artifact, she could bring him back.

How could anypony expect her to be able to sleep?

Shining Armor sighed heavily as he pushed open the door to his home. The smell of Cadence's cooking immediately entered his nose, and he breathed a relaxed sigh. He was met almost immediately by an energetic husky as it literally jumped up to greet him. Shining Armor laughed as his dog eagerly licked his cheek, wanting nothing but to make sure he put a smile on his master's face. Shining Armor gently patted his dog's back and rubbed it's sides.

"Hey there, Dawson. How you doing, bud?"

Dawson eagerly barked his reply as he jumped up again to lick Shining Armor's cheek. Shining Armor laughed again as he playfully thumped Dawson's side. He then began to slowly make his way to the kitchen, passing through the halls of his dimly, yet comfortably lit home with a content smile. Cadence always liked to use only what lights were necessary, which meant that as a rule most of the house was kept in the dark. Then again, it took surprisingly little to light their home. It's many windows allowed the light from the cities streetlamps to flood inside, allowing it to gently filter through the open and airy living space. Cadence had specifically requested that the home have as few walls and partitions as was possible, so it was very rare in fact that the home had a light turned on at all. Even Shining Armor's short trip between the foyer and the kitchen was a straight shot, with nothing blocking the way.

"You know you don't have to do that for me every night, right?" Shining Armor said with a warm smile as he leaned against the island counter top. Cadence smiled happily at him as she performed what appeared to be an intricate dance around the kitchen, gracefully maneuvering between cupboards, stove tops, cutting boards, and anywhere else she may find herself while cooking. She even completed the dance by singing along to a tune that refused to leave her head.

"But I love doing this! You know full well that "doing things for myself because I can" is something fairly new to me! Every day at the castle, it's "here, allow me, this" and "no, Princess, I'll get the door for you, that!." Ahh, this is so liberating!"

Shining Armor gave a hearty laugh as his wife continued to skip around the kitchen. True, where most ponies now viewed the "housewife" routine as sexist and belittling, Cadence viewed it as a chance to finally be her own mare.

"Does that mean I don't have to clean the bathrooms tomorrow?" Shining Armor asked with a smug grin. Cadence dramatically rolled her eyes and returned his grin with a snarky smile of her own.

"I'm not a slave, you know. Bathroom cleaning is on you, Toilet Colt."

Shining Armor chuckled as he walked over to Cadence, giving her a gentle nuzzle and a kiss. He pulled away and turned toward the set of stairs going to the top floor of their home.

"I'm gonna get out of this uniform, alright? I'll be right back down," Shining Armor said as he made his way out of the brightly lit kitchen, Dawson at his hooves. "How's Val doing?"

"Sleeping like a baby," Cadence joked dismissively. "However, you are going to have to wake him up and feed him when you get the chance."

"Sure thing, Cadence." Shining Armor called back as he suppressed a chuckle at his wife's antics. Unknown to the public, the calm, polite demeanor she often used publicly was something of a facade. Sure, she wasn't one to be overly energetic, and she certainly wasn't rude, but in the privacy of her home and close friends and family she enjoyed consistent use of a witty and sarcastic sense of humor. It was when he first discovered that side of Cadence that Shining Armor fell in love with her. As he made his way up the stairs and rounded the corner to his left, he stopped in front of a crib next to a window. In the crib rested his son, sleeping peacefully under a small blanket. Shining Armor smiled warmly as he touched Valiant's cheek, and Dawson stood on his hind legs so he could put his paws on the railing of the crib.

"Every time I see you, I can't help but think of how much you look like Twily," Shining Armor noted with a chuckle as he stroked the foal's side. It was true, little Valiant did bear a striking resemblance to Twilight. He had the same purple coat, although his mane and tail were a touch darker than Twilight's, and lacked the stripe. If his eyes were open, Shining Armor would see two beautiful amethysts looking back at him.

"If you had been a filly, you probably would have had the same name as your aunt, too," Shining Armor mused as he continued to gently stroke the colt. He let out a sad sigh as memories of his old friend began to play in his mind, as if they were scenes from a movie being played out in front of him. "But alas, we honor the fallen." He finished with a sad smile as he stepped away from the crib. Before heading into the bedroom to remove his dress uniform, he stopped to gaze again at the small, sleeping colt in front of him. "You're going to be just like him some day. I can already tell."

Sensing his master's distress, Dawson whimpered and licked Shining Armor's cheek. Shining Armor gave his dog a sad smile as he patted his head.

"I'm alright, buddy. But thanks for the support."

Dawson hopped up and and placed his front paws on his master's shoulders. He was about to assault Shining Armor's cheek again with a wet, sloppy lick, but a familiar call from the basement stole the dog's attention.

"Dawson! You hungry, buddy?"

Immediately, Dawson's ears perked up and he shot downstairs. Shining Armor smiled to himself as he heard his wife and his dog playing on the floor below him. Soundlessly, he entered his bedroom and carefully removed his dress uniform, hanging it up in the middle of his walk-in closet so he would remember to take it to the dry cleaner on his way to the castle the next day. He breathed a relaxed sigh as he removed the final piece of his uniform and placed it on the hanger.

"Now to tell my wife that I have to leave town for an indefinite period of time to go on a quest through the Everfree forest," he said to himself. "This should be fun." He stepped outside of the brightly lit closet and turned off the light, and ever so gently he used his magic to lift his son from his crib. The colt slowly woke to the now familiar feel of his father's magical grasp, although being woken up was not something he enjoyed. Immediately, little Val began to wail, and it was all Shining Armor could manage to keep his sanity through the short trip back to the kitchen.

"Baby's awake," he called to Cadence, who immediately rushed over to comfort her foal.

"How is it that you're still so bad at waking him up?" Cadence asked as she took Valiant from Shining Armor and began rocking him in one of her wings. Shining Armor just shrugged as his son began to quiet down.

"I guess I just don't have a mare's touch," he said dismissively, earning him an eyeroll from his wife.

"Maybe it's because you're as graceful as a stampeding cow," Cadence teased, although her voice was as flat as a sheet of paper. Shining Armor knew the shot was nothing more than a "my ears have just been destroyed by a sobbing baby" insult, so he ignored it and made his way to the kitchen to retrieve a small bottle of milk from the fridge. He then returned to Cadence and levitated the bottle in front of her face. She responded with a deadpan stare of a magnitude that Shining Armor didn't know was possible, which simply said "your turn, buddy." Shining Armor sighed and lifted the foal from under her wing, then levitated the bottle to his lips. Little Valiant began to suck happily at the bottle, receiving warm smiles from both of his parents. After a while, he dropped the bottle, and his breathing was stopping short. Cadence quickly scooped him up and patted him on the back, receiving a quick belch from the foal.

"And back to bed with you," Shining Armor said gently as he levitated his son back up the stairs, slowly rocking him back to sleep. This happened to be an easy feat, given that the foal hadn't entirely woken up through his feeding, and before long he was sleeping soundly in his crib again. Shining Armor smiled as he looked down at his son.

"You're about to be the stallion of the house, you know that? You take care of your mom for me while I'm gone."

"And where exactly are you going?" Cadence asked curiously, causing Shining Armor to nearly jump out of his coat. As soon as he realized what had happened, he brought a hoof to his face.

"Not exactly how I was hoping to break the news..." he grumbled to himself.

"What news?" Cadence responded, taking a step closer to her husband. Shining Armor sighed as he turned to face Cadence, placing a hoof on her cheek for good measure.

"Twily is going to be going on an expedition of sorts in the Everfree soon. I requested to go with her, and Celestia granted it." He sighed and averted his gaze from Cadence to his son, unwilling to look her in the eye at the moment. As he suspected, he could hear a tremble in her voice as she replied.

"How long will you be gone?" Cadence asked, to which Shining Armor shook his head.

"I don't know. All I know is that we're leaving in three days. I have two days to find twenty four more ponies to go with us, a day to go and get Twilight, ." He nuzzled Cadence and then rested his head on her shoulder. "I know I'm letting myself get in the way of my duty, but I can't let her go alone. I couldn't protect Val, but I am going to protect her. If I can't, I'll die trying."

"Don't talk like that," Cadence snapped at her husband. He turned away, unable to look Cadence in the eyes. She didn't give him a choice, turning his chin so he gazed right into her violet irises. "You're both going to be fine, alright?" Cadence wasn't about to admit it to her husband, but she was saying that for her sake more than his. Shining Armor picked up on her discomfort and rested his forehead against hers. If he knew anything about saying goodbye to his family before leaving on a mission, it was to ensure they didn't know if he had a bad feeling about it going in. Having already made the worst mistake possible in keeping his wife calm about the assignment, he had to admit something seemed off about the situation. He couldn't put a hoof on it, but something about this endeavor into the Everfree felt wrong. He didn't like anything about it, and he didn't even know what was going on. He figured it was his apprehension about Twilight's personal escort, but even that shouldn't have made him as uncomfortable as he was. None of those concerns would ever be brought to Cadence's attention, however. He would do everything in his power over the next two days to ensure that. Nothing was worse than worried loved ones back home, and he was going to make sure his wife had nothing to worry about.

"You're right, Cadence. I'm sorry. I just...ever since..." Shining Armor stopped, unwilling to continue his train of thought. He knew Cadence would connect the dots, and gladly accepted her comforting hoof as soon as she did. He pressed his head tighter against hers as he resumed talking. "I know that was a freak incident, and I know that it's not going to happen again. I guess I'm just being paranoid. She's my little sister, you know?"

Cadence gently wrapped a hoof around her husband's neck as he finished. Despite what he had told her to calm her worries, she still was going to try to get him to stay. She knew the risks of venturing into the Everfree, everypony did. She vastly preferred only one pony that she cared about being at risk at a time, and she certainly didn't want her own husband to be in the mix of something as potentially dangerous as a quest through that most unholy of places.

"You know you don't have to go, right?" Cadence said quietly. "I know Twilight, and if anypony can take care of herself in a tight situation, it's her. She's done more dangerous things without you, you know."

Shining Armor sighed again, having prepared for this particular part of the conversation the entire walk home from the Castle.

"I know you want me to stay, Cadence. I'm sorry, but I can't. I can't let her do this on her own. Not when I finally have the chance to help her. And definitely not when Delta's going with her."

Shining Armor immediately winced when he heard what he said. Did he seriously just mention something that secret to his wife? Out of the blue, just like that? Judging by how Cadence pulled away and cocked an eyebrow at him, it appeared so.

"When who's going with her?" Cadence asked curiously. Shining Armor immediately began searching his brain for some rehearsed "in case I let something like that slip" speech. To his dismay, he found nothing.

The best lie is the truth, plus or minus one fact, he remembered somepony saying. He couldn't remember who told him that, but he thanked somepony for the advice.

"Umm, they're a team of Celestia's guards. Top-tier, top secret. I personally can't stand them," he quickly spat out. Cadence cocked an eyebrow at him again.

"Anything more you want to tell me about them?" She asked curiously, to which Shining Armor shook his head.

"Nope, nothing at all, hehe." He looked away and rubbed the back of his head. For somepony who has as much access to top secret information as I do, I am terrible at keeping it from other ponies, he thought to himself.

"You're not very good at lying, you know."

Apparently, Cadence agreed. Shining Armor sighed, knowing he had lost. Still, he couldn't tell Cadence anything more.

"Look, they're one of those things you're not supposed to know exists, alright? I'm sorry, I-"

"Say no more, Shiny." Cadence said with a smile as she raised her hoof. "I understand."

Shining Armor gave her a smile that simply said "thank you." Despite Cadence's status as a Princess of Equestria, she held no position of authority in the nation. In fact, of the three Princesses, Cadence was the only real "Princess". Celestia and Luna only bore the title because it sounded less intimidating than their true role as Empresses. Cadence wasn't "in the know" as far as government was concerned, and Celestia and Luna worked hard to keep it that way. Cadence, being the only one of the Princesses with a normal single-century life expectancy, had no need to be concerned with the affairs of the state, and was to be treated as if she were any other civilian. Cadence was quite grateful not to have to deal with the affairs of the state, so the arrangement worked out for both parties involved. Shining Armor, however, really wished he didn't have to be so wary of what he said about his job. Not good to have a slip like he just had.

"Well, now that we have that out of the way, what do you say we finish this conversation over dinner?" Cadence asked with a warm smile. "Or even better, why not switch to a happier topic for the night?"

Shining Armor returned Cadence's warm smile as they turned to head downstairs.

"I think I'd like that, Cadence."

"Can we get her that one, dad?" A young Arcane asked his father. The elder stallion smiled warmly down on the colt and ruffled his mane.

"I think we'll just take that gyroscope, please." The elder stallion said to the clerk. The clerk smiled and placed the statuette in a small bag and hoofed it over to the customer.

"That will be three bits, sir."

The colt's father hoofed the bits to the clerk, bid him farewell, and gave the bag to his son. His son eagerly opened the bag and brought the statuette out of it with his magic. His father laughed warmly as he began to play with the small contraption, twirling it in the air with his magic.

"I can't wait to show this to Twilight, she'll love it!" The younger Arcane said excitedly. "Thank you so much, Dad!"

Arcane's father smiled warmly as they began to walk away from the small souvenir shop.

"You're very welcome, son."

Arcane shot awake, recognizing the dream he was having. It was something of a recurring dream, himself and his father on the small souvenir shop on an island. The difference from the usual dream though was that he had never had a name for the filly he was getting the gift for before. His voice always seemed to cut out as soon as he got to her name. Like the dream he had on the flight to his last mission, it hadn't really felt like a dream, so to speak. No, it felt too familiar for a dream. It felt like a memory. That familiarity disturbed him, especially considering that he knew for a fact that the dream couldn't be a memory. That had never happened in his life. His home life in his youth was, well, nonexistent. His father never loved him, let alone buy him gifts to give to friends he never had.

Arcane lay in his bunk, thinking the dream over and rationalizing it in his head. It was a dream, nothing more. Nothing really worth thinking about. Sure, the familiarity of it was somewhat discomforting, but it was something of a recurring dream. His mind was just playing tricks on him. After all, it had been a long day, made even longer by the fact that his squad had to spend it keeping a guard over Princess Celestia. As soon as Arcane saw Celestia in the morning, he knew she was going to pull something on them. It had bothered him all day, particularly because he didn't know what his team was being punished for. Had they done something wrong on their last op? No, that couldn't have been it, the operation went flawlessly. But they must have done something wrong. And the assignment they were given proved just that. Protecting a VIP? What had they done to deserve that punishment? Although he was still outraged by his team's immature reaction to their assignment, he couldn't blame them. Princess Celestia was sending Delta Squad, the best high-risk infiltration team she had, to foalsit for some scientist?

More importantly, why did the name of this scientist, this Twilight Sparkle, feel just as familiar as Arcane's dream? Why did she become the filly in the dream? He had never met the mare before, so why did his ears perk up when he heard her name? He knew that she was Princess Celestia's personal student, was it possible that he had kept a guard over her at some point in the past? It was possible, Celestia did always send the Wraiths to guard high-priority nobles, and her personal student definitely fit that bill. However, this Twilight Sparkle had apparently requested that no guards be sent to watch her in Ponyville, and Celestia granted her request. She had been sent to Ponyville four years prior, right around the same time Arcane had finished training for the Wraiths, so the possibility of protecting her on an assignment seemed unlikely. So how did he know that mare?

Then again, the activities of Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony were the stuff of legends in Equestria. Arcane knew each of the six mares names, faces, ages, which side of the bed they slept on, everything. Ensuring that those six would be safe in a time of crisis, or Harmonic Contingency as the plan had been called, was something every Wraith knew by heart. Of course Arcane was familiar with this mare, despite never having met her.

A whimper from the bunk next to Arcane interrupted his train of thought. He sighed as he rolled over to check on Angel. She was rolling around in a fit in her sleep, and beginning to work up a sweat. Looking more closely, he could see tears beginning to streak down her cheeks.

Great, another nightmare, Arcane thought angrily to himself. Nothing was worse than a soldier who couldn't keep it together, and he wasn't sure how much longer Angel could manage to keep her head in check. The young mare was getting worse, but she at least managed to hide it while she was awake.

"No, stop...don't..." Angel muttered to herself before letting out another whimper. Arcane couldn't stand to sit there and listen to his teammate, but he knew better than to try waking her up. The first time Angel showed such a pathetic display of weakness, Arcane had tried to wake her up to reprimand her. She woke up easy enough, and immediately she kicked right into combat mode. In her mental state, the terrified young mare destroyed half of the Wraith's barracks on her own, not to mention she almost killed half of the outfit, earning her a week of guarding Princess Cadence. With no worse punishment available for the mare, Arcane and Stinger had resigned to a week's worth of hard training, mostly so they could be ready to take her out should she have such a poor reaction to a nightmare again.

That was almost a year prior, and by now Arcane wouldn't think of taking Angel's life. Even if she did attack him again after a nightmare, the worst he would be able to bring himself to do would be to stick her with Cadence again. Perhaps Blueblood, but it didn't matter. Angel wasn't just another Wraith anymore, she was Arcane's friend, which was a rarity in of itself. Arcane himself would never use the word "friend," but it still applied. He even began to feel some sort of sympathy for her after she had gone a week without a full night's rest due to her intense dreaming.

Arcane soundlessly rolled back over in his bunk, knowing he had best follow Angel's lead and get some sleep. His squad had been allotted the next three days before leaving to train for the venture into the Everfree. Fighting unnatural monsters in a jungle terrain while protecting a defenseless filly was a whole lot different from slaughtering insurgents in an urban environment, and they would need to be prepared if they were going to be ready. Celestia had told him to treat Twilight as if she were "just another member of the team," but Arcane knew civilians better than that. Even if this mare did know a thing or two about magic, there was no way she would be a capable fighter. Not to mention with the new complication of Shining Armor and his own guards accompanying them, they would have to make sure she didn't get to close with any of the mare-deprived grunts. As Stinger had said earlier, "that filly is as good as raped."

As Arcane rolled over in his bunk, he forced himself to clear his head of those thoughts. Those were issues he could deal with in the morning. No sense losing sleep over them.