The old world

“How could you not tell me about this? She is my sister, for bucks sake!” Shining was at first shocked, then fearful, and finally angry. His ignorance could have cost his sister’s life. And now Luna was telling him to relax?

“Please calm yourself Captain.” This only enraged the unicorn further, who continued to pace around Luna’s command cabin aboard “The Explorer”. The equipment from the town hall had all been packed back onto the ships, in preparation for their departure the next morning. Cadence had finished all the paperwork pertaining to Clear’s adoption, leaving no other reason to stay on the Island further. The possibility of an assassin had made their embarkation all the more urgent.

“Don’t tell me to be calm, you lying bi…”

“DO YOU DARE INSULT US!” The royal canterlot voice rang out, barely stopped by the spell which kept their meeting confidential. “NEED I REMIND YOU OF YOUR STATION, CAPTAIN!!!?” In Shining’s mind, the princess seemed to grow at least twice her size, eyes pure white. He tried to apologise, but only a squeak was produced. The princess relaxed, returning to her natural form.

“Is everything alright, your Majesty? I thought I heard something.” One of the night guards poked her head through the door, only to be quickly removed by the princess’s assurance. Eventually, after a few long moments, Shining found his voice.

“Please excuse my outburst your highness… It was not my place to judge your decision.” Luna’s face softened slightly. She completely understood why Shining had acted as he did, but she had to command the respect of her subjects. She levitated a cup of tea, sipping gently before placing it down upon her desk.

“It is quite all right, you would not be fit for Captaincy if you did not. Now; please allow me to put your fears to rest, although the nature of the attack may present new ones.” The Captain regained his composure and then raised and eye brow.

“New fears, your Majesty?” Luna sighed, rubbing one of her temples with her hoof.

“Indeed, it seems the recent events were no accident. Some dark form of magic was used to create the physical form of lions, which then attacked your sister. When the assassin realised that the battle was lost, they must have released the spell, and hence the lion’s forms disappeared.” Shining pawed the floor boards, still trying to make sense of the situation.

“Do you think the magic user was a citizen of the Coalition… or a member of our own forces?” From the grimace that the princess bore, it was clear that she had spent quite a long time wondering about that herself.

“I am not certain, Shining, but I must be certain that the crew does not jump to any conclusions. The time for accusations is not yet upon us.” Shining nodded; he knew how fear could steal a pony’s rationality, leaving nothing but suspicion and hate. Luna finished her tea, bags beginning to form under her eyes. “It’s late, you are excused of duty for the time being, Captain. No doubt you would like to see your sister?”

“Yes, by your leave, your Majesty.” Shining turned to leave, the fear of his sibling dampened, but not entirely dissipated.

“Oh, one more thing, how are the young Praetorians settling in? I was hoping to have a word with the elder male tomorrow.” Shining turned, having forgotten for a moment that he was in fact housing prisoners.

“They are quite something, Princess; you would be surprised how similar our species are. We both cherish family and friendship. In fact, I sometimes wonder if we are the ones who should be learning from them.” Shining again began to leave, before adding. “His name is Marcus, elder brother of Andromeda. Goodnight, your Majesty.” The door shut behind him, allowing him to return to the “Chalice of Hope”. Making his way down the corridor, he saluted briefly to Whitehooves, as the Admiral made his way to the royal cabin. Stepping above deck, Shining sucked in the cool night air, the moon close to reaching its apex. The walk down the docks towards his own ship was short, but it gave him some time to think. If Luna wanted to meet with Marcus, they would have to travel via row boat, as they would be far out to sea by the next afternoon. It would also have to wait until they dropped anchor for the evening. What worried the stallion most however, was the prospect that Luna wished to forge Marcus into a political weapon. Pushing the thought to the back of his mind, he proceeded to march up the ramp of the “Chalice of Hope”. Most ponies were asleep, with only a few guards marching back and forth along the length of the ship. All saluted as Shining walked past, who returned the gesture. Twilight’s cabin was only a short walk away, on the first sublevel of the ship, allowing the mare to easily move her astronomical equipment from her room to the deck and visa-versa. It was only another few seconds until the unicorn reached his sisters cabin. He knocked slowly on the door and waited patiently for it to open.

“Goodnight, Mr Armour, I assume you’re here to see Twilight.” Cavalier stood in the doorway, blood staining  his fur where three long wound’s stretched from above his right eye, down his cheek and then across his mouth. In addition, he had a nasty gash down his left shoulder, causing him to keep weight off that hoof. Shining frowned at the sight, the fighting had evidently been fierce, but from the earth pony’s appearance, it had truly been a desperate struggle.

“Have you been checked at the aid station?” Cavalier shook his head.

“Not as of yet, Twilight only woke a few minutes ago. Now that you’re here, can you watch over her until I get back?” Shining smiled, nodding his affirmation.

“You clearly love her very much. I’m glad she found somepony like you.” Cavalier chuckled slightly, amused by the compliment. He was never one to be egotistic, and it humoured the stallion when others gave him praise.

“You might be right, Mr Armour. I should warn you, Twilight isn’t… the pony she used to be. Neither am I to be honest.” Shining only just realised that the stallion had been crying, as would anypony who faced death and taken life. He at once felt an odd kinship with the scientist, one which he could not fully understand. Before he could say anything further, the earth pony left, leaving the Captain to check on his sister.

“Twilight, are you alright?” There was an uncomfortable silence from the mare, one which lasted several minutes.

“Yes.” She stared blankly into space, not really concentrating on anything in particular. “Is this how you first felt when you took a life, brother?” Her cold exterior was to be expected, but if there was one thing he knew from personal experience, it was that a comforting companion was what she needed most. He got down to lay beside his younger sister, putting a hoof around her, just like when she was a filly and had come home from a day of bullies at magic kindergarten. Twilight was acting just like a pony should, under the circumstances. If she had been any less traumatised, Shining would be worried.

“When we kill, Twilight, we kill a part of ourselves, but, when we think about the reasons we kill, we realise, that we are in fact, sacrificing a part of ourselves… for the sake of others.” Shining was never good at motivational speeches, but having listened to the stories of both Clear Sky and Marcus, he was becoming more adept. “Think of Cavalier and Sparkling Sea. You fought for them, as they did for you. Draw strength from your friends and your motives.” Shining sighed, giving Twilight’s mane a rub with his hoof. “To answer your question, yes, and, don’t tell anypony, especially Cadence, but I wet my uniform.” This elicited a small smile from the mare, which was the one thing Shining wished for the most at that moment.

“Seriously?” Shining laughed and nodded his head.

“Yep, I didn’t hear the end of it for quite a while though. Lucky that nopony in the REN knows about it.” Shining got up and fetched some water for his sister. He suddenly realised that the Cabin seemed rather empty.

“Where is Sparkling?” Twilight bolted upright before relaxing, remembering what Cavalier had told her.

“She is under the care of Sorrin and Swift.” Twilight folded her hooves. “They have developed quite a reputation those two. It’s not often a pair of colt cuddler’s become members of the Royal Guard. If anything, after their heroics on Marilus, they have become quite venerated by the other soldiers.” Shining relaxed, he knew that they were good stallions, perfect for foal-sitting Twilight’s daughter. The older stallion continued to spend the night taking to his sister. When Cavalier finally returned, he bade them all goodnight.  It was only a short trot back to his cabin, which he entered gratefully. Cadence was already asleep, along with Clear and the two Praetorians. Shining fell asleep the moment his head hit the pillow next to his wife, but he was awoken by a sharp thud, like steal on wood. Just as he got up to lock the door, he saw it was open, revealing the dark passageway. Something didn’t feel right, so he cast detection spell, which revealed… nothing. He approached the doorway slowly, reaching a hoof back to draw his personal dagger, one of his few permanent accessories, or at least one he always kept near. As his hoof locked into the rounded piece which allowed him to wield the weapon, similar in shape to his rapier, a dark figure leapt out of the shadows, also reaching for its own dagger. Both Captain and Assassin pulled out their weapons at the same moment and collided.

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Sorry for how short the chapter is.