//-------------------------------------------------------//
                  Shining in the Darkness                  
                        -by Jarkes-                        
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                     Party Interrupted                     
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Party Interrupted
“Hold still, Rainbow Dash! You’ll tear the seams!”
“Rarity, why do I have to try on these dresses? They’re so girly!”
This argument could be heard by ponies who were passing by Carousel Boutique, where the owner of the shop, a white, purple-maned unicorn named Rarity, was trying to get her friend Rainbow Dash to try on her new dresses.
“What are these even for, anyway?” Rainbow Dash asked while pulling on the collar of the frilly pink dress she was currently wearing.
“Oh, Rainbow Dash, don’t tell me you’ve forgotten?” Rarity said sweetly as she looked for her measuring tape. “As of today, it’s been exactly two years since our friend, Twilight Sparkle, moved to Ponyville and helped us defeat Nightmare Moon! Pinkie Pie and the rest of Ponyville have decided to throw a massive party in her honor.”
Dash grinned sheepishly. “Oh, yeah, I kind of… did forget…” Then she frowned again as she began pulling at the dress again. “What do these dresses have to do with that?”
“Well, Twilight told me that it would be okay to showcase my new line of dresses and suits at the party. I call them… Sparkle World!” Rarity’s eyes gleamed as she spoke those words. “And with the others busy with the various party preparations, you’re the only pony available who can help me model these.” At this moment, Pinkie Pie, the party-going pony with physics pulverizing powers burst into the door of the boutique.
“Hurry, girls!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, talking up about a mile a minute. “The party’s supposed to begin in exactly thirty minutes, and you know what Twilight’s like about schedules! We’ve got to all be there fifteen minutes early, or was it twenty? Actually, it probably wouldn’t matter if we all just headed over to the town square right now and got there twenty-five minutes early, but when I told Applejack that, she just told me that you two would come over there once you were done here, but I had to make sure that…” At this point, she suddenly noticed Rainbow Dash, still wearing the frilly dress. Naturally, Pinkie Pie found this hilarious. “Hahahahaha! Rainbow Dash, you always dress in style!” She pulled a camera out of nowhere and snapped a photo right before Rainbow Dash forcefully removed the dress from her body.
“Well, I guess we’d better start heading over there…” the rainbow-maned pegasus grumbled, fervently hoping that Pinkie Pie wouldn’t show the picture to too many ponies. The last thing she needed was another threat to her reputation after the Gabby Gums incident.
“Yes, we should,” Rarity agreed. “Pinkie Pie, can you help me transport these dresses to the square?”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie Pie replied as she bounced happily out the door, with the dresses following behind her, despite not being attached to anything she could have been pulling.
Rarity stared at the open door for a moment. “How does she do that?”
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Meanwhile, in the town square, the pony of the hour, Twilight Sparkle, was observing the preparations for the party the town was throwing for, while occasionally giving input on a few things.
“Now, Lyra, Bon-Bon,” Twilight said to the mint-green unicorn and cream-colored earth pony, who had just finished making the “Happy Two-Years-In-Ponyville Anniversary, Twilight Sparkle” banner, “you’ve got to make sure that the banner is exactly five feet and seven inches above the stage, or the ponies in the back row won’t be able to see it.”
Bon-Bon, an aspiring voice actress pony, switched to her “comically deep” voice as she assured the unicorn. “Now don’t you worry about a thing, Twilight. Lyra and I will take care of it. Right, Lyra?” She turned to her companion, only to find that she had walked off and was talking to her musician friends, Octavia and Vinyl Scratch. Noting this, Bon-Bon crept up behind her, tapped her on the shoulder, gave the three musicians a death glare that rivaled Fluttershy’s Stare, and yelled in her “loud and scary” voice, “RIGHT, LYRA?”
Octavia and Vinyl mumbled something about setting up the sound system and ran off, leaving Lyra to deal with her situation.
Lyra, knowing that the voice and stare was merely acting, replied nonchalantly, “Yeah, sure, Bon-Bon, just…” She looked back at where the cellist and DJ had just been standing.  “…can you tone down the volume and the glare? Not everypony realizes that it’s just acting…”
In a flash, Bon-Bon switched to her normal voice, and said, “Yeah, I can do that. But seriously, we need to get the banner set up.”
Twilight, having seen this whole thing, thought to herself, Well, this seems to be under control… I wonder if Pinkie Pie has arrived with Rarity and Rainbow Dash yet…She headed over to the refreshments table, where Applejack was trying to fend off a certain wall-eyed pegasus from the apple nut muffins.
“Look, Ah already TOLD you, Derpy, ya have to wait a while!” Applejack explained to the mailmare, who was salivating at the mere sight of her favorite snack. “The last thing we need is another freak muffin accident like what happened last month.”
Derpy frowned as she began flying away from the table. “Aww…” she moaned.
Applejack noticed that Twilight witnessed all of this. “Well, howdy, Twi! What do you think about this party we’re throwing for ya?”
“Well, it’s not officially started for another five minutes,” Twilight pointed out, checking the clock on the outside of the town hall. “Though, really, it’s great that I have such wonderful friends who would do this sort of thing for me.”
“Don’t mention it, Twilight!” Pinkie Pie, who had just arrived on the scene with Rainbow Dash and Rarity, bounced into view, putting the cart of dresses a few feet away from Applejack’s refreshments. “Everypony in town is pitching in for this! This is going to be the best party I’ve ever hosted!”
Rainbow Dash looked at her surroundings, noticing something. “Hey, Twilight, where’s your brother? I thought he said he was going to be here early.”
Twilight frowned, clearly worried about something. “That’s just it,” she said. “He responded to the invitation, but I haven’t seen him yet…” Noticing that her friends were giving her worried looks, she quickly smiled and said, “Well, he’ll be here sooner or later!” She trotted off towards the stage, where she was about to give a big speech.
At this point, Fluttershy arrived on the scene, apologizing profusely as she often did. “Am I late? Oh, I’m really sorry I’m late. I overslept, and if it hadn’t been for Angel waking me up and reminding me, I wouldn’t have been…”
“Don’t worry about it, Fluttershy,” Rainbow Dash assured her. “You’re actually right on time.”
“Oh, that’s good… I guess…” Suddenly, loud rock music started playing from the stage, causing her to panic and hide under the refreshments table.
“Fillies and gentecolts!” Spike the dragon announced from the stage, holding a microphone that was half as big as he was. “We’re here today to honor a very special pony. A pony whose helped all of us time and time again, be it stopping angry Ursa Minors, defeating Nightmare Moon, or helping organize Winter Wrap-Up. Give it up for… TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” He dashed backstage, whispering to Twilight, “You’re up!”
“Was that really necessary?” Twilight asked him playfully.
“Yes,” her number-one assistant replied simply.
Twilight headed up to the front of the stage, levitating about twenty carefully organized pages of her speech. She looked out in the crowd and noticed that her brother still had not arrived yet.
Where is he? Twilight thought. Well, I suppose he’s busy, what with being the Captain of the Royal Guard and all… He’ll show up eventually… She decided to just go ahead and start speaking. “Before I came to Ponyville two years ago, I didn’t realize how wonderful having friends was. Then I met all of you,” she pointed at her five closest friends, “and you,” she gestured at Lyra, Bon-Bon, and several other ponies, “and you…” This continued for about a minute, before an earth pony by the name of Linky shouted from the back row, “GET ON WITH IT!”
“Oh, yes…” Twilight blushed before continuing with her speech. “Now I realize that friendship can sometimes be difficult, but it’s always worth fighting for. Because friendship… is magic.” She grinned. “I had about twenty pages written for this speech, but I suspect everypony doesn’t want to listen to that. So… LET’S PARTY!”
+++++++++++++++++++++++
The party was a huge success. Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and Lyra played various pieces of music while ponies played games such as Pin the Tail on the Pony, Ring Toss, and others. Rarity’s Sparkle World line of dresses and suits were very popular (though she had to point out a few times to overeager ponies that most of the designs were prototypes, and they weren’t ready to be sold yet), while the Apple family kept having to make more food to keep up with the demand.
About fifteen minutes after the party began, Twilight Sparkle finally spotted her brother, who was talking to Lyra about her musical experience.
“So, anyway, Miss Heartstrings,” Shining Armor said, “I hear you’ve been trying to get a gig at the Canterlot Symphony Hall. I could arrange something with them.”
“Thanks,” Lyra replied, “but I’d rather earn it and not cheat my way there.”
At this point, Shining Armor noticed his sister walking up to them. “Oh, hey, Twily!” He turned to Lyra. “Sorry, but this conversation will have to wait.” Lyra walked off, leaving the two siblings alone.
“Hey, listen, Twily…” Shining looked very uncomfortable. “Sorry I’m late. I had…”
Twilight cut him off. “You don’t need to explain. As Captain of the Guard and the husband of Cadence, I’m sure you’re very busy.” She winked at her B.B.B.F.F. when she mentioned Cadence, whom he had married about three months ago.
“Yeah... very busy…” Shining’s mind seemed to be on other things. Twilight looked at him, confused.
“What’s wrong?” she asked. What her brother said next completely changed what she had planned to do after the party.
“After the party’s over, I need you and your friends to talk to me in the Ponyville Library,” Shining Armor explained. “An intruder broke into the Canterlot Vault earlier this morning. He was trying to free Discord.”

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                       Explanations                        
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Explanations
After the party was over a couple hours after Shining Armor’s announcement, Twilight Sparkle and the other Element bearers (as well as Spike) met with her brother at the Ponyville library to discuss the situation.
“So what you’re saying,” Spike asked the guard Captain, “is that three hours ago, this strange unicorn just waltzed right into the palace, got past almost all the security, and kicked the Vault Guard’s flank. He was this close to stealing Discord’s statue when you arrived on the scene, knocked him out, and locked him in the castle dungeon?”
Shining Armor sighed. Yes, that’s what I just finished explaining, he was thinking. What he actually said was, “Yes, Spike. At first, I wasn’t sure, but…”
“WAIT!” Pinkie Pie interrupted. “Why would he ‘waltz’ into the palace? Personally, I think he’d have been a lot sneakier if he had, I dunno, done the foxtrot or salsa or something.”
“I… er… what?” Shining Armor was flabbergasted. “Is she always like this?” he whispered to Twilight, who was standing next to him as he was explaining the situation.
“Just roll with it,” Twilight whispered back. Then she spoke up. “From what my brother tells me, this mysterious unicorn may have been using chaos magic in an attempt to break Discord from his stone prison.”
“Chaos… magic? Oh, my… that sounds… scary…” Fluttershy whispered.
“It should,” Shining Armor said, “because a draconequus like Discord is supposed to be the only type of creature capable of using chaos magic.”
“Well, obviously there’s somepony else who can, and we need to teach this guy a lesson!” Rainbow Dash got into her “put ‘em up” gesture, eager for a fight as she began heading for the door to fly straight to Canterlot.
“Hold on there, pardner,” Applejack pulled on Dash’s tail to stop her. “We don’t even know what chaos magic is.”
“Actually, I’ve been doing some research,” Shining Armor explained, which surprised Twilight, who didn’t figure her brother had as much time for studying as she did. “It seems that chaos magic is used by manipulating chaos energy, which is itself created by feelings of, well, chaos and disharmony. Canterlot scientists believe that the seal on Discord’s prison had been weakening over time. When the three fillies whom I believe call themselves the ‘Cutie Mark Crusaders’ began fighting in front of Discord’s statue approximately nine months ago, it created just enough chaos energy for him to break free.”
“Hang on!” Rarity exclaimed. “Those three are responsible for Discord’s initial escape? Oh, of all the worst possible things, this is THE. WORST. POSSIBLE. THING!” She then did her usual fainting thing, naturally pulling a fainting couch from out of sight.
“Um… okay, then,” Shining Armor said, thinking, Man, Twily has some weird friends. He continued his explanation. “Anyway, as I was saying, if three little fillies getting into a petty squabble could generate enough chaos energy after the seal had been weakening, imagine how much chaos energy could be created during, say, a full-scale invasion of Canterlot in order to break a freshly strengthened seal.”
Twilight gasped. “Shining, are you saying…”
“Yes,” her brother said, “there was more to the Changeling invasion then simply impersonating the pony I love, using my feelings as little more than nourishment, and feeding off the love of all of Canterlot…” he trembled at the memory of how the Changeling queen Chrysalis had tricked him into shunning his little sister. “We now have reason to believe that somepony may have told Chrysalis that Canterlot was the best source of love she could find, with the intent of creating enough chaos energy to free Discord once again. Fortunately, it doesn’t seem to have worked. After I captured the intruder, I had one of the guards cast a spell that allowed me to see how strong the seal was. It’s a little weaker, but it would take a lot more chaos energy to completely break it.”
“Which brings me to the reason I’m here. The six of you need to come with me to Canterlot and use the Elements to re-strengthen the seal on Discord, just in case that unicorn tries anything.”
“So what are we waiting for? Let’s go!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed, dashing off to head to the Friendship Express.
“Wait, Pinkie Pie,” Twilight stopped her. “If the intruder can really use chaos magic, then he can probably escape any time he wants to. We need a faster way to get to Canterlot… Shining Armor. How exactly did you get here so quickly?”
“Easy, I used my special Captain’s Chariot,” Shining Armor replied. “It can take us a distance of up to 1,000 miles in about an hour. We’ll just take it right back to Canterlot so I can question the intruder some more and you girls can make sure the seal’s still strong.”
“Okay, girls, let’s go!” Twilight exclaimed.
“Hey! What about me?” Spike asked, not wanting to be left out.
“Spike, you’re staying here,” Twilight said to the baby dragon. “If this unicorn can really use chaos magic, I don’t want you getting hurt.”
Spike huffed. “Fine…” he grumbled. “But pick up some donuts at Joe’s shop before you come back, okay?”
“I’ll be sure to remember that,” Twilight replied, smiling. Then she turned to her brother. “So where’s this Captain’s Chariot of yours?”
“Oh, I parked it outside,” Shining Armor replied. “I should warn you, though, it can get pretty rough.”
“…Huh?”
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Twilight had seen her brother’s chariot once before, shortly after his wedding. Shining had told her then that it didn’t need a team of pegasi to pull it, but he hadn’t elaborated beyond that. Now that she and her friends were riding it themselves, she knew exactly why.
The Voyager class chariot, code-named Crystallux, had been built by the Equestrian Military Science Division. It could change size to seat from eight to twenty-four ponies, and was equipped with two twin engines protruding out the back, which ran on pure rainbow water.
“Very fuel-efficient,” Shining explained before they got on.
And fast, Twilight thought, her face turning a light shade of green. If she didn’t know that it was physically impossible for ponies to vomit, she would’ve done so. She turned to look in the seats around her and noticed that most of her friends were having a similar experience. Fluttershy was shivering in the back seat, as if afraid that it would crash at any moment. Applejack had a death grip on her hat, and Rarity was fainting repeatedly. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, had donned a pair of sunglasses and was now bobbing her head to the loud rock music blaring from the chariot’s stereo, and Pinkie Pie cheered with her usual enthusiasm.
“Hey, Shining!” Twilight yelled over the roar of the engines. “Before today, when was the last time you flew this thing?”
“Actually, this is a prototype!” Shining replied, grinning like a foal on Hearth’s Warming Eve. “It’s never been flown before today!”
“WHAT?!”
“All right, we should be there in about… five minutes!” Shining yelled as Canterlot Castle came into view.
“W-w-w-wow!” Pinkie exclaimed. “Usually, the Friendship Express takes about…” She paused, frowning. “Actually, it’s kind of inconsistent. I mean, usually, when we need to get to Canterlot quickly, it only takes about an hour, but when we were what the episode requires…” She started smiling again. “Gee, I sure hope that this thing doesn’t get damaged to the point where we can’t use it when we need to go someplace far away!”
“What was that?” Shining yelled. “Oh, look, we’re here! Hold on tight!” He began shifting gears to bring the chariot in for landing.

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                        Enter Havok                        
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Enter Havok
Shining Armor landed the Crystallux outside the Canterlot palace entrance. As the seven ponies exited the craft and entered the palace, he said to his sister, “The main palace vault is to the right of the throne room. Tell the guard that I sent you over there, and he should let you through. Once you’ve ensured that the seal remains strong, meet me in the throne room.”
“Got it,” Twilight Sparkle replied. “Okay, girls, let’s go!”
“YEAAAAH!” the six Element bearers shouted before heading towards the vault. Shining, seeing the six of them headed towards their task, headed in the opposite direction towards the palace dungeon, where the unicorn that had broken into the vault was currently being held prisoner. He dismissed the two guards at the entrance to the dungeons and started heading down the stone, spiral staircase (it had always baffled him that the princesses had never modernized this particular part of the castle, but the rest of the dungeons were).
As he made his way downstairs, he came across a pegasus guard who was about to head upstairs. He wore the helmet that signified that he was the guard’s first lieutenant. The first officer’s helmet (as well as his armor) looked identical to the Captain’s helmet, save for the fact that it was painted red. The lieutenant stopped as he noticed Shining and saluted.
“Sir! On your way to talk to the prisoner, I presume?” the pegasus asked.
“Affirmative, Lieutenant Cloudshaker,” Shining replied. “I trust he’s behaving himself? No chaos magic to try to escape?”
Cloudshaker looked uneasy. “So far, he hasn’t tried any tricks, but…” His voice trailed off as his eyes shifted.
Shining raised an eyebrow. “But?”
“He’s completely mad, sir,” Cloudshaker answered. “He… he claims to be a ‘servant of chaos,’ and he says that Discord made him his right-hand stallion during his original reign of terror.”
“That’s impossible,” Shining Armor said. “That was nearly 2,000 years ago. Only the princesses have lived that long. Well, two of them, anyway…”
“Celestia and Luna,” the lieutenant confirmed. “Regardless, you might want to go talk to this stallion yourself. You’re the captain; he might give you some straight answers. And…” He paused. “Good luck.” The lieutenant flew off, leaving Shining Armor to take care of things.
Shining Armor thought about the lieutenant as he made his way towards the prisoner’s cell. Cloudshaker had been promoted to the rank of lieutenant three months ago, after he showed considerable bravery during the Changeling invasion. He was the only guard not to be taken out of commission in any way during the attack, and it was thanks to him that nopony was seriously injured or killed. Since then, Shining Armor had decided that, should he ever step down or be killed in action, Cloudshaker would succeed him as Captain of the royal guard.
He’d certainly do a better job than I did, at any rate.
Don’t think like that, he thought as he arrived at the only occupied cell in the dungeon. He dismissed the two unicorns guarding the cell and got a closer look at the prisoner that had caused so much trouble.
When Shining Armor had caught the intruder earlier that morning, it was still very dark, so he didn’t really get a good look at the intruder. The mysterious unicorn was of average build and had a dark blue coat. His mane and tail were, by contrast, a bright shade of red, and the top part of his mane extended longer than the rest of it, which was otherwise quite short. His cutie mark was unlike any Shining had ever seen: an assortment of differently shaped arrows, each shooting off in completely random directions. It seemed that every time he looked at it, the arrows were in different positions. But the prisoner’s eyes unnerved Shining Armor the most; the slanted shape, the bright gold irises. They were the second-most evil eyes Shining had ever seen.
Shining steeled himself and asked in a commanding tone, “Who are you, and what do you want?” The prisoner remained silent, a small smile on his face.
Shining continued the interrogation. “What exactly do you have to gain from taking Discord’s statue? My lieutenant says you have claimed to be over 2,000 years old. How is that possible? For that matter, your magic is almost identical to that of a draconequus. If it’s the same kind of magic, you could escape at any time. So why haven’t you?”
Then the prisoner spoke. “I am an agent of chaos…” His voice was barely above a whisper, which disturbed Shining even more. “I have had many names over the centuries, but you may call me… Havok. Out of all the names I’ve used, that’s the one I’ve used the most. My goal is to free my master, and bring back the reign of chaos he so desires. Anything the master desires, I shall desire too. As for why I haven’t escaped, or how I’ve lived so long…” Havok let out a sinister chuckle. “In due time, Captain Shining Armor. In due time.”
“Wait… how do you know my name?” Shining Armor asked. And why do you seem so… familiar?
Havok chuckled again. “It is my business to know those who might threaten the return of my master. And you qualify, seeing as how you managed to repel the little… wedding gift I sent your way three months back.”
“What do you…” Shining Armor’s eyes widened. “It was you…” he gasped. “ You delivered the threat against Canterlot. You let the Changeling Queen in, so she could brainwash me and drain my power. It’s because of you that I almost lost… my sister…”
Havok grinned. “My, how clever of you. But only two out of three of those are correct. Can I really be blamed for words you said to your own sister?”
Shining Armor flinched as the mysterious unicorn said those words. Steeling himself, he said, “Well, no matter. Clearly, you thought that such strife would release Discord. Well, you were wrong. Love won out, and the seal is still as strong as it ever was. If you try anything again, my sister and her friends will stop you.” As he turned to leave, he failed to notice that Havok’s eyes had begun to glow…
+++++++++++++++++++++
Shining Armor arrived in the throne room to discover that Twilight and her friends were already waiting for him, still carrying the Elements with them. Celestia, Luna, and Cadance were there as well.
“Seal’s still strong,” Twilight explained to her brother. “And I put some additional protective spells around the vault. If that unicorn tries anything, the entire palace will be alerted.”
“That’s… good…” Shining mumbled distractedly, still a little shaken by his talk with Havok. This did not escape his sister’s notice.
“Is something wrong? What did the intruder say?” Twilight asked.
Shining Armor looked at her and the rest of her friends, then at his wife, who looked at him concernedly. “Well, let’s see,” he said, almost deadpan. “His name’s Havok, he claims to be over 2,000 years old, he’s fanatically loyal to Discord, and, oh yes! He’s the one who orchestrated the Changeling invasion.”
Silence. Then…
“WHAT?!” Nine voices rang out, three of them Royal Canterlot style.
“Could this… Havok… have been lying?” Princess Cadance asked. “I’ve not heard of anypony other than Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna living longer than about 100 years…”
Celestia and Luna exchanged glances. “It is possible,” Luna explained, “that his unusual form of magic dramatically increased his life span, but even so…”
“What I don’t get,” Applejack wondered, “is what exactly this Havok would have to gain from a full-scale invasion like that. Or any of the other drama that occurred during that time.” Shining Armor’s initial distractedness had not escaped the country mare’s notice either, and Applejack, despite what one might think, could figure out what somepony was feeling at that moment fairly quickly. Shining Armor, however, did not notice this.
“Well, DUH!” Pinkie Pie exclaimed. “Haven’t you seen this kind of thing before? The villain always has some deep, personal connection to the protagonist that drives his actions!”
Shining Armor could have sworn he heard crickets chirping in the silence that ensued, as everypony stared at Pinkie Pie as if she had just declared that the walls tasted good. Had he known Pinkie Pie better, he would have known that that was exactly the sort of thing she would say.
Princess Celestia broke the awkward silence. “I believe it would be wise for Twilight and her friends to remain in Canterlot for a few days, in case Havok tries to escape and free Discord again. I shall send a letter to Spike so that he does not worry.” With that, she teleported out of the room, presumably to write said letter.
“I must be off as well,” Luna said. “I have… urgent business to attend to. Perhaps you and Captain Armor could show Twilight Sparkle and her friends to where they will be staying.”
“Wait…” Cadance said, before her aunt teleported off as well.
Twilight was nonplussed. “Urgent business?”
“Aunt Luna joined a… gamer club recently,” Cadance explained. “Something about trying to catch up on the times. I just hope nothing bad happens. The last thing we need is more explosions like what happened when she tried to use the microwave for the first time…”
Shining Armor laughed. “You think that was bad?” he asked, grinning. “Remember the time Twily was still a filly, and she got into Dad’s coffee while you were foalsitting?”
“Oh, no…” Twilight sighed as she held her head in her hooves, embarrassed at the memory.
+++++++++
“Twilight, get back here!” a young Cadance yelled at her charge, who was currently bouncing off the walls and zapping everything around her with random magical spells.
“Ha ha, NOPE!” Twilight squealed as she zapped a nearby coat hanger, giving it wings and causing it to fly away through the window.
+++++++++
“I never did manage to find that coat hanger…” Cadance remarked, smiling at the memory. “How did she get a hold of that coffee, anyway?”
“Oh, I don’t know,” Shining said offhandedly. “I mean, it’s not like an immature, thirteen-year-old stallion who didn’t know he would fall in love with you years later left the coffee mug out where she could reach it on purpose to test whether or not you were as good a foalsitter as your ad said you were, and thus were worthy to watch over my little sister…”
Silence filled the room once more.
“Seriously?” Cadance deadpanned.
Rainbow Dash doubled over laughing. “That’s gotta be the best prank I’ve ever heard! And here I thought you were this stoic, way-too-serious captain guy…”
“Yeah, well, I was young and foalish back then…” Shining noted. His smile began to fade. “I still am, sometimes…” His thoughts drifted back to the night before his first wedding ceremony, when Twilight had burst into the throne room and declared that “Cadance” was evil. He hadn’t even noticed at the time that Twilight had never left the throne room, but when he went back in there later, there was nothing but a circle of ashes on the steps.
You really screwed up there, didn’t you, Shining? Couldn’t protect your bride-to-be OR your sister…
“Is something wrong?” Twilight’s voice brought him back to the present.
“No, it’s… it’s nothing, Twily…” Shining muttered, still haunted by memories of that night. Another silence filled the room. “Listen, I need to go do some… important… captain stuff. Cadance will show the six of you to the room you’ll be staying in.” He ran off, trying to hide the shame he suddenly felt.
“What was THAT all about?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“I… don’t know,” Twilight responded, staring at the doorway. “I’ve never seen him act like that…”
“I have,” Cadance said. “It was shortly after we got married. He told me about what had happened while I... while I was trapped in the caves. He sounded so… broken, like it pained him just to talk about it.”
“Talk about what exactly?” Twilight asked.
“I’d better take you to the library tower now,” Cadance announced quickly, clearly avoiding the subject. “I’ve got lots of stories I can tell you about the kinds of adventures Shining and I have been in.”
Twilight shrugged as she and her friends began following Cadance out of the throne room. As they turned right to head to the library tower, she noticed Applejack heading the opposite direction.
“Where are you going?” Twilight asked her friend.
“Yah’ll go on ahead,” the farm pony replied. “Ah need ta… check on somethin’.”

//-------------------------------------------------------//
                   Secrets and Surprises                   
//-------------------------------------------------------//
Secrets and Surprises
Shining Armor was standing in the castle courtyard, lost in thought over recent events.
<i>I don’t get it,</i> he thought as he paced back and forth. <i>I stopped the changelings. I apologized to Twily, and even made her my best mare again for the real ceremony. Why is it still bothering me?
“ ‘Important captain stuff,’ huh?” A familiar southern drawl came from behind him. He spun around to see Applejack standing there. “Looks to me like you’re just mulling over the recent past.” She stared at him with a piercing gaze that made Shining feel as if his soul was being searched. “Yer hidin’ something from Twi, aren’t ya?”
Shining sighed. “I guess I can’t really hide anything from the one who bears the Element of Honesty… It’s just that… it’s been three months since my wedding to Cadance, and I still feel horrible about the way I treated Twily after her… well, outburst.”
Applejack remembered well the disappointment they had all felt when Twilight burst into the hall, declaring “Cadance” evil. She also remembered how horrible they all felt when they realized that she had been right. Knowing this, she tried to comfort Shining Armor. “Don’t be so hard on yerself. We all acted that way, and yah more than made up for it later. Besides, Ah suspect you weren’t exactly yerself for most of that anyway, what with being under that Changeling’s brainwashin’ magic and all…”
“That’s just it, though!” Shining Armor shouted, startling Applejack and a few random passersby. Realizing this, he lowered his voice. “Up until right before the fake ceremony, the brainwashing only lasted a few seconds, just long enough for me to forget about any suspicions I was having. I meant everything I said to Twilight, and worse, I… I <i>hated</i> her for saying such things. And that’s not even getting into what happened later…”
“And what exactly DID happen later?” Applejack questioned him.
Shining sighed. “I can’t tell you that,” he replied, trying to avoid the farm pony’s gaze.
“Yah must’ve told Princess Cadance,” AJ pointed out. “And if she could forgive yah for whatever happened, Ah’m sure yer sister could as well. Families are supposed to talk to each other about these things. If they don’t…” She paused. “…If they don’t, they may never get the chance to.”
Shining stood there silently for a moment. Then he smiled. “You’re right,” he conceded. “Thank you.”
“Glad Ah could help,” AJ responding, smiling. “Now, we’d better head over to that tower so we can get this whole mess sorted out.”
+++++++++++++
Havok, who had been lying down in his cell, suddenly sat up. “It’s time,” he whispered, before breaking the chains that held him and teleporting out of the cell, knocking out the two guards before they could sound the alarm.
“Now, where was I? Oh, yes…” he whispered before teleporting straight to the castle vault.
+++++++++++++++++++++
“And then the sea ponies made me their chief.”
Cadance, who had taken Twilight and the rest of their friends to the tower where they would all be staying (which happened to be the tower Twilight had lived in before moving to Ponyville), had just finished telling them a story about a strange adventure she had had when she was a filly.
“Soooo… what happened to the cake ninjas?” Pinkie Pie asked, still eating from a bag of popcorn that she had mysteriously pulled out of thin air.
“Oh, now THAT’S an even more interesting story… A completely different story, at that,” came a familiar voice from behind them. The six of them turned and saw Applejack and Shining Armor standing in the doorway.
“Where have you two been?” Twilight asked, noticing that Shining Armor seemed to be in a much better mood.
“Ah was just havin’ a little chat with him about… certain events,” Applejack replied, nudging Shining Armor.
“Yeah, just talking…” Shining Armor noted. “Listen, Twily, I need to talk to you about something…”
Suddenly, a loud alarm began ringing throughout the entire palace. It seemed to be coming from the direction of the vault.
“It’ll have to wait,” Twilight said, giving the Elements of Harmony to her friends and placing her own Element of Magic on her head. “That’s the sound the spell was supposed to make if the vault was broken into again. We need to hurry!”
The six Element bearers, Shining Armor, and Cadance made a mad dash for the Vault…
++++++++++++++++++
The Canterlot Vault housed many magical artifacts that the Princesses had found over the centuries. One artifact Luna particularly enjoyed taking out when she was bored was a small ruby that, when activated, caused the target to do the most embarrassing thing possible. The particularly fun part about this ruby is that it causes each pony to do something completely different, tailored to whatever the pony would find the most embarrassing thing. When Twilight and her friends had been in the vault earlier, Pinkie Pie had accidentally zapped Rainbow Dash with this ruby, causing her to lose her wings for five seconds (they reappeared moments later). There was also a golden locket shaped like a quarter of a heart, though it seemed that the rest of it had broken off at some point.
None of these items mattered to Havok as he made his way to his real prize. Discord’s statue was in the center of the room. His face was still frozen in terror from the last time Twilight and her friends had fought them.
“Soon, master… very soon…” Havok whispered to himself as his horn began glowing a sickly shade of green. In a white flash much like Discord’s own teleportation, the statue draconequus disappeared from the room.
“HEY, YOU!” a mare’s voice came from the vault’s entrance. Havok spun around to see Twilight, the other Elements of Harmony, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance standing there, giving him glares that would’ve melted solid steel.
“Just where do you think YOU’RE going?” Twilight yelled at the chaos user. “And where’s the statue?”
Havok grinned, looking rather pleased with himself despite the eight ponies bearing down on him, Elements primed and ready for use. “You’re too late. I’ve already teleported my master’s form to my lair in the Chaos World, where I shall free him unchallenged, and chaos shall reign over this land once more.”
“We’re not giving you the chance, you freak!” Rainbow Dash shouted.
“Ready, girls?” Twilight asked her friends, the gem in her tiara beginning to glow.
“READY!” the other five Element bearers exclaimed as their own gems did the same. They got into the same formation that had served them well against Nightmare Moon and Discord, and began to float off the floor, eyes glowing a furious shade of white. Almost immediately, a giant rainbow sprang forth from the six ponies, heading straight for the chaos mage.
What happened next was something Shining Armor, nor anypony in all of Equestria, could have anticipated. Havok’s horn began to glow, and with a wave of his hoof, he stopped the rainbow wave in its tracks and deflected it back at the six ponies. The shockwaves sent the six of them flying in different directions.
“What… the hay… just happened?” Twilight Sparkle panted, the wind nearly knocked out of her from the blast. “Our friendship… is still… strong…”
Havok gave a quiet laugh. “You honestly thought mere fragments such as those could stop me?” He began to gallop towards the exit, only to be stopped by Shining Armor and Cadance.
“Did you forget about us?” Cadance asked, preparing a beam spell.
“Ah, the lovely princess Cadance, or was it Mi Amore Cadenza? Chrysalis was a little unclear. No matter.” Havok’s horn glowed once more, and he suddenly launched a green stream of fire from his hoof. The heat was too much for her, and she soon fell unconscious.
“CADANCE!” Shining Armor screamed, running to her side and catching her as she fell to the ground. He glared at the chaos mage. “You’ll pay for that.”
“And what can YOU do? I’ve already proven that I can withstand the Elements of Harmony. What chance, then, do you have?” Havok suddenly fell to his knees, his chest giving off sparks of electricity. “I guess I didn’t deflect that blast quite right after all… Well, I’ve wasted enough time here as it is. I’ll just recover my strength in the Chaos World, and then I can get on with bringing my master back. Goodbye, Captain Armor. I’ll let you all live for now, but the next time we meet, I won’t be so merciful.” With that, Havok teleported himself away in a white flash, leaving his foes behind.
Twilight and the others came up to the two, having recovered from their shock. The purple unicorn looked at her unconscious foalsitter with worry.
“We need to get her to the medical wing,” Shining Armor explained, carrying his wife on his back. “Once she’s recovered, we need to figure out what we can do to stop this threat.”