It was a bright, sunny day in Canterlot. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the faint smell of lilacs wafted through the air. In simpler terms, a textbook example of a perfect day to be spent indoors. In the distance a small, hyperactive furry ball raced through the winding halls of the Canterlot museum of history. Lagging behind was a old and wrinkled stallion; his bones crackling loudly with every step. Despite his advanced age, the stallion moved about with a spring in his step and viewed the world through twinkling eyes.
“Slow down, champ,” he beckoned, unable to keep up to the pace of the energetic youth. “Your grandpa’s still as strong as an ox, but he’s not as young as he used to be.” Several moments passed, but still the young colt was nowhere in sight. Fearing for the safety of his grandson, he quickly rounded the corner with surprising speed. Thankfully for him, the young colt hadn’t ran too far off, but was instead frozen in awe at the sight of an elaborate portrait.
The young colt gave the painting a quizzical look and pointed toward it with one of his hooves.“Grandpa, who’s that pony in the picture?”
The aged stallion chuckled heartily. “Son, didn’t you learn anything in school? He’s just the most important pony to grace the earth in the last two hundred years.”
The seed of curiosity quickly grew inside the colt and within a few moments he was already begging for answers. “Who is he and what makes him so special?” the young colt inquired. eager to learn of the past.
“Nothing much, he’s just the champion of harmony, savior of Equestria.”
“Please, oh please grandpa, tell me more,” begged the young colt as he put on his best puppy dog look.
“Fine, I’ll tell you a story, but I’m going to need you to settle down,” said the stallion, much to the glee of the young colt. Without any further instruction, the colt sat down in place; much to the dismay of his grandfather. With a sigh, the stallion began to regale the colt with an essential piece of history. “Okay, listen up son, for here is the great tale of Shining Armor, captain of the royal guard, annihilator of the black and red menace.”
The early morning sun blazed overhead; its rays gently reflecting off of the vast wall of muscle and steel below. Leading this formidable force of various pony species was a single unicorn stallion clad in fine steel and brass; his masterfully crafted armor outshining the very sun itself. The majestic stallion stood atop a tall hill, his glistening figure available for all to see.
“My most trusted subordinates,” said the gleaming figure. “Today will forever be etched down in history as our greatest triumph. Today shall be the day we rid ourselves of the-”
A single flash of blue caught the attention of the glimmering figure; halting his speech. Out of the stoic and highly trained regiment, a single hoof was rised. “Captain, permission to speak?” called the pony as he attempted to make his way to the front of the crowd. After several moments, out popped a cyan pegasus clad in solid steel armor.
“Permission granted, Quicksilver,” responded the gleaming figure.
“Sir Shining Armor, if it wouldn’t be too much trouble could you step down from that hill? I can feel my retinas sizzling away.”
“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” disclosed Shining Armor. “I have to gather as much intel of the battlefield as I can.”
The color quickly drained from Quicksilver’s face and his lips began to tremble. “Battlefield? Are we going to do battle or something?”
The foolish question caught Shining Armor completely off guard; leaving the stallion befuddled. “Why . . . yes, this is a war. What other reason would we have to be here?”
“Holy flank, seriously? I thought we were having a picnic!” exclaimed the cyan pegasus, followed by a wave of nods from the crowd.
Shining Armor sighed and placed a hoof on his face. “Show of hooves, who else thinks this is a picnic?” Following the short question, in unison, three thousand hooves rose up in response. Slowly, Shining Armor’s face became a deep shade of crimson, yet he still maintained his composure. “I’ve been planning this with both the princesses and three other generals for several months now. How could three thousand ponies possibly not know we’re about to wage war?”
Three thousand ponies shrugged and looked away in shame. “We were told we were having a picnic by Princess Celestia herself several months ago,” Quicksilver announced, procuring an invitation and a large basket from within a hidden crevice in his armor. “She just waltzed right into our barracks several days ago to remind us to bring food and drinks. Look, I even bought some banana bread.”
The surprising revelation left the stallion with his mouth agape. “Wait, hold on a second. Did you just say that Princess Celestia herself told you that this was going to be a picnic?”
“Unless years of being exposed to experimental magic has finally taken its toll, then most probably yes,” Quicksilver responded.
With a bit of flair and magic, Shining Armor pulled out a quill and a small piece of parchment from thin air. “Could you hold on a second?” Shining Armor announced as he began to write. “I have to send a certain princess a very sincere letter.” The letter was a simple love filled message consisting of two words written in big bold print. With another puff of magic, the letter was instantaneously delivered to a large pile labeled ‘from my little ponies’. Nearby, the regal solar princess herself shoveled the ever increasing pile of correspondence into the dancing flames of the castle furnace.
“Well, that should show her a piece of my mind!” the unicorn boasted, puffing out his chest in pride. “However, there are more ‘important’ matters at hoof. Seriously, I mean we have been marching for five day’s now; all your food should be spoiled or hard as stone. Shouldn’t that have rised any alarms?” The disgruntled captain glared at all of his three thousand subordinates. Not a single pony could meet his gaze, but one cyan pegasus.
“Sir, I beg the differ,” countered Quicksilver. “The invitation clearly states that we would be hiking for several days. Knowing this, my friend Fiddlebottoms enchanted all the food with a simple stasis spell.” The pegasus withdrew a loaf of bread from the large basket and struck it against his helmet. The resulting metallic clang droned through the air. “It keeps our food from spoiling, but I have no idea how we’re suppose to eat it.”
Shining Armor’s vision gained a red lense and he began to speak in a slow, dangerous tone. “We are clad in full bodied plate armor, equipped with the finest weapons in all of Equestria, and supplied by a dozen caravans day in and day out. Still, not a single one, not a single pony thought ‘Hey, this might not be a picnic after all.’”
“Well, to be honest sir, now that you mention it, carrying all this equipment is kind of strange-,” Quicksilver remarked, finally feeling the burden of the heavy steel draped upon his body.
“Yes!” the ranting stallion shouted in glee, interrupting the pegasus speaking before him. “You feel that coursing through your veins? That’s logic, pure sweet logic. Never before have I felt prouder in my life. I just knew you guys are the best subordinates a pony could ask for.”
“However, I thought you were merely punishing us for that prank involving love poison and that incident with your sister,” the pegasus divulged, leaving his captain blushing furiously followed by a wave of nods from the crowd. “Not to mention we’re at the very gates of Tartarus itself. Carrying all this armor and equipment might not be such a bad idea for a picnic after all.”
Shining Armor sighed and placed a hoof upon his face. “You know where we are, yet you still insist on a picnic?”
“Well, yeah,” Quicksilver retorted, shrugging his shoulders. “We kind of noticed it a day ago. I mean it’s kind of hard not noticing a giant flaming gate. Besides, its not like we get the chance of having a picnic at the very gates of Tartarus everyday.”
Shining Armor’s eyes burned like hot coals due to the nonchalant personality of the pegasus before him. “Do you honestly have any idea? Any idea on what we’re dealing with?” bellowed the stallion.
“Well to be honest, no,” Quicksilver replied. “Are we dealing with Cerberus or something? Because using three thousand ponies is kind of a waste. I’m pretty sure a single pony with a ball could subdue the beast.”
The short comment was followed by murmurs of agreement among the crowd; much to the dismay of Shining Armor. “By great Celestia’s beard, stop agreeing with him!” Shining Armor roared before regaining his composure. “No, we are dealing with something far more dangerous. We are dealing with the very spawn of the deepest depths of Tartarus. We are dealing with the black and red menace.”
“Black and red menace?” wondered Quicksilver before a thought struck him. “Oh, you must mean those immensely powerful, perverse alicorns always lying around everywhere. Well they don’t really seem like a problem. They’re not too intelligent and they usually give angst laden monologues before they go about doing anything. I mean just the other day I convinced one of them to teleport into the sun for a lollipop.”
“Amusing tale, Quicksilver,” Shining Armor replied, quickly taking note of the brilliant strategy. “But I am sure that the more intelligent of the species will not fall for such a simple ruse.”
“I beg the differ captain,” Quicksilver chuckled. “Thing is, I never even gave him the lollipop. I said I would give it to him afterwards and he immediately agreed.”
Several months of planning replaced by a lollipop finally snapped the disgruntled captain. With a sigh, Shining Armor began to descend the hill. “I need some time alone,” he whimpered as he made his way to the caravans.
“But captain,” Quicksilver replied, his voice dripping with concern. “Can we still have the picnic?”
Too dreary to express any anger, Shining Armor reluctantly agreed. With a simple nod, Shining Armor walked off into the distance; abandoning the cheers of glee and merriment behind him.
The curious colt sat beside the elder stallion; hanging onto every single word that he spoke. With a scowl upon his face, the young colt began to softly tug the leg of his grandfather. “But grandpa, Shining Armor couldn’t have just given up that easily,” the young colt complained, still tugging on his grandfather’s leg; much to his dismay.
“Exactly!” the stallion exclaimed, his eyes sparkling with pride. “He’s tougher than that; it’ll take more than common sense and a child’s confectionary to sway a pony of his caliber.”
The young colt gave the stallion a quizzical look before scratching his head. “Grandpa, if he wasn’t going to use the lollipops, how else did he stop the bad guys?” he implored.
“Well good question there champ,” said the stallion, his voice dripping with pride. “You see my son; Shining Armor is a masterful tactician. Even though several months of planning were replaced by a lollipop, he simply used his ingenious mind to come up with a plan twice as effective.”
“Grandpa, what new plan did Shining Armor come up with?” asked the young colt.
“Well I guess you just have to find out champ,” chuckled the stallion as he ruffled the mane of the young colt. “Now where was I?”
The bright afternoon sun loomed overhead; reflecting off of the steel draped bodies of three thousand ponies. Sounds of glee and merriment droned through the air as they enjoyed their much needed picnic. In the distance, far from the commotion, sat a cyan pegasus and a cream colored unicorn basking in the radiant light of the sun. Contrary to the festive atmosphere nearby, the two sat in relative silence; the sun’s rays bombarding the unfortunate pair.
“By Celestia’s fat flank, damn is it hot!” the pegasus bellowed, breaking the silence. “I can literally feel myself melting in this metal shell.”
“Calm down Quicksilver, getting angry will it only make it hotter.”
The cyan pegasus slowly faced the unicorn and jabbed a hoof in his face, his eyes resembled that of two hot coals. “And you Fiddlebottoms,” Quicksilver shouted, pointing to the shady tree line nearby with his free hoof. “You just had to set up here even though it’s the middle of summer and we’re wearing heavy steel armor.”
“Hey, don’t blame it on me,” Fiddlebottoms contended, the heat working its way with the otherwise collected stallion. “We both agreed to pick this spot so the captain could easily find us. So if you could stop complaining, it would make the wait that much more bearable!”
Both ponies immediately stopped their pointless fighting at the mention of their captain. With a sigh, Fiddlebottoms looked off into the distance. “Quicksilver, do you think he’ll be okay after what happened?”
Sensing the gloomy aura emanating from his friend, Quicksilver immediately hopped onto his hooves and began to lighten the mood. “Do I think he’ll be okay? I know he’ll be okay,” Quicksilver proclaimed, beaming with confidence and pride. “If there’s one thing I know about our captain, it’s the fact that he’s as stubborn as a mule. It’ll take more than a simple lollipop to bring him down.”
“Hopefully you’re right. It would be a shame to have our captain down in the dumps.”
“I mean he is seriously stubborn,” Quicksilver remarked. “I once saw the guy push a pull door for fifteen minutes without giving up. The blasted thing even clearly said pull on the side, but still he persisted. The whole thing eventually ended with him blowing the door off its hinges and somehow leaving me with the bill, but that’s another story for another time.”
Rendered speechless by the heartfelt story, Fiddlebottoms uttered but a few words. “Wow, that’s our captain.”
“That’s how I know he’s fine,” Quicksilver chuckled. “The guy just won’t take no for an answer. Knowing him, he’s probably already come up with a better plan and on his way to tell us.”
As if on cue, a shining figure appeared on the horizon; racing toward them. Though it was difficult to see from a distance, the figure appeared to be carrying two metallic objects along with it. “Speak of the devil, that must be our captain. He seems to be carrying a spear and he looks like he’s. . .oh my god! It’s coming right at us!” Quicksilver blurted out before jumping back. In a second’s time, an eight foot spear plunged into the ground before him. Still surprised by his close brush with death, Quicksilver was late to notice his sabre wielding captain standing beside him.
“Hurry Quicksilver,” exclaimed Shining Armor, proudly brandishing his weapon. “There are battles to be fought and a war to be won.”
“Sir Shining Armor, I’m going to look past the fact that you nearly took my life mere seconds ago, so tell me, what’s with the cheerful mood?”
“No time to explain now. I’ll tell you on the way there. Now avast ye questions Quicksilver, we make our way to the gates of Tartarus post haste.” hollered Shining Armor as he galloped off into the distance.
Once again, the two stallions were left alone in silence in the sunny clearing. “Wow,” Fiddlebottoms commented. “Does he usually do this when he’s happy?”
“I don’t know. . .” Quicksilver replied as he gazed upon the fleeting figure of his captain. “What I do know is he’s liable to get himself killed if he’s left to himself. So Fiddlebottoms, would you care to tag along?”
“Nah, this picnic needs me,” the unicorn proclaimed, pointing to his horn. “I’m pretty sure I’m the only one who can disenchant the stasis spell I put on all the food.”
“What a shame. It would have been great having another unicorn with us,” implied Quicksilver. “But I guess you have a duty to serve to this picnic.”
With a mighty tug of his wing, Quicksilver extracted the long spear from the Earth and placed it in a crevice on his armor. Bidding farewell to his unicorn companion, the pegasus soared straight into the air, only to be stopped by a peach colored aura surrounding his entire body. “Quicksilver,” Fiddlebottoms cried out, still restraining the pegasus midflight. “Make sure you bring that captain of ours back in one piece.” The entangled pegasus quickly agreed and found himself hurtling toward the ground at freefall speed. With a single mighty flap of his wings, Quicksilver regained his altitude and set off toward the shining speck in the distance.
In a few short moments, the cyan pegasus landed and stood beside his sabre, scroll wielding captain. “So Quicksilver,” greeted the unicorn, still reading the scroll absentmindedly. “How’d you find me so fast?”
The afternoon sun glinted off of Shining Armor’s metallic figure; painfully blinding the cyan pegasus. “I’d be surprised if I didn’t find you this quickly with you wearing that thing, Sir Shining Armor,” Quicksilver replied, rising a hoof to protect his eyes from the painful rays of the sun. “But enough about my life, now tell me, what exactly are you reading?”
The unicorn halted his reading and stored the parchment in a long, hollow case on his armor. “Oh, nothing much. Just getting myself situated with the battle tactics I’ve been planning for several months,” Shining Armor disclosed, barely able to suppress his smile.
“Sir Shining Armor, wouldn’t using lollipops save countless lives and resources? So why are you still looking at your battle plans?”
The unicorn’s face instantly lit up as if he had been anticipating such a question. “Quicksilver, the thing is we won’t be using your plan; even with all the resources it will save. You see, we have no lollipops. As I was moping around the caravans, I went ahead and checked our inventory. To my surprise, I found out we are lacking lollipops and strangely any candy whatsoever.” Quicksilver could only look in confusion as his captain spoke; attempting to process every single word that came out of his mouth.
The pegasus sighed and covered his face with both wings. “Sir Shining Armor, nearly half of our group is made up of pegasi. If you merely halt this war for a day, we could have at least five hundred wagons full of lollipops by tomorrow.”
Shining Armor momentarily scratched his head in thought before quickly shaking his head in disagreement. “There is no need for that. Even if we gather every single lollipop within a day’s vicinity of our location, there is no possible way those confectioners could even hope to produce the amount needed to be effective.”
“So you’re just going to throw away the lives of three thousand ponies? There is no hope of winning against such creatures with conventional means!” Quicksilver bellowed, his face flushed red with anger.
Standing strong, Shining Armor looked straight into Quicksilver’s contempt filled gaze. “No. . .I have no intention to even throw away a single life. However, I will gladly sacrifice the lives of my ponies, myself included, if it means the safety of Equestria.” Shining Armor declared. “Plus the glory is pretty nice.”
A long and bloody war on the horizon, Quicksilver’s face instantly lit up as a thought struck him. “Sir Shining Armor, there is a better way. A much more diplomatic, safer, but just as honorable method.” His interests piqued by the proposal, Shining Armor keenly listened with open ears. “We could kindly ask those beasts to leave our world, dimension, yada yada yada. You could tell the media how you single handedly strong armed those beasts into leaving, and bam there’s your honor. Just as long as it’s somepony else’s problem, everypony comes out nice and dandy.”
“Hmm, what are the chances of this actually working?” Shining Armor inquired, “Considering they can even understand our proposal, what makes you think they’ll actually listen to reason?”
“Well, considering how the other two plans involved lollipops or the death of three thousand ponies at the hooves of beasts possessing unholy strength, I’m pretty sure the chance of success couldn’t possibly be lower than the other two,” Quicksilver alleged. “Except maybe the one involving the lollipops, but that’s beside the point.”
The unicorn sighed in defeat. “Fine, we’ll try your so called ‘diplomacy’, but know this, if anything goes wrong, you’ll be held liable.”
Quicksilver raised both hooves in victory in front of his bewildered captain. “Sir Shining Armor, you could blame the pony pox on me for all I care, just as long as I can save my fellow brothers in arms,” exclaimed the ecstatic pegasus. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go rally up a convoy.” The cyan pegasus only made it a few steps before his now perspiring form stood deathly still.
The cold hard steel of a sabre danced dangerously close to the exposed jugular of the frightened pegasus. Even the slightest of tremors would result in a quick and painless death. “I’m sorry, but I can’t have you do that,” said Shining Armor, his back toward the fear struck pegasus. “I mean the other ponies won’t exactly let me go if they know their captain is waltzing right into the deepest and darkest place on the planet. Before you know it, I’ll be leading three thousand ponies with me through the gates of Tartarus. It’ll look more like an invasion than a peace negotiation.”
A bead of sweat dripped onto the sabre and trickled down the cold steel blade. “Okay, Okay,” yelped Quicksilver as he swiftly jumped back. “We’ll do it your way. Just get that thing away from me!”
Shining Armor chuckled heartily, still oblivious to the scene behind him. “Jeez Quicksilver, why are you so afraid of a little scroll? Afraid you might get a paper cut?”
The oblivious captain playfully swung the sabre with his magic, much to the horror of the cyan pegasus. “Darn it captain, it’s common courtesy to face whoever you’re speaking to,” exclaimed Quicksilver as he retreated to his captain’s side and forcefully turned his head. “Not only is it rude, but you would have noticed you were swinging THAT at me!”
The sabre, still in his magical grip, glistened in front of the bewildered captain. “That’s not a scroll. . .” mumbled Shining Armor.
Quicksilver sighed and glared at his captain. “What does that make that? Two? You nearly took my life TWO times in the course of what? Four hours?”
Shining Armor avoided the glare of the pegasus beside him and hung his head in shame. “In my defense, I was pretty sure I put that thing in my scabbard.”
“Wait, you mean that thing on your back?” inquired Quicksilver as he pointed to a metallic object strapped onto his captain. “Toss it over, might as well see what you put in that scabbard of yours.”
Using a small bit of magic, Shining Armor levitated the scabbard into the hooves of a curious Quicksilver. The cyan pegasus immediately overturned it; revealing its contents. Out popped a crumpled scroll which was quickly retrieved by Shining Armor. “So that’s where I put it. . .”
With a blank expression on his face, Quicksilver turned around and began to walk off into the distance. “Quicksilver, hold on a second,” panted Shining Armor as he caught up to the retreating pegasus. “Where are you going?”
“Back to the picnic. Now if you’ll excuse me Sir Shining Armor, I have an empty stomach to fill.”
Shining Armor ran before the cyan pegasus; blocking his path. “Hey, what about the peace negotiations?” inquired Shining Armor.
Quicksilver made his way around the stubborn unicorn and continued his journey. “Find somepony else to help you. Somepony else dumb enough to follow their oblivious captain alone to the depths of Tartarus,” huffed the annoyed pegasus.
The captain looked upon his subordinate with true admiration and respect. “But Quicksilver, you’re one of my closest and most trust associates,” said Shining Armor, garnering the attention of the cyan pegasus. “Not to mention the fact I don’t know the names of any of my officers or any other pony here, except for you. Please, don’t make me beg.”
Quicksilver stared quizzically at his now bowing captain. “Wait a second, we’re friends? I mean my memory is a bit foggy, but I’m fairly certain we had some history together. For instance, how did we first meet?”
The unicorn placed a hoof on his head and pondered the thought. “Now that you mention it, I have no idea.”
“Weird, isn’t it?” Quicksilver chuckled. “Sort of like a plot device a writer would use for convenience.”
Both stallions shared a hearty laugh at the remark. “So Quicksilver,” said Shining Armor, still catching his breath. “I don’t suppose you’re still coming?”
The cyan pegasus shrugged his shoulders and stared awkwardly at his captain. “Might as well; that’s what ‘friends’ are for after all,” replied Quicksilver. “I’m also going to stop referring to you as Sir Shining Armor; the phrase doesn’t exactly roll on the tongue.”
With a nod between the two, both stallions bravely began their perilous journey to the flaming gates of Tartarus. A solemn air hung about the two; prompting the pair to continue their journey in silence. This silence was quickly broken by a cyan pegasus noisily rummaging through the various compartments and saddlebags on his armor. With a smile, the pegasus pulled out a large basket from somewhere in his armor. “Hey Shining, guess what.” The unicorn responded with a simple instance of ‘what’, slightly intrigued by Quicksilver’s sudden comment and the mysterious object within his hooves.
Quicksilver slowly opened the basket; revealing the contents within. “I just remembered I was carrying banana bread on me; I guess we won’t be going hungry after all.”
Shining Armor paused in mid stride and placed a hoof on his face. “Really, banana Bread?” he chided. “This is serious; the fate of Equestria rests in our hooves. This isn’t some trip to the bakery for a nutritious snack.”
“Jeez,” Quicksilver hissed, storing the delectable treat back in its proper place. “I thought you’d appreciate some delicious banana bread.”
“I would appreciate it if you took this a little more seriously,” countered Shining Armor.
“Well, no banana bread for you.”
The unicorn raised both his front hooves in triumph. “Ha-ha,” chuckled Shining Armor, a wide smirk on his face. “Jokes on you. The dumb thing’s still enchanted, good luck eating something with a density equivalent to dark matter.”
“Come on, we’re friends aren’t we? Use your fancy schmancy magic and disenchant it or something.” pleaded the hungry pegasus.
The unicorn snickered and resumed his walking. “How about no? ‘Friend’.”
His stomach still grumbling loudly, the hungry pegasus groaned in pain as he followed close behind. “You are a jerk of the highest caliber,” Quicksilver muttered under his breath.
After a brisk walk through a pleasant sunny meadow, the pair found themselves before a gigantic jet black gate veiled in crimson flame. Its looming figure casting a shadow spanning far into the distance. The two stoically stood before the gate, unfazed; silently observing the immense obstacle before them. “So . . .” Quicksilver drawled, his stoic expression now replace d with pure puzzlement. “How does this thing work? There’s nothing behind this blasted gate. Are we suppose to just waltz on in and poof we’re there?”
Unlike his companion, Shining Armor stood strong and remained stoic. “I don’t know, but what I do know is I’m not going to be the one to open this thing.”
The cyan pegasus froze in awe at a mixture of the gigantic obstacle that stood before him and the sheer stupidity of his captain’s request. “You are looking at this right? This thing’s at least as tall as Canterlot Castle,” Quicksilver complained, frantically waving both his front hooves.
“You make a valid point there, however, I did call dibs,” countered Shining Armor with a snicker.
Quicksilver rapidly shook his head and quickly backed away. “How about no? Even if I had the strength to move this thing, which I don’t, I wouldn’t be able to get close enough without turning into a walking skillet.”
“Well one of us has to do it, and as your captain, I order you to open this gate.”
“Why don’t you open it?” Quicksilver contended as he pointed to Shining’s horn. “You’re the captain of the royal guard; you should be able to open this gate with ease. I also heard your younger sister opened this thing when she returned that three headed mutt. So go do magic on it or something. If she can do it, so can you.”
Shining Armor sighed as he planting all four hooves firmly on the ground. “Fine, I’ll have this thing open in a jiffy. After all, I do all the heavy lifting around here.”
Concentrating all of his energy into his horn, Shining Armor released an enormous bolt of magic at the massive gate; resulting in a gigantic explosion that knocked both ponies off their hooves. Slowly, the dust began to fade and vision returned to the two. The dust settled revealing the looming obstacle still standing strong and unscathed. “Darn it Shining, you could have tried pulling on it you know. Look, that blast didn’t even do any-”
In the blink of an eye, the blue sky was dyed a deep crimson. The tempest in the heavens flashed with pure energy as bolt after bolt struck the ground. Sky and earth shook alike with tremendous force as a cold squall battered the two stallions. From the heavens, a voice like that of raging thunder boomed down upon them. “He who travels the path to the realm of the damned, state your purpose.”
Wind and rain thrashed against his mortal body and the very earth itself attempted to fell the captain, yet still the proud unicorn valiantly stood. “It is I, Shining Armor, captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard and my faithful companion, Quicksilver. We humbly request passage into the realm of Tartarus.”
“Those of mortal flesh shalt not dare step foot through the gates of Tartarus,” bellowed the voice from the heavens. Just as quickly as it happened, the hellish tempest dissipated; leaving the clearing sunny and clear once again. In its wake, a black and crimson alicorn materialized before them. Despite its all powerful nature, its flank lay dull and barren. “For I, Gary Shoe, keeper of the gates of Tartarus, demand an offering.”
The two stallions looked upon the new obstacle that now stood before their path. With yet another daunting hurdle to overcome, the two stallions consulted between themselves. “Just one of those things nearly killed us with his introduction speech, and you were trying to go to war with them?” Quicksilver murmured, keeping an eye on the alicorn.
“Quicksilver, don’t dwell on the past. We have more important matters on hoof, like getting past this beast and opening that gate.”
“Well, your younger sister must have gone through the same troubles. Shouldn’t you have any idea on how she got past them?” Quicksilver replied.
“Darn, I have no idea. We can still get in by giving him an offering.”
“Pfft, good luck with that. You know what he means by offering right? He wants your soul!” Quicksilver mumbled.
“Guess I don’t have a choice. It was nice knowing you, Quicksilver,” said Shining Armor, his voice dripping with remorse.
The cyan pegasus looked upon his captain with sheer puzzlement and respect. “Captain, you don’t have to do this.”
“I said I’d give my life for Equestria; is this any different?” Shining Armor proudly asserted. “One soul for the safety of a nation and his ponies, that sounds like a fair trade. Now Quicksilver, promise me you’ll make peace with these monsters.”
A small tear trickled down the face of the cyan pegasus, yet the stallion remained strong and stoic. “Yes I will captain, for the safety and welfare of Equestria, and know this my friend, until my eyes go dim and my body fails me, I shall tell tales of your gallantry and sacrifice to all those across the land.”
“May we meet again in another life,” Shining Armor woefully replied. His mind firmly set, the unicorn boldly made his way to the unholy beast, his companion following close behind. “I hereby offer my soul to forever be in your servitude,” Shining Armor declared, bowing his head toward the beast.
The beast stoically stood over the bowing stallion. “Is that your final decision?” he replied.
Still bowing his head, the unicorn withdrew a photo of a pink alicorn mare from his armor. “Before I make my final decision, let me make peace with my loved ones,” Shining Armor woefully commented. The grieving unicorn lovingly gazed at the photo one last time. Unbeknownst to him, the beast stared upon the photo with glee in his eyes.
“Okay,” Shining Armor began. “I have made my-”
“Who was on that photo of yours?” interrupted the black and red beast.
Shining Armor gazed upon the beast, slightly puzzled. “It’s my wife. . .why?”
“Can I have it?” asked the beast. Speechless, Shining Armor simply replied with an expression of pure puzzlement. “I’ll let you both in for the photo.”
Quicksilver, silently observing the events before him, prodded the unicorn; snapping him out of his stupor. “Here’s our chance Shining,” Quicksilver exclaimed, a wide smile on his face. “Give him the photo and keep your soul.”
Shining Armor gazed upon the photo of his loving wife and the salivating beast. “How about no?”
Quicksilver gasped. “What, are you crazy?” blurted Quicksilver. “Would you rather give him your soul or one of many photos of your wife?”
Shining Armor pointed a hoof at the still salivating beast. “Look at him! God knows what he’s going to do with it.”
“So,” Quicksilver countered. “Who cares what he does with it. You keep your soul; that’s what matters.”
Shining Armor stood back on his hooves and looked his companion in the eye. “I care! I won’t be able to sleep peacefully at night thinking about the possibilities.” retorted Shining Armor. “Plus anyway, he’s standing right there; what’s stopping us from running our weapons through him and opening the gate?”
The beast, keenly listening in on their conversation, stepped up and spoke. “That would not be a wise decision, Shining Armor,” he chimed in. “Only I, Gary Shoe, can open this gate. And do you truly believe you can defeat I, a distant relative of Princess Celestia, the seventh element of harmony; power, and honorary Cutie Mark Crusader?”
“Wow, he makes quite the point,” Quicksilver commented, stunned by the origins of the beast.
Shining Armor on the other hoof, was not so impressed. “Really, you actually believe him? Only two of those could possibly be true.”
The cyan pegasus pointed toward the beast with a hoof. “I don’t care if it’s true or not. Give him the photo or your soul and let’s go on our way.”
“Like heck I’m giving him the photo or my soul,” Shining Armor replied. “Now that I think about it, I just remembered I’m your captain. So as your captain, I order you to give him your soul.”
“No! What kind of captain sacrifices their own soldiers for a photo of his wife?” Quicksilver retorted. “Just five minutes ago, I clearly remember you saying you’d proudly give your life for Equestria. So either proudly give your soul to this perverted alicorn or give him that stupid photo of your wife.”
“Fine then!” Shining Armor bellowed as he crumpled the photo and tossed it at the salivating beast. “Take the damn photo you perverted monster.”
With a smile, a crimson aura flashed around the horn of the beast. The earth shook with tremendous force as the flaming gates of Tartarus parted ways; revealing a wall of swirling purple energy. Still smiling, the beast muttered but three words. “Welcome to Tartarus.”
