Survival Begins at Home

Shining reported to the throne room when called. He was feeling better already, having actually slept fairly well last night. Perhaps it helped that Twilight hadn't died, perhaps it was that he was more in control of himself, or perhaps it was simply realizing his own limitations that had changed his mood. Whatever the case, it didn't matter. He was feeling better, and that was all he needed to know.

Luna gave him a look of respect as he approached. She either was involved with his dream, or she'd seen it. Likely the former, as she did that regularly. That would also line up with Cadance's disappearance the night prior, as she said she was going to speak with her aunt. He'd assumed Celestia, but Luna made more sense now. He bowed at their feet as he arrived. "Princesses."

"Rise, Prince Shining Armor," responded Celestia. "We have new orders for you."

Shining stood up, half expecting to be sent somewhere else, due to his inability to bring back the prisoners alive. While it wasn't really his fault, he had been partially responsible, and held himself in contempt for it.

"Given what happened on the Whinnypeg, we were unsure as to whether or not this was the best task for you to take charge of," said Luna, stepping forward. "It had troubled us for several days, before we even summoned you. In truth, we were actually considering sending Cadance alone, with you staying behind in Manehattan. However, given the recent developments, we have reconsidered our options, and we think that it would be best if we sent you both, with you taking the lead, and her being in an advisory position."

Shining furrowed his brow. "What exactly do you want me to do?"

"We're sending you to Whinnyapolis," answered Celestia. "The zebras have already taken the town, and it's a little too close to Canterlot to be in zebra hands. We need that territory taken back as soon as possible, but we would rather not be forced to redeploy, as our defensive effort is only barely hanging on right now. Having protected two of our prime cities, being the main gateway to the Empire and the largest city in the country, we want you to take the city back for us."

"Are you sure I'm the best choice?" asked Shining. "I'm not exactly at my peak right now, and even if I was, I couldn't fight them all off."

"We're not asking you to fight them off," replied Luna, shaking her head. "Not unless you have to. We would rather it not come to that. In fact, the reason we considered Cadance for it was because she'd proven very skilled when it comes to diplomacy. We just have to convince the zebras to leave. If we can, we'd like to have the civilians returned, as well. The enemy may be close to us, but they're not able to leave, so we know the citizens are still there, and we assume most of them are still alive."

Shining scowled. "The citizens should come first, though. If we're sure they're safe, I have no issue razing the town to the ground with the zebras inside."

"How you handle it is up to you," interjected Luna. "It doesn't matter how you do it, but we cannot have an enemy base so close to our command center. We can stomach to lose a thousand Equestrians if it means saving a million. We certainly would like to keep those thousand, but that may not be an option. You must use your discretion in this matter. If you can convince them to leave, that would be preferable, but if not, you must destroy them."

"Not if I would harm a hostage," growled Shining. "I would gladly lay down my life to save them, but I cannot condemn them to death."

"We know," smiled Celestia. "That's why we have selected you for this. If we tell you to clear the city of all zebras, we have faith that you will do so with as little harm to the citizens as possible." Her smile faded into a frown. "Unfortunately, if you take too long, it may force our hands, so do proceed with haste. We don't want them building weapons at our front gate, nor do we want them taking our citizens back home to be made into slaves."

Shining sighed. "It won't be easy."

"We never said it would be. That's why we're sending somepony reliable. Somepony we know to do exceptionally. Somepony that will do the job quickly and correctly." Luna smiled. "Somepony that we believe the zebras are scared of."

Shining raised his eyebrow. "What do you mean, they're scared of me?"

"That's just a rumour," scolded Celestia, glaring at Luna. "We have no idea if it's true, but a few of our citizens that were captured and somehow managed to escape their zebra captors spoke of a 'shining spectre' that was protecting the major cities in Equestria. We brought it up with Major Loft Wing, and he said that some of the captured zebra soldiers spoke of it in hushed terms. He had no idea what it meant, but part of us thinks that it might be you that they're talking about. Captain Boom Stick says much the same, as well as noting your involvement in turning their own weapons against them. He said he considered himself more ghostly, but your alias seems to have invoked fear in their hearts. You may very well be one of our more useful officers, moving forward."

Shining considered it for a moment. If the zebras really were afraid of this 'shining spectre,' he would have to look the part. On top of that, he would need to keep winning. He looked up at the princesses. "What must I do to complete the look of this spectre?"

Luna let out a chuckle. "You need not do anything. We simply need you to keep succeeding."

"You and Cadance are bound for the Trot Inn in Ponyville. Whinnyapolis is not so far away, so you can feel free to use that as your base of operations. Keep us informed of your decisions, as we need to keep sight of our options. Do you think you can do that, Shining?"

"With certainty, Princess. You can count on me." With a salute, he turned and walked out. This day was only turning better and better.