Survival Begins at Home

"You're going away?" Cadance was not hiding the worry in her voice. "Can't you just keep protecting Equestria from inside her borders? Surely there are other Equestrian towns that need your help. Why can't you be assigned to one of those?"

"Because I would be best utilized elsewhere," answered Shining, stuffing his pack with necessities. "Celestia thinks that, since I seem to be falling into a bit of a bloodlust, I should be surrounded by enemy zebras, and not by innocent civilians. Until I can control my anger, I'm inclined to agree with her."

"But you haven't hurt any civilians. You were very in control when it came to protecting them. You should focus on keeping our citizens from becoming slaves. That's why you fight, anyway, right? To protect the citizens of Equestria? I thought you wanted to keep them safe."

"I am keeping them safe, Cady. I have a chance to remove the zebras from Equestria by cutting them off from their leader. To do that, I need to go to the place where this war started and show them exactly what they've done to us. If I'm successful, I may not even need to draw my blade, though I doubt I would be so lucky."

"How long do you think you'll be gone?"

Shining looked up. "I have no idea. If the conflict ends as soon as my boot touches foreign soil, I'll be back within the week. If not, I'll write you every opportunity I find. You will continue to hear from me for as long as I still draw breath."

"Don't say things like that, Shiny! It makes me fear that you won't come back."

"Cady, you have to accept the possibility that I might not make it back. It's a war, after all. I'm walking into enemy territory. It's not exactly the safest profession, and I know it all too well. We both know what it's like to lose loved ones to this conflict. The faster it ends, the better it will be for everyone."

Cadance sighed and sat down next to Shining's bag. "You know I can't argue with that. So many families that won't ever be whole again suddenly... It's just that I was hoping mine would stay as it was."

Shining stopped packing, kneeling down in front of his wife and placing a hand on her shoulder. "So do all who live to see such times. Alas, that is not for us to decide. All we can decide is what to do with the time given to us."

Cadance chuckled. "You stole that line from a book."

"That doesn't make it any less true," smiled Shining. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm not going to just roll over and die. If they do manage to take me down, they're going to need a lot of zebras, and even then, they'll need to outsmart me, outnumber my group, and be armed better. I won't go down nearly as easily as they want. Trust me, Cady. I'll be fighting until the very end. If it's at all possible that I can come back to you, you can be damn sure that I will, with every fibre of my being."

Cadance sniffled and wiped a tear away. "I love you, Shining Armor. I have never loved anypony more than I now love you. I don't want to lose you, even though I know that you'll save so many lives. I know it's selfish that I would send somepony else in your place, possibly making some other mare a widow. I wouldn't wish that fate on anypony else, even if it would save me."

Shining leaned forward and kissed her. "Mayhaps it is selfish, but you have a right to think that way. You want to protect your family, which is a noble cause. I want to protect my family, too. If it means I have to leave and watch my back the whole time, that's nothing compared to knowing that you're safe. If I can come back, I want you to still be around, even if you're not waiting for me anymore."

Cadance looked deeply into Shining's eyes. "I will always wait for you, until I know for sure that you cannot come back. No matter what, I will wait."

As Shining stood up, he smiled down at her. "I do have to go, but I don't have to leave you alone." He zipped up his bag and set it aside. "I know we've disagreed in the past, but if this is my last chance, I'd like to have a foal with you. If everything goes wrong, we'll never have this chance again."

Cadance looked up at her husband. "You mean it?" She'd been wanting a child for some time, but she and Shining hadn't wanted to push aside their political needs to account for the hassle of raising a child. They had planned to do so when things cooled off, but with Twilight's death, that had all changed as they were thrown into upheaval. Shining was correct, there wouldn't be much time left if he couldn't return. Tonight could be his last chance.

They both had magical locks blocking the other from creating children, as that meant that they both must have been in agreement to create life. That night, both locks came off, and for the first time in their marriage, they tried to create their first child.

The next morning, Shining and Cadance returned to Canterlot. Cadance made her way up to the castle to act as a stationary leader, and Shining made his way to the castle grounds to take control of his new army. He would be leading a troop of fifty soldiers into the Zebrican Empire, and taking over a small town near the zebra capitol. Once that was done, they were to expand their influence and build siege weapons.

Just as they were about to head out, there was a call from the main gates as an army of gryphons lined up outside the city. Shining was the first to meet them, followed by Princess Celestia. "What is the meaning of this?" asked Celestia to the leading gryphon, who had come forward. "Why have you sent soldiers to our front gate?"

"My apologies," he said, bowing. "Doubtless, you are aware that gryphons are fickle creatures, and we often do not come to agreements. In this case, we have gripes with the Zebrican emperor, as he's opted out of paying for our services in his campaign against the Donkey/Mule alliance. We don't often work for free, but we would relish the opportunity for payback against Zaka. We wish to show him exactly what happens to those who betray the gryphons. Please, allow us to join you in your fight."

Celestia nodded. "Very well. We accept your offer, Mr..."

"Talon," smiled the gryphon. "My name is Talon."