“That’s settled then,” Celestia said, smiling beatifically. “Lieutenant of the Night Guard Cruithne and Captain of the Royal Guard Shining Armor will head the investigation at Appleloosa, while Lieutenant of the Day Guard Solar Flare takes care of Canterlot security.”
Shining Armor stirred the dust on the desk in small circles with his hoof. He attempted to conjure up his usual smile at the Princess’ insistence on using their formal titles in security councils, but he failed. He pressed his head closer to the desk. There were likely changelings in Appleloosa, and it was his fault. If only he hadn’t fallen for Chrysalis’ tricks, if only his spell had knocked them completely out of Equestria, if only he was stronger... The dust circles on the desk became looser and more frantic as his guilty thoughts crushed him under their burden.
“Are you quite alright, Captain?” asked Cruithne, cocking her head to get a better look at his eyes.
Shining Armor lifted his head and smiled sheepishly. “I’m fine.” He turned his head to Celestia. “I am fine, really.”
“Have you got any sudden migraines?” Cruithne asked, talking at a mile-a-minute “Are you feeling guilty because you think the changelings in Appleloosa are your fault? Is...”
She was cut off by a sudden ‘thud!’ from beneath the table as Solar Flare kicked her. The Night Guard lieutenant glared at her Day Guard counterpart and thankfully, Shining Armor thought, shut up.
Celestia spoke to stop the argument brewing between the lieutenants.“Well I do hope you’re fine and aren’t feeling like you have to lie to me.” She was still smiling, though Shining Armor found it slightly more threatening now. “Meeting dismissed.”
Shining Armor stood up with Cruithne and Solar Flare to go to the door, but Celestia called him back. “Stay here Shining Armor. I need to talk to you.” Her tone was light and friendly, and Shining Armor had never heard her reproach anyone in that tone of voice. There was first for everything though, he thought as his guilt kicked in again. He sat back down as the door swung shut.
“You know you don’t have to do this assignment,” Celestia said. Shining Armor stared at the floor. “I’m only getting you to do this because Cruithne can’t do this on her own. She’s great at many things, but her ability to understand ‘normal’ ponies is limited, and she seems to strain relations between Day and Night Guard wherever she goes. Also, so far, you are the best changeling fighter Equestria has ever seen.”
“Last time I checked, I spent most of that fight under the thrall of their Queen.” Shining Armor lifted his head and glared angrily at the wall behind Celestia.
“It’s the end of that fight that counts. During the last minutes of that fight, you pushed most of the Changelings out of Equestria, and those that didn’t get all the way out of Equestria are on the outskirts. But still, if you feel you can’t complete this assignment, you can always decline.”
“I will not let my fear get the better of me.”
Celestia leaned down closer to him. “Remember, you don’t have too...”
“I will NOT let my fear get the better of me.” He said this more forcefully, turning his glare directly to Celestia. He stood up suddenly from his chair and marched to the door. “I CAN do this.” He was just about to turn the door handle with his magic, when he turned back to Celestia and looked at her questioningly.
Celestia nodded. “You may leave, captain.” With that, Shining Armor turned the handle and left the room.
The stone corridor was cool, almost chilly. Solar Flare and Cruithne were walking down the corridor as the stained glass windows cast a strange light upon them. They seemed to be part way through an animated argument. “Did you see what you did to the commander?” Solar half-yelled.
“I saw that he was... unbalanced, and inquired as to the cause. I wanted to help.”
“That’s not how you help, Cruithne. You were pouring salt on to an open wound!”
Cruithne paused and glanced back at Shining Armor, before walking and talking on. “The captain appears to be uninjured, and I currently have no salt in my possession. Did you mean that last statement figuratively, or literally?”
Solar facehoofed. “If Shining Armor doesn’t have any open wounds, and you have no salt, I probably mean it figuratively.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “You’re a good pony, you know that. You just need to learn... tact. Social skills. I hope you don’t think our arguments mean I don’t like you.”
“To the contrary, Solar, I believe your motive is my self-improvement, and I believe you have helped me in that matter. I thank you for that. I am not a perfect pony, and I believe everypony should try to better themselves.” Cruithne and Solar Flare then walked on in companionable silence, with Shining Armor a few ponylengths behind them.
When they came to a T-junction in the corridor, Cruithne walked down the opposite way to Solar before turning 180 degrees to face him again. She was ostensibly looking at Solar, but Shining had a prickly feeling she was half regarding him. “I thought one was meant to pour salt onto wounds, to clean them,” she said, before turning back.
Solar Flare slowed his steps to walk beside Shining. “I hope you didn’t catch too much of that argument, it was,” he attempted his best Cruithne impression, which wasn’t very good, “most unprofessional.” He grinned cheekily.
Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “Not too much no, lieutenant. Go, organise the squads you’re keeping in Canterlot.”
Solar saluted and said “Aye aye sir!”, before tearing off down the hallways.
Shining Armor continued walking down the corridor, thinking. He started to felt bad about yelling at Celestia, but he was pretty sure she would forgive him. He did hope that she didn’t take it as a sign that he needed more leave, or that he should be demoted.
He had more pressing concerns, however; there were probably changelings in Equestria. Appleloosa had sent reports of ponies being seen in more than one place at the same time, among other things, and had requested a team of royal guards to help investigate. The ‘among other things’ was not on the report itself, it was a given. Settler ponies didn’t ask for help from Canterlot unless it was dire; It was often too difficult to get the help over there.
There was also something in the report that set Shining Armor’s investigator instincts twitching. It felt like there was something missing in the report, like they were too scared to include it. Shining Armor trusted his instincts in this case. Yes, such a large force of guards could be a hammer sent to crush a fly, but when you weren’t sure if it was a fly or a dragon, it paid to bring a big hammer.
Shining Armor swung the door open to his office and walked in. He sat on a stool and pulled out the paperwork needed for this investigation, and started filling it out. He was not looking forward to this mission. He didn’t want to find changelings (ones he was too weak to push out, even with the help of an alicorn) and see the faces of the ponies he rescued (faces just like his). He didn’t want to, by his own weakness, inflict the hell he had given to himself onto other ponies . It had only been a few weeks since the changeling attack, but he remembered how afterwards, his head felt like it was being hit by saucepans, and his limbs felt like clay. He remembered Cadence looking after him, and he remembered how powerless he felt. He’d only just gotten back into the groove of things, and now these hypothetical changelings were threatening to yank him off course.
He sighed. He was not going to let his fear get the better of him.
***
Shining Armor lay sprawled above the sheets on the bed. Cadence was curled up in a cocoon of blankets and doonas next to Shining, one of her wings draped across his chest. Shadows danced on the ceiling, and for terrifying instants as Shining Armor watched them, turned into crooked horns or hooves with too many holes before turning back to the amorphous shapes of the branches outside the window. “S’you asleep yet?” slurred Cadence from underneath the blankets,
“No,” he admitted, still staring straight at the terrifying and mesmerising ceiling.
Cadence sat halfway up in the bed, blinking the sleep from her eyes. “You’ve got a big train trip tomorrow, you should get some sleep,” she said, a little less slurred then last time.
“I know. Can’t sleep.”
“Is the ceiling being scary again?” She levered him suddenly over to his side with her wing.
He grinned more than he should, no longer stuck staring at the hypnotizing ceiling. “I can neither confirm nor deny that.”
Cadence gave him a sideways grin before closing her eyes and flicking half of her cocoon at him. “Here, have some blankets. Now get to sleep before... before the sleep police get you.” Shining Armor grinned even wider. He closed his eyes and snuggled up to his wife’s neck. When he next opened his eyes, the Luna’s deep blue sky was slowly changing over to the fiery gold of Celestia’s dawn.
***
The Day and Night guard needed some official checks before they could travel off Appleloosa, and Shining armor was there to do them. He’d done this many times, but it didn’t change the fact that this particular time it felt like he was trying to swim 500 metre laps in thick honey. Cruithne was pacing along the lines of the assembled Night Guard, waking up the groups that fell asleep on their feet. Shining Armor sincerely wished he could join them, but the fact he still had a last few things to do and Cruithne’s glares kept him from trying.
He finished signing the last of the papers and handed them to the driver before stepping up into the the doorway of the first car. He called out over the assembled lines, “Is everybody ready?” There were a few pockets of younger guards yelling out ‘Aye, aye!’. Cruithne just turned around and nodded. “Alright then,” shouted Shining Armor over the din, “You should all know which cars you’re in by now. You can walk over to the other cars, but try not to do it too often. You might annoy the engineers.” He gave a sly wink at that comment, before switching over to a more commanding tone. “We should be arriving at Appleloosa a bit before dusk, weather and engineering permitting. Let’s go!” Shining Armor walked through the entryway amid the cheering of the assembled guardsponies.
Once inside the train, Shining let his joking facade down. He shambled towards his car exhaustedly, slumping down on the first available seat. He shifted from side to side, trying to get comfortable. His thoughts drifted over to his assignment. He didn’t like the idea of it, but by golly, he was going to do it.
As the train started moving, Shining Armor fell fast asleep.
