Make Some Friends, Shining Armor!

Chapters

The Slave of Duty
The Morning Will Last Forever
No Sleep till Ponyville
Nightfall
The Battle of Ponyville

The Slave of Duty

Captain Shining Armor stood on the parapet of Canterlot’s highest guard tower, keeping one eye on the sky and the other on the large clock tower above the train station. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, but there was still enough light to see the pegasi who flitted around the sky.

The clock face ticked over to five minutes before eight o’clock, and Shining raised his megaphone to his lips. “Clear the skies!” he shouted, projecting his voice over the entire city. “Canterlot Defence Field drill commencing in five minutes!” All around him, pegasus merchants and sightseers glided down to land on the ground, in preparation for what they knew was coming. Of course, this happened every night, so not many ponies had been in the sky at this hour to begin with.

When the clock tower struck the hour, Shining closed his eyes and focused his magic, his horn glowing with a light rose aura. The Canterlot Defence Field was his most important duty to the ruler and people of Equestria, and it was a spell that only he could cast. It was vital that he test the strength of his shield every night, so that the ponies of Canterlot could sleep peacefully, secure in the knowledge that no invader could ever harm them.

Once he had gathered the power he needed, he pointed his horn into the sky, and a stream of magical energy flowed higher than the tallest spire of the palace. It reached its apex far above the city, and then spread out into a shimmering force field that curved down to surround the entire city, merging with the rock of the mountain and the road leading from Canterlot’s gate. All around the city, ponies stopped to look up at the shield and admire its stark beauty, knowing that their safety was in good hooves.

Now that the shield was fully charged, Shining Armor relaxed his concentration and opened his eyes, then signalled to the two squads of guard ponies awaiting his command. The first, a squad of six white pegasus ponies from the Equestrian National Guard, took to the air and dove at the force field, looking for weak points and assailing it with their hooves and spears. The second, composed of grey unicorn ponies from the Canterlot Defence Guard, galloped to where the shield met the ground and launched attack spells at it, again probing for weaknesses. Shining felt the force of the blows against his shield, but it stood firm against all attacks. After ten minutes of this exercise, not a single scratch had been made in the shield, and Shining Armor dismissed his soldiers, and then the shield itself.

All was well, and Canterlot was safe for another day.

Shining Armor trotted down the stairs of the guard tower, satisfied with the results of that night’s shield test. He badly wanted a drink of orange juice or apple cider to replenish his strength after the strain of casting the shield spell, but that would have to wait until he was back at his quarters. He wasn’t off duty until his weapons and armour were stowed and he had reviewed the day’s paperwork. And even then, of course, he was never really off duty.

Two of the pegasus guards who had assisted in the evening’s shield test were waiting for him in the guard post at the bottom of the tower. “Captain!” one of them, a Lieutenant Hawkeye if Shining Armor remembered correctly, greeted him. “The lads and I were going to head down to the Snuggly Duckling for a few beers now that it’s knock-off o’clock, and I was wondering if you’d like to come with us?”

Shining Armor frowned at the pegasi. “Tonight? You soldiers know that the Summer Sun Celebration is the day after tomorrow. I need you all at peak performance this week, which means discipline. Which means no late nights.”

“All week?” said Lieutenant Hawkeye, gaping in disbelief. “Seriously, Captain? What could possibly happen at the Summer Sun Celebration? Nopony’s about to start a riot or stage a coup, and the last time a dragon attacked Canterlot was, like, forty years ago!” The other soldier jabbed him in the ribs with a hoof, and he cleared his throat nervously. “Uh, with all due respect, sir.”

Shining Armor began pacing around the guard post, gesturing to the city around them. “We are all that stands between Canterlot and the threats out there, soldier. If we don’t take Canterlot’s defence seriously, then nopony else will! Dragons, star beasts, hydras…”

“Hydras up here in the mountains, sir?”

“Maybe not hydras, then. But Crunch the Rock Dog attacked Canterlot during the six hundred and forty-eighth Summer Sun Celebration, and we need to be prepared if something like that ever happens again. We can’t afford to be soft! So I want the entire Royal Guard on full discipline until further notice, is that clear?”

The two pegasus soldiers snapped off crisp salutes, standing at attention with their hooves perfectly square and their wings furled tightly at their sides. “Yes, sir!”

Shining Armor saluted them in return. “Glad to hear it. At ease, ponies. You’re dismissed.” He gave them a polite nod and trotted out the door.

Lieutenant Hawkeye turned to his comrade and sighed. “I just thought he could do with a night off. Honestly, does that pony do anything except work?”

The other pegasus rolled his eyes and shrugged. “I think he’s more interested in security than friends.”

After performing a tour of Canterlot to check in on the night watch as they began their shift, Shining Armor arrived at the main Royal Guard barracks just before nine o’clock. The guard stationed outside the barracks saluted him as he arrived. “Evening, sir. You’ve got a visitor waiting for you in your office.”

“A visitor?” asked Shining. “It’s not Princess Celestia, is it?”

“Of course not, sir,” the guard reassured him. “We’d have sent for you at once if it were.”

“Alright, good,” said Shining as he made his way towards his quarters. “Wait… is it Princess Cadance?” He looked over his shoulder nervously. The last thing he needed right now was for his sister’s love-struck foalsitter to corner him in his own office.

The guard chuckled, inexplicably. How was Princess Cadance’s obsession with him any kind of laughing matter? “Nothing like that, sir, more’s the pity. It’s your little brother, Spike. Says he’s got an important message from your sister.”

“Spike’s here?” exclaimed Shining, his face lighting up in a genuine smile. “Thanks, I’ll be right there!” He cantered through the barracks, quickly arriving at the personal office and bedroom he held by virtue of being Captain of the Royal Guard.

Sure enough, perched on an office chair, his tiny legs dangling far above the floor, was Spike. Shining’s sister Twilight Sparkle had hatched the baby dragon’s egg during her second attempt at the entrance examination for Princess Celestia’s school. Shining Armor and his parents had been very surprised when Twilight came home with a baby dragon in tow, but their parents had cared for him like a third child, and he was well and truly part of the family.

“Shiny!” cried Spike, dropping to the floor and running over to Shining Armor, wrapping his arms around the unicorn’s front legs in a hug. “It’s so good to see you!”

“Good to see you too, little guy,” said Shining, ruffling Spike’s crest with one hoof. “Is Twily looking after you properly now that she’s busy being a teacher?”

“Of course she is!” Spike replied, grinning. “She even says that if I keep working on my spelling and punctuation, she’ll let me be her assistant next semester! I’m still having trouble with long words, that’s all.” Shining Armor knelt down in front of Spike, and the little dragon gleefully removed his helmet and carried it to its proper resting place on the armour rack.

“That’s great news!” said Shining, as he divested himself of the rest of his armour. He unstrapped his peytral from his chest, then removed the saddle and croupiere from his back. “Anyway, you had a message from Twily, right?”

“Oh yeah!” said Spike, as he helpfully put away the rest of his brother’s armour. “She was reading one of her dusty old books today – you know how she is when school’s out – and she found some ancient prophecy about the end of the world, ancient evil locked away for a thousand years, that sort of thing. I think it’s all just an old pony tale, but she thought it was important enough to tell you about it.”

Shining pursed his lips in thought. “If Twily thinks it’s important, then it’s important. Why didn’t she come straight to me herself, though?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Three guesses.”

Shining groaned. “She’s at a party, isn’t she? Of all the irresponsible… is it one of Moondancer’s get-togethers? She spends way too much time with that pony. When is she going to take her academic career seriously and stop wasting all of her valuable study time on socializing?”

“You know, it wouldn’t hurt you to go to one of those parties yourself. Lighten up a little! I’m only upset because I don’t get to go to any of Moondancer’s parties myself. You know, because of all the hard cider and stuff.”

Shining snorted in surprise. “Twily’s going out drinking now? I knew this would happen when I moved into the barracks. I’m going to go find out about this prophecy of hers, and then give her a piece of my mind!”

Shining Armor paused at the threshold of the palace’s western courtyard. Moondancer’s parties were infamous around Canterlot’s youth. From hearing Twilight talk, it seemed like the students of Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns spent more time drinking, dancing, singing songs and getting up to mischief than they actually spent studying.

Moondancer was one of the ringleaders of the school’s social scene. The other was Twilight Sparkle herself, and the transition from student to teacher didn’t seem to have dimmed her enthusiasm for parties at all.

As Shining Armor watched, a small herd of mares wound their way out of the courtyard towards him. He backed towards the nearest wall, but they quickly surrounded him, hopping up and down and giggling at him. “Well, hello there, Captain!” said their leader, a white unicorn with a bright red mane, whose cutie mark was a purple moon surrounded by stars. “Twilight said you might be making an appearance tonight! I do love a stallion in uniform.”

Shining shied away from the mares, unused to having so many ponies looking at him, except for when he was directing his troops. “Uh, thanks, Moondancer,” he mumbled, arching his neck and trying to find his sister in the crowd. “I’m not actually in uniform right now, though. Can I talk to Twilight?”

Moondancer grinned and tossed her head, flicking her mane across Shining Armor’s nose. “Even better. Tell you what – I’ll go and find Twilight for you… after you dance with me. Just one dance.”

Shining’s eyes darted around the courtyard, and he neighed in agitation. “Look, I really don’t… I can’t dance, and I don’t do parties. Just… this is a matter of national security, alright? I really need to talk to my sister.”

Moondancer rolled her eyes and groaned. “Ugh, everything’s a matter of national security with you, isn’t it? Fine, follow me.” She led the way into the courtyard, as ponies scurried to get out of her way. Shining Armor followed close behind her, trying to ignore the mares and stallions looking at him. He recognized some of Twilight’s unicorn school friends, and some earth ponies and pegasi he himself trained at the Royal Academy. Finally, Moondancer brought him to the fountain at the centre of the courtyard, where a crowd of ponies were cheering for a pony in front of them. Shining Armor shouldered his way to the front of the crowd, recognizing both the pony and her wild, hoof-swinging, tongue-extended dance at once.

“Twilight Sparkle!” he admonished her, narrowing his eyes and looking down at her. “What in Equestria do you think you’re doing?”

“B.B.B.F.F.!” cried Twilight, pouncing on Shining Armor and throwing her front legs around his neck. “I’m so glad you made it! I thought you weren’t going to come to the party at all!”

Shining nuzzled his sister’s neck tenderly, always glad to see her. He then drew his head back and regarded her critically. “Spike said you had some kind of prophecy about the end of the world for me to read.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “You do, don’t you? You didn’t just make that up to get me to come to this silly party?”

“Of course I do!” said Twilight, swaying unsteadily as Shining released her. “It’s really important, and you need to know as soon as possible. It’s impera… impera… important!” She giggled and sat down hard on the edge of the fountain, steadying herself with her hooves.

Shining Armor’s jaw dropped, and he stared at his sister critically. “Twily, are you drunk?”

Twilight shook her head hastily. “No! Not at all. I swear to drunk, I’m not Princess Celestia. I just gotta… sit down for a bit, that’s all.”

Shining’s horn began to glow warningly. “Do I need to dunk you in this fountain to sober you up, sis?”

Twilight snorted. “You wouldn’t dare do that if I were sober!”

“I wouldn’t need to do it if you were sober!”

“Fine, fine. Look, I’m okay, I can walk and stuff.” Twilight pushed herself to her hooves, gritting her teeth in concentration. “Alright. I’mma go get the books I found today, and you can talk to Cadance while you wait! Be right back!”

Shining Armor whinnied in surprise and whirled around. Sure enough, the pink alicorn herself was standing directly behind him. “P-Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!” he stammered, his hooves slowly shuffling backwards. “How, uh, nice to see you!”

Princess Cadance smiled brightly, brushing a hoof through her multi-coloured mane. “It’s good to see you too, Captain! You can call me Cadance, you know. All of my friends do.”

Shining grinned nervously, feeling his rump pressing up against the lip of the fountain. “Cadance. Sure. So, um… how is your mother?” he asked, desperate to turn the conversation away from himself.

“Oh, you know. Still immortal, still raising the sun and the moon every day.” Cadance giggled softly and sat down next to Shining, who silently cursed his poor conversational tactics. Cadance was the younger of Princess Celestia’s two currently living daughters, and it was difficult to make small talk about the ruler of Equestria. “How is Twilight Velvet getting on, while we’re speaking of mothers? How’s she coping with the empty stable now that you’ve all moved out?”

“Actually, it’s been really good for her,” said Shining, starting to relax a little. He reminded himself that Cadance could actually be very good company, when she didn’t have hearts in her eyes. “She’s worried about Spike moving out with Twily at such a young age, but Twily’s responsible enough to take care of him, I think. Now that we’re out of her way, she’s got a lot more time to spend on her writing. She says her next book will be ready for the publishers soon. And Dad’s talking about taking up his Royal Guard commission again. I’m a bit concerned about that, but it’s not like we’re at war or anything.”

“Oh, I do love your mother’s stories, Shining. You know, I used to sit with Velvet when she was putting little Twilight to bed, and listen to her bedtime stories. I knew Twilight wouldn’t settle for anything less than the best stories from me, so I had to learn from the best. With my own embellishments, of course!”

Shining chuckled. “Ah, yes, your ‘embellishments’. That’s why all of Twily’s stories ended with the handsome knight in shining armour marrying the beautiful princess, isn’t it?”

An awkward silence descended between the two ponies, and Shining Armor studiously avoided meeting Cadance’s gaze.

Cadance flicked her eyes towards the crowd of ponies dancing near them. “So, um… Shining Armor… I don’t suppose you want to…”

“No.” Shining Armor stood up abruptly, his hooves moving into the posture of a soldier on duty. He stared straight ahead into the crowd, doing his best not to let his composure fall.

Cadance fell silent for a moment, then spoke quietly. “Alright, Captain. I’ll… I’ll talk to you later, then. Give my love to your parents when you see them.” Shining Armor heard the princess’s hoofsteps retreating from the fountain, and he hung his head, sighing. Could this night become any more awkward?

As if on cue, a haughty, aristocratic voice addressed him from his left side. “Captain, I demand to know what you did to my sister that has upset her so.”

Shining resisted the temptation to roll his eyes as he turned to face the new speaker. “Nothing untoward happened, your Highness,” he said to the irate unicorn stallion in front of him. Prince Blueblood was definitely the last pony Shining Armor wanted to meet tonight, as much because of the awkwardness with Cadance as for the prince’s own odious qualities. “She simply asked me to dance.”

Prince Blueblood arched one elegant black eyebrow. “And what did you say to her in return, Captain?”

Shining Armor sighed. “I told her no. Is that a crime, your Highness?”

The prince snorted. “Perhaps not. But when my sister runs from the party she was enjoying but a moment ago, I think I deserve to know why. I am of half a mind to demand satisfaction from you, Captain.”

“Demand satisfaction? As in, challenge me to a duel?” Shining Armor looked the prince over, from horn to hooves. He had clearly never lifted a weapon in his life, nor served a single day of military training. “With respect, highness, you can’t possibly be serious.”

Blueblood gritted his teeth, then tossed his mane carelessly. “I suppose not. But my mother will hear of this, mark my words!”

“I will apologize to Princess Azure personally, if it comes to that.” Shining Armor sighed, sitting back down on the edge of the fountain. Princess Azure was Celestia’s elder daughter, a mortal alicorn of about the same age as Twilight Velvet. Cadance was technically Blueblood’s aunt, but they were close enough in age to be called brother and sister. “Look, highness, I really don’t want to hurt your sister. It’s not as though I’m favouring some other mare over her. I simply don’t have time for any… ‘special somepony’ in my life. The security of Canterlot rests on my withers, and I can’t just take time away from my duties to see to some kind of ‘personal life’.”

“Very well,” said Blueblood, after mulling over Shining’s words for a few moments. “I will comfort her as best I can. I still think you could treat her a bit better, though.” He gave Shining Armor a shallow bow, then trotted out through the crowd, towards the palace.

Shining Armor breathed a sigh of relief as the prince departed. He hardly knew what to say to get Cadance to leave him alone, let alone Blueblood. He sprang to his hooves as Twilight finally reappeared, levitating three thick tomes above her head.

“Twily! Thank goodness you’re back! This party is awful. Ponies keep trying to talk to me.”

Twilight giggled, nudging her head against Shining’s neck. “It’s a party, B.B.B.F.F.! You’re supposed to talk to ponies.” She grinned at her brother and winked one eye. “Sooooo… how did you and Cadance get along?”

Shining covered his face with a fetlock. “Can we please not talk about Cadance? I’m only here because you said the end of the world was coming, so show me what you’ve got.”

Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle had reconvened at an all-night café that bordered the courtyard, to be away from the noisy crowds while they discussed Twilight’s research. Twilight lifted the first of her books onto the table, an old tome named The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters. “Alright, we’ll start here,” said Twilight. Either she had found a way to sober herself up with magic, or her academic discipline was strong enough to suppress the signs of her lingering intoxication, because her words were as crisp and precise as when she was lecturing students on advanced magical theory. “Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria…

“… and harmony has been maintained in Equestria for generations since.” Twilight pushed the book to one side of the table and looked up at her brother, grinning eagerly. “So, what do you think?”

Shining Armor cast his gaze over the illustrations in the book, then looked at Twilight sceptically. “Twily… I don’t know how to break this to you, but… Nightmare Moon is a story that ponies made up to scare foals on Nightmare Night. I thought you’d figured that one out years ago, about the same time you found out that all the Hearth’s Warming Eve presents were really from Mum and Dad.”

“Shining!” whined Twilight, sounding just like a little filly again. “This isn’t like that time I came home from school with a five-page essay proving that the Olden Pony was responsible for attacking trade caravans between Fillydelphia and Manehatten. It all makes sense. Princess Celestia is notoriously silent about history before about eight hundred years ago. There are laws that don’t make any sense unless Equestria used to have more than one ruling Princess. If there was a Princess who used to raise the moon instead of Celestia, then where is she now?”

Shining Armor hummed thoughtfully, leafing through the storybook again. “I guess that makes a certain amount of sense. Even if it’s true, though – and I’m not saying that it is, yet – how is this an end-of-the-world problem? The book says Princess Celestia sealed Nightmare Moon away in the moon forever. That sounds pretty settled to me.” He looked up at the moon as he spoke, eyeing the pattern of dark spots on its face that resembled a pony’s head, complete with horn. “Wait a minute, Twily. If Nightmare Moon was sealed in the moon… are you saying that Nightmare Moon and the Mare in the Moon are the same pony?”

Twilight beamed happily. “That is exactly what I’m saying, B.B.B.F.F.!” She lifted her second book onto the table, a large reference tome titled Predictions and Prophecies. “This book calls the Mare in the Moon a ‘myth from olden pony times’, and a ‘powerful pony who wanted to rule Equestria’. Sounds like our Nightmare Moon, doesn’t it?”

Shining Armor turned the book around to face him, and pored through the entry on the Mare in the Moon. “It does. And it says here that she was defeated by the ‘Elements of Harmony’ and imprisoned in the moon. That’s exactly what happened to Nightmare Moon! But what are the Elements of Harmony? Some kind of weapon?”

“A few other old books had references to the Elements of Harmony, but only in the context of legends, myths and other folklore. I had to get into the restricted stacks of the Canterlot Archives to find anything more solid. Cashed in a few favours with the staff, but I think it was worth it. Check this out.” Twilight placed the last book on the table, turning it around so that Shining Armor could see its title.

“The Elements of Harmony: A Reference Guide? That’s a bit prosaic, don’t you think?”

“Yeah, tell me about it. And it was shelved in the wrong place, too. But it’s the only factual study of the Elements in existence, I think. According to this, there are six Elements of Harmony, which seem to be gemstones or jewellery. The reference guide names five of them: Loyalty, Generosity, Kindness, Honesty and Laughter. The name of the sixth is unknown, but apparently, when those five are present, a ‘spark’ will cause the sixth element to be revealed.”

“That’s interesting, and potentially applicable to defence if something else on the scale of Nightmare Moon threatens Equestria, but where’s this prophecy of yours?” Shining Armor turned back to Predictions and Prophecies, re-reading the section on the Mare in the Moon. “Let’s see… longest day of the thousandth year… stars will aid in her return…”

Shining Armor gasped and stumbled hastily to his hooves. “That’s the day after tomorrow! This year is the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, which is on the solstice! You were right, Twily, this is a matter of national security!” He patted Twilight’s head encouragingly. “You did the right thing bringing this to me, sis.”

Twilight giggled and blushed at the praise. Even becoming a teacher hadn’t eroded her weakness for having her academic performance lauded. “Thanks, Shiny,” she said. “So what are you going to do now?”

“Bring this to Princess Celestia’s attention, of course. I’m certain she’ll want to take immediate action. She’ll probably send me to retrieve the Elements of Harmony from… where are they, again?”

“Their last known resting place is an old palace that used to belong to ‘the Royal Pony Sisters’ – another indication of Nightmare Moon being Princess Celestia’s sister. It was located in what is now the Everfree Forest.”

Shining Armor groaned. “I knew this wouldn’t be easy. The Everfree Forest is the largest menace to pony safety within Equestria’s borders. Not only is it full of monsters like dragons and manticores, it doesn’t even obey the laws of nature. It grows by itself and the weather is completely random. I know I’m up to the challenge, though. I’ll report to Princess Celestia, go into the Everfree Forest, recover the Elements of Harmony, and use them to put Nightmare Moon straight back in the moon when she shows up. Nothing I can’t handle by myself.”

Twilight frowned. “Actually, big brother, I don’t think the Elements of Harmony work like that. Their names pretty much imply that they should be used by a group of ponies united by strong ties of friendship…”

Shining Armor waved a hoof dismissively. “I’m the Captain of the Royal Guard. The defence of Equestria is my responsibility. I can’t delegate something like this.”

“That’s not what I meant… oh, never mind. Princess Celestia will know what to do, anyway.” Twilight rose to her hooves and nuzzled Shining Armor’s cheek tenderly. “Just be careful, Shiny. I know you’re a brilliant commander and a powerful soldier, but I still get so worried about you.”

Shining Armor nuzzled his little sister back. “I’ll be fine, Twily. Don’t you worry about me. I’m supposed to protect you, not the other way around.”

“I don’t think it’d hurt if you let yourself rely on other ponies a bit more… but okay. I’d better get back to the party – I promised Moondancer I’d dance with her, and I don’t want her to drag me back there by my tail. Good luck with Princess Celestia!”

Shining Armor watched Twilight trot back to the party, shaking his head. Twilight was an excellent researcher, but she had completely the wrong priorities for a pony who wanted to help defend Equestria. He looked up at the clock tower, hoping that Celestia would still be available to hear his report at such a late hour, then lifted the three books and cantered towards the palace.

A pair of royal guards stood outside Princess Celestia’s suite in the palace, staring ahead resolutely. They saluted Shining Armor as he approached the door. “Evening, sir!” one greeted him. “What can we do for you?”

“I need to see Princess Celestia at once,” Shining Armor stated, slightly out of breath from cantering all the way to the palace.

“Uh, sir?” said the guard, bowing his head respectfully. “It’s ten o’clock at night. The Princess had a meeting with the Hay Commissioner at seven, which dragged on for way too long. She’s still got a stack of paperwork to finish tonight, and she has to… y’know, be up at dawn. I really can’t let you bother her right now.”

Shining Armor sighed heavily. “Alright, look. I hate to do this, but this is an…”

“Urgent matter of national security?” supplied the guard helpfully.

“Well, yes,” said Shining Armor. “Which is why I’m going to…”

“Invoke Regulation Fifteen of the Royal Guard Charter, stating that nopony may bar the Captain of the Royal Guard from a meeting with the Princess or Princesses when in pursuit of an urgent matter of national security?” the second guard added.

Shining Armor flushed a gentle crimson and looked at the floor briefly. “I know this isn’t the first time I’ve said it, but these emergencies happen more often than anypony wants to think about. This one really is time-critical, so can I please talk to the Princess?”

The guards stood aside and saluted. “Of course, Captain. If you say it’s urgent, then we trust you. Go on in.”

Shining Armor saluted back to the guards, then stepped into Princess Celestia’s personal suite. He had only been here a few times before – once for an interview to determine his suitability for his Captain promotion, and otherwise when a matter of, well, urgent national security had brought him here. He peered into Celestia’s office, and found a desk covered with books and maps, but no princess.

Just then, a gentle, mellifluous voice called from the bedroom attached to the office. “Captain, I’m in here.”

Hesitantly, Shining Armor stepped into the Princess’s bedroom. To his surprise, while the room was as large as he expected, most of the floor was empty. The main feature of the bedroom was the large couch or bed in the middle of the floor that resembled an oversized cushion more than anything else. On one side of the large fireplace hung a blue and purple tapestry, depicting a star rising up into the heavens. The moon shone through a window on the other side of the fireplace, and at the base of the window, Princess Celestia was peering through a large telescope on a tripod. Her horn glowed as she adjusted the telescope’s lenses and mechanisms with her magic.

“Your Highness!” said Shining Armor, kneeling in the doorway. “I have an important report for you.” He watched the princess work with her telescope, and stood up again. “May I ask what you’re looking at?”

“I think you know what I’m watching as well as I do, Shining Armor,” murmured Princess Celestia, not turning around from the window.

Shining Armor cautiously approached Celestia and her telescope. “The Mare in the Moon?” he asked quietly.

The princess nodded. “Indeed,” she said, stepping away from the window and turning to regard Shining Armor sadly. The guard captain had never seen his princess look or sound so sombre. “I take it that your sister found the books I left out for her?”

Shining Armor levitated the books from his saddlebags and placed them on the princess’s coffee table. “She did, and she convinced me that there’s a threat waiting to strike at the Summer Sun Celebration. Did you leave her the books so that she’d do the research and then alert me to the threat?”

Celestia smiled sweetly, but Shining Armor could see cunning behind her eyes. “Not quite, my faithful captain. You see, your sister has some rather unique qualities that make her the ideal pony to wield the Elements of Harmony.”

Shining nodded slowly. “She is the most talented young unicorn of her generation, according to all of her teachers. You think she has the magical skill to invoke the ‘spark’ that will cause the sixth Element of Harmony to be revealed?”

“Something like that,” Celestia agreed. “When the other Elements are assembled, and she comes to understand the true value of friendship for the first time, she…” The princess trailed off, a concerned frown marring her features. “Shining Armor… your sister has quite a lot of friends, doesn’t she?”

“Ugh, you have no idea,” groaned Shining Armor. “She spends more of her time partying than studying, if you ask me. She even says, ‘There are no strangers, just friends you haven’t studied with yet.’ Why do you ask?”

Celestia hastily turned back to her telescope, her tail waving from side to side. “I may have made a terrible mistake,” she muttered. “All these years, all my plans, ruined…”

“Highness?” said Shining Armor, pursing his lips in concern for his beloved sovereign. “Is there anything I can do?”

Celestia shifted around to look at Shining Armor again. “Yes! Yes, there is. I have a new mission for you, my faithful captain. I need you to go to Ponyville.”

Shining Armor nodded and saluted. “For the Summer Sun Celebration, your Highness?”

“Precisely. Take a private vehicle, or travel by train – I don’t want to risk causing a public panic by sending an excessive military presence to the celebration. Be ready to leave shortly after dawn. You should go and make your preparations now – I will send your precise orders to you before you leave.”

“I… understand, your Highness.” Shining Armor walked to the door, then stopped and turned back to Celestia. “Highness… there is more to this mission than I’m being told, isn’t there?"

Princess Celestia walked over to Shining Armor and rested her horn briefly against his, a sign of respect for his martial prowess. “There is, captain. I wish I could simply tell you everything that you want to know. But you must believe me when I say that I have the welfare of all of my little ponies at heart when I make these decisions. Including you, Shining Armor.”

“Me, Highness?” asked Shining Armor, looking up at Celestia in confusion. “But this isn’t about me. I am prepared to do my duty to you and to Equestria, even if I die in the process. I respect your wisdom, but you shouldn’t be thinking about me when you’re making your plans.”

“Everypony is important, my dear Shining Armor,” said Celestia, smiling sweetly. “And there is more to a young pony’s life than duty. You know that I value your courage and vigilance, but there will soon come a time when these are not enough to carry the day. Promise me that you will carry out my orders to the letter when you are in Ponyville. That is all I can say for now. You must trust me.”

“Of course I trust you, your Highness,” replied Shining Armor. “I won’t let you down, I promise.” He bowed deeply to the princess and trotted out into the hallway.

Princess Celestia watched the captain leave, then turned back to her window, staring up into the night sky. “Please let it not be too late,” she pleaded, gazing into the eyes of the Mare in the Moon. “I can’t fail you again, sister.”

The next morning, Shining Armor rose before dawn to prepare his military supplies for his mission to Ponyville – weapons, armour, maps and provisions. He loaded all of these into a small wagon and hauled it over to his family’s mansion, where he would be expecting Princess Celestia’s messenger with his full orders.

His parents, Twilight Velvet and Night Light, insisted on treating him to a proper breakfast before he left, which he accepted gratefully. The possibility that he might not return from this mission weighed heavily on his mind, and he was grateful to be able to spend time with his parents before he left, and with his brother and sister just the night before. Following Celestia’s orders, he avoided talking about the specific nature of his mission, merely alluding to the necessity of overseeing security at the Summer Sun Celebration.

After breakfast, he began loading his supplies into his family’s hot air balloon. Twilight Sparkle often took her school friends for rides in the Twinkling Balloon, and Twilight Velvet sometimes used it when she toured to promote her books. Twilight Sparkle was a much better balloon pilot than Shining Armor himself was, but he knew the basics. Night Light had a great deal of experience with military balloons from his career as a scout for the Royal Guard, and always said that he found the Twinkling Balloon “relaxing” to pilot by comparison.

Shining Armor took the opportunity to pack a few things from home for the trip, as well. Twilight Velvet insisted that Shining Armor take at least one suit of formal clothing, in case he were “forced” (his words, not hers) to attend a party before or after the Summer Sun Celebration itself, so he grudgingly packed his dress uniform. He made sure to include the sash that had belonged to his uncle, Commander Bright Beacon, who had served on Equestria's border with the lands claimed by dragons, and earned many commendations for his courage.

More willingly, he accepted the book his mother pressed on him – Daring Do and the Griffon's Goblet. Twilight Velvet had told Shining Armor stories of Daring Do’s exploits even before he was old enough to read the books. The first time he walked into a bookshop and found his bedtime stories in hardcover form with his mother’s name on the spine had been a shock, but not as great as opening the cover and reading the dedication to him. The copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Stone sitting in his childhood bedroom had a hornwritten dedication on the flyleaf as well, and it was his most treasured possession. He opened the book his mother was giving him, and found a similar dedication and the hope that he would come home safely from his mission. He embraced his parents tenderly, promising them that he would be careful and would return as soon as he could.

Finally, as Shining Armor was packing a few final books - a history of the Summer Sun Celebration and a guide to Ponyville tourist attractions - when he caught sight of a white unicorn crossing the mansion's front yard towards the balloon mooring platform. "Prince Blueblood?" wondered Shining Armor out loud, executing a polite bow to the prince. "What are you doing here, your Highness?"

"I'm delivering your orders from Princess Celestia, captain," said Blueblood, levitating a large, sealed envelope from his ornate saddlebags. "Why my grandmother has chosen to demote me to the status of a military messenger, I do not profess to understand."

Shining Armor caught the envelope with his own magic and peered at it. "It might be a security clearance issue. Your clearance is pretty high, isn't it?"

"Not as high as yours, captain, but yes. Certainly high enough to handle anything in an envelope that isn't magically sealed and encrypted. Grandmother always has her mysterious reasons behind everything she does, I suppose."

Shining Armor nodded in agreement, then opened the envelope and read the enclosed letter.

"Dear Shining Armor,

As we discussed last night, there is the possibility of an ancient threat to Equestria reappearing at the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville this year. I will be present at the celebration for the raising of the sun tomorrow morning. Before I arrive, I need you to ensure that all preparations for the celebration are in place, and that the venue is safe from any possible advance attacks. Your Official Overseer's Checklist is attached to these orders.

While you are in Ponyville, I also have an even more essential task for you to complete..."

"... make some friends?" Shining Armor held the letter away from his body and glared at it. "This has to be one of the princess's jokes. First Twilight, now Princess Celestia! I don't need to make friends. I'm responsible for the safety of everypony in this land. The fate of Equestria rests on me upholding my duty and being vigilant against potential threats, not making friends."

"My dear captain, if the fate of Equestria rested on you making friends, we would all be doomed." The prince tossed his mane contemptuously and laughed. "If it weren't for your sister, nopony outside the Royal Guard would even know your name. Just try to have fun in that one-horse town Ponyville while I'm watching the sun come up with the Canterlot elite tomorrow morning."

Shining Armor ground his hoof against the grass angrily, then turned over to the back of the letter. "Oh, will you look at that. 'P.S. My grandson, Prince Blueblood, will accompany you to Ponyville to assist with the preparations. Please keep him safe.' Looks like you're coming with me, your Highness."

Prince Blueblood snatched the letter with his magic, examining it hastily. "There's no way it says that. Grandmother wouldn't order me away from Canterlot over the Summer Sun Celebration. She wouldn't... good grief, she did, there's her signature and everything. What did I ever do to deserve this?"

"How about I don't answer that, and we both just get in the balloon. Princess Celestia wants us to leave as soon as possible."

"Leave? Now? But I haven't packed! I've just had myself groomed! I can't possibly prepare for an expedition on such short notice, especially not on that tiny little balloon!"

Shining Armor levitated the last of his supplies into the balloon, and then climbed aboard himself. “The Twinkling Balloon might not be one of your airships, highness, but it has served my family well for many years.”

Prince Blueblood hesitantly patted the basket of the balloon. “Then it’s ‘she’, Captain. All ships are ladies. Although this one may be more like a filly on her first day of school. Very well, if I must go, then I must – I shall not forsake my royal duty, no matter what the sacrifice.”

Shining Armor sighed as he made room for Prince Blueblood in the basket. “How very noble of you, your Highness. Make yourself comfortable. Next stop, Ponyville!”

Author's Note

Hello, everypony! Welcome to the first chapter of what I'm tentatively calling the Big-Brother-Verse. There are quite a few alternate Harmony bearer stories out there, but this idea has been kicking around my imagination for long enough that it's time to get it written. I hope it works out for my readers as well as it does in my head!

As some of you may have guessed, my main influences for this story are The Lunaverse and Rainbooms and Royalty. I'd say that this story is less of an AU than the former, but more AU than the latter. I wanted to try a story with a distinct fantasy military theme to it, so I hope I manage to capture that well. I'm also drawing on The Flight of the Alicorn for some inspiration for Prince Blueblood, because it's difficult to avoid such a strong characterization as he gets there.

So, thank you all for reading this far, and I hope you enjoy!

The Morning Will Last Forever

Shining Armor lounged grumpily in the base of the Twinkling Balloon’s basket, re-reading his mission briefing. Above him, Prince Blueblood skilfully manipulated the balloon’s ropes and magical burner, guiding it slowly but safely towards the plains far below them.

“You know, Captain,” drawled the prince as he worked, “if you didn’t know how to pilot your own balloon, you could have just said so.”

Shining Armor grumbled. “I know how to fly it. Her. It was part of officer training at the Academy. The winds up here are strange, that’s all.”

“That’s your excuse for letting us float halfway to Hoofington?” Prince Blueblood turned his muzzle to the wind and sniffed discerningly at it. “You’re right, the winds are very disturbed. Why is that?” The two unicorns peered over the edge of the basket, gazing down at the fields and buildings of Ponyville below them.

Their destination looked quite picturesque from the air. Lush green fields and hills surrounded a collection of thatched roofs and tall green trees. At the centre of the town stood what could only have been the town hall, in a design very reminiscent of the spires of Canterlot. The two unicorns could make out the brightly coloured figures of a throng of ponies moving about the town, and several pegasi soared through the air, cleaning up the clouds.

“No wonder there’s turbulence, then,” said Prince Blueblood, leaning on the edge of the basket as he looked down. “I count at least eight ponies working the skies here. That many active weather ponies will leave a lot of turbulence in the air above them.”

Shining Armor referred to his notes on Ponyville. “It says here that their weather corps is fifteen ponies strong. That’s an awful lot for a town this size.”

“The Everfree Forest spawns a lot of unnatural weather, captain,” Blueblood explained. “I always steer well clear of it when I fly south from Canterlot. It stands to reason that they’d need a larger than usual weather corps to keep it from spilling out into the town.” He adjusted one of the ropes of the Twinkling Balloon as they slowly floated down towards the town. “So, you really think that Nightmare Moon is going to attack the celebration in Ponyville?”

Shining gestured to the box of books on the far side of the basket. “Twilight’s research all checks out, and Princess Celestia agrees that an attack is possible, if not probable. Even if it isn’t Nightmare Moon, we need to be prepared for whatever comes.” He set aside his papers and looked up at the prince. “I know it sounds far-fetched…”

“Actually, captain, I’m quite willing to believe it. My family is highly unusual. My grandmother is the immortal Princess of the Sun, not to mention ruler of all Equestria. My aunt is the Princess of Love, and has spread joy and contentment to dozens of happy couples in Canterlot and beyond. My mother is the Princess of the Sky, who puts the world’s weather pegasi to shame. Grandmother has had dozens of foals over the centuries, Princes and Princesses who have all left their mark on history. And I, of course, am the pre-eminent pilot of my generation, following in my mother’s legacy of the blue skies in a way that few unicorns could. It is no great stretch to believe that my great-aunt is the legendary monster of Nightmare Night, waiting to take her revenge upon Equestria.”

Shining Armor nodded solemnly to the prince. “At least you’re on board with this mission. It’s going to be difficult to find ponies who take this threat seriously.” He peered over the edge of the basket again as he felt it come to rest on the ground. “And thank you for taking the ropes and getting us through all that turbulence.”

Blueblood waved a hoof airily. “Think nothing of it, captain,” he said, climbing out of the basket and using his magic to secure the balloon’s ropes to pegs in the ground. “I knew Grandmother had her reasons for sending me on this mission. Speaking of the mission, do you have a plan yet?”

Shining levitated his mission briefing out of the basket, rifling through the papers. “Not a great one, I’m afraid. A threat as nebulous as this one doesn’t lend itself to concrete plans. We’ll rendezvous with the local garrison, apprise them of the threat and instruct them to be on alert. I’m sure that’s what Princess Celestia meant when she said I should make friends.” He frowned at one of the papers, then slid it back into the briefing. “Except that there is no local garrison.”

“None at all?” asked Blueblood. “Isn’t that a bit risky?”

Shining pointed up to the city of Canterlot, which was still visible on the side of the mountain far above Ponyville. “Ponyville is within a rapid response range of Canterlot. I can send a detachment of National Guard down here within twenty minutes. That should be enough for a town this far from the borders… although the presence of the Everfree Forest should factor into our defensive arrangements. I’ll review that when I get back to headquarters.”

The guard captain eyed the buildings of Ponyville slowly, trying to get a feel for the layout of the town. “The Wonderbolts will be here at about midnight, since they always perform at the Summer Sun Celebration. I’ll brief Captain Spitfire on the situation then. For now, we’ll need to meet with the local weather corps, since they’re the only permanent military presence in Ponyville. Let’s flag down one of these weather ponies and make an appointment with their sergeant.”

He pointed with one hoof towards two pegasi gathering clouds in the distance, and pushing them towards a central collection tower. As he watched, a sky-blue shape sped towards them, leaving a trail of rainbows in its wake. The shape approached with worrying rapidity, until Shining Armor realised that it was on a direct collision course with Prince Blueblood.

“Highness, look out!” he shouted, and he pushed the prince aside with a well-placed shove of his shoulders. He placed himself in the path of the onrushing pegasus and conjured a force field around himself, causing his attacker to bounce off his shield and skid to a halt several yards away. Shining Armor dismissed the shield as quickly as he had erected it, and pounced on the pegasus, pinning her to the ground with his hooves.

“Got you!” he snorted, his lips curled back angrily. “Who do you work for? Why were you trying to kill the prince? Are you a spy?”

The pegasus squirmed under Shining Armor’s pin. “Whoa, dude, take it easy!” she said, her magenta eyes flicking from side to side. “What prince? I wasn’t trying to kill anypony, it was an accident!”

Shining Armor glanced quickly over at Prince Blueblood, who had fallen into a large puddle of mud when he pushed him aside. The prince was struggling to his feet and whimpering. Shining Armor swallowed awkwardly and looked back at his captive. “An accident, huh? A likely story. Do you always fly straight at the ground at those speeds?”

The pegasus grinned. “Sure do! I’m practising my moves for when the Wonderbolts get here tonight. When Captain Spitfire sees my moves, I’ll be on the fast track for a Wonderbolts commission for sure.”

Shining Armor slowly eased himself off the talkative pegasus, eyeing her cautiously as she sprang to her hooves. She didn’t appear to begrudge him ponyhandling her, seeming more interested in talking about the manoeuvers she was going to show off at the Summer Sun Celebration. As soon as he drew himself upright, she looked at his uniform and gasped. “Oh my gosh oh my gosh oh my gosh, you’re Captain Shining Armor! Sorry, sir, I didn’t recognise you!” She spread her wings and hovered a few feet off the ground, saluting him smartly. “Sergeant Rainbow Dash, Ponyville Weather Corps, reportingfordutySIR!”

“At ease, sergeant,” replied Shining Armor, returning the salute. Rainbow Dash immediately looped around and lounged on a low-hanging cloud. That’s not what “at ease” means, he thought, but he decided to let it pass. “I’m here to…”

“Are you really Spitfire’s commanding officer, sir?” asked Rainbow Dash, her face radiant with obvious admiration for the Wonderbolts. “How does that work when you’re, y’know, a unicorn?”

“I… uh… well…,” stammered Shining Armor, a little taken aback by this pegasus’s eager questioning. “Captain Spitfire is the commander of the Equestrian National Guard, while I’m in charge of the Canterlot Defence Guard. According to the Royal Guard Charter, we operate independently unless the entire kingdom is under threat, in which case she reports to me, and I take my orders directly from Princess Celestia. There’s a spell I can use to walk on clouds when I inspect the academies in Cloudsdale and Las Pegasus. That’s not important right now, though. Prince Blueblood and I need to talk to you about… oh, great.”

Prince Blueblood had staggered to Shining Armor’s side, dripping with mud. His mane and tail were in complete disarray, and dirt was smeared all over his saddlebags and jacket. “Captain,” he growled through clenched teeth, “I demand you do something about this at once! How dare you push my royal person into that disgusting mud?”

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “I was saving you from a collision with the sergeant here, your Highness,” he explained, gesturing to Rainbow Dash. “Just go and have a bath like anypony else. They mentioned a day spa in the tourist guide.”

“Absolutely unacceptable!” insisted Blueblood, stamping his hooves. “I refuse to walk into town looking like some dirt-grubbing farmer who hasn’t bathed in weeks.”

Rainbow Dash peered over her cloud at the distressed prince. “Come on, captain, give the guy a break. Look, I’d dump a raincloud on him if I had one, but we just finished clearing away all of the clouds for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow. This one here hasn’t got any rain left in it.”

Just then, a darker cloud moved into view, pushed by a young pegasus stallion with a dark grey coat and a blue striped mane and tail. “Way ahead of you, boss!” he called, placing the cloud above Prince Blueblood and giving it a kick. Rain cascaded out of the cloud, drenching the prince thoroughly and making his blonde mane cling to his face.

Prince Blueblood gritted his teeth, but stood his ground as the downpour washed the mud from his hair. “Ugh. What a dreadful start to the day. Thank you, soldier, at least dishevelled is better than dirty.” He gave the pegasus stallion the barest nod of courtesy, then stamped his hooves in an attempt to shake water out of his coat.

“No problem, sir!” said the stallion, flitting up into the sky to hover near Rainbow Dash, who gave him a nod and a hoof bump for his work. “I went and fetched it from the storage tower when I saw you might need it.”

A pegasus mare with a pale gold coat and teal hair raced up beside them both. “The sky’s clear, boss,” she said, panting. “The others have all gone home to get ready for the celebration. Who are these guys?”

Rainbow Dash gestured to the two new pegasi. “Captain, this is Corporal Raindrops and Corporal Thunderlane, my 2ICs. Raindrops keeps the troops in line, and Thunderlane is my technical assistant. Guys, this is Captain Shining Armor, who’s, like, my boss’s boss’s boss, and Prince Blueblood.” The two corporals saluted Shining Armor, then touched down on the ground.

Shining Armor returned their salute. “At ease, soldiers. Now that I’ve got the three of you here, I need to brief you on the situation with tomorrow’s Summer Sun Celebration. We have reason to suspect that an ancient enemy of Equestria is going to make an attack during the celebration.” All three pegasi looked astonished, and drew themselves up into postures of readiness. “Therefore, Princess Celestia has sent me here to oversee preparations and security for the event. I can see that the weather has been handled very efficiently, so it’s time to look to security. Has anypony seen anything odd around here lately?”

The three pegasus soldiers looked at each other briefly. “No more weird than usual, sir,” said Rainbow Dash. “There’s the Everfree Forest, but nopony ever goes in there. Occasionally weird things come out of there, like rogue weather we have to deal with…”

“I was flying near the forest the other day, actually,” said Thunderlane. “I could have sworn I saw things moving in there. Nothing came out, but… it felt weird. Almost like the forest was waiting for something. Or somepony.” He shivered, rubbing his hooves together as if cold.

“So what are we up against, sir?’ asked Raindrops. “We can’t really prepare unless we know what we’re facing.”

Shining Armor exchanged a glance with Prince Blueblood, who nodded. He turned back to the pegasi. “We have reason to believe that the Summer Sun Celebration will be attacked by Nightmare Moon.”

Rainbow Dash’s mouth twitched, and Thunderlane covered his lips with a hoof. “Nightmare Moon, sir?” asked Rainbow Dash, obviously trying to suppress a grin. “So we should… stock up on candy? Tell everypony to wear costumes to the celebration?”

Shining Armor sighed heavily. “It’s not like that, sergeant. Nightmare Moon hasn’t been chasing children for their candy, she’s been trapped inside the moon for a thousand years, ever since Princess Celestia put her there. She’s the Mare in the Moon. On the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration, the stars will free her from her prison, and she’ll come down to Equestria to take her revenge on Celestia and bring about night-time eternal.”

He saw the horrified looks on the faces of his audience, and swallowed hard. “At least, that’s what the prophecy says. It, uh… we really don’t know. Princess Celestia is worried about something, though, so she wants us to increase the security around the celebration.”

“How?” asked Raindrops. “What can we possibly do if something that old and powerful is coming here?”

Shining Armor began to pace around, keeping his gaze trained on the pegasi. “I can’t say for certain. If Nightmare Moon really does attack, then I have a backup plan that will let me keep everypony safe. I think. In the meantime… stay alert and be ready to fight. Make sure the rest of your squad is aware of the danger. Report anything suspicious, and keep your armour nearby.”

Rainbow Dash saluted again. “Will do, sir! Whatever’s coming, it won’t get past us!”

“Wait a minute.” Thunderlane hovered a few feet off the ground, looking nervously at the sky. “If something is going to attack the Summer Sun Celebration, then I should warn my little brother to stay home.”

Shining Armor shook his head. “We can’t do that, corporal. Princess Celestia doesn’t want to cause a panic at the celebration – that’s why she only sent me and the prince, not a full company of soldiers. If ponies start staying home, everypony will know that something’s up.”

“Yes, but…” Thunderlane flitted forward, looking at Shining Armor plaintively. “What if something happens to him? I can’t take that risk. Do you have a little brother, sir? Or a little sister? Would you want them anywhere near this thing?”

Shining Armor was taken aback. “I… I’ve got both. Twily would be fine – actually, she’d probably be really useful, teleporting other ponies away from the danger – but Spike… he’s just a baby dragon. He can’t run very fast, or fight, or do magic, or even breathe fire very well. I’d want him to be somewhere safe.”

The captain pawed at the ground, thinking. “But I don’t know if anywhere is going to be safe if Nightmare Moon comes for us. Not even Canterlot or Cloudsdale. If the worst happens, then the safest place for him is right behind me, so I can protect him. I’d say it’s the same here in Ponyville – keep your brother somewhere you can protect him, which means bringing him to the Summer Sun Celebration. Everypony will be there, including your squad, the Wonderbolts, me, and Princess Celestia. If anywhere is safe, it’s there.”

Thunderlane pondered this for a moment, then nodded. “You’re right, sir. I’ll make sure Rumble is at the celebration, with everypony else. Besides, he’d never forgive me if I stopped him from meeting the Wonderbolts. Hey, maybe I could introduce him to you, too! He’d love to meet the Captain of the Royal Guard.”

“Uh, I’m going to be busy with security for the whole night,” began Shining Armor, but Rainbow Dash and Prince Blueblood both glared at him. He sighed, hanging his head. “Fine, I’ll make some time to meet your brother.”

“Thank you, sir!” said Thunderlane happily. “He’s going to be so excited!”

“Alright, ponies, you heard the captain,” ordered Rainbow Dash. “You two alternate patrols of Ponyville until the Wonderbolts get here, three weather ponies to a team. I’ll see you at the celebration. Keep me informed if you see anything.” The two corporals saluted their sergeant and flew away. Rainbow Dash turned back to face Shining Armor. “We don’t really have a barracks, but there’s a bed and kitchen in the weather station, so you can stay there for the night.”

Without warning, a huge gasp came from Shining Armor’s right. He turned his head quickly, horn already charging to prepare a shield spell, and saw an excited pink pony staring at him and Blueblood. “Oh my gosh!” she shrieked. “You’re both new ponies in Ponyville and that means… there’s not a moment to lose!” She spun around and sprinted towards the centre of Ponyville.

“Oh, for the love of… Pinkie Pie, wait!” Rainbow Dash snapped off a quick salute to Shining Armor, then sped off after the pink pony, leaving a rainbow trail in her wake. The unicorns could hear “Don’t you dare…” before her voice was lost to the wind.

Shining Armor blinked and looked in the direction that the new pony had departed. He then sighed deeply and rubbed his eyes with a fetlock. “This has been far too much drama at this hour of the morning. At least weather is taken care of, as well as security until the Wonderbolts arrive.” He levitated the Official Overseer’s Checklist out of his saddlebags. “Let me see… the top item on the list is catering, at Sweet Apple Acres.”

“Absolutely not,” snorted Prince Blueblood, stamping his hoof. “Being drenched in mud and rainwater was bad enough – I categorically refuse to sully my royal hooves with a trek through open farmland to inspect some common carnival fare. I need to get the spa and see to my coiffure.”

“Not before we’ve completed at least one more of these items, highness,” Shining Armor insisted. “Royal duty and all that, remember? Next on the list is decorations, in the town hall. We need to go there anyway, to brief the Mayor about the threat. Then you can go to the spa, I promise.”

A parade of ribbons, sparkling with magical light, floated past the last undecorated pillar in Ponyville Town Hall. As each one was held up against the pillar, the white unicorn mare overseeing their movements shook her head. “No… no… no!” she muttered, tossing the rejected colours aside. “Oh, none of these colours is working! I’m going to have to redesign the colour scheme for the entire hall!”

A pink earth pony filly with a purple and white mane scurried to scoop up the rejects and place them in their proper places in their supplies. “Come on, Miss Rarity,” she said, craning her neck to observe the beautiful ribbons and banners adorning the rest of the hall. “You’re nearly done! I’m sure you can find the right colour for this last pillar.”

Rarity raised her fetlock to her forehead and sighed dramatically. “No, I have tried everything! All is lost, my dear! All is… wait, did I try the amaranth?”

“Um… no,” said the filly, nosing through a pile of ribbons. “Just the scarlet, crimson and vermillion. Here’s the amaranth.” She trotted over to Rarity with a red ribbon on her nose, and Rarity snatched it up in her magic at once.

“Yes! This is exactly what I need!” Rarity applied a gentle layer of sparkling dust to the ribbon, then affixed it to the pillar and stood back to admire the effect. “Sparkle always does the trick, does it not?”

“Oh, Miss Rarity, you are such a talent!”

“And you are the most perfect little assistant, Diamond Tiara. What would I ever do without you? I am simply dying to see you step out into the Summer Sun Celebration in your new dress, by the way – it’s one of my finer creations. You will have the eye of every colt in Ponyville, I am certain of it!”

Diamond Tiara waved a dismissive hoof. “I don’t care what colts think, Miss Rarity. I just need to be the best dressed filly at the celebration. I will be, won’t I?”

Rarity pursed her lips, looking down at the filly. “Well, of course you will, dear, but that’s not what fashion is about! Remember what I’ve told you. Who’s the most important pony to dress to please?”

Diamond Tiara turned to face the door, and raised a hoof to point at something. “Prince Blueblood?”

Rarity laughed musically. “Oh, I know I talk about him a lot, but you must dress for yourself, dear! You must express your own true self first and foremost with your couture, and only after that should you bother to impress other ponies.”

“No, I mean Prince Blueblood. Isn’t that him there?”

“Oh, darling, what in the world would Prince Blueblood be doing in our little… oh my goodness, it’s Prince Blueblood!” Rarity dashed behind a green curtain, dragging her box of ribbons and curtain fabrics along with her magic. “I’m not dressed for this! Distract them!”

When Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood strode into the town hall, they were greeted by a curtsey from a well-groomed pink and purple filly, who wore an ornate tiara on her head, and stood near a rustling curtain. Noises occasionally came from behind the curtain, including the unmistakeable sound of magic being performed, and the occasional buzz of power tools. “Good morning, your Highness!” the filly said to Blueblood. She then turned to Shining Armor and looked over his uniform briefly. “And good morning to you too, Commander! I am Diamond Tiara, and it is my great honour to welcome you to Ponyville!”

“Uh… thanks,” said Shining Armor, smiling awkwardly. He rarely found himself talking to children outside of the Royal Academy, except for Spike. “I’m actually a captain, Captain Shining Armor. You were close, though. This is Prince Blueblood.”

“A pleasure to meet you, young miss,” said Blueblood, bowing low to the child. “And may I ask, who was that lady you were speaking to when we entered the hall?”

“Who? Her?” said Diamond Tiara, hastily stepping between Blueblood and the curtain. “Nopony! Nopony at all. Pay no attention to the mare behind the curtain. What brings two such important ponies to Ponyville?”

“Well, Princess Celestia will be here for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow morning, and so it is our royal duty to check on preparations and secur... uh… on preparations. For the celebration.” Shining Armor bit his lip, reminding himself not to talk about the threat of Nightmare Moon around civilians, and children to boot.

“Oh, of course!” said the filly. “So, as you can see, Miss Rarity and I have just finished decorating the town hall. Isn’t it just perfect?”

“Did I hear my name?” asked Rarity, stepping delicately out from behind the curtain. Her mane was bound up in an elaborate tower, bedecked with ribbons. A cloak that blended between hundreds of different colours was draped across her back. “Why, good morning, gentlecolts! I wasn’t expecting any visitors to our little celebration.”

“Miss Rarity, this is Prince Blueblood and Captain Shining Armor,” said Diamond Tiara, gesturing to the two stallions. “They’re here to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Your Highness, Captain, this is Miss Rarity, who is in charge of decorations.”

“I am deeply honoured to make your acquaintance, your Highness,” purred Rarity, curtseying deeply to Blueblood. “Oh, and you too, of course, Captain!” she added casually. “Now, your Highness… what may this humble subject do for you?”

Shining Armor pressed a hoof to his forehead as Blueblood and Rarity seemed to have eyes only for each other. He glanced at Diamond Tiara, who looked very satisfied with the course of the conversation.

“Well, now that you mention it,” said Blueblood, smoothing down his wet mane, “I ran afoul of your town’s weather corps on my way here, and am badly in need of grooming. Perhaps you could direct me to the day spa of which I have heard so much?”

“Oh, your Highness!” said Rarity, giving another curtsey. “I can do more than simply direct you – I shall accompany you there myself. I am its most loyal patron, after all. It is the least I could do for such an honoured guest!”

Shining Armor cleared his throat. “Your Highness, we still have the rest of the checklist to complete. And your grandmother specifically asked me to ensure your safety on this mission.”

Blueblood tilted his head condescendingly. “Don’t worry, mother. I’m sure you can complete the rest of the inspection without me, since decorations have been taken care of so beautifully by this fair lady here. I hardly think a trip to the spa entails any danger to my royal person.”

Shining Armor groaned, then shrugged. “Alright, but I expect to see you at the weather station before midnight, alright? And don’t get into any trouble!” He found himself relaxing slightly as the prince strode off with his new date. In truth, he could get through the rest of the inspections much faster without Blueblood’s presence, and an assassination attempt was rather unlikely. He turned back to the pink filly, who was watching him expectantly.

“So… kid…”

“Diamond Tiara,” the girl reminded him.

“Diamond Tiara. So, you seem to know your ranks and uniforms pretty well. Are you looking for a career in the Guard yourself?” The filly didn’t look like the martial type, but he had been surprised in the past by cadets who were much more than they seemed.

“Me? Oh, goodness no. I’m not nearly brave or hard-working enough to make it as a Royal Guard. Daddy just says that I should make a point of knowing all about the ponies who sacrifice so much to keep us civilians safe.” She beamed a bright smile up at Shining Armor, blinking innocently.

What a sweet kid, Shining Armor thought. I wish the Royal Guard got this sort of respect from Twilight’s classmates. “That’s a very commendable attitude, Miss Diamond,” he said out loud. “You look to be pretty hard-working yourself, though, helping out Miss Rarity with the decorations. Working hard on earning your cutie mark, huh?”

Diamond Tiara’s beatific smile became a scowl in an instant, and her tail swished around to cover her bare flank. “What?” she snapped. “Who told you that? I know exactly what my special talent is, and I’m going to have my cutie mark any day now!”

Shining Armor found himself taking a step backwards, startled by Diamond Tiara’s sudden rage. “Oh, gosh, uh… sorry I mentioned it. I mean, you’re obviously, uh… very talented!” he stammered, pointing to the decorations around the town hall. “I’m sure Miss Rarity appreciates all of your help.”

Diamond Tiara’s smile returned quickly, although her tail kept covering her flank. “She’d be lost without me,” she said, holding her head up proudly. “She’s Ponyville’s finest interior decorator, and she makes dresses too! I think she’s the most important pony in Ponyville, after Daddy and the mayor, of course.” She gasped, then jumped forward to tug at Shining Armor’s leg. “You should meet Daddy! He’s the chairpony of the Ponyville Chamber of Commerce, so he always likes to meet new ponies, especially important ponies like you.”

Shining Armor found himself dragged along by the energetic pink filly. He briefly considered struggling, but meeting local community leaders was probably part of what Celestia meant by “making friends”. Besides, he was being led deeper into the town hall, so a meeting with the mayor seemed likely to follow.

Diamond Tiara led Shining Armor into a large meeting room at the back of the town hall. Ponies with clipboards, notebooks and official-looking cutie marks, most of them earth ponies, trotted from desk to desk, taking notes and issuing orders. At the largest table in the middle of the room, two earth ponies were conversing over a large stack of notes and forms. One, an elderly mare with a light amber coat and grey hair, was holding up a series of papers, gesticulating at them and raising her voice. The other, a much younger stallion with a darker amber coat and dark grey hair, seemed to be trying to placate the older mare.

“Look at this!” said the mare, producing another pile of papers. “No matter how you look at it, we’ve gone far beyond our budget estimate for the Summer Sun Celebration. We can’t afford all of this entertainment!”

“We can’t afford not to have it, Madam Mayor!” insisted the stallion. “We have to spend bits to make bits. Ponyville needs the tourism that a good Summer Sun Celebration will bring to the town, and we have to capitalize on having Princess Celestia here for it! More tourism means more disposable income being spent in Ponyville stores, and more word of mouth to bring even more tourists and commerce! We can’t rest on the laurels of our agricultural produce forever.”

Diamond Tiara walked up to the stallion and tugged on his tail. “Daddy?” she said. “There’s a pony here I really think you should meet.”

“Hmm? What’s that’s, princess?” The stallion’s voice quickly subsided to a less argumentative tone, but it still held a clear note of authority and confidence. He turned to Diamond Tiara and scooped her up onto the table, so that her head was level with the adults’.

“Daddy, Madam Mayor, this is Captain Shining Armor, who’s come from Canterlot to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. Captain, this is Filthy Rich, my father, and this is the Mayor of Ponyville.”

Filthy Rich immediately ensnared Shining Armor’s hoof in a firm shake, looking him straight in the eye. “Pleased as punch to meet you, Captain. On behalf of the merchants and businesses of Ponyville, I’d like to welcome you to our fine town.”

Shining Armor disengaged from the hoofshake with difficulty, and pressed his hoof against the ground to keep it from vibrating. “Uh, thanks. It’s good to be here, Mr Filthy.”

Diamond Tiara winced, and Filthy Rich scowled briefly. “I prefer Rich,” he muttered.

“And on behalf of all of Ponyville, I would like to welcome you as well, Captain!” said the mayor. She extended her hoof, but Shining Armor took half a step backwards and simply bowed to the mayor, who bowed back.

Filthy Rich patted his daughter’s head. “Good work looking after our guest, Diamond Tiara,” he said, watching her face glow with pride. “It’s not every day we have important Royal Guard officers visiting Ponyville.”

“Oh, it’s not just the captain, Daddy,” said Diamond Tiara. “He brought Prince Blueblood with him, too! Miss Rarity is taking care of him.”

“Goodness gracious!” exclaimed Filthy Rich. “I never would have expected a guard captain and a prince to come to our little celebration. All that investment in this year’s entertainment must be paying off, wouldn’t you say, Madam Mayor?”

The Mayor gave a polite chuckle. “Alright, Rich, you win this one. Now, come along! We must show our important guest all around Ponyville!”

“Actually, ma’am,” began Shining Armor, “I was hoping to speak to you about the details of the celebration, and…”

“No time like the present!” boomed Filthy Rich, hustling Shining Armor out of the hall. “You’re getting the grand tour of Ponyville!” The Mayor led the way with a spring in her step, and Diamond Tiara trotted alongside them, a smug grin on her face.

“Here we are in Ponyville’s commercial precinct,” drawled Filthy Rich, as he dragged Shining Armor around Ponyville. “The fresh produce market is over here, with carrots, apples, cherries, lemons… whatever fruit and vegetables you care to name, odds are we grow it here! Except asparagus, we can never keep that in stock for some reason.”

“That’s great, really, but I’m not here to go shopping…”

“And in this direction you can see the shopfronts!” said the mayor, pointing out each shop as they trotted along. “There’s the bookstore, the House of Hats, the Day Spa – that’s very popular, as I believe you’re already aware – the flower shop, the Mane Salon, the toy shop… and here’s Quills and Sofas!”

“Wait, you have a shop that just sells sofas and quills? How does that even work?”

“Why, the financial and logistical synergy should be obvious!” said Filthy Rich, urging the party along. “And here is my very own creation, Rich’s Barnyard Bargains, the cornerstone of retail in Ponyville! Don’t forget to drop in and buy a gift for that special somepony in Canterlot before you leave!”

“I definitely don’t have one of those. Look, I’m here in my official capacity as…”

“Now, all the way over on this side of town, you can see our farmland. There’s Golden Harvest Fields, and the Lemon Hearts Orchard, and over here is Sweet Apple Acres, the oldest farm in these parts, and the source of Ponyville’s own zap apple jam!”

Shining Armor stopped in his tracks, looking over the apple orchard stretching out in front of him. “This is where zap apple jam comes from?” he asked, surprised.

“It certainly is, old boy!” said Filthy Rich, drawing himself up proudly. “Ponyville was founded on the back of that jam. In my grandfather’s day, it was Granny Smith who tamed that bit of the Everfree Forest and turned it into a regular crop, and Stinkin’ Rich who commercialized it and shipped it all over Equestria! Our families put Ponyville on the map, no two ways about it.”

“I love that jam,” mused Shining Armor. “We only buy one jar a year, and we make it last.” He sighed, remembering countless breakfasts with his parents, Twily and Spike before moving into the barracks. “Anyway, where were we?”

“We were just moving on to the entertainment district!” said the mayor. “Here is Sugarcube Corner, Ponyville’s premier party venue. The bowling alley is just down this road, and here is Haute Cuisine’s Fine Dining, where we shall have lunch!”

With a groan, Shining Armor took a seat at the outdoor restaurant they had reached. He was no stranger to marching all day, but drills didn’t usually involve paying attention to shops and scenery at the same time.

Filthy Rich took a seat opposite Shining Armor, and the mayor and Diamond Tiara joined them. “So, captain, what do you think of our town now?” asked Filthy Rich, while the mayor placed an order.

Shining Armor rubbed his eyes wearily. “It’s… it’s very nice. You have… shops and things, and it’s all very impressive. Can we talk about why I’m here, now?”

“Oh, but of course, captain,” said the mayor. “You’re overseeing the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I dare say our little tour has demonstrated the town’s readiness quite nicely! You will mention all of this to your prince friend, won’t you?”

“I’m not just here about the preparations, Madam Mayor. I’m here on… official guard business.” He flicked his eyes towards Diamond Tiara, hoping the others would understand the hint.

“Ah. Very good.” Filthy Rich turned to his daughter. “Diamond Tiara, would you excuse us? The Mayor and I need to discuss business with the captain here.”

“But Daddy…” the filly began, pouting mournfully.

“No ‘but Daddy’, princess,” said Filthy Rich, speaking gently but firmly. “This is one of those meetings that I can’t let you listen to, no matter how much I want to. Why don’t you go and help your mother get ready for the celebration? You’ll see Captain Shining Armor tonight, I’m sure.”

“Okay, Daddy!” said Diamond Tiara, giving her father a long hug. She exchanged a familiar nuzzle with the Mayor, then suddenly hugged Shining Armor, who was so surprised that he could only think to pat her mane gently. “Silver Spoon is going to be so jealous when I tell her all about this!” She scampered off into town, giggling to herself.

Shining Armor watched her gallop away. “What a sweet kid,” he said, turning to Filthy Rich. “You must be very proud of your daughter, Mr Fil… Mr Rich.”

“That we are, captain, that we are. She is quite the charmer, though. I hope she didn’t try to wrap you too tight around her hoof.”

Shining Armor pondered this. “Well… I did think she was being surprisingly complimentary of the royal guard…”

His thoughts were distracted by the arrival of their waiter, an elegant earth pony stallion with a cream coat and a striking blue mane. He deposited a platter of sandwiches on their table and bowed deeply. “Will there be anything else, madame, monsieurs?” he asked, watching the three ponies expectantly.

“Uh, no, that’s all, thank you,” said Shining Armor impatiently. He waited for the pony to move to another table, then closed his eyes briefly and concentrated on a spell. A faint rose aura began to suffuse the air around them. When he opened his eyes again, he could hear the soft chatter of voices all around him.

“Alright, listen up,” he said, tapping the table to get the attention of the mayor and Filthy Rich. “I’ve cast a spell to ward off eavesdroppers, so I need to talk to you about the celebration tomorrow.”

“Please, go on, captain,” said the mayor, before applying herself to her sandwich. Filthy Rich waved a hoof, urging Shining Armor to continue while clearly enjoying his own lunch.

Shining Armor cleared his throat. “Well, Princess Celestia sent me here to oversee preparations, but also security. We can’t be certain, but there is the distinct possibility that somepony or something will make an attack on the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Both earth ponies looked as surprised as they could around a mouthful of daisies and bread. The Mayor managed to finish her bite first, and took a careful sip of water before speaking. “An attack on the Summer Sun Celebration? Who would do such a thing?”

“We have our suspicions, but the details are classified. We don’t want to cause a panic by discussing our worst case scenario with everypony. Your weather corps has been briefed on the situation, though, and I’ll be co-ordinating with the Wonderbolts when they arrive, too.”

“What do you want us to do, then, captain?” asked Filthy Rich. “We don’t have a garrison here – we rely on Canterlot for defence.”

“And Canterlot will defend you, I promise. As long as I’m here, anything that threatens Ponyville will need to go through me and my shield. I need you two, and your ponies, to support the weather corps and the Wonderbolts as best you can. Let them set up their perimeters and patrols wherever they need to. More importantly, make sure that whatever happens, the townsponies don’t panic. If the worst happens, we will all need to work together to pull through this.”

The mayor nodded solemnly. “I’ll prepare a speech for the occasion. My speeches always keep the people calm.”

“And I’ll make sure we’ve got plenty of food and entertainment to keep ponies occupied,” said Filthy Rich. “I’d better head over to Sweet Apple Acres and coordinate that with Applejack. You’ll want to speak with her later about the catering, no doubt.”

Both earth ponies quickly finished their lunch and departed, the mayor in the direction of the town hall, and Filthy Rich towards the apple farm. Shining Armor brought the checklist out of his saddlebags and checked off “decorations”. That made precisely two items complete, out of four. As he rubbed his eyes in weariness and frustration, he heard the Ponyville clock tower chiming twelve noon.

Somehow, everlasting night didn’t seem so bad, if the alternative was a morning like this.

Author's Note

Welcome back, everypony, and welcome to new readers, too! I hope you've enjoyed this latest instalment. As promised, here we see more of the military side of Equestria, as well as Ponyville's civilian life and the nature of the royal family.

No Sleep till Ponyville

Shining Armor set the overseer’s checklist and his orders from Princess Celestia out on the table in front of him, as he started on his second sandwich. He cast another glance over his orders and sighed. “Make some friends,” he thought. Why would Celestia tell me to do that? That doesn’t have anything to do with my duty to Equestria. Besides, I have friends. Twily and I are BFFs! Same with me and Spike. And then there’s Dad, and Mum, and Uncle Bright Beacon. We all get on just fine.

Still, Shining Armor suspected that Princess Celestia wanted him to make friends outside of his own family. But why? Was there something wrong with the way he ran the Royal Guard? He mentally reviewed the highlights of his last year of service. No major arguments with his advisors or troops, no botched missions, no severe disciplinary actions… so why was Princess Celestia disappointed in him?

Shining sighed and laid his chin on the café table. He thought ruefully about the times he would tease Twily for being so eager to please her teachers at Princess Celestia’s school, and the way she would always hop around like a little foal when yet another of her essays came back with an encouraging remark and a score in the high nineties. The elder brother had always held himself above such childish sentimentality, and yet he couldn’t help but feel dejected that Princess Celestia, his ruler, commanding officer and… yes, his friend… thought that he was falling short in his duties.

“Why the long face, mon capitaine?”

Shining Armor looked up from his contemplative slump to see the earth pony with the striking blue mane who had brought him his sandwiches. He quickly shuffled his military briefing back into his saddlebags and sat upright. “What? Nothing’s wrong, just eating my lunch.”

“Oh, do not tell me that, mon petit cheval, not with those droopy ears and those sad blue eyes. Something is bothering you.” Without waiting for an invitation, he sat down in the seat opposite Shining Armor, placing a bottle of apple cider on the table. “Whatever it is, it is nothing you cannot tell Haute Cuisine. Everypony comes to my café sooner or later, and they all have their own problems. So tell me, what is the great load you are hauling?”

Shining Armor was ready to tell the nosy pony to leave him alone, but he remembered his promise to Princess Celestia, to follow her orders to the letter, and that did include the order about making friends. “Well, it’s like this,” he began, waving in the direction of Canterlot. “I’m the Captain of the Royal Guard in Canterlot, and Princess Celestia sent me here to oversee the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration. She also told me to ‘make some friends’,” he said, using his front hooves to make air quotes. “I just don’t know why she would do that. As far as I know, my service as Guard Captain has been exemplary. I simply can’t think of any way that going out and making friends is relevant to my duty.”

Haute Cuisine shook his head. “Ah, I knew there was a mare involved, though perhaps not in the way I was thinking. The Princess’s good opinion is very valuable to you, no?” Shining Armor nodded, and took a sip from the bottle of cider while Haute Cuisine spoke. It was very good cider. “Then you should try to make friends as she says. But why? That is a good question. How often do you work with other ponies in your post as Captain?”

“Well, all the time, of course! I can’t be everywhere at once. I have to give orders to my troops in Canterlot, and liaise with the other forces, like the Equestrian National Guard, so I know exactly what’s going on all over Equestria, and beyond.”

“And do you trust your officers to know what to do? Even when you’re not around?”

“Naturally! I… well…” He paused and considered the question for a moment. “The thing with that is, nopony else can cast the Canterlot Defence Field spell. Not the way I can. My sister can make a shield large enough to surround a house, and I’ve taught it to a few officers in the Canterlot Defence Guard, but nopony else can set it around the whole of Canterlot. That’s not something I can delegate.”

“Perhaps not, but it sounds as though you take the entire burden of Canterlot’s safety as your own.” He picked up the cider bottle and took a long draught from it. “I could not run this café all by myself, you know. The first time I left my employees in charge when I took the day off, I worried about it all day. But my apprentice did not burn the building down or drive away all of my customers. If I worked all the time, I would have no time to spend with my friends or my mother. Much like you, am I correct?”

Shining Armor looked at the table. “I guess. I don’t see my parents or my brother and sister as often as I should. But I still think that keeping Canterlot safe needs to come first.” He pushed his empty plate away and stood up. “What do I owe you?”

Haute Cuisine shook his head. “No charge for you, mon capitaine. It is an honour to have the Captain of the Royal Guard at my café. Is there anything else your humble servant can do for you?”

Shining Armor scooped up his papers and slid them back into his saddlebags. “Can you tell me where to find a pony named Fluttershy? She’s handling the music for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I need to make sure everything is ready.”

Haute Cuisine nodded and pointed towards the eastern edge of Ponyville. “She lives out there, with her birds and her butterflies. Near the Everfree Forest, so be careful you don’t go too far.”

“The Everfree Forest?” asked Shining Armor, craning his neck to look into the distance. “That definitely doesn’t sound safe. Don’t monsters come out of there from time to time?”

“Occasionally. They never come far, though, and Fluttershy has a way with animals and monsters. She seems to like living there, so I expect she can handle it. Good luck with your mission, mon capitaine. I am certain you will make Princess Celestia proud once more.”

Shining Armor bowed to the helpful café owner and trotted off in the indicated direction, deep in thought.

Beyond the line of houses at the edge of Ponyville proper, Shining Armor could see the farms that he had already viewed from the Twinkling Balloon. Set apart from the farms, though, was a large meadow, filled with animal life. On the far side of the meadow sat a small hill, which bore a number of windows and a large door in the front. Just like an animal den, he thought, setting out towards the meadow. This Fluttershy must be a very talented earth pony if she has such a way with animals. But if she lives so far from Ponyville, she may not want to deal with other ponies much. I should be careful here.

As Shining Armor crossed the meadow, he could hear the sound of birdsong. He didn’t know very much about birds, but he could make out the calls of blue and red jays, parrots and magpies, and even the cries of a bird of prey or two. Intrigued, he hurried onwards, and when he came close to a tree near the hill, he beheld a magnificent sight.

The tree itself was an impressive specimen, with several rows of branches spreading out from its thick trunk. Every branch was laden with birds of all sizes. There must have been at least fifty birds on the tree, all singing loudly and in remarkable unison with each other. There were tiny hummingbirds in the lower branches, and a huge falcon and eagle near the crown of the tree. Every single bird had its eyes fixed on a yellow pegasus hovering in the air in front of them, conducting the symphony with a white baton gripped between her teeth.

Shining Armor smiled and relaxed as he listened to the beautiful music. If Fluttershy was a pegasus, then that made knowing how to approach her a lot easier. All pegasi were soldiers, after all, even the ones who pursued civilian careers.

Slowly, the birds progressed through the final chords of the song, ending on a perfect harmonic cadence. “Good work, everyone!” said the pegasus, sweeping her hoof to indicate the entire choir. “That’s a wrap! I think we’re completely ready for the Summer Sun Celebration tomorrow morning! Remember to get an early night tonight – our performance is before dawn.” A few of the birds began to fly off towards other trees or the feeders outside the hill-cottage, but most stayed behind to gossip and preen.

The pegasus gave a satisfied smile and fluttered to the ground, dusting herself off. She gave a startled squeak when she turned around and spotted Shining Armor watching her. “Oh… excuse me!” she said, ducking her head. “I didn’t see you there, I’m sorry…”

“Atten-HUT!” barked Shining Armor. “Captain present to inspect Summer Sun Celebration preparations!”

The pegasus’s eyes went wide, and she immediately stood to attention, her front left hoof snapping to her forehead. “Oh my goodness! Private Third Class Fluttershy, reporting for duty, sir!”

Shining Armor groaned mentally. The rank “Private Third Class” was given to pegasi who failed basic training, or were otherwise considered incapable of military service. To have no rank at all was a mark of great shame for a pegasus, suffered only by those who had been dishonourably discharged. PTC Fluttershy clearly wasn’t going to be of any help against Nightmare Moon, but that didn’t mean she was untrustworthy.

“At ease, private,” he said, returning her salute. “I need your report on the music for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Fluttershy stood stock still, her hoof still holding fast to her forehead.

“Private?” Shining Armor peered intently at the pegasus, and waved a hoof in front of her face to no avail. “Private Fluttershy?” He carefully tapped her on the shoulder, trying to catch her attention, or make her do anything other than stare straight ahead.

Slowly, without bending her legs, Fluttershy toppled to the ground, letting out a faint bleating sound.

“Oh dear. Uh… I guess I should get you back to your house, huh?” Shining Armor took a step back and started to charge up his horn to lift the unconscious mare, when he became aware of an angry chirping behind him. He carefully turned around, and saw the bird choir rising into the air as a single creature, and then they all dove straight at him, with beaks and talons outstretched.

“Gah! I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to frighten her!” cried Shining Armor, raising a leg to cover his face and projecting a shield against the birds. The eagle landed on top of his shield with a heavy thump, clawing at its sheer surface with his talons. A few other birds descended upon Fluttershy and carried her towards the cottage, while the others hovered threateningly around the force field, shrieking angrily.

Shining Armor grumbled as he cantered towards a line of trees in the distance, being careful not to let his force field hurt the birds as he moved it. This shield was softer than his usual spell, for the birds’ safety, and occasionally the pecks from the eagle’s curved beak penetrated the field, but the attacks all broke off when he crossed into the trees. He looked around, and found that he was under the canopy of a large forest, which already blocked out the light from the early afternoon sun. A few birds were still lurking in the meadow near the forest, but most had abandoned the chase and returned to their nests.

In fact, the forest was almost completely silent. Shining Armor took a few cautious steps into the forest, his ears pricked for the sounds of danger. The usual chirping of birds and the gentle susurrus of small mammals and reptiles moving through the leaf litter was entirely absent. This must be the Everfree Forest, he thought, not without some trepidation. I’ve read the reports from Ponyville on its weather and monster intrusions, but I don’t know if anypony’s ever been in here.

Fluttershy’s meadow stood mere yards away, beyond the twisted, looming trees marking the edge of the forest. It was tempting to retreat to the safety of Ponyville – an angry bird choir was a much safer prospect than the unknown threats of the Everfree Forest – but duty called him to investigate further. The Everfree Forest occupied the site of the ancient castle of the Royal Pony Sisters, where the Elements of Harmony now lay. Princess Celestia’s orders were for him to oversee preparations and defences for the Summer Sun Celebration, so fetching the Elements right now was not an option, but he could at least scout into the forest a little way. Corporal Thunderlane had reported the sensation of something watching and waiting in the forest, too.

Shining Armor closed his eyes and concentrated on a spell of stealth. The shadows of the forest grew deeper around his body, and his hooves trod more lightly on the ground, leaving less obvious hoofprints. Night Light had taught him this spell – not at home, but at the Academy, when all unicorn recruits were being taught the common spells that would help them in their service. Major Night Light was one of the royal guard’s greatest scouts during his career, and always had plenty of stories to share with Shining and Twily now that he was retired. The stealth spell wasn’t one of Shining’s best, since it related only very distantly to his special talent of protection, but it helped a little bit in situations like this one.

Shining crept forward as quietly as he could, making his way carefully through the twisted bushes and trees of the Everfree Forest. For a forest to be this silent seemed unnatural – and of course, growing as it did without the assistance of ponies, it was unnatural. He had expected monsters, though. Strange, twisted lizards watching him from tree trunks. Giant owls following his moves with their eerily huge eyes. Rodents of unusual size. Something. The silence was oppressive, and felt like it was masking something even more sinister.

He came to a line of bushes that obscured his view of the forest ahead, and crouched down with his legs splayed to either side of his body, inching his way forward. As he nudged aside a branch with his horn, he caught sight of movement ahead. He peered cautiously through a gap in the leaves, and beheld a sight that made his coat stand on end.

A huge statue dominated the clearing on the other side of the bushes, easily five times the height of a pony. The statue’s long, sharp horn and outstretched wings marked its subject as an alicorn, but that wicked scowl did not belong to Princess Celestia or any of her children. Her mane and tail billowed forth from her body in clouds that seemed to sparkle, an impressive feat from grey stone. Shining Armor felt the urge to press his head to the ground in deference to the fearsome figure that the statue depicted, who could be none other than the dreaded Nightmare Moon herself.

Pacing around the statue were three creatures, the likes of which Shining Armor had never seen before. They stood on four legs, and were a little taller than a large stallion, but the resemblance to ponies ended there. They more closely resembled wolves, with their long muzzles filled with sharp fangs, but their eyes glowed with an unearthly light, and their bodies appeared to be made from piles of dead branches and leaves. Ordinary wolves were harmless enough, although Shining Armor tried to stay away from large animals without an earth pony expert present. These creatures, on the other hoof, radiated a palpable aura of menace.

As Shining watched, the wolves walked around the statue, pausing every so often to look up at it. Then, as one, they turned their muzzles to the sky and howled, an eerie harmony that struck to a primal place in Shining Armor’s pony soul, making him flatten himself against the ground, his ears swivelling in mad panic. It was only through a supreme effort of will, reminding himself of his duty as Equestria’s foremost protector, that he kept himself from bolting.

After what seemed like hours, the howling finally stopped, and Shining Armor regained his senses. He raised his head just enough to be able to see into the clearing again. He saw the frond-like tails of the wolves disappearing into the deeper forest, and breathed a sigh of relief. Cautiously, he stepped into the clearing, panic still prickling at the back of his mind, and looked around.

The statue of Nightmare Moon glared down at him, its face still frozen in an angry scowl. Shining Armor edged around it carefully, trying to avoid its gaze, and saw that in addition to the paw prints of the timber wolves, there were other trails in the soil of the clearing. There were long, thin trails that must have been from snakes, and larger paw prints from a lion or tiger. Behind the statue, he found a depression that seemed far too large to be an animal’s footprint, as if from a gigantic bear. The timber wolves were not the first monsters to visit this statue recently, that much was certain.

And on the subject of visitors, thought Shining Armor as he came across a set of hoofprints in the soil. Tracks from hooves that were slightly larger than Shining’s own, and definitely shod. Somepony else had been here recently. Perhaps Nightmare Moon does have a spy in Ponyville after all, he thought, as he started following the tracks back towards the town.

The tracks led Shining Armor towards the edge of the Everfree Forest, but not quite in the direction he had first come. After ten minutes of trekking through the eerily quiet woods, he came to a break in the trees, and stepped out into the welcoming glare of the afternoon sun. He felt himself properly relaxing for the first time since entering the forest, his ears swivelling to their usual forward orientation, and he felt his breath coming more easily.

After he gained his bearings once more, he looked around to see where the trail had led him. He was standing on a slight rise overlooking a field of dead trees. At least, they seemed to be dead – each tree was a stunted, twisted thing, reaching up into the sky like a half-melted cutlery fork. In winter, he might have thought they were simply deciduous, but no living tree would be bare of foliage in the middle of summer, surely. Beyond the dead field, Shining Armor could see other fields full of apples trees, their bounty gleaming red and green and yellow in the sun. The hoofprints led through the dead field and to the left, steering towards a large red farmhouse that stood at the edge of the apple trees.

Shining Armor felt his coat stand on end again as he passed between the dead trees – not because they were frightening, but because the very air felt laden with static electricity, like a hot day just before a summer thunderstorm. He shook out his mane and pressed on, following the tracks diligently.

The tracks led to a door in the side of the farmhouse, and stopped at a grubby doormat. Shining Armor halted and referred to his checklist. This must be the Sweet Apple Acres farm that was handling catering for the Summer Sun Celebration. Probably nothing suspicious was going on… but Shining Armor wasn’t going to stake the security of Equestria on a “probably”. He cocked an ear and listened intently, but all he could hear was a number of ponies on the other side of the building. Looking furtively from side to side, he pushed open the door and poked his head inside.

Shining Armor found himself in a large but simple kitchen. Plates containing pies, pastries and other desserts were piled on every table and bench space, and the sink was stacked high with dirty pans and utensils. The most delicious aroma of baked apples permeated the room. The curtains were all decorated with an apple motif that gave the kitchen a wonderfully homey ambiance.

There was nothing in the kitchen that the guard captain would call suspicious activity. Curiously, Shining Armor prodded open a pantry door and stepped inside, looking for clues. He didn’t know what he was looking for, precisely, but he would know it when he found it.

The pantry contained eggs, flour, spices and empty jars. Nothing suggested that the farmhouse housed spies for Nightmare Moon. Shining turned around with difficulty in the narrow pantry, and stepped out into the kitchen again, and then his world exploded with pain.

Shining Armor’s vision blurred as something hard and flat impacted with his muzzle, and he raised his left front leg to shield his face against another attack. He stepped back and tried to charge his horn for a force field, but the sudden strike made it difficult for him to focus his magic. Instead, he reared back and brought his right front leg forward into a striking position, ready to lash out with deadly force at what was surely Nightmare Moon’s agent in Ponyville.

A blurry green figure in front of Shining Armor slowly resolved itself into an elderly earth pony mare with a frying pan in her mouth. She returned Shining’s stare as he carefully eased himself back down onto all four hooves. “You ain’t Apple Fritter,” she said matter-of-factly, spitting the frying pan out into the crook of her front leg.

Shining Armor snorted angrily, then immediately regretted it when he realised his nose was full of blood. “What the hay do you think you’re doing?” he demanded, pressing his fetlock to his muzzle. “Do you know what the penalty is for attacking an officer of the Royal Guard?”

“That depends,” said the old mare, fixing Shining Armor with a penetrating gaze. “You got a warrant to be searching my kitchen, sonny?”

“I, ah, well, that is,” stammered Shining Armor. He looked around the kitchen again, and was struck by how little it looked like the lair of a nightmare cultist. He coughed sheepishly, then winced again at the pain in his muzzle. “I’m sorry, ma’am, I didn’t mean to trespass. I was investigating… things, and the trail led me here. I apologize for the intrusion.”

She shrugged. “No harm done, I guess. Let’s do something about that nose. Big Mac!” she called out, holding open the door to the rest of the farmhouse. “We got a guest needs your attention!”

“Coming, Granny,” called a deep voice. Shining Armor heard the clip-clop of horseshoes across the wooden floor, and then the tallest stallion he had ever met stepped into the kitchen. The newcomer stood at least a head taller than Shining Armor, with a bright red coat and short orange hair. A work collar was draped over the broadest set of shoulders he had seen on any pony other than Princess Celestia.

The old mare gestured to Shining Armor. “Grandson, this is –”

“Shining Armor, ma’am,” said the captain. “Uh, Captain Shining Armor, of the Royal Guard.” He tried to make a dignified bow, but keeping his fetlock against his muzzle made dignity difficult to achieve.

The huge stallion reached out a similarly huge hoof and clapped Shining Armor carefully on the shoulder. “Name’s Big Macintosh,” he said by way of introduction, “and this here’s Granny Smith. Let’s see that nose of yours.”

Slowly, Shining Armor lowered his fetlock, wincing as he presented his nose to Big Macintosh. Granny Smith bustled about the kitchen while her grandson pressed his own nose against Shining’s muzzle, with surprising gentleness. He applied a slow pressure to it, causing Shining to grind his hooves into the floorboards to avoid crying out in pain. He had taken far worse injuries in battle, of course, but without the adrenaline rush of a life-threatening situation, the pain was more personal, and rather humiliating.

“Good news, captain,” rumbled Big Macintosh. “Your nose ain’t too broken. Hold still and I’ll set it back in place on the count of three.” Having been treated by guard medics before, Shining Armor was not at all surprised when the sharp lance of pain came just as Big Macintosh said “one”. Granny Smith passed him a scrap of gauze which he stuffed into Shining’s nose, stifling the bleeding. “All done. You’ll be right as rain in time for the celebration, I reckon.”

Shining Armor resisted the temptation to touch his injury, and nodded gratefully to the two earth ponies. “Thank you. I really am sorry about coming in unannounced. You should know that there are tracks leading from the Everfree Forest into your kitchen, though.”

“Eeyup,” said Big Macintosh. “Those’d be mine.”

“You were in the Everfree Forest by yourself?” asked Shining Armor, surprised. “Isn’t that highly dangerous? Why didn’t you take one of the weather corps with you?”

“Them featherbrains wouldn’t be any use in there,” said Granny Smith, while she filled up the sink and began attacking the stack of dirty dishes. “The timber wolves were howling, and not because there was a zap apple harvest coming up. Something’s got them varmints all riled up, and I don’t like it one bit!”

“Nope,” said Big Macintosh, shaking his head. “Me neither. I know my way around the edges of the forest. I thought something weird was going on with the old zap apple trees in the forest, but it weren’t that.”

“You, uh, found the statue, then?” asked Shining Armor, his ears flicking nervously.

“Eeyup. Looked like all sorts of critters had been there. Is that why you’re in Ponyville, Captain Shining Armor?”

Shining Armor pawed at the floor, trying to balance security with what these ponies already knew. “I’m keeping an eye on the situation. The Royal Guard are ready to intervene if matters escalate. I’m actually here to oversee preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I understand your farm is handling the catering.”

Big Macintosh nodded. “Rich is already here, talking about catering with AJ. Says he wants to make this Summer Sun Celebration the best we’ve ever had. Guess that makes sense, what with the Princess coming and all. Come on, you should meet the family.” Big Macintosh led Shining Armor out into the front yard of the farmhouse.

The porch afforded Shining Armor an impressive view over the apple orchard, and the corn fields and other crops that could also be found on the property. A large herd of earth ponies was clustered around a gazebo in the front yard, talking and eating. Shining Armor spotted Filthy Rich chatting with an orange earth pony mare in a brown hat, and they pushed through the crowd to reach them.

Filthy Rich was listening to the mare recite some numbers for the Summer Sun Celebration’s catering. He adjusted his tie as she talked, and they both turned to face Shining Armor and Big Macintosh when they arrived.

“Well, howdy there, partner,” said the mare, tipping her hat to Shining Armor and offering him her hoof. “You must be this Shining Armor feller who’s new in town. Filthy here has been telling me all about y’all. Name’s Applejack. Welcome to Sweet Apple Acres, sugarcube.”

“Thanks,” said Shining Armor, taking Applejack’s hoof and allowing his to be shaken vigorously. “Princess Celestia sent me here to check on the catering for the celebration tomorrow. How is that going?”

Applejack gestured to the ponies around them. Some were grazing on dishes of pie and other apple pastries on the table in the gazebo, while others were lying in the grass in various stages of post-prandial repose, sleeping off their feast. “I’d say we got it all under control. Most of the vittles are tucked away in the kitchen and the cellar, ready for tomorrow. Care to try some?”

Shining Armor cast an appraising glance over the table full of food. “I guess I should, for the sake of my checklist. And it does look delicious.” He found himself a seat next to a yellow mare with a striking green mane in pigtails, who offered him a plate full of apple fritters, while Big Macintosh sat down on his other side. He levitated one to his lips and bit into it, tasting warm, spiced apple wrapped in crisp, sweet pastry.

He nodded in approval, quickly marking off “catering” on his checklist, as well as belatedly marking “music”, since Fluttershy’s choir seemed to be ready. “Wow,” he said, after finishing the apple fritter. “That was amazing! If that’s the quality of food you’re making for the Summer Sun Celebration, then my work here is done!”

“You’ll stay for supper and meet the family, though, won’t you?” asked Applejack. Big Macintosh and the other nearby ponies turned to watch Shining Armor hopefully, including a little yellow filly about the same age as Diamond Tiara.

Shining Armor eyed his orders, remembering Princess Celestia’s final instruction: make some friends. “I suppose so,” he conceded, levitating a slice of apple pie onto his plate. “I’ve finished my checklist. Everything is in order for the Summer Sun Celebration. My next official duty is meeting the Wonderbolts at midnight. I’ve got some time to spare, I guess.”

“That reminds me, I should get back to town,” said Filthy Rich, packing some paperwork into his saddlebags. “I’m glad we went over those figures together, Applejack. I’ll see you at the celebration, and you too, captain!”

Applejack toyed with her ponytail as she waved Filthy Rich goodbye. “Catch you there, Filthy! Always a pleasure doing business with you.” Shining Armor waved to him as well, then turned back to Applejack and the food.

“So, you’ve already met Granny Smith, and my brother Big Macintosh,” said Applejack, nodding to the red stallion. “This here is my little sister Apple Bloom, and my cousin Apple Fritter, and over there…”

“… and that’s one dragon that will think twice before attacking Baltimare again.” Shining Armor finished his latest story, and started eyeing the one remaining apple fritter on the table. Arrayed before him was a small herd of Apple family ponies, at the front of which sat Apple Bloom, gazing up at him in wonder.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” exclaimed the little earth pony. “You really saved Baltimare from a dragon, huh?” All around her, her brother, sister and cousins nodded in agreement.

“Oh, it wasn’t just me,” said Shining Armor hurriedly. “Far from it. I kept the city shielded from the dragon’s fiery breath, and coordinated the earth pony troops on the ground, while Captain Spitfire led the pegasi in attacking him. That’s what the Royal Guard is all about – teamwork. It’s about everypony knowing his or her place in the force, and following orders. We’re just like a piece of well-oiled farm machinery, and if everypony does their part, Equestria stays safe.”

“Tell us another story?” asked Apple Bloom, grinning hopefully.

“Now, Apple Bloom, I reckon the captain has more important business to get to than tellin’ stories,” said Applejack. “It’s just about sunset, after all.”

Shining Armor looked to the west, where the sun was sinking below the horizon for what just might be the last time, if Nightmare Moon had her way. Once again, guilt gnawed at his heart for concealing the truth about a serious threat to the ponies he was pledged to protect, but he trusted Princess Celestia’s judgement. “You’re right, I should get going. I’ve still got things to do before the celebration tomorrow morning.”

Applejack tipped her hat to Shining Armor, and Big Macintosh stopped to shake his hoof solemnly. “Take care of your nose, now. Change the gauze before midnight. And don’t touch it,” he admonished, as Shining’s hoof drifted towards his muzzle. “I’ll see you at the celebration.” Apple Bloom looked up at Shining Armor and grinned happily, hugging his leg. Apple Fritter gave him a coy smile, and the rest of the family waved and cheered for him.

Shining Armor waved back to the Apple family as he trotted up the path leading back into Ponyville proper. His belly was weighed down with pastries, but his heart was light. Perhaps making friends wouldn’t be so bad after all. He certainly felt that he had made friends with Applejack and Big Macintosh, and even Granny Smith didn’t seem so bad once she put her frying pan down. Maybe the Princess was right.

For now, though, he had a simple plan – sleep. It was almost eight o’clock, now that the sun was setting on the second-longest day of the year, and the Wonderbolts were scheduled to arrive at midnight. Princess Celestia would arrive sometime between midnight and dawn, and of course the focus of the celebration was the raising of the sun itself, at about four o’clock in the morning. Midnight was when the festivities would start at the town hall, so with all celebration preparations under control, and no further military forces to muster, getting some sleep between now and midnight seemed like the best move. He wanted to be bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for dealing with the Wonderbolts and the Princess, not to mention Nightmare Moon.

Besides, all of that delicious food was making him sleepy. A few hours in bed at the weather station would do him a world of good. With this thought in mind, Shining Armor trotted casually around the edge of Ponyville, towards where the weather station was located according to his map.

The weather station stood near the perimeter of the Everfree Forest, just south of Fluttershy’s meadow. It should have been deserted, or nearly so, now that the sky was clear for the celebration, but instead, a herd of about twenty ponies milled about in front of it. A pink pony started hopping up and down as Shining Armor made his way towards the tower.

You have got to be kidding me, Shining Armor thought to himself as he started to walk between the ponies, who were all waving to him and trying to talk to him. The pink pony bounced alongside Shining as he plodded towards the door to the weather station.

“Surprise!” she exclaimed, throwing a hooffull of streamers over Shining Armor. “Hi! I’m Pinkie Pie, and I threw this party just for you! Were you surprised? Were you? Huh? Huh? I mean, you probably weren’t surprised because you could see us from all the way over there. I was going to hold the party inside the weather station, but Rainbow Dash said I couldn’t because the weather station is Royal Guard property, and if I invited a bunch of ponies in there without permission you’ve have me court-martialled and thrown in a dungeon!”

Shining Armor kept his eyes on the door to the weather station, and kept walking.

“I saw you when you first came into town, remember? You and Prince Blueblood and Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane and Raindrops were all talking about something, but I didn’t hear what, and then I was all ‘GASP!’ and I ran off, because I wanted to throw you and Prince Blueblood a special ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, like I do for all my friends!”

Shining Armor kept his eyes on the door to the weather station, and kept walking.

“So I was going to throw a party for Prince Blueblood too, but he’s been with Rarity all day, and Rarity told me that if I didn’t leave her alone she’d turn me into designer curtains, and Rainbow Dash said I was probably ‘cramping Rarity’s style’, and I guess when you have as much style as Rarity it can get cramped pretty easily. So they’ve been all over Ponyville meeting lots of ponies, but that means you’re here all by yourself, and if you’re a new pony in Ponyville and you’re all by yourself, that means you don’t have any friends, and if you don’t have any friends, you must be lonely, and that made me so sad!”

Shining Armor kept his eyes on the door to the weather station, and kept walking.

“So I decided to throw you this party right here, right where you’re staying! And I invited all of my friends, because I know everypony, and I mean everypony in Ponyville! So now there’s lots of ponies here to welcome you to Ponyville, and I just know you’ll have a great time getting to know them! Isn’t it great? When you arrived in that cute little hot air balloon, it was just you and Prince Blueblood, but now you have lots and lots of –”

Shining Armor kicked the door closed behind him, breathing a sigh of relief. Through the wooden door, he could only barely hear Pinkie Pie’s voice. “Ow! Okay, you have fun! See you at the celebration!”

He looked around the weather station. It contained mostly what Shining expected it to – anemometers, barometers, rainfall gauges and safety equipment for handling rainbows and storm clouds. Since Ponyville lacked a formal garrison, the weather station also functioned as the barracks, with places to store armour and weapons. The supplies he had packed in the Twinkling Balloon were neatly stacked in one corner, as well. There was a pair of bunk beds against each wall – not enough to house the entire weather team, but enough to serve as temporary accommodation for pegasi working overtime, or for visiting Guard Captains.

As Shining Armor unslung his saddlebags and prepared to engage in a four hour “bunk mission”, a blue shape sped in through one of the upper windows, bounced off the opposite wall, and came to land rather unsteadily on the floor. “Sir!” said Rainbow Dash, performing a shaky salute. “What’s going on? We haven’t seen you around since this morning.”

“At ease, sergeant,” replied Shining Armor, returning the young pegasus’s salute. “I was finishing my assignment to oversee the preparations for the celebration, and everything seems to be in order. I also made a brief scouting mission into the Everfree Forest to investigate Corporal Thunderlane’s reports of monster activity. I found evidence of monsters clustering around an old statue of Nightmare Moon in the forest. It seems we aren’t the only ones anticipating her return.”

Rainbow Dash grimaced. “Woah. That’s not good news. You really think she’s going to show up, huh. What are you going to do now?”

Shining Armor nodded his head towards the bunk bed. “Right now, I’m going to sleep. Princess Celestia wants me here for the celebration itself, so I can’t go far from Ponyville. When the Wonderbolts get here, I can discuss our plans with them, and then with the Princess and her personal guard when they arrive."

Rainbow blinked. “But… but sir! This is the Summer Sun Celebration! It’s tradition for everypony to stay up all night so they don’t miss Celestia raising the sun in the morning!”

Shining Armor pressed a hoof into his forehead. “Look, sergeant. I was up before dawn this morning preparing for this mission, and you might recall that today is the second-longest day of the year. If Nightmare Moon really does attack Equestria tomorrow, I don’t want to have to lead the defence against her on zero sleep. What’s more important, duty or tradition?”

“Duty, I guess… but you bailed on Pinkie Pie’s party, too! I know she’s annoying, but she throws the best parties in Ponyville, and her welcome parties are a big honour!”

Shining Armor threw himself down onto the bunk and closed his eyes. “Goodnight, sergeant. Wake me when the Wonderbolts get here.”

The young sergeant grumbled as she flitted out the window to return to the party outside. “Goodnight, sir.”

Nightfall

Shining Armor cowered in the corner of his bedroom as the eerie black pony stalked towards him. “Please, Nightmare Moon,” he begged, holding out a bag full of candy with his hooves. “Don’t eat me! Look, I gathered lots of candy for you!”

“Pitiful foal!” snarled the terrifying alicorn, snatching the bag between her teeth and tossing it across the bedroom. Brightly coloured sweets spilled out over the grey carpet, forming the only trace of colour in the room. “Do you really think you can appease me with this paltry offering? I have returned to feast not on candy, but on ponies!” Behind Nightmare Moon, a trio of timber wolves snarled and snapped their jaws menacingly.

“B-but I’m not a pony!” stammered Shining Armor. “I’m just a harmless bunny!” He shook his head, making the ears of his white rabbit costume sway adorably. “You wouldn’t eat a cute little bunny rabbit, would you?”

Nightmare Moon bared her fangs and hissed, then lunged at Shining Armor’s throat. He ducked beneath her attack, then hooked his front legs beneath her barrel and flipped her over his head, slamming her into the floor behind him.

“Ow!” said Nightmare Moon, holding her hooves up to ward off Shining’s attack. “Sorry, sir, I didn’t mean to startle you!”

Shining glared down at Nightmare Moon, and her coat gradually lightened in hue as he came to his senses. He rubbed his eyes, and saw that Corporal Thunderlane was on the floor by his bed. “Ugh, what happened?” he said blearily, shaking his head.

Thunderlane hauled himself upright, seeming little the worse for wear. “I came in to wake you, sir, and you were talking in your sleep, something about Nightmare Moon and candy and, uh, bunnies, and then when I tried to wake you up you threw me into the wall.”

Shining rubbed the back of his neck with a fetlock. “Oh, gosh, I’m so sorry. I guess I was having a nightmare. I feel like such a foal. Are you alright?”

The grey stallion grinned. “Had worse in training, sir. It’s okay. This whole Nightmare Moon thing has got everypony on edge. The sergeant has been poking her spear at every shadow in Ponyville, and Raindrops just seemed really distracted all evening. Do we know any more about the threat yet?”

“A little more,” said Shining Armor as he clambered out of bed. “I made a foray into the Everfree Forest this afternoon. I’d like to save that for briefing the Wonderbolts when they arrive, though.”

“That’s why I’m here, sir,” said Thunderlane. “The sergeant said you wanted to be woken up as soon as the Wonderbolts got here. She would have come herself, but she’s too busy watching their performance. Becoming a Wonderbolt officer is her lifelong dream, you know.”

“I could tell,” agreed Shining as he strapped on his armour, with Thunderlane hurrying to his side to assist him. “Thanks for waking me up. Did you move my gear into the weather station this morning?”

Thunderlane nodded. “And I stowed your hot air balloon on the roof, so you’ve got everything where you need it. We don’t often get any serious brass here in Ponyville, so I wanted to make sure everything went smoothly.”

Shining Armor bumped Thunderlane’s shoulder with a hoof, and nodded approvingly. “I like that attitude, corporal. It’ll get you a long way.”

“I hope so, sir,” said Thunderlane as they walked out of the weather station. “I’d like to make officer one day, or at least sergeant, but competition in Ponyville is pretty fierce. Sergeant Rainbow Dash is the best flyer I’ve ever met, and Corporal Raindrops knows all the ins and outs of rain, which is a pretty big deal in a farming town. Don’t get me wrong, we’re all good friends, but Raindrops and I both know that the only way the leadership of the Ponyville Weather Corps is gonna open up is if Rainbow Dash gets promoted out of here. And the only post she’d leave Ponyville for is a Wonderbolt commission.” He shrugged, leading Shining Armor towards the town square. “And it’s what she wants, anyway, so we’ll all be happy for her if she gets it.”

“You know, corporal, you don’t need to be a sergeant to apply for the Wonderbolt Academy. They take corporals, and even privates with exceptional service records. If you want to be a Wonderbolt officer, go for it.”

Thunderlane shrugged. “That might be pretty cool. We can’t all be Rainbow Dash, though. If any of us is getting a commission, it’s her. But look, there are the Wonderbolts now!”

Shining Armor looked up into the sky over the town hall. Six pegasi clad in blue flight suits soared overhead, trailing smoke and lightning in their wake. All around the town square, ponies ceased their gossiping and dining to turn their faces to the sky, watching the dazzling spectacle. Shining watched the show with interest as he made his way over to where the weather corps was gathered. Most of his interactions with the Wonderbolts were professional meetings with Captain Spitfire and her officers, to coordinate between the Canterlot Defence Guard and the Equestrian National Guard. At times like this, though, it was nice to be able to stand back and appreciate them as performers rather than soldiers.

Shining Armor and Thunderlane sidled over to where Sergeant Rainbow Dash and a small herd of other pegasi were clustered near a baked potato stand. “They’re really something, aren’t they, sergeant?” asked Shining Armor, turning to watch the sky once again.

“They sure are!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash, her eyes shining with admiration as she watched the Wonderbolts twist and soar across the sky. “That’s going to be me one day, up there in the blue and yellow, strutting my stuff for all of Equestria to see.”

Shining Armor looked over the cocky young pegasus appraisingly. “There’s more to being a Wonderbolt than being a stunt flyer, sergeant. As the leaders of the Equestrian National Guard, they need to be the first on the scene for any unexpected dangers that threaten our citizens. That includes both natural disasters and monsters. Are you sure you’re ready for that?”

Rainbow Dash stamped a hoof angrily. “You think I don’t have what it takes?” she snorted. She then backed away hastily, ducking her head. “I mean, uh, I have every confidence that I’m up to the challenge, sir! Sorry about that, sir.”

“It’s fine, sergeant. Corporal Thunderlane tells me that you’re pretty good in the air. What’s your combat experience?”

“We get monsters coming out of the Everfree Forest sometimes. Last month there was a hydra attacking animals in Froggy Bottom Bog, so the ponies tending animals there asked for our assistance in driving it back into the forest. And in autumn, there was a family of manticores causing trouble for the farms near the edge. That was…” Rainbow Dash hung her head. “That didn’t go so well.”

Shining Armor reached out to place a hoof on Rainbow Dash’s shoulder. “You lost ponies?” he asked, looking sympathetically at the sergeant. They were words he had said far too many times, to far too many officers.

Rainbow Dash nodded. “Just one. Private Cloud Kicker. It’s a shame. She would have liked you.”

Thunderlane snorted in amusement. “Darn right she would have. She’d have been all over you. She’d never banged a capta… hi kids!” he said, pitching his voice up half an octave and waving to a small herd of pegasus children who had wandered over to them. “Are you all enjoying the show?”

A light grey pegasus colt with dark grey hair jumped into the air, his wings buzzing as he flitted around Thunderlane before landing on his back. “We sure are, BB!” he said, his voice soft and squeaky. “Spitfire is amazing! I wanna be just like her someday!” The colt caught sight of Shining Armor, and hid behind Thunderlane’s head. “Who’s that?”

Thunderlane grinned and reached up to tousle the colt’s messy grey mane. “This is Captain Shining Armor, kiddo. He runs the whole Royal Guard and reports straight to Princess Celestia. Captain, this is my little brother, Rumble. Told you he’d want to meet you.”

The captain extended his hoof, and Rumble jumped up off his brother’s back and shook his hoof while hovering in the air, his wings kicking up leaves and dust from the ground. “Wow! I never thought I’d meet you! What are you doing in a place like Ponyville?”

Shining Armor bit his lip, once again regretting the necessity of keeping his mission secret. “I’m just here to check on preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration, since Princess Celestia is going to be here. We want everything to be perfect for the Princess, right?” He grinned and took a step back, observing the colt’s hovering technique. “Say, you’re quite the flyer. You must be a bit of a star at flight camp, huh?”

Thunderlane beamed proudly, and Rumble zipped around Shining Armor’s head, his initial bashfulness gone. “Yeah, it’s great! I’m the fastest flyer in my squad, and the instructors are teaching me all sorts of neat tricks! Major Peregrine says I’m going to make a great National Guard striker one day, but I kinda want to join the Weather Corps like Thunderlane.”

Shining Armor smiled, feeling much more at ease with the military cadets that all pegasus children were, than he had been with Diamond Tiara or Apple Bloom. He looked around at the other pegasus children, and saw an orange filly hopping up and down, watching him. “How about you, cadet?” he asked her, watching her wings buzzing. “Are you giving Rumble here a race for his money up in the sky?”

The orange filly pawed at the ground, smiling awkwardly. “Yeah, uh, any day now, t-totally!” she stammered, not meeting Shining Armor’s eyes.

Rainbow Dash stepped forward and draped her wing across the filly’s shoulders. “This is Scootaloo, my protégé. She’s doing great in flight camp – she’s top of her squad in athletics and weapon drill. She’ll get to flying when she’s good and ready, isn’t that right, squirt?” The filly nodded enthusiastically, smiling up at her mentor.

I really seem to have a knack for saying the wrong thing to foals, thought Shining Armor. First Diamond Tiara and her cutie mark, now Scootaloo and flying. They still seemed to like him, though.

“Well, I’m glad to hear that. I never knew Ponyville had so many talented cadets. Have you got a mentor yet, Rumble?” he asked the grey colt, who had settled down next to Scootaloo and was about to put her nose into a bag of apple fries.

“Not yet,” he said, trotting over to Thunderlane’s side. “I mean, Thunderlane is teaching me a lot of weather stuff, but I’m supposed to get a mentor from outside my family, y’know?”

“Oh, right, yeah, pegasus tradition and all that. Well, when they see how you are in the air, they’ll all want to take you on, I’m sure.” Shining Armor knew a little bit about the pegasus tradition of mentorship – mostly that it turned out some of the best soldiers the Royal Guard could ask for.

Thunderlane pointed to a pale yellow colt over by an orange juice stand. “That’s my protégé, Featherweight. He’s not a star athlete like these two, but he’s got a keen eye. Might make a good scout if he signs up for the National Guard full-time. I’m still looking for the right mentor for Rumble – he’s got a lot of potential, so he needs a mentor who can help him live up to it.”

Shining Armor surveyed the pegasus children, and the adults who stood with them. “It looks like Ponyville is in good hooves, soldiers. Just what I like to see.”

Rainbow Dash pointed up at the sky. “Hey, guys, the big finale is coming up!” Shining Armor and the pegasi all looked skyward, eager to witness the spectacle. The six Wonderbolts rose into the air, executing a series of turns, and then folded their wings, diving as one towards the ground in a free fall. The pegasi halted their dives a mere fifty feet above the roof of the town hall, then turned in six different directions, flying across Ponyville and leaving trails of smoke, fire and lightning in their wakes. When they reached the edges of the town, they pulled up into the sky once more and came together at a single point high above the town hall. A shower of orange and yellow fireworks burst from their meeting point, forming an image of an eight-armed sun disk in the sky.

All around the town square and beyond, ponies stopped to look up at the sky, murmuring in awe. Shining Armor himself could not help but raise his hoof to his forehead in salute to Princess Celestia’s cutie mark emblazoned across the sky, and Rainbow Dash and the other pegasi all followed suit. As the image faded into the starry darkness above Ponyville, the six Wonderbolts looped around and landed in the town square. The first of them stopped directly in front of Shining Armor, kicking up a cloud of dust as she landed, and the others lined up behind her.

The lead pegasus, a yellow mare with bright orange hair, snapped off a salute to Shining Armor. “Captain!” she hailed him, her head held steady as she addressed him.

“Captain,” said Shining Armor, returning her salute. He looked over the other Wonderbolts as they lined up next to their captain and saluted him as well. “At ease, ponies,” he told them, and then nodded to the pegasus captain politely. “I’m glad to see your team in such good shape, Captain Spitfire.”

“Thank you, Captain Shining Armor,” said Spitfire, stretching out her wings and giving them a shake. “It’s always good to perform for the Summer Sun Celebration. I think it’s a great way to ring in the solstice, and honour the Princess. When is she due to arrive?”

“About an hour before dawn. Now that you’re here, though, I want to hold a briefing with your squad and the weather corps. We’ll meet in the weather station in ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?” said one of the other Wonderbolts, a light blue stallion with darker blue hair. “But sir, we only just finished our show! We need to sign autographs and hit the food stalls!” He sniffed the air, looking longingly towards a stall being run by Applejack.

Shining Armor trotted in front of the blue Wonderbolt and glared at him disapprovingly. “What’s your name, major?” he asked, noting the pony’s rank insignia.

“Soarin, sir,” said the pegasus stallion, and he saluted Shining Armor but had trouble meeting his gaze. “I was just saying…”

“That you don’t think our duty to Equestria is important? That you’ve got somewhere more interesting to be? That you’d rather be stuffing your muzzle with apple pie than sitting through a briefing from the Captain of the Royal Guard?”

Major Soarin looked at the ground uncomfortably. “No, sir. It’s just that signing autographs and mingling with fans is an important part of being an entertainer.”

“We’re not entertainers tonight, major. We’re soldiers.” He turned back to Spitfire, making sure not to violate the pegasus chain of command. “Ten minutes, Captain Spitfire. I expect to see your entire squad there. Yours too, Sergeant Rainbow Dash.”

“Is that really necessary, captain?” asked Spitfire, frowning. “I’d much rather give my squad a break before throwing them straight back into Royal Guard business.”

Shining Armor looked uncomfortably at all of the pegasi staring at him, from Spitfire and Soarin, to Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane, to the children. “It’s… important. I can’t order you or your squad to do anything, but I have instructions from Princess Celestia to review preparations and security for the Summer Sun Celebration, and I want the Wonderbolts to be part of that review.”

Spitfire turned to look at the rest of her squad, then sighed. “Alright, sir. We’ll be there. Squad, find something to eat if you’re hungry, and be at the weather station in ten minutes.” Rainbow Dash saluted both of the captains, then hurried off to gather her own squad. Shining Armor could hear grumbling from the pegasi as he walked away towards the weather station, but he did his best not to listen.

“Alright, is everypony here?”

Shining Armor looked over the ponies gathered in the weather station. Captain Spitfire stood to attention, while the rest of her squad lounged on the floor. Major Soarin was eating noisily from a plate of apple pie. Rainbow Dash was hovering near the middle of the room, waiting impatiently. The rest of the weather corps had made themselves comfortable, except for Corporal Raindrops, who was pacing nervously across the room, stretching and folding her wings restlessly.

Prince Blueblood had already paid a visit to the weather station, along with Miss Rarity, who had been quite willing to include the station in her grand tour of Ponyville for the prince. Faced with either separating Blueblood from Rarity for the confidential briefing, or letting both of them go back to the celebration, he had made by far the more practical choice.

“We’re all here, captain,” said Spitfire. “What’s the situation?”

Shining Armor gestured to a projection screen against one wall of the weather station, and illuminated it with a beam from his horn, displaying the pictures from The Tale of the Royal Pony Sisters. “We have reason to believe that this year’s Summer Sun Celebration will be attacked by Nightmare Moon.”

Major Soarin groaned and rolled his eyes. “Nightmare Moon? Seriously? We had to bail on the Summer Sun Celebration for this?”

“Quiet, rookie,” Spitfire ordered, and gave the talkative blue stallion a stern glare. “Are you sure about this, sir?” she asked Shining Armor, eyeing the projection skeptically. “Isn’t Nightmare Moon just an old pony tale? It doesn’t sound like something worth mobilizing the guard over.”

Shining Armor bit his lip to hold back an exasperated sigh, then projected a few more images from the book onto the screen. “We can’t be certain either way, captain. This text states that Nightmare Moon was a real threat – Princess Celestia’s own sister, who turned to evil and tried to bring about night-time eternal. She was imprisoned within the moon for her crimes – which is said to be the source of the Mare in the Moon, as you can see outside.” He pointed to one of the high windows, though which the moon, and the dark splotches resembling a unicorn’s head, could clearly be seen.

Is it brighter than usual? Shining Armor wondered. Or is that just my imagination playing tricks on me?

He shook his head and turned back to face the soldiers before him. “Princess Celestia has neither confirmed nor denied the threat of Nightmare Moon in particular, but she has asked me to ensure that security for tomorrow’s celebration is strengthened. I’ve had the Ponyville Weather Corps on patrol all evening. Anything to report, Sergeant Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash touched down in the middle of the room, saluting Shining Armor smartly. “Sir! My corporals and I have been patrolling the Ponyville perimeter with the troops. I haven’t encountered anything very suspicious, but the shadows just feel deeper and more creepy. And some of them move when I’m not watching them, I’m sure of it.” She tossed her head in agitation, her rainbow mane shifting from side to side. “Maybe I’m just edgy because of what you said about Nightmare Moon, but I’m getting the same feeling I got the night before the manticore attack on Sweet Apple Acres. Something’s coming, but I don’t know what, or when.”

Thunderlane stepped up beside Rainbow Dash to give his report. “Sir! I took a patrol over the Everfree Forest just before sunset. There’s definitely more activity in there than usual. It’s hard to see through the canopy, but I spotted a couple of large creatures moving around. When we took a look at the perimeter of the forest, the smaller animals were all hiding, and it was dead silent. If I had to guess, I’d say the monsters were gearing up for an attack, and all of the little critters had bunkered down to weather the storm.

“That’s a bad sign, if you ask me, sir. As the sergeant says, we have a few monster attacks from time to time, but they’re not coordinated. If lots of monsters are getting ready for an assault, that means there’s somepony or something directing them. Could be Nightmare Moon for all we know.”

Shining Armor nodded to the two pegasi. “That’s valuable information, ponies, and it confirms my own observations. What about you, Corporal Raindrops? Anything to report?”

The pale golden mare kept pacing around the room, opening and closing her wings, showing no sign that she had heard Shining Armor.

Rainbow Dash waved a hoof in front of Raindrops’s face. “Corporal! Report!”

Raindrops suddenly snapped to attention, standing up straight and folding her wings tightly against her sides. “Yes ma’am! And sir! Reporting… yes!” She shivered uncomfortably, her gaze darting around the room before settling on Shining Armor. “I’m sorry, sir. I haven’t been able to concentrate on anything since the sun went down. I’ve got this horrible sense of impending doom, and my wings itch like I’ve got the feather flu.” She snapped her wings open and closed again, nervously shuffling her hooves.

Shining Armor took a step towards Raindrops, concern on his face. “Are you alright to serve tonight, corporal? If you need to take tonight off, there are more than enough soldiers here to fill in for you.”

Raindrops nodded, drawing her head up straight. “I’ll be fine, sir. It’s probably just nerves, like the sergeant said. If Nightmare Moon does come tonight, I’ll be ready to fight her alongside everypony else.”

“Glad to hear it, corporal. Now, as for my own report, I made a foray into the Everfree Forest in the afternoon. I came across a statue of Nightmare Moon that had three timber wolves lurking around it. There were signs of several other monsters in the area, too. It’s not proof of Nightmare Moon’s existence, but at least the monsters think that she’s real, and maybe that she’s coming back. What’s your opinion on the situation now, Captain Spitfire?”

Spitfire mulled over the various reports for a few moments, then nodded her head. “I’m satisfied that there’s a threat, sir, whether it’s Nightmare Moon or not. Wonderbolts, I want you on alert tonight. We’ll have three ponies flying a perimeter sweep, while the other three mingle with the crowd and keep an eye out for any threats within the town borders. Sergeant Rainbow Dash, you do the same with your squad. Have the civilian authorities been informed, sir?”

Shining Armor nodded. “The mayor knows that there’s a risk of an attack, and has agreed to support our efforts however she can. We need to keep this low-key to avoid causing a panic. The townsfolk are safest if they stay together at the celebration, not scattered at their homes. Wear your armour, but keep your weapons in one of the back rooms at the town hall until I give the order to arm up. We want to remind ponies that they’re being protected, but not give them reason to be afraid.”

Rainbow Dash and Spitfire saluted smartly. “Got it, sir!” said Rainbow Dash. “Hey, how about we put on some jousting? That way, nopony will wonder why we’re in our armour, and kids love jousting.”

“Great idea, sergeant!” said Spitfire. “Have you got lances here? Good! Gear up and I’ll meet you and your team in an hour.” She swept a wing to signal the other Wonderbolts to follow her, waited to be dismissed by Shining Armor, and led them out into Ponyville, to patrol and entertain.

Rainbow Dash stared at Spitfire’s retreating form in astonishment, then started jumping up and down and beating her wings excitedly. “I’m jousting with the Wonderbolts!” she squealed, grinning at the rest of the weather team.

Shining Armor chuckled and shook his head. “You won’t be so happy in a little bit. I’ve seen Captain Spitfire fight. I only know one mortal who can beat her, and it’s certainly not me.”

“Yeah, but I’ll be jousting with Spitfire! There just aren’t words to describe how awesome that is! Uh, are we dismissed, sir?”

“You’re dismissed, Ponyville weather corps. Keep the ponies safe and happy, and make the Royal Guard proud.”

Rainbow Dash and the other weather ponies saluted and flew out to serve their duty. Shining Armor watched them leave, eyeing Corporal Raindrops with concern, then followed after them.

Prince Blueblood was having a wonderful night. Ponyville was not quite the cultural desert he had feared it to be. It had dirt and uncultured peasants like all rural villages, but it also had fine dining, courtesy of Haute Cuisine, and proper grooming from the two fine mares who ran the Day Spa. Most importantly, it had both elegance and sophistication in the form of Miss Rarity.

Rarity may have been a commoner, but there was nothing common about this unicorn. Her style, grace and poise were worthy of the finest aristocrats of Canterlot. In addition to all of that, she had the spark of true creative genius that he had witnessed in so few ponies other than himself. Rarity had designed all of the decorations for the Summer Sun Celebration, and made sure he had the chance to admire it everywhere they went. She was the soul of hospitality, as well, always being sure to take care of trivialities such as opening doors and paying vendors as they toured her hometown.

After watching the Wonderbolts perform, they had been joined by Diamond Tiara and her friend Silver Spoon, a similarly elegant and gregarious young filly who wanted to know all about life in Canterlot. Being the centre of attention was one of Blueblood’s favourite pastimes, and he entertained them with his stories of the Grand Galloping Gala and Princess Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, and the latest gossip from the crème de la crème of Equestrian society. The two fillies eventually galloped off to watch the jousting matches, and Blueblood and Rarity were left to explore the town at their leisure once more.

“So tell me, Prince Blueblood,” she said as they walked together towards the town square, enjoying the warm summer night. “Is Princess Celestia truly as beautiful and spectacular as she appears in paintings and photographs? I’ve always wanted to visit Canterlot – it’s where I truly belong, you know – but between my work and my family, I’ve never had the chance.”

“I’m not sure I’m the pony to ask about her beauty, Miss Rarity,” replied Blueblood. “She is my grandmother, after all. She is most majestic, though, especially at ceremonies like the Summer Sun Celebration. If anypony here tonight will surpass my own splendour, it is she.”

“Hmm, yes, quite,” murmured Rarity, turning her head away from Blueblood and rolling her eyes.

“As to her beauty, I do know that Prince Cerulean Skies was extremely fond of her,” continued Blueblood, oblivious to Rarity’s gesture.

“Prince Cerulean Skies… he was her most recent consort, was he not? Princess Cadance’s father, and your grandfather?”

“Indeed he was. I don’t remember him very well, but I do remember that he and Grandmother loved each other very much. He died when I was just a little colt, fighting griffons in the last war.” Blueblood stopped and looked at the ground, sighing deeply. “They say there was no summer the year he died, just a long cold spring and autumn as Grandmother spent the year in mourning. I don’t think that’s actually true, or the peasants wouldn’t have been able to grow their crops properly, but I do remember how sad she was.”

Rarity paused and looked at Blueblood intently for a few moments. “You’re not quite what I expected, your highness,” she said, in a thoughtful tone.

Blueblood brightened again, and ran a hoof through his long blonde mane. “I know, very few ponies are prepared for my glamour in person. On the subject of my family, did I mention that my father is descended from the ancient unicorn royal family?”

Rarity rolled her eyes again as Blueblood groomed himself. “You did, twice. I don’t find it at all difficult to believe that Princess Platinum is among your ancestors.”

The pair strolled on until they reached the town square, and looked around at the array of entertainment and vendors’ stalls. All around the square, ponies were selling food, drinks and souvenirs. One pony was offering face painting for foals, while his partner sketched visitors in front of the Ponyville town hall.

Blueblood trotted amongst the crowd, holding his muzzle high to avoid mingling with the peasants around him. “Ugh. This is just as dreadful as I expected it would be. Truly, Miss Rarity, you are the shining beacon of sophistication in this desolate wasteland of culture, and your young apprentice the sole hope for its future.”

“I… suppose I should take that as a compliment, Prince Blueblood, but Ponyville isn’t all that bad,” Rarity insisted, biting her lip as she looked around the square. “It takes all types of ponies to make up a town like this one.”

“All types of incompetence, you mean,” muttered Blueblood, as he glared at a stall selling Summer Sun Celebration memorabilia, and levitated a small wooden statue of Princess Celestia raising the sun. “Look at the craftsponyship of this rubbish.”

“I’ll admit that I would not be proud of such work myself,” Rarity replied, while the pony behind the stall looked downcast. “But it’s hardly rubbish.”

“My grandmother’s coat is not pink!” Blueblood insisted, setting the statue back down. “I expected better standards from the town chosen to host the Summer Sun Celebration.” He rolled his eyes as they approached a stall selling caramel apples and apple pastries. “Oh, wonderful. More peasants trying to sell us carnival fare.”

“Howdy, folks!” one of the ponies behind the stall greeted them. “I bet y’all would like a caramel apple, apple fritter, apple… oh, it’s you, Rarity.” She glared at Rarity, forgoing the rest of her speech. “I’m sure we ain’t got nothing that’s up to your standards, Miss Prissy.”

Rarity turned up her muzzle in a perfect imitation of Blueblood’s own. “I should think not, Applejack. The Prince and I have already dined at Haute Cuisine’s Fine Dining, and we have no intention of lowering the quality of our evening with your common muck.”

Applejack fumed and seemed ready to jump over the stall, but the tall red stallion beside her put a hoof on her shoulders. “Easy now, sis,” he murmured, before looking over at Prince Blueblood. “Sure we can’t tempt you with anything, your highness?” he asked hopefully.

“I must concur with my genteel companion, sir,” said Blueblood, in an icily restrained tone. “I would rather crawl through every puddle on your muddy roads than sully my royal lips with your low-class provender.” The red stallion sighed and shook his head as Blueblood and Rarity moved along with their muzzles in the air.

“I suppose I should feel guilty about that,” said Rarity, “but I don’t mind when it’s Applejack. I do make allowances for the rest of Ponyville lacking my sophistication, but that pony is simply insufferable.”

“I absolutely agree, Miss Rarity,” said Blueblood, glad that his date seemed to be coming around to his way of thinking. “When you are a pony of quality, it behoves you to hold yourself above the common rabble, lest you be dragged down to their level.”

The next stall bore an array of cookies and cakes, and was tended by a middle-aged unicorn couple, a white stallion and a pink mare. The mare levitated a tray of cookies towards Blueblood. “Try one of my homemade cookies, sir?” she said, grinning hopefully. “Or my rose velvet cake? Everypony says it’s to die for.”

Rarity opened her mouth to speak, but Blueblood was quicker. “Cookies and rose velvet cake? You peasants never run out of ways to plumb new culinary depths, do you? I still can’t believe my grandmother chose this one-horse town to host her for the Summer Sun Celebration. You should be ashamed even to show your faces in her presence, or mine! Why don’t you go back to whatever burrow you crawled out of this morning, and leave the celebration to your betters?”

The unicorn couple gaped at Blueblood, open-mouthed. Rarity, on the other hand, looked furious, her white coat turning an angry shade of red.

“Is this guy bothering you, Rarity?” asked the stallion behind the stall. “You want me to teach him a lesson?”

“Thank you, Father, but I have the situation quite well in hoof,” said Rarity, her voice cold and clipped. “Mother, I’ll take a rose velvet cake, please.”

Blueblood waved a hoof in front of his body and started to back away as Rarity advanced towards him, levitating an entire cake alongside her. “Miss Rarity, I assure you, I meant no insult to you and your family…”

“Then you should have thought of that before you insulted them!” shrieked Rarity, her lips curling back in rage. “I have been patient throughout this disaster of a date, and ignored your utter lack of chivalry, because you are a guest in Ponyville, a royal guest at that, and it is my duty to be a good host and entertain our visitors. But when your boorishness affected not only me, but my fellow Ponyvillians, that was when you crossed the line!”

“I had no idea they were your parents, I promise!” protested Blueblood as he backed away from Rarity, who was now brandishing the cake like a weapon. “If I had known…”

“It shouldn’t matter! Everypony in Ponyville is somepony’s mother, or sister, or daughter, or at least somepony’s friend. If I am the only pony in Ponyville who has your regard, then I do not want it either! And if ‘Just don’t insult anypony’ is too difficult for you, then perhaps this is a lesson you will understand!”

With that, Rarity hurled the cake at Blueblood’s head with her magic. Blueblood shrieked and covered his face with his front legs, bracing for the impact. After a few seconds, he peeked between his hooves, and saw that the cake had instead splattered all over a glowing rosy force field, hovering between him and Rarity.

Captain Shining Armor strode out of the crowd and stood in front of Rarity. “I’m very sorry, Miss Rarity, but I must ask you to step away from the prince. I know you just wanted to throw a cake at him, and believe me I sympathise, but I am responsible for his safety.”

Rarity looked from Blueblood to Shining Armor, then hung her head. “Oh dear. I do apologise, captain. That was very low of me, and I apologise for putting you to the trouble of reining in my temper. It shall not happen again, particularly as I do not intend to speak with his highness again.”

Rarity slipped behind the stall to talk to her family, while Shining Armor rounded on Blueblood. “I can’t take you anywhere, can I, your highness?” he asked, staring at the panicky prince in disbelief. “What did you do?”

Blueblood snorted angrily, then shook his head and looked at the ground. “I insulted her parents in front of her,” he admitted reluctantly.

Shining pressed his hoof to his forehead. “Of all the… what in Equestria possessed you to do that?”

Blueblood looked around the town square, gesturing at the stalls and the crowds. “It’s this village. It’s just so… rustic, so messy, so working class. And the food…” He shuddered, shifting his hooves awkwardly. “You know I’m no stranger to physical hardship, captain. I’ve trekked through tangled jungles and murky swamps, but at least I brought my own food with me. Outside of a few select establishments, this town is simply unbearable.”

Shining’s expression softened slightly. “I understand that this isn’t the Summer Sun Celebration you had in mind, your highness. But we both have our duty to Equestria and to the Princess. Our personal comfort and feelings don’t signify when duty calls.”

The young prince took a few deep breaths. “It’s not what I hoped for, no. But you’re right, we have a duty to ensure that…” He trailed off and flicked his eyes around at the crowd surrounding them. “That the Summer Sun Celebration is a success.”

“We do. I’m glad you see it that way.”

“And what about your duty to my grandmother, to make some friends as she instructed?”

“That’s a lower priority,” insisted Shining Armor, waving a hoof dismissively. “Now, listen, we’ve got two hours before Princess Celestia and her retinue arrive. I’ve briefed the Wonderbolts on the situation, so we’re free until then. We should find something to…”

“Hi captain!” cried a small voice, and Shining felt a pair of hooves wrap themselves around his hind leg. He looked down and saw Diamond Tiara grinning up at him. A well-dressed grey filly stood near her, looking up at the two Canterlot unicorns with an expression of awe.

“Oh, uh, hi there, Diamond Tiara,” said Shining Armor, gently extricating his leg from her grasp. “Is this a friend of yours?” he asked, indicating the grey filly.

Diamond Tiara cleared her throat and curtseyed gracefully to Shining. “Captain, may I present Miss Silver Spoon, from the Silver family, of course. Silver Spoon, this is Shining Armor, Captain of the Royal Guard, and you’ve met Prince Blueblood already.”

Silver Spoon shook Shining’s hoof politely, still looking up at him in awe. “A pleasure to meet you, captain,” she said. “Wow, Di, you really do have the coolest friends!”

“I know. I guess I just have a gift for making friends with the most important ponies around. Isn’t that right, your highness?”

“Quite right,” agreed Blueblood, as he stepped forward and scooped up Silver Spoon with his magic, depositing her to ride on his back. He held his head up high, his moment of embarrassment and humility having vanished without a trace. Silver Spoon arranged herself regally on the prince’s shoulders, while Diamond Tiara trotted alongside him, the perfect picture of a young princess.

Blueblood seems to have a knack for getting along with children, thought Shining. At least the ones who flatter his ego.

“Hey, captain, can I ask you something?” said Diamond Tiara as they made their way through the vendors’ stalls.

“Sure, go ahead,” said Shining Armor absently. He had stopped to examine a blown glass sculpture of Celestia’s cutie mark, which almost seemed to glow with an inner yellow light as he held it up to a lamp.

“When are you and Princess Cadance getting married?”

Shining Armor gave a startled whinny and dropped the sculpture, which shattered into a dozen pieces. Embarrassed, he hastily signed a promissory note for the pony behind the stall. “So sorry. Take that to the weather team, and they’ll cash it for you,” he assured him, and then turned to look at Diamond Tiara with a long-suffering sigh. “Whoever said I was going to marry Princess Cadance?”

Prince Blueblood grinned awkwardly. “Now, captain, the girls wanted to know all about my family, and I thought I would share my sister’s future plans, which, ah, do involve you quite substantially. You’re all she ever talks about, really.”

“And it’s all over the gossip pages in Ponies magazine, too,” added Silver Spoon helpfully. “Everypony knows you’re tipped to be Equestria’s next prince. It’s going to be the wedding of the century!”

Shining Armor shook his head and pressed a hoof against his temples. “Great, not this again. Aren’t you girls a bit young to be reading Ponies? And you, highness,” he said, rounding on Blueblood, “Aren’t you a bit old for this sort of thing? I expect this from Twilight and Moondancer and their herd of gossipy schoolfillies, not from you.”

“What’s the matter, captain?” asked Diamond Tiara. “Don’t you like her?”

“I don’t… it’s not that I don’t like her,” he explained, softening his voice as he knelt down to address the two fillies. “Princess Cadance is a wonderful pony, and I’m sure she’ll make somepony very happy someday. But that pony isn’t going to be me. I’m the Captain of the Royal Guard, and that means I have a lot of responsibilities. I don’t have room in my life to be marrying anypony, even a princess.”

“I don’t see why not,” said Diamond Tiara. She looked off into the distance and sighed. “I’d give anything to be able to marry a princess.”

“I think you might be out of luck, there, kid,” said Shining Armor, trying not to laugh at the filly’s ambitions. “Princess Cadance and Princess Azure are both a bit too old for you, so unless you’re planning to marry Princess Celestia herself, I don’t think you’re going to get your wish.”

Prince Blueblood raised a hoof to interject. “The Duke and Duchess of Maretania have a filly around your age. Maybe I could introduce you the next time they’re in Canterlot. There are worse places to live than the ducal palace in Mareakesh.”

Diamond Tiara rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Who cares about being a duchess?” She pouted and scratched at the ground. “It’s not fair. I never get anything I want.”

“Ah, there you are, my dear captain!” came the voice of Filthy Rich, as he strode up alongside a light purple earth pony mare, whom Shining was sure he recognized from somewhere. “I hope the girls aren’t giving you any trouble?”

“Uh, no, they’re both very well behaved,” said Shining, stepping forward to greet Rich. “Listen, you and the Mayor have done a great job with the celebration tonight. I’m glad to see all the ponies distracted. I mean enjoying themselves. Everypony looks relaxed.”

“You’re quite welcome, captain,” said Rich. “We have a good number of annual festivals here in Ponyville, and I hope we’ll see you here for a few more in the near future! Tell your friends back in Canterlot. Oh, and before I forget, I’d like to introduce my wife…”

“Diamond Dazzle?” blurted out Shining Armor, his mouth hanging open.

The beautiful purple mare standing next to Filthy Rich brushed back her long white mane with one hoof and smiled a dazzling smile. “Well, well,” she said, laughing musically. “It’s good to know that I haven’t completely faded into obscurity.”

The last time Shining Armor had seen Diamond Dazzle, she had been modelling a set of red and white striped socks in an issue of Clothes Horse magazine. Or, rather, on a page from Clothes Horse magazine that was pinned to the wall of the stallions’ barracks at the Royal Academy in Canterlot. For all Shining knew, it was still there.

“I, ah, you, er…” stammered Shining Armor, unable to meet Diamond Dazzle’s gaze. “I remember you from Clothes Horse. You, uh, you were in it a lot when I was in training.”

“Really?” she asked, still smiling broadly. Her husband chuckled and stepped up alongside her, nudging her shoulder with his nose. “I didn’t realise the fashion scene was so popular among the Royal Guard.”

Shining rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof, trying to suppress the blush that was peeking through his coat. “Well, uh, we all loved your work! Everypony in the academy did. I hadn’t heard that you were married, though.”

Diamond Dazzle kept her smile up, but her ears drooped noticeably. “The magazines lost interest in me after I moved to Ponyville, but that’s life. It’s lovely to see you getting along so well with my husband and my filly. They both speak very highly of you and the prince.”

“Really?” Shining Armor looked around in surprise, seeing Filthy Rich’s approving nod and Diamond Tiara’s adoring grin. “I’m really just here in my official capacity as Captain and Overseer, but I suppose… making some friends along the way isn’t a bad thing.”

“That’s the spirit!” said Prince Blueblood, clapping Shining Armor on the shoulder. “Come along, we should watch the jousting. I’m quite fond of it, and I’m sure you’d like to see the weather corps in action.”

“You’re right, I would,” said Shining. “It was an honour meeting you, Mrs. Diamond,” he said, making an awkward bow to Diamond Dazzle. “I’m sure I’ll see you all at dawn.”

As the two unicorns wandered off towards the jousting field, they saw Filthy Rich and his family trot over to the Apple family stall. Rich quickly monopolized Applejack’s attention, while Diamond Dazzle and Big Macintosh struggled vainly to get Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara to be friendly to each other.

Maybe Celestia was right, Shining Armor thought as they walked. Maybe making friends won’t be such a chore after all, even if it is getting in the way of my duties.

In a fallow field belonging to one of Ponyville’s farms, the pegasi had set up a jousting list. One fence of the field had been designated as the tilt, so that ponies could joust on either side of it without risking a collision. A Ponyville flag was planted at the southern end of the tilt, and a banner bearing the Wonderbolt crest stood at the northern end.

As Shining Armor and Prince Blueblood approached the list, a huge white pegasus stallion sailed through the air – not under his own power – and landed at their hooves in a heap. Before they could help him up, he sprang to his hooves with a mighty bellow of “YEAH!!”, and flew back towards the list on wings that seemed too tiny to support his weight.

Blueblood grinned as he watched the pegasus join the crowds surrounding the tilt. “It seems the pegasi are getting into the spirit of the joust,” he said, continuing forward. “That must have been quite a blow that one took.”

“It can get pretty rough,” Shining Armor agreed. “You know what pegasi are like, though. Do you joust, your highness?”

“Me? Of course not, captain,” said Blueblood, tossing his mane. “It’s a bit too barbaric for me. Not to mention messy. Mother is an expert jouster, though, as is expected of a princess. I’m merely an avid spectator of the sport.”

When the two unicorns arrived at the list, they saw three of the Wonderbolts standing near their banner, and several ponies from the Ponyville weather team clustered under their flag. Other ponies kept a safe distance from the action and cheered on the jousters. As Shining Armor approached the Wonderbolts, the huge white stallion walked forward and shook hooves with Major Soarin, who seemed to have won their tilt.

“Glad you could make it, captain,” said Spitfire as she came forward to greet him. “I’ve got Colonel Fleetfoot and Major Soarin with me, the others are patrolling the edges of town.”

Shining Armor looked around the field, seeing Ponyville pegasi lined up at both ends of the tilt, with earth ponies and unicorns, adults and foals alike, watching eagerly. “You’ve drawn quite a crowd,” he observed. “Ponies do love the Wonderbolts.”

“They do, but do you know what else Ponyville ponies love?” She pointed at a rainbow-maned figure in sky blue armour, hovering in front of a herd of cheering fans. “Their sergeant. She sure knows how to put on a show for her fans, too.”

“I heard you’d had your joust already. How did it go?” asked Shining Armor.

Spitfire laughed. “She pulled some punk-filly feint that might have been clever if she were tilting against her friends at flight school, but when she was in flight school, I was a Wonderbolt major. I toyed with her for a few passes, then knocked her clear across the field.”

“She lost? You wouldn’t know it to look at her. She’s soaking up attention like she just won the Best Young Flier contest. I guess even losing to the captain of the Wonderbolts makes a pony look good.”

“Oh, don’t get me wrong. She’s got talent. I worked up a sweat before I beat her. She has some impressive moves for a rookie. And she’s fast. Damn fast. She’s got the skills to make it as a Wonderbolt officer. Don’t tell her I said that, of course. But if her service record matches her talents, I want her in my squad.”

A few Ponyville ponies were approaching the Wonderbolt end of the tilt, led by the pegasus children, Scootaloo and Rumble. “Hi, captain!” Scootaloo greeted her. “Are you going to be jousting tonight?”

Shining Armor cleared his throat awkwardly. “Ah, no, I’m much too busy for…” he began, but both Prince Blueblood and Spitfire shook their heads silently at him, and Blueblood made a meaningful nod towards Canterlot – remember Celestia’s orders was the implied instruction. “I mean… of course! I’ve got to show you kids what all that training is good for, right?”

The children stomped their hooves in glee, and Blueblood nodded in approval. “Well, captain,” said Spitfire, “looks like we’ll be tilting against one another. Nopony else here is a match for the Captain of the Royal Guard, after all.”

Shining swallowed hard. “I’d rather fight a dragon,” he admitted, slowly backing away from Spitfire.

“Come on,” she chided, slapping him on the shoulder. “It’ll be fun. And I’ve seen you fight dragons. Remember all the fun we had with that one in Baltimare?”

“You and I remember Baltimare very differently,” grumbled Shining Armor. “Alright, I suppose there’s no getting out of it. Just make sure you don’t hit me in the face – I’m recovering from a broken nose.” He looked around at the pegasus children, and pointed a hoof at one of them. “You, cadet, uh…”

“Scootaloo, sir!”

“Cadet Scootaloo, fetch me a lance and a jousting harness. And some water and a towel for after.”

“Yes, sir!” said the little orange pegasus, and she galloped off on her errand with an air of great importance.

Spitfire smiled approvingly at him, after giving her own orders to Rumble. “She looked pretty happy. You really do have a way with kids, don’t you?”

Shining shrugged. “I have a way with cadets. They’re all so excited about being part of the Royal Guard. Can’t wait to finish their training and be out there defending ponies, being heroes. It’s good to give them tasks that remind them that they’re an important part of the force, even if it’s going to be many years before their first battle.”

Spitfire nodded. “Foals are the future. You and I won’t be around forever, and the Princess knows it’s about time we had a new captain for the Foreign Legion. Why he doesn’t retire is anypony’s guess. But we could be looking at a future National Guard captain right here among these pegasus kids. I’m impressed with the Ponyville cadets. I’m looking forward to seeing them at training next winter.”

The pegasus foals returned with their supplies, and Shining Armor kitted himself out with a lance and harness. If he were wielding a lance in actual battle, against a dragon or a hydra, he would be using a rotating lance harness, which he could turn to cover a wide angle in front of his charge, if he didn’t simply dispense with the harness altogether and wield the lance with his levitation magic. The standard harness for competitive jousting lacked this flexibility, so the precise positioning of a jouster’s body was critical to their success.

He turned to face Spitfire, and the two captains saluted each other, then lowered the visors on their helmets. They then trotted to opposite ends of the tilt and took up their positions.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” came a voice from just above the tilt. Shining Armor looked up and saw Soarin hovering above the field, accompanied by Rainbow Dash. Looking around, he saw that the entire crowd was encircling the field, eyes eagerly fixed on the two jousters. “Tonight, we bring you the ultimate battle of pony jousting! At the northern end, captain of the Equestrian National Guard and leader of the Wonderbolts, Captain Spitfire!”

Colonel Fleetfoot gave a rousing cheer for Spitfire, which was taken up by the rest of the crowd, especially the Ponyville pegasi. Spitfire waved to the crowd as they cheered and stomped their hooves.

“And at the southern end,” announced Rainbow Dash in an impressive voice with only a hint of her usual squeak, “the captain of the Canterlot Defence Guard, the strong right hoof of Princess Celestia, Captain Shining Armor!”

Shining bit his lip as the crowd erupted into cheers, waving and stomping to show their support for him. He saw several of the visiting Apple family ponies cheering him on, and Thunderlane was hovering in the air and shouting encouragement. Raindrops seemed as distracted as before, but she still managed to stomp her hooves and grin encouragingly at him. Blueblood had produced a Canterlot flag from somewhere and was levitating it above his head, waving it wildly.

All in all, he found the attention intimidating. Once again, these weren’t ponies he could control with orders and drill lessons, hiding behind the mask of the steadfast guard captain. They wanted something from him – they wanted to see a show, to watch him tilt against Spitfire for their entertainment, when all he wanted was to do his duty and go home.

Soarin waved the flag that signalled the start of the joust, and Shining Armor began galloping forward, but his usual combat focus was elusive. On any other day, he could have blocked out the entire world except for his target, and brought all of his skills to bear in a perfect display of his training. Today, he couldn’t stop thinking about the crowd, Princess Celestia’s orders, Blueblood’s vigilance in ensuring he carried out those orders, all the Ponyville villagers looking to him for inspiration, and the soldiers expecting him to know what to do about Nightmare Moon.

That was the worst part of all – he didn’t know what to do. Two days ago, he had thought Nightmare Moon was simply a story invented to frighten foals. Now, the evidence was mounting that she was real, but what could he do against her? Would an army be of any use? Were the Elements of Harmony real, and if so, could he find them in the Everfree Forest? Could he use them if he found them? And instead of looking for them, he was stuck in Ponyville trying to make friends, the absolute worst possible use of his time.

Shining saw Spitfire thundering down the list towards him, and he gritted his teeth and resolved to make the best jousting attempt he could. He angled his body so that the rounded tip of his lance would strike Spitfire in the chest, but just as they came together, she twisted her body and his lance skidded harmlessly off her armour. A fraction of a second later, her lance struck him squarely in the chest, knocking him into the air and leaving him sprawling in a heap near Thunderlane and Raindrops.

The crowd erupted into cheers and applause as the two corporals helped him back onto his hooves. “Ugh, that’s going to leave a bruise,” he groaned. “I hope I didn’t look too foalish out there.”

Thunderlane grinned and clapped Shining on the shoulder. “Nah, you did great, sir. It could have gone either way, and everypony knows how tough Spitfire is, after she wiped out the sergeant.”

Spitfire walked towards Shining Armor, her helmet tucked under one wing. Behind her came Scootaloo and Rumble, both carrying towels and buckets of water. “Nice job out there, captain,” she said loudly as she approached. “I think we gave all the ponies a good show.”

She came closer and leaned in to whisper to him. “What the hell was that, Shining?” she hissed in his ear. “I’ve seen you joust better than that in your sleep. What gives?”

“I… I… I just can’t focus with all these ponies watching,” he stammered. “I’m an officer, not an entertainer.”

“Suck it up, fluffy bunny,” she retorted under her breath. “Being a captain means being a lot of things, especially an entertainer. Ponies are going to look to you for everything, and you need to show them what they want to see, whether it’s what you really are or not.” She put a front leg around his shoulders and waved to the crowd. “Now make nice with the civilians and show them that you appreciate them watching you.”

Shining sighed and waved to the crowd. “Did Blueblood put you up to this?” he asked through gritted teeth.

“He told me Celestia’s orders for you, yeah. And since he’s too soft to make you carry them out himself, I’m going to do it. Now go mingle and sign autographs. Starting with the cadets.”

Shining looked down to see Scootaloo, Rumble and Featherweight hopping excitedly around him. Sighing, he took the towel Scootaloo was offering him and mopped his neck and brow with it, then signed the notebook she was holding out.

After half an hour of signing autographs and entertaining the crowd with stories and tricks, Shining found himself relaxing again. Just as he did at Sweet Apple Acres, he felt welcome and important but not pressured. If his nose and his chest would both have stopped hurting, he thought he might even have enjoyed himself.

His reprieve came when a brightly decorated chariot appeared in the northern sky, drawn by four white pegasi from the National Guard. As the chariot passed overhead, Shining Armor barked out an order to the assembled pegasi. “Soldiers! Salute the Commander!” Throughout the crowd, pegasi raised their hooves to their brows in salute to Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and Commander of the Royal Guard, the ultimate seat of all civil and military power in the kingdom.

Even in the dark of night, the Princess was clearly visible, lit by her glorious glowing mane. She looked down on her loyal soldiers and subjects and saluted them in return. The chariot carried her onwards, touching down in the vicinity of the town hall.

Shining Armor watched the chariot settle in the town, and felt a weight disappear from his withers. With Celestia present, he could get some more solid answers about his mission, about Nightmare Moon and the Elements of Harmony. He made his farewells to the Wonderbolts and the crowd, and cantered off in the direction of the town hall. He was certain that he had made enough friends for one night, and his duty was waiting for him.

A huge herd of well-wishers had gathered around the Ponyville town hall by the time Shining Armor arrived. For many Ponyville ponies, tonight would be the first time they had ever seen Princess Celestia in person, and everypony was eager for a chance to speak with her, even if they had nothing to say to her, save to pledge their loyalty and admiration. To Canterlot residents, Celestia’s presence was an everyday occurrence, and even those who didn’t work with her, as Shining did, would often see her out and about in the city, accompanied by her retinue of guards and entourage of bureaucrats. Here in the towns surrounding Canterlot, it was a different story.

Princess Celestia appeared to be engaged in conversation with a vibrating pink blur when Shining Armor caught sight of her, flanked by her guards. Pinkie Pie was hopping up and down in front of Celestia, who was holding her head level and simply tracking the young mare’s movements with her eyes.

“And if you could have been here earlier tonight, you could have come to the party I threw for Shining Armor! He didn’t come, though, but that’s okay, because I guess he was really sleepy after all the work he did! I wanted to hold it in the weather station, but Rainbow Dash said I shouldn’t break in because you’d put me on a list, and I like being on lists, but she said it wasn’t a fun list, so I didn’t. Anyway, here’s Shining Armor now, and it looks like he wants to talk to you, so I’d better go, bye!”

Pinkie Pie bounced into the air, executed a surprisingly graceful backflip, landed behind Shining Armor, waved to him and pranced off out of the town square. Shining Armor watched her briefly, then shook his head and approached Celestia. Her guards parted to allow him passage, and the crowd stepped back when they saw his uniform.

“Shining Armor, my faithful captain,” said Celestia in a regal, yet gentle tone. “It is good to see you again. I trust you are enjoying your visit to Ponyville?”

“I am, your majesty,” replied Shining Armor, giving the princess a crisp salute. “May I speak to you in private? I have a lot to report.”

Celestia nodded to her guards, and they began escorting her to the town hall. The crowd reluctantly moved back to let them pass, secure in the knowledge that they would be seeing her raise the sun soon.

A few moments later, they were sequestered in a private meeting room, with Celestia’s retinue standing guard outside. “Now, captain,” said Celestia, favouring Shining Armor with an inquisitive glance. “What have you learned since coming to Ponyville?”

Shining stood in a perfect posture of attention before Celestia as he gave his report. “I have uncovered indications that the threat of Nightmare Moon is real, commander,” he began, using Celestia’s military title for a military report. “There is a statue of Nightmare Moon in the Everfree Forest which is attracting creatures of the night to gather around it, which the locals say is not normal behaviour for them. Local sources also report heightened activity for other dangerous creatures in the forest, with the smaller animals going dormant to avoid attention from them.

“The local garrison is… there is no garrison as such, but the weather team appear to fill that role adequately. Sergeant Rainbow Dash appears personally undisciplined and impulsive, but she runs a tight ship with her squad. She and her corporals are highly competent, and I am satisfied that they are able to defend Ponyville efficiently. Nevertheless, I recommend that a squad of four Canterlot Defence Guard be stationed in Ponyville on a semi-permanent basis, as the proximity of the Everfree Forest makes this location more vulnerable than it appears.”

He finished his military assessment of Ponyville and waited for Celestia’s response. “What I meant to ask,” she said after a brief pause, “was what you had learned about making friends, as I instructed you to do.”

Shining’s breath caught in his throat. “Making friends?” he managed to ask, almost coughing as he spoke. “But… Nightmare Moon… the forest…”

Celestia gave him a disappointed look, but waited for him to continue.

Shining took a deep breath. “Yes, I… I made some friends. I met the Mayor of Ponyville and a local businesspony and his family, and a large family who runs an apple farm just outside of town. And I think I got to know the weather team officers quite well. There’s that strange pink mare you met outside, and I suppose we got on alright, it’s just that…”

Celestia raised an eyebrow and tilted her head slightly to one side. “Go on, captain,” she said, softly but imperiously.

“It’s just that all the ponies in this town are crazy!” he finally blurted out. “I’m sure they mean well, but I spent the day being dragged around sightseeing and other… wastes of time! I briefed the weather team about Nightmare Moon, and they just wanted me to go to Pinkie Pie’s welcome party and play jousting games. And the Wonderbolts – you know I have nothing but respect for Captain Spitfire and her soldiers, but they seemed to care more about signing autographs than looking for signs of danger. Even the Apple family know that there’s something going on in the Everfree Forest, but they insisted I go to their dinner party instead of investigating further. Everypony can tell there’s a crisis looming, but they just go on wasting time with their parties and socializing and competitions and shows, and there’s no point to any of it!”

Celestia blinked slowly. “Isn’t there?” she asked when Shining was done with his speech.

“No! All that matters is making sure Equestria is safe. That has to be everypony’s top priority. You know what’s out there. Not just Nightmare Moon, but all of it. I read about how you and King Leo led the seapony armies against Squirk five centuries ago, and how it was the vigilance of the mermares that alerted you to their threat before it was too late. Crunch the Rock Dog would have laid waste to Canterlot without the hard work and preparation of the Defence Guard of the time. And now, more than ever, it’s the time for caution and discipline, not parties and jousting matches and making friends!”

Shining Armor suddenly realised that he had raised his voice to his commander and princess, and quickly adjusted his hooves into a proper attention stance once more. “With all due respect, of course, commander,” he finished, looking straight ahead.

Princess Celestia seemed to sag a little, and she suddenly looked older than the usual ageless façade she presented. “I understand, Shining Armor,” she said, reaching out to place a hoof against his shoulder. “You feel like you are responsible for the whole kingdom, and in a way, you are. You should know that I am putting my faith in you, just as I did when I made you captain. I know you have the strength and the compassion to do what you must do to save my kingdom and my little ponies. But you will not be able to do this alone. You have made friends here in Ponyville, whether you wanted to or not. Trust them. When the time comes, they will help you accomplish great things.”

Shining sighed and slowly nodded. “I will remember that, commander, I promise.”

Celestia patted his shoulder gently, then put her hoof back on the floor. “Is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about, captain?”

“Well… I can see that you were expecting Nightmare Moon’s return for a long time now. Why haven’t you done more to prepare Equestria for it? Why didn’t you tell me sooner so I could prepare?”

Celestia looked thoughtful, then smiled. “And what would you have done to prepare, captain?”

Shining pondered the matter briefly, his keen tactical mind running through the most likely scenarios. “For a start, I would have had the Canterlot Defence Guard on high alert…”

“Are they not already? They did seem terribly earnest in their patrols this morning.”

“… and I’d make sure there were detachments of National Guard at all strategic points near major population centres…”

“Wasn’t that the first thing you did when you took command of the guard?”

“… and if I suspected that I knew where she would first appear, I would make sure the area was thoroughly secured.”

“Such as with the Captain of the Royal Guard, the Wonderbolts, and my own presence with my personal retinue?” She chuckled softly at Shining’s awkward grin. “You have been preparing Equestria for such an event as this since you took this post, captain. Regardless of the form the threat takes, your actions are keeping us all safe. Equestria owes you a great debt.”

She grew more sombre as she spoke. “And yet, your best efforts, and mine, may not be enough. We live in a dangerous world, and everypony knows somepony who has lost a parent, a partner or a child to war or monsters. If Nightmare Moon returns, ponies will die, just as they died in the first war. The Royal Guard can’t be everywhere at once, but I have faith in how you have trained them and deployed them. We will do the best that we can, and mourn the dead if we win.”

Shining Armor swallowed nervously. “And if we lose?”

Celestia shook her head. “We cannot lose. Do everything you can, Shining Armor. Be strong. Be brave. Trust your friends. The fate of Equestria is in your hooves, and I have faith in you.”

She looked up at a high window in the meeting room. “It is time. Go and join your friends, while I prepare for my entrance. If we are very fortunate, the sun may yet rise.”

Shining Armor stood in the midst of the crowd in the town hall, doing his best to remain calm. The hall was packed full of ponies, on the floor and in the boxes and mezzanines around the walls, and pegasi filled the airspace. The hall couldn’t possibly fit the entire town’s population, but it looked like it was making a good attempt.

The hall’s decorations were truly a work of art, and as the moon and stars shone down through the hall’s huge windows, Shining appreciated how they looked even more magnificent than they had earlier. The colours had been chosen perfectly to suit the nocturnal light conditions, and Shining briefly wondered how Rarity and Diamond Tiara had managed that while working during the day. The decorations could only distract him briefly from his worries, though.

The moon hung large in the night sky, occupying its usual position for just before sunrise, about thirty degrees above the horizon. The Mare in the Moon seemed to stare balefully at him, threatening not only his doom, but the doom of all of Equestria. Four bright stars surrounded the moon, and not for the first time, Shining wished that Twily were with him, to lend him her knowledge of astronomy. He didn’t remember seeing those stars the last time he looked at the moon, but he just couldn’t be sure.

Despite his best efforts, Shining found himself standing next to Pinkie Pie yet again. “Isn’t this exciting?” she asked, grinning widely. “Are you excited? Because I’m excited… but you’re not excited, are you?” She furrowed her brow, leaning close to whisper in his ear. “You don’t look excited, you look worried. What’s going on?”

“I’m not sure,” he said carefully. “Just… if anything goes wrong, do whatever I say, alright? Or whatever Spitfire or Rainbow Dash says. And don’t panic, no matter what.”

“Okie-dokie-lokie,” she said quietly, seeming much more subdued than he had ever seen her. “Don’t worry, Ponyville ponies know how to handle a crisis. We don’t panic and shriek and run around like it’s the end of the world. Is it the end of the world?”

He looked up at the moon again. Had the stars moved slightly closer to the moon while he wasn’t watching? On the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape. Shining Armor suddenly felt very small and insignificant.

“Not if I can help it,” he said, trying to sound more confident than he felt. Pinkie nodded and wandered off, and Shining cast his eyes around the hall. In the air on his left, the weather team hovered, decked out in their armour. They looked relaxed, but Shining could see Rainbow Dash periodically looking at the door to the room where they had stashed their weapons. To his right, he saw the Wonderbolts in their flight suits, and while Spitfire’s confident demeanour was enough to fool most ponies, Shining Armor knew the tell-tale signs of her agitation. Celestia’s retinue stood on the floor near the stage, their spears held vertically in a ceremonial display.

In one of the boxes flanking the central balcony, a large potted tree had been placed, and its branches were covered with Fluttershy’s bird choir. As Fluttershy rose into the air and counted them in, the chatter in the crowd ceased. The birds sang beautifully together, a stirring chorus evoking the beauty and majesty of the rising sun. Shining tried to forget that those same birds had attacked him the previous afternoon – after all, that was mostly his own fault. He allowed the music to calm his nerves, and he simply listened to their song until it reached its climax, and a spotlight revealed the mayor on the ground floor stage.

“Fillies and gentlecolts!” she announced, looking out over the crowd. “As Mayor of Ponyville, it is my great pleasure to announce the beginning of the Summer Sun Celebration!”

The crowd broke out into cheers, but Shining’s gaze was once more drawn to the moon and the stars surrounding it. Not only were the stars closer to the moon than they had been, but they were definitely moving, closing in on the moon at an alarming pace.

“In just a few minutes, our town will witness the magic of the sunrise, and celebrate this, the longest day of the year!”

As Shining watched, the stars passed across the disc of the moon, and disappeared with a bright flash. When the light faded, the moon was still in the sky, but it was now merely a blank disk, marked with just a few faint craters.

That can only mean one thing, thought Shining Armor, and he acted.

“And now, it is my great honour to introduce –”

“INCOMING!” yelled Shining Armor. “Everypony down!” He pointed his horn at the moon and tapped his deepest reserves of magic. A blazing beam of rosy light streaked from his horn and spread into a powerful force field surrounding the entire city hall.

Ponies around the hall were throwing themselves at the floor or under furniture. Thunderlane made a beeline for the weather team’s weapon cache, while Rainbow Dash manoeuvred her team into a defensive formation over the crowd. Raindrops had fallen to the floor and was twitching as if in shock.

Less than a second after raising his shield, Shining Armor felt a massive force strike it, hard enough to drive him to his knees through sheer sympathetic shock. He gritted his teeth and kept his power flowing into it, and only dared to look up when he was steady again.

A pony stood on the apex of his shield, with coat and wings as black as the night sky. Where her mane and tail should be, instead were clouds like nebulae, studded with bright stars. Her head bore a pale blue helmet and a long, spiralled horn, similar in length to Princess Celestia’s. She stamped her hoof on the shield and almost made him kneel again, forcing him to reinforce the shield with energy he knew would not last long. She opened her mouth, displaying wickedly pointed fangs, and spoke in a voice that could only belong to an immortal alicorn.

“CELESTIA!” shouted Nightmare Moon, as storm clouds gathered behind her and crackled with lightning. “Come out and face me!”

The Battle of Ponyville

The arrival of Nightmare Moon commanded the full attention of every pony in the hall, even the ones who had been expecting her. Shining Armor spent a full second and a half staring at her in awe, fighting the urge to kneel before her or flee from her. The depictions in Twilight’s books could not do her justice, nor could the decorations of Nightmare Night, which suddenly seemed like Equestria’s most foolish tradition.

Another strike upon his shield brought Shining Armor to his senses. Nightmare Moon was stamping her hoof with incredible force, creating a web of tiny fractures through the shield. Shining directed another burst of energy into his spell, reinforcing it, then surveyed the scene, his mind racing to come up with a tactic to save the day.

“Rainbow Dash!” he shouted, giving his first order. “Escort the ponies on the balconies to the floor, and cover everypony you can! Spitfire, keep your ponies in the air and be ready to attack on my command! All civilians, stay together and take cover!” He was about to send somepony to fetch Princess Celestia, but she couldn’t possibly be unaware of Nightmare Moon’s arrival.

True to Pinkie’s word, very few ponies were panicking. Some were already retreating into the deeper recesses of the hall, and barricading themselves in with furniture. Shining spotted Apple Bloom taking cover under a table with a white unicorn filly. Scootaloo stood guard in front of them until a grey weather pony herded her under the table with them. Thunderlane came running back into the main hall, carrying a bundle of spears on her back, which the pegasi scooped up as quickly as they could.

Nightmare Moon snarled and rose into the air, a small tornado forming around her as she beat her mighty wings. “Where is Celestia?” she demanded, her voice reverberating throughout the hall. “Deliver her to us or be destroyed, peasants!”

Shining Armor stepped forward and looked up at Nightmare Moon defiantly, while the Wonderbolts hovered above and behind him. “What do you want with the princess?” he asked her, hoping at least to buy some time.

“Princess? We are the only princess in Equestria! We shall strike thee down for thine insolence!” Nightmare Moon’s horn glowed a vivid blue, beginning to charge what was surely a deadly attack spell.

“No, you won’t.”

Everypony looked up at the main balcony, from which Celestia’s confident, determined voice echoed. There stood the ruler of Equestria, her horn blazing with light. Her armour caught the light and reflected it around the town hall, brightening the dark corners as if the sun had already risen.

Tucked under a wing, she carried a spear which most ponies thought was mere legend. Its shaft was of white yew, as long as a stallion, and polished to a brilliant shine. Its head was of a metal unknown to modern craftsponies, as bright as gold but harder than the strongest steel, forged into a conical shape that tapered to a deadly point. Shining Armor had seen the spear once before, in the most secure chamber of the Canterlot Armoury, where it was kept inside a vat of water. He had never seen Celestia wield it in battle.

Celestia leapt from the balcony to the middle of the floor, landing gracefully next to Shining Armor. “Must we do this, sister?” she asked as she gazed up at Nightmare Moon, who had alighted atop the shield again. “We were meant to rule together.”

“We never did rule together, commander,” hissed Nightmare Moon, venom dripping from her words. “Thou didst usurp my title quickly enough when our subjects offered it to thee.”

“You can have your title, your respect, everything you want,” continued Celestia, while the pegasi worked to secure the civilians. “But our subjects need the sun. Let me raise it and leave the past in the past.”

“Never!” shrieked Nightmare Moon. “Equestria has basked in thy precious light for these thousand years – no longer! Face me or watch me lay waste to thy kingdom!”

“Very well, sister. Then let us do battle.” Celestia turned to Shining Armor, her face etched with sorrow. “My faithful captain, if I am defeated, I leave Equestria in your hooves. I know you will keep it safe.”

“Commander, you… you can’t fight her alone, surely,” stammered Shining Armor, looking desperately at Celestia, then up at Nightmare Moon. “We can fight alongside you.”

Celestia shook her head and placed a hoof on Shining’s shoulder. “I will not expose my subjects to Nightmare Moon’s wrath needlessly, and anypony who fought alongside me would be in danger from my magic as much as hers. Even if I cannot defeat my sister, perhaps I can drive her away.” She gazed into Shining’s eyes, speaking solemnly. “Protect my kingdom. Find the Elements of Harmony. And trust your friends.”

Prince Blueblood ran up to Celestia and threw his front legs around her neck. “Grandmother, please… please be careful,” he begged her.

Celestia leaned down and lipped gently at her grandson’s long blonde mane. “We all must do our duty, my little pony. Be strong for me. And tell my daughters…” Her words caught in her throat, and tears were streaming down her muzzle now. “Tell them how much I love them.”

As all the ponies in the hall watched, Celestia strode through the doors of the town hall and up to the inner surface of the force field. Shining scraped his hoof against the floor uncomfortably, then opened a window in his shield to permit Celestia’s passage.

The shield shimmered closed behind Celestia, and battle was joined.

Nightmare Moon watched Celestia carefully as she emerged from the shield. “Art thou ready to perish, sister?” she sneered from her perch atop the shield. “Thou shouldst be ready – thou hast had a thousand years to prepare!”

Her horn glowed again, and a silvery-blue beam of shocking brightness leapt from its tip. Celestia sprang into the air with a mighty bound, and the beam slammed into the ground where her hooves had stood a moment earlier. An explosion beat against the shield, and threw up a huge cloud of dirt.

Instead of landing after her leap, Celestia spread her wings and took to the air. She gripped her spear in the crook of her right front leg and brandished it as she soared in a wide arc, accelerating at a breathtaking rate. She curved around Ponyville’s bell tower and shot towards Nightmare Moon, leaving a shimmering aurora in her wake. The head of her spear burst into flames as she approached her foe, lighting up the scene with the brilliance of the sun.

Nightmare Moon spun around as Celestia evaded her blast, and seemed to have trouble tracking her sister’s approach. When Celestia’s spear lit up, Nightmare Moon turned to face her onrushing foe. Her mane and tail swirled around her, and her body vanished, leaving only the starry nebula.

Celestia’s aerial charge brought her swiftly to Nightmare Moon’s position, but instead of impaling her sister, her spear passed harmlessly through the nebula and pierced the surface of the shield. Shining Armor felt himself sweat as he reinforced the shield, while the other ponies watched the battle in awe.

The nebula slithered away from the impact and started moving through the air, but Celestia turned and fired several streams of fire at it from her horn. The streams formed into a circle of fire, trapping the nebula within its bounds. The patch of stars swirled and reformed into Nightmare Moon, who whinnied in anger and dispelled the flames with a wave of her horn. “Your magic is weak, commander!” she shouted. “It always was. Behold the power of darkness!”

Dark shapes began to coalesce out of the air around Celestia as she struggled to pull her spear out of the shield. They resolved into sinister shapes that clawed at her – bats, gremlins, snakes, all formed of deep shadow that withstood the light of Celestia’s horn and spear. They tore at her wings, wrapped themselves around her legs, and clawed at her eyes.

Celestia shrieked as the shadows tore feathers from her wings and left deep gouges on her legs and flanks. She lashed out with her hooves and struck a shadow or two, forcing them to dissipate, but they pressed heavily on her, forcing her down onto her stomach.

Nightmare Moon laughed madly as she swooped past Celestia, sending another blast of moonlight at her sister. The spell scorched Celestia’s flank, burning away a large patch of her beautiful white coat and leaving an ugly wound in its place.

As Celestia writhed in agony and struggled against the shadows binding her, Nightmare Moon hovered near her, laughing and firing smaller spells at her. “Giving up already, sister?” she taunted her. She began to build up another tornado around her body as she watched Celestia’s suffering.

More quickly than the pony eye could follow, Celestia gripped her spear in her jaws, yanked it out of the force field, and flung it at Nightmare Moon with all of her might, relying more on her hearing than her obscured vision to pinpoint her sister’s position. The spear flew straight and true, and struck Nightmare Moon’s flank.

Nightmare Moon screamed as the flaming spearhead buried itself in her body. The shadows around Celestia dissipated as their creator focused her magic on extracting the spear from her side. Quickly, Nightmare Moon tore the spear out, wrapped a magical field around her barrel to staunch the bleeding, and hurled the spear into the maze of Ponyville’s side streets.

Celestia wiped the blood from her eyes and sprang into the air, her weakened wings beating frantically. She flew headlong at Nightmare Moon, and they collided with a mighty clash of armour. As they struggled in mid-air, Celestia sank her teeth into the tornado that surrounded Nightmare Moon and took control of it, feeding it with the power of her own wings. When it had grown into a mighty hurricane, she let it loose and kicked Nightmare Moon into it with a powerful buck of her hind legs.

Nightmare Moon was only caught in the hurricane for a few seconds before she managed to escape it, but the force of the wind drove her into the side of the Ponyville Day Spa in a painful collision. Celestia seized her opportunity and flew at her sister, shooting bolts of fire from her horn. Nightmare Moon roused herself from her crash-landing site and charged her horn for another attack.

No spell seemed to issue from Nightmare Moon’s horn, and Celestia’s dive continued unabated. But just before she struck, a faintly glowing silvery mesh entangled her body and wings, and brought her crashing to the ground. Nightmare Moon laughed and pounced on her sister, her hooves landing on Celestia’s chest with a sickening crunch of bone.

“It is over, commander!” she crowed. “Thy centuries of glorious rule are at an end, and so art thou!”

Celestia coughed feebly under Nightmare Moon’s hooves, her lips stained with blood. “It doesn’t… have to be… this way…” she whispered to her, in a voice too weak for anypony else to hear. “I beg of you… Luna…”

Nightmare Moon stared at the broken body of her sister, and fell silent for several seconds. Then she lit her horn, wrapped Celestia in a field of deep blue energy, and hurled her over the eastern horizon.

The ponies beneath the shield watched in horror as their princess did battle with Nightmare Moon, and lost. The Wonderbolts fell to the floor, unable to find the will to fly. Prince Blueblood wailed in grief at the fate of his grandmother. The Mayor placed a hoof on his shoulder, doing her best to comfort him.

Shining Armor watched with trepidation as Nightmare Moon advanced towards the shield. The black alicorn was visibly limping, and blood was dripping from the magical bandage around her barrel, but her posture was triumphant. Behind her, more creatures were starting to crawl out of the darkness – some from the shadows around her, others from the direction of the Everfree Forest.

“Your commander is no more!” she proclaimed to the stunned crowd. Foals clutched each other and sobbed in terror as the Royal Canterlot Voice washed over them. “We are your only princess, now and forever! Kneel before us and we may be merciful!”

“Not without Celestia!” shouted Prince Blueblood, staring up at the wicked alicorn defiantly. “Return her to us, or we have nothing to talk about! Equestria will never surrender to you!”

Nightmare Moon laughed, a sharp, barking laughter that showed her to be as mad as she was evil. “Then you will all suffer!” she cried, and rose into the air, even though she winced with every beat of her wings.

“Remember this day, little ponies, for it was your last. From this moment forth, the night will last forever!”

Her mane and tail swirled around her, and her body dissolved into a nebula cloud once more, and streamed away into the darkness. From the shadows she left behind, her army advanced upon the terrified ponies huddled under the shield.

Prince Blueblood looked at Shining Armor, shaking with grief and rage. “Did I do the wrong thing?” he asked him.

Shining Armor shook his head. “We can’t surrender to her. If the stories are true, she’s going to bring eternal night to Equestria. We have to fight her with whatever we’ve got.”

Spitfire cast a glance over the approaching army, frowning as she counted their numbers. “This is going to be tough. What are your orders, sir?”

Shining felt the mantle of responsibility settle around his shoulders. This was war, and with Celestia… gone… he was the supreme commander of Equestria’s Royal Guard. He glanced at the approaching monsters, then at the distant view of Canterlot, still shining on the side of its mountain.

“We hold out here as best we can. Princess Celestia made a great sacrifice in wounding Nightmare Moon and driving her off, and thanks to that, we have a chance. I should be able to hold this shield indefinitely if Nightmare Moon herself isn’t attacking. I know there are ponies elsewhere in Ponyville, but the army looks like it’ll concentrate its force here.

“Meanwhile, I open a window and you send your best long-distance flier to Canterlot for reinforcements. If we get more National Guard down here, we’ll rout this army easily. Until then, we bunker down… but I’ll send Rainbow Dash and a few of her ponies out to protect the rest of town from any monsters that break from the main force.”

Spitfire nodded. “I’ll send Major Soarin, he’s the best over long distances. The rest of us will stand by in case the sergeant needs backup. You got all that, sergeant?”

Rainbow Dash snapped to attention, her expression grim. “Sir! Ma’am! Sounds good. Should my team leave now?”

“Be ready to leave in under a minute, yes.” Shining looked around at the Ponyville weather team, then furrowed his brow. “Where are your corporals?”

Rainbow scraped her hoof against the floor of the hall. “Raindrops is having some kind of seizure. Thunderlane dragged her into a back room and is taking care of her. Should… should I call him back? She’s only one pony…”

Shining shook his head. “As long as you trust the rest of your team, it’ll be fine.” He took another glance at the army outside, then walked behind the Mayor’s podium, raising his voice to address the crowd. “Listen up, ponies!” he called out. “I know this looks bad, but we have the numbers, the training and the magic to get everypony through this alive. We will be safe here while –”

A crash came from behind Shining, as of a door being kicked off its hinges, and both Spitfire and Rainbow Dash ran towards him, shouting something. Shining spun around just in time to see a yellow creature charge out of a back room and pounce on him, bearing down on him with immense strength. The creature resembled a pegasus, but its wings were webbed like those of a huge bat, and as it hissed aggressively at Shining, it displayed a pair of wickedly sharp canines. Shining fell onto his back and struggled with the creature, trying to push it off him, but it pinned his legs to the floor and latched onto his neck with its jaws.

Shining Armor cried out as the creature’s fangs sank deep into his neck. He thrashed about in an attempt to free himself, but found himself held fast in the grip of its jaws and legs. He felt himself growing weaker, and the colour seemed to drain from the world as he lost blood. He tried to cast a spell to lift the creature away from him, but the pain and shock made it impossible to concentrate, and the magic slipped away from him.

Shining was dimly aware of heavy blows striking the creature, and he could barely see the blue-grey form of Rainbow Dash above him. Gritting his teeth with the effort, he gave a mighty thrust of his legs and tore the creature’s jaws from his throat. Between his efforts and Rainbow Dash’s, they seemed to get the upper hoof, and the creature was forced to disengage. It spread its bat-like wings and flapped away through a window of the hall. As it retreated, Shining caught a glimpse of a symbol on its flank – three bright red drops of blood.

Spitfire helped Shining back onto his hooves. “Are you alright, sir?” she asked. “What was that thing?”

Thunderlane staggered out of the back room, dazed and with a dent in his peytral. “Ma’am, Raindrops has turned into some kind of monster!” he gasped to Rainbow Dash. “I couldn’t stop her, she…”

“We fought her, corporal,” said Rainbow Dash, putting out a hoof to steady Thunderlane. “She got away.” A shriek came from above her, and she lashed out with her spear, impaling a vaguely bird-shaped creature of dark mist that was attacking her.

Shining snatched up his spear and brandished it at some more flying creatures that had entered the hall, and he looked up at the windows of the hall with a sinking sensation in his chest. The moon shone a bright silver, and the night sky was a dark velvet, unobscured by any magical shield.

He planted his hooves firmly on the floor and tried to gather his magical energy, but when he cast his shield spell, the world spun around him and he fell flat on his face. “I can’t do it,” he whinnied as Spitfire helped him up again. “I feel so faint…” He pressed a hoof to his neck, and it came away with an ugly red stain on his white coat.

“You’ve lost blood, sir,” said Thunderlane, and he wrapped a bandage around the captain’s neck. “You’ll live, but… what do we do now?”

Shining Armor looked up at the monsters flying into the hall. There were only a few yet, but more were coming every second, and the monsters on foot would be beating at the doors soon. He surveyed his forces – the Ponyville Weather Corps, the Wonderbolts, and Princess Celestia’s four honour guard pegasi, plus the other pegasi of Ponyville and any other reserve forces who lived here.

“Alright, new plan!” he shouted, addressing everypony in the hall. “Spitfire, send Soarin to Canterlot. We need a company of National Guard here, stat!”

Spitfire nodded to Soarin, and the blue stallion took to the air at once, weaving his way expertly through the attacking monsters and striking out towards Canterlot.

“Rainbow Dash! Take the weather corps, raise the reserves, and escort the civilians to the safest buildings in Ponyville. The hall isn’t safe anymore,” he continued, punctuating his speech by knocking out a monster with a well-placed buck, “but your ponies will know the best places to defend. Go!”

“Aye, sir!” Rainbow Dash saluted crisply and took to the air. “Right, Ponyville! You heard the captain. Civilians, divide into groups of twenty, and we’ll escort you to your shelters. All reserves, consider yourselves activated! This is war! Private Flitter will take the first group to the Carousel Boutique, leaving in thirty seconds! Move, move, move!”

Shining took a moment to observe the locals’ well-disciplined reaction to the danger, and Rainbow Dash’s capable leadership, and felt just a little more confident that they could survive the assault. “Wonderbolts, honour guard, you’re all with me. Our job is to hold off these monsters. We need to keep everypony safe until the National Guard reinforcements get here. Got that?”

“Got it, sir,” said Spitfire grimly. She rose into the air, spear at the ready, and the Wonderbolts formed up behind her. Celestia’s honour guard took up a position alongside them, their faces lined with determination to avenge their princess.

“Get ready to attack on my order, then,” said Shining, as the first group of civilians prepared to make their escape. He watched the monsters, and Rainbow Dash and her ponies, holding for just the right moment. “Wait for it… and… now! For Celestia!”

Apple Bloom felt a gentle leg curl around her body and drag her out from under the table. She looked up into Applejack’s face and hugged her tearfully. “What’s going on, sis?” she asked in a trembling voice.

Applejack pointed to the middle of the hall, where Shining Armor, Spitfire and their troops had moved into an aggressive formation. “We’re gonna have to move, sugarcube,” she said, brushing her muzzle against her sister’s cheek reassuringly. “The hall ain’t safe, so we’re evacuatin’ to someplace that is. You remember your drills at school, right?”

Apple Bloom bit her lip to keep it from trembling, and nodded. “I remember. Are we going to Sweet Apple Acres?”

Thunderlane touched down beside the Apple family as they gathered themselves together. “No, it’s not safe either,” he said grimly, looking over the group. “The buildings are too old and too spread out, and it’s too far from town. I’ll be taking you to Rich Manor. It’s built to stand up to assault.”

“Sounds good,” said Big Macintosh, who had one leg out to support Granny Smith. “We can rebuild if we lose buildings, but not if we lose ponies.”

Scootaloo poked her head out from under the table. “What about me?” she asked, trying to look brave. “I should stay with Rainbow Dash and my parents, right?” The white unicorn filly who had shared the table with them was being led away by a pair of unicorns, accompanied by another armoured pegasus.

Thunderlane knelt down to look Scootaloo in the eye. “Rainbow Dash is leading the evacuation, and your parents are helping other groups get to safety.” He beckoned with a hoof, and Rumble and Featherweight approached the group. “Feathermay is helping too, and they all trust me to get you kids somewhere safe.”

Scootaloo drew herself upright and puffed out her chest. “But I can fight! I can help protect everypony!”

“Not today,” said Thunderlane, placing a hoof on Scootaloo’s shoulder. “Rainbow Dash and your parents need to know that you’re safe, or they won’t be able to concentrate on their own battles. But I do need you to be brave, so the other fillies won’t be too scared. That’s what pegasi do, they’re brave enough for all three tribes.”

“Okay!” exclaimed Scootaloo, and she offered a high hoof to the two pegasus colts, which was enthusiastically met by Rumble. Featherweight seemed not to notice the gesture, and was busy staring at a photograph he held in one hoof.

The children shuffled closer together, and were joined by Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon. The latter’s glasses were fogged over, and Diamond Tiara’s muzzle showed the stains of recent tears. “I hope we get home s-soon,” she mumbled, her voice catching a little as she tried to steady her breathing. “We’ll be safe there. It’s always safe there.”

“We’ll be there in no time,” said Scootaloo confidently. “Thunderlane won’t let anything happen to us, and Rainbow Dash is in charge of the evacuation. Nothing gets past them.”

Wordlessly, Featherweight held out the photograph he was toying with. It depicted Nightmare Moon standing on top of Celestia’s defeated form, laughing.

“Well, yeah…” said Apple Bloom hesitantly. “But she’s gone, right? Princess Celestia hurt her real bad and she had to run away. It’s just a bunch of monsters and stuff now.”

Diamond Tiara nodded hurriedly. “And Shining Armor and Spitfire fight monsters all the time! We’ll be fine. We’ll be totally… fine…” She trailed off into tears, and Silver Spoon put a leg around her shoulder to comfort her.

“We will be fine,” insisted Scootaloo. “If anything gets past Rainbow Dash and Thunderlane, it’ll have to go through me before it can hurt you guys.”

“Get ready to move!” shouted Thunderlane. The foals huddled together under the watchful eyes of Filthy Rich, Diamond Dazzle and a few of the Apples, and were gradually herded outside. Thunderlane looked up at the sky, and the children followed suit.

The Wonderbolts were wheeling through the sky in perfect formation, leaving trails of smoke and lightning in their wake. They flew high over Ponyville, and engaged a horde of shadowy creatures that resembled bats. The shadows were small and nimble, but the Wonderbolts corralled them like sheep and tore them apart with their spears and hooves.

“That’s our opening! Move!” came the order from Thunderlane, and everypony began to gallop. They ran north from the town square, with Applejack at the front of the herd and Big Macintosh guarding the rear, while Thunderlane soared overhead, keeping a watch on their path.

The herd weaved its way through the mostly deserted streets of Ponyville, following a path that Thunderlane mapped out for them. As they passed near Quills and Sofas, Thunderlane called Applejack to a halt and made the civilians wait while he scouted ahead. A few tense moments passed in silence, and children waited nervously in the calming embrace of their parents and siblings.

Without warning, a trio of timber wolves burst from the shadows and jumped on Thunderlane, latching their thorny jaws onto his legs and flanks. He whinnied and bucked, and thrust his spear through the body of one wolf, which collapsed into a pile of sticks. Blood ran down his legs from where the other two savaged him.

Applejack, Apple Fritter and Diamond Dazzle rushed forward to assist the soldier, and assaulted the remaining wolves with their hooves while the other adults stayed with the children. Scootaloo jumped up and down in excitement, while Featherweight looked through his camera at the fight and the other children cowered in fear.

The four ponies made short work of the timber wolves, but the herd pressed on to avoid being caught when the wolves inevitably reformed. Apple Bloom, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon were visibly shaken by the encounter, and Featherweight had still not said a word since Nightmare Moon’s appearance, although his saddlebag was full of photographs of monsters. Scootaloo and Rumble ran at the front of the group of foals, doing their best to keep the others’ spirits up with their confident façades.

Just when the ordeal seemed to be never-ending, the tall gates of Rich Manor came into view. The gates were sealed with an iron crossbar, but an elderly indigo earth pony was waiting just behind them, with a kitchen knife gripped between his teeth.

The approach seemed clear, and Diamond Tiara galloped forward with a jubilant cry. She was brought up short when Scootaloo latched her jaws onto her tail, and she rounded angrily on the young pegasus. “Let me go, you dodo!” she snarled, struggling to get free. “I’m nearly home!”

“Don’t break ranks!” retorted Scootaloo through her clenched teeth. “Never break ranks! That’s how ponies die!”

As the two fillies struggled, Thunderlane touched down and walked carefully towards the gates, his spear at the ready. A motion in the hedges surrounding the manor caught his eye, and he dove into them, grappling with some unseen monster.

A cacophany of angry squawking sounds came from the hedge, and the ponies held their collective breath as Thunderlane fought his foe. With a triumphant cry, he dragged what looked like a large snake out of the hedge, hurled it into a nearby rainwater barrel, and fastened the lid tight.

“Come on, the coast is clear,” he called to the other ponies, and they advanced quickly towards the gates.

Diamond Tiara mumbled an apology to Scootaloo as she hurried to the gates alongside her father, then looked up at Thunderlane. “What was that thing?” she asked Thunderlane breathlessly.

“That?” replied Thunderlane, waving a hoof at the barrel. “That was a… uh…” He looked over the foals, some of whom were in tears again. “Just a snake. Not even venomous. Would have given you kids a scare, that’s all.”

The pony behind the gates hauled up the bar with surprising strength, and pushed the gates open. Filthy Rich stepped forward to shake the stallion’s hoof warmly. “Randolph, I’m glad you’re alright,” he greeted him. “Was there any trouble here?”

Randolph shook his head and slipped the kitchen knife into his belt, while surreptitiously kicking a blood-stained rag out of sight. “Been a quiet night, sir,” he replied. “Nothing worth frightening the children over.”

The ponies hurried into the manor, and Randolph barred the gate behind them. Soon, the entire herd was safely ensconced in the Riches’ living room, being comforted with hot toast and cold apple cider.

“So, what now?” asked Applejack. “We just wait here until it’s all over?”

“That’s the plan,” said Thunderlane. “I’m going to report back to Sergeant Rainbow Dash. We’ll hold off the enemy as best we can, and you should be safe behind this fence and these walls. In the unlikely event that anything breaks through, there are enough able-bodied ponies among you to defend the foals, right?”

Applejack nodded grimly. “We won’t let anything get to them, you can count on that.”

Thunderlane gathered the three pegasus foals together. “You all did great out there,” he assured them. “Rumble… I wish I could stay here, but I promise you’ll be safe. Scootaloo, good job keeping Diamond Tiara under control. And Featherweight…” He eyed his protégé with concern. The light yellow foal was still silent, and clutching his camera and photographs with an iron grip.

“Featherweight, you’re safe now. You’re with friends. Talk to the other kids. I’ll be back once Ponyville is safe, okay?” Featherweight nodded silently, and brushed his muzzle against Thunderlane’s shoulder.

Thunderlane nuzzled Featherweight back, then drank a hasty glass of cider and took to the air, heading for the centre of town, where he could see a rainbow blur zipping between buildings.

Five minutes later, a rosy force field sprang up around the manor, and its inhabitants breathed a sigh of relief at their renewed safety. The moon still shone down upon them malevolently, reminding everypony that the one constant in Equestria was gone.

Shining Armor pulled his spear free of the pterodactyl-like creature that he had been fighting, and its body fell to the ground far below him. “That’s the last of them,” he muttered. “Everypony okay?”

“We’re good, sir,” said one of the white pegasi drawing Celestia’s chariot. Shining had commandeered the vehicle in order to get a pegasus’s-eye view of the battle. Celestia’s honour guard were formidable combatants on the ground and in the air, and could respond to the slightest tug on the reins more quickly than to a shouted command in the thick of battle. Two guardsponies were hitched to the chariot, while the other two flanked it, spears drawn. “How’s the prince doing?”

Prince Blueblood was seated next to Shining in the chariot, sweating profusely. “I am quite well, thank you,” he responded, gripping the front of the chariot to keep himself upright.

“I wish you’d let us evacuate you to one of the Ponyville buildings,” said Shining. “We need to keep everypony safe, and you especially, with Celestia gone.”

The prince shook his head. “I won’t abandon Equestria in its hour of need,” he insisted. “Especially not when that thing that took my grandmother is still out there.”

“Fine, just stay out of the way,” Shining muttered. He turned his gaze back to scanning the horizon.

A rainbow blur streaked through the sky towards him, and before he knew it Sergeant Rainbow Dash was hovering next to the chariot and saluting him. “Sir! I just got a report from Corporal Thunderlane. The Rich Manor party is safely evacuated.” She pointed to the tall, thatched-roofed manor with a hoof. “Think you’ve got another shield ready?”

Shining massaged his temples, and took a swig from the bottle of cider that sat in a basket on the floor of the chariot. “Should be able to manage it. Give me a moment.” He squinted in the direction that Rainbow Dash indicated, trying to focus on the manor.

Blueblood glanced in the same direction, and his horn briefly glowed a gentle sky-blue. “That’s two point three one miles, bearing north thirteen degrees east,” he said without hesitation.

Shining paused briefly in surprise, then focused his magic and conjured a shimmering shield to cover Rich Manor. “Thank you, highness, that was very…” He slumped backwards in his seat, his vision blurring again. “Very helpful.”

Spitfire glided along next to the chariot. “What’s the status of the evacuation now, sergeant?” she asked, taking advantage of a brief lull in the aerial fighting.

“Nearly finished, ma’am!” said Rainbow Dash proudly. “Private Blossomforth is taking a party to Sugarcube Corner now. I’ve set the rest of my ponies to patrolling the streets – Thunderlane reported a few bands of hostile ground forces looking for stragglers.”

“Sounds good,” said Spitfire. “I’ll send Colonel Fleetfoot to assist the Sugarcube Corner party. If they’re the last ponies left on the street, they’re more likely to run into trouble. How long until reinforcements get here, captain?”

“Should be here within ten minutes,” said Shining Armor, his eyes still closed. “Five if Major Soarin is as fast as he says he is. Maybe longer if he has trouble mobilizing the guard. We didn’t train for this scenario.”

“We can hold out that long, sir,” said Spitfire. “The weather corps have the ground under control, and we’re doing alright in the air. As long as Nightmare Moon herself stays away, we’ll make it.”

A Wonderbolt with pale blue hair rushed up beside Spitfire. “Captain!” she exclaimed, gesticulating in the direction of the Everfree Forest. “We’ve got a major problem on the ground!”

Shining Armor jerked upright and opened his eyes, and the pegasi all began moving towards the forest. “How major are we talking here?” he demanded.

As if in response, a deafening roar came from the direction of the Everfree Forest. The chariot and the pegasi rushed ahead, and Shining’s jaw dropped when he was what was approaching. A huge bear, its coat shimmering like a night sky full of stars, was lumbering along on the ground, heading directly for Ponyville.

Shining stared for several seconds before he found his voice. “Ursa Major…” he gasped. “I’ve read about star beasts, but I never thought we’d have to fight one…”

“Star beast, huh?” asked Spitfire. “So how do we kill it?”

“We, ah… we don’t. They’re practically invulnerable. The best we could do is lure it back into the forest. Shouldn’t be hard – they’re not smart. But it’ll be dangerous.”

“Danger is what we live for, sir,” said Spitfire. “Wonderbolts! Attack pattern Buzzing Mosquito. Harass the Ursa Major and get it to follow us back into the Everfree Forest. We’ve done it with dragons, we can do it with this critter. Attack!”

The Wonderbolts swarmed around the great bear, diving between its paws and batting at its head with their wings. Shining used his magic to support them by raising temporary shields, which shattered under a single blow from the bear, but protected the pony behind them for just long enough.

Spitfire wheeled and banked in the night sky, leaving a trail of fire behind her as she dodged the bear’s attacks. The Ursa Major snarled and lumbered towards her, swings its paws clumsily, but then it stopped and shook its head. It slowly turned around and began moving towards Ponyville again, roaring in anger.

“It’s not working!” shouted Spitfire. “Why isn’t it taking the bait?”

Shining racked his brain, trying to remember what he had read about star beasts in his training manuals. “Nightmare Moon must be controlling the Ursa Major!” he shouted back. “Forcing it to attack Ponyville! It’s a creature of the night sky, like her!”

Prince Blueblood had been cowering in the base of the chariot while the Wonderbolts fought the monster, even though the chariot was hovering at a safe distance. He poked his head over the edge and surveyed the scene nervously.

“Highness, get down!” snapped Shining. “We might lose this fight!”

“I will!” he shot back. “It’s just that that’s an Ursa Minor, not Major. The stars on its coat match the Ursa Minor constellation.”

“It’s a juvenile? But it’s huge! Alright, thanks for the astronomy lesson, but unless you have an idea for how to send it away from Ponyville, stay down!”

The prince squinted at the massive bear, then concentrated, his horn glowing brilliantly. As Shining watched, the stars on the Ursa Minor’s coat swirled, then settled into a pattern that resembled their old configuration, but inverted.

The plan clicked together in Shining Armor’s mind. “Attack again!” he shouted to Spitfire. “The bear’s lost its sense of direction!”

Spitfire gave a wave of acknowledgement, and led her team in a renewed attack. They jabbed at the bear with their spears and buzzed past its nose, eliciting an infuriated roar from the young beast. When they disengaged, it ran directly away from Ponyville, and was soon lost in the canopy of the Everfree Forest.

Shining gave a cry of elation, and turned to congratulate Blueblood. “Good job, high… oh,” he trailed off, seeing the prince slumped in his seat and snoring lightly. “Well, don’t worry, I think we’ve won the day. Er, night.”

The Wonderbolts fanned out to patrol the sky once more, and Spitfire returned to Shining’s side. “We did it, sir! We’re not out of the woods yet, there are still critters in the sky and on the ground, but I think we can hold on.”

The two captains heard a shout from above them. “Incoming!”

They looked up to see a blue pegasus gliding towards them from the north-east, his chest heaving and dripping with sweat foam. “Soarin!” exclaimed Shining, and wrapped the exhausted pegasus in his magic, guiding him to alight in the chariot.

“National Guard’s coming, sir!” he wheezed. “Full company, hundred ponies. Three minutes behind me.”

Shining Armor felt the tension flow out of his body. They were saved. The war had only just begun, but at least they had won this battle, without a single casualty. “Well done, major. I’ll get Soarin and Blueblood to one of the safe houses. Spitfire, hold the sky until reinforcements arrive.”

He flicked the reins and directed the honour guard down towards the Ponyville streets. They were descending gradually when a mint green burst of light erupted above Sugarcube Corner, breaking the monotony of the journey. “That was a distress flare!” he exclaimed. “Get there as quick as you can!”

When the chariot arrived at Sugarcube Corner, Shining Armor found Rainbow Dash standing outside, with one wing draped around a sobbing green unicorn mare. He vaulted out of the chariot and ran to the sergeant’s side. “Take Soarin and the prince to the hospital!” he ordered the honour guard.

Rainbow Dash perked up as the chariot started to pull away. “Bring back Doctor Stable and one of the nurses if you can,” she urged them, her voice choking with barely restrained tears. “We’ve got wounded in here.”

The chariot sped away, and Shining turned his full attention to Rainbow Dash. “What’s the situation, sergeant?” he asked, bracing himself for the worst.

“Sir! No hostiles left inside! I’ve got my ponies taking care of the wounded and the… the casualties, sir.” At Rainbow’s words, the green unicorn began a fresh bout of sobbing, and Rainbow began stroking her mane soothingly. “I should stay here with Lyra, she’s taking it pretty hard.”

“That’s alright, sergeant,” said Shining, not wanting to put any pressure on either pony. “The Wonderbolts have the sky under control, and our reinforcements are only a few minutes away. We should be secure now.” He took a deep breath and stepped over the remains of Sugarcube Corner’s front door, which had been barricaded and then smashed to pieces.

He was greeted by a scene of carnage. Tables had been overturned and glass display cases shattered, and cakes and pies were strewn about the dining area. The bodies of a dozen of Nightmare Moon’s gremlins and nightmare beasts were piled in a corner. Shining hoped for a brief moment that the battle had been entirely one-sided, but trails of fresh pony blood staining the floor told their own story.

Several wounded ponies were sitting or lying on the floor, having their wounds tended by soldiers or civilians. A short blue earth pony mare, whom Shining recognised from his tour of the town as the proprietor of Sugarcube Corner, was bringing food and water to the wounded and their carers, doing her best to put on a brave face while trembling visibly.

Shining Armor stood next to a Weather Corps soldier he recognised and tapped her on the shoulder gently. “Private Flitter, right? Can you tell me what happened here? Informally, I don’t need a full report.”

Flitter stared at her hooves, seeming reluctant to meet Shining’s gaze. “We weren’t here, sir. We were fighting Nightmare Moon’s forces on the other side of Ponyville. Nopony knew there was another unit here. We thought they were safe with Private Blossomforth.”

“Nopony’s blaming anypony for this, private,” Shining explained calmly. “I was fighting an aerial battle alongside the Wonderbolts when all this happened. Nightmare Moon’s army takes advantage of the darkness, and… there’s not much we can do to counter that right now.”

Flitter nodded hesitantly. “The ponies sheltering at the Sweet Shoppe were the first to realise that there had been an attack here. We were nearby when we saw Lyra’s distress signal, and we’ve been tending to the wounded.”

“You all did the right thing, private. There are reinforcements and medics on the way.” He swallowed hard, dreading the next question he had to ask. “How many casualties were there?”

“Three, sir. Private Blossomforth – she was one of Lyra’s best friends – and one of the Wonderbolts. And a… a civilian, sir.”

Shining ground his hoof into the floor to prevent himself from swearing. Civilian casualties were the worst sign of a military failure. No wonder the usually confident and carefree Rainbow Dash had been so distraught. Hopefully, Shining would be able to reassure the Weather Corps that the failure was on the part of nopony but him.

He left Flitter to her work, and walked behind the front counter, where he saw three equine bodies covered with sheets. Two had a dog tag placed on top of the sheet, by which he could identify Private Blossomforth and Colonel Fleetfoot. He gently drew back the third sheet with his magic, for long enough to identify the face of Haute Cuisine, the chef who had served him at his lunch with Filthy Rich and the Mayor.

Shining felt a chill settle into his bones. Less than twenty-four hours ago, he had been receiving both a wonderful sandwich and a lot of good advice from this pony, and now he was dead, thanks to Shining’s inability to counter Nightmare Moon’s tactics. He removed his helmet and bowed his head solemnly to the three corpses, then replaced the sheet.

Slowly, numbly, he wandered back into the dining area, and found Pinkie Pie lying on the floor, being carefully given drinking water by Mrs Cake. “Hi there!” she exclaimed as Shining drew close, sounding as chipper as ever. “How’s it going?”

“Eh, not bad,” said Shining reflexively, before actually thinking about what either of them had said. He knelt down next to Pinkie Pie and looked over her injuries. She had a few bandaged wounds on her neck and barrel, but her right hind leg was covered in blood-stained wrappings, and was sitting at an ugly angle. He looked back up at her face, to be confronted by her ever-present grin. “Isn’t that painful?” he asked, indicating her leg.

“It’s okay!” she replied. “It only hurts when I laugh. Tee hee!” She trailed off into a mad giggle and slumped back against the pillow under her head.

“She’s in shock,” explained the tall yellow stallion lying nearby. “I think. She’s like this most of the time anyway.”

Shining turned to face him. “Mr Cake, right? This is your home, and your wife’s?” He nodded, and reached up a hoof to nudge Mrs Cake gently. Shining saw that Mr Cake had taken the brunt of several physical attacks, although his injuries seemed to be minor. “I’m sorry you had to fight. We should have had more soldiers here.”

Mr Cake shook his head. “There isn’t a pony here who wouldn’t fight to defend Ponyville. And we couldn’t let anything happen to Cup here.” Pinkie Pie nodded her agreement, and Mrs Cake bowed her head silently in thanks.

Shining Armor sat with the Cakes and Pinkie Pie for another minute, helping Mrs Cake to change one of Pinkie’s bandages. Shortly thereafter, an amber unicorn in a doctor’s coat rushed through the door, followed by two earth pony nurses and a pegasus from the National Guard.

“Sir!” shouted the pegasus, saluting crisply. “Major Hummingbird, National Guard, fourteenth company! We’ve secured the sky and perimeter around Ponyville! What are your orders, sir?”

Shining jumped to his hooves and shook off the lethargy that the sight of the dead and wounded had instilled in him. “Glad you’re here, major. Have your ponies comb the town for any remaining monsters, then report back and we’ll issue an ‘all clear’. And send a squad to the hospital and set up escorts for medical staff and patients.”

The major saluted again and hurried off to direct his soldiers, and the doctor rushed to Pinkie Pie’s side. “Don’t worry, Miss Pie, we’ll have you in the hospital in no time. Just let me give you something for your leg.”

Pinkie Pie sat up and grinned her manic grin. “Oh boy, is that ketamine? I heard it makes earth ponies fly like plegaflubb…”

The doctor levitated the insensate Pinkie out the door and onto a waiting hospital wagon, to which Celestia’s honour guard were hitched. “We’ll be back for the others. Nurse Redheart, take charge of the wounded.”

Around Shining Armor, the ponies of Ponyville slowly took charge of their town, tended their wounded, and tried to make sense of the tragedy that had befallen them.

The Ponyville clock tower showed midday when Shining Armor addressed the town from a podium in the town square, but the full moon still loomed in the night sky.

The timely arrival of the National Guard reinforcements had driven the last of Nightmare Moon’s army from Ponyville and its surrounds, and all of the seriously wounded were being treated at Ponyville Hospital. The force fields surrounding the houses had been lifted, and it was safe to roam the streets again. The ponies who were not patrolling the borders or tending to the wounded were gathered in the town square, to hear Shining Armor’s speech.

Shining took a deep breath to calm his nerves as he looked over the crowd. These were ponies who relied on his protection. They needed to know that he could keep them safe, and that Equestria had a future.

“Ponies of Ponyville!” he began, projecting his voice over the crowd with his magic. “Ponies of Equestria! Today is a day of tragedy, a day that will be remembered as a black day in our history. But it is not a day without hope.

“Nightmare Moon is real, and she has declared war upon Equestria. She sent her army to attack Ponyville today, but her army was defeated! The ponies of Ponyville and the Royal Guard banded together to defend against her creatures of the night, and were victorious!

“Three ponies gave their lives to defend Ponyville today. Colonel Fleetfoot of the Wonderbolts and Private Blossomforth of the Ponyville Weather Corps were killed in the line of duty. Haute Cuisine, a civilian, made the ultimate sacrifice protecting his fellow ponies. They will all be remembered and honoured.”

Scattered sobbing broke out amongst the crowd, and Shining Armor took a moment to calm himself as he felt tears rising to his own eyes. Once the crowd had settled down, he continued.

“Thanks to these ponies, and thanks to the valour of the Royal Guard and the discipline and preparation of the citizens of Ponyville, Nightmare Moon’s forces were repelled. I have assigned a squad of National Guard to reinforce the Ponyville Weather Corps, so if they attack again, Ponyville will be well defended.

“Now, as many of you saw, Princess Celestia fought Nightmare Moon in personal combat, and was defeated.” A groan spread through the crowd, and an audible gasp could be heard from the National Guard reinforcements. “She wounded Nightmare Moon gravely, though, and drove her away from Ponyville. We believe that Princess Celestia is trapped within the sun, just as Nightmare Moon was trapped within the moon. Equestria’s most powerful unicorns will be doing their utmost to bring the Princess back, as well as take control of the sun and moon again.

“In the meantime, Equestria is without its Princess. Therefore, by my authority as Captain of the Royal Guard, I hereby proclaim that Equestria is in a state of martial law! The Royal Guard will take command of all government bodies, and will direct all of Equestria’s resources to three tasks: the restoration of Princess Celestia, the defeat of Nightmare Moon, and our continued survival in the absence of the sun.”

A great murmur spread through the listeners, and even the soldiers looked dismayed at the idea of martial law in Equestria. Captain Spitfire caught Shining Armor’s eye and nodded solemnly to him, indicating her approval.

“This state of martial law will last for one month! If Princess Celestia is not restored to us by that time, then sovereign power will be returned to the civilian government in the form of the Triumequirate, one representative from each pony tribe. Each tribe should choose its representative before that time, so that there is no conflict or lapse in government.

“Until that time, I will carry the title of Dictator of Equestria, with ultimate authority over all of the kingdom. I appoint Captain Spitfire as Magistra Equitum, to rule both government and Royal Guard in my absence. Together, and with all of you, we will work to bring this terrible chapter in Equestria’s history to a close. We have not been without Celestia’s guidance in more than a thousand years, and if we cannot bring her back, we will do our utmost to rule as she would.

“What does this mean for Ponyville? As the ranking officer of Ponyville’s only garrison, Sergeant Rainbow Dash is now in command of Ponyville’s government. Madam Mayor, you and your office will of course remain essential to Ponyville’s smooth functioning, but you are to report to Rainbow Dash and implement all of her orders.” The Mayor and Filthy Rich seemed to take this instruction with quiet equanimity, while Rainbow Dash herself flared her wings in panic.

“We will not let Equestria starve. We have food stores and contingency plans to prevent famine in the case of massive crop failure or an invasion, and our earth ponies will find new ways to grow food if we cannot quickly restore the sun. Our pegasi will protect Equestria from Nightmare Moon’s monsters, and our unicorns will find a way to bring Princess Celestia back to us. We will not perish. We will not falter. And we will not surrender!”

The crowd cheered and stomped their hooves. Perhaps not as enthusiastically as Shining’s usual audience of soldiers might have, but Ponyville was still reeling from an attack worse than anything the Everfree Forest had ever thrown at them. The townsfolk returned to their homes and businesses to repair the damage and find ways to move forward with their lives, while Shining relocated to the town hall to meet with his soldiers and some key local figures.

A group of very worried-looking ponies attended Shining Armor in the town hall. The Mayor and Filthy Rich were conferring with each other and scribbling notes on their clipboards, and Applejack ran between them and Big Macintosh as she discussed the food situation with them. Spitfire and her four surviving Wonderbolts distracted themselves by tending their weapons and armour, and conversing quietly with Major Hummingbird, Sergeant Rainbow Dash, Corporal Thunderlane and Celestia’s honour guard. Prince Blueblood was sitting on the floor, cradling Princess Celestia’s spear carefully. Its flame had gone out.

“Alright, is everypony here?” he asked. “Good. I’ve got some specific orders I want to issue, and if any of you have questions, now’s the time to ask.”

“I got a question,” said Applejack boldly, raising one hoof. “How much of that there speech did you actually believe?”

Shining hesitated, taken aback by Applejack’s forthrightness. “Uh… all of it?” he hazarded. Applejack looked sceptical, and he could see that her doubts were reflected in the other Ponyville ponies.

“Look, I don’t know how we’re going to get Princess Celestia back. She might be trapped in the sun, or she might have been banished somewhere else, or she could even be…” He paused and bit his lip, unable to finish that most awful thought. “The point is, we can’t predict that. If my guess is right, once we’re able to raise the sun again, we’ll be able to free her. We controlled the sun in the days before Equestria’s founding and Celestia’s rule, and we can do it again, once we defeat Nightmare Moon.”

“And how are we going to do that, sir?” interjected Rainbow Dash. “We saw how she wiped the floor with Princess Celestia.”

“She didn’t ‘wipe the floor’ with her, sergeant,” said Spitfire. “She beat her, but it was close. I was watching that fight closely – Nightmare Moon isn’t as good a fighter as Celestia w… is. She’s got stronger magic, that’s all.”

“That’s right,” said Shining Armor. “Celestia wounded Nightmare Moon, badly. If we can corner her with enough ponies, we can defeat her. And no, I don’t know how we’re going to do that when she can turn into stars and vanish into the night. But we’ll figure out something. This is the worst crisis Equestria’s ever faced, but it’s not the first one.

“Now, Sergeant Rainbow Dash. Are you up to the task of governing Ponyville for the duration of the emergency?”

Rainbow Dash flicked her eyes back and forth around the Ponyville ponies, then nodded grimly. “Sir, yes, sir! I mean, I just need to make sure our defences are solid, and then let the Mayor do her job, right?”

Shining nodded. “More or less. Madam Mayor, do you have a plan for dealing with the food shortage we’re going to have without the sun?”

“I do!” said the Mayor. “We always have good food reserves, thanks to Applejack and her management of the other farmers. We’ve planned for both local crop failures and the possibility of our crops being needed in bulk by other towns.”

“The plan is to harvest everything that’s even vaguely edible right away,” Applejack explained. “We can make our unripe apples into apple jam, apple jelly, all kinds of extracts and juices… it won’t be tasty, but it’ll keep ponies’ bellies full. Granny Smith has plenty of recipes for unripe apples. I’ll meet with the other farmers and we’ll come up with a way to use what we’ve got.”

“We’ve still got most of the Apple family here for their reunion,” added Big Macintosh. “I guess it’s too dangerous for them to travel, so we’ll find places for them to stay. They can help us and the other farms with the harvest, since we’re gonna want it done as quick as we can.”

“I’ll work out a system to ensure that the farmers don’t suffer financially for harvesting early, too,” said Filthy Rich. “It’ll need to be backed by the government, of course, but I think it’ll be better for Equestria than just ordering farmers to do it. Which is, of course, within your authority as Dictator.”

Shining swallowed hard, feeling the burden of governance weighing heavily on his shoulders already. Economics were not his strong point. “Uh, yes, I can see that you’re right, Mr Rich. The treasury will issue some war bonds or… something. Now, Major Hummingbird, are Corporal Diamond Rose and her squad ready to assist Sergeant Rainbow Dash in the defence of Ponyville?”

The leader of the Fourteenth Company saluted. “Yes, sir! They’ve moved into the weather station for now, and they’ll see about finding other lodgings later. Corporal Diamond Rose is eager to serve at the sergeant’s direction.”

“Glad to hear it. I can see that Ponyville is well looked after. Now, I need to issue some important orders. Captain Spitfire, I need you to escort Prince Blueblood personally back to Canterlot, along with the soldiers who will be returning there. He’ll be needed to assist the civilian administrators in Princess Celestia’s absence.”

“Got it, sir,” said Spitfire. “But you’ll be coming with us, right? You’ll need to command the guard and the government from Canterlot.”

Shining Armor shook his head. “I won’t be going to Canterlot. You will be governing in my stead. That’s why I named you my Magistra Equitum. There is another mission I need to perform, away from Canterlot.”

“But… but sir. We need you to run things. Your strategic expertise, your leadership…”

Shining took a deep breath as he looked around at the soldiers and civilians who now served him. “Before Princess Celestia went to fight Nightmare Moon, she told me to do three things – protect Equestria, find the Elements of Harmony, and trust my friends. The Elements of Harmony are a weapon that Princess Celestia used to defeat Nightmare Moon a thousand years ago. If I can find them, I can use them to put an end to this war without anypony else needing to die.

“And she was right – I should trust you. You’ve proven that Ponyville knows how to defend itself, and that Equestria’s safety is in good hooves. You can command the guard as well as I can, but Celestia has given me this mission personally. I’m putting my faith in you, Captain Spitfire, just as Celestia put her faith in me. Will you govern and protect Equestria until I return?” He turned his head to encompass all of the ponies present. “Will you all serve Equestria in its hour of need?”

Spitfire saluted crisply, and the rest of the soldiers followed suit. “Yes, sir!” she exclaimed. “We won’t let you down, sir.”

“Now, wait a minute,” said Big Macintosh. “You ain’t going into the Everfree Forest alone, are you?”

“Yeah!” agreed Rainbow Dash, leaping into the air and hovering right in front of Shining. “I gotta go with… I mean… I gotta send somepony with you.”

“No,” said Shining, putting his hoof down. “I’m doing this alone. Celestia assigned this mission to me, not anypony else. And I need to evade Nightmare Moon’s attention. I don’t know how much she sees, with the moon hanging in the sky like that, but one pony can pass through the forest more quietly than an army. Besides… for all we know, this could be a suicide mission. We don’t know exactly where the Elements are or how they’re guarded. The only life I’m willing to throw away on this mission is my own. You all know what to do – be about your assignments, and I’ll be about mine.”

“But…” came the objection from more than one mouth.

“That’s an order, ponies! I’m counting on you to be at your posts. Now go and make Celestia proud of her little ponies.

“Dismissed!”