Pony POV Series
Shining Armor
Chapter 21 Part One
sdaorssorC-Crossroads

Three Months Later - Between Mega-Stratus and Mexicolt

"... Some stay dry and others feel the pain ... "

Soft pianos? How is that meant to work as an alarm clock song?

Ugh, well, I've got to get up... Pretty cold in here...

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): ...Shining, it's nearly twenty-five degrees celsius. You complained last night the air conditioning in your cabin wasn't doing much to cool the place down!)

I was hot last night though. Seems to be working now...

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): You turned it off.)

You sure? I'd better check... Ow...

Okay, that's weird, my legs don't want to work. Can't seem to get back up.

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): Shiny!)

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): I think you should shout for help.)

If you insist...

"Bleeurgh."

...Didn't work. I'll try standing again, that's easy, foals can do that before they talk... I was a foal once, I learned to walk before I could speak! I'm more experienced walking than talking, stands to reason I should be able to stand, right?

Oh, that one was loud, it'll leave a bruise. Hey, wait a minute, Lance-Corporal Jenkins, you're meant to knock before you burst in here asking if I'm all right!

"Sir? Captain, can you hear me?"

Sure...

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Tell her, not us!)

"I am telling her!"

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): This is bad...)

"What's bad?"

"Horseapples, he's way out of it... Trip Wire, radio sick bay, I think we need to take him there."

Sick bay? I feel fine, I'm just... really cold... can't stand up and... who's Trip Wire? Who is that guy?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Private Trip Wire.)

"Oh, a new guy, I never remember the new guys... Wait, yeah I do..."

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): He's been here six months, Shining!)

"Well, we never mentioned him before!"

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): He was the only witness to that, er, thing... on Cadence's birthday a few months back...)

"Oh. Right. Trip Wire..."

Oh, hi, Garnet... Hey, Jenkins, I've been talking to you, why are you saying it's like I'm speaking to someone else? "I mean you guys saw me talking to her, right? Why is she confused about this?"

"Darn, we're not going to be able to ask him what's up then," Garnet sighed.

I said. I feel cold and can't stand up, and I'm getting a little annoyed nopony is listening to me.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Shining, whatever is going on, trust me when I say you're really not well right now. Just try not to talk, you're confusing everypony else and wasting energy...)

"But if I don't talk how do I tell them I'm fine apart from the whole cold and can't stand up thing?"

"Cold, with this fever... Misfit Actual-Six to Sickbay, prepare for a patient running a high fever."

Why does nopony knock, now those two Air Navy ponies just barged in here with a stretcher... Oh, good morning, Princess... Are you okay, you look worried...

"...I'm not sure, Your Highness, we need to take him to sickbay either way... No, that's not a... Your Highness... Cadence, please, if you follow him to sickbay all you'll do is distract the medics, I'm sorry!"

Garnet, that's the Princess you're talking to! Hey, Minuette, don't back her up, that's insubordination from both of you! Let her do what she wants!

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Shining, they're right, please trust us...)

"But they're being rude to..."

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Shining, please, just try to rest!)

"I only just woke up though... Hey, how'd we get to sick bay so fast?"

"I see what you mean, Lance-Corporal Chambers... Well, we'd better try and figure out what's up with him. Petty Officer Apothecary, please log that Captain Sparkle was admitted to sickbay on..."

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): ....The date...)

"Hey, it's almost a year since we first left Equestria!"

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): He's sick today, of all days... With what's happening tomorrow...)

"Aren't we meant to head back soon for troop rotations and stuff?"

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): M-maybe it's a coincidence?)

"I wanna see my little sister again...."

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Rota Fortuna wouldn't be so cruel... but he would.)

"Hey, you guys there?"

"We're here, Captain. You'll be okay..."

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): We're here too. We're not leaving you, not at a time like this...)

"Good... Uh, I kinda feel... tired again... I guess I'm not working today, maybe I should just go back to bed, tell Cadence I'm not feeling so good."

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): We'll tell her...and we'll be with her through this...)

"...How can Pegasi stand this?" I groaned.

"It's pretty tame, Sir. The Lord Flashheart hasn't even tried to fly the airship upside-down yet," Thunderchild said back.

The glares from the other Earth Ponies and Unicorns in our transport made it clear I wasn't alone in not wanting to give our insane pilot ideas.

"Oh, come on, chaps, you need to be a bit less wimpy back there! Why, it's possible some day you might need this kind of flying if someone on the ground is shooting bolts of magic or rockets up at you! And what about flying in a thunderstorm?" Our pilot shouted back at us.

"There was me thinking the Special Tactics And Rescue Service did more rescuing than special tactics..." Another pony groaned.

"Only statistically, we're meant to be an emergency unit and all..."

Twenty years of existence and only one documented case where they fired so much as a stun spell at anypony, and far more cases of rescues from accidents and other emergencies made STARS seem like it had been a good choice. My mind told me that the chance to help and protect Equestrians in Equestria wasn't to be passed up. Lord Flashheart giving us the introduction to light airship-riding (they were only just starting to be used outside the Air Navy and special purpose groups got them first) made my stomach protest that choice. I hadn't felt this ill since...

"...Hadn't felt this ill since I was a foal..."

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): That... was NOT in the right order... that doesn't... make any sense.)

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): Oh no.)

"Mrow," The scan-cat said.

"Alright, keep trying. No luck yet with the scan-cat, Doctor Ulshade."

"And the blood sample isn't turning up anything yet either. "

I blinked...

"Wh-what's going on... Where am I?"

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Sickbay, you're ill.)

I figured... Garnet's saying as much...

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): Oh good, yer replyin' ta us not them!)

What do you mean?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): For a while there you said your replies out loud to everypony, and told us the replies to them.)

Uh oh....

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): They dismissed it as just fever delirium, don't worry!)

"Sir, are you back with us?"

"I... I guess... just confused with..."

"Can you describe what's happening, Sir?"

"My head's killing me, my neck feels stiff, my stomach feels like it's spinning, and I feel really cold and sweaty... What's happening?"

Why are these lights so bright?

"We're not sure. Where's your headache?"

"Feels like it's near the base of my horn..."

"Is the light in the room too bright?"

"A little.. Hurts my eyes..."

The scan-cat looked at my head as Ulshade came over, at least, I think it's him, I can't keep my eyes open long...

"Mrrr..."

"Aha... Captain, can you stop directing magic to your horn?" The donkey doctor asked.

"I'm not directing any magic there..."

"I thought you'd say that. Garnet, could you fetch me a saline-girders injection and sedatives?"

"Wait, how can salt be useful?" I wondered.

"It drains magic to cause the drunken feeling, Captain, and the Girders will drain it from the salt to give it back to you. If you're sedated at the same time it'll reduce the magic you're subconsciously directing to your horn, it's interfering with the scan cat. All we need to do is disrupt the flow briefly."

"Okay... I kind of still feel tired anyway..."

"I'm afraid that for now you won't be out long, I'm not sure any heavier sedation is a good idea until we get a scan," Ulshade said, as Garnet came back. I noticed how worried she looked.

I hate needles...

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): They need to do it to figure out what's wrong to help you.)

Yeah, I suppose so... Ow, that stings...

"Yo, S-Dawg, you gonna have to make sure your flow is tight, you dig?"

"Yea... What? Thunderchild, what the heck are you on about?"

I looked at him. He had a baseball cap on backwards, and also wore a gold chain.

"And why are you dressed like that?"

"DJ Maka-ROV called you out, dude, y'all gotta kick his flank in a rap battle!"

...Oh good, this one's got to be a hallucination, not a flashback or a flash-side or a vision or the like. Whatever the buck is in that IV it's far too strong.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): ...It was just one injection and there wasn't much sedative in it.)

Uh oh. You mean this might actually be something my mind is coming up with by itself?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Or it's another universe after all... S-Dawg...)

I hope that doesn't catch on. Ever. In any universe.

I could hear voices speaking near the door...

"-Only for a few minutes when I'm done, Princess. Now he's awake we really should try to get as much done as we can," I heard Ulshade say.

"What exactly are you going to do?" Cadence asked.

"Well, prepare the intravenous solutions to start fighting the infection."

Oh good, they figured out what's wrong with me! Er, what is wrong with me?

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Ulshade should tell you. We can't go to the future and read your medical reports until after you get there in your present.)

"Hello again, Doctor..."

"How are you feeling, Captain?"

"Pretty much the same, really. Did you figure out what's wrong?"

"Yes, we did. I was concerned it might have been some form of meningitis, but the scancat didn't indicate inflammation anywhere but near the base of your horn. It normally would affect your-"

"...Uh, I'm pretty sure I actually showed up for the vaccination against that," I realized.

"I see. Wait, what do you mean, showed up?"

"I, uh... kind of avoided a few vaccinations as a foal..."

Ulshade gave me a look like I was a complete idiot.

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): And ya are, vaccinations are important!)

"Mom figured it out and arranged me to get all the ones I missed though! ...That wasn't fun."

"Then we've got a small puzzle here, Captain. You see, we've actually caught your infection only just about to start - what you're having is an allergic reaction to the bacteria..."

"Is it Horn Rot?!"

"No, it is not Horn Rot! And it's not Lupus either! Why does everypony assume it's one of those two?!"

"Uh, Doctor, it is a form of Lupus now, it was reclassified," A Nurse pointed out.

"...What the hay is Lupus?"

"Oh, right, sorry, the nurse is right. Basically it's a case where your own immune system has began attacking healthy cells near an infection because of an allergic reaction, and your mana is confusing your immune system. Mana-induced lupus is the technical term. However, you should have been given a booster about seven years ago to prevent this, but your records are somewhat incomplete."

"Huh?"

"The, er, period of time where you were being treated for post-traumatic stress, Sir. The vaccination booster should have fallen under that period but it seems that since the documents were a separate file, that period is missing, as is your medical history prior to the age of about fourteen, and all we have is a note that you're scheduled to get a booster in three years," Garnet explained.

"And nopony in Canterlot seems to have a clue where they are. Hay, it took them a while to even realize who we were talking about! Someone in admin really botched it," Ulshade grumbled.

"...Everypony else's medical history is in order, right?"

"We're checking that as a precaution. Bearing in mind what happened with Sunset back in Columbia, Flight Lieutenant Rimmer already ordered a check of the rest of the documentation."

"Okay, then. It's probably just my typical weirdness magnetism...Wait, did you say a bacterial infection? I had something like this when I was a foal..."

"Which we'd have no idea about because of the missing records. Do you recall the name of your foalhood illness?"

"Disco... lukey-something..."

"Discordian Luketo-phagocytosis, the old name for what you have now. Basically your white blood cells, instead of fighting the presently mild infection, are eating each other and anything else nearby. Before you ask, they renamed it to stop doctors being so bloody happy about getting a case of Lupus..."

Medics are weird.

"...And basically, you should have already had a vaccination against this bacteria. If you had it as a foal you should probably have been given the vaccine as part of your treatment. Evidently you missed the booster."

"At least it's a known disease, with my luck I was worried it was some kind of weird ancient illness no pony knows about that would require some kind of weird quest to save my life."

"I'd say you had a vivid imagination, but Garnet felt the same way, said it wouldn't surprise her if you had Cutie Pox..."

Huh? What's that?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Ask Ellis in a couple months.)

...I should be grateful I'm getting who I'm talking to right now...

"So... What's the treatment?"

"Antibacterial fluids, mana-suppressants, and sedation. We put you in a medically-induced coma, keep mana low with suppressants, and that should allow the antibacterials to start working. That ought to prevent further white blood cell corruption, meaning they'll join in fighting the infection, and you ought to be feeling much better by the time you wake up."

"So it's nothing serious. Weird, it nearly killed me as a foal..."

"Captain, it is potentially serious. Your allergic reaction affects only one in twenty unicorns. But if you hadn't exhibited that allergy, the main infection would have commenced without notice until it posed a risk. That would probably have been fatal, over fifty percent mortality. And had the allergic reaction been allowed to continue you were facing a second stage with a seventy-five percent chance of death, twenty percent chance of serious brain damage, or a five percent chance of a full recovery."

So basically it saved me from something I might never have spotted as a foal or right now, but if it got worse it stood good odds of killing or crippling me. I hate viruses..

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Bacteria and your own immune system, actually, and you realize you were lucky to survive as a foal in the first place?!)

I'm just glad my habit of attracting unlikely and bizarre situations actually benefited me for a change...

"Mixed bag, then," I tried to joke.

"Quite. Which is also what your intravenous treatment will be. But before we start the Princess wants to see you..."

He shouted her in, and Cadence entered trailed by Minuette.

"Hello, Shining, are you feeling better?"

"Well, I'm not unconscious right now and I'm not delirious..."

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): And yer replyin' to the right ponies!)

That too.

"You gave everypony a bit of a scare there," Cadence noted.

"Did they think it might have been infectious?"

"No, dummy, we were all worried about you!"

"Er, sorry, but at least it's not a huge problem. As far as I can tell I'll be back on duty by the time we reach Mexicolt," I shrugged.

"Only because it was caught early, and you did kind of accidentally cause us to not trust the documents we have," Minuette cut in.

"Yeah, about that, surely we should have figured out I had missing files before? I've been here twice..."

The Princess and the Hoofmaiden shared a look.

"Uh, not in this timeline, Shining... You weren't injured in Columbia or Zebrafrica," Cadence reminded me. "You did get hit by some black magic in the fight with the cultists, but you recovered before we even got back to the Embassy."

"Oh. Right, that kind of makes sense now..."

Too bad that didn't spare me the embarrassment of Minuette examining my bruised stallionhood since she still remembers...

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): What about the missing files in Canterlot?)

...I've got suspicions. I think it might be lupine. Or just my past hasn't filled in all the way to those moments...kinda hoping it's the latter...

"Anyway, just making sure you're all right, Shining. I imagine Doctor Ulshade will chase us out..."

"You're a Princess though, you can stay if you like."

"Not really, same thing as with ship captains. In here he outranks everypony if he has to," Minuette reminded me.

"Oh. Well then, see you tomorrow or whenever I get out of my induced coma. I guess..."

And with that they left, and the medical staff brought an IV tree... All these needles, like a pine tree...

"What should happen is that you may be aware of what's going on vaguely every few hours while we replace the sedatives, but you probably won't remember it. If you do and it's strange, don't worry too much, this is powerful stuff," Ulshade warned.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Uh oh, are we gonna see some weird dreams?)

Uh... Maybe. You can leave if you want...

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): What we said before still stands.)

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): Or we can get popcorn!)

...Can I have some weird mental popcorn?

My mane was wild and spiky, I was wearing an orange gi with a turtle logo on it and, -what the buck happened to my tail?!-, it's just a stump!

"Son-Shining Armor!" Shouted a stallion with a hair style that resembled a artichoke, "Go ahead and dodge this next attack if you want! But either way this whole planet is going up in smooooooke!!!!"

"WHAT?!"

The other unicorn stallion floated up into the air, and charged up his horn and kept charging, and kept charging, uh-oh.

"Garlic-Gun Fire!"

GARLIC-gun? Is he serious-he's serious! A giant purple laser beam was headed straight for me! Oh! I had been charging up too!

"Kaaaaaameeeee-kaaaaameee-kamehameha!" Wait! I know this neighponese word! I think! ... Turtle. Surf. Deconstruction? I fired a giant white beam from my horn. The two attacks clashed into each other. Now it just came down to whose magic could outmuscle the other. Wait. "Kaio-ken! Times Four!" WHAO! What kind of crazy out of nowhere move was ... well, short angry seems to be on a one way ticket to the upper atmosphere now ... So that worked out.

"...so you see, that's why weird is relative," Pandora explained, us sitting in her weird maze, drinking tea. And you guys are here.

"I see...this is really good tea," I said, drinking some.

"Thanks, it's my own special blend, it tastes different to everypony who drinks it," she explained, drinking some herself.

My Pegasus friend was racing Daring Doo nearby...In general, this was actually the most relaxing but also insane thing to happen to me in awhile...

"Want to visit your Paladin while you're here? He kinda misses you."

"I can do that?"

"Gaffer's entire O&O world is here. It's down that extra dimensional hallway five minutes, then go down the inverted staircase and through the door with you and your friend's faces on it.."

"-ly guys, it's nothing too serious now it's been caught. He should recover before we reach land again."

"Just being friends, Garnet. Though I think Gag's here to see somepony other than the Captain..."

"Yes, of course, Captive, he's clearly here to see Doctor Ulshade(!)"

"At least you lot only showed up once, I gotta put the scancats in their cages just to let Gag in here, and they still hiss their heads off at him. The Princess or one of her hoofmaidens seem to be popping along every ten minutes..."

"Yeah, well, Doc, we all gotta funny feelin' Her Highness is bein' a little more than just a friend if ya get mah meaning...."

"About the only two that haven't actually spotted it are them - and that's despite how blasted obvious it is. Still, I've got a hundred bits in the pool on them figuring it out in a year. And there we go, another fifty mils of his IV. That ought to keep him out another little while..."

"When I was on sedatives I had some pretty weird dreams... I thought I was an octopus, I wondered where my other two limbs had gone when I woke up."

"When were you on sedatives, Sarge?"

"When I was learning to fly, I fought the wall. The wall won."

"Dusky?" I asked my little brother, he had figured out how to teleport, and gone crazy teleporting every which way laughing himself silly, until he teleported on top of a tree branch, which instantly broke, and Dusky forgot how to teleport in his panic attack as the little colt hit the ground and skinned his knees.

"Gleam'!" He cried pressing against me. None of his legs looked broken, I put a force field around them just in case.

"Dusk Shine!" Dad and mom came out to the backyard, seeing Dusky hurt.

"Gleaming Shield!" Dad snapped, the faded violet stallion did not look happy, "You were supposed to watching your little brother! How did this happen young lady?!"

I whimpered under his gaze.

"It ... it ... it was my fault," Dusky said through his tears, "Don't blame Gleam' please."

"There there, there's my brave little stallion," Mom said, the blue mare magically lifting him up. "Don't worry dear, he'll be okay." She nuzzled my little brother.

"You may kiss the bride."

Am I the bride? No? Thank Celestia!

Okay. Whose the lucky mare?

Hey! Why isn't it Cadence?!

I mean, who is this and why am I marrying her?!

Wait. Didn't I date her once? What the buck happened that I ended up marrying her? Where's Cadence? Why is she standing next to Blueblood? Oh right, cousins. Never mind.

"I've already had dinner, Doctor. How is he?"

"Out cold, probably having some strange dreams, stable, nothing to worry about."

"Well, yes, but..."

"Princess, with all due respect I doubt he would be pleased to learn you'd made yourself ill worrying about him."

"I'm an Alicorn, we don't get ill easily!"

"Very true, you're going to quite a lot of effort, ma'am."

"Garnet, is snarking part of basic training or something?"

"Yes, Princess."

"Really wish the whole guard didn't follow a standard manual, I think I'd want to change that one for Harmony Guards..."

"Wait...what?!"

"I'm Twilight the First time displaced from several thousand years ago," Mom explained, seeming frightened.

"...Cool!"

"...Really? I expected more shock."

"I'm a weirdness magnet, this probably explains more stuff than it confuses..."

"Minty, did you paint the town green again?" I asked my sister, looking around the town.

"Yeah!" she announced. "What do you think, Shiny?"

"...If it makes you happy it makes me happy, sis..."

"Yeah! I have the best big sister ever!"

AGAIN with me being a mare?!

"Nurse, just change the IV..."

"B-but we've gone to yellow alert!"

"The sun and moon keep rising and setting every five minutes and somehow a box of parasprites got into the mail, I think that justifies it. Change the IV bags and get some rest. Assuming they've put the bloody shotguns away..."

"Yes, Doctor... Um, bags?"

"Yes, prep a new bag and change the IV. You really are out of it, aren't you? I've heading to the bridge. I expect you to be in your quarters long before I'm back."

Some noise as a few doors opened and closed, hoofsteps neared.

"...seven parts manasupressant? I thought it was two..."

It is two...

"That's a seven. But all the standard bags are two... Oh! That's why I have to prep a new bag!"

Wait, no, you're making a mistake...

"There we go, Captain... At least somepony on board is going to get some decent rest I suppose..."

Oh horseapples...

"Shining! Stop! It's me! Twiley!" My worthless collection of insecurities of a little sister pathetically begged. "This isn't you! You don't want to do this!!!"

"Yes I do!" I boomed. "I do as Nightmare Moon commands me to! There is no SHINING Armor, only BLACKENED Armor! And her night shall last forever!"

I charged up my horn, ready to crush this opposer to Nightmare Moon's little into-

(Dreamer's Notes: STOP IT! Please! NO! That's it Twiley! Keep him off balance!)

"Give up you little coward! You've always been afraid!"

"Yes ... I have ... I've been afraid of hurting everypony around me, mom, dad you ... afraid to lose control, but if I don't stop being afraid." Her eyes turned white. "Then there won't BE an Equestria to begin with!"

+++

"Patrols are easy but boring... Though you're lucky, when you're an officer you don't have to patrol a small area, you'll get to walk around the whole place your platoon is guarding checking on them," my uncle explained.

"How is that lucky? Instead of seeing the same place all night I see everywhere all night?"

"You'll change your tune by the end of tonight, kiddo... Or should that be Kiddet? Get it, 'cos you're a Cadet and..."

"I'm not sure if I should remind you I'll outrank you someday or if I should just point out Mom would hit you for a bad joke like that," I sighed.

"Eh, better than patrols. Nothing ever happens on patrol, every night is the same when it's me and Corporal Bourne doing thi-"

As we turned a corner, a window was open.

"Hang on, this shouldn't be open... Control, this is Three-Two, we've found an open window on the ground floor west corridor..."

I could appreciate the allegedly portable radios meant that we didn't need to split up or leave somepony there to tell the other guards, but, they added so much weight to the armor, not to mention they were bulky... couldn't they made the bloody things any smaller? Maybe that's why they didn't let us Cadets carry any. Still, for something that used to be carried on carts and need a unicorn to power it, maybe I should be thankful they got them this small and had batteries now.

"Roger, close it and search the area."

"Alright, Shining, listen to me and follow what I say exactly, okay? We're to search the area. There's probably not an intruder, someone just forgot to close this window. But we still need to-"

A clanging noise came from nearby. My uncle was rushing towards it. I followed, and we found a decorative suit of barding had been scattered over the floor. Two Diamond Dogs stood beside it, one with a crossbow, the other with a spear.

"Freeze! Drop your weapons!" Uncle shouted, and the bow-dog began to move. A quick blast of stun magic later and he was down, but the spear-dog was running.

"Bourne, after him, do not engage without backup! Control, this is Three-One, intruder alert, have stunned and am restraining one suspect, Guardspony in pursuit of second... Horseapples, Shining, wait!"

I didn't hear him. Why didn't I listen?

I was chasing the dog, too busy with adrenaline to be afraid or even think straight. If I'd had a radio I would hear the general alert being sounded, but confused about where the suspects were. I'd hear that they weren't sure what direction we were going. If we'd had radios on the same frequency as the gardens we'd have heard the guards out there being told about the window.

The radio network was confused, sending teams the wrong directions. Only two ponies even had the suspect's locations and my uncle couldn't stop to radio in for long or he'd lose sight of me and the dog.

Poor communication kills.

And aborts cousins apparently.

I'd followed him into the statue gardens, and he'd used the cover and the shadows here to lose me. I became all too aware of just how much trouble I was in, carrying only a baton and any spell I could use. And then realized I'd entered a dead end.

"Horseapples," I squeaked, turning around, and seeing the dog about thirty feet away in the moonlight.

And he was rushing right at me. I couldn't think, I was frozen in fear... Cowardice, nothing but cowardice...

And then as I was expecting to feel the spear ram through me there was a popping noise and a grunt. Something warm splashed on my face, and the Diamond Dog was rolling away. The spear was sticking out through my uncle, I realized it was blood, my uncle's blood and...

The dog growled and drew a blade. It was advancing, knife drawn...

"You next, small pony! Cut you open..." He cackled.

Anger, fear, anger, fear, anger fear anger fearangerfearangerangerangeranger...

Something inside me snapped.

"No," I seethed. The diamond dog gave a yelp.

I was angry now, and he was afraid. He'd dropped his knife, and I watched as his glee switched to terror. I watched him pound frantically at the shield I didn't know why, in that second, why he'd changed so fast. I didn't even realize my horn was glowing, didn't even see my shield halfway around him, and then it collapsed inwards... For a second there was just a reddening sphere, barely a yelp which was drowned out by the sound of cracking bones splintering. His legs fell down limply, I stared at...at what was let out of my shield when I released it, and then what had happened hit me.

What had I done? Sweet Celestia, what had I done?!

"Uncle, are you all right?!"

Two others arrived to see a half a diamond dog, a bleeding Guardspony, and a Cadet covered in blood.

"Celestia help us... Sergeant? Cadet? What happened...here...Oh buck..."

"Please, help him, he's hurt, he got hurt because..."

"Coke, take him away from here. Control, we need a medic here, fast, Guardspony down, repeat, Guardspony down..."

I realized what Sergeant Sharpe was saying as Cherry Coke began to pull me away.

"No, no! I have to help him, let me help, please, please..."

Two more ponies arrived, Corporal Bourne and Major Audience.

"Sharpe, Bourne, I'll try help Cool Sun, take the cadets away," The Major ordered.

I'd been able to struggle against Cherry myself, but the two adult ponies quickly managed to drag me off, taking me past two arriving medics...

But my uncle was dead before they reached him.

I was sitting at the old gaming table with Gaffer, Poindexter, and 8-Bit. We were traveling the Lost Forest between Puddleton and the Forbidden Castle, in other words, we were ripe for a random encounter before we got the real adventure's front gates. Gaffer was a fair Oubliette Overlord, but like any game master, there was no way to know how much he was really letting the dice fall where they may, and when he was fudging results to steer things along. But Gaffer wasn't one to ever really railroad us, except for that giant ancient red dragon that appeared when we took the left fork in the road that had us running all the way back to town, but Gaffer swears up and down it was purely from the random encounter table.

I wish Twiley could sit in on more of our sessions, her sorcerer brought some much needed magic to our adventure party.

"So what do you think? Haunted castle? Vampires? Orcs? All three?" Poindexter said.

"Don't give Gaffer ideas please," 8-Bit replied.

"Don't worry guys, you know Gaffer wouldn't throw anything at us he thought we couldn't handle," I said.

"Yeah. Have some more faith in me guys."

"Giant ancient red dragon," said 8-Bit.

"I said I was sorry. I kept rolling 100s for the encounter table."

I am so happy they changed that in the new rulebook.

Into the forest we go. Listen to Gaffer's flavor text, listen to the tense rolling of Gaffer's dice. Of course we can't act on outside character knowledge, but we can say how we're traveling through dangerous woods and therefore we would logically be on guard.

"SUDDENLY YOU ENCOUNTER-"

"Drawing sword!" "Drawing axe!" "Draw lute!"

"-a fluffy white rabbit."

"Very funny ha ha," 8-Bit said.

"The dice fall where they may."

"Careful, it's might be a shape shifter, or a huge monster using a lure shaped like a fluffy white rabbit," Warned Poindexter. For the record, there IS a monster like that in the expanded first edition rule books, but it hasn't been updated to the version of the rules we're using, I hope.

"Guys, I swear, it's just a rabbit."

Well, that's a relief. Let's hope we can get to the actual adventure now without any nasty surprises... It's not supposed to jinx it if I don't say it out loud right?

"Now let's hope we can get to the actual adventure without any nasty surprises."

Horseapples.

"Why did you say that out loud?!"

"..."

Facehoofs all around in our party, in AND out of character.

Gaffer started, his body went limp for a second, and then he stared at us like we were empty space.

"Shining Armor's Paladin encounters a wolf," He said emotionlessly.

What?

"You don't mean we encounter a wolf?" Poindexter asked.

"It is Shining Armor who encounters the wolf."

"But we're right next to him right?" 8-Bit asked.

"Yes. But is Shining Armor who encounters the wolf." Then took out a playing-piece from behind his Oubliette Overlord screen, a black, transparent plastic figurine of a snarling wolf.

"I don't recognize that monster from the rule book! I'm using bardic lore!" Even if it was a home brew of Gaffer's Poindexter's bard should turn up something. "HA! I rolled a Nineteen! And with my bonuses, that should tell me-"

The blank wolf.
It follows you. Everywhere.
Every step you take, it takes another.
It follows your path, hunts down your actions.

Blank wolf, tireless hunter.
Blank wolf, perfect tracker.
Blank wolf, never stopping, never resting.

Not white for white is a color.
Not an animal for animals hunt for only for food.

The blank wolf, never tiring, never resting, never stopping.

Blank wolf. Always following. Always hunting.
It never tires. It never falters. It never yields.

It follows you. Without beginning, and without mercy.

Blank wolf. It is not blank, nor a wolf. But no name fits it better.

"Sweet Celestia what did I just say?" Poindexster looked at us, 8-Bit and me were freaked out. "Did either of you guys write it down?" We shook our heads. "Rats." I'm not complaining.

Gaffer didn't seem to notice, his voice was still empty.

"The entire world turns gray around Shining Armor, the world falls silent. The wolf looks upon you with contempt and distain, like your very existence is an intrusion upon continuity and must be obliterated for the good of all."

"Hey there's no need to get insulting with 'em," 8-Bit said and was ignored.

I don't know why but I just felt SCARED. It's hard describe, but it was like instinct. Like something deep down inside me screaming run.

"My paladins runs!"

"HEY STUPID! Don't you know you never split the party!? You want to get mangled by that thing one-on-one? It's a homebrew, you don't know what it can do!" 8-Bit shook me.

"Solo actions do often result in character death without us able to retrieve the body for resurrection," Poindexter pointed out.

"I'm running away!"

"Gaffer, me and Poindexter holding SA to keep him from facing that thing solo!"

"Neither of you can see or hear or remember there is a Shining Armor right now."

"WHAT?! That's stupid! What did Shining do to earn a freakin' grudge monster?" 8-Bit protested.

"If it's effecting our minds, then we get a saving throw! Spell or Polymorph?"

"P-polymorph since it is... technically changing existence." Gaffer grunted out. "But you'd need to roll a twenty-one on a twenty sided-"

"And since Shining Armor is our deep personal companion, and since my bard harbor deeps feelings for him, she should get a bonus!" Poindexter said rule-lawyering like there was no tomorrow.

"R-roll," Gaffer said.

"Stupid barbarian low saves."

"My bard makes it! She tells 8-Bit to grapple what I'm grappling, since I'm interacting with Shining Armor, that should be enough for him to figure out what exactly I'm doing!"

"A-a-allowed," Gaffer gasped out.

"GUYS! Seriously! Let me get away!"

"Away WHERE? We're in the middle of freakin' nowhere! You think your paladin in heavy armor that outrun a ghost wolf thing?"

"... Point."

"Can we see the wolf?" 8-Bit asked.

"No."

Poindexter said, "My bard asks Shining Armor what's scaring him exactly, and to point it!"

"I attack where he's point with my trusty axe!"

"You have no idea what you're attacking!"

"I'll take the penalty for attacking an invisible monster."

Gaffer grumbled. "Roll to attack.... Roll for damage."

"OH YEAH!"

"The... wolf is surprised that you attacked it, and that you hurt it, it is... stunned for one round."

"Singing a song of battle focus here!"

"I take a full round attack at the wolf!"

"... Your attack does nothing. And your axe ceases to exist. Or having ever existed."

"WHAT?! Only good once?! That's freakin' cheating! I'm gonna report this to the O&O Better Gaming Bureau!"

Something seemed off. Griefer was normally not a killer game master...it makes not sense.

"If 8-Bit never had his axe... wouldn't he have logically brought along another weapon? Otherwise it would be a paradox." Poindexter was in top form.

Gaffer growled. "Yes yes, you have, a iron club-"

"Hey! It's my weapon I would have chosen, and I say I'd have spent the money on a spiked mace instead."

Gaffer said some things unprintable. "Now full around attack!"

"... hit. Roll for damage."

"Don't forget the bonuses from my song."

"I won't."

"... All hit. Roll for damage."

8-Bit smiled as the dice rolled high.

"This time the wolf isn't so much surprised as clearly very angry! It eats your mace and-"

"I didn't hear any grapple check rolling." Now 8-Bit was getting in on the act.

The wolf successfully grappled anyway, and that was apparently enough for it to eat 8-Bit's new spiked mace.

"Now you have a butter knife."

"But-"

"A butter knife!"

"Fine! I charge it with the butter knife going for an eye!"

The wolf easily dodges you and leaps over you for it's true target! Shining Armor! You see oblivion itself awaiting you! The empty-outlines of the erased and never-were await you to join them!"

"I TOSS MYSELF IN FRONT OF MY BELOVED PALADIN!"

We all stared at Poindexter. "I mean, she does, she uses herself as a sacrifice to the Blank Wolf, maybe if it erases her, it'll have what it wants, and leave her paladin alone, and if not, she can keep him company in the outerplane of Oblivion."

"... you can't do that."

"Why not? It's within her alignment. And it's been established that she deeply cares for the party's paladin, and-"

"My paladin would never accept somepony sacrificing themselves for him!" I heard myself said, and I totally agreed with it.

"Well, too bad, she's gonna!"

"... but she can't..."

"And why not Gaffer?"

"She... she can't-"

"Give me a reason or let her do it!"

"... The wolf is completely shocked by your actions, its claw accidentally dig into you, and you feel freezing nothingness touch you within, you cry out and fall backwards. .The wolS iS ,befuddleD ,confuseD anD unsurE whaT tO dO nexT iT theN lickS youR woundS healinG theM instantY anD iN thE winK oF aN eyE iT iS gonE... Uuuuuuuuuuuugh." Gaffer laid his head down on the table. "Celestia, what hit me? Guys... What was in that cider last night? Seriously, I feel like a troll danced on my head."

"Cave or forest?" Poindexter asked.

"Cave, definitely cave."

"So... we get experience from all that right?" 8-Bit prodded.

"From what?"

"The big custom super-monster you threw at us from nowhere!"

"Oh, oh right. I'll figure out the numbers at the end of the session."

"Do we even get any loot from that?"

"It's a mysterious, creepy creature from beyond, did you expect it to carry gold pieces?"

"Gelatinous cubes do. And they're just geometric slime."

"8-Bit," I said before Poindexter could, "They carry gold, because they can't digest it, and the adventurers the cube ate before had gold."

"Oh right."

"Besides, we didn't kill it, it fled. So it probably didn't leave any loot."

"Can you guys me a minute? I need a bit of a break here."

"Sorry things didn't go to script?" 8-Bit smirked.

"I don't think it was my script," Gaffer said, looking just plain confused.

"Say what?" I asked.

"Never mind! So you finally arrive at the castle gates."

At that point we noticed the Blank Wolf piece had just vanished. We never did find it again.

"...Seven parts manasuppressant?! Celestia have mercy. I know everypony is saying it's a day of chaos but this is just taking the biscuit!"

"How bad is that?"

"...Very. If his mana is that suppressed and his other doseages are that reduced, well..."

"Well what, Doctor?!"

"...His odds of survival just swapped from nine to one, to one to nine. We swapped the sedatives and changed doses to try counter it, but..."

"Oh. Who are you again?"

"I am the great general-admiral-"

"Blah, blah, can we hurry this up? You're boring me. How could my sister come up with something as boring as you?"

"HOW DARE YOU!"

"Double-dog-dare for the bonus round and maybe I'll get a brand new car!"

"Your arrogance and ignorance disgust me!"

"Hey! Don't steal my lines! Though I would say 'not really holding my attention' more than 'disgust', I mean, dance a jig, sing a song, do something."

"I am not your court jester!"

"Yes sadly I already have a mare reserved for that position. Though your over the top and 'my way or the highway' attitude is rather adorable, nephew."

"ENOUGH!" Death rays shoot from the Cervacorn's eyes, hitting the draconequus head center.

"OOH! YOU GOT ME!" He pulled out a little daisy and spun for a bit, "Oh woe is me! I have been defeated! How horrible! I could never hope to win against you!" He fall on the ground, a tomb stone appearing behind his head.

"And THAT is what happens to morons who are blind to facing and obviously superior enemy!"

Then the draconequus took the head stone and hit the Cervacorn over the head with it. "Ooops! Sorry! Must have forgotten to record that damage on my character sheet! Too bad!"

Disintegration rays, followed by heat vision, ice vision, laser vision, and petrification vision all fired at once from the Cervacorn who grew a third eye just for the occasion. "Ice and stone are your weakness! You could have never defeated me. A fitting end for such a fool."

Then the draconequus he hit turned into a wooden log.

"Wha-?" The Cervacorn bare had time to say before a giant silver platter covering fell on top of him.

"Now that was a piece of cake." The draconequus laughed, and range the cover with a ladle like a gong. He recovered the cover reveal a Cervacorn shaped cake. "You look good enough to eat... but where's the fun in that?"

He then cut the cake into four pieces, and tossed them into four funnels, connected to four live sized equine shaped molds like a 'make your own action figure' kit.

Taking a giant spatula he opened the molds, and popped out the contents. The four equines looked at each other and the draconequus totally confused.

"Hello my four horsemen of the apocalypse! I'm your daddy!...And kinda your uncle! I'm your daddy-uncle!"

"Let me ask an honest question, Shining. Do you think your Uncle would blame you?"

"I... I don't think he would...."

"You said it yourself that he acted to protect you, Shining. Nopony blames you for what happened. It was an event beyond any control. Has anypony blamed you?"

"N-no..."

The magic lie detector gave a beep.

"...Nopony but myself," I clarified, and the beep stopped.

"Do you continue to blame yourself?"

I wasn't sure how to phrase it.

"I... I do... and I don't. I can't really decide."

"That's understandable, Shining. You won't recover from this right away, but it is promising that you're challenging your self-blame. Feeling remorse and grief at what happened is natural, as is to feel guilt, but you understand you weren't to blame, and that Cool Sun died to protect you. It can be hard to overcome the obstacles of grief and guilt. But you're a strong young stallion and I'm confident you can get through this."

I wondered if a nod would set off the detector.

"Doubt is only natural, my little pony. Grief like this is a long road to travel. But you have others with you. Friends and family. They will support your choices, as will I."

I made eye contact with Princess Celestia for the first time I remembered in the sessions without immediately glancing away. I'd been afraid of her eyes, expecting blame, excepting some sign to remind me of what I had... hadn't... done.

But as always, all I would have ever seen was compassion, understanding, love, and support. If I'd looked at my parents, at Twiley, at my friends, at the other guards and officers... I'd have seen it there as well. So why did I see it in every mirror?

"I... I think I'll complete my training and serve the minimum tour of duty, Your Highness," I said.

"That may be for the best. You have worked long and hard to become a Guard officer and you have mentioned your uncle's pride in your efforts. But please don't make the choice on the expectations of others. You are your own pony, Shining. If you wish to cease training now, continue for four years as an officer, or beyond that minimum, that is your choice. I regard your present choice as the best as it is flexible. If you feel you cannot continue you can always seek an early discharge on medical grounds if you see fit. But if you resign now or tie yourself to a minimum, you may regret it later."

"I... I can't just quit. Even if I failed my talent I signed up for at least four years..."

"Hello Sergeant Cool Sun," said the pretty pink Earth pony in front of the unicorn. Hadn't he been impaled by a spear a minute ago? How had he ended up from his patrol route to... whatever this white void was? The teenage mare in front of him was wearing a big black hooded shroud and carrying a scythe. She also had a blond mane and pretty blue eyes. She also wore a wedding ring. "It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Starlight. I'll be your guide this evening."

"Okay. First, nice to meet you Miss Starlight. But where am I? Is my nephew, I mean the guard I was with okay?"

"Shining Armor is unharmed. You don't need to worry about him. He can take care of himself, and he has friends who can look after him when he can't. And you don't need to be professional if you don't want to be, feel free to call him your nephew."

"Well, thank you for the compliment, but where am I?"

"... This part is never easy. I'm sorry." She put a hoof on his shoulder. "You didn't survive being impaled by that spear Cool Sun... you died."

"This... is a coma dream right? From the blood loss?"

"Have you ever seen me before? And would a pony like you imagine an angel of death having such a cute face -if I dare so say myself-? And wouldn't you imagine something more interesting than an empty white void?"

"I don't believe in you."

Nothing happened.

"Did you expect that to actually work? If I exist, then why would tell me I don't exist, cause me to not exist?"

"... Well, if I was imagining you. So... that's it huh?"

He looked down at his uniform and saw a new medal. 'A Lunar Horseshoe? When did I earn that?'

He also noticed another one that he didn't recognize at all but the name seemed to still be in his mind. It looked like a pair of angelic wings with an amethyst gem in the center. 'Pensilis' Blessings? Who the hay is Pensilis?'

"I'm afraid so." Starlight decided to leave out that Cool Sun had not been on her list of ponies who she was supposed to be greeting into the next world today. "But don't worry about your nephew. Thanks to your sacrifice, he's fine and he's going to go on to do great things!"

"I'd NEVER doubt it, not for a second, but how can you be so sure?"

"The way your nephew lives... unique." Suddenly they were in a collage office library with a nice warm fire...Just missing the Diamond Dog who'd killed him arriving and being swallowed whole by Havoc. "Sit down please, this'll take a while to explain and Pensilis and the Father are waiting to meet you."

"An honest mistake, that's all it was."

"Doesn't matter to her, does it? She's the one who made it. "

"Nopony blames her. If anything I should have done it before I went to the bridge. This has been a rotten day..."

"It's meant to be all over back home, Doctor. The Elements won."

"Yeah. But we're not out of the woods here yet, are we..."

I was surrounded by strange-feeling trees, the air smelt funny, and the sky above felt threatening - and not just because of the helicopters buzzing around. And this voice calling herself 'Firefly One', claiming she knew I was a unicorn pony, how could I trust her?

...It felt like there wasn't any magic around. It felt like I wasn't talking to a pony or a griffin or...

"It doesn't matter if you trust me, Captain, because right now, you're a white-coated pony, in golden and metallic purple armor, in a green forest, at night with a full moon and low cloud cover. The bad guys aren't going to have trouble spotting you," a female voice said in my radio.

"...They have night vision?"

"Very likely, but we found you first. You have three options. Wait for and trust our backup, trust what directions we give you to get you to safety to wait for our guys, or run around like a headless chicken and find yourself in a lab with electrodes up your nose if you're lucky."

"How is that lucky?!"

"There are worse places they can go. Now, you gonna wait on our ground team out in the open or follow my directions to get a place to hide?"

"Where do I need to go?"

"Head to your northeast, along the stream. That area is clear and the two helis are looking the other way right now - they'll not want to get much closer to the base, especially with me around. Follow the stream, dodge any patrols heading along and you'll reach the edge of a farm with apple orchards. They'll not get too close to private property. You'll be heading to the smaller ranch to the west. And don't fall in the damn well like the last pony who visited..."

"Huh?"

"Nothing. When you get to the ranch, hide in the barn. TJ won't mind, don't spook him though, he's old. Also, don't try talking to him, trust me on that one."

I went down to the stream, noting that it was in a small enough valley to give decent shadows to hide in... if I wasn't white-coated and so on.

"Keep going, you're clear. No traffic on the roads...

I reached the ranch, seeing a covered well near a blue barn. I cautiously took a look down the well...

"Hey! I told you, don't fall down the well. Go to the barn. And close the door behind you."

I did as told, and was rather surprised to find a fairly large brown stallion inside. He looked very strange, tall and lanky with very small eyes, but mindful of instructions not to spook him or try and talk to him, I just closed the door and sat down. He ignored me back.

"Second Lieutenant Sparkle, isn't it?" The Sergeant said.

"Y-Yes, sir...geant, sergeant... "

He didn't comment on the slip-up

"Welcome to Border Security. Was much explained to you, Sir?"

"There was a guidebook, but it seemed a little... out of date," I admitted.

It referred to a number of griffin kingdoms that had ceased to exist, for instance...

"Yeah, you'll find that, Lieutenant. Border Security is largely civilian run by the Home Office and the Treasury these days - passport control, customs and excise. I have to say I'm a little surprised to get a rookie though, sir. You're only just graduated, yes?"

"Yes, Sergeant. Why is it surprising?"

"Well, border security at Canterlot Aerodrome for Guards is normally a position retiring guards and officers look for. Our last section commander was a Major with ten weeks to retirement. You're the first officer who'll not retire before the end of your six month assignment."

"I see. Well, I volunteered for the role as..." it seemed a secure job where I'd just stamp passports for six months then they'd let me sit in an admin role for the next three years "...it seemed like it offered useful experience."

"True, sir, very true, though most seeking a permanent admin role in the service try to go for embassy or main CSI assignments. All we really do here is double-check what civilian workers do sometimes, stamp the odd passport through if there's a discrepancy, and pretty much just stand guard. Most of the troopers won't be here too long, Sir."

"I understand. How long are you staying, Sergeant?"

"What time is it?"

"Half past seven."

"Then I'm staying about eleven hours though we've got lunch break at one. Still, should be enough time to get you up to speed on the job, Sir."

"Only eleven hours?"

"No, I mean before lunch. It's a quiet and simple job, Sir."

I heard a growl, but my eyes wouldn't open.

"...vulnerablE, abberatioN. nO trickS tO defenD yoU noW. returN heR lighT..."

No... no, that's not... I don't... I can't go now. I can't...

"...Who?"

"What do you mean, who?! He's your only patient!"

"Ah, I... I'm s-sorry, Princess, we're just... confused..."

"...I know, I'm sorry. This isn't a good day for anypony..."

A growl of frustration.

"...yoU cheaT fatE agaiN. buT nonE escapE thE wolF..."
"The good news is, he's improving, but the bad news is he's showing signs of heavier fever again. We've done all we can, it's up to him now."

"Then he'll be fine. Shining doesn't give up that easily."

My legs feel as skinny as sticks, my hooves feel bigger than my head. My hide felt so rough and dry under my fur. I could feel my brain inside my skull. My bed is too hot. The air is too cold. I try to get up, I fall back down, mom hefts me back into bed. The shadows on my curtain. They're moving. They're waiting for me to go to sleep. My curtains are really ghosts waiting for me to sleep. Spiders under my bed. They'll crawl up, wrap me up, and drag me back under the bed. The shadows want to eat me! Outside. There are lizard ponies in disguise outside. But are which? Is mom one? Dad. Where are you? The stars are going to fall out of the sky and hit the house! Why is everything so hot and so cold at the same time? Cockatrice! It's waiting outside my door! H-help me. My teddy. You're not with them too are you?! My blankets. Are they trying to cook me? He-he-halp-help! I'm melting. Why won't the pain stop?

I hear noises. Soft noises. The soft noises are warm. The soft noises are warm and gentle. The soft noises are warm and gentle make me feel safe. The soft noises are warm and gentle make me feel safe, but I can't understand what they are saying. No. Wait. They're singing.

posey is a pony with a pretty garden
tootsie is a lollipop girl
cherries jubilee makes rainbow garlands
bow tie loves ribbons and curls

applejack is such a silly pony
she's doing everything that she should not
and if there's lots and lots of strawberry ice cream
then lickety split will eats up all you got

cause they are
my little ponies, they're happy and gay
and they wave to their friends as they pass on their way
with a clippety clop and a hip hip hooray
i'm so happy with my little ponies
so happy with my little ponies
my little ponies

Yes. Because I'm her little pony... I'm their little pony...

And I dream of ponies who are happy for the sake of being happy, of little bug ponies who are helpful for the sake of being helpful, and fish-ponies who sing for the sake of singing. And all of them, don't want anything from, except my friendship.

"Shining... Shining can you -er me? Shining -or? Mother's right here."

I open my eyes, everything is so bright and blurry. There was a silhouette in front of me, it was... "M-mom?"

"It's me sweetie."

"W-what happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"Just, singing."

"Ah. That would be what you'd remember... your fever broke last night dear. We were worried- can you see me?"

"Yes."

"Wonderful! We were worried you might have gone blind from the fever, or blind, or both, but- but you're okay! Oh my beautiful and bright Shining Armor you're okay. I was so scared..." Mom gave me the world's biggest hug. "My little pony. I... I need to tell everypony you're alright."

"Mom. Can you please, not go? Just for a little while?"

"Alright Shining, just for a little while..."

I blinked my eyes as I awoke.

Soft singing? How is that meant to work as an alarm clock song?

Ugh, don't want to get up... it's warm and comfortable here..

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): You're back!)

Where was I? Wait, where am... Oh. Sickbay. I got worse didn't I? They actually did mess up my meds and almost kill me?

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Yes Shining...but it wasn't entirely their fault...)

Cadence must have been worried...

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Why not ask her? That singing isn't an alarm clock...)

Oh. Sitting by my bed, singing.

"Uh, hello, Princess..."

I regretted speaking for a second as she stopped singing.

"You're awake!" She said, hugging me.

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): Ah didn't get that song she was singin', never heard it before...)

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): He's a little busy, heh...)

"So, uh, I guess you were worried..."

"Worried sick, between you and... It's been a bad day, Shining."

Something else happened...

"Shining, there was an incident back home. A creature called a draconequus escaped and began causing chaos across Equestria, and it even sent trick packages to us and a few embassies around the world... Parasprites, postcards that... made everypony that saw them go mad and grey. But we were lucky. I could cure everypony, and well, once I got rid of the postcards and we convinced the marines to put the shotguns away I managed to round up the parasprites too. But the radios just kept playing strange messages..."

Discord.

"Has... Has Princess Celestia stopped it?"

"No, Shining, it was Twiley and her friends. The Elements of Harmony. I knew before everypony else, I felt it."

It's a good thing I felt tired and I was already lying down, because I would have shouted and/or fainted otherwise...

"...This is a long story isn't it? Me being sick and what Twiley did?"

She nodded.

"...Start with what happened back home."

And so Cadence explained to me what had happened on what was already dubbed 'the day of chaos'...

Author's Notes:

Story Arc written by LZ0291 lz0291.deviantart.com/
This chapter was written by me (Alex Warlorn) and LZ.

Shining Armor is given a two year tour of the world to be the captain of Princess Cadence's body guard. Yeah. That's all. That's everything Yep. Nothing what so ever else. *AJ's Liar face*

Previous http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Pony-POV-Light-World-38-The-Connection-425052184

Next Chapter: http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Pony-POV-Series-Shining-Armor-No-More-Script-426815828

First Chapter: http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Pony-POV-Series-Fluttershy-FlutterCruel-Pearls-260092460

"Time is an ocean in a storm."

This storyline runs PARALLEL to the events in the Dark World storyline narrative wise.

Please help the trope http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Fanfic/PonyPOVSeries
And recap pages. http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/PonyPOVSeries (please?)

Check out the recursive fanfiction and fanart of the Pony POV Series! http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/journal/MLP-FiM-PonyPOVSeriesFanworks-audio-adaption-2013-349281264 Many of it approved by me as canon.

Be sure to join our Group for a TON of recursive works, many a part of optional canon!!! http://mlp-pony-pov-series.deviantart.com/

AND! Be sure to check season zero and season one's fanlabor pages! PLEASE! THey need lots of work! As does our recap page on TVTropes! Please! Help people who are new to the series get caught up with updating the recap page!!
http://mlpfanart.wikia.com/wiki/Pony_POV_Series_Season_Zero:_Discorded_Ponies
http://mlpfanart.wikia.com/wiki/Pony_POV_Series_Season_One:_Reharmonization

MLP: FiM is copyright of Hasbro

Cover Image By Mksfan14 http://mksfan14.deviantart.com/art/CadencexShining-Armor-In-Sickness-and-in-Health-335518967

LYRICS ARE FROM "7 SONGS AND A STORY" OF MLP G1 FAME! It's where AJ's famous whose a silly pony? song came from! So check it out on youtube already!!

Soundtrack Reccommendations
Not An Alarm Clock Song...
Chocolate Rain, Tay Zonday
Patrol Is Easy
Sarge's Theme, Mark Thomas, Dog Soldiers
"Shining Armor's Paladin encounters a wolf"
No Ordinary Enemy, Mark Thomas, Dog Soldiers
Hello Sergeant Cool Sun
The Death of Vladimir, Johan Skugge & Jukka Rintamaki, Battlefield 3