My Little Pony Friendship is Magic
Pony POV Series
"Shining Armor"
Chapter 22
emiT fO sdnaS-Sands Of Time

Three Months later
Six Months Since The Day Of Chaos
A Year And a Half Since Princess Luna's Return

(Friend's Notes(Earth Pony): Hey! I finally found all our old notes from The Day Of Innocence!)

Oh right. Then. All we got in the mail that day were stuffed animals, video-games, candy, and comic books. Not that many were complaining.

(Friend's Notes(Pegasus): Be happy we can hitch ourselves to your position in the timestream, or you'd have been dealing with our regressed selves then.)

Fluttershy's possessed self got you too!?

(Friend's Notes(Earth Pony): It wasn't so bad, I had two sisters I could play with all day. You guys could have probably all done with a day of innocence yourselves.)

And leave Cadence all alone to foal-sit that many foals at once for a day? I pray I'm never that cruel. Of course, I think Thunderchild now gets the newsletter from the cult that's sprung up around Twilight's friend. At least they act more on peace and love than Nightmare Moon.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Fluttershy wouldn't LET them act on anything else.)

Element of Kindness I guess, makes sense.

Even if I worried about Twilight, it honestly is almost reassuring she has the whole 'attract weird situations' thing too, since then at least I know it was a family thing and not just me.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Took you long enough to figure out. Your ancestor is Twilight the First, your sister is the student of a sun goddess and Element of Magic, Spike's a member of an ancient, respected dragon family, and your family spawns soapboxes whenever they give lectures.)

What about mom and dad?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): They gave birth to you and Twilight.)

Oh...

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): And your mom's books.)

Right.

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): And that one time with the silver tea pot.)

Yeah that was...I don't even know what that was about...

Cadence hasn't chosen a new hoofmaiden yet. Running Gag has pretty much taken over Sunset's job of being Cadence's messenger with rotating shifts with Thunderchild. Cadence has promised to hire a new hoofmaiden for the position when we get back in Canterlot, but I think Running Gag feels a bit better being able to fill in for a fallen friend. He took it hard...we all did.

One of our transfers on board ship who was selected to fill in Ranger's spot in his squad was a pegasus Lance-Corporal named Carpenter Bee. I didn't remember him from the old timeline, so he might have been one of Makarov's victims either directly or otherwise. He seemed eager to learn about me and Cadence, but otherwise didn't seem to socialize much. Apparently relatives of his, Honey Bee and Killer Bee, served under chief of the security services, Long Haul, while another, Bumblebee, was part of the day guard proper.

At Cadence's personal request, we set up a memorial wall for Sunset and Ranger inside the Invincible. I only pray I never need to see a single name ever added to it

(Friend's Notes(Unicorn): Shining, we understand how you more than you could possibly imagine.)

Whoever it was, they were somepony very dear to you weren't they?

(Friend's Notes(Unicorn): More than you can know.)

And you didn't see it coming either?

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): No...not at all.)

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): ...One of them...she died because of us...It was just a stupid accident...one stupid mistake and next thing we knew she was dying...)

...I know how that feels too.

While I was in Canterlot I did stop with mom, dad, Cherry Coke and the others, and with Gaffer and 8-Bit, when I got the chance...without Twilight there I needed someone to talk to. They were all there for me, like family and friends should be. I think Cadence talked to her parents too.

Twinkle Shine has barely spoken to me since, since we left Canterlot. She sticks with Minuette with the loyalty of a guard dog and the eyes of a hawk, she's more than happy to give Minuette and Audience their space though. What Twinkle Shine said to me?

(Friend's Notes(Pegasus): You are not going to say you went three months without thinking about it without giving yourself a brain tumor.)

No, I've thought about it.

Ranger and Sunset...they never got to get married, Ranger never got to meet her parents...And it was so sudden, just like that, and they were gone. That's how quick it can happen some times...Like with my uncle...He never got to meet Athena's mother in our timeline.

Death doesn't wait for your big day or even for you to meet Mrs. Right.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): That's the hardest part of Death's job, Shining.)

I don't blame him...her...it...whatever gender it is.

Point is...if Twinkle Shine's right...every day it doesn't happen is a day risking it never happening at all...or Mr. Wrong coming along and stealing her away...But...

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): But?)

But what if I'm not Mr. Right? What if someone else is supposed to be? I was never supposed to exist. what if I'd be stealing her from her Mr. Perfect? I saw too much of you-know-who butting into other pony's stories.

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

No 'you're wrong, Shining?'

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): It's...hard to explain, Shining. There are many paths life and fate may take. In two separate lines, Applejack met two DIFFERENT loving husbands and had children, in yet another she married them both at some point in her life or another and was happy and faithful with them both. In our line, she never met either of them. She doesn't even have a coltfriend.)

That's all well a good for her...but Applejack is SUPPOSED to be here.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): That doesn't change the fact that for two very similar Applejacks, Mr. Right wasn't the same pony.)

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): I'd tell you all's fair in love and war, but you're too much of a nice guy accept that reality.)

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): But Shining, you're Candy's white knight. It's a perfect happily ever after!)

Ponies shouldn't fall in love because 'fate says so.' Nopony likes it when two ponies fall in love with no foreshadowing, and without any development beforehoof. It makes it feel like they only love each other because the AUTHOR says they are, rather than anything they do together! Have fun together. Enjoy the same hoofball games. Both get annoyed at Gag's jokes. Comfort each other when you lose a friend. Feel better just by being around that person. Caring about whether they're happy or not.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): It's the wolf isn't it?)

Yes it's the wolf! If Cadence and I are in love and we touch each other's hearts, and the wolf makes me go poof, what about Cadence?! Even if Celestia DOES erase her memories of me, -and I don't know if she could or would, you don't think I don't know use of semantics when I see it after all the politics I've been around?- will Cadence's feelings somehow stay behind? Either way, if I'm gone, and she can never have me, and a perfectly decent, considerate, and unrelentingly nice stallion comes along who just wants her to be happy, would she never give him the time of day, simply because she refuses to be happy with anyone but me who never existed? What right do I have?

...That's why I'm happy that we're on Ponsia's doorstep. The monks back in Neighpon said if I could find an answer that could help, it was here. It's all or nothing now. Either I find my answer here. Or I spend the rest of my life being within the influence of a Princess. I won't tell Cadence things that'll just cause her pain if I'm just going to go poof right after telling her! If I can change my fate, then ...Well ...Who can say? ...Gonna get some sleep first. You know ...I think I've gotten used to dreaming my past as it happens ...Well, night.

+++

I'll admit, it's stupid. But a part of me can't help but feel I failed, that we all failed Twilight Sparkle and Princess Celestia somehow. Me, Minuette, Moondancer, Lemon Hearts, we'd been trying for years to get Twilight out of her shell. While Spike certainly warmed up to us, (Moon Dancer feels maybe a little too much), Twilight kept us all at hoof length. Those books were about the only company she had besides her brother and Spike twenty-four-seven.

I once gave those dorks who were harassing Twilight over those 'Molestia' tabloid stories a piece of my mind and a few good licks. We still never became true friends.

And when she's sent off to Ponyville, after the dust settles, we learn that Twilight had to make friends to save the world. Five of them. Anti-social Twilight. We had been trying to reach her, and in the space of one danger filled night, five country ponies manage to do what we, Celestia's students, had been trying for years. What the hay is wrong with us? Were we trying too hard? Were we not trying hard enough?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): You didn't have the advantage of being complete strangers who followed her into battle with the Goddess of the Moon.)

I know, but still! They did in a day what we've been trying for years? Come on!

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): You were...handicapped by being her classmates. She may have believed you were trying to get on her good side with Celestia. By following her into danger, her friends proved they weren't. An opportunity you didn't have.)

...I guess that makes sense. Doesn't mean it doesn't stink though.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): But you HAVE been following her favorite foalsitter and BBBFF into danger time and again, proving your loyalty to them extends beyond your job.)

Yeah...I suppose. Maybe when I get home I can try again. I would like to be her friend someday...

+++

I spoke with Auntie in private after the funeral. She wasn't surprised to see me, and she knew what I wanted to talk about.

"I knew we'd talk about this one day my little pony. A part of me is surprised that we have been able to last as long as we have without you coming to see me with these needles on your hearts. I almost feared I would soon have to speak to you about it whether you came to me first or not."

" ...Ranger and Sunset. Auntie I know ponies die, I know ponies die in wars, I know the risks guards, that everypony takes risks when they lay their lives on the line for others, I know that. But ... after learning the world I lived in before had been twisted by that monster, and seeing the world as a more peaceful, saner place ...I thought the worst was all behind me. But, Ranger and Sunset's deaths, they were so meaningless, they had already saved that pilot, they didn't need to die to stop that storm. They weren't fighting weather gremlins. There was no monster here. There was no point to it!"

" ...death is always pointless my little pony, that is the point."

"Then all the guards who died in wars died pointless death?!"

"Cadence, that is not what I meant."

"Then what did you mean?!"

" ...There is always more a pony could have done if they had lived longer. Regardless of what some ponies think, there is always somepony somewhere who is saddened when they die."

"Then why have death at all?!"

" ...Spiritually, it's because this world is just one step in the journey. Scientifically, it's a fundamental law that everything in this universe eventually ends. And without that law in place, reality would twist and spiral into an inequine shape where life would cease to be life. While a soul's memory is infinite, the physical brain isn't. It has a maximum it is capable of holding. And..."

She looked at me sadly. "Imagine if somepony found themselves bound and left at the bottom of the ocean. Or were crippled with a horrible disease that wracked their body with unending pain. Or simply their bodies wore out and are breaking down. For these poor souls, they greet Death with a smile. That is the benevolence of this law, my niece: it allows suffering to end..."

I shuddered. I imagined...those poor dragons exposed to that maniac's poison gas. Or the pegasi and griffins who Shining saw fall from the sky. What if they hadn't been able to die? The thought made my blood run cold.

"...Sadly, like every rule, there are exceptions that slip through: that is the beauty of immortality."

"Auntie, what are you saying?"

" ...I knew I'd have to spell this out for you eventually Cadence, it is my responsibility. Cadence, how old do you think I am? And how much longer do you think I am going to go on living?"

"I ...I'm not sure, the history books and legends all say you're at least a thousand years old. But what does this have to do with anything?"

"I do not wish to hurt you worse than you've already been hurt Cadence, and otherwise I'd wait a few more years or until you had made your choice of who to love, but circumstances have forced me that you be at least informed of the truth. I despise having to twist the knife, but you might be forced to face reality sooner than later."

"Auntie what are you getting at? What does this have to do with Ranger and Sunset?"

"Their deaths, are how deaths normally are, random, sudden, swift, an unforeseen. You must learn to treasure the lives of those around you while you can, because you don't know when you will be separated from them. Or you will begin to see their lives only as flowers that bloom and die in a day, and cease to see them as ponies. That is something you must NEVER do. Because Cadence..." Auntie looked like she was about to cry almost. "...Alicorns are immortal."

I see in shock. I had known that. I had always known that. I mean, Auntie had been around for so long it only made sense but ...but ...but ...I had never ...I never ...she was CELESTIA ...she was the everlasting sun! She was as old as the sky! This was ...I couldn't be ...but ..."Auntie, please tell me ...PLEASE ...there is a way around this ...please?"

"Cadence, you can not change what you are. You can MASK it, but you can't CHANGE it. You are music Cadence, you as everlasting as the concept of melody and song in ponies' hearts. Your life, will not simply wink out when the one you care for the most moves on."

Shining Armor.

"So, even if nothing happens to them, Twinkle Shine, Minuette, Spitfire, all the ponies I know ...I'll still have to . . . watch them just grow old and ...while I stay whole?"

"I am sorry Cadence. It is what I have endured. It is a reality your Aunt Luna will soon have to face as well I fear, when she opens up to ponies, and realizes they won't be around forever, while she will be.... I've had to watch many students, many loved ones ...many ponies whom I shared love with ...simply move onto the next world while I remain a prisoner of this world. It will always be painful Cadence, but believe me when I say, if you try to shut you heart, it'll be a hundred time worse."

" ...Auntie, have you ever been in love?"

"Yes."

"Did you lose him too?"

" ...yes I did. And it was more painful than you can imagine. I've in fact loved more than once Cadence. And they are each special to me. In a way, I had to watch my first love die twice. We are ponies Cadence, our hearts are special, there is always more room, any pony who says there is no room in their heart is a liar. Cadence, I am sorry I have had to tell you this, on today of all days ...but unless you understand the full truth of your grief, it will devour you ...the unfairness of death, a long long time ago, once consumed me."

"Would a world without death, really be so awful?"

" ...Maybe, maybe not, for creatures who were born to die, death is a part of their lives. To appreciate life is to appreciate death. And above everything, remember this Cadence, death is not oblivion. It is only a step in a journey."

"A journey I can't join somepony with."

"We are different. Whether we like it-" Auntie sighed, "-or not. I am sorry I have had to tell you this, so you might not do something reckless, as those with wounded hearts tend to do, but please, I beg you, do not be afraid to open your heart to others because of this ...you will not be happier for it. Trust me when I say that."

"...But Cadence...for what comfort it is...You will never forget them. Your memory, even if the brain is physical, is eternal. Alicorns can never forget because our power, our Concept, IS us. Sometimes this is a horrible curse, as you may find it when it comes to that damaged world...But it can also be the greatest blessing we have. Your memories of them will ALWAYS be yours to treasure. The fog of ages can never rob you of their memory. So please, treasure those memories forever my niece."

I thanked Auntie for her time, we spoke formal partings, and I left her company ...I had a lot to think about. Shining Armor. Everypony. I think a part of me is afraid.

+++

What did Queen Tiamat's head speak to me about? It wasn't about how to organize her treasure horde by age, weight, and karat value.

"We see, we never thought we would lay eyes on yet another of your kind."

"I don't know what you mean your highness."

"Do not play games with me, pony, you stink of those who crowned themselves lords of time in their arrogance. And the scent of death trails behind you like a wedding gown."

"I am not him."

" ...Interesting ...So this is how it is. Most interesting. Do not presume too much little lady of clocks. Your thread of fate and his are one and the same. As long as he exists, your future is delicate. It is the nature of the seal upon his essence, it shall stay with you forever, temping you, speaking to you, wearing you down, you will be drawn back to it like a moth to a flame, and it will haunt you like your own shadow."

"I can hold him."

"Can you now, governess of stopwatches, and quarter hours?"

"I have those who care about me, and who I care about. I won't let myself vanish, solely so he can bring suffering to them. I know what he can do. I'm never letting him free."

"He holds power you do not, baronesses of time tables and calendars, he holds knowledge and wisdom you do not, suzerain of hourglasses. Your heart still carries his craving for order, and the power to bring about that order."

" ...Can ...can you destroy it?"

"If we could, we would eat it, and you where you stand, regess of half-past noon. But the watch carries with it a design and drive of its own open or not, it will twist fate so an unwitting vessel will find it, and open it just enough to return to you. The only reason we do not consume you to be reborn and digested over and over in our stomach is our truce with Celestia. And we do not wish to get food poisoning. Clockwork princess."

I shuddered with how Tiamat said, she hadn't been joking, Celestia's protection WAS the only thing keeping me alive where I stood. And knowing the monster that was locked in my watch...I couldn't blame her.

" ...are you saying I'm doomed?"

" ...Hmmmmm.... Not so much as another in your party is. You're more 'inevitably ill-fated' than doomed."

"So no but yes? Queen Tiamat, please...I don't want to become him again...But I don't want to die...I want to protect everypony I care about from him. They're...my hoard and I want to keep them safe."

I didn't dare DEMAND she tell me what I want to know.

She actually SMILED at that.

"Such determination to protect what's yours. Many would have run the moment we threatened to devour them. How adorable. Well, there's a chance your experiences and personality MIGHT affect his nature and outlook on life, resulting in seeing the evil he has done for what it is and seek repentance, but I wouldn't bet on it. Though there is the logical possibility your stronger spiritual and emotional bonds to others than yourself, and your strength of heart and will, might lead you to absorbing him instead of the other way around, as in this world, unlike the one he hails from, such things do have great power ...Though either is a gamble. Know this, your prisoner? As long as he exists, he shall shadow you."

+++

Another day, another day of high school. Okay, check, do I have all of my books with me?
History of Equestria Senior Edition, check.
Classic Flugelhorn Marches and Tangos, blech, sadly yeah.
Advanced Placement Calculus, the answer is yes.
Composition, check.
Royal Guard Cadet Program, mega check!

Have my friends with me? Check. Now, just get to class.

Back in my high school days huh? Well, at least everything looks to be normal for once. Heh, creepy mutt must have trouble finding me among all the other weirdos in high school!

Then one of my friends trips 'accidentally' thanks to the captain of the Canterlot Academy polo-team, and down we go into a dog pile.

It's stunning to see how that jerk Buck Withers matured, or that he married one of Cadence's old circle. His wife must have nagged him into a gentlestallion.

How did I end up on the bottom of the pile? Ugh. You guys are heavier than you look! Off off!

"Oh here, let me help you up."

Wait. I know that voice. But that's-

I looked up into the eyes of an angel. I could even see her halo. Though that might have been the overhead lamps. She was cute, pretty, beautiful, and drop dead gorgeous. She was so cool, she was so hot. She was so amazing, so was so spectacular! Young me! Stop with the 2-D descriptions! There's so much more to her than that! Stop using so many words to describe what you can sum up! She was a vision. That's better. She was so cute with that mane and tail bow. Okay, she is. And her mane cut is pretty bonny too. The way she smiled warmly at me, the pleasantness in her pretty purple eyes ...Sweet Celestia was I really this corny? She's my princess! I've found the mare who's going to be my Very Special Somepony! Wait! What?!

Why hadn't I noticed it before? We'd seen each other before, she foalsits Twiley? Oh well, doesn't matter! All that matters is she's an angel!

I got told later Princess Celestia, to make sure Cadence didn't turn out a spoil brat like some of her relatives, on top of having Cadence foalsit, also had her parents make Cadence attend Canterlot Academy instead of a fancy private school. Of all the royal commands Princess Celestia had made, this one made me wish she was elected just so I could vote for her! Hold on a second! I couldn't have-

And we're going to live happily ever after, and live in a pretty crystal castle- Okay now I'm delusional. Am I imagining that in crayon?! OH COME ON! I'm not that bad an artist!

Princess Cadence ...I'm going to make you Princess Cadence my Very Special Somepony.

Hey! You can't MAKE her yours you dumbbell! She isn't some prize you can win! Don't you care about how Cadence feels about it you idiot?! Wake up Shining Armor! Wake up right now!

I woke up, before the alarm. I turned off the radio before I had to endure whatever weirdo ironic song I was going to get stuck this time.

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): Caaaaan, yooooou feeel, the loooove toooonight-)

Cut it out!

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Rest well Shining?)

That memory, it ...it couldn't have been real.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Oh it was real alright.)

But I couldn't have ...

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): You couldn't have had a crush on Cadence on sight, then, after not seeing her for years, working so hard to achieve your dreams of becoming a royal guard, not seeing your old friends for years and making new friends and new hobbies, forgotten about it in the rush of everything. Only to fall in love with her all over again?)

NO! How the Tartarus could my feelings for her have ever been so bucking SHALLOW?! All that me talked about almost was her looks! He didn't weather Cadence would find him attractive or not! HE decided he and Cadence were going to be together?! That's stupid! Where does Cadence's feelings come into that equation!?

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): ... Shining. Calm down. Breath. Stop. Think. Don't give yourself a heart attack. and get off that soapbox.)

Oh. Sorry. Dang it, it's going to be hard to get this out of my bedroom.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Shining, there is a reason that ponies take not of their appearances, because it's what everypony sees first. Cadence is open about who she is on the inside. Kind. Loving. Considerate. Mature. She shines that light wherever she goes.)

But I saw her as some... perfect image, like she was something I could own.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): No. You didn't. You simply had a high ideal of what it meant to be someone and what it meant to fall in love.)

Are you listening to me? That me was so, superficial.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): First, he wasn't, he simply had a very addled brain from suffering from suddenly being in love. Second, everything starts somewhere, flowers start from seeds. Ponies get to know each other, they learn about each other, they find their common ground, their find each other's virtues and how they compliment each other. Buck saw Cadence being with him as natural simply because he was a top athlete, like it was his RIGHT to have her. You? ...You'd get to know her, you'd get to understand her little by little. Isn't that what you've done this last year and a half? Getting to know her? Heck, you'd already known her fairly well by then.)

But why didn't I fall in love with her when she came to foalsit Twilight?! Or on our trips together?! Why did I fall in love THEN if it wasn't just with her looks?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Who were you with when you'd seen her before that?)

Twiley...

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): And who have you ALWAYS put first? Who is the one pony who when she's around, was always your priority to protect and make sure she was as happy as possible?)

...Twiley...

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Isn't it possible that when Twilight was there, you were more concerned about her well being? That you wanted to make sure Cadence was a good foalsitter to her your mind didn't process it? And when you saw her for the first time WITHOUT Twilight being present, without having her to concern yourself over and devote yourself to as much as Applejack devotes herself to her family, it finally clicked because for once you were able to solely on Cadence without any distractions?)

...I guess that made sense...Okay, why are YOU on a soapbox now?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Not important, what IS important is even if what you had before could be called a crush, can you really say what you feel for Cadence is just a crush, or do you think what you feel is just duty?)

...No, I can't say it's just a crush....

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Now look outside your window.)

...Dawn.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): Every morning is a new day. What matters right now is what you feel about Cadence, and why you feel those things now. Remember that Shining Armor.)

Right. Thanks. Okay Ponsia. Princess Cadence and company are here. Let's find out what truth is waiting for me.

++++

The wolf stood atop the Invincible, the beast looking at the rising sun over the city.

".yoU shalL neveR leavE thiS lanD alivE ,shininG armoR"

+++

We'd gone through much of Equrope, from Prance with wounds from our losses still raw, to the mostly Diamond Dog nation of Latveria (where despite being called Von Doom, President Dr. Von Doom was a surprisingly nice guy).

We'd been at so many places and that dream just reminds me of how many of them were romantic places for some reason. The Eyeful Tower in Hayris, the Battenburg Gate in Marelin, The Leaning Tower of Pizza, The Neigh Camp in Marecelona...

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): One of those things is not like the other, Shining, Neigh Camp is a stadium, that's not remotely romantic.)

It is if you're both Hoofball fans! Anyway, all those places, I... I had thought of trying to confess my feelings but, well, I said the problems with that.

Ponsia, the gate to maneland Neighsia. A nation that had long been a major power. A place steeped in history, myth and legend. A place of knowledge and wisdom. A place where so many tales start or end.

All of it was reflected by our welcoming committee, a guard of honor provided by the Ponsian Republican Navy. A corridor of ships, leading us to the aerodrome. It gave me memories of Columbia, for without Makarov around the Columbians gave the more extensive and honorable military welcome to us instead.

Clearly, the Ponsians had wanted to one-up their Griffin allies. They'd given us a larger greeting, Hornblower noting four battleships, two different types of cruiser, various destroyers... An impressive number and an impressive show. The Ponsian ships also looked rather impressive - the Ponsian ships I'd seen before were the same sort of iron-clad of any airship, but these ones, befitting their nature as apparently ships meant to stay in the homeland, were a little more ornate: They had been painted to give the appearance of wooden hulls, and thanks to decorative sails and oars, resembled ancient triremes. And of course, they flew flags: The largest sail on each ship was our flag, they flew their own flag from the second-largest, and each ship flew a few standards, Cadence's royal standard and their own various fleet/ship colors.

Even with the standards and the faux-ancient ship look, it was a much more muted and appealing appearance than slapping tons of gold all over your already over-bulky flying brick!

"No submarines in the sand at least," Gag noted, reinforcing my deja-vu.

"It's a great reflection of trust to see this many ships greet us, Your Highness, for the Ponsians have been downsizing their forces and re-tooling towards a mostly Peacekeeping and Equinitarian role for their expeditionary forces. What we see here is the bulk of their defensive forces here to meet us," Hornblower revealed.

"Following our lead. The Immortals are some of the finest troops in the world, and train for some of the best less-lethal combat around. But I kinda want to see their archery skills..." Audience mused.

I reflected back on the Immortals I'd met, in the wrong timeline, and when I had been a member of the Special Tactics And Rescue Service meeting a group of them in Equestria to exchange tactics and training methods. They'd been impressive warriors in the fight, excellent peace officers training with us... and pretty good paintballers. They could give Audience a heck of a fun archery contest, for sure.

Speaking of ranged weaponry, the Ponsians were also firing salutes of confetti, which seemed to rain down like diamond dust. It was a type of magical paper that seemed to burn like a small sparkler but was cold to the touch: It wouldn't start fires or leave a whole load of paper behind to sweep up, as Twinkle Shine happily noted. We'd been finding streamers on the top deck for weeks after the griffins of Eagleland got a bit trigger-happy with their party cannons.

"A lot of history here... weight of time on these lands," Minuette sounded almost nervous.

"And a great deal to look forward to. We're here as diplomats, and I think we should do our best to appreciate as much as we can of Ponsia," Cadence announced.

Cadence spoke animatedly of all that had been born in Ponsia: the sport of Polo (yes, I'm aware of the irony!), possibly the game of Chess, the true birthplace of flying carpets even if the idea was more closely associated with the Arabrayian Penninsula to the south, origin of backgammon, numerous contributions to music including inventions leading to the modern guitar, the first ever cultivation of spinach...

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

...invention of ice cream and cookies...

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

...the first hospitals, many medical innovations, even the earliest refrigerators, air conditioning, postal services and staplers! No wonder they had a serious claim to be the cradle of civilisation, though they do stress that doesn't mean 'cradle of ponykind'.

Everypony was looking forward to that. But I was looking for answers, and I found myself staring past what everypony else was watching. Beyond the corridor of ships and the skyline of Tehrein we could see the desert, the Dasht-e Zamaan.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): The Desert of Time?)

Yep.

+++

It used to be I compared capitals to Canterlot, then it became I compared them to other cities. And now in Tehrein any comparison I make leads back to Canterlot like it's in a circle.

The view from the embassy window... heck, my room alone seems to reflect what Ponsia wants to be. To be mindful of the past but look open on the future. Everything in here seems to be styled like ancient Achemanedian equivalents in appearance, but the wide windows are obviously modern double-glazing. The twin swords over the fireplace look real but are just models. And the fireplace is actually a facade over the environmental control engine, a little magitek gizmo that combines some of the Roedinian biotechnology with older Ponsian wards and engineering tricks - it even makes fake flames or snowfall depending on how you set it up!

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): And you have no idea how it works?)

Nope, not even touching it, I have a problem with it, I'm asking a Ponsian or one of the Embassy guards...Knowing my luck I'd probably find some way to accidentally blow it up.

The magical tea-kettle is appreciated though. Might need to get one myself...

Anyway, with such wide windows I had a good view of the city. It was clear that they'd tried to maintain their identity. Cloudscrapers in most other cities would be spires of steel and glass, but here, they looked like taller versions of the ancient buildings near them. The outer appearance of age with the inner advantages of the new, and the city trying to avoid the architectural mishmash so many other capitals had for their skylines...

Which was why it kept reminding me of Canterlot, where the Conserve Canterlot's Beauty Committee tried to keep strict architectural styles and conventions, but at the same time it reminded me of other cities as they clearly had no problems with newer techniques and advances: One construction site I could see looked pretty much like any other, they had cranes and other modern mechanical devices, steel scaffolding and cement mixers - but the final building would resemble the centuries-old Central Bank headquarters beside it.

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): That's the beauty of more modern civilizations, they've managed to find a balance. The new and the old, magic and technology. These are things that are at their strongest when working together in balance.)

Someone needs to tell the CCBC that. Thank goodness they aren't allowed to regulate the appearances of building interiors or the actual construction methods used or we'd be stuck hauling blocks of marble everywhere with horrible wallpaper. Seriously, they think you slap up some cream with flower patterned bordering, chuck a plant in there and that's the whole room tied together!

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): You are painting them in foalish extremes. As some of them do you, thinking you want to turn Canterlot into another Stalliongrad. There is a difference between wanting to keep things in a particular style and smog free, and wanting to take construction methods back to the age of the three tribes. And they've elected Princess Luna their new chairpony.)

Oh.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Er... You seem to know something about interior design.)

Quite a lot actually, there was the basic Decorations and Wallpaper course in training and when I was in STARS we got a crash course in repairing fire damage on the assumption we might someday cause some. Oh, and a lot of books about it in the ship library. Not as many as there are on ropes though...I should know, by now I think I've read almost the entire library. And not a thing on the Wolf.

I needed to find Minuette though, check up on the schedule. Maybe I was lucky and we'd visit somewhere along the way where I could look for anything about the Wolf. Otherwise, well, I've no idea what I can do.

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): Maybe there's a library in the embassy!)

Not likely, they just stock them with Equestrian books and anyway, there's a perfectly good local library across the stre....

Hang on.

+++

"Minuette, have you got a minute?"

She sighed.

"Never heard that one before."

"Sorry, I'm not joking, I just want to check if there's an hour or so open in the schedule any time soon, I'm wanting to go across the street and check for something in the library."

The hoofmaiden stared at me. Twinkle Shine seemed to be pondering as well.

"...When did you take your brother's place, Twilight?"

"Ha ha. I'm just wanting to do some research into something."

"You're sure you're not purple?"

"Well, we've not got anything scheduled this evening before dinner, so I guess we could go over later," Minuette said.

"Okay. Wait, we?"

"Of course, you'll need help with the research..." The Hoofmaidens grinned.

"I think perhaps you're thinking of something else, I'm looking into something I heard about Ponsia."

"Oh. Then we can ask if Cadence wants to go!"

That could actually work out in my favor. No risk of getting so far away from Cadence wolfy might pop up, and the cover story is already there!

Plus, it was a library, so they couldn't exactly easily burst into song.

+++

First there was a fairly standard lunch to welcome us to Ponsia, me standing around quietly while there were a few hours of quiet diplomacy. Nothing you haven't heard before, except it was in Ponsian and about Ponsia rather than, say, Germane and about Prance.

My head began to droop, when Minuette helpfully floated me some glasses with my eyes painted on them. "No," I said reluctantly, "That's rude."

Minuette calmly pointed to the number of ponsians wearing similar glasses. One of the guard leaned in and whispered.

"It's not rude, in fact we think it's rude you have to stay awake. The Foreign Minister is a bit... sleep-inducing. I mean, we Immortals have these face masks, you just see a silver smiling face, no idea if we're awake or not!"

Well, when in Roam, or Ponsia.

+++

So what memory is this now? Wow! I'm so cute! ... I'm a blank flank? Wow, I have gone pretty far back now. Where's, there's Twiley! Reading as always. Count on that. She was almost reading before she could speak, okay, not really, but sure felt like it! It's a great day outside! Blue sky! Barely a cloud. Bright and sunny. Gentle wind. Green grass, tall trees, nice flowers, a great day at the park, and our parents trusting me to look after Twiley.

I'm reading a comic.

"A hero doesn't first punish evil! A true hero first protects the innocent!" Declared the first Captain Equestria to his successor who had gotten a little too eager in beating up the bad guys and protecting Equestria from 'outside' threats.

"Captain Equestria? Don't you know how dated those are? You should read a real comic, like Ghost Flyer!"

Buck Withers. This idiot again? I mean, I've run into this jerk before Canterlot Academy? At least if I got back further I won't have to see this moron again. Still has that self entitled 'B' cutie mark.

"Didn't he sell his soul to Tirek to get revenge on the biker gang that sacrificed him to Tirek?" I asked.

"He did it to avenge his wife! And then was freed from his contract from Tirek by converting to the church of Celestia!" Flank Thrasher, Buck's right hoof colt. Yellow coat and orange maned earth pony, his cutie mark is a band-aid with a color burst behind it. Does he still play polo? Or he a sports doctor now?

"Would you colts stop arguing? I'm trying to read!" Twiley called at us.

Buck never did like being told what to do, especially from a filly, and Flank follows him like a shadow. "Don't you know fillies like you shouldn't be reading big books like this. You should stick to sticker books and playing with dollies!"

"Me and Smarty Pants read together!" Twiley proudly showed her doll. Big mistake.

Wait a minute, I ... I know how this goes! Twiley? My cutie mark, I earned it protecting Twiley? Why would I ever call Twiley "someone"?! Okay. Hold the phone. There is NO WAY in Bucking Tartarus I'd forget about the most important bucking moment in my foalhood! I call foul!

Predictably. The jerks acted like jerks, and grabbed Twiley's doll from her telekensis, and held it in their mouths. I hope it doesn't give Twiley jerk-germs and makes her a jerk forever.

"Hey! Give 'er back!"

"Nuh-uh!" Buck said a mouth full of doll.

Then Flank put himself between Twiley and buck. Making her unable to eyeball her doll and try to pull it back with her magic. Not that her magic grip could match Buck's earth pony strength back then.

The worst part is, I owe that jerk not only for giving me a black knight to protect Twiley against, and earn my cutie mark, but I also owe the jerk for unwittingly setting me and Cadence together when he tripped me up!

"Cut it out you guys!" I said reminding the two that I was still there, and just because I was a unicorn, didn't make me a physical weakling. I pushed my way between them, I think my horn scared them a bit that I was gonna poke their eye out or something. Or my 'clopped off big brother' look did that. I grabbed Smarty Pants with my own mouth, tasting Buck's spit, and placing it calmly in front of Twiley.

Buck and Flank weren't expecting their toys to fight back, and Buck's ego wasn't as big as it was going to get in his later years.

"Jerks, can't take a joke or ponies having different tastes than them, let's go Flank."

"Right, Buck."

Well, that's settles that. And, wait-

"Twiley! What are you doing? Get down from there!" Twiley had begun to climb the tree she'd been under, and had managed against the odds to get on one of the branches.

No.

"I'm fine! Nopony's gonna bother me from way up here! See? Safe and sound!" She bounced a few times to prove its strength. Except...

That branch! It's going to... Twiley!

The branch breaks, my little sister falls, she cries out. I don't think, I act, a magenta colored force field forms around her, like a rubber ball, and she lands with a bounce, not a bruise on her. The force field bounces a bit more, and her cries turn into shouts of having fun!

"Yeah! You saved me big brother! You saved my book too! And Smarty Pants!"

I gently dissolve the force field, and give her a nuzzle as my heart finally stops racing, she nuzzles back, anything for my little sister, don't worry, I've got your back. I was happy I was able to protect her.

Wait a sec, the tree, in the branches, from the fall, that bird nest, it's going to ...not on my watch. One quick forcefield, and got it, no scrambled eggs today, there ya go Mr. and Mrs. Bird. Happy to protect your eggs. ...Protect.

It's not just Twiley.

Protect my sister, protecting a couple of bird eggs... Everypony. I'll protect where I can, and how I can, I'll be the white knight who shields them! There's a sparkle on my flanks. I know what it is.

"Big brother! You got yer cutie mark!"

"Yeah, thanks Twiley!" I gave her a hug.

+++

I woke up, listened to the rest of the speech without hearing a word, and we were on our way. So ... I guess that's what they mean, I hadn't dreamed about getting my cutie mark yet ... so it hadn't happened yet. No ... No wonder I couldn't give my friends any details about it... . I wonder if I won't have any baby pictures until I get that ... ick. Never mind. Back on track saving myself from oblivion.

Cadence however was being nosy, er, curious, as we made our way back to the embassy from that.

"So what is it that's so urgent you need to get to a library?"

"It's not urgent, it's just this seems to be the earliest chance," I dodged. I mean answered.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Too late.)

"Okay, nice try to dodge the real question..."

Gha!

"...but what is it really?" She smirked.

"It's just a... mythological creature from Ponsia I heard about that sounds interesting, but I've never really found any other references. I just want to see if maybe the library here has something."

"Is it Takam, the King of Goats? We're pretty sure that's actually just Grogar."

"No, and isn't that what they say about every legendary goat? Anyway, it's a wolf."

I can't believe I just said that so bluntly. I also can't believe she didn't realize.

"A wolf? Strange, you don't seem like much of a dog pony. You jump every time something barks. Dogs, honey badgers, parrots..."

"It was a parakeet, Princess. I think. Uh... Hey, anypony remember if it was a parrot or a parakeet back in Triana?" Gag tried to clarify.

"Yes, it's a sort of... shadowy wolf. Like it's meant to be a sort of blank space of nothingness."

"...A blank space shaped like a wolf?" Cadence looked oddly concerned by this for a moment.... Oh, horseapples, she saw it at least once! I'd forgotten she could remember that!

I almost missed the openly startled look a Ponsian Guardspony had upon overhearing our conversation. Almost. If he'd been an Immortal he might have got away with it.

"Excuse me, Private, but do you maybe know something about the myth I'm talking about? I understand it's a little vague..." I began, but he feigned ignorance.

"Armand, answer him," his colleague cut in.

"Oh, er, sorry, your Captainness, I wasn't really listening to what you were saying..."

"Ah, sorry. Well, it's basically a story I heard about a sort of ghostly blank wolf," I said.

Yep, the way his eyes widened was a giveaway.

"The Zamaan Gorg! Ahhhhh!" And he ran away screaming, leaving his outline in a nearby closed door.

(Friend's Notes (All): ....)

Come on, I had to use that joke once!

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus):So what really happened?)

"The Zamaan Gorg!" He fainted.

"Erm, sorry for that," his friend said prompting him up. Then he said seriously, "You want to learn of the Shen Gorg?"

"The what now? In low Equestrian please."

"'Time wolf' or 'wolf of the sands.' "

"That means shadowy black wolf of nothing? Yes."

"Why do you wish to know of it?"

"Just... heard about it, want to know more," I claimed.

"Look into material on the Ancient City of Taghdir. Some legends of the events there reference a similar being," he said, and we moved on.

"We're visiting that, actually, at the end of the week. The ruined city has a small town built near it called Vardanak Asb," Minuette noted a few moments later.

"...Uh, that town name, Vardanak Asb, it's a Ponsian equivalent of Ponyville. Means 'small city of horses' more or less."

"But it's not a literal thing?" Twinkle Shine asked.

"...I dunno, it's beside the Biaabaan Sea, is that littoral?"

"Dang it, Gag, you know what I mean! And littoral refers to the actual water."

+++

Some time later, we were in the library. I'd found a few books on Taghdir.

It had, as far as I can tell, been the old capital of the old Empire of Ponsia. Their Emperor had made his seat here, at the edge of the desert and the shores of the desert sea, so that he held domain over all four elements: The earth of the sand, the water of the lake, the air of the shamals, and the fire of the desert sun. It was this power, the Empire claimed, gave their ruler access to the fifth element, the quintessence.

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): Pfft, everypony knows the fifth element is surprise!)

Anyway, that was one book. Another told me that emperors down the ages used wisdom and the knowledge left by their forefathers. Another still told me that the site was chosen as it represented a means to all three terrains, earth, sky, and sea. What I'm saying is, there's a lot of conflicting myths. And not a lot about wolves.

Except in the story of Maredonius, and unusually it was recorded by a Minotaur Oracle. Maredonius was the most successful general of the Empire, taking the crowns and tiaras of two dozen tribal leaders and monarchs. She had never fought a campaign longer than a month. She was sent to invade Labyrinthia, and quickly realized it was a suicide mission. She was given poor supplies, empty promises of reinforcements - and she knew this as she had overseen the construction of garrisons across the empire. She knew Minotaur lands were hard to reach.

She went all the same, but sought to consult an oracle. She then returned home, entering the palace and confronting the emperor with the accusation he had sent her to die, imperiling Ponsia so that he would be rid of a rival. The Immortals swore oaths to Ponsia, not the Emperor. They sided with her.

It claimed the emperor was shocked at this, and frantically consulted a strange parchment that only Maredonius saw before a shadowy wolf leapt in and snatched it. What others saw was that he began screaming and wailing, and the immortals detained him. The Emperor had betrayed the empire, the nobles deemed, and thus the empire was no more. In his stead they elected a Supreme Vizier, Maredonius, who led the nation that became the Republic of Ponsia I'm currently snoring my cutie mark off in because these books are pretty dull reading... I mean, seriously, you overthrow a mad emperor and all you do is throw him in the sea? When his name means 'great swimmer'? Zzzz.....

+++

Okay. I'm no longer surprised by these. Let's see what I'm dreaming about this time. I'm at home? Okay. Works. Lots and lots of books? Yep. And ... Oh I know what this is.

"Twiley, what is this?"

"This is my book fort, with me and Smarty Pants!"

It was kind of impressive, I swear the titles were stacked in alphabetical order. But it was poorly timed, her foalsitter was meant to be here soon. Mom and Dad had gone in to work this morning, and the plan was that I would wait for the foalsitter before I went over to my friends house. Except his mother had come over to tell me he was grounded, so I was going to have to stay with Twiley and the Foalsitter.

I was okay with that. I wanted to make sure I could trust her... Whoa, wait a minute, paranoid younger overprotective big brother me, it's Cadence, a Princess!

Princess or not, I had to be sure Twiley was safe with her. I know not to make assumptions but I've heard stories about how bratty Prince Blueblood is supposed to be, and if there's even a slim chance that she's not giving my Little Sister Best Friend Forever one hundred and ten percent of her attention and care... I can't take that risk, Alicorn or not!

I was shaken from my mental assertions by a knock at the door... What was I doing, I was going to be making sure an ALICORN was safe to have around my sister?! One of only two on the planet, Princess Celestia's niece, I must be nuts!

...but Twiley... Ponies see her preferring to be alone with books and Smarty Pants and think she's weird. Cadence has foalsat her for three weeks and it's meant to be going well but I have to be sure.

I looked outside, in case it was somepony different, like a door-to-door salesmane, a burglar, or worse, that Minotaur she'd accused of being two ponies in a costume. Thank goodness it was better than whatsername's theory they were humans with fake legs...

Instead it was either an alicorn, or a pegasus with a fake horn, or a unicorn with it's Cadence you idiotic young me, open the bloody door a fake pair of... Uh, I should open the door.

She seemed to be startled, good! I mean bad, bad! Scaring a princess is bad! Be polite but cautious, remember what Uncle Cool Sun said! Don't break eye contact and run... Wait, no, that's tigers. I think...

"H-Hello, um, I'm Cadence, I'm here to foalsit Twilight?" She said first.

Alright, be polite, be cautious, and... Aaagh, mouth! Are you speaking without consulting me?!

"Good morning, Cadence. My name is Shining Armor, I'm Twilight's brother. Please come in."

Oh horseapples, what did I just... Oh, that's not too bad... Don't ask about anything weird, she's here for Twilight, and you're here because your idiot friend set fire to the bathroom and got grounded. And to make sure you can trust the cute Princess! Who Twiley is clearly happy to see... And, okay, that is the strangest greeting I have ever seen that didn't involve a fedora and a plate of noodles...

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony): Wait, what?)

Long story...

Hold on, I thought you guys couldn't speak to me in my dreams, or have you before? I can't remember. Wait . . . why am I in Twiley's book fort?

(Friend's Notes (Pegasus): You're not. You skimmed through so many books, you built your own while you were at it.)

Me? A book fort? Please never tell Twiley!

(Friend's Notes (Unicorn): You have our word.)

"...but basically it was... Huh?"

"You fell asleep, Shining. I thought you found this mythical beast interesting?" Cadence teased.

"Uh, yes... but, I've not found much referencing it."

"It is time we were heading back. Supper should be ready and we've got a long day tomorrow."

"...How long?"

Minuette produced a list.

"In the morning we're going to the Ministry of Agriculture to discuss imports of Apples, and then we're heading over to the Mining and Smithing Guild to finalize the contracts for Chip-Hammer Rockfarms contract to gold-farm near Damavand, and then..."

Judging by the look on Cadence's face she was thinking the same thing as me, 'Make it stop! Make it stop!'

"It's a pity we're in the center of the country. I went to the coast on vacation with my family once, I kinda want to visit it again," Audience noted.

"Why would you want to go back to Karkand when you could visit someplace new?" Garnet wondered.

"Nostalgia. And they have a rock-skimming competition every saturday at the beach."

"Captive, let's just go back to the embassy... Also if y'all were paying attention to the news there's a strike at Karkand, some sort of labor dispute with the local council. Dang Groucho-Marxism... Nearly as bad as Laurel-Hardiests..."

"Says the Stoogean," The bad-joke-spewing son of two Groucho-Marxist trade unionists shot back.

Couldn't I fend for my existence without dealing with the idiocies of politics? That's Cadence's job! I was told if there was a clue to me getting fido off my back it would be here, so I have to find it!

We left the library, though one of the librarians seemed about ready to throw the book at Gag and Ellis for their brief ideological debate.

(Friend's Notes (Earth Pony: Which book?)

Pretty sure we did this bit back in Zebrafrica, let's just go back to the embassy, I'm hungry.

+++

"Happy birthday Twilight!" We said together, as she opened her present, revealing the Smarty Pants doll with the notebook and quill. The idea was to lure fillies into wanting to learn more via the doll as the bait and switch. With us, it was the opposite, the note pad and quill being the bait for the doll. With everything Twiley was learning, mom and dad thought maybe she needed something to encourage her imagination too. The good news was, her other toys didn't get jealous of the new arrival and kidnap Twiley forcing Smarty Pants to go on an epic quest to save her.

"I . . . I see . . . pony run. Peg-pegasi fly with their wings. Unickcorn do majik with their horns. And Earth Ponies touch earth's heart with their hooves." I heard Twilight reading her first book. But then she looked at mom. "But the earth is a big rock that the sun goes around, how can it have a heart?"

Mom nuzzled her. "There's more to a heart than that kind of heart dear."

"I don't understand."

"Do you want to?"

"Yes momma."

Twiley. She was never scared of the dark, she'd only look to the stars, and smile, which made actually getting her to go to bed a problem.

"Twiley! Time to go to bed!" Mom and dad were talking with friends of theirs and had left me in charge of getting her to bed tonight.

"Naw! I wanna watch the moon rise!"

"Dad and mom want you to bed now, you really should."

"Don't wanna."

"Mom and dad do, and I do. And you really should!"

Magic surge! She turned my mane pink!

She giggled at me. I made a dive at her, magic surge, she teleported and I bumped into her bed! Ouch! Now I need to get my horn unstuck. Dad must have come in to see what was wrong cause.

"Shining . . . don't move a muscle."

"Why?"

"She's in your mane."

"And?"

"She's sleeping . . . "

"But what about me?"

"I'll get you a blanket and pillow."

Well, that explains the times she hid in it when I went through the stage of refusing to cut it. At least mom and dad only asked a couple times to change Twiley's diapers.

+++

A whole week... and nothing. That was it, one book referenced it! Anypony else I asked looked nervous and denied everything.

Vardanak Asb was the last day, tomorrow we were leaving for Mesotrotamia. It was now or never, possibly in more ways than one. Taghdir's ruins sat beside the intact and newer structures, like a before and after of sorts. The modern town gave some clue what the old ruins might have been like back in the day, but the ruins were a little more impressive, a huge arena-like bowl in the middle and so many different temple-like structures it was like a maze.

But there had to be something. First we were visiting a temple dedicated... to fate? Or at least a goddess of fate. Mamitu or something, she apparently also blessed newborn foals.

There actually some parents here with their babies for her blessing. It was a circular hanging garden built on top of a thin hill, almost a tower. There was a raised stone path leading right to it with lanterns (not lit right now of course). I didn't see any aqueduct, maybe it was fed by a spring?

Minuette mentioned how they were a half dozen self-cotradicting myths and urban legends surrounding the place that seemed half-tourist board and half-too many games of tele-scroll. A riddle nopony could solve. An guardian nopony could defeat. An always right oracle. A sword waiting for the 'chosen one.' A secret underground tournament to determine 'the world's strongest.' A lost tribe waiting for the Eus Yram (whatever that was). And of course all whispered by 'mysterious old stallions' and the nebulous 'they.' She didn't sound impressed by any of them.

(Friends' Notes (Unicorn): There is something about all that . . .)

Two large brass plaques sat either side of the main gate leading to the garden's interior. I felt drawn to them, like a magnet. Like they were meant for me. Like I said to read them. That they had to be read by me.

(Friends' Notes: Shining!)

"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, erasing my footsteps in the snow, cleansing any memory of me from the world. Make it as though I never was.

Blank wolf, I leave marks here, I leave marks there, I try to adjust the flow of things in some way, somehow. But the blank wolf passes over them. And then there is nothing. Blank wolf.

No matter what I made it is forgotten. No matter what I contribute it is erased. No matter what I say it is muted. The blank wolf makes sure of that.

I manage to forget about it sometimes, I just pretend it's not there, just beyond my vision, just beyond my senses. It is the blank wolf.

Blank wolf always hunting. Always stalking.Never ceasing. Never tiring. Blank wolf.

Blank wolf. I leave these words. And then the blank wolf will cross here too. And they will be forgotten. As if I had never wrote them. Blank.

Blank Wolf.

Where it steps past my foot falls, my foot prints vanish.

Where it passes where I've left my mark, it is as if it was never there.

I leave memories of myself where I've been with others, when it passes, I am not remembered.

Everything I make unmade. Everything I do undone. Everything I know made meaningless. Everything I learn made empty. Blank.

Blank wolf. I leave these words. And then the blank wolf will cross here too. And they will be forgotten. As if I had never wrote them. Blank.

Blank Wolf. " I read. I blinked, why the heck had I read all that out loud?

"Wait, why is this written in Equestrian."

"What is sir?"

"What's on these plaques next to the gate!"

"Captain . . . there's nothing written on those plaques," Ellis said.

(Friend Unicorn: It's a trap!)

The world turned faded for a moment, no way! No! Cadence was right here! She was looking at me. How could-

"Shining! Above you!" Cadence said looking up but no pony else seeing.

"!noW ,leT uS begiN ouR finaL hunT"

A dark shape came down on top of me, I felt its claws along my back no, please. ... I feel, the pain that isn't pain. I can't, Twiley, mom, Gaffer, Thunderchild . . . Cadence . . . No, can't . . . blackness. "Cadence I . . . "

TO BE CONCLUDED

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-Series-Shining-Armor-No-More-Script-426815828

Next Chapter: http://alexwarlorn.deviantart.com/art/Pony-POV-Series-Shining-Armor-The-Final-Page-429469827

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 LZ

Song for the ending of this chapter:
"Devil Survivor 2 The Animation ED Full - BE" by Song Riders