On the Way (Shining/Fossil/PM to Join)

[Deleted]

Shining Armor understood the basic tenants of capability. You drilled everything that you could so that your foundation was strong enough to support you when you needed to improvise. It was a fundamental truth that went well beyond guard duties. That same truth came with the realization that even the strongest foundation didn’t guarantee success. It was just one piece of the puzzle. As the train continued down the tracks, Shining didn’t doubt his foundation. That was the one thing he knew he had. But when it came to those other facets, he had more cause for concern.

King Sombra had held an Empire so strongly that its populace had been enslaved. To do that, he had to be powerful enough that their combined ability wasn’t enough to force him out. He was literally a figure of legend, one that had taken both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna to stop. Shining Armor was the captain of the guard and a prince, but he was far from legendary. Together, Cadence and he had been able to expel the entire changeling forces, including their powerful queen, out of Canterlot… but would their power be enough to handle this?

Unfortunately, doubt was a comfort for ponies who weren’t in charge. Prince Shining Armor had to have faith. He had to be unshakable. His training and his supporters were his foundation, but he was theirs as well. If he faltered, they could lose belief. So despite what he felt on the inside, he had to seem like everything was out of control. He had to walk as if it were him who had stepped out of a myth and that it was Sombra who should be afraid of his arrival. That was his primary burden. His other burden was knowing that this would involve both Cadence and inevitably, Twilight. Neither thought was comforting.

Shining Armor moved along the train cars. Being visible was the key. As the train was among the first to leave for this expedition, it was far from full, but there were enough ponies around that he couldn’t ignore their feelings by staying to himself. When a pony met his gaze, he made sure to smile and occasionally even smirk. You can count on me and I know I can count on you. That was all he hoped to convey.


(Tag; Fossil, pm if you want to join, please)

[Deleted]

Fossil Stone had also been among the first responders to go out to the Crystal Empire. With his knowledge of ancient magic and ancient history his usefulness would be greater the sooner he could get to work on it. The mage had gathered what books, and equipment he thought would be necessary for the trip and sent off a letter to his sister. She would no doubt be on her way soon enough. It'd be their first joint adventure in years.

Normally he was the type to sit on the sidelines and do all of the research but recent events had altered his perspective a bit. His new found apprentice, Vinyl Scratch, had left a minor impression on him. He had yet to tell her about his sister, but depending on how things went that secret might get brought to light sooner than later. Given the publicity of things, this probably wouldn't wind up in the next Daring Do book.

Currently he was sitting at a table with a modest pile of thick books next to him and a cup of coffee. He also had his cane with him leaning against the wall. When he noticed the captain of the guard making his rounds he levitated his reading glasses off of him before speaking to the new Prince. "Shining Armor, I had no idea I was sharing a train with you. When you have the time I'd like to discuss a few things with you before we reach the Crystal Empire. It may be the last chance either of us will get to talk about something other than the task at hoof for a long while."

Fossil Stone figured Shining Armor would give some sort of briefing in the future about what was going on, and Fossil would no doubt find something he'd feel Shining Armor should be aware of. This would be one of the few opportunities he could use to get to know the other stallion, and do a little research. He was gathering information about The Elements, and the older brother of the Unicorn that currently held The Element of Magic might have some insightful information. Shining Armor's shield spell was also something that he wanted to know more about.

[Deleted]

Shining Armor stopped as he was addressed. With so much on his mind, he didn’t realize whom he was being addressed by until the other stallion was already half way through speaking. But by the end, he was fairly certain. Fossil Stone had his fair share of claims to fame between his writing and his magic. While the realms Fossil Stone had the most influence in were more closely shared with Shining’s sister than Shining himself, the prince knew enough to know to be glad to see the other stallion among the earliest recruits.

”Fossil Stone, right? The author slash magic instructor?” He asked, preferring to ask now than risk a misunderstanding down the road. The last time they had been face to face, Shining had been preoccupied by Twilight Sparkle. The way she lit up like a filly every time her eyes found something new at the convention, even though she was already a young mare. He had to banish those thoughts for now, despite how comforting he usually found them. This wasn’t the time for him to dwell on his emotions. ”I have some time right now, if you’d like. I was just taking a walk around.”

He had ample time to make rounds around the train, so it wasn’t an imposition to call this one early. Besides, the ritual lost its purpose if he wasn’t willing to stop and talk with any of the other ponies that were on the same journey. Shining Armor was not just a moving statue for ponies to behold and marvel at.

”Now are we talking business or something else?” He asked, not minding either, but looking for a little warning either way. Shining had learned to shift from serious to lighthearted through the guard and both served their purpose, even now.

[Deleted]

"Technically you are correct, however I had not made my taking of an apprentice public knowledge." Fossil's horn lit up as he raised his cup to take a small drink of his coffee. "I have the feeling that the near future will be very busy for the both of us given the task at hoof. I'd like to discuss something less stressing. I'm doing research on the Elements of Harmony partly for my own purposes and partly for a possible tie in for my next book. Would you be opposed to answering a few questions about your sister, and yourself?"

"I'll understand if you can't due to security reasons. Your younger sister has been instrumental in saving Equestria on more than one occasion, and you are of substantial rank yourself. I imagine you'll be in charge of security for this whole ordeal." The teacher didn't want to become a security risk in the other stallion's eyes. Suddenly wanting to know personal information about some of Equestria's champions while danger was looming on the horizon was not the best timing.

[Deleted]

While he didn't let the subject clog up his mind, Shining Armor did wonder if had actually found out that information ahead of time, likely through overhearing someone saying it, or if he had simply mixed up Fossil's circumstances with another unicorn's. Either way, the facts were spoken for and the introduction had been made.

Shining thought over the request. It wasn't new that somepony wanted to know more about his sister and her friends, though it was still strange. He had always known she was destined for greatness, but a part of him had always realized that he was partially blinded by his pride as her big brother. But then, she had actually become just as great as he had imagined.

”I can't make any promises, but you can ask whatever you'd like and I'll tell you what I can.” The security side was certainly a big part, but another aspect was that it was not his story to tell, except where it connected with his own. Another problem was that he was not a researcher. He had extensive magic training, but very little of it was theoretical. All applied and mostly martial. So anything technical would simply be out of his realm of specialization, rather than something he couldn't divulge for other reasons.

[Deleted]

Fossil's horn lit up once again, this time bring out a small notepad and quill with which to take notes with. "Your sister bears the honor of being the Element of Magic. From what I've gathered already, she was a personal student to Princess Celestia. I haven't witnessed her magic at work personally, but I do have a keen ear. I have, however, seen your magic at work personally, and I'm impressed. The shield spell you managed to put up must have been very hard to set up, and the energy requirements to maintain it must have been quite taxing for you. I wouldn't be able to pull off such a feat on my own."

The mage truly was impressed with what Shining Armor had done during the Changeling threat. Given the state of emergency, he didn't have the chance to examine the spellwork up close. perhaps later if the two stallions got along they could share some trade secrets, but not at the moment. "With two siblings being so adept at their craft, one has to wonder, does magic run strong in your family? It could make a lot of sense that they were the result of good breeding. Fossil knew from experience though that hard work could also pay off.

[Deleted]

Unsurprisingly, it wasn’t any less strange to hear Fossil actually describing his sister than it was to hear him asking about her. He was concerned that the conversation would move toward his sister’s growth in the mystic arts, but that wasn’t Fossil’s first inquiry. It was a natural question and unless he was going to suspect Fossil of attempting to breed an army of magicians, a harmless one as well.

He pushed aside the voice in his head that told him to play down his shielding feat at Canterlot, keeping in line with his desire to seem strong to the train’s occupants. Also, one couldn’t expect to pull off a stunt like that and then not be questioned in some way about it. ”You know, they could be,” he answered, amused with himself for not being sure, ”Neither of them have jobs that call on it more than any other unicorn. But if I had to guess, I’d say it skipped a generation. Our family’s been made up of a unicorn as far back as anyone knows.”

In a way, he would likely break that chain. Any children he had would have been born to a mother who had started life as a pegasus and became an alicorn. Somehow he didn’t believe that would end up bringing any shame upon them.

[Deleted]

They were getting close to the Crystal Empire; Twilight could feel it. The closer they got, the more excited and nervous she got, especially when it came to the task at hand. It wasn't just the fact that her new sister-in-law was there as Princess, but having been asked by both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna that she was to go with her friends and help save the kingdom...as a test. She shook her head, trying to clear out the memory of the days he got the special letter asking for her appearance before the royal sisters. Twilight Sparkle had gone there with the impression that this was a written test, and had everything - well, almost literally everything - in both her saddlebags, from all of her parchment and quills to loads of books in various subjects...only to find out that she was to take her friends and head to the Crystal Empire and help rescue it from whatever had cursed it before.

Calm down, Twilight. Everything will be alright. You'll solve this...somehow. She thought to herself, getting up from her seat. Maybe taking a stroll around the train would help clear her head. After stepping into the next train car, the purple unicorn was a bit surprised to see her brother, Shining Armor, on the train as well. "Hey!" She called out joyfully, the problems upon arrival banished in her head for now as she cantered toward her 'big brother best friend forever'. It was then she noticed that he was speaking to another unicorn - a reporter of sorts? - and caught mention of her name in passing. Glancing back between the stranger and Shining, Twilight arched a brow. "What's going on?"

[Deleted]

Shining’s mind had been able to drift away from the trouble that was ahead of them, but hearing his sister’s voice took it even further off, until that served as a reminder of the gravity of the situation. His sister and him were not on a relaxing train ride, but had been tapped to do what had been asked of them. It certainly was related to the subject he was discussing with Fossil Stone, but many of the ponies that had assembled didn’t have their natural ability and could end up doing more.

”Twiley,” he greeted, smiling at the sight of her and giving her a brief hug once she was close enough for him to do so. ”This is Fossil Stone, an instructor in Canterlot, the one who wrote those books you like,” he explained, a bit embarrassed that he didn’t recall the name of the series. He enjoyed a good read, but he leaned more toward other genres than... Whatever it was called. Guessing would be worse than just admitting he didn’t know.

”Fossil Stone, this is my sister, Twilight Sparkle,” he told the other stallion. Clearly she needed no further introduction, as Fossil had just been talking about her. ”We were talking about our family’s magical history.”

[Deleted]

Fossil watched silently as Shining Armor embraced his little sister. Somewhere deep down inside he wished his own sister were here. As children they were no strangers to adventures in strange lands. If they weren't getting into some mischief on their own, they were usually learning about where they were going, and why they were going there. Then one tragedy had struck after another. He had been injured, his mother had taken deathly ill, then Daring and their father had a falling out. It was a series of unfortunate events, and if there had been a curse at work it had disappeared before the professor had the means to look for it.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Twilight Sparkle." Fossil greet Twilight pleasantly. "As your brother was saying, we were discussing your family history. The Elements of Harmony may be making an appearance in a future Daring Do book and I took the chance to ask your brother some questions for research purposes. Your brother's shield spell is quite potent, and I've heard good things about your own magical ability so I thought there may be history of potent magic in your family tree. Genetics aren't everything though, my father's a Pegasus and I'm one of the youngest ponies ever to obtain a degree in applied theoretical magics."

Fossil imagined that he and Twilight Sparkle could talk at length on the subject of magic. He was quite curious about Princess Celestia's teaching methods. In the back of his mind he began to puzzle out how to make a comparable shield spell to Shining Armor's. It'd take a fair amount of energy to set up initially, but long term maintenance shouldn't be too much of a bother since all that would be needed would be enough energy to keep up with it's natural degradation. Of course Shining Armor's spell was more intricate, allowing friendly ponies in it and keeping out unwanted creatures. That alone could be done different ways with different amounts of energy used to do it. To do it on the scale that Shining Armor, on his own, was still quite the feat. The stallion must have a great deal of raw energy to throw into spells like that.

[Deleted]

It was great to see her brother on the train; it made her worries go away for a moment. He had always been there for her, and now that he was married to Princess Cadence (her old foal sitter!), it seemed like they were seeing each other on a semi-regular basis. But with the task at hand on trying to find a way to save the Crystal Empire, there was a lot at stake...the purple unicorn just hoped that she and her friends were up to the task of helping them...as well as passing Princess Celestia's test.

At the introduction of Fossil Stone, her eyes lit up. How could she have forgotten who he was?! Not only he was a well-known instructor, but the creator of the Daring Do adventure series that she and Rainbow Dash liked! I should have brought my copy of Daring Do and the Quest for the Sapphire Statue for him to sign! Rainbow would be so jealous... She thought, mentally kicking herself for not having thought of that before, but to be fair, she hadn't expected to be meeting the author of the book series on the train to the Crystal Empire either. But to hear that the Elements of Harmony were to be used in one of his books, Twilight just about squealed in delight. How cool would that be? Her friends would want to read that book for sure when it came out!

Hearing that he had been asking her brother about the magic in their family tree, the purple unicorn blushed a bit. "I guess it's just that with every pony having their talent based off of something, most unicorns tend to have their magic follow that line of talent. But for mine, I guess one could say that my talent is magic itself. I'm not too sure about how potent it is in our family tree..." Considering both she and Shining had a similar cutie mark featuring a six-pointed purple star, it stood to reason that both of them were well-gifted in that aspect. But the Elements of Harmony...that was another matter. Twilight and her friends had to work together to use them, tapping into the bond of Friendship that brought them together in order to make it work. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had used them a long time ago, but with Luna becoming Nightmare Moon out of pain and jealousy and having been banished to the moon for a thousand years...the Elements had to find new owners, namely Applejack, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and herself.

Trying to calm the inner fangirl down enough to carry on a civil conversation, Twilight Sparkle cleared her throat and added, "What sort of questions you had about the Elements? Or about my own magic in general?" Those were the questions she would start off for now, even though Twilight had a lot more to ask. It would be rude to not let him get in a few inquiries as well, yet Fossil Stone's particular line of questioning led her to wonder, just why her special talent was magic itself? Was it just because she was fascinated with it since that day years ago at the Summer Sun Celebration? Her friend Rarity's was using gems in her outfits to make them sparkle and appealing to the eye (or at least something with fashion and gems in general), yet Twilight was able to duplicate a gem-finding spell that the white unicorn had taught her. Then there was that time when Rainbow went to the Young Flyers Competition in Cloudsdale, and the rest wanted to go and cheer her on...problem was, they couldn't fly. So after trying out a spell that gave Rarity beautiful wings of gossamer and morning dew (which Rarity fawned over almost all the time), Twilight had found a simpler spell that allowed the rest of her friends to walk on the clouds for three days. It all was well worth it to see Rainbow Dash perform a Sonic Rainboom firsthand...after rescuing Rarity and the Wonderbolts.

Such good memories.

Shaking her head, Twilight went back to the topic at hand, and remembered that Fossil was impressed by how her brother was able to pull off a massive shield around Canterlot. "I think his love for Princess Cadence helped with that." She said, giving Shining Armor a wink. In the end, it was the new bride and groom that helped save Canterlot from the changeling invasion, and the love they had for each other that overpowered Chrysalis's magic.

[Deleted]

Despite his hopes, the topic at hand didn’t become easier to speak upon with his sister present. Functionally, Shining had given his gifts over to the realm, freely using them whenever it became necessary. Emotionally, they were a part of who he was, like speaking on the strength of one of his legs or how much he could carry on his back.

But magic was still more than that. It was honed like a physical part of him, studied like a favorite subject and frequently used for a wide range of purposes. When this was extended back into his family, it was all the more intimate. But logically, he wasn’t sure why it should feel this way. It wasn’t a secret.

Twilight didn’t seem to have any of his reservations, leading him to believe that what he was filling was misplaced, likely a product of the system he had worked within throughout his adult life. It was clear to him that part of her excitement rested in the author’s freshly realized identity. Then again, the subject was also one that Shining doubted Twilight was able to speak much on. Only one of her friends in Ponyville was a unicorn and Rarity wasn’t the bookish type like his sister. This had to be a rare opportunity for her to speak to someone who would be able to understand her.

He smiled at the inclusion of Cadence in to the conversation. ”Maybe a little,” he agreed, changing over to a smirk. That certainly accounted for his power coming back during the final round. Her effect on his abilities stemmed farther back than that incident, however. Thinking about her had been a focal point throughout his training and his assignments. Cadence had a place within his mind that he could occupy when spellwork was difficult or even when his physical body was at the end of its stamina.

He didn’t add more, as the original questions still hung in the air.

[Deleted]

"Indeed, many Unicorns have their special talent involving their magic somehow, just as many Pegasi have some sort of flying or weather special talent, or Earth Ponies and their ties to the land. It's our differences that make us stand out. Fossil Stone took a sip of his drink once again. He was unsure about how Twilight was going to react to the fact he was going to give her, but finding out that they shared the same special talent would probably be exciting news for her. Though in true Fossil fashion, it wouldn't come without a long winded explanation. At least he had an even and pleasant speaking voice. "I ask about lineage because our parents and family usually play a big part in our formative years. Many times a foal's special talent may reveal itself to be something similar to their parents. You see this happen a lot when a family owns a small business. The child of a baker grows up around baking, and it comes as no surprise if they get a baking cutie mark."

"Then you get cases such as myself. My father, a Pegasus, had an archaeology cutie mark, and my mother, a Unicorn, was a historian. For all I learned about history, both recent and ancient, myth, legend, lore, and the like, my special talent came out to simply be magic. Though if you had seen me before I figured it out you wouldn't have guessed it. We may have the same special talent Twilight Sparkle, but I have the feeling we go about it in very different ways, and if the future would permit it, have much to discuss on the subject of magic." Fossil Stone had no illusions about how capable Twilight Sparkle could be. She was the personal student of Princess Celestia, and the accomplishments that he was aware of put her at a very high level of talent. If her mind was open enough to his methods of magic, he'd very much like somepony to talk to about it. Most of his so-called equals were far to set in their ways and too stubborn to admit other methods may be superior to theirs.

Twilight Sparkle's special talent was magic, and equally so her Element was magic. The stallion figured knowing more about the young mare would give him some answers to future questions he could have later on. If the Element of Magic chose her for a reason other than she was the closest and most powerful source of it in the vicinity, maybe knowing more about who she was could answer it.

"Regardless of how much or how little it helped, I still thank you for saving Canterlot Shining Armor. I just wish that I had been able to help more than I was capable of. With all my skill in the mystical arts, I'm still bound by my physical limits." The author twitched a foreleg and nudged his cane. All circumstances considered, the fact that the invasion was repelled before sundown is an amazing feat, and that you two siblings have played major rolls in keeping Equestria safe is something you two should be very proud of."

[Deleted]

"Well, ever since I learned that magic existed, I spent every moment learning about it." Twilight answered. "My parents signed me up for Celestia's School, and I almost flunked the entrance test. But to be honest, I can attribute my cutie mark from my friend Rainbow Dash, who as a young filly herself, was racing at that time and made the first Sonic Rainboom. That explosion helped the rest of my friends get theirs as well. Mine was mostly from me being shocked into tapping into raw magic, which the Princess noticed and asked me to become her personal student at the school." What Fossil said reminded her that she needed to speak with her parents a little later about their lineage, but for now she was delighted to just converse with the famous historian and author about the subject.

Both of them having a similar talent in magic? That would make a bit of sense, considering when one makes an example out of the Apple family. She had met pretty much all the Apples on her first day in Ponyville when they had their family reunion, and noted that their cutie marks were similarly apple-themed. Applejack had three red apples, Granny Smith had an apple pie, and Big MacIntosh had a large green apple for his. All of them had run the apple farm, so their cutie marks were the same if not closely similar in that aspect. But with Twilight and Shining Armor, they had similar markings as well; both had a magenta-colored six-pointed star, albeit with different designs. So it would stand to reason that both of them would be gifted in magic in some way, and it helped see that they were related.

"I have actually seen several examples where growing up around a certain talent doesn't necessarily equate to a similar talent. There's a group of fillies back in Ponyville who call themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and are always trying something new each day to get theirs. One of them, Sweetie Belle who happens to be Rarity's sister, may share her sister's love of trying to fashion clothes, but I noticed that she has a really nice singing voice...she just refuses to accept that." The purple unicorn rolled her eyes, recalling the attempt they made at the school's talent show. Had those three stuck with what they were good at, their performance would have gone better, and probably had their marks to show for it. Instead, Sweetie Belle did the costumes and sets, Applebloom was dancing (which was essentially 'karate') when she was better at building things, and Scootaloo - who decided to be the main singer - was often seen doing tricks and speeding around on her scooter.

Fossil Stone decided to still praise the efforts of the two unicorns, which caused Twilight to blush again. "Had Princess Celestia not sent me to Ponyville to learn about friendship, I probably wouldn't have been able to do all that. My friends helped too, so I can't take all the credit."

[Deleted]

“Guess the subject matter of your books isn’t too surprising, then,” Shining said. It was interesting that while his cutie mark may have been unique, he had still heralded back to his parents. What also wasn’t a surprise was that this stallion was a professor. The way he spoke was structured like an educational seminar. It wasn’t off putting or boring, but very distinctive. The question was whether or not he spoke that way because it was a habit or if he had always spoken that way and academia had been a perfect fit.

While Shining did spend time out in the general populace, the majority of his daily focus was on either the other guards or his family, so he didn’t have a broad sample base. However, he was familiar with family trades and legacies. It wasn’t a rare occurrence for a new guard to say the reason they were inspired to join was because of a family tradition and low and behold, it would become their calling as it had been before in their line. It had simply been that the discovery of his own cutie mark had little to do with any ancestry, even if his magical talent may have come from such a place.

”It’s always a pleasure to do my part,” Shining said, responding to the thanks truthfully. Over time, it had become his standard answer, but it hadn’t lost meaning through repetition. As Fossil and Twilight had both pointed out in their own ways, there were a lot of factors that went in to his ability to do the things he did. Of course, there was an equal amount of hard work as well. His dream hadn’t been handed to him by fate. But all the same, it remained his passion and thus, it was a constant pleasure to continue to be able to do it.

”Don’t forget that everyone’s lives work that way, someone or something comes along and helps put us in the places we’re striving toward. Your teacher may be one of a kind, but that doesn’t mean you aren’t, too.” It was an easier task to urge Twilight to accept some credit than to internalize any himself, just as it was easier to be proud of her. Of course, it was the proper thing to deflect and his little sister still did it in a very Canterlot way, even after all of that time she had been gone.