Twilight was leaning in on her forehooves, far closer than Shining would’ve liked. “What do you mean, ‘don’t worry about it!?’ Your carriage was a full thirty minutes late!” It was hard to tell if Twilight was more concerned about his safety or the fact that someone in the family had been late to their honeymoon.

“Shining, what happened on the way over? After the wedding disaster, I was worried that maybe the changelings found a way back.”

Shining put a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, lightly forcing her back on all four hooves. “Twily, don’t worry, we just stopped for food along the way. Besides, Cadance and I made sure they’re not coming back.”

“But there was food at the wedding and if I recall correctly, you ate more than anypony else. There’s not even anywhere to stop on the way to the Hot Springs from here. Wait, that means you-” She gasped in realization, “You stopped by the Everfree Forest!?” Twilight was leaning forward again, not a good sign.

Twilight saw right through his lie; she always did. Shining Armor was torn. On one hoof, he didn’t want to lie anymore to Twilight. Being as close as any brother and sister could hope to be, they shared all of their secrets. However, what really happened that night even Cadance wouldn’t want to disclose. This was one secret he couldn’t share.

Hoof behind head, Shining covered his tracks, “Cadance wanted to stop for a bit. She said we were so busy with the changelings during the wedding that she wanted to stop and look at the stars, y’know, have a little time to breathe. It was our first time alone together after all of the wedding stuff. Besides, it’s not like anything bad happened when we stopped near the Everfree Forest. I knew that stopping there would worry you and that’s why I lied about it. I’m sorry, Twilight.”

“You did what? I can’t believe you’d do that! “But-” Twilight eased back onto all fours again. “Shining, “ she put her forehooves around his neck, “I’m just glad you’re both ok.”

Shining Armor hugged his sister in return and patted her back reassuringly. Shining felt terrible lying to her, but as far as lies go, it wasn’t too bad, right? The truth just wasn’t kind of secret he could share with Twilight. While they were close and sometimes talked about their crushes and relationships, anything more than that was never discussed between the two. Shining didn’t want to change that now.

Twilight pulled away from Shining Armor. “I’m going to go see if Cadance needs anything then.” She trotted to the door and nearly closed it before turning around. “I love you, BBBFF.”

“I love you too, sis, good night.” The massive, stone double-doors closed shut abruptly. Shining Armor heaved a heavy sigh of relief. He was now alone in the study of his own home.

Shining was sure Twilight would hear the same story about stargazing from Cadance. There had been plenty of time to get their story straight before returning to Canterlot.

Shining began walking to the rear of the lavishly outfitted study. He stopped in front of a bookshelf that, like all the other shelves, was stuffed well beyond a safe capacity. The shelves were filled at Twilight’s behest with all manner of books “essential for married life,” as Twilight put it. What Twilight did not know, however, was that one of the books on this particular shelf wasn’t a book at all. This pseudo book was crafted to look as if the title had worn off over time, but that was simply to disguise its role as a magical switch.

The stallion’s eyes stared intently at the false-book in the shelf before him. He studied the spine checking for any signs of a light glow or hoofprints. In waiting for the couple to return home, luckily Twilight had not disturbed the switch, otherwise the spine would be lightly glowing. Strangely, Cadance hadn’t used it either. Shining walked back to the study entrance and pressed an ear to the door.

Twilight’s already faint hoofsteps faded to nothing. Shining pulled himself away and started scanning the room. Cadance’s surprise had to be here somewhere. After a few minutes of frantic searching, he noticed a strange box atop one of the bookshelves. Cautiously, Shining used his magic to lift the small wooden box from the top of a bookcase and levitated it in front of him. Eyebrow raised, he stared at how unusual this box looked. The box was only about as large as a pony’s head and appeared to be constructed from a random assortment of planks hastily fastened into a very rough cube. However, grinning with satisfaction, Shining noticed a note on it he knew Cadance must have affixed.

Clinging to the shadows in case Twilight should arrive again, Shining made his way back to the library’s magic switch, hopeful that Twilight wouldn’t interrupt him this time. He set the box down and used his magic to tug on the book above him. As the gears behind it started grinding away, the bookcase slowly sank into the floor. Shining once more lifted the box and dashed inside.

Behind the bookcase was a long corridor. It was dimly lit by two rows of torches each of which flickered with magical blue flames. Shining Armor followed hallway of torches into a circular room complete with king-sized bed, wardrobe, and a water trough. The room was a safe haven from prying eyes and dangerous intruders. It was constructed so that the captain of the royal guard could easily protect a VIP here, but it had never been used before, except between Cadance and himself. The room also held another secret. The central lighting revealed the secret ink that he and Cadance would often write with.

It was in this sound-proof room that he would read the notes Cadance left him. Some were silly love-letters, some were a little more than that, and others still were part of games they played. This time he was on a scavenger hunt, and she had promised something exceptional this time. Yet, he had no idea what. The box from the library seemed like the last clue, and had a note on it that he would soon be able to read.

Just as Shining set the crate down to look at the note on top, the box began to rumble. Shining was startled. This was unexpected to say the least. Cadance wouldn’t put any living creature in a box would she? What if he hadn’t found it? Would it have perished?

The intensifying rattle of the box interrupted his thoughts. Whatever was inside was growing impatient. The shaking kept getting louder as the room filled with the clatter of wood on stone. Shining gulped. He wasn’t sure what was inside, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to find out.

Author's Note

Here's clopfic number 2, I took the feedback from the first one and tried to apply it to this one. Hopefully you'll enjoy it.