Allegiance

Chapters

Chapter 1: Farewell to Twilight
Chapter 2: The Princess's Plans
Chapter 3: Working Together
Chapter 4: Lunch with Lyra
Chapter 6: First Comes Love
Prologue: New Royalty
Chapter 5: Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer’s Checklist

Chapter 1: Farewell to Twilight

Shining Armor trotted through the castle courtyard, feeling a little awkward that he wasn’t wearing his armor. Normally, he’d be on duty right now, which meant he would have his helmet and plates on from sunrise to sunset. It was routine, but today was different. Today, he was going to see his sister.

Twilight Sparkle was Princess Celestia’s personal protégé, and the pony he was closest with in all of Equestria. She was a little shut-in, but that didn’t matter: Shining Armor always had time for the sweetest little sister ever.

Yesterday, she had sent him a letter saying that she was going to Ponyville. This was a little surprising, since he knew Twilight would never leave her books to go to a small urban town like that without a good reason. However, she had explained that Princess Celestia had asked her to help with the preparations for the Summer Sun Celebration there. Shining Armor was going to see her off and wish her luck.

He reached Twilight’s ivory tower and quickly trotted up the spiraling stairs to her study. His knock was answered by a small purple dragon. “Hello, Spike.”

“Hi, Shining Armor! I wasn’t expecting you today, we were just about to leave!” He turned and shouted into the study. “Twilight! Shining Armor is here!”

Twilight was just on the second level of the study. She poked her head over the edge and looked down to see her brother standing at the door. “Shiny!”

She rushed down the stairs and hugged her brother. “I’m so glad you could make it! I wanted to see you before we left!”

Shining Armor chuckled. “I’m always here for you, Twily. You don’t think I’d let you go galloping off somewhere without saying goodbye first, right?” He glanced around Twilight’s study and saw the usual tidiness of Spike’s organization, although he suspected the second floor might show more signs of Twilight’s constant reading. “Spike said you were about to leave?”

Twilight nodded, formal as ever. “Yes, the Princess has arranged for the Royal Guard to take us to Ponyville. We’re supposed to report to the chariot deck soon.”

Shining Armor raised his eyebrows. He knew a few pegasi who had chariot duty. “We should get going then. I’ll walk with you.”

With a warm smile, Twilight said, “That’d be great! I think we’re ready here, let’s go!”

Spike made sure he had his scroll and quill, then they left Twilight’s study.

As they walked across the courtyard towards the castle, Shining Armor glanced at his sister with a little brotherly pride. “So Twily, you’re getting pretty important, huh? I don’t think the Princess chooses just anypony to help her with the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“She trusts me completely,” Twilight said, but something in her voice told Shining Armor she wasn’t so sure about that.

He frowned. “What is it, Twily? You know you can tell me.”

“I just said, she trusts me completely!” Twilight acted hurt, as if she was just stating the obvious, but Shining Armor’s look of concern was too genuine. “I can’t hide anything from you, can I?”

“You shouldn’t have to.”

“Alright.” Twilight sighed. “I guess I am getting pretty important … Princess Celestia has been teaching me all about ancient unicorn conjurers. She even says that one day, I might be as great as them. So, I started reading about history, to learn more about ponies like that.”

Shining Armor thought about it for a second. “That sounds pretty good, so what’s wrong?”

Twilight continued explaining. “Yesterday, I was reading about two sisters who raised the sun and the moon, like Princess Celestia does now. Ponies didn’t respect the younger sister, so she grew jealous of the older one. She became a wicked mare of darkness: Nightmare Moon!”

She had been making sense until that last sentence. Nightmare Moon? What did that have to do with anything? “Twily, it’s a little early for Nightmare Moon stories, don’t you think? Nightmare Night isn’t for a few months.”

Twilight stomped her hooves, frustrated that not even her B.B.B.F.F. understood. “No no no, this isn’t just a scary story! I found this in my library, Predictions and Prophesies! It wouldn’t be in my library if it wasn’t true!”

Shining Armor looked at Spike, who shrugged. Apparently he hadn’t had any luck figuring out what Twilight meant either.
There was no choice but to humor her. Twilight should have known better than to think an old ponies’ tale was true. She had to have a reason. “So, you’re saying that Nightmare Moon is real? What does Princess Celestia think?”

“Uh, she, um …”

Spike answered helpfully, “The Princess told her to ‘stop reading those dusty old books!’”

“I was getting to that,” Twilight said, annoyed.

“So, she doesn’t believe you, then.” That was no surprise, considering the claim, but it was still disappointing. Shining Armor could see why Twilight was upset, now, even if he didn’t know why she insisted that Nightmare Moon was important.

“I – I guess not …”

“Then, I mean, why do you believe more in your books than you do in Princess Celestia?”

Twilight paused. That was a good question. If Shining Armor didn’t understand, he at least tried to. “Princess Celestia probably knows best, but I know what I read is true. Nightmare Moon was defeated by the Elements of Harmony, and I know the Elements of Harmony are real.”

That set Shining Armor back. How could books be more trustworthy than the Princess? There wasn’t much else he could say, but he couldn’t just dismiss Twilight. He had to find out more. “Alright, if Nightmare Moon is real, isn’t she trapped in the moon?”

“The prophecy says that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the stars will aid in her escape.”

Shining Armor thought about it and started to connect the dots. “The thousandth year … this year is the thousandth Summer Sun Celebration. The celebration is held on the summer solstice, the longest day of the year.”

“Exactly!” Twilight clapped her hooves. Shining Armor understood!

“You think Nightmare Moon is going to break free tomorrow.”

“Yes!”

Shining Armor looked at his little sister. She had explained herself perfectly, but there still wasn’t any way that she was right. What could he say? “Well … we have to trust Princess Celestia, right? If it does happen, she’ll know what to do.”

Twilight rejected the idea immediately. The princess usually did know what was best, but she didn’t think anything was going to happen! “Nightmare Moon used to be a princess. She might have just as much magical power as Celestia does! The elements of harmony are the only way to stop her!” She just walked for a moment, at a temporary dead end, then thought of an idea. “You understand! You’re a Royal Guard! Maybe she’ll listen to you!”

Shining Armor shook his head in denial. “Oh, hey, now you’re overestimating me. I’m just a lieutenant, I don’t spend much time with the Princess at all. She probably only knows me because I’m your brother.”

“Oh.” Twilight’s face fell in disappointment. “A … lieutenant? I thought you were a sergeant.”

“I got promoted a couple months ago, remember? I report directly to the Captain, now, and he reports to Princess Celestia.”

“Oh, right.” They were at the foot of the steps up to the deck where the chariots were. As they started their way up, she asked, “Can you at least try to convince the Princess?”

That was a tall order, but he couldn’t just say no. “Sure, but if she doesn’t believe you, I don’t stand a chance.”

“We have to try, or Nightmare Moon will bring about nighttime eternal!”

“Well, we’ve got a little bit of time before then.” Shining Armor spotted the two pegasi who would be pulling the chariot. He felt bad about it, but he hoped Twilight wouldn’t talk about Nightmare Moon when other ponies could hear her. He didn’t want them to think Twilight was delusional, even if the guards wouldn’t say anything. “I forgot to ask, did you tell Mom and Dad you’re going to Ponyville?”

Twilight was a little annoyed at the change in topic, but Shining Armor was right to ask about their parents. “Of course, I went home for dinner yesterday. They wish I could be in Canterlot, but they’re proud, you know, since I’m helping out with the Summer Sun Celebration. They said if I see you I should ask when your next leave is.”

Shining Armor frowned. “I was planning to take my leave for the Summer Sun Celebration, since I haven’t gone on leave since my promotion. I wanted it to be a surprise, so I didn’t tell Mom and Dad. I guess I still could, but now you’re going to be in Ponyville.” He glanced at Twilight fondly. “My little sis is most of why I would go on leave anyway.”

Twilight blushed, touched by how much her brother cared, even if he could be a little sappy sometimes.

As they approached the chariot, the two guards posted there saluted.

Shining Armor saluted back. “At ease. I’m just saying goodbye to my sister.” The two stallions nodded.

Shining Armor turned back towards Twilight. “This is it then, huh? You’re off to become a great pony, help the Princess, and maybe save Equestria?”

Twilight pouted. “This isn’t a joke, Shiny!”

“I’m serious!” Shining Armor put on a hurt expression.

Twilight scrutinized him for a second. Somewhat placated, and feeling guilty for not believing her brother, she said, “Alright, then … yeah. I’ll write letters to the Princess from Ponyville and you can try to talk to her here.”

Shining Armor nodded. “I’ll try.” To Spike, he said, “Twily’s got a lot of responsibilities, huh?”

Spike rolled his eyes. “Ugh, tell me about it.”

Shining Armor chuckled at the long-suffering tone of Spike’s voice. “Take care of her, Spike!”

Despite the trouble he would undoubtedly go through, the baby dragon stood up straight and saluted, like the Guards had. “You got it, Shining Armor!” Keeping his face serious, Shining Armor returned the salute.

After another hug, Twilight stepped into the chariot. Spike hopped in after her.

As the Guards started to pull away, Shining Armor said one last thing, “Good luck!” She waved goodbye, and then the chariot was airborne. He kept watching as they swooped through the air and turned towards the little town by the Everfree Forest.

When they were just a golden speck in the sky, he finally looked away, towards the castle which he helped to guard.

He had planned to return to duty after this, but Corporal Fizzy could handle the squad for a little longer. It was time to keep his promise. He had to talk to Princess Celestia.

Chapter 2: The Princess's Plans

Shining Armor was on a mission. His little sister wanted the Princess to believe that Nightmare Moon was real, so he was off to talk to the Princess.

This was probably one of the bravest and dumbest things he had ever done.

Nevertheless, he was determined to do his best. He considered whether or not to go put on his armor first: in the end, he decided his position as Twilight’s brother was probably more important to Princess Celestia than his employment as a Royal Guard. After all, Twilight had convinced him to help her rather than return to Guard duty right away. The armor could wait.

He trotted through the halls of Canterlot Castle, nodding to other Guards he passed. At this time of day, Princess Celestia was probably in the throne room, dealing with a mountain of paperwork – the Guards had collectively decided that if there was a perfect time to speak to the Princess, it was now. The rumor was that she was all too happy to speak with her little ponies if it meant hoofing off her paperwork to somepony else for a while.

Soon enough, he reached the double doors to Celestia’s throne. The Guards on either side recognized him. “Sir, the Princess has requested your presence.”

Shining Armor did a double take. What? She wanted to talk to him specifically? “Ah – me?”

“She asked for your whole squad, but you weren’t available. Corporal Fizzy was told to report in when you returned.”

So, his subordinates were involved, but Celestia hadn’t just issued the orders to his second-in-command. “Alright. I’ll go in and see what she wants.”

The Guards nodded and let him pass. Now that he was here, he needed to make the best impression possible. He took a deep breath and carefully pushed the door open.

Inside the throne room, sunlight shone through the stained glass windows along the walls, creating the brilliant patterns in the air that were the trademark of Canterlot Castle. Looking past the effects of the artwork, he saw the unmistakable, aurora-maned figure of Princess Celestia atop the dais at the far end of the room. Before her stood a couple pegasus guards and a certain pink alicorn.

Shining Armor eyes widened and he stopped at a respectful distance. It was probably just best to wait for them to finish first. Why hadn’t the Guards told him Cadance was here? He didn’t need to start his already crazy mission by rudely interrupting, not one, but two princesses. His chances were slim enough as it was.

His plan to be ignored until Cadance left didn’t get far, however. Celestia noticed him and called him forward. “Good morning, Shining Armor! Please, join us.”

The younger alicorn turned to see the newcomer. Her face brightened considerably when she saw him and she gave him a warm smile. Technically, Royal Guards were supposed to avoid emotional displays, but Shining Armor smiled a little anyway. With a deep bow, he said, “Good morning, your Highnesses. I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Not at all. You arrived at just the right time.” Celestia glanced at her niece. “Cadance and I were discussing royal duties.”

Royal duties – Shining Armor knew Celestia took care of the administration of all of Equestria and the raising of the sun and moon, besides. Cadance, on the other hoof …

Shining Armor rejected that thought. Cadance had royal duties, didn’t she? Celestia continued speaking.

“Princess Cadance has been a blessing to the ponies of Canterlot. With her special magic and her hard work, she has made personal connections with ponies throughout our city. However, to be a true leader, she needs to be seen as one by the ponies of Equestria.”

Ah. Cadance had not been idle, but Celestia wanted to give her responsibilities. Shining Armor glanced at Cadance. She looked apprehensive about Celestia’s suggestions.

“That is why I have asked Cadance to lead the Summer Sun Celebration in Canterlot this year.”

Shining Armor stared.

Celestia smiled gently at him and explained, “There is no powerful magic involved. I will raise the sun from Ponyville, but I would like Cadance to lead the festivities here in my absence.”

Oh, that made much more sense. That wasn’t too much to ask for. Judging by Cadance’s silence, she couldn’t find a reasonable objection, either.

If Cadance wanted to avoid it, Shining Armor would have liked to help her, but Celestia did have her best interests at heart. Really, he didn’t have much of a say here. “I think there are good reasons for doing that, but, if I might ask, why are you telling me this?”

“I am not asking Cadance to take care of everything by herself,” Celestia said. “Shining Armor, can I count on you to help her when she needs it?”

Shining Armor had automatically begun to say yes to the request, but he froze when he heard what he was agreeing to. Cadance’s look of unease disappeared, replaced by one of schock.

She spoke her first words since he’d arrived. “You’re assigning Shining Armor to me?”

Celestia took her outburst in stride. “Only if he agrees and you don’t have any objections.”

Afraid she might offend him, Cadance quickly said, “No, I don’t have any objections.” Then she realized she had agreed to Celestia’s plan for the Summer Sun Celebration. She attempted to clarify, “To – Shining Armor …” She trailed off before she could dig herself any deeper. Celestia watched her blush for a second, then turned to Shining Armor.

He forced himself to breathe and respond. “Of course, your Highness. I’d be glad to help Princess Cadance.” However, a nagging feeling that this was too good to be true made him ask, “Why did you choose me, though?”

Celestia replied thoughtfully, “I know you two have known each other for a long time. If memory serves, I even heard you went to a fall formal together?” She was met with silence and an incredible amount of blushing. After a moment of awkwardness, Celestia kept talking. “In any case, I thought Cadance would appreciate working with somepony she knew.”

Both ponies remained mute. Celestia smiled and said, “It’s settled then! I will inform Captain Steady March that you and your squad have been reassigned. Princess Cadance, you may direct your new Guards as you see fit.” She paused again, but they were still too embarrassed to do more than nod. “I think this will work out just fine. Enjoy yourselves!”

It was finally over. Both of them turned away and walked towards the door, but after a step Shining Armor remembered why he had come to the throne room in the first place. Reluctantly, he stopped and turned back towards Princess Celestia.

She looked at him in concern. “Is something the matter, Shining Armor?”

Well, it was now or never. Trying to put on his Royal Guard’s straight face, he plowed into what he was sure was going to be a painful conversation. “Yes, your Highness. I was saying goodbye to my sister this morning and she told me about a letter she wrote to you.”

“I’m listening.” Princess Celestia watched him, waiting for Shining Armor to continue.

He resisted the urge to swallow nervously. He knew that Celestia knew exactly what he was talking about. “She told me that on the longest day of the thousandth year, the Mare in the Moon would break free and bring nighttime eternal to Equestria.” Behind him, Cadance tilted her head, confused. Shining Armor stood still and waited for Celestia’s response.

The Princess examined him for a moment. His Guard training let him stand at attention without crumbling under her gaze, but he couldn’t help wondering what she was going to say. It was bad enough she didn’t believe Twilight. What would she do to a Royal Guard she had just reassigned? He felt sweat in his mane. Those magenta eyes were really intimidating when she was serious, but no matter what, he had to stand his ground for Twilight.

Finally, she seemed to reach a decision. “That is information from the book, Predictions and Prophesies.”

Shining Armor hesitated. He knew Celestia was Twilight’s teacher, but he hadn’t expected this. “You know what Twilight was talking about?”

She nodded. “I am aware of the source of Twilight’s concerns.”

“But you don’t believe her?”

Celestia carefully explained, “I read those books long before Twilight ever did. She’s right that there is some truth in them, but I don’t believe my little ponies need to worry about Nightmare Moon.”

Shining Armor could already see that the Princess was going to be even harder to convince than Twilight. With failure imminent, he tried one last question. “If you knew that prophecy wasn’t true, why would you still allow Twilight to read it?”

Celestia nearly frowned. She never frowned: this must be a sign of severe disapproval. It was even worse to endure than her silent scrutiny. Shining Armor felt like he should be groveling on his knees in apology, but he found the willpower to resist. “I don’t presume to control every aspect of Twilight’s life, Shining Armor. What she reads is her own choice.” Had he accused her of that? Oh, he had made mistakes …

As though she couldn’t sustain the harshness, however, Celestia relented and softened her expression. “I did send her to Ponyville, away from her studies. I know that is not a choice she would have made on her own, but I am certain Twilight will learn many things during her time there.”

Shining Armor let himself sink to his knees, relieved that Celestia was so forgiving. “Of course, your Highness.” She nodded at him, signaling for him to rise.

She looked past her remorseful Guard to the concerned Princess standing behind him. She asked, “Princess Cadance, do you think there is something you could learn from Twilight’s situation?”

“Oh,” Cadance responded, not expecting Celestia to bring her back into the conversation. “I suppose both Twilight and I are students of yours and … you’d like us to try something new.”

“Exactly,” Celestia nodded. “I know you dislike it, but I hope you understand and keep an open mind.”

Cadance was starting to look uncertain again, but she said, “I don’t dislike it, really. If this is what I need to do to become a true leader, I’m happy to try. I’m just not sure I can do as good a job as you can.”

Celestia smiled in sympathy. “The ponies of Canterlot adore you, Princess Cadance. You may not do things the same way I do, but you will have your own style.”

Cadance nodded her understanding as Shining Armor backed away to stand next to her. Now that Twilight’s worries had been proven wrong, he couldn’t wait to get out of here. Luckily, Celestia sounded as though she were almost done.

“Most of the preparations in Canterlot have been finished. For today, you two can just get used to working together.” Their embarrassment returned. The Princess of Equestria couldn’t leave well enough alone, could she? As though she didn’t notice, however, she continued. “I will leave for Ponyville before sunrise tomorrow. That is when you begin to conduct the Celebration.”

Celestia paused, watching Cadance’s reaction, but she was agreeable now. Celestia resumed explaining. “I don’t expect that you’ll have too much trouble. If there does happen to be a slight delay at the start, don’t worry.”

A slight delay in the Celebration? How was that supposed to happen? Was the sunrise going to be late? Alarmed, Shining Armor asked, “Do you expect there to be a problem, your Highness?”

Celestia dismissed the issue. “Oh, nothing that can’t be overcome. I trust Twilight to do as I asked.”

Shining Armor thought of how Twilight had been obsessed over Nightmare Moon instead of the Summer Sun Celebration. He hoped Celestia was right.

The Princess said, “That should be all. I’m sure you’ll do just fine.”

Now they could leave. They thanked her and turned to go. As they walked back along the room to the door, Cadance whispered to him in a singsong tone, “Aunt Celestia is never wrong.”

Shining Armor felt better, hearing Cadance’s seemingly carefree voice. Playing along, he said, “Are you kidding? Everypony but Twilight knows that.”

Chucking quietly together, they stepped out of Celestia’s throne room.

Chapter 3: Working Together

This was incredible. It almost felt like a dream just to be able to walk by the princess’s side. He had known Cadance since they went to Canterlot Academy together, but back then she was way out of his league. Not only was she a princess, she had been prom queen and class favorite, the type of pony everypony knew. He had never expected her to notice him, so when she did, it had been all he’d thought about for days.

Eventually, he had gotten to know her much better, but he still didn’t quite believe how lucky he was to be so close to her.

As they walked down the castle hallway, Cadance said, sounding concerned, “It seems like Twilight’s … confused.”

Shining Armor nodded. “She sounded pretty sure, but you heard Princess Celestia. Twilight can’t be right.” He wondered whether she had arrived in Ponyville yet. Would Spike be able to keep her focused? “Hopefully she’ll figure it out before something goes wrong, though.”

“Hopefully.” Cadance agreed, thinking of the filly she used to foalsit for. Things had a tendency to go out of control when Twilight was misinformed. She giggled. “Remember when she didn’t want to graduate from magic kindergarten, because she thought it was the best thing ever?”

He grimaced. “I’d prefer not to. That disaster is why half the Guard called me “that crazy filly’s brother” back when I signed up.”

“Really?” She eyed the Guards standing at attention by a door, wondering what they thought of Shining Armor. “I didn’t know that.”

Shining Armor noticed her sudden interest in his past plight. He decided she didn’t need to learn about that part of his reputation. Quickly, he said, “They don’t anymore, Cadance. I made my own name when I started sparring.”

Cadance’s gaze returned to the stallion walking beside her. Acting skeptical about Shining Armor’s boast, she asked, “Did you, now.”

Why did she believe him when he said ponies called him something embarrassing, but not when he said he got over it? He insisted, “I did! There aren’t a whole lot of ponies who are undefeated in the ring.”

That was enough to impress her. Smiling a little at his indignation, she said, “Alright, alright, I knew you were good, but undefeated?”

At least they had changed subjects. He could talk about this. It was his special talent, after all. “Not to brag, but nopony’s been able to break through my shield spell yet. They had a reason for calling me Shining ‘he doesn’t need’ Armor.”

Well, that was a new way to look at his name. Laughing, she asked, “Is that why you’re not wearing any armor now?”

“Ha, if I wanted to brag, that’s how I would do it. The armor is mostly for show, anyway.” Shining Armor looked down at himself, again noticing how odd it was to be out of his armor during the day. “Truth be told, I like wearing it. When I have my armor, I feel like I can protect anyone. I just haven’t put it on since I went to see Twilight.”

They reached the foyer, with its grand staircase and hallways that led to other parts of the castle. Shining Armor realized he didn’t know which way to turn. “Uh, where are we going?”

Raising an eyebrow, Cadance turned to look at him. “I thought you were going somewhere.”

Shining Armor mirrored her gaze for a moment before a smile broke across his face. “Ha, surprise.” She hit his shoulder playfully, causing him to chuckle. He thought whether there was something he was supposed to be doing. Quickly, Celestia’s orders came to mind. That was something he should never have forgotten, even for a second. He rubbed the back of his neck guiltily and said, “Actually, if I’m supposed to be helping you, I should go get my armor and my squad.”

Cadance grinned at him. “You really do like wearing it, don’t you?”

Responding to the affectionate ribbing, Shining Armor protested, “Well, it’s regulation, too! Unless I’ve got orders, I’ll get in trouble for not wearing it!”

“Oh, really? Even if a princess is with you?” Cadance asked, motioning to herself regally.

Shining Armor made a face as if he was trying to imagine it. “I – guess …” She got the distinct feeling that he blanched, even if it didn’t show on his coat. “That’s probably worse.”

“Oh.” She hadn’t thought he would say that. Cadance blushed. Would it really be that bad? They were friends, right? Apparently, Shining Armor thought that the rules were more important. Feeling unreasonably disappointed and trying to hide it, Cadance said, “You should go get your armor, then.”

He noticed how she had suddenly closed up and knew that he had caused it. He had to make it better. “Well, I’m okay for a little bit, since I’m not on duty yet,” he explained. Cadance nodded, but her expression didn’t change. Feeling helpless, he decided to just try to move on. “I never said you couldn’t come with me.”

Cadance considered this for a moment before her face brightened, just slightly. “Alright.” She nodded towards the different hallways on the lower level of the foyer. “Lead the way.”

“With pleasure.” Shining Armor turned and headed down the stairs. As they walked, he took the opportunity to apologize. “I’m sorry about that, Cadance.”

Cadance didn’t know what to say. She had been hurt by his words, but he hadn’t done anything wrong except correct her. It was at least as much her fault as it was his. “Don’t worry about it.” It was best to just learn from it and keep looking forward. She resolved not to let little things hurt her so much. Feeling more confident, she asked, “Where do you keep your armor? The, um, armory?”

Letting her change the subject, Shining Armor shook his head. “No, Guards are responsible for their own equipment. My armor is in my personal quarters.”

His personal quarters? His room? She let out a startled, “Oh.” Shining Armor looked at her worriedly. Cadance reassured him, “No, nothing’s wrong. It’s just, do you still want me to come with you?”

Shining Armor shrugged. “Why not? It’s just my room.”

Apparently, there was no rule against Guards bringing princesses to their personal quarters. Cadance glanced at him and decided it wasn’t worth explaining. She didn’t mind, after all. Actually, she was curious: when she was foalsitting for Twilight, she might have sneaked a peek into his room at home, but what did his living space look like now that he was a Guard? What did a stallion like Shining Armor keep in his room? She reminded herself that the answer was probably “not much.”

They reached the part of the castle reserved for the Royal Guards. Cadance hardly ever came here. She looked up at the archway and saw the crest, a blue five pointed star. Posted by the entryway were two Guards, who let them pass after bowing to her. As they turned towards the officers’ quarters, Shining Armor said in a low voice, “We’re getting close now. This won’t be a problem, but there’s one thing I should mention. Since the Night Guard sleeps during the day, everypony needs to be quiet in the barracks.”

Cadance’s eyes widened. She had never thought about how those ponies slept. “Oh.”

As they walked past, Shining Armor looked at the door to a room that he knew belonged to a lieutenant on the night shift. He leaned closer to Cadance and whispered, “Between you and me, there was talk going around about pranking them. Nopony is going to sleep tonight, so why should they sleep today?” He grinned at her as she made an expression of disbelief. After he let her absorb that for a moment, he admitted, “Everypony ends up on night shift sometime, though, and technically, the Day Guard is supposed to rest to be fully prepared for the sunrise. We’ll let the Night Guards sleep.”

Cadance gave him look of both disapproval and curiosity that the Guards would consider such a thing. “You guys have more fun than it sounds like.”

“Well, we try,” he conceded. “It’s not about fun, it’s about doing our job and keeping everypony safe, but Guards are still ponies.” He stopped walking in front of one of the closed doors. “Here we are, home away from home. Come on in.” He courteously opened the door for her and she stepped inside.

It wasn’t a large room, nowhere near as large as her own bedroom. As expected, it was fairly bare, with a bed by the window, a trunk at the foot of it, a desk, and a map of Equestria pinned to the wall. She did notice however, that the bookcase and its contents appeared to be non-regulation, not that she knew if regulation bookcases existed.

Before she could examine it in closer detail, however, Shining Armor apologized jokingly, “Sorry it’s not much. This is just where I clean my armor and sleep.” He went over to the armored mannequin in the corner. “This’ll just take a minute, hold on.” With that, he started trying to transfer pieces of armor off the dummy and onto himself.

It looked very awkward. Shining Armor seemed to know what he was doing, but it was not graceful. The saddle plate came off the dummy and went on the floor, followed by the blue doublet. The helmet he at least was careful enough to levitate over to the bed. With those pieces out of the way, he was free to begin toiling with the main body of the armor. Cadance felt out of place watching him and it wasn’t just because he was a stallion getting dressed in front of her.

Finally, she spoke up. “Ah, let me help you with that.” Before he could protest, she took a hold of the armor, letting her blue magic shine next to his pink. When he looked at her in surprise, she met his gaze and hoped he would let go.

Shining Armor raised an eyebrow. “Have you ever put a suit of armor on before?”

Cadance shook her head. “No, but I want to help you.”

They stood like that for a second, both holding on to the armor, before he nodded.

Cadance took a deep breath and began. She maneuvered the armor over his head, bringing it down until the golden plates settled on his back, with the blue star of the Royal Guard square over his chest. Next came the doublet, which she draped over the armor, making sure not to leave any wrinkles that would bunch up later. After that, she placed the saddle plate on top of everything, fitting it right over the dip in his back, and cinched the belt around his body just tight enough to keep it from sliding.

Last of all was the helmet. Cadance took it from its spot on the bed and brought it over. Gently, she lowered it into place, so that he didn’t feel the cool touch of the metal against his coat until the very end. Only when she was sure it was perfectly snug on his head - ears, horn, and all - did she let go.

He blinked, his helmet visible on the edge of his vision. Was his armor really on already?

He was used to putting on his armor carefully, but quickly. It meant that after he finished, it was slightly uncomfortable until he shifted everything into place. Right now, as far as he could tell, his entire suit of armor was exactly where it was supposed to be. There wasn’t even one plate that he had to adjust. He could get used to suiting up like this.

Cadance looked at him expectantly.

Not knowing what to say, Shining Armor went with, “It’s … good. Good job.” She deserved a better compliment than that. He thought quickly. “Are you sure this is your first time?”

She said, “It definitely wasn’t part of any of Celestia’s lessons.” Cadance examined her work, letting her eyes run over Shining Armor. “I guess I just thought about how it fits, that’s all.” After all, a princess should know something about the ponies dedicated to protecting her, right?

Shining Armor accepted her explanation. With a smile, he said, “Well, you really know what you’re doing. I don’t usually get a fit this good and I’ve been wearing armor for years.”

Just then, there was a knock at the door. Shining Armor looked at it in surprise. Why would anypony even come to his room? He went to open it.

On the other side were three armored Guards - ponies from his squad. As soon as they caught sight of Princess Cadance standing in his room, they sank into low bows. “Good morning, your Highness.”

“Good morning, gentlecolts,” she said graciously, automatically emulating her aunt. “Were you looking for Shining Armor?”

“Yes, ma’am,” The earth pony in front responded. “We received word that you had gone to see Princess Celestia, sir.”

Ah, that was why. Duty called. Shining Armor confirmed, “That’s correct. I intended to tell you myself as soon as I was ready.”

“Lieutenant High Road told us first, sir. He said that we’ve been reassigned to Princess Cadance and that we should go find you two.”

High Road, his old friend, was the officer in charge of Celestia’s personal Guard. She must have sent him to inform Shining Armor’s squad right after he and Cadance left.

He couldn’t blame Celestia, but he felt a little rushed. It was lucky his squad had arrived now. If they had showed up a few minutes earlier, this would have been awkward.

As it was, it still felt awkward to talk to his subordinates inside his personal quarters. It was time to leave, but he had to introduce everypony first. “Right. Cadance, these are some of my Guards. Corporal Cherry Fizzy is my second-in-command and these two are Sunburst and Star Hunter.”

Cadance nodded towards them. “Pleased to meet you, sirs.”

“Likewise, your Highness.”

Shining Armor followed up. “We are yours to command, Cadance,” he said, flourishing a hoof grandly and bowing to his princess. Behind him, the Guards stood rigidly at attention, apparently ignoring their lieutenant’s theatrics. Cadance held back a laugh at his technically proper but far overdone display of manners.

Nonetheless, she took his hoof and smiled. “And I am glad to have you.” After all, nopony else was as sincerely gallant as Shining Armor. She already knew she could count on him, so his bold declaration was a bonus. Thinking about what she might actually ask of him, Cadance checked the time on Shining Armor’s clock. “There is one thing I wanted to do today.” She sighed. “Actually, it’s more like something I need to take care of, now that I can’t do it. Do you know Lyra? Lyra Heartstrings?”

Shining Armor frowned, trying to remember. “Can’t say it rings a bell.”

That was strange. Cadance had been around both of them so much that it was surprising they didn’t at least know each other. She tried to jog his memory. “She went to Canterlot Academy with us.” Shining Armor shrugged. “You saw her every day for years!”

“Um … maybe I just don’t know her by name.” Thinking back to their school days, Shining Armor vaguely recalled several other fillies Cadance spent time with. He didn’t remember ever talking to them. “I only had eyes for you.”

She scrunched her face slightly, remembering how incredibly sappy Shining Armor could be. He was very sweet, in his own way, but that still meant he didn’t know who she was talking about. “Well, she’s probably one of the best musicians ever. She’s a little odd, but she’s a good pony.” That was an understatement, but Shining Armor could see for himself when they met her. “We were planning to go to Ponyville with some of our friends for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

“You were?” He thought how ironic it was that Twilight was in Ponyville despite not planning to go, while Cadance had planned to visit, but was now staying behind.

“None of us had ever been in Ponyville before, so we thought it would be fun.” Cadance sighed regretfully. “I need to tell them I can’t go.”

Her disappointment was palpable. He wondered how much her friends had to do with her reluctance to agree with Celestia’s idea. “Oh, that’s no good. Did you tell Princess Celestia?”

Cadance looked at him oddly. “I think she might have known. She apologized when she asked me to stay.” Shining Armor raised an eyebrow, but it was really no surprise that Celestia knew more than expected. Cadance continued, “I was going to meet Lyra for lunch before we left. I can still do that.”

Lunch – Shining Armor checked the clock on his nightstand and was slightly startled to the morning was almost over. “We should get going then.”

Cadance looked at the group of armored stallions in front of her. “Are you all coming?”

It was time to make a command decision. He couldn’t imagine how Cadance would need Guards just to go to lunch, but, by Celestia’s command, they were supposed to be getting used to working together today.

He made up his mind. “You don’t need an escort, but we’ll all go, just as practice to get ready for tomorrow. We’ll stay in sight, so that we’re inconspicuous, but nearby if you need us.”

Cadance gave him a flat look. “Not you, Shining Armor. You’re coming with me so you can meet Lyra.”

“What?” Shining Armor asked, startled. He looked at his Guards, then back at Cadance. “But –“ She looked very determined. “But –“ He had just put himself at her command and, before that, Celestia had put him at her command. There was no way the plan he came up with was going to happen. Reluctantly, he gave in and bowed. “As you wish, Cadance.”

She reassured him, “It won’t be that bad. You really should have met her a long time ago.” Turning to the others, she asked, “Are you three going to be alright without him?”

“We’ll be fine, Princess.”

“That’s good to hear.” She smiled at them and, surprisingly, they actually smiled a little in return. “It’s about time, we should go meet her.”

“Lead the way, Cadance.” Shining Armor said. She stepped back into the hallway and turned down the hallway heading away from the barracks. Her Royal Guards followed her out towards the city beyond the castle walls.

Chapter 4: Lunch with Lyra

At the castle gates, Cadance and Shining Armor went ahead together, leaving the others to follow at a distance. Cadance was glad for the space – she knew ponies didn’t mean to stare, but her horn and wings sometimes attracted more attention than she liked. To be an alicorn surrounded by Royal Guards would have made her uncomfortably noticeable. Having just one Royal Guard was alright, especially if that Guard was Shining Armor.

Now that he was in public, though, he seemed to be interested in presenting the image of the Guard, stoic and silent.

Cadance decided he got to do that often enough normally. She wanted to ask him something. “So … if you don’t know Lyra, how many ponies did you get to know at the Academy?”

His eyes flicked over to her. He wanted to keep quiet, but he couldn’t very well ignore his direct superior. He had to respond. A least he knew how to answer her. “Nowhere near as many as you, Cadance. You knew everypony. I just had my friends in the clubs I was in.”

That silenced her for a bit. Cadance hadn’t known how different their time at the Academy had been. Sure, she had known he did things like chess and math for fun, because she had seen the evidence while she was foalsitting Twilight, but it seemed like everypony was nice enough to make friends. She hadn’t thought he might have just stopped trying to meet ponies.

But, then again, he was Twilight’s brother.

Now that she had made him talk, he seemed to want to keep talking. “What about you, actually? I’m happy to have a few friends I know I can always depend on. What’s it like, knowing so many ponies?”

Cadance had to think for a moment. It wasn’t something she knew off the top of her head. Everypony was different, but she did notice a few things that they all did. “Well …” She wanted to say that it was great, that she loved it … but she knew it wasn’t totally true. Maybe she had better just tell him what she really thought. “Everypony is special, and I’m glad to have the chance to meet so many different ponies and be a part of their lives.” Then she sighed. “Sometimes though, I feel like they don’t understand me. They just see a princess. What I actually say doesn’t matter, because they act the way they think they’re supposed to anyway.”

Something stirred in Shining Armor’s heart. He didn’t know how anypony could just ignore her like that. A pony was a pony, no matter what else they were supposed to be. Cadance deserved better. “That’s … awful. Does it happen a lot?”

“I don’t blame them. They’re just trying to be respectful, usually.”

She had avoided answering the question. He thought Cadance was being too considerate for her own good. He pressed, “So, it does happen a lot.”

“Well, sort of …”

Suspicions confirmed, Shining Armor said earnestly, “You should tell somepony. It’s not right!”

Cadance looked at him gratefully. “It’s enough that I can tell you.”

Technically, he was somepony, so Cadance had done what he suggested, but that wasn’t what he meant. “But it doesn’t change anything.”

Quietly, she said, “It doesn’t have to.”

The change in the tone of her voice caused him to look at her more closely. She wasn’t upset over the ponies she had told him about – but why not? “What do you mean?”

“I might know lots of ponies,” Cadance said, “but some ponies mean more to me than others.” With her thoughts thus revealed, she turned away to hide the blush she could feel showing on her face. “We’re here.”

Shining Armor looked forward to see a nondescript house. Cadance went to go knock on the door.

It was answered by a light green unicorn. At the sight of her friend on her doorstep, she smiled with unadulterated happiness, “Princess Cadance! You made it!” As they delightedly shared a hug, the unicorn noticed the Royal Guard standing a short distance behind her friend. “Since when did you have a bodyguard?”

“Since just this morning.” Cadance stepped back and raised a hoof towards her Guard. “Lyra, this is Shining Armor. Princess Celestia gave him to me as an assistant.”

Lyra’s face lit up in recognition. “Oh, I remember you! You two met during your senior year at the Academy, right?”

“Ah – yes, we did,” Shining Armor answered, slightly flustered. This mare knew who he was, but he knew nothing about her.

“That could have gone a little more smoothly, huh?” Lyra asked. That was an understatement; nopony could forget that thing with the stage collapse, could they? Noticing that the question made him look uncomfortable, she hurriedly said, “Uh, anyway, nice to meet you, Shining Armor.”

Despite his embarrassment, he forced himself to remember his manners. Bowing slightly, he said, “Same here, Miss Heartstrings.”

“What a gentlecolt,” Lyra commented slyly, glancing at Cadance. “Alright, let’s get going. You can tell me all about what you’ve been doing together while we’re on our way.”

Already, Shining Armor felt trapped by this energetic mare’s curiosity. First, Celestia herself had asked questions about Cadance that he wasn’t quite sure how to answer. Now Cadance’s friend was going to do the same thing. He hoped Cadance was right that it wouldn’t be too bad. Lyra shut the door and trotted out onto the street with the princess and her Guard.

Cadance spoke first. “Well, there’s not that much to say: he just got reassigned this morning. There’s one thing I should tell you, though. You’re not gonna like it.”

Lyra frowned. “That doesn’t sound good. What is it?”

Cadance started explaining, “Do you remember that time …”

“So, I can’t go to Ponyville with you.” Cadance finished sadly.

“Oh, no!” Lyra said, dismayed. “But we’ve been planning this for so long!”

Commiserating in their misfortune, Cadance said, “I know, I know, but Princess Celestia asked me to. She says this is how I can become a true leader.”

“Oh.” Lyra seemed taken aback. After a moment, she said uncertainly, “That does sound pretty important ...”

“I would have turned her down if it wasn’t. I was looking forward to going.”

“I know! It would have been great!” She sighed dejectedly. Her thoughts towards their would-be destination. “They’re mostly earth ponies, but I heard even the unicorns there barely use magic. It’s a whole town acting like earth ponies! Can you believe it? They probably use their hooves for everything!” Lyra started bouncing a little as her gloominess gave way to excitement.

Shining Armor had been a quiet, inconspicuous part of the group most of the way from Lyra’s house, but now he openly stared at the unicorn beside him in disbelief.

Cadance noticed and grinned indulgently. She explained, “It’s Lyra’s thing, don’t worry about it.”

Lyra started walking normally again. With a frown, she asked, “Don’t you think it’s at least a little interesting? I can’t be the only one.”

“It is, kind of, but nopony else likes it as much as you do, Lyra.” Cadance shook her head at her friend. “I don’t see why a pony would choose not use their magic. If anything, ponies who can use magic should use it to help ponies who can’t.”

“But that’s how it is here! That’s boring!” Lyra protested.

Cadance giggled good-naturedly. “Boring or not, I think it works just fine. Besides, if ponies weren’t using magic, do you think they could do that?” She pointed up ahead to a restaurant, where a unicorn waiter was holding several meals in the air as he delivered them.

Lyra pouted. “Laugh all you want, but I’m sure somepony could do that without magic if they wanted, if they practiced.”

“I’m only kidding, Lyra,” Cadance said soothingly, responding to the seriousness in Lyra’s voice as they walked into the restaurant. “You’ll have to tell me how they do it in Ponyville. Hi, can I get a table for three?”

To the waiter’s credit, he only paused for a moment, recognizing the princess, before he replied with a bow. “Of course, your Highness.”

Cadance and Lyra followed him to their spot. Shining Armor hesitated for just a moment, knowing that a restaurant was no place for a Royal Guard, but that he also needed to stay with Cadance. He settled for removing his helmet and trotted after them.

As they seated themselves around the table, Lyra frowned at him. “Gee, what’s wrong? You don’t like restaurants or something?”

“No, ma’am. Just thinking what my captain would say if he saw me eating here while I’m on duty.” Shining Armor replied neutrally.

“Your captain?” Lyra’s face scrunched up and she glanced between her companions. “First Princess Celestia keeps you from going to Ponyville, now his captain won’t even let him eat at a restaurant? You two can’t do anything without being bossed around, can you?”

Cadance grimaced uncomfortably. “It’s not like that, not really …”

Lyra scoffed. “Except it is. You, Royal Guard guy, you have to follow orders all the time, don’t you?”

Shining Armor shook his head. “Not when I’m off duty, ma’am.”

Thwarted, Lyra looked for another tack. She insisted, “Ok, for him it’s a job, but Cadance, you’re a princess! If there’s anypony Celestia can’t give orders to, it’s you!”

“But that’s what I’m saying! Princess Celestia doesn’t really give orders –“

“Are you ready to order, your highness?”

“Oh, uh,” Cadance looked at the mustached unicorn waiting to hear her choice of cuisine. “Can I have the daisy sandwich?” The waiter nodded and turned towards Lyra.

“Darn, I was gonna order that. Um,” Lyra flicked through the menu. “How about the … pecan pie?”

Shining Armor put in, “I’ll have the cucumber salad, please.” The waiter collected their menus and was on his way.
Cadance continued, “I’m doing this because it will help me become a true leader.”

“That’s what Celestia told you.” Lyra pointed out.

“Yes, but she’s right.”

Lyra countered, “She’s always right! If you have to wait until she’s wrong, you’ll never get to do anything!”

Cadance sighed. “I know. I wish I could go –“

“And you could! All you have to do is ignore Celestia and get on the train with us!“

Shocked, Cadance balked, “Lyra! Ignore Celestia? I can’t do that!”

Lyra waved a hoof dismissively. “Oh, you know Celestia wouldn’t punish you, you’re a princess!”

“But – but it’s Celestia! I know she wouldn’t be mad – I think – but I can’t just do whatever I want!”

“Your highness,” Their waiter arrived with the food they wanted. He set the dishes down and said with a flourish, “Enjoy.”

They thanked him and started eating. After a bite, Cadance said, “Celestia would be disappointed. I owe at least this much to her. She’s only trying to help me.”

Discouraged, Lyra moaned, “It’s hopeless. She won’t listen to reason.” Although it was very good, Lyra poked her fork at her pie morosely. Suddenly, she turned to Shining Armor, who looked up warily from his salad. “What about you, Shining Armor? Do you agree with Cadance? Would you do anything Celestia says, even off duty?”

He swallowed nervously and replied in the most general way he could. “I don’t think anypony would disobey the Princess.” It was an honest answer, but after a moment a nagging feeling made him amend it. “Well, most ponies wouldn’t, anyway.”

His first answer caused Lyra to roll her eyes, but then she heard him change his mind. “You know somepony who would.” She eyed him shrewdly, then leaned forward in excitement. “Who are you thinking about?”

Shining Armor leaned back a little. Defensively, he said, “I don’t think anypony wants to get Celestia upset at them.”

“Oh, come on, I know you were thinking of somepony, it was obvious,” Lyra prodded him exasperatedly.

From where she was munching on her sandwich, Cadance advised, “She’s very persistent, Shining Armor.” Lyra nodded in agreement with her friend’s opinion.

With Cadance unable or unwilling to deflect Lyra, Shining Armor gave in. He sighed. “Alright, have you heard of the Princess’s personal student, Twilight Sparkle?”

“Really? Twilight Sparkle would disobey Celestia?” Lyra wrinkled her nose. “I don’t see it. What makes you think she would go against her own teacher?”

“She told me as much. She’s my sister.”

Lyra’s mouth dropped open. “Wait, wait, you’re ‘that crazy filly’s brother?’”

Shining Armor blinked. “What? How do you know about that?” Cadance looked between him and Lyra, surprised that her friend had known something about Shining Armor that she herself hadn’t.

Lyra shrugged. “I might have overheard it while I was playing music for a restaurant once. I also heard – oh, that was the name, Shining Armor – I heard you were so good at dueling that you didn’t even need armor, but you’re wearing some now.” She eyed his golden plates quizzically.

This unicorn knew way more than she should have. A little put off by her freaky amount of knowledge, Shining Armor defaulted to citing a very basic reason. “The armor is how most ponies identify a Royal Guard.” That was something even a foal would know. It seemed to disappoint Lyra. Shining Armor grimaced and thought back to how he had gotten into his armor that morning. He turned slightly towards the princess sitting next to him. “You know, Cadance helped me put it on today.”

That caught Lyra’s attention. “She helped …? You didn’t.” Cadance paused in the middle of a bite, watching Lyra in confusion, but she didn’t deny anything. Lyra gasped. “You did! Oh, Cadance, you dirty, dirty filly! He doesn’t have a chance!” Lyra cackled, while Cadance hurriedly chewed so she could respond. Suddenly, Lyra thought of something and stopped laughing to ask, “Wait, does he have a chance? Are you using, you know,” She looked at Shining Armor and whispered conspiratorially. “It?”

Cadance’s eyes grew wide in horror. This time she made sure to give Lyra a clear answer. “No! I can’t do that!”

What were they talking about? Shining Armor frowned and looked back and forth between the two mares.

Lyra tilted her head. “Last time I checked, Cadance, I was pretty sure you could.”

Cadance hesitated, thinking of a way to explain. “That’s – that’s with other ponies. It works both ways, I’ve never tried casting it on myself. And – and I can’t create love, anyway, ponies have to already love each other before I can help.”

Oh. Oooh, that’s what they were talking about. Shining Armor looked away and rubbed the back of his neck. He hadn’t even thought that Cadance might be using her special magic on him. It didn’t feel like he was under a spell, but how was he supposed to know?

Lyra gave a short, “Oh.” She recovered quickly, though. With a sly smile, she said, “But, you didn’t say you didn’t want to.”
Cadance didn’t respond, instead reddening in embarrassment. Lyra could always find a way to get what she wanted.

“I’m glad there’s something you don’t need permission for.” Lyra smiled, satisfied. Then, as if she hadn’t just talked about the most awkward thing possible, she said. “Well, it’s about time to head to the train station.”

The sudden change in subject caused Cadance to shake her head, lost. “What?”

“The train station, so we can go to Ponyville. Well,” Lyra corrected herself. “I guess you’re not going, but I’m meeting Minuette and Twinkleshine there. Not to be rude, but do you mind if we leave now? You can finish your sandwich on the way.”

Cadance raised an eyebrow. “What’s the rush?”

Lyra paused, weighing her options, before she said, “You know how Minuette always shows up on time?”

Cadance nodded. “Well, sure. She’s punctual.”

Lyra rolled her eyes. “Punctual is one thing, perfect is another. In all the years we’ve been friends, she’s always been exactly on time, never early, never late, down to the last second.”

Cadance recoiled slightly, realizing Lyra was right, but she recovered and said, “Ok, so she’s very punctual.”

That wasn’t enough for Lyra. “You don’t believe me!” she said indignantly. “Well, I used to think so too, but what about this: yesterday, she had a dentist’s appointment right before Moondancer’s party. That was over in the commercial district, across town. That’s at least half an hour’s fast trot, but she showed up with Lemon Hearts and Twinkleshine right on time anyway!”

“Maybe she cancelled the appointment?” Cadance guessed.

Lyra gave her a skeptical look. “We are talking about Minuette, right? Has perfect teeth, brushes twice every day, took classes on dental care? I’m pretty sure she went to the dentist.” Suddenly she remembered the time. With a cry, she jumped up off her seat. “Oh no, we’re gonna be late, we have to go!”

Cadance got up, quickly dropping a few bits on the table. “So, if she’s always on time, why are we trying to be early?”

“How else are we going to find out how she does it? Come on!” With that, she dashed out of the restaurant. Ponies turned to watch her go, curious about and somewhat annoyed at the disruptive green unicorn.

Cadance laughed and galloped after her, letting her royal poise disappear. Shining Armor looked around, seeing ponies stunned at the princess’s behavior, before he jammed his helmet on and gave chase himself.

After a merry race through the streets of Canterlot, dodging around startled onlookers and narrowly avoiding slow moving carriages, the train station came into sight. They trotted in, hoping they were on time, but according to the clock on the wall, it was two minutes past. In the small crowd next to the train, they could see two unicorn mares, one white and one light blue, waiting on the platform for them.

Lyra hid her face in her hooves. “Aaagh,” she said, disappointed, but too out of breath to say anything about it.

Cadance trotted past her, going to meet their friends. “Hi girls,” she said, barely winded. Shining Armor pulled up beside her, trying to slow down his breathing and thinking about the sweat he would have to clean off his armor.

The two mares, Minuette and Twinkleshine, stared at them.

“Did you run here?”

“Why is there a Guard with you?”

“Yes, we did. We got caught up talking, that’s why we’re a little late, sorry.” Cadance lay a hoof on his shoulder. “This is Shining Armor. He’s my new bodyguard.”

“Oh, uh, bodyguard. Right.”

“Wow, you get a bodyguard? Is he coming with us to Ponyville?”

Cadance’s face fell. “Well, I have to talk to you about that.” She took breath and said, “I can’t go to Ponyville.”

The reaction was about what she had expected. Their crestfallen expressions and sad eyes spoke as much as their pleading words. She couldn’t let them convince her to change her mind though, so she endured it with a heavy heart.

“I know, I know. Lyra already tried to get me to go,” Lyra nodded sympathetically. “But this is something that I have to do for Celestia. I have to lead the Summer Sun Celebration here.”

Minuette and Twinkleshine were suitably impressed at her new responsibility and even wondered what her Summer Sun Celebration would be like. Overall, they made her feel much better about staying behind, although Lyra gave her a pointed look at her mention of Celestia, which caused Cadance to shrug uncomfortably.

Too soon, the conductor shouted, “All aboard to Ponyville!” Cadance ushered Lyra, Minuette, and Twinkleshine towards the train, not willing to make them miss their ride to Ponyville. Once on board, they rolled the window up and kept talking to her, right up until a whistle blew twice and the train started rolling forward.

“Good luck, Cadance!” They leaned out the windows, waving goodbye.

“Have fun, girls!” She waved until the train started turning with the mountain, hiding her friends from view.

Shining Armor watched her. How hard had it been to keep saying goodbye to her friends? Now they were gone to have fun together without her. What was Cadance left with?

When the train entered a tunnel, disappearing completely, she turned around and smiled at him. “Thanks for coming with me.”

His eyes widened in surprise. Not entirely sure why he was being thanked, he said, “Of course, Cadance.”

She moved forward and lay her head against his armored shoulder. “Let’s go back.” Together, they walked back the way they came, towards the castle.

Chapter 6: First Comes Love

After a visit to Shining Armor’s quarters to drop off his gear, Cadance and her Guard left the castle for a much cozier abode. Shining Armor’s parents lived in the upscale residential district, just outside the castle walls.

Glad for a brief reprieve from her new responsibilities, Cadance’s thoughts drifted towards memories of high school nights spent in the cheerful warmth of Shining Armor’s home. She wondered aloud, “It must be really nice, living so close.”

Shining Armor nodded. “Yeah, it is. Whenever Twily and I want to visit, it’s just a couple minutes away, and Mom and Dad are glad we both stayed in Canterlot.” For a moment, he regretfully thought about how Twilight wasn’t home tonight, but quickly reminded himself that it was selfish to want to keep her from leaving. After all, Celestia herself had sent Twilight away.

He looked back at Cadance. “But you don’t need to ask what it’s like, right? I mean, your family is … um ...” Shining Armor realized that he actually only knew one of Cadance’s relatives, and he wasn’t sure how close a family Cadance and her adoptive aunt were. Feeling guilty for just assuming Cadance had been raised in the same way he was, he apologized, “Uh, sorry. I guess it’s a little different for royalty.”

Cadance’s eyes widened. “No, it’s ok! You’re right, Aunt Celestia is close by all the time, I probably even talk to her more often than you get to talk to your parents. It’s just that …” She bit her lip. Celestia had always taken good care of her, so she needed to find the right words to say how she felt. Haltingly, Cadance said, “She’s … distant. She always has good advice, always says the right thing, but it’s hard to … I don’t know, understand her, sometimes.”

Shining Armor thought about how he saw Celestia. She was the Princess of Equestria, the Royal Guard’s commander-in-chief. It was his duty to follow her orders without question. He didn’t need to understand Princess Celestia, but he had at least expected Cadance to know more about her. “That’s kind of surprising, ‘cause I think most ponies would say they understand her. She’s the pony who raises the sun and the moon.” Cadance looked at him, confused by the oversimplification. Shining Armor quickly explained, “I know there’s more to her than that, and I thought you knew her well enough to actually understand her.”

The confusion faded from Cadance’s face, slowly turning into contemplativeness. “I don’t know if anypony knows her that well. She doesn’t treat me too differently from other ponies. I don’t think she’s allowed to.” Cadance mused. Shining Armor raised an eyebrow, so she continued, “When she adopted me as her niece, I became part of the royal family, with all the princes and cousins and relatives. They’re all really proud of their positions, but they’re only royalty because their ancestors were Princess Celestia’s family, that’s all. Nopony knows exactly how they’re related anymore, but they call themselves nieces and nephews because their relationship is so important to their nobility.”

“Seems almost like an excuse, when you put it like that.” Shining Armor observed.

Cadance gave a little smile at his brazenly blunt assessment. “Don’t let them hear that, they’re very defensive about it,” she warned. “Since they can’t prove how closely related they are, they take the next best thing, which is how much Celestia favors them.”

Shining Armor’s eyes widened. A pony with favor from Celestia was very fortunate indeed. “Who does she favor?”

Without a real answer, Cadance said, “Who knows? She doesn’t give many signs. She spends more time with some ponies than others, but there’s always a reason for it. If she acted differently towards somepony, there’d be all kinds of trouble.” She took a breath in and sighed. “Sometimes I’m not sure I like being part of the royal family.”

Shining Armor watched her walk with her head bowed. He hadn’t known how important the matter of family was to royalty, but then a thought occurred to him. “Maybe in a way, you’re not. Maybe Celestia doesn’t see you as one of them.” Cadance looked up as he kept talking. “None of the others are directly related to her, but Celestia specifically made you her niece. Your cousins are royalty, but you’re Celestia’s family.”

Cadance mulled over the possibility. It was an outside perspective – she wouldn’t have thought that being adopted made her closer to the Princess than her actual relatives. “I guess so.”

Shining Armor pressed on, “And she choose you to take over for tomorrow.”

That caused her to groan in annoyance. “I was trying not think about that, but …” She had been reluctant to accept the duty, but Celestia did have her best interests at heart. “You’re right. Celestia might not show it often, but she’s my aunt. My family.” She smiled, a little happier to know that she was tied to Celestia by more than just her royalty.

As they turned the corner and Shining Armor’s house came into view, she let herself lean her head against his. “Thanks.”

Taking care not to jostle her, he glanced over and wondered if he should say something, but decided to just enjoy the moment. The sounds of the Summer Sun Celebration were far off, and the walk down the street was peaceful.

Eventually, they came up to his house. On the door step, he finally broke the silence. “Still, I guess it’s a relief to get out of the castle, huh? There’s no politics or scheming here, just Mom, Dad, and Twily, when she can make it.”

Cadance lifted her head to look at him, smirking. “No schemes, huh? I seem to remember one or two …”

He hadn’t been thinking about it, but Shining Armor remembered those. Embarrassed, he cleared his throat. “Well, uh … ok, maybe just a few, but the point is you don’t need to worry here.” Cadance rolled her eyes. His credibility in doubt, Shining Armor said, “I’m serious! I’ll never give you anything to be concerned about.” Cadance remained unconvinced, her smile saying that his previous burst of charisma had come to an end. His dignity an irretrievable loss for now, he turned in defeat and knocked a hoof against the door.

Despite her teasing, Cadance did believe Shining Armor. His antics at the Academy formal weren’t nearly as devious as what her cousins got up to. Besides, it was endearing how much overeager bumbling and unlikely success he had gone through in the name of impressing her.

As they waited, she thought of the last time she had seen Twilight Velvet and Night Light. Really, the only reason she had had to go to their house before was to foalsit for them, and the last time she had done that was years ago, before Twily got her cutie mark. Cadance probably hadn’t even started wearing her regalia regularly yet.

So much had changed since then. There was the Academy graduation, Shining Armor’s enlistment in the Guard, their falling in love, and of course tonight, the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. There was so much to … talk … about …

The night air suddenly seemed to grow colder. The other things could be dealt with, but love was different. She didn’t remember ever getting introduced to Shining Armor’s parents as his girlfriend. That meant that it might happen tonight, and she wasn’t ready for that. It would be so much harder to face his parents if they didn’t already know. This was just supposed to be a relaxing visit, hanging out with Shining Armor over dinner, she really hoped they already knew – hesitantly, she asked, “Um, you told them about … us, right?”

Cadance watched Shining Armor’s comically glum expression slowly become blank as he remained silent. He opened his mouth to say something just as the sound of hoofsteps came from the other side of the door.

It opened before they had any time to react. Light spilled out, revealing a blue-maned stallion who peered out at the ponies on his doorstep. His face lit up when he saw who it was. “Shining Armor! You didn’t tell us you were visiting! We would have – wait … you look just like you did whenever we caught Twily running around with you and your delinquent friends.” He squinted at his son, scrutinizing the nervous colt. “What did you do this time, mister?” Suspiciously, he turned to the mare standing next to Shining Armor.

His eyes shot wide open. “Princess Cadance!” he exclaimed. Evidently he hadn’t been expecting her. She saw his gaze flick upwards, looking at her crown. “I, uh – your Highness.” After a moment of indecision, he dropped into a bow.

“No, please, it’s just Cadance, Mister Light. I don’t need you to bow.” Cadance lowered her head to speak to him more evenly. She felt a little sick. Night Light didn’t know. He thought she was visiting as a Princess, when she was actually there as Shining Armor’s girlfriend. What to do, what to do …

Night Light rose to his hooves. “Of course – Cadance. Er – please, come in, come in, make yourself comfortable, you know where everything is. Shining Armor, would you make some tea for her? I’ll go get Velvet.” As they entered, he fairly trotted out of the living room, leaving the two alone.

The room was silent, except for the sound of Night Light apparently galloping up the stairs. Shining Armor coughed. “I, uh, guess I never got around to it.”

Cadance buried her face in her hooves. Shining Armor watched, debating if he should say something, before awkwardly leaving to find where his parents kept the tea.

Twilight Velvet sat in the living room, holding her teacup in her hooves. She smiled too brightly. “So what brings you here tonight, your Highness?” Cadance winced, but let it pass. Velvet realized a mistake and amended herself, “I mean, you’re always welcome here, Princess, Twily’s foalsitter, wonderful filly and all, but surely tonight is a busy night for you?”

Here was her chance to clear everything up. She began, “Oh, I’m just here with Shining Armor. He …” She wanted to finish with ‘is my boyfriend,’ or, ‘is in love with me,’ or even, ‘is an adorable colt I want to spend the rest of my life with,’ but somehow it felt like that would be too sudden. It was the result of years spent together, after all. Just saying it, without any kind of explanation, wouldn’t be right. In the end, what she said was, “… he hasn’t eaten yet.”

If they were confused, they recovered quickly. “Oh, hasn’t he?” Velvet gave a stern look at Shining Armor, who made a helpless expression and shrugged. Before he could explain, his mother thought of something and turned back to her guest. “Have you eaten, Cadance? Oh, I knew we should have made something nicer than sunflower soup and apple pie …” She directed the latter comment to Night Light as she put her tea down. Shining Armor’s ears perked up at the mention of food.

Cadance glanced at him, thinking quickly. Even dinner was about her, now, but at least it took the blame off Shining Armor. Cadance had already eaten, but she didn’t want to sound like she was making an excuse not to eat. “Ah, if I could just have a little of the pie please, that would be excellent.”

“Of course, dear.” Velvet stood up and trotted off towards the kitchen.

Night Light cleared his throat. “So. Cadance. How are things up at the castle?”

She didn’t really want to talk about royal life, not when she had just managed to get away from it, but the question was fair. If she was lucky, she could even use this to talk about Shining Armor. “Oh, it’s been quite busy, actually. Celestia has been getting ready to hold the Summer Sun Celebration in Ponyville.”

Night Light nodded. “We heard, she even sent Twily there today to help set up. Otherwise, she’d be here at home.”

“That’s right.” Cadance didn’t know how she had forgotten. Of course they had heard from Twilight. Cadance couldn’t very well talk about herself now, it would be rude to change the topic like that. She fumbled for what to say next. “Aunt Celestia thinks Twilight could learn a lot from her visit.”

“She would certainly like that. It sounds like Celestia knows our Twily very well.” He chuckled at the thought of the Princess of all the land doting on his daughter. After a moment, he fell into silent contemplation. “She’s not very good with ponies, though. I’m sure she’ll do her best, but I’m a little worried how well she’ll handle being in a new town.”

Cadance and Shining Armor shared a guilty look. They knew Twilight was more interested in studying than talking to ponies, but they had both overlooked how much trouble she might have in Ponyville.

Shining Armor spoke up for her. “I think she’ll do ok. Spike went with her.”

That cheered Night Light up. “Oh, that’s true. Spike knows what he’s doing. Very responsible for his age. Actually,” he said slowly, sounding out a thought, “Sometimes I think he took your job, Cadance. Twily doesn’t need a foalsitter anymore, but I don’t think she knows how lucky she is to have Spike.”

Cadance thought back and remembered how Celestia had raised the baby dragon. Strange – in a way, that made Spike almost as close as family, even if she barely knew him at all. “He sounds like a good kid.”

Night Light raised an eyebrow. “Hm, you’ve never really met him, have you? I guess Twily stopped needing to be foalsat around the time Spike hatched.” He mulled it over. “It really has been a long time.”

Cadance felt a little remorse for not keeping in touch, but it was mixed with happy memories of her first days with Shining Armor, back when she had still been Twilight’s foalsitter. She just had to explain how she had paid so much attention to the brother and so little to the sister since then. “Well, I’m glad she has someone to take care of her, even if she’s all grown up now.” Night Light nodded in agreement just as Velvet poked her head back into the living room.

“Dinner’s ready, everypony! Come into the dining room!” She trotted away, carrying several bowls in her magic. Shining Armor jumped up, a big grin on his face.

Cadance’s slice of pie was much bigger than she had asked for, but it was quite good, so she didn’t mind. She said to Shining Armor’s mom, “Velvet, did you make this yourself? It’s delicious.” She took another bite as Velvet blushed, saying bashfully, “Oh, it’s nothing, really.”

Night Light reached out and lay a hoof on her shoulder. “You’re too humble, dear. If Cadance says it’s good, it’s certainly not nothing.”
She looked down at the food she had served, partway convinced. “Oh, but don’t you have those royal chefs up at the castle? Even Twily and Shiny tell me the cooking there is great.”

“We do.” Cadance chewed slowly, thinking. She couldn’t say Velvet was better than Chef Ramsay, because it just wasn’t true. “But … there’s more than just ingredients that go into a meal, right?”

“Hm.” She considered Cadance’s words before her eyes widened. “Oh, is that the royal philosophy? I always knew you were a deep, thoughtful pony, Cadance, but this is more than I thought! You’ve even got philosophy about simple food like this …”

“Well,” Cadance said. Her fork drifted downwards to rest on the table. It was just supposed to be a compliment, she hadn’t expected it to be misinterpreted so badly. At a loss for words, she looked to Shining Armor for help.

He gulped down a mouthful of soup. “Mom, there’s no philosophy here, the food’s just good. You’re making her feel weird.”

She shook her head, saying, “Oh, Shiny, you just don’t understand! It’s not just about the food, it’s about being gracious no matter what! Isn’t that right, Cadance?”

Cadance tried to wrap her head around what Velvet was saying. She opened her mouth to respond, but without anything coming to mind, she closed it and shook her head instead.

Velvet frowned. “It isn’t? But, then … what do you mean?”

“The food’s just good,” Cadance echoed Shining Armor. With nothing else to say, she took another bite of pie.

“Oh.” Velvet deflated slightly. “Well, thank you, dear.”

Night Light patted her shoulder. “I told you, Velvet. Your cooking is fit for a Princess.”

She smiled at her husband. After a brief nuzzle, Velvet turned back towards Cadance. “Even so, I don’t think you’re here just for some pie. Or to keep Shining Armor company.” She glared at her son, who shrank slightly over his bowl of soup.

Hanging out with Shining Armor was the original plan, but things had changed since then. It was time for an explanation. “Earlier we were talking about how Princess Celestia is going down to Ponyville tomorrow.” Night Light nodded, so Cadance continued. “I would have gone also, it turns out somepony needs to run the celebration in Canterlot while Celestia is away. She chose me.”

Velvet gasped. “Congratulations, dear! That’s a big responsibility! This is the most important thing I’ve ever heard about you doing!”

Night Light smiled. “You’re certainly stepping into the spotlight, aren’t you, Cadance? You’ve come a long way from being our Princess foalsitter.”

“Just think, you’ve gone from taking care of one little filly, to leading a whole city!” Velvet beamed. Cadance smiled back nervously in response, acutely aware of how many ponies were depending on her. As if she could hear Cadance’s thoughts, Velvet herself frowned, asking, “But then, shouldn’t you be busy? What does leading the Celebration have to do with us?”

Cadance shook off her doubt and returned to the present. “We spent most of today preparing, so we’re free for the moment. We came here because … I have a lot to thank Shining Armor for.”

Velvet gave her a questioning look. “Shiny? What did he do? Did he help you today?” Shining Armor was watching her, letting her speak for herself.

“Yes. Yes, he helped me today. He was there when I needed him. He’s been there for me ever since …” This was it. Cadance closed her eyes, afraid of how they would react. Everything could change once she said this, but then she felt Shining Armor’s hooves around her shoulders. He was there to help her, so she kept going. “… ever since we fell in love.”

She gritted her teeth and waited for it. Confusion she could deal with. She could explain just by talking about the perfect little gentlecolt that was their son, but what she was afraid of was the sound of disbelief, or even outrage at the betrayal of their trust. When they had first met her, they must never have thought she’d end up in love with their son, and here she was, telling them just that. What if they didn’t want her to be Shining Armor’s girlfriend? What if they told him to stay away from her and her strange love magic? What if he had to abandon his dream and leave the Royal Guard, and she was left as a forlorn Princess without her loyal Guard, alone in the castle forever?

The silence stretched on. Why hadn’t anything happened? Were they frozen at the news? Cautiously, she opened one eye to see what they were doing.

They were watching her, looking confused. Velvet said, “That’s … nice, dear. Er, congratulations. Again.”

Night Light asked. “Are you afraid of something? We’d never hurt you, Cadance.”

She found her voice. “I know that. I was just … aren’t you surprised? Neither of us ever told you we were in love.”

Both of them chuckled. Night Light asked, “Oh, so you thought it was a secret?”

“Maybe if we were blind and deaf, dear. His last year at the Academy, Shiny was just head over hoof over somepony. It wasn’t hard to figure out who. He could barely talk about you and look anypony in the eye at the same time.” Velvet giggled to herself, remembering the phase of constant lovestruck inattentiveness her son had gone through.

Shining Armor let go of Cadance as he complained the betrayal of confidence. “Mom!”

She just waved a hoof at him. “Oh, quiet. It was sweet.”

Under other circumstances, Cadance would have been flattered to know how Shining Armor felt about her in his colthood, but right now she had other concerns. “But – if you knew, how come …?”

Night Light predicted her question. “How come we never did anything about it? Well, Shiny started acting closer to normal again after the Acadamy. Twily stopped talking about you two, and you stopped coming by.”

Velvet said soberly, “We thought, either he got over you, or you just weren’t comfortable telling us yet.”

“Oh.” Cadance felt much, much better. His parents knew, and they thought it was sweet. “I’m sorry we didn’t tell you sooner, then. I guess we weren’t really sure how we felt, except that we were perfect for each other.”

Velvet smiled at her. “That’s quite all right, dear. We’re just happy you finally came out with it.”

Well, that was that, then. There was no real crisis after all. They really were much nicer ponies than she had given them credit for, but no harm had been done. It was with a sense of rightness that she took another sweet bite of pie.

That was when Night Light asked another question. “So, when’s the wedding?”

Cadance nearly choked. Shining Armor let out an impressive spray of soup before he caught himself. He gulped and incredulously asked, “What?”

Night Light tilted his head. “The wedding! Isn’t that what you came to talk about? To get our blessing and start the plans –“

Velvet chimed in. “You know, first comes love, then comes marriage –“

“No!” Shining Armor shouted, horrified. Cadance was almost glad her face was already a deep shade of pink from choking, because it probably hid how much she was blushing. Shining Armor gently patted her on the back. “No, we don’t have any plans! What would make you think that?”

Both Velvet and Night Light’s eager expressions turned crestfallen. Faced with her boyfriend’s disappointed parents, Cadance finally cleared her throat and said, “What he means is, not yet.” She swallowed a few times experimentally.

Shining Armor picked up the line of thought for her. “Yeah, uh, a bit soon, isn’t it?”

Plaintively, Velvet said, “But you just said, you are in love! It’s been years! We’ve waited so long just to hear this!”

Coming from the other direction, Night Light tried to reason, “Think about it Cadance, you’re stepping into the spotlight, and Shiny is there for you - now is the perfect time for a wedding! Isn’t it just what you need?”

Cadance stared at them. She and Shining Armor hadn’t even talked about getting married yet. Why were his parents so set on a wedding? Her fear might have gotten to her earlier, but she knew Velvet and Night Light well enough. She didn’t think they were the kind of ponies to plot about marrying into royalty. She turned to look Shining Armor in the eye, asking him about his parents. The look of confusion on his face was just a mirror image of her own.

That wasn’t helpful. They just had to talk his parents down then. Cadance turned back to them. “I – I think I’ll let Shining Armor decide that. He – he hasn’t asked me yet.”

Shining Armor’s eyes widened. Was that what she was waiting for? Why did she put him in the spotlight?

His parents were looking at him in disapproval now. His mom said imperiously, “Shiny! What are you doing keeping such a nice filly waiting? She deserves a wonderful wedding!”

He swallowed nervously. Could he say he was waiting for the right time to ask? “Er – we only get married once, right? Er –“ That was not what he meant to say. Quickly, he corrected himself. “What I mean is, I want our wedding day to be perfect. I, uh – I know who I want the chaplain to be, and I think I need to earn a little more of her favor before we’re ready.” Yes. Yes, that sounded right. According to what Cadance had told him earlier, it was a tall task he had set for himself, but he knew it was what he wanted.

“Oh.” Understanding clashed with disappointment on his parents’ faces. “Well, don’t take too long. We want you two to have a happy life together as soon as possible, alright dears?”

Shining Armor bowed his head. “Thanks, Mom.”

“Thank you, Missus Velvet, Mister Light.”

After that, they talked for a long time, covering topics like what the years of (not very) secret courtship were like, how Shining Armor had been helping Cadance that day, and what kind of new responsibilities she had. Marriage stayed safely out of the discussion. Eventually, Velvet and Night Light excused themselves to go to bed. While there was an offer for Cadance to stay overnight, after which there was some kind of discussion about Shining Armor’s old room, they instead made their way back out into the cool night air.

Shining Armor sighed. “So, that wasn’t really as relaxing as I hoped it would be.” He hung his head. “Sorry.”

Cadance let out a breath and nodded, but said, “It could have been worse, though. I’m glad your parents are so understanding.”

Shining Armor shot a look back at the house. “You mean embarrassing.” He turned forwards again. “Well, at least it’s over.”

Cadance gave him a dubious look. “I don’t know. That chaplain you were talking about, I don’t think you ever told her you were my boyfriend.”

Shining Armor shivered. “Yeah, but she assigned me to you. She probably already knows too, fall formal and all.” He shook his head. “Is there anypony else we forgot to tell?”

“What, besides your parents and my aunt?” Cadance asked, unwilling to imagine somepony more difficult to talk to. “No, I think that’s enough ponies for now. All our friends already know, don’t they?”

“Pretty much.” Shining Armor brightened considerably at that. “Well, we’re safe then. Things are going our way.” He let the talk fade into a comfortable quiet. For a moment, the only sound was the distant cheers of the Summer Sun Celebration. His ears twitched and he looked towards Cadance hopefully. “Hey, how about we go enjoy the Celebration a little?”

Cadance smiled. “That sounds wonderful.”

So, together they left Shining Armor’s house and trotted off down the street. The night was still young, and they were going to make the most of it.

Prologue: New Royalty

"Hold still, Shining Armor. This will only take a second."

"Ok," Shining Armor stood as still as a statue - until his father's magic tried to knot the tie around his neck, which caused him to squirm again. "It's tight. Why do I have to wear this thing?"

Night Light sighed and let go of his son's tie. "We're going to see the new princess."

"But can't I go without a tie?"

"No, you can't." Valiantly, Night Light lit his horn and picked up the tie again. "This is history in the making! There's never been another princess before. You want to look your best when you're there."

"Okay." Shining Armor fidgeted as his father jerked his tie around. Looking for a way out, he thought of his friends. "Will Wishing Star and High Road have ties?"

"Yeah, they'll have them too." The other colts' parents had agreed to meet at Shining Armor's house before heading to the coronation. After a moment, though, Night Light remembered that High Road was a pegasus. If Night Light was having trouble putting a tie on, even with magic, he wasn't sure High Road's parents could do it at all. "… Probably."

Hearing that there was a chance his friends wouldn't be wearing ties, Shining Armor brightened. Before he could ask about it though, the doorbell rang. He turned his head, hoping to hear his friends, but his father used his magic to make Shining Armor look forward. As Night Light kept working on his tie, Shining Armor heard his mother open the door, then exclaim in surprise, "Blaze! Aren't you supposed to be on duty?”

As soon as he heard the name, Shining Armor shouted, "It's Uncle Blaze!" He wriggled out of Night Light's grasp and ran downstairs to see his favorite uncle. Tie-knotting attempt thwarted, Night Light sighed in defeat and trotted after his son.

Shining Armor headed straight for the living room, where he could hear his uncle talking. He spotted the armored stallion taking his helmet off and immediately ran up to greet him. “Uncle Blaze! You’re back!”

Blaze turned to see the white colt quickly crossing the room. Grinning widely, he lifted a hoof and ruffled his nephew’s mane. “Heh, I sure am, kid. The Royal Guards and I have been busy getting ready for the coronation, but I came to see you first.”

Shining Armor had seen the Royal Guard on duty in the castle once. They had seemed really serious and important, so Blaze had to really care if he was here instead of doing Royal Guard work. Shining Armor stared in awe, but his mother frowned. “That’s very nice of you, Blaze, but isn’t there something you’re supposed to be doing?”

“Aw, lighten up, Velvet. I haven’t seen you since before the trip to La Manecha. Hey, Night Light.” Shining Armor’s father walked into the room, still holding an undone tie. “Is that for Shining Armor here?”

Night Light smiled at his brother-in-law. “Good to see you, Blaze. Yeah, I was trying to get Shining Armor ready to go … but I guess we’ve still got time, if you’re here.” He looked at Blaze questioningly.

Taking the hint, Blaze chuckled and started to explain. “Alright, alright, according to the plan, I’m supposed to be at the castle getting ready, but we ran into a problem. We had time for a rehearsal, which turned out perfectly, except for one thing.” Blaze paused, then motioned for the others to move closer, which they did. As if it was a shameful secret, he whispered, “Princess Celestia thought it looked silly.”

Velvet raised an eyebrow. “Silly? How?”

“Well, I don’t know how much you’ve heard, but the new princess is a foal. She’s … this tall.” Blaze held a hoof up at about Shining Armor’s height. They, in fact, had not known she was so young: as far as most ponies knew, a new princess had just appeared out of nowhere. Looking at his uncle’s hoof, Shining Armor realized that this meant she was actually about the same age as he was.

Blaze continued, “It’s a big event, so we made sure everything was fit for a princess, from the decorations, to the ponies, to the uniforms and costumes. It looks great, but the thing is, we didn’t see the big picture. In the end, if we use all of that, the ceremony will look like it’s about everything except the princess.”

As Blaze shook his head regretfully, Night Light chuckled in understanding. “You made it so you can’t see the forest for the trees, huh?”

Blaze sighed, “Yeah, ‘over the top,’ is what Princess Celestia called it. The princess is the whole reason for the coronation, so we have to tone it back a bit. We started by taking out the Royal Guard and the chorus.”

Shining Armor’s mouth dropped open in shock. He had been looking forward to seeing the Royal Guard doing what they did best. “Taking out the Royal Guard? You’re not gonna be there?”

Reacting to his nephew’s disappointment, Blaze gave him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry, kid, the Royal Guard will always be there.”

A knock at the door stopped Shining Armor from asking anything else. Velvet walked over and opened it to reveal two colts and their parents. “Right on time! Good morning, everypony!” Velvet motioned them in.

“Good morning to you, too! You know we’d never be late for something like this.” Shining Armor recognized the pegasus stallion as High Road’s dad. As the adults started talking, Shining Armor went over to his friends. With some apprehension, he noticed High Road and Wishing Star were both wearing ties.

His friends weren’t looking at him, though. The armored guardspony being introduced to their parents was far more interesting. Wishing Star asked, “How come there’s a Royal Guard here?”

“He’s my uncle,” Shining Armor said proudly.

That got his friends’ attention. “Your uncle’s a Royal Guard? Awesome!”

“What kind of stuff does he do?” High Road asked.

“Uh,” Shining Armor knew it was important, but he didn’t really know much else about the Royal Guard. He thought fast. Asking Blaze was the easiest way out, but there was one thing Shining Armor could say first. “Well, he went all the way to La Manecha to find the new Princess.”

Neither of his friends had ever been to La Manecha, so, by default, the fact that Blaze had been there was impressive. Shining Armor enjoyed their amazement as he thought of what else the Royal Guard did. Blaze himself overheard, however, and frowned.

“Hold on there, Shining Armor. I did go to La Manecha, but that was because Princess Celestia was visiting the Donkey King. Nopony knew we were going to find a new princess.” Blaze explained.

Night Light heard the side conversation as well. Joining in, he said, “That’s what I thought. The coronation announcement was a bit of a surprise, really.”

“How did you find the princess, anyway?” Wishing Star’s mother asked curiously.

“That’s an interesting story. I hope you’ll forgive me if I let Princess Celestia tell everypony about it at the coronation. She’s very proud of her new niece.” Blaze grinned apologetically.

“Speaking of the coronation, we should get going soon.” High Road’s mother said.

Velvet’s eyes widened in surprise. “Is it that time already? Oh dear, I’m so sorry, but we still need to get ready. Honey, why isn’t Shining Armor’s tie on yet?”

Night Light made a helpless expression. “Give me a second. Come on, Shining, let’s get that tie on.” Shining Armor groaned in disappointment, but trotted over to his dad anyway.

“Uh, actually,” Blaze interrupted with a small smile. “Do you remember what I said about toning back the coronation?”
Shining Armor’s ears perked up. “You mean, we don’t have to wear all this stuff?”

“We’ll see about that,” Blaze grinned at him, then turned to the colts’ parents. “There was a bit of a change in plans for the coronation. Originally, the new princess was going to be escorted by a chorus and the Royal Guard. That won’t work, so instead,” Blaze motioned towards Shining Armor and his friends. “We’re looking for well-behaved young colts to take our place. I think these boys are just right for the job.”

“Take … your place?” Velvet asked, confused. “You mean, they’ll stand in for the Royal Guard? In the ceremony?”

Blaze nodded. “That’s exactly what I mean. Princess Celestia herself requested it.”

It was starting to dawn on the colts that they might be more than just part of the audience.

“What do they have to do?” Wishing Star’s mother asked.

“Not too much, we’ll walk them through it. They just have to walk the princess from the doors to the stage. Um, there might be a little singing involved. I’m sure they’ll love it.” Blaze explained.

There was a pause, during which the colts glanced at each other and at their parents, hoping they would get to go. Then, High Road’s father said, “It sounds great to me. Why not?” The other adults agreed, causing Shining Armor and his friends to cheer for their good fortune.

“Looks like you don’t need that tie after all.” Blaze put his helmet back on and opened the door. “Let’s get going!”

Blaze and the colts parted ways with the others once they reached the castle gates. The parents had to find a good spot, since they had Shining Armor’s baby sister with them. Meanwhile, Blaze led Shining Armor and his friends deeper into the castle.

“Where are we going?” Shining Armor asked.

Blaze said, “We’re gonna get you ready for the coronation. You don’t need those ties, but we do have some neat uniforms for you. Think of it as being junior Royal Guards.”

This day was getting better all the time. “Really? You’re the best, Mister Blaze!” Wishing Star laughed excitedly. Beside him, High Road’s eyes shined in anticipation.

“Don’t thank me yet. Wait ‘till you see it.” Blaze chuckled at the colt’s enthusiasm.

One thing was bothering Shining Armor, though. “If we’re taking your place, where are you going to be?”

Blaze raised an eyebrow, surprised that Shining Armor was still distracted by that, but he reassured his nephew, “Like I said, the Royal Guard will always be there. We’ll be on duty, we just won’t be part of the escort. That’s up to you.” He stopped in front of a pair of double doors and turned towards the colts. “And here’s where it starts, the castle changing rooms. Let’s get you three ready.” Lighting his horn, he pushed the door open for them.

Inside, ponies were bustling about finishing last minute preparations for the coronation. A group of Royal Guards picked up some pink banners and marched out a side door. Across the room, tailors were putting the finishing touches on some ponies’ costumes. In the middle of the room, there were racks of fabrics and clothes that reminded Shining Armor of the tailor shop where his parents had bought his tie.

As the colts walked inside, heads turning so they could see everything, one of the tailors looked up from her work and walked over to meet them. “Nova Blazon, are those colts for the ceremony?”

Blaze nodded. “Indeed they are. This is my nephew, Shining Armor, and his friends, High Road and Wishing Star.”

The tailor smiled warmly. “Pleased to meet you! I’m glad you could be a part of the ceremony, I think this is going to be a very memorable day for you.” She examined each of them for a moment before she trotted over to one of the racks of clothes. To Blaze, she said, “Thank heavens you got them, this change was on such short notice. We’ve only got one other colt so far, but that should be enough, perfect actually, except …”

They waited for her to continue, but she just pursed her lips and picked a colt-sized uniform from the clothes rack. Blaze raised an eyebrow and asked, “… Except what?”

“Oh, nothing,” she said with a falsely cheery smile. “I’m sure the four of them will do just fine. Here we go, try this on …”
She held out a maroon uniform jacket. It looked very official, with its golden buttons and bright red collar. Shining Armor carefully put it on and found out that it was surprisingly comfortable, too. As his friends received their own jackets, Shining Armor decided that the uniforms looked pretty good.

Soon, the tailor stepped back to scrutinize her work. Satisfied with their appearance, she giggled and said, “I think you make charming little guards. The princess is lucky to have you three today.” She checked the clock. “And we finished just in time. The coronation is starting soon, you should get to your places.”

“Right. Come on, this way!” Blaze led the colts out of the changing room and down another hallway. They could hear the chatter of a large crowd of ponies up ahead. It was loud, and it only grew louder as they got closer. Shining Armor looked out a window and saw a crowd of countless ponies below them. There were so many, it seemed like everypony in Canterlot had showed up.

Shining Armor swallowed nervously. “That’s a lot of ponies,” he said, a little afraid.

Blaze noticed. “Don’t worry, you’ll do fine! The crowd will love you, and besides, this is really all about the princess: imagine how she feels right now.”

Shining Armor thought about it, and somehow he felt worse. Who knew what kind of things could happen in front of that many ponies? His uniform could look bad, or he could trip and fall on his face, or he could sneeze, but as bad as he had it, there was somepony who was going to have even more ponies watching her …

They rounded a corner and came within sight of a small group of ponies. A couple Royal Guards were standing by a really tall double door. There was also a colt in a uniform nearby and, further away, a bunch of fillies in flowery dresses. This must be the escort Blaze talked about. Shining Armor’s heart thumped painfully as he realized the coronation was going to happen on the other side of those doors.

“Here we go. This is where you’ll meet the princess. Hold on a second.” Blaze walked over to the other Royal Guards to talk about something. As Shining Armor and his friends looked around, the other colt noticed them.

With an arrogant huff, the blonde-maned colt said, “I was wondering when my subordinates would arrive. You’re late.”

Shining Armor tilted his head to the side. “Sub – ore dinnets…?”

High Road frowned. “It means he thinks he can boss us around.”

Upset, Wishing Star protested indignantly, “Hey! Just ‘cause you were here first –“

Acting insulted, the snobby colt cut him off. “Just because? Hardly. I think I can boss you around because I know I can. I am a prince.”

Blaze finished his discussion with the Guards and interrupted the colts before they could continue. “That’s right. Prince Blueblood graciously agreed to help escort the princess today. Uh, you only have a short time together here, so try to, um, enjoy it.” Blaze glanced at Blueblood, then whispered to Shining Armor. “Don’t mind the Prince, he can only get on your nerves if you let him.” He stood up straight again and spoke to all the colts. “I can’t stick around, I have to get to my post. Have fun, huh? I’ll be watching.” And with that, Blaze trotted off.

The other colt gave them a smug smirk, pleased to be proven right by an adult. Prince Blueblood? This was what royalty was like? Suddenly, Shining Armor wasn’t so eager to be helping with the coronation.

Wishing Star was grumbling under his breath, but he could see the Royal Guards by the door. He wasn’t about to misbehave in front of them, so he settled for just glaring at Blueblood. The Prince was busy straightening his uniform jacket and didn’t notice. Shining Armor and High Road gave each other a look of relief that they didn’t have to restrain their more impulsive friend.

The sound of giggling reached their ears. Looking around, they remembered that there was a group of fillies in the hall, too. As the colts looked, one of the fillies stepped forward and the others huddled together, whispering excitedly.

As she walked closer, Shining Armor was stunned. He didn’t really think much about the fillies in his class at school, since he was busy playing with his friends, but this filly was beautiful …

She was right in front of them, and he was staring. He quickly looked away, and then looked back, because she was talking.

“Hello. Are you colts the Guards who are going to walk with us?”

“Uh …” It was an easy question, there was no other reason for them to be there. What was he supposed to say again? Blueblood beat him to it.

“Yes, I am Prince Blueblood and I am going to lead the Guard today.”

The filly quickly glanced at each of them before she focused on the Prince. “Oh, okay.” She bit her lip, then continued, “I just wanted to ask, have you ever – been in front of lots of ponies before?”

Blueblood smiled, happy to talk about his favorite subject – himself. “Since I was just a foal. I’m a natural in the spotlight.”

“… Oh.” The filly looked dejected. Shining Armor wanted to say something to make her feel better, but unlike Blueblood, he had never been “in the spotlight” before.

Outside, the orchestral music swelled. One of the door guards whispered loudly, “Princess! That’s your cue!”

The filly – the princess, she had wings and a horn – gasped, “Oh my gosh –“ She turned and ran towards the doors, just as the guards opened them.

“Fillies and gentlecolts, may I present for your love and admiration, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!”

On the other side of the doors, an endless crowd of ponies turned to look at the one pony whom they had come to see. The princess stood perfectly still, overwhelmed by the sheer number of ponies staring at her. Time seemed to freeze as everypony watched the little filly standing there.

Something in his heart told Shining Armor he had to help. He stepped away from the other colts and opened his mouth to say something, anything - when the words came, they were just loud enough so that she could hear him. “We’re right behind you, Princess.”

Her head turned. For just a second, Shining Armor could see the fear in her eyes – and she saw the honest concern in his.

Her fear seemed to lessen, just a bit. She gave him a little smile and turned back forward. Knowing she had somepony who cared, she raised a hoof and took a step towards her destiny.

Chapter 5: Summer Sun Celebration Official Overseer’s Checklist

The walk back was much more sedate than the impromptu race that preceded it, but despite the slower pace, they soon arrived at the castle. Not long after they had passed through the gates, they were confronted with the inevitable reality of royal duty. As they entered the courtyard, a shadow, cast by something above, fell over them. Together, they looked up to see a pegasus Guard descending out of the sky. Cadance wouldn’t know who it was, but it took Shining Armor only a moment to recognize his old friend High Road.

High Road dropped to the ground a short distance in front of them, bowing as he folded his wings. “Good afternoon, your highness,” he said. He pulled out a scroll and continued, “Princess Celestia sent me to bring you the official overseer’s checklist for the Summer Sun Celebration.”

Cadance glanced upwards again to see where the pegasus had come from, wondering if Celestia was overhead somewhere looking down upon them, but she only got the sun in her eyes for her trouble. Instead, she looked back at the Guard, who passed her the scroll. Smiling, she thanked him and unfurled it so she could start reading. “Festival booths, weather schedule, city decorations, Guard fanfare, very important ponies … this is a lot to handle, I hope I can do it all in time.”

High Road nodded. “It’s a two-pony job, at least. Princess Celestia said she would never ask anypony else to do it alone.” He gave Shining Armor a quick glance.

Shining Armor remembered what Celestia had said in the throne room. She was counting on them. “We won’t let the Princess down.”
“I’m sure she knows.” An encouraging little grin broke across High Road’s face before he spread his wings, preparing to take flight. “I’ll let you two get to work.”

They spent that afternoon preparing for the Celebration. It passed quickly, though that was less because they were having fun and more because they had so much to do. Cadance and Shining Armor were glad they had gotten a break between running to the train station and meeting High Road, because being the official overseers seemed to involve a lot of hoofwork.

Festival booth registrations were ostensibly submitted to the records office in the castle, but when Cadance and Shining Armor arrived, the harried clerk stationed there sent them away with a list of booths that had errors in their paperwork.

Thankfully, Cherry Fizzy and his pegasi caught up to them. With the corporal’s odd knowledge of mundane castle minutia, they managed to resolve most of the paperwork. What they couldn’t resolve they gave to Star Hunter and Sunburst, who ended up flying all around Canterlot to notify ponies that they needed to correct their information.

As they returned from a business that sold candy suns, Star Hunter asked, “Is that the last of them?” Sunburst shot him a surprised look.

Cadance missed it, because she was looking at the checklist. She replied, “Yes, thank you.”

“Of course, your highness.” Sunburst replied. The different, somewhat apologetic and less exasperated voice caused Cadance to look up, but she saw nothing except two completely stoic pegasi. She returned to the checklist.

The weather schedule was fairly easy. There were only two kinds of weather that were acceptable for this occasion: mildly cloudy, for the sun to shine through gloriously, or perfectly clear. This year called for the latter, so they checked that the request had been submitted to the Cloudsdale weather crew. The pegasi they spoke with didn’t even seem bothered by the fact their work was being examined by a princess. They proudly claimed that not one cloud would be in the sky come sunrise.

“Silly overconfident weatherponies …” Cherry Fizzy muttered.

“It was refreshing to be treated like a normal pony,” said Cadance. “I think we can trust them to keep the skies clear.”

The city decorations and fanfare were also simple. They were both being supervised by Lieutenant Meadow Song. With his jolly attitude and a group of enthusiastic helpers, including both Guards and volunteers, it was easy to tell that the task was in good hooves. In fact, the real challenge was in dragging themselves away from the activities so they could start the next item.

“I knew you guys were good at having fun!” Cadance exclaimed, giggling as they left. She had enjoyed working with the decorating ponies more than expected. There were still balloons tied to her mane, pulling her hair into a ponytail and making her look like a high school filly … with balloons floating over her head.

“Well, that’s just Meadow Song.” Shining Armor said. Then he paused, reconsidering. “I mean, the rest of us like having fun, too, it’s just, you know, he’s pretty good at it.” He didn’t notice a streamer that Meadow Song had stuck in his mane. Sunburst quietly removed it for him.

It turned out the first four items had taken all afternoon. As the sun dipped below the horizon, they finally proceeded down the list to the last item. To lead the Summer Sun Celebration, Princess Cadance needed to meet some very important ponies, so, after leaving her balloons with Fizzy and taking a break to clean up, Cadance walked with Shining Armor to the dining room.

As they were passing back through the foyer, Shining Armor asked, “So, who are these important ponies, anyway?”

Cadance frowned, looking back at the list. “I don’t know. Celestia didn’t actually put down any names. It just says to meet them at the dining room.”

They had reached the top of the stairs and were walking down the hallway when they heard the distant chatter of a roomful of ponies. Shining Armor commented, “Sounds like there’s a lot of ponies there already.”

Cadance’s eyes widened. “Oh, I hope we’re not late,” she said apprehensively.

The doors to the dining room were standing open when they arrived. Inside, ponies were already seated around a long table, with places wet for a meal, but no food had been served yet. At the far end of the table was an unmistakable, tall, white-coated figure, who noticed them and motioned them over.

“I think we are,” Cadance said, disappointed.

It looked like she was right, but Shining Armor said anyway, “It’s not too late to meet them if they’re still here. Come on, let’s go in.”
They trotted down the room towards Celestia. A few ponies turned to glance at the pair. Some did a double take when they recognized the lesser-known younger Princess. Suddenly, the idle chatter shifted to a tone of murmured gossip. Shining Armor saw Cadance’s face tighten in worry.

As soon as they reached the head of the table, Cadance started to explain, “Princess Celestia! I’m sorry I got here so late, we just finished with the decorating committee -” Meanwhile, Shining Armor knelt before the Princess.

Celestia raised a hoof, stopping her. “You’re not late, Princess Cadance. I wouldn’t have started without you.” She nodded at Shining Armor, who rose and took his place alongside the Guard standing watch over Celestia. Cadance’s eyes followed him briefly before she looked back to Celestia.

She asked, “You would hold up all these ponies for me?” She didn’t want to be late, but it seemed selfish to make so many ponies wait for just one mare.

Celestia nodded, smiling gently. “Of course! Even with all these ponies’ reputations, they’re here to see you. I’m sure they don’t mind waiting a little if it means they can meet a Princess.” Celestia gestured to her, which Cadance guessed was a reminder that she was more important than she thought. “Now that you’ve arrived, the wait is over.” Cadance turned her eyes to the floor, still thinking about being the center of attention, as Celestia stood up to make the opening announcement.

“Fillies and gentlecolts,” she began, speaking out over the noise of the crowd. Quickly, everypony fell silent. “Thank you all for coming here tonight, on the eve of the Summer Sun Celebration. This is a time of cheer, to rejoice in the happiness and warmth that comes with a life full of friends and ponies who are important to us.” She paused. It might have been for emphasis, but the result was that the room was suddenly quiet again. If Celestia wasn’t the best public speaker Cadance knew, she might have thought the moment was awkward. Celestia continued.

“I myself cherish all my little ponies, so I take the chance to visit them, in towns all across Equestria, whenever I can. Tomorrow, I will be raising the sun from Ponyville. While I am there, I leave you with another very capable Princess. Many of you may know of her. I am proud to say my niece, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, will be leading the Celebration here in Canterlot. I’d like now to let her say a few words.” With that, Celestia returned to her seat.

As every head in the room turned towards her, Cadance realized, with extreme clarity, that she was supposed to say something.

Her eyes widened. Her mouth followed suit by opening up. What came out was, “Good evening, everypony.” It sounded bizarrely loud, to be talking to a room right after Celestia finished. “I’ve been a princess – your princess – for many years now. I care for everypony and want them to be happy, but I always used to work my magic in secret, from afar.”

She swallowed, trying to convince herself to keep talking. “I think it’s time now for me to step up and do my part. I am not Celestia, nor do I wish to be, but when tomorrow comes, I intend to guide Canterlot through it as well as I can. Thank you.”

Celestia spoke up again. “With that, dinner is served! Enjoy!”

Right on cue, waiters poured out from the kitchen, carrying platters laden with the finest salads and breads. As ponies’ attention turned away from her, Cadance sighed in relief and pulled out a chair to collapse in.

Celestia smiled down at her. “Well done, Princess Cadance. It can be difficult just to speak in front of so many ponies, but you did admirably.” She glanced down the table and saw ponies starting in on their food. She lifted her fork to get a bite of her cherry salad. “We have a little time before it’s polite to come talk to either of us, so … how has your day been?”

Feeling a little overwhelmed, Cadance shook herself and looked down at her own salad. She replied, “Uh, good, I guess. We finished everything on the checklist you sent us, at least.” She poked at her salad. Even though she was hungry, something felt wrong with just eating. After a moment, she checked if anypony was watching, lifted a cherry with her magic, and sent it over towards Shining Armor. For a second, it looked like he might refuse to take it, but then his mouth opened just slightly. Cadance smiled and resolved to keep feeding him throughout the meal.

Celestia chuckled, causing Cadance’s smile to become a sheepish grin. Apparently, the other Princess had seen her little breach of protocol, but luckily she didn’t comment on it. Celestia continued the conversation as if nothing had happened. “I see. I hope it wasn’t too much trouble.”

“Oh, no, none at all …”

And so the meal proceeded. Cadance gradually relaxed as she just talked with the elder princess and shared good food with her Guard. Eventually, one of the guests got up from his seat and nonchalantly approached the head of the table. He bowed before Cadance and introduced himself as a local businesspony who deeply admired her for what he felt was her unsung work. He wished her luck with the Celebration before returning to his seat.

His show of nerve appeared to be a signal that let other ponies know they could start coming up as well. Some had the daring to speak with Celestia, but many only talked to Cadance. It started to sink in that she was going to take Celestia’s place for a day.

One pony was walking towards her when Cadance realized she knew him. In fact, she knew him very well, better than she would have liked: it was her cousin by royal association, Prince Blueblood.

All the other ponies had bowed to her, as was fitting for royalty. She had felt a little awkward, but there wasn’t much she could do. It was tradition, after all. Blueblood, however, barely even treated other royalty as equals. Cadance didn’t particularly care to be equals with Blueblood, since she had seen how he treated ponies he thought were lesser than him.

Blueblood stopped beside her seat and looked down at her. Cadance found she disliked looking up at him and felt an urge to even the difference by standing up, but she told herself it wasn’t important. Instead she forced a smile on her face as Blueblood greeted her. “Ah, dear cousin of mine, I must congratulate you on a job well done!”

Cadance blinked. Was he talking about completing the preparations from the checklist? “Uh, thank you, Prince Blueblood.”

“Don’t mention it, don’t mention it. I’m only giving congratulations where it’s deserved, of course.” He chuckled to himself. Cadance halfheartedly joined in. She knew that he was being gracious, but she still hoped that he wouldn’t stay long. Blueblood’s chuckle faded as he grew serious. He asked, “But I wonder, how did you do it? How did you convince dear auntie to give you her special spot, on her special day?”

Was that what he meant? He was congratulating her, just for being given responsibility? “I didn’t convince her, Blueblood. She asked me to do it.”

“Did she?” He raised an eyebrow. Cadance braced herself as he nodded in apparent understanding. “Oh, I see, I see. Quite clever, if I say so myself, covering your own tracks, but come now, do you expect me to believe that? I mean, if she just picked anypony, there’s a certain somepony with every qualification, isn’t there?” He flicked his head, flourishing his mane, before leaning in to whisper confidentially, “Dear Cadenza, you can tell me, what’s your secret?”

Cadance caught herself leaning away involuntarily. “There’s no secret, you can ask her yourself –“ She looked over, but Celestia was busy talking to an Earth pony Guard wearing special blue armor.

Offended, Blueblood stood up straight again. “Well, that’s just unbecoming. I’m not a foal, I won’t run to auntie, besides you know she’s never straightforward with these things. I would think you’d tell your own cousin the truth, but I suppose I was wrong. Some of us have more honor than that. I’ll just have to find out myself, with my own hard work, while you enjoy your unfairly gotten spoils. Good night.” He walked away, snout in the air, before she could reply.

Cadance let her breath out exasperatedly and looked down at the remains of her salad, debating the benefits of letting herself flop face-first into it. She’d get dressing and leaves all over her face and she’d probably ruin the reputation she’d been building all night, but man, there was something about talking to Blueblood that made all of that feel unimportant. She was wondering if she could pretend she’d fainted or something when she felt a hoof on her shoulder.

It was Celestia, who was looking at her warmly. Somehow, Celestia had been paying attention to the Guard and Blueblood at the same time. “Your patience is outstanding, Princess Cadance. I know the feeling. The meal’s almost through. You can do it.”

Cadance nodded. She turned to her salad and picked up her fork to eat it instead.

Shortly after desert, a generous portion of cloud cake, was served, a pair of ponies came up to speak with Cadance. Both of them were wearing elaborately designed clothing and looked very fashionable, to the point where Cadance actually felt underdressed in her crown and matching regalia. The stallion introduced himself as Fancy Pants (“merely a pony with some influence in our Princess’s grand city”) and the mare was Fleur dis Lee (“a model of no small repute”). After the standard greetings, she expected them to wish her luck and depart, but they did not.

“Besides meeting you, I came to you tonight to make an offer.” Fancy Pants said solemnly. “You see, I happen to be in a position where I have connections with ponies all across Canterlot. It’s actually quite useful, on occasion. I’d like to make my connections available to you. If, for any reason, you need to spread a message quickly, without ponies knowing exactly where it came from, I can help you do it.”

Cadance sat quietly, digesting the information. She didn’t want to distrust these ponies, but there was something that felt dishonest about using connections like that. “That’s very impressive, and very generous. If it’s not too much trouble, may I ask why you made me such an offer? I haven’t heard anything similar from anypony else.”

“Well,” Fancy Pants said, becoming contemplative. “Sometimes, I just think ponies take the Princesses for granted, so I’d like to do something for you, for a change. There’s not really much I can do for Celestia, but I do hope I can help you get started.”

“There is another reason.” Fleur spoke up before Cadance could think of a response. Fancy Pants winced at the interruption, but Fleur continued anyway. “Your Highness, you’re already doing a very good job. You don’t need to worry about meeting expectations.”

Cadance’s eyes widened. “Uh, what makes you think I’m worrying about … meeting … ah.” She could see that, by failing to deny it, she had just admitted the truth. Her shoulders slumped slightly. “Is it that obvious?”

“No, of course not,” Fancy Pants reassured her. He shot a look at Fleur. “But you would have to be very confident to not be at least slightly nervous. Frankly, this is the first time you’ve been in the spotlight since your coronation.”

“So, you figured it out.” Cadance sighed. It was disappointing to think she had successfully conquered her anxiety, only for complete strangers to see through her act. “I guess I couldn’t fool you.”

Fancy Pants shook his head. “No, like Fleur said, you’re doing well. I’d say most, maybe even all of the ponies here tonight believe in you.” He brought a hoof to his chest and bowed, causing Fleur to bow as well. “We believe in you, Princess, and we’d like to show our support in any way we can.”

Cadance looked down at them, feeling humbled. It would just be ungrateful to hold onto any suspicions she had. “I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve such dedication, but I thank you. You’ve been very thoughtful. If I need help tomorrow, I know who to ask.”

The two unicorns rose from their bows. “It’s our pleasure, Princess.”

As they walked away, Cadance heard Fleur say, “I told you she’d understand …”

“Yes, yes, you were right, dear …”

Cadance glanced after them curiously and saw that Fleur was walking unusually close to Fancy. With a smile, she realized they were probably a couple. She turned back to her plate and sent the last forkful of cake to Shining Armor.

Not long afterwards, Celestia stood up to make an announcement. As the room turned towards her, she said, “It’s been a wonderful evening with you all. I hope everypony had just as good a time as I did.” There were nods among the ponies seated before her. “Dinner is over, but the night is still young.” Celestia turned away from the table to look out the window. Ponies followed her gaze, but they didn’t know what she could be looking at. “The ballroom is now open for the Celebration. Tomorrow, the sun rises – but before then, I hope you all enjoy this night with friends and loved ones. Good night, everypony.”

There was applause all around as ponies rose to their hooves. Afterwards, talk resumed and the crowd began to trot out of the dining room.

With the room mostly empty, Cadance got up and turned to Celestia. “Er, Princess, should we join them?”

Celestia’s expression shifted from distantly warm to coy. “Only if you want to, Princess Cadance. I’m sure there’s a lucky stallion who would be available for a dance.” She smiled outright as Cadance blushed and nodded meekly.

Celestia turned back to the window. “I won’t be joining them, myself. Any other year, I’d be happy to, but I have preparations to make for tomorrow.” She gave Cadance an encouraging look. “The next time I raise the sun, you will be leading all those ponies, Princess Cadance.”

She stood up straight and looked her aunt in the eye. “I won’t let you down, Princess Celestia.”

Celestia nodded. “I know you’ll do your best, but this is for you. Make it a celebration to remember. Good luck.”

“Thank you, Princess.” Cadance watched as Celestia made her way down the room and departed.

Alone for the moment, Cadance stood still, taking in the fact that Celestia had left her in charge of the entire city. She couldn’t remember a time when Celestia had ever done such a thing before, but now Cadance was responsible for everything …

The soft clanking of metal plates reminded her that there were still Guards in the room. She turned around to find Shining Armor standing there, taking off his helmet.

“How’d you like dinner?” she asked, reaching up to smooth his messy mane.

Shining Armor chuckled. “It was good, thanks. Usually my shift is over at sundown.”

Cadance frowned in concern. “We should get you something real to eat, then. Maybe the kitchens have something left.”

“Probably.” Shining Armor nodded. “I was thinking about going home for dinner, I haven’t been there for awhile.”

Cadance heart sank slightly. “Oh. I see.”

Shining Armor noticed and leaned closer. “You’re welcome to come. Mom and Dad would be happy to see you.”

“Oh.” Cadance felt a little embarrassed that she hadn’t assumed that. “Alright.”

Shining Armor leaned in the rest of the way and nuzzled her, just above her shoulder. Cadance let out a breath, feeling relief at the familiar touch, and brushed her own snout against Shining Armor’s neck. Quietly, they turned together to leave the room.