Flashlight

He tapped at the window to mark the seconds as they passed. He hated waiting, but he knew that it was important that he do so. This was a conversation that was needed, even though he was certain that he'd probably get in trouble for it later. Shining Armour, former captain of the Equestrian royal guard, and current co-ruler of the Crystal Empire alongside his wife, Princess Cadence.  He was in his office, in the royal palace of the Empire's crystal city, looking out of the balcony-window at the city below.

It had been over a year since the two of them had taken the throne of this place, but they had settled into their roles well. Having had a military background, Shining had taken on the role of instructor of the nation's new guards, and they'd all turned out well. And speaking of the guards, it was that which now concerned him. For it had recently come to his attention that one of his guards had been seen doing something that, needless to say, had surprised the stallion a great deal. And it was for that reason that he had been called here today.

Shining looked away from the window and towards a clock that was hanging on the wall. He'd only sent out the summons a few minutes ago, but it felt like hours. Still, there was time left for him to get here. The stallion sighed and began moving away from the window. He considered what it was that he was planning. He didn't like that this was necessary. After all, what his recruits did in their personal lives was, ideally, none of his concern. But this one in particular involved him personally, so he felt he had little choice but to make his position clear.

Sitting down at his desk, Shining let out a deep sigh.

"She's going to kill me for this." He mumbled.

It was at this point that Shining heard the sound of a knock on the door of his office. He looked up at the door and then at the clock. He was early, he thought to himself. Shining then focused his attention back at the door before exhaling deeply. It was now or never.

"Enter." He said.

With that command, the door opened, and through it walked a pegasus stallion, younger than himself, with orange fur and a dark blue mane. He wore the golden body-piece of a royal guard, with the standard helmet being carried underneath one of his forelegs. As the pegasus entered, he closed the door behind him before saluting in front of Shining's desk.

"Guard-pony Sentry reporting in Sir."

And here he was. Flash Sentry. He was one of Shining's more recent recruits, but so far he had performed his duties well. He had displayed many of the qualities he looked for in his recruits, a dedication to his work, a respect for authority, and, as was typical of many pegasi, a strong sense of loyalty. As important as those qualities were, none of them made him stand out in any particular way, expect for one thing. Recently, Flash had been spotted outside the city during his latest day off from his duties. What made this catch Shining's attention however was that he was reportedly seen to be with a certain young mare at the time.

And not just any young mare, but Shining's own younger sister, Twilight. As one might expect, this had come as quite a surprise to Shining. His sister had, to his knowledge, never shown an interest in stallions before. And now, not only was she seen with one, but it was one of his own guards, hoof-picked by him. This caused many mixed feelings in Shining. On the one hand, he was happy that Twilight had found somepony special. And having that pony be one of those he recruited himself, he knew that the stallion standing in front of him was of good character. He would not have been chosen to take on guard duty if he was anything less after all.

Shining was not bothered by the fact that  it was a guard who was fraternizing with his sister, a princess. After all, his own marriage was proof enough that such a union was acceptable. However, as her older brother, he felt it was his duty to get a better feel for this guy. Though it was not a prospect he relished. If Twilight found out about this, she'd be just as angry as the day she found out about his wedding, which was not a pleasant experience for either of them. Still, this was not something he could simply sit on the side-lines about. So he'd asked for Flash to come here for a talk. The young stallion stood there, still saluting, and waiting for his commander to reply, which Shining did.

"At ease Sentry."

Flash stopped saluting and stood in a more relaxed posture, waiting for Shining to give his commands. But there was simply a silence between them.. Shining was thinking carefully about what to say about all this. He'd never been in this position before and he was at a loss over what to do. In the end, he broke the silence, knowing that doing something was better than simply letting the boy stand there and do nothing.

"You have not been a guard in the palace for very long Sentry. How are you finding your time here?" He asked.

Flash nodded before replying.

"I find it rewarding work Sir. We guards serve an important role and I feel honoured to have been chosen to perform it. My time at the palace might now have been as eventful as other guards, but I've still enjoyed my time here."

Shining nodded at that. He knew this guy was decent, which just made this all the harder for him. Still, he persisted, and decided to narrow his field of questioning.

"And the last few days? Do you have anything to report?"

Flash considered that for a few moments before shaking his head.

"Nothing to report Sir. Everything has been quiet in the palace recently."

Shining frowned. He wasn't being upfront about his involvement with Twilight. Perhaps he was uncomfortable talking about it with her older brother, or perhaps he just didn't want to speak of personal matters with his commanding officer. Either way, it was clear that Shining wasn't getting anywhere at this rate. So he just relented and decided to be more direct.

"Actually Flash, what I wanted to talk to you about was you recent off-time and.......who you were seen with."

It was at this point that Flash's eyes widened, and he suddenly looked very nervous. Now he understood, Shining thought. He now knew exactly why he'd been called here. The young stallion looked lost for words before stepping forward.

"Sir, I swear I didn't touch her!"

This time it was Shining's time to be taken aback by what was being said to him, as his eyes widened with shock

"No-OH CELESTIA NO!!! That's not what I meant!"

Immediately after that rather embarrassing moment between the two, Shining quickly regained his composure, coughing in a nervous manner. Did this guy really think that Shining was implying THAT sort of thing? Though, in Flash's defense, if Shining had been in his position he might assume the same thing, especially given how uncomfortable this situation had now become. To put the guy at ease, Shining raised a hoof at him.

"Relax. I'm not accusing you of doing anything to Twilight."

The younger stallion exhaled deeply. Clearly the boy thought he was in trouble over this, which was something Shining knew he would have to clear up.

"Flash. If I thought you were the kind of pony that would do something unworthy to Twilight, you would not be a guard right now. I simply called you over here today because I would like to know your intentions towards her."

That seemed to make things much clearer for him. But he remained silent for some time, struggling to think of how best to answer that question. Shining waited for his answer. He knew next to nothing about why Twilight ha chosen to go with him as she did, nor what sort of relationship the two had at this early stage. And judging from the look on Flash's face, he was just as unsure as Shining was. After a great deal of time had passed, Flash finally spoke.

"Twilight's reasons for approaching me are of a......personal reason. I don't think it would be right for me to break her trust by telling another pony why she wanted to be with me. Even if that pony is her own flesh and blood. As for my own feelings towards her........I'm not entirely sure."

Shining raised an eyebrow at that. It piqued his curiosity that there might be some mysterious reason why Twilight had approached him. It would have been a lie to say that he wasn't tempted to inquire further about that. But Flash's words made it clear that, whatever Twilight's reasons were, they were not something she wanted known. And he was not about to make things bad between her  and her new colt-friend by forcing him to reveal her secrets like that.

During all this, Flash had been looking away from him, deep in thought about how to talk about all this. Shining could not fault him for that. Had he been in this position, he'd have likely acted just as unsure. Eventually, Flash focused his attention on his commander.

"Permission to speak openly, Sir?"

Shining considered that for a moment before nodding, granting the young guard the permission he sought. Flash looked down and sighed before speaking.

"You sister is........a very special mare. The fact that she was chosen to become a princess in the first place should be proof enough of that. My time with her the other day, though brief, was a time I cherished. She is intelligent, kind, a good pony to be with. I do not know how things between us will go from this point onwards, nor would I attempt to guess at it. But continuing to be with her is something I can honestly say would make me happy."

Shining did not allow his face to give away what he was thinking right now, but in truth this was something he wanted to hear. He'd known ever since he was young that his sisters was a special pony, to him if nopony else. She had been an important part of his life, and he'd always hoped that, if she did ever get together with somepony, it would be one who understood as well as he did just how special she truly was. But he wasn't about to let this guy know that, so he just kept listening.

"And I consider myself extremely lucky that she chose to spend time with me. I know that my posting here with make a relationship difficult, but if it means being with a mare like her, then such an effort is more than worthy of my time."

It was at this point that Shining cracked a smile, albeit a small one. He nodded briefly before getting up and out of his chair.

"Well then. In that case, I know all I need to. You may go now Sentry."

Flash stood there for a moment, perhaps wondering if there was more to come. But the silence from Shining made it clear that there was nothing left to talk about between them, so he merely saluted to his commander before making his way back towards the door of the office. As he held onto the door-knob however, he stopped and looked back at Shining.

"Permission to speak freely again Sir?"

Shining considered the request before nodding again. Flash considered his words carefully before saying truthfully what was on his minds.

"This conversation was........very awkward."

To say that Shining was taken aback by the recruit's bluntness in that statement would have bee and understatement. Nevertheless, the elder stallion couldn't help but chuckle at his words.

"Eyup." He said in response.

There was a brief nod and smile from Flash before he eventually made his way out of the office, closing the door behind as he left. Shining, satisfied with what he'd learned about the guy, looked back down at his desk and considered getting back to some much-needed paperwork. However, as he began levitating some nearby paper with his magic, he heard a faint sound from behind him, near the balcony window, almost like a gentle window flapping the curtains. He sighed and smiled before speaking loudly.

"Alright honey, I know it's you."

After a few brief moment of silence, he heard the distinct sound of flapping wings. Turning around, he saw a figure land on the balcony outside his window. An alicorn, pink in her fur and mane, and bearing a distinct crystal heart cutie mark. Princess Mi'Amore Cadenza, better known to him and her friends as Cadence. His beloved wife. She entered his office through the balcony window with a somewhat mischievous grin on her face.

"So, I see you had a visitor today."

Still smiling, Shining raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know I don't like being spied upon darling."

She responded to that by walking up to him and kissing him briefly on his cheek, to which he smiled.

"My dear Shining, you can't honestly expect me to stand by while you have a chat with my sister-in-law's new colt-friend, do you?"

Shining frowned at that, though only a little.

"They've only been out once. He's not a colt-friend.......yet."

She giggled a little before speaking again.

"Oh trust me, it'll happen. I know affection when I see it. I saw it in Twilight's eyes when she first saw that boy, back when she got back from that other world. And I saw it in him just now as he was talking about her. Believe me, given time, those two will be crazy for each other."

Shining grumbled a little, prompting Cadence to notice.

"You're not upset at that I hope?"

Shining considered that for a moment before shaking his head.

"No. It's just that.......for the longest time Twilight and I were so close. And now there's this new guy in her life. I guess this is how she must have felt when she found out I was getting married, worried that some pony will come along and make things between us less than they were."

Cadence grew a look of understanding on her face. She held her hoof up to the side of Shining's face and drew to towards her so he was looking straight into her eyes.

"I've known Twilight since she was a child. Believe me when I say that you mean the world to her my love. And just as she came to know that our marriage wouldn't make you love her less, so too will the bond between you survive this."

Shining looked at her for the longest time before eventually breaking out into a smile, which Cadence returned. He should have known better than to debate matters of the heart with her. Love was her talent after all. The two shared a brief kiss with each other after that, assured that things wouldn't be as bad as Shining initially feared that they might. However, they were interrupted by the sound of flapping wings. Turning, they looked out of the window to see Flash himself flying off, no doubt to assume his guard duties at today's assigned posting. Cadence looked at the flying pegasus to her husband.

"So tell me love. What say you to your sister's choice of stallion?"

He gained a forced stern look on his face, pretending not to look like he approved.

"He's.......acceptable."

Cadence giggled again, partly out of being amused over how serious her husband was over this, before replying.

"Coming from an older brother, that's high praise indeed."