Don't Buck the Messenger

~~~~~~~

Sleep

I've been getting a lot more of it lately. There were many things I missed about being a captain of the illustrious Canterlot Royal Guard. The shrill bugle of a reveille horn certainly was not among them however.

I stretched out my legs with a strained groan as a series resounding cracks rippled satisfyingly throughout my back. An indulgent smile crept across my muzzle as I let my body fall limp, dropping back into the feather-soft mattress to be absorbed once more. My tired body sank back into the indentation of the luxurious resting place with a satisfying "pomf" as an arrangement of cool sheets floated down serenely to settle snugly against my form. I may never find out what a pegasus feels like sleeping on a cloud, but I think I could venture a guess right now...

Flexing my legs slightly, I pulled the long pillow wrapped between my legs into a tighter embrace, gently squeezing its soft form against the slow, rhythmic metronome of my heartbeat.

Perhaps being cuddled up to a pillow, sharing a tender embrace with a sack of down and feathers was not the most dignified of positions for a prince, but in that moment, I couldn't have cared less. I slowly blinked my eyes open and looked across to the space beside me on the large double bed.

"Good morning, my bride," I softly whispered as an incorrigiblely stupid grin spread across my face. I couldn't help it. I could do nothing less than beam each time I got to say those words. 'Those magical words...' Even if I hadn't had the chance to say them directly to her in quite some time...

I blinked lazily at the picture frame laying atop a pillow on the empty bed space beside me. Within the simple wooden frame sat a picture of her highness, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. There were hundreds, maybe even thousands of pictures, paintings and sculptures of the crystal princess displayed throughout the Empire. The crystal ponies loved their saviour of a princess, and it showed in their depictions of her. Only the highest levels of craftsmanship were admissible in capturing her likeness. Each statuesque rendition of their princess was to be painstakingly chiselled with limitless care and attention. Each painting lovingly hoof detailed to nothing short of perfection. Each photograph carefully staged and screened by only the most lauded of photographers.

None of those depictions were like this one though. This one lacked any crown or regalia, no exotic finery, no perfectly styled, gem embroidered hairstyles. Just her, there, immortalized in film by a picture I had taken myself.

I gazed doe eyed at the image, an unmistakable warmth building within my chest. She lay half turned from the camera, a ripple of bed sheets draping over her shapely waist. Her expression remained groggy from waking up on some unremarkable and forgotten morning. Her mane sat ever so slightly askew, a few wayward stands hanging loosely across her face somehow only seeming to add to her allure. Her dainty, rounded muzzle pointed slightly down and away from the camera, but her eyes stared up, shimmering like the finest gems of the Empire.

Even while contained behind the well-worn glass of a picture frame and sealed within the eternal torpor of cellulose film, it seemed as if her gaze could still reach out and grasp me, convincing my heart to cease its beat while willingly entering into the rapture of her enchantment. Her bewitching eyes proved themselves no less potent on this occasion than they had done the day before, or the day before that...

I cherished every detail of this photo, just as I cherished every detail of the pony it depicted. Her cheeks blushed a faint shade crimson as her brow pricked ever so slightly upwards; shy, uncertain, yet still somehow wholeheartedly trusting. A tiny dimple formed in her delicate cheek as her soft lips parted to give a timid smile. 'That luminous, heart melting, smile...'  A smile that simply oozed sweetness and sincerity. A minuscule signal of approval by which I could validate my entire existence for having garnered.

The same goofy grin from earlier spread uncontrollably across my face again as a swarm of butterflies awoke to flutter within my chest. That smile felt so close. If I could just strain my ears hard enough, I'd be able to hear her dainty giggle drifting idly through the air.

This was a picture like no other. A picture just for me. A picture not of the crystal ruler, nor the princess of love.

This was a picture of Cadance. A picture as perhaps only I knew her. The pony I loved, and who for some unfathomable and blessed reason, had chosen to love me back.

A picture I cherished. A picture of my bride.

I flexed my legs again, squeezing the pillow tightly against my chest and stomach once more, nuzzling against it as my eyes drifted shut, a dopey grin lingering across my face as infatuated feelings of warmth pulsated throughout my body. Not the most dignified position for a prince, but again, I couldn't care less...

'Just five more minutes, Shining. Don't worry about it, Shining. You stress too much, Shining'.

I stomped back and forth across the large captain's quarters angrily muttering to myself. 'Two hours. TWO, HOURS. How do you oversleep by two hours, Shining?'.

I forced myself to halt my pacing, deciding it would be best if I didn't wear the pattern of my hooves into the new floors. With a weak grunt I stepped over to the room's wash basin. I looked up at a simple mirror overhanging a porcelain vessel filled with clear water. Dipping my hoof into the cool liquid, I confronted my reflection with a protracted sigh.

"This new title is turning you soft, Captain," I growled disapprovingly through squinted eyes before splashing my face, the waters chill touch snapping me to attention. "No time to waste though, you've got important things to do." I straightened myself before puffing out my chest and thrusting my hoof forward, locking my elbow in place and pointing accusingly at my duplicate in the mirror. "So quit powdering your nose and get your flank moving, Princess!" I bellowed to myself in my best drill instructor's tone.

Satisfied with my short bout of self-deprecation, I hurried to the door of my chamber, briskly pushing through it and passing into the central barracks of the guard house. It was a simple set-up; A utilitarian bunk accompanied by a small metal hoof locker made up each station, one of which I had originally planned on occupying during my stay. The Guard house's architect had insisted that such accommodation would be a "travesty" for a prince however and instead had a side room converted into a captain's quarters. I would have argued, but the promise of a double bed and down pillows made it difficult to protest....

'Soft,' a voice reverberated mockingly through the back of my mind.

I shook the thought from my mind and stopped at the rooms threshold to watch as a hoof full of guard ponies milling about quickly snapped to attention, saluting upon my entry. I stepped forward, marching slowly through the centre of the room as I silently examined the state of the barracks and its occupants. 'No, no, no...' I groaned internally as I paraded past row upon row of unmade and detritus strewn bunks. 'That stallion's chest guard is scuffed. That one is saluting with the wrong hoof, Is that one missing a horse shoe...? . It took the combined efforts of every ounce of self-control at my command to prevent myself from face hoofing then and there. Such standards would have never stood in Canterlot. This was not Canterlot though... and these were not royal guards, not yet at least. In truth, each of these ponies were still little more than a trainee. When Sombra invaded a thousand years ago, those ponies with the strength and constitution to face him did so; and paid the price. The new generation would have to be trained from the ground up.

I shook out my neck and exhaled a hot, frustrated breath of air, hesitating a moment before forcing myself to offer a reluctant salute and begrudging sign of approval to the nervous rabble of foals. "One step at a time Shining, one step at a time," I muttered to myself while quickly making my way through the front doors. 'They have a LONG way to go... For now though, I just need to-'

"Your Highness!"

'Ah!' I recoiled sideways, more than a little startled by the unexpected greeting.

"So happy to see you awake, did you sleep well?" a voice waiting outside the barracks door chirped enthusiastically.

I looked down to find my court steward, Tible, staring back up at me expectantly with a wide grin. Clearing my throat, I hastily gathered a rushed response, "Oh, yes- hello, Tible. I slept fine thank you." I said as a specific and glaring artifact of his sentence crossed unpleasantly though my mind. "And for the last time, you can call me Shining."

"Generous as that is, your Highness, I'm afraid I am unable to oblige. I would be remiss in my duty as steward to refer to you by anything other than your rightful title, your Eminence," he chirped pleasantly.

"Please, Tible," I replied, flattening my ears with a sigh, "just tone it down a notch. This whole 'prince thing' isn't sitting so well with me right now."

"This... prince thing?" Tible scoffed just short of horrified. "Uh- yes well, very well. As you wish, your Hi-"

I spun my head, furrowing my brow and shooting Tible an unamused expression.

"Uh, That is, I meant to say- Captain," Tible swiftly corrected with a sheepish smile.

"That'll do," I exhaled as I set off at a slow pace toward the center of town, gesturing for Tible to follow. "Now, how are we progressing today? Anything I should be made aware of?" I slowly swiveled my head in an arc, examining the bustling scene before me. In every direction ponies hurried along freshly carved dirt roads, some hauling cart fulls of material, others scurrying to different work sites while still more busily erected signs and street lamps.

I gazed up at a group of four stallions in fluorescent jackets and hard hats working to erect a freshly painted sign post. One stood atop a step ladder hammering a series of nails into the large wooden sign while the other three stood around its base, staring up and sipping thermoses.

'Why does there always seem to be one pony working for every three standing around "supervising"? Must be some kind of worker's union regulation...'

One of the workponies idly glanced sideways, his gaze at first passing over me without incident before snapping back in a double take.

"Your Highness!" He fumbled his thermos and immediately dropped into a polite bow, the others quickly following suit. The fourth stallion wobbled backwards and tumbled off the ladder and onto his back with a yelp. He gazed up at me from his back, regarding me upside down before cringing through a nervous smile, "Ow... I mean- good morning, your Highness!"

I raised my brow. "Uhh, good morning, Gentlecolts. Are uh- you alright?" I winced at the fourth work pony while stepping forward to offer him a hoof.

The stallion scrunched low to the ground as another from the group, a white stallion wearing a differently coloured vest, stepped forward. "Oh yes, your Eloquence! He's fine! Don't you worry yourself none about us, your Splendidness!"

"Are you sure? That looked like quite the fall..."

The fourth work pony scoffed with a laugh while still on his back, "HA! Bollocks! t'was nothin', you should'a seen the time I- Ow!" He was swiftly interrupted as the white forepony delivered a stern kick to his shoulder while shooting me an apologetic grin. "Huh? Oh- I mean... Banish thine concern, your High Royalness. I am most well- and good. Thank thee...?" the stallion stumbled uncertainly as his supervisor nodded along.

"See, mi' Lord!" the forepony shot with a grin, "Nothing that merits your concern. We have everything under control."

Passers by had begun to take note of the spectacle, stopping what they were doing to watch as I stood above the still overturned stallion. "Uhh yea, well, if you say so... keep up the good work?" I crowed, growing increasingly uncomfortable.

"Oh we will. your Benevolence!'

"Have a good day, your Highness!"

"Thank you, your Princefulnes!" they all chimed together as I began to scoot away.

I trotted briskly by, each pony along the street stopping to regard me with a short bow and a friendly greeting as Tible hobbled behind.

I ducked around a corner into a quieter side street, slowing my pace with a sigh. There was once a time when I was surrounded by stallions and mares with mouths that could make even the saltiest of airship crews blush. Now everyone I met was just so... well mannered.

'Soft...'

"I'm so sorry- about that, Captain." Tible stumbled while catching his breath as he rounded the corner after me. "The nerve of some ponies, It's- simply reprehensible."

"It's fine, Tible, I'm just glad to see everypony working. Besides, a little informality never hurt, right?"

"While addressing royalty, it most certainly could!" Tible Scoffed. "Although," Tible turned away with a sly smirk, rummaging through his saddlebag for something, "I suppose it is nice to see progress being made..."  He returned producing a freshly printed promotional flyer.

I reached across taking the parchment from him. "Quartzite Ridge. Open for business," I read aloud.

"Indeed it is, Captain!" Tible beamed. "Things are proceeding swimmingly beneath your supervision. In a matter of weeks, I dare say Quartzite Ridge shall be quite the bustling little town."

"I hope so, Tible. It would be great to return home soon..." I drew in a solemn tone.

"I'd imagine so, Captain," Tible gave a knowing nod. "This is the third kick started settlement project you've overseen in as many months. I'd imagine you must be feeling awfully homesick by now. Missing the palace and such."

"Hmm? Oh, yes- of course." The Palace? Not so much. A certain somepony? More than perhaps was reasonable... "Still, like you said, only a few more weeks to go," I hummed with half-hearted optimism. "Assuming there are no more delays, that is."

"Ah. Yes. Regarding that..." Tible responded with no small amount of masked hesitation. He whipped out his faithful notepad from the saddlebag strewn across his back and busily flicked through the scribble choked pages. "There are a few teeeeeny matters that have arisen overnight that may require the briefest of your attention."

My eyebrow shot upwards as I peered sideways, my shaky optimism quickly suffocating beneath a noxious smog. "What kind of matters?," I prodded cautiously.

"Weeell, nothing particularly dire I'm sure, Captain," Tible strung out his words reluctantly while balancing a pair of reading spectacles atop his snout. "Let's see... Ah, yes, a private messenger from the Crystal Capitol arrived for you this morning. They have been directed to the newly finished town hall to await your audience."

'A messenger? Well, I suppose that isn't so bad, I wonder what they-'

"The latest shipment of timber also arrived from the lumber yard this morning," Tible interrupted my thought as he flicked to the next page in his pad. "Buuut it is reported to have been heavily infested by termites."

'What?! Termites? The materials stockpile is all but empty, and I can't use compromised timber! I was counting on that shipment to begin work on the framing of the western homesteads.'

"The crew responsible for construction of plot 32 have also been reported as taking ill," Tible continued. "Something about sharing a batch of poison berries they found on a nearby bush."

'WHAT?! That project is already weeks behind! Now those dunder heads can't work because they couldn't wait for snack time?'

"Aaaaand finally, the structure atop plot 17 may or may not have collapsed overnight," Tible finished, bracing himself, breath withheld. "But other than that, everything is going swimmingly!" he chirped with a forced smile.

'....... Ugh.......... just............ ugh...'

One thing after another. It's how it always was. Weeks worth of accumulated frustration trickled into a noxious pool rising within my chest. It was as if this entire project was conspiring to keep me from home. Oh Tible. Dear, sweet, gentle Tible. None of this was your fault, yet it seemed that you would be the one unfortunate enough to witness me break and boil over. Here it comes, I can't stop it, hold on!

"I see..." I stated flatly, much to my own surprise. "Thank you for bringing these matters to my attention, Tible. Here is what I would like you to do, if you would please," I continued, a slight twitch in my eye developing as the only blemish on my facade of composure.

Tible hesitated for a moment, seemingly expecting a much different reaction to the one he received. He shook out his head before flipping to a fresh page, quill at the ready.

"Please compose and send a letter on my behalf to the lumber yard forepony politely informing him that he will be replacing the latest shipment of timber immediately and at his own expense."

'Wow, that came out far more cordially than I was expecting.'

"Also, if it would not be too much trouble, could you please pass on my regards and a small basket of assorted fruits to the ill workponies along with my best wishes for a speedy recovery."

'Well, well, well. Look at you, Mister cool, calm and collected.'

"And one final thing. If you could please inform the crews that were set to start work framing the western homesteads that they will unfortunately be unable to begin due to unforeseeable circumstances. Have one of the crews diverted to continue work on plot 32 while the others go to plot 17 and salvage whatever they can from the collapsed structure.

'Hmm, maybe all of this is having a positive effect on me...'

Tible smiled as he dotted the final point on his notepad using his trusty quill. "Most excellent, Captain, most excellent. I will make the necessary arrangements at once! One question however? What if the lumber yard forepony does not accept your terms?"

A dark, deep chuckle rumbled up from within my chest as an unnerving off-kilter grin broke across my muzzle. "Then I shall be politely sending along a phalanx of guardsponies to deliver a set of graphic and meticulously detailed instructions as to where he can shove his timber... possibly with a small basket of assorted fruits."

'Hmm, then again, maybe not such a positive effect...'

Tible suddenly choked on what could have only been his own saliva as he coughed and sputtered. "Prince Shining Armor! Such a thing to say! It is not becoming of royalty."

"You're right, you're right," I sighed, half grinning like a foal amused by the image, "I'm sorry."

"Yes, well; never the less, fear not. We'll have all this straightened out in no time with your instruction I'm sure."

"Thank you, Tible," I groaned, not entirely proud of my brief outburst. I had been doing so well up until that point too...

"Best we go see to that messenger in the mean-time though, wouldn't you agree, Captain?" Tible asked, his bright tone returning.

I nodded my head. 'Best we go make sure the Capitol isn't on fire... That's all I'd need today.'

Tible and I approached the modest town hall while discussing minor logistical details for the coming day. It may not have been a particularly large structure, but the spiral building had a charm all its own. It stood apart from its peers simply by virtue of being one of the few wholly finished structures in sight. In a town full of construction projects, even a window sealed with a pane of glass proved to be quite the luxury.

Tible rushed forward from my side as I turned to speak to him. He raced ahead to fling open and hold a small unassuming door, bowing his head low with a smile while gesturing for me to pass. "After you, Captain."

I winced slightly, my ears falling back with a courteous smile as I scooted by. It was a common place and kind gesture, but one that still left me bitterly uncomfortable. 'Not even opening your own doors anymore, shiny?' Having things done for me; it just made me feel...

'Soft'

Tible hurried back beside me allowing the door to seal behind us. The side entry had led us directly onto the elevated stage of the town hall, its freshly laid and lacquered boards creaking quietly under hoof as we passed. Sealed from the fresh air of the outside world, my nostrils flared with the thick smell of freshly layered varnish. It was a good smell, the smell of progress.

"It's come out rather nicely, wouldn't you agree, your Highness?" Tible hummed absent-mindedly, gazing up at the rich Empire tapestries hanging from the tall ceiling.

"Shining Armor," I corrected again, "or captain, if you must, Tible. And yes, it actually has turned out pretty great." It was strange. In the past three months, I had never taken the time to just stop and admire a finished product of our collective labour. There was always something new to move on to, the accomplishments of today shrivelled and forgotten beneath plans for tomorrow's challenge. A smile crept across my face as I trotted across the stage, gazing up at the high vaulted ceiling and its intricate joinery. "It came out amazingly," I chuckled to myself more than anyone.

"Indeed it has, your Highness," came an unclaimed voice from the foot of the stage.

I snapped my gaze downwards to find a figure garbed in a heavy brown, hooded cloak, their face obscured as they held their head turned low.

'Who is... wait-'

"Oh, I'm sorry. I hadn't noticed you there," Tible injected, disapproval thick in his tone as he stepped between the figure and I. "I was beginning to wonder where you had gotten off too." He turned back to address me with an apologetic smile, "So sorry for the interruption, Captain. May I present a rather insistent messenger from the Crystal Capitol awaiting your audience?"

I leaned my head around Tible, squinting past him at the figure as they continued to stare down at the floor.

'There's something about...'

"Captain?" Tible moved his face between us, obstructing my view.

I shot a curt nod to him before opening my mouth to address the messenger.

"Hmphhmmm!" Tible loudly cleared his throat, unwittingly cutting me off while closing his eyes and raising his neck proudly. "Prrrresenting his royal highness, Prince- Shining Armor, his lordship of the Crystal Empire! Prepared to grant thee an audience," he declared prominently, all progress I had made in convincing him to lower the pretence of formality vaporizing in an instant. "I would ask that you keep your address brief, as I assure you his lordships time is quite valuable." He spared no contortion or acrobatic of pronunciation in his declaratios, rolling his "R's" and lathering gratuitous emphasis onto every syllable. He grinned while moving aside and returning my stolen view to me, a tingle of self satisfaction evident in his upturned snout at having been set loose from his leash and return ever so briefly to the pomp and formality of a civilized court.

"Uh... Yea- thank you, Tible," I stumbled, uncertain how to proceed in the wake of Tible's bombastic introduction. "Hello!" That's always a good start. "I'm sorry to have kept you waiting for so long, there were a few 'incidents' this morning," I groaned through a weak chuckle while scratching the back of my neck awkwardly. "I hope that you haven't come all this way to deliver bad news. I could use some good news today..."

"Well, that depends entirely on your definition of 'good news', my prince," the figure responded with a restrained titter on a smooth, honey-laden voice, their head still bowed to the floor.

My eyes shot open, as did Tible's, although apparently for very different reasons. "No..." I whispered to myself cautiously as I stared down at the cloaked figure.

Tible's eyes meanwhile ballooned, no doubt livid at the messengers tone of address. "Young lady, one does not giggle, while addressing royalty."

"Tible," I interrupted. "I need you to go and implement the arrangements with the workers we discussed this morning."

Puzzled, Tible cocked his head unsurely at me. "Now? your Highness?"

"Now," I barked with slightly more force than intended. "If you would please, Tible," I corrected my tone as I continued to stare down at the figure at the foot of the stage.

"Umm... Very well, your Highness. I will take my leave then." Tible glanced harshly back at the messenger one last time as he quickly trotted his way back across the stage to exit through the side door. He meant well, but that steward was born to the formality of a court and could be awfully protective of me sometimes...

The door cracked shut behind him, sending a loud 'SLAM' reverberating through the otherwise empty hall. The messenger and I stood in a long pervasive silence as the echoes rang and died, giving way to absolute stillness. My mind raced as I stretched my senses, rechecking perceived possibilities.

The messenger seemed to fidget uncomfortably beneath their cloak as I stared down at them, my gaze perhaps slightly more intense than would have been considered 'polite'.

"I- uhh- have a message from the princess to deliver," they murmured in the same symphonic voice as before while reaching down into a saddle bag and retrieving a sealed letter in their mouth.

'That voice, it had to be! I'd stake all four of my hooves on it.'

"YOU!" I hurled myself forward from the stage landing heavily by the figures side. I swept them up in my forelegs while spinning on my hind set, twirling them in the air around me as they squeaked in surprise. Their hood fell back against the momentum to reveal a coat of soft pink fur and a silken mane of staged indigo, violet and cream.

"Cadance!" I gawked, my face exploding into an unreasonably large grin.

Her carefully crafted cover blown, she tucked her head into her shoulders as I spun her around me. "Hi," she peeped through a sheepish smile.

I fell back to my haunches, wrapping my forelegs around her slender frame from beneath her wings and pulling her into a tight embrace balanced upon my lap. I stared at her, my mouth agape with its corners upturned in an incessant smile. She laughed gingerly, no doubt at the ridiculous procession of dumbfounded expressions alternating across my face. "I don't... what are you... how did..." I stammered over myself, unable to formulate a complete sentence as my mind raced in a thousand directions at once.

I looked back up at her, my face hanging loose in a slack jawed expression that could only be described as 'unbecoming'.

Cadance tilted her head, her expression forming into a (far more elegant) grin of her own. "Surprise?" she giggled meekly with a blush.

Words. I'd been using them for what I'd call a good portion of my life, yet now it suddenly seemed as if none would avail me. I giggled stupidly while croaking the occasional sound from my throat that never quite eventuated into a sentence.

'Forget it, questions can come later.'

I leaned forward, seizing her lips with my own in an unexpected but apparently not unwelcome embrace. Her head craned back as her brow shot upright and wings flared outward. She blushed heavily, giving off a muffled giggle before settling back into the kiss, her eyes drifting shut as her lips melded with mine to return their affection in a slow and tender exchange.

My senses were set ablaze, every last neuron within my mind firing simultaneously. The warmth of her soft lips, the taste of her breath exchanging with mine, the feel of her silken fur intermingling with my coat as her body pressed down against me...

Magic.

It was as if electricity sparked throughout my entire body. My breathing all but stopped, deemed wholly unimportant in comparison to the sensation pulsating through me. My mind fell to a gibbering, incoherent mess, not knowing what to do with itself. I pressed my muzzle to hers, deepening our kiss as she responded in kind. Her outstretched wings slowly descended to close around my back, their feathered tips gently caressing along my spine, sending a euphoric shiver racing up my vertebrae. The corners of my lips curled uncontrollably upwards, bunching up my cheeks until they ached with bliss.

'I could stay like this forever. The world could be on fire and I wouldn't care. Heck, *I** could be on fire and I wouldn't care. I feel so amazing, so energetic, so alive, so lightheaded... and kind of dizzy now that I think of it... I wonder why- Breathing! I should probably do that breathing thing a few times... In just a second... Okay 3, 2, 1....  Wait, just two more seconds... Wow, I've never seen colours like that before...'*

Reluctantly, I pulled my lips from hers as she leant forward, seemingly not wanting to let them go. Drawing my head back and taking in a breath, I sat watching her dumbfounded, drunk on her mere presence.

"My my, Captain. Is that how you welcome every messenger?" She giggled luminously.

I snapped myself from my daze and consciously tried to reign in my grin, attempting to salvage a shred of masculine dignity from the situation with a nonchalant tone. "Well that depends on whether they have good news for me or not," I said with a shrug, suppressing a giddy and wholly unstalionesque titter of my own.

Her ears dropped back against her scalp as she lowered her head slightly and her expression softened beneath unsure eyes. "Aand, is this good news?," she asked cautiously.

My brow shot upright. "Cadnce, how could you being here be anything but good news?"

Her head shrunk back into her shoulder as she avoided my gaze. "Well, I know you're really busy here and that you have important work to do, and I know you keep saying that everything is going fine, but I worry when you're so far away and it's been so long since I got to see you last-"

"Cadance-"

"And I'm the one who sent you out here, and I know you said you were happy to go for the Empire, but in the end, I'm still the reason why you have to be so far from home-"

"Cadance-"

"And I was worried you maybe wouldn't want to see me because it's my fault you have to be so far away from home and the palace, and it takes so much longer for you to get your sisters mail out here, and-"

"Cadance!" I placed a hoof gently against her cheek and leaned in, softly pressing my lips to hers again, her mental loop breaking as we settled into another kiss.

"It's good news," I whispered softly as I pulled away with a grin, her glittering eyes finally rising to meet mine with a smile.

~~~~~~~