The Mark of a Best Friend
Cadance walked into magic kindergarten, her faced scrunched up. Her tiny horn flickered and she focused, her purple eyes narrowing in concentration.
"Ngh!", she whimpered, and a few sparks flashed out of the tip. She sighed, hanging her head, her mane dragging slightly. Shining walked over to her, giving her an affectionate nuzzle.
"Hi Cadey.", he said, giving her his trademark smile. She returned the gesture sadly and he poked her with his hoof. "What's wrong?"
"I just can't make this spell work!", she exclaimed. He chuckled.
"Just give it some time. You're smart, you'll be able to do it!", he beamed. She giggled. The bell rang. Their teacher, a middle-aged unicorn named Chalk Powder, stood behind the desk, a happy smile on her face.
"Children, I have an announcement. I have a son, who is being homeschooled. So, he'll be coming to school with us here, so I can teach him as well! Isn't that great? Now, be sure to give him your warmest welcome and help him out, since he's not a unicorn."
"What?!", rang out a chorus of confused voices.
"Yes, he's a pegasus."
"THAT'S SO COOL!", Shining yelled, waving a hoof in the air excitedly. Chalk went over to open the classroom door, right as a carriage pulled up. A small pegasus colt stepped out. He had brown fur and a darker brown mane, with blue eyes. Shining poked Cadance, who, in all the commotion had kept trying to make her spell work. She looked right up into his eyes, her purple ones widening almost imperceptibly. She blushed, looking down. Shining poked her again.
"Cadey?" She shook her head, a small smile on her muzzle.
"Now this our new friend James Bronco." The small pegasus smiled shyly. "James, say hello, then you can go sit by... Hmmm..." Chalk looked around the room, then smiled, pointing to an empty seat by Cadance. James walked over to her and sat down beside her.
"Hi. What's your name?", he asked.
"C-Cadance...", she blushed, averting her gaze.
"That's a pretty name.", he said obliviously, then turned to Shining. "Hi dude. What's your name?"
"Shining Armor, but you can call me Shining." The boys hoof-bumped and launched into a detailed conversation about the latest episode of Teenage Mutant Ninja Ponies. Cadance sighed, and listened to the lecture. They were discussing the spell she was practicing, and she needed a lot of help.
--
Five years later, in the equivalent of fifth grade, Cadance was still having trouble with certain spells, despite being the best student in her class.
"Ugh! I HATE this spell!", she yelled, a flurry of pink and purple spikes flaring out of her horn.
"Come on, Cadey, it isn't that bad.", Shining said, patting her on the back.
"Where do you think James is?", Cadance asked, shaking her head.
"I dunno, actually, he should've been here by now."
"He always bails on me! I haven't gotten my cutie mark yet and I need to practice my spells on him, how could he be so selfish?"
"Maybe that's the reason he's staying away.", Shining snickered. Cadance turned and glared at him, then started pacing, her anger turning to worry.
"What if he was hurt, or-or mugged or something?"
"How many ponies do you know that have been mugged in Canterlot? Manehattan, maybe, but not Canterlot. Not right under Celestia's gaze." Cadance sighed.
"You're right... I should trust my aunt more..."
"You're really bothered about him aren't you?"
"I just can't help it! He's my best friend!"
"Hey! That hasn't been decided yet!", Shining said, giving her a faux glare and pulling her into a hug.
"Hey, how's Twily?"
"Well, she's good, for a tiny little foal. In fact, she's already trying to cast spe-"
"CADANCE! SHINING! SORRY I'M LATE!" James careened into the ground, his wings flapping hard.
"There you are!", Cadance yelled, running over to him. She threw her arms around him and he hugged her back, albeit a little bit awkwardly. She smelled like pomegranate.
"Yup, right here. Sorry. Spitfire kept me a bit later than usual."
"I'm glad my aunt was able to get you those lessons, I mean, what better way to learn flying than from a Wonderbolt!" Cadance beamed, her smile gleaming.
"I'm just glad I was able to mostly keep it a secret.", James replied, rubbing the back of his neck with his hoof. She giggled, a bit more than she should have, blushing slightly. He gave her a strange look. "You okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine.", she said nervously. She looked away and focused on the candy she was supposed to be transforming. They were in a kind of biological unit of magic, learning how to turn objects into plants in case of a natural disaster. The wrapper took on a leafy texture, but the candy itself remained unchanged. "UGH!", she shrieked, frowning. Shining poked her side.
"You're stressing too much about it.", he said. She sighed.
"You're right, of course.", she said. He wrapped his foreleg around her shoulders. James took the other side and the two hugged her tight. She smiled, giving a little squee.
"Hey, do you know what we could do?", James asked excitedly. Shining's eyes lit up.
"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?", he asked, grinning. James shook his head.
"Probably not. But anyway, there's a new restaurant, and I hear that it's really good. We could go there."
"Sounds good to me, I'm starving.", Cadance smiled sheepishly, as her stomach gave a long, loud rumble. James and Shining laughed, and they walked through the cobblestone Canterlot streets. James points it out when they get close.
"LAST ONE THERE IS AN EARTH PONY WITH NO LEGS!", Shining yelled and took off.
"Oh no you don't!", Cadance yelled, taking off after him. James grinned, trying to fly after them. He managed to get halfway there, but fell to the ground hard. His left leg snapped beneath him and he let out a guttural yell. Cadance skidded to a stop, whirling around, her violet eyes widening. Her body started to glow, and her horn lit up.
"JAMES!", she screamed, before her horn let loose a light pink flash straight at the pegasus. James lights up, his body glowing in the same rose-quartz shade of pink, and Cadance gave a high-pitched cry as a burst of white flashed on her body. The minutes seemed endless, and no one knew what to do. Shining stared in awe at his two friends. The light slowly dimmed, showing the unconscious body of James. Cadance looked at him, and at his leg, which was no longer bent unnaturally. She smiled exhaustedly and went to go to him, only to sink back on her legs again. A flash of blue caught her eye, and she looked back at her flank, only to find a crystalline heart.
My cutie mark... she though proudly, before her eyes fell closed.
