Amore

by Cetan

Rating: mature
Tags: Slice of Life, Dark, Human, Romance
Length: 28917

A human plagued by dreams slowly transforms into the pony of his visions: Shining Armor. As soon as the transformation is complete, he finds himself in Canterlot, at the altar with Princess Cadance as Celestia pronounces them colt and mare...

Nights of vivid dreams and painful headaches haunt a human on Earth. When his dreams manifest into physical changes, he has to come to terms with one of two things: a complete mental breakdown, or the impossible transformation into a blue-maned unicorn stallion.

Worries about how his life on Earth will continue are swept away when this human-turned-horse is thrust into the role of Shining Armor: Captain of the Royal Guard, brother to Celestia's prized pupil, and soon, husband of the Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza, as the final events of A Canterlot Wedding unfold as real as can be.

With no recollection of Shining's past, the human Prince realizes that life as Equestrian royalty isn't as straightforward as a children's television show would make it appear. As the chances of returning to a normal human life disappear with each passing day, a concerned wife and suspicious little sister worry that the colt they know and love isn't the same after the battle with Chrysalis.

STATUS: Raw draft. Awaiting proofreading and revisions.

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2014-05-06 06:40:17 UTC

Concept Summary {SPOILERS}

Setting: A Canterlot Wedding (S2E25-26), and the days following.

When Chrysalis brainwashes and steals Shining Armor's love, he spend the time brainwashed dreaming in a loveless world. This world is Earth, and Shining Armor believes he's a 20-year-old human living a rough, lower-class lifestyle from paycheck to paycheck, with no family, friends or lover to help him. This is a traumatic, magical process, and causes most of Shining Armor's memories as a pony (memories filled with love) to disappear, essentially leaving behind a different person. Fragments of what he remembers take the form of the television series and IDW's comic series (in the story, this assumes Shining Armor reads the letters Twilight sends to Celestia, as a way of keeping in touch with her). Beyond that, he has no knowledge of Equestria or his life as Shining Armor.

As Shining Armor fights back against the spell, this comes in the form of bizarre dreams for the "human". These dreams appear to replay scenes from the episode A Canterlot Wedding, with the "human" taking the role of Shining Armor. In reality, these are brief moments of lucidity for the real Shining Armor, as Chrysalis's magic loses it's effect; however, the "human" is unable to realize it as anything more than a dream.

His subconscious permeates the dream world of Earth, slowly transforming him from a human into his true form, a pony, specifically Shining Armor. The human has no explanation for it, scientifically. The only other coincidental even taking place was receiving an unmarked mystery package containing a Shining Armor plush. (This is a callback to the original premise for the Pony Transformation general on /mlp/, as well as explained to be Luna intervening into the dream to remind the "human" what his true form looked like.)

When Cadance breaks the spell on Shining Armor, and the duo use their love magic to banish the changelings from Equestria, Shining Armor passes out from exhaustion and sends him into his final dream as a human. By this point, the "human" was so mentally invested in the dream world, that the absence of Chrysalis's input causes the dream world to break down, and marks the complete transformation from a human to a pony. The stress and magical trauma inflicted on him threatens to send him into a coma he won't be able to recover from, represented by the dream coming to a climatic ending point, and the implied death/capture of the "pony in Earth." Luna intervenes, and "rescues" Shining Armor from the dream world.

This puts the now loveless version of Shining Armor into the body of Shining Armor, as the actual wedding takes places. From there, Twilight, Cadance, and Luna start to piece together what the effects Chrysalis's magic on Shining Armor actually entail, and the reader is intended to discover this alongside the "new" Shining Armor. Eventually, the big reveal happens: the "human" never actually existed, and that his personality is that of Shining Armor without his love and memories. He was, technically, Shining Armor all along.

He then turns to Twilight to ask if she can find a spell to restore his memories. She says that she's willing to learn, but that Shining Armor must come to understand the gravity of what he is asking. Essentially, if Shining Armor's memories are restored, the "hole" in his memories will be filled, and the personality that formed because of that "hole" would cease to exist. Twilight reasoned it as him asking her to kill this new personality, in order to bring back the original Shining Armor, and that she would only do so if the "human" personality understood that.

Regardless, it takes a bit of time, anywhere from a month to three months. During that time, Shining Armor dates Princess Cadance, and falls in love with her all over again. She remarks that it's unfolding exactly how it did in the past, and that this "loveless human" personality reminds her of Shining Armor when they first met. He also goes onto hijinks in Ponyville, living out the dreams any My Little Pony fan would have if they were given the chance to live in Equestria.

Eventually, Twilight finishes the spell, and informs Shining Armor, who is disappointed. He now understands why Twilight told him he had to understand the meaning behind the choice: he has been enjoying the dream life in Equestria, and he now wonders if he can "end his life" to return Shining Armor. He takes the day, alone, to think about it. In his dreams, he comes into contact with the real Shining Armor personality (or, at least, what he thinks is--the truth is meant to be vague). After a deep explanation, Shining Armor jokes, says that Twilight is always prone to overreacting, reminding the "human" of the events that took place in Lesson Zero, all because Twilight was afraid of being tardy with a Friendship Report. He reminds the human that he won't be losing the memory of the events that already took place, and that no matter how his way of thinking changed, he will always have the memory of what took place the past few weeks, and that is proof enough that he had existed.

The next day, Shining Armor asks Twilight to perform the spell. The story ends as Twilight's magic engulfs Shining Armor, leaving it on an unsure note, all Inception-like.

1 - Anniversary (incomplete)

Saturday, October 10, 2020

intro to a canterlot wedding

snap to reality

explain life job work love etc

The show was in its 10th season, and Hasbro milked the series dry with every iteration of ponies they can think of. Twilight's Kingdom wasn't that horrible, and we dealt with the Rainbow Power season well enough. But after the Grand Coronation and Twilight's Wedding, things just weren't the same. People say that after every season, but... a picture of Crystal Rainbow Princess Pinkie Pie stares back at me, in her arms-up party pose, wings spread wide, and sparkly glitter shooting from her horn. Hasbro's My Little Pony 10th Anniversary Special, brought to you by The Hub.

I had forgotten all about it until I got the link from a friend on Skype. Today was the 10th anniversary of the show. It was also the season finale... and the show's finale. Given how popular this thread is, it must've been something controversial.  I'm not really surprised, with how hard Hasbro marketed their new Crystal Rainbow Princess toy line leading up to today. It had to have been horrible.

My interest in the show was gone by Season 7. I still hadn't finished Season 9; it felt like a chore to watch these episodes. More and more, I found myself going back to watch the earlier seasons. I was still a teen when these first aired, and I really didn't understand the appeal of girly pastel ponies back then. By the time I got on board, Season 2 was coming to an end, and many thought the show was already over, with the new alicorn princess and the upcoming wedding episode...

A Canterlot Wedding was actually what hooked me into the show. When you go in expecting a big girly wedding, and instead you get what that episode brought us, it's hard not to get hooked. Yeah, there was still a girly wedding, and Cadance was pretty and pink, but I couldn't help but think she was a cutie. When Season 3 came around and featured the couple again, I was ecstatic. I hadn't picked out a waifu before, but fuck it, she was perfect. My favorite pony.

I get up from my chair and walk over to my window, taking a look outside. It's a dreary day, raining down hard on Downtown, pretty much what you would expect from living in the Pacific Northwest. I personally thought the perks of having legal weed outweighed being soaked whenever I wanted to go outside. When you're a single twenty-something living by yourself in the city, there isn't much incentive to go outside to begin with, and the pot helped keep me from sending myself to Equestria with a noose.

It didn't take long before that emptiness started seeping into me. This happened after every TV show I finished. That sinking quietness, knowing there won't be another one to follow. The clock on my desktop tells me it's just before 11pm, my usual bedtime. I know I have to open shop tomorrow, so why am I digging out my old external hard drive?

I start feeling a bit better after I've smoked another bowl, and the familiar My Little Pony theme hits my ears. I don't even mute it this time around. My eyes dance across the screen as characters move in and out of frame, humming alongside the Mane 6's parts, and I feel another tear streak down my cheek as the cast holds that long "frieeeeeeeeeeeends" at the end.

"Yer brother's gettin' married?" Applejack races up and grabs Twilight's hoof with hers, "Congratulations Twilight, that's great news!"

"Yeah, great news," the annoyance thick in Twilight's voice, trotting away with the letter. "that I just got from a wedding invitation! Not from my brother..."

A Canterlot Wedding, Part 1

Written by Meghan McCarthy.

I can't help but scowl at that name. "Can't believe she could write something this good..." I recline in my computer chair, leaning back to get into the mood. Work was going to suck tomorrow, but as Twilight starts singing about her Big Brother Best Friend Forever, I can't help but push tomorrow's problems far from my mind...

2 - Dreams

"I've got something to say to you, mister!" An angry, familiar voice echoes across the courtyard. I turn my head towards the guards at my side, who now spring forward to the battlement, spears aimed down at the intruder.

"Twily!" I shouts out, an excited response. But how did I know it was her?

But this is not my voice. No... this is Shining Armor's voice. The guards at my side, they're ponies. Grey unicorns, the typical profile of a Canterlot royal guard. As I start running down the stairs, the pers-- pony in front of me is none other than Twilight Sparkle. Without her wings. She's fixated right onto me with a death stare. She looks absolutely pissed, and this body is carrying me closer to her.

"Aah, I've missed you, kid. How was the train ride?" The words come from my throat, but the voice is Shining Armor's again. I can feel the vibrations in my neck, as if the words were my own, but that voice is far from it. It's alien. It's not mine. It's irritating me that it's not my voice. I try to force something out of my throat, but I can't even so much as take a breath.

My body starts moving of its own accord again, and I can see my hoof lift up to cup Twilight's cheek. "I--"

My hoof?

I don't have time to reply; her face recoils from my touch, and she immediately starts shouting right at me, staring right into my eyes.

"How dare you not tell me in person that you were getting married. I'm your sister for pony's sake!" Her head snaps to the side, turning that angry gaze towards the ground.

"It's not my fault!" Shining's words come reflexively from my brain, holding a hoof out to his sister. This whole sensation is alien. I know it's not my body, but it feels just like my body. "Princess Celestia has requested a major increase in security." I walk next to Twilight, pointing a hoof behind her. "Didn't you see all the guards at the train station?"

I can't even think anymore; it's like Shining Armor has taken over my mind. The words flowed naturally from my mind, through my mouth, as if they were my own.

"Yeah, there's a big wedding coming up," Twilight snaps back and trots off, her back towards me the entire time she speaks. "Maybe you've heard about it?"

I trot back to her. As Shining Armor. All four limbs, each hoof striking the cobblestone in a precisely flowing pattern. This sensation so alien to me, performed as if I've been walking like a horse my entire life.

"It has nothing to do with the wedding. A threat has been made against Canterlot," I call out after her. Once in front of Twilight, I turn to face her, and I can see the anger melting away. That telltale realization that maybe she was wrong about what she thought of this. Her eyes look up to mine, willing to give me a chance.

"We don't know who's responsible for it, but Princess Celestia asked that I help provide--" I wince, a throbbing pain near the center of my forehead. My horn hurts? "--additional protection." I can't tell if Shining Armor can feel the pain, as he's moving the body in close to his sister, his hoof lifting up her chin, nothing wrong on his features.

"This... you need to see," he says, gently lowering her head, before stepping back away from the battlements. As Shining Armor stands this body upright and tall, horn held high, there's a sudden, splitting pain in the front of my forehead. I can see the pink glow of the unicorn's magic just above my head, slowly flooding my vision from the top as this extreme, pounding headache increases in tempo, blacking out my vision from the bottom.

As sparks fly from the top of his head, the intense pink light blends with the creeping darkness, as the rapid-fire pulsing in my brain increase. When the pace blends into one solid blur of pain, the whirring sounds of unicorn magic gives way to a cicada-like buzzing noise that drills into my ears. Colors drain from what little I can see, and finally, the walls of Canterlot disappear from view, leaving me in an empty darkness.

***

Sunday, October 11, 2020

I wake up gasping for air, my bedsheets stuck to my body drenched in sweat. I somehow ended up in bed last night. I can still hear the buzzing sound, and it's only after a minute that I understand it's source: my alarm.

6:34 AM

Too fucking early for anyone to wake up on a Sunday. I reach out for my phone, mashing the side buttons that will squelch the noise.

It doesn't stop.

Only then do I realize that my phone isn't making the noise. 'ALARM SILENCED AFTER 15 MINUTES'. Then... where the fuck is that buzzing noise coming from? I reach up and feel my forehead. It's burning up, throbbing with each heartbeat, my body now becoming aware of the headache that was blasting me in my dreams.

It doesn't stop.

It pains me to look at the bright display of my smartphone, but I double-check to confirm. Alarm silenced. 6:35AM. A half-hour after I wanted to wake up. This late, I wouldn't even have time to rinse off in the shower without being late for work, not that this massive migraine would let me work. I slide my thumb across the screen, and quickly pull up my manager in the phonebook.

She answers on the second right, her sharp, curt tone immediately responding, "Don't even think about calling in sick this morning."

Fuck. The one day I actually need to call in sick, and I get this? "Boss, you don't understand..." Whatever is causing this migraine is fucking with my throat; it's so raspy it sounds like I had been chain-smoking for years. Smoking... I remember smoking a few bowls, and falling asleep... watching My Little Pony. My hand moves to rub at my forehead, hot and sweaty. Was it what I smoked that's causing this? Was it treated with something?

"God damn, you sound like shit," she replies, the faintest tone of sympathy in her voice. "Which makes me feel even worse to tell you that you have to come in. We had an incident this weekend. Gotta give a statement and all that shit. This is straight from corporate."

"Uhngggh..." is my unintelligible response. I couldn't even shake my head at this, that is how much it pained me right now. I got the general idea of what she had said; the loud buzzing drowned out her voice when she lost that dominating tone.

"Look, I'll give you an hour. Be here by 8. Talk for a little bit, and you can go home and puke yourself to death all you want, okay?" Her sarcastic compassion can't even force a smile from me this morning.

I pick up the phone and start moving towards the bathroom. "Right, thanks boss..." tapping my thumb to end the call.

My apartment is nothing special. It's a cheap studio in the middle of the less affluent part of downtown, about the best a single wage worker can afford if he wants to be able to buy food. I've managed to snag a full-time spot at the big box store working in their Shipping and Receiving section. A few bucks above minimum wage, some basic benefits, and management that doesn't make me want to hang myself. I work during the mornings, getting things ready for the day, and right after work I take a full load of college courses during the evening.

I was stuck in the cycle. I wake up, go to work, go to class, come home, and do my homework. By that point, I'm exhausted and pass out. I work six days a week to get a little extra money, but I didn't have class on the weekend. When I took up this schedule, I had always made it a point to have Saturday as my day off. I had to get up early every morning anyhow, and there was always that incentive to wake up early on a Saturday and catch those beautiful cartoon ponies.

I get the water in the shower going and step inside. The cold jolts me awake, and the spike in blood flow has me doubled-over against the wall, holding my head. The pain was something I've never felt before, as if someone hit me with a ball-point hammer in the forehead, throbbing with every heartbeat. And that damned buzzing sound, loud enough to drown out the sound of the shower running, only magnified it. I grab the bottle of body wash and squirt a pile onto my back, letting the water carry it down my body. This was the best I could do.

The bathroom in the apartment is tiny enough, that I'm able to reach out from the shower and open the medicine cabinet above the sink. I grab a bottle of tylenol and shut the door, looking back at my reflection in the mirror.

I look horrible. My pupils are dilated, and my face... my entire body was pale. I have never had this happen before. There must have been something laced into the weed I smoked last night; I couldn't get this sick all of a sudden. I spent the entire day here yesterday, and I don't remember seeing anyone who looked... like this... on Friday. "Fuck," whispers from my lips. I lean back into the shower, cupping some water, and downing a small handful of pills. If this didn't make things any better, I would end up in the hospital anyways.

---

I'm out the door around 7:15. I was able to get down some toast and water, and the six or so tylenol had taken the edge off the pain in my head. What I was most thankful for, was the buzz that accompanied the headache subsided, now the faintest white noise. If I didn't focus on any of it, I almost felt normal.

Living where I do, mass transit is the only way to get around downtown; fighting buses on narrow one-way streets is something you only see tourists do. The one good thing about where I live, is that the rail car system has a stop right outside my complex. I can sit and ride for about 20 minutes and it'll take me right past where I work. Annual passes are pretty cheap, and I won't even kid myself: I couldn't afford car payments and insurance on this paycheck.

I get up as the rail car hits my stop. The driver scowls, "Sure hope you ain't contagious," his arm swinging the door handle. When I step off I keep walking forward, across the parking lot to the big superstore. The parking lot is mostly empty; it doesn't open for another 2 hours. But I can spot that there are more cars than usual: several of them I recognize from the night shift. Every single person who works the day shift must be in today too. On a Sunday?

The mystery is revealed inside once I enter my boss's office. She looks up from a stack of papers, and immediate recoils back several inches.

"Holy shit, you weren't bullshitting me on the phone. You look awful." She gives a noticeable frown, rotating away from you to reach into a large packing box.

I respond with a large sigh, "I told you. Now what's going on? You never have this many people here on a Sunday morning. It's not even the holidays yet." I clear my throat with a cough, but nothing comes up. The pills did nothing for the strange raspiness in my voice.

"Drug test. Straight from the top; anyone who doesn't show up today loses their job." I'm hit with a large plastic bag, holding it in my hands, I see a small plastic cup, with a screw-on lid. A typed label, complete with a bar code. And my name on it.

The door opens behind me, and I see one of my long-time coworkers. I've worked with this guy for several years here now. I wouldn't really call us friends, since we never hang out outside of work, but he was a nice enough guy to talk to while we worked the shipping center.

"Sup man," I offer to him in a greeting.

"Not much. You sound like shit. Party too hard this weekend?" his tone is happy enough, but the look on his face betrays a definitive sense of not wanting to be here right now.

"Sick. What's up?" cocking a brow to answer his look.

"He," my boss speaks up again, "will be monitoring you during your collection phase. Making sure you're actually peeing your own pee from your own penis."

The look we exchange each other says it all: Are you fucking kidding me?

My boss doesn't miss a beat, "You both are gonna suck it up and deal with it," dropping her authoritative tone, extending a sort of sympathy to us. "Someone got seriously hurt last night in shipping, over some improper storage. We're checking everyone who's been there in the past three days." She picks up a piece of paper, handing it to my coworker. "Think of this as a corporate bonding exercise." Turning to look at me, she sends me off with a nod. "Bring your goods here when you finish. He'll tell you what to do."

As soon as we're out of the office, he answers me before I even say anything. "Someone fucked up big. There's been police talking with these suits I've never seen here before. I don't know what happened, but they won't let any of us back there right now." He looks at me, a hint of excitement in his eyes, "They say there was blood all over the place."

"Cool, dude," I brush it off with my hand. "Sorry, I woke up with a giant headache. As soon as I pee in the cup, I get to go..." letting my words trail off. My eyes drop and I look forward as we walk towards the bathroom. There's a sudden sinking feeling in my stomach.

A hand pats my back quickly, "Well man, feel better. I'll make sure nothing crazy happens while you're gone."

"Yeah, thanks," I nod. If I wasn't pale already, I would've lost all the color in my face. Everything that's happened up until now has finally clicked, and the lurch in my stomach finally has an explanation.

I just smoked marijuana last night. I'm gonna pop positive on this test. I know I'm not involved in whatever happen, but if corporate is demanding the test, they're gonna fire me for sure. I push through the doorway to the men's room. I should have seen this coming this morning. There's always the slim chance that whatever I smoked wasn't all weed, but it's a real shot in the dark.

As we enter the bathroom, my coworker starts relaying a series of instructions about washing my hands and handling the cup. Most of it doesn't register, yet my body complies with the instructions nonetheless. I get up in front of the toilet, and with my member in one hand, the cup in the other, I relax and--

"DUDE," my coworker yells at me. "I told you, you gotta pull your pants down to like," he marks a spot just above his knees, "here. I know, it's totally gay, but my job's on the line if this isn't done by the book."

Aggravation seeps into my throat as I exhale, setting the cup down and throwing my pants down. They hit the floor; at this point I couldn't care less. I'm playing the lottery here in hoping that my sample is fucked up in transit. I take the cup back, and start to fill it up.

My coworker breaks the awkward silence, with a little laugh. "Nice one, you really went all out for the finale."

"Seriously?" I turn my head to him, the anger clear in my voice. He's pointing at me, but not at my junk. Rather, he's pointing at my ass, and I'm about ready to chuck this cup of piss at him, when I see what he's talking about.

There's a patchwork pattern of colors on the side of my ass. No... there was a cutie mark on my ass.

It covered the entire side of... well, my flank. Right now though, it looked like a faded temporary tattoo; large chunks of it were missing, and the colors were washed out. It would make sense if I had known it was there before I took a shower, but I don't remember putting anything on me. I didn't even own something like that.

There's no mistaking it though. The colors, the general shape. I have Shining Armor's shield on my ass.

"No way..." I turn my head to the other side. It's the same story, a washed-off tattoo rendition of Shining Armor's cutie mark. I'm not paying attention to what was going on in front of me, and I feel my piss overflowing the side of the cup, all over my hand.

"Fuck!" I step back, sloshing some onto the seat, and gingerly tip some of it out into the toilet.

My coworker is full-on laughing now, leaning against the bathroom door as I start cleaning myself up. He manages to get out instructions in between fits of spitting laughter, and I follow them to the best of my ability. My rising anger brought back the pain of my headache, and it takes a few minutes with me at the sink to regain composure and talk to my friend.

"I don't know, man. I was watching ponies last night, I smoked a few bowls..." I begin, a clean, washed hand rubbing my forehead as it shakes.

He's wearing an incredulous look on his face, "And you just peed in a cup after telling me that? What the hell were you smoking that made you decide to put a My Little Pony tattoo on your butt? I mean I get it was the grand finale and all, but I thought we were in agreement that the show... kinda sucked now?" He takes a few steps closer to look at the tattoo, and that twinge of self-consciousness kicks in. Another guy is getting really damn close to me with my pants down.

"Look, I don't remember. I smoked a few bowls, and passed out watching the wedding episode. I had some lucid fucking dream that I was a pony, and when I woke up I had this migraine that feels like someone is running a drill into my skill." I'm shaking with anger now. I've never experienced a bad drug trip before, and to have to do it with no real support is starting to wear on me.

He offers me a look of sheer pity, "That's pretty fucked up, if someone got into your house and did this pony stuff to you." His pity changes into worry. He actually seems to believe me, "What if they drugged you so you wouldn't wake up? Sounds like you took something other than the ganja."

I hadn't even thought of that. It sounded farfetched as hell, but what other explanation was there? The evidence was right there on my sides. "Ugh... I don't know..." I would have to look into it when I got home. I wasn't going to last much longer; all the stress of the morning is too much for the tylenol I took. "I'm gonna drop this off with the boss and go home. I'm gonna pass out if I don't lie down soon."

"You do that man. Don't mess with the seal on the cup and you're good to go," he hands me the paper he received in the office a few minutes ago. A form certifying that I, in fact, peed my own pee from my own penis into my own cup.

"Thanks, I'll see you when I feel better," I grab the bathroom door and hold it open for him.

"And, you know, best of luck on the drug test roulette. Sucks we got surprised like this." His eyes meet mine, and he flashes me a grin. That fucker, giving me a hard for smoking when Celestia knows what he was doing.

***

I dropped the sample off with my boss, omitting the fact that I had coated it in my piss. She asked if I noticed anything out of the ordinary on Friday. I told her I hadn't. We back and forth for a few more minutes, before I decide to head home. I've built up enough credit with her that she tells me to come back once I'm feeling better. It's another 20 minutes on the rail car back to my apartment. When I get back to my apartment, I notice there's a brown box on my doorstep. It takes all of my strength to bend over, sloshing my throbbing brain around in my skull, to pick up this box. It's got my name on it, but no return address. It's also Sunday, so someone must have hand-delivered it.

A frozen chill floods my spine at this thought, and I remember what my coworker was talking about in the bathroom. I look up and down the hall. It wasn't the best part of the neighborhood, crime was above average, but the lower-class ghettos aren't exactly full of rabid My Little Pony fans. I haven't been in touch with any of my "brony" friends since high school, and the only person who lives nearby is my coworker, and I'm sure he's not involved.

I can't shake this unnerving sensation like I'm being watched, and I'm sober as can be. This is legitimate paranoia. I inspect my door lock; no damage, or any signs of it being picked. There aren't any new dents or damage to the front of my door. It doesn't look like anyone has been here, except for myself. By now though, the pounding sensation against my forehead is taking its toll on me; if there was something to spot, I'm not sure if I would even notice it. Nor would the buzzing sound that has returned to my ears let me hear any sort of assailant sneaking up on me.

After unlocking and entering my apartment, the brown box is tossed onto my bed. The only light in the place comes from my clock, showing a bright green 8:27 AM. No time is wasted; I slide out of my shoes and pants, and toss my shirt over the bright LED display. With my apartment door shut and bolted, I dive into my bed, burying my head in the mess of sheets and pillows, as pain and unconsciousness takes over me.

***

"The burden of keeping Canterlot safe and secure rests squarely on my shoulders," I tell Twilight Sparkle as we climb the stairs into one of Canterlot's guard towers. "Staying focused on the task at hand has been my top priority."

I'm taken back to the image of Canterlot, although now I sit with Twilight Sparkle on top of a bridge spanning between two tall towers.

"Okay okay, I get it," she responds with a tone of defeat, leaning against the railing of the bridge. "You've got a really important job, defending all of Canterlot with a forcefield only you can conjure up. But still, how could you not tell me about something as big as your wedding?" She turns to me, a look of sadness expressed both on her face and in her voice. "Am I not that important to you any more?"

"Hey..." I begin, resting a hoof against her back, "you're my little sister. Of course you're important to me..." letting my hoof slide from her back. I stand upright, looking out over the courtyard, keeping Twilight in the corner of my eye. "But I'd understand if you didn't want to be my best mare now..." turning up the corner of my mouth, giving her a mischievous smile.

"You want me to be your best mare...?" she responds, but there's something off about her voice. It sounds distant to me. Even my own movements aren't my own anymore, as the body of Shining Armor plays out his part in the dialog. In this moment, I don't feel as attached to the stallion as I had in the dream I had last night. Our bodies move as they had in this episode of My Little Pony. I hadn't watched A Canterlot Wedding enough times to have every bit of dialog memorized, but I can tell that nothing seems out of place. It's following the script down to the letter.

Even now, Shining Armor is explaining to Twilight who Princess Mi Amore Cadenza is, and her face lights up on queue, as she reminisces about the times with her foalsitter. And right on queue, she begins hopping around me, singing her celebrations about her brother's marriage. As she makes one last lap around me, she bounces off towards one end of the bridge, running right into her.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. Cadance.  "I hope I'm not interrupting anything important," comes her voice, in an uncharacteristically cross tone, shooting a look straight at me.

This gaze though, pierces through the eyes of Shining Armor, and I can feel a sense of malevolence fixated on me. Not Shining Armor, but the human me. I'm brought back to reality. The reality that this dream is. The distance my mind had put between the events unfolding and my thoughts is eradicated the moment those purple eyes lock onto me.

Of course, this isn't truly Princess Cadance. It's Queen Chrysalis, in disguise as Cadance, if this dream is really playing out as the episode did. It's quickly confirmed, when Twilight steps forward and breaks into her rendition of Sunshine, Sunshine, Ladybugs Awake. On cue, Cadance brushes her off, walking straight past her and next to me.

My hoof raises to drape across her back, but unlike my movements throughout this dream, it feels as if something's pulled my arm into this position. There's the faintest tap of her horn against mine, and immediate the pulsating migraine that has plagued me this past day returns. The buzzing sound is noticeably absent, but I'm not given time to wonder about that, as the force that raised my arm is now drawing my own words from my throat.

"I've got to get back to my station," my head moved to look at the heartfallen Twilight in front of me. I can see the sadness, the anger on her features at being snubbed by her long time friend, but I'm not given any chance to acknowledge it. "But Cadance will be checking in with all of you to see how things are going. I think I speak for both of us, when I say we couldn't be more excited to have you here, right dear?" My eyes are pulled to my right side, meeting Cadance's once more. Immediately, the migraine returns, and any attempt at resisting her gaze, speaking out, moving the body, become impossible.

"Absolutely" comes Cadance's snide response.

"Well, we'll let you get to it." As soon as those words leave me, I'm pulled away from Twilight to walk alongside Princess Cadance. Twilight raises a hoof to protest, but doesn't follow us once we enter the east tower.

As we're walking, a new voice hisses next to me, Cadance's lips matching it word for word. "You're being awfully stubborn today, mi amore..." Her horn lights up with an acid-green magical aura, and as I charge up my horn with it's own pink aura, a bright green beam hits me squarely in the face. As her magic washes over my vision, the inside of the tower fades from view, and all I'm left with is that excruciating migraine, and that fucking buzzing.

3 - Changes

Sunday, October 11, 2020

My return to consciousness is mind in comparison to the last time I woke up from a vivid pony dream. That bizarre buzzing sound is still loud in my ears, but by now, I've begun to learn to tone it out. My migraine still pulses with every beat of my heart, but absent is the sensation of having my skull torn apart by the pain, and the obnoxious sound that accompanied it. It's a more pleasant awakening.

I lift my hand and brush aside the shirt that was covering my glowing clock. 7:21 PM. I had slept through most of the afternoon, close to 11 hours, but I felt no more refreshed than I had before going to bed. I contemplated just rolling over and falling back asleep, but the combination of a full bladder, and a quiet fear of having yet another strange dream about ponies turned me off of the idea.

I get up, and move towards the bathroom. My hand reaches out to flip on the light switch, and I instinctively look in the mirror. What greets me has me screaming.

I stumble backwards into my bathtub. I'm breathing heavily, my heart's a few beats from bursting out of my chest, and my head once again feels like a drill has been taken to it. Despite all of this excitement, I couldn't get the image of what I saw out of my mind.

It takes me several seconds, but I manage to get myself upright, bracing myself over the sink. "It's okay... it's okay..." I whisper to myself, gripping the edge of the counter to the point of driving my knuckles white. A small countdown in my head, and I snap my head up to meet my gaze in the mirror.

In the center of my forehead, is what looks like a giant boil.

Only, unlike a normal boil, there's no swelling redness, and no white head of acne. Instead, the entire bump is colored a bone-white, and it blends seamlessly with the skin. Shaking, I raise my hand up, and brush a fingertip across the bump. The sensation has me in a panic.

It's hard. It's solid. And what's more... it's attached to my skull.

I didn't need to feel it to understand that this thing is growing directly from my skull bone. I lift a hand to tap at the bump, and the vibration against it confirms my diagnosis. It also sends sharp throb of pain throughout my brain.

I get the water in the sink going, and rinse my hands underneath it. I then lower my face, and splash the water all over my face. The sensation feels amazing with the fever I've had, but immediately my stomach lurches. I can feel every drop of water, as it wraps around my forehead, and rolls across the bump. I have no thoughts for this situation, and I let my frustrations out when I exhale. I rest the top of my head against my arms, being careful to avoid brushing against the protrusion from my face. I get a glimpse of the floor, and my lower half at the edge of my vision.

And the contrast of colored ink against my flesh.

That's right. I'm electrified upright again, and I twist my body to get a better look at what I saw on my ass this morning in the mirror.

Unlike this morning, the tattoo isn't patchwork or moth eaten anymore. Rather, it's a clear-cut rendition of Shining Armor's cutie mark. The magical shield. "No fucking way." A finger brushes over the skin where the tattoo is. It feels no different. The texture is the same, and I don't notice any sort of weight against my body. What's more, the line work is perfect. The colors are completely saturated, and the ink is as vibrant as straight from the bottle. I couldn't even entertain the idea that someone had tattooed me in their sleep; it sits on my skin naturally. There's no sign of scarring, or needlework... put simply, my skin is somehow a different color.

My skin... it was worse than yesterday. Now a borderline albino, beyond any normal paleness from sickness. Fine white hairs had started growing on my body, replacing all of my regular dark body hairs. My eyes wander up my body; not a single hair remained. Even my armpits were clean. The scruff at my neck disappeared, leaving me looking as I would have when I was in high school. And my face... the last time I shaved was Friday morning before work. I should have signs of growth.

I notice my eyes... normally my eyes were a shade of bluish-gray, but the stare back at me a vibrant, cerulean blue. Photoshop eyes, I would normally say, but there they sit, inside my skull. They're beautiful. Stunning, really. This was beyond any sickness. My body is changing. As impossible as it sounds, my entire body is now changing. I look up again, and notice that bump on my forehead.

"A... horn..." I whisper to my reflection. Fingers gingerly stroke across the sensitive bump, and I wince as I give it a definitive poke. Solid. A thin skin before solid bone presses against my finger. I recognize the soreness, now that I've had a chance to get my bearings. It's tender... it's growing.

***

I wake myself up with a long, hot shower. For the most part, I wasn't cleaning, but going over and observing my body with a finer detail. Aside from the sudden onset of fine white hair on parts of my body that should have been bare, everything else seemed to be intact. I still had all my fingers and toes, and none of my joints have been altered in any way. I had no idea how long this would last though.

I wasn't ready to jump to any conclusions yet. The scientific, rational side of me was trying to explain this away as something impossible. I keep thinking back to the marijuana I smoked the other night; everything started happening after I had sat down to watch ponies. I hang my towel up on my rack, and stroll out into my apartment bare.

Reaching under my bed, I extract my stash box. In it was my favorite blue bong. It was a simple device, under a foot tall, but it got the job done. I had a particular fondness for it, and never felt the need to upgrade to something bigger now that I didn't have to hide everything away. Still... I pick the piece up and set it aside, and pull out a small opaque sealed jar. Taking the lid off, I set it aside and spill out the contents of it into the lid of my box.

Empty.

Impossible. There was no way I smoked all of that. There should have been several more grams left. I sit back and think to myself, but there's no other place it was be. Years of smoking under the radar in either of my parent's places meant I was extremely careful about putting everything back when I was done. Even though I don't remember passing out, everything was back in my box, except the weed.

My head throbs with my heartbeat, speeding up as I wonder what the hell happened last night. I sit back on my bed, letting a hand rub against my temple; the large knot on my forehead still tender to the touch. My free hand reaches out to pick up my phone. One new voice message.

First new message: 5:14pm - "Real fucking funny, you piece of shit. Fucking stand me up like I'm some piece of trash. Needless to say, we're through. Just to let you know, I never had any interest in you. You bend and scrape to my every need when my hand touches your shoulder, like a fucking wuss. Every little kiss after you buy me something? Bullshit. But thanks for the new clothes, of course you won't be seeing me in them any time in the future. Maybe next time you won't be such a sucker for the first girl who gives you a bit of attention. Thanks a lot, faggot."

Please select an option from the following menu. For saved messages, press one...

My phone slid from my hand, and tumbled across the carpet. What the actual fuck just happened? I stumble forward, scooping up the phone, and redial her number. I get her voice mail again, but when it finishes the recording, the call hangs up. I try it again, and get the same thing. Finally, I hammer out a text to her. What the fuck. I was sick all morning. I'm sorry I didn't text but believe me I wasn't ditching you. My reply is instantaneous.

The recipient you are sending to has chosen to not receive messages: Msg 2111.

I know that message... that's the message you receive when someone's blocked your number. I let my phone fall to the floor again. I'm stunned. I had known her for a few months, and we were getting to the point to where we could say "I love you" to each other. We had a few arguments her and there, usually over stupid shit, but we always made up afterwards. We kissed and held hands and did your typical couple dating routine. And now...

I fling myself against my bed. The migraine sets in again, and the grating cicada-like noise comes with it. I fight back the urge to cry. I resolve myself to not cry over this. She cast me away like nothing; there was no love from her. She was just playing with me. I wouldn't show any emotion for a heartless whore like that... but the thought doesn't stop me from lying face-first in my pillow.

Whatever sickness had come over me, it made my body extremely tired. Already, mental exhaustion set in, and given the circumstances, I welcomed another round of dreams to take me away from this hellish reality.

***

When I came to in my dreams, I was inside what looked to be some sort of bedroom inside Canterlot Castle. This part... I remember. Of course my mind would bring up this one scene. Twilight Sparkle just arrived in the castle, looking to talk to Shining Armor about how Cadance was acting with her friends. Cadance noticed she had arrived, and called Shining back to the bedroom alone. When the dream started, it appeared like I was floating above it as it unfolded, but when Cadance turns to look around at Shining Armor, I'm brought back to the ground, as the stallion once more.

Cadance's eyes are staring at me with a look of extreme displeasure. "Look, we need to talk."

"I'm here to talk," I offer in response, confused by what could have her so upset.

"It's about your sister, okay?" Her face doesn't change, continuing to stare me down.

"I-- look," I begin in immediate response, a defensive tone to my voice. "Look, she's okay--"

"Just... listen to me, alright?" I can't get a word in edgewise as she talks over to me. She lifts her posture, trying to look over me.

It works. I'm reminded of how my girlfriend used to treat me when we'd get in these kinds of arguments. "I'm listening, I'm listening," I offer to her in a defeated tone of surrender. I just want her to calm down.

She raises a hoof, pointing at my chest. "I thought I made it perfectly clear that I didn't want you to wear that." Her tone is spot on: You didn't do what I told you to do. My... now ex-girlfriend had that mastered. No matter how stupid the argument, she would drive the guilt into you. How dare you piss her off. My mind starts to retreat, hoping that my dream would end as it usually did. But not this time.

Cadance is still staring at me, and I haven't offered her back a response yet. This wasn't like the last dreams. Normally this body just sort of... handled itself. I wasn't consciously performing the actions. The dream had me on auto-pilot. It's becoming clear that no answer is going to come, so I say the first thing that comes to mind.

"This... was my favorite uncle's?" My hoof taps against the crested bandolier running across my chest.

"And?" No time wasted, spitting out the curt retort.

"And... I think I should wear it?" I knew where this argument was going to head the moment I let the words come out. It wasn't word for word, but this was how it would spark up the fire once more.

I'm spot on. Cadance draws back, disgust creeping into her features. A scoff, "Are you disagreeing with me?"

The anger begins to rise in me. I quickly snap back, raising my tone in defiance to her, "I guess I am-- aagh!"

Again, the migraine. Every time I got emotional, or let my blood get pumping, it fueled the pain that radiated in my brain. I bend down, pressing the soft side of my hoof to my temple. My knees buckle, and the pain has me wincing so hard, I can't keep both of my eyes open.

Instead of sympathy, I get a feigned look of empathy. Her tone is patronizing, leaning into me, smirking the entire time. "Oh, dear. Are you getting another one of your headaches?"

But... how did Cadance know I was suffering from headaches? I'm given no time to consider it; Cadance's horn grows green, whirling with the sound of magic, and sends a bright bolt of green energy straight for my horn. For a brief moment, the pain of my headache is magnified a thousand-fold. I hear nothing but the cries of a swarm of cicadas. And once everything I can see is nothing but a vast field of green, it goes dark, and I'm ejected from the dream.

***

Feeling better...?

Faint words echo throughout the room, quieting the buzzing sound, and dispelling the migraine instantly. I look up, and over at my clock. 9:40 PM. A quick nap. I sigh, realizing I had spent most of the day sleeping and having these bizarre dreams about My Little Pony. This late at night, anything to eat would have to be ordered, so I fish my phone out of the mess of sheets. It's nothing fancy, but I punch in a quick order for pizza through their phone app, and lean back into the pillow.

I close my eyes, but after that last dream, I'm far from tired. I take the time though, to just sit, relax, and think. I've never been one for the lucid dreaming fad that swept the imageboard. I could blame the first one on being high on whatever it was I had smoked, but these subsequent dreams after the fact left me confused. I certainly wasn't high, but quite possibly sick. I press a hand to my forehead. I've been sweating every time I fall asleep, but I don't notice a fever.

None of this explained the changes my body was going through. But if I'm having these wild dreams every time I fall asleep, I can't help but wonder if maybe I'm just seeing things. People's brains work funny when they are sick. Instinctively, my hands drifts over to the bump on my head. This was no hallucination, and if I wasn't mistaken, it had grown another inch or two while I slept. I could barely explain away all of the other things. I had nothing for the horn.

Horn... calling it a horn validates the idea that I'm actually changing into some form of Shining Armor. Again, impossible. This was the stuff of fanfiction, or crazy greentext stories on general threads. This is something you'd wish for to happen, but as it's happening to me, I have no idea what to make of it. It was a dream to have this happen, because you always knew that it couldn't actually happen.

And yet, it was happening. I arch my back and stretch out all of my limbs. As joints crack and pop, I confirm I'm still in a human shape. My left foot strikes against cardboard, and I remember that I hadn't opened the strange package I received earlier today. I slide it over to me, and turn on the lamp on my nightstand.

The only address is my address. My name. There's no return information, no identifying markings. There's no postage, or carrier information. The only way for this to get here, is to have delivered it personally. Or pay someone to do it. Either way, this seemed sketchy as hell, but I bear with these feelings, and tear open the box.

I pull out the largest piece in the box. It's a soft, minky material, and it doesn't take long to recognize it as a My Little Pony plush. Specifically, one of Shining Armor. I look it over, and it just seems to be your average quality handmade plush. But I certainly didn't have the money to pay for such a commission, and I don't know of anyone who'd do it for free. I wasn't even a huge fan of Shining Armor. Yeah, he was cool, but the show focused on the Mane 6, and I wasn't one to obsess over background ponies. Well, excluding Cadance, but she got a decent amount of screen time, all things considered.

I kick the box off my bed, and take the plushie in both hands, and hold it above me, letting the light hit it. My hands run over every inch of it, squeezing it, feeling it, but short of cutting it open and analyzing the fluff material, I'm pretty convinced it's just an ordinary plush. Why someone would want to get my information, and take the time to give me a plush is beyond me. I didn't even advertise the fact that I liked ponies.

As I turn the plush over in my hands, a tingling sensation creeps across my entire body, goosebumps rising and standing every hair on end. A Shining Armor plush and a picture of Cadance arrives... the day I discover I have Shining Armor's cutie mark on my own flank. The day I start having dreams about him... There's no way any of this wasn't connected. I don't know how it is possible. I let my mind go quiet, and take a deep breath in and out, trying to clear my head. I could feel the migraine slowly picking up in intensity, the rising hiss of sound in my ear. I have to keep myself under control; I can't get excited or I'll be in miserable pain. A small series of breaths in, and out... in, and out... My heart slows down, and with it, the migraine dissipates before it can get started.

With my mind free, I can't help but drift to the thought of Twilight trying to explain the Pinkie Sense in the first season. Despite the coincidences, Twilight wasn't able to explain it, but resigns herself to admitting that it was possible. I let my arms fall to my side, the Shining Armor plush bouncing off my chest and to my side. For some unexplainable reason, I'm apart of this Shining Armor conspiracy. This has to be something more than a laced weed trip. Maybe I am wrapped up in something I can't explain. Maybe--

A loud knock at my door shocks me back into reality. My eyes glance at the clock. 10:55 PM. Already? I quickly get up, moving for the door and wrapping a robe around me. Knowing that my pizza is here has put a fire in my stomach. I haven't eaten since this morning, and dry toast is hardly filling. I undo the bolt latch and chain, opening the door.to reveal a meek-looking brunette, college-aged, probably no older than me.

"I have your order, Mr..." the blue polyester-clad girl begins, but stops as her eyes fall onto me. She brings the receipt in her hand up to her mouth when she giggles out loud, looking quickly up and down the hall.

It's only then I realize, in the haste of hunger, I answered the door, with nothing to cover the freakishness of my face right now. I give her a nervous laugh, a hand rubbing the back of my neck, "S-Sorry, guess you didn't expect to see this, eh..."

She waves her hand, finishing the last of her giggle as she hands over the receipt to me. "Please, no, I'm just glad you're not a..." her voice trails off, inaudible as she mouths the word minority. "If I get to deal with a brony, I'm thankful." I hand her back the receipt, and she exchanges it for a pair of boxes. "You pulled it off really good by the way, how did you get the ears to move?"

I look at her with a raised brow, confused by what she said. "Ears.. to move?" My hand raises towards where my ears would normally be, tucked under a thick layer of hair. I'm in desperate need of a haircut.

"Yeah, on top. That's really cool, it really pulls the look together."

My hand comes in contact with my ear... on top of my head. Living, warm flesh, coated in a fuzzy lair of white fur. The sensation is strange, ticklish in a way, and it twitches to avoid my touch.

"And it reacts to touch? Wow... I have to say, you pony nerds are pretty dedicated." She looks down at the receipt, smiling when her eyes reach the tip line. "Have a good night, pony boy." She spins around, walking down the hallway and into the staircase leading out of the apartment.

I've been staring at the wall for a good ten seconds, unable to process this informational overload. I kick the door close, tossing the pizza boxes to the floor to quickly latch and chain the door, before tearing across the apartment and into the bathroom. I flip on the light, and I yell as staring back at me is a complete stranger.

***

I spent some time in the bathroom. My entire face was numb from shock, and even as the migraine exploded in my head, the utter sensation of disconnect I'm feeling right now doesn't register how hard it should be hurting. In a mindless daze, I groped my entire face for the better part of an hour. I gasped, moaned, cried for a good few minutes. I wasn't sad or anything, but the raw amount of data my mind had to process was too much. It was a sensory, an emotional overload.

The changes had taken a sharp acceleration in the few hours I napped, and the hour I was waiting for my pizza. The reason my hair felt so long, is because it is now more of a... mane. A long, disheveled, mullet-looking thing. I only call it a mane, because it is now partially dyed the color of Shining Armor's mane--sapphire blue with a streak of cerulean running down the middle. I know there is supposed to be a third color, but it only looks half-dyed. Halfway transitioned from human hair to a pony's mane.

The ears the pizza girl had noticed were in fact, my ears. I spent a good twenty minutes on that alone. To describe it, when I naturally perform the command 'move my hand to my ear', my body already drifts to the top of my head, where two white equine ears rest. After coming to the understanding that these were my living, functioning ears, I could only shake in absolute dread as I lifted up my mane to look at the side of my head. My human ears were gone.

The bump on top of my head that I suspected to be a horn, is indeed a horn. A fully-grown, six-inch piece of bone fused with my skull. I spent a good chunk of time with this as well, but more in fascination than in horror. The sensation across it was astounding. I ran my fingers along it for some time, able to feel the minute sensations of my fingertips against the spiral ridges. And unlike my ears, which seemed to avoid my touch... I enjoyed touching my horn. When I came to that realization, I felt like a teen who's discovered masturbation. Naturally, I moved to the tip. Twisting, pinching, flicking. It was a solid piece of bone, but as sensitive... no, even more sensitive than my dick. My hand moves down and I spit into it.

I look into my eyes, now a deep, vibrant cerulean blue, and come to an understanding with myself. This was for science. Even I couldn't make myself believe that as I hop up onto the counter, and grab my horn with my slick hand. From the tip, to the base, I give it one, smooth stroke. The sensation was out of this world. It beat any kind of masturbation done before. My hand moves back to my mouth as I give it another glob of saliva. This time, from base to tip, coating my horn in my own saliva. Perfect.

I catch myself in the mirror, looking like I'm hitting myself in the forehead. I couldn't care less how I look, and my expression said it all: mouth agape, bottom lip quivering as I slowly stroke up and down the length of my horn. A lewd moan escapes my mouth, and stop to adjust myself on the counter, pressing my back against the wall, and letting my legs drape across the tank of the toilet. When I'm settled in and secure enough to not fall over, I pick up the pace.

I knew how to pace myself when I was jacking off normally; applying that pace to my horn put me beyond the edge in an instant. I moaned loudly; I couldn't explain it, but it felt like a kind of pressure building up within my horn. The sensation was intense though, the kind of feeling you would get after finishing. Too sensitive. But I couldn't stop. As I stroked, I could feel a faint pulse in sync with my heartbeat, quivering softly against my skin. With each further stroke, the vibrations grew in power, now making my entire skull numb with the resonating vibrations. My eyes were closed from the intense feeling, but I crack an eye open. I can only catch the faint light of a rose-colored aura surrounding my horn.

I'm sent flying backwards into the shower as an explosive BANG detonates in front of me, blinding my vision with pink light. All sound cuts out, and when I regain my sight, my vision is blurred. Time slows down and I hear nothing but ringing. Electricity arcs from busted light sockets above my medicine cabinet, and an entire piece of the wall diving my bathroom and my living room is missing, leaving nothing but smoldering remains. A warm trickle on the back of my neck gets what little of my attention I have left, and my hand makes contact with my sticky blood. As I lose consciousness, against the sound of shell shock, I swear I hear the sound of a grand piano, keying faint, somber tones...

This day is going to be perfect...

4 - Magic

Finally, the moment has arrived...

The doors to the grand hall burst open, a row of trumpets herald in the bride, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

Rows of noble stallions and mares bow their heads as the bride adorned in a flowing gown of white with gold trim enters the ballroom. Three little fillies bounces around in front of her, cascading purple flower petals in her path as she walks down the aisle.

For her, to be one lucky bride...

Her movements command the attention of everyone in the room, including Princess Celestia, who stands on the platform under a floral arch at the top of the staircase. In front of the stairs to the left, the bridesmaids, Twlight's group of friends from Ponyville. To the right, the groomsmen, my four lifelong friends from Canterlot.

Cadance walks up the stairs, and now stands opposite me, looking at me with a smile, and a flash of green in her eyes. Immediately, I'm hit by a blast of shell shock. Immediately I remember it. The explosion in the bathroom. But right now I was trapped in this dream. Why would I be dreaming at a time like this!? I attempt to move my body, now the body of Shining Armor, but I'm locked in place. Sleep paralysis. Except it's happening in the dream too. I'm transfixed on Cadance in front of me.

She looked absolutely stunning. A beautiful dress with a crown of flowers atop her head, veil tucked behind her head. Her mane perfectly set in one of Canterlot's bridal styles. I bet she worked for months planning this wedding. I couldn't change my focus very well with the fishbowl-like effect my head is under, but the flower arrangements, the bridesmaids' dresses... everybody worked long and hard to bring this wedding day together.

"Mares and gentlecolts," calls out Princess Celestia in her elegant, regal voice, bringing the murmur of a crowd to an immediate silence. "We are gathered here today, to witness the union of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza and Shining Armor."

Those words bring about the migraine again. These words hurt, for some reason. I'm just having a really hard time remembering why. It takes everything in me to even focus my thoughts. The words of Celestia echo inside my mind, but I can't distinguish the sounds. It's too muffled. Her words don't matter though. Wedding. Why am I hallucinating about a wedding? I remember the explosion in the bathroom, and ending up on the ground. The back of my head was bleeding... if I hit my head hard enough, could it send me into this delusional state?

As my thoughts drift away, I can comprehend Celestia's voice once again. "Princess Cadance and Shining Armor, it is my great pleasure to pronounce you--"

"STOOOP!" comes a loud shriek from the entrance to the grand hall. The deep chamber acts like an amplifier, and everyone's attention is ripped from the ceremony, mine included, to focus on Twilight Sparkle.

Immediately the audience erupts into cries and chatter of disbelief. Next to me, Cadance and Celestia both wear surprised looks, although Cadance has a more definitive tone of anger to hers. It boils over in her, expressing it in the form of a snarl, her eyes snapping to me to vent her frustrations. "Why does she have to be so possessive of her brother?" stomping a hoof to emphasize her emotions.

And like a switch, out come the wounded puppy eyes, that hoof she dug into the ground now at her mouth, unable to contain herself. The room goes silent. On command, she breaks down sobbing, "Why does she have to ruin my special day?" covering her eyes and turning away from everyone. What the bride doesn't know, is that the attendees are not focused on her.

They're focused on a dirtied, tattered-looking mare standing next to Twilight. Her purple eyes burning into the imposter who has stolen her place up at the altar. Next to her husband. Next to me.

Princess Cadance, the real Princess Cadance, Mi Amore Cadenza...

"IT'S NOT YOUR SPECIAL DAY," her voice matching her eyes, seething with barely-contained rage, "IT'S MINE!"

The audience lets out a dramatic gasp, as the bewildered Cadance next to me shouts her surprise, "WHAT? But how did you escape my bridesmaids?" This wasn't her voice though. There was a... foreign undertone to her voice. Her words dripped with venom; you could feel the sting in your ears as she spoke.

Twilight Sparke and Cadance share a knowing look between each other, exchanging a smile and a single word in unison: "Bouquet."

"Hmph, clever, but you're still too late," comes the imposter Cadance's snide remark.

"But, I don't understand," one of the bridesmaids, the orange one, speaks up now. "How can there be two of 'em?"

"She's a changeling," Cadance answers back with a snap. "She takes the form of somepony you love and gains power by feeding off your love for them!"

Not missing a beat, the imposter's horn whirls with a green glowing magic, her eyes now matching the vibrant aura. In a circle around her, emerald flames rip from the ground, bursting with power as the imposter weaves a spell of massive power. With one final burst of light, a column of fire blasts to the ceiling, forcing me to close my eyes and turn away.

I notice the shellshock effect starting to wear off as this power emerges in front of me. It's drawing a part of me into it, and as it feeds on this energy from me, I start to hear sound more clearly. The ringing sound drowns out the voice of the creature that emerges from the crackling energy aura, laughing as she looks down upon the battered Cadance.

"Right you are, Princess... and as queen of the change..." The voice fades away, as a rushing wave of sound comes barreling towards me, the force of the energy about to strike me in the face. It's coming from this being that's emerged next to me, black body radiating with green crackling electricity.

***

I return to the real world, greeted with the sound of crackling electricity, coming from the busted light bulbs above my bathroom mirror. The ringing sound is coming from the hallway; whatever happened managed to set off the fire alarm. I can feel a throbbing in my head; thankfully this time it is not the usual migraine. But it confirms I hit my head pretty hard. My neck is wet with blood, and the wound throbs, oozing out blood with each heartbeat. I reach over and grab my towel off the floor, and press it against the back of my head, laying against the wall.

The smell of smoke is fresh; the explosion burned something pretty badly. I can see it once I've settled my head into position. The small wall that held the doorframe for my bathroom door is completely gone, replaced with a giant, smouldering hole. There's only wisps of smoke in the air, so it doesn't look to be on fire at the moment. But what the fuck caused all this?

I close my eyes, trying to think through the pain of this new headache. It didn't hurt nearly as bad as the migraine did, but the force of the impact has my entire brain swelling. It's making it difficult to concentrate. As I shut off my eyes for the moment, my ears pick up noises in the hallway.

"Who the fuck's shootin'? Who the fuck's shootin' up my home?" I can hear one of the other tenants stomping up and down the hall. "Who the fuck is steppin' on 13th Street turf!?"

I chose to live in one of the low-income housing projects, because the rent was so cheap. I found out through some helpful (white) locals, that these few blocks were dominated by a gang that traffics in strictly marijuana. The crime in the area was a lot less than neighborhoods that dealt in crack or meth, they said, and most of the people don't get in to trouble so the cops leave them alone. That said, the several months that I've lived here have definitely enriched my understanding of the different classes and cultures of the country. Once I got to know a few of my neighbors, I had built up a reputation with them after I started buying weed from them. I was known as the "quiet little white boy". To them, that meant that I was cool enough to stick around, and wouldn't cause any trouble. Everybody liked it that way. Truth is, I was scared of them, so I liked it when they left me alone.

BANG BANG BANG. Not tonight though. Three resounding slams at my door. "HEY, OPEN UP. WHO'S SHOOTIN' IN THERE?" This isn't a voice I recognize. People were in and out of here at all hours, but I at least knew the voices of my neighbors.

I don't answer. Even if I could explain away the explosion, the fact that I'm dressed up like a fucking horse right now would not go over well with whoever this is. I was just going to have to pretend like I wasn't here, and that they haven't figured out that I was the one who set things off.

The fire alarm shuts off, and I can hear more voices in the hallway now.

"Fire department ain't comin', false alarm, relax y'all," one voice calls out. Unknown.

The second voice I recognize as my next door neighbor. "Yo man, what'cha doin' at that door?" We hung out once a month or so, smoked a bowl. We weren't close or anything.

BANG BANG BANG. "This nigga ain't be out here like the rest of us. He must be the one who's shootin' up in here. I want him," BANG, "TO COME," BANG, "THE FUCK," BANG, "OUT!"

Footsteps rush towards my door. I'm afraid another hit will bust the locks. Nobody can see me like this, but at this rate, if I don't say something to stop this guy, I'll be found ou--

"Yo, that dude? Some little white cracka, plays video games and shit. He probably heard that gunshot and pissed his pants. If he in there, he probably hidin' under his bed." A few voices break out in laughter. I'll take it. I'll be the ass of the joke if that gets them away from my room. "Leave him alone. He ain't got no gun to be shootin'."

There's silence for a moment, and one last BANG against the door. Heavy footsteps move away, and eventually things quiet down in the hall as doors close.

I open my eyes now that the dialog is over. The light bulbs are still sparking, and not doing much for lighting right now, so I get up and turn off the switch. I'm lucky that it even works still; I get a close up of the damage that whatever that blast was caused. This will be a fucking nightmare to explain to the landlord. I move to rub my forehead, and am immediately greeted with the point of my horn.

My horn! I remember seeing that pink aura around my horn... an aura around the horn usually meant that a pony was doing magic in the show, but that couldn't be possible here--

"No," I say out loud. I run my hand along the wall, coating my finger in ash. "I'm a fucking horse." I look to a shard of my mirror still in the frame. There it was, my horn, sticking out from a wild mess of blue hair, in between two pony ears. I have to let the thought sink into me, until I finally smile, my eyes wide, and lean in to inspect my horn in the little bit of mirror still available.

"I did fucking magic."

***

Monday, October 12, 2020

I spent the next three hours picking up bits and pieces of the blown-out wall from my floor. To be honest, the damage wasn't that bad. The burn marks and busted glass belied damage on the level of someone running a two-by-four through a thin, apartment wall.

I just wanted to do it... with magic.

The sensation was something else, and the first hour I spent just trying to get my damn horn to work again. Half of me wondered if I had... blown my load, so to speak, when the discharge occurred. I started getting desperate, and with plenty of fear in my heart, I began to entice it much in the way I had done in the bathroom, gingerly running my fingers along the length of white bone.

I didn't have to do that for long. It really was like the first time I had messed around with my lower horn, and my brain could now process and understand the nerves and sensations that my new appendage generated. After some practice, I could get the magic engine--for lack of a better word--generating power without any sensual touch.  When the task of lifting every piece one by one became a bore, I was able to scoop up the rest into the trash can. The sensation is indescribable. It's essentially a third hand with no apparent limit to its strength, distance, and to my surprise, dexterity. With the kind of practiced precision I had developed, it became real easy to see why the unicorns of Canterlot were so damn dainty.

They simply could be.

By the time I got around to laying in bed, and lazily levitating the pizza box to my lap, my head was in an unfocused, painful daze. The migraine crept back with every successive attempt to perform magic, but really, it was nothing compared to the giant knot on the back of my head. During the clean-up I couldn't help but take a moment of vanity in my hall closet's mirror. In a normal case, this would be a trip to the ER. It bled, badly, and I wouldn't doubt if it was deep enough to reach the skull.

The ER, of course, was not an option.

I settled with what I had available in a first-aid kit: a roll of gauze, and thankfully, a quick-clot powder. If I ever had an issue with my migraine again, I knew exactly what would take my mind off of it. I don't remember the few minutes of unimaginable burning, but it put pouring hydrogen peroxide on a wound in the category of foreplay.

I levitate over a plate from the kitchen, and send a slice of pizza to the microwave. The use of magic, for me, wasn't so much something of a product of laziness. Though I can't deny the fact that because I can do magic now, I'm finding an excuse to use it for every little thing. If there's one thing that seeing ears, a blue mane, and a giant horn growing from my forehead made me realize, is that I am, in fact, turning into Shining Armor.

I only assume that means hooves and all.

Getting the microwave to operate is a bit more difficult than I had anticipated. I didn't have the hang of solidifying my magical energies, so opening the door and operating the buttons on the panel involved me stabbing at it with a magically-held spoon. It gets the job done, and when the machine dings, I levitate the plate back towards me. Old reheated pizza doesn't look that appetizing, especially with an aura of pink energy around it. I have no idea if magic has a taste; I just end up shoving a huge bite into my mouth.

Immediately I'm doubled over, coughing and spitting it to my floor. Fast food is fast food, but sweet Celestia, the meat that tops it makes pre-sliced bologna taste appetizing. I turn to the box, and give it a good smell. This is the type of pizza I normally order; it's saved into my app's favorites. Today, instead of making my stomach growl, it makes bile rise, a cross between bad heartburn and puking.

I break my moratorium on hand use. When I return to my bed, most of the meat topping was left in the sink. I was left with a mangled slice of cheese pizza, and a complimentary salad. I usually put the salad out in the hall; one of my neighbors would pick it up and eat it. This time around, I end up eating the salad. The meat-grease-saturated cheese bread doesn't make it past my tongue before I fling it at the sink with a whirl of magic. Concussion, partial transformation, and unusual mental behavior. I really need a hospital.

I polish off the rest of the bottle of tylenol; around seven or so pills. My liver was going to be the one screaming in pain next, but I am at a complete loss. There is really nothing I can do at this point, and the stress of realizing that drives my migraine. The absolute, best chance I had right now, is to wait and see what happens when the inevitable happens. I've been fighting fatigue all day with the transformation, and now, with the head injury, and expenditure of a sizable amount of my... mana, I guess, I can barely stay awake upright in my bed.

The only thing keeping me awake, is the fact that I know what will happen the next morning.

Before going to bed, I gather what remains of my possessions and litter them across my floor. One moderate-sized overnight bag is placed in the center of it all. I grab hoodies, blankets, and other garments that I think will best fit what kind of body structure I envision having when I wake up. Pants, boxer shorts, socks and shoes are tossed into the corner. I stuff food into another pouch, mainly bags of dried fruit snacks and other preserved, easy-to-operate foodstuffs. I'm confident I could rip open the bag with my magic. Without hands.

I finish off the salad and toss the bowl aside, lying down in my bed. It wasn't anything fancy coming from a fast food pizza delivery joint, but the amount of flavor it had made it worth the fifteen bucks I just wasted on a meat pizza disaster. No wonder my neighbors made it disappear. It really was good stuff.

2:31AM. With only my worries and nerves about what's to come tomorrow keeping me away, fatigue eventually wins over. As sleep engulfs me once again, I can't help but feel a warm, tingling sensation wrapping around my body. A hug. Like one my mother would give me... but... different. My eyes crack in the dark, but all I can make out are the stars and night sky.

That's odd, my window... was closed...

***

The dream isn't coming easily this night.

You overworked your mind.

I know. But it had been a long day.

I will help you.

What do I need help going to sleep for? Shouldn't it be easier?

You are already asleep.

I get that. I can't move my body, and I can't perceive the outside world. Normally, I'd be dreaming.

It isn't a dream.

Of course it is. I fall asleep, and that same dream keeps coming back every time.

It isn't a dream...

What else would it be, then?

***

I spent some time in a state of limbo. It's been a few minutes since my thoughts had stopped. Now, there was only a surreal blankness. The voice hadn't answered back.

The empty space quivers with a light when the silence is broken, the sound of a somber piano playing a haunting, familiar theme.

This day has been just perfect...

This voice that plays in my head. It bothers me. I've watched the episode so many times, and This Day Aria had well over a thousand playbacks on my computer alone. I drive it from my mind. The silence returns for another minute. The cold of this space crept into my bones, ice flowing through my veins. As quick as it started, the frost melted, replaced with a warm fire. My blood boils now. I'm angry. I'm mad. This day was fucking awful.

It's okay.

A warm pressure rests against my cheek. I lift my hand to brush against it, and become aware of my lack of fingers as a hoof meets my skin. It's my hoof. Somehow, I was on all fours again, unknowingly making the transition back to the body of Shining Armor. To have delayed the dream this long, just how hard did I push myself with my "magic training"?

I'm here for you.

As the warmth from my cheek washes down my neck, and across my body, white electricity streaks across the blank field.

A rush of vertigo and shell-shock blow past my field of vision. The sensation against my horn feels as if someone took a sledgehammer to drive it into my skull. There's no pain though. Only the pressure, and as soon as it arrives, I leave behind the limbo, and return to a world of color and sound.

Before me is the inside of Canterlot castle, decorated for some kind of formal event.. A tear-stained, bruised Cadance steps back from me, her forehooves sliding from my body. Immediately, I press my hoof against my forehead as the migraine returns, albeit in a more subdued, manageable form. This situation before me, seemed familiar, but I couldn't truly process what was going on with around me.

"Wha... where... huh?" escapes my mouth. I shake my head to throw off the earlier sensations. It helps, but in exchange makes the throbbing in my brain all the more pronounced. Behind Cadance, stands the Mane Six, including Twilight. This time, they are without the fancy dresses that they wore as bridesmaids.

I look to Cadance. Even she isn't wearing her wedding dress. I look down my front, and find myself decked out in a red guardspony uniform. I focus on Cadance, confused, and my thoughts slip from my mouth without reserve. "Is the wedding over?"

The look of absolute jubilation coming from Cadance, directed right at me, is enough to unnerve me. The blood rises in my cheeks, and as a human male, I recognize the innate feeling of spaghetti rising internally. By Celestia, she was gorgeous.

"It's all over!" Down comes the sinister, melodic voice from before. My admiration of the princess is cut short, as a black figure drops down in between myself and the rest of the Mane Six.

"Your spell!" Twilight shouts from across the room to the both of us. "Perform your spell!"

Princess Cadance takes up a defensive stance next to me, glaring at the floating black pony laughing before us. My body moves into a similar state. Unlike previous dreams though, it's not as if I'm being controlled by an outside force. These movements... they feel natural... they feel like mine.

"What good would that do?" The black, insect pony pointing a perforated hoof in our direction. "My changelings already roam free!"

The word changeling resonates inside, a drop of water against a still lake. Immediately visions flood my head. Things I haven't seen in my dreams. Things from the episode? Queen Chrysalis has control of Canterlot. I knew that much, but when I try to focus further, I'm met only with the pain inside my head. I glance aside as the mare next to me. Cadance's distraught, battered features spark something inside of me. I understood, if anything, that the person responsible for how she looked right now, was the black, bug pony before me.

"No..." my flat teeth grind against one another. I spread my legs wide, bracing myself as I stir that familiar tingling sensation in my horn.

That's right. I have magic now. This is only a dream. I can take control of it at any time.

Try as I might, as sweat rolls down my face... I'm unable to. "My power's useless now," thoughts once again escaping my lips without filter. Of course it was. I had spent the entire evening using most of my magic just to figure out how it worked.

I hang my head. Even in a dream, my one advantage proves to be useless. "I don't have the strength..." It was hopeless. What little courage I had to muster control of my thoughts fades, understanding this dream is heading for the path of a night--

"My love will give you strength." Princess Cadance declares it boldly. The fire in my eyes, gone, had passed to her. Her hoof wraps around my neck as she draws me close in for a hug.

Queen Chrysalis had said something, but I'm lost in the moment. The pink mare wrapped around me... her soft, delicate skin... the inviting warmth in her heart... that was all that my mind could process.

You can trust this mare.

There it was again, the voice nagging in my mind. But how, I asked it.

You love Cadance too, don't you?

What kind of question was that, right now? Sure, I liked Cadance, and she was my favorite pony, but I--

Use it. Use that love.

"What do you mean..." I whisper to myself, and now, to the mare in front of me. I lean back from the hug, and look into Princess Cadance's eyes. Her expression read the same as the thoughts in my mind.

I trust you, they said.

Again, I close my eyes, my face scrunched as I draw on every last bit of magic my mind could muster up at this point. The pain in my head was intense, bordering the pain from clotting the wound on the back of my head several hours ago. But unlike that pain, it fades away. A faint, light blue light glows against my eyelids, and I can feel the breath from Cadance against mine as she draws close.

The tip of her horn touches mind.

The room is engulfed with the intense purple glow our linked horns produce. The pain in my very being is lifted from my shoulders. Even with my eyes closed, Cadance is there, at the forefront of my mind, as we exchange magical energies. We share a moment, as both of our eyes open in unison, gazing into each other

Think of our love, her mind wordlessly reaches out to mine. Anything.

The command is still confusing, but the goading sensation in the back of my mind draws my eyes closed. I have to trust her. I have to trust this feeling.

Immediately, I bring to mind everything I knew about Cadance. The comics from IDW come first, and I recall every panel that I can. When Shining first bumped into Cadance in the hall. The rock concert where he sung for her. The Fall Formal. My mind wanders, drawing on random scenes of life in Canterlot. Then, the preparation for the wedding. Casting the giant shield that surrounded Canterlot. Twilight's angry confrontation at the train station.

And then, the future. A crystal throne, the centerpiece of a hall, nay, a kingdom crafted from the most pristine crystal. Cadance is there, atop the throne, holding out a hoof to you. I reach out, our pose rivaled only by the Creation of Adam. Except that our hooves touch.

At that moment, the weight of the world is gone. Our two bodies linked together at the horn now float high above the grand ballroom, while the bright pink energy of love radiates and swirls around us. The power generated is intense; the magical revving drowning out the gasps and cheers from the Mane Six, and the enraged snarl from the Queen halfway across the room.

Our eyes open, and the entire room quakes. Our bodies contort into the shape of the heart, touching at the hooves and horn. The culmination of our combined efforts erupts from our horns, as we pour out our very being, our future, our life together... our love... our final hope... into one, giant explosion of magic.

***

I come to to the sound of a fire alarm in the distance, and the ever-increasing presence of silence. Coughing forces me upright; anything I breath in tastes of ash and smoke. I rub the sleep from my eyes. Looking up, I see the bright half moon and starry sky looking down to me.

From a burning hole in the roof of my apartment.

It took me several moments to realize the gravity of what I had awoken to.

I sat upright, choking on clouds of ash and debris. In between fits, my watery eyes caught sight of the only source of light within the building now: my clock, on battery power. 5:02AM. Screams and yells from various people came at me from all angles. The professional sounds from the outside world, and the panicked animalistic cries of my neighbors. They were trapped, probably injured, in various parts of the building. From whatever had caused this.

The roof was completely gone. Only several chunks at key structural points remained, but for those on the top floor, they now had a wide-open view of the night sky. The same went for the walls; I could see across into my neighbor's apartments. Basic frameworks and large piles of demolished walls, interwoven with televisions, bedspreads, refrigerators. Even the floor hadn't escaped punishment, tearing up several chunks of the ground, allowing me to look down below. The sight down there wasn't pretty either.

Although it hadn't received the brunt of the blast, most of the building's power and gas systems were stored on the lower floors. Instead of being strewn about, people's possessions were now engulfed in flames. The crackles of the fire were far enough away, that there was still a good floor and a half between it and myself on top of the fourth floor.

I could see the sides of several other large buildings next to me, absent power. Against the building across the street in front of my apartment, a menagerie of sirens brought the only light to the area. Taking care to keep myself hidden, I peer down to the street below. Currently, the majority of personnel appear to belong to Fire and Rescue. I don't see any cops. Yet.

My mind starts to shake off the rest of the sleep. I move a hand to wipe at my face, but knock myself over when a large round object hits me right in the cheek. The sight I get as I fall over explains it all, and keeps me from getting up for several moment. All I can do, is roll my head, catching the bottom of my floor mirror across the room from the gap underneath my bed.

What looks back to me, is a white stallion with a blue mane, locked onto me with bright, cerulean eyes.

***

I stand propped with my hooves against the wall of the bathroom above the tank of the toilet, as I relieve myself from a penis now tucked away in a fuzzy sheath.. Looking in what's left of the bathroom mirror, I see the white, round face of Shining Armor staring back at me underneath a large, black hoodie. This was, without a doubt, the pinnacle of my transformation.

I am a My Little Pony. I am Shining Armor.

Who needs to piss like a hor-- well, you get the idea.

Learning how to walk was, surprisingly, not that difficult. Translating it properly into four-legged movement though, was something else. With several false starts and wavering steps, I managed to get down a basic walking pattern, and made it to the toilet.

I had taken the closet mirror and put it up against the wall of the bathroom next to the toilet, giving me full sight of my body as I relieved myself. This allure was strong enough to distract me from the state my apartment was in. My hair, no longer a conservative working-class cut, flowed all the way down my back in three vibrant shades of blue. It stopped, leaving my now horizontal back bare skin with white fur. It picked up again, at the end of my back, right above where I felt my ass was.

My tail. I turn my head around to look behind at it. Moving my body causes me to lose what little control I have, and I can hear the sound of my piss hitting the floor. At this point though... it doesn't matter. I focus on my tail, wiggling a second new bone protrusion from my body. The blue ribbon attached to it swishes in unison with it.

My eyes wander lower. What were once human legs, were now these distinctly animal-shaped appendages, completely coated in white fur. I'm thankful though, that the hooves now replacing my feet, were colored differently so that I might be able to distinguish them. The sensation of them against the floor was beyond my comprehension. At the same time, it acted as the tough tool used by ponies to walk, yet as I rub my forehoof against my face, I feel the soft, delicateness of it. A hoof that, quite literally, defied human logic. This is what you get when you become a cartoon pony, then.

Everything else didn't bother me too much. With the major facial changes having happened earlier, the transition into the rounded white pony's face seemed more natural than a human with an unnatural color scheme and features. My cutie mark, the shield, looked as bold as ever, just now fitting the body style much better than it did as a human. The rest of my nude body

As far as... my penis... I wasn't sure what to make of that. Right now, the majority of it was covered in a small, white-furred pouch. A furry's fucking wet dream, I'm sure. Only a small portion of it extended as I bumped the last few drips from it.

It was... black... and strangely shaped.

BANG BANG BANG. "Fire Department, anyone in there?" The sound came from my door, surprisingly one of only a few things left in such a state. I left my equipment inspection at that; the last fucking thing I needed right now is to try and evade human sight with a foot long dong. I cinch down the hoodie with a small application of magic. My horn stuck out, but my eyes and ears were hidden well enough. I could've been worse off changing into a pegasus and trying to hide wings. A horn shouldn't be that noticeable.

I don't bother trying to flush with the lack of hands now. I can't even bring myself to do magic. Back on all fours, I quickly stroll by my bed, fishing out the bug-out bag I had put together the night before from underneath a piece of ceiling, and sling it over my body. It's hardly an ideal fit, but cinched down, it remains in place. I raise my head, and give a look around the apartment. It was utterly devastated. The few scorch marks that weren't currently ablaze reminded me of what happened when I... experimented with my horn in the bathroom. When I had brought to mind the images I last saw in the dream, I came to the conclusion I had performed the magic in my sleep, while it was happening in the dream. Although Shining and Cadance's spell came with the intent of being benign, performing it for myself, unconsciously, had resulted in this.

THWACK. The sound of splintering wood, coming from my doorframe. I wanted a little more time, but the Fire Department's attempt to enter the room meant that time was at an end. I had also settled onto my only option for getting away from this place in the body of a pony. I look out the window again. My budget put me in one of the apartments on an odd corner; one of my windows faces inside an alleyway. This particular window was more or less decoration for all the "view" it provided, but I was ever thankful as I peered over the edge.

Then, one foot in front of the other, I launch myself through it. It's a brief, slow-motion feeling as the destroyed floor of my apartment leaves my view, and I see nothing but garbage bags fifty feet below me.

Shielding, personal. Impact protection, maximum strength.

It is the complete opposite of slow motion when I hurl towards the ground below. Instinctively, I activate my horn, and in a small explosion crash into the ground below.

Dispel.

The effects of my magic dissipate with a fizz, and the various pieces of garbage that were stuck to me fall to the ground. My chest and lungs work overtime, fighting off the shock of having just done that. I smiled to myself, coming to an understanding about my new sense-of-self. As in my dream, when it came to the moment, a natural urge in my body took control,

I didn't have time to dwell on this thought. The sudden casting caused another loud noise, and already I hear footsteps racing from the mouth of the alley. I start running on all fours towards the fence. My mind and my body came to a compromise; instincts carried my legs in the natural pattern of a four-legged animal. I thought nothing of it. No, I couldn't think of it. I had no idea how to run, and only by goading the fight-or-flight reactions within myself did I have a chance of getting out of this alive.

Instead, my brain mapped a path, and I spoke it aloud inside my head. First, I charge through a small hole in the bottom of the fence, big enough for the local dogs to run loose. The mouth of this alley spilled into a small cul-de-sac behind the apartment complex. From there, it was merely avoiding the--

--sirens. They weren't making noise, but they had already barricaded the street off. Just arrived, from the looks of it. The majority of them were still gearing up with assault rifles and armor. It surprised me to see this, but when I turn to look up the the burning shell of my apartment complex, it's understandable. If the magic I cast was anything close to the power used in the dream, people probably think it was some kind of bombing. I shoot a glance to the side of one of the armored trucks.

Department of Homeland Security.

Fuck. My worst fears are confirmed. If they're already on these streets, they're probably setting up a perimeter. I couldn't stay out in the open like this either, so I take off down the sidewalk away from the blockade. I only make it a few more feet before I trip and roll into another alleyway, my back pressed against the wall. The bag of gear I was carrying is torn from me as I go down

My legs had given up. Whatever animal brain that had taken over before was no longer present. I try to stand up, but my joints buckle under the combined sensation of trying to process how my new limbs work, and the sheer exhaustion from the past few days. Basic idiot-proof walking was fine enough in the apartment, but with my adrenaline maxed out and my brain entering a frantic state of panic, I couldn't simply put my feet in front of the other. I take another half-step and fall to the ground, grunting in pain.

"I've got movement," calls one of the urban commandos, several feet from the entrance of the alleyway I was now sitting in.  "Side alley, west side. Sounds like some kind of animal, but profile's possibly a human. Carrying a bag. I'm holding at the entrance, requesting backup and EOD, a-sap." His radio call is ended with the metallic clanking of his rifle chambering a round

I wasn't going to make it. I was going to die here as a pony. My legs scramble upright, and I stumble and crash into trash as my body launches itself deeper into the darkness. The animal brain realizes it. Fear and panic wrack it, thinking of only one thing: escape.

My progress is halted when I crash into something that doesn't give way for me this time. I immediately pick myself up and attempt to swerve around it. Only when it places two large arms on me do I freak out. I move to scream, and my horn charges with magic, ready to blast myself away from whomever grabbed hold of me.

Everything stops. Not just my magic, and my scream, but everything around us as well. Falling trash and soot from the apartment fire hangs in the air, suspended. Looking up at the building, I see licks of flames dancing in the air, detached from the body of the fire, frozen in time. When the two large limbs set me down and leave my shoulder, only then do I understand that the only two things moving are myself and the being before me. I jump back, looking at my attacker, as he steps forward through the light of my magic.

I stare in utter disbelief, as a rich blue body steps through the light, trailed by a flowing mane decorated with the same stars that hang in the sky above. A bright flash of lightning, green in color, cracks the sky overhead, illuminating the face...

...of Princess Luna.

5 - Wedding

Luna and I both stare at one-another, neither of us saying a word. Only the movement of our manes and the arrival of dark clouds in the sky. A thunderstorm, crackling with brilliant bolts highlighted in green instead of the usual electric-blue, lights up the alleyway, casting shadows across the wall. I look over my shoulder at one set of shadows in particular. The urban commando, frozen as well, stands there mid-stride, rifle at the ready as he rounds the corner, the barrel of a second rifleman hanging over him.

I look back at Luna. Were it not for the shallow breaths moving her chest, her stoic demeanor would have me thinking she too was locked in time. I take a step forward, a look of sheer confusion while I determine if the Luna before me is really... real. A hoof lifts out to touch her, but an inch away from contact, the aura of a dark-blue magic coats it, gently forcing it down to the ground. I cast a look to her face, seeing the fading of the same aura from her long horn.

"Yes, human, we are real," comes her echoing, regal voice. It's not the full brunt of the Royal Canterlot Voice, but there is enough authority and purpose to her tone that I'm compelled into nodding my response to her.

"We also have very little time to escape, before you both are lost forever." Luna gestures up to the sky.

The night sky was gone, replaced by a pitch blackness. Even the faint outlines of the individual clouds were fading fast. The green lightning, once bright and distinct, now appeared faded and dull. I look back to the soldier behind me, and barely contain a scream. The figure was no more than a mannequin, devoid of any distinguishing features. What's more, is that behind him, I could no longer see the rest of the block; a creeping darkness slowly engulfed the street.

"Luna, you've gotta help me. What's ha--ah!" My words come out a million miles an hour, but I'm taken back by the sound of it. It wasn't my voice. Word for word, I spoke in Shining Armor's voice. I raise a hoof and place it to my throat, but Luna pays me no attention. Instead, she's closing her eyes, whispering to herself as her own horn sparks with electricity now.

"LUNA! WHAT'S GOING O--" This time, my voice is stifled by a large hoof pressed against my mouth.

Luna doesn't look to me, but speaks in her authoritative tone again. "Human, there is precious little time for us to work our magic. If you wish to be saved from a fate worse than Tartarus, be silent." A brief pause. "Please."

Immediately I move to speak again, but her foot snaps to my lips, keeping them shut. "No doubt you are full of questions, but there will be a time and place for them."

As she quiets, both our bodies are engulfed in her magical aura. We levitate into the air, as the darkness creeps over where we just stood. The entire world is now covered in an eerie darkness, soon replaced by a field of stars against the night sky. Luna breaths a sigh of relief, but doesn't break her magical aura. Her eyes open, and she looks down to me. I don't like her expression. What she wears is a look of pity, and the faintest look of sadness.

"Human, or should we say... Shining Armor..." Luna begins. She's dropped the tone of authority, instead taking on one of quiet compassion.

I take this moment to interrupt. "What do you mean, Shining Armor? I get that I look just like him now, but I'm not--"

Luna speaks up, talking over me. "You are Shining Armor." The authoritative, regal tone is back, and her blue eyes never move from mine. "We have but a few seconds; forgive us for skipping ahead. Think, human, how would we ever appear in another's world?" She leans in, pressing the question, "When was the last time you appeared just like him?"

I don't even need to think on it. The sudden pang in my stomach confirms it. After a labored gasp and slow exhale, careful to not vomit when I speak the word that makes my jaw shiver as I do so. "Dreams." I shake my head. "In my dreams. But how can you be here; this isn't a--"

Princess Luna shakes her head, "Nay. This is in fact a dream. As the Princess who watches over them, we would know with absolute certainty. We--"

"But I fell asleep!" Before she can continue, I interrupt her again. This is how this conversation is going to be? Fine. "I... I had dreams that I was Shining Armor. Now you're saying this is a dream? I just woke up! From the wedding! After casting that huge spell!"

She shakes her head again. "Nay. After casting that spell, you fell unconscious. This time, you weren't under Queen Chrysalis's spell." She steps forward, lifting her hoof and pushing it into my chest. "Think, human. It is impossible to... transform into a pony, is it not?"

I pause, mouth hanging agape. I can't even respond, so Luna does, "How else would you have been able to had this not been a dream?"

It's the final blow. My mind crumbles to dust inside my skull. Everything... up until now... had been a...?

"It is time," she speaks, adopting the full regal tone as she speaks now. Her horn swirls with an intense, blue-colored magic that washes away the starry landscape. "We know not where thou shalt arrive, nor when we shall be able to provide assitance, but the advice we shall impart onto thee..." Her lead lowers, staring straight into my eyes as she speaks. "Play thy part. Cadance's first wedding lay in ruin from an imposter. Don't let her believe there is a second one."

I shake my head furiously in response, as if to get the magical aura off of me. "No! That's dishonest! I'm not going to steal Cadance's wedding day... or her night..." I close my eyes and continue shaking.

"Worry not about deceit," come her final words, and for the first time, offering me a smile. "For thou art Shining Armor. Of  this fact, we can guarantee."

The darkness surrounds me, encased in Luna's magic, and my vision and hearing cut out. Exactly like when I rose from a...

***

Immediately my senses are overwhelmed by the sensation of color. The entire room is filled with ponies, all of them dressed in fine clothing.

Bringing me back, is the sensation of someone tugging at the bandolier across my uniform. I look next to me, and see Twilight Sparkle, horn alight with magic, as she adjusts various aspects of my uniform. Satisfied, she looks up to me, and offers the purest smile I had ever seen. I couldn't help but return it.

A drumroll sounds from the side, amplified by the acoustics of the grand hall we were in. At one of the windows, a yellow pony with flowing, pink hair conducts a choir of birds, who begin to sing. The four notes that echo shoot goosebumps across my entire body.

Here comes the bride...

At the far end of the hall, the giant doors swing open aided by the magic of two gray unicorns in golden armor. In the distant, three small fillies gallop forward, shaking flowers from baskets carried in their mouth. Behind them... is her, flowing in on silks of white and gold, hair braided and set in a bun holding her veil. I couldn't say what the fashion was, but I know for a fact, that anypony seeing her right now will wish they could hold a candle to her radiant flame.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

"Seriously though," Twilight speaks in a soft whisper, directed to me. Our eyes remain fixed on the bride before us. "I get why the Queen of the Changelings wanted to be with you, but how did you get someone as amazing as Cadance to marry you?"

I don't know how to respond. I say something to her, but I can't even hear my own words over the pounding of my heart in my ears.

Instead, my brain was trying to process the sensory overload that I was dropped into. The bright colors of the wedding guests complimenting their equally-bright attire. The mixing of perfumes and colognes into an intoxicating aroma. The fact that, on my left, the actual Twilight Sparkle is talking to me, me, of all people, while Princess Celestia stands to my right.

And now, right in front of me, stood Princess Cadance. She offers a smile, and once again, I can't help but smile back. This time though, it's in sheer beauty of the creature before me. My tingling brain could barely process the fact that there were living, breathing ponies all around me. Yet, Cadance puts them all to shame. She was, for lack of a better word, perfect.

This is her perfect day...

Luna's words echo in my mind. Her wedding was ruined once already. If I backed out, and told everyone here that I wasn't the pony that I looked like... I close my eyes, and let out a deep breath.

"Don't be nervous, sweetie." Those words alone, spoken by her no louder than a whisper, in a tone that burst with a genuine love. Unlike Luna's regal authority that demanded, these soft-spoken words persuade me into accepting her suggestion. I let out another deep breath, and we both turn to face Celestia.

There was no way I could do that. That said, if I went through with this... if I took the place of Shining Armor...

You are Shining Armor.

"Mares and gentlecolts," Princess Celestia finally spoke, addressing the crowd behind us, "We are gathered here today, to celebrate the union, of the real Princess Mi Amore Cadenza--"

Cadance speaks up quickly, "Princess Cadance is fine." She looks back to me with a smile, and her front hoof reaches over to brush against mine.

This wasn't the moment to have a mental dilemma. I'm sure Cadance and Celestia are picking up on it as well. I encourage her with a thankful smile, giving my attention back to Celestia as she continues.

"The union of Princess Cadance, and Shining Armor. The strength of their commitment is clear; the power of their love undeniable." She turns her gaze to Spike, dressed up in a tuxedo and top hat, holding a small pillow. "May we have the rings, please?"

Her horn levitates them with magic. This was it, the big moment in a wedding. I still fight over it in my head, whether or not to go through with it. Celestia then places the first ring, studded with several diamonds, onto Cadance's horn. I had no choice but to trust in the judgment of Princess Luna. She knows I was a human, yet, she calls me Shining Armor, and places me at the altar with the pony Shining Armor is supposed to marry. If Princess Luna has that kind of trust in me....

My thoughts dissipate as the cold metal of my ring sits snugly halfway down my horn. "I now pronounce you, mare and colt."

Cadance turns to face me. Her cheeks, as pink as they are, go deep red now. Mine do much the same. We both know what's supposed to happen next. I'm not sure if I'm ready for it... but the moment I go to think about it, my instincts kick in.

I lean in with her, and our lips press together in a chaste kiss.

The ballroom erupts into cheers and applause, as Cadance steps back and to my side. Celestia steps aside with a tear in her eye, exposing a balcony overlooking the castle's plaza. Together, our bodies leaning against one another, we step out to the balcony, igniting the crowd of thousands of ponies into absolute jubilation.

"Shiny," Cadance speaks up. She's still waving to the crowd of ponies below, but I catch her glance every few moments.

"Y-Yeah, Cadance?" I still wasn't used to this new voice. My new voice. She catches the stutter in my voice, and brushes her head against mine. The crowd loves it, celebrating the display of affection. The wedding was as much their party as it was Cadance's... and mine too, I guess.

Anything to take their minds off the Changeling invasion.

Her waving hand moves to the bottom of my chin, and she steals a quick peck, sending the crowd into a frenzy. The bridesmaids start rubbing at their eyes, with tears forming. Her words though, are heard only by me.

"I know you're still out of it, and you've been doing really great, sweetheart." Despite being the words of a lover, and now a wife, there's still that nurturing quality to her tone. Years as a foalsitter at work. "We'll do our First Dance at the reception, and then we'll leave for our quarters, where you can get some rest, okay?"

I quickly nod in appreciation. "Thanks, Cadance. I haven't been feeling... myself, lately..." My attention has drifted away from the crowd, now to the high sky, where a nova of color erupts over the highest tower, the sound of a Sonic Rainboom following shortly after Rainbow Dash paints Canterlot's skyline with a large rainbow.

After the display, Cadance's hoof gently caresses the side of my face, "I know, and I'm sorry for making you go through with the wedding so soon..." She leads me away from the balcony, and for once, we're given a brief moment tucked away from the public's eye. The ballroom by this point was empty save for Celestia and the Mane Six. Everyone who was invited must be heading to the reception by now. Cadance wastes no time, pressing her lips against mine, in a kiss

Her tongue parts my lips, and although I hesitated when she did, my brain gave way to my heart, and returned the kiss. I knew how to do this much at least, yet despite being a pure and innocent alicorn, kissing the Princess of Love put to shame any sort of contact I've had in the past. Each passing brush of our tongues not only fueled our passion, but invoked those feelings of love I had, just like our fight with Chrysalis. Every moment of love between Shining Armor and Cadance, encapsulated in this deep, passionate embrace.

As long as it lasted, it ended even quicker. Her innocent, loving smile gives way to the faintest hint of mischief expressed with her eyes and her grin. "Now, can't get too excited yet," her front hoof lightly dancing up my thigh, gently cupping my stallionhood with it. "That, comes later."

Cadance turns towards Celestia, now on her way with the Mane Six towards the entrance of the ballroom. "Twilight!" The eager bride and her maid of honor embrace, and talk quickly turns to that of the reception.

With no one else around, I follow her... Princess Cadance. My wife. To the wedding reception... our wedding reception.

***

The elegant grand piano signals us, and we begin our slow dance around the center of pavilion. Now, the crowds of thousands were down to only Twilight's mom and dad are here... Shining's mom and dad.

Cadance brings be back to earth with a turn in our dance routine. I can't fault her for her uncanny ability to drag me from my thoughts. I wondered how obvious I was being; to Shining's wife, I must be acting like a complete stranger. Yet she doesn't miss a beat, as she guides us around the crowd.

The piano tone, what I recognize as an extended introduction to Love is in Bloom, continues it's slow, ballroom tune. As we spin around, I spot a large, blue alicorn landing next to Celestia and the Mane Six.

"Hello everypony. Did I miss anything?" Luna speaks as she lands. Several of them let out small giggles, and Celestia can only offer a sigh to her sister as she nods. I'm only made aware that I'm staring at Princess Luna, when her eyes raise and meet mine. Her lids narrow, and her voice fills my head, without her lips ever moving.

Do not worry, human. We will talk.

I don't immediately answer her back. There's so much brought to the front of my mind when I catch sight of her, and it takes some effort to suppress the urge to run right at her and demand answers. I take a few deep breaths, and think aloud, in my mind.

Am I... really... Shining Armor?

I pause, chuckling, catching the attention of Cadance. To cover myself, I sneak in and steal a quick kiss from her, to which her response is to spin me around one last time, as our dance reaches its conclusion.

"I love you, Shining Armor."

"I love you too... Cadance."

Our hugging embrace is met with polite applause from the audience. Pinkie Pie uses this as her cue to sneak over to the music setup, kicking the piano tune off in favor of something with a much catchier beat.

"LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!" Pinkie tosses a microphone to Twilight

Twilight catches it with her magic, immediately into song. "Love is in bloom... a beautiful bride, a handsome groom..."

Cadance and I look to each other, both a bit embarrassed by the sudden turn. At the encouragement of the crowd, we pick up into dance again, something a little less formal. "Two hearts, becoming one. A bond, that cannot be undoooone!"

As the reception breaks down into a classy dance party with the conclusion of our Couples' Dance, I'm given time to mingle and go amongst the crowd. Cadance and I manage to run into both of our parents near the buffet table, and we're invited to sit down and chat. I decide to accept, but not before excusing myself to the restroom.

It doesn't take long to spot the blue alicorn with a starry mane. She stands under an archway, a good distance away from the rest of the party. Her eyes are on me the entire time I walk over. She knew I was coming, and seems to have resigned herself to answering my questions.

I walk up next to her, looking out the night sky. Neither of us say anything at first, until I break the ice. "Nice moon you've raised tonight." The first thing that comes to my head, after the longest three days of my existence.

Luna giggles, uncharacteristic for the stoic mare I had met just a few hours ago. "I don't plan on being the one responsible for you ducking out on your own wedding, Shining." She turns her head, looking to me. "Yes. You are really Shining Armor."

I let out a deep exhale, an exasperated sigh. "If we're cutting straight to the chase, Luna," I turn my head to look at her now. "Cadance has hinted that she wants to... consummate our marriage."  Excitement leaks in my voice, and I'm forced to clear my head of stray thoughts as I finish my question, "Am I Shining Armor enough for that?"

Again, she giggles, and takes a few steps away from me, down the pathway leading back to the main castle. "That, is your decision." Her footsteps echo against the cobblestone, and that's all I hear from her for several long seconds. At the edge of what would be normal speaking distance, she answers, "Celestia sees you as Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle sees you as Shining Armor. I myself know for a fact you are Shining Armor, and Cadance, the authority on all things love, sees before her the stallion she loves. Do you truly doubt us all?"

She was really good at making me feel like a complete and utter fool. "No, Luna..." I answer back, my tone flat. I too, turn towards a different direction, off where Cadance took our parents. I look over my shoulder at Luna, nodding to her. "I just have a hard time believing it myself."

"I would not think you a rational being if your reaction was any different." She trots back over to me, and her next words surprise me as a whisper in my ear. "If you still doubt who you are, know this. The dream I discovered you in, belonged to Shining Armor."

She steps back, and assumes her normal tone. "We will speak more tomorrow. Try to get some rest. You have had a very busy day, Shining Armor." I lift a hoof to stop her, but this time, she's taken off with a powerful flap of her impressive wings. As she flies away, her mane melts into the night sky. I watch her until she disappears from view, behind the castle ramparts.

***

After speaking with Luna, I find Cadance in the crowd. We exchange conversation with each other's new in-laws. Surprisingly, it's not as difficult as I expect it to be. From the way Cadance and our parents talked, I could assume the overall setting of the show was at least show accurate, and that Twilight did indeed live in Ponyville with the rest of the Mane Six. I have some trouble conversing about recent events, as I find that outside of the history of the ponies as given in the show, I know very little about Cadance or Shining Armor's past. It was never expanded on in the show, and very little of it in their comic special.

Before I know it, an hour's passed with small talk. Cadance steps in, interrupting her father on a question that had me placing a hoof to my temple, trying to remember. "Dad, Shining's had a rough couple of days, dealing with what happened. You can't blame him for not being able to remember everything." She places a hoof on my back in reassurance, and her father dismisses his questions with a smile, sipping at his drink.

"Speaking of which..." Cadance looks to me, nuzzling at my neck. "You look like you could use a good night's sleep. Are you ready to call it a day, my love?"

The touch, the affection, the voice. I didn't understand these feelings, but every small gesture set my heart aflutter. A welcomed warmth spreads throughout my body, washing away the aches and pains, if only temporary. I've never felt this kind of feeling before. Never, as a human, did I have somebody genuinely care for me

"Yeah, that would be great." I turn to look at my parents, and my new in-laws. "Thank you all so very much for coming out and making this a special day for us. I hope you all have a safe trip home."

Amongst the chorus of of courses, Twilight Sparkle had come up behind us, using the microphone she has to announce our departure to the crowd. Immediately, ponies moves towards the road leading out of Canterlot, and a royal carriage arrives in front of us. I help Cadance into the crowd, and turn to Twilight.

I didn't get to experience everything first-hand, but if my assumption was correct, everything that took place here today, took place as it did in A Canterlot Wedding. Even though I was thrust into this position by forces unknown, the fact is, Twilight did save the day. Without her...

My headache returns. Crap, I'm gonna have to make this quick. "Twilight, none of this would've been possible without you... little sis." The acknowledgment of Twilight as my sister, though strange to hear my tongue speaking it, feels natural. When she draws me into a hug, I'm elated. "Love you, Twily."

"Love you too, BBBFF."

I step into the carriage, and sit next to my wife. I silently offer her my thanks, to which she nods.

"Ready to go?" I ask her. By now, I was ready to just pass out and not wake up for some time. My mental exhaustion was at such a point, that the fact I'm a pony, sitting in a wedding carriage still doesn't register how it should. Like Luna said, everything could wait until the morning.

"Oh, almost forgot!" She reaches across my lap, the bouquet of flowers in her hand. If I didn't know better, I would almost say she's deliberately straddling me, her silk-covered flank mere inches from my face on purpose. She flings the bouquet into the crowd, to the excitement of some pony in particular.

"Now this, was a great wedding." Instead of taking up her seat, Cadance is now in my lap, her head resting against mine as she cuddles me.

For us...

6 - First Night (incomplete)

It turns out the ride in the carriage was purely ceremonial; as royalty, Cadance and I would receive our own quarters in one of the castle towers reserved for visiting royals, rather than stay at a suite in Canterlot. We could have easily walked, but I didn't bother questioning the decisions of girls when it came to weddings. Cadance wanted a storybook wedding, and I'm glad to give her that happiness after it came so close to ruin. She lays against my chest, eyes closed and enjoying the moment. I let one of my hooves gently stroke through her mane, and she smiles as she nestles in closer to me.

She does this, because you *are** Shining Armor.*

Cadance breaks the silence. "Something has been eating at you all day, dear. What is it?" Straight to the point, but in a delicate, caring tone.

I let out a sigh, looking out the window at the moon. "Everything's moving kinda fast... I'm just trying to wrap my head around it all."

"I'm really sorry about that honey." Cadance places a hoof against my cheek, her tones softening, nurturing me "I wish you didn't have to go straight from the hospital to the altar like that." She opens her eyes, and the hand against my cheek lightly boops me on the nose. "But," shattering her facade and chiding me with a teasing voice, "you insisted on rushing right over."

I let out a laugh, "Did I?" Another nervous little laugh, and I can't help but avert my eyes from her, gazing out the window once again. I place a hoof against my temple, propping my elbow against the armrest. "Sorry, I haven't really been feeling myself..."

"It's to be expected," Cadance quickly chimes back. She sits upright, shuffing in the seat and pressing against my side. "After all, Chrysalis stole nearly every bit of your love. So much, that not even Celestia or the Elements of Harmony could stop her." She rests a hoof on my thigh. "Having all of your love devoured would make anyone a completely different pony."

"That's the thing..." I let my free hand rest next to hers. I tilt my head so I'm looking back at her now. "I fear that it might have done that, Cadance."

I watch her eyes slowly close, and she gives a sad nod. It hangs in her voice as she speaks, "Truth is, I've noticed something different about you since I broke Chrysalis's spell on you." Her hoof lifts, wrapping around mine. This must be how ponies 'hold hands'. "But deep down, I know you're still the Shining Armor that I fell in love with. I wouldn't have walked down the aisle today if I didn't know that for sure. Chrysalis may have taken a part of you, but she didn't get all of you. With time, that wound will heal."

I go silent, and turn away, looking out the window at the moon. First it was Luna, and she said the same thing. She knew, for sure, that I was Shining Armor. I still don't understand what proof she has of that, but now Cadance too? She can sense my love for her. When she's supposed to be sensing Shining Armor's love.

She is sensing Shining Armor's love...

I. equal. Shining Armor. It's starting to aggravate me. This is the answer these two ponies have, but I can't make sense of how they came to such conclusion. I'm not seeing all the cards here. Yet the more I think about it, the more I start to accept that it might be true. Just because I can't understand the complex equation at work here, doesn't make it false.

I move upright and rub my forehead with my now free hoof. This is the one problem I do need to understand though. If I'm Shining Armor... I need to know how Shining Armor would actually think. I need his thoughts... his memories. I try to think back, but I return only hazy recollections of my human past. I try to remember the face of my parents, but all I can visualize are empty-faced mannequins. I can't even think of their names.

"Sweetie." Cadance's voice pulls me from my thoughts, and her hoof tilts my head to face hers. "The last few days have been especially hard on us both. You were brainwashed by a very powerful magic for several days, and I was locked in a cave underneath the castle. We both need to take a few days to recover from this." Her concerned look shifts to a bright smile, her tone picking up with excitement, "Luckily, we have just that; it's the start of our honeymoon!"

"Yeah..." I don't share her enthusiasm.

Just as quickly, the smile turns into a pout. "Look, no matter who you might think you are, you should at least know how to have a good time, right?"

Her accusation puts me on the defensive. I lift up in my seat, break the melancholy and answer back, "Of course I do, I--"

"Good," interrupting me with a look of satisfaction. "Then just do that. The rest of it should come naturally."

Our carriage draws to a halt. Outside her window is the entrance to one of the larger wings of the sprawling castle. These must be the royal quarters.

Her door springs open, and she grabs my hoof, "Now come on, let's head on up to our room and relax!"

I drop my spaghetti. "W-W-Wait, you mean together?!" My face is bright red. I'm Shining Armor, but in my mind I haven't processed the fact that we're a married couple. Much farther than I have ever been in life, and completely skipping several important steps leading up. As far as I knew, the best we were before today was that of imaginary pony waifu and Anonymous husbando.

She rolls her eyes, pulling my arm with both hooves. "Of course I do. We're husband and wife now." I get up to keep myself from falling over, and I step to the ground after she exits the carriage. "We get to do all sorts of things together now."

My ears deceive me. There's no way I heard it the way I just did. I look back to her, incredulous, met only with a look of innocence from the princess. I can't even issue a response; my spaghetti cup runneth over.

"Oh sweet Celestia," her tone a teasing pity, caressing my burning cheek with her hoof, "you are adorable. No wonder I fell in love with you." She steps back, flourishing her dress as she strides towards the castle. Over her shoulder, grinning bright, "The knight rescued his princess, and they celebrated their wedding," eyelashes fluttering, "you know what happens next, right?"

"They... live happily ever after?" I don't stammer my response this time, but my tone is nearing a squeak. I feel my heart in my throat. All these lovey sensations... I didn't know what to do with them. I had no experience to go by from Earth. Surely... she must know this. The look she's wearing, she's enjoying the situation she's put me in.

Cadance eyes widen, and she busts out into a giggle, raising a hoof to her mouth. "Yes..." pausing for breath as her giggles subside. "That's exactly it, Shiny. Now, come on, lets head upstairs and unwind. We deserve this honeymoon."

She quickly trots off, letting the breeze carry her dress above the ground. Her mane, all pinned and set in place, unfurls as she breaks into a gallop down the cobble path, heading straight for the entrance hall. When she passes by the guards at the grand door, they snap into a sharp salute. Once inside, her pace slows, the flowing trails behind her gently fluttering down to the ground.

I follow after, but I don't dare try to break into a gallop. I've had plenty of time to get basic walking down during the wedding reception. Besides, Cadance was right... I was downright exhausted.

When I pass by the guards, they both salute again, but the one on the left speaks in a sharp, military tone. "Captain Shining Armor, sir!"

I stop mid-step. I have absolutely no idea what to make of this. Now I'm getting treated like I'm someone important? "Y-Yeah?" I manage to get out. Being put on the spot like this not only by Cadance, but the palace guards is unnerving.

If he takes notice of me, he doesn't acknowledge it. "Sir, Vice-Captain Steelhoof has assumed command of the royal guard. Princess Celestia wanted me to inform you that you'll be on two weeks convalescent leave starting tonight. She has instructed us to treat you as a Prince, and..." the guard's military bearing failing, his eyes looking behind me at the other guard.

The one behind me speaks up now, "Princess Celestia instructed all of us that under no circumstances were we to permit you to assume any of your official duties while on your honeymoon." When I turn my head to look at him, he too seems nervous, having spoken these words.

"A-Alright," I choke on my reply. I could barely comprehend their words. Sticking a working-class peon into the role of a commissioned officer, and royal prince no less? I may as well be Henry of Wales; the complete opposite end of the spectrum. "Tell her thanks, I guess?" I look to the center of the hall, where Cadance stood waiting and smiling at me. "That's nice of her to look after us like that..."

The two guards exchange glances, and snap one final salute and "Sir!"

I walk across the entrance hall with a genuine smile on my face, for the first time since this entire ordeal started. Honestly, my situation wasn't all that bad. Aside from the identity crisis... I had it made right now.

I'm a pony. In Equestria. It's a dream come true. Shining Armor may not have been my ideal choice for a body, but I'm far from regret. This body, with every muscle in it aching and tired, still puts my lazy, underused human body to shame. Even for a unicorn, it's as toned and developed as I'd expect the leader of the princess's royal guards. Not only that, I'm on top of the world: a Prince consort of Equestria. Aside from Blueblood, I sit as one of the most noble stallions in the pony world.

And then there's the horn. My eyes cross, looking to the white bone jutting from my skull. A horn that can do actual, real magic. If I got the powers to work on Earth, certainly the would here in an actual Equestria. Without hands, this thing is a godsend. I catch myself smiling, knowing that I've been granted a miracle amongst miracles. Flying might be great and all, but this is pure motherfuckin' magic...

My thoughts are interrupted by the sensation of someone staring at me. "You look awfully happy all of a sudden," Cadance beams at me, feeding off the energy I feel right now. "With how scrunchy your face has been all night, it's nice to see you really smile for once."

I move straight to her, wrapping a hoof behind her neck, pressing my lips against hers. It's brief; but in that moment... "I am happy. I thought about what you said... and I've decided to give it a try. Let's have a good time, Cadance."

This time, with a tear in her eye, she's the one kissing me, and she doesn't hold back at all.

***

It turns out our accommodations are in a private tower. The entrance hall connected to one of the many hallways that linked up the castle, but aside from that, the only other path is a coiled staircase leading up. As we ascend the staircase, the guards posted at the entrance to the castle shut and bar the entrance, and take up post at the base of our staircase.

When we push open the door, we're met with lavish accommodations. Truly, a honeymoon suite, beyond even five-star quality hotels on Earth.

I might have been a human for twenty years up until now. I might not have. I've been rejecting these changes ever since I got here. Assuming my last moments on Earth were just a dream, what did I have to look forward to with my human life? Living in a run-down apartment complex, surrounded by drugs and crime? Working a menial job making a dollar above minimum wage? Going home to smoke a bowl and jack it to a picture of Cadance? Falling asleep with nobody I could say 'I love you' too?

I spent the first few hours in disbelief of who and where I was. Why? My life, None of that really matters now, as I look into her eyes. Here, before me, is the living, breathing Cadance. My waifu. The one I would give the honored title, 'best pony'. We've kissed several times today--who knows what's happened in the past--but the sensation of 'this is my wife' hadn't really sunk in. Hell, I was still stuck on the fact she thought of me as her Shining Armor. One thing's for sure... I don't know anything about Shining Armor. It's sad; how can I be her Shining Armor, if I don't even know how they met? What their first date was?

"Cadance, you remember when we first met?" I ask her, putting on my best take on a romantic tone. I offer her a smile and lift my glass to her.

"Of course, sweetheart," comes her light-hearted giggle. She's already downed most of the champagne in her glass, as she reaches out for the bottle with her horn. "Buck Withers had no idea what he set into motion when he tripped you that day, did he?" She's blushing at me, already pressing her second glass to her lips. I'm not sure how much of the red on her cheeks was from the champagne.

I take her cue, and sip at it. . No wonder her cheeks are going red; I can feel it myself. I process what she's said to me...

It hits me. That's exactly how the comics played it out. How Shining Armor and Cadance met. Complete with all the 80s cliches and callbacks. Does this mean the comic canon is their history too?

"And the concert?" I place all my chips on this bet. If this worked, I may have a leg to stand on.

Cadance sighs the sigh of a devoted fangirl, pressing a hoof to her forehead as she sinks into the water. "I was such a sucker for it. To think you'd go to all that just for me..." Her eyes gaze back at me from over the tub's rim. This time, she's blushing for sure. "But why? What made you think of this?"

It came sooner than I had expected. I stall for time by taking a long, savoring sip of the champagne. I am going to get spoiled in this world if this is the kind of alcohol I can expect as royalty. My musings come to an end, as I find the bottom of my glass staring back at me empty.

"Do you think... Chrysalis's magic might have messed with my memories?" The bombshell. I can barely keep eye contact with her as I let slip the secret.

She's silent for a moment. Only when she rises from the tub, water cascading down her front, does she offer to speak, as her horn pours both me and herself another glass. "Love is a complicated... thing..." A chuckle escapes as she gets comfortable, resting her forelimbs along the edge of the tub, her chin on top of them. "The problem is, is that often times our strongest memories are about the things we love." Her gaze breaks from me, now focusing on the third-empty bottle of expensive bubbly. "This was my worst fear... when she took your love, did she take your memories, too?"

Cadance lifts her eyes, and reaches out a hoof to press against my shoulder. I rotate in the tub, resting on my side, and use my free forehoof to brush against hers. All she can offer is a sad little smile, tears in her eyes, as she speaks. "How bad is it?"

I sigh, and take to my glass again. The warmth it brings really helps in a tough time like this. "Pretty bad. I think I remember how we met. After the concert... you went to the Fall Formal with Buck..."

She gives an audible retch, pointing to her throat with a hoof. "He kept hassling me the entire night after I dumped him."

"Right up until you stole his crown and gave it to me," folding my arms and wearing a smug look of pride.

A hoof boops my nose, "That implies he actually earned it."

My giddy mood has faded... because that was the end of the comic strip. "Then there was King and Queen's first dance... but after that..." I press a hoof to my forehead. There was a giant hole, obviously, because the next thing I remember as Shining Armor, is his first appearance in the show during the wedding episode. That's all the material that was produced about him.

The hoof at my nose brushes aside my hoof, instead pressing her's to my forehead. "I'm thankful you can remember that much at least. It's a good start."

"But what about the rest of my memories?" Of course, I mean Shining Armor's memories. But I don't say that much. I couldn't exactly explain that all of his memories were instead replaced with...

...my memories? I remember the carriage ride earlier. I couldn't remember my parent's faces, much less their actual names. I take a deep breath. Cadance looks ready to answer, but watches silently instead as I close my eyes.

Parents. Immediately the image of Twilight Velvet and Night Light appear in my head...

...Who? Those were Twilight's parents. I focus again, this time on my human parents. I can't even picture a human shape that well anymore. I skip over my parents, trying to remember anything, anything at all from my childhood...

...but I'm greeted with nothing. Like Shining Armor, there's a mental wall starting from a few days ago, when I sat down to watch the Canterlot Wedding episode. That can't be right though. I remember what the other episodes were about. I knew who all the ponies were. Forget ponies, I had a job. I knew my coworkers. There was my boss... and that one guy I talked to a lot...

...but who were they, really? Not even the faintest guess at a name comes up. I try to focus on their faces, and I'm met with amorphous peach-colored blobs, absent of any definitive features. Panic seeps into my mind. I had a sister too, right? I try to picture her, and a peach-colored blob gives way to the image of Twilight Sparkle... but that's not my sister!

Who is my human sister? Who are my human parents? My human coworkers? My neighbors? Why can't I remember any names? I try to recall anything about my past, but all I get are glimpses of myself and Twilight Sparkle together. Rapidly flying snippets of life. Sharing an apple together. Watching her levitate a book with magic. Flying a kite together. More and more, bits and pieces flashing past with the beat of my heart, now pacing as I realize that I--

A painful spark shoots throughout my body, from horn to tail. I'm brought back to reality by Cadance, a teal aura engulfed around her horn as it separates from mine. Her hooves rest at the base of my neck, stroking softly. Comfortingly. As a wife would do a troubled husband...

"I'm not even sure if Twilight could explain to the both of us how memories work. But if a memory that's full of love is drained of all that love, you'd be left with a broken mess." She snags my glass from the table, and pours me another full glass of that dangerous champagne. "Don't force yourself honey," nudging my lips with the levitated glass. I oblige her and part my lips, taking control of the glass.

Cadance smiles as I tip back the contents. "Remember what I said? Rest and relaxation." Satisfied that I've calmed down, she leans back in her tub, draping a warm cloth over her face. Through the cloth, she continues. "Tomorrow, Princess Celestia and I are going to enjoy a ladies day at one of Canterlot's finest spas. I'll bring up the subject with her, and we'll see what we can come up with."

Immediately I raise a brow, "What about Twilight? She's the bookworm after all."

"Yes, dear, I'm well aware of your sister's incredible talent for magic... but who do you think teaches her?" Cadance winks to me. "After all, Celestia herself learned from Starswirl the Bearded. She might know something about the changeling's strange magic."

I remain skeptical. Celestia saw little airtime in the series, so I have no idea what to make of her capabilities. "You seem pretty confident of that. If you're gonna be gone tomorrow with her, maybe I'll sit down with Twilight and talk to her over lunch or something?"

"That's a real good idea honey. The two of you haven't had a chance to do something like this in ages."

7 - Morning (incomplete)

Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Early Spring, Approximately 1½ years after the Return of Princess Luna

"Sir Shining Armor, please wake up."

Woken up to a royal guard.

"Princess Cadance requested me to wake you at 10 o'clock."

Thank, dismiss guard.

I step out of bed, and immediately hit the floor. Instantly, all sleep and grogginess dissipates. I'm most definitely awake now. The guard turns around, stepping forward concerned, but I wave him off with a hoof. "I'm fine. Just... you know... morning after..." It's good enough for the guard, who exits the suite. Using the bed as leverage, I bring myself back to all four hooves. I had forgotten.

The reflection from a large mirror across the room reminds me ever so much of the fact that I am a pony. I'm also struck by the sight of something... unseemly... dangling from my body.

"You gotta be kidding me..." I step in front of the mirror, taking a hoof and touching the blackened appendage. Without a doubt, most assuredly, that thing is... "...my dick." Half-erect, hanging several long inches out of the furry pouch that held it normally. Half-erect, and already putting my equipment as a human to absolute shame. Pleasing someone with this would be...

"AMAZING!" Cadance's voice, echoing in my mind. A ginger sniff to my hoof confirms the flash of passion that's now pumping blood into my organ. The sweet, sensual scent of that amazing mare. My mind processes all the signals this enticing scent contains. The nose of an animal is a big step up from the human nose. I'm able to pick up the finest details, bringing back the vision of just how my hoof became coated in Cadance's scent...

A sudden shock of cold to my now-erect member. I look down as I pull it away from the source.

My penis... touched the floor.

The revelations about my body come at the strangest times. I wasn't able to take notice of it during the night--this is the first time I've been able to get a good look at myself. The last time I saw my body up close like this... was back on Earth. I touch it, run my hoof along it's length.

I was so absorbed in myself, I hadn't noticed that another pony slipped into my room. She's brought to my attention when the faintest squeak escaped her throat, stammering out the most embarrassed "E-e-excuse me" I've ever heard.

I jump back, and immediately try to cover myself--a much harder task now that it's fully erect. "I'm sorry! I thought I was alone!"

"N-No, i-it's my fault!" I get a look at her. She appears to be one of Luna's night guard ponies. The animal-like eyes are turned away, fixated on a very particular spot on the ceiling. "I-I-I should've known better, the honeymooning couple..."

During the explanation, I manage to drape a towel around my flank. It does little to hide the giant bulge between my legs, but at least it's not hanging out... bare and exposed... "Can I help you, though?"

"Y-Yes! Princess Luna requested that you meet her in her tower in one hour for tea. She emphasized that you arrive on time and of sound mind for your discussion, and that no formal attire would be necessary." The bat pony recites her instructions while gazing well away from my body. Once complete, she snaps to attention, eyes fixed on me, although extremely reluctantly.

I've gotten used to this with the other guards already, and I dismiss her with a salute. Quickly, she trots away towards the exit to my bedroom. I can't help, but my eyes drift to her flank. I don't get any sort of visual confirmation, as her tail's in the way. Before she can leave, I put up a hoof. "Wait!"

She stops, and turns to me, perplexed. "Yes, your highness?"

"This is going to sound like an extremely stupid question. So I need to know if you can keep a secret?"

Immediately, her cheeks flush with color, and her eyes dart away from me. "I-I am bound to serve the royal family and their every command, but as one of her personal guard, I answer to Princess Luna. If she asks..."

"I get it, and that's fine. Just... don't tell anyone else, please?"

I can see the discomfort in her rising. "Y-Yes, your highness..." I hope she isn't thinking I'm planning something.

I take a deep breath, and sigh. "Uhm... Chrysalis messed with my head a bit, so I've forgotten some of the stupidest things, but... how do... you know..." I gesture down towards my midsection covered in a towel. "How do ponies keep stuff like this from happening in public? How do you keep these things hidden?

The poor grey bat pony is absolutely red in the face. It takes her a few moments to process what I've said, but a sigh of relief seems to come across her features, relieved over something. Yet, it returns in a different form shortly after. "U-Uhm... well, mares usually cover their, uhm... backside..." her eyes averting, "with their tail, kind of naturally. Like you saw with me."

She caught me? I have to give credit to these guards. "What about... if you know... stallions..."

She clears her throat, taking a deep breath. "Stallions do the same. As far as... your situation, your highness, I've been told that a stallion's body handles it when their mind is... not focused on.. the subject." She takes another deep breath, and seems to be relaxing to the topic at hand. "Mares... well.. they do the... you know... the wink... so it's kind of the same for us I think. Just try to keep a clear head in public, and your tail should do the rest."

I breathe a small sigh of relief. So if I'm not thinking about sex, it'll take care of itself? Come to think of it, the tightness against the towel has reduced to some extent. Maybe there was some truth to this.

"I wouldn't worry about it too much, your highness." The young bat pony offers me a fanged smile. "Most ponies don't pay much attention to things like that unless they're deliberately trying to look. And if a colt doesn't want a hoof to the jaw, they do their best to not be so obvious. Besides," she snickers, pointing her hoof at me, "there's usually a giveaway when young colts get too enamored in their thoughts."

When I feel that my lower appendage has been tucked away into my body, I lift my towel, and look questioningly to the night guard.

"Yeah, like that, tucked away, out of sight. Mares are kind of the same, but you'll have to ask Princess Cadance for a demonstration of that, your highness," the guard snaps to attention, offering another salute. "Is there anything else I can help you with, sir?"

"No, that'll be it." I return her salute once more, and as she moves to leave the room, I aim for the bathroom. Now that little Shining is back to normal, I've become aware of the previous night's champagne throbbing in my bladder. "Wait, one last thing!"

She stops with the door halfway closed, tilting her head my direction. "Sir?"

"Where is Luna's tower?"

"She has left instructions in a letter. I put it on the dresser next to the letter from Princess Cadance."

"Thank you, and, thanks again for... the help..." now it's my turn to look embarrassed and avoid her glance.

"It is my duty, your highness." Her tone is formal, but she leaves me with a smile as the doors close.

***

I enter the bathroom, and am greeted with much of the same luxury as I would come to expect given our quarters. Still, this bathroom could easily be twice the size of my old apartment. Along one side of the wall was a large, luxurious pool, currently empty, that seems to serve as a bath. Complete with an elaborate system along one wall, allowing someone to literally bathe under a waterfall.

Tucked away in a small alcove is the target of my visit: the toilet. Only I'm greeted with something beyond my understanding. It looked like one of the Japanese squat toilets.

I position myself over it the best I can, stance widened on all fours. As if on command, the pressure is relieved, and I confirm that everything is on target. I'm thankful this is all I have to worry about right now. I didn't know if it was something ponies had to worry about, but I had no reason to believe that ponies didn't poop.

Once I've handled business, I move onto another half-walled section of the bathroom. In here, there are two sinks lined up underneath a giant vanity mirror. I could tell Cadance has been here, with the random assortment of girlish products on her side of the bathroom. I skip the sinks though, and look into the giant shower.

"Jesus Christ," sums up what I think of this. To say it reminded me of the ridiculous Kohler shower commercials would understate what stood before me. Several shower heads, one of those shower hoses, and a wide assortment of colored knobs. An entire alcove is dedicated to various soaps, shampoos, and mane and tail products. One corner of the stall had some odd contraption coming from the floor, that I stayed well away from. (I would come to find out later this was an automated hoof scrubber.)

Eventually, I get the water going, and I spend a good thirty minutes in the shower playing with my horn. This was the first time taking a shower completely ponified, and there was plenty of chance to practice fine motor control with my telekinetic magic, all the way from controlling soap flow from the bottles, to scrubbing every new nook and cranny on my body with a very sensual brush. I even give my goods a bit of a wash; having Cadance's scent stuck to me as I walk around the castle probably wouldn't go over too well. There seems to be some truth to the bat guard's lesson on pony genitals; the sheath itself isn't very sensitive, and it takes a good amount of concentration on my night with Cadance to get my penis erect.

Needless to say, my "cleaning" took a bit longer than normal. As I shut off the water, I had a very comprehensive understanding of my new body.

I notice one button in particular: a fan that is blowing bacon strips. One, sweet little treasure I'm reminded of from Earth; the unintentionally comical depiction of a dryer. I tempt fate, and push the button. Instantly, the sound of gurgling water gives way to a powerful heated fan blasting at me from all angles. The pressure is enough to get deep down into my coat, and it feels like a massage all on it's own. Seriously, if I have to look forward to this every time I want to get clean, I'm gonna have absolutely no problem living as a Prince in Equestria.

***

I make my way to Princess Luna's tower. It takes me a good twenty minutes walking to get to her door, and by the time I'm there, the clock on Canterlot's Bell Tower shows an ominous 11:15AM. The guards usher me in without a word.

I'm greeted by an archaic-style study, something pulled out of Middle Ages. Amongst towers of dusty tomes that would bring Twilight to her knees, sit a small collection of red velvet high-backed chairs. In one, sits Princess Luna, sipping at a cup, while a small sandwich floats to her side.

"You're late, human. We thought punctuality was a trait exemplified amongst your kind." Luna's taken the more regal tone, but her voice conveys little annoyance.

"I apologize for that. I didn't realize just how big this castle really is..."

She drops the tone, picking up a more casual speaking voice. "Understandable, given the state of your former living quarters. You would normally have one of your transport carriages take you to your place of employment, would you not? The palace can arrange for such accommodations..."

"Walking's fine, Luna, I just didn't know Canterlot--" I'm stopped as my brain finishes processing what she said. "How did you know I ride the tram to work?"

Her response is a light chuckle as she takes a dainty bite off the corner of her small sandwich. Her horn pulses with magic, swinging a chair out and offering me a place to sit down. She gestures to it with her hoof. Without an answer, I accept the chair.

To my left, I'm presented with a small tray containing a few finger sandwiches, as well as a cup of tea. I thank myself for the magic practice from earlier, lifting a sandwich and the cup and offering my thanks--

They hit the tray and bounce to the floor, spilling the contents onto the carpet. Looking back at me, is the shocked bat pony from earlier this morning, unsure of what to make of my reaction. "Y-Your highness?!"

"You! You're the one from earlier?" Both our faces go bright red in response.

"Yes," Luna offers in response before the mare can answer, sipping idly at her tea with her eyes closed. "BAT_PONY captains my personal retinue. I trust no other pony with sensitive matters, such as the one you find yourself in, which is why she was able to accommodate any strange lines of questioning. Is there a problem with her, Shining Armor?"

"N-No. It's fine. Just... never mind..." I dismiss my thoughts with a hoof. I look to BAT_PONY, "I'm sorry for knocking stuff everywhere."

"It's my fault again, sir. I should have informed you that I would be present," she offers back sincerely.

Luna remains silent, as BAT_PONY pours another cup of tea for me, setting it down on the small table in front of us.

L: "You asked how I knew so much about you and your world. The simple answer to that, is that it was a dream I was watching over."

SA: "Shining Armor's dream, right? I still am not sure how much of that I believe--"

L: "While I understand your resistance to such a fundamental change to your perception of life, the fact of the matter remains, is that your world was simply the dream of Shining Armor as he was entranced by Queen Chrysalis."

SA: "How did you even know to look to his dreams?"

L: "I watch over the dreams of all ponies. That is one of my duties as Princess of the Night. I took special care to watch over both you and Cadance, as you were both not only occupied with the wedding preparations, but defense of the castle. I noticed something was suspicious, when I could no longer enter the dreams of Princess Cadance. When your dreams turned into that strange place, I was unsure of what to make of it."

L: "Dreams are delicate creations, but there are several fundamental rules that govern them. One of them, is that they always center around the dreamer. When I entered Shining Armor's dream, and found the dream world aligned to this particular human creature, it did not take long for me to understand that this human was the dream representation of Shining Armor. As I've said before, you are Shining Armor."

SA: "Just not the same Shining Armor that everyone else knows. Princess Cadance said that Chrysalis drained my love from me, and that it could be responsible for why I'm unable to remember much of Shining's..." I pause, looking up to her. Her gaze is unflinching, and somehow, confirms the thought I wasn't able to voice. "I'm unable to remember my past. Neither the human past, nor Shining's pony past.

L: "I did not understand the source until it was too late, but once I knew that Queen Chrysalis's spell broke, I knew I had little time to act. As you saw when I first showed myself to you in the dream, the world was collapsing. In this world, Shining had fallen unconscious, and was rushed to the medical wing. If I had not rescued you..."

SA: "Shining... I might not have woken up."

L: "Precisely."

SA: "Okay, lets say that I believe in this. That I'm actually Shining Armor. Why would I dream of a world like Earth, and humans?"

L: "I cannot say for sure. Everyone's subconscious acts in a different manner. My primary theory is that when Queen Chrysalis drained your love from you, the dreams you were left represented a world without love."

It's a chilling conclusion. Life on Earth? Without love? I guess that could explain why I never really felt much connection with my own family, my coworkers. I didn't even have someone I could call a friend. Maybe there is some truth to this.

L: "If Cadance believes your missing memories to be a side-effect of Chrysalis's spell, I agree that your strange dreams are also a side-effect of this magic."

SA: "Well, I suppose we'll get a definitive answer for sure. I brought it up to Cadance last night--"

L: "Human, we specifically instructed you..." her voice picking up quickly into the regal tones.

SA: "It's okay! It happened naturally... and she knew, to some extent anyways. She's able to sense my love... Shining's love, and noticed it was different, but she's okay with it, trust me. "

L: "I do trust you. After all, the dreams you both had of each other corroborate--"

SA: "I GET IT, LUNA."

L: "Our apologies."

SA: "Anyways, she plans to talk to Princess Celestia about it, and see what she has to say on it. I'm meeting Twilight for a late lunch this afternoon. I figure if anyone can provide us with the missing piece to the puzzle, it'd have to be the one pony who's read the entire library on anything remotely cerebral."

Luna smiles, "I see that you are quickly returning to your old self. Shining Armor often praised his sister's intellectual talents. I feel you may be right in seeking her assistance in this matter, but tread carefully. She was the first one to detect something was afoul with you and the imposter Cadance; I imagine her wits will quickly determine you aren't exactly her brother right now."

SA: "But I am still Shining Armor, right?"

L: "I understand dreams and magic are not important in the fictional world your personality is from, but in our world, they are governed by laws and concepts just as important as gravity and other natural phenomenon. I will say it plainly: You are, beyond any doubt, Shining Armor. If I were not certain of this fact, I would petition Celestia herself to banish you until we could determine your identity."

That pretty much settled that issue.

SA: "So, what now, Luna? What do I do?"

Luna tilts her head, raising a brow. "What an odd question. You are free to live your life now. You are no longer shackled to a dream."

SA: "You mean... as a pony?"

L: "You were always a pony. It appears you aren't able to remember that yet."

SA: "And my life as a human?"

L: "Surely, you do not wish for that loveless existence?"

SA: "Of course not, but, when you think you've been a human for twenty years..."

L: "That is the problem with your reasoning. You think you were a human, but in reality, you only dreamed of being one for less than three days."

SA: "Thanks... Luna..."

L: "You are most welcome, Shining Armor. BAT_PONY, could you please escort Shining Armor to the gates? I have kept him longer than I had anticipated, and I do not wish for Miss Twilight Sparkle to have to give a lecture on tardiness to her own brother because of me."

BP: "Of course, your highness!"