Diary of a Foalsitter

Chapters

Prologue
Dear Diary...
Magical Dismastery
For Filly's Sake
Dare to be Thoughtful!
Wasn't It Obvious?
Champion Amore
Dances, Kisses, and a "Stellar" Vacation

Prologue

“How long until the carriage arrives, dear?”

Shining Armor looked up from his weekly edition of ‘Spears and Shiny Swords’ and turned his head towards a nearby grandfather clock.

“Not for a few hours. That gives us plenty of time to get ready,” Shining Armor replied. “Why the rush?” he asked, turning away from the clock.

Cadance nervously trotted out of the master bedroom with a luggage bag floating over her head, suspended in the air by her sparkling blue magic. Her hooves noisily clattered along the polished tile floor with each step she took, the noise resounding off of the stone walls and echoing up towards the high ceiling. Tiny beads of nervous sweat dripped down from her forehead as she lowered the bag to the floor and turned to face her husband, a mild expression of panic stuck to her face.

“I’m sorry, dear. I’m just a teensy bit nervous about how everything will go since yesterday’s disaster. First, there was the false wedding, the hostile takeover of Equestria that almost happened, the over-exciting reception, that long meeting with Celestia and Luna about how--” The raging flow that was Cadance's rushed words was suddenly cut off when Shining Armor placed a firm hoof on her shoulder, putting on a comforting smile when Cadance worryingly locked eyes with him.

“Look, Cadance, you’re stressing yourself out. I’ve already taken care of everything for our honeymoon. You remember where you wanted to go, don’t you?" Shining Armor slowly dragged his hoof down the backside of Cadance’s shoulder. He shimmied closer to her, and wrapped a leg around her shoulder while he pressed the right side of his face against her left cheek. “It took a bit of convincing, but Celestia agreed to let us use her private mountain retreat for the whole week!” Cadance's eyes opened wide with delight, blushing at the mention of the private royal retreat. She sighed with content and snuggled up next to her husband. “There will be sweet smelling pine forests, peace and quiet, and an entire army of royal servants and spa ponies ready to make you feel like a true princess!”

Shining Armor slowly unwrapped his leg around Cadance’s neck. Just as slowly as before, he placed both of his front hooves on her shoulders, bringing her face closer to his. Cadance continued to hold her kind smile as her husband lovingly stared at her with the very same eyes that she fell in love with.

“There isn’t a thing to worry about, trust me.” Her heart now filled to the brim with excitement that she could barely express, the pink princess did the only thing she felt like doing, leaning forward and planting a soft kiss on the bridge of her husband's nose.

Shining Armor smiled when he felt Cadance's lips brush against the far edges of his muzzle when she moved her head back. He turned his head off to the side, eying the empty luggage bag leaning against the grandfather clock. “Is your stuff ready to go?” he asked.

Cadance’s horn glowed an azure blue and the luggage bag was lifted off the ground. The bag maneuvered backwards through the air and stopped above Cadance's head. “I still have a bit more packing to do. I suppose I should get back to it,” she said as she turned around and cheerfully cantered back into the master bedroom.

The more than excited pink princess threw open the drawers of the clothing dresser with her magic and started to fill her luggage bags with various items of clothing and accessories. Her bags were stuffed full of necklaces, earrings, pendants, and even her favorite nightgown, which always seemed to add an air of pleasure to the calm atmosphere of the nighttime conversations she would have with Shining Armor.

She threw open the final drawer and was surprised to find only a tiny blanket meant for little foals and babies folded up in a neat, orderly square in the middle of the barren wood. She could only stand there with a curious look on her face and wonder as to how it got there. Convincing herself that it was of little importance, she drew her attention away from the blanket and moved to close the drawer.

Suddenly, a glitter of silvery light flashed in the bottom corner of Cadance's eye, instantly attracting her attention like a moth to a flame. Her front right leg remained stilted in the air. Her head and body paused in the middle of the quiet atmosphere of the bedroom as if she were posing for an awkward photo shoot. Her curiosity heightening, she looked down at the partially opened drawer, taking notice of a corner edge of a tiny silver key lock underneath the blanket. She removed the blanket from the drawer and looked on with curiosity at the dark purple front cover of what appeared to be a journal of some kind. She lowered a front leg into the drawer and ran the tip of her hoof over the lock, pondering as to what secrets it guarded.

She wrapped the book in a veil of her magic and flipped it over with the utmost care. She noticed a small row of elegantly written words scrawled with what may have been a quill pen onto the thick backing near the bottom of the book. Intrigued, she brought the book up to her face and diligently read each word in the row.

Cadance's eyes went wide at the nostalgic sight of her long lost tome of well kept memories. Her lower jaw hung from her mouth, agape in astonishment. With a strange sense of urgency, she hastily flipped the diary over to its front cover and broke the tiny lock with her magic. The pages of the book creaked and separated instantly as if they were held together by a single piece of year-old sticky tape. As quick as a flash, she threw open the diary cover and gasped when she looked upon a beautiful, tearful sight displayed in the form of a written note in a corner on the front page.

Tears of happiness welled up in Cadance's eyes. Her mouth snapped shut, her lips quivering as she fell back onto her haunches while she continued to stare at the page, reading the same line of delicately painted words to herself over and over again.

Suddenly, Cadance slammed her eyes shut while she quickly wiped away the tears that were already starting to accumulate on her face, putting on the biggest, toothiest grin she could muster. Being as cautious as possible, she quickly glanced from left to right, checking to make sure that nopony was around. When the coast was clear, she rushed to the bedroom door and slammed it shut, squealing with glee as she tightly hugged her diary against her chest while leaning against the back of the door, her happy, yet somber thoughts quickly replaced with ones of pure joy and delight having found a book so dear to her after so long.

Taking a quick glance at the nearby bed, Cadance ran from the door and pounced onto it, bouncing off the thick blankets when she landed. She levitated a nearby pillow in front of her and rested her hooves on it while she floated the diary close to her face. She composed herself and gently turned the pages to the first entry of the diary, which was simply titled, ‘Day One’.

“Dear Diary...”

Dear Diary...

I can’t believe it! Auntie Celly wants me to foalsit her own private student! She warned me about how energetic she can be at most times, but I was pretty sure that I could handle it...

A young Princess Cadance sat smiling on a rather uncomfortable wooden bench in the Canterlot Castle gardens as she waited patiently for Princess Celestia’s personal chariot to arrive. Several royal guards patrolled the areas around the gardens, some flying high, others scouting on hoof. As usual, the sun shone brightly in those warm afternoon hours, coaxing the several varieties of birds and insects from their hidden homes in the trees and bushes to frolic in the warmth of the sunshine. Cool breezes blew in from the east, rustling the tree branches and blowing fallen leaves across the fields of grass and stone walkways, making the afternoon seem that much more enjoyable.

Cadance twiddled the tips of her front hooves together while she hummed a rhythmic tune to pass the time. She turned her head left and right, hoping that there would be somepony nearby to talk to, but strict royal security protocols kept that dream just that, a dream. But today, she knew that her dream was about to become a reality.

After a few extra lonely minutes had passed by, Princess Celestia’s magically-drawn carriage swooped down through the skies above Cadance's head, and landed a few meters away from the bench. The carriage jostled in place as Her Royal Highness stepped down from her seat and started moving towards Cadance, only to stop half way when she noticed the absence of a certain passenger by her side.

“Come on, Twilight. You don’t want to keep Cadance waiting now, do you?” Celestia called out while looking over her shoulder.

A few moments passed by, and there was no response to Celestia’s call. Nothing could be heard, save the short, stroking winds that whistled through the equine's mane.

Is Twilight afraid of strangers? Cadance thought, worried. Oh, I hope everything works out OK...

“Come now, Twilight. Don’t be shy. She is a part of the royal family. There is nothing to be afraid of,” said Celestia as she tried at her best to coax her student out in the open.

After another round of patient waiting, Celestia’s calls were answered when the carriage began to rustle. It rocked gently back and forth, and a young, lavender coated filly peeked one eye out from around the corner of the carriage. Celestia turned around and smiled warmly, yet she decided to make no second attempt to coax the filly away from her hiding spot.

The filly moved her gaze over to Cadance. Thinking quickly, the pink princess put on a pleasant smile to match Celestia’s in comfort. The double dose of assurance must have done the trick, for after another moment Twilight stepped out from behind the carriage and slowly moved up to Celestia's front, her gaze dragging along the ground as she went. Cadance slowly stepped down from the bench and trotted over to Celestia’s side, keeping her head held high and her smile as calm and warming as before.

“Twilight, this is Cadance, one of the royal family,” said Celestia. The filly turned her head upward and stared up at Cadance’s bright pink face for a moment before moving her gaze down to the ground again.

“Hello..." Twilight said calmly and quietly, awkwardly staring at the tips of her front hooves.

Auntie Celly told me that she had never had much interaction around other foals before, mostly due to rarely being in a normal classroom. It was pretty obvious that she was socially awkward. I guess it happens to foals with private tutors. She asked me to fix it, and I wholeheartedly agreed...

“Hello there, Twilight,” Cadance started, “It’s very nice to meet you.” She lowered her neck and bowed her head to the filly.

Twilight slowly lifted her head to meet Cadance's tiny smile. “Are you my foalsitter?” Twilight asked with only a hint of curiosity visible in the corners of her nearly emotionless eyes.

“Why, yes. Yes I am,” Cadance replied with a touch of pride in her voice. Twilight rolled her eyes down to her hooves again, the expression on her face intermixed with variations of distant and bored stiff.

“She will be your foalsitter until the late hours of each day, Twilight," Celestia explained. "I am too busy to watch you after your studies, so I asked Cadance to play with you and take care of you for a little while.”

Twilight shrugged her shoulders and continued to stare down at her hooves, her facial expression refusing to shift.

“I’m sure that we’ll have lots of fun together. Don’t you think?” Cadance cheerfully asked.

“I guess so...” Twilight sighed.

“I’m sure that you two will get along nicely.” Celestia turned away and walked back to her carriage before stopping in front of the single stair lift just above the ground. “I must return to Canterlot Castle to assist my royal officials in a few diplomatic issues. Take care.”

“Goodbye, Auntie Celly!” yelled Cadance as she frantically waved a hoof in the air.

Celestia put a hoof to her mouth and giggled into it before giving a short wave back. “Goodbye, Cadance. Goodbye, Twilight. I will see you back at the castle later tonight."

Celestia and Cadance gave one last wave to each other before Celestia stepped into the carriage and took off into the sunny afternoon sky, a small group of pegasus guards nearby breaking formation to trail behind her.

“So, Twilight...” Cadance started. Twilight looked back up at Cadance, her blank expression still stuck on her face as if it were held on with super glue. “What do you like to do for fun?” Cadance asked.

As if it were a routine to her, Twilight yet again turned her gaze down to the ground to stare at the tips of her front hooves some more. She kicked up a small tuft of dirt with one hoof and shrugged her shoulders, clueless.

“I don’t know,” Twilight murmured, shrugging her shoulders again. “Ever since I started taking private lessons with Princess Celestia, I haven’t had that much time for fun.” Twilight's blank expression shifted at last, albeit into an unfortunate and depressing frown of loneliness.

“Weeeell...have you ever been on a playground before?” Cadance slyly asked.

Twilight gave another light kick to the soft ground beneath her hooves. Clearly, trying to excite the lavender filly with vocal advertisements of fun was not going to get Cadance very far in her career as a foalsitter. She needed a different approach, a way of slowly warming up to the filly instead of trying to befriend her on the spot, and she needed one fast, otherwise she would be spending the rest of her foalsitting days sitting silently on a bench with a unicorn who was only interested in learning rather than having some fun once in a while.

“I've read about them before, and I remember passing by one once when I went into town with my mother, but I've never visited one before," Twilight explained.

Taking the first steps in her newly thought-of approach, Cadance stood up, turned around, and beckoned Twilight to her side with a spot of warmth in her smile and a gentle wave of her hoof. With slow and steady grace, Cadance lifted a front leg into the air and pointed her hoof at a colorful patch of ground off in the distance, surrounded by trimmed oak trees and field after field of vibrant flowers of all kinds.

"It's right down there," Cadance pointed out. "It's usually vacant in the afternoons, and the equipment is kept in great shape. Does that sound like fun?"

Twilight cocked her head and raised an eyebrow, curious, but retractive.

"I don't know," said Twilight, shrugging.

“C’mon, look at it this way. You like studying, right?”

“Yes.”

“Well, think of it like...studying...about playgrounds!”

“What’s the point in that?”

“It’s always good to learn new things, right?”

Feeling the first steps of her new approach coming together, Cadance lowered her hoof to the ground and stepped off the stone walkway onto the finely cut grass beside her. She motioned Twilight to her side and the two started walking along the dry green pasture towards the distant fun land.

"Twilight. I think it's time that I show you how to really have some fun!" Cadance exclaimed as she and Twilight continued across the lavish green fields.

~~~~~

They arrived at the playground not even five minutes later, not a word spoken between them for the entire trip. The air smelled of freshly cut wood chips and the brightly colored instruments of entertainment gleamed in the sunlight, practically begging to be used. Just as Cadance had predicted, the playground was completely vacant, save herself and Twilight, who were standing in silence next to the playground's big, red sandbox that occupied an empty corner of the low lying hill valley from where the playground was constructed.

"So, Twilight, what do you think?" Cadance asked.

"I...still don’t know..." Twilight mumbled.

Cadance enthusiastically guided Twilight through each part of the playground, showing off the slide, the teeter-totter, and her personal favorite, the swings, describing each of their stops in brisk detail that would have certainly been appealing to the eyes of any other filly. By the time they got to the swings, Twilight had resorted back to staring at her hooves, the level of emotion on her face somewhere in between distant and disinterested.

A yawn cut through the air of twittering birds and seemingly endless disquisitions, silencing Cadance immediately. Curiously looking over her shoulder, her mouth hung open slightly when she finally took notice of the filly’s weary state, eyes glossed, eyelids drooping, and back slouched.

“Are you tired, Twilight?” Cadance asked. “Do you need some rest?”

“No, I’m fine. Just a little...bored is all...”

“A playground? Boring?”

“I just don’t know much about this playground stuff, even from what I’ve read. Reading and studying are my main forms of entertainment, and this kind of stuff just isn’t that interesting to me, and I’m usually interested in a lot of things."

“Come on, Twilight. There’s gotta be something that you like to do!”

The air of awkwardness only managed to thicken when Twilight put a hoof to her chin and leaned against it, her mind drifting off into deep thought like an old stallion. For as long as one would usually wait, the pink princess expected an answer from the filly within a minute a two, but after an arduous five minute wait, the only reply that Cadance could get was a simple shrug of the filly’s shoulders.

Cadance let out a long, drawn out sigh. Her attempt to establish friendly relations with the purple-haired unicorn by physically advertising the promises of fun fell flat. She could practically feel the weight of her own folly press hard against her conscious while her inner self scolded her like a frustrated school teacher would scold an inattentive foal.

The pink princess sluggishly rose to her hooves, her head shaking with inner guilt as her warm smile slowly faded into a frown. Dragging her hooves on the ground, she moved and positioned herself behind the nearest rope bound swing seat, dropping to her haunches on a smooth patch of dirt behind the seat upon arrival. Twilight stared at her depressed caretaker from the opposite side of the swing seat, barely a hint of emotion on her matted face.

Suddenly, as if she was hit with a jet of laughing gas, Cadance’s face was stamped with a wide, unnerving grin, leaving no trace of the somber mood she had before. Her front right leg reared up, and she placed her hoof on the swing seat, gently rocking it back and forth with careful motions.

“Here, climb up,” said Cadance, lightly patting the seat three times with her hoof.

“Huh?” Twilight replied, disbelievingly sneering at the invitation.

“Come now, Twilight. Studying can’t be the only thing that you like to do, right?”

“B-but—” Twilight stammered.

The seat wiggled in place, the knots in the ropes that attached the seat to the swing set bar above hammering away on the wooden bottom as Cadance gently pushed the seat back and forth with her hoof, emphasizing her point. Twilight cringed under her foalsitter’s unavoidable look of "You know you want to," an expression that brought with it an unrelenting feeling that was just too much to bear.

“Can’t we just read a book or something?” Twilight pleaded. Cadance would have none of it. The desperate filly’s pouts were only meet with another set of raps on the swing seat, followed by another, and another.

An air of defeat hanging over her head, Twilight grunted with annoyance and begrudgingly climbed onto the swing seat, adjusting her seating position accordingly for comfort. She felt uneasy when she had to sit on a hard, wooden substance with her back pointing upright instead of arched, her legs becoming as stiff as boards when her haunches aligned with her spine. She shimmied in place and was soon able to find some room where her legs could drop off the front lip of the seat, left to slowly dangle over the edge. It wasn’t much, but the thought of having to look at the foalsitter’s unwavering expression again quickly made her reconsider her decision of attempting to convince Cadance to do something else.

“Reeeady?” Cadance playfully asked.

“I guess so...” Twilight grunted.

Gripping the sides of the swing seat with both hooves, Cadance slowly stepped back a few feet before releasing her grip. The hinges creaked under the strain as the seat, with its unamused passenger onboard, swung forward and away from Cadance before losing momentum and swinging backward. Cadance put her hoof to the backside of the seat as it was coming back, slowly bringing it to a halt.

“How’s that?” Cadance asked.

“It’s fine, I guess...” Twilight sighed. The lively caretaker nodded at the filly’s reply. She was finally starting to break ground, albeit at a slow pace, that strangely projected a mental representation of somepony chipping away at a rock with a blunt pencil. She mentally patted herself on the back, silently congratulating herself for having come this far, even if she knew that the distance was puny in comparison to the great leap that was the quest of establishing a true friendship. Her confidence level rising, she daintily pushed the swing seat forward again, then caught it when it swung back. The filly looked calm, but with a sense of nervousness; nothing that a little forced playtime couldn’t fix.

Cadance put a little more effort into her third push. Twilight flinched, but she appeared to be alright when Cadance caught the swing as it came back. She pushed it a fourth time, using the same amount of force as before. The lavender filly did not flinch, but her nervous expression did not change either. The smiling foalsitter eventually entered into a droning cycle, daintily pushing the swing back and forth as if she were the filly’s mother. The minutes dragged on, and Cadance was thankful for that, for it meant more time for her to warm up to Twilight some more, but it looked as if she barely made a dent in her progress.

But as they approached the top of the hour, Cadance took surprising notice to something; something amazing.

Twilight was smiling. After coming so far, she was actually smiling, her changed expression barely kept hidden by small tufts of purple and pink hair strung over her eyes and ears.

Deep within Cadance’s mind, a chorus of angelic trumpets blared a victory tune that resounded around her ears and echoed off into the brightest corners of her soul. One small step for her; one giant leap for a foalsitter.

The more than exuberant princess decided against acknowledging the filly’s hidden happiness and instead chose to speed up her progress by pushing against Twilight’s back as the swing came hurtling back, sending the swing seat into the air higher than ever before. Cadance thought that she could hear the purple-haired filly faintly giggle under her breath, the sound dissipating into the air as the wind whooshed past Twilight’s head when the swing came back. She caught the swing just in time to hear Twilight stop giggling.

“Hmm?” Cadance hummed suspiciously.

Twilight’s eyes went wide in sudden realization, shocked at her folly of having unknowingly released her pent up emotions, a thin line of embarrassed blush drawn above her upper lip.

“See, Twilight?” Cadance started. “A playground isn’t boring. It’s meant to be fun!”

“Well...” Twilight softly murmured.

“And by that cute little look on your face, I think you would agree with me, right?”

For Twilight, there was no chance of hiding the fact any longer. Her mouth opened and closed several times, her brain trying its best to come up with an excuse to try and hide her painfully obvious discomposure, yet no real words escaped her lips. She stammered in her place with what few tidbits of actual words actually managed to depart through her clenched teeth. Defeat once again looming over her head, she quickly sealed her lips to prevent further embarrassment.

An air of personal victory danced around Cadance’s mind as she chuckled under her breath with delight.

“Just say it if you need to, Twilight,” Cadance proffered.

“I-it was...nice,” Twilight whispered.

“There. That wasn’t so hard, right?”

“...right.”

With nothing left to hide, Twilight put on a little smile and slowly turned her head to look over her right shoulder.

“Could you... do that again, please?” Twilight shamelessly asked.

With no need for words, Cadance smiled and nodded her head in acknowledgment, silently accepting the filly's request. Twilight sighed with relief before turning her head back around, keeping her smile on her face without regret. With a song in her heart, Cadance gently pulled the swing seat back before blithely pushing it forward, restarting the cycle, watching her new friend soar through the warm afternoon air, the wind blowing through her mane.

For the whole afternoon, It felt like Twilight and I were the only two ponies in the world. Two friends, together, playing in the afternoon warmth.

Unfortunately, our playtime together was a little short-lived. The sun was going down, and the fireflies were starting to come out, signalling the coming of night. We stopped playing for a little while so we could watch them in the glow of the walkway lights, but that time was short-lived too! Not even five minutes later, two royal pegasus guards arrived to pick up Twilight. At first, she was a little sad to be going so soon, even I felt the same way, but I promised her that we could play on the playground as many times as she wanted in the future.

It’s only been a day, and I can already tell that we’re gonna become great friends...

Magical Dismastery

It’s strange really; almost uncanny to be foalsitting somepony like Twilight. I know that I’ve never done this before, but there is something a little...special about Twilight. A hidden charm that can’t be matched. She’s interesting, but it’s that special kind of interesting. That kind of interesting that just...well, it doesn’t keep you hooked, but it sticks to you, in a good way, like frosting on a cupcake...

“Cadance?”

“Yes, Twilight?” Cadance replied as she gave another gentle push to Twilight’s back, restarting the swing cycle.

“What made you want to be a foalsitter?” Twilight asked, looking over her shoulder.

“Well...” Cadance started, looking elsewhere for inspiration on what she should say. “To be honest, Twilight, there’s not much I could tell you. I was just another noble in the eyes of Canterlot, bored to tears like everypony else,” The pink princess playfully rolled her eyes to emphasize, rewarding her with a short round of giggles from Twilight.

“And? What else?”

“Auntie Celly heard that she was getting a new student in her school, and a rather talented one at that.”

“It was me, wasn’t it?” Twilight asked with a smile.

Cadance nodded. “Mhmm. She told me a few good things about you too.”

“What’d she say?”

“Well, what didn’t she say? You’re smart, energetic, at the top of your class...”

“Don’t forget assiduous!” Twilight proudly added in.

“Where did you learn that word?” Cadance giggled. “That’s an awfully complex word for a little filly like you,” The pink princess already expected her to know such a word. Going into Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorn you are certainly not going to come out dimwitted.

“Princess Celestia taught me that word, but I did the reading part. She just gave me the book. I finished the whole thing in just two days!” Twilight loudly proclaimed. “She couldn’t believe it! Of course, whenever I start a new book, I don’t stop until it’s finished, but this book was huge! Bigger than my head!”

“And you say you finished it in two days?” Cadance asked with a smile.

“I said that already, didn’t I?” Twilight snapped, oblivious to her sudden change in behavior.

“There’s no need to be rude, Twilight,” Cadance scolded.

The arrogant filly grinned sheepishly, her grin soon forced to darken into a frown when Cadance brought the swing to a stop, glaring down at her like an unamused dictator. If there was any sort of trait inherited from the royal family, then Cadance was certainly the one to receive Celestia’s impatient side. The look in her down-facing eyes practically shouted ‘Obey me or be punished!’ from the highest rooftops. Twilight was starting to get scared, even resorting to hiding one side of her face behind her mane so she wouldn’t have to look up at Cadance’s daunting composure.

Having realized that her stare was striking fear into the filly’s heart, Cadance shook her head to free herself from such a terrifying state. Her inherited cold stare was a potent one indeed, for Twilight had retreated into herself so deeply that it looked like she was about to fall off of her seat, and in tears too. Feeling immensely guilty, Cadance wrapped the somber filly in a hug, being careful as not to squeeze too hard.

“Sorry about that, Twilight. I guess I took a little too much after Celestia,” Cadance giggled timidly, hoping for a forgiving response, but perhaps she was taking something so little, a little too far.

“Uhh...Cadance? What’re you hugging me for?” asked Twilight, deeply embarrassed and red hot with blush.

“W-wha-?” Cadance stammered, backing out of the hug. “What do you mean? You aren’t upset?”

“Why would I be upset?” asked Twilight, cocking her head.

“Did...did Celestia ever look at you like that?” Cadance asked with a worried frown. “This is the first time this has happened to me, and I don’t know--”

“Cadance, it’s fine!” said Twilight, now giggling all of a sudden. “It’s not like I’m sad or anything. It’s just a bit of discipline, right? I knew it would have happened sooner or later.”

“Discipline?”

“I was rude, unknowingly, and I didn’t apologize for it. So for that...”

As quick as a flash, Twilight slammed into Cadance’s chest and tried her best to wrap her foalsitter in a hug, only getting so far as getting her legs around her neck.

“Sorry!” Twilight giggled.

A tip of the hat given to her pristine sense of balance, Cadance did not stumble when the excited ball of student slammed into her midsection. Blushing fiercely, she feared that somepony could have been watching them. A quick check of her surroundings reassured her of that. Not wanting to feel left out, Cadance snaked one foreleg around Twilight’s midsection, drawing the filly into a much-needed hug.

“Cadance,” Twilight started, pulling out of the hug, looking up at to the sky before looking back at the pink princess. “It’s that time.”

“What time?” Cadance asked.

“You know. Your promise?”

“Oh! Right.”

Cadance grabbed Twilight by her sides and gently lowered her to the ground, brushing away the dirt from her hooves. She went to her saddlebags and procured a large, untitled book of spells, the only graphic on the tome being an elaborately drawn hourglass with red and blue stars streaming off the cover. She cantered across the playground to a shadow-covered patch of grass underneath a trimmed oak tree, where Twilight was laying flat on her stomach, watching Cadance come closer, eagerly awaiting the moment when the book would be placed in her hooves.

While Twilight buried her nose deep in the walls of text, Cadance buried her eyes high in the sky, laying flat on her back, watching the clouds go by. She had little to no interest in reading, seeing how she has to both read and sign page after page of boring, monotone petitions each day when Celestia wasn’t around, but why read when you can just kick back and enjoy the weather? No setting could have been more perfect than this; albeit a little boring, but tranquil nonetheless. It was truly a shame to know that so many ponies have to miss out on an experience like this. Fillies and colts have school, parents had jobs to do, and the royals could care less about having fun unless it was something that they themselves like doing, which usually translated to four simple, easy to understand words:

Bored, bored, bored, eyestrain.

Cadance quickly pushed those thoughts out of her mind and returned to staring up at the beautiful afternoon sky. Much to the filly’s annoyance, Twilight was given only one hour to read. While the time was minimal, Twilight should have been fortunate enough to receive just thirty minutes the last time they took a reading break. She wasn’t even supposed to be reading while Cadance was looking after her. Cadance’s goal was to bring Twilight out of her antisocial shell, as per Princess Celestia’s request. The only reason that she was given an hour was because she wouldn’t stop begging about it, but lo, like anypony else would have done when confronted with teary eyes, Cadance had to give in to her pleas. How could you ignore an adorable face like that?

From behind, Cadance could hear grunts and groans, rising and falling as if somepony was hard at work. She felt a slight tingling sensation on the tip of her horn as the sounds of sparks and whistlers joined in on the sepulchral tone. She hoisted herself to her hooves and turned to see Twilight struggling under the force of what must have been a very powerful spell. The filly tried to cast the spell again, but failed and collapsed to the ground, tongue lolled out and panting like a dog.

As if her conscious flipped the emergency switch, Cadance’s caretaking senses kicked into overdrive. Fearing for the filly’s state, she quickly nudged Twilight onto her side and brushed away stray locks of hair over her face.

“T-Twilight? What in the name of Celestia are you doing?!” Cadance asked, deeply worried. Twilight sluggishly rose to her hooves and wiped the sweat from her brow with a shaky hoof.

“S-sorry, Cadance...” Twilight moaned, shaking her head free of headache. “I just wanted to impress Celestia with this new spell I’m trying to learn,” Twilight fell to her haunches and closed the book, feeling both ashamed and angry at herself for attempting such a high-grade spell. Only the elite students of the academy, not counting private students, were taught such magics, and even then they still have problems with getting it right. She could recall one such instance of her time at the academy when she heard that one student was taken to the hospital with several third-degree burns covering his body. A grim outcome for a spell with a success rate lower than one’s chances for winning a game of chocolate limbo while playing on a hot summer’s day.

Twilight wasn’t exactly Star Swirl the Bearded, but she should have never tried to cast such a immensely powerful spell. The physical readings that Cadance’s horn received were off-the-charts dangerous, and the air still smelled faintly of fizzy smoke; a bad sign that could have lead to trouble had Cadance not stopped her at the last minute.

“If you wanted to learn the spell, then why didn’t you ask me to help you?” Cadance asked, scooting closer to the book before opening it to the page where Twilight had closed it on.

“I was trying to learn it by myself!” replied Twilight, putting a hoof to her chest to emphasize.

“There is no shame in asking for help, Twilight,” replied Cadance as she scanned the page, her eyes widening after reading the difficulty rating of the spell, along with the list of potential side effects, some of which made her cringe.

“Besides--oh my...” Her stomach churned after reading the final side effect on the list. Nightmares were on the rise. Not wanting Twilight to see, she quickly flipped the pages until her hoof stopped on an easy spell she recognized.

“Besides, that spell’s a little too...difficult for you to handle. Let’s try this one!” Cadance scooted the book across the grass over to Twilight. The lavender filly took hold of the book and scanned her hoof across the page, slowly deciphering the meager difficulty.

“Levitation?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow. “But I already know this spell!”

“I knew you would, but we’re gonna try something a teensy bit more difficult involving levitation.”

“Like what?”

When the appetent filly wasn’t looking, Cadance magically swept the book out from underneath Twilight’s hooves, bringing it to float over her pink head.

She guided Twilight over to the big red sandbox in the corner of the playground. A childhood classic when it comes to playtime, but a joke to use as a magical proving grounds. It would have to do for now.

Setting the book aside, Cadance magically conjured a red bucket and spade from the air. Digging the spade deep into the loose sand, she shoveled load after load of sand into the bucket, humming a catchy tune while she worked. Twilight watched with wonder as her foalsitter filled the bucket to the brim with sand, stopping occasionally to compact the granules with her hoof. Eventually, they had a full bucket of tightly compacted, freshly-shoveled white sand. Cadance brought the bucket into the air and slammed it down into the sandbox, giving it a good twist before slowly lifting the bucket again, leaving behind a perfectly molded tower of sand.

“And this is supposed to help me...how?” Twilight asked, staring closely at the monotone structure.

“You’ll see,” said Cadance, taking a seat behind the tower. “Now, I want you to make an exact replica of this tower using nothing but your own magic.”

Twilight could have never looked more confused even if she tried.

“You want me to...” Twilight started, questionably sneering as she nervously scrutinized every part of the tower.

“I want you, Twilight Sparkle, to make an exact replica of this sand tower, using nothing but your own magic.”

“B-but how--”

“Twilight,” Cadance interrupted. “Nothing, but your own magic,” The foalsitter jabbed the tip of her hoof thrice up close to Twilight’s face, making her instructions perfectly clear in the filly’s eyes.

Twilight cringed and bit her lower lip, staring nervously at the challenge which was presented to her. “H’oh boy. Umm...alright. How would I do this?” She leaned forward and gently gripped both sides of the tower, sticking her tongue out anxiously. She didn’t know why she was doing it. You don’t pet a kitty to find out what it looks like, so why risk failing the challenge? She decided to keep the look to make herself appear smarter and more focused.

Even though she was going at snails pace, Twilight was starting to get a good feel for the shape of the tower. No edges, pristine mold-work. A sculpture artist’s cloud-nine. She took mental notes of the tower’s dimensions and stepped back a few feet to make some room for her to work.

“OK, here goes...” said Twilight, poising herself in preparation for her next big magical trial.

Sparks flew from the tip of Twilight’s horn, and short streams of dark, purple energy whizzed and whistled into the air before dissipating. The strain was minimal, but the power was nonetheless increasing. In just a few short seconds, Twilight had mustered a bright ball of purple and white energy, glowing softly at the tip of her horn. Nothing too difficult. She drew her attention to the sand tower, referring back to her mental notes for guidance, which all seemed to just pop right into her head. This was too easy. Why was she doing this again?

But when she tried to lift a patch of sand in front of her, the strain increased ten-fold. She grunted under the invisible weight being forced down on her skull. The sandbox was barely shaking, making tiny grains of sand shift around like they were part of a miniature earthquake. She was starting to get a headache, so she doused her magic and backed away, rubbing her forehead in agony.

“C-Cadance?” Twilight moaned.

“Harder than it looks, isn’t it?” Cadance giggled.

“You’re laughing at this?” Twilight gasped, angrily stamping her hoof in the sand.

“Twilight, magic is much more complex than you think. It is by no means easy, but it by no means difficult either.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Twilight huffed through her nose, back hunched over with her forelegs hanging limp like wet jungle vines.

“When using magic, especially for levitation spells, you must take into account exactly what it is you’re using it for.”

“I’m using it for this stupid levitation challenge. So what?” Twilight crossed her forelegs over her chest, unamused with the pink princess’s philosophical notation.

“Could you lift this book if you tried?”

“Of course I could!” exclaimed Twilight, flailing her forelegs into the air. “Or did you know that too? What am I even doing this for?”

“You didn’t take into account how much many objects you were lifting. That’s why it felt so painful. You focused on recreating the tower, but your mind thought that it was going to lift just one object, the patch of sand, but the patch is made up of thousands if not millions of smaller, separate objects.”

Twilight was too busy scratching her head to understand what Cadance was trying to get across with her.

Cadance released a pent up sigh, her impatient side peeking over the horizon again. “In other words, Twilight, you didn’t spread your magic out. Do you sometimes wonder why Cloudsdale uses pegasus ponies to get the water it needs from the ground to make rainclouds, why it seems like a much better idea to just use magic instead to just pick up the water and move it? Well, there’s your answer.”

A tiny, mental light bulb lit up above her head, and Twilight’s little world was lit aflame with sudden realization. Whatever anger and frustration that was leftover was washed away with a flood of questions and ideals. What if an experiment like this were to be put to good use? Why has nopony thought of this before? This would most assuredly be a great topic to bring up with her mentor the next day.

Her confidence levels rising and her aptitude for magic reaching beyond the furthest stars, Twilight slapped a look of seriousness on her determined face and poised herself for a second try. With very little effort, she channeled a great deal of her body’s newfound strength into her horn, producing a bigger and brighter ball of gleaming, purple energy. Having learned from her previous mistake, she turned away from the sand tower and focused a beam of radiant energy into the sand pit behind her, causing the sand around it to shift and swirl like a miniature maelstrom.

“Come on, Twilight, you can do it!” Cadance loudly whispered encouragement, shaking her hooves to the beat.

Twilight’s magic was finally starting to take effect. The struggle was a great one, but her efforts were soon rewarded with the formation of a small sand tornado, slowly building up in strength. Pushing herself even further, she increased the intensity of her beam of magic, orchestrating her display without fear.

“That’s it, Twilight. You’re nearly there. Keep trying!” Cadance leaned forward to observe Twilight’s spell up close, grinning like a schoolgirl.

Time to bring it on home. Countering the physical strain with heaps of confidence, Twilight injected her horn with whatever tidbits of strength she had left. Never before had the little filly put herself under such pressure. It was only when the sand beneath her hooves started to shift that she considered releasing control and giving up. But she was a brave filly; a confident filly! And she wasn’t about to let a simple levitation spell get in her way! She was going to make it!

But just as quickly as they were erected, the confidence barriers that blocked out the strain crumbled like wet desert rock. Her magic stuttered and faltered, her horn flickering as the magic slowly died down to a candlelight, vanishing into the ether with a tiny spark only seconds later. The spell was no more.

Twilight fell to her haunches, ashamed and out of breath. She couldn’t see what was happening behind her, so maybe some portion of spell did work after all! A simple glance over her shoulder crushed that sliver of hope. Her ears fell flat in disappointment after she turned around and saw that her spell had no effect on the sand at all. The only thing that her spell succeeded in doing was knocking over Cadance’s sand tower; the sandbox practically giving her the middle finger.

“It’s alright Twilight,” Cadance cooed softly, slowly walking to the somber filly’s side and patting her on the back. “It took me a quite a while to learn how to do this. It just takes a little practice. I’m sure you’ll get it eventually.”

“Emphasis on eventually...” Twilight mumbled. “Can we just go back to the swings, please?”

“A little tired, are we?” Cadance slyly asked as she and Twilight stepped out of the sandbox.

“Let’s just play on the swings until the guards pick me up...” Twilight mumbled.

Cadance playfully shrugged her shoulders, rolling her eyes to Twilight’s obvious embarrassment, kept poorly hidden behind an angry look of disapproval.

For Filly's Sake

Half a week down, several, several more to go. I’m surprised that Twilight hasn’t expressed a bit of nervous hatred for me yet. I tried to teach her that same spell again, and again, and again, yet she still struggles with it, and often at times, she justs gets frustrated and quits, pouting all the way back to swings each time. I love her to death, but I’m her foalsitter for Celestia’s sake! I should be better than this!

But I guess you can’t please everypony, not even yourself...

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake...”

“Why do you talk to yourself sometimes, Cadance?” asked Twilight, dismounting the swing seat after having sat on it for nearly a half-hour, her backside starting to become very sore from the hard, yet ironically enjoyable wooden surface.

“It’s just a little hobby of mine,” replied Cadance, rolling her shoulders and smiling.

“Seems kind of weird, doesn’t it?”

“To you maybe, but to me, it’s just a way of entertaining myself, but when nopony’s looking of course,” said Cadance with a wink.

“Whatever,” said Twilight, shrugging her shoulders. “Can we do something else today?”

“You don’t want to read? It’s that time you know, and we’ve got quite a while before the guards arrive to pick you up.”

“Yeah, but I want a little...more of something...” Twilight moved away from the swings and gazed at the clusters of houses and tall buildings of Canterlot afar.

“What do you mean, Twilight?”

“This playground is gonna get boring eventually, and I’ve already read every book in your bag, including those magazines you bring along sometimes.”

“You’ve been snooping around in my bag?” Cadance gasped, hoping to Celestia that the little filly didn’t peek at her “private” issues. “Twilight--”

“I know, I know. I’m sorry for taking what isn’t mine, but this is different...”

Cadance sighed, feeling relieved. Twilight was right. It may have only been a few days since they first met, but the playground was not very big, and it was very rare to see another pony come around to such a secluded place, only to see them canter away in a nervous sweat once they realized that they were in the presence of royalty. Sure, it was scary at times for some ponies to fear a meeting with royalty face to face --Prince Blueblood put that statement to work when he once banished a mother and her child for having touched his expensive coat without asking--, but princesses need friends too! It’s not like they spit acid in your face as a greeting or force you to lick the ground upon which they walk. Outside of their everyday lives, they just want to be treated like normal ponies. Cadance knew this from experience, having asked Princess Celestia to visit the city, only to return to her bedchamber that night to sob into her pillow after seeing pony after pony turn away with anxiety if she did so much as glance in their general direction.

“Cadance?” said Twilight, turning back to face her foalsitter. “Can we go into the city? I wanna...see my brother...”

“See your brother?” Cadane expended Twilight’s plea. The purple-haired filly nodded her head.

“My brother’s training to become part of Celestia’s royal guard. The place where he trains isn’t far from here, but it’s kind of off-limits to some ponies, and I was kind of hoping that you...well, with you being a princess and all...”

“You were hoping that I could get you inside so you could visit your brother, weren’t you?” asked Cadance, topping off the filly’s unfinished request.

Twilight frowned, her hopes feeling as if they have been crushed under her own optimistic accusations.

“Well...” Cadance started, worrying for Twilight. “I could--”

“No, forget it. I know, it’s a stupid idea...” Loose tears started to form in the corners of her eyes as Twilight hung her head low, whatever scraps of hope left behind turning to cold dust in her little soul.

“Nonono! Don’t cry, Twilight. I can get you inside, don’t worry. You’ll get to see your brother,” Cadance cooed, placing a hoof underneath Twilight’s chin, lifting the somber filly’s head back up. Cadance, no matter how hard she could have tried, could never ignore a sad filly, having already done this with Twilight several times before after several failed trials of her levitation spell.

“You promise?” Twilight moaned, staring deep into Cadance’s eyes with hopeful eyes of her own.

“I promise. Don’t worry. I promise.” Cadance replied, lightly hugging the filly while patting her on the back. Twilight, feeling rejuvenated of spirit and full of wondrous expectations, smiled warmly and hugged Cadance back. It was as if all the world were at peace, and nothing could break the bond between the two friends, no matter how young it was.

“Besides...” said Cadance, flaring up her horn with bright pink magic, wrapping Twilight in a veil of colorful auras and tossing the happy filly onto her back. Twilight giggled noisily into her hoof upon landing, her nose being tickled by the loose ends of her foalsitter’s bundled mane.

“I’m not gonna let my bestest little friend stay a sad and somber pony all day!” exclaimed Cadance, smiling, her words full of cheer. Twilight, feeling that her own words of thanks would not be enough, hugged Cadance’s neck from behind, thankfully rubbing her face into the pink princess’s soft, unmatted fur. Cadance was finally starting to feel like a true foalsitter; a true friend to the one she cared for, no matter the situation.

“C’mon, let’s go,” said Cadance, starting off down the nearest cobblestone pathway through the gardens, passing tree after tree, flower patch after flower patch. “I’m sure that we can get inside to see your brother!”

~~~~~

“What do you mean we can’t go inside to see her brother?!’” Cadance protested after being stopped at the front gate of Canterlot’s militarian style boot camp by an old, armor-clad guard. The guard must have certainly done his duty for Equestria, for his chestplate was pinned with dozens of shiny, elegantly-designed medals that jingled with each little move he made. His tough, brutish bulk, riddled with scars and matted with old age, made Twilight shield herself from view behind her foalsitter’s head as the scene unfolded.

“For the last time, Mrs. Cadenza, I can not allow you inside to speak with Shining Armor. His training is much more valuable to the protection of Equestria than some petty family visit,” the old war-stallion dictated.

“Oh, come on! Out of every other guard I’ve talked to here, you’re the only one who actually decides to say something? What if your family wanted to visit you here? What would you say to them?!” said Cadance, courageously continuing the argument with thunderous vigor.

“Personally? I would tell them to buck off. My teenage years weren’t exactly pleasant. Why do you think I’m still serving?” The use of such vulgar language only brought Cadance’s frustration to a boil. Thankfully, Twilight was expecting the crotchety stallion to say such a word, quickly covering her ears with her hooves only moments before it was spoken. Cadance’s sighed with relief on the inside, thanking her lucky stars that Twilight knew when to expect such harsh language.

“So, that’s how it’s gonna be, huh?” said Cadance, smiling slyly.

“That’s that, Mrs. Cadenza. You may be a part of the royal family, but only under the highest of orders, I can not allow anypony such visits.”

The old stallion was really starting to get on Cadance’s nerves. Who does this pony think he is? Doesn’t he have any respect for young mares? What would he say if he saw a filly like Twilight crying because she was denied a simple visit with her brother? Would he tell her to buck off too? That kind of behavior wasn’t going to fly with a certain angry foalsitter.

“See that precious armor of yours?” Cadance asked, skeptically looking over the old stallions plate coatings.

“Excuse me?” the stallion grunted through his raspy mustache and greyish beard.

“It would be a shame to see that armor, with you in it of course, land on the surface of a certain lunar body if Princess Celestia...” Cadance leaned forward and whispered the rest of her cunningly-placed threat into the stallion’s hairy ear. After she uttered a certain punishment from a certain princess that would be brought down upon the stupid, wrinkly head of a certain guard pony, the ages-old stallion’s eyes went wide as beads of cold sweat started to drip down from his forehead, landing on the ground beneath him. Feeling satisfied with herself, as devious of a feeling it was, Cadance pulled away from the stallion’s ear, smiling coyly.

“Get the picture?” said Cadance, raising an eyebrow with a devious look in her eyes to co-op with her devilish smile.

The old stallion swallowed a hard lump in his throat, grovelling to let out a response.

“R-right, miss--”

“Miss?”

“P-princess Cadenza. P-please, follow me.”

With fear stuck, nailed, and riveted to his face, the stallion nervously guided Cadance with Twilight on her back through the barred front gate and into the boot camp. Guards on standby watched as the couple passed them by, only to snap back to attention when Cadance glanced in their direction. Her little talk with the soldier of honor has certainly struck terror into the hearts of Equestria’s finest. She giggled silently to herself, relishing in the results of her newfound hobby.

The old stallion led the two into a large, tarp-covered tent with no coverings on any of its four sides, exposing the tent to the elements save those from the sky above. Dozens upon dozens of neatly made-up, equally-spread apart bunk beds stretched across the entire length of the tent, a small, wooden chest at the foot of each one. He turned to the right and started down the first row until he came to a sudden stop at one of the many empty look-alikes.

“Stay here, in the barracks,” ordered the stallion. “I’ll return with Captain Armor in a minute.” The old coot made his way out of the tent, mumbling inaudible swears under his breath.

“Captain Armor?” Cadance queried, cocking her head.

“Yeah!” Twilight shouted. “My big brother’s training to become captain of the royal guard! He’s been training really hard for it too!”

“From what I understand, it would take quite a while to become a captain. When was the last time you saw your brother?” Cadance asked.

“Well...” Twilight started, putting a hoof to her chin. Her mind drew a blank; probably from all of her recent studying. “The last time I saw him was when I first enrolled as Celestia’s private student, but it’s just so hard to remember these things...” said Twilight with a frown.

Cadance reached over and brushed her hoof through Twilight’s mane, caressing her soft, purple hair with gentle, calming strokes. “It’s alright, Twilight. I got you in here, didn’t I? Just like a promised. You’ll get to see your brother. Just wait and see.”

“Dude, check it out...” whispered a voice nearby.

“Dude, is that the princess?” whispered a new voice.

“Umm...Cadance?” Twilight leaned forward and hissed into her foalsitter’s ear.

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” said Cadance, glancing over her shoulder at two young colts peeking at her backside from around the corner of one of the nearby bunk beds. They must have been new recruits, for they wore only a single badge and were void of any type of armor plating, their only coverings being their short-cut manes and a brown jacket draped over their shoulders. She could barely make out their coat colors, but that wasn’t important right now, so long as they got their just desserts. “I’ll take care of these two...”

“Mmm...that flank...”

“Are you serious, dude? That’s the princess!”

“Hey!” Cadance angrily yelled, spinning around on a dime, causing the two colts to jolt out of their meager cover in fear, their legs quivering where they stood. Their faces now revealed, it was very clear that they were recruits. They looked young, and their singular medals fell off their jackets as if they were held on with wet masking tape.

“I...uhh--” stammered one colt.

“H-hey there, princess,” stammered the other colt.

“So,” Cadance started, poising herself and charging her horn. “Whose first to board the Lunar Express?” Cadance threatened, flaring the tip of her horn with a searing, white-hot bolt of energy.

“Oh boy...” whispered the left colt, unable to make a move.

“Bail, dude! Let’s bail!” shouted the right colt, yanking his friend away and running out of the tent with their tails between their legs. Cadance discharged her magic and stamped her hoof on the ground, huffing a steamy breath through her nose.

“That’ll teach those two,” said Cadance, turning around to face Twilight. “Perverts.”

“Me? A visitor?” uttered a new voice outside.

“Is that who I think it is?” said Twilight, peeking out from Cadance’s side with a hopeful eyes. Curious, Cadance turned around and watched as a young, blue-haired, armor-clad colt strolled into the tent, looking left and right until his eyes fell upon the girls.

“Shining!” Twilight gasped, leaping out from behind Cadance and bolting towards the colt.

“Twilly!” exclaimed the colt, running forward to meet Twilight in the middle, slamming the two together in a hug. The colt sat on his haunches and lifted the excited filly into his lap, where the two lovingly nuzzled each other’s faces.

“I take it that you are Shining Armor?” asked Cadance, stepping up behind Twilight.

“Yup, that’s me!” said the colt, flipping Twilight over and holding her close against his chest.

“Shining, this is my foalsitter! Princess--”

“Cadance?” said Shining Armor, looking up to meet Cadance’s eyes. “As in the Princess Cadance?”

“Yeah!”

“Oh, well, forgive me for not saluting, princess, but I’ve kinda got my hooves full here...” said the brotherly colt, gently prodding the tip of his hoof into the filly’s hair, making her giggle. The young colt was certainly living up to the caring nature that Twilight had described earlier on their way to the boot camp. Cadance felt her heart glow with a gentle warmness at the adorable sight. It could give somepony a pause for thought to wonder what it would be like to have a brother that cares about you more than anything. Cadance was the only sibling in her family, not counting Prince Blueblood and the other arrogant, spoiled-rotten nobles, and while being an only child had its perks, it would have been nice to have somepony to play with instead of having your daily schedule filled to the brim and then some with private tutors and etiquette lessons.

“What are you doing here, Twilly?” asked Shining Armor. “This isn’t exactly a place for little filles, you know.”

“She just wanted to stop by and say hello,” said Cadance. “She’s told me that she hasn’t seen you in quite some time.”

“Yeah, it’s been a while,” Shining Armor lowered Twilight to the ground before rising to his hooves. “I’m Shining Armor, junior captain of the Equestrian Royal Guard at your service, my lady,” said Shining Armor, bowing to the regal before rising again and extending his hoof to Cadance.

“I’m Cadance, one of the royal family. Very nice to meet you,” the pink princess introduced herself, shaking hooves with the amiable, blue-haired colt.

“Shining, when are you coming home?” Twilight asked.

Shining Armor frowned and laid a hoof on his hopeful sister’s shoulder. “Sorry, Twilly, but I’m not gonna be back home this year,” Twilight’s expression detracted into a sulk. “I’m starting the second half of my training, and my commanding officer needs me present for the whole of next year.” The filly’s expression shifted into an even darker frown.

“Oh, ok...” Twilight mumbled.

Feeling the need to share more brotherly love, Shining Armor slipped his hoof behind Twilight’s neck, pulling the somber filly in for another hug.

“It’s ok, Twilly. You’ve got a princess as your foalsitter! Just think of all the fun things you’ll do together!” exclaimed Shining Armor.

“Well, she just likes to read most of the time. Not much room for anything else,” Cadance sighed.

“Well, you can’t blame her. She’s a private student after all.”

Suddenly, off in the distance, a low-tone bell rung throughout the camp, causing all the commotion outside to cease as everypony who was not in training looked up at the clock on a nearby bell tower. The bell rang sixteen times in a row before going silent, causing scores of ponies to run into the barracks, some stripping off their armor plates and hanging them up on nearby racks as they came in, giving Cadance and Twilight passing glances as they moved to their respective bunk beds.

“Oh great, it’s the quarter bell...” Shining Armor sighed.

“Don’t you mean the sixteenth bell, Shining?” Twilight corrected her brother, giggling.

“That’s my Twilight,” said Shining Armor, tussling the filly’s hair before looking back to Cadance. “Sorry Princess--”

“Please,” Cadance started, raising a pink hoof into the air. “Just call me Cadance. The whole princess thing doesn’t fit well with me.”

Shining Armor grunted into his hoof. “My apologies, Cadance, but the quarter bell usually means that nighttime is coming, and with the way that the sun looks right now...”

Realization slammed into Cadance’s mind. Scooting past more incoming recruits, she peeked out into the fading daylight, alarmed at how low in the sky the sun was getting.

“H’oh dear, I didn’t know! It’s gonna be dark soon, and I don’t know how to get back to the park!” said Cadance, panicking.

“Wait, what?” said Shining Armor. “What do you mean you don’t know how to get to the park? It isn’t that far from here! Can’t you just retrace your steps?”

“It took us half the day just to find this place!” exclaimed Cadance at a quickened pace of words. “I never knew how to get here, so Twilight just gave me directions, but we missed a few turns, and the streets looked so identical and we spent hours trying to follow the street signs and--”

“Hold on, Cadance, just calm down. What if I were to walk you back to the park?” Shining Armor suggested, releasing his hold on Twilight. “Would that be alright?”

“Yeah!” Twilight shouted, drawing the attention of a few nearby recruits who only snapped away when Cadance gave them the cold stare over her shoulder.

“Well, Twilight here seems to agree. What about you, Cadance?” Shining Armor asked. “It would be an honor to accompany a princess.”

The pretentious foalsitter thought hard about Shining Armor’s kind offer. Twilight really liked to be around her brother, which was a good thing, but she did not want to feel guilty for possibly dragging Shining Armor into trouble if he left the boot camp without permission, along with whatever troubles he may get into should Princess Celestia find out.

“Pleeeease, Cadance?” Twilight begged, clapping her hooves together. “This may be the only time I get to see my brother until next year!”

Cadance bit her lower lip, unsure of what to do, She looked off to the side, hoping to find her answer hidden away from her eyes, but all she got was a wink and a snicker from the same two ponies she had scared earlier, both sitting on the bunk beds right next to her. Not wanting to cause another scene, she simply turned away and decided to look elsewhere. She felt a tug on her leg, and when she looked down, she saw Twilight wrapped around her lower leg while she pointed a hoof in another direction. The stressful foalsitter followed Twilight’s hoof line, leading up to Shining Armor, who was saluting to the old, problematic stallion she had encountered earlier.

“This isn’t going to end well...” Cadance panicked, quickly trotting over to Shining Armor’s side in distress with Twilight in tow.

“Mind repeating that to me, son?” groveled the old stallion as Cadance crept up behind the saluting colt.

“Sir! Junior Captain Shining Armor requesting permission to personally escort Princess Cadance and her friend to the park for a rendezvous with Princess Celestia’s royal guard, sir!” Shining Armor shouted loudly and proudly.

The old stallion’s ears drooped down like banana peels at the mention of the dreaded name of his newfound fears.

“Princess who?” gasped the stallion, his wrinkly eyes opening wide once again as he started quivering in his boots.

“I think he’s referring to me,” said Cadance, stepping up to Shining Armor’s side, keeping her head held high. The pink princess glared menacingly into the old hero’s eyes, reciting the same, strangely memorized cold stare she had used on Twilight the day before. Deep down, something told her that the stare was a little too much for the aged steed. He started to sweat, profusely, as if the pores in his leathery forehead stored years of pent up sweat and toil from decades of training gone by. His scraggly beard shook like a leaf as his whole form jittered in place. Maybe risking his retirement on the cursed surface of the moon wasn’t the best idea.

“P-permission granted, junior captain.” stammered the guard. “But, return to the barracks before the final quarter bell. One second late, and you’ll be carrying everypony’s gear for a week! Do I make myself clear?”

“Sir, yes sir!” Shining Armor shouted in reply.

“At ease.”

The valiant junior captain lowered his hoof and motioned Cadance to follow him. Twilight bounded to his side as they paced past the darkening tents and buildings, passing through the open gates and starting down the road until they reached the familiar, cobblestone pathway of the gardens. Nearby, the street lamps switched on, and the jitter of crickets brought along the serenity of Celestia’s night as the last few inches of sunlight started to descend into the horizon. They quickened their pace, eventually veering off the pathway and starting over the hills and low-lying valleys until they reached the brightly illuminated playground. Thankfully, the guards have not arrived, and Cadance’s saddlebags were still sitting where she left them, untouched by the hooves of potential nighttime thieves.

“Cadance?” said Twilight, poking her foalsitter’s leg twice.

“Yes, Twilight?” Cadance replied.

“Can I go play on the swings until the guards get here?”

Cadance shrugged her shoulders. “I don’t mind. Do I need to push you off?”

“No thanks. I think I can do it on my own.” On those words, Twilight and her brother shared a quick hug before the filly rushed over to the swing set.

“Thank you for leading us back here,” said Cadance, turning to face Shining Armor, smiling.

“Just doing my duty, although I’m a little surprised to find out that a princess is looking after my little sis,” said Shining Armor.

“I hope you mean that in a good way.”

“Pardon me for saying this, but are you kidding me? Just look at how happy she is!” exclaimed Shining Armor, pointing out Twilight’s exuberant smile as the swing lifted her up and down with each new kick from her back legs. Fireflies danced around the swing set with their ominous glows, adding to the adorable scene. “How long have you been her foalsitter?”

“Only for a couple of days now. I’m helping her with her magic, getting her used to the more complex stuff that Celestia taught me when I was a little filly. It’s slow goings at first, but she’s a smart one. I’m sure that she’ll get the hang of it.”

“Well, thank you prin--...Cadance.”

“You’re welcome,” said Cadance, giggling.

“Listen, Cadance, sorry about this, but I got to get back to the camp before the final bell. I don’t wanna have to face Old Ironsides again,” said Shining Armor, chuckling dryly.

Cadance sighed. “Yeah, I suppose. Thanks again,”

“No problem,” said Shining Armor, turning towards the nearest pathway. “Tell Twilly that I said goodbye! I would do it myself, but I’m kinda in a rush...”

“Don’t worry, I will,” replied Cadance.

The two waved each other their goodbyes before Shining Armor took his first step, only to pause his leg in mid-air.

“Wait!” he snapped, turning back to a surprised Cadance. “Just one more thing!” Looking both ways first, Shining Armor leaned forward up to Cadance’s ear.

“This may make me look like a bad brother, but I was just kidding when I told Twilight that I wouldn’t be home until next year. I wanted to surprise her for her birthday in a couple of weeks,” he whispered.

“Her birthday?” Cadance whispered in reply. “In a few weeks?”

“Yeah!”

Cadance gave Shining Armor a look of disapproval. “Well, while it was a bit on the harsh side to give her false hope, it’s still a lovely treat from a loving brother like yourself.”

“Thanks, Cadance,” said Shining Armor, shifting back onto the pathway. “I’ve got to go. The quarter bell could ring at any moment. See you in a few weeks, I guess.”

After waving goodbye to each other for a second time, Shining Armor turned and started off on a hard gallop down the pathway, kicking up black, barely visible leaves that had fallen earlier. Cadance watched as he went, his silhouette descending into the dark, starry horizon. The moon had begun to rise as more stars crept out of hiding; the cicadas and the burrow owls following suite.

Dare to be Thoughtful!

“Wow, I’ve really missed a lot,” said Cadance as she flipped through the pages in her diary, taking passing glances at each entry before flipping to the first entry and closing the diary. She ran her hoof over the front cover, her wisps of fur gently brushing against the felt cover. As overjoyed as she was having found her old diary, the gratifying feelings that came with nostalgia never appeared to compliment her emotions. She would miss Twilight deeply when she was away, but at least she would have something to remember her by for the rest of her life, but alas, the sole word of life preached a terrible truth known to all alicorns, a truth that she hoped she would have strayed far away from when the time comes.

A triplet of soft knocks was heard at the door.

“Cadance?” spoke Shining Armor’s muffled voice from the other side. Three additional knocks came around. “What’s taking you so long?”

“N-nothing, Shining!” Cadance called out. “I’m just...doing something...”

Suddenly, the lever lock to the door started to move, unbolting the door. Alarmed, Cadance quickly lifted her leisure pillow and stuffed the diary underneath, replacing the pillow and slamming her hooves on top just as the heavy door started to creep open.

“What do you mean you’re doing something?” asked Shining Armor as he slithered into the bedroom through a sizeable gap in the doorway. “Packing bags doesn’t take that long, and you’ve been in here for nearly half-an-hour! I was starting to get a little worried,”

“I-it’s nothing, dear,” Cadance stammered as Shining Armor trotted over to the front of the bed. “I-I’m just...well, I’m just doing--” The pink princess started to fire up in a nervous sweat. She smiled sheepishly, darting her eyes around the room in an attempt to find something to redirect the conversation to. A wall? Too boring. The weather outside? Too obvious. Her husband’s strikingly handsome good looks? Way too obvious.

Shining Armor skeptically furrowed his brow. “You’re starting to act a little weird, Cadance. I know that recent events struck you a little, but this...”

“Me? Sneaky? I’m not acting sneaky!” said Cadance with rushed words.

“I never said you were acting sneaky...” Shining Armor objected, raising an eyebrow.

Cadance chuckled, her forced laughter being about as dry as a sack of flour. “Well, when you put it that way--”

“Wait a minute,” The suspicious stallion started, narrowing his eyes down at Cadance’s pillow. “What’s this?” said Shining Armor. digging his hoof underneath the pillow, poking at the corner of Cadance’s poorly concealed treasure.

“That? Oh, that’s nothing. Nothing at all!” Cadance nervously stuttered, slowly pushing Shining Armor’s hoof away before wrapping both of her free hooves around it, prodding the tip of her hoof into his muscular skin while keeping her knees pressed down hard on the pillows plush surface, trying her best to keep the diary underneath concealed.

Shining Armor wasn’t buying it. By the already unnerving look in his eyes, he knew that something was up. Desperate, Cadance lifted his hoof up to her lips and kissed it, persuading her husband with bedroom eyes.

“Ok, now I know that something’s not right here,” said Shining Armor, admirably yanking his hoof away from Cadance’s lips.

Cadance sighed and rolled her eyes, mentally kicking herself for not doing a good enough job. She considered going the extra mile at first, but that would only raise her husband’s suspicions. She could have at least dry rubbed his leg or something! Maybe she needs to work on her sensuality skills. She made a mental note to look for her old “private” magazine issues whenever she had free time available, wherever they may be.

“Alright, you got me,” Cadance grunted, rolling her eyes again.

“What’re you hiding, Cadance? C’mon,” said Shining Armor. Cadance furrowed her brow and looked away, pouting silently. Shining Armor decided to step it up a notch. He climbed onto the bed and scooted closer to his gorgeous wife. Cadance continued to ignore him, but Shining Armor refused to give up.

“Come on, Cadance,” Shining Armor playfully cooed. “You can tell me. What’s so important that you can’t show me?” Using Cadance’s stubborn mood to his advantage, Shining Armor slipped hif hoof underneath her pillow and swiped the book out from underneath her hooves, bringing it to float behind his head using his own magic.

“Hey, Shining! Give that back!” yelled Cadance, turning around to try and reach for her precious keepsake.

“Is this the thing that I’m not allowed to see?” Gently pushing his grafted wife back, Shining Armor levitated the book in front of his face, magically opening the cover and flipping to the first page. Cadance angrily struggled under his husband’s muscular girth, reaching for her treasured keepsake with all her might.

“Really, Cadance? A book?” said Shining Armor. scanning the page until his eyes fell upon Cadance’s note. “Oooh, what’s this?”

“Shining...” Cadance growled, baring her teeth.

“Diary property of...”

“Shining!” Cadance snapped, making a hard attempt to break through the strong stallion’s passive strength. Her hoof came within mere inches before falling flat. After several tries more, the angry princess gave up, shifting in place to rest her chin on the sole of her hoof.

Shining Armor skimmed over the note on the first page before he started flipping through the whole diary, turning page after page, stopping occasionally to skim over the fine cursive before flipping to the next entry.

“You kept a diary from when you were foalsitting Twilight?” asked Shining Armor, continuing to flip through each page, backtracking every so often just in case he missed something interesting. “And you wanted to hide this? Why?” Shining Armor questioned, closing the diary.

Cadance growled again, agitated at her husband’s childish behavior.

“A girl's diary is private! Off-limits! Sealed away! Not meant to be seen by anypony else!” Cadance spat out each word like a sharp dagger, making Shining Armor cringe a little with each one thrown his way. Such a keepsake was very valuable to a girl, no matter how old or how young they are. To take away a girl’s diary is like taking away a mother wolf’s only cub. Sure, you're proud of yourself for having actually done it, but your still going to get your flank torn apart in the end.

“Geez, I’m sorry, Cadance,” Shining Armor apologized, scooting closer to the pink princess of his nightly dreams and wrapping a foreleg around her neck. Cadance, having already gave up, offered no resistance, but grunted and turned further away each time her husband peeked around to look at her. “But just look at all of these memories!” exclaimed Shining Armor, reopening the diary and flipping through the pages again.

“Yes, but they’re my memories!” Cadance snapped, forcibly removing Shining Armor’s leg from around her neck and swiping her precious diary from the air, holding it close to her chest.

“Can’t I just stay and listen for a little while?” Shining Armor pleaded, pressing the side of his face against his wife’s head. Cadance sighed, finding it difficult to look away now that her husband is shifting to his affectionate side. It was cute, and Cadance was a sucker for all things cute and lovable.

“Pleeeease, Cadance?” Shining Armor continued his adorable assault, much to Cadance’s displeasure, but this was displeasure with a cruel twist, bringing with it even older memories of when Twilight would sometimes fall to her knees and beg Cadance to take to take her somewhere, whether it be into town or to the boot camp to visit her brother again.

“...fine,” Cadance grunted, nudging Shining Armor away before releasing her hold on the diary. “You can stay...”

The blue-haired colt breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks, Cadance,” said Shining Armor, leaning forward to plant a kiss on his wife’s cheek.

“But!” Cadance snapped, slamming a hoof on the blue-haired colt’s outstretched lips. “Just please don’t ask questions while I’m reading, okay?”

Shining Armor pulled back slowly, sweeping away Cadance’s hoof from his lips. He smiled, not wanting to upset his wife any further lest he risk sleeping on the couch tonight.

“Alright, Cadance,” said Shining Armor, slowly reaching for the diary. “Now, where to begin...”

“I’ll be the decider of that!” Cadance dictated, slapping Shining Armor’s hoof away and bringing the diary closer to her. She opened the diary and started randomly flipping through the pages having completely forgotten where she left off. Taking a blind guess, she stopped her hoof on a random page. Curious, Shining Armor leaned forward and took a quick peek at the date.

“Twilight’s birthday?” questioned Shining Armor.

“Just let me read...”

~~~~~

Cadance snipped away the final loose ends of wrapping paper from each corner, sealing up any leftover gaps or holes with a small snippet of colored tape to match the color of the paper. She levitated the scissors back into her bag and brought out a large, purple bow and a spool of lace in its place. She wrapped the bow over and around the paper, tying it into a fresh, clean knot. She rose to her hooves and stepped back to examine her work, taking in the spitting image of the fruit of her labors with pride. It was a difficult quest to acquire Twilight’s birthday gift. Sure, she had to “convince” a few guards to gain access to the restricted sections of the Canterlot Castle library, but she knew that all of her hard work would pay off in the end, just so long as she gets to see Twilight’s smiling face when she unwraps it.

It was unheard of in the world of sitters for the sitter to gift the one they were caring for, but this foalsitter dared to be different; dared to be bold!

“Perfect!” exclaimed Cadance, clapping her hooves together. “Ooooh, Twilight’s gonna love this!”

Cadance slipped the wrapped gift into her saddlebags, making sure to hide it behind Twilight’s daily reading material, and not the other reading material. From behind, she could hear the all-too-familiar sound of hardened pegasus wing beats slapping against the warm air. The royal guards were arriving, on time as usual, pulling a sturdy passenger carriage behind them. Cadance did a quick once-over of her hidden surprise before rushing to meet the guards near the playground benches, their drop off point.

The guards unhitched themselves from the carriage as soon as Cadance arrived, taking up their positions next to the carriage door. The foalsitter beamed with delight as the door creaked open, and an exuberant Twilight stepped out into the sunlight, blinking her eyes several times to adjust them to the white flare. It was clear that the filly knew what day it was, for her mane was tied up in a neat little bundle, and her coat looked shinier than usual. Her eyes gleamed in the sunlight as she stepped away from the carriage and moved towards Cadance with a lively bounce in her step, where the two shared a hug as soon as the carriage took to the skies and flew clear out of sight.

“Happy birthday, Twilight!” exclaimed Cadance, pulling away from the hug, resisting the urge to tussle the adorable filly’s hair.

“Thanks, Cadance!” said Twilight, giggling. “I’ve been getting that a lot today.”

“So, is there anything in particular you want to do today?” asked Cadance. “It’s your decision!”

“My decision?” Cadance nodded. “Well...” Twilight started, scratching her chin.

“How about a surprise visit from yours truly?” called out the voice of a familiar junior captain. Twilight turned around just in time to gasp with delight before Shining Armor swept the filly off her hooves and pulled her into one, big brotherly hug. Twilight nuzzled into her brother’s neck, muffling her laughter as Shining Armor prodded his hoof through the filly’s hair. His playfulness made the hair tie in Twilight’s mane fall out, but she didn’t seem to mind. In Cadance’s opinion, she looked better this way.

“Miss me?” said Shining Armor, lowering his pint-sized sister to the ground.

“You bet I did!” said Twilight. “I thought you said that you weren’t coming home until next year?”

Shining Armor sent a smile and a wink Cadance’s way, cueing her in. Cadance smiled and winked back, acknowledging his cue with long-awaited anticipation. Three whole weeks of careful planning and the hauntings of guard ponies souls were about to come together in one special day.

“Well,” Cadance started, moving up behind Twilight. “It was a little difficult, but I just pulled a few strings and, well...here he is!”

“You did this?” Twilight gasped, turning to Cadance with wonder in her eyes.

Cadance winked at Shining Armor again. Everything was going smoothly. “Well, I had a little...”discussion” with the old stallion down at the training camp. It took some time of course, but he agreed to allow Shining Armor to leave so long as I was present under the listings of royalty.”

“Besides, I wouldn’t miss your birthday for the world, Twilly!” said Shining Armor, tussling the filly’s hair once more, exciting more laughter from the overjoyed unicorn.

“And there’s more,” Cadance started, inciting Twilight’s attention. “I’ve got a little surprise for you...”

Twilight’s eyes lit up with excitement. Shining Armor looked a little surprised, not expecting something like this from a foalsitter, but then again, this was Cadance, and from what Twilight has been telling him each off-tempt visit, she was the greatest in the world; better than any other. If Cadance was willing to stand up to the oldest and bravest of Equestria’s protectors, then that’s all you need to know that there was no other pony more caring than she.

Cadance led both brother and sister to the sandbox, where her saddlebags sat partially buried in the sea of coarse grains. She dug them out and brushed away the sand, cautiously trying to hide the tell-tale, four-cornered bulge of her gift.

“Close your eyes,” Twilight did as she was instructed. Cadance looked back to make sure of that, but she soon became skeptical of the filly and whatever tricks she may pull to get a hidden glance at her gift. She looked to Shining Armor for assistance, who nodded and concealed Twilight’s shuttered eyes with his hooves. The filly’s ears fell flat, and her neck shifted and hunched over slightly. Guilty as charged.

Taking one final look back for good measure, Cadance opened her saddlebags and slowly reached for the wrapped present inside. Carefully, she gripped the sides of the package and gently lifted it out, making as minimal of movements as possible as not to rustle the wrapping paper to give away the surprise. She left the gift rest on the grass in front of Twilight before taking a few steps back and resting on her haunches.

“Ok,” said Cadance. “Open your eyes...”

Not even a second later, Twilight swept her brother’s hooves away from her face and opened her eyes with hasteful premonition. She looked to the ground and gasped at the wrapped and tied marvel laying on the grass before her. She leaned forward and scooted the present closer to her, eyeing it with hungry eyes with a wide grin to compliment it.

“Well,” Cadance started, lowering herself to her stomach. “Go ahead, Twilight.”

The little filly let out an excited squeal before tearing into the package with lightning speed, going at it like a mole to sweet-smelling dirt. In just a few seconds time, the ground around her was covered in scraps of wrapping paper and bits of tape. She tore off the final few pieces of paper from the front face of the gift, and gasped once more at the sight of her newly-opened present.

“Happy birthday, Twilly,” said Shining Armor, smiling.

“Star Swirl the Bearded’s personal notebook!” exclaimed Twilight, wiping away a thin layer of kempt-up dust that covered the title and the faded illustrations. “How in the world did you get this?” she asked, flipping the cover of the book to the first few pages. She practically squirmed with delight to hear such old and flustered pages crinkle under old age. The pages were stained yellow and cracked like sandstone, riddled with dull quill marks and illegible side notes written in obscure and ancient languages that nopony today would ever be able to understand.

“It’s a wonder to see what one can do as a princess, Twilight,” said Cadance, giving Twilight a wink. “Just think of all the things you can learn! Who knows what sort of magic he’s put in there...”

“I can practically feel it!” exclaimed Twilight as she continued to flip through the pages with careful movements. “Who knew that Star Swirl the Bearded could speak seventeen languages? There’s notes written in every one of them!”

“You recognize every language in there?” Cadance asked, sharing the same surprised look with Shining Armor.

Twilight nodded, keeping her eyes on the text. “Mhmm. There’s serpent tongue, gryphon tongue, and...dragon tongue?”

“Dragon tongue?” said Shining Armor. “What kind of language is that? I thought that all dragons spoke Equestrian?”

“Hey, what’s this?” asked Twilight, peering down at a cluster of near-microscopic symbols intricately etched into the parchment. “Force...balance...”

“I knew your sister was smart, Shining Armor, but I never expected her to know seventeen languages readily!” exclaimed Cadance in disbelief. “I doubt that Celestia herself would know even half that amount!”

“I wonder what else is in here...” said Twilight, skipping over the side notes and turning page after page until her adventurous gaze stopped on one of the many withered pages, this one filled to the brim and then some with notes, equations, and illegible scrawls. An old-age title was written near the roof of the page, drawn out in a perplexing, runic dialect that looked as if it was older than Equestria itself.

“These are his special notes on ancient spells! The good and the bad!” Twilight pointed out, much to the confusion and amazement of Cadance and Shining Armor. “It’s got everything in here! All of his tricks, all of his observations! It’s like a dream come true!” The filly squeaked, holding the book close to her chest as if it were a cherished doll.

“I’m glad you like it, Twilight,” said Cadance with a smile, leaning forward and patting Twilight on the back. Shining Armor, instead of taking up his defensive side, sat back and smiled as the foalsitter gently caressed his sister’s velvety mane, taking note of the effects of Twilight’s time with her. Those weekly visits to the boot camp were finally starting to pay off, putting Cadance in Twilight’s greater favor.

“Cadance?” said Twilight, sheepishly ducking out from underneath Cadance’s hoof. “Can we try that levitation spell again? The one with the sandbox?” she asked, lowering the book back to the ground.

“Haven’t we already tried that? Several, several times?” asked Cadance, smiling out of self-pride for her poorly placed crack of humor.

“Yeah, but the results would be different!” exclaimed Twilight, reopening the book to where she previously left off. “I’m looking at the words of a genius here! Half the page is dedicated to the general rule of levitation, half of what he wrote down I already know about!” Twilight let her knowledge loose in ways that would make her mentor proud. It was as if she was staring deep into the mind of Equestria’s greatest magician; maybe even deeper. It was a pure mystery to Cadance as to how Twilight could decipher such ancient and mysterious languages from memory. Every symbol looked the same, the differences of each barely noticeable beyond nothing more than a recoordinated line segment or an extra few dots stamped around their edges. It was like she was looking at the world’s most confusing magic eye picture.

“Cadance, I think I can do it this time!” Twilight proclaimed.

"Do what, Twilight?" Cadance replied.

"Your challenge! The challenge with the sandbox! You know, the one with the tower and everything. If I just put these tricks he wrote down to thought, then maybe I can perform the spell without so much as a struggle!"

Cadance rose to her hooves and looked down at Twilight's smiling face with pride, Shining Armor soon doing the same. If only Auntie Celly were here to watch her student learn from somepony other than herself. Of course, this was all part of a carefully laid out plan; a plan of which would soon pay off when Twilight was rewarded with another gift; a gift much more heavenly and precious than a book.

Twilight skimmed over the note-filled page before slamming it shut with little regard for how ancient it was. For a minor second, Cadance considered scolding her, but the thought was quickly forced out of her mind by a stem of excitement teeming up in her heart.

“Alright!” said Twilight, pushing the book aside and leaping into the sandbox. “Let’s do this!”

Cadance and Shining Armor followed Twilight into the middle of the sandbox and took up positions opposite from each other, Shining Armor opting for an up close view of the magical act soon to happen. Cadance magically conjured a bucket and spade from the air and began to scoop sand into the floating pail.

“I won’t need the tower again, Cadance,” Twilight insisted. “I can do this all on my own!”

Cadance met Twilight’s request with no question. She dumped the sand and allowed the bucket and spade to dissipate into the air. She nodded to Twilight, giving her the go ahead. All eyes, all two pairs of them anyway, were now on the exuberant magician, whose mind was deep in thought, summoning the will and whim, thoughts and strength required to perform a spell of such strange and powerful caliber.

The sandbox began to shake and rattle, the white grains within bouncing around like jumping beans as Twilight’s tiny horn began to gather its energy. Cadance could feel it with her own horn as masses of pure, untapped energy funneled into the filly’s horn before streaming out and striking the sand. illuminating the air around her in every color of the purple spectrum. Just like before, a miniature maelstrom of sand and grit formed to accompany the beginnings of a small funnel cloud of sand, bringing with it as much sand as possible that started to form a solid, equal base.

While the tower was starting to come together, Twilight was starting to break down. Her magic so far, while potent and still going strong, was pressing down hard on the straining filly. The tower’s construction was nearing the halfway point, but Twilight looked as if she was about to faint from being under such great pressure. Her enthusiasm was bound to get the best of her. She might even end up hurting herself, and Cadance would never forgive herself if she didn’t do something to prevent that from happening. The pink princess shimmied forward, avoiding the gritty turmoil, and moved to lay a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.

“Wait!” said Shining Armor, reaching out and touching Cadance’s hoof out of impulse. Cadance blushed lightly and slowly pulled her hoof back, resisting the urge to grin like a schoolgirl when she saw Shining Armor’s expression form into a blank, but bashful stare.

“Hehe, sorry,” Shining Armor apologized, making an attempt to hide his hoof behind his back. He looked towards Twilight, who was still struggling under the weight of her own spell. “Here, let me try something.”

Slowly but surely, the blue-haired colt slithered up to the side of Twilight’s face, moving his mouth close to her ears.

“Come on, Twilly,” whispered Shining Armor. “You can do it! I’m here for you, little sis...” Shining Armor continued to whisper words of encouragement into his sister’s ear, causing Twilight to smile and rise to her hooves, using whatever strength she had left. Cadance was stunned.

“That’s it, Twilly. You can do it!” said Shining Armor, motioning Cadance to join him.

As the two continued to lift Twilight’s spirits with words of praise, the sand tower continued to grow. Little by little, the miniature vortex stacked layer after layer of sand on top of each other. While the scale looked meager and unimpressive at best, just the thought of a unicorn --a filly unicorn no less-- going under such strain just to impress her brother would make even the most stubborn of ponies tear up with odins of affection.

“That’s it, Twilight! Just a little more...” said Cadance, taking back and forth glances between Twilight and the rising tower, shaking her hooves in anticipation. The tower was nearing completion. Just a few more sand layers and Twilight will have created a perfect copy of the tower example she used before. Just a few more feet to go and--

Wait a minute... thought Cadance. A few more feet? The tower isn’t supposed to go that high! And is it just me, or is the sandbox getting smaller?

Twilight could feel it, deep within her soul. After several tried and failed attempts, she was finally going to beat Cadance’s challenge. She kept her eyes closed throughout the entirety of the spell, just as a precautionary measure to make sure that she doesn’t lose focus. She has never asked herself before, but since when did sand suddenly become so easy to lift? The last time she tried this, her skull nearly caved in under the sand’s resistance to her magic, so what changed this time that made her task so simple? Maybe it was the notebook, but nevermind that for now. There would be plenty of time to read it later, and besides, she was almost there! In one final move, she released control over her spell, relishing in the moment when the pressure was slowly eased off of her head. She opened her eyes, expecting success, only to fall to her haunches at a heartbreaking sight.

She had done nothing. Well, almost nothing. After all of her hard work, she only managed to throw some sand out of the sandbox, and the tower that was being built nearby looked as if it was nearly complete, but whatever magic that formed it made the whole thing crumble and fall away. Everything else was just so much waste and signs of failure. All she wanted to do was perform one simple spell; a spell that she hoped would impress Cadance and Shining Armor. Was that too much to ask? It was all starting to look like a hopeless fantasy to her. She had to be realistic, and the situation made her feel like a joke.

Twilight groaned, squandering in defeat. “Sorry Shining,” said Twilight. “I guess I’m just not ready for this kind of stuff...”

“Not ready?!” said Shining Armor, looking up towards the sky. “Twilight, are you seeing this right now?”

“Seeing what?”

“Who needs sand when you can do this?” Shining Armor grabbed his sister by her sides and hoisted her into the air above his head. Twilight looked up, and gasped at the late fruit of her labors.

“H-hi, Twilight!” Cadance shouted, waving down at the filly from high up in the air. Her body was surrounded by a strangely familiar color of aura. Recognizing it almost immediately, Twilight looked up at her own horn and gasped with delight at the sight of her own magic sparking and dancing around the tip despite Twilight having given up and releasing control over it several minutes ago. Fireworks went off in her heart, overjoyed at her accomplishment.

“I know that it’s a pretty nice view from up here, but do you mind...getting me down?” Cadance pleaded, smiling nervously.

With help from her brother, Twilight gradually toned down the rogue magic, slowly lowering the startled pink princess to the ground, where another round of congratulations ensued. It was like a one pony talent show, the winner being a certain lavender filly of course. Cadance broke away from the moment and looked to the sky. From the time Twilight arrived up to now, only an hour had passed, and there was still so much they could do.

But just then, a thought clocked up in her head. Cadance had already revealed her gift to Twilight, but Shining Armor has yet to show his own. It was a special gift, a gift that Cadance spent the last two weeks getting together all by herself since his own flank was too lazy to help with the prep work. Two and a half weeks of nonstop planning, sneaking into the boot camp late at night, arranging “private” meetings with the old coot, and spending hours each day locked in the jaws of worry were certainly not going to go to waste for this princess, not to mention that if word got out about the other things that she did, then she might as well change her name, cut off her horn, and flee the country.

“Umm, Shining?” Cadance cooed. “Aren’t you forgetting something?” she asked. “Something important?” Cadance sneered on the last word, making Shining Armor flinch in fear.

“R-right,” Shining Armor stuttered, lifting Twilight off the ground and into his lap. “Twilly, I got a little surprise for you...”

Twilight’s eyes lit up once again with excitement. “A surprise? Another one?”.

“It’s something that I--”

“Who, Shining?” Cadance interrupted, moving up behind Twilight. The blue-haired colt swallowed hard.

“It’s something that Cadance and I have been working on for a few weeks now.”

“With a little help from the friendly boys down at Shining’s camp...”

“I get to come and go as I please!” exclaimed Shining Armor. “So now, you get to see your big brother whenever you want!”

“Really?” Twilight gasped. Both Shining Armor and Cadance nodded.

Feeling that words would not be enough, Twilight lunged at her brother’s neck and squeezed it tightly in a hug. Cadance felt like joining in, but soon passed the thought when Shining Armor smiled and nuzzled his sister behind the ears, wrapping his own forelegs around her and bringing her closer. Breaking the moment would only be cruel, and it would make her look like a crazy pony. Instead, she chose to just sit back and enjoy the moment, filling her soul with a gooey, yet enjoyable warmness that made the rest of the afternoon blow by in a haze of love and sweet freedom.

Wasn't It Obvious?

“Wait a minute,” objected Shining Armor. “Didn’t this all lead up to--”

Before he could finish, Cadance angrily slammed a hoof on Shining Armor’s lips, forcing the blue-haired stallion to rear back in shock.

“What did I say earlier, Shining?” Cadance sternly asked, glaring into her husband’s wide eyes.

“Ta nut ashk queshins?” spoke Shining Armor through muffled lips.

“Exactly!” exclaimed Cadance. Wives; nature’s sticklers.

“Geez, Cadance. What’s with you today?” asked Shining Armor, sweeping away Cadance’s hoof from his mouth. “It’s not like you to act so angry all of a sudden.”

“I’m not angry,” replied Cadance with a sigh. “I just want some time to myself. Is that too much to ask?”

“Too much to ask?” said Shining Armor, baffled. “I’ve only been here for five minutes! What’s so wrong with that?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. You didn’t get the addendum to our little agreement?” asked Cadance with a sly smile, raising an eyebrow.

“W-what?”

“If I allowed you to listen in, then you must allow me some peace and quiet.”

“But when--”

“Unless otherwise noted.”

“Bu--”

“No excuses!”

Dumbstruck, Shining Armor’s eyes started to twitch, his mouth hanging open as his brain tried to piece together what had just happened. It seemed as if no amount of knowledge could string together the mystery that was the logic of married mares. The formula seemed pretty simple though: Anything and everything you say is subject to doubt. Try putting that to the test in the fields of academic study. All these thoughts of knowledge and learning were starting to make him feel a little like Twilight.

“So, now that we’ve got that in order...” started Cadance, smiling as she opened the bedroom door with her magic. She did not finish, but instead silently shooed Shining Armor with her hoof, keeping a stout and uptight expression. The awestruck stallion did not budge.

“I...j-ju--what?!” stuttered Shining Armor, mouth hanging open in disbelief. No part of what Cadance said made any sense whatsoever. Everything suddenly felt backwards and awkwardly token. Only bits and pieces of sensible thought remained, none of which could be used to start a counter argument, leaving the ‘high and mighty’ stallion stuck in a deep, dark rut. It was as if his wife had complete and total control over his life!

Oh, wait...

“What agreement?” yelled Shining Armor. “We never had an agreement!”

“Hmm?”

“I asked you if I could stay and you said you were fine with it.”

“F-fine?!” said Cadance, equally baffled. “I wasn’t fine with it! I wasn’t fine with anything! You didn’t even ask me if you could stay! You just barged in here, swiped my diary, and didn’t give it back unless I let you stay for a little while!”

“How did--”

“Well, guess what! Your little while is a little overdue! Now, out!”

“Bu--”

“Out!”

“Cadance, just listen to me!”

This arguing wasn’t getting them anywhere. All they were doing was throwing pointless insults at one another when either of them claimed to be right. No problems get solved that way, except in politics. Having to stand guard in the princess’s court and listen to noblepony after noblepony voice their complaints wasn’t exactly Shining Armor’s cup of tea. For a split second, he felt a little sympathetic for his royal spouse. One could only imagine what is left of a princess’s sanity after a stressful day in court.

“I can’t believe you’re acting this way, and only a day after our wedding! Brutish...” Cadance groaned, slumping down on the bedspread, letting her forelegs hang limp over the bedside.

“...Cadance?”

With a rough temper go with it, Cadance added insult to injury by stuffing her face into her comfort pillow, outright refusing to speak with her husband. Minutes passed by as the strained couple sat there, not a word nor sound spoken between them. Strangely though, Shining Armor felt a little guilty. Cadance was a delicate mare. She needed to be handled with love and care, just like the princess she was. He knew something had to be done, lest he risk a tension-filled life with a princess whose special talent would be more ironic than helpful.

Reluctant at first, the blue-haired stallion slowly positioned his forelegs closer to his wife. He poked her once. No response; a good sign, maybe. Slowly but surely, he wrapped both of his forelegs around the pink princess’s upper body, pulling Cadance out of her pillow cover and into a loving hug. The castant princess held fast a scowl of disgust, both upset and angry for Celestia-knows-what.

“Come on, Cadance,” Shining Armor whispered into Cadance’s ear. “There’s nothing to be mad about.”

Cadance harrumphed, keeping her eyes clear away from Shining Armor’s surprisingly adorable gesture. She knew what he was trying to do, but it wasn’t going to work this time! If she avoided it once, then she can certainly avoid it again!

“Don’t make me do it!” warned Shining Armor playfully, raising an eyebrow. “I think you know what I mean...”

Too late.

Cadance’s eyes shot open, frantic with alarm as she tried desperately to wriggle out of the hug, but Shining Armor was way ahead of her as he comically tightened his hold. No matter how hard she tried, the noble guard proved to be the stronger one. He merely chuckled blithely as the pink princess grunted and groaned, trying her best to resist his grip. She kicked and squirmed as hard as she could, but to no avail.

“Shine..ing!” Cadance mumbled in between strains. “Let...me...go!”

“Not until you let me stay!” demanded Shining Armor.

“I...already said...no!”

“Is that your final answer?”

“What do you think!?”

Shining Armor sighed, but kept his smile bright. With her chances of success of breaking free already on a downhill slope, Cadance gave up and leaned back into her husband’s charming, but uncomfortable embrace.

“I’m still mad at you...” huffed Cadance.

Suddenly, Shining Armor leaned down and very gently planted a kiss on Cadance’s forehead, keeping the pink princess held close. Eyes wide and red hot with abrupt, overwhelming blush, the awestruck mare slowly pulled out of the hug, thankfully without resistance, looking up and staring deep into her husband’s cerulean eyes. Whatever hate that was held within in her washed away as the caring stallion nuzzled her softly.

“Shining?” whispered Cadance.

“You won’t be mad at me for long!” exclaimed Shining Armor, breaking the feel.

“What are you--”

Before Cadance could finish, Shining Armor pushed the pink princess away and rolled her onto her back, exposing her soft, pink underbelly. Now they were getting somewhere. Deeply embarrassed, Cadance gasped and quickly covered herself with her pillow.

“Shining!” yelled Cadance, shocked by Shining Armor’s change in behavior. “What on earth has gotten into you?!”

Once again, the blue-haired stallion proved that he had planned ahead. Before Cadance could let out an insult or two, he reached around to his wife’s sides and gave a light tickle to her midsection, throwing the royal bride into a fit of giggles. Within moments, her angry mood was a thing of the past. Cadance kicked and bucked her legs wildly into the air as Shining Armor continued his irresistible assault, powerless against the barrage of tingles.

“Shi-ne-ning!” stuttered Cadance in between giggles. “Cut i-it ow-ha-out!”

“Still mad at me now?” asked Shining Armor, laughing along with her as he dodged each of Cadance’s wild, excited kicks whizzing past his face.

“Ple-he-hease! S-staw-ha-hop, hahaha!”

“Only if you let me stay!” demanded Shining Armor with a smile.

“F-fi-haha-hine! Hahaha!”

“Didn’t quite catch that,” trilled Shining Armor.

“I sai-haha-ed--!”

“Just a liiitle bit louder.”

“Alri-hahaha-ight! You-hoo-can stay! Hahahaha!”

“Meh. That’ll work,” finished Shining Armor, shrugging his shoulders.

The playful stallion released his hold on the funfare mare, helping Cadance roll back onto her belly. By the goofy smile on Cadance’s face, it could only be said that “negotiations” were a success. If only every argument could end as joyfully as this one; a round of laughter and a happy mood. Nothing but pure fun for everypony!

“I always knew you were ticklish,” said Shining Armor. “I just never had the chance to show it.”

The pink princess sighed deeply through her nose, tiredly scooting closer to Shining Armor before comfortably nuzzling into his neck.

“That was...fun, actually. I enjoyed it,” said Cadance, staring up seductively into the stallion’s eyes. “We should really do that again sometime, you know?”

“Yeah...sometime...” Shining Armor chuckled dryly, wearing a stupidly nervous grin. In that moment, the stallion realized that the tables have turned. Within a coin’s chance, he was no longer in control. Beads of bashful sweat ran down his neck as the sleazy princess snaked up sides like an enticing medusa.

Beautiful, almost passionate. Truly, he felt like taking the advantage, but after remembering their earlier struggles over something as simple as a book, only time would tell what the enticing, yet unpredictable royal would do next.

“Mmm. You know what this reminds me of?” asked Cadance, starring alluringly into Shining Armor’s eyes whilst running a hoof down his chest.

“Not really...” Shining Armor replied.

“C’mon, this is an easy one. A cool, spring night, you and I, looking deep into each other’s hearts like the two little lovebirds we were...”

“Uhh...”

“The magic of love tying us in the moment. Your hooves in mine. Oh, you were so much more romantic back then...”

“I...give up.”

“Our first kiss, silly!” giggled Cadance, lightly booping Shining Armor on the nose. “You remember, don’t you?”

“Yeeeah! Sure! I...remember...” The stallion swallowed hard. “There was you...and then there was me, and uhh...”

Shining Armor hastily darted his eyes left and right, hoping that there would be something to redirect the conversation to. He desperately searched for the diary, hoping to convince Cadance to get back to reading, but it was nowhere to be found.

Suddenly, he felt a disturbance in the lower...region of his body. Was it him? No, it couldn’t be him. He much too nervous to suddenly become aroused.

“I’m pretty sure you felt that,” murmured Cadance, smiling timidly as she fluttered her eyes.

Oh boy...

“So, what else do you remember about our first kiss, hmm?” asked Cadance, snaking her head closer to her husband’s lips.

“Well...hehe, there was the...part when....”

There was no way out. Nothing could save him from this, and he knew it. Cadance had not only turned the tables on him, but she did so with lustful intentions; even worse. Who knew that tickling could get a princess off? He could only sit there and wait for the inevitable. In his mind, he crossed his hooves, bracing for impact.

“You completely forgot about our first kiss, didn’t you?” asked Cadance with a stern look of disapproval.

His heart stopped cold.

“...sorry?”

Despite his current situation, Shining Armor kept his courage up, expecting a flurry of insults, but much to his surprise, Cadance just sighed and backed down, vigorously rubbing her forehead.

“You’re not...mad, are you?” asked Shining Armor, taking a brave leap into dangerous territory.

“No...” replied Cadance, sighing again. “I’m not mad...”

“Oh! Good, umm...wow. For a second there, I thought you were going to--”

“I’m not mad! I’m furious!” yelled Cadance at the top of her lungs, grabbing and shaking Shining Armor’s head like a stubborn piggy bank.

“W-wait!” stuttered Shining Armor.

“No! Not this again!” On those words, Cadance slammed shut the bedroom door before magically locking it along with every other door and window in the room, sealing off any and all points of escape.

Before Shining Armor could utter another word, the ferocious mare grabbed him by the forehooves and yanked him to her side before grabbing a nearby throw pillow and stuffing it into his mouth, muffling his speech.

“Now, just sit there and relax,” spoke Cadance in a surprisingly calmer tone of voice. The pink princess magically levitated her cherished diary out from behind her back before scooting closer to her stickler of a husband and wrapping one foreleg tightly around his midsection, pulling him close. She took her time in opening the diary and flipping to the correct entry, half-expecting her husband to make an escape attempt. When he did nothing, she simply shrugged it off and began reading, making sure to tighten her chokehold beforehoof.

~~~~~

Little Twilight Sparkle smiled and waved goodbye before stepping back into the carriage. After saying their own goodbyes, with a quick hug to follow, Cadance and Shining Armor backed away to allow the guards to come around and close the carriage door. All they could do was sit there and watch with smiling faces as the carriage took off from the ground, climbing high into the sky before circling the playground and leveling out, bound for Canterlot Castle.

“It’s always so sad to see her go...” said Cadance, watching the carriage shrink into the orange sky as it flew away. “I wanted to have more fun!”

Shining Armor chuckled. “We’ve been having fun for weeks! Nonstop actually. Captain of the Guard’s been getting a little suspicious lately since I started skipping training sessions.”

“It was Twilight’s idea, you know,” implied Cadance. “A princess can’t stroll out into public on her own, right? She needs protection, and there’s nopony more qualified than a strong, thoughtful stallion such as yourself.”

Shining Armor grinned sheepishly at the flattery.

“I’m pretty sure that old bag of bones won’t find out,” reassured Cadance. “Besides, I can take care of that old stallion any day.”

Shining Armor rose from the ground, brushing away dirt from the soles of his hooves.

“Well, I think the captain’s starting to get used to those little threats of yours.” Shining Armor dusted off one of his forehooves before holding it out to the pink princess. Blushing, Cadance kindly took the young stallion’s hoof and rose from the ground.

“Aren’t you supposed to be the princess of love?” Shining Armor asked.

“Love is a mystery, right?” Cadance implied, smiling.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Shining Armor replied with a shrug. “It’s getting pretty late. I...need to head back to camp.”

“Mind if I tag along?” asked Cadance.

Shining Armor’s eyes went wide at the young princess’s request. “I...I guess?”

Cadance could only sit and stare at the flustered stallion, curious as to his sudden change in behavior.

“Is something wrong?” she asked.

“No! I’m fine, really,” stammered Shining Armor, shaking his head vigorously.

“So...”

“Sure, you can come.”

The royal pair of two started off down the cobblestone pathway leading out of the playground just as soon as the street lamps came on. The walkway lamps came on shortly after, illuminating for them a long stretch of path leading into the main gardens. Crickets and owls sounded the way as they passed by the flowery fields of glory, their sweet smells filling the air and adding to the serenital atmosphere. Neither pony chose to start a conversation, instead allowing the sights and sounds of such a tranquil place to keep them entertained.

After the rather enjoyable stroll, the two reached the end of the pathway, only a few dozen meters away from the front gates of the boot camp. Thankfully, the old coot wasn’t present down in front, leaving them both with some spare time to say their goodbyes.

“Well, thanks for letting me tag along,” said Cadance. “I really--”

“Cadance, m-mind if I ask you a question?” Shining Armor interrupted. “It’s just something that’s been bugging me for a while and...geez, I just can’t it off my chest.”

Though it was rude to have been interrupted, Cadance took no harm in Shining Armor’s outburst and instead opted to acknowledge his request.

“Sure. What is it?” Cadance replied with a friendly smile.

“You’re the...princess of love, right?”

Such a sudden question stirred in Cadance’s mind. It was suspicious without a doubt, but what was his reason for asking it?

“Well...my special talent involves love, yes,” replied Cadance. “I spread love to those who need it the most. Why?”

“Have you ever had any...doubts about love?”

“Doubts?”

“Like, big doubts!”

“I...don’t understand.”

“Self-doubts, actually, like you know that you’re going to do something stupid!”

“Do something...what? I still don’t understand.”

“I-I’m sorry. F-forget what I said. I need to get back to camp.”

“Shining, c’mon!” Cadance giggled. “We’re friends! What’s bothering you? You can tell me anything! Honest!”

“Are you...sure?”

“Of course I’m sure, silly! That’s what friends are for. They help each other, no matter what!”

“Well...alright,” Shining Armor sighed, lowering himself to his haunches.

“There we go,” cooed Cadance, patting Shining Armor on the shoulder. “Now, out with it. What’s the problem?”

The two must have sat and stared at each other for at least five minutes, not a word spoken between them, but Cadance respected this. It was clear to her that the brotherly stallion was going through some troubles, and as a friend, she knew that it was the right thing to do. If there was anything that bothered him, she would see to it that it was a thing of the past.

“There’s this...pony I know,” Shining Armor finally spoke up. “A close friend of mine...”

“Who is he?”

“Well, it’s a she, actually...

“Oh.”

“Yeah. She’s a great pony to be around, and she’s an even greater friend, but she’s also pretty special to me...”

“How special?”

“It’s a bit more complicated than that. I’d rather not talk about it.”

“Why? There’s got to be a reason, Shining! Just let it out. It’ll make you feel better.”

“I-I want to let it out, to her!”

“To her?”

“Yes, to her! Truly I do, but I just can’t! Every time I see her, it’s like my nerves j-just leap into the air and abandon me on the spot! Every time I see her, I just can’t bring myself to speak with her in private! Every time I see her...I just don’t know what to do...”

“Well...have you tried other methods?”

“Several!”

“Like?”

Shining Armor sighed. “Where to begin? Firstly, there’s...err...”

“You haven’t tried anything new, didn’t you?”

Shining Armor sighed. “No. Instead, I just stood there, frozen like an idiot while I let my weak nerves get the better of me.”

Off in the distance, a bell tower tolled eight times before echoing off to the hills and going quiet. Nearby, the front gates of the boot camp creaked open, and out walked the old war stallion himself, looking both angry and stubborn as usual.

“There’s the bell...” whispered Shining Armor, looking over his shoulder. “The captain’s gonna have my hide for being late...”

If there was anypony more deserving of love right now, than it would be none other than the kind, caring, devoted stallion standing before her. Cadance could only imagine what his troubles were doing to him everyday. Anypony else wouldn’t even pay a blind eye in his direction to help him. Something had to be done, and fast. She couldn’t go to sleep tonight knowing that a dear friend was toiling with such nerve-racking thoughts of dismay! Thankfully though, she knew exactly what these troubles were.

She had been waiting a long time for a moment like this. She didn’t want to admit it, but she has been going through these troubled feelings as well, and for the exact same reasons, though she kept them under wraps with the help of a strong, mental focus. As an expert in love, there was only one solution to it all; one that would benefit them both, and in one of the most deserving ways possible.

“Look, Shining,” started Cadance, leaning forward and placing one hoof on the stallion’s shoulder. “I can feel it inside you, and there’s no mistaking it. It’s love, Shining. Truly, it’s love. There is no greater feeling in the world than to have such a sense burning brightly in your heart. There’s a special way to handle this, Shining. One that will assure you happiness for the longest of whiles.”

“Yeah?” replied Shining Armor, looking up and staring deep into the pink princess’s eyes.

“Love is a mystery, Shining, as I said before, but even the greatest of mysteries can be solved. I should know. Talk to her, Shining! Talk to her, and tell her about your true feelings.”

“Yeah, but--”

“There’s nothing to be afraid of. Just come out with it! She’ll appreciate you more if you do. I know it! Hold nothing back.”

“Yeah, I...guess you're right, Cadance.”

“You and you alone can do it! Pull through these negative feelings, and just let it all come straight from your heart! Let them flow smoothly and freely, and you’ll be just fine. I believe in you Shining, and I always will.”

Shining Armor sighed, smiling happily after hearing such encouragement come from a dear friend. “Thank you, Cadance. I feel much better.”

Feeling proud of her work and keeping her smile bright, Cadance slipped her hooves down to Shining Armor’s forehooves, wrapping hers around his in comforting indulgence. Surprised, Shining Armor looked down at their conjoined hooves, peering on with eyes full of bewilderment.

“Shining?” whispered Cadance, leaning in closer with a face full of red hot blush steadily growing by the second.

“Y-yeah?” replied Shining Armor, doing much of the same.

“It’s me...isn’t it?”

“...yes.”

“Wasn’t it a bit obvious?” Cadance giggled, keeping close.

“...yeah. I guess it was.”

It was as if all the world stood still in a moment of serenity as both princess and stallion equally closed the distance between each others lips. The stars twinkled from on high as a true, loving bond was forged between them, a bond of which would be next to nigh impossible to break by hate nor sadness. In that moment, their friendship formed into something more; something bright and full of warmth.

This was the feeling of love’s embrace. From that moment on, they vowed to never let go of it for the rest of their days.

As enjoyable as it was, somepony had to break the kiss. Fiercely reluctant, Cadance slowly pulled away from the moment, a wildfire of loving passion burning brightly all over her face.

“Wow...” murmured Shining Armor. “That felt--”

“Incredible...” whispered Cadance.

“Actually, yes. It really was,” said Shining Armor.

“I know love, and that was more than just a tender moment,” stated Cadance, looking back up at Shining Armor with sparkling eyes. “Will you be alright?”

“I’ll be alright, trust me. After that...”

“Let’s talk about it tomorrow, during Twilight’s reading time, ok?”

“Ok. Thanks Cadance...”

The royal lovebirds shared a quick hug and another short kiss before Shining Armor sped off the garden path and trotted his way up to the front gates of the boot camp. Cadance watched with a smile from the shadows of a nearby oak tree as the old stallion at the front gates shouted a few insults before escorting her blue-haired treasure inside. She should have expected that. She thought about “taking care of it” right there and then, but it was already very late into the evening, and the moon had risen long ago. Unfortunately, she was without transportation, but why wait for a ride when you’ve got the best of both worlds with you at all times?

With a soothing song resounding in her heart, the pink princess stepped back onto the path and spread her wings wide, siding for a long, enjoyable ride over a quick and slightly painful one despite that it was getting later by the minute. Cadance did a quick once over of herself before leaping into the air, ascending higher and higher with each motion of her regal wings.

But before making lines for Canterlot, she turned around and looked down upon the illuminated complex below her. Even from such a great height, she could make out the electric blue hair of her darling in white, walking alongside the stubborn mule of a captain. The feeling of truly loving another pony for the first time was more than just a soft gimmick to her. It was an experience unlike any other. Nothing could outmatch it. So much so, that her heart was still beating with warm ferocity. For countless days (even though she wasn’t keeping track of them), she long dreamed of spreading the love to more than just close relatives. Of course, she could do that anyways at a moments notice, but she wished for something different; a more direct, longer lasting approach.

At long last, her wish was granted, and it was all thanks to one of the sweetest fillies she has ever met.

Cadance continued to happily stare down at Shining Armor from high above. When he was led inside of what appeared to be a barracks tent, all the torches in the camp were suddenly blown out, leaving behind a blackened smear in the middle of Canterlot. Magic was the only answer to the sudden blackout, but she didn’t care. So long as she got to see him again, whether it be from close or afar, and hopefully spread the love some more, she could give two flying feathers less about anything else in the world.

The moon was rising higher now, and the temperature was falling even faster. On top of that, her royal aunt was expecting her return some time ago. Getting scolded by aunt Celly for having to be retrieved by a late night search party again wasn’t the best idea. After waiting for a good headwind, Cadance powered through its force and soared through the starry sky towards the topmost towers of Canterlot Castle. Maybe she could sneak in through her bedroom window and slip into bed before the whole castle was put on some ridiculous high alert...

Champion Amore

“Steelwing and Star Strider were...dating?” said Shining Armor. “Why didn’t I see it before…”

“I thought it was quite adorable to see those two in love,” said Cadance, smiling happily. “And to think that we were like that back then, now that we’ve come this far.”

Cadance sighed, leaning her head against Shining Armor’s soft neck before nuzzling into it comfortably.

“So, what should we read next?” asked Cadance, levitating the diary down to her eye level. “I think I remember writing about the day we visited the lake together. It should be in here somewhere...”

“Please don’t tell me you wrote about what we did-”

“The big oak tree. Yes, yes I did, but nopony actually saw us that night, right?”

“Except for that family of squirrels,” mumbled Shining Armor. “Those poor little squirrel children. That was one thing nature won’t be able to unsee. Let’s look for something else.”

“The day we went to the carnival? It’s a short one, but even you should remember it. After all, you were the one who got us kicked out.”

“I was just super hungry that day! I swear!”

“What sort of pony would openly eat the tail off of a giant cotton candy statue that somepony spent weeks working on? That old mare who owned it must have been devastated!”

“But I said I was sorry! You remember that, right?”

“You were lucky to have been dating royalty at the time, mister. Just think of what could have happened had those royal guards caught sight of you before we left.”

“Oh how I wonder…”

“You could have been arrested, court martial'd, upset your family, lost your shot at captain of the guard, and worst of all...well, you could have lost me.” Cadance frowned.

“Aww, don’t worry. I would give up anything to be with you, Cadance. You know that. So long as you're happy, I’m happy,” said Shining Armor, planting a kiss on Cadance’s forehead.

“D'oh, thank you, Shiny,” Cadance cooed, returning the kiss with a quick one of her own. “But really, what should we read next? There’s tons of stuff we could look at. It’s crazy what I have written in here! I wrote about the time we went to the beach, that time we went to the enchanted chocolate factory, that time when we played board games in the castle because it was raining outside and you were getting really frustrated because Twilight was beating your flank in every single game we played, and I even wrote about-”

“Games?” whispered Shining Armor, interrupting Cadance. “Why does that word ring a bell to me?”

“Maybe the old memories of losing to your own little sister are coming back to haunt you?” Cadance chuckled.

“No...it’s something else.”

Shining Armor pushed the diary aside before putting one hoof in front of the other and slowly stepping off the bed.

“Where are you going?” asked Cadance.

Shining Armor made his way to the bedroom closet, murmuring inaudibly under his breath as he went.

“Care to answer your tempered newly-wed, Shining?” Cadance continued, raising an eyebrow.

“Maybe,” replied Shining Armor, smirking as he opened the closet door. “This will only take a minute.”

“I’ll be waiting...” Cadance sighed, despising the sense of being ignored.

Shining Armor nodded before stepping through the dark doorway. Just as royalty intended, the closet was practically as big as the bedroom itself, so the search for whatever her husband was after was going to take a while, no doubt. Luckily for Cadance, a cure for boredom was sitting right in front of her.

Cadance opened the diary again and hastily flipped the pages until she landed on the first blank page she came across. Every page after it was blank as well, but that was what made the diary so special to her. Anypony could just open it up and read from her past memories. Aside from a need for seclusion, that was the point of having a diary, right? But all little fillies, even princesses, can have a few shadier secrets of their own to hide.

Cadance tilted her head and touched the tip of her horn to the paper. A spark of blue magic streaked from the base to the tip and zapped the diary. In the blink of an eye, the blank page was flooded with neatly written words, from top to bottom, with the date of the entry inscribed in the top right corner.

“Oh, magical invisible ink salespony. Why did I ever doubt you?” Cadance giggled. “Now, let’s see what we have here~...”

~~~~~

“B-but, Aunt Celly--!”

“No buts, Cadance. Just relax and enjoy it.”

“But it’s so big!”

“I know! I never let anypony see it! I just get a little...lonely sometimes.”

“Well...it does smell pretty nice.”

“Go ahead. Give it a taste. I assure you that it’s real.”

~~~~~

“Found it!” shouted Shining Armor, startling Cadance and making her drop the diary onto the floor. The frightened mare scrambled to retrieve it, but before she could cast the spell to hide the secret text, Shining Armor strolled out of the closet with a shiny gold medal suspended above him with magic.

“Oh, well that’s...great, honey!” said Cadance, smiling nervously.

“Are you okay, Cadance?” asked Shining Armor. “You look like you’ve just seen a ghost.”

“Not at all, Shining. I’m fine, really.”

“Are you sure?” asked Shining Armor as he climbed back onto the bed, his personal trophy hanging around his neck. “I didn’t scare you or anything, did I?”

“...maybe you did, just a little.”

“Well then, m'lady, please accept my most sincere of apologies.” Shining Armor then turned his head and planted a soothing kiss to Cadance's closest cheek.

“Mmm…apology accepted,” Cadance moaned, blushing. “So, what’s with the medal?”

“You don’t remember? I won the champion title in that royal guard tournament, the one that was also disguised as a royal evaluation of the current state of the guard?”

“Not really. I just figured you wanted to show off your newest edition to your collection. You get them left and right anyway.”

“Then why don’t we refresh your memory a little?” Shining Armor gestured toward the diary. “Go on! See if you wrote anything about it!”

Cadance nodded and began flipping through the pages, only to stop seconds later with sudden realization.

“Do you remember any dates? I don’t want to waste my time flipping through this entire book, you know.”

“Yeah! If I remember correctly, it happened sometime in the middle of August, but I can’t be-”

“You mean this?” asked Cadance, hovering the diary in front of Shining Armor’s face.

“Yeah...” said Shining Armor, eyes wide. “That was fast.”

“That’s what she said!” Cadance giggled. “Or rather what I said!” Cadance continued, giggling even harder. Shining Armor rolled his eyes, just barely amused by Cadance's sudden petty humor. “So, which one of us is reading?”

“Could I-”

“Called it first!” Cadance grinned, snatching the diary away and hiding it behind her back.

“Whatever...” murmured Shining Armor, looking away from his eternally-bonded trickster.

“Don’t be mad,” said Cadance, snuggling up next to her husband and hugging the diary close. “How about I let you read the next one?”

“Really?”

“When I’m done with it anyway!”

“Of course...”

~~~~~

The royal trumpeters blared their instruments with thunderous force as Princess Celestia and her royal party, consisting of the young Princess Cadance and her even younger filly friend, stepped onto the royal seating platform in the Canterlot Grand Stadium. Thousands of ponies from every major town and city cheered on in the stands as their regal ruler waved to the masses from her temporary throne on the platform. Not wanting to be the odd one out, Cadance put on a little smile and waved alongside her dear relative, feeling a little nervous about having to act like a real princess for once in front of such a massive crowd.

While she was waving, Cadance felt somepony tug on her back leg.

“Cadance?” said Twilight behind her. “Could you help me?”

“Sure!” replied Cadance, lowering her nervous hoof and turning around to face her little friend. “What do you--oh, Twilight! Your dress!”

“Argh! I know!” Twilight groaned, using one of her back legs to scratch the little space behind her ears like a dog. “I hate this stupid thing!

As painful yet slightly humorous as it was to watch her little friend squirm like an angry cat, Cadance felt quite proud knowing that she managed to convince Twilight to wear something of her own design. Before she was brought into royalty, her mother taught her the little things that most ponies today wouldn’t even turn a blind eye to. She wasn’t exactly Equestria’s most prominent fashionista, but at least Cadance knew how to stitch a few pieces of vibrant fabric together into an easy dress.

Cadance went for something simple and sewed together a slightly formal blue dress that would fit well if a bit uncomfortably over Twilight’s shoulders, complete with a little blue bow tied into her mane. It was all kinds of adorable poured into an even more adorable package. Twilight wasn't one for wanting to look cute, but to Cadance, only pure, mental will kept her from wanting to hug as hard as she could. It was almost like she was her own little princess, similar to how some young fillies would play dress up and pretend that they rule their own little kingdoms in their bedrooms.

“This dress is just so itchy!” Twilight grunted. “Can I please take it off, Cadance?”

“D’oh! Now you’re just messing it up!”

Cadance bent down to Twilight’s level and started to straighten out the wrinkles in the stubborn filly’s mane and dress.

“Pleeease, Cadance?” Twilight continued, pouting with her lips curled upward.

“Don’t you want to look nice for the royals?”

“What royals?” asked Twilight, wiggling out of Cadance’s grip. “I’m just gonna be sitting here for the whole day anyway, and with nothing to read!”

“No complaining, Twilight. You’ll be sitting in the most luxurious seat in the entire stadium, and right next to Celestia! Even the wealthiest of ponies would do anything to get within five inches of her for the whole day! Either way, you need to at least look your best. Today is a special day for Canterlot, as today could affect the entire city, if not all of Equestria!”

“But why aren’t you wearing anything?”

“I don’t need a dress,” Cadance giggled. “I look my best all the time!”

“Princesses...” grunted Twilight, rolling her eyes again.

A second fanfare of trumpets blasted another mighty tune, causing the crowds in the stands below to scream and cheer even louder. The cries of excitement echoed all around the stadium, reverbing outwards like a great, bellowing foghorn. When the trumpeting died down, a brown-coated pegasus stepped out into the middle of the empty, grassy field. The pegasus spread his wings wide before leaping into the air and soaring directly upwards, stopping in direct alignment with the middle of the stadium’s height.

“Ladies and gentlecolts!” shouted the announcer in a booming voice so loud that magic had to be the only explanation. “Welcome to the annual Canterlot Competitive Tournament Games!”

The welcoming announcement was more than enough to send the crowd into frenzy, sending wave after wave of fierce hooting and hollering bouncing off the stadium walls. Ponies everywhere were stamping their hooves against the seats with unbridled excitement unlike anything Twilight had ever seen before. The citizens of Equestria must really like their stadium events.

“You dragged me out of bed at five in the morning just to dress me up to go to a sports game?!” Twilight protested. “I don’t even like sports!”

“First of all, I didn’t drag you out of bed,” explained Cadance, rolling her eyes. “And secondly, this isn’t just any old sports event, Twilight!”

“Can’t we just go back to the castle?” Twilight groaned.

“Twilight, if I didn’t have a reason, I wouldn’t even be here right now.”

“But why did you have to bring me along? Sports is boring, and I could have just stayed back at the castle and studied like I always do!”

“I brought you along for a reason too, and I think you’re gonna like it.”

Cadance turned her head and smiled at Twilight, waving her hoof back and forth in an attempt to coax the pouting filly to her side.

“Why should I care? It’s just some silly endurance competition where a bunch of beefed up ponies get dirty and sweaty by doing even sillier challenges to win some big piece of jewelry. Nothing special.”

“But Twilight, it’s not the rewards that make this day special. What really does that are the competitors.”

“And now, ladies and gentlecolts!” continued the enthusiastic announcer. “Put your hooves together for the main event! Introducing the players themselves! They've worked hard to get where they are today, so please welcome Canterlot’s own royal guard trainees straight from the Royal Guard Training Grounds right here in Canterlot!”

Twilight’s jaw dropped like a rock, and her eyes went as wide as dinner plates as a third fanfare of trumpets blared into the sky.

“Did...did he just say...” Twilight whispered.

Cheers and screams roared up from the eager sports fans as hundreds of unarmored recruits walked onto the field, waving their hooves to the excited masses around them.

“Twilight, get over here! You’re gonna miss it!” shouted Cadance, leaning her head over the platform railing.

“Miss what?” asked Twilight.

“And finally, we are proud to introduce the three currently highest ranking trainees within the trainee program! Lieutenant Blackwing, Lieutenant Graze Bolt, and last but not least, Junior Captain Shining Armor!”

Even the most passionate banshee couldn’t have matched Twilight’s excited squealing right then. Twilight zipped up to the railing on the edge of the platform nearest Celestia’s royal seat just as the three achievers strolled out onto the field, each one bearing a big smile on their faces underneath their decorative suits of armor, receiving words of praise and high fives from their peers left and right as they maneuvered towards the center of the group.

“Ohmygosh, ohmygosh, ohmygosh! It’s Shining!” Twilight squealed as she skipped on the tips of her hooves with glee.

Cadance looked over at Twilight from where she was standing and smiled, feeling as if she granted her little friend's wish, just like in the story books. It continued to amaze her as to how strong and how valuable the bond between brother and sister stuck between Twilight and her caring sweetheart. There was more than just love bonding those two together, and Cadance was certainly no stranger to its secrets.

“Just look at them all, ladies and gentlecolts!” the announcer shouted out once more. “Proud and determined young ponies ready and willing to tackle any task at hoof, and tackle it hard, with nothing but strength of both the mind and body! These are your everyday heroes of Equestria!”

“Cadance! Can you see him?” Twilight called out further away.

“Yes, Twilight,” Cadance giggled. “I can see him. I can see him perfectly fine...”

“Your highness,” spoke the gruff voice of a guard nearby. Cadance turned her head to find two royal earth pony guards struggling with another royal guard being held from behind by the forelegs.

“Yes?” Cadance replied, nervously stepping up to the armored handlers.

“We caught this recruit trying to sneak through the entrance of the royal seating platform,” explained the guard who seemed to have the most control over the fidgeting situation.

“Let me go! We’re on the same side here!” grunted the struggling culprit.

“Quiet!” snapped the second guard.

“You don’t have to be so rough on them. Let me see their face,” Cadance ordered.

The two guards gave each other querying looks before abiding by Cadance’s commands. After tightening their grip, the captured pony was grabbed by the shoulders and flipped around, revealing the face of somepony Cadance had not seen in quite some time since they first met several weeks ago.

“Star Strider?” said Cadance, removing the white-coated mare’s helmet to get a closer look at her face.

“Hey there, Cadance.” Star Strider coughed, smiling weakly.

“Oh, Star Strider! You poor thing!”

“What should we do with her, your highness?” asked one of the guards.

“Unless you want to know what it feels like to be 'royally discharged' for potentially injuring an innocent pony, you will release her and report back to your posts immediately.”

“Is there...anything else you wish of us, your highness?”

“Now!” Cadance snapped, grabbing Star Strider and yanking her free of the guard’s hold.

“Y-Yes, your highness!” stammered both guards in fearful unison, giving a quick salute before scurrying down the nearest flight of stairs.

“Serves them right,” murmured Cadance, turning to face Star Strider. “Are you okay, Star? They didn’t hurt you, did they?”

“It's nothing too bad, but I’ll live.” Star Strider shrugged.

“It’s great to see you again, Star, but what were you doing trying to sneak up here? That could have gone a lot worse if I weren’t here to save your flank.” Cadance giggled.

“I chose not to compete today, but for reasons of my own. It was getting a little lonely all by myself in the stands, so I just thought I’d come by and visit one of my best friends!”

“By sneaking in? You could’ve just asked for me, you know!”

“I don’t think royal guards are that kind to those who aren’t royalty. I learned that the hard way...”

“Come with me. Over here by the railing, so we can get a good view of the field!” said Cadance, tugging one of Star Strider’s forelegs as she began to walk.

“Did I mention my little hubby is competing?” asked Star Strider as the two approached the edge of the platform railing.

“Steelwing?” replied Cadance.

“Yup! He’s right...there! Next to Junior Captain Armor!” Star Strider pointed down at the field, trying her best to aim at the tiny bead of golden mane standing next to Cadance’s blue-haired darling.

“You two go great together,” said Cadance

“What makes you say that?”

“What wouldn’t make me say that? You just called him your ‘hubby’” Cadance giggled.

“He’s sweet, but it’s been getting harder to see him lately, what with his tournament training and all. We sneak out of the camp whenever we can, which gives us some time to be alone with each other...”

“Aww!”

“Oh, stop it!” Star Strider blushed.

“All of our eager athletes have arrived, and we’re just moments away from today's truly exciting events!” the announcer spoke up once again. “But before we go on, the ruler of Equestria wishes to bid good luck to each and every pony. So, it with the greatest honor that I proudly introduce Her Royal Highness, Princess Celestia!”

“The princess? The princess is here?!” Star Strider squealed as the stadium crowd burst into another fit of wild cheering.

“Well of course she’s here!” replied Cadance. “We’re on the royal seating platform after all. Where were you for the last five minutes?”

The regal equine rose from her private throne and slowly moved towards the edge of the railing, stopping right next to little Twilight, who politely began to back away, but stopped when the smiling princess gestured at her to come closer and stand by her side. Obviously not one to disobey her teacher, Twilight returned and took her place next to the generous princess. Cadance could almost swear that she heard the crowd bay with adored trills. Her newly designed garment has certainly done its work to please ponies other than herself.

“I’ve always dreamed of meeting the princess in person!” whispered Star Strider.

“I’ll take you to meet her later, ok?” Cadance replied. “Just quiet down! She’s about to give her speech!”

With a single sweep of her snow white hoof through the air, the entire stadium fell silent, opening their ears in favor of the words of the princess.

“Ladies and Gentlecolts...” Celestia began, her voice echoing outwards just like the voice of the announcer before her. “Friends, relations, and protectors of Equestria alike. It is my honor to welcome all of you here on this very special day, for this day, no matter the outcome, will have a dramatic impact on the future safety of our kingdom.”

Celestia turned her head and looked down upon the populated field below. All eyes were on the princess as the trainees stood to attention.

“I speak this to all who are taking part in the tournament. Trust me when I say this. Today is not about winning medals or boasting your strength or skills to others. Today is about showing what you can do for all of Equestria! Everypony is counting on you to protect them from whatever evils that may come our way. Put aside your rivalries, your doubts, and your fears! Today, none of you are too weak or too strong, too tall or too small. You stand by each other’s side as both friends and guardians, keeping Equestria safe for generations to come. You have come a long way to get here, so do your best to assure that your strives were not in vain.”

At this point, then tension in the air was so painstakingly thin you could cut it with a hair thin butter knife. The royal trumpeters off in the sidelines had their instruments to their lips, ready to trill another marvelous tune at a moments notice. Cadance knew a few ponies who were certainly more than excited to hear the princess’s final words. Star Strider couldn’t take her eyes off the princess, and Twilight was shaking in her little blue dress shoes with anticipation.

“Good luck to you all, and let the games begin!”

Not even a second later, a fifth and hopefully final blast of trumpets accompanied the exuberant cheers as the princess gracefully spread her wings. Her Majesty’s feathers gleamed as the sunlight poured in through the open roof and reflected off her feathers, sparkling like a shower of early morning mist. The crowds fierce cheering soon split up into ooes and awes of wonder. Once she decided that the crowd had their fill, Celestia folded her wings to her sides and calmly walked back to her seat with little Twilight in tow.

“I have no idea what that speech was all about, but that was incredible!” exclaimed Star Strider.

“Wait, so you weren’t listening?” Cadance groaned, rolling her eyes. “Ok, here’s a quick rundown for you. Today is the day where royal guard trainees get to show their stuff for the royals. They test their strength and whatnot in front of the princess in order to gain her favor. They’re basically gambling their own ranks away in a few tests of skill and endurance depending on how much they may have slacked off, taking a chance on where they’re gonna go in life once they’ve graduated.”

“Like college?” Star Strider chuckled.

“Pretty much!”

“So, about meeting the princess...”

“Go right ahead!” exclaimed Cadance, waving the white mare off.

“H-huh?”

“My Aunt Celly loves meeting new ponies! I’m sure she won’t see you as an exception.”

“R-really?!”

“I’ll do you one better! How about you take my seat, the one right next to the princess. Maybe you two could have a little chat together! Just tell her I sent you, ok?”

“I-I...I don’t-”

“We may be royalty, but it’s not like we bite or spray venom in our subject’s eyes.” Cadance giggled. “No thanks are--gah!”

Cadance found herself constricted by the tight hug of Star Strider, her hooves dangling just a few inches off the ground.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you, Cadance!” exclaimed Star Strider, tightening her grip around the constricted princess.

“Could you...let me down now?” asked Cadance.

“Sure!” replied Star Strider, immediately lowering her friend to the ground. “I’m gonna go introduce myself. Thanks again, Cadance!”

“You’re welcome!” Cadance called out as Star Strider turned around and moved towards the princess.

“Ladies and gentlecolts!” The announcer came back. “The first round of the tournament will begin in fifteen minutes! I repeat, the first round of the tournament will begin in fifteen minutes!”

“Fifteen minutes?!” said Cadance to herself. “That’s soon! I still need to...wish him good luck, yes...and I know just how to do it!”

Cadance had to get down to the sidelines somehow, and fast. Walking there would take too long, and flying there would only raise suspicion from her aunt.

But of course, being part unicorn had its perks! A detour, whether it be by land or air was both inconvenient and unacceptable. Why settle for traditional travel when you had the power to bend the laws of physics and go anywhere you want?

Carefully focusing a great deal of her own energy, Cadance built up a charge of blue magic into the tip of her horn before releasing it all at once in a great flash of white light, whisking her away into the unknown.

~~~~~

“Don't start without me, guys!” shouted Shining Armor over his shoulder as he entered the cool stadium breezeway. The first event of the tournament was due to being any minute now, and what better way to start the tournament than with a stroke of misfortune? The junior captain could not find his numbered flag. the flag used to identify each player. After searching the sidelines a few minutes earlier, Shining Armor suspected that he had left it in the locker rooms, and decided to investigate.

But, as Shining Armor walked past a broom closet on his way to the locker rooms, the door to the closet flew open, and a shadowy figure pounced from the darkness and grabbed the startled guard by the neck, pulling him inside like a fly on a frog's tongue. It all happened too fast for the trained stallion to even put up so much as a struggle.

“I don’t know who are, or what you want, but know right now that you’re messing with the wrong--!”

A hoof slammed into Shining Armor’s mouth, silencing him immediately.

“Well now, doesn’t that voice sound familiar?” cooed the voice of the unseen figure.

“Oh, let me guess...”

Shining Armor reached around for a light switch until he found a pull string and gave it a quick tug, illuminating the tiny room and revealing the wide, grinning face of the royal pink wonder hugging his neck.

“Surprise!” exclaimed Cadance, hugging Shining Armor even tighter, despite the cramped conditions in the dusty cupboard.

“I should have guessed...” Shining Armor smiled, playfully rolling his eyes.

“Aww! Don’t you like my little surprise visits?” asked Cadance, curling her lips upward.

“Of course I do, but most of them are a bit...pointless.”

“Pointless? I just wanted to wish you good luck!” Cadance shuffled a little closer to Shining Armor, running a hoof down his chest while the two lovers stared at each other eye to eye. “And I wanted to do it in my own special way...”

“Well…I guess I have some time to kill,” replied Shining Armor, his warm smile growing as both he and Cadance moved closer to each other. Cadance closed her eyes, and Shining Armor followed, leaning forward to meet in the middle with a much-needed kiss.

When the two lovers were within mere inches of each other’s faces, the closet door was thrown open, startling both princess and guard. The two lovebirds turned and stared with frightful faces at the wide-eyed, bearded janitor pony standing at the doorway.

“Oh...umm, hello...” Cadance whispered, smiling sheepishly.

“This...isn’t what it looks like, mister…?”

“Scruffy, the janitor,” grunted the old pony , nervously tugging at his uniform shirt collar. “Suppose ah’ should uhh...leave now, yer’ highness?”

“Please?” replied Cadance, still awkwardly holding on to Shining Armor.

After spending a few moments processing what had he just witnessed, the old janitor simply shrugged, turned around, and trotted down the hallway, whistling a jaunty tune as he went.

“That was too close...” Cadance sighed, turning back to Shining Armor. “Shall we continue?” she giggled.

“I don’t see why not,” said Shining Armor, shrugging.

“Attention to all players!” echoed the voice of the announcer through the wide, breezeway halls. “The first match of the tournament games will begin in exactly two minutes! I repeat, the first match of the tournament games will begin in two minutes!”

“Two minutes?!” gasped Shining Armor, breaking out of Cadance’s embrace. “I need to get out there, and I still don’t have my--!”

“Flag?” Cadance interrupted, smiling while she floated a little blue flag behind her back and waved it in the air above Shining Armor’s head.

“Thanks, Cadance,” said Shining Armor, snatching the flag and tying it around his waist.

“Good luck out there!” Cadance leaned forward and kissed Shining Armor on the cheek. “Oh, and Shining?”

“Yeah?”

“I just wanted to tell you that there’s a little...surprise waiting for you when you hit that winners circle...”

“A surprise? What kind of surprise?”

“It’s a surprise, Shining! I can’t tell you! Now, get out there! They could start at any minute!”

~~~~~

“S-so, your highness. Umm...what’s it...like, being a princess and all?” asked Star Strider, sitting comfortably in Cadance’s seat next to Princess Celestia.

“Oh, where to begin...” started the princess, putting a hoof to her chin. “I'm being serious. Where should I begin?” Celestia giggled.

“How about telling her about the massive beds we sleep in every night?” Cadance spoke up, stepping up next to Star Strider with a flick of pink smoke trailing behind her tail. “Or the pain of having to sit through another boring court day...”

“If I recall, Cadance, you’ve never participated in court,” said Celestia, raising an eyebrow at her nephew.

“Duh! That’s your job, not mine!” replied Cadance.

“Not yet, anyway. Although I must say this Star Strider friend of yours is quite the--”

“Shhh! Quiet!” hissed an eager Twilight. “They’re about to start!”

Cadance was disappointed with Twilight’s sudden rudeness, but Celestia just smiled and nodded, brushing off her student’s slight misbehavior as an excusable jolt of excitement.

“Ladies and gentlecolts!” boomed the voice of the announcer. “Please direct your attention to the center field, where the first event of the tournament will now commence, the Javelin Toss! So please, welcome our first contender, Junior Lieutenant Cave Clobber!”

“Cadance, look! Down there! It’s Shining!” Twilight pointed down off to the sidelines, where Shining Armor, who had his armor removed, and two other colts sat on a bench, chatting it up with one another as a red-coated, beefed up unicorn trotted out onto the field with a confident smile on his face.

“A unicorn in the javelin toss?” said Cadance. “Doesn’t that seem a little...unfair?”

“Fortunately, Cadance, there will be no cheating this year,” said Celestia. “Each event has been modified to perfectly fit unicorns, pegasi, and earth pony trainees.”

“But how? Any trained unicorn could just pick that spear and practically plant it wherever they want with magic!”

“They could...but it wouldn’t be easy...”

“What do you mean?”

“The javelin used for the unicorns is made from a highly dense, but malleable metal, forged by magic, thus making it very heavy, but that’s not all. The javelin has also been enchanted with a very powerful containment spell. The longer a unicorn holds it in their magical grip, the harder it gets to actually hold the javelin up in the air before it becomes too difficult to handle and starts weighing you down. If they held it in the air for too long, they wouldn’t be able to throw it at all!”

“Ok...but what about Pegasi and Earth Ponies?”

“Shhh! Please be quiet!" hissed Star Strider, annoyed as much as Twilight by Cadance’s questioning.

Cadance watched from high above as the muscle-bound unicorn heaved the enchanted spear into the air with his magic. The pony then took off in a brisk gallop, speeding across the grass at a breakneck pace before skidding to a halt at near edge of the foul line and releasing the spear from his magical grip, all without so much as a struggle. Cadance continued to watch in awe as the metal missile zipped through the air before impaling itself in the grass near the furthest end of the field. She could practically feel the hum of the crowd’s anticipation as two referees ran onto the field with measuring tape and a white pole for marking the spot.

“Whoa! That was awesome!” exclaimed Star Strider. “Did ya’ see how far it went?”

“Yeah...but that was nothing!” Cadance joked. “I’m sure that any of the players could do better than--”

“I don’t believe it!” shouted the announcer. “A full one-hundred meters! It’s a new world record!”

“A new...world record?” whispered Cadance, sitting there with a baffled look on her face as Star Strider and Celestia clapped their hooves softly while the crowd in the stands cheered for the smiling champion.

“You were saying, Cadance?” said Star Strider. “Nopony could beat that! Noopny I tell you!”

“Yeah...nopony...”

“What an extraordinary head start to the tournament games! It’s gonna take more than a miracle to outshine a move like that!” exclaimed the announcer. “And now, our second contender steps up to the plate, Junior Captain Shining Armor!”

“Oh, look Cadance! Shining Armor’s out there now,” said Star Strider.

“Shining?” murmured Cadance with a worried look on her face.

“He’s a tough pony, tougher than just about every recruit at the training grounds in fact, but like that announcer guy said, he’s gonna need a miracle to beat that last move!”

“Yeah...a miracle...”

Shining Armor boldly stepped onto the starting plate. An attendant nearby brought over a magical javelin in his mouth before laying it on the ground next to him. Shining Armor quickly limbered up before lifting the javelin with his own blue magic.

Cadance wasn’t one to believe in things such as miracles. If her aunt's stories were true, the limitless power source that was magic had kept the world safe and in balance ever since the birth of ponykind. She had confidence in her coltfriend that he would do better, but unfortunately, the statistics don’t lie. Cadance decided that if he was ever to come out on top, Shining Armor would need something much stronger than a miracle.

Cadance did not wish to see her love lose. There was no other choice. Cadance would have to cheat.

“Here he goes! Here he goes!” Twilight squealed, clinging to the furthest edge of the railing.

Cadance watched with fretful eyes as Shining Armor bolted down the straightaway on hooves of thunder. He then slammed his back hooves into the ground before tossing the javelin with all of his might, skidding to a stop just mere inches from the foul line.

If Cadance was to ensure Shining Armor’s victory, she had to act fast. A minor wind picked up, steering the javelin slightly off its course. It was now or never.

“Heyeverypony! IneedtogousethelittlefilliesroomsoyeahI’llbebacksoon!” Cadance quickly stammered before spinning around and dashing down a dark breezeway corridor a few meters behind Celestia’s seat and immediately turning the corner, slamming her back against the concrete wall.

Using an abundance of her magical strength, Cadance focused hard on the far away javelin as it reached the peak of its climb, pouring a great deal of her magic into an invisible beam of energy that surged towards the missile. The javelin was enchanted, just like her aunt had told her minutes before, so trying to redirect its course directly would only wear down on her body even harder. Instead, she focused on the wind around it, swirling it like a cone as she carefully but hastily shifted its gust. She could see nothing through the black veil, but she could sense the cold rush ambushing the javelin as it cut through their airspace.

It was difficult to keep her magic held together, but Cadance pressed on, determined to score a victory for her love. She kept it up, despite the massive amounts of energy being drained from her small form as the javelin soared further away from her control. Within moments, she had lost all control of the winds, releasing them before falling to her haunches and gasping for breath.

Just then, she heard a loud crack of wood, followed by the astonished gasps of hundreds of fans. Fearing the worst, Cadance galloped out of the shadowy breezeway. The unbearable feeling of guilt started to take hold of her as she approached Star Strider’s side, whose lower jaw had dropped like a rock.

“Did...something happen while I was gone?” asked Cadance calmly, bracing for the worst.

Star Strider said nothing, but instead lifted and pointed a hoof down at the far end of the field. Incredibly nervous, Cadance followed Star Strider’s guiding hoof to the end. What she saw completely blew her away.

Not only did the javelin land, on the field thank goodness, but where it landed was what made the entire stadium go quiet. Split into two halves beside Shining Armor’s javelin was the perfectly even remains of Cave Clobber’s javelin; a flawless, straight-down-the-middle, Robin Hoof-esque bulls eye that shattered the voices of the stunned audience. Cadance couldn’t see him, but she could most certainly imagine the look on Shining Armor’s face right then.

With equally surprised looks on their faces, the two referees snapped out of their trance and went about their job of measuring. When they were finished, one of the referees, a pegasus, flew up to the announcer on high and whispered something into his ear.

“It’s a new new world record!” the announcer cackled, scaring the referee out of his wits. “One-hundred point one meters in distance! It’s one of the most astounding things I’ve ever seen!”

The stadium crowd burst into applause, clapping their hooves, hooting and hollering while Shining Armor happily trotted back to the sidelines where his friends and colleagues congratulated him on his jaw-dropping feat. Frustrated, Cave Clobber just scowled in his general direction and stormed off into the nearest breezeway.

“Phew...” Cadance wiped her brow, breathing a heavy sigh of relief. “Glad that’s over...”

“Cadance! Did you just see that!?” exclaimed Twilight, shaking like a giddy schoolgirl in her little blue dress. “That was amazing!’

“Well, in all my years of attending the tournament, I’ve never seen anything quite like that.” said Celestia. “Your brother is quite the athlete, Twilight.”

“He’s the best!” replied Twilight.

It warmed Cadance’s heart to see that she made her little friend happier than she ever was before. Despite her guilty conscious, she felt proud for having once again made her happy by doing something she never even knew about. Yes, cheating was wrong, but it sort of evened out once she realized that she had an equal or an even higher chance of either breaking the record or bucking everything up during her little enchantment.

She needed to "congratulate" him, and fast, before a mob of journalists and photographers question him to death...

~~~~~

“Just hide in the bathroom stalls, dude. In the locker rooms though. They’ll never find you!” said Steelwing, facing Shining Armor.

“Got it. Thanks, Steelwing,” replied Shining Armor.

“No problem.”

The bays and banter of desperate journalists and newspaper writers sounded off in the distance of the stadium breezeway, their questioning cries getting closer each second.

“Oh boy...” murmured Shining Armor.

“...I would run if I were you. I’ll try to hold them off.”

“But--”

“No buts, just go!”

Shining Armor nodded at Steelwing before turning tail and fleeing down the long hallway. He dare not look back as he skidded around the next corner. He barreled down the hallway, making a mental note to thank Steelwing later for his little sacrifice. The locker rooms were straight ahead and in plain sight. He was home free. He picked up the pace, eager to escape the wanting eyes of anypony who happened to be holding a pen, a notepad, and an endless amount of questions.

When he was within mere meters of the door handle, a powerful magical force stopped him dead in his tracks. He tried struggling to set himself free, but it was no use. A door he had not seen before opened up behind him, and he was dragged into the blackness before the door slammed shut again, surrounding him in darkness.

“Ok! Ok! Fine! Ask whatever you want! I don’t care what it is! Just take your pictures and get it out so I can take a break!”

Shining Armor’s pleas were met not with questions, but with by a pair of warm lips pressing against his own. As he stood there, feeling his cheeks warm up with soothing redness, the lights flickered on, revealing the bright pink face of a certain princess pony he knew all too well.

“Surprise, again!” chirped Cadance, pulling away from the kiss with a bright smile on her face.

“Cadance? Again with the broom closet?” asked Shining Armor.

“Unless you prefer the unbearable heat of the furnace room, then yes,” Cadance giggled. “That was amazing what you did out there! How did you do it?” asked Cadance, trying her best to make her question sound as believable as possible.

“I have no idea!” exclaimed Shining Armor. “I’m not sure if you noticed, but the javelin became really heavy all of a sudden as I was running. I nearly tripped and fell flat on my face before I let it fly! But getting that record breaking shot...”

“That's what I like about you, Shining! You're the greatest big brother ever to the cutest filly ever, and you're strong and caring enough to keep me happy!” Cadance pecked Shining Armor on the cheek. “Anyway, I just came around to congratulate you, and you can expect more than just that if you keep it up!”

“I don’t know how it happened...but if it makes you happy, then I promise I’ll do even better!” Shining Armor pecked Cadance on the cheek in return.

“That’s my Shining! Now, it’s time to get back out there! They’re gonna start the next events any minute now!”

~~~~~

“Well, where’d you wander off to, Cadance?” asked Star Strider with a raised eyebrow as Cadance walked back up to her side, another thin trail of pink smoke streaking the tip of her tail leftover from her most recent teleportation.

“I just wanted to...compliment that junior captain on his astounding accomplishment. It impressed me more than I ever thought it would.”

“That's nice of you. They’re gonna start the track events soon. See? They’re lining up right now!” Star Strider pointed a hoof down to the grassy field, where parts of the field itself seemed to have been magically transformed into a long, six-lane running track that went around full circle. The newest, blue-haired record holder, along with the previous, now grumpy-faced record holder and four others walked onto the track and positioned themselves accordingly. They poised themselves in a crouching position, narrowing their eyes down the narrow stretch as a referee on the sidelines stepped up to a small, painted cannon aimed towards the sky.

“Couldn’t they just use a flag or something?” asked Cadance.

Star Strider shrugged.

“I guess using a cannon makes it a little more exciting.”

The fuse was lit, the cannon was fired, without a projectile of course, and without a second to spare, the players rocketed down the track. Almost immediately, Cave Clobber overtook the lead, speeding like a freight train as he passed the other competitors with ease, leading up to Shining Armor. Side by side, both champions exchanged challenging glances at each other before looking ahead again. They rounded the first corner, with Cave Clobber leading by just a hair.

“Just look at them go!” exclaimed Star Strider just as the runners rounded the second corner. “That Cave Clobber guy is giving Shining Armor quite the challenge!”

“Yeah...quite the challenge...” said Cadance, raising an eyebrow.

Once again, the impulse to ensure her lover’s victory kicked in, and at another desperate moment. When the runners rounded the third corner, Shining Armor nearly tripped over his own hooves, causing him to stumble and nearly fall down while Cave Clobber stole the lead, placing him back in second. There was no way Cadance could manipulate the event without making everypony too suspicious. That practical miracle she performed with the javelin previously was enough to rouse their spirits, but twice in a row could ruin everything, but despite the volatile chances, the odds seemed to be in her favor. Everypony was too busy paying attention the race, paying little mind to much of anything else. If there was any hope for Shining Armor winning twice in a row, Cadance would have to take the shot now.

Cave Clobber and Shining Armor rounded the final corner, speeding down the home stretch, with Cave Clobber a good ways in the lead. Once again, in a critical moment, it was either now, or never.

Cadance turned around and quickly walked away from the throne until she was out of sight. When she made sure of it that nopony was watching, she concentrated her magic on the sidelines nearest the home stretch. She blindly felt around with her magic like one would feel around with their hooves, searching for a small, next-to-nigh invisible object that only the most eagle-eyed of ponies would be able to see. After a rather brief search, she found a small chunk of chipped concrete only a few meters away from the finish line, and with a simple flick of her head, the tiny chunk of inevitable failure rolled onto the running track, held in place by magic directly in Cave Clobber’s path.

“You’re going down, Armor!” grunted Cave Clobber as he continued to accelerate past Shining Armor. “There’s no way I’m gonna let you beat--whoa!”

The crowds in the stands gasped when the muscular unicorn contender suddenly tripped head over hooves, falling onto his side and rolling off into the sidelines, crashing into a small crowd of referees. Shining Armor appeared equally surprised, but was hardly phased by the drastic turn of events. With the lead wide open, he pressed onward, speeding past his downed opponent and crossing the finish line.

Despite the sight of Cave Clobber’s recent hard luck, the crowd burst into applause as the announcer shouted words of praise in Shining Armor’s name. Wanting to emphasize his stroke of good fortune, Shining Armor cantered around the middle of the track in a victory lap, inciting the crowd’s admiration even more.

“Hedidit, hedidit, hedidit!” Twilight squealed, rapidly clapping her hooves in the air.

“Most certainly impressive. Well done indeed,” said Celestia. “I can see why Shining Armor is so close to such a position of high merit.”

“Are you even watching any of this, Cadance?” asked Star Strider, taking notice of Cadance’s strange absence at her side.

“Oh...y-yeah! Definitely!” Cadance perked up, walking back to Star Strider’s side.

“Whatever.” Star Strider shrugged, turning back to face the field.

I don’t believe it! thought Cadance. That was such a rush! I just can’t believe everypony’s reaction! They didn’t suspect a thing! Twilight liked it, Celestia liked it, Star Strider liked it, and best of all, the whole stadium liked it! Looking back on it now, there’s not much harm in a little...modification, right? It makes everypony happy, except for that Cave Clatter or whoever the hay he is, but then again, why should I care? I’m doing this for one pony and one pony only!

The day’s events came and went as the legions of competing trainees gave it their all. Long-range horseshoe tossing, archery, weightlifting, wrestling, fencing, hoofball, and many other sports gave way to new champions and medalists, one pony in particular receiving gold medals in nearly every event, with a few “special adjustments” made of course, courtesy of the not-so-ladylike pretty princess in pink.

Of course, she made sure of it to be very careful while she secretly assisted Shining Armor. She allowed some new champions of the game to take first place while a few others straggled behind, most notably Cave Clobber, who started to act like a massive jerk to Shining Armor and the other players whenever he blamed them for his falters, which happened quite a lot. Cadance would have none of it, and she even thought about doing something to fix the problem. Permanently.

But thankfully, the problem managed to fix itself, which meant that Cadance didn’t have to plan for any future “mile-high vacations”. During one of the races, Cave Clobber got in a heated argument with one of the runners and started punching him in the face, disqualifying him from the games and any destroying any hopes or chances of earning even a single medal. The referees asked him to leave the field, but he refused and had to be escorted off the field by the royal guards. Some ponies in the crowd even had the brave nerve to boo at him as he walked by their seats near the breezeway, adding a much deserved insult to injury while he openly sweared like a sailor in a fit of rage.

Eventually, the heated commotion died down, and everything returned to normal. The events that followed, a three-varianted discus match suited to fit all three types of ponies, and a field-wide table tennis match, suited for much of the same, flew by in a hurry, adding to the already massive count of medalists.

“Ladies and gentlecolts!” spoke the announcer. “On this day, we have seen some of Equestria’s finest give it their all, and give it with pride! Each and every one of these strong, courageous ponies has most certainly proved their worth to us all. We have crowned new champions, and have lifted the spirits of many! They rose to the challenge and gripped it by the horns, showing us all of what they can really do!” The announcer spoke with so much enthusiasm in his voice that it sounded like he could have a stroke at any minute.

“That announcer must really love his job,” said Star Strider. “But when is he gonna get to the point?”

The announcer nonchalantly cleared his throat when he noticed that few ponies were paying attention to his ramblings. “Well, I’ll just skip right to the point, shall I?” The announcer cleared his throat again before continuing with his excited prattle. “You have witnessed the protectors of tomorrow in their prime, and now, you get to see them in the ultimate test! The final round of the tournament will begin in twenty minutes! So, hold on to your hooves! It’s gonna be a wild ride!”

~~~~~

The heavenly feeling of the cold, relaxing air washed over his aching body as Shining Armor stepped out of the heat in the breezeway and into the cool-aired bliss of the locker room. He stood at the entrance for a moment, slowly taking in the soothing chill. He then closed his eyes and sighed in the midst of the silence, truly realizing the importance of his accomplishments.

The events of today meant that his life could only go up from here, and he had many ponies to thank for helping him seize the day: his friends, his family, his mentors, and most notably, his marefriend. They all mattered to him deeply, and there was no greater feeling in the world than to finally reach your life’s goals after so many years of hard work and patience.

The final event of the tournament was coming up soon, and the celebration feast promised to everypony who participated would not take place until several hours afterward. Feeling a little peckish, Shining Armor opened and fumbled through the contents of his locker until he found a plump, shiny red apple he had been saving for a time like this. He licked his chops, eyeing the delicious fruit with hunger in his eyes.

“Hey, plotmunch!”

Suddenly, Shining Armor was forcefully pushed aside, causing him to tumble and fall down hard onto the cold, tiled floor.

“H-hey! What gives?” yelled Shining Armor to the unknown voice.

The door to Shining Armor’s locker was slammed shut, revealing the red coated form of Cave Clobber, who looked down at the junior captain with a blank, unamused look on his face.

“Cave Clobber? What the hay was that for?!”

Cave Clobber lifted Shining Armor’s apple off the ground with his magic, wiping its side on his crimson coat before taking a big bite out of it. He stared down at the angry-eyed junior captain, little visible emotion in his eyes. The only thing that was preventing an awkward, unresponsive silence between the two was the sound of crunching fruit.

“Well?” Shining Armor continued, rising up off the floor.

Cave Clobber stopped his chewing and swallowed. In the blink of an eye, he angrily flung the half-eaten apple at Shining Armor’s face. Shining Armor groaned in pain as the apple splattered against his forehead, leaving behind a rather nasty bruise.

“I’ve had enough of this, ‘junior captain’!” Cave Clobber mocked.

“Argh! What did you do that for?! Being of higher rank, I order you to stand down!” barked Shining Armor.

“Screw your orders! You’ve been stealing my thunder all damn day, Armor!”

“What are you talking about?”

“The javelin? The races? I was supposed to place first in every event today!”

“Everything? Even if that were possible--”

“He said it was guaranteed...” mumbled Cave Clobber.

“What was guaranteed?”

Rather than speak the words, Cave Clobber decided to show off his “guarantee to win” by charging forward and delivering a swift hook to Shining Armor’s upper jaw, sending the junior captain slamming into the ground. Utilizing his long months of training, Shining Armor quickly recovered and rose to a defensive stance.

“I’ve had it with you, Armor!” yelled Cave Clobber. “You think you’re so great? You think you’re so awesome that you could take me down?”

Shining Armor just barely managed to dodge Cave Clobber’s next punch, which landed right into the lockers, crumpling the metal face like thin paper.

“See that locker? That’s gonna be your face when I’m done with you!”

Cave Clobber threw another swift punch. Shining Armor dodged it with ease, but Cave Clobber immediately came around with his over hoof, which slammed into Shining Armor’s lower neck like he was a punching bag.

“Clobber! Stop this, right now!” yelled Shining Armor, who then threw a punch of his own. Cave Clobber caught his hoof in mid-air. The red stallion smiled coyly as he twisted the skin on Shining Armor’s hoof, making him shriek with pain. While he held his grip, he swung his other hoof around and started to beat the snot out of Shining Armor, landing punch after punch on his face, neck, and upper body. When he could go no further, Cave Clobber tossed the junior captain aside before quickly rearing around and bucking him square in the chest, slamming Shining Armor into a row of lockers behind him.

“Had enough?” grunted Cave Clobber, cracking his neck left to right.

“Why are you doing this?” Shining Armor sputtered, making an attempt to lean against the cold, uncomfortable metal lockers.

Cave Clobber chuckled as he loomed over his downed nemesis.

“Didn’t I explain that already?” Cave Clobber lifted his right hoof high into the air, hanging it over Shining Armor's head, ready to bring the pain down upon him.

“It’s payback time...”

~~~~~

With a lovely pink flower threaded through her mane and her coat smelling as fresh and lovely as a dainty spring field, Cadance merrily trotted down the breezeway corridors, smiling a bright, carefree smile that she would use to greet Shining Armor with, but despite her cheerful demeanor, ironically, the breezeway didn’t even come close to living up to its name. The heat from outside piled in and rose up to the ceiling, making the air dry and uncomfortable. Tiny droplets of sweat poured down Cadance's forehead, and the dryness in the air messed with her neatly groomed mane, but does her appearance matter that much right now?

No, of course not. Cadance could most certainly handle a little discomfort if it meant seeing her winning champion before the final event. From what Celestia had told her, the final event of every tournament each year was supposed to be the most difficult of all the events. Good thing Cadance had plenty of “inspiration” left to give, and usually in more ways than just a simple kiss...

As she turned the next corridor, Cadance could hear strange, low noises coming from the locker rooms at the far end of the hallway. Curious, she decided to break off from her search for her honey and went to investigate.

As she came closer to the locker rooms, she could hear the muffled grunts of what sounded like a fierce, violent struggle. When she reached the front door and took a quick peek inside through a glass porthole in the door, she almost fainted when she was faced with her worst nightmare.

Her beloved Shining Armor was leaning against a smashed metal locker with a horrified look on his face. Blood ran down from his left temple and nose, his face was dotted with several swollen bruises, and his lower jaw was contorted in a rather galling position. The sight was more than enough to bring Cadance to tears. Who on earth would do such a thing to her beloved Shining Armor? When she got a good look of the culprit’s grinning face hovering over her sweetheart’s battered form, her sadness and anguish morphed into an emotional hay storm of anger; one that she felt needed to be unleashed.

Sure, it was against her nature to act in such an unladylike manner, but then again, she’s a princess! Ponies look to her for protection, and if protecting her subjects meant a little "misbehavior", then so be it!

From inside, Cadance could hear: “Let’s see how you like when all you’ve worked for vanishes before your very eyes...”

It's go time.

With plenty of power poured into her divine, magical horn, Cadance burst through the front door of the locker room, growling and baring her teeth like an angry pit bull.

“What the--?!” stammered Cave Clobber, turning around in shock to face the newcomer.

“Cadance?” groaned Shining Armor.

“You know this mare?!”

“Hey, pea brain!” yelled Cadance bending her knees low while she bared her teeth. “Stay away from my coltfriend!”

“Your colt-what?!”

On that moment, Cadance released a shining burst of white hot magic from her electrified horn, striking Cave Clobber in the chest and sending him flying towards the tile wall. With a loud crack, the beefed up bully slammed into wall, cracking its surface and knocking him unconscious.

“C-Cadance?” stuttered Shining Armor with a baffled look on his face.

“That’ll teach him...” murmured Cadance under her breath.

“Cadance? How in Equestria--?”

“I know! This looks bad, but what else was I supposed to do? He nearly beat you to a pulp!”

Cadance ran over to Shining Armor’s side and helped him to his hooves.

“Oh my goodness! Just look at you!” Cadance scrutinized every inch of her injured darling like an overly attached analyst.

“Here! It sounded like it came from inside the locker rooms!” echoed a new voice in the breezeway outside.

“Oh great. Who could that be?” Cadance sighed, readying herself.

With a disturbed look in his eyes, Shining Armor gently pushed Cadance aside before stepping in front of her, straightening his back, and heightening his posture in a statue-like form, facing the open doorway.

Confused and slightly annoyed, Cadance was about to ask why, but she felt that her question would be answered soon enough as four heavily-armored royal guards charged into the locker room. They all conveyed the same angry, yet monotone looks as one another, save a single grey coated stallion out of the mix wearing a large and bulky suit of ornately decorated armor plates. His head bore no helmet, revealing marks of age on his slightly wrinkled face.

“Drill Sergeant Grind Stone, sir!” said Shining Armor, standing to attention with his head held high.

“At ease, Junior Captain,” grumbled the old war stallion. “Now, what do we have here...”

“Sir, I can explain,” said Shining Armor, taking a step forward.

“No explanations!” barked Grind Stone. “I heard the noises and my ears don’t lie! I see a half-dead pony on the ground, blood all over the place, and dozens of signs leading right up to what must have been one heck of a struggle!”

“S-sir--”

“I said--!”

“Oh forget this!” yelled Cadance, stomping out from behind Shining Armor’s back. “I can explain!”

Almost immediately, the three normally attired guards stood to attention, throwing their hooves up to their foreheads in a salute in the presence of royalty.

“Your highness?” said Grind Stone, baffled by the princess’s sudden appearance.

“Save it, drill sergeant,” replied Cadance, giving the aged stallion a mare’s special stare.

“O-of course, your highness.” Grind Stone acknowledged, bowing to Cadance before standing to attention alongside his fellow guards.

“Now, before you even think about asking what happened here, I am telling you right now that this pony, Junior Captain Shining Armor, is one of the bravest and most noble of ponies I have ever met. A few minutes ago, this shining example of a royal guard saved my life!”

“S-saved your life?” murmured Grind Stone, looking just as perplexed as Shining Armor was.

“That’s right! I was actually on my way down here to congratulate him on his previous accomplishments. I entered the locker rooms in hopes that he may be around here, but was confronted by that brute you see over there!” Cadance pointed to the comatose pony drooling onto the floor near the adjacent wall. “He attacked me. Why? I do not know, but I do know that I would have been seriously injured had Shining Armor not came to my aid. He fought courageously for my protection and piledrived that excuse for a recruit into the dirt, so to speak of course.”

“I uhh...see, your highness.”

“No. No you don’t,” Cadance scolded.

“Oh...”

Nearby, Cave Clobber awoke from his painful slumber, trying his best to stand on all fours.

“Guards,” Cadance pointed her hoof at the broken unicorn. “Arrest that pony at once!”

“H-huh?!” stammered Cave Clobber.

Grind Stone repeated Cadance’s orders to his guards, who then rushed the dumbstruck unicorn. Cave Clobber tried to resist his arrest, but he soon found himself bound in magical chains while two of the guards held him down. The accused pony was then brought before Grind Stone, sneering at the drill sergeant before spitting blood into his face.

“You disgust me...” growled Grind Stone, wiping the red spittle from his cheek. “Take him away.”

The red stallion was dragged out Grind Stone’s sight kicking and cursing. Pestered, the guards saw it fit to conjure a muzzle around his mouth to quiet him down, leaving him a foaming, squirming wreck.

“Stuff like that just pisses me off....” growled Grind Stone, turning to face Cadance. “Forgive me, your highness. I can assure you that this will never happen again.”

“And I hope for the same thing,” replied Cadance, bearing a new smile. “You are dismissed, drill sergeant.”

“Thank you, your highness.” Grind Stone turned to face Shining Armor. “Junior captain?”

Shining Armor tried his best to stand to attention again, but the pain from his swelling injuries kept his flank on the ground. Surprisingly, Grind Stone put on a little smile at the white stallion’s efforts to remain true to his duties as a royal guard.

“There’s no need for that, junior captain. For successfully defending a high figure of royalty, you will be awarded the Merit of Shield and Spear for your bravery. Feel proud for what you have done here today, for if it weren’t for you, things could have gone much worse for the princess."

“Th-thank you, sir,” Shining Armor choked out, smiling happily.

“Good. Now, if I were you, I would find a medical office at once. Those wounds appear quite painful, and you don’t want to risk further injury out on the field, if you still have the strength to compete that is. Your highness, are you in need of an escort?

‘No thank you,” replied Cadance. “I will...personally accompany Shining Armor to the nearest medical office. Once again, you are dismissed.”

Grind Stone nodded and saluted the princess before strolling out of the defaced locker room, finally leaving Cadance and Shining Armor with some alone time. They waited until the drill sergeant was out of earshot before either of them decided to speak up.

“I’ve seen some crazy things in my time at the training grounds,” said Shining Armor. “But that was without a doubt one of the craziest--”

Before he could go any further, Cadance grabbed Shining Armor by the neck and forced him into a tight hug. She showered his face with kisses, leaving no part of his bruised, dirty face untouched.

“Don’t you ever do that to me again, do you hear me?!” Cadance yelled to his face.

“Geez! What did I do, Cadance?” asked Shining Armor, gently pushing Cadance away to allow himself some breathing room.

“What did you do!? You could have gotten yourself killed in that fight!”

“Killed?”

“Oh, just look at you! All of those nasty wounds…”

“Cadance? Can I just say something, please?”

“Here, just calm down and let me tend to these. This will only take a minute…”

Cadance touched the tip of her horn to Shining Armor’s forehead. Pink and blue magical mist swirled from the base to the tip and spread out in all directions of Shining Armor’s head and body, slowly dissolving his every injury until nothing remained but his devilishly handsome figure.

“There! All better, and just as good looking as ever!” Cadance giggled, her mood suddenly changed from anger to relief in an instant. Shining Armor wanted to protest, but he had seen Cadance act this way before, so he decided to let it slide.

“Now can I say something?”

“Like how I just saved your flank from somepony equivalent to a schoolyard bully?”

“…sort of.”

“Then shoot!”

“Why did you lie to Grind Stone about what happened? I could have told him the truth, and everything would have been fine!”

“Shining, I’m a princess! I had to explain, otherwise that Grind Stone guy would have gotten a little too suspicious for his…own good.”

“His own good?”

“N-nevermind, but it’s not like you see a princess in a stadium locker room every day, right? Besides, you’re getting a merit, whatever that means!”

“It’s an award…but I did nothing to deserve it…” Shining Armor sulked.

“Oh, shush! Of course you deserve it, Shining!”

“No, I don’t. I just stood there...and took the punishment. I wasn’t strong enough...”

“Now what sort of talk is that coming from a junior captain? You didn’t get to where you are today from lazing around, that’s for sure!”

“But what good is being rewarded if you know that you don’t deserve it? You saw how beat up I was! You saw me just lying there on there on the ground, not even taking a chance to defend myself! And think about this! I only took a few hits from Cave Clobber, and they were more than enough to take me down! A Junior Captain is supposed to be strong a-and fearless! I wasn’t strong, and I wasn’t fearless. Truth be told, I was scared out of my wits. That’s why I couldn’t beat him...”

Shining Armor leaned back and rested his head against the cold metal of the lockers.

“Why am I even in the royal guards?” Shining Armor sighed. “I’ve done nothing all year but follow pointless orders and do some embarrassing exercises. I don’t even remember how I got promoted…”

“But you’re forgetting something, Shining, and it wants to tell you to stop your sulking, take a good look at yourself, and realize just how important you are to Equestria!”

“Important?” Shining Armor guffawed. “That’s a laugh…”

“No, it isn’t!” Cadance stepped forward and nuzzled Shining Armor’s neck to in an attempt to brighten his mood. “Just take a look at what you’ve accomplished in your life so far! Twilight, your gentle, caring sister, loves you like you’re the greatest stallion in the world! She looks up to you to be her best friend and protector. Isn’t that why you chose to join the royal guard? So you could not only protect the citizens of Equestria, but your sister as well?”

“Yeah…I told you that before didn’t I?”

Cadance nodded. “And don’t forget your family! You wanted to impress them, and you did, and continue to do so!”

“Mom and dad were pretty proud of me when I told them I was joining…” Shining Armor’s somber frown began to lose its downward curve and slowly curve up into a bright smile.

“Do I even need to mention how much of an impact you’ve made on me?” asked Cadance, fluttering her eyes.

“…maybe?” Shining Armor smiled sheepishly.

“Oh you!"

Just then, a voice chimed in from a loudspeaker in the corner of the ceiling, announcing that the final event would begin in just five minutes time.

“That’s my cue.” said Shining Armor. “Thanks, Cadance."

"You're welcome, Shining,"

Cadance wrapped her hooves around Shining Armor’s neck in a big hug. She pressed her lips onto his, delivering a much needed kiss to sate and stabilize both of their shifting moods.

“Don’t thank me,” whispered Cadance, slowly pulling out of the kiss. “I should be thanking you, for being such a marvelous pony. Don’t forget who you are, ok?”

“With motivation like that, I never will…”

“Good. Now, get out there, and show everypony what you’re really made of!”

~~~~~~

The crowd in the stands just couldn’t get enough of them. The royal trumpeters brayed their instruments loudly as ever as the announcer declared the coming of the final event. All who took part in the tournament strolled out onto the field through each of the four breezeways, waving to those they knew as they spread out all over the field.

“Oh, this is gonna be so exciting!” said Star Strider. “But really, what kind of event requires that everypony participate in it? It’s got to be something big, right?”

“Very big…” said Cadance. “They’re gonna need the entire field for this one!”

“The final event isn’t usually the most…subtle part of the tournament,” said Celestia. “But this one is sure to be quite the thriller.”

“We’re not gonna have to watch another race again are we?” asked Star Strider.

“Certainly not! Truth be told, I’m just as bored of those are you are.” Celestia chuckled. “You two remember how it works, right? Every year, the tournament hosts a final event to crown a new tournament grand champion. The event is focused on evaluating just three things about the tournament’s contestants, pooling together their strength, skill, and will to fight.”

“It’s not gonna be anything…dangerous, right?” asked Star Strider, clearly thinking of Steelwing.

“In a way, no, but instead of explaining it, why don’t I just show you?”

The white princess rose from her seat and swayed to the edge of the railing next to Twilight. She smiled and nodded to the pegasus announcer high above, who nodded back and turned to face the crowd.

“Ladies and gentlecolts! The final event of the Canterlot Tournament Games is about to begin! We’ve prepared something very special for you all today! Regardless of who has won the most medals or took first place in the most events, whoever wins this event will be dubbed the new tournament grand champion!”

Princess Celestia closed her eyes and lowered her horn towards the field. From the base to the tip, her horn flowed with an ominous white magic that beamed down to the field below and began seeping up from the grass, wrapping itself around the playing field. As the flow of magic continued to build, a very tall, transparent sheet of sparkling essence rose up from the edge of the sidelines, acting like a cage and trapping the trainees inside. Just as the confusion among the recruits started to rise, a long spear, surrounded by glowing white magic, appeared on the ground beside every recruit. Some tried picking them up, but found that they were anchored to the ground. When Celestia released control over her spell, she looked to the announcer again and nodded, signaling him to continue.

The announcer pointed and waved at one of the pegasus referees on the sidelines, who took to the skies and flew up next to the announcer. In his hooves, he held an extra white spear, similar to those already on the field, which he then passed to the excited broadcaster.

“Right! Listen and well everypony, especially you eager recruits down there! Beside you all, there is a spear crafted from Princess Celestia’s own powerful magic! They work like any other spear you’ve seen, and are no different in their goal! You use them to fight!”

“Oh dear…” murmured Star Strider, worried.

“But instead of gut-wrenching pain, when you get hit from these spears…” The announcer thrust his magical weapon at the referee, who immediately vanished in a puff of sparkling smoke and reappeared on the sidelines below, shaken and wide-eyed. “You get teleported to the sidelines! The last pony standing wins the event, and gets dubbed the new tournament champion!”

“So they’re basically sword fighting like a bunch of little colts?” asked Star Strider. "That seems a bit immature..."

“I don’t think I heard him give a list of rules…” said Cadance.

“That’s because there are no rules!” said Celestia, smiling away as usual.

“What?!” both mares gasped.

“That doesn’t sound very sportsponyship like!” exclaimed Cadance.

“Within reason of course, girls. During the event, they are not allowed to leave the stadium, but they are allowed to use any means necessary to win, also within reason. Nothing too harsh or too brutal, so there’s nothing to worry about. I assure you.”

“Oh...” Star Strider breathed a sigh of relief.

“Remember, girls,” Celestia continued. “These events are here to allow the recruits to demonstrate what they can do, and how they could better themselves as the protectors of tomorrow. In no way are these events meant to harm them, but that responsibility rests with the recruits themselves.”

The announcer raised a hoof high above his head. On the sidelines below, the referees on the sidelines moved to ready positions.

“Ready!”

The recruits gave one another a stern look in the eyes, smiling with devious content.

“One!”

Cadance bit her lower lip, hoping for the best.

“Two!”

A small flash of light flared up from each of the magical spears, unanchoring them from the ground.

“Three…”

Shining Armor poised himself low to ground, keeping his weapon within easy reach, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

This one’s for you, Cadance… thought Shining Armor, looking up at the nervous face of his marefriend on the royal platform high above.

“GO!”

Right on the dot, everypony scrambled for their spears, taking up arms and preparing to take victory. Shining Armor hastily looked all around in search of his first target. A loud whoosh followed by a tempered scream broke through the ambiance of early battle. He turned his head toward the sidelines, and saw a recruit sitting flat on his rear with his forehooves crossed and a pouty look on his face. The first pony was down!

“And the first pony is down and out!” exclaimed the announcer, pointing out the stupidly obvious. "Only many more to go and—wait a minute! There goes another, and another! Who knows where this will take us!”

Shining Armor was starting to develop a minor hatred towards the overly-enthusiastic announcer. By the time he finished, another three ponies were sent to sidelines. Things weren’t looking too good. He had to move swiftly lest he become the next victim.

But like the speak of the devil, a broad shouldered unicorn bellowed a fierce war cry as he charged across the terrace towards him. One opponent was easy enough for him to handle, but just then, another pony let loose his own war cry far behind him. Shining Armor quickly turned and saw the new challenger, an earth pony, hauling plot to reach him. Just when he thought he was a dead pony, a bright idea chimed in Shining Armor’s mind.

Standing still until the precise moment, Shining Armor waited until both ponies were within close distance to him before leaping out of the danger zone. Behind him, he could hear the two ponies cry out in terror as their spears collided into each other, teleporting them both to the losers bench to sulk in the heat of failure. He silently congratulated himself and sped towards his next target of interest with his spear held high over his head.

“Go, Shining! Go!” Twilight cheered.

The air of cheering all around the stadium was accompanied by the zaps and sparks of mock magical warfare. The whole of the field was illuminated with bright white flashes as recruit after recruit was whisked away to the sidelines. Epic lancing and saber duels took place on the field, prepping the crowd's adrenaline-fueled excitement as it turned into a guessing game as to who was going to come out on top.

Cadance however paid little mind to the exciting action. She was more worried about her gallant dearest ducking and dodging the swings, swipes, and stabs of the spears to strike his own decisive blow in the end. He’s been through so much already, and even though the event was considered “moderately safe” there was still so much that could go wrong. The lack of rules in the event meant that anypony could just push, shove, punch, or kick their way to victory. After that unpleasant encounter with Cave Clobber, it made her cringe with fear just to think about somepony harming him bodily.

Should she start…cheating again? She most certainly trusted in Shining Armor and his training to keep himself safe, but by the number of large, hunkered stallions still on the field, she had to choose between taking a risk, or letting her mind suffer with a ten ton load of guilt.

Shining Armor jabbed his spear at another unsuspecting pony in front of him, who then vanished in a puff of sparkling smoke like so many others he struck down already. The exhausted stallion had bagged another one, adding to his growing count. Nearly half of all the young recruits were off the field, leaving behind the more difficult targets; the ones who look like they spent most of their time chugging muscle fiber shakes and bench-pressing entire carriages for exercise. Some of the pegasi recruits had better luck though, as they were allowed to fly above the carnage. He looked up and saw one of his best friends, Steelwing, dogfighting with another pegasus, tearing through the boxed airspace from corner to corner.

Suddenly, Shining Armor yelped with pain after somepony kicked him to the ground. He scrambled for his spear, which he had dropped upon hitting the ground, but found it too far away to be reached. He rolled over, and stared into the rage-fueled eyes of a large unicorn bearing down on top of him. The unicorn grinned and chuckled devilishly as he raised the tip of his spear high into air. Feeling that it was all over for him, Shining Armor went limp, accepting his fate.

But just when he thought he was done for, the unicorn on top of him burst into puff of colorful smoke before his very eyes, sweeping off to one side as a swift wind blew it all away. A white coated pegasus swooped down to the ground with a spear in his mouth and offered his hoof to Shining Armor. The dazed captain looked up and saw that his winged rescuer was none other than Steelwing, coming to save the day.

Cadance reemerged from the shadows of the dark breezeway behind the royal throne, recovering from her most recent spell and regaining her regal figure as she moved back to Star Strider’s side. Taking control over a gust of wind to redirect a pegasus’s attention to somepony on the ground wasn’t exactly the easiest trick in the book.

“You really need to control your bathroom breaks, Cadance,” said Star Strider. “You’re missing out on all the action!”

“Well, I try my best,” replied Cadance, smiling sheepishly.

“Well, look who it is!” exclaimed Shining Armor, taking his friend’s hoof and hoisting himself off the ground. “Took you long enough!”

“What are you talking about?” Steelwing laughed. “It’s a free for all, dude! You’re lucky that you and me are best—“

“Wait, look out!”

Shining Armor shoved Steelwing aside and quickly jabbed his spear into the pony charging straight for him. A gust of wind carried the sparkling remains of the pony through Shining Armor’s lavish mane, blowing it off the side as he emerged from the dust, frozen in a heroic pose that made Cadance quiver with admiration.

“There! Now we’re even!” joked Steelwing, grabbing his spear and flying off into the sky. Shining Armor rolled his eyes and scanned the remaining masses for his next target.

“What just happened?” asked Cadance. “Was that…Steelwing helping Shining Armor?”

“Steely told me that he and Shining Armor became best friends just a day or two after we met you,” Star Strider giggled. “They chatted it up a little during the exercises, one thing led to another, and…well, there they are! This could give them an edge in the game, unless Steely decides to be a big meany, then he can just kiss this mare goodbye!”

Steelwing tore through the air above the action on the ground, flying as fast as he could to escape another pegasus trailing him from behind. His training prepared him for situations like this, but with such a small space to fly in, evading his capture turned into a game of cat and mouse, only the mouse had nowhere to hide.

Shining Armor parried a strike from his newest opponent before jabbing at his legs and sending him to the sidelines. A sudden, swift breeze above his head caught his attention. He looked up, and saw Steelwing struggling to escape his pursuer, who seemed to be getting closer to him by the minute. Thinking quickly, Shining Armor waited until both Steelwing and the pegasus behind him were in his line of sight. When the time was right, he hurled his spear into the air, soaring past Steelwing’s head and striking the pegasus behind him. Being magically enchanted, his spear acted like a boomerang, tracing back through the air and into Shining Armor’s magical grip. He exchanged a friendly salute with the snow white pegasus still in the air before continuing on his conquest.

For the longest of whiles, the mock war on the ground raged on. Left and right, ponies disappeared from the battlefield, leaving nothing behind but a puff of colorful smoke. As the lesser half of the strong armed recruits went away, the more muscular recruits started to band together, going after the remainder of the smaller recruits. They used tactics and techniques that would most certainly be considered unfair or an act of cheating in any other event, but in an event with no rules, one could only imagine just how far they would go to win. Some held down their victims while they dealt a crucial final blow. Others employed a more…physical means of sending their opponent sprawling to the ground. It was like watching the world’s biggest physical demonstration of natural selection; only the strongest would survive.

But even then, when all of the anemic were all gone, the strongest started to turn against each other. Steelwing and Shining Armor held their own against the onslaught, and successfully took down anypony who dared to challenge them. The number of ponies left on the field dissipated quickly, and it looked as if it would all be over in just a few short minutes.

But if it weren’t for the hidden aid of a certain pink princess, both Shining Armor and Steelwing would have been struck out long ago.

Over the course of the day’s previous events, Cadance had learned how to cast her manipulative spells without anypony, not even her own aunt, knowing. She summoned forth more gusts of wind, or even an annoying insect or two to draw attention away from the other recruits to allow Shining Armor to continue fighting with major incident. Since she was closer to the action and not behind any barriers, her magic flowed more easily, making it all but impossible for anypony to detect whether or not she was using magic to aid in her coltfriend's battles.

An hour passed, and now the action was really starting to heat up. Only six ponies remained on the field, four of them being some of the most muscle-bound meat buckets anypony had ever seen, and they each seemed to be struggling with one pony in between them. Eventually, their struggle found an end, but not in their favor. The brawny hunks burst into the usual cloud of colorful smoke, reappearing on the sidelines with their frustrated brethren.

“W-wait! Where’s Steelwing?” said Star Strider, scanning her worried eyes over the near-empty field.

“And what about Shining Armor?” said Cadance, joining in on the visual search.

“Settle down, girls,” cooed Celestia. “Only two ponies remain. Let us see what has become of your friends…”

“Four ponies down, only two more to go!” shouted the announcer. “Who’s going to be the lucky ones to face each other off in one final battle for the title of tournament champion?”

The dust began to settle. All eyes fell upon both sides of the field, eager to see who was left standing. When the dust cleared completely, only two ponies, panting and sweating, stood tall with their heads held high and a bright smile on their faces.

“And would you look at that, ladies and gentlecolts!” continued the announcer. “The final two ponies left standing, Steelwing and Shining Armor, are up to face each other for the title of tournament champion!”

“…what did he say?” Cadance murmured, speechless.

“Cadance! There he is! He won! Shining Armor won!” Twilight excitedly called out over her shoulder, looking a bit jumpy from being so excited. "Well, almost..."

“Y-yes…Twilight,” Cadance swallowed hard. “I-I see him…”

“And there’s Steelwing too!” Star Strider squealed. “He’s made it through! I can’t believe it!”

“Cadance! You have to come watch this! It’s way better up close!” exclaimed Twilight.

“I think I’m fine here, Twilight…” Cadance replied.

“Pleeease Cadance? I don’t want you to miss out on this…” Twilight beamed a hopeful look into her foalsitter’s eyes, silently begging her to come join her by the railing.

“Well…a-alright,” Cadance smiled, slowly moving to Twilight’s side and sitting down beside her.

The magical spears Shining Armor and Steelwing were holding gradually vanished into the ether. The barrier of light that surrounded the large rectangular field began to shrink into a smaller, more circular form, enclosing the two finalists in a tight space no bigger than the average bedroom.

“The field of battle has been reduced, and our two finalists stand ready to take each other on!” exclaimed the announcer. “Who will be the next tournament champion? Let’s find out!”

Two magical spears, colored red and blue respectively, appeared chained to the ground beside both of the finalists; the blue for Shining Armor, and the red for Steelwing. They looked at their weapons, then looked up at each other’s faces, both bearing nervous, but proud looks.

“Well…here we are…” said Steelwing.

“Yeah…thanks for helping me get this far,” said Shining Armor.

“Same to you. That was some pretty impressive teamwork we had!”

“Yeah, but now, it comes down to this…”

“I know that feel bro…”

“Well…good luck, I guess.” Shining Armor smiled, offering a brohoof.

“Good luck, dude, and may the best pony win!” Steelwing accepted Shining Armor’s brohoof with honor before stepping backward to his starting position.

“Finalists, ready!” shouted the announcer, raising his hoof in the air. “Three…two…one…”

“Go, Shining!” Twilight shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Go!”

The announcer dropped his hoof, the spears were unchained, and the finalists began with haste.

Before anypony could even blink, Steelwing grabbed his spear, leaped high into the air, and prepared to bring his weapon straight down onto his opponent’s head, but Shining Armor was quick on his hooves. The strong unicorn swiped his spear off the ground and blocked Steelwing’s attack from on high, sending colorful sparks and bright flashes in all directions.

What am I going to do? Cadance thought to herself as the battle continued to unfold. I can’t guarantee Shining Armor’s victory like this! He’s facing off with my best friend’s coltfriend! She wants Steelwing to win as much as I want Shining Armor to win!

A shower of sparks continued to rain down upon the finalists as they blocked each other’s well-placed moves. The crowd was going nuts, Twilight even more so, while Cadance simply sat back and watched, stressed beyond her normal levels.

Steelwing made a move to deliver a sweeping kick, but Shining Armor quickly slid out of the way and came around with one of his own, knocking Steelwing to the ground. Before the final blow could be struck, Steelwing flapped his wings hard and shot out from underneath Shining Armor before turning skyward. While in the air, Steelwing playfully taunted the unicorn below, making faces and blowing raspberries, but Shining Armor would have none of it.

Remembering one of his earlier moves that saved Steelwing from getting struck out, Shining Armor decided to use the very same move to take him down. While Steelwing was openly flexing his muscles, Shining Armor lifted his spear towards the sky and threw it with all of his might. Steelwing gasped and quickly bolted out of the way, missing the spear by mere inches. Shining Armor was now defenseless. Steelwing seized the opportunity and dove for the unarmed unicorn.

A little alarm went off in Cadance’s head, urging her to do something. She acted on impulse, discreetly using her magic to redirect yet another gust of wing, blowing Shining Armor’s spear back towards him before it could boomerang around on its own, but her own quick thinking was about to betray her. The shining missile was aimed directly for Steelwing, who just so happened to be lined up in its path. The speed of the spear made it impossible to be redirected now. She released control over her magic and braced for the worst.

“Look out!” Shining Armor gasped having noticed his spear flying back towards him. Steelwing looked behind, taking notice of the imminent danger, and attempted to fly away from the spears path, but the speed at which he was going made it too hard to bank off to either side. He crashed and tumbled onto the field, rolling head over hooves before slamming into the spectral wall. Back on the royal platform, Cadance breathed a heavy sigh of relief. Beside her, Star Strider cringed, extremely anxious for the state of her winged sweetheart.

“Oh boy…” murmured Shining Armor, picking his spear up off the ground. “Are you alright, Steelwing?”

“Alright? Alright?!” Steelwing grunted in pain as he slowly rose to his hooves. “Why in the hay did you do that? You could’ve won this thing, just like that, and I wouldn’t have nearly broken my neck!”

“I-I’m sorry, Steelwing! It was an accident! Really!”

Steelwing growled angrily. “Accident or not, we’re still in this fight, so don’t expect any soft play from me, got it!?”

Before he could reply, Steelwing dashed for his spear and began wildly flailing it at his blue-haired opponent. Shining Armor did his best to dodge or block each and every swing, but Steelwing was moving like a comical praying mantis with wings. There was just no easy way for Shining Armor to swing a few hits of his own, until he remembered the no-holds-barred style of the event. When the time was right, Shining Armor quickly whipped up enough energy for a levitation spell and threw Steelwing against the wall again, giving himself some space to recuperate.

“So that’s how you want to play it, huh?” grunted Steelwing, rising to his hooves. “How about I join in on the fun?”

“Steely, don’t you dare!” growled Star Strider with an angry look on her face.

“Try me!” mocked Shining Armor.

“With pleasure!” yelled Steelwing

Steelwing shot forward like a lightning bolt, swooped underneath Shining Armor’s torso, and lifted the surprised junior captain high into the air. The white pegasus carried the captain several dozen meters above the ground, almost passing over the full height of the stadium.

“Let’s see how you like this!” shouted Steelwing, heaving the heavy load up and over his head before dashing off to the side. Shining Armor was scared out of his wits. He started to fall like a lead brick, tumbling through the air over and over again. His heart raced into a panic, fearing how Twilight and Cadance would react if he slammed into the ground, dead upon impact.

How could Steelwing do this to him? Why aren’t there any guards coming to rescue him from certain death? Whose idea was it anyway to design a dangerous final event with no rules whatsoever? Why? What? Why?

“Celestia! Aren’t you going to do something?!” shouted Cadance, shielding Twilight’s dumbstruck eyes in case the worst should come to pass.

“I think your friend already has,” replied Celestia in a calm tone, pointing a hoof up into the sky.

Cadance looked up and saw that Steelwing had a tight grip around Shining Armor’s back legs during the free fall, and just in the nick of time.

“Ha! You’re not getting off that easily!” mocked Steelwing with a smile on his face.

Mere meters from slamming into the ground, Steelwing panned his wings towards the ground, and began flapping with all his might. The sudden braking force was enough to slow him down by a small margin, but his live, heavy cargo only made things worse. In a desperate attempt to avoid serious injury, Steelwing released Shining Armor as close to the ground as he could get. Up in the royal platform, Cadance and Twilight winced when they saw Shining Armor cartwheel across the field before coming to slow stop on his side. The impact left several bumps and bruises all over his body, but somehow, he found the strength to try and rise to his hooves.

“There! Now are we ev—uh oh…“ Steelwing halted his jeering when he realized that he was still flying at an incredibly fast speed, headed straight for the spectral wall that was eager for another friendly reunion. Like so many times before, he slammed face first into the barrier of white light, skidding down its smooth surface before coming to a rest at the base.

“Argh! I hate walls!” grunted Steelwing, rubbing the back of his head while he searched for his spear.

“No! Shining, you have to get up! Please get up!” shouted little Twilight, looking devastated seeing her brother in such a agonizing state.

Come on, Shining… thought Cadance while she consoled her little filly friend with a gentle back rub. You have to get up! You just have too!

Somehow, Cadance’s breathless words reached Shining Armor’s flat and folded ears. The unicorn stallion began to rise, his legs twitching and wobbling as he did so.

That’s it, Shining! You can do it! Maybe there’s still some hope left! thought Cadance. Maybe my Shining Armor will actually make it through--

“Hey, there’s my spear!” exclaimed Steelwing, grabbing his red, glowing gaff and twirling it in the air. “And not a scratch on her!”

Steelwing suddenly bore a devious look in his eyes. He slowly turned around, and saw that his opponent was facing the opposite direction, struggling to get up again, but it was no use. The moment to deliver a surprise attack was wide open.

“I’m done for…” whispered Shining Armor.

“Sorry, Shining, but somepony’s got to take home the gold!” mocked Steelwing.

“I let everypony down…” whispered Shining Armor. “Twilight, Cadance…”

Shining Armor continued to brood in shame, not even trying to stand up straight anymore. He had given up, losing all hope of ever taking home the champion gold, but not for himself, but for his family. He wanted to make them proud. Now, he had no chance.

Suddenly, the sound of rolling metal came from underneath him. Shining Armor looked down and saw his blue, glowing spear rolling out from underneath him, still alive and pulsating with strong magic, but an extra detail seemed to have caught his eye. Carved into the side of the spear were three, simple words:

Don’t give up.

At first, he thought his mind was playing tricks on him. He had suffered enough injuries today to put the average pony in the emergency room for a few weeks, but just the sheer oddity of it made him believe that this was certainly not a coincidence. The spear rolled over again, as if it were being pushed along by a ghostly hand. It continued to roll until it bounced off against his hooves, sizzling with magical fury. There was only one other pony in all of Equestria who had the power to could break Princess Celestia’s magic, and he had a pretty good idea of who it was.

“It’s been fun, Shining…” Steelwing sighed. “But this is where it ends!”

With a loud whinny acting as a war cry, Steelwing charged forward, aiming his spear directly at his opponent’s backside.

His head and heart full of rejuvenated confidence from his secret messenger, Shining Armor snapped to his hooves, swiped his spear out from underneath, twirled around to face his danger close adversary, and with one mighty swing, he thrust his spear upward, catching Steelwing underneath the chin and sending both he and his red lance flying into the sky. Steelwing disappeared in a colorful dust cloud in midair, and Shining Armor stood triumphant, boldly facing the awestruck crowd with a hero’s pose. After thrusting the tool of his victory into the ground, he let loose the most heroic victory cry he could muster...

“Yes! Yeah! Woo hoo! In your face, Steelwing! Haha!” Shining Armor continued his “victory cry” while he danced a little celebratory jig. “Who’s bad? I’m bad! I did it! I did it! Oh yeah, yeah, yeah! Woo hoo!”

So much for his "heroic" victory cry.

“Uhh…Shining Armor?” said the announcer.

“What is it now?” replied Shining Armor. “It’s just nothing but pointing out the obvious with you and…wait a minute…”

It was only in that moment did Shining Armor notice that the stadium had gone dead silent. Not a word, not a sound, not even a gentle whisper could be heard in the midst of the eerie stillness.

“When did everypony get so…quiet?”

“Shining Armor! Look out!” shouted a random somepony in the stands.

“Look out for what?” replied Shining Armor.

Then, it dawned on him. Shining Armor went wide eyed, and his ears and mane went limp and flat. He looked up, only to catch a glimpse of Steelwing’s spinning red spear hurdling towards him before impaling him on the head. The instant the spear touched Shining Armor’s skin, a rapid surge of magical energy sent his essence hurdling through a tunnel of light before reappearing in a completely different place than he was in before, dazed and confused just like those before him.

“Oh, hey Shining,” spoke the voice of Steelwing beside him.

Taken by surprise, Shining Armor snapped his head to the left, where he found Steelwing sitting on a bench next to him, his forehooves crossed and a grouchy look on his face.

“Steelwing?!” Shining Armor gasped. "How did you--"

“You’re not alone, dude…” mumbled Steelwing.

“What do you mean I’m not…”

In a brief moment of panic, Shining Armor went wide-eyed and looked over both of his shoulders, where dozens upon dozens of recruits sat on benches, some just as grouchy as Steelwing, while others started at him with some of the most overwhelmed looks on their faces that Shining Armor had ever seen.

“Wait…if you guys are here and if Steelwing is right next to me, then that could only mean…”

“Yeah. So what? You win…” Steelwing sighed. “Take the title. I don’t care…”

“It’s a…tie?!” exclaimed the announcer. “That means we have not one, but two champions this year!”

“What?!” gasped Steelwing and Shining Armor in unison.

“It’s a whole new record!” continued the announcer, more excited than ever. “Two champions in a single tournament! Oh ho ho! So what’s wrong, everypony? Cat got your tongue? Go ahead! Give our two new champions a celebratory round of applause!”

On his words, the entire stadium burst into a thunderous applause that seemed to echo off for miles. It came like the sound of an earthquake as hundreds drummed their hooves in their seats. The flash of cameras, followed by showers of confetti and balloons added to the festive funfare. In the barrage of cheering and screaming, Shining Armor could make out the distinct voice of his little sister shouting his name at the top of her lungs. He smiled cheerfully, turning to face his timidly grinning friend.

“So…I guess this makes us both the best pony?” asked Steelwing with a hopeful look on his face.

“Pretty much!” Shining Armor laughed.

“That’s…good, right?”

“Would a trip to the winner’s circle give you the answer?”

“Race you there?”

“You bet!”

~~~~~

Princess Celestia, Princess Cadance, an adorable, regally-dressed Twilight Sparkle, and a flustered Star Strider were escorted down the crowded breezeway by a small platoon of armored guards. Despite being filled with journalists, photographers, recruits, and several others, the royally revered were treated with the bowing of everypony in their path. Celestia kept her cheerful smile, while Cadance just smiled and waved as usual, her mind racing as the guilt continued to pour in. What she did during the entire tournament was wrong. Sure, it helped someponies gain a bit of fame, but her conscious was just too delicate to take this kind of stress. She could never tell anypony; ever. Not for a few years at least. Besides, there have been lots of instances of ponies cheating in sports events…instances that all resulted in their capture and imprisonment, but being a part of royalty grants you a ‘get out of jail free’ card, right?

She hoped so…

“Twilight, in all my years of ruling over Equestria, seeing royal guards come and go, I have never seen one with such skill, strength, and intelligence like your brother.”

“Thank you, princess!” Twilight replied, smiling brightly at Princess Celestia’s generous comments towards her older sibling. “That’s why he’s my very own BBBFF!”

“I’m assuming that means—“

“Big Brother Best Friend Forever!”

Celestia giggled. “A part of two world records, a knack for being both brave and bold, and of course, a lifelong friendship with you. After seeing what he has done today, I will most certainly keep him in mind. He has a bright future in the ranks of the Royal Guard. I'm sure of it.”

“What about Steely—I-I mean, Steelwing, your highness?” asked Star Strider.

“He shall receive the same commendation as Shining Armor. No matter their rank, I treat all of my royal guards with respect and dignity. When it comes to the safety of Equestria, everypony counts.”

“Your highness,” spoke one of the escorts out in front. “We have arrived. Steelwing and Shining Armor are directly ahead of us.”

Everypony turned and saw the two reigning champions working it up with a crowd of eager, smiling ponies. Their wounds seemed to have been healed completely healed by magic, thanks to the help of the nurse ponies, and after what they’ve been through, they looked anything but exhausted. Steelwing was signing a little colt’s autograph book, while Shining Armor chatted it up with a small group of mares no older than Cadance. They both wore large, golden medals around their necks, laced with a silvery ribbon that glittered in the right light; the perfect complement to their hard work and final victory.

Wait…mares?! thought Cadance, struck with sudden shock.

“Is something wrong, Cadance?” asked Celestia.

“N-no, Aunt Tia,” replied Cadance, smiling sheepishly. “Just a little…excited is all.”

“Do you wish to meet with the champions, your highness?” asked one of the lead guards, looking over his shoulder at Celestia. “Shall we clear the way?”

“No. I will meet with them at the tournament celebration feast later tonight,” stated Celestia.

“Mind if I go speak with the champions, Aunt Tia?” asked Cadance. “I’m sure Twilight would love to tag along.” The little lavender filly beamed at Cadance when her name was suddenly mentioned.

“Of course. I’m sure it will make her brother’s day even brighter when he sees his sister in such an adorable little outfit.” Twilight looked away and blushed at her mentor’s kind comment.

“Thank you, but could Star Strider tag along with us as well, as both a friend and escort?”

“M-me?” said Star Strider, smiling. “Well…I would need the training, protecting royalty while in a crowd and all…”

“I agree. Once again, of course,” said Celestia. “I will be within the main atrium, speaking with the other recruits and their families. If you need anything, you know where to find me.”

Cadance waited until her regal aunt and her guards were out of sight before grabbing Star Strider by the hooves and hurrying over to the winner’s circle; a small, golden ring in the middle of the main stadium hallway where Steelwing and Shining Armor stood. Twilight quickly followed behind them, feeling just as avid to see her big brother in the spotlight.

“Whoa, Cadance!” exclaimed Star Strider, wrestling out of Cadance’s grip. “At least let me royally walk you in, first!”

“Oh please, Star! I’m not that much of a princess yet!” replied Cadance, rolling her eyes.

“How do you think that would have made me look? If anypony saw me, a recruit, just slack off like that—“

“Relax, Star! I’ve done this several—“

“Shining!”

A ball of blue and lavender fur zoomed past the bickering mares, dazing them for a short moment.

Shining Armor looked up from his conversation with the group of mares when he heard the high pitched squeal of his little sister nearby. He craned his neck upward and scanned the heads of the crowd until a long, fuchsia horn and a familiar shade of bright pink caught his eye.

“Cadance?”

Suddenly, Shining Armor found himself pinned to the floor by a ball of excitable fur clinging to his chest. He rolled his eyes downward and found his sweet little sister keeping a tight grip around his thick neck, wearing a little blue dress and a bow in her groomed mane that only mystified Shining Armor, but made her smiling face that much more enjoyable see once again.

“Hi, Shining!” said Twilight, looking up into her brother’s eyes.

“Twilly!” Shining Armor rejoiced, hugging his little sister even tighter as the two nuzzled each other’s faces. The mares he was talking to earlier awed and dawed at such an adorable sight.

“Well, look who it is!” exclaimed Cadance as she stepped up to the brotherly champion. “A little eager, are we?”

“Sorry, Cadance, but I just couldn’t wait!” said Twilight, pulling out of the hug to allow her brother to stand up again.

Cadance blushed when she and Shining Armor locked eyes. She smiled, and he smiled back.

“Hello, Shining,” said Cadance.

“Hey, Cadance…” murmured Shining Armor in reply.

“So, how does it feel to be a champion?”

“Meh. It’s great.” Shining Armor shrugged. “It’s good if you want lots of attention, that’s for sure.”

“I think you’ll find it gets you more than just that.” Cadance fluttered her sparkling eyes, making Shining Armor the one to blush this time.

“Hey! Long time no see, princess!” said Steelwing, walking up to the three ponies with Star Strider at his side.

“H-hello, Steelwing,” said Cadance.

“You know him, Cadance?” said Shining Armor.

“I met both Steelwing and Star Strider a few weeks ago.”

“And in a pretty strange situation, huh?” said Star Strider.

“Yeah…” said Steelwing. “But hey, Shining, I gotta hoof it to you, that was some sick action out there!” Steelwing extended a brohoof, to which Shining Armor happily met with his own.

“Yeah! That stunt you pulled where you tossed me into the air? Amazing!” exclaimed Shining Armor, pumping a hoof into the air.

“Well, I had to get back at you somehow for slamming me against the wall several times over!”

“Let’s just try to be a little more careful with what ‘stunts’ we pull, ok?” said Star Strider, hopefully looking into Steelwing’s eyes.

“…ok,” replied Steelwing, smiling back at Star Strider.

“Hey, Shining! Can I see your medal?” asked Twilight, still cheerfully smiling in the presence of her big brother.

“Sure! Anything for you, Twilly,” said Shining Armor, levitating his great medallion up and over his head. He lowered it down to Twilight, who cooed in awe and plonked down onto the ground with the golden pendant in her curious hooves.

“Well, should we leave you and Steelwing to your adoring new fans?” asked Cadance.

“Now, why would I ever want you to leave?” replied Shining Armor with a dry chuckle.

“Because you’re waiting for your surprise parting gift, maybe?”

“Parting gift?” said Steelwing.

“Surprise?” said Shining Armor, who seemed to have completely forgotten about Cadance’s earlier promise.

“Is there some sort of royal reward for the winners of these tournament games?” asked Star Strider, bearing the same curious look as Steelwing.

“Sort of…” replied Cadance, a thin line of blush forming over her nose.

She had been waiting all day for this. Cadance looked to her left, then looked to her right, making sure of it that nopony was looking. Surprisingly, everypony had stopped paying attention the champions when she arrived, and were now conversing with one another, paying no mind to other things going on around them. When she double checked to make sure the visual coast was clear, Cadance quickly planted a big kiss on Shining Armor’s cheek, pulling back just as somepony turned their head in her direction.

Steelwing and Star Strider were stunned. Their lower jaws hung like that of nutcrackers. Shining Armor looked as if he was about to go into a panic, but was quickly reassured that there was no need to do so when Cadance willingly nuzzled his neck. She swore that she felt like somepony was watching, but she didn’t care right now. It’s been far too long since she last laid so much as a hoof on her knight in glorious, shining armor.

“Did…” Steelwing started, mumbling. “Did you just—“

“So,” said Cadance, turning to face Star Strider. “Can you keep a secret?” she giggled.

Dances, Kisses, and a "Stellar" Vacation

“You let it all out to me two days later, on that same stretch of path...” murmured Cadance, wiping a single tear from her cheek. “I still remember every word.”

Shining Armor wrestled with the throw pillow between his teeth until it finally popped out, leaving him with a rather unpleasant toothache. Disgusted, he tossed the dirty cushion over the bedside behind him.

“Ok! Your turn!” said Cadance with a voice full of cheer, sliding the open diary in front of her husband.

“I...what?” murmured Shining Armor.

“It’s your turn, silly!” Cadance giggled.

“Wait, so you’re not mad anymore?”

“Well...no,” Cadance sighed. “I guess after reading that and...remembering us when we were younger just made me feel a little more relaxed on the inside. Besides...”

Cadance reached around and wrapped one leg around Shining Armor’s neck, using the stallion’s muscular girth to pull herself closer.

“I can’t stay mad at you!” Cadance finished with a giggle, followed by a short kiss to her husband’s cheek.

At last (hopefully), the worst was over. Feeling safe for the first time in a long while, Shining Armor leaned in close and returned the kiss, making Cadance blush fiercely.

“Are you sure you’re not mad anymore?” asked Shining Armor, keeping Cadance held close as he magically turned the pages of the diary, scanning the text for an interesting entry.

“Well, I’m not...that mad anymore.”

“Huh? Wait, so after all that--”

“You won’t mind sleeping on the couch tonight, right?”

“I-I--”

“Hold up! Stop, right there!”

Cadance slammed her hoof down onto the diary, right on top of one of the entries just before it was past.

“What’s wrong?” asked Shining Armor.

“I remember this day exactly!” exclaimed Cadance, swiping the diary away and beaming at the aged paper with exuberant eyes.

“And what’s so important about the day after our first kiss?” Shining Armor asked, looking over at the date scrawled near the top of the page. “Besides your little...visit that night.”

“I showed Twilight a very special dance while we were at the playground, among other things. Kinda like a happy sad dance, you know?”

“Weeell...no.”

“D’oh, you weren’t there!” Cadance giggled, rolling her eyes. “It was so adorable when she did it for the first time! You’ve should have seen her, Shining! She was just bouncing around like a cute little jumping bean!” Cadance squealed.

“Twilight? Dancing?” questioned Shining Armor, raising an eyebrow. “I find that hard to believe.”

“It’s aaaall in here, Shining,” said Cadance, scooting the diary in front of Shining Armor. “Go ahead. Give it a read. I can wait.”

Shining Armor sent Cadance a suspicious glance, still somewhat skeptical about her very sudden changes in behavior. Just a few minutes ago, she was steaming with enough hot anger to evaporate the sweat from his brow, but now she’s as happy as a skip through the tulips? Her mind was a royally unstable time bomb with fuse that lit itself. There was no telling what she might do next.

“Well? Go on.” encouraged Cadance, waving him on.

After silently praying for a moment without mood swings, Shining Armor rolled his eyes down to the text. Hopefully, he could make it through the first few sentences without having to experience another one of Cadance’s unpredictable outbursts. He could barely take the pressure of having somepony constantly drill insults into his ear.

Celestia help me... thought Shining Armor as he began reading.

~~~~~

Little Twilight Sparkle giggled with foalish giddiness as Cadance pushed the swing forward again, sending the filly high into the warm, sunny air. It was another beautiful day in the Canterlot Castle Gardens, and the conditions were perfect in every way for a day of play on the playground.

It was just the princess and her studious filly friend in the gardens today, or even outside of the castle for that matter, as the royals were due to appear at a very important court meeting. It felt nice to unwind knowing that the young princess would not be forced to attend such a horrendously boring event. Gussying up only to listen to drab political talk was about as entertaining as watching paint dry. How on earth does Celestia do it?

“I take it you're enjoying yourself?” asked Cadance.

“Yeah!” said Twilight. “But I still kinda wish my big brother was here...” Twilight frowned.

“Don’t worry, Twilight,” Cadance giggled, consoling the filly with a warm smile. “He’s just out for some training, that’s all. If he’s gonna be captain of the guard, he’s got to train for it, right?”

“I guess so...” murmured Twilight.

“There’s nothing to be sad about. Shining Armor will be back with us tomorrow. I’m sure of it.”

And sure of it she was. There was no way in Equestria Cadance would allow some cranky, old pony to keep such a charming stallion like Shining Armor away from her, especially not after last night, but such things had to be handled carefully. That old coot might be as dumb as a doorpost (if not dumber), but if word got out about what was really going on between them, she wouldn’t be the only one to receive punishment. As a young princess, punishments only went as high as the simple stuff. Cadance could handle a mild scolding from her aunt, but for Shining Armor, there was no telling what would happen to him. He could lose his shot at captain of the guard, face humiliation from his peers, or worse...

“--adance? Oh Caaadaaance!”

The pink princess was brought out of her rather unpleasant doom-seeing by a tiny purple hoof waving in front of her face.

“You stopped pushing me, Cadance, and you look kinda...down,” said Twilight, looking over her shoulder with worried eyes.

“S-sorry, Twilight,” Cadance apologized, pushing the swing forward again. “It’s just something on my mind.”

“What kind of something?”

Already, Cadance could tell that the little filly wasn’t going to let up, not even if she tried changing the subject. Shifting the conversation to something more pleasant wouldn’t work either, not with the mood Cadance was in anyway.

“Let’s not talk about it, sweetie,” said Cadance, putting on a little smile. “It’s a bit of a personal matter anyways.”

“Is it a good something?” asked Twilight.

“No,” Cadance replied, blandly. “But Twilight--”

“Is it a bad something?” Twilight asked, much to Cadance’s steadily-building chagrin.

“Twilight, please. Let’s just not talk about it, ok?” Cadance pleaded.

“Is it a--”

“Twilight!” Cadance snapped, making Twilight cringe. “Just...stop, ok? Please, just for me?”

“Oh, sorry...” Twilight frowned, hanging her head low in a sulk. “I just wanted to help.”

Cadance frowned, feeling immensely guilty for having upset her closest friend. What kind of foalsitter would she be if all she did was yell at sweet little fillies like Twilight, even if she only did it once? Once she saw the tears in little Twilight’s eyes, she felt sick to her stomach.

“Oh, sorry, Twilight,” Cadance apologized, stopping the swing to meet the teary-eyed filly face to face. “I’m just not in the best mood today. I didn’t mean to yell at you like that. I just overreacted.”

Cadance reached around and wiped a loose tear from the corner of Twilight’s eye. Twilight looked up and smiled, while Cadance smiled back.

“Better?” asked Cadance.

“Better,” Twilight replied. “But I’m the one who should be sorry. I got a little carried away.”

“I know. I just feel terrible for having done that.”

“It’s alright,” Twilight smiled. “Would a hug make you feel better?” she asked, jumping down from the swing seat and stepping up to her foalsitter.

“Huh?”

“Come on!” inviting Cadance with outstretched arms. “A little friendly hug won’t hurt, would it?”

“I...never expected this but...well, alright.” Cadance smiled cheerily, pulling the lavender filly closer to her where foal and sitter met in comforting embrace. What felt like only a few seconds soon passed on into minutes. It felt nice, but its warming effects wouldn’t last forever. Besides, it was starting to feel a tad awkward, even though Cadance knew they were alone for the day. Anypony could have been watching them.

“Thank you, Twilight,” said Cadance, pulling out of the hug, smiling.

“You’re welcome!” Twilight replied cheerfully.

“It was nice, but why don’t we try something...different?”

“Different?”

“Something...fun.”

“Fun?”

“How about a dance?” Cadance offered with a confident smile.

“A dance?” said Twilight blankly.

“Yes, a dance, silly filly!” Cadance tussled Twilight’s hair, making her giggle. “But this dance is a little bit special. It’s more a jig, really,” Cadance beamed.

“A jig? Kind of like what the Lyrish do?”

“...nooot exactly, but you have the right idea!”

“I don’t know much about--”

“It’s really easy to do, Twilight! Here, follow me. I’ll show you.”

Cadance led her uncertain filly friend to a large oak tree standing tall near the playground sandbox, taking her saddlebags with her.

“Why do we need those?” Twilight asked.

“I just thought we should do this in the shade,” Cadance shrugged. “I don’t want my bestest little friend to tire herself out in the heat, do I?” Twilight smiled sheepishly.

“I’m not gonna have to do anything fancy for this, am I?” asked Twilight.

“Not at all, Twilight. It’s very easy. Now, watch closely, and do what I do.”

Cadance waved Twilight back a few feet before merrily springing backward into the air and landing on all fours. Twilight stood back and cooed in awe.

“So, you ready?” asked Cadance.

“Yeah!” Twilight replied, sounding very much excited.

“Ok! Just watch and learn.”

The pink princess poised herself by bending her knees low to the ground before leaping off the ground and skipping in place in rhythm to her merry tune.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake!” Cadance repeated the move before looking to Twilight, smiling and waving her on.

“That’s it?” asked Twilight, chuckling.

“Nope! That’s just the first part. Go ahead, try it!”

“Ok...”

Twilight nervously looked down at her hooves, doubtful of her ability to copy her foalsitter’s moves, even though they appeared to be very simple. She never danced before, except with her brother, but only once, and even back then it hardly felt like she was dancing at all, but more like flailing her legs wildly in hopes of convincing others around her that she knew what she was doing. After taking a moment to look back on it, she felt deeply embarrassed.

“Twilight?” said Cadance. “Is something wrong?”

“I...” Twilight mumbled a barely audible series of words before bashfully looking away from Cadance.

“Hmm?”

“I...don’t know how to dance,” Twilight admitted, hanging her head in petty shame.

“Twilight, is doesn’t matter at all if you can’t dance.” Cadance giggled. “All you have to do is skip.”

“Skip?”

“Yup! You should at least know how to skip, right? Just skip in place while you’re doing it. Go ahead, try again.”

Truth be told, Twilight never really learned how to skip either, not even with her big brother. She could definitely do it though. Anypony with four legs and brain could do it, but it wasn’t the fact that she could do it that was holding her back. Maybe it how she was raised that was problem, or rather how she raised herself. Rather than sticking with her parents minor attempts at making her more socially active, getting her to play with others her age, she usually filled her everyday routine with things that interested her, such as books and learning, until Cadance came along and changed all that.

“What are you waiting for, silly filly?” Cadance taunted playfully. “Just skip in place, like I did. It can’t be that difficult, right?”

Feeling a little more confident, Twilight raised her right foreleg in direct proportion with her back leg before bringing both of them down to the ground at the same time, making her leap into the air and land on all fours.

“That was great, Twilight!” exclaimed Cadance, filling Twilight’s face with embarrassed blush. “Do it again, twice this time.”

The little filly did as she was told, successfully, rewarding herself with a bright smile when she finished.

“Very good, Twilight,” exclaimed Cadance, clapping her hooves together with lighthearted joy. “Now, let’s do it together, ok?”

“Together?”

Cadance nodded. “Ready?”

“Ready!”

Throughout the afternoon, Cadance taught her little filly friend every step, slide, and movement she knew until Twilight had the entire routine memorized down to a tee. As the hours went on, the sun started to sink low into the sky, leaving behind a nice, orange and yellow hue that faded in from the withering blue, but the filly and foalsitter had not noticed this. They completely ignored the sudden change in lighting as if it were not there. They were in their own little world of merriment; just two friends happily spending time with each other. What more could they ask for? It was nice, very nice, until time finally caught up with them.

“Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!”

Cadance and Twilight fell flat on their backs onto the cool grass, bursting with giddy laughter. They meant to stop dancing once Twilight learned all the moves, but the slip-ups they both made over the hours were just too hilarious to resist.

“That was great!” exclaimed Cadance, giggling like a schoolgirl.

“Can we do it again Cadance?” Twilight asked with hopeful eyes.

“Again?” Cadance replied.

“Pleeeease?” Twilight begged, putting on a smile so adorable that a foalsitter like Cadance could never hope to ignore. “I haven’t had that much fun learning in a long time.”

“Sure! Why not,” said Cadance. The pink princess rose to her hooves before helping Twilight up to her own.

“Ready?” asked Cadance.

“Ready!” Twilight replied.

“A one, and a two, and a one two ready--”

Suddenly, just as the funfair was about to begin, a loud bell tower chimed off in the distance, ringing eight times before going silent.

“Was that what I think it was?” asked Twilight, frozen stiff in a goofy-looking starting position.

“The bell tower?” said Cadance, confused. “The tower doesn’t ring until--”

As if nature was waiting for the perfect moment, a strong breeze whistled through the playground, rustling the leaves in the tree branches above them. Startled, Twilight squeaked and dove for cover behind Cadance’s legs. It was starting to turn into a scene out of a horror movie as a layer of fog began to cover the playground field, bringing with it an eerie chorus of nighttime critters that only added to the darkened atmosphere.

“...nighttime.”

“How did it get so dark so quickly?” whispered Twilight, quivering in fear.

“We’ve been playing here for so long that we didn’t even notice it...” Cadance murmured. “How that happened I don’t even...oh dear."

“Cadance? I’m a little scared...” Twilight mewled, squeezing one of Cadance’s forelegs tightly. “Aren’t the guards supposed to be here already? You know, to pick me up?”

“Don’t worry, Twilight. I-I’m sure they’re just running a little...late. Besides, this place is pretty well hidden. You remember how long it took us to get here, right? It would take a miracle for somepony to find this place.”

After a brief moment of silence, Cadance immediately regretted her choice of words. She could feel Twilight tighten her grip around her foreleg, shaking like a leaf.

“B-but don’t worry!” said Cadance with haste. “The royal guards have passed by this place several times before. I’m sure they know the way here.”

“Really?”

“Of course, Twilight. Aunt Celly wouldn’t want her brightest and best student to be in danger, right? She’s probably very worried about you right now.”

“It’s just so...dark.” Twilight whispered.

With a simple flick of her head, the tip of Cadance’s regal, pink horn flared up with bright, blue light, shining down onto little Twilight’s face.

“Does that help?” asked Cadance, smiling.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Twilight replied, smiling back.

“Come on. We need to get out of this fog. We can’t be too careful around this place at night,” said Cadance as she and Twilight started off on a blind trek through the pea soup murkiness, making sudden twists and turns whenever they happen to come across a tree or other obstruction in their path. “Now, how on earth do we get out of here?”

“You’re an alicorn aren’t you, like Celestia? Why not just fly me out?”

“A bit too risky, don’t you think? I can barely see the sky above us with all of this in the way. I don’t even know if I can carry you that far.”

“Hmm...I think I read something before explaining that some unicorns could--”

“Teleport?” Cadance interrupted. “Yes, but I can’t risk that either. If you’ve read about it, than you must know the dangers, right? If I tried it, and if you got hurt...” Cadance shuddered at such a grim thought. “Besides, I’m not exactly Star Swirl the Bearded. I still got a few tricks I need to learn first.”

“Then what should we do? Scream for help?” Twilight giggled quietly.

“No. Sorry, Twilight, but this isn’t the time for joking around. We’re still lost and--wait a minute...are those my hoofprints?”

Cadance stopped and turned around, looking down at the greyish indentations in the ground with a confused look on her face.

“Those...those are my hoofprints!” Cadance gasped.

“And there’s mine, right there!” Twilight added, pointing at spots in the dirt where it clearly showed the familiar imprints.

“Have we...argh! We’ve been going in circles!” Cadance groaned, falling flat on her rear.

“Circle, actually. Just one time around,” Twilight corrected, grinning coyly.

“We should have at least heard from the guards by now!” yelled Cadance, moving to stand back up. “Where are they? We can’t just keep wandering around like this!”

“Couldn’t they just be--”

“Lazy? Standing around like a bunch of good little drones with that...stupid look on their faces? I wouldn’t be surprised.”

“—what I heard, Princess Celestia is even lazier on Saturdays,” echoed the beyond creepy voice of somepony nearby.

“...h-hello?” Cadance whispered, struck with immediate fear, as if it had been waiting for her.

“Well, from what I heard, it’s nothing but cake and hard cider all night long,” Another voice spoke up, this one sounding as gruff and disturbing as a back alley street thug. “Royal duties my flank...”

Cadance felt scared out of her wits, but not so much as little Twilight, who had taken to hiding behind her pink tail as soon as she heard the sudden voices. Fearing for Twilight’s safety, Cadance doused her magical glow light and quickly gathered her senses, poised to strike at a moment’s notice should she ever have to resort to violence in order to protect her filly companion. A few quick blasts of energy should buy them enough time to flee to safety. She began to back up, keeping a steady pace so Twilight could follow along. Even without her light, Cadance could still see fairly well with help from the faint glow of the moon peering in through slits in the fog. She turned her head left and right, scanning the rolling grey for any signs of danger. She needed a plan, and she needed one fast. Luckily for her, they seemed to be in the middle of nowhere.

“Pssst, Twilight!” Cadance hissed, looking back at her charge.

“W-what? Are they gone?” Twilight whispered in reply, peering out from behind her foalsitter’s tail.

“I don’t know, but here’s what we’re gonna do. I need you to stay as close to me as possible, ok? We’re gonna make a break for it. Hopefully, we’ll find a way out of the gardens. If we make it to the city, we’ll just follow the signs to the boot camp and get help from there. Understand?”

Twilight nodded, slowly stepping out of cover.

“Now, on three. One...two...”

Just as she was about to make a run for the hills, Cadance felt three taps on her shoulder from behind. She stopped dead in her tracks, frozen stiff with fear.

No mare could have ever screamed louder. Cadance whirled around and nearly fell backwards after she caught sight of two glowing, yellow eyes peering at her like a ghostly phantom. The next few seconds seemed to fly by in a blur. The haunting figure lunged at her, but Cadance was quick on her hooves. She quickly slid out of the way, making sure to drag Twilight along with her.

“Wait, your highness!” shouted the rough-voiced figure. Cadance, unfortunately, was too petrified to understand.

Startled and full of fear, Cadance opted to do the first thing that came to mind. Before one could even blink, the pink princess reared back around and delivered a swift, hard buck right in the assailant’s face. Their unseen oppressor fell backward and slammed into the ground like a tree fallen by a lumberpony, motionless and silent.

“Oh no...” Cadance murmured. “That was an accident! I-I didn’t mean to--”

“Princess Cadance?”

The dumbstruck princess and her equally surprised friend looked over their shoulders to find an armor-clad, pegasus royal guard staring back at them with wide eyes. This guard was much smaller than Cadance had expected; much younger too, unlike the usual pack at Canterlot Castle, what with a shorter figure and smaller wings. Besides the usual getup, the guard had on what appeared to be some kind of special flight helmet that covered most of their face, with holes cut out for the eyes and ears, and a thin grill covering both the nose and mouth.

“It’s a royal guard?” said Twilight, raising an eyebrow.

“Finally!” exclaimed Cadance, throwing her hooves up into the air. “We’ve been waiting here forever. Thank goodness you’re here. Please, we need your help. Somepony, or something, tried to attack us. Twilight and I tried to get away, but--”

“Forgive me for interrupting, your highness, but you seemed to have knocked the living daylights out of my partner over there,” spoke the now surprisingly high-pitched voice of the pony behind the mask.

“Your partner?” questioned Cadance, confused.

How could something so otherworldly and terrifying even come close to resembling a pony, let alone a royal guard? There were no similarities whatsoever besides the legs, the tail and the...hooves, the mane, and the...golden armor and identical flight helmet.

“Uh’ oh.”

~~~~~

“Again, I’m very sorry about all this,” Cadance apologized as she levitated a bag of ice onto the massive, swelling black eye of a very grumpy pegasus guard trainee, victim of her rather unpleasant royal welcome. The guard’s helmet was removed due to the intense pain of the expanding bulge, revealing the face of a rather handsome young stallion with a white coat and a short, golden mane.

“It’s fine, your highness,” mumbled the guard, flinching when he felt the ice sting against his injury.

“I still can’t believe you snuck up on her like some cold-blooded killer,” The second guard chuckled. “That was hilarious how she just smacked you right in the face like that! N-no offense, your highness.”

Cadance was deeply surprised. Since when do royal guards exhibit any other emotion other than dull lifelessness and a blank stare? An interesting coincidence indeed to see one do it openly, let alone in front of a princess or any other royal official who actually has a sense of humor.

“None taken,” replied Cadance. “You two don’t look like the usual guards who come by to pick up Twilight every day.”

“Argh! I knew we were forgetting something!” grunted the injured guard.

“Well, our alone time was nice while it lasted,” The other guard replied, blushing.

“Alone time?” said Cadance, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re voices sound really weird with these big helmets on,” Twilight spoke up as she fondled the golden headpiece nearby.

The injured guard opened his mouth to speak, but his strangely giddy partner spoke up first.

“We’re recruits at the training grounds here in Canterlot,” explained the guard through slightly muffled words.

“That’s where my big brother’s training at!” Twilight chimed in.

“Your brother?” replied the guard.

“Just out of curiosity, do either of you know a pony named, Shining Armor?” asked Cadance.

“Junior Captain Armor?” said the injured guard, still wincing in pain. “Yeah, we know him. We train with him too, but not all the time. He got his flank told off hard today by Old Ironsides, our Senior Commander. It sounded rough too. We could hear that old coot yelling at the top of his lungs for miles.”

“Really?” asked Cadance, one eye twitching.

“Yeah. I feel sorry for the poor guy,” the other guard spoke up. “My name is Star Strider by the way, and this is--”

“Shhh! We’re not supposed to give away our names!” hissed the annoyed other. “We’ve already broken enough rules as it is! You’re gonna get us both kicked out!”

“Aww, come on, Steely! It’s not like anypony’s around to hear us, besides the princess of course.”

“Speaking of which, what are you doing out here?” asked Cadance.

“And what’s with these helmets?” asked Twilight, pointing to the intact golden headpiece on Star Strider’s head. “They don’t look like they do much of anything.”

“We received a message from Princess Celestia to retrieve her private student from the Canterlot Castle Gardens. Apparently, today’s royal court meeting was put on lock down after Her Royal Highness choked on a piece of cake at the dinner party that followed. As weird as this may sound, the captain of the guard interpreted it as an assassination attempt and ordered that all guards remain at the castle to tighten up security. Everypony else was out training in the field, so we accepted the task, hitched up to one of the royal carriages, and flew our way over here to find you. Oh, and these helmets? Pegasus recruits are required to wear those stupid things when we leave camp for aerial maneuvers training. I think it’s just a safety issue, but do you really think a pegasus would be dumb enough to crash into everything in sight? They’re bulky, they’re heavy, they provide absolutely no support in flight, and they don’t have good ventilation. You sweat like a dog in these things, and they really make a mess of our manes.”

“Then why are you still wearing yours?” asked Twilight.

“Oh, I don’t really know, actually. Here, let me fix that.”

After wrestling with the head strap on the back of the helmet and struggling to wiggle it loose, the helmet finally slide up and off the guardian’s head, revealing not the face of another valiant stallion like Cadance had expected, despite previous behaviors, but rather the face of a beautiful snow-colored mare, smiling a warm smile that seemed to completely shatter every royal guard practice and tradition at the source. Mares in the Royal Guard were considered to be quite the interesting sight these days, like coming across a rare bird while out on a morning stroll.

“Surprised?” asked Star Strider, smiling timidly.

“Actually, yeah,” replied Cadance. “So, Steely—“

“Steelwing, your highness. It’s Steelwing.”

“Is your eye feeling any better?” Cadance continued.

“Not really,” replied Steelwing, keeping the ice pack pressed against his face. “Can’t you just use your…I don’t know, “princess powers” or something to fix this, or at least take some of the pain away?”

“I don’t know. I could try, but I don’t want to risk—“

“Allow me, princess,” Star Strider pro-offered, stepping closer to Steelwing with a wider, sensuous smile on her face.

“Star, not here! You’re gonna get us both—“

Suddenly, Star Strider reached forward, gripped Steelwing’s head, and planted a quick kiss on the young stallion’s cheek.

“Better?” asked Star Strider, giggling when Steelwing's pale cheeks began flaring up with embarrassed blush.

“…better,” replied Steelwing, putting on a little smile of his own.

Once again, Cadance was completely blown away. Nothing made sense anymore. The old singularity of standing around like a statue emitting less emotion than a glass a water seemed to shatter into a thousand pieces in her eyes.

“Could you keep a secret, your highness?” asked Star Strider, eyes glistening.

How could she not? It was love after all. Cadance admired the concept of love more than anything in the world. She could never, nor would ever, turn down such a captivating warmness between two ponies.

But there were always exceptions. Fortunately, this was not one of them.

“Of course,” Cadance replied happily.

“Thank you.”

~~~~~

“We’re all set and ready to go!” chirped Star Strider as she helped little Twilight into the royal carriage compartment.

“We’re are sooo dead when Ironsides gets a hold of us,” mumbled Steelwing while he hitched himself to the front of the carriage.

“Oh, don’t worry about that,” said Cadance. “I’m a princess, technically, and I won’t allow it! Besides, I still have questions to ask him.”

“Are you coming, your highness?” asked Star Strider, stepping aside to free up space to the door.

Cadance shook her head. “No thanks. I need to make a little stop in town first. I’ll just fly myself back to the castle later.”

“Do you need us to take you to your destination first?”

“It’s just a short walk away. I’ll be fine.”

“Suit yourself,” said Star Strider with a modest shrug.

“See ya’, Cadance! Today was fun!” said Twilight, peering out from behind the open carriage door.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Twilight,” Cadance giggled, giving a short wave. “Don’t forget to practice, ok?”

“Can do!”

After waving goodbye to each other, the carriage door was shut and locked. Star Strider hitched herself to the carriage alongside her lover, and within minutes, the carriage was off towards Canterlot Castle. The phrase, 'young and in love' was the topic of Cadance’s thoughts to follow, but Star Strider and Steelwing couldn’t have been much younger than herself anyway; maybe just a year or two younger, quite the surprising age to begin royal guard training, but the benefits were there.

“Speaking of royal guards…” Cadance whispered to herself, following along with her own musings. “I think I’ll pay my personal royal guard a little visit.”

~~~~~

Out of the all the destinations in the royal city of Canterlot, the Royal Guard Training Grounds, hooves down, has got to be the most poorly protected area in the entire city. Cadance really wanted to meet the idiot who thought that two, and only two, 'intimidating' guards at the front gate alone was the perfect idea for protecting an entire complex. The only other defense against intruders was to blackout the entire base, dousing every torch except for the ones at the front gate; as if they thought it would make it less suspicious.

After sneaking past Tweedleblind and Tweedledeaf, Cadance slinked her way through the grounds, passing many neatly arranged tents and buildings until she finally found the barracks tent, where the stallion of her blissful thoughts rested his perfect little head each night. She poked her head in through one of the tent flaps to check the area. Everypony inside was fast asleep, some snoring like a freight train, others snoring louder than a freight train, but she wasn’t interested in these ponies.

No, she was more interested in her electric blue-haired sweetheart sleeping soundly near the back of the room. A full day away from him was simply unacceptable. If she remembered correctly, a certain dead pony caused him some trouble today, but she’ll deal with that later. Right now, she had to sneak through an entire room filled with sleepy, muscle-bound walruses to get her prize.

It wasn’t easy, but after tiphoofing through the aisles and diving into cover whenever somepony did so much as twitch, Cadance made it to Shining Armor’s bedside. He was even more handsome up close. The lovely princess gently shook the stallion by the head until he began to stir.

“Just five more minutes…” grunted Shining Armor, turning over on his side.

Five more minutes? Much too long of a wait. Royalty never waits.

“Guess who!” Cadance whispered into Shining Armor’s ear. This time, she got a better response out of him.

“Cadance?” said Shining Armor, mumbling as he began to stir again.

“Surprise!” whispered the pink princess in reply, giggling.

“Cadance!?” Shining Armor gasped, shooting up from the bed.

“Shhh! Quiet!” Cadance hissed.

“What are you doing here?” asked Shining Armor, whispering back.

“I’ll tell you later! Get up and follow me.”

“Why?”

“Later! Here, meet me behind the tent in a few minutes.”

“W-wait!”

Before Shining Armor could get a few words out, Cadance darted out the barracks tent, leaving him behind, groggy and confused.

After slipping out of bed and stretching his legs, Shining Armor quietly walked past his fellow trainees and made his way outside. Remembering what Cadance said minutes earlier, he slithered around the corner of the tent into the back alley. The long corridor was one of cold and darkness, with little light shining down from the moon high above.

“Cadance? You back here?” Shining Armor called out in a hushed tone of voice.

“Right behind you…” whispered a familiar voice from behind. Shining Armor gasped and turned around, where he was greeted by an even more familiar pair of lips pressing against his own.

“Miss me?” asked Cadance, breaking away from the affectionate moment, fluttering her eyes seductively.

“Meh. A little,” Shining Armor shrugged. “But seriously, what are you doing here?”

“I just thought I’d come around and see the stallion I care about. Is that a little too much for you?”

“N-no! Not at all, but couldn’t it just wait until tomorrow? You could’ve been caught sneaking in here!”

“Firstly, no, it couldn’t wait, and secondly, caught by who? Those two featherbrains at the front gate? They couldn’t catch a cold even if they were trying! Speaking of which, somepony who mentioned they trained with you told me that old bag of bones gave you a hard time today. Are you alright?”

“I’ll be fine. I’ve been through worse.”

“Good, just so long as you’re not hurt…”

“I’m a pony of steel!” Shining Armor laughed. Cadance laughed along with him. “It’s gonna take more than a few shouts in the face to take me down!”

“Will you be with us tomorrow?”

“Of course...well, so long as Old Ironsides doesn’t put me to work at the crack of dawn…again.”

“You take as much time as you need. Don’t worry about him. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get in your way.”

“How are you going to do that? He might be old, but that pony’s built like a brick wall!”

“Do you really think he’d ignore a princess? Don’t you worry your pretty little head. There are…alternatives for disobeying royalty. He won’t raise a hoof in your direction. I promise.”

“Thanks, Cadance.”

“You’re welcome,” said Cadance with a warm smile. “I should probably get going. It’s getting pretty late.”

“You’re leaving?”

“A princess needs her rest, right? It gives me some time alone to think...about you.”

“Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow...love.”

Being called “love” made Cadance’s heart leap with stride. Only a day after their first kiss, and already they were acting like a couple much closer to each other than a simple romance fling. Only good things could come from this. Cadance could feel it in her heart, much like the same feelings she had for Shining Armor.

After a quick kiss goodbye, the two lovers left the alley going in two separate directions, just in case somepony may be watching, as low as the odds were. Shining Armor returned to his bed while Cadance took to the skies, flying as fast and as hard as her regal body would allow. Blithful dreams of her beloved flooded her mind like an ice cream tsunami; sweet enough to put a smile on anypony’s face. Just the thought of it made Cadance a little peckish. Ice cream sounded like the perfect midnight snack right about now. Maybe she should ask where Celestia keeps her secret stash, and if there was room on the moon for two...