As Twilight, Mathias, Shining Armor, and Princess Cadance each found a place to sit, inside one of the palace's comfortably-furnished drawing rooms, there was silence for several moments. Nopony there really knew where to start talking, and Twilight was starting to feel nervous.

Eventually, the silence was broken by Prince Mathias, after a tray of snacks and tea was brought in by a servant, who soon departed. Mathias reached for a glass and sighed, before setting it down.

"You are Twilight's brother and Sister-in-law?" he asked, the apprehension in his voice clear as the sunlight outside. "I apologize on behalf of Cydonia that you weren't able to meet me when we first arrived."

"Why was that, exactly?" Shining asked, an eyebrow raised in slight suspicion. "Everything just happened so quickly, Cadance and I didn't get news of this until three days after the fact."

"Well, once the court and my father heard the news that Twilight had become the fourth alicorn, we dropped all other matters in an instant. You have to understand that we've waited 1000 years for that exact moment." Mathias shrugged. "Please understand if we felt a little...rushed, or ahead of ourselves, it was not meant to harm or offend in any way."

Shining gave a sigh, and nodded as his response, but he still carried the posture of one seeking to protect another, as that was clearly visible.

"Shining, please relax." Cadance said, placing a hoof on his shoulders. "Maybe you should step out for a bit. You're upset, frustrated, and not exactly in a good state of mind. Prince Mathias, is there anywhere he can go to cool his head?"

Shining was about to respond when Cadance gave him the look he had learned that she meant exactly what she had said, and was not going to budge on her position.

"Fine." he breathed. "Where can I go?"

"There's a balcony with a good view of the city just around the corridor, on the left." Mathias replied. "The guard should be able to help you find it."

Shining gave a quick nod before he stepped out, and Cadance was sure he was going to slam the door behind him. To the relief of all three present, he did not, but it was still clear he was not in the best mindset for the situation.

"Alright, now I suppose we can get to business." Cadance said after a few moments of just breathing. "What I want to know is...Twilight, are you honestly, truly, fine with this arrangement?"

Twilight thought for several moments, but she soon said "Yes", clear as day.

"Then I'll support you both however I can." Cadance said, holding Twilight's hoof in a sign of love and familial relations. "Love comes in all shapes, forms, and sizes, and even though this wasn't how I wanted to meet Twilight's eventual coltfriend, I'll make the best of the current arrangement. But, Prince Mathias, Shining might take more time to reach that same conclusion. But I can say he'll warm up to you. Eventually."

"Thank you, Princess Cadance. I'm honored." Mathias bowed his head deeply, as if a great weight had been lifted form his neck and shoulders.

"If it helps, Mathias, his family, and the whole of Cydonia have been nothing but kind and hospitable to me ever since I arrived." Twilight added. "They've really spared no expense to make me feel welcome and at ease here."

"That's good." Cadance smiled. "I take it that's another side-effect of having waited 1000 years for this, Mathias?"

"I suppose so." Mathias smiled slightly. "Shall we go fetch Prince Shining Armor?"

"Sure." Cadance nodded as they stood up. "I hope he hasn't gotten into trouble or anything."

As they exited the room and headed down the corridor, there was a loud popping sound, which was followed by a loud bout of laughter from a voice Mathias recognized.

"It seems Lilly's up to her old antics again." Mathias sighed. "My younger sister. She makes mischief all the time."

As they turned the corner, they could see what had caused such an interruption.

Lilliana was rolling on the floor, chortling, with the spent tube of a noisemaker next to her, with a few pieces of tinsel lying nearby. The eyes of everypony present then turned to Shining Armor, who was standing stiller than a statue, his clothes and chestplate covered in confetti.

What really sealed the moment, however, was Shining's expression of mortification, shock, and sheer dumbfoundedness that made Cadance, Twilight, and Mathias' cheeks inflate like balloons as they tried not to laugh.

Which lasted for about a few seconds before they joined in. What they didn't expect was Shining to slowly chuckle, and then start laughing himself. As it died down a few moments later, Shining wiped a tear from his eye and sighed.

"Geez, I haven't laughed like that in so long…" he smiled.

"I take it you're feeling better?" Mathias asked.

"Thanks to your sister, yeah, I'm feeling better." Shining replied. "That was clever, Lilliana."

"Speaking of Lilly, what did you even do?" Twilight asked.

"I saw him all down in the dumps, and I thought I'd cheer him up." Lilliana replied mirthfully. "It does help that he was acting so pensive and all moody, that he didn't notice me until I was right next to him."

"And then you threw confetti into my face." Shining deadpanned.

"For the record, it was worth it!" Lilly smiled brightly. "Sorry if I startled you, by the way."

"It worked." Shining sighed. "I'm sorry for being such a downer, Prince Mathias. I let my anger get the better of me."

"It's fine." Mathias nodded. "Come on, let's get something to eat."

And as they all proceeded to head to the Great Hall, Shining smiled, also feeling a great burden being lifted from his mind.

"You know, I can worry about this whole thing later. For now, I have to stay in the moment, and enjoy myself. Besides...they've done nothing to make me feel unwelcome, and I want to keep it that way."

"So I'll just go with the flow."

Author's Note

Update!