Chapter 1: Rough ‘N' Tussle
“Wake up, Shiny! Get up, get up, get up!~”
The first thing the white Stallion doesn't want to see or hear on his first day at Ponyville is his sister annoying him out of bed. Getting in from the night train really did a number on his back, especially being in such a cramped space. Get this; he was in coach on the five hour ride. Not in a private railcar. Coach! He’d think he would get a nice quarters to himself since he’s one of the most important ponies in Equestria. Or at least deserve a bigger seat of some specialty. That bit of stress that has been put on him is part of the reason why he's here in the first place!
“No.” He pulls the comforter over himself, hoping that will get the point across. But ever since she was a little filly, she’s always been relentless towards him in gaining attention.
The beast grabs his blanket and pulls it off his house, winter setting in rather suddenly with discomfort. The huge drop in temperature makes him turn on his back and open his eyes, wide and irritant of the sun that bounces around the crystalized room from the window by his bed.
“Rise and shine, big brother of mine!” The white unicorn looks over to his left to see a bubbly bright eyed purple alicorn that looks to be ready to go somewhere he doesn’t.
“What do you want, Twilight?”
“It's time to get out of this room and get some fresh air!”
“Can you just let me sleep in?” Shining Armor rubs his eyes, groaning. As much as Twilight wants him to do so, he isn’t much of a morning person. It’s something about having extra time of sleep that makes everything wonderful to the unicorn. It’s probably the fact that he gets more energy instead of waking with an exhausted figure.
That and how he has loads of time to do such.
“It’s two in the afternoon. I think you’ve had enough sleep already.”
“Pfft. Says you.” Shining reluctantly rises from the soft bed, immediately feeling the tensity in his back. He stretches to get the kinks out, loosening up to give himself better movement before looking up the purple alicorn with drowsy eyes. He arches his brow of her appearance as she walks over to the window to look outside of her castle to the small little town, looking at all the ponies that walk by her glowing kingdom…
of Friendship.
“You’re about to go somewhere?”
“Yeah.” She slightly turns her head back to him. “I’m going over to Applejack’s barn just to see what she’s up to. There’s nothing much going on, so it's just surprise visits from me today.”
“Sounds pretty good.” He gets off the bed on his hooves, his knees feeling close to locking up as they pop. As time goes by for him in his later years, Shining’s fatigue shows quite naturally, albeit more constant since he’s a ruler of an empire. He stays strong to himself and still keeps in shape to otherwise show as a role model to his subjects and his daughter.
The stress of doing so never leaves him however.
“Got any company joining, like Starlight or whatever?” He moves for his luggage that sits organized by the purple door that leads to the crystal corridor. He lays it down and opens the bag to pull out his clothing for the day. He isn’t going for style on this trip, just comfortability and relaxation. That being said, he’s wearing blue breathable jeans and a red loose plaid shirt.
“I was going to get Rainbow Dash to come with me, but it seems that she has an emergency meeting at Cloudsdale. Wonderbolt stuff. Plus, I haven’t thought of asking anyone else. Feel like coming along yourself?”
Shining lays his clothes on the unkempt bed before looking at her with a wide grin, almost close to being a smile. Twilight is one of the ponies he holds too dear to his heart, right next to Cadence and Flurry Heart. The siblings have a connection unlike any other, the bond between them strengthening ever since she was a little filly.
He always sticked up for her whenever she got bullied from the other kids who made fun of her for being smart, playing with her when she wanted his attention, letting her sleep in his bedroom when she had a nightmare. The family love they have is unfathomable and the loving ponies of their kingdoms adore them for it.
Although, he isn’t for sure why Twilight’s on Cadence’s list.
“Of course, little sis. Let me just get ready.”
It's almost always near impossible to find a way around all the corridors of the castle without Twilight or Spike around, Starlight too if she's just there conveniently. For a place this huge, having some signs placed can definitely help a wandering soul like Shining from ending up at a door that looks like its the kitchen, but turn out to be a coat closet.
Heck, if the stairs weren't visible, he could've ended up in a dark alley.
Having view of the lobby after walking a good length of steps down, he sees Twilight and Starlight close by the front entrance. He isn’t able to listen in on what they say, so he assumes that it’s just a quick conversation before Twilight leaves. It doesn’t matter much to him right now to care though; he needs some nourishment for his needy belly. He hopes they made breakfast this morning. It’ll be cold, but at least it’s there.
“Morning, Starlight.”
Twilight and the pale purple pony blink before turning their heads, their wide plate eyes searching the stairs to see him.
“Oh! Afternoon, Prince Shining Armor! How are you doing?” Her smile is wide and demanding of attention, something similar to seeing a favorite celebrity in a way. Even though his title forces it, he doesn't care that much for it.
He put his hand in his mane and shags it to his usual unkempt style before appearing upon them. “I'm doing good. Just call me Shining Armor.” He looks over to Twilight. “You girls made anything this morning? I'm starving!”
“We did, but it's all gone now.” He hums in disappointment, annoyance setting in from his needy stomach. She giggles. “Just rummage in the kitchen and see what we have. I'm sure you'll find something in there.”
“Awesome. You're leaving now?”
“In a minute. I’ll hold out here until your ready. Starlight and I still have to talk, so get going!” She shoos him away and he takes the hint. Probably some more friendship problem stuff as usual in her line of work. Not like any of it has to do with him anyway.
He tries to remember where the kitchen is, and takes a while to find it. If only the aroma of pancakes and maple syrup had been here for him at his time of need, the need to have the sweet buttery taste of perfectly cooked dough to bless his tongue with fruitful flavors deeming to be unimaginable for the willing. But, the will is not in his spirit for the morning!
He looks down at his watch. 3PM. Almost time for dindin.
'Damnit, Shining!’
“Hey, Shining Armor! Finally up I see.”
The unicorn looks over his shoulder to see a purple drake with a toothy grin by an open door. His name is Spike, a very nice and helpful dragon of the castle. He’s treated like a brother to the unicorn since he was just a little baby dragon sucking on his tail, and also the best source of food he can think of.
He turned around to properly greet. “Hey, Spike! Where’s the kitchen bud?”
“Didn't eat yet I'm getting?” Spike waves him over before walking through the doorway.
“Not at all.” Shining follows behind and is soon in a clean space of culinary professionalism: the kitchen. “I was too sleepy this morning to think about food.”
“That stinks for you, Shining.” Spike sighed, grinning. “I even made pancakes and hash browns this morning.”
Shining’s heart sinks in his chest after hearing what just came out the drake's mouth.
‘Oh Celestia, Spike breakfast…’ he mentally began to cry. ‘... he always makes the best breakfast.’
“Oh well!” Spike opens a couple of large cabinets over the slick countertop. Inside them has readily consumables. Cereal, chips, noodle cups. You name it, they most likely have it!
“Here's some stuff here that you can go for. Check out the fridge too if you want. I'm out.” Spike makes his way out, leaving Shining to figure out what he wants. After a brief thought, he gets a sweet red apple from the fruit basket and a banana muffin, closing the cabinets before getting out the kitchen himself. With a small and plentifulsnack like that, it nourishes his body for now to go outside and enjoy the day. It's time to let everything go and just breath in the nice clean air Ponyville provides.
With nopony in the lobby, Shining walks straight to the door, is hooves clanking the marble floor until he opens his way to the outside world. The first touch of warmth on his hair is phenomenal. It feels as if he's back in his own homestate, with the community crowding the volume setting with their “hello”s and whatnot. The skies are blue and clear of clouds, with a few Pegasus taking fond care of it.
Shining takes a minute to find his sister by looking around the dirt open communal space. He wishes he could walk out there, but the city looks completely different from the last time he was here, to the point where it's not easy finding Sweet Apple Acres. Now there's a few more twists and turns. It's like going to a supermarket and the main thing you look for is in the back corner of it instead of being up front like it used to be a week ago.
And that's no fun.
Shining finally sees her by the far side of the castle with a blue pegasus mare.
“Thanks for taking care of the clouds, Blue Sky.” The pegasus shrugs before putting her hands on her hips, smiling.
“Anything for Shining's relaxation! Just remember that since there's no rain today, it'll be moved to tomorrow's rain, making it harder and longer.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. The more comfy sunlight we get, the better.” The blue pegasus nods and flies away before Shining can get there, but he heard most of what they were talking about. Once he gains close enough for Twilight to hear him coming, she turns over to him with her hands together on her waist, smiling bright like the day. Not in a way of trying to impress somepony, but warm enough to make their day go smoothly.
“Are you ready to go Shining?”
“Yeah. The sooner I get to do something, the better.”
“Well that’s great to hear...” She walks ahead into the town area, Shining following along. “... because I have a couple of places to stop by before getting to Applejack’s.”
“... Okay? Where are we going?”
“First, we have to go by Carousel Boutique. Rarity has a dress for me to wear at the Galloping Gala and I just have to check up on it’s progress. Then, we head over to Sugarcube corner.” She stops and looks back at him. “There’s even a little something special there for you!”
Shining don’t know if he can take a few extra pounds after eating that scrumptious muffin from earlier, but the thought of cake just overtakes his self diligence. He wants it, he needs it.
He quickly crouches under Twilight and hoists her up on his shoulders, the alicorn slow to react. “That’s awesome! Let’s go already~!”
With a swift kick of his sprint hoof and a laughing Twilight, Shining Armor’s adventure finally begins.
