Survival Begins at Home

Shining returned to the hotel room to immediately be tackled by his wife. She wrapped her arms around his chest and squeezed tightly. "I'm so sorry, Shiny," she sniffled, tears running down her cheeks. "The zebras weren't supposed to be here yet. This was supposed to be safe for you."

Shining pried away Cadance's hands just enough so that he could turn around and hug her. "It's okay, Cady. It's alright." As he gently shushed her and rubbed his hands along her back, he began to sway back and forth. "The zebras showed up a little early, that's all. The defenses held, we barely lost anyone, and I can now say with the utmost confidence that this city is safe and sound. We have nothing to worry about here."

Cadance looked up at him. "Are you sure? What was the cost we paid?"

Shining smiled down at her. "Including both the injured and deceased? Less than sixty total."

Her eyes lit up. "Shiny, you're smiling!" She squeezed him even tighter. "I take it that's a good number?"

"A very good number indeed," he responded, gently nuzzling her horn. "We wanted low numbers, and that's what we had. Under a hundred is a good day. Under sixty is a great day."

Cadance smiled. Finally, after the longest three months of her life, her Shining Armor was beginning to open up to her again. She began shifting her feet to the rhythm of his swaying, dancing with him to some inaudible band that was playing only for them. To her great surprise, he joined her, dancing his way over to the table. She'd ordered dinner an hour ago, and while it was cold, she lit up the candles anyway. If he was feeling this good, maybe she could convince him to eat something. She really wanted to keep dancing with him, but she would be even happier if she could still dance with him well into their sixties.

After separating from Shining and sitting down, he really dug into his meal. He behaved as though he hadn't eaten in a week. While such manners were unbecoming of a prince, she was just happy that he was eating something for once. He wasn't choking it down or just making a show, he was scooping it up by the forkful, chewing it, and swallowing it with fervor.

After their meal, she helped strip his armour off as they climbed into the shower. It had been a long day under hot metal plates for him, and he certainly smelled like it. After a good scrubbing, they looked into each other's eyes and began to lose themselves. They pressed their lips together, filled with need for one another. The water was shut off, They stumbled back to the bedroom without taking the time to dry off. For several minutes, Cadance enjoyed being eaten out for the first time in ages, then Shining climbed on top of her and made her feel like a princess again. When they were done, they fell asleep in each other's arms, smiling and satisfied.

Cadance woke up suddenly in the middle of the night to Shining screaming in fear. When she regained herself, she looked over to him. Once again, he was crying into his hands. He'd gone to bed in such a great mood. The evening before had been the best he'd felt in months. Now his hands were back to shaking, he'd not had a good night's sleep, and he was covered in sweat again.

She put her hand on his shoulder. "Do you want to talk about it, Shiny?"

He shook his head. "I'm sorry," he whimpered. "I didn't mean to wake you. You can go back to bed."

She pulled herself closer to him, pressing her cheek against his neck. "Are you coming back to bed with me?" He gave no response, just more whimpering. "Then I'm not going back to bed. Not without my husband by my side."

Shining just sat there for a few minutes, unmoving. When he finally did lean back, it was into Cadance's comforting embrace. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and let him use her breast as a pillow. It was the least she could do for him. Knowing he would have trouble returning to his slumber, she took him by the hand and gently rubbed the back of it with her thumb, humming softly a melancholy tune. It wouldn't work, but she could hope.

Shining Armor was out the next day, doing some damage analysis with Captain Loft. He wasn't going to be a captain for much longer, as he had sent out to his superiors a report of the events, and they had sent back their commendations, along with noting their desire to have him promoted to Major. He was planning to push back against it, as he had before, but he also had a strong sense of duty, and if they ordered him to take the promotion, he would do so.

While he was out, Cadance was trying to come up with ways to cheer him up. Other than the nightmare, last night had been wonderful, and it was good for Shining to have more days like that. She had written a letter to the therapist he'd declined explaining the situation, and all of the good that had come of it. She wanted her husband to smile again, but she didn't want him in danger. While awaiting a response, she was trying to think of ways she could show him that she wanted that version of him back.

Just after lunch, which she had with her husband this time, a scroll appeared in front of her, bearing a royal seal. The therapist worked in the castle, and his letters were always marked with a seal. She immediately popped it open.

"Expecting good news?" asked Shining, poking at his potatoes. He'd eaten more than yesterday's breakfast, but it wasn't as much as Cadance would like.

"I want to make you feel like you did last night," she smiled, blushing, "so I asked somepony for advice."

"Oh, yeah? Did they say anything good?"

Cadance slowly lowered the document. "This isn't the response I was hoping for. Time to pack up your things, Shiny."

Shining lowered his fork to his plate and grabbed her hand. "I can't make you stay. I regret dragging you down into this pit of misery with me. If they said it was best that you leave me, I wouldn't blame you, but I--"

Cadance turned the scroll around. "It wasn't what I wanted to hear because it wasn't something I was even expecting. We're being reassigned to Manehattan."