Cherish the Ones You Love
It was a peaceful day in Canterlot. Princess Cadence and her aunt, Princess Celestia, were sitting at a quaint table in the royal courtyard, enjoying some tea. She raised her teacup, in the gentle blue glow of her magic. Bringing the beverage to her mouth, she took a sip, while her aunt simply sat there staring at her cup. She needed to tell her niece something, something very important.
Celestia cleared her throat and said, “Cadence, we need to talk.”
She smiled at her relative and replied, “Sure aunt Tia, what about?”
“It's about your wedding.” said Celestia in a soft voice.
Cadence offered Celestia a puzzled look and stared at her suddenly feeling rather confused. Following a brief silence, Cadence asked, “What about me and Shining's wedding? I knew it! I should of picked daises instead roses, why didn't I listened to Luna in the first place. Now she's going to be all like, "I toldeth you so" or something like that.”
"Cadence, that isn't what I want to talk about."
"I mean after all this time, why does she till speak like it's still the medieval ages?"
"Cadence!" said Celestia as she slightly raised her voice.
"Yes?"
"I need to tell you something."
"Oh, and that is?"
“Are you sure you want to go through with all of this?” Celestia questioned, giving her niece a deeply concerned expression.
“What do you mean? You don't want me to marry Shining Armor?”
Her aunt sighed as she organized her thoughts. “You do realize that Shinning Armor won't live forever, unlike you will, right?” Celestia explained in a clam voice.
Cadence fell silent. She didn't speak, instead she continued looking at Celestia for a moment, before her aunt continued on with her statement, “I know that you didn't want to be a princess, but you’re an alicorn Cadence. Like my sister and me, you'll live forever, and watch all the ones you love…eventually fade with the endless march of time.”
“Does that mean-” Cadence said, trailing off.
Celestia nodded in a solemn fashion. “Yes, it means that in a fairly short time, Twilight and her brother will both pass on. Their lives go by in the blink of an eye, compared to ours. I do realize that you care about them very much, Cadence, but you need to accept the facts. They will die and you will live…there’s nothing that can change that,” she said in an almost haunting way.
"Does that mean, that I'll have to age him age and grow old; while I'll remain young?"
Celestia softly said, "Yes. You will, I am sorry Cadence but there are some things you can't change."
"That's-"
Celestia interrupted her, "You do know, that you don't have to go through this right? I can cancel the wedding if you want. Cadence, Luna and I are here to help. So-"
"No." interrupted Cadence, "I do want to go through this, no matter the risks."
"Are you sure? But Cadence-"
"But nothing, I want to marry Shining Armor." her voice cracked and some tears streamed down her face.
Cadence couldn't believe it, her shinning armor will die. She had a crush on Shining ever since the first day she met him. Through foal-sitting his sister, Shining and Cadence became the greatest of friends. During their friendship, Cadence realized that she cared for him greatly. She found that she would always become jealous, whenever another mare talked to him. She just wanted to be with him, no matter what. To that end, the two of them always hung out, and trusted each other with their deepest darkest secrets. She knew Shining was afraid of spiders, his favorite color was green, and that he wanted to be captain of the royal guard, just like his father was. Back then she was too blind to even realize she had a crush on him.
After Shining joined the royal army, he was closer to her, and they hung out even more. Soon, they confessed their love for each other and started dating, and then before they knew it, the two were engaged. Shining Armor was clearly her knight in shinning armor and Cadence was his princess, a fairy tale romance Cadence often thought of what her relationship with Shining was.
Cadence had nearly forgotten that she was an alicorn and hadn’t realized Shining Armor and his sister would die, while she would go on living. She never wanted to be a princess, and she certainly didn’t want to be the same age forever. All she wanted was to be with her knight in shining armor for the rest of her life. There were times, she even wished that she was just a normal pony for once, so she wouldn’t have to deal with the stress of being a princess.
“Cadence,” said Celestia, breaking her niece from her thoughts, “Are you all right?”
Cadence simply nodded and used her magic to get a napkin to wipe her tears, "Yes, I'm fine."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes I am," She soon gathered her thoughts and asked Celestia a question, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Of course you can,” answered Celestia giving her niece a soft smile.
“Were you ever in love?"
Celestia's gentle smile quickly faded. “I was…a long time ago. I fell in love with a solider, just like you did.”
“What happened?”
“I had a very similar talk with my mother. After we had finished talking, I went to him and ended our relationship. I didn't want to see him age, while I'd live forever,” her aunt replied, letting out a heavy sigh.
“Do you ever think about what your life might have been like if you two had stayed together?” Cadence asked softly.
Celestia gave a weak smile. “I think about him everyday. And some nights, I lay awake and wonder…what it would have been like, had I chosen to be with him.”
“I see.” Cadence replied, giving her aunt’s words a lot of thought.
"Cadence, now I need you to listen." Instructed her aunt, "This is very important."
"Okay, what it is?"
“Cadence, if you truly love Shining Armor, please don't make the same mistake I did,” Celestia implored. “Spend everyday you have with him. Cherish every moment you are together, because one day he won't be there. But as long as you make the most of your time…you won’t regret about what might have been,” Celestia replied, a painful longing in her voice.
Cadence looked over at her aunt. A few tears had just begun trailing down Celestia’s elegant face. The younger alicorn felt her heart fill with compassion. She rose from her seat and went to her aunt, giving her a supportive hug. “I will Celestia…I promise. I’ll spend my time with Shining Armor to the fullest! And I will cherish every minute we are together!” Cadence ran her hoof across Celestia’s back, offering her moral support.
Celestia cast out a gentle sigh. She still felt the pain of her mistake in her heart, but the love and support offered by her niece, soothed her sorrow. And it made her smile to know she had gotten through to her. “Thank you Cadence.”
Their hug ended, and Cadence stood before her aunt. Shaking her head, she said, “No, I should be thanking you. Even if our time may be brief, thanks to your advice, I know I’ll never take my Shining Armor for granted,” she avowed, her eyes glistened softly with the hint of newly formed tears or joy.
Celestia smiled, and took one final sip from her tea. Having regained her composure, she rose to her hooves and prepared to leave the courtyard. She turned back and said, “If you need me, I’ll be tending to some royal duties. But I will always be there, if you need somepony to talk to.”
“Aunt Celestia!” Cadence called out.
Celestia halted her steps and turned back. “Yes?”
She walked over to her aunt and gave her another hug. “Thank you, very much!”
Celestia smiled and returned her hug, “You're quite welcome.”
"Anut Tia," said Cadence, "Can I ask you another thing?"
"Of course you can Cadence. What is it?"
"Will you ever find love again?"
Celestia gave a soft smile, "Maybe I will give it another chance, but Cadence don't give up hope like I did. Okay?"
"Okay. I won't, I promise."
Their hug ended, and Celestia made her way out of the courtyard. Cadence stood there, until her aunt had disappeared out of sight. A smile remained on the young alicorn’s face, now that she felt a new found appreciated for the time she had with Shining Armor. She was now going to make the most of it as possible.
Her face lit up, as she quickly trotted out of the courtyard. She raced along the halls of the castle, making her way to the font gate. There she stood as her beloved knight arrived, leading a squad of royal guards back to the castle. Cadence beamed him a delighted smile and trotted up to his side. He immediately knew she wanted to see him. Shining Armor turned to his second in command. “Would you lead the guards inside. I’ll be there in just a second, okay?” he instructed.
His second in command saluted him. “No problem sir,” he replied. The guard turned to the others and said, “This way, it’s time for the changing of the guard.”
"Hey Cadence." smiled Shining.
"Hello sweetie." Cadence smiled back, "So, how's it like it being captain of the royal guard?"
Shining Armor shrugged, "I don't really that much of difference, but the other guards seem to respect me more. So yeah, that's always a good thing."
"Oh, that's very nice to hear." smiled Cadence.
Shining stood there with his special somepony. He happily returned her smile. “So what brings you here, sweetie?” he asked.
Cadence threw her hooves around him and embraced him in a tender hug. “Why you, you big dummy,” she said playfully. “I just really wanted to see you.”
"Awww, did you miss me?"
"I'm not that love sick Shining."
“Well it’s always great to see you,” he professed back. Cadence pulled back, and continued smiling at him. Shining Armor placed a hoof lovingly on her shoulder. “Is everything okay?”
She nuzzled against him. “It’s fine…now that you’re here,” Cadence chimed. “Listen, if your shift is over, would you like to spend some time together?”
Shining Armor nuzzled her back. “Sure honey. I just need to go relieve the guards and make sure the next group is ready to go. But then we’ll hang out, just me and you, I promise.” he replied,
"Do you Pinkie Promise?" asked Cadence.
"Twiley's super hyper crazy friend has her own promise too?" asked Shining, "I thought she was just insane. Well from the letters I've read."
"She isn't crazy Shining, she's just unique. Well do you the promise?"
"Yeah, cross my heart, and hope, stick a cupcake in my eye." said Shining as he did the appropriate gestures, "I think that's how it goes."
“So, What would you like to do?” she asked.
Giving her a tender hug, he said, “Anything…as long as its something we can share…together.”
She squeezed him tightly and let out a loving sigh. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Cadence,” he declared, giving her one last squeeze. “Well I’d better go see to the guards. But I’ll be back soon sweetie, promise.”
“I know you will,” she uttered back, continuing to smile.
They shared a short kiss and then Shining Armor made his way to the guard barracks. Cadence stood there and cast her eyes to the sky. She didn’t know what the future held for sure, but she knew it would grand…as long as she was with her Shining Armor, it didn't matter what they did.
