Shining Armor's "Father's" Day Special

“Mmmmmm… Aaaaahhhhh~”

The morning light was just beginning to peer through the window blinds, giving some much-needed illumination to the Royal Bedroom. Shining Armor slowly began to stir awake, his muzzle twitching before forming into a contented smile. On most mornings (at least, ever since Sombra moved in and casted the Prince to sleep elsewhere), Shining would’ve awoken rather uncomfortably on his sofa at the corner of the room. Fortunately for the stallion, today was much different.

Shining sighed as he slowly opened his eyes, and sprawled out in the plush bedding that Cadance and Sombra usually slept. Much to his surprise, the stallion found himself lying in bed by himself that morning. Part of him wanted to ask why his Ex or King weren’t present, but he could only assume that they allowed him to sleep in and enjoy breakfast themselves. After all, despite how consistently he may have been treated in Private since Sombra’s arrival, Shining Armor knew that today was one of the rare exceptions.

He looked over at the calendar hanging on the wall, and smiled when he saw the current date with a large red circle around it. On that particular Sunday, Shining knew that the day was meant solely for him:

Father’s Day

Shining laid back against the pillow for a moment, savoring the soft comforter beneath him and appreciating his brief serenity. Despite how arduous the previous year may have been for him, especially after Cadance’s pregnancy was confirmed a couple months ago, the Prince didn’t feel nearly as anxious or tense as he usually did. In fact, by the time he was able to lift his head back up and sit upright in the bed, he was smiling quite naturally to himself. Part of him wanted to get up and start the day right, but Shining decided to stay in bed for just a little while longer. He looked over at the closed doors of the bedroom, partially expecting for two certain someponies to come in at any moment.

-Click-

His face lit up expectantly when he saw the doors open up, and his Ex-Wife entered the room with a warm smile. Even though he and Princess Cadance agreed to an off-paper “divorce” a while back, it was hard for him to feel that way when he saw her in the morning light. The Alicorn was blushing radiantly, while only the slightest hint of a bump could be seen beneath her barrel. Cadance looked a little surprised when she saw Shining was already up from his late-morning rest; but at the same time, her voice carried a slight tone of relief as she walked towards the bed. “Ahh, good morning, honey… I hope you had yourself a good rest~”

“Mnnnghhhhh… Yeah, I totally did!” Shining stretched out his forelegs, and sighed happily when he felt more of his tension slipping away. He looked back at Cadance with a joyful, half-lidded stare while smiling contentedly. “Thanks for letting me sleep in.”

“Oh, it’s no problem…” Cadance lit up her horn, and floated over a stepping-stool with her blue magic so she could crawl onto the bed. The mare made sure to move carefully, despite being so early in her pregnancy. Shining scooted back to give her some room, which allowed for Cadance to sit comfortably across from him atop the plush bedding. “After all,” she continued with an optimistic tone, even as her eyes averted from him ever-so-slightly. “I… I wanted you to have a nice moment like this for today…”

Shining didn’t immediately catch the odd pausing in his Ex’s words, nor did he see the brief skew in her smile while it was pointed away from him. Because of that, he was still smiling warmly as he glanced back at the open doors. “So, ummm… Is it just you?” he asked curiously, before making sure to add, “I-I mean, shouldn’t Flurry Heart be here too? I remember last year, both of you came in with that breakfast in bed…”

Shining smiled to himself as he recalled that morning just a year ago. It was shortly before Sombra ever came into the picture, and he was still happily married to Cadance in a sweet, monogamous relationship. Much like this morning, Shining was sleeping in before Cadance and Flurry came in, and presented him a lovely breakfast in bed to show their appreciation for him. However, it seemed that this time around, only Cadance was here to greet him after he woke up…

And when Shining glanced back at his Ex, his smile lessened when he saw how tightly her muzzle was pursed shut.

“Yeah, I… I remember that day pretty well…” Cadance looked away from her Ex as she smiled wistfully, appreciating that moment just as well as Shining had. But after a deep exhale through her nostrils, she turned back to him with a more apprehensive-look. “I actually considered doing that again this year, but…”

Cadance’s words were put on pause once more, this time catching Shining’s attention. His eyes narrowed on her peculiarly, but he wasn’t sure what he could ask at that moment. After another deep breath, Cadance averted her eyes from Shining when she finished her statement, “... well… I was wanting to talk with you about doing something else today…”

Shining wasn’t sure what Cadance was getting at, but he made sure to look back at the open doorway to make sure nopony was present. Luckily, the hallway looked to be empty, which allowed for him to turn his attention back to Cadance uninterrupted. “Well, ummm… what do you mean? Like… were you wanting to try something different this Father’s Day?”

“Actually, ummm… I did. Heh heh…” Despite her nervous chuckle, Cadance was still smiling weakly when she looked back at her former husband. She also made sure to point out insistently, “And before I say anything else, I want you to promise you won’t be too upset, okay?”

His eyes narrowed on her even more, clearly confused about what was making her act this way. However, the Prince blinked a couple times before sitting upright on the bed, and shrugging his shoulders in response. “Ummm… A-Alright then. I… I promise I won’t get upset.”

Cadance’s muzzle wrinkled up from how tightly it clenched shut, as if she was trying not to wince from his assurance. Nevertheless, the Princess sighed and nodded with a cautious smile. “Thank you, Shining. It’s just that, uhhh…”

She looked down at her hooves for a moment, and rubbed them together as she tried to contemplate her wording. “... Right now, Flurry Heart in her bedroom, and… Sombra is looking after her while I came to visit you.”

Shining was just about to stand up in worry, but Cadance’s horn lit up to keep him in place on the bed. Meanwhile, she continued to fidget her hooves while speaking. “It’s alright, Shining. I… I’ve been trying to get Flurry Heart better acquainted with Sombra over the past couple months. You know… just so she won’t be so hostile towards him when the baby comes.”

“Aaahhhh…” Shining settled back down, and eventually nodded with an understanding look. Ever since Sombra returned to the Crystal Empire to live under probation, Flurry Heart was the one to respond most negatively to his presence. Even though he and Cadance understood why she would have such a problem with Sombra, they had hoped that things would change through time. Shining looked back at his Ex cautiously and asked, “Wait, so… Are you sure they’ll be alright together?”

“Yes! I… I really do…” Cadance had to keep her tone of voice reserved, despite how quickly she responded to that question. But at the same time, there was an obvious hint of excitement when she added, “In fact, I’ve been able to see how well they’ve been getting along as of recently. He’s been playing with her a lot, and she’s even able to smile when she sees him! It’s… It’s really great to see, actually…”

Cadance looked oddly happy when she said that last part, and looked down at her pregnant belly with a more confident smile. She rubbed her baby-bump for a moment, while Shining sat across from her with a puzzled stare. But after a brief bout of silence, Cadance breathed out with a huff and returned her focus on Shining. “A-Anyway, ummm… Since things have been going so well between Flurry Heart and Sombra, I was… kinda hoping you would understand what I wanted to do today…”

“... uhhhhh…” Shining’s eyes darted between Cadance and the open doorway, just in case anypony came trotting past to eavesdrop. However, the Prince could tell from her cautiousness that she was keeping their discussion private. A million questions were running through his head, starting with what exactly Sombra was doing alone with his daughter. But with his Ex sitting right in front of him, all he could do was ask blankly, “What… What were you wanting to do?”

Cadance closed her eyes to take one last breath, obviously feeling hesitant about how Shining would respond. But regardless, she reopened her eyes to look at him directly, and spoke with a hopeful smile. “Well… Since today is Father’s Day, I was hoping that maybe you could… let Sombra have this day with Flurry Heart instead~”

Even though the Alicorn made that suggestion with an optimistic tone, there was an awkward moment of silence as Shining sat with a baffled look. The idea alone was enough to make him huff in amusement, and his muzzle smirked the tiniest bit in disbelief. “Heh… Ummm… Wait, what now?”

Shining almost wanted to believe that Cadance was pulling his leg, or trying to test him like Sombra would during their nights of cuckolding. But alas, the Princess kept her smile as she repeated herself more seriously. “I… I want Sombra to spend Father’s Day with Flurry Heart… I-If that’s okay with you, I mean~”

“W-Whoa, WHOA!” Shining reeled back before Cadance could use her magic, and his back pressed up against the headboard while staring confoundingly at her. Cadance’s smile turned more nervous, but she kept it present in case Shining tried to disagree. Meanwhile, the Prince blinked a couple times as he tried to process her logic. “Wait, what… w-what do you mean you want Sombra to have Father’s Day with Flurry Heart?! She’s MY daughter!”

Cadance quickly snapped back, “You just promised you wouldn’t get upset!”

“I’m not upset! I’m just…” Shining closed his eyes to take a couple calming breaths. After settling himself down, he tried to ask in a calmer tone, “I… I’m just confused, that's all. Wh… Why do you want him to have this day with her?”

“Well…” Cadance looked back down at her hooves, and tried to speak honestly on the matter. “Sombra is really trying his hardest to make amends with Flurry, and he… really wants to be a good parent when his foal arrives next year…”

As she talked, Cadance continued to rub her belly while smiling to herself. “We talked about it for a while, and… We figured that he could get a lot of experience if he was able to have that kind of relationship with Flurry Heart first~”

Shining’s muzzle hung agape, and his eyes were half-lidded while trying to comprehend her words. Even more questions were flooding his consciousness, but his thoughts were clumping up into a puzzled haze that left him unable to think coherently. After several seconds of silence, Shining raised a hoof and tried to ask, “Ummm… W-Wouldn’t that confuse Flurry a little?”

“Well, not if we’re able to get them acquainted more regularly,” she pointed out with a more chipper tone. “I mean… if Sombra’s able to spend some quality time with her this Father’s Day, she might be more accepting of him later on~ Wouldn’t that be great?”

Cadance sounded rather giddy with that last question, and she stared back at Shining with an expectantly wide smile. Meanwhile, the Prince just looked more confused about what she and Sombra were planning. He may have wanted Flurry Heart to see Sombra in a more positive light, especially with his foal on the way. But at the same time, he couldn’t help but notice how oddly insistent she was acting about this.

“Uhhh… Well, I mean…” Shining looked away from her before shrugging weakly. “I do want her to have a better relationship with Sombra--”

“So it’s settled!” Her face lit up excitedly, and she began to scoot back towards the edge of the bed. “Ohmish, this is so great, Shining! I’ll just get Sombra and let him kno--”

“W-W-Wait a minute!!” Shining practically leapt across the bed to grab Cadance’s hoof, holding her still so she couldn’t leave the bed. She looked back at him with slight bemusement, while Shining’s expression carried a lot more perturbation. “C-Cadance, what… what’s going on here?! I haven’t even gotten out of bed yet! What are you… What are you expecting to happen today!?”

Cadance paused with her bottom lip bitten, but she didn’t try to leave the bed when she saw Shining’s pleading face. Since it was clear he wasn’t letting her leave so easily, the Princess sighed and closed her eyes. “Ummm… A-Alright then…” Her voice sounded a little more nervous, but she trusted Shining well enough to speak more truthfully. “If you really want to know, I… I’ll be honest with you…”

Shining let go of her hoof, allowing for her to set more freely across from him. Cadance reopened her eyes once more, and tried her best to clarify her plans. “Sombra and I figured that… since he’s going to be a Father soon, he could… get some experience if he took your place today for Father’s Day. He could have the whole day with her, and be able to treat her like she was his own daughter.”

Shining’s jaw nearly dropped to the mattress, and he gawked at her in obvious shock. Meanwhile, Cadance sighed with a wistful smile as she looked away from him, and kept speaking in a positive tone. “He could play with her all day, showering her with gifts… Heck, he could even change her diapers and help bathe her like you would’ve. I can make sure none of the staff see, of course, but I wouldn’t be too upset if they saw a softer side of Sombra perhaps… And then at the end of the day, he could tuck her in and read her a bedtime story...”

That was when Cadance looked back down at her belly, completely ignoring Shining’s stunned expression as she smiled to herself warmly. “Who knows? Maybe by the end of the day, she can call him ‘Da-Da’~”

“EXCUSE ME?!?”

Cadance jolted from how suddenly Shining made that outburst. The Princess looked absolutely aghast when she saw his baffled stare, with his left eye twitching violently. “What… What did you just say?!”

“It was just an idea!” Cadance quickly hopped off the bed before Shining could stop her. “I mean, I’m not expecting that to happen right now, but… who knows? Maybe his parenting skills will really shine through~”

“Cadance, what are you talking about!?” Shining got himself out of bed, and stood between Cadance and the open doors. After checking to make sure nopony was out in the hall, he gawked at the sheer gall of Cadance’s words. “This… This is Father’s Day, remember? This is supposed to be MY day with Flurry Heart! Why would you… Why do you want Sombra to have this?!”

Cadance chuckled nervously, and looked away from him while stammering out, “W-Well, I just told you, honey. I… I wanted him to have some experience being a parent.”

“What, by having him pretend to be Flurry Heart’s Father?!”

That question seemed to have gotten to her, as she stared back at him wide-eyed and tried to clarify, “W-Well, of course not! Shining, I don’t want him to--”

“Then what is it then?!” Shining’s previous promise was basically forgotten as his voice became more agitated. “You’re talking about him acting like a parent for Flurry today, and it’s really making me worried! I haven’t even seen yer yet today! Cadance, why are you so insistent on him pretending to be her Dad on Father’s Day?!”

“Shining, that’s not true! I don’t want him to pretend!” As soon as that last part came out of her muzzle, Cadance gasped and covered her muzzle with a hoof.

Shining Armor froze in place, his eyes as wide as frisbees after hearing that last remark. Cadance’s cheeks blushed out heavily, growing a deep shade of red across her pink fur. Neither of them said anything for a long moment, mostly due to how stunned they became after that accidental outburst. After nearly a full minute of silence, Shining’s muzzle remained hung-open when he tried to speak weakly.

“W… W-What?”

“Uhhhh…” Cadance tried to look down at the ground to avoid his piercing stare. However, she could hear his hoofsteps as he began to walk towards her. “I-I, uhhh… I didn’t… I didn’t want to…”

Shining stopped when he was only a couple feet from his Ex. His expression was still visibly shocked, but there was a clear hint of trepidation in his faltering voice. “You… Y-You didn’t want to… what?”

Cadance needed a second to collect her bearings, but she was quick to take a breath with her eyes closed. She seemed to be prepared for a moment like this, which prompted her to stand firmly after pulling her head back up. After exhaling with a sharp huff, Cadance stared back at Shining while carrying a poised, albeit reserved look on her face. “I… I didn’t want Sombra to ‘pretend’ to be her father for this… And I didn’t want her to think it was pretend either...”

Shining’s eyes widened even more, with the realization of her words coming at him like a freight train. Cadance gulped nervously, but she didn’t look away from her Ex as she continued to speak. “I… I know this is a lot to say, but I’ve been thinking about this for a long time, Shining Armor…”

Her muzzle skewed uncomfortably when she saw Shining’s pupils beginning to shrink in dread. His head shook the tiniest but, as if he was trying to object before any more could be said. “C-Cadance, wh… w-what are you saying?”

Instead of answering him directly, Cadance walked past Shining Armor to head towards the doors. Before Shining could try to stop her, he paused when he saw her reach for the intercom system. She pressed the red button on the wall labeled for Flurry Heart’s nursery, and waited for the receiver to click before speaking. “Sombra? Are you still there?”

After a couple seconds, Sombra’s voice came in through the speaker above the call button. “Yes, I’m here, Cadance. Is something wrong?”

“Well, I…” Cadance kept her hoof on the button, but glanced back to see the increasingly distressed look on Shining’s face. She winced for a second, but quickly breathed out before returning her focus to the intercom. “I’m up here with Shining right now, and I’m… I’m just about to tell him~”

“Ooohhh!~” Sombra sounded absolutely delighted by her news. “Wait, just a second. Let me get Flurry for this…”

Shining’s muzzle hung agape when he heard some muffled grunting from the speaker. Meanwhile, Cadance kept her hoof on the call button in wait, her cheeks remaining deeply blushed. She managed to smile again after a deep breath, most likely from hearing her husband’s voice through the intercom. After only a couple seconds, Sombra’s voice returned in a low, brooding tone.

“Alright… I have Flurry Heart with me right now. Can you say ‘Ma-Ma’, sweetie?~”

“Ma Ma!” Flurry’s voice chirped excitedly through the speaker, along with a foalish giggle. Cadance smiled wider from hearing both of their voices. Meanwhile, Shining stood in utter shock as he stared back at her with his eyes beading.

“That’s such a good girl!” cooed Sombra, eliciting some more giggling from Flurry over the line. However, his voice then turned more sinister when he spoke back to his spouse directly. “Alright, Cadance… I want to hear you tell him~”

Shining may have been at a loss for words, but he could tell that what he was about to hear wasn’t going to be good by any means. It was bad enough what he was assuming Cadance would say, but the fact that Sombra was listening in with Flurry Heart made his heart sink down to his stomach. And to make matters worse, the Princess’ response was merely a sigh before nodding to the speaker, her smile still contentedly wide. “Okay, honey… I’ll tell him~”

That was when Cadance turned back towards her Ex, with her hoof still pressed against the button. The sight of his grief-stricken face may have been more than a little discomforting; however, as she heard her husband’s lecherous growl through the speaker, Cadance felt confident enough to keep her smile and tell Shining the truth.

“Shining Armor? I know this is a big thing to tell you on Father’s Day, but I’ve given this a lot of thought. And I…”

She paused just long enough to take a deep breath, and spoke without a hint of shame in her voice. “... I want Sombra to be Flurry Heart’s father from now on~”

Shining’s knees buckled underneath him, and he fell back on his flank with a horrified look on his face. His reaction was nothing short of mortified, but his lowly state didn’t seem to faze Cadance in the slightest. In fact, she kept the call button tightly pressed as she added insistently, “And… We were hoping you could understand we wanted to relinquish all your parental rights from now on… including calling Flurry your daughter.”

Shining immediately began to feel light-headed, and he blinked a couple times as his vision started to blur. Before Cadance could say anything else, the Prince collapsed on the floor to faint. His consciousness dissipated almost instantly, with Cadance gasping in shock from what she indirectly caused. But even as Shining slipped into darkness, undoubtedly from the shock of his Ex’s request, he still managed to hear a final statement from Sombra through the intercom speaker.

“Heh heh heh heh… Happy ‘Father’s’ Day, Private~”