Of Love and Steadfastness
Shining Armor was walking through Canterlot, a spring in his step and joy in his heart. How could he not feel great? It was spring, love was in the air and where there's love... There was his darling wife, Princess Mi Amoré Cadenza; more commonly known as Princess Cadence.
He had made reservations for the occasion, scoring a spot at a Neightalian restaurant in town. At that moment, he was headed there to make sure that everything was perfect. His lady, as far as he was concerned, deserved no less.
He'd also gotten Twilight to watch Flurry Heart while they were gone.
It had only taken him so long because the place was rather well hidden by other places. You'd think it'd be on Restaurant Row, but nooooo. He'd had to ask for directions, but now he was definitely on the right track. Uh... He was pretty sure, anyway.
.As he went along, his mind briefly went to the gifts that he'd gotten for her, safely in his saddlebags. She'd love the chocolate truffles (her favourite, he remembered(1)), but she would hopefully like the other gift even more. But that in a bit.
Coming to the right street, he saw the restaurant he was looking for; Margherita's.
'Wonderful!' he thought, with a smile. Concentrating his magic, he fired off trick 12; A signal flare of sorts.
Rising into the air, the ball of light exploded, revealing a picture perfect reproduction of his wife's Cutie Mark.
"There's no way she'll miss THAT." he said aloud, mostly to himself. He nodded before turning and entering the restaurant in question.
The place had all the trappings of a Neightalian restaurant, A quick Scan told him that the furniture was poplar or cypress wood. The counters were practically gleaming in the sunlight, there were decorative displays of many kinds, mostly of very foreign-seeming fruits and vegetables. Likely purely decorative, he presumed. There were a few other customers, either eating or reading their menu, or something like that. There was even a small band on the stage at the back. They were playing some relaxing music.
There he was greeted by a reddish yellow mare with a stereotypical chef's hat. Upon seeing him, she fairly well galloped to him. Grasping one of his hooves briefly, she gave him a vigorous hoofshake. Then she grinned and said, "Ciao e benevenuto! Signore Armatura Splendente, corretto? (Hello and welcome! Mister Shining Armor, correct?) Brother of Principessa Crepuscolo Scintillante? Sono Margherita (Brother of Princess Twilight Sparkle? I am Margherita). Welcome to my establishment."
Shining Armor took his hoof back, still shuddering slightly from the strength of the mare's hoofshake. "Y-y-yes, that's me. I have, you may or may not know, intent to renew my vows to my wife (She should be along shortly). I wanted things to be just right. I thought that your establishment would be the... posto perfetto (perfect place), I believe you'd say?
Throwing her hooves in the air, Margherita said, "Meravigliosa (Marvellous!) De table you reserved is right this way"
She turned and led him to a small table, room enough for two. She set a couple of menus down and practically pranced away.
Shining sat down to wait for Cadence, who shouldn't be long. In the meantime, he browsed the menu. 'The four cheese lasagna sounds delicious...'
A few minutes thereafter, Cadence came through the door. "Sheesh! The city needs maps put up in various places. That would help immensely. I should probably talk to Celestia and Luna about that next time..." she thought aloud as she came in.
Shining waved to her, which promptd her to trot over, a smile on her face.
As he looked into her violet eyes, Shining smiled a bit more widely. When he first looked into her eyes, he was immediately in love. All this time later, he thought that they were her best feature. Just as beautiful as ever.
As Cadence sat down, Margherita dashed over to greet her, in a much similar way as before. "Buona giomata, Principessa Cadenza! Welcome to Margherita's. It's not every day that I get to entertain royalty, you know..." Cadence raised one hoof. "I have a question, before I order. Why aren't you on Restaurant Row, or something? This place is a touch difficult to find. If Shining here hadn't sent off that flare, i'd probably still be searching."
Margherita nodded. "Una domanda eccellente . (An excellent question). You see, much of this establishment's appeal is partially derived from the smell of our food. Being on Restaurant Row would mean that the scent would mix with that of other ristorantes (restaurants). So, being relatively alone here ensures that we get the desired effect. Our customers can... Segui il loro naso (follow their noses). You'll see. Or rather, smell."
Cadence nodded. That was a perfectly good explanation; enough for her. "In that case, I'll start with a salad. The... Big Italian? With Parmesan cheese."
Shining Armor nodded. "I'll go for that too. And also...?" He gave Margherita a come-hither gesture, then whispering something into her ear. After listening for a moment, her eyes widened and she nodded. "Scelta eccellente! (Excellent choice!)
Slightly later, after their salads had arrived (which was deliciously crisp and fresh and Cadence noted that there were several Romaine lettuce hearts. Cute!), Cadence, at length, said, "So, Shiny. What's the occasion?"
"What?" he queried jokingly, "Is it not enough that I want to treat my wife to dinner?"
Cadence smiled again. "Nnnope."
Shining chuckled, then said, "Okay, okay. You got me. Well, Cadence, it's been several years now, and I've enjoyed nearly every moment of it with you by my side. Sure, there were up times and down, positives and negatives, but you being with me every step of the way made it all feel worthwhile. And now, all that time later? I have a beautiful wife AND a cute little filly to show for it. I must be the luckiest stallion in Equestria."
Reaching with his magic into his saddlebags, he withdrew the chocolates and a small box, presenting both to Cadence. When she opened the box... "Oh! Shiny, this is beautiful!"
A ring, made from about 70% pearl, 10% gold and 20% aluminium. Set in it was a miniature replica of the Crystal Heart. "It was fairly pricy, but when I saw this ring on display, I thought it would be perfect. Cadence, I want to ask again: Will you keep making it all worthwhile? Will you continue to make me the luckiest stallion in Equestria? Mi Amore Cadenza; Cadence, will you still be mine?"
"YES!" she exclaimed, practically throwing herself at him. Behind them, they heard a round of clapping,with some hoots and cheers as well.
With that, Shining slid the ring onto his wife's horn. "it's enchanted, too. If necessary, it can emit a field that will block a ballista bolt. It'll also increase your magical energy regeneration rate. Even Sombra wouldn't have been able to stop you then. My love deserves no less than the best."
Cadence paused, then sniffed a few times; something did indeed smell VERY good, and it made her mouth water.
Just then, Margherita came in with two plates of lasangna, which she placed in front of the couple. Looking at the gathered audience, she said, "Everypony, Sono orgoglioso di ripresentarvi Signore Armatura Splendente e Signora Mi Amore Cadenza! (I am proud to re-present to you Mister Shining Armor and Lady Mi Amore Cadenza)"
""The small crowd cheered even louder. "Adesso bacia già la signora! (Now kiss the lady, already!)" she added, to which Shining obliged gladly.
Just then, the leader of the stage band flipped through his songbook. After a few flips, he found the one that he was looking for. "Aha! Page 87, fellas. One, two, three, one, two, three..."
As the band played, the two royals kissed again and tucked in. Shining thought to himself,. 'Can life with the Alicorn of Love make itself any better? I challenge it to try!'
Author's Note
1: Okay, i doubt we'll ever know for sure, but...
