The Prince's Predicament 2: The Princess's Predicament

After his shower, it was fairly late in the morning. Certainly, they could ask the cook to make more breakfast for them, but if they went anywhere, it was far more likely that they'd be given lunch.

As they made their way into town, Cadance wasn't paying attention to where they were going. She'd latched onto Shining and was just following him while thinking of everything that had happened since last night. Shining's eyes were still red and puffy from his shower, they were starting to sag from exhaustion, he barely had any love for her that he was desperately trying to hold onto, and Luna was trying to make her learn how to apologise correctly. It was all so very much that she didn't return to attention until Shining kicked her under the table.

"Hm? What?"

"The young lady wants to know what you'd like for lunch."

Cadance looked around. While she'd been on automatic pilot, she'd walked into a diner and sat down.

"Oh, just hay fries and some ice water," Cadance answered.

"I'll have those right out for you."

As she took their menus and walked away, Shining sighed. "Have you been paying attention at all?"

Cadance shook her head. "I'm sorry. I was lost in thought. What were you saying?"

Shining put a hoof to his forehead, then waved it in front of him. "Nevermind."

"No, I want to know," urged Cadance. "I was thinking about something else, and I haven't been paying attention to anything since we left the palace. I don't even remember walking in here. We were standing in the bedroom, you were drying your mane, and then we were here. I'm paying attention now, I'm listening, and I'm sorry that I was so preoccupied with my own stuff that I zoned out."

Shining nodded. "I was saying we should check in with the ponies that were injured after we eat. We need to make sure that they're recovering okay."

"Oh. Yeah, of course. Obviously, we should do that."

"Are you feeling alright?"

Cadance looked up at Shining's eyes. "Are you? You were up before dawn, pulling ponies out of wreckage. And that's coming off of a stressful night, following an infuriating trial. You need a break."

"I'm fine."

"No, you're not." She took a deep breath. "After lunch, before we go to the hospital, you need a spa day. Something to take the edge off."

She almost ducked. Luna had said that just doing nice things for him wasn't an apology. But it didn't have to be. She couldn't truly apologise until they decided on how to proceed, and even then, that was under the assumption that Cadance had been right. She certainly wasn't wrong, but she didn't think she was wrong the first time, either. Luna had made it clear that this wouldn't be an apology; it was just doing something nice for him. But that was exactly her intent.

"I really should go check on them..."

"Shiny, you look like you didn't sleep well last night. And of course, you didn't. I'll organise a photoshoot for the newspapers, but I need you to look your best. So go have a soak, a massage, and a seaweed wrap. Consider it to be work. Go dress the part, wear that jacket that you like, and show not just the crystal ponies, but all of Equestria, how much you care about the ponies that were injured."

Shining took a brief pause, and then a deep breath. "That's actually not a bad idea..."

"I have good ones, sometimes."

Their food came to the table. Cadance had forgotten already that she just asked for hay fries, and was slightly confused when that's all that was delivered, especially whereas Shining had received an oatburger. That was her favourite menu item, and she was kind of regretting not ordering one. Then again, she hadn't even looked at the menu.

Still, Shining was nice enough to share. After splitting the burger, Cadance brought Shining to a small spa. She left him there while she organised the photoshoot, then returned to wait for him. To her surprise, Shining had fallen asleep in the mud bath.

Well, actually, it wasn't that surprising. It was actually perhaps a good thing, as he needed the sleep. Cucumber slices over his eyes would reduce the puffiness and bagginess, sure, but not as much as some sleep would.

"I've never seen him this relaxed," noted the attendant. "Usually, when he comes in here, he's so stressed that he won't stop talking."

"He comes in here often?" asked Cadance.

"About once a month, maybe every two months. He was actually scheduled for a few days from now, but this is fine, too."

Cadance nodded. "So, he's been treating himself well?"

"Well, we have to send somepony to remind him to come in. He's usually working on something, so we try to go about it quickly."

"But he's never fallen asleep before?"

"Not once."

Cadance nodded. "Did you hear the news this morning?"

"No, ma'am. I woke up late and rushed right in. I didn't even have breakfast."

Cadance nodded. "Let's just say that he woke up too early and had to rush to work, too."

"Not for much longer, though, right?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're back now, ma'am. Doesn't that mean he's no longer working alone?"

Cadance took a deep breath. "That's correct. We are working together, now. We've joined forces once again, and I can start taking weight off of his shoulders. He and I will be working together, which means he'll have more time to do other things that he needs to do."

Cadance dropped her gaze to the ground, shaking her head and chuckling. The answer had been staring her in the face this whole time. Shining had made it clear that he'd never taken the time to recover. Well, now she was going to give him some time.

"Listen, just let him rest for a bit. Try to be gentle when taking him out if he's still asleep, and be sure to have him cleaned up and ready to go by five, okay? He has somewhere he needs to be."

"Of course, ma'am, but... Weren't you going to join him when you came back?"

She shook her head. "I've just remembered something important that I need to do. I'll be back at five."