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

Over the next two weeks, Cadance gradually took on more and more duties, giving Shining more and more time to himself. Her intent with this was to give him time to rest and recover, but he almost immediately dove into finer, more intricate problems, or spent even more effort to solve the issues he was already entangled with.

"I'll just take care of this, and then I'll be done for the day." That was something she heard several times each day as she started taking away his usual tasks. He was finished working, and then he went right back to work. And then he was finished, and he'd find something else to work on.

She'd seen this before. Not in Shining Armor, but she'd seen it in other ponies. She'd often classified it as bad behaviour, considering it to be running away from a problem. She didn't want to think that way about Shining Armor, but she couldn't help it. Perhaps it was even true, and he was using work as a way to escape.

After two weeks of trying to give him room to relax, she was apoplectic. She'd taken on almost as much as he had while she was away, and he was still finding issues to solve. Finally, as he was asking the maid for paperwork for updating the curtains in the palace, she put her hoof down.

"Shining Armor. I have an assignment for you."

His ears almost immediately perked up. "Yes?"

"There's a changeling at the train station. He's a very important guest, and I insist that he be given a room. You are to escort him here, to the palace, and you're going to show him his room. No harm is to come to him. Am I understood?"

Shining saluted. "What time does he arrive? I should be able to finish with the cur--"

"Now. I've just been told that his train is in the station, which means I need you there five minutes ago."

With a nod, Shining bolted towards the door. She knew she was tricking him again, but this time, she didn't care. She was willing to take the backlash for this, if he would take at least the rest of the day to rest.

Shining took little time to find his changeling charge. He was sitting on the platform, a large trunk beneath him. Shining's first thought was to ask his name, but Cadance hadn't given him a name to compare it to. So instead, he just gave out a simple "Good morning."

The changeling looked up. "Ah. You look like... Let me just..." The changeling hopped down and approached, taking a big sniff. " I knew it. You must be Prince Shining Armor. A pleasure to meet you."

"A pleasure indeed," smiled Shining. "Although, I'm afraid you have me at a bit of a disadvantage, mr....?"

"Funiculus. Doctor Funiculus, if you prefer, but a few of my patients call me "Funi.""

""Funny?""

"How so?"

"No, I..." Shining cleared his throat. "My apologies. I didn't mean to mispronounce your name, doctor."

Funi shrugged. "Eh. It happens all the time. Growing up, the other changelings called me "Funi-lookin'." It is what it is. Now, did you bring a cart?"

Rather than going to find a cart, Shining lifted the trunk onto his back and carried it through town, all the way from the train station to the palace. It was heavy, but Shining was strong enough. He didn't have to be beyond that point, however, as two other guards took it off of his back and carried it to the room where Funi would be staying.

"Now, I've been asked to ensure that your stay is comfortable," informed Shining. "Is there anything you need?"

Funi looked around the room. "If it's not too much trouble, I'd like a chair and a sofa. Preferably cushioned ones, as there's going to be a lot of sitting while I do my work."

Shining nodded. "What kind of work? I can try to find you a chair that fits your needs."

"Oh, I'm in the field of psychology. A high-backed armchair would be wonderful, but a padded dining chair would be enough. The couch is for my patient, though, so it has to be comfortable."

"Well, we do have a lounge nearby that has both of those. I'm sure I could find a guard to help me carry the couch in here."

As Shining left, Cadance arrived. "Doctor Funi, good to see you."

"Likewise, princess," he responded, giving her a sniff. "You can put those worries to rest. I won't rest until my job is at least started."

"Usually, ponies say "until the job is finished.""

He scoffed. "You expect I won't need to sleep for weeks, at the very least? You think he won't need to sleep?"

Cadance shook her head. "Look, just... do your best with him, okay?"

"Right through here," came Shining's voice from the hallway. He and another guard had lifted up a couch and were moving it through the door.

"I've noticed something odd, already," noted Funi.

"Oh?" Shining raised his eyebrow. "What's that?"

"With my trunk, as well as with the couch, you've been lifting with your hooves. You are, after all, a unicorn, and you have access to magic. Why aren't you using it?"

"I'm wondering the same thing," agreed the guard. "Your spells were powerful enough to stop the invasion of Canterlot, and almost strong enough to stop King Sombra the first time. Surely, you could lift a couch?"

Shining shook his head. "First, I feel better lifting things up with my hooves. Second, crystal ponies are related most closely to earth ponies, so very little magic. It makes me feel closer to the ponies I rule over. Third, I specialised in abjurations. I majored in abjurations in college. I barely studied evocations; only as far as I needed to pass."

Funi tilted his head to the side. "Abjurations?"

"Shield spells," clarified Cadance as another guard brought in a chair. "It also contains another type of spell, but I don't recall what it was."

"Nullification," answered Shining. "It's the specialisation that deals in both enhancing your defenses and the defenses of your allies, as well as weakening the strength of your opponent. Which, it turns out Sombra was also good at, because he was able to block my shield spell from even working with his own abjuration, in the form of a nullification. It's one of the few schools of magic that can stop other forms of magic."

"It seems as though you've spent a lot of time trying to protect those around you," nodded Doctor Funi, sitting down in his chair. "What made you want to be so protective?" He gestured for Shining to sit down on the couch.

"Well," started Shining, "I guess it started with my little sister. She had this nasty habit of walking while reading, and she would bump into walls and other ponies or off of furniture all the time, and I didn't like it when she was hurt. So, I put some effort into learning how to protect her."

Cadance ushered the other guards out of the room and locked the door. If they needed out, the doctor had the other key, but otherwise, she'd come back when it was time for dinner. Shining needed to talk to a therapist, and one that could literally smell his emotions was a good place to start.