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

After all guards were "inspected" by the couple, there was a planned event that would see them together again, and would give them time to talk to each other. There was to be something akin to a parade and a tour. Shining already knew the city well, but as Cadance had not been here in a long time, she needed to be shown what all was happening in her Empire. The two would hop into a carriage together and drive around the city, waving to the crystal ponies as they passed.

This would be their first moment of extended privacy to speak. Shining had to be there to show her around. He could not run off and do something else. They were going to stay together this time.

"Those guards we had breakfast with," started Cadance, once they had taken off and could speak in hushed tones. "They're quite good. You made a wonderful selection, dear."

"I try to always make wonderful selections," he whispered back, "but I didn't pick them for their skill. I actually didn't pick them at all. They were the most in need, so they came to me."

"I'm just saying, I can arrange to have them join us in bed, if you're interested."

"I can do the same," agreed Shining. "In fact, I did so last night without incident. It's not hard to convince two lonely guards to plow you from both ends, especially when it was their idea to begin with."

The conversation came to a stop, along with the carriage, as their guide explained the rise of baked goods, including one that Shining had taken a personal liking to. It was a cream cheese-stuffed tube of spice cake with chopped pecans stuck to the outside. As part of the tour, they were each given one before the carriage continued.

"So, is there somepony else you'd rather have in bed?" asked Cadance once they were moving.

"Princess Luna," he answered, without a hint of sarcasm.

"Really? The princess of the night? Why would you want a prude like her?"

"She's not a prude; she's old-fashioned. She's done a lot to protect all of Equestria, and I'd like to repay her for her efforts. I think she deserves it."

"She's the reason I was gone for so long."

"And she's the reason you came back early."

"You weren't at the tribunals. She always voted to keep my stay as it was."

"I am well aware. In fact, I'm almost hurt that Twily opted to cut your stay short. I can't fault her her reasoning, but I would have preferred working alone a bit longer."

The carriage stopped again, and this time, they stepped out. Cadance needed to have her measurements taken at the tailor in order to determine her dress size. If there had been a change in her physique, she would need to have her clothes altered. Shining, meanwhile, stopped in at the haberdashery and was gifted a white faux sheepskin jacket with fringe, as his measurements were well-known by the local craftsponies.

"You actually wanted me to stay gone longer?" asked Cadance once they were moving again.

"As Luna mentioned, what you did was illegal for a reason. As the victim in that case, I have reason to still harbor anger and hurt. While I've done my best to just accept it and move on, I still feel every single ounce of betrayal in my very core. I'll admit, I was afraid to have stallions in our bed, and I'm glad to have moved past that, but surely there was a better way to go about it than dosing me with a potion."

Cadance's jaw dropped. She had no idea Shining still felt this way. As they made their way to the next destination, all was silent save for the rumble of the axles and the crowds cheering at the sight of their favourite couple. Cadance found it hard to keep smiling and waving at them, but Shining kept his demeanor. There was no reason to upset the crowds, after all.

After a quick stop at an ice cream shoppe, at which Shining described the new development in crystal berry ice cream that had deconstructed the flavour profile to make it smoother, they returned to the carriage.

"I suppose I never really did apologise to you," Cadance sighed. "You were just so angry when I told you. I couldn't fit it in."

Shining had to make a concentrated effort not to scowl at his ice cream. "I had very good reason to be angry," he said. "You took my heart and ripped it into a thousand pieces. I thought I'd never recover."

"But you did."

"Not by your hoof. For months, I walked around, constantly wearing a fake smile to cover up my anguish. It's like walking around with an open wound, unable to heal it, just putting a shirt over it to make sure ponies don't see that you're slowly bleeding out in front of them. Do you know what that's like?"

Cadance shook her head. "I don't. I'm sorry for what I did."

Shining took a deep breath. "I want to forgive you. I would love to put this behind us and look towards the future. However, what you did was so egregious that I don't know if I can. I never took the time off to recover, so all of my pain is still fresh. And having you back just opened up a lot of wounds that were finally beginning to close."

Cadance swallowed. "Would you prefer that I was still away?"

Shining sighed. "It is what it is. I've been keeping everything running, so if I had to go it alone, I know I could. Well, not alone, per se. I had General Exact for the first two years, and then she was transferred. And of course, I've had the crystal ponies, too."

Cadance lowered her head. "Everypony's been telling me about what a great job you did. I thought it was because you wanted the Empire to be at its best for me."

"That's still half true," assured Shining. "I did, and in fact, still do, want the Empire to be the best it can be. If I didn't have the love of the crystal ponies, and didn't give my love back to them, the Crystal Heart would shatter, and the Empire would fall. And I refuse to let that happen while I yet draw breath."

Cadance took a deep breath. "So, what does that mean for us?"

As the carriage came to a stop in front of Booty Boutique, Shining brought a hoof up to his lips. "We stay quiet about what happened. We let the citizens believe that all is well, and we carry on like that. More than anything else, we serve the citizens of the Empire, and we'll be staying together for their benefit."