Shameless

Shameless

The train's last call cut through the morning air, hastening the many stamping hooves of nearly-too-late arrivals down the platform and toward the locomotive. Pavise stood a few feet away from the Crystal Prince and Princess, minding himself and trying not to listen in too much on what the royals were discussing–if he looked too much in their direction, he was sure he’d hear about it from the captain later.

“I’m a little nervous, believe it or not–it’s already been a few months since the last time I saw Twilight. Lately, I feel like the only time we get together is when the fate of Equestria is at stake.” Princess Cadance frowned, shivering a little from the cold; she tugged her wool scarf a little tighter around her neck with a flicker of magic.

Shining Armor chuckled, running a hoof through his shaggy cerulean mane. “I’m sure Twily is probably thinking the same thing right now, knowing her. Don’t worry about it–just have fun, go do mare stuff, and come back home safe when you’re done.”

Cadance snorted, cocking an eyebrow. “And what exactly is mare stuff, Shiny?” Her tail swished in mock irritation, but anypony that knew the two could tell it was all in jest. Shining pinned his ears, given the unexpected burden of explanation.

“Well, uh, y’know… Going to the spa, shopping for dresses…” Shining winced as Cadance’s scrutiny grew with intensity. “...Slumber parties?”

They both looked at each other for a moment before the both of them cracked amused smiles; Cadance leaned forward to wrap her forelegs around her husband, their pretend argument over just like that.

“I love you, Shiny. Thanks for making some time for me to do this–I know we’re really busy with getting the Crystal Empire back to normal, but I really wanted to catch up with Twilight before we get too busy.” Shining enjoyed the embrace with closed eyes, shaking his head as they parted.

“I love you too, Cadance. Make sure you say hey to Twily for me–I’m just sorry we couldn’t both go, but it’s better for at least one of us to stay here and post guard. It’d be a bad look for the new Prince and Princess both to leave right after taking over.”

“You know, you’re not in the guard anymore–other ponies can do that for you, even if you don’t like it.” Cadance stuck her tongue out playful, and Shining rolled his eyes before nodding in the direction of the train; though it wouldn’t dare leave without the Princess, neither of them likely wanted to hold the other passengers up. “I guess I should be going now.”

Sensing their imminent departure, the rest of the Princess’s guard funneled into the train car. Pavise, a lieutenant, and Captain Emery were the two senior leaders of her bodyguard and stood by until the Princess herself boarded the train. A few other guard stallions waited behind the Prince, stiff and proud in the uncomfortable winter wind.

"Are you sure it's not going to be too much by yourself?" Cadance said, glancing nervously toward the train and nickering with anxiety. Shining Armor shook his head, reaching forward to nuzzle his wife.

"I promise I’ll be fine, Cadance. Besides, these guys have my back," Shining said, gesturing to his own guard contingent with a grin.

Uneasy yet satisfied, Cadance shared one more kiss with Shining before trotting off toward the train. Captain Emery boarded first, then Cadance, although she lingered on the ramp to offer her final goodbyes to her husband. Pavise was last to board, and one of the attendants aboard shut the door behind them when the rest of the passengers had gotten settled.

Shining waved his hoof after the train and called out, his voice inaudible over the final screech of the train's steam whistle as it then departed from the train station.

Pavise spared a look outside one of the train windows, savoring the image of the Crystal Empire from afar before catching up to the rest of their group. Cadance and her party had the last train car to themselves, and numbering thirteen individuals in total they all took up the last three booths.

Being last to enter, Pavise unfortunately had to sit with his fellow guards: Bright Strike, Realgar, and Garnet Sand. He cursed silently, envying the slightly more fortunate Captain Emery who sat beside the Princess.

Despite Emery’s seniority, they had all been recently recruited to the guard, and had been trained by Shining Armor himself; it was only luck that had blessed Pavise with a spot in Cadance’s group over Shining Armor’s.

As for why he was so lucky… To say that he was in love with Cadance was an understatement. She was the most beautiful mare he’d ever laid eyes on, and was almost the sole reason he’d joined the Royal Crystal Pony Guard. Her voice was soft and smooth, her laughter like the song of a canary, and whenever she glanced in his direction or walked close enough to give him a hint of her heavenly scent he was almost sent into shock.

Unfortunately, he knew as well as anypony else that it was a love destined to remain unrequited forever. Cadance was already married, and Shining was an unbeatable match, sturdy and honest yet surprisingly sensitive when the situation called for it. He was an easy favorite amongst the guard, and even Pavise himself wouldn’t have minded that much being a member of his guard over the Princess’s.

Pavise sighed, reminded how unlikely his fantasies were–he’d have to content himself with his permanently professional relationship with Cadance if he wanted to stay sane.

“So,” said Bright Strike, a citrine crystal pony stallion with a fierce expression, “have you guys ever been to Canterlot?” The rest of them shook their heads; Pavise hadn’t been either, but wasn’t too attentive to the conversation. While the junior guards discussed going out to the local bars, looking for pretty mares, or even just sleeping in, Pavise tuned in to what Cadance and Emery were discussing behind him.

“Do you really think he’ll be okay with so few guards? I know he can take care of himself, but I worry sometimes. He said he’d be giving them a break this weekend, while we’re gone.” Cadance sighed, glancing out the window toward the rapidly disappearing Crystal Empire.

“Your Highness, if I can speak freely: Prince Shining Armor is one of the finest stallions I’ve ever seen, and I think he’s more than capable of handling himself if anything happens,” Emery said with confidence. “You’re right that he doesn’t have enough guards, but we can only train them so fast–even with Pavise and I both helping to run the camp. I don’t think we’ll be up to defend the Empire properly for another year or so.” Emery rubbed his chin thoughtfully with a shod hoof.

It was a strange predicament: the Crystal Empire had been enslaved by the cruel King Sombra for over a thousand years, the last thousand of which they had spent cursed into nonexistence. Now, they had a pair of new rulers, infinitely more kind but lacking in ruling experience. It had also been so long since the Crystal Empire had a capable defensive force that nopony really knew where to start. Shining, having been a Royal Guard himself in Canterlot not too long ago, had taken the lead in training, but they were still a good hundred ponies short.

There was, of course, the Crystal Heart–the magical artifact that had protected the Crystal Ponies since the days of old, but it had its limits. Namely, nopony really knew how it worked beyond the fact that it was powered by love and could banish evil. But where did it draw the line between somepony who'd simply broken the law and somepony who was committed to performing acts of darkness?

Cadance nodded, though fidgeted in her seat nonetheless; Pavise watched her reflection as she stared out the window. “I understand. Maybe I can ask Princess Celestia to borrow some of her guards until we can train enough of our own.”

Pavise lost interest in the conversation after a while, transfixed by Cadance’s natural beauty; he smiled unconsciously, imagining himself talking with her instead, discussing their vacation plans and making small talk. It was a shame that even during leisure, she couldn’t escape the pressure of managing an empire. The pony to his left, Realgar, nudged him playfully, fixing him with a wry grin. “Hey, Pavise, you gonna tell us any basic training stories, or are you gonna keep staring at the Princess?” he said chidingly. “You know she’s, uh, married right?”

Pavise realized that he had indeed been gawking at the Princess during their entire conversation, and it hadn’t escaped the notice of the rest of the guards at the table–they all chuckled at his expense, and he was thankful for the helmet cooling his reddened cheeks. He rolled his eyes, well aware that the rest of the guard knew about his poorly-kept secret–he just hoped the Princess hadn’t overheard too much.

“Yeah, yeah, mind your business. As for basic training, well…”

The train pulled into the Canterlot station sometime in the afternoon, and Twilight Sparkle was there to meet them as they disembarked.

Twilight bounded forward and tackled Cadance with a hug she returned just as enthusiastically, shocking many aristocratic onlookers. They engaged in a peculiar ritual, complete with an admittedly cute song and a little dance that forced Pavise to avert his eyes from Cadance’s hindquarters, embarrassed. Pavise had heard once before that Cadance babysat Twilight as a filly, and that they shared a particularly close, even sister-like relationship.

“Cadance! I’m so happy you could make it!” said Twilight.

“Me too, Twilight! I hope you don’t mind that I wanted to meet in Canterlot instead of Ponyville–I have to talk rulership with Princess Celestia while we’re here.” Cadance made a face that suggested she really didn’t want to do so. Twilight flicked an ear, leading them away from the train station.

“I don’t mind at all. It’s been a while since I visited Canterlot myself–or met with the Princesses in person for that matter–but I’m sure we’ll have a great time either way! I’ve actually arranged a schedule for us today: they’re having a showing at the Historical Art Society after lunch, and the Royal Canterlot Theater Society is performing their rendition of Hoofthello by Shakesmare tonight. I took the liberty of getting us tickets to everything in advance so we don’t have to wait in any lines!”

The two mares looked at each other and squealed with excitement, and they continued to chat about their plans as they walked at a leisurely pace. Royal guards, pegasi and unicorns mostly, bowed periodically as they passed.

Pavise was awestruck by the sheer spectacle of the city, being the first he had visited outside of the Crystal Empire. There were, of course, no other crystal ponies to be seen, replacing them unicorns of varying apparent importance. Some pegasi and earth ponies were scattered here and there, but it was clear enough that this was a unicorn’s city.

The architecture was magnificent, with pillaring spires of alabaster marble dwarfing its many pony citizens. Hung high above them was the sun, casting a brilliant ray of near-blinding warmth down on the picturesque castle town. Stained glass from gaudy cathedrals and even mere residences bathed the paved stone underneath in a kaleidoscope of color, not unlike some streets back home.

In contrast with the Crystal Empire, Canterlot had been carved into the side of a great mountain, one of the attendants on the train had mentioned to them after she’d asked where they were headed, and the city was almost impossibly large for the small cliff upon which it had been established.

“This is going to be so fun! We didn’t really have the time to catch up the last time you were here, with the whole ‘evil changeling queen trying to steal my brother away while the rest of my friends thought I was crazy for picking up on the whole thing’ situation, but this time we’ll be able to make up for lost time," Twilight said, raising more than a few eyebrows at her retelling of events to which the rest of Cadance’s guards had not been privy.

Cadance’s eyes darkened and her smile receded. “I’m sorry about that, Twilight… I don’t really remember everything that happened, but one moment I was in my room, getting ready to try on my wedding dress, and the next I was in this musty old cave underneath the city. I was so glad when I saw you there too–I’m not sure that I could have gotten out by myself.”

Twilight nodded, momentarily somber, but her grin soon returned. “Well, I’m just glad everything worked out in the end. I really couldn’t have picked a better mare for my brother, although I guess it wasn't really my choice to make...” Twilight said a little sheepishly. Cadance just giggled.

“And I couldn’t have picked a better sister-in-law.”

The rest of the trip up to the castle was uneventful, and Cadance received a full salute from the guards stationed by the castle gates. After Emery spoke briefly with the local guard commander about their accommodations–he remained behind to discuss something else with the stallion–they finally reached the throne room, where Equestria’s diarchs lay waiting for them.

The two alicorns sat imperially on their thrones, Celestia and Luna of Equestria, and the rest of them all bowed in reverence. Celestia’s voice was warm and motherly, as to be expected from the Princess of the Sun.

“Rise, my little ponies. Cadance, it’s so good to see you again!”

“Princess Celestia, thanks for having me here again," said Cadance. She met Celestia in the center of the throne room and the two of them embraced. “I hope we’re not taking up too much of your time, Your Highness–Twilight and I are planning to get lunch soon, then head to the Historical Art Society for their exhibit. If you have time tomorrow morning, I’d like to discuss what I wrote about in my letter with you.”

“Cadance, there’s really no need to be so formal; but to answer your question, of course.” Celestia smiled, and Cadance looked surprisingly bashful.

“Sorry, even now I forget sometimes that I’m a princess too.”

Celestia waved a hoof. “I understand.”

She turned her attention to Twilight, who looked ready to knock Cadance aside to receive her own embrace from Celestia. “Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student–it’s been a while, hasn’t it? I’ve enjoyed your recent correspondence regarding the history of the Crystal Empire and magic of the mind. Tomorrow afternoon, perhaps, you could join me for tea in the courtyard so we can share a proper conversation about your findings.”

Twilight trotted up to Celestia, beaming at the praise. Celestia leaned down to nuzzle her, hugging the smaller unicorn with her swan-like wings.

“Oh, I’m so glad you thought it was interesting! I was surprised to find anything about the Crystal Empire at all in the Royal Canterlot Library since you said before that it had mostly been forgotten in the thousand years after it vanished, but I’ve slowly been piecing together what I can from the books Cadance has been sending me."

Pavise suddenly noticed the younger Princess Luna standing nearby–when had she left the throne? Cadance and Twilight both gave her a smile, which she returned uneasily.

“Princess Cadance; Twilight Sparkle; we are pleased to see you both here again. We pray your journey from the Crystal Empire was most uneventful?” The lunar Princess had a peculiar way of speaking, but Pavise thought she seemed nice enough, in a reserved sort of way.

“Long and uneventful, like always,” Cadance said with a smile. “I hope you’ve been well, Princess Luna.” It seemed Luna didn't have the same aversion to formality that her elder sister did; Luna nodded, seemingly satisfied with her piece of the conversation.

Pavise followed their chat with half-interest from his post a few trots away until he noticed Emery return from the castle foyer.

“Pavise,” Emery said, “Looks like we won’t really be needed while the Princess is here on personal affairs, so we’ll have some liberty.” He looked almost uncomfortable to be let loose from his guard duties, and Pavise sympathized with the stallion. From what he knew, Emery did little in his free time except train and sleep; the pony had practically been born to be a guard.

“About time,” Pavise said with a stifled yawn. He glanced outside an ornate bay window that overlooked the Equestrian valley below and gauged the sunlight. “How about we go down and get some chow–I’m starving.”

Emery gave him a pointed look before finally relenting. It looked as though the rest of their squad had already left for lunch. “Chow’s this way,” he said, and the two left the mares to their business.

“Emery, I know that we’ve been given a little leave, but do we have anything else on the schedule today?” Pavise nosed his armor off and onto the simple purple bunk that would serve as his place of rest for the weekend. The guard barracks were surprisingly large, and there had been more than enough space to accommodate Cadance’s party and then some.

Emery grunted a response, tugging stubbornly at the leather straps of his own armor; Pavise trotted over and pulled the strap loose with his teeth. “Thanks Pavise,” Emery said. His otherwise stone-colored coat caught the twilight sun’s rays, now unburdened by his armor, and shone a near blinding white.

“As for your question–I already told you, we’re just supposed to be relaxing this weekend. I’d take advantage of it if I were you, since we’ll start training again soon. If you’re feeling generous, you can chaperone the others on their trip out to Canterlot tonight.”

Pavise tried to mask his disappointment with a nod. “Sure, no worries.” Secretly, he had been hoping the Princess would need an escort somewhere, not his fellow guards. But he supposed Cadance was safe enough in Equestria’s capital city, especially now that the changelings had been dealt with; he doubted the Canterlot Royal Guard would be lowering their defenses anytime soon.

“Just don’t let any of those colts get you into trouble. We represent the Princess and the Crystal Empire here,” Emery said with conviction. Pavise was tempted to roll his eyes, but he knew the stallion was right.

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll make sure they behave.”

When he had finally wrangled the lot of Cadance’s guard interested in touring the city, they set out sometime around sunset. Though the general splendor of the city was something to behold, what surprised Pavise the most was the attention they had received. Perhaps it had been due to their unique glittering coats and imposing presence–all of the stallions in Cadance’s guard were well built, and with their short hair and well-kept fur it was easy to tell they were guards even out of uniform.

One snobbish looking mare had asked Realgar to come to dinner with her not a few hoofsteps into the Financial District, to which he almost agreed until she revealed that she only wanted to show him off to the rest of her posh cohorts.

“Darling, your coat is such an extravagant shade of ruby red! Whatever is your coat routine?” said the obnoxious mare. Her nose couldn’t have pointed more upward if it were lashed directly to the sun.

“Uh, water? Soap too,” said Realgar with a mischievous grin, “...most of the time.” His response was nearly enough to turn the mare off by itself, but luckily Pavise had already figured out her angle and stepped in between the two of them.

“Well, I’m sure that would have been fun and all, but we really have to be going–wouldn’t want to be late for our mud-wrestling match later, right boys?” At the mere suggestion of willfully soiling themselves, the mare let free her disgust and abruptly broke away from the guards; meanwhile, Pavise and his comrades couldn’t help but chuckle at her displeasure. She trotted back to her friends, and… Well, they were also laughing at her, so maybe they weren’t really friends.

Despite their unwanted attention, the day was enjoyable enough, and by the end most of the guards had gotten their fill of exploring, and of trying to find pretty mares to take back to the castle. Pavise had expressly warned them against making fools of themselves, or misrepresenting the Crystal Empire, but he himself had hoped to spy Cadance somewhere in town; none of them had any sort of luck that night.

Pavise and the others sped directly to the chow hall after they’d returned–if there was one thing guards had in common, it was their love affair with the chow hall. Unfortunately the castle food seemed much the same as their normal chow back home, contrary to what he had expected: sweet oats and dandelion salads for everypony. Pavise stepped through the chow line absentmindedly and took a seat with the rest of his squad by the entrance, giving him a pleasant view of the facility.

The place was as flashy as the rest of the castle, filled with off-duty guards chatting, drinking, and generally enjoying themselves. Suits of armor dotted the perimeter of the room, and between stained glass windows depicting various feats of heroism done by Equestria’s greats hung an impressive coat of arms–two crossed spears and a shield emblazoned with Celestia’s golden sun cutie mark.

He only thought it a pity the carpet that sprawled nearly the whole length of the hall, a regal purple hue with cross-stitched embroidery, also lay beneath the dining tables, but Pavise supposed that with unicorns staffing the castle it was likely a breeze to clean.

“So, what do you all think of the city?” Pavise asked the table between bites. Bright Strike licked the remnants of dinner from his lips and belched, much to the smirking amusement of everypony else.

“It’s no Crystal Empire, but the castle's pretty. I just wish everypony wasn’t so…”

“Stuck up?” one guard suggested.

“Self-absorbed?” another offered.

Bright smirked, but shook his head. “Nah, I don’t really mind that. It’s just that everypony seems to be off in their own little world, like they’re always at a foreleg’s distance from everypony else. It’s nothing like back home.”

Garnet Sand, typically a reserved and unopinionated pony, startled the rest of the table when he slammed a hoof down and glared at the rest of them.

“Well I think it’s because everypony here is too concerned about what everypony else thinks–especially the unicorns. But that’s how most of them are, which is why you’ve gotta get yourself a pegasus mare.”

Pavise squinted at the queer mug Garnet had been nursing, then at the chow line where beverage kegs and similar steins had been set up–it seemed he’d gotten ahold of some honey wine, the kind that warmed a pony up from the inside even if it was freezing cold outside. Pavise wasn’t much for drinking himself, but didn’t see the harm in the rare treat while they had so much downtime.

“There he goes again, always talking about pegasi. Have you even been with a pegasus before?” said Realgar incredulously. The rest of the table grew in their smug amusement when the stallion eventually caved.

“N… No. But that doesn’t mean anything!”

“You know,” said Bright as he sipped his own mug of wine, “I hear the Princess–our Princess, I mean–was a unicorn before she was an alicorn. But I’ve never seen her act like any of the mares here.”

“Really?” asked Pavise suddenly–he hadn’t meant to blurt out his thoughts like that, and ignored the cherry heat of his minor humiliation as a few ponies turned to look.

Realgar grinned, nudging him in the side. “Sir, of all ponies I thought you would have known that, since you’re her number one fan and all.”

“I can’t know everything about the Princess. I just know what I know–and I know that the Princess is definitely not like the unicorns we saw today. She’s… how do I put it…” Pavise rubbed his chin, hoping to think of anything that wouldn’t earn him more teasing.

“She’s a Princess, but she still seems like a normal pony I think. Don’t get me wrong–I have nothing but the utmost respect for Princesses Celestia and Luna,” Pavise said quickly under the mounting curiosity of the native Canterlot guards around them, “but with Princess Cadance it feels like there’s less distance there. I guess she just feels really down to earth, like you could tell her anything and she wouldn’t look at you any differently.”

“Maybe, but just don’t go telling her anything, Pavise, or the Prince will have you marching circles around the Empire for weeks–and that’s if he doesn’t toss you out of the guard entirely for salivating over his wife,” said Realgar with a grin so wide he could barely get the words out. The rest of the guards all snickered as Pavise shot the smaller stallion a wicked glare.

“And you’d better watch what you say yourself, or I’ll take you for a ruck march down the mountain and back.” A few chuckles rang out as Realgar all at once pinned his ears and his smile was dashed away. He was a known slacker, and exercise posed a greater threat to him than any assailant ever could–it was a wonder he made it into Cadance’s bodyguard at all.

But soon enough they were all laughing together again, having moved on to the next topic of interest as guards often did in the mess hall. Pavise lingered a little on the thought of what Cadance might have been like as a unicorn, though he still couldn’t imagine her as anything but the kind, beautiful, honest mare he had always known her to be.

By the time they had all finished Luna had long since raised the moon, and the majority of them crashed into their bunks immediately, snoring before they even hit the fabric. The next day, they planned to venture out into the city again; Cadance would have her talk with Celestia, and rejoin Twilight sometime later in the afternoon for more planned activities. Pavise hoped to hear a little about the theater performance from Cadance when they eventually returned, if he had the chance to ask.

Pulled by the automatic flow of hungry stallions from the barracks to mess, Pavise accompanied his group to the dining facility for breakfast and coffee. One of the other guards actually had to request coffee from the cafeteria staff the previous night, the Canterlot guards particularly taken by the capital’s signature fragrant dandelion tea; he was pleasantly surprised to see the bitter wake-up drought waiting for them in the breakfast line.

Everypony was already hypnotized by their meals when Pavise carefully disembarked his tray and sat down. He resolved to make little conversation before the coffee kicked in, but suddenly found himself pondering their discussion yesterday on the train.

He had told them a little about the first few weeks, and the awkward uncertainty of Shining's training regimen, which oscillated back and forth between extremes of brutally difficult and surprisingly lenient. He'd also tried to explain why he'd joined in the first place, but everypony already knew–they’d sniffed out his infatuation for the Princess within the first week of guard duty. But it occurred to him that he’d never heard any of his comrades’ stories. He quickly swallowed his last bite of honeyed oats and turned to his right.

“So, Realgar,” Pavise said, catching the stallion off guard; he lifted his muzzle from the plate and slurped the rest of his oats from his face. “What made you want to join the guard?”

“Well,” Realgar said, remembering at the last moment to grab the napkin folded delicately in front of him and hoof off the remaining dinner from his snout, “I had always wanted to join, but never really got around to it until, uh, after the whole Sombra thing. My mom and dad wanted me to be a mailpony, like my sister, but I can’t stand just sitting around like that.”

“For me,” said Bright Strike enthusiastically, “it was about the honor of serving. Some ponies in my family were guards a long time ago, and my parents all but forced me to join up when recruiting started.” He thought for a moment, then added, ”I don’t know that I can ever measure up to ponies like Prince Shining Armor, but seeing what they did for us made me want to do all I could to return the favor.”

Pavise nodded along–he was eternally grateful to the Crystal Empire’s new rulers, after all. Many Crystal Ponies felt the same way, which was the only silver lining regarding their struggles to bolster the guard from nothing. They had always managed to find more ponies than they were able to train at once. The biggest hurdle was still finding enough ponies to help lead training cycles; besides Shining himself, only Pavise and Emery had yet earned the approval to do so.

Murmurs of agreement rang out from the crystal ponies’ table, and soon the rest of Cadance’s guards were sharing their own enlistment stories, ranging from ordinary to quite ludicrous; one stallion claimed that Luna had appeared to him in a dream and told him to join, but after being pressed for details, he quickly admitted that it might have just been his grandmother.

Emery, who had silently sipped his coffee during their storytelling, finally opened his mouth when one of the castle staff nearly sprinted into their table from the hall leading to the throne room.

“Sirs, please, it’s-” the mare could hardly speak; her sides heaved from exertion and strands of mane fallen loose from her tight raspberry bun now clung damp with sweat to her face. Some of Celestia’s guards seated nearby stared with concern, and the rest of Pavise’s group had all stopped eating.

Before she could finish, a mare loosed a piercing scream from the throne room. Pavise immediately recognized Cadance’s voice, and the entire table nearly doubled over from the quickness with which Cadance’s guards left their meals and galloped out of the mess hall. The maid that had run to warn them attempted to follow, but was too winded to keep up.

A million thoughts raced through Pavise’s head as the squad hurtled down the hall, sprinting alongside many of Celestia’s guards who had been posted throughout the castle and had also heard the trouble.

In less than a minute they arrived at the scene: Cadance lay sprawled on the floor, her beautiful rose and gold mane pooled carelessly around her as tears streamed down her cheeks. Twilight curled up beside her, face buried in Cadance’s side as convulsive sobs wracked her small purple frame.

Both Celestia and Luna lingered nearby, their regal muzzles locked in reserved yet empathetic pity. Pavise wondered if they had all been eating breakfast together moments before.

Pavise made to run to the Princess, worried that perhaps she had been attacked, but Emery jumped in front of him. “Princess! Are you alright?” he called out.

She gave no response. The other alicorns glanced over, but also remained silent.

Cadance wept quietly, graceful even under duress, but Twilight made no effort to hide her anguished screams. She pounded the marble floor beneath them uselessly, repeating something that Pavise couldn’t quite make out.

One of Celestia’s guards, a unicorn mare, finally trotted up to the two stallions after realizing who they were, and glanced through their number as though searching for who to relay the situation to. Emery nodded to her, a nearly imperceptible motion.

“Captain Emery of Her Majesty Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s Royal Bodyguard. What happened?” Pavise had to admire the stallion’s composure; the blood pumping through his veins at breakneck pace made him feel like he could buck whoever had hurt the Princess clear across the castle, and he fidgeted anxiously.

The unicorn nodded; dislodging her helmet, she bowed her head.

“Sir, I’m sorry to say that Prince Shining Armor was… assassinated.”

She choked the word out. Assassinated. It was likely not a word ponies heard often, even amongst guards. The unicorn had been quiet enough, but once the name had left her mouth, Cadance at last let out another wail, identical in sorrow to the one that had drawn them all to the throne room. Pavise felt like he had been seared with a hot iron, like the breath had been hooked in his lungs and ripped out; he felt all the adrenaline leave his body, leaving his mind in a daze.

Assassinated? Shining Armor was… killed?

It didn’t even seem possible. The gravity of her words seemingly shocked the rest of the guard into silence, and Emery held his head low in solemn acceptance after a flicker of disbelief.

Unsure, the guardsmare continued. “It happened yesterday, in the dead of night.” She winced, perhaps regretting her choice of words, but there was no way to break news like this any more easily.

“A courier arrived a few moments ago with the news. The perpetrator was caught and thrown in the dungeon shortly after. Apparently, the only thing he was carrying was some sort of vial–we thought it might have been poison, but it was empty. I’m... sorry,” she repeated with finality, shaking her head.

It took nearly a minute before anypony else spoke. At last, Emery raised his eyes and looked over at the mess of Cadance and Twilight on the ground.

“...I see. May the Prince rest easy; I’m sure the whole Crystal Empire will be mourning alongside the Princess. He was a good stallion, and we… we owe everything to them.” Through the haze of his mind, Pavise thought he could hear Emery sniff back tears; Pavise only then realized that he had already shed a few.

“We’ll cancel the Princess’s plans today and head down to the station at once; please send somepony down ahead of us to secure the platform.” The guardsmare nodded as Emery continued with impressive restraint. “Can any of your guards accompany us through the city? I don’t want to take any ri-”

A flurry of movement caught their attention. Cadance sprung off the floor and made a break for an open window near the entrance of the throne room.

It was Celestia that at once ignited her horn and caught the alicorn mid-flight, tugging her gently yet firmly to the floor with her golden magic; Cadance’s wings flapped desperately, as if to break free from the magic through sheer willpower.

“Let me go! Let me go! I need to see him!” Cadance screamed with impotent rage as she flapped even harder. “I need to see my Shining!”

Celestia only shook her head, appearing for once as tired and lonesome as her thousands of years rarely indicated. “I can’t let you do that, Cadance. You’ll never be able to make the journey back to the Crystal Empire on your own. I will make the arrangements for the train at once, but must calm down.”

Cadance shot fire at the older alicorn, ears pinned and tail lashing dangerously, but Celestia remained undeterred. In the end, Cadance could only hang her head in defeat, her wings falling limply to her sides. Celestia snuffed her magic, and Cadance toppled to the floor like a ragdoll.

Princess Luna, who had remained silent during the confrontation, walked softly to Cadance and gave her a compassionate nuzzle in a rare display of affection.

“The coming days will be difficult, Cadance, but you must persevere. Now more than ever your ponies will need your strength. Grieve when you can, but this is our burden as alicorns–we should not neglect our subjects for our own feelings.” Though her words were pragmatic, sensible, they were also laden with understanding. With great effort Cadance eventually helped herself from the floor, leaning heavily against Luna’s side.

The rest of her guards followed solemnly, single-file as they trudged onward to the Princess’s chambers. Emery nudged Pavise along with them.

"I'll catch up in a bit–I need to chat with Princess Celestia about our return to the Empire." He spoke devoid of emotion, and Pavise nodded grimly.

Celestia spoke quietly to Twilight, who still had not removed herself from the throne room floor.

“I’m so sorry, Twilight...”

But Twilight was inconsolable, and her strangled cries for the brother she’d lost echoed hauntingly throughout the castle.