Together at Last

Shining Armor pushed the cottage door open with his telekinetic powers and stepped out into the sun. Cadance sat atop her chariot with a large smile, the warm morning breeze blowing her mane across her face. Two stallions shining with sweat, Crystal Wall and Swift Wing, unhitched themselves and saluted their king before taking to the air. They headed out west, into the orchard's center where he expected they would spend the day.

“Good morning! ~” said Cadance as she sprang from the chariot to land on the soft ground.

“Good morning,” said Shining Armor, they hugged and rubbed noses. “We didn’t expect you so early.”

“Crystal Wall and Swift Wing decided they would put in some extra work,” said Cadance. “They wanted to do their part in helping their king’s sister. How is she?”

Twilight stepped out of the door with the picnic basket in her telekinetic grip just as Cadance asked. “Better, now that my sister-in-law is here.” The two met each other halfway.

“Sunshine! Sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” They ended with a giggle and an embrace. It warmed Shining Armor to see Twilight smile again. Something so simple seemed so impossible just moments ago as she tried to open up.

Cadance spied the basket. “A picnic, huh? Good idea, sister.”

“Actually it was my brother’s idea,” said Twilight.

“Really?”

“Strange, huh?”

“Since when do you like picnics?” asked Cadance.

“I don’t particularly like them,” said Shining Armor. “I just thought it would be a good idea.” The white stallion shrugged.

Twilight and Cadance shared another bubble of laughter.

"Well, if you two don't mind," said Cadance. “How about we turn lunch into brunch? I skipped breakfast to get here as soon as I did.”

“Sounds good to me,” said Twilight. The three set off toward the northern side of the lake. Between them, the picnic basket floated in a cocoon of reddish purple.

Ripe oranges hung heavy as the trio walked beneath the branches, their signature scent dampened from the morning dew. They each picked one to go with brunch.

The clearing was a gentle slope several paces long from shore to the orchard. It allowed ample room for the ponies to lay down their checkered blanket. Twilight and Shining Armor dove right into work while Cadance satisfied her empty stomach.

"Twilight found a note from Brilliant Feather," said Shining Armor. "We think it was written the day before the incident." Shining Armor showed her the note. "What do you think of it?"

"It’s vile," said Cadance, “I can’t help but see it as a way for him to weasel himself into Twilight’s life. But more importantly, what do you think of it, Twilight?"

Twilight mustered up her courage and told Cadance what she had told Shining Armor. That the note had caused her old feelings for the pegasus to resurface, both the good before the incident and the bad afterward.

"Can you go into some details for me about how you felt beforehand?" asked Cadance.

"How about I start from the beginning? Going over it all again might help me sort it out."

"Whatever you like," said Cadance. "You're in charge, we're just here to help."

Twilight took a deep breath. "Okay, I first met Brilliant Feather at the Royal Canterlot Library about a week after your wedding. I was in the public area, reading up on some of the more prominent unicorns; Constellacious, Blue Moon, Dusk Watch, and of course, Starswirl the Bearded. I was just about to start on Blue Moon's Torrential Spells series when I noticed one book in the series was checked out. I was so angry that somepony just checked out one right in the middle. So I went around asking the ponies there if they knew who had it because the librarian couldn't tell me. That’s when he came up to me. He had heard I was looking for it and let me borrow it.

That was when I asked him why a pegasus would be reading about unicorns and he told me he had always secretly wished he had been born a unicorn. At first I laughed, but after we talked I lost all doubt that he was telling the truth. I’ve never seen a non-unicorn so into magic. And he knew everything. We talked for hours that day about famous unicorns and their discoveries. He had me show him a few spells they had created that he always wanted to see. When the librarian threw us out that night we vowed to meet there the next day." Twilight paused and lowered her head. "I opened up to him so much in just that one day, something I had never done with a pony before. Something I should never have done.”

"Don’t say that, Twilight," said Shining Armor and Cadance in unison. Shining Armor let Cadance speak.

"You had no idea what was going to come of it. You met another pony you really clicked with and did what was natural, what was right. You befriended him."

"You can't blame yourself for being friendly," said Shining Armor. "Brilliant Feather is the one to blame for taking advantage of you."

Twilight shook her head. "I don't know. There's just something in me that tells me I could have avoided the whole thing."

"Don't listen to it," said Cadance. "It's just wishful thinking, and it's not good for you. Do you want to go on?"

"I do," said Twilight. "So the next day we met sometime after lunch and it was just like the day before. We talked for hours, mainly about Starswirl the Bearded that day, and I showed him a few spells. I didn't do all the teaching, though. He had a few rare books himself that he brought. One was about transformation spells his grandfather had saved in the library fire at Vanhoover. It had some of the coolest, hardest spells I've ever seen."

"Sounds pretty awesome," said Cadance.

"It was! I wish we had been able to get through the whole thing before we were thrown out again. That night I packed up a few rare books of my own and brought them with me the next day."

"I remember that," said Shining Armor. "That was when you first told us about Brilliant Feather. Mom and Dad were so surprised that you were taking your precious rare books out of your room. It was also the day Brilliant Feather came over."

"I had forgotten a book," said Twilight. "That was why I invited him over after we were kicked out that night. The day had been the same as the last. Nothing was out of the ordinary and he almost refused my invitation. But I was so happy when he said yes."

"You liked him," said Cadance.

"I did. I know that's why I opened up to him so easily and invited him over. I was elated to have made another friend and I sort of felt that he might have liked me back. Anyway, we went home straight from the library, I told him we could eat some of the leftovers from the night before so we didn't have to stop anywhere. I was surprised to find that Mom and Dad were still out when I got back, but I didn't think anything of it.” Words caught on themselves in Twilight’s throat. Shining Armor rested a hoof on her back.

"You don't have to go on, Twilight," said Cadance. "We know what happened and can work with what you gave."

"Actually," said Shining Armor, "we were talking about this just before you came. Twilight's a bit disappointed that she can't talk about it. She wants to try and push through it."

"Well, okay," said Cadance. "I didn't want her to go any further than she was comfortable with, but if that's how she feels.” Cadance looked around. “Why don't we eat first? It will give her some energy to push through."

Twilight and Shining nodded as they simultaneously grabbed the bundle of food and drinks. They pulled out lunch and munched away. The silence hung palpable in the air as they ate. What was to be a relaxing affair by the lake had become a chore to prepare for a turbulent storm.

Twilight regained her composure as she ate, but upon resumption it started to crumble. She pushed through it, though. For the first time since the incident she was able to go further than the initial assault of forceful kisses and described the assault in the bedroom. Tears rimmed her eyes as she fought through, recounting the experience in explicit detail.

It was hard for Shining Armor and Cadance to listen. Not as hard as it was for Twilight to talk, of course, but the level of detail staggered them. Twilight had always been attentive to detail, but the realization of how vivid that made her memory of the incident was hard to take.

However, by the time she reached the part where Shining Armor came in, her eyes were dry. Pride swelled in the couple who sat across from the purple mare as they wiped their eyes. Beneath those watery eyes they smiled.

Neither their smiles nor their pride matched Twilight’s own.

She had finally divulged the deed in whole, and it seemed like the world sighed. The sun above shone down on the trees in all its resplendent glory. The leaves never looked greener, or the oranges oranger, and their sweet scent filed her lungs as she took a deep breath and sighed in relief. She could almost jump for joy, almost. It seemed too inappropriate to go straight from a tale of such pain into celebration, but inside she hopped a little. She was here to push past that pain, after all.

Together they watched the lake in silence. A light breeze blew over, rolling the water into tiny waves that never quite crested. Here and there fish broke the water, creating a trail of glittering light captured inside the crystal liquid before softly plopping back into the lake. Around them the air hummed with a tangible sense of contentment. Both Shining Armor and Cadance let Twilight enjoy her achievement.

"Oh my gosh!" said Twilight out of the blue. "It's already afternoon and we still haven't invited Big Mac over."

Shining and Cadance both let out a small sigh, for they had feared the worst at Twilight's sudden exclamation.

"Don't worry, Twilley," said Shining. "He and Applejack told us they would help at any time."

"Still, we should give him some notice," said Twilight. "I'm going to go write a letter." Twilight was up and off before either Cadance or Shining Armor could remind her she had no one to send said letter.

"Think she'll figure it out before she's done writing?" joked Cadance.

"I doubt it," said Shining Armor. The two shared a laugh. "So, that went better than I expected."

"I know," said Cadance. "I'm so proud of her for pushing through that. It was good that she could afford to wait until she was ready."

"It would have been terrible if Brilliant Feather hadn't confessed and the courts had to pull it out of her. I don't think I could have handled that."

"I don't, either. I remember you practically attacked the guards when they first started asking her right afterward."

"How could I not!? They were so insensitive, poking and prodding so soon after the fact."

"They were just doing their job, hun. Brilliant Feather could have gotten off much lighter if he hadn't confessed and Twilight refused to talk. They just wanted him behind bars like us."

"I know, I know." Shining Armor stood up and started to clean up lunch. "What do you think we should do next?"
"We let her decide," said Cadance. "I imagine she's going to ride this success for most of the afternoon until Big Mac gets here. We'll have to help her through that, I'm sure, but until then we can probably just relax and offer our support only when she asks."

"That’s it? Don’t you have something big planned?"

Cadance rolled her eyes. “Remember what you said you learned? About Twilight being in the lead with her recovery?”

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t think that meant we would do nothing.”

“It’s not nothing, dear, it’s the most important thing we could do. We’ll be there for her when she needs it, when she asks for it. Sure we can step in if we really need to, but its best to float on the edge and wait for her to ask.”

“What if she takes our inaction the wrong way?”

“We’ll just tell her that we’re going to take a more hooves off approach. If she has any questions we can answer them then.”

Shining Armor rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof. “Alright, if that’s what you think we should do, I just don’t like standing by.” He hated it, truthfully. Twilight was like a delicate flower to him, she stood tall and colorful in the sun, but the elements around her could threaten to uproot her easily. How could Cadance be so sure this was best?

"I don't understand, you were supposed to have something more."

"Why do you think that?"

"Well you gave me those instructions on how to wean Twilight off. I thought you had something similar for the next part."

"Honey, I gave you that sheet of paper because you asked for it. I don't mean to criticize you, because I know you love your sister and were only doing what you thought was best, but you could have handled this better. You should have told her what this trip would be about, and if she doesn't want to be weaned, then so be it. If you still think its a good idea, explain it to her, don't try and force it on her."

"Why haven't you told me this before? Have I been doing this whole thing wrong?"

"This is more complex than right and wrong." Cadance raised a hoof to her husband's face and stroked it. "I didn't tell you because it was important for you to learn for yourself. You're a prince now, Shining Armor, you can't take control of the situation like a big brother and guide it how you want to. You need to think about those involved in your decisions and how they need to have their own say. I've compared this situation to running the empire a few times to try and hammer that home."

Shining Armor sat down, stunned. If she wanted him to learn a lesson, he certainly had. His intentions were to help Twilight return to herself, the pony she had been before Brilliant Feather came along, unaware that she might not want quite the same thing. Certainly the incident shouldn't have happened, but it had drawn them into a relationship, one his sister had made clear she didn't want to disappear.

"You sound an awful lot like Celestia."

"I know you're a grown stallion," said Cadance," and it may come off as an insult, but I can't help it. We princesses see the world a certain way, a way where we see improvement possible in everypony, even our husbands. Just telling them how to change doesn't work."

The white stallion shook his head. "I'm not insulted." Shining Armor stood and dusted himself off. "My father always told Twilight and I that one can never stop improving themselves. This is one of those times. Trust me when I say I'll take this lesson to heart. Even if I have to be on standby."

“Good to hear, dear.” Cadance placed a hoof on his leg. “Let's go see if Twilight needs anything.” Cadance helped Shining Armor clean up from the picnic and the two ponies set off for the cabin.

When they walked in, Twilight sat on the couch, both paper and quill held aloft in her magical grasp. She set both down on the table beside the couch and called for Spike. Upon turning to call for the assistant, she met the eyes of her family.

Cadance and Shining Armor looked at her and she sheepishly laughed to herself.

"I guess I have to deliver this myself," said Twilight.

"I told my guards to return in the afternoon in case we needed anything," said Cadance. "We can have them deliver it for you. Until then, I hear you brought the newest Daring Do book with you. I have so little time to read I have yet to finish it, do you mind? It won't take long."

"Sure," said Twilight. "It's over there on the side table."

Cadance levitated it over to her and turned toward the stairs. "Don't hesitate to come get me if you want to talk about things." She trotted up the stairs with the book.

Shining Armor walked over and took a seat next to Twilight. "I'm so proud of you," he said, laying a hoof on his sister's shoulder. "You did really well out there."

"Thanks," said Twilight. A smile crept up on her face and she stuck her tongue out of the side of her mouth. "I did, didn't I? I don't know what happened but once I got past the initial part it all came out so fast. I wanted to tell it, I needed to tell it." Her brother rubbed her shoulder. "But let's not talk about that any more today."

"Are you sure?" asked Shining Armor.

“I’m sure,” said Twilight. “I feel like it was a big enough step that we can wait until tomorrow to further discuss it. Tonight I just want to focus on Big Mac’s visit. Do you mind if I read for a little bit?"

“Just let me know if you need anything, I’ll be outside. There’s always something to do out there.”

"Thanks," said Twilight, leaning into Shining Armor. They kissed and went off to do their own things.

Twilight lay on the couch and levitated over the copy of the tome she had been reading when she found Brilliant Feather's note. The next entry in the tome was a spell that induced dreaming. Not the clairvoyant dreams Ethereal Dreamer had become known for, but regular dreams. The spell aided in the memorization of dreams to help ponies reach lucid dream states by familiarizing themselves with their own dream structures. Twilight read over the spell with little interest, for it wasn't too exciting, nor did it teach anything about dream magic.

She turned the page to find Ethereal Dreamer's legacy. The entire second half of the tome comprised the unicorn's work on her one spell to induce clairvoyance and the many different ways to cast it. Her mind devoured every word on the next hundred pages before she finally broke away. By her guess hours had passed, though she neither saw nor heard any sign of Cadance or Shining Armor. Her hooves sunk deep into the couch cushions when she stood. Laying the tome on the nearby end table, Twilight stepped onto the hardwood floor and walked to the stairs.

The sound of horseshoes on wood echoed throughout the cabin.

"Cadance?" she called up the stairs. "Cadance are you still up there?" No response came from her sister-in-law, if she was even up there, so Twilight took to the stairs one at a time until she reached the top. The bedroom door was ajar, and Twilight bumped it open with a forehoof. "Cadance?" she called once more as she entered. A strong breeze fluttered the drapes over the window. A thin shaft of moonlight illuminated sheets sprawled over an empty bed.

Twilight turned and trotted back into the hall, her hoofsteps quickening alongside her heart. She called again for either of the two ponies who had helped her just that afternoon.

Silence swallowed her calls.

She hit the ground floor at a gallop headed straight for the front door. She threw it open with a burst of magic and rushed out into the summer night. The orange trees swayed in the strong wind, their sweet scent heavy in the chilled air. The smell made her sick as she ran around the cabin. There she found two sets of hoofprints headed toward the orange orchard. Her hooves kicked up dirt as she dashed after them. Still the night air absorbed her calls.

The temperature plummeted. Foggy breath blocked her vision. The world closed in on her. Though she galloped, she made no progress. An infinite trail of hoofprints extended before her.

She hit something solid.

"Twilight!" said Shining Armor. "Are you alright?" Twilight was vaguely aware of a hoof wrapped under her chest, lifting her up. She forced her weak legs to steady beneath her as orientation returned to her. She was on the floor in front of the wall. Each breath came as a small gasp.

"What happened?" she asked. "Why am I breathing so heavily?"

"It was just a bad dream," said her brother. "You were only dreaming."

The dream returned to Twilight in a rush and she threw her hooves around her brother. "I thought you left me," she said.

"Twilight, I will never leave you," said Shining Armor.

"I was so scared."

"It's okay now." Shining Armor pulled his sister tight and squeezed. Still she panted. Cadance returned with the cold washcloth she had set out to find and dabbed Twilight's face with it. The purple mare was covered in sweat from her chest to her haunches. Tiny trembles shook her body. "Cadance and I will never leave you." His sister's hooves squeezed him in return.

"Not on purpose," said Twilight.

"Not for any reason," said Cadance. "Tell us, what makes you feel this way?"

"I accidentally cast Ethereal Dreamer's clairvoyant dream spell when I was reading up on it. I dreamed that you two went off into the woods and left me here alone. No matter how hard I ran after you I could never catch up."

"Oh, Twilight." Cadance joined the siblings' embrace. "Ethereal Dreamer stated that they were only accurate less than ten percent of the time. Shining Armor and I are not going to leave you. We have measures in place at the Empire that will keep us here barring only the most extreme emergencies. At worst I'll go back alone. Your brother stays until the end of the week no matter what." Cadance forced her sister to look her in the eyes while she spoke. She wanted to make sure Twilight understood every word. In the end Twilight dried her eyes and stood up, rubbing the small bump on her head.

"What were you reading that for anyway?" asked Shining Armor. "I thought her spell was forbidden."

"It was one of the tomes Brilliant Feather lent me. I was just curious about the research and never intended to cast it. I don't even remember doing so."

"Well, regardless," said Cadance. "It's over and done with." She lifted the biography from the floor with her horn and set it beside the other tomes. "Still, you shouldn't cast it again. I don't know what we'd do if you fell to the same fate she did."

"I have no intention of doing so," said Twilight. "In fact, I might never read it again." Twilight shook her head to unjumble her thoughts. "What time is it?"

"A little after four," said Cadance. "Crystal Wall and Swift Wing stopped by sometime around three and I had them deliver your request to Big Mac. He'll be here around seven. Applejack said she would come along, we thought that would be fine with you."

"It is," said Twilight. "What will we do until then?"

"I was in the middle of a conference with some of the council back at the empire when I heard you hit the wall. After I finish that I would love to talk about some of the things you've been studying lately."

"Deal," said Twilight. "I've learned a few new spells I think you'd enjoy." Cadance returned upstairs to the hutch where she reopened the communication portal. Shining Armor and Twilight hopped up onto the couch and snuggled together.

"How are you feeling?" asked Shining Armor after they crawled under a blanket and started a fire.

"I don't know what to feel!" said Twilight. She sighed and looked out the window at the orange trees. "I was so happy when I finally told the story in full, but that feeling came crashing down with that nightmare. I almost feel like shaking, but I also kind of want to dance." She sighed again. "Emotions can be so annoying at times."

Shining Armor laid a hoof over Twilight and pressed his neck against hers. "I know that feeling all too well," he said. "Life would be much simpler if we could pick an emotion for a day and stick with it."

"They say you need the bad to fully appreciate the good. I don't know that anypony would choose to feel bad for a day. We'd all be ‘happy’ ponies but I don’t think we’d ever really know it."

"Okay maybe we could just choose them for an hour or two, but you get my point."

"Sorry, I guess I over analyzed that."

"Don’t apologize, Twilight, that's what I love about you. You're always knee deep in everything, giving it your all to fully understand it, even a mere statement like that."

Twilight blushed. "I never thought about it like that. Often times I get distracted by investing myself in something when I need to be doing something else."

"But it all works out in the end, doesn't it?"

"After a whole bunch of stress, sure." The siblings chuckled.

"Stress would probably be one of those bad feelings no one would ever choose.” Shining Armor leaned in. “So, if you could choose one emotion to feel for the next few hours, what would it be?"

"Not scared of abandonment, that's for sure. Hmm, I guess I'd want to feel love." Twilight turned and pecked her brother on the cheek. "But I don't think I need any kind of magical wish for that to happen."

"I’d choose the same thing," said Shining Armor. The white stallion leaned in and kissed his sister. The lip on lip contact sent their hearts fluttering.

Twilight slipped her tongue into her brother's mouth, entwining it with his. They stared deeply into one another's eyes, their hearts in harmony. Neither could resist the urge to kiss the other and they both closed their eyes, their tongues expressing their feelings with a sensuous dance.

Inch by inch, Shining Armor pressed Twilight further back, careful to keep their lips locked. She scooted awkwardly to adjust so he could be on top of her, his weight lightly forcing her into the cloud of cushions. Beneath Shining Armor she felt like his name was literal, like he was a suit of armor that protected her by giving off a light to banish the darkness that threatened to swoop in and devour her. She had been silly to think he would ever leave her, for she knew nothing in the world could separate them. She rubbed her hooves up and down his sturdy chest as sparks popped from the swirl of their tongues. A deep seated fire within flushed her body and she felt a drop of juice run down her rump to land on her tail.

Shining Armor stroked Twilight's mane as he drove her further into the couch. The air under the blanket grew hot from labored breaths of bodies begging to break free. Underneath, Shining Armor longed to run his hooves all over his sister, to take in every inch of her all at the same time. Frustration built up at his lack of ability to do so. Possessing only two hooves with which to caress Twilight, Shining Armor savored their kiss. At the same time, he continued to stroke his sister’s silky mane and ran his free hoof down her side. He stopped on her haunch, giving a firm squeeze and pulling up.

Lifting Twilight's bottom brought her entrance to his swiftly growing shaft. Sweet nectar coated the head of his member as he rubbed it over Twilight's folds. When he was slick enough, he parted her flower. Twilight gasped in his mouth and he felt the movement of her tongue as she whispered his name. He whispered back her name and pressed further inside of her.

Every inch that Shining Armor pressed inside of Twilight drew forth another gasp. He paused, let the sensation mellow, and then pressed further in search of another gasp. Though her walls hugged him close, each movement was like the first. After an eternity of recurrent bliss, Shining Armor's glans caressed her deepest reaches where he rested. He breathed heavier than ever before in their lovemaking, more than the times he had turned her over and rutted her like a barnyard mare. He pressed further still, his pouch squeezed against her flank. The tip of his shaft came into full contact with the entrance to her womb as he stretched her to her limit. The next moment he was gone. He pulled out in a flash of carnal bliss, leaving a hole desperate to be filled before he pressed in again without pausing.

His first entrance had been an eternity of cyclical bliss, but his second entrance an eternity of sustained warmth, like the unfailing presence of the sun. Then he pulled back out, like the cool of night. Twilight did not cry out for the void to be filled, for like the balance of good and bad emotions, the absence of the sun gave expanded meaning to its return.

Never before had Twilight's walls hugged Shining Armor's shaft with such a tender yet firm grip. Each thrust brought a gasp from both ponies and they were forced to break their kiss. Shining Armor used the freedom of movement to place a hoof over Twilight's pelvis and press down. The added pressure brought a loud moan to Twilight's lips, and sparked the momentum of a force in the base of Shining Armor’s loins.

Twilight arched her back in euphoric rapture as Shining Armor's added pressure was too much to bear. Her body burned hotter than ever before, a fire ready to break out from within in any way it could. She twisted as their lovemaking drove her pleasure to new heights. A height that culminated in an explosion of rhapsody. Twilight wrapped her forehooves around her brother's neck and pulled him toward her. They locked lips, Twilight borrowing Shining Armor's mouth to muffle her wavering moans as her tunnel stroked his love member in a frenzied attempt to draw out his seed.

A jolt ran through Shining Armor's body, from the base of his hooves to the top of his spine. His sister’s double embrace brought the mounting force in his loins to a rupture. His rod twitched inside Twilight's caressing walls as string after thick string of his essence coated her innermost folds. Shining Armor fell on Twilight as every spurt sucked away his strength, all until he was just a mess of flesh on top of the purple mare.

Her brother's weight wasn't too much to bear. Twilight rather enjoyed the comfort of armor. She was content to wrap her legs around Shining Armor's wide shoulders. He returned the embrace, if meekly.

"You're not usually this tired," said Twilight. "Was it that special for you, as well?"

Shining Armor merely smiled and gave a sharp tilt of his head. Together they lay for some time, enjoying one another beneath the warm blanket, still connected in the ultimate sense.

"How long do you think Cadance is going to be?" asked Twilight.

Shining Armor shrugged and turned to rest his head on Twilight's chest. She took her brother's lead and laid back to relax. The day had been good overall, and she was past the rough spot. Of course, there was Big Mac stopping by in a couple of hours. Twilight's stomach sank. Just three more hours. “It was only Big Mac,” she told herself. It was what she had told herself every hour since they had decided to invite him. Twilight pushed down her worry.

There was no turning back. The butterflies would pass soon enough, and she would be even farther on the road to recovery. That helped calm her.

Some.