Every Prince Deserves a Princess

"She's... beautiful..." Shining Armor choked out, as I handed him his baby girl. It was days after the birth, when the idiot finally felt up to seeing his daughter. The unicorn had been sedated up until that moment, pumped full of anesthetics to help calm the incredible pain he must have been in. As he took the foal in his hooves, I couldn't help but feel a slight softening within my heart. The sight was absolutely adorable... but it was still Shining Armor. A Shining Armor moved to tears as he nuzzled his firstborn, after thanking me once again. I wasn't entirely convinced that it was possible to be more confused about something than my sexuality, in regards to Moss, but in that moment, everything changed. I couldn't bear the tension, the one-sided rage, or the bile that rose in my throat every time I was in the same room as him any longer. Something had to give.

"...I hate you."

Shining blinked, moving his gaze from the mewling filly over to me, instead. Normally, I'd have loved being the center of attention. I'd have loved to see his shocked expression, his mouth agape as he tried to find the words to retort. Instead, I got something else entirely. The arrogant, perfect little Duke merely nodded, unfazed, his expression barely a subtle grimace. Shining's voice came out in a distorted, tired tone, slightly muffled and altered by the puffy patch of out-of-place skin covering his decimated cheek.

"...I know. I'm sorry."

He knew. All this time, he had known... and I, in contrast, had been clueless. "You know? You cannot possibly understand. I highly doubt you could venture a guess as to w-"

"You hate me, because of your jealousy. You hate me because I've worked hard all of my life to garner respect, earned it, and I'm," he stopped to wipe a bit of drool from the corner of his mouth, unused to talking so much with that awful skin graft, "I'm publicly loved. You want Cadie for yourself. You're jealous of the affection I get from Celestia, and occasionally, even Luna. You hate the fact that I'm only a Duke, and a former commoner, but you're a Prince in title only, and have none of the privileges or respect that would normally be afforded to you. You hate me, because I'm your opposite. What you wish you were." Shining again stopped to wipe up a bit of drool, and that was when it occurred to me just how odd his words had been.

He was right. He was dead on, about everything. Shining Armor, whom I considered to be my greatest foil, had read me like a book, and apparently known all of this for a while. Despite all of that horrifying, embarrassing information, and all of the uncomfortable truths and assumptions that came with it... there was no malice in his tone. There was no arrogance, and not a single accusatory inflection in his voice. It wasn't a crucifixion with words, as it would have been had I been delivering the same soul-crushing speech to another. It was merely a statement of fact, and it wasn't yet over.

"That being said... I respect you. I respect you a lot, and I think that, deep down, you're," another pause to slurp in a most undignified manner, "a good stallion. You're on the level that the public holds me to. My equal, my savior... my brother."

"Bullshit. That is utter bullshit, you nonce. Do not get sweet with me, and attempt to lure me out of my emotions in order to m-" as I stood, trying to be overbearing and loom above Shining's form, he reached up his free hoof and placed it against my mouth, silencing me immediately. Any other would have had their hoof slapped away, and their face slapped with double the force, but Shining had me fixed with such a glare that I felt paralyzed. He paused to stroke his daughter's mane as he lowered the hoof, before his tone took a serious edge.

"Listen to me, Blueblood. I'm being sincere. You saved my life, despite the fact that you've hated me for years. Yes, you've been a dick in day-to-day life, often, but when it counted, when it really mattered, you did the right thing. Not many men can say the same, with any certainty or honesty. Not only that, but I've spoken to Celestia. I know what you're trying to do, who you're trying to become, and I can see what she sees. I know you're worth it. Not even worth 'fixing', as some might say, but worth caring for. You need people close to you, to help you grow out of the corner you backed yourself into. I want to be that guy. I want to be one of those there for you, to help you progress and become what you want to be. I owe you that much, at the very least. You can hate me, you can be envious... I don't care. I still want to be your ally," Shining finished, surprisingly without drooling, though he did have to stop and flex his jaw after his words. He appeared to be in quite a bit of pain, but still, he had talked on, wanting to get the words out. It was nothing short of a miracle that upon hearing what he had to say... I didn't feel like shit. I felt inspired. Thus was the power of a true leader, one who had reached my heart on a level that even Celestia could not.

"...I do not know what to say." At a total loss, I decided to be honest. I had accepted the information, but it was as though I couldn't process it. Not yet. Perhaps I simply didn't want to, knowing that acknowledging what I felt beneath the surface would force yet another huge paradigm shift within my life, my perspective... everything. To have first a potential lover, and now a potential brother... and both had approached me first, out of earnest desire. It was terrifying how quickly the rewards of my efforts were coming, and how unexpected and more important than my intended outcomes those rewards truly were. Despite myself... I smiled.

"Then don't say anything, other than whether or not you accept it. Bros?" Shining offered me his free hoof, the other swaddling his daughter like he was a professional father for a living. I chuckled at his ridiculous, unsophisticated, basic, colloquial stupidity, before taking the hoof with a nod.

"...'bros', indeed. I still hate you."

"Good. Gives you something to work toward." Shining smiled, again wiping his cheek. Perhaps, for the holidays, I'd get him a strap-on saliva tray. It would certainly improve his looks.

"Shining... before I go, I have some information for you." I took a deep breath, deciding to bring him in to the little plan. If he and I were truly going to reconcile in some capacity... he deserved to know, if not be a part of our efforts. That wicked bitch had nearly cost him his life, and was clearly still intent on making an attempt against the stallion that was now my oath brother. I intended to stop her, at all costs.

Well, perhaps not all costs. My life still came first, after all.

"Lay it on me." Shining shifted a bit to sit up in bed, all of his attention focused upon my words.

"Well. Creeping Moss and I intend to hunt for more of this Bloodlet Moss nonsense, the weapon that was used against you, so that we might use it to our advantage, or at the very least, develop some sort of defensive measure against the stuff. Moss, our Moss, knows where such things tend to grow, and he has informed me that the most likely location to find the substance, and quite possibly, the lair of the creature that did this to you, is in a cave beneath a nearby lake in the forest. Do you know Golden Sands, the resident inventor?"

"I do. Good kid. He's a little naive, but fun to hang out with," Shining replied.

"You would 'hang out' with him. In any case... he's working on a device, I believe he called it a 'rebreather', that will allow Moss and I to dive for the cave entrance without running out of air. We'll have an extra device, if you catch my drift. We plan to leave tomorrow."

My hope and intention was fulfilled immediately as Shining looked up at me, a silent fire blazing behind his normally calm azure hues. The stallion's jaw was set in a rigid line, and he'd been hanging on my every word. He spoke in almost a growl, and his reply was exactly what I had wanted to hear.

"...can you wait a few days? I want in."

I smiled a wicked smile, my gambit having worked. It was no secret that Shining was a far better mage than I, and his skill with defensive magic was practically unmatched within Canterlot, or perhaps, Equestria itself. To have him there would bring a much greater level of safety to our little party, and in the event that the mist demon decided to show her face, we would have a fighting chance. There was no way I would give him the kill if she did, whether he deserved it or not. That matter had become very personal. However... I did want him to accompany us, and so, I agreed.

"Very well. I'll afford you some more beauty sleep, and time with your daughter before we set out. Do you have any ideas for a name? Cadenza said that the two of you hadn't discussed the matter." I lifted a small letter, one from Golden Sands, about his plans for the device. As I began to look the schematics over, Shining surprised me once again.

"...do you?"

I paused, looking up over the sheet of paper to lock eyes with him. "Excuse me?"

"You saved my life. Without your intervention... I wouldn't have lived to see her. I want my suggestion to Cadie to be from you, in your honor." Shining shifted the little foal, gazing lovingly at his spawn. She was, indeed, quite adorable.

"...Vivian. I would suggest Vivian."

Shining didn't mock me, unlike his wife. He merely nodded, before coughing a bit. "I like it. I'll toss the idea at her, see what she thinks."

"...thank you. Enjoy your time as a layabout. Soon, we'll have work to do. I'm going to go and see the apparatuses in person, before we entrust our lungs to that sniveling foal." I turned on my hooves, and headed for the door.

"Cool. See you soon, bro."

My ear flicked in response, as I heaved a heavy sigh while passing through the doorway. "Yes, see you soon..."

I sincerely hoped that walking this path was the right decision, that I hadn't resigned myself to the road of an even greater coward. It wouldn't be long at all before I found out exactly what I'd signed on for.