A few weeks passed after Starlight's more or less official graduation from being Shining's student, but she remained committed to Ponyville. As she put it: "Ponyville is my home now, I don't really have anywhere else I could go." And from the few details she'd shared about her life prior to the village, it seemed like she wasn't interested in whatever town or city she'd been born and raised in.
With his student now free to plan out her life, and confident that things in Ponyville had returned to normal, Shining Armor returned to the Crystal Empire in the hopes of some peace and quiet for a change. A chance to contemplate recent developments in his life, and maybe even enjoy a semi-retired life from the royal guard and his princely duties.
However, fate had different plans in mind for the alicorn. Roughly a week after he was back in the Crystal Empire, he received a letter in the mail addressed to him from Princess Celestia. It read as follows:
Shining Armor,
After much consideration, I have decided to put you in charge of organizing the first ever Friendship Festival to be held in Canterlot this Summer.
You'll be responsible for arranging the headlining musical entertainment, getting word out, and of course security detail. Other responsibilities are being shared among the nobles, but Luna, Cadence, and I have largely been excluded from the decision making process aside from budget.
Don't hesitate to write to me if you have any questions or need advice. I've also instructed Luna and Cadence to assist you if needed, though I would assume you'd need no incentive to ask your wife for help.
If all goes well, we hope to kick off the festival with a musical extravaganza a week after the Summer Sun Celebration. Should you need more time, an advanced heads up will be required.
Above all else though, try not to overwork yourself as your sister tends to do. I hate to add to your already growing plate of responsibilities, but I wouldn't ask you to undertake this assignment if I had any doubts you were up to it.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Princess Celestia
Shining couldn't help but chuckle in spite of himself when he got the letter. "Just when I thought I might finally be able to kick back and relax for a while, life pulls me right back into the thick of it." Then he sighed a little. Even with the generous timetable he'd been given, the festival was still only about two months away. And that meant he was going to be very busy for probably the next month and a half, leaving him little time for his family. "Cadence will understand, she's used to it by now. But poor Flurry Heart, she's gonna take it hard when she misses out on father/daughter time." He thought to himself.
The very next day, Shining got to work. Immediately after breakfast, he gave his wife and his daughter a kiss, and with a promise of "See you tonight" retreated to the study in the bedroom he shared with Cadence. A huge sprawl of different stacks of paper greeted his eyes, but it wasn't anything the stallion hadn't seen before.
"Security detail will be easy enough, I'll save that for last. Flash Sentry can probably manage things if I put him in charge," Shining said to himself. "I'll just have to remember to run it by him first, and make sure he understands what I expect of him," He pushed the papers related to security aside, focusing on the ones that listed various popular musical talents that were guaranteed crowd pleasers and worked well on a stage. "Let's see what we've got here:" The stallion commented, as he plopped down into his desk chair and flicked on a light to see better. "List of talent includes: Sapphire Shores, the Pony of Pop. Fresh off the success of her Equestria wide tour and her newest album. A sure fire publicity magnet, but probably going to be very expensive, even though she lives in Canterlot. DJ-PON-3, the number one rocking DJ on the club scene. Perhaps a bit less elegant for the nobles' taste, but I've heard good things about her music. A bit of a recluse though, doesn't talk much outside the club, contacting her might be difficult. Then there's her roommate, Octavia Melody, a distant cousin of Pinkie Pie. She and her band headlined at the Grand Galloping Gala a few years back and did pretty well. Only problem is, I haven't heard her in a solo performance, and an entire band could be a headache to manage at a Friendship Festival."
A little further down the list, two names stood out to Shining. One of them he recognized, and the other he did not. "Countess Coloratura or Rara as Applejack calls her. If not for the Svengallop incident, she'd be a sure bet. Currently between managers, but her remade image as a simple, classical singer is doing well with the crowds. Not sure how to get in touch with her though. And lastly, we have Songbird Serenade, a newcomer to the musical scene. She's had a few concerts of modest success, and a number one album that briefly dethroned Sapphire Shores' music. Says here though that while she's relatively friendly and upbeat, she never travels without bodyguards. That might complicate things. Well, I think I can reluctantly rule out Octavia and DJ-PON-3, even if they could find room in their schedule, I've no idea how they'll do on a public stage as a solo act. Sapphire Shores is too obvious and probably overbooked, but she might serve as a back-up. So that leaves Rara the wild card, and the unknown Songbird Serenade. Who should I pick?"
But at that moment, the door to the study creaked open ever so slightly, and in trotted Cadence holding a somewhat squirming Flurry Heart in her magical embrace. "I have day court responsibilities to tend to, and Flurry Heart will just find them boring," She explained, as she gently lowered the young alicorn into her father's lap. "Besides, you haven't spent much time with her outside that ones Ogres and Oubliettes session, and that needs to change."
"But Cadence," Shining protested. "I'm very busy as it is just planning for the Friendship Festival."
"Don't worry, Flurry won't get in the way too much. Right, Flurry?" Cadence asked, as she lightly stroked her daughter's mane, getting a series of gurgles in response. "You just need to play with her and take care of her until she tires herself out. Then you can spend all the time you want planning and fussing over those papers. I should be back by the time she wakes up from her afternoon nap."
"But Cadence-" Shining began again.
Cadence didn't bother to wait for a protest. She simply ceased the glow from her horn that was surrounding Flurry, and then gave her husband a kiss. "It's all part of being a parent, spending time with your kid. I promise, I'll make this up to you. But for right now, I have to go." And with that, the princess of love turned and departed from her husband's study, leaving father and daughter alone in said study.
Shining let out a long sigh, wondering just what he'd done to deserve this sort of "punishment". It's not that he didn't want to spend time with his young daughter. Far from it, under different circumstances he'd be all for the chance to have quality time with his little one, regardless of what that would entail.
But right now, having to juggle keeping an eye on her and at the same time planning for the Friendship Festival, it was a balance the prince wasn't fond of. The last thing he wanted was for Flurry to slobber on, play with, or even accidentally destroy any of the important papers he had in his study.
That meant keeping the little alicorn occupied and content, and Cadence was always much better at that (probably because she had experience with foals from her years of foalsitting).
Fortunately the task was made slightly easier by the fact that Flurry's nursery was connected to her parents' bedroom via a concealed door. This made it easy for either parent to check on her in the middle of the night, without the risk of having her wander into her parents' bedroom for any reason.
So after a quick visit to said nursery via teleportation, Shining returned with a wide assortment of Flurry's favorite toys and laid them out in the bedroom for her to see and select from.
Flurry, however, had another idea for play time. Flapping her tiny wings, the little princess flew up to her daddy, booped him on the nose, and then made a face that involved slanting her eyebrows. It took but a moment for her daddy to catch on. "Oh I see, you wanna play bears," He giggled. "Okay, let's play. Grr!" He playfully growled, raising his hooves. "I'm gonna getcha!"
Naturally, Flurry ran away from the "big, scary bear", which prompted a chase. Said chase could've ended in seconds if the prince so chose, he could flap his wings much better than his daughter, to say nothing of his superior horn skill. But that would ruin all the fun. He knew his little princess liked to feel like she had a chance. Besides with any luck, the longer he drew things out, the more quickly she would tire out and settle down for a nap.
However, Flurry decided that today she was going to be in one of her more mischievous moods, and have a bit of extra fun at her daddy's expense. Lighting up her horn, she vanished just seconds before Shining was able to close in on her.
"Flurry, what did Mommy and I tell you about teleporting?" Shining scolded as a groan of frustration left his lips. All he got for his troubles, was a series of giggles from down the hallway. And when he turned to look, there was Flurry, clearly taunting him with her tongue stuck out in comedic fashion.
This ensuing chase went on for far longer than poor Shining would've liked. Almost half an hour elapsed before his infant daughter seemed to finally relent and allow herself to be captured.
"Okay, Flurry, you've had your fun," The alicorn prince declared, his tone of voice sounding straight forward and serious, "Now how about we head back to your nursery and-"
But just then, a faint growling sound could be heard coming from Flurry's tummy. It didn't take a genius to figure out what that meant. It was feeding time.
Teleporting to the kitchen with Flurry in tow, Shining Armor secured his young charge in her high chair and fastened her bib that had the words: "Mommy and Daddy's Little Artist" in hues of baby blue and pink, around her neck. He then levitated over two jars of green colored goop, and a plastic spoon.
The little princess took one look at the foal food presented to her, and immediately she made a gag face and turned her head.
"Come on, Flurry. It's Mashed Peas, your favorite," Shining encouraged, nudging a spoonful of said food towards his clearly hungry daughter. "I'll even let you have a bottle of milk afterwards to wash it down. But only if you cooperate. This time, maybe try not to decorate the kitchen walls with your food. If you wanna paint, paint with your hooves or a brush on a canvas."
But Flurry just kept her head turned away from her daddy and the food. She even tried to grab hold of the spoon with her magic and fling the foul tasting mush back at the one foolish enough to feed it to her. Once she was princess, her first order of business was going to be outlawing Mashed Peas as a type of foal food.
"Flurry, please, don't be stubborn!" Shining complained, blocking the effort as he tightened his magical grip. "I know you're hungry, but this is all we have right now. I promise I'll send Sunburst to pick up more flavors for next time. But you're not leaving your high chair until you eat your slop... I mean Mashed Peas."
Flurry tried in vain to seize control of the spoon, but her horn was just not powerful enough to magically overpower her daddy. Curse him for being so strong.
However, it was still far from clear that the young alicorn had any intention of eating the green colored goop that was the only thing offered to her. Never mind the fact that her alternatives were to starve and just sit in her high chair and do nothing (the kitchen was one of the rooms in the castle that had enchantments to keep her from teleporting into or out of it).
This prompted Shining to sigh, and even gulp a bit. There was only one thing he could think of that would get Flurry to accept the foal food. It was the same kind of trick his parents had used on him as a foal (as the many baby pictures of him would attest). With a whistle, he called out to his infant daughter. "Hey, Flurry, look at me. Look at Daddy," Flurry did so, surprised to see Shining holding the spoonful of Mashed Peas close to his mouth. He inserted said spoonful a second later, quickly swallowing to avoid having the strong flavor cling to his tongue. As best he could, he commented afterwards. "Mm, yummy yummy. See, Flurry. If Daddy eats it, it MUST be good. Now open wide for the aeroplane."
That did the trick, Flurry accepted her food with no further complaints. She didn't even try to fling any of it back like she usually did, and as a result meal time ended much quicker than it normally did (and without the need to clean the kitchen walls once again). Honoring the deal he'd struck, Shining fixed his young charge a bottle of milk, and had a cup of the liquid himself to ensure he'd washed out the foul taste of Mashed Peas.
Once Flurry was back in the nursery, Shining carefully lowered her into her favorite playpen and surrounded her with all sorts of stuffed animals and toys/rattles. He even took the liberty of giving her her pacifier to suck on.
All of this was for a reason, for as the prince gave his daughter a light kiss on the forehead, he cooed at her. "Be a good little filly for Daddy, okay Flurry? Daddy has some important grown-up work he has to get done. But he'll still check up on you before nap time. And you'll let him know if you need something before then, won't you?"
Taking Flurry's nod as a sign that she understood what was being asked of her, Shining retreated to his study, leaving the door open just a crack so that he'd be able to hear any sounds his infant daughter might make. Then he sat down at his desk again, and began to pour over the papers anew. "Okay, the singer is narrowed down to two options. All that remains is to contact them, and see if their schedules align with the festival. Of course, I'll have to make sure they know nothing is decided, so they don't both show up assuming they've got the job," He said to himself, smiling in satisfaction that he'd already largely taken care of that important detail. "Now, how do I wanna promote this Friendship Festival? It's gotta be something special, something that conveys it's more than just another Grand Galloping Gala or award ceremony."
But Flurry Heart soon grew bored of playing with stuffed animals and plain old toys. She wanted to play with her daddy, enjoy some quality time with him and have those special, silly experiences she knew she couldn't get anywhere. Yet he was ignoring her in favor of those papers, which probably weren't as important as he was making them out to be.
With a flick of her horn, the future heir to the crystal throne appeared in her daddy's study with only her precious Whammy. She held the cherished stuffed snail close to her body, lightly poking at her daddy with it in the hopes of drawing his attention.
Shining did, and he struggled to keep from getting annoyed. He really should've expected this, Cadence had told him that foals seldom sat still just because you told them to. But right now, the paperwork was more important. "Flurry, it's not your nap time yet," He lightly scolded. "And Daddy doesn't like being disturbed while he's working," Then he grabbed her Whammy with his magic and floated it in front of her, adopting an exaggerated tone of voice as he added. "Hey, Flurry, I'm Whammy, your friend. You wanna be nice for Whammy, don't you?"
Flurry nodded, suspecting nothing.
"Well Whammy says we gotta leave Daddy alone so he can his work done, that way he'll have more time to play with you," Whammy went on. "Now come on, let's go back to your playpen, and we can have all the fun we want together." Shining then gently lifted Flurry with his magic, floating her and her stuffed snail back into the playpen.
Alas, not even five minutes after Shining had sat back down at his desk, Flurry appeared at his side again. This time lightly brushing his mane and playing with it a little. Normally, Shining would find such a scene adorable, but with his mind focused almost entirely on the paperwork for the festival, everything else was like a distraction. And he was steadily losing his patience. "Flurry, please, not now," He growled, raising his voice just a tiny bit. "Unless it's something important, like you're hungry or need a change, please don't bother me. I'm trying to get some work done, and I can't do that if you keep bothering me," He carried her back to the playpen and plopped her down into it, surrounding her with the toys. "Play with your toys and leave me alone. Mommy and I bought them for you for a reason. So unless you wanna see them thrown out or donated, play with them!"
Flurry reluctantly obeyed, and Shining smiled as he retreated back to his study once again. This time he was certain of the fact that he'd set his infant daughter straight. "I set a clear boundry, and she keeps crossing it. I have to put my hoof down, or else she's gonna grow up having me wrapped around her little hoof, and using me to get out of stuff," He thought to himself. "But if she's gonna be like this, maybe I should see about taking her to Ponyville, once she has all her shots. It might be nice for her to meet some other foals, even if Pound and Pumpkin Cake are a few years older than she is."
But just when it seemed that all had been settled, there was a "poof" and Flurry appeared in Shining's study yet again. She held out her Whammy, dangling the plushie in front of her daddy's face. It was the only thing she could think of that would draw attention to herself. In the process, she dislocated some of the papers and they fluttered down to the ground and scattered. Oh well, Daddy could always pick them back up.
Seeing the papers scatter across the floor like that, on top of the sights and sounds of his infant daughter shoving her trusty sleeping buddy in his face, caused Shining to lose what patience he still had. He'd been putting up with this uncooperative behavior for what felt like hours, and it didn't help that the stress of juggling responsibilities was giving him a bit of a migraine. Without even thinking, he glared at Flurry and shouted at her. "That is enough, Flurry! Daddy is just trying to do his job, and here you are, making that impossible! Why can't you just be a good little pony and play with your toys for a while, so Daddy can get his work done?! If your goal is get yourself in time out, well congratulations, you succeeded! Maybe now you'll learn that when grown-ups tell you not to bother them, you don't bother them!"
Almost immediately, Shining regretted his words, especially his threat of time out. Flurry hadn't done anything that warranted such a punishment. It wasn't like that time he and Cadence had caught her leaving little chocolate hoof prints on the carpet, after she'd tried to help herself to some chocolate pudding. Or the time she'd doodled on the nursery walls about her own little adventures.
But the words and threats couldn't be taken back, their damage had already been done. Flurry was silent for a few seconds, before her eyes welled up with tears and she burst into audible sobs of sadness. It may not have been as bad as her crying during her Crystalling (Sunburst's spells had thankfully toned down the volume), but to the stallion with a coat of pure white they hurt even worse. "Flurry, I'm so sorry, really!" He hastily apologized. "Daddy didn't mean to yell at you, he's just being a doo-doo head, that's all."
Flurry just continued to cry, the apology having no effect.
"Flurry, please, you've gotta stop crying!" Shining desperately pleaded. "'Cause if you keep crying, Daddy's gonna cry. And you know Daddy doesn't usually do that, he sheds liquid pride. You don't wanna see Daddy cry, do you?"
Flurry's sobs died down just a little, but she still sniffled quite loudly, and her eyes were starting to be stained red from her constant crying.
"Come on, Shining, think! There's gotta be a way to make this all okay, make things right!" Shining thought to himself. And then, all of a sudden, he got an idea. A most unusual idea, mind you, but still an idea. And one that would hopefully work. Lighting up his horn, Shining enveloped himself in the light rose glow of his magic. Then in a cloud of smoke, he seemed to vanish, only to reappear seconds later in a noticeably shrunken state. His body was smaller and noticeably chubbier, and his mane and tail had shrunk down to little blue stubs. In short, he was now the size of a foal.
Flurry ceased her crying all together, looking down at her daddy and shooting him the most confused look.
"It's okay, Flurry," The foalish prince spoke, blushing at how high pitched and squeaky his voice sounded in his current state. "Daddy turned himself into a foal so he can play with you. He's sorry he got so wrapped up in that silly paperwork and ignored you. It's just paperwork, it can wait. You're only young once, and Daddy wants to make sure he spends as much time as he can watching you grow up," Then he added. "And I can change myself back to normal, in case you're wondering. Or at least, I'm pretty sure I can. If not, the spell should wear off in an hour. And there's always Mommy if that fails too," Trotting over (or rather, crawling over. His small stature made walking about on his tiny hooves rather difficult) to Flurry, he booped her lightly on the nose. "Come on now, you gotta show me how foals have fun. Just don't do anything that'll get us into trouble."
Grinning in delight at having a playmate, Flurry babbled something that Shining was able to loosely translate as: "Be wight back, Daddy. Gotta gets you some swuppies.", and then lit up her horn and teleported away.
"Where's she going? And what does she mean by 'supplies'?" Shining briefly wondered, before he looked down at himself and blushed as a thought came to him. "She's not actually gonna do what I think she is, is she?" He thought, and mentally prayed that wouldn't be the case. He was pretty sure he hadn't made himself that young.
Cadence was so relieved that court was finally adjourned for the day, it seemed like it had lasted forever. Her mane and tail were completely frazzled, but she didn't care, she could always brush them back to their usual well kept appearance. Right now there was only one thing that was important to her, checking up on the two most important ponies in her life: Her husband and her daughter.
"I hope Flurry hasn't given Shining too much trouble. Faust knows she can be quite the little trouble maker when she wants to be. Which reminds me, I need to see about giving Sunburst a raise." The princess of love thought to herself, as she frantically trotted down the long halls of the castle, which seemed to be even longer than they usually were for some reason.
At last, Cadence reached her destination, her shared bedroom with Shining Armor. And what she saw when she opened the door and entered the room, made her heart melt.
Shining was sound asleep in his usual spot on the left hoof side of the bed, Flurry Heart tucked under his left hoof and nuzzled up to his chest, also sound sleep. Flurry was clutching her Whammy, while her pacifier bobbed up and down in her mouth, the sucking sounds being almost in sync with Shining's loud snores. And scattered across the bedroom floor, were a variety of toys, and also some foal supplies.
Cadence simply giggled. "Shining must've been playing house with Flurry, and something tells me I know who the Mommy was." She thought to herself, as she used her magic to pull the covers up over the two sleeping ponies. The scene was so adorable, she just couldn't bring herself to disturb it for the sake of putting Flurry in her crib. Just this once, she could sleep in her parents' bed.
Trotting over to the bed, Cadence leaned down and kissed both ponies softly on the top of their foreheads, as she sweetly called to them. "Sweet dreams, my little ponies." Then she carefully tiphooved to the door. It was worth having to sleep on the couch to have seen such an adorable sight that she would NEVER forget.