-C4-
“If I’m arrogant it’s because I have a right to be. Everything I have I worked for. I sacrificed everything to be where I am today. Cadenza Mi Amore will never understand that.”
When he asked her for dinner, this was definitely not what he had in mind. “I think you’re being unfair.” Was his tired response. Everything started off well enough but once the mare had a bottle of wine in her system all that repressed resentment seemed to bubble out of her.
She was spazzing and the stallion found all he could do was laugh and listen in a resigned kind of way.
“And you’re still defending her!”
“No I’m not! Cadance is-“
“Yes, yes, Cadance is beautiful and talented- we all know that! There’s no denying that, but she’s always had the moon on a silver string. Even after she led you on you’d still rather have her by your side and all I did was show a genuine interest in you.”
He pursed his lips as he realized she was right. With a nod he took a swig of what was only his second glass. He wouldn’t argue with that he decided with lidded eyes.
“I had to claw my way to get here. I’m not ashamed to say it, but I’ve used everything I have to my advantage that didn’t compromise my dignity. I took the roles nopony wanted, became the bad mare Manehattan had no choice but to recognize. I like attention, that’s no secret. I want the crowd to love me and I refuse to apologize for it.
“That doesn’t make you better than her.”
“I never said I was… It just means I want it more.”
“For what-to be the best?” She was already successful and beautiful to boot, what more did she want? Shining Armor didn’t understand. However, he noted almost lazily, she was a terrible cook. ‘That pot is going to burn,’ he thought idly to himself watching tiny tendrils of smoke curl.
“For ponies to love me…” Came Chrystal’s passionate proclamation. All her anger seemed to dissipate as she deflated. Her next words were spoken softly. “And they never will if I have to stand in her shadow. I’m done playing princess.”
"Chrystal..." ‘Yep… And it’s burning…’
"What?" She barked annoyed with his interruption of her alcohol-infused epiphany.
"Spaghetti's on fire..."
It took a second or two for the stallion’s words to click, but once they did the mare sprang into action. "Shit!"
Suddenly he found the whole thing hilarious. Here they were arguing over how 'lucky' one pony had it, ruining their dinner over somepony who was not concerned about them in the least.
"Shining Armor, do something! Don't just laugh- No, no, no, no, no!" She panicked as she magically threw the thing in the sink before dousing it with water. "Sweet Celestia! That was horrible." Her eyes widened as Shining Armor made a big show of checking out the pot in the sink. "How bad is it?" She asked with the utmost concern.
The stallion chuckled as he stared at the burnt mess. "It’s pretty bad..."
Chrysalis moaned as the loss of dinner sounded like the worst thing ever in that moment. She bet Cadance didn’t burn spaghetti.
"Chryssie," He grinned as he stared her, "We can just go out for dinner..."
"We can?"
He nodded still thoroughly entertained by all that happened. "Where to?"
"I have a friend who has a place."
*-*-*-*-*
Over the next few weeks the two saw each other regularly enough. It was nice to have a friend outside of work that you didn’t have to posture for. Shining Armor was capable of being a good friend when he wasn’t being an ass.
Today was no different from any other day as the two found themselves arguing outside a restaurant.
“I saw the application on your coffee table.”
“You were snooping through my things?”
Chrysalis rolled her eyes. “Following coffee table etiquette hardly counts as snooping.” The Police Pony application had been on his table for weeks. Chrysalis grew tired of looking at it and a week later the application found its way into the hooves of a pony who had the power to do something about it.
“That’s not the point.” He groaned. “Why… why is he here?”
A dark stallion with eyes the color of ice sat at a table looking as formidable as any pony Shining Armor had ever seen.
“You filled out the application. Blackburn’s the commissioner of Police here…” Not to mention a distant uncle of hers.
“Chrystal… that time in my life is over.”
“Shining… you’re a great teacher but that’s not where your heart is.” When he decided to open up to her about his past that night, he never thought her interest in the story he told would manifest this way. He pursed his lips as a sigh exited his mouth. “When you were telling me about your military career I could hear the longing in your voice. You miss that life… you miss your old job. Maybe you feel continuing your military career would be a betrayal to the memory of your friend but there are other ways to serve. Other ways to protect ponies.”
She smiled softly at the dark expression on his face. His scar made him look even more foreboding if possible.
“Do you know how dangerous it is being a policepony here?” He recycled what other ponies had convinced him of.
“Yes…”
“And you don’t care?”
“Of course I care… I just know that some things are worth the risk. If you weren’t interested why take the time to get an application and fill it out?”
“My family…” Was his lame excuse to which Chrystal rolled her eyes.
“Your family will understand.”
“And if they don’t?” He looked so unsure of his self, she gave a giggle before painting a more encouraging expression on her face.
“They’ll come around. BB is tough, but he’s fair. He won’t give you anything he doesn’t think you’ve earned.” His countenance softened but she could tell he needed a little bit more convincing. “It’s just to talk… You don’t have to accept anything he offers.”
“If he offers something…”
She gave him a look but bit the inside of her cheek to keep from being sarcastic. “After you, Capt.”
*-*-*-*-*
Blackburn made more than an offer. He promised a position on the spot, provided the stallion pass a one month training course that would also help him tie up loose ends with his teaching job.
“What do you have to lose?”
“How about my job?”
“Puh-lease! It’s over the summer months. If you fail, big deal. You’ll just resume teaching in the August. If you make it, it gives the school a month to find a replacement. Anything else you need me to shoot down?”
He gave her a blank stare. “You’re not going to let me say no, are you?”
“Not when it’s obvious you want to say yes…” Green eyes twinkled in the light as she stared up at him from lidded eyes. “You’re just as excited as I am. Admit it!”
The stallion blushed. “I’ll think about it.”
“Promise?”
“Of course.”
“Any word from Mi Amore?”
He blinked, thrown off by her quick change of subject. “No… not since that day…” He sounded so blue.
“She asked about you…”
“Oh…” His ears perked much to her annoyance. “What did you tell her?”
She looked bitter as she looked away. Shining Armor was confused. Chrystal sighed before turning to look him in the eye. “I told her I wasn’t your type.”
*-*-*-*-*
At Chrysalis’ urging, the stallion accepted.
It was a good thing the training program didn’t start till summer, because it was exhausting.
Shining Armor winced as he half walked, half dragged himself into his apartment. Chrystal most definitely was not lying when she said Blackburn was tough. It was a good way to train and an even better way to ease the brunt of his heartbreak.
The training program was as challenging as any of the training he had as a soldier. He groaned as he pushed through the door and stumbled over to his couch.
Expecting to fall onto the soft cushions of an old worn couch, he instead collided with another warm body.
"What the- Hey!"
"Holy halibut!"
"Shining, get off me!" The body cried out.
"Chrystal?" He winced as he wrestled against her trying to keep her more sharper parts from digging into his tender flesh.
"Yes?" She grumbled pushing against him.
The two ended up rolling to the floor with a thud.
“Mmmm,” he winced, face drawn in agitation. “How did you get in here?
“Life Skills 101, there was a lock picking lesson." Somehow the darker unicorn was able to untangle herself from the stallion and was now leaning a small ways away from him.
Her eyes stared at him despite the darkness in the room. "Are ... you okay?" She asked moving to lean over his slow moving form.
"So I guess we're ignoring the part about you breaking and entering my home?" He managed.
She shrugged in the darkness. "I wanted to see how your first week went. Do you need some help?"
Before he could answer, she was nudging him over on his side and helping him to stand so he could successfully fall onto the couch.
"Thanks," he sighed as he sunk into worn leather cushions.
"What's BB done to you?" She breathed making out dark blemishes on his coat from bruises and dirt.
"Anything he can think of."
Moving to flick on a nearby lamp, she couldn't help but gasp at the sight before her. He looked as if he'd gotten his ass kicked a couple of times over.
Disappearing into the bath, she ran a tub of water and fussed and pulled the protesting stallion until she could push him inside the bathroom.
She knew her uncle was tough, but she actually felt a little bad for the guy now. Leaving him to clean himself up, she went inside his kitchen grabbed a butterbeer from the icebox and waited for his return.
She briefly recalled that stallions liked these kinds of things after a long hard day.
She could hear him making a mess in the bathroom as he dried himself and giggled at the image of him all wet and soapy. So what if she found him attractive? And while she somewhat believed in being 'nice' she wasn't ashamed to admit that the reason she was being so 'nice' was because she found herself drawn to the scarred pony.
When Shining Armor finished up in the bathroom, he wandered back into his living room to see the mare lost in thought with a dark grin on her face. He stood there studying her as he thought of Cadance's warning against her.
He knew she wasn't the most guile-less pony, but he also realized she certainly wasn’t the most self-serving either.
Blinking, she’d finally pulled herself out of her reverie to find she was rewarded with a less haggard looking Shining Armor standing across the room from her. Such a beautiful stallion she thought entranced by the softness of his eyes in contrast to the jagged flesh of his face.
"Nice and clean" she grinned. "Sit."
A second later Shining Armor was face up on the couch. She floated over the cold butterbeer as she went and joined him.
"Blackburn is a sadist," he grumbled draining half his beer in a gulp. She raised a brow and laughed.
"He only wants the best..." she mused. Shining Armor snorted. "But you love it." Was her gloating remark.
He looked at her out of the corner of his eye. "I do..." he relented after a while, smiling when she laughed.
"How’re you feeling?"
"Sore..."
She was quiet. "Maybe I can help..."
"How?" She hopped off the couch and flicked off the lights. "What’re you-"
"Lay down."
He gave her an odd look before complying with her command. Kneeling down beside him, she closed her eyes and focused.
"What are you-"
"Shh!" Was her harsh revocation. Bright green magic surrounded her horn and slowly leaked forward surrounding his body in a soft glow.
Shining Armor peeked at his friend curious of her intention. It was an eerily beautiful scene to see her deep in concentration alit with the soft hue of magic. He was about to vocalize his curiousness when a surge of warmth came upon him.
He could feel her magic working the soreness out his muscles and it felt amazing. "Chrys..." he slurred with a moan. "What’re... you doing?"
"Just relax..." she whispered focusing.
She continued the spell until his breathing slowed to a more restful state.
Blinking once she disconnected her magic, she felt a little woozy as it’d been some time since she’d performed a spell like that. The stallion moaned lightly after the sensation faded.
“Where’d you learn that?” He breathed half asleep.
She chuckled as she drained the rest of his butterbeer. “Advanced Healing 101… I actually failed that class.”
“That’s too bad…” He slurred.
Chrysalis snorted. “Goodnight, Shining Armor.”
“Night Chryssie.” And with that, the mare was gone.