Idyllic

by lollipopchica

Chapter 1

CHAPTER ONE

The City of Canterlot truly was a sight to behold. During the night the moon shone down beautifully over the city. There was an ethereal quality to the continent's capital and if one had not known it, they'd never know that the city had been under siege almost thirty days ago.

Most, if not all, of the city's denizens were lost in slumber.

Such was the case for the country's newest royal couple.

Princess Cadenza Mi Amore slumbered with a smile on her face. Her husband and Captain of the Royal Guard, Shining Armor, was much the same way. While she dreamed of him and her family, he dreamed of memories from his past.

“You always wanted to be a solider?” The two lay on the roof of her home staring at a dark sky sprinkled with brilliant speckles of light. The city was quiet and the air was cool. The blanket beneath their hides helped them stay warm as they lazily cuddled, at ease in the other’s company.

“I guess…” Shining Armor breathed as he leaned closer to the darker hued mare. It was one of those things he never really thought about.

“It suits you…” Chrysalis decided after a while.

“What?”

“Your cutie mark…” She had enlightened casually.

Shining Armor rolled his eyes. “I thought you didn’t believe in destiny.” Was his teasing reply.

“I don’t. But even if your name was Bull Winkle and all you were good at was growing plants, I think you’d still be a protector.” She grinned at the idea despite her seriousness.

“Really?” He sounded proud.

“Really.”

He grinned. “You’re horrible for my ego.”

“Makes you easier to manipulate,” she smirked deviously.

“I wish you wouldn’t do that.” He sighed as he felt his mood wane.

“Do what?”

“Pretend to be this scruple-less siren.”

Chrystal was silent.

“It’s okay to have a heart, Chryssie. And it’s not a weakness if it’s steeped in gold.”

Chrysalis could feel his eyes on her and forced herself not to return his gaze as her vision began to blur with a substance she refused to recognize. How is it that he always managed to make her feel so passionately?

“Look at me…” Shining Armor murmured.

A star streaked across the horizon with tails of plum and fire. “There’s a shooting star,” she whispered. “You should make a wish.”

“I already did.”

He didn’t know it at the time but her heart was sad for home.

“Sweetie, is everything alright?” Came Cadance’s concerned tone.

Shining Armor sat straight up in bed with his eyes cast forward caught in a reverie.

She felt the shift in the mattress as soon as her husband moved waking her from a light sleep. The Princess of Love looked on with concern as this was beginning to be a common event in their night time routine.

“Shining?” She reached forward with a delicate hoof touching his tensed shoulder.

Unfocused eyes blinked as the stallion came to himself. “Huh?”

“Are you okay…” Was her hesitant reply.

Shining Armor shrugged away her touch unable to look her in the face. “Yea… Chryssie I’m fine. Go back to sleep.” He didn’t mean to sound so gruff but he couldn’t help it as he felt his thoughts were not his own. He remembered a warm body onyx in color and eyes brighter than the fullest moon. A mare that was not his wife and not of his nation.

Candy eyes watered as a unique kind of numbness came over the cerise mare. The princess knew he didn’t mean it, but it still hurt. Cadance pulled the covers closer to her chest as she watched him remove himself from their bed and disappear in the quiet sanctuary of the bath.

“It’s Cadance,” she whispered to an empty bed.

*-*3*-*3*-*3*-*

Weeks had gone by and everyday something triggered a memory Shining Armor couldn’t remember living through. He couldn’t take walks in the garden anymore as he remembered dawdling in tunnels of wisteria as a siren occupied his thoughts with hungry kisses and heated words. He couldn’t stargaze as he recalled distant conversations under the moonlight. Nor could he eat sweets for reasons that made his heart heavy.

The Changeling Queen was haunting him and Shining Armor couldn’t understand how any of it was possible. It was beginning to put a strain on his marriage. On the outside, he and Cadence looked like the perfect couple, but every night he woke up and locked himself away in the bathroom, he hated himself as he listened to his wife cry herself to sleep.

He wanted to be with Cadance, but how could he when the Changeling Queen had such a hold on his mind?

Author's Note:

So this is the final story for this little saga! Whoop! I'm sooooo excited you couldn't possibly understand. Thanks for all the support and as soon as I'm done with this one, I'll be cleaning up the others.

A Queen's Lament was such a pain sometimes b/c everything started from that point for me. Though it was my least favorite to write it was really fun to explore b/c I love troubled characters. I partially wrote it on my old computer (that died, btw- Sylvia Nooo!), my cell phone (text talk- haha!) and then some other obscure places- so good riddance till clean up.

I know a lot of people thought I was done writing or that the last story was the 'last,' but there was always going to be a sequel to it. "...Lament" was only supposed to cover a few months before the wedding, the wedding/episode and what happened immediately afterwards. So it did what I designed it to do. (Go me for planning and executing! Whoop!)

I've been working on this for the last two months and I'm halfway done so it'll probably be another month before I'm completely finished.

So enjoy as always!

-Lollipop C.

Comments

[Razzy]

Oooooh, he's started to regain his memories... Though how come nobody told him of the mare he used to date that he could no longer remember.

Cya
Raziel-chan

[Doctor_Den]

6697063
maybe everyone thought that she died in the train crash during which he erased his memory? 🤔