//------------------------------//
// Chapter 84: Equestria Games 
// Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
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	At long last, after months and months of planning and preparation, it was time for the Crystal Empire to host the Equestria Games. For Shining Armor, the still relatively new alicorn prince (at least in terms of when he'd been crowned) was a bit unhappy at the fact that he wouldn't be able to watch the games with his friends. It was his job to open and close the games, as well as oversee security should the need arrive. Other than that though, he wasn't expected to do much except smile and wave. "Is this really what my role as Equestria's first alicorn prince has amounted to?" He thought to himself, as he donned his captain's outfit (Rarity had taken the liberty of modifying it to suit his new wings) and fastened the helmet tightly around his head. "I doubt any of the princesses ever just stood around, smiling and waving, once they became alicorns."

But Shining pushed those thoughts to the back of his mind, he had more important things to worry about. Quickly departing from the castle, he made his way to the newly constructed stadium the Crystal Empire had built to hold the games. Upon entering, Shining could see that not a single seat in the stadium was unfilled, everyone was anyone was there, and the roar of the crowd was almost deafening!

Shining turned his head, and saw his friends, his sister, and her friends, all sitting in one of the stands closest to the field. They all clapped, cheered, and whistled. Seated just rows above them, were Shining's parents, Night Light and Twilight Velvet, who were seated with the parents of Scootaloo and Rarity and Sweetie Belle. And at the very top of the stadium, in a special box, sat the three princesses, Celestia, Luna, and Cadence. The only one missing was Spike, and that was because Miss Harshwhinny had allowed him the honors of lighting the torch to start the games.

If Shining was at all nervous, he did a great job of hiding it, as he marched up to the megaphone placed in the center of the stadium, and cleared his throats. "Mares and gentlestallions, colts and fillies of all ages. My name is Prince Shining Armor, and it is with great pleasure that I welcome you all to the fifty fifth annual Equestria Games!" The crowd burst into thunderous applause, so Shining waited for it to die down, before he continued. "We have teams from all over Equestria, and even a few from nations like Griffonstone all gathering together in this stadium to compete," He then began to introduce each the teams of each city and town as they arrived. Before long, a smile worked its way onto his face as he said proudly. "And now, please welcome to the stadium, Team Ponyville!"

"Ponyville forever, yay!" Shouted the Cutie Mark Crusaders, as they held up a hoop, and one by one all of the members on Ponyville's team came running (or flying in the case of the pegasi) out onto the field. Then, Scootaloo zipped over on her scooter, and planted the Ponyville team flag with the others, while the Ponyville athletes took their place with the other teams.

"All that remains now is the official torch lighting to conclude these opening ceremonies!" Shining announced, and he waited for Spike to light up the massive torch with his fire breath. But nothing happened, even after several minutes had passed. Shining began to worry. "Is something wrong with Spike? It shouldn't be taking him this long." He thought to himself, wondering if perhaps he should break from his role and go to check on the baby dragon. But all of a sudden, there was a tremendous roar, and the torch lit up with a bright blue flame! Relieved that everything seemed to be under control, Shining turned back to the megaphone and proudly announced. "Let the games begin!"





The next few days flew by in a flash, even after Shining learned that Spike had gotten performance anxiety, and Twilight had bailed him out by lighting the torch secretly with his magic. "Why don't you give out the medals in my place?" Shining offered the dragon upon learning this fact. "Will that make you feel better?"

"I guess." Spike had answered, but he remained unhappy for most of the games, especially after he attempted to sing the anthem of the winning team in the aerial relay (only to choke when Cloudsdale won instead of Ponyville).

Security detail was uneventful for Shining, but it still get him distracted enough to not really notice the medal count. Fortunately, his friends would be quick to remind him (Soarin delighted in showing off the gold medal he won in the aerial relay, while Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were pleased with their silver medals from the same event). It didn't take long for Ponyville and Cloudsdale to reach the top of the medal count (Manehattan and Canterlot tying for a distant third), and the fierce but friendly rivalry soon dominated the games. Merchandise for both teams sold like hot cakes, and neither side seemed willing to let the other stay in first for long.

On the final evening of the games, it all came down to one event to determine who would win the medal count, the ice archery finals. With Ponyville just a medal ahead of Cloudsdale, Cloudsdale needed both of its finalists to place in order to pass by Ponyville, and the favored to win first place was number seven from Cloudsdale, a gray coated pegasus stallion with a silver mane and tail, and black eyes. The other finalists (including the other Cloudsdale one) found it hard to keep up. Then suddenly, it happened! One of the finalists pulled back his bow too hard, and lost his balance. He tripped, and his ice arrow shot up into a nearby cloud, causing thick icicles to form inside the cloud. The weight of said icicles made the cloud heavy, and it began to sink down towards the stadium!

Horrified, Shining turned to the security guards and shouted at them. "Quick! Cut the disabling spell!" Remembering that said spell had been used to ensure unicorns (and alicorns) wouldn't be able to cheat during the games.

But the security guards answered back. "There isn't time, we must evacuate the stadium!"

"No, the princesses and I will deal with this!" Shining said firmly, preparing to flap his wings and fly off to try and assist the pegasi with steering the cloud away from the crowded stadium.

However, it was at that very moment, that Spike shouted. "Stand back, I've got this!" And before Shining realized it, Spike was bouncing off his back and the backs of several pegasi! Allowing the baby dragon to leap into the air and melt the icicles (and vaporize the cloud), thus averting disaster. Unfortunately, the melting ice made the grounds too slippery to hold the ice archery finals. And with trains having already been booked for the next day to return the teams to their cities and towns, the ice archery finals were forced to be scrubbed, thus giving Ponyville the victory (a few fans of Team Cloudsdale were not happy with this, but most were just glad to be unharmed).

Shining presided over the closing ceremonies, during which Spike used his fire breath to light the rockets used to display the fireworks. Shining was glad Spike was feeling better, but a part of him couldn't help but think. "I should've been the one to stop that cloud of ice." Of course, he kept that thought to himself.





But the very next day, Princess Cadence was quick to notice the signs that her husband wasn't happy. And that morning, over breakfast, she asked him. "What's troubling you? I don't think I've seen you this unhappy since the changeling invasion just before our wedding."

Knowing that he couldn't hope to lie to his wife, Shining sighed and confessed. "Well, it doesn't really feel like my role as an alicorn prince amounts to all that much. I mean, Princess Celestia raises and lowers the sun, Princess Luna raises and lowers the moon, and you are tied to the power of love. Meanwhile, all I seem to do is just smile and wave. Heck, I'm still having trouble getting used to these wings. And when the Duke and Dutchess of Maretona visit next week, all I'm expected to do is unfold a banner to welcome them. Even Flash Sentry will have more of a role, he'll be in charge of protecting them for the duration of their visit."

Cadence smiled, as she looked at her husband and told him. "I understand what you're going through, but you should know that you're not alone. You have me, my aunts, and all our friends to count on for support. Not to mention your sister," She then took on a more serious tone as she added. "I would've given anything to have that kind of support when I became a princess, but I had nopony until Princess Celestia came in and took me under her wing."

"You said you were born a pegasus, is that true?" Shining asked, recalling something he'd heard his wife tell him once when they were younger and still just friends.

Cadence nodded. "I don't even know who my birth parents were. I was found in the woods by a couple of earth ponies, who took me in and raised me as their own daughter," Her tone of voice changed from happy reminiscing to sad reflection, as she continued her story. "Then that witch known as Prismia came along with her magic-enhancing necklace. She cast a hate spell that amplified her jealousy and power by turning everyone against each other. By some stroke of luck I was not afflicted, and the necklace amplified my love, allowing me to reserve the spell and defeat Prismia. But by then it was too late, hatred had consumed my parents and destroyed them from within. Yet before I could truly moron for my loss, I ascended and gained my horn. That was where I met Celestia, who took me in as her niece. I didn't learn until years later, that I was a descendant of Princess Amore, which made me heir to the Crystal Empire when it returned."

Shining's mouth hung open in shock, he could not have imagined Cadence had such an unhappy past. Now he couldn't help but feel guilty, guilty about the fact that he had friends and family even as an alicorn, whereas Cadence had had noone.

"So you see," Cadence said seriously and somberly. "You should be grateful for what you have. I would've not hesitated to give up my magical powers to be reunited with my parents, even just for a day. Celestia was a wonderful aunt, but even she could not fill the gap left by my parents' abrupt departure from this world. And the wounds still linger even to this day, time has dulled them but not erased them. I'm sure you will find out what role it is you're meant to play as Equestria's first alicorn prince before long. But focus on what you still have, what hasn't changed, rather than what you want to have. For you never know when the things you take for granted will no longer be there."

"You're right, Cadence," Shining reluctantly agreed. "I can't believe I'm being so selfish. I know it's wrong of me to think about my own role."

Cadence came over and nuzzled her husband. "It's alright, everypony goes through this sooner or later. I don't know what your role in Equestria may be yet, but I do know that when it comes you'll be ready for it." Little did Cadence realize that she would be proven right far sooner than she might have expected.