//------------------------------//
// Chapter 109: The Disgruntled Magic Student 
// Story: My Little Pony, Friendship is Magic: Stallion Edition 
// by SuperPinkBrony12 
//------------------------------//

It had been a rough couple of days for Shining Armor, fresh off the trouble of the royal summit in Canterlot, he was tasked with hosting Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan in the hopes of forging a peace treaty with the nation. A task that proved to be easier said than done, due to one detail Rutherford laid out upon his arrival: "If things not perfect, yaks destroy. Yaks always destroy if things not perfect."

True to word, the prince proved almost unreasonable in his demands. And every time something wasn't exactly to his liking, he and the yaks accompanying him would destroy something. It got to the point where it seemed like the only thing that could keep the yaks content, was a party. And as if she had a sense for bad timing, Pinkie Pie up and vanished as the time of the party drew near.

It all worked out in the end though, as Prince Rutherford and the yaks were most impressed by the party Pinkie ultimately organized and hosted. "Now yaks happy, no declare war." The yak prince announced for all to hear, even Princess Celestia who had stopped by to see how the peace negotiations were going.

Shining Armor gave a nervous smile, as he turned to Princess Celestia. "Uh, funny story actually," He nervously replied, hoping his unkempt appearance didn't betray how exhausted he was. "Long story short, Prince Rutherford is hard to please. Fortunately, Pinkie Pie came through with this party at the last minute. And some sheep wandering onto the track definitely helped."

"I still can't believe Pinkie Pie has her own party plannin' cave!" Braeburn exclaimed. "I seriously need to study it and set up my own. We could sure use one back in Appleloosa."

Shining just gave a weak smile, and yawned a bit. "I'm just glad I can finally have a chance to unwind and not have to worry about anything," He admitted. "Between studying the map, dealing with the bug bear crisis during Cranky and Matilda's wedding, the royal summit, and of course the peace treaty with Yakyakistan, sleep hasn't come easily to me."

Celestia nodded. "I can see the pressure is getting to you, just a little, Shining Armor. You've definitely been working hard these past few weeks, maybe a little too hard. I think some time in the Crystal Empire with Cadence will do you well, rest and get your strength back."

"But what about that map?" Shining asked with concern. "Who's gonna take over trying to study it?"

"Oh relax, B.B.B.F.F, I can do that no sweat!" Twilight insisted. "I've been more than ready to take over for you, you just won't let me," Then she added. "Though, without you, the castle is going to feel kind of lonely."

"Well, that's why you've got friends, isn't it?" Shining replied. "And of course you've got Spike."

"I know, but things won't be the same without you," Twilight said with a sigh. "But I suppose it can't be helped, you've got your own life now and your own royal responsibilities. As do I. Be sure to say hi to Cadence for me, feels like it's been forever since we've seen each other."

Shining nodded in approval. "I will, Twily, don't worry," Then to his friends he asked them. "You can hold down the fort while I'm gone, right? You'll keep me up to date on all the important events?"

"Of course, it'll be like you're still here!" Soarin firmly replied, patting Shining on the back. "You worry about yourself, and we'll worry about everypony else."

"Ponyville will be in good hooves on our watch, of that you can be sure!" Fancy Pants vowed.

"Thanks, guys," Shining smiled. "I knew I could count on you all."

Celestia smiled as well, then lead Shining away to talk to him in private. "While I am sending you back to the Crystal Empire to rest and recover, there is something I'd like you to do for me while you're there."

"Anything, princess!" Shining eagerly commented, then asked. "What is it?"

"I have recently learned that the Crystal Empire is now home to one of my former students," Celestia explained. "You already know that your sister was not my only student, and you are well aware of the fate that befell Sunset Shimmer, correct."

"Yes indeed," Shining nodded, memories of his visits to that other world still fresh in his mind. "I am glad to hear she's turning it all around now. But what does she have to do with any of this?"

"Though Sunset Shimmer was not my first student, she was my most promising up to that point," Celestia told Shining, her voice tinged with regret and sadness. "I took her under my wing, and when she ran off, against my better judgement I almost immediately yearned for a replacement to fill that hole in my heart. I believed I had found one in the form of a colt named Sunburst. He showed a lot of promise, he could recite even the most complicated of magical theories with ease. But..."

"But what?" Shining asked, worried about the direction this story would go.

"But he could not put his theories into practice, for whatever reason he couldn't perform much beyond the basics, even though he absorbed the knowledge like a sponge," Celestia told Shining. "The ridicule and embarrassment he received as a result, took its tole on him. It wasn't long before he announced he was no longer able to be my student, and that he was withdrawing from my classes. For years I haven't heard a peep from him, yet now I've been informed he has made his new home in the Crystal Empire."

"And you want me to talk to him?!" Shining realized.

Celestia nodded. "You may not remember, but the two of you did cross paths in high school. It is my hope, that there is something of a spark between you two that can be rekindled. I unfortunately lack the time to fly halfway across Equestria, just to reconcile with a student I haven't seen in years, and I don't know where he lives or how much resentment he still carries. At the least, I hope you can lure Sunburst back out into the open, so that I may learn just how bitter he still is."





Shining was consumed with thinking about Celestia's orders and her explanation about why she was selecting Shining to reconcile with Sunburst. He couldn't remember much about him, he barely even remembered the color of his coat, orange.

Shining focused so much on this, that he was taken by surprise when upon landing, Flash Sentry approached him and announced. "Excuse me, Captain Armor. There are some ponies who wish to speak with you."

"Can't they wait until tomorrow?" Shining asked, taking notice of his own appearance. "I'm not really in the state to be entertaining visitors right now, Flash."

Flash only shook his head. "I told them that, captain, but they refused to listen. The insisted they speak to you as soon as possible, and they won't take no for an answer. Please, forgive me."

Shining just sighed, using his magic to loosely comb his mane and tail to look halfway decent, nothing could be done about the bags under his eyes though, but there wasn't any time to worry about that. "Alright," He sighed, getting out of his carriage. "Please, lead me to them, Flash." In the back of his mind he mentally pleaded. "Please let it be a quick visit, I've got a lot on my plate as it is. Entertaining guests in my current condition is only gonna complicate things further."

Shining's mood changed however, upon entering the throne room. Three very familiar ponies were there to greet him! From left to right they were: A brownish-gray coated pegasus stallion with grayish-violet eyes, a pale two tone light blue mane and tail styled similar to Thunderlane's, and a cutie mark depicting a blocky alien looking creature. A light brown coated unicorn stallion with moderate green eyes, a slightly brighter shaded green mane and tail that loosely reminded Shining of Rarity's, and a cutie mark depicting an eight sided die. And a light grayish-amber coated earth pony stallion with moderate blue eyes, a  dark grayish brown mane and tail styled nicely, a green bow-tie with a few white lines, glasses the same color as his mane and tail, and a cutie mark depicting a robot. He recognized them at once as his old role playing buddies, 8-bit, Gaffer, and Gizmo (who everyone called Poindexter)!

"Hey, Shining Armor!" 8-bit greeted, waving a hoof. "Long time no see! I gotta say, you've got a sweet pad here!"

"Yeah!" Gaffer joked. "Sounds like that prediction of yours we always teased you about came true after all. That is, unless you're not married to Princess Cadence."

"Very funny, guys," Shining lightly remarked. "For your information, Cadence and I have been married for about a year now. In fact, we just celebrated our anniversary about two weeks ago."

Poindexter pushed the glasses on his face up, as he replied. "We're quite aware of the fact, we heard all about in the papers. And of course every major event in your life has made headlines all over the world. Our own lives have been going good though, even if we haven't had much time to get to know each other. We were hoping you might be interested in a game of Ogres and Oubliettes just like the good old days," Taking notice of Shining's appearance he then added. "However, it seems now would not be the best time."

"Unfortunately, yes," Shining sighed. "As you can plainly see, I've been very busy lately and I'm going to be for at least another day or two. I'm sorry, guys, I'd love to play with you, but duty comes before games. Oh, and Poindexter, you're looking a little... different. What happened to your eyes? I seem to remember them being orange colored when we were attending Canterlot Academy together and playing in your mother's basement."

Poindexter beamed. "Ah yes, I was wondering when you'd notice. These new glasses have special lenses that change the color of my eyes. Observe." Poindexter removed his glasses, and everyone quickly took notice of the fact that his eyes changed from moderate blue to dark orange. When the demonstration concluded, Poindexter put the glasses back on and his eyes went back to their moderate blue color.

"It's too bad Cherry Fizzy couldn't make the trip with us," 8-bit commented. "But I guess it's a good thing he's not here to see you like this."

"Wait?! You guys know Cherry Fizzy?!" Shining exclaimed. "He was the first friend I met when I joined the royal guard, but I never told any of you about him, after high school we all went our seperete ways."

"You didn't have to, I met him while he was on duty in Canterlot following your leave of absence," Gaffer explained. "He and I are great friends. We go out of our way to see him whenever we're all together in Canterlot, or the rare occasions where he's off duty and comes to Ponyville."

"Ah, that explains it," Shining realized, then a thought struck him. "Say, do any of you guys remember a pony named Sunburst? Like at all?"

"Sunburst? Wasn't he that pony who kept saying he was gonna be a big, important wizard, and always reminding us that he was the student of Princess Celestia?" 8-bit recalled. "Always thought he was a bit full of himself, but at the same time Princess Celestia had to have seen something in him."

"I seem to recall we tried to reach out to him a couple of times, but he'd always decline because he had something else to do," Gaffer added, scratching his head with a hoof. "Though I seem to remember him saying he was gonna throw a big party and use his connections to rent out the castle ballroom. You didn't attend though, Shining, you were too busy dating Cadence."

"Oh." Shining replied, feeling guilty. Suddenly, a memory he'd long forgotten came creeping back to him:

It was back when he was a student at Canterlot University. Shining was in his junior year, and by now he and Cadence had been the most talked about couple in school. The only thing that occupied Shining's mind more than that sweet mare, was his plans to hopefully enroll in the royal guard once he graduated from high school. He hoped to follow in the hoofsteps of his grandfather, Gallant Armor, who had always regaled Shining at family reunions with tales about his glory days as a member of the royal guard.

But the royal guard wouldn't be interested in recruiting someone who slacked off in school and got bad grades. Shining always made sure to get his homework done on time and in the best quality possible. It helped that doing so would leave him with free time to spend with Cadence, whether it was taking long walks in the park, visiting Donut Joe's for treats, or even enjoying a carriage ride to the outskirts of the city and back.

It was a fine Spring day, and class had just let out for the day. Shining was already looking forward to his planned date with Cadence, and he was hoping to work up the courage to introduce Cadence to his parents. However, homework came first, and he had a lot of it! He'd have to buckle down to business when he got home if he wished to be done by the time he was to meet Cadence.

Shining hadn't gotten far though, when Gaffer called out to him. He was currently standing with 8-bit and Poindexter. "Hey, Shining. Been looking all over for you." He called.

"You know Sunburst, the princess' student?" 8-bit asked, as Shining turned around. "Well guess what? He's gonna throw a big party in the castle, even rent out the castle ballroom! Lots of our classmates are going to be there!"

"You're gonna be there too, right?" Poindexter inquired, hopefully.

Alas, Shining shook his head. "I'd love to, really I would," He answered, slowly backing away. "But, I've already got plans for the evening and... I don't wanna back out on them. Besides, I've got a TON of homework to do and I don't even know if my parents would want me going to a party like that... M-maybe I'll swing by if I have the time!" And with that, he hastily took off.





That unfortunate memory ended up causing Shining a lot of trouble that night and he found it difficult to sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, thinking about the many "What If?" scenarios that plagued his mind. "What if I had gone to that party after all? What if I'd tried to reach out to Sunburst and try to befriend him, or at least get to know him? What if I'd thought to include Sunburst as part of my group of role playing buddies?" He asked himself, even though he knew he would get no answers.

At last, Shining drifted off to an uncomfortable sleep. But he woke bright and early the next morning, feeling only slightly refreshed and ready!

"Goodness!" Cadence exclaimed, as she watched her husband practically scarf down his breakfast of eggs, toast, and hay bacon. "You're in an awful big hurry today!"

Shining barely had time for a response. "Sorry, Cadence, but I need to find Sunburst right away! I've got a lot of explaining and apologizing to do! I just hope I can find his residence, a lot of the houses here look the same!" And after downing his cup of coffee, he raced out the door and onto the streets!

Cadence just sighed, as she looked down at herself. "I was hoping to break the news to him today," She thought to herself. "Guess it'll have to wait 'til this whole Sunburst thing blows over. I just hope he doesn't blame himself too much for what happened."

As luck would have it, Sunburst resided in a modest two story house in the shape of a wizard's hat, a good distance away from the palace but not completely on the other side of the empire. So at least he seemed to be doing well for himself, which was hopefully a good sign. Gulping a bit, Shining approached the door and knocked on it lightly with a hoof.

"H-hello?" A somewhat shy sounding voice called out, as an orange coated face with a white streak on the muzzle accompanied by a pair of dark cornflower blue eyes hidden behind a pair of glasses, and the faint traces of a disshelved mane colored two shades of vermilion, poked out from the door.

"Uh, hi, Sunburst," Shining greeted, trying to sound composed. "You know who I am, right?"

It took Sunburst but a moment to recognize his unannounced visitor. "O-oh, Prince Shining Armor, of course!" He exclaimed, though it was possible to detect what sounded like a faint hint of malice, or at least mild resentment. "I... should've expected the Prince of Friendship and the Crystal Empire to show up eventually, though I would've expected more fanfare."

"Not my style really," Shining replied, hoping to maybe break the ice a bit and lighten up the mood. "I... uh..." He paused, trying to think about whether he should reveal the real reason behind his visit or not.

Fortunately (or unfortunately as far as Shining was concerned) Sunburst guessed for him. "Princess Celestia sent you, didn't she?"

"Yeah, she did. Though I also kind of came here of my own accord," Shining explained. "I just wanted to apologize for not making more of an effort to try and reach out to you when you clearly needed a friend."

"Whatever, I don't really care now. Friendship doesn't mean much to me anymore," Sunburst said with a shake of his head. "And you can tell Princess Celestia I'm not mad with her, I broke off our teacher/student relationship on my own terms. I tried my best in magic school, but my best just wasn't good enough, I saw no point in pretending I could be that big, important wizard I vowed to be. There, mission accomplished." And lighting up his horn, Sunburst enveloped the door with his light yellow colored aura and shut it.

"Huh. That could've gone better," Shining thought to himself. "What am I supposed to do now?"





Sunburst sighed, as he retreated to his study he'd set up on the first floor. "A good book is the only friend I need, nopony really cares about me anymore and I'm fine with that. Friendship may work for some ponies, but I'm not one of them." He said to himself, as he set down a big book about Starswirl the Bearded, one of his favorite ponies to read about. He was always fascinated by the wizard and had longed to grow up to be just like him.

But as Sunburst flipped open the page and began to read, he was suddenly startled by what appeared to be an ink drawn version of Shining Armor that spoke to him. "Hello, Sunburst!"

"Gah!" Sunburst cried, before he blinked and removed his glasses to rub his eyes. No, he wasn't seeing things. As he pushed his glasses back into place, he could still see that ink drawn version of Shining Armor, and it was moving of its own free will.

"Sorry to startle you," Shining apologized. "But I couldn't think of any other way to talk to you, what with you being so shut off from everypony and all. I just wanted to say, I'm sorry if anything I did or didn't do caused you to give up on friendship. Trust me, I've been down a similar path. I once thought my path in life would prevent me from making friends, and I learned that wasn't true. I've come to learn that nothing's more important in life than having good friends, it's how I became the pony I am today."

But Sunburst only grew annoyed. "Look, Shining Parlor!" He hissed.

"Armor." Shining corrected.

"I tried friendship, it didn't work out for me," Sunburst went on, his eyes narrowing. "I just want to be left alone with my intellectual pursuits, and be allowed to go through my life without worrying that some crazy pony is gonna try and make friends with me. What part of Ex-Magic Student don't you understand?"

"Fine, your loss I guess," Shining reluctantly replied. "You're missing out, but I'm not going to force you into friendship against your will. That's not who I am." He then turned and trotted off to another page.

"Wait, hang on a second!" Sunburst exclaimed. "Just how did you even get into my book in the first place?"

Shining turned and said with a grin. "Haycartes' Method, my sister taught me the spell. Of course, I was kind of taking a risk with an unpracticed spell. But I think I can make my way back out." Sure enough, he popped out a second later, albeit with a great deal of straining on his part.

Sunburst's eyes lit up, he was completely amazed by what he'd just seen! He was at Shining's side in an instant, immediately begging and pleading! "Please, you must teach me! I've been dying to learn Haycartes' Method since I got my cutie mark!"

Sensing an opportunity, Shining grinned ever so slightly. He proceeded to tell Sunburst. "I'll teach you, on one condition."

"I'll do anything, anything! I mean it!" Sunburst insisted, perhaps a bit too eagerly.

"I'm going to be hosting my old Canterlot friends at a dinner tonight," Shining told Sunburst. "I'd like you to attend. You don't need to dress up or anything, just come as you are. I think you'll really get to like this friendship thing if you give it a chance."





That evening, Sunburst kept his word. He showed up to the castle dressed only in a blueish-green cape with a series of stars stitched onto it, and a light green brooch surrounding the white collar area.

"So glad you could make it, Sunburst!" Shining exclaimed, happily pulling the stallion into a massive hug.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Sunburst sighed as the hug died down. It was obvious from his tone of voice that he wasn't exactly enthusiastic about the dinner. He just trotted past Shining as he said in that same tone from earlier in the day. "Look, I'm giving this a try. But that doesn't mean I'm going to go in there and suddenly come out of it with a friend or two. I'm only doing this to be polite. I don't know why Princess Celestia is suddenly so worried about me, or why she would send you of all ponies to talk to me."

"Just promise me you'll at least give this a try, please!" Shining insisted to Sunburst. "I really think if you just let your mane down a little and lighten up, you'll find that it's not that hard to make friends."

Sunburst simply in reply. "No promises." And with that he trotted into the dining room and took his seat (he sat next to Shining Armor on his left, and next to Gaffer on his right). As Sunburst sat down, he could've sworn he counted an extra head at one point, but he shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him. "It can't possibly be her," He thought to himself. "I haven't seen her in years. And how could I ever look her in the eye after I boasted I'd come back as a big, important wizard? Assuming she even remembers me, which I doubt."

"Well, doesn't this bring back fond memories from days of old?" Gaffer commented, looking around at the five stallions seated at the dining room table.

"It sure does," 8-bit fondly recalled. "All we'd need is some nachos, a few cans of soda, and of course an O&O board with all our custom characters, and it'd be just like old times."

"Don't forget about all those special dies," Poindexter added. "They were needed for just about every action in the game. They determined if your quest was a success or a failure. Though everypony knows, the only real threat for dedicated O&O players, was the lady of the house of the host, a.k.a my mother."

Everyone had a good laugh at that, except for Sunburst. Hoping to draw Sunburst into the conversation, Shining cleared his throat and nudged Sunburst. "So, Sunburst, did you ever play Ogres and Oubliettes?"

"No," Sunburst bluntly replied, though he then added. "I preferred my own game. As a colt I used to play this game with... another random pony. We'd stack books up as high as we could go, and the winner was whoever didn't have the pile topple over on them. I... may have let that pony win a couple of those games. I couldn't find anypony to play it with after I got my cutie mark though."

"So, what do you like to do for fun? You know, besides reading?" 8-bit inquired of Sunburst. "Any hobbies or interests?"

"Magic, real magic," Sunburst replied, only briefly elaborating. "I have no real interests not related to that and reading. I did once, but that was a long time ago."

"O...kay?" 8-bit nervously responded, unsure of what else to say.

Sunburst just sighed, pushed his chair outward, and stood up as he declared. "You know what, this is a mistake! It's not gonna work out! I'm sorry guys, I just don't get why you're interested in me now. I'm nothing anymore, just forget about me!" And he rushed out of the dining room without another word.

Shining rushed after Sunburst, teleporting in front of him to block his escape. "Sunburst, wait! Please don't run away!" He pleaded in desperation! "I know what you're going through, you don't have to face it alone!"

But Sunburst only swatted Shining's hoof away and stared deep into his eyes as the former magic student told the prince. "Do you really?! This may come as a surprise to you, considering how fortunate you were, but not all of us get everything we want hoofed to us on a silver platter!" He complained. "Your family was among the upper class of Canterlot, you got into the royal guard and rose up to the rank of captain, and of course you became a prince and later ascended to alicornhood, not to mention that shining castle you got! And don't get me started on all the friends you've made! As for myself, I had no friends when I moved here! I wanted to make something of myself, but I had to really work for it and in the end it didn't matter since I couldn't do what Princess Celestia expected of me! My life became irrelevant, I'd already pushed away anypony who wanted to be my friend, and who in their right mind would want to be friends with a washed up, has been, disgraced former magic student?!"

Shocked and rendered speechless, Shining just stood there and watched as Sunburst ran off. Those words had stung to the very core. Now that he thought about it, he really didn't know what it was like to be in Sunburst's horseshoes.





These concerns, coupled with Sunburst's words, kept Shining awake that night, long after his friends had left. "What if Sunburst is right?" He said to himself, pacing back and forth in his room. "What if I've truly gotten everything I've ever wanted hoofed to me on a silver platter? I got promoted to captain because of Princess Celestia, and made an alicorn because I was close to her. Not to mention the castle, and this empire."

"Shining, please, you mustn't doubt yourself." Cadence advised, she hated seeing her husband worry.

"But what if it's true?!" Shining retorted. "It seems like I always get rewarded when I'm the most content with my life as it currently is! I never asked for any of this, yet what if this was all secret desires I didn't want to admit, even to myself?!"

"I'm sure Sunburst didn't mean what he said, he was just upset at being pressured and lashed out," Cadence replied. "Now please, come to bed and stop worrying so much, dear. You already know what happened the last time you let your fears and doubts get the best of you. Do you really want to repeat that?"

"No, but I can't live with myself if I'm living a lie!" Shining stubbornly protested. "And right now, I'm beginning to think that's what all this is! None of it matters! Sure, maybe I worked to some extent for some of the things I have, but for the most part look at all the things I've been given without even needing to ask for them: Promotion to Captain of the Royal Guard, ability to stay captain even after my many failures that included a Discord driven mental breakdown, ascension to alicornhood even when it was clearly meant for my sister instead, and of course that castle in Ponyville and an official title as the Prince of Friendship. Do you know how many ponies would kill to be even one tenth as lucky and fortunate in life as I have been?!" He ended that last line by stomping his hooves down in fury.

Cadence sighed, and rose from her bed, turning on the lights. She'd wished now more than ever that she'd attended that dinner with Shining's old friends, especially since all that she'd done for the past couple of days was sort out minor problems or give love advice when asked. "Shining, please look at me!" She instructed. Shining slowly turned and obeyed, and when he had done so, Cadence spoke firmly but kindly. "All those things didn't just come to you, you were chosen for them because of the choices you made in your life! You got your promotion to captain, not because Aunt Celestia pitied you, but because you took action when Nightmare Moon returned and in the process saved Equestria. You chose to cast the incomplete master spell of Starswirl, and thus when you sorted it out you received the reward intended for whoever solved it. And your title would've been granted with or without a castle," She then added. "I'm not sure what exactly happened to Sunburst or why he's so bitter, but I know my aunt wouldn't have picked you to be the pony to approach him, if she didn't think you were the best one for the job. Don't focus on the 'What Ifs?' of the past, focus on the 'What Can Bes' of the future!"

"But how am I supposed to convince Sunburst to give friendship a second chance and make him see that he has more self worth than he realizes?" Shining asked Cadence. "I mean, it's not like I can just throw a party similar to the one Sunburst threw all those years ago, and invite him to it!" But just as he'd spoken those words, a light bulb went off inside his head and he realized what he had to do! "That's it! Why didn't I think of it before?!" He exclaimed with a gasp, and he raced away quick as a flash.

Cadence sighed again, this time out of relief and happiness. "Guess the announcement will have to wait til tomorrow night," She thought to herself, giggling. "I can't wait to see the look on his face when I break the good news to him." 





The next morning, Gaffer was surprised when he didn't find Shining Armor anywhere in the confines of the crystal palace. And when he asked Princess Cadence, she refused to say for sure if she knew where he was or where he'd gone.

However, just as Gaffer was meeting up with 8-bit and Poindexter to decide if maybe they should talk to Sunburst on their own, there came the distant sound of giggling. Looking up to the sky, the three stallions soon took notice of the appearance of Shining Armor, and was it his imagination or did he seem to have somepony in tow? Namely, a pink coated, earth pony mare, with a mane and tail that looked strangely like cotton candy for some reason.

The three didn't have to wait long to find out, for soon Shining came barreling towards them and ended up plowing right into them! Fortunately, no one was hurt, and all picked themselves up from the ground a few seconds later. Meanwhile, the earth pony mare was flying about, using her tail as a make shift propeller. "That, was, AWESOME!" She happily exclaimed. "We've really gotta go flying more often, Shining!"

"Guys, I'd like you all to meet Pinkie Pie, one of my first Ponyville friends," Shining Armor spoke up, introducing his guest. "She's a party planner of the highest regard, at least where she comes from."

"Yup. Though if you wanna get technical about it I'm not the best party pony in all of Equestria, yet," Pinkie replied, as she then said to Shining. "You know, you're lucky you got me when you did. Just a day ago, I'd have been unavailable. I just got back from helping Twilight reconnect with some of her old friends from Canterlot, and one of them is Minuette."

"Oh yes, I remember her," Shining nodded. "Cadence insisted on making them her bridesmaids, and I was wondering why they were so familiar," Then, clearing his throat, he instructed. "Anyway, Pinkie. I've brought you here to help with something kind of similar to that."

"Say nomore, I know just what you need!" Pinkie explained, producing a giant cannon of some kind. "Lucky for you, I never leave home without my party cannon! You just say the word and 'Boom!' instant celebration!"

"Well, you won't be working completely alone this time, Pinkie," Shining laughed. "8-bit, Gaffer, and Poindexter here are going to help you. Because this party needs to be similar to a party held long ago. And I should mention, there will be a guest of honor, Sunburst."

Gaffer, 8-bit, and Poindexter all seemed surprised at Shining's statement, while Pinkie was wondering who this "Sunburst" was. "You really think you're gonna get him to come out into the open for a party?" Poindexter asked Shining. "Sunburst seems pretty content to just be holed up in that house of his for the rest of his days."

"Don't worry, guys," Shining said with a grin. "I've already got that covered. You just work on getting the party set up with help from Pinkie Pie, and I'll make sure the guest of honor shows up. Trust me, this will work."





Sunburst was quite surprised to hear a knock at his door for the second day in a row. He groaned, and tried his best not to be too grumpy. "I swear, if it's Shining Armor again, I don't know what I'm gonna do. Can't he take a hint? I'm not interested in friendship, I'm fine being alone." He thought to himself.

But when Sunburst opened the door, he found that Shining Armor wasn't standing outside, waiting for him. In fact, there wasn't anypony to be seen for miles and miles around. Wondering if perhaps he had just imagined the knock, Sunburst was about to turn around and head back inside, when something caught his eye. Namely, a brightly yellow colored book laying on his doorstep. He looked all around to see if somepony might have dropped it, but there was still nopony in sight. So Sunburst picked up the book, which just so happened to be a biography on Equestria's first king, King Michael.

Stuffing the book inside his saddlebag, Sunburst was going to turn around and head back inside, when he noticed a trail of books scattered across the ground in front of him. "Somepony must've had a broken saddlebag or something. It must be that old librarian." Sunburst thought to himself, as he followed the trail of books, picking up each one to examine it. Their covers were an assortment of different colors, and each of them covered different topics, history, plants, animals, medicine, magic, you name it!

If Sunburst at all expected anything as he followed the trail of books, he didn't show it. He just stopped every few steps to pick up another book for what seemed like a long time. But at last, the trail ended. Without even noticing it, Sunburst had found himself inside the crystal palace, namely what appeared to be the ballroom. And now that he had a chance to look all around, he could see that it had clearly been redecorated. "What's going on here?" He asked in confusion.

Suddenly, from a massive cake that had been wheeled next to Sunburst, a pink coated earth pony mare sprang up and shouted "Surprise!", as she proceeded to stuff a party blower into Sunburst's mouth.

Sunburst spit the party blower out in surprise. "Wha-" He began, the words slow to form.

With a broad smile on his face, Shining stepped forward and said to Sunburst. "I wasn't there for your last party, Sunburst. And I don't know how well it turned out, but what I DO know, is that you have more self worth than you'll ever give yourself credit for. Just look around you, look at how many ponies came to this party, just because they wanted to get to know you."

"But... but..." Sunburst stuttered, struggling to comprehend this whole thing. At last, he found the words he wanted to use. "But I'm not Princess Celestia's student anymore, or a big, important wizard. I'm a nopony, just a washed up hasben and magic school reject." He insisted.

Shining shook his head. "You think anypony cares about any of that, Sunburst? Friends don't care if you're famous or not, true friends care about you for who you are as an individual, not because of what you may be to the rest of the world. Besides, how many ponies do you know who can claim to have be a student of one of the princesses?"

"I... don't know what to say," Sunburst commented, tears forming in his eyes. "After I pushed everypony away and tried to become something I ultimately couldn't become, I thought for sure nopony would ever care about me again. I thought my life wasn't important to anyone anymore."

"Well, it is now," Shining smiled, approaching Sunburst and putting a hoof around him. "I'm sorry if I wasn't there to support you the first time you put yourself out there for all of Equestria to see. But I'm here for you now, and so are all your friends. 8-bit, Gaffer, and Poindexter, they never gave up on you, even when you did. And I guarantee you that Princess Celestia feels the same way. She cared about you so much, she worried that you might harbor resentment or hard feelings over your time together as teacher and student."

"Well, you can tell her... that's not true!" Sunburst said firmly, tears flowing from his eyes without stopping. "If anything, you can tell her I'm sorry that I made her worry. Thank you, Shining. Thank you for not giving up on me!" Then, after embracing Shining in a hug he said proudly. "Now come on, everypony! Let's party! Right?"

"Right!" Pinkie happily replied, shooting off her party cannon!





The party lasted for several hours, with tons of party games, lots of music and sugary confections, and of course a lot of fun that was had by all involved. Eventually, however, the party came to a conclusion, and all involved dispersed.

Shining was the last one to do so, but even though it was late at night and he should feel tired, he felt lighter than air. He doubted there were a lot of moments where he truly felt as good as he did now.

"I won't have any trouble falling asleep tonight. I'll write that letter to Princess Celestia telling her the good news, first thing tomorrow." Shining thought to himself, as he approached the bedroom, ready for a good night's rest.

However, upon entering, Shining was most surprised to find Cadence waiting for him with a massive grin on her face. "I've been waiting to tell you this for a while now, Shining. It's a very big surprise. Can you guess what it is?" She asked her husband, staring at him with a look that could rival even Pinkie Pie's in terms of excitement.

Shining shook his head, he was terrible at these guessing games. "Just tell it to me straight, Cadence," He insisted. "I've got a lot on my mind as it is."

Cadence just smiled, and hugged her husband tightly, as she proudly exclaimed. "I'm pregnant, we're going to be parents!"

"Oh, is that all? And here I thought it was something important." Shining teased.

"Oh, you're no fun!" Cadence teased back. "Aren't you excited at the idea of us having a little pony of our own to take care of? A little bundle of joy that we'll be able to tell stories to, and play games with."

"And all the inevitable headaches parenting will bring," Shining joked a bit. "I'm happy, Cadence, really I am. But I'm also worried."

"Why is that, Shining? You think something's gonna happen to me during childbirth, or that our child is gonna turn out wrong?" Cadence asked with concern.

"No, no, no, nothing of the sort," Shining said with a shake of his head, and he then explained. "It's just that, I've made a lot of enemies over the years. And I mean a LOT! I'm worried that one of them may inevitably try to get to me, by hurting you, or our child, or you and our child. And if that ever happened, nothing would stop me from defending my family! I just have to hope that, despite our lives, and despite the enemies I've made, our child will be able to grow up and have something of a normal life."

Cadence giggled, playfully ribbing her husband. "Relax, I'm sure we'll have nothing to worry about. We've been through a lot together as a couple, parenthood should be a piece of cake to say defeating the likes of Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra," Then she put a hoof to her chin as she wondered. "So, how do we go about breaking the news to everypony, including Twilight?"

"You just leave my sister to me, I'll break the news to her in my own way." Shining said with a wink.