IN THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE
In the crystal palace, Shining Armor entered into his bed chamber where his beloved wife, Cadence was lying in bed. Concerned over the well-being of his wife, Shining trotted to the right side of the bed where she laid and placed his hoof on her forehead. “Are you feeling all right?” he asked. “You weren’t feeling well over the past few weeks.”
“Those past few weeks were quite hectic, love.” Cadence replied, sniffing. “Fortunately, the illness was not that severe, but it was still draining me. I’m feeling a little better now.”
“I’m glad to hear that. I’ve managed to take care of your duties during your illness.” Shining said, smiling warmly.
“Thanks, dear.” she replied, smiling back.
“But you still need some rest. The more you rest, the more fully you will recover.” he advised. He gently placed the back of her head on the pillow to make her feel more comfortable.
“Thank you. You should get back to your duties. I’ll be fine.” she told him.
“Okay. Just remember to call on me if you need me. I love you, Cadence.” Shining said.
“I love you too.” she said before they affectionately kissed.
Once he exited the bedroom, he saw the crystal guards running toward someone while raising their spears and shouting commands at the apparent intruder. Confused, he followed them to investigate who was it that they were chasing after. Once he got a closer view on the opened front doors of the crystal palace, he saw a familiar being whom he never thought would arrive here.
“Really now? Is this how you treat visitors who arrive at this Crystal Empire for the first time? How rude...” a voice condescendingly spoke.
“DISCORD?!” Shining shouted in disbelief.
“Ohhhhh!! Looks like somepony has heard of me!” Discord obnoxiously said. “You must be Prince Shining Armor, I presume!”
“Yes...now tell me as to what EXACTLY are you doing here?” Shining demanded.
“For my good friend Fluttershy to show me all of the Crystal Empire! Isn’t that right?” Discord replied, looking at Fluttershy.
“Um...of course. It’s okay, everypony. Discord is with me. He won’t hurt any of you.” Fluttershy assured. Looking at each other puzzled, they looked back at Shining for permission.
“Hmmm, fine. Lower your weapons.” he ordered. They lowered their spears as they were told although reluctantly.
“Soooo, now that we have that settled, how about you introduce me to Cadence whom I heard is the princess here.” Discord suggested, floating over Shining’s head.
“NO! She is not well at the moment, and I strongly recommend NOT disturbing her!” Shining sternly ordered as his protective husband instincts kicked in.
“I think he’s right, Discord. You might want to give her time...if that is okay with you...” Fluttershy softly advised.
Discord groaned in annoyance. “Uugghhhh, fine. You ponies always have to ruin the fun moment. How boring...”
“You know, I think Cadence would be happy to see you, Fluttershy. Would you like to see her with me?” Shining asked. Fluttershy was surprised by this offer.
“Me? Um...sure! But I assure you that Discord will do no harm. Trust me.” Fluttershy said.
“I highly doubt that. My top priority is to protect this kingdom and my family. I’m sure you understand that.” said Shining. He then motioned for the guards to leave. They left the hallway right back to their posts.
“Looks like somepony has trust issues.” Discord muttered while crossing his arms.
Fluttershy and Shining Armor went to the bedroom where Cadence still relaxed on the bed. “Cadence, Fluttershy is here to see you.” he said.
“Oh, Fluttershy! It’s nice to see you again!” Cadence greeted.
“It’s nice to see you too.” Fluttershy warmly smiled.
“Is Twilight and her other friends doing all right?” Cadence asked.
“They’re doing all right. I came here with Discord as a starting point for his learning experience.” Fluttershy explained.
“Discord? THE Discord?” Cadence said, blinking several times in confusion.
“Yep! He’s outside right now.” Fluttershy stated.
Discord suddenly appeared right above the three ponies. “SURPRISE!!” he exclaimed, displaying confetti balloons all around them.
“Discord! I thought I told you to not come in here!!” Shining harshly scolded.
“And miss out on a lovely time with family?! Oh come on, Shiny, you know how much I love family time.” Discord said, winking at him.
“You are not of our family. Also, do not call me ‘Shiny’. Only Twilight can call me that!” Shining gritted his teeth in anger.
“Whatever.” he casually dismissed, not intimidated at all by Shining’s anger. “Anyway, Fluttershy wanted to prove how much I changed over the past few days. Surely, I’ve learned a few lessons here and there of friendship and all that goody-goody stuff. So in short, I’m coming a long way. So you might as well thank her.” Discord finished. Fluttershy blushed at his last statement.
“I’ll believe it when I see it.” Shining growled.
“Honey, please. Cut Discord some slack. I trust that he is learning to be a better creature. Fluttershy knows what she is doing.” Cadence defended.
Shining looked at Discord with a hard glare. Knowing fully well his history, the spread of chaos he caused a couple years ago when the Mane Six faced off against him, and his chaotic personality, he could hardly trust him to have him around the palace. He really did not want to experience his annoying antics that would possibly not only endanger him but also his wife and the whole empire. But considering what Fluttershy had done not too long ago, he decided to restrain his anger at Discord...for now.
“Okay, fine. I’ll let Discord have access around here...on one condition.” Shining began. Fluttershy and Cadence raised their eyebrows. Discord, however, rolled his eyes in annoyance as he already knew what that condition was.
“You, Fluttershy, need to keep a firm eye on him no matter what. Every time he comes here, he will not perform his chaos magic, especially here in this palace! Going forward, he will not enter into our room without MY permission!” Shining sternly listed.
“Yeah, and by ‘permission’, you actually mean denying me full access to your room even if I ask. How typical...” Discord muttered.
“I’m sure he will be at his best behavior. Right, Discord?” Fluttershy asked.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I have to behave like a good little foal and all that stuff. Seriously, Shiny, you really need to work with your trust issues.” Discord said.
Shining growled in irritation from being called ‘Shiny’ by him again.
“Come, Fluttershy, I think there are other places we need to visit where there aren’t judgmental ponies.” Discord said, snapping his fingers before he and Fluttershy disappeared.
“You shouldn’t be that harsh on Discord, you know. Do you not believe that everypony deserves a chance?” Cadence asked.
“I do. But Discord is not like anypony I’ve seen. It will take a lot of effort for him to make me like him. I’m just looking after you, Cadence...and for my family.” Shining said, nuzzling his wife.
“I’m proud to have a faithful husband like you.” Cadence smiled.
“I’ll never leave your side. I was at a vulnerable moment when Chrysalis nearly drained my love when she crashed our wedding. If it weren’t for our union of love, Chrysalis would have destroyed us all. I won’t let anything like that happen ever again.” Shining vowed. They both embraced each other affectionately.
“We must remain strong...no matter what happens.” he finished.