//------------------------------// // Shining Cadence // Story: The Honeymoon // by Spica //------------------------------// “Captain, you’re back early! Did something happen?” The couple of guards strolling across palace were left dumbstruck when Shining Armor ran by their side, tears streaming freely down his cheeks. They turned to see him disappear around a corner; they looked at each other. “Was it that awful?” The other shook his head, closing his eyes in a clearly reprobating attitude.  “Screwed-up royalty.” Cadence shut the door behind her with a thump, throwing herself above her bed, being received by a mountain of soft cushions.  She lay in there, pressing her face against one of the cushions, until she couldn’t breathe any more. She lifted her head, her tears dried in her coat and her blue eyes covered by intense redness. She looked down to see the pristine white coat in the body she was inhabiting. It was her husband’s coat. She was Shining Armor, and it was primarily her fault. She didn’t think anything like that would come to pass... She didn’t understand anything of it. Maybe if she went to sleep it would all reveal itself as a horrible nightmare.  The sun was midway through the sky, and she was in tune with Celestia’s schedule when it came to slumber, so that was out of the question. She got out of bed and walked to her private bathroom. When she was in the middle of washing her face, there was a knock on her door.  She sighed and opened it with a glimmer of her horn. The mirror reflected the face of Shining Armor looking back at her, while she heard the hoofsteps coming inside and the door closing again. “Cadence?” Cadence’s jaw fell upon hearing the voice of her elder aunt. She walked out of the bedroom slowly and found the alicorn of the sun looking straight at her, her face indicating the full displeasure Celestia felt with this situation. Next to her, Shining Armor stood, apparently very interested in checking her hooves. Celestia advanced towards her, without taking her eyes away. They finally were face to face, and the bearing of the High Princess weighed over the minor alicorn, who nevertheless returned the gaze. “Aunt Celestia.” Celestia fixed her glacial gaze upon her for some time, Cadence felt herself being melted by the overwhelming warmth of the sun, when a muscle on the Sun Princess’ face twitched. Cadence looked at her in confusion, as did Shining Armor. Not being able to restrain herself anymore, Celestia fell into a state of mirth, laughing heartily, her voice resounding off the bedroom walls, before she calmed herself. “Oh, my lovely niece, you sure outdid yourself.  This is priceless!” Neither member of the couple could talk; they just stared at Celestia with surprised, big eyes. She looked at both of them, a wide smile in her lips, and turned to look at the Princess of Love encased in the Guard Captain’s body. “So, did you learn anything, Cadence?” “Yes, aunt Celestia. I must be more careful with my ideas and spells from now on. Magic is not something to be taken lightly.” Her face returned to its normal state, Celestia set her gaze upon Shining’s light, violet eyes.   “And you, my nephew?” Shining spoke, and for the first time he registered that the one he was using wasn’t his voice.  He fell silent upon considering Cadence’s higher pitched voice; he opened his mouth a couple of times. Celestia waited patiently, but his wife finally poked him in the ribs. “Ouch!  I’m sorry, I’m getting on... Yes, Princess. I learnt, or remembered, not to let myself get too carried away, lest unexpected bad things happen. Like this...” The couple was too pointedly avoiding Celestia’s eyes to notice the glint that reflected in her pupils very briefly. She put one hoof forward, her step resonating in the marble floor clear and loudly. “Well, you both will do well to enforce this in the future. As for now, though, as I indicated to Shining, the spell is impossible to break, given that you, Cadence... Shining... you,”  she said, pointing to Cadence’s body with a hoof.  “This is going to be a real pain in the plot.”  Celestia allowed herself that slip of the tongue while Cadence looked at her, a white lower jaw almost dislodging itself from its upper partner. “WHAT?!” Celestia turned to look at her again. “Yes, my dear niece. That is the reason that prevented you from cancelling the spell. You managed to get pregnant.  Isn’t it nice?” Cadence struggled to form words. “But Shining it’s there! He doesn’t know anything about how to deal with a female body, let alone be pregnant. How are going to do it?!”  Shining’s hair was getting dishevelled, while she flailed his arms around and the voice raised its tone.  Shining himself was about to protest his wife’s words, when Celestia spoke again. “Well, you should have thought of that before playing this little trick of yours, Cadence. Now, the best action of course will be to have a family meeting to discuss this at large. I will inform Luna about this once she has woken up. And you, young colt. No, don’t give me that look, you know you earned it. You’ll write to your parents and your sister informing them of this. Now, nopony else but them must know about this, and I stress that point. You are going to have to live each other’s lives for almost a year from now, and it wouldn’t be any good it word about this leaked out. So you must make absolutely sure of it. “ She looked at both of them to assure herself of their understanding, receiving silent nods. “Very well. Shining, go forth and write to your family. As you had another day off from the Guard, there’s no need for Cadence to go there yet. Come with me, Cadence.” The Royal Guard Captain in the body of the princess headed to his room, shutting the door behind him and sitting before his desk to compose his letters. Thinking of a certain lavender unicorn, he let out a sigh. “She’s not going to take this well. At all.”