//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 - Reflection // Story: Our Winter Story // by Meteor_Mirage //------------------------------// The next morning, Shining Armor awoke to a banging on his door. Not a gentle knock like his father would use to remind him of school, or the more stern rap his mother would give moments later. No, this was a serious and hefty banging that resonated throughout Shining Armor’s room and shook the walls forming it. And yet, it still took two attempts to wake the sleeping stallion up. But up Shining Armor did get, rolling out of his warm and cozy bed and into the harsh and blustering chill of a cold winter’s morning. And he grumbled to himself every step of the way to the door. His tune quickly changed for the better, however, when he opened the door to see a tiny purple baby dragon staring up at him. Although he became conflicted once he saw the familiar cloak wrapped around him, clasped at his neck and dragging on the ground. But Spike paid neither curse nor worried expressions any mind, instead rushing up to Shining with a bright and shiny grin. “Shiny! You’re home!” He cried as he hugged one of Shining’s forelegs with a giggling squeak. “I missed you.” “Aw, I missed you too, little guy.” Shining smiled softly as he brought a hoof up to gently ruffle Spike’s head spines. Despite the loving embrace, Shining was still unable to stop looking at Spike’s strange choice in fashion. “So, uh, where’d you get the cloak?” Spike pulled back from Shining, crossing his arms indignantly. “It’s not a cloak! Cloaks are dumb!” He said, puffing out his cheeks to show his clear anger at the mistake. “It’s my super cool Super-Spike cape! Twilight gave it to me.” Slinking out from the shadows, somehow in a well-lit hallway, Twilight stared at Shining with tired, darkly ringed eyes. “I let him wear it so that I could see if I broke the curse or not.” Shining blinked, then looked down at Spike with shock and concern. But, he was at least a little relieved when he only saw Spike giggling as he extended his cape, making soft whooshing sounds as he moved about the room. Smiling triumphantly, though letting out a yawn to taint the smug grin, Twilight shrugged. “Well, looks like it worked. Unless that friend of yours was cursed to act like a Superdork.” Shining pursed his lips. On one hoof he had to admit that Spike was being very adorable, but on the other hoof this was very…  “Wreckless.” Shining said as he looked down at Twilight, a small scowl forming on his face. “What if you didn’t break the curse, or if it effected dragons differently, or-” “Well I did, and it doesn’t.” Twilight said indignantly, stomping a hoof as she interrupted Shining. “So stop complaining and take back your dumb friend’s dumb cloak.” Both siblings took a moment to look back into Shining’s room, where they could both see Spike giggling happily as he bounced on Shining’s bed and flapped his new cape.  Shining quickly felt very apprehensive in separating his littlest sibling from his new favorite toy.  Twilight, however, did not have the same qualms. Instead, she waved to garner Spike’s attention. “Spiiiike! I think Mom said she’d let you help with the pancakes.” She said with a coy smirk. “Maybe if you’re quick enough, you can convince her to add some chocolate!” Spike’s eyes went wide, glittering with galaxies as he considered exactly what else he could add to those pancakes. Drooling openly at the thought of gem pancakes, the baby dragon bounced himself off of Shining’s bed in a mad dash to reach the kitchen before it was too late.  It was as Spike passed that Twilight flicked her magic out at him, casually unclasping the cloak around his neck and letting it fall to the floor. Spike himself paid it no mind, having moved on from his cape in favor of delicious pancakes. Scooping it up from the ground, Twilight tossed the cloak over to Shining with little fanfare. “There. That’s my half of the deal. I expect our ice cream this weekend.” Shining regarded the cloak for a moment after he caught it. It was soft and warmer than expected. The type of cloth that you’d more likely want to use as a blanket rather than a cloak. At least, that’s what Shining told himself as the feeling of it made him want to curl up back in bed with it and perhaps escape from the cold for a while.  But alas, that was not allowed. Instead, he looked down at Twilight with a bemused smirk. “Let’s just head down for breakfast, and maybe we’ll talk about ice cream later.” Twilight rolled her eyes, but walked off towards the kitchen despite it. Left alone because of this, Shining let out a small sigh and turned to gently place Sunburst’s cloak onto his saddlebag, in the process transforming it from a ball of fabric into a lovingly folded garment. And then he went to have pancakes with his family. And they were good. At school, Shining had to deal with the unfortunate feeling of having overindulged in pancakes, ever increased by his little brother’s own overindulgence in adding as many chocolate chips as he could. As he lay in his usual spot in the courtyard, beside Cadance and across from the canoodling couple of Blueblood and Fancy Pants, he could hardly keep a focus on the conversation at hoof. “Ah, so you’ve finally listened to Blueblood and I’s suggestions.” Fancy Pants said with a smug smile, clapping his hooves in slow applause. “Congratulations on securing a date of your own, my eternal rival.” “I can’t believe you tried to hide it from me!” Cadance cried as she knocked a hoof gently into Shining’s shoulder. “You got these two goofuses to play wingmare instead.” “Hey, no hard feelings.” Shining said with a pained smile. “You just sorta have a habit of-” “Omigosh! Where are you even taking him? Is it, like, a casual date? A serious date? A serious casual date?” Cadance asked, pulling out a notebook emblazoned with ‘In Case of Shining Date (with stallion)’ and tearing it open wildly. “Okay so if you’re going out this weekend then the ideal time is Sunday afternoon, during which you’ll spend roughly 45 minutes walking through the park until you both get hungry. And then…” “Oh, well that does sound lovely, but I’m not sure I could handle a park for more than a few minutes.” All eyes turned to the sound of a newcomer, one who all of whom had been too wrapped up in their conversations to notice.  At all of this newfound attention, Sunburst blushed heavily and scratched the back of his head nervously. “I try to not get out too much. Grass can be… terribly itchy.” “Sunny!” Shining cried upon seeing his favorite orange, dappled stallion (sorry Gaffer). Immediately, he pat a hoof on the empty space on the blanket beside him. “Hey, c’mon and meet my other friends. Though, I guess you and Cadance already met.” Sunburst’s eyes widened in shock as he looked at the pink mare waving at him. “Oh, I, um, I did?” He asked nervously as he settled down beside Shining and stared at her. On a whim, he briefly lowered his glasses and squinted over them, at which his eyes brightened. “Oh! You’re the mare who tried to show me around the school. Um, hello, I suppose!” “Oh, we’re his other friends now, are we?” Fancy Pants mustache bristled as he grinned down at Blueblood. “I suppose that means the roving band of adventurers leveled up indeed.” Rolling his eyes, Shining gestured towards Fancy. “And you’ve already seen Fancy Pants before.”  “You were in the audience for Shining’s defeat by my hoof, yes? I meant to thank you for the assist.” Fancy Pants smirked coyly at Sunburst for a moment, but quickly turned his attention back to Blueblood. “And this delicate little flower of a stallion is the love of my life, The Grandest Duke of Equestria, Prince Blueblood.” While Blueblood did blush a bit at the lavishness of his introduction, he didn’t display it in his casual smirk as he leaned over Fancy Pants to fully regard Sunburst. “Oh, it is an absolute pleasure.” He crooned, his smile already turning a bit predatory as he crossed his hooves beneath his chin. “Shining here has told us quite a lot about you.”  “Oh, um…” ‘Sunburst stammered a moment as his pre-existing blush grew brighter still. Despite this, he forced a shy smile. “Well, I hope that it wasn’t anything too bad.” “Oh, not at all! Only the sweetest things.” Cadance cut in quickly, before Blueblood could tease any further as that smirk grew across his face. “He’s been pretty enthusiastic about talking about his new nerdy buddy though.” “Though he certainly undersold just how adorable his new beau is.” Fancy Pants crooned, smirking wryly down at Blueblood. “It seems as if I was correct about them being good competition.” “They look cute together, I suppose.” Blueblood said with a huff, pursing his lips in a pout. “But we’ll see if they stand up to the best.” “Oh, there’s no need for the jealousy, little Chicory.” Fancy Pants laughed a bit haughtily. “They still have that new relationship glow, so we shall see indeed.” Rolling her eyes, Cadance was quick to wave off their words with a hoof. “Don’t listen to them, they’re rich.” She said, smiling sympathetically towards Sunburst. “They used to do the same when Shining and I were dating too.” Sunburst blinked as he looked between a casually smiling Cadance and a Shining whose face had lit up with a blush as blinding as Sunburst’s own. “You two… used to date?” Looking at Shining a bit more pointedly after, a strangely meek expression pulled across his face. “You, um, dated the actual Princess of Love?” “Only for a few months!” Shining admitted sheepishly. “After which he cruelly broke poor Cadance’s heart” Fancy Pants sighed dramatically, pressing a hoof to his chest in mock pain. “After which I figured out I was more into stallions.” Shining corrected with a scowl towards the posh, mustached stallion. “I think Cadance and I make better friends anyway.” “You’d be surprised how often it happens.” Cadance admitted, shrugging her shoulders. “It’s a Love Princess thing, I think. Ponies just can’t help but be attracted to me, even if I’m not really their type.” Sunburst found that he could attest to that. “Such a tragically horrible curse to be adored by all.” Fancy Pants again sighed dramatically, though his true feelings were belied in his toothy grin. He turned to look at Sunburst with this same grin. “So, when will you two be joining Blue and I for a double date? I would certainly love to get to know you better, Sunburst.” “And if you need to borrow a suit, I can provide. We look to be the same size anyhow.” Blueblood said, peering over at Sunburst and inspecting him closely. “Though we may have to let it out just a bit, and perhaps a shave would be in order?” Blueblood thought openly, bringing a hoof up to his chin. Shining Armor opened his mouth to defend Sunburst. But he was quickly cut off as Sunburst himself rose from his position beside Shining. “S-sorry, I forgot that I have to be, um, somewhere else right now!” Shining watched on as Sunburst quickly trotted off without further explanation. And as Sunburst faded into the distance, Shining looked back at his friends and scowled. “Can’t you guys be normal for, like, five minutes?” With that, Shining too stood up and did his best to try and follow Sunburst. Sadly, Shining’s search turned out negative as he was unable to locate a runaway Sunburst.  In fact, it was only when he arrived to their shared class that the two saw each other again. A brief bright grin from Sunburst greeted Shining before it quickly transitioned to an embarrassed blush, the orange stallion looking away. Shining tried his best to make small-talk in the short five minutes before class, but all he could seem to get were one word responses or semi-coherent grumbles. Giving up on this quickly, they both seemed comfortable to let class progress as usual. Save a few awkward glances the two shared during class, both stallions looking away just as awkwardly moments later. After class, Sunburst wasted no time in packing his things and exiting the classroom as quickly as possible, leaving Shining again watching the stallion walk away. It was only another few classes, none of which Shining could focus on, before Shining again found himself at the door to Sunburst’s dorm room. With only a bit of hesitation, he managed to knock on the door. This garnered him the exact surprised yelp and mad scramble to the door that he expected. Sunburst slowly opened his door, cautiously peeking out and looking quite surprised to see the stallion on the other side of the door. “Oh, Shining, It’s… good to see you. To what do I owe the pleasure?” “Oh, you know, just in the neighborhood.” Shining smiled uncomfortably, scratching the back of his neck. “I just, I dunno, wanted to talk about this morning.” An uncomfortable silence bloomed between the two stallions, both pursing their lips as they could really only thing of one thing to say: “I’m sorry.” Both stallions said, simultaneously. After which, both were a bit taken aback, blinking at the other stallion in confusion. Shining was the first to respond, casually scratching the back of his head. “Aw, c’mon. You don’t have anything to apologize for! I know how annoying my friends can be.” He laughed a little at this, but it quickly transitioned into a sigh. “They mean well, I promise. But I can tell them to lean off the teasing a little.” “Oh, it’s not that, it’s…” Sunburst trailed off, shaking his head for a moment then looking up at Shining with a soft expression. “Well, I still need to apologize for storming off like that. It wasn’t very becoming of me.” Shining laughed again, this one stronger and more boisterous. “Aw, they’re used to it. Me and Cady weren’t exactly the most ‘well-behaved’ couple either.” At this, Sunburst’s expression fell. And, upon noticing it, Shining’s expression fell too. “Do you wanna talk about it?” Shining asked. A shy nod from Sunburst. “A little. Please, come in.” Shining didn’t have to be told twice. Both stallions soon found themselves in Sunburst’s room, on Sunburst’s bed, sitting just a few feet apart. Shining looked over at Sunburst sympathetically while Sunburst could only bring himself to look down at his white-stained hooves. There was a long moment of silence during this, Sunburst not quite knowing what to say while Shining was willing to give him as long as he needed to find it. “Your other friends are all… pretty spectacular.” Sunburst sighed after quite a few more moments. “You’ve dated actual royalty, and are seemingly in a romantic rivalry with rich not-quite royals. And apparently you and your siblings are complete magical savants, which makes me think your parents must be as well. I can’t help but wonder…” Another pause, Sunburst biting his lip. “Would I really fit in? I feel like, unless I’m with other nerdy stallions like Gaffer and 8-Bit, I kind of stick out in a rather unfortunate way.” Sunburst’s words hung in the air for a few seconds, wrapping around both stallions like a vice. “Well… you do.” Shining admitted suddenly, gently, as he inched ever closer to Sunburst. “I don’t think it’s unfortunate, but you totally stand out. I mean, it’s what got me interested in you in the first place.” “Which part: the poor attitude, the unkempt appearance, or the fact that I’m a magic school drop out?” Sunburst snarked, flicking a hoof under his tassel of an unkempt goatee.  “Hey, I like the goatee!” Shining said with a gentle laugh. “But, you know, what really did it for me was that attitude of yours. It looked like you didn’t really care about a lot, but then I got you talking about stuff you’re interested in and…” Shining trailed off as he looked at Sunburst, knowing he didn’t even have to say it as a small and sweet smile blooming on Sunburst’s face along with a blush. “Exactly! That smile of yours, your little laugh, how absurdly dorky you are!” Shining smiled as he drew even closer to Sunburst, placing a hoof atop one of Sunburst’s own. “That’s what I care about. Not a tangled mane or you getting bullied out of a school.” Still smiling a bit, Sunburst still looked away from Shining and back down to his hooves. “So it’s just the attitude that’s a problem, then?” He asked, though smirking and laughing a bit as he did. Thinking on it for a moment, pressing a hoof to his chin, Shining sighed. “Maybe a bit?” He admitted, earning quite the shocked look from Sunburst. “I wanna help you stop comparing yourself to other ponies. And, maybe, I can show you just how great you are.” To Shining’s surprise, this earned a laugh from Sunburst. A soft, yet warm sound that filled the room and seemingly melted all the tension from before. Still, Shining couldn’t help but blush indignantly at this. “Heeey, I know it was cheesy but you don’t have to laugh!” “It’s not that!” Sunburst said, still giggling a bit as he wiped a tear from his eye. “You’re just so endearingly honest sometimes. It’s pretty cute.” A sly smirk growing across Shining’s face, he pulled his saddlebag close to him and began to dig through it. “Well, I hope you’ll find this downright adorable then.” His smile grew a tad bit bigger as he pulled out the bundle of fabric he’d packed that morning.  And suddenly Sunburst was once again holding his cloak. Still delicately folded and warm to the touch, displaying one of its many embroidered stars at the top, the cloak had one telltale feature that surprised Sunburst. “It’s… not cursed.” Sunburst said as he scanned it with his flickery, sun-colored magic. Looking up at Shining, his eyes glittered and gleamed with shock and surprise. “It’s not cursed!” “Told ya my little sister could do it! She stayed up all night just to break the curse.” Shining beamed, a smile of pure pride pulling across his face as he gestured towards Sunburst. “So go on, let me see how it looks on you!” Sunburst snickered a bit at that, but then his gaze turned back to the cloak. And he stared. For quite some time, Sunburst’s eyes were locked on the errant fabric, inspecting every inch and star he could see on the folded cloak. And yet, as a bead of nervous sweat rolled down his forehead, he didn’t move an inch to open it up and inspect it fully.  Although confused at first, Shining was quick on the uptake as he placed a hoof on Sunburst’s shoulder. “You’re not sure it worked, are you?” Shining asked, sympathetically, as his other hoof landed on the cloak.  Sunburst pursed his lips, eyes still locked on the cloak. “I don’t doubt your sister’s prowess, but…” Sunburst’s hesitation was quickly met by Shining’s insistence, the pure-white stallion gently stealing away the cloak from Sunburst’s hooves. He unfurled the cloak to its full wizardly breadth and just held it out for a moment, turning to face Sunburst with a sly smile. “Well, if the curse is still there and makes the wearer act like an idiot,” Shining began, throwing the cloak over his and Sunburst’s backs, “Then at least we can be idiots together.” Sunburst braced himself for a moment, waiting to feel the dulling blur of his thought or the whispered promise of untold magical secrets. But instead he felt a warmth, one that bloomed from the stallion to his side and the wide cloak that they shared. It was an easy warmth to bask in, one comforting like a fire shared with a loved one. Comforting even still as Shining moved to press himself against Sunburst’s side, wrapping a hoof around the smaller stallion and drawing him in even closer. The two basked in this warmth for a long moment, both closing their eyes so as to not mar it in any way. Only the sound of soft, steady breathing could be heard in the room, though Sunburst’s own breath did hitch for a moment as Shining began to lean into him. Sunburst giggled softly, finally breaking the long line of silence as a bashful smile overtook his face. “Shining, I’m… really grateful that you took the time to get to know me. I’ve really enjoyed the time we’ve spent together. If anything, I’ve, um…” Sunburst took a quick, deep breath to really consider what he had to say. He then turned his head gently to look Shining Armor in the eyes as he said it. That was, until he saw that Shining’s eyes were still snapped shut and his breath was perhaps a bit too calm and gentle as he leaned against Sunburst for support. Smiling softly at the sleeping stallion, Sunburst rolled his eyes. “Well, I suppose I’ll just tell you later.” He said quietly, and with a gentle yawn.