Mark of a Defender
“Well, it was a few weeks after Twilight was born...”
***************
A few years ago...
***************
“Shining Armor, honey, can you go and get the honey oats from that shelf over there?”
“Sure thing, mom.” Shining Armor walked away from his mom and went up to one of the shelves and used his magic to lift a box of honey oats into a small basket carried in his mother’s own magic.
It was a calm and peaceful Sunday morning in Canterlot, and many ponies were out and about doing whatever it was they normally did on Sunday mornings. Shining Armor and Twilight Velvet, well, mostly Twilight Velvet, had decided to spend the morning doing some grocery shopping at a nearby supermarket.
Already in the basket was a mountain of new diapers and other foal stuff for the baby foal strapped around Twilight Velvet’s chest, little Twilight Sparkle.
“Hey, Twi-Lee,” gushed the young colt at his new baby sister.
Twilight replied with tiny laughs and squeals.
Shining Armor proceeded to get these laughs out of Twilight as he covered his eyes with his forehooves. “Where’s Shining? Where’s Shining?” The little lavender foal looked around frantically as she tried to find her brother. “Here I am!” Shining exclaimed after removing his hooves from his eyes.
Twilight bounced a bit in her foal holder as she giggled after ‘finding’ Shining Armor.
“Awwww, that is so cute, Shining. Do it again so I can get a picture,” Velvet said as she dug through her grocery basket.
“Moooom,” Shining droned.
“Just one picture,” Velvet responded as she pulled out a disposable camera she intended to buy from the basket.
“Mom, you can’t use a camera you haven't bought yet.”
“Hey, I’ve given birth twice. I can do what I want.”
Shining Armor shuddered at the mention of foalbirth. She always resorted to that same excuse whenever he protested with her. “Aw, mom. Why do you always bring that one up?”
“Because it works,” Velvet answered with a smirk. “Now c’mon, play with Twilight.”
Realizing it was pointless to argue, Shining Armor began another game of “Peek-A-Boo” with his little sister. “Where’s Shining? Where’s Shining?... Here I am!”
Twilight giggled some more and a single flash of light captured the moment forever.
“See? Was that so hard?” Velvet smirked.
Shining Armor answered with an eye roll that he made sure Velvet didn’t see. She had warned him about doing that to her, but it was honestly more of a habit that he was trying to stop. His eyes landed on another box of honey oats that had an ad for one of those sweepstakes nopony ever wins on it, at least that’s what he thought was on it. Upon closer inspection, he saw the small announcement on the bag.
“Honey Bee’s Cutie Camp
Are you a filly or colt looking for your cutie mark? Come over to Honey Bee’s Cutie Camp, where our Cutie Coaches work to help you find your destiny. Parent’s permission required. Prices start at fifty bits for one week.”
“Mom, look at this,” Shining gestured with a hoof.
Twilight Velvet came over to look at the message on the box. She skimmed the message over and knew exactly what her son was getting at. After reading, she gave him something she called ‘The Face’. A face that always let him know that the answer to what he wanted was a big, fat, relentless ‘No’.
“But, mom, this could help me get my cutie mark,” Shining tried to argue.
“Shining Armor, we’ve been through this. I know you’re eager to get your cutie mark, but trying to force it with some...” Velvet paused and looked at the ad on the box, “... camp isn’t going to work. You can’t force these things, sweety.”
“But I’m one of the oldest colts on our street without their cutie mark. They’re colts younger than me who’ve already got theirs.”
“And you’ll get yours.” Velvet reached a hoof to Shining’s chin and lifted his chin so they met eye-to-eye. “You just need to find it on your own. Nopony can force their cutie mark to appear no more than some...” she looked again at the honey oats box, “... pony in a talking bee costume. And when yours comes, I know it’ll show something wonderful.”
Shining seemed to believe her. True, he wished he could still go to that camp, but he did see some truth in his mother’s word. “Okay, mom.”
Velvet smiled at her son before she drew him in with a forelimb. “You’ll get yours soon, Shining. I know you will.” Shining smiled back. It was a simple smile, but it was enough for Twilight Velvet to know that she was able to cheer him up. “Now c’mon, we still have to get some more stuff for Twilight.”
The other stuff needed presented itself in the form of numerous jars of foal food. They were colorful jars filled with the squishy foodstuff. Some of them having seemingly normal flavors while others nearly made Shining Armor vomit.
“Uck! Spinach and oats?!? What kind of combo is that?”
“It’s a vegetable and a grain, and it’s healthy, so it’s going in the basket.” In the basket stood a mini-mountain of foal food guaranteed to last Twilight for about a solid week, but Twilight Velvet still looked for more.
“How the hay does Twilight eat this stuff?” Shining asked as he picked up another odd-comboed jar.
“You used to eat this stuff too when you were a foal. Plus she always gets distracted by the little butterfly on the label... Ooh, a three for one deal!”
Sure enough, right in the middle of the jar was a picture of a cartoon butterfly with a huge smile and oversized eyes, and Twilight was eating up the little image, laughing and reaching up for the image like it was the real thing.
“You like the butterfly, Twilight? You like the butterfly?” Velvet lightly played as she brought the jar closer to her daughter’s eyes. Twilight laughed and giggled some more, but from her horn came the sparks, meaning only one thing.
“Oh no.” Shining’s eyes grew wide with fear as the sparks from Twilight’s horn grew stronger and brighter.
Velvet quickly threw the jar back into the cart before trying to talk to her daughter. “No, no, no, no, Twilight! No butterfly! No butterfly!” It wasn’t working. Twilight’s horn sparkled and glowed stronger and brighter until a flash of lavender light encased the whole isle.
At first nothing seemed to be out of place. The past few weeks, the Sparkle family knew that with Twilight coming into the family also came the random magic surges that characterized a unicorn foal, and it was in those few weeks that they learned rather quickly that Twilight’s magic surges were a completely different story.
Shining recalled one instance where he woke up one morning surrounded by an ungodly amount of purple and pink bubbles floating around the house. He also remembered another time when Twilight managed to flip the entire house upside down in one of her surges, so it was only natural for Shining Armor to expect the worst when Twilight got another magic surge, but strangely, nothing seemed to have happened.
Shining looked at the ground, everything was right side up. He looked to his hooves and the rest of himself, he was all in one piece. For once, things seemed perfectly normal.
“AGGGGGHHHHH!!!”
Never mind.
“GET THESE THINGS OFF OF ME!!!”
Shining looked across the aisle and saw several ponies in the store running for their lives from what appeared to be giant butterflies with the same animated features on the jar of foal food.
Twilight Velvet came up to her son while Twilight cheered and laughed from her holder on her mother’s chest.
“Well, this is a new one,” Velvet commented flatly, examining the chaos around them. Huge cartoon butterflies were everywhere, and while they really weren’t doing anything harmful, they were pretty creepy to look at. Those huge eyes, the twitching antennae, and that weird near-sociopathic smile. It was enough to make the strongest of stallions shudder, and the weakest of ponies shatter to the ground in an ocean of their tears.
“Okay, honey. Remember the plan?” Velvet asked her son flatly.
“Get rid of them and hide?”
“That’s my boy.”
Velvet and Shining Armor closed their eyes and focused their magic. A few seconds passed and soon enough, their own horns glowed with their own magical auras. The hum of their magic rang and grew louder until a bright flash of light encased every last monster butterfly in the store. A final flash went off, and they were gone, but the chaos they left still lingered.
Baskets lay abandoned on the floor from panic, a few shelves were knocked over, and the confused and panicked looks on the ponies in the store showed just how much of a mess was made... and it all came from one foal.
“Okay, honey. Just back away slowly, don’t say anything, get to the checkout, and this never happened,” Velvet whispered like it was rehearsed.
“What never happened?” Shining replied back with a coy smile.
“Exactly.”
***************
“Okay, that’s the groceries, we got Grandma Moon Light some flowers, got your father’s ointment for that rash on his—”
“MOM!”
Velvet laughed at Shining Armor's outburst. “It’s called getting old, Shining. I’d like to see how you’ll handle it.” Again, Shining Armor made an eye roll that he hid from his mother. “Last stop... actually I think we’re done.”
“YES!” Shining exclaimed as he raise his hooves in victory.
“I just wanna go to one more store.”
‘NOOOOOOOOO!’ screamed Shining’s inner thoughts as his expression of victory froze but a horrified twitch came to his right eye. The thing about his mother was that whenever she says “one more store”, it really meant another three hours of hopping around many stores.
“It’ll just be for a little while, Shining.”
More lies! But he had no choice, so with a fake smile, Shining Armor followed his mother into a large building with ponyquin stands in the windows sporting various dresses and hats. Oh joy.
While his mother was off looking at a painstakingly large amount of dresses and hats and even foal dresses, Shining Armor was left with the sorry job of holding everything. True, there wasn’t too much to hold. Just a few bags and some flowers, but the time it took for Velvet to actually look and or try everything she liked seemed like forever. To add to his torture, Velvet was looking at items that were one section away from the sweet and merciful exit. There it was, the door to freedom, the way out, a way to put him out of his misery. It was there, taunting him, teasing him, reminding him that he still had to stay put.
The only thing keeping the colt from going mad was the fact that he was now carrying Twilight around his chest, and he had to admit, she was really cute when she just half-mindedly laughed and threw her limbs about.
Shining reached a hoof to his sister’s head and rubbed her mane, effectively, but playfully, messing up Twilight’s purple and pink hair. Twilight let out more foal laughs, but seconds later started grabbing for something in front of her. Shining lifted his head to see a stand of stuffed animals. The stand was nothing much, simple colors and a round display, but what caught his eye was the low amount of toys left and the weird assortment of animals. Three were left: a cockatreece, a manticore, and a hydra doll with three of its five heads hanging by a thread.
“Those are some creepy flank dolls...” Shining muttered after coming up to the stand. Twilight didn’t seem to mind. She just kept trying to reach for what she believed was the cutest one, the manticore.
Shining decided to humor her and grabbed the manticore plush before going into his “Play” voice. “You want the manticore, Twi-Lee? Want the doll?” Twilight bobbed up and down in her carrier. “I’m just a fluffy little manticore, stomping around... something something something, and full of fluff.”
Twilight continued to bob up and down and giggle at Shining’s song, even if it was really bad. Sweet Celestia, foals were cute when they laughed. Shining Armor lowered the manticore plush and Twilight took it in her hooves, hugging the thing so tight it looked like the loosely stitched button eyes would pop off.
“Awwww, that is too cute.” Shining turned to see his mom with a large hat on her head that she was trying on. “I need a picture of this. Shining, let me let me see Twilight.”
Finally able to control the eye roll he was about to give, Shining moved Twilight into the sight of the camera that Twilight Velvet held in her hooves.
“Okay. One... Two... Three.”
A bright flash went off, and Twilight continued to giggle with the manticore plush in her hooves, but that would soon lead to a huge problem.
Twilight’s laughs grew slightly louder and her horn started to glow again, sending out sparks as the lavender glow grew brighter.
“Oh no no no no no no no no no,” Velvet and Shining panicked simultaneously. Shining tried to grab the manticore plush, but a lavender glow kept it in Twilight’s hooves.
“Take it away. Take it away!” Velvet muttered quickly as she joined her son in trying to pry the manticore toy away.
“I can’t! The stupid thing won’t budge!”
“Take it away! Take it away! Take it away!”
Like her panicking family wasn’t there, Twilight continued laughing and hugging the plush until her horn glowed to an intense light and sent out a surge of magic. One lavender flash later, Velvet was holding onto Shining Armor tight with shut eyes, expecting the worst.
A few seconds passed with silence from the older ponies and slight giggles from the foal. Shining Armor was the first to crack an eyelid at the possible danger, only to wish he hadn’t.
In front of him, he felt hot breath falling, and he felt the eyes of some creature staring down at him. What was once a plush manticore doll now stood a fully grown golden-furred, lion-maned, fang-bearing manticore that towered over the three ponies.
“Mom,” Shining whispered ever so softly.
“Yeah, Shining? What happened now?” Velvet asked under her breath.
Shining didn’t answer at first. He was paralyzed with fear as the newly formed manticore took a small sharp-clawed step forward, a low growl escaping it’s massive jaw.
“Run,” he squeaked.
“What?” Velvet asked as she opened her eyes, meeting the beast’s large, angry, wild green eyes.
“RUN!!!” Following Shining’s wail, the wild manticore roared a saliva-spewing roar and the three ponies were out of the store in a blur, but the manticore didn’t let them out of his sight. After Shining Armor, Velvet, and Twilight exited the clothing store, they sprinted towards any other street, hoping to avoid the angry beast. Their hopes dwindled after hearing an Equestria-shaking boom and another roar. The manticore had broken through the walls of the store and was now in a dead pursuit of the Sparkles.
“What now?!?” Shining yelled out to his mother.
“Try to lose it, and for the love of Celestia, don’t show fear in front of it!”
Shining Armor glanced back at the charging manticore and saw the savage look in it’s terrifying eyes and its spear-point yellow fangs.
“Too late.”
Velvet and Shining sped up their pace with quickened breaths and fear-induced adrenaline pumping through their veins, but the manticore kept its gaze on them as he continued the chase.
They passed streets, eliciting terrified screams of other ponies, but the manticore only kept his eyes on Shining and his mother. For minutes they ran in what could be described as a deadly game of cat and mouse that didn’t look like it was going to end anytime soon.
The manticore kept its pace, stomping the ground and sending mini-quakes through the streets. The manticore crashed through anything that stood in his path, bumping other ponies out of the way, destroying trash bins and tables. The ponies in front began to sweat profusely, both out of oncoming exhaustion and their increasing fear. It was either now or never to find a way to lose the beast.
Velvet looked around the streets they were running through, frantically trying to find a way to hide and protect her children. From a far spot ahead, Velvet noticed a path to an alleyway.
“Shining! Follow me and don’t slow down,” Velvet instructed with a forced calmness. Shining Armor nodded and followed closely with a now sleeping Twilight strapped to his chest.
“Now she falls asleep?!?” Shining yelled to no one. “Stupid magic surges!”
“NOW!”
Shining looked to his mother and followed her turn into an alleyway. It wasn’t narrow, but Velvet seemed confident in the direction it was leading. The manticore on the other hand managed to trail Shining Armor and fit into the alley, still snarling as he ran.
“Mom! Where are we going?”
“This alley narrows out, sweety. Just outrun him, and he’ll get stuck,” Velvet explained, a triumphant smile gracing her face.
Shining looked on and, sure enough, he saw the walls tunnel in and the sunlight barely shining through. This plan could work. This plan could actually work, but it would have to come soon. Both Shining Armor and Twilight Velvet were starting to tire out, and the alleyway was taking its precious time narrowing out, and the manticore was still able to fit where he ran.
Shining Armor, despite his growing exhaustion, continued to follow his mother, but something wasn’t right. As he ran, he noticed that the sunlight was starting to fade out for some reason. It wasn’t until Velvet’s sudden skid to a halt that Shining Armor found out why the sunlight was fading out. Blocking their way, stood a thick brick wall with a sign plastered in the center.
“Construction up ahead. Wall is here for your safety.”
“ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!? FOR YOUR SAFETY MY FLANK!!!” Shining shouted at the sign after stopping next to his mother only to have his attention grabbed by the approaching manticore.
Shining froze, his pupils the size of dots and void of everything except fear. He could only think one thing. ‘You’re gonna die, man!!!’
“Get behind me, Shining,” Velvet ordered before stepping forward and taking a stance. Shining did as he was told and then looked to his mother. Her stance was firm and the hum of magic was heard over the manticore’s oncoming stomps. Instead of sinking his fangs into the unicorn mare, the manticore collided into a barrier of deep purple magic that surrounded Twilight Velvet and her kids.
“Not my kids, you beast!” Velvet seethed with rage.
The manticore roared again, slamming his paws against the barrier.
*CRACK
The simple sound created a world of worry for Twilight Velvet when she looked at her shield, already it was starting to crack. She spun her head to Shining Armor. “Shining! Use your magic and teleport yourself and Twilight out of here. NOW!”
“Mom, what about you?”
“I can handle this, just get out of here!”
*CRACK
Velvet’s shield now bore a clean crack split down the middle after the manticore bashed on it again. It would only take mere seconds before the thing was completely obliterated.
“Shining! Do it, NOW!”
The manticore gave another ear-shattering roar and, with one final hit, he broke Velvet’s barrier, obliterating the magic in a display of lavender sparks. Velvet collapsed to the ground, the stinging pain in her horn and head overtaking her. The manticore stood over her, panting with a monstrous rage. It reared on its hind legs, its forepaws aimed on the unicorn mare, ready to crush her.
Velvet looked at the beast, wide-eyed, expecting her end, hoping Shining and Twilight were safe now. She closed her eyes and clenched her teeth, not wanting to see it coming.
The manticore brought his claws down with monstrous force.
“MOM, NO!”
*BANG
A howling cry from the manticore echoed throughout the alleyway, and Velvet shot her eyes open. What she saw was her son, eyes and mouth clenched with a foreleg covering Twilight, and his horn glowing a blinding lavender. All this she saw, and a brilliant lavender bubble protecting them from the howling beast outside.
The shield itself glowed intensely. And it actually caused the manticore pain, something Velvet’s own protection spell couldn’t have done. Shining opened his eyes to see the manticore try again, only to cause him even more pain. His horn kept glowing brightly, and what he created stunned him beyond belief, but he didn’t have time for sightseeing.
Shining planted his hooves into the ground and focused his magic. His horn glowed brighter and so did his shield. It glowed, and glowed, and glowed, gathering all of Shining Armor’s available magic into that one protection spell.
The manticore rose to try again. He reared on his hind legs, brought his forepaws up, but as his paws were about to make contact, Shining’s shield pulsed out a brilliant lavender wall of magic, sending the beast tumbling backwards in a show of lavender sparks.
Shining, believing he knocked the manticore out, lowered his defense and hurried over to the beast’s side, but it wasn’t there. Taking its place was the small stuffed animal he saw back at the store.
“SHINING!”
Shining looked back and found himself gripped between his mother’s forelegs.
“Oh, thank Celestia! You’re safe.” She looked down at Shining’s chest to see Twilight still asleep in her carrier. “And Twilight. Oh, thank Celestia! Thank Celestia!”
“It’s okay, mom, I’m fine. Both of us are fine,” Shining reassured while he tried to break free of his mother’s tightening embrace.
Velvet, after a few more seconds, finally let go of her two children. “What was it that you did back there?” she asked her son.
“I don’t know. I saw the manticore about to crush you and I just... hopped in and... shielded us?”
“That was one of the most powerful defense spell I’ve ever seen. There wasn’t even a crack in it! You saved us, Shining Armor.”
Shining Armor’s eyes widened at this realization. He saved them, with his own magic. Velvet’s moist eyes grew even more moist and her proud smile grew wider when a flash of white light started to glow from Shining Armor’s flank.
Shining looked back in time to see the glow disappear and leave an image of a dark blue shield with a large pink sparkle in the middle accompanied by three smaller ones above the shield... his cutie mark.
***************
Present
***************
“So, to sum it all up, Twilight nearly got me and my mom killed, I managed to make some freak shield, and I ended up with this,” he pointed a hoof down at his flank, “and ended up banned from that shopping center for life.”
“Wait, you guys got banned? Over an accident?”
“Weeeell... it was a pretty dangerous accident,” Shining reminded, “but also because my mom left the store with the hat she was still trying on. The manager actually hunted us down and snatched it right off her head when he found us coming out of the alleyway.”
Cadance gave Shining Armor a surprised look. Shining returned her gaze with a smile that muffled some laughter. A few seconds passed before both ponies burst into their own fits of laughter.
Their laughter subsided and Cadance cleared her throat. “So, how does someone with a cutie mark like yours end up working at a library?”
“Honestly, I just wanted to do something,” Shining answered with a shrug of his shoulders. “I still didn’t have a clear idea on what I wanted to do back then, still don’t, but I figured it would be a start... I guess.” Shining saw that Cadance had a thinking face on. Hoof on her chin and half-closed eyes. “Why? What are you thinking?”
“I don’t know what you could do exactly, but I do know what you are.”
Shining Armor raised an eyebrow and cocked his head to the side. “What do you mean you know what I am?”
“You’re a defender, Shining,” Cadance explained, earning a stunned look from her coltfriend. “You stood up for your family back then and even now. Your mom told me how before I came along, she interviewed other possible foal sitters for Twilight, and that you personally did an extensive background check on every candidate. Anything you thought was dangerous about them, you shoved them out the door.”
Shining blushed at the story being brought up. In retrospect, maybe he shouldn’t have been so... intrusive, to say the least. But it did land him an awesome marefriend. “Yeah, well, I just wanted to be sure Twilight wasn’t around some creep.”
“I could tell,” Cadance replied with a laugh. “So, my advice to you would be to look into using your special talent that helps you be the pony you were meant to be.”
Shining felt himself light up inside, like somepony just planted a dream or hope inside of him, and Cadance was the source of it. He never forgot why he fell for her, it was a constant reminder. But the number of reasons why, they grew every day.
“Thanks, Cadance,” Shining breathed, practically oozing gratitude.
Cadance smiled and blushed back at Shining Armor. After what he’s done for her, to her, this was the least of what she could do to make him happy as well. Deciding to take her praise quietly, she moved onto something else. Something a little more fun.
“So, back to the whole ‘I didn’t want a creep for Twilight’ thing, what made you not do a check on me, then?” Cadance asked with a playful grin, batting her eyelashes at Shining Armor.
“Oh. Ugh, well, I... ugh... I didn’t think you would... ugh... maybe it was... ugh... Hey! Joe!” Like it was a blessing from Celestia herself, Joe trotted to Shining Armor and Cadance’s table with a small tray with two donuts, ending the directionless pile of crap Shining Armor could pathetically call an answer.
“Hey, Shining. I got you two a little somethin’. It’s a donut my cousin came up with at my other shop in Manehatten.”
“How is that place doing anyway?” Shining asked the baker after he set the tray of new treats down.
“Great! Thanks for askin’. It’s only been open about a few months and I’ve already made a years worth of bits with just one shop.”
“Wow! That’s great. Hmmm, a year huh? You know a lot could happen in a year,” Shining began to seemingly ramble, “a new shop could be built, a lot of money could be made, or it could be enough for somepony to finally get a date like a certain somepony else thought,” Shining said with an unamused glance at Joe. “A year to get a date. Get where I’m going with this, Joe?”
Joe was now looking around nervously, trying to avoid the unicorn’s stare. “Oh! Ugh, well ya see... I didn’t think...” Joe gave a few nervous laughs before putting on his best smile. “... what’s that? Free donuts for the next two months? Ya got it, Shining.” With that said, Joe quickly trotted away to avoid Shining’s eyes.
Cadance watched the stallion trot away with a snarky smile on her face. She turned to Shining Armor. “That was mean, but he so deserved it,” she said with a laugh.
“Yeah, you should’ve seen when I dug into my mom and dad about that,” Shining smirked with his own laugh. When the laughs died out, Shining Armor thought back to the whole talk on cutie marks with. One question about somepony’s cutie mark in particular reared its way into his head. “So, what about your cutie mark?” he asked with eagerness. “What exactly does some crystal heart have to do with you being a princess?”
“Oh, that. I’m not too sure actually. Like my aunt, I was born with my cutie mark, but she said she’d tell me all about what I’m destined to do when I start to reach that age to start taking on more royal duties.”
“When does that happen?”
“In a few weeks, actually. We’re the same age, Shining. The whole thing about ponies our age going off to make something of themselves also applies to me. But back to you and your story. Have you ever done anything like what you did to that manticore before then?”
“Weeeeell.” Shining Armor lifted a hoof to his chin as he tried to recall anything. “I was pretty good with defensive magic, and after I got my cutie mark, I started playing around with it. Now I can make shields or perform counterspells really easily.” Shining’s look started to grow in excitement. “Here, I’ll show you.”
With a soft hum of magic coming from Shining Armor’s horn, Cadance watched in wonder as various sizes of lavender bubbles began to form around her and the table. They were beautiful round things the glittered in the light of the restaurant, radiating a bright lavender glow.
“Wow, they’re beautiful, Shining,” Cadance awed as she touched one of the bubble-like shields.
“If you fire a beam of magic at it, it’ll shoot right back,” Shining said enthusiastically before realizing the bad idea.
“I’ll just take your word for it.”
Shining gave a sheepish smile before letting his spell down and his shields dissipate around them. “So, what kind of ‘Royal Duties’ are you gonna start?”
“My aunt hasn’t gone into great detail on that. I swear I think she does that for fun. But she did tell me one thing I’m starting next week”
“What’s that?”
“Royal appearances. I’m supposed to visit the school for gifted unicorns next week. My aunt said that I just need to ask some of the scientists in the research department of the school before going over to surprise the little foals in the other area of the school.”
“Awwww. That sounds nice.”
“I hope it goes well. It’ll be my first ‘official’ royal appearance, and I’ve only dealt with Twilight. I don’t know if I can handle a lot of foals in one room.” Cadance shifted in her seat and fidgeted with her hooves as the idea of being in a room full of foals reared its way into her mind.
“It’ll be fine, Cadance.” Shining put a hoof on one of Cadance’s fidgeting hooves, ceasing her movement instantly.
Cadance looked at Shining Armor and saw those caring eyes she adored so much. “Can you come with me?” she asked suddenly.
A few seconds of confused silence later, Shining spoke up. “Huh?”
“Can you come with me? Just stand outside the door when I go see the foals? I can handle the research team, but I’m just nervous with a lot of kids.”
“When do you go see them?”
“Monday, after Twilight moves in.”
Shining’s face formed a caring smile as he looked at Cadance with those sapphire orbs she adored. “I’ll be there. And you’ll do great.”
Cadance leaned into him across the table and planted a kiss on his lips. At least it was supposed to be a plant until she decided to stay there a little longer, allowing Shining Armor to return the kiss himself.
They pulled away a few seconds later, each donning dreamy smiles and half-closed eyes.
“Just gets better every time.”
***************
Friday nights in the castle weren’t anything special, but the area around the castle was a different story. The upscale Canterlot nightlife was full of high-end shopping, strolls, and for a particular group of ponies, fancy dining.
Inside a rather posh eatery, a small group of sharply-dressed mares and stallions were busy chattering away, two in particular exposing their latest bundle of news.
“And you know what Jet Set said to the pony?”
The other ponies sat and waited for the answer with level anticipation.
“What did he say, Upper Crust?” one of them asked.
Upper Crust turned to her husband and gave him a smirky smile.
“I said ‘Stick to mares of your own class’,” Jet Set finished.
The table of ponies burst into their own short collection of snooty laughs, noses in the air and everything.
“Oh my, you are too much, Jet Set,” another mare commented. “Wait until Fancy gets in on this piece of news. Where is he anyway?”
“Oh, he and Fleur are on one of their relief missions in Zebrica. They’ll be back before the Garden Party in a few months though,” Jet Set answered, taking his glass off the table and sipping lightly.
“But seriously, a library assistant? Some nopony? That’s who the princess chose?” another stallion spoke up.
“Uck! I know. It’s simply... unheard of! If Princess Cadance wanted a nice colt, I know plenty of other suitable young stallions in the area. Ones with class and status,” Upper Crust ranted.
“I know dear, but you know how teenagers are. When she comes to her senses, or if the colt gets our warning, I’m sure we will see her strolling with somepony much better suited for her. Besides...” Jet Set paused and looked at his glass, swishing the blood-red fluid around for a few seconds, “... she deserves so much better.”