//------------------------------// // First Bird // Story: The Brother and The Sitter // by Spike120812 //------------------------------// First Bird If her lyrics and voice weren’t enough to send the crowd beneath her into a fit of applause, the way she delivered her performance was. Stardust stood on stage with a fierce smile and a fire in her eyes as she took in the stomps of applause and hollering cheers that were all meant for her. “Stardust, everypony,” Cymbal Crash announced as he came up on stage to lead her off. “Amazing as always.” She could say she wasn’t that great, but that would’ve made her a liar. Stardust laid her guitar down by the stairs at the bottom of the stage before making her way through the restaurant to a familiar spot. After squeezing through some ponies, she saw her favorite couple eagerly awaiting her at their table. “Stardust, that was amazing!” Cadance was making no effort to even try and contain herself. “Was that one of your own?” Shining asked from his seat next to Cadance. “Thanks, and yes,” the confident musician answered as she pulled herself a chair. “First time that song saw an audience.” “Really? Well, the crowd loved it.” Remembering what Stardust said about her song, Cadance couldn’t help but ask, “Wait, you wrote that song, Stardust?” “That and a few others I sang over the last few days.” Her eyes went wide. She wasn’t used to music like Stardust’s, let alone the power and emotion that went into them. To know all of that came from just one pony, it was mind-blowing to Cadance to say the least. “Wow.” Stardust just smiled smugly. “Aww, thanks Cady. I even wrote one about the two of ya.” Stardust dug into one of the pockets of her waitress jacket she had on and pulled out a folded piece of paper. After unfolding it, she hoofed it to Cadance, and she sat back to watch the reaction. The widening eyes, the wide smile that followed, even the tiny squeal of delight, it was everything Stardust wanted to see. Cadance passed the piece of paper over to her coltfriend with an eager, beaming smile. Shining Armor took it, the first thing visible being the title. “Lovestruck (ShiningCadance),” Shining read off the page, raising an eyebrow at his friend. “It was either ShiningCadance or Shadance, but I couldn’t make a good melody with Shadance,” Stardust answered flatly. “Well, it is a really great song, Stardust,” Cadance cut in, earning another smug smile from the mare across the table. “Thanks, Cady, but hey, enough about me, what’s been goin’ on with you two, ShiningCadance?” Cadance leaned into Shining Armor as she thought, a few options surfacing. “My aunt’s basically turning me into a one-pony-assault team, I may or may not be getting addicted to donuts, and I’m still with the best colt in Equestria, who for some reason couldn’t manage to win me those stuffed animals he said he was going to last night.” “Those games are rigged, I swear to your aunt they are!” Shining quickly defended, memories of last night invading his mind. So many wasted bits and stubborn tries to win just one game. “Really? Then how come I managed to win ten life-size plushes from only one game?” The smirk and teasing tone Cadance had sent the poor colt next to her back to his old stuttering habit, and his face into a flushing heat. It was at times like these that Shining wished he was born with a different coat color. Any color. His desire only intensified when he saw Stardust shoot him that look she got when she tried to stifle laughter. Pushing it to the side, he figured that at the end of the day, even through the playful teasing, he was still getting snuggled up against by Cadance. After regaining what little could be called composure, Stardust settled her gaze on the colt whose face finally lost its red tint. “Whatta ‘bout ya, Shiny? What’s been goin’ on?” One thing came to mind very quickly. “I got fired.” For the first time in a long while, Stardust had no immediate response. She sat there, blank faced and unable to think of how to react until the slew of one-worded questions sputtered out. “How? When? Why? What?!?” Shining gave her the general gist of his soon to be former job. When he finished, Stardust still held that blank stare, like she was still trying to grasp her mind around the whole thing. “Lemme get this straight, Shiny,” she said, rubbing the side of her head. “Paiges basically told ya you’re better than a library assistant, then says she’s gonna fire ya in two weeks?” Shining nodded. “Basically.” “She’s a weird boss.” The two unicorns shared a little laugh before Stardust pressed on. “So ya okay with it?” “Yeah. I think it was time anyway. I mean, it’s not like I wanted to be a library assistant forever.” “What do ya wanna be forever anyway? Or are ya still findin’ that out?” “Still finding that out, but I have been thinking about something.” “Yeah? What’s that?” Shining remembered last night in the bathroom before his carnival date with Cadance. He remembered that stallion in the mirror and how amazing, strong, and confident he looked. “Remember Iron Defense?” “Ya mean the crazy that tried to blast us? Yeah, I remember. If it wasn’t a federal offense, I’d give that guy a piece of my mind for that.” Something told the two ponies across from her that Stardust was serious. “Anyway,” Shining continued, “I actually went back to see him about the Royal Guard.” “Huh. So ya joinin’?” He saw that stallion in the mirror again. “My dad says he’s all for it, and I’m starting to see myself able to do it.” He paused, one pony coming to mind that was more unsure about the potential choice than he was. “But, my mom’s having a little trouble with the idea.” “She doesn’t want you joining up?” Cadance spoke up, lifting her head off of Shining’s shoulder to meet his eyes. “Not exactly,” Shining answered with a twisted expression. “To make a long explanation from my dad really short, she’s just having trouble seeing me go off… anywhere.” Stardust hummed out, knowing perfectly what Shining was getting act. “Momma Bird doesn’t wanna let the bird fly just yet, huh?” “That’s one way of putting it, but yeah, and I have no idea when she’d be ready to finally talk about it.” “What if she never wants to?” Cadance’s question lingered in Shining’s mind. He could already see his mother avoiding and deflecting that topic anytime it could be brought up. He understood that she’d be worried, but he hoped she wasn’t that worried… or crazy. Whatever came first. “I. Have. No idea.” “Before ya start freakin’ out about that, lemme ask ya somethin’, Shiny,” Stardust chimed in, setting her eyes right on Shining’s. “Can ya really see yourself doin’ somethin’ like that? Bein’ part of the Royal Guard? Yes? Or no?” Shining went back to last night in the bathroom. He could remember that stallion in the mirror. The one that looked just like him, wearing some of the most astounding armor ever, and looked so strong and confident. He hadn’t thought much into it at first, but that stallion was the courage, bravery, and talent Shining possessed all brought into that one reflection. It brought a smile on Shining’s face to think of it that way, and with his eyes set on Stardust, he gave a solid nod. “Yes.” Stardust leaned back in her seat with a satisfied smile of her own. “Welp, then if it’s somethin’ ya really wanna do, ya may have to break Momma Bird’s heart.” Shining let out a resigned sigh. “Yeah, I know.” Breaking Momma Bird’s heart. Seemed cruel, but if it came down to it… “Word of advice, Shiny. Actually sit down and talk it out and don’t stall for time.” It was small, but the shift in Stardust’s tone made itself noticeable to Cadance. “Experience?” she asked hesitantly, hoping it wasn’t crossing any possible boundaries. Stardust just sighed out and slouched a bit in her seat. “It was back in Manehatten years ago. My mom used to be a fairly well-known concert pianist. Once I showed interest in music, she started cramming piano lessons and classical crap down my throat. I was actually pretty good on the piano, still am, but I never really liked the classical stuff. I respected it, but it just wasn’t for me. I had my own musical taste, and it was nothin’ like my mom’s.” Her eyes started to twinkle a bit as a reminiscent smile snaked its way across her face. “Then one day when I was walkin’ around a few streets, I came across this music shop. Don’t really know why I went in there, but I did. I’m glad I did because when I went in, I heard some colt playin’ on a guitar. Oh my gosh! You should’ve heard him, guys. Next thing I knew, I end up standin’ off to the side just listenin’. He sees me and asks me if I wanted to give it a shot. So, I gave it a try, and after he told me how to hold it and strum, I end up playin’ for an hour, and that was that. I fell in love with the guitar.” Cadance and Shining were all ears as they listened to Stardust's story. Shining had already heard her cutie mark story, but not this “experience” Cadance had asked about. “So I save up for a while and finally buy my first guitar.” She started to laugh. “Ya shoulda seen my mom’s face when I brought it home. She was okay with me bein’ able to play more instruments… until I started focusing more on the stuff I actually liked than practicin' what she taught me. So she gets me practicin’ more piano stuff, but that whole time, all I wanted to do was play my own stuff. Usually I didn’t have a problem telling ponies what I really thought and wanted to do, but she was my mom, and I knew that she was just pushin’ me because she loved me and all that. Coulda done it another way, but thats parents. So I just bottled everything up until one day...” Stardust paused as she sat back up in her seat. She reached over the table and grabbed Shining’s half-full glass of tea. “... I basically blow up in her face that I didn’t want anything to do with the piano, her, or anything she wanted me to do.” This was new. Shining never put it past his friend to have had a few fights with her parents. She just came off as somepony that probably did. As for how those fights came about was what shocked him. Her, keeping quiet. It was like Twilight not reading. Stardust threw her head back as she took a large gulp of Shining’s drink before setting the cup back on the table. “I hated her for weeks and was just horrible to her. She could barely stand me. I basically shut myself from her and kept to my guitar.” Cadance and Shining Armor sat quietly in their seats, awaiting their friend to go on. Stardust noticed the stunned faces her friends had and couldn’t help but stifle laughter. “Don’t worry, guys. We made up. One day, my mom comes into my room and breaks down, sayin’ she’s sorry for tryin' to force me to do something she didn’t know I hated.” Her gaze traveled upwards, staring off at something nonexistent. “We cried so much that day. I’m tellin’ her ‘I’m sorry’ ova and ova and ova again.” Stardust set her eyes dead on Shining Armor’s. “I shoulda just sat down and told her I wanted to do somethin’ else. It woulda saved me an explosion and a lotta tears. Get what I’m tryin’ ta say, Shiny?” He nodded before Stardust leaned back in her seat. “Don’t do what I did, Shiny. Wait too long aaaand BOOM!” she said with hoof gestures. “Okay, Star,” he simply said. She smiled back and got out of her seat. “Well, I gotta get back to work. Thanks for the drink, Shiny.” She quickly trotted off to another table, leaving Shining realizing he’d have to order another drink. “She just took it and drank,” he said flatly, sliding his glass off to the side. “But she had a good point.” Cadance had stayed quiet the longest out of the three of them, simply absorbing what was said, and observing how they reacted, and it gave her a few hunches. “You’ve already been waiting, haven’t you?” His silence was answer enough. “That obvious?” he asked after a few seconds. She nodded. “Yeah. So, how long?” “A little over a week,” Shining answered with a sigh. “Last night, my dad said I should give her a little more time before trying to talk with her. Now...” he said, hopelessly confused on what to do. Cadance put a hoof on Shining’s shoulder, drawing his attention to her soft, beautiful eyes. “Whatever you want to do, or think you need to do, you’ll know it. Things have a way of working out with you.” Exhibit A was sitting right in front of him, flashing a warm and inviting smile that he couldn’t help but return. “They do, don’t they.” Exhibit B showed itself when Shining felt a pair of soft lips touch his own briefly before pulling away. He loved those little pecks she’d sneak. Shining just stared at those eyes he adored so much as he leaned in to return the gesture. Cadance took it like she always did, with the same warm and fuzzy feeling that coursed through her with every kiss. Shining pulled away and moved a menu on the table in front of Cadance. “I’ll worry about that later. Right now, I want to enjoy a veggie burger with my beautiful marefriend.” He opened his own menu as Cadance tried to fight the small blush that seemed to creep on her face. He always had a way of doing that to her, just as she did with him. She had a keeper. *************** At the front doors of Canterlot Castle, two ponies stood outside, wrapped in each other’s forelimbs as Celestia’s moon shone its pristine light on the city below. Cadance was first to break away to open the door. She slid inside, but held the door open and turned to face her coltfriend. “I had a great night, Shining.” “Fight the little hearts! Fight the little hearts! Fight the little hearts!” his mind screamed when Shining felt himself almost being lifted up in the air. “Me too,” he replied with a faux sense of cool. She could see right through it, but said nothing of it. Like he could sense she could see his act, he surprised her with a kiss through the doorframe. “Don’t let your eyes turn to hearts! Don’t let your eyes turn to hearts! Don’t let your eyes turn to hearts!” her own mind screamed at the wonderful surprise. Shining broke away quick enough to catch a glimpse of Cadance still reeling in from the kiss. He loved surprising her. It made him feel a little less silly when he was able to send her into a similar state she always managed to make him go into. It was a good night. They ate, saw their friend sing, had a good talk, and a few unexpected pecks here and there never hurt nopony. All that was left was to bid the mare of his dreams farewell… and make the walk through upper Canterlot just to get home. That one area. That one area so close to Cadance’s home used to be a place he could walk through without a problem. Now, whenever the time came for him to go, he dreaded what the ponies in that area would have in store for him. Would it be more stares? Whispers? Or another run in with a stallion he came so close to punching in the face, his wife, and the insults they’d throw his way. He did his best to ignore everything they threw his way. He could handle it. He went through the same thing with Spike before. This time, the negativity and ridicule wasn’t on someone else he could stand up for. It was on him. He could handle it. At least that’s what he told himself. Stardust’s promise to stay quiet about his run ins with the Canterlot elite floated up in Shining’s head. At the time, he just didn’t want Cadance to worry. That much was more than true, but Shining knew deep down that something else kept him from telling Cadance about it. He thought it stupid of him to think it, but after a few weeks of verbal abuse, who could blame him? What if, in a twisted and off chance way, they were right? About him not being good enough for Cadance. How she could land any colt or stallion she wanted. She was a princess of Equestria! Niece to Celestia! The Canterlot elite were not hesitant to make that point crystal clear. What if he told her everything that had happened and what they had said, and she began to think she could do better? No. She chose him. She still chose him. She even let him take her out of the familiarity of the castle and out into the city she lived in but barely explored. She laughed with him, made him feel like he brought so much joy to her, and wanted to be around him. The storm of conflicting thoughts raged in his mind for a while until another memory reared its head; one not to long ago, and from a certain musician. “Wait too long aaaand BOOM!” Gears started to turn and click. Stardust was either very universal with her advice, or she somehow managed to kill two birds with one stone. “That sneaky brilliant mare.” Coming back from Cloud 9, Cadance gave the young stallion in her doorway a brilliant smile as she began to retreat into the castle. “Goodnight, Shining Armor.” “Goodnight, Cadance, he replied as the door began to close. “Cadance, wait.” The door stopped its movement and Cadance came back out. She could see the small nervous signs on his face. “Something wrong, Shining?” How to word it right? How would she even react? Shining only hoped that what came out of his mouth didn’t scare her away. Clearing his mind, Shining took a breath before asking. “What would you do or say… if somepony, or some ponies, told you that you could do better?” He saw her eyes grow wide. “Or if they said we shouldn’t be together?” To call the following seconds silent would be the understatement of the century. Cadance stood with wider eyes than Shining ever saw, and he couldn’t help but feel terrible about making her act like that. He thought about telling her to forget about it and run as fast as he could back home, but he knew that he needed to stay. He needed an answer. After another moment or so, Cadance closed her eyes and took a shaky breath. She opened her eyes and laid them right on Shining, a slight tremble taking over the usual uplifting spark her eyes always held. She gave a heavy sigh. “Elitist are talking? Aren’t they?” Shining was taken aback and nearly lost balance at her question. “H-H-How did you—” “My Aunt Celestia warned me,” Cadance answered, drawing a well beyond confused expression from Shining Armor. She sighed again and dove in. “Even before I met you, she told me about the ponies in the city that would tear down anything they don’t like.” Her tone dropped slightly as she continued on. “Then she warned me about what they might say when you I started dating. She told me how they wouldn’t see two ponies that like each other, or how happy we could make each other. They’d see it as something they believe shouldn’t be.” Something that shouldn't be. Yeah, that sounded like something Jet Set and Upper Crust would say. Shining could hear those two and their little entourage mocking him with those exact words. He also saw the strain it took for Cadance to utter that sentence. “I didn’t think that would ever be something we’d have to deal with, but I’m guessing otherwise?” Shining took that as his cue to finally come clean. “Yeah. I bumped into a few of those ponies and they basically told me, well, that you could do better.” “Shining.” Cadance’s soft tone drew his gaze to a fresh, tender smile on her face. “You know what else my Aunt Celestia told me?” He shook his head slowly. “No, what?” “She told me that if we ever ran into that problem, that I should tell you what I think about what those ponies think.” “And what do you think?” “To put it bluntly, I think they can shove it up their flanks.” Both tried not to laugh as they covered their mouths with a hoof, only to have their laughter muffled for a few seconds before bursting out full blast. Shining could get used to Feisty Cadance. Once she calmed down, that warm smile came back, and she stared directly into Shining’s crystal blue eyes. “Shining, you have been nothing but kind, and amazing to me. You were the first pony to really take me out into the city. You’ve done so much for me, and I sometimes stay awake at night thinking of ways I could be just as good to you as you are to me. Everything those ponies say about you and us, they have no idea what they’re talking about.” All the insults, and the whispers, all the stares, the disapproving eyes, everything that came his way the last few weeks seemed to wash away. Shining could practically hear his facial muscles stretch as a large grin formed on his face. She did that to him. She made him smile. She had before, but this was one of the largest she’s seen so far. “Shining, I don’t care what those ponies say. As far as I’m concerned, I’ve got the best coltfriend a mare could ask for. You’re the pony I want to call my coltfriend, and I want you to be able call me you marefriend. Those other ponies are just—” Out of nowhere, Cadance felt a set up lips press up against her as she was taken in by a pair of forelimbs, Shinings. She closed her eyes and she melted into his embrace, wrapping her forelimbs around him as well. Right now, everything she had said, it was all Shining Armor needed to know she wasn’t thinking what he feared. It may have also proved he was thinking stupidly, but he didn’t care. Those elitists wouldn’t get to him. She was staying with him, and he wasn’t going to let her slip away. They could’ve stayed that way for who knew how long. Eventually, Shining broke it and stared right at Cadance with a beaming smile. “A bunch of flankholes who shouldn’t be talking?” Shining said, finishing off what Cadance was probably going to saw a few moments ago. “That’s one way of saying it,” she laughed. “Shining, I like you a lot. I’m not gonna let you go that easily.” “Neither am I,” Shining said before unraveling his forelimbs around Cadance. “So, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Cadance retreated back to the open door frame, making sure to put an extra sway in her hips as she walked. “Uh-Huh. Goodnight, Shining.” “Goodnight, Cadance.” The door closed, and Shining could’ve sworn his heart started dancing inside his chest. The only thing keeping him from losing all sense of cool and bolting down the streets, screaming his head off like he did after their first date was the little thought that draped over his mind. “One bird down, one more to go.” *************** Across the doorway, Cadance turned away from the door and exhaled a dreamy sigh. Everything was alright, and that was all that mattered. “Somepony’s looking happy.” Cadance whipped her head to see Blueblood smirking at her in the middle of the foyer. “Yeah. I am.” Blueblood smiled. It was all he could really do when he saw Cadance so happy. It let him know that Shining was treating her right, which might have explained the change in her eyes. “You’re seeing pink again, aren’t you,” Blueblood asked, already knowing the answer. “Yes,” she answered flatly. Blueblood sighed before trotting off towards one of the stairways of the castle. “I’ll go get Aunt Celestia.”