“Weekend at Twilight’s”
By TwilightSparkle3562
As glad as she was for spending time with the one pony that made her life worthwhile, Princess Cadence was glad to be returning home to the Crystal Empire and being around her husband and subjects once again. True, they didn’t get to spend the quality time that they wanted, but Cadence enjoyed it nonetheless. It was like she said to Twilight that life in the Crystal Empire had indeed become predictable and she was looking forward to nice change of pace in her everyday life. As the royal train arrived back at the Crystal Empire, Cadence walked off and trotted into the hooves of Shining Armor who was waiting for her.
“Glad to see you again, Cadence,” he said, hugging his wife. “How was your time at Twily’s?”
“I had a great time, Shining Armor,” she replied. “You’d be surprised at what we did together.”
So, they started back towards the kingdom and Shining Armor could see that maybe Cadence was a little too excited to tell him what really happened at Twilight’s. To him, he thought that Cadence and Twilight were only going to spend time at the Starswirled the Bearded exhbit.
“Cadence,” said Shining Armor suspiciously as they arrived at Cadence’s favorite spa. “It seems that you must have had a really great time at Twily’s and it just wasn’t that Starswirled the Bearded exhibit, wasn’t it?”
“What do you mean?” asked Cadence as she stepped into the Crystal Mud Bath. “We did spend time there, but we had a third guest join us.”
Now, Shining Armor was growing even more suspicious by the second. Ever since the Changeling Invasion, he had made it his mission to protect Princess Cadence at all costs. So the thought of a third guest began to cross his mind.
“Who was this ‘third guest’”? he asked, trying to hide his suspicions so as to not spoil Cadence’s mood. “Was it one of her friends?”
“Actually,” replied Cadence. “It was Discord.”
“Are you referring to that dopey looking master of chaos?” gasped Shining Armor, slightly shocked. “Princess Celestia had always told me that he was trouble. If he did anything to you, I’ll---.”
“He’s changed, Shining Armor,” cried Cadence, trying to defend Discord. “He actually gave Twilight and me a chance to have some excitement.”
Shining Armor quickly calmed down and tried to make sense of what Cadence was talking about. During his tenure as Captain of the Royal Guard, he always saw Discord’s statue in the royal Canterlot gardens and remembered how Princess Celestia had always told him about how he ruled over Equestria by turning it into his own personal playground. But, now hearing that Discord giving his wife a chance for excitement was a little questionable in his mind.
“What do you mean by giving you a little excitement?” asked Shining Armor, confusingly.
“He tried to fake being sick so that he could test Twilight’s friendship with him,” explained Cadence. “So he had us fly to the edge of Equestria to retrieve a flower that was supposed to make him better. In the end, we ended up facing a tatzelwurm and he revealed to Twilight that she would go to the ends of Equestria for him.”
Shining Armor was very surprised at this and as he joined his wife in the Crystal Mud bath, he still was totally not convinced of Discord’s intentions.
“Of course, Twilight thought that Discord would put a damper on your visit,” said Shining Armor, stepping into the mud bath. “But, I guess that did not happen.”
“Actually, Shining Armor,” replied Cadence. “Ever since we became rulers of the Crystal Empire, life for us has become predictable and I wanted to kind of break the mold if you will. I know you have your excitement training ponies for the Equestria games, but I never get to do anything exciting, and its kind of not fair.”
“I know how you feel, Cadence,” sighed Shining Armor. “I guess we all need to loosen up sometimes and ever since Queen Chrysalis nearly ruined our wedding, I have always wanted to protect you at all times and I guess that is starting to get on us a little bit.”
The two rulers then looked at each other for a moment, knowing that by Cadence going to Ponyville and getting in on this adventure that she was in, it was a chance for her to prove to Shining Armor that she didn’t need to be protected at all costs. After all, Cadence and Twilight never really had a chance to go on an adventure together and after all that Cadence had been through, it seemed that Discord interfering with their visit was a chance for Cadence to show just that.
“So, I guess you have managed to prove yourself to me that I don’t need to protect,” said Shining Armor. “But, as long as you enjoyed your time with Twily, that makes me happy.”
“Can we invite Discord to the games when they start, Shining Armor?” teased Cadence and Shining Armor’s eyes widened upon hearing that. In his mind, it was bad enough to have Chrysalis ruin their wedding and that he wanted the Equestria Games to go off without a hitch.
“I’m teasing, Shining Armor,” she chuckled to herself. “Although if he does appear, I’m sure you will enjoy meeting him.”
Shining Armor looked down embarrassingly and upon hearing that he could possibly meet Discord at the games if he made an appearance, he could see what Cadence was talking about.
“If he is what you say he is,” chuckled Shining Armor embarrassingly. “Then I suppose if you enjoyed his company, then I suppose that I will too.”
The two lovers and rulers then shared a chuckle with each other as Shining Armor now realized that the time with Discord had given Cadence a chance to break the mold of her life as ruler of the Crystal Empire and recharge her outlook on life.
Of course, Shining Armor could not help wondering if Discord was who what Cadence say he truly was. But, that’s for another story.