That night, Shining Armor had a very strange dream:
To Shining Armor’s dismay, Twilight had been unable to change him back to normal, and he was forced to return to the Crystal Empire as a little filly. To his surprise (and utter horror), Cadence was delighted with her husband’s sudden transformation; in fact, she almost seemed to prefer him that way.
To make matters worse, Dream Cadence said that she even knew the exact spell that could change Shining Armor back, but she decided that he should remain a filly, telling him that it would be more fun to have a daughter than a husband.
In a sudden flash of soft blue light, Shining Armor was sitting in their bedroom on a little stool in front of a large mirror on top of intricately carved wooden desk, with Cadence not too far away, rummaging through a drawer. The little “filly” gulped; he’d seen his wife sitting here enough times to know what it was that she had in store for him.
Just as Cadence was about to apply some form of makeup to her “daughter’s” little white cheek, a mysterious ringing sound began to fill the room. All at once, Cadence, and the bedroom evaporated in a puff of white smoke, which soon gave way to complete darkness, as the ringing became clearer, and louder.
“Rise and shine ya’ll,” Applejack called when she finally set down the little bell that she had been using to rouse the sleeping ponies.
“I DON’T WANT TO BE A PRETTY PRINCESS,” Shining Armor shouted, as he sat bolt upright in his sleeping bag, the remnants of the horrible dream still fresh in his mind. He rubbed his eyes, looked around, and noticed four sets of eyes that were all staring at him through the haze of Celestia’s early morning sunlight that was beginning to creep over the horizon.
“That’s alright, Gleamin’ Shield,” Apple Bloom said, sitting up in her sleeping bag, “you don’t have to be a, uh, pretty princess if you don’t wanna be.”
Shining Armor turned to Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, who were both doing nothing to hide their obvious grins, and uncontrollable giggles at the funny way their friend had woken up.
“Alright you four, up an at ‘em,” Applejack said, drawing the little ponies’ attention back to her, “you best get on up to the house and get ready for school now.”
Scootaloo looked up at the sky, which still held a few faint traces of distant stars in a sea of dark blue.
“But it isn’t even morning yet,” she complained with heavy yawn. “Can’t we at least sleep until sunrise?”
Applejack shook her head.
“Ah’m sorry sugarcube, but Big Macintosh and Ah have gotta move the cows to the East pasture before headin’ to the orchard, so we wouldn’t have enough time to wake you up later. Besides, you’ll need enough time to take care of your campin' stuff before you head back up to the house for baths and breakfast.”
"We can skip the baths, AJ," Apple Bloom groaned, hunkering back into her sleeping bag, “just give us a few more minutes to sleep.”
Applejack made her way through the group of sleepy ponies over to her little sister, grabbed the closed end of the sleeping bag, and yanked it upwards until the rosy-maned filly came tumbling out.
"You’re not skippin’ your baths, Apple Bloom; Ah ain’t sendin’ my little sister and her friends off to school smellin’ like Big Mac’s yoke on a hot summer’s day.”
Sweetie Belle brought a hoof up to her nose and gave it a little sniff.
“But we don’t smell...that bad,” she said, though her scrunched up nose gave away a hint of her dissatisfaction with what she smelled.
Shining Armor took a whiff of his own foreleg; sure enough the distinct odor of smoke from the previous night’s campfire had seeped into his coat.
“Maybe a bath wouldn’t be a bad idea,” he said, as he climbed out of his sleeping bag. “At the very least the water will help us wake up a bit.” Shining Armor began taking care of his things, trying to look as peppy as he could to encourage the Crusaders to do the same. Sure enough, within moments, three reluctant fillies were on their hooves, tidying up their campsite.
Once everything was picked up, they haphazardly tossed their stuff into a pile inside the clubhouse, then slowly made the trek back up the to the Apple family’s house.
…
“Hey, Gleaming Shield, would help me wash my back?” Scootaloo asked, passing Shining Armor a large, red washcloth.
The two little ponies sat together in a white, porcelain tub, filled with hot, bubbly water in the Apple’s upstairs bathroom. Normally Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo would take baths together, but with a new Crusader added to their group, there just wasn’t enough room for all four of them, so while Shining Armor, and Scootaloo were upstairs, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle were using the one in the downstairs bathroom.
Shining Armor took the washcloth, and started dunking it in the water until it was saturated with suds.
“Guess I’m just helping you out with one problem after another, huh,” he joked, as he began scrubbing Scootaloo’s coat.
The little pegasus quickly responded by flapping her soaking wet wings in Shining Armor’s face, splashing him with water.
“Hey, cut that out.”
“What? You deserved it,” Scootaloo giggled. All the same, she calmed her wings, allowing Shining Armor to continue washing her back.
“By the way, how did you sleep last night?” Shining Armor lowered his voice. “Any, you know, nightmares?”
Scootaloo shook her head.
“Nope, none at all,” she said rather proudly. “Well, no nightmares anyway; I did have a few weird dreams, but nothing too scary.” She turned her head, and flashed Shining Armor a smile. “Looks like that talk we had last night really helped.”
“I guess I’m just like a big broth - er, I mean sister - in that way.” Shining Armor’s scrubbing intensified when he realized that he almost slipped up again.
“Hey what are you trying to do, rip my feathers out?”
Shining Armor stopped scrubbing, and looked down at Scootaloo’s outstretched wings; some of the feathers had become slightly crumpled during his frenzied washing of the little filly’s back.
"Oh, uh, sorry about that. Let me just-" He leaned down, and lightly bit down on one of the messed up feathers, and tugged on it ever so gently until it straightened out. Luckily Scootaloo's feathers were small, and soft, so they were easy to preen, which boded well for Shining Armor; after all, he was a unicorn, and wasn’t exactly an expert on proper wing care.
When he was finished with the last feather, Shining Armor pulled away to make sure everything was straight.
“There,” he said, satisfied with his work, “that should do it.”
“Whoa,” Scootaloo said when she saw what Shining Armor had done. “Where’d you learn to preen like that?”
“I, uh, I’ve seen Twilight do it a few times.” This was partially true; while he had been staying with his sister, he had caught her absentmindedly caring for her wings a few times while she was pouring through her books. But that hadn’t been where he had gotten his experience from; after a long day of overseeing the empire, Cadence liked to curl up next to Shining Armor while he preened her wings for her. She never really needed his help, (nor did her wings necessarily need to be groomed), she just found the whole act very relaxing.
“Well, I’m glad I finally have a friend who can preen wings; whenever I need emergency wing care, I just can’t trust trust Apple Bloom or Sweetie Belle to know what they’re doing back there.”
At that moment, the door to the bathroom burst open, and Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle trotted in, their coats, manes, and tails all poofy after having dried off from their own bath, and each one carrying with them a fluffy white towel on their backs.
“What are you two doin’, just sittin’ around, relaxin’,” Apple Bloom said, "we gotta get goin'." She ran over to the tub, turned the knob to get the water going, then turned another one which switched the water from the faucet to the shower, rinsing off the two unsuspecting ponies with a rain of freezing cold water.
Shining Armor, and Scootaloo quickly jumped out of the tub, and grabbed the towels from their friends' backs, in a desperate attempt to warm themselves up after the surprise, cold water assault.
"Geez Apple Bloom, what was that for," Shining Armor said, once he had finished drying himself. "I thought we had plenty of time to get ready."
Apple Bloom shook her head.
"Not if we want breakfast."
"Oh yeah," Scootaloo said, her little wings buzzing with excitement, "I totally forgot about breakfast."
The little pegasus quickly finished toweling herself off, then dashed out of the bathroom, and down the stairs.
"What's so special about breakfast?" Shining Armor asked.
Apple Bloom just giggled as she began leading the way out of the bathroom.
"You'll see."
As the crusaders made their way into the kitchen, they found that Granny Smith had been up and about for hours, preparing enough food to feed a small army (which apparently was the equivalent of a family of four, hardworking farm ponies, a starving pegasus filly, and two miniature unicorns). First there were the staples (toast, oatmeal, and eggs), then further down there were cinnamon rolls, blueberry muffins, apple muffins, apple cinnamon scones, apple Danishes, apple pancakes, blueberry pancakes, and hashed browns. Finally, in the center of the breakfast feast, there was apple butter, apple jelly, maple syrup, and the Apple family's famous zap apple jam.
“Alright young’uns,” Granny Smith said, as the Crusaders sat down around the table “Time t’get some grub in ya.”
Shining Armor tried his hardest to put away as much of the delicious food as he could, but he hardly put a dent in the breakfast before he couldn't eat any more. Sweetie Belle was the next to surrender to fullness, leaving just Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo to tackle the rest with Granny Smith, Big Macintosh, and Applejack.
“Is that all ya’ll are gonna eat?” Granny asked when she saw the little unicorns slumped in their seats.
Shining Armor and Sweetie Belle just groaned, too full to answer.
“Heh, ya’ll will never grow up t’be big n’ strong like Applejack if’n ya don’ eat more. Isn’t that right, Applejack.”
“Now Granny,” Applejack said through a mouth full of muffin, “those two don’t have the same appetites us Apples do.”
Granny just looked at the little ponies, who were trying hard not to slide to the floor.
“Ah suppose.”
When breakfast was over, the Crusaders excused themselves from the table, and thanked Granny Smith for the food, before slowly trotting outside, where they strapped on their saddlebags, climbed into the wagon, and began the trip back into town.
…
"Ugh, I'm never eating again," Shining Armor groaned, as he sat in the back of the wagon, clutching his aching stomach.
Apple Bloom just chuckled.
“See, I told you; breakfast is a big deal around our house.”
By the time they had gotten to the schoolhouse, Shining Armor’s stomach had calmed down enough for him to be able to move around without too much of a struggle. Since it was still too early in the morning to head to the classroom, the Crusaders decided to play on the playground until the school bell rang.
It had been quite a few years since Shining Armor had set hoof on a playground; the last time he could remember being anywhere near swings, and slides, and monkey bars was back when Cadence was still foalsitting for Twilight. Cadence, Shining Armor thought, as he sat down on an empty swing between Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle, and began rocking back and forth, Cadence I miss you so much. While running around with the Cutie Mark Crusaders had done a good job of distracting him from worrying about his wife, just the memory of being with her, along with the dream he had had were enough to remind Shining Armor that the love of his life was miles away, suffering from some sort of flu. Some husband I am; my wife is sick, and alone, and I’m here doing…I don’t even know what to call this.
“Hey Gleaming Shield, are you feeling alright?”
Shining Armor looked up, and saw Sweetie Belle staring at him, a concerned look on her face.
“Oh, sorry. It’s nothing,” he lied, “just my stomach acting up.”
Sweetie Belle nodded her understanding, and went back to her swinging. Shining Armor decided to follow suit, figuring the exercise might help take his mind off of his worries. She’s fine, he assured himself, all she needs is a bit of bed rest and she’ll be as good as new.
As he swung, Shining Armor watched the parade of parents walk up to the school to drop off their foals. A few of the little ponies greeted him with smiles, and a warm ‘good morning,’ while a few others glared at him, and made sure to keep their distance as they walked by. Shining Armor wasn't entirely sure why they were acting so cold towards him, but he could only guess that word had gotten out about what had happened at lunch yesterday between Diamond Tiara and him. No doubt that's gonna come back and bite me in the flank somehow, he thought.
Shining Armor's attention was suddenly drawn away from the foals' scornful looks, when he heard the door to the schoolhouse open, and he looked up to see two familiar ponies stepping out. The first was a large stallion, whose slicked back mane, steely blue eyes, and expensive tie gave him an air of importance. While Shining Armor didn't know this stallion personally, he (as would anypony) instantly recognized him as Filthy Rich, owner of Rich's Barnyard Bargains, one of the most successful retail chains in Equestria. He certainly seems different than he does on his billboards, Shining Armor thought, when he saw the look of disappointment on Filthy Rich’s face in place of the bright, charming smile that he wore on all the ads for his stores.
Filthy Rich stopped just a few feet away from Shining Armor, and turned his gaze to the little pink filly who had been following, sullenly, behind him.
“Detention,” he said.
“Daddy, I-”
“I don’t want to hear it, Diamond Tiara. I heard enough from your teacher about what happened between you and that other filly yesterday. I’ve told you before that you have to do something about this attitude of yours; you know how much I hate having to come down here because you’re getting into disagreements with the other students over this or that. I thought we had agreed that you would try harder to get along with the other ponies.”
“But daddy, she used her magic to pick me up by the tail, and hang me upside down.”
“Only because you started picking on her first.” Filthy Rich shook his head. “I’m very disappointed in you, Diamond Tiara, and as much as I hate to say it, I’m afraid I have no choice but to ground you for two weeks. That means you will come straight home after school everyday and start working on your homework; no running off to the spa, no getting your hooves done, and especially no spending time with Silver Spoon outside of school.”
Diamond Tiara sat down, on the verge of tears.
“O-ok, d-d-daddy.”
Filthy Rich’s face softened, and he wrapped a hoof around the disheartened filly.
“Now Diamond Tiara, you know I still love you. I just wish you could make more of an effort to be nicer to other ponies.”
“I know, I j-just…”
Filthy Rich tightened his embrace around his daughter.
“Tell you what, if you can behave yourself for the rest of the week, and if you do well in school, then I’ll take you with me when I go to check on Barnyard Bargains’ Manehatten store this weekend. Deal?”
“Deal.”
Diamond Tiara wiped away her tears, and returned her father’s hug. “I love you daddy; and don’t worry, I promise I’ll do better.”
“I know you will, my little diamond,” Filthy Rich chuckled. “And I love you too. Now I have to get to work, but I’ll be around at four o’clock to pick you up after your detention.”
Filthy Rich got up and started walking down the lane, only stopping so that he could look back and wave goodbye to his daughter.
When her father was finally out of sight, Diamond Tiara trotted over to Shining Armor, who was still swinging, trying to pretend like he hadn’t been listening in on their conversation.
“I bet you’re feeling pretty happy with yourself,” she spat, “you get to waltz on home after school, and go on little adventures with your blank flank friends, while I sit alone in an empty classroom for an hour and a half of detention."
"Well, you do deserve it," Sweetie Belle said, as she stopped swinging.
"Deserve it? What I did to her wasn't nearly as bad as what she did to me."
"But you're the one who started it," Apple Bloom piped in.
"Yeah," Scootaloo added, as she trotted over from parking her scooter to join the conversation, "if you hadn't been such a bully to Gleaming Shield in the first place, then none of this would have happened."
Diamond Tiara's face went from pink to a deep red. She was just about to open her mouth to argue back, but she quickly held her tongue, and took a slow breath to calm herself.
"I don't have time for this foalishness," she said, turning to walk away.
“Diamond Tiara, wait,” Shining Armor called, as he jumped from the swing, and ran after the angry filly. “I just wanted to say-”
“You don’t have to say anything,” Diamond Tiara said without turning around. “In fact, I would prefer it if you just stayed away from me from now on.”
“But I-”
“No. Just shut up, and leave me alone.” She took another calming breath. “Now if you don’t mind, I’m going to go inside, and wait for Silver Spoon to get here.”
Shining Armor watched Diamond Tiara as she stomped away into the schoolhouse.
“What was that all about, Gleaming Shield?” Scootaloo asked when she, Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle caught up.
Shining Armor didn’t say anything, he just continued staring, dumbstruck, at the empty doorway.
“I just wanted to say I’m sorry,” he muttered to himself.
When he had stepped out of what would have been the first detention of his life, all Shining Armor could think about was how happy he was to be free, he hadn’t really thought about what would happen to Diamond Tiara. After what he had just witnessed, Shining Armor was beginning to feel a pang of guilt in the pit of his stomach. Sure Diamond Tiara was a bully, and had picked the fight with him, but he had retaliated, even if he hadn’t meant to. I really need to apologize to her, Shining Armor thought. Even if she won’t accept it, I have to let Diamond Tiara know that I’m sorry about using magic on her.
The sudden feeling of a tiny hoof on his shoulder brought Shining Armor out of his thoughts.
“You sure you’re alright there, Gleamin’ Shield?” Apple Bloom asked, an obvious look of concern written all over her face.
Before Shining Armor could answer, he was whipped in the face by something, long, soft, and silver. He looked up to see what it was that hit him, and saw Silver Spoon glaring at him through her blue-framed glasses, as she went to join her friend in the classroom.
“I don’t know, Apple Bloom,” Shining Armor said, “I guess I’ll have to see what today has in store for me.”
…
Riiiing.
“Alright class, that’s all for today,” Cheerilee said when the final bell rang. “Now go on and have a wonderful afternoon, and don’t forget, your Crystal Empire homework is due tomorrow.”
Shining Armor stretched as he climbed out of his seat and went with the Crusaders as they grabbed their saddlebags from their cubbies in the back of the room.
“Are you sure you want to do this, Gleamin’ Shield?” Apple Bloom asked, as she tightened the strap of her bag.
“I have to,” he said. "Don’t get me wrong, I think Diamond Tiara deserves the punishment she got, I just feel she should know that I’m sorry about what I did yesterday.”
During recess, Shining Armor had tried multiple times to just walk up to Diamond Tiara to apologize to her, but every time he got close to her, she would turn her nose to the air, and walk off with a loud ‘humph.’ That didn’t discourage Shining Armor, though; after talking things over with the Cutie Mark Crusaders (who were perplexed by the idea that Shining Armor wanted to apologize to Diamond Tiara), he had come to the conclusion that the only way he could get the ill-mannered filly to listen to what he had to say would be to stay after school, and talk to her in detention, when she couldn't run away from him.
"Well, good luck," Sweetie Belle said, as the trio made for the front door. "Just don't be surprised if she completely ignores you.”
"We'll wait for you outside, so don't take too long," Scootaloo said.
With a wave goodbye, the Cutie Mark Crusaders disappeared in the throng of students heading outside.
Shining Armor looked around; by now the rest of the students had filtered out through the front door, leaving himself, Cheerilee, and Diamond Tiara alone in the classroom. This is it, Shining Armor thought, as he took a deep breath, and approached the teacher’s desk.
“Excuse me, Miss Cheerilee,” he said, just loud enough so only she could hear him.
“Oh, hello Gleaming Shield,” Cheerilee said with a bright smile, “was there something you needed me for?”
“Not exactly.” Shining Armor looked around the desk to Diamond Tiara, who had her face hidden behind a copy of The Crystal Empire: Secrets of the Long Lost Civilization. “I was kind of hoping I could talk to Diamond Tiara.”
The smile faded from Cheerilee’s face.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea, Gleaming Shield; after what happened yesterday, I think it might be best if the two of you gave each other some space.”
Shining Armor nodded.
“I completely agree with you, Miss Cheerilee,” he said, “I was just feeling bad about yesterday, and I wanted to apologize to her.”
Cheerilee stared at Shining Armor, completely taken aback.
“Oh. Well if that’s the case, then I don’t see any harm in you two talking.” Cheerilee got up from her seat and walked around her desk to wear Diamond Tiara was sitting. “Diamond Tiara, could you look up from your book for a moment? Gleaming Shield has something that she wants to say to you.”
“Tell her to go away,” Diamond Tiara said from behind her book.
“Diamond Tiara, where are your manners?”
The little filly closed her book, and set it down, and stared at Shining Armor with a look of pure indifference.
“Well?”
“Diamond Tiara,” Shining Armor began, “I just wanted to tell you that I’m sorry for levitating you yesterday. My magic is very...unpredictable right now. I know that doesn't excuse my actions, but I hope you can forgive me."
Diamond Tiara just continued to stare silently down at Shining Armor from her seat.
"Well Diamond Tiara," Cheerilee said, giving the little filly an encouraging smile, "isn't there something you'd like to say to Gleaming Shield."
At first Shining Armor was sure Diamond Tiara was just going to snub him like she had that morning, but she didn’t.
“Fine,” she said, rather dully, “apology accepted.”
Shining Armor was speechless; Diamond Tiara had just done the last thing he had expected her to do.
"Isn't there something else you would like to say to Gleaming Shield?" Cheerilee asked.
Diamond Tiara looked from her teacher to Shining Armor, and forced herself to smile.
“I’m...sorry,” she said, the words staggering as they came out.
An awkward silence fell on the room as Shining Armor let the filly’s words sink in. He knew Diamond Tiara didn’t mean what she said; the smile, the apology, they were all for Cheerilee’s benefit. Still, Shining Armor knew he would never get any sincerity from her, and decided not to push the matter.
“Thank you, Diamond Tiara,” he said, bowing his head as a sign of gratitude.
Cheerilee smiled.
“I’m very proud of you two,” she said,” now that you’ve both taken responsibility for your actions yesterday, I hope you can put it behind you and try to act more civil towards one another for the rest of Gleaming Shield's visit."
Both ponies nodded their agreement.
“Good. Now why don’t you run along now and join the others, Gleaming Shield; I’m sure they’re waiting for you. As for you, Diamond Tiara, I expect you to use your time to work on your Crystal Empire home work. If you finish it before the end of your detention, then I shall let you go early. Alright?”
“Yes ma’am,” Diamond Tiara said, as she reopened her book and got back to her homework.
Shining Armor looked back at the little pink filly, as he walked towards the door, and for a split second their eyes met. In that brief moment, Shining Armor could have sworn he saw something hidden there; it wasn’t kindness, but a sort of look that he hadn’t seen in the short time that they had known each other, almost like she was secretly accepting his apology with sincerity. Hoping to see that he wasn’t mistaken, Shining Armor turned around again, but Diamond Tiara had shielded her face behind her book. Huh, maybe I was wrong, Shining Armor thought, as he turned, and trotted out the front door.
…
Out in the open air, with Celestia's warm sun beating down, Shining Armor found that he was feeling as if a tiny weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He knew it was stupid, but moral victories always had that effect on him. Even the little ones, which most ponies would consider trivial were enough to put him in a good mood, especially when he was feeling upset about something. There, now that I've got that behind me I can go back to enjoying my time in Ponyville without any major distractions, he thought, as he rounded the corner to find the Cutie Mark Crusaders waiting by the scooter which was parked over by the swing set.
Scootaloo was the first to notice Shining Armor as he approached.
"Oh hey Gleaming Shield," she said, "how'd it g-g-g..." Scootaloo's muzzle suddenly scrunched up, and before Shining Armor knew what was going on, she burst out in a fit of giggles, which quickly spread to Apple Bloom, and Sweetie Belle.
"What's so funny?" Shining Armor asked, cocking his head in confusion.
“It's nothin'," Apple Bloom said, "it's just that-"
"-your coltfriend came looking for you." Sweetie Belle playfully nudged Shining Armor in the side, before the trio broke out in another chorus of girly giggles.
Coltfriend? What are they... Wait they don't mean... They can't mean...Shining Armor's white coat turned a bright shade of pink as he felt his happiness slip away with a small shred of his already dwindling dignity.
"Snails...came looking for me?" he asked, his voice coming out as a hoarse whisper.
Apple Bloom nodded.
"He wanted to make sure you hadn't forgotten about your date on Thursday."
"At least we think that's what he was talking about," Sweetie Belle said. "He was talking pretty quietly, and he stuttered a lot, but we were able to make your name out, and the words 'Sugarcube Corner,' and 'Thursday.'"
"It wasn't hard for us to figure out that he was asking' you out on a date," Apple Bloom concluded.
Shining Armor shook his head, and sighed. So I did hear him right, he thought, great now I get to deal with this.
“Look,” he said, “Snails is not my coltfr-”
“Yoo-hoo, Sweetie Belle.”
The four ponies looked up when they heard the call, and found a familiar white unicorn mare, with a flowing purple mane and tail trotting up to them.
“Rarity,” Sweetie Belle exclaimed, as she ran up to her sister and gave her a great big hug. “What are you doing here? You usually only pick me up from school on Fridays.”
“Oh I know dear, but I was hoping you and your friends would be willing to help me with the order I’m working on.”
Sweetie Belle’s eyes lit up like stars.
“Really? What do you want us to do? Do you need us to sew, or cut out fabric, or maybe help you attach the gemstones to the dresses?”
Rarity gave her sister a polite smile.
“Oh nonononono, nothing like that, although I do admire your enthusiasm, Sweetie Belle. No, the dresses are done for the most part, I just need four ponies to model them for me for final approval. Since you told me about the new filly who had joined your little group, I figured I’d ask you four to-”
“We’ll do it!”
“Wait, what?" Shining Armor asked. “Sweetie Belle, I don’t wanna -”
Before Shining Armor could protest, Sweetie Belle shoved a forehoof in his mouth.
“We’d love to model for you.” She gave her sister a bright smile, before turning to Shining Armor and whispering, “Rarity never asks me to help her with her work; please just go along with it.”
Shining Armor looked from Sweetie Belle, then to Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, and sighed when he realized that there was no point in fighting it.
"There's no way I'm getting out of this, is there?"
"Nope." Sweetie Belle smiled sweetly, as she grabbed hold of each of her friends, and threw them into their places on the scooter.
"Come on girls, we've got a fashion show to put on."
…
Whatever dignity Shining Armor had had left after the Crusaders had referred to Snails as his ‘coltfriend’ had been completely stripped away as he stood there, completely made over from head to hoof:
As soon as they had walked through the doors of Carousel Boutique, the Crusaders were hurried in front of a small mirror while Rarity fit them into their dresses, each one covered in various sequins and ribbons, then did their manes and tails, and applied more makeup than Shining Armor had ever hoped to have on his face. Shining Armor insisted that the makeup wasn’t necessary, since Rarity just needed to see how the dress looked, but the fashionista pony just laughed like he had just told her the funniest joke in all of Equestria.
“Oh darling don’t be ridiculous,” she had said, “these dresses are for the daughters of an elite business pony from Manehatten. Why, if you four aren’t made up to look the part, then how would I know if they have just the right look for such important fillies?”
Shining Armor couldn’t come up with a good enough counter argument, so he just rolled his eyes, and begrudgingly sat in silence while Rarity applied blush to his already flushed cheeks. To make matters worse, when Rarity was finished, she complimented him on his “wonderful bone structure,” and told him that he would become a very lovely mare when he grew up.
When Rarity was finished dressing, and making up the Crusaders, she cast a spell, and a runway began to rise out of the floor in the center of the room. At the same time, a closet door opened somewhere behind them, and a set of deep blue, velvet curtains floated out, and attached themselves near the back of the runway, leaving just enough room for a few ponies to wait behind.
“Alright, now I want you four to go up there wait behind that curtain,” Rarity instructed. “Spike should be back shortly with our special guests.”
Shining Armor had felt his heart sink.
“Special guests?” he had asked. “You mean other ponies are going to see us?”
Again, Rarity laughed at Shining Armor.
“Of course; I need other ponies’ opinions on these dresses before I can send them out.”
This just keeps getting better and better, Shining Armor thought, as he followed Rarity up to the platform behind the runway.
While they waited, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle decided to take advantage of the free time to work on their Crystal Empire homework (which had been left untouched since the day before). Since Shining Armor had already finished his during his detention, he agreed to help the Crusaders with theirs, which the fillies greatly accepted.
As the minutes passed, Shining Armor became increasingly thankful that he had been given something to distract him from his light blue dress. Unfortunately that feeling of relief didn’t last long; just as the Crusaders were finishing up the fourth question on their homework assignment, the doors to the boutique opened. Shining Armor couldn’t see anypony through the thick curtain, but he could hear the distinct sound of hooves, the flutter of wings, and the chitchat of ponies as they began taking their places around the runway. Suddenly he remembered why he was there, and that whoever was on the other side of that curtain was going to see him wearing a dress. I mean, I know they’ll only see a filly in a dress, he thought, but… I… I can’t…
“I can’t do this,” he said out loud. “Sweetie Belle, help me out of this thing.”
“Wha- Hey, what are you doing?” Sweetie Belle asked, when she saw that Shining Armor was frantically trying to pull his dress off.
“I’m getting out of here; there’s no way I’m letting anypony see me dressed like this.”
Sweetie Belle placed her forehooves on Shining Armor’s shoulders and gave him a gentle shake to calm him down.
“But you said you’d do this for me.”
“I thought we were doing this for Rarity, not you,” Scootaloo mocked.
Sweetie Belle shot Scootaloo an annoyed glance.
“But I… I…” Shining Armor stuttered.
“Hey it’s alright if you’re nervous,” Apple Bloom said. “Just remember that we’re here with you.”
“That’s right,” Scootaloo said, “we’ve always got your back.”
Before Shining Armor knew it, three little fillies had their forelegs around his neck in a tight embrace.
“Are you girls ready,” came a voice from behind them.
The four little ponies looked up from their group hug, and saw Rarity trotting up to them, followed closely by a small purple and green dragon.
“Are you kidding,” Sweetie Belle said, letting go of her friends, to go over to her sister, “I was born readddwhoaaaa-” As Sweetie Belle approached her sister, one of her hind legs caught on the end of her dress, causing her to trip. Luckily Rarity was fast enough with her magic to catch her sister before the little filly hit the floor.
“Be careful, Sweetie Belle,” she scolded, “I can’t have you ruining those dresses before they’re finished. Why, the tiniest tear could mean that I would have to redo the entire dress.”
“Would not.”
“Would so.”
“Would not!”
“Would so!”
There was a low growling sound as the two sisters stared daggers at each other.
Spike, sensing the growing tension between the two sisters, quickly jumped between them.
“So, uh, hey, who is this anyway?” Spike said, changing the topic, and pointing a claw at Shining Armor.
Rarity and Sweetie Belle quit their bickering and turned to where Spike was pointing.
"Oh, that’s Gleaming Shield,” Sweetie Belle said, “she’s Twilight's little cousin visiting from Canterlot."
Spike gave Sweetie Belle a questioning look.
"Oh. Really? But I thought Shining Armor was visiting this week."
"He, uh, was," Shining Armor said, "but he was, um, called away to Canterlot on urgent business the day after he got here."
Spike cocked his head.
"But I just talked to Twilight yesterday, and she said that he was out exploring Ponyville."
"Oh, uh…she did? Well she has been awake for the past three days studying; maybe she just got confused."
There was a brief moment of silence while Spike mulled over this new information.
"I guess that makes sense," he finally said. “I keep telling her not to over do it, but she never listens to me. Especially when she’s working on something important."
Rarity looked up at the clock and gasped when she saw the time.
"Alright, places everypony," she said in a hurried voice. "Sweetie Belle, since I know you're the most eager to get out there, and since I know I won't hear the end of it if I don't, I'm allowing you to go first, followed by Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Gleaming Shield. Once the show starts, and Sweetie Belle has taken the runway, I want the rest of you to follow ten seconds after the pony in front of you. Once you are at the front, you will turn to the left, pose, turn to the right, pose again, and then walk right back here. Remember timing is everything.
“Now if there aren’t any questions, I must take my leave. Come along Spiky”.
Rarity took a deep breath, and without another word, turned, and walked back down the stairs, Spike following closely at her tail.
Moments later, the lights went out, and a loud, fast paced pop song started playing over the speakers.
"Fillies and, uh, fillies" boomed Spike’s voice from the other side of the curtain, "on behalf of the wonderfully talented, and beautiful Rarity, I would like to thank you for joining us this afternoon for our impromptu fashion show."
"Quick, line up girls," Sweetie Belle said, trying to get her friends into their places in almost total darkness, before taking her own spot in the front.
"Alright, here it is. The moment you've all been waiting for," came Spike's amplified voice again. “Now, it is our honor to present to you, the Cutie Mark Crusaders!"
Shining Armor heard Sweetie Belle giggle with delight as the curtains parted, and a spotlight flashed on, following the little filly as she strode down the runway.
Yup this is going to be soooo much fun, Shining Armor thought gloomily, as Apple Bloom got ready to follow after her friend.
“Hey, it’ll be ok,” Scootaloo said, as she walked up to the opening in the curtain, “just remember that we’re in this together. Plus it doesn’t look like there are that many ponies out there.”
Not gonna make me feel better, but thanks Scootaloo, he thought as Sweetie Belle returned, and Scootaloo walked onto the runway.
Shining Armor walked up to the edge of the curtain, and peered out to see what he was up against. As it turned out, there weren’t that many ponies out there. In fact he only counted four black shapes in the darkness. Four. Ok, that’s not so bad. I just need to walk out there, and walk back, and only four ponies will see me. I think I can live with that; I mean it’s not like it’s anypony I kn-
“Gleaming Shield, you missed your cue,” Sweetie Belle said in a panicked whisper, shaking Shining Armor from his thoughts.
Shining Armor looked up, and saw that Scootaloo had already reached the end of the runway, and Apple Bloom was almost all the way back. Alright, let’s do this. With a determined look, he took a deep breath, and stepped into the spotlight.
The moment Shining Armor stepped onto the runway, he knew that it had been a big mistake. A loud series of snorts and giggles echoed from somewhere in the room, causing Shining Armor to falter as he continued down the catwalk. He looked out into the darkness, but he couldn't make any pony out; all he could see was the vague outlines of four ponies sitting not to far away from where he was walking. Yet there was no mistaking that laugh; it was Pinkie Pie.
Wait a minute, he thought, as he struggled to walk down the runway, almost bumping into Scootaloo, special guests? Pinkie Pie? Uh oh. Shining Armor quickly scanned the four ponies that were seated around the runway again. Sure enough, Pinkie Pie's distinctly curly mane could just be made out in the darkness. Ok, so that one's Pinkie, and one of them is Rarity. Please tell me that the other two aren't who I think they are; I'm already starting to feel a bit emasculated here. But he kept on walking until there was nowhere else to walk. Just do a little pose, and then walk back; do a look little pose and then walk back; do a little pose and then...
Shining Armor's retreat was more of a gallop than a walk, as he tried to get away from the spotlight, and Pinkie's uncontrollable laughter, which echoed throughout the entire room.
“Great, that’s done,” he said, when he was finally safe behind the curtain, “now somepony get me outta this thing.”
Sweetie Belle giggled, as she ran over and undid the zipper on the back of Shining Armor’s dress. The moment the little metal tab reached its end, Shining Armor sprung out of the garment, and smiled, as he slumped on the floor, happy to finally be free.
"Get mine next," Scootaloo said, standing next to the two ponies so they could help her out. Despite the fact that Shining Armor had felt completely ridiculous in his dress, he couldn't help but feel sorry for Scootaloo; not only was her's the only one that needed to be laced up in the back, it didn't have any holes for her wings to poke through, so the whole time she was dressed, she had to endure the uncomfortable feeling of having her little appendages being tightly bound to her body. Shining Armor had to give the little filly credit though, since she never once showed just how unpleasant it was.
When the tedious task of unlacing Scootaloo's dress was finished, she stepped out, and sighed happily, as she stretched her wings, and gave them a few little flaps before folding them in again. "That's so much better."
“Quick, do mine, do mine,” Sweetie Belle said. Shining Armor returned the favor, and helped Sweetie Belle, who quickly slipped out of her dress, and checked her flank.
“Still blank” she sighed. “I guess my talent isn’t in being a world famous fashion model.”
A few minutes later, once the Crusaders had finished changing out of their dresses, the music stopped, and the lights came back on.
“You four were absolutely wonderful,” Rarity said, as she returned to the stage behind the curtain, followed (to Shining Armor’s dismay) by Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Spike.
“You looked wonderful,” Fluttershy said, giving the Crusaders a warm smile, “just like four little princesses.”
“Except for Gleaming Shield,” Pinkie Pie said, barely able to contain her giggles. “She looked - heehee - more like - haha - a queen.”
Shining Armor just rolled his eyes, as Pinkie fell on the floor, laughing.
“For the life of me, I can’t figure out why she keeps doing tha… WHAT DID YOU DO!” Rarity gasped, as she stared at her beautiful dresses, lying in four little heaps on the floor. “Sweetie Belle, how could you just leave those dresses on the floor like that? I thought I taught you to hang your clothes up neatly.” Rarity quickly picked up all four little dresses, carefully put each one on a hook, and then levitated them over to nearby coat rack where she hung them up.
Sweetie Belle frowned.
“We could have done that ourselves if you had just given us a couple of minutes.”
Rarity stared at her sister like she was going to be angry with her again, but instead took a deep breath, and smiled.
“You’re right, Sweetie Belle. I’m sorry. It’s just that I didn’t notice anything that really has to be fixed, and I need these dresses to be in perfect shape so I can ship them out first thing in the morning.”
Sweetie Belle returned her sister’s smile, and gave her a great big hug.
“So you got everything you needed, huh,” Rainbow Dash said, breaking up the sisters’ heartfelt moment, “does that mean I can go now?”
Rarity looked up at her friend, who was hovering lazily in place with a bored look on her face.
“I suppose so,” she said, “I just needed the three of you here for your opinions, and judging from everypony’s reactions they’re perfect. Although it is hard to tell what Pinkie Pie thinks through all of her laughter.”
“I - heeheehee - love them.”
“Alright then, we’re out of here,” Rainbow Dash said, scooping up the still giggling Pinkie Pie in her hooves, and carrying her out of the boutique.
“I should be going too,” Fluttershy said, “it’s getting late, and I have to start making dinner for my animal friends.”
Fluttershy congratulated each of the little ponies again on a job well done, then followed her friends out the door.
“I suppose you four should be on your way as well,” Rarity said, as she led the Crusaders down from the runway, and started putting the staging away.
Shining Armor looked out the window at the setting sun.
“I’m sure Twilight will begin to worry if I’m not home soon,” he said.
“Awww, do you have to go?” Sweetie Belle asked.
“Yeah,” Apple Bloom said, “Ah thought you were gonna finish helpin’ us with our homework.”
“But I…” Shining Armor’s words trailed off as three little faces stared at him with big puppydog eyes. “But-”
“Please, Gleaming Shield,” Scootaloo pleaded, “we’ll never be able to figure this all out on our own.”
“Fine,” he said, finally giving in, “but let’s go to Twilight’s; it’ll probably be a lot easier to study there.”
The three Crusaders cheered, as they ran to the corner where they kept their bags, repacked their homework sheets, and chased Shining Armor out the door.
“Thank you for letting us help you, Rarity,” Sweetie Bell called back to her sister.
Rarity just smiled and waved.
“I guess I’ll be going home too,” Shining Armor heard Spike say.
“Oh no you don’t,” Rarity said, “I still need you to help me with a few minor things before…” Rarity’s voice trailed off as the door to the boutique shut behind the Crusaders.
“Alright,” Scootaloo said, when everypony was loaded up in the wagon, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but let’s hurry and get to the library.” And they were off, hurtling down the street in the direction of Golden Oak Library.
…
Shining Armor opened the door to his temporary residence, and walked right in, followed closely by the Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo. To his surprise, the front room of the library was completely empty; ever since his unfortunate accident, Twilight had been there, sitting at the table with her face inches away from a book. Maybe she went out, Shining Armor thought, as he led the Crusaders through the library.
“Twilight,” he called. “Twilight are you here?”
There was the sudden sound of breaking glass, followed by the scrambling of hooves that came from upstairs. Within seconds, Twilight had descended the stairs, a look of surprise, mixed with utter terror plastered on her face.
“What are you doing here?” She asked, trying to sound as calm as possible, not wanting to seem too panicked in front of the fillies.
“I’m staying here, remember?”
“Yes, I know that, but don’t you have, you know, crusading to do?”
“Well we were helping my sister with her work,” Sweetie Belle said, “but it was getting late, and we still had homework to do, so Gleaming Shield said we could come here so she could help us finish it.”
“I hope that’s alright, Twily. Twily? Hey, what’s going on?”
Twilight began shuffling her hooves nervously.
“Oh, it’s nothing, just-”
She stopped when the distinct sound of hooves began making their way towards the stairs.
“Twilight, is there somepony else here?” Shining Armor asked.
She gulped, and nodded.
“Who was up there wi-”
“Who’s at the door, Twilight?” A voice called down.
Shining Armor felt a sudden tightening in his stomach. He recognized that voice.
Twilight gave Shining Armor a look that said “Please don’t be mad,” but her big brother was too busy worrying about the clopping of hooves that were now slowly making their way down the stairs.
“Oh hello there,” Twilight’s guest said, when she saw that they had visitors.
The Crusaders all stared, wide-eyed, and slack-jawed, surprised at who was standing before them. All the Crusaders except for Shining Armor, whose hind legs buckled, sending him into a sitting position, as he found himself face to face with Princess Cadence.