//------------------------------// // Part 4: The Rendezvous // Story: Something You'd Regret // by Flutterpriest //------------------------------// You stare at the exit of the lounge, then look down to your crutches. "Well, now I gotta figure this shit out," you mutter to yourself. Carefully, you hobble your way to the door of the lounge with the help of your crutches. Your eyes look down to the doorknob which impedes your path. "Great." Leaning on your left crutch, you use your right hand to turn the knob and open the door. Once you pull it open a little bit and it opens directly into your body. Great job, genius. You've been outsmarted by a stupid door. Why do these have to be so hard to open? Letting go of the door, you move out of the way of the door's path. Leaning on your right crutch, you turn the knob with your left hand and push the door open with some extra force. Regaining your grip on the crutch, you step into the doorway's path and it closes gently on your back. Inching your way out of the doorway, you finally make it into the hall. Congratulations, Anon. You learned how to open a door. Now you can prove your marefriend's innocence. Now then, where would Shining Armor leave anything incriminating? Looking to the left and to the right, you try to decide on a direction to go. How would you know where Shining would have something stashed away? You could check the bedroom, but why would Shining hide something in plain sight? Sure, it may be one of the least suspected places, but it was also the most daring. You could try to figure out where in the stadium could be a secret-hideaway for a passionate moment... but that could be anywhere. There has to be something concrete, that you could show the Princess, and not just hearsay. You could try and interview some of the guards to see if any of them did something with Shining... However, there's no guarantee any of them would tell the truth. Except... That one guard, when you entered the bedroom. He told you not to do something you'd regret. That guard might know something. It was like he knew what was about to happen. You have to find him. He may be your best shot at getting some definite answers. Turning to the left, you make your way down the hall. The first step would be finding a guard. If you can find a guard, then maybe you can find the guard's HQ room is, figure out the name of the stallion that was on duty and find a way to find him. Until then, you just have to be sure to keep everything as quiet as possible. Not a single other pony can know. You hobble down the corridor in silence, your mind clustered with many questions at once. Twilight isn't usually one to herself involved with drama. Normally that was Rarity's job. You could understand her wanting to be a supporting sister in a time like this... but going explicitly to prove you wrong? That's just... unlike her. She normally always seemed to be on your side. Going out to lunch together... Hanging out just to hang out... Having serious intellectual discussions... Twilight is never one to act on gut instinct and not fact. So what made her feel differently this time? What's got her so wrapped up in all of this? Shaking your head, you push your mind to something else. You can't afford to think about non-relevant things at the moment. The sooner you figure out the truth, the sooner everything gets resolved. Then... then what happens? All of your things are in Ponyville. Would you stay in Ponyville for awhile? How would dating a Princess work? It would probably be way too soon to move into the Crystal Castle, but damn would it be nice. The idea of all that nice food made your mouth water. You probably wouldn't ever have to work again. Plus, you would be able to sleep directly beside her every night. The idea hangs in your mind for a moment as your pace slows. How long had it been since you've been out of the hospital. It felt like an hour, maybe two. There wasn't a way to be completely sure without a clock. You shoulda checked before you left that lounge. Cadance said to meet back at the room in two hours. There might not be enough time to search too hard, especially in the shape you are in. Pausing in the middle of the hallway, you hear the crowd cheer outside and sigh. If you don't have much time, then you might as well head back now. Who knows how long it could take you to get back to your room on this leg. How in the world are you going to be able to do any research without having the ability to even walk normally? How could you defend yourself if Shining ambushes you if you can't even open a door? You are so boned. Turning in place, you begin to lumber your way back towards the room. Which was in the opposite direction that you were walking. Great. Just the icing on the- "Anon!" calls out a happy, familiar tone. Stopping to look over your shoulder, the Princess of Love trots towards you. "I was just heading to the room to meet you," she says with a smile. "Yeah, I was just making my way there too. How'd the games stuff go?" you asked. "Oh, boring things. Turns out I only needed to stand around as Celestia and Luna did most of the work. I swear, that's the worst part of being the third wheel. I'm happy Twilight became a princess too. Now maybe her and I can be tasked to some bigger tasks," she answers. You look at her with a smile as the two of you turn toward the resting room where it all began. "You think that running a country is a smaller task?" you ask. Cadance chuckles and shakes her head. "Ever since Sombra left, the country basically runs itself. A few signatures there, an odd decree or judgment call there and the crystal ponies barely need my help. It's almost like they just need somepony there to pat them on the back and tell them good job. Like, heroes. I'm able to be their heroine," she answers. "That's a rather elegant way of putting it," you reply. "Had you thought about that before?" "I think I copied that from a book I read," she answers with a smile. "And then I put it into a letter to Celestia after things got settled in the Crystal Empire. So, by now it's ingrained into my brain whether I like it or not, like a catchy song." You chuckle and shake your head. "You know, you could have totally claimed that it was your own and I would have been impressed. Now I'm just going to give you a hard time and ask if what you said was taken from a book," you tease. The Princess's face scrunches then her gaze turns to you. "Not everything nice I say is from a book," she persists. "Which one was that from?" you ask, trying to keep a straight face. "You should be happy it's not nice to hurt someone on crutches," she retorts. The two of you walk by each other side by side and with bright cheerful faces as you make your way to your destination. You turn to look at her, wondering if this is what it'll be like... when it's all over. Her streaked, flawless hair bounces gently with each of her strides and her smile perfectly lines her face. She turns to you, slightly blushing. "What's up?" she asks gently. "Nothin. Just thinkin," you reply. "About what?" she asks. "I just think... it's a little funny. We've spent such little time together and we just... fit," you answer. Cadance chuckles and returns her gaze to the path in front of her. "Maybe it's a sign," she coos. You return your gaze to the path in front of you, smiling. "Yeah, I guess you're right," you answer. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one that..." Cadance shook her head gently. "Not at all. It's a little weird for me too, but I like it," she replies. "Me too," you answer. Cadance turns down the same path that the guards took you down to send you to her chambers. It was hard to believe it was only a matter of hours ago. "So, uh. How are we going to talk to Celestia about this?" you ask. Cadance looks back to you with curiosity. "We?" she asks. You look back at her, your brow furrowing. "Well, you know. I figured it would be better if we told her together," you said. "I mean, if I wasn't there, what would it make me look like?" Cadance looked forward and quietly thought to herself. "I hadn't really considered that before..." she answered quietly. Was Cadance adamant about doing this alone? If so, why? Here the two of you were, talking about how the two of you just seem to work and then she tries to distance herself the next second. What was she thinking? "Is that a problem?" you ask curiously. She stops and turns to you, looking up and down the hallway the two of you stood in. You halt as well and turn to her, expecting an answer. "Listen, Anon. We're in tricky territory right now... the more we're seen together, the more questions could be raised," she answered. "But, I mean, we're going to get this resolved as quickly as possible, right?" you replied. "If we get it out in the open, why does it matter? I mean, not the citizens, but Celestia and the other Princesses. They are going to find out anyway, so why not be forward with them?" Cadance sighed and shook her head. "I guess you're kinda right... but I'm still worried about the ponies of the empire finding out. Plus..." she trails off, looking away from you. You study her troubled expression as she turns back to look into your eyes. "I have no idea how to tell Twilight... if Shining hasn't already told her some sort of lie. I'm worried I might lose one of my closest friends," she sighs. Biting your lip, you remember the way Twilight was accusing Cadance of betraying her brother. That time might have already passed... Unless you can reveal the truth, that is. Cadance looks back at you, her usually calm expression painted with concern. Moving a hand from a crutch, you rest a hand on her cheek. A smile gently forms on her face as she presses into your caress. "It's all going to work out. I promise," you coo. "I'm going to do everything I can to get this set straight." She nods and the confidence returns to her eyes. "We are going to go everything we can," she replies. "Together," you add. Pulling your hand back for your crutch, you lean up straight and turn back to the room with your forbidden marefriend. "So wait, why are we going back to the room, then?" you ask. Cadance sighs and her positivity drains. "To get what will make our talk to Celestia really easy..." she answered. You look to her with equal parts concern and curiosity. "What is that?" "It's something that I found... I don't think he knows I found it yet. I didn't want to move it or he would know that I found it," she replied. “It proves that... he was with somepony else.” "Oh... I see," you replied. A part of you wanted to drill for what the evidence was, but you could see how much it hurt for her to talk about. Maybe it would be better to not press for details. Plus, you will probably see it soon, once she recovers it. "So, what will we tell Celestia?" you ask. Cadance shakes her head slowly. "I'm... really not sure yet. I think the fact that we're... well, this, doesn't seem to be something we should parade. I figure we should stick to the facts and keep it short. I'll tell her everything that I know and give her my evidence... then see what happens from there," she says. "I think that sounds like the best we can do," you mention. "I can say that once you shared all of the information with me, that I encouraged you to share all of this with her." Cadance nods in reply. "However, she's going to ask a question about that," you add, "and I think you know what it is." She turns to you with a miserable, questioning gaze. You can tell it's really stressing her to go through this. "She's going to want to know why you didn't go to her sooner," you conclude. Cadance looks to the floor and sighs. "Yeah," she replies sullenly. So, why didn't she? Come on Cadance, answer the question. It had to be more than that she had a crush on you. Why now, at one of the heights of the Equestrian year, with so many spectators and possible eavesdroppers in close vicinity? "She won't like my answer..." she answers. Your gaze remains transfixed on her, as she looks to you, nearly pleading not to say it out loud. "You'll have to tell her the truth," you add. Cadance nods and sighs. "I know. I know," the princess concludes. As the two of you approach the private quarters, some of the nervousness begins to settle in again. Twilight was excited to introduce you to the ruler of Equestria earlier today and that didn't seem so daunting. Now the circumstances have changed and now you worry about coming off as the brutish ape that you used to be mistaken for. The same image that Shining is going to try and pass you off as to bolster his lies. "Alright. Let's just grab our things and get to Celestia. The sooner that we can talk to her, the sooner this can all get sorted out," you say, more for yourself rather than your marefriend. Cadance nods and the handle glows with a gentle, light blue light. The door pulls itself open with a loud creak. Alright, Twilight. Stick to the plan. The first thing she should do is meet up with her brother like she promised. Shining let you go hear Anon's side, like she asked... but things don't seem to be adding up. Anon wouldn't lie... but neither would her brother, right? Then why do the stories seem... different. The only thing she could do was go and ask her brother to clear things up. Plus, she needed to stop and do some research on this 'compatibility spell', and if it really did exist. At a brisk trot, she moved towards his and Cadance's quarters. Shining had mentioned he wanted help getting some of his things out of that room, so her best shot was there. He wasn't sure where he was going to put them yet, but as long as they weren't there. Thoughts of Anon swirled through her head as she made her way to her destination. What irked her the most about Anon's story... was how it began to make a few of the pieces line up. She could still remember when she first introduced Anon to Cadance. To him, it was just supposed to be a simple lunch to have a friend get to know another friend. But, not to her. Cadance was going to try and help her try to discover a way to win his heart. Yet, after she introduced him to her, Cadance seemed to be at a total blank for ideas. After that, her average time in between letters increased by two whole days. Two. Whole. Days. So, in a way, what he is saying makes sense... but, something still doesn't seem right. One of the two of them would come to her if there was a problem in their marriage. They would have to! It would just make sense. You're their sister in law! Twilight groaned and stared at the floor as she made her way to her destination. Either way, she needed to find some answers. The best place to start would be with herbrother. She didn't press him too hard because he was so upset when he came to her. Most of what he said was a jumble of words anyway. Now, she needed to get a clear story from him and try to piece together the facts. However, how would he react? Would he feel betrayed that she didn't trust his words at face value? She sighed as she made the final turn into the VIP living quarters. To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure who was telling the truth. Everypony just wanted her to be on their side. How could she choose a side when she don't know all the facts? All of these important ponies in her life are at each others' throats and she couldn't even have the solace of her crush or her best friend to comfort her. At least, when things get tough, family is always there for you. Right? "I suppose I'll find out," she whispered. Twilight approached the doors to the private room and turned the handle. Twilight pushed her way inside and instantly spotted Shining levitating fancy clothes across the room and shoving it into a large ornate trunk. "Hey, Shining," she called to her brother as she closed the door behind her. "Hey, Twiley," he replied sternly, keeping his focus on his task at hand. She placed one hoof in front of the other as she watched him furiously toss item after item into the chest. What could she even say to him? She'd never seen him this angry before. How could she possibly relate? Sure, she may have lost herr crush... but losing your spouse? The one pony that he was closest to in all of Equestria? "How... are you holding up?" she asked. He remained silent as he stopped to survey the room. Shining set his furious gaze onto Twilight. "I don't even know what to think at the moment. This has all been happening too fast for me to comprehend," he said quietly. Twilight took a few steps closer to him and took a glance towards the trunk. "Just some clothes from the palace?" she asked, trying to tip-toe gently into asking him to reiterate his story one more time. "Yeah. Just some of the essentials. My guard uniform is in the guard's quarters. I'm going to probably stay there tonight," he said, returning his attention to his work. "How can I help?" "I, uhm. I don't know. Just talk. I guess," he groaned, grabbing another set of clothes and pushing the dresses to the other side of the massive closet with more force than necessary. Twilight looked to the floor as she tried to think of something to say. Maybe the best thing to do right now would be to keep him distracted. "Have you written to Mom and Dad lately?" she asked. "No, I haven't," he said bluntly. "How are they?" She looked back up to him, grateful he didn't sound like he was dying a slow and torturous death. "They have been concerned you hadn't written lately. They were going to come out and see my in the next few weeks. Maybe you would want to join us for a weekend?" she asked cautiously. He looked down to the bottom of the closet and tossed a box into the trunk with his pink magical aura. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Any chance to get away would be great," he answered, moving over to the bed and sitting on it. “I might even go stay with them for awhile.” He placed a hoof on the back of his neck and rubs it, staring at the floor. Moving to her brother, she sat on the bed beside him. "You could probably talk to them about anything that's on your mind... or me," she said. "If you wanna talk about it... at least in more detail than last time." He sighed and buried his face into his hooves. Twilight looked up to the walls of the room and spotted a massive bend and small hole that was in the wall of the room. It roughly resembled the shape of the human. Looking back down to Shining, she wondered how Anon could have withstood an assault like that. "I just don't know where it started to go wrong..." he began, his tone filled with grief. "I mean... maybe we haven't had the easiest marriage... but we had each other..." She scooted closer to him and placed a hoof on his back. "How were things hard?" she asked. Shining shook his head. "You already know. I mean, on our wedding day she was kidnapped and I didn't even know until you saved her. From then, I devoted myself to ensure I kept her safe. Things seemed to be wonderful, even when we had to cancel the honeymoon to protect the Crystal Empire. At least that time I was able to be there to protect and support her. After that... I don't know. I was bored just being a prince, so I took a leading guard position. We got caught up in all of our day to day tasks that we never rescheduled a honeymoon." Twilight nodded along to his story as he searched between the tiles on the floor for a hidden answer to his problem. "Then... I don't know what happened. I had to pick up some extra time with the guard to train new recruits. She said she was fine with it... but she began to become more distant. I wasn't sure what it was. I began to try to do nice things for her, just to be sweet. It just seemed like she wasn't enthusiastic about anything. I couldn't get her to open up or talk to me. She just maintained that everything was alright..." Shining looked down at his hooves and ran one through his hair. "I even thought... maybe I would man up and offer something that I knew she wanted, but I wasn't ready yet for... a foal. I mean, I was worried we wouldn't have enough time, but it it would have made her happy..." "Shining-" Twilight began. "Yeah. I know it was stupid to think that a foal could have saved things, but I was desperate. I couldn't think of anything else," he sighed. He turned and looked at the bed the two of them were sitting on. "Then I walk in here... and here she is... with him. It boils my blood just to think about it," he whispered. Twilight's heart ached and muscles hurt to see her brother hurt this way. The one pony that she always looked up to and admired, her BBFFF, destroyed in a matter of hours; Internalizing his pain from the rest of the world so that nopony had to worry about him. "I just wonder... if there was something I could have done differently in the beginning..." he quietly mumbled. "Shining. I don't think it's a good thing for you to be in here," she said. All he is going to do in this room is beat himself up and hurt even more. The best thing to do would be to get him out and try to get the rest of the story after that. Shining looked across the room, starting from the bed and tracing the invisible path to the broken drywall. "I suppose you are right..." he sighed. "I'll just get even more miserable to be around." "Now don't talk like that," she said with a smile and your best cheerful tone. "I want to be here for you. That's what little sisters are for." Shining turned to you and faintly smiled. Maybe the years of being around Pinkie are beginning to pay off. "You're right. Thanks, Twiley,” he answered, life returning to his voice. Leaping off the bed, Twilight trotted over to Shining's chest of things with her best smile. "Is there anything else you need to grab? Until all of this is over, you can stay in my room," she replied. Shining weakly rose to his hooves and looked around the room. "I... think that should be everything. I can't think of anything else..." he said. Twilight approached his open chest and channel power into your horn to begin to levitate his things. "Good. That way you won't have to come back to here and see the painful memory. Now let's-" But before Twilight could finish, she paused. The final item that Shining tossed into his chest laid open and scattered across his crumpled clothes. A box, with it's lid tossed aside and carrying several developed pictures, sits on top in a mess. "Get out of here..." she finished, her curiosity rising. Taking a few of the pictures, she tossed them back into the box one by one. Quickly, she glanced at each photo as she returned them to their container. A picture of her and Shining. A family portrait. A training exercise with a younger him and his fellow new recruits. A smile curled on your face, viewing the photos that Shining valued the most. Until you find a wedding picture of him and Cadance. That one was placed in it's home facing down. "Alright, let's go then," he said, turning to focus his attention on twilight. Grabbing the last photo, she stopped to take a quick glance. When she sawthe picture, her blood ran cold. "Twilight?" he questioned. “What's wrong?” "What is this?" she asked quietly. "And who is the mare in this photo?" He stared back at her, standing up straight. She held the picture up to him, showing him in his guard uniform, while another mare with ice blue eyes, a scarlet mane, and fur as white as snow, laughed together at a bar as she wore his helmet. There was no mistaking that the photo was recent. Plus, she wore crystal armor that every guard in the castle used. "I promise, I can explain," he said quietly. Twilight looked at photo again and flipped it to the other side, unable to process what she just found. "A night I'll never forget," she read aloud. "Signed by a 'Melody.' Who is Melody, Shining?" "Twilight, I promise I can explain, let's just get out of this room-” "No, I think I want you to tell me now," she said, her blood heating up. How could this possibly be different than it looks? Is it just a close friend? Anon's story is beginning to all add up. "Twilight, please. I'll tell you. I just don't want-" How dare her brother not tell her the full truth?! If there was one thing that she was getting tired of, it was all of the secrets and lies. However, that meant the only person who hasn't lied to her yet is- The doorknob rattled as the two of them turn to the entrance to the room. Quickly, Twilight hid the picture in the ruffles of her wing feathers. The door opened slowly... to reveal Anonymous and Cadance, entering together. The two paused as they stepped inside and exchanged stares at between Twilight and her brother. The room went deathly silent as she turned to her brother. His frame tensed up and a fire burned in his eyes. Shining's body began to tremble, but not in anger. It was as if he were struggling to simply remain calm. Twilight's gaze turned to Anon, who took a few steps back the instant he saw Shining. Cadance quickly stepped in front of her crush, to block him out of her husband's direct path. Goosebumps formed on the back of Twilight's neck as she walked slowly to her brother. 'This is bad. Very, very bad,' Twilight thought. She had to try and diffuse this situation before it escalated. Last time, Anon was injured. Nopony else should make a mistake they can't reverse today. Certainly not while she was in the room. "We were just making our way out. Weren't we, Shining," she said to him with a leading tone, getting directly in between him and the hateful glare of his wife. Shining looks from her, back to them, then returns to Twilight. "Yeah. We're getting out of here," he muttered. His horn lits up in pink energy and the trunk slammed shut as it slowly lifted into the air. He walked towards the door firmly. His eyes only focused on exiting the room, rather than the two sets of eyes that glared him down. Cadance and Anon stepped inside the room, towards the broken wall, to get out of his way. Shining stepped into the hallway, then turned back to Twilight with a deadly stare. “Coming?” he asked. Twilight nodded and place oned hoof in front of the other. Slowly she followed her brother's hoofsteps. The picture felt as if it were burning a hole in her wing, but Twilight wasn't sure if it was worse than the knife in throat from the glare. The glare of the other couple in the room. Are they the ones telling the truth? She stepped into the doorway of the bedroom and looked back to her two friends. Hopefully not... former friends. She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't find the words. Should she give them what she found? Should she talk to Anon? Could she ever talk to Anon after all of this ends? Could she bear seeing Cadance holding and protecting the human that she loved? Say something, Twilight. Anything. “Let's go,” Shining muttered as he turned away and moved towards her room. With a glance to her brother and one last look to Anon... Twilight found that only one word crossed your mind. "Sorry," she muttered, the door to the bedroom quietly closing in front of her.