//------------------------------// // Movie Night // Story: The Brother and The Sitter // by Spike120812 //------------------------------// Movie Night Exactly what he was in for today was still shrouded in mystery for Blueblood. The movie night Stardust and Cadance basically trapped him into had finally rolled around, and he was curious as to the movies he, “needed to see”, as they had put it. The prince had just finished another walk around the gardens and decided to make a stop by the mail cubbies. In one of them, he saw another letter he knew a certain cousin of his couldn’t wait to open. He figured since he was already there and on his way to his room, he might as well bring it up with him and give it to Cadance on his way up. He took the letter in his magic and started towards the grand staircase in the foyer. Before he took the first step up, he heard the start of a series of loud knocks. KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK “Cady or Blueblood?” KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK “Cady or Blueblood?” KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK “Cady or Blueblood?” Blueblood walked over to the doors and slowly threw them open. On the other side, Stardust stood with a large, bulking saddlebag tossed over her back. “You know, Cadance once told me how you and Shining Armor would knock like that, but I honestly didn’t believe her.” Letting a small chuckle escape her, Stardust stepped through the doorway. “Ya should try it out. It’s kinda funny seein’ how other ponies react to it.” “Come right in.” The already-accepted invite went unnoticed by Stardust as Blueblood closed the door behind him. “So, what brings you here so early? I thought you wouldn’t be here until late.” “I was, but Cady invited me to go shoppin’ around wit her before our movie night. What’s that?” she asked when she caught sight of the letter still floating in Blueblood’s magic. “Oh, just Shining Armor’s latest arrival,” Blueblood said with a grin as he dangled the letter around in his magic. “He really is a stallion of his word. These have been coming in every day save for Sunday.” “Doesn’t surprise me. Cady’s got him wrapped ‘round her hoof good. You should’ve seen the things he did just to get her attention before they started goin’ out.” Now he was curious. “Such as?” Stardust reminisced the earlier stages of Shining and Cadance’s relationship and everything before that as her and Blueblood ascended the stairway to Cadance’s room. Blueblood listened with more than willing ears as he found out more about the stallion that had basically captured his cousin’s heart. He hadn’t realized all the things Shining had actually done for Cadance, and hearing it all from another pony made him respect the stallion all the more. He made a mental note to get to know Shining better when he got back. “Oh, and I gotta tell ya ‘bout this book he bought one time,” Stardust continued on, recounting the time Shining had bought A Colt’s Guide to Dating a Mare That’s Out of Your League. “You’re kidding,” Blueblood said, on the verge of hysterics upon hearing the title of the book. Stardust was already cackling away. “No, really. He kept readin’ into it even after two months in!” Wrapped around her hoof had to be an understatement, but Blueblood knew Shining had an influence on Cadance as well. “Well you weren’t there when she spent six hours trying to find the perfect dress for their first date.” Sympathy from her came in the form of a nudge to his shoulder and a simple, “That must’ve sucked.” “It did.” Still, Blueblood remembered the state Cadance had come back in from that first date. That was just one of the nights where she had come home happier than when she left. “They really make the whole relationship thing look like a dream don’t they?” “Almost makes me want to get back out there, honestly.” “Almost?” Stardust waved a dismissive hoof. “Eh, got bigger things on my plate right now. What about ya? Eva had anypony special?” When he didn’t answer, she got her answer. “Ya know it’s fine if ya haven’t.” He dragged out a sigh as his ears lowered. “It would’ve been nice to at least have some experience by now.” “Eh, it’ll come. Heck, you’re a prince of Equestria. Odds are there are some mares out there that want a piece of ya.” Hearing her say it like that, it did wonders for Blueblood’s ego in that moment. He let his imagination run wild thinking of hundreds of beautiful mares that would kill for a chance with the prince of the land. “You’re probably right, Stardust.” “Real humble, but hey, if ya need help puttin’ yourself out there, I’m pretty sure me and Cady can help ya out.” He looked at her as they kept walking. “You’d do that for me?” “Sure. We’re friends remember?” As if he could forget. When Stardust so openly and quickly accepted him as a friend, he took it as something unreal and strange. Outside of Celestia and Cadance, nopony really reached out to him like that, and it made a potential friendship with somepony like her all the more desirable. Truth be told, he was looking forward to movie night more than Cadance and Stardust probably were. He may not know what he was being dragged into, but he was full of anticipation. They reached Cadance’s door, and just as Blueblood was about to raise his hoof to knock, he caught Stardust’s eyes darting back and forth from him to the door. It took him a moment to pick up on her hint until he remembered the suggestion she made just minutes ago. He shared her smile as he lifted his hoof once again. KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK. “Cadance?” KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK “Cadance?” KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK “Cadance?” Seconds later, Cadance emerged from the door. Most of her mane was tied back in a ponytail while the front was styled so that her bangs swerved to the side, and she was immediately taken aback when she saw Blueblood on the other side of the door, hoof still raised from his knocking. “Not you too,” was her first response. Seeing the rise he got out of her made Blueblood turn to Stardust. “You were right. That was fun,” he said before the two unicorns burst into little fits of laughter. “Anywho,” he started to say when he settled down, “I just wanted to bring you today’s little message.” The letter still hovering in his magic was quickly snatched out of his hold. Cadance ripped open the letter and got to reading. Blueblood and Stardust watched on as Cadance’s expression shifted from eagerness to a quiet joy that got them to smile with her. When she finished reading, she clutched the letter to her chest and let out a dreamy sigh mixed in with a small chuckle. “I see ya got a little collection buildin’ up.” Stardust was pointing behind the alicorn to the bed. Cadance turned and saw what caught Stardust’s attention. On her bed sat a stack of opened letters she received from Shining within the last several days. She blushed a little and remembered the jist of just about every letter that sat on her bed. “Yeah, I do.” Before she knew it, she zoned off, unaware of Stardust’s waving hoof in her face attempting to recapture her attention. Shining really did have a hold on her as well. Cadance snapped back to attention and remembered why the blue mare was here in the first place. “Sorry, ugh, ready to head out?” “Yeah.” Stardust’s horn glowed around her saddlebags and she heaved them off her back. “Mind if I leave these in your room?” “Sure, go ahead.” As Stardust dragged her bags to the bed, Blueblood couldn’t help but take a curious glimpse at what was in her bags that made it bulge out like it did. “What do you have in there, Stardust?” Her grin instantly appeared. She dug through her bags and pulled out multiple film reels with her magic. “Just a few options for tonight.” Blueblood took a closer look at the reels being shoved in his face and read out some of the descriptions written on the back. “Young mare encounters a beast in an enchanted castle… young lion destined to become king… merpony princess dreams of the land… streetrat that finds a magic lamp?” He looked up at her, an eyebrow raised in a questioning stare. “Aren’t these movies for little foals?” “Eh, some might say.” She began to repack her bag. “But before ya know it, you’ll know every character, every song, be singin’ along at the weirdest of times, and be comparin’’ villains.” “Musical movies?” There was a dryness in his tone Stardust quickly countered. “Don’t knock it till ya try it.” He wanted to. He really wanted to knock it, but if these were movies that he “has to see”, he was glad he wouldn’t be alone for the ride. “If you say so.” The reels flew back in her bag and she followed Cadance out of the room. “We’ll be back,” Cadance told her cousin when they were at the front doors. Blueblood waved them off and watched them pass through the gates before closing the door behind him. In the large silence that gripped the castle foyer, Blueblood inhaled and breathed out. He had some preparations to make, but first, he had some questions that needed to be answered. He approached the first servant he laid his eyes on. “Your majesty,” the servant pony, Chrome Finish, a middle-aged looking pale silver unicorn stallion with a greying mane, gave a gracious bow before he asked if there was anything Blueblood needed. “Yes, in fact. I have a few questions regarding something that will be happening here tonight.” The servant pony stood alert, ready to hear the prince with attentive ears. “Yes, your majesty. Is this about yours and Princess Cadance’s plans with your friend for the evening.” Blueblood nodded. “How may I be of service?” Only when the words played out in his mind did Blueblood hesitate on asking, but he needed to know for what he secretly hoped would be a next time. “How does one go about setting up for friends coming over?” *************** Like a lot of their days in the city together, Cadance and Stardust went just about anywhere and everywhere. Hours flew by, and by the time they knew it, it was almost time for them to head back to the castle. Their last excursion for the day before they would start the trek back to the castle was Stardust’s idea; dress shopping at a nearby boutique. Seeing Blueblood again reminded the unicorn about the invitation to his party she received the last time they were together. Sensing the formal tone the party would probably have, she figured her and Cadance could knock out finding something to wear ahead of time. One look at the price tags on most of the dresses in the shop, however, made Stardust realize she could only browse. “Dang, I could've rock it in this one.” Stardust stood in front of the main set of mirrors in the changing area the two were using while Cadance occupied one of the changing stalls nearby. “Lemme see it,” the princess called from behind the stall door. The door opened and Cadance stepped out in her own try-on dress; a one-shoulder floor-length red gown with a large artificial rose placed in the middle of the strap. One look at her friend standing in front of the mirrors made Cadance stop in her tracks. “Wow, Stardust. Just… wow!” “There’s a mirror right there, I know how I look,” Stardust readily remarked with a smirk before turning back to face her reflection that showed the mare in a snug white dress that hugged all the right places in all the right ways for her trim body. The collar covered her neck and was done in a magnificent deep blue, and the same color filled the few arching patterns along the dress. She was dressed to kill, and the looks she flashed in the mirror showed a dangerously-classy mare with gaze-drawing emerald eyes that could bring a stallion, and even some mares, to their knees. “What do you mean could’ve? You look great! You said it yourself.” Cadance was still circling Stardust, almost like a mother eyeing her daughter in her future wedding dress. “What’s wrong with it?” Reflexively, Stardust reached inside the collar and pulled out the tag for Cadance to see. “The stupid gorgeous thing’s more than four paychecks.” She shoved the tag back into the collar. “But forget that, look at ya!” Cadance faced the mirror and couldn’t believe why she hadn’t given red a shot before. The richness of the color was like a red carpet, and it held all the majesty of one. While it was one solid color, there was nothing boring about it, and when she gave a twirl, specks of glitter shimmered along the end of the dress as well as the small traces throughout the rest of the gown. “You’re gonna be turnin’ heads for sure, Cady. Seriously, ya probably gonna attract a few ponies.” “Then I’ll just tell them I’ve got a handsome stallion I’m waiting on,” Cadance said before giving one more look at herself in the mirror. “Guess this is the one then. I’m gonna get unchanged.” “Me too.” The two of them went into their stalls and were careful in getting out of their dresses. Cadance was the first to get hers back on the hanger and over the stall door. “Great idea, by the way, Stardust.” There were a few grunts before Stardust answered. “Thanks. Still wish I found somethin’ in my price range.” “Was it really that much?” “It was basically almost as much as I’ve got saved up for the move.” Cadance drew a breath through her teeth. “Ah.” “Yeah.” “Speaking of which, how long do you think you have left until you can move out?” She heard ruffling in Stardust’s stall before a long exhale. She assumed she got the dress off. “Finally! Ugh, soon actually. I’m gonna go apply for a lease later. One more paycheck, and I’ll have enough for at least the first several months.” Stardust flung the dress over the door with its hanger in place. “It really was a nice dress,”she sighed. “We could go somewhere else another day,” Cadance suggested as she started to push the stall door into the dressing room. “Nah. I think I’m just gonna raid my closet for somethin’.” Upon hearing those words, Cadance locked her eyes on Stardust’s hanging dress from her peripheral vision in the stall. That thing was getting out of the store one way or another. “No you won’t.” As Stardust was starting to push the door open, she saw fleeting blurs of the dress she had tried followed by the sound of frantic hoofsteps. She stepped into the room and saw Cadance in a full sprint to the register with both dresses held in her magic. “What are you doing?” she asked when she reached her friend, but was answered when a bag of bits hit the counter like plates hitting the ground. “Nooooo, no, no, no, no, no, ya not doin’ that.” “Yes I am,” Cadance answered as the clerk began to slip plastic over the two dresses. Stardust rushed to the clerk behind the counter. “Put it back.” “Don’t listen to her.” The clerk started to look back and forth between the two mares as he stopped covering the dresses midway. “Should I pull back the—” “Take my bits,” Cadance said as she pushed the bulky bag further onto the counter. “Don’t take her bits.” Stardust gave Cadance a frustrated look and pointed at the blue and white dress halfway covered in plastic. “Just please put this one back.” The poor clerk was stuck for a moment. He uttered something unintelligible as his eyes once again went back and forth from Cadance to Stardust. The intensity of their stares didn’t help ease the pony’s nerves. After a few moments, he slowly turned to Stardust. “I’m sorry, m’am, but,” he gave a sideways glance in Cadance’s direction, “I’m going to have to go with the princess ordering me to take her money.” He smiled weakly as Stardust’s look creeped to meet Cadance’s victorious grin. “I’ll just get these slipped on.” Both dresses were slipped with plastic. “And I’ll get you your change, your majesty.” The clerk busied himself counting out Cadance’s change and did his best to avoid eye contact with Stardust as she stepped closer to Cadance with a dumbfounded look. “Why did you do that?” “Because I wanted to.” “I can’t pay ya back, ya know.” “You don’t have to.” Cadance’s change was returned to her in a little bag and she took her purchase in her magic. The two headed out, and the clerk could still hear Stardust resume the argument even as he called out, “Have a nice day, ladies.” “We’re takin’ it back tomorrow,” was the first thing out of Stardust’s mouth when they left the shop. “No we’re not.” Cadance continued to walk, her victory-grin still present on her face. She admitted to herself that seeing Stardust in a frenzy like that was the reason she let the unicorn continue to argue. It wasn’t until a few more protests that she halted her steps. “Cady! Ya didn’t have to do that.” “But I wanted to.” From her magic, Cadance grabbed Stardust’s dress and offered it to her. “Think of it as an early birthday present.” Seeing the white and blue beauty hanging in front of her face blocked all retorts Stardust could’ve sputtered out. She saw herself in it, loved the way she looked in it, and were it not for the price, she would’ve been the one sprinting to the register. It called to her, beckoned her to just stop arguing and take Candance’s offer. “Take me, please. You look so pretty in me.” “Cady!” Cadance burst into laughter as she dropped the high-pitched voice she put on and stopped bouncing the dress in the air. “Just take it.” “That’s still the priciest gift anypony’s ever gotten me.” “I’m a princess of Equestria. Money’s not an issue.” “It’s still a lot for a gift.” “Then think of it as an early birthday gift and a thank you gift.” “A thank you gift for what?” “I don’t know, ugh, how about for helping me with Blueblood.” She was taken aback by that and had to pause before she continued. “What do ya mean?” Cadance threw her head back as she mulled over her answer. “I have wanted to get the guy to go out for Auntie knows how long, and when I did, you basically welcomed him like the two of you were already friends for years. You even helped him at bowling when you didn’t even need to.” “All I did was put the lanes up.” Cadance nodded her head. “You still didn’t need to. In just one outing, he invited you to dinner and to his party. Moreover, because of you, he finally has a friend.” The words hit Stardust harder than she thought. To her, she was just being her usual self, yet Cadance thought much more of it. Had she really had an impact on Blueblood already? The white and blue gift hanging in Cadance’s magic was telling her she did. “I don’t know, Cady. It still seems like a lot.” At this point, Cadance was trying very hard not to show her irritation in Stardust’s stubbornness. “Okay,” she dragged as she tried to think of something. A few taps of her hoof, she had something. “If you really feel the need to pay me back, you can do it by taking this dress, and find yourself a colt at the party.” Seeing the look Stardust had after she said that was definitely a moment Cadance would remember. “What!?” “Wear this dress at the party, and find yourself a date. It doesn’t need to turn out serious, he doesn’t need to be ‘The One’, but please, at least let me see you get back out there and get one date. You know you can.” She knew she could. Stardust wasn’t going to deny it. She juggled the deal Cadance had proposed in her head. Stardust still felt it was too little to ask for a gift like what she was being offered, and the dress-dangling Cadance started doing wasn’t helping her willpower. Cadance watched Stardust’s battle of self restraint and desire. She wouldn’t back down, but Stardust was starting to. She threw in a few more shakes of the dress, and it was like a bug being drawn to a zapper. And just like that bug in the zapper, Stardust gave in to that beautiful item. “Alright!” The deal was struck, and the aura around the dress quickly changed from light-blue to green when Stardust snatched it out of Cadance’s hold. “What’s so funny?” she asked when Cadance started to chuckle. “It’s just that, it’s usually the other way around. You usually wear me or Shining down for something.” “Shiny’s managed to wear me down for a few things. I think this is your first time though.” Stardust’s look went distant before returning to Cadance. “Oh my gosh, the torch has been passed.” “I’ve got a good teacher.” The two laughed and Stardust began to wonder if her teachings helped Cadance coerce Blueblood out of the castle in the first place. When she thought of the prince, her mind went back to one of the reasons she was carrying her new dress. All this just for getting him out of his shell for one day. She figured Cadance must have been desperate. “He must be lookin’ forward to tonight.” “More than he leads on.” “Welp,” Stardust laid the plastic cover over her back, “better not keep him waitin’.” Cadance settled her own dress on her back, but right as she was about to step forward, Stardust lifted her hoof. “First, help me out wit somethin’.” “Okay, what.” “Well, Shiny’s ‘Shiny’, and you’re ‘Cady’. What the hay am I supposed to call Blueblood?” *************** Blueblood wasn’t exactly sure if he was doing everything right. With help from Chrome Finish, he got other members of the castle staff to ready the castle for the night. The castle was clean enough for newborn foals to drink water off the floors, the projector and screen were set up in the viewing room, and as Blueblood paced around the room, servants were setting up cushions and pillows on the large velvet couch and placing various snacks and drinks on the table in front. “Are you sure this is everything I need?” he asked Chrome. “I believe this will be more than enough, your majesty,” he answered just as the other servants brushed past him and out of the room to resume the rest of their work. “Oh, and I had Ms. Stardust’s bag moved into the room,” he said, pointing at one of the foots of the couch where Stardust’s bag of film reels sat. Blueblood thanked the stallion even as he continued to pace the floor. Anticipation had been building for the prince in the last few hours; anticipation and a little nervousness. He hated admitting it to himself that this was the very first time he’d be hanging out with a friend in his own home, but the fact remained, and he was doing whatever he could to make sure there were future hangouts. “They should be here soon,” Blueblood said after looking out the window to see his Aunt’s sun starting to set. Chrome approached to the prince when he saw Blueblood’s hoof quickly tapping the floor. “My prince, you really should not worry. I’m sure tonight will go on without a hitch.” “I know, it’s just that… I’m just new to this whole friend thing, so…” Chrome smiled at Blueblood and his aged eyes lidded halfway in a wise gaze. Somehow, that one look got Blueblood to calm down and stop tapping. “It’s nice to see you trying to make bonds. Just relax and remember they want to be with you, and you’ll have your cousin there to help you.” Put that way, Blueblood couldn’t help feeling a little silly for his nervousness. He thanked Chrome for the kind words and smiled right before both ponies heard the front doors creak open. “That’s them.” Chrome left the room while Blueblood waited by the door. Friendly smiles greeted him when the two ponies rounded the corner. “I’m guessing your shopping day went well,” he said when he saw their purchases laying across their backs. “Sure was,” Cadance said as she and Stardust lifted their dresses with their magic. “Just set those in the room, and take them up later,” Blueblood offered, gesturing to the room. He lead the girls in and they set their things down. “I already had your bag brought down, Stardust.” “Thanks, Blue. Dang, nice spread,” Stardust said as she plopped onto the couch and eyed the various snacks sitting on the table. “Blue?” he turned and asked Cadance. “Just be glad I talked her out of Bluey.” Considering his only other nickname was from his aunt, he welcomed “Blue” with open arms. “So what are we watching first?” he asked when he and Cadance to their seats on Stardust’s sides. She shrugged her shoulders and lighted her horn. “Don’t know.” Her bag floated over to her and Blueblood. She tilted it to his side. “What do ya wanna see first?” The film reels came into his sight and he read them once again. “The lion one sounds interesting.” Stardust shoved the other options back in her bag before she sprung out of the couch and over to the projector. “Good call, Blue. Trust me when I say you’ll love these.” “If you say so.” He reached out for a bowl of popcorn as Stardust worked with the projector. She fiddled with her reel and the device, and once the reel started turning, she was back on the couch hungrily reaching for the popcorn. The three of them sat in patience as the picture on the screen counted down, and the movie began. *************** Trottingham Base *************** The good thing, Shining realized, about the nearly non-stop training and instructions that were drilled into his head was that it made time go by a lot faster than he anticipated. Shining looked back on the last week and a half as if it were a moment in time that flashed in his eyes and left as quickly as it came. The second week of training was just as rigorous, and he knew he owed much of his success to his newfound friends. Him, Silver Edge, Quick Fix, and Pinpoint did well in their promise to help one another out, and it showed, more so during the team-building aspects of their training. Just today, a large part of their training involved clearing an obstacle course as a team. By chance, the four of them were grouped together, and to their drill sergeant’s highly-masked delight, they cleared their challenge with flying colors as they worked with one another. Despite their success, it still didn’t cushion how tired and drained Shining felt along with some of his friends and fellow cadets. The first thing he did when he trudged into the barracks with Pinpoint after his platoon’s daily meetup with their drill sergeant was faceplant onto the bottom bed of his bunk, not even caring half of his body was hanging off the side. “Shining? You’re on my bed, dude.” Pinpoint had nudged at Shining’s collapsed form, but he didn’t budge. “Just one minute, please?” Shining begged, his voice muffled through the covers. Shining heard Pinpoint breath a sigh before his retreating hoofsteps and other ponies’ steps coming and going around the barracks. Once he had decompressed, Shining rose off of Pinpoint’s bed. He heard ruffling in his uniform as he moved, and that’s when he remembered the surprise he got during mail call today. He reached into his uniform near his chest and pulled out a letter marked by red lipstick and Cadance’s hoofwriting. Already having opened it in an uncontained bit of excitement when he first got it, he read it over again and imagined her soft voice reading back the words to him. Sweet Celestia, he missed her. The original perfume scent on the letter had been masked by Shining’s own reek from the day’s training, and it reminded him he needed to shower. By now, he had less than an hour to do that, get ready for bed, write his daily letter Cadance, and at least get it in the inbox of the base’s post office, so he was quick to fold and place the letter on the top bunk and scurry into the showers. Once he was clean, dry, and done with his nightly hygiene, he eagerly paced to his bunk. He received a surprise when he saw Pinpoint, Silver Edge, and Quick Fix all crammed into the narrow space between bunk beds and impishly eyeing Shining. “Hi, guys?” Shining awkwardly asked, seeing no falter in their coy expressions. “Hey, Shining,” Pinpoint playfully greeted back as he stepped aside to let Shining up to the bed. “Get anything good in the mail today?” Shining caught the hint and instantly knew where they were going with this. Pinpoint confirmed his hunch when he climbed the ladder and pointed a hoof right in Shining’s face. “When were you gonna tell us you’re dating a princess?” Shock gripped Shining’s body. He turned back to his letter and saw it was lying open and not where he set it. “You read my letter?” “Not me.” The vague answer made sense when Shining followed Pinpoint’s turning head that aimed at their guilty looking pegasus friend. “I was flying over, and I guess I blew it off your bed,” Silver Edge started to explain. “I wasn’t trying to snoop, but it was open when I picked it up, and I saw her signature, and I couldn’t help myself. Sorry, Shining,” he said, gripping at the back of his neck with a hoof. Shining sighed before accepting Silver’s apology. “It’s fine.” “Why didn’t you tell us you were dating the Princess Cadance?!?” Pinpoint eagerly asked again, but keeping his voice low enough so others in the barracks didn’t hear. “More importantly,” Quick Fix added in, matching Pinpoint’s volume, “how in Equestria did you get her?!?” Somewhere in the back of his mind, Shining knew he’d get questions like he was getting one day. He asks some of them to himself at times. “Never came up?” Shining answered Pinpoint with a shrug before turning to the shortest of the ponies, “I’m honestly still trying to figure that out, Quick.” Before his friends had another chance to ask questions, Shining lit up his horn and opened a drawer in the small stand in between Shining and Pinpoint’s bunk and their neighbors’. A quill and some paper floated out of the small space and right in front of Shining’s face as he prepared himself to write. Pinpoint looked back and forth from the floating quill and paper to Cadance’s letter and thought back to all the nights he had followed Shining into the base’s post office to drop off his daily letters. He mentally and near-physically smacked himself for not asking who his letters were for. “So she’s the reason you dragged me to the post office every night.” “Uh-Huh.” Shining smiled away as he continued to write his newest letter. “Dude, we are not done. C’mon,” Pinpoint started to beg, nudging at Shining’s shoulder. “What’s it like dating a princess? When did it start?” “How’d you guys meet?” Silver asked. “How long have you guys been together?” Quick Fix asked, joining in on the pile on. “Not all at once, guys!” Shining finally said before another round of inevitable questions sputtered off. Cadance being his first marefriend, Shining wasn’t entirely sure what should be on the table when talking about his relationship, but he had a hunch the three stallions in front him weren’t going to leave him alone without at least some questions answered, and he figured the more innocent questions were okay to answer. “Let me finish my letter first, then I’ll talk.” They gave an all-at-once, “Deal!” before splitting off to do their own nightly routines and left Shining to his quill and paper. After minutes of struggling with an opener, he settled on one before scribbling away. Like in most of his letters, he gave her an overview of his day, expressed his excitement to see her again, wished her well, and asked her to check in on Twilight Velvet and the rest of his family. He had been writing home and receiving letters from his family as well, but only so much could be deciphered from “COME BACK HOME!” taking up ninety percent of the letter. He finished the letter off and prepared an envelope. When he closed the envelope and prepared to get off his bed, he was greeted with his friends all waiting in the isle, eagerly staring at him like hungry pigeons in a park waiting for more bread. “Okay, what do you wanna hear first?” Pinpoint, Silver Edge, and Quick Fix all looked at one another and nodded. “How’d you guys meet?” Quick Fix asked. It was easy for Shining to recall almost every detail of that night he first saw his marefriend come over to meet his family and the filly she’d be foalsitting for. When asked how he was like when he first met her, Shining desperately wished he could’ve described himself as less of a muttering, sweating, wonderstruck idiot and more calm and cool than he really was. He was thankful that at least Silver and Quick were able to contain themselves. “So how long has the stuttering goof and the princess been together?” Pinpoint asked once he recovered from his laughing fit. “In my defense, I’ve gotten better,” Shining defended quickly, “and we’ve actually been together since a little after the Summer Sun Celebration.” Silver Edge and Quick Fix were just as impressed as Pinpoint was when he looked back to see them nodding in approval at each other. “Back up first, how did your parents even get a princess as a their foal sitter?” Silver Edge asked. “Princess Celestia is my sister’s magic teacher. When she heard that my parents needed a sitter, she volunteered Cadance for the job.” “A princess foalsitting a filly learning magic?” Pinpoint pondered aloud. “Bet there’s some stories there.” “It wasn’t as chaotic as you might think. Twilight’s got really good control of her magic. I think the biggest surprise Cadance faced was how many fires my baby brother could accidently start.” The three stallions momentarily drew back in shock. “How does a foal start a fire?” Quick Fix asked. Shining had to think about the question for a moment until he remembered he forgot one important detail. “Oh, right, that… ugh, my brother’s adopted… and a dragon.” Silence held as the three ponies on the ground tried to process the, in truth, odd family life Shining just explained. Pinpoint was first to break the quiet. “Soooo, you’ve got a princess for a marefriend, a sister whose teacher is the main ruler of the land, and a dragon as a brother?” Shining slowly nodded. “Are you sure you’re not missing anything else?” “Pretty sure.” Pinpoint just held held his look. “Who are you?” In the brief silence that followed, Shining started to wonder how he, out of all ponies, ended up with the connections he’s made and the life that played out the way it did. The magnitude of it all came crashing down. It started as just a snort, but then grew into full, uncontained laughter. “I have no idea,” he said with the biggest smile he could make while laughing. The others quickly matched his volume as they roared with their own voracious laughter. “My life is pretty strange, isn’t it?” “It’s a good kind of strange,” Silver Edge added, taking breaths to steady his voice again. “Hey, back to princess,” Quick Fix said, getting back to the topic at hoof. “You still haven’t told us how you managed to get a mare who is literally thousands’ of colts fantasy as your marefriend. What did you do?” Shining recapped in his head and came to a wall. What exactly did he do? The first few months that he knew her involved him either sweating or stuttering, and somehow that transformed into their first date, their second date, their first kiss, and so many other little milestones in their relationship. One such milestone that came to mind was the night he told her about the elitists and how she said she wasn’t going anywhere. It was just one of the times he felt he was doing something right. Despite her princesshood, she wanted to stay with him. The floating feeling came back and he didn’t even realize he was smiling. Something like that made him really wonder how could make someone like her want to stay with him? “I don’t know,” he said with a light hearted chuckle. When he thought a little harder, he remembered one important thing he knew Cadance loved about being with him. He was one of the few ponies Cadance knew that just treated her like a pony. With him, she wasn’t just Princess Cadance, niece of Celestia, and one of the most powerful ponies in Equestria. She was also Cadance, a mare who wanted to see new things beyond her life in her castle, a mare who found a love for donuts, a mare full of love and kindness, a mare willing to put her subjects first, even if it meant risking her own life, a mare that came out of her shell in part because of him. “All I really did was try to make her happy, and she tries to with me as well. Whenever we’re together, I just feel like smiling. We’re happier together than apart. She picks me up whenever I’m down. She’s helped me basically figure out what I want to do in life, and we’ve helped each other out in different ways. When we started dating, things just kept happening that led me to where I am now. I think our lives have gotten better since we met, and we’ve been doing it together.” Warmth filled his chest, and Shining could feel his cheeks burn just thinking of all the times Cadance was there for him. Every hug, every nuzzle, every kiss, every listening ear, every kind word was just another reminder of how much she cared for him, and how much he cared for her. “I’m the luckiest pony in Equestria to have met somepony like her.” When he came out of his daydream, he saw his friends looking like foals with a juicy secret. “What are you smiling about?” Pinpoint climbed back up the bunk ladder so that Shining and him were eye level and started pointing at the unicorn. “You loooooove her.” Shining’s grin and warmth in his heart only grew when he thought about those words and just how true they were. “Yeah, I do.” “Have you told her that?” A distant look came over Shining and it gave Pinpoint all he needed. “You gonna add that to your letter?” He considered it briefly, but Shining set himself on another idea. “Nah. If I’m gonna tell her something like that for the first time, I wanna say it face-to-face.” “Good on you, dude,” Pinpoint said as he clasped his hoof on Shining’s shoulder and gave him a playful shake that may have been a little much for the unicorn. “So is she your first?” “First what?” “First love?” “Yeah, she is. First love, first marefriend, first… everything really.” Shining marveled at all the firsts he had with Cadance. A light shade of red began to show easily in his white coat when he thought of a certain first. “She was even my first kiss.” “What was it like?” Pinpoint quickly dropped the question when he felt Silver Edge’s hoof knock him on the side of his head. “Ow, Silver, what?!?” “Intrusive, don’t you think, Pin?” Pinpoint rolled his eyes in response to his friend’s honest question. “Like he was actually gonna say.” Pinpoint swiveled his head faster than Shining thought possible. “Were you?” Shining slowly shook his head, pretty sure that was one of the things he shouldn’t be talking about with others. “Nooo.” Despite the strange question, Shining still found some humor in the way Pinpoint went at it. Having answered some of their questions, Shining’s own curiosity churned up some of his own. “Okay, my turn. You guys have anypony back home?” The question halted the others for a second, and for some reason, everypony’s heads turned and looked down to Quick Fix. “Why me?” the unicorn asked loudly. “Because if you do,” Pinpoint began, “I wanna know if it’s like two adorable dwarves side-by-side skipping along like their trotting on rainbows , or if you have to get on your back legs just to kiss.” Quick Fix’s brow furrowed and his eyelids came halfway down in an unamused stare at the brown earth pony. He held that look for a few seconds before he simply turned and trotted out of the isle. “Quick,” Pinpoint called to him, “c’mon, I’m sorry, it was just a joke.” He didn’t get an immediate response, but him, Shining, and Silver heard the open and close of a couple drawers a few bunks down. Quick Fix came back into the isle with two pictures hovering in his magic, one of which he gave to Silver Edge. “Here, I got you yours,” he said the Silver right before fixing his eyes back on Pinpoint. “A, I’m not that short, and B,” he paused as he flipped the other picture in his magic to the picture side, “we’re the second thing you said.” Shining and the others looked at the photograph to see it was of Quick Fix and a tall pale white pegasus mare with a blended lime green and light yellow mane draped in a loose ponytail embracing each other in their forearms in what looked like a field of flowers. The mare towered over Quick Fix, and her head still rested atop his even as he stood on his hind legs. “Lily Seed,” Quick Fix said with a smile. “We’ve been friends since forever, and we’ve been dating about two years now.” “Foalhood friend turned marefriend, huh?” Pinpoint added with a coy grin. “Yeah. You’ve got somepony, Pinpoint?” “Nah, not now anyway.” “Have you ever had anyone?” “More like a string of very pretty mares. I was a bit of a town heartbreaker back home.” “Here we go,” Silver breathed as he rolled his eyes when Pinpoint’s grin gained some arrogance. “C’mon, Silver, don’t be that way.” Pinpoint threw glances up at the bed where Shining still sat and back down at Quick Fix. “He won’t tell you, but back home, Silver was a bit of a stud. He’d walk, and he’d have eyes on him from a lot of mares.” Silver backed into the bed frame behind him and stood with a stoic stare at the brief description Pinpoint painted for him. “If he wanted, he could’ve had any one of them, and they would’ve fallen straight into his hooves,” Pinpoint continued on. “Except for one major thing,” Silver added, extending his hoof with the picture Quick Fix grabbed for him. Pinpoint took it to let Shining get a better look. His eyebrows rose fast at the pony nuzzling next to Silver Edge in the picture. “Yeah. He plays for another team.” A blizzard blue pegasus stallion was nuzzling the much brawnier and taller white stallion’s foreleg in the picture. Silver Edge had his neck craned down to rest atop the smaller pony’s darker blue mane. Both had their eyes closed, ears splayed down, and smiling like they were at total peace just sitting next to one another. “His name’s Streamline,” Silver said, walking up to take his picture back. “We’ve been together for about a year and a half now.” He lit up when he took his picture back and saw the two smiling ponies in the picture and almost didn’t notice himself start mirror the exact expression he had in the picture just thinking of his coltfriend back home. “Hey, Shining. You got an extra sheet of paper and an envelope?” “Do you have two?” Quick Fix asked. Shining made haste and dug through his drawer in the isle with his magic and pulled out what the two ponies needed. As soon as they had what they needed, Quick Fix and Silver Edge raced to their bunks and got to writing. Pinpoint, still hanging onto the bunk ladder, gave Shining another pat on his shoulder. “You’re a good pony, Shining Armor.” “I try,” Shining answered with a shrug. “So who’s gonna tell them they only got,” he stopped and turned to alarm clock on the tiny stand, “five minutes to finish their letters and run all the way to the post office before Lights Out?” Shining’s eyes widened and went to the clock. One glance at the time and Pinpoint could’ve sworn he saw his friend’s pupils actually jut out of their irises. “Guess I will.” Pinpoint trotted over to Silver Edge and Quick Fix’s bunk where Pinpoint told them of their time limit. Their quills moved faster than the earth pony thought was physically possible. They sealed and prepared their envelopes when they finished, and Shining came to the bunk with extra stamps in his magic. He slapped them on the corners of all of their envelopes before he sternly instructed, “Run!”. In mere seconds all four of them were out the door in a full sprint with Shining and Quick Fix holding the envelopes in their magic. Pinpoint and Silver Edge were neck-and neck in their hastened pace through the base, and Shining managed to trail just by a few strides while Quick Fix brought up the rear a short distance behind. Celestia’s full moon and starlit night illuminated their path to the base’s post office as the ground trembled underneath their rapid collective steps. Their manes blew in and out of their faces at the speed they were going, and when the post office came into their sights, they focused on one single ingoing box right outside the building. Without warning, Pinpoint and Silver Edge picked up their speed, leaving the other two in their dust. When Shining and Quick could see again, Silver Edge was holding the ingoing mail slot open while Pinpoint kept rotating his forelimb and rapidly sputtering, “Hurry up! Hurry up! Hurry up!” Shining skidded to a stop first and shoved his and Silver Edge’s letters inside seconds before Quick Fix stopped at the box and dropped his in. Silver let the slot drop shut, and the four of them were back in a sprint towards the barracks. “We’re not gonna make it!” Quick Fix said in a panic when he started to fall behind the others again. “Well, maybe you won’t,” Pinpoint replied, barely missing the mid-sprint punch Silver threw his way. “I’m kidding! Jeez! Just keep running, Quick!” Run he did, but even at his fastest, Quick Fix was still lagging behind the others, and the barracks were still a ways away. The rest of the base, they observed, was desolate. It took them only a second to realize Lights Out must be closer than they at first guessed, and nopony wanted to be out past then and have their drill sergeant at their necks the moment he or she found out. “We’re dead! We’re dead! We’re dead!” An idea came to Shining, and everything seemed to slow down. It was a stretch and he hoped to Celestia he was strong enough. “No we’re not.” He quickened his pace, surprising Silver and Pinpoint, but not as much as the light surrounding his horn. “Just keep running,” he said as the magic began to hum around his horn. Without so much as an explanation, Shining disappeared in a pop of magic. Right at the entrance of the barracks, Shining flashed into the doorway. He stepped further out of the doorway and waited. While only less than a minute, it seemed like forever as each second injected more worry and agonizing fear into his body until he saw the others come into his view. He gave a frantic wave and they kept running. His horn glowed again, but this time, his magic engulfed the three ponies a distance away. As they continued to run, they felt themselves go faster and faster, with some of their steps not even connecting with the ground. It wasn’t until they looked at their hooves that they saw Shining was literally reeling them in with his magic. The doorway got closer and closer and they continued their frenzied steps. When they were close enough, Shining stopped his magical pull and let them whiz past him into the barracks. In a matter of seconds, and numerous loud and clumsy stumbles that attracted more attention than they wished, they were in their respective bunks. The four of them threw their covers over themselves just before a particular large pony stomped into the doorway with a, by now, familiar iron *CLANG! “LIGHTS OUT, MAGGOTS!” Ironclad boomed, his voice rumbling throughout the large room. He glanced side-to-side to see everypony in a bed. Shining and the others struggled to keep their breathing even and quiet from their last-second sprint. When the last lamplight went out, he whirled on his hooves and left with his armor echoing with each movement. When the clangs of his armor receded, and in total darkness, Shining reached his hoof over the side of his bed where Pinpoint had reached his up, and bumped his hoof. One similar sound came from Silver Edge and Quick Fix’s bunk before complete silence took over the barrack. *************** Four movies. All four movies. Stardust, Cadance, and Blueblood sat on the couch as the credits rolled on the last film. “I haven’t done that in a while,” Stardust said as she rubbed her now dry and pain-tingled eyes that started to water at the sudden contact. Cadance had been rubbing at her eyes as well. “I think I’m just gonna keep my eyes closed for the rest of my life.” She proceeded to stretch out her front legs out in front of her in a slow manner that gave off a few popping sounds. “So how’d you like the last one, Blueblood?” Blueblood’s eyes were watery for another reason. He brought the tissue in his hoof to his eyes and started blotting. “He was a beast, but she saved him with love!” The girls drew back when Blueblood grabbed a few more tissues and blew his nose out. “Sorry.” “No, no. It’s fine. Just glad ya liked ‘em, Blue,” Stardust said as she got off the couch. When she walked over to the projector to remove the film reels, she noticed the more than late night sky. “Cady, what time is it?” Cadance looked around until she found the room’s clock above the doorway. “Wow, past midnight.” Stardust exhaled in relief. “Thank goodness I don’t have to go in ‘til late.” “Go in where?” Blueblood asked. “Work,” Stardust answered, continuing to pack up her film reels. “I’m gonna bet ya haven’t been to a place called ‘Metal’s Place’, have ya, Blue?” “Can’t say I have.” “You should come one night. I can sneak ya some free stuff, and ya can see me sing.” Just like earlier today, a familiar sense of excitement and anticipation lit up in Blueblood at the invite. “Okay.” “Great. Just stop by any night I work.” When all of her movies were back in their cases, Stardust gave it her all in trying to stuff them all back in her saddlebag. “You’re not planning on walking home in the middle of the night, are you?” Blueblood asked, his voice taking a more concerned tone. “I’ve done it before.” “Not this late,” Cadance added in. “Why don’t you just stay the night?” Stardust considered it, but to her friends disappointment, she turned down the offer. “Thanks, guys, but I really need to get home. I didn’t really expect to stay out this late, and my mom’s probably wonderin’ where I am.” She made it as far as the doorway until Blueblood stood in her way and repeated himself. “You’re not going out there alone.” “Well whaddya suggest, Blue?” He only had to think for a second. “Wait here.” Blueblood then disappeared into the maze that was the hallways of the castle and returned a few minutes later with two grey-coated unicorn guards dressed in the standard gold-plated armor. “Stardust, these fine stallions will be your escort home.” The guards towered over the other three ponies in the room. Combined with their bulky form and intense golden eyes that stared straight ahead at complete attention, Stardust couldn't fight the intimidation she felt at the sight of the two ponies. “Blue, thanks, but I can walk alone.” “Come now, I trust these ponies with my life. Plus it would make me feel a lot better knowing you had somepony with you while you make your way home.” “I’m siding with Blueblood on this, Stardust. Please, just go with them if you’re not gonna stay here.” Cadance’s plea made Stardust wish she had at least one friend without as strong a will as hers were showing right now. This wasn’t up for debate, and it was late. She was too tired to argue. “Fine,” Stardust sighed, “if it makes ya feel better.” She knew they were just looking out for her, and she kept that in mind when she left the castle with both guards closely walking beside her on both sides. The royal cousins had seen their friend off and waited by the castle entrance until they saw her and her escorts pass the gates before they closed the large front doors. “That was nice of you, Blueblood,” Cadance said as they ascended the stairs. “Well, she’s our friend. We’re supposed to watch out for her, right?” The smile on Cadance’s face was almost like that of a proud mother. “Yeah.” He matched her smile and continued up the stairs to their bedrooms. “By the way, tomorrow, we’re going to the nearest movie store.” “You really liked those movies, didn’t you?” “Who wouldn’t?” They reached their floor and were about to part for the night. “First, answer me this, favorite villain, villain song, and why?” Cadance turned her head away from her cousin and exhaled a long, tired yawn that reminded Blueblood how late into the night they had stayed up. “In the morning, Blueblood. Night.” “Night, Cadance.” Rest came very easily for the two royal ponies. *************** Sleep was a great thing, and sleeping in was an even greater thing. The extra time Stardust had before she went into work, she spent in the messy heap of covers, pillows, and music sheets that was her bed, but inevitably, she had to wake up and get ready. The mid-afternoon sun shined like an eternal flame and clouds dotted the deep blue sky cotton-white. Her mix of really late breakfast and early lunch was enough to sustain her through the night, and she found herself trying to tame the more wavy parts of her mane longer than usual. She needed to look presentable for what she was doing today. Outside, the sunlight was brighter and hotter, warming up her coat in a wave of heat. She carried her work clothes in her saddlebag for when she was done with her errand. As she walked the familiar path to the restaurant, she made a few different turns in her route, leading her to a long, blue building her and Shining visited a few months ago, and it was still advertising the same thing with multiple signs reading the same message. “Rooms for Lease. Apply Within.” Stardust pushed open the main building door and was immediately met with views of purple, blue, and white on the walls, and a large info desk with the name “Canter Square” embroidered in the middle of the face in large letters. Behind it, a pink unicorn mare was busy writing down a few things until she heard the bell above the door ring when Stardust came in. “Hello and welcome to the Canter Square info desk.” Her voice was light and cheerful, but there was a hint of it being forced that months in customer service Stardust came to recognize. “How can I help you?” She approached the desk with a friendly smile and cleared her throat. “Hello, my name’s Stardust, and I see that you guys are taking leasing applications, right?”