For Shining Armor, tucking his daughter into bed quickly became an exercise in futility.
It was always one more bedtime story, a last second glass of water, or even the sudden resurgence of monsters under the bed. Even the promises of spending the night playing with Great Auntie Luna wasn't enough to coax the young princess to sleep. Nevertheless, he went above and beyond to make sure Flurry Heart was comfortable enough to go to sleep.
Even then, Shining Armor wasn't expecting a third read-through of The Little Pegasus Who Could.
But still, he complied and narrated the tale of a pegasus filly who won the big race through determination. As he read, his daughter would point at the pictures and gasp when the main character showed signs of fatigue. Of course, this was the same case every night as Flurry seemingly forgot the ending every time.
The baby princess cheered once Shining bellowed in his best announcer voice that Cloud Rider had won. Giggling, Flurry buzzed her wings to signal her approval with the results.
As Flurry nestled deeper into the covers, Shining leaned in and kissed his daughter's forehead. He then proceeded the bedtime ritual of blowing out the bedside candles making his way out the room with a quiet, "Goodnight."
Closing the door, Shining let out a sigh of relief. His precious baby girl was content, so that meant that his night would go undisturbed.
A bolt of magic crashing through the door and a cheerful, "Again!" told him that he wasn't quite done yet.
After making a mental note to get the door replaced in the morning, he sauntered into the room and watched as Flurry squirmed in bed. She pointed at the book, repeating "again" over and over like it was the only word she knew. Though technically, it was one of the five words the two year old knew. She was a late talker, a trait Shining found ironic given his daughter's use of flight and magic as a newborn.
Sighing, the father relit the candles before picking up the book. What used to be his favorite bedtime story as a foal was now tiresome. Over the past few weeks, he had found ways to make the book more entertaining for himself as he experimented with voices, hoof motions, and even bringing in his wife Cadance to narrate the protagonist's inner monologue. There was even one unfortunate incident where, out of sheer boredom, he had announced that Cloud Rider had lost.
Needless to say, hours were spent reassuring the young princess that it wasn't true.
"How about a different story, sweetheart?" Shining asked.
"No!" Flurry cried, fully exercising the use of the second out of the five words she knew.
Another five minutes, another 'the big race,' and another gold medal for Cloud Rider.
Another goodnight kiss.
Another bolt of magic.
Another story.
But this time, Shining was pleasantly surprised that instead of the word "again," Flurry was crying "monster," the third word of five.
"All right, all right," he hummed. As the captain of the royal guard, his duty was to protect the homefront, but now at home, he was to protect his daughter from any nefarious monster hiding in her room. He ducked under the bed and scanned the floor, finding nothing. "I don't see anything here, Flurry."
The foal pointed her hooves at the nearby closet, and Shining trotted over. He grimaced, knowing exactly what was behind the door. Instead of monsters, it was a massive pile of gifts from Flurry Heart's second birthday. At the party, he joked that the entire nation of Equestria was going to spoil his daughter before he even got a chance to, but now it seemed less of a joke and more of a health hazard.
Shining paused at the closet door. "You sure you want me to check inside?"
Flurry nodded. "Yeh." Close enough to be the fourth word.
Shining did as he was told but not before a hesitant breath. As expected the flood of stuffed animals, candy and sweaters spilled out of the closet. "See, sweetie? Nothing but your toys."
Flurry giggled before falling back on her bed.
Grumbling to himself, Shining Armor slowly levitated the presents back where they came. And after putting away the thirtieth onesie, the father noticed a children's book at the top of the pile. He brought it up to his face and scanned the cover, which was a watercolor drawing of him and his mother. His eyes drifted towards the bottom where his mother's name was printed on the page.
"The Little Colt Who Couldn't Sleep," he read aloud, chuckling. "Hey, Flurry. Would you like another story?"
"Yeh."
Shining held the cover of the book. "How about this one?"
"Yeh," she said in between breaths.
The stallion nodded, trotting over and joining his daughter on the bed. He flipped to the first page and noticed a small note.
To my son Shining Armor, his lovely wife Cadance, and their wonderful daughter who keeps them awake.
"Every night was the same," he read, "there was a little colt who couldn't sleep."
The father looked over to Flurry, who was nestled deep into her covers. He smiled and went back to reading.
"'I can't sleep,' the colt said to his mother. 'Can you bring me some water?'"
Shining chuckled, looking over the glass of water at the bedside. I guess some things just don't change, he thought.
"So she brought him water because she loved him."
The baby princess pointed at the book. "Mama?" she called, using the fifth and last word she knew.
"My mama," Shining answered back, pointing at the white unicorn mare. He then pointed at the drawing of a fussy white colt with a blue mane who seemed to have been throwing a tantrum. "And that's me, apparently."
"Mama," Flurry repeated while nodding, reminding her father that she hadn't addressed him by a pet name yet.
"The next night," Shining continued, "the little colt still couldn't sleep. 'I can't sleep,' he said again. 'Can you read me a story?'
"So she read him a story because she loved him. But even still, the little colt couldn't sleep.
"'I can't sleep,' the colt said. 'There are monsters in the closet!'
"So she checked for monsters... because she loved him."
Shining Armor looked away from the book and back at Flurry, who was lying on the bed. She chewed at the blanket, a habit that Shining assumed she would grow out of. But still, he was glad the young princess was quiet for longer than a second.
"One night," the father continued, "after weeks of bringing water, reading stories, and checking for monsters, the mother found her son fast asleep without asking for a thing.
"But still, she brought water, read a story, and checked for monsters... because she loved him."
Flurry nestled deeper into the bed.
"As the years went by, the colt grew up into a handsome stallion. This made the mother very happy... but it also made her very sad because she no longer had the little colt who couldn't sleep."
"No!" Flurry cried, biting down on the blanket.
"But she still loved him," he read aloud, restoring the balance to the filly's universe.
Flurry giggled.
"As the years went by, the stallion got married and had a beautiful daughter. This made the now grandmother very, very happy because she loved her new granddaughter."
Flurry cooed. "Ba-ba-ba..."
Technically not a word, Shining thought to himself.
"Then one night," he read, "the stallion couldn't sleep."
Flurry's breaths slowed.
"'I can't sleep,' the stallion said to his mother. 'It's because my little filly can't sleep. Every night she wants me to bring her water, read a story, or check for monsters. Even then, I can't find the right story to put her to bed.'
"So she wrote them a bedtime story... because she loved them both." His voice quivered slightly as he read the last part, realizing his mother's intentions with the story.
With a tear in his eye, he shut the book and glanced over at his daughter, who was now fast asleep. Her tiny stomach rose and fell rhythmically, taking in all the air she could. The father couldn't help but smile before he adjusted the covers until he felt that Flurry was snugly tucked in.
The father sighed in relief and leaned in to kiss his child on the forehead. After blowing out the bedside candle, he trotted out the room, making a mental note to get the door replaced in the morning... after he wrote his mother a letter.
Just as he thought he was done, another bolt of magic shot through the door.
"Again!" Flurry cheered. "Again, Daddy!"
Shining smiled at the new word. Make that the sixth.
Without hesitating, he trotted back into the room so he could read his daughter the story again...
Because he loved her.