44 - An eventful night
The two night guards were keeping their place. Word had filtered through that the shadow creatures had pledged they wouldn't attack anymore. Penny, Stick and the guards had all spared Cadance the need to worry and sent a reply that they were all quite comfortable and would spend the night at Shining's side.
Penny was more than a little shaken. Something inside had finally let go and the mare was remembering all of what happened during her ordeal near the woods. The faces of the creatures as the flames started to boil and roll over them. She trembled. "I killed them."
"You did…" The words came not from her special somepony, they came from behind and had a masculine, if strained, tone.
"Shining?" Penny rose up and turned, stepping over to the bedside.
"I was going to tell Cadance that night. You need to face this." He was looking right at the mare, no accusation in his tone or look, merely a statement of fact.
Penny almost fell in on herself, her legs wobbled and she stared at the floor. "I did it to-" A big white hoof pressed against her snout.
"Not the time for… that. Cadie isn't going to be too hard on you, I hope. I like having new ponies around…" His eyes closed and he seemed to settle into a deep sleep again.
Penny was left alone for almost two heartbeats. One of the night guards had walked over on apparently dead-silent hooves. "Someone needs to tell Cadance."
The implication was, of course, that both things would need to be discussed.
"I will do it." Penny straightened up, she would have to accept any punishment. She had never even heard of a pony trial on the show, let alone one for ponyslaughter.
She stepped over to the door, opening it before turning back. "If I don't return, let Stick know where I am going." She smiled at that, hoping to be back before the changeling woke.
"Where would the princess be now?" Penny looked between the two crystal ponies guarding the outer doors.
One looked a little confused. "She would be abed at this hour. We really shouldn't-"
"Shining woke up for a moment." Penny cut in on his reply only to get the most amazing smiles from both guards.
"That is great, she will want to know of this. I will show you the way." The talkative guard practically pranced while Penny's hooves felt heavier than lead.
It wasn't far to the master bedroom suite of the castle. Shining had been put into the nearest other bedroom without a window, it seemed. Raising his hoof and clopping at the door, the guard looked so happy. Penny steeled herself and shook, trying to get rid of the dread. She was here to tell Cadance her husband had woken, she wouldn't want a dejected mare to do that.
There was a thump inside and hoof-clops approached the door. "Yes?"
Cadance's mane was all kinds of messy, her tail too. Her features were a bit smudged too and her eyes were puffy.
"We bring news, Shining Armor woke for a few moments and was coherent." Penny smiled at the change these simple words brought and she was wrapped in a tight hug by the suddenly relieved princess.
The guard was all smiles too, happy that not only was his prince fine, but his princess seemed so very happy. "How is he? Does he want me to visit?"
Penny got a slightly dour look but nodded. "He is sleeping again now. There is another matter I need to put before you. Shining himself was going to do it but… things happened." Cadance tilted her head at this, picking up that something might be amiss. "Those shadows, I didn't just get rid of them… I… I killed them."
Cadance's wings flared at her shock and I trembled.
"There seems much we need to get to the bottom of, in all this. Penny, you are to not to leave the Crystal Empire until this matter has been seen to in court."
Penny fell to her belly, the weight of the world itself seeming to crush her down.
"Are you alright?" Cadance leaned down to the suddenly very small-seeming pony.
"Theyweregoingtodobadthings… I didn't want to… I just couldn't…" Penny was unable to put proper sentences together.
A hoof reached and rubbed her withers. "Calm down, please. This will be talked about later but, from what you said, you were quite out of sorts at the time. I have never punished a pony beyond their ability to endure and I never intend to."
The words were phrased in a way that had Penny thinking before she looked up at Cadance. "I just… I don't want to be like that again…"
Cadance's hoof reached up and tapped Penny's horn. "You have a reminder of the incident, I take it?"
This left the mare a touch cross-eyed to look at her horn. She nodded.
"Then from that you can remember not to do such things again, when any other option is available to you. Have no doubts, there will be a court to decide this, but you will not be the only pony to answer hard questions that day." Penny was a little confused at the words but gave a nod. Who else had done something bad?
"Come now, I wish to see my Shiny, even if he sleeps." The princess used her magic to set her mane into some semblance of order and led the way back to the suite where her husband was being cared for.
The guards opened the door and Penny spotted Stick rousing at the sound. The slightest touch was felt, then a firmer one as the changeling checked and pranced over to nuzzle her marefriend. Their bond got a smile from Cadance to be replaced by a slightly chagrined look.
"You would test even me? Your dedication will be remembered, Stick." Cadance reached out and brushed a wing over the changeling as she walked past toward where Shining was sleeping. "He looks to be sleeping, not just… out."
Her wings were brushing and gently rubbing the stallion's cheek and to all their surprise he roused again. "Cadie."
The princess all-but fell on him, her wings reaching around Shining's form on the bed.
"I am glad to see you too." He nuzzled his wife and kissed her on the snout. "But we should both be asleep." Shining could easily see past the quick efforts of the mare to neaten herself up. He could tell she had literally rushed here from being roused.
"Nopony tells me when I can and can't be with my Shiny, not even my Shiny." The sentiment was a silly one, but such is the effect love has, that everypony present didn't even question the logic.
"Old queen bitch was an idiot." Stick shook her head, getting a quizzical glance from Penny. The royal couple were far too distracted with each other, with shared little whispers, to notice. "Their love defeated her, she should never have come between them. Between anypony."
Penny was suddenly pressed so close to Stick that the changeling was a little worried. "What's wrong little snack?"
"Was it wrong to kill those shadows? Out in the snow I mean." The words Penny spoke were soft, intended only for her marefriend.
"I don't think so, why has this come up, what happened?"
Penny took a deep breath. "I am to answer for my actions, in court."
The party was just absolutely fabulous, at least as Rarity would describe it. All the cream of the Canterlot elite were there.
But the two mares that were the reason for the event had finally managed to get some time to talk, away from prying ears.
"I can't believe all this, it is almost like… I don't even know!" Princess Fast was gesturing back toward the hall where all the ponies, including a few changelings, were living up the high-life.
Twilight, who had been having a lot of fun herself what with her list almost reaching completion, nodded back. "It was a bit different for me. When I ascended it… it felt so very magical. Then I came out of it and got back to earth, literally. Still working out how to operate these things." The alicorn raised her wings a little, then ruffled them back down.
Fast Change's eyes danced. "The trick is to keep your primaries even and try to make slow movements." There was a flash of green as she neared Twilight, becoming a duplicate of the alicorn. Stretching her own wings, Fast Laid one across the mare's back while pushing the other forward to show Twilight. "See, like this."
Having had a changeling copy her before, both with and without permission, Twilight wasn't shocked by the newest princess' actions, but she was intrigued to investigate 'her own' wings without needing to twist them into uncomfortable positions.
"Oh, so that is how they sit. This is very interesting…" Her magic probed around, trying to locate a spare scrap of paper to start writing her observations down. "Oh, I can use the back of this list."
Fast was trapped, morally. Should she really be putting her moves on another princess? On the other hoof, had Twilight ever been with a mare before? The trap was an easy one to escape for Princess Fast Change. She closed her wing around Twilight a little firmer. "Uh, Princess-"
"Call me Twilight."
Fast grinned. "Twilight, have you ever been with a pony before?"
"What?" She had been startled from her examination of Fast's 'Twilight' wing. "Of course, I have all my friends, and Spike and we are at a party!"
The changeling hadn't considered this problem. Could anypony be this naive? "I mean, a… special somepony, a special friend for just a night… or more."
Twilight still looked unsure until she brightened. "Oh, wait…" The blush was quick, it flooded the alicorn's face, neck and ears. "I… err… well…"
Realizing she had 'broken' the princess of friendship, Fast gave a sigh. This would certainly be a challenge for her.
Stick was shocked by the words. "But you were defending me, yourself too, they were going to-" The changeling was interrupted by a kiss on the nose.
"You don't have to tell me, I am already worried enough for both of us. But what will come will come, I would rather face the future with a clear conscience than to pretend I had done nothing wrong."
Cadance had left her husband to sleep and cut in on the conversation. "Well put, Penny. If Shining Armor wakes again, come and get me."
The two nodded up to her. The alicorn looked much better, to Penny's eyes, than before she had come.
Penny woke slowly, Stick was already roused but stayed close to her on the little cot they had been sleeping on. A kiss landed on the lunar unicorn's nose and she giggled sleepily. "It's a new day, the new guards are here and, apparently, we have been told we can return to our quarters. Some interesting things happened."
The sleepy mare looked at the changeling with an implied question that she soon put to words. "Must have been pretty big. Bigger than Shining Armor waking?"
"The shadows, shadow ponies, have stood down their attacks and will be meeting with the princesses." Stick's words got Penny awake rather quickly, only for her belly to rumble. "But first, before the empire can find peace again, my mare needs her breakfast."
Penny nuzzled back at the observation but didn't fight it. "Where?"
"There is a nice little place in the city, so I am told. A lot of guards go there when off duty." Stick got up and stretched, soon having Penny follow suit. "Ugh and we both need a good bath. What order would you think?"
"Bath first, then food, then snuggles." Penny ticked off the three things on one hoof, not even questioning the logic about such things anymore.
"I love a mare who has her priorities sorted out." The changeling nuzzled and nipped at Penny, getting a happy little shudder from her and a nuzzle back.
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Poor Penny pummeled penumbra ponies pointedly to paste posthaste while panicked. Now she needs cuddles.
Shipping Twilight and Fast Change?
You do know shipping princesses is how you break the universe, right? Happened twice now, eeyup. Or maybe it's just Silver shipping with princesses that breaks the universe, and Fast just saved everypony. 
know I where - know
Iwherealicorn look much - alicorn looked much
than to pretend - than
topretend -or- than try to pretendquestioning logic - questioning the logic
This information was presented in the very first paragraph and I made the assumption that Penny and Stick were already in the know.
*****
Penny will be fine as long as she's honest and remorseful, I think. She has a solid defense in that she was not the first bad actor and acted in direct response not to her own peril but to the explicitly stated threat to Stick. Which any reasonable pony would believe was made in earnest intent to cause harm.
Of course there is no other witness to the events that was conscious at the time and still alive, but neither is there evidence that Penny is anything but a good pony to be taken at her word.
6922928 They knew the shadows had stood down their threats, but were not in the know about continued talks between them and the princesses. Also, the third one, I am going to let fly as a quirk of speech. I sat here like an idiot saying the line over and over, it flows fine, as is, when spoken so I am going to leave it.
6922912 Shipping them? Unlike David, I do not go in for long distance water-freight :D
6922954 And the shipping joke has been taken to it's most logical, pun-ish conclusion. The logistics has been doubled.
And I m offended by the lack of lunar emoticons dammit! 
6923121
6923139
6923252 Titan Typos! Gallop for your lives!
a good chapter with a little twist to be watched.
Princess of Friendship
that might go better as
7242210 It does, thank you.
Ah, but if you had only typoed to a "was", then it would mean such a different thing....
naïve
Twilight reads this sentence. Then glances at Fast Change. Then reads this sentence again.
7248082 It can be spelled with or without the umlaut.
So they hid him in the closet
11715092 Pretty much!