A Similar Shine

by Cyndaquil

1 The Confession

He leaned against the railing, and looked upon the statue.

It was the statue of himself, which they erected because of his role in the defeat of Sombra.

For a long time Spike recieved a heroes welcome whenever he visited the Crystal Empire. Of course so much time had passed that it was now just a piece of history, overshadowed by other events, including Sombra’s second, third, and fourth defeat. Ponies even stopped caring around the fifth or six. On the seventh ponies were waving hello when Sombra arrived.

It was nice that Cadence kept the statue in such good condition.

He turned to a little filly, who was sucking a popsicle while also looking upon the statue. “That Spike the dragon is pretty cool isn’t he.”

“I guess, I was just watching the birds.”

Spike noticed she had a canary cutie mark, and clearly didn’t recognize him. This was still better then the last time he was here. That time a colt said, “Doesn’t Spike still live with his mom.”

A few guards spotted Spike in the courtyard and offered him a royal escort to the palace. He told them he knew the way and flew off.

Seeing this the little filly looked at the flying dragon, then at the statue, then at the flying dragon, then back to the guards. “Could he have been… some sort of criminal?”

Spike flew through the window of the palace.

The thrust of his large wings scattered a few papers, and photographs, expecting this, Cadence magically gathered them up in less then a moment.

“I’m here,” he announced. “What do I do?”

“Let’s start with tea.” Cadence began pouring a cup.

Spike was a little anxious. He was already visiting the Empire on other business, when Cadence asked him to stop by for a confession.

There is an odd custom among Immortals. If they have to keep secrets for any reason, then they assign those secrets a statute of limitations, and choose another to tell when the time comes. Celestia confessed about stealing Luna’s cake. Luna confessed about putting laxatives in her cake, and Discord confessed that despite decades of happy marriage Fluttershy snored and it really bothered him.

He probably wouldn’t hate the job so much if the secret’s weren’t so lame. The only secrets he did not know were those of Cadence and Twilight. They usually confessed to one another. That meant this was something he would have to choose whether Twilight had the right to know.

---

Let me begin with something that happened long before any of this. Now this anecdote might be unrelated, or it might give context of the events that transpired. It was long ago, somewhere in the middle of the precious time me and Shining Armour shared together. He had a few grey hairs, and I was doing something with my hairdo to try and look older.

One night we were sitting on the veranda watching the sunset together. I don’t know what brought this on, his shorter lifespan was not really on my mind at that time. I asked him, “Would you find me again in your next life?”

He had this glimmer in his eye, which he would get when reminiscing something from long ago. He said, “How about the life after that?”

Then he told me a story. When Twilight was little, so little that this was cute and not strange, she wanted to marry her brother.

Shining thought it was just a phase, and humoured her for some time. Of course Twilight always had a tendency to take things too far, and when he started seeing plans, and lists, and charts, and a receipt for the chapel she booked, Shining sat her down and explained that in this life they are brother and sister, and brothers and sisters do not marry.

What she said was this, “How about the next life?”

He kissed her forehead, and said, “Yes Twily, in my next life I’ll make you my bride.”

I don’t know why he told me that story, other then to respond to my comment with an awkward joke about how he was already taken.

In the centuries to come, I didn’t forget that story, it was just not something that I factored into my own plans. One time I mentioned it to Twilight, and she didn’t believe that this ever happened.

Temptation is a funny thing with us immortals. Some temptations never go away, and it’s not that they get the better of you, it’s just that you get tired of resisting, and think maybe just this once.

Me and Shining Armour shared a love like none I have experienced since. Every love is unique of course. Still, I believed I knew a way to recapture this feeling, and inevitably I tried to do just that.

I arranged for a colt to be born in far away Canterlot, who was just like Shining Armour. Imagine an identical twin born years apart.

---

“Hold on,” Spike interrupted. “I feel like you’re skipping something important here. How could you arrange for a child to be born that was just like Shining Armour?”

“Oh, I used my Fertility Ship of course.”


“Your what!” Spike lifted an eyebrow.

“I have a ship, which operates on the principle of magically enhanced unicorn levitation. You see, fertility problems are rare in Equestria, it’s not practical to have In vitro fertilization clinics in remote places. When ponies, yaks, griffins, or hippogriffs are having trouble conceiving, and they usually want discretion in such matters, I just fly over in my ship, pull them up in a tractor beam, and inside is a cutting edge mobile fertilization facility.”

“So roughly how many of the UFO sitings in the past centuries were actually you in your ship.”

Cadence ignored this, and went on with her story. The answer, of course, was all of them.

---

His parents named him Shiny Horseshoes. A slightly common name, but it would have been odd to call him anything other then Shiny.

I didn’t feel it was appropriate to groom the child. If this was Shining Armour returned to me then fate would do its part, even if I had to give fate a little nudge. All I asked was that the parents send me yearly progress reports, and also mention that a great secret would be revealed to him on his twentieth year, twenty seemed like an appropriate year.

On his twentieth birthday, I at last went to meet him.

In the early morning I ordered the wind to gather rose petals and make a path, leading him towards a lovely spot I picked in the woods around his home. Though it was out of season, I made flowers bloom all throughout the area, and as he looked around in wonder, I appeared before Shiny in a shower of golden light.

---

“Laying it on a bit thick, weren’t you?”

“First impressions can be very important.”

---

I told him that I was the princess of love, and I came because our hearts were drawn to one another.

He confessed that he had wished for this, he’d wished it for a long time.

I said so have I.

Then he said…he said…”With your help I know I can make Twilly love me.”

---

“Twilly, you mean Twilight?”

He was talking about a filly he met at a book fair, a cute unicorn, wearing a star necklace. When he asked her name, she said “Just call me Twily.”

“Oh so it wasn’t Twilight.” By that time Twilight was an Alicorn with a body type more like Cadence’s, if not Celestia’s.

“No, it was Twilight.”

Comments

[Lesolan - Rest In Peace]

Holy shit this is starting out good. Keep it coming!

[Nightsclaw]

Hmm, this leaves me wanting to know what happens next.

[Neece]

First, Fertility Ship was absolutely hilarious and pure genius.

Second, please do write more soon, this is totally bonkers and therefore brilliant

I couldn't but imagine Sunset being the one to listen to Cadence, though. Somehow it makes it even more hilarious to me.

[RainbowDoubleDash]

Well, this is definitely an interesting start. You could use a once-over with punctuation, though. Like, I feel the last line could have been delivered better with an ellipsis:

“No...it was Twilight.”

[Bronzedragon]

I ordered the wind to gather rose pedals [ petals ] gotta love spellcheck

[Cyndaquil]

9814641
I don't see it.

_{Gotta love how fimfiction let's you edit after the story is already pupblished.}

[AleaJactaEst]

Not particularly to my taste, but jesus, this is interestingly written