"A letter from Canterlot, Your Highness!" The messenger pony said, entering the throne room of the Crystal Empire palace.

"Thank you," Princess Mi Amore Cadenza said, taking the scroll from him. Sitting on the throne, she looked at the seal and glanced to her right. "I think it's for you," She said to the stallion beside her. Her husband, Prince Shining Armor, took the scroll from her. The seal on it belonged to his sister, Princess Twilight Sparkle. But the hoofwriting of the address was definitely his mother's. He pulled the scroll open and read the contents. "What is it?" Cadence asked after a moment. Shining rolled the scroll up and put it away.

"It's my paternal grandmother," he said solemnly. "She's dead," Cadence knelt beside him.

"Oh Shiny, I'm so sorry," she consoled.

"It's okay. She was pretty old. And it says that she died peacefully in her sleep," he said.

"But are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I-" he looked away, feeling a little regret. "I never really knew her. She lived in Fillydelphia. I had gone to visit her a couple of times when I was younger, but she never seemed to remember me. Dad said it was because she was sick. Beyond that, he never said,"

"What are you going to do?" Cadence asked.

"I need to go to Canterlot. And from there, Fillydelphia, for the funeral," he said.

"I'll come with you," she offered.

"No, that's okay," he said. "You stay here and look after things in the Empire. I should be back in a few days." And with that, he kissed her goodbye and followed the messenger pony back to the train from whence he came.

It was already evening by the time they boarded. He was told that the train ride would run over-night to reach Canterlot in the morning. The Frozen North line that had previously brought Royal Guards ponies to and from the northern outpost had since been retrofitted with the Crystal Empire's train, complete with a luxury caboose car.

Even after months of being a prince by marriage, Shining still was somewhat uncomfortable with all of the luxuries that surrounded his royal status. Even as an officer in the Canterlot Guard, he never took any conveniences that were not afforded to those stationed under his command. He ate what they were rationed. Carried his own equipment. On the front lines, if they had to sleep in the mud, then so did he.

And they respected him for it.

Shining sat in his chair in the caboose, regarding the bed opposite him. It was one of the nicest bed he'd ever seen, aside from the one he now shared with his wife. There was plenty of room for two, three, hell, even five could lay there comfortably. He remembered being packed into the troop cars during that skirmish with the griffon kingdom. It never came to a battle. They were there as a show of force while Princess Celestia wielded her diplomacy. One of those scuffles that the history books will neglect to record. He remembered what it was like packed in there; shoulder to shoulder, pack on lap, spear in hoof, barely enough room to even let out a fart.

And here he sat, a whole car to himself. A bed with night stands. A chair, and a desk stocked with quills and ink. A bookshelf with an assortment of reading and plentiful candles. He opened the cabinet opposite the end of the bed.

"... and a fully stocked mini-bar," he said to himself, pulling a bottle from the shelf. He looked around, as though somehow afraid that somepony was watching. His eyes reported that yes, he was indeed alone. He pulled the cork from the bottle and poured himself a glass. "It'll help me sleep," He reasoned with himself. He threw back the first drink. It was smooth. Dangerously so.

For most of his life, Shining was not a stallion of means. What little he had, he had earned. Which wasn't to say that he was rich, now per se. As royalty, or rather in a more practical sense, a celebrity, money no longer had any real meaning to him. He neither earned nor spent bits any longer. He would show up in the dining hall and food would just be there. He and his wife would go out and their service was complimentary, the food or drink was 'on the house'.

The very concept of the 'how' of his new life hadn't even really occurred to him until this moment. He hadn't had the time. Ever since the day they'd gotten married, it had just been a hurricane. Hurricane Cadence, and he was just holding on for the ride. He poured himself another glass of what he now freely presumed to be 'complimentary' cider and drank it. Just as smooth as the first.

That was the sure sign of top shelf liquor. When it tastes like it's not even liquor. He'd had some home-made stuff in the past that amounted to little more than dungeon wine. It would go down rough, an oft come up the same way. But not this. It was good, smooth, and strong. The room began to wobble like it was moving around him. He hadn't drunk that much. It was the train making a turn, causing the car to lurch a bit to one side. He quickly realized that cider and a moving room would quickly become a bad combination. He opted instead to just lay down and deal with life in the morning.

Shining opened his eyes. The room had stopped moving. The door to the caboose opened. His mother, Twilight Velvet walked inside the car.

"Hey sleepy head," she greeted him as he sat up and got out of the bed. "Did you sleep the whole way here?" she asked as she sat on the bed herself. "Ooh this is comfy!" She flopped onto the covers, sinking into the lush mattress. It was apparent to Shining that she had gained a fair bit of weight since he had last seen her. She looked back at him and fluttered her eyes. "You know, it would be an awful shame to waste this private train car..," she trailed off, wagging her hips at him on the bed and lifting her tail. He needed no further instruction. It had been so long since the last time he had been with her in this way. He was on top of her in an instant. Beneath him, she could already feel his eager hardness at her entrance.

"Hey now, go easy with me,"

"Why?" he asked in a naughty tone, nibbling on her ear.

"Because," she said, rolling to the side a bit and rubbing her tummy. He realized that she hadn't simply gained weight. She was pregnant! "Yeah, you're going to have a little brother or sister,"

"Can we still... you know?" he asked.

"Oh sure. I've been craving it. But you know how your father is," she winked. Shining kissed her, pressing his hips toward hers. In his haste, he was finding it difficult to hit his mark. At the risk of souring the mood, he broke the kiss, taking his length in his hoof to aim it manually, pulling her tail aside with his other hoof. As soon as her tail was moved he was greeted by a surprising sight. A pony's head was sticking out of her vagina. She looked up at him from under the tail.

"Hi Shining! It's me, your little sister" Twilight Sparkle said. "I'm here to out-shine you at everything you do, and be mom and dad's favorite foal. You can run off to join the Royal Guard, but you're going to have to marry a princess before they notice you again!"

"Ahh!" Shining cried. "Not again!"

"Gah!" Shining gasped as his eyes shot open. He was still under the covers of his bed. "Wow, that was a weird dream." On the pillow beside him, a mare rolled over.

"You're telling me," Princess Luna said.

"GAAAH!" Shining Armor's head popped off the pillow with a start. His eyes scanned the room, reporting that he was indeed alone. "Okay, THAT was a weird dream," he said to himself, grabbing the book from the nightstand and opening to a random page. He could read the book, which was a sure way to tell that he was indeed not in a dream any longer. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and roused himself to his hooves, stretching his legs. A knock came from the door.

"Your Highness, we've arrived at Canterlot," one of the guards stationed outside reported.

"I'll be out in a second," Shining said as he gathered his things together. Outside the train, on the dock of the station, his family waited to greet him. He stepped off of the train as Twilight rushed over to greet him. They caught eachother as she jumped into the hug. The two crystal guards followed him off of the train. "Oh, no you guys don't have to come with me. Stay on the train and head back to the Empire."

"We're sorry, Your Highness. Princess Cadenza's orders. Wherever you go, we go."

"For your protection," the other guard said.

"My protection? I don't need protection. I am- was, a captain of the Canterlot Royal Guard!" Shining said. The crystal guards exchanged dubious glances. Shining moved in a flash, grabbing a sword from one of their sheaths, pointing it menacingly at them. The other pulled his sword while the first fumbled with his spear.

"Sir, please! Drop the sword!" He begged.

"Or else what? You'll make me?" He asked incredulously. "Look at you both! Even now I'm still the best there ever was! There could be ten of you and I'd still be able to cut through all of you like cake!" He spat, tossing the sword on the ground the guards' hooves as the train began to pull away from the station.

"Shining, please," Twilight said, putting a hoof on his shoulder to diffuse the tension. "You don't need to show off." She looked past the guards at the train. "Oh no! Look who's on the train!" She cried out. The two guards turned and looked behind them before they each vanished in a flash of purple light. An instant later they reappeared inside the train. They rushed to the window, sticking their heads out to look back at the dock, speeding away. "IT'S YOU!" She shouted to them. She turned back to her brother beaming with a smug grin.

"What was that you were saying about showing off?" He asked her. She rolled her eyes.

"Shining, I know you were in the Guard for a long time," she said "But someday, when a mosquito lands on your balls, you're going to learn that violence isn't always the answer," The siblings walked over to their parents waiting a short distance away and chatting with Twilight personal guards.

"Your Highness."
"Captain."
The Royal Guards greeted in disharmonious stereo, unsure of how to address their former commander.

"What about these two?" Twilight asked Shining of her guards. "Are you going to threaten them as well to leave us alone?" Shining put his hoof up in deference.

"No. By all means, show me how it's done," Shining said in a thinly-veiled, sarcastic tone. Twilight smiled and turned to the guards, fluttering her eyelashes.

"All right now. You colts go ahead and run along back to the castle," she said in a saccharine-sweet tone. Neither of them moved. "Come on now," She continued. "I know you both went through a lot of work to earn this assignment and you have my gratitude. But you must have heard what my previous guards have said about me, haven't you?" They gulped. "You have, haven't you? Be honest." They each nodded. "What did they say, exactly? And don't lie! I will know if your lying,"

"They said that- that, you're crazy," one of them stammered. She smiled at his nervousness.

"Then why don't you go ahead and head back to the castle then and take the rest of the day off?" Twilight offered.

"But- but Princess Celestia said-" he answered

"Princess Celestia isn't here. I am. Worry about me!" she cut him off. He stood fast.

"We're not afraid," he said as they both stood tall. "Wherever you go, we go!" Twilight sighed. It was clear that she wasn't going to be able to reason with them.

"Hey Shining, you know what I feel like?" Twilight asked.

"What?" He asked, rising to her bait. She spread her wings.

"Flying practice!" she said. In a flash, she and her two unicorn guards vanished in a flash of purple light, reappearing several thousand feet in the air. They grabbed eachother in a panicked hug and screamed.

"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!"
"AAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

Twilight tucked her wings and followed them downward in free-fall. The ground rapidly approached them.

"Are you two- HACHH! Thwoo!" Twilight spat out the bug that flew into her mouth. "Are you two ready to head back to the castle!?" she shouted over the sound of the air rushing past them.

"YEEEEEEEEEESSS!"
"YEEEEEEEEEESSS!"

"Are you sure you don't want to follow me around!?" she asked.

"YEEEEEEEEEESSS!"
"YEEEEEEEEEESSS!"

Another flash and the trio reappeared on the ground. As soon as the two of them recovered they galloped as fast as they could in the general direction of the castle. "I wonder how you ever got a reputation for being crazy," Shining dead-panned beside her as they watched them run off. A large droplet fell onto his ear.

"Oh look, I beat my loogie to the ground!" Twilight said with a smile.

"Eww," he cringed, wiping his ear clean.

"Are you two quite finished playing around?" Twilight Velvet asked.

"Sorry mom," they said in stereo. From the opposite direction on the track, a different train pulled into the station.

"All aboard for Fillydelphia!" the conductor called from the front of the train.

"Come on, that's us," their father, Night Light said as he led them onto the train. The solemn tone reminded them of the gravity of the trip. They were going to a funeral for Night Light's mother.