The Crystal Empire was spreading its light all over Equestria, bringing peace and joy; and from the balcony of the palace Twilight Sparkle got a perfect view of the radiant land below.

She took a glance at her right and couldn't help but giggle at the sight of his older brother, Prince of the Crystal Nation; acting like a complete fool, making all kind of silly faces to his newborn daughter. The usually serious Shining Armor looked ridiculous sticking his tongue and twisting his eyes all to get the baby to laugh. She remembered how he used to play a similar game to Spike when he was just out of his egg. Shining had a huge soft spot for babies.

"More tea, Twilight?" Cadence asked, levitating the teapot.

"Thanks...umh Cadence?"

"Yes?"

"Do you remember your wedding day?"

"its kind of a hard day to forget,"

"Yes, of course," Twilight admitted, scratching her head. "But the truth is that, since that day, there´s something I have been trying to ask you. How did you know about the changelings? None of my books had any information about them and the ones from the library that did were very old and haven´t been consulted in years."

Cadence sighed, obviously not interested in answering that particular question. "First-hoof experience I´m afraid. Let me explain Twilight..."

****

Not too long after you were accepted in my aunt academy, Shining returned from his training service, no longer a cadet but an official member of the guard, and his first assignment was the protection of a princess, namely me.

Looking back, my aunt must have caught how nervous I used to be around him and how I kept talking about him on dinners; so she did that on purpose.

On our first day together, i decided to take a picnic on the outskirts of the city. It was supposed to be just a simple outing but it turned into a disaster. For starters, your brother back then was unnecessary serious all the time. Don´t laugh Twilight, you two have more in common than you think. He secured the area of the picnic, he double secured the area just to be safe, he made a defense perimeter and he even interrogated some squirrels because they seemed suspicious. Worst of all, he decided to stand perfectly still and don´t even talk to me, standing in guard the entire afternoon. I got mad and decided he wasn´t going to ruin my meal.

One of my maids went inside the forest looking for some leafs she insisted the tea needed. Unfortunately, lurking in the woods was a creature you and I came to know very well, Twilight. At the time we have no idea she had been assaulted but when she returned with her eyes glowing green and acting strange, we figured something was amiss. And when she tried to bite me we knew it for sure.

She transformed back into its original form and despite being a single minion changeling, it had absorbed enough strength to knock down three guards, including Shining. My maids were in danger so I came forward and tried to protect them. I´m ashamed to admit that magic is not my thing. You probably would have knocked it down or even teleported everypony out but all my spell did was actually make it stronger, my desire to protect my friends feeding it. Just when the changeling jumped, Shingin got in the middle, casting his protection spell. You told me once he got his Cutie Mark protecting you from a wild beast, right Twilight? He seems to be very good at those kind of situations. He stood there, repealing the monster and when I told him to be careful, he answered:

"What kind of guard I am if I can´t even protect the mare I love?"

I know I know but your brother has always loved to make big speeches. i smiled at him and that renewed his strengths, allowing him to throw the changeling back into the forest. The first thing he did was check everypony was all right and ask the guards to search for my maid and I´ve to admit, that made me blush, seeing him so confident and in charge.

He smiled back at me and from that day on, we were both more honest with each other...

****

"And when you came back you started investigating about these creatures..." Twilight said.

"Actually, it was Aunt Celestia who did the research. She later shared the information with me. She was really concerned about these creatures and the damage they could do to Equestria. You can tell she has quite an animosity towards that cheese-legged tyrant"

"Yeah, me too..."

"But it doesn´t matter if she tries to attack again. I feel safe because I have my knight in shining armor."

They both looked at Shining who was peering over the crib and when the baby touched his snout, he let go the goofiest of laughs.

Twilight looked back at Cadence who just shrugged. Sure, he looked goofy but he was still her beloved knight.

Twilight returned to her cup of tea while the Crystal Heart keep spreadin it slight over the land.