Cadance's hoof tapped the face of her sky blue acoustic guitar absentmindedly. She owned many instruments, and Shining knew she would own many more - including some that he would never see - but this guitar was quite new and not the same as the usual bass she liked to play.

Lighting her horn with a similar blue, she plucked at a few strings and ran the arcane energy through her short-cropped curls. Even this far north, the noon sun hit them at just the right angle, illuminating the blonde streaks just right, and Shining liked that. Reminders of a land he once called home could be found anywhere, and often where he least expected.

The sports were different. Here, jousting was all the rage and ice hockey too. Stories and legends lacked the elusive Starswirl the Bearded that many foals whispered about with excitement - a lone sorcerer, a mystery, and even Twily no longer spoke of her old idol. In the Crystal Empire, their great heroes were Crystal Alicorns and ponies of the past, Cadance, Shining himself, and Spike.

And Spike? He now slept in the Gemheart Mountains, slumbering and collecting a hoard of his own.

Shining cleared his throat, and his magic reached for the ale next to him. The crystalline mug was carved with images of shieldmaiden mares - a tradition Equestria was foreign with, the Equestrian Royal Guard being unified and traditionally male and for anypony who identified as such. He sipped his drink calmly, the only thoughts on his mind being the taste of ale, a dislike of hospitals and how he savored every moment out of them, and of course...

...Cadance.

Of course she would be on his mind often. She was his wife, his one and only, his love. She was a demigod too, with a centuries long lifespan. She was going to live beyond a normal pony's two hundred years.
Sometimes he thought about that.

Sometimes a bit often.

Maybe today was one of those days.

"Dear," Shining said when Cadance still hadn't played anything, "is something wrong?"

Cadance's purple eyes were now trained on him, with the barest hint of concern that he could recognize before anypony else when he saw her look like that. "No, Shiny. Just haven't thought of what I wanted to play." She pats the face of the guitar with a forehoof and lets the sound sink in. "Are you feeling okay?"

Another sip. It was a slow day, a day to relax. He was no Twily, but he'd have to work out the knots of his thoughts sometime. Maybe later. "Mm-hmm, yes dear." It wasn't a mumble but he spoke quietly and quickly enough.

He watched as Cadance scrunched up her muzzle. "Are you sure you're doing okay, Prince Brooding Armor?"

Shining sighed. "Yes, Candybutt-"

A hoof thumped the guitar in surprise. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" his wife shrieked.

Shining felt himself smile, and it occurred to him that was the first smile he had given all morning. To Cadance. To himself.

And then he heard a quick guffaw die in his throat and a giggle.

He mouthed 'Candybutt' in her direction, and she plucked a couple guitar strings in irritation, her muzzle still scrunched as sunbeams danced across it, casting stripes of light along her pink coat.

Another guffaw escaped Shining, sounding half like a cough. But he was smiling. His horn lit up with his magenta aura and he scratched his mostly gray beard. Did they need any words? He didn't think so.

Cadance smiled at him again, for what must've been the twentieth time this morning, and the gesture was still sweet. "You know what? I think I what I'm going to play-"

Shining's smile stuck. "You do? What's it going to be, eh?"

"Why don't you wait and see?" Cadance poked her tongue out at him and Shining even heard himself snicker. Today was certainly shaping up alright, wasn't it?

"Fine," he said, voice oozing unsubtle mock-impatience, "keep me waiting forever."

For a split second, there was a slice of silence between them that both understood, and then earnest, bubbly laughter from Shining's teasing wife.

"You won't be waiting forever," Cadance mutters, her cheerfulness unabashed by the slight slip, but there's still a sigh in her voice.

And the pause stretches, flowing thickly between them in the crystal-walled parlor. Shining wonders what shrewd Skyla, soon to rule once his Empress Cadance retired, will be doing this cold morning in her wing of the castle.

Maybe only he thought it a little cold today, even after all his years in the Empire.

Cadance splits the silence with a hum and his name. "Shiny?"

"Mhm?"

"Are you gonna listen?"

His smile is still there. "Yes, Cady, I'm all ears."

From across the room, a burst of blue aura tugs at his mane, pulling the lock as she shoots him a stink eye that Shining Armor always thinks would be more natural on Luna, since Cadance always makes it look too playful.

She then adjusts the guitar in her forehooves and leans back against the walls that Shining often found to be chilly even now, and the white outside the window acted as her backdrop.

"Anyway," she said, posed over her guitar, "here's-"

"Cady," Shining said, blue eyes lighting up and foalish whimsy causing his ears to prick forward - though not as quickly as they used to. "Look outside."

She turned around, mouth opening and the breath of a question never spoken fogging the window.

But she smiled a little wider when she saw the new snowflakes falling toward the ground below, dusting their empire with an echanting layer of white.