Flecks of snow descended upon Canterlot, covering the city in a white blanket. The ponies of Canterlot were all resting indoors, enjoying the cozy warmth inside their homes on a cold Hearth’s Warming Eve night. Every pony was celebrating the night, laughing with their friends and loved ones. Everyone was happy, all except one unicorn filly.

The young purple unicorn was staring outside her window glumly while watching the snowflakes fall. On most Hearth’s Warming Eves, she would usually be ecstatic about celebrating the holiday. However, this particular day was an exception.

While she was gazing outside her window, a white unicorn mare and a blue unicorn stallion trotted into her room. The two ponies watched their sad daughter from the doorway, a look of concern worn on their faces.

“Twilight, dear, are you alright?” the white unicorn asked. The little filly only shook her head.

The two older unicorns walked up to the young Twilight and wrapped her in a comforting hug. “We know that you’re still sad that Shining Armor is gone at the Royal Guard Academy,” said Twilight’s father. Ever since Twilight and her parents got a letter from Shining Armor saying that he couldn’t make it back home for Hearth’s Warming Eve, Twilight has been feeling melancholic. Twilight had never had a Hearth’s Warming Eve without her BBBFF, and now that he was gone, she felt lonely.

“Even though your brother couldn’t be here, he left a gift for you,” continued her father. Her mother levitated a white box tied with a red ribbon over to Twilight. Twilight wore a look of surprise when she took the present in her hooves. Both of her parents were smiling, hoping to cheer up her sour mood.

“Go on, Twilight. Open it,” said her mother.

Twilight carefully removed the ribbon and took off the lid of the box. Inside was a toy made to look like a unicorn soldier. The toy was a white unicorn stallion with a blue mane and tail. He wore a red uniform with golden shoulder patches and brass buttons, and on his head sat a tall red hat. At his side, he had a wooden sword attached to his belt. His eyes were just two painted light blue dots. Overall, Twilight thought that the toy unicorn and her brother looked strikingly similar.

Twilight lifted the toy soldier and hugged it to her chest. “Oh I love it!” Her parents smiled at this, glad to see their daughter no longer sad.

“You’re mother and I are both very glad to see you happy again,” said her father. Twilight was now playing with Shining Armor’s gift, using her books to make a fort. Her parents gave another warm smile at their now smiling daughter before they left the room, leaving Twilight to play with Shining Armor’s gift.

Twilight played with the toy soldier, using the things in her room as props to fuel her imagination. She brought out some of her toys from her bedroom closet, one of them being a ragged-looking doll of a pony with mismatched button eyes, blue pants dotted with white polka dots, and black yarn for a mane. She named the doll Smarty Pants because she always pretended that Smarty Pants would do his homework with his own notebook and quill. She used her Smarty Pants doll and her toy soldier to act out her make-believe story, in which she was the damsel in distress being rescued by the unicorn soldier from the clutches of the evil Smarty Pants.

Along with the toys she brought out, she also brought out a small, wooden music box that she got from her foalsitter. It was beautifully crafted, according to her foalsitter, by the best woodworkers in Canterlot. It was crafted out of mahogany wood, and its dark brown surface was sleek and smooth to the touch. Inside the small box, there was a small figure standing on a platform. The figure was an ornament that resembled a pink mare. She had large wings that were outstretched to its full length. Her pink coat faded into the shade of amethyst towards the tips of her feathers. Perched on her head was her horn, which poked out between strands of her blonde, pink, and violet mane. Her eyes were also simply designed like her toy soldier except her eyes were lavender. She also wore an elegant yellow dress with white accents as well as golden shoes complement the attire. Sitting on her head was a large golden crown, completing her regal appearance. She was poised like a ballerina with one of her forelegs out in front of her and her opposite hind leg stretched outward.

Twilight set the music box on her desk and opened it. When she wound up the key of the music box, her room was then filled with the pleasant chimes of the box’s melody. She then held the toy soldier in her hooves and began to twirl around her room as she danced with the inanimate unicorn. The princess pony in the music box also twirled around on the platform she was standing on as the gears of the mechanism turned to play the music. Twilight was too absorbed in playing with her toys that she didn’t realize how long she had been playing. When she looked at her clock, it had already gotten late, way past her bedtime.

A loud yawn escaped her, and she was soon starting to feel heavy-eyed. She turned off the lights of her room before crawling to bed with the soldier in her hooves. The room was dimly lit by a single lit candle. Its light bathed the room in a faint orange glow. Twilight got under the covers her bed and turned her head towards the tiny toy unicorn, which sat on her pillow next to her head. As her eyelids began to droop, she thought she saw the toy unicorn smile for a moment. She then succumbed to the comfort that sleep brought. Other than the sound of her breathing, the room was relatively silent.

While the unicorn filly slept, a maniacal laughter was heard but not loud enough to wake up the sleeping, defenseless filly.

Twilight was sleeping soundly until she started feeling something soft move under her, gradually picking up speed. When she cracked one of her eyes open, all she saw was white. Both her eyes shot open and got a good look around her. It seemed like she was on a large white mountain, except the snow was replaced by a soft material. Twilight realized that the feeling she felt was actually her body sliding down the mountain.

She tried to grab onto the ground below her to stop her descent but had no luck. When she got closer to the ground below, which looked like a sea of purple, she was expecting pain or some kind of misfortune to occur, and she closed her eyes. All of a sudden, a male voice called out to her.

“I got you!” shouted the mysterious voice.

Twilight felt herself land on something soft but sturdy. When she opened her eyes again, the first thing she noticed was a white coat and a two-toned, blue mane. Her rescuer turned his head to look at her with his large sapphire eyes before saying in a comforting tone: “Are you alright, Twilight?”

Twilight stared at the white stallion in front of her. When she saw his face, she wrapped two hooves around his neck. “Shining Armor! It’s great to see you again. I’ve missed you so much!” she said as she nuzzled his neck.

The stallion, however, gave her a puzzled look. “Shining Armor? Is that my name?” he asked.

Twilight broke the hug and returned a confused look towards the stallion. Looking at the rest of him, she saw that he wore a red uniform with a real sheathed sword at his side. She also saw a tall red hat resting on his blue mane. When she looked at his flank, where was supposed to be a cutie mark was just his bare, white coat. Everything about the stallion not only looked similar to her brother but their voices were the same. The stallion also looked exactly like her toy soldier.

“W-who are you?” she asked.

He gave a questioning glance. “I was hoping you would know. After all, you did play with me.”

“Play with you? Were you the toy soldier?”

“Yes, Twilight.”

“How is that even possible?! Toys can’t talk, and last time I checked, the toy soldier was barely larger than my hoof!” she shouted, bewildered by such an impossible event.

“Uh Twilight. I think you should take another look around you,” he replied, still maintaining his calm tone.

Twilight looked around her. She noticed that the stallion she was on was standing on the purple sea, and the folds on the sea made her realize that it was actually some kind of fabric. She looked back at the mountain she was once sliding down on and found out it was actually a gargantuan pillow. An orange glow of light, coming from a large partially melted candle, showed what looked like her room but only larger.

“What? But how?! I was just normal sized a while ago, and you weren’t able to talk.” The stallion merely gave a shrug, unable to answer Twilight’s questions. She gave a sigh, giving up on explaining her circumstance.

The stallion finally broke the silence by speaking up. “Twilight, I want to thank you for your kindness for caring for me, playing with me, and for being my first friend.”

Twilight smiled at the stallion. The way he spoke reminded her of her brother. He talked in a calm, friendly tone, showing not a hint of malice. “You’re welcome, uh…” What was she supposed to call this stallion? He didn’t have a name to go by. Instead of coming up with a new name, she went by the name she was most familiar with. “Shining.”

“Is that my new name?” he asked, tilting his head.

“Well, you can tell me if you don’t like it,” she said, fearing that he wouldn’t like the name.

“Shining, huh? I love it!” he beamed back at her, which also brought another smile to her face. “So what do we do now?” he asked.

Twilight got off his back and landed on her rump on what she was expecting to be solid ground. Instead as soon as she fell on the bed, she was sent bouncing upward by the springs in her mattress. “Whoa!”

Shining also jumped on the bed and bounced towards her, catching Twilight in his hooves midair. She held onto his neck as they soared in the air. The two of them were bouncing around on the mattress. They were now laughing as they jumped up and down on the bed. At one point, Twilight let go and bounced along with Shining. They were jumping to see who jumped the highest, and they also struck ridiculous poses in the air, trying to imitate the poses of figure skaters.

In the midst of their mirth, Shining noticed a pony faraway on a high desk. Her appearance was breath-taking. She had both wings and a horn, and her royal appearance made her look like a pony of very high status. Her pulchritude caused his chest to tighten and his heart to flutter the longer he gazed at her. She didn’t take notice of him as she was too immersed in her dancing. Shining had no words to describe the elegance and beauty of her dance. She moved fluidly and without any faults in her steps. It was like watching a work of art being made.

Twilight noticed in the middle of her bouncing that Shining had stopped jumping and laughing with her. She followed his gaze towards the alicorn that was dancing on the other side of the room. He looked like he was daydreaming as he looked at the alicorn princess. She climbed onto his back and began waving her hoof in front of his face.

“Hello? Shining? Equestria to Shining, are you there?” she asked.

At long last, he finally responded. “Who is that?”

“I’m not sure what her name is, but she reminds me a lot like my foalsitter. Maybe you should go talk to her?”

That last question brought Shining out of his dazed state, and he started getting flustered with a fierce blush on his face. “M-me?! Would someone as beautiful as her talk to somepony like me? She has both wings and a horn, while I only have a horn. What if she doesn’t like me and says I’m not good enough for her. And even if we did meet, I wouldn’t even know what to say!”

“Shining!” Twilight’s outburst put a halt to Shining’s frantic rambling. “Just go talk to her. I’m sure she would love to meet a stallion as nice as you.”

Shining took a deep breath. “You’re right, Twilight. I should just go over there and talk to her.”

She looked at the large distance between them and the beautiful alicorn. “Just one question, how are we going to get over there?”

Shining looked around for anything that could help them. When he got closer to the edge of the bed, he noticed that part of her blanket fell off the bed and onto the floor.

“We could use the blanket to get down from the bed,” he said.

Twilight looked unsure at the thought of climbing down from such a height. “I don’t know… What if we fall?”

“Trust me, Twiley. I’ll make sure nothing bad happens to you,” he replied. His tone of assurance and his use of the nickname her brother called her was enough for Twilight to let go of her fears. She could completely trust Shining.

Twilight was on his back again with her hooves holding his neck firmly. Shining used all four of him limbs and his mouth to carefully descend down the blanket. Twilight had her eyes closed since she was too scared to look down. It had only taken a few minutes for the two of them to reach the bottom. They looked around for any other place that could get them to the princess. After giving the room another quick observation, Twilight noticed some stacks of books.

“We could use those books to climb up to the desk.”

Shining gave a chuckle when he noticed how high the books were stacked. “It’s a good thing you read a lot.” She huffed as he said this.

Shining pushed some of the stacks of books closer and rearranged some of the books so that they formed stairs made out of books. Since Twilight was too small to climb up the steps the books made, Shining had to carry her on his back again. By the time they reached the top of the desk, Shining was exhausted and panting. Twilight got off of him to give him some rest. After composing himself, Shining looked presentable enough to meet the alicorn princess.

They trotted up to the music box and watched the mare dance gracefully without noticing their presence. Shining and Twilight had climbed up the music box so that he and the princess were now face to face. When she noticed him, she stopped dancing and faced him, giving him a welcoming grin. Shining’s heart felt like it was about to burst out of his chest just from being this close to the mare. He could feel himself starting to sweat, and his legs felt weak as if they were about to give out at any moment. He finally gathered up the courage to speak.

“Tie fame ist Shiny,” he said tongue-tied. The mare giggled at his gibberish as she covered her mouth to keep herself from bursting with laughter.

Twilight facehoofed at seeing Shining in such a flustered state. It was like seeing her brother ask a mare out, and the analogy couldn’t get any closer since Shining looked almost exactly like her brother. To save him from further embarrassment, Twilight decided to be his translator.

“Excuse him. He says his name is Shining,” she said. “And my name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“Hello. It is nice to meet you two. I would give you my name, but it appears that I don’t have one,” she replied in a friendly tone. “Twilight, would you do the honor of giving me a name? You have shown so much kindness by listening to my music and watching me dance, even to go as far as to dance yourself.”

Everything about the mare made her look almost like an exact copy of her foalsitter. If she and Shining were to stand next to her foalsitter and her brother, they would look almost the same, except that Shining and the alicorn currently next to her looked slightly older than their counterparts.

“Well, I gave Shining the name of my brother because they both looked the same. You remind me a lot like my foalsitter. Is it alright if I call you Cadance?” Twilight asked.

The mare gave a nod. “It’s more than alright. I love the way my new name sounds,” she replied cheerfully.

Shining had finally built up enough courage to say something to Cadance without sounding nonsensical. “C-Cadance, I just want to say that you dance with much grace and beauty.”

Cadance tittered at the compliment. “Why, thank you Shining. You certainly are a gentlecolt.”

Shining could feel his face grow hot at the compliment. He steeled his nerve for his next question. “Would you do the honor of dancing with me?” he asked as he bowed to her in a polite manner.

She smiled and gave her reply. “Of course, I would love to dance with you,” she said as she gave a curtsy.

From outside the window, they could all hear song being played by some unknown musicians. The tune was carried out into the silent cold air. The night was beautifully created by the lunar princess. Stars dotted and twinkled the dark sky. The moon was at its fullest. Its luminescent white glow washed over everything in its view.

As soon as the melody of music reached into the bedroom, Shining and Cadance began dancing with each other in the glow of the moonlight that shone through the window and lit up their stage. They moved their hooves and bobbed their heads to the rhythm as they matched each other's steps. Cadance even used her wings so that she was flying alongside Shining as she soared and spiraled in the air, while Shining matched her movements on the ground with a graceful twirl and a jump. Shining was no longer nervous around the mare and was calm and composed as he danced. Cadance was lost in the sound of music as she flew and twirled. As they danced, they eventually got closer to the point where Shining took her hoof and they were now dancing side by side with Shining leading. Twilight watched the two of them dance. Their motions were delicate and filled with finesse, and they matched each other’s steps without error. Although this was only their first time meeting, Shining and Cadance danced as if they had rehearsed it together. As if they were made for each other. A soldier and his beloved princess.

Twilight was too engrossed in their dance to notice a large dark figure creeping up on the two dancers. Without warning, the dance came to an abrupt halt as the dark figure grabbed Cadance with one of its limbs. Twilight and Shining looked in horror as Cadance was forcefully taken away. Upon closer inspection at the dark figure, they saw it was Twilight’s Smarty Pants doll, except it looked different. They were able to discern a pair of mismatched eyes, a toothy grin, and a thick bushy white brow and beard. On his head he had what looked like a deer antler and a goat horn. He looked at them with a wicked grin that sent chills up their spines.

“Aw, a dance and you didn’t invite me?” asked the doll in a joking tone.

To say Shining was furious was an understatement. “Who are you?!” he shouted.

“Moi?” he asked, holding his other limb to his chest. “I’m hurt that you don’t know me. Do you ponies live under a rock or something? Well if you must know, my name is Discord!” he shouted as he puffed up his chest as if he was expecting an applause. Apparently, he was expecting one since the next thing he said was: “What? Don’t I get an applause? Not even a cheer?”

“Release her, right now!” shouted Shining. Twilight, however, was frightened of the odd being that towered over them, and she hid behind Shining.

Discord didn’t look at all fazed by Shining’s orders. “Oh but if I did that, then where would be the fun? You’re going to have to work if you want your sweet little princess back.” Shining had unsheathed his sword, and using his mouth to hold his sword, he attempted to take a swing at Discord’s lower legs. Discord was able to take a step back and dodge Shining’s swing. “Ah ah ah. Don’t get too excited now. You’re going to need that for later. But for now, let’s play a game shall we?”

Suddenly, Twilight’s cries could be heard from behind him. “Shining! Help!”

He turned around to see Discord, who was just a second ago in front of him, now behind him holding both Twilight and Cadance with his stuffed hooves, their cries for help muffled by his large hooves. “Now that you’ve paid your entry into the game, it’s time to begin,” said Discord with a mischievous smirk on his face.

In the blink of an eye, Shining was now standing in front of a tall bookshelf, and on top of the shelf, Twilight and Cadance were dangling on separate ropes and were far apart from each. The ropes restricted their legs and wings, and the two were blindfolded and had a cloth tied around their mouths. Shining looked in horror at his two dangling friends. If either one were to fall, it would surely be disastrous. Between them, Discord stood looking down on Shining.

“You should really see the view from up here, Shining. It really is lovely. I’m sure these lovely girls would enjoy it too if they weren’t blindfolded,” said Discord.

“Twilight! Cadance!” shouted Shining. “Alright, what do I have to do?!” he asked, his contempt clearly expressed.

“All you have to do is answer one question.”

“I’ll answer your question as long as you let them go.”

“But wait! There’s a catch,” he grinned mischievously. “If you answer the question right, I’ll let them go. But if you answer it wrong…” The implication was not lost on the stallion. He had to answer the question right. His friends’ lives were in his hooves. Shining reluctantly nodded to the agreement. “Wonderful! Now here’s the question: Pretend that your friends were dangling perilously over their doom and that you can only save one of them, what would you do?”

Shining thought about the question. How was he supposed to save both if he could only choose one? While in the middle of this thoughts Discord said, “Oh and some things I forgot to mention. You only get one chance at a right answer, and you have a three minute time limit.”

Shining looked back up at Discord with hate burning in his eyes. “What?! That’s not fair!”

“You and I could be arguing about what’s fair and what’s not, but I would think you would use this time wisely to save your little friends. Clock is ticking, Shining.”

Shining was feeling the intensity of the situation, but he couldn’t let his panic cloud his thoughts. The situation Discord gave him was impossible to solve. He couldn’t choose one friend over the other. Both Cadance and Twilight were equally important to him. He had to save the love of his life, Cadance, as well as his first and best friend, Twilight. After mulling over the question, he finally had his answer and just in time too. A loud ringing was heard, and Discord took out a ringing pocket watch from his polka-dotted pants. “Time’s up, Shining. What do you say?”

Shining took a deep breath, hoping he had the right answer. “You know, I’ve been thinking about the situation you gave me, and I thought of how impossible it was to save both of them. But now I know a way to save both of them,” smirked Shining.

“Oh? And how exactly would you do that?” asked Discord with one brow raised.

“It’s easy when you don’t overthink it. I just stop pretending.”

Discord looked displeased at the answer. “Aw, you were right,” grumbled Discord. In an instant, the two dangling ponies disappeared and appeared next to Shining. They all gave each other a hug with tears in their eyes.

“Shining, I was so scared,” cried Twilight.

“I’m so glad, you’re not hurt,” said Cadance.

Shining hugged the both Cadance and Twilight in his hooves. “I’m fine Cadance. I’m just glad you two are alright. Twilight, I said I’ll make sure that nothing bad will ever happen to you.”

“Oh how sweet,” Discord said sarcastically. “I’m getting cavities just from watching, but enough of that. I’m going to do this the old fashion way and get rid of you myself. You’ve been a thorn in my backside long enough.” He then swung one of his hooves at the three of them. Shining managed to push Twilight and Cadance out of the way but was swept off his hooves and sent flying into some books.

“Shining!” shouted Twilight and Cadance.

Shining climbed out of the pile of books and shook off the blow as if it was nothing. “This is fine by me,” he huffed out. He looked towards the frightened Twilight and worried Cadance. “Cadance, I want you to keep Twilight safe.”

“Shining…” Twilight said looking pleadingly at Shining, begging him not to go.

He walked up to Twilight and gave her a hug. “Don’t worry Twilight. I promise I’ll be fine.” When he broke the hug, he gave a smile to Cadance. “Cadance, please, keep her safe.” Cadance nodded solemnly. Shining turned back towards Discord with a serious expression. He took his sword in his mouth before charging forward towards Discord.

Discord gave a smirk before stepping aside, causing Shining to miss his swing. As soon as Shining turned around to face his opponent, his face was struck by a red and white object, causing him to stagger backwards. His face stung all over, and when he looked up to see what hit him, he saw Discord nonchalantly licking a striped candy cane. Discord stopped licking to taunt the not-so-happy unicorn. “Not a fan of candy cane?”

Shining let out an angry snort before lunging back at Discord. The misshapen doll parried Shining’s swings with his large candy cane, and even returned some swings back, though Shining was able to swiftly dodge them. Twilight and Cadance were at a safe distance, hiding behind a large dictionary as they watched the battle between the two. They watched with worried looks as Discord and Shining exchanged blows, the duel showing no favor towards either side.

Shining was left battered and bruised from some of Discord’s swings, but he was able to return the same amount of blows, though Discord didn’t seem as fatigued as he was. Shining knew that if the duel lasted any longer, he was done for. Discord kept his wicked smile as he launched a relentless barrage of attacks. Shining was backed into a stack of books as he tried to parry Discord’s attacks. He was sore all over, and the fatigue was sapping his strength. He was breathing heavily, and Discord knew that the unicorn was outmatched.

“Well this is certainly amusing. The big, brave stallion outmatched in his duel to save his best friend and his love. What’s the matter, Shiny? Am I too much for you?” Discord taunted.

Unexpectedly, Shining began to laugh and gave Discord a smirk of his own. “Outmatched? Those hits of yours couldn’t even harm a fly. This ‘duel’ of yours is just a joke, a pitiful attempt at gaining attention and feeling superior. What’s the matter, Discord? Am I right?”

Discord lost his mischievous grin and replaced it with a scornful frown. “Insolent foal! We’ll see who’s pathetic as soon as you get a taste of my peppermint wrath!”

Discord held the candy cane he was holding high above his head. Twilight and Cadance watched in horror as Discord was about to deliver his decisive blow. “SHINING!” they screamed, but it was too late to stop Discord.

Just as Discord swung his cane towards Shining, the unicorn rolled out of the way, barely evading the crushing blow. Discord’s weapon only made contact with the stack of books behind Shining, causing the books to teeter and totter and eventually toppling over the disfigured doll. Discord, realizing his mistake, dropped his cane and held out his limbs in vain to stop the falling gigantic books. Books pummeled and pounded the unfortunate doll and cluttered and clattered on the bedroom floor.

Beside the wreckage, a weary unicorn stallion was splayed out on the ground. Twilight and Cadance were overjoyed to see Shining alive and well and ran towards him. Shining noticed the mare and the filly galloping towards him, and just as he got up and was about to walk towards them, something grabbed his right hind leg and pulled him. The mare and the filly stopped in their tracks, and their eyes widened in shock as they watched Discord emerge from the pile of books, his fury clearly expressed on his face. In his right stuffed hoof was Shining who was struggling to escape his grasp, though with no success.

“You thought YOU could defeat ME? That was a fatal mistake on your part, and now you must pay dearly,” Discord said as he proceeded to choke the life out of the unicorn soldier by tightening his grip around the unicorn’s body. Discord laughed madly as he watched the stallion suffer.

While Twilight was crying at the sight of Shining suffocating, Cadance turned to Twilight with a desperate look on her face. “Twilight, we have to save him!” shouted Cadance.

“B-But how?! What can we do?” asked the sniffling Twilight.

“You and I are the only ones who can save him. We can save Shining, but you’re the only one who can defeat Discord.”

“Me?! But I’m just a little filly! How am I supposed to save him?”

“Twilight, look at me,” said Cadance as she gently placed a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. Twilight looked up into Cadance’s calming eyes. “You’re the only one who can perform magic. I know you can do it. I’ve seen you practice magic many times before. I believe you can do it.”

Twilight had calmed down enough so that she had stopped crying, but her fear remained. She gathered up enough courage to say, “Okay, I’ll do it. But how do we stop him?”

“I’ll buy you and Shining some time, while you charge up a spell to defeat Discord.” Twilight gave a nod, and Cadance spread her wings before taking off towards Discord. Twilight reluctantly followed after her, hoping that Cadance’s plan would work.

Cadance charged forwards with both of her hooves out in front of her. Discord was too busy laughing at Shining’s suffering to notice two hooves hit his face, causing him to stagger backwards and slightly loosen his firm grip on the stallion. When he looked up, he saw a crossed alicorn flying towards him again. He was ready this time and caught the mare with his other stuffed hoof. Like Shining, Cadance was also trapped in his grasp. Discord let out a guffaw.

“Sorry, my little princess, but surprises like that only works once.”

Not far away, a cry from a filly could be heard. “Leave my friends alone!”

Discord looked down at the small, shaking filly whose horn was glowing with a purple aura. Discord started snickering which turned into a thunderous laugh. “You, a filly, think you can take me on? You have a better chance of being the apprentice of some powerful being than if you can take me on.” He was laughing so hard to the point of there being tears in his eyes.

At the moment, Twilight was scared stiff. Her legs locked into place and were unable to move at her will. Taking another look at her struggling friends, she gathered her courage and took a step forward.

“I know I can beat you! My friends believe in me, and if they believe in me, then I can believe in them. All I need to do is trust in my friends, and with my friends behind me, I know I can defeat you with their help!” she shouted as her eyes glowed white while she levitated in the air with her horn giving off a bright light.

Both Shining and Cadance began levitating out of Discord’s grasp, and they too had glowing white eyes. They looked at each other and smiled. Making their way to Twilight, they hovered in the air above her while they looked into each other’s glowing eyes. They leaned their heads towards each other so that their horns were touching. Their horns lit up in a bright light, and immediately, all three ponies' horns shot a piercing light at Discord, causing him to scream.

"This can't be possible! To be defeated by something as ridiculous as friendship! NOOO!" he shouted as the beam of light hit him. The doll fell limp and returned to its original, lifeless appearance.

The three ponies floated back to the ground exhausted. They did have enough energy to give each other a group hug.

"Twiley, I'm glad you're safe and alright. What you did just then was amazing!" Said Shining.

"Twilight, I'm so proud of you. You've shown great bravery even when the odds were against you. I knew you could do it," said Cadance.

Twilight blushed at the compliments. "I really couldn't have done it without you two. You gave me the courage to defeat Discord by believing in me."

They held their embrace until Cadance broke it and turned to Shining. "Thank you, Shining, for protecting me and Twilight. Your desire to protect others is truly admirable," she said as she wrapped two hooves around Shining.

Shining became hot and flustered at the mare's words and touch. "I couldn't just stand around and watch you or Twilight get hurt. I would have done anything to keep you both safe," he said as he returned her hug.

Suddenly, Cadance got a sly grin on her face. "Oh Shining. You forgot something before our dance was rudely interrupted."

He gave a questioning glance. "What?"

Cadance leaned forward and pressed her lips against Shining's. He was taken by surprise but showed no reluctance towards it as they held their kiss for what he thought felt like forever. Twilight watched from the sidelines as they kissed and smiled at the couple.

They broke their kiss as they gazed into each others' eyes. Shining was the first to speak up. 'Wow..." Cadance tittered at his awestruck reaction. He gave a chuckle. “You know… When I first saw you, I thought I didn’t have a chance with such a beautiful mare. I thought that I, a lowly unicorn soldier, wasn’t going to be good enough for an alicorn princess. I was terrified at the thought that you would reject me, but when I finally met you, I felt all my fears fade away and become replaced by a new, indescribable feeling. It was a feeling that told me that all was right with the world. Thank you for accepting me for who I am. Cadance…I love you.”

Cadance had tears of joy in her eyes, and she gave Shining another peck on the lips. “I love you too, Shiny. Do you mind if I call you that?”

“Only if I can call you, Cadie,” replied the smiling unicorn. The two were laughing as they nuzzled each other, their love for each other now made known.

Twilight was starting to feel sleepy and tired from her adventure with her new friends. The couple noticed the tired filly and decided to put her in her bed. Shining picked up Twilight and placed her on his back. With Twilight firmly holding onto Shining’s neck, he, with Cadance flying by his side, trotted towards the oversized bed, being careful to climb down the stack of books and up the blanket of Twilight’s bed.

When they had finally reached Twilight’s pillow, Shining set the sleeping Twilight gently on the soft mattress. Cadance helped by pulling the covers over the filly’s body. Twilight curled up as soon as she was snug in her bed. Both Cadance and Shining smiled at the sleeping unicorn, and they each gave Twilight a peck on the forehead while she slept. Twilight was sleeping peacefully with a grin on her face, undisturbed by the unicorn and the alicorn.

Before the two trotted away to let her sleep, they both whispered: “Good night, Twilight.”

Twilight woke up with the sun in her eyes. She rubbed one eye with her hoof and looked at the room around her. Everything was back to its normal size and was where she had left them – the stack of books, the music box, and her Smarty Pants doll. She looked at the object lying on her pillow. The unicorn soldier lay where it was as if nothing had happened. She even saw the alicorn figure still standing on the opened music box.

“Was that all a dream?” she asked herself.

She then heard some knocks on her bedroom door, followed by a familiar voice. “Twiley, you awake yet?”

She jumped out from her covers and ran up to the door and opened it to see a white unicorn stallion, who she knew as her brother. “Shining Armor!” she shouted as she squeezed her brother in a tight hug.

He gave a chuckle at his sister’s enthusiasm. “I see that you’ve missed me. Sorry I couldn’t be here sooner, but it took a lot of persuading for them to let me leave. So how did you like the gift I sent you?”

Twilight broke the hug to run back to her bed, cradle the toy soldier in her hooves, and beam at her brother. “I love it! We went on an amazing adventure and met a princess and fought a monster!”

Shining tittered at his sister’s wild imagination. “I’m glad you enjoyed it. Come on downstairs, Mom and Dad just made breakfast.”

Twilight gave a nod and was about to follow her brother downstairs but stopped in her tracks. She picked up the toy unicorn soldier in her hooves and placed him next to the alicorn figure in the opened music box so that they were standing side by side. She grinned at the little couple before trotting out of her room.

If she had looked closely at the toy unicorn soldier and the princess alicorn, she would have seen a small, unnoticeable smile on both of their faces as they watched their best friend trot out the door.