Shining Armor took a bite out of his donut, smiling tiredly at his wife Cadance. They had just been through a day meeting with several high officials of Canterlot to maintain good diplomatic relations for the Crystal Empire. “I’m not sure how much more of this I can take,” Shining Armor said. “Being Captain of the Royal Guard and Prince of the Crystal Empire… it’s a lot of work you know. I really need some rest… I swear I saw Princess Celestia walk by with a mustache today.”

Princess Cadance nodded. “It’s a lot of work, but remember that everypony out there is counting on you. I’m counting on you. We just have one more meeting after this break, and then we can go home. I’ve told the maids to leave us alone for the night…” she said, winking. Shining Armor had a faraway look in his face. He didn’t seem to hear a word his wife said as he stared into the corner of Donut Joe’s shop, where something was very wrong.

“Do you see that?” Shining Armor asked, pointing towards a dark shadow in the corner snaking its way up the wall. Cadance turned, staring.

“See what?” Cadanc had barely enough time to ask as the shadow glided over the ground, engulfing her.

“Cadance!” he shouted, powering up his horn, but as quickly as it had appeared, the shadow had faded.

“Yes?” she asked. He shifted uncomfortably.

“Nothing. I just thought I saw… you don’t feel any different, do you?” Shining Armor asked his wife. She blinked a little.

“What? No, not really. Why do you ask?” Cadance replied. Shining Armor did a double take. His wife’s coat was changing color. Slowly, but surely, the pink had drained from her face, turning blue, then brown, then dark black. Her wings disappeared and her face flattened out to an apelike visage. Her horn shrank, becoming short, fat, and jagged as her body grew. By the time the transformation had stopped, Cadance had changed into a ten foot tall gorillanoceros.

“Shining? Are you okay?” the gorillanoceros asked him in Cadance’s voice. Shining Armor took a deep breath and pushed his donut away, looking around to see if his wife’s surprise transformation had attracted any attention. Oddly enough, nopony seemed to notice. Taking a chance, Shining Armor pulled over a random customer.

“Excuse me, oh wait, no, sorry… I thought I recognized you from before. I don’t suppose we’ve met? Anyway, I’m Prince Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire and this is Princess Cadance,” Shining Armor said, observing the stranger’s response.

“Charmed to meet you, dear sir, I go by the name of Fancypants. And I must say, you have a beautiful wife,” Fancypants said, shaking Shining Armor’s hoof. The gorillanoceros walked over on its knuckles, searching Fancypants’ mane for fleas.

“Okay. This isn’t happening. I’m just going insane,” Shining Armor said under his breath.

“Oh dear! I forgot about the time! We’re going to be late for the meeting!” Cadance said, scratching her forehead with a massive paw.

“If I may, is this the same meeting at the Canterlot Museum? I’m heading that way as well, and I have two extra seats in the carriage. You might find it a bit cramped… because of your wings, but I’d be honored to offer them to you,” Fancypants said.

“We appreciate your help, but…” Shining Armor started, staring at Cadance’s hulking figure.

“We’d be glad to take you up on that offer,” Candence interjected, nudging Shining Armor. The force of her motion nearly made him fall over.

“Wonderful! The carriage is outside,” Fancypants said, heading out. The gorillanoceros turned, staring at Shining Armor.

“Are you okay dear? You’ve been acting weird all afternoon,” it leaned in to kiss him. Shining Armor closed his eyes, focusing on his years of guard training to ignore every instinct in his body that told him to run.

“I’m alright,” he said, legs shaking a little. “You sure you don’t feel any different?” Cadance the gorillanoceros scratched her head.

“No, I’m pretty normal. Let’s go catch up with Fancypants,” she said, leaving the shop. Her massive form barely fit through the door, leaving the little bell that was hanging above it swinging wildly. Shining Armor took another look around the donut shop. Nopony paid it any attention.

“Okay, I can’t be the only one who sees this,” he muttered to himself, heading outside to notice a medium-sized personal carriage with Fancypants in the front and a ten foot tall gorillanoceros in the back. There was definitely no room for him. In fact, it looked as if the carriage was under maximum strain.

“C’mon, get in!” Cadance called. Shining Armor sighed, opening the carriage door and forcing himself into Cadance. “You don’t have to be so pushy, I’ll move to make room,” Cadance said. With a lot of effort, Shining Armor managed to close the door, almost crushing him against a wall of fur and solid muscle. He panted for breath.

“Well, here we go!” Fancypants said, and the workponies at the front of the carriage began to pull. “Huh. Wheel seems to be caught in a rut or something,” Fancypaints added as they failed to move. “Give it your all, boys!” With a large, rocking movement, the carriage jerked into motion.

They arrived at the meeting fairly quickly. “Prince Blueblood awaits your company by the dinner table,” a butler pony said, opening the door. Shining Armor tumbled out, falling face first. He brushed himself off and stood straight.

“Sorry, been kind of a long day,” he said as the butler raised an eyebrow.

“Quite,” he said, holding the door open for Cadance. As the gorillanoceros stepped out of the carriage, the butler’s glasses were knocked off of his face.

“Oh! I’m sorry, I don’t know how that could have happened,” Cadance said. “My wings must have been sore from riding in the carriage.” The butler brushed his glasses off and silently gestured her to go inside.

As Shining Armor walked down the carpeted floor to the dining hall, he couldn’t help but wonder what would happen if his wife never returned to normal. Normal to him, at least: Everypony else seemed to see her as an alicorn.

“Your seat is at the front, next to the Prince,” a maid said, welcoming them into the dining hall. Cadance walked down the long table set for fifty spots, nonchalantly knocking over chairs, silverware, plates, and vases full of exotic flowers. She stopped, turning towards a large covered dish in the center of the table, pawing the ground with a massive leg.

“Oh no,” Shining Armor said. “This isn’t happening.” He ran forward to attempt to restrain Cadance as she leapt onto the table, overturning the dish and scattering roasted carrots everywhere. Shining Armor was thrown on the floor, closing his eyes as he saw the plate’s cover flying on a direct collision course with his head. Clang!

“Shining? Are you alright?” Cadance called as Shining Armor felt around blindly. The cover was lifted off of his head. He felt something soft and sweet-smelling wrap around his back. It was Cadance’s wing.

“You’re back to normal!” Shining Armor shouted. “I mean, I’m back to normal!” By now several guests had come in and were looking at him suspiciously. “Sorry, you won’t believe what happened… what are you eating?” Cadance took another bite out of the banana in her hand.

“Oh, I just took this from the fruit bowl. I had an odd craving for bananas all day,” she said as a shadow darted out from beneath her, sliding over the table and out the door unnoticed.

Discord rose from the shadow outside, hiding a smile. “There's something about Twilight's family that just makes them so entertaining to mess with,” he said.

Next Chapter: End of Part One: Moonlit Night Estimated time remaining: 1 Hour, 30 Minutes