“Now where should we go first,” Apple Bloom said as she led Shining Armor and the other Crusaders through Ponyville. There were so many different buildings and sights to see, it was impossible for the filly to choose a place start.

“Let’s see,” said Sweetie Belle, “We could show her Ponyville Tower; that’s supposed to be a big tourist attraction.”

Scootaloo shook her head.

“The clock tower? You’re joking, right?” she said. “There’s nothing cool about the clock tower. If we really want to show Gleaming Shield something awesome, we should take her to watch R-”

“We’re not goin’ to watch Rainbow Dash again,” said Apple Bloom with a roll of the eyes, “that’s what you chose for us to do yesterday.”

“Come on you two, don’t start fighting again,” Sweetie Belle interjected, “we’re supposed to be showing Gleaming Shield a good time.” She thought for a moment, “maybe we should ask her what she wants to do.”

“Good idea Sweetie Belle.” Apple Bloom said. “Hey Gleamin’ Shield, wha…” but their new friend wasn’t there. The three fillies searched the area, finally finding Shining Armor trudging along a short distance behind them.

“Hey Gleamin’ Shield, is somethin’ wrong?” Apple Bloom asked as she ran up to Shining Armor and saw the disdainful look on his face. “Gleamin’ Shield?”

Shining Armor snapped out of his thoughts as the three fillies approached him.

“Huh, oh, uh, sorry, I just, um, had something on my mind.”

“Oh, Ah’m sorry,” Apple Bloom said, “Anything you wanna talk about?”

Shining Armor shook his head.

“No, it’s nothing," he said, closing his eyes, and taking a deep breath, trying to push the horrible transformation experience he had just undergone to the back of his mind. “I’m sorry, what were you three just talking about?”

“Well, we couldn’t decide on what we wanted to show you first, so we just wanted to know if there was anythin' you would be interested in seein'.”

Shining Armor thought for a moment. Though he had never been to Ponyville before, and he hadn’t the slightest idea what the town had to offer, he was more than happy to take that lead from the three fillies; it came from years of being the captain of Princess Celestia’s royal guard. However, before he was able to open his mouth, a low rumbling sound answered for him.

“Well I guess I know what we’re gonna do first,” Apple Bloom said with a light laugh. “It sounds like you’re a mite hungry.”

It was true, Shining Armor was starving. The only thing that he had had to eat all day was the quick breakfast of toast and oatmeal that he had made before he boarded the train for Ponyville. He had meant to grab bite to eat with Twilight, but being turned into a filly and being forced to tour the city with a strange trio of little ponies got in the way of being able to satisfy his appetite.

“Yeah, I could go for some food,” he said, blushing as his stomach growled again, much louder than the first. “Where’s the best place to get food around here?”

The Crusaders didn’t even have to think about it.

“Sugarcube Corner,” they sang in unison. The three fillies grabbed hold of Shining Armor and started leading him down the street until they came to a stop in front of a shop that resembled a rather large, ornate gingerbread house.

The four little ponies made their way into the shop and chose a table in a corner near a window. With each breath he took, Shining Armor’s nose was filled with the increasingly strong scent of various baked goods. It wasn’t as off-putting as he had first thought it would be; rather, each distinct smell was so delicious, Shining Armor felt trickles of saliva escaping from between his lips. He quickly wiped the drool away with a hoof as a plump blue mare with a bubblegum mane walked up to them.

“Hello there dearies,” she said with a wide smile. She looked over each of the familiar fillies, until her eyes landed on Shining Armor. “Oh, you’re a new face. And who might you be?”

“This is Gleaming Shield,” said Sweetie Belle. “She’s Twilight’s cousin visiting from Canterlot.”

“She’s a blank flank just like us,” Scootaloo added, “so we thought she would like to hang out with us and join in our Crusade to earn our cutie marks.”

“Oh how lovely,” the mare said with another big smile. “Well, welcome to Sugarcube Corner dear. My name is Cup Cake, and that scrawny stallion behind the counter is my husband Carrot Cake.”

Shining Armor looked over at the front counter where a skinny orange stallion with a messy mane and red bowtie was counting out change and passing it to a customer along with what Shining Armor assumed was a cake in a bright pink box.

“Now what can I get for you today dearies?” Mrs. Cake asked, looking from one filly to the next.

“I’ll take a triple cocoa deluxe,” said Scootaloo, with an excited grin.

“And I’ll have a piece of the Apple Spice Cake,” said Apple Bloom. She quickly turned to Shining Armor and whispered, “their Apple Spice Cake’s pretty good, but it don’t hold a hoof to my big sis’.”

Shining Armor and Apple Bloom both giggled.

“And what about you Sweetie Belle?” Mrs. Cake asked the other unicorn.

“I want a strawberry short cake with extra cream and extra strawberries please,” said the little filly in her sweet sing-songy voice.

“OK, and what would you like Gleaming Shield?” Mrs. Cake asked as she finally reached Shining Armor.

Shining Armor froze; how was he supposed to know what he wanted? Unlike the other three, he had never been to Sugarcube Corner before and had no idea what the small bakery had to offer.

“I’m afraid I wouldn’t know,” he finally said, “what would you recommend?”

“Hmmm,” the mare took a moment to think over their menu, “We do have a triple berry cheese cake that is to die for.”

Shining Armor thought it over; that actually sounded delicious. Finally this day was starting to look up.

“That would be awesome,” he said, giving the mare a polite smile.

“Alright, Pinkie Pie will be out with your orders in just a few moments.”

Shining Armor felt his heart stop. No, he thought, not Pinkie Pie; she was one of his sister’s best friends. While the Cutie Mark Crusaders would have never been able to recognize him for who he really was, Pinkie Pie tended to have a keen sense about things, almost like she knew something that nopony else did. But then again, the transformation had been so perfect, he was sure that even his own parents wouldn’t have recognized him.

“Hey Gleaming Shield,” Sweetie Belle said, “you’ve been really quiet since we met you; why don’t you tell us a little about yourself.” All three fillies leaned in expectantly.

Shining Armor just stared back at them. He wasn’t expecting this; he had hoped that he might be able to get through the day without having to talk, but of course that was too much to ask for.

“Like Twilight said, I’m her little cousin and I come from Canterlot.”

The three fillies didn’t look satisfied with his answer.

“And?” Scootaloo said, attempting to prompt their new friend to say more.

“Well, uh…” Shining Armor looked out the window, trying to think up something to say. That was when he saw a cream colored mare pulling a cart full of bouquets that seemed to have been haphazardly crammed inside.

“Hey, uh, is that the mare you ran into earlier?” Shining Armor said, trying to turn their attention away from himself.

The three fillies followed his gaze.

“Yeah,” said Apple Bloom, “that’s Roseluck.”

“Looks like she was able to pick up all her flowers by herself,” Scootaloo added.

“Guess we won’t have to go apologize to her,” Sweetie Belle said with a sigh of relief.

Shining Armor frowned at the Crusaders.

“Hey, that’s not right,” he chided. “You crashed into her; don’t you feel bad about that?”

All three Crusaders looked down, guilty looks on their faces.

“We do,” Sweetie Belle said, while both of her friends nodded their agreement.

“Then you should go say you’re sorry.”

“Yeah, you’re right,” said Apple Bloom. The three little fillies got down from their seats and walked towards the door.

Just as the Crusaders exited Sugarcube Corner, a pink pony bounced towards the table, a large tray of cakes balanced perfectly on the top of her head. When she reached the table, she bowed her head, allowing the tray to slide off onto the table in front of Shining Armor.

“Here we go,” Pinkie Pie said in the most cheerful voice Shining Armor had ever heard. “Scootaloo’s triple cocoa deluxe, Applebloom’s Apple Spice Cake, and Sweetie Belle’s Strawberry Shortcake with extra cream, extra strawberry goodness. That means this one must be…” Pinkie Pie stared quizzically at the faux filly.

“Have we met before? You seem awfully familiar.”

Shining Armor felt little beads of sweat dripping down the back of his neck as he gave her the most innocent little filly smile he could muster.

“I d-don’t think so,” he stuttered nervously, “you l-look like the type of p-pony one would remember.”

“I am,” Pinkie said rather absent mindedly as she continued examining the little pony sitting in front of her. “I also remember everypony I meet. What did you say your name was again?”

“Gleaming Shield,” he said, though he didn’t remember her ever asking his name in the first place.

The pink pony thought for a moment, searching deep in her memory for the name.

“Gleaming Shield, Gleaming Shield…nope I don’t know any Gleaming Shield. Huh, and I was pretty sure that I’d seen you someplace before; I guess my memory must be-”

“Pinkie,” Mrs. Cake called from the kitchen, “I need you back in here to help me with these cupcakes."

“Okie dokie lokie, Mrs. Cake” Pinkie sang back to her employer. “I’m sorry, usually I’d throw you party right away to welcome you to Ponyville, and help us become best friends, but I have to get back to work; we’re so busy busy busy that it’s making me dizzy dizzy dizzy.” She did a little twirl, smiled once more at Shining Armor, then trotted away singing a happy little song.

As soon as the coast was clear, Shining Armor clenched his chest with a hoof, trying to keep his rapidly beating, filly sized heart from bursting through his rib cage; that had been way too close. He wasn’t sure if his innocent filly act had been overly convincing, but he guessed it had been good enough to trick Pinkie Pie. Shining Armor smiled at his slightly increasing luck. If I can keep this up, he thought, nopony will ever realize that I’m actually a prince; I might just make it through this.

Shining Armor sighed happily and turned his attention to the triple berry cheesecake that had been placed in front of him; the more he looked at it, the louder the growling that came from his stomach. He looked out the window and saw the Crusaders in the distance being scolded by the cream colored mare. Normally he would have remembered his manners and waited for his hosts to return to the table, but he was so hungry that he would have keeled over if he didn’t eat something now.

Out of instinct, Shining Armor searched the table for something to eat the cake with; back home he would have been given a fork to eat his meals, but not here. It was common for small town eateries to not include utensils with meals unless somepony (usually a unicorn, who could eat by levitating the forks and spoons with their magic) requested some. This was because most ponies didn’t use them. During his time in the royal guard Shining Armor had frequented many places like this one, so it was something he was used to.

Slowly, he brought his head down to his plate and took a small bite of his cake. Shining Armor’s eyes went wide as the combined flavors of blueberries, strawberries, and raspberries, along with the sweet taste of the cake tickled his taste buds; it was the most delicious cheesecake he had ever eaten. The chefs in the crystal empire were very skilled, but none of them could touch a hoof to what these small town bakers had created. As Shining Armor helped himself to more of the delectable cheesecake, he couldn’t help but think that when he finally got his body back, he would have to return and ask for the recipe, or at the very least, a cake that he could take home and share with Cadence.

When he was finished with his cheese cake, Shining Armor leaned against the wall, feeling very full; usually a piece of cake like that would never have been enough to satisfy the stallion, whose appetite was unusually large due to the physical training regimen that he had kept up since his academy days. Now that he was in the body of a little filly, however, he found that he was so full, he thought he might not be able to eat dinner when he got back to the library. Breathing a sigh of contentment, Shining Armor closed his eyes, allowing the cake to digest.

As he slowly opened his eyes again, he looked out the open window and saw a pair of fillies trotting by, followed closely by two unicorn colts, both with a bouquet of flowers levitating behind their backs.

“Come on Diamond Tiara,” said the shorter of the two colts, “won’t you at least consider being my very special somepony?”

The pink filly turned and advanced on the colt, rage burning in her eyes.

“Why can’t you two take a hint; Silver Spoon and I are not interested in you two.”

The grey filly walked up to Diamond Tiara and wrapped a foreleg around her friend.

“Come on Diamond Tiara, these two morons aren’t worth our time,” she said, trying to pull her friend back in the direction they had been walking.

The pink filly took a calming breath and started following Silver Spoon.

“You know,” said the taller colt, “You two might be more happy if you weren’t so grouchy.”

That was it; in a flash, the tall yellow colt was lying on the ground with Diamond Tiara sitting on his chest, her pink little hooves wailing against his face.

“You two are the most annoying colts I have ever met,” Diamond Tiara said with each blow of her hoof. “Get it through your thick skulls, I am not, nor will I ever be in love with either of you.”

“Hey get off of him,” shouted the short round colt. He tried to pull Diamond Tiara off his friend, but only succeeded in getting one of her elbows in his face, knocking him to the ground.

Shining Armor had seen enough. Before he knew what he was doing, he dove out of the open window and wrapped his forelegs around the abrasive filly. It took all the strength he could muster, but he was finally able to wrestle Diamond Tiara off of the poor, crying colt.

“What do you think you’re doing, hitting a defenseless foal like that?” He asked the fuming filly.

“None of your business,” Diamond Tiara scowled, giving Shining Armor her most wicked glare. “Why don’t you run along back home to your mommy before you end up just like him.”

But Shining Armor was unfazed by the filly’s attempts at intimidation; he had faced far more fearsome foes during his years in the royal guard.

“No,” Shining Armor shouted; as happy as he had been moments before, the whole transformation episode had put a lot of stress on the stallion, causing his emotions to run rampant. “I’m not going anywhere until you apologize to these poor colts.”

Diamond Tiara sneered at Shining Armor.

“And just what are you going to do about it, you little blank flank?”

Shining Armor closed his eyes and started concentrating. He didn’t want to hurt the little fillies, just subdue them. It took a lot of effort, but he eventually felt the overly familiar sensation of magic start building up at the base of his horn. Though he wasn’t the prodigy Twilight was, he was still more skilled in magic than most of the stallions who joined the royal guard; that was what gained him the captain’s seat at such a young age.

When he opened his eyes though, he saw the two fillies rolling around in a fit of laughter. It took him a minute to figure out what had happened to make them do so until one of Diamond Tiara pointed at a hoof at his horn; instead of glowing in its usual bright magenta aura, beads of magic coursed lazily like a like a little stream from the base to the tip, dripping off and vanishing before they could land on his face. Shining Armor blushed; this sort of thing used to happen to him all the time when he was a colt.

No magic, he thought, great. Thanks again Twilight.

The two fillies, still laughing hysterically, picked themselves up and started walking away.

“Come on Silver Spoon,” Diamond Tiara said as she fixed her little crown which had come askew while she was attacking the tall colt, “you were right, these foals aren’t even worth our time.” She stopped and turned, glaring at the two colts. “And I don’t ever want to see you two following us ever again! Got that?” When the colts gave her a hasty nod, the fillies turned and trotted away.

Shining Armor turned his attention to the two colts who were still slowly picking themselves off of the ground.

“Are you alright?” He asked as he extended a hoof to taller colt who was still struggling to get on his hooves.

“Yeah,” he said in a rather slow, droning voice. “I’m fi…” he froze mid sentence, and his face turned a bright crimson as he stared at who had helped him. “I, I, I…I have to go now.” He got up on his hooves and started galloping away. “Come on Snips.” He called back.

The short blue colt picked himself up and started chasing after his friend as fast as his stubby little legs could carry him.

“Wait for me Snails.”

Shining Armor watched in confusion as the two colts ran away.

“What was that all about?” he thought out loud.

No sooner had the colts turned the corner onto another street than the Cutie Mark Crusaders came running up to meet their new friend.

“Woo wee, that sure was somthin’ Gleamin’ Shield,” Apple Bloom said as she gave Shining Armor a congratulatory slap on the back.

“Something? That was one of the coolest things I’d ever seen,” added Scootaloo, her little wings buzzing, suspending her for a few seconds as she jumped in excitement. “I’ve never seen anyone take on Diamond Tiara like that. Where did you learn those awesome moves?”

“Huh, oh, I was just doing what I was trained to do if I ever saw somepony in trouble.” Shining Armor blushed slightly at their praise; those hadn’t even been his best moves. Since becoming a prince, he hadn’t had many opportunities to use what he had learned in basic training, so he had become a little rusty in his ability to apprehend wrong doers.

“Wait a minute,” Sweetie Belle said, “You were trained to do that?”

Shining Armor gulped; he’d said a bit too much.

“Wow,” said Scootaloo, her eyes filling with wonder, “so that must mean your father must be, like, a guardspony or something.”

“Uh, yeah, he is.” Shining Armor breathed easy; they hadn’t caught on.

“Hmmm,” said Apple Bloom, deep in thought. “That gives me an idea.” She waved a hoof to her friends. “Come on girls, let’s get goin’ to the club house.”

“The club house?” Sweetie Belle asked. “But what about the tour? We only showed Gleaming Shield Sugarcube Corner; shouldn’t we show her around town a little more before going to the club house?”

“There’ll be plenty of time for a tour later. We’ve got somethin’ more important to do right now.” Apple Bloom wrapped a fore leg around Shining Armor. “We gotta get this filly initiated.”

Shining Armor stared in awe as the four little ponies reached the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse.

A tree house, he thought, excitement coursing through his veins. He had always wanted a tree house as a colt; unfortunately he had grown up in the city, and there weren’t many trees that were big enough to build one in. Of course, the modest structure was nothing compared to the crystal castle that he now called home, but there was something about getting to live a foalhood dream that put a spring in Shining Armors step as he trotted up the ramp behind the little fillies.

“Welcome to the Cutie Mark Crusader’s club house,” said Apple Bloom quite proudly. “I know it’s probably not quite what you’re used to, what with you bein’ from Canterlot an’ all, but-”

Shining Armor shook his head.

“This is awesome,” Shining Armor said as he took in the room. “I always wanted a tree house when I was a foal.”

Sweetie Belle giggled.

“Technically you’re still kind of a foal, silly,” she said, “I mean, you can’t be older than us, since you still don’t have your cutie mark yet.”

Shining Armor blushed; he had almost given himself away again.

“Anyway,” Apple Bloom continued, “the reason we’ve brought you here today is because we want you as a member of our group. Of course, you would just be an honorary member while you’re staying here, but we hope that when you return to Canterlot you might start up a branch of the Cutie Mark Crusaders there.”

All three Crusaders gave Shining Armor their widest smiles.

“So Gleaming Shield, what do you think?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Shining Armor didn’t know what to think; while he knew that this transformation would only last a week, and that he wouldn’t be traveling back to Canterlot any time soon, he got the distinct impression that these troublesome fillies would be very persistent until he agreed to join them.

“I, uh, suppose I could,” he said, flashing what he felt was an unconvincing smile. The Crusaders cheered, apparently satisfied with his response.

“Sweetie Belle, if you’d please,” Apple Bloom said.

The little white filly cleared her throat and unraveled a very long scroll.

“We the Cutie Mark Crusaders,” she read, “elect Gleaming Shield to join us as a sister, friend, confidant…” Sweetie Belle stopped speaking and started quickly scanning the paper. “Scootaloo, I thought you said you rewrote this.”

The little pegasus held a hoof to her face.

“If you don’t like it Sweetie Belle, then why don’t you just make something up,” she said.

Sweetie Belle tossed the scroll aside, thankful that she wouldn’t have to continue reading from it.

“Gleaming Shield, today you showed courage in the face of true evil, and stood up for those who could not protect themselves. It is because of those qualities that we are honored to welcome you into our organization as a fellow Cutie Mark Crusader.” The other two fillies cheered as Sweetie Belle presented Shining Armor with a crudely crafted red cape bearing the Crusaders’ crest of a blue shield adorned with a little gold pony.

“With this cape you are forever recognized as a member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders; we welcome you to join us on our quest to find our cutie marks.”

Apple Bloom and Scootaloo each wrapped a foreleg around Shining Armor’s neck.

“Three cheer’s for the newest member of the Cutie Mark Crusaders: Gleamin’ Shield,” Apple Bloom shouted. “Hip hip-”

“Hooray!”

“Hip hip-”

“Hooray!”

“Hip hip-”

“Hooray!”

The three fillies laughed, even Shining Armor, who had been having one of the worst days of his life joined in; though he was still unhappy with his situation, at least he would have something to keep his mind occupied while he waited. How bad could it be, he thought.

“This brings us to our next order of business,” Apple Bloom said. “Now that we have a new member, I think we should do somethin' special for our next adventure.”

“Oh yeah,” said Scootaloo, “you said you had an idea for what we should try next.”

“That’s right; seein’ Gleamin’ Shield in action today got me to thinkin’: there must be other ponies out there that need rescuin’. That why thought we should go around town doin’ what we can to protect the citizens of Ponyville.”

She can’t be saying what I think she’s saying, Shining Armor thought, that’s a horrib-

“That’s a great idea Apple Bloom,” said Scootaloo. “We’ll be like the-”

“Cutie Mark Crusaders law enforcers!”

“Yay,” the three fillies cheered with a three-way high hoof. Apple Bloom looked over to Shining Armor who was still standing uncertainly in place.

“Come on Gleamin’ Shield,” said Apple Bloom, “don’t be shy, you’re one of us now.”

Shining Armor looked at each filly, then slowly raised a hoof into the air and clapped it against the others.

“Yay,” he said halfheartedly, but in his mind, he couldn’t help thinking: What have I gotten myself into.

Back at Golden Oaks Library, Twilight was busily pouring through her copy of Ancient Equestrian: a Beginner’s Guide to the Dead Language of Our Ancestors, when she heard a knock on her door. She looked up from her book, feeling quite frustrated at having had her concentration broken, when another knock prompted her to jump up from the cushion she was sitting on and trot over to the door and wrench it open.

“Can I help yo – oh Pinkie Pie,” she said as the happy pink pony bounced her way into the library. “Come in. Would you like a cup of tea?’

“Hey Twilight,” Pinkie Pie said giving her friend a smile. “No thanks, I just came over because I wanted to ask you why your brother looks like a little filly and why he’s calling himself ‘Gleaming Shield’?”

The alicorn choked on her tea; had Pinkie just said what Twilight thought she said?

“What? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“That’s funny because I was working over at Sugarcube Corner earlier and I saw him there sitting with Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo, and I thought 'hmmm, Shining Armor's a filly...what's up with that?' I figured that if anypony knew what had happened to him it would be-”

“OK, OK, Pinkie,” Twilight sighed. “It’s all my fault; I was trying to cast a spell and it went wrong, and now he’s a filly. Now Pinkie, please, you cannot tell anypony that this happened; if word gets out that the prince of the Crystal Empire is unable to perform his royal duties, it could lead to political unrest. Not only that, but if Celestia finds out I botched a spell like this, she could take away my wings.”

“That’s terrible Twilight,” Pinkie said, wearing her most concerned face. “Don’t you worry your pretty little feathers; I won’t say a thing about this to anypony.”

“Promise?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Pinkie promise?”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye.”

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief; if there was one thing in Equestria anypony could depend on, it was that Pinkie Pie would never in her life break a Pinkie promise.

“Thanks, Pinkie, that really means a lot to me and Shining Armor.”

“Oh no problem Twilight. Why I remember this one time when-”

“Yeah yeah," Twilight said, hastily trying to usher her friend out the door before the pink pony went into one of her long tales, "I’m sure it’s a great story, and I wish I had enough time to listen to you tell it, but I have to get back to translating this spell that will change Shining Armor back to normal.”

“That’s OK Twilight, I’ve gotta rush back to Sugarcube Corner; I kinda took off without telling the Cakes so that I could run over here and tell you what I saw. Bye bye.”

Before Twilight could say farewell to her friend, the pink mare darted outside, shutting the door behind her.

Twilight shook her head as she walked back to the table, picked up her book, and continued reading. She was right in telling Shining Armor that this was going to take a while; she had hardly made any progress all afternoon. She sighed and took another sip of her tea; this is going to be a long week, she thought. Little did she know that at roughly the same moment the same thought was racing through her brother’s little filly head.