HOME | DD

Description
The rest of Shining Armor and Snails’ afternoon together was spent at a little comic book shop called Equestrian Heroes, just a short way down the road from Sugarcube Corner. It wasn't nearly as grand as the shop in Canterlot, but it was certainly impressive, with its shelves overflowing with new, and old comics, glass display cases containing various collectables and superhero action figures, and posters covering every inch of free space on the walls, depicting famous scenes from Power Ponies, or The Unbeatable Squirrel Mare. More surprisingly, he had even found a few rare variant covers of some of his favorite comic books. Snails, still nervously trying to please his new friend, had offered to buy him something, but Shining Armor told him multiple times that it wasn't necessary.

After an hour of browsing, and talking excitedly about comics, the two ponies left the shop.

“Thanks for inviting me to hang out today,” Shining Armor said, “I had a lot of fun.” He really had. Once he'd worked through the awkwardness of Snails’ crush on him, their afternoon of hanging out together had been quite enjoyable.

“Yeah, I had fun too,” Snails said with a grin. “And I'm sorry for acting so weird around you this week. Talking to fillies is just so hard.”

Shining Armor gave Snails a playful nudge.

“Hey, all you needed was a little confidence.”

“Hehe, yeah.”

In that moment, a sense of pride washed over Shining Armor, and he couldn’t help but smile. The pony that stood before him a far cry from the one he’d met on his first day in Ponyville. In just one afternoon, Snails had gone from barely being unable to speak to Shining Armor, to being able hold a full conversation while only stammering once or twice. I guess I must have given him the right advice, Shining Armor thought, with a bit of a chuckle to himself. It would still be a while before the young colt would be able to confidently walk up to a filly, and talk to her, but he would get there with time.

“Well, I should probably be going,” Snails said, as he readjusted his saddlebag. “I'll see you at school tomorrow.”

The smile faded from Shining Armor's face.

“Actually Snails, this is going to be my last night in Ponyville.”

Just as he expected, Snails looked broken hearted at the thought of his new friend leaving.

“Oh,” he said, rather sulkily, “well, maybe we could hang out the next time you're in town or something.”

Shining Armor didn't know how to tell Snails that he would never see Gleaming Shield again.

“About that,” he said, “I'm actually-”

“Excuse me,” came a voice from behind them.

They looked back and saw a unicorn filly standing there, a paper bag floating in the air next to her.

“Uh, hi,” Shining Armor said, thankful for the save, “can we help you?”

The filly froze for a second, as if she hadn't expected them to hear her.

“Oh, um,” she said in a nervous whisper. She reached up and adjusted the glasses that rested on her nose. “I’m sorry, I was just in the comic book store, and, uh, I might have overheard you two talking about spider-mare, and, well…” She removed one of the comics from her bag, still wrapped in plastic; it was the latest issue of Spectacular Spider-Mare. “It's one of my favorite comic books!” She accidentally blurted out a little too loudly.

“Oh,” Shining Armor said. That's when he got an idea. “Actually, I've only just started reading it myself.” He gave Snails a strong nudge, pushing him closer to the filly. “Snails here is more of an expert in her adventures than I am.”

Snails gave Shining Armor a horrified look that said ‘what are you doing?’

“Have confidence,” Shining Armor whispered to Snails. “Just act like you did with me all afternoon and you'll be fine.”

Shining Armor looked up and caught a sight of Cadence seated at a cafe not to far away, giving him a ‘good job’ smile.

“Now if you two will excuse me, I have to get back to Twilight’s now.” He held out his hoof to the colt. “It was really nice to have met you, Snails.”

Again, Snails looked sad that his new friend was saying goodbye, but at the same time, Shining Armor could see that he was also happy. With one last smile, he bumped Shining Armor’s hoof.

“Goodbye, Gleaming Shield,” he said. “I'll never forget you.”

Shining Armor couldn't help but choke up a little, as Snails turned back to the young filly to continue talking excitedly about comic books. It was strange; he’d spent the entire week trying to avoid the colt’s glances, and requests for a date, and now that it was all behind him, he was glad that he’d taken the chance to befriend him. To see him being able to talk to a filly other than Gleaming Shield had made the whole experience worth it. Wow, he thought, if this is how I feel after saying goodbye to Snails, I can't imagine what it's going to be like when I have to talk to the Crusaders tonight.

As he made his way down the street, Cadence left her seat at the cafe, and trotted up next to her husband.

“You handled yourself quite wonderfully,” she said, giving him a proud smile.

“Well, I'm no princess of love.” He looked back, and was happy to see Snail’s and the filly talking and laughing together. “But yeah, I think I did alright.”

“You don’t need to be a princess of love to help a pony find his confidence; just a good friend.”

Cadence placed a hoof on her husband’s head, and began stroking his mane.

“Speaking of good friends,” she continued, “are you ready to face the Crusaders?”

Shining Armor frowned.

“No,” he admitted, “but then again, how do you ready yourself for the ‘I’m actually a stallion in disguise’ talk?”

“It’s like you said to Snails; you just need confidence.” She hoisted her husband onto her back.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Shining Armor took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”

...

They found the Cutie Mark Crusaders seated at the the base of their clubhouse, patiently awaiting their friend’s arrival, except for Sweetie Belle, who was nervously pacing back and forth as if she was expecting some sort of terrible surprise. When they saw Shining Armor and Cadence approaching, they rushed over to greet them.

“Oh thank goodness,” Sweetie Belle gasped, as she wrapped her forelegs tightly around Shining Armor’s neck, “I was so worried.”

“Why?” Shining Armor asked, feeling very confused.

An embarrassed flush filled Sweetie Belle’s cheeks.

“Oh, well...ever since you said that you had something important to tell us, I just couldn’t get it out of my that you were...that you were-”

“For the last time, Sweetie Belle, she’s not dyin’,” Apple Bloom said, grumpily. With Scootaloo’s help, she pried the white unicorn away, before giving Shining Armor a sideways glance. “You aren’t, right?”

“Of course I’m not dying,” Shining Armor said, “but I do have something important to say. Could we maybe go up to the clubhouse and talk? I don’t really want anypony else to hear this.”

The Crusaders nodded, and followed Shining Armor up the walkway to the treehouse.

“So what did you want to tell us?” Scootaloo asked, as the Crusaders sat down in a semicircle.

Shining Armor took a deep breath, and tapped his right forehoof on the floor three times. It was a dumb little ritual, but for some reason it helped to calm him down whenever he had to charge right into a potentially disastrous situation. It’s now or never, he thought. Just do it in one go; like ripping off a bandage.

“Alright,” he started, “I know we’ve had a lot of fun over the last week, and we’ve become good friends, and it’s because of that that I feel that I must come clean about something.”

The three little fillies leaned in close in anticipation.

“I’ve been lying to you about who I really am. I’m not actually Twilight’s little cousin, Gleaming Shield, I’m really...Shining Armor.”

This was met by a stunned silence from the Crusaders, who exchanged expressions of confusion.

“You see, on my first day here, Twilight decided to show me some of the new spells she was working on, and, well, long story short, a bad combination of spells resulted in me first being reverted back to a younger version of myself, and then into the filly that you’ve gotten to know over the past week.”

As he told his story, he watched the three faces staring back at them, expecting the confused stares to change to looks of betrayal. But they didn’t; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle continued to look at him like he was speaking to them in a language that they were struggling to comprehend. I guess that’s better than the alternative, he thought.

“Anyway, when I met you three, Twilight asked me to keep my true identity a secret so word of her mistake wouldn’t reach Princess Celestia. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I did to protect Twilight while she attempted to translate a spell that could change me back to normal. I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping the truth from you all this time.”

Shining Armor closed his eyes, awaiting the Crusaders judgment of him.

“Wow, that’s…” Apple Bloom said.

“A really,” chimed in Scootaloo.

“Bad joke,” added Sweetie Belle.

“What?” Shining Armor opened his eyes, and was surprised by the smiles that greeted him. “I’m not joking.”

“Oh come on, Gleaming Shield,” Scootaloo said. “You expect us to believe that you’re actually Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor?”

“But I really am!”

“Sure, and Sweetie Belle is a good cook.”

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle protested.

“I can prove it.” Shining Armor walked over to the door, and looked down to where Cadence was sitting in the grass below. “Hey, Cadence, sweetie, could you go get Twilight and bring her here?”

Cadence nodded, and in a flash of magic, she was gone. Before Shining Armor could turn around, he heard the sound of something crashing to the floor, and several startled screams. When he looked back, he found his sister sprawled out on next to Cadence.

“Well, I thought you might fly back, but this works t-”

“Oh no,” Twilight said, as she leapt to her hooves, “oh, this is bad.”

“Twily, I’m ready for you to change me back now.”

Twilight stopped her nervous trotting in place, and gave her brother a terrified look.

“Don’t be silly, Gleaming Shield,” she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about; you’re just a normal filly.”

“Twily, you don’t have to keep pretending; I’ve already told them who I really am.”

“YOU DID WHAT!?” Twilight’s face turned white. “What was point of you keeping your identity a secret then?”

“A question I was hoping you could answer, Twilight Sparkle,” came a voice from the doorway.

Everypony looked up, and quickly bowed their heads in respect as Princess Celestia herself entered the already cramped treehouse.

“Please, there’s no need to bow,” she said in a calm voice, as she smiled, and looked from one pony to another.

“Princess Celestia,” Apple Bloom said, shocked to see one of the great rulers of Equestira standing in the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse. “What are you doin’ here?”

“Oh, I was just visiting with my favorite student to see how her new magic studies were going, when all of a sudden she was poofed away. Thankfully I am quite skilled in tracing spells, so it was easy enough to follow her here. I do hope you’ll pardon my intrusion.”

“Not at all. Is there anythin’ I we can get for you? Tea? Maybe some of Granny Smith’s famous apple crisp?”

“Later, perhaps; right now there is some urgent business that I must discuss with one of the ponies in this room.”

Instead of Twilight, Celestia turned her attention to Shining Armor, who did everything he could to avoid making eye contact with her. But there was no escaping it. In an instant, he was levitated off the ground, and floated over to where the princess stood. As he hung in midair, the princess got as close as she could to the young pony, and began to examine him like a jeweler looking for a flaw in a diamond. Every once in awhile she would pause, and mutter “interesting,” before moving onto some other part of Shining Armor’s body.

“It’s just as I thought,” she said, placing Shining Armor back on the floor, her examination finished. Then she looked down at him, a regal gleam in her eye, and she cleared her throat. “TEN HUT!”

There was no stopping it; out of instinct, Shining Armor’s body snapped to attention. His rear hooves clicked together, stamping firmly into the floor, he straightened his posture so that he was looking perfectly ahead, and his right forehoof reached up and met his forehead in a salute to his princess. Years of being a member of the Royal Guard had trained him to always stand at attention when being confronted by a superior. Even now that he himself was royalty, his muscle memory seemed to still instantly respond to Princess Celestia’s commands.

Princess Celestia could only giggle at the sight of what looked like a young filly standing at attention like a Canterlot guardspony.

“My, this certainly is an interesting situation in which you’ve found yourself, isn’t it Shining Armor?”

Shining Armor swore he could feel his entire body turn red in embarrassment at having been so easily found out by Princess Celestia. More than that, though, he felt a tinge of panic for his sister, who looked like she was ready to faint at the very idea that her former teacher had caught her trying to cover up a giant mistake. However, as he looked into Celestia’s eyes, he saw that there was no anger there, rather, she seemed amused.

“At ease,” Celestia said, and Shining Armor’s muscles instantly relaxed. “Now, would somepony please tell me why my former guard captain has been changed into such an adorable little filly?”

A silence fell upon the room. Shining Armor looked to the Crusaders, who only now looked shocked at the idea that the pony who they had considered a friend wasn't who she’d said she’d been.

“I…” Twilight said, taking a step forward. “It was my fault. I was showing off some new spells to Shining Armor, and I got distracted, and accidentally changed him into a filly.

“Then the Crusaders discovered him, so I made him lie about who he was so nopony would find out that I'd made a mistake.” She then turned to the girls, and bowed her head as low to the ground as she could. “I'm sorry you girls were dragged into this whole mess. I should have never made Shining Armor lie to you for my sake.

“And Shining Armor, I'm sorry I made you lie. If I'd just done what you said and went to Princess Celestia for he-

“Wait,” Sweetie Belle interrupted, “are you saying that this really is Shining Armor?”

“Yes,” Shining Armor said with an apologetic smile. “And I am truly, very sorry if I've hurt you all.”

The Crusaders exchanged glances, then Apple Bloom furrowed her brow, and stamped her hooves on the floor.

“Awww, dang it!” She exclaimed.

“You have every right to be mad, Apple Bloom, and I promise that I'll-”

“I'm not mad ‘cause you lied,” she said, “it's ‘cause I owe Applejack ten bits.”
Shining Armor was taken aback.

“What?”

“WHAT!?” Twilight shouted in shock. “Applejack knew?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say she knew per se, but she couldn’t get over how much you looked like, uh, you. So I kinda bet her that you were just a filly, and not some stallion in disguise.”

“So you aren’t mad?”

Apple Bloom smiled, and shook her head. Then she surprised Shining Armor, by wrapping her forelegs around him in a hug.

“What about you two?” Shining Armor asked, turning to face Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and was again surprised when they shook their heads as well.

“You lied to protect your sister,” Sweetie Belle said, joining in the group hug, “I’d have done the same for Rarity if she was in trouble.”

Well this isn’t going as expected, Shining Armor thought, as the warmth from the hug melted the fear that had built up inside him. Cadence had been right; the Cutie Mark Crusaders were very understanding for such little ponies. At least two of them were; he looked at Scootaloo, who still seemed a little skeptical about Shining Armor’s revelation.

“So you’re really Shining Armor?” She asked.

“I am.”

“That’s...that’s…” Her eyes went wide in wonderment. “That’s so cool!” She glomped on top of the others, knocking them all to the ground. “This is just like those adventure stories Rainbow Dash reads to me, where the prince in disguise infiltrates a small town, and teams up with a ragtag team of outlaws to save the day from some impending doom!”

“But we aren’t outlaws,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“And there wasn’t any actual doom,” added Sweetie Belle.

“Well, yeah, but other than that it’s exactly the same.”

There was a brief pause, before everypony (the princesses included) joined in a chorus of laughter. When they finally calmed down, Shining Armor and the CMC spent the next half an hour recounting their exploits, from their first meeting, to their time as police fillies, and their afternoon spent as Rarity’s runway models, right up to the present, much to the delight of Princess Celestia, who sat quietly, enraptured by their tale.

“Well now, it certainly sounds like you've been having a wonderful vacation.” Celestia said, as the story came to an end. “That being said, I'm sure you are more than ready to return to your true form.”

Shining Armor nodded; as fun as it had been to run around with the Crusaders, it was time to change back.

“Awww, do you have to?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yes, I-”

The Crusaders came crashing into him for one last hug.

“We're gonna miss you,” Apple Bloom said, nuzzling her friend’s cheek.

“I'm not going anywhere,” Shining Armor said, patting the young filly’s head, “I'm just returning to who I really am.”

As he released himself from the Crusaders tight embrace, he turned to Twilight with determination in his eyes.

“I'm ready.”

Twilight nodded, and her horn lit up with a bright magenta light. An ethereal beam shot towards Shining Armor, and wrapped itself around him like a warm blanket. This is it, Shining Armor thought, as the world around him was obscured by the magic that surrounded him. Goodbye, Gleaming Shield. It was fun getting to be you. There was a sudden flash, and an invisible force erupted from the spot where “Gleaming Shield” had once stood, shaking the entire treehouse.

When the blinding light faded, the Crusaders and the princesses gathered around, and they all gasped at the sight before them.

“Oh my gosh,” came Sweetie Belle’s astonished cry.

“What?” Shining Armor asked. He suddenly clapped his hooves in front his mouth, his own voice taking him by surprise. It was familiar enough, but after a week of speaking with a little filly’s voice, he’d almost forgotten what his own sounded like. “Did it...work?”

Instead of answering, Princess Celestia produced a magical, reflective field, which Shining Armor eagerly looked into. Staring back at him was the young stallion who had once been the captain of Princess Celestia’s royal guard, and was the current prince of the Crystal Empire; staring back at him was Shining Armor.

“It worked!”

Shining Armor dashed from the magic made mirror, to his little sister, and lifted her off her hooves into a tight embrace.

“You did it, Twily,” he said, pulling her in closer.

“It’s good to see you again, B.B.B.F.F.,” she said. She nuzzled her face against her brother’s neck, wiping happy tears against his coat.

Cadence walked up to them, and planted a kiss on her husband’s cheek.

“There’s my handsome prince,” she said, joining in the hug.

Shining Armor smiled, then released his family, and made his way to the door.

“C’mon,” he said, gesturing for everypony to follow him outside.

When they were all at the base of the tree, Shining Armor stretched his muscles, and without warning, charged into the dimly lit orchard.

“Woohoo!” he cheered, as he galloped, dodging trees and low hanging branches.

When he felt he had traveled far enough, he turned back. Everypony braced for impact, expecting the charging stallion to crash into them, but he didn’t; instead, Shining Armor cast a spell, creating a platform above them, which he jumped onto with ease. In a split second, he created another platform, higher than the first, and jumped to it, only to instantly launch himself into the air.

“Ahhh!” Came a cry from bellow, but they had no need for worry; before he had a chance to fall, another platform had formed under Shining Armor’s hooves. There he stood, observing the land, bathed in the golden light that marked the end of the day. Shining Armor breathed in deep the sweet apple scented air, and smiled; it felt good being in his old body. As Gleaming Shield he been limited by his size, and by the younger body’s inability to perform magic, but now he felt like he could do anything. He’d certainly proved the return of his athletic and magical abilities, yet, even with all the amazing feats he could accomplish, there was still one last thing he felt he needed to do in his true form.

With a nod of his head, the platform he was on began to descend, until his hooves were firmly back on the ground. He turned to the Crusaders, who looked up at him with awe in their eyes, and he reached down, and pulled them into as tight a hug as he could.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Why are you thanking us?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Because when I was first turned into a little filly, I was so scared about what would happen if I was found out, but not only did you three treat me kindly in my state, you accepted me, even after you found out the truth, and for that I am most grateful.”

“We were just doin’ what anypony would do,” Apple Bloom said.

“And did we mention how cool it is that you’re really Shining Armor?” Scootaloo said.

Shining Armor smiled, as he placed the Crusaders back on the ground.

“I’m going to miss being a Crusader.”

“What do you mean you’ll miss it?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, I’ve got my cutie mark back.” He pointed at the shield and stars that now appeared on his flanks. “Plus I’m pretty sure I’m a little old now to be in the club.”

The three little ponies looked at each other, and grinned.

“Ya’ll thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yup,” said Scootaloo.

“Absolutely,” added Sweetie Belle.

“Right.” Apple Bloom turned to the adult ponies. “Ya’ll wait here, and we’ll be back in a bit.”

“Where are you going?” Shining Armor asked, as the Crusaders began running in three different directions.

But there was no response. Shining Armor chuckled, and lay on the grass with his wife nestled next to him, waiting for whatever it was the Crusaders had in store.

Description
The rest of Shining Armor and Snails’ afternoon together was spent at a little comic book shop called Equestrian Heroes, just a short way down the road from Sugarcube Corner. It wasn't nearly as grand as the shop in Canterlot, but it was certainly impressive, with its shelves overflowing with new, and old comics, glass display cases containing various collectables and superhero action figures, and posters covering every inch of free space on the walls, depicting famous scenes from Power Ponies, or The Unbeatable Squirrel Mare. More surprisingly, he had even found a few rare variant covers of some of his favorite comic books. Snails, still nervously trying to please his new friend, had offered to buy him something, but Shining Armor told him multiple times that it wasn't necessary.

After an hour of browsing, and talking excitedly about comics, the two ponies left the shop.

“Thanks for inviting me to hang out today,” Shining Armor said, “I had a lot of fun.” He really had. Once he'd worked through the awkwardness of Snails’ crush on him, their afternoon of hanging out together had been quite enjoyable.

“Yeah, I had fun too,” Snails said with a grin. “And I'm sorry for acting so weird around you this week. Talking to fillies is just so hard.”

Shining Armor gave Snails a playful nudge.

“Hey, all you needed was a little confidence.”

“Hehe, yeah.”

In that moment, a sense of pride washed over Shining Armor, and he couldn’t help but smile. The pony that stood before him a far cry from the one he’d met on his first day in Ponyville. In just one afternoon, Snails had gone from barely being unable to speak to Shining Armor, to being able hold a full conversation while only stammering once or twice. I guess I must have given him the right advice, Shining Armor thought, with a bit of a chuckle to himself. It would still be a while before the young colt would be able to confidently walk up to a filly, and talk to her, but he would get there with time.

“Well, I should probably be going,” Snails said, as he readjusted his saddlebag. “I'll see you at school tomorrow.”

The smile faded from Shining Armor's face.

“Actually Snails, this is going to be my last night in Ponyville.”

Just as he expected, Snails looked broken hearted at the thought of his new friend leaving.

“Oh,” he said, rather sulkily, “well, maybe we could hang out the next time you're in town or something.”

Shining Armor didn't know how to tell Snails that he would never see Gleaming Shield again.

“About that,” he said, “I'm actually-”

“Excuse me,” came a voice from behind them.

They looked back and saw a unicorn filly standing there, a paper bag floating in the air next to her.

“Uh, hi,” Shining Armor said, thankful for the save, “can we help you?”

The filly froze for a second, as if she hadn't expected them to hear her.

“Oh, um,” she said in a nervous whisper. She reached up and adjusted the glasses that rested on her nose. “I’m sorry, I was just in the comic book store, and, uh, I might have overheard you two talking about spider-mare, and, well…” She removed one of the comics from her bag, still wrapped in plastic; it was the latest issue of Spectacular Spider-Mare. “It's one of my favorite comic books!” She accidentally blurted out a little too loudly.

“Oh,” Shining Armor said. That's when he got an idea. “Actually, I've only just started reading it myself.” He gave Snails a strong nudge, pushing him closer to the filly. “Snails here is more of an expert in her adventures than I am.”

Snails gave Shining Armor a horrified look that said ‘what are you doing?’

“Have confidence,” Shining Armor whispered to Snails. “Just act like you did with me all afternoon and you'll be fine.”

Shining Armor looked up and caught a sight of Cadence seated at a cafe not to far away, giving him a ‘good job’ smile.

“Now if you two will excuse me, I have to get back to Twilight’s now.” He held out his hoof to the colt. “It was really nice to have met you, Snails.”

Again, Snails looked sad that his new friend was saying goodbye, but at the same time, Shining Armor could see that he was also happy. With one last smile, he bumped Shining Armor’s hoof.

“Goodbye, Gleaming Shield,” he said. “I'll never forget you.”

Shining Armor couldn't help but choke up a little, as Snails turned back to the young filly to continue talking excitedly about comic books. It was strange; he’d spent the entire week trying to avoid the colt’s glances, and requests for a date, and now that it was all behind him, he was glad that he’d taken the chance to befriend him. To see him being able to talk to a filly other than Gleaming Shield had made the whole experience worth it. Wow, he thought, if this is how I feel after saying goodbye to Snails, I can't imagine what it's going to be like when I have to talk to the Crusaders tonight.

As he made his way down the street, Cadence left her seat at the cafe, and trotted up next to her husband.

“You handled yourself quite wonderfully,” she said, giving him a proud smile.

“Well, I'm no princess of love.” He looked back, and was happy to see Snail’s and the filly talking and laughing together. “But yeah, I think I did alright.”

“You don’t need to be a princess of love to help a pony find his confidence; just a good friend.”

Cadence placed a hoof on her husband’s head, and began stroking his mane.

“Speaking of good friends,” she continued, “are you ready to face the Crusaders?”

Shining Armor frowned.

“No,” he admitted, “but then again, how do you ready yourself for the ‘I’m actually a stallion in disguise’ talk?”

“It’s like you said to Snails; you just need confidence.” She hoisted her husband onto her back.

“Yeah, you’re right.” Shining Armor took a deep breath. “Okay, let’s go.”

...

They found the Cutie Mark Crusaders seated at the the base of their clubhouse, patiently awaiting their friend’s arrival, except for Sweetie Belle, who was nervously pacing back and forth as if she was expecting some sort of terrible surprise. When they saw Shining Armor and Cadence approaching, they rushed over to greet them.

“Oh thank goodness,” Sweetie Belle gasped, as she wrapped her forelegs tightly around Shining Armor’s neck, “I was so worried.”

“Why?” Shining Armor asked, feeling very confused.

An embarrassed flush filled Sweetie Belle’s cheeks.

“Oh, well...ever since you said that you had something important to tell us, I just couldn’t get it out of my that you were...that you were-”

“For the last time, Sweetie Belle, she’s not dyin’,” Apple Bloom said, grumpily. With Scootaloo’s help, she pried the white unicorn away, before giving Shining Armor a sideways glance. “You aren’t, right?”

“Of course I’m not dying,” Shining Armor said, “but I do have something important to say. Could we maybe go up to the clubhouse and talk? I don’t really want anypony else to hear this.”

The Crusaders nodded, and followed Shining Armor up the walkway to the treehouse.

“So what did you want to tell us?” Scootaloo asked, as the Crusaders sat down in a semicircle.

Shining Armor took a deep breath, and tapped his right forehoof on the floor three times. It was a dumb little ritual, but for some reason it helped to calm him down whenever he had to charge right into a potentially disastrous situation. It’s now or never, he thought. Just do it in one go; like ripping off a bandage.

“Alright,” he started, “I know we’ve had a lot of fun over the last week, and we’ve become good friends, and it’s because of that that I feel that I must come clean about something.”

The three little fillies leaned in close in anticipation.

“I’ve been lying to you about who I really am. I’m not actually Twilight’s little cousin, Gleaming Shield, I’m really...Shining Armor.”

This was met by a stunned silence from the Crusaders, who exchanged expressions of confusion.

“You see, on my first day here, Twilight decided to show me some of the new spells she was working on, and, well, long story short, a bad combination of spells resulted in me first being reverted back to a younger version of myself, and then into the filly that you’ve gotten to know over the past week.”

As he told his story, he watched the three faces staring back at them, expecting the confused stares to change to looks of betrayal. But they didn’t; Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle continued to look at him like he was speaking to them in a language that they were struggling to comprehend. I guess that’s better than the alternative, he thought.

“Anyway, when I met you three, Twilight asked me to keep my true identity a secret so word of her mistake wouldn’t reach Princess Celestia. I didn’t want to lie to you, but I did to protect Twilight while she attempted to translate a spell that could change me back to normal. I hope you’ll forgive me for keeping the truth from you all this time.”

Shining Armor closed his eyes, awaiting the Crusaders judgment of him.

“Wow, that’s…” Apple Bloom said.

“A really,” chimed in Scootaloo.

“Bad joke,” added Sweetie Belle.

“What?” Shining Armor opened his eyes, and was surprised by the smiles that greeted him. “I’m not joking.”

“Oh come on, Gleaming Shield,” Scootaloo said. “You expect us to believe that you’re actually Twilight’s brother, Shining Armor?”

“But I really am!”

“Sure, and Sweetie Belle is a good cook.”

“Hey!” Sweetie Belle protested.

“I can prove it.” Shining Armor walked over to the door, and looked down to where Cadence was sitting in the grass below. “Hey, Cadence, sweetie, could you go get Twilight and bring her here?”

Cadence nodded, and in a flash of magic, she was gone. Before Shining Armor could turn around, he heard the sound of something crashing to the floor, and several startled screams. When he looked back, he found his sister sprawled out on next to Cadence.

“Well, I thought you might fly back, but this works t-”

“Oh no,” Twilight said, as she leapt to her hooves, “oh, this is bad.”

“Twily, I’m ready for you to change me back now.”

Twilight stopped her nervous trotting in place, and gave her brother a terrified look.

“Don’t be silly, Gleaming Shield,” she said, “I don’t know what you’re talking about; you’re just a normal filly.”

“Twily, you don’t have to keep pretending; I’ve already told them who I really am.”

“YOU DID WHAT!?” Twilight’s face turned white. “What was point of you keeping your identity a secret then?”

“A question I was hoping you could answer, Twilight Sparkle,” came a voice from the doorway.

Everypony looked up, and quickly bowed their heads in respect as Princess Celestia herself entered the already cramped treehouse.

“Please, there’s no need to bow,” she said in a calm voice, as she smiled, and looked from one pony to another.

“Princess Celestia,” Apple Bloom said, shocked to see one of the great rulers of Equestira standing in the Cutie Mark Crusader’s clubhouse. “What are you doin’ here?”

“Oh, I was just visiting with my favorite student to see how her new magic studies were going, when all of a sudden she was poofed away. Thankfully I am quite skilled in tracing spells, so it was easy enough to follow her here. I do hope you’ll pardon my intrusion.”

“Not at all. Is there anythin’ I we can get for you? Tea? Maybe some of Granny Smith’s famous apple crisp?”

“Later, perhaps; right now there is some urgent business that I must discuss with one of the ponies in this room.”

Instead of Twilight, Celestia turned her attention to Shining Armor, who did everything he could to avoid making eye contact with her. But there was no escaping it. In an instant, he was levitated off the ground, and floated over to where the princess stood. As he hung in midair, the princess got as close as she could to the young pony, and began to examine him like a jeweler looking for a flaw in a diamond. Every once in awhile she would pause, and mutter “interesting,” before moving onto some other part of Shining Armor’s body.

“It’s just as I thought,” she said, placing Shining Armor back on the floor, her examination finished. Then she looked down at him, a regal gleam in her eye, and she cleared her throat. “TEN HUT!”

There was no stopping it; out of instinct, Shining Armor’s body snapped to attention. His rear hooves clicked together, stamping firmly into the floor, he straightened his posture so that he was looking perfectly ahead, and his right forehoof reached up and met his forehead in a salute to his princess. Years of being a member of the Royal Guard had trained him to always stand at attention when being confronted by a superior. Even now that he himself was royalty, his muscle memory seemed to still instantly respond to Princess Celestia’s commands.

Princess Celestia could only giggle at the sight of what looked like a young filly standing at attention like a Canterlot guardspony.

“My, this certainly is an interesting situation in which you’ve found yourself, isn’t it Shining Armor?”

Shining Armor swore he could feel his entire body turn red in embarrassment at having been so easily found out by Princess Celestia. More than that, though, he felt a tinge of panic for his sister, who looked like she was ready to faint at the very idea that her former teacher had caught her trying to cover up a giant mistake. However, as he looked into Celestia’s eyes, he saw that there was no anger there, rather, she seemed amused.

“At ease,” Celestia said, and Shining Armor’s muscles instantly relaxed. “Now, would somepony please tell me why my former guard captain has been changed into such an adorable little filly?”

A silence fell upon the room. Shining Armor looked to the Crusaders, who only now looked shocked at the idea that the pony who they had considered a friend wasn't who she’d said she’d been.

“I…” Twilight said, taking a step forward. “It was my fault. I was showing off some new spells to Shining Armor, and I got distracted, and accidentally changed him into a filly.

“Then the Crusaders discovered him, so I made him lie about who he was so nopony would find out that I'd made a mistake.” She then turned to the girls, and bowed her head as low to the ground as she could. “I'm sorry you girls were dragged into this whole mess. I should have never made Shining Armor lie to you for my sake.

“And Shining Armor, I'm sorry I made you lie. If I'd just done what you said and went to Princess Celestia for he-

“Wait,” Sweetie Belle interrupted, “are you saying that this really is Shining Armor?”

“Yes,” Shining Armor said with an apologetic smile. “And I am truly, very sorry if I've hurt you all.”

The Crusaders exchanged glances, then Apple Bloom furrowed her brow, and stamped her hooves on the floor.

“Awww, dang it!” She exclaimed.

“You have every right to be mad, Apple Bloom, and I promise that I'll-”

“I'm not mad ‘cause you lied,” she said, “it's ‘cause I owe Applejack ten bits.”
Shining Armor was taken aback.

“What?”

“WHAT!?” Twilight shouted in shock. “Applejack knew?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say she knew per se, but she couldn’t get over how much you looked like, uh, you. So I kinda bet her that you were just a filly, and not some stallion in disguise.”

“So you aren’t mad?”

Apple Bloom smiled, and shook her head. Then she surprised Shining Armor, by wrapping her forelegs around him in a hug.

“What about you two?” Shining Armor asked, turning to face Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo, and was again surprised when they shook their heads as well.

“You lied to protect your sister,” Sweetie Belle said, joining in the group hug, “I’d have done the same for Rarity if she was in trouble.”

Well this isn’t going as expected, Shining Armor thought, as the warmth from the hug melted the fear that had built up inside him. Cadence had been right; the Cutie Mark Crusaders were very understanding for such little ponies. At least two of them were; he looked at Scootaloo, who still seemed a little skeptical about Shining Armor’s revelation.

“So you’re really Shining Armor?” She asked.

“I am.”

“That’s...that’s…” Her eyes went wide in wonderment. “That’s so cool!” She glomped on top of the others, knocking them all to the ground. “This is just like those adventure stories Rainbow Dash reads to me, where the prince in disguise infiltrates a small town, and teams up with a ragtag team of outlaws to save the day from some impending doom!”

“But we aren’t outlaws,” Apple Bloom pointed out.

“And there wasn’t any actual doom,” added Sweetie Belle.

“Well, yeah, but other than that it’s exactly the same.”

There was a brief pause, before everypony (the princesses included) joined in a chorus of laughter. When they finally calmed down, Shining Armor and the CMC spent the next half an hour recounting their exploits, from their first meeting, to their time as police fillies, and their afternoon spent as Rarity’s runway models, right up to the present, much to the delight of Princess Celestia, who sat quietly, enraptured by their tale.

“Well now, it certainly sounds like you've been having a wonderful vacation.” Celestia said, as the story came to an end. “That being said, I'm sure you are more than ready to return to your true form.”

Shining Armor nodded; as fun as it had been to run around with the Crusaders, it was time to change back.

“Awww, do you have to?” Sweetie Belle said.

“Yes, I-”

The Crusaders came crashing into him for one last hug.

“We're gonna miss you,” Apple Bloom said, nuzzling her friend’s cheek.

“I'm not going anywhere,” Shining Armor said, patting the young filly’s head, “I'm just returning to who I really am.”

As he released himself from the Crusaders tight embrace, he turned to Twilight with determination in his eyes.

“I'm ready.”

Twilight nodded, and her horn lit up with a bright magenta light. An ethereal beam shot towards Shining Armor, and wrapped itself around him like a warm blanket. This is it, Shining Armor thought, as the world around him was obscured by the magic that surrounded him. Goodbye, Gleaming Shield. It was fun getting to be you. There was a sudden flash, and an invisible force erupted from the spot where “Gleaming Shield” had once stood, shaking the entire treehouse.

When the blinding light faded, the Crusaders and the princesses gathered around, and they all gasped at the sight before them.

“Oh my gosh,” came Sweetie Belle’s astonished cry.

“What?” Shining Armor asked. He suddenly clapped his hooves in front his mouth, his own voice taking him by surprise. It was familiar enough, but after a week of speaking with a little filly’s voice, he’d almost forgotten what his own sounded like. “Did it...work?”

Instead of answering, Princess Celestia produced a magical, reflective field, which Shining Armor eagerly looked into. Staring back at him was the young stallion who had once been the captain of Princess Celestia’s royal guard, and was the current prince of the Crystal Empire; staring back at him was Shining Armor.

“It worked!”

Shining Armor dashed from the magic made mirror, to his little sister, and lifted her off her hooves into a tight embrace.

“You did it, Twily,” he said, pulling her in closer.

“It’s good to see you again, B.B.B.F.F.,” she said. She nuzzled her face against her brother’s neck, wiping happy tears against his coat.

Cadence walked up to them, and planted a kiss on her husband’s cheek.

“There’s my handsome prince,” she said, joining in the hug.

Shining Armor smiled, then released his family, and made his way to the door.

“C’mon,” he said, gesturing for everypony to follow him outside.

When they were all at the base of the tree, Shining Armor stretched his muscles, and without warning, charged into the dimly lit orchard.

“Woohoo!” he cheered, as he galloped, dodging trees and low hanging branches.

When he felt he had traveled far enough, he turned back. Everypony braced for impact, expecting the charging stallion to crash into them, but he didn’t; instead, Shining Armor cast a spell, creating a platform above them, which he jumped onto with ease. In a split second, he created another platform, higher than the first, and jumped to it, only to instantly launch himself into the air.

“Ahhh!” Came a cry from bellow, but they had no need for worry; before he had a chance to fall, another platform had formed under Shining Armor’s hooves. There he stood, observing the land, bathed in the golden light that marked the end of the day. Shining Armor breathed in deep the sweet apple scented air, and smiled; it felt good being in his old body. As Gleaming Shield he been limited by his size, and by the younger body’s inability to perform magic, but now he felt like he could do anything. He’d certainly proved the return of his athletic and magical abilities, yet, even with all the amazing feats he could accomplish, there was still one last thing he felt he needed to do in his true form.

With a nod of his head, the platform he was on began to descend, until his hooves were firmly back on the ground. He turned to the Crusaders, who looked up at him with awe in their eyes, and he reached down, and pulled them into as tight a hug as he could.

“Thank you,” he said.

“Why are you thanking us?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Because when I was first turned into a little filly, I was so scared about what would happen if I was found out, but not only did you three treat me kindly in my state, you accepted me, even after you found out the truth, and for that I am most grateful.”

“We were just doin’ what anypony would do,” Apple Bloom said.

“And did we mention how cool it is that you’re really Shining Armor?” Scootaloo said.

Shining Armor smiled, as he placed the Crusaders back on the ground.

“I’m going to miss being a Crusader.”

“What do you mean you’ll miss it?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well, I’ve got my cutie mark back.” He pointed at the shield and stars that now appeared on his flanks. “Plus I’m pretty sure I’m a little old now to be in the club.”

The three little ponies looked at each other, and grinned.

“Ya’ll thinkin’ what I’m thinkin’?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yup,” said Scootaloo.

“Absolutely,” added Sweetie Belle.

“Right.” Apple Bloom turned to the adult ponies. “Ya’ll wait here, and we’ll be back in a bit.”

“Where are you going?” Shining Armor asked, as the Crusaders began running in three different directions.

But there was no response. Shining Armor chuckled, and lay on the grass with his wife nestled next to him, waiting for whatever it was the Crusaders had in store.