Shared by Two

Disclaimer: I do not own My Little Pony FiM, It is owned by Hasbro and Lauren Faust. I do however own my OCs within.

Authors note: I know, I'm really sorry. I've been drowning in work as well as other things, enjoy this chapter that I finally finished. Working on the next one now. Again, enjoy!

Indecisive

As the yearning sun rose by Celestia's command from the horizon, there stood a mare of crimson red whose fur shined brightly from the sun's rays. She had a tall build, possibly taller than Princess Luna and had a white mane and tail. Her mane was tied up in a bun in the back, bangs brushed to the left side of her face as a long strand hangs to her right. The most noticable feature of her was her silver eyes and a compass as a cutie mark.

Looking down with her eyes locked on to the bustling city she could see all of the local citizens tending to their business and duties. Just like them the mare had business with the princess of the sun to finish. With a look of uncertainy and heaving breaths, she felt very on edge. Not from seeing the princess, but returning to her older brother and children.

It has been three years, since she's been away. All for a hidden treasure, a crystal gem in the shape of a tear is persumed to be a potential lost element; but is now cracked and lifeless. She began to wonder if it was all worth it. With a look of uncertainty, she readied her wings and took flight towards the gates of Celestia's castle.

Elsewhere in Canterlot, a scarlet mare was walking through the halls of Celestia's school of gifted unicorns. With a bag full of books on her back, she ambled to the library to cram for her classes. As it stood, she triumphantly reigned as the top of her class as well as performance. Her name is Primrose, a scholarly mare with blazing ambitions. Her shade of red would put a summer's rose to shame, her eyes glimmered bright yellow and mane was mostly red with blonde streaks hanged at mid length.

Reaching her desired destination, she sat at her usual table and began her courses of study. Completely immersed in her work, Primrose studied diligently into her study without issue. That's until two mares broke her concentration while stopping in front of her table in mid conversation.

'This is a place of reading and study, not gossip.' Primrose stressed only to herself while closing the book that was in front of her. She had half a mind to silence both of them, but knew that would only provoke. So she stayed silent and stood up to leave.

"By the way, did you hear about Princess Luna's portege? He's living in Ponyville, studying with Princess Celestia's student." This caughted her attention. She knew of the name who they were refering too. Rainfall Pours.

Always alone, always off to himself the poor pony shied away in the shadows even as a foal. She was one of the few that actually acknowledged his presents. Later on in years she tried to sum enough courage to actually talk to him. That until the red pegasus came long.

"And get this; I have a friend that lives there and she says they're live together."

"You think they're dating?" The other responded with a gasp. "Oh please I doubt it, besides she wouldn't have time for it." As they stayed, Primrose left hearing enough of their conversation. Admittedly she'd hoped to talk to him at least once. When she heard he passed his entrance exam, she was thrilled. Then heard he wasn't attending the school, but as the princess's disciple and living in Ponyville. 'Maybe I could write to him. No, that's so stupid. Or maybe not, I don't know.' She thought as she was heading home to read in peace.

Landing in front of the royal gates, the red Pagasus mare was met by royal guards and the new Lieutenant, Rook. A charcole colored pony, short brown mane, and sharp stern look in his dark brown eyes. "State your business, citizen." He demanded in an commanding tone. The Crimson mare stood there with a head held high, seemly unphased by his rash request.

"I am here to speak with the princess of my findings of my long expedition." She answered calmly. "By whose authority?" Rook stepped in closer to her.

"By Princess Celestia's request." Standing behind them was the co-captain Snow. "At ease Rook, she may pass. The princess would be pleased to hear of her return and findings." Snow then faced the mare. "Garnet Everglow, welcome back. Please follow me, I will take you to see the princess." Snow said walking back inside. Garnet contently followed with a look of satisfaction.

After passing by several soluting guards and vibrant halls, Snow was leading his returning sister to the princesses throne room. Snow kept a stern demeanor, but inside he was happy to see his little sister return from her two year trip. In front of them were two more guards, guarding the doors. Snow ordered guards to open the door and they stepped through.

Ahead was the princesses of the sun and moon at their throne. Aware of the co-captain and mare's presence, they waited for them to step forward. Before hoof, Snow whispered silently in Garnet's ear.

"Alright, please be cautious of what you say. You never was good at being subtle." He warned. "Well I'll do my best then." Garnet responded in a snarky tone. He walked ahead of her announced Garnet's return with a respectable bow. Celestia's eyes lit up in delight and relief. She even came down from her throne to greet the crimson mare, while Luna watched from where she stood.

"Garnet, it's certainly a wonderful sight to see you again. I expect your journey went well?" Celestia inquired lightly.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to see you and hopefully it was worth it. I believe I found what you've been searching for." Celestia smiled. Garnet pulled off her bag reachinf for item she had inside, but the princess stopped her. Garnet looked up bewildered of why she paused her.

"Before that, how about we talk over breakfast. It has been quite a while since we last talked and I would like to hear about the endeavors of your journey." She offered with a constant smile. Hesitate of the offer, Garnet silently accepted the offer as she was very hungry and hoped she couldn't hear the sounds of her growling stomach. She silently picked up and put her travel bag back on and followed the princess leaving the Co-captain Snow and Luna.

In Ponyville Lightning was walking with Rainfall telling him about his previous day of patrol. While the red pegasus was telling his story, Rainfall was immersed into his spell book he brought with him. He seemed to be more into reading than listening to Lightning.

"Rain, are you listening?" Almost immediately Rainfall responded. "No." Light frowned at the this. He then turned away from the floating book. "What, you wanted me to lie to you?" Lightning lowered his ears, followed with a frown. "Your mean sometimes, Rain."

"No, I'm just honest." He retaliated.

"Honestly brutal maybe." Lightning retorted in a whimper. They wandered into the market place and Rainfall took notice of Silver Tale exiting a local store in town.

"Silver?"

"You know him?" Lightning intriguingly asked.

"Not really, All I know is name is Silver Tale, he came into the library one day checking out a book."

"Well now's your chance." Lightning said now pushing Rainfall forward. Rainfall attempted to remain still, but his efforts were fruitless as Lightning was effortlessly pushing him forward. Hearing disgruntled sounds, Silver turned to see a broad pegasus forcefully pushing the familiar unicorn towards him.

"Hello, I do believe you two may know each other." Lightning began cheerfully.

"You're the pony from the library, right?" Silver asked directly to the blue pony. "Uh...yeah." Rainfall answered shyly, attempting to retreat behind his red companion. It was clear to Silver that he was uncomfortable. The encounter was unexpected.

"I'm Lightning Sparks. This is my best pal, Rainfall Pours, according to him you two met before."

It was Rainfall's turn to speak as both Lightning and Silver turned to him. Struggling to come up with a decent topic, he glanced at Silver's saddlebag and saw the book he got from the library. Finally there was something to talk to this pony about.

"Are you enjoying the book?"

"Oh yes, actually I'm halfway through." Silver answered taking the book out and in front of them both with his magic.

"That's good, I read that one many times as a foal. It's definitely one of favorites." Lightning smiles as the two finally conversed with one another. A strong sense of joy wheld his heart as he was witnessing this. From the beginning the cobalt pony had always begin alone, that until the red pegasus entered in his life. Much like brothers, the two were almost inseparable and Lightning made sure of it.

As they were talking, Lightning quickly became aware of Rarity's presents as she was slowly passing by. Attached to her was a sizable cart with a heavy looking chest on it as she was slowly dragging it. One thing crossed his mind upon seeing this was; where was Sunlight Shine? Lightning quickly announced his departure with Rainfall and Silver and trotted over to the fashionista.

"Hey Rarity, where's Sunlight?" Lightning asked in concern. As she detached herself from the cart she had an unpleasant frown upon her face. She was clearly not thrilled of what she was doing.

"I have no earthly idea, he hasn't shown up at all in the last two weeks."

"Well here, I'll lend you a hoof." He offered taking over the cart for her, moving it forward with ease. Without delay she guided the way to the boutique.

"Why thank you darling, I really appreciate this." The helpful hoof really lifted up her spirits. "Afterwards maybe we can talk over tea." She graciously presented. "I'd like that." 'And then later a word with Sunlight later too.' Lightning thought distastefully.

In Baltimare, Aurora arranged a meeting with one of her contacts in Little Italy. That contact was a grython named Terra. With her, Aiden and Jinx waited in a local restaurant, keeping an eye out for the new addition. To pass the time, Aurora used her some of her money and ordered her and new companions some sustenance. She ordered a simple salad, Aiden got a hayburger, and Jinx a sandwish with hay fries. She watched as they ate satisfyingly.

"Thank you for this, really." Aiden said appreciatively after swallowing.

"It's my pleasure. I wouldn't want one of my allies to be malnourished. But this is not the only reason why we're here. Today we're meeting a gryphon named Terra, who has some valuable information for me and will be joining us."

"What are you looking for?" He asked out of curiosity. "You'll know when you need to know. For now, just follow my lead." She retorted. Aiden fell silent from that response, and continued eating. He figured he would be more of help if he search for it for her to really show his appreciation, but it seemed she already had a plan in mind. Then the bell on the door chimed, and came in was a spotted grython with brilliant brown eyes and a smile plastered on his face.

"Hello deary, you missed me." He said flirtatiously.

Garnet and Celestia sat underneath the patio within the royal garden, finishing up breakfast. in the midst of it, Celestia urges the crimson adventuress to tell her about her travels. Garnet contently agrees and fills the princess in on her long search. Sitting comfortably, Celestia fully immersed herself in Garnet's perilous tale.

Hankering to hear the whole story, she felt she was only hearing the important parts. Coming to an end, Garnet finally revealed the very item they searched for. Set carefully on the table, was a crystal similar to the six elements of harmony, in the shape of a crystal tear. The only difference was it had no radiance at all, lifeless, and appeared to be cracked. Celestia looked up questionably at her.

"My apologies, I found it in that state."

"I see. Garnet, you have done wonderfully on your journey and it's been almost three years. I'm sure your family would love to see you again and awaiting your return." Garnet immediately withdrew eye contact from the suggestion. Celestia noticed this expression and quickly displayed concern.

"I appreciate the thought princess, but I'm not sure if I'm ready yet." Garnet felt hesitant, she knew her son would relish the thought of her return. But hearing his letters, she feared her daughter wouldn't be so open. She couldn't bear to face them yet.

"What will you do then?" Garnet rose from her seat and staged a light smile. "I'll think of something, thank you for your time your majesty." She said with a respectfully bowed. Celestia saw through her smile but acknowledged her claim. She quickly urged her to stand normally. "It's was a pleasure seeing you again, and remember; you have a friend in me as well. Take care Garnet."

Leaving the garden, Garnet preceded through the castle halls. Along the way she became aware of Snow, leaning on a pillar wall seemingly in wait. Garnet eyed him and kept walking, approaching the door.

"You have to confront them some time. They miss you, ya'know." Snow commented.

"I know, and I will on my own time. I don't need you to tell me that, co-captain." She retorted with sass.

"Lightning and Glowlight are no longer in Canterlot. They're a train ride away in Ponyville. During you time with the princess, I took the time to conveniently book you a room in a hotel and instructed two of my guards take you there." The doors opened revealing a normal guard and Rook Chariot.

"Miss Everglow, shall we?" The armored brown furred earth pony asked softly.

"Thank you kindly, dear brother." She said very snarkily back to her brother. "We shall, but just you." Rook winced at this, making a slightly offended face. Garnet gave a quick glare as she and the guard went through the doors to the next room. Snow went back for princess, as for Rook, he just stood there, and smiled impishly. 'Brother huh.'

"Here we are, the Carousel Boutique. If you please unload the cart, I'll get everything ready." Rarity happily instructed opening the door for the both of them. "What do you prefer; tea or coffee?"

"Coffee is fine, thanks." He answered pulling the cart off of him and pulled the chest to him. Surprisingly it wasn't heavy at all to lift up and brought it inside. After sitting it down he began to wonder what was inside.

"Lightning, your coffee's ready!" She announced sweetly. Lightning motioned towards the kitchen and sees the mare pouring tea into her cup. She took a quick look at the stallion with a smile and gestured him over to his seat. Before sitting down and pulled a seat out for her. Again the mare was in awe, noticeably blushing at the offer.

"Oh you're so sweet." She said taking the seat and Lightning followed suit. Taking a sip from her tea, many questions began to gather in her mind she wanted to ask. "Is it to your liking? Unfortunately it was the only brand we have."

"This is fine, I used to drink this as a last resort when I was younger." He answered happily.

"So tell me about yourself Lightning, how is life in Canterlot?"

"It's good, a great place to live. It's even better when you have friends too.

"I'd love to hear about them, who are they?"

"Golden Hour, Song Note, Synthesia, Coffee Brew, and Cogsworth. Their all my foalhood friends. We're still friends to this day, but everypony besides me dispersed outside of Canterlot to achieve their own goals."

"And? Go on, I'm listening." She insisted eagerly. Lightning happily pressed on, more open to elaborate further.

"Cogsworth is a griffon and he's really into engineering and went to Griffonstone. Synthesia and Song who are sisters stayed together and are pursuing classical music and orchestra all over Canterlot. Coffee wanted to be an architect and is currently living in Manehatten. Gold, she was here and other places apparently. I wanted to be part of the Royal Guard, so I stayed in Canterlot. I couldn't do it sadly, I have to take care of my sister."

"What about your parents, aren't they around?"

"Our mom is traveling by the princess's request. And our dad, he passed away from illness." He answered with lowered ears, still keeping some form of smile. Rarity was in aw of the situation he and family was in. Before she could say anything, Lightning rose his hoof in protest. "Don't worry about it, it's okay." He assured her.

"Well, if you say so." Rarity accepted halfheartedly. "By the way, before you said we; are there anypony else living here?" He asked. "Oh yes, my little sister. If you like, we can arrange a sort of a play date for Sweetie Belle and Glowlight."

"That's a great idea, expanding her group of friends will help her open up more. She's little on the shy side and a bit tomfoal-ish."

"Oh believe me, that won't be a problem. Sweetie Belle is very friendly." She reassured him. "That's very relieving to hear, thank you Rarity." He thanked her, tightly clutching his mug and taking another sip of his coffee, resulting in burning his tongue. He quickly played it off with a awkward smile. Rarity giggled unpon seeing this, sipping her tea. An elaborate attempt to hide the blush. 'Now I see why Golden has a heart-on for him.'

In the bustling city of Canterlot, Garnet followed close beside the royal brown furred soldier. Occasionally glancing over, she attempted to get a reading on him. Throughout their time together he simply remained poker-faced and silent. 'He's certainly a quiet pony.' Standing outside of the large hotel the soldier finally spoke. "Here we are ma'am, your appropriate destination."

"Thank you, you may return back to the castle."

"I cannot do that ma'am." Garnet rose an eyebrow. "The captain specifically wants me to watch over you." He softy responded.

"He thinks I can't take care of myself?" He stood quiet for a moment, thinking rationally of to say without aggravating her. 'This must be what he meant.' He thought anxiously. "Just until you get back to the swing of things. Things have changed and I am here to assist you if needed. But I must stay with you until nightfall, Co-captain's orders." He carefully explained. Luck for him, Garnet seemed to understand and given in.

"Fine, I'll check in and sit my stuff down. Then you can show me around the city. I didn't catch your name." He removed his helmet and held it to his chest in a greeting pose. His hair was neatly well combed and champagne gold, and his ocean blue eyes were more expressive than before. "My name is Cyan. Cyan Stone."

end

the next chapter will be a continuation of the same day then the next which will be about AJ. Enough said, go on.