Cuori Intrecciati

For being a public carriage at least it was clean and well appointed, but then in Canterlot it could not afford to be anything less. The lacquered wood floors and walls were polished to a brilliant shine, the latter gilded with elegant laurels around the windows. Upholstered with soft, burgundy velvet, the bench seats were thickly cushioned to make them comfortable whether sitting or lying down.

Cadance didn't notice any of it, her gaze focused toward the window and the streets of Canterlot trundling by at a languid pace. Canterlot: as much as she would love to claim otherwise, it was still her home. She'd spent too many years in the mountainside city. Though she’d been born elsewhere, Canterlot was where she'd grown up, went to school, and met her husband. The Crystal City would become her home eventually, someday, in a few more years, once they built enough memories, once they had something worth remembering.

She closed her eyes, unwilling to let her mind travel down that path again. Instead, she forced her attention to drop the lesser of her distractions. The least of these was the discomfort of having her body squeezed down to the size of an average female pegasus, made all the worse by the tingle of magic making her coat a dark-cherry red with an almost black mane.

Just visible out of the corner of her eye sat her husband, Shining Armour, though he too looked nothing like himself. Instead of his bright white coat and blue mane, dark-green fur covered him from head to hoof with a fiery mane fashioned after the Wonderbolts’ captain. He sat there in stoic silence, back straight with a concerned twist to his features. She'd not changed those, not really seeing the point. There was a chance that his fellow guards might be able to pick him out, but it would hardly matter by that point.

Looking away couldn't stop her from sensing his aura. The discordant, sour flow of aether bore into her like a dripping faucet. Encountering those tones coming from anypony was bad enough, but to have them come from her own husband turned her stomach.

It had been minutes since either had spoken so much as a word to each other, long before they hailed the cab or even stepped from the train. The silence wasn't so bad in-and-of itself. They were used to it, comfortable enough with each other to sit in silence for hours. This was not that sort of silence.

It was not a silence of unnecessary words but of those left unspoken. Every passing second it built, pressing against the back of her mind. She didn't like it, neither of them did, but pride held her tongue. Pride and the fear of what her words might birth if given the chance.

Shining deserved better.

"I'm sorry."

Their eyes snapped to meeting as their synchronized words faded. Like the turning of a valve, the pressure released and evaporated, flushed out through fleeting smiles and short lived chuckles for as long as it lasted. It wasn't much, but it helped, even dimming those dark tones in his aura.

Shining's eyes dropped first, focusing on his hooves and forelegs. He grimaced, lifting one and giving it a cursory inspection. "Is all of this really necessary?"

"Yes," Cadance said, glancing at her own shortened and wrong colored legs. "It’s been two years since she last deigned to see us. Two years of evasions and excuses—"

"And?" he asked, sounding more drawn and tired than annoyed. "We’re here now, minutes from the palace. Even if you’re right about everything—which I don’t think you are—but even then, it’s not like she’ll flee the palace just to avoid us."

"You don’t know that!" Cadance’s voice strained with emotions she dared not name. "If she gets even a hint that we are on our way before we corner her, she’ll find a way to keep from seeing us. You don’t know her like I do. She’s crafty and sneaky and… and…" She faltered, too caught up in what seemed like certain failure to summon any more adjectives.

"Candy."

"Don’t ‘Candy’ me!"

Shining sighed, rubbing a hoof just below his horn. When he spoke again, his voice was restrained but no less chiding for it. "You’re being silly. This is Princess Celestia we’re talking about, not some criminal mastermind."

"Yes she is, Shiny! If she were anything other than the Princess that is exactly what she would be! The only hope we have of forcing her hoof is to catch her completely by surprise."

Shining visibly bit back whatever retort had raced to the tip of his tongue. A bitter wave pulsed through his aura, curdling Cadance's tongue. They were teetering on the edge again, and neither wanted to risk another fall. He recognized it too and took a breath, forcing the issue aside and changing the subject.

"So… what are we going to do about Twily?"

Cadance scraped her tongue along her teeth—the old habit proving as ineffective as ever—before answering. "Whatever she needs us to do. Mostly, though, we'll be there for her," her voice took a dark, biting turn, "like we should have been months ago."

Reaching across the divide, Shining took her hoof in both of his, his green fur looking odd against her cherry coat. "It’s not your fault."

Cadance snatched her hoof back and shot him a glare. "No, it’s hers."

She could all but hear his eyes roll as he leaned back again. "You can’t blame Princess Luna either."

"Oh yes I can. She’s done nothing but drive wedges between everypony since she showed up. I should have seen something like this coming. I bet she’s the reason aunt Celly’s been avoiding us too."

"Can you even hear yourself right now?" The comment was hard and sharp, snagging Cadance's head back up from the floor where it'd fallen. "First, you claim that Princess Celestia is some sort of puppet-master, then you say she’s being played by her sister. And you! You, of all ponies, are claiming that Princess Luna is responsible for Twilight falling in love with her. How many young studs and fillies have professed an undying love for you?"

"That's not—"

"It’s exactly the same thing. Just because you don’t like her doesn’t give you the right to treat her like your own personal scapegoat. Besides, you should have more faith in Twilight and Princess Celestia than that."

The carriage seemed to echo with Shining's words, the implicit condemnation pounding at Cadance’s ears. She seethed. Before she could say something she’d regret, she forced herself to calm down, hoof swinging in and out to match her breathing. Only once she’d curtailed the desire to snap at her fool of a husband did she speak.

"Twilight is inexperienced. Any mare with a mind to do it could have her tail in a knot before dinner."

"Which only proves—"

"No! Luna should know better! Twilight isn't some random pony with a crush. They were friends! Rarity's letter said they were seeing each other almost every night. She was pining after her for months! Shifting her schedule and twisting herself into a pretzel, doing everything she could to spend time with her and—"

"And she never told you," Shining said in a somber tone.

Cadance recoiled, completely thrown off track and left blinking in confusion. "What?"

"Twilight never told you, and you think it's your fault because she knew you would disapprove and try to talk her out of it. Tell me I’m wrong."

Cadance glared at him, but he weathered it without so much as a flick of an ear. Worse, no matter how much she would love to deny it, Shining wasn’t wrong. At least not entirely. That didn’t make him right though.

"It’s Luna’s fault. Not mine."

Before Shining could respond, the small bell in the ceiling chimed, drawing both ponies to look out the window as they passed beneath the arch of marble and gold. The carriage slowed, merging in with others until it could saddle up to the curb and come to a final stop.

The couple shared a look and a nod, silently agreeing to a cease-fire if not a truce. Shining stepped out first, holding the door and offering a hoof to help Cadance down.

While Shining paid the cabby, Cadance cast her gaze over the sparse crowd either loitering about the grounds or making their way into the palace. Unattached to her in any significant way, she had to focus on them to perceive their auras. They were cheery, on the whole, and those few that weren’t were drowned out by the rest. The sight of so many couples and families spending the afternoon together helped to sooth her nerves, reminding her of her own family and friends who would be there to support her no matter how everything turned out.

Within the first two steps those good feelings were completely washed away by the returning tide of doubt. Between her lingering annoyance over their argument, her continued worry of being found too soon, and the confining squeeze of her own magic, not to mention the whole reason they were there, Cadance was lucky to keep herself from fidgeting and glancing over her shoulder every other second. The sedate pace they set did not help matters, only seeming to make every moment drag all the more.

Shining’s posture was little better. He might not have had her guilty countenance, but anypony with eyes would know him for an out-of-uniform guard. Worse, his face was no different than ever and if anypony could pick him out despite his altered coloring it would be the palace guards.

Second thoughts plagued her, doubts about every decision and action that had led them there surfacing like so much fog over a fetid lake. She had no recourse left to her. Neither turning back nor pushing forward seemed to offer any hope of comfort. Save, of course, for the stallion at her side.

He was her life saver, her branch stretched across the raging river, her guiding light, her husband. With him at her side, she could do anything, even stand up to her aunt. Together they trotted up the palace steps, funneling in with the rest of the guests.

Two unicorns stood guard at the great doors, statues with spears at the ready and eyes scanning the crowd. Those two were the first true obstacle. As much ornamentation as anything else, their primary purpose was still to detect trouble before it could step hoof inside. Everytime their gaze flicked her way, Cadance’s wings locked against her side, making her regret keeping them. If they noticed anything out of the ordinary, anything to draw their attention toward her or Shining…

On some level, she knew her reaction was over-the-top. They were hardly sneaking in for anything approaching nefarious purposes. And yet… and yet the consequences of being found out, of the wrong pony taking notice, or worse, recognizing them, kept her teeth on edge. She could not bear it for their plans to be ruined when the goal was in sight.

And then… nothing happened. They passed by those first two guards without so much as an ear tilted in their direction. Once they were inside, every step taking them deeper into the palace, Cadance finally relaxed for what might have been the first time since they left the Empire. With a heavy sigh, she slumped against Shining. He took the weight without protest, even turning his head to give her an affectionate nuzzle.

"We're actually going to make it," she whispered.

Shining chuckled, his whole body rumbling against her, shaking free even more of her worries. "Of course we are, Honey."

The relief was not to last.

Rather than a resounding victory to be celebrated, their success merely paved the way for greater concerns to weigh on her mind. There was a reason she'd not made the trip to Canterlot in the past two years, and aunt Celly's polite refusals were at best an excuse. No, the real reason she'd let herself stew for so long was a far more terrifying prospect than her aunt's disapproval.

It was easier to be terrified but uncertain than to risk finding out that she was right.

There was hope, always there was hope as long as she didn’t know. For two years that hope found in uncertainty had danced a merry jig through Cadance's mind, staying her hoof from action. If not for Rarity's letter, she’d never have ever made it out the front gate. She needed to know, but the thought of asking, of finding out she was right petrified her as surely as a cockatrice's stare.

Aunt Celly had been married enough times that Cadance could not recall the true number. She was quite open about that part of her life, willing to speak for hours about her husbands and wives, sometimes going into far more detail than Cadance was comfortable with. In all those stories, all the memories she'd shared, there was always something missing. Cadance could see it all just by looking at her. Her aura shimmered with severed connections for each of her partners but of children there was nothing.

And Cadance had never asked. She’d wanted to, but every time she tried the words never made it past her lips. It seemed disrespectful and intrusive. If aunt Celly wanted to share she would, and Cadance had been more or less content to leave it at that.

Now she was charging headlong into a confrontation with—

Cadance froze as their eyes met. Everypony in the corridor came to a stop. For the beat of a heart, nopony said a word, seemed to breath at all. She stood as tall and regal as ever, rainbow mane waving to one side, hiding one fuschia eye. She looked no different than Cadance remembered, save for one tiny detail.

Many ponies claimed that her aunt seemed to glow, radiating a power and warmth that awed and comforted them. To Cadance, it hadn’t been mere hyperbole. Whenever Cadance was in her presence, she felt the love her aunt carried for everypony. It surrounded her, brilliant golden chimes that flowed out and filled any room she entered no matter how large. Now, however, looking at her was akin to staring at the Sun surrounded by a brass band.

"Cadance? Shining Armour? This is quite the surprise," aunt Celly said, wearing the same expression Cadance had always known her to. "Though not an unpleasant one. I have been meaning to speak with you for quite some time."

"You're…" The shock of her aunt's glowing aura went right out of her mind, and she blinked up at her in complete befuddlement. This moment had existed in her mind for weeks, all the arguments that she could envision charted out with plans to defend her decisions and to attack her aunt with relentless zeal. And just like that, all of it was gone, subverted by a single sentence. Shining's smug and stifled chuckles weren't helping. "Wait, what?"

"It has been far too long since we last spoke face-to-face. I know that is entirely my own fault, but as you can imagine, things have been quite hectic here, and still are, if I am to be honest." Glancing back at Kibitz, all but unnoticed at her side, she received a motion to hurry things along. "Unfortunately, I do not have time to chat at this moment, but unless I am mistaken, my lunch hour is free today." Kibitz gave a reluctant nod, and she turned back. "Would you mind waiting for me in the Solarium? It shall only be a few minutes."

"Yes, Princess, that would be fine," Shining supplied in lieu of Cadance's stunned silence.

Before she could vocalize any of the protests wrestling to be the first out, her aunt had already moved past them and disappeared around the corner with Kibitz in tow.

If she were fool enough to take her aunt’s words at face value, Cadance might have been convinced that the last two years were nothing more than an oversight, a result of bad scheduling with no ulterior motives. Paying attention to her aunt's wording revealed no such indications. Instead, it showed only that she had not wanted to avoid her but felt it necessary. And the reason was obvious now.

"She’s in love," Cadance whispered, more tasting the idea of the words than trying to say them.

"What? Really?"

She nodded as Shining led the way toward the Solarium. "That's why she didn't want me around."

A few seconds went by without either speaking until Shining voiced the question they’d both been contemplating, "Wouldn't that mean…?"

"Yeah. She's been in love for the past two years, and nopony else knows about it."

"How is that even possible? We weren't dating for two weeks before everypony seemed to know about us."

Cadance bit her lip. "I’m not sure she’s in a relationship."

Shining’s lips twisted for a brief moment before understanding dawned on him. "Oh. Oh, geez. I hadn’t even thought… Wow. Two years? And not just crushing but ‘In Love’?"

"Hooves over horn."

Their conversation remained dour, neither able to escape the depressing implications. Each question and theory presented only added to the gloom. Was it a pony in the palace, or a foreign dignitary? Why hadn't aunt Celly pursued the relationship? One thought rose to the top of Cadance's mind, but she feared to give it voice. If it was Twilight… The timeline fit well with her ascension. It would also explain Luna's reaction better than her simply being evil—not that Cadance was ready to let go of that theory just yet.

What held her tongue, though, was how Shining would react. As long as she could remember, aunt Celly had had a knot tied over her heart, a scar from so many lost loves, or so she’d thought. If she’d been wrong, if it was because of Twilight, from being in love with her at such a young age and hating herself for it… Cadance could not be certain how Shining would react to something like that.

The moment they entered the solarium its protective magics attacked their disguises, tearing them apart to reveal the snow-white unicorn and soft-pink alicorn. Like the seams of a too tight dress finally giving out, the euphoria of release washed over her body and mind.

"Oh, stars, that feels so much better," Cadance said, shivering and shaking out her mane. A subtle glance over her shoulder found Shining very unsubtly ogling her backside.

When he noticed her noticing him, he didn’t bother to act embarrassed. "Have I mentioned how beautiful you are?"

With a sly smile, she shook her head. "Not since yesterday."

"Oh? In that case," he stepped closer with an exaggerated swagger and that confident smile he thought was debonair but really only made him look goofy, "you are the most beautiful mare in all of Equestria."

Lifting a forehoof, Cadance stopped him a leg's length away and threw her mane to one side, turning her nose up. "Only Equestria?"

"You are the most beautiful mare in the whole world," he amended, pushing his weight against her hoof. "None have ever come close to your magnificence. You are perfection in equine form."

Her hoof dropped as she turned to face him once more, their muzzles almost touching. "Damn right I am."

Shining hummed, closing the last of the distance to peck her on the cheek. One kiss turned into two, to three. Their lips met, his hoof coming up to cup her cheek as her wings spread forward to run through his mane and enshroud him.

A knock on the servant’s door snapped them apart like a pair of teenagers afraid of being caught by their parents. Blushing profusely, both for being caught and for being embarrassed about being caught, neither could meet the eyes of the two unicorn fillies entering with silver platters in tow. Awkward greetings were exchanged for confused ones as the maids bowed and set about their tasks. Shining and Cadance stayed where they stood, too busy pretending that nothing had happened to notice anything until they were alone once more.

When the door closed, Cadance tipped to her side, leaning heavily against her husband. She tried to groan, but it came out haltingly, a steccato of expulsions firing from her nose. Her next breath was a far more proper snicker. Any attempt to say something, to comment on what had just happened, turned into a chuckle that spawned a similar response from Shining.

"You two are adorable."

Cadance yelped, leaping up and spinning to face the balcony and the alicorn standing there, heart racing and panting. Though Shining’s response might have been less theatrical, it was still plain that he’d been caught off-guard, pivoting and crouching low.

"Damnit, aunt Celly! Stop doing that!"

She just grinned, offering not the slightest bit of remorse as she stepped fully into the Solarium, maneuvering toward her seat at the table. "I would expect you to be used to it by now."

Taking her seat, aunt Celly wasted no time, setting straight into brewing her tea, her magic throwing everything into motion with an efficiency born of centuries of daily repetition. Cadance opened her mouth to speak, only to be shot down by a stern glare. She frowned, fuming as much at herself as her aunt. Even brimming with questions like she was, she couldn’t make herself protest her aunt’s silly ritual. Instead, she trudged to her customary seat at her aunt’s left, Shining moving around to sit opposite her.

Minutes passed with only the soft sounds of an expert brewing tea. The scent of ginger and orange rode the rising steam, filling the air with its oddly sweet spice. Cadance glared at her aunt the whole time, trying to focus her thoughts on the argument that was sure to follow. That proved almost impossible, her attention constantly flitting back to the chiming light of her aunt’s aura. When she finished, taking the pot to pour her first cup, she didn’t give Cadance a chance to take the lead.

"I assume you have a good reason for sneaking around in conjured disguises."

Her disapproving tone almost made Cadance blush, putting her on the defensive. "Well, what did you expect us to do? Every time we tried to visit, you turned us away. How was I supposed to react to being abandoned without even a hint of an explanation?"

Aunt Celly looked up, the honey dipper hovering over her tea, twirling to keep from dripping while her attention was focused elsewhere. "I did not abandon you, nor think an explanation necessary."

"What? How could you—"

"Cadance," aunt Celly said, reaching over to place a hoof on her shoulder and give a comforting smile, "you are not a little filly anymore. You are an adult, a princess with an empire to rule. I will always be here for you, but you must learn to stand on your own four hooves. You cannot afford to come to me with every little problem you face."

That smile, the reassuring hoof, and those honey-laced half-truths, she wanted to believe her, to accept it all as a harsh lesson and move on. On any other day, with any other conversation, she might have done, but this was so predictably 'aunt Celly', such an unabashed and flagrant ploy, that she couldn't. Cadance smacked the hoof from her shoulder. "Horse apples!"

"Excuse me?"

"You’re lying." The look aunt Celly shot her way almost stole Cadance's momentum. "Okay, you’re bending the truth like a horseshoe. I don’t believe any of that for a moment."

Turning back to her tea, aunt Celly let a single drop of honey fall into her cup. "We are getting off topic, I think."

"No, we’re getting off your topic, and I’m not going to let you dictate the terms of this conversation. I want to know the real reason you’ve been avoiding us like we have fleas."

Adrenaline rushed through her, chilling her veins even as it left her quivering. She was done letting her aunt dance around the issues. There was no way she’d worm her way out this time. Never before had she been able to hold onto the moral high-ground against her aunt for more than a few seconds. Each time was glorious but short lived. This time, Cadance couldn’t keep the vicious smile from her lips.

"Well?"

A teaspoon dipped into the cup, making three full turns before coming back out and tapping against the rim. "You are right—"

"Ha!"

Aunt Celly paused to shoot her a harsh frown, and, even with her blood running hot, Cadance shrunk back a bit. "Must I spell out why I have been avoiding you? And yes, I admit that I was doing so." She sighed heavily. "Very well. I am in love, and it is our desire that it remain a secret for as long as equinely possible. As such, having somepony around who could spot it in an instant was not advantageous. I am sorry for that. I found no pleasure in distancing myself from you as I have. It was, and still is, necessary, however."

Leaning back victoriously, Cadance crossed her forelegs and glared at her aunt, calmed but still riding the wave of momentum. "You expect me to sit here and accept that answer? I deserve more."

"Yes, I suppose you do," aunt Celly said, bringing her tea up for the first sip, "but what we get and what we deserve are not always the same thing."

The last bit of her smile faded. "What?"

"You are not listening. I wish for my relationship to remain private, and you being here has not changed that." Without missing a beat, she turned toward Shining. "Would you care for some tea?"

Shining jumped, startled at being addressed. "No. Uhm, I mean, thank you, but no ma'am."

"Please," she said, smiling warmly, "Auntie, or Aunt Celly, or Celestia if you must. Or would you have me call you Prince-Consort?"

Shining blushed and ducked his head. "No, Shining is fine… Aunt Celestia."

"See, that was not—"

"Auntie! " Cadance barely kept from growling. "You can't dangle something like that in front of me and just not tell me!"

"I did not dangle anything, you took it without my permission." Though her tone started hard, it quickly faded to normal. "If I thought you had any control in the matter, I would be very cross right now. As it stands, there was little either of us could have done to prevent it. If you pursue this, however…"

Quickly growing annoyed at her aunt’s stalling, Cadance started to speak again, only for a great white wing to shoot up and cut her off.

"I am in love as never before," aunt Celly said, staring into her tea, a tiny smile, the likes of which Cadance had never seen on her aunt, pulling at her lips. "You understand that, I know. You also understand just how little privacy I have. It is so very difficult to sequester even the smallest thing from public view that…" She shook her head, taking another sip before continuing. "This is mine, Cadance. There will come a time when we must step out for the world to see, but until that day, until we have no other options…" Her smile slipped. "Please don’t ask for that day to come one second sooner than it must."

Once again, Cadance almost bought it, almost accepted it all without question. But aunt Celly had taught her how to notice what ponies meant behind the words they used. "You don’t trust me."

Surprise flashed across her aunt’s muzzle, replaced quickly by a hint of pride. "No, I suppose I do not. Not with this." Cadance flinched. "But then, I do not trust anyone else, either."

Cadance stared down at her hooves. That had hurt, hurt a great deal more than she’d expected.

"Is… is it my sister?" Shining’s voice caught both princesses flat hoofed, snatching their attention toward him. He struggled to meet her aunt's eyes, ears quivering and forehooves gripped tight.

Aunt Celly blinked, lips slowly parting before she gave a vigorous shake of her head. "No, Shining. I am not in love with your sister."

A gust of wind blew across the table as Shining slumped, relief plain on his face. Cadance wanted to reach over and hold his hoof. With what Twilight had just gone through, the last thing she needed was a reason to question her relationship with aunt Celly on top of it all. Unfortunately, Cadance had more important things on her mind.

"I don't see why you'd want to keep it a secret anyway," Cadance said, not caring that she sounded like a petulant foal.

"Nor will you until the day you find out. For the time being, I would be appreciative if you could trust that my reasons are good and leave it at that. Now," aunt Celly's smile returned to its normal radiance, "would you like to talk about what you were unwilling to ask by letter? I assume that is what truly brought you here today."

And like that, everything else lost all importance. Cadance's eyes fell again, and she managed to nod, but nothing else. It should have been easy, considering how long she'd spent thinking about it. That made no difference. The things she wanted to say, needed to ask, the right words eluded her. And the courage to risk a mistake…

Shining's hoof reached across the table, taking hers and giving it a squeeze. She looked up to see him smiling. It was forced, but that changed little. It was enough to help her find her voice.

"I… We," she corrected, a bubble of warmth lifting her up as she turned to face her aunt. "Shining and I have been married for three years now and…" She stumbled, a lump catching tight in her throat. "Three years isn’t so long, but—"

The bubble burst.

She couldn’t see her aunt, nor Shining, nor anything of the Solarium that surrounded her. Blue and pink crystal walls shimmered around her, sunlight dancing from facet-to-facet making the whole room glow. It wasn't a large room. Any wall could be reached within three strides. The furniture sparkled no less than the walls, perfectly sized for the room, a tiny dresser, a low table, and a wide seated rocking chair that seemed so out of place by its normal size. And at the center, at the very heart of the room…

Her chest seized, squeezing the air from her lungs. Every step she took only made it worse, constricting, threatening to crush the life out of her. She didn’t want to look, to see inside those crystals bars, beneath the swaying mobile of hearts and shields.

Where Shining came from, she did not know, but neither did she care. She leaned into him, resting her head against his collar as he draped a foreleg over her withers, pulling her into a tight hug.

His lips next to her ear, he whispered, "Should I…"

Shaking her head, she took a few more breaths before lifting her eyes to meet her aunt’s again. They looked concerned, pained, almost guilty, and, perhaps, a sparkle of empathy. There was comfort in that, but no hope, no reassurance against her fears.

"I—I go there everyday. I sit in the doorway, staring…" shaking her head, she tried to throw the image from her mind. "And I can't stop wondering why I… Why you…"

A veil of fear hung heavy in her mind, blocking her way and holding her tongue. There was no way around, no easier path. She either asked now or let her last ember of hope die.

"Why haven’t you had any foals?" Before her aunt could respond, or she herself could think better of it, Cadance’s tongue stumbled in a desperate bid to prevent anymore silence. "I know it's not because you don't want any. No pony loves foals more than you. Even with everything else you do you always make time for them anywhere you can. And I can't believe that being a princess would keep you from having your own foals. The only other reason I can think of is… Is it because we're alicorns, is that why we can't get pregnant? The doctors didn't find anything! They said nothing was wrong, but it's been three years! Was that the price I paid for this horn? Did you let me give that up without even telling me? How could you let me do that? I was ten! I didn't know what was going on! I—"

When and how she crossed the distance that had separated them, tearing herself from Shining's embrace to grasp her aunt's head, she didn't know. Her aunt didn't recoil, instead shushing her and wiping the tears from her eyes as she wrapped her in a feathery hug.

"Cadance…" aunt Celly whispered, her tone both tender and chiding, "I would never allow one so young to make so heavy a sacrifice, knowingly or not."

"Then… then why?"

"Why?" A hoof ran through her mane, her aunt kissing her lightly on the forehead. "I have no answers to that question, for you or for me."

"Why didn’t you tell me?" she sobbed more than asked, burying her face in her aunt’s chest.

She was not allowed to stay there, aunt Celly pushing her back and raising her chin so they could see each other’s eyes, hers dancing with a light amusement. "Because there was nothing to tell. I may not know what has prevented you from conceiving, but I can tell you that it has nothing to do with your ascension."

"But… I… It—it doesn't?"

"No. While there may not have been many, there have been others before you, and none of them were left wanting for children."

"Really?" Cadance asked, smiling and sniffing and wiping the last tears from her eyes.

"Yes. Really. I would trust your doctor." Then in a conspiratorial whisper, she added, "I understand they tend to know what they are talking about." Glancing over her shoulder, she finished with a sly smile, "Are you certain you are doing it right?"

"Y—Yes!" Cadance baulked, almost stumbling backward. "We know how… what to… Auntie!"

Her aunt Celly, Princess of Equestria, giggled like a school filly, covering her muzzle with a hoof as her whole body shook. Meanwhile, Shining came up behind her, slipping his forelegs under hers and pulling her backward into a hug. To her ire, he too was shaking with laughter just barely kept inside.

"I don’t like to say I told you so—"

"Oh hush you," she said, pouting and shrinking against him.

He only hummed in response, snuggling closer and letting his hooves travel down to her belly. She matched his movements, covering his hooves with her own, holding them there. For the first time in months she let herself imagine what it would be like to have a new life growing there, without the fear or worry hounding her. A genuine smile blossomed on her lips, growing until it hurt and boiled over into a soft chuckle and sigh.

When her smile faded back to something more manageable, Cadance let her eyes open, falling down from the ceiling to her aunt sipping at her tea. Her smile wilted into a frown. Aunt Celly’s own smile was wrong. It was missing something, or something was there that should not have been. She couldn’t put her hoof on what it was, but now that she saw it she couldn’t let it go.

"Aunt Celly?" she asked.

"Hmmm?"

"You…" She paused, uncertain how to proceed. "You never answered my question." Before her aunt could deny it and turn the conversation, she asked, "Why haven’t you ever had any foals of your own?"

Aunt Celly’s gaze dropped, staring into the half-empty cup of tea. "I would think the answer obvious."

"You can’t—" The words caught in her throat. Even after convincing herself it was true, after fretting about it for months on end, being faced with the reality of her aunt’s situation defied her ability to imagine. Every scenario prior had focused on herself, on living her own lifetime without a foal. But for her aunt, to watch generation after generation… "Oh, aunt Celly…"

With a wave of her wing, her aunt tried to brush it aside. "Your concern is appreciated, but unwarranted. I have had ample time to come to terms with all the joys and sorrows of my life."

"But you and aunt Luna—"

"Luna?" aunt Celly blurted out with a single hard laugh. "Do not worry yourself for her sake. She never wanted foals of her own. Now, please, there is no need to dwell on such topics. My staff have prepared a wonderful lunch for us and my time—"

She stopped dead, jaw dropping and head snapping toward the table. A strangled squeak was the full extent of her articulation as the shadow beneath the table shot toward her. The black mass took her full in the chest, lifting her off her hooves only to gently lay her down on her back.

Shining was the only one to react, throwing himself and a shield in front of Cadance as the vaguely pony-shaped shadow loomed over her aunt. With every heartbeat it solidified, brightening from a pitchblack to a dark-blue. Wings spread from its sides and a long horn sprouted from its brow. The tail and mane were last, never quite manifesting into reality, wafting and sparkling like stars reflected on the sea.

Princess Luna stared down at her sister with a smile showing far too many teeth. "Ha hahaha! I did it! I finally got—" she cut off, ears swiveling toward Cadance and Shining. Her whole head snapped to follow, eyes narrowed into a piercing glare. "You."

Cadance didn’t truly hear her, sounds passing through her ears without the slightest bit of recognition. Her mind could only handle so much at once, and what she saw, what her magic told her, took precedence over everything else, much less pointless buzzing in her ears.

Shining’s magic dropped as he fell into an uncertain bow. "Princess Luna?"

A dismissive snort was all the acknowledgement she gave him, turning her full attention back to her sister

"Tia?"

"Yes, Lulu?" aunt Celly asked, her voice calm and cool as ever, staring up at the ceiling like nothing interesting had happened.

The whole world outside Cadance’s mind had been reduced to her aunts and the blinding symphony that surrounded them, linking them, spiraling together and harmonizing even as her aunt Celly's took on a darker tint while Luna's was shaded rose.

"Cease this folly, Sister. You may fool the peasants with your masks, but not I. Speak your peace."

She knew what it was, what it meant, understood it with perfect clarity.

"Luna—"

Luna's hoof slammed into the floor beside her sister’s head, shattering the tile and cutting her off, eyes and ears snapping to attention. "Neigh! Save your empty platitudes for one who will have them, for I will not."

It could not be true, must not be true.

"What would you have of me?" aunt Celly asked, almost whispering. "Yelling? Screaming? Do you wish me to berate you? What good would come of it?" Her head fell to the side, staring out the open balcony doors. "What would we gain by lashing out at each other?"

Luna smiled, nuzzling her sister’s cheek. "I would rather a thousand open cuts, than a single wound kept hidden, lest an infection go unaddressed."

It was beautiful. It was disgusting. Her cutie mark, the magic at her very core, rejoiced as every other part of her being revolted against the idea.

Aunt Celly turned back to her sister, a look of horror stretching her features. Her forelegs reached up, looping behind Luna’s neck. Their noses bumped, heads tilting until their horns crossed and brows met. Words passed between them, whispered, too faint for Cadance to hear. Both alicorns galloped through a series of emotions, anger, pain, joy, relief, until at last they parted.

"Stars!" aunt Celly exclaimed when she let herself drop back to the floor. "I have been such a foal!"

"Indeed." Luna ran a tender hoof along her sister's muzzle. "Alas, the rest of this conversation must wait." She turned aunt Celly's head toward Cadance and Shining. "I believe we have more pressing concerns at the moment."

She watched her aunts, studied them, not really listening to their words. Something had to be… was wrong.

"We could wipe their memories."

"Luna," aunt Celly said, her tone soft but rebuking.

Her aunt would never be a party to such an abhorrent relationship, not willingly, not while in her right mind.

"Of course, that spell never did work quite right. On the other hoof, they would make a splendid addition to the statue—"

"Luna!"

Her attention pulled back from the mares, instead examining their auras in excruciating detail. While at first glance they might have appeared genuine, a closer inspection was sure to reveal the flaw, the mechanism of Luna's twisted influence.

"If not that, the Moon is not so—"

"Mother’s mane, Luna! We are not banishing them to the Moon."

Was that it, a derivation of changeling magic? She could imagine it, a feedback loop that mimicked the appearance of genuine love and affection, only without the gradual drain for sustenance. A lead weight settled in her stomach at the thought. To corrupt aunt Celly’s love for her sister in such a vile fashion, she would not stand for it. Snarling, Cadance bared her teeth and pressed her ears flat.

"Ah. Well Tartarus was not my first—"

"Damn it, Luna, this is not a joke."

"That's enough!" Cadance leapt to her hooves, the sisters snapping out of their argument to stare at her in surprise. "Get away from my aunt you… you vile nag!"

"Mi Amore Cadenza!" her aunt’s voice lashed out, cracking like thunder on a cloudless day.

Any other day Cadance would have cowered to hear such a tone from aunt Celly. She couldn’t afford to here, not now, not when facing down the demon disguised as Luna. Or perhaps she truly was Luna and the evil that beckoned Nightmare Moon had not been cleansed by the Elements. It didn't matter, all that did was saving aunt Celly.

"Do my ears deceive me?" Luna said with a dramatic sneer. "Has the powderpuff grown a spine since last we met?"

Cadance pushed her confused husband out of the way, tilting her horn toward her foe. The sense of deja vu was only ruined by the lack of a spear. Perhaps two lengths separated them, herself tensed and ready to fight while Luna stood completely at ease, almost bored in her posture. "I said, step away from my aunt."

"Cadance?" Shining asked, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "I'm not sure what's going on, but maybe we should talk about this before doing anything rash."

"No!" She shrugged him off, flaring her wings to force him back. "She's doing something to aunt Celly, and we have to stop her."

"What?" aunt Celly asked, eyes popping wide. "That's completely—"

"Neigh, Sister," Luna said, her grin turning sharp, "I command thou to let her speak. Pray tell, Princess Cadenza, what foul magics have I conjured to ensorcel mine sister's heart so?"

"Wait! What?" Shining asked, though nopony seemed to notice.

"Luna. That is enough. Please, let me—"

Teal magic suffused aunt Celly’s muzzle, silencing her. When next Luna spoke, her voice curled, cloying and haughty, eyes never leaving Cadance. "I will not tell you again, My Pet." She nodded at Cadance. "You were saying…"

"I don't know how you've done it," Cadance growled through gritted teeth, "but I'll not sit idly by while you destroy her like you did Twilight."

Luna's expression slipped for the blink of an eye, only to harden all the more when it returned. "We see," she said, her voice frozen steel, devoid of the amusement and airs it had carried. Her eyes though, those burned. "And how doth thou proposeth to stop us?"

Cadance swallowed hard, recalling the last time she’d tried to hold her own against Luna, the taste of dirt, the stink of sweat, and the sting of every bruise that had covered her from head to hoof for weeks afterwards. No matter the similarities, the stakes were incomparable. She could not afford to lose this time. Aunt Celly could not save her this time, would not call Luna off before it was too late. And Shining, how much could he do against one such as Luna? The weight of it made her quake. But she had to do this, had to try, for everypony’s sake.

"I will give you one chance to surrender."

"We refuse." Luna took a step forward, arching her neck higher. "What is thy plan now?" She took another, magic surrounding her horn.

Cadance couldn’t stop her eyes from flicking toward Shining, his eyes darting from one alicorn to the next, confusion writ across his muzzle. With his help, his love, she could— Before she could so much as blink, he was gone, lost in a flash of teal magic.

"Shiny!"

"Dost thou taketh us for a foal? Thou shalt find no help in this! Tis thou and us and none besides." Another step and her coat darkened, legs lengthening. "Come, niece. Lay us low. Show us thy righteous fury." Another step and she stood before her, every bit as tall as aunt Celly, teal eyes glaring down from the pitch-black muzzle of Nightmare Moon. "We art thy foe, thy conqueror and oppressor. We stole thine aunt, twisting her heart about our hoof, corrupting her into a creature so pathetic she would debase herself for the tiniest display of affection. Show us thy rage! Strike us down!"

Cadance trembled. She couldn’t move, save to cower before the Nightmare’s visage. How Twilight and her friends had stood against her, Cadance could not fathom. The miasma of terror rolling off the creature before her weighed her every thought, a quagmire in which even breathing seemed a monumental task. The full magnitude of the situation revealed itself, the scope of the eldric terror she faced eclipsing even Tirek’s wrath. What a fool she had been, even in the confines of a practice duel she had been a foal at the mercy of a master. Here? Now? Her death stood certain before her, granting her these last few seconds only to gloat in its victory.

Everything she had just learned, the relief, the hope and joy, all of it meant nothing. Shining was gone, whether alive or dead mattered little in that moment; she would never see him again either way. Their future, their unborn children had been stripped from her, stolen by the Nightmare. This creature, this demon wearing her long lost aunt’s skin had stolen away her life and left her unable to do anything but wallow in its ashes.

It was there that she found it, an ember of rage, a single lump of glowing anger that gave her a semblance of warmth. An image, a hope for the future that she’d held close every night as sleep took her. Her first born, so tiny, curled up against her belly, still slick and damp from birth with Shining sitting beside them, alternating between which he nuzzled. This thing, this beast was taking that away from her, from her and so many other future mothers.

Grasping that ember close, it ignited her, every thought that had brought her despair became fuel for its fire until it blazed like the Sun.

The tears in her eyes dried, evaporating with the heat of the glare she leveled at Nightmare Moon. The smile of amusement that crossed the Nightmare’s lips only increased her ire. With a single, wordless scream of rage, Cadance leapt, foregoing any magic, intent on impaling it with her horn.

Her head bounced off the tile floor, stars and blackness filling her vision. She choked and gasped, flailing wings and legs, panic flooding her as a crushing weight bore down on her throat. Raging, tear filled eyes stared down at her and—

"LUNA! That is enough!"

The pressure dissipated from Cadance’s neck, allowing her to choke down a much needed breath. Gasping and coughing, the pain and terror began to ebb, but the hoof didn’t move. Nightmare Moon stood above her, blue ethereal mane silhouetting her dark from as a black leg pressed below Cadance’s chin. Her attention was no longer focused down, instead turned to face straight ahead.

"But she—"

"I said, enough!"

Nightmare Moon flinched, her head slumping below her shoulders, ears dropping, and wings turning down. Her hoof rose completely, freeing Cadance as she stepped back and to the side. Some instinctual part of Cadance’s mind told her to roll away, to get back to her hooves and prepare to fight or fly. The rest of her ignored it, too amazed by the sight of a contrite Nightmare Moon.

"Cadance, dear, are you alright?"

A white feather touched her cheek, turning her toward the concerned visage of her aunt standing over her. Her eyes quickly shot back toward Nightmare… Luna, half hidden by aunt Celly’s wing, turned away from them, no longer the demonic alicorn so recently torn from myth. She looked small huddled against the wall, staring down at her hooves. As though she could feel Cadance watching her, Luna’s eyes snapped up, locking onto hers and narrowing into a sneer.

Cadance was on her hooves in a flash, putting her aunt fully between them. "Alright? She just tried to kill me!"

"If we desired thou dead—"

"Luna," aunt Celly said, rebuking her sister without taking her eyes off Cadance. To her, she asked, "How is your head?"

"It’s fine," she lied, still craning her neck to see behind her aunt and keep an eye on Luna.

She looked like Luna again, how she remembered her after recovering from the Elements. Or she would have if not for her posture. Her ever present look of disdain was still there, but it lacked its usual gravity, seeming far more petulant with her head hung so low.

"You are a terrible liar." A gold shod hoof touched her chin, turning her head. "Let me—"

Cadance all but jumped away from her aunt, bumping into the table and setting the silverware rattling. She ignored it and her aunt. "Where’s Shining? What did you do with my husband?"

Luna’s wing swept wide as though to brush aside her concern. "He is well. Sleeping just outside. If we are truly lucky, he will awaken and pass this whole day off as naught but a dream."

"You expect me to lie to him for you?"

Aunt Celly’s head slid between her and Luna, locking eyes with her. "No. We are asking only that you do not correct him if he misremembers."

"I don’t care how you twist it, I won’t lie to him!"

"No?" Luna asked, drawing out the word as she perked up, eyes shimmering in delight and dried tears. "You have told him then? About your dream?"

Cadance’s head snapped upright, blushing even as she scrambled to catch up. "My… my dream?"

"'Tis normal, of course. Even Tia is not above such…" Luna idly waved a hoof over her head, "base fantasies."

Aunt Celly’s brow pinched, a hoof finding her temple. "You are not helping."

"I am trying to—"

"I know what you are trying to do, and it is not helping. Apologize."

"I will do no such thing!" And there she was, standing proud and defiant, head poised as though she could stare down at anypony, aunt Celly included. "'Tis she who should—"

Finally, she turned from Cadance, rounding on her sister, wings flaring wide. "I do not care what she should or should not do. I do not care that you do not like her. I do not care what she has done to offend you. Cadance is my niece and you will apologize to her for how you have acted, and after that you will find it within yourself to treat her with respect, you will remain silent, or you will leave."

Luna held her ground, unflinching under her sister’s ire, only for tears to begin streaming down her clenched jaw. "She—"

Aunt Celly’s wing jabbed toward the balcony.

Luna's head turned until her gaze found Cadance's. When she spoke her every word was strained by reluctance. "I am sorry."

"Explain."

Luna's teeth ground away whatever retort she wanted to give. "It was wrong of me to rile you up, and my jokes were in poor taste. Neither should I have treated you so roughly nor displaced your husband."

"And her dreams."

"I have never visited your dreams, and even had I, I would never tell another of their contents. Such actions are those of the foulest creatures." She turned back to her sister, tears still falling. "Is that sufficient, Your Majesty?"

Wings falling to her sides, aunt Celly stepped closer to her sister. Her leg rose, touching Luna’s chin, only for Luna to snap it to the side. For a few tense seconds, no pony moved, aunt Celly’s hoof hovering in mid air. It fell, drifting back to the floor like a lost feather.

It didn't make sense. Their auras, the way the shifted, changing in tone and texture, dark slashes swirling through them, playing discordant melodies, clashing like drops of lemon in a glass of milk. Her tongue scraped against her teeth. She couldn’t believe it. Induced love was not so subtle. Sly and insidious, yes, but not subtle. That Luna knew to mimic auras like that at all spoke volumes, much less giving aunt Celly the freedom necessary to reciprocate.

Without another word, aunt Celly turned her attention back to Cadance, her expression set in a disapproving frown. "And now you, Cadance."

Cadance let her gaze drift to Luna, still defiant as the other mare fumed, not watching them. If there was ever a time she could get through to her aunt, it was now. "No."

"That was not a request." Aunt Celly stepped forward, using every inch of her stature to bear down on Cadance, her ire building. "Luna is my sister, and my heart. You will either apologize for your behavior or you will find no welcome in my home."

Cadance steeled herself, pushing her emotions down so as to speak with a calm certainty. "She’s using you. She’s twisted you around her hoof and—" Luna barked out a single, vicious laugh. Cadance growled and tried to ignore her, still focused on her aunt. "And I know it seems real, but it’s not. It’s all a sick, twisted lie. I do not know the mechanism of her influence, but I can break it. I can show you the truth and free you."

She did not expect her plea to work, it never had with those ensnared by changeling magic or even those caught by more mundane means, but she always tried, hoped to avoid using brute force to break them free. Whether it was the magic or their own unwillingness to see, none could ever accept that what they thought was real love was nothing more than a mirage of paradise.

Her aunt proved no different, her voice cooling into disappointment. "I had hoped that you would understand, even if nopony else could. You can see it, the love we share, and yet you do not believe?"

"I see it for what it is, a mockery of something that should be beautiful. Luna is your sister, and—"

"And were she not? Were she just another mare, unrelated to me, would you still think our love untrue?" Her voice made a subtle shift, stronger, not quite demanding. "If you have some proof beyond your distaste, speak it, put it to words."

"It's wrong! She's…” a plethora of adjectives sprang to mind, none of which she could risk saying, “she’s your sister!"

"I do not care!" she snapped, rage briefly twisting her features. "I love her, Cadance. I love her now as I have for the past eight hundred years."

The missing piece clicked into place, and she saw the flaw in her theory. That knot, the twist of self loathing, was for Luna, not Twilight. She should have noticed sooner. She should have… "But she doesn't love you."

"Thou lying whorse!" Luna screeched, leaping at Cadance and only held back by aunt Celly’s quick reflexes.

She scrabbled against her sister's hold, shouting threats and obscenities, many that Cadance had never heard before. The struggle lasted mere seconds before Luna crumpled into her sister, wailing and pleading for her to believe her, proclaiming her love and promising any feat required to prove it between every sobbing gasp. For her part, aunt Celly seemed just as shocked by the sudden turn as Cadance, awkwardly shifting from a desperate restraint to a comforting hug.

Cadance just stared, failing to reconcile this Luna with the cold and aloof mare she’d come to know and despise. That first meeting had started uncomfortable and only got worse from there. Neither were prepared to find another alicorn thrust into their lives, much less a previously unmentioned family member. Nor did it help that Luna was a self-important bitch completely incapable of holding an intelligent conversation without treating everypony else like foals trying to talk with the 'big ponies'.

"Luna?" aunt Celly asked, holding Luna at leg's length once she'd recovered.

Luna sniffed, wiping her nose with a fetlock and looking away. "We… I am fine."

"You are not—"

"I am fine!" She pulled away completely, turning her back on them both to sit facing the wall.

"I can count on my hooves the number of times I have seen you like this, two of which where when our parents died."

"Then perhaps you do not know me as well as you think." Sniffing again, she stood, trotting toward the balcony. "I need some air."

Aunt Celly called after her, but she did not respond, disappearing through the doorway and launching herself into the sky.

Silence followed in her wake, aunt Celly staring at the balcony as Cadance stared at her in turn. Cadance's thoughts were sluggish, as though she were coated in purple smooze. There was an unpleasant numbness to it all, not unlike waking to realize the last few 'days' had been but dreams and all her progress naught but morning dew evaporating with the rising Sun.

"Do you know what my first memory is?" Cadance startled at her aunt’s voice, her tone empty, perhaps lost in some other time or place. "The oldest moment I can recall with perfect clarity? It is Luna’s birth, watching her squeezed from my mother’s womb amid a cacophony of bleating screams from them both.” Her ears twitched slightly. “I remember being terribly excited that whole year, impatient to finally meet my new little sibling. When I saw her, saw that she was like me, with little wings and a tiny stub of a horn," she paused, a soft snort punctuating her wistful shake of her head, "I was no longer alone. I finally had somepony to play with, who could fly with me and play all the games I had invented that none of the others could for lack of a horn.

“Luna is not just my sister, Cadance, she is my constant companion, my best friend, my anchor through the centuries. She is the only pony who will never hesitate to question my decisions, to fight me tooth and nail if she thinks me wrong, and the only one I can truly, unequivocally confide in.

"From the first we shared everything… almost everything. For centuries we were there for each other as no other pony could be. No matter how close we grew to others, they were only passing acquaintances in comparison. As long as we had each other…" Celestia’s voice cracked, the walls she had built crumbling before the torrent of emotions. "Then, one day, she was gone. I had abandoned her. I put being a princess ahead of being her sister." Her wing shot out, jabbing toward the balcony as tears dripped from her muzzle. "And she is the one who paid the price! She suffered for decades before I even deigned to notice, and by the time I did that monster had already sunk its claws into her.

"The Elements of Harmony did not banish Luna, they punished me! They stole my Lulu away from me. A thousand years! A thousand years of raising and lowering the Moon, of seeing her…" She stopped, biting her lip and squeezing her eyes closed. A fetlock futilely scrubbed the moisture from her eyes. "I was alone for the first time since I was a filly. I was lost and afraid. I did not trust anypony. If my own sister would betray me…” shaking her head, Celestia paused for a breath. “But I still needed someone to confide in, to talk to. So I began to fantasize that she was not gone, that she was still there. Still my little sister.

"I imagined her whenever I felt lost or alone, when the world grew too heavy to bear on my own. She was my only confidant, my shoulder to cry on, to hug, to hold on those lonely nights. It got easier and easier to run to her, to stay with her longer, to imagine being held, holding her, her warmth and her touch, the scent of her fur and… I wanted… When I realized what was happening, that I was attracted to my sister, to the idea of my sister, I tried to find somepony else. I did. I did not want to want Luna, not like that. But every night, Luna was all I could think about, all I wanted. She filled my dreams, and I was never happier than when I was holding her close.

"Luna did not do this to me. I did this to myself, and she accepted me. She loves me as much as I love her, and I will not lose her again."

With that, Celestia fell silent, turning to look at her expectantly.

Cadance couldn’t meet her aunt’s gaze, turning to look down and away. The denial that had been her shield was broken, opening the way for all the thoughts she’d managed to ignore. She wanted to be ill, or at least thought she should be. Her aunts were a couple, together, intimate… having sex. She’d always avoided thinking of Celestia and sex, keeping the two entirely separate, just like anypony would with their parents.

But she’s not just anypony, she’s Princess Celestia, surrogate mother to anypony who would have her. Everypony looked up to her, many actively seeking to imitate her in every way they could; Cadance was no exception.

Celestia said… something, but Cadance didn’t hear her, and when a hoof touched her cheek, she flinched away. Two quick steps put her out of reach. “Don’t…” Her eyes dropped to the floor, blindly examining the tiles as her mind raced from one hopeless scenario to the next. None had happy outcomes. “What… what am I supposed to do?”

“You must do what you believe to be right.”

“Right?” Cadance snapped her head up, glaring at her aunt through red, stinging eyes. “There is no right here! You’re sleeping with your sister for Harmony’s sake!” She started pacing from the table to the wall before spinning back again. “There are laws against that! Laws you wrote! And I can’t say anything because who would believe me? And when the truth does comes out, everyone will assume I condoned you. Equestria might rally behind you, but the crystal ponies, they won’t do the same for me. The Griffons will call you a hypocrite—and rightly so. The Minotaurs won’t want anything to do with you. I can’t even begin to imagine how the Zebras and Saddle Arabians will react, but it won’t be supportive.

“But you know all that.” She stopped, bearing down on her aunt, her dark glower at complete odds with her pleading tone. “So what am I supposed to do, Celestia? Please, tell me what I am supposed to do to keep this from blowing up in all of our faces!”

Celestia didn’t, or couldn’t, meet her gaze and turned away. “It will not come to that.”

“You can’t know that! How can you know that? No pony is perfect, not even you. And especially not Luna! One of you is bound to mess up sooner or later.”

A hoof touched Cadance’s withers. "We have kept it a secret for the past two years, and nopony is the wiser. Unless you know of some other pony with your gifts, there is nothing to worry about. My little ponies have not viewed me in that light in centuries and Luna was never one to encourage thoughts of romance in those around her."

Cadance snorted. “Bookish stargazers with a penchant for magic being the exception?”

Celestia sighed. “Twilight is always the exception. But I have already dealt with that situation. In due time, her heartbreak will heal, and she will find somepony else.”

Shrugging her aunt’s hoof away with a wing, earned her a surprised look. Without a moment of fanfare, she produced the scroll that had sparked her whole venture. “Is this what you call dealt with?”

The aura surrounding the scroll switched from blue to gold, Celestia unfurling it as it rose to eye level. Her scan was quick, eyes darting from side-to-side with increasing urgency, her expression twisting with distress. When she reached the end she read it again, and again before setting it on the table. A single deep breath expelled the tension, allowing her to put forth a more controlled appearance.

“We are going to Ponyville—”

“No,” Celestia said, shaking her head, “this is my mess, and I will clean it up.”