Part of Meby Maple SugarChaptersPreludeDevelopmentInterludeExpositionCacophonyPreludeEquestrian royalty has always been proud of the fact they trace their lineage back to the Princesses themselves. Too proud, in fact, to risk diluting the blood line. So cousin married cousin, whose children would in turn marry relatives. Naturally, a few unusual side effects resulted. Twins, triplets, and even quadruplets became more common, and many foals were born with club hooves or antagonistic personalities. The royal family became almost overwhelmingly unicorns, but occasionally a pegasus would be born. Puzzlingly enough, no alicorns were ever born. Not true alicorns anyway. I was supposed to have a pegasus as a sister. My parents had already named her Credenza when they went for the last ultramagica scan. But somehow, she’d disappeared. Where there had once been twins, there was now a single filly. The doctor assured my parents that it was normal, that it happened to many sets of twins, and that the pregnancy could continue as planned. Some complications were to be expected, but nothing drastic. But my mother was desolate at her loss, and she didn’t survive my birth. My father had to care for his surviving filly alone. But how is one unicorn supposed to care for the first alicorn born in all of recorded history? And a strange alicorn at that! An alicorn who couldn’t fly, could barely use magic, and couldn’t feel the earth’s heartbeat beneath her hooves. I can’t fault him for his failings as a father, given the circumstances. It would have been enough to drive anypony to drink. It was beautiful, almost, to listen as he would serenade the night on his violin. Smelling of whiskey and cologne, he would call to me “Cadenza! Mi amore Cadenza! So you come to visit me! Stay quiet, you do not want to wake your sister. ” I was always a little hurt that he didn't recognize me, but with the moonlight dulling my coat to a dusky purple, I was happy enough to pretend to be my mother and listen to him play. It would be some time before I realized he wasn’t mistaking me for my mother, but for the sister I was supposed to have had. And by then, it would already be too late. Twin Embolisation Syndrome: Also known as Vanishing Foal Syndrome. First discovered with the advent of ultramagica scans, where twin foals detected in the first 60 days of pregnancy often disappeared into one foal, the twin being reabsorbed into a placenta like fetus papyraceus. This is thought to occur, sometimes undetected, in up to twenty percent of all pregnancies. In rare cases, the twin is absorbed later in the pregnancy, leading to vestigial limbs on the surviving foal. In such cases, the surviving foal often experiences Survivor Guilt, or even a feeling of being two people, but no evidence has been found to substantiate these claims -Equestrian Medical Reference I wasn’t very old when I realized I wasn’t quite normal. The frequent visits to doctors, the way grown ponies would stare at me, and of course, the lack of any other fillies with both wings and a horn were obvious signs, even to a filly. As I grew older, I started to understand why I was strange. Alicorns were powerful creatures, the incarnation of Equestria herself! That one would be born to two minor nobles was unthinkable! There were many rumors of course. I was Celestia’s illegitimate daughter, born in a surrogate mother, or Luna reborn, separated from Nightmare Moon in a terrible Zebra ritual. But I knew that wasn’t true. I looked nothing like Princess Celestia. My horn was of normal size, and my mane didn’t move in an invisible breeze the way hers did. I was just a unicorn with wings, and the spitting image of my mother. Oh, my poor, dear mother. For the longest time, I thought my mother had hated me. Why else would she look so sad in all of the pictures that had been taken of her while she was with foal? Why else would she have left me? And why else would she haunt me? I saw her everywhere, in my dreams, out of the corner of my eye in crowds, even in my reflection. A purple pegasus filly, mane striped like my own, that followed me wherever I went. She was a silent spectator of my life for as long as I could remember. But then, at my eigth birthday party, she spoke for the first time. My best friends in the whole world, Shining Armor and Fleur de Lis, were there to celebrate with me, and my father had pulled himself together long enough to present me with a book of sheet music and a promise teach me to play the violin. The day couldn’t have been more perfect! “Happy birthday dear Cadance! Happy birthday to you!” Everyone sang as loudly as they could. A magnificent cake was brought out, one as big as I was! As eager as only a filly could be, I stood up in my seat to reach the top of the cake, where six enormous candles burned. But when I went to blow them out, the singing around me grew quiet, and then stopped. I could see eyes reflected in the flames. As I watched them, they winked at me! I gasped, and the flames grew larger, brighter, taller than me, and then sprang free of the candles altogether. The fireball flew circles around my head and then landed back on top of the cake, now shaped like pegasus. I fell backward, hoof over head, and hit the ground hard. The pony laughed, and glided down to me on wings made of smoke. I was terrified, because nopony else noticed a thing. In fact, they stood completely frozen, like time itself had stopped. I was alone with the fiery pony, who was becoming decidedly less flaming. In fact, she now looked like a normal pegasus filly, with a purple coat and a mane that matched my own. Could it be? She looks just like... “Mama?” I asked, wonder in my voice. The filly laughed, but her eyes were sad. “Happy birthday Cadence. But don’t forget, it’s my birthday too. So I’m going to take this wish.” With that, the filly flew back to the top of the cake and blew out the candles herself. She disappeared, leaving behind nothing but smoke and a single purple feather. I watched the feather fall, slowly, to hit me right between the eyes. Without my noticing, the world came back to life around me. “Cadance? What are you doing on the ground?” Fleur was standing over me, giggling into her hoof. I stood back up, and took a long look at the ponies now moving around me, the feather in my hoof, and the unlit candles at the top of the cake. “I...” had no way to explain what just happened. The puzzlement on my face must have been explanation enough for Fleur. “You are sooo silly Cadance! I can’t believe you fell off the table!” She bounded back up to take her seat. “Come on, cut the cake!” “Sure thing Fleur!” But I wasn’t paying attention to the cake. I nestled the feather into my own wing, for safe keeping, and then joined Fleur at the table. Shining Armor gave me a worried look from across the table, but I was lost in my thoughts. My ghost had talked to me, I had heard her! But... if she wasn't my mother, than who is she? DevelopmentThe Equestria Royal Symphony is proud to present, the world renowned violinist Capriccio and pianist Cadenza. Playing tonight only at the Grand Galloping Gala! I had no memories of my mother, but I had many of her things. In the attic, locked behind the trapdoor, my father had stored everything he had of my mother. On the rare days I was home alone, I would sneak the key out of his room, fly up to the trapdoor, and strain my weak telekinesis to unlock and pull the door down. It was an ordeal for my weak wings to fly high enough to even do that much, but it was worth it, because the attic was a world of marvels. Faded posters, rolled up or proudly framed, proclaimed the talents of Capriccio and Cadenza, taking the music world by the storm. Boxes of their records made towering cities over my head, and treasures were tucked into the most unlikely of places. Racks full of her gowns, cases of jewels from ardent admirers... even a perfectly preserved rose from Celestia herself. In the dusky half-light that filtered in through the one lonely window, the attic felt like another world. Whenever I had the chance, I would spend all day looking through pictures of my mother or trying on her dresses and wondering what she had been like when she was alive. I had a mission now; I was after pictures. Shelves and shelves of photo albums lined the walls, and I was willing to bet my horn that somewhere in the boxes of faded polaroids was a picture of the purple filly. And fortunately for me, my father always spent the day after my birthday out of the house. He would take his violin and a bouquet of roses and spend all day out. Of course, he never told me where he went, exactly, but I suspected he went to visit my mother. This year was no different. I kissed him goodbye, watched him walk away, and as soon as he was out of sight I was upstairs, pulling down the trapdoor and bounding up the ladder into the attic. It was just as I remembered it, a maze with walls made of memories. I searched for hours, but the attic was a labyrinth. I knew that I had seen a photo of the purple filly before, but the attic refused to give up its secrets. Finally, I admitted defeat. The light coming in the window had grown rosy from sunset and my father would come home at any time. I trotted over to the trapdoor, only to find that it was closed. Well, that’s strange. How could it have closed? I went to open it agian, but the handle didn’t budge. Oh no. No, no, no! Panicked, I jumped up and down on the latch, only to twist my ankle on the stupid thing. “Aieeow” I wailed in equal parts pain and frustration. I was trapped, and my father would be home any minute! Desperate times called for desperate measures. I half hopped, half flew to the window, kicking up clouds of dust in my wake. I clambered up a box and pushed on the window with all my might, both with my magic and with my sore wings. The window didn’t budge, but the box I was standing on did. It slid back and I fell flat on my face, my forehooves catching on the window sill on my way down. To add insult to injury, a cloud of dust flew up around me and sent me into an uncontrollable fit of sneezing. “Achoo! Ahh... Achoo! Achoo!” I could feel myself tearing up again. Where had this gone so terrible wrong? “Achoo!” “Bless you!” I gasped mid sneeze, and it dissolved into a coughing fit. Tears in my eyes, I turned around, trying to see through the dust. “Who’s,” I said through my cough“there?” “It’s me, of course!” That voice... It was my shadow, the purple filly! But where was she? In the midst of the settling dust, there was a darker shape, about my size... a patch where the dust stayed suspended. And as more dust fell, it became clear that there was a pony made of dust standing in front of me. Purplish dust, an ashy version of the filly from the cake. “You!” I managed to gasp between coughs. “Who else would it be?” The dust filly giggled into her hoof. “You’re looking for something, right?” “How did you...” “Over here!” She bounded off into the deepening shadows. I followed after her, but I couldn’t keep up on my sprained ankle. I fell behind, and I had to follow her molted feathers, little gossamer things that would crumble into glittering dust as I passed. “Wait, please!” I huffed as I turned another sharp corner. “I can’t keep... up.” She was gone. I was at a dead end, alone with a cloud of glittering dust dancing over a box I had never seen before. I walked towards the case slowly, feeling a sense of gravity for reasons I didn’t understand. It was a deep viridian, embossed with two golden interlocking C’s. The glittering dust fell all around it, but it stayed untouched. With a shaking hoof, I opened the box. Music poured out of the box, like a symphony in the middle of a dream. I screamed like, well, like a filly, and fell back on my flank in shock. In the deathly silence of the attic, the music was terrifyingly loud, but once I got over the shock, the tune was comforting, familiar. I frowned in puzzlement, listening carefully, but the box tinkled to silence. My heart still pounding in my ears, I leaned forward and took another look into the box. It was a box of memories, photographs of what seemed like every minute of my mother’s life! Her childhood, her rise to fame, her heavily publicized courtship with my father... how strange to see him happy! Clippings from tabloids traced their courtship, two talented unicorns from two of the most distinguished families in Equestria. It had been a match made in heaven. Their marriage was across every front page, and then when they were with foal, the media exploded. Everyone wanted pictures of the happy couple, and I was fascinated to read how everyone had loved my mother. There was a single picture of her heavily with foal, my father holding her hand, and then the pictures were over. Only a film canister and an official looking envelope were left in the box. My racing heart beat faster as I lifted the canister and the folder out. This was it, I was sure of it! I shakily opened the canister and drew out the film. It had never been developed. I tried to see what pictures were on the film, but it was too dark. I carefully put the film back in the canister, and then opened the envelope. The folder was filled with strange pictures. They looked like x-rays, but not quite. There was something medical typed across the top and bottom, and the image was oddly fuzzy, not like bones at all. I held one up to the fading light, and saw there was something scribbled in the corner, but it was too dark to see anything more. I slid the photograph back into the folder, and closed the music box with a soft click. “Creeek!” A rusty screech came from behind me but I kept calm. Somehow, I knew it was only the trapdoor opening back up. I had found what the filly wanted me to. Folder and canister clutched tightly in my telekinesis, I climbed down and closed the trapdoor behind me. I hid my new found treasures in my room, put the key back in my father’s chest, and took a bath to wash the dust out of my coat. That night, when my father came home smelling of roses and fresh cut grass, he took me aside to begin my lessons. We stood together on the balcony, serenading the night with the tune from the music box, the same melody he played every night. He called it “Cadenza’s Lullaby,” and I couldn't help but cry as I played it with him, the memory of the music box sweetening my own scratchy notes. InterludeCelestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns: A place where every foal can learn to shine! My father had already left when I woke up the next morning. However, Shining Armor and Fleur de Lis were already at the door before I had even finished breakfast. They had heard there was a secret passageway into Canterlot Castle and I just had to, had to, had to come look for it with them. So I did. We didn’t find anything of course, but that didn’t stop us from looking the next day, or the day after that. By the time we’d given up entirely, Shining Armor had found some new adventure to try. The envelope and canister stayed out of sight in the back of my closet, hidden with the one purple feather. But I couldn’t spend time trying to find answers, not when I had so little time left to be with my friends. At the end of the summer, Fleur would be sent to finishing school and Shining Armor would be enrolling in an elite military academy. I think the filly understood. She remained my ever present shadow, but she never spoke to me, never pressed me to find what the pictures were. But all too soon, the summer was gone. Fleur was leaving the next day, and Shining the day after that. For one last time, we decided to pitch our tent in Fleur’s backyard. Saddlebags full of supplies, I trotted over to Fleur’s small but meticulously maintained house. It was Fleur who answered the door. “Cadance!” Beaming, she hugged me tightly. “Come on in, Shining is already out back putting up the tent.” “Great! I brought my sleeping bag and marshmallows and...” but before I could finish, Fleur’s mother came trotting down the stairs. “Cadance? Is that you?” The sound of a grown mare squealing like a filly set my teeth on edge, but I smiled as nicely as I could. “Oh, hello Mrs. Lily.” I said uncomfortably. Fleur’s mother, Gilded Llly, always went out of her way to make me feel welcome, but I always felt anything but comfortable once she started cooing over me. “You look so lovely dear! I do wish Fleur had half your grace. I swear, she was born with four left hooves. Would you like a cookie dear?” She offered me a tray of cookies. I looked over to Fleur for help, but she was pointedly looking away. “Thank you Mrs. Lilly.” I took one to be polite. “Mmm, smells delicious.“ “Oh really? Then take the tray! Oh, and don’t call me Mrs. Lilly, that’s so stuffy! Call me Mom.” Before I had the chance to react she had levitated the tray in my face. I took it awkwardly, wanting nothing more than to shove them right back in her face, but not wanting to make trouble for Fleur. “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly...” “Oh, silly me, of course not!’ She giggled like a filly half her age, and then gave the tray to Fleur instead. “Fleur, be a good hostess and take the tray outside. But for Celestia’s sake don’t take a cookie yourself! You could stand to eat less sweets.” “Yes mama,” Fleur said quietly. I wanted to melt into the floor. “Fleur, do try to be more refined! At finishing school, you will always say ma’am!” “Yes ma’am.” But Mrs. Lilly wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. “Do tell me if you need anything, won’t you dear?” “Yesma’amofcoursema’amthankyouverymuchma’am!” I said as quickly as I could and then made a break for the door, Fleur close behind. “Have fun dear! Fleur de Lis, do not run in this house! Try to act like a lady!” Safely outside, Fleur didn’t meet my eyes, but I could tell she wanted to cry. I took the tray of cookies back from Fleur. “I’ll give them to Shining Armor. I couldn’t eat them.” She smiled at that, but only a little. Shining Armor had already set up the tent and a pile of firewood taller than he was. When he saw us, he gave a serious salute and then started doing a stiff legged march towards us. “Halt! Who dares to approach Canterlot Castle?” he said in the deepest voice he could manage. I giggled, but Fleur scoffed. “Princess Fleur and Princess Cadance of course! You must be new here,” she said in her most pompous Canterlot accent. Shining Armor gave a deep bow. “My apologies madames. Please, let me escort you to your chambers.” I started laughing louder, but Fleur kept her game face on. “See that it doesn’t happen again. Now, take Princess Cadance’s royal saddlebags,” she ordered, and placed them on his back, “my sleeping bag,” she said while draping it over him like a cape, “and the royal cookies while you’re at it,” and with a final flourish she balanced the tray on the tip of his horn. For a moment, everything stood still, the tray slowly shifting from side as Shining tried to stay on his hooves and walk back to the tent. He lasted about five seconds before he slipped on his sleeping bag cape and everything came crashing down. It was beautiful, cookies raining down from the tray while Shining went head over hooves, slipping backwards onto his flank while the sleeping bag flared up like wings. It happened too suddenly for me to react, but Fleur gracefully caught the cookie tray and trotted into the tent with a smug smile, leaving me dying from laughter and Shining slightly confused. “What... what just happened?” “Well,” I said with a giggle, “we all learned that you would probably make a better guard then you would a waiter.” I tugged the sleeping bag out from under him and turned it into my own cape. “And that Fleur and I would be excellent princesses!” Fleur stuck her head out of the tent. “Well of course we would! But if you ask nicely Shining, we might let you in the castle.” She stuck her tongue out at the both of us, but stuck it back in quickly, remembering that she had to be refined now. “Now, Princess Cadance, enter the palace and leave the guard to pick up the bags.” “But of course, Princess Fleur!” I said in my own terrible Canterlot accent. I zipped into the tent and zipped up the door behind me. “Very funny girls,” Shining grumbled as he tried to untangle himself from my bags, only to fall back on his flank. “If you’re going to be princesses, I guess you’ll be too refined to eat marshmallows!” Fleur stuck her head out the flap, and gave him her haughtiest look. “No one is ever too refined for marshmallows.” And with that, she deftly levitated the marshmallows out of the saddlebags and into the tent. I stuck my tongue out at him, more for her benefit than mine, and retreated back into the tent. We opened the door a little bit, just enough to watch as Shining Armor finally freed himself and came marching up to the tent. When he came close, we zipped the door back up and giggled into our hooves as we watched his silhouette. He moved to knock on the door and hit me squarely on the head. “Ouch! Shining, that hurt!” “You can’t knock on a tent!” Fleur said, unzipping the door long enough to give him a glare. “Oh right. Sorry Cadance.” he said sheepishly, and stomped on the ground instead. I stuck my head out this time, with the haughtiest face I had. “May I help you?” “Permission to enter?” Shining said, his mock serious face on again, but I could tell he wanted to giggle at my own failure of a face. “Well, I don’t know,” I said, already starting to crack, but I couldn’t help it. He looked so cute! “No, of course not!” Fleur pulled me back in and stuck her head out. “This is a castle, not a pirate ship. But here, have a marshmallow!” Before he could react, she stuck a marshmallow in his mouth and retreated back into the tent, where I was busying splitting my sides. It was hard to be a princess, dang it! I had no idea how Celestia managed to stay so serious all the time. Eventually, we relented and let Shining into the tent. Impatient for night to fall, we played tag and sardines, which wasn’t very hard with only three foals. We had fun anyway, so much fun that we didn’t realized how dark it had gotten until we couldn’t see the hooves in front of our face. By the light of my and Fleur’s horn, Shining Armor set his woodpile on fire, as well as his tail. Too impatient to wait for it to die down, Shining Armor went ahead and burnt his marshmallows in the fire. Neither Fleur or I touched the cookies, but Shining did his best to eat them on his own. In time, Fleur gave up waiting and charred her marshmallows, but I continued to carefully toast my own marshmallow over a single ember while Shining told scary stories. They were rather silly, as far as ghost stories go, but they seemed scary enough to me, who was keeping an eye out for suspiciously pegasus shaped smoke clouds. By the time the fire finally died, Shining had run out of ghost stories and Fleur had a tummy ache from all the marshmallows. Shining gave us a sleepy “good night” and stumbled into the tent. Fleur was too nervous to sleep, I suppose, and stayed by the fire, watching the embers. After failing to fall asleep myself, I rejoined her, nuzzling up close to fight the nip in the night. She cuddled back, and then sighed. “Cadance, do you think mama will love me when I come back from finishing school?” “She loves you now Fleur!” I said, but more emphatically than I really felt. “Not like she loves you, Cadance.” she said sadly. “It's not your fault... but sometimes she tells me that she wishes I was you.” “At least you have a mother,” I said, wistfully. Fleur laughed, almost bitterly. “Well, sometimes I wish I didn’t. Maybe then I wouldn’t always be disappointing her.” What could I say to something like that? I kept quiet. Finally, Fleur broke the silence. “I wanted to go to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, for art school. I applied, all on my own. But when the letter came, Mama got to it before I did. She ripped it up before I ever got to see whether I got in or not.” I gasped. “Fleur, why didn’t you tell me? Papa could have...” She shushed me with a hoof on my snout. “It doesn’t matter now. Finishing school will make Ma... Mother happy. Who cares about art school anyway?” She smiled, tears in her eyes, but her voice stayed clear. “Maybe... maybe later, when she’s proud of me for me, I’ll try again.” Unable to do anything else, I awkwardly draped on of my wings over her and did my best to pull a blanket towards us. Fleur gave a real smile, though small, and floated it over us. Nestled like two birds of a feather, we fell asleep under the stars, while a filly made of smoke played a melody on a violin only I could hear. ExpositionDear Fleur, I hope you’re enjoying finishing school. It’s lonely without you and Shining, but I’ve made a new little friend. It’s not the same, though. Will you come home soon? I don’t think you need any finishing at all... The next day was the hardest of my life. Shining and I walked with Fleur to the train station, where Mrs. Lilly was waiting with Fleur’s bags. We walked slowly, as if dragging our hooves could drag out the time we had left. “There you are! Do you know how close to being late you are? Honestly Fleur de Lis, finishing school is the best place for you. At the very least, they’ll teach you how important punctuality is. Good morning dear! I do hope you enjoyed camping, but I had the guest bedroom all made up for you.” Mrs. Lilly wasted no time when she saw us, launching straight into her usual stream of babble. I ignored her and hugged Fleur tightly instead. “Promise me you’ll write. Promise!” She hugged me back just as tightly. “Of course I will, every day!” Shield said nothing, just held us both tightly and tried to stay stoic. But we all had tears in our eyes as we faced our first real goodbyes of our life. It was Shield who starting crying first. But once he had started, nothing could stop me or Fleur from bawling our hearts out. Mrs. Lilly tutted and tittered, but we held each other tightly until the sharp screech of the train whistle sounded out. Fleur broke off from the hug and looked straight into my eyes. “Whatever happens, we will always be best friends Cadance, alright?” I nodded, too choked up to speak. “Goodbye, both of you. I’ll be home soon.” And so she turned and left, leaving only her lie. Fleur never came home. She never said why in her letters, but I got the impression that she hated boarding school much less than she hated living with her mother. It didn’t take long for the letters to stop either. It was easier to say goodbye to Shining Armor. I knew he’d be back; he had a little sister to take care of. Little Twilight Sparkle was heartbroken to see her brother leave, but she tried her best to not cry, to see her brother go chase his dream with a smile. He kept a straight face, but he was close to tears too. “Twily, what are you all torn up about?” His voice caught in his throat as he gave her a half hearted noogie. “I’ll be back for Hearth’s Warming Eve, you know that!” “I know,” Twilight said with sniffle. “It’s, only, th-three months and 27 days away.” Unable to keep herself from crying, she buried her face into his mane. Shining Armor’s face fell, and he looked at me with a pleading look. “Cadance, you’ll look after Twily for me, won’t you? Make sure the little egghead doesn’t study too much?” he said with a forced smile. “Of course I will, don’t worry.” How could I say no to those eyes? Or to Twilight’s, who was looking at me now with eyes full of hope. Shining sighed and gently pushed Twilight off of his shoulder and into one last hug. He gave us one last wave as he boarded the bus with the other recruits. The two of us waved back, until the bus had disappeared into the sunset. True to my word, I went to Shining’s house the first thing the next morning. Mrs. Twinkle gave me a nod as we passed in the driveway, but she was in a hurry for work and couldn’t stop. She’d left the door ajar behind her, so I let myself in. Mr. Twinkle was fumbling with his tie and his coffee, his stack of papers dangerously high. But when he saw me, he stopped to smile and say, “why, Miss Cadance! What a pleasure to see you!” The Twinkles were always polite beyond fault, in a charming way that was much warmer than Mrs. Lily’s pet names. “It’s lovely to see you too, Mr. Twinkle! Have you heard anything from Shining?” I replied, while not so subtly eyeing the phone that laid half buried under his case files. Mr. Twinkle shook his head no. “Don’t fret, it has only been a day, he shall call soon.” His smile dropped. “ Twilight Sparkle has had a hard time adjusting though.” His eyes glazed over as he looked around the kitchen, searching for something. He wandered randomly, checking everywhere from the breadbox to the dishwasher, until finally he floated his case files off the counter to find a slightly crumpled white box underneath. “If you could be so kind as to make sure Twilight Sparkle eats a few of these?” He levitated the box to me with the utmost seriousness. “She might protest, so I understand completely if you have to take a few yourself to convince her. But I need this box empty by the time I return.” Before I could say anything, he balanced it on my back. “Just see that she gets these. I am in your debt, Miss Cadance.” Without further explanation, he trotted out the door, his tie still askew. Wondering what was so important, I snuck a glance into the box. Of course, I thought with a smile. I trotted upstairs to Twilight’s room, only to find it empty. “Twilight?” I walked back into the hallway, puzzled. But then, with a flash of insight, I walked to Shining Armor’s room. Twilight was there, sleeping like a little kitten in the middle of his bed. As gently as I could, I sat down beside her and nuzzled her awake. She woke up slowly, blinking the sleep from her eyes. “Hey there sleepyhead!” She blinked at me, adorably confused. I grinned and opened the white box. “How about some of Pony Joe’s donuts to start the day?” And so started my new routine. Every morning, while Mr. and Mrs. Twinkle rushed around, Twilight Sparkle and I would happily munch on donuts or muffins. I would walk her to magic kindergarten, and then walk back to my own house, to be tutored. I’d finish later than Twilight, but she never minded the wait. She would always be reading when I came to get her, absorbed in a world of her own. I had given us each hooficures and had just finished putting her face mask on when out came her book. I peered over her shoulder to see what she was reading. “So, photography this week?” Twilight nodded, still focused intently on her book. “I didn’t know you liked art.” “I don’t,” Twilight said, turning a page. “But this book is fascinating! It describes how the first cameras were made, how to develop film, and even x-rays work.” “How interesting.” I couldn’t make heads or tails of some of it, but she seemed fascinated, and I couldn’t bear to burst her bubble. I trotted over to my mirror to apply my own face mask, only to see the purple filly instead. I gasped, dropping the bottle with a splat. She took no heed, and pointed forcefully over my right shoulder. I glanced over my shoulder. There was Twilight, oblivious. Confused, I turned back to the mirror. The filly sighed and turned around herself, to trot further into the reflection. She went to my closet, and took out something from the top shelf. I leaned in closer to see what, only for her to vanish, leaving me peering at myself. I retraced her steps, rearing up on two legs to reach the top shelf. Of course, this where was I had hidden the envelope and film canister. I hadn’t thought about them for months! Why now? I picked them up and carefully fell back onto four hooves. In the mirror, the filly was back, hovering over Twilight. Keeping one eye on the mirror, I asked, “hey Twilight, you’re reading about how to develop pictures, right?” Twilight nodded slowly, and the filly nodded excitedly. “Could you look at some pictures for me, then?” Twilight set down her book and bounded off the bed. “Oh, of course Cadance! Anything!” She looked at me adoringly. “What pictures?” I gave her the envelope and the canister. Her smile disappeared, replaced by a look of intense concentration. She opened the envelope first, drawing out one of the pictures and holding it up to the light. “Hmmm.” She drew out a notebook from nowhere and scribbled down a few notes without even looking away from the picture. She drew out two more of the pictures, her pen still writing notes while she levitated the photographs behind a light of her own making. “Uhm, Twilight?” I asked quietly, a little awed by her ability. She didn’t react, still intent on the pictures. I edged off the bed, as gently as I could, and walked to the mirror. The filly was long gone, leaving only me and Twilight. I looked over my shoulder at Twilight, but she was still mumbling notes to herself. Figuring that she wouldn’t notice, I stepped out of the room to tell my father goodnight. He was on the balcony as always, but his customary whiskey had been replaced by a glass of wine. His serenade to the sky was so lively, so happy, I could hardly believe it was his own music. When I told him goodnight, he stopped playing, noticing me for the first time. “Cadance, mi amore! Sit down for a spell with your Papi. See how beautiful the stars are tonight? “ They looked the same to me, but my father was enchanted by them, hardly looking at me to talk. He soon seemed to forget I was there altogether, and resumed playing his violin. I trotted back to my room. Twilight hadn’t noticed my absence and was still horn deep in photographs, as well as an impressive number of large books that I was sure she didn’t have before I left. I gave her an affectionate pat on the head. “Aren’t you tired yet little bookworm?” She shook her head no and resumed studying. But when I turned my back to find my favorite ladybug pajamas, I heard a stifled yawn from behind me. I smiled to myself and went to take a shower. When I came back she was fast asleep, her pencil still scratching out notes. I put the photographs away and tucked Twilight into bed, then snuggled in beside her. And so we slept, like two bugs in a rug, while my father’s song played on into the night. CacophonyHer Royal Highness Princess Celestia requests your presence at Canterlot Castle with all due haste... When I woke up, Twilight was already hard at work, holding up photographs to the sunrise and furiously scribbling notes. I sat up, stretched my crumpled wings, and mumbled a sleepy “good morning” to Twilight. She only nodded, not breaking her concentration. Still comfortable in the warm daze of sleep, I looked in the mirror across the room. My hair was a mess, of course, but what caught my eye was that there were three fillies reflected in the mirror. My ever present shadow had returned, flying just behind Twilight to read over her shoulder. I looked to the real Twilight, and I could almost make out the faintest outline of a filly right where the reflection showed she should be. But then I blinked, and she was gone. Twilight tore herself away from her work just long enough to wolf down her breakfast. She headed right back upstairs, leaving me to finish my pancakes alone. I ate mine slowly, taking time get the perfect amount of syrup in every bite. I wasn’t even halfway through with my first pancake when I heard a knock on the front door. Expecting to see the ditzy mailmare, I trotted to the door to offer her a muffin. But the muffin hit the floor when I saw that it was not Derpy at the door, but two of Celestia’s royal guards at the door, holding an official looking scroll. “Urgent message for a Miss Cadance.” The older of the two guards handed me the scroll with a deft flick of his wing. I took took the letter silently, intimidated by his cold blue stare. I went to close the door, but he forcefully held a hoof out to stop me. “We were told to wait for a reply.” With both of them staring at me, I felt cornered. “Papi?!” I cried out, half in fear and half in confusion. I heard a faint scuffle upstairs, and then a thundering series of hoofsteps as my father galloped down the stairs, hair slicked back and bowtie half tied. “Cadance, what is is... gentlemen, what are you doing in my house?” The smaller of the two spoke this time. “Urgent message from Celestia, sir!” he said, while saluting my father. The larger one glared at him, and then my father. “Step aside sir, you are interfering with official royal business.” “Royal business? With my daughter?” My father wasn’t intimidated, and strode forward towards them. “As long as my daughter is a minor, I will dutifully act as her legal guardian.” He glared right back at the larger pony, until the guard broke away. “Go on Cadance, open the letter.” My father kept his eyes on the guards, still wary. I opened it, full of foalish fear of being banished to the Everfree forest or something equally dreadful. But what the letter actually said was much more shocking. “Princess Celestia wants me to come to Canterlot Castle?” I looked up, not quite sure if I should believe it. “But why?” The younger guard suddenly became very interested in his hooves, and even the older one looked uncomfortable. My father gave both of them his most intense stare. The younger one finally admitted “we don’t know miss, we’re just the messengers. But she insisted that you come straight away.” Father started to pace the room. I fell back on my flanks, overwhelmed. Finally, the senior guard broke the silence. “Look, Celestia asked for you to come as soon as possible. It’s possible right now, so lets go. The meter’s running on the chariot.” I looked to my father, and he nodded his approval. “Go on Cadence, I’ll see Twilight safely home.” The senior guard promptly marched out the door, eager to be gone. The younger one held the door open for me as I passed, then gave me a helping hoof into the chariot. They saddled up, and with a running start we were airborn. I was terrified at first, but being so high up, with the wind rushing through my mane, was oddly soothing. My own wings were too weak to fly on their own, but it felt natural to have wind rustling my feathers. But just as I worked up the courage to spread my wings and feel the jetstream, I felt the chariot begin to drop. Seconds later, the chariot slid to a smooth stop in the middle of Canterlot Castle courtyard. To me, the walls seemed impossibly high, and the guards all looked so much bigger than me. The guard ponies handed me off to a strict looking butler, who escorted me through a winding maze of carpeted corridors and hallways lined with elegant stained glass windows. I was lead around one last corner and, unexpectedly, I found myself in the middle of a garden. Celestia was under a gazebo, regal, radiant, and drinking out of a humorously undersized teacup. She glanced up, saw me, and smiled. Overwhelmed, I gave an awkward bow, and tripped over my own tail. “My dear little pony, don’t be so shy!” Celestia smiled again, instantly putting me at ease. “I called you here so that I could have tea with you, Cadence, and tell you some wonderful news!” Graciously, she offered me a dainty teacup full of a fragrant tea that smelled like sunshine on a winter’s morning. I took it nervously, scared to drop something so fragile. If Celestia noticed how hard the tea cup was shaking in my grasp, she didn’t mention it. But she kept her voice soft and cheerful as she asked me how I had spent my summer. I answered as best as I could, growing more comfortable as I realized that Celestia wanted to know everything. But I stopped when I reached the end of the summer. “So then... well, they left.” I said quietly, staring into my cup of tea. Celestia drooped a comforting wing around me and drew me closer. I sniffled into her mane. It smelled like sunshine and rainbows, and I felt better immediately. “My dear little pony, I am so sorry that you have been so lonely these past few weeks. But I called you here because I think I have an answer for you! You see, I was hoping you would be so kind as to come live at the palace for the next few months.” “What?” My voice cracked as I gasped in shock. Me, live at the palace? “But why!” Celestia tousled my hair. “We aren’t truly related my dear, but all of the Canterlot nobility are my relatives. And I wanted to spend some time teaching my favorite niece how to be a princess!” My jaw hit the floor. “A, a, princess?” “Of course! Equestria is a big place, and it takes more than one princess to run the show!” Was it my imagination, or did Celestia eyes grow a little sad? In a flash, it was gone, and she was smiling again. “You’d be free to go home whenever you wanted, of course, but I would appreciate it if you spent some time getting used to the palace. I suspect you’ll be spending a lot of time here in the future as a princess!” Celestia laughed, and it was like the sun breaking through storm clouds. I nodded wholeheartedly, too excited to trust my voice. “No, you don’t have to tell me now. Go home, sleep on it, and when you make a decision, just send me a message on this scroll.” From seemingly nowhere, Celestia gave me a scroll identical to the one she had sent me earlier, but blank. “Just blow on the seal to send it to me dear. Now, I know this is a lot to think about, so Mercury and Jetstream will take you home right away.” Like magic, the two guard ponies from before appeared at the door, already saddled to pull the chariot. I walked with them back through the twisting maze of the palace, and sat quietly in my thoughts as they flew me back home. The younger guard, Mercury, gave me a comforting pat on the back before they took off into the sky. It was beginning to get dark outside. My father wasn’t home yet, but his illegible note on the ice chest seemed to say that he would be back soon. Twilight had cleaned my room before she left, leaving everything clean and color coded. A stray thought suddenly struck me, and I ran to my closet. The pictures weren’t there, they weren’t anywhere. Where had they gone? I started to race around my room, searching frantically, when I hear the unmistakable sound of my my father’s laugh from downstairs. He was finally home! Forgetting about the pictures, I ran downstairs yelling “Papi, Papi, guess what happened to me today!” I half slid, half skidded into the kitchen smiling and laughing, and then grew deathly quiet. My father had not come home alone. Beside him was a yellow mare, with a soft brown mane and a violin for a cutie mark. She had stopped mid laugh when I had run into the kitchen, as had my father,and now they were both staring at me. “Cadence...” he started nervously, glancing at the mare beside him for support. “I had hoped to give you more warning before...” The mare giggled, a terribly high pitched giggle. “What a beautiful little filly! My name is...” I couldn’t stand to hear her. “You brought a mare friend home? You, you...” “Amore, don’t be angry! I wanted you to meet her, to...” “No!” I couldn’t take this, not now. I stormed off upstairs, tears in my eyes. How could he? A mare friend? But he had loved my mother, unless all those pictures were lies. Unless everything was a lie. Did... did he not love me? I packed blindly, grabbing things at random and shoving them into my suitcase. There was a quiet knock at on my door frame. I ignored it. “Cadence?” My father’s voice was quiet, unsure. But I was too angry to think straight, to see the situation from his side. I turned to him, fire in my eyes, and practically spit out at him, “if you aren’t too busy with your mare friend, then maybe you’d like to hear what Princess Celestia had to say.” “Well, yes, but...” I slammed my suitcase shut and shoved past him into the hallway. “She invited me to the palace, for princess lessons.” I turned around, to glare at him straight in the eye. “So now I’m going, and I’m not coming back!” “Cadence...” His voice trailed off as I stormed down the stairs. The mare friend was still downstairs, trying to look concerned when I knew she was thrilled to see me go. “Cadence, come back here!” My father was pleading now, but I was too angry. I stormed past him and slammed the door behind me. I ran off into the night, until I finally collapsed by the edge of a pond. Once I stopped running, I began to feel very foalish for walking out. I was alone, lost in a park, with no idea of how to return home or what to say to my father if I could. I was tired, and thirsty, and hungery, and cold, and all I had was the scroll Princess Celestia had given me... which I could send directly to her! I opened the blank and reached for a pen, but then realized I had none. It was the straw that broke the pony’s back. I threw the scroll as far away as I could and started to cry. The weight of the world seemed to rest on my shoulders, and now I couldn’t even find a way home! I finally calmed down, from a torrent of tears to a few choked sobs, and opened my eyes. Night had truly fallen now, and the Mare in the Moon glared down at me with a hateful eye. I turned away from the sky, and shuffled over to the pond to wipe my face. In the dim reflection, my eyes were puffy and my face was streaked with dirt. The moon shone behind me like an unearthly crown. For an instant, the Mare in the Moon flashed into the purple filly, looking down at me with pity. I lashed out at the reflection, shattering the illusion. Shaken, I backed away from the pond, only to stumble over a rock and land smack dab onto my outstretched wing. “Owww!” I reflexively drew my wings in closer to me, but it only aggravated my sprain. I wanted to cry, to scream, to let it all out, but I was too tired to do more than whimper. And so I lay there, in a fitful, restless sleep, until sometime in the night Celestia’s guards stumbled upon me.
PreludeEquestrian royalty has always been proud of the fact they trace their lineage back to the Princesses themselves. Too proud, in fact, to risk diluting the blood line. So cousin married cousin, whose children would in turn marry relatives. Naturally, a few unusual side effects resulted. Twins, triplets, and even quadruplets became more common, and many foals were born with club hooves or antagonistic personalities. The royal family became almost overwhelmingly unicorns, but occasionally a pegasus would be born. Puzzlingly enough, no alicorns were ever born. Not true alicorns anyway. I was supposed to have a pegasus as a sister. My parents had already named her Credenza when they went for the last ultramagica scan. But somehow, she’d disappeared. Where there had once been twins, there was now a single filly. The doctor assured my parents that it was normal, that it happened to many sets of twins, and that the pregnancy could continue as planned. Some complications were to be expected, but nothing drastic. But my mother was desolate at her loss, and she didn’t survive my birth. My father had to care for his surviving filly alone. But how is one unicorn supposed to care for the first alicorn born in all of recorded history? And a strange alicorn at that! An alicorn who couldn’t fly, could barely use magic, and couldn’t feel the earth’s heartbeat beneath her hooves. I can’t fault him for his failings as a father, given the circumstances. It would have been enough to drive anypony to drink. It was beautiful, almost, to listen as he would serenade the night on his violin. Smelling of whiskey and cologne, he would call to me “Cadenza! Mi amore Cadenza! So you come to visit me! Stay quiet, you do not want to wake your sister. ” I was always a little hurt that he didn't recognize me, but with the moonlight dulling my coat to a dusky purple, I was happy enough to pretend to be my mother and listen to him play. It would be some time before I realized he wasn’t mistaking me for my mother, but for the sister I was supposed to have had. And by then, it would already be too late. Twin Embolisation Syndrome: Also known as Vanishing Foal Syndrome. First discovered with the advent of ultramagica scans, where twin foals detected in the first 60 days of pregnancy often disappeared into one foal, the twin being reabsorbed into a placenta like fetus papyraceus. This is thought to occur, sometimes undetected, in up to twenty percent of all pregnancies. In rare cases, the twin is absorbed later in the pregnancy, leading to vestigial limbs on the surviving foal. In such cases, the surviving foal often experiences Survivor Guilt, or even a feeling of being two people, but no evidence has been found to substantiate these claims -Equestrian Medical Reference I wasn’t very old when I realized I wasn’t quite normal. The frequent visits to doctors, the way grown ponies would stare at me, and of course, the lack of any other fillies with both wings and a horn were obvious signs, even to a filly. As I grew older, I started to understand why I was strange. Alicorns were powerful creatures, the incarnation of Equestria herself! That one would be born to two minor nobles was unthinkable! There were many rumors of course. I was Celestia’s illegitimate daughter, born in a surrogate mother, or Luna reborn, separated from Nightmare Moon in a terrible Zebra ritual. But I knew that wasn’t true. I looked nothing like Princess Celestia. My horn was of normal size, and my mane didn’t move in an invisible breeze the way hers did. I was just a unicorn with wings, and the spitting image of my mother. Oh, my poor, dear mother. For the longest time, I thought my mother had hated me. Why else would she look so sad in all of the pictures that had been taken of her while she was with foal? Why else would she have left me? And why else would she haunt me? I saw her everywhere, in my dreams, out of the corner of my eye in crowds, even in my reflection. A purple pegasus filly, mane striped like my own, that followed me wherever I went. She was a silent spectator of my life for as long as I could remember. But then, at my eigth birthday party, she spoke for the first time. My best friends in the whole world, Shining Armor and Fleur de Lis, were there to celebrate with me, and my father had pulled himself together long enough to present me with a book of sheet music and a promise teach me to play the violin. The day couldn’t have been more perfect! “Happy birthday dear Cadance! Happy birthday to you!” Everyone sang as loudly as they could. A magnificent cake was brought out, one as big as I was! As eager as only a filly could be, I stood up in my seat to reach the top of the cake, where six enormous candles burned. But when I went to blow them out, the singing around me grew quiet, and then stopped. I could see eyes reflected in the flames. As I watched them, they winked at me! I gasped, and the flames grew larger, brighter, taller than me, and then sprang free of the candles altogether. The fireball flew circles around my head and then landed back on top of the cake, now shaped like pegasus. I fell backward, hoof over head, and hit the ground hard. The pony laughed, and glided down to me on wings made of smoke. I was terrified, because nopony else noticed a thing. In fact, they stood completely frozen, like time itself had stopped. I was alone with the fiery pony, who was becoming decidedly less flaming. In fact, she now looked like a normal pegasus filly, with a purple coat and a mane that matched my own. Could it be? She looks just like... “Mama?” I asked, wonder in my voice. The filly laughed, but her eyes were sad. “Happy birthday Cadence. But don’t forget, it’s my birthday too. So I’m going to take this wish.” With that, the filly flew back to the top of the cake and blew out the candles herself. She disappeared, leaving behind nothing but smoke and a single purple feather. I watched the feather fall, slowly, to hit me right between the eyes. Without my noticing, the world came back to life around me. “Cadance? What are you doing on the ground?” Fleur was standing over me, giggling into her hoof. I stood back up, and took a long look at the ponies now moving around me, the feather in my hoof, and the unlit candles at the top of the cake. “I...” had no way to explain what just happened. The puzzlement on my face must have been explanation enough for Fleur. “You are sooo silly Cadance! I can’t believe you fell off the table!” She bounded back up to take her seat. “Come on, cut the cake!” “Sure thing Fleur!” But I wasn’t paying attention to the cake. I nestled the feather into my own wing, for safe keeping, and then joined Fleur at the table. Shining Armor gave me a worried look from across the table, but I was lost in my thoughts. My ghost had talked to me, I had heard her! But... if she wasn't my mother, than who is she?
DevelopmentThe Equestria Royal Symphony is proud to present, the world renowned violinist Capriccio and pianist Cadenza. Playing tonight only at the Grand Galloping Gala! I had no memories of my mother, but I had many of her things. In the attic, locked behind the trapdoor, my father had stored everything he had of my mother. On the rare days I was home alone, I would sneak the key out of his room, fly up to the trapdoor, and strain my weak telekinesis to unlock and pull the door down. It was an ordeal for my weak wings to fly high enough to even do that much, but it was worth it, because the attic was a world of marvels. Faded posters, rolled up or proudly framed, proclaimed the talents of Capriccio and Cadenza, taking the music world by the storm. Boxes of their records made towering cities over my head, and treasures were tucked into the most unlikely of places. Racks full of her gowns, cases of jewels from ardent admirers... even a perfectly preserved rose from Celestia herself. In the dusky half-light that filtered in through the one lonely window, the attic felt like another world. Whenever I had the chance, I would spend all day looking through pictures of my mother or trying on her dresses and wondering what she had been like when she was alive. I had a mission now; I was after pictures. Shelves and shelves of photo albums lined the walls, and I was willing to bet my horn that somewhere in the boxes of faded polaroids was a picture of the purple filly. And fortunately for me, my father always spent the day after my birthday out of the house. He would take his violin and a bouquet of roses and spend all day out. Of course, he never told me where he went, exactly, but I suspected he went to visit my mother. This year was no different. I kissed him goodbye, watched him walk away, and as soon as he was out of sight I was upstairs, pulling down the trapdoor and bounding up the ladder into the attic. It was just as I remembered it, a maze with walls made of memories. I searched for hours, but the attic was a labyrinth. I knew that I had seen a photo of the purple filly before, but the attic refused to give up its secrets. Finally, I admitted defeat. The light coming in the window had grown rosy from sunset and my father would come home at any time. I trotted over to the trapdoor, only to find that it was closed. Well, that’s strange. How could it have closed? I went to open it agian, but the handle didn’t budge. Oh no. No, no, no! Panicked, I jumped up and down on the latch, only to twist my ankle on the stupid thing. “Aieeow” I wailed in equal parts pain and frustration. I was trapped, and my father would be home any minute! Desperate times called for desperate measures. I half hopped, half flew to the window, kicking up clouds of dust in my wake. I clambered up a box and pushed on the window with all my might, both with my magic and with my sore wings. The window didn’t budge, but the box I was standing on did. It slid back and I fell flat on my face, my forehooves catching on the window sill on my way down. To add insult to injury, a cloud of dust flew up around me and sent me into an uncontrollable fit of sneezing. “Achoo! Ahh... Achoo! Achoo!” I could feel myself tearing up again. Where had this gone so terrible wrong? “Achoo!” “Bless you!” I gasped mid sneeze, and it dissolved into a coughing fit. Tears in my eyes, I turned around, trying to see through the dust. “Who’s,” I said through my cough“there?” “It’s me, of course!” That voice... It was my shadow, the purple filly! But where was she? In the midst of the settling dust, there was a darker shape, about my size... a patch where the dust stayed suspended. And as more dust fell, it became clear that there was a pony made of dust standing in front of me. Purplish dust, an ashy version of the filly from the cake. “You!” I managed to gasp between coughs. “Who else would it be?” The dust filly giggled into her hoof. “You’re looking for something, right?” “How did you...” “Over here!” She bounded off into the deepening shadows. I followed after her, but I couldn’t keep up on my sprained ankle. I fell behind, and I had to follow her molted feathers, little gossamer things that would crumble into glittering dust as I passed. “Wait, please!” I huffed as I turned another sharp corner. “I can’t keep... up.” She was gone. I was at a dead end, alone with a cloud of glittering dust dancing over a box I had never seen before. I walked towards the case slowly, feeling a sense of gravity for reasons I didn’t understand. It was a deep viridian, embossed with two golden interlocking C’s. The glittering dust fell all around it, but it stayed untouched. With a shaking hoof, I opened the box. Music poured out of the box, like a symphony in the middle of a dream. I screamed like, well, like a filly, and fell back on my flank in shock. In the deathly silence of the attic, the music was terrifyingly loud, but once I got over the shock, the tune was comforting, familiar. I frowned in puzzlement, listening carefully, but the box tinkled to silence. My heart still pounding in my ears, I leaned forward and took another look into the box. It was a box of memories, photographs of what seemed like every minute of my mother’s life! Her childhood, her rise to fame, her heavily publicized courtship with my father... how strange to see him happy! Clippings from tabloids traced their courtship, two talented unicorns from two of the most distinguished families in Equestria. It had been a match made in heaven. Their marriage was across every front page, and then when they were with foal, the media exploded. Everyone wanted pictures of the happy couple, and I was fascinated to read how everyone had loved my mother. There was a single picture of her heavily with foal, my father holding her hand, and then the pictures were over. Only a film canister and an official looking envelope were left in the box. My racing heart beat faster as I lifted the canister and the folder out. This was it, I was sure of it! I shakily opened the canister and drew out the film. It had never been developed. I tried to see what pictures were on the film, but it was too dark. I carefully put the film back in the canister, and then opened the envelope. The folder was filled with strange pictures. They looked like x-rays, but not quite. There was something medical typed across the top and bottom, and the image was oddly fuzzy, not like bones at all. I held one up to the fading light, and saw there was something scribbled in the corner, but it was too dark to see anything more. I slid the photograph back into the folder, and closed the music box with a soft click. “Creeek!” A rusty screech came from behind me but I kept calm. Somehow, I knew it was only the trapdoor opening back up. I had found what the filly wanted me to. Folder and canister clutched tightly in my telekinesis, I climbed down and closed the trapdoor behind me. I hid my new found treasures in my room, put the key back in my father’s chest, and took a bath to wash the dust out of my coat. That night, when my father came home smelling of roses and fresh cut grass, he took me aside to begin my lessons. We stood together on the balcony, serenading the night with the tune from the music box, the same melody he played every night. He called it “Cadenza’s Lullaby,” and I couldn't help but cry as I played it with him, the memory of the music box sweetening my own scratchy notes.
InterludeCelestia’s School For Gifted Unicorns: A place where every foal can learn to shine! My father had already left when I woke up the next morning. However, Shining Armor and Fleur de Lis were already at the door before I had even finished breakfast. They had heard there was a secret passageway into Canterlot Castle and I just had to, had to, had to come look for it with them. So I did. We didn’t find anything of course, but that didn’t stop us from looking the next day, or the day after that. By the time we’d given up entirely, Shining Armor had found some new adventure to try. The envelope and canister stayed out of sight in the back of my closet, hidden with the one purple feather. But I couldn’t spend time trying to find answers, not when I had so little time left to be with my friends. At the end of the summer, Fleur would be sent to finishing school and Shining Armor would be enrolling in an elite military academy. I think the filly understood. She remained my ever present shadow, but she never spoke to me, never pressed me to find what the pictures were. But all too soon, the summer was gone. Fleur was leaving the next day, and Shining the day after that. For one last time, we decided to pitch our tent in Fleur’s backyard. Saddlebags full of supplies, I trotted over to Fleur’s small but meticulously maintained house. It was Fleur who answered the door. “Cadance!” Beaming, she hugged me tightly. “Come on in, Shining is already out back putting up the tent.” “Great! I brought my sleeping bag and marshmallows and...” but before I could finish, Fleur’s mother came trotting down the stairs. “Cadance? Is that you?” The sound of a grown mare squealing like a filly set my teeth on edge, but I smiled as nicely as I could. “Oh, hello Mrs. Lily.” I said uncomfortably. Fleur’s mother, Gilded Llly, always went out of her way to make me feel welcome, but I always felt anything but comfortable once she started cooing over me. “You look so lovely dear! I do wish Fleur had half your grace. I swear, she was born with four left hooves. Would you like a cookie dear?” She offered me a tray of cookies. I looked over to Fleur for help, but she was pointedly looking away. “Thank you Mrs. Lilly.” I took one to be polite. “Mmm, smells delicious.“ “Oh really? Then take the tray! Oh, and don’t call me Mrs. Lilly, that’s so stuffy! Call me Mom.” Before I had the chance to react she had levitated the tray in my face. I took it awkwardly, wanting nothing more than to shove them right back in her face, but not wanting to make trouble for Fleur. “Oh no, I couldn’t possibly...” “Oh, silly me, of course not!’ She giggled like a filly half her age, and then gave the tray to Fleur instead. “Fleur, be a good hostess and take the tray outside. But for Celestia’s sake don’t take a cookie yourself! You could stand to eat less sweets.” “Yes mama,” Fleur said quietly. I wanted to melt into the floor. “Fleur, do try to be more refined! At finishing school, you will always say ma’am!” “Yes ma’am.” But Mrs. Lilly wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. “Do tell me if you need anything, won’t you dear?” “Yesma’amofcoursema’amthankyouverymuchma’am!” I said as quickly as I could and then made a break for the door, Fleur close behind. “Have fun dear! Fleur de Lis, do not run in this house! Try to act like a lady!” Safely outside, Fleur didn’t meet my eyes, but I could tell she wanted to cry. I took the tray of cookies back from Fleur. “I’ll give them to Shining Armor. I couldn’t eat them.” She smiled at that, but only a little. Shining Armor had already set up the tent and a pile of firewood taller than he was. When he saw us, he gave a serious salute and then started doing a stiff legged march towards us. “Halt! Who dares to approach Canterlot Castle?” he said in the deepest voice he could manage. I giggled, but Fleur scoffed. “Princess Fleur and Princess Cadance of course! You must be new here,” she said in her most pompous Canterlot accent. Shining Armor gave a deep bow. “My apologies madames. Please, let me escort you to your chambers.” I started laughing louder, but Fleur kept her game face on. “See that it doesn’t happen again. Now, take Princess Cadance’s royal saddlebags,” she ordered, and placed them on his back, “my sleeping bag,” she said while draping it over him like a cape, “and the royal cookies while you’re at it,” and with a final flourish she balanced the tray on the tip of his horn. For a moment, everything stood still, the tray slowly shifting from side as Shining tried to stay on his hooves and walk back to the tent. He lasted about five seconds before he slipped on his sleeping bag cape and everything came crashing down. It was beautiful, cookies raining down from the tray while Shining went head over hooves, slipping backwards onto his flank while the sleeping bag flared up like wings. It happened too suddenly for me to react, but Fleur gracefully caught the cookie tray and trotted into the tent with a smug smile, leaving me dying from laughter and Shining slightly confused. “What... what just happened?” “Well,” I said with a giggle, “we all learned that you would probably make a better guard then you would a waiter.” I tugged the sleeping bag out from under him and turned it into my own cape. “And that Fleur and I would be excellent princesses!” Fleur stuck her head out of the tent. “Well of course we would! But if you ask nicely Shining, we might let you in the castle.” She stuck her tongue out at the both of us, but stuck it back in quickly, remembering that she had to be refined now. “Now, Princess Cadance, enter the palace and leave the guard to pick up the bags.” “But of course, Princess Fleur!” I said in my own terrible Canterlot accent. I zipped into the tent and zipped up the door behind me. “Very funny girls,” Shining grumbled as he tried to untangle himself from my bags, only to fall back on his flank. “If you’re going to be princesses, I guess you’ll be too refined to eat marshmallows!” Fleur stuck her head out the flap, and gave him her haughtiest look. “No one is ever too refined for marshmallows.” And with that, she deftly levitated the marshmallows out of the saddlebags and into the tent. I stuck my tongue out at him, more for her benefit than mine, and retreated back into the tent. We opened the door a little bit, just enough to watch as Shining Armor finally freed himself and came marching up to the tent. When he came close, we zipped the door back up and giggled into our hooves as we watched his silhouette. He moved to knock on the door and hit me squarely on the head. “Ouch! Shining, that hurt!” “You can’t knock on a tent!” Fleur said, unzipping the door long enough to give him a glare. “Oh right. Sorry Cadance.” he said sheepishly, and stomped on the ground instead. I stuck my head out this time, with the haughtiest face I had. “May I help you?” “Permission to enter?” Shining said, his mock serious face on again, but I could tell he wanted to giggle at my own failure of a face. “Well, I don’t know,” I said, already starting to crack, but I couldn’t help it. He looked so cute! “No, of course not!” Fleur pulled me back in and stuck her head out. “This is a castle, not a pirate ship. But here, have a marshmallow!” Before he could react, she stuck a marshmallow in his mouth and retreated back into the tent, where I was busying splitting my sides. It was hard to be a princess, dang it! I had no idea how Celestia managed to stay so serious all the time. Eventually, we relented and let Shining into the tent. Impatient for night to fall, we played tag and sardines, which wasn’t very hard with only three foals. We had fun anyway, so much fun that we didn’t realized how dark it had gotten until we couldn’t see the hooves in front of our face. By the light of my and Fleur’s horn, Shining Armor set his woodpile on fire, as well as his tail. Too impatient to wait for it to die down, Shining Armor went ahead and burnt his marshmallows in the fire. Neither Fleur or I touched the cookies, but Shining did his best to eat them on his own. In time, Fleur gave up waiting and charred her marshmallows, but I continued to carefully toast my own marshmallow over a single ember while Shining told scary stories. They were rather silly, as far as ghost stories go, but they seemed scary enough to me, who was keeping an eye out for suspiciously pegasus shaped smoke clouds. By the time the fire finally died, Shining had run out of ghost stories and Fleur had a tummy ache from all the marshmallows. Shining gave us a sleepy “good night” and stumbled into the tent. Fleur was too nervous to sleep, I suppose, and stayed by the fire, watching the embers. After failing to fall asleep myself, I rejoined her, nuzzling up close to fight the nip in the night. She cuddled back, and then sighed. “Cadance, do you think mama will love me when I come back from finishing school?” “She loves you now Fleur!” I said, but more emphatically than I really felt. “Not like she loves you, Cadance.” she said sadly. “It's not your fault... but sometimes she tells me that she wishes I was you.” “At least you have a mother,” I said, wistfully. Fleur laughed, almost bitterly. “Well, sometimes I wish I didn’t. Maybe then I wouldn’t always be disappointing her.” What could I say to something like that? I kept quiet. Finally, Fleur broke the silence. “I wanted to go to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns, for art school. I applied, all on my own. But when the letter came, Mama got to it before I did. She ripped it up before I ever got to see whether I got in or not.” I gasped. “Fleur, why didn’t you tell me? Papa could have...” She shushed me with a hoof on my snout. “It doesn’t matter now. Finishing school will make Ma... Mother happy. Who cares about art school anyway?” She smiled, tears in her eyes, but her voice stayed clear. “Maybe... maybe later, when she’s proud of me for me, I’ll try again.” Unable to do anything else, I awkwardly draped on of my wings over her and did my best to pull a blanket towards us. Fleur gave a real smile, though small, and floated it over us. Nestled like two birds of a feather, we fell asleep under the stars, while a filly made of smoke played a melody on a violin only I could hear.
ExpositionDear Fleur, I hope you’re enjoying finishing school. It’s lonely without you and Shining, but I’ve made a new little friend. It’s not the same, though. Will you come home soon? I don’t think you need any finishing at all... The next day was the hardest of my life. Shining and I walked with Fleur to the train station, where Mrs. Lilly was waiting with Fleur’s bags. We walked slowly, as if dragging our hooves could drag out the time we had left. “There you are! Do you know how close to being late you are? Honestly Fleur de Lis, finishing school is the best place for you. At the very least, they’ll teach you how important punctuality is. Good morning dear! I do hope you enjoyed camping, but I had the guest bedroom all made up for you.” Mrs. Lilly wasted no time when she saw us, launching straight into her usual stream of babble. I ignored her and hugged Fleur tightly instead. “Promise me you’ll write. Promise!” She hugged me back just as tightly. “Of course I will, every day!” Shield said nothing, just held us both tightly and tried to stay stoic. But we all had tears in our eyes as we faced our first real goodbyes of our life. It was Shield who starting crying first. But once he had started, nothing could stop me or Fleur from bawling our hearts out. Mrs. Lilly tutted and tittered, but we held each other tightly until the sharp screech of the train whistle sounded out. Fleur broke off from the hug and looked straight into my eyes. “Whatever happens, we will always be best friends Cadance, alright?” I nodded, too choked up to speak. “Goodbye, both of you. I’ll be home soon.” And so she turned and left, leaving only her lie. Fleur never came home. She never said why in her letters, but I got the impression that she hated boarding school much less than she hated living with her mother. It didn’t take long for the letters to stop either. It was easier to say goodbye to Shining Armor. I knew he’d be back; he had a little sister to take care of. Little Twilight Sparkle was heartbroken to see her brother leave, but she tried her best to not cry, to see her brother go chase his dream with a smile. He kept a straight face, but he was close to tears too. “Twily, what are you all torn up about?” His voice caught in his throat as he gave her a half hearted noogie. “I’ll be back for Hearth’s Warming Eve, you know that!” “I know,” Twilight said with sniffle. “It’s, only, th-three months and 27 days away.” Unable to keep herself from crying, she buried her face into his mane. Shining Armor’s face fell, and he looked at me with a pleading look. “Cadance, you’ll look after Twily for me, won’t you? Make sure the little egghead doesn’t study too much?” he said with a forced smile. “Of course I will, don’t worry.” How could I say no to those eyes? Or to Twilight’s, who was looking at me now with eyes full of hope. Shining sighed and gently pushed Twilight off of his shoulder and into one last hug. He gave us one last wave as he boarded the bus with the other recruits. The two of us waved back, until the bus had disappeared into the sunset. True to my word, I went to Shining’s house the first thing the next morning. Mrs. Twinkle gave me a nod as we passed in the driveway, but she was in a hurry for work and couldn’t stop. She’d left the door ajar behind her, so I let myself in. Mr. Twinkle was fumbling with his tie and his coffee, his stack of papers dangerously high. But when he saw me, he stopped to smile and say, “why, Miss Cadance! What a pleasure to see you!” The Twinkles were always polite beyond fault, in a charming way that was much warmer than Mrs. Lily’s pet names. “It’s lovely to see you too, Mr. Twinkle! Have you heard anything from Shining?” I replied, while not so subtly eyeing the phone that laid half buried under his case files. Mr. Twinkle shook his head no. “Don’t fret, it has only been a day, he shall call soon.” His smile dropped. “ Twilight Sparkle has had a hard time adjusting though.” His eyes glazed over as he looked around the kitchen, searching for something. He wandered randomly, checking everywhere from the breadbox to the dishwasher, until finally he floated his case files off the counter to find a slightly crumpled white box underneath. “If you could be so kind as to make sure Twilight Sparkle eats a few of these?” He levitated the box to me with the utmost seriousness. “She might protest, so I understand completely if you have to take a few yourself to convince her. But I need this box empty by the time I return.” Before I could say anything, he balanced it on my back. “Just see that she gets these. I am in your debt, Miss Cadance.” Without further explanation, he trotted out the door, his tie still askew. Wondering what was so important, I snuck a glance into the box. Of course, I thought with a smile. I trotted upstairs to Twilight’s room, only to find it empty. “Twilight?” I walked back into the hallway, puzzled. But then, with a flash of insight, I walked to Shining Armor’s room. Twilight was there, sleeping like a little kitten in the middle of his bed. As gently as I could, I sat down beside her and nuzzled her awake. She woke up slowly, blinking the sleep from her eyes. “Hey there sleepyhead!” She blinked at me, adorably confused. I grinned and opened the white box. “How about some of Pony Joe’s donuts to start the day?” And so started my new routine. Every morning, while Mr. and Mrs. Twinkle rushed around, Twilight Sparkle and I would happily munch on donuts or muffins. I would walk her to magic kindergarten, and then walk back to my own house, to be tutored. I’d finish later than Twilight, but she never minded the wait. She would always be reading when I came to get her, absorbed in a world of her own. I had given us each hooficures and had just finished putting her face mask on when out came her book. I peered over her shoulder to see what she was reading. “So, photography this week?” Twilight nodded, still focused intently on her book. “I didn’t know you liked art.” “I don’t,” Twilight said, turning a page. “But this book is fascinating! It describes how the first cameras were made, how to develop film, and even x-rays work.” “How interesting.” I couldn’t make heads or tails of some of it, but she seemed fascinated, and I couldn’t bear to burst her bubble. I trotted over to my mirror to apply my own face mask, only to see the purple filly instead. I gasped, dropping the bottle with a splat. She took no heed, and pointed forcefully over my right shoulder. I glanced over my shoulder. There was Twilight, oblivious. Confused, I turned back to the mirror. The filly sighed and turned around herself, to trot further into the reflection. She went to my closet, and took out something from the top shelf. I leaned in closer to see what, only for her to vanish, leaving me peering at myself. I retraced her steps, rearing up on two legs to reach the top shelf. Of course, this where was I had hidden the envelope and film canister. I hadn’t thought about them for months! Why now? I picked them up and carefully fell back onto four hooves. In the mirror, the filly was back, hovering over Twilight. Keeping one eye on the mirror, I asked, “hey Twilight, you’re reading about how to develop pictures, right?” Twilight nodded slowly, and the filly nodded excitedly. “Could you look at some pictures for me, then?” Twilight set down her book and bounded off the bed. “Oh, of course Cadance! Anything!” She looked at me adoringly. “What pictures?” I gave her the envelope and the canister. Her smile disappeared, replaced by a look of intense concentration. She opened the envelope first, drawing out one of the pictures and holding it up to the light. “Hmmm.” She drew out a notebook from nowhere and scribbled down a few notes without even looking away from the picture. She drew out two more of the pictures, her pen still writing notes while she levitated the photographs behind a light of her own making. “Uhm, Twilight?” I asked quietly, a little awed by her ability. She didn’t react, still intent on the pictures. I edged off the bed, as gently as I could, and walked to the mirror. The filly was long gone, leaving only me and Twilight. I looked over my shoulder at Twilight, but she was still mumbling notes to herself. Figuring that she wouldn’t notice, I stepped out of the room to tell my father goodnight. He was on the balcony as always, but his customary whiskey had been replaced by a glass of wine. His serenade to the sky was so lively, so happy, I could hardly believe it was his own music. When I told him goodnight, he stopped playing, noticing me for the first time. “Cadance, mi amore! Sit down for a spell with your Papi. See how beautiful the stars are tonight? “ They looked the same to me, but my father was enchanted by them, hardly looking at me to talk. He soon seemed to forget I was there altogether, and resumed playing his violin. I trotted back to my room. Twilight hadn’t noticed my absence and was still horn deep in photographs, as well as an impressive number of large books that I was sure she didn’t have before I left. I gave her an affectionate pat on the head. “Aren’t you tired yet little bookworm?” She shook her head no and resumed studying. But when I turned my back to find my favorite ladybug pajamas, I heard a stifled yawn from behind me. I smiled to myself and went to take a shower. When I came back she was fast asleep, her pencil still scratching out notes. I put the photographs away and tucked Twilight into bed, then snuggled in beside her. And so we slept, like two bugs in a rug, while my father’s song played on into the night.
CacophonyHer Royal Highness Princess Celestia requests your presence at Canterlot Castle with all due haste... When I woke up, Twilight was already hard at work, holding up photographs to the sunrise and furiously scribbling notes. I sat up, stretched my crumpled wings, and mumbled a sleepy “good morning” to Twilight. She only nodded, not breaking her concentration. Still comfortable in the warm daze of sleep, I looked in the mirror across the room. My hair was a mess, of course, but what caught my eye was that there were three fillies reflected in the mirror. My ever present shadow had returned, flying just behind Twilight to read over her shoulder. I looked to the real Twilight, and I could almost make out the faintest outline of a filly right where the reflection showed she should be. But then I blinked, and she was gone. Twilight tore herself away from her work just long enough to wolf down her breakfast. She headed right back upstairs, leaving me to finish my pancakes alone. I ate mine slowly, taking time get the perfect amount of syrup in every bite. I wasn’t even halfway through with my first pancake when I heard a knock on the front door. Expecting to see the ditzy mailmare, I trotted to the door to offer her a muffin. But the muffin hit the floor when I saw that it was not Derpy at the door, but two of Celestia’s royal guards at the door, holding an official looking scroll. “Urgent message for a Miss Cadance.” The older of the two guards handed me the scroll with a deft flick of his wing. I took took the letter silently, intimidated by his cold blue stare. I went to close the door, but he forcefully held a hoof out to stop me. “We were told to wait for a reply.” With both of them staring at me, I felt cornered. “Papi?!” I cried out, half in fear and half in confusion. I heard a faint scuffle upstairs, and then a thundering series of hoofsteps as my father galloped down the stairs, hair slicked back and bowtie half tied. “Cadance, what is is... gentlemen, what are you doing in my house?” The smaller of the two spoke this time. “Urgent message from Celestia, sir!” he said, while saluting my father. The larger one glared at him, and then my father. “Step aside sir, you are interfering with official royal business.” “Royal business? With my daughter?” My father wasn’t intimidated, and strode forward towards them. “As long as my daughter is a minor, I will dutifully act as her legal guardian.” He glared right back at the larger pony, until the guard broke away. “Go on Cadance, open the letter.” My father kept his eyes on the guards, still wary. I opened it, full of foalish fear of being banished to the Everfree forest or something equally dreadful. But what the letter actually said was much more shocking. “Princess Celestia wants me to come to Canterlot Castle?” I looked up, not quite sure if I should believe it. “But why?” The younger guard suddenly became very interested in his hooves, and even the older one looked uncomfortable. My father gave both of them his most intense stare. The younger one finally admitted “we don’t know miss, we’re just the messengers. But she insisted that you come straight away.” Father started to pace the room. I fell back on my flanks, overwhelmed. Finally, the senior guard broke the silence. “Look, Celestia asked for you to come as soon as possible. It’s possible right now, so lets go. The meter’s running on the chariot.” I looked to my father, and he nodded his approval. “Go on Cadence, I’ll see Twilight safely home.” The senior guard promptly marched out the door, eager to be gone. The younger one held the door open for me as I passed, then gave me a helping hoof into the chariot. They saddled up, and with a running start we were airborn. I was terrified at first, but being so high up, with the wind rushing through my mane, was oddly soothing. My own wings were too weak to fly on their own, but it felt natural to have wind rustling my feathers. But just as I worked up the courage to spread my wings and feel the jetstream, I felt the chariot begin to drop. Seconds later, the chariot slid to a smooth stop in the middle of Canterlot Castle courtyard. To me, the walls seemed impossibly high, and the guards all looked so much bigger than me. The guard ponies handed me off to a strict looking butler, who escorted me through a winding maze of carpeted corridors and hallways lined with elegant stained glass windows. I was lead around one last corner and, unexpectedly, I found myself in the middle of a garden. Celestia was under a gazebo, regal, radiant, and drinking out of a humorously undersized teacup. She glanced up, saw me, and smiled. Overwhelmed, I gave an awkward bow, and tripped over my own tail. “My dear little pony, don’t be so shy!” Celestia smiled again, instantly putting me at ease. “I called you here so that I could have tea with you, Cadence, and tell you some wonderful news!” Graciously, she offered me a dainty teacup full of a fragrant tea that smelled like sunshine on a winter’s morning. I took it nervously, scared to drop something so fragile. If Celestia noticed how hard the tea cup was shaking in my grasp, she didn’t mention it. But she kept her voice soft and cheerful as she asked me how I had spent my summer. I answered as best as I could, growing more comfortable as I realized that Celestia wanted to know everything. But I stopped when I reached the end of the summer. “So then... well, they left.” I said quietly, staring into my cup of tea. Celestia drooped a comforting wing around me and drew me closer. I sniffled into her mane. It smelled like sunshine and rainbows, and I felt better immediately. “My dear little pony, I am so sorry that you have been so lonely these past few weeks. But I called you here because I think I have an answer for you! You see, I was hoping you would be so kind as to come live at the palace for the next few months.” “What?” My voice cracked as I gasped in shock. Me, live at the palace? “But why!” Celestia tousled my hair. “We aren’t truly related my dear, but all of the Canterlot nobility are my relatives. And I wanted to spend some time teaching my favorite niece how to be a princess!” My jaw hit the floor. “A, a, princess?” “Of course! Equestria is a big place, and it takes more than one princess to run the show!” Was it my imagination, or did Celestia eyes grow a little sad? In a flash, it was gone, and she was smiling again. “You’d be free to go home whenever you wanted, of course, but I would appreciate it if you spent some time getting used to the palace. I suspect you’ll be spending a lot of time here in the future as a princess!” Celestia laughed, and it was like the sun breaking through storm clouds. I nodded wholeheartedly, too excited to trust my voice. “No, you don’t have to tell me now. Go home, sleep on it, and when you make a decision, just send me a message on this scroll.” From seemingly nowhere, Celestia gave me a scroll identical to the one she had sent me earlier, but blank. “Just blow on the seal to send it to me dear. Now, I know this is a lot to think about, so Mercury and Jetstream will take you home right away.” Like magic, the two guard ponies from before appeared at the door, already saddled to pull the chariot. I walked with them back through the twisting maze of the palace, and sat quietly in my thoughts as they flew me back home. The younger guard, Mercury, gave me a comforting pat on the back before they took off into the sky. It was beginning to get dark outside. My father wasn’t home yet, but his illegible note on the ice chest seemed to say that he would be back soon. Twilight had cleaned my room before she left, leaving everything clean and color coded. A stray thought suddenly struck me, and I ran to my closet. The pictures weren’t there, they weren’t anywhere. Where had they gone? I started to race around my room, searching frantically, when I hear the unmistakable sound of my my father’s laugh from downstairs. He was finally home! Forgetting about the pictures, I ran downstairs yelling “Papi, Papi, guess what happened to me today!” I half slid, half skidded into the kitchen smiling and laughing, and then grew deathly quiet. My father had not come home alone. Beside him was a yellow mare, with a soft brown mane and a violin for a cutie mark. She had stopped mid laugh when I had run into the kitchen, as had my father,and now they were both staring at me. “Cadence...” he started nervously, glancing at the mare beside him for support. “I had hoped to give you more warning before...” The mare giggled, a terribly high pitched giggle. “What a beautiful little filly! My name is...” I couldn’t stand to hear her. “You brought a mare friend home? You, you...” “Amore, don’t be angry! I wanted you to meet her, to...” “No!” I couldn’t take this, not now. I stormed off upstairs, tears in my eyes. How could he? A mare friend? But he had loved my mother, unless all those pictures were lies. Unless everything was a lie. Did... did he not love me? I packed blindly, grabbing things at random and shoving them into my suitcase. There was a quiet knock at on my door frame. I ignored it. “Cadence?” My father’s voice was quiet, unsure. But I was too angry to think straight, to see the situation from his side. I turned to him, fire in my eyes, and practically spit out at him, “if you aren’t too busy with your mare friend, then maybe you’d like to hear what Princess Celestia had to say.” “Well, yes, but...” I slammed my suitcase shut and shoved past him into the hallway. “She invited me to the palace, for princess lessons.” I turned around, to glare at him straight in the eye. “So now I’m going, and I’m not coming back!” “Cadence...” His voice trailed off as I stormed down the stairs. The mare friend was still downstairs, trying to look concerned when I knew she was thrilled to see me go. “Cadence, come back here!” My father was pleading now, but I was too angry. I stormed past him and slammed the door behind me. I ran off into the night, until I finally collapsed by the edge of a pond. Once I stopped running, I began to feel very foalish for walking out. I was alone, lost in a park, with no idea of how to return home or what to say to my father if I could. I was tired, and thirsty, and hungery, and cold, and all I had was the scroll Princess Celestia had given me... which I could send directly to her! I opened the blank and reached for a pen, but then realized I had none. It was the straw that broke the pony’s back. I threw the scroll as far away as I could and started to cry. The weight of the world seemed to rest on my shoulders, and now I couldn’t even find a way home! I finally calmed down, from a torrent of tears to a few choked sobs, and opened my eyes. Night had truly fallen now, and the Mare in the Moon glared down at me with a hateful eye. I turned away from the sky, and shuffled over to the pond to wipe my face. In the dim reflection, my eyes were puffy and my face was streaked with dirt. The moon shone behind me like an unearthly crown. For an instant, the Mare in the Moon flashed into the purple filly, looking down at me with pity. I lashed out at the reflection, shattering the illusion. Shaken, I backed away from the pond, only to stumble over a rock and land smack dab onto my outstretched wing. “Owww!” I reflexively drew my wings in closer to me, but it only aggravated my sprain. I wanted to cry, to scream, to let it all out, but I was too tired to do more than whimper. And so I lay there, in a fitful, restless sleep, until sometime in the night Celestia’s guards stumbled upon me.
