~~~ A Day of Happiness ~~~

The whole family stood in front of the door, looking on as a carriage bearing the royal banners of the Crystal Empire came closer and closer to their palace. Twilight Sparkle hopped in place. Cadance was coming! Cadance was coming!

Truthfully, Twi was excited to see Shining about as much as she was to see her former foalsitter. However, she hadn’t seen Cadance in far longer, so the pink princess was still at the front of her mind.

Her thoughts lay on Cadance for a while. It had been… Well, at least two years since they had last spoken face to face. And Twi wanted to see her again.

It didn’t help that the mare had a crush on Cadance. Well, not a crush, per se, but a… A fillyhood obsession. Well, obsession was too strong a word. Okay, it had been a crush; a crush that Twi had gotten over years ago. Still, though, she couldn’t help but blush whenever Cadance showed the least bit of affection toward her. And she may have been the tiniest bit jealous at her and Shining’s wedding.

Okay, maybe Twi still had a crush on her. But not a huge crush! No, it was just a little bit of… A crush. Twi’s mind went back years, to teenage nights, when she, in her bed, would hold up pictures of Cadance as she clopped. Her mind went back even more, to the first time she had gone into heat, refusing stallion after stallion even though they had offered to help her, just because she had hoped that Cadance would be the one to notice and offer her own help and love.

And her mind went back several more years, when she had been but a filly, playing dress-up with her mom’s old wedding dress, pretending to be having a grand wedding. When Cadance had confronted her, her nerves had gotten the better of her, and she’d said that she was marrying her Prince Charming. However, she had been imagining none other than Princess Cadance standing there right in front of her, having the happiest day of her life as they got married.

Twi shook her head, pulling her mind back to the real world as the carriage pulled up, coming to a stop right in front of them. Cadance and Shining were here! “This is gonna be the best week ever!”

A royal guard pony, adorned in the colours of the Crystal Empire, hopped off of the front of the carriage and pulled the doors open.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza looked as regal as ever as she stepped out of her carriage and floated down to the ground. Twi grinned from ear to ear as they made eye contact, as did the pink princess. The closed in and gave each other a giant hug. Eventually, they pulled back, and Cadance’s grin transformed into a smirk. “Sunshine, sunshine…” She began, and Twi turned beet red.

“We haven’t done that for years, Cady…” She murmured, hiding behind her mane.

“Sunshine, sunshine…” Cadance said again. “Come on, your princess commands you…”

Try as she did, Twilight could not suppress the happy smile which eventually broke through. “Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake…” She said, doing their little dance.

“Clap your hooves and do a little shake!” Cadance cheered, finishing the ritual. By the time they had finished dancing, both Twilight and Cadance sported matching happy smiles.

“It’s so good to see you, Cadance!” Twi hopped up and down on her hooves as she hugged the other princess again. “I missed you!”

“I missed you too, Twilie…” Cadance sighed, returning the happy hug. “Shining Armour sends his regards,” She looked over to the rest of the Sparkle family, who looked a little bit confused. “Unfortunately, some business came up in the Crystal Empire, and he couldn’t make the train I made. He’ll be here later today.”

Twilight looked past the pink princess and into the carriage. Odd, she hadn’t even noticed Shiny’s absence.

“I don’t know about you guys,” Cadance said, putting a hoof to her stomach. “But I’m starving. I haven’t had a decent meal since last night. I don’t suppose you could make me something?”

Right this way, dear…” Velvet, Twilight’s mom, said, gesturing into the house. “I made some pancakes a while ago, and there are some leftovers I can heat back up. That is, if you don’t mind leftovers?”

Cadance shook her head. “Cold pancakes are delicious. They’re like pizza. Better cold, that is. Shall we?” She began trotting forward.

“Your Highness, I’d suggest clearing the palace first.” Came a voice from behind the carriage, and a stallion rounded the corner. Another Crystal Guard, he wore the same royal colours the other one did. Still, he looked… familiar, somehow. A yellow-orange coat and a blue mane, he looked eerily similar to…

“Twi, I believe you’ve met my Guard Captain, Flash Sentry.” Cadance gestured toward the stallion, who inclined his head. “Flash, this is my sister-in-law we’re talking about here. I don’t think she’s laid any secret booby-traps to try and kill me. At least, I hope not.”

“As you wish, Princess.” Flash bowed deeply. “I’ll have a guard bring your belongings up to your room.” He trotted back around the carriage.

Cadance leaned in close to Twilight. “He won’t be too much of a bother, I don’t think. I’ve told him to keep his distance while I’m here. I intend to spend some quality time with you, don’t worry.” She sighed. “It’s just… Princess Celestia’s unnaturally worried about my safety while I’m here, so she’s ordered Flash Sentry to guard me everywhere I go. It’s quite annoying.”

Twi shook her head. “It’s okay, Cady,” Her eyes seemed to light up as if she had just come up with an idea. “I know a place that’ll help you relax! There’s a magic garden in the palace that I haven’t even fully explored yet! We can take a walk through there after you eat!”

The pink princess giggled. “Sounds great, Twi-Twi. I can’t wait!”

And with that, the whole family, sans Shining Armour, of course, trotted into the house. Cadance to eat, and everypony else to begin their great vacation.

The two ponies chatted idly as they trotted through the enormous gardens. The room was a lot bigger than it seemed at first glance, and it took several minutes for the duo to even lose sight of the door.

It was magical. It had to be, there was no other logical way to explain it. There were plants which grew even though there was no sun. There was natural lighting coming from inside a walled-in room covered by a marble ceiling. And birds sang despite the lack of local wildlife.

“So, I’m curious, Cadance…” Twilight muttered, and Cadance looked down at her. “Shining’s never been late to a Summer’s End getaway before. In fact, he’s always taken great care to finish all of his work early so he can be on time?” The mare shrugged. “I guess what I’m trying to ask is… Well, why now? Do you have some huge event coming up that Shining needs to prepare for? What’s going on?”

“You must really miss him, huh?” Cadance asked, to which Twi nodded. “I really don’t know,” The pink princess admitted, a deep sigh escaped her. “These last few months, Princess Celestia’s been taking a larger and larger role in ruling the Empire. Half my staff’s been replaced; I’m basically useless now… All I do is power the Crystal Heart a couple of times a day.

“But even that’s been hard. There’s this constant drumming in the palace at night, and I can’t figure out why. It sounds like something’s happening underground, like something’s being built, but nopony seems to know anything about it. I can barely sleep at night anymore.” Cadance shook her head. “I don’t think I need to say how much I need this little getaway.” She paused for a moment, as if trying to remember some little detail that she had forgotten.

“Not that I don’t mind you getting all of that off your chest, but…” The young mare next to Cadance giggled a bit.

“You did ask about Shining, didn’t you?” Cadance asked, and Twi nodded. “Like I said at the beginning of this little rant, I don’t know. He’s been spending more and more of his time with Auntie Tia and that Guard Captain of his, Serene Sword,” Cadance hung her head. “Normally, I wouldn’t need to rant like this. Normally, I’d tell him all about what’s going on before we would go to bed, but…” She sat down on her haunches and sighed. “These days, he doesn’t come to bed until so early in the morning, if at all…” She sniffled. “And he’s so tired, he just goes straight to bed. I miss… I miss having the company of somepony, just to talk to him, y’know?”

Twilight bit her lower lip. Cadance really did have a lot on her plate. And she knew more than anypony how hard it could be to hold secrets and not have anypony to tell them to. Twilight took one of her wings and pulled the pink princess into a hug. “I’m here for you, Cadance…” She murmured. “If you need to talk to somepony. Maybe I can’t do all the things Shining can for you, but…” She let her voice trail off into a small giggle, which was accompanied by Cadance.

“Oh, I dunno…” Cadance sang, playfully looking over Twilight’s body. “You’re a pretty pretty mare, Twilight Sparkle.” She waggled her eyebrows at her. “Maybe you and I could have a little ‘girl-time’ sometime this week.”

Twi was just thankful that she had managed to hide her blush. “Ha!” She forced, having to spit her words so they wouldn’t get caught in her throat. “You… You wish you could get your hooves on this!” She playfully nudged her flank against Cadance’s, who, in turn, sported a small blush on her own cheeks.

“In any case, I… Thank you, Twi,” Cadance spoke softly and seriously, her tone far from what it had been mere moments prior. “You don’t know how much that means to me. As… As a Princess of Love, I kind of need somepony. Even if it’s not a romantic connection, I’m a very… I’m a very social pony. I need to vent, and if Shining’s not there for me, I can get very stressed. So… Thanks.”

Cadance leaned into Twilight’s embrace, nuzzling the smaller alicorn ever so gently and causing Twilight’s heart to soar up into her throat. Cadance was nuzzling her! “It’s… no problem!” She squeaked, hiding behind her mane in an attempt to cover up her blush. “Feel free to… Talk to me whenever you want!”

Cadance nuzzled Twi for a few moments more, before pulling away and standing up. “You know, it’s a little strange… We’ve got this whole garden to stroll through, and yet we’ve just been sitting here in this small part of it. Shall we?” She extended a hoof, pulling Twilight up to her own hooves.

And so the two trotted in silence, each content to simply enjoy the other’s company. They passed flowers and bushes and more flowers and trees, until they eventually came to a wondrous sight. A waterfall, where the water was made of pure rainbow. Both Cadance and Twilight gawked in amazement at the sight, even Twilight, who had been living in the palace for years, had never ventured so far into the gardens as to see this.

“How… how is this possible?” Cadance asked, sitting back down and looking at the younger mare. “We’re still…” She glanced up toward the sky, still finding the high, vaulted, crystal ceiling so far above her. “We’re still inside, I keep forgetting. How do you fit an entire waterfall inside this…”

“It’s magic,” Twi whispered, her gaze never leaving the waterfall. “It’s bigger on the inside,”

“I would say it’s smaller on the outside,”

“Shush,” Twi, once again, wrapped one of her wings around Cadance. “Don’t ruin the moment.”

Cadance was going to protest this… oddly affectionate action from the younger mare, but eventually decided not to. Twilight’s wing was warm and soft, and it was a rather peaceful moment. So Cadance merely leaned into her friend’s feathers, a content sigh escaped her as the rainbows cascaded onto the rocks far below.

However, all good things must eventually come to an end, and Cadance decided that she wanted to continue their little walk. So she tried to pull away and climb back up to her hooves, but found Twilight’s wings still holding onto her. She turned to face the younger mare, and found a dazed but happy smile on young Twilight’s muzzle. She seemed… lost… as if she were on an entirely different plane than Cadance was.

“Um, Twi?” The pink princess asked, getting no response. “Twi,” She said again, nudging the other pony in the stomach. “Twi, my butt’s getting sore,” She said.

Twilight slowly looked over and smiled again, blushing ever so slightly. Then, her gaze drifted to her wing, and then back to Cadance, and then her mind seemed to click as she put together everything the pink princess had just said.

“Oh!” Twi yelped, jerking her wing back and clamouring to her hooves. “Sorry!” She squeaked. “I didn’t mean to…”

Cadance giggled, a wondrous, beautiful sound. “Don’t worry, Twi-Twi…” She shook her head. “It’s okay. You got lost in the moment, it happens. Especially when you’re in a place such as this…”

Twilight nodded and cleared her throat, her head jerking back toward the pathway through the park. “Shall we?” She asked, and the two trotted off once again.

Several hours later, both ponies had explored what they assumed was the entire garden. And now they trotted back into the main palace, exhausted but not at all unhappy. And when they arrived back at the main living room, Twi saw a sight that made her scream in pure joy!

Shining Armour stood in the living room, examining some photos hung on the wall. A smile adorned his face as he looked at one of him and Twi, both young and still living in Canterlot. It had been taken on the day Shining Armour had been accepted into the academy, and on the same day Twilight had been accepted into Celestia’s school.

Shining turned slowly. As soon as he made eye contact with the two mares in the doorway, a tired but happy grin spread across his face. He looked… far more rugged than Twi remembered him to be. His chin was a bit more scraggly, his eyes had a few more bags. He looked as if he hadn’t slept in the past few days.

And the sweater… “Thank Celestia Rarity isn’t here right now, or she’d have a fit!” Shining was wearing a light-green fleece sweater, and it looked awful. Green was not the stallion’s best colour, it seemed.

“Well, if it isn’t the two best mares in the world!” Shining Armour said, trotting over and hugging each of them. “Haven’t seen you in a while, Twilie,” He regarded his younger sister.

“Oh, it’s been far too long!” The young mare smiled. “It’s so good to see you again, Shiny!”

Cadance nuzzled her husband’s cheek. “Have you seen your parents yet?” She asked, and Shining nodded.

“They were in the dining room when I arrived, eating some lunch.” He said. “Dad actually ran off to find you too, but I think he gave up once he saw how big your garden was.” Shining laughed. “Still, he’s such an avid gardner, I’ve no doubt he’ll know that place inside and out by the time he leaves.”

The three ponies stood in the living room for some time, chatting and catching up, eventually migrating to the sofa and some chairs. And while they caught up, the clock ticked on and on, and the sun in the window set lower and lower, until the sky was a great golden colour, with rays of pink strewn here and there.

“I’m hungry,” Shining said, getting up off of the couch he had been sitting on for so long. “What do you think’s gonna be for dinner?”

“I dunno,” Twilight said, shrugging. “Mom said it would be a surprise.”

With a grunt, Shining got to his hooves, shaking out his mane. “Well, I suppose we could go check. Which way to the dining room again? This place is so damn big, I can’t remember.”

Twilight laughed, and pointed down a hallway. And so the three of them trotted off, hungry, to find some delicious supper. The first day had gone perfect. Of course, the day wasn’t over yet, and much could still happen in the last hours of the sun.

“Well, that’s an ominous thought, isn’t it?” Twilight thought, shaking her head. “Nah, everything will be fine. I won’t let things fall apart. This is gonna be a great week!”

Author's Note

So, in this chapter, we met one Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, and Twilight got to spend some time with her old foalsitter who she might have a crush on. The really good stuff'll begin next time. And who knows, maybe I'll throw in a bit o' secks, put that mature rating to good use.

Anyhoo, no, this isn't gonna be shameless clop. Don't worry. If Game of Thrones has taught me anything, it's that sex can be used as a really good plot device.

Also, I'd like to thank everypony who's been reading thus far. It's really nice to see such good feedback, especially on my first story that I'm actually trying to develop a serious storyline for. You guys are great! Feel free to leave a thumbs-up or a thumbs-down, whatever you feel the story deserves! And please, if you want to be my friend, send me a PM! I love meeting you guys!

One more teensy-weensy thing... editing for this chapter is still ongoing. There may be errors I haven't caught. And if they're there, then I'll fix them as soon as my great editor tells me about them. But I'm impatient, and I do want you guys to have a chapter before the weekend's over, so here you go! Hope you enjoy!