Princesses Over Queensmouth

Chapters

Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Pegasus guardponies flanked the chariot as we flew to Queensmouth, and I stared out over the landscape as we passed over it. Normally I was pretty happy to get out of the palace and to be doing something different from my normal routine. While it could be intimidating whenever Aunt Tia gave me a special assignment, there was still a sense of wonder in visiting new places and meeting new ponies. Not this time.

“Is something the matter, Cadance?” I could see Aunt Luna frowning out of the corner of my eye. “Thou hast been silent for some time now. ”

I grumbled something under my breath and wrapped my wings around myself. Seconds passed before Aunt Luna hazarded speaking again. “I can tell something troubles thee.”

I considered not answering, but I had a feeling she wasn’t going to let it be. I sighed. “Shining.”

“What about him?” Aunt Luna’s frown deepened. “Hath he done something to cause this melancholy?”

My ear flicked. “You really don't get it?” Could she really be that dense?

Aunt Luna tilted her head slightly. “Get what? Pray, explain.”

I groaned and rubbed my face. “You don't think it was a little inappropriate to hit on him right in front of me?”

Aunt Luna blinked and leaned her head back. “What dost thou mean? I did not strike him.”

I ground my teeth as I reminded myself to be careful what words I used with her. There was probably a whole list of words and phrases my time-displaced aunt wouldn’t know. “I mean flirting with him!”

Aunt Luna flinched. “'Twas nothing serious, I assure thee. ‘Tis not as though I kissed him, wrote him love poetry, gave him gift of endearment, or cornered him in my bedchamber.”

I ground my teeth and bit back the first couple of things I wanted to say. “It was still ... inappropriate.”

“I, um...” Aunt Luna’s sides heaved with a great width and her eyes fell to the floor of the chariot. “My sister warned me about this. How ... certain things have changed since ... I was away. 'Tis much easier to adapt to the changes that come with the march of time when one marches with it.” Her shoulders sagged. “Mine apologies if I did insult thee. I will make penance for it.”

I took a deep breath as I tried to rein my temper in. When was the last time I had been this grouchy? But as I took a moment to think things through, I once again reminded myself that Aunt Luna was a mare out of time. Really, social customs had changed a great deal over the centuries, especially where things like love and courtship were concerned. Big surprise what might have been considered appropriate in the past might not be now.

With all of that in mind, I spoke as calmly as I could. “I'm sure you didn't mean to upset me.”

“Neigh, I did not. ‘Twas mine intent to but tease thee a trifle.” Aunt Luna let out an annoyed huff. “I was not aware everypony had become as prudish as my sister.”

“I'm not prudish!” I snapped at her. “I am very open-minded and more than willing to talk about various aspects of love, thank you.”

Aunt Luna’s ears fell flat against her head. “Mine apologies, I misspoke. 'Tis just...” She sighed and shook her head with a resigned sigh. “Mine apologies, again. I am at fault.”

She slumped against the side of the chariot, and neither of us spoke for a time. I left her to her thoughts as I tried to rein in my temper. Aunt Luna had apologized but... I didn't know what I was thinking. My new aunt was just so—so different than her sister. It was jarring. When I pictured Nightmare Moon, I imagined some classical villainess from a stage play, maniacally laughing as her evil plans came to fruition. The mare before me was nothing like that, and that was something I was going to have to come to terms with if I was going to get along with her. It wasn't her fault she was having trouble adjusting; really, it was something I needed to help her with.

I took another calming breath before I finally spoke. “I forgive you, Auntie Luna. If you say that you didn't meant to hurt my feelings, then I believe you.”

“Cadance...” Aunt Luna rubbed her face. “I do not wish for any discord 'tween us.”

I sighed and nodded. “I know.”

Aunt Luna’s shoulders slumped. “And here I had promised Tia that I would do what I could be get along with thee. Already I have made a fool of myself.”

I couldn’t take this anymore. My aunt was obviously miserable. This seemed like a good time to have bygones be bygones. “Let's ... do-over? Restart from scratch and just move forward like nothing happened.”

Aunt Luna gave me a smile that was brittle on the edge. “If thou wouldst have me.”

I smiled encouragingly for her. “You're still my aunt.”

Her smile became more confident. “And thou art my beloved niece.”

“Thanks,” I said. “And if you can’t forgive family, who can you forgive?”

“And if I say something untowards, please, tell me.”

I nodded. “I can do that.”

“My thanks.” When next she spoke, it was with an annoyed grumble. “I have a feeling I will make similar mistakes in the future.”

I rubbed the back of my neck. I doubted this would be the first incident where my aunt put somepony off due to her dated mannerisms. “It's a risk, yes. We’ll just have to take it as it comes.”

Aunt Luna straightened herself and puffed out her chest. “Well, I am not about to help my ponies by moping and sulking 'bout the palace all day.”

“Talking with ponies is probably the best thing you can do right now,” I said.

“Aye.” Some of the confidence in her frame left her as she deflated slightly. “If they will have me, that is.”

“I think they will,” I reassured her. “It's just ... well, like Auntie Tia said, you need a bit of time to adjust.” Hopefully those tutors Aunt Tia hired would be able to help also. If I knew my aunt, she had probably been preparing for Aunt Luna’s return for a long time.

“Aye, that is probably the truth of it.” Her smile was bittersweet, and I could only imagine what was going through her head. This was the mare who had tried to bring on an eternal night because of her jealousy of her sister and her desire to be noticed by their subjects, or so the stories went, anyways.

That reminded me that I better get some of those details from Aunt Tia. It was probably going to be hard to pin her down to get those details, but I needed to understand my new aunt if I was going to help her. “I can help you with that,” I said.

“I would be grateful.” Aunt Luna huffed in annoyance. “I could certainly use it. I cannot seem to talk to anypony without discomforting them.”

I reached out and placed a hoof on her shoulder. “We’ll get there, together.”

We sat there smiling for a long moment before Aunt Luna broke the silence. “Wouldst thou object if I were to hug thee? Merely hugging was fine in mine own time, but as we have discussed, much has changed. I would not make thee uncomfortable.”

I hugged her in reply, wrapping my wings around her. “Yeah, that's fine.”

Aunt Luna hugged me back, and while it was much more gentle than the hugs she had given me during our first meeting, I could feel the familial love coming from her. I drank it in, enjoying the warm, comfortable feeling of it. “‘Tis good to finally have a niece.”

“Having another aunt should be nice.”

“And we do have much catching up to do.” She nuzzled me.

I nuzzled back. “I'm looking forward to that.”

The two of us spent the rest of the flight talking to one another. It was pleasant as we went back and forth over a variety of topics—questions about each other, some of the choicier bits of gossip in Canterlot over the years, and what Aunt Tia had been up to lately. Overall, it was pretty nice and helped pass the long hours of the trip.

As I finished a story about a rather disastrous experiment with a casserole recipe back when I foalsat Twilight, Aunt Luna peered over the side of the chariot. “Ah, I think that is Queensmouth right there.”

I craned my head to catch a glimpse. The town was difficult to see at first through the fog that clung to the land like a thick blanket, but as we got closer, it took shape at the mouth of a river that ran into a bay. It wasn't a large town; dirt roads wound their way between a few dozen buildings that lined the shore. Most of the structures looked modest in size and appearance from the air. The largest structures were a trio of warehouses along the waterfront, what I was reasonably sure was the town courthouse, and a lighthouse made of gray stone sat on a hill a little ways up the shore. The dock looked nearly empty, the town vessels probably out at sea to ply their trades.

We soared over a series of small farms that helped feed the community, and I noted that the railroad had not come to Queensmouth. Aunt Tia and her tutors stressed the significance of seemingly small details, and as I thought it over, it occurred to me that the lack of a railroad either meant the railroad simply hadn't gotten around to extending itself this far north or the town hadn't been considered profitable enough it to stop here.

“Sure looks like it,” I told my aunt. “It seems ... peaceful.” Queensmouth certainly looked the picture of a sleepy little seaside town.

Aunt Luna pressed her lips together before replying. “Aye, though sometimes appearances can be deceiving. In my experience, every town contains its own secrets—some more nefarious than others.”

“Well, only one way to find out.” I looked straight down into the town as we banked down towards it. The guards pulling the chariot glanced around for a good place to land.

I always felt a little bit silly having to ride around a chariot to get most places, especially when I could fly faster and farther than most of my bodyguards even when they weren't chauffeuring me. But as Aunt Tia had told me, there were appearances to keep up as a princess. Admittedly, it was a bit hard to maintain my royal dignity with the kind of damage long-distance flying can do to my mane and makeup. I could fix my mane quickly enough with a spell, but the rest would require a mirror.

Aunt Luna stood up in the chariot. “Aye, now let us make our entrance and make ourselves known to our subjects.” Before I could react, Aunt Luna lept off the rear of the chariot.

“Aunt Luna!” I yelled after her, quickly poking head over the side of the chariot to see what in the world she was doing. Our guards jerked in surprise at my aunt’s sudden departure, but years of training gave them a quick reaction time, and they dove after Aunt Luna as she plummeted towards the ground.

Stretching out her wings, Aunt Luna landed in the middle of the market square with a loud thud that caused several of the nearby townsfolk to yelp in surprise. She struck the pose of an imposing warrior as the crackle of thunder surrounded her. “CITIZENS OF QUEENSMOUTH!” she bellowed, unleashing the Royal Canterlot Voice on the unsuspecting populace. “THY PRINCESS OF THE NIGHT HATH ARRIVED!”

The ponies nearest to her were blown back by the physical force of her voice, and loose items all over the market were thrown about. A dozen ponies bowed before Aunt Luna, though whether it was an act of supplication or merely to brace themselves against the Royal Canterlot Voice was anypony’s guess. Ponies not caught in the immediate blast radius either stood in shock with their mouths agape at the sudden arrival of royalty, or outright fled from the display.

For my part, I was acquainting my hoof to my face. As far as making an impression goes, we were not off to a good start.

Aunt Luna glanced around to the ponies about her and she frowned pensively as her brows furrowed. Realizing I better get on damage control fast, I flittered down to the ground as fast as I could to land next it my aunt. “I think you overdid it a little bit.”

Her head tilted in a questioning look. “What? How so? Ponies have always cheered me when I suddenly appeared in their midsts to save their village, but now they cower before me like I am some bloodthirsty tyrant.”

I bit my lip as I considered how best to answer that. “Well, ponies in this time aren't quite as ... used to you.” Needless to say, if Aunt Tia had ever made an entrance like that, it had been long before I was born. At least when it wasn't an emergency, anyways. Aunt Tia was normally a very level-headed and loving mare, but when it came to one of those rare times she really got mad...

“Neigh, they have been without their princess of the night for too long,” Aunt Luna groused. She narrowed her eyes at one of the prostrate ponies before her, causing the mare to whimper. My aunt let out a long sigh. “This is not how things should be. I have lost my touch with the common ponies.”

“Exactly.” I placed a hoof on her shoulder to reassure her. “It’ll be alright. Just let me handle this, I’ll show you how to interact with everypony.” My aunt pacified for the moment, I cleared my throat and called out in a gentle and reassuring tone. “Hello everypony. I'm Princess Cadance, and we're here to help you.”

Ponies started to look up at us from the bows, and those that had hidden behind their stalls poked their heads out. I smiled, and that seemed to encourage them enough to stand and approach us.

Aunt Luna then smiled for the townsfolk. It was ... less than effective. Several ponies flattened themselves with a whimper again. It only got worse when Aunt Luna’s smile turned into a scowl. I stepped forward to try and put this fire out before it could escalate, making a mental note to talk to my aunt about interacting with ponies. “It's alright. Really. We’re only here to deal with a problem we heard you were having.”

One of the ponies, an earth pony stallion with a dark-green coat and wearing an apron, uncertainly emerged from his stall and bowed before us. “P-Princesses, what d-did you want?”

Before I could answer, Aunt Luna unleashed the Royal Canterlot Voice again. “WHERE IS THY MAYOR? WE WOULD HAVE WORDS WITH HER.” Ponies quailed as they were hit by that physical force once more.

“Aunt Luna!” I stomped a hoof. That was not helping right now. “Stop yelling at them!”

“I AM NOT YELLING AT THEM.” Aunt Luna said, blasting me full in the face with her words. “I AM USING THE TRADITIONAL ROYAL CANTERLOT VOICE. SURELY MY SISTER TAUGHT IT TO THEE?”

I could feel that my mane had been blown into something unprincessily. I was glad I couldn’t see my reflection, but did not look forward to fixing it later. “I don't think we do that anymore.”

Aunt Luna brought her voice down from something that could burst eardrums instantly to merely damaging with prolonged exposure. “But whyever not? 'Tis traditional.”

“A lot of traditions have changed.”

My aunt rolled her eyes. “Ah, but of course.”

“Just try speaking normally?” I begged, giving her the smile I normally reserved for begging Aunt Tia to let me do something. “Please?”

“Very well.” Aunt Luna’s frown promised that this wasn't going to be the last word on this topic. “Let us be about our business here.”

“Great.” Happy to have made some ground with my aunt, I approached the food stall pony with a friendly smile. “Hello, can you tell us where the mayor is?”

“S-she should be in the courthouse over there.” He pointed to the large stone building which dominated the center of the town.

“Thank you.” I knew ponies could be a bit intimidated by royalty, but all of this was taking it to a new level.

He returned with a shaky smile. “Of course, Your Highness.” His eyes briefly darted to Aunt Luna. “Highnesses!”

With the immediate crisis averted, I returned to my aunt. “So, shall we go see the Mayor?”

Aunt Luna nodded. “Aye, we shall.”

Queensmouth wasn't a large town, so it didn't take us long to enter the courthouse and find the mayor’s office. Our guards took positions on either side of the door as we entered.

The office was a relatively simple affair. Most of the furniture seemed old and worn with the passage of time and the succession of different majors. A couple of aged bookcases with old law books lined one wall while a simple painting of the sea adorned the other. The large, darkwood desk that dominated the room looks new though, even if the chairs facing it looked liked they had seen better days.

What really caught my attention was the pony in a cushioned chair behind the desk. The earth pony mare—Mayor Sea Foam, according to the plaque on her desk—had a lean build and looked like she was rounding out the end of her middle age. With a gray coat and dark green mane, she had a hard, leathery look to her typical of ponies who had spent long years at sea and seen both sun and storm aplenty.

The mare was busily writing something and didn't bother to look up. “Yes, yes, what is—” Her eyes widened when she looked up at us. “P-Princess Cadance? And N-Nightmare Moon?!” Bolting to her hooves and rounded her desk to bow to us.

Aunt Luna’s face darkened at the mention of her alter ego. “I am no longer Nightmare Moon, but Luna, Princess of the Night.”

The Mayor bowed closer to the floor under the glare of my aunt. “O-of course, Princess! My apologies, I meant no offense.”

Wanting to smooth over that rough introduction, I stepped forward and addressed the mayor. “We heard there was a problem here in Queensmouth—something about a nymph causing trouble for you? We'd like to help however we can.”

“You here to deal with that stupid nymph then, Your Highnesses?” She looked between Me and Luna. “I admit, I didn't think we'd be getting royalty to deal with a little problem like this. Not that I'm complaining, that is.”

I gave the mayor a supportive smile. “Please tell us everything you can about the situation.”

She rubbed her brow with a handkerchief. “The thing is that the damned sea nymph been causing trouble for the ponies of our town for as long as anypony can remember. Hylas—that’s the troublesome monster’s name—gets up to all sorts of mischief: destroying crops, breaking things, scaring fish away, even wrecked my new ship just a couple of weeks ago. Ran it right up on the rocks. ‘Bout time somepony dealt with her, I say.”

“Do you have any idea why she's escalated her attacks?” I asked. Hylas had only recently become a major problem for the townsfolk from what Aunt Tia had said, but from the sound of it, she was making a solid effort of it.

Sea Foam shrugged. “Who knows? Those fey are a tricky lot. You never know what'll set them off. Could be somepony said the wrong thing where she heard, somepony might have cut down the wrong tree someplace, maybe somepony got off on the wrong side of the bed. Best to just get rid of her and let us get along with our business.”

“I'd like to resolve this peacefully, if possible,” I said.

The mayor snorted. “And what? Pass the problem off to another generation?”

Aunt Luna’s eyes narrowed at Sea Foam. “Thou wilt address my niece—thy princess—with the respect due to her station, Mayor.”

“O-of course, Your Highness.” Sea Foam swallowed. “Beg your pardon.”

“I want this problem to be solved properly and permanently,” I assured Sea Foam, “but violence is always the last resort.” At least I was really hoping there would be another way. I didn’t like the idea of hurting anyone, and would much prefer to find a diplomatic solution to whatever was going on. Maybe somepony had caused the fey some unwitting offense? It would be fairly simple to placate Hylas if we just talked with her.

Aunt Luna nodded. “We will deal with the issue as we feel is best, and take whatever measures need to be taken.”

Mayor Sea Foam considered that for a moment. “I understand, but—”

A commotion behind us cut her off. A small group of ponies had gathered just outside of the door, and at their head was a heavyset earth pony stallion with a light blue coat and dark gray mane. He too had the hardbitten look of a pony who had been out on the sea for many years. “Mayor, what do you think you're tryin' this time?!” the newcomers called out, only stopping short when our bodyguards interposed themselves between him and the door.

I raised one of my eyebrows at the scene while my aunt stood impassively, her eyes briefly flicking in my direction. The Mayor ground her hooves into the floor. “Jetsam, is that you?! You lookin' to cause trouble again?” She gestured at us. “Can't you see I'm in a meeting with royalty here?”

The pony blinked and looked at the pair of us, as though noticing the pair of alicorns for the first time. Where just a second ago he looked ready to charge into the office, he backtracked and bowed before us. “My apologies, Princesses. I-I didn’t see you.”

This was quite the curious development, and I wondered what would have caused this pony to barge into his mayor’s office so suddenly. I smiled to reassure the newcomer. “It’s quite alright.” I motioned for the guards to step aside, which they reluctantly did—though their withering stares made it clear to the others that their leader would be the only pony to enter the office. Somepony walking up to their princess and screaming wasn’t something they typically liked to see. “Now, who are you?”

He between me and my aunt and stepped hesitantly into the office. “Jetsam’s my name. Sea a-asked you to kill Hylas, didn’t she?”

Aunt Luna answered in a completely neutral tone. “She did, aye.”

The uncertainty in Jetsam’s face disappeared into a fierce scowl directed at the Mayor. “And you tried to do it behind everypony's back, you miserable bitch.”

Mayor Sea Foam met Jetsam’s snarl with an equally determined glare. “Only because you and your lot were gonna cause a ruckus over somethin' that needed doin' a long time ago. I'm the mayor here, and I'm gonna do what I feel I have to.”

“Darn right I’m gonna cause a ruckus!” Jetsam barked.

“Jetsam,” I said in the most soothing voice I could. “Would you mind explaining what brought you here?” As Aunt Tia always told me, all information was relevant, and it this pony could tell me something that might let me resolve this problem peacefully, then all the better.

Jetsam made a determined nod. “Of course. It’s just that there’s no need to—”

The Mayor interrupted him. “Don’t listen to that rabble-rouser, Princesses!”

“They didn’t ask you to—”

“I told you! I’m the mayor, and—”

“SILENCE!” Aunt Luna slammed her a hoof down on the floorboards, and the entire building shuddered as a thunderbolt cracked outside. The office went deathly silent as Aunt Luna’s disdainful glare fell upon the two rabble-rousers and the crowd outside, who had started to argue in support of Jetsam. With everypony now quiet, my fellow princess jabbed a hoof in Jetsam’s direction. “Thou. Explain thyself as my niece commanded.”

Jetsam jerkily nodded, his eyes wide. “Y-yes, Princess. All I wanted to say was that Hylas doesn't hurt nopony and that most of us don’t want to see her hurt. We've been livin' in peace with her for longer than anypony's remembered, since our grandparents’ grandparents founded the town.”

Mayor Sea Foam spoke up, still glaring at Jetsam. “Only because we've—”

“I did not ask thine opinion, Mayor.” Aunt Luna’s dismissal nearly blew Sea Foam against the wall, and knocked more than a few objects from her desk. Sea Foam’s ears flattened to her head and she hunched her shoulders submissively. Thankfully for my hearing, if nothing else, my aunt brought her voice down to something resembling an inside voice when she turned back to Jetsam. “Please, continue.”

Jetsam shuffled in place. “Hylas ain't no monster, you—beg your pardon, Princesses. Sure, we have to give her some things she likes, but it ain't much. All we need to do is give her some milk, honey, and bread, and the festival we have for her once and year, and she’s as happy as a clam.” A ghost of a smile spread on his lips. “It’s not that bad. She keeps the nastier monsters away, and that’s not even gettin’ into how the crops and the bounty of the sea are a lot better when she’s happy.”

I frowned as I considered this revelation. These were things the mayor should have told us, for they changed the outlook of the situation. There were plenty of examples across Equestria of ponies who had made peace with local spirits and other supernatural creatures, either just to placate them or even reap some benefits from the relationship. It was often a lot simpler and safer than to have to deal with it in some more violent way. Still, I sensed there was more I could learn. “But what about the recent destruction I've heard so much about?”

Jetsam’s glare returned to the Mayor and I could practically hear him grinding his teeth. “It's because that idiot over there's gotten a bunch of ponies to stop giving their offerings to Hylas. Even had Hylas’ festival canceled. That ain’t right, and now she's mighty upset and takin' it out on all the fools listening to Sea. She's left the rest of us alone. Not that there’d be a problem if we’d just kept to the old ways as we should.”

Now that was some important information. “So she punishes any who don't meet her price?”

“Well, yes,” Jetsam said, sounding less sure of himself. “But that's the way it's always been. It’s not like it’s a mystery.”

I hummed to myself, and decided now would be a good time to cast a spell that Aunt Tia had told me. I sent a telepathic message to Aunt Luna to allow us a private conversation. “I doubt we'll get an accurate story from either side.”

“Neigh, I sense that each holds their secrets,” Aunt Luna replied in kind. “'Twould not be the first time townsfolk have kept their own council on matters they should have shared forthright. Especially with their princesses.”

“It might be quicker to go to the source,” I suggested.

“A meeting with this Hylas sounds like the quickest way to resolve this. I think 'twould be best to end this meeting 'tween these ponies before there is a fight and act on this plan.”

“Agreed.”

“Citizens!” Aunt Luna called out, thankfully sparing us another full round of the Royal Canterlot Voice. “We declare this meeting adjourned. We will deal with this matter as we see fit. Return to your businesses and we promise that all will be well.”

Mayor Sea Foam frowned. “What're you gonna do?”

“As we see fit, Mayor.” Aunt Luna turned to leave without further fanfare. “Good day to all of you.”

I motioned for Jetsam to leave with us. No sense leaving an opportunity for a fight to break out. “We promise we'll find the best solution for everypony.”

Now what exactly that was going to be, I wasn’t sure yet.

Once we were outside and made sure Jetsam and his fellow villagers had left the courthouse, I turned to face Aunt Luna. “So, I guess our next step is to find Hylas.”

Aunt Luna nodded. “Aye. But finding the nymph shall be the trick. The fey can be wily bunch, and difficult to discover if they do not wish to be found.” She rubbed her chin. “I will bring forth the full measure of my magics to find her: I shall summon ravens to go and comb the land, use powerful divinations, and summon forth spirits to give me the knowledge I desire.”

That sounded like a lot of work, and I was little worried my aunt was going to become a little too enthusiastic again. The energetic glint I saw in her eyes didn't do much to reassure me. “Um, before you get going on all of that, I have an idea that I was to try first.” Before Aunt Luna had a chance to object, I trotted up to a villager pulling a cart full of food towards the market. “Excuse me, could you tell us how to find Hylas? We just want to talk with her.”

The earth pony mare tried to bow, but being tied to the cart prevented her from doing so. She smiled apologetically and her eyes flicked to the guards flanking me. “O-of course, Princess. If you go up the river for a bit, you’ll see a pond feeding into the river and a waterfall right next to it. She’s often hanging around there most days when she’s not out and about.”

I smiled appreciatively. “Thank you. I won't take anymore of your time.” I left the farmer to her work and returned to my aunt, who had been watching the brief conversation.

“That works too,” Aunt Luna grumbled, her ears wilting.

Her tone made me wonder if I might have offended her. From what I had gathered of her thus far, her pride seemed to matter a great deal to her. She may have wanted to show off her abilities to me, and I might in turn have just stepped on her hooves. It was hard to say, though. I didn't know her well enough to say exactly what made her tick.

“Most ponies are very helpful if you just ask for help,” I said with a smile, hoping that I could put a positive spin to this.

“As long they wish to be helpful,” Aunt Luna groused, though her heart wasn't into the objection.

“Now now, Aunt Luna,” I tried to reassure her. “I see no reason to assume the worst.”

“Let us find out the truth of the matter, then.” Aunt Luna spread her wings out. “I merely need to retrieve mine arms and armor and I will be ready.”

“Do you really need to do that?” I asked with a frown. I wasn’t exactly been thrilled that she had loaded some Guard issue armor and weapons into the chariot, but there hadn't exactly been time to object at the time. That, and I had other thing on my mind, such as Aunt Luna checking out my coltfriend.

“But what if there is a battle?”

“We're just going to talk to her,” I insisted.

“If all goes well, aye,” Aunt Luna said, “but ‘tis naive to think every conflict can be solved with mere words. We will be in a sorry way if it comes to battle and we are not equipped to dispatch the nymph.”

That was a good point, but I hadn't had all those diplomacy lessons with Aunt Tia for nothing. “Though it might start things off on the wrong hoof. The fey don't exactly like it when you come to meeting covered in armor and bearing weapons. Especially if we bring cold iron with us.”

Aunt Luna’s frowned thoughtfully. “ Aye, the fairie folk can be quite fickle 'bout such things.”

“Exactly.” I motioned to our guards. “And it’s not like we’re going alone. Even if the two of us aren’t armed, our bodyguards will still be able to protect us.”

Aunt Luna looked to our guards, who stood at stoic attention. “Very well then. I will dispense with mine arms and armor.” She shrugged. “'Tis not as though they were fitted for me anyways. I am far too used to such things being made specifically for me.”

“I think it’s for the best.”

She spread her wings and took to the air. “Come then; let us meet this Hylas.”

The flight to the pond was fairly short, and we found it readily enough. The water sparkled as we glided over it, and the glade surround the pond looked quite inviting. “Oh, this looks lovely,” I said.

“Aye. though be careful not to let thy guard down.” Aunt Luna pointed at a figure lying in the shallows of the pond. “I believe that is whom we seek.”

I couldn’t make any details of whoever was down by the pond, but based on what we had been told, it was probably Hylas. “Probably. How should we approach her?”

Aunt Luna thought for a time before answering. “I believe thou shouldst speak with her, Cadance.”

I quirked one of my eyebrows. “Just me?”

“Aye.” Aunt Luna turned a wary look to the mysterious sunbather. “We do not want to scare her away.” She gave me a smile with a mischievous edge to it. “And I am curious to see if my niece can match wits with a fey.”

I frowned, not exactly loving the idea. “Are you sure about that?”

She nodded. “I am, and I will be near thee in case thou dost need aid. I assume thou wert educated on how to deal with fey such as Hylas?”

I took a deep breath and nodded. “I know all the rules for dealing with fey, Aunt Luna: watch my exact words, don't accept any gifts, don't make any bargains...” I waved vaguely to tell her I could go on for quite some time. In addition to what my tutors had told me, Aunt Tia had been very firm about the dangers of dealing with fey. Being virtually immortal, the more powerful individuals could make all sorts of long-term plans. They were quite capable of manipulating ponies when they had a mind to, and they usually did.

“Very good,” Aunt Luna said. “And dost thou know how to defend thyself?”

“I'm far from helpless,” I assured her. That was another thing that had been part of my education. I was no soldier, but I wasn’t some damsel in distress either.

“Good, then.” Her teeth flashed in a predatory grin. “I would be most cross with my sister if she were remiss in thine education. So, let us speak with this troublesome nymph.”

As one, we glided down to the glade. I fluttered my wings as I landed and walked towards the figure lying by the pond, my aunt a short way behind me. The nymph appeared completely equine, with a dark-blue coat like the ocean and a green mane that reminded me of kelp. She let out a long, melancholic sigh as she ran her hoof over the surface of the pond.

I cautiously approached her. Hylas didn't look dangerous, but that could change very quickly under the right circumstances. Water nymphs were supposed to be pretty magically powerful, so I stopped well short of her before greeting her. Now that I was close enough to get a good look, I noticed that she was extremely attractive: narrow faced with strong cheekbones and winnowy in body, she had the type idealized looks you would normally only see in fashion magazines and art pieces.

Hylas turned her head to look at me with yellow, cat-like eyes. When she spoke, it was with a bored disinterest. “Oh, hi.”

I gave her a welcoming smile. We were just here to talk, after all. “I'm Princess Cadance, and this is my aunt, Princess Luna. What's your name?”

“Hylas.” She rolled onto her back, letting her mane fall into the pond as she let out another long sigh.

This hadn't been the type of greeting I would have expected from one of the fey. Her tone and posture gave me the impression of a moody teenager who had just been dumped by her coltfriend. But the fey were supposed to be pretty strange to ponies in more ways than one. Still, I stepped a little bit closer. “You look upset. Is something wrong?”

“Of course something is wrong!” She snapped out of her melancholy with a jolt, her body shifting as quickly as her mood to sit up and face me. “Isn't it obvious?!”

I did my best not to let the sudden outburst throw me off, and kept smiling to present an aura of calm and understanding. “Would you like to talk about what's bothering you?”

Hylas grumbled, crossing her legs over her chest as she glowered at me. “And why do you care?”

“Because you're upset, and I'd like to help.”

“You wanna know what my problem is?” Hylas bolted to her hooves. “You keep up a covenant with some little village of ponies for centuries, you play nice, be friendly, and you don't drown the whole village. And what do they do in thanks? They ignore you! Like a bunch of ungrateful little—little—argh!” She spun around and kicked a rock the size of a watermelon into the center of the pond.

Note to self: don't let Hylas kick me if it comes down to a fight.

Still, I was getting a solid idea for why Hylas was suddenly causing trouble for the ponies of Queensmouth. “That does sound very upsetting.”

“You have no idea.” Hylas paced back and forth along the pond’s shore. “They're lucky I don't just flood their village. It's not like they don't know I'm here or about the whole covenant thing. They've been giving me tribute long enough that it should just be a habit by now. Really, are they a bunch of inbred idiots in that town?!”

“Now that's not a very nice thing to say about ponies who've been your friends for so long,” I said, trying to calm her down. Hylas losing her temper was one of the last things I wanted to happen right now—especially if she was serious about her ability to flood the town.

“Shame they're not my friends anymore.” Like a balloon that had suddenly lost all of its air, her shoulders sagged and she sat back down.

“Have you tried reaching out to them?” If she saw the ponies of Queensmouth as friends, then there was probably a good chance we could solve this amicably.

“A little,” she grumbled. I motioned for her to continue. If nymphs were anything like ponies, then getting this off of her chest would go a long way to calm her down. “I tried talking to Sea Foam and asked her where my tribute was. And you know what she did? Ran me off! Threatened me with some cold iron and chased me off like—like I was some beggar! Can you believe it?!”

“That does sound pretty bad,” I agreed reservedly.

Hylas spat into the pond. “I was tempted to give her a nice curse—something to remember me by, like have barnacles grown on her skin or have seagulls torment her.” Her ears wilted and her shoulders slumped. “But then some of the other townsfolk asked me really, really hard not to do anything like that for some dumb reason. Because she totally deserves it.”

I decided to try and bring the conversation back around to a topic that might help me resolve this conflict, instead of letting Hylas dwell on the idea of revenge. “So the mayor stopped paying tribute first? Before any of the other trouble started, I mean?”

Hylas nodded. “Yeah, Sea Foam’s the troublemaker. First she stopped giving me my fair share, and then she started getting to some of the others. Said that they should just scare me off or something. Can you believe the nerve?! After all I've done for them—I keep scary sea monsters away, help make their harvests better, and a dozen other things. And are they thankful for it? Nooo.”

“That does sound like a sour deal,” I agreed.

The nymph grumbled and kicked a rock the size of a pony’s head into the pond. “Really, I don’t know how that stupid Sea Foam even got elected in the first place. Normally I don't care about the whole elections thing; it’s just some big popularity contest. I mean, it's just going to be a different pony who’s mayor in four years or whatever. What do I care? I’ll still be here. But it’s weird that Sea got elected because she isn’t the least bit popular. Near as I can tell, most everypony hates her.”

Now that was curious, if the odd fey was actually correct. She might be projecting her own dislike for Mayor Sea Foam onto the townsfolk, but that was still something I would have to ask about if I got the chance. “Do you know why she doesn't like you?”

Hylas shrugged. “Don't know. She'd been away for ... years, I guess. Joined some merchant ship, I think. Which is weird—I remember when her grandmother several times over moved to Queensmouth, and all her family liked it here just fine. Don't know why she felt the need to leave for... I don't know where.” She scrunched up her muzzle. “Came back smelling weird, though.”

I shrugged helplessly to Aunt Luna. I wasn’t sure if this specifically was anything to pursue, but she shrugged backed and nodded her head for me to continue. “Weird how?”

Hylas frowned in contemplation. “I don't know... Off. Wrong, somehow. Thought it was that gold she came back with.” She stuck her tongue out in disgust. “She said it came from Camalton. Been a weirdo ever since coming back.”

I quirked an eyebrow. “What gold is this?”

“Gold.” Hylas sighed in exasperation. “You know—shiny yellow metal? Said she made a fortune overseas. Talked about ... mmm, something. Making Queensmouth better somehow. Didn't make sense to me. Queensmouth is perfect as is, I don't know what she's complain' about.”

I frowned at Aunt Luna, pondering what we had just been told. “Sounds like there's another layer to this story.”

“I concur,” Aunt Luna said, finally joining the conversation. “Tell me Hylas, hast thou seen the mayor doing anything ... unusual? Besides how she is most grievously offending thee?”

Hylas hummed unhappily as she overturned a few shoreside rocks. “She has been having a bunch of late night meetings with ponies in the caves under the lighthouse. I only really noticed because after she's talked with them, she's somehow convinced them to turn against me. Every. Single. One.” She sighed and splashed her hoof in the water. “Whoosh. Just like that, another friend lost.”

I traded another look with Aunt Luna’s narrowing eyes. That sounded suspicious to say the least. “I don't suppose you know anything about what goes on at these meetings?”

The nymph shook her head. “I considered going to one. You know, to sneak up and see what they're up to. But then ... I don't know. Something felt wrong down there. Really wrong.” She shivered and wrapped her legs around herself. “It would have been best if I had just flooded the whole cave network, but I didn't want to go anywhere near the place. Not even to touch it with my magic.”

“Then mayhaps we should?” Aunt Luna mused, more as a statement than a question.

I nodded. “It certainly sounds like something is going on down there.”

“I suggest we find out exactly what,” Aunt Luna said.

“Agreed.”

Author's Note

I would like to thank my editors Chengar Qordath, Comma-Kazie, and JaketheGinger for their help making this crazy story.

Then I would also like to thank my prereaders Swiftest, Infinion, 621Chopsuey, Pegasusnumber 5, Rodinga, and Web of Hope for their help making this story as good as it can be.

Chapter 3

A light drizzle started during the flight to the Queensmouth lighthouse atop the cliff face, slowly dampening my coat and feathers. Adding the rain to the ever-present fog that cling to the town as the sunlight failed made for a pretty miserable scene. That struck me as unnatural. Most of the time the rain would remove the fog, but the fog remained as thick as ever. None of that improved my mood as I stared into the dark recesses of the cave into which we needed to enter. Within the darkness I could feel the answers we sought, calling out to me with umbral promises.

“So…” I turned to Aunt Luna. “What exactly is the plan here?”

Her grin had a savage edge to it. “To enter the cave and see what truth lies within.”

My eyes wandered to the guards standing at the ready. “And you're bringing all our guards because...?”

“Canst thou think of a reason to not bring them?” Aunt Luna glanced to the stoic mares and stallions beside us. “I think they would be most cross if we left them by the chariot.”

“It might be seen as a touch aggressive,” I pointed out.

Aunt Luna’s tone became more grave. “Sometimes problems must be dealt with in an aggressive manner, in which case the guards might very well be needed.”

“We don't know for sure that there's anything improper happening.” I flicked the gathering water off my wings. “We managed to deal with Hylas peacefully. I’m hoping we might be able to do the same here.” I would prefer to avoid a fight if at all possible, and Aunt Tia had told me to make sure Aunt Luna didn't get overly enthusiastic when dealing with this problem. After a thousand years of imprisonment, it wasn't hard to imagine that my aunt wanted to stretch her wings (as it were) rather than take the more boring option of talking.

Aunt Luna thought for a long moment. “What wouldst thou suggest, then?”

“Maybe just the two of us should go down and keep the guards out of sight?” I offered. “They wouldn't be that far away if we needed them.”

A predatory smile spread across her lips. “A most bold move, my niece.”

“Er ... bold?” Aunt Luna being happy with the idea of leaving our guards behind made me more than a little bit uneasy.

“That will just make it the two of us should it come to battle,” she said eagerly. “At least until we can be reinforced. But in battle, a minute can seem like an eternity.”

I glanced back at the guards, suddenly regretting the idea of leaving them behind as I realized I’d trapped myself with my own argument. I really wished Shiny was here right now. “Well, hopefully it won't come to that.”

Aunt Luna nodded and stretched out her wings. “Hopefully, but we will face what we must. Our path now lies ahead of us.” Aunt Luna left some final instructions with our guards, including what they should do if we didn't come out again—something which didn't make me feel any better—then boldly strode into the cave, her horn lighting the way.

I lit my own horn with a spell and followed after her, trying to emulate her confidence in my stride. For a long time the only sound in the cave was the clocking of our hooves on stone. Our horns cast odd shadows against the rough stone that lined the passage, and I could hear the echo of water dripping somewhere further in the cave. My only comfort as we headed deeper was that at least I had Aunt Luna with me. It was certainly better than doing this alone. The idea of being trapped underground like this, with all my pegasus instincts screaming to get someplace above ground, was extremely unpleasant.

I was so busy watching for what lay in the shadows that I nearly ran right into Aunt Luna when she stopped in her tracks. She held up a hoof, calling for me to be silent. I understood her intentions quickly enough when I heard her voice in my head.“There is a light up ahead, and I smell smoke. Be cautious; we do not know what we will discover there.”

I nodded in agreement and we proceeded forward. The cave widened enough to form a chamber, and half a dozen ponies sat around a simple campfire at the center of the room. Instead of greeting us, bowing, or anything else, they just stood there, staring at us with dull eyes that seemed to look right through us as much as us.

Aunt Luna stopped well short of the fire and I maneuvered myself around her. I smiled at the group, wondering why they were down here. “Um ... hello.”

They gave each other a look I couldn't read and then bowed before us. One of the ponies, a stocky, light-brown earth pony mare, stepped forward to address us. “Princesses. Um, what brings you here?”

“We heard there was a meeting,” I said, not completely truthfully. “We were hoping you would let us join in.”

The mare looked back to her companions before speaking in an unsure tone. “We're sorry, but the meeting is private.”

Aunt Luna frowned. “Why so?”

“Um...” The villager shuffled in place. “Private reasons.”

Aunt Luna narrowed her eyes at the ponies trying to stonewall us, and I readily agreed with the suspiciousness I felt from her. Why would a group of honest ponies have any reason to forbid their princesses from seeing what they were doing? “I'm afraid we must insist.”

“Um, we don't want to have to tell you no, but...” She winced, as though pained by her words. “It really is private. We can't let anypony in. It’s the Mayor’s orders.”

“Thou hast no choice in the matter,” Aunt Luna growled. “Do remember thy mayor rules only at the pleasure of her princesses, and I am very displeased right now.”

“Please, we just want to know,” I added, trying to keep this from escalating any further. “We've heard some concerning things about these meetings. This is your chance to set the record straight.”

“And 'twould reflect poorly to deny thy princesses,” Aunt Luna warned.

These ponies were coming very close to committing an act of treason, and I didn't want this to come down to a fight if we could avoid it. But I had to wonder, what was so important to these ponies that they would stand up to royalty to prevent us from passing? They had to know they couldn't stop us if push came to shove.

The mare standing in our way grimaced. “Sorry, but we can't.”

I heard Aunt Luna’s voice in my mind. “Something strange is going on here. They stand in our way knowing the consequences for doing so.”

“Agreed, this isn't normal.”

“Then it seems we are at an impasse.” Aunt Luna cast a spell, and a blue-glowing sand spread from her horn. The ponies blocking our way cried out in surprise as the granules covered them, though they quickly fell silent and slumped to the ground.

I stepped up to them to examine the villagers and found the them all sound asleep. “I suppose that works,” I sighed. It was better than fighting at least.

“They were acting most queer.” Aunt Luna stepped next to me to examine them for herself. “Times have not changed so much that ponies would so readily deny their princess, have they?”

I shook my head. “We still have every right to go where we please, especially during an investigation—and they would know that. The only reason I can think of for them to try and stop us is because they’ve got something to hide.”

“Indeed, let us discover what is happening here.” Aunt Luna’s horn lit brighter as her magic probed the mare who had spoken with us. Her features darkened almost immediately. “I am detecting another presence affecting their minds. ‘Twould explain why they fell so easily to my sleep spell—if they were being made to act ‘gainst their will, their conscious minds most likely chose to sleep rather than continue to defy their princess.”

That wasn’t good. Hylas had already mentioned Mayor Sea Foam inexplicably changing ponies’ minds to mirror her opinions, and now this… It probably meant some sort of mind magic, which could lead to some very unpleasant areas. “What sort of presence?”

Aunt Luna scowled and turned to stare further into the cave. “Another mind. Something dark and terrible, and definitely not equine. Canst thou not feel the foul presence behind that miasma?”

I did as my aunt asked and extended my senses. What I felt was … wrong. Ponies tended to create an aura of love when they reacted with things. Here, I felt here nothing. There was an utter absence of love, like some great gaping abyss that drew everything into its black depths.

My chest tightened at that malicious presence, and I had to fight the instinct to put as much distance between myself and that cave as quickly as possible. “There's definitely something not right.”

“Neigh,” Aunt Luna said. “'Twould seem that the nymph spoke truly after all.”

“We need to find out more.” While plunging deeper into the dark, foreboding cave to face an unknown mind-controlling entity wasn’t high on my list of things I really wanted to do, I was still a princess of Equestria. I had a duty to protect ponies. “And I think we should get our guards here. This is a lot bigger than what we originally thought we were dealing with.”

Aunt Luna frowned at the suggestion. “I am not so sure.” She pointed to the sleeping ponies. “Whatever has bent the will of these ponies might do the same to our guards, as they do not enjoy the innate resistance to such things we alicorns possess. I have experienced such things in the past, and those battles were not pleasant.”

“That sounds terrible.” It was hard to argue that Aunt Luna seemed to have a much better grasp on how to deal with this. If she thought there was a risk of our guards being dominated by whatever was down there, then she was probably right. Fighting my own guards was one of the last things I wanted to do.

“‘Twas at that,” Aunt Luna said. “I trust thou havest been taught the basics for defending thine own mind? My sister would know all ‘bout the dangers of such things.”

“Of course.” I nodded. “So ... onward?”

“Aye, onwards.” Aunt Luna led the way deeper into the cave.

As we continued forward, the oppressive lack of love pressed in on me. The already alien environment became all the worse by the absence of the love that was my birthright. Eventually we entered a larger cavern. The path wound its way between two large pools of water. I could only guess whether they led directly to the ocean or not, but the water was pitch black—the light from my horn barely even began to plunge its depths. While the cave was much wider than it had been, the ceiling was still low enough that I had to duck my head around stalactites that obstructed the path. Water dripped steadily around us, probably a result of water seeping into the ground.

I looked around warily, the constrained space making me uncomfortable. We weren't going to have much room to move if it came to a fight. “Any idea what we're up against?” I asked, preferring the sound of talking to the oppressive silence that prevailed in the cave.

“Something old and powerful, unless I miss my guess.” Aunt Luna’s gaze slowly turned from one direction to another, scanning for threats. “And ... alien. Be wary; our enemy could strike in any number of ways.”

At least I wasn't the only one here who didn't know exactly what we were dealing with, as cold comfort as that was. Still, if my aunt could be brave in the face of the unknown, then I could too. “I'll keep my eyes open.”

Aunt Luna nodded and continued further in. We were still carefully walking along the half-submerged path when my aunt suddenly stopped. My question died in my throat when she held up a hoof. Her ears swiveled around and she examined the waters around us.

Had she seen something? Heard something? I found myself nervously glancing at the water around us as my heartbeat quickened. A movement caught my eye and I turned my full attention towards it. For a moment, I wondered if I had imagined it. Then I saw a shadow move in the dark depths of the water. I jabbed a hoof towards the figure. “Over th—!”

Something burst out of the water before I could finish. My brain barely had time to process a many-taloned claw reaching for my face, webbed like a frog’s hand and covered in dark green scales, almost as dark as the depths of the pools. I didn't even a chance to react before Aunt Luna bucked it in midair. My attacker went on a short-lived flight into a stalactite; it hit with a sickening thud and fell limply back into the water.

I screamed and jerked away, and nearly fell into the water as I skittered along edge of the path. Flapping my wings, I managed to regain my balance on the edge and got myself back to firm footing. I didn't even want to think what might happen to me if I fell in with—with whatever had attacked me.

“What was that?!” I thought I saw another shadow under the water and sent a blue energy blast at it. There was an explosion of water as the spell penetrated the surface, making it difficult to tell if I had hit anything. Were there more of those things? If so, how many?

“Skum! They are servitors of the Deep Ones!” Another one of the creatures leapt out of the water at Aunt Luna, claws outstretched. With reflexes bordering on the supernatural, Luna snapped out a hoof to punch the skum in the face. Its momentum was immediately reversed as it went careening back into the water. “Careful, there are more!”

I really wished I had a moment to ask for more details, but there wasn’t time for that. Instead, I cast a shield spell Shining had taught me, creating a pink bubble around us. It was a good thing I had done so, too; the water roiled as more skum came bounding out of it to collide against my shield.

It was as the dozen or more skum clawed at the shield that I got my first good look of them. The first thing that stood out were the fish-like scales that covered their entire bodies, which were hunched over and required them to use their fore and hindlimbs to move around like a diamond dog. Their flat heads, with black orbs for eyes and rows of serrated teeth, looked like they belonged on a shark. They hissed and kept clawing at my shield, forcing me to pour more of my magic into the shield to keep it up.

“Maintain that shield, Cadance!” Aunt Luna’s horn glowed brighter. “I have an idea.”

“Can do!” I poured more of my magic into my shield, making it as strong as I could against the onslaught. More of the skum clambered atop one another to get at us, their claws and teeth scraping against the barrier.

Aunt Luna’s horn crackled with electricity. Her face tightened as she finished gathering her magical energies and released the spell. There was a blinding flash as a lightning bolt shot from her horn, and I had to cover my eyes and flatten my ears against the painful brightness and thunderous crash. I felt the power from my aunt’s spell hit my own, but I held onto it even as the impact sent a spasm of pain through my horn.

A long moment passed before I uncovered my eyes and blinked away the spots in my vision. The cavern had fallen silent quiet once again, and I realized that my aunt and I were the only things still upright in the cavern. Still, I didn’t lower my shield. No sense letting my guard down quite yet.

I turned to Aunt Luna, who was standing still and glaring at the waters and what inhabited their dark depths. “What did you do?”

“Slain them with my lightning spell, I would hope,” she said, her voice as cold and hard as a glacier. “I decided to show them the error of attacking us in a swarm whilst wet.”

“Oh.” Had it all happened that quickly? One second we had been fighting for our lives and then ... it was over. Had Aunt Luna so casually killed those things? She hadn’t even hesitated. That was ... I didn’t know how to feel about it. It was all so much to take in. Logically I knew that she had only been defending us against hostile monsters, but to see it happen was something else entirely.

Aunt Luna stepped closer, a look of concern on her face. “Cadance? Art thou well?”

I realized I had been standing dumbfounded for some time when my aunt had finally spoken. I hurried to reply. “Fine. Just—never seen something like this before.” My eyes fell on one of the skum that now lay face-down in the water not too far from us. It wasn't moving, and I suspected it never would again.

Aunt Luna narrowed her eyes at the creature and wrapped a protective wing around me. “Aye, mine apologies for thee seeing such a frightful sight. If 'twas my decision, I would have had thee bloodied under more controlled circumstances. For while this work is unpleasant, 'tis our duty as princesses to protect our ponies from such monsters.”

I nodded shakily. “I know all that. But it's one thing to know it. This...”

“‘Tis a vast difference between stories and an actual battlefield,” Aunt Luna agreed. “Even ponies raised to be warriors can be shaken when they first see combat.”

“I ... I guess.” All of that made logical sense, but it didn’t make me feel better. I had to wonder if Aunt Tia had gone out of her way to spare me incidents like this. It would be like her.

Aunt Luna gave me a supportive squeeze of her wing. “If thou wishest, I will escort thee back to the entrance and to our guards. I can continue onwards by myself—this is far from the first time I have faced such evils alone, and I know how to care for myself.”

It was a terribly tempting offer. I didn't like fighting, and I could expect to get more of that if I continued forward—not to mention the idea of being away from all of this and back outside where I could stretch my wings was extremely attractive.

But then I looked to Aunt Luna standing by my side, solid and resolute. How many times had she and Aunt Tia gone through this type of thing in order to protect their subjects? I felt something stir inside of me when I thought about the ponies of Queensmouth; these monsters threatened the townsfolk, and as a princess—their princess—it was my duty to ensure their safety. While Aunt Tia hadn't rushed for me to throw myself into danger, her lessons had stressed the obligations I had to those around me.

I took a deep breath and shook my head. “I ... I can handle it.”

“Art thou certain?” Aunt Luna slowly removed her wing so that she could face me. “There is no shame if thou hast had thy fill of combat for one day. I will not think less of thee for withdrawing.”

“Thanks, but I want to help.” Besides, if I ran away I would have to carry that fact with me for the rest of my days. Even if everything turned out alright, I'll know that I chickened out when everypony had needed me. What would I do when the next crisis rolled around? What would everypony else think in a future crisis if I ran away here?

No, standing by my aunt’s side was something I needed to do.

Aunt Luna nodded grimly. “Very well then. Thou art the best judge of what thou canst handle, but 'twill be good to have thee to fight by my side.”

“Yeah, I guess,” I said, not sounding as certain as I would have liked.

After a moment, Aunt Luna nodded. “Bravery is not the absence of fear, but courage in the face of fear. Know thy fears and conquer them, then thou wilt be brave.”

I nodded. “I'll try, Aunt Luna.”

“Good, then.” She turned to face forward again. “If thou art ready, let us continue forth. Stay behind me and maintain thy shield at least until we are out of this chamber. I will deal with any attacker that shows its face.”

I took a moment to steel my courage and nodded. “Okay, lead the way.”

Aunt Luna did just that, continuing along the path. If she was afraid as we walked through ankle-deep water, she didn't show it. She just kept walking forward while keeping a wary eye on the pools of water on either side of us.

No more of the skum appeared. Either they had all been killed or else decided we were too much for them to handle. After what felt like forever, we finally exited the twin-pooled room and entered another hallway. At my aunt’s request, I dropped my shield. No sense exhausting my magic when there wasn't an immediate danger. Still, I didn't let my guard down. Not after what happened in the previous room.

After a few more minutes of walking I heard something echoing from further inside the cave. It sounded like voices—raised voices. “Sounds like something's going on up ahead.”

“Aye,” Aunt Luna whispered. “Let us proceed cautiously. Cease thy light spell. Do not worry ‘bout the darkness, ‘twill aid us in a moment.” I did as she asked, and impenetrable darkness fell over the pair of us. Aunt Luna’s magic stirred and I felt it fall over me. I blinked the blurriness out of them as the cavern reformed before my eyes—my aunt’s spells allowing me to see perfectly. “Come. I wish to see what transpires here.”

We were completely silent as we proceeded forward, a departure from the earlier clacking of our hooves against stone. It was as though the shadows itself embraced and concealed us. I didn't know what spell she had used, but it was one I wouldn't mind learning from her once this was over.

Following the sound of voices, we reached a large chamber. Aunt Luna crept over to a stone outcropping and peeked over it for a better look, and I followed suit. Stalactites and stalagmites dotted the chamber, and a pool of dark water dominated a third of the room.

But what really caught my eye was who was inside the cave: Mayor Sea Foam and four other townsfolk were holding Jetsam in place near the pool.

Sea Foam sneered at Jetsam as he struggled against his captors, though Jetsam was held fast by the rope tying him in place and a gag muffled whatever he was trying to say. “You just had to become a problem, didn't you? Thought it was funny telling the princesses not to kill Hylas?” She punched Jetsan in the ribs, causing him to wheeze and go limp as the others restrained him. “Well, it's past time we got you to see our way of the world.”

I blinked in surprise. “What are they doing to him?”

Aunt Luna glowered at the scene before us. “A fine question, and I suspect the truth will answer why we are here.”

The group dragged Jetsam until they were knee-high in water. The pool rippled as something emerged from the depths. Whatever it was, I hadn’t seen anything like it before; its green body glistened with clear slime, and as more of its fish-like body surfaced, significantly larger than an orca. In addition to its fins, it possessed four long tentacles that protruded near its front—but if it possessed a mouth, I couldn’t easily see it. As it finished revealing itself, I got a good look at its three red eyes, all vertically stacked at the center of what amounted to its face and shining with malicious intelligence.

A pair of the monster’s tentacles reached for Jetsam, and the villager’s eyes widened as his struggle against his captors became all the more desperate.

“Oh, Celestia!” I clasped a hoof over my mouth to keep my voice from echoing from the cavern. If it hadn't been for Aunt Luna’s spell I probably would have given away our position. I turned to my aunt to speak in a harsh whisper. “What is it?! It's horrible!” Whatever that thing was, its presence made my hair stand on end. The dread I felt didn't merely come from the sense one got from some predator, but something far more profane in nature.

Aunt Luna clenched her jaw. “That abomination is an aboleth, one of the greater servants of the Deep Ones.” She snorted. “All is clear now. Oft do they surface to vie for unsuspecting coastal communities. Likely, that monster’s powers clashed with those of Hylas’s, thus did it approach Sea Foam.” Her glare shifted onto the pony in question. “I suspect she serves as its agent in exchange for petty wealth and power. ‘Twould not be the first of such occurrences.”

I remembered a little bit about these Deep Ones from my lessons covering the various types of monsters in the world. Not a great deal was known about the Deep Ones and their underwater empire, but nothing among what little ponies did know was pleasant. They were utterly inequine and we simply didn't have a frame of reference with one another. Aunt Luna and I might just have gotten very lucky; if the mayor and aboleth had only started their schemes, then there was a good chance we could undo the damage they had caused.

“We have to stop it,” I said, giving my aunt a determined look.

“With a vengeance.” Aunt Luna glared balefully at the aboleth as it slowly extended its tentacles towards Jetsam. “I will engage the aboleth—thou art to deal with the mayor and the others. Disable them as a threat, remove them from the immediate battlefield, and then join me against the beast. Watch thyself, for this is a foe at least as intelligent as any pony if not moreso. It possesses mastery over the art of illusions and the ability to dominate minds, as it has to at least some of those ponies.”

I nodded, knowing we didn't have time to go into details with a plan if we were going to save Jetsam. “Understood.”

Aunt Luna didn't waste a moment. With a powerful stroke of her wings, she launched herself into the air and darted for the aboleth. Not giving the monster a chance to react, a blue beam of magic shot out of her horn and struck the aboleth in the side. A layer of ice formed over the area, freezing two of its tentacles in place.

A roar of outrage and pain stabbed at my mind and very being. The aboleth didn't even have any mouth that I could recognize, and the shout had been purely psychic by nature. Still, it made me flinch and flatten my ears in pain. It took a moment of concentration for me to shore up my mental defenses against the assault. There wasn't time to waste as Aunt Luna darted about the aboleth, so I charged out from behind the stone alcove and towards the ponies staring dumbstruck at the fight taking place before them.

Mayor Sea Foam saw me out of the corner of her eye and spun to face me, the water splashing around her. “What the—”

I drew upon my magic and made my horn glow threateningly as I stopped well short of her. “Let him go, Mayor!”

The Mayor ground her teeth together. “You couldn't have done a simple thing like kill the damned nymph, could you? You just had to make everything difficult. Everything's finally been turning around for me, and then you had to show up.”

“You are hurting innocent ponies!” I said, praying she would see reason. “This isn't right.”

Sea Foam shot me a baleful glower. “Like I care anymore! Helpin' others hasn't ever helped me. I've been a poor pony most of my life, scrapin’ by week to week an’ breakin’ my back workin’ for others. Well, it's past time the world gave a little back instead of just takin'!”

“This isn’t helping anything.” I pointed at Jetsam and the others. The ponies working with the Mayor were only standing there and blankly staring into space—at least, for the moment. “In your heart you know this needs to stop.”

“When has right or wrong mattered?” She spat on the ground. “The world gave me a sour deal. Born to poor parents, got a poor job, worked hard, paid my dues, and got nothing for it. There ain't no justice to it.”

I stepped a little closer to him. “And where's the justice in hurting innocents?”

Sea Foam hesitated in answering, her eyes darting in the aboleth’s direction. “There isn't any, but I've come too far to stop now.”

I shook my head. “I don't believe that. You can stop at any time, you just have to want to.”

Sea Foam bit her lip. “What's left for me? Jail? Living a life of atonement? As if redemption was so cheap.”

I came closer to the mayor, smiling as I kept talking her down. “Do you really want to spend the rest of your life as the mayor who sacrificed the ponies under her protection to work with a monster?”

I could see the conflict play over her face as she looked back and forth between me and the aboleth—its roars of pain struck me as Aunt Luna struck it with a lightning bolt. Her shoulders sagged and it looked like she was going to give up. I moved to try and comfort Sea Foam, but her head snapped up and she met my eyes with a hard, hateful glare. “I'm not going back to being a loser!”

She charged me, howling in fury. On reflex I shot a light stun spell at her. The bolt struck her in the chest, and she stumbled back into the shallows of the pool. I didn't want to hurt her (or any pony for that matter), but she wasn't leaving me much choice.

For a moment it looked like Sea Foam was going to fall over, but earth ponies were made of sterner stuff, and she regained her balance. She gave me a another baleful glare. “No!” She charged again with a howl even more maddened and animalistic than the previous one.

I charged up another, stronger stun spell, and fired it. But Sea Foam jerked herself to the side, the stun bolt missing her by less than an inch. She rammed into me with her shoulder, throwing her full weight into the attack. The blow sent me to the stone floor, the impact finally jarring me to my senses. The Mayor reared up and brought her hoof down at my head. I wrenched my head out of the way, and her hoof slammed down right next to my face. On instinct, I rolled over to my hooves before she could try that again.

The mayor tried to tackle me again, but I lashed out and struck her chest. She gasped in pain as her momentum carried her right into my outreaching hoof and the unexpected strength I possessed, then stumbled back.

“Stop this!” I cried out. “I don't want to hurt you, but...” Sea Foam couldn’t hope to beat me in a fight, not if I was serious about it. Injuring another pony was about the last thing I wanted to do, but I wasn’t going to let her go on hurting others either.

Sea Foam didn’t seem to have any intentions of surrendering, for she waved to her fellow villagers. “Get her! Get her!” As one, the four ponies dumped Jetsam in the shallows of the pool and charged at me.

That complicated things. I was reluctant to hurt Sea Foam, much less the ponies who seemed to be innocent victims in this—they weren’t responsible for their actions if they were being mind controlled. I briefly considered just flying beyond where they could get to me, but dismissed that. Aunt Luna was depending on me to get these ponies out of here, not playing keep away. As if to remind me how unsafe this place was for them, the aboleth grabbed a stalactite, cracked it off the ceiling, and tossed it at my aunt.

No. I needed to confront this directly, and if they were being magically dominated, then there were ways to counter that. Drawing on my natural talent, I summoned my love magic and sent a pink wave of energy at the charging ponies. I poured more magic into the spell as I tried to remind them of what they loved—their families, their town, the ocean, whatever it was in their lives that was important to them—and reached out for that love and fed power into it.

The villagers stumbled as though hit by a physical force and they slowed to a halt, their blank expressions replaced by confused looks. Sea Foam stomped a hoof, her teeth peeling back in a snarl. “What are you four waiting for? Take her! Don't stand there like a bunch of drooling idiots!”

A magical backlash shot through the my spell, and I staggered as a sledgehammer of will and energy hit me. The aboleth fought my attempt to break its domination over the townponies, its mind pushing against my own like the dark depths of the ocean. I nearly lost my grip on my spell, but remembered the love I held for those that I cared about: Aunt Tia, Shining Armor, Twilight, and so many others ... including my new aunt.

Aunt Luna aided me by unleashing a blast of moonlight beam of energy into the aboleth, and I felt the force of the aboleth’s mind flicker as it it let out another scream of pain. I pushed harder against its grip on the other ponies. “Remember who you are, and what you care for! You know you don’t want to do this!”

The townsfolk stopped completely and clutched at their heads. One of them blinked as the magical tether between his mind and the aboleth broke. His head snapped to the Mayor, glaring at her. “W-what did you do to us?!”

Sea Foam stepped back as the others were freed from the mind control and turned their attention to the mayor that had betrayed them. “I-I-I...” She turned her attention back to me, pure hatred in her eyes. “You! Stop it! Stop ruining everything!”

The mayor charged me again, but she didn’t make it far before one of her fellow villagers tackled her. Two others joined in and pinned Sea Foam to the floor.

Seeing the opportunity to end this quickly, I levitated Jetsam out of the water where he had barely been keeping his head above water and untied him. The Queensmouth villagers quickly put the rope to use on Sea Foam. “Thank you very much,” I said, feeling a wave of relief over finishing that.

One of the villagers nodded to me, casually tying a knot around Sea Foam with the ease of a seasoned sailor. “Of course, Princess. We're sorry, but...” He shuffled uncomfortably before me.

A reply died on my lips as I tucked my head to avoid a boulder soaring past us. There were a few times where being tall had its disadvantages. “Get out of here! There are guardponies right outside of the cave, they’ll keep you safe!”

One look at the horrible monster that had enthralled them was all the prompt the villagers needed to grab their mayor and run for the exit. That just left the not-so-minor matter of dealing with the monster responsible for all of this. I took off into the air to join Aunt Luna in the fight. While I didn’t like the idea of fighting ponies, this thing was something else entirely. It was hurting ponies, and it was my job to stop it.

While Aunt Luna kept the aboleth distracted, I darted in low and fast, hitting it with a blast of magical energy that scorched the scales along its back. I banked around for another pass, ready to double-team the monster. Then the whole world turned upside-down on me. I looked down and saw the ceiling, and all my senses screamed contrary information, demanding I right myself. With seconds to act, I followed my eyes and flipped myself over. Instead of everything righting itself as it should have, I plummeted towards the ceiling. Panic started to overwhelm me as everything told me I was about to crash. Flapping my wings to try and correct myself, I only sent myself into a wild spin as gravity seemed to reverse itself.

I was about to crash into the ceiling when a blue, star-filled smoke wrapped itself around me. It slowed my descent, but it didn’t completely halt our descent before we hit the ground. I expected to feel the jarring pain of a crash, but instead I stopped just inches from the stone floor, the cloud cushioning me from the fall. We flew along the floor, which my mind found odd considering I had fallen towards the ceiling a few seconds ago.

The blue smoke solidified, and I found myself riding on Aunt Luna’s back as she ran around the pool. “Beware its illusions!” she called to me. “‘Twill muddle thy senses!”

So that must have been why the floor and ceiling had gotten flipped on me—the aboleth had cast some sort of illusion over me. I would have to watch out for that, but at least now I knew.

Another boulder interrupted that train of thought as it came hurdling towards us. Aunt Luna zigged to change directions, and it hit the ground close enough that the impact showered us with shards of rock.

Not wanting to give the aboleth a single target, I pushed off of my aunt and took to the air again, flying in the opposite direction to make it harder for the aboleth to follow both of us.

It focused on Aunt Luna, which left an opening for me. I flew in close again and blasted its tail, blowing a hole through it. It jerked in pain, and Aunt Luna took that moment to strike. A flash of lightning flew from her horn and hit it dead center, making it convulse in pain.

The monster must have sensed the tide turning against it, for it started to re-submerge into the water to try and escape. “Neigh, vile fiend, thou wilt not escape!” Aunt Luna cast another spell, and the water crackled as it froze solid. The aboleth struggled against the ice, but found itself held fast. “Now, Cadance! ‘Tis time to strike!”

“Right!” I flew around the monster as I charged up as much magic as I could into my horn, making it ache with all the built-up magic. Aunt Luna circled opposite of me, doing the same. We fired together, beams of pink and silvery energy striking the aboleth. It convulsed under the attack, writhing in place as its flesh started to bulge. We kept up the offensive until it exploded. Green goop flew all over the cavern, globs of it impacting me, and it was all I could do to shield my face.

When silence finally fell over the cave, I flittered down to the the floor. I grimaced as I tried to get the gunk off of me. It was quite possibly the foulest smell I had ever experienced, and I had once helped deal with a sludge demon that haunted the Canterlot sewers.The only good thing I could say about it was that it wasn’t some form of acid on top of everything else.

Aunt Luna landed beside me, a wide smile on her face despite being similarly covered in gore. “Huzzah! Victory is ours!”

“Er, right.” I tried to flick some of the goo off, but it seemed stuck to my coat. I didn’t even want to think what it would be doing to my wings.

“Well struck, my niece!” She embraced me with one of those vice-like hugs of hers. “I am most proud of thee!”

“Thanks,” I rasped out.

While I was covered in foul-smelling goo and being hugged to death by my aunt, all things considered, this could have turned out a lot worse.

After talking with Sea Foam, I sat at a pierside restaurant enjoying breakfast with Aunt Luna. After everything that we had gone through and everything that needed to be sorted out after we had defeated the aboleth, we decided it would be best to sleep in the town and head back to Canterlot the next day. Big surprise, the townponies had a bunch of questions about why their princesses were personally arresting their mayor. The talk about a monster mind-controlling their fellow villagers hadn’t exactly calmed them down either, but we managed to answer their questions and prevent a panic.

The good news was that the worst was over; the monster had been defeated, Mayor Sea Foam was behind bars, and Queensmouth was safe once again. After a good night’s rest, I could enjoy a nice meal before heading out and returning to Canterlot to tell Aunt Tia everything that had happened.

One of the ponies working the family restaurant placed some pancakes and fruit in front of us. Aunt Luna and I thanked the pony and started eating. “I hope thou art feeling better this morning,” Aunt Luna said between bites.

I prepared my napkin and nodded. “Yes, I am. We did help free an entire village from an evil monster trying to conquer it, so I’d say that makes for a worthwhile trip.”

“So it does,” Aunt Luna agreed. “'Twas good work we did here. Mayhaps a more difficult quest than I would have desired for my first outing with thee, but all was well in the end.” She gave me a satisfied smile. “And I will say, I am most proud of thee, my niece.”

I returned her smile. “Thanks. It was pretty impressive watching you defeat that horrible monster.”

Aunt Luna puffed out her chest as she preened at my compliment. “I would like to think my centuries of exile have not dulled my skills too much.”

“Certainly not.”

Aunt Luna grinned in that way that now made me nervous. “Of course, it would not hurt to hone one's skills.”

I raised an eyebrow. “What did you have in mind?”

“Mayhaps I could oversee some of thy training.” She poked at her fruit with a fork as she continued. “Particularly in the martial fields—thy technique requires work. Do not consider it an insult, but ‘tis clear that thou dost not have much experience with combat.”

I cut a slice out of my pancakes before answering. “Yes, I suppose I'm a lover, not a fighter.”

“Aye, thou hast my sister's continence in that regards.” Aunt Luna shrugged. “Whereas I am more willing to engage in direct battle.”

“Right, I noticed that.” I carefully measured my words before speaking them. “It’s different, but not worse.”

“I would like to think so.” She sighed and played with her fruitbowl. “Even if I do seem to offput ponies sometimes with my ways.”

“It's nothing too serious, Aunt Luna.” I placed a hoof on hers. “You’ll get there, trust me.”

Aunt Luna smiled back at me. “Aye, let us hope so. Time should be the cure for my current troubles.”

“I think it will really help for you to interact with other ponies—you know, get to know them and how they do things these days.” My ears perked as an idea struck me. “One sec.”

I got up from the table, and after talking with the owner of the restaurant, came back with two bottles of soda. I placed one in front of Aunt Luna. “Here, try this.”

Aunt Luna cautiously picked up the body and examined it, turning the bottle slowly in her magic. “Pray tell, what type of beverage is this?”

“It’s called soda.” I pulled off the cap to my bottle to show her how it was done. “It's carbonated water, sugar, and flavoring. It’s really popular with ponies.”

“I suppose 'tis worth trying then.” After giving the bottle one last suspicious look, Aunt Luna took a hesitant sip. Her eyes widened and she looked at the bottle. “My, this is actually quite good! ‘Tis quite fizzy, but enjoyably so!”

I grinned, happy that I had done a little something to help Luna acclimate to the present. “Thought you'd like it.”

“Aye!” Aunt Luna tipped back the bottle and downed the rest of its contents in one go. She sighed contentedly and then smashed the bottle on the wooden planks of the pier. “Another!”

I blinked at the unexpected behavior. “Aunt Luna! Don't do that!”

Aunt Luna frowned. “But why not? I enjoyed the drink.”

“Because smashing bottles is rude,” I told her.

She rolled her eyes. “But of course it is. One century something is a compliment, and the next...”

“Sorry.” Great, my attempt to make my aunt feel better had backfired. Two steps forward, one step back.

Aunt Luna waved the issue off. “Neigh, 'tis no fault of thine.” She turned back to her fruit. “I would rather have my time with thee be pleasant.”

I nibbled on my pancakes as I mulled some ideas over. “I think that's something we can definitely work on”

“Aye.” A mischievous grin worked its way onto her lips. “And if thou art like me, no doubt thou hast endured Tia's pranks more often than not.”

I chuckled, quickly figuring out where this was leading. “Once or twice, yes.”

“Well then, we could repay her in kind in the not-too-distant future.”

“I'd be up for that.” The idea of repaying Aunt Celestia for the times she had pranked or teased me over the years was super tempting, especially with a co-conspirator. Little surprise, most ponies wanted no part in trying to prank the most powerful pony in Equestria. Thinking about it that way, I might also have gained an ally in finally finding a special somepony for Aunt Tia. But first, other things needed to be addressed. “Although...”

Aunt Luna quirked one of her eyebrows. “Is something on thy mind?”

“Yes.” I stood up, carefully measuring how close Luna was to the edge of the pier. “I just can't help but think that I owe you too.” Before she could react, I quickly pushed her over.

“Wha—?!” Aunt Luna squawked as she went tumbling, limbs flailing as she fell into the water with a splash. She re-emerged coughing out sea water. “Cadance!”

I gave her the most innocent smile ever. “Yes?”

Aunt Luna splashed around the water as she got used to the water. “Explain thyself!”

I kept right on smiling. “Like I said, I owed you for Shining.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Ah, is that what this is about?”

“Yup.”

Instead of continuing to swim, Aunt Luna turned into a cloud of blue smoke and zipped to the pier. She reformed, though still wet from her dip in the sea. “Well then, I hope thou art satisfied.”

Thinking it was best to take my winnings and walk, I said, “Yeah, I am.”

Aunt Luna grinned. “Good. I would hate to escalate the pranking if the scales have not been balanced. I might be forced to do something most terrible to thee.”

“Yes, let’s just call it even,” I quickly agreed. I didn’t need a two-front pranking war with my aunts. “It wouldn’t be dignified for two princesses to engage in such activities.”

“I would think not,” Aunt Luna said with exaggerated graveness. “So what say we instead plot 'gainst my sister for her past misdeeds?”

I nodded, knowing a good opportunity when I saw one. “Deal.”

She wrapped a drenching wet wing around me. “Then come. We have a long trip on which to conspire.”

I tensed as her wing slapped against me, coating me in seawater, but I still managed to smile for her. “That we do.”

Author's Note

I would like to thank my editors Chengar Qordath, Comma-Kazie, and JaketheGinger for their help making this crazy story.

Then I would also like to thank my prereaders Swiftest, Infinion, 621Chopsuey, Pegasusnumber 5, Rodinga, Rodinga, and Web of Hope for their help making this story as good as it can be.

Chapter 1

I was on my way to meet my Aunt Luna for the first time. It hadn't been very long ago she had been running around as Nightmare Moon, threatening to bring about eternal night and dethrone her sister. She hadn’t known about me at the time, fortunately—I didn’t want to know what the Nightmare would have done to a threat like a fellow alicorn. Needless to say, I was still nervous.

Still, I trotted dutifully beside Aunt Tia down the palace hallway. The silence and pressure of the upcoming introduction was getting to me, so I decided to strike up some small talk. “So ... um, what's your sister like?”

“Now there is a question.” She smiled at me. “I suppose I would be cheating if I said she's a bit complicated?”

“It doesn't tell me much, no.” I tried not to sound too irritated. Aunt Tia had a tendency of being cryptic with her answers, and while there was a time and a place for that sort of thing, I didn't think this was one of them.

“No, it wouldn't.” Aunt Tia fell silent for a moment. “If I had to be brief, she holds to the ancient customs of loyalty and hospitality where her friends and comrades are concerned, and one never ... hmm, shall we say, risks boredom in her presence.”

“That sounds nice.” It certainly beat the stories I had heard about her during Nightmare Night. Somepony that was said to gobble up children wasn't exactly a person I would consider a proper houseguest, much less family.

My aunt smiled and nodded. “There is much I love about her. Though I will warn you, she can be a bit ... prickly at times. She can be very formal and standoffish at times, and she has a mercurial nature. One minute she can be bright and ecstatic, and the next dark and brooding.”

That answer was concerning. Not just her choice of words, but the hesitation that accompanied them. “Hopefully I can get along with her.” At least that was my hope. I was going to put an honest effort into trying to get along with her, but she had attacked her sister in a jealous rage and tried to bring about an eternal night. That made me more than a little bit apprehensive about meeting her.

“I really hope so.” Aunt Tia gazed down the hallway before answering. She stopped and placed a hoof on my shoulder to gently halt me. “There is something I want to warn you about before you see her, though.”

I had a feeling the conversation was being lead in this direction. Years spent talking with my aunt and living in Canterlot had taught me when a ‘but’ was coming. “What is it?”

When she spoke, it was with a careful reservation. “Luna ... is a mare out of her own time. A lot has changed over the last thousand years. It's going to be difficult for her to adapt to a world so different from the one she knew.”

“Oh.” I had only begun to wrap my head around the idea that I had another aunt; Nightma—Aunt Luna’s situation had barely even crossed my mind. It was sobering to think that almost everypony she had ever known was gone. That would be hard on anypony. “Well, I'll try not to cause any problems for her.” Granted, I wasn't sure how exactly to deal with a mare that was a thousand years behind the times. This was one of those rare instances when I really would have liked Twilight to write a report for me. Knowing about all the differences between now and a millennium ago would be incredibly useful.

“Thank you.” Aunt Tia squeezed my shoulder. “Just try and keep that in mind, okay? Especially if she is difficult.”

I nodded. “Of course.” My aunt resumed the walk to her sister, but she stopped when she noticed I wasn't moving with her. “Um...” I shuffled in place. “She is alright, right?”

“What do you mean?” Aunt Tia had made it a question, but I could sense she knew exactly what I meant. I couldn't blame her for wanting to avoid the issue, all things considered.

I bit my lip as I pressed. “Well, after ... after everything that happened.”

Aunt Tia smiled, but there was an edge of brittleness to it. “I assure you, Twilight and her friends cleansed the evil and madness infecting my sister with the Elements of Harmony.” She paused before continuing. “Though still ... we have a long road ahead of us, I think. While the Elements are the most powerful magic in Equestria, they can't erase what happened all those years ago.”

It didn't sit entirely well with me to just believe in some magical artifact I had only heard about in legends, but at this juncture there wasn't much to do but trust in my aunt’s judgement. “At least Twilight made it out alright.” It had scared me more than a little bit to hear what Twilight had gone through to retrieve the Elements and defeat Nightmare Moon. The idea that the little filly that I had foalsat all those years ago had gone on to save all of Equestria was a little mind-boggling.

The sincerity returned to Aunt Tia’s smile. “And better for her journey. She now has many wonderful friends, and I think she’ll be very happy in Ponyville.”

“That's what she said in her letter, yes,” I agreed. “I hope I get to meet them soon.”Some of that depended on my schedule. My aunt had been giving me more responsibilities and duties now that I had grown up. It was starting to feel a bit overwhelming, and it made me wonder how Aunt Tia had managed all by herself for so many centuries.

“I hope so too,” she said. “They are very special ponies.”

“So ... now I guess I get to meet your sister.” I felt myself shuffling from hoof to hoof despite myself. “Who tried to kill Twilight.”

Aunt Tia winced. “Luna was not in her right mind when she did all of that, Cadance. I promise you, the Elements made her how she used to be, how she is supposed to be. Give her a chance and I'm sure you will come to love her as much as I do.”

“I know.” I sighed. “But it's a bit hard to forget she used to be ... well...” I decided to dive in and ask something that had been on my mind. “Did she actually eat ponies like the old Nightmare Night stories say?”

No small part of me was grateful when Aunt Tia shook her head. “She did a number of things I'm not proud of, but that specific story is only that—a story intended to frighten children.” She frowned. “I tried to get ponies to stop telling that story, but by the time it came around to me it was already integrated into the culture of Nightmare Night. There was no stopping it after that.”

I nodded, feeling relief that at least I wasn't going to have to sit across the table and sip tea with somepony who ate foals a millennium ago. “I thought so. Of course, until a few days ago I thought Nightmare Moon was also just a story to scare children.”

My aunt grinned. “Somepony may have ... directed things so that her sister would have as clean a slate as possible to restart her life.”

I grinned right back. “That sounds like something somepony close to her might do.”

“I'm sure that pony only acted out of love,” Aunt Tia said. “Something I think a certain Princess of Love can understand.”

“Oh, definitely.” I could feel the warmth Aunt Tia felt for her sister. There was certainly a level of strain to it, but it was as deep as the ocean. She had waited a thousand years for her sister’s return, after all. That wasn’t something just anypony could do.

We reached the door to Aunt Tia’s private quarters and I took a deep breath. “So ... I guess it's time to meet her?”

Aunt Tia gave me a reassuring smile. “Give her a chance. I think she may surprise you.”

I nodded, trying to make myself look more confident than I felt. “I'll try.” In truth, I couldn’t help but worry that my new Aunt Luna would ... reject me? Was that what I was worried about? Maybe it was because I feared we wouldn’t be able to get along. That I would somehow disappoint my Aunt Tia, who had given me a loving home.

“That's all that I ask.” Aunt Tia led us into her private quarters, heading straight towards the private audience room. While well decorated, it lacked the size and ostentation of the palace throne room. As my aunt had told me, she wanted it to be comfortable rather than be an outstanding display of wealth and power.

Aunt Tia stopped before the pony who must be my new aunt and smiled warmly. “Luna, I've brought somepony to meet you.”

Princess Luna was a tall mare, thought she was still well short of her giant of a sister. Her face was sharper than her sister’s and more angular, with a strong body that spoke both of grace and power. She had a dark blue coat and a light-blue mane.

Deciding to take the first step, I gave her the best smile I could manage. “Hello.”

“Greetings.” Luna drew herself up and her eyes flicked from my horn to my wings. It wasn't hard to tell what at least one of her first thoughts must be; Equestria didn’t exactly have a surplus of alicorns. “I am Princess Luna Selene, Stewardess of the Night, Slayer of Zaktharaxis, Liberator of Manehattan, Conqueror of Gryphons, and Dreamwalker.”

“Oh. Um...” Was that some sort of traditional greeting from a thousand years ago? It probably was. It certainly sounded formal. That probably being the case, I did my best to match her tone. “I am Princess Cadance, Princess of Love and...”

My mind blanked on what else to say. I hadn't been prepared for anything quite like this, and I didn't have anything like my aunts’ impressive list of titles. Aunt Tia’s full title could easily take up a whole sheet of paper. Mine on the other hoof...

“And?” Luna flicked her hoof for me to continue. “Go on. Do not worry, I am not thine enemy.”

I desperately searched for something else to add. This normally wasn't so hard, but now it felt like my stomach was in knots. “Um, I'm ... your niece?”

“Niece?” Luna quirked an eyebrow for a moment before her eyes slowly widened. “I have a niece?!” Before I could confirm that, Luna pulled me into a rib-breaking hug that was a little too literal for my comfort. I was reasonably sure Luna could give bears a run for their money. “Sister! Didst thou finally have a child?!”

Aunt Tia blinked and took a step back, in one of the exceedingly rare times I had ever seen her stunned. “I did—that is ... no, I—”

“Now, now.” Luna lovingly nuzzled me. “I am most happy that thou hast finally taken a lover. Really, there is hardly anything to be ashamed of, especially when thou hast born such a wonderful daughter.” She looked me over. “She certainly takes after thee. Such a lovely niece thou hast given me.”

Aunt Tia’s face was becoming more flush with every passing second. “L-luna, I did not mean—”

“I did always chastise thee for being so prudish and never taking lovers,” Luna said over her sister’s objections. “Thou hast always worked so hard and given so much of thyself. 'Twas only right that thou didst enjoy the carnal pleasures and take a lover to warm thy bed. Thou must introducest me to Cadance’s sire. What is he like? Or is the sire a she? Magics to make such things happen are at thy command.”

I looked to Aunt Tia to save me from her sister’s death-hug, not to mention correct her about our relationship, but for the first time since I had known her she had been shocked into opened-mouth silence.

Pity for us that Luna seemed more than happy to fill it. “Really, I thought thou wouldst never get around to having a child for me to pour my love ‘pon. If not for our blessing of eternal life, I would have worried that ‘twould have fallen ‘pon me to produce an heir to continue the royal line. Thou didst always fret and worry too much ‘bout what ponies would say, but thankfully ‘twould seem that thou hast finally come to thy senses. Though now that thou hast a beloved daughter, mayhaps we discuss the topic of myself—”

“I'm adopted!” I finally managed to croak out.

Luna blinked and held me at arms’ length. “Adopted?”

“Yes, adopted.” Aunt Tia finally regained some of her composure, though her face was still quite flushed. “In fact, she is our adopted niece. The circumstances were ... unusual, and I have made her a member of our household. I’ll explain everything once we settle down a bit.”

Well, it was out in the open that I was adopted and not a part of the royal by blood. Time to see how she reacted. I tried not to cringe at what was to come. “Uh ... sorry to disappoint?”

Seeing my gnawing anxiety, Luna swiftly shook her head. “Neigh, my niece, do not fret.” She pulled my head to her breast in a vice-like hug. “I readily embrace thee, and I do hereby swear to give thee all the love and dedication thou dost deserve as my niece. Long have I desired a niece, and it is of little consequence that we are not the same blood.”

My concerns about being accepted by my new aunt were very swiftly being replaced with my worries about surviving her brand of love. It was possible that she had lost her measure of exactly how strong she was, because it felt like she was going to squeeze my head off.

Seemingly unaware of my discomfort, Luna fixed her sister with narrowed eyes. “Neigh, the pony I am disappointed with is my sister. For one, thou hast remained chaste for all these centuries? And really, thou couldst not at least have adopted dear Cadance as thy daughter? The fact that thou didst not embrace her so has no doubt sent at least some ponies’ tongues a-wagging.”

I probably would have been blushing furiously by this point if blood could still flow through my neck.

“Luna,” Aunt Tia said in a tone she reserved for when I was about to be particularly bad. “There were reasons for why I did things the way I did.”

The two of them locked eyes for a time, but Luna was the first one to yield with a shrug. “Very well then. But do not worry, my niece.” She pecked me on the top of my head as I tried in vain to get out of that iron grip. “If anypony dareth speak fouly of thee, I will gladly duel them for thine honor.”

Aunt Tia sighed the sigh of a put upon older sister. “Luna, dueling has been outlawed for centuries now.”

“What?!” Luna gasped. “How could that be? How in the world do ponies resolve their quarrels?”

Aunt Tia hummed unhappily. “Lawyers and trials, mostly.”

Luna tilted her head and looked at her sister like she had just revealed that two plus two in fact actually equaled five, and that this statement had been backed up by the mathematical community. “My condolences that we live in such dark and barbaric times.”

Aunt Tia let out a resigned sigh. “We manage just fine.”

Luna frowned, and I could sense her wanting to argue the point, but eventually she decided to relent. Thankfully, she also released me and I was finally able to catch my breath. “Well, my sister's everlasting chastity and many other bewildering choices aside, 'tis good to meet thee, Cadance.” To my shock, she then kissed me again—on the lips.

I blinked in surprise. “Oh. Thank you.” Maybe that was just one of those old customs that had changed over the centuries? Best to take it in stride for now—I could always double-check this with Aunt Tia later.

“Even if 'tis a surprise to find myself with a niece, I hope that we will come to love one another as family should.” Luna smile warmly. “And I am sure my sister picked a mare of distinction and merit to be Ascended and made a part of the royal household.”

I returned her smile and looked up to Aunt Tia. “I've tried to make her proud.”

“So then, what monsters hast thou slain?” Luna asked.

“Um... ” My smile became strained. “Being the Princess of Love doesn’t exactly lend itself to monster slaying.”

Luna tilted her head slightly. “Hast thou expanded Equestria’s borders through conquest or treaty?”

“No...” This conversation was beginning to head downhill fast.

Luna rubbed her chin. “Hast thou accomplished some great quest to save Equestria? Retrieved some magical artifact? Made some great act of harmony?”

Finally getting an option I could work off of, I seized it. “I've helped spread love and happiness throughout Equestria.”

Aunt Tia wrapped a wing around my back, and I felt thankful for the support. “It was her destiny to ascend to become an alicorn, Luna. And she has made me proud since.”

Luna frowned pensively. “I will have to take thy word on that for now. I am sure thou hast many grand tales of spreading love and happiness throughout Equestria, and I look forward to hearing them.”

“I like to think I’ve made a difference,” I said.

My new aunt nodded. “‘Twould seem we have a great deal of catching up to do in the near future.”

Aunt Tia smiled. “So we do, and I'm sure you'll come to love Cadance as much as I do.”

I smiled and hoped she was right.

The next day, I entered the dining room to have lunch with Aunt Tia. As was usually the case, my aunt was already seated and waiting for me. I took my usual place at the table opposite of her. Aunt Tia smiled to me. “Hello, Cadance. How was your day?”

“Good,” I said, though in truth a few things had been on my mind since meeting Luna—Aunt Luna was probably how I should start thinking about her. “If busy. There was something I wanted to talk to you about, though.”

“Oh?”

“Well ... that was...” I squirmed on my cushion. “Meeting Luna. It was certainly...”

“Interesting?” she offered.

“Yes, interesting,” I agreed. I wasn’t sure what I was supposed to expect from my legend-turned-aunt, but what I got had still managed to throw me off. Right when everything in my life had really seemed to have settled, I had my legs swept out from under me. Really, who could have expected a relative that had been exiled for a thousand years to suddenly come back and nearly hug you to death?

“I don't blame you for saying so.” Aunt Tia sipped at her tea. “Even I’m still getting used to living with her again. It’s going to take time for all of us to settle in with one another.”

I picked up a bagel and stated buttering it. “Is she always like that?”

“Usually yes,” she hazarded. “As I told you, she can be mercurial.”

“I'll keep that in mind.” I chewed on my bagel as I ran my first meeting with Aunt Luna through my head. One good part about my new aunt being nocturnal by nature was that she was asleep right now, so I could at least talk to Aunt Tia about what was bothering me.

Aunt Tia dipped her spoon into her oatmeal. “I assure you, she means well. Even if she seems a bit strange right now.”

“She didn't seem mean or anything.” I bit my lip as I tried to find the right way to describe her. “Just ... odd, is all.”

Aunt Tia nodded sadly and nodded. “As I warned you, she is a mare out of her time. Things are different now than they were a thousand years ago.” She shook her head. “Very, very different. It was be a bit disconcerting sometimes when you’re as old as I am. More than once I found myself falling back on some old habits, to my embarrassment.”

I nodded, remembering the one time she had absentmindedly commissioned a dress that looked liked it belonged in the sixth century. In the end, she had stuck out like a sore thumb during the ball with the Zebrican ambassadors. “I'll try to be patient and understanding while helping her adjust.”

Aunt Tia smiled appreciatively. “Thank you. That means a lot to me, and I'm sure it will to her too. We're the only family she has, and that means she needs us to support her.”

I nodded. “I'll do my best.”

“Speaking of,” Aunt Tia put her spoon to the side to address me, her now more serious, “I want to run an idea by you.”

“Oh?” What could this be about? I had the sense that it had to do with Aunt Luna considering what we had just spoken about.

“I was wondering if you would be interested in working with your aunt to deal with a problem that just came to my attention.” Aunt Tia gave me that smile she reserved for when she really wanted me to do something and would make me feel like a heel if I didn't. “Her tutors are helping her learn about the modern world, but it would be good for Luna to get out of the palace for a bit. It would let her talk with ponies who aren't her family or the palace staff, and let her stretch her wings for a bit. Not to mention you two could get in some bonding time without me hovering over my sister, which I'm sure is going to annoy her sooner or later unless I let her do a few things on her own.”

I bit my lip, not being completely sure about this idea. It was one thing to talk to my new aunt over a meal; it was quite another to take an extended trip with her on royal business. Aunt Tia hadn't said so out loud, but I could hear the implication that I was to keep an eye on her sister. I wasn’t sure how good of a job I could do that with Aunt Luna, but I didn't want to disappoint the mare who had made me part of her family.

Besides, it wasn't like I wanted to avoid Aunt Luna. I could hardly call myself the Princess of Love if I wasn't willing to make an effort to get along with family. “I'm listening.”

Aunt Tia smiled appreciatively. “I've recently gotten a request from the mayor of Queensmouth for help. It seemed that a local sea nymph has been causing trouble for her fellow villagers—making it hard for their ships to collect food, breaking things, making crops fail. Those types of things.”

“A sea nymph causing problems?” I rose one of my eyebrows as I recalled the lessons from my tutors. Nymphs were a type of fey, and each one was deeply tied to a specific region such as a forest, river, or mountain. Most had lived in their local area for centuries. “That's a bit unusual.”

Aunt Tia nodded as she poured herself another cup of tea. “Yes, part of why I wanted to send somepony with ... special talents into the situation. I could send the monster hunters in the Long Patrol to the town, but they have a tendency of dealing with monsters in a rather permanent manner.”

That was certainly the diplomatic way to put it. The Royal Guards’ specially trained unit of monster hunters had means to deal with a variety of creatures non-lethally, but those means were usually significantly more dangerous to the guardponies in question. A risk they usually don’t take. “So you want me to handle it with a softer touch?” I asked.

“If that's what the situation calls for, yes.” Aunt Tia poured some honey into her tea, her gaze intent on her cup. “I don't have anything concrete about why I feel that way, but I do have a feeling.”

“Oh?” I had to wonder if this was just a feeling or a feeling. I was reasonably certain my aunt had a few powers she hadn't advertised to everypony; I wasn't sure if she had visions, possessed some sort of precognition, or some other power, but she had a way of knowing things that she inexplicably shouldn't have. More than one experience had taught me to listen very carefully when Aunt Tia was like this.

Aunt Tia took her time stirring her tea and drinking it before answering. “Well, it's odd because normally a nymph like that is tied to the territory they live in. This nymph has probably been there for centuries, if not longer. For it to suddenly do things like terrorize villagers, smash ships, ruin harvests, and so forth is unusual when it hasn't made a habit of doing so in the past. The fey aren't like ponies; most of them are extremely long lived, if they don't have eternal life outright.” She grinned wryly. “Speaking as somepony that has been around a while and gotten set in her ways, the faerie folk don't typically change their behavior suddenly. Not without reasons. But this one apparently has.”

I rubbed my chin as I thought the problem over. “Then we definitely want to investigate first. It must have a reason for what it's doing.”

“That's my own thoughts as well,” Aunt Tia said. “The fey have an odd way of thinking about the world, but in their eyes, their actions always have a certain logic to them.”

I let out a breath and nodded. “Hopefully we can find a peaceful resolution.” This was starting to sound like a big task she was giving me. Normally she left more dangerous assignments to others. We did have the Royal Guard for a reason, after all. Certainly my bodyguards were always quick to remind me of that whenever I was about to walk into a dangerous situation. Not that I could blame them, as irritating as it was sometimes. I certainly wouldn't want to explain to Aunt Tia how I let her sister get hurt.

“That is my hope too.” When Aunt Tia next spoke, it was with a more serious tone. “Though that does bring up something I wanted to talk with you about. The thing is that Luna can be a bit ... enthusiastic, once she gets going.”

Aunt Tia set off all sorts of bells with how careful she was being with her words. “What kind of enthusiastic?”

Aunt Tia frowned slightly and lightly tapped the table. “Once Luna decides on a course of action, she tends to move like a lightning bolt. She isn’t reckless, mind you—she can be more cautious than I sometimes. Just that she can be very decisive once she’s made up her mind. Not to mention she's ... the more martial of the two of us, by far.”

“Oh, I'll ... keep that in mind.” Great, now I was also going to have to try and keep Luna from doing anything we might regret. I could tell this was going to be fun already. Still, Aunt Tia wouldn’t be having me do this if she didn’t trust I could do it. “I'll make sure she doesn't do anything too enthusiastic, then.”

“Thank you,” Aunt Tia said. “I know I can depend on you.”

I gave her a confident smile. “I won't let you down!”

The next morning I headed out the back of the palace to prepare my departure for Queensmouth. Aunt Luna had already beaten me to our chariot. After a moment's hesitation, I steeled my resolve and trotted towards her. She was loading her saddlebags with what sounded like armor when I approached her. “Hello, Aunt Luna.” I gave her the best smile I could manage.

Aunt Luna returned my smile. “Greetings, my beloved niece. How does this morning befit thee?”

“I'm doing well,” I said. “And you?”

“I am well also.” She stretched out her wings. “'Twill be good to get out of the palace and meet the ponies of my realm. For too long have I been apart from them.”

I nodded. “I think you'll enjoy it. I know I...” I trailed off when somepony entered the periphery of my vision.

Shining Armor trotted up and smiled. “Hey, Cadey. Nice to see you.”

D’aw, Shiny wanted to see me off. Sadly, as Captain of the Royal Guard, it wasn’t easy for him to pull himself away from his other duties to come with us. Delegation became an important skill when one reached his rank, not to mention this was supposed to be bonding time between me and Aunt Luna. That would be a bit tricky if Shiny was around, since that would create a significant risk of Luna being the odd mare out. Still, it made me feel good to know he had taken valuable time out of his schedule to see me off. I smiled warmly. “Hi, Shining.”

Aunt Luna quirked an eyebrow. “Niece, who is this gentlecolt?”

Shiny blinked and his eyes slowly recognized Aunt Luna, his new co-superior. He quickly snapped a salute to her. “Captain of the Royal Guard Shining Armor, Princess!”

“Ah, so thou art the Captain of the Royal Guard then?” Aunt Luna bowed her head in acknowledgement. “‘Tis good to finally get to meet thee. Mine apologies for not making time for thee sooner, my schedule has been most busy since my return.”

“Not a problem, Your Highness. He lowered his hoof but still stood at attention. His eyes flicked to me as he stood stock still, and I could see the nervousness in them. “Um ... so...”

I rolled my eyes, smiling all the while. Shiny could be a bit of a doofus. An adorable doofus, but a doofus nonetheless. I could read him like a book and easily saw what was bothering him. “Relax, Shining, I know how to take care of myself. We’ll have our bodyguards too.”

Aunt Luna made a smile that had a mischievous edge to it that I did not completely like. “I assure thee, Captain, as thy princess, I will make sure nothing happens to my beloved niece.”

Shiny smiled and nodded appreciatively. “Glad to hear it.”

Something sparkled behind Aunt Luna’s eyes. “Captain, I know ‘tis normally below thy station, but wouldst thou mind inspecting the gear I have packed? I admit, having so recently returned, I have not had proper time to learn all the different standards there are for mine equipment. ‘Twould set thy princess’ mind at ease if thou wouldst do so for me.”

“Of course, Princess!” Shiny dutifully trotted to the chariot. He bent down to look through what Aunt Luna had brought, giving me a very nice look at his rump.

“So, Cadance.” Aunt Luna cast a privacy spell and then nudged me with her elbow. “When wert thou going to tell me about him?”

“Um...” I forced my gaze away from the attractive distraction. “What about him?” Oh please don’t let her have caught me staring. I hadn’t been blatant, had I?

“Come now, I know the intent of thy gaze.” Aunt Luna smiled wryly. “Need I list the signs to the Princess of Love?”

Darn it, I had been caught staring. This was not how I wanted to tell my new aunt that I had a coltfriend. “Er ... well, we are pretty close...”

To my shock, Aunt Luna actually started examining my coltfriend’s rear. She smiled lecherously and growled deeply in her throat. “He is certainly a fine example of the male breed, is he not? I can see why he caught thine eye.”

“A-A-Aunt Luna!” I felt my cheeks start to burn. Was my aunt really checking out my coltfriend?! That was—that was ... no.

Aunt Luna grinned impishly. “Aye?”

“He's ... my ... that's...” What I tried to say ended up coming out as a high-pitched squeak. “Stop looking at him like that!”

Aunt Luna covered her mouth as she chuckled. “So, I am guessing from thy reactions that thou art not formally courting him?”

I narrowed my eyes suspiciously. She better not have any ideas. “Why do you ask?”

She gave me a feline smile. “I am curious about what my niece has been up to. If 'tis an illicit affair, I wish to make sure 'tis not merely because my sister would disapprove of openly consorting with another pony. She does have her queer opinions ‘bout such things, after all.”

I let out an annoyed huff. “Well I doubt Celestia disapproves of him. She gave him the job of Captain of the Royal Guard, after all! It’s not like I would have been able to keep this secret from her even if I wanted to.” I hadn't even managed to keep this a secret from Aunt Luna for even a day, for that matter.

“True,” Aunt Luna said. “So 'tis thine own desire to keep this secret?”

“There's nothing wrong with being discreet.” In truth, we had kept our relationship a secret for a few reasons—not the least of which was I didn't want anypony thinking that Shiny had gotten his position merely because we were dating. That could do all sorts of nasty things to undermine him within the Guard. Though that still left us with the difficult question of when and how to announce that we were courting. Shame that thorny issue had needed to be pushed aside for more pressing concerns.

Aunt Luna frowned slightly. “Now, thou art not merely using him to warm thy bed, art thou?”

“N-no!” I nearly shrieked and my blushing redoubled itself. “I wouldn't do that to him!”

“Good.” Aunt Luna looked me up and down. “Because as fine a mare as thyself shouldst have no problem finding a fine partner.”

“What ... I ... what?” Had my aunt just checked me out? That was—no, nonono. I was pretty flexible but—no. I did the only thing I could when that happened: scream internally in horror.

“What?” There was the slightest curve of a smirk on Aunt Luna’s lips. “Thou art an extremely comely and intelligent young mare, and a member of the royal family. There is no need to be bashful of such things.” She grinned and looked at Shiny, who was still busy carefully looking over the items in the chariot. “I am sure Captain Shining Armor would agree.”

I felt my eye twitch. “That ... you ... AUNTIE LUNA!”

She grinned quite evilly. “Aaaye?”

I jutted out my lower jaw. “Are you making fun of me?”

Aunt Luna waved the accusation off. “Neigh, hardly so. My compliments are quite genuine.” I fixed her with a suspicious glare, and she leaned in to whisper. “Just a little bit.”

“You...” I narrowed my eyes. She had been playing with me. Aunt Tia had played her games with me, but nothing quite like this.

Before Aunt Luna could make another attempt at trying to kill me with embarrassment, Shiny returned from the chariot. “Everything seems to be in order, Princess Luna.”

Aunt Luna smiled and nodded graciously. “Thank you, my Captain. That helps set my mind for the journey ahead of us.”

“Is there anything else you would like me to take care of for you?” he asked, oblivious to my conversation with my aunt.

Aunt Luna’s teeth flashed predatorily. “Well, I would like for thee to take care of my niece once we return. I do cherish her and I wish for her to be treated well.”

Shiny briefly froze. “Er ... I always take care of her.”

“Dost thou now?” Aunt Luna asked with false innocence. “How so?”

Crimson started to show through Shiny’s coat. “Dutifully?”

“Oh, 'dutifully'?” She carefully examined him from head of hoof. “Well, if thou dost attend as dutifully to me as my niece, then I think I would be most pleased.”

Shiny eyes widened like a pony that had suddenly found himself in the headlight of an oncoming train. “Um...”

I groaned and pressed my hoof to my face. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. My aunt was actually flirting with Shiny, and in front of me! If a pony could die of embarrassment, I was about to keel over.

Aunt Luna smiled teasingly. “There is nothing the matter, is there, Captain Armor? Thou appearest to be somewhat flustered.”

Shiny’s blushing became all the worse and showed particularly badly through his white coat. “Um...”

“Well then, I believe we have taken enough of the captain's time, Cadance,” Aunt Luna said. “We had best be going.

“Um,” Shiny repeated himself, his brain apparently fried by my aunt’s antics.

"Yes! Let's go.” I was happy to finally get out of this terribly awkward situation. Granted, this trip felt like I might be jumping from the frying pan and into the fire, but it couldn’t get much worse. At least we would be getting away from Shiny. “Goodbye, Shining.”

“Um...”

“Good day to thee, my ever dutiful captain.” Aunt Luna turns to walk towards the chariot, all the while swaying her hips in ways that certainly were intended to catch the eyes of onlookers.

Among those ponies who she had caught the eyes of were Shiny, who was staring off after her with that dumbstruck look of his. “Um...”

I fixed Shiny with an annoyed glower and stomped a hoof. “Shining!”

He blinked, finally coming back to his senses. “Oh ... uh ... right! Bye, Cadance!” After a moment’s hesitation, he hugged me.

I suppressed a grumble and hugged him back. “I need to get going, Shiny. See you later.”

I headed to the chariot, where Aunt Luna was holding a hoof to her mouth to suppress a laugh. I climbed into the chariot and glowered at her. “That's not funny.” Really, who did she think she was to do ... that?

Aunt Luna burst out into laughter. “Oh yes it is. Now come, no reason to be upset. I would be terribly surprised if my sister has not teased thee in some manner.”

I ground my teeth together. “Well ... not like that!”

“No, I suppose not,” Aunt Luna said after a moment’s consideration. “She is a prudish mare.”

I crossed my legs over my chest and puffed out my cheeks. “My Shining...”

Aunt Luna waved dismissively. “Do not worry, I would not steal him away from thee.”

“As if you could,” I growled.

Aunt Luna placed a hoof on my shoulder. “Really, it gladdens my heart to hear thou hast such a stalwart and loving protector. I am sure he will stand by thee for the rest of his days.”

I watched her carefully, seeing if she had some other trick up her sleeve. When I didn’t see anything amiss, I nodded. “Thank you.”

That evil grin of Aunt Luna’s returned. “Now if thou canst give me a grandniece someday, 'twould make me even happier.”

Why did she have to keep saying things that made me blush? Now Aunt Tia had teased me about that a couple of times in the past. I swear, all older relatives wanted you to give them a foal to love and spoil. “Oh ... um ... well, we haven't ... we're not that...”

“Familiar?” she suggested.

I did the only thing I could, I mumbled out a whine.

“Thou hardly needest to be embarrassed 'bout the topic.” Aunt Luna rubbed my back. “While my sister may have trouble telling thee how to make thy time in the bedchamber pleasurable, I have no such difficulties. If thou needest advice, I would be more than happy to provide.”

I groaned and ducked my head under my wings. It wasn’t so sure I was going to survive this mission.

Author's Note

I would like to thank my editors Chengar Qordath, Comma-Kazie, and JaketheGinger for their help making this crazy story.

Then I would also like to thank my prereaders Swiftest, Infinion, 621Chopsuey, Pegasusnumber 5, Rodinga, and Web of Hope for their help making this story as good as it can be.