Wingless ~ Part One

"Thank you for the lunch Pinkie Pie and Applejack! I can't wait to see what you have made for dinner!"

"Oh trust me Princess, you will love dinner, then you'll love the dessert, and then possibly the midnight snacks if Twilight will let us wake up then!" Pinkie replied, bouncing around the two alicorns.

"We'll see about that Pinkie." Twilight looked at her sister-in-law, "So, what do you want to do next? We could go see the library, explore the upper-levels of the castle, or we could chat on the balcony."

"Hm... How about we chat on the balcony? We could enjoy the view and catch up on things, then tomorrow we can do the rest!" Cadence suddenly belched and quickly covered her mouth with her hoof. She giggled, "Oops, excuse me."

"We'll be expectin' that during dinner." Applejack joked, making her way down the hall with Pinkie by her side. "We'll go make sure dinner will be ready by four okay?"

"Alright!" Twilight replied.

"Oooo, An early dinner?"

"Mhm! That way we'll have time to fly around Ponyville later."

"Sounds good!" Cadence said as Twilight led the way to the balcony.

Glancing over her shoulder, Twilight became amused at her sister-in-law's bounce in her step. She's been so energetic today; I bet things at the Crystal Empire are running smoothly. The alicorn approached a set of stairs and began climbing them. Being accustomed to teleporting from one place to another, Twilight could feel the burn in her thighs when she took her tenth step. She looked up to the rest of them and groaned softly.

"Having trouble already?" Cadence came to Twilight's side and continued climbing the stairs. "Come on! The stairs aren't going to carry us!"

Twilight sighed and followed her sister-in-law, trying not to show how envious she was of Cadence's endurance when the pink alicorn looked behind to check on her.

When they finally made it to the top of the stairs Twilight stopped to catch her breath while Cadence gaped at the balcony ahead of her. "Oh... My... Celestia! This is so cool! It's almost like the one in the Crystal Empire!" She trotted onto it and placed her fore-hooves on the railing. "But the scenery is much, much more peaceful. Nothing glittery, nothing flashy," She took in a breath of air, "Just peace... You are so lucky to have your castle here."

"Why's that?" Twilight asked, confused. "Isn't the empire a good place too?"

"Don't get me wrong Twilight, the empire's a great place! But..." Cadence didn't meet Twilight's eyes, but instead looked back at the view of the town. "It's just too peaceful at times... Sometimes the empire's just so peaceful that I feel like snapping!"

Twilight laughed, "You better not do that. I did that once, and I got into major trouble with Celestia!"

"I heard about that." Cadence joined in on the laughter. "Yeah, I'm not going to do that... Especially around your brother."

"Around my brother, why?"

"I never told you? Oh, I-" Cadence stopped as Spike and Fluttershy approached, carrying two lounging chairs and a foldable table. Fluttershy whistled and four birds flew in, carrying a platter holding two drinks.

"Sorry if we're interrupting. We just thought you two might like these to relax." Fluttershy bowed her head to Cadence and nudged Spike to exit the balcony. "See you two at dinner. Enjoy yourselves!"

"Thank you!" Twilight used her magic to unfold the chairs and the table, relaxed in one of the chairs, and gestured for Cadence to do the same. She then placed the table and the two beverages between the chairs, and looked up to the sky. The purple alicorn stretched and shifted herself to be more comfortable. "This is nice, isn't it?"

"Mmm...." Cadence's reply was barely audible, and her expression seemed to be clouded with thought. Twilight turned her head to face her, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing..." She sighed and rubbed her temple between her eyes. "I'm sorry Twilight, I don't mean to be like this... This is supposed to be a nice visit and I'm beginning to kill it."

"It's okay. Honestly Cadence, I didn't expect you to be happy this whole trip." Twilight faced the sky again, "Besides, we're princesses. We have a responsibility, it's normal for us to be stressed out."

"That's easier to be said than to believe..." Cadence sighed and looked at Twilight. "Your brother doesn't handle stress very well."

"What?"

"Well, Since there's really nothing much for Shining Armor to do in the empire, he's always going to Canterlot to take over duties there. But... For some reason... He's been really upset about some things. And we... We argue every time he comes back from Canterlot."

"Arguing?"

"Yeah... It's always about the smallest of things, like how 'I don't make sure the guards keep up with their daily routine', or, 'I rely on him to do everything every day'... It's just so stupid!" Cadence's eyes began to water, and she immediately wiped the tears away. "So that's why I wanted to visit here now rather than in two weeks, I thought it was best to let Shining Armor look after the empire and see what kind of work he doesn't have to do but... I think I made a mistake."

"Cadence," Twilight turned to her side, meeting Cadence's eyes. "The Shining Armor you're talking about doesn't sound like the brother I grew up with, or the colt you married. If anything goes wrong, come to me okay?"

"Okay..."

"When Shining and I were younger, he would usually just go outside and exercise, or practice his magic if he was stressed. Has he done anything like that?"

"No... When he comes home he just goes straight to bed and doesn't talk to me unless we argue." Tears welled up in Cadence's eyes, "Have I made a mistake in marrying him?"

"Cadence..."

"What if I did? What if he put up an act just so he could marry a princess?" Cadence whirled her head to Twilight, "He wouldn't do that, would he?!"

"Of course not! Hey," Twilight slid off her chair, she placed her hoof on Cadence's shoulder and gave her a warm smile. "Take a deep breath."

Cadence nodded and took a deep breath. As she exhaled, Twilight pulled her sister-in-law to her hooves. "Come on!" Twilight spread her wings and lifted herself off the ground. "Let's take that flight now, I think both of us need it."

"I think I need it the most." Cadence remarked. She spread her wings and followed Twilight towards the outskirts of Ponyville. The pink alicorn frowned slightly, I really hope I didn't ruin this visit, I should've waited until the time was right to tell her... That must've been a good enough time to tell her though. She shook her head and caught up to Twilight, pushing away her worries. Forget about it! Right now I'm going to make sure Twilight and I have a fun flight.

After what seemed like hours, Twilight collapsed on a cloud, panting while Cadence landed next to her, puffing her chest as if she won a race. The purple alicorn glared at her sister jokingly as a drop of sweat trickled down the side of her face. "You think you won already?"

"Well..." Cadence took a moment to ruffle her feathers, "I'm not the one gasping for air like a fish, am I?"

"Oh ho! So I'm a fish now?" Twilight whipped her tail at Cadence, sending part of the cloud to hit her. "How do you like that?"

"Fish don't throw cloud-balls!" Cadence giggled and brushed her chest, where the piece of cloud hit. She sat down, gazed at the view, and sighed. "Ponyville is such a nice place."

"Yeah." Twilight sat up and joined her sister-in-law. She looked to where the town clock was, Three o'clock... Okay, we still have a while. The alicorn glanced at her sister and smiled, seeing Cadence looking relaxed. It's good to know the flight worked, but how long will this work? Twilight looked to the right, viewing the Everfree Forest. She gasped, her eyes widened at the sight of storm clouds in the distance. Rainbow Dash said something about taking care of a storm right?

"What's wrong?" Twilight spun her head to face her sister, who now looked at her in concern. Cadence glimpsed at where Twilight was looking and squinted her eyes. "Are those... storm clouds?"

"I think so."

"But didn't Spike say that Rainbow Dash had the sky cleared for today?"

"He did," Twilight frowned, "When I saw Rainbow earlier she told me she had our route cleared."

"It does seem that way but," Cadence raised a hoof over her eyes, trying to see farther ahead. "That storm looks pretty dark."

"Yeah. It looks like it's coming our way too."

After a while, Cadence suddenly sat up straight, her eyes beaming. She smirked as she glanced at Twilight. "You know, the pegasi don't seem to be around..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You're not thinking what I think you're thinking, are you?"

The pink alicorn slowly stood up, spreading her wings. She faced Twilight with her determined yet excited eyes and smiled. "I haven't fought many storms lately either..."

"I... I don't know Cadence." Twilight rubbed her foreleg, "I don't think this is a good idea."

"Oh, come on Twilight!" Cadence nudged her sister. "It's not like you haven't done anything more dangerous! May I remind you that you were the one who fought Lord Tirek?"

"Well... Yeah... But we're supposed to be back for dinner by four."

Cadence rolled her eyes playfully. "Typical Twilight," She muttered, and then shook Twilight slightly. "I'm sure your friends will understand why we'll be late."

"I guess... Okay," Twilight stood up, "Let's do this quickly!"

"Just imagine that storm is Tirek." Cadence giggled as she flew forward, "And I'll imagine it as Shining."

Twilight flew up to her side in pursuit. "You're really upset about Shining, aren't you?"

"You think? You marry a guy and then see this side of him, when you could've seen it while you were dating him."

"I guess I wouldn't know what that would be like."

"Yeah you little stinker!" Cadence flapped her wings harder, gaining speed. "Let's break this storm!"

Twilight followed Cadence, still unsure about dealing with the storm. She then became aware that they were flying farther and farther into the Everfree Forest territory. I really hope this will be quick.

"Get your magic ready!"

Twilight nodded and ignited her horn, and looked below and watched as trees in the forest passed them. The alicorn soon became so deep in thought that she lost track of time and the environment around her. The only thing she was aware of was

"W-what the?!"

Twilight perked her ears at her sister's voice, snapping back to reality. She looked forward to see the storm beginning to grow. The purple alicorn looked behind to see Ponyville at least a mile away. She then looked back at the storm and noticed that storm wasn't just approaching them, it was growing, and spreading!

Cadence's ears fell back as they neared the storm, her eyes revealing her hesitation and her magic cutting off.

"Picture it as Shining Armor. That might help!" Twilight suggested, hoping she sounded confident. If this storm hits town, then everypony will be drenched!

Cadence's horn flared, and the pink alicorn charged at the storm. As soon as she disappeared into the clouds, a flash of lightning struck out of the clouds, creating deafening thunder.

Oh no! If this storm isn't destroyed now, Ponyville might face another dangerous storm "Cadence! Wait!" Twilight pursued the alicorn, but froze in place to see the storm clouds growing and surrounding her. Rain began to fall heavily over her, soaking her mane and coat. Twilight could feel adrenaline pulsing in her body, the immediate thought echoed through her mind as another roll of thunder echoed in the air: Get out!

Twilight shook her head, fighting the urge to flee. She lit up her horn and used her magic to shoot a beam of heat through the clouds above her, but the clouds immediately closed the hole. "Cadence!" The purple alicorn whipped her head around to see where they came from, but she she was blinded by a wave of rain hitting her face. Twilight coughed and wiped her eyes, "Cadence!" She used her magic again to shield herself from the rain, her heart pounded in worry as she searched for her sister-in-law. Lightning continued to light up the area, both it and the thunder seemed to threaten to break Twilight's concentration on her magic. "Cadence! Where are you?!"

A flash of blue appeared in the corner of Twilight's vision, and she sighed in relief to find Cadence flying towards her. The alicorn's mane and coat dripping wet as she used her magic again to shield herself from the rain.

"This storm isn't giving up!" Cadence gasped for breath, "My magic isn't working on it!"

"We need to get out of here now! The weather team will know what to do!"

"Are you sure?! What if the storm has already spread to Ponyville?!"

"Then the weather team will see it! Let's go!" Twilight's horn flared as she shot a wide beam of magic through the clouds above them. Still using her magic, she flew upwards, clenching her teeth while the rain hit them sideways, half-blinding her. A huge gust of wind abruptly blew towards the two alicorns, carrying another wave of rain that was stronger than the last.

Cadence used her magic to create a shield around both of them. She yelped as the wave hit, her magic wavering. The pink alicorn continued the follow Twilight, her eyes blazing in fury as she pictured the wave being Shining Armor. Her love for her husband suddenly interfered and killed her fury, causing her concentration to falter. What do I do now? Think Cadence! Think! The thought of Sombra's reign popped into her head, but the thought wasn't fast enough. A strike of lightning shot close to her and Twilight, and Cadence gasped, her magic cutting off. The waves of rain cut through the broken shield; the rain hit Cadence, feeling as if the drops were small daggers. She screamed in panic as the wind blew her away from Twilight. She coughed and sputtered, trying to keep the rain out of her face.

Twilight winced in surprise at the sudden rain, her magic cutting off. "No!" She panted, and then grunted as rain sprayed into her face.

"Twilight!"

The faint cry from her sister alerted Twilight. The purple alicorn whirled around, only to see no sign of Cadence. Her heart skipped a beat, Oh no! Twilight's head spun in a panic, everything in her body numbed. "Cadence?!"