The sound of ten thousand ponies stamping their hooves in unison shakes the scaffolding under Smooth Mercury. The repeating tune crashing out, backdropped by loud cheers as an announcer struggled to be heard through the crowd.

Boom-Boom. Thud.
Boom-Boom. Thud.

Smooth took a deep breath, the musk of displaced dust and the faint smell of thousands filling her nostrils. She closes silvery eyes and focuses on the sound of her heartbeat. Every cheer, each stomp, all of it sends a torrent of emotions rolling through the auditorium below her. She can practically taste the excitement, feel the anticipation. Her wings flutter against her back, itching to move - to release the energy building up inside of her.

Boom-Boom. Thud.
Boom-Boom. Thud.

A shiver runs its way up her spine, contained excitement and nerves in equal measure forcing her to briefly hop from hoof to hoof, wings extending to give her balance. She bends the magic around her wings, the tiny amounts of ambient magic keeping her upper body aloft and unmoving through the process.

The glamour hanging over her form shudders, silver wings and dark blue fur shimmering from the torrent of emotions channelling through her. Briefly, the flickering outline of her long, glimmering horn can be seen spearing from her head. The air grows heavy, emotions channelling through her very spirit, becoming magic and filling her with a shuddering euphoria.

Boom-Boom. Thud.
Boom-Boom. Thud.

'Focus. Remember control.' The turbulent waves of excitement and happiness and love flowing around her split, giving her an unwilling respite from the high of so many emotions from so many ponies. The shimmering along her body ceases, horn fading completely from view. She releases a breath she hadn't realized she had been holding, the throaty noise drowned out by the rising voice of the announcer finishing his introduction; " - welcome Smooth Mercury!"

Her cue. After taking a long breath, her wings tuck against her body and she tilts forward - falling from the top of eaves of the gargantuan stage of the Golden Amphitheatre. The air rushes past her ears, briefly attempting to drown out the roars of excitement. Then, with the ground rushing to meet her, Smooth's wings extend and catch the wind. Feathers rippling, she pushes the magic around her wings, laying them almost flat as her hooves crash against the wooden stage, a trail of weather magic spreading mist and fog from the path of her fall.

Smooth remains crouched against the ground for a moment, then rises, spreading her great silver wings behind her, she cries out, "Manehattan! Are you ready to rock!"

The crowd roars.

"I need love, love, oh to ease my mind -"

Smooth pulls herself off the couch, easily shifting the pair of cheerleaders - from the Manehattan Monsters, she thinks - and hopping onto the coffee table. The clatter of beer bottles falling to the floor and the crumpling of pizza boxes under hoof smothers a few of the lines coming from the house-wide stereo system.

Stretching her wings, she takes a moment to eye the various figures laid prone through the room. Collapsed on couches and chairs, a few asleep on the table, and someone had decided the laundry basket looked comfortable. Head turning, she peers out of the sliding glass door toward the back patio and pool. Framed by the beautiful view provided of the towering Ashwood Forest, the distant mountains behind them capped with pure snow, were about a dozen ponies in various states of unconscious inebriation. None were in the pool, thankfully, but she was definitely going to have to clean the mini-bar.

With a smile of satisfaction working its way onto her face, she hops off the coffee table, sliding along the ground until she is level with the hallway. Strutting forth with the beat, she begins to lip-sing along with the song playing, 'You can't hurry love, you'll just have to wait -'

Her glamour begins to shift and fall apart, silver and dark blue giving way to cerise and a multi-coloured mane, eyes becoming bright purple. Gaining a few inches of height, her horn lights up the second it appears, several lots of bottles and food boxes just vanishing from her path as she heads for the stairs.

Each step up was taken with the beat in little hops, 'Just trust in the good times, no matter how long it takes -' Reaching the top of the stairs, a sleeping pony vanishes in a flash of pink light - deposited carefully in the laundry basket with his friend downstairs. A brief weaving of magic touches at their affection for eachother, making her grin widen as she unlocks her door and power-slides inside, slamming it shut behind her.

Hopping to her hooves, she held a hoof up to her mouth in the mimicry of a microphone as she continued toward the bathroom, 'I remember Auntie said, you can't hurry love, no-o -' Her swagger toward the bathroom was interrupted by a small pop and the appearance of a letter on her desk, sealed with a wax blazing sun. Lip-singing turned to humming and she crossed the room in a few hops, hooves carefully keeping to light-coloured tiles and to the beat. In a flash, the seal was filled with her magic and broken, and the scroll unfolded. The top proudly declared, 'Cadance, I am in need of your assistance with a personal matter, please -'

The grin on Cadance's face grew as she read over the scroll. A new student? By the sound of it, not anything like Sunset, too. She dropped the letter onto the desk and hopped toward the bathroom, avoiding the tiles that are lava, lip-singing along with a few more lines of her favourite song, 'But it's a game of give and take, you can't hurry love -'

Cadance had to hold back some satisfaction as she strutted through the halls, her adopted form - a cute maid with long legs and a tight flank that made her skirt quite distracting - going ignored after a glance or two by the guards and other staff. Each hoofstep against the network of enchantments in the floor told them that she was allowed to be here, after all. Passing another pair of guards with a bright smile and wink, she slipped into the Royal Archives.

Nothing in the castle had changed in the forty years since she had visited it. No new paintings, the walls hadn't been redecorated, the carpets were maintained older than she was, the maze in the gardens hadn't been changed, not even the armour of the guards or maid uniforms adjusted to be less suggestive - or more, Cadance certainly wouldn't have minded. Say what you will of Celestia's ancient sensibilities, she seemed to enjoy the view as much as anyone else - even if she would never admit it. The poor mare, she probably thinks she would be strung up.

Cadance knew a dozen upcoming talented artists that would faint at the opportunity to touch up even a single room. It's depressing, being dragged into the distant past every time she walked through the halls - forced to remember those who had passed, rather than being able to move on. She can't imagine how it affects auntie after so long if it hurts Cadance so much after only six hundred years.

If nothing in the rest of the castle had changed in forty years, the archives hadn't changed since she became an Alicorn and was brought under Celestia's wing. Oh, sure, new books were constantly brought in and added to the vast collection of knowledge, but the feeling never changed. The Chief Archivists also looked suspiciously like one another no matter how much the torch was passed on, a matronly mare with a stern frown and half-moon spectacles ready to berate you for daring to cause a cacophony as loud as whispering. Is that how Celestia felt about every mortal she met?

Cadance disappeared between the towering shelves of tomes before the Chief Archivist could come over and demand to know why she was here, mind now turning to her target. The letter from Celestia had spoken of her student briefly, and her tremendous social anxiety. A stark contrast to the powerful charisma of her previous student. Cadance had not been cautious enough of Sunset. This time, she won't let anything slip through her net.

Technically, she is meant to be meeting auntie in two hours before she meets the new student over tea. Undoubtedly pleasant enough, full of tame conversation and honeyed words. That is how it had gone with Sunset, and Cadance had allowed herself to be fooled by Celestia's previous commends of the filly's potential and inner goodness despite the warning in her heart. Celestia had nearly broken after that betrayal. She would not allow herself to be fooled by another power-hungry student.

It didn't take her long to find Twilight amidst the shelves, just like the cute colt in the kitchens said she would be. Cadance paused several meters away, examining the small lavender filly.

Twilight Sparkle was half-buried in a large chair with comparatively gargantuan cushions, face scrunched up in concentration as she examined the book on... Mental magic? Two-dozen other tomes were stacked on nearby tables, each referencing Princess Luna or the mind arts in some way. That gave Cadance pause. The letter had mentioned, briefly, Celestia' suspicions that Twilight Sparkle's cutie mark might be so broad as to be worrying. If that was the case, then this could be par for the course. No pony can resist furthering their knowledge in their cutie mark's field. On the other hoof, it could be a warning of somepony worse than Sunset.

Still, she was quite cute. Her cheeks contained just enough pudge to be pinchable, but it looked like she was going to quickly lose that filly fat. Cadance could make our her distinct, royal cheekbones under the scrunch of her face and knew she would be pretty when she grew. Well, that tended to happen with their heritage. Cadance herself looked disturbingly like a younger Celestia by all accounts, despite the generations between them.

Unlike either Cadance or Sunset, though, Twilight was not the spitting image of the Auntie that Cadance knew so well. Her cheekbones were royal, but not delicate - and her muzzle wasn't as thin as it should have been. The eyes were the largest difference. Any descendent that Cadance had ever met had fiery, bright eyes - they roared with emotion, flaring when you grew angry, which was often. Celestial lines also typically had bright fur; yellows, oranges, pinks, and whites were the most common.

She couldn't be a Lunar line, could she?

Long moments of further examination made her reconsider that. She had seen the last two descendants of the final line of Lunar descent herself, the last of the Moonstone Line. They had an entirely different air. Had one escaped both her and her Aunt's investigations? Auntie might have refused to keep track of her own descendants, but she kept nearly fanatical records of her sister's - and ensured they had good opportunities to shine.

The descendants of Luna were physical and quick on their feet, their bloodline blessing them with grace and an almost fanatical appreciation for finer magics. Twilight did not look like a physically active pony, but she was holding a tome on mind magic. It didn't get much more delicate than that.

Cadance allowed her physical senses to dull, and focused. The material faded. The scent of the old tomes and dusty shelves, the sound of distant movement and hushed talking, quiet sounds of armour from the halls. The subtle distortions of the emotional became reality. Everything shifted, then the shelves began to shine softly with the imprints of the countless ponies who had passed through them. Each book a different shade and adding to the rainbows of colours, the emotional imprints left upon them by their readers.

The sight of Twilight in the reality of the emotional made her cringe, then clench her teeth. The filly was in tatters. Someone had gotten into her head and tore at everything they could. Cadance could see the burning core that drove her on, running with vibrant lavender and fiery scarlets that pushed against the sickly, inky blackness that would haunt her thoughts and dreams. Somepony had done something terrible to Twilight, and it made Cadance's heart burn with a sudden fire. She let out a harsh breath, expelling the sudden rising anger with practised ease.

The noise seemed to draw Twilight's attention up very suddenly, head snapping to look at Cadance like a whip.

Cadance let go of her alternate sense, the world flowing back to the purely physical. Purple eyes were locked on hers, squinting against some unseen glare, stars sparkling within the iris.

Magesight. Ponyfeathers.

Cadance focused and turned her attention inward - recalling old lessons drilled into her by Celestia after her ascension. It took only a moment for her to begin subduing her own aura, an itch settling in under her skin as the raw power she exuded every moment was held back. She could feel her mane and tail begin to get light and airy, a slight pressure building under her eyes, her horn beginning to heat. How Celestia could do this all the time was beyond Cadance.

The effects were immediate on Twilight. Her squint subsided, the filly blinked rapidly before focusing on Cadance. Her small, purple body tensed, the tome in her magical grip moved in front of her in a protective gesture. Then, she spoke, and Cadance's heart melted into a puddle in her hooves.

"W-w-who a-are y-you? W-why are y-you u-under an i-illusion?"

Cadance didn't have to fake the smile that split her muzzle, nor the happy laugh that rang out. "Oh, it's something of a trade trick. I didn't want ponies to know I was trapesing around, you see. They tend to get excitable and tell auntie on me."

The filly's eyes darted up and down her a moment, her eyes narrowing as peering at some far off object. Cadance let the gears turn in Twilight's head without interruption, waiting with curiosity burning in her chest. Those purple eyes traced over her, resting on the midpoint of her back. Then, with all the speed of a turtle stampede, her gaze went to the top of Cadance's head, then finally their eyes locked.

Twilight began to fidget very slightly, eyes suddenly flicking toward a notebook stacked with the tomes nearby. Cadance smiled and waited.

It took the purple filly a bit longer to speak, but Cadance was sure Twilight already knew exactly what was going on. When Twilight did open her mouth, she licked her lips and swallowed, and said, "Y-you're P-p-princess M-m-m-mi A-a-a-"

Here, Cadance interjected, "You can just call me Cadance, Twilight. I've heard a bit about you from auntie, a very glowing letter. She is very proud of your progress so far. I just had to meet you personally before auntie introduced us. Hence, the illusion."

Twilight shifted, averting her gaze to the floor, cheeks suddenly flaring an even deeper purple. When her eyes finally worked their way back up, Cadance gave her a wicked grin, "Want me to show you how?"

Shining Armor was never going to be able to get the smell of armor polish out of his nose. The golden suit of Royal Guard ceremonial armor carefully lain out on the table before him was the sixth this morning, but it felt like the hundredth. Every single piece had to be polished to a sheen 'until it looked like Celestia's own sun' from each vambrace to every crease in the backplates. The hardest parts were the pegasus wing guards, the thin interwoven metal scales that shield the entirety of a pegasus' wings from arrow fire and very basic spells.

The owner of this set of armour, Corporal Gale Force, was a pegasus, he was also watching every movement Shining made. Quiet and contemplative, like all of the Royal Guards he didn't mouth off or make fun of Shining Armor for the menial tasks he performed around the Palace and Barracks. What they did do, though, was almost worst from Shining's position.

"Recruit, twist the corner of the rag into a point to get between the featherplates."

Shining had to take a moment to take a breath, filling his nostrils with the smell of polish and steel. All they ever did was watch him quietly or talk amongst themselves, perfect specimens of professionalism and a soldier's grace and honour. It drove him insane, almost as much as their advice did. The act of breathing managed to hold back his desire to say; 'I know, Corporal! You've told me before!' Well, that and the fact that he had not been doing what was advised.

Instead, he manages a nod and carefully twists the corner of the rag and dips it in the small can of polish before pressing it between the grooves. Gale Force nods and resumes watching, occasionally taking the time to walk around the table, peering at all of the fully cleaned pieces before settling back into place next to Shining.

His remaining shame was reduced, at least, by the other guards in the Palace Armory. Stripping out of their Palace Armor, or 'ceremonial' as they called it, and cleaning then polishing it down to store it after they had completed their patrol duty. Every one of them was doing the exact thing he was, taking a rag to every crease and plate to make the armor gleam. Even the unicorns were using rags, instead of just casting a spell and having it be done with. Shining had learned the folly of trying that on months ago, on his second day.

Ceremonial they might be, certainly far removed from the full-body adamantine plate in the War Armory, but the Palace Armor was not to be underestimated. It outclassed Legion armor by a good margin, enchantments of quiet and strength pounded into every square inch, coupled with lightening charms and a host of other small spells that Shining couldn't even begin to guess at. Finally, some sort of forging trick ensured that magic just seemed to slide off the surface. Minor spells, such as a polishing spell, just slide off of it like it wasn't there. It took more effort to pick up the helmet than Shining's entire suit of training armor, even though it was feather-light by comparison. Even the few Unicorn Guards took it off by hoof, or by using small iron hooks that were easy to levitate to hang up the armor.

A small, excited voice passing the door made Shining look away from his task, eyes and ears turning to the source. "A-and the P-princess a-actually let m-me try! I-it was s-s-scary at f-first, b-but walking t-through the d-doors was f-fun -" Her voice faded as she passed with a tall, extremely pretty pink maid levitating a stack of books.

Gale Force cuts into his thoughts, "She is doing well as the Princess' student."

Shining nods, when she arrived she wouldn't even ask the guards for help. Now? She was talking face-to-face with the maids. "Yeah," he replies eventually, an old thought making his voice softer than he intended. "She is."

"You will never be replaced, you know." Gale Force seems to spear directly into Shining's fears, making him turn and look at the Pegasus sharply. "By her. Don't feel bad about not being there for her every day. I understand. We all do."

Shining lowers his head at that, the thought made him uncomfortable, being replaced or vanishing from her life. Like a lead weight in his belly. Gale Force rests a hoof on his shoulder for a few seconds before lowering it.

Shining returns to polishing the armor, retwisting the corner of the rag into a point.

Twilight's heart felt light as she hopped into Princess Luna's room, Princess Cadance in disguise at her heels. The dancing drawings only she could see greeting her with their twists and turns, the enchantments in the ceiling glowing in a private, welcoming light. It had begun to feel like a warm embrace, the smell of old books and iron now familiar and welcome, the sounds of the castle fading away. The wards woven into the castle were gargantuan and impressive, but the subtle creations in this room were simply beyond her to even notice without searching - and each she discovered was more beautiful than the last.

The spellwork around the door, for example, had been her first find. Small loops and carvings into the small edges of the doorsill that only glowed when there were no other lights in the room. The magic seemed protective, like some sort of seal against unfriendliness, but she couldn't yet guess at the exact functions.

Some part of her finally let go of lingering tension when Princess Cadance stepped through the door, and the wards did nothing to impede her or shatter the disguise.

Swallowing her remaining nerves, she tried to make up for her pause in speech while Cadance passed under the door, "a-and the P-princess g-gave me this room, i-it u-used to belong t-to P-princess Luna."

Twilight came to a stop at the edge of the silver spell circle lain into the floor, turning to face the doorway - finding Cadance had come to a stop just a few meters into the room. Pink eyes regarded the large chamber, the so-far talkative Princess quiet as she took in the bookshelves, workshop, ceiling, cushions, and desk in turn.

Twilight couldn't resist. "D-did y-you know h-her? I-i know y-you were c-coronated at the s-start of t-the S-sovereign Era, b-but..." She trailed off with Cadance shaking her head in reply, continuing to look around the room. An odd light enters the Princess' eyes, a prismatic glow that contrasts the vibrant sky blue aura that leaks off of her constantly, even seeping through the delicate, semi-transparent film of grey that hid her true form.

Some of the brightness seems to leave the Princess as she looks around, her smile vanishing. She sniffs, eyes glistening, and shakes her head, the prismatic glow vanishing from her eyes. Cadance finally looks back to Twilight, "No, I didn't know her. That was before my time. Auntie never let me in here, but if she would let anyone stay here..."

Twilight immediately turns her thoughts to that statement. What made her specifically worthy of staying here, when the, admittedly absentee, Princess of Harmony wasn't when she was younger? Her magesight?

She is pulled from her thoughts by Cadance speaking up again, a mischievous grin working onto the Princess' face, "As long as you won't let anyone report me to Auntie, it's time to show you the glamour, as I promised."

The thin shroud that surrounded the Princess began to shift and unravel, like someone pulling a blanket apart string by string, inch by inch. Small parts weaving themselves away as the illusion faded. In only a moment, the true form of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was revealed to Twilight. She was tall, easily a full head above Shining or her parents, and regally. Her muzzle was long and reminiscent of Celestia's, with a slender neck and smooth body lacking excess. Powerful wings fluttered at her side and a long, delicate horn gleamed in the light of the ceiling stars.

In those moments, the Princess' aura was fully revealed - as it had been in the first moment Twilight looked up at her. She was utterly vibrant and enthralling and blinding. Where a normal pony glowed with the true nature of their magic, vibrant colour and pattern that made them special and distinct. Princess Mi Amore Cadenza was simply more than mortal. She seemed to take in some hidden sources of light and reflect them through herself, a walking prism whose aura changed with each shift of her wings, every movement of her hooves.

Twilight resisted the urge to avert her gaze, feeling a headache begin to pound behind strained eyes. She wanted to see.

Cadance moved, the colours shining through her twinkling like rays of sunlight. Then, she began to dim. Watching the process eased the pain of Twilight's headache, but it made her want to cry, watching that beauty vanish behind an aura of now-dull sky blue, never to match the majesty of what lay behind it. She had to take a shaky breath once it was done, and Princess Cadance stood before her. It seemed wrong, like she wasn't seeing the full Princess. She had to force someone to hide what they truly were because she couldn't even look at them without hurting herself.

She gathered herself and counted.

One. Two. Three.

Twilight took in a deep breath and held it, closing her eyes. She allowed the noise of Princess Cadance's voice to fade. Instead, she focused on that image in her mind, of Princess Cadance revealed. She lost herself in that, examining with perfect clarity the countless facets of a Princess' true aura. Twilight knew she was seeing the image with perfect recall, but knew it simply didn't compare to the real thing, no matter how clear the imitation.

She didn't even realize how long she had been holding her breath until a hoof laid itself on her shoulder, making her flinch back and finally notice the burning in her lungs and the tightness in her chest.

Twilight resisted the urge to breathe just long enough to complete the ritual.

Three. Two. One.

She inhaled, hard. Taking deep breaths and taking a few steps away from the Princess, who looked down at her with concern with a hoof outstretched, pulled back in hesitation. Twilight took a few moments to gather herself, the haze of her deprivation fading from her mind in mere moments.

Cadance lowered her hoof and spoke, voice soft and warm, "Are you alright, Twilight? I didn't mean to scare you, or hurt your eyes."

Twilight shook her head rapidly, straining her neck to look up into purple eyes that shifted with hidden power, just like Princess Celestia's. The thought made Twilight burn with curiosity. What did Celestia look like?

She made an effort to focus past what her mind conjured, and spoke, "No! I-it was b-beautiful! It's j-just..." Twilight trailed off, struggling to find the words for a long moment, "B-bright. Very bright. L-like a p-prism."

Cadance's head tilts, seeming to consider that, the smile on her muzzle brightening. "Like a prism? I've never spoken to anyone with magesight, so I can't say I've been compared to a prism before. It is very flattering, though."

Twilight went to protest, feeling her cheeks burn, "N-no! I m-mean it's -"

Cadance cut her off, laughing, "It's alright, Twilight. I understand. I'll admit I'm curious to hear more about your magesight, though. If you're willing to share?"

Twilight does not hesitate to nod, bobbing her head in eager agreement, "O-of course!"

"Great!" Cadance declared, flipping her mane, "But first, I need to fulfil my promise and show you my glamour. It's a bit advanced, but I'll have you breaking into the kitchens in no time..."

Author's Note

Hey guys! For those of you who read the blog post, this is a day late. For the rest of you, this is months late. A small delay turned into a long delay and quite a bit of self-doubt, leading to a lapse in writing and just sitting around and thinking rather than getting any writing done.
In addition, my editor has had to step away due to personal obligations. A real shame to see him go, as he really was great. I really hope the quality on your end isn't reduced too much, but I know editing myself is a bit rough. I did my best, and delayed a day because I was worried. I know the tense issue has probably returned in full-force, but I felt getting a chapter out after so long was better than continuing to delay and never putting it out.

Quite paranoid about this chapter, but it's just about as ready as I can make it without overediting it again and needing to rewrite a whole section. Hope you guys like it.

In other news, I figured I would post a timeline of the eras for all of you to see if you want. The exact dates will probably come over time in the story, and I just want to clear up any confusion you might have with it. You'll learn about why they are named as they are through the story, a few are probably more obvious.

Solar Calendar = SC
Pre-Discordian Times: Unknown
Discordian Era: Unknown to 0
Solar Era: 0 to 392 SC
Unification Era: 392 SC to 645 SC
Imperial Era: 645 SC to 1291 (Banishment of Luna)
Despondence Era: 1291 SC to 1301 SC
Resplendent Era: 1301 SC to 1682 SC
Sovereign Era: 1682 SC to 1979 SC
Harmonic Era: 1979 SC to 2278 SC (Current Year)

I hope all of you had a great Christmas and have a happy New Years!