"... And the next thing I know I have a horn and Twilight has wings," Cadance finished explaining to her parents.

She had returned from the Astral Plane a short while ago. Her parents had been worried sick of course when she had run off to confront Prismia. But when she had come back with not just a horn, but the story to go with it, they had been shocked, to say the least.

"Oh, honey. We knew you were special, but I never expected this," her mother Bright Glow said as she hugged her.

"I didn't think it was even possible," her father Steel Haze added. He gave her a look. "So what does this mean for you?"

Cadance slumped. "Princess Celestia wants to take me and Twilight on as her students." She tapped her horn. Even having it for such a short time now, she couldn't imagine not having it.

"Is that such a bad thing?" Bright Glow asked. "There's no one in the village who could help you."

"I know. But I don't want to leave. This is my home," she hugged her mother tightly. "I don't want to leave you."

Her dad joined the family. "Honey. You know we love you and that we'd support you no matter what you did."

"But this is a big chance for you." Bright Glow added. "Maybe Princess Celestia can even help you find your real parents."

Cadance sniffed. "You think she might?"

"Maybe," Steel Haze said. "But also think about this. You and Twilight are friends right?" She nodded. "Do you really want her to be alone when she's the student of the princess?"

Cadance stopped for a moment. Her dad has a point. What would that be like? Twilight lived in Canterlot of course, but living with the princess was a whole other thing. She knew she'd want a friend there alongside her. And she'd be lying if she said she hadn't ever wanted to see the capital of Equestria.

Plus from what more Twilight had told her before they had gone their separate ways, Twilight didn't have any friends at all. Outside her parents at least. "Fine," she grumbled in a way that told her parents she had given in. "I'll have an answer when the princess gets here."

"Did she say when she was coming?" Her dad asked.

Cadance shook her head. "In a few days, I think. Something about us living in the middle of nowhere, plus she wanted to meet Twilight's parents first."

"I wonder how that is going?" Bright Glow asked.

Cadance nodded. She didn't mention though the strange feeling that weld up inside her every time she thought of the unicorn. Maybe Princess Celestia would have a better idea. Whatever it was, Cadance knew one thing.

She didn't want it to end.

***

"... And the next I know I have wings and Cadance has a horn," Twilight finished explaining with a large grin.

Her parents were taking it as well as could be expected. Her mother, Twilight Velvet, sat on the Living Room's sofa with a slightly glazed look to her eyes, while her dad, Night Light was still trying to process it all.

"That is not the full reason." Princess Celestia said in her best calming voice. "But it is hard to explain otherwise."

"So then what do we do about this?" Velvet asked.

Celestia sighed. "Right now, Twilight's magic is very unpredictable. Since she and Cadance are the first ponies to ever ascend to alicorn status, we can't know for sure how it will grow."

"What about the School for Gifted Unicorns?" Night Light asked.

Celestia shook her head. "The teachers there are among the best in their fields, but none have ever dealt with a young alicorn before." She chuckled. "If Starswirl were here today, he could tell you about trying to deal with two of them. There were some days he wished he hadn't become our teacher. I believe that had some relevance as to why he joined the Pillars."

That seemed to lighten the mood a little. "So then, what is your plan?" Velvet asked.

Celestia looked at Twilight expectantly. "I want to make both Twilight and Cadance as my personal students. To help them grow into their newfound magic, and for them to help each other."

Twilight cocked her head. "How are you supposed to do that?"

Celestia smiled. "Simple. You are more at ease with magic than Cadance is at the moment. She could use someone to teach her everything she needs to know about her Unicorn Magic." Her gaze drifted toward her wings. "And while you have pulled off something that most thought impossible, those were only temporary wings." She brushed one of her own against Twilights, who giggled at the sensation. "Now that you have real flesh and blood wings, you now have everything a Pegasus does. But you have no idea of how to control them."

Twilight had to admit the princess had a point. And maybe she could explain the funny feeling she got every time she thought of Cadance. It didn't make any sense. But it felt right all the same. And she never wanted it to stop. She looked at her mom and dad and put on her best puppy dog eyes. "Please?"

To this day, Princess Celestia would classify that look as weapons-grade adorable and it just wasn't fair/ And she wasn't even being aimed at.

Twilight Velvet and Night Light, despite years of being subjected to the same, could not say no to their daughter when she was like this.

As the three of them were going over future plans later, Celestia's mind turned toward Cadance and the other part of this to come.

Author's Note

Time for the hard part for Princess Celestia. Twilight has it easy since she lives in Canterlot. Not so much for Cadance, since she lives so far away from Equestria's capital. And since I'm feeling extra nice today (since it's all but an actual holiday here in my home state of Indiana with the Indianapolis 500 now 53 laps old). Here are the full Elements of Harmony lineup.

Cadance: Element of Magic.
Twilight Sparkle: Element of Loyalty.
Sour Sweet: Element of Laughter.
Sunny Flare: Element of Generosity.
Indigo Zap: Element of Honesty.
Lemon Zest: Element of Kindness.

Edit: And a big congratulations to Hélio Castroneves of São Paulo, Brazil in winning his 4th Indianapolis 500 (2001, 2002, 2009, and 2021). Joining A.J. Foyt (1961, 1964, 1967, 1977), Al Unser (1970, 1971, 1978, 1987), and Rick Mears, (1979, 1984, 1988, 1991) in the four-time winner club.

Also a big congratulations to Max Verstappen of Hasselt, Belgium for winning the Monaco Grand Prix, and to Kyle Larson of Elk Grove, California for winning the Coca Cola 600 in Charlotte, North Carolina. They all deserved the win. Even if I didn't watch all three races.