Cadence made a mental note to find and euthanize that dog that decided to come and empty its bladder right on the bush she was hiding in. But she paid it no mind for now. She was trying to remain hidden. And as cliché as it was, the bush was doing a pretty good job as a cover. Apart from the binoculars which could be easily noticed if one looked closely. But she paid no mind to that neither as she had more important matters at hoof.

She had pointed the binoculars in the direction of Twilight's castle. She had been looking there for a while now as if waiting for something to happen.

And finally something did happen.

The castle's door opened and Twilight came out. She headed away towards the market, most likely to buy something.

This is what Cadence was waiting for. She slowly came out of the bush, careful not to be noticed and happy to finally get out of that dog toilet. She immediately started to chase after Twilight doing all she could to remain unseen and not loose her target.

You may be wondering what is Cadence doing in Ponyville stalking Twilight. Well it all started one morning...

some days earlier

It was a brand new day. Cadence had gotten up early so she could get ready. She had somewhere she had to go today. She was sitting at the table eating breakfast while also checking if the list of things she needed was fully checked. If there is one thing she learned from her lovely sister in law, that is that lists are very useful when preparing for something and you need to double triple check to make sure you got it all. Cadence chuckled at the memory of that one time when Twilight was a foal and tried to organize a date night for her and Shining. There's no need to get into details to know that it ended up a very awkward situation. Cadence could still remember the cute way Twilight said 'No no you're doing it all wrong' when she was looking over Cadence and Shining kissing while having opened a book called 'Dating for dummies' to make sure they were kissing properly. Where could a filly her age find a book like that was anyone's guess but having Twilight watch them kiss as if they were test subject for an experiment was cute in a creepy kind of way.

Her thoughts were interrupted when the little laughter of an infant was heard as Shining Armor came in holding Flurry in his magic so that she could not escape and fly away. Again.

'Morning honey!'' Said Shining as he came to sit down in the table as well

''Morning love!'' said Cadence smiling ''What are you doing up so early?'' she asked knowing very well that Shining wasn't the best when it came to waking up early

''Guess who stole away my precious sleep with her cute loud noises'' he said as he started to nuzzle Flurry gently.

Cadence chuckled at that ''Oh quit complaining. I woke up earlier than you and I'm completely fine'' she said in a mocking voice

''What are you doing up this early by the way?''

''I need to leave on a trip. I'm going somewhere to have a few moments on my own away from the whole princess business. Call it a relaxing vacation to get away from the stress of being a royal.''

Shining gave a worried look ''You're going somewhere all on your own? Why can't i come with you to make sure you'll be safe? ''

''Shining i'll be okay'' she replied smiling warmly ''i am perfectly capable of taking care of myself.And besides with me away you will be needed here to take care of the Crystal Empire''

''B-but what if Chrysalis attacks you like in our wedding? O-o-or even worse a gang of thugs-'' Shining's worried complains were cut in half when Cadence teleported right next to him and put one of her front legs around him.

''You know you're cute when you worry'' she said in a comforting manner ''but you don't need to worry I'll be perfectly fine. Trust me i've prepared myself so well for any dangers i could be assigned as the new captain of the royal guards'' she winked at him while rubbing his back ''and besides i will be back in three days''

''Can you at least tell me where you're going?'' he asked

''I can't. As i said I'm going there to have some personal time and i wouldn't want to give out my secret place away from home would i?''

Shining thought about it for a second ''Well i guess that makes sense. But are you sure-''

''Shining ill be fine. Nothing bad can happen to me there''

Shining calmed a little at that ''You sure?''

''I promise'' was all Cadence said

Shining was still a little worried about letting her go somewhere unknown all alone but he decided to trust her. After all if she was so sure she'll be fine then she must really be going somewhere safe. And he could understand the importance of having some time away from your duties and just relax spending some time alone doing what you like to do. Otherwise one would most definitely go crazy. And royal duties tend to be very stressful. Twilight would be a very good example of what happens when you only concentrate on your royal duties without taking some time for yourself. She once deprived herself of sleep for so long that when she finally gave in you could quite literally say she hibernated. That actually brought a thought to Shining's head and a curl started to form on his lips that Cadence didn't notice.

''How long did you say you'll be away?'' he asked

''Three days. Can you hold on for that long without me?''

''I don't know i'll have to take care of both the Crystal Empire and Flurry all on my own'' she said in an upset tone but then smiled as if an idea came to him ''Hey! i can send a letter to Twilight asking her if she'll be able to come over and help me out. She and i haven't had some sibling time in a long time.''

''That'll be great. You two haven't hang out in a while. And i bet she's just dying to see Flurry again'' said Cadence with a smile while nuzzling Flurry's which caused an adorable giggle to come from the baby alicorn. She knew how attached Twilight and Shining are as brother and sister and the fact they don't get to see each other all that much lately means they have a lot of time to catch. She hoped three days would be enough.

She took a look at the clock on the wall ''Oh my. Seems it's time to go catch my train. Okay honey i must leave now'' she hugged Shining and gave him a kiss on the lips ''Take care of Flurry'' she kissed Flurry on the cheek, grabbed her saddlebag and headed for the door ''and when Twilight comes don't let her stress to too much. You know how she can get.''

''Oh don't worry Cadence I'll make sure she doesn't get stressed at all'' he said with a smile as Cadence left out the door in hurry to catch her train. There Shining's smile turned into a grin ''I'll make sure she is completely relaxed.''

Cadence headed straight for the train station. She hated lying to Shining saying that she'll be alone but she really didn't want to expose where her destination was. Besides she didn't completely lie to him, she was in fact going somewhere to escape the stress of her everyday duties. That and some more...

She entered the train as soon as it arrived and took a seat somewhere where there were no other ponies around to see her. Normally she would just teleport there and come back within the day. But since she'll be staying for a few days she thought to enjoy a train ride there and save the energy needed for teleporting on such distance. The train engine started making noise and soon it was moving. Cadence just sat on her seat looking out the window at the view of Crystal Empire getting smaller and smaller as the train moved away

Back at the castle Shining was entertaining Flurry by making silly faces. Then their playtime was interrupted by a purple flash of light and the sound of teleportation. When they turned to look they saw a purple alicorn had just appeared there.

Twilight smiled at them both ''Guess who's here to spend time with my favorite niece'' she said as Flurry took flight and laughing cutely she went over to her aunt and attached herself on her head. Twilight giggled, took hold of Flurry with her magic and started to nuzzle the baby's tummy in a playful manner.

''Well that was certainly fast'' said Shining as he came closer, smiling at the cute scene in front of him

''You think i wouldn't teleport here to spende time with my little niece? Well you're wrong." said Twilight while assaulting Flurry with kisses on her cheeks "And besides...'' she said pausing the kissing attack and looking up at Shining ''I also had other reasons for showing up this fast." She winked at him which caused a mischievous grin to form on his face

''You're right'' he said, putting a foreleg around her and starting to rub her back ''we haven't had some quality brother sister time in quite a while now.'' he also gave a wink while smirking

Twilight chuckled ''Let's wait until Flurry falls asleep for that.''

"We can wait all we want. We have three whole days ahead after all."

Author's Note

The first chapter of my first story. Drinks are on me.
So yeah since this is my first time please tell me about any mistakes i may have made so i can fix em. Stay tuned to find out where Cadence is going