As The Sun Sets

"Hokay!" Cadance burst in through the door, pillow in hoof, blanket draped over her shoulders, "I'm here, and I'm pooped."

"You surely look it Darling, com-"

Applejack interrupted from her space on the floor, "Ahm pretty sure she's the kind of exhausted that doesn't take a... mud facial to fix." She sassed

Rarity a single cucumber from her eye and sent out a glare towards Applejack.

Cadance started cackling.

All five mares, Pinkie included, looked between themselves and the laughing Princess as she went on till tears. A few words tried getting out of Cadance's mouth as she stumbled into the room and the door behind her, but she just couldn't stop laughing. Pinkie shrugged, and also started laughing uproariously, that sent Rainbow Dash laughing to, and Applejack, from the sheer ridiculousness of what was going on. Fluttershy giggled, levity was shared, and Cadance plopped down into a pile of pillows next to Applejack and slowly began to calm down.

That's the kind of relaxation I needed.

"Wow!" Pinkie gently bounced over to her, "You must've had a whole buncha funnies all bottled up in there!"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Cadance sent Rainbow Dash a look that said 'no, you really wouldn't' and continued, "These past two months.... I haven't felt so... normal... a sleepover? I shouldn't laugh-"

"Yes you should-" Pinkie tried interjecting logically,

"Because it comes from satire."

"What?"

"Means she's laughin' at us." Applejack clarified.

Cadance flushed, "Well, yes, but- not like that!"

"Oh Darling don't be so apologetic, you're a Princess, and we're-"

"A big ball of goofs?" Pinkie offered

"Normal mares." Rarity finished

Rainbow, still in the air as usual, did a quick twirl. "Speak for yourself, there isn't anything normal about this much awesome!"

"Yes, of course, Rainbow Dash; though please keep your awesome contained, we don't want to disturb the already exhausted Princess in our presence."

Fluttershy spoke at a moderately loud volume for her, "Do you want to talk about it?"

Cadance flopped her head down into the pillow she brought with her, "Honestly girls, you're all really sweet, but I desperately need the sleep for tomorrow."

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow landed, "We were meaning to ask, did you want any help with that?"

"We may not have been here the whole time, but that nice mare showed us around like you asked her to! And we know all about the fair! We can toooootally help!"

Cadance's eyes peeked open up at Pinkie, "Nice mare?"

"Ah, a Noble mare by the name of Quick Silver?"

Cadance used her magic to pull her blanket over her head.

"Is that a no?" Fluttershy asked.

"No-er, Yes?" Cadance poked her head up, still trying not to put any pressure on her stomach by laying sideways. "Silver's been a crux of some of the... Noble trouble I've been facing recently, and she's... she's..."

"She seemed perfectly fine to me." Rainbow said, eyebrow raised.

Rarity tutted. "Well she was a noble Rainbow Dash, it's practically her job to 'seem fine' to everypony."

"She didn't... say anything odd, did she?"

"Outside of her exuberance for the fair-"

Exuberance for genocide.

"She seemed to be the perfect model of a Crystal Empire Noblemare."

"Anypony else notice how that noblemare wasn't actually from the Empire?" Applejack questioned

"What do yo-"

"Duh!" Pinkie bounced, as she always did, as she'd been doing this whole time. "Quick Silver was a pegasus."

"Oh." Fluttershy said

"Oh?" Rarity questioned, "What am I missing?"

"She's not a Crystal Pony" Cadance clarified, "And no, she's not from the Empire, but she has roots traceable back to a noble line that I thought would benefit the Empire to resurrect. She had the right documents and the Empire needed her resources." Cadance waved a hoof, "Never mind her though, help?" Cadance probably looked ever so slightly pitiful.

She wasn't certain if she'd done it on purpose. She hoped she hadn't.

"Certainly!" Fluttershy smiled, "I'm sure there's lots of critters that would love to help keep the streets clean if we made them some snacks, oh, and I know everypony else can help in all sorts of ways too."

"I can help organize!"

"I can help stylize!"

"I can keep the skies clear, and bring around messages asap."

Everyone turned to Applejack, who shrugged. "Ah can lift boxes, if ya want."

Rainbow Dash snorted.

"I'll send you girls out to Ivory in the-" Cadance yawned, "Morning. She'll be able to get all of you somewhere you can help, why though, out of curiosity?"

"Well we're already here." Applejack waved, "It'd be silly to ride all the way back to Ponyville just to come back tomorrow morning with Twilight."

"And not the funny kind of silly!" Pinkie's bounce halted in midair, "The Super Serious Important but Superfluous kind of silly!"

Cadance let her head flop back down and snuggled into her pillow. "That sounds perfect, thank you all, of course."

"Princess," Fluttershy started, "I don't-oh, please tell me if this is being pushy but-"

Cadance already knew. "Twilight?"

Fluttershy nodded.

Cadance sighed. "I... It wouldn't be fair to talk about it without her here. She's... Immortality hits hard, and... ugh, maybe even saying that is too much. I'm sorry Fluttershy, I'm far too tired for this conversation."

"That's totally okay, we get it."

You definitely do- oh my gosh I sound like SILVER. Stop that! Cadance!

"Uhm." Fluttershy noticed Cadance's internal yelling, "Are... you okay? Cadance?"

The use of her name rather than her title wasn't lost on her, nor the emotional context. Fluttershy was a wonderful mare, she was so willing and ready to listen to anything Cadance had to say. Cadance shook her head, "I'm not sure where to start, so I won't. Last month, months. I feel like my whole life is happening over again, and I have no idea what I'm doing. What I do know-"

Pause for dramatic affect

"Is that I need sleep."

Several ears flopped over in disappointment. Cadance internally smiled at her tiny little joke. "But don't let me ruin your slumbertivities. I've got a silencing spell for that." Cadance lit her horn, and a tiny blue see-through bubble appeared around her head and a portion of her back. She clapped on the inside, and the mares on the outside all nodded and started speaking to each other. Noise Cadance couldn't hear.

"Princess Cadance?"

Cadance tried to keep the exasperation out of her face, she may be inaudible, but they could still see her. Her eye may have twitched slightly, and she covered her head with her blanket. "Loleck?"

"Hello Princess Cadance."

Cadance's eye twitched again, "Okay, How. I absolutely did not grab the... Pillow you were before, I made sure of it."

"Your husband mentioned a slumber party. I prepared for you to-"

Cadance wanted to slam her head into the pillow on reflex, but the unique situation stopped her.

"Okay." Cadance cleared her thoughts, "Okay! Moth, what is it?"

"My Queen wished for me to alert you to an oncoming attack on the Crystal Solstice tomorrow."

Cadance gently closed her eyes, "You really don't hold back, do you Loleck?"

"No Ma'am." A beat passed, and the pillow in her hooves shifted slightly, making her want to chuck it as hard as she could across the room. "Queen's orders."

Great. It's not enough to have one maniac trying to subtly mess with me.

"Thank you for doing your job Loleck."

"Of course, Princess Cadance. Goodnight."

A beat passed. "Please, don't say that."

The pillow remained silent.

Cadance stared at it.

Ugh. It's just a changeling Cadance, why not just go to sleep on a changeling.

Cadance rested herself down onto Loleck.

Yup, this is totally normal and not gross at all.

A shiver ran up her spine, despite how warm she was naturally, and the blanket.

Oh my gosh, how many of the items in my room are changelings- is the blanket a changeling too? Is that how Silver's been spying on me this whole time?!

Cadance did not sleep very well that night.