by ArguingPizza
~~~
Pinkie Pie was in heaven.
All of Equestria was bursting at the seams in the largest, loudest, wildest party the world had ever known. The celebration of millions of Equestrians having their magic returned to them was unlike any party ever known, for not a single pony, griffon, donkey, cow, Minotaur, or Breezie abstained from the festivities.
With one exception.
Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Champion of Equestria who had fought Tirek to a standstill on the Plains of Everfree, sat away from the partiers. This was no easy task, but she had managed to find an isolated alcove on one of the Palace towers hidden by the late-evening darkness. The setting sun still cast light across the land, but it was dim enough to conceal her purple coat.
The flutter of wings told Twilight that she hadn’t been as discreet as she had hoped, and she steeled herself to deal with the ever-so-grateful subject as whoever it was landed behind her. She plastered on a fake smile she hoped was convincing and turned around to greet them.
To her surprise, the Pegasus bore a horn and a Crystal Heart cutie mark on her flank. Twilight’s ceramic mask crashed to the ground in surprise.
“Cadence?”
The Alicorn of Love stepped forward with a genuine smile on her lips. “No, Rarity,” she said with a laugh as she engulfed Twilight in a hug. Twilight shook her head but leaned into the embrace.
“Ha,ha,” Twilight retorted sarcastically and with a roll of her eyes. “How did you find me up here?”
Cadence shrugged and moved to sit on the ledge. “A lady never reveals her secrets.”
Twilight snorted. “Okay, now you’re actually starting to sound like Rarity.” The two mares shared a giggle as Twilight sat down next to her.
The next few minutes were filled with silence as they both enjoyed the unrivaled view of the dying light. Canterlot, as the Seat of the Sun Princess, had been designed with the sun in mind. The view of the sunset and sunrise were said to be unmatched by any surface structures the world over. Twilight had never left Equestria’s borders, but she found little difficulty believing the notion.
“So, you aren’t going to ask why I left the party?” Twilight asked when she could no longer stop herself. The thought had nagged at her since Cadence’s arrival, but Cadence had hardly said a word.
Cadence shook her head. “I figured you’d tell me if it was important.”
Twilight looked down sheepishly. “I just…I needed to get away. All the excitement, I couldn’t think.” Cadence sent an understanding smile her way. The silence returned, and hung over Twilight’s head like a guillotine.
“What was it like?” Cadence delivered her stay of execution casually, but Twilight didn’t miss the burning undercurrent of curiosity behind it. She didn’t have to ask what ‘it’ was.
She thought back to when she had held the power of four Alicorns in her. She had been doing that a lot, and she still had a hard time putting it to words. Still, there were few ponies she felt would be more understanding than Cadence, so she decided to at least try.
“At first, it was overwhelming. It was like being a goldfish and going from a five gallon tank to being dropped in the ocean.” She snorted. “I couldn’t fly without accidentally breaking the sound barrier. I couldn’t stomp around without cracking the ground. Hay, I couldn’t even cast a simple teleportation spell, and I’ve been doing those since my third year as Celestia’s student.
Cadence watched in concern as Twilight’s expression darkened, and her eyes donned a distant gaze.
“Then Tirek blew up my library.” She shook her head. “I was so angry, so unbelievably full of rage. I barely saved Owlowiscious, and if Spike had been there…” she trailed off, her shoulders tense with the shadow of anger the memories brought.
“I’d never hated anypony before that moment. At that point, there was no hiding away with that magic. He wanted to fight, so I was going to give him a fight. Turns out it was a lot easier throwing around as much magic as I wanted than trying to siphon it to power spells.”
Her eyes twitched as she replayed the battle in her head, and as suddenly as the anger had come it morphed to shame. The tenseness in her shoulders relaxed and her wings sagged.
“I…” she began, only to close her mouth when the words refused to come. Twilight was shaking, but took a steadying breath. She continued, making a point to look down and away from Cadence.
“I was trying to kill him,” she confessed, and Cadence had to force herself not to recoil. Despite her efforts, Twilight noticed her tiny flinch. Tears gathered in her eyes.
“I know it was wrong…but he had hurt so many ponies, and everything was falling apart, and I just wanted to fix everything, and it was all his fault.” She stomped her hoof and left cracks in the marble. Wet spots marred the cracked stone as tears overran her defenses.
“Am…am I a bad pony?” Twilight asked and looked at Cadence in desperation, like she was the last life raft on a sinking ship. Cadence hesitated, trying to find the words to reassure her.
She immediately cursed herself as Twilight saw her hesitation and crumbled. She fell to her belly and began to sob, her hooves over her head muffling her repeated cries of “I’m sorry.”
Cadence leaned down and pulled Twilight to her chest. She used her free hoof to sooth the crying mare’s hair, and her wings surrounded her snugly. Cadence held her tightly, all the while whispering in her ear that she was a good pony. Twilight either didn’t hear her, or more likely didn’t believe her. Finally she could take the sight no longer.
In one smooth motion, she raised Twilight’s head and locked their lips together. Twilight froze, her bloodshot eyes wide open and staring. Cadence let the kiss linger before she pulled away. When Twilight tried to look away, Cadence locked her head in place with her hooves.
“You are not a bad pony.” Her voice was iron, unquestionable. “Twilight Sparkle, if I ever hear you say such a thing again, I will lock you away and throw away the key. You are the kindest, sweetest, most selfless mare I have ever met, and I will not stand for you to think any less of yourself.”
Twilight was speechless, both due to the fire in Cadence’s eyes, and the lingering feeling on her lips. Eventually, her message sank in, and Twilight’s hooves encircled her in a crushing hug.
“Thank you,” Twilight whispered. Cadence smiled happily and kissed her again. And again. And again. Then she…did some things that aren’t fit for polite conversation, and followed up with some other things that really aren’t fit for polite conversation.
By the time the moon rose, every pony, griffon, donkey, cow, Minotaur, and Breezie in Equestria was celebrating.
No exceptions.