Chapter 5
Mist wafted up from the crashing waterfall and into the cool morning air, catching the light and sending a colorful radiance across the churning waters below and onto the small field of trimmed grass nearby. Most of the mist found a resting place on one of Canterlot Castle’s great outer walls. Clinging to the massive white stones, the mist collected into a golden-hued dew that gave the entire wall a temporary sheen.
At the base of the wall was a stone identical to all the others save for being a quarter of their size. It shuddered and shook off the dew that had collected on its outer face. While it continued to rumble, its color darkened until it was a light grey. The stone stopped shaking after a moment and a silence fell upon the wall. After a moment, the stone pushed outward and glided over the ground as if it were no heavier than a small wooden door.
Mystic stepped out of the dim passageway hidden behind the stone, mist evaporating against the magical bubble that flowed around him. His spell extended backwards and shielded Cadenza, Willow, and Aria from the waterfall’s spray as they followed him outside, while a few flecks of water managed to make its way past them to the pair of guards at the rear of the group and beaded on their armor.
Cadenza wore a wide smile on her face as she marched ahead of her parents. At the same time, she kept some distance between herself and Mystic. The sun shimmered off her necklace as she walked out on the grass, the dew dampening her fetlocks. Her eyes quickly locked onto the wall’s shimmering face, but she continued walking until she bumped into Mystic’s leg.
Willow darted forward and scooped Cadenza up onto his back. “Always watch where you’re going, sweetie.”
“But the wall is so much cooler looking outside!” Cadenza held out her front legs to emphasize her point. “And the tunnel is fun too! Are there more like that in the castle?”
“For the third time, yes,” Mystic said with a small shake of his head. “The front entrance can get quite crowded, so the Princess has special exits for when she wants to go out by herself.”
Cadenza’s eyes widened. “Aunt Celestia thinks of everything.”
Mystic nodded while keeping his eyes forward. Beyond his spell was nothing but thick mist and raging water. The fall’s roar was still audible even within the spell’s barrier. Yet, inside the bubble, a narrow stone path just large enough for a small carriage to cross over was visible beneath their hooves. Behind the two rear guards, the path vanished back into the mist.
After a few minutes of walking, the stone path gave way to soft dirt. Flowers of all shapes and colors sprung up at the path’s sides. Cadenza’s eyes widened further at the vibrant display, and she clutched Willow’s back slightly tighter.
“Daddy! Look at all the flowers!”
Willow looked back at her with a smile. “Well, the Princess does want things to look pretty.”
Cadenza continued to gawk as the group made their way through the flower field. The waterfall’s crashing faded away and was replaced with gates opening, grand doors swinging, and wheels clattering against the ground. A large hedge that was split by a far wider path appeared ahead of them on the right and brought an end to the flower field.
The group’s path continued to the left of the hedge, which was now wedged between the thick hedge and the base of the towering mountains. Small towers and elongated roofs poked up above the shrubbery here and there, each varying in design save for the presence of the Equestrian flag, whether in stained glass, carved into the walls, or flying from a pole. Cadenza squinted as they passed a few houses, her gaze lingering on the symbol next to each flag or hanging below it on a pole. One was a unicorn horn with a star behind it, another a setting sun shimmering with crimson light. After they passed a house with blue pony engraved on its wall, Cadenza looked over to Aria and pointed at the house.
“Mommy, what are all those drawings next to the flag?”
“Oh, they’re crests,” said Aria.
Cadenza raised an eyebrow. “Crests?”
Aria glanced over to the next house they passed and the book etched into into its stone before looking back at Cadenza. “Special symbols very old families have had for a long time.”
“Oh!” Cadenza smiled. “So it’s like a cutie mark for a whole family!”
“That’s a good way of putting it!” Aria leaned closer to Cadenza and nuzzled her cheek.
Cadenza giggled, but quickly stopped and stared at Aria. “Wait, do we have a crest, mommy?”
“No,” Aria said with a shake of the head, “but we do have some paintings your great-grandad did. He went all the way up north to draw the mountains there.”
Cadenza glanced at the mountains to her left. “Couldn’t he just draw here?”
“Great-Grandpa Contrast lived near the northern border, sweetie,” Willow explained. “From what mommy and your grandma say, he was one of the toughest ponies around, going out in blizzards to paint the landscape.”
“Or the colors might have just run off over the years,” Aria chuckled.
“Great-grandpa sounds kinda weird,” said Cadenza.
The houses grew smaller further away from the castle. Eventually, the crests vanished from their walls, while flags remained here and there. The sounds from earlier grew closer and mixed with loud voices, their words unintelligible from afar. Cadenza’s mouth watered at the scent of freshly-cut fruit and warm bread wafting through the air.
“It smells so good!” she exclaimed.
Mystic turned down an alley and the rest of the group followed. Between the buildings’ shadows, his horn and barrier glowed with a pale light that slowly faded away. The sound from the street ahead magnified as did the smells. Cadenza shook her head at the swift change and Aria rubbed his ear with a hoof. At the alley’s mouth, Mystic stopped and turned to face the rest of the group.
“This is where we’ll leave you,” he said. “It’s right between Keen Eyes’ Jewelers and Vibrant’s Apparel, so it shouldn’t be too hard to find. Come back whenever you wish to return.” He paused to look up at the two rear guards who gave him stern nods. “We’ll be waiting.”
Willow smiled at Aria and then turned to Cadenza. “The streets are really busy, so you’ll have to stay up here for now, but you can walk inside the shops, okay? Just stay near me or mommy.”
“Uh-huh!” Cadenza said with a flurry of nods. Her whole body shook with anticipation, her hidden wings brushing against Willow’s back.
“Then let’s go!” Aria flung a hoof out and took long steps out into the street. Cadenza laughed and Willow chuckled at the display as they stepped out of the alley after her.
They were instantly consumed by the river of ponies flowing through the street. Small carts displayed succulent fruit, dazzling gems, and towering stacks of newspapers among countless other wonders. Each cart’s owner gestured with their hooves or levitated their wares overhead to try and entice customers.
Cadenza took it all in with wide eyes. Ahead of her and Willow, Aria muscled her way through the crowds with Willow following close behind. The smile on Cadenza’s face grew wider and wider as new sights popped up all around her and fresh smells swirled through the air.
“There’s so much stuff!” she said, pointing at a pony flipping a paper-thin crepe and filling it with whipped cream and honey. “Oh, I want that!” She then pointed to a mare holding up an apple as big as her head. “That too!”
Aria glanced back at Cadenza. “Sounds like somepony’s hungry.”
“Don’t worry, sweetie,” Willow said. He shifted a wing around to nuzzle her side. “Mommy knows the best place in all of Canterlot to get breakfast.”
“I’m gonna eat everything!” Cadenza yelled.
~~~
Back in the alley, Mystic and one of the guards looked up at the pegasus now perched atop of Vibrant’s. Her short black mane, free of its armor, ruffled in the morning breeze. Her pupils contracted within her deep green irises before she opened her mouth.
“They’re a proper distance away now,” she said while she kept her eyes focused on the streets.
“Stay at around this distance from the air,” Mystic called up to her. “Soft Step will keep ground visuals.”
Soft Step removed the last knee guard from his hind leg and levitated it over to Mystic. “I’ll be off then.”
“Keep all suspicious individuals at least fifty feet away from Cadenza.” Mystic tightened his jaw. “Go to Plan Theta in case a surge occurs. If you or Silent Gaze encounter anything the two of you can’t handle, tear off your pendants and stall until I can arrive.”
“Yes, sir!” Soft Step said while Silent Gaze gave Mystic a sharp nod before taking to the air.
~~~
The main street split up about a mile away from the castle. Like the houses before, the shops grew smaller and the crowds dwindled. Carts still lined the streets, but their owners didn’t move with the same energy as the earlier vendors. Their wares still glistened in Cadenza’s eyes and Aria or Willow had to reassure her at each food stand they passed that their destination was close by. After being denied a watermelon nearly as big as herself, Cadenza pouted.
“I thought we could do whatever I wanted today!” She clutched Willow’s back. “Daddy, I’m hungry! I want the melon!”
“Cadenza, we’re almost there,” Willow repeated. “They’ll have as much melon as you want.”
“But I want it no—”
“Here we are!” Aria said, pointing a hoof slightly to her right.
The road branched off to a side street just ahead of her. Near the corner was a small shop with a collection of tables adorned with sun-bleached umbrellas. Windows, clouded up with age, stood to the sides of the shop’s entrance while a sign with a burlap sack and the word “Flour’s” hung up above the door.
“Is this the breakfast place?” Cadenza asked.
“Yup,” Willow said. “Mommy and I used to go here all the ti—”
“Willow?” somepony called out.
Willow froze for an instant before sighing, his wings and back tightening a bit under Cadenza. In a flash, a violet-blue hoof was draped over Willow’s neck and shaking him hard enough that Cadenza had to hold on to Willow’s wings. She looked up from the hoof to the pegasus it was attached to. His massive grin was framed with a rainbow goatee that matched his mane. He stood half a head taller than Willow, making it easy to drag him closer.
“Aw, man,” the pegasus said. “It’s been forever since I’ve seen you, what with you getting all the easy work around Canterlot.”
“B-blaze, choking,” Willow coughed.
“Oh, sorry ab—” Blaze stopped, feeling something slapping at his leg. He looked down to see Cadenza striking at him with her hooves.
“Stop hurting daddy!”
Blaze let out a roar of laughter as he pulled away before she could hit him again. His golden eyes flew from Cadenza back to Willow and his grin grew wider. “That’s right! Forgot all about that medical stuff with your kid. Guess her being out like this means she’s all better now! Great! You must be getting bored of all the low maintenance stuff!”
Willow glanced at Aria then back at Blaze, giving him a small shake. “We’re still working on things, so it might be a bit before I can get back to the main branch.”
“Ah,” Blaze groaned. He then lowered his head to Cadenza. “Please tell me your dad is at least flying you and your mom around still?”
“How’d you know that?” Cadenza asked. She placed a hoof on one of Willow’s wings, ready to lift it up in defense. “And why are you so loud?”
Blaze laughed again. “Your dad asked me the same thing when we first met! We used to work together to make weather across Equestria. Betcha he’s told ya lots of stories about that.”
“You worked with daddy?” A smile came to Cadenza’s face and she let go of Willow’s wing. “Did you help him stop the tornado?”
“Eh…” Blaze glanced up at the sky. “I did assist him.”
“By making a second one,” Willow said with a snort.
“Hey, I got put on leave for that,” Blaze shot back before focusing back on Cadenza. “But great to see you out and about, kiddo. Sounds like things have been kinda boring what with being stuck in the hos—”
“Yes, things have been a little boring for Cadenza,” Aria interjected. “That’s why I’m glad we’ve got the weekend to go out and enjoy Canterlot. It’s a bit of a surprise seeing you though, Blaze.”
“Suppose it is.” Blaze lowered a wing into one of his saddlebags and pulled out a bag filled with the silhouettes of muffins and croissants. “But my mare was craving Flour’s so I made the trip. Gotta do something with this ‘nice weather’ we’re having.”
Blaze rolled his eyes at the last part before putting the food back in his bag. He scanned over the family, a grin still on his face. “Seems you had the same idea… minus the trip back to Cloudsdale.”
“Yeah, it’s Cadenza’s first time here,” said Willow.
Blaze leaned a little closer to Cadenza. “Your dad gonna go flying with you today?”
Cadenza’s eyes widened. “Can we, daddy?”
“The park would be good for that,” Willow said before he found Blaze’s hoof around him again.
“Great!” Blaze exclaimed. “Your kid’s gotta experience flying somehow!”
“Yup!” Cadenza glanced at her back for a moment and then smiled up at Blaze. “Daddy even says he’ll give me lessons when I’m older!”
Blaze laughed louder than ever. “You’re spoiling her, Willow. Better not call her princess too much either!” He shifted his hoof from Willow’s neck over to Cadenza’s. “Like your spirit though, kiddo. Can’t wait to see what cutie mark you—”
Blaze quickly retracted his hoof. Aria and Willow shared a glance while he rubbed his eyes.
“You okay, Blaze?” Willow asked.
“Yeah, yeah.” Blaze gave his head a shake. “Light just hit my eyes weird for a second. Might also be hunger too, the trip did take a bit out of me. Ah, whatever, good seeing ya again, but I don’t wanna keep my girl waiting.”
Blaze launched into the air, sending out a gust of wind that forced Cadenze to shut her eyes. When she opened them again, Blaze was already a dot in the sky.
“Daddy, your friends are weird.” Cadenza’s stomach grumbled and she rested a hoof on it. “Can we get breakfast now?”
“Right.” A smile returned to Willow’s face. “Breakfast.”
Willow trotted over to the door and held it open for Aria. A warm breeze carried the combined scent of cinnamon, nutmeg, sugar, citrus, and a dozen other spices out of the door. Cadenza licked her lips at the smell.
Small tables like the ones outside were situated along the red-brick walls, each one filled with ponies. A few more ponies stood around the counter, coin bags at the ready to exchange for either bags or plates of pastries. Cadenza’s eyes locked onto the clear glass display of cinnamon buns, danishes, bear claws, and dozens of other confections. She nudged Willow’s side with a hoof.
“Daddy! I wanna go see all the food! Can you put me down?”
“Sure thing, sweetie.” Willow bent down to let Cadenza off, but she leapt when he was only halfway to the floor.
It was only for a split-second, but Willow felt the slightest breeze brush against him— the kind only pegasi wings could produce. An instant later, Cadenza was on the ground, and she made a dash over to the display case, pressing her face against the glass. Her head darted from dish to dish.
“There’s so many things!” She turned her head to Aria. “Mommy, can we get one of everything?”
Aria smiled at Cadenza and her enthusiasm. “I don’t think a little filly’s stomach can hold that much. Why don’t you just pick out one for breakfast and another to save for a snack?”
“But they all look so good!” Cadenza threw her hooves to the ground and shook her head back and forth. “I can’t decide!”
“Maybe a few samples could help you out,” came a voice from behind the counter.
Cadenza looked up to see an aged pony’s head sticking out over the display case. A smile marked by two deep dimples stretched across his face as he looked down at Cadenza.
“Anything you want to try in particular?” he asked. “Peanut butter muffin? Lemon poppyseed?”
“Eewww, that’s daddy’s favorite flavor.” Cadenza stuck her tongue out, but quickly retracted it. She stared up at the orange pony and tilted her head at him. “How’d know mommy’s favorite flavor too?”
“‘Cause I’ve been serving the two of them since before you were even born.” The orange pony raised his deep-set eyes and smiled at Aria and Willow. “It’s never the same when regulars stop coming by, but it’s always great when they come back.”
“Oh, Flour, you’re still the same,” said Aria. “You haven’t even forgotten our orders.”
“Part of the trade,” Flour replied, eyeing Cadenza again. “Now I hope I can add a new regular.”
“That’s why we came here.” Willow stepped closer to Cadenza and gave her a pat on the back. “Go ahead, sweetie, you can try anything you want.”
Cadenza took a deep breath and pointed to the upper-left corner of the display case. “Can I try that brown muffin?”
“Oh-ho.” Flour reached behind the counter and pulled out a small tub filled with similarly colored bits of muffin. “Good eyes you’ve got there. Butterscotch has been a big seller for the past year. Kinda wished I’d kept Carrot around a bit longer so he could make more innovations. Ah, kids, they grow up so fast once they get their mark.”
“Oh! Congratulations, Flour!” Aria said. “He’d been having so much trouble with it before. So, where’s he now then?”
“Ponyville.” Flour pulled out a bit of muffin from the tub and extended it out for Cadenza to take. While Cadenza reach up to grab the sample, Flour’s eyes clouded up a bit. “I still can’t believe he’s already skilled enough for an apprenticeship. And the stories he writes back to me could be a bestseller… though he’d probably turn red as a beet if I told anypony about the arguments he’s had with this one filly. Seems he’s got a bit of a cooking rivalry going on, can you believe that?”
Aria raised an eyebrow. “Somepony that rivals your family’s skills? I’ll believe it when I eat it.”
“Me too.” Willow chucked and then looked down to see how Cadenza was doing. “Um, Flour, we may have a problem.”
Cadenza stood motionless, her eyes glazed over and her mouth dangling open. The sample had vanished but her eyes were now glued to the rest of the muffins in the case. Flour chuckled.
“Yeah, we see this a lot in fillies and colts who try the butterscotch for the first time.” Flour reached behind the counter and pulled up a greenish-brown muffin with orange bits speckled throughout it. “Carrot created the only solution too: a zucchini-carrot bran muffin.”
“Ewww!” Cadenza cried out as she shut her mouth and refocused her eyes.
Flour laughed at Cadenza’s expense and tucked the muffin back into the display case. “Ponies closer to my age love it though. Carrot really thought things through on that one. So, would you like to try anything else?”
“Uh-uh!” Cadenza shook her head and quickly pointed at the butterscotch muffins. “That one, that one!”
“Coming right up,” said Flour.
Aria moved over to the heavy-set iron register on the counter and pulled out her coin bag from the pouch on her side. “We’ll take our regulars as well, plus a croissant, cinnamon bun, and a peanut butter muffin for later.”
“Would you like some tea or juice with that?” Flour asked while he put the assorted pastries onto a plate or into a bag. “We’ve just got some cider in too.”
Willow’s eyes widened. “You do? But they don’t even have any at the c… corner markets by our house yet.”
“Heehee, I’ll take that as an order for three.” Flour set down the dish and bag by the register and quickly rushed to a swinging door at the back of the room. He stuck his head in and then galloped back over to the register. “Other great part of Carrot’s apprenticeship is that he’s made some good connections with the local farmers. Now, we’ve got the Old Faces Newcomer deal going on today, so that’ll only be eight bits.”
“Flour, no.” Aria took out sixteen bits and put them on the counter. “We can’t ask for that much off.”
“That much off?” Flour laughed loud enough for a few ponies to turn their heads at him. “You’ve given me another happy customer, that’ll cover more than a few little bits!”
“I suppose you’re right.” Aria scooped up half of the bits and deposited them into the glass jar opposite of the register on the counter. “You provide such good service though.”
Flour laughed even louder. “Ah, it’s good to have ya back, Aria! You too, Willow! And it’s great to have a new customer with…” Flour paused and stared down at Cadenza. “Well, look at me, being a rude old pony. I haven’t even asked the little princess here her name yet.”
A chill went down Willow’s spine and he found his jaw locked up tight. Aria felt a bit of color drain from her face and was silent for a moment too before she managed to speak.
“Cadenza,” she said.
“Ah, lovely name.” Flour grinned down at the still entranced Cadenza. “Well, Cadenza, I hope you enjoy every bit of your breakfast.”
“Uh-huh!” Cadenza said.
Flour retracted his head with a chuckle and pushed the plate and the bag closer to Willow and Aria, both of them recovered now. “Find a spot wherever you can and Joe will be right out with your drinks.”
Willow tilted his head a little. “Joe?”
“Can’t run the whole shop by myself.” Flour’s eyes drifted over to the white and green unicorns standing next to the display case. Both were tapping their hooves the ground and shooting glares at Aria and Willow. “And I can’t keep the other customers waiting, either.”
“Right, right.” Willow went into a hover and picked up the plate with his hooves and the bag with his mouth.
At the same time, Aria scanned the shop for a table, but gave up after a few seconds. She brought Cadenza closer to her side before leading her over to the door. Willow followed after them and quickly made his way outside when Aria held the door open for him and Cadenza. Cadenza came to a stop as soon as all her hooves were on the dirt again with Willow floating at her side.
There were far more empty tables outside and Aria swiftly led her family over to one of them. While Willow set the plate down on the table, Aria helped Cadenza up to her seat, making sure she was under the umbrella’s shadow. As soon as she was settled in, Cadenza made a grab for the butterscotch muffin. Aria whipped out a leg and blocked her.
“Mommy!” Cadenza whined. “I wanna eat.”
“Just wait for your father,” Aria replied. “And I know you want to eat it all in one bite, but I don’t want you to choke, okay?”
Cadenza lowered her head a little, but kept her legs outstretched towards her muffin. “Yes, mommy.”
Willow put the bag down beside the plate and floated down into his seat. He smiled at Aria and Cadenza and said, “Alrighty then, let’s eat!”
“Let’s eat!” Cadenza repeated with renewed zeal.
She quickly swiped her muffin off the plate and brought it closer to herself. She opened her mouth wide to take a huge bite, but paused when she noticed Aria eyeing her. Cheeks reddening, Cadenza closed her mouth a bit before taking a more portioned bite of her muffin. The effect was still the same as when she’d had the sample inside: with her eyes glazing over and her mouth dangling once the sweet and savory confection touched her tongue.
“Shoooo good,” she mumbled, mouth still full of muffin.
Willow and Aria were having similar if slightly less extreme reactions to their own muffins. Willow’s lips puckered a little from the tang of his lemon poppyseed muffin while Aria had to shift her jaw around to loosen up the peanut butter nuggets imbedded in hers. All three ponies wore smiles as they ate.
Before anypony had taken their second bite, a bulky yellow colt pushed the door to the restaurant open and levitated out a tray with two large mugs and a smaller third one. Froth tipped off the tops of all the mugs and a tiny bit of amber-hued juice dribbled down their sides. Once the tray had cleared the door, the colt made his way over to the table and set the drinks down beside the now-empty plate.
“Here are your three ciders,” he said while levitating the plate onto his tray. “Anything else I can get for you?”
Aria glanced at Cadenza, who had taken another bite of her muffin and was once more in a state of pure bliss. She looked back at the colt and shook her head. “No, I think we’re all good here… Joe, right?”
Joe smirked back at Aria. “Yes, ma’am. Enjoy the rest of your meal.”
Joe then headed back inside, leaving the family to themselves once again. Cadenza was about to take her third bite when Willow pushed the smallest of the mugs over to her. She set her muffin down and squinted at it.
“Daddy, I thought cider season isn’t till next month.”
“Mr. Flour now knows the ponies that make cider, so he can get it earlier,” Willow explained before taking a gulp from his own mug.
His eyes widened with the mug still raised to his mouth. He took another gulp, this one bigger than the last and then set the mug down. Licking his lips, he took a deep breath.
“Ah,” Willow sighed. “That’s gotta be one of the best ciders I’ve ever had.”
Aria took a sip from her mug and let out a contented sigh. “I think you’re right. I wonder who the supplier is.” She stole a glance at Cadenza. “And what to do you think?”
A bit of cider ran down the side of Cadenza’s mouth, and she leaned her head back in a daze. Aria pulled a napkin out of the dispenser on the table and dabbed away the cider while chuckling a little.
“Sweetie, if you keep spacing out like this, half your food is going to fall on the ground.”
After a few more bites, Cadenza managed to eat them normally. Soon, there were only droplets of cider left in her mug and only crumbs from her muffin. She swept the crumbs into her mouth before she gave a content sigh and leaned back. Willow extended out a wing and kept her from falling out of her seat.
“Careful there, sweetie,” he said. “Going to Flour’s for the first time can be a little overwhelming.”
“So gooood,” Cadenza said with a trance-like slur.
Aria scooted the bag of remaining pastries closer and put them inside her saddle bags. After strapping them onto her sides, she got up and went over to Willow.
“How about we show Cadenza some of the fun places around town before you go flying?” She bent her head to Cadenza’s eye level. “Don’t want an upset stomach while flying, right?”
Cadenza shook her head back and forth, her limp neck allowing it to bend back a few extra degrees. “Uh-uh.”
“A walk after Flour’s is always a good idea,” said Willow. “Did you have any place specific in mind?”
“Well, I thought maybe Maestro’s would be a good stop. Maybe Cadenza could find something she likes there.”
~~~
Cadenza heard the swelling of trumpets and the rhythmic beat of drums before her eyes located the store a few yards ahead of her family on the side street they found themselves on. Its sign curved like a rainbow, but it was composed of only black lines on a white background with bold letters spelling out: MAESTRO’S. Smaller musical notes adorned the sign as well while staying within the lines as if the sign were proper sheet music.
Aria walked a little faster toward the store and Willow sped up to catch up with her, jostling Cadenza a little. Reaching the front of the store, Aria glued her eyes to the windows with a wide grin on her face.
“Oh my stars! Cantabile has a new album out! He hasn’t released anything in ages!”
Cadenza reached up and tugged at Willow’s mane. “Daddy? Is mommy okay?”
“When it comes to music, mommy can get a little…” Willow glanced at where Aria had been, only to find the spot empty and the front door to the shop swinging wildly. “... excited.”
“Squillo and Mercury’s Collab Album!” Aria’s voice rang from the inside of the store.
“C’mon, sweetie.” Willow hitched Cadenza up and entered into the store.
The scent of vinyl records, both old and new, flooded Cadenza’s nose, sending her into a coughing fit. When she’d recovered from the strong scent, she looked around, having to squint a bit due the dim glow of candles and light spells illuminating the room. Rows of records lined the shop with signs of large and medium size hanging over sections either marking the genre or the alphabetical ordering.
Posters of all sizes were plastered on the walls. Some could’ve been mistaken for school yearbook photos while others depicted grand finales of stage plays with confetti and magical effects swirling around the actors. One poster displayed four ponies with their faces painted black and white and the stage behind them ablaze. Next to that one was a picture of a stallion in a suit with a viola pressed to his neck and his bow raised as if he were about to go into battle. Somewhere on each one were scribbled autographs, some still retaining a sheen while others had faded with age.
Cadenza stared at one poster and then jumped to another after quickly reading off the name attached to each one. While she kept her eyes upwards, Willow moved through the store and made a beeline for the classical section.
Aria was squatting near the floor with a filing box in front of her. Her hooves flicked through the box, eyes lingering on each record for only a second before moving onto the next. A giddy grin framed her face as she scanned through the box. Just as Willow reached her, she stopped and raised a record high above her head.
“Ha-ha! Found it!” she exclaimed, tilting her head back to look straight up at the record.
It also gave her a view of Willow staring down at her with small smirk on his face. “Some things never change.”
Aria blushed. “Oh… be quiet.”
Willow opened his mouth to tease a little more, but stopped when he felt a tug at his neck.
“Daddy?” Cadenza asked. “Did mommy just find treasure?”
“Yes, yes I did.” Aria placed the record on her back and got back on her hooves. “You’ll be proud to know I just found a Hoofdel’s Operas Part III!”
Aria let out a squeal of delight, making Willow check if anypony else was looking at them. Cadenza cocked her head to the side and gazed at Aria for a moment before looking up at Willow.
“Is the music like a muffin to mommy?” she asked.
“Well, given how much time she used to spend here, I wouldn’t be that surprised.”
“And who exactly was it that would come here with all his colt buddies and those monstrosities you called manes just to stare at pictures of Haydrix and Motley Colt?”
It was Willow’s turn to blush. “T-that was, uh… a phase.”
“Tell that to the shrine you have in the closet.”
“That is a fan memorabilia collection!” Willow said as he turned more and more red. “How’s it different from your album collection?”
“Some are my own for one,” Aria retorted.
“Daddy, mommy, you’re scaring me,” said Cadenza.
~~~
The grassy field before Cadenza seemed to stretch far beyond where she could see, its size only blocked at the sides by the occasional group of trees or the tops of weathered fences, their main bodies hidden in shadows and foliage. Light breezes swept across the grass, ruffling it and sending petals from scattered flower beds into the air. Ponies of all ages moved through the park, sticking to the well-kept paths, darting through the vast field, or gliding through the trees. Some napped under the shadow of ancient oaks while others enjoyed lunch at the base of bronze statues depicting various creatures and ponies. Cadenza perked up her ears at the nearby smack of a racquet slamming into a ball.
“Doesn’t look like the park has changed much,” said Willow.
Aria took a few steps closer to a collection of rocks amidst a thicket of trees, records lightly slapping against each other in her saddlebag. “I wonder if they still sell those awful sandwiches by the waterfall.”
“Are they that bad?” Cadenza asked, tilting her head.
Willow let out a dry laugh and raised up his right hoof. “Let’s just say getting sick shouldn’t cost you a leg.”
He swiped at the air over his left leg and retracted his hoof back as if it had been chopped off and plummeted to the ground. Cadenza gave a yelp and clutched at Willow’s neck, shutting her eyes just before they smacked into the grass.
The impact never came. After a long moment of holding onto Willow with all her strength, Cadenza opened her eyes to see that the ground was now a good foot below her and that Willow’s wings were out.
Cadenza pouted and gave his mane a yank. “That wasn’t funny, daddy!”
“Ah! Ah!” Willow playfully yelped before descending back to the ground where Aria was shaking her head but wore a small grin on her face. “Just wanted to make sure you were ready to fly.”
“Oh!” Cadenza immediately let go of Willow’s mane and shook with enough childish energy to remind Willow of thundercloud transport. “Let’s fly! Let’s fly!”
Aria drew closer to Willow, a mischievous smirk on her face. “Faster recovery time than me. I was ready to dump you the first time you tried that.”
Before Willow could respond, Aria gave him a quick kiss and then backed away to give him enough space. “Have fun, you two.”
“We will!” Cadenza exclaimed. She then gave Willow a tug at the neck. “Let’s go, daddy. Let’s go!”
“Okay, okay.” Willow turned his head back toward Cadenza and raised an eyebrow. “You remember all the flying instructions?”
“Uh-huh!” Cadenza gave a quick nod.
“First?”
“Front legs on you neck and back legs on your side,” Cadenza recited while she locked her legs around Willow’s neck and torso.
“Next?”
“Head down, body flat.” Cadenza pressed her head against the nape of Willow’s neck. At the same time, Willow felt the light tickle of invisible tiny wings spread over a small bit of his back.
“Alright.” Willow turned his head back around and lifted his eyes up to the sky. Clouds drifted a few hundred meters above the park and traveled at a leisurely pace so that their forms stayed relatively stable. “Final check, what do you do if you want to go down?”
Cadenza lifted her head off of Willow’s neck. “Why would I want to go down?”
“It can get cold and windy up in the sky. It’s not like flying inside the palace.” Willow pointed a hoof to his right shoulder. “If anything happens, tap me right there, got it?”
“Yep!” Cadenza nodded again.
“Then we’re ready for liftoff!”
Willow bent his knees beyond what he needed to get off the ground and went into a full crouch. He checked one last time to make sure Cadenza’s grip on him was firm and then whipped his wings out so that they slashed through the air. Ignoring Aria’s chuckle at the dramatic flair, he kept his eyes locked on low hanging cloud.
With a grand flap of his wings and a strong kick off the ground, he launched into the air right at the upper tips of the trees. Cadenza looked over Willow’s side with wide eyes and was greeted with Aria waving back up at her. She moved her left hoof to wave back, but Willow raised his own and pressed it back onto his neck.
“Remember the rules,” he said.
“Sorry, daddy!” Cadenza hastily replied.
“Just keep a good hold on me.” Willow waited a moment while Cadenza retightened her hold on him. When he felt she was secure again, he turned his eyes upward. “This isn’t going to be anything like the castle.”
Willow gave his wings a slow flap and continued flying upwards. He kept his eyes on the same cloud he’d spied from the ground, speeding up until the wind trailed around them. Below, the park grew less and less detailed, first with the ponies becoming smaller, and then vanishing as the trees and grass blended into two separate seas of green with tiny islands of rock and statue here and there.
It took a gust of wind to break Cadenza away from the shrinking ground. She shivered, and then looked around at her eye level. Her mouth dropped open at the vast expanse of blue before her. Clouds of all shapes and sizes dotted the sky, snow-capped mountains poking through the distant ones. Nearby, not a single cloud was obstructed though; not even the castle reached as high as the clouds. From up here, it could have passed for one of Cadenza’s toys.
“We’re so high!” Cadenza called out.
“We sure are,” said Willow. “Notice anything else?”
“It’s really pretty!”
“That too.” Willow chuckled a little and waved his right hoof. “Notice anything else?”
“Lots of stuff!” Cadenza pressed her hooves into Willow’s neck a little get him to turn, but he kept his eyes to his right. “Look, daddy! You can see the big street where all the food ponies were! And all the flowers around the castle! Come on, daddy! Look! Lo—”
When Willow didn’t respond, she opened her mouth to complain but as she turned her head, she saw Willow patting a cloud. Tiny bits of the area Willow touched dispersed into the wind, but most of it cushioned around his hoof.
“A cloud! A cloud!”
“Thought you’d like to see one up close.” Willow flew up a little higher so that they were hovering above parts of the cloud while the rest of it bunched up into a fluffy lump. “You wanna touch it?”
Cadenza sucked in her breath. “Can I?”
Willow nodded and drifted closer to the cloud’s tuft so that it was just inches from Cadenza. “Okay, sweetie. Now, keep holding onto me with your right hoof and just gently touch the cloud. They can be really fragile around the edges.”
Inhaling deeply, Cadenza slowly loosened her hold of Willow’s neck. A gust quickly tightened it again, to Willow's minor discomfort, but she eventually managed to lift her hoof off after a few seconds. Willow kept his eyes on her the entire time, the movement of her hoof slowed down to a near stop in his mind. Up in the sky, the sounds of Canterlot had faded away, and only wind accompanied the heartbeat that pounded in his ears.
As Cadenza’s hoof got closer and closer to the cloud, Willow locked onto her horn and thought back to Aria’s hoof phasing straight through the cloud the first time he’d flown her. His pupils shrank when Cadenza finally did reach the cloud. Nothing happened. He blinked.
Goosebumps spread up Cadenza’s leg and she shivered. “It’s cold, daddy!”
She retracted her hoof in shock for brief second, but quickly extended it out again. The tip of the tuft flew away from her and vanished into the air, but the cloud below it remained and pushed up under Cadenza’s hoof. She smiled and pushed her hoof deeper into the cloud, but it pushed it back up.
“It’s all springy!” She reached out further to feel more of the cloud. “Daddy, they sho—”
She’d loosened her hold on WIllow to get to the cloud, and slipped off his back in an instant. She let out a shriek and bounced onto the cloud. In a blur of wings, Willow had her in his forelegs , shielding her from falling over the side with his body. A few beads of sweat dripped from his face onto her. He felt her shiver against his chest and looked down.
“D-daddy? Is it safe?”
Willow let out a deep breath and felt the tightness leave his muscles, his wings drooping to his sides. He shifted onto his haunches feeling her wings twitching and the shivers that ran through her body as he held her close. He gave her small pat on the back. “It’s fine now. It’s fine.”
Then, he drew back slightly, and when she looked up into his eyes he saw her flinch. He didn’t bother readjusting his expression. “But what did I say about holding on?”
“I…” Cadenza lowered her gaze. “But the cloud felt so fluffy.”
“That’s no excuse,” Willow said, voice calm but stern. “You always have to be alert when flying, that’s the most important rule.”
Cadenza looked up at him and furrowed her brow. “Then couldn’t I have flown?”
Willow tensed up again, any reply he had was caught in his throat as Cadenza unfurled her now-visible wings. Willow’s eyes switched between her wings and the bare spot on her forehead. The only remaining sign of her horn was the small part in her mane.
“What are you looking at, daddy?” Cadenza asked.
“I…” Willow blinked and narrowed his eyes. “Cadenza, listen to me. You’re still just a filly, so you can’t fly this high yet. Your wings can only let you glide and maybe hover for a little. Do you understand?”
Cadenza lowered her head. Her voice came out only slightly louder than a whisper. “Yes, daddy.”
“Okay, I think we’ve had enough for today.”
Willow lifted her up and carefully placed her on his back. She draped her legs around his neck and held on, but he could feel a tiredness in her movements. He looked back to her frowning and staring blankly at the back of his neck. Summoning a small smile, he flexed his wings so that they brushed against her sides.
“We can always come back another day, okay?”
Cadenza gained a small smile of her own. “We can fly again?”
“Of course, sweetie.” Willow lifted off the cloud. “Just remember to always be careful. That’s all.”
Willow spun his head back around while giving his wings a flap to balance out his angle. Once he was adjusted, he kept his wings out and went into a glide. The plants and ponies regained their definition as Willow slowly descended, occasionally flapping his wings to decrease his speed. With a few well-placed shifts to his right or left, he eventually made a quiet landing back on the ground.
He didn’t bend down to let Cadenza off and instead made his way back to where he’d thought he’d left Aria. However, after scanning the open field, he only saw some ponies off in the distance.
Don’t tell me I landed in the wrong part of the park, he thought.
“Daddy?” Cadenza tugged at Willow’s neck.
He turned his head back to see that she was pointing a hoof at something lying in the grass. He trotted over, but came to a halt when something cracked under his hoof. His pupils shrank as he stared down at the shattered record that rested alongside a few more vinyl cases and a beige saddle bag.
“That’s mommy’s,” Cadenza whispered.
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The loss of her mother to a petty criminal when she was but a foal set her up to become exactly what Equestria needed when she eventually got bit by a radioactive changeling: The Amazing Bugmare.
Poor Cadenza. Now what the heck is going on with her mom's disappearance? Coincidence or does some pony know too much?
Lovely chapter, but the ending was pretty harsh for the poor little thing.
Not looking good at the moment, one would think that their incognito bodyguards would do something. Then again, they might have been taken out of the picture.
Awaiting more awesomeness from you
Oh this is gonna get to the "Heavy" part of the title isn't it?
mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw8891-rdshock.gif
"a"
"Willow" or "her"
Just how tall are ponies? Cause the later sentences makes it sound like Willow and Cadenza should be like 10 feet in the air.
Unneeded capital "I".
"you"
Uh-oh, just what happened, and while guards were supposed to be watching.
You write Cadenza well.
You're pretty good. It's been awhile since I've read a Cadence fic.
Very good. I like new direction after rewrite.
Some suggestions.
Previous chapter (4)
- before turning to Celestia.
And in this one
- half of your food
And maybe to keep grammar nice:
"There’s so many things!" -> There are
This song always make me think of this fic, well at least the name.