Chapter 6
June 20th, 999 CE
11:07 am
Canterlot Castle
The future ruler of the Crystal Empire is suffering from a panic attack.
Those that only know Princess Cadence(1) from what the media says about her would be shocked to find that the pink alicorn could even have a moment of self doubt, let alone a panic attack. Ever since she came to live with her aunt Cadence has been a darling of the media, with reporters clamoring to write the next glowing article about her. It isn’t because of her looks, which are quite stunning and turn many heads, or her royal title that draw the love of the press. Cadence earned the adoration of those around her through her charity work. The ‘One Heart Program’ was set up by Cadence to help underprivileged fillies and colts get a decent education and become more productive members of society. Her fundraisers have become the talk of Canterlot, with members of the elite class fighting tooth and nail to donate more than their neighbors in hopes of snagging a place of honor next to the pink alicorn princess. What endears her more to those that watch her actions is how involved she is with the day-to-day runnings of the organization. Rather than being a pony whose only claim to being charitable is cracking open their checkbook, Cadence works daily, refusing to use her title of ‘princess’ to get her out of the daily grind. Aides have gone on record to state that she will work for days on end with almost no sleep and refuse to let others wear themselves down when she can handle the task herself.
This goodwill has allowed her to avoid the many pratfalls and traps that commonly trip up the upper crust of Canterlot Society. Of all the ponies that live in the capital it’s the reporters and editors at Canterlot’s three major papers (The Canterlot Times, The Daily Press, and The New Equestrian) that feel safest in attacking the Canterlot 1%. The front pages of all three papers are commonly emblazed with bold headlines discussing the comings and goings of the royalty and elite of Canterlot .
“The press is a fickle beast,” Fancy Pant will write, “loving you one moment then turning on you the next. How long these moments last sometimes depends purely on how much time it takes you to browse a newsstand.”(2)
Cadence is well aware that she has led a charmed life when it comes to the press. Just this morning she saw the Times’ Social Section reporting that Prince Blueblood had tried to hit on Upper Crust and nearly come to blows with Jet Set, the Press stating that it was Upper Crust who’d flirted while Jet Set stood on like gelding, and the Equestrian is saying that Jet Set was a brute and Blueblood had tried to defend Upper Crust’s honor. Cadence knows the truth is much more likely to be mundane; it wouldn’t surprise her if Blueblood had asked Upper Crust for a napkin and that was the totality of their interaction that night. The public is always hungry for gossip and the papers are happy to feed their addiction.
It doesn’t matter, however, how the media sees her; at the moment Cadence is far from the calm, collected mare that the media portrays her as.
Cadence sought out her aunt this morning with a single goal in mind: finding some task, any task, that she can do for the Summer Sun Celebration other than the one Celestia has in mind for her. The solar princess will be heading to Ponyville for their Summer Sun Celebration in a few hours and if Celestia has her way Cadence will be opening up Canterlot’s Summer Sun Celebration the next morning.
This is not something Cadence wants to come to pass.
She hides it well but Cadence has always had a fear of performing in front of crowds. During her normal daily life she can mingle with thousands but tell her she has to give a speech in front of 10 ponies and the pink mare will seize up with fright. Her public appearances for her charities are carefully scripted and kept as short and to the point as possible; the fact that this pleases those in attendance who are used to presenters prattling on for hours on end is merely an added bonus.
Cadence had been hoping her aunt wouldn’t force her to lead the Celebration but as time went by and the minutes ticked away the pink alicorn had realized that her hopefully prayers had born no fruit. Thus she rushed to her aunt’s chambers and had spent the last 25 minutes doing all she could to try and find some way out. All her suggestions, however, were pushed aside. The citizens of Canterlot, in the face of not having the solar princess herself lead the start of the ceremonies, are expecting something nearly as grand and won’t settle. Cadence offered up replacements but none of them worked. Sapphire Shores is giving a concert in Manehatten and even if she did consider canceling there wouldn’t be enough time to get her and her backup dancers to the capital in time. Ziggy Stardust is putting on a show in Fillydelphia and Colt Rock always spends the holiday in his native Detrot. Cirque du Pon-Aa is in Prance on a 10 week tour while J. Cougar Watermellon is in the hospital having his appendix removed.
It was only when Cadence suggested Prince Blueblood that Celestia bid her to stop, a smile on her lips. Cadence found herself joining her aunt in laughing at the sheer absurdity of the suggestion, though for the pink mare her chuckles were a bit more nervous.
Once they gained control of themselves Celestia launched into her ego-boosting spiel. Cadence listened on as her aunt praised her and told her how she can handle the celebration with ease, how it won’t be a big deal and that she has the utter most confidence in her.
Cadence focused on her breathing exercises, knowing it would be wildly inappropriate to scream and curse in her aunt’s face.
“They say that there is a thin line between love and hate,” Cadence will tell her biographer, “and I am proof of that. While love is my special talent I do feel anger and rage just as strongly as any other pony… perhaps more so. Sometimes I wonder if that is my curse; to be able to heal the rifts that form between other ponies so easily while my anger must be handled the old fashion way.”(3)
What the alicorn of love needs now aren’t words of how well she will do and how her fears are unfounded. Unfortunately for her that is all her aunt can give her. The citizens of Canterlot are expecting a princess to usher in the start of the Summer Sun Celebration and with Celestia down in Ponyville Cadence is the only princess left.
Cadence leaves her aunt’s chambers with Celestia’s jest of her not trying to put Blueblood in a dress ringing in her ears. The pink alicorn smiles at that but quickly finds her smile falling as her fears take center stage in her mind. She wanders back to her room, deep in thought, all the failures and mistakes she could make in front of the entirety of Canterlot jostling in her mind, fighting for dominance. She is so consumed by her worries that she barely notices the two guards she passes before heading down the hall that leads to her chambers.
Her room, while opulent when compared to those of a standard pony’s, is rather plain for Canterlot Castle. A large sitting room with several padded benches perfect for entertaining guests, a single step leading up to her canopy bed with yellow sheets so pale them look white when the sun hits them right. To the left is her private bath while to the right is a small kitchenette that Cadence herself asked to be installed, should she desire a quick snack and not wants to bother the castle chefs. Two great windows give her a breathtaking view of Canterlot stretched out before with the rest of Equestria just beyond.
It is her desk, however, that draws her focus at the moment. Cadence receives fan mail every day and she hopes now that answering some letters will help take her mind off the morning that is to come. She moves forward only to catch movement to her right, a shriek escaping her lips as the sheets shift and a form rises up. Her cry dies just as quickly as the sheet pulls away, revealing the blue mane and white coat of her coltfriend Shining Armor.
She doesn’t have time to feel any amusement over the misunderstanding. The sound of hooves outside her door warns her of the guards’ approach and Cadence quickly flies over to the bed, landing on top of Shining’s body and hiding him from sight just as the door is thrown open and the royal guard hurry in, their wings spread and faces grim as they look for the source of Cadence’s fright. The pink alicorn shifts slightly, pressing her belly against the squirming form of her coltfriend, and flashes a bashful smile at the guards. The guards look at her, waiting for answers, and Cadence blushes as she claims she’d laid down only to discover a spider on her pillow. She can tell that it is only her royal status that keeps the guards from rolling their eyes; instead they merely nod and march out, letting the door swing shut behind them.
Cadence waits a moment before finally rolling off Shining, who takes a gasp of air before looking at her. The two stare at each other for a moment before bursting into laughter, collapsing on the bed as they are attacked by a fit of the giggles. This latest episode of absurdity fits in perfectly with how their relationship has gone thus far.
The courtship between the princess and the royal guard began when the two were teens. Shining Armor had just begun basic training when his sister entered Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns and became the princess’ personal student. One day shortly after Twilight moved into the castle Shining went to go visit her, fearing that his sister would be homesick and lonely. Shining soon found out that Princess Celestia, knowing of this possibility, had arranged for several older mares and colts to serve as foalsitters/honorary big siblings to the students of her school. One such mare was Cadence(4), whom Shining found playing with his little sister.
A friendship soon bloomed between the two of them and it became well known in the castle that the two were close. When neither were handling their official duties it was not uncommon to find them wandering about Canterlot, having lunch together or spending time in the park or at a play.
The question of when they stopped being just friends and became a couple is confusing even to them. Shining Armor will tell a reporter from ‘Stallions’ Fitness’ that their first true date was when they’d gone to a music festival only to get caught in a rainstorm and have to huddle under water vendor’s tent, as this was when they shared their first kiss. Princess Cadence will inform a curious Twilight Sparkle that her and Shining’s first date was when he took her to the movie ‘Flash Fortune and the Lost Planet’, as that was when she realized Shining was the stallion she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
Whatever the case may be, Shining Armor and Cadence became a couple and with this joyous change in their relationship has come a world of problems. For the last year and a half the two of them have kept their relationship a secret, fearing the backlash that would result from the reveal. Shining Armor fears what the media would say of Cadence for dating a commoner, even one of famous ancestor and growing standing in the Equestrian Army. Cadence is terrified that Shining would be kicked out of the royal guard for mixing business with pleasure. Thus the two of them have resorted to clandestine meetings and stolen moments to express their feelings for one another while maintaining the illusion they are merely friends.
As she gets over her giggle fit Cadence looks over at Shining Armor and for a brief moment fantasies about throwing open the doors of her room and declaring to all that she is in love with him. She dreams of renouncing her crown and status and the two of them running off together, going to some far off land where they’d never heard of alicorns or princesses and the two of them could simply be Cadence and Shining. Perhaps they could open a little Bed and Breakfast and be known as that pony couple down the road that likes to kiss in public. No more sneaking around, no more fears about backlashes. Just normality.
It is, of course, just a dream. Cadence cannot bring herself to be that selfish, not when it will require Shining Armor to sacrifice all he’s worked towards.
“Did I ever consider breaking up with him?” Cadence will say when posed the question by a reporter from the Times. “Never. As frustrating as it was at times to sneak around like that it was worth it. My life without Shining Armor would have been so empty… to cast him away just to make my life easier would have been like snuffing out the sun and stars and living forever in darkness.”
Finally able to talk without snorting, Cadence asks what Shining is doing there. As bold as he has gotten in recent months he has never before been so brazen as to enter her room. Her chambers have always been private and the risks if he were caught in there are simply too great for him to merely want to see her.
Shining’s smile falls and he quietly begins to lay out his concerns about his sister. He starts slowly, talking about seeing her at their parents’ but as he continues he begins talking faster with fewer pauses until his words start to flow together like a rushing river. It is only Cadence’s time conversing with young fillies that allows her to keep up with the rambling monologue and Shining tells her about how Twilight has become obsessed with Nightmare Moon and how she mistreats her friends and Spike and how he fears that she is going to grow up to be a lonely pony who lives with 50 cats and screams at colts to stay off her lawn. Cadence eventually slides next to him, using her magic to comb his mane as he trails off, his fears for his little sister weighing heavily on him.
When he finally stops Cadence begins to try and soothe him but finds her own fears come bubbling up and soon she is rambling just as badly as he was, telling him all about how her aunt has put her in charge of the Summer Sun Celebration and how scared she is and how she just knows something terrible is going to happen. It is Shining’s turn to comfort her and Cadence ends up pressing her face against his shoulder as she continually mumbles, “Why me? Why me?”
The two of them spend the next hour easing each others’ fears. Rather than the empty words Celestia used to try and calm Cadence, the couple finds ways to help each other. Cadence, feeling bad that she’d managed to lose touch with Twilight, promises to reconnect with her favorite filly and try and help her be more outgoing. In turn Shining tells Cadence that he will pull some strings so that he is part of her guard when she leads the Summer Sun Celebration; it won’t look unusual, as most will see it simply as him being a good friend to her and wanting to help her out. With him backing her up she will have at least one friendly face at the Celebration.
Cadence, feeling better about what is to come and now having thoughts of Twilight to keep her mind off of her fears, feels much better about what is to come and thanks Shining for his help. The two share a quick kiss before Shining sneaks out of her room, leaving the pink alicorn to turn her attention finally to her fan mail. Her worries about what may happen the next morning have lessened with the knowledge that, whatever may come about, her Shining Armor will be near her to lend her support.
She has no idea just how much support she’ll soon need.
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So before people ask... no, this wasn't a case of writer's block. Far from it... the story is actually almost 3/4ths done already. This was a case of not having a chance to edit the chapters because I got swamped working on "Justice League: The Second Chance" and "Harry Potter and the Grand Trainer Tournament"
Talk about perfect timing to finally catch up!
If Cadence was such a public figure you would think Twilight would have known her full name, but then again I could see Twilight not paying attention to that sort of news.
Ah yes, Cadence had to have used that breathing exercise for something.
7104483
My view is that Twilight simply never made the connection between Cadence and Princess Cadenza. Twilight wouldn't be one for gossip, she wouldn't go to the charity events, and at this point she is rather self-absorbed.
And yes, this explains where the breathing exercises came from.
"Moondanger"?
IT LIIIIIIIIIIIVES!!!
And it's still entertaining. Cadance and Shining are almost sickeningly cute here, but in a way that works.
7104529
Corrected
7104589
One of the goals here was to estabish them as a couple. I always felt, and I am sure many agree with me, that just having Cadence and Shining show up married (because we didn't even really get them unmarried and just engaged, let alone dating) really hurt the two of them, development-wise. This chapter was to show why they belong together and why they work so well as a couple
Another enjoyable chapter. Great job.
Why are the chapters so short? With a plot like this, I'd expect it to be much longer.
Hey there. Thanks greatly for getting the next chapter up. I really appreciate you going to the effort. As usual, very good job on the exchanges, emotional content, sweetness and future chapter set-up in all the right places. This chapter was definitely well worth the wait and I will definitely be looking forward to more of this as soon as time and inspiration will allow.
7105029
The chapters are short because at every scene break, roughly, I do a new chapter. As such there will be a lot of shorter chapters... but we will get a LOT of chapters. Keep in mind we are only into the first... 7 minutes?... of MLP Episode 1.
comma between the two.
You're a good mare, Cadence.
He's not wrong.
The media in a nutshell.
Very interesting.
(Best part is, it WORKS so well for a pony name)
Also understood that one.
Yeah, like that'd end well.
RifTs. Also, very interesting, and she's not wrong, they're both very extreme emotion, one needs look no further than the Green Lantern franchise, Love and Hate, Pink and Red, the rings on the opposite ends of the emotional spectrum that control/consume the wielder the most.
Not want.
Very interesting. Also, under THE water vendor's tent.
Reminds me a lot of Anakin and Padme from Star Wars.
How poetic of you.
Plus, he's high ranking, so I'd imagine he can get away with it. And it works on a second level since friendship is obviously a far more important concept to Equestrians than us.
Interesting, also, MoondanCer. As I said before, more than happy to help edit new chapters.
It was fun seeing Shining and Cadance interact in this chapter and learn a little more about them, it's good having them fleshed out more and learn a bit about the timeline of things.
7108482
That's one of the huge appeals to this story... I love world building (remember, I'm the guy that, rather than make a Pony OC, made an entire RACE with a culture, government, social structure, and history) and I love examining characters.