Chapter 8
The area was dimly lit, the only source of light was a single burning candle. The shelves of the Recruit Training Officers Library sat silently, hundreds and hundreds of books that held decades upon decades of knowledge, safely hidden inside their covers. The lone candle burned softly as it rested atop a single table, at said table, sat Cadet Armor. The lone stallion read away at his latest tome.
It was late into the night and he had not found what he had been looking for just yet. He was tired, if the dark bags under his eyes were any indication. The stallion sighed as he reached another dead end before rubbing his face.
“Shining?”
A very soft, and loving female voice called to the young stallion, causing him to turn and see who was calling him. Standing next to one of the many bookshelves was a light pink mare, a horn poked out from her long, pink and white hair, and a pair of blue tipped wings rested against her back. She wore a simple pink tank top with a large, crystal heart displayed on the front and a pair of dark grey sweatpants. The stallion blinked a couple of times before rubbing them with the back of his hand.
“Hey Caddy. How are you?” he asked.
“Fine,” Caddy replied as she stepped forward and up to the stallion. “You?”
“Tired,” he replied honestly. He had been up for hours and was still sore from his fight earlier that day. “You?”
“Same,” the mare replied. “What are you doing? It's late, and you have practice on the morning, right?”
“Yes Princess.” Caddy slapped the stallion across the arm. “Ow! What was that for!?”
Caddy’s muzzle was scrunched up in a cute manner, even though she was trying really hard to be angry. “I told you not to call me that!”
Cadet Armor rubbed his arm as what he said started to sink in. “S-Sorry… force of habit!”
Caddy continued to glare down at the stallion before she sighed. “You of all ponies know how much I hate being called ‘princess’. Go to Blueblood if you want to use titles… like he needs the ego boost…” she said the last part quietly before perking up a bit. “May I join you?”
Cadet Armor shrugged. “Sure.”
Caddy ignited her horn, which illuminated the area in a light blue hue and pulled a chair up and over before taking a seat in it. “What are you reading?” she asked, trying to get a glimpse of the words on the darkened page.
“The History of Weapons and Tactics, ” he answered before slamming the book closed with a thump. His horn ignited a light purple hue that illuminated the air, causing Cadet Armor’s fur to take on a light pinkish color as the book floated off back to where he got it from. “Another dead end though…” The stallion sighed explosively, defeated. He rubbed his face with a hand. “Anyway… did you see Twily today?”
“I did,” Caddy replied with a nod. “She misses you greatly.”
That pulled on Cadet Armor’s heart. He hated leaving his baby sister to go join the Cadet school for the guard. She was so devastated when he hopped on the carriage that she squirmed free from her mother's grip and chased her brother down the street, tears all the way. That reminded him, he was late for sending her his latest letter!
“I bet,” the stallion groaned before dropping his arm and opening her eyes. “How is she doing at school?”
“Good!” Caddy replied happily before her tone took on a more saddened one. “She still hasn't gotten her cutie mark, and she doesn't have very many friends…”
“What of Moondancer? Lemon, Twinkle, and Minuette?”
Caddy’s ears splayed back. “She hangs out with them at school and that's it!” she sighed herself. “She says that she doesn't need friends so long as she has me and you!” Caddy paused. “... I’m trying though.”
The two sat in silence for a moment before Caddy’s ears perked. “Anyway, what are you up to?”
Cadet Armor rubbed his face yet again. “Reading…”
“About what?”
The young stallion groaned and upon releasing his face and blinking his eyes. “Uh… you know that little filly that Celestia saved?”
“You mean Raven? My new cousin?” Caddy asked.
“Yes- I mean wait- what?” This was news to Cadet Armor! Celestia went and made that fighting filly her niece!?
Caddy held a hand to her muzzle in thought. “At least, from what I understood its cousin?” Caddy shrugged. “But yeah, I know who you are talking about. She hardly leaves Auntie Tia’s side!”
The stallion snorted. “Yes, well… we had a duel today!” He got slapped again by the mare, causing him to recoil back in shock. “What did I say!?”
“Is that why she was put in her wheelchair today!?” Caddy yelled, angered by what she just heard. “So, help me if she can't walk again-!”
“She consented!” Cadet Armor yelled as he leaned away from the mare, almost falling out of his seat as he curled up like a cat. When another blow never came, he opened one eye out of fear. She wasn't going to hit him again, but her face was still scrunched and her shoulders were raised. “C-Can I finish?”
The mare slowly nodded her head.
“She appeared to know a thing o-or two about swords! So, Captain Bronze mentioned it to the Princess and she agreed!”
“So, you agreed to fight a civilian?” Caddy question, though her body had relaxed her glare never faltered. “And you kicked her flank…” Caddy snorted in disgust and crossed her arms under her small bust. “Yeah… because that's fair…”
“I did until she removed the armor and grabbed a halberd!” Cadet Armor sheepishly admitted while rubbing the back of his neck. Caddy furrowed her brow and tilted her head at what she just heard.
“... You're lying.”
“I’m not!”
“Yes, you are!”
“Go and ask the princess!” he defended. “Or the Captain, or any of the other cadets there!” He lifted his shirt, revealing a large purple bruise across his stomach. “Look!”
Caddy gasped and covered her mouth with both hands, her ears splaying back before she slowly lifted her gaze to Cadet Armor’s. “There is no way she did that…” she mumbled.
“She even beat Dawn,” Cadet Armor replied while lowering his shirt. “And she knows a ton about defensive tactics.” Cadet Armor tuned in his seat to face the desk. “She did some rather… interesting, tactics.”
Caddy cocked her head. “How so?”
Cadet Armor got extremely excited. Even though he was beaten, her moves were amazing! And without the use of magic either! He proceeded to retell his event in the ring. Everything from the start of the zap she received to how he ended up bruised and beaten. He explained in the greatest detail he could and with the use of his hands on what Raven performed. Caddy, for her part, listened silently and only added in her thoughts when deemed fit.
It was rather outlandish the moves and attacks that were performed. It was very clear to both teens in the room that those attacks were well practiced. There was something behind that little filly’s curtain, but how would they find it?
In time… unfortunately.
As Cadet Armor finished the explanation, he levitated another book over. “I’ve been searching for hours on different halberd fighting styles, but everything comes up the same. Thrusting and stabbing, and that’s it!” The young stallion rested both elbows on the table and grabbed his head. “I don’t know…”
A pair of hand wrapped around his chest as Caddy hugged him from the side. “Try not to dwell on it,” she advised before releasing him.
The stallion smiled and let out an amused huff. “Yeah…” He rubbed his face and glanced at a nearby clock. “Oh jeez! It’s almost three? I need to get back! I have to run in a few hours!" Said stallion rose to his hooves and pushed his seat forward. “Bye Cadance!” He waved as he made a beeline for the barracks to get what little sleep he could.
“Bye Shining,” she said, returning the wave. Once he was out the door, Caddy sat alone in silence. Her thoughts drifted back to the filly she met not too long ago.
***
Princess Celestia and her niece walked along one of the many castle hallways. Celestia walked with her usual smile and a destination in mind. Her niece, Princess Cadance, followed her aunt with an air of trepidation and curiosity.
Her aunt had come to her after her studies to come and visit somepony. And that was all the info that was given. Who was this pony? Were they part of her studies? A noble who had a complaint and she needed to fix it!?
“Here we are,” Cadance was knocked out of her inner turmoil at the sound of her aunt's voice. The smaller alicorn glance up at the taller of the two before looking at the door in front of them. She furrowed her brow before looking down both halls and seeing her aunt's personal bedroom doors not too far away.
“Wait… this is your wing?” she asked Celestia. Now Cadance was confused.
“Indeed it is,” Celestia confirmed before glancing down at the smaller pink alicorn. She wasted no time by knocking on the door three times before opening it and poking her head in. “Are you dressed?” she asked the occupant inside before opening it all the way and stepping inside.
Cadance stood in the doorway dumbly before following her aunt. Once she was in, the door closed behind her with a soft click. Glancing around the room, it looked like all the other guest bedrooms: a bed, desk, chairs, bookshelf, a hairless filly on the...
What?
Cadance blinked at the young filly sitting on the bed, her lower half covered by the blankets. Next to her sat a little blue mare as the two conversed over a book in said fillies lap. Actually… it looked more like a teaching moment than friendly talking.
“Bubbles… Raven?” Celestia called, causing both girls to lift their heads. “Do you have a moment?”
Bubbles blinked twice before smiling. “Of course!” she turned her attention to the child next to her. “You're on the right track,” she whispered before closing the book. Just before standing, Bubbles and Raven shared a hug before the mare took the book and placed it on the nearby desk. Once that was complete, she approached the two rulers and bowed. “Princesses.”
“Bubbles,” Celestia greeted. “I'm sure you know who my niece is? Princess Cadance?”
The little mare stood straight. “I know who she is,” Bubbles admitted sheepishly with a light blush. But it's not like she meets and talks with the smaller princess on a regular basis. Shoot, she hadn't even meet Celestia face to face until she met Raven! And she had been working for almost two weeks! “Nice to meet you Princess!” she greeted with a small hop.
Cadance smiled. “Hi,” she said simply. She was never one for all that… crap that her aunt receives. Suiters, giant, flaunted greetings, useless and boring gifts, the list goes on. Another reason why she liked Cadet Armor and his little sister so much. They treated her like friends.
“You're not too busy, are you?” Celestia asked the maid.
“Not really,” Bubbles replied with a shrug. “Just running over more words.”
“How is she, if I may ask?”
“Good!” Bubbles answered happily. “She can make simple requests still. But full sentences like this, will take a while,” she admitted as her ears drooped. But it didn't last long as she perked up. “She’s learning though!”
Celestia’s smiled at the news. She was glad that her little girl was learning! That was something she was going to have to get used to. Her guards searched high and low and even her connections with ambassadors and lords overseas found nothing. To the world, Raven was still a mystery. Even Celestia, in -dare she say…
‘Old age...’
Had never seen her species in her life. It is still possible for a species to be hidden. But now, most were rare species of animals, not a new species of any sentience.
“Good!” Celestia beamed. “Is it alright if I borrow her?”
Bubbles shrugged again. “She’s your daughter.” The mare turned to Raven, who was watching the whole conversation while also studying the latest pink alicorn. Cadance felt a shiver run up her spine when she saw the metal eyepatch over the filly’s right eye. “I’ll see you later. Okay Raven?”
The redheaded filly’s attention turned to her caretaker. She contemplated what she heard before smiling and nodding. Bubbles waved one last time before leaving the room. When the door closed, Celestia approached the bed and sat where Bubbles just was. She leaned forward and hugged the child. Raven closed her eyes and embraced the embrace. She loved the feeling of another, warm and fuzzy body against her own.
Celestia leaned back and ran a hand through Ravens long, straight hair. “How are you sweetie?” Raven smiled before she leaned forward and hugged the mare again. Celestia and even Cadance, giggled as Raven rubbed her face against Celestia’s exposed neck and chest fluff. The trapped mare wrapped both arms around the child again while turning her head to face Cadance.
“Cadance, this is Raven,” Celestia said, referring to the child in her grip. She turned her head to the child. “Raven.” the girl in question lifted her head to look at the mare while her grip didn’t falter. “This is my niece, Princess Mi Amora Cadenza. Or Cadance for short.”
Raven adjusted herself to look at the teen mare standing at the base of the bed. She was wearing a light blue tank top and a pair a white sweat pants. There, like Celestia, sat a rather large horn on her head and a pair of purple tipped wings on her back. She examined the mare up and down. “Hi.”
Cadance smiled. “Hi.” She was still nervous about the latest turn of events, but felt more at ease that she was just meeting, what she assumed to be, family. The teen walked to the opposite side of the bed where her aunt was and sat down. “How are you?”
“Good.”
“Good.” There was an awkward moment of silence after that. What was she supposed to say? Cadance had a hard-enough time with her other cousin Blueblood. But even then, this had gone so much smoother. That brat felt so entitled that when he learned about Cadance, he demanded that she give up her title and he be the only other noble of the country. He was going to get one hell of a surprise when he meets Raven.
But she won't take it lying down.
A giggle from Celestia caught Cadences attention. “Sorry for the lack of conversation to this conversation. Raven is still learning our language.”
Cadance cocked her head. “She doesn’t?”
Celestia adjusted her head to look down at Raven while the latter adjusted hers to look up. “Say something in your language.” Raven thought about it for a second before she lowered her head to face Cadance.
The mare didn’t understand a single thing. No, absolutely nothing. Not only what Raven just said, but the fact that all the hissing was even classified as a type of language. For her part, all she could figure that it was a strange type of speaking in tongues. It… it was just sounds made from breathing out and opening and closing one's mouth with the addition of a little tongue play. Cadance blinked before she slowly turned her head to Celestia.
Who was trying desperately to hold back what would be an explosive laugh…
“... What?”
Celestia burst forth with a very un-princess like laughter that left the other two females in the room confused. The mare snorted loudly on occasion before she finally regained her senses. “I'm… I'm sorry Cadence. But that was probably the same look I had when she first spoke to me too,” she said while wiping a tear from each eye.
Once she recovered, Celestia moved her attention back to the pink mare. “Raven has been staying with us for a little while now and I would love to see her make a friend that is not me, Bubbles or her therapist. She needs somepony closer to her age… you.”
Cadance blinked. “What about school?”
Celestia rolled her eyes. “It’s too late in the spring right now to enroll her. That and she wouldn't understand anything anyway.”
Raven scowled and growled up at the mare, causing Celestia to pin her ears. She coughed. “I mean… she would have trouble… understanding and writing down notes and assignments,” she explained, making sure to emphasize the word ‘trouble’. “Hopefully this summer I can teach her enough to be ready for next fall.”
Cadance nodded her head. “What about your personal student?”
“She’s next.”
Cadance nodded yet again. “I know you're busy with your current schooling, my schooling, and your foalsitting job, but if you could find the time to be with her that would great!” Celestia requested.
Cadance let that settle for a minute. Well… considering from what she was hearing… Cadance and Raven were going to be seeing each other for a long time to come. Cadance smiled. “I know I can find some time. More so when school is out.”
The mare in question yelped loudly when she was lifted off the bed and into the air. She hovered for a second before she was crushed by a backbreaking hug by her aunt. “Thank you Cadance. You have no idea what this means to me!”
Cadance returned the hug before speaking. “You’re welcome Auntie.” When the two released, both girls continued to smile at each other, the larger sporting tears of joy in the corners of her eyes. Cadance turned to Raven, who sat silently next to the pair. “Hi Raven, it's nice to meet you. I hope we can be great friends here soon!”
Raven cocked her head as she watched the mare. Silence permeated for several seconds before Cadance started to feel very awkward at the attention and lack of action. Just as her ears pinned she was assaulted via a caring hug. The mare held her hands out awkwardly before smiling one last time and returning the hug, nuzzling the top of the child's head.
***
“Princess?”
…
“Princess?”
…
“Cadance, there is a really cute foal that needs belly rubs!”
Cadance snorted loudly and jumped from her seat with a yelp. “Ah! Where!?” Cadance blinked several times in search for the cute foal, but her vision was filled row after row of books. She appeared to be in a library? Memories of last night slowly returned to her. She must have fallen asleep.
She searched the area for the voice before it fell on a unicorn guard standing nearby. Her large red eyes stared down at the alicorn. Her dark orange coat shined brightly through the openings in her armor and her light blue mane poked out from under her helmet, from which the face guard was lifted. “Finally awake, are we?”
Cadance narrowed her eyes to see better before she groaned and rubbed them. “Ugh… Lieutenant Flare. How… how may I help you?” she asked groggily while slouching in her seat and looking up through her squinted eyes. Why did her aunt have to make the sun so bright?
The mare now called Lieutenant Flare snorted. “Considering you are my charge and you failed to wake up at your normal hour. I kind of had to investigate. Guess I can call off the search team.” The mare ignited her horn for a second and closed her eyes before it dissipated, sending out a spell, informing her search team to be called off before opening her eyes. “Are you okay, Cadance?”
The mare in question yawned loudly. “Tired… I stayed up late talking to a friend,” she admitted. "Like an idiot..."
“You mean that young white stallion?” Lieutenant Flare asked as a dirty smirk started to form on the corner of her mouth. “You two getting frisky in here? Honestly, I never expected you to be that kinky. Using the library and all!”
A large, very deep, very red blush consumed Cadence's face, ears and part of her neck. “W-What…” she whimpered. “N-No! We… We're just friends! And you know that!”
Lieutenant Flare burst forth with uproarious laughter. Oh, how she loved to mess with her charge! That's what she gets for wanting a less than professional relationship. Flare grabbed her side with her free left hand, while she leaned against the spear in her right for support. Cadance, for her part, when she figured her guard was screwing with her at her expense, her red blush turned into red anger. She always hated when Flare did that two her!
“Ahahahaha- oof! Ow…” Flare groaned when she was punched in the side, right between the plates of her armor. She rubbed her side with her hand while she looked at Cadance. “I always told you that you have a good hook, I just wish you followed after that friend of yours and at least learned how to fight properly.”
Cadance didn’t say anything. She was still tensed up and angry as she glared at her personal guard. “I’m telling Auntie Tia.”
Lieutenant Flare’s eyes widened in horror as she watched Cadance walk away. “Wait! We can talk about this!” Flare begged as she chased after the teen that had just walked out the door and into the hall. “Cadance please!”