Princesses on the attack
"I refuse!" Cadance said with a voice firm and angry, very different from the sweet and kind tone of voice she normally used. And worst of all was that front her was not just any pony, but her own aunt, ruler of the kingdom of Equestria, Princess Celestia. Which had left the maid twins, who had just been serving them at breakfast, horrified and speechless.
Minutes earlier, the three alicorns of the kingdom had been quietly eating breakfast. While Luna remained at one end of the table, eating slowly with a sad look for some reason; Celestia and Cadance were on the other side, talking about various topics. But mainly about the events that had occurred in recent days, such as the appearance of Discord and the great problem that Dusk Shine had to face. For both alicorns, the young lavender unicorn was somepony very dear, and they were both relieved that Dusk had been able to defeat a threat as great as Discord. Thus, they inevitably got to talk about a certain yellow unicorn that had largely interfered in these events, which had led Celestia to ask her beloved niece Cadance for a great favor.
"You will not change my mind, Auntie! I will never be a teacher to that vile mare!” Cadance reiterated, after seeing that her aunt had simply stared at her, saying nothing. "You know everything that little Dusk suffered because of that mare. Because of her, Dusk didn't have a happy childhood. Because of her, Dusk wasn't able to make friends nor was he able to trust anyone again for years. I... I cannot forgive her so easily for having broken my dear Dusk's heart!"
"I know that Sunset Shimmer didn't make the best decisions when she was a filly. Even now that she came back, I realized that all those emotional flaws that she showed when she was younger only grew, now that she has grown up." Celestia said, speaking quietly at first, but then narrowing her eyebrows with a guilty look as she remembered the past. "That is why I’m trying to repair that serious mistake I overlooked years ago. Sunset wasn’t a bad filly, she just had a very bad influence, which taught her the wrong thing about love and friendship. I need you to help her. I know deep down Sunset is not an evil pony, and I hope it's not too late so we can teach her what's right."
At that moment Celestia didn't want to tell Cadance everything she suspected about Sunset's true nature. Ever since the yellow unicorn had returned to Canterlot, she had felt that Sunset only showed a mask in front of everyone. A mask of coldness and selfishness that the cruel Archmage had forced her to wear for years. But Celestia always felt that deep in Sunset's heart, there was a warmth that struggled to come to light. Maybe they were just false hopes, but Celestia wanted to believe with all her might that Sunset could be a good mare. And this hope in Sunset had been increased after Luna returned from Ponyville and told her that Dusk's friends had already recovered their memories. Luna didn't say anything about Sunset, but Celestia easily guessed that she had been involved, ultimately proving to her that despite Sunset's selfish behavior, the yellow unicorn could still do good and think of others before her own benefit.
"Cadance, you’re the Princess of Love. A title not given by me, but by the ponies who gave it to you. No one understands the feelings of ponies better than you. Nopony is as kind, empathetic and warm as you. Nopony knows more about true love than you. And that's just what Sunset Shimmer needs to learn right now." Celestia added, looking with a tender smile at her niece.
After Celestia's insistent words, and after seeing her tender smile, Cadance found it very difficult to deny what her aunt asked of her. Celestia had seldom asked for something as personal as that, and Cadance would have happily accepted any other pony as a student. However, she had assimilated for many years the pain that Dusk had felt after the loss of Sunset, and to her tender and warm heart, it was a thorn in her that she couldn't remove so easily.
"I’ll think about it." Cadance finally said, standing up and leaving the room.
After Cadance left, Celestia gave a great exhausted sigh and dropped her head back onto the back of her chair.
"I... I never thought that Princess Cadenza would refuse a request from you." Sweet Creme said with a slight annoyed tone of voice, as she returned to her maid duties and brought some donuts to Celestia's plate, knowing that her princess liked sugar after an argument.
"Cadance doesn't worry me. I know she’ll accept… eventually." Celestia said, looking up at nothing and then closing her eyes in pain. "What bothers me is knowing that I could have avoided all of this years ago. For an oversight, I let somepony poison the mind and heart of an innocent filly... I’m only relieved to know that despite everything, Sunset's heart was stronger."
Celestia got up from her seat and went to a window, looking in the distance at the center of the city, where dozens of ponies were going from one place to another. They were all smiling happily and securely, knowing that they were safe thanks to her protecting them. The fate of all those ponies, no, of all the ponies in Equestria, no, of the vast majority of living beings in that world! They all depended on her! Of her strength, of her raising the sun, of not making mistakes... Because, as it had happened with Sunset, a single bad decision could lead to the fate of a pony falling into darkness.... How many ponies had suffered without her knowing!? Just because she wasn't able to see all of them or make the best decisions!
At that moment Celestia began to hyperventilate and covered her face with her hoof to calm herself. The occasions were rare, but once or twice a year, Celestia suffered from panic attacks, feeling that she couldn't control everything and that something horrible had happened only because of her. She carried the weight of thousands of ponies, and despite having enormous power and immortal life, she was still just a pony, and therefore she sometimes felt that the weight she carried was too much for her.
"Sister, are you okay?" Luna said worriedly, approaching Celestia. She had been so absorbed in her own sadness, lost in her own thoughts, that she only realized that something was wrong with her sister when she saw that she was silent.
"Yes, I'm fine." Celestia said, closing her eyes to calm herself. Because what she wanted the least at that moment was to scare her sister with her silly worries.
Closing her eyes, Celestia began to calm her breathing as she reminded her loved ones. Dozens of faces came to her mind that she had known throughout her long life, and the ones that were clearer at that time, were those who were closest to her heart in last past years, the faces of Luna, Cadance, and Dusk Shine...
"Sweet Creme, call Raven Inkwell, please." Celestia said after remembering Dusk's face, realizing that she still had to do something important with her beloved student.
Quick as only a royal maid could be, Sweet Creme swiftly left the room, and in just six seconds she was back with Raven Inkwell, a mare with white fur and black mane tied with a bow, who was the pony in charge of coordinating the princess's agenda.
"Yes, Princess?" Raven Inkwell said ceremoniously, holding up a quill, ready to jot down whatever the princess asked for.
"I want to make a change in the agenda. I need a little break." Celestia said without looking at her, just keeping her gaze fixed on the window and the ponies walking through the city.
"Of course." Raven said with a smile, going over the agenda that she had carefully scheduled for that day. "I think we could put off the meeting with the Canterlot beautification council for a few minutes, and leave five minutes free for-"
"I'll take the day off." Celestia said with a smile.
Instantly, Raven Inkwell dropped her quill in amazement. Both maids had the same face of astonishment while Luna put a confused look.
"Uh... I... I don't know if that's possible..." Raven Inkwell said shyly, beginning to nervously review her schedule, knowing that with so many daily commitments, the entire schedule for the month, perhaps the entire year, would turn into chaos if the princess didn’t fulfill her duties for a day. "It could be that if you schedule it today, you could have a few hours off for next week, but..."
"I am the Princess of the Sun, and that’s what I have decided." Celestia said with a smile, but with a look full of determination, one that made it clear that her decision wouldn’t be discussed. "Give the notice."
"Y-Yes, Princess." Raven and the twins maids said nervously, running out of the room to warn as many ponies about that sudden change in the program.
"Sister, what’s wrong? This is not normal for you." Luna inquired with a raised eyebrow. "Wait… Is this another one of your pranks like when you ran away to that fall race in Ponyville and left me with all your extra work!?" Luna added with a mixture of fear and annoyance when she remembered that.
"Don’t worry, this isn’t a prank... at least this time." Celestia said with a mischievous giggle before switching to a more serious tone. "There are times when I feel exhausted, both physically and mentally. And I think today is one of those days… It's not the first time that I’ve taken a full day off, but the last time I think it was fifteen years ago. So it's normal that Sweet Creme and Raven Inkwell haven't experienced it. Before, Kibitz always managed to take care of everything when I… needed to run away from everything for a day."
"Run away from everything?" Luna asked.
"You know, all this about being a Princess. To just drop this heavy burden of ruling for a day and just be me. Just an ordinary pony that can fly, walk and eat without everything being scheduled, or everyone seeing me and feeling like they should bow down to me." Celestia said, sighing tiredly and then putting on a sad smile.
"Uh... I regret to break your illusion, but no matter where you go, somepony will always recognize you." Luna said looking up at her sister, emphasizing how difficult it would be to go unnoticed with her grand height.
"Hehe, you think so?" Celestia said with an arrogant smile. "Come with me." She added, holding out a hoof for Luna to hold.
As soon as Luna touched Celestia's hoof, the white alicorn teleported and appeared in the middle of her room. Then she went to one of her drawers, and from there she took out a necklace that had a gold medallion of a curved and triangular shape.
"What does that medallion do?" Luna asked curiously, noticing immediately that that necklace was a magical item.
"Now you’ll see." Celestia said, putting on the necklace, and immediately causing her body to glow and transform in just an instant.
Where the tall white alicorn had been standing, now stood a young pegasus with white fur, pink eyes and blond mane with a blue lock to one side.
"You... You were the mare who threw water balloons at me when I was on my night watch!" Luna yelled, outraged to discover that the mare that had pranked on her at night had been none other than her annoying sister.
"Hehe, you got me." Celestia said, now transformed, showing that her voice had also changed slightly to complete the perfect disguise. "What do you think?"
"Hmpf! Yes, well, it is quite impressive." Luna grumbled, still feeling offended by her sister's secret pranking. "The cutie mark isn't very subtle though." Luna added when she saw that her sister's cutie mark had also changed, but not as much as the other aspects of her body. Now her cutie mark was a yellow sun with a purple mask.
"Well, you know how complex it’s to alter a cutie mark. Besides, who would think that they’re in front of the powerful Princess Celestia when they only see a cute pegasus." Celestia said with a loving look, winking at her sister.
"Where did you get that strange necklace? Did you create it?" Luna asked, looking curiously at the necklace that she had managed to transform her sister.
"It's... a long story, I'll tell you about it another time." Celestia answered, looking away for a second and putting on a sad smile when she remembered the origin of that necklace. Then she ran back to another of her drawers and pulled out a big medallion in the shape of the sun, which shone on its own. "Here I kept a little of my magic, so that you can lower the sun without problems." Celestia added, giving the sun medallion to Luna.
After Luna took the medallion and stared at it for several seconds, she sighed and looked seriously at her sister.
"Celestia, why are you doing this right now?" Luna stared at her sister. "Don't say that it's only to escape the tasks of the palace. I know you think of something else."
At Luna's question, Celestia was surprised, then she lowered her gaze and looked at Luna with a sad little smile.
"What I told you is true, I need to relax a bit. But it’s also true that I’m doing this for another reason. I know how much Dusk has suffered these last few days, and I… I don't want to keep waiting for a free hour next month to just go see him. He's almost like a son to me, and I need to see with my own eyes that he's okay." Celestia said with a small smile. "Besides, since my little sister doesn't want to tell me why she came back so melancholy from Ponyville, maybe I can find out if I go there myself." Celestia added, looking lovingly at Luna. The blue alicorn looked surprised and then looked away in embarrassment.
"Well, see you tonight." Celestia said with a big smile, opening one of the windows in her room and flying outside.
For her part, Luna slowly approached the window and saw her sister while she was flying away and no one paid her attention, since they only saw an ordinary pegasus fly.
"Sister, you’re too nosy." Luna said, sighing as she watched Celestia flying away. She didn't want her sister to find out why she felt so sad since she had returned from Ponyville. But the truth was that deep down, she was also happy to know that her sister was still worried about her. "Hmpf! You’ll not fool me with your sweet words… I have to think of a good way to get revenge for when you return!" Luna added, changing her melancholic gaze for a mischievous smile. Determined to get revenge on her sister for all those water balloons she had thrown at her while disguised.
In the Ponyville library, Dusk Shine was walking in circles in the main hall. That morning he had woken up very early, however, almost two hours had already passed, and Dusk was still undecided about whether to leave the library or not. All that time, he had been staring at the floor with a worried look, completely terrified at the thought that he needed to reunite with his dear friends today.
"The letter from Princess Luna said that the spell worked. Although I don’t remember, I managed to erase the curse of Discord. So everything should be fine…" Dusk thought, walking towards the library door again, encouraging himself to join his friends. "But… what if it didn't work!? What if they still don't remember me!? I… I couldn't bear to see their looks of fear and indifference again!" Dusk feared, contradicting himself immediately, and again turning around and walking away from the door.
"If you keep that up, you're going to leave a hole in the floor." Spike said while eating some little sapphires from a bowl like they were cereal. The little drake was initially amused by seeing Dusk walking in circles from one place to another, but after so long, it was already beginning to irritate him. "I already told you. It was difficult but… I'm sure everything went well." Spike added, looking away, feeling somewhat sad when he remembered the price that Sunset had to pay to help Dusk.
"Love is seeing who you love happy, even… even if that someone is happy without you." Spike thought, a bit sad for some reason.
'KNOCK-KNOCK' Suddenly Dusk and Spike came out of their thoughts when they heard somepony knock on the door. Before either of them could approach the door, it opened, showing that those who had knocked had been precisely the five mares that Dusk wanted, while simultaneously afraid, to see.
"Girls..." Dusk said slowly, turning pale from not knowing how his friends would react.
Upon seeing the five mares, Dusk immediately noticed that they were all looking at him right in the eyes. And instantly, just by seeing the sparkle in their eyes, Dusk knew that this time his friends did recognize him. Realizing that, Dusk felt as if his body had lifted a great weight from him, and he immediately put on a tender smile and felt a great warmth in his heart when he saw that he had finally recovered his friends.
Applejack and the other mares slowly entered the library and looked away for an instant, as if they wanted to avoid seeing Dusk's smile at the moment.
"Are you sure you want me to do it?" Applejack asked, turning back to see her friends with a worried look. Then her four friends nodded and looked away again.
Not understanding what was happening, Dusk was confused as Applejack approached him slowly and stood in front of him. Then she raised her front hoof very high and hit Dusk in the face with all her might, causing the colt to jump from the blow and fall backwards against the floor, with a face of complete confusion and disbelief.
The lavender stallion was motionless on the ground, staring at nothing as he touched his sore cheek. Then he slowly shook his head to see his friends again. And then his surprise was even greater when he saw that they were crying.
"How...?" Applejack said with tears in her eyes, looking at Dusk with a mixture of anger and sadness. "How could you think we could be happy forgetting you!?" Applejack screamed, crying in anguish after hitting Dusk to remove the pain she felt inside.
Applejack's cry of sadness was something that hurt Dusk much more than the blow he had just received. Before him were his five precious friends, everyone with the same expression of sadness and anger, feeling betrayed to discover that Dusk had tried to erase his existence from their minds.
"That was very cruel... to make us forget all the beautiful moments we spent together." Fluttershy slowly wepted, staring at Dusk.
"I... I know..." Dusk answered, lowering his head and then returning to see his friends, sharing the mixture of emotions that they also felt at that moment. "I just… I wanted to keep you safe. And… It was the only way to keep Discord locked up so that he wouldn't hurt you anymore."
"We could have looked for another way! Together!" Rarity said, looking reproachfully at Dusk and then wiping her tears. “Dusk, never pull something like that again. Be it destiny or some other force, you are an important part of all of our lives! Our lives without you are....frankly, unimaginable!”
"Yeah! I know for a fact that an egghead like you would think of a way better plan!” Rainbow Dash accused before shaking her head. “No, this is all Sunset Shimmer’s fault! How the hell did that mare trick you into pulling that stunt?!”
"Who is Sunset?" Dusk asked confused, not understanding what his friend was referring to.
The five mares froze and looked just as confused. Then Spike appeared from behind Dusk and, without Dusk seeing him, he made quick signs to his friends not to continue talking about Sunset in front of Dusk.
"Uh... I-It seems there are a lot of things we need to talk about." Rarity said, looking a little confused at Spike and then at Dusk. Understanding that despite having recovered their memories, it seemed that there were still things they didn’t know.
"Oh… sure… I get it. I know we still have things to talk about." Dusk wrongly answered. Since he hadn't seen Spike's strange signs, he thought that Rarity and the others could be referring to something else, a very important matter that was still unfinished between them. "We still have to talk about what happened at the Grand Galloping Gala, about the answer that I -"
"No!" The five mares yelled at the same time, scared that Dusk would say something else out loud.
The truth was that none of the mares knew yet that their other friends had also declared to Dusk that night. And obviously they didn’t want Dusk to talk about a possible answer to their declarations in front of the others, as it would be a very uncomfortable situation for everyone.
"A-About what happened at the Grand Galloping Gala… W-We'll talk about it another time." Rainbow Dash said slightly blushing, trying to hide her nervousness. "We were not referring to that."
"Uh? So what were you referring to?" Dusk asked confused.
At that moment, Spike again desperately jumped behind Dusk for the mares to see him, and again he motioned for them not to continue talking about the subject.
"Uh... Well... We're not sure what happened yesterday..." Pinkie Pie said, looking at Dusk after looking confused at Spike, understanding that for some reason the little dragon didn't want Sunset Shimmer's name to be mentioned in front of Dusk. "But what we can tell you is…Stop attracting so many mares!”
"Attracting...mares?" Dusk asked with a heavy blush.
"Yes… Enough of playing the Casanova! If a certain mare hadn't become a jealous maniac, none of this would have happened." Pinkie Pie added, winking at Spike when she said 'certain mare' instead of Sunset's name, to which Spike only responded by slapping his claw across the face for how 'subtle' Pinkie Pie was.
"A certain jealous mare? What are you talking about?" Dusk asked again, thinking that everything his friend was saying was another of her crazy nonsensical speeches. "And I’m not a Casanova. I don't attract mares." Dusk tried to refute.
“Phooey!” the pink mare said as she got up close to the colt’s face. “You’re always alluring mares! With your handsome face and soft eyes and soothing voice and lovable dorky personality and how I can’t help but giggle to myself whenever we’re together, and-“ The pink mare cut herself off and blushed heavily when she realized that she was listing off the things that made her fall for the cute colt. “Just...try not to add more mares in your life!”
'KNOCK-KNOCK'
Just then, for the second time that morning, there was a knock on the library door. Pinkie Pie zoomed from where Dusk was and opened the door to see who it was. As she did so, she saw that there was a pony in an elegant blue cape, with a hood of the same color that hid her face. The pony lowered her hood to reveal that she was probably the most beautiful mare anyone present had ever seen. A tall mare with pink fur and pink, lilac and yellow mane.
"Hello! This is where Dusk Shine lives?" The beautiful pink mare asked, with a sweet voice and a radiant smile.
'SLAM! 'Pinkie Pie slammed the door and looked annoyed at Dusk.
"What did I just say?! I don't want any more rivals!" Pinkie said, looking threateningly at Dusk.
"Pinkie! Don’t be rude!" Rarity said quickly, rushing to open the door again. As soon as she opened the door, she immediately began to apologize to the pink mare. "Forgive my friend, she's a bit distracted this morning, but..." At that moment, Rarity froze as she recognized the mare standing in front of her. "You… You’re the Princess Mi Amore Cadenza!" Rarity yelled, almost shocked by surprise and excitement.
"Princess?" Applejack asked in confusion.
"Mi Amore What?" Rainbow Dash asked, believing that Rarity had said some tongue twister.
"Cadance?" Dusk said, as surprised as Rarity, seeing that his former babysitter was standing in front of the door of his home.
"Dusk!" Cadance said excitedly, quickly entering the library to give Dusk a big hug, who in turn blushed when he felt the soft aroma and fur of the alicorn. "I missed you soooo much! Tell me, do you want us to do our secret hoofshake?" Cadance added after hugging Dusk, looking at him with a tender smile.
"UH!?" Dusk said surprised, blushing a lot at what Cadance asked him. "I-I... I think I'm too old for that..." Dusk said, looking askance at his friends before averting his embarrassed face.
"Come on... for me?" Cadance said with the most tender smile that a mare could have, causing Dusk to panic and lower his head, resigned to what he was about to do.
"~Sunshine, sunshine, ladybugs awake!~" Cadance and Dusk sang at the same time while jumping, then ducking, covering their eyes and uncovering them. "~Clap your hooves and do a little shake!~" They both sang as they clashed their hooves and then put their butts close and waved them.
"Pfft!" Rainbow Dash snorted, holding back her laughter when she saw Dusk doing the dance. While Dusk's face was redder than he could bear, feeling that he wanted the earth to swallow him at that precise moment.
"That was very sweet." Fluttershy said with a small smile.
"Yeah... It's good that you liked it, because no one will ever see it again." Dusk said, covering his face with his hoof while trying to hide his shame.
"I wouldn’t be so sure." Spike said with a malicious smile, who had taken the opportunity to take a photo of Dusk just when he was shaking his butt. Which caused Dusk to lower his head in defeat, knowing that later he would have to blackmail his little brother with several gems to be able to take that photo from him.
"Anyway... What are you doing here!?" Dusk asked, refocusing on Cadance's surprise arrival.
"Well, I haven't seen you for a long time, so I wanted to come see how you were. Even more so after finding out about everything you and your friends went through." Cadance said looking at Dusk with slight concern. "Besides, there is something I wanted to give you personally." The alicorn added, levitating a small envelope that he carried under her cloak, and giving it to Dusk.
As Dusk took the envelope, he opened it, and read with amazement what it had written.
"It's... a wedding invitation..." Dusk said with amazement.
"You look somewhat surprised." Cadance said, looking a little worried at Dusk. "I thought Shining had told you that our relationship was... serious enough."
"Uh? Oh, yeah, it's just… it's something sudden…" Dusk said, trying to smile, even though he felt a strange feeling of confusion.
"I knew that Cadance and Shining had a serious relationship. For so many years, I said I would do everything I could to take Cadance's heart from that fool. I vowed that if this moment ever came, I would do everything I could to prevent that wedding. But now…" Dusk thought, looking askance at his friends, who were looking at him intently. "What I feel for Cadance is love, but it’s not the same love that I feel for..."
"That idiot is too lucky..." Dusk finally said, pretending to be annoyed. "I hope you’ll be very happy." Dusk added with a small and honest smile. Feeling proud of finally being able to recognize, control and better understand his own feelings.
"I'm glad to hear that, soon-to-be little brother." Cadance said very happily, giving Dusk another warm hug. "I also want you to be as happy as I am now. And that's why… I'd like to have a little chat with your friends." Cadance added, turning to look at the five mares there.
"Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh! Princess Mi Amore Cadenza wants to talk to us!" Rarity said excitedly, who seemed to know more about the Princess of Love than the others, due the celebrity and fashion magazines she read.
"Is she really a Princess?" Applejack asked a little incredulously, uninformed about things that happened in the big city, and her granny had always taught her that Princess Celestia was the only princess in the kingdom, at least until the arrival of Princess Luna.
"Yes I am. Though I prefer to have a much lower profile than my aunt, hehe." Cadance replied kindly, raising her wings hidden under her cloak for a moment, so that Applejack would see that she was indeed an alicorn.
Seeing Cadance's wings, the faces of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie were frightened for a second as they realized that they had been talking face to face with a princess, without giving her a bow, and even almost made fun of her dance with Dusk. But Cadance was far from bothered, only laughed at the funny faces of the mares.
Giving a quick goodbye to Dusk, Cadance and the other mares left the library in an unknown direction, while Spike and Dusk stood in silence, not knowing what to do.
"When will the day be that I wake up without something strange happening?" Dusk thought aloud, realizing all the things that had happened in just a few minutes that morning.
"If nothing exciting happened, I couldn't eat as many gems as I do." Spike replied with a shrug.
"What? What are you talking about?" Dusk inquired.
At that moment, Spike covered his mouth, realizing that he almost revealed to Dusk his little secret 'part-time job' in Ponyville, which Dusk couldn't find out about.
"Uh, nothing! I-It doesn't matter, hehe." Spike said with a nervous laugh. "B-By the way, it was nice seeing interact with Cadance without you acting like love-struck fool." Spike added to quickly change the subject.
"Uh? Y-Yeah… I think I’ve changed a lot in the year that I have been in Ponyville…" Dusk said, putting a thoughtful look when remembering all his emotional changes in that year.
"Yeah... Well, I'm going out too." Spike said quickly, taking advantage of the fact that Dusk seemed lost in his thoughts to be able to go to his 'part-time job'. "Today there’s a big comic convention in town, so I'll be there all day. See you." The dragon said goodbye and left the library.
"Yeah... maybe now I just know what true love is..." Dusk murmured, so focused on his thoughts that he paid no attention to Spike when he left.
Dusk widened his eyes and quickly hit his head as punishment.
"Stupid, stupid, stupid! How can you say you know what true love is when you’re still undecided between five mares!?" Dusk thought, getting annoyed with himself. "Even... maybe undecided between six mares..." Dusk thought with a blush, remembering that a certain alicorn had also kissed him and had begun to generate strong feelings within him.
"Heh... Maybe what Pinkie Pie said is true, and I'm just a shameless Casanova who seeks to fall in love with many mares..." Dusk muttered crestfallen, mocking himself. "What am I saying, it's crazy! It's not like I'm so irresistible that beautiful mares just knock on my door incessantly." The colt giggled.
'KNOCK-KNOCK '
Just at that moment, there was a knock on the library door again. Then Dusk smiled as he opened the door, thinking that Spike must have forgotten something. But when he opened the door, Dusk's face twitched in surprise, seeing that indeed the one who had knocked had been a beautiful unknown mare. She was a pegasus with white fur and blond mane with a blue streak. The mare couldn’t help but remind Dusk of someone, but he couldn’t place his hoof on it. Then the white mare smiled happily and looked fondly at Dusk.
The white pegasus seemed to want for an instant to jump up and hug Dusk, however, she immediately restrained herself. Meanwhile, Dusk just stared at her, thinking that maybe Pinkie was right and he was a magnet for pretty mares without knowing it.
"How can I be so shameless!?" Dusk blushed, shaking his head to drive away those absurd ideas.
"Hi, my name is… uh… Golden Feather!" Celestia said under her pegasus guise, quickly creating a new identity for her temporary new look. "I'm a pegasus visiting from Cloudsdale. I don't know much about Ponyville, and someone told me that the town librarian was a very nice pony. So I wanted to know if you could give me a little tour of the town… If you’re not busy." 'Golden Feather' added, getting a little closer to Dusk and giving him a flirtatious look to have a little fun with her beloved student.
Dusk immediately took a nervous step back and blushed, still unable to get out of his head the idea that perhaps it was true that he was a Casanova without realizing it.
"Uh... I... well, actually, I don't have anything else to do today." Dusk said, looking away nervously, then looking at the white pegasus who was smiling. When he saw sweet smile reassuring him, a strange feeling that made him feel homesick for some reason.
"Perfect!" Golden Feather said excitedly, jumping to take a hoof from Dusk, and pushing him so that they could start touring the town right now. The disguised mare was ready to spend a pleasant time with Dusk, check that he was okay, and not least, to play a joke on him as was her custom.
Dusk and Celestia, or rather, Golden Feather, began to walk the streets of Ponyville, with the colt serving as a tour guide, indicating to Golden the names of the main shops and other prominent buildings in town, such as the town hall and the fountain. However, little by little Dusk realized that Golden Feather didn't seem to care about buildings. She simply smiled as she clung to Dusk and shoved him from time to time playfully, as well as concentrating more on the ponies that passed her than on the buildings.
"You don't know how much I enjoy this tranquility." Golden said with a huge and tender smile when she saw that some foals were playing ball and they passed by her without even noticing her. "Walk quietly without anyone looking at you or wanting to bow."
"Do the pegasi in Cloudsdale bow to you?" Dusk asked at the weird comment.
"Uh…. Yeah, it's just... you know... my family is very wealthy and sometimes some ponies treat me like I'm almost royalty, hehe." Golden laughed nervously, realizing that she had to be more careful when speaking so that Dusk wouldn't find out who she really was.
"Oh, sure, I understand." Dusk said with a polite smile. "Actually, for a few days, I-"
"Look! It’s Dusk Shine!" A female voice said suddenly, which made Dusk and Golden turn around. Then Dusk recognized Daisy, the florist, who approached where he was with her two inseparable friends, Lily and Rose. "Today we went back to Ponyville. After all the mess that Discord made, we weren't sure whether to come back or not. But we already checked that everything is fine. And we wanted to thank you for saving all of Ponyville."
"Thanks, but actually it wasn't just me." Dusk said with a nervous smile, showing exactly what he had wanted to say to Golden Feather moments before. Many ponies from the town approached him to thank him ever since him and his friends had saved Ponyville from Discord. And although Dusk liked receiving these thanks, he was also beginning to be uncomfortable that he could no longer walk calmly without somepony interrupting him.
"At least it's something that won't last forever. I can't imagine how Princess Celestia can bear to always be the center of attention." Dusk thought with a tired look. Something that made Golden Feather smile mischievously, guessing what Dusk was thinking.
"It was horrible! Our own flowers started dancing and making fun of us!" Lily said, horrified to remember when Discord started to change their town. “We were all in danger and Princess Celestia didn't even move her fat flank from her throne to help us! If it hadn't been for you and the girls, this town would be over." Lily added with resentment in her voice.
"Uh... yeah..." Dusk said, looking away, wanting to hide the fact that he disliked that comment.
"Well, see ya! We have to go to the comic convention that is in the park." Daisy added, smiling at Dusk again. "Again, thank you!" Then the three florists continued on their way, leaving Dusk and Golden alone as they watched them as they walked away.
"Dusk, are you okay? You look somewhat annoyed." Golden asked curiously, raising an eyebrow when she saw that Dusk was frowning slightly.
"It's nothing, it's just... I don't like it when they talk bad about my teacher." Dusk said with a sigh. "None of them know what Princess Celestia really does for this kingdom and to protect us all."
"Hmm, that could be… But they’re right too. I… I think that Princess Celestia could have handled things better." Golden said, looking away with a thoughtful look. "We must have better defenses and be stronger against the evils and dangers that threaten the kingdom..."
"So you think it's all the Princess's fault? That she must carry all that weight alone?" Dusk asked, feeling a bit annoyed at believing that Golden was judging Celestia.
"No… that's why she has you." Golden replied with a smile, affectionately touching Dusk's side with her hoof.
"The Princess doesn't just have me. She has you, and all the other ponies in Equestria." Dusk said with a tender smile. "She trusts in everyone's strength, and that when all ponies are together, no evil can defeat us."
"Hmm... Maybe the evil that haunts us is too much, even for the three pony tribes united..." Golden whispered thoughtfully, thinking of something she had been thinking about for quite some time. Then she realized that Dusk was looking at her with concern and that she had once again stepped out of her role. Then she changed her serious expression and reminded herself that she should stop acting as guardian of the kingdom for that day. "Uh… Those mares said they were going to a convention. We should go too!" Golden quickly added with a nervous smile, changing the subject so that Dusk would stop looking at her suspiciously. Then Golden pushed Dusk to run and go to the park as well.
Upon arriving at the park, it was Dusk who was more surprised than Golden to see what was there. Several stands had been set up, in which various books, comics and action figures appeared to be sold. There was also a stage where some ponies gave talks while the ponies in the audience, like the vast majority of ponies that visited the stands, were dressed as a fictional character. And at the park entrance a big sign had been put up that read: 'PonyCon'.
"What is a PonyCon?" Dusk wondered aloud. Then he remembered that Spike had mentioned to him that there would be a comic convention in Ponyville.
"Wooow… Why are there so many ponies in disguise? It seems fun! Let’s go!" Golden Feather said excitedly, seeing that there were several stands selling different products.
Excited to see something new, Golden immediately ran to one of the stands that was more crowded, assuming that if there were so many ponies there, it must be because there must be something good. Dusk quickly followed her, feeling strange to be surrounded by ponies wearing masks, eye masks, or even full body costumes.
"Wait a minute… I know that comic!" Dusk said after arriving with Golden at the stand chosen by the pegasus. There was a large table where Lyra's famous comic: 'Forbidden Love' was sold.
"What is this? Local art?" Golden said, taking one of the comics that were for sale and starting to read it.
As Golden Feather read, Dusk came over and picked up one of the comics. Although he didn't like to read comics, he had promised himself to read this one a long time ago, since everyone in town seemed to like it.
"Well, I guess it's time to see what all the fuss over this comic is about..." Dusk thought as he looked at the cover and opened it. "How odd, the pony on the cover has the same mane cut as me."
Little by little Dusk was reading the comic, and as he progressed through the pages, his eyes slowly opened more and more. He soon began to turn the pages faster, concentrating more on the drawings than the dialogue, his eyes wide with shock as he finally discovered the true nature of that comic.
"What the heck!?" Dusk yelled, completely blushed after finishing watching the comic.
The first thing that shocked Dusk was to discover that he had allowed a comic with quite suggestive, almost obscene drawings, to enter the library. He had always thought that Lyra's comic was somewhat childish and simple, because he had even caught Spike reading it on the sly, who had always liked just reading superhero comics. But the reality was that the drawings were for an adult audience, showing their protagonists in various situations that always ended in some carnal act.
That was enough to shock Dusk on its own, but it was the other obvious big detail that left him stunned… the comic was about him! It didn’t use his original name, but the main character was a young stallion named Dusk, also nicknamed by the mares 'Dusk-sempai' who had the same coat color and mane as Dusk Shine. In addition, the story was about how the mares of the town where they lived fell in love with him. With characters like 'Clarity', 'Flutter-chan', 'Kinky Pie', 'Juicy Apple' and 'Rainbow Lash' that were an obvious allusion to her five friends and looked nearly identical to them.
"I... I never did any of this with them..." Dusk said awkwardly, red with shame when he saw drawings in which 'Dusk-sempai' kissed 'Clarity' and 'Juicy Apple' at the same time; or when 'Dusk-sempai' had a carnal relationship with 'Flutter-chan' under a tree; or when 'Kinky Pie' dressed completely in leather to fulfill a strange fetish for ‘Dusk-sempai’. "This... This is immoral!" Dusk said looking away embarrassed, but inevitably imagining himself and his friends in those lewd acts, which made him turn even redder than he was.
At that moment, Dusk noticed another very important detail. The creator of the comic, Lyra, had to have the inspiration to write her comic in his own life. In fact, there were several events drawn in Lyra's comic that were strikingly similar to real situations that had happened to Dusk and his friends. And now that Dusk saw it externally, he realized how obvious it was to see that the mares were in love with the protagonist, seeing how the mares from the comic did crazy things to get closer to the comic’s Dusk in a romantic way, just as his real friends had done with him!
"Lyra made this comic. The girls and Spike read it. Everyone in town read it! Maybe… Was I the only one who was oblivious that my friends were in love with me!?" Dusk thought ashamed, remembering the declaration of love from his five friends. He held his head as he realized how clueless he had been.
"Hey, good 'Dusk-sempai' cosplay." Suddenly a pony passing by Dusk said, disguised with an orange jacket, a blue headband and a spiky blonde wig. “Although you got the colors of the cutie mark wrong. Rookie mistake." The fanatic stallion in disguise added, walking away again.
“This isn’t a costume!. The Dusk of the comic is based on me!" Dusk tried to explain, getting mad at the irony that the fanatic ponies at that convention thought he was doing some kind of ridiculous cosplay. "Come on Golden, we better get out of here." Dusk added, determined to get out of this crazy convention soon.
Dusk lowered his head to his side and saw that Golden was still absorbed in reading the comic. Dusk couldn't see Golden's face because it was covered by the comic she was reading, but he was concerned to see that Golden seemed to be trembling slightly.
"Golden, I... I’m sorry. I didn't know that they sold this kind of provocative merchandise in this place." Dusk said, thinking that seeing such sexualized drawings had horrified that pegasus, who didn’t know how 'special' Ponyville ponies could be. "I promise you, the ponies in this town are kind and they don't think about doing those things that-"
"I love it..." Golden Feather whispered, breathing heavily, trembling with excitement. "I love this comic! How did I not find out about this before!?" Golden said excitedly, detaching her face from the comic and showing that she was all blushed, with a somewhat perverted smile as she breathed heavily and hugged the comic she had just read.
"I didn't know that Dusk could be so lewd..." Golden thought, seeing his beloved student with a mischievous smile. "No, Dusk would never do any of that... But just imagine it...!" Golden thought excitedly while her imagination thought of new erotic situations that Dusk could experience. Something told her that her evenings in bed were about to get a lot steamier.
Suddenly, Dusk was distracted when he saw that several ponies around him began to look and point at him, whispering among themselves while holding their newly purchased copies of Lyra's comic. Dusk quickly understood what they must be talking about, as he was just standing next to the stand where they sold the comics of his cartoon doppelganger.
"We better go." Dusk said nervously, taking Golden by the hoof to for her to follow him.
"Uh? B-But I want to keep reading…" Golden Feather said with a pouty face. However, seeing that Dusk had an uncomfortable gaze upon becoming the center of attention, Golden remembered that she was there to spend a nice day with Dusk, and that was her priority. "Okay, just… give me a second." At that moment, Golden ran to the comic seller behind the stand and wrote on a piece of paper. "This is my address, please send collect a copy of all volumes of the comic." Golden Feather added with a smile, giving the paper to the vendor, and then running back with Dusk to get out of there.
As Dusk and Golden left, the comic book seller, who was there as Lyra's employee, took the paper that the white pegasus had handed him and read the address.
"The Royal Castle of Canterlot!?" The seller read in amazement, not knowing if this was a joke or if it was real.
Once they left the Ponyville park and got away from the 'PonyCon', Dusk and Golden went back into the main streets of the town. Which had very few ponies circulating, since it seemed that the vast majority of the town was at the convention.
"Maybe we could go to the Ponyville Spa. My friends really like to go there." Dusk said with a thoughtful look as he walked. He wanted to be a good tour guide for Golden Feather for her to get the best of Ponyville's impressions.
"Nah! I always go to Spa on the sly." Golden Feather said, remembering that sometimes when she had five or ten minutes off a week, she would sneak out of her maids for a quick steam bath.
Suddenly Dusk was distracted by hearing a little colt cry. He looked to his side and saw that not far from there under a tree, there were three youg colts, of which two looked sadly at the top of the tree while the third cried.
"Don’t worry!" Golden Feather said suddenly, flying up to the top of the tree, pulling out a ball that had gotten stuck there and giving it back to the little colt. "Don’t cry. When you're afraid and don't know what to do, you just have to ask for help." Golden said, caressing the little colt tenderly, as he stopped crying and smiled at the warm touch of the white pegasus.
While that was happening, Dusk just kept looking from where he was. Then he smiled tenderly and blushed a little when he saw how sweet Golden Feather was.
"Come on Dusk, why don’t we join in these little ones’ game!" Golden said with great enthusiasm, looking at Dusk with a big smile that filled his heart with warmth. Then Golden Feather started playing ball with the little colts, sharing and laughing as if she too was just a little filly.
Seeing Golden's enthusiasm, Dusk couldn't help but feel infected by that joy and forgot for a second that he was already an adult to join the game. So they played ball for several minutes, with Golden Feather becoming competitive from time to time, to show her good skills dominating the ball, but at the same time, always paying attention to the young colts so that they too had fun.
Finally, the mothers of the colts called them, and the three little colts walked away, but not before giving Golden a big hug, who, for her part, smiled excitedly when she felt those hugs.
"Huff... That was fun." Dusk said, still a little tired after playing, since he wasn’t used to so much physical activity. "So, what would you like to do now?"
At that moment Golden Feather put a thoughtful look, then widened her eyes at a great idea. She looked flirtatiously at Dusk, approaching slowly and gracefully, and touching his chest with her hoof.
"Wanna have a roll together...?" Golden said bringing her face close to Dusk and giving him a very sexy look, causing Dusk to be surprised and blush to his ears.
Then Golden quickly crouched down and rolled onto the grass, bursting into laughter seeing how nervous Dusk had gotten. Only then did Dusk realize that Golden had referred to rolling around in the grass, which made him sigh in relief and gave the pegasus an amused reproachful face. Then, Dusk also leaned back on the grass, smiling as Golden rolled and laughed, as if never before had rolled on the grass.
"How is it that you like this more than going to the Spa?" Dusk asked once Golden stopped rolling and lay down next to Dusk.
"It’s not that I like it more, in fact, I love going to the Spa. Sometimes a mare wants to be pampered and her coat and mane to shine." Golden answered, moving her mane with a very feminine gesture. "But there are also times when you just want to enjoy the simple things, hehe." Golden added with a small smile.
Seeing Golden's smile, Dusk couldn't help but blush and look away. Then he turned his gaze back to the sky while mentally repeating something he had been thinking about for a while, after spending so much time with Golden Feather.
Dusk couldn't get out of his head how sweet and tender Golden had been with the little colts, just as Fluttershy would have been if she had been there. Also, Golden was as competitive and fun as Rainbow Dash. And her laugh, every time she laughed, Dusk couldn't help but imagine Pinkie Pie laughing, because they both had that same warmth in their laughter. Furthermore, it was clear that Golden had two very opposite sides that she could reconcile very well. On the one hand, she had her flirtatious and feminine side, worthy of Rarity herself, one of the things that Dusk loved the most about her. On the other hoof, Golden also loved simple things, and whenever she spoke she had a look full of honesty, which made it impossible to mistrust her, just like her dear friend Applejack... If Dusk had to say it... It was as if Golden Feather had the best features of her best friends in a single pony. And thinking that made Dusk blush even more.
"Dusk!" Golden said suddenly, appearing over Dusk's head when he was lost in thought, staring at the sky. "I want to meet your zebra friend!"
"Uh? You... H-How do you know I have a zebra friend?" Dusk asked nervously, standing up while his cheeks were still blushed from what he had been thinking seconds ago.
"Oh! I… Well… I think I heard somepony mention it when I got to town, hehe." Golden Feather answered nervously. She had been so amused, that for a second again she almost forgot to hide her secret identity.
Then both ponies got up and started walking towards the Everfree Forest. With a very radiant Golden Feather, while Dusk kept his cheeks slightly blushed while dozens of different thoughts and feelings crowded into his mind.
Away from everything that happened with Dusk, his five friends were in Sugarcube Corner with the Princess of Love, Princess My Amore Cadenza, or, as she herself had asked them to call her, simply Cadance. Who for her part, now that they were in a closed place, had removed her traveling cloak, in order to show her true and impressive figure. A tall and beautiful alicorn, dressed in all the royal adornments and crown that came with being one of the three princesses of the kingdom.
Besides Dusk's five friends, only Mr. and Mrs. Cake knew that Princess Cadance was in Ponyville. The bakers were stunned when Cadance pulled her cloak and revealed her identity. Then both ponies ran back and forth to bring their best cakes and tea to the table where Cadance and the five mares had sat.
"Please, don't worry. This is more than enough." Cadance said kindly, after seeing how nervous the owners of the pastry shop were, who continued to fill the table with cakes so that she wouldn’t be missing anything. "Don't stress yourself too much, Mrs. Cake. It’s important that you’re relaxed in the weeks to come. By the way... How long until you’re due?" Cadance added, looking tenderly at the already visibly pregnant mare with a smile.
"Oh, don't worry! There’s still a few weeks left until this beautiful bun is ready to come out." Mrs. Cake answered with a pat of her swollen tummy, impressed with the sweetness of the princess.
"I’m very happy for you." Cadance said with a another smile, as Mrs. Cake smiled again and withdrew to give them privacy.
"Hm? Why was that smile so...sad?" Pinkie Pie thought, who, as an expert in smiles, knew how to recognize that smile was to hide something that briefly reminded Cadance of something sad.
"I’m so happy to finally be able to speak with all of you. For such a long time, I wanted to meet the shy but brave Fluttershy, the fearless Rainbow Dash, the fun-loving Pinkie Pie, the strong and reliable Applejack, and the elegant Rarity. You’re all so beautiful!" Cadance exclaimed with a tender smile, sincerely complimenting the five mares before her.
"Dusk Shine always sent Aunt Celestia letters recounting his adventures and lessons learned in Ponyville. So I was able to learn how much you helped Dusk grow as a pony, and how much Dusk loves all of you. I really appreciate that you have managed to make Dusk reopen his heart to friendship and love." Cadance continued speaking, thanking the five mares heartily, and then sipping gracefully from her cup of tea. "This tea is delicious Mrs. Cake! Thank you!" Cadance added happily, speaking to the kitchen for her hosts to hear.
At Cadance's beautiful words, the five mares couldn't help but blush and look away. The mare was not only kind, friendly and tender, she was also as beautiful as a model, and her voice was sweet and melodious. And to top it all off... She was an alicorn! A pony of royalty!
"She was Dusk Shine's babysitter!?" The five mares thought in shock, understanding perfectly why Cadance had been Dusk's first love. "She’s a perfect ten! Even I would fall in love with her if I was a stallion! And... She’s known and adored Dusk Shine since he was little!" The five mares thought in terror, realizing that if that princess entered the race to win Dusk's heart, none of them would have a chance to compete against her.
"I… there is another reason I wanted to meet with you." Cadance said, putting on a more concerned look. "I wanted to tell you that I’m sorry to have interrupted your declarations of love to Dusk that night, at the Grand Galloping Gala. I… I was the one who ordered the palace maids to whisk away Dusk before he answered you."
The five mares stared at her in confusion for a second after the alicorn’s apology. But then they each remembered exactly what Cadance was referring to. That moment at the Gala, in which they had opened their hearts and each one had had the courage to finally confess their feelings to Dusk. And each time, before Dusk was able to react and give an answer, someone had teleported him away from them.
"You were the one that screwed up my declaration!" The five mares yelled angrily at the same time. Forgetting that they had a princess before her, the mares only felt fury at Cadance for ruining their special moment with Dusk.
However, that fury quickly disappeared when each mare realized the that the other four yelled the same thing. But, how was that possible? They each thought that her other friends didn't know about her declaration of love. But if with what Cadance said was true, that could only mean...
Then, like a bucket of cold water, the five mares froze and looked stunned at each other, finally understanding what had happened. As if it were a deja-vu, when months ago each had talked about the stallion they liked and they all suddenly found out that they were all talking about the same stallion. They finally realized that Dusk had in fact received multiple confessions that night.
"You... You too..." Rarity muttered terrified, looking at her friends.
"I... I didn't know that..." Pinkie Pie said shakily, becoming incredibly speechless at that moment.
"Everyone…? How’s that even possible…!?" Rainbow Dash said, slapping her hoof on her face with a mixture of fear and frustration inside her.
"I have a very particular ability. Canterlot ponies call me the 'Princess of Love' because my magic has always reacted strongly to the emotions of those around me. Especially powerful feelings, such as love. Cadance said, looking with a worried smile at the five mares. Her incredible magical empathy allowed her to sense the growing sense of fear and dread growing the five ponies.
"That night of the Grand Galloping Gala, I was very excited to see Dusk. I saw him entering the castle from afar, and immediately I could feel what he felt his heart... For so many years, his poor heart was closed to everyone around him. But after a year without seeing him, I could feel how his heart and his feelings had changed, and I felt enormous joy for my little Dusk." Cadance added with a tender smile. "However, that was not the only thing I felt when my magic and thoughts focused on Dusk. I could also feel the strong bond that several mares had formed with him. And it wasn’t a simple bond of friendship. All those mares that had managed to touch Dusk's heart had also reciprocally opened their hearts to Dusk and had created that beautiful bond of love! And I was even more shocked to discover that those mares just so happened to be the five friends he made back in Ponyville. I looked deep within all of you and knew that you were all preparing to confessing to him on the exact same night! And that’s why....I decided to act.
"I don't understand, why did you interrupt us if you know that we are all really in love with Dusk?" Applejack asked, still confused.
"She did it for us... Because she knew Dusk would reject us." Rarity said, looking away sadly. She inferred that if Cadance could feel the feelings of others, she could guess that Dusk wouldn’t accept their declarations.
"On the contrary, I stopped Dusk from answering you because Dusk was going to accept your declarations." Cadance said with a slightly more serious look, to the surprise of the five mares.
"Dusk going to...return our feelings?" Fluttershy gasped, a little happy to hear that if Cadance hadn’t interrupted, Dusk would have also told her that he loved her.
Rarity covered her mouth in fear and Pinkie Pie lowered her gaze sadly. Both mares being the first to really understand what Cadance meant.
"What’s wrong? Isn't it good to know that Dusk feels the same about us?" Rainbow Dash asked, confused by seeing Rarity and Pinkie Pie's expressions.
"Just one..." Applejack said slowly, finally understanding the truth. "Dusk would only have accepted the feelings of whoever had declared to him first." The pink alicorn slowly nodded in confirmation.
"You five and Dusk have a very special bond. You all love Dusk, and I'm pretty sure he loves you all too. But it’s not something he can accept. Right now, his heart is divided." Cadance explained to each of the mares. "If I hadn't intervened, Dusk would have stayed with whoever had declared himself first. And maybe there would have been nothing wrong with that, since I would be letting two ponies who love each other be together. But what about the other four? Would it have been fair for them to have been rejected just for being a minute late? And what would have happened to the one who would have stayed with Dusk? Would she be happy knowing that the stallion next to her loves her, but only chose her because she was the first to tell him?"
The table fell into an awkward silence that lasted for quite some time as the five mares collected their thoughts and feelings. Each one understood why Cadance had done what she did and what it meant for them overall.
"What you did… could have been the best for us. But for Dusk…" Rarity said with a worried look, finally breaking the silence.
"Now Dusk is even more confused about whom to choose, because now he knows five mares really want to be with him." Pinkie Pie said, also with a worried look.
"I know. That's why I'm here." Cadance said, looking seriously at the five mares. "Dusk is very important to me, I've known him since he was a young colt. That is why I want him to be happy in his life, and for that, I must make sure that the mare next to him is the best mare in the world."
At Cadance's words, the five mares were shocked. Did she... Did she want to put them to the test!?
"Uh... Princess... If you want to test us or something like that, it is not gonna fly with me." Rainbow Dash said, scratching her head and looking away. "We already went through that with that crazy Sunset Shimmer mare. So I don't want nopony to test me."
“Yeah… No offense, princess, but I think this is something that concerns only us and Dusk." Applejack said with a nervous smile. However, she immediately lost her smile upon seeing that Cadance's expression had changed drastically.
"Don't ever mention that name again!... It’s because of that mare is why I’m making sure love never hurts Dusk like that again!" Cadance said with a furious look. All the kindness that was present in the mare disappeared as soon as Rainbow Dash mentioned Sunset. Just remembering how devastated and hurt her beloved Dusk had been when Sunset left him made Cadance's blood boil. Then she closed her eyes to calm herself and smiled sweetly again. "I don't want to put you to a test. I just want to make sure 'Dusk-get-the-best-mare'." Cadance repeated again with a very large and exaggerated smile, emphasizing her last words.
As soon as Cadance was angry, the five mares felt how tense the atmosphere had become. For a second, the mares almost forget that they were facing an alicorn princess. Thankfully, Cadance retained her composure and returned to the sweet and kind mare that she was. However, her last words made it clear that she was not asking a favor. Cadance would make sure that Dusk didn’t suffer for love again, no matter what the means.
"B-But how will we know which is the best match for Dusk?" Fluttershy asked sheepishly.
"Oh! I know! I'll go ask him!" Pinkie Pie said, quickly standing up.
"Oh no. Not you, missy!" Rarity said quickly, using her magic to make Pinkie Pie sit back down. "Princess Cadance already said so. Dusk feels something for all of us, and that is why he’s confused and cannot decide. If any of us go and press him, chances are that Dusk will choose that mare."
"So, what we do? Do you want to decide for Dusk?" Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow as she looked at Cadance. She didn’t like the idea of the alicorn princess coming all this way just to make a choice for Dusk.
"As much as I would enjoy choosing a mare for Dusk, love is hardly that simple. It must be him who finally decides. Also, as I was telling you, I only know you from the letters that Dusk wrote to Aunt Celestia, and unfortunately I cannot stay here for more than one day, since I must return to my royal obligations." Cadance sighed, thinking that she would indeed like to stay there and meet more of Dusk's potential marefriends. "However, I've been thinking that maybe there is another way to know which of you would be Dusk's perfect marefriend." Cadance added with a small smile as she levitated her traveling cloak to search for something.
"I know! We can ask the fans!" Pinkie Pie said, turning to face the fourth wall of the room, staring out at an imaginary audience. "What do you think?! Who should Dusk Shine stay with? Oh wait! Didn’t the author already do a poll at this point of the story." Pinkie Pie said with a thoughtful look.
"Could you please focus on reality for a minute? This is serious!" Rainbow Dash groaned, turning Pinkie Pie back so that she would put her crazy things aside and stop imagining that they were all in some kind of romantic fictional story.
"Well, I don't know. How likely is it that five girls will fall in love with the same guy? Maybe we’re in a bad romantic fanfic and we don't know it." Pinkie Pie added with a shrug. "Hopefully I'm the fan favorite!"
"There are no fans!" Rainbow Dash yelled and briefly dropped her face on the table in irritation from how the pink mare was making her question reality...again.
"Actually, asking the fans is precisely what I had in mind." Cadance smirked, to the amazement of Rainbow Dash and the others. "Tell me, have any of you read this interesting comic?" Cadance asked, holding up a copy of Lyra's comic: 'Forbidden Love'.
End of chapter 7