Heritage

by Scyphi

Heritage

Cadance supposed she should have seen it coming well before it actually took place.

After all, it was no secret she and Shining Armor had been close for most of their life, ever since they were young (or in the case of Cadance, younger). Although at the time, they of course had no idea where it would eventually lead them. For a long time, they only ever saw themselves as good friends and nothing more. It wasn’t really until they both started to mature that they started to see something more between them.

Granted, their views of their relationship only moved up a step, going from friends to close friends and no further. But it rapidly became clear that wasn’t going to be enough either, once Cadance and Shining Armor started going their separate ways. The unicorn stallion went on to rise rapidly up the ranks of the royal guard to become its eventual captain while Cadance departed for Manehattan to embark in various studies there. Finding they missed one another, it wasn’t long before they actively began to keep in touch with each other via letter. The letters seldom said much of anything significant, but both ponies kept them private anyway.

Around the time Cadance returned from her studies in Manehattan was when Shining Armor was separated from his younger sister, Twilight Sparkle. Shining Armor felt lonely as a result of this separation, but Cadance was there to provide support when needed. Thus it wasn’t long thereafter that they started going about Canterlot, participating in the various activities and events the capital city of Equestria had to offer with increasing regularity. Neither of them really called them “dates” at the time, but looking back, that was pretty much what they were.

So finally Shining Armor was the first to make the move to nudge things into a more serious arena by formally taking Cadance out on “true” dates. From there, their relationship continually became stronger and closer and it was soon clear to everypony that they were a couple. Cadance knew well before that night that she had fallen for Shining Armor and that he had fallen for her. Their love was genuine, too. So she should have known it was going to come shortly thereafter.

But on that fateful night, she didn’t have a clue it was coming. It had seemed like just another ordinary date to her. In fact, the only odd thing that ever really struck her about it was that instead of going out into the city for the date, Shining Armor had arranged for everything to be kept within the castle grounds. They had dinner in the castle dining room then he took her out for a stroll around the castle gardens.

Also, Shining Armor kept steering their conversation towards past events and reminiscing about them. Cadance didn’t think much of it at the time, but again, looking back, it seemed obvious that it was deliberate probing for one subject in particular. Cadance presumed that he was searching for the right springboard to use to jump into the real topic he wanted to talk about. But he either never found it, or lacked enough nerve to take advantage of that route, because eventually he sat Cadance down and changed the subject.

He brought up the subject of their relationship, and quite seriously pointed out that it was a little odd for them to be together, with her being an alicorn, a major part of the royal family and second only to the princesses themselves, and him only a captain of the royal guard and a unicorn, with no real royal blood to speak of. He also mentioned the fact that, even though in technical terms they were about the same physical age, in literal years he was only a mere sliver of Cadance’s age.

So Cadance replied just as seriously that she didn’t care about any of that, nor would she let it stop them. Rank, breed of pony, age, and social status didn’t matter in her book. This visibly relieved Shining Armor and was pleased to hear her say that.

The next thing Cadance knew, he had the ring out and was asking for her hoof in marriage.

But little did Cadance know, for she wasn’t the only one caught off-guard by this event. In fact, Equestria’s princess of the night was not just caught off-guard, it also alarmed her.

Princess Celestia did not get to hear about Cadance’s engagement until breakfast the following morning, when the pink alicorn proudly announced that Shining Armor had proposed and that she had, of course, accepted. Celestia’s first reaction was one of joy and excitement for her niece, and immediately began to congratulate her, ask what their plans were, and when to possibly expect the wedding. This was then followed by an inward feeling of amazement at the fact that Cadance was now mature enough to marry, making her feel old. But then Celestia ridiculed herself for feeling that, because as old as she already was, she should be used to that feeling by now.

Later still, a thought of alarm came to Celestia’s mind. Cadance was growing up and was beginning to branch out into the world on her own at long last, which certainly wasn’t a bad thing. But Celestia knew of a pony that was missing out on it entirely, one who shouldn’t be missing anything.

Yet she knew where this pony and Cadance both stood on the matter. The two had moved on and acted like keeping in touch was unimportant. In fact, as far as Celestia knew, they had barely spoken to each other since the chance first arose nearly two years ago. The more she thought about it, the more it worried Celestia that that this had gone on for as long as it did, and was showing no sign of stopping.

At first she hadn’t been pressing about the matter. She had assumed the two merely needed some time to come to terms with what had happened and would work it out on their own. But now it was becoming clear that they had been deliberately putting it off and had no intention to work it out themselves when they shouldn’t be.

And now Cadance was to be wed. If the matter wasn’t resolved by then, Celestia wasn’t sure it was ever going to be resolved. The procrastinating and shirking of the subject needed to stop now.

But it proved easier said than done.

At that same breakfast with Cadance, Celestia casually brought up the subject as nonchalantly as she could with her niece. But Cadance’s disinterested response followed by quickly shrugging it off again proved to be underwhelming.

Celestia then later decided that it probably she should be working to get the other pony to make the first move anyway. So she tried. Only this pony was even more reluctant to make the first move than Cadance was. She shirked committing to the matter, believing that nothing good would come of it, despite it being entirely clear that she desperately wanted to do it anyway. She just lacked the nerve.

Celestia refused to give up, however, and continued to try and urge the two to get back together and to finally make amends at long last. But no matter the tactic she tried, it never seemed to work. Instead, if anything, they just seemed to grow further and further apart. One pony would become further and further withdrawn, while the other would become more resentful of Celestia’s involvement. Finally, when Cadance finally snapped at the sun princess for her meddling, Celestia backed off. She presumed the outburst was brought on due to the stress of the ever-nearing wedding Cadance was no doubt feeling. But Celestia knew that something was going to have to get the matter resolved, and the sooner, the better.

But still, it was left neglected as the day of the wedding came and went.

This included a poorly-timed attempted invasion from the changelings, which inadvertently made the situation even worse. Poor Cadance, the chief victim of the invasion, was nearly traumatized by it. Indeed, had things not gotten resolved in time for Cadance and Shining Armor to be wed properly, despite everything, she probably would have been.

But, just relieved that things ended well, all Cadance seemed to want after that was to move past the event and on into happier times. Yet deep down Celestia knew she was troubled, and needed the kind of support that Celestia knew not even she could give.

Yet the one pony that could was also the one and only pony who had not just failed to attend Cadance’s wedding, but had also been entirely absent from the changeling attack that ensued. In fact, she had been entirely unaware of the changeling attack when she finally turned up again much later that same evening. Celestia had inquired of her repeatedly as to where she had been this whole time, but she refused to tell Celestia. She seemed ashamed of the whole incident, in fact.

Celestia respected this, but the event only seemed to drive her and Cadance further apart. And now Shining Armor and Cadance were about to leave Canterlot to start their new life as a married couple, leaving the matter unresolved still. And Celestia knew that this would be the last chance anypony would have of getting these two ponies to make peace.

So finally, as she had frequently done in the past, Celestia decided to take matters into her own hooves.

When Princess Celestia requested Shining Armor to visit her privately in her study without explaining the reason why, a large number of things sprang to mind as to what it could be about. The leading theory was that he was in trouble for something. This left him wondering what it was that he had done wrong. He couldn’t think of anything…except for the fact that he had swapped shifts with some of the other guards due to a scheduling problem one of them had. That could be it. But…as captain of the guard, wasn’t he allowed to do that?

He still hadn’t figured it out by the time he arrived at said study and was allowed to enter.

“You requested my presence, princess?” he asked when he entered, bowing briefly and trying to not allow his expectations that he was in trouble for something show too much.

Celestia glanced up from the scroll she was working on. “Yes, thank you for coming,” she said cheerfully. “First, I hope you and Cadance have been doing well together.”

Shining Armor brightened at this. “We are, thank you, your highness,” he said, pleased, and started to feel some relief that he wasn’t here because he was in trouble for anything. “Was that all?”

“No, but it is related. I actually called you down to suggest the possibility of us all having a dinner together this evening, before you and Cadance leave Canterlot.”

“Dinner?”

“Just a small and private affair, of course. Just you, Cadance, myself…”

“Oh, okay!” Shining Armor remarked, catching on. “That sounds like a good idea. I’m all for it, and I’m sure Cadance will be too.”

“Very well, then,” Celestia said, smiling. “Consider the dinner planned for this evening, then.”

“All right, we’ll see you then, your highness,” Shining Armor concluded, before turning and departing, glad that he had been wrong to assume the worst case scenario. He went off to finish his current shift, making plans to inform Cadance of the plans the first chance he got.

He didn’t once suspect that Celestia might have had a different reason for arranging this dinner.

“I have to admit, Shining, while I’m pleased that Aunt Celestia is doing this, it does seem rather out of the blue,” Cadance remarked aloud as she and her unicorn husband walked through the now-darkened corridors of the castle for their destination that evening. “I mean after all the celebrating that has been done for our wedding…”

“But why not have one last dinner together before we go?” Shining Armor asked as he led the way. “Personally, I think it’s touching that Princess Celestia wanted to have one more private dinner with us before we go. We are all family now, after all.” He grinned proudly at this last statement.

Cadance grinned in return for a moment. They continued onward in silence for a few moments before they arrived at the double doors leading into the dining room.

“Anyway, I fully expect this to be an ordinary dinner, with no surprises,” Shining Armor remarked to her, continuing the subject. “Or at least the princess gave no indications as such.”

“Did she, now?” Cadance remarked, rolling her eyes good-humoredly with doubt. “That doesn’t fill me with much confidence. Aunt Celestia can be real meddlesome when she wants to be.”

“But in a good way,” Shining Armor added as he moved to open the door for the alicorn. “I mean, it’s not like she’ll do anything that’ll cause you serious problems, right?”

“Well, I would like to think…” Cadance began as she slipped through the dining room door as Shining Armor opened it before trailing off suddenly in her statement, never finishing what she planned to say.

This was because she had stopped suddenly upon realizing that there were already ponies in the dining room. This was to be expected, seeing that Celestia planned the dinner. That was not what caught her by surprise. What surprised her was the unexpected additional guest for the dinner, Princess Luna.

The princess of the night was already seated at the table and looked unsure about her presence here. Princess Celestia stood beside her sister and appeared to be in the middle of explaining something to her. What it was, though, was unknown because she immediately stopped upon Cadance’s entry. Both of the princesses looked in the pink alicorn’s direction as she entered. Luna appeared to grow even less sure of herself at the very sight of her. Cadance stared at the pair of them before Shining Armor, who was closing the dining room doors behind him and did not notice the extra guest until he trotting up to join his wife.

“Princess Luna!” he exclaimed with pleased surprise before quickly bowing. “Greetings! My apologies, but I didn’t know you were joining us.”

“Nor did I,” Cadance spoke surprisingly flatly as she looked in Celestia’s direction.

Celestia response was calm, but directly entirely at Cadance. “I see no reason why my sister could not join us for this dinner,” she remarked. “Can you?”

“I certainly can’t,” Shining Armor answered, missing the fact that the question was intended for Cadance to answer. “I’m quite happy to have Princess Luna join us for dinner. After all, I hardly ever see her. No offense, princess.”

“None taken, captain.” Luna responded softly.

“She is, of course, still trying to adjust to things now that she has returned to Equestria,” Celestia explained, taking the liberty of doing it for her sister, who did not protest. “That, and the fact that she is a bit of a night owl, and tends to keep to herself.”

“So I hear from the night guard,” Shining Armor confirmed with an understanding nod. “They say good things about the princess though, and I have no reason to doubt their word.” He grinned optimistically at Luna.

It heartened the night princess some. “Thank you for your faith in me, captain,” she replied softly.

It was around then that Shining Armor noticed Cadance was being uncharacteristically quiet and glanced in her direction. He was puzzled to see that she seemed distant and blank, her gaze directed at Luna, who was in turn clearly avoiding it. He frowned, a little puzzled, but otherwise didn’t think much of it.

He nudged his alicorn companion. “Shall we sit and begin, then?” he asked her.

Cadance managed to tear her gaze off of Luna and onto Shining Armor. “Oh!” she remarked, snapping out of it, “Of course.”

They both sat at one side of the table on the cushions set out for them. Celestia set herself beside Luna, on the opposite side of the table from Cadance and Shining Armor. The table itself was lavishly set with fine and polished plates and silverware. Servants were standing by to serve their guests. Once the guests had settled themselves the servants brought their meals forward, already prepared. The meals proved to be quite fancy too, but also looked quite appealing. Cadance looked her meal over with a still-surprised expression on her face.

“Does it satisfy your highnesses?” the servant aiding her asked, noticing her surprise.

“Uh…yes,” Cadance replied, taken aback by it all. “I just…I don’t know…” she glanced at Celestia. “This just wasn’t what I was…expecting.”

Celestia did not respond to the comment, seeing the deliberately hidden implications behind it.

“Will your highness require anything else?” another servant, helping Luna, inquired.

“No, but many thanks, thou art excused,” Luna proclaimed officially in an antiquated form of speech she still hadn’t quite broken the habit of using, especially around servants. Unlike Cadance, though, she was starting to grin and look quite pleased.

The servants left, leaving the four alone in the room. They immediately began eating.

“Mm, this is good,” Shining Armor remarked aloud.

“Indeed,” Luna agreed.

Cadance did not comment one way or the other. She seemed lost in thought and was dwelling on that more than on the dinner she was eating.

“So…” Celestia began finally after a few moments. “What shall we talk about?”

“Who said we needed to talk about anything?” Cadance remarked in response.

Shining Armor glanced at her, mildly surprised. “Well, why not?” he asked. “We are all about to go our separate ways, so to speak. Personally, I wouldn’t mind a little conversation, especially with Princess Luna, seeing that I still don’t know her that well and all.” He glanced in Luna’s direction. “Of course, if that pleases you.”

“Of course,” Luna replied.

“Oh yes, I’m sure Luna has plenty she would like to say,” Celestia remarked, giving Luna an expectant look.

It was apparently enough to intimidate Luna though, because the dark blue mare immediately clammed up again and was silent.

“She doesn’t need to say anything if she doesn’t want to,” Cadance pointed out in Luna’s defense.

“I disagree,” Celestia responded, looking in Cadance’s direction. “You two especially need to talk and neither of you have done so since Luna’s return. And that was more than a year ago.”

“Is there a problem with that?” Cadance challenged. Her dark tone surprised Shining Armor, who wasn’t used to her talking as such.

“Only the fact that you two have clearly been putting it off,” Celestia responded without hesitation. “I feel that needs to end, the sooner the better. No more trying to avoid it. And since you two were not doing it on your own…”

“You’ve intervened,” Cadance finished flatly. But she did not seem annoyed, frustrated, or even angry by this. Just…unsure and hesitant.

Possibly even afraid. It succeeded in puzzling Shining Armor even more than before. Why was Cadance acting like this?

Whatever the case, neither Celestia nor Cadance pursued the subject further, meaning Shining Armor wasn’t going to hear it through them at the moment. He felt it wasn’t exactly his place to pry anyway. Still, the awkward silence that followed made Shining Armor feel uneasy, so he attempted to clear the air by attempting to spark his own conversation.

“So,” he said, addressing the princess of the night, “how are you doing, Princess Luna?”

Luna glanced up at him for a moment, as if momentarily caught off guard by the question. “Well enough,” she responded.

“So you’re okay and everything,” Cadance questioned quickly, showing clear concern for the alicorn, which Shining Armor was pleased to see. He hoped it would at least help lighten the mood.

“Yes,” Luna replied.

“Aunt Celestia has suggested otherwise.”

“My opinions on the subject are matters that are between Luna and I,” Celestia remarked suddenly, curtailing that subject before it went any further.

“And not me?”

Luna glanced at Cadance for a moment. “Would you care to know?” she asked, almost challengingly.

Cadance hesitated. “No,” she finally said, “I trust you.”

Luna nodded, and silence fell again for several moments. Shining Armor watched the two carefully, looking back and forth between them repeatedly before suddenly realizing that he was caught in the middle of a bigger issue that he knew nothing about.

“Is…there something I should know?” he asked aloud to Celestia.

The princess of the day opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, Cadance quickly interrupted, as if not wanting to permit her aunt the chance to answer.

“So,” the pink alicorn began slowly, addressing Luna, “We’ve apparently been brought here to talk, so where shall we begin?”

Luna hesitated a moment as she sought a subject to discuss. “I had heard you had been out studying abroad a year or so ago, correct?” she asked as she resumed eating.

Cadance smirked a little at Luna’s antiquated way of putting it. “Basically, yes. It was nothing that special, though, the basics, mostly.”

“The same subjects most ponies of royal blood are expected to know,” Celestia added, to which Cadance confirmed with a silent nod. “It’s nothing you yourself wouldn’t already know, Luna.”

Luna nodded herself then gazed at the pony couple before her with a knowing look. “By the way, I want to congratulate you on your recent marriage,” she remarked slowly to Cadance before grinning faintly, like some private joke had been told. “I still have to remind myself you are married from time to time.” The smile vanished as quickly as it had come. “I was not quite prepared for the event, admittedly. After all, Celestia had indicated to me before that you had been seeing somepony, but I did not know who until I had heard about your engagement from Celestia some months previous.” She gave Shining Armor a warm glance.

But Shining Armor was surprised by this news. “You hadn’t?” he asked, having expected Luna to have heard all about the relationship from his wife herself well before that point in time. It wasn’t like it had been any big secret in the days leading up to his proposal and the wedding that followed.

“But of course, it didn’t have to be that way, now did it?” Cadance pointed out to Luna. Her tone had darkened somewhat unexpectedly again.

Luna only hung her head and didn’t respond, choosing instead to resume eating her food. Shining Armor looked blankly at the pair for a moment before realizing that Cadance was upset at Luna for some reason. Unable to think of what it might be, though, he gazed questioningly at Celestia, silently asking her to explain. She opted not to, though, and upon meeting the unicorn’s eye, brought one hoof to her mouth, quietly motioning to him to stay quiet. He obeyed, but it was hard, especially when Cadance’s next question caught him by surprise too.

“What have you been up to since your return, anyway?” Cadance asked Luna solemnly, who apparently did not know already. “Seems like you’ve always got yourself hidden away somewhere in the castle, after all.”

“I assure you, this is not the case,” Luna promised before providing the answer to the question. “I have been keeping busy familiarizing myself with all of the changes in Equestria that took place during my absence. If it pleases you, Cadance, I can show you.”

Cadance shook her head, chuckling a little. “I would think that I would be the one who would need to show you all of the changes,” she commented with a smirk.

Luna gave no response, but her eyebrows drooped suddenly as the princess worked to suppress a saddened expression. Shining Armor, meanwhile, winced, though he tried to hide it from Cadance’s sight. Celestia didn’t even bother and directed a hard glare at Cadance, who quickly noticed. Realizing her mistake, the pink alicorn winced too.

“I’m sorry,” she apologized quickly. “That wasn’t funny, was it?”

Luna swallowed her most recent bite of food. “No, I suppose not,” she replied. She sighed before continuing. “It is in the past, though. We do not want to discuss it. Nor are we here to discuss it.”

“No, I suppose we aren’t,” Cadance agreed, pausing to take another bite of her own food. The subject was one that was hard for her to leave alone though. “But…you are having trouble adjusting back into life still, even after being back for a full year, aren’t you?”

Luna was in the middle of taking a sip of drink when Cadance said this, and stopped mid-sip for a moment to process it. Magically lowering the cup again, Luna sighed. “It probably shows, does it not?”

“Yeah, it kinda does, no offense,” Shining Armor admitted, speaking up suddenly despite himself. “I mean, with all of the “thou’s” and other antiquated ways you say things every now and then.”

Luna sighed, but shrugged. “That was how royal ponies spoke back then,” she explained. “But I suppose neither of you would remember that.”

“No, not really” Cadance admitted. “After all, I was only a little foal at the time.”

“I wasn’t even born yet,” Shining Armor remarked.

Luna nodded solemnly, grinning slightly at Shining Armor’s comment, but was more solemn about Cadance’s. “I know,” she admitted.

A moment of silence fell before Luna unexpectedly started speaking again.

“You have…grown,” she commented aloud to Cadance. “When I saw you last…” she paused, hesitant, “…thou were naught but a little foal.”

Cadance nodded. “Yes, that sounds about right,” she agreed in confirmation. “But then, that’s what ponies do when they grow up.”

Luna was silent for a moment about this comment. “I have also heard about your father,” she said suddenly and out of the blue.

Cadance and Shining Armor both looked up at Luna unexpectedly for the sudden subject change. Shining Armor was especially surprised at the subject change, only knowing of Cadance’s late father by name and reputation alone, but enough to find the suddenly shift in topic to him odd. Catching Celestia’s gaze again though, he saw that he needed to keep quiet now more than before.

Cadance, however, was not prepared for this topic, and indeed, seemed hurt by it. “I would certainly hope you knew about that by now,” she remarked slowly. “I’m sure the first thing you did when you came back was to find out things like that.”

“And about all the ponies I had known that had passed on, yes,” Luna added seriously, driving the point home.

The two mares looked at each other for a moment. Shining Armor and Celestia silently continued to watch and listen as the pair of ponies spoke. Celestia clearly seemed to know where this was heading, but Shining Armor still didn’t have a clue and it was starting to frustrate him. He attempted to distract himself by continuing to eat (to no avail) but paid close attention to the conversation as it continued.

Cadance sighed. “Every pony meets their end eventually,” she pointed out, suspecting she knew why Luna brought it up. “Father’s time had simply come…sooner than either of us anticipated.”

Luna nodded somberly.

“Still…I try to remember that, as he was a unicorn and not an alicorn, I would have ended up out living him and face life without him in the end,” Cadance remarked. “You should too. And either way, life still goes on. Sometimes you just have to accept that.”

“Of course,” Luna remarked, nodding in understanding. A pause. “Has it been hard without him?”

Cadance gave Luna a surprisingly cold look that not just startled Shining Armor, but Celestia too, and she was the one that knew more than the befuddled captain of the guard.

“I have already had to do so before,” the pink alicorn pointed out to Luna. Then, lightening some, she continued. “Aunt Celestia, actually, has really been the closest thing I’ve ever had to a parent in the years since, but…while Celestia’s great,” she gave her aunt a pleasant and thankful grin, “…it just hasn’t been the same, no.” She shrugged again. “I seem to have fared okay without them though, so even though losing them was…undesirable…I managed anyway.”

It did not escape Shining Armor’s notice that Cadance said “them,” instead of “him,” but he wisely chose not to point this out.

“He will be missed,” Luna stated, as if merely stating fact.

“Of course he will be missed,” Cadance agreed without argument, like it was obvious enough that it didn’t even need to be stated. “Those who remember him speak fondly of him. Celestia especially and frequently speaks fondly of my father.”

Luna nodded in immediate agreement, not doubting this. “Silver Blaze was a good stallion,” she remarked with such confidence that Cadance couldn’t doubt it. “He deserves the praise.”

“I should say so.”

The subject trailed off for a moment after this. Luna was looking to become increasingly more and more uncomfortable at the direction the conversation was taking. She glanced in Shining Armor’s direction as if she intended to say something to him. But Cadance started speaking to the princess again.

“You know that he died young, right?” she asked, almost challengingly.

Luna focused her attention back on Cadance, but it was clear this was a subject she didn’t want to discuss. “Yes,” she replied simply.

“And do you know that the popular theory why is that he couldn’t deal with his recent losses and the resulting stress he felt from having to lose what he did?”

Luna’s eyes turned sorrowful. “Yes,” she repeated.

“Yes,” Cadance repeated skeptically. “And that is all you have to say on the matter?”

Luna hung her head. “What more do you expect from me Cadance?” she asked.

“You should know what I want already.”

A long moment of silence fell as the two mares stared at each other. Shining Armor, suddenly feeling caught in the middle again, could only sit there and watch. Dying to speak up and ask for an explanation but knowing he shouldn’t, he started shoveling food into his mouth to keep himself quiet.

Luna finally sighed heavily, but a faint and half-hearted grin started to sneak onto her features. “I keep forgetting how much you have grown, Cadance,” she remarked wistfully. “So grown and aware of the world around you…To me, it feels like it was only a short while ago when you were still naught but a sweet little foal. Now, you are…” She paused, her grin growing. “…well, you are still sweet…but you are certainly no little foal anymore.” She sighed. “You know, Celestia claims we have a lot in common. She made that much very clear when first telling me about you after I returned. I am not certain yet if I can see it.” She grinned though, her eyes locked with Cadance’s. “I, however, can say that you still have your father’s beautiful eyes.”

Cadance placed one hoof to her faded purple eyes absent-mindedly, but it did not distract her from the matter at hoof. “That still does not change the fact that you should already be well familiar with all of this, to have learned this all for yourself, and not have another pony tell you this,” she challenged. “And are you okay with the fact that you were gone during those intervening years?”

“Of course not,” Luna pressed. “I cannot tell you how much I long to have those lost years back.”

“But you can’t.”

“And I know! I have to accept that just as much as you have to, Cadance!”

“But that doesn’t make it right!” Cadance said, beginning to tear up. “Nor does it change the fact that you have been avoiding me! You didn’t even show up for my wedding!”

“I was at the reception that evening!” Luna stated in her defense. “I even gave Shining Armor my blessings, did I not captain?”

Cadance cut Shining Armor off before he could answer. “But you didn’t give me your blessings! And all I can ask is…why? You have had more than enough chance to do all of this, to come to me and talk about this before now, but you haven’t!”

“Nor have you,” Luna pointed out.

“That’s not the point! You should have come straight to me the day you returned! It was your responsibility to do so! But you didn’t!”

“Because I couldn’t bear to see you be hurt!” Luna proclaimed.

“And why should that matter to you now, after everything that has happened?”

It was then that Luna unexpectedly snapped, rising. “Because I am your mother!”

A long moment of silence would’ve fallen at this point if it wasn’t for Shining Armor suddenly gagging on his food in shock.

“Say what now?” Shining Armor exclaimed, unable to keep his mouth shut any longer. He glanced wildly at the mares gathered around the table, but none of them would look at him. Luna and Cadance had locked their eyes on each other determinedly, while Celestia had closed hers, leaning her head back as if lost in thought. Not about to be ignored now though, Shining Armor turned his attention to his wife, who he had thought up until now that he knew everything he needed to know about her.

“Cadance,” he began, trying to grab her attention. “Is this true?”

Cadance was quiet for a moment, not breaking her gaze with Luna. Finally, she sighed. “Yes,” she stated. “Princess Luna is my biological mother.”

“And Cadance is my one and only daughter,” Luna added, more to empathize this fact than anything.

Shining Armor could only sit there and gape at them. His first instinct was, admittedly, to deny it. Looking back and forth between the two, he wanted to say that the two didn’t look anything alike. They had no similarities in the color of their mane or fur. Nor did they have similar eye color (although it was already a well-known fact that Cadance had inherited her father’s eyes, as Luna had noted). The shape of their bodies didn’t even seem to suggest they were related.

But then Shining Armor looked closer into the eyes of both ponies and saw that behind them, there was something both of them had. Some kind of familiar trait and a kind of essence that Shining Armor couldn’t deny suggested a relation by blood. He realized that what they said was true. He didn’t know how. He just could see that it was true. They were mother and daughter. Furthermore, it only occurred to him now that Cadance spoke frequently of her father, but almost never of her mother, and certainly had never mentioned her by name. Shining Armor realized he knew nothing about Cadance’s mother, and with this revelation, he suddenly saw why.

It still didn’t mean that he was ready to accept it.

“Why hasn’t anypony told me this?” he asked aloud to anypony who would answer.

“You have to ask?” Cadance asked, finally turning to look at him.

Shining Armor hesitated to respond.

“Captain,” Luna began suddenly and slowly. “Think of what would have kept Cadance and I apart for so many years.”

Shining Armor did, and it only took him a second before the answer struck him like a ton of bricks. If this was all true, and Princess Luna was really Cadance’s mother, then that meant that his apparent mother-in-law had also, at one time, been Nightmare Moon.

The frazzled unicorn ran his front hooves across his face. “Oh boy,” was all he had to say further on the subject. He fell silent as he worked to process all of this.

“Well, are you happy now, Aunt Celestia?” Cadance asked Celestia suddenly, who had continued to remain quiet and disconnected from the events playing before her. “This was what you wanted, after all!”

“Wait, you mean you planned this?” Shining Armor asked aloud, looking at the princess.

Celestia nodded, not denying it for a second, and seemed to have no visible regrets either. “They had barely spoken to each other since Luna’s return,” she repeated her explanation from before, but this time it bore a whole new meaning. “And they were avoiding each other. They deserve better. They deserve to be the family they truly are.”

Shining Armor was silent for a moment, processing this. “You know,” he began, glancing at the two, “as much as I’m probably not one to talk about the matter seeing I’m just finding out about this…but Princess Celestia does have a point. You’ve brought this down upon yourselves. And hiding from it isn’t going to make it right.” He looked sternly at the two mares in question for a few moments. “And I much rather be a part of a happy family than a broken one.”

Cadance and Luna looked at the stallion for a few moments for the implied threat then back, almost guiltily, at each other.

Finally, Luna relented with a sigh. “Very well,” she said before turning at the other two ponies in the room. “But I humbly request that we be left to do it in private and in peace. This matter, after all, involves myself and Cadance much more than it involves the two of you.”

Celestia nodded, and rose to leave without hesitation. “Come, captain,” she said to Shining Armor, heading to the door. “I will explain things further outside while they talk.”

Shining Armor rose to follow, but hesitated. “Cadance,” he began, turning to the pink alicorn, “if you need anything, I’m just outside.”

Cadance nodded. “Understood,” she said flatly, then, perhaps realizing her tone, she softened some. “Thank you.”

Shining Armor and Celestia then left, leaving just the mother and her daughter on their own. The two continued to stare each other down for several moments, and it was a long while before either one of them decided to speak.

Meanwhile, outside the dining room, Shining Armor started asking Celestia his questions.

“So…” he started slowly. “How did Princess Luna even come to have Cadance?”

“Ohh,” Celestia sighed wistfully. “That all began many, many, years before you were even born, captain, well before Nightmare Moon.” She paused to gather her thoughts on the matter. “Well…I suppose it began with Luna getting the idea to set up some means to light Canterlot at night, the idea being to promote more ponies being out and about at such hours. But of course, it was a real political hassle to get everything worked out to everypony’s satisfaction, even back then. Luna’s experience in that sort of thing was limited at the time, so I suggested she get a pony sided with her cause to help her through it, which led her to teaming up with a unicorn named Lord Silver Blaze.”

“Cadance’s father,” Shining Armor stated.

Celestia nodded. “I, of course, had no idea what it would lead to at the time, and neither did they. They just went about their jobs together as respectfully as expected of them. Exactly when that all started to become something more than that, I, to this day, still don’t know.”

“Who made the first move?”

“I suppose Luna did, more or less. She confessed to me once that she wasn’t sure exactly when it started, but she just realized at one point that she was finding herself very attracted to Silver Blaze, and was starting to fall for him. Knowing her place, of course, she kept it to herself for a while. Or she at least tried to. Silver Blaze, bless his kind heart, eventually caught on to what were probably Luna’s not-so-subtle attempts to hide her emotions and he was very understanding about it. I’m not sure he truly had feelings for Luna himself at that time, but they became close friends after that, so it wasn’t long before he did.”

Celestia grinned to herself. “Actually, Silver Blaze proved to be a blessing to Luna in many ways. As you know, Luna is a pony of the night, and not the day. But at the time, there weren’t many other ponies to socialize with at night, so Luna usually was by herself during the nighttime. She had long gotten used to it, but then Silver Blaze started spending the night with her and I think it made her realize just how lonely she really was.” She sighed. “That may have actually have been what caused Luna to realize the night was not being respected by our subjects, ultimately paving the way to Nightmare Moon, but…” she shook her head. “…it has always seemed like such a good thing to have happened, Silver Blaze and Luna getting together. It wasn’t hard to see that Luna was so happy by it all. After that, one thing led to another, and…well…” she shrugged. “It was all really rather innocent. And it was so wonderful to see them together and so happy.” She sighed. “No pony should have stood in the way of that.”

Back in the dining room, Luna broke the silence standing between her and her daughter.

“Why did you not tell him?” Luna finally asked her daughter softly, referring to Shining Armor.

“How can you ask me that?” Cadance snapped back. “After all that’s happened…shouldn’t it be obvious?”

“I know I have done nothing to deserve better treatment from you Cadance, and I do not blame you,” Luna stated firmly. “But he still deserved to know, especially if you two truly intend to be together as husband and wife. There should be no secrets between either of you.”

Cadance hesitated, seeing Luna had a very fair point, but she refused to acknowledge it.

“You do realize that he would have eventually found out about us anyway, do you not?” Luna went on. “It is perhaps nothing short of a miracle that he did not already find out about this matter from his sister, Twilight Sparkle, seeing she is so literate, or at least as Celestia has indicated to me.”

“Yes, but Twilight has always fancied the pre-classical era the most, for its historical figures like Star Swirl the Bearded and Dark Mane the Brave, not so much the classical era during which I was born and you were banished,” Cadance stated. Upon seeing Luna’s surprised look, she continued. “I used to babysit her. Yet another thing you missed out on.”

“I can see that I have missed a great deal then,” Luna stated quietly. The thought clearly upset her.

And it clearly perturbed Cadance. “Then why have you been keeping away?” she suddenly demanded heatedly. “Do you not realize all that you have missed? You missed my wedding, even! My wedding! You weren’t to be seen anywhere on that day!”

Luna hung her head shamefully. “I am aware.”

“And don’t even get me started on the changelings!” Cadance continued. “You weren’t even there to help fight for your country, let alone protect me! Me, your daughter, who was the pony facing the greatest risk from the changelings!”

If it was possible, Luna looked even more ashamed. “I did not learn of the changeling invasion until it was long over,” she hissed hurriedly, like it hurt to say it.

It did make Cadance stop and think about what that implied, though. “Then…where WERE you?” she asked. “How could you miss that whole invasion? All of Canterlot was in a panic! So why weren’t you there?”

“Because I was not even in Canterlot at the time!” Luna looked firmly at Cadance as she said this, but no sooner had she said it, her expression softened and turned sorrowful again. “I wanted to be at that wedding, Cadance. But…I could not bring myself to do it. It…did not feel right for me to be there. Not after everything that has happened. Not after everything that I have done to you.” She sighed. “So I ran and hid. A shameful thing to do, I know, but…I could not bear to see that wedding, the perfect portrayal of everything that I have missed of my daughter’s life. But I only to ended up making things worse.”

She looked Cadance in the eye sadly. “When I went back to Canterlot that evening to raise the moon, I knew nothing of what had transpired there while I was away. Not until I saw that the force field was gone, and that the wedding reception was starting extremely late. The first chance I could, I started inquiring about what had transpired, and…when I found out…” She trailed off mournfully, unable to finish.

Cadance was silent for a moment, eyes narrowed, but swallowing to try and clear the lump that had started to form in her throat. “It’s starting to sound like you’re staying away because you think that’s what I want,” she stated. “But it’s not. It doesn’t have to be like this, you know. This constant game of keep-away doesn’t have to continue. Besides, you cannot possibly want to miss any more.”

“I do not.”

“Then…why are you still avoiding me?”

Luna gazed calmly up into Cadance’s eyes. “Because you mean the world to me, Cadance,” she said. “I cannot bear to see you be hurt. And I have done plenty to harm you already.” She sighed. “I knew that having this conversation could only cause more harm, as it would make it clear just how much I have failed you already.”

Cadance was silent for a moment, considering this. “But what if that was what I wanted?” she asked. “To know that you actually cared enough that you were willing to come and set the record straight, despite how painful we both knew it would be?”

“Then why did you keep away?” Luna challenged. “You let me stay away, when you were more than capable of stopping me.”

“Because—” Cadance began suddenly, but as quickly as she began, her nerve began to fail her, her eyes tearing up. “…because…when you didn’t…come to me…I had started to think that you…you…didn’t care for me anymore. That you didn’t want anything to do with me anymore.”

Luna’s face fell. “Cadance…that couldn’t be further from the truth…” she began.

“THEN PROVE IT!” Cadance suddenly snapped. “If it was the pain from having this conversation that was truly stopping you from doing it before now, then the very fact that we’re here having this conversation anyway should give you the motive you need to set things straight!”

Luna hesitated. “I…cannot,” she confessed finally.

“Why?” Cadance continued to demand. “Hasn’t it occurred to you that ignoring me is only hurting me too?”

“It has.”

Cadance shook her head, not understanding. “Then…why?”

“Because you do not need me anymore,” Luna replied finally.

“Why even hide all of this from me in the first place?” Shining Armor asked Celestia suddenly as they continued to wait outside the dining room. “Is it because no pony else knows about this, save you alicorns?”

“Well no, I’m sure there are other ponies who know about this.” Celestia explained softly. “Luna’s marriage to Silver Blaze was never any kind of secret.”

“So…he was legitimately her…”

“…husband, yes.” The memories caused Celestia to grin. “Though it did seem rather unexpected when they decided marriage was what they wanted. You probably should have seen my face when Silver Blaze came to me asking for permission to take Luna’s hoof to wed.”

She sighed again. “But most of everypony who did know is either long gone, or has simply forgotten. Those that still do know, through whatever means, are either in no position to go relating it, or are of enough official capacity to know not to publicize it. And of course, the marriage is recorded in numerous history books covering the era, books anypony can find. But that said, I imagine only myself, Luna, Cadance, various politicians throughout Equestria that work closely with us, and now you, really know the truth.”

Shining Armor frowned as he continued to process all of this. “But why didn’t Cadance tell me any of this?” he asked.

“I am not entirely sure, but nonetheless, I cannot say I’m surprised that she did so,” Celestia confessed. “I would assume she feared how you would react. And perhaps there are still…bitter…feelings between her and Luna. If so, I regret that it ever came to such a thing.”

Cadance was silent for a moment. “I do not need you?” she repeated questioningly.

“You have grown up without me,” Luna pointed out to her daughter. “And you have gone on with your life, as it should be! Moved on out into the world! You have even been happily wed to a pony you love dearly. You do not need me trying to force my way in into that, trying to regain what cannot be retrieved! I have missed it all already. And anyway, I have already proven how…how…” she trailed off, unable to say it as she began to tear up herself.

Now Cadance’s face fell. “You are not a bad pony,” she assured her mother. “The whole Nightmare Moon thing for instance…you and I both know that wasn’t your fault. It was never your fault. The dark magic involved…”

“Then why are we both standing here and blaming me for it?” Luna hissed, angry at the whole matter that continually haunted her. “It has yet to be said, but the thought still fills our minds! Somepony must take the blame! So, as it was I who started this mess, it might as well be me.”

“Nopony knows for certain what caused Nightmare Moon to arise, but we all know it was not in your nature for you to be truly responsible,” Cadance argued.

“But how do you know?” Luna demanded. “How do you know that I am not truly the kind of pony that Nightmare Moon is?”

“If that were so, then wouldn’t Nightmare Moon still be on the loose now and not trying to restore the life she lost, making amends for what she did?” Cadance persisted. “You are not a bad pony.”

“Then do you forgive me for what I did, Cadance?” Luna challenged.

“Haven’t I already made it clear that I want to so very much, but you won’t let me?”

“But do you truly forgive me? For everything? Do you do not hold anything against me?” Luna looked at her daughter forlornly for a moment. “Because I do not believe even Celestia has managed to do this. Why should you, the pony who was affected more than my elder sister by my actions, be more forgiving than she?”

Cadance was silent for a long moment, unable to answer. Luna, meanwhile, quietly hung her head, wiping tears from her eyes with one hoof as she attempted to regain her composure. On the table before them, their food continued to sit on their plates, quite forgotten. Cadance felt somewhat bad for letting this matter ruin what could have been a perfectly good meal. But nothing was to be done about that now, and it didn’t compare to the aching her heart felt now that she and her mother were actually discussing this matter at long last.

Not that they seemed to be getting anywhere with it.

Shining Armor was quiet for a few moments, processing Celestia’s explanations. “I suppose that I shouldn’t be so surprised that this was hidden from me, really,” he remarked aloud.

“But if I am honest, Shining, I am somewhat surprised that you didn’t already have your suspicions,” Celestia stated. “I know you have long been aware that Cadance is my niece. Did you never stop to consider the fact that, with her being my niece, her mother would naturally be my sister?”

Shining Armor could only shrug, unsure why he never saw something so obvious either. The more he thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed that he never had any inkling of any of this. “I guess it just never occurred to me to think about it,” he admitted. “And anyway, not all of your nephews and nieces are related to you through the blood of a sister. Prince Blueblood isn’t, anyway.”

“Prince Blueblood is a rather distant relative in comparison, yes,” Celestia confessed, seeing the captain’s point.

Shining Armor started to rub his face in thought with one hoof. “Whatever the case, it’s not really fair,” he said. “Not so much for me, but for them. They really do deserve better, to be able to live life without having to have any kind of secrecy.”

Celestia nodded in complete agreement. “I’m glad you see as I do, captain,” she said. “This is why I arranged all of this, to try and give them to opportunity to also realize all of this for themselves. There shouldn’t be anything keeping them from being the daughter and mother that they are. It was not the way I had hoped to do this, no, but…nothing else was working.”

“I don’t blame you, your highness,” Shining Armor assured her. “In your place, I probably would have done the same thing.”

“So you do not blame Cadance for not telling you the truth?”

Shining Armor was quiet for a moment before shaking his head. “No,” he said. “I mean, how could I? I could never hold a grudge against her over such an understandable thing like that. She means too much to me.”

Celestia grinned to hear this. “And that, captain,” she remarked, “is why I have no doubt of the sincerity of your love for each other.”

“Father forgave you,” Cadance offered to Luna suddenly, the best she could think to offer at the moment. She hoped it would reassure her mother in some shape or form.

Luna, however, disagreed. “I still hurt him,” she bemoaned with confidence. “You said it yourself. The blow was hard enough that he was never the same again. You even said that it may have played a role in his premature death.”

Cadance squeezed her eyes shut as she realized the implications of her words from before and wished she had never said them in the first place. “I didn’t mean it like that,” she said.

“But it is still true,” Luna persisted. “He missed me terribly.”

“Because he loved you, and even after all that happened, his love for you continued on as strong as ever.” Cadance turned solemn. “He clearly forgave you completely and perfectly. If he was alive still, he would have accepted you back like nothing had happened.”

Luna was quiet for a moment. “And you, Cadance?” she asked. “Will you?”

Cadance had a larger concern. “The real question is, will you let me even try to forgive you?”

Luna hesitated again as she processed an answer. “I do not know,” she confessed. “I have done things that I am not proud of, that I am not sure I can ever forgive myself for making, especially what I did to…” she turned away, starting to tear up again. “I had everything I could want back then. A husband, a little daughter, a beautiful family, a happy life…and what do I do? I throw it all away to…to…chase after some stupid grudge and end up getting myself banished!” Luna hung her head sadly. “I have often thought to myself,” she remarked aloud, “that maybe I could have done more to spare you all the pain I have caused all of you.”

“You don’t mean that,” Cadance denied.

“I do!” Luna persisted. “Whether it was my fault or not, I still harmed many ponies. My subjects, my sister, my husband…” Luna looked up at Cadance. “…my daughter. Cadance, the simple truth is that you deserve so much better than me. Sometimes I wonder if perhaps your father and I would have been better off having stayed apart, and had never allowed ourselves to get as close as we did. We could have been better off in the end that way.”

Cadance had one retort that brought that line of reasoning far short, though.

“But then you wouldn’t have had me.”

“There is one thing I don’t understand, though,” Shining Armor said to Celestia. “If Princess Luna really did love Lord Silver Blaze as much as she did, and was enjoying the family she built…then why did she throw it away to be Nightmare Moon?”

“A question that I am sure haunts Luna continually,” Celestia said. “I, myself, do not know the answer. Perhaps we never will. It isn’t important to dwell on that, though, not when Luna and Cadance still have a chance to be the family they always were.”

She was silent for a moment before continuing. “At any rate, there is one thing that I do know, and that’s Luna desperately wants the happy family she had before Nightmare Moon back again. She’s quite proud of that family she had managed to build. She loved Silver Blaze dearly…in fact she still does…much like the love you and Cadance share.” Celestia shook her head, grinning slightly as she remembered better times. “And how…happy and…excited Luna was when she found out she was to be a mother.”

“Cadance’s mother,” Shining Armor repeated quietly to himself.

The words still seemed curious for him to hear, but the more he thought about it, the harder it became to even try and fool himself into denying its truthfulness. It just…made sense. Still, Shining Armor had to admit to himself that it wasn’t like any of this was bad. Of all the ponies Cadance’s mother could have proven to be, it was Princess Luna. He had little doubt that Luna was a good pony, despite the incident with Nightmare Moon, and he only found himself continually feeling his heart go out to poor Luna for having to suffer as she had.

And yet she continued ever onward with life. As he wasn’t confident that he could do the same, Shining Armor also admired Luna for her strength and bravery.

But the captain of the guard found himself sighing as he realized one problem. “Princess Luna can’t have that whole family back, though, can she?” he asked. “Not completely.”

“No, not now that Silver Blaze has passed on,” Celestia confirmed. Her expression grew even sadder. “When I had to tell her that he had died when she returned…deep down she knew, of course. She knew that the odds of Silver Blaze still being alive after her banishment were nonexistent. Even if he had lived a full life in perfect health, he was still a unicorn, and could not live long enough to still be alive in time for Luna to return. But it just…the reality of it all hadn’t sunk in until I told her, and…she was so distraught, Shining, it pained me to have to be the one to tell her.”

“But she still has Cadance,” Shining Armor pointed out.

“Yes, she does,” Celestia agreed. “And Luna should thank her lucky stars that she does. Either way, they perhaps need each other now more than ever. Nothing should keep them apart, especially not their own hesitation to forgive and forget.”

Luna was caught off-guard by Cadance’s blatant point, jaw slightly agape as if she hadn’t considered this. But it was true, wasn’t it? They were daughter and mother. Nothing could ever change this. Besides, Luna needed all the support she could get at this point, which meant she needed to understand that, despite everything, things could still work out. She needed Cadance’s support. The support of what remained of the family she had once managed to build.

Therefore, Cadance asked Luna a question. “If you had the chance to do it over,” she began slowly, starting to walk around the table to Luna’s side, “which you don’t, by the way, so there’s little point in dwelling on it. But even if you did have that chance…would you really pass up having had what you had then?”

Luna was quiet for a long moment, watching Cadance approach as she considered her answer. The princess of the night wanted to say yes without hesitation, but the very idea of what that would mean made her heart ache. So she finally hung her head in defeat. “No,” she admitted with a sad sigh. “Brief as it was, I love the family I had built, and to say that I regret having such a wonderful family would be a lie. But…” she paused. “Because of what I did…I have lost so much…”

Cadance paused as she arrived beside Luna, who was still seated on her seat, looking away from the light pink alicorn. “It may seem like you have lost everything,” she agreed, sitting down on the floor beside Luna, “and nothing any of us can say will bring a lot of that back. But there is one thing I know you have not lost, and still very much have.”

Luna glanced at her, a look of longing in her eyes as she waited for Cadance to say what.

“You still have me.”

Luna blinked in surprise. “Does this mean that...despite everything I have done to harm you and have torn our family apart…” she paused for a long moment, almost not daring to believe it, “…you still forgive me?”

Her grin growing and feeling her eyes begin to burn with tears, Cadance nodded. “I forgive you. Because all that really matters now is that we are together again. And I need you to see this. Otherwise we can never sort this out again. And that’s not worth it, and never has been…not when we are all that’s left of that family you had built.” She looked forlornly at Luna for a moment. “No matter what has happened, I still want to be your daughter. Will you let me, mother?”

Luna stared at her for a moment, as if checking to make sure Cadance truly meant it. And then suddenly, Luna had grabbed her in a tight bear hug, weeping tears of joy to the point she could hardly talk. But she still managed to choke out one word.

“Yes.”

Cadance grinned as returned the hug just as zealously, shedding tears herself. “I forgive you, mother,” she repeated aloud, and she meant every word.

“Thank you Cadance,” Luna replied in a harsh whisper through her weeping. “Thank you.”

From there, they lost all track of time, but they were content to just stand there, hugging and weeping in joy. Eventually they both managed to stop crying, allowing their eyes to dry, but they still held each other close, as if afraid letting go would mean losing each other again. Therefore Cadance had to request one last thing from her mother.

“Just promise me that you will never leave me again,” she asked Luna suddenly.

Luna’s reply came immediately and devoid of any hesitation. “I never will leave you for anything again, my daughter,” she vowed. “I have learned my lesson. I nearly threw it all away once before and have lived to regret it. And now that I know that you want me in your life still, I am certainly not about to do it again.”

“No more avoiding each other now?” Cadance asked.

Luna nodded in agreement. “No more avoiding each other,” she promised.

Cadance grinned. “Good,” she replied, and gave her mother an extra squeeze.

Celestia and Shining Armor both fell quiet for a few moments, having reached a lull spot in their conversation. During this moment of silence, Shining Armor was finding himself turning his ears towards the closed dining room doors beside them, listening for any sounds coming from Luna and Cadance on the other side. He frowned when he couldn’t immediately make out anything.

“How do you think they’re doing?” he asked finally, jerking his heard towards the door.

Celestia gazed at the closed doors for a few moments and sighed. “I wish I knew,” she confessed. “But at least neither of them has run out of there screaming bloody murder at each other.”

“So you think they’re making progress?” Shining Armor inquired.

His timing for this question proved to be excellent, because no sooner had he said it, the double doors suddenly parted, opened by Luna’s magic. Celestia and Shining Armor both peered inside. They were pleased to see that Luna and Cadance were together, and were still wrapped in a caring embrace. They gazed happily in the direction of the two ponies standing in the doorway. Grinning themselves, Celestia and Shining Armor trotted into the room, pleased by what they saw.

“Sorted it all out, then?” Shining Armor asked cheerfully.

Luna and Cadance glanced at each other for a few moments, wondering how to answer. “We’ve got the big things mostly smoothed over, at least,” Cadance responded. “The little wrinkles might take a bit more time.”

“But without a doubt, it is certainly a step in the right direction,” Luna added optimistically, “At long last.”

Celestia’s grin grew at this news. “Exactly what I had hoped to hear,” she said. “Although I feel I should apologize now for forcing this against the wills of either of you, but…”

Luna raised a hoof, motioning for her elder sister to be silent. “Do not worry, sister,” she said. She grinned herself. “You were right.”

Cadance, meanwhile, had pulled away from Luna and approached her husband. “I, however, need to apologize for hiding all of this from you, Shining,” she said solemnly. “You had every right to know about this well before now and…”

“Water under the bridge,” Shining Armor stated dismissively. “I’m just thrilled you’ve got it all sorted out now.”

Cadance grinned, and pulled her husband in for a hug himself, which he willingly accepted. A long pause fell as the four became lost in savoring the moment for a few moments. Finally, though, Shining Armor was the one who asked the question.

“So…now what?”

They all looked at each other for several long moments. Finally, all eyes turned to Celestia, seeing she was the pony who planned this. She considered the question for a moment.

Despite herself, she had to grin a little. “I do not know,” the princess of the sun confessed. “Admittedly, I…hadn’t thought that far ahead.”

They all looked at her for a moment before they all found themselves laughing at the irony of the moment. None of them minded, for it was good to hear each other laugh not just together, but as the family they were.