~Cadence; n ˈkā-dən(t)s: a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause].
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One
Opening her eyes, Cadance felt the warm beams of sunlight that lay across her fur. Sitting up, she let the covers fall off of her body and felt her long mane pour across her body. Stifling a yawn, she looked over and smiled at the supine form that lay next to her.
Shining Armor, in much less armor and more shining than she had ever seen him before, lay splayed out, wrapped frivolously in silken, violet covers. Cadance smiled as she let out a small sigh that trailed off into a tiny laugh. Last night had been… everything. She had never slept in the same bed with another pony before, and here it was that their union had been something beyond what she could hope to dream of.
Brushing away memories of unbridled admittances of desire and adoration uttered in the heat of passion, she nudged the dense lump of fur and hair that lay snoring quietly beside her.
“Shining,” she whispered, gently at first, and then, feeling rather devilish, stuck her snout in his mane and settled right by his ear. He smelled faintly of peppermint.
“Shining Armor!” she whispered sharply, and with a gasp and a grunt, the addressed stallion rolled about on his back. The smile on his face melted across like a blotch of ink spilled on parchment, and it spread quickly and unstoppably as he rolled about to look upon his beloved.
“Good morning, my princess. I hope you slept as well as I?” His azure eyes looked into hers, and she basked in their radiance. A touching, soul-enrapturing warmth seemed to bubble up around her heart, and it was all she could do not to break into tears at this incredible stallion.
“I… Yes, of course I did, Shining. I hope you did too. And… last night…” She trailed off as a crimson blush stained her features. Shining merely grinned the lopsided smirk she so loved and nuzzled her gently.
“It was spectacular. You were.” That warm sensation washed over Cadance once more at Shining’s loving gaze and kind words.
“It was something out of a dream. I mean, I’ve never experienced something like it… I, I…” she trailed off, laying down at the gentle insistence of Shining’s strong hoof. Her husband inched himself closer to her, making sure to tuck their bodies in as close as they could go.
“I agree. And you know what? We’ve both got a long life ahead of us to experience new things together.” Closing his eyes to fall back asleep, Shining only just missed the glimmer of something in Cadance's own eye.
Because as her husband’s words bounced about in her head, they struck something inside of her: some hidden reminder, some locked-away annoyance. And at the words’ key, the gate unlocked, and she felt a horrible sensation of realization, a fact that stopped her breath and made her heart beat not lifeblood, but frigid ice water.
It was something that brought a glimmer to her eye— not a twinkle of adoration, but a vibrant tear of remorseful sorrow as she looked upon her love’s still body.
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And there he lay, the hero of the Majesty her Highness, the Captain of the Royal guard for almost fifty years, the commander of the forces of the Crystal Kingdom.
But all those titles, those fancy names didn't change a single thing. He was my husband. My love.
And now he's gone.
Cadance brushed her snout for the hundredth time by routine as her veil draped about her face and obscured her vision. Shining looked so beautiful, so peaceful, so… majestic, lying there. They had done such an incredible job with his ceremonial armor, had placed his grey and cyan mane in such a regal way…
Cadance choked on a sob. She couldn’t handle it. Turning quickly on her hooves, she trotted as fast as the black dress would allow her, weaving about other ponies dressed in a similar manner. Bursting through the tall wooden doors, she let out a gasping breath as she found herself alone out on a balcony. If she hadn’t already been asphyxiated by the strain of so much internal pain, she might have considered the view of the gently setting sun and romantic landscape to be breathtaking.
Trotting a few steps up to the edge of the balcony, Cadance felt her body begin to pull itself together. Piece by piece, it was coming along slowly, but surely. Though, once it seemed everything was brought together, there was still something missing from her being. Something that one could easily miss, like a whisper in a crowded train station, but it was as big as a smile on the lips of someone you loved.
Tip-toeing up to the edge of the balcony, she dared to peek over the brink of the world. It seemed so far, the drop into the green valley below. Maybe... Just maybe she could…
“Cadance?” The alicorn jumped slightly at the inquisitive voice. “What are you up to?”
“Ah… Nothing.” Cadance threw on a smile, but trying to pull up the corners of her mouth shot a nervous pain into her stomach. Settling in on an odd smirk, she decided to just not turn around to face the voice. She knew who it was, anyways.
A gentle clopping of hooves pattered away behind her, and ended up stopping on her left side. A cloud of rainbow pastel brilliance flickered into her sight, and Cadance sighed. She was the last pony she wanted to see right now. Well, she didn’t want to see anypony right now, actually.
“You know, I’ve been watching this sun for well over a thousand years, and the beauty it casts into the sky still impresses me every single day. It’s like,” Celestia paused, taking in a breath gently, “casting a pebble into a pond. You can expect the ripples to make the same shape and the water to break in the same texture every time. Maybe you’ll even forego tossing the pebble into the water, just because you know what will happen every time you toss it in. But when you do… it’s like a liquid masterpiece set before you.”
A pause held still on the air, and a small breath of the wind nuzzled up against Cadance’s face, emitting a sigh from her.
“Thank you for the kind words, Auntie Celli, but I don’t think they’re helping quite as much as you think they are.” Turning about to look at her aunt, Cadance raised a curious eyebrow at the look on the pearly alicorn’s face.
“Cadance, I know what you are feeling. I went through the same thing when Twilight...” Celestia paused, thinking of a word to say, “passed, years ago. Everypony felt the loss, her friends included. We forget what it is like to live for so long, especially when the change around us seems so gradual, and then things are just taken from us by death like this.”
“Yeah… I know,” Cadance breathed, bitter resentment riding on her voice. Celestia continued on, though if she had heard her niece’s comment, Cadance did not know.
“But even now, in these dark times, we have happy things to look forward to. Your daughter’s wedding is coming up, is it not? Just a week left until they are married. It’ll be nothing but a legal binding at this point, considering how much time those two spend together when they can.” Celestia chuckled to herself quietly, “That pair really is inseparable.” Holding a pause on the air, Celestia clicked her tongue softly and bent down to plant a gentle kiss right behind her niece’s ear.
“I’m so very sorry for your loss, Cadance. You know I will be here for you if you ever want to talk things over. Auntie Lulu will be, too. Don’t forget, we know what you’re going through.” Celestia paused, and Cadance could almost hear the split of her lips into a calm smile. “Please feel better. And remember: time is a heal-all.”
With that, Celestia turned about and left as lightly as she had entered. With the gentle click of the door, Cadance let out the sob she had been holding in. Finally letting it all crash down, the weight crushed her tiny, scared mind, and she collapsed, holding the siding of the balcony. Crying uncontrollably, she lost control of her forearms and just slumped into a sobbing, vulnerable ball that slid slowly down the side of the railing.
Her aunt was a liar. Time did not heal all wounds. It merely left scars too deep to see. There couldn’t be a million years passed where this pain wouldn’t subside one tiny, little bit.