"Miss Prismia, you have to stop! PLEASE!" I shouted as a jagged beam of colorful light narrowly missed clipping my right wing. I couldn't keep going like this for much longer. On top of the staggering fatigue that was creeping into my bones, the royal unicorn was beginning to show signs of boredom.
The uninterested, almost lazy expression on her face made it obvious, but the frequency and ferocity of her spells also indicated her patience was wearing thin. While effortlessly firing off projectiles one after another, she sipped some red liquid from an ornate glass. She'd not even deemed me worthy enough to stand from her throne to launch her offensive.
What was I thinking, coming here alone?
Not only did I face one of the most powerful wizards in all of Equestria, but she was flanked by her entire guard. Soldiers she obviously didn't even need to deal with me. At her order they could have apprehended me in seconds. Instead, they stood still as statues, observing us and unnerving me.
"That is LADY Prismia, foal. You come into my home demanding such frivolous things, refuse to leave when instructed, and then have the audacity to command me. All while addressing me with the incorrect honorifics, no less." Her irritated glare was piercing, though she still carried herself with an untouchable aura of grace. "You are quite an arrogant little pegasus, aren't you? I've not a clue why I even granted you an audience."
It's a good thing for me her throne room was so spacious. The hall was easy to maneuver in, as if it were constructed for the express purpose of flight patterns. I landed softly behind one of the large pillars that was furthest from her throne, folding my wings tightly against my back. The last thing I needed was one of her precise blasts to scald one of my wings that wasn't properly behind cover. I took a moment to catch my breath as a cascade of spells collided with the opposite side of the pillar I was behind.
"I didn't mean to offend you Mis- er, Lady Prismia!" Once the assault waned a bit, I managed to peek around the pillar, hoping she wouldn't get too impatient and have me thrown in the dungeon... or worse. She stared in my direction, the lull in her attacks welcome, but her indiscernible demeanor probably even worse than her onslaught. "If I might approach your throne... My Lady... please?" The quiet that followed my plea was both discouraging and intimidating in equal measures.
"Proceed, child," her stern voice shattered the long silence and caused me to jump. "Be sure to keep a close eye on that tongue of yours, my grace only lasts so long." I cautiously stepped out from behind my hiding spot. Not being killed immediately was a victory in and of itself.
Now I just had to think of some way to get her to see reason. My village couldn't survive much longer and the only one who could save it was her. She had the resources and the power that it needed to survive. As I walked across the massive room, the echoing clip-clop of my hooves was the only noise in the great hall. It was so loud, so obnoxiously distracting, I couldn't formulate any sort of plan as I approached her throne.
Before I realized, I stood in front of the undisputed ruler of northern Equestria. The silver unicorn was tall and slender, an irritated frown on her lips. Her shining coat was prismatic and appeared to shift in color depending on which direction it was viewed from. Her mane and tail were white as the purest snow, highlighted by rainbow streaks throughout. Both were tied in long elaborate braids that had to have taken hours to complete. Below her left eye was a small beauty mark. She wore a minimal royal dress that's color matched that of her mane, minus the rainbow streaks. She was breathtaking and hard to look at without quickly being awestruck.
"Lady Prismia, I-"
"I find it hard to believe you are not an assassin or at the very least part of an assassination attempt," she waved over one of her guards, whispering something into his ear before he left the room promptly. I stood still as a statue, jaw hanging slack. I may have only been a filly, but even I knew being accused of trying to take somepony's life could lead to permanent imprisonment or even execution.
"I-I... you..." I couldn't even make a case for myself. The villagers had told me she was a heartless witch, but I hadn't believed them. There were so many stories passed around the village that spoke of her foalnapping ponies and using them for her horrible experiments. I didn't believe any of them. Nopony could be that evil. Yet here I was, seconds from a terrible fate that I couldn't even fathom was possible a few hours ago.
"If not for my life, then why are you here?" she looked down on me with disdain. It felt like whatever I might say would be swiftly dismissed, like she'd already made her judgment and was just going through the motions. "A coup perhaps? Or is it open rebellion?"
"I just want to help my vill-"
"And what better way is there to do so save GETTING RID OF ME?" she slammed a hoof on the armrest of her throne causing me to cower in fear. The rage in her eyes was still somehow not enough to blot out the beauty she emanated.
"We could... be friends?" I was able to whisper, but that's about it.
Friends help each other when they need it. Maybe if-
"Friends?" Her initial disbelief quickly dissolved into hysterical laughter. I wished it was joyful, but instead it was more akin to condescension. As she dragged on, my irritation grew at an equal rate to my courage. If she was going to look down on me and then throw me in a dungeon to rot, I might as well say my piece while I had the chance.
"Why not!?" my shout was barely audible over her mocking laughter, even while standing at my full height and giving it my all, I was about as intimidating as a kitten. My meager frame simply didn't have the size to be that imposing. She covered her mouth with the back of her hoof, an eyebrow raised in curiosity.
"How old are you, little pegasus?"
"Ten!" I said, now overflowing with confidence. She sighed before taking another drink from her glass.
"So young... so naive," she looked at me with a different emotion than before, something softer, maybe sadder. "Do you know how I came to possess this throne, little one?"
The ponies in the village had told a lot of stories about that. I'd heard a lot of different things, mostly by accident, but they'd always had one thing in common.
"I..." The truth might make her mad, but lying to her would probably turn out worse. "I've heard stories that said you killed your husband." The sad smile that came to her face told me those stories weren't necessarily false.
"Do you know why I would do something like that?"
"They say it's because you were jealous." At that point I'd decided honesty was by far the safest policy for my well-being. "They say you wanted the throne all to yourself." She lowered her glass and stood to her hooves, walking down the few steps to stand right next to me, her expression unreadable.
"One night while I slept, my husband tried to murder me." The blunt revelation nearly made my jaw fall clean off. That was not part of any of the stories I'd ever heard. She looked into the distance, reminiscing on what must have been truly devastating memories. "For the longest time, he was a good stallion, maybe even the perfect stallion... until he wasn't. We shared everything with each other. 'They're the ideal couple', our subjects used to say. I supported him unconditionally and his renown spread further and further as time went on. All of the surrounding regions prospered during his rule, even those not directly under his authority," she smiled slightly, though it looked... wrong. "I needed nothing more than his love and affection, but over time, I lost both." She took a seat right next to me, almost making me feel like there was a chance we might be able to become friends. "He fell in love with another, or perhaps it was merely lust. I could not say with certainty," she grimaced. "I was aware of his infidelity, but my stubbornness refused to allow me acknowledge it. I'd been the ideal wife in every conceivable way. We'd never fought, we'd never even disagreed. Our marriage was like a fairy tale," she chuckled dryly. "I suppose those should've been the first hints that something was amiss. One night..." The look of horror in her eyes was too painful for me to do nothing. I put my hoof on hers, rubbing gently. It startled her at first, but the terror on her face slowly dissipated, in its place a slight gratefulness. "I don't know why he didn't have me poisoned or have it done in some other undetectable way. I truly believe he wished to do it with his own hooves, at the behest of his mistress of course, as if it was some wicked way to prove his love to her." I wasn't sure what a mistress was, but I guessed it was the mare who had stolen him away from her.
"What'd you do?"
"I fought back, with everything I had, I fought against the injustice of it all. That night she was there as well. Though neither of them were unicorns, it felt as if I'd been given something to dull my senses, to make it easier for them to end my life." A proud look came to her face. "When all was said and done, I alone was left standing," the pride was quickly replaced by a deep sadness. "Little did I know the depths of which they were willing to go to eliminate me from history. He'd had all of my most loyal supporters executed for treason that very same night. It was to be a complete cover up, and I and all who sympathized with me were to be the villains of the story."
"That's... that's awful," I was more angry than sad. Something had to be done, the truth was right here, it just had to be made known. "Why didn't you tell anyone? Why di-"
"It's not so simple, little one. To the world I was evil incarnate, the dread queen who'd murdered her king so that she might usurp his throne. After the murders, there were none left to support me or the truth I carried, not a single soul left to dissuade the rumors, the falsehoods. They tried to take me, tried to finish what he'd started, but I didn't let them. I became what they feared me to be." She didn't protest when I wrapped my forelegs around her midsection to hug her.
"But it wasn't even your fault," I had to fight to hold back my tears.
It's so unfair.
"In all the years since that night do you know how many have taken the time to listen to the truth?" I shook my head. She gently placed a hoof atop my head, the real smile on her lips made her even more beautiful than ever. "Just one. Thank y-"
The doors to the throne room burst open, the guard that had left earlier galloping into the hall at an alarming pace. Something was wrong.
"PRISMIA, DEFENSIVE MAGIC, NOW!" he shouted, the look of panic on his face made me more afraid then I'd felt minutes ago fighting Lady Prismia.
"Get behind me, little one." She moved me around herself with a hoof as she scanned the throne room cautiously. Her horn glowed for a second before slight sparks shot from its end, the aura around it fading out. "Stark, m-my magic!" The terror that gripped her as she looked at the guard made me curl into the fetal position.
Why aren't her guards-
That's when I finally realized it.
When I looked at them carefully it was easy to see they weren't alive. They'd never been alive. They were statues created to mimic life.
That's why she doesn't typically hold court or anything like that.
From the outside looking in, it was a great hall filled with a queen and her dedicated soldiers. On closer inspection, it was a nearly empty room with a sad queen doing her best not to fall to pieces.
Lady Prismia wasn't a dictator queen who forced subservience. She was a recluse that was just trying to hold what little she had left together. She wasn't subjugating the village, the villagers were blaming her for their problems because of those stupid stories.
"PRISMIA!" Stark was in a full sprint now, his eyes seemingly focused on something near us. Lady Prismia was so distraught she hadn't noticed as she focused on getting her magic working again. I could see it though. The figure looked like it was composed of water, crouched several feet away from us. Everything happened so fast.
"LONG LIVE THE KING!" the being hissed as it sent a knife sailing at the back of Lady Prismia's neck. There wasn't enough time for her to react to the ambush. She began to turn toward the voice, but wouldn't be able to stop the dagger.
I was already in motion. I didn't think. I didn't talk. I didn't have a plan, my body just moved on its own. With a powerful flap of my wings I put myself between the sharp weapon and my...
My new friend.
It couldn't end like this for her. I wouldn't let it.
The next thing I knew my vision was white from the pain. I found myself lying on the cold floor, Lady Prismia's panic suddenly much worse than it had been a second ago.
"Stay with me, little one," she held my head in her hooves as tears began to fall from her face. Breathing hurt and I couldn't move without feeling jolts of electricity shoot through my body.
"A-are you... okay?" Talking hurt as well. She was looking away from me, like she was waiting for somepony or something to arrive.
"Stark, please hurry," she whispered to herself. "I'm fine little one, try to save your strength."
"Ca-Cadance..." I coughed, wincing at the additional pain it brought on.
"What!?" she placed a hoof on my cheek.
"My name... it's Ca-Cad..." As my vision blurred beyond recognition, I thought I could hear yelling, but before long that grew quiet as well.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
As I opened my eyes, I found myself in the brightest place I'd ever seen. It wasn't so much a room, more an endless expanse of space that appeared to go on forever. I felt great, the pain I'd just experienced a distant memory or perhaps a horrible nightmare.
"Mi Amore, Cadenza." The voice was like that of an angel, soothing me to my core and making me feel more loved than I'd ever felt in my life. I turned to come face to face with Princess Celestia, the alicorn ruler of all of Equestria.
I'd heard the stories. I'd read so many books, had seen the paintings. None did her justice. Her coat, her mane, her tail, her face. If perfection could take the form of a living being, it would've been her.
"Your Highness!" my voice cracked, the smile I had hard to speak through concisely. I bowed as low as I could, though it was not performed with any measure of grace. I hadn't practiced my etiquette for meeting royalty yet. "I am Cadenza, but everypony calls me Cadance, Your Highness." She gently lifted my head.
"Cadance, do you understand what you just did?" her smile was warm, like a mother's for her foal. It made me wish she'd scoop me up in her forelegs and hug me.
"Huh?" I tilted my head. All I did was try to protect Lady Prismia, surely that wasn't enough to change much. Princess Celestia's horn shined gold as a large window popped up into existence behind her. On it was Lady Prismia cradling my body as she wept bitterly. I didn't want her to be sad. That's not why I had tried to save her at all.
"This is a turning point in history, Cadance," she looked at the window. "There are two divergent paths that can occur from this point in time forward," she turned back to me, her horn humming as another window flashed into reality to my right. "The first is the harmony you can bring to Prismia's heart." The new screen showed me and Lady Prismia hugging one another, the north thriving once again and the citizens accepting her sovereignty and the truth behind what had transpired. That's exactly the future I wanted.
"That one! That's what should happen!" I pointed a hoof excitedly. Princess Celestia chuckled at my enthusiasm. Her horn chimed again as a third screen manifested to my left.
"Unfortunately, there is a second path," she sighed. This screen was dark and hard to make out what it displayed, like somepony had covered it in a gross black substance. I could barely make out Lady Prismia crying at a... funeral?
"Who..." my eyes opened so wide I thought they wouldn't be able to close ever again. It was my funeral.
"In this future, the assassin was unsuccessful in his mission, but you were an accidental casualty." I fell back on my haunches, my legs seemingly just as surprised as the rest of me.
"Did I... am I dead?" I didn't mean to ask the princess so bluntly, but she replied anyway.
"No," she frowned and then appeared to consider her reply further. "Not yet, at least." She cast another spell to change the unwanted picture. "This loss would drive Prismia to complete madness." I couldn't believe the sight before me. Lady Prismia was... different... evil. She tortured those who opposed her and enjoyed every second of it. She'd become the Prismia from the stories, the ruthless empress she had been perceived to be.
"NO! You can't!" I ran up to the princess, desperately placing my hooves on her chest. She was caught off guard by my sudden outburst. "Lady Prismia didn't do anything wrong!" I felt the tears stinging at my eyes. " It's not her fault..." Princess Celestia wrapped a wing around my body, sitting down next to me.
"I've wanted to help Prismia for so long," she looked at the picture of the cursed future, a sadness all her own coming from the giant alicorn.
"She didn't... it wasn't her fault, what happened with her husband, I mean," I sniffled.
"I am aware, Cadance," she continued to scrutinize that horrid future.
"Then..."
"Even I am unable to force the masses to believe what I wish, regardless of whether or not it is the truth," she sighed. It was easy to see the disappointment her more unreasonable subjects brought her. "Prismia refused any aid I offered, afraid that the hate she was regarded with would infect anypony else who tried to help."
"That's... that's not fair." There had to be something Princess Celestia could do. They'd said she was a goddess, she had to have the power to do... something. Life couldn't be like this, it just couldn't.
"I agree, Cadance," she looked down at me with a confident smile as she rubbed the top of my head with her wing. She knew something I didn't and it made me happy that my well-being was in such capable hooves. "Fate can be such a cruel thing, I'm sure it would love this to be the future," she waved a hoof at the second dystopian timeline. "But how about the two of us make life a little more just?" With a blast of energy from her horn the screens all exploded into brilliant sparks. She stood next to me, spreading her wings out and channeling the brightest golden magic I'd ever laid eyes on. "Mi Amore, Cadenza! You've been brought here today so that I might see with my own eyes whether or not you are truly worthy of my gift!" I stood speechless, her voice was booming now, full of an authority it didn't have seconds ago. Every few seconds her appearance appeared to shift, flickering to something else, to somepony else. The other form was mostly too bright to describe, but a small detail I could make out was the edges of her mane had become a different color. And then just as quickly as it had started, the shifting stopped. "When you are ready, when you are prepared to become who you are meant to be, seek me out, little one. You are destined for greater things than you could ever imagine." Once she stopped talking she had become timid and kind once again. She gently placed the tip of her shining horn against mine as a blinding explosion of light filled the room.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
"Cadance..." Lady Prismia's trembling voice stirred me from my slumber. As I took in my surroundings, I could see I was still being held in her forelegs, the two of us on the floor of the throne room. Stark stood above us, eyes closed, his sorrow at my condition evident.
"Prismia, we should-" as he moved to do something his wide eyes locked with mine. Whereas he looked as if I were a vengeful spirit, I merely smiled back at the burly stallion. "Pr-Pr-Prismia?" he took a startled step back. I guess he was more than just stunned by my consciousness.
"Stark, please..." she whispered, hugging me tighter.
"TOO TIGHT!" I was able to squeak out. Lady Prismia pulled away, her eyes filled with tears, but the joy on her face overshadowing them.
"CADANCE!" she went right back to hugging me even harder than before.
"Too... tight!" I gasped, wiggling my legs frantically.
"Cadance, I'm so glad you're okay... don't do anything like that ever ag-" she paused before drawing back, her head tilted in confusion.
"Cadance... why do you have a horn?" her and Stark both asked in unison.
"Huh?"
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
From that day forward, I was given a new lease on life. Somehow, I had become an alicorn. Aunt Celestia's actions had prevented the dystopic future she'd shown me, and one of my best friends, Lady Prismia, was able to find a path to a better life.
Her and Stark were able to work with Auntie Celestia to clear her name, and after some time, she was able to return to her rightful standing amongst the other nations. I was adopted by Princess Celestia and brought into her royal family as her niece. I met Twilight and my beloved Shining Armor, marrying him soon after. I was bestowed the Crystal Empire by my aunts. I was so unbelievably blessed by what Auntie Celestia had done for me.
Everything I have or have ever had, I owed to her. Decades after that day, Lady Prismia told me I had been the catalyst for her redemption, that if I'd left when she'd initially ordered, nothing would have gotten better for her. I guess Aunt Celestia was right. She was always right. Without her seemingly divine intervention I would not be where I was today.
That's why I had to speak with her now. She had to know more than she was letting on, like she had the day she'd changed me. I closed my eyes, getting more comfortable in my bed. I prayed for a peaceful night's rest.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Auntie Celestia stood in the empire's royal garden, her horn shining with mana as she finished raising her sun high into the sky.
"That never gets old," I said as I joined her. I took a seat on the bench that Shining and I'd always sat on. Our spot. It always felt a little awkward without him.
"One would think so," she chuckled as she took a seat on a bench across from me. "After the millionth or so time, it does become quite a blur."
"Millionth?" I tilted my head, running the numbers.
That doesn't sound like the right math to me.
She looked into her morning sky with longing eyes.
"You wished to speak with me alone, Cadance?" she continued to admire the brand new day, seemingly ignoring my question.
"Uhm... yes." It wasn't important, at least not right now. There were much more crucial things I wanted to discuss with her. "I've been thinking, Auntie... about the day we first met."
"It seems we've all been ruminating on the past recently," she closed her eyes with a sigh before turning her attention to me.
"Auntie?" I cocked my head instinctively. Her expression shifted, indifferent, emotionless. One of her best masks was in place and if I did nothing about it, it would stay there.
"What do you require of me, Cadance?" I pondered her question. I needed so much, but why not start with the simplest problem.
"Celestia," I took a deep breath in preparation. "I need you to let me in." I stared into her eyes, past the masks, past the politics, directly into her soul.
"Ca-Cadance?" her expression didn't alter, but the fact that she stuttered said more than enough.
"How long have we known each other, Princess?" It had to have been around a century by now. The first day we'd met we barely talked, but I traveled to Canterlot a few years after and we grew as close as any family members could.
So then why does it feel like we still can't have a one on one conversation with each other without playing foolish games?
"Long enough that a question like that is wholly unnecessary," her gaze fell. "Forgive me, Cadance. It has become second nature for me. I feel as if I must... protect myself... even from you."
Then I'll have to do something to change that.
There were no enemies in front of her.
"I trust you, Celestia." She didn't move a muscle. "I've always trusted you more than I've trusted anypony else. You've shown me exactly what honesty is, I just..." I sighed. "I just need you to open up with me." She lifted her head, a look of sympathy on her face. "I need you to trust me... maybe not as much as I trust you, but... more than this... I need to know the truth."
Her face remained stoic as her eyes wandered away from mine, searching for something. After a moment, she closed her eyes, chuckling weakly. She nodded before taking a long breath in through her nose and then expelling it out through her mouth.
"Ask me anything." It was gone. There were no walls, no defenses, no masks. It was just her, just my aunt, prepared to satisfy my curiosity, ready to trust me wholeheartedly.
"Thank you, Auntie," I smiled, ready to begin my trek to clarity. She bobbed her head slightly in response. I sat up straight, running through the most important things I wanted to ask. One question was the most baffling and so would be the first I pursued. "Ever since you transformed me into an alicorn there's been one thing in particular that's confused me. How exactly did you manage to do it?" She tilted her head, her eyebrow raising. "What I mean to say is, how did you know I was in danger? How did you even know about me? Had you been watching me from afar? How did you reach out to get me? I didn't get teleported to you... I think. One minute I was with Prismia and the next I was with you in that... place, and she'd said I'd never left. She held onto me the whole time. I don't understand at all. What... what really happened that day?"
Okay so it wasn't just one specific thing I’d been fixated on. I'd been an animated mess as I questioned her, but she'd taken my ranting in stride, listening intently the entire time.
"Were I still acting holier than thou I'd have some profound answers to... all of that," she giggled quietly as she waved a hoof at me. I blushed, only slightly embarrassed. She'd seen me in much more compromising positions than this. "I will be completely honest with you, Cadance, as I always have been," she sighed as a wry smile lifted her lips. "The events of that day were as unexpected for me as they were for you." As I processed, or failed to process what she'd said, I realized I wouldn't get anywhere with just that small amount of information.
"Aun-" she held up a hoof.
"To complicate things further, I had no prior knowledge of you, nor was I the one who chose to aid or transform you." I steadied myself on the bench with a shaking hoof.
She'd never known me? She hadn't been the one to choose to save me? But if she hadn't...
"Auntie, you..." I felt like crying and screaming at the same time. My head sagged involuntarily, along with my ears and shoulders. "Then I... auntie... why am I-"
"You misunderstand, Cadance." She quickly stood and trotted over to me from her bench, taking a seat on the ground in front of me. She lifted my head with a hoof, the love in her eyes making me feel so much better. "It was you."
"Me?" I nearly cried, her words not fully registering, but making me feel as if I'd accomplished something extraordinary. She laughed at my bewilderment, a genuinely mirth filled action.
"You were ten years old, Cadance. There are ponies that young that can't even take a stand against the dark of my sister's night, yet you made the selfless decision to confront the perceived dictator of your land to help those around you." Sometimes it takes somepony else to show you what you can't see yourself. I'd never thought of what had happened like that, I just wanted to help, in any way that I could. I just wanted the love I had to spread, to thrive in Prismia's heart and in everypony else's.
"I've never thought of it like that."
"Truly virtuous beings often don't see their own righteousness," she booped my nose with her wing, making me feel altogether like a foal... her foal. "They're usually too preoccupied with helping build up those around themselves."
"Thank you for the high praise, Auntie," I blushed. Her smiles could melt the coldest heart. She was so... big. Maybe larger than life was a more apt way of putting it. When she fully gave of herself, her undivided attention, it was like being cared for by a vastly superior entity, which I suppose wasn't
very far from the truth, which led me to my next question. "Auntie, if you didn't make the decision to change me... then who did?" She looked up, her hoof prodding her chin.
"I've struggled with that question as well." She stood up and took a seat on the bench next to me. She wasn't a replacement for Shining, no one could ever be, but the warmth she gave off was divine. "I tend to lean towards the belief that it was the world."
"The... world?"
"It needed somepony like you, Cadance... it still does," she stared into the sky once again, appreciating the beauty of her day.
The world needs me?
It seemed so lofty an idea. I was just a filly trying to live her best life, trying to spread love to everypony around me. If what she said was even a little bit true, there was somepony or something at work that even she was unaware of.
Can there be such a thing?
Not knowing the answer made my skin crawl. If it was true, I hoped whatever it was, it was on our side. "There are times when I'm compelled... or maybe a better word is motivated, to do things that I wouldn't normally do without said influence." I looked back at my aunt. She was lost in her own thoughts. "It's rare, every thousand years perhaps, but when it does happen, events like your transformation occur. Events that alter the flow of history itself."
Every thousand years? But she isn't even that old how coul-
"Regardless, I would do everything over again," she looked down at me with a smile. "You have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that you deserve everything you've received and more, Cadance. Rather than inheriting all of this," she waved her hoof at the palace and all else around us. "You've worked hard for it, earned it. All of it. I know you think I did all of it, that you're where you are because of me, but that's simply not true. So..." she huffed, her proud smile losing some of its luster.
"So?" I lifted a brow.
"So if you feel indebted to me... if you're basing your decision to help or not on the idea that you have what you do because of me," she shook her head. "Then I will reject your cooperation outright." It was things like this that leant to my theory that my aunt was omniscient. It wasn't the first time she'd easily deciphered my feelings and thoughts, and I was sure it wouldn't be the last. For such a righteous being, for somepony who would deny the help they needed to save the world based on the possibility that the offer might be accepted because of incorrect motivations. For somepony such as this, I would sacrifice everything, because I strived to attain those very same qualities.
What did she say all those years ago, to make life a little more just?
"I'll help," I stood to my hooves, an air of confidence flowing through me, surrounding me, making me stronger, bolder. Auntie Celestia smiled, not relieved as if she'd been worried, but vindicated, as if she'd known all the while what I'd decide.
"Thank you, Cadance," she fell into trot next to me as we headed inside the palace. "We can meet up with Luna and Flurry and work out the specifics of our plan. If we can do this right," her determination was palpable. "we can save everything. I'm certain of it."
"Auntie?" I abruptly stopped moving forward. There was still one more thing I had to know.
"What is it, Cadance?" she paused, turning to look back at me.
"How... old are you?" My question made her visibly uncomfortable, but she sighed the discomfort away.
"Over five thousand years old." There was no mocking or joking in her voice. I'm pretty sure my nose twitched at that revelation. All this time, I'd been under the impression that she was around thirteen hundred, which was a daunting number in itself. Over five thousand though? I was sure she wouldn't have revealed that information prior to today and everything that was currently happening.
"I see... I guess Flurry's nickname is a lot more accurate than I thought," I nodded in disbelief, forcing my systems back to normal operations so she wouldn't feel awkward. She ignored my attempt at a joke. I had never been a very good comedian.
"I suppose you also want to know what I am," she closed her eyes as she looked away from me. The clop of my hooves continuing on our way drew her surprised gaze.
"What do you mean, Auntie?" The smile I flashed was the exact same as the one I'd given her when we first met. "You're Princess Celestia, the sun of our world and my aunt whom I will love until the end of time... and probably even after that." A joyful tear fell from her unmasked face as she joined me inside.