It was just about evening now, and Cadance had spent the majority of lunch with Shining trying to get their minds off Silver.
Shining apparently had a good handle on the guard presence. With the incoming EUP transfers, they'd actually be a military force, both internally and externally. That was good, at least from a political standpoint. It also gave plenty of ponies jobs and a positive mental outlook, which was a perfect bonus. That wasn't all Shining does though, despite his head for guard work, having been the captain of the Canterlot militia for most of his working life...
Actually... that is pretty much all he does. Guard work, or guard work adjacent
Now, Cadance was cleaning up the mess they'd made in their bedroom. They hadn't intentionally started their impromptu thought storm in their bedroom. That's just where the conversation started, and when Amber arrived, Cadance had just gone with it.
She kept the white board, she knew Shining may not appreciate it being left in their room, so she flipped it over against the wall and then stared at it for a few moments.
Yup... good enough.
She smiled at the thought. Few ponies knew of Cadance's playful side, though that came with being a Princess, and a media personality.
Plus, annoying ponies... Lightly, not the way Discord does it, was funny. It just was.
She looked out towards the window, checking the time.
I better get dressed and work my mane.
And she did. Cadance's mane had mostly regrown by now so there was plenty of strands to brush and arrange in an interesting pattern, seeing that she'd be wearing a bright rimmed hat, she'd pulled her mane up into an extravagant bun, with the edges hanging down with sparse bangs. The intent was to have the hat cover the majority of her mane, and have the shorter multi-coloured strands hang out from underneath. A little application of makeup to lighten her features from under the hat, and she was good to slip into the dress.
Moments later, Silver arrived, walking straight into their room from a magic portal. Cadance heard from the bathroom.
"Oh, Little Princess?" Silver called out from outside, Cadance made her way out and blanched at Silver's... Getup, if it could be called that.
She looks like the dumpster threw her out
Her mane was greasy, and splayed around, her fur had lost its sheen, and she was wearing her best impression at 'hobo' with several layers of dirty holed overcoats... and pants.
"You look stunning my dear." Silver said in her same posh tone she'd addressed ponies not Cadance and Shining.
Cadance gapped
Silver chuckled, "What? Is there something on my face?"
"You"
Silver laughed a bit harder
"You can't go to the Gala wearing... looking like that."
"Why not?"
"You look like you're homeless."
"I am, technically."
"You own a house"
Somehow
"I don't sleep where I work."
"Where do you sleep?"
"I don't."
Cadance halted their back and forth, "You don't sleep?"
"Haven't for as long as I can remember. All of my forays into the dream realm are manual." Silver had dropped her joking tone.
Cadance narrowed her eyes, "You remember sleeping." She said, as an accusation
"It's not really a lie if it's blatantly obvious." Silver flippantly responded, looking around Cadance's bedroom, "Plus, why waste all this space for somewhere you only sleep in? Seems better to throw it out all together."
"Silver, not sleeping is really bad for you." She tried to sound like a disappointed mother
"Oh yes." Silver gave Cadance a playful, yet menacing look, "I am definitely insane."
Cadance frowned
"Luna wouldn't stop bothering me if I slept." Silver said, more seriously, "I can't afford the distraction. One pony princess demanding my friendship is all I have time for."
"You still can't wear that."
"Please. Little Princess, spare me." Silver tutted, "I've ruled and manipulated crowds of things far more unruly than the Canterlot nobles. I know exactly what this ensemble will do, and I plan to play the game to my heart's content tonight."
"You promise it's not just a joke?"
"I promise." Silver smirked, "Plus, you now know why I'm intent on making some connections"
"Tack & Co." Cadance said simply, to which Silver suppressed a chuckle
"Yes yes, what do you think? By the way?"
"Of Tack & Co.?" Cadance said again, to which Silver laughed fully, before covering her mouth with a hoof.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing, Little Princess. Nothing at all." She said with a shit-eating grin.
Silver was still distant. She was very here in the same way Silver was always 'present'. She had an aura to her, but was still at least personally, keeping her distance. Distracting Cadance with light chatter and complex interaction was something she could probably do all night; something Cadance was prepared for.
Time to play
"So you're avoiding Luna?" She asked, and then tentatively tacked onto the end, "What for?"
Silver gave her another far off look. Half way between answering and not.
"Just tell me... What am I going to do about it?"
Forceful, back off, and
"Heh." Silver gave a smile, "Fair enough; There's no reason for me to interact with her. She's learned her lesson, has her whole life ahead of her."
What you're not saying, is that you don't think she wants you around.
Or that you don't want to...
"What about Celestia?"
"Ohoho, not everything Little Princess." Silver waggled a hoof in a 'no' gesture, "Celestia's still part of the endgame, I have to deal with her eventually, and I don't want to spoil the surprise."
Despite the success, the mental gymnastics were starting to give her a headache. She could see plenty of the conversational pitfalls, it was what she didn't know that worried her.
"So they're connected? Avoiding Luna and Celestia? There's something you can do for her? Some lessons you still want to 'teach'."
Silver appraised Cadance with a proud look, before nodding simply.
Cadance racked her mind, trying to connect the dots between an economic powerhouse, a dark magician, and a millennia old part of The Sun.
"What?"
She ended up sticking her hoof in her mouth by just blatantly asking.
Silver smiled a smile far too big to be possible. "I'm going to teach her how to lose."
Drat
That was the stone wall. Of course it meant something, but she wasn't going to get anything else but that.
Silver, obviously sensing she had 'gotten' Cadance swung a hoof to the still open portal in her bedroom. "Shall we?"
Cadance mentally recovered in record time, "Actually, I was thinking chariot."
"Isn't that an hour flight?"
Cadance nodded.
Silver frowned and went silent.
"I don't know how to tell you that I don't have the energy to sit in a chariot with you for an hour and then spend the night around more children."
Cadance went to respond, but Silver cut her off
"Actually no, I lie, I know exactly how to do that." Silver met Cadance's eyes, "I don't have the patience to interact with you for an hour, followed by a bunch of children, without spontaneously combusting." Silver mimed waving some hot air over herself, "Woo there we go, that wasn't so hard."
"So you want to portal there?"
"Obviously."
"The Gala doesn't start for another two hours."
"I like being fashionably early."
Cadance's response was to look sideways at Silver's clothing of choice. Luckily for her, the smell was inaccurate to the look.
"I like being early." Silver amended.
"Want to play a game to pass an hour?"
Silver's ears perked up. "A game?"
Cadance magicked a chess board and a fold out stand to the spot they were standing on, "Do you play chess?"
"I have played chess." Silver steepled her hooves, "Are you asking to play chess against the greatest intellectual mind of this age?"
Cadance monotoned, "We're kinda doing it without the board anyways."
"You brought that on yourself."
She rolled her eyes and set the board.
What followed was absolutely the weirdest game of chess Cadance had ever played. Silver seemingly took absolutely random moves, doing things that had actually no strategic benefit for the game, and against Cadance's initial belief that she was just missing Silver's grand plan, she eventually won the game.
"Checkmate." She said slowly
"Actually you have a checkmate in two more moves, look."
Silver moved her Princess to another tile to safety, and then magicked one of her pieces to the side, and then moved her Princess again, and then moved another one of Cadance's pieces, and that was checkmate.
"Did you let me win?"
"No?" Silver leaned forwards, "Did it feel like I did?"
"You were doing completely random things."
"Mhm."
"Wait, so it was completely random? Why?"
"Mind if I lecture you for a moment?"
Cadance nodded for her to go ahead.
"Take the example of the two forces taking the field." She gestured to the board, "In a skirmish with people in the real world, there's best choices, and good ideas, and probable counters. Too many factors for the average to manage, and for the above average to coordinate over so many people."
"In chess, however, that's not the case. Things are far more cut and dry, there's no retreat, and every force can take out any other. The possible strategy is limited to positioning only, essentially."
"So what strategy can you employ against an opponent that completely forgoes any kind of positing?" Silver rearranged to board to a state Cadance recognized from halfway through their game.
"If you had moved this piece here, I would have been able to turn the tide." She pointed to the piece in question, "But you played defensively, and waited out my random movements until I had gotten rid of my own advantage."
"You're saying that because you played randomly, the outcome of the game was random?"
"Not at all, my random movements were designed to confuse and disorient your own plan and counters. The strategy also limits your moves to being incredibly simple, lest you want to make a mistake early. That means that if you had made a mistake, I would have been able to easily wipe your pieces from the board."
Silver sat back down and shrugged, "But it just didn't happen this game."
"You try to work in wisdom to everything you do don't you?"
"There's wisdom to be found in everything, Little Princess." Silver smiled, "Shall we play again?"
They did. It was exactly the same up until the tail end of the game, Cadance played defensively, too defensively. She'd wasted too many turns moving too few pieces too slowly.
"I win."
"You do?" The board was far from either of them checking, muchless checkmating.
"Observe carefully."
A wave of cerulean magic overtook the board and each piece. Cadance watched Silver play out the remaining thirteen moves of the game, every time she moved one of Cadance's pieces, it was definitely what Cadance would have done.
"Checkmate." The board settled
"Huh. So it happened in this game."
"Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. There's no strategy to employ against it, which gives it a roughly fifty percent success rate. Just over, since I know exactly what to look for before turning the tides."
Cadance looked at the state of the board. "Why use that strategy?"
"Why not?"
Like you were expecting something else
She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Her headache returned
Maybe not the best way to spend the hour
"Hey wait, you still spent the hour with me anyways." She pouted
Silver shrugged, "I don't like chariots."
She tried to rub the pressure out of her head at her snout.
"Don't look so tired yet Little Princess, we have a whole party to crash."
"Ugh, don't remind me."
"Not a fan of The Gala?" Came Silver's soft question.
Cadance looked up to see a surprisingly soft look coming from the messy pegasus
"No. I... The Canterlot Nobles have a lot of bad memories tied up with them."
"Ah. Say no more, I completely understand. An upcoming Alicorn like yourself was certainly torn to shreds the moment you appeared. Used and abused by the likes that wanted things from you, instead of wanting you."
"Yeah" Cadance felt a smile tugging at her lips, "Exactly that."
Silver kicked the table over and scattered the chess pieces across the room.
"Silver!"
She was up to Cadance and grabbed her by the hoof.
We're going now then I guess
"Let's go take some back." Silver passionately drove the comment into Cadance's mind as they passed through the portal.
They'd emerged in Silver's ice cavern workshop, Silver leading the unwilling Alicorn to the teleportation array, citing that they couldn't take the 'dark magic express' with Celestia breathing down her neck.
With a flash, they were in the palace gardens.
"The gardens?"
"Party adjacent. We can arrive on our own time."
I thought you-
"That being now; let's draw some eyes Little Princess." Silver looked her over, and then waved a hoof, Cadance's clothes transformed. What was a nature themed sundress became a nature themed moondress. The blacks and lilacs fit with Cadance's coat far better, and the triangular hat tied the look together.
“Whoah”
Silver tapped her hoof on her chin while Cadance observed the changes, a flower floated over to Cadance, rapidly shifting in colour, and Silver wrapped the levitating flower around the top of the hat, and made it grow big enough to be a proper centerpiece.
Silver produced a standing mirror, from somewhere, "What do you think?"
"I think I'll add fashion to your growing list of endless skills" She snarked.
The mirror disappeared and Silver noncommittedly said, "You pick up colour theory by accident by your third century."
"And the flower?"
"Some transmutation, with a light based enchantment, nothing bad I swear."
Cadance gave Silver an over the shoulder hug, "Thank you. It's the second nicest dress I've ever worn."
Silver was muffled beneath the bulk of the larger mare, but extricated herself from the hug regardless, clearly not enjoying it in the slightest. "Second best? I can't regale myself to second best."
"You'll have to beat my wedding dress."
"Second best it is then."
Cadance chuckled. "You know, you'd be a really good friend if you gave it a chance. Not just with me."
"I am a very good friend Little Princess." She said with a bit of edge, but not dropping her smile. "I know that plenty well, now let's get to partying. The early comers will be the first turn for the crowd."
"Lead on then."
"Oh, I was born to lead."
With that, they walked in through one of the palace doors, into the hallway. Luckily they bypassed the entrance to the Gala, where Celestia undoubtedly was, despite her own belief that Silver was exaggerating, she was still worried about any confrontation.
They made their way past a couple of party goers wandering the palace, drawing plenty of gawking stares and one particularly funny spit take as they made their way to the actual party location. How exactly Silver knew where it was, she didn't know, she didn't even know where it was.
Maybe she doesn't. Maybe she's just pretending to know until she finds it.
Cadance never got her answer, but they did get to the ballroom. They hadn't gone all out this year apparently. There was a stage, carpet, sparse decorations, confetti, and a nice cool and smooth colour pallet in the room. "Not too shabby" she said aloud
Her mind thought back to the Zebra Sultan's decorations when she went to work out a crystal trade deal for exotic spices.
Definitely not the best I'-
"Go grab some wine, I've found our first mark."
Mark? Oh here we go.
She felt Silver lightly tugging her over to the buffet table, so she decided to walk on her own. "You know, we can just enjoy the night, we don't have to play 'the game'" She said with verbal air quotes.
Silver stopped walking and turned to face her entirely.
"Alright." Silver grunted after rolling her eyes, "How about this?" Silver pulled out a bit, "You flip this bit, tails we relax, heads we do things my way."
With a smirk Cadance used her magic to flip the bit in Silver's hoof once from heads to tails. "Guess we relax."
Silver stared at the coin in her hoof for a split second before exploding with laughter. She tossed the coin into the air, and it fell into her mess of a mane and disappeared. "You got me good!"
Cadance gave a good natured 'Princess giggle' and Silver's intense love of her joke.
Silver's laughter petered out into chuckling, "Relax it is, though I reserve the right to mess with anyone who approaches us."
"Speaking of."
A pink mare with a very purple mane approached them, "Good evening Princess Cadance," The mare gave a short bow, "I must say, the menagerie is in an uproar seeing you again at a Gala."
"Nothing I wouldn't expect Ma'am. Cadance here is truly a sight to behold."
"And who are you?" She verbally snarled
"Oh, nopony special my dear, say, and you?"
"I am Spoiled Rich." she said, turning her nose up.
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Rich."
"I wish I could say likewise, this is the greatest event of the year, not an alleyway." The mare was clearly nearly gnashing her teeth at Silver. Silver, however, kept her face straight, and her tone polite.
"Say Mrs. Rich, that's a lovely gown you're wearing."
"I'm surprised you could recognize fashion at all."
"And how many looks are you getting? Hmm? Everypony seems to be looking at me, between the two of us."
Spoiled turned to look, and with that, Cadance knew well enough, Silver had just won their verbal sparring. Similarly, it's not even that Silver was wrong. There were plenty of ponies observing only Silver, even in leu of Cadance herself.
"Humph!" Spoiled lifted her nose and briskly trotted away from the pair.
"Heh" Silver watched Spoiled leave, Cadance saw the contented amusement written all over her face.
"A sight to behold?" Cadance tried
"Complimenting my own work, really." Silver turned away and walked up to the buffet
"Hey!"
Silver offered her a sparkling glass of some white wine, and fished a hors d'oeuvre on a stick off the table and appraised it.
"Do you always have to have me drink whenever we go out?"
"It helps you get out of your own head."
"Mmmm."
Cadance could sense the spell present on the cup, the same one Silver always cast for her.
I guess?
"What does this spell do anyways?"
"Hmm? The... Alcohol spell?" Silver put the hors d'oeuvre back on the table, seemingly deciding she didn't want it. Grabbed her own cup of wine and they began walking towards a table off to the side of the rug.
I don't like the way she had to think of what it was called
"Yes, and you never cast it on your own drinks."
"It doesn't work on me."
"Don't try and distract me Missy."
"You're awfully playful tonight."
"What did I just say" Cadance said with a smile
"Can't blame a mare for trying."
"Just tell me"
Silver's tone dropped hard, "I'll tell you later, seven 'o clock"
"Cadance!"
Twilight approached the two sitting at the table.
Silver watched as they shared their special greeting, smiling warmly, something Cadance missed.
"Oh Twilight, it's good to see you again."
Celestia was there, and Cadance boxed up her worry and shoved it out of her mind. Celestia was better at reading ponies than even she was.
Careful now Cadance, steady.
"Hello my niece, who is this?"
"And what is she wearing?" Twilight said in mild disgust.
Cadance sent it, "This is my plus one, Quick Silver. She helped us uncover a dangerous plot to resurrect Sombra, and is of The Noble House of Silvers."
"And I'm wearing the most eye-catching ensemble in the room." Silver said towards Twilight, who stepped back on instinct after realizing exactly who this was.
Celestia giggled, "Eye catching is right, what pray tell is it meant to state?"
"Poverty among riches."
Celestia made a weird face, and shook her head. "Sorry, that's... I've just not hear that phrase in a long time." She smiled warmly, "You said your name was Quick Silver?"
"That's right your highness, it's a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance."
Silver and Celestia quickly bumped hooves, and began talking about nothing, as you do at parties like this.
"Is that..?" Twilight whispered beside Cadance, who at the moment was wearing a very clearly forced stressed grin as Silver talked to Celestia.
She shook her apprehension off, "Yeah."
"Is that a good idea?"
"Yeah."
Twilight rolled the response through her mind. "Okay." She did the same banishment of her own apprehension, and smiled at Cadance, "It really is good to see you. I love your dress."
"Silver's idea."
"Really?"
Cadance sipped her wine, "Mhm."
Celestia laughed, not a princessly chuckle, but a well and proper laugh, "Oh Ms. Silver, you are a card."
"I try my hardest, your Highness."
"Well it was lovely to meet you, Twilight? Shall we?"
"Yes Princess." Twilight left Cadance's side.
"Have a wonderful night you two, that nothing won't do itself." Silver said with a wave and wry grin.
Celestia giggled again, and trotted off with Twilight in tow.
Silver slumped over the table.
"You okay?" Cadance asked.
"She's far better than I remember." Despite her likely false exaggerated exhaustion, Silver smiled, "I'm so proud of her."
That comment wasn't for Cadance. So she didn't say anything
She actually tried to forget about it. Feeling like the first bit of emotion she'd ever seen from Silver was something so alien, and so raw that it just wasn't something she should touch.