Cadance woke up early today. It meant she had to skip her morning talk with Shining, but Cane Sugar woke at just before dawn, which was just after she was meant to meet him. Luckily he had business in The Spire, so her short missive to him was sent back with a time in which she could catch him while he was going about his business.
She grabbed a notebook, just to look professional and walked out of her room when she was ambushed by Quick Silver.
"Morning."
"AH!" Cadance fully jumped to the side
Silver was leaning against the other of the double door Cadance hadn't opened, meaning that Cadance came practically muzzle to muzzle to the other pony when walking through, hence the surprise at suddenly realizing there was somepony, more specifically, Quick Silver less than a hoof from her.
"Jumpy today." Silver smirked
Cadance took a deep breath, "What are you doing here?"
Silver raised an eyebrow, "It's Thursday isn't it?"
"Yes?"
"I'm here to pick you up."
Cadance frowned, "I-"
"You're not backing out on me are you?" Silver kept her smirk
"You said Thursday evenings." Cadance monotoned, "I have things to do in the morning."
Silver made a face, "Did I?" She looked to the side in thought and tapped a hoof to her chin
Is she messing with me?
"You don't remember?"
"Not really, I do like the word, so I may have just said it for flair." Silver shrugged, "My mistake."
"You like the word... Evening?"
"Well of course. I mean just think about the phonics right? In old equish a word like 'Evening'-" Silver made air quotes with her hooves, "Would never be a thing. With the suffix -'ing' it adds a silent 'y' before the pronunciation. Turning, 'Eve-en' into 'Eve-ning'. A whole extra vowel with no additional syllable! Fantastical no?"
Cadance stared in confusion at the smaller mare.
"Sorry. As I said, I like the word."
Is that... embarrassment?
"I... Is there a reason you're..." Cadance rolled her eyes, "Telling you not to appear in my room doesn't mean you can appear directly outside of it"
"You weren't very specific."
"Just send me a note?"
"I can do that, so what are you up to?"
Oh geez, I'm not gonna be able to lose her am I
"I've got some Princessing things to do, it shouldn't take long, but you don-"
Silver slid up to Cadance and interrupted, "What, tag along? Come now Little Princess, if there's anypony who could help you with ruling, it'd be me."
"I'm not sure I want your guidance."
"Then decide." Silver said seriously.
Cadance had a quick response, "If you're going to be like that, then no."
"Alrightydo, we can go after your done." Silver took several steps away from Cadance and twirled he wings in several circles, trailing cerulean light that sparkled into ropes and eventually ended with a wave of translucent energy taking the mare before she disappeared.
Cadance squinted her eyes, "Did you just turn invisible?"
No response.
Gamble
"I can tell you're still here."
Still nothing.
Cadance lit her horn and pressed her magic outwards like what one would expect from 'manifesting non-real forces that function like eyesight if eyesight was touch'
"If you're just gonna follow me around, you can still talk." She said sarcastically
"Darn." Came Silver's voice, "I really thought that was a bluff"
There were muffled sounds of hoof steps.
I can't believe that worked
"Don't you have somewhere to be missy?"
"Right. Please don't cause any problems."
"I won't, may I insert thought speak in your mind?" The disembodied voice said non-committedly
Cadance started walking, "That's exactly the kind of thing I would expect to cause problems, but you probably have an excuse already lined up. It's better than me talking to myself, so sure."
It's more of a reason really.
Cadance stopped in place
"Are..."
Inside please
"Oh- Uh,"
Are your thoughts blue?
Apparently, Alicorn senses. My mental presence is the same colour as my magic. Huh.
Just keep quiet please, I need to focus.
There was a tiny thumping noise, followed by silence
You didn't see it, but I sarcastically saluted
Cadance rolled her eyes.
She was nearly where she needed to be. Shadow included, but at least she'd have something else to focus on. She walked down the crystal hallways, ambiently pressing back against Silver's magical presence while trying to keep her hackles from rising.
She pushed open a door and walked into the office hall, much different from what she'd see at Tack & Co. This space was open, and covered in crystal tables and chairs. Ponies were moving to and fro, with papers, to desks, talking, the works. She walked up to the 'main' desk.
Rim Shot, a white crystal stallion greeted her from his rotating chair behind the desk, "Morning Princess, what can I do for you?"
"Hi Rim Shot, is Cane Sugar here yet?"
"He just got into meeting room four, he should be out in twenty."
"Thank you" Cadance gave him a smile and a nod. She turned to the walkway through the tables and up to the hallway that led away from the louder spaces.
A unicorn approached her from the side, "Excuse me, Princess Cadance?" The green mare waved a hoof in addition to her careful approach. Cadance turned and gave her a smile, hoping to disperse the stress the mare was supposedly feeling for dealing with her monarch.
"Hello miss, how can I help you."
Cadance's ear flicked as she heard a chuckle.
The mare stuttered over herself for a second, "Oh, well uh- I actua- Actually, I want to help you."
Reverse ask, put up to this, not nervous: passionate, spontaneous, not trustworthy: prone to make her own mistakes
The slew of thoughts Silver injected into her head stopped Cadance from responding as her mind filtered through what exactly she 'said'
"You see, me and my project team have been working on managing Equestrian integration and... Well-" The mare had long since lost her nervous tone, and smiled as she continued talking, "A lot of technology from Equestria isn't making its way into The Empire."
Cadance caught the meaning, "I understand, these things take time however."
The mare bobbed her head from side to side, "Well... Me and my team were hoping that we could... uh..." The mare glanced backwards to a group of crystal ponies, and a pegasus stallion. They all did their own version of 'pretending' they weren't watching as Cadance looked them over.
Prepare to interrupt her and ask for her name
The mare gathered herself, "Well as it stands, Sombra's rule over the Empire caused the falling off of a lot of basic amenities, everything aside from the Crystal Fair was basically stripped away from-"
"I'm sorry, but can I have your name miss?"
The mare blinked, having been verbally derailed, "Oh right, I'm Homeward, but my friends just call me Ward."
Cadance kept her princessly smile, "Well miss Ward, it's a pleasure to meet you."
"Thank you."
"You were saying?"
"Oh! Right," She gave a nervous chuckle, "The Empire lacks a lot of amenities, we have collected plenty of data comparisons for what's available. In short, The Empire needs schools."
Cadance lifted an eyebrow.
"There's only one technical place of learning in The Empire, and that's the Library, but it's more of an archive, and besides the ponies that act as teachers there, there's no group or board that's in charge of The Empire's education." The mare took a breath, "We were hoping to change that." She smiled the kind of smile that said 'oh please don't be mad when I say this', "With the right funding of course."
"Hmm." Cadance audibly hummed to cover her internal dialogue
How early are we going to get back?
Early enough for you to setup a meeting with them tonight, say: seven thirty two.
Why seven thirty two?
Picking such a specific number makes it seem like you have it all together, it'll encourage her and her cohorts-
"Princess?"
-To put a little more effort since you're slotting them in at such a particular time, rather than just 'seven thirty' or 'eight'. It gives them hope, and conveys a greater attention to this than you're actually giving.
"I'll tell you what Homeward, I have time at seven thirty two at my office tonight, meet with my aid Amber, and I'll hopefully not get caught up with my seven 'oh nine."
The mare's eyes widened in surprise, "Of course, your highness! Thank you! We'll be there."
Cadance watched the mare turn and excitedly go tell her cohorts all about the conversation they were eavesdropping on. Cadance waited for Silver to say something, but she didn't.
No quip?
No stetson
What?
noƨtɘtƨ oИ
Cadance took a physical double take as she stepped into the hallway
Did you just think backwards?
You're gonna be late Little Princess
Cadance kept moving, even though she was certain it was just her mind playing tricks on her, she felt like she could tell Silver was walking next to her.
Didn't I tell you I didn't want your advice?
Yeah, I'm still going to give it though, it was your choice to follow my instructions.
Can you at least wait outside? This meeting is meant to be private.
Of course
Cadance mentally pursed her lips
Can you please wait outside and not listen in?
Fine, be like that.
Cadance felt Silver's presence leave. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did. She huffed once and gathered her thoughts as she came up to meeting room four. Luckily, peering through the 'crystal glass' it looked like they were going to go over a bit, and Cadance had time to put some sentences together before hoof.
Thank heavens. That mare is so distracting.
Cadance stood right in front of the door sorting out her thoughts for a minute before the ponies on the other side of the glass started to gather all of their packets and such. In short order they all exited, a few giving a deferential head nod towards the Princess as they filtered out of the room one by one. She took the opportunity to enter about mid way through the procedure, and scanned the conference room for Cane Sugar. Sure enough, the yellow stallion was there, conversing with a pinkish white crystal mare.
At her approach, Cane Sugar turned and gave a quick hoof wave to dismiss the mare, she glanced at Cadance and then left as Cane began speaking, "Ah, Princess Cadance, what can I do for you?"
"Actually Cane Sugar, today, it's what the crown can do for you." Cadance pulled a pair of chairs away from the crystal table and took a seat.
Cane Sugar lifted an eyebrow and took a seat, "How's that?"
Here we go
Cadance took a deep breath "To put it simply, The Empire has recovered. It's ponies are ready to re-enter the world stage. The crown, me, in this instance, is looking for projects to dedicate our resources to; now that we're out of the woods when it comes to recovery efforts."
"Not quite."
"That's what I'm here to solve. The Noble Houses as of far have been alone, and stand divided still."
Cane Sugar rolled her words around in his mind, "So you want to extend the olive branch then? Tit for Tat?"
"No, I'm looking for work." She chuckled, "If such a thing can be believed. I want to transfer the momentum of our recovery into a thriving industry and economy."
"It's nice to say that, but how're you gonna do it?"
Why is he so suspicious? Didn't I already answer that?
Cadance took a second to form a directional answer, "With the help of the Noble Houses, of course. The Crown obviously doesn't know everything, and the Houses have access to the land and influence that can keep The Empire growing, all we need to do is consolidate our resources."
Cane nodded slowly, "You're talking about re-united the Noble Houses." Then he laughed, "That's a grand idea Princess." Except the laugh was... sarcastic, and the way he made the statement told of something he knew that she didn't.
"Does the Noble House of Agriculture have any outstanding problems or projects the Crown might address?"
Cane's expression turned neutral again. "Of course we do, labor ponies are always in short supply, and we're losing heaps of 'bits' because the northern farms were converted into cereal farming circles."
"Why would that lose you bits?"
"Pfft, with the sudden influx of foreigners settling in The Empire, we've got a higher calorie quota to hit, it means we can't grow the crops we want; it depreciates the value of the land we can use."
Cadance nodded slowly, dismissing the way he said 'foreigners', "So in order to meet the rising food demand, you've had to cut out the more profitable seeding cycles?"
"Not just that, we don't have nearly enough crystal ponies who can grow 'em." Cane Sugar leaned forward and pressed a hoof on the table, "These earth ponies can grow some corn, but they don't know the techniques for growing hardy Crystal Grapes, or Sharded Wheat."
Of course, two problems not easily solved... clearly intentionally
"Those both seem like serious problems. Would your House benefit from outsourcing the high calorie count foodstuffs?"
"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow
"Obviously we would have to sort out the details, and get all of the data straight so we know where we're sending our bits, but if the Crown invested in food imports, how would that affect that particular issue."
Cane Sugar let his suspicion openly flow out onto his expression now, "And what's the catch?"
Gotcha
"Catch?" Cadance smiled, "Nothing. Giving you the hoofspace to grow the more profitable crops puts more money into The Empire. The Crown might lose bits, but I like to think of it more like 'disseminating funds.'"
Cane took a more inquisitive flex on his suspicion, "You'd simply... Invest? In my House?"
Cadance let herself show a tiny little smirk, "To restate. The Houses are important tools for the future of The Empire. I need them at their best. Any help the Crown shows to them will just be helping myself. That being said, can you give me a particularly compelling reason for why I shouldn't?"
"Not at all." Cane Sugar returned to a neutral expression and thought for a moment, "I'll..." He put a hoof on his chin and gave Cadance an appraising look, "I'll have my ponies run the numbers, and I'll make sure the paperwork gets to your desk personally"
"Perfect." Cadance levitated out her notebook and scribbled several random lines onto it to make it look like she was writing something down. "I'll keep my eye out for it. Thank you for your time Cane Sugar."
Cane Sugar nodded, and watched her leave.
As she exited, she stuffed her quill and notebook into the non-space in her mane, and looked around the hallway.
You still here?
...
"Hmm." Cadance walked down the hallway a bit more. Trying to figure out... Something, she didn't really have a good idea at to what she was doing.
Hellllooooooo?
She walked out into the open office space and gave the room a once over. As usual, everything was different, ponies didn't stay here for long, only a few had permanent desks.
Quick Silver?
Oh hey
Thank you for not stalking my conversation
I didn't really need to, I was just watching to realizing potential.
The what?
Well look around. Ponies. Lives.
She did, there were plenty of things happening. Ponies talking, chuckling, focusing.
Every second that ticks by, the world changes just a tiny itty-bitty bit, right here. It's beautiful, isn't it?
That's a surprisingly lax appreciation for somepony like you
Cadance started moving towards the exit, as to not look as though she had gotten lost in her own mind, awkwardly standing just outside a hallway and staring into space.
I work a little harder sure, and I make bigger moves, but I can still appreciate the lesser version of being alive.
The lesser version?
Don't be like that. You have infinite potential, none of these ponies measures up to the change you or I could make.
Life isn't just about your accomplishments.
Maybe not, but should it be?
The leading question broke Cadance's subconscious line of thought.
And that depends on your scope of 'accomplishments', maybe I think winning a game of hop-scotch is an accomplishment.
Cadance rolled her eyes at nothing
Sure
Well why not? In the right circumstance it could actually be a challenge, furthermore, why not view relaxing activities as accomplishments? Mental maintenance is important.
Doesn't... Doesn't that go against small things being lesser versions of... well... You know what I mean
Yeah
Cadance shook her head
So why even bring it up?
What, you want to depend on confusing my moral philosophy with hop-scotch?
Silver enunciated her quip by laughing in Cadance's head
So you did it just to annoy me... got it
Cadance fully ducked into one of the side hallways adjacent to the ornate pathways throughout The Spire. "So, what was so special you needed to bother me so early?"
Silver spoke, still invisible, "It's not that it's special. Just figured we'd want to get an early start."
"To..." Cadance's mind cringed for her, "Hang out?"
"Remember, you basically threatened me into doing this. I won't take credit." She snarked
Cadance, having located the sound of Silver's voice, gave the 'nothing' and eyebrow raise, "You act like you wanted to do it to begin with."
"Might as well give it my all if I have to."
"So?"
"Treasure hunting!"
Cadance shook her head, "Like... you... a scavenger hunt?"
Silver, still invisible, said after a moment, "We're gonna go to the unexplored jungles past the badlands. I've got a bead on a corrupted ripple that spread over Eternity from somewhere over there."
"You mean... Like... a dangerous artefact?"
"Yup!"
"Wait..." Cadance smirked, "Did you shake your head while you were invisible?"
"Uh- no..." A pause, "Shut up."
"Wow."
"Anyways, I've got a one time launch warper prepped, just a hop and a jump before we get to immerse ourselves in an adventure story." Silver's excitement was palpable
"An adventure story?" Cadance smiled at her enthusiasm
"I've been dealing with paperwork and organization and management for months Cadance. I want to go kill something, blow up a temple, and hear somebody scream 'curse you!' hopefully directed at me. It's an adventure story, plain and simple."
Cadance cringed lightly, "Maybe we could go without the killing?" she said diplomatically
"I hold the right to un-alive any non-sapient monster that tries to eat us. Anything else is situational, but I'll hold back-" Silver fake coughed, "Enough"
"You'll just do it yourself if I say no right?"
"Yep."
"Then I guess I'm in."
"Of course you are, shall we?"
Cadance held out a hoof, "Go ahead."
They flashed onto a mountain top. In the middle of a blizzard. Cadance immediately lifted her wings to shield herself from the wind and the ice as she sank hock deep into the snow. "Silver!"
"Yeah?" Silver shouted over the howling wind.
"Why?!" Cadance yelled in desperate annoyance
"We need open air for the launch!"
"Wait! What exactly does a launch warper do?" She called out, trying to spot anything besides the snow trying to get into her eyes and coating her fur.
"It's a teleportation matrix that gets around the maximum charge range for a standard teleportation spell by including momentum!"
Cadance saw the ground and snow beneath her start to glow with arcane light, her worry jumped as the concept of 'momentum based long range teleportation' settled into her mind. "We can just take th-"
Cadance's insinuation that they could simply take the Royal Crystal Train car in exchange for a couple of lost hours of the day was lost to the wind as a wave of magic exploded from the surface of the mountaintop and Cadance plus the invisible Silver went from standing in place to rapidly blipping in and out of existence while moving at Mach seven.
Cadance had just enough time to see the top of the bubble around the Empire as she broke the cloud layer while spinning uncontrollably before passing out from the G-Forces