//------------------------------//
// Union Of The Alicorns 
// Story: Cadence Unbridled (Sections 1 & 2) 
// by Flikaline 
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Union Of The Alicorns


As the Grand Galloping Gala, which had been as dull as ever, drew to a close, Princess Celestia approached her niece. 

As Shining Armor had pointed out, Cadence had looked more beautiful than ever wearing her brand new dress that evening. She was sitting by a tree now talking with Shining Armor.

‘But how are you going to find it?’ Shining Armor was saying, ‘It could be anywhere!’

‘I don’t know,’ Cadence admitted, ‘but I have to.’

‘Cadence?’ came Celestia’s voice. Cadence turned her head.

‘Yes, Auntie Tia?’ Cadence replied.

‘I’d like to speak with you for a moment,’ Celestia told her. Cadence nodded before turning to Shining Armor.

‘I’ll be back soon,’ Cadence said.

Once they were a little distance off, they stopped.

‘Every so often,’ Celestia began, ‘there is a meeting known as the Union Of The Alicorns. You can guess from the name what it is. A large amount of alicorns meet up to share any news or things they have discovered. Very few alicorns will turn up to a lot of them, but it’s still the best way for alicorns to gain and give information to each other.’

‘Why are you telling me this?’ Cadence asked curiously.

‘The Union Of The Alicorns happens tomorrow,’ Celestia explained, ‘I will be attending it myself and will be leaving after I have raised the sun. I would like you to join me.’

Cadence was a little surprised but nodded slowly. She also wondered why her aunt looked a little nervous.

*

Cadence was awoken from her disturbed sleep just before sun rise. As she prepared to leave, she realized her dreams had disturbed her, but not in the usual way. They were normally frightening, but the ones she had just experienced were more haunting. She thought she had heard True Star calling her name on the wind.

She didn’t mention her dreams to Celestia when she arrived to collect her; she didn’t mention her mother’s trapped soul either.

‘How fast can you fly?’ Celestia asked.

‘Not very,’ Cadence admitted.

‘Try to keep up as best you can,’ Celestia told her, ‘but I may have to carry you some of the way.’ Cadence nodded.

It was an unusually windy morning and it didn’t help that they were both wearing saddlebags. Celestia couldn’t help but feel that something was not quite right. She looked back at Cadence, who was flying some distance behind her, knowing full well that they were flying over an empire that was no longer there. 

A sudden chill was on the air and Celestia wondered if, no, it was so unlikely. She stopped and waited for Cadence to catch up.

‘How much further, Auntie Tia?’ Cadence asked, a little breathlessly.

‘It will be a while,’ Celestia replied, ‘Get on my back. I’m not sure how safe it is here.’

Celestia’s words made Cadence feel nervous, but she did as she was told. Celestia flew as fast as she could without risking Cadence falling.

‘Not long now, Cadence,’ came Celestia’s reassuring tone after a while. Up ahead, the form of another alicorn was coming into view.

‘Celestia? Is that you?’ called the voice of a mare.

‘Aquila?’ Celestia yelled back over the sound of the wind. 

The other alicorn flew in their direction and came into view. Cadence felt there was something ever so slightly familiar about her.

‘Very nice to see you again, Celestia,’ Aquila said as they began to fly along together.

‘You remember my name then?’ Celestia asked with a smile.

‘One of the only things I do seem to remember,’ Aquila responded, ‘and who is your companion?’

‘This is Cadence,’ Celestia replied, ‘my niece; daughter of Pulchra.’

‘Oh, so she’s the one . . . Is Pulchra not attending herself?’ inquired Aquila.

A deadly silence followed in which Celestia’s and Cadence’s expressions were enough for Aquila to realize.

‘She’s not . . !’ Aquila began. Celestia nodded. After she had recovered from the shock, ‘Then, it’s real?’ Aquila asked, ‘Does the filly have the . . ?’ 

Celestia nodded again.

‘You’re certain?’ Aquila inquired nervously.

‘Most definitely,’ Celestia replied, ‘She . . .’

Celestia stopped, partly because it wasn’t the time quite yet, and because they had arrived at the meeting place, a town hall type building, which was located on some thick, and, quite fluffy, clouds. As they were flying in, Cadence suddenly felt nervous, remembering that certain group that disapproved so much of mortal offspring.

‘Don’t be scared, little one,’ said Aquila softly, ‘it will be alright.’ 

Cadence tried to smile. There was definitely something familiar about her, her eyes, she had seen those eyes before. As Cadence was thinking this, and overcome by all the immortal alicorns at their great height, she was unaware that she was wondering away from the two familiar adults until she bumped into somepony who turned and glared.

‘What’s this mortal filth doing here!’ the mare snarled. 

Cadence backed away and bumped into a stallion who was behind her. He turned to see what was going on, quickly looking from the mare, to Cadence, and back again.

‘She has as much right to be here as anypony!’ the stallion said sternly, placing a foreleg in front of Cadence protectively.

‘Keep out of this, Dusk!’ the mare snapped, ‘that mortal creature . . !’

‘Is that any way to talk about your grandfoal? Presuming you really are Agalma, Pulchra’s mother . . .’ It was Celestia, accompanied by Aquila.

Both Agalma and Dusk stared. Dusk turned and looked down at Cadence. A joyous smile was forming on his face.

‘I have a grandfoal,’ Dusk said, half to himself, softly, ‘and what a beautiful filly!’  Agalma snorted and made an expression that was comparable to revulsion before marching off. Cadence couldn’t help but take it very personally that her grandmother was so rejecting of her. Dusk only had eyes for Cadence.

‘You have Clef’s eye color,’ he said softly, ‘and his mane colors in yours . . .’

Celestia took advantage of the silence of the other alicorns that the conversation had created.

‘Pulchra is dead,’ Celestia told the other alicorns who were very shocked, ‘she was set upon by various creatures who seem to have worked together and each gained advantages from her death.’ 

The other alicorns remained silent.

‘She had a daughter,’ Celestia continued, ‘a mortal alicorn, who is with me and who bears The Mark. She has attracted too much trouble for it to be possible to deny its existence. You have no reason to shun this orphaned alicorn. As I recall, this meeting is known as the Union Of The Alicorns, not the Union Of The Immortal Alicorns.’

‘Well said!’ added Aquila. Agalma snorted again and glared at Aquila.

‘At least she’s an alicorn unlike Aquila’s hopeless spawn,’ Agalma muttered loud enough for Aquila to hear, ‘look where her foal ended up.’ Aquila spun round, a savage expression on her face.

‘How dare you say a word against my True Star!’ Aquila yelled, her eyes brimming with tears, ‘it’s not her fault she was . . . well, she was . . !’

‘Ponynapped, abused and murdered!’ Cadence finished without thinking. She now knew who Aquila reminded her of, whose eyes those were: it was True Star.

‘How did you know?’ Aquila asked, her face very pale, the sound barely leaving her mouth.

Celestia quickly began to discuss safety with some of the other alicorns, while other topics were floating about. Dusk remained with his grandfoal, looking down at her rather proudly. He had known Clef was dead but never knew that he had had a foal.

‘Grandpa?’ Cadence asked. Dusk jumped in surprise. ‘What’s The Mark?’

‘Well, it’s short for The Alicorn Mark,’ he explained, ‘you get it if your alicorn parent, usually the mother, dies when you are not an adult. Of course, it’s always been more of a myth, it only happens with mortal alicorns and with the situation and mortal alicorns combined being so rare, no-pony could really test or prove its existence. It is essentially a power source and a defense mechanism, but it can have some rather major problems.’

‘But why?’ Cadence inquired, ‘and what are they?’

‘Well to start,’ said Celestia, who had just returned, with a sigh, ‘it originates as an adaptation which hasn’t really changed due to the small number of mortal alicorns and the circumstance, for example, alicorns used to live in large groups together so it would be easy to find the other alicorn who is needed to unleash the required power in a dire situation, and you could easily be protected from the trouble it brought as no creature would dare attack a whole group of alicorns.’

‘So, all the trouble I’ve had finding me . . .’ Cadence said.

‘Trouble would find you easily enough with you being as you are,’ Celestia explained, ‘but with The Mark, it’s as if you were jumping up and down shouting about it the entire time. That’s why you’ve been having so much trouble since you arrived at Canterlot.’

‘I had quite a bit of trouble while I was getting there too,’ said Cadence miserably, close to tears.

‘Don’t cry, Cadie!’ said Dusk soothingly, stroking her mane.

‘I just thought,’ Cadence began tearfully, ‘well, hoped, that it would all just go away and trouble would stop finding me, but now . . !’

‘That’s why I didn’t tell you before,’ Celestia admitted, ‘I didn’t want you to be worried and frightened, but you need to be aware.’

‘If you’ve coped this long,’ Dusk said, ‘you will continue to cope. Be a brave little filly for Grandpa!’

Cadence managed to smile. Celestia and Dusk were called away for a few minutes, and Cadence sat alone until Aquila spotted her, hesitated, and then came and sat next to her. She still looked a bit pale. For a few moments, there was only silence.

‘What was True Star like?’ Cadence asked curiously and cautiously.

‘She was . . .’ Aquila began slowly, ‘very shy, but brave and determined, self-less, clever, loving, considerate, empathetic, compassionate.’ Aquila took a moment to pull, and keep, herself together. ‘She was so beautiful,’ Aquila continued, ‘but, I guess, that was her downfall really, too pretty for her own good. So ironic too that she did get married before, but it was then found not to be legal. She was going to get married for real the day after she disappeared. I think he knew.’ Cadence nodded. ‘I thought she was safe, so I went off for a number of months. It wasn’t until I returned that I . . .’ 

Aquila couldn’t hold it in any longer.

‘I’m so sorry,’ Cadence exclaimed, ‘I’m sorry! I shouldn’t have asked!’

‘She didn’t deserve it,’ came Aquila’s voice through her tears, ‘none of them did, and neither do you! That’s how you knew isn’t it? You’re too pretty for your own good too!’ 

Cadence felt rather guilty for asking, but, at the same time, she couldn’t help but feel that Aquila had wanted her to ask.

‘Well, at least, she’s at peace now after all she went through,’ Aquila said more calmly, ‘Dusk told me so.’

‘How would he know?’ Cadence asked.

‘He can see into the minds of the dead,’ Aquila explained, ‘he can tell whether they’re at peace or not, and often why, that’s his special talent.’

‘You can’t send a mortal alicorn filly in to deal with it when you don’t even know what the problem is!’ came Dusk’s furious tone.

‘She’s the Crystal Princess!’ retorted another alicorn, 'It’s her job to deal with whatever it is that is bothering the town!’

‘And what if it is him!’ to everypony’s surprise, Agalma shouted, ‘he’ll probably . . !’ She stopped, realizing what she was saying.

‘And she has The Mark!’ Dusk yelled back at the other alicorn, ‘and she’s not even old enough to hold the title officially! She has to be a mare and/or be married before she can!’

‘It’s probably just Veneficia playing a practical joke or something . . .’ the other alicorn replied in an irritated, but slightly awkward tone.

‘We all know that’s unlikely!’ Dusk snapped, ‘And if it is Veneficia, it would be so dangerous, you know what she’s like! And what if it’s as Agalma said and it really is . . .’

The conversation went back to normal volume level and ended not long after.

‘What’s the Crystal Princess?’ Cadence asked Aquila, who looked surprised.

‘You don’t know about the Crystal Empire?’ Aquila inquired. Cadence shook her head. ‘Not about how it disappeared? The curse? The king? Anything?’ Cadence shook her head again. 

Dusk and Celestia were returning now, having a whispered conversation.

‘If he did,’ Celestia was saying, ‘it would be when the empire returned, but he shouldn’t in any case, but my concern is the whole . . .’

‘Shadow thing?’ Dusk asked.

‘We were too impulsive in choice,’ Celestia replied, ‘probably should have done the same as with Discord. It could be quite easy for a shadow to . . .’

‘Auntie Tia?’ Cadence inquired, ‘what’s going on?’

‘There was an empire known as the Crystal Empire,’ Celestia began quickly, ‘the crystal ponies there were, and still are, very important to stability in certain areas, including Equestria. The empire itself disappeared and it is not known exactly when it will return.’

‘What’s this got to do with me?’ Cadence asked.

‘A group of crystal ponies, uh, were living, uh, outside the empire at the time, and now their descendants including mixes with unicorns, pegasus, earth and flutter ponies live in a town. There are also a few who are their friends and some others who are not descended from the escapees.’

‘Escapees?’ Cadence inquired.

‘There isn’t time to fully explain,’ Celestia continued hurriedly, ‘I’m keeping it simple.’

‘The crystal princess issue is not straight forward,’ Dusk told Cadence, ‘but essentially you were born for the honor, being a mortal alicorn and your grandmother being a crystal pony, ideal in fact. The news of your birth must have quickly reached the remaining crystal ponies.’

‘The empire may be gone, but the remaining crystal ponies still feel strongly connected to it, despite the fact their coats can’t be totally as they should be,’ Celestia said, ‘There seems to be at least a little trouble from what can be sensed over the area the town is supposed to be. The previous crystal prince or princess put a spell on the town so only crystal ponies, and those who crystal ponies let, can see where it is for, um, protection and emergency purposes.’

‘So I’m needed to actually get into the town, and it is my responsibility to protect the remaining crystal ponies?’ Cadence inquired. Celestia nodded.

‘We must leave immediately,’ Celestia said. 

Dusk and Aquila looked at each other and nodded before adding that they were coming too. Dusk turned to Cadence and held out something which looked like a watch but with a large face and a thin strap.

‘You can use this to contact me when you need me,’ he explained, ‘you just speak into it and I will be able to talk back. I’m going to tie it into your hair ribbon. It will stay attached until you touch it, it also won’t be visible and you won’t be able to feel the weight or inconvenience of it either until you touch it.’

‘Thank you, Grandpa.’ Cadence replied.

Dusk smiled, obviously feeling very happy each time she referred to him as that. On reaching the door, it became evident that it was even more windy outside than before. The four of them raised their wings, ready to take flight.