//------------------------------// // Puppeteer // Story: Sweet, Solemn, Sad // by Shingo //------------------------------// Cadance silently locked the doors leading to her throne room. She turned around lit up her horn. A small section of the center of the room glowed with a faint cyan aura. The aura disappeared and a section of the room fell with a loud thud, forming a step. That step was followed by another, and then another, each descending lower than the last. Cadance winced at the noise they created. She put her ear to the door, listening for anyone approaching the room. A few seconds of silence was enough to convince her that no one would disturb her. Cadance trot down the stairs at a gentle pace with a calm smile on her face. ~~~ Equestria’s newest princess and the ruler of the Crystal Empire walked down one of the many halls of Canterlot Castle. The former being animated while the latter wore a serene smile. “It’s nice of you to visit, Cadance,” Twilight said. “It’s a shame that we don’t see each other that often.” “I know. It feels like we only see each other whenever there’s a crisis in Equestria,” Cadance giggled. “Then again, that seems to happen every other month.” “That isn’t often enough.” “Oh?” Cadance raised an eyebrow. “Are you saying there aren’t enough crises?” “I’d create one if it meant spending time with you.” Both princesses shared a giggle. They walked in a comfortable silence with their footsteps being the only sound accompanying them. The two princesses were content with the atmosphere as they continued their trip. As they made their way around a corner, two shapes off in the distance approached them at a rapid pace. One of the shapes was a midnight blue while the other was pink. Giggling echoed in the distance as the shapes got bigger. Heading towards them was the younger diarch of Equestria and a pink earth pony with a poofy mane and tail. The former was gliding at a gentle pace and the latter was hopping alongside her. A gentle gust blew past Twilight and Cadance as they passed by. The pink pony turned her head. “Hi Twilight! Hi Princess Cadance!” she called. “Bye Twilight! Bye Princess Cadance!” The lunar princess and the pink pony turned a corner, still laughing. Cadance turned her head to the corner. “Was that Pinkie Pie?” she asked. “That was,” Twilight answered. “She’s been coming here on a regular basis to see Princess Luna.” The gears in Cadance’s mind started to turn. “Has she now?” She turned to face Twilight. “How long has this been happening?” “Since my coronation. Pinkie invited Princess Luna out with us after the celebrations, and since then, she’s been visiting on a daily basis. It’s nice of her to…” Twilight’s eyes widened. “P-Princess Celestia?” Twilight continued sputtering as footsteps approached her and Cadance. A ding went off in the Crystal Princess’ mind and the words that Twilight was speaking faded into muted incomprehensible noise. A chesire grin grew on Cadance’s face and stars formed in her eyes. ~~~ Cadance pushed her way through a ruby coloured door with a kyanite heart embedded in it. Sitting in the room were models of nearly every settlement in Equestria. A small section of the room had a model of a desert with an apple orchard growing in it as well as a small western town. A series of train tracks connected it to a small bog and a village sitting beside a river. More tracks led to a mountain with a castle built on its side. On each of the models were small moving ponies roughly the size of a grain of rice. They interacted each other and talked as if they were alive. Cadance approached the model castle. She tapped it causing the mountain and the other settings to disappear. The castle grew and more details became present. Buildings became more lifelike and the ponies on the model had clearer details on them. Cadence tapped the castle a second time. The city around it disappeared while the castle remained. She looked around the model castle. Standing around the gates and patrolling the castle walls were plastic unicorn and pegasus guards. Each of them was wearing golden armour that glistened. A bush located at the castle’s west wing rustled. Cadance pushed the bush aside and found a small plastic pink pony with a poofy mane and tail as well as a plastic midnight blue alicorn. Both of them had eager smiles on their faces and were facing a model barrack. “Now, let’s see if I’m right,” Cadance mumbled. She lit up her horn and brought a spool of red thread towards her. She pulled a small amount of it and tied it to the pink pony’s foreleg. Cadance stepped back and waited. A few seconds later, the other end of the thread started to move. The thread slowly made its way to the alicorn before tying itself around her foreleg. Cadance smiled. “Perfect.” She closed her eyes and lit up her horn. Her body was covered in a cyan aura and she felt herself falling. ~~~ When she opened her eyes again, she stood in front of one of the barracks that housed the Royal Guard. Her body was translucent and a cyan glow radiated off her. Off to her right was the bush with both Pinkie and Luna staring at the barracks. Cadance approached them, both ponies not noticing her walking towards them. “How long is it going to take?” Pinkie asked. “Patience Pinkie,” Luna said. “It’ll happen soon. I promise.” Cadance stopped beside Pinkie as a muffled explosion went off inside the barracks. Muffled splats could be heard behind her. Both Pinkie and Luna fell backwards, laughing in hysterical glee. “That was amazing!” Pinkie laughed. “I didn’t think you meant it when you said that nutmeg had explosive properties, and yet there it is!” “A never ending prank war with Celestia teaches you a great deal,” Luna said between laughs. Cadance lowered her head to Pinkie’s ear. “Pinkie,” she said. The pink pony immediately stopped laughing. She sat up and looked around in confusion. “You see that pony beside you? She’s pretty, isn’t she?” Pinkie opened her mouth. “Don’t speak; just think. You don’t want her to hear your inner most thoughts, do you?” Pinkie closed her mouth. “Do I have to go to therapy to get rid of you?” Pinkie thought. “A lot of doctors told me that voices mean that I’m unbalanced, and not in the fun way either. The kind of unbalanced that makes ponies hurt each other.” “No Pinkie,” Cadance giggled. “I’m the voice of love. I’m only here to help you with her. I ask again, do you think she’s pretty?” Pinkie turned to Luna. Luna was sitting up and her laughter was slowly dying out. The moonlight highlighted the curves on her body and made it look as if her coat was glowing. Her ethereal mane and tail blew in a non-existent wind giving her a majestic look. Pinkie wistfully sighed. “Yeah, she is.” A love stricken smile bloomed on her face. “She’s the prettiest pony princess to ever live. While Celestia is like the sun, Luna is like the night sky. Celestia is beautiful because of a blinding brilliance she has, while Luna is beautiful because of a thousand subtleties that work together in harmony. But there’s more to her than beauty.” “Oh? Like what, Pinkie?” “She’s caring, she’s strong, and she’s one of the most passionate ponies I’ve ever met. Not only that, but she has a great sense of humour, and the most adorable smile that I’ve ever seen, and her voice is so soothing that it can calm a raging dragon, and she…” “I know, Pinkie,” Cadance interrupted. Pinkie sighed again. “I love her so much. I was actually planning to confess to her and asking her out tonight.” “Why just confess?” “What do you mean?” “Actions speak louder than words, Pinkie.” Cadance’s body started to fade away. “Think about it.” Her body completely disappeared as Pinkie looked to where she was standing. ~~~ Cadance opened her eyes and stood above the model. The pink pony was looking to her left while the alicorn’s laughter was slowly dying. The alicorn wiped a tear away as the pink pony turned to face her. They talked to each other with happy expressions on their faces. The pink pony spoke with a smile causing the alicorn’s expression to shift. She shied away from the pink pony and rubbed a foreleg. The pink pony reached out and held the alicorn’s face. She spoke, her face moving closer with every word. The alicorn closed her eyes as their lips touched. Her wings wrapped themselves around the pink pony in an embrace. The barrack’s door opened and a unicorn covered in cream rushed out of it. He laid eyes locked on the kissing ponies and began shouting. The two ponies pulled back. The alicorn stood up and winked. The pink pony smiled and jumped on her back before the two flew in the sky. Cadance smiled as she watched them fly to one of the castle’s spire. She tapped the castle for the third time, making the exterior walls disappear. Like with the outside, there were plastic ponies moving around. Her attention was focused on a purple alicorn sitting at a desk with piles of parchment around her. Cadance brought the red thread towards her again. She tied it around the alicorn’s horn and waited for it to lead her to the alicorn’s love.