//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: Rocinante and the Wedding at Canterlot // by Charliemane //------------------------------// As they reached the top of the tower, Princess Cadance turned towards her escorts with her best, albeit forced, smile. “Thank you, kind sir and lady. I believe I am safe from here.” Though she had expected it, Cadance felt the corners of her mouth drop ever so slightly as Rocinante bowed low. “I should think not Fair Highness! Our righteous duty is to see unto your safety from now until the threat has been resolved. Thus in order to meet this task to our utmost, we shall not leave you so alone and so vulnerable.” “But... surely you can give me a little privacy...” Her brows furrowing, she looked to Sassaflash for help, but the obedient squire followed her knight's lead and bowed low. “We would n-never forgive ourselves if something happened to you, Your Highness.” Suddenly Cadance sat down in front of the door while her eyes rapidly moistened, her lip began quavering, and before long the young Princess had completely broken down in front of them. “I'm I'm sorry- I didn't- I didn't want anypony to see me like this! I'm just so- so tired and my special day is coming up and I don't know what I did to deserve all this! I just I just-” It was hard not to break the act in front of the hilarious response that the knight and his squire each had. They both went pale and fumbled for words as their widened eyes darted between her and each other. In fact their responses were in such unison that Cadance could only assume that they must be related some how. Finally Rocinante, struggling for words carefully approached her, his face red and his head held low as if he were trying to hide from anypony who might be witnessing. “Are... Are you alright? Fair Highness?” Cadance nodded as she sniffed and rubbed her eyes. “I'm sorry... I just... I just need a moment...” Peeking over her hoof, Cadance began to smile as the knight relented. “Of, Of Course. Yes, fear not Young Highness! Sassaflash and I will make sure your room is perfectly safe and then wait outside for you while you recover from your most tiring day.” Princess Cadance swiftly rose and followed after the knight and squire as they entered her room. It was a simple room, small and uncomplicated for a princess of her stature, but that had been the style Princess Cadance had preferred since she was a foal. She had hoped that her guards would see the tiny room, realize no pony was here and be on their way, but immediately the two set about looking under the bed and behind dressers, like parents “looking” for monsters in a foal's bedroom. As Sassaflash neared the closet, Princess Cadance swiftly cut her off. “No need for that. I've... I've already checked there.” Sassaflash tilted her head a bit as she tried to remember when the Princess could possibly have checked the closet in the short time that they had been there, but her cousin clapped his hooves and smiled. “Excellent initiative, Young Excellency! It would then appear then that this room is secure for the time being and we may leave you to your private recovery. Please be careful, Fair Highness, and do not hesitate to call upon our aid at any time, for we are here to serve! Come Sassa! Let us give Her Fair Highness the time and room to recover from this exhausting day.” Immediately the two bowed and exited the room with Princess Cadance following them out and quietly locking the door behind them. Placing an ear to the door, she stifled her giggles as best as she could as she listened to the two outside, blissfully unaware of everything that was going on. Sliding away from the door, Queen Chrysalis calmly dropped her alicorn guise and walked over to the closet and opened the door. There, just as she had left her, was a pink alicorn, struggling uselessly against the tight cocoon that held held her silently in place. The real Princess Cadance narrowed her eyes in defiance as she stopped moving and looked up at her captor. Her lips moved as she spoke, revealing her gritted teeth, but the cocoon trapped all of her words inside with her. Chrysalis smiled as she leaned against the vertical cocoon and checked her hoof for dirt. “You wouldn't believe the day you've had. More guards everywhere and now there is even a duo just for you... It's a headache to deal with really. You should thank me for taking all of this on for you.” Princess Cadance glared as Chrysalis chuckled and stepped away from the cocoon. “Still, I would have thought Celestia would have been more confident in her security measures. Now that her little sister is here and poking around with her minions, I'm afraid you can't stay here any longer.” Cadance's eyes widened as she saw Chrysalis's horn begin to glow. “Oh don't worry. I just learned about the perfect spot for you, nice, dark, and covered in crystals. You like crystals don't you? You won't even need this anymore.” Chrysalis tapped on the cocoon as her magic began surrounding it with a green flame. “It's a ways down, but I've been assured that there are enough winding caverns down there that you'll hit a pocket eventually.” As she began to sink into the floor through the burning cocoon, Cadance began struggling fiercely. But Chrysalis only smiled and waved as she continued to magically push her downward. As Cadance disappeared from her sight, the changeling queen turned to the mirror sitting on top of her dresser with a villainous smile. A flash of green fire passed over her and Queen Chrysalis looked at her new reflection in the mirror. One problem was solved, the others shouldn't be too much more trouble. “Do you think she's alright in there?” Rocinante straightened his helmet as he looked at the door from over his shoulder. The room was remarkably quiet, which the knight-errant had taken as a good sign, at least as far as his mission was concerned. “There is but only one entrance into the Princess's chamber and that entryway cannot be approached, except through us.” Sassaflash sighed as she placed a hoof to her forehead and tried to ignore the possibility of a pegasus flying though a window or a unicorn simply teleporting past them. “I'm not talking about the security, I'm talking about her emotion-” Sassaflash's words were instantly frozen as she saw Princess Luna approaching them from the stairs. Sassaflash and Rocinante bowed low, but the Princess motioned them back up quickly. “There you two are. I have discussed the matter at length with my sister and we have agreed that there really isn't a need to watch Princess Mi Amore Cadenza so closely.” Rocinante and his cousin exchanged glances before looking back to the Princess. “Are you certain, Noble Grace?” Princess Luna's nostrils flared uncharacteristically as she narrowed her eyes on Rocinante. “Are you disobeying me?” Rocinante's eyes went wide as he stepped back in surprise. “Perish the thought! Never would I even think of such rebellion, Gracious Highness. What would you have us do?” Princess Luna suddenly smiled as she looked out the window towards the granary far below. “Princess Celestia is worried about actual food poisonings. She wants you to guard the granary down there and make sure nopony goes in there that shouldn't.” Rocinante and Sassaflash quickly bowed again. “Your wish is our command, Noble Grace.” As they began for the stairs, Sassaflash stopped and turned back towards the door. She meant to go back and inform Princess Cadenza that they were leaving, but she stopped as she saw Princess Luna walking happily into the room. Seeing his squire spin on her hooves, Rocinante also turned around. “My dear Sassa, is something amiss?” Sassaflash tilted her head as she thought for a moment, but eventually shrugged her shoulders and resumed walking towards the stairs. “I thought maybe we should let Princess Cadenza know that we were leaving, but I guess Princess Luna is going to take care of that.” Rocinante nodded as he followed after his cousin. “No doubt Her Gracious Highness will be able to apprise, console, and comfort Her Fair Highness of and in this most peculiar situation.” As they rounded the first flight of stairs, Sassaflash looked back up towards the Princess's chamber. “Did... Did Princess Luna seem a little... I dunno... edgy to you?” Princess Celestia sighed as a pitying smile slowly came across her face. She was overjoyed that her sister was back and taking the situation seriously, but as Luna looked over the map again, Celestia couldn't help but worry that maybe her sister was on the verge of wearing herself out before the wedding could even begin. “Please, stop worrying, Little Sister. Shining Armor and I have everything covered.” Luna shook her head as she rubbed her tired eyes. “Dear Sister, I know thou hast seen to many of the intricate details of thy security thyself, but I cannot but believe there is something that we have overlooked. If there is an insider-” “Then three alicorns will be more than enough to deal with it. How long has it been since you've had a good night's, or rather day's, sleep?” Celestia put a hoof on her sister's shoulder, but Luna shrugged the hoof off and shook her head again. “Therein lies the very point that I have been concerned with since I received thy letter! Surely thy foes are aware of how much power lies within Royal House of Equestria itself! Therefore they must possess some form of twisted plan or design that, if not taken seriously, could pose a very real threat unto us all!” Frustrated, Celestia began to walk away to leave her sister to her obsessed business, but as she began to walk away, Princess Celestia couldn't help but watch her frustration wash away from the comfort of having her sister back. Giving a slight sigh, Celestia turned back and hugged her sister. “Luna, I understand why you are concerned, but look at you, look how tired you are. Nothing will come from staring at a map in your condition. Why don't you let me take the first watch? Then you can come and relieve me at nightfall.” Looking up into her big sister's eyes, Luna nodded and returned the embrace before the two parted ways. “Be careful, Tia.” “I will Luna, I will. Now please, get some sleep.” Celestia closed the door to the war-room behind them and began making her way towards the observation tower. She personally began to wonder if maybe Rocinante's fantasies had begun to rub off on her sister. While it was good to be cautious, Luna was borderline paranoid with her insistence that the “foes” had something waiting to overpower them. As she reached the top balcony, Celestia observed the train carrying her star pupil and her friends into the station. She smiled at the idea of her favorite student getting to partake in her brother's wedding. She was so close to the Sparkle family now that it almost felt like a small family reunion to have all of them up at the castle again. “All the more reason to do this right.” Celestia was stopped, less by the words that slipped from her mouth and more by the sudden anxious feeling she felt in her heart. She had just finished telling herself that there was no real danger to Canterlot, but for some reason a hanging doubt remained. It was a small nagging feeling that maybe her sister was right, maybe she should take a second look at the defenses. The telescope revealed nothing out of the ordinary and a sigh of relief slowly came out of the Princess. No, she had to draw a line somewhere. They already had every angle covered and too much security would ruin the wedding. Even if there were an agent hidden within the city, there was nothing they could reasonably do to find them. So why did she still feel so uneasy? As her guise went from the Princess of the Night to the Princess of Love, Chrysalis couldn't help but smile as she looked out the open window towards the courtyard below. There were guards everywhere, but not one pony suspected that they were guarding their own undoing. Her chest puffed out a bit as she surveyed the kingdom that would soon be hers. Replacing Princess Cadance had not been nearly as hard as she had thought it would be. For most of her life, Cadance had downplayed her royal status and hid from the public spotlight. A very big convenience for a changeling who wanted to take her place. Not too many ponies were familiar enough with her to catch the subtle, but immediate changes in “Cadance's” character and now that she had managed to slip under Celestia's nose, all the other ponies followed her without question. However, Celestia would still be a problem when it came time for the actual invasion. The ancient alicorn's power was legendary and it would take a tremendous amount of power to counter her. Each passing day the love siphoned off of Shining Armor made her stronger, but the question of whether or not it would be enough to hold Celestia until reinforcements arrived left her nervous. It was the only weak point in the plan, at least until Princess Luna showed up. Even if she managed to gather enough power from Shining Armor by the day of the wedding to deal with Celestia, she certainly wouldn't have enough to deal with both Celestia and Luna. Something would have to be done about the Princess of the Night, but she was running out of time. In the courtyard below, a purple unicorn could be seen marching towards Shining Armor's command post. Even from as high us as she was, Chrysalis could easily identify the unicorn from the stained glass windows in the lower hall, Twilight Sparkle. Rolling her eyes, Chrysalis double checked her disguise before walking out the door. Now she had the Elements of Harmony to deal with. Trotting down the stairs towards the parade grounds, Chrysalis forced a smile while her eyebrows furrowed. Unless she could unravel the cords beginning to wrap around her, she might find herself as the prisoner wandering the caverns below. Princess Luna slowly walked down the passageway towards her old room. It felt like it had been ages since she had been in her own bed. While she had enjoyed her travels, the rather spartan conditions that her knight and squire camped with had left her with a fresh and sincere appreciation for the luxuries of the castle. Just as the relaxing image of a bubble bath floated through her mind, Princess Luna passed Princess Cadance in the hallway without her escorts. Doing a double take, Luna swiftly turned on her hooves and caught up with the young Princess. “Prithee young Princess, where art the guards that I hath given unto thee? Wherefore hast my knight left thy side?” Princess Cadance's eyes went wide, as though she had just noticed the knight's absence, before she suddenly began looking all around frantically. The rapid change from calm to panic at first struck Luna as peculiar, but as another yawn slipped out of her mouth, she realized that the drastic alteration was probably more a result of her own tiredness than anything else. “I don't know. I went into my room to get a quick nap, but when I woke up they were gone! I can't find them anywhere!” The idea of her companions suddenly vanishing during this threatening time hit Princess Luna like a runaway train. Where was Rocinante? Where was Sassaflash? Did something happen to them while Princess Cadance was sleeping? Had the enemy taken them out while they were alone? Panic began to surge through the Princess's mind as she bit her lip and forced herself to remain calm, at least on the outside. “They left no note? No sign of any kind with regards to their intent or departure?” Cadance appeared to be lost in thought for a moment as she watched Luna carefully, but as Luna spoke to her, she snapped out of it. “Nothing. I haven't found anything. You don't think something happened to them do you?” Luna shook her head. “Impossible. Surely they could not have been silenced so easily. Nay... Fear not, Young Princess. We shall get to the bottom of this, but first, we must find thee a suitable guard for the time being.” A look of genuine concern found its way across Cadance's face as they began walking towards the parade grounds. “Is your knight really that strong? No pony could take him down?” Luna's eyes darted from place to place and she bit her lip again, but she gave no indication either way. “Sir Rocinante doth indeed possess... a... unique skill set that would render this situation as both disconcerting and unbelievable.” As Cadance guided the preoccupied Luna towards Shining Armor, she felt the tiniest glow radiating from inside Princess Luna. It was a glow that only a changeling could feel, a glow that suddenly sparked a new interest in both the Princess and her knight in the eyes of “Princess Cadance”. “You... really care about him, don't you?” Princess Luna's eyes didn't widen in embarrassed surprise like Cadance had wanted, but she did blush as the glow from within her pulsed ever so slightly. “Both Sir Rocinante and Lady Sassaflash have been my boon companions since my return from the moon. They have stayed by my side at all times and championed any cause I placed before them. They are both indeed quite dear to me. But enough of this, we must find an escort for thee.” Princess Cadance stopped as she motioned out the window towards Shining Armor, who was happily conversing with Twilight Sparkle just outside. “There's Shining Armor. Surely he will protect me while you go search for your missing knight.” Princess Luna nodded quickly before turning to go down a different path. “Very well. Farewell young Cadance. I shall leave you in his protection.” As Luna turned and swiftly trotted down the hall, Cadance analyzed the tiny glow that she had siphoned off of the Princess. It was very small, which could mean any number of things from close friendship and beyond, but regardless as to the nature of the glow, Luna suddenly appeared much more interesting. Even a tiny source of additional power before the battle was welcome in her eyes. Perhaps she should consider dealing with this suddenly interesting trio more in the future. As a dark smile came across her face, Princess Cadance walked out the door to where Twilight was happily bouncing around her brother. “I hope I'm not interrupting anything important.”