//------------------------------//
// Return to Canterlot 
// Story: The Nightmare of Princess Cadence 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
//------------------------------//

												Chapter 3
“Return to Canterlot”

In the days that followed, Cadence was starting to have more and more nightmares in relation to her imprisonment on the eve of her wedding.  This had started to make Shining Armor more and more concerned for his wife and he knew that Cadence had to return to familiar ground and be with those that knew and loved.  She had to be with Twilight, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna or anypony for that matter.  One night, while Cadence went to sleep early due to lack of sleep, Shining Armor sat at his desk and wrote a letter to his little sister:

“Dear Twiley,

I am sorry to have to write to you on such short notice, but I need the help of you and your friends on a matter of great importance.  Ever since Cadence and I have become rulers of the Crystal Empire, she has been having nightmares related to the Changeling Invasion that happened during our wedding.  I know I emotionally scarred you that day at the rehearsal, but the real victim in all of this is Cadence herself.  I want you to know that we are returning to Canterlot tomorrow and we will not return to the Crystal Empire until Cadence is well again.  All I want is for her to be the loving mare that I have married and that the fears of Chrysalis are barred from her memory for as long as we live.  Cadence and I would love to see you again and maybe you and her could spend time together to help her get over this nightmare that she now finds herself in.  I can’t wait to see you.

Love,
Shining Armor, your BBBFF.”


Using his magic, he teleported the letter to the Golden Oaks library for Twilight to read the next day and then turned over to Cadence, who was sound asleep.  Shining Armor didn’t quite know what was going to happen now as Cadence laid sleeping.  He was expecting her to have another nightmare as he walked over to her and instead of crawling into bed with her, he just sat on his side just looking at Cadence as she slept soundly.  

“I hope you sleep well tonight, Cadence,” the white unicorn thought to himself as Cadence slept in their bed.  “I will not rest until the memories of the invasion are buried deep from our minds.  I am much to blame for what happened to you as much as anyone and I want nothing more than to atone myself for what I have done.”

And Shining Armor just sat there and it was the first time in several days that Cadence slept soundly.  But the memories were still there and just before dawn, Cadence once again woke up screaming in fear and unrest.  

“How long can she suffer like this?” he thought to himself as he comforted his wife once again by hugging her.  “I just hope Twiley and her friends can help.”

Meanwhile, back at Golden Oaks library in Ponyville, Twilight had just woken up as Spike was forced up by the sounds of a belching letter that came out of his stomach.  At first, Twilight thought that Princess Celestia had given her another assignment, but this was something completely different. 

“That’s funny,” Twilight said as she saw the letter.  “What is Princess Celestia sending me this time?”

“I don’t know,” sighed Spike, still half asleep in his bed.  “It must be another one of those assignments that she has been giving you lately.  It could be another overdue friendship assignment.”

Spike fell back asleep and Twilight annoyingly bonked him on the head for reminding her about the time she missed a lesson on friendship.  This immediately woke Spike up and rubbed his head after Twilight bonked it.

“Don’t remind me of that Spike,” Twilight snapped as she opened the letter.  “What have I been trying to say about bringing up bad memories like that?”

“I know, I know,” pouted Spike as he climbed out of his little bed.  “But, I was half asleep Twilight.  Cut me some slack, will you?”

But, Twilight did not respond to her assistant’s remark and instead continued to read the letter that Shining Armor had sent her.  Upon seeing his name at the bottom and what the body of the letter was about, Twilight gasped in shock and horror at what she witnessed.

“What’s wrong, Twilight?” asked Spike as he put on his pink apron.  “You’d look like you had seen a ghost or something?”

But all Twilight could do was just stare at the letter and it took Spike to tap her on the back to get her out of the trance that she put herself into.  She then rolled the letter back up and dashed for the door while throwing Spike on her back.

“Twilight, what’s wrong?” remarked Spike, as Twilight gasped loudly.  “Is it an emergency?”

“I’ll tell you on the train,” panted Twilight who ran towards the door of the library.  “It’s concerning my sister-in-law.”

Upon hearing those words, Spike immediately could tell that Twilight was referring to Princess Cadence, her former foal sitter.  Although he was only a baby at the time and even though Cadence was technically no longer her foal sitter, Princess Celestia would always have her niece close by to be with Twilight on days when she was not studying.  Spike could remember how Cadence was always like an older sister to Twilight and there were times that Cadence was always like an aunt to him.  Hearing that something was wrong with Cadence made Spike feel sorry for her and Shining Armor, who by now was racing towards Canterlot as fast as possible.

On the train, Twilight had managed to calm down and once she got a chance to breathe, she began to tell Spike of what was happening.  Although it was very uncomfortable for both of them to understand the situation that Twilight’s brother and sister-in-law were in.

“Sorry we had to run like that, Spike,” gasped Twilight, as she continued to catch her breath.  “But, it seems that Cadence is still haunted by the Changeling Invasion not that long ago.”

“But, didn’t we have a successful wedding?” asked Spike, wondering just as much as Twilight why Cadence was acting this way.  “I mean, we did everything but the Bachelor Party, you know.”

“We did, but not before everything that had happened,” replied Twilight.  “Shining Armor wrote to me that Cadence is still having bad memories of being in the Canterlot Caves while Chrysalis walked around Canterlot posing as her.  Although, not before I thought she had changed into someone else.”

“Shining Armor did provide a pretty good excuse for her,” remarked Spike, but once again, Twilight bonked him on the head.  She gave him a strong glare and the baby dragon cowardly crouched down before his friend.

“This is serious, Spike,” she said sharply.  “Something’s wrong with Cadence and we need to be there for her.”

“All right, all right,” cried Spike, slightly bothered by Twilight’s raised voice.  “You don’t have to tell me twice.  This is a personal matter for you to attend to, but, can I ask you something personal?”

This made Twilight calm down and drop her irritated persona.  She could tell that Spike was also hurt by Cadence’s condition and even he wanted to help her.

“What is it, Spike?” asked Twilight, changing her mood.   "Is there something about you and Cadence that you want to tell me about?"

“Well, you know how you always told me that Cadence was like a sister to you?” replied Spike, looking slightly embarrassed.  “Well, I think of her more as like my aunt of some sorts.”

“What makes you say that, Spike?” remarked Twilight, filled with surprise.  “Although I do remember Cadence and I helped take care of you when you were just a baby.  In fact, one of the first lessons I had under Princess Celestia was to learn the art of responsibility by taking care of you.  So, yeah, I think she is more like an aunt to you.  Perhaps, you and her could bond and reconnect in some way.”

"I hope so," replied Spike, grabbing his tail in embarrassment.  "One day perhaps."

So, Spike took in what Twilight said as the train neared Canterlot where Shining Armor and Princess Cadence had already arrived with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna already there awaiting to greet their niece and nephew-in-law.  The two royal sisters were shocked at how exhausted and scared Cadence was and immediately they took Cadence and Shining Armor to Canterlot castle where Cadence was to begin her recovery from the worst experience of her life…