by ArguingPizza
~~~
The Palace Receiving Hall, located just outside the Throne Room, had been cleared of staff and guards since Princess Twilight’s sudden, violent arrival. Nearly the entire Palace had been emptied, with the staff sent home for the day and the garrison dispatched to barracks elsewhere in the city for the evening.
As such, nopony was around to see the flash of cobalt blue magic that announced the arrival of Princesses Luna and Cadence. Neither did anypony see Princess Cadence collapse to the floor a moment later, her aching body momentarily unable to support her weight.
After Luna had found her in the clearing, she had been merciful enough to cast a healing spell and ease Cadence’s array of severe injuries. She had not, however, been merciful enough to complete ease her pain. Bones were healed and lacerations closed, but that was as much as Luna had been willing to aid her. Judging by how furious Luna seemed, Cadence counted herself lucky she hadn’t been simply left bleeding and broken in the mud.
Luna made no effort to assist her in standing, but after a few failed attempts Cadence managed to upright herself. Her legs screamed at her, but she ignored their protests. She forced herself to breath despite the sharp pains in her sides, courtesy of a dozen cracked (formerly shattered) ribs.
Luna, having watched Cadence’s fumbling with indifference, ignited her horn to push the heavy throne room doors open. A second later, the light was extinguished, and Luna spoke.
“Twilight Sparkle is a dear friend to me,” Luna said quietly, “but she is much more to Celestia. You would do well to mind your words.” The language itself implied nothing more than a word of caution, but Cadence had the sense she had just been threatened. She swallowed nervously and nodded, though she was unsure if Luna noticed the gesture.
Regardless, when Luna relit her horn the doors did give way.
The Throne Room, like the rest of the Castle, was empty. Empty, that is, save the towering figure atop the dais at the far end of the room. Standing atop the Throne like a predator searching for prey, Princess Celestia eyed Cadence as an eagle would a mouse. Cadence had felt small under Luna’s angry countenance, but Celestia’s furious gaze made her feel absolutely minuscule.
Luna left Cadence’s side towards her sister, but was halted barely a step into the room.
“Luna, I would ask you give us the room. Cadence and I have things we must discuss in private.” Celestia spoke without taking her eyes off Cadence, who looked away in shame, unable to meet her Aunt’s gaze.
Luna hesitated, her eyes closely scrutinizing Celestia. She was clearly conflicted, and she glanced between Cadence and Celestia as she considered the request. Cadence was unsure what she feared more: Luna staying and unleashing her anger, or being left alone with Celestia.
The decision was made for her when Luna turned to leave. She paused in the doorway and looked back over her withers. “I shall remain just outside.” It was a warning clearly meant for Celestia, and that chilled Cadence to her core.
If Luna was coming to her defense, even indirectly, what did that say about Celestia?
The Throne Room doors slammed shut, sealing her and Celestia inside. Celestia’s gaze bore down on her with a heat a thousand-fold that of the noonday sun. Cadence hung her head, unable to look up and see the disappointment and anger rolling off her Aunt.
“H-how is Twilight?” Cadence ventured, glancing upwards. Her voice quivered, but she needed to know about her wife.
Celestia narrowed her eyes. “I cannot say she is well,” Celestia said coldly. “She appeared in the courtyard in a rage, demanding to see her brother. Had she accomplished her goal, I have no doubt the Guard would be without its Captain.”
Cadence’s ears perked in alarm. “Did…did she hurt anypony?”
Celestia shook her head. “She did not. After I met her, I diffused her anger. She broke down, and is currently resting.”
Cadence wilted, relief and guilt flooding her. Both were quickly overwhelmed by fear when Celestia suddenly stood and leapt from the dais. Her wings snapped out, and she landed softly in front of Cadence. Celestia drew herself to her full height and towered over Cadence, leaving her in the shadow of the Sun herself.
“To say I am disappointed would not even begin to describe how I feel right now,” Celestia scowled, pressing forward into Cadence’s personal space. “That you would, that you could commit such treachery upon her, after she has given you everything of herself. It disgusts me.” Celestia turned away from Cadence and stomped a short distance, each beat of her hooves leaving cracks in the stonework.
Cadence could find no words to defend herself. Instead, she asked, “C-can I see her?”
Celestia snapped her head around, and for a moment the temperature of the room spiked sharply. Cadence recoiled and drew a hoof up to her chest in fear. For a single moment, the look on Celestia’s face hadn’t been mere anger, it had been wrath.
Cadence trembled as Celestia looked away again. “No.” Her voice was iron, unyielding and absolute. “If she asks for you, you may see her. Until that happens, you are not welcome here.”
Cadence’s jaw dropped, and tears gathered in her eyes. She had been raised in the Palace, and to be banished…it would have been like forbidding Twilight from Ponyville, or from libraries.
Then, in a flash, all her hurt and fear turned to anger.
“How dare you!” Cadence hissed, “What right do you have to keep me from my wife?”
A half second later, Cadence resolved that she should have taken Luna’s advice, because that was evidently the wrong thing to say. Celestia’s entire being seemed to waver like a mirage in the desert. Her back shot ramrod straight, and her wings rose up to tower above Cadence’s head. The air turned to a furnace, and Cadence smelled burning hair.
Before she could react Celestia was inches away from her face, wearing an expression of hatred that Cadence had never imagined her Aunt could make.
“I have all the right she has given me!” Celestia thundered, her voice a typhoon battering against Cadence’s eardrums. “How dare you make demands after what you’ve done, all the agony you’ve put her through! All because you were too stupid to see the wonderful mare right in front of you!”
The words stung, but not nearly so much as the hoof that smacked across her face a heartbeat later, leaving her wide-eyed and speechless. Celestia stayed to glare at her for another moment before storming out of the Throne Room and leaving her alone.
Cadence held a hoof to her cheek. She could already feel the bruise developing there, but that wasn’t what held her attention. Her eyes were wide and unfocused as Celestia’s words ran over and over through her head.
‘All because you were too stupid to see the wonderful mare right in front of you!’
“It…it can’t be,” she whispered to herself, her skills as the Princess of Love hard at work deciphering her Aunt’s words. Snippets of memories, little signs that meant nothing on their own, connected in ways she’d never imagined before.
Cadence sucked in a pained, ragged breath when she realized, in fact, it could.