//------------------------------//
// Chapter 6 
// Story: Daughter of the Moon 
// by CartoonNerd12 
//------------------------------//

Shining Armor walked down the corridors of the castle, inspecting the guards as he passed them. He could see they were doing a decent job keeping at their posts. He himself kept a straight face to do his own job. But as professional as he might've been, he was hurting deep down. It had been a week since he last saw Twilight and the promise she made to him about finding Cadence. He said he would wait as long as he could, but now he was finding it hard to do so.

At first, when he thought that she went off to learn to be a princess, he felt sad, but happy knowing that his beloved deserved to be the princess she was meant to be. He was thankful that he had his training to keep from thinking about her. Then, when he was sent away to explore more of Equestria, he was kept busy and hardly thought of Cadence because he knew she was in a position that suited her well, not realizing that she wouldn't be there at all… Now that he knew the truth, he was worried and felt helpless about not knowing where the mare he once knew long ago could be.

He wasn't sure how much longer he could take.

"Are you really a pony?" Cotton Candy asked Cadence when it was Pinkie's turn to watch over her.

"I am. Well, I may not be one right now, but hopefully, I'll get to be one again soon."

"And you're really our cousin, not our aunt?" questioned Fire Spark as he, Whirl Wind, and Dignity were there, too, observing the enchanted Breezie who their parents were making a fuss over lately.

"You can call me Aunt Cadence. I don't mind. In fact, I think of your mothers as my sisters anyway, so it's fine."

"Aw!" Pinkie came over with brownies for the kids, "We like to think of you as our sister, too!"

Cadence giggled, "You certainly haven't changed, Pinkie. All of you haven't, except maybe Twilight. She used to be so playful, now she's so serious sometimes…"

"My mom used to be playful?" Fire found it hard to believe.

Cadence giggled again, "Why, yes, and I can see from here that you're a lot like her when she was your age."

"Wow…"

"What about me?" pointed Cotton Candy, "Aren't I like Mommy?" she bounced, "Aren't I?! Aren't I?!"

"Very much so." Cadence replied with a smile.

"Yay!" she kept on bouncing all over the place.

"Now Cotton, be care-" Pinkie tried to say, but things already got knocked over as if it was a game of dominoes. A book flew across the room and was about to squish Cadence! Luckily, Fire swooped her up and held her in his arms as the book landed where Cadence could have been.

Pinkie cried, "Cadence! Are you alright?!"

"I'm fine! Thanks to Fire…" she smiled up at him as he returned it.

"Oh, thank goodness!" Then, she turned to her daughter and gave a look of disappointment, "See what happens when you're not too careful? Some pony or some Breezie could get squished!"

Cotton's eyes were filling with tears, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean…" She sobbed and ran out the room.

Pinkie had instant guilt across her face, "Cotton, wait! I wasn't…" She started going after her daughter and called back, "You boys, watch Cadence!" She ran to catch up with Cotton.

Whirl saluted, "On it!"

"So… what do we do?" asked Dignity.

Fire looked at Cadence in his hoof, "Aunt Cadence, what do we do?"

"Hmm…" then she fluttered on top of his head. "You could show me where the gardens are."

"Gardens? Right this way!" Whirl took the lead as they followed behind him.

The gardens were in the back of castle. It was mixture of vegetation and beautiful flowers of all kinds. Some of the ground was also checkerboard and had some strange plants on it. No doubt that was some of Discord's handiwork. Just a few feet away was a large lake.

Fire said to her, "Uncle Discord wanted to turn it into a chocolate lake, but Aunt Fluttershy insisted that the animals of forest needed it for drinking water."

Cadence nodded to that logic.

"I always did like Uncle Discord's part of the garden!" Whirl Wind went up to a cornstalk popping out popcorn and took some.

Dignity went over, but then a plant nearly snapped at him, "Of course, you can't be too careful in this place…"

"You know, I'm curious, but what is it you kids like to dream about the most?" Cadence asked.

"Oh, that's easy!" Cotton Candy popped from the flower bed, "I want to make ponies smile like my mommy and daddy!"

"Cotton! Weren't you with Aunt Pinkie?" Fire questioned.

"I was! Mommy and I had a talk and then we made up! Then she sent me back to you guys until I saw you weren't there, so I had to sniff you out and found you out in the garden!"

"Cuz, why do you have to be so random?" Whirl Wind gestured.

"Because it's fun! Now what about the rest of you answering Aunt Cadence's question?"

"Well, for me, I want to be a Wonderbolt like my dad!"

"I'm not quite sure what I want to be…" said Dignity, "…but I do like helping my parents and other ponies out. Maybe I'll be a butler like my dad was before he married Mum."

"And you, Fire?" Cadence looked down.

"Me? Well… I don't have much of a choice of what I want to be… My mom is supposed to be queen someday, so once she's gone, I have to be king…"

"You don't seem happy about that…" She gave a sad look.

"Being king doesn't sound all that interesting to me. I'd rather be in the library reading science books all day long…"

She made small pats in his hair.

"What about you, Cadence?" Cotton asked.

"Oh, well…" she shook her head, "it's not important…"

"Aw, come on, please?" The little filly batted her eyes.

"We told you ours. Might as well tell yours." pointed Dignity.

She chuckled, "So you did. Alright. What I want more than anything… is a kiss from my true love…"

"Aww!" Cotton gushed.

Whirl makes a gagging noise.

"Yes, it may not seem like a cool dream, but it's something I hold very dear to my heart…" she started singing, "When you meet the someone who was meant for you… Before two can become one there is something you must do…"

Whirl pointed, "Do you pull each other's tails?"

Dignity said, "Do you sip each other's tea?"

"No. There is something sweeter everybody needs… I've been dreaming of a true love's kiss… And a prince I'm hoping comes with this… That's what brings everaftering so happy… And that's the reason we need lips so much… For lips are the only things that touch… So to spend a life of endless bliss… Just find who you love through true love's kiss… aaah… aaah… aaaah…"

The kids sang, "Aaah… aaah… aaaah… She's been dreaming of a true love's kiss and a prince she's hoping comes with this! That's what brings everaftering so happy… so happy… And that's the reason we need lips so much for lips are the only things that touch…"

Cadence sang, "So to spend a life of endless bliss… Just find who you love through…"

They all sang, "True love's kiss…"

Cotton sighed, "That is so romantic!"

"I guess," Whirl shrugged, "if you like mushy stuff."

Cadence giggled, "Well, believe it or not, but someday, you're going to like the mushy stuff…"

"Blech! No way!"

"Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but one day, when you come across a pretty face… Your wings will stop working and you'll fall head over hooves…"

"Oh! Then you'll be twitter-pated!" Cotton bounced, "Mom told me that!"

"Sorry, but that is so not happening to me! I won't fall in love and that's final!"

Cadence just smiled, she knew better. I seem to recall Rainbow Dash saying something like a long time ago… The rest of us were interested in boys, but she believed she was never going to fall in love. Obviously, that's changed, since she married Soarin'. From what she's told me when she had to watch me a couple days ago, when they first met, she was very interested… So if Whirl is anything like his mother, no doubt it'll happen sooner then he thinks…

She looked to the other kids, Dignity is a young gentlecolt. Any girl he comes across will fall for him in a second, and whoever he chooses will be a lucky mare indeed… Cotton is excited and hyper, but shows a sensitive side. She'll have a chance at true love when the time is right… And Fire, since he takes after his mother, he'll want some pony to support his ideas and appreciate all he has to offer. The mare he takes as a wife will be most fortunate…

She and the kids kept talking to each other at the same time as Twilight was inside the castle in the library, looking over books with Spike helping her as his daughter was to next to him on the table. He was putting the books he finished in a pile until Apple Jewel grabbed one and started chewing on it.

Spike noticed this and started to reach for the book, "No, Jewel! Books are for reading, not eating!" He struggled to get it loose from her mouth, "That's quite a grip you got there. Obviously, you inherited that from your mother…" He finally got the book free, but he fell back and crashed into a shelf, which made books topple over him. Jewel giggled and clapped.

"Oh, Spike! Are you okay?" Twilight helped him out.

He groaned, "I'm fine, but I think I got some bruised scales."

"Why don't you go ahead and take it easy…? And Apple Jewel, too. I'll stay here and keep looking."

"You sure?"

She nodded, "Yes, I'm sure. Just go."

"Okay… if you say so," He picked up the half-dragon, half-pony baby, "Come on, Jewel. Daddy's going to take a nap and so are you." Then they left.

Twilight used her magic to sort through all the books that involved charms, transformations, or curses. After a while, she declared, "Nothing! Absolutely nothing here about Breezie curses or how to reverse them! There is a spell involving turning into other creatures, but I'm not sure what good it could do for Cadence!" she grunted. "If only I knew how she got cursed in the first place… But Cadence can't remember it so much and Aunt Luna is the only other pony that knows about the curse… But Cadence doesn't want her mother knowing she's here, since she knows how Aunt Luna made her go live with the Breezies to begin with for her protection… But I just don't see any other way… I need to know how the curse was placed or else, there's no hope of Cadence returning to her normal form…"

Just then, Rarity walked in, "Darling?"

Twilight turned back toward her sister.

"No luck, I presume?"

She sighed, "It's really hard finding a solution if there's no way of knowing what caused it in the first place… I need to speak with Aunt Luna. She's the only one that was there when the curse took place. The answers lie with her."

Rarity gulped, "Well, I certainly wish you good luck with that. Auntie Luna is not one for being open."

"I know… but I'm going to try, even if it means bringing Cadence along. I think then she'd be more willing to talk if she saw her daughter again and that we're doing all we can to break the spell."

"I hope you're right. That actually brings up what I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"The rest of the girls and I want to go to Canterlot this weekend to do some gift shopping for our anniversary."

"Oh, no! I almost completely forgot! Between keeping track of running the Everfree Kingdom and helping Cadence, I don't know what to give Flash for a present!"

"But don't you always give him a book?"

"I do, but I don't know what kind of book he would like this year. I haven't paying attention that much!"

"Oh, dear… I was starting to wonder…"

"Wondering what?" Panic started rising in her voice, "Rarity, wondering what?!"

"Well, it's just… you and Flash have been fairly distant lately…Fancy mentioned the strangest thing that Flash told him. Flash said he might not celebrate the anniversary if he doesn't fix something… So… is there anything wrong?"

"There shouldn't be! But are you saying there could be?!"

"I really don't know, darling… This is your marriage, not mine."

Twilight then calmed herself with her calming method that Cadence taught her a long time ago, "You're right… If something is wrong, I'll get to the bottom of it, just as soon as Cadence's spell has been lifted."

"But in the meantime… Does this mean we are heading to Canterlot for the weekend?"

"Yes, we are most definitely heading back to Canterlot."

"Excellent! I'll go tell the others right away!" She trotted off.

That night, Twilight had a talk with Cadence about going to Canterlot to meet with Luna to learn more about the curse.

"I know you didn't want her to know, but it's our one shot of getting you back to being you…"

Cadence solemnly agreed, "You're right…" she gave a small smile, "Besides, it'll be wonderful to finally see her again, even if she'll be disappointed in me for not staying where I was most safe."

Twilight chuckled, "Believe me, we know how that feels…" Then, she gasped, "You can finally see Shining Armor again!"

The Breezie's smile widened, "That's right! And we can-" Then, she frowned, looking at her small body, "No… he can't see me like this…"

"Cadence…"

"He won't love me!"

"That's not true! Shining Armor doesn't care what you look like!"

Tears were coming down her cute face, "What happens if we can't break the spell? Then what? How can we be together if I'm stuck like this forever?!"

"We'll see what happens first! Chances are we will break the spell! Then Shining Armor and you will finally get the happy ending you deserve!"

"You really think so?"

"Yes… Cadence, I almost couldn't have a happy ending because of my father's curse for fear that the same thing could've happened to me and my sisters… But because our love for him, we broke it and got the husbands we truly love. I know the same could happen for you. You will be an alicorn princess again and marry Shining Armor. I can feel it."

"Oh, Twilight… Thank you…"

"Just brace yourself for a major lecture from your mother this coming weekend."

She giggled, "Oh, I will."

"And… if it makes you feel any better, I'll distract Shining Armor from knowing you're there."

"Thank you. That means a lot to me."

She nodded, knowing that the trip back to Canterlot wasn't going to pleasant…