Cadance limped towards her bed, only one thought occupied her mind. -'I'm gonna to kill Spitfire.'
Finally reaching the bed, she crashed down on it; her wings limp over the sides. -“Oh yes, I'm going to kill her, and it won't be a quick. No swift slice and a rolling head, that’d be far too quick. I think a meat grinder…, yes a meat grinder will do it. That, or find out how glue is made in this universe. Either way, it will be done slowly, ensuring she has time to suffer.'
Imagining that helped calm Cadance after a week of grueling training; both wing exercises and physical fitness sessions, all of which had to meet Spitfire's standards. She’d gotten close, but she was sore all-over. She was going to spend the rest of the day just resting, and dreaming of Spitfire’s eventual demise.
* * * * * *
Of course, a certain unicorn filly had to put pain to those plans.
“Wake up Cadance! Shiny and the recruits are training! We've got to see him train!” Cadance just shook her head, clearing the vestiges of sleep. Cracking open an eye; she was greeted by the sight of purple unicorn foal bouncing on the end of her bed. ‘If it had been anyone other than Twilight, they would be a smoking pile of ash by now.' She sighed. “Only for you, Twiliy.”
“YAY!” Cadance shook her head again and slowly got up. After a quick stop in the bathroom to freshen up, Cadance re-emerged, and they set of on their way to the dinning room – breakfast was calling. The entire walk through the castle, Twilight was just hopping around her in circles, a grin plastered on her face, reminding her of the shows version of Pinkie Pie.
When they arrived at the dinning room, Celestia looked up to greet them, smiling. She opened her mouth to speak, but she suddenly took stock of the 'Don't Even Start' face Cadence was wearing and faltered. Celestia gave a slight tilt of her head, and dropped it. After a few moments of silence, she started deemed Cadance to be sufficiently awake, and started up the conversation again;
“So what are you two doing today?”
“WE'RE SEEING MY B.B.B.F.F. TRAIN TODAY!” Twilight cheered. Celestia looked to Cadance.
“Her what?” Cadance facehoofed and replied.
“Her Big Brother Best Friend Forever.”
“Oh that's so cute!”
Cadance doubled facehoofed.
* * * * * *
After breakfast, she and Twilight headed out to the drilling square, out back of the main barracks, and arrived just as the bulk of the recruit guards assembled for practice. Twilight eagerly waved when she saw Shining. He waved back a little, even being joined by a few of the others. Seems she wasn't the only one vulnerable to the cute.
“ALRIGHT FILLIES!!” A mid aged stallion yelled, and the guards stood to attention. “Now all of you want to join the Royal Guard do you? Well I damned well hope so, the guard is a serious organization.”
-'I question that. We never see them do crap in the show.' Cadance thought.
“So today we are going to put you through the ringer. This will separate the soldiers from the foals, and find the best of the best.”
-'Best of the best that look good and can parade, I bet.'- Then a thought went through her head. -'I wonder if Celestia has these guys around, just for the eye candy. As powerful as she is she is still a pony, and by nature she has needs. I wouldn't like to think she's been celibate all this time? That just be cruel!'-
The elder stallion had them all start to do drills, run laps or train with their weapons. She observed Shining practice his sword work. He swung the sword around with precision, but it lacked a gracefully feel to it. Then again, he was a new recruit; no doubt the grace will come with time. His technique will be strong and sleek, just like his strong and sleek muscles, gorgeous fur, and and bright man- Cadance mentally slapped herself. -'NO! Bad body. No thinking lustful thoughts about males! I'm not ready for that yet! Stupid freaking teenage female pony body.'- She moved her eyes to the other trainees, and still had to fight the lustful thoughts she had at the sight of the others. Though they weren't as strong as Shining's. -'FAUST! THIS BETTER NOT BE MENTAL URGINGS FROM YOU!? I SERIOUSLY DON'T NEED THAT RIGHT NOW!'-
“Cadance, are you okay?” The question from Twilight brought Cadance out of her mental fist shaking. She looked down to the unicorn filly who looked up at her with great concern. Cadance gave her a smile.
“I'm okay Twily, just thinking about some things.” She gave the filly a wing hug and Twilight brightened up again.
* * * * * *
After the session was over, Cadance and Twilight headed back to the castle for lunch. She spent the whole journey thinking about what she had seen. From the look of it, the guard seemed well trained. So it stood out in her mind, wandering why do they appear to do nothing during the show, only getting captured, or running around like headless chickens. It wasn’t until they reached the dining hall, that Cadance breaks from her musing, and they sit down. A maid soon gives them a menu to look over. The day’s selection was another list of fancy names, and small portions. Nothing appealed to her, and she had a craving for something simple. Suddenly inspiration struck. Slamming the menu shut, she turned to Twilight.
“Twilight we are going out for lunch.” Twilight looked up from her menu in surprise.
“What! Why!?”
“Because I'm in the mood for simplicity. Now come on.” Cadance used her magic to take the menu out of Twilight hooves, then summoned her bag of bits. She's gotten better with the whole magic thing; at least with the basics, beyond that she still had much to learn. “Besides you shouldn't be cooped up in the castle or the library all the time.” That got groan from the filly. “Oh come on, it's not Night Eternal if you go outside every once in awhile, and maybe make some friends.”
“But what about my studies?” she whined. Cadance glanced back at Twilight.
“Studies aren't everything Twilight. You could be the most knowledgeable mare in all of Equestira, but still be utterly stupid. Experience is the ultimate teacher, Twilight. Even aunty will back me up on that; and I've recently discovered how important friends can be.”
Cadance had to admit that Sapphire and Fleur had really grown on her; and had been there to help her with her recovery. Most importantly; they had willing accepted the new Cadance. She actually had fun hanging out with them, and did so whenever she could.Twilight looked thoughtful and they continued on.
Once outside the castle grounds Cadance surveyed the area for a suitable place to have lunch. She saw Donut Joe's, but she wasn't in the mood for that. After a few minutes of wandering down the main streets, she spotted a Hayburger.
-'You know, I always wanted to see how much alike McDonald's this place was.'- She even noticed an outdoor area, SCORE! Motioning to Twilight;
“Hey, how about Hayburger? We can even enjoy our lunch outside.” Twilight nodded, so they both went in. Cadance did her best to ignore the stares she was getting, and walked up to the counter. The serving stallion, barely out of colthood, looked at her neverously.
“H-how can I-i h-help you your h-highness?” Cadance looked across the display boards above the counter, and the menu on the wall.
“I'll have a double quarter pounder hayburger with cheese, plain, a large portion of hayfries, and a large chocolate shake.” Cadance stepped sideways, allowing Twilight a better view of the boards. “And what do you want Twily?” The filly looked at the menu, and gave her order, and Cadance handed over the bits. The wait for their food wasn’t long, and once they had it, they took their tray to the outdoor tables.
Cadance took a bite of the hayburger, once again surprised and delighted to find it tasted very close to a true meat burger. She tried the fries, and whilst they needed salt, they were otherwise okay. Both mares enjoyed their meal, until Cadance heard somepony talking.
“Is that Princess Cadenza? What is she doing eating at such a commoner establishment?” Cadance looked around till her eyes caught a unicorn couple, whose appearance screamed snobs.
“Well excuse me ‘miss Prim & Proper’; did it ever occur to you that I might prefer a simple meal every now and then, rather than the pretentiously named fair served throughout Canterlot. And what's your problem with the ‘commoners’, as you put it? All ponies, even my aunt Celestia, can trace their lineage back to ‘commoners’. Just because your ancestors happened to be in the right place, at the right time,with the right talents, and earned their place as nobles, doesn’t mean you can go around wearing you family name, and look down on everypony else. And what have you done, other than be born to the right parents? You don’t improve upon that history or success; you suck off it, and brow beat anypony you deem less than you. Take all that wealth and influence away, and let's see if you can survive a single day in the life of a common citizen. I bet you would fail. And before you attempt to call me a hypocrite, I came from the common pony, I made a positive difference to others, and earnt this.” Cadance points to her horn. “Now I am a Princess of Equestria, second only to Celestia herself, and I would sooner stand with my fellow ‘common pony’ then with the likes of you. Oh, and finally, it's CADANCE!” The unicorns looked horrified at Cadance’s behaviour, only reacting by lifting their snouts in the air, closing their eyes and storming off. *CLANG* And they slammed into a lamp post muzzles first. They soon hurried away, blushing in embarrassment. Cadance was laughing the whole time, until Twilight spoke up.
“THAT WAS AMAZING CADANCE!” Cadance was tackled by the filly, and soon returned the hug.
“I only said what is true, and what I believe in my heart.”
It was then she noticed how quiet it had become. Looking up and around, she saw the faces of all the nearby ponies. There were some who had that same air of noble superiority about them; they viewed her with barely restrained contempt, or ignored her completely. But the rest of the ponies, the ‘common ponies’, they all looked at her with admiration, large smiles, and the odd tears. She never had that in her old life, and again she felt the warmth coming from those around her. Attempting to recover from the blush she now sported, but one thing kept nagging at her. She LIKED that feeling from the ponies around her. She liked it a lot.
* * * * * *
The following day, Celestia had Twilight for lessons, so this meant Cadance didn't have to look out for the little filly. Still though, she missed her company. Without a clear objective, Cadance wandered the halls, her mind replaying the events at Hayburger. The feeling she had gotten after her giving the snobs a piece of her mind. She had never felt that before. The closest was what she got from Celestia or Twilight, although it ‘tasted’ different.
Following on from Hayburger, the trip home hadn’t been uneventful. On the way back, they had encountered a couple arguing. On instinct, she used her magic to calm the pair, and reminded them of why they loved each other. She even went and suggested a counselor for them, as a way of keep the rift healed. She wasn’t sure why she had done that. To go out of the way for ponies she didn't know wasn’t something her old life would’ve done; so was this Cadance's magic forcing itself on her? She just didn't know. She accepted that she had to fill in for the Pretty Pink Pony Princess, but she had no clue on all that entailed. Key events were known yes, but Cadance's actual powers were never explained. She needed to get her mind off this, reassert her own will.
By this point, her wanderlust had brought her towards the back of the castle, and near the barracks. The door to the weapon racks was open, and the light glinting of the blades caught her eye. She walked over to inspect the weapons.
“May I help you your Highness?” A male voice said. Cadance looked behind her to see the elder stallion from the recruit training.
“You might be able to....”
“Captain Iron Wall, your Highness.”
“Thank you, I'm interested in learning how to wield these captain.”
“I'm sure that's not necessary..” Cadance interrupted him.
“I beg to differ Captain, if ponies are to follow me and my aunt, then they need to see us ready for leadership roles. Not to mention the fact that I nearly DIED because I didn't have the training to dodge, or raise a shield against, those metal poles. And what happen if I'm ambushed on a mission for Equestria. I will not stand idly by while others die to protect me, I will NOT be a helpless pony!” Cadance gave the captain a determined look and she saw him relent.
“As you wish princess, give me a minute to find you a trainer. Though I have to say; I’ve been told you had a way with words, and you certainly don’t disappoint” She nodded her thanks, and waited as he left to find a trainer.
The captain soon returned, with another armoured unicorn in tow. This one was a mare in her mid twenties. She trotted up and saluted to Cadance, who returned it.
“I'm Lieutenant Gleaming Shield, Princess, and I will be your weapons instructor.”
“Thank you Gleaming. I would also appreciate it if you could treat me like any normal recruit, lieutenant.”
“Very well ma'am. Where do you want to start?” Cadance looked over the rack, and picked up a sword. Gleaming Shield looked over the choice. “Very nice choice Princess, a very balanced weapon. Now, Recruit, we shall begin.”
Over the next three hours, Gleaming taught Cadance the basics of unicorn sword fighting, keeping to her word to treat Cadance as any other recruit, chastising her when she did a poor parry or lunge. Cadance took it in her stride, and did her best to follow the instructions.
“Okay that's good enough for today Princess. Your eagerness is good but we do have work ahead of us. Are you free tomorrow afternoon?” Cadance nodded. “Good, then report here tomorrow at noon. Note, I am training another recruit in the art of the sword, so Her Highness Princess Celestia has suggested you two should train together.” She nodded and Gleaming Shield left.
Cadance followed her training session with a relaxing bath, till her friends showed up, then they all went out to town. She endured all the girly stuff they did, as long as they knew not to try it with her. Fleur and Sapphire were fun to be around. Their joy was infectious and they helped to further relax her. She wished she had had friends like this in her old life, even if they make her sigh and roll her eyes on occasion.
* * * * * *
The next day started as a typical one for her. Breakfast with Twilight and Celestia, magic and political studies till lunch. But now she had combat training. Gleaming Shield met her at the entrance.
“Good afternoon Princess, how was your day?”
“Pretty good lieutenant and I'm eager for today's lesson.”
“Good, let's head in and get started.” Gleaming smirked. There was a glint in her eyes, and Cadance became suspicious. But before she could ask anything, they were in the training room. Already in there, slowly going through blade moves, was a certain white furred stallion, with a dual blue/light blue mane and tail, and blue eyes. Also known as, Shining Armor. He looked so good going throu.....'No, NO! BAD BODY!' After fighting off the female urges of her body Cadance had only one thought in her head.
'TROLLESTIA LIVES!'