((A/N: I'm back bitches! If anyone is still interested in this story, there are 2 more chapters in progress and a whole new arc PLANNED out! That's right folks! I've planned something!))
It was a normal Friday night, with me and Skye curled up on the big settee waiting for Luna to come home. I was sat with one of my old "50 funny things that a non-unicorn can do with physics!" editions, and Skye was busy chatting with one of her friends on her new Troglodyte-made phone. The troglodytes were a technologically advanced race of small monkeys, which Luna had discovered on one of her lengthy diplomatic missions. They had been living in the heart of the rainforest in a structure similar to the 'Eden Project' from earth, hidden from pony-kind until Luna literally came crashing through their front door after tangling with a particularly springy vine in the canopy, which had catapulted her carriage into the gates of the Troglodyte complex. Having learned from me a little about man's technology, she immediately recognised the sleek silicone-based tech embedded in the wreckage of the door. The rest, as they say, is history. The Trogs, as they prefer to be called, were in a dire predicament which Luna was able to solve, and now the Trogs were an integral part of the Equestrian community. Back on topic, Me and Skye were just snuggled up together, waiting for Luna to get back home.
"Dad, why's it taking Mom so long to get home?" Skye asked, looking up into my eyes.
"I don't know sweetie, maybe Aunt Tia needed some help with the Nobles, apparently some houses have been making nuisances of themselves." I replied, reaching around her with my foreleg, rubbing her arm with a hoof. Just as I turned back to my book, the front door opened with a click. "Speak of the devil..." I said, moving Skye off me to go help Luna with her things. What greeted me in the doorway, however, was not a pretty sight. Luna's mane was everywhere, parts of her coat had been messed up, and she was sweating profusely, like some kind of unholy pig-teenage-boy hybrid. "Wow, get hit by a thundercloud love?" I asked, curious as to why she was in such a state.
"Feel absolutely knackered, I'mma go bed now. Night Skye." she replied, already trudging up the stairs. I stuck my head back into the living room to talk to Skye.
"I'm going to go up with Mom, she looks real rough tonight sweetie..." I sighed, and Skye nodded her understanding. I climbed the stairs, and got to the top to find Luna leaning heavily on the door frame to our bedroom. I rushed over, and pulling her weight onto me with a wing I walked her to the bed. "Are you okay Lulu?" I asked, concern plastered over my features. She just grunted and rolled under the sheets, wrapping herself up in a cocoon of duvet. I climbed in next to her after switching off the lights, and pulled her over to me, resting her head on my neck and gently nuzzling her mane while she cuddled with me.
"I don't know what's wrong Maxie, I just feel so bad..." she said softly as she buried herself deeper in the fur on my neck. We lay like that, and Luna finally drifted off into a light sleep, with me following soon after.
***
Luna woke me up by ragging the duvet of the bed and opening the curtains with a flick of her head.
"Up! we're off to Canterlot!" Luna chirped as I rolled out of the bed. "We've got to get ready for the Wedding!"
"What wedding?" I groaned. "You never said anything about a wedding."
"Twilight's little brother is marrying Cadence!" Luna chimed once again.
"Cadence?" I asked.
"My niece!" Luna said, with the same unnerving happiness as before. I did a double take, but then I just sighed and shook my head. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier, but this is news to me too..." she explained.
***
An hour and a half later, all three of us were ready for the long journey to Canterlot. We waited patiently outside the front door for the carriage to arrive, and it showed up right on time. As I called a friendly hello to the guards, the door shot open and we were dragged in by a wall of purple.
"What the..." I said, bewildered.
"Sorry, but there is a threat around and the less time you spend in the open the better!" said a young looking stallion with an electric blue mane. "I'm Guard Captain Shining Armour, Twilight's little brother." he happily proclaimed, his helmet slipping over his eyes slightly. He nudged it back up with a hoof, his head-splitting grin unnerving to say the least.
"Definitely a Sparkle" Luna said, giving a soft chuckle as the young Stallion proudly regaled us with stories of how he became Guard Captain, along with Skye-level 'Awww' inducing tales of his foalhood with Twilight. As we neared Canterlot, Shining Armour visibly tensed, his muscles visibly bunching under his skin. A spark flashed from his horn and a giant purple shield appeared around the city, with a small opening to allow us through. as we passed into the sphere, the hole sealed shut and the barrier faded out of sight once again. Skye gaped at Shining Armour as I raised an eyebrow at his impressive feat.
"Are you powering the whole barrier Captain?" I asked. A small smile spread across his face.
"Yes sir! It's tiring to say the least but I'm doing my best!" He said proudly.
"Well, I'm glad you're to one to marry our niece Shining. If you can keep this up, you can protect her easily." I remarked as I analysed his signature. He was powerful. A wall of magic radiated from his horn as he lifted the curtain over the window on the carriage to look out. I finished the analysis as we landed on the pad outside the palace. We stepped out and were greeted by a pink Alicorn with a heart-shaped cutie mark.
"Glad you're back Shiny, I was getting lonely!" she said, her eyes growing impossibly large as she fluttered her eyelashes at him. She stiffened as she looked up and saw Luna standing with me and Skye. "Aunt Luna, its so good to see you!" her voice was straining ever so slightly, and her smile showed gritted teeth. Having been a compulsive liar for a long time, I picked up all these ticks when everyone else wrote it down to pre-wedding nerves. "Good to see you too Uncle Max and little Skye!" her eyes flashed green as she looked at Skye, who immediately started firing questions at her as they walked away together, with Skye wanting to 'get to know' her cousin. Shining followed behind Cadence obediently as me and Luna walked together to our chambers to unpack.
"Something seems off about Cadence, Lu..." I whispered in Luna's ear. "when she was talking to us I was seeing so many nervous ticks that it couldn't have been nerves. Even you weren't that jumpy and you get nervous about going to the Library."
"I know Max, but what can we do? There's nothing wrong with her at all besides that." Luna sighed as we neared the Lunar Suite, or Luna's bedroom as it is more commonly known. As we approached the door, the two guards infront of the door snapped their wings out to block our passing. "Guards, allow me into my chamers at once!" Luna said as she employed a small amount of the fearsome 'Royal Canterlot voice'.
"No-one goes in or out of Princes Mi Amore Cadenza's chambers without her permission!" said the hooded guard. I recognised him as the ranger that had been our freind since I arrived.
"Link? What's going on?" I asked, surprised. "Those are our chambers!"
"Princess Cadenza has taken this room as her own for the Wedding, you are to sleep in the Guest wing." Link said with a steely voice. "Leave before we have to use force, Princess." Luna lead me away before I caused a scene.
"This is wrong. No-one is allowed into those rooms beside me, you, Tia, Skye and Ali!" Luna said as panic crept into her voice.
"We can't do anything, Lu! She even has the guards on her side!" I hissed as my indignation became clear. We walked into the guest wing and found an empty suite.