As she entered the Council chambers, with Stout Heart and Valiance flanking her on either side, Cadence trotted with a bounce in her step and her head held high. Twilight’s reply, her willingness to aid both in an official capacity and the little spot of personal business, had certainly taken a weight off her shoulders. She could almost just spread her wings and fly off, damn the silly meetings.
If only. She had her duties, and, as much as flying off for a few hours might sound, she had to be good and sit in properly, just like Auntie Celestia.
At very least, the fun she had with Shining Armor the night before would give her a happy enough memory to power through the meeting and go about her day with a great big smile. She bit her lips, giving a little ruffle of her feathers; his strong hooves around her barrel, his breath brushing against her ear as he whispered softly before nipping and nuzzling.
Her tail swished, a heat rose in her cheeks. Ah! Bad Cady! Focus! Letting her feathers ruffle so in front of the Lords and Ladies was hardly becoming.
Shiny seemed receptive to more time together, she chided herself, smiling to the five as they stood and greeted her. Both in that sense and for more dates. We’ll just have to make it a more regular thing.
Maybe a night or two each week where they went off to do something, just like when they were dating. Dinner and dancing at the Iridescent had been a big hit, so perhaps more of the same. Or, something a bit low key, maybe they could start to frequent some more casual places, both as way to unwind after spending so much time in formal settings and, in a more subtle way, to let the crystal ponies see their smiling faces a bit more. Maybe even a nice evening out with a couple friends just to show that, yes, they had their own.
One of the earliest lessons Auntie Celestia had imparted on her: “The face they see is how they view you—a happy princess with a kind voice makes for more trusting subjects, a stoic who speaks coldly or a grumpy princess who growls will be met with fear.”
That could all be arranged later, though. “Good morning!” she chirped, unable to keep her good mood bottled. Sliding gracefully into her throne, she settled in and beamed. “How are we all this morning?”
Each of the respective Lords and Ladies stole a quick look to one another, confusion written plainly on their faces. “Er, doing well, My Princess,” Lord Clear Cut said slowly. “I do hope that you’ve been well since our last meeting.”
“Very much so, thank you! In fact, I’ve got something to share with you all!” Lighting up her horn, she floated a carefully folded scroll to the center of the table and laid it flat. “Princess Twilight Sparkle replied to our research proposal, just delivered yesterday.”
“Oh?” Lady Starburst leaned forward, her wings gave a little flap that betrayed her eagerness to read. An action imitated by her fellow members.
Like excited foals, eager to see if they can go out and play. Cadence hummed and nodded. “In the interest of time, I’ll just go ahead and sum up her answer: yes, she is happy to offer any help she can and is, as is her nature, ever-eager to get started.”
“Excellent!” The Lady of the Beryl district squealed. She stopped just short, her eyes going wide a moment as she realized just where she was. “Er, ahem,” she coughed into her hoof, “I mean, that’s wonderful, My Princess. Hopefully, Lord Alfons of the High Winds will find the offer acceptable.”
“Yes. Shining and I are planning to draft the letter today, actually. For now, we’ll need to get some crystal samples to send to Princess Twilight so she can begin her research.”
Lord Sunstone drummed a hoof upon the tabletop. “Forgive me, Princess, but might I ask exactly which types of crystal you wanted to donate? I mean no offense, of course.”
Nodding, Cadence sat back in the cushion on her throne. “I’d like to send a variety, if that’s not too much an issue. Princess Twilight made mention that she’d like to have a few different kinds, just to see how they reacted with magic. I believe she was also looking into a control variable that we had a bit of… an unfortunate experience with some time ago.”
“Understandable. I suppose we could each send a few samples of crystal from our respective districts.” He hemmed and hawed a bit, tapping his hoof against the table. “Er, if it’s not too much to ask, would it be possible to place one restriction on the matter?”
“I’d be willing to hear it. What’s your concern, Sunstone?”
Stealing a glance to Clear Cut and Starburst, he glanced down at the table, either nerves or in fear of retribution for his dissent. “If it wouldn’t be too much to ask, I would request that the Crystal Heart not be disturbed, My Princess.” His ears laid flat, his eyes flitted up again. “We lost it for so long, and it’s so important to us… I can only speak for myself, but I don’t see many others in the city being too happy with somepony tampering with it—albeit one who helped set us free from, er, his hoof.”
Ah. The sun came up over the hilltop. Of all things the crystal ponies valued—their companionship, the love of their rulers, and the pride in their shining city—the Crystal Heart was a point that everypony, from the youngest foal to the oldest stallion, was passionate on. The Heart was just that: their heart. Without it, their crystalline bodies didn’t glimmer and shine, and the life left the city itself.
Without it, they were lost.
Cadence stood and placed a hoof upon the table, firmly, but without slamming. “Lord Sunstone, everypony, I want to make something perfectly clear: the Crystal Heart will never be removed from its place, in clear view at the center of the city, under my orders. Or those of my husband, for that matter.” She paused to give him a chance to let out a relieved sigh, her lips curved into a kind smile. “Now, there is a possibility that Princess Twilight might wish to examine it at some point, but I’ll have a talk with her. She’ll understand its significance and take care not to tamper with it.”
Lord Clear Cut held up a hoof. “Princess, when you say ‘examine’, how exactly would you mean that she would go about it? Surely, you don’t mean to have her utilize foreign magic on it.”
“Oh, no, no, no! Readings, Clear Cut; Princess Twilight can use some of her lab equipment to take readings on the thaumatelogical activity the Heart exhibits. It’s always active, it could serve as another control, an outlier that’s always active.”
There was a moment’s pause as the council ponies looked to one another. Uncertain grimaces, little winces told the tale, but it was at least a step up from the outright objections of touching the Heart.
Slowly, one by one, each of the five nodded, some more grudgingly than others.
Not quite the rousing approval she’d hoped for, but, as Shining might say, a small victory is still a victory. “Thank you! I’ll be sure to relay that to her. Now, I don’t see anything else on the docket, so unless there’s anything else you wanted to address…”
“Actually, My Princess,” Lord Clear Cut raised his hoof. “There is one thing that I wanted to ask about…” Reaching into a bag he’d stashed by his cushion, he pulled out a memo, written on Royal Guard standard paper. Cadence’s gaze flickered to the bottom, Shining Armor’s signature, neat and well centered, caught her eye. “I sent a memo to Prince-Captain Armor—who seems a bit determined to hold onto the latter portion of that title. My fellow council members and I were curious as to the recruits’ progress and wanted to ask him for the timetable. His response was… well, see for yourself.”
Cadence raised an eyebrow, shrugging as she lit her horn and floated the memo over. She caught sight of the staple at the top left, flipping it over to reveal the original message. As she skimmed over the words, she forced down the urge to groan and bring a hoof to her forehead. Political language and niceties to coax him into answering a question.
There was a distinct need for a glass of wine—or, rather, the whole bottle of Legacy of Harmony. Yes, that would do nicely right about now. Closing her eyes, she inhaled deeply through her nose as she flipped back to Shining’s reply, praying to Celestia that he’d at least been pleasant in how he told them to go climb a tree.
Or, if at all possible, that he’d been patient and explained why taking time was important.
Quickly scanning over his reply, she let out the breath she’d been holding. A bit short with them, yes, but not as harsh as she’d feared. His answer was curt, but maintained the professionalism expected of a pony in his station.
Still, the image of Shining Armor smirking as he jotted down his reply, snickering as he threw in little bits that he just knew would drive Clear Cut batty came to mind. Professional or not, he had a mean streak in him when it came to those things. This particular memo had been nothing short of him telling the Council to take a long trot and let him run training as he saw fit.
Not something she necessarily disagreed with, but telling them to buck up and take it wasn’t what she’d expected when walking in. I’ll just have to give him a little bop for that one.
Smiling, she placed the letter down and addressed the group. “While I can respect your concern as to the timetable, I must remind you all that we spoke on this last meeting and came to agreement that Captain Armor—“ she made sure to place extra emphasis on his rank, drawing a rather flat look from Clear Cut “—would see to the recruits’ training so they would be adequately ready. Rest assure, I will speak with him regarding his tone, but on this, I take his side. Leave the training to the veterans, my friends. When they say our colts are ready, they’ll be ready.”
There was something about seeing Shining Armor a bit uneasy, just a bit off his game, that brought Cadence back to their foalhood days. The way his ears pinned back, how he shifted in his spot next to her and rubbed at the back of his messy mane, just like he would whenever his mother caught him trying to filch cookies from the jar.
To her credit, Cadence didn’t break out into a grin or raucous laughter. Oh, no. Her tried and true method worked wonders on his nerves; the slight raise of her eyebrow, her hooves folded neatly on the table, the memo he’d sent in reply to Lord Clear Cut sat just to her right.
A scene reminiscent of a foal who’d brought home a bad report card.
Of course, he couldn’t know just yet that she found it somewhat amusing to watch Clear Cut stammer about how he only meant to ask about progress, not imply that Shining and his team should speed up the process so they could get him off the field.
Certainly not. And she was a lime green diamond dog.
Still, as appreciated as his barbs were, she still had to deal with the fallout. And if she had to sit through a meeting with the Council of Shards, explaining that her husband wasn’t trying to cut down their right to voice concern, then it was only fair that he got a little bit of it in return.
“Tell me again,” she said, her tone deceptively sweet.
Shining gave a weak smile, ducking his head between his shoulders. He cleared his throat and raised a hoof. “I was just trying to explain to them that we really couldn’t give them a definitive end date, sweetie.”
“I see. And to do that, you couldn’t word it more gently? Or, at very least, without the little shot you put in about—oh, what was it?” With a flick of her magic, she levitated the letter to hover just before her muzzle. “Ah. ‘I will remind you that the fear of soldiers, the very same that the Council mentioned when making their case against this unit’s formation, meant that we had to take a far more different approach than what is used in the Royal Guard Academy’.” Setting the letter down again, Cadence smiled, her eyes locked on Shining’s own. “Shiny, dearest, love of my life. Could you at least try not to be so forceful with them?”
Wincing visibly, he brought his hooves down to the table. “I have tried, Cady! You know that! But they keep pushing and, well, it gets a bit tiring! And, yes,” he continued before she could retort, “I know I need to keep a better lid on my temper, but after wrestling with them just to get the darn program going, I think I’ve earned the right to at least see it through properly.”
A fair point, getting the Council to move on the matter had been like wading through molasses. To be perfectly honest, if he had sent a memo of similar tone while in Canterlot, there wouldn’t be that much of an issue—namely, because the Royal Guard Command would be more interested in why a politician felt he had the gall to question an officer’s timetable than said officer’s bluntness.
In the Empire, he needed to use a bit more finesse; something he seemed to excel at when getting the most out of his guards. Politically… well, to put it nicely, he needed work.
Cadence sighed and leaned against him. “All right. I’ll let it slide this time.” Turning, she nuzzled into his cheek, grinning as she whispered, “Next time it happens, I’m making you sit in on the session.”
“Gee, thanks!” Shining groaned and brought a hoof up to his forehead. “Just throw me in front of a raging manticore, why don’t you?” He ducked a swipe of her wing, sticking his tongue out defiantly.
“One of these days, I’m going to cast a freeze spell on you when you’re like that—and then make you go try to run training. That aside—“ she lit up her horn, floating a sheet of paper, a quill, and an inkwell over to the table “—I believe we have a letter to draft, don’t we?”
His ears perked right up! Shining swished his tail. “Oh, right! So the Council’s still on board, right?”
“Yes, but with one caveat: they ask that the Crystal Heart not be moved from its place or disturbed.”
Shining gave a single, firm nod. “Understandable. I don’t think Twily will have any complaints on that, to be perfectly honest.” Bringing a hoof to his chin, he hummed to himself. “Though, she didn’t bring it up in her reply, so unless she wants to use it as a second control…”
“Right, that’s what I was thinking as well. If it comes to that, we’ll just have to ask that she use monitoring equipment—but, like you said, I don’t see it being an issue. She’s not the same Twily I used to do my little dance with!” Cadence giggled and gave him a little bump with her shoulder. “Now, on to Lord Alfons! Since you know him best—“ she slid the paper over, just in front of him “—you should probably write this up, dear.”
He raised a brow. “Really?” His horn lit up, the quill floated and dipped into the inkwell. “Thought you liked to have a hoof in these letters.”
Feeling a bit cheeky herself, she gave him another nudge. “I do, but you’ve got rapport with him. It’d be silly of me to ignore that and pass up the chance to learn how to address him properly!” With an excited squeal, she pressed closer against his side. “If he brings Lady Helga, I want to make sure we can chat and have mare talk without that awkward tripping over ourselves phase!”
“All right, but it’s gonna seem a bit weird. Griffons have a rather… well, you’ll see.” He snorted, laying his head atop hers as his quill danced across the page. “Anyway, I’m not too sure that Lady Helga will be able to make the trip. She’d just laid eggs right about the time the Empire returned, so she’ll be pretty busy caring for them—not to mention if they’ve already hatched.” His shoulder bumped Cadence’s chin as a shudder ran down his body. “That’s one thing: never come between a mother griffon and her chicks. Getting mauled by that bear in the forest would’ve been preferable—Ow!”
Cadence held the tip of his ear in her magic, twisting a bit, and fixing him with a heated glare as he squirmed against her grip. “Don’t even joke about that!” She crossed her hooves and huffed before releasing him. Her glare didn’t abate as he rubbed his ear.
Predictably, he flinched, a sheepish grin split his muzzle. “Sorry, Cady.” He chuckled, laying his ears flat against his scalp. “I promised not to say stuff like that, didn’t I?”
“Yes. You did! And you’ll get yours for that little shot at how mothers look after their young! I’ve half a mind to send a letter to yours—“
“I’ll be good!” Shining yelped, quickly fixing his gaze on the letter and resuming his work. He gave an awkward cough, his tail flicked. “So,” he began, “anything in particular you want me to mention? Other than the obvious about the crystals, that is.”
A well-trimmed eyebrow raised, the sudden change of subject not going missed. Such a foal. Filing it away for later, she hummed a tune, leaning in to take a closer look at what he had so far.
“To the Honorable Lord Alfons of the High Winds:
“I hope this letter finds you and Lady Helga well, Lord Alfons. I deeply apologize that my lovely wife, Princess Cadence, and I were unable to make the trip to see Lady Helga lay her eggs—the sudden return of the Crystal Empire left most of us in a bit of a whirlwind, and the two of us were asked to relocate and take charge. Harmony willing, we can be present when they hatch.
“On the subject of the Crystal Empire, as you may well have heard, Princess Cadence and I were made rulers of the last city; both by order of the Royal Sisters and those of the crystal ponies themselves, as a result of our actions in defending it against the fallen King Sombra. With that said, we have been working diligently to restore the Empire to its former glory while helping its citizens adapt to the modern age. In discussion of our industry, we found our capabilities for producing iron and ironworks lacking—both of which are your nation’s speciality. To that end, we would like to request an opportunity to negotiate a trade agreement between the Crystal Empire and the Griffon Territories, similar to that between your nation and Equestria.
“In exchange for your resources, we are prepared to offer the Empire’s finest crystal and crafts, as well as a partnership in a research endeavor that we proposed with Princess Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship and former student to Princess Celestia. Exact terms and rates of exchange are, of course, open to negotiation should you be of interest.
“I hope to hear from you soon, my friend. Please give Lady Helga my best.
“Respectfully, Prince-Captain Shining Armor of the Crystal Empire.”
The tune took on a light, cheery pace. Cadence nodded, her muzzle split into a bright smile. “I think it gets the message across quite nicely. Although—“ she swiped a wing across his back, grinning at the way he squirmed as her feathers tickled him so “—I see you’ve made it so it seems like the letter comes from you rather than us! Should I be worried of subterfuge?”
“Ha! Good joke there, and right after you said that I should write it!” He snorted, rolling his eyes. “No, it’s just that Alfons and I go back a few years, so I figured I could play to that. You know how regretful he was that he couldn’t be at the wedding—er, both to celebrate and because he was a just a bit livid when he heard the news of the attack.” Shining shuddered, his ears laid flat against his scalp. “I didn’t keep the letter, but he was fixing to mobilize as soon as he heard. Princess Celestia and I had to calm him down and assure him that the matter had been taken care of.”
Cadence cringed, digging her hoof into the cushion. Shining knew the griffons best through his interactions, but she wasn’t entirely ignorant of their culture.
Legendary warriors, held in the same regard as Commander Hurricane and the legions of Pegasopolis; arguably the most recognizable aspect griffin history, rivaled only by their sense of pride.
The fact that Lord Alfons had been willing to ready his armies was truly a testament to how he valued relations with Equestria, and how highly he held Shining Armor in regard. It was a small wonder he’d backed off when asked; Lord Alfons wasn’t known for his patience when one slighted a friend.
A bit heavy hooved, but a trusted and valuable ally. Smiling, she leaned in to kiss his cheek. “Well, hopefully he’ll be open to discussing terms—he’d be a great trading partner, and even better if we could get him to sign off on an alliance with us!”
“Yeah, I don’t see too much of a problem with the latter. The former, though—“ he wrinkled his muzzle “—that’ll depend on how sweet he finds the deal. At the very least, I want to get him to the table so we can hash it out. See what we can come up with.”
“Good idea.” Another kiss. “Now, you go send that off, Mister ‘I’m buddy-buddy with the big bad Griffon Lord!” Cadence gave him a little shove off the couch, a teasing grin played on her lips. “And when you get back, you owe me dinner plans for the week! I remember that little chat!”
Shining laughed and nimbly caught himself before he fell to the floor. He lit up his horn, a shimmering pink aura engulfed the letter and lifted it into the air, carefully folding it into thirds as he let it float over to his side. “Of course, of course, I remember!” He stole a little kiss to her snout, grinning at how she wrinkled her muzzle. “Well, you think of the when and where and whatnot. I’ll go take care of this little piece of business.”
“I’ve already got something in mind!” She purred, her eyes flashed with mischievous intent.
“Ominous,” he noted, raising an eyebrow at her tone, “so what’ve you got in mind?”
Cadence tossed her mane, fixing him with a toothy grin, playing the part of an innocent filly. “When’s the last time you had the chance to go out to that little ‘stallions night’—“ she raised her hooves to make air quotes “—with Lighthoof, Wind Runner, and the boys?”
He blinked and tilted his head to the side, his muzzle scrunched up. Cadence kept up her smile, waiting as comprehension dawned on him; Shining’s eyes widened, his muzzle split into a big, goofy grin. “Please tell me you’re serious.”
“I’m thinking that it’s been a while since I went out with you and the boys—remember when you’d all go to that pub on Friday nights in Canterlot?”
Shining swished his tail, his ears perked up. “Oh, Celestia, yes!” He cackled and shook his head, his two toned mane whipped from side to side. “I don’t even care if they stick us with the bill this time—the look on Windy’s face will be worth it! He’s still sore that he couldn’t beat you in a drinking game!”
Beaming, Cadence fluffed up her feathers and shifted in her seat, sitting up straight and giving her mane a little flip. “Well, he’ll just have to suck it up and take his beating like a big stallion, because I’m coming! And I take no prisoners!”
Still snickering, he turned and walked out the door, tossing back one last remark over his shoulder, “I’ll be sure to warn the guards that their princess will be on the prowl! Who knows? They could probably use a little training.” He quickly ducked out the door, just in time to avoid the pillow she tossed at his head.
Cadence narrowed her eyes, a smirk graced her muzzle. He’d pay for that comment, sooner or later. Maybe it was time to pull one of her little tricks and get him to help play matchmaker with her.
No, he was wise to those schemes by now. It’d have to be something subtle, something that’d just make him throw up his hooves and surrender.
She’d come up with something for that later. There was still one piece of business left to take care of before she could relax for the day.
Lighting up her horn, she floated another piece of paper over to the table. Cadence glanced fervently at the door, and craned her ears to listen for Shining’s hoof steps. The steady clip-clop of his hooves against the crystal floor grew faint, slowly trailing off while he trotted to give the letter to a courier.
Perfect. That would give her plenty of time to write a reply to Twilight’s letter; those four words, written in Twilight’s neat print, were still visible in his eyes.
Dipping the quill into the inkwell, Cadence set about doing exactly as asked.
For the first time since the meeting with the Council of Shards, she laid her cards on the table.