Every week, Cadance and Celestia used to have tea and discuss everything. Now that Cadance has become Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, ruler of the Crystal Empire, those weekly tea sessions have gone away. So Celestia decides to visit the Empire, unannounced. Why?
Because, as Cadance is about to learn, when you are a Princess, making a pot of tea is more than just making a pot of tea...
Set in S4, before the events of Three's a Crowd.
Non-mature FB on 3/22/14. Mature FB on 3/23/14.
Added to Twilight's Library on 3/23/14.
NOTE: Rated E for everyone, but if this was a movie, I'd rate it PG for Adult Situations. These ponies have a serious talk about life and s--t.
Prompt suggested by Skeeter the Lurker. ("Cadance and Celestia have tea.")
Pre-read and edited by Cola Bubble Gum and Sharp Spark.
I don't know who made this amazing picture. If you know who, or are that person, PM me for credit. ARTIST FOUND!
Thanks, Xeadin!
Still amazed you made this from that.
I really am.
~Skeeter The Lurker
Very nice!
This took a few interesting twists and turns, and ended on a very upbeat note that left me with a smile, and not just because of that final line.
Excellent!
One time a picture leaked out of me some tea from Roam
I found a problem
She then prepared her own tea, sans lemon.
Sans?
4118672
so the first thing was a goof and I fixed it.
As for the second, READ A BOOK!
4118681 lol well excuse my middle english
its a bit rusty
Found a typo:
- hole, unless you meant "a hold on"
A lovely little story. Always nice to see Celestia's softer side. And you seem to share my view that Celestia's not so much omniscient as she is a good improviser with an incredible poker face.
Though I'm not quite sure this story warrants a "sad" tag.
4118723
Fixed. I added that line in the last edit, I should have edited my last edit.
4118730 wow you're fast
4118723
Maybe? I wish we had a 'wistful' tag.
Squeee! A very cute story indeed!
And now, a few notes:
I snorted my tea when I read that (yes, really, although it was red tea, not black). I can totally see this happening, and it is now part of my headcannon.
Did you mean "a HOLE in my heart?"
That line should not start with a colon.
This line confused me. I know it's subjunctive, but it's a very confusing one. It would make sense if Cadence had became Princess and/or Empress by marrying into it, as then she might, even in jest, imagine that she gained her kingdom because she married. But Shiny married HER to become Prince, so I'm just confused why Celestia would suggest such a thing, even as a rhetorical question.
And finally, tea is delicious. I heartily recommend it.
4118737 Wistful!
That's it, that's the perfect word. You're right we need that as a tag.
Yeah when I read the description of this story, I knew it was going to be good. But wow you made it really good. Like that was on par with Pinkie Watches Paint Dry! Come on people we need to get this in the feature box!
Celestia plus tea always seems to equal a good story, even if it's about how much she hates it.
Here, it's a fantastic look at a woefully under-explored relationship, a great piece of Mentorlestia, a fascinating look inside Tia's mind, and several dozen kilocalories worth of heartwarmth.
Thank you for this. Especially the mental image of Luna channeling Thor come teatime.
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Not gonna lie, that Thor gag never gets old.
There's an awful lot to like about this story. You've got some nice insight lines for Celly, Cady and a couple good Shiny ones too, but I think my absolute favorite part of the story is the tiny little bit where you describe the palpable relaxation of the crystal ponies once they've got something, anything, written down. It feels very genuine and poignant.
Anyway, yes, lots of good Celly and Cady content. As an actual work of craftsmanship, I have a question about the structure, which feels a little lopsided. The first third of the story has the narrator telling us Cady's side of things while we get a running Celestia monologue in the background. Then we move into a short conventional dialogue-driven scene, leading up to a 100% uninterrupted Celestia monologue (as in the beginning, it's sort of a telephone monologue, as we can see that Cady is participating, we just can't hear her talk). This is... sort of a curiously inconsistent relationship between the three principals (Cady, Celly, and the narrator). I feel kind of like what you were trying to do is compare Celly's patient, instructive nattering about tea to her patient, instructive nattering about ruling a kingdom and making an interesting juxtaposition there, but the fact that the narrator is now absent for part three made this too weak to be a good callback to part one. On the other hand, if it's not a callback to part one, I have no idea why the story is structured the way it is. Why does the third part shift to the monologue form, in your mind?
Despite this one craftsmanship question, I really enjoyed this piece. You've advanced a lot of very good ideas and scenes. Happily faving; thanks for writing!
(P.S. Check your pluralization of "neurosis," which is the singular form. I think you're looking for "neuroses" instead.)
4120112 I'm sorry, I'm too busy losing my shit that one of my favorite writers has faved and commented on my work to respond to your valid criticism of my work.
But if it helps, I know it was a weird choice, but I wrote this story in one night and it just felt right. My BPFF and main editor didn't like the gear shift in act three either. But I felt like that's how it had to go.
4120161
Following your instinct is fine; there's no particular need to justify "it just felt right" on your part. Just commenting that it felt like you were going for something you didn't quite achieve, and I was wondering if it was my imagination that you were going for it at all. If that makes sense?
A very nice story. Celestia was spot on, both in her dialogue and her actions.
My only personal nitpick is the Cady nickname. It doesn't feel right. Like so many stories and Lulu.
I have over 600 chapters on my RIL list, and what do I do? I read random stories out of the feature box. Pray that you never have to depend on me to fulfill any obligations.
Where did you get the idea to tag this sad? Sure Cady breaks up a little at the beginning of her section, but pretty much the entire third part consists of Celestia telling her how awesome she is. There's really not a lot of room for sadness after that point, and I generally contend that the tag should be reserved for stories whose central theme is sad or sadness and is likely to sadden the reader.
I'm also not quite wonder whether you're omitting all of Cadence's lines in the third section, or whether it really was entirely Celestia monologue. I don't really have any beef with the stylistic choice, but I feel like it caused ambiguity where there wouldn't be any normally. For most of the time, it does seem like it's purely Celestia talking over non-verbal reactions, but at the end this stretches a bit thin when she seems to respond to actual questions from Cadence.
I have a bit of a problem with Celestia's voice. You say early on during Cadence's opening section that she tends to speak in riddles, but then when she shows up she's about as frank as I've ever seen anyone write her. On the other hand, while I thought it was a bit, well, telly, I really quite liked the parts where you make note of Celestia's non-verbal conversation tactics. If there was a way to be a bit more subtle in describing them, it would be perfect in my book.
All that said, I did find this to be an enjoyable little read. I think my favorite recurring element of the conversation is the "Hymn Thing". It comes up multiple times, and each time expands on it's meaning. Celestia's comment that it's not about what verse she's reading, but that it's being read at all was an excellent conclusion to that thread. Oh, and way to set up continuity for Cadence's visit in Three's a Crowd. I noticed you put in quite a few nods to show events. I'm not sure whether I can really appreciate some of them, (looking at you, Flash) but they're good to have.
So when did Luna get back from Asgard?
Wonderful, as usual. Since when does Einhander ever fail?
Hearth's Warming Eve. Hearts and Hooves Day. Unless one or both of them is feeling punny.
Ah, a delightful tea time. :D
"Neurosis" is singular; you want the plural, "neuroses". Didn't spot any other errors, though, and it was a very enjoyable story.
i.imgur.com/6MrWqNZ.png
Oh my goodness... this particular fic is the first I've ever read from you and I have to say this.
You are bloody blistering amazing.
I could not even comprehend how much time you spent making and writing this wonderful piece of SlOLi. I do have to say that it was wonderful how you integrated the reason on why Cadence went to visit ol' Twily in "Three's a crowd."
And to that, ANOTHER!
*browses your stories*
(I also love the Chrysanthemum Tea song; uncomfortable for the general populous, beautifully crafted for me and others who view things differently.)
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What nice things to say. If you like this kind of SOL, check out my stories Baking is War, Sister, or Royals.
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Will do, mon capitan!
Excellent take on Celestia and Cadance. Shining and the crystal ponies too, from the descriptions we get of his actions and their reaction to their new royal family. Great story, Ein.
Ah, this was excellent. Truly enjoyed it.
I love you
I'm married to my videogames. Ain't nobody gonna get between us. Except for a controller, every now and then.
4120404 Better than Loony... though tbh, Lu is also something I'd find acceptable as a nice nic.
*slow clap*
That was pretty darn impressive.
I LOVE IT
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You called the moon a planet
you could call it a satellite instead, or just a rock or whatever.
4124821
I think Celestia meant that she didn't want to accidentally go all "Majora's Mask" with the moon, accidentally dropping it onto the world.
Am I the only person who thought about Uncle Iroh throughout this?
AND NOW WE RUN!!!
4125132
...Yes? i get what she meant, i was referring to when she said "there was precious cargo on that planet".
Just a relative nitpick, but sicne there isnt an alternate universe tag on it, i might as well point out:
It should be known that in the canon Cadence started as a pegasus, not a unicorn, before being stricken with the alicorn disease.
4125576
You know, I went back to re-watch her debut episode, and in the flashbacks she has a horn and wings. So, I dunno, man.
img3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120427015156/mlp/images/a/a2/Cadance_and_filly_Twilight_chanting_S2E25.png
4125585
The chapter books, man. The chapter books, they are canon. Crystal heart spell has the words "when i was young, I was just a regular pegasus pony, just like everyone else."
god, i must be overly obsessive if i read the official fanfictions.
EDIT: Wow, if I am going at it about a nitpick, i must have liked the story enough to not have any other more meaningful criticisms. good job!
The only thing I disliked about this is the mention of Flash Sentry.
I dislike him and the movie he's connected to.
4125625
Yeah, but he's in Three's a Crowd, so.
4124821
By the ancient Greek definition, it is a planet. As is the sun.
I'd just like to say that this fic deserves every single one of its 172 upvotes. Good job!
Excellent work. I will admit it could use a little smoothing of transitions, but normal conversations tend to have sharp changes in direction anyway, and I'm not sure if smoothing it would help or hurt the end result. Which is tea.
No time to read this just now—work and all that, but you certainly have my attention.
4126477 I look forward to your eventual thoughts.
4125585
But that just raises further questions! Why wouldn't a third alicorn in all of Equestria stick in Twilight's memory? Cadance clearly wasn't simply a babysitter, she was a highly unique biological specimen. Inquisitive Twilight never asked questions about this? Somehow Twilight forgot Cadance's full name?
No, no, nothin' about this hangs together right! Something's up, see. Someone's lying, maybe Twilight's memories or the narrator or . . .
Bravo!