Magic of Love: A Twidance Prompt Collab

by ArguingPizza

Candlelight by Fuzzyfurvert

by Fuzzyfurvert
~~~

Cadance glided numbly in on a brisk breeze gusting up from the south. She touched down on the balcony landing area with a lightness in her landing that surprised her. She was nearly there.

Shining Armor’s office was located in the wide, lower levels of the Crystal Palace where he could oversee both the security and municipal planning that had consumed so much of his time lately. Cadance suspected that he really like it because it let him avoid the throne room and association with his formal title as Imperial Consort.

“Consort indeed!” Cadance snorted as she pranced in from the balcony. A pair of blocky crystal pony stallion guards stood on the other side, flanking the door. They saluted smartly as Cadance passed them. After a few more steps, Cadance paused and turned back to them. “Excuse me gentlemen, but have either of you seen my husband come up from his office yet?”

“No, your Highness. Consort Shining Armor has been in a meeting the past hour.”

Cadance frowned. “Oh. That’s too bad.”

“Shall we alert him to your return?” The guard on the left - she wanted to say Quartz Vein - tilted his head as noticed the state of her coat and mane. “Are...are you alright, your Highness?”

“It rained.” Cadance forced herself to smile gently but it didn’t reach her eyes. The tingle was getting stronger. “Don’t bother, I’ll fetch him myself.”

She passed more guards and several staff ponies as she made her way downstairs. She waved off their questions and their stares, smiling as she did so, but each time she used her prepared excuse it sounded more and more hollow. The lower levels, when she reached them, were considerably more populated than the palace proper above. More staff, more guards and a fair amount of the general public and governmental workers filled the various halls and rooms even into the later hours of the evening. They bowed to her as she weaved through them until she reached the large offices of the Crystal Municipalities Corps.

Several desks, each topped to overflowing with paperwork, marched in neat rows from front to back in the main room. Office ponies filed, copied and collated maps, files and public notices in bright candlelight from the overhead chandeliers. Shining’s office was located at the end of the long room. Cadance swallowed as she looked down the gauntlet of desks and and at the ponies at each one that were slowly coming to a standstill as they noticed her.

The place got very quiet.

Candance swallowed and nodded to everypony. She’d left the smile back at the last major intersection. Her mane was even more frazzled than before and her coat looked like it could use a good brushing. She kept her tail clamped down tight as she walked stiffly to the door marked with her husband’s Cutie Mark.

---

A purple hoof reached up and fumbled along the edge of the Equestrian Judicial Authority Library table. It gripped there for a moment before pulling a jumbled stack of papers to the floor. The pony it belonged to groaned before trying again to pull herself upright.

Twilight grunted as she righted herself and rubbed her forehead with one hoof. Her vision swam and she felt more than a little nauseous. Nothing felt broken, but that didn’t rule out a concussion. The flame-lights from enchanted candles danced wildly and each turn seemed to drive another painful spike into her temple.

“A little rest and some aspirin should do you well, methinks.”

“Huh?” Twilight looked up and regretted it instantly as the world teetered drunkenly.

A dark blot on the other side of the desk moved quickly and Twilight slumped gratefully into a pair of strong hooves. “On the other hoof, perhaps you should speak to a physician. We never were good at diagnosing such things. Matters of the mind and subconscious have always been Our prevalence.”

Twilight groaned again and rested her cheek against a soft coat that smelled faintly of mint. “Oh, hey Luna. Am I dreaming the concussion, or is this real?”

“Dream or waking, what defines what is truly real?” Luna’s serene face smiled down at Twilight. “However, to answer your question, you are dreaming. We sensed your distress all the way from the castle and came with haste to investigate.”

Luna gently lowered Twilight into a sitting position and settled next to her. She smiled but her eyes looked apologetic.

“What?”

“We must confess, Twilight, that when We found you, We scanned your memories to learn what caused your faint. We know of Mi Amore Cadenza’s transgression and her part in your own existence.” Luna was silent for a moment as Twilight took a deep breath in through her nose. “Do you want to talk about it?”

---

Cadance was almost to the office door when it opened up to reveal just the unicorn she’s come to see. Shining Armor looked startled to see her but a moment later he was by her side.

“Cadance? Is something wrong, sweetheart?”

She opened her mouth, but held her tongue. Cadance wasn’t sure what would come out. Her nethers were on fire and she could feel a trickle of wetness already working it’s way down her leg. The press of ponies around her was too much, she could feel the heat coming of them. It wanted out.

Shining Armor leaned in closer, his voice lowered to a bare whisper. “Cadance, what’s going on? I can smell you, sweetie.”

Cadance shivered as the touch of his breath hit her like a wave of caresses. It wanted him in, now. It just wanted.

“I-I…” Cadance grit her teeth to keep from screaming, her volume as low as she could make it, “I need...the old fix. Dr. Open Heart has...will have...my new blend ready tomorrow...I can’t wait!”

Shining nodded and his horn flashed as he opened the door to his office and gently pushed Cadance inside before closing it again. He turned to the nearest desk and took a quill and a small scrap of paper which he immediately started to write on it.

He looked at the crystal mare that was watching him and he passed her the note. “Take the next train to Vanhoover, go to the address on this note. An old red pony will give you a small package. Bring it-”

There was a loud crash from inside his office.

“Bring it back here ASAP, understood?”

The mare nodded as she looked askew toward the closed door. “Um...ok. What are you going to do, sir?”

Shining Armor took a deep breath and ran his hoof back through his mane. “Do my husbandly duties.”

---

Luna floated one of the envelops from the table down to the floor between where she and Twilight sat. She looked over the cover and frowned. “Our sister shall not be happy with you.”

“No,” Twilight stared at the floor, “I don’t believe she will be.”

Luna nodded. “What are you thinking about, Twilight? Surely Our sister’s impending wrath is not the thing you focus so upon?”

Twilight slowly lowered her chin to rest it on her hooves. “How do I trust her now? I’ve always known Cadance could do stuff like that, but how do I know she isn’t using her powers to make me like her? How do I know if she didn’t enslave my brother when she had that magic overload? He always told me that he fell in love with her at first sight!”

Luna shrugged. “Do you think she has ever done so? Make you like her?”

Twilight frowned. Her head hurt enough that she didn’t need to think this hard on top of everything else. Cadance was a good pony. Right? She shook her head and felt her stomach lurch in time with the world’s wobble.

“Ugh...no. I can feel it.”

Luna dropped the envelope and let it join the pile. “We know she is not a bad pony. Far from it, in fact. We now know that by having a helping hoof in your conception, she indirectly aided Us in being rid of the Nightmare.”

Luna paused for a long time. “Thank you for that again.”

“No problem.” Twilight continued to stare forward. It helped keep the world from spinning if she didn’t move her head. “That’s not what I meant.”

“No, We don’t suppose it was. However, We can inform you that We know not much more than you. You have always been the closest with Mi Amore Cadenza. We were on an extended sabbatical when these events transpired. If you would like, We could ask Celestia for you?”

“No, don’t. I need to talk to Cadance myself.”

“Aye.”

---

It was dark in the office. The air was cool but Cadance felt like her entire body was on fire. Shining’s desk was hard against her thighs where they bumped repeatedly into the edge. That was going to bruise. She didn’t care. She was going to be sore in the morning from her long flight, her delay at the cabin and now this. She didn’t care.

A cup of quills rattled off the desk to spill on the floor. Cadance tried to focus, tried to bring up her old defenses. The quills were the same brand Twilight favored. She’d given Shining a set of them when he took an interest in city planning. She thought about Twilight,her mind desperate for something to latch onto before everything faded into a pink haze.

Cadance could picture Twilight, standing there in the office. Her purple coat glowing in the darkness. Twilight would move up to the desk, opposite of them, her lips parted and eyes almost closed. She could see it in her mind. Twilight was watching.

A part of Cadance’s mind told her that was weird, Shining was in the room. It was more than weird, it was wrong, but she didn’t care. In her imagination, Twilight would reach out to touch her hoof and she could almost feel it. Later - she swore - she would tell Dr. Open Heart about this.

That old familiar feeling ripped through her. It was almost violent in it’s intensity.

Author's Note:

Chemistry Continuity Part 6

Comments

[Iron Nebula]

Man I can't wait to read this the whole way through when it's done.

[Twilight Best Pony]

god, how long will this "arc" go on for?

[Fuzzyfurvert]

4375409
For as long as I damn well please!

In all srsness tho', I'm not sure. I think that I will move this to it's own stand-alone fic soon enough, and then do some more traditional fluffy romance for the prompt like Misago keeps bugging me to do.

[duckboy416]

“Aye.”