• Published 28th Jan 2015
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Daughter of Magic - Moon Glow



The Disappearance of Twilight Sparkle casted a blight of sorrow amongst her friends and family. Will her half-human daughter, Aurora, and her new friends be the cure?

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Chapter 13: A Visit from Aunt Cadence: Part 2

Author's Note:

Sorry this was so late. I was having difficulty putting this chapter together. Mainly with what to do with Aurora and Cadence.

Also, my grandfather passed away two weeks ago and his funeral is this weekend. So I've been bummed for the past two weeks.

Chapter 13
A Visit from Aunt Cadence
Part 2


It was 7 o'clock when Aurora reluctantly woke up. While the Apple Family was up at the crack of dawn doing their chores, Aurora was allowed extra sleep time due to her having only one job on the farm so far. After brushing her teeth and finding a coral pink tank top with little gold designs on it, Aurora brushed her hair before tying it into a ponytail.

Once she was ready, Aurora left her room and made her way to a spot where the orchards met with the rest of the farm. An old pavilion tent was set up with a small table for food and drink. A little ways from the table were baskets for good apples and an old oil drum for rotten apples. As Aurora approached the table, she saw a couple of apple fritters with a canteen of water next to it. Her breakfast, she thought. Seeing that the first shipment of apples weren't there for her, yet, Aurora proceeded to eat the fritters.

As she ate, Aurora wondered what she and her friends were going to do to the Ruins they found the previous day. If it was going to be their secret hideout, Cleaning would no doubt be a priority. At least to her, Safir, and Pumpkin Cake. Pound Cake and Gareth would want to explore, as would Aurora. However, the dust and crumbling structure convinced her otherwise. With Safir staying with Spike at the library, the blue dragonling would have access to the various books kept there, including construction and survival books.

Apple Bloom's arrival snapped Aurora out of her thoughts as the mare set a basket of fresh apples on the table.

"Mornin', Aurora. Ready to work?"

Setting her thoughts on the Ruins in her mind aside, Aurora stretched while slightly grinning.

"Yep. I know the drill."

Smiling, Apple Bloom spoke.

"Alright. Just make sure ya'll stay hydrated. If ya'll need more water than what's in the canteen, head on inside and fill it right up."

After Apple Bloom returned to the orchard, Aurora got to work. It was easy work. Aurora would pick up an apple, examine it for any rot or worms, and then discard the apple in the appropriate container. The first few apples qualified for the basket before Aurora came across her first bad apple. This was one of those times she was glad she kept her human upper body. With her pointer finger and her thumb, she pinched the stem of the rotten apple and tossed it into the drum with a bang.There was a towel next to her in case a bad apple exploded on her. Hopefully, that wouldn't happen.

As Aurora worked her way down the basket, a familiar figure caught the corner of her eye. It was Pumpkin Cake. With a stroller? Curious, Aurora waved her over as she kept working with the apples.

"Over here, Pumpkin." She called out.

Pumpkin rolled the stroller over as Aurora kept up with her work. Pumpkin looked relieved to see Aurora as she approached the girl.

"Morning, Aurora."

Aurora nodded as she spoke.

"Morning, Pumpkin. What brings you out here?"

"I was wondering if you saw Pound anywhere." Pumpkin told her. Aurora looked up to face Pumpkin and shook her head.

"Sorry. I haven't seen him or the guys. I haven't even left the farm, yet. I started working today, so I wasn't exactly paying attention if they were here." She then tilted her head. "Why?"

Pumpkin sighed as she gently pushed the stroller back and forth.

"We're short-hoofed at the shop and I was looking for him. Mom and Pop had to go to Marewaukee for an important catering job they've just remembered, Aunt Pinkie Pie has to mind the store, and I'm foalsitting little Rocky Road, here."

Just then, a chocolate brown baby Earth Pony colt with a white mane popped up from his stroller, smiling and cooing as Pumpkin ruffled his mane. Pumpkin and Aurora let out heartwarming smiles at the foal as Pumpkin continued to explain.

"That means we need Pound to handle any deliveries we get. So far, I've been able to deliver some things with Rocky while we looked for him. I was hoping you've seen him."

Aurora shrugged her shoulders as her thoughts of their secret place returned.

"Do you think he went back to the Ruins?"

Pumpkin frowned at the question.

"He better not. There's no way I'm taking Rocky into the Everfree Forest to find that brother of mine."

Pumpkin had a point. While they haven't encountered anything dangerous, it was still too risky to take a baby with them to the Ruins. So Aurora asked another question.

"Did you talk to Gareth or Safir? He may be with one of them. Or at least they know the way to the Ruins."

Pumpkin was about consider the idea, but her frown returned as she remembered something.

"But I have no idea on where they live."

Aurora gave Pumpkin a new answer.

"Safir's living with Spike for now. You can try the library. And if he's there, maybe he can show you where Gareth lives. All I know is that he lives around town."

Relived, Pumpkin sighed.

"Thanks, Aurora. We'll check out the library first."

After Pumpkin left, Aurora continued to sort apples when she heard a familiar voice cleared its throat.

"A…Aurora?"

Aurora looked to her right and saw Applejack standing before her, looking a little nervous. Though Aurora wasn't sure why. She then took noticed of the new pony next to her. A pink alicorn with a swirly mane of pink, purple, and yellow. She wasn't wearing her regalia and the hybrid wasn't aware of the importance of an alicorn, so Aurora didn't know her occupation. Her friendly smile and purple eyes gave a gentle warmth as Applejack spoke again. "Ah…Ah have somepony who wanted to meet ya, Sugarcube." She then lifted a hoof to gesture to the alicorn next to her.

"This here is Princess Cadence. Co-ruler of the Crystal Empire…" She paused for a moment, as if preparing for an explosion before concluding. "…and yer aunt."

Aurora froze at what she was doing and gaped in shock. Her aunt? Here? Now?! While she tried to restore her cognitive thinking, Cadence, gentle smile and all, spoke to her niece for the first time.

"I'm so happy to finally meet you, Aurora."

Upon hearing her aunt's gentle voice greet her, Aurora's brain resumed function. She had to greet her aunt. After all, it was a polite curtesy and she was family.

"N…Nice to meet you, too."

Cadence could see the uncertainty in her niece's eyes and hear it in the tone of her voice. This was a reason why she wasn't wearing her royal regalia. She wanted Aurora to get comfortable around her. Once she was relax, they could communicate better.

A tactic she used when she used to foalsit. Including when she foalsat Twilight Sparkle.

Knowing that Applejack needed to get to the fields for the day's chores, Cadence gave her a reassuring look.

"How about Aurora and I take this time to get to know each other? I'm sure your family will need your help more than we will."

Applejack was hesitant. While it was true that she needed to get work done, she didn't want to leave the two relatives alone. But they needed the opportunity to get to know each other and all Applejack would do was give off a sense of anxiety, prolonging any bonding the two could accomplish on their own.

Sighing, Applejack spoke.

"Alright. I'll leave ya'll alone. But if ya need any help, just give a holler."

With a nod from Cadence and a slower nod from Aurora, Applejack left for the fields, leaving Cadence and Aurora alone.

Once they were alone, Cadence knew she had to get to work in establishing a connection with Aurora as soon as possible. The million-bit question, however, was "how?" Aurora knew this, as well. After all, this was the aunt she was going to stay with after an undetermined amount of time and it would be better if they'd actually talk about something. And she had just the question to ask.

"Um…I've heard that you used to take care of my mom when she was little."

Cadence breathed a sigh of internal relief. Aurora was making the first contact. This was a good sign. With a nod, Cadence answered her niece's question.

"Yes. I know it's strange for a princess to have a job as a foalsitter, but I enjoyed every minute of it. Especially with your mother. We even have a not-so-secret hoofshake we'd use whenever we greet each other."

Seeing the curious look on Aurora's face had let Cadence know that she had gained her niece's attention. Night Light and Twilight Velvet did say that Aurora was interested in her mother's past as a unicorn, especially since Twilight Sparkle's body had changed thanks to the Gate's magic to fit in with the locals. Of course, there was the question as to why Aurora's body didn't change into a complete pony instead of a hybrid of her parents' species.

Taking a seat next to Aurora, Cadence got an idea.

"How about I help you out with this while we talk? We can talk while we work."

Knowing that she was going to be busy with this job, Aurora gladly nodded.

"I'd like that."

With smiles, both aunt and niece got to work, conversing as they did.


With Pumpkin Cake…

Pumpkin sighed heavily as she approached the library. With her twin AWOL, it was hard handling deliveries while watching little Rocky Road at the same time. She needed her twin. Or at least one of her friends to help her. Aurora was out. She was working on the Apple Farm this morning and it wouldn't be fair for both Aurora and Rocky if Pumpkin were to dump him with her new friend. And with Pound missing, that left Safir and Gareth. Sure, she could call on some friends from school, but most of her friends were on vacation with their parents or were otherwise busy. Only a couple outright refused.

Pumpkin thought of her parents and let out another sigh.

"I have got to start a scheduling system for Sugarcube Corner. Mom and Dad do this at least once a month. From Applewood to Stalliongrad, they forget to plan ahead and remember at the last minute. That leaves me and Pound minding the deliveries and Aunt Pinkie with running the shop."

She halted once she got to the door. Maybe she could convince Safir to help her out at least?

Upon knocking on the library door, she heard the librarian's voice.

"It's open."

Carefully maneuvering the stroller, Pumpkin entered the library with Rocky in tow. Upon seeing her, Spike placed the book he was about to put away down and greeted her with a friendly, though toothy, smile.

"Pumpkin. Good to see you again."

He then noticed the lack of a certain Pegasus colt.

"Where's Pound? Isn't usually with you?"

Pumpkin frowned as she moved the stroller to a nearby window.

"I wish. I'm actually trying to find him. Mom and Dad had to go Marewaukee for a catering gig and left Aunt Pinkie in charge. I'm foalsitting, so I need Pound to make deliveries until Rocky's parents come to pick him up. And I can't make the airborne deliveries. So I'm looking for him."

Pumpkin then proceeded to ask her question.

"In the meantime, can I borrow Safir if he's here? The more help, the better, right?"

As Spike called Safir down, neither the older dragon nor the filly notice the infant colt crawling onto a nearby pile of books. As Rocky Road looked out the window, he saw a butterfly fluttering outside. Fascinated, the colt looked beneath the window to find a large flower pot. Perfect for a landing. With a little extra effort, Rocky pushed open the window and climbed his way down to the ground, using some crates that were placed under there earlier that morning, before proceeding to follow the butterfly.


With Aurora and Cadence…

Back at Sweet Apple Acres, the sound of laughter could be heard from beneath a pavilion tent near the orchards. The source of the laughter came from an alicorn princess and her half-pony, half-human niece, who were enjoying each other's company as they sorted apples.

"Ha-ha! And then Twilight…ha-ha…really thought that if she'd bait the trap with fish oil, she'd be able to catch the Terrible Dogfish with that box trap. All it did though was attract the seagulls to our spot on the beach."

Aurora burst out laughing upon hearing about her mother's failed attempt to catch live specimens. Especially if the specimen was a fictional character from a book Cadence was reading to her. Aurora knew her mother could be gullible at times, but she never expected this.

"Ha-ha-ha! As long as I've known her, Mom never took fiction books so seriously! Ha-ha-ha! I bet the look on everyone's faces was priceless!"

Cadence laughed a little more before calming herself to speak.

"Ha. It was pretty funny after we washed the fish oil out of her mane. Though she did get quite the scolding from her parents. After that, she learned the difference between fiction and non-fiction books and had to sort the books she had again. This time, from fiction and non-fiction with the author's names."

"Still, she was a kid. A 6 year-old, no doubt."

It took a few exchanges between stories, but both Aurora and Cadence were finally relaxed enough to converse without worrying about what the other was feeling. Cadence made a mental note to thank her in-laws for mentioning Aurora's interest in her mother's past. And she got to learn a few things about Twilight on the other side of the Gate, too.

Like the story Aurora told about her mother freaking out about a new Hurricane drill, thinking it was a real one. Had evacuated her husband and 4 year-old child into a shelter she designed. After being told it was a drill, Twilight was glad it was while she was at home rather than at the school she taught. It would've been more embarrassing if she dragged the entire school into shelters for a drill in panic-mode.

"All we had to do to talk was find something we had in common. And that, of course, is Twilight Sparkle. My sister-in-law. Her mother."

Yet despite the laughter, Cadence couldn't help but feel sad. She had missed much of Twilight's life because of the Changelings. Her graduation from High School, her wedding, even the day she delivered her child into life. Heck, she missed her niece's entire life because of the infiltrators. Still, she was given the chance to get to know and bond with her niece before she could grow up and leave her childhood behind.

Cadence also thought of her husband back in the Crystal Empire. Of all the ponies involved with what had happened, he was the one who was hurting the most. Once in a while, she would catch him debating about taking his own life because of the guilt. It took a lot of coaxing from her and visits from psychiatrists to keep Shining Armor from going off the deep end. His world somewhat brightened when he learned that his sister was alive and he still had a chance to apologize.

Then the foalnapping happened.

Without thinking, Cadence spoke softly as she looked at the apples before her. "I wish your uncle was here with us right now. He doesn't know what he's missing." Hearing her aunt, Aurora couldn't help but wonder about her absent uncle.

"Um…Aunt Cadence?"

Cadence turned to her niece, wondering what she had to say.

"If you've planned on visiting me, why hasn't Shining Armor come? I mean, he's my uncle, right?"

Cadence cursed herself at the question. She didn't want to lie, but she also didn't want to tell her niece that her uncle disregarded the threat made before the wedding or that he threw her mother out like trash, changelings or no changelings. She couldn't even tell her what her current guardian and her friends had done at the rehearsal. At least, not until Shining had the chance to apologize to his sister for being an idiot. Still, she had to say something.

"Well, to be honest, he's afraid."

Seeing the hurt look on Aurora's face, Cadence quickly rectified it.

"Oh! It's not you! He actually really wants to meet you! It's just…the last time he and your mother had spoken to each other, it was a fight. A fight he's been regretting for the past twelve years. He just feels unworthy of being your uncle until he reconciles with Twilight. Silly, yes. But he just doesn't feel ready to meet face-to-face with one who had brightened her life, which he had darkened."

This made Aurora curious. Was this "fight" really that bad? Bad enough that her uncle was feeling so horrible that he couldn't meet his own niece, who was the child of his only sister? Cadence wished she could tell her niece the rest of the truth, but she feared the repercussions. If only Shining Armor had come with her, then maybe…

But before Cadence could finish her thought, a panicked voice came from the entrance to Sweet Apple Acres.

"Aurora! Aurora!"

Catching their attention, Cadence and Aurora looked to the entrance and saw that it was Pumpkin Cake. Aurora's eyes widened when she noticed something was missing.

"Pumpkin? What happened? Where's Rocky?"

Stopping in front of her friend, Pumpkin answered her question.

"Huh…huh…I was…at the library… I was with Spike getting Safir. I turned around for a minute and the next… Rocky was gone!"

Forgetting about her job and the company she was currently keeping, Aurora quickly stood up in surprise.

"Gone! What do you mean? Shouldn't he be in the library?"

Pumpkin shook her head in despair.

"We've turned the entire library upside-down! He's disappeared!"

Hearing the crisis at hoof, Cadence made her presence known as she stood up from her spot and approached the filly.

"Calm down. We'll help you find this foal."

Aurora nodded, any questions and concerns brought up by her aunt's calm behavior were dismissed. All she was concerned for was the little foal left in Pumpkin's care. Looking at their work, Cadence calmly made a plan.

"It's been only a few minutes since the last batch of apples was brought to us. By my calculations, it will be at least an hour before the next batch. If we hurry, we should at least find some clues as to where the foal went."

Without a moment to lose (and a quick letter on the table in case the Apples returned early), the unicorn filly led the alicorn and the centaur into Ponyville. Though Aurora was still having trouble running at this point, she was getting better. It wasn't long before they reached the library where a pair of dragons where searching the areas around the tree.

"Did you find him?" Pumpkin asked as the three approached the pair.

Safir, who was the closest, shook his head.

"Not yet. Sorry, Pumpkin."

Seeing the distress in the filly, Cadence placed a calming hoof on her shoulder.

"Don't worry. We'll find him."

Still, Pumpkin could not help but remain upset. Not until Rocky Road was found.

This troubled Aurora greatly. How could the foal have gotten out of the library from his stroller? Aurora had seen the stroller herself and knew that unless he had help or if there was something nearby, there was no way Rocky could have left the library with making some sort of noise.

"Pumpkin? Is the stroller where you left it?" she heard her aunt ask.

Pumpkin nodded, pointing to the library.

"It's in the library."

Curious, Aurora walked ahead of her aunt and peeked inside. Sure enough, the stroller was sitting next to an opened window, its occupant missing.

"Wait a minute. Opened window?"

At the realization, Aurora approached the stroller and looked out the window. It was then she realized what had happened. Leaving the stroller, Aurora called out to their makeshift search party.

"Everyone! I've found something!"

Hearing Aurora's call, the two dragons, the alicorn princess, and the unicorn filly rushed to where she was. Once they were inside, Aurora spoke to Pumpkin with a serious voice.

"Pumpkin. Did you, Spike, or Safir hear any sound when Rocky went missing?"

The three in question looked at each other for a bit in confusion before shaking their heads. Pointing to the window, Aurora spoke.

"Outside the window, there's a stack of crates. Because how the stroller is built, I think you three would have heard the sound of Rocky hitting the ground, maybe crying. Which means he must have climbed out of the stroller and out the window."

She then took another look at the scene added another piece to the puzzle.

"These books here?" She asked, pointing to the piles of books next to the stroller. "That's how he could've gotten out without getting hurt. And from the looks of it, they lead straight to the window."

Spike got the idea as his eyes widened.

"Then he must have climbed down those crates outside!"

Nodding, Aurora stepped outside and gazed at the ground, searching for something near the crates. Curious as to what her niece was doing, Cadence approached her.

"What are you looking for, Aurora?"

Bending her front legs, Aurora reached down to the ground and touched the grass next to the crates.

"Hmm. No doubt about it. He was here."

Aurora then saw something from the corner of her eye. It was faint, but fresh.

"Here's some tracks. And from the looks of it, Rocky doesn't know how to walk yet."

Pumpkin shook her head, but she was still confused.

"His parents are teaching him. But how does that help us?"

Looking ahead, Aurora spoke with certainty.

"It means we have a trail."

At those word, Cadence took to the skies and followed the aforementioned trail Aurora had pointed out. The tracks took her to the edge of Ponyville near the local lake. It was there that she caught sight of a little brown Earth Pony foal chasing a butterfly near the water.

Swiftly, Cadence used her magic to keep the foal from crawling into water while she glided to the ground. While the foal was disappointed that he couldn't catch the strange fluttering creature, he laughed as the alicorn lifted him up with a friendly smile. A slight chuckle escaped from her throat as she flew with the foal back to the group. Upon seeing the foal, Pumpkin rushed to the pair.

"Rocky! Thank Celestia you are safe!"

As she took Rocky, who was still playful, Pumpkin looked to the mare with a thankful smile.

"Thank you so much, miss. I don't even want to think of what would have happened."

Cadence smiled warmly as she looked to her niece, who was just as relieved as the rest of them were.

"Actually, you should thank Aurora. After all, she's the one who found this little one's trail."

Instead of blushing or taking the praise, Aurora just shrugged her shoulders.

"I just used what I had learned in the Island Scouts, that's all."

As the group conversed amongst themselves, Cadence watched as Aurora spoke to her friends and her pseudo-uncle as they wanted to know how she was able to uncover the tracks. Cadence was glad to have the spotlight off of her, but was relieved as Aurora wasn't showing any anxiety. The Princess of the Crystal Empire knew she made a good call by promising to visit her niece every chance she got.

When they returned to Sweet Apple Acres, Cadence and Aurora continued their banter as the Apple Family brought more apples for them to sort. While it may not be an exciting activity as painting or going to a park, at least she was able to bond with her.

By the end of the next day, the two relatives had become fast friends. It was saddening for her to go and leave her niece behind, but Cadence knew there was a certain pony waiting for her back in the Crystal Empire.

A pony who, while eager to meet Aurora, was afraid of his own niece.