A Mirror Universe

by PioneeringAuthor

Chapter 2: In Which Cadence meets Shining Armor

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Canterlot
As the sun rose upon the city on the platform, in one of the bedrooms a young filly woke up slowly and got off her bed…. Only then she realized where she was. Happily she walked out of her room and was instantly met by a guard.

The guard noticed her and sighed, “I am to lead you to the dining hall.”

Cadenza followed obediently. Once they arrived, she noticed Luna and Celestia, both smiling softly as they sat at a small table with three seats.

“Oh, You’re here now!” lilted Celestia with a smile.

Luna motioned for her to get the empty seat and, as soon as Cadenza had done so, two servants began bringing in food. Cadenza was surprised as she witnessed the amount of many different kinds of food entering the room.

“We hope it is to your liking,” Luna told her, “We did not know which foods you like more, so we decided to get a bit of everything.” The filly smiled happily and ate, a bit embarrassed as the two older princesses ate.

“Well, how are you liking your new home?” Asked Celestia, smiling warmly as she looked up at her

“I-It’s really nice” She answered with a smile. Suddenly, the same guard from the previous day came in, and next to him there was a young colt around the same age as the youngest alicorn-- he had white fur and a blue mane and tail. As soon as Celestia floated two other seats to the table, he smiled shyly at them and took a seat.

“I am so glad you joined up today, Night Light,” As the mentioned stallion blushed slightly she continued, “And who might be this fine colt?”
The colt in question blushed a bit and smiled, introducing himself with, “I’m Shining Armor,” He looked at them, “And I will be the best guard ever!”

He smiled, then blushed and looked away as Cadenza giggled softly. The two older royals smiled softly as they all ate.

Once they had eaten breakfast, Celestia and Luna went off to their duties, but not before arranging something… soon enough, a young maid was tasked with giving Cadenza and Shining a tour of the castle.

“So… you are Shining Armor?” Cadenza asked as the tour began.

“Yes… and you are?” Shining asked nervously, unsure if he should call her something royal or not, considering how close in age she was to himself.

“I am Cadenza,” the filly answered with a happy smile.

“Caden...Cadence?” Shining stammered, unsure of what sort of name that was.

Cadenza chortled.

“It’s CadENZa, but you can call me ‘Cadence.’”

“Okay, Cadence!”

It seemed that the two were off to a great start, and for the first time in a while, Cadenza was able to fully relax--something about having a friendly nickname comforted her.

---

“Wow! This place is so big!” Shining noted as Cadenza looked in awe, barely believing this was to be her home now.

“This is the library,” the mare stated as she led them into a magnificent room filled with all sorts of books that left Cadenza and Shining staring with open mouths, unable to speak. Cadenza had no idea so many books could be in one place.

Of course, that was merely the beginning.

“This is the grand ballroom, where the Grand Galloping Gala is held every year for a few esteemed guests,” The maid informed them in a hushed voice, for she herself admired this room deeply, and she was all too pleased to see the looks of amazement on the colt and filly’s faces.

“So… THIS is where the Gala is… EVERY year?” Cadenza asked in a whisper.

“Yes it is, Your Highness,” the maid replied with a grin.

“The floors are so shiny,” Shining remarked as he gazed at his reflection in the marble floors.

“Indeed, we try to keep it as clean as possible, right up until the moment the Gala starts,” The maid agreed, with a proud smile, which was perhaps in part due to the fact that she herself had supervised the preparations for the last year.

“How many ponies come to the gala?” Cadenza questioned as she pondered how much dirt must get on the floors every year.

“Oh, many ponies! It varies between years, but it’s often in the hundreds! Not too many past three hundred I would say, though,” The maid speculated as she waved a hoof casually.

“Wow, that is a lot of ponies!” Shining remarked.

“And a lot of dirt,” Cadenza added as she noted the fancy rug in the middle of the floor.

At those words the maid laughed and agreed with, “Indeed, a LOT of dirt.”

The maid showed the two young ponies around the castle premises for more than an hour, since there were so many rooms.

However the maid had to eventually take on other duties, so she got a second maid, with more experience with foals, and who was conveniently free at the moment, to take over. Said maid did so gladly.

“How about we visit the gardens next?” The maid suggested with a bright smile.

“Oh, I would love that!”

“Sure!”

Within a few minutes, they were strolling through the magnificent gardens.

“Now, these gardens are very well taken care of, as you can tell, and there are all sorts of plants and animals that dwell here,” the maid explained, “We have lots of birds, butterflies, squirrels, some monkeys, lizards, many exotic flowers and trees--you name it, there’s a good chance we have it if it’s in season!”

At this point the maid laughed, which made the younger ponies giggle along with her.
Indeed, the maid was correct, and it seemed as if every flower Cadenza eyed was more beautiful than the last, and the birds sang so beautifully that she wished to sit in there forever.

She was taken out of her thoughts when she felt something being carefully placed on her head. It was a flower! but who… then she noticed the colt, smiling at her with a slight blush. After looking at each other for a few seconds the filly giggled and the colt laughed along.

The sun shone brightly on the two, but an even brighter warmth was shining in Cadenza’s heart as she realized that this was the start of a new, much happier life.
Meanwhile, from a window, the two empresses looked at the scene, Celestia smiling softly and happily as Luna watched, also happy despite not letting it show. In the end they both thought the same thing: It was, after all, good to have taken her into their care.