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A young Cadance has a very important question for her mentor, Princess Celestia, with answers more difficult than she'd expect.
Proofread by ElderXelpud. Cover art is by plainoasis. Contribute to the TVTropes page! This is the second story in stand-alone Four Loves of Cadance continuity: (Agápē/Storge/Philía/Érōs)
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Rather enjoyed this. Good title, as well.
Great work, as always. This one was lighthearted but certainly didnt skimp on the worldbuilding.
Also I still love your slightly dorky Cadance
Not too shabby, keep it up.
They're definitely 'laser spells'. *authoritative nod*
7469467 Agreed, she was very much an uncertain-teenage Cadance, and well done.
Laser spells sounds super amazing
Storge, Agape, Eros and Filia. will we have a version of the other three?
7472369 No, it's just this one.
And here I was expecting a spit take.
Oh dear. Cadance, you didn't know.
Also laser spells sound cool
You seem to be contradicting yourself here. Yes I love that you use the cannon of Cadance being a pegasus before she was an alicorn. But here, you make it sound like she wasn't.
Or did I miss something later on?
Love the story by the way.
8793876
Aaaaaa there is a small oops in there that I have just corrected. Thanks for spotting and reading!
Cadance as a filly craning her neck to see the papers Celestia had is an adorable picture.
I am confused about one thing though. I think the Sun Princess' response to Cadance asking about her family was an uncharacteristic overreaction - I know this is as much stated in the story, but unlike Cadance, I even knowing why Celestia was upset don't understand why she reacted that way. If she didn't want to answer the question she could have simply said as much, instead of abruptly leaving a guilt-ridden filly in her wake without even a pacifying reassurance - so that the child wouldn't blame herself for upsetting an adult she clearly looks up to. I feel like for that reaction to make sense, we would've had to have seen things from Celestia's POV, where more information might reveal itself and render her actions more easily understood.
Nitpicks aside though, it's nice to read about a story focusing on a younger Cadance/Celestia relationship, as I usually come across stories about younger Twilight and Celestia. Thanks for sharing.
9726257
Cadance specifically asked about if Celestia had parents and what they were like. Celestia didn't expect the question (and probably not anything that specific) and got upset. So, it's not just something unexpected but something she wasn't comfortable with answering. When Cadance finds her to comfort her and ask about things, she then asks Celestia if she has a family, just in general. Because Celestia initially answers the question with another question ("Do you see any?") she's essentially deflecting and try to get Cadance to conclude no, which Cadance does.
Celestia is playing off her own reactions through the eyes of a wee Cady. She had to have some form of a family, and the reader also goes into the story knowing that she had Luna. She does mention having a distant (in emotional/closeness sense) cousin, but tries to nudge Cadance towards thinking she has no closer family with how she talks, but when Cadance asks her about family, Celestia has a personal, emotional reaction. She's had some long buried family/parental issues that Cadance unknowingly shocked her about, that's about it.
Young Cadance and Celestia stories still seem to be something of a rarity, sadly. If you haven't read anything by Skywriter, I'd suggest looking at some of his work, because he's written them before. The Momlestia and Mom groups also have some stories with them.
9726506
I have read a handful of Skywriter's fics, yes. Thanks for reminding me, there's probably more from the author I should give a read.
Yes, but my point was that that isn't Celestia's style at all. If someone were to ask her something that upset her, she would be more prone to a slight "outburst": "Do you see any?" in a cold tone. Which she would quickly follow up with: *sigh* "I'm sorry. Family is a sensitive topic for me. I would rather not discuss it at this time."
She's always been portrayed as a pony who's acutely aware of others in conversation, and even her more unpleasant reactions are considered tempered in comparison to how others would react in her place. She has been around so long, that she sees everypony else as her children, so that's why Luna can draw out more terse reactions from her - being her equal.
Even if she were somehow pushed beyond her comfort zone with a question from a citizen that made her want to leave abruptly, she would probably say something like: "I'm sorry, it's been a trying day and I feel unwell. You'll have to excuse me." But storming off wordlessly after a child asked her a question really isn't something I can see her doing at all. She would be too sensitive to just walk away knowing that Cady would feel like she had driven her away. She cares too much.
9727221
That's kind of the point, though: somepony who is very peaceful composed having a reaction of shock to something they felt was buried and that wouldn't be asked of them. Cadance accidentally hit a nerve she didn't know existed because nopony else knew it existed.
So are Celestia's parent merely mortals who died? If not is there some other story I should read to understand how she came from two beings, but not a mother and father?
9745570
It’d be optional, but essentially she had issues with her family and covers it up here by giving Cady a safe alternative story. By her reaction she clearly has some kind of a family, but isn’t tied with them. Her parents are unknown and Luna is banished at the time.
Sunset is SEETHING somewhere right now.
10572849
She’s sizzling enough to cook bacon!
Oooh, additional backstory on your doofy, awkward teen Cadance is nice to see. Given her canonical Italian-ish naming convention, I like the references to the accent, the Old Country, and the canals. Clever.
Her being shy and apprehensive given her canon backstory and this interpretation of her heritage adds to how down-to-Earth she seems in your other works.
Celestia's reaction did seem a bit over-the-top, but given that your Celestia hasn't taken the Luna thing well at all, I can accept it. (The fact that Cadance herself points it out helps a bit.)
A nice vignette, this one, shining a bit more light on your unique take of both characters. I'll have to read Philia and Eros next, though I notice there's no Agape (unless I missed it)? Was that a deliberate choice, or is that story going to be written at some point?
10650477
Agape is Cadance’s back story, and planned to be a novella. It hasn’t been written yet because of how big of a project it would be. So, it currently doesn’t exist.