• Published 27th Sep 2016
  • 1,208 Views, 22 Comments

Cadence - bahatumay



Little Princess Mi Amore Cadenza suddenly appears in modern-day Canterlot. Adapting is... hard.

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Chapter 6

Once again, Mi Amore Cadenza sat defiantly on her bed, and once more, Celestia sat patiently nearby. Celestia had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from chuckling. This was definitely not what she'd had in mind when she'd said it felt good to do things for other ponies.

When Celestia was finally certain she would be able to maintain her composure throughout this whole conversation, she finally broke the silence. “You know what I like about you? You're forward.”

Mi Amore Cadenza looked down at herself in confusion. She always walked forward, didn't she? Nopony walked around with their head facing backwards. And nopony walked at all with their heads on backwards.

Celestia noticed her confusion and clarified. “That means you don't dance around what you mean to say or do; you just do it. It's refreshing, really.”

“I don't like dancing,” Mi Amore Cadenza said snippily.

“Then I assume you haven't been taught properly. I shall have to teach you that, as well,” Celestia said with a small smile.

Mi Amore Cadenza made a noncommittal grunt. There was no dancing in the Crystal Empire; there was only work. “Waste of time.”

“Now, I wouldn't go that far,” Celestia said airily. “Some stallions enjoy having a mare that they can dance with. And if you know and he doesn't, you can teach him; and that will endear you to him forever.”

Mi Amore Cadenza grunted again, but her ears did perk up a bit.

“Luckily for you, I happen to know that Shining Armor does know how to dance. It might be a good idea to learn, should you ever attempt to woo him again.”

Mi Amore Cadenza's cheeks tinged slightly pinker than normal, but her eyes remained narrowed and her forelegs remained crossed.

“I'm certain he'll never forget that kiss, either,” Celestia said with a smile. “Though perhaps that part might have been a bit too forward.”

Mi Amore Cadenza scowled harder. “Just you wait and see,” she vowed. “I'll get him next time.” She paused, thinking. “When is next time?” she asked.

Celestia exhaled. “That might not be until later,” she admitted. “That little meeting you interrupted was their last few hours together before the graduation, hence their dress uniforms.” She neglected to mention how much trouble the cadets had gotten in for having messy uniforms in front of everypony. “Everypony who passed basic training is now up for field training.”

Mi Amore Cadenza frowned. “What’s that?”

“That’s further, specialized training. Their first stop is survival training on Foal Mountain.”

Mi Amore Cadenza squinted. “Why do they need to know shards like that?”

Celestia shrugged. “A guard may serve in many capacities and in many locations. He should be trained in many things so he can serve wherever he may be needed.”

“So when are they coming back?”

Celestia paused before responding. “Nine months,” she answered.

“Nine months?! Shards!” Mi Amore Cadenza crossed her forelegs and glared at Celestia. “Fine; but I won't be happy about it!”

“That's reasonable,” Celestia said calmly.

“Stop being so agreeable!” Mi Amore Cadenza shouted.

Celestia shrugged. “Very well. Go to bed immediately, Mi Amore Cadenza, and that’s an order.”

“No!” Mi Amore Cadenza shouted defiantly.

Celestia shrugged again. “I don't know what any of that was supposed to accomplish,” she said calmly.

Mi Amore Cadenza let out an inarticulate roar of frustration. She shot to her hooves and started pushing on Celestia's ribs. “Get out!” she howled, trying to physically push her off the bed. “Out!”

Celestia let her push. “Mi Amore Cadenza, I understand that sometimes things don't go the way you want; but-”

“All I want is for you to get out!” Mi Amore Cadenza stopped pushing, took a step back, and lit her horn. Shards of crystals burst into existence on the floor, and she launched them at Celestia.

Celestia lit her own horn and formed a golden shield around herself, and the crystals merely bounced off. Becoming convinced that her presence was only making the situation worse, Celestia stood and left with a polite bow of her head.

Mi Amore Cadenza’s breath came fast and hard as Celestia closed the door behind her; and she opened the doors again just to slam them shut even harder.

Celestia sighed. It wasn’t Mi Amore Cadenza’s fault, really. With time and a little kindness, she had no doubt that she could get the little filly on her side.

But how much time was she willing to give her?

* * *

Celestia had been alive for a very long time. As such, she had learned much about her little ponies; and especially when they were hiding something. Tiny muscle twitches, little movements of tails and eyes, changes in breathing and heart rate told her a great deal more than the pony in question would be comfortable sharing.

And the guard next to her definitely had something on his mind.

She looked up from her writing and looked at him. Not staring, not scowling; just gentle observation. She waited until his shifting became slightly more pronounced, and then she spoke softly. “Mineral Spark?”

He jumped slightly. “Yes, Princess?”

“Is there something you would like to tell me?”

The guard swallowed. “It’s nothing, Princess.”

Celestia waited patiently. She never said anything; she just waited.

Minteral coughed lightly. “But, uh, if I may… Princess Mi Amore Cadenza has been acting… somewhat strangely recently.”

“Strange in what way?” Celestia asked invitingly.

Her answer came when the door was forcibly kicked open, and Mi Amore Cadenza came in, walking backwards and dragging an overstuffed suitcase. Celestia squinted. If Celestia didn't know any better, she would say it was filled with cookies.

“Mi Amore Cadenza?” she asked.

Mi Amore Cadenza dropped her suitcase and turned to face her. “Life is too complicated here. I wanna go home,” she announced.

Celestia winced. She had been hoping to put off this conversation for as long as she could. “I'm afraid that's not possible.”

“I've figured you out,” Mi Amore Cadenza said, narrowing her eyes. “You foalnapped me. Daddy's looking for me. You take me back right now, and maybe he'll show mercy on you.”

“I'm not sure you'll want to go back,” Celestia said gently.

“Well, it's better than here!” Mi Amore Cadenza spat, working herself into a rage. “I can’t do anything right here! Everything is stupid here! There's not nearly enough crystals, there's too many stupid rules, there's stupid food, there's stupid you, everything is stupid here!” She looked over at the guard and pointed a hoof. “Take me back!” she ordered.

“His patrol doesn't take him that far,” Celestia interrupted quietly. “He wouldn't know where it is.”

“Who would?” Mi Amore Cadenza demanded.

Celestia shook her head. “None of the patrol routes go that far north.”

“Suck shards! I'll find it myself!” Mi Amore Cadenza turned and stomped off, dragging her suitcase behind her. She walked through the door and as soon as she went though, lit her horn and slammed it shut as hard as she could, rattling some of the pictures on the wall.

Celestia exhaled. “That went better than I'd hoped,” she said.

“Princess?” Mineral Spark asked. “Forgive me if I'm speaking out of turn, but she seems quite insistent. She'll likely try again.”

“I know,” Celestia admitted. “What I hope will happen is that she will become discouraged enough to eat a cookie or two, and then realize that it's not so bad here.”

“But…?” the guard prompted.

Celestia sighed. “I doubt it will be that simple.”

* * *

“You, with the weird mane and the ugly glasses!”

“Shh!” the librarian instinctively returned, looking around to see who had broken the cardinal rule of libraries.

Mi Amore Cadenza jumped up on the counter and brought their faces together. “Do not shush your princess, Slave,” she emphasized through gritted teeth. “I have need of your talents.”

The librarian cracked a wry, condescending smile and tapped her hooves together. “Where to begin, where to begin? First of all-”

Her words were cut off as the filly lit her horn, seized her by the throat, and dragged her closer. “You will find me the location of the Crystal Empire,” she hissed, “or I will tear your eyeballs from your skull and feed them to you one at a time.” She released the librarian with a harsh shove, making her fall out of her chair and tumble to the ground.

The librarian coughed, gasping desperately for air. She looked up nervously, cowering under her fierce gaze. Who was this crazy filly, and what was the Crystal Empire? Now quivering with fear, she stammered, “Maps are on the second floor-”

“I've been there, but they were all shards. I couldn't find it. You find it for me.”

“I'm… I'm not actually supposed to leave my desk, and-”

Mi Amore Cadenza narrowed her eyes further, and they suddenly took on a very sickly tinge of green…

* * *

Celestia walked past the library, having left yet another budgetary meeting. She cracked a smile, knowing that she'd secured the funding. Really, cutting money to the library was a terrible idea. Her poor little student would have had a conniption fit if she'd ever heard ponies were even thinking of cutting funding to a library.

She stopped short in her tracks and hesitated. She slowly turned her head to look behind her, hoping against hope that she hadn't seen what she'd seen.

The door to the restricted section was ajar.

Powerful enchantments were on the entrance to that wing. For a pony to brute-force his way past those enchantments, he would need to be nearly on the level of Starswirl the Bearded himself.

Or she could have simply taken mental control of an authorized librarian.

“Mi Amore Cadenza,” she realized in horror. She burst into the wing, nearly galloping down the hallway as she searched for the little filly princess.

But it was too late.

She found Mi Amore Cadenza laying on the ground, surrounded by books on the Crystal Empire (and one hypnotized librarian, standing still, obediently facing the corner as if in punishment). Pictures and artifacts decorated the pages. All of the books were open to the later portions, open to pages detailing the reign and terrors of an evil king. Everywhere Celestia looked, journals and artifacts looked back at her, containing ancient drawings and records, showing dark magics and its effects on the innocent, and even the ways of making an alicorn that were too horrible to consider.

It was damning evidence.

Mi Amore Cadenza looked up at Celestia, defeat and despair written across her face as tears streamed down her cheeks. She had been wrong; so very, very wrong. Her whole life had been a lie.

Sombra had been the monster all along.

Author's Note:

End Part 1

Comments ( 11 )

Certainly not the best way to learn, but it's a way to learn... :twilightoops:

Well, based on precedent, this is the moment where the youth either rejects everything the parent stood for, or blindly decides to make the same mistakes.
Based on the tears and the fact that, well, we know how this all turns out... I think Tia's going to need a lot of cookies.
Good chapter, by the by.

When is the next chapter coming :pinkiehappy:

7819202
Hopefully soon! I like getting many chapters done so I can post them all in a row, and I'm still working on them and a few other things.

I'd say poor Cadance, but ...

Will this ever be continued?

9099624
I actually started working on it again recently. It's getting there. I'm trying to finish it all before posting more.

Aww, I wish there was more to this one.

When does the next part come out?

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