Érōs

by Ice Star

Chapter 1: True Love Waits (For You to Get Up)

The short, multicolored curls of Empress Cadance's bob-cut spilled out across the pillow. The waves of her mane were between regal and cascading, despite their short length. She listened to the sound of icy winds outside, whooshing through the streets of her Empire. She whistled along with the haunting melody, although she did so softly. Her tune was merrier than the sound of the storm outside; she'd no doubt picked up suck a joyous ditty from one of the many mead halls in the Empire.

The storm was not a savage one, but Cadance knew that when it stopped there would be shoveling, snowball fights, and cocoa stands set up. The crystal ponies would be talking in the streets or watching the snowfall from their windows. School time for foals would be delayed because of the morning's white wonderland blankets, and she would have her kingdom no other way.

Cadance smiled a little at the thought of foals, and like the snow outside, her thoughts drifted with her mood. First, they briefly went to her tiara, which rested on the nearby nightstand, but the flurry quickly strayed. This time, her mind turned to the castle. She thought of mornings, of a grand table set for three, and breakfasts of things both Equestrian in nature, like pancakes. Yet, all her time up north with her love and made it effortless for her to weave more native Crystalline aspects into their meals. The kitchen staff knew how to prepare dishes of their heritage more effortlessly than foreign food, and Cadance and Shining Armor's daughter thought that Equestria's cuisine was the foreign one.

Mostly, she thought of Skyla among the dripping sounds of the room. The princess of the slowly growing Crystal Empire had been in power for over fifty years, growing into a capable mare who aided her empress mother and sweet father in their rule.

Lying there, still trying to blink away tiredness, Cadance smiled a bit wider, and the gesture was still soft from sleep. Skyla would be up right now, already seeing to the first of her royal duties. Her mother knew that her daughter would surely be sneaking in a few extra bits of preening when nopony was watching on this cold, slow, sleepy morning. Such were the habits of the ambitious Princess Somber Skies.

Sunlight was already slipping through the window, not longer dancing like it used to, but that was not much of a surprise when Cadance thought of who was raising it. Instead, she let her early morning thoughts drift back to her daughter, who could fly through the snow with an impressive strength for a pegasus, which was needed in a nation where the weather could not be domesticated by any mortal powers. Skyla was one of the few pegasi who lived this far north, and had a sharp mind instead of magic like a unicorn, demigod, Alicorn, or some other creature. By the time she had been a teenager, Princess 'Skyla' Somber Skies had been the one speaking over the advisor, Silver Lining, on matters about the home. Nothing made Cadance's heart feel such joy as knowing her only foal loved her kingdom as much as any crystal pony.

Yes, Skyla would be done with breakfast now. To be late was to not be her, not when punctuality was in Skyla's bones. She was such a good girl, sort of. There was always a scheming, coy, and nearly sharp side to her that so many Equestrians found off-putting. Especially when facing the cool, reserved, yet sociable princess; she was too odd a blend for their soft, herd-driven sensibilities. She was very unlike her mother, with a small smirk-ish smile as smooth as her voice, a sweetly frosty demeanor, and an occasional snide quip. Cadance's daughter was the kind of mare who kept an impressive record of all the little deeds she saw you do when you weren't watching - and, of course, Skyla knew what she could get out of everything.

The damn filly was already a proper politician long before she got her cutie mark. Everypony who never knew better — like a certain demigod aunt she never grew close to — thought she would be a mane stylist or clever designer like her quill-pal, Qilin. They were the ponies who hadn't known that it was Skyla who led the impossibly pure and fillyish Qilin off on this little scheme and that in the days they used to share together.

Then. much to everypony's surprise, she grew up. Now, Skyla always stood with a quiet pride next to her brave, honorable, funny, level-headed father. It was Shining Armor whose love of his family was an almost amusing contrast to the vague, quiet arrogance that his daughter possessed. How she, the filly with thick tresses of stormy, dark gray-blue pinned away from her face was ready to face the world still mystified Cadance at times. She had grown from collecting unique mane clips to having a slim build like her bubbly, outgoing, and cheerful demigod mother. And yet, it was Cadance who was the one who really didn't want to get out of bed right now, and only just managed to reach up with a forehoof and rub the sleep from her lavender eyes.

Cadance gave a small yawn, and gave the radiant ceiling mosaic one last look. The sun's light was still playing across it nicely. Then, she carefully sat up. An array of routine dripping sounds had been like a clock ticking through the night, though the I.V. hadn't had the same rhythm.

Carefully, Cadance pulled her purple mantle closer around her, shivering slightly. The faux fur was warm enough. Still, there were some days still made her long for the southern nation she once called home, but only a little. One day Equestria stopped being her home, even if it never stopped being Shining Armor's. He was the All-Equestrian Colt somewhere in his heart still, but Cadance's own belonged to the Crystal Empire now.

The hospital room had a subtle luster; the crystal floors and walls reflected faint silhouettes in all their facets. In them, Cadance was able to glimpse her form in blurs of pink. The rest of the room was shown in gleams and smudges of reflections in soothing hues: rose, purple, and blue were the predominant colors. Reflections of silver metal frames from the hospital bed could be glimpsed next to the few pieces of art hanging up. While Equestria had taken strides in recent years to make hospitals a place of healing via artistic presence too, the Crystal Empire's facilities had always done so.

In the gorgeous designs were many figures familiar to the Crystal Ponies. The legends of their heritage, now revived, were vividly captured in watercolors. Within the plain frames, painted in pastels were the distant and simplified visages of long-gone Crystalline Alicorns, immortals of the past so unlike the fabled mortal Empress who viewed their modern rendition with such sleepy eyes.

No Equestrian-bred resident other than Cadance herself would recognize what these figures were supposed to represent. However, ax-bearing crystal ponies, woad-streaked coats, rune-carved crystal pillars, and chain mail were heroes known to many. Cadance knew them better once, when then-young Skyla told her dear mother what she thought of the stories her father read her. Cadance always was up late, or asleep early. She always loved hearing how he could name every champion to his daughter. Little Skyla was the one who recounted the tales of fearsome boats and the mysterious, shadowy tales of the equally enigmatic Ouroboros. That story was one of her favorites: the tale of a serpent of shadow once said to be doomed to control the Empire — as said by the departed prophet-Alicorn queen Ezmeralda.

Even now, Cadance thought there were better things to talk about over breakfast than apocalyptic fantasies. She was usually quick to agree with Shining Armor about hoofball, ice archery, hockey, and other things that only held so much of young Skyla's attention. Those were years she treasured.

Cadance brought a forehoof to her mussed mane and yawned. Loudly. She stretched her wings gingerly but thoroughly, not wanting to disturb her husband slumbering beside her. No matter how late he had started waking, Shining Armor still needed his rest with such frequent hospital visits.

"Shiny?" Cadance whispered, reaching out a youthful pink foreleg to better maneuver under the blankets. She prodded the shape of a sleeping stallion, whose century-old white coat had faded with time. Battle scars from old conflict marked his withers, sides, and legs. "You awake yet?"

A tail of happy blue streaked with a lot of gray swiped out from under the covers.

In response, a smile spread across Cadance's face. "Still sleepy?"

A leg kicked out from the covers, playfully and a bit clumsily. There was a noticeable amount of feebleness there too.

Another tug of the much-loved mantle again. It wasn't cold now, Cadance just liked the royal purple garment. "Alright, if you're going to be so stubborn, maybe I won't be getting you any scrambled eggs with your breakfast. You're only going to be getting those little Prancian toast sticks and hay bacon if you keep that up."

And from under the hospital bed's blankets was a groan. "Cady," a tired voice rasped, "you wouldn't really do that, would you, dear?"

Cadance's smile remained, and she wasted no time in leaning forward to wrap the blanketed figure in a hug. Her mantle fell over the sterile, wrinkled blankets that had been crinkled by Shining's movement. "I'll get us the biggest, best breakfasts, yo! The nurses say that the pancakes are super-duper good, and we're only going to be here for two weeks this time, Shiny! Just think of all the yummy breakfast rotations we'll get to try!"

Cadance beamed at him.

Shining Armor, prince of the Crystal Empire, snored a little. He managed a yawn that Cadance's many years of marriage to him had taught her the meaning of: It's Saturday, Cady. Lemme sleep.

She did, lit her horn with her soft blue aura, and was careful to close the door quietly on her way out.

Author's Note:

Chapter 1/3

[Revised for print on 11/26/2020]

Comments

[nebulaegalaxy]

Hey
It’s a do!

Pancak-a-doos
yum

[Terracath]

Interestingly, I feel like this first chapter could actually work as a one-shot in and of itself.

[Gay For Gadot]

The use of the word "flurry" here made me think you were going to go with the canon kiddo. That said, it's always fun to read fics featuring a fanon ShiningDance foal. "Skyla" is one of the more common names for their fanon kid, if I remember right, and I do like how you've described her thus far.

I will never cease to giggle whenever your Cadance says "yo". Just goes to show that, even many long years into the future, at her husband's hospital bedside, she's still the bubbly, cheerful alicorn filly you've written her as.

Great song for this chapter. Haven't heard it in a while.