The worth of a dragon is measured by their hoard, so what happens when a dragon finds something so valuable as to make all other hoards small by comparison, but so precious they cannot keep it for their own?
A young dragon discovers the answer when she finds the priceless treasure kept by the Sisters of Song.
A tiny alicorn, named Cadenza.
Editors: Tek, Skywriter, PaulAsaran, Mitch H.
Cover picture credit: Harwick on Fimfiction or Harwicks-art on Deviantart.com
Wonderful reading by Illya Leonov here on YouTube
A guest author part of the Cadence of Cloudsdale series by Skywriter, set several decades before the second chapter of The First Time You See Her and the blessed Sister Kale.
Chapters (1)
First note reserved for the author:
Readers are encouraged to read the whole Cadence of Cloudsdale group, mostly in my preferred order:
The First Time You See Her - (Chapter 2, with Sister Kale is awesome)
Lady Prismia and the Princess-Goddess where Filly Cadence turns her first unrepentant heart.
Don’t Let The Princess Drive The Celestial Phaeton, a story of growing pains and leaving the nest (by Ponydora Prancypants, regrettably unfinished)
And of course the rest of the stories in the folders, mostly about when Cadence is older. Which brings us to the current story that Skywriter has written: Spa and Order in which Cadence hits Cloudsdale with all the impact of an avalanche. There is one paragraph in there which Murcushio contributed that I have to glue on here (and used for inspiration in Letters From a Little Princess Monster).
There is thunder in my ears and lightning in my mouth. This is one of the hinges of the world, the last and proudest stronghold of the pegasus nation, which devours air and water and produces rainbows and storms, light and dark in equal measure. Their lives spin around me in a whirling tornado, reaching back to their near-mythical progenitors, the Hurricane and the Flower, and forward to a fate I cannot see but can almost touch. I smell bread, and salt, and rain, and sweat, and tears, and love, and hate, and rot, and growth, and I know that I can take this bit between my teeth and pull, it's right in front of me if I only want it enough…
Soon to come: Cadet Shining Armor's First Command
Another great piece of writing by Georg.
This was an excellent capper to "Dragon Week", and I'm quite happy to have contributed to it in my own small way. I do love the Cadance of Cloudsdale stuff from Skywriter, and I felt like this blended nicely into the mythic backstory of that series. I also loved the musings on the nature of dragons, and the reveal tying the history of two favorites together... it seems very fitting, in hindsight, which makes for the best additions to headcanon.
Wonderful work!
This and The Lazy Dragon of Dragonvale and Other Stories are both up on the feature box. Congratulations!
8470088 In first and second place. (preens) I'm enjoying it for the millisecond or two that I have.
Alondro trotted by one day and quipped, "Oh hey there, Cynder!"
'Piro' immediately devoured him alive.
OMG, PSYCHO CARNIVORE DISCORD CONFIRME-
Oh... uhm... never mind.
This is what the mythos of the show could have matured into in the right creator's hands...
Such lost opportunities for greatness; I lament them.
*looks at the author* Ah, of course. Why haven't you taken over the show?
And you did it again. Masterfully done and respectful of the source material.
Love.... one of the greatest forces there can and cannot be
Whoa... that was something else. I don't think I've ever read a story similar to this one. It's just so unique and so amazing I can't say anything else to describe it. Just, whoa...
This may be one of the more beautiful stories I've read.
On this site? Anywhere else? Perhaps; it is certainly as in contention for the second list as it is for the first.
I'd say that of all the qualities this story has, the symmetry strikes me the most.
Some dragons are water.
A like, a fave, and a watch.
A very interesting look at tiny Cadence through dragon eyes, and a beautiful addition to Skywriter's grand saga!
Killing in the name of the hierarch of Love. Where have I heard that bullshit before?
Hi Spike, but I think you might be more than that which you are prophesised to be, you'll also be the one who starts the process of removing the Changling's eternal hunger.
Mare's channeling her inner Joseph Joestar.
Loved this story too, Georg. I particularly liked how the prose was structured, with the call and reply stuff.
The lore and the good meshing with another author's work was sweet, too.
8470735
For all the SpikeAbuse out there, the little guy actually has a pretty huge impact on the world at large, doesn't he?
"All I'm saying is that if you account for the fluid content of their cells—"
"Nopony asked, Tissue Sample."
I quite like how the draconic legend of alicorns says a lot more about the ones telling it.
Interesting to see the Mother Superior condemn letting Cadence live her own life as heresy, yet still acknowledge the inevitability of her leaving Reduit. I suppose when one understands immortality, one has no choice but to acknowledge that all states of being are temporary ones to immortals.
A fantastic addition to the mythos. Thank you for a most gripping read.
8470735
Presumably, the Sight also comes with Seeing which bits you're going to divulge. Don't want to give away spoilers where they won't help, after all.
8449636
re: the Murcushio quote...
Yeah, we're getting to a point where all my good bits are in fact the bits that someone else wrote. This story, case in point! In all seriousness, though, thanks ever so much for writing. I'm honored both for the story's presence and for your invitation to me to pre-read it.
8470314
You have to admit, though, "Daybreaker" is the best evil-Celestia name. None of this "Daymare Sun" foolishness.
Babies must sleep.
Babies must rest.
Wise is the one who does not wake them...
Honestly, alicorns are kind of terrifying.
Nice way to tie Spike's origin into the cycle. Puts an interesting new spin on his eventual service to the Empire.
8449636 You're the second person to call out that specific paragraph as having been something worth writing, and I'm somewhat embarrassed and humbled by that; I threw it together by reading some of CiGs "Lost Cities" content and then throwing together something in about twenty minutes I thought would be a good example of how Cadance looking at Cloudsdale through the part of her soul that's an immortal princess-goddess rather than the part of her soul that's an awkward teenager would look. I never expected him to actually use it; it was an example of what I thought should go in there.
I wish I'd known this was coming, I'd have scraped together an episode of "Welcome to Cloudsdale" for it.
8472437 Just to let you know, I'm using that as an example when writing the chapter in Letters From a Little Princess Monster for when Monster/Twilight is on the train, going up the mountain to Canterlot. In that AU, twelve years before she yanked control of the Sun away from Celestia and nearly destroyed the whole city during her entrance exam, which was taken at almost the exact stage of physical development she's at now. Returning to the scene of the crime, where she *thought* she killed her parents, accompanied by new friends her own age.... yeah, it's going to be a tearjerker moment.
Goddamn, Georg. This is good.
8472732 As I said to Skywriter a little bit ago, I'm tall because I stand on the backs of giants.
8470314 And then G5 comes... Pony Titans GO!
technologytell.com/entertainment/files/2013/01/No-Darth_Vader.jpg
Now that is worldbuilding!
Another great read Georg, thanks again.
bravo a exultant story.
I read that first line as "A dragon is on fire" and then became very confused. XD
Damn, dude, this was great. :D A true inheritor of the CoC title.
Didn't Cadance become alicorn later in life?
8474498
Yeah, this whole story cycle was started before that was ever clarified in the chapter books. Unless I'm mistaken, the question still hasn't come up in show canon.
I loved this. It's the perfect backstory to spike, but I thought cadence was born a Pegasus?
I always found it creepy that they keep a foal for hundreds of years in a keep and prevent her to mature.
8475216
Faust inteded for Cadance to be unicorn. She was surprised when she found out she is alicorn.
8478947
Indeed she did. Mi Amore was a cute foreign unicorn from far-off lands in the original, making it more credible that no one in Canterlot batted an eyebrow at her sudden change in attitude. The name "Cadance" wasn't added until much later, at the behest of a Hasbro higher-up as a present for his daughter. This whole situation has caused me much more angst that the name and conceptual design of a cartoon character ever should.
8479020 Oh, there have been dramatic changes in animation far worse than Mi Amore Cadenza's executive dinking.
Scrappy Doo
See, that was easy. I was stunned when I first heard Britt's voice on the toon, though. It sounded so familiar, and I hadn't heard her do Tra La La in the 2005 MLP stuff. Took going into IMDB to find out she played Reggie on Dead Like Me (which is one of my favorite, although odd, shows).
Amazing, just Amazing!!! Words cannot describe this work of art!
Oh celestia this was beautiful.
I need more. Much more.
8474202 Always baffled at how you can misread the first line and still catch 'in in' somewhere around the middle of the piece.
8481281
This is my superpower. :B
Why was the AU tag added?
Huh. That's interesting.
Keep going! ;)
I'm not crying, you're crying.
Twas a good read, with words weaved in ways to make myself envy, I enjoyed this one as one might enjoy an afternoons stroll in late fall where a winters wind races throughout and heralds the coming snow, or perhaps the first sip of a finely brewed tea. It was a fantastic read to be sure, and one I shan't hastily forget.
Neat but the ending just feels... I don't know. Like it doesn't gel together.
Again, you have captured my heart with this story.
8952135 I'll keep it in a jar on my desk with the rest.
Um. Okay?
Hee. Nice.
Oh!
That was amazing. I gotta check out the source material now.