• Published 25th May 2018
  • 4,648 Views, 1,168 Comments

Little Consequences - Skijarama



Princess Rainbow Dash and her friends have found themselves in the newly restored Crystal Empire, and now struggle against the forces of Queen Chrysalis and the enigmatic King Sombra in an effort to reclaim Canterlot and save Equestria.

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Unwaking Twilight - Second Verse (Part II)

Two days later…

Rainbow Dash looked out at the frozen north with a distant, contemplative look on her face. She felt something shifting against her foreleg, reminding her that Spike was leaning against it and looking out at the snow along with her. The two were at the very edge of the empire, looking out at the snowy wasteland beyond while they waited for the various chariots to arrive. There would be two bound for Canterlot, and one for Ponyville. The Ponyville chariot was due to arrive any minute, now.

Rainbow could hear the assembled ponies talking quietly amongst themselves behind her, but she paid them little mind for now. Her thoughts lay elsewhere, bouncing around about what she had to do after everypony had gone home. There was still a lot she had to do, and she had been lucky that she had gotten a window to be here to see her friends off. She might have thought it over some more, but then she was jared from her thoughts when a certain yellow pegasus came up to her side with a curious look on her face. Rainbow turned and nodded at Fluttershy in greeting. “Hey, Fluttershy. ‘Sup?” she asked with a casual wave of a hoof.

Fluttershy smiled and returned the wave. “Just, um, making sure you’re okay,” she replied quietly. She shifted back and forth on her hooves for a moment. “You’ve been pretty distracted all day, and you’ve been really busy ever since, uh… Twilight’s incident…” she cringed and looked down. “A-and I don’t know when I’ll get another chance to talk to you… so...” she shrunk back a little after she finished. “But, uh, if you don’t want to talk about it, it’s fine.”

Rainbow shrugged light-heartedly before reaching over and pulling her fillyhood friend into a hug with her wing. Fluttershy let out a quiet ‘yip’ from the movement. “Relax, Fluttershy. I’m distracted, yeah, but it’s not anything bad,” Rainbow assured her with a soft nuzzle. “I just gotta talk to Cadance once you and the others are on your way, no biggy,” She gave Fluttershy a quick squeeze before releasing her and looking down at Spike, who was watching the two of them from below with a small smile of his own. “Speaking of; are you sure you don’t wanna go back with them, Spike? I mean, I know you’re worried about Twilight, but you’re gonna be doing a whole lot of nothing here for who knows how long.”

Spike nodded sharply in the affirmative while giving her a thumbs up. “Of course! I wouldn’t miss Twilight waking up for the world. She raised me, and I wanna be there when she comes back to her senses,” he made his position on the matter clear and finalized it with a fist thumping into his chest.

Fluttershy smiled and patted Spike on the head. “That’s very sweet of you, Spike. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it when she wakes up…” she said before rising back to her full height.

Rainbow nodded in agreement. “Yeah… and frankly, I’m probably gonna need the company. I’m not leaving the Empire until Twilight wakes up, but mom and Aunt Luna can’t stay here for too long like that. They’ll need to be going back in a week at the earliest.”

“Although…” Spike mused, tapping his chin with a claw. “You’re the leader of the Empire now. Doesn’t that mean you have to stay here?” he asked while looking up at Rainbow curiously.

She winced and shuffled in place uncomfortably. “I’m… hoping that it’s just gonna be a provisional thing. That’s actually what I wanna talk to Cadance about,” she said in a hushed tone.

Spike just shrugged and went back to casually leaning against Rainbow’s foreleg. Fluttershy smiled at the two. “Well, I’m glad you’re doing better now, Rainbow. You were in a bad place for a long time…” she said before turning to go back to the others. She paused, however, when she saw Thorax standing a few feet away, looking at her with a nervous look on his face. She was briefly taken aback by his silent approach, but quickly composed herself and smiled in greeting. “Oh, Thorax. I thought you’d be talking to Wind or Squall.”

Thorax glanced back over his shoulder at the two in question, who were still happily talking to one another. “Yeah… we’re gonna have plenty of time for that on the way. It’s a two day flight to Canterlot, and those two have a lot of catching up to do…” he stated quietly before looking at Fluttershy again. “I… actually want to talk to you before I go.”

Fluttershy blinked and tilted her head. “Oh? About what?”

Rainbow and Spike both looked at the two for a moment before silently walking a few yards away to give them some privacy. As they went, Thorax smiled gratefully at them before returning his attention to Fluttershy. “So… Fluttershy…” he began hesitantly, lightly dragging his hoof through the snow in a display of nervous energy.

“Yes?”

“I know I said it already, but… thank you,” he finally said, looking up with a small smile. “For everything. When we first got here, I was… terrified. I was afraid of letting Wind down, and that I’d just end up being the monster she thought a changeling was. And I think that, if you hadn’t been there to give me a chance when my disguise failed, or if you hadn’t been there to help me understand what I was getting into with Wind… to help me understand what it meant to be a big brother…” he glanced over his shoulder again. “I probably would have made a lot more mistakes. I might not have made it if you hadn’t kept me on the right course… and it’s all because you have a little brother of your own. You have so much more experience than I do, and… you gave me advice.”

Fluttershy’s cheeks slowly began to light up with a bright red blush at the praise. A stray lock of her mane fell in front of her face. “Oh… um…” she stammered in embarrassment. “Ah… you’re… welcome?”

Thorax hesitantly reached a hoof out. “It meant a lot to me, so… before we say goodbye, I just wanted you to know that I appreciate everything you did for me. You gave me a chance, and maybe now I can have a shot to be both, happy, and a good guy. I won’t let this chance go to waste. I promise…”

Fluttershy eyed the hoof for a moment, uncertain. But then, with a small smile of her own, she reached out, took it, and the two gently pulled each other into a tight hug. Rainbow gave them a glance over her shoulder, smiled, then went back to looking at the snow.

Soon enough, the chariots for Ponyville came into view. Rainbow couldn’t help but grin when she saw the lunar guards, Scythe Glider and Stark Jumper, pulling it. As they came in for a landing, their wheels creating trenches in the snow, she stepped forward to meet them. “Well well, look who it is! You guys keep the refugees safe like I asked you too?” she called out to them before they finally came to a total stop a few feet ahead of her.

Stark gave a quick salute while Glider dipped into a low bow. It was the thestral who spoke. “Yes, ma’am! Not a single hair was hurt on my watch! Good to see you, your highness.”

Rainbow shrugged and shook her head. “Eh, forget the formalities for a minute, guys. You know why you’re here, so let’s get to it, eh?” she said before turning back to the group as a whole. Fluttershy, Pinkie, Rarity, Applejack, and to Rainbow’s surprise, Starlight were stepping forward. She furrowed her brow at the lilac unicorn in question. “Er… Starlight?”

“I’m just seeing them off,” she explained bluntly while looking at the others. “It just seems right… I do kind of owe you all for getting me out of that cocoon.”

Pinkie beamed at that before reaching a hoof into her poofy mane. “Aw, thanks Starlight,” she sang before throwing a wreath of colorful flowers over Starlight’s head and yanking her into a tight hug. “You’re super welcome, and we owe you, too! We’ll miss you, Glim Glam!”

Starlight struggled for a few seconds before sagging. She sighed, returned the hug, and waited it out. Pinkie eventually backed out of the hug with an energetic bounce, coming to a stop by Fluttershy. Starlight looked at them for a moment, blinked, and adjusted the flowers that now hung around her neck with a hoof, looking very confused. “Where… did this come from?” she asked in bewilderment, though the look in her eyes hinted that she already knew the answer.

Pinkie just grinned that knowing grin she gave whenever somepony questioned her. “Haha… please,” she replied before turning and bouncing into the chariot. She was followed closely by Applejack and Rarity, who sat next to each other on the opposite side from Pinkie.

Fluttershy didn’t go quite yet, turning to see Thorax, Wind and Squall approaching her one more time. The drone gave her a small smile. “Well… this is goodbye, then?” he asked.

“For now,” Fluttershy replied with a nod. “But I’d love to see you three again sometime soon,” she then leaned down to be close to eye-level with Wind Whisper. “Wind, you take care of your new big brother, okay?”

“Okay!” Wind replied before lunging forward and hugging Fluttershy tightly around the neck. “I’m gonna miss you, Fluttershy!”

Fluttershy giggled and happily returned the hug. “And I’m going to miss you,” she replied will looking up at Thorax and Squall. “All of you.”

There were a few more hushed farewells before, reluctantly, Fluttershy left the trio of siblings to join the rest of her friends in the chariot. Taking her seat, she looked back at Rainbow and Spike. She smiled and waved at them, the other three mares soon joining in. They waved and hollered their farewells even as the chariot sprang into motion, pulling away to the south.

“We’ll see y’all in Ponyville real soon, sugarcube! Ya hear?!”

“Come home soon, Darling! And make sure you and Twilight take care of each other when she wakes up! AND TELL ME EVERYTHING!”

“See you later, Rainbow Dashigator! And eat some cake! You could use the stress relief!”

“Goodbye, Rainbow! Goodbye Thorax, Wind Whisper, Squall!”

Rainbow waved in return, giving them a small, confident smile. Soon enough, their voices faded into silence, and not long after, the chariot vanished into the distance. Rainbow lowered her hoof back into the snow before glancing at Starlight to her left. “So… Starlight…” she began carefully.

Those words alone were enough to convince all but the two ponies to back away and give them some space. Once they were sufficiently far away, Starlight sighed and turned to look at Rainbow more directly. “Yes, Rainbow?” she asked in a resigned, if somewhat impatient voice.

Rainbow looked down and away, her ears drooping. “I… I know I haven’t exactly been good to you since we met…” she began slowly, her hoof slowly digging trenches into the snow. “I violated your privacy, attacked you, and was generally horrible to you for a long time… I know I can never take any of that back, but…” she lifted her gaze back to Starlight’s, seeing that she was listening intently. “Since I know Twilight would want me to ask… do you think we could be friends?”

Starlight blinked and recoiled a little from the question. She didn’t answer for a long while, choosing to look off into the distance with a thoughtful look on her face. When she did answer, it was with a heavy sigh and a shake of her head. “No… no, I don’t think so,” she said softly before looking at Rainbow again. “You did hurt me... in a lot of ways, princess. I can see the lengths you went to while trying make up for it, and I can definitely say that I respect you a lot for that… but…” she looked away, her own ears going flat. “Too many bad things happened way too quickly. Every time I look at you, I can’t help but remember the train… and the fire in your eyes.”

Rainbow cringed, but otherwise did little to respond, just allowing Starlight to let it out.

Starlight shook her head and looked into Rainbow’s eyes. “So no… I don’t think we can be friends. At least… not right now,” she briefly glanced at the Palace in the distance. “I know Twilight would want us to make amends… but… with everything I’ve learned since meeting you ponies, I need some time on my own to make amends with myself.”

Rainbow frowned slightly. “What do you mean? You know that aren’t the same pony who changed history, right?” she reminded in a gentle tone, gesturing at Starlight with a hoof.

She huffed in response and shook her head. “Maybe not… but I almost was, once, and knowing now what I might have done… the damage I might have caused...” she lifted one of her hooves and looked it over. “...I need some time to figure myself out before anything else.”

Rainbow slowly nodded. “I understand… for what it’s worth, though, I don’t think we would have made it without your help. You’re an amazing mage, Starlight, and don’t you ever let anypony tell you different. So thank you for your help.”

Starlight managed a chuckle at that while shaking her head. “Ha! A great mage who works at a thrift store!”

“Did you consider looking for work in Canterlot?” Rainbow questioned with a small grin. “Somepony with your talent could make it big as a court wizard or scholar or something.”

“Nah. I’m not really sure that’s my style,” Starlight rebuked, her chortles slowly dying down. “But thanks for the suggestion. Maybe someday…” The mirth eventually fell away entirely, and she gave Rainbow a sad smile. “You take care of yourself, alright? And her.”

Rainbow’s eyes widened just slightly, but then she returned the smile with a nod. “I will… don’t worry about us,” she assured with an ‘I got this’ gesture with her hoof. That seemed to be enough for Starlight, as the unicorn nodded and turned back to look out at the snow. Rainbow turned as well, and saw the chariots for Canterlot coming in for a landing, each one being pulled by a pair of solar guards. Her expression brightened, and she looked back at Thorax and the rest. “Your ride is here, guys! Time to go home!”

Thorax and Squall each trotted by for their Chariot, while Wind rode on the adult thestral’s back. Squall gave a bow of his head as he passed, while Wind waved from her position between his wings. Thorax, however, came to a stop in front of Rainbow Dash. He looked at her for a few moments before giving a much deeper bow then Squall had given her. “Goodbye, your highness.”

Rainbow snorted and lightly smacked him upside the head. “Quit it with the formalities! Your not technically an Equestrian citizen, yet. And besides, don’t forget what Fluttershy said,” Rainbow replied in a playfully annoyed voice. “It’s only goodbye for now. I’m sure we’ll see each other again someday.”

Thorax nodded at that. “Of course. See you then?”

“Yep. Now get going Thorax. And thank you for all your help.”

Thorax’s eyes widened when Rainbow offered him her hoof. Slightly hesitant, he reached out to shake it. What happened instead was Rainbow bumped her hoof into his and gave him a cocky grin. He eyes his hoof in bewilderment, shrugged, and then resumed his trip to the chariot. As he passed, Rainbow could see Starlight already stepping up into hers. A few seconds passed, during which time a few basic checks were made to ensure the chariots were good for immediate take off. Once all was cleared, the pegasi pulled the chariots along and soon took to the skies. Rainbow and Spike watched them go, seeing Wind and her brothers happily chatting to each other, while Starlight just gazed solemnly into the distance. All four of them briefly looked back at her before getting too far away for their faces to be visible.

Soon, the chariots faded entirely from her view, and Rainbow was left with nopony but Spike for company on the edge of the empire. She let out a slow breath before turning to head back into the city. Her destination; the library.

There was something important she had to look into.


The First Queen of the Crystal Empire, Queen Amora, was known as a kind and benevolent ruler to all her subjects, holding many events that would kickstart some of the Empire’s most closely held traditions and customs. The Crystal Fair, the Crystallings, jousting tournaments, monthly competitions between craftsponies, and many more.

Rainbow’s eyes boredly traced over the historical texts and the illustration of the Crystal Empire’s royal family tree for what felt like the millionth time. Cadance was supposed to have been here over half an hour ago, and the wait was making Rainbow more than a little impatient. Still, she figured she had all of this spare time to throw around while she waited. Might as well not let any of it go to waste. She turned back a few pages in the book to begin triple checking her facts and information.

She was sitting at a table in a relatively quiet part of the library on the second floor. the History of The Crystal Empire book lay opened up in front of her, the illustration of the empire’s old family tree looking back up at her. The table was rested against one of the far back walls of the building, and a tall bookcase sat behind her, one of half a dozen that separated her from the ledge that overlooked the lower floor. She would have been closer to the center of the library, but a lot of still very happy crystal ponies were in today, discussing books with one another in voices that were just a touch too loud for a library. Rainbow couldn’t really blame them for being excited, though. They had just gotten their memories back only three days ago, and with Sombra gone, they had nothing but good times to look forward to for the foreseeable future.

Of course, that didn’t exactly help Rainbow with her concentration. She sighed and turned back a few pages, bracing herself to quadruple check her facts. Thankfully, she was saved by the bell as it were, when the sound of the pink alicorn herself clearing her throat drew Rainbow’s attention. She looked up and saw Cadance approaching her with Shining Armor by her side, both of them smiling warmly in greeting. She blinked and pointed at Shining with a confused look. “Uh… no offense, but why did Shining come?”

Shining gave Rainbow a deadpan frown. “I’m guarding my princess, Rainbow Dash,” he replied bluntly. Cadance just snickered and leaned over to give him a light nuzzle, which immediately broke down his hard-faced facade.

“Oh, hush, you. To tell you the truth, Rainbow, he’s just been worried for my safety ever since Twilight’s assassination attempt,” Cadance explained, her voice going somber on that last note. She paused before taking a few steps forward and sitting down next to Rainbow at the table she sat at. “I’m so sorry you were forced to watch that… I can only imagine how horrible it must have been…”

Rainbow sighed and shook her head. “Don’t worry about it. It’s fine. Stinger’s going to spend the rest of her life in a cell, and Twilight’s alive. I couldn’t have asked for things to turn out any better…” she said quietly before clearing her throat. “Anyway, this is what I called you here for. Have a look,” she said simply before tapping the illustration of the family tree with her hoof. “Your full royal title is Mi Amore Cadenza, right?”

Cadance nodded while gazing down curiously at the book. “Yes, as much as I think it’s too much of a mouthful. Why?” she replied while looking closer at the illustration, fascinated by the flowing lines and archaic stylization.

Rainbow tapped the top of the page, where the first queen was drawn. “Well, I was thinking last night about how the empire’s population put me in charge of it, right?” she began before leaning back to let Cadance look more closely at the book. “And I can’t shake the feeling that they can do a lot better than me. I don’t even have a claim to the throne, so…”

Cadance traced a hoof over the family tree with a thoughtful look on her face. When she spoke again, she didn’t take her eyes off the page. “According to Celestia, the last heir of the Empire mysteriously went missing after Sombra cursed it. Nopony ever found them or knew their name…”

“But there is a running theme with the names,” Rainbow noted before pointing at the page again. “Queen Amora. Princess Crescenda. Queen Melodia. They were all based on music or romance of some sort,” she explained before leaning back and pointing at Cadance. “And your name, the name that came with you when you were found, is Cadance. Again, musical, and the ‘Mi Amore’ part reminds me of Queen Amora.”

Shining Armor frowned in thought while stepping a little closer. “Are you thinking that Cadance might be the heir of the Empire?” he asked, looking at the alicorn in question with curiosity.

“Maybe. The main thing that made me think it was more than a coincidence was Cadance’s cutie mark,” Rainbow replied while pointing at it. Cadanced shifted slightly on her haunches to let the mark on her flank be more visible. It was, as always, a depiction of a gorgeous blue heart made up of shining crystals. “It’s a crystal heart,” Rainbow stated the obvious. “And it looks a lot like the one spinning in the plaza right now.”

“That’s an interesting theory, Rainbow,” Cadance noted while leaning back in her seat, a hoof coming up to her chin. “But assuming this is true, how would we prove it? And more than that… why bring it up?”

Rainbow’s face fell somewhat, and she looked down at the surface of the table. “You heard me say I think the empire can do a lot better then me for their leader. I’m not cut out for that kind of job; I just barely held it together the entire time, and even then, I had to have Twilight and the rest there to keep me on my hooves. I made a lot of mistakes and we almost lost because I was too impulsive and emotional… Chrysalis baited me, and it almost got Twilight and I killed. I know you’d be a much better candidate for the job… if we can prove you have a claim to the throne, then…” she lifted her eyes again, looking at Cadance hopefully. “Then… would you be willing to have it? I’d happily surrender the crown and throne to you, and I know you’d be much better than I ever could.”

Cadance’s eyes widened. She fell silent for several seconds, her eyes reflective what must have been some very intense internal consideration. Eventually, she looked back at Shining Armor, who looked right back at her with a worried look. “I mean… if you’re right, then I would love to, but… Shining…” Cadance whispered, the tall unicorn by her side stepping forward and taking her hoof in his.

Rainbow blinked and frowned at the two, “When did you two become so close?”

That question seemed to be enough to bring some levity back into the room. “When you weren’t looking~” Cadance replied with a cheeky little smile. She then gave Rainbow a smoldering look. “Kind of like you and Twilight, right?”

“Hang on, what!?” Shining Armor suddenly asked in a loud voice, his eyes widening and glaring at Rainbow. There were a few distant echoes of ponies trying to shush him, but the sound was lost on the now very protective big brother.

“Oh crud, here we go,” Rainbow thought with a lump forming in her throat. She gave a sheepish laugh and rotated in her seat to face Shining directly before clearing her throat. “Uh, eheh… it just… kinda… happened? Question mark?” she tried weakly, shrinking back from Shining’s glare.

Cadance rolled her eyes and poked him on the nose, making him go cross-eyed and thoroughly breaking the illusion of a big, scary and imposing unicorn. “Stop glaring, Shiny. You’re making her nervous,” she lightly scolded, earning a pout from him.

“But I’m the big brother! I’m supposed to scare my little sister’s boyfriend- or girlfriend, I suppose,” he quickly corrected himself before giving Rainbow another hard look, although this one wasn’t exaggerated.

“Well you can give her the warning lecture later,” Cadance shot back before giving Rainbow a reassuring smile. “And I’m sure there won’t be any problems.”

Rainbow swallowed heavily and nodded. “Yeah… no problems, none at all,” she replied shakily before giving herself a smack across the face and turning eagerly to Cadance. “So, Cadance! What do you say? Want the empire?”

Cadance giggled behind a hoof from the abrupt change in topic before composing herself to respond. “Well… if we can find proof, then like I said, I would love to. But where would we even look? Whoever my birth parents were only left me with a name and a bundle of cloth to keep me safe…”

Rainbow smiled and poked the history book again. “The Heart… It’s kinda the centerpiece of the whole Empire, and while I was lugging it around, it…” her face scrunched as she thought of how best to describe it. “I dunno. I think it’s alive, in a way. Like, it has a will of its own or something. So… maybe it’ll recognize you and react somehow?” she suggested before losing her smile. “Kind of a leap in logic, yeah, but I don’t have a lot to go on right now.”

Cadance hummed thoughtfully while tapping a hoof to her chin. “I suppose it’s worth looking into…” she mused before standing back up and nodding for the exit. “Let’s go for a walk, then.”

Grinning, Rainbow stood up as well. She left the book there on the table and followed Cadance out of the library, although she couldn’t shake the feeling that Shining was routinely glaring daggers into the back of her neck.

Author's Note:

Note: While Cadance's backstory and origin in this series are derived from her backstory in the chapter books by G. M. Barrow, I have not read that story, and so am only using the basic bullet points as my reference. So if there are any inconsistencies between here and there, now you know why.

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