> As The Sun Sets
>  by Noobblue
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> Dear Beloved Niece
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Princess Cadence

Dear Caden

Dear Beloved Niece,

Firstly, I would like to say that I have missed you, your smile and disposition distinctly alter the mood of the Canterlot Palace. I write to you to request your aid in a project of mine own.

Although, before I continue I would like to posit that you keep knowledge of said project to yourself, not even my Sister knows of this and for the time being I would appreciate it staying as such.

A long time ago, a night court magician by the alias of Dusk Swirl was imprisoned much the same way as Discord, and for similar reason. He had a part in the starting of several wars, among being a practitioner of black magic, and committer of many a crime. He also had a hoof in my fall to Nightmare Moon. He is a Criminal of inordinate magnitude. That being said, whether or not he remains imprisoned is up to debate to begin with, and in leu of any guarantee to his imprisonment, I have made the decision to release him, and "get a jump on it" as they say today.

This is where I require your aid my Niece. Due to my personal connection with Dusk Swirl, I have believed myself incapable of handling this process on mine own, thus, after considering all of the details, I have come to the conclusion that you are best suited to reacclimate Dusk Swirl to the modern age; and potentially bring him to the side of harmony.

I confidently believe this is a task you are capable of, and request your presence in Canterlot Castle within the coming month in order to pursue said task. I eagerly await your response, and I am dually hopeful to see your smile fill the halls of this place again.

Sincerely,
Aunt Luna





Dear Auntie Luna

Hello Auntie! It's been wonderful to receive mail from you, your particular delivery style is something I will never tire of. (Though Shiny might begin to have heart problems)

I'm not sure what to say for your request however, I don't want to seem rude, but I also deign to be as honest as possible, I have the crystal empire to run, and along with keeping such a task secret, (and with the paparazzi chasing us royals around it'll be a lot of work) plus what you've described as an incredibly dangerous creature. I don't believe I'll be able to simply take a trip to Canterlot. At least, not unless I have more information.

Could you possibly tell me more about him? Is he a Stallion? Or some other creature? and I don't want to pry into wounds closed so long ago, but how could he have been present for Nightmare Moon? Is he a fellow immortal? 

And dark magic Luna? What does that entail? You claimed he started several wars? Are you sure that you require me in particular? Not Twilight? Or maybe a host of guards? 

As I've stated before, I just need more information before I can commit to leaving my Kingdom for any amount of time, I'm sorry I can't fly over there immediately, you know how much I find ruling to be... grueling. Although I will make plans regardless come running of the leaves to visit the castle to say hello to you and Auntie Celestia. 

Thank you for your letter, and please let me know more so I can try to help.

Much Love,
Cadence





Dearest Niece

My apologies for not being more succinct with you regarding my request. I don't know how much I am truly capable of saying of Dusk Swirl. For you however, as far as timing goes, I would request your presence in Canterlot for a week at most, with one half of a fortnight to release and try to reform Dusk Swirl, if such is not possible, than he will likely have to be returned to stone afterwards regardless.

To try and answer your questions in a meaningful order: Dusk Swirl is in fact, immortal. I am not privy to the details, but at some point during Discords reign of Equestrian he acquired agelessness, as such, I would hope to befriend him for the coming ages. 

He is also, in fact, an earth stallion of visible age of around thirty to forty years and is indeed a practitioner of all kinds of dark magics. During the rise of Equestria, he was Starswirl's counterpart, or more accurately, his rival. He is likely just as talented in dark magics as Dear Twilight Sparkle is with friendship, and is capable of doing both incredible and terrible things in equal measure.

As far as who he was, I haven't much to say. He may have had a hoof in starting several wars, but such was more a product of circumstance than his direct influence. In most cases he simply would push for conflict as is his nature, rather than diplomacy. I, at the time, tended to agree with him, and as a note, he was often correct in many of his presumptions.

Suffice to say, he is a mystery to me, he is not insane like Discord was, nor corrupted like myself when I fell to darkness or like Sombra with his own insanity. As far as I know, Dusk Swirl was imprisoned with a completely sound mind, which brings me to another detail. Celestia states that Dusk Swirl's imprisonment is self inflicted, she claims that one day, he simply walked out to the gardens and turned to stone, which leads me to believe that his imprisonment is on a timer, or he is simply waiting for a particular moment to escape, or even more likely, that he is not imprisoned to begin with.

In hindsight it occurs to me that Dusk Swirl was very lonely. Much lonelier than I, which is why I believe you are the one to assist him in the changing of perspectives. You have the particular skill of which to personally connect with ponies; which will be a requirement for this particular task. From my memory, Dusk Swirl was not a bad or evil stallion. He was always simply misguided, and too stubborn to accept any other path. I believe that if he had someone of which he could view as an equal, or a friend, he would be willing to listen to reason, or would perhaps simply "relax" as Discord has. I myself vouch that he is not a danger to the wellbeing of you or any other pony within the castle or otherwise, and like Discord, he tends to be merely a hazard, and often an annoyance.

I hope I have done well enough to more accurately describe what I have asked of you, and indeed wish to see you regardless come the holiday running of the leaves at the end of the fall season.

Sincerly,
Luna

PS, what of your prince's heart issues? Are my letters perhaps too loud? should I deign to have them transported by hoof? or perhaps find an alternate spellform?





Dear Auntie Luna

First of all, I'd like to thank you for elaborating and not taking my word as anything but mixed curiosity. I can absolutely assist you in this venture, although I will need to discuss it with my Husband so he can cover my presence within the empire. You have my word his lips will be sealed on the topic.

I will be arriving the week after the next on Tuesday evening, and look forward to discussing more of the details in pony.

Love,
Cadance

PS, Please do not change your form of delivery, it brings me incredible joy
> The first actual chapter with things happening in it
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance ended up taking the evening train to Canterlot that Tuesday. It was mostly reserved for cargo transport, exports and the like. She herself had signed the papers for the trade between Equestria and the Crystal Empire, and likewise found herself wandering out of her boxcar to inspect the crates during her journey to the capital.

"Do you think we should produce bigger boxes?" She said during the trip, directed towards one of her personal guards, shadowing her. Shining, while supportive of this plan had insisted that she take two of her best, a deep green mare of the name Crystal Brazier, and a sky blue stallion of the name Fog Runner.

Crystal Brazier was either quicker on the uptake, or Fog Runner was too distracted to respond quickly enough. "Bigger boxes?" She said, "do you mean the cargo? Is it not big enough your majesty?"

Cadance turned towards the boxes again. "It's the storage shape" She gestured at the boxes, "they're just smaller than the right size to take up all of the space in the rack. if we had a bit more height or width, they'd fill the rack completely, they'd jostle around less no?"

"I'm sure we can write in a request to have them set to a larger scale if you'd like your majesty." Said Fog, a bit to sternly for Cadance's tastes.

"No, I'm sure there's a reason they're like this..." 

Well... Guards aren't much for conversation I guess





Several hours later, Cadance made a hasty exist from the Crystal Express out onto the Canterlot platform. The Moon was up in the sky fully now, and the stars distracted her from the coldness of the cobblestones of the platform.

"Dearest Niece!" A voice, only Luna's to be clear, turned Cadance's head towards the front of the train platform. A flew flaps and Luna was hugging her, Cadance stumbled for a moment before returning the hug with a vengance.

"Luna! It's so good to see you!" They separated "How have you been these past weeks?"

"To practice in honesty Cadance, I must say I have been anxious. Anxious around what I've called you here for, yet that is not a discussion for the open. That and you have just arrived! Let us 'catch up', there is a stagecoach waiting for us outside the station where we may discuss the finer details of your presence."

With that, Luna began to take long strides towards the edge of the train platform, nightponies were in the midst of unloading the Crystal Express, though several of the Canterlot ponies were giving her mildly surprised looks. Cadance followed, hoping the word wouldn't travel too quickly, her guards moving swiftly after her.

"How goes the bureaucracy of the Crystal Empire?" Luna asked without looking over, instead deigning to focus on not falling down the too slim stairs off the platform and onto the street.

"Oh please, I haven't touched most of it, you should be asking shiny most of the details."

"Ah of course, I always forget you are a mare of the ponies, you make public appearances yes? Do you hold court during the day like mine sister?"

Candance giggled, "It's 'my' Auntie, not mine, new ponish has far more tenses than old ponish." Luna nodded, "and I do hold court, but very little comes of it, I normally spend all day looking through backlogs of paperwork, coming up with ideas and placating the old nobles of the Crystal Empire, I've thought of doing away with them entirely in all honesty."

"Aye, that is a fine idea dear niece. I find that the nobles in Canterlot, while they do shake things around, tend to be the cause of most disturbances as well."

Upon their approach of a dark enclosed carriage, painted in Luna's colours of course, two Thestrals saluted and opened the carriage doors for the two princesses, Cadance's guards saluted in return, and she took note of the little ritual the two guard branches engaged in as she entered and laid down across from Luna and onto of the large deep blue cushion's that filled the chamber. Which was slightly bigger than it seemed from the outside.

The interior was just as expected, blues and purples laid over wood and plaster, and a ceiling reminiscent of the night sky.

Candance felt the need to comment. "Your personal stagecoach I'm guessing? It's rare I travel in such lavish style."

"Indeed it is, do you like it?"

"It's wonderful and very soft."

The carriage started rolling.

A beat.

"So..."

"Yes, it's best we begin my niece."

Cadance held up a hoof, "Before that, one Princess to another, I just need to hear it from you directly. Do you think this is safe?" Cadance looked Luna in the eyes, "I know how often 'great evils' tend to be loosened on Equestria, this isn't going to be another example of that right? I trust you, I just... Well like I said, I'd like to hear it straight from you."

Luna took a moment to respond. Cadance watched intently as Luna considered her words. "I do not know the particular outcome of all of this, however I am certain that this process will not result in any kind of harm to anypony."

"That's what I needed to hear, thank you."

"Of course."

Cadance thought about the details before deciding on starting simple, "When do you plan on releasing him?"

Luna tilted her head, "As I am entrusting you as his ward, I thought it pertinent to let you decide when he should be freed."

Cadence nodded, "Then we'll precede as soon as we're able, I made sure to sleep the day away today in preparation. Which leads us to what exactly we're going to do, I know you want me to handle most of this, but just so we're on the same page, what exactly is the plan? Also, I read your letters and, Dusk Swirl is just an alias? Are you aware of his actual name?"

"Unfortunately no, for all that knew him, he refused to ever give out his name, he claimed and was somewhat justified of the power of names, and wishing that none have such a power over him. Names have agency in certain kinds of dark magic you see," Cadence nodded in understanding, "To answer the other question, the plan is a little more complex than the reformation of Discord, but not much, by nature of what we have to go on."

"So to begin with, you just want me to get to know him?" 

"Yes"

"Do you think he'll be willing to... well will he let that happen? You described him as the kind of stallion to not just 'go with the flow'."

"I believe he will at my request, along with that he'll likely take interest in the process. Although I should warn you that his interest will carry mal-intent." Luna turned towards the curtains in the coach, and used her wing to lift one to gaze out onto the streets of Canterlot.

"How so?" Cadance asked.

Luna took a moment before responding, leaving the curtain to fall back into place. "Dusk tended to engage in frivolities for the sole purpose of annoying others or derailing other pony's works or jobs. Its not unlikely that he will allow you to try and reform him simply to prove to you that you are incapable of such a feat."

Luna took another breath before continuing, "He is also likely to consistently point out flaws in your approach, and try and demoralize you from your goal. While he is not evil, he is definitely mean. I believed that his special talent is that of putting other ponies down."

Cadance scrunched her muzzle, "His special talent is bulling ponies?"

"If I remember correctly, his cutie mark depicts that of two silhouetted ponies pointing and laughing at a third silhouette, crouched and cowering."

Cadance frowned, "That... might be an issue... How can I connect with him if he's only interested in hurting my feelings?"

"In truth dear niece, we do not know. Dusk was not only a talented magician, but also a brilliant strategist. He published many theses' on the study of pony psychology and took pride in his ability to deconstruct ponies for who they really were. You will likely have to face him head on, and not break for him to respect you, and trust you. As I said in my letter, the hope is that if he sees you as an equal, he will accept your advice unconditionally."

Cadance kept her frown. "You think he'd just... do that?"

"Dusk was a strange stallion of duality in several portions. Sometimes he would fight a losing argument to the point of ridiculousness, and other times he would simply nod and accept he was in the wrong and begin contributing positively. I believe if you can prove that his perspective is wrong, he may just... accept defeat, and completely change who he is."

"Ponies can't simply change who they are."

"We shall see" Luna said with a grimace.

"One other thing," Cadance said as the coach rolled to a stop, "I want to be able to handle this one on one with him. What I don't want is for him to feel attacked by two alicorns railroading him with questions about his worldview. Once we have him out and about, I'll try and stick with him as close as possible, and I want full autonomy for how to reform him. I read a lot form Twilight's notes on Fluttershy's efforts with Discord; and I think a one on one approach is definitely the best idea."

Luna spent the majority of those statements nodding, and simply responded with, "I concur, you shall have your space to deal with Dusk as you see fit." 

Cadance than lit her horn and grasped the coach door, before exiting right into the palace gardens. Luna stepped softly into the grass directly behind her.

"Thank you sirs" Cadance said to the two Night Guards who walked them here, they saluted and then returned to 'at attention' in front of the stage coach. She turned and trotted before slowing to a canter to keep pace with Luna's longer stride out into the gardens.

The air was crisp, but moist, so it was just in-between too warm and too cold, perfect for a night walk. The grass was perfectly cut, and the décor was framed by the light and the marble that made up the features in the gardens along with the menagerie of plant life that filled the pathway the two Princesses walked together.

"One other thing," Cadance said, turning and looking slightly up towards Luna to speak, "I know he is a talented mage, but you said in your letter that he is an Earth Pony?" 

Luna spoke while looking straight ahead, "Ah, well as you know, the earth pony has magic all their own, among Dusk's many projects was enhancing his own magical power. Not only, but he was also the greatest runesmith of his day, as well as the leading expert on rituals and many forms of casting accessible to an Earth Pony."

"It's hard to believe that an Earth Pony could match Starswirl in magical skill, were they really rivals? And why have I never heard of him if that's the case?"

"My sister likely wiped Dusk out of history in rage of his absence, and his influence in my fall to the Nightmare; and I'd say far more accurately that Dusk was by far Starswirl's better as far as magical strength was concerned. Starswirl was the founding father of many a spells foundation throughout era's past, he was a scholar first and foremost, an adventurer and monster hunter second. Dusk Swirl on the other hoof, while not an adventurer, often found himself in dangerous situations. He was by far a better warrior, and trumped Starswirl as far as raw magical power."

"How did he do that?" Cadance asked, bewildered

"Mmm, I was never told in detail, but among the things Dusk bragged about was inlaying runic structures within his own body. One of his powers I know of for certain is an array of powerful magic gathering spells inlaid on his bones."

Cadance tried to keep the recoil out of her features as she responded.

"That is... ghastly... His bones? Really? He carved magic into his own bones?" Cadance was mentally trying to catch up with such an idea. The idea of defacing your own body for power definitely seemed like the decision of a madpony.

"Aye, and I would also like to re-warn you of what he will likely use to dissuade you from your task. Dusk has done many a morally questionable thing, and will more than probably bring them up to try and disgust or scare you." Luna stopped at a wall of a thick hedge, growing straight from the ground. "Do not let him. So long as you stand firm, I am certain you will be able to convince him and achieve your goal."

"Okay." Cadance stumbled out, she had anxiety building within her, the more she talked about this, the more it seemed like she was the wrong pony for the task. 

Luna cast a spell and the shrubbery shambled to the sides, opening up a doorway into a clearing within a ring of hedges surrounding the statue of a pony. The statue depicted the stallion sitting and looking to the side, with his eyes closed and a distinct frown on his face, though his ears stood at attention.

This must be him

"This is the stallion" Luna said

Beyond herself, Cadance chuckled internally at the irony of her mental train of thought and Luna's confirmation, she welcomed the humor as a distraction from how quickly this was all proceeding. "So how do we do this... do we just, zap him?"

Luna turned to Cadance, "I am unsure, I have studied several spells that will likely aid us, but there's no telling how lon-"

"Greetings"

The voice came from the side, and the two Princesses turned to the side to confirm the obvious. There on the stone plinth the statue of a stallion was no longer a statue, although his positioning had not changed, his colouring and the texture of his fur had. His coat was a strange offset of blue, Cadance could have mistaken him for a crystal pony if she didn't know otherwise, and his mane had a gradient from an almost purple at the base, to a red in the middle, and a fiery orange at the top, it hung around his head, puffed almost like a lions mane. 

I guess it'll take that long

Cadance stepped up to the plinth, and brought up her courage, later she would realize that this was her 'Princess voice', "Hello Dusk, my name is Cadance and I-"

"Hold on, " He said, holding up a hoof, and coming to a stand, "Shut up for a moment." He had yet to open his eyes, and before Cadance had the chance to respond, he jumped down from his plinth and took two long strides up to her and got right up in her muzzle. After of which, he opened his eyes, almost touching snouts, he looked her straight in the face with grey eyes devoid of and emotion. 

Okay

Cadance struggled to bounce back from his invasion of her personal space, at least verbally, physically she stood her ground and did not flinch, even though his eyes were distinctly off putting. Luckily Luna came to her rescue before the staring became an issue.

"Hello again Dusk Swirl." 

"Princess Luna, what a pleasure it is to hear the 'cadance' of your voice again" He said, still staring Cadance down. He winked at the placement of her name, and then turned to Luna. Cadance stepped back.

"Your sarcasm is unwelcome as always Dusk" Luna spoke, a frown coming to her face.

"Well I could always just insult you directly, if you'd prefer, or her," He gestured towards Cadance, "I thought up plenty of material for her specifically since her coronation."

Cadance took the opportunity to jump in, "and how did you hear of that? I take it the stone you were in was porous?" She tried to give him a smile, and managed successfully, yet, he simply glanced to his side, and gave her an eyebrow before returning his gaze to Luna,

"Why are you bothering me exactly?"

Luna very quietly cleared her throat and answered. "I am here, along with my Niece to change you over to the side of harmony."

He looked at her, looked at Cadance, looked back at Luna, then Cadance. Then Luna. "Lulu... That's a child." He said, lifting a hoof towards Cadance. She tried to respond, but before she could get the words out, Luna stopped her with a wing,

"She is not. I trust her to do the task I have stated, and you will go along with her will or face the consequences." Luna took a step towards him and tried to glare him down, he simply moved to the side, closer to Cadance and smirked. He began to pace, totting this way and that, locking eyes with Luna, and pivoting his head to always be facing her.

"What makes you think I'd do that, or... anything really?"

"Because if you do not, I will imprison you myself." Luna said, the same terseness flowing into her words

He continued to pace for two... four seconds before responding.

"and what of the little princess? What stakes do you have in this, hmm?" His eyes had not left Luna, yet Cadance knew to speak.

"I want to help you, I don't know how yet, but I know I'll have to get to know you to begin with... I guess the stakes I have is doing a favor for my aunt, but also for you."

He made a humming noise, continuing his pacing for another couple of back and forths, Cadance noticed that his back left leg was dragging in the grass, almost like he was injured. He turned to Cadance. "You believe that huh?"

Cadance just nodded. He smiled. It looked wrong. Didn't fit his face, Cadance wasn't sure, it just made her shiver from the inside out.

"Well then. I think I've heard plenty of this drivel." He turned to Luna, stomped a couple of steps straight up to her. "I don't know where out of your hindquarters you pulled this idea from, but to make myself... perfectly... cleaar...." as he trailed off, he scrunched his face while leaning over, looking over Luna's shoulders, "What in Tartarus is that?" He pointed.

Cadance glanced to the side, towards where he was pointing, seconds before hearing heavy hoofalls, and moments after realizing her mistake. She wiped her head around to see him make a break for one of the corners of the hedge rectangle. Luna turned shortly after her and lit her horn.

There was a flash, blinding Cadance, and she heard Luna cry out, once she regained her sight, she saw Luna knelt on her front legs, a small strand of smoke coming from the tip of her horn, the ground was lit in a pattern easily recognizable as a series of runes, and Dusk just rounded the corner of the hedge maze as Luna shouted in the Royal Canterlot Voice

"Quickly Cadance! Catch him quickly!" The urgency behind her call and panic, one of the two stirred Cadance into motion without thought, she instinctively flexed her hooves and tossed herself into the air, spreading her wings and getting over the hedge line in one flap. The jump took a breath out of her, so she took a moment to glide in the direction he ran, inhaling deeply before flapping more and picking up speed. She caught a glimpse of his reddish mane over the hedge and dived towards it.

The chase was on, and all she could think about was how quickly this had broken down.
> Okay, Take two, please
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

I honestly should have seen this coming

Cadance dove towards a pathway down towards the hedge where she saw Dusks colours flash against the ground. 

"Dusk! Wait!" She called out to him, he laughed in response

"Catch me if you can Little Princess!"

She smirked, he was giving away his position calling out to her like that. She angled herself up over another hedge and saw him running perpendicular to her, she swung around to the side and caught him turning back the direction he came. He kept running.

"Dusk! Listen okay?!" She shouted over the wind resistance, it made her realize how fast she was going, and how fast Dusk was running, "I'm not going to force you to do anything, I just want to-"

"Do you think you're going to catch me by talking?!" He dove through a hedge wall, and she lost him for a split second before visually catching him to her left, running away from the hedge maze and towards the palace. One flap, and she was off again. He was fast, but she was faster by far in the air, and much more maneuverable.

"Please! Will you just stop for a second an-"

"I ain't gonna chat it up with another princess who flies like a bat mid shit!"

Excuse Me?

She clenched her jaw and flew in closer to him, "Now Listen here yo-"

Dusk stopped dead in his tracks, "Oh heavens, please shut your mouth!" Before turning to the left and sprinting towards the edge of the palace grounds. Cadance had to bank hard to the side to keep ontop of him, but he was gunning it towards the edge of the palace grounds, which meant he was running out of places to go, she grinned despite the insults, and after clearing a fountain and a walkway, she dove to land on the opposite side of a guardrail.

Dusk had hopped it and was looking over the side at the drop down past the palace falls that lead to mid Canterlot. Cadance hit the ground just as he reached the edge, her horn lit in preparation for his next move.

"That's it Dusk, there's no-where else to go." She heard herself, harsh, and out of breath. She was stood in a tiny crater where she landed and,

"You shouldn't've said that."

Before she could react, he tossed himself over the edge of a very long drop down Canterhorn.

She felt one pound of her heart before she tore the grass jumping off the edge after him, her wings pumping to get her momentum up.

He was falling with two hooves behind his head, gazing up at her with a raised eyebrow. He had maybe a mile before he was splatted on the side of Canterhorn, she caught up with him in the air and shouted over the pressure. "What are you doing!?"

"Trying to explode violently against a hard surface?" He said back, casually, then switched to taunting, "Why? Did you want to stop that? Maybe catch me or something?"

She shook her head, their chase flooding her mind and the stress exiting in her voice, "YES! Of course I do! What are you even! This is CRAZY!"

He just looked at her, mid fall to his doom, no response, his eyes still blank of emotion. "Huh"

Cadance tried to fly closer, to grab him or try to catch him, but he angled his hooves so she couldn't dive closer for a solid grip, no matter what direction she came from, he kept turning to stop her. "Stop it! You're going to get hurt!"

"Uhuh, you're a unicorn right? Why not just catch me with magic?"

Another hundred feet or so.

She wrapped him in her aura. Slowed his decent, and the two came to a halt a couple hundred feet above the mountain side. She looked at him, breathing heavily, struggling to mentally catch up with the situation.

She glared at him, he looked back impassively. She tried to catch her breath.

"Alright, I'm in. Can you put me down though?" He said to her, mid air. Over Cantorhorn, leagues away from her Empire, from Shining Armor.

What have I gotten myself into.

She slid along a warm air current, towards an outcropping of rock she deemed safe enough to stand on, and put him down on top of it, landing herself just a moment after. "Why did you do that?"

"Do what?" He said, inspecting his hoof.

"Do what? Jump off the Palace!" She approached, stomping her hoof to accentuate her frustration

He started drawing in the dirt. This time, she paid attention, not to be caught off guard a second time.

"Relax, this is just the rest of that teleportation matrix." 

He noticed me noticing, he's sharp, why am I doing this-

"Don't dodge my question."

"Which one"

She sighed. "Why did you jump off the palace." 

Patience Cadance.

"Oh that? I was curious." 

...

At least he showed some emotion

He had indeed, a small lilt of joviality rather than snark.

"Curious about?" Cadance lead,

"You."

"Me?"

He hummed in confirmation, still drawing in the stone.

"About?" Cadance said, leading forwards again,

Patience Cadance

"You ascended from being a pegasus correct?" He actually looked up at her now. She wasn't sure if she liked that more or less.

"I am."

"It was pretty clear with that flying, I'm honestly impressed, I thought you'd be far more clunky in the air with your lanky frame." He turned back to the stone and remarked after, "You were also far quicker on the jump down after me, when I did it to Celestia, it took her almost five seconds before she tried to catch me."

Before she could recover from the remark on her physique, "You've done this before?" 

"Can you lend me some magic?" He said, taping his hoof against the stone, "To teleport us back to the clearing, little Luna's probably still pacing. Fretting over my little escape attempt."

Trap for sure.

"We're not moving till you-" a tap and a flash, "-nevermind" They were back in the clearing where they started.

"Cadance! You have retrieved Dusk! Excellent work." Luna approached the two. 

He didn't need my magic to teleport, Skilled mage... right... okay

She held up her hoof towards Luna.

Okay Cadance, you've got his attention, you need to take control of this situation. Fast. Large and in charge like Celestia taught you

"I've got it all under control Luna" 

That sounded really contrived

She tried to discretely glance at Dusk, he was smiling at her in a way that said: 'that was really contrived'

whoops

"You have this handled Niece? Truly?" Luna returned to a passive pose, inquisitively glancing between Cadance and Dusk. Cadance did the same once. She noticed that the clearing was occupied in the air and on the ground by numerous Thestrals, likely called to aid Luna right after she shouted.

"Yes, I've," She changed verbal momentum,  "I have a plan, and I think Dusk's willing to give me a chance."

"Yeah, the Little Princess has me hooked," he dismissively waved a Luna, "Now go away." 

Luna frowned, Cadance intercepted. "While rude, I think it's best we continue how we discussed, I can handle it from here."

"If you insist my niece." Luna lifted her wings, "Thestrals to me, let us vacate the gardens to the castle." Luna turned back to Cadance. "Retrieve me if need be Cadance."

"I will, promise" Cadance also took note of the two crystal guardsponies at the opening in the hedge. The whole chase took just about a minute before they returned, and now Cadance had a moment to calm her churning mind to actually try to come up with some sort of plan. Luna was midway through the last of her statement before vacating the clearing. 

"She probably won't."

"You're opinion is noted Dusk." Luna snapped back, scowling, before turning and trotting out of the clearing, night guard in tow. She stopped at the edge and turned back towards Cadance.

"If I can be honest with you, I feel unsure about leaving you in the hooves of Dusk Swirl. Are you-"

"I have both Brazier and Runner to assist me if I need anything, and we already agreed that this would be best done one on one. Thank you Luna, but I can take it from here."

Luna worriedly glanced back and forth again towards Cadance and Dusk. Dusk who was rolling his eyes, and Cadance who was determinedly standing amidst the grass in the clearing.

Luna left without another word. As did her Thestral retinue, until it was just Cadance, Dusk, and the two crystal guards left in the clearing. Cadance took a couple of steps towards Dusk, getting a good distance in front of him before dropping to the grass in a sit, and holding out her hoof.

From the top

"My name is Cadance. It's nice to meet you Dusk."

He held out his hoof to shake hers, he wrapped his leg awkwardly around hers, and wiggled it. "I know who you are, and you shouldn't lie to someone you just met." He let go, letting himself sit as well. "You definitely did not enjoy our meeting."

Right...

"Do you need a minute?" He said, surprisingly softly

"I'll be o-"

"Don't lie to me. I promise you can't." There goes the softness, replaced with 'stern' and 'annoyed'

"Okay."

Cadance took a minute.

So what is the plan here Cadance

She took a deep breath, and counted to five, then released it, pulling a hoof away from her chest.

He seems to be both polite and rude in equal measure, I need to 'turn him to the side of Harmony' whatever that means. He's letting me breathe, so this must be doable. Okay... Regardless I have to start with

"Tell me about yourself."

"Myself?" He raised an eyebrow and gave a side smile, it seemed to be a reoccurring expression

Gotcha

"Luna told me a lot of related information around you, but had very little to say about your personality as a whole."

"and you want to get to know me before what? Turning me over to the side of Harmony?" He made air quotes with his hooves.

"Something like that."

"Well okay then" He stood and struck a pose, "Little Princess, you're looking at the most legendary living dark mage this side of the hemisphere, the master of the mind and the creator of modern psychology, I am, " He bowed, "Dusk Swirl. It is an absolute annoyance to have to be awake and talking to you."

A beat passed before he sat back down in the grass and looked off to the side, "I enjoy long walks off the side of cliffs, and find dull, boring food fascinating to no end. I'm a follower of the School of Unrelenting Force and self proclaimed master of insults," he leaned in conspicuously and 'whispered' "Although Discord will try to take that title, don't believe him"

"I like the quiet, and when I'm not basking in the silence, I also enjoy the sounds of crying, and screams of rage, generally pointed in my direction."

He stopped his description of himself, and looked at Cadance with the look of sarcastic interest still plastered across his face. "and who might you be" he gestured towards her.

Okay, this part is easy, I know who I am

"I am Princess Cadance, and-"

"Liar" he interrupted, expression unchanged.

She scrunched her muzzle, "I'd like to think I know who I am"

"You'd think that wouldn't you." He flipped back, then he sighed loudly just before she responded. "Listen, I'm not going to spend the next hour playing this little game. You're either going to get it or you won't, but in the interest of fairness," he paused then looked her in the eye, the intensity betraying his bored disposition, "Do you honestly view yourself as a 'princess'?"

A beat.

"Yes I do... maybe a little unconventionally," he smiled, "but a princess all the same, I have my responsibilities to my kingdom, and my ponies... I just, go about my duties in ways unique to me."

"See? Now we're getting personal. Explain."

"Explain my duties?"

"Sure, I mean, why not?"

Cadance tried to change her tone, she wanted to lead him towards getting used to her, not make him feel like he was getting a lecture.

"Well, I guess my main focus is keeping my citizens happy, and together. It takes a lot of effort to keep so many ponies focused on the same goal, and not only is it important for them, but also for the crystal heart."

He made a humming noise, "The Crystal Heart? You mean the artefact from ages past?"

She turned to show off her mark

"Well I'll be. You run the Crystal Empire then?"

getting somewhere... this is still so surreal

"I do, me and my husband Shining Armor"

"What of Sombrero?"

"Sombra?" she questioned, "King Sombra?"

"Yeah! What ever happened to the old fool, we used to work together."

"You worked with King Sombra?" 

"Yeah, he was investigating the heart, and a number of black magics, he requested my expertise, at the time, he was a normal stallion." He rolled his neck to the side, "Well, for a ruler that is. He was harsh, but fair, back then you had to exude confidence from every pore or the citizenry would snap you up in an instant."

"We know very little about the Crystal Heart, only what it does. Could you perhaps share what you shared with him with me?"

"Are you trying to get me talking about magical theory to try and acclimate me to your presence?" He shot back, frowning

crap

"Well- no, I was just-" 

"IF you try lying to me again, I'll just turn myself back into stone"

"Okay, I'm sorry." 

I'd best just let him have that one, another angle, how abo-

"What, why?" He said inquisitively, smiling.

"For trying to get you talking?" She carefully answered.

He shook his head, and tilted it in confusion. "What? Is that a bad thing nowadays?"

Cadance thought for a second, then narrowed her eyes.

This whole conversation is a chess game to him. He's just trying to toy with me! That doesn't even make any sense!

"I just asked you a question, you're the one who got all defensive and tried to lie like you'd done something wrong." He laughed once, "Gotcha" he said, half scoffing and half laughing to himself.

He looked away towards the stone plinth he rested on less than an hour ago.

Talking to him is pointless... He'll always try to turn it around on me, Luna said so to begin with... He said he wouldn't be playing 'this' game, so let's see what he thinks of me when I stop playing too, I've got you now.

Cadance, with her new plan, put a relaxed smile on her face, and re-settled herself into a sitting position in the cool air of the Canterlot Gardens. After maybe a minute or so of her inspecting his form, he turned back to her with a kinder smile on his face. He didn't speak. Cadance felt the impression that he was genuinely happy she stopped talking.

I'm not sure if I should be happy I got him to actually smile, or insulted that it was because I shut up

He eventually closed his eyes, and tilted his head up towards the sky, he... moved his head around oddly, it reminded Cadance of a flamingo feeling the air currents with it's neck. He stayed like that. Seemingly enjoying the night air for at least ten minutes.

This is so strange, first, a mysterious summons to reform an equally mysterious villain. Then the villain turns out to be a sarcastic earth pony mage with the skill to teleport, and here I am, just... sitting in a field with him. Enjoying the night air...

at least I think it's working'

"You know, I knew some ponies who tried to play that little game with me until they died of old age."

Cadance chose not to respond. This time, she saw the bait for what it was.

"You figured out the pointlessness of 'talking' to me relatively instantly"

"I did." she said simply. He turned his head back down and re-opened his eyes.

"ah, so she speaks." He inclined his head towards her, "And what exactly did you learn?" He rested his head on a hoof.

Cadance actually took a moment to consider what to say. She knew what she knew of course, but how to explain it was a completely different story.

"You don't care about me or this. The only reason your here is because... you're bored."

He gestured for her to continue, but rolled his eyes nonetheless.

"So... this whole thing is... pointless." She frowned, and felt the weight of failure settle on her withers. 

"Well yeah, I mean, you came at me like I had a problem, and tried to talk to me like I was a noble. The only problem was that I'm smarter than you, and don't particularly enjoy being treated like I had some sort of debilitating issue that you think you can just trick me into not having using verbal gymnastics. It was stupid, and honestly rude."

She waited.

"What makes you think I even need to be reformed?" He stood, and advanced on her, slowly.

"What brought upon you the audacity to try and pull the verbal nonsense you just tried to pull to... what? Get in my head?" he shook his head. "Is this how ponies make nice nowadays? Really?"

"No."

"Well at least we're on the same page then." He was close enough to touch her, and glared at her. "So what're you going to do now hmm?"

What am I going to do now? I don't even... I don-

"I don't like you."

It took Cadance a moment to realize that it was her that just let that out. She looked level at him and watched his eyes widen.

where did that come from?!

She opened her mouth to try and fix what she had just done, but was interrupted by Dusk throwing his snout back and laughing once deeply.

"HA!" He looked back down at her and started giggling, "AYE!" 

Dusk took another step forward and slapped a hoof on her shoulder, "See! There's a little bit o' the old honesty right? That wasn't so hard was it? Ha!"

"I-" She tried, but he doubled back,

"PFFFTBBTTTP, BWAHAHAHA," He stumbled over, laughing his heart out. Was he laughing at her?

It's not fake, does really find that so funny?

"Hooo boy! All this time, and I thought I'd have to pop you!" He saddled up to her side and elbowed her in the ribs, "Good thing you did it yourself ay?"

Pop me? What is that supposed to mean??

"AY! Guard pony! Stop looking at the birds!" Cadance turned her head towards her two guards

"A dark mage is close enough to kill your princess in moments and you're just enjoying the view? C'mon now!"

Kill me? What?

She shuffled away from him

"Ay don't worry Little Princess, I'm not gonna hurt you, your guards just suck." he said, a massive smile still plastered on his face.

"Could you though?"

"Could I kill you in moments you mean?" He was a bit quick to respond to that, like he was expecting it. Cadance merely nodded in response

I feel like I'm being tossed around in a bouncy house, this conversation is so fast!

"Rule one of dealing with a hostile practitioner of dark magic Little Princess. This'll help you with liches and the likes too." He closed his eyes and bounced his head like he was reciting a word at a spelling bee, "Don't ever let one get close enough to touch you. Almost all dangerous dark spells capable of permanent harm require direct contact with the user and the target in order to function."

He looked back at her with a face that said 'I didn't just imply I could murder you with evil magic'

She looked back at him in confusion. 

He seemed to like that.

This is going to be a long night.
> In which Cadance tries to connect with this weirdo at all
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Alright Cadance...

I've gone backwards, there was a plan, that mostly got tossed as he tossed himself over the side of the palace. 

Both him and Luna have all but confirmed that everything I thought about going about this is generally pointless...

So........

She tried to push the 'ich' around murderous dark magic and the lack of her guards' attention to the back of her mind and spoke.

"Alright then."

"Alright then?" He said, it reminded her of Celestia long ago, teaching her about her diplomatic duties. Like he was leading her to an answer, which in hindsight was not really correct, but it set her on the right path anyways.

"I... don't know what I'm doing, you're clearly not 'evil' and you keep implying that you have some better way to go about this." She added as an afterthought, "and it occurs to me that you wouldn't have unfrozen yourself if you didn't have a plan."

"So?"

The way he keeps still reminds me of Celestia's poker face

"So what is it? What do you want to do here?" She tried to keep her query as soft as possible. A request rather than an accusation, which... most of this has been accusatory.

Time to take one from Twilight's book 

He looked around, eyes settling on the guards, he turned back to her, "First, we ditch Brazier and Runner the-"

"Absolutely not." She raised a hoof before he could respond, "and not because of what you think, Shining only let me come here for this if I promised to keep my guards with me at all times." She gestured at them, "Shining would be really upset with me if I just ditched them with you."

She expected some sort of rebuttal, but instead, he put his hoof under his muzzle and pondered in a very exaggerated face that she was sure was a joke. 

"Fair enough I suppose," he shrugged and then his entire body flew into motion as he stepped back onto his hindquarters and forward kicked two rocks towards her guards.

"Hey!" But it was already too late, the rocks flew to slow to injure either of them, but too fast for them to avoid. The rocks hit their mark and collapsed into glittering dust on contact, both guards fell into the grass like a puppet with their strings cut. Cadance was stood over them seconds after, her heart pounding.

Oh thank everything they're okay

She wiped her head around, only to come muzzle to muzzle with Dusk. She blanched

"Rule two, never take your eyes off a mage, if the spells are flying and you lose sight of your opponent, it means you probably just lost."

"What did you do to them." She was seconds away from blasting him into the grass

"I just put them to sleep" He pulled another stone from... Somewhere, and held it up to the Princess of Love. "See? Inspect the spell work yourself."

She was no adept mage, but she new a couple of simple sleeping spells from her days of foalsitting Twilight. Cadance lifted the stone from his hoof in her magical aura-

"Careful not to squeeze it, finding us both passed out in the field tomorrow morning would be very embarrassing."

The spell work felt like a sleeping spell... Just... Runic...

"Why did you do that." She stopped inspecting the stone and hoped to glean anything from his response.

"Shining just said they had to be with you no? Not that they had to be awake?" He said like it was the simplest thing ever, gesturing to the two guards laying prostrate on the grass.

"No. Just no." She sat, sighed, and pressed a hoof to her temples. "And you couldn't've just asked first instead of dropping both of my guards?"

"Forgiveness and permission, heard that phrase before?"

"Yes I've heard that phrase before," She removed her hoof and looked him in the eye, "You're definitely not forgiven, you just committed a crime!"

"I-"

nope

"Nope!" Cadance stomped a hoof, "I know you're not going to play by any rules I know, but you will not go casting spells on anypony without clearing it with me first!" She pressed her hoof to his chest, tapping it with each word to prove her point. "Am. I. Clear."

"Crystal!" He said with a smile, he returned to a neutral expression and held a hoof up to his chest, before she could stop him, he grabbed her hoof and held them both to his chest, "I swear on the things that matter to me that not only was I not intending to hurt them or anypony else, but that I will not affect anypony else with magic unless you are aware of it; and allow it." He let her go, and then returned to a neutral stance himself.

"Okay" She said, moved by his sincerity, and the really intense eye-contact. "That's good enough for me"

This stallion is an emotional rollercoaster!

"May I shrink them?"

Roller. Coaster.

"Why?"

"So we can take them with us easily."

"Okay, beyond the reasoning behind that, where do you think we're just going to go in the middle of the night, a Princess and an unknown Stallion with two tiny passed out Royal Crystal Guards?"





How did he convince me to do this

"I can't believe you convinced me to do this"

They had moved to the cobblestone streets of middle Canterlot, surrounded by the closely packed stone and wooden structures of the residential district, they stood in front of a hole in the wall bar. It was clearly once a home itself before being turned into likely the defacto inlet for this particular street, much to the credit of the likely business savvy businesspony who owned the property. The lights were dim and warm. 

And it smelled.

"Why is it so odd? I've been in stone for so long, I've been craving a good drink." 

"Is this, really what you want?" Before he could respond, "and I mean reeeaaally, this isn't some joke or part of some plan to get rid of me? You actually want to just... drink with me?"

Shining has made plenty of friends this way, it's definitely not that strange

"Is there a reason that it would be for any reason unreasonable?" He looked at her.

His eyes give me the creeps

"How about that I have two unwillingly sleeping royal guards on my back?" Which she indeed did, after consenting to make them small enough to carry, they were both proportionally shrunk down in a runic circle to the size of newborns.

He tossed a hoof, "details," and approached her by a couple of steps, "and before we go in, we're going to need disguises. You were right in that a Princess and some guy can't just go walking into a whole in the wall bar for a pint in the middle of the night." He gestured hoof up to her, "may I demonstrate?"

Cadance nodded

He closed his eyes, and before her his features changed. His gradient mane turned a sleek silver and straightened down his back away from his chest, his fur inverted and went from a silvery blue to a stark white, and not only that, but his legs slimmed and his muzzle shortened. His features rounded out and when he reopened his eyes she saw elongated eyelashes flutter.

"How do I look?"

well his voice is unchanged

"You look like a mare made of chalk"

"That's the idea." he struck an elegant pose, "Completely unrecognizable no?"

His cutie mark was the only thing that remained unchanged, he was right, everything else about him was completely different.

"Now you, how are you with transfiguration and illusion?"

She wasn't...

"I don't really know any spells for... that" She pointed at his everything, "I know a height spell, but usually that and a large cloak is enough for being inconspicuous"

"In that case, may I craft a disguise for you?" He said, taking another step towards her.

"You're not going to turn me inside out are you?"

"No, purely a visible transfiguration of your flesh."

"You said that in a way that makes me very nervous."

"This entire encounter with me is going to make you very nervous, are you going to roll with it? Or are you going to keep resisting like you did at the beginning?"

Cadance had learned many a time in the excitement of her life, from her childhood to her mission agaisnt the witch that gained her a horn, to her quest to protect the crystal empire, and even a point in dating Shining of moments that carried a very particular weight. In those moments she found that there was always a deceptively simple choice. She could continue, or she could not, and depending on the circumstance, it was bound to change something drastic about herself, or the world as a whole. This was one of those moments.

Buck it

"Alright, I'm in" She held out a hoof to him.

He smiled and grasped her hoof in his own. There was a soft prick right above the bone on her hoof and then she started to feel the magic and the warmth she didn't realize she knew was present all over Dusk pass into her body. Her eyeline shifted down and she felt her everything shift all over.

And just like that, it was over.

She was now an earth green unicorn mare with a crisp black and brown mane. Which was incredibly startling seeing as that she was now just about a full head shorter and 

missing my wings

"What did you do to my wings"

"Relax princess, I have them right here." 

Have?!

He wasn't lying, his stark white fur now sported a pair of equally stark white wings. The panic sunk down in her chest as she realized that he had just stolen her wings off her back. Her commitment to this plan vanished in an instant and a different emotion grabbed the front of her brain. She was so baffled that she just stood there stock still, her mouth gaping, her face contorting in anger.

"Now before you shout at me, I would like to posit that I can and will easily return them to you, and that to any outside observer, there are simply a pair of mares stood outside a bar having a conversation before entering."

Patience Cadance, you're getting way to angry. Discord has taken your wings and horn before too, you didn't get this mad at him

Her internal thoughts helped calm her off the edge of incoherent shouting and her face cooled. "Don't..."

"Do what I said I was going to do again?" He rolled his eyes, "No, sorry, I'm a stallion of my word."

"Not at the moment" She said

"Ha!" He tossed his head back again for a single laugh. "Nice zinger"

"Just give me a larger warning next time okay?" She said, trying to keep her tone steady and her voice soft.

"I'll keep that in mind" He said, or she Cadance pondered. He started making his way towards the entrance of the Homely Hovel and held the door open for her. She, a couple hoovelengths behind him checked the guards on her back only to find them invisible, yet still present.

"Part of your disguise" He said from the door

She tossed her new, front laden mane out of her eyes and approached the door

alright Cadance, I can do this, just a couple of drinks and we'll both loosen up, we'll chat, and then everything will be hunky dory in the morning

"Thank you" She commented out of habit of having the door held for her as she entered. The interior was deceptively cheap. The wooden floors were polished but old, and the ceiling had plenty of hanging decor in the forms of paintings and young looking metal chandeliers lighting the room meant to disrtract the common bar goer of the dilapidated ceiling. The bar and the tables littering the open plan establishment in random order fed to the idea of a limited supply attempting to make itself look more than it was.

"You're welcome," Dusk said, entering in after her, "Cute place huh? Trying a bit hard though"

He wandered past her towards the bar where a pink mare in a tightfitting servers coat and smock shook a drink from behind the counter before passing it off towards a stallion who took it, side-glanced both Dusk and her, before leaving the counter and sitting down at a table several strides away where a plate of food waited for him.

She approached the bar counter and lifted herself onto a seat, the two guards on her back stayed in place regardless of gravity.

Apparently

"How can I help you two tonight?" The mare asked, Cadance noted her cutiemark of a cocktail glass filled with clear liquid with an olive on a toothpick.

"Do you have anything eighty proof?" Dusk asked before Cadance could think of her drink of choice.

The mare took a double take at either the choice of drink or the surprisingly stallion like voice coming from what was clearly a mare in the seat in front of her. "Absolutely, we have High Floor and a new vegetable based drink from Stalliongrad called Everspell."

"Can I buy a bottle of each?" He asked in response, 

"I'm sorry, uh, sir," She looked to Cadance for help, "but we don't sell by the bottle, both Everspell and High Floor come by shots."

"That'll do, I'll take two of each please and thank you." As the countermare turned to Cadance, "and that will be for both of us by the way, thank you again."

She nodded, "I'll have those ready for you two in a moment." and got to work.

"How heavy is an eighty proof?" Cadance leaned over to Dusk before asking. He looked to her with a look she was already starting to tire of. "I'm not a drinker, as I'm sure you could've guessed."

"Really, you've never gone out on the town before?" he paused, "City in this case I guess?"

"I've not drank recreationally since college, and that was just a massive jug of red wine we found." She chuckled, "We definitely should not have drunk it, we of course assumed wine just tasted like that, turns out it had been left open for nearly a year in the teachers lounge, and a staff member tried to discretely remove it." 

"But of course some kid found it and brought to you and your friends. Must've been quite the night." He chuckled, coming to rest himself on a hoof, turned to observe, and listen to her story.

"It was, and I'm not looking for a repeat, so instead of distracting me, how about you answer my question." She returned his pose and facial expression.

"Ha! Got me that time," He sat back and clapped his hooves, "eighty proof is about as hard as I'll go shot wise, it's gonna be awful, that I swear" He crossed a hoof over his chest, "best swallow as fast as possible. Speaking of!" He turned with a smile towards the countermare who levitated their drinks down in front of them. Cadance could already smell the alcohol. It smelled scarily similar to the cleaning vinegar that the palace kitchen used to sterilize the floors. One shot glass was filled with a blackish translucent liquid that looked almost like oil, the other, strikingly opposite, was a very clear liquid that she easily could've mistake for water if she was far away and nose-blind.

"Ah, hold on for a second." Dusk leaned over and reached a hoof out to her drinks, "This is important." He pressed the tip of his hoof to the edge of each of her drinks and whispered strange words, both lit up and shimmered lightly before visually returning to their original splendor.

"What spell was that." She immediately jumped on that.

"Before you get all exited, I promised to not affect a pony with magic, I was going to tell you what it did before letting you drink it, honest. It's just a small charm that'll protect you from the damage of the alcohol, while still letting you enjoy it the fun way." He explained, leaning back towards his own drinks.

That's not to bad I guess.

"And I guess there's no way for me to know for sure I won't have something terrible happen to me when I drink that?"

He laughed "Oh something terrible will happen, it just won't be on me; and if I wanted to hurt you, I would've done it outside when you let me touch you. Not with poison. That's just boring, and kinda sad." 

Before anything else Dusk wrapped his mouth around the glass filled with 'high floor' and tossed the entire thing back. He leaned forward again, and dropped the glass into a waiting hoof. "Wow, that's disgusting, Verdant, you've got to try it" 

Verdant? Right, disguises

He gestured her on with his hooves, excitedly, like a filly jumping around, only this was about enchanted poison, it was a dark mage, and she was a Princess. 

"Go on! Try it try it!"

You definitely shouldn't do this

She did it anyway. In a smooth motion she tried to follow Dusks lead, wrapping her lips around the edge of the shot glass and holding it in her teeth, she quickly tossed the entire drink to the back of her throat.

She had an idea of what she was getting into in the moments before the liquid hit her throat by the burning sensation caused in her mouth when she grabbed it in her jaw, her idea was blown out of proportion as the liquid burned down her throat, already too late to stop swallowing, she coughed, hard. The glass fell from her mouth; and her mind recoiled in shock and her body recoiled in pain as her everything tried to catch up with what exactly just happened.

Dusk was laughing. Besides herself, Cadance began laughing too. Her cough strangled it, but she tried nonetheless. Somewhere in the depths of her mind, she knew what had just happened was unconditionally funny.

"My heavens, the look on your face!"

Cadance was still hacking her lungs out,

"Do you need help there Verdant?"

Cadance shook her head and tried to steady her breathing and stop coughing, which worked surprisingly well. 

"That was terrible" She said, and it resumed his chortling anew. 

"I know!" He said between giggling, "Ma'am, could you bring me another 'High Floor', but with a tablespoon of salt mixed into it?"

The pink countermare frowned, "Uhm, are you sure you want that?" Before she could finish properly, he interrupted

"Absolutely" Then he turned her head to Cadance, ignoring the countermare's frown and attempt to disuade him. "You see, Verdant, many a mare believe in the complexity of a drink, but I think differently." Cadance, mid-attempt at trying to hold onto her sanity, simply listened. "It's poison is it not? So it should taste like it. If I'm not vomiting on my first whiff of the drink in question, then it's not disgusting enough."

"Excuse me," The countermare said, laying another drink down in front of Dusk  "Here is your ruined drink sir." Cadance didn't miss the ire directed towards Dusk, but his only response was tossing back the new drink and coughing the same way Cadance just had. He smacked his hoof onto the counter and wheezed. His eyes bulged and his mouth opened wide. She laughed. It was funny, it just was.

The countermare's rude barb at Dusk forgotten, Cadence turned her attention to the other drink while Dusk recovered from what was likely a harrowing experience. This one smelled just as bad as the other, but with less flavor. She, decided upon the direction the rest of this night would take right then and there.

Time to mare up Cadance

Down went the next one. This time, she was way more ready for the sensation of somepony putting an acidic spinning toilet-brush down her throat, and managed to not cough for a couple of seconds before shaking her head and exhaling hard. She shook her hoof in front of her open mouth, like it was on fire. Dusk to her side, had apparently recovered.

"Damn mare, you hit that pretty hard." He tossed back his other one in a second and coughed once. "Ugh, which one did you like more?"

It didn't take long to decide on the second she tried, it was just as awful, but at least it didn't taste like a horseshoe.

"The Everspell, definitely." She rasped, unprepared for exactly how much two drinks would smooth out her throat.

"Excuse me, Ma'am" Dusk turned toward the countermare again.

"What."

Cadance coughed again, but not because of the alcohol, Dusk seemed to take it in stride however.

"Six more shots of Everspell please-"

Six more? I can't drink three more of those!

"For both of us." He finished

Six each?! Oh no, Cadance, alarm bells, you definitely cannot handle that many drinks!

Cadance cannot answer your letter right now, please come back later.

She giggled at her internal monologue as the countermare worked to setup their twelve shots on the countertop. Her mind vaguely registered Dusk casting that drink ward spell six more times for her, and she focused intently to make sure he didn't try anything funny. He definitely didn't.

"So!" He clapped, "Now that we have our drink of choice for the night, let's play a game." 

"A game." She dedpanned.

"Yes a game! Games are fun! We're here to have fun! I'll make it interesting to you," He leaned closer to Cadance, "We have six drinks each, we've got to get through all six, unless of course, you need to tap out, which is totally fine, we'll just reduce it at the end." 

Sounds good so far

Two parts of Cadance's mind were at war with another despite her calm demeanor, her terror at the environment, and who exactly she was with; but on the other hoof, whatever she was doing, it was working.

"It's simple, we each drink at the same time, and if you move or cough or shake, I get one point, if the opposite, you get one point. At the end, we each ask each other questions equal to the amount of points, and you can't lie, and have to answer the question, you can of course be vague, the fun of the game is trying to have your questions make sense after eight shots." throughout his explanation, he was twirling the liquid inside a glass on the tip of his hoof, looking at her dead in the face. 

His eyes are so scary

"You're on." This time, Cadance lifted her drink with her magic, and poured it straight into the back of her throat, at the same time Dusk tipped back the drink in his hoof.

She dropped the glass on the counter and tried not to shake, this time she managed to swallow all of the drink at once, and in turn, the warmth hit her core all at once. She was so focused that she didn't feel her neck tense, and her breathing remained even. Dusk on the other hoof, shook his head to be rid himself of the flavor.

"One point for you" He said, leaning forwards and almost tapping her on the shoulder while pointing at her before leaning back and grabbing his next drink. "Cheers Little Princess" he waved his glass at her and downed it before she could grab her next one.

"Why Little Princess? I'm definitely taller than you" She said, scooping up her next drink in her magic.

He smirked and grabbed his next glass, "Save the questions till the end Little Princess" 

They tossed their respective drinks back together again. 

"I have never had a day like this before in my life" She said, "It feels like I've been through an entire day of Princessing, only I'm smiling, and I'm at a bar with a dark mage, drinking until I'm blind."

"Stuff like that happens all the time around me" Came his response, "Don't worry about the details, just smile and keep rolling." a beat passed, "and that's a point for both of us, I didn't see; and I'm pretty sure you weren't looking either."

"No I wasn't, and I got clenchy"

"Next?"

Her response was to grab her drink and toss it back. She's never done shots before, and now she was five into a night that was something she'd remember forever as her first time really drinking. Or was she four in...

She looked to Dusk the same time he looked to her, and he shook his head.

"That's a point for me." 

is that three to one? is he letting me beat him?

At this point, her first two shots had set in fully curtesy of her alicorn metabolism, and she was buzzing lightly, she wasn't sure

I guess that's the point

The next couple of minutes included her drinking whatever was left in front of her, and she only realized she had spaced out when Dusk shook her by the shoulder, "Hey Little Princess, you need to tap out?" 

She nodded, and he turned and looked over the counter,  "Excuse me mylady, would you mind taking this glass back, it's untouched." The countermare however, was not interested.

"No you can't return a used drink mr. tablespoon of salt." It was something about her tone, Cadance couldn't describe it, but it drove her to speak up.

"Hey, sto-" She burped, and it was the strangest most awful experience to barely feel, "No... N- No, being rude, Dusk is being an exquis-ert... exquisit gentle stallion, and he deserves more respecth."

The countermare just walked away. She wasn't sure where, but at least she was gone.

"That's three points for you Cadance, and two points for me, you played a mean game, go ahead and ask away, I think I'll cache mine for next time." 

Next time? Questions? What time is it?

"Hey, you okay? did you drink to much?"

She shook her head. She just wasn't used to it was all. She had questions to ask, and she was going to make them count.

"Why did Luna want you redeemed" She barely managed not to slur, after she said it, she was impressed

A very distinct and very precise question there Princess, very good work

"I don't know" He flippantly responded.

"Buck" She said aloud.

He snorted, "Not what you wanted out of that question huh?"

Did I say that out loud?

"Did I say that out loud?" 

At this point, the only things that existed for Cadance were the sway of the lights, Dusk, and her body, which felt really off, like she wasn't even inside of it.

inside of my own body?

"Yes Little Princess, you said that out loud" He smirked at her.

She rushed, "Wait no, that's not one of my-" She burped again. This time it was loud, not just a bubble in the back of her throat.

"Don't worry, I'm not charging you for that one, ask away"

This one better be good

"Have you ever loved somepony? Like, really loved them, not like, not loved them." 

Dammit Cadance! That barely made...

Oh... Oh wow.

He responded at some point, she wasn't sure what he said, but she knew what it meant. Her addled mind tried to pull in the information so she could understand, and basically came up with 'he said yes and meant it'

"One more question Little Princess" He was looking at her now, same intensity as always. His eyes boring into her mind like he knew everything that was in there already, and was just sifting around to make sure she hadn't disorganized her own thoughts.

This time, she was quick on the draw,

"What's your real name?"

"That's the two of them! Right there at the counter still!" 

Cadance turned to see the countermare stood next to two royal guard stallions at the doorway pointing at her with a snarl on her face. That was also the point in which she fell off her chair and passed out.
> Oh no... He's deeaaaaaad...
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance awoke in the sun, startlingly fast. One moment she was asleep. The next her eyes were wide open to the just-afternoon sun. 

Uh-oh

She quickly took stock of her body, she was laying on grass, she was outside, uninjured, and was back to how she was meant to look. No disguise. There were two Crystal Guards ponies at her sides, not yet awoken, and she felt energized. Also, somepony was calling her name.

"Cadance!" 

Oh. Oh no

That was Celestia's voice, along with the distinct sound of Celestia's wingbeats.

UUUUUHH

She sat up quick and straight to see exactly what she was dreading, Celestia landed and approached her rapidly before wrapping her tightly in a warm hug, Celestia's wings surrounding her like a cacoon.

Okay?

"Oh Cadance, I'm so glad your okay." Celestia pulled away and looked Cadance in the eye. Just after, the Sun Princess' expression hardened, evidently Cadance's confusion was easy to read, "Are you okay?" Celestia lightly moved around Cadance's face to get a good look at her.

"What happened?" She tumbled out. While she had no headache she was still foggy on what happened after her and Dusk entered a bar. Her mind tried to pick up a little panic at the mental mention of Dusk, but at this point she resigned herself to her mistakes.

"After Dusk Swirl poisoned you, he went on a rampage through the city with you as a hostage."

WHAT?!

"HE WHAT?" Out came the RCV

When!? After I passed out? C'mon brain tell me what happened!

Her brain was on strike after her decision making earlier today, and refused to relinquish the precious information, Celestia continued. "Luna told me everything, and I am very disappointed you would keep this from me. Even though your intent was pure, Luna didn't tell you everything about Dusk."

At this point her brain fully properly managed to decipher what exactly Celestia had said. Her eyes went wide.

"Oh... oh no." Her voice got quiet and shallow as emotions racked her mind forwards and backwards, "A rampage? How many?" The words came out strangled

"Just the one dear Cadance," Celestia said, no confusion entering her voice, "Bu-"

"No, I mean..." She steeled herself. "Celestia, how many ponies died for my actions?"

Now it was Celestia's turn to blanch, "Killed? No Cadance, nopony was hurt, luckily Luna's charm to withhold most of Dusk's power held throughout his rampage through the city. Besides the roads and a lot of personal property damaged in the chase through the city, nothing was lost."

Celestia fully stepped away from their hug as the two guard ponies stirred, she stood straight, "and I'm sorry, I know you had good intentions, as you always do; but Dusk Swirl had to be turned back into stone, this time permanently, once he was caught."

Cadance's mind was spinning.

Something's on backwards here.

"So just to be clear," Cadance started, Celestia nodded for her to continue, "Dusk, poisoned me, and then... used me as a hostage to rampage through the city... but nopony was hurt, because of... Luna's charm? A charm she used on Dusk to seal away his magical power?" 

"Yes, and I'm sorry you had to experience any of that. Luna had no right to free Dusk, nor expose you to his machinations, safe or not safe." Celestia turned her head away from Cadance, "I was so worried when I heard they'd lost sight of you during the chase, I've spent all morning looking for you."

Cadance's confusion was missed.

I have to talk to Luna

"Thank you auntie, really... I just need a moment... where's Luna? Is she okay?"

"I sent up the flare as soon as I saw you, she should be here any moment to apologize to you."

More and more of Cadance's night was coming back to her, and more and more was she realizing that the story she was being told was inaccurate. Everything about it was just wrong. She wasn't poisoned, she drank herself into blacking out; and Dusk wasn't charmed, he pulled the wings off an alicorn without even blinking. Even if he was charmed, he was clearly skilled and highly intelligent. Cadance had seen the things Shining Armor could do with the non-magical weapons they had at the guards' disposal, and for a pony like Dusk, weapons were plentiful. So no injuries? No deaths? He hadn't wanted to hurt anypony.

And now he was stone.

"What did you mean by permanently?" Cadance stood, "When he was turned back to stone?" Another pair of wing flaps joined them in the grass from behind, as she turned she noted their location as just outside the palace grounds.

"It means I made a grave error, and had to make up for it with an equally grave decision." Luna stated and stepped forwards after landing to wrap Cadance in a wing. "When he refused to disclose your location to me, I cornered him and gave him a choice between you, and being directly turned to stone."

Celestia stepped in to finish the story. "When he chose to spite Luna, she transfigured his body directly into stone, his spirit left him shortly after." Cadance's mind whirled, but before she spoke, "Technically there was one casualty of his rampage."

"Can I see him?" She said, "The statue I mean? Can I see his statue? Just to be sure?" She sounded hopefull.

The two sisters exchanged a glance, and Luna stepped away from her niece. Celestia lit her horn. "Cadance, is it okay if I scan you for any lingering traces of dark magic?" They were both watching her warily, Cadance could tell Luna's hackles were raised by her clenched teeth and her outstretched wings.

They think he cast a spell on me

Her mind remembered his promise. "Yes, go ahead, I'm not under a-" Cadance's body shook as Celestia's magic vibrated her body from the inside out. "Oh that feels very strange"

"My apologies niece, that was a heavy duty spell keyed specifically to discovering dark magic, you are clean of course. Why exactly do you want to see Dusk's statue?" Luna returned to Cadance's side and continued, "After all of this, I had assumed you would want to return to the Crystal Empire and your paramour to leave this all behind you as quickly as possible?"

"I just want to make sure he's really gone." She spoke with confidence. Too much confidence really. Cadance wasn't even sure if that was true, she wasn't even sure what was going on any more, what she wanted to see his statue for. All of this was just one massive headache. 

And she didn't even have a hangover.





That was certainly him...

On the three princess's flight over to Dusk's stone plinth where his statue had been returned, Cadance's emotional maelstrom of a mind had calmed; and her memory had returned to her fully

Something was definitely up.

Luna had confirmed that she had placed a spell over Dusk after he was released. Cadance Guessed she could have missed it, but she was almost certain it was a lie.

That was definitely him though, the eyes were just as menacing as they were in the pony. The rest of his body was crouched low like he was about to jump, a massive snarl covered his face, likely mid insult.

"That's" Cadance started slowly, "So it's just over then?" She paused, "Mission failed?"

Luna spoke up, "Indeed dear niece, but do not take it as a failure. It was by my fault you were present here, and his fault for refusing your kindness."

"She's right Cadance. While this was a terrible idea, it going wrong isn't on you. That falls strictly on his withers." Celestia put a hoof on her shoulder. "Twilight's in town now though, if you could use some cheering up."

"Twilight came up to Canterlot?"

"Twilight and her friends rushed to our aid when they heard we had loosened a dark mage upon the populace." Luna said evenly

Cadance didn't want to see Twilight. Not like this, not right after getting somepony killed

"I think I just need to take the next train back to the Crystal Empire" Cadance moved slightly to begin her path out. "Also probably a spa visit, and several naps, and maybe some busy work."

You also need to figure out what in tartarus is going on

"I will see you away to the train station dear niece"

"Thank you auntie"

Luna scooped up the still groggy pair of Crystal Guards and off they went. After a couple of steps both Cadance and Luna took flight, Celestia took to the air a moment after, with a heading towards the palace. It took Cadance a moment to get her bearings and start flying in the right direction.

"Luna," She flapped slightly closer to the larger alicorn, "Did Dusk have the skill to cast memory spells?"

Luna's response was quick and curt. "Indeed." She then turned to Cadance, "Do you believe he cast one such on you? That which is why your memory is refusing to return to you?"

"Maybe, I'm not sure yet."

Cadance had entertained the idea that everything that happened right after he touched her the first time was either an illusion or just a horrible bending of her mind. That would imply however that he was capable of casting that magic to begin with, which wouldn't be possible if Luna had cast a magic restricting spell on him. That and her memory of the previous night had returned to her.

She was sure some things in it were true, as her guards were still asleep, and she could feel the growing need to use the little fillies room from her... alcohol consumption the night before. That and the lack of a hangover meant that Dusk's spell had worked. Meaning it hadn't been a trick, which implied everything before that moment actually happened.

ugh, a nap and a spa, then I can send a letter to Luna about it all later.

By the time they landed at the train station, her guards had awoken. They made the attempt to return to her side as if they hadn't been asleep for the past seven or so hours. It wasn't really their fault, Cadance just had weird emotional nots in her head about guards.

"Cadance, I'd like to apologize for this kerfuffle" Luna began,

"It's okay auntie, really. I know you meant for it to go a different way." Her mind reminded her of her first wasted question, and before Luna could attempt to apologize in a more complicated way, Cadance broke her train of thought, "Although, I do wonder why exactly you wanted him reformed to begin with?"

Luna shook her head, "At one time, Dusk Swirl was just as much a hero as he was a villain. During the Discordian Era, he was one of the few to directly challenge the Mad King's rule. He formed a resistance and lead thousands of ponies to safety" She took a breath, then continued, "To my knowledge he is the only creature of which truly drew Discord's ire. A stallion capable of making better chaos than himself. That and during the rise of Equestria, he carried a lead role in defending settlements and the ponies therein. Beyond his achievements, he was a personal friend of mine. I would say that the true answer to your question is that I just wished to see him again."

Cadance hugged her aunt. There wasn't anything else to be done.

"I'm sorry it didn't work out Luna."

"I'm sorry too dear niece."

They separated, and Cadance took a few steps towards the train at the platform, which luckily happened to be leaving within the next thirty minutes. She waved once to Luna, she returned the gesture before taking flight and heading off. Cadance boarded the train, everything all a blur. She stumbled around to a seat somewhere, laid down across it, and promptly felt all the stress and alcohol from the past day and a half and fell into a fitful sleep the moment she closed her eyes.
> Have you ever seen a train just... spontaneously explode?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Not for long though.

The jostling of the train going through a tunnel stirred Cadance from her impromptu nap, she lifted her head only to realize the train was submerged in darkness. In the quick panic of being unfamiliar to one's waking environment, she tried to get her hooves under her and began straining her eyes to pick out important details.

Only, in the next moment, the train exited the tunnel it was traveling through. The sudden light blinded Cadance, and her hasty attempt to stand ended with her half sliding off the couch cushion. Leaving her half standing half laying on the seat.

She swore she got an odd look from Fog Runner, but when she checked again, his face was a wall of professionalism. Cadance elected to stand for the moment.

"How long was I asleep for?" She said,

"About an hour or so" Came the response from the seat ahead of her, the voice of Crystal Brazier.

Still got a ways to go to get home.

"Excuse me you two." She slipped past them into the isle. Nopony was on their way that far north at this time of day... or really at this time of the week for that matter. The car was empty aside from one other stallion, napping the trip away in a pile made of a pillow and blanket.

Cadance turned down the isle and made her way towards the connecting door on the train, looking for the bathroom imbedded in the wall. After dealing with her business, Cadance exited to find Crystal Brazier had gotten up, and was standing guard less than a body lengths away from the door, with Fog Runner stood in the isle, blocking the way through.

Cadance once again, made the effort to slide past them, back into the isle. Except she stopped.

"Excuse me... Ms. Brazier yes?" Cadance turned to Runner as well, "And Mr. Runner? May I call you Fog?"

Mixed responses from them both. Crystal Brazier nodded and took a few steps forwards. Fog merely nodded and continued looking stock straight ahead.

Next time I pick my escort

"Are you two doing okay? I know the events were... extraordinary."

Fog was the first to respond, "I can assure you ma'am, both me and Ms. Brazier are doing perfectly fine."

Brazier on the other hoof chose not to respond at all. She instead straightened up. She was also not nearly as good at 'stoic guard'. At least, not nearly as good Fog was.

Oh dear

Cadance put on her softest smile and stepped towards Brazier, "Ms. Brazier, I do not want to pry. Honest, but you clearly have something to say."

Aaaaaaaand!

Cadance rested a hoof on Brazier's shoulder, just as she was tipping her head back to look Cadance in the eye, and that was it.

This is how I remember this usually being like. Encouragement and Connectivity, it's nice to know what's going on.

"I jus-" Brazier glanced at Fog. "I want to apologize Princess..." She said the second part, slowly. Here is where Cadance prospered; and this is where she could do some good.

Cadance chose to simply encourage Brazier to continue, all she had to do was make it clear she was giving Brazier her full attention and a real, warm smile graced Cadance's face.

"That stallion, Dusk..." 

Indeed, that stallion

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure if this is really professional. I-" 

"Hey, I'm not the Princess of Procedure, go ahead and get that off your withers" and that was it. With Cadance's last comment, Brazier was fully committed.

"He insulted you! He insulted us! and..." Brazier shook her head, "He was right!"

Cadance raised an eyebrow

"Erm, uh... Not about you Princess, but about us. He took us both down in an instant and then kidnapped you." Brazier took a moment to collect herself. "We should have done something differently, stood in-between you and him, maybe had special enchantments. I'm not an officer. I don't know exactly what we could've done, but it wasn't enough; and that was reason enough for us to be on an even higher guard, and we weren't."

"And I'm sorry"

Time to work your magic Cadance

"You're right Brazier."

Cadance took a deep breath, this, this right here was what 'Princessing' was all about. Of course, her lead in phrase made Brazier a little bit nervous, a classic move.

"And you are forgiven. You're definitely right that you were dropped into a situation with no hopes of having any real effectiveness should the worst happen. You were ill prepared, and ill outfitted." Another pause. "And so was I."

"Princess?" Brazier's facial expression betrayed her mood. She was convicted, but confused. 

"I was promised the situation would be safe, and felt comfortable within it's bounds due to my own confidence and what I was promised."

She continued, "But I was wrong. Dusk took me by surprise too."

supposedly...

"Yes of course, but Princess, you shouldn't have to engage a hostile like that. You-" 

"Do you think I am incapable of defending myself Ms. Brazier?" Cadance took on her 'teaching' tone

"I'd never imply that Princess. However, we, or any guard for that matter are the first and last line of defense for both the Princesses and the innocent. An enemy shouldn't've have thought they could get to you. You're to important for me to just get blindsided like that!"

"Then next time, Ms. Brazier, don't let it happen."

"Ma'am?" 

"Next time you are in a situation where your charge is overconfident, and they're putting themselves in danger, stop them. Stop me. Say what you're saying to me now, then. As much as I wish we could just go backwards and do it all again differently, we can't. We're all safe, and that's a miracle in it of itself. So next time, make it so that we don't need to get lucky." Cadance dropped her 'teacher' tone, and gave Crystal Brazier a warm smile.

Brazier, looked lost in the eyes of the taller alicorn for a split second before taking a step back and snapping a hard and sharp salute. "Absolutely Ma'am" A wide smile adorned her face.

Cadance turned past Fog Runner, checked his face. Even Fog couldn't resist Brazier's conviction. She saw the hint of a smile, and when she locked eyes with him, he nodded once to her before returning to his stony demeanor.

Cadance, now feeling lighter, returned to her seat took a deep breath, and relaxed properly.

She looked out of the glass towards the hillsides of Equestria. She wasn't a geography buff, and while she figured it was probably important for a Princess to know the features of the land she was in charge of maintaining...

Well I guess I'm only really in charge of the Emipre

Eh, it's pretty

Which was the last complex thought Cadance had for the next while, electing instead to lightly meditate and enjoy the scenery.





"Aaaaaaah!" Cadance exclaimed with a wide smile upon exiting the Crystal Express.

There really isn't anything quite like home is there?

The air was warm, and a chill breeze was in the air, the shining dome around the empire showed off the clear sky above the cloud layer, and Cadance would never admit it, as she tended to be the 'down to earth' of the Princesses, but the opulence of being in charge of an empire made of solid crystal stirred that hindbrain portion of her mind and made her just a little giddy.

Cadance exited the train onto the platform being careful not to get her hoof stuck in the gap between the two, Brazier and Fog steps behind her. She turned and waved to a couple of other ponies standing on the platform. The perks of going out incognito; she could get off a train in public without being swarmed. 

"Shall I call for an escort Princess?" Brazier asked

tempting

"Nah, I think I've had enough time today to relax, I'll teleport us to the heart."

"On your word Ma'am" said Fog.

Cadance leaned her head down a little, closed her eyes and stretched out her magical influence over the area. The heart was easy to find. It was covered in what the magically adept would refer to as a 'hilariously convenient spell anchor.' Cadance liked to refer to it as a love ball. She focused the location end of her teleport on the mass of churning magic from her namesake, and lifted her head, her horn now lit.

She turned towards her guards "Ready?"

They both simply nodded, as they had approached her while she was channeling, each pressed a hoof to her side.

Cadance loosed her spell, and in a loud-ish crack (she'd been practicing) they were stood fifty hoof lengths from the opening to the Palace. Not nearly as close as they should've been.

Guess I need more practice, I'll remind myself of that later

"Cadance!"

An involuntary smile came to her face, "Shining!"

Shining was wearing a military dress uniform, and there were what she assumed was new recruits out and about. Likely some sort of military get together, she didn't pay too much attention to those. She was far more focused on the approaching Stallion of her dreams, whom she hugged once he was in range.

Shining quickly pushed her back, "I heard so many rumors about what went down" He returned the hug "I'm glad your okay"

"I'm as okay as I can be."

...

...

"Cadance honey, you can let go of me now."

...

...

Shining went slack, accepting his fate. Cadance was beaming at passersby's, and the soldiers from the military function nearby.

"It's good to see you too Cadance. I'm glad your back." 

Cadance took that as enough embarrassing her husband in front of his military staff and released him from her clutches. "I'm glad to be back, and we can talk about the details later, for now," she turned to her guards, "You two, you're dismissed for now, go get some rest" she looked at shining, and then back at them, "and probably file a report or two."

Shining saluted her guards, they saluted back. Cadance had the urge to salute as well and had to mentally reign herself in from being too silly.

"What's going on with this?" Cadance said, gesturing at the gathering of military suits.

Shining turned and started walking back towards the hub of activity, "It's a officers forum. After the months of running the empire, me and the operating staff decided to gather together all the bureaucrats for a chance for the Crystal Ponies to reconnect, and meet all of the additional staff from Equestria. There's a couple of new faces here too; and we're planning on having an open mic run by yours truly to try and organize hotfixes to any issues the staff here can work out."

Ah, so the hooves on approach, my favorite

"Can you send for someone to get Amber?" Cadance said.

Shining gave a short chuckle, "Boring you already?" but he did wave down an on duty guard who began approaching from the far wall.

"Of course not, I even intend to help." She bumped him in his flanks with her own. Even though he was built like a Crystal Pipe, her size plus her Earth Pony strength still bumped him to the side.

He laughed, "Oh no... That's much worse."

"Sir?" The guard aproached.

Shining looked towards Cadance, "Would you mind fetching Amber Stone for my wife?"

The guard saluted, and was off, Shining turned towards Cadance only to see that she had walked up to the nearest gaggle of ponies and was chatting up a storm already. He made his way over.

"Well you see Princess, while my colleague here thinks that additional funding for organization will allow for greater room to grow, I believe that our growth problem lies not in organization, but in our pony power and workforce behind our practice." Some stallion was going on. Cadance turned towards the other stallion who was apparently part of the conversation.

"Adding more bodies both as guards and as officers won't matter if neither have any organizational procedures to function on, we need funding directed to a total breakdown of our management procedure."

"What have you started here Cadance?" Shining interjected

"Nothing get's a colt arguing for real better than a pretty mare" Cadance whispered to him sagely as the two stallions went at it.

"An operational overhaul is unnecessary for the amount of ponies we have at our disposal, you might as well throw out ranks too!"

"And you just the same can join troops in training! Without any sort of higher form of function for organization technique, you'll essentially have to function as a company officer!"

"We have Drill sergeants for that!"

"They won't matter if they have no way of organizing their troops!"

"Stallions!" Shining belted out. The couple of heads that had been eyeing up the discussion, or discussing the finer points of the stallions' arguments with each other, albeit, more calmly, stopped to observe whatever it was to happen next.

"It's true that our organizational systems need a revamp; not only do we need it to revitalize old systems, we also need it to take advantage of new technology, magics, and division practices." Shining turned to the other stallion, and let out a long drawn out, "However. It's true that the Crystal Guard has enough officers with enough experience that widescale organization would be a step backwards."

He pivoted his head around, "One of the ongoing discussion points for the open mic will be a 'logistics' division. Essentially a guard and officer branch dedicated to organization, followed by the consolidation of the Crystal Guard to an elite force, and the formation of a more modern Crystal Army with the backing of said logistics division."

Cadance turned her head at the Amber coloured limb that swung to get her attention. As the two stallions turned to berate Shining with questions Cadance interjected, "That's my que, see you two," she turned to shining, "I'll see you for dinner" and then made her way around the outside of the crowd to Amber Stone, her aid.

Amber was, suprise, an Amber coloured mare with a short cropped mane of a sandy colour. Her cutie mark was a picture of a tablet of stone and a carving pick.

"Evening Princess." Amber did a short kneel with her front hooves, the equivalent of a curtsy.

"Hello Amber, I know I'm back far earlier than expected, but I'm guessing you still have work for me?"

"Absolutely Princess, there's never an end to paperwork. Specifically there are a couple of bills for zoning the guild wants you to recognize as a go between for the noble houses." Amber turned off towards the entrance to the spire, and Cadance followed, trying to piece together what she'd say to Shining at dinner.





Cadance looked at the clock. Six in the evening. The sun was starting to colour the sky all of it's beautiful shades, and Cadance was starting to see things. She'd been up way to long, and all the paper work was blurring together. At least she only had an hour left before she could go to the dining hall. Amber was at another desk in her office, just outside of the open doorway that led to another room that was basically still just Cadance's office.

She shuffled the papers around

Paper about nobles wanting more taxbits

Paper about the Guild being annoyed at the nobles getting taxbits

Reports about the palace not receiving enough taxbits,

ugh, how does Aunty Luna understand all of this legalize so easily?

"Amber?" Cadance called out

"Yes Princess?" Amber leaned her head into the doorway. Cadance instead of responding just waved Amber into her office. Once she was close enough she continued.

"I may have prematurely tossed myself into this, do you think you can translate some of these for me?" Cadance tried to organize her workstation while making her request, trying not to sound exhausted already.

"Like what Princess?"

Cadance pulled a sheet from the stack, this one was clipped together at the top, with a duplicate paper for each of the noble houses.

"This one says, official recognition from the crown for exiled noble class in light of extenuating circumstance." Which is one Tartarus of a summary.

"Ah, a particularly strange one" Amber said, maneuvering around the desk to hold the papers, "This came request came in today from a pony from Equestria. Apparently some merchant mare has proof of lineage to a noble house that was exiled from the Empire just before Sombra's rule." She looked through the first pages, which were the details on their own, before skimming through the supplementaries for the other houses. "Citing that their house was exiled because of Sombra, the mare is requesting acknowledgement that they are an heir to the exiled house, and that they'd like not only officially bring said house from exile, but host their company here in the empire as the rekindling of the..." Amber trailed of and flipped back a couple of pages, "The Noble House of Silvers"

"So a mare wants a noble title and permission to start a company?"

"Essentially Princess."

Cadance thought for a moment. "Will the other nobles throw a fit?"

"No Princess." Amber said, and simply looked at Cadance patiently.

Cadance, expecting more said, "oh, how do you know?"

"Besides the fact that this wouldn't've made it to your or my desk had the nobles not wanted it to, it's likely that any of ours would look at this business mare as an opportunity" Amber cleared her throat, "They'll likely take the new noblemare under their wing so to speak, in order to add to their resources."

"Huh."

"Shall I send this out with your approval Princess?"

Cadance looked at the clock. "Yes," Cadance signed a couple of dotted lines" Thank you Amber.

Amber took the paper, and walked it back out to her own desk.

six whole minutes over and done with.... wooo
> From the Life of a Princess
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance thought the dining hall was too opulent when she first moved into the castle. The crystal walls from the spire, plus all of the sconces and chandeliers and décor of which she could not name made the dining room seem more like a ballroom.

So about two months into her governance of the Crystal empire, she converted the royal dining hall into a mess hall of grand proportions, upgraded and expanded the kitchens, and hired more staff. With a little bit of guidance from Shining Armor, it had been turned into what amounted to a gourmet soup kitchen, of which mostly only palace staff frequented. (However it was open to the public)

However, Shining had another plan.

"Shining Armor is here with dinner for you princess." Amber called from outside.

Cadance, still neck deep in paperwork had yet to think about dining shook her head in surprise and smiled as Shining Armor pushed open the door and walked in, giving a similar smile. In his magic floated what looked like two bowls of spaghetti.

"Shining! I didn't realize you'd be coming" 

Shining full stepped into the room and placed the food down on a nearby surface, Cadance stood without realizing that she didn't really need to.

"Well we wrapped up in the plaza pretty quickly. There wasn't much to talk about, and more to do so I dismissed the crowd early to come talk with you."

Cadance turned her smile into a smirk and tipped her nose down, "And eat spaghetti"

"And eat spaghetti" He conceded.

Amber closed the doors to Cadance's office, and Shining Armor took a seat and pulled up a chair to Cadance's desk. Cadance shuffled the papers on her desk around with her magic, and stacked them up on a table to the side, then levitated their dinner over.

Hope I organized those correctly

"So." Armor said very matter-a-factly

Cadance took the opportunity to eat. The pasta had no sauce on it, just how she preferred. Shining waited. Cadance tried to think of what to say.

"It didn't go very well."

"I heard... I'm trying to not say 'I told you so'"

Cadance gave a mock frown, "And you were doing a great job of it until just now."

"I'm just saying, seems like every time we unearth some evil creature from thousands of years ago, it always ends the same way."

Cadance ended up going for the truth. When she actually gave herself a moment to think about it, obviously she was going to tell her husband what actually happened.

"He wasn't exactly... evil, per say." 

Shining raised and eyebrow but did not comment, waiting for Cadance to continue.

"He's smart, that's for sure. He could probably give some of those noble lawyers a run for their bits" Cadance paused to eat more, levitating something precisely like a fork required a little bit of focus.

"and he was definitely mean, but I wouldn't say evil."

Shining Armor waited, and then very slowly and carefully said, "So what am I missing here. He attacked you, and Canterlot, and princess Luna."

Cadance rubbed her hoof on her chest and looked away, "Well... That's not exactly what happened."

Shining looked anxious, at least to Cadance, and when Shining got anxious, it usually meant he would try to find something to do.

Something that may be detrimental to the current delicate situation

"Now before I explain, I want you to promise me you'll listen to the whole story first," Shining opened his mouth only to get cut off "And I want you to promise you'll listen to my reasoning before you make any hasty decisions."

"You're not exactly instilling me with great confidence here Cady, should I be genuinely worried right now?"

"No no, we're safe and everything's fine, just let me tell you what actually happened."

Which she did, about her original meeting and subsequent chase with Dusk, their short and failed conversation, followed by the sleepy guards and their trip to a hole in the wall bar. Shining Armor looked more and more concerned as the story went on.

"When I woke up, Luna and Celestia found me and my guards. The checked me for dark magic, and told me that Dusk had been... killed"

"That Luna had killed him."

"Yes."

Shining took a deep breath; and pressed a hoof against his snout, "You're talking about this like you didn't tell Celestia or Luna about the inconsistence in the stories"

"I didn't."

"Cadance" 

"You said you'd listen to why." She postured

"Cadance"

"I-" She tried, but Shining inturrupted.

"Are you telling me, " he stumbled over his words, "Just to be clear, there's a pony out there capable of, as you've described, anything. Wandering around? A villan! An actual convicted criminal is!" He stopped in the middle of his sentence and stood up.

"Shining wait" Cadance also stood up.

"This isn't something we can just ignore or keep to ourselves."

"I'm not asking you to do that, just let me explain first okay?" Cadance held a hoof out to shining, "Can you do that for me?"

Shining waited, but didn't sit back down.

That is until Cadance insisted, gesturing to her hoof and giving him a look.

"Right."

He took her hoof and sat back down, leaving Cadance to slightly awkwardly be leaning forwards over the desk and past their food.

He looked up at her. "Drinking?" a beat, "really?"

Cadance retracted over the table and sat back down herself.

"I uhh... yes? I mean, it didn't seem like a bad idea." At this time, Cadance hadn't told him about the spell Dusk had used on her drinks. She didn't need to worry him over nothing.

"Cadance, this is gonna have to be a darn good explanation."

"Well..." Cadance began, taking a moment to formulate her thoughts. "He isn't a bad stallion. I don't really have a way to explain it to somepony that wasn't there; but he wasn't like Tirek or Discord. He was reasonable, logical even."

"I've seen logical ponies commit crimes too"

"Which is fair, but there's more to it. I think his 'rampage' was just a trick, to get away."

"Get away?"

"Well yeah, if he just ran, we'd know he's out there."

Shining cut in, "But if we all thought he was dead, he could do whatever he wanted without any pushback. Which is worse"

"Except!" Cadance put up a hoof to extenuate her point. "If that were the case, then why was I left untouched?"

"If I'm remembering your story correctly, you weren't really."

"No, I mean, if he had the power to alter Luna's memory, or just flat out trick her, then why do I, somepony he had unrestricted access to, remember everything the way it was."

"Alter her memory, Cadance you're talking about this stallion as if he's not a complete threat. Memory spells are incredibly dangerous."

"I'm just saying that it's strange that I would remember, if he really wanted a clean getaway, he could have just faked a fight between me and him, where I won and then passed out."

"Except Luna would have known you couldn't've have fought him off, and would have suspected something was up." Shining began again. "So he engaged Luna, and tricked her somehow, then made an escape."

"Yes, that's how I think it happened."

"And this should be less concerning how?"

"Because I still remember what happened."

"Which means?"

"Which means that Dusk Swirl, wherever he is, wanted me to remember what happened. He wants me to know he's still out there, and the only reason he could want that was if I was getting through to him."

Shining sat a bit further back and really started thinking. After a moment he said, "I can't poke holes in that argument, except if you were just imagining most of this."

"I'd like to think that too, but there's too many inconsistencies for it to be coincidence."

"So what do we do?"

"For now, nothing." Cadance nodded her head.

Shining did not look pleased. "It would be better if we told Luna, maybe even Twilight."

"And what would they do? What would we do for that matter? If I'm right, then Dusk Swirl won't be found unless he wants to be. It also means that he'll find us."

"That's the part I'm worried about Cadance. I'm worried that this... stallion has some malicious plans in store for you."

"He pulled the wings off my back, he could have killed me if he wanted to." 

Shining shook his head and gave Cadance a frustrated look.

"He wasn't going to though. My point was just that he could have, I still don't think he would."

Shining just looked away and was silent. Cadance quieted too.

He needs a second to think about this, it was crazy for me, I bet it's even worse for him

After a bit of waiting, both ponies simply finished their food in silence. Cadance wasn't sure, but maybe ten minutes passed before Shining Armor spoke again.

"And you want to do nothing?"

Cadance, having had time to think about the conversation, had an immediate response, "I want to wait for him to show up again, and then do something"

"Do what?"

Cadance thought about it for a moment, "Continue trying to... connect with him, I guess. He doesn't really seem like he'll accept 'reformation' and really, that's not what Fluttershy did for Discord either."

"So just show him that you're his friend? Give him reason to not be a criminal anymore?"

"Yes."

"I hate that idea just as much now as when Celestia tried it." Shining made an annoyed face that Cadance found a little cute, even though she was trying to take the conversation seriously.

"Which is probably why she didn't tell you about it until after."

"Right." Shining struggled to think of more to say before, "I still think we tell Luna and Celestia; and Twilight, the guard."

"And I'm asking you to just trust me on this."

Shining looked like he had a lot to say to that. He opened his mouth and made several 'I don't know how to respond to that' faces before settling on leaning back sighing and, "Okay."

YES

"Wait really?" Cadance said, incredulous

"Yes, but I'm tasking someone to look for special enchantments, and sending a letter to Twilight for defense against dark magics."

"That's pretty fair." Cadance pretended to ponder, "More than I thought I'd get."

"You know I can't say no to you" Shining smiled, but quickly returned to a serious expression, "but that doesn't mean we won't take proper precaution, and the second any of this smells funny I'm pulling the plug on this whole 'operation.'"

"I know it's potentially dangerous, but there's nopony I'd want making contingencies to keep me safe more than you."

"I'll take that."

They lapsed into silence.

Cadance stacked up their bowls and broke said silence, "Do you have more work you need done today?"

"Not really. No"

Cadance stood up from her desk and walked around it towards Shining Armor, he gave her a look. Candace gave him a quick kiss and said, "Then you're coming with me" and scooped him over her head and onto her back.

He tried to protest, "Whoa, hey what about all your work?"

Cadance sauntered her way out of her office, and waved goodnight to Amber, "I was going to put it off for a week anyways, it can wait one more night."

Then Cadance carried Shining Armor back to their room, Shining swore up and down he'd never hear the end of it from the guards.
> From the Life of a Princess Part Two
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dusk Swirl reappeared about a week after Cadance's talk with Shining Armor. Cadance had spent the majority of her free week catching up on mounds of paperwork and organizing side projects; essentially diving into the depths of bureaucracy while she had the time. At the beginning of the next week, during an open court in the Spire is where we re-join Cadance.



"Amber, can you recount the request in it's entirety?" 

Cadance found open court in the Crystal Empire to be a rollercoaster. Sometimes ponies would bring in comments or requests or bills that were mind-numbingly boring. Sometimes ponies would ask for weird favors or would otherwise do something hilarious. Cadance's favorites were wholesome or simple requests she could solve personally. Everypony likes to see their work impact immediately via smiling faces.

Amber at the moment was going on about some provisional ground breaking request for an internal company requesting a something or other. Half way through Cadance had accepted the request, but there was a whole pomp and whathaveyou she learned was good to go through for the observers. It went along with the courtroom, which happened to be the only public space in the castle Cadance let the staff decorate as opulently as they could.

The unprepared tourist would describe it as: "Doctor, I can't feel my eyes." 

There was a lot of crystal furniture and glass windows facing the sun.

Cadance took her head out from leaning in her hoof as soon as Amber finished talking and addressed the yellow-coated stallion in front of her, "I'll grant your groundbreaking request, just make sure you actually start work tomorrow so that the paperwork has a chance to get into the right hooves first."

"Thank you, your highness, I ap-" the courtroom doors couldn't exactly be slammed open, as they were propped open during court hours, but somehow a mare still pulled it off.

Here's the wild thing to get the evening going

"Princess!" Said who was now identified as Slim Fitting, a purple furred and grey maned unicorn. Who also just happened to be the head of the Noble House of Facets, or Facet, Cadance wasn't really sure. Slim stomped into the open court, past the line and straight into the center of the chamber with a scowl on their face and the rest of their temper shown through the rapid twisting of their ears and flicking of their tail.

Cadance waited

"Princess, I require satisfaction immediately to some snub-nosed upstart!" Slim spat hard enough she had to take a breath, "The absolute nerve!"

"Slim Fitt-"

"This mare by the name of Quick Silver is an absolute disgrace to the halls of the Empire and I demand their house be struck down at once!"

"Slim Fitting!"

Slim stopped their fuming momentarily, giving Cadance a chance to take control of the conversation, and by proxy, the situation.

"Thank you, can you please start from the beginning?" Cadance put on her best 'disapproval face' "and I hope this is important enough that you felt the need to disrupt court." At this point the stallion before Slim's appearance had already made for a hasty retreat.

"I, uh- Well yes of course, your highness, and I promise you this is of great importance." Slim put on what Cadance could only describe as an 'announcer' voice, and began turning to address the crowd and Cadance in equal measure.

"Less than thirty minutes ago, I sent my son to go welcome the old House of Silvers back into the Empire. He returned to me distressed and in tears! Apparently this 'noble'" She strained the word  "Had berated and insulted him! For barely a reason no less!" Slim continued to add flair and extravagance to her body language and her story.

Definitely the sensation of the day, I remember who she's talking about though.

"As such, I went to confront the mare, verbally attacking my poor boy like that! The nerve I tell you! Only..." pause for dramatic affect, "I received the exact same treatment! The mare ignored me until I outright demanded her attention, and then! AND THEN! This mare barreled out of her abode, a ghastly place I might add, and insulted me and demanded that I leave."

"Far beyond this point, I had had enough; and promptly challenged that fool to a Duel of Titles"

Cadance's eyebrows raised subtly. She thought she heard a couple of ponies gasp.

"To which she scoffed in my face, ruining my day dress, said 'No' and shut her door in my face! I rushed here immediately to sort out this whole debacle and eject this despicable mare from our city." Slim, who had been making plenty of accentuating gestures through-out her story, stomped her hoof and looked up to Cadance in a fluid motion.

I have no idea what a Duel of the Titles means

Cadance turned to Amber, "Amber, can you recite the main laws surrounding the Duel of Titles for the court?"

Amber, used to her job at this point, didn't even bat an ear. "The Duel of Titles is a dueling ritual specific to the Nobles of the Crystal Empire. Specifically for settling disputes between the Noble Houses, it follows most of the normal rules for dueling. Notably it's to non-lethal combat, and has political rules for dignitaries and ambassadors. For this particular circumstance, it should be known that a Noble House, for all intents and purposes, can't refuse a Duel of Titles." Amber had pulled out a book from the stand hidden beneath her desk, and was flipping through it during her explanation. 

"It says here that settling any disputes for a Duel of Titles needs to be handled directly by the next highest power." Amber looked up at Cadance, as did everypony else.

Cadance steepled her hooves underneath her snout and thought.

If I'm going to be required to sort this out, I'm either going to have to postpone it until court is over or close court early. After that, I now have to deal with potentially reneging on a house acceptance, which should be fine since it's another Noble House doing the ejecting, unless of course this mare wins the duel... Hold on a moment

"Slim fitting, can you describe Quick Silver for me?"

"Absolutely, your highness. The criminal in question is a disgustingly metallic white furred pegasus, with a dull grey mane, far more saturated than mine."

...Crap

Cadance tried to hold her expression, "Would you say this is something that should be dealt with immediately Slim Fitting?" Cadance went to comment on the fact court was meant to be open still, but Slim beat her to the punch.

"Of course, your highness."

Cadance turned towards Amber, "Amber, please close court for the day and fetch my husband, I'm potentially going to need him to help me sort this out."

This is bound to be all over the papers tomorrow.

Amber simply nodded, and started gathering the paperwork that had accumulated over the court day. Cadance turned back to Slim Fitting, who now sported a look between smug and malicious. "Slim, would you please lead me to the Quick Silver estate?" She turned to the guards present, not really caring about Slim Fitting's response, "Guards, I'd like a four pony escort there, just in case."

The guards mobilized, Slim Fitting led on, overjoyed to be the center of attention, leading the princess out of the throne room and on their way.



It's nice to be outside at least

Around about midday in the Crystal Empire, Cadance, lead by a Unicorn Noble along with their four guard escort of crystal guards made their way away from the castle grounds and out onto the streets of the Crystal Empire. It was a nice enough day for a walk, though Cadance found herself stressing over their arrival.

In just under a week, he'd have plenty of time to get here. To plan this whole thing from the start though. Possible?

Cadance tried to keep an even smile on her face as she walked through her city. Waving at the occasional passerby.

Unlikely.

In short order they reached the home in question. It was put away from the rest of the houses on the road, slightly set back and away from the street. Not anything special, the architecture seemed similar to the rough but practical crystal construction of the older homes in the Empire. 

"That's the house Princess, this is the yard where I was verbally assaulted!" Slim Fitting presented.

"Thank you Slim Fitting, if you wouldn't mind heading home, I have this situation well in hoof."

"Absolutely not Princess! I'd never have you confront this heathen on my behalf and not be here for you!"

So you want the spectacle. Right

Nobles made Cadance tired. She humorously considered the new noble here, also making her tired

"Just stay with the guards then please." Fitting nodded and Cadance turned to walk up to the home in question, less then a couple of strides and she was there, and gave a quick and simple three knocks on the door. The sound was more of a ding than a thud, the door being made of crystal will do that.

No response.

Cadance knocked again.

She rolled her eyes. 

She heard a voice from inside, too far and too 'on the other side of a wall' to make out, just before hearing a set hoof steps come up from the other side of the door. Cadance took a step back as the door swung open inwards, and a metallic white pegasus mare stepped out into the noon-day sun.

Yup, that's him

"Is there something I can help you with Princess?" The mare said with a firm but melodic voice. Like somepony was reciting a poem, or singing a song without any effort to hit the notes.

Not his voice though

"I guess..." Cadance tried to stagger her words and give herself a moment to think, "I'm here to clear up an issue that was brought to my attention."

The mare looked around Cadance at Slim Fitting, who's son was just arriving on scene with Shining Armor, Amber, and two more Crystal Guard ponies. After a gaze that settled longer than normal, the mare's eyes flicked to Cadance, and gave her an upturned eyebrow raise.

"I don't know what issue you could be here to solve, mayhaps you could clarify?"

"This mare here with me, Slim Fitting, claims that you insulted herself and her son."

"That's correct."

"To which she challenged you to a Dual of Titles?"

"Yup"

"And then you refused."

"That's right."

Cadance, expecting nothing else simply added. "I'm afraid by law, you cannot refuse."

The mare walked around Cadance, and onto the grass, leaving Cadance stood in front of the door. 'Quick Silver' had placed herself in between Cadance and her guard retinue, something she noticed because of her tactically minded husband rubbing off on her.

"Why?"

"Why?" Cadance responded, a higher lilt to emphasize her confusion.

"Why can I not refuse?"

Slim Fitting, who was still standing behind the guards called out, "Because it's the law you mule"

Racism, classic Nobles

Quick Silver laughed, "A law written by Sombra, and I doubt you want to fight me really. So I refuse."

"Hearsay!"

"Slim Fitting that is enough thank you."

"On the contrary, Little Princess, I think it's not nearly enough." Quick Silver said, turning to face Fitting.

So it is you

"You realize that if I were to go about this duel, you'd have to fight me directly, in actual combat?" Silver had started gesturing at themselves and Fitting, confusion plastered over their face.

"Well I'd get to choose a champion wouldn't I?" Fitting rebutted, snarking, and sticking her nose into the air.

Amber, who had been reading during the interaction, glanced up at Slim Fitting and said "Actually, only the wronged parties, initiator of the duel, and immediate family can participate."

Slim's eyes widened, and her mouth blubbered momentarily before her son came to the rescue. "Worry not then mother, I shall be you champion then." Her son, a relatively large purple unicorn stallion with a deep orange mane, levitated/unsheathed a unicorn style rapier from a hilt over his back. Apparently he had went to arm himself.

Amber looked at Cadance and mouthed a phrase they had coined together early in their partnership. It simply meant that there was nothing Cadance could do about what was going on. At least not for any legal reason.

Quick Silver looked over her shoulder at Cadance, "You really want me to do this?"

Sounds like a coded phrase, he, uh, they know they can't get out of this, what they're really asking is

"I don't think you have a choice."

Ie: 'go ahead, just don't really hurt anypony'

"Alight then." Quick Silver rolled their shoulders and flexed their wings, bounced a couple of times on their hooves and called out, "Come on up then boy, let's see what'cha got."

Shining, who was observing wondered aloud, "Is that a Trottingham accent?"

"Manehatten actually"

Shining, immune to the nonsense of the nobles, nonchalantly made a 'huh' gesture, and went back to calmly observing.

"Where is your weapon?" Cadance said

"Don't need one Princess"

The opposing combatant smirked, "Well then this should be over quick then." Before anypony could respond, he rushed Quick Silver and struck out with his telekinetic blade. Quick Silver, who had taken a step forward as soon as they noticed they were about to be attacked, simply lifted a hoof and caught the blade in the frog of their hoof.

It being a rapier, and the attack being a stab, the blade sank down to Silver's shoulder. Only the small grip on the hilt was visible.

Cadance's eyes bulged, and she heard several gasps from nearby. Silver then ripped the blade from the telekinetic aura suspending it, took another two steps forward, and punched the stunned Stallion in the jaw with a right hook that sent him tumbling over.

Nopony moved. Silver went back to a casual stance. The currently unnamed combatant groaned. On the floor.

Slim Fitting rushed from the guards to her son, "My baby! Get away from him!" She ran up and scooped her son into a hoof to check on his snout.

Silver walked up to the two of them, and kicked Slim Fitting in the face as well. Slim, who had significantly less bodyweight than her son, went skidding across the grass, and began to cough as she struggled to stand.

Everypony looked on with wide eyes.

"This duel is over!" Cadance shouted, "There is a clear winner! I declare this duel over!"

The stallion, found his legs and glared at the pony that just attacked his mother. "Nonsense! I have yet to yield!"

Silver, who up until this point was keeping their left front leg straight and stiff, bent her limb at the knee, and pushed the tip of the blade out of her shoulder. The act sprayed a bit of blood onto the Stallions face, and Silver grabbed the blade in her teeth and pulled it out through her whole leg, once it was removed, she straightened up, and spat the blade at his hooves, and said "Then yield."

The stallion, stuttered in fear at Slivers gaze, and somewhere in there, he yielded. Silver announced "Cadance is right, the duel is over. Now if you'll all excuse me, I've been a bit busy as of late." Silver then tuned back to her home, gave a quick glance to Cadance, and then began walking towards the door again.

Amber spoke up from the crowd, "Silver wait! You've won the Duel of Titles, before you can leave you must claim a boon from the house you defeated."

Slim Fitting, having recovered, and in a furry began yelling, "Excuse me! Absolutely not! She attacked me! I am a non-combatant, She threw the duel! She doesn't get anything!"

Amber, shrunk under Slim Fitting's yelling and spittle, and Shining Armor interposed himself between the two of them. "Actually ma'am, because you placed your hooves on one of the duelists, you became a combatant. It didn't matter that it was you son, it still put you in the ring."

Slim Fitting only became more enraged, "That is absolute nonsense! Nonsense I tell you! How dare you side with this mad dog!"

"Slim Fitting that is enough! You have made a clear and utter fool of yourself! You should b-"

"It's okay," normally nopony interrupts Cadance when she's tounge lashing somepony, but the softness and nearness of the voice stopped Cadance in her tracks. Quick Silver, from her side, waved with their bleeding leg and called out to Amber, "I don't want anything."

Silver then entered her home.

Cadance didn't really know what to do in the moments after, and in the moment during the silence that followed she raced to come to a decision for a course of action.

"Then that's it. Amber, can you please send me the correct paperwork for filling all this out when we return to the castle?"

Slim continued her nonsense, "What!? What do you mean 'That's it'! You have to do something about this! About her!"

Before Cadance could respond, Shining Armor, the Love of her life, did it for her.

"And what exactly would you have us do? By your own account, Silver broke no laws besides ignoring your duel, and now that the duel is over, still no laws have been broken. We can't arrest or prosecute somepony who did nothing wrong."

"Nothing wrong! I aught to-!"

"We can however arrest a noble who causing a public disturbance."

That mollified Slim right quick. Her son had approached from behind and mumbled something along the lines of 'maybe we should just escape with our dignity'

Slim turned back to Shining with a scowl and with a "Fine then" absconded with her son, making a quick trot away from the crowd that had formed, the guards, and the Princess.

Cadance approached Shining. "That's him."

Shining looked back towards the stallion following after Slim, "Who?"

"No, Quick Silver. It's him" She said and made a 'please understand what I'm saying face' and nodded towards the abode in question.

Shining's eyes widened, and he looked past Cadance towards the house, "Oh. Him."

Cadance waited for a more complex response, Amber meanwhile, "Who's him? To be clear Princess? Unless I was mistaken, Quick Silver is a mare."

Cadance turned towards Quick Silver,

uh

"Cadance is referring to the Changeling, Quick Silver."

Amber's eyes bugged out, "The-!"

Cadance put a hoof over her mouth, and looked at Shining and silently yelled "WHAT?" Over Amber's shoulder. 

"Don't worry Amber, we know of them, and they're here on our express permission, right Cadance?"

Ah, I get it now, quick. Nice

Cadance let go of Amber, "Yes, but it's all hush hush, so please don't yell out Amber?"

Amber recovering from the shock, simply nodded and didn't say anything.

"Me and Cadance are going to go talk to 'Quick Silver'" He said with a conspiratory tone, "And meet you back at the palace, okay?"

Amber nodded and turned looked at Cadance while tucking the book she brought onto her back, "I'll make sure I have all the paperwork ready for you when you return Princess, should we plan to re-open court?"

"No, we're probably going to be out for at least another hour."

Amber looked between the two, and without any signs of obvious issues, Amber turned away and began making her way back to the palace.

Shining sidled up next to Cadance as she turned to face the door. "So what now" He was quiet enough that nopony would overhear, but was still mostly talking normally.

"What now? I don't know!" She rushed out as they began walking towards the door together.

"I thought you said you had a plan for this!" He whisper shouted

"An big picture plan, I wasn't ready for this in particular"

"So there's no plan?"

Ugh

"No."

"Good thing I've been practicing then."

As they stepped up onto the home's foundation Shining started casting a spell. In a couple of moments, a spell matrix appeared at the tip of his horn, and Cadance began to glow in his aura. Runic structures began appearing around her, and a fur-tight golden shield congealed around her before becoming translucent. Shining cast the same spell on himself moments after.

"Dark magic wards, Twilight sent me an all purpose spell."

"Nice, and quick thinking with that changeling call"

"Thank you"

They shared a quick kiss and Cadance knocked.
> The one where we all assume Shining Armor is going to melt
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Both Cadance and Shining stayed focused on the door as they waited. No significant glances to one another, they both knew why they were here and had the confidence to not anxiously shift about.

At least for the first thirty seconds.

After of which Shining gave Cadance the 'eyebrow raise' and Cadance knocked again. A couple of moments passed before they heard hoof steps again. In short order the door swung open to show Quick Silver stood in the doorway, their scowl turned to a frown as they looked over the two, and gestured them both inside.

"Make it quick."

Cadance and Shining entered. The front room was spartan, bare floors and doorways with no doors, though there were a vaguely nice set of curtains for the windows.

For brooding I'm guessing, but then why have them drawn?

"So" Came Shining to the side, "You're the... pony who attacked my wife"

"Yup" Quick Silver had plopped themselves onto the floor and was holding a white rag against their shoulder.

Cadance narrowed her eyes, "Except, I know you didn't attack me."

"Yup"

"Wait, so you did attack her? Or you didn't?" Shining asked

"I didn't."

Why is he doing this again?

"Why would you lie in favor of committing a crime?"

I can see where this is going

"I didn't lie, you were just wrong."

"But you agreed with me."

Silver just shrugged, "I don't care if you're wrong"

Cadance, before Shining could retort, "You're injured"

Silver tossed their mane back and smirked at Cadance, "No I'm not, I'm Quick Silver"

Cadance, annoyed, charged her horn with a simple first aid spell. Quick Silver dropped her rag and gestured placatingly at Cadance, "Whoah whoah, don't do that. Whatever it is you're doing. All jokes aside, I've been reworking my internal ward network. You could get hurt trying to cast a spell on me." Cadance frowned and slowly let the half formed spell drain away into the air.

She made for a couple of steps forwards and sat down in front of...

"What are we calling you? By the way? And let me see your hoof." Cadance

"You're calling me whatever you want, my disguise is named Quick Silver though." Quick Silver, lifted their leg up and delicately placed it in Cadance's hooves. 

She began inspecting the frog as Shining began again.

"Are you a mare or a stallion?"

"You wanna check pretty boy?"

Cadance glanced between the two of them, but didn't say anything. Shining on the other hoof, was verbally stunned, and went to metaphorically tag Cadance in.

"This is... surprisingly not bad. Definitely not as bad as I thought it would be." She said, putting Silver's hoof back onto the floor.

Silver, rubbed her shoulder with her opposite hoof "I have my own healing magics. Still hurts like a bitch though." And added onto the end "I'll be fine in another couple of hours or so."

Shining brought it back, "Well, you didn't have to pull a sword through your leg."

Silver stood abruptly and locked eyes with Shining and stared him down "You didn't have to bring ponies to my house knowing they were going to attempt to assault me." She scowled and deepened her stare down.

Cadance, realizing that she was head height with Quick Silver decided not to stand to try and diffuse the situation. "We didn't have a choice, an-"

"You always have a choice." Quick Silver hadn't looked away from Shining when she had said that; and she said it with such conviction that Shining broke away from their impromptu staring contest.

"Let me finish." Cadance tried to admonish, "We didn't have a choice, and I'm sorry it happened, we didn't know they would try that."

"What did you think they were going to do." She had turned and switched to a more neutral expression towards Cadance.

Shining spoke up, "We were going to try to diffuse the situation once we had everypony together."

"That didn't work." 

"I didn't think you cared"

Silver looked at Cadance. Thought for a moment.

"I guess I don't... I should honestly just stop complaining about it." Silver sat back down, "What did you two want again?"

Cadance looked towards Shining as he answered, "We wanted to know why you were here. And more specifically, how you got here."

"I'm here to help, and I'm not telling you how I got here." Silver gestured out, "Is that all? Will you two leave now? Or at least him?"

"Why just him?"

"He's annoying, and disrespectful. You could honestly do better."

"I disagree."

"He's not as smart as you."

"He's smarter in different ways."

"In ways that aren't nearly as useful."
"He doesn't have to be intelligent in the ways I am"
"So he's just going to be lesser than you?"
"That's not what I meant"
"What did you mean?"
"He's good at what he does, and is very useful"

Through their banter, Shining was rapidly looking back and forth between them as their retorts got faster. 

"Flies are good at vomiting on food, and are great for ecosystem."

Cadance got thrown off by the shock value and scrunched her muzzle, "Eew."

Silver rolled her eyes. "In any case, like I said, I'm busy. Now please leave." Silver turned while standing up, and began walking towards one of the doorways that lead deeper into the house. That is until a magical barrier sprung up where the door would have been.

Silver sighed, and looked over her shoulder at the two of them. "What."

"I'm going to need a better answer than 'here to help' and 'no' before I'm comfortable letting somepony as dangerous as you wander my kingdom; or any kingdom for that matter." Shining said, his horn lit.

"To bad." Silver sat down, and turned towards the shield.

Crap! 

"Shining!" Before Cadance could give a proper warning, Silver pressed her hoof onto the shield. In the next second the shield shattered around a hole Silver had punched through it.

Shining was flabbergasted, but okay.

Phew

Silver walked away.

"What? How did he break my shield?"

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, but... I thought you said Dusk was a dark mage. That wasn't dark magic, my wards would have triggered."

I doubt it

Cadance internally cringed at her mental response, but it was true, if Dusk, well Silver in this case, wanted to affect them with any of their black magics... Candance was sure they could figure it out.

"Well... Dusk... or Quick Silver, she's... they are good at a lot of kinds of magic."

"That just makes them even more dangerous."

"I think you just annoyed them."

"Great, so we have a mage more skilled than my sister wandering the empire, don't worry though, they're totally harmless unless you mildly inconvenience them."

Cadance paused for a moment.

He's right. I can't just let Dusk wander the Empire. It's not safe. But I won't get anywhere if Shin-

"I know that face honey, what are you thinking?" Shining asked, his voice gone from sarcastic and towards soft and inquisitive.

"I think you should stay here while I go talk to him."

Shining tilted his head and widened his eyes as if to say, 'No. we are not doing that.'

"Just hear me out okay?"

Shining merely intensified his 'nuh-uh' look

"Dusk did that to me too when we first talked, I think they found the conversation pointless and therefore didn't try to engage."

"and?"

"Well, I think I'd have better chances talking to him on my own."

"Cadance"

"Even if you did dial it back, there's a chance Dusk might not care anyways just because they don't like you."

"I'm not going to deny that, but I can't just let you do that on your own, we've clearly established this pony is not safe." Shining had approached Cadance fully and was talking quietly, almost gently.

He always gets like this when he's worrying about me

Cadance leaned forwards and pressed a kiss right on his snout. "You're cute when you worry about me."

Shining smiled and nodded, "True, but don't try and distract me."

"I don't think I'll be in any more or less danger than I was."

"I disagree"

"Shining, I just need you to trust me, and let me do this."

Shining looked away from Cadance. A couple of beats passed.

He sighed. "Alright."

Yes!

"But I'm standing right outside the door... or... uh entrance."

"Fine by me. Let's go get this done."

Cadance turned and walked towards doorway Quick Silver had left from. It seemed to stretch back pretty far before an opening, and Cadance could sense a glimmer of magic coming from the hallway. As she stepped into the area, she noticed the rune work covering the wall, and a small wall of magic that hung over the way forwards.

"Do you know what this is Shining?"

Shining brought himself up next to her, the hallway was tight enough that their coats pressed together. "I have no idea, but the effect looks like some sort of spatial enchantment. It's really the only way to have light ripple like that."

Cadance stepped through, and felt her experience... Widen?

whoah, funky

The hallway seemed a bit shorter now, and she could hear sounds of activity coming from beyond

She turned to see that Shining, instead of being a couple of steps behind her, was instead visually almost  thirty hooves away.

Point for Shining

He followed shortly after her, after Cadance waved him forwards; and Cadance proceeded down the hall towards the sounds. She heard a burst of static followed by a clang, and a rapid string of almost curses.

"Riggen, Frackle, yellow, hifron, bickles!" and a deep sigh sounded from around the corner.

Cadance waved behind her to signal to Shining to stay out of sight, and approached the doorway.

"Dusk?"

A deeper sigh sounded as Cadance turned the corner. This room was... maybe decorated was the wrong term, but it was filled with what looked like magical equipment, metal, desks, gemstones. Papers and charts and graphs filled the walls and desks, there were a few open and closed boxes lying in the far corner of the room. In one spot the ground had been ripped open, and several strange looking spiral tubed crystals were growing from the ground and bending into the chamber.

The centerpiece though, the thing Quick Silver was sitting in front of, looking exasperated, looked like some sort of giant telescope rotating mechanism without the telescope, that could also serve you tea. Bronze and gears and gems oh my! The thing was maybe three times as tall as she was, and was currently smoking white shimmering smoke.

"Wow... I can see why the other rooms are empty."

"Cadance, I really don't have time to play ring around the rosy with you or your husband"

Cadance looked from the strange machine over to him. Instead of the annoyed facial expression she was expecting, Silver instead looked tired, and... sad.

"I'm not here for that."

"Your boy toy is." They said, pointing at the doorway.

Cadance didn't look back, "He's just listening in to make sure I'm safe."

Quick Silver slowly turned back towards their machine while saying "riiiiight." And began tugging at a smoking component.

Cadance took a couple of steps forward, to be a little bit behind and to the side of Silver. Silver got the weird mixture of what looked like copper and a gemstone fused together to come out a little, only for Silver to push the piece back into the machine, deeper than it was before, and another piece came falling from the bottom. Silver caught it, and began visually inspecting it.

"What is this?" Cadance asked quietly.

Silver held up the what was a strip of silvery metal covered in runes smaller than her feather tips. "This is supposed to be a control mechanism for power flow, but it doesn't want to work properly. It keeps engaging the safety's."

"I mean the whole thing."

"Oh... It's a... planar stabilizer." 

"A what?"

"When it's on, it makes realism and localism true, even for magic. It means that there's no back flow for advanced spells, and no reality destabilization from quantum affects."

Cadance made an  'uh' face.

"It could stop a powerful magical device from blowing itself up."

Cadance made an 'ah' face.

"But it's broken." Silver shook their head. "I was hoping not irreparably, but it seems like my storage of it wasn't exactly perfect. The chronological stasis seems to have defragged some of the sensitive spells within the main spell matrix's that actually make the thing work. I'd have to re-enchant the whole thing, and at that point, I may as well just make a new one."

"What do you need it for?"

"That... Why the sudden interest in my area of expertise?"

Cadance gave her answer actual thought before responding. Silver was still moving parts around on the... uh... Planar Stabilizer

"Do I need a reason?"

Silver turned back to look at Cadance, "I know you have one, it just tripped me up that you were asking out of curiosity rather than because you thought I was going to use it for nefarious purposes."

"You got all that from my question?"

Silver shrugged and returned to work, "Your tone, and you learn a lot about reading people when you're as old as I am."

I've definitely gotten that from Celestia a lot

"I'm planning on using it to safely start up a magnet reactor."

"Which I'm guessing I'll never understand, so instead, what does a 'magnet reactor' do?" Cadance went to sit down, but moved a stray tool off the floor where she was going to sit, and telekinetically placed it on a work table.

There's a surprisingly large amount of wood in here.

"It's really actually not that complex, it's just a perpetual energy machine. Produces a lot of magic and force."

"So it's a magic generator?"

"In principle, yeah."

The two fell into a smooth silence as Silver worked and Cadance pondered the interaction.

This is going okay, but I'm still not really getting anywhere. The question is how

Cadance looked around the room, back towards the doorway, Shining was keeping himself hidden enough. She just kind of filled her thoughts with visual information for a moment.

If he's okay with this, I guess I did get some information... So I just need to do more increments of this?

Cadance nodded to herself,

I've got it

"How can I help?"

Silver was, in that moment, shoulder deep in the machine, propped up on their stomach with half their body submerged in the innerworkings of the clockwork behemoth. There was a muffled 'one moment' and Silver began slowly pulling themselves out.

When they were fully removed, they had what looked like a faceted sphere of diamond covered in what looked like imbedded fractals of metal. Even to Cadance it was a beautiful piece of arcane engineering.

Silver frowned, "Dammit"

"I take it it's broken somehow?"

"It's not aligned to reality anymore, it's basically trash now."

"How can something not be aligned to reality?"

Silver gently placed the sphere on the ground. "You've teleported before right? In the non-moment that you don't exist, you're not within the confines of reality, or physics. This," They gestured to the orb, "Was submerged in that state for so long that the non-moment actually happened magically. It means that it's lost all ability to interface with magic the way it needs to."

"And I take it that is a pretty important part?"

"It's the core."

"Can I have it?"

Silver blanched for a barely a moment, if Cadance wasn't looking, she would have missed it.

"What for?"

"If it's trash, does it matter?"

"I guess not" Silver rolled the core over to Cadance, Cadance who was sitting, placed her hoof on it's top to stop it, and rolled it under her chest. Silver turned back to the machine and gave it a once over.

"What now?"

Silver continued looking over the machine, "I'm going to try and salvage as much of the advanced components on this as possible, I don't really have the tools or the infrastructure to remake a lot of these parts."

"I could send you raw materials if you want, the Empire has plenty of gems."

"If you could replace that lonsdaleite chunk, it'd save me a lot of digging."

"Lonsdaleite?"

"Uh... hexagonal diamond?"

Cadance shook her head, "What?"

"Diamonds have a cubical chemical structure, lonsdaleite has a hexagonal one"

"I'm not a science buff, I don't know what that means."

"You don't know basic chemistry?"

"That's basic chemistry?"

Silver looked up and sighed, "Celestia what did you do to Equestria."

Silver trotted towards a work bench, picked up two diamonds with their wings, and quickly walked back to Cadance and sat down in front of her. Dropping one diamond each into their front hooves, Silver began explaining. "These are diamonds, they can scratch each other," To demonstrate, Silver slammed the diamonds together like they were trying to start a fire, and held them out for Cadance to look at.

They were indeed marked.

Silver then tossed the scratched diamond out of their non-dominant hoof, and began again, "lonsdaleite, however, is harder than diamond, and wont scratch." And slammed the diamond onto the orb right in front of Cadance, she felt it shake against her fur as Silver struck it. It was not marked, and the diamond Silver struck it with broke into chunks and made tinging clattering noises as it fell apart.

"It also does that less often." Silver turned away and began fenagling parts on the machine again.

"Is this safe to pick up with magic?"

"Yeah, just don't charm or enchant it, I don't know if it still works, but it has sensors to detect if it's being fundamentally altered, and will violently remove itself it it detects that."

"Violently remove itself?"

"In short? It will explode."

"Okay." Cadance stood and carefully cast a telekinetic spell around the orb, and placed it on her back. She ruffled and unfurled her wings a little to make sure it wouldn't fall. 

She turned and made her way out of the room, Shining had his nose basically to the doorway, which looked a little bit silly. Cadance turned back to Silver, "How did you beak though my husband's shield so easily?"

"I made his shield manifold try and turn itself into ravioli"

Cadance blinked several times, and then turned to leave, "Bye Dusk"

"Bye"

Shining followed Cadance back out through the spatial magic and into the home's foyer.

"So?" Shining said

Cadance turned back towards him, still trying to balance the core on her back, it was just a bit bigger than she could comfortably carry.

"What was all that? and why are we suddenly leaving?"

"Let's walk and talk, we need to be back in the palace soon."

"We're just leaving?"

"Yes"

"Cadance"

"Shining, what would we do?" 

Shining gave her a look,

"What I mean is, how would we go about even doing anything to Dusk if we wanted to? Look at this," Cadance turned to show off the core, "Dusk is blunt in a very complex way, they act like a wall. We can either try and take them down directly, or accept that we're not going to get anything. We have to play the long game, and it's not worth making Dusk our direct enemy."

"You're saying we have to weather the wall down over time?"

Cadance nodded, "That fits in the analogy. This time though, I have an actual plan."

"That's good to hear."

"Come on, I'll tell you on the way."
> A letter for Friendship
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hey Twilight! I'm sure you can tell by the seal, but this letter is from none other than your favorite sister in law!

So is the other letter I sent, this one is just to describe some details for you. In a day or so, you'll be receiving a package from the EPS, open it, and my second letter together, and make sure they're kept confidential. As much as I'd like to catch up, I really need your help for something very important. 

You're not to tell even the other Princesses about this. You'll know why when you get the package and read my other letter,

Love,
Cadance

P.S. If you open the package first before reading the letter make sure you are very careful with the package and the object contained inside, it's very magically sensitive; and I've been told it is likely to explode if magic more complex then telekinesis is used on it



Twilight, I'm sure by now you've seen the artefact I sent you, and I want to clear up what it is, and what I need your help with.

Remember when Canterlot was attacked by another long forgotten evil just over a week ago? Well the Stallion in question, Dusk Swirl, was the one who did the rampaging. I was tasked that night with reforming him, much like Fluttershy was tasked with reforming Discord.

Despite what you may think, it actually went well. The stories that were told about the outcome were, however, a lie. Dusk Swirl is alive, and is currently hiding out in the Crystal Empire. He is docile, and almost friendly on occasion. He is also the creator of the artefact you have with you.

Dusk at the moment, is trying to build something, and has managed to make themselves Crystal Empire Nobility. Knowing what little I know about him, he plans on doing something big. I don't want to antagonize him by demanding what it is, and don't have the ability to demand anyways. Dusk is powerful, and far more dangerously, smart. He has more magical knowledge flat out than me, and more than you as well. For example, he was able to break through Shining Armor's trademark shield spell instantly, and with very little effort, I've seen him move wings from one pony to another, and I know he is a very accomplished dark mage from what Luna told me. I wouldn't doubt that Dusk at his prime outclassed Starswirl himself.

So I'm taking another approach. Befriending him. Which I'm sure you now see where I'm going with this. 

You know so much about friendship, notably being the only pony I know to study it, and I want you to come to the Empire and try and befriend him over his work. There's probably fewer than three ponies in Equestria that could geek out about magical theory with him, and you're definitely my first choice.

Let me know what you think

Love, Cadance



Dear Cadance,

Cadance. I don't know what to say, this... thing you sent me is proof enough with your word of all that you claimed but...

I'm very worried about this, and about you.

But I'll do it.

I've seen friendship do greater things than change a single life, that being said, I think you're on the right track, and I'll definitely help. I'll be there on the next train north, to catch up and to get started. We have a lot to talk about, and it's better to do so when I'm there.

Love,
Twilight
> The Setup
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance had setup a dinner. Something like it anyways, the castle staff insisted and eventually ended up doing ninety percent of the work.

I tried though, I really did.

The room itself was a dignitary dining room, something for hosting if Cadance remembered correctly; so it had all the standard opulence that was present throughout the castle. Unnecessary for this, but at the very least, they'd have a bit of privacy, while still being as close as possible to safety.

This is going to work

Twilight had likely gotten on the morning train the day after her letter, and would be in the Empire at five-ish. Which just so happened to be the current time, Shining was down by the station to pick up Twilight, and with Twilight's skill in magic, they'd likely teleport here, meaning they'd be here at around five thirty.

And Dusk is going to be here at six.

So I'm going to have thirty minutes minimum to explain and get things going.

Cadance took a deep breath, and let it out over ten seconds

I can do that.

For now, she just had to sit and wait.

...

Actually Cadance was going to go check the kitchens again to make sure the staff knew not to interrupt them.




Twilight's POV

"Shining!" Twilight, having just exited the Crystal Express, took a galloping start and gently glomped her brother.

Shining, being A. used to this, and B. a absolute tank, barely moved, and returned the hug. "Hey LSBFF, how's it goin?"

Twilight stepped away from him, but only a little bit, "How's it going? Apparently everything is going crazy!"

Shining chuckled and Twilight continued.

"I really hoped that after Tirek, the world would calm down a little, but then there was that village, and this, and the Grand Galloping Gala is co-"

I'm rambling

Twilight rubbed her hoof over her other leg, bashful, "It's just been a lot."

"I'm sorry to say that this isn't really going to make it any better."

"I know, I know, but I still want to help however I can."

Shining leaned in conspiratorially, "Did you learn those spells?"

"Yeah, Omnashe's Dark Magic Deflector, and Prism's All Purpose Protector."

Although I did know the second one already

"Good" Shining leaned back, "I won't lie, I'm pretty close to pulling the plug on all of this. I want you to be just as wary."

"Don't worry BBBFF, Cadance was explicitly clear how dangerous Dusk was, I am totally prepared."

Shining turned, "Shall we?" He close to kneeled and waved his hoof in a 'carry on' gesture.

Twilight giggled, moved up to his side and lit her horn, "We shall." With a crack of teleportation, Twilight and Shining were standing in some sitting room within the Crystal Spire.

Shining, quick to recover, started trotting, "Come on, I'm sure Cadance is waiting on us."

Twilight made a light squee and caught up with her brother. "I can't wait to see Cadance again, I just wish it wasn't under these... well I mean it's always like this."

"What do you mean?"

"It just feels like me and Cadance never get time to just spend together, there's always something going on."

"Come's with the territory of being a Princess right?"

I guess

"That seems about right."

They fell into a comfortable silence as Shining Armor made his way to the dining room, and Twilight followed close by. Twilight didn't notice, but Shining started to realize the stunning lack of castle staff or guards patrolling the hallway. Aside from clenching his jaw, he made no comment.

Eventually they turned down a hallway with a set of tall crystal doors at the end. Cadance turned into the hallway at the same time, and after the two seconds of which Cadance and Twilight had locked eyes, they rushed to each other and did their thing.

Sunshine Sunshine
Lady bugs awake
Clap your hooves and
Do a little shake!

They both laughed and embraced. "It's so good to see you Twilight."

I'm glad to help

"I missed you too Cadance." Their hug continued.

"Twilight, are you taller?"

Twilight stepped away and tried to measure herself up to Cadance by memory.

"Oh she's definitely taller" said shining, having approached from behind Twilight.

Am I taller? 

"My LSBFF all grown up, soon you're gonna be taller than me." Shining gave a shit-eating grin

"Oh hush Shiny."

Twilight just looked back and forth during the exchange, trying to figure out if she had indeed grown.

I could check with a spell

"Regardless, come on Twily, we have a lot to talk about."

Cadance turned with Shining towards the door, "Indeed we do. I'm sorry to make this all business, but..." Cadance's face said it all. A mix between cringe and shame.

"I know Cadance, it's okay."

They all made their way into the dining hall. The table was set, there were a nominally large amount of snacks, plenty of hoof food. Crackers and cheeses, mostly.

As everypony took seats around the round table, Cadance and Shining next to each other, and Twilight a little ways across from Cadance, Cadance began to speak. "So, where are you at so far? Concise."

Twilight thought for a moment.

There's a pony we can't control, with the power to match and or surpass Starswirl the Bearded hiding out in the Crystal Empire because they're basically a fugitive from the Equestria Crown. Said pony is in the middle of doing something that potentially has the chance to harm a lot of other ponies. Solve with friendship.

"Long forgotten powerful pony fugitive turned noble needs a friend?" She said, with a powerful inflection.

"I wouldn't say needs" Came Shining's flippant response accompanied by rolling eyes

"But essentially. Yes."

"Can you tell me about him? Personality?"

"He's a jerk."

Cadance frowned at Shining and just held up a hoof to him. "He has very little patience for things that he can't see as important." Cadance dropped her hoof and reached out for a small block of cheese with he magic. "It leads him to be easy to irritate, as he cares about very little besides his own goals."

"It sounds like he might just want to be left alone."

"Which we obviously can't do." Shining quickly interjected.

Twilight turned to address his comment, slowly asking, "Has he done anything bad yet?"

"He's assaulted several ponies."

"Ponies that attacked him first, if I can add that." Cadance looked to Shining with a raised brow.

Shining shot back, "Sorry, I meant your guards."

He attacked guards?

Cadance nodded her head slowly, "Oh, right yes. He cast some sort of instant knockout spell on them. There wasn't really a fight, and they weren't hurt."

"But we know that he can hurt ponies, and he's willing to attack them to get what he wants."

Twilight took the chance to speak up, "It might not be that simple. What I mean is, you could say that about police ponies if you phrase it right."

Shining looked incredulous, "What?"

"What Twilight means is that a Police pony has the skill to hurt somepony, and would if given an adequate reason"

We're getting a little off track

"Well... okay well maybe, but you knew what I meant."

"How old is he?"

Both Cadance and Shining looked to each other. Shining shrugged and vaguely gestured at Cadance. Cadance looked back towards Twilight, "He's at least as old as Nightmare Night. Luna had claimed he was there for her fall, and a while before then too."

Wait... What???

"Wait, you're telling me he could be as old as Celestia and Luna?"

"Come to think of it, Luna also mentioned he was around during the Discordian Era."

Twilight was aware of how visible her widening eyes were, "Older than Celestia and Luna!?"

"I honestly don't know, I don't even think he knows either."

O.K.A.Y.

There was silence.

"What. I mean, when am I going to meet him?"

Shining pipped up, "Good question, and how many guards are going to be there?"

Cadance took on a sheepish smile. "Actually, he'll be here in about twenty minutes."

...

"Cadance"

"Now hold on."

"Cay-Dence"

Cadance put her hooves up in mock surrender. "I want this to go right, and us going by to knock on his door isn't going to work... Again"

"Cadance, I-" Twilight tried, but was interrupted.

"Cadance, that's a terrible idea!"

Cadance stood up, and almost glared. She lightly placed her hoof on the table. "Why!?"

Shining too shocked that Cadance raised her voice, and Twilight, already struggling to keep up with the developing situation, gave space for Cadance to keep verbally rolling.

"There's no other way for us to do this. We're in the Crystal Spire, surrounded by guards only a call away. We have the three most powerful ponies besides Dusk himself in the room to keep us all safe!"

Cadance huffed, but continued, "I know we're playing with fire here, we're always going to be risking something when we do anything. This is worth the risk."

"Cadanc-" 

Cadance interrupted him, "and it's not even that risky! Powerful or not, he can't take us all on at once."

...

Cadance sat back down, and crossed her hooves in front of her. She turned away from the table and pouted.

Twilight saw her ear flick, ever so slightly. "I didn't realize you felt so strongly about this."

"My ponies are potentially at stake... Of course I care about this."

Shining just nodded, Twilight added, "Even Dusk?"

Cadance turned back, "Now don't get me wrong, Dusk is definitely a danger, but I think he's just confused." Cadance put a hoof to her snout, before gesturing, "Aimless maybe."

"Which is why you think Twily should befriend him."

"Yes."

Twilight looked at Shining, Shining looked at Twilight, and then back to Cadance.

She looks so... resolute... more so than I've ever seen

"I'm definitely willing to give it a try, as the Princess of Friendship, I couldn't give anything less than my best."

"That's all I'm asking."

"That's not all I'm asking." Shining said, and continued, "I asked Twilight to look into more protection spells since she knew what we were dealing with a bit better."

Cadance blinked once and gave a light shake of her head, "I have no problem with extra precaution, which spells?"

"Omnashe's Dark Magic Deflector, and Prism's All Purpose Protector"

"I would avoid using Prism's trademark science spell." a smooth voice called from the doorway.

Twilight saw Shining almost have cheese go flying out of his nose as he choked and looked at the pony behind her. Cadance turned just as Twilight looked over her shoulder to see a metallic white Pegasus mare with a pair of... saddlebags...

Oh, Celestia... is that leather?

"Hello Dusk." Cadance made the attempt to formally greet him despite the other welcomes.

Her?

"How's it going Little Princess?" Quick Silver walked right up to the table, and sat down in-between Cadance and Twilight. Close enough that Twilight could probably lean over and touch the pony if she wanted. She didn't, but she could.

Cadance leaned back into her seat. "I've been okay. Can I introduce you?"

"No need, I already know Twilight Sparkle" Silver turned towards her, "Princess of Friendship, Celestia's personal student, Savior of Equestria a dozen times over, a proper adventurer. You do clean and effective work."

Silver then reached over to a pile of crackers and shoved them in her mouth

"Um... Thank you. Why shouldn't I use Prism's All Purpose Protection spell?"

Silver, having finished chewing, said "Because I'll stop you, and you have enough magic behind your spellcasting that it'll probably hurt. I don't wanna do that."

Twilight looked towards Cadance, who was smiling like a cheshire cat. She made a shooing motion with her hooves in encouragment.

"Why would you want to stop me from casting a protection spell?"

Shining mumbled something from across the table, Silver after inhaling more cheese and cracker said, "I'm not going to tell you, you'll have to figure it out on your own."

Is there something wrong with the spell? It's complex, but easily something I can do.

Hmmmmm... Nevermind

"So... Cadance told me you're basically a master wizard?"

"I wouldn't go that far."

Cadance spoke up, "Then you're being modest."

"It's just that I wouldn't ever claim to be a master of any sort of mystic art. There's always more to discover you know? Shining Armor?"

"Sure."

"Cmon, you could at least engage a little bit, you know? I mean, now's the perfect time to blast me with magic in the middle of a sentence." Silver frowned, "Or don't, fine, see if I care." Then returned to removing the food off the table.

Shining and Cadance looked confused.

Twilight spoke up, trying to resolve their confusion, "Were you... Trying to get him to blast you with magic while you were talking?"

"Was it that obvious?" Silver turned towards Twilight and very methodically rolled her eyes at her

"Why would you want me to blast you."

"You just looked like you really wanted to."

"No pony is going to be blasting anypony else today." Cadance tried.

"Tell your boy toy that."

"Hey!" Shining armor called out

"Hay yourself! All that's here is cheese and crackers, if you want hay so bad then get it yourself!"

Shining was stunned by Silver's outburst, Cadance looked like she was trying to think of a way to manage the conversation.

Twilight laughed. Not intensely, just one solid laugh.

"Thank you Twilight."

Shining took to glaring at Silver.

"You... remind me of one of my friends?"

That wasn't meant to be a question, woops.

"Oh yeah? Which one?"

Despite the seemingly casual turn in the conversation, Twilight could still feel the growing tension weighing on her withers.

Cadance spoke up in tandem with Twilight's answer, "Pinkie Pie"

Silver paused their food shoveling, like they were frozen mid action. "You don't mean Pinkie Pie, the daughter of Igneous Rock Pie and Cloudy Quartz, do you?"

"Wait, you know Pinkie's parents?" Twilight asked with a head tilt.

"Yeah, I bought rocks from them. Small world huh?"

"You bought rocks from Pinkie's parents?" Cadance asked, also confused

Twilight switched verbal partners, "They farm rocks."

I realize now that that's not a very good explanation

"Why were you buying rocks." Shining said. It came out more as a suspicious demand than a question.

"Rock related purposes."

"That doesn't answer my question."

"You asked a shit question then."

Twilight interrupted Shining before he had a chance to respond. "Do you have to antagonize my brother?"

"I absolutely do."

Twilight scrunched her eyes and asked, "Explain why in complete detail."

"No."

Oh...

"Please?" Said Cadance.

"He really just deserves it."

"In detail? Like Twilight said?"

Silver rolled her eyes, "Ugh fine, I'm trying to teach him a lesson." Silver went to vaporize more food.

"About?" 

She placatingly put up a hoof while chewing, "I wash getting there" She swallowed, "About not being a dick for no reason."

"Can you please keep the vulgarity away from the dinner table?"

Cadance was ignored, "You see, your boy toy there seems to think that being aggressive and rude towards me is somehow going to make me not a threat. That if he can 'cow' me somehow that he'll suddenly feel like he's in control." Silver took a breath, "The too most important ponies in his life are sat in a room with someone who could hurt them, and he thinks being a bully is going to solve that problem, and he's stupid for it."

"I don'-"

"No, you don't. You didn't even think of what you were doing before you did it. You won't even get what you want from acting the way you're acting. You're embarrassing your wife."

"Don't talk about my brother like that."

"I'll do what I want Princess."

Out of the corner of Twilight's eyes she saw Cadance's wings began to unfurl.

"Actually, you won't." Shining stood up.

Twilight began, "You're at least not going to be hurting anypony, or doing anything that could otherwise harm Equestria." Twilight glanced over at Cadance, to see Cadance rapidly looking in-between Shining and Twilight, they locked eyes and the only thing Twilight saw was confusion plastered on Cadance's face.

Shining lit his horn.

Silver pulled out a bomb.

"Shining wait!" Twilight yelled, seeing the danger. Silver had placed a small metal sphere etched in runes on the table. It may not have been a bomb, but it was carrying enough magical potential to become one.

Shining fired a bolt of magic at Silver.

The magic ripped across the table, and splashed on an unseen barrier right in front of Silver. Food and cutlery went flying, Cadance had fully stood with her wings unfurled and shouted, "Shiny! Stop!"

Twilight had jumped up onto the table, her own wings unfurled, and her horn glowing with a barely contained stun spell.

"Everypony stop!" Came Cadance shout, "What has gotten into you two!?"

"Shining is an idiot, and Twilight has trauma."

"I do not!"

Silver stood and mimed a deeper voice, flapping her wings in jest, "You won't do anything to harm Equestria." Silver retuned to a neutral stance, "Really? How many times have you said that to someone about to hurt you or your friends?"

"Cadance, Dusk cannot be reasoned with, we have to deal with him now!"

"What?! What are you saying?!"

"I know right? It's not like he could even hurt me if he wanted to."

Shining Armor snarled, "I'm just getting warmed up."

"And I stole and improved your trademark shield spell specifically to counter you. Since you obviously would never look for weak spots in your own spell."

"What?" Shining Armor fired another blast at Silver, and sure enough, Twilight saw the metal orb, just around the size of her hoof, light up with magic as the bolt splashed on an unseen barrier.

"SHINING ARMOR THAT IS ENOUGH!" Cadance pulled out the Royal Canterlot Voice. It rattled the doors and made sure anything still standing on the table fell over. Shining folded his ears down and went to retort, but Cadance beat him to the punch, "No! I don't want to hear it! You are embarrassing me! You made this into a dangerous situation!"

"I-"

"Dusk isn't even doing anything! He's just defending himself!"

It seemed like Cadance had successfully mollified Shining with that. Twilight was just as equally stunned, never having seen Cadance... essentially verbally buck someone in the jaw. With Twilight's knowledge of Shining's mannerisms, he looked like a kicked puppy.

"It's okay Little Princess. I mean, I did start it by being verbally attacked."

Cadance turned towards Silver and just... Stopped, her facial expression read of somepony who had properly had enough of whatever was happening, and morphed towards pure confusion.

"What is going on?" Twilight said slowly and carefully.

"Ah..." Silver sat back down, and leaned back adopting an awkward sitting position, resting entirely on her flanks. "and then everypony stopped and considered the strangeness of the last couple of moments."

and then everypony stopped and considered the strangeness of the last couple of moments.

"I've seen enough moments like these to explain for you Twilight." Silver continued to lounge, "Cadance is wondering how her carefully laid plan could have gone so wrong. Shining Armor is berating himself for his lack of discipline, and you! You are drowning in choice, wondering what it is you're supposed to do, and hoping someone else will key you into how to de-escalate the situation."

"I..."

"Well it's been de-escalated. You're welcome."

Cadance sat back down in her seat, and looked back towards Shining. Shining, took his seat too.

Twilight quickly got off the table.

Everypony took a breath.

"I'm sorry, Cadance."

Cadance shook her head and gestured at Silver.

Silver held up a hoof. "I don't want your apology, before you start. I want you to act your age."

Shining did not respond.

"Kay, bye." Silver picked up her orb, and started leaving.

Cadance smiled. Her ear twitched again. She gestured at Twilight to follow Silver.

What is she...

Cadance gestured harder, Twilight got up, and started to follow Silver. When she glanced back at Cadance, Cadance winked at her.

Twilight almost didn't notice that Silver was holding the door open for her as she left, she nearly bumped into Silver.

Silver gestured, "Shall we?"
> A chapter where I go completely insane with the power of physics and magic
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight took a glance at the mare who was currently gesturing her forwards. The Crystal hall itself, while simply a wall, looked more inviting than Quick Silver did.

I guess there's a reason my gut is telling me not to trust her

"We're not going to just be standing around here all day right?" Silver swung her hoof again, losing her posture and rolling her eyes.

Twilight had frozen for a moment by her thoughts before she was able to recover. "Do you have somewhere specific in mind?"

"We'll head back to my place, I was hoping to show you my lab, and take advantage of you." Silver started trotting down the hallway while Twilight blanched again, "Specifically your ties to magic, and alicorn magic."

Twilight couldn't tell if she was joking. "Is... that a joke?"

Silver looked over her shoulder, "Is that the question you really want to be asking? Are you sure you don't want me to distract you with the mysteries of the arcane?"

"Yes?"

Silver frowned. "Ah" She turned and waved Twilight onwards, "I'll explain when we get there."

Twilight followed until the two of them exited the hallway into one of the many chambers in the Empire, this one had four guards posted on the interior, it was sparingly decorated. Likely a hallway interchange for high hoof traffic, hence the guards.

"This oughta do it," Silver said, reaching into her bag.

"For?" Twilight walked up next to Silver as she pulled a white and brown pile of dust out of her bag and threw it onto the floor.

"First little lesson of mine I guess, how can an ear- well, how can a Pegasus cast a teleport spell?"

Twilight, stunned by the casual attack on the room's décor, didn't respond. One of the guards however, did, "Hey! Clean that up!" A stallions voice came from the side, Twilight noted the aggression from the brownish crystal pony, and Silver's seemingly complete ignorance of their command. Silver was watching Twilight, waiting for an answer.

She waved a hoof at the guard, smiled apologetically. It seemed to cause the guard to come up short, and he settled into a frown and continued glaring at Silver.

"Alright, well, short answer is, they can't."

Twilight returned her attention to Silver, who was shifting the powder around on the ground. On second glance, Silver was maneuvering the powder with a dexterity that Twilight had never seen before. She opened her mouth to say something she hadn't thought out yet, but Silver continued, "Well, at least I can't, not without any alicorn."

"Alicorn?"

"Is it not called that anymore? The bone that makes up unicorn horns?"

Twilight blinked, "No... there's a medical term for it, but it's not called alicorn anymore."

Silver shifter her focus from the dust to Twilight, "Huh" 

Silver stamped her hoof on the ground. A bubble sprung up around them, and Twilight felt the telltale shift of teleportation as the bubble rippled from opaque to translucent, and then they were simply somewhere else.

Silver began walking off.

Twilight only had moments to take in the scene before hurrying up after Silver. They were underground, that much from her pegasus senses she could work out, but not how far. 

Of course, it was obvious enough, the cavern of ice they were stood in was black as night towards the edges. If she wasn't just standing in a structure made entirely of crystal, she would have assumed the ice, as clear as it was, was crystal as well. It gave her the sensation of standing on air, and looking out into the void.

Once she began trotting forwards after Silver, she noticed the lines of metal inlaid into the ground, just underneath the ice where they teleported in. 

You got this Twilight

"An anchor." She said, striding up next to Silver

Silver smiled wide and almost pranced for a moment, "Good! Good! Of course I needed an anchor, a memory based spell would have cost far to much magic for a two pony translocation matrix."

"Which was what the dust was for?"

Silver stopped her stride and simply began sliding on the floor, Twilight could hear it happening, which is why it was unconcerning.

I guess she never got any horseshoes.

While sliding, Silver lifted a hoof and began to explain, "The purpose of the dust was two fold. The white was an enchanted diamond powder, designed to power the spell, the brown was powdered copper and bronze, and some agate to function as a the runic symbols"

Twilight was tempted to try sliding too, but unlike Silver, she didn't have the dexterity, or likely practice to stay stable. She elected to continue walking, and tried not to slip. "So where are we going?"

Silver came upon a bend in the cavern, and merely readjusted their slide by pushing against the wall. "I'm surprised you didn't ask until just now, ponies these days are way more trusting." It seemed almost as if Silver was chiding her with the remark.

"Well..."

Silver interrupted, "We're just about to my lab."

"Okay."

They lapsed into silence, and sure enough a couple of moments later, they walked and slid respectively into an opening in the cavern wall, definitely carved out, as the interior was blocky. The walls, ceiling and floor were a different colour of ice; like the entire room full of ice had been compressed down into the walls. 

The interior had numerous large pieces of metal in them, things Twilight had no name for, and what generally looked like scrap metal. The centerpiece looked like a sideways ribbed tube, half imbedded in a massive bluish-silver metal block that was imbedded itself into the ice. The entire structure took up most of the room, and rose to a couple of hooves above her horn, and further down into the ice than she could see.

Twilight, still at the threshold of the room, turned as Silver's slide stopped upon the denser ice, and she stepped into the room.

"This is what I'll be needing your help with." She said, gesturing towards the large... Object.

"What is it?"

"This? Why, this is a humble magnet reactor."

Twilight, along with Silver, approached the machine, "What does it do?"

"I promise it's less complex than it looks." Silver pointed individually at the four points, "See those four outcroppings going around the housing of it?"

Twilight nodded.

"In each one of those, there's a magnet, a very powerful, enchanted magnet, sitting on a track on the opposite side of a tightly wound electro-magical circuit" Silver waved, "Nothing more complex than an electromagnet. The magnets are connected to a shaft, and when the shaft spins, it generates rotational force. Following?"

Twilight nodded again

"The mechanical force is driven into a mechanism at the end of the shaft, that creates electricity and feeds back into the main machine, and out into a large battery underneath."

This must be what my friends feel like when I explain things to them

"So it's a generator?"

Silver bounced their head from left to right for a moment, before slowly responding, "In essence, yes."

Twilight was still at a loss for what particularly she was supposed to be doing here. She knew 'friendship' but as of far, they've only really... Well, they're not really friends are they? Silver said she was going to use Twilight for her magic. 

I guess... it wasn't a joke.

"And you want me to?" Twilight lead

"I need you to help me start it. You see, there's this funny little gimick where you can cheat more energy out of rotating magnets that you put in. With enough magic, you can cross a threshold where you can power the function of the reactor with itself, and still produce a positive net of electricity."

That's impossible

"Issue is, the amount of magic required is also far above the amount that would destabilize the local area's space-time, causing magic to assert itself over reality and making the reactor... not do that."

Twilight stepped in verbally, feeling like she finally had something to contribute. "Of course, Yonder's theorem proves a null state exists over physics. Causing magic to take precedence over energy consumption." She paused to think and Silver took the moment to interject

"Unless of course you were able to harvest the electro-magical-magnetism factor, and pump it back into the equation." Silver pressed their hoof into the ground, and a plate appeared made of slate. 

"Look" Silver began running their hoof accross the slate, writing out what Twilight surmised shortly to be an... A less defined version of the math required to prove Yonder's Law. "Once the energy consumption changes the factor of magical wave form from static to fluid, so long as you can manipulate the outflow, you can keep the same constant, and as the equivalence starts to go to infinity, the output side begins increasing faster than the input once you pass eleven point six thaums."

Twilight checked over the math. "Wouldn't you have to factor in for the electro static discharge from the magnets affecting the mana flow?"

"Not if the magnets themselves are the centrifugal force. Inverse gravitational mana waves force the electro-magnetic field inwards."

"Which means you'd be able to control the rotational force without disrupting the energy being pushed into the spin." Twilight checked the math again.

That's... ingenious

"How would you control the outflow of the thaumic disruption?" Twilight asked, now genuinely curious, her diplomatic side abandoned in the face of her scholarly side demanding information be found.

Silver frowned. "Originally? I used the reality stabilizer. Unfortunately it's time outside of time didn't treat it very well." Followed by a smile, "So I'm going to use Alicorn magic instead"

Twilight lifted a hoof defensively, "You're not... going to take it from me, are you?"

"What no!" Silver turned away with a dismissive hoof wave, "Of course not. I'm going to teach you a base of a simpler targeted version of a rose grade reality anchor enchantment, and I'm going to use what magic I have left stored up to get the reactor past it's thaumic threshold, and then I'm going to use the output to take over your spell, and lock it into the reactor."

Wait... what?

"You want me to hold a Astro-chronoturgy spell over a thaumic disruption of over ten thaums?"

Silver looked back at Twilight, and tilted her head, "...Yes?"

Twilight stared

"For how long?"

Silver smiled and nodded, as if she understood where the issue was coming from, "Ah, only a couple of minutes."

"A couple of-!"

"What?"

"I-"

"Can you not do it?"

Twilight stopped. She didn't expect that kind of tone from Silver. It was soft, and... really fit with the melodic voice they had clearly taken on. "No"

"Oh." Silver frowned. Then scrunched her face, visually displaying their depth of thought.

A couple of moments of silence past before Silver retuned to a less squishy expression, and smiled and waved at Twilight, "Okay, bye then."

Silver pressed on the slate on the ground, and it disappeared just as quickly as it appeared. She turned and stepped over to a piece of scrap metal and started rolling it towards another section of the room.

Twilight, very noticeably, did not leave.

Silver stopped and sighed. "We're not going to be friends Twilight, you can go."

Frustration bubbled up out of Twilight's core and into and out of her mouth before she could think better of it. "How would you know if you won't even give me a chance!"

"Because I'm smarter than you."

The bluntness of the comment cooled Twilight's frustration into hurt before it could really get going.

"And besides that, it's exactly what you think." Silver's tone darkened with her expression as she turned, and glared at Twilight over her snout. "I am choosing to not try to befriend you, because I have more important things to do with my time."

"I thought so too. Friendship turned out to be more important to me than I could-"

Faster than she could blink, Silver was in front of her, "Don't try to emphasize with me girl." Twilight would have mentally commented on the return of Dusk's voice, but after Silver locked eyes with her, everything about her gaze made Twilight want to shudder. She'd later describe the feeling as, 'the opposite of Celestia.' 

In the gaze was less than the lack of warmth and love, it was full of hatred and pain. Then the gaze was broken, and Twilight let out a breath.

Silver finished quietly, "You'll hurt yourself." a beat passed, "now get out."

This time, Twilight left. With a flash of teleportation she was gone. Only when she rematerialized under the crystal heart did she realize how alien her own mind felt.

I didn't think I could panic that much over... that

When she thought back to Silver's face, she felt her anxiety rising, telling her to get away from the danger.

Twilight shook her head.

What am I gonna tell Cadance? That I just ran away?

"Princess? Are you okay?"

"Huh?" One of the guards had snuck up on Twilight while she was thinking. She turned to face him, "Oh yes, I'm okay, would you mind taking me to Cadance?" 

Best get this over with.

"Of course ma'am."

"Thank you."



Twilight met back with Cadance and Shining in Cadance's office. Probably the most wood she'll see in the whole tower was located within the confines, it gave the office a warm feeling to it that helped straighten out her nerves.

When she walked in, she was given a warm greeting from her old foal sitter, "Twilight! That was fast, how did it go?"

Straight to the point

She steeled herself and spoke, "It went pretty badly actually."

"That's okay Twily, we knew it wouldn't work out." Shining similarly smiled warmly, though Twilight could see the hint of a smirk on his face; the sign that her brother knew something she didn't.

Cadance said, "He's right, Dusk wasn't going to talk to you from the get go. This was part of a bigger plan."

Twilight glanced between the two of them, "Wait, was dinner part of the plan too?"

Cadance nodded, "To try and throw Dusk off our trail. Although Shining overdid it a little bit." She looked at Shining who rubbed the back of his neck with a hoof, making the effort to avoid meeting her gaze.

"Huh."

"What did you learn when you were with him Twily?"

Twilight thought for a moment; and as she thought more, she came to a series of conclusions that displayed as a grimace on her face. "You never wanted me to befriend Silver? You just wanted to trick her? And me?" Her wings drooped and for lack of better description, felt sad.

Cadance leaned forward over her desk, "Of course we actually wanted you to be able to befriend Silver." She leaned back and steepled her hooves in font of herself, and looked away, "We just assumed it would be very difficult, or at least take multiple tries."

Shining spoke up as well, "Dusk really only seems willing to interact with Cadance."

"Then why not have Cadance do... this?"

"Because Dusk is smart. Very smart, and from what we can tell, he'll keep me at hoof's length to stop me from learning anything."

Twilight felt a little reassured that she wasn't just at tool in this scenario. At the very least, she was glad Cadance wasn't taking advantage of her. Though, she wasn't really sure why she considered it in the first place. "So the plan was to confuse him, and then let me interact with him one on one, and hope I would be able to achieve anything?"

Shining spoke, "That's it, really, yeah."

A beat passed before Cadance spoke again, "And did you? Achieve anything, I mean."

Twilight thought back to Silver, and their short encounter, her ears folded against her head. "Not really. She made it pretty clear she didn't want anything to do with me. At least after she learned I couldn't help her start her machine."

"A machine?"

Twilight held up a hoof, "I'm not gonna tell you, at least, I don't think I should. It was hidden, and if I want Silver to be my friend, than the first thing I could do is keep her secrets."

Shining frowned, "Twily, Silver is a dangerous pony."

"Well-"

Cadance interrupted, "What Shining means is that while we personally agree with that, if this 'machine' is something that could hurt ponies, then we have a responsibility to act on that knowledge." She tacted onto the end, "As rulers."

I can't argue with that

"It..." 

it's not right though

"I don't think it could hurt anypony..." Twilight trailed off, "it was just a generator."

Honesty is a tenant of Friendship Twilight

So is Loyalty...

Cadance nodded and stood. She turned the side of the table and approached Twilight with spread wings.

Twilight didn't show it, but the relief spread through her as she embraced the taller Alicorn.

"I'm sorry this was such a stressful experience."

Twilight gave a deep tone whisper, "I can only imagine how it is for you two."

Cadance giggled and broke the hug. "So Dusk just shooed you away then?"

"Well..." Twilight trailed off,

It seems silly now

"She scared me, and I uh..." Twilight gave a strained smile, "ran away?"

Cadance and Shining exchanged a glance, Shining said, "Sounds about right."

Cadance turned back to Twilight, "Do you think you could interact with them again?"

A quiet, "no"

"That's okay Twilight, thank you for all you've done so far."

"That's not it, is it?"

Shining waved to get her attention past the large form of Cadance, "We'd really like if you could work out a few more protection spells, but otherwise...?" He lead looking to Cadance.

"Otherwise... Yes, that's it. I'm sorry for the short trip. You are of course, welcome to stay in the Spire until you want to leave."

I guess I could stay for a little... 

"I think I'll just try and get the evening train home."

"Well you're not going anywhere until I get a hug too LSBFF" Shining stood, Twilight laughed, and hugs were had before she left.

Twilight, instead of teleporting back to the station, took to the air and flew her way towards the station with the intent of taking in the sights, and getting her mind off of her most recent stress.

Once she found her way onto a train, she pulled a book from her personal stash and enjoyed a calming read on her way home.



The castle.

Twilight had a lot to say about 'The Castle'

She didn't really know how to say it though, and at the moment, she was a bit too tired to be introspective. She simply pushed opened the doors and walked inside. Spike had almost certainly gone to bed with the sun, and Twilight was going to make no fuss, and just go to bed herself.

Her stomach grumbled

Twilight was going to go to bed after getting a bite to eat.

She tried to avoid taking in the crystal hallways as she tried not to get lost on her way to the kitchen. Luckily for her, the kitchen was noticeable by the wooden door, and the sweet smells and light coming from inside.

Spike must still be up

Without more thought of the subject, Twilight opened the door, and yawned mid speech, "Spike?"

"Oh no my dear, I'm afraid spike went to bed an hour or two ago."

The distinctively non-spike voice, plus the cutting figure stood in the room caused Twilight to mentally sober from her sleepy self. "Discord?"

"The one and only."

Something was off, despite his jovial words, Discord sounded different

"What are you doing in my kitchen?"

"Baking a mud pie."

Twilight grimaced

Discord levitated above the counter, "Oh don't worry, not the pony, the ground."

Twilight sighed, "It's a bit late for this Discord."

Instead of a comical remark, or otherwise any decidedly 'Discord' actions, Twilight heard him snap his fingers, and the light from the stove went off, and the smells from the room disappeared. Twilight had never seen Discord look so serious on his own. Sure when he was betrayed, but to have that look on his face for no discernable reason? Of his own accord?

"Discord?" Twilight tenitively asked

Instead of responding, Discord thought and Twilight was reminded of Discords power, as she felt the rise of ambient magic as Discord fully brought his presence to his physical location.

Discord stopped floating, and sat on the island counter upright. "Hold still please my dear."

Twilight held still, and Discord reached a hand, with the arm elongating mind you, into her head. Twilight grimaced, but otherwise it didn't feel like anything.

Discord's serious look turned... Angry. He jerked his arm and pulled out a mass of... something from her.

It looked like a mixture between a cloud of smoke, magic, and a pile of metal shavings. Whatever it was writhed in his claws before he crushed it, and two comical puffs of white smoke appeared on either end of his eagle talon.

"What was-"

"A nasty little charm meant to track you, and steal your senses."

Twilight was decidedly worried.

I've never seen him like this before

"Are you okay Discord?"

His look went from serious and frustrated to surprised

Discord began floating again and pressed his lion's paw to his chest, "Why me? Of course! I am the lord of cha-"

"Discord"

Discord looked back down at Twilight.

She was unamused.

Discord didn't look like he knew what to do in this situation.

"Just... Tell me?"

Discord held up a talon, and, then put it back down, he pursed his lips. Which to Twilight looked strange, as he didn't really have lips, and it somehow went over his snaggle tooth, even though it was still visible, but she tried to just ignore that.

Discord leaned in, "I've made... a lot of mistakes in my lifetime," he looked at his hands as his voice deepened, "Let me tell you about the one named Dusk Swirl."
> A nod and a shake
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


Cadance's POV


Dusk had fallen the day after, Cadance was on her way to her bedroom in one of the many hallways after a long day of work. While she listened to Amber go on about her schedule for tomorrow, she thought.

It's not even been a week since I met dusk, and my life is already had more excitement that it's had since that trip to Maretonia

"Princess, are you listening?"

Guess I should pause my internal dialogue

Cadance made the attempt to put on a genuine smile, but she felt it only come out tired, "I'm sorry Amber, it's just been a long couple of days, today was especially tiring and boring."

Amber, continuing to keep pace with the taller pony, looked down at the clipboard in her hoof and then back  at Cadance. "I understand Princess, just make sure you're awake for the morning castle meeting and we can organize after."

"Thank you Amber I-"

Both mares stopped short as a magical stream of smoke flew up from behind them, noisily crackling. There was a light noise, like a popcorn kernel in a pan, and a jar appeared. Inside was a rolled up sheet of paper, and a little blue bead.

Spike?

Cadance picked up the jar and gave it a once over, on the lid there was a wet strip of paper that said: 'To: Little Princess'

Dusk

Cadance pulled the grabbed the cork in her magic and twisted it out of the opening, the paper shortly after. Amber tentatively watched Cadance unroll it.

Hey Little Princess

No pleasantries today, I have an urgent request for you, so take this seriously

I found a group of cultists dedicated to worshiping Sombra, they kidnapped someone, and there is dark magic at play.

I cannot stop them non-lethally without magic, but I will stop them regardless of your response

May I?

Crush the gem in the jar onto your response to send it back to me

Cadance's eyes widened while she was reading, and half way through, she mentally jarred herself awake and commanded, "Amber, I need you to pen out a response for me."

"Of course Princess."

Cadance rerolled up the paper and then just dropped it on the ground, not knowing where else to put it. Amber feeling the change in the situation, very quickly pulled a quill from off the top of the clipboard, sat down, and flipped the top piece of paper over and started writing, as Cadance had not waited for her to be ready before speaking.

"Do what you can, tell me where you are."

The moment Amber was done, Cadance pulled the paper off her clipboard with her magic and tipped over the jar into her hoof at the same time. The paper went on the floor and she crushed the bead onto the paper, it turned into smoke in a blue flash of static and flew off. 

"Amber, scramble the guards and wake my husband; we're going to need to deal with a scuffle."

Cadance took flight the moment after Amber started running

As Cadance flew towards the first balcony she could get to, she smiled at the thought of Amber's responsiveness.

That mare needs a raise

She hit the balcony and tossed the door open and landed on the ledge outside.

Through the barrier she could see the stars, and the clouds gather on just the outside far off in the distance, the aurora over the city glimmered off the crystal structures below, but Cadance didn't have time to appreciate the view. She looked out over the city, looking for any signs of chaos.

Nothing

Aside from the wind, everything was calm.

Cadance felt her anxiety rising as the mental momentum she had gathered suddenly had no where to go.

She kept glancing around, trying to pick out where Dusk might be, she started at their residence, and started scanning around it, but still nothing.

A minute past of her searching

I guess he's not going to tell me where

So Cadance lit her horn and closed her eyes.

Celestia had tried to teach her a spell once for gauging the strength and direction of flow in the magical field, she was foggy on how exactly the spell was meant to function, but it was a lot like a beacon. Weaving her own magical essence into her immediate surroundings, she started getting feedback from the castle walls, the ground, and the air.

Now I just have to go bigger

That was, until she felt a ting of something familiar, but wild and indescribable. She sent the aura in that direction, and she started feeling the telltale magical signature of dark magics flowing...

Away from me?

Cadance tried to identify what is was when it hit her.

Dusk's message spell

She kept her horn lit, and turned back into the castle. There was a guard in the hallway she turned her attention to, "Go alert the active guards to meet me under the Crystal Heart."

And then she teleported

For Cadance her perspective was unbroken, she reappeared a ways away from the crystal heart.

You really can't be missing teleportation spells like that Cadance

She was close enough to the leg of the Spire that she could have hurt herself had she missed her location a little bit more. What she didn't have time to think about was how unlikely it was for an signature teleportation spell to cause a displacement as much as it had. What she did notice, is that the dark magic aura was in the same direction she was displaced in; although it barely registered in her mind as a group of armored crystal ponies came rolling out of the Spire leg she was in front of.

Shining called out her name, his mane was undone and he looked like he just rolled out of bed.

"Shining, it's Dusk, he needs our help."

"Guards! Tighten your formation and limber up!" Shining walked the rest of the ways towards Cadance and started talking quietly but strained, "Dusk needs our help?"

I wish I took the letter with me instead of leaving it on the ground!

Cadance lit her horn up again and spread her wings, "I don't know all the details, but I can find him, and we need to go now."

Shining looked like he wanted to argue, but he turned to the guards instead, "Alright ponies! Follow Cadance!"

Cadance took the cue and took flight, the sound of crystal hooves on crystal roads was surprisingly deep, and Cadance's focus almost shattered as the guards started to run just underneath her. 

She tried to stick to roads, but after a minute of flight she saw smoke, and the part of her mind that had allowed her to wait for backup was silenced as she heard crystal glass shatter. Ponies were in danger, she had to move. She spared a single glance towards the guards who started to break into groups to go to every corner of the structure they were approaching. Cadance cleared the building just in front and her mind overclocked itself taking everything in.

The crystal home, or rather, what looked more like an office was very on fire; somehow though, only on the inside. Smoke poured out of the shattered windows, and Cadance took two stationary flaps in the air before she flew towards one of them and dove inside.

Immediately she was assailed with the heat. The voice of Luna filled her head as she landed in the smoke filled room, her wings batting away the smoke from her, and pulling fresh air in through the window. 

There is a moment in the psyche that every pony faces while in danger. To fight and defend themselves, or to run, and hope they can outpace the danger.

Cadance was a fighter.

It was a moment after touching down onto the ground that Cadance took off, to a normal pony, the structure would be impossible to traverse, but Cadance had been a Pegasus for almost eighty one years. She flexed her wings and felt the room, the thermals and the smoke gave her a map, and she dashed through the flames towards a doorway, she closed her wings to jump through over a hole she felt in the crystal and onto a broken outcrop of Crystal that overlooked a drop into what looked like another room beneath her. 

"Dusk!" Cadance called out still moving. She took a running leap off the broken platform and onto the side of the continuation in front of her, she used the flat surface to pivot her momentum, and she jumped down onto the floor below, spinning once in the air with her wings to stop the burning air from sucking her glide down into the fire.

"Silver!" She glanced around, and saw a pony prone on the ground, on their side. She rushed up to them and lit her horn, a controlled wave of force threw the debris and flames off of them to reveal-

What?!

A pony turned to stone, their stone leg bent at an odd angle, they had a look of pain frozen on their face.

I don't have time to unpack that.

Cadance started charging her horn, realizing Dusk had apparently left the pony to die, she knew she had to act fast. She charged a fluid shield spell, and began filling the matrix with magic and then reached into her connection to her Alicornhood, to Love, to envelope the magic.

The idea was to have an expanding shield like what she pulled off at her wedding, it would throw the flames to the surrounding buildings, but with a platoon of guards outside and more on the way, she was more concerned with the ponies inside. The issue of course came when she started to pump Love into her spell. She wasn't sure what she did wrong, but very suddenly, one half of her spell began to rupture as the Love began overfilling the spell with far more raw magic than she wanted, her reserves strained, and like any intelligent caster, she pushed the exploding spell from her horn before it could get any worse. The result was a wave of non-visible pink force that blasted outwards from the tip of her horn, and threw her onto her flanks.

It also dislodged debris above her that began to fall. Cadance internally amusedly squinted

Classic

Her instincts told her not to dodge, as she wouldn't let the stoned pony she was standing over get crushed, and she tried instead to blast the falling debris with her horn but only sparks came from it.

Cadance braced and was covered in darkness, but not the crushing kind of darkness, the kind of darkness that implied magic.

As her sight returned in a flash she heard the debris crash into the ground over the crackling of the fire.

"Decided to ruin my fun huh?"

Cadance looked at the newly arrived Quick Silver, and whatever she was going to say dug it's own grave and died in her mouth. Silver was more than on fire, there were chunks taken out of her body, her face was gnarled and broken, and one of her wings was missing entirely. Any mane or tail that was left was black or burning. Strangely though, there was no blood, the body underneath the damaged sections revealed merely more body.

Cadance's mouth opened and closed like a fish, and she vaguely registered that the pony made of stone was still underneath her.

"Get this pony outside, there's another one upstairs; get her too. Everyone else is clear, I'm going to head into the basement to get the last two out. Move."

Cadance had her information, so she moved, she lit her horn, and pressed out the last vestiges of broken magic clinging to her horn as she wrapped the stone pony in her aura. Dusk turned opposite to Cadance and shouted. The sound reverberated like it was artificial, nothing like a voice, and a wave of vibrations ripped up the ground in front of Silver and put out some of the flame and cleared the smoke to make a door on the second floor visible, Silver then sprinted off to the side, and Cadance used the opening to take flight back up to the second floor, stone pony in tow.

It didn't take long to find the pony, the room was mostly not on fire, and the pony was stood in front of a window with a surprised look on their face. The whole window was removed from the outside, and Cadance glanced out over the smoke to see the guards surrounding the structure.

"Hey! Up here!" She began levitating the stone ponies out the window and out onto the pavement.

The several calls of medic sounded as she deposited them in the waiting guards hooves, and she herself landed moments after, having jumped and flew down from the burning structure.

"Are there any ponies left in there ma'am!"

"Yes! but they're-"

BOOM

Cadance was almost knocked off her hooves as a blast wave of energy erupted from the building. The guards in front of her threw themselves onto the stoned ponies to protect them, and it made Cadance's heart swell. She turned towards the structure, only to see it begin collapsing, the building could seemingly take no more abuse. Cracks started to run up load bearing walls, and the crashing of the internals crumbling inwards signaled moments before the whole building came down.

Cadance lit her horn and the building lit up with her aura. The sight of her guards protecting her charges, plus her adrenaline filled movement and the idea that there were ponies still inside caused something to click in her mind, she pulled upon her Alicornhood again and shoved with all she could. Instead of the magic overloading, she felt her body overcome with emotion as her horn jumped from one to four corona's instantly and the entire building began to glow with energy as she held it up in her magic.

"Princes-"

Cadance pulled out the RCV, "Get these ponies clear!" and her command booked no arguments for the guards, who nodded and lifted anypony who had fallen, and pulled the stoned ponies with them out of the danger zone.

Cadance spread her wings as she channeled more magic than she'd ever wielded in her life, the building stood, and she was barely even felt the strain on her magic. The force and the emotion, however, was starting to break her focus, and she mentally felt the spell slipping from her grasp and growing out of control.

Come on! Come on!

She heard the building begin to groan again as her magic started struggling to hold it up in the right positioning, a couple more moments and the magic would be so unstable it would do more harm then good.

Get out dammit!

Cadance released the spell and the magic began radiating off her horn in waves as the excess began to bleed off into the air. Moments after, the building began to collapse and Cadance made a quick retreat out towards the guard line.

There were six more additions, Silver included, who was stood several hooves from the line, with Shining stood in-between with a shocked expression, several guards were pointing their shields and spears in Silver's direction, and Cadance could tell why. Silver looked like some kind of monster. She was bent over, grunting and occasionally crying out in pain as Cadance approached. 

She watched skin slough off Silver and fall to the ground before turning to dust, new fresh fur appearing beneath it, and an entire wing regrew right in front of Cadance's eyes.

Her sprint slowed to a canter as she approached, wide eyeing Silver, who looked completely normal by the time Cadance was close enough to hear.

"Stay back!" Shining shouted

Silver shouted back "Shut up! I need a medic and plenty of blood! NOW!"

Cadance ran up next to Silver, who turned to face her, "Good! Tell him I need cooperation to save these ponies!" Despite her tone and their now non-visible injuries, Silver looked completely calm, stone faced.

Cadance struggled to bring her mind away from 'danger' mode to 'talking'

Silver turned back towards the guard line, "Some of these ponies are in critical condition," She gestured at the stoned ponies laid on their sides in front of her. "You won't be able to save them without me, and I can't keep them like this for long!"

Okay

"Guards! Do as she says!"

Shining tried, "Cadance!"

"Now!"

And that was enough, several the guards lowered their spears, and several crystal ponies wearing black coats covered in medical markings rushed forwards with bags and tools. 

Silver tumbled forwards but caught herself and Cadance felt a crack of powerful magic as four of the ponies on the ground suddenly returned to flesh and blood. There were broken bones, and plenty of injuries, and the medics went to work. Silver took a step towards one of the ponies and started waving a hoof over them, there was a glittering affect, and Silver said, "Cadance, I'm going to need your levitation; guards! I need someone to volunteer about a pint of blood!"

The guards all looked to each other as another wave of magic passed over the prone stoned pony.

Cadance looked at all the guards and the apprehension clearly written on their faces. She took a spot besides Silver, "Just take mine." 

Silver looked at Cadance, and glanced at her side for a split second, "HA! No." Silver turned back to the crowd, as fire fighters started to show up. 

A guard had stepped forwards and was opposite the prone pony. Cadance recognized Fog Runner.

"What do you need Princess?" He said in a gruff, professional tone.

"Cadance, take this," Silver offered a long straight needle in her hoof, while still casting some spell on the prone pony, "Prick the side of his leg, right above the hoof, then sir, give me your leg, this will hurt."

Cadance quickly did as instructed and as she did, she realized exactly what she the damage was. The pony was missing their side. Silver took Runner's hoof and yelled, the immediate affect caused Cadance's heart to jump in her chest, both physically and metaphorically.

"Uch-RU-Nephfroone!" 

Blood started to flow from Runner's leg and into the air, Silver seemingly guiding it with a hoof, their eyes glowing orange and sparkling at the edges with black smoke. "Cadance"

Cadance drifted back into focus at the mention of her name

"You're going to use your magic to keep as much of this pony inside them as possible."

Cadance nodded, and whatever spell Silver was weaving began to take affect, as the damaged section of the pony began returning to normal. Blood from Runner started to spear itself like jagged tendrils into the wounds, which rapidly began to heal. Cadance blanketed the whole area in telekinesis, trying to keep whatever was happening physically stable. In a couple of moments, it was over, and the pony was returned to normal. Fresh, slightly tinted fur covered where their grievous wound used to be. Cadance noted that they were tinted the colour of Fog Runner's coat.

Silver wrapped a bandage around Runner's leg, and then stepped over to the next pony.

Cadance tried to follow, but Shining stepped up to her and began whisper shouting. "Cadance! What happened in there?!"

"Shining, now really isn't the time."

"Cadance, these ponies are seriously hurt, the only mare uninjured came running out of the house screaming about a monster!"

Cadance leaned over Shining's shoulder to see Silver having finished whatever needed to be done on the second pony, and was moving to the third.

"Cadance, talk to me!"

Shining looked frantic and scared. Cadance only just then realized the state she was in. She was covered in ash, and probably had several burns on her. Her mane was definitely damaged beyond repair, and everything in her mind suddenly threw itself into focus as she realized exactly what just happened.

Did... Did I really do that?

Her sudden mindfulness must have shown on her face because Shining pressed a hoof to her chest and called her name much softer.

Buck... that was... that was incredible

"Cadance, are you okay?" Shining pressed a little harder on her chest, "Are you hurt?"

Cadance's heart was beating, hard. She felt so alive.

"I'm okay." She wrapped her leg around Shining's, and pulled him into an embrace.

"Oh thank Celestia."

Cadance gave a snort, apt to her state at the moment, "You have got to stop saying that."

"Sorry, force of habit."

"Cadance! Telekinesis!"

Cadance broke the embrace and stepped back, she awkwardly tried to move as Shining stepped back as well, Silver was turned black around her body, bits of smoke and dust falling off of her coat. Cadance spoke as she approached, "Silver you're... you're disintegrating"

Silver blanched and looked over a leg. After watching a piece of fur turn to ash and fall off, Dusk's voice spoke out, "Shit, that's the clock"

Silver moved her jaw to the side and then crunched; Cadance heard it over the activity in the area. In moments Silver returned to her normal self, and then began speaking again, though with Silver's voice, "That won't last very long, this pony has it the worst off, they'll die from shock as soon as they're unpetrified."

Cadance looked to the pony in question, and gave them a once over, her eyes stopped on their shattered horn, and the broken bone surrounding their skull.

"I can only keep her alive for a minute more at most, and I can't channel while I siphon. I'm going to open up the area around the wound, and then I'm going to talk you through how to fix it with magic."

Cadance looked to Silver in shock, rebuttal on her tounge, but Silver beat her to the punch. "Yes it has to be you. Focus." and then the broken bone around the mare's head became real bone.

Cadance did all she could to strain her ears and her mind on nothing other than this exact moment.

"Channel a conjuration based healing spell with the raw components, no magic, just the matrix."

She did so, it was a first aid spell meant to work like a sort of magic paste that would copy any damaged tissue it came in contact with.

"Fire it backwards into your head, not on yourself, in yourself"

Cadance tried it, and she felt the energy roll down her horn and onto her forehead. Yet, she felt some... connection focused in her head,

"Good, pull it down into your front hooves with your muscles." Silver was talking in clipped tones, quickly and efficiently

Cadance tried, she didn't quite understand what she meant, and she clenched her jaw and her neck, and tried to move the sensation, but it wouldn't budge.

"Like swallowing, you have to roll it down, don't force it, move the energy with your body."

Cadance, for lack of better description, did that. She felt the energy dragging along her chest, and she felt her wings charge with speckles of magic, but the bone on her hooves began to glow pink.

"Rub your hooves together like you're a madpony"

Cadance snorted again, but did it, and magic sparks began flying as the glow intensified.

"Here," Silver grabbed the stone mare from around the side of her head, and lifted the visible orange broken forehead in Cadance's direction, "put one at the base of her horn, and the other on top"

Cadance did so,

"Do you feel the connection? it should come naturally"

Cadance had no clue, "I don't know"

"Okay, whatever, shove down like you're stomping on her head."

There were several calls of protest at the idea of throwing all of Cadance's weight onto an injured mare's broken horn, but Cadance was already doing it.

The energy of her hooves discharged, and Cadance felt a draw on her chest as her front hooves grew cold. As the pink energy turned grey and orange, it seeped into the mare's head like a wave as Silver grunted and released the petrifaction spell. When the wave of orange and grey and pink reached Silver, she pressed a similar blue and green energy in the opposite direction and changed the flow of the wave back towards the tip of the mare's head where it coalesced at the edge of an invisible horn in thousands of small glowing pathways.

The mare gasped awake as the magic fizzled out, and her broken horn fell from her head, smooth skin underneath where there was once a deadly wound.

Everypony, both guard, medic, and Princess alike looked on in shock and horror as the orange mare began screaming in Silver's grip. 

"GET AWAY FROM ME! HELP! SOMEPONY HE-" Silver whispered something into her ear, and the mare went limp as she fell asleep.

Silver gently set the mare's head on the ground and then looked up and noticed the looks. 

"Everypony here but that grey crystal stallion are traitors to the crown. I'm glad to pass off this citizen's arrest to the rest of you, thank you for your timely arrival." She said as she stood.

One of the medics in the small group that had broken off to observe the treatment, still staring dumbfound at the broken horn laying on the crystal road had it right. "What?!" She said.

Silver began walking away.

Shining moved to stop her. "Did you do this!? To all of them? To the building?"

Silver stopped, and turned slowly to face Shining Armor.

Cadance thought she heard crying from somewhere, but was too focused on the situation to know for sure.

"Yes. Obviously I showed up, set a building on fire, kidnapped a stallion and the maimed or injured six ponies." Silver trotted right into Shining's face. Shining to his credit, didn't flinch from the mare.

"What're you gonna do about it pretty boy"

A beat passed

Nopony breathed, but several guards redrew their weapons, and slowly started moving to support Shining Armor, Cadance lit her horn.

Then Shining clocked Silver in the nose. Black dust and smoke went flying, as Silver's head cocked back, and she stumbled from the hit.

Shining stared at his hoof in shock.

Silver laughed it was a choked, pained thing. "That's what I thought" Then she turned and began walking away again without a portion of her muzzle

This time, nopony stopped her.
> Something something, the chapter that goes after the last one because it was getting too long
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn't take long for the guards and medics to round up the injured criminals. At first, the guards had issues arresting ponies that were seemingly just attacked, but the grey crystal stallion by the name of Quartz Heart claimed they were indeed foalnappers, and were planning on some dark ritual before Quick Silver arrived. Several of the previously petrified ponies agreed, and were happy to be arrested.

They actually pleaded for it, after a bit of questioning Shining was able to figure out that Silver had scared them all so bad that they just wanted to be away from 'the monster', and the majority of them agreed that the palace was the safest place. One mare, who was previously covered in burns before Silver, still refused to speak. The mare with her horn broken was still magically unconscious.

The firefighters put out the fire easily, it having been smothered by the collapsing building. The remains were cordoned off for a contract company to clear out in the morning.

Cadance gave a quick announcement to the ponies on the street that a resident had saw Quartz Heart get foalnapped and stepped in to stop the cultists; an action that she tried to carefully explain, quickly got out of hoof.

Cultists...

Cadance was flat on her back, laying in bed. Shining dozed off to her side, having slammed back asleep as soon as he had blankets over him.

Cultists for Sombra... In the Empire?

Even though Cadance was in bed, and... Well she knew she should be comfortable, but it didn't feel like it. Her mind kept going back to, well, everything.

She had flashes of movement and fire and will running through her mind. Questions tried to assail her through it all.

Hours ago I said exiting... more like exhausting

She flopped over and tried to banish the thoughts and go to sleep. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Pressing herself into the covers and using her magic to reset the blankets.

A moment passed where she forcefully thought of nothing but the comfort and the quiet.

...

...

A moment passed

And her mind reminded her that something was wrong. That there was a pony out there that took on a group of cultists, a pony that could destroy her city. Somepony that was supposedly older than Celestia, smarter than Twilight, stronger than Shining and...

and I can't do anything about it...

Cadance rolled over to the edge of the bed and sat up

Dusk is out there, doing something and...

That pony is consuming my thoughts,

Well Dusk is crazy! I mean, fire and violence and... Blood magic!

She cringed. She willfully let somepony cast blood magic on an injured pony. Not only that but she intelligently commanded a Royal Guard Stallion to let a, technically, unknown force to the crown, use blood magic on them, and a civilian.

Cadance awkwardly leaned her head forwards and dropped her face into her hooves.

They're going to be talking about that for years I'm sure... Princess of the Crystal Empire commands resident to use cursed magics on guards.

She looked over her shoulder at Shining Armor. Her husband. She felt her heart slow as her mind shifted away from her mistakes into what she did right.

I saved two ponies...

I lead the charge to a save more.

She remembered the flames and the stone ponies. How she navigated the air. She mentally laughed

I haven't done stuff like that since I was younger. Jumping off a wall in a flaming building? Doing a four hoof roll?

Cadance smiled.

It was so...

Her mind flashed with the idea of a rainbow as she was searching for the right description.

Awesome. I was awesome

She silently giggled at the hilarity of the word choice as she rolled it around in her head.

Her mood lightly improved, Cadance rolled to her side and off of the bed simultaneously. She tried to quietly make her way out of her room with the intent for midnight snackies, the same intent plastered over her face in the form of a childish grin.

She poked her head out of her door and cringed a bit, the light in the hallways was far to bright in comparison.

"Princess?" Came the voice of a guard mare to her right, "is there something wrong?"

Cadance did a quick reset of her posture and facial expression and smiled at the mare. "Nothing's wrong, I'm just a bit hungry after the excitement."

"Would you like me to send somepony to fetch something for you?"

"No thank you, I couldn't sleep, I'm gonna try and get myself moving so I can rest a bit easier."

The guards mare nodded her head. She wasn't a crystal pony, so Cadance couldn't place her name.

"May I escort you to the kitchens then Princess?"

Cadance's hackles raised at the statement, and she turned an appraising eye towards the sentry.

Why ask to escort me? Could... No, there's no way...

"Uhm, Princess? Are you alright?"

Cadance shook her head, her heart racing in her chest but she didn't take her eyes off the mare.

"Yes of course, I'm alright, I just wasn't prepared for your offer."

The mare remained physically stalwart, not giving off a hint of information via body language, "My apologies  Princess, the guard is just a bit frazzled, me included."

Cadance nodded slowly, "That's... I understand, I'll be safe on a trip to the kitchen though" and she started on her way... but she had to resist the urge to look over her shoulder at the mare.



I was more exhausted than I thought

Cadance stood in the smaller kitchen of the palace for the dignitaries and nobles that came to visit or negotiate. The canteen she had pushed for was really for mass serving. They didn't have meals or such prepared, so she meandered her way up a few floors to here. There were salads and soups refrigerating with just a little bit of foil over the tops of them, perfect for a light snack.

She had made it halfway to the kitchen before being struck with the exhaustion of her day. It was nearing probably four am; she had probably not gone this long without sleep since before become a Princess.

No, that was definitely in college.

She pulled a salad from a cooler and set it on the table and unwrapped it with her magic. Looks be damned, her mane was literally on fire within the past five hours, so she just placed her muzzle into the bowl and chowed down.

It felt astronomically good. Like her body was cooling, and

thump thump

Knocking?

Cadance looked up from her meal as the kitchen door opened, and a piece of lettuce fell from her nose.

"Cadance?"

It was... Twilight.

"Twilight?"

Twilight fully stepped into the kitchen.

They looked at each other.

"I look like a hot mess right now don't I."

Twilight tried not to smile, she failed of course, but she did try.

She approached her old foal sitter and offered a hug, which Cadance gladly took.

Cadance levitated the dropped lettuce leaf into her mouth. After swallowing, she spoke, "I take it you heard about the night's fiasco?"

Cadance felt Twilight nod against her neck, their hug still unbroken. When Cadance looked at Twilight's face, it was scrunched up in thought.

"So you're here about Dusk then?"

She nodded again.

"I swear, that pony has been the only thing happening recently"

Twilight pulled away, "Discord was the only thing anypony in Ponyville talked about for weeks after he was reformed"

"Bad things?"

"Not always. Some ponies were excited to have the lord of chaos as a protector." She giggled, "Especially because of how crazy Ponyville gets."

Cadance shook her head, "I still can't believe it's called 'Pony-ville'"

Twilight smirked, "And the 'Crystal-Empire' isn't on the nose either?"

"Touché"

The fell into silence... sorta, Cadance had more salad. Sweet, delicious, crunchy salad

"So... You came back to talk about Dusk?"

Twilight looked concerned. 

"Bad things?"

She spoke, "I talked to Discord."

Cadance rose an eyebrow, "Really?"

Twilight rose both, "I know! More so, he came to talk to me."

Cadance frowned, "Ah, about Dusk."

"Yes."

"What did he say?"

"A lot."

Cadance realized what Twilight was thinking about, "The cliff notes?"

"Discord and Dusk Swirl were enemies... real enemies. Discord tried to explain it to me after I almost demanded it. They weren't just rivals, Discord and Dusk fought"

Cadance felt her shoulders sag, "I'm not surprised, you should have seen Dusk today; Equestria wasn't always as peaceful as it is now."

"Discord called it a war."

"A war?"

Twilight nodded, "Discord had faced down armies before, and won by just snapping his claw. He explained it to me like that, that he had never even fought a pony before, not even Celestia and Luna truly fought him. Even with their powers, he only ever toyed with them."

"Which is what eventually lead to his downfall." Cadance tacked on

"I said the same..." Twilight smiled, "He told me not to interrupt."

Cadance held up a placating hoof, and then waved it in a 'go on' gesture.

"Discord described all his troubles, all of the conflict he'd ever faced in his entire life as a snap fix" Twilight took a deep breath, "and he explained it like that, so when he said that going up against Dusk Swirl felt like a war to him, that I would understand the depth of what he meant."

Cadance opened her mouth, but Twilight interrupted her.

"A war he said he lost"

Cadance closed her mouth.

"Cadance... Dusk... Let me tell Celestia and Luna. Please." Twilight stumbled over her words for a moment before continuing, "Discord practically begged me to stay away from Dusk, Discord was scared of what he could do to me. I was... I am..." Twilight struggled.

Twilight was scared. Not just scared, but afraid. This was not the filly Cadance had explained the dark to when she was young. This was a fellow Alicorn Immortal that had faced down monsters and gods, and she was afraid.

Discord isn't here to tell me this because he is too scared to be in the same city as Dusk

Cadance looked away from Twilight.

Dusk is immortal too. I can't just...

Cadance opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

Twilight isn't a liar, and Discord wouldn't make that up. Dusk is too dangerous, you saw that today.

Her mind vied to make a decision.

Dusk fought Discord because he was a tyrant, because he was hurting ponies, it was the same tonight

One side threw out an argument

Good ponies don't rip holes through torso's and remove horns

The other countered it,

Who's to say that he did that? It's not like we know, horns can shatter for all sorts of reasons

Blood magic Cadance. Turning into smoke and dust? Evil magic, dangerous, evil magic. IF Dusk wasn't evil, he's on track to become that way.

He's ageless and very old, if he hasn't gone mad by now, there's no reason to assume he ever would.

He's tricked you. Countless times, ignored you, and your requests, you have no control, and if left unchecked he will hurt more ponies, you have a responsibility as a princess

That one stumped her for a moment.

He asked me... The bar! He swore that he'd not use magic on ponies without my knowledge and clearance! He kept to his promise!

and then she realized what side she was trying to argue for.

"Cadance?"

Cadance looked at Twilight, torn away from her thoughts

"I don't..." She trailed off.

"Cadance, please." Twilight was... pleading with Cadance, it baffled her. Cadance couldn't see why Twilight would have this powerful a fear.

"What else did Discord tell you?"

Twilight shook her head, "He told me that Dusk being immortal was a mistake. That Dusk never wanted it, never wanted to live forever. Discord told me that Dusk wasn't like him. That Dusk knows about the values of friendship but just still labels them as 'not important' because..." She saw a glimmer of tears in her eyes. "I've never..." She blinked them away, "I don't think I ever heard Discord be serious, that serious at least, but it's something I can understand."

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't choose my wings."

Cadance spread hers on reflex and frowned. 

"You know how that feels, imagine thousands of years of that? Dusk is insane. He's violent."

Cadance's wings spread further, "Discord is insane too... and probably older, you're not arguing for his re-imprisonment."

"Are you saying Dusk should be let free?"

Twilight's face was hard to make out in the sparsely luminated kitchen. Cadance didn't need to though. She heard the tone and the rasp of Twilight's voice, the fear in it. The fear that Twilight would have to go against Cadance.

Cadance opened her mouth, but her throat was dry, and her mind was empty of excuses, it had yet to even come up with a reason.

Except one.

A look. A voice, and a feeling. An emotion. Something in her mind clicked

Dusk loves

"Dusk is under my protection."

"Cadance, you can-"

"I can. I'm sorry Twilight, but... He deserves a chance."

Cadance waited for Twilight's response but Twilight was just as verbally stunned as Cadance just was.

"Why?" She questioned breathily.

"I don't know."

They stared at each other

They stared at each other for a long time.

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but whatever it was died in her throat.

Eventually Cadance leaned forwards and wrapped Twilight her wings.

They both sat there in silence for a while, both of their conflicting emotions mixing together like aerosol food colouring. Cadance could feel it in her bones how Twilight felt.

"I love you Twilight"

"I love you too Cadance."

They remained there.

"Please be careful"

You can't promise that

"I'll do my best."

Twilight leaned away, and the weight of her emotions left with her.

"Okay."

Twilight stood, and began to leave. Slowly, she clearly wanted to say more, but both her and Cadance knew there was nothing else that could be said.

Before Twilight fully left the kitchen, Twilight looked back, "I'll see you at the gala?"

"Of course."

Twilight slowly tore her gaze away from Cadance, and left.

Cadance sat at the counter. Her salad forgotten. Her horn weighted on her head, but her heart filled her with determination.
> You ever wonder if the legitimacy of the crown is based off of anything other than the ponies who have just been around the longest?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance didn't sleep that night. She just went back to her room and tried to nap until the Celestia rose the sun.

Her thoughts swirled until then, desperately trying to come up with some kind of plan. Shining was right, she knew, Dusk couldn't just be left unchecked.

I also need to talk to Shining about punching Dusk.

Cadance frowned under the sheets

He really needs to work out his... unrealistic anger against Dusk

She looked over at her husband and smiled.

You're lucky you're so handsome

She placed a smooch on his sleeping head and rolled out of bed...

Again.

I wish I could have done more for Twilight, but for now, I've got to tame the monster that is my mane

and indeed it was, as she entered the bathroom attached to their suite, she was greeted with herself in a right state.

Her mane was completely tangled, everywhere. What was normally a smooth set of maroon, gold, and purple strands of mane was currently a solid muted pink if you looked at it from a distance. Up close it looked even worse, as it does when you observe yourself. Not to mention the burnt ends.

Cadance levitated several brushes and scissors into the air with a look of power on her face.

"Alright MANE. Prepare yourself for a styling"

Songs were written about what followed. Unfortunately, this is not the singing kind of story.



"Good morning Cady" Shining entered with a yawn

Cadance had just exited their standing shower, and was drying her freshly trimmed self.

Shining picked up his brushes and started straightening up his mane and fur, while simultaneously brushing his teeth with his eyes closed.

Cadance smirked and waited after leaving the towel draped over her wings.

Shining eventually spotted his wife in the mirror and promptly spat out the toothpaste in his mouth, his eyes bugged out and as he recovered he spoke, "Cadance! You!"

She tossed her mane

"What do you think? I heard that shorter manes are in this season."

Cadance's mane was cropped at the sides where it had burned, and the rest was sat in a double prench braid that wrapped around her neck, with the ends gently resting on her chest. The colours were separated, and lined the top in a 'Cadance's mane colours' rainbow. There was a bit hanging out from the front that curled over her forehead, and cushioned the space around her horn with colour. Her tail was wrapped in a relatively simple bun with a decorative hair clip running through it. Her fur was still a bit burnt around the edges, but what can you do.

Shining could blubber, which he did.

"I take it you like it then."

He shook his head, "I'm honestly more impressed with your skill, that's some incredible work."

She bumped his flank, "Finish your teeth and I'll give you a smooch."

Shining did that, and smooches were had. 

On their way out of the bathroom, they started talking. They always woke up an hour or so early before their respective duties so they could talk and/or discuss anything important or not.

"So last night."

Shining shook his head, "Cadance, I don't even know what happened last night."

Shining looked like he had more to say, and he did, "Regardless, we're going to be doing damage control all day, I didn't even hear from you what happened. Just the bits I pieced together."

Cadance and him sat on their favorite floor cushions, "Then let me do that."

Shining nodded, and Cadance spoke, "On my way to bed, I got a letter from dusk with... Some kind of spell, similar to the one Spike uses."

At that point, Cadance had somepony retrieve the paper in question and levitated it over from a standing desk to Shining, he took it from her magic, and unrolled it with his hooves.

"Cultists, yeah I got that part." He kept reading, "He... Asked you to..."

"He asked me if he could use magic to deal with them, since he promised me he wouldn't use magic on ponies without telling me."

"When did he do that?"

"The night we met"

Shining rose an eyebrow

"The night me and Dusk meant I mean."

Shining folded up the letter again, and put it on the desk, "Alright, so same page. Dusk asked you if he could deal with a bunch of Sombra's cultists, and you called the guards to go track them down with you."

Cadance nodded.

"And that's how it all shook out, I got the rest from the ponies themselves."

Shining looked tired.

"Twilight was here again last night."

"Wait really? And she didn't say hello?"

Cadance frowned, "There was more to what she wanted to say after she talked to Discord, or rather, Discord came to her, and issued a warning to deliver to us."

"About Dusk no doubt."

"Discord, and don't quote me on this, claimed that Dusk was a pony to be reckoned with back in the day, capable of properly fighting him."

Shining's frown turned into an unamused straight line, "So just about as bad as the worse case scenario."

Cadance rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah. Pretty much."

"You know what."

Cadance leaned in

"Let's forget about Dusk right now."

"What?"

"You said it perfectly. 'What are we going to do'? As much as I'd like to punch that stupid grin off that pony's face again, we have problems we can deal with, and problems that we can't touch."

"Why did you hit Dusk last night?" She asked

Shining went a bit still, and turned to look away, his turn to look abashed, "I don't know. I guess the stress got the better of me."

"So problems?"

Shining leaned back straight, "Well let's list it, the physical damage is bound to bring in some false insurance claims today."

"I'll have Amber send out a letter to pin the construction company on anything that comes up."

Cadance used her levitation to pull a parchment and quill and started writing a note for Amber.

Shining nodded, "Good, easy fix."

"What's next?" Cadance looked up from the paper.

"We're going to have to sort out the criminal charges."

"Can't the guard do that?"

Shining shook his head, "Not because you were involved, and a technical Noble, and the unique circumstances."

"I'll ask Amber to pull the paperwork and schedule a hearing. We can go over it tonight."

"Then we've got the news, and civilians asking questions about what happened."

Cadance nibbled on the tip of the quill, "Do you think we should do a public announcement?"

"No, it's definitely too late for that." Shining tilted his head, looking at nothing, "We could write out a GA to the patrol guards; spread the details that way."

"What do you think about waiting and just answering questions as they come?"

Before Shining could respond, there was a knock on their door. It was Amber, she always knocked the same way.

Cadance magicked the door open, and Amber stumbled in with a frazzled mane and her trademark board in her hoof.

"Oh my gosh, Amber." and "You look like you got into a fight with a bugbear." rang out from the too royals as Amber took a step into the room.

"Worse your highnesses, nobles."

"Crap" aptly said Shining

"What do they want?" Asked Cadance

Amber sat on a cushion next to Cadance, "The nobles are in an uproar, at least half are actually upset, but the rest are just pushing because they want to know what's going on."

Amber looked like she didn't want to say what was next, "One house accusing us of harboring dark magic users. Another is demanding the crown pay reparations for burning down their mansion."

Ah... that's what it was

Shining spoke, "Lemme guess, Facet and Cut Houses?"

Amber nodded.

"What's happening now?"

Amber looked afraid, "All of the nobles are gathered in the Spire's third meeting room demanding your presence, and a statement."

Shining and Cadance blanched before Shining lifted his hoof, "Wait, all the nobles?"

Amber blinked and lifted a paper on her clipboard and read a couple of names before looking back to Shining, "Yes?" She said confusedly.

Shining flicked his eyes from Amber to Cadance.

Cadance smirked, "Perfect. Amber, how quickly can you get as many civilian reporters into that room as possible?"

"Cadance?"

"Give me twelve minutes"

"Go tell the nobles we'll be there in fifteen, and apologize on our behalf, quote the night's struggles. Go."

Amber nodded, and trotted off to the door, and left without another word. Cadance stood.

"I know that look honey, what's the plan" Shining was up with her the moment later.

"Put your armor on, we've got ten minutes." She levitated his armor from it's place on the other side of the room.

Shining obliged, "Plan?" he said, struggling with a strap

"Dusk is there."

"Yes?"

"Why would I need a plan?"

Shining paused his dressing and gave Cadance a 'what are you smoking' look.

"It doesn't matter what Dusk is there to do, he's going to humiliate any nobles to get whatever he wants. He's practically going to solve this problem for us. We just need to spin a public news announcement from 'Princess lets a noble use blood magic on a cultist' to 'nobles cause an uproar over a heroic crystal guard operation'"

Shining was visibly coming around to the idea of humiliating the nobles.

"So how do you want to do that?" Shining finished dressing himself and Cadance magicked a piece of paper and quill onto his chest.

"Write out an official guard report about the events of the night, we'll file it later, but I need something to read out." 

Shining smiled, and took both in his telekinesis. "So the truth then, nice." 

"I just have to find just the right moment to hit them with it, and hope Dusk plays his part in throwing them off."

"They'll lose all their steam and the Dusk will push them into doing something to help spin the debacle."

Cadance, still grinning like a loon quickly gave herself a once over in the mirror, levitating her regalia over to herself.

Shining tapped the paper with the quill and levitated it over to Cadance. She stuffed it in her magic and leveled out her crown, "Ready?" She asked

"Ready."

"Just one thing after another right?"

Shining nuzzled into Cadance's cheek as they met in front of their door, he matched her smile, "Can't stop, Won't stop."



The meeting room was large as far as meeting rooms goes. A long table filled with nobles was pushed to one end of the room, Amber had turned the other half of the room into press release seating and managed to get two throne like chairs setup in front of both with a fold out crystal table.

That mare needs a raise

Upon entering the room, Cadance was assailed by several of the nobles requesting her attention. Luckily, she got to ignore them until she was seated because of the equal shouting from the press reporters, equally vying for her attention. Her and Shining strode through the center of the room and quickly took their places, Amber stood on Cadance's right, and Shining to her left as she looked on at all of the gathered ponies. 

Quick Silver was sitting in the back of the room, at the furthest corner pointed outwards.

Likely so he can see the whole room

Cadance lifted a hoof, and the room quieted down, but right at the tail end, she caught 

"-just what were you thinking!" from Stone Cut, the assumed representative of the Noble House Cut

Cadance pulled her most authoritative voice she could muster, "The only thought I had in mind was the safety of my ponies Stone Cut."

Nailed it

Shining tapped her under the table in support.

Stone Cut, a blue crystal stallion with the cutie mark of a wide chisel quickly rephrased, "My apologies princess, I was referring to the dangerous ponies who set my mansion aflame."

Shining pipped up, "The Cultists you mean?"

"Prince, Prince! Are you confirming that there were in fact dark magic users worshiping Sombra located last night!?" A news reporter said off from the side.

There was a short uproar, before Shining used a quick spell to amplify his voice, "Absolutely" Which cut through the chatter easily, and he continued, "Last night, they were equally located, and apprehended."

"Princess! Princess!" One of the reporters called from the side, she looked at them to have them ask their question, giving her time to ignore the nobles, "Is it true you yourself engaged with the cultists?"

"It is true that I lead the charge to the place the criminals were apprehended, and was one of two ponies to enter the building while it was burning."

"I believe I can take it from here." Silver interject from the back, heads turned to face Silver, and there was muttering from the reporters, and one take of 'you!' from one of the nobles.

"Last night, I recognized the telltale signs of dark magic in use, and immediately sent a letter to the Princess to alert her."

Gasps filled the room, and a report cut through the chatter at just the right moment, "Wait! You were the first on the scene! The ash pony!"

The chatter erupted, and Cadance took over with the RCV, "That is Quick Silver of The Noble House of Silvers." Cadance's shattering of the crowd's momentum gave Silver a chance to speak and take back control of the conversation.

"After I sent the letter, I broke into the building and stunned several of the cultists on the interior before their leader, a unicorn mare named Point Flare, began igniting the building to fight me off, and similarly to hide the evidence of their actions."

Several reporters began trying to speak, but Cadance stood and flared her wings.

The nobles are in a verbal mire

"After I fought Point Flare and her cohorts into the basement, I found Cadance on the ground floor, turning the ponies to stone to protect them from the flames. I directed her to where the most injured ponies were, and re-engaged with Point Flare."

A crystal noble mare stood, and several the reporters practically screamed. Immaculate Gemstone, of the House of Gems, a well dressed earth toned crystal pony spoke, "Are we really meant to believe you took on several dark magic wielding cultists in a flaming building on your own?"

Quick Silver merely nodded, "If you need evidence of my skill, look no further than the duel I was recently forced to fight, Prince Shining Armor can validate my claims as a warrior." Quick Silver gestured to the pony in question, who was nodding slowly, "I also worked in the Manehatten minute mares for two years, to lay further evidence for your query."

Immaculate sat back down, satisfied, everypony turned to Quick Silver as she continued, "In our fight, Point Flare ruptured her horn using dark magic, which caused the building to collapse, Her Highness Princess Cadance, however, cast a spell to protect the ponies inside, and hold the building in place. I dragged the remaining petrified ponies out of the structure, and met with the guards that were outside, where we quickly engaged in saving the critically injured cultists."

The Facet mare, Slim Fitting stood, "Can you honestly call it meeting? Ponies said you burst through a crystal wall, half on fire, and melting into the wind. If I recall, the guard I asked told me they thought you were a cultist yourself."

"I absolutely call it meeting Fitting. Regardless of my state, or the concern it caused."

Another noble, a crystal mare by the name of Chance Reflection of the House of Mirrors spoke, "I'm sorry, you said you helped triage the injured ponies?" 

"With blood magic"

The room erupted into chaos

Cadance unrolled Shining's fake report, and called out upon the room, "Silence!"

The room failed to quiet, and one voice took presidency, Fitting was shouting over the crowd, "You can't let another cultist go free!"

"In light of the facts" Cadance forcefully took hold of the energy in the room, "I deigned to pass judgment as soon as I could find Quick Silver." She lifted the report and began pretend reading a cliff notes version of what she was actually saying. "The official report claims that, 'While the use of blood magic was heinous, there is no doubt that it saved the life of the pony it was used on, in addition the practitioner was not only helpful, but instrumental in saving the lives of, and equally apprehending the criminals.'"

"Princess!-"

Cadance cut through the responses, "I was there. The report is accurate, Quick Silver used blood magic to save a pony's life, among the other good things they did there that night. That being said. Quick Silver, what justifies your use of blood magic on the Empire's land?"

All eyes turned to Quick Silver, who had opened a folder onto the table. "Why, my licensing your majesty."

"Licensing?!" exclaimed Stone Cut "What licensing! Let me see that!"

Quick Silver slid a laminated paper across the table to Cut, who ripped it off the table and began furiously reading over it.

The fact that Cut didn't immediately refute the paper implied something great, and the reporters all quieted as they began scribbling in their flipbooks.

"Licensing to practice blood magic? That's preposterous?"

Amber spoke up from the side, but was interrupted by cut.

"This is legitimate," He said with a snarl as he placed the paper on the table with a thump, "It's a license to practice blood magic, issued by the Royal School of Canterlot Studies, signed H.R.H. Princess Luna of Equestria."

"What!?" Slim fitting ripped the paper from Cut's hoof with her magic, and lifted it to her face.

As she was reading, Immaculate turned to Quick Silver, "Quite a resume you have."

Quick Silver responded back, just as slyly, "Some would say almost too impressive to be believable."

"Indeed"

"This is for study! And is listed for Canterlot! This isn't valid here!"

Amber took the opportunity to interject, "Actually, because of the length of Madam Silver's residency, her paperwork should be valid."

"Ridiculous!"

Shining spoke, "Slim Fitting, please relinquish the evidence to the crown please."

In a moment, the paper came floating over to Shining, who looked it over, he passed it over to Cadance with a straight face. Cadance looked it over too. It was legit, a license to practice and use blood magic for the sake of research purposes in Equestria and it's territory, signed by Luna herself.

How did he get this?

"Amber?"

Amber, who was reading the document over Cadance's shoulder nodded, "I can indeed verify that this document would legalize the use of blood magic by one Quick Silver, for the sake of research purposes."

"For research purposes! Exactly!"

A reporter called out exactly what Cadance was hopping for, "Quick Silver, how can you still justify using blood magic on a pony?"

Quick Silver, still standing smiled and lifted her nose, "Easily." The room waited her response, and yet there was none, Silver merely sat back into her seat.

"Well?" Said Cane Sugar a yellow hued, blue maned crystal stallion from the Noble House of Agriculture. His name and cutie mark were identical.

"Well what?"

"Explain yourself damnit!" Said Slim Fitting

Cadance cut of Quick Silver's response, "Contain yourself Slim Fitting, or I will have you removed."

"Princess! You can't seriously be defending this monster!"

Cadance flared her wings once more as she thought of Twilight, "I actually am." Several glances passed between the nobles, and the reporters chatter increased three fold, she saw Silver smile and gesture with a 'go ahead'

"As mentioned, I was present. I saw the injuries that were sustained by the cultists in question." She looked around the room, "Shall I describe the nature of a blown horn? Or is the nature of such an injury so understandable that I don't need to?"

Shining spoke in an even tone. "Imagine having your hooves removed at your fetlock by a saw, or your wings ripped out by your primaries."

Many ponies in the room cringed. Cadance continued, "What would you do? If you had the knowledge and power to save a life?"

None of the nobles spoke, and the reporters busied themselves.

"In light of Silver's license, and the situational evidence and the experience" She glared across the room at Silver, "I am going to levy a hefty fine, for disrupting the peace, and public usage of dangerous magics"

Several nobles immediately began protesting. However, Cadance noticed that the smarter ones who were verbally attacking Silver merely sat back and frowned, realizing that they were fighting a losing battle.

"I also want to personally thank Quick Silver for her heroic actions in alerting the crown, and personally risking life and limb to save lives."

The reporters erupted in questions again as the nobles reeled.

One question pushed through the crowd, "Princess! How can you thank a practitioner of black magics!"

Cadance smiled a Cheshire grin. "Easily."

There were several laughs and Shining himself snorted.

Stone Cut rose from his seat, "Princess, I have to say, this entire thing is incredibly suspicious, a practitioner of blood magic just appeared at the right time to capture and fight six cultists?"

Silvers voice cut through the noise of the room with an aggressive tone, and Cadance noted, a bit of magic.

"I find you quite suspicious indeed Stone Cut."

Cut opened his mouth, but the same waft of magic spread from Quick Silver and she continued,

"I find it strange that Point Flare was not only crafting a complex, and days long ritual in your mansion, but equally so, that Point Flare has been employed as a maid in said mansion for nearly a month."

Stone Cut stomped his hoof, "What exactly are you insinuating!"

Silver rolled her eyes, "I am very clearly insinuating that you are a traitor to the crown of the Crystal Empire."

"How dare you! Upstart!"

Cadance tried to maintain control, but even her RCV couldn't cut through the outrage, Cut was held in place by the noble next to him, and the reporters were nearly bursting at the seems.

There was a blast of magic that filled the room with a light pink energy, and Shining shouted in the crowd, "There will be order in this chamber, or I will happily turn this room into a prison cell."

Cut was still shouting, until Cadance silence him with a spell.

"Quick Silver, you are going to need proof to make such an accusation like that." She tried to sound like the Princess she was.

"Absolutely Princess." She gestured to the reporters, "What does the ground say? How many cultists were pulled from the burning home?"

Cadance looked to the reporters, Shining had glanced up to her in confusion.

A reporter spoke out, "Seven, uh, ma'am."

"Of course, seven." Silver turned back towards Cadance, "Princess, it's true that we pulled seven ponies from the home, yes?" Cadance nodded, "However, what nopony knows yet, and what I hope the Princess will forgive me for, is that one, of those seven ponies, was in fact, a hostage, who is currently in protective custody."

Shining spoke, "How does this relate to your accusation?"

"It's simple my Prince. There were seven ponies, one of which was not a cultist, however, nopony but me, and the the royalty in the room could have known that."

Cadance's mind went haywire as she connected the dots.

"So how did you know that I fought six cultists Stone Cut?"

Everypony in the room dropped into silence. Shining's brow furrowed. Cut tried to say something, but Cadance had yet to remove the silencing spell from him.

Cadance heard the sound of a pen hitting the ground as one of the reporters dropped it.

Cadance cut her spell.

"Princess! That accusation is simply preposterous! I heard from my servants, on their way in! They asked the ponies that saw the event all take place!"

Cadance evenly responded, "Your servants?"

Cut blanched, "My staff! Forgive my tounge your grace, I am quite understandably nervous! A slip! Nothing more!"

A static noise cut through Stone Cut's plea, "Are you sure we have to be doing this?"

Stone Cut's eyes went wide

"Listen Misty, we have to do what Stone Cut says if we want to stay hidden. He'll expose us otherwise."

The static cut out from the small puck shaped gemstone that Silver had slid onto the table. "I also have that."

Stone Cut made a break for it, only to have his face slammed by a Shining's trademark shield spell.

Shining spoke, "Those were the voices of the cultists. Stone Cut, you are under arrest for an unreasonably large amount of things."

Stone Cut slammed his hooves against the shield, but was silent. In the next moment, he was teleported away. The nobles were silent, the reporters may as well have been gone.

"If anypony else has something to add, then do so now. Otherwise, this meeting is adjourned. Me and my wife suddenly have a lot of work to do."

"I actually would like to say that my company has recently set roots down in the Empire, and our first major trade deal just went through with Hoof Take industries." Said Quick Silver

Several of the reporters seemed to like that, and Quick Silver began gathering her papers and her folder, and then began to leave. Shortly after came the rest of the nobles, followed in mix by the reporters.

The door closed. 

"That went well." Amber said

Shining fell forward onto the table.

Cadance pat his head, "At least it's over"

"Actually." There was a shimmer from the corner table to reveal Quick Silver.

"Uh oh." said Amber again.

Quick Silver got up from her seat, and approached the table. Shining, now sitting up, and on guard, called out to Silver as she approached. "Stay where you are Dusk Swirl."

Silver ignored him and approached the table.

"You two owe me a favor."

"What?" Said Shining, incredulous. Cadance rested a hoof on his shoulder.

"I just took a stab wound on the eyes for you. That easily could have been 'pony found dead with traces of dark magic' as Sombra returns to power. Resurrections spells aren't cheap, and it cost me a lot to stay alive, plus disrupt the magic. That Point Flare girl really packs a punch."

"Girl?" Cadance tilted her head.

Silver glared at her.

"I'm sorry, w-what is happening?" Amber was trying to hide behind Cadance. Cadance looked back at Amber with surprise, Amber looked nearly ready to run. Her clipboard was shaking in her grip.

"Don't worry little one, just some transaction details between immortals."

Cadance looked back at Silver, and furrowed her brow.

"What favor."

"Cadance!" Shining hissed

"Magic."

"What?"

"Ever since Twilight flaked on me, I've not been able to make magic on a large scale, all the magic I have, I have to make manually." Silver gestured downwards at themselves, "This body is nearly out. I'm basically running on whatever tools I had left in my stashes."

"So... You need power?"

Shining's ears twisted forwards, "What he's saying is he's vulnerable." Shining's horn lit

"Try me, mortal." Silver spat on the table in front of Shining

Cadance pre-emptively pressed her hoof down on Shining's shoulder, and pushed him back into his seat. She calmly shook her head at him.

He grimaced.

"What power do you think I have to give you?"

"Alicorn Memories."

"I'm sorry?"

"I want several of your memories."

Shining snorted, "I've never heard anything so clearly evil."

Silver smirked, "Alicorn minds have a peculiar magio-psyche-magnetic wavelength that I can take advantage of as a fuel to start my more important machines. Memories themselves, if harvested correctly, are far more magically stable; they can be used longer."

"You are not harvesting my wife's mind for fuel" 

"I wasn't asking you boy."

Cadance shook her head, "You're not taking my memories."

"Why not?"

Cadance shook her head in irritation, "Because it's wrong, and I said so!"

"Damn. Okay." Silver turned and began to leave.

Shining's eyes bulged from his head, and his face began turning red.

Amber shook behind her. 

Cadance had a idea. A wild, stupid idea.

She leapt over the table, and cantered up to Silver, who stopped and turned around with a raised eyebrow.

"How about we go out for a drink instead?" She tried, her entire hind brain violently cringing as she felt Shining froth behind her, and swore she heard Amber faint.
> I promise I'll start taking chapter titles seriously
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Silver's face dropped from mildly irritated and thoughtful to a completely blank poker face.

Cadance stared on, trying not to spontaneously combust

"I'm sorry... What?" Silver tried, slowly

Shining called out from behind Cadance, "Cadance, what are you-" He stuttered, "What?"

"Same page here dude," Silver gestured to Shining

Cadance cleared her throat and side eyed Shining. "I was thinking that as a favor, we could-"

"What, hang out?" Silver inturrupted

Cadance nodded, starting to lose confidence.

"Why?" Silver said, "What possessed you to even ask that?"

"Well... you wanted to before."

Silver's face turned to surprise and confusion, she turned to the side and just stared off into space, heavily blinking every couple of seconds. That continued for at least half a minute before Silver shook her head and turned to leave again.

"Wait, Dusk-"

Silver rolled her head and groaned, "what."

"You're right-" Silver mumbled 'of course I am', "We do owe you a favor"

Shining tuned in again, "Do we? We never asked for any of this."

"Actually-" Silver and Cadance said at the same time

Cadance glanced at Silver quickly and continued, "I did give the okay for Silver to be involved."

"You?" Shining tried before realization dawned on his face, "Ah right, the letter."

"And you want to... take me out for a night on the town because you owe me a favor?"

"Well... I'm not giving you my memories, but I don't just want to leave a hanging debt."

Silver nodded, "Which makes plenty of sense."

"Is there anything else not power related that you want?"

Silver thought and locked eyes with Cadance,

Cadance followed up, "Anything we could provide, to be clear."

Shining had stopped detesting the situation; as he had made is opinion known enough, he returned to a guarded but neutral stance from his seat at the table. Amber had taken several steps closer to him, behind him, specifically.

Silver sighed. "Not really anything unrelated to my original ask."

Cadance ruffled her wings, and waited for Silver to continue

She rubbed her whole face with her hoof and groaned again, "You know it's not even midday yet."

Cadance found the use of midday instead of noon odd, but she started smiling.

Silver was avoiding Cadance's gaze. At least, Silver was trying to, by rubbing her face and turning away.

"I really don't have the time."

Cadance's smile turned into a frown and Silver looked back to her with a mirrored expression, "I'll just have to go without advanced magic for a while." Silver shrugged, and shook her head, "Cause you know, opening dimensional folds doesn't take any magic." She continued gesturing extravagantly, and shaking herself. 

"I mean, why would I even try to do conventional magic anyways? That'd just be too convenient!"

Cadance's frown turned to concern as Silver kicked one of the chairs over and began laughing.

Cadance reached a hoof over to Silver, "Are-"

"No Little Princess. I am not okay." Silver snapped her head back to Cadance, "I have over three weeks of work to do in ninety hours, and I can't use magic, and have no tools."

Cadance stepped forward with the intent patting Silver on the shoulder and reassuring her. Cadance was interrupted by a loud cracking noise coming from Silver's saddle bags as Cadance touched her, and by a little jolt of arcane lightening traveling up her hoof like a shock.

"Ow!" Cadance quickly stepped back, cradling her hoof, Silver guffawed. 

Shining was at Cadance's side in an instant and was looking her over, Silver sat down and pulled a pile of destroyed ruby from her bag.

"What did you do!" shouted Shining.

Silver continued to tiredly laugh while speaking, "And of course now! I have to deal with this"

Cadance meanwhile, having recovered from being startled, "It was just a jolt Shining, I'm okay."

"And my apologies for that, you tripped one of my non-Snoutlean wards."

"Your what?"

Shining answered her instead of Silver. "Non-Snoutlean geometry?"

Silvers eyes began to glow as she turned towards Cadance, "You appear to have some built up residue from a 'nth-'m-'l'c"

"A nathimalac?" Cadance tried, she got a look from Shining.

"No vowels, the word is non-dimensional, Alicorn ears though." Silver's eyes returned to normal.

"She was asking about the creature, not the pronunciation."

"They're like cosmic lampreys..." Silver put a hoof under her chin, "Although pretty much all eldrich animals are cosmic lampreys, so ignore that analogy."

"That sounds bad."

Silver shook her head, "They're pretty harmless normally, but they also don't normally cause that much residue buildup, Shining has a bit less. I'm guessing they prey on you more since you're an Alicorn." Silver pulled several more objects out of her bag, including several bound plants and a jar full of opaque orange fluid.

"What about me being an Alicorn makes me more of a target?"

"You're juicier."

Cadance leaned forwards with eyebrows raised, clearly demanding a better explanation than being referred to as juicy.

"No, I mean literally. They consume chemical entropy. You have more since you do less, I think. It means you've got more of what they want." Silver continued doing random assortment of things with the objects she had on hoof, mixing them into the fluid, crushing gems onto the floor and casting quick spells.

Cadance frowned, "That doesn't sound promising."

Shining leaned forwards, "Can you get rid of them?"

Silver dropped the rock they were holding and slammed their hooves on the ground, "Could you make up your damn mind!?" Silver pointed an accusing hoof at Shining, "Whining and complaining about owing me a favor and now you, 'well just get rid of them'" Silver threw their hooves back to their work with frustrated speed, "Just shut your mouth Shining, seriously."

Shining did, and Cadance wrapped a wing around him, both to reassure him, and to make sure he didn't 'add' anything else.

Silver put a lid on the jar and shook it a couple of times. The orange, which had turned brown through Silver's mixing, rapidly expanded to fill the container to the lid, and turned an ivory white. After examining it, Silver slid the jar over to Cadance, "Put a dollop on your horn, under your wings, and in the frog of each of your hooves, it'll make you unappetizing." Silver gestured up and rolled her eyes. "And I don't suppose you two know how they're getting into reality? Any rips in space time hanging around in the castle?"

Shining became suspicious, Cadance responded, "Yes."

Silver's ears perked up, "Wait, really?"

Shining gestured for Cadance to not

But she did. "The mirror portal"

"The whosit whatnow?"

"The Mirror Portal is an artifact made by Starswirl, it opens to another world every thirty moons." Cadance explained.

Silver scrunched her eyes with her pitch rising as she asked, "And what kind of protective spatial enchantments do you have to keep out the nasties?"

Cadance gave an 'oopsie daisy' smile

"I thought so."

"So what do we do?"

"Smash the mirror." Silver said

Cadance looked to Shining, who was pretty much just along for the ride at this point. Then back to Silver. "It's not quite that simple."

"There's not a habitable world on the other side is there?"

Cadance nodded

Silver tossed their hooves up, "So why can't we smash it? Do we need this other world? Because eldritch nonsense will be getting into that world too."

Cadance put a hoof up and opened her mouth to respond to that, but found that she simply couldn't.

"I'm just kidding, the opposite anchor point is an opener, void creatures wouldn't be able to get into their world."

Cadance bopped her head and rolled her eyes, "There's a mare on the opposite side living there. Plus, they occasionally need our help."

"Who? Anyone important?"

"Celestia's old student, Sunset Shimmer."

Silver coughed, hard. Still working through what seemed like a random choking fit, said "I'm sorry. Who?"

"Sunset Shimmer." Shining said.

Silver closed her eyes slowly and pinched the bridge of her snout and mumbled a long string of expletives.

"Well then you're just going to have to deal with occasional eldritch creatures sneaking into reality." Silver gathered up her things. "Either that, or bring her back and destroy the mirror."

"Can't we... Put those enchantments on it?"

Silver scoffed, "For something like a world gate? Not a chance, if you breathed on the spell structure hard enough you could potentially completely lose your destination by several other realties, timelines, or just by infinity entirely."

"Are uh..."

"'nth-'m-'l'c"

"Are they dangerous?"

Silver thought for a moment, "I dunno really, a swarm could potentially kill a pony if they all attacked at once, but 'nth-'m-'l'c tend to be pretty passive creatures." Silver stood up, and tossed something to Cadance. Shining caught the little ruby in his telekinesis.

"If you see anyone rapidly aging, give them some of that ointment. Otherwise it'll be fine. That gemstone will shatter if anything bigger comes through the portal."

"You're just giving us all of this?"

Silver frowned. "You say that like I want to."

"Well... I... Yes?"

Silver just sighed and turned to leave again.

This keeps happening the same way.

"Thank you."

Silver perked up a bit on her way out, but otherwise didn't respond.

There was a pause before Cadance heard Amber gasp, and start, "That was terrifying!"

Cadance turned towards Amber with Shining, he spoke out first, approaching Amber, "Are you okay?"

She doesn't look like it

"I didn't know changelings could steal memories!"

Cadance was momentarily confused before remembering Shining's quick cover story.

Shining vainly tried to comfort her, he couldn't.

"And what was all that about?! Monsters?! Eldritch monsters aging ponies!? Here? Who even was that?!" Amber was practically hyperventilating, and practically fell into Shining as he went tried to pull her into a hug.

"Normal changelings can't do what he can, Amber." 

"Shining, let's just tell Amber the truth."

Amber looked up and her head shook between the two of them, "What truth? Please tell me there's not more?"

Cadance wasn't quite sure what to do here, or how to even explain Dusk to Amber. So she did not. Cadance bid a hasty retreat, "Shining, I'm going to go setup our evening, go ahead; Amber, I'll clear my paperwork during lunch, and we can talk tonight okay?"

Amber nodded, with a fearful and confused look on her face. Shining began talking as Cadance left the room, her mind not quite racing with organizing her next couple of actions. Her thoughts were interrupted by Silver, who was stood just outside the meeting room, on the side of the glass that wasn't transparent.

Silver was facing the door, and clearly waiting for her. There was a suitcase with wheels, and a runic teleportation circle spread in dust over the floor behind her.

"Now listen."

Cadance's adrenaline filled response went dead and she felt her anxiety building, but she waited and listened.

"I don't know why you care, but if you desperately want to help me, you can, but Shining Armor can't know."

Cadance kept waiting.

"Is there more?"

Silver smiled, "Nope, that's it."

"I can help you if I want, but I can't tell Shining."

"You can forgiveness and permission it, but he won't like it."

Cadance forced herself to calm down, and tried to apply a bit of rational thought. "You're saying 'it' a lot, what does this actually entail?"

"Oh, well I'm going to manipulate you into doing something you don't want to"

*Distrusting horse thought noise*

Cadance's face matched her thoughts, "So why offer, if you're going... to..." She trailed off in confusion, not exactly knowing how to phrase what she meant.

"You don't want to now; that's what the manipulation is for." Silver said, matter-a-factly

Cadance tried to think a bit more, but Silver tapped the ground, "Tick tock Little Princess, Shining will be done consoling Amber in a moment."

Cadance looked back to the door, then back to Silver

I mean, he won't use magic on me, so why wouldn't I? If I know what he's trying then... Well then I guess, that's the gimmick; I can handle that.

Silver held out a hoof. 

Cadance looked at it with visible hesitation.

Silver smiled, "Learning to not let me touch you. Smart." Silver walked backwards into the circle and grabbed the suitcase in her mouth.

Not exactly what was happening there, but okay.

Cadance took a couple steps forwards, "Okay, Dusk Swirl; I'll hear you out."

"Then let's get a move on." Silver gestured towards the circle.

Cadance stepped up towards the circle and gave it a once over before entering the bounds, Silver spread her wings.

"May I?"

hmm? Oh

"Yes, go-" They teleported, "ahead." 

Okay.

They were in a cavern made of ice. Cadance was stood on some strange metallic pattern. The room had several pillars of ice carved into the walls, and there were three pathways leading away from the round chamber that was, in Cadance's opinion, roughly thirty hooves wide. Looking through the perfectly clear ice out into the darkness gave the room a particularly ominous aura too it.

"It's an old spell" Silver said, stepping away, having been observing Cadance's thousand yard stare into the dark. "A fear based astroturgy spell to separate a large area from reality."

"Like a pocket dimension?" 

Silver took a couple of steps around, giving the metallic rune structure inlaid in the ice a couple of testing prods with her hoof. "Yeah actually, exactly like a pocket dimension. The only difference is the space in here is where things actually are out there."

"Well so, what do you need?"

"Alicorn memories."

Cadance frowned, and lifted her mental guard, "I already said no to that."

Silver smiled and calmly said, "and I said I was going to manipulate you into doing it."

Silver's look was wrong. It took Cadance a moment to figure that Silver had an incredible poker face, with perfect facial contortion. The reason Cadance could tell at all that her expression was a lie was because her emotions didn't match her expression. In fact, Silver was limited in emotion at all.

I'll never get over the eyes

Silver's eyes made Cadance uncomfortable.

"Okay?" Cadance tried, after Silver had continued to stare

Silver didn't blink, "To make a long story short. It won't hurt you, and you'll get to pick what memories to get rid of. Anything will do, so long as it's a clear one."

"And then what?"

Silver deadpanned, "And then nothing, I distill the memories, and you can get back to princessing."

"Will the spell do something to me?"

"It won't hurt you, if that's what you're asking."

"So... You just give a series of memories I have physicality, and then remove them?"

"Not in that order but yeah."

Cadance shook her head, "And that's it."

"That's it."

"This isn't like one of those stories about fae deals that go wrong?"

"No."

Cadance tried to dismiss her expectations. "So there's literally nothing dangerous or permanently altering about removing my memories?"

"You'll have your memories removed" Silver tried, sarcastically.

"Why didn't you explain that before?" Cadance said, incredulous.

"I did."

"Well-"

"It wasn't anymore complex than I described, and still isn't. You presumed it was, because you didn't understand it. Then you didn't ask either."

Cadance just... paused as her mind tried to describe back to her what Silver did say, and that was pretty much correct. "What about manipulating me?"

"I did it already."

"I never agreed to anything."

"You will though, now you know it's not dangerous."

Cadance scrunched her muzzle. "That's not manipulation though."

"It is, because I knew that so long as I didn't clarify the details of taking out memories, that I'd have the opportunity to do it later, and it would guarantee that you would agree."

"Except I haven't."

"But you will."

"How do you know"

"You're easy to read."

"It's not like I try to hide what I think."

"Only because you don't know how"

"I didn't learn because I didn't want to do it"

Silver's rebuttal stuttered and died, "Okay then, fair enough."

They looked at each other in silence while Cadance caught her breath from their argumentative back and forth.

Cadance slowly spoke, "So you planned that interaction?"

"Of course I did. What makes sense to you? Did you honestly think I thought that I could just walk up to you, ask for your memories, and then not explain and be successful?" Silver explained

I guess not

"It's funny how you recognize how dangerous I am, but refuse to act as though I am intelligent."

Cadance rubbed the back of her neck, "It's not that, I just-" She tried to answer abashedly, but Silver held up a hoof and spoke over her.

"I make things move fast. It doesn't give you time to think, I know." Silver put her hoof back down and her false smile disappeared. "Life gets like that around me. I know it's uncomfortable, I'm sorry."

Cadance smiled, "Thank you."

"Don't thank me, think up memories you don't need."

Am I... really going to do that?

...

...

Cadance's you can't just get rid of your own memories.

...
...

Cadance groaned, but couldn't keep her amusement off her face, "I can't believe you convinced me to give you my memories."

"Just a couple, I'll need a gallon, at least." Silver began walking out of the chamber towards one of the caverns openings out of the teleportation chamber.

Cadance followed tentatively, making sure to keep Silver in view.

"Where is this place?"

"In the mountains, outside of the Empire."

Cadance didn't say anything for a moment in their walk. The hallway curving up and around itself in a loop. As soon as Cadance realized, she looked up to see the floor above them was close enough to see it through ice.

Once they walked up to the top Cadance got a look at what reminded her of the laboratory in the Crystal Empire Spire. It was very reminiscent of what Cadance would describe as a 'pre-medieval' alchemy setup. Silver pulled a flask off the shelf near the door, and nearly bumped into Cadance as she turned around.

"Oh, woops, I didn't realize you were right behind me." She said, walking past and back down the loop.

Cadance, without better reason to interact just followed.

This is... Honestly exactly what I expected

Once they entered back into the teleportation room, Silver held out the flask for Cadance out on a wing, "You'll need to drink this for the spell to work properly."

Cadance took it in her telekinesis as they walked, and held it up to inspect it. It was some midnight blue liquid, with speckles floating around inside. "What is it?"

"It's mostly distilled nightmares."

"Is that safe to drink?"

Silver nodded, "It's like anti-venoms. Safe to consume, not safe to inject."

Cadance popped the quark lid out of the top with her magic and gave the concoction a whiff. I didn't smell of anything. She, very cautiously, gave it a sip. It was cold, but it didn't taste like anything. It slid down her throat very much not like water. Almost aggressively not letting her maneuver it in her mouth. "That's really strange."

"You'll have to drink it all."

She did so, it was weird, but not bad.

Silver led her into another chamber mostly full of broken boxes, and packing material. Random objects were strewn about, broken crystals mostly.

Is this a trash room?

Silver tipped over a box, the interior containing a cast iron cauldron. After rolling it out, Silver drew a circle around the massive pot, and began digging through her bags. She briefly looked up to Cadance, "Would you charge the pot with magic please?"

Cadance started emptying her mana into the pot. It was surprisingly easy.

Normally objects resist mana charge, I guess it's made of some mana absorbing material? Magic?

Silver tossed a hoof full of assorted items into the pot, which was around when Cadance felt the potion start taking.

"Oooh." She blinked the tears from her eyes and put a hoof to her stomach. Silver was at her side almost instantaneously, inspecting where she was holding her hoof.

"Have you eaten anything today?" Silver glanced up with worry.

Cadance shook her head, "I came down to that faux meeting as soon as I got up and ready for the day."

That's an awful lot of concern

"I like your mane by the way"

"Thanks." Cadance tried to smile, "Aside from that, is the gut discomfort normal?"

Silver looked unwilling to answer, "It... Yes, I've never seen that side affect, but it should do that if you're hungry."

"Why?"

"The potion makes your mind more responsive. It just means that your body is sick of you tuning out how hungry you were." Silver bopped Cadance on the nose, "Bad Princess."

"Hey, half of that was on you."

"The half that you told me to take over, yeah absolutely."

Cadance stopped charging the pot, the inside was filled with pink mist and a couple of charges of arcane lightening could be seen flashing around the bottom of the pot.

"Now all you have to do is focus on the memories you want to remove. Nod when you want me to draw out, shake when you want me to stop, I'll tell you when I have enough."

"Should I make sure to mentally separate them?"

"You don't have too, but if you start thinking of something and don't tell me to stop, I'll draw it out by accident."

"At least you're honest."

"I've never not been. Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

Silver wasted no more time talking, and wrapped a hoof around Cadance's face, covering her eyes. Silver placed another hoof at the back of Cadance's head, and tilted her muzzle over the edge of the cauldron rim. It took her a moment to feel the magic take hold. It was a little bit like waking up from a dream, but in reverse. She slowly felt foggier and foggier until the things around her may well have not been there. Yet, her understanding of the environment was still present. It was just being fed to her mind factually, some strange disassociation of the mind from the brain.

Cadance thought about a memory of showering earlier today. It wasn't anything unique. Sure her mane was trimmed down, but aside from getting the bits of cut hair out, it was nothing special. She nodded, and didn't so much as feel, but vaguely knew there was fluid rising up and out of her throat, dribbling out of her mouth.

Instead of focusing on the strange knowledge based experiences she focused on her memory until it got to when she got out and Shining entered the room, then she shook her head. Not really feeling it happen, yet still the same knowledge that it had happened present in her mind. In the same way, she could hear Silver chanting some sort of ritual magic, she just couldn't find it in herself to care about the specifics.

She mentally went to a few more random memories about random inane tasks she'd done recently. Brushing her mane or coat. Particularly boring days of walking down halls. Interesting meals she could bear forgetting about. She was tempted to remove her memory of a couple of books she loved, so she could read them again, but thought better of it. Eventually light returned to her knowledge based understanding, and she knew Silver said that 'she had enough memories'

So Cadance tried to clear her mind, but was roughly dropped back into her body as she did so, coughing up golden fluid from just beneath the back of her mouth. 

"You good?"

After a couple more coughs, and clearing what was left in her mouth by spitting it out into the cauldron, which was now a vortex of swirling golden images and feelings. "You're a lot more dispassionate when it's just the two of us."

"What can I say? I don't have to pretend nearly as much."

Cadance shook her head. 

I seem okay, like nothing's changed.

"Alright, that's perfect. With a bit of work, I should be able to do all the things I need."

Cadance just observed Silver's expression, and it's distinct lack of meaning. 

Every face she makes is planned before hoof. She planned this whole encounter... How much effort did she go through? How much time did she even have since last night? How'd she know any of this was going to-

"C'mon, I'll teleport you back. Like you never left."

Cadance, still a little dazed from the mind magic, just nodded, and followed Silver back out into the main chamber, where Silver and Cadance exchanged some goodbyes, and Cadance looked at some more meaningless facial expressions before being warped off back to the Spire.
> Wrapping up the day
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance had reappeared somewhere in the Spire, several guards had asked her if she was okay, and she easily explained her appearance away as having to do a quick errand. She then got to work. Amber had left her a schedule on her desk, and among the paperwork and the meetings where she had to disclose the details of said paperwork, she had the open court for three hours starting at two.

She went through the whole day in a daze.

She was at first concerned that she was being mentally affected by whatever Dusk had done to her, but she could easily pull herself away from it if she focused. Her mind was just drawing her to try and comprehend other things, and by other things,

Dusk.

Cadance's mind was locked firmly on the pony, and wouldn't let her higher functions work on anything else. She was also mildly concerned she was under some sort of spell. She ruled it out, the mysterious pony garnering the right amount of interest and concern from the monarch. At least so she thought.

She tried to understand well... Anything about him. Her, whatever; every time she came up short.

Dusk is exquisitely good at distancing himself from ponies. From me. Everything I've seen from him has been completely honest, but equally a front. A mask.

He doesn't want me to get to know him, doesn't want to be controlled or tied down.

But to go through so much mental effort?

She just couldn't understand it. Everypony liked companionship, friendship, socializing. Ponies were herd creatures at heart, sure some ponies liked the calm and the peace that came with being on their own but...

Cadance couldn't put her hoof on it, but something about her intuition told her that Dusk just wasn't that kind of pony.

It could be another trick...

She tried to organize what she knew about Dusk, about what he'd been up to, what she'd seen. Everything pointed to the same answer.

I know nothing, and I've been getting manipulated throughout...

Cadance's scoff laughed, which interrupted a court plea for the crown to intervene with a territory dispute between two ponies' housing lines. The mare in question didn't take too kindly, Cadance apologized and focused on finishing up court.



It was when she arrived to her office did she come out of her mental fog. The sun was on it's way, but the dusk setting still filtered in through any open windows.

"Evening Princess."

"Hi Amber, can we talk?"

Amber stood from her desk right outside Cadance's office, and followed Cadance's gesture to enter her study/office. Cadance followed in after and shut the door behind her with her magic.

"So,"

"Princess Cadance, as your advisor, I have to urge you to do something about... That pony." Amber said, having turned and addressed her Princess with a pleading tone and look.

Cadance, having been submerged in a melancholic mindset for the duration of the day, elected to take the conversation slowly. "Explain?" She offered.

Amber nearly scoffed, but held her composure, still trying to remain professional, "Explain? Your majesty, that pony is... What they're capable of, the way they snuck into resurrecting a noble house, using blood magic? Dark magic?"

Amber paused momentarily to catch her breath. "What do you need me to explain?"

Everything.

Cadance had spent the day organizing her thoughts, and as Amber listed out supposed issues with Dusk, she had mentally crossed out each one, with adequate reasons or excuses for Dusk to have done the things he did. The same arguments she made to herself and shot down.

"Amber."

"Yes Princess?"

Cadance took a moment to consider how she was going to try and explain her perspective, "As of this moment, Dusk has not done anything wrong."

Amber blanched and retorted, "Wrong? Dusk has committed several serious crimes!"

Cadance shot back just as quickly, but far calmer, "With each either being annulled for circumstance or equally valid justification."

Before Amber could respond, Cadance held up a hoof, "Now I know, Dusk has done illegal things, but he's never done anything wrong. Different? Absolutely, I've never met a pony with the expertise and... I'm going to say irreverence for the law, but Dusk has only ever acted for positive purposes."

"Princess he-"

There was a knock from the door, and Shining entered. He gave Cadance a look, Cadance turned back to Amber to see her look of apprehension replaced with confidence.

Cadance's posture changed, and she ruffled her wings. "What's going on here?"

Shining walked up next to Cadance and got her attention by brushing up next to her. She stepped away.

"Honey, me and Amber talked this morning; I'm concerned about you, and Amber rose a lot of good points."

Cadance narrowed her eyes, but didn't speak.

Amber spoke up, "Princess, from what the Prince described to me, it sounds very much like you're under some kind of enchantment, or geas."

"So what, this is some kind of intervention?"

Shining shook his head, "No, we just want to make sure you're safe."

I don't feel safe

Her heart was screaming at her that something was wrong here. That there was something out of place. Her instincts were telling her to do something; her anxiety building and making her muscles clench.

But what? What's going on?

"Cadance?" Shining said softly, "Are you okay honey?"

What's setting me off so badly?

Wrong. That was Shining's voice, but that... it was his face, those were his eyes

What is wrong!?

Cadance gasped out, realizing she was holding her breath, her horn sparked. 

"Princess!"

Cadance's mind was on fire, suddenly her senses were assailed like she was under some magical affect, and just as swiftly the pressure disappeared, and her magic stopped flaring.

Shining had a hoof on her shoulder, "Cadance, what's wrong?" He was desperately concerned.

Cadance shook her head "I don't know, I've never felt like that before; something is very very wrong."

Cadance was scared.

"Dusk." Shining's eyes narrowed as he snarled, it was wrong

Cadance's horn flared again, this time under her own power as she felt something twinge her in the ambient magical wind, and just like that, it was gone.

The pressure left entirely, and she felt her heart slow and her body unclench itself. 

Amber and Shining were both saying something but Cadance was too distracted by whatever just happened. Some wild magical surge, some affect that she resisted. 

She pressed a hoof to her temple and took a deep breath, and let it out slowly.

Amber and Cadance were both steadying her, she hadn't realized it but she had sat down at some point. "That's it Cadance, we're taking you straight to Luna, she's going to check you out for dark magic influences."

Cadance shook her head, "That's not necessary, I'm okay."

"No Cadance, I'm putting my hoof down on this, we're telling the other Princesses and we're getting you away from Dusk."

Cadance tried not to raise her voice, and failed, "Why do you care so much about Dusk?!"

Shining stepped back, surprised, as did Amber

"What has he done to you? What has he done to any of us?"

Shining gently tried to calm Cadance down, his eyes wide, "Cadance hone-"

"No Shining, you want to put your hoof down? Fine, I trust you, but if I'm going to go along with it, I want a reason. A real one." She brought herself back under control. "Please."

Shining was stunned for a moment, he opened his mouth but then thought better of it; he began thinking deeply, trying to answer Cadance's plea. Amber simply looked to Shining, lost in this conversation.

Cadance, during Shining Armor's time thinking, tried to get a hold of herself. 

Yelling at him? Cadance please

I'm far more stressed than I thought,

We just need to calm down and work this out,

Shining's being irrational, what is there too work out.

Except he's right to be wary, he just wants to protect you.

Her thoughts came to a halt, she took another deep breath and steadied herself.

Shining eventually spoke, "The lack of any technical issues is what worries me."

Cadance, "Please explain, and I'm sorry for yelling at you." She wrapped her wing around him.

"You summed it up the first time we discussed this," Shining said, "He's smart. He knows how to do all the right things while still achieving his goals."

Cadance softly asked, "What do you think makes his goals malevolent?" and tacked onto the end, "He said he was here to help."

Shining tried to respond, but couldn't quite get the words out, "I don't know how to explain."

Amber spoke up, "I believe what Shining is trying to explain is Dusk's volatile nature."

Cadance listened

"Dusk may not have lied when claiming he was here to help. However, Dusk's violent tendencies lead me to believe that his version of 'helping'" She said slowly, "May be harmful to us, or innocents."

Shining nodded along with her as she spoke.

"That's what I've been worried about too."

"So we're all on the same page?" Shining tentatively claimed

"So we just have to decide what to do."

"We're telling Celestia and Luna, simple as that."

"Shining-"

Shining shook his head, "You said if we could give you a reason, you'd go along with it. Dusk is abusing your leniency and kindness, regardless of his intent."

He's right...

"I don't know... It doesn't feel right."

Nopony had anything else to add onto the tail end of that. In the silence, Cadance squeezed Shining against her side with her wing, he nuzzled her in response.

"I don't know if I'm really at call to give advice her-"

Shining interrupted her, "You wouldn't be here if we didn't trust you to help Amber, if you have anything to say, go for it."

"Give him an ultimatum."

Cadance nodded, "He has to do certain things to prove he's safe for our ponies, or we call the Calvary."

"I... I'm fine with that," Shining said, "but what if he refuses?"

"Then we call Celestia and Luna."

Shining half chuckled, "No, I mean, what if he violently refuses. There's no telling what he's planned, and if I were him, I'd be ready for something like this."

Amber added onto his thought, "He'd have some sort of contingency, or escape plan."

If we do tell him that it's our way or the walkway, then he may just leave, and we'll never see him again if he doesn't want to be found.

"Then we'll just have to do it in one." Cadance said, waiting to see Shining's and Ambers confused looks before continuing, "I'll confront him, and give him the ultimatum, if he refuses, I'll call for Celestia and Luna, and keep him there until they arrive."

"I'm not comfortable that."

"The Prince is right, you shouldn't put yourself in the line of fire like that."

Cadance held up her hoof questioningly, "Who else can do it?" She looked down at her side at Shining, "He won't talk to you, and anypony else either can't hold a conversation with him, or is, no offense Amber, too scared or not powerful enough to deal with him directly."

How far we've come from that garden outside of Canterlot, and it's still only us who can do anything at all.

"You're not going in without backup."

"It's okay if you're nearby or even with me I think, you just have to promise not to get involved unless I call you in."

Shining nodded,

"This sounds like a viable plan Princess." Amber said,

"So when do we do it?"

Cadance laughed, "Not tonight, I'm going to bed." She stood and glanced over at her desk before sticking her tounge out the paperwork sitting atop it.

"Oh, um- Goodnight Princess."

"Goodnight Amber", "Night," Came both the royals' reply.

Shining and Cadance walked side by side back to their room, neither of them bothered talking, enjoying each other's company, and generally decompressing. Equally they plopped down into bed and began the attempt at sleep as soon as the sheets were in place.

As she fell into the dream realm, Cadance wondered about her magic, and the strange pressure she felt during the rising argument that she... realized she didn't quite defuse in time. Her failure woke her up enough for her to roll over and apologize once more to her husband.

His response was snuggling, it was her calmest night for a while.
> An ultimatum over the fire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance, Shining Armor, and Amber along with several of their non-direct advisors, spent the morning doing a 'study session' esc paperwork extravaganza. Cadance had cleared her desk and canceled court citing the details the crown had to deal with for noble traitors. She'd never once caught up with all her paperwork; it was an accomplishment.

Cadance and Shining Armor had then broken for lunch, and spent an hour or so talking about their future. Cadance couldn't help but make the conversation serious with her mental state at the time. It didn't matter though, the conversation still made her happy.

Now her, Shining in tow, plus a guard detail were at Silver's residency. Cadance had gone right up to the door with the express intent of barging in. The muscle was going to stay outside, close enough for her to send a magical flare to get their attention, except of course, just before walking in, she was stopped a series of noises. 

No, not a series of noises, a pattern of noises.

Music.

There was some, jaunty orchestral piece playing, almost exclusively with string instruments. There was no telltale scratch of a record, but-

It's just music, don't get distracted Cadance

Cadance pushed the door open with her magic, it's not that it wasn't locked, it didn't even have a door latch. There wasn't even anything keeping the wind from swinging the door open.

Silver was in the foyer, and glanced quickly to Cadance from behind a pair of goggles before returning to her orb.

The room had been turned into a forge of sorts, there was a furnace carved out of glass and crystal, among numerous tools and cast iron implements for manipulating hot objects laid strewn about. 

Not a very organized worker

Silver at the moment, had a pair of two hoof long cast iron tongs in her teeth, and was holding a black and silver stripped sphere over a violet flame with runic sigils floating around it, and at it's base; she was rotating the sphere to... heat it evenly, Cadance guessed.

Cadance waited until Silver was done, which happened to be around twelve minutes. Cadance during that time realized that the music was gone. It had cut out so quickly when she entered that she hadn't even realized it was missing while she was keeping an eye on Silver.

There was a spark, and the flame went out. The orb slipped from tongs and began to float in a cyan aura. In conjunction Silver raised a hoof with a similar cyan aura emanating from it, and the orb floated onto a stand on the crystal island next to the furnace. Silver turned to Cadance and pulled her goggles off.

Cadance noted that Silver didn't put her hoof back on the ground, instead, awkwardly holding the leg up and balancing on one side.

"You should really knock before you come barging in here. A minute ago, and the gas would have burned your eyes out." She said, nonchalantly.

Cadance took a deep breath, "Is there somewhere we can talk?"

Silver smirked, "Are you giving me the opportunity to seclude you before you give me harsh news?"

No

"Think before you speak Little Princess," Silver waved her hoof, the one that glowed, and opaque equally cyan crystal sprouted from the ground. Their magical construction was like watching tree roots grow upwards in slow motion, there was a tinkling noise as the crystal resolved itself into two ornate looking crystal seats. "Here is as good as anywhere else." and Silver sat down.

Cadance walked up to the opposing chair, and put a hoof on it. Real crystal, for sure. She elected to stay standing, "I'm going to give you a series of rules you have to follow."

Silver snorted, "Straight to the point then, eh?"

Cadance looked up from her inspection of the chair and put on a determined look, "If you don't follow them, I'll get Celestia and Luna to come remove you."

"No. Actually you won't."

Cadance felt her eyebrows furrow, "Actually I will. I need you to take this seriously."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yes."

Cadance felt the emotion in the air warble. 

Imagine standing behind a monolithic wall, something that stretches in any direction into infinity. That was a little bit like what sensing emotion was like. The closer you were to a certain section of the wall, the easier it was to feel what somepony was feeling on the opposite side.

This wasn't like that.

This was like something moved the entire wall forwards an inch. Like the field got closer, bigger, as something on the other side, bigger than the wall, decided that the wall should just be somewhere else.

"Okay." Silver's face changed from mildly amused, to serious, her eyes went from empty to sparkling. 

Cadance tried not to stop breathing as she felt the same magical affect from the previous night return in force, she did however, light her horn. The force remained passive, but present.

"You can't enforce anything on me Little Princess." Silver's voice rang in the small room, echoing with magic, "because you have no power to."

Cadance, despite Silver's attempt at intimidating her, stood tall, and didn't lose her determined look. "I may not have that power, but there's a reason you hid. I bet Celestia can stop you."

"Oh she can." Silver didn't lose any menace, but her voice took on a higher tone, like she was teasing Cadance, "You know what a thousand years of being driven to hate someone leads to?"

"I-"

"Factor in my notes on severing my immortality, and I'd reckon by now Celestia knows how to kill me." She said, still in a teasing tone, "Of course, I also know that for sure, since Luna told me."

Cadance tried to verbally be present, but failed, her words being cut off by Silver's dominating presence.

"Of course she told me, she warned me." Silver scoffed, "The gall."

The force began pressing against her, and she put more mana into her horn to keep it at bay.

"She also will, you know." Silver said, "Which is why you won't do it."

"What?"

"Celestia, the first chance she gets, will kill me."

Cadance frowned, "Celestia wouldn't do that."

Silver smiled a smile that was far too wide for a normal pony, "So I take it you haven't noticed my little curse then?"

"Curse, you cursed me? Is that what this is?" Cadance said while vaguely trying to reference the force pressing down on her magic.

"No no. Little Princess, I said, my curse." Silver raised a hoof to her chest, "Discord's curse on me? Did he not tell Twilight to warn you?"

Cadance shook her head, her neck straining under the pressure of whatever Silver was referring to.

Silver laughed, "Still running from your mistakes I see."

"I don't know what you're talking about" Cadance tried

Silver stood, slowly, and stalked forwards towards Cadance, "So Luna didn't tell you either. Didn't tell you why I'm immortal. Not about my curse, why... She basically threw you into the deep end." Silver growled out the last words, as she came muzzle to muzzle with Cadance.

"Stop, please stop."

and the tension left. Whatever curse or force was there was still there, but Silver took several steps back, and their snarling face turned neutral.

Cadance forced herself to speak, "No, I don't know what any of that means. You won't even talk to me! Much less tell me your history!"

"This is me talking to you."

Cadance shook and she didn't realize it, but she had lost control of her expression, she let the mask slip. "This is an assault! This hurts!"

"Yes. It does."

Silver looked on impassively as the force lessened, it lessened because it had found a way past Cadance's magical pressure. 

Hatred, fear, paranoia and more started filtering into her mind. She was an expert when it came to emotions, both literarily, and personally. She realized she was shouting, realized the look of rage plastered over her face.

She's infesting me with negative emotions.

The strange part was that they were her emotions. Cadance's own hatred and rage, strengthened and bubbling unnaturally to the surface of her mind. 

So she changed the aura of her horn from cerulean to pink and drew upon her ties to Love, and the force cringed away from her, as if it had been struck, or so, the magical equivalent.

Her mind went blank as the sudden void of emotion in her head twisted her mind. Her brain reacting defensively to the rapid shifting of her emotion. Cadance closed her eyes and took a deep breath, still channeling her magic.

She lost sight of the room, of Silver, and the domineering presence that came with her. She stopped listening, and just focused on herself, on her Love.

and just like that, she was herself again. Whatever mind altering affect emanating from Silver didn't dare touch the Alicorn of Love.

The entire mental gymnastics felt like it took forever, but in reality, it all took place in less than two seconds.

She opened her eyes to see Silver staring on in shock, and...

Is that fear?

As they locked eyes, Silver's face morphed, her ears pressed flat against her head, wings spread and her tail flicking rapidly.

No. That emotion is Terror.

Silver took a step away from Cadance and looked away.

Cadance didn't know what to say.

"Alright" Silver said, quietly.

"Alright?" Cadance said dumbly, just repeating the word in leu of anything else.

Silver looked back to Cadance, the energy from her eyes gone, and her face covered in a false smirk. "I'll play by your rules."

"You will." Cadance made it sound like a statement, but it was meant to come out as a question

Silver nodded, "But I do have one addendum."

Cadance narrowed one of her eyes, trying to read Silver's face. Trying to understand what just happened, what she was feeling. Anything to connect with her.

"Clear out your Thursdays, that's our girls' night out."

AHa?! What?

"What?" Cadance smiled and nearly laughed from the sheer shock factor of such a statement.

"You wanna reform me? Whatever, you can't do whatever you want to me unless we're friends first." Silver waved her hoof around, "So girls' night out, every Thursday, me and you."

Cadance blinked rapidly, "What just happened Dusk? Why the sudden change?" Cadance tried to change her tone of voice to soft, but it just came out normal, "What's this curse? What was all of that?"

Silver just shook her head, "You want to get to know me Little Princess? Well you can't do it like this, like that rather; spoilers."

That... Has distraction written all over it

"And you'll stop causing a ruckus in the Empire?"

Silver snorted, "Kinda too late for that, and not quite." Silver stuck up a wing quickly, "But! I will start keeping you clued in to the goings on."

"That's it then?"

"Yes, you can leave now." Silver looked at Cadance with a dead smile.

Cadance felt the ideas in her mind not quite connecting. The weight of her wanting to Understand was starting to give her a headache. She needed more information, but of course apparently that was gated behind...

Idea

"How about the Gala?"

Silver raised an eyebrow, face unchanged, still encouraging Cadance to leave.

Cadance nodded to herself, content with this plan, "You come with me to the Grand Galloping Gala at the end of this week, and I'll be able to convince everypony else that you'll..."

Silver pipped up, "Do the things you want me to do, as ambiguous as they are."

Cadance nodded

"Of course there's the problem of Celestia." Silver said; every ounce of essence or meaning behind her words gone. Cadance wondered how she never noticed, how Silver could talk like this, so dispassionate, so empty. Cadance had seen a sparkle of Dusk's real intent and thought, and now everything else seemed... Just as hollow as it was.

Cadance didn't respond, her mind still trying to put the pieces together.

Silver just waited.

"Will she recognize you?"

Silver nodded, "Absolutely, she's smart enough to be scanning for my distinct magical signature. The only reason she hasn't found me yet is because of the Crystal Heart."

"Can you disguise it?"

Silver took on an unreadable expression of disgust. A moment later, she spoke, "Do you want to go to the Gala with a meat puppet?" Silver laughed, "No? Okay, then no."

"What about Luna?"

"What about her?"

Cadance spoke slowly, trying to piece together her words as she thought of them, "She... knew you escaped,  can she hide you from Celestia?"

Silver frowned, "She does, and she might."

"I'll send her a letter."

Silver didn't respond.

"Dusk?"

"Start getting used to calling me Quick or Silver. You're going to have to be doing it in public."

Cadance nodded, "A bit for your thoughts?"

"No, and I hate that phrase. My thoughts aren't worth your bit."

Cadance tried to rebuttal that, but Silver held up a hoof, and rubbed her forehead with a wing "I'm actually going to have to go to a Gala aren't I?"

Cadance kept her face even.

"Buck."

She failed. Giggling at Silver's explative

"So you'll go?"

"If you can get me a ticket, and confirm Luna can keep me hidden. She doesn't particularly want me to die either."

I hope this doesn't get shot down

"Why did... Well I'm guessing Luna intentionally let you go?"

Silver nodded

"Why?"

"Because Luna is scared of me, like Amber. The difference being that what Luna is scared of is very; very real."

Completely unhelpful.

"I'll ask her then, and then... I'll have somepony bring you a message, and I'll come get you from here the day of the Gala."

"Alright, it's a date." Silver said, turning away and back to her tools.

Feeling suitably dismissed, Cadance turned to leave. She hesitated, and looked back to Silver, day dreaming of Silver just telling her everything she wanted to know. 

Cadance caught Silver staring. 

Just as she brought herself out of her thoughts, she locked eyes with Silver, who was side eyeing her as she left. Silver twitched like she was going to look away, but was already caught.

I don't know you

Cadance gave a tired smile to the empty stare.

But I will

and she left.

The door was just as easy to push through as it was the first time. Several ponies were closer than they needed to be. With Shining awkwardly standing near the back of the formation.

She gave them a nod and smile of assurance, before trotting off the step and onto the lawn.

She walked up to Shining

"So it worked?"

Cadance nodded, "I'm just going to need a minute. Silver was..."

"Not happy I take it?"

"Intense." Cadance settled.

She watched the guards pack up. Their officer took them out and back to the Empire.

She breathed in the air. Looked at Shining.

Thursday is... two days away. Gala is Sunday. We... I have to write that letter.

Did Luna? I guess she never lied to me. She still... She knew all that time...

These... Old creatures are maddening. I'm starting to see the trend. Discord, Dusk... Luna, all of them are crazy.

Of course, the line of thought lead her to Dusk's comment about Celestia. Despite what she wanted to believe. Celestia taught her everything she knows about diplomacy, negotiations.

Celestia knows how to be cut-throat. She's run a kingdom, the biggest one in the world, for more than a thousand years uncontested.

Cadance mentally approached the idea of her aunt being a murderer.

A proper one, since what Dusk described was essentially killing out of hatred.

She wouldn't. Celestia's not a killer.

Cadance banished that line of thought and refocused on the things happening around her.

Shining had brought himself next to her, and had placed a hoof in-between hers in silent support as she thought. 

"So... Shall we go interrogate some cultists?"

Shining Armor pulled his face back and smiled and shook his head, surprised. "That is not what I expected you to say."

She smiled and began walking a couple of steps, Shining took the cue, and they began walking together. Several crystal ponies and equally, journalists who had been drawn to the forty minute exercise out into the city followed discretely, interested in what was going on, and/or bored.

"We have to do it sometime right?"

Shining thought for a second, "I guess so." he said, uncharacteristically apprehensive.

"You okay?"

"Are you?"

Cadance kept walking,

"You seem shaken."

She kept walking.

"He was intense. She I guess."

"Dusk is always intense. This is different."

"I'm okay."

"Cadance, please, I know you. Something happened in there, with Dusk's ability to twist the mind-"

"He didn't do anything to me." She said, her tone dropping deeper.

Shining didn't respond. They kept walking.

"I'm sorry."

"It's okay, I know how stressful this is for you."

They were nearly at the palace by now, the behemoth stretching into the sky only promised more stress and work for Cadance. Despite her ability to push through, and her practice, it loomed in her mind. Made her feel... bad.

I must be even more stressed than I thought

"He's just... confounding." Candace said with exasperation, "I want... He doesn't talk like he hates us, hates me, but he refuses to connect with me at all."

"Have you been able to read him?"

'Read him' was code for using her special talent. She, among the other perks of being an alicorn, could get a sense for what a pony was feeling.

"No. Nothing from him. No emotion."

Shining thought, "So what did he say?"

"He said... He'll play by our rules." She stopped and tried not to cringe at Shining's coming reaction, "And he wants to go out on... 'girls' night out' every Thursday, from now on."

Shining sighed. "And you said yes."

"It was-"

"Do I need to explain how much of a bad idea that is? For so many reasons?" Shining waved out to a passing citizen.

"No."

"Then okay, I guess. We can't go back on it now." He said tersely

Cadance wanted to explain, but Shining cut her off.

"I know it's your thing, so I'll just sit back and let you handle it."

I listened to your advice didn't I. Did this whole ultimatum thing to begin with.

"It's... I'm just the mouth piece, but-" She tried

"Cadance. We don't negotiate with hostile forces." He said slowly at first, though it turned into whisper shouting, "And we especially do not devote entire days to going out to have fun with them!"

"It works doesn't it? Dusk falls into line, and I have a chance to befriend him."

Shining sighed, "If it goes to plan."

Cadance sighed. "Which it won't."

It was something they learned together, about ruling. Nothing went to plan. Nothing ever could be trusted to go to plan. They were lost in the mire.

At least they were lost together. Cadance felt Shining's low bearing fear, and apprehension, along with her own. 

She was not alone.

That made her strong.
> Luna
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear Princess Luna,

Me and you need to have a very long talk. I want to see you in the Empire as soon as possible. There's been a lot going on, and there are things we can only discuss mare to mare. I'm sorry to simply make a demand like this, however, I believe you know the context.

See you soon.

Love, 
Cadance.



It was a relaxing couple of days since Cadance's confrontation with Dusk. She had spent her time doing her daily duties, bothering Shining in the fun ways, and planning for her next work week.

It was around dusk in her study when Luna arrived, which Cadance had pondered would qualify as a funny joke, if told in the right setting.

Luna knocked on the window to Cadance's study, it was opened in short order; luckily Cadance saw Luna fly up to the window.

As she entered, she spoke, "Niece, it is good to see you again."

Calm Cadance

She had spent the last day or so mentally deliberating on how to interact with Luna here, in this moment. Eventually electing to just act as she normally would, with the intent of getting to the bottom of Dusk's and Luna's plan to hide him from Celestia.

So Cadance offered her aunt a hug, "It's good to see you to Luna." It was received, and Luna let out a breath, "It's been a hectic couple weeks since we talked last."

"I can imagine so." She said, pulling away with a frown. "I am... Sorry for deceiving you Cadance."

I'm glad she does actually know why I asked to see here, that would have been awkward.

"Auntie" Cadance said, not tersely, but with confidence

Luna has trouble connecting, has trouble with her guilt.

"I trust you." Cadance stressed, "I just want to know why."

Luna fought the smile away from her face and looked away.

"Thank you niece, you are truly graceful. To put up with my... mistake."

"Everypony makes mistakes Luna, it's okay to fail. What matters is not giving up making it right."

Luna nodded, and ruffled Cadance's new mane with a wing, "You constantly show wisdom beyond your years Cadance."

Cadance gestured for Luna to take a seat, "Do you want anything before we..."

"No dear niece, I have had everything I require for the night."

"Then... Tell me about Dusk."

Luna bit the inside of her cheek.

Cadance steepled her hooves and waited.

"I don't quite know where to start." She said quietly.

Luna was acting strange, only now did Cadance connect the weird behavior to how she was acting before. Something she didn't pick up on the time, but now? Cadance was aware of the stakes, she may have been trying a little harder than necessary. 

Luna was easy to read. She was apprehensive and worried. Not guilty, not shameful. Shamed. Like a permanent mark on her emotion.

"How about you start with his history? His past?" Cadance tried

Luna, immediately, "That's not my story to tell."

Dusk

She continued, "Dusk was... is, as you can tell most probably, very secretive about their past. I am not aware if what I know about him, what he told me rather, is even true." She stopped for a moment, "Regardless, it is not my place to share."

"So you knew Dusk would come to the Empire?"

Luna grimaced and nodded slowly, "Yes, it was most likely what he was planning on, and he told me as much, when we met on the streets of Canterlot that night."

"What did happen that night?" Cadance, let her curiosity get the best of her, rather than keeping Luna on topic.

"Dusk had slung you over his back and run from the night watch guards. The chase was grand enough that it reached the ears of my personal guards, who were out patrolling, I arrived on scene shortly after Dusk properly lost his guard tailing." She took a deep breath, "We... talked." 

Cadance continued to listen, finally feeling like she was getting answers, like she was in the loop rather than the dark.

"He knew what I was planning with you. He told me about his plan to teach Celestia how to..."

"How to kill him." Cadance finished for her.

"Yes." Luna looked down... The same taint on her emotions rising. "Many have tried to slay Dusk Swirl." The hurt was evident in her voice, no Alicorn of Love powers required. "Only Dusk and Discord ever knew the secrets behind his immortality. Discord refuses to speak of it, out of shame."

"Why is Dusk immortal?" Cadance tried, Luna looked like she had been struck, like she wanted to do anything other than answer that particular question.

"I wish to not speak of it."

"Will you at least tell me why?"

Luna nodded. "I fell to the nightmare. Myself. My own conjuration of the darkness in my heart. At the end of the day, as they say, it was my choice."

Cadance sat back, feeling the story start to work its way out of her aunt's throat. Elders, or ponies who had been through some traumatic experience tended to do this. Once you asked just the right question, framed the experience just right, they'd start talking. Ponies liked to get things off their withers, some ponies just couldn't explain, just couldn't emphasize how they felt.

"Dusk didn't make me fall to the nightmare. It was, however, his intent to encourage it. To stop me from doing worse than I could have."

But some ponies could. Luna had been opening up to Cadance since her return, when they had the chance to talk.

"I could have spent ages plotting against my sister. Spent that time making sure I could truly bring upon nighttime eternal. Destroy Equestria in my jealous rage."

Cadance, now that she saw Luna's hurt, honestly just hoped she could help the older Alicorn. Just by listening.

"Dusk made it all come to a head in one night."

Cadance, tentatively, slowly, "How"

"He... broke me... Emotionally. My psyche was already fraying at the edges... Dusk was aware... He was my closest confidant for years. He new exactly how to hurt me, and he did."

"I'm sorry Luna..."

"Do not apologize dear niece. For it was not Dusk who was at fault."

"Is-"

"Please, let me..." Luna shook her head, "I believe I should have told you this from the start."

Cadance did nothing but nod, and show her support as she gestured for Luna to continue.

"To start at the beginning then."

Luna took a deep breath, her voice turned melancholic, and she took on a look like she was gazing into the past, "Dusk is older than me and Celestia. Our elder by... likely fifty moons or so." She shook her head. "He met us when we were just fillies with wings and horns. Yet to truly become Alicorns. He was some kind of warlord turned dictator who ran a small town with an iron hoof."

"He left his home at Starswirl's behest to join our courts as a magician. He was... Friendly, and cordial. Starswirl and the Chancellor's son vouched for him."

"He went to and from his home in what is now the Everfree forest when we needed him. He taught us occasional life skills, it seemed like every time he came by, it was for some strange purpose or something he made up. He told me once that it was only ever to see me and Tia."

Cadance nodded, to show she was listening along.

"He was like a strange uncle, or a thing similar to it. He was still as strange as he is today, in fact, over the ages, I don't think he's changed even a little. Grown in magical skill, absolutely, but he's still exactly the same pony I knew when I was growing up."

"I never noticed the nuance of who he really was. I was a filly, and I grew up with him coming around, and treating my like a filly instead of a Princess. I... fell into the role, I guess. I realized it was intentional."

"Intentional?" Cadance slipped in,

"Yes. Dusk had... planned on acting the way he did. Building trust with me in the way I thought of him."

Cadance nodded

I know what you mean

"He... told me on several occasions, as well, exactly what he was doing and why. I didn't understand at the time, nor did I care, as I and my sister were staring down the new nation we had founded."

Luna paused...

"And then everything started going wrong."

Luna's tone changed from reminiscing to... hallowed remembrance. Instead of drifting memories, Luna spoke about pictures she tried her hardest to believe weren't real. "Starswirl and his compatriots went missing, unrest began to rise in our cities."

"Discord arrived." She intoned

Cadance slowly began to piece together the timeline. Trying to keep a little ahead of Luna's story.

"There was no water for miles after he took over. Spreading his chaos. Ponies never died of thirst, they went insane, consuming Discord's..." She nearly almost spat, bearing her teeth, "Treats"

"In hopes of sustenance."

Luna took a deep breath. "There was a reason it was called 'the age of chaos', the suffering lasted for uncountable moons. Maybe more... it was impossible to keep track of the passage of time."

"Though it all, Dusk never once wavered or broke under the stress, where me and Tia failed to maintain order, and protect our ponies, Dusk had slithered and manuevered his way moons before into having the power and connections to make up for our... inexperience."

"It was then I learned of his dark powers. Dusk knew how to combat Discord's chaos magic using evil magics, corruptive magics. He never taught anypony, which was the only reason why he wasn't drawn and quartered. His powers were only ever used to protect."

"He founded a city, in the chaos, immune to the destruction of Discord's nightmarish playtime. The Everfree Empire, sitting in a forest empowered by his dark magics."

"He lead thousands to safety, of course, he could combat Discord's brand of magic, but not cure it. The city became full of twisted ponies, monsters and animals broken or changed by Discord's chaos. He welcomed them all. Ponies alike, along side anything with a pulse he could find, he protected."

Luna smiled, "It was a place unlike any other, it's own beautiful kind of chaos. Ponies and monsters alike would fight in the streets for fun, carefree and happy in their world that had turned upside down. It was a place of darkness and hatred deeper and more complex than any friendship I've... ever had."

"That... That sounds incredible and strange in equal measure."

"It was. Me and Tia only ever went to his marauder city once to escape the carnage Discord had wrought over our budding kingdom. He had pressured us to rest there when we were passing by."

Luna brushed some of her mane from her eyes, the single lock combining back into her flowing mane. "He was saving ponies... It took me until my freedom from The Nightmare that I truly realized who he was protecting."

"He was saving everypony we weren't."

Cadance's eyebrows raised ever so slightly.

"We looked away from the ponies fallen or twisted by Discord's magic." She looked away, still in shame. "Dusk fought hoof and teeth to find them and drag them bucking and screaming to his home to change their lives for the better against their will."

"He taught them how to live again. How to be, not who they were, but who they had become."

"Dusk coined the Code of Monsters, and named and categorized almost all sapient beasts he met or protected."

"The Code of Monsters?"

"Any beast with a sapient mind knows it, aside from Dragons. Beasts fight for life, not to kill."

Cadance listened on in rapt attention. She felt like I filly getting a story before bedtime. The two sisters never talked about their past, besides Celestia's occasional history lessons.

"He taught the thousands of hurting creatures he took under his metaphorical wing how to hate correctly. How to become monsters worth respecting. If you've ever noticed, a beast will never go for the kill unless their opposing combatant fights to kill them first, or runs." 

"His care for the broken passed down to even the non-sapient. His teachings of respect and honor."

"He had tried to teach me and Tia the same, but we didn't listen." Luna's ears pressed against her head.

"Dusk saw a way for us to live in harmony despite Discord." Luna snorted, "To Dusk, Discord was just another part of living. His chaos, a simple occupational hazard, and the dangers were just a chance to change, and grow stronger physically and mentally."

"And Discord hated it. The tyrant king had been bested by a dark magic marauder turned court adviser by simply ignoring him."

Despite the topic, Luna smiled. "It only ever drew me to him more."

wait

"I had never met somepony so unrelentingly passionate about life, all kinds of life."

wait

"That was when we learned about the elements of harmony." 

Cadance listened on in growing suspicion that she understood more now what exactly Dusk had done to Luna.

"But we couldn't just go looking for them. Discord liked to torment us, and he could whenever we were outside Dusk Swirl's city. So without hesitation, Dusk offered to distract the tyrant while we journeyed for the weapon to defeat him."

"He... offered to distract Discord?"

"Dusk had built a monument of hope for the ponies Discord had broken, it was a direct and powerful opposition to his rule. Discord had been attempting to hurt Dusk for several moons, but Dusk was always one step ahead of the mad king."

"So he offered to give himself up, to give you the time you needed to retrieve the elements from the tree of harmony." Cadance said, understanding.

Luna meanwhile, looked like she was nearing tears.

"We didn't know."

She looked broken.

"We didn't understand the length Dusk was willing to go for us."

She looked like she had stabbed her own pet

"W-we found Dusk at the foot of Discord's throne, mangled and twisted."

Cadance was mollified into listening in a terrifying 'watching the train crash' dear in the headlights mentality.

"Dusk... was no longer Dusk... We assumed he was dead... That Dusk had died to give us the time we needed to save Equestria."

Luna began to cry.

"We were so... so wrong."

"Dusk was alive."

"Discord would not let him die."

"It was not chaos, it was cruelty. It was raw suffering Discord had inflicted." 

She snorted her tears away and tried to regain her composure.

That... doesn't line up with Twilight's warning from Discord... I'm missing something here.

Cadance didn't know what to say... she she just listened. Sometimes there wasn't anything that could be said. Nothing to be done. Sometimes things just hurt.

"We defeated Discord. I thought I would have to put down the husk that was left of Dusk."

"Except he got up. He twisted himself back into a visage of a pony, with magic and will alone. The cracking and scraping of bones still echoes in my memory like a phantasm. The mad stallion brushed himself off and offered to host the victory celebration in his keep in the Everfree."

Cadance was incredulous, "He just brushed it off?"

Luna nodded.

"We don't know how he did it, but from then on, Dusk was immortal. It didn't matter how badly he was hurt, he would always simply brush away the pain, fix himself with his dark magics, and carry on. Only him and Discord know what transpired to cause it, only they know how Dusk managed to distract Discord for as long as he did."

Cadance listened, but just had to ask, "What happened after?"

Luna gave a bitter pained laugh. "We spat in his face."

"We... in our endless incompetent childish wisdom, to honor Dusk, moved our capital to the Ever free forest. We ruled our ponies from the bastion which protected the ponies we had rejected, and over the passing moons, with new..." Luna searched for the word, "Normal" She said with verbal air quotes, "Ponies becoming residents, they pushed out the monsters and broken ponies Dusk had protected with rules and laws that should not have applied to them."

"Dusk had saved thousands, saved us, and we repaid him by taking his home from him."

"I don't remember what he told me, or how, but it was during our failure as his friend that I now realize he began enacting his plan to turn me towards jealousy of Celestia. He saw what we did to his people, and knew we would only repeat our mistakes on each other, so he prepared."

"He put rifts and wedges between me and Celestia. Used the Thestral population as a guide piece to show me what we had done with his people. He... I-..."

"I fell for him."

Cadance's expression did not change

"He was immortal after all... and I began to consider... that we might have a future, if not as... close as I may have wanted, maybe, but still. I considered it."

"and he knew, he led me on a marry chase, he made me feel like I was... lesser, and not good enough for him, but he never stopped caring for me, not really. He just knew what I actually needed."

"It was when it all came to a head when he... did what he did..."

Cadance spoke up, "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to Luna."

"No, no. I- This has been good for me. I feel the weight lifting as I speak more and more."

"Dusk had been... at the point in my life at the time, present throughout the majority of my life. Distant, but I thought that was just because he wasn't around a lot. As I grew in confidence, I began engaging with him, and making my... false desire for him very obvious."

"I was not in love with Dusk. I was broken, and lonely. An outcast, and Dusk was the only pony who truly cared for me. In my foolishness, I had mistaken my loneliness for something pure."

"What it really was? I wanted to use him to feed my own selfish desires. For ponies to tell me I was great, instead of being great in spite of them, like he had tried to teach me."

"It took nearly a hundred years, but..."

"One day... the same day I decided to turn on my sister, he began to return my affections, except it was twisted, and..."

"Dark. Malicious and... and bold."

A pit formed in Cadance stomach

"He showed me how I was treating him, by treating me the same way. I didn't understand it, didn't know what..."

"I thought he had betrayed me, thought he had..."

"I wasn't thinking."

"Then he did betray me, left me. On a day where I had... I had gotten into an argument with him, just because I could, just because he was there, and he laughed in my face and told me everything they were saying about me was right. He insulted me, broke me down specifically and artfully."

"It was that dusk that I crafted Nightmare Moon from the dream realm and my emotions in pain and alone."

Luna looked down, the world coming back into focus as her story came to a close, "The rest is history I do not know of..."

Cadance... didn't... couldn't comprehend the depth of that.

Hundreds of moons of work gone to... that.

"That's a lot to think about Auntie."

"It was a lot to keep inside. Thank you for listening to my tale Cadance."

Cadance reached over her desk for Luna's hoof, "I may not have answers a lot of the time, but I will always be here for you, at the very least to listen to your hurt. Show you that you aren't alone."

The pain Luna felt ran from the Love, and Luna grinned and wrapped her hooves around Cadance's as he smile widened, "Yes, of course. Thank you from the depths of my soul Cadance."

Cadance just matched Luna's smile in response.

They sat for a moment, enjoying the kindness they shared with one another, until Cadance reminded her of the business she had to attend to, and eventually going to bed.

"So. You freed Dusk in hopes of making right what you had done to him?"

"More, Cadance, that what I made him do." Luna closed her eyes, still cradling Cadance's limb in her own. "Dusk never spoke the words, but it was clear he cared for us deeply. His passion and Love were unmistakable. I forced him to push us both away, to sacrifice his relationship with us out of childishness."

"Something he was willing to do without hesitation. To Dusk, we were far more valuable to him than our relationship was. He, on many occasions, threw caution to the wind for his reputation for us."

Cadance spoke up, "You're saying that... He did do anything for you?"

"Yes, he did in a way. He was a friend to us, but we were never his friends. He gave up any chance of truly finding companionship with us that day, especially with Celestia."

"What about you?"

Luna frowned, "I honestly do not know dear niece. It was hard to hear him in the garden, the spite and the hurt, now that I had understood what I had done to him, he had no reason to hide it from me anymore."

"You want him to forgive you."

"Nay Cadance, I am not sure I deserve to be forgiven for this."

"Luna-"

"No, Cadance, some things are not forgivable, some mistakes can only be fought to be made right forever. If that is what I must do, then so be it."

Cadance pulled her hoof back over the table, "If that's how you feel, I won't argue."

"I hoped I could... that maybe I could... introduce the two of you, and maybe he could find the friend he never could in me."

"With me." Cadance nodded, she felt she understood Luna's intentions, but hearing her say them allowed was the last piece of the mental jigsaw to be completely certain.

Luna didn't seem to have anything else to add.

"What of the... This curse?"

Luna frowned. 

"Dusk brought it up, didn't explain it." Cadance felt deeply confused at Luna's reaction, "He said that you threw me into the deep end."

Luna awkwardly shifted her weight before speaking, "Dusk... Du... He..."

Cadance patiently waited for Luna to find exactly what she was trying to phrase.

"My apologies Cadance, this has been a particularly emotional night for me."

Cadance gave a soft smile and nodded, "No need, I understand, and I'm not busy. Take your time."

"The answer lies in something Dusk told me in confidence. Something I forced him to tell me. It would be against my honor as a new pony, as a Princess and more to reveal the details."

Cadance tried not to frown, and was moderately successful. "So I won't be getting that."

"Dusk may tell you yet. I don't know his plans for you, but I do know he plans something."

"Two other things,"

"Ask away dear niece"

"Can you potentially shield him from Celestia's tracking? I invite him to the gala."

Luna snorted, "Of course, I'll have to actually go to this one, and watch the nobles fret."

"and the other thing."

Luna nodded and waited for Cadance to ask,

"Dusk said... well I won't mince words. Dusk said you were scared of him. Scared of what he could do. That you knew just how dangerous Dusk could really be. In essence, I want to know... how badly this could go. I want to know what I'm protecting my citizens from."

Throughout Cadance's question, Luna's frown turned to a tight lipped neutral expression. "Cadance, do you know of the phrase, a cornered animal fights it's hardest?"

Cadance nodded,

"Dusk does not do that. Dusk can not be cornered. Dusk can not be out-wit, or out thought, or out planned. There is no corner you can push Dusk into, because he will simply lead you into a corner he fabricated. Dusk will always maintain control over you, and over himself. He never opens up to ponies, unless it's part of some plan. He summed up his power to me in a terrifyingly simple phrase once."

Luna leaned back, "If magic gives one infinite potential, and immortality gives one infinite time to reach that potential, then I am capable of everything"

Cadance nodded slowly, that, very lightly being what she expected.

"Celestia is the only creature alive that could potentially contest Dusk's intelligence with raw power. He likely out classes everypony else."

"What about the elements of harmony?"

Luna... Looked away, "Dusk is immune."

What?

"Dusk had found a very simple counter to the powers of the elements of harmony. He is always in harmony with himself. He was very good at explaining his strangeness. 'They are the elements of harmony, not the elements of whatever seems good from your perspective'. "

"He often said that good was often just evil pointed in a convenient direction. When we learned of some his darker practices, and he refused to stop; we proved him right. The elements left him untouched, as apparently the forces of harmony agree with some part of his morality."

Curious

"So..."

Luna waited,

Cadance just had to know, "You picked me for the job because I was just... the last pony that could? Why not Twilight? The literal Princess of Friendship?"

Luna shook her head, "It has to do with what I will not reveal to you. You must have Dusk answer those questions."

"Okay then." Cadance shut her eyes, and rubbed at them with a hoof, stretching her wings at the same time. Luna stood from her seat apposing Cadance and made her way around the table.

"Despite my initial deception, I am very pleased you found me out. I am glad to... to..."

"I understand Luna," Cadance leaned into a hug with the slightly taller Alicorn.

"Thank you Cadance."

"Always." Cadance spoke with meaning. Luna gripped her tighter.

They shared in the moment before they both pulled away.

"I will make sure you dream well tonight."

"Thank you Luna, have a safe trip back."

"I will dear niece, Goodnight"

"Goodnight Luna."

Luna took flight out for grafted crystal window frame, out into the night sky where she disappeared against the black. Shortly after, the moon rose over the horizon, gleaming with passion. 

It filled Cadance with Hope.
> Girl's night out-
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance was prepared

The night before had kept her mind in focus enough to square aware any work she had that came in during the morning, and she had gotten plenty of sleep. She also cleared the morning after of any meetings, and assigned her morning activities to ponies that could handle them.

She was equally mentally prepared.

Cadance had spent a while organizing her thoughts from Luna's personal history with Dusk, in addition to what she had gathered herself, and from Discord's and Twilight's vague warning. 

In short? Dusk was a jaded genius. He thought vastly differently from the average pony due to his long life. He had been hurt by connecting with ponies before, hence his grumpy and manipulative demeanor. With that understanding, Cadance was confident that she could help him along into trusting her, and from there...

We'll see what it brings when I get to it.

At the moment, Cadance was packing a prep bag in her pocket watch. One of the few enchantments she had struggled to master because of it's convenience, and additionally at Celestia's behest, was a pocket storage spell; anchored onto a silver pocket watch she kept in her mane.

Towel, water. Quills and ink? Nah

In all honesty, the idea of gathering a bunch of likely useless supplies was more to stop her anxiety from hammering away at her mind while she waited for a message from Dusk. The sun was on it's way over the horizon.

Luckily for her, she didn't need to occupy herself for any longer. A cerulean spark flew threw the window and with a light smell of ozone, deposited a jar on the ground at her hooves.

She quickly magicked the rest of her assorted items into her watch and lifted the jar with her hooves. Like before, there was a note, there was not, however, a gem.



Heya Little Princess

I'll be there in a minute to pick you up, just finishing up a couple of things. Time got away from me for the moment.

-You know who



Great more waiting, my favorite

She took a breath. With the 'go go' speed of which her life had taken up, she had recently found herself stressing over the peace and quiet. Like she was waiting for the other horseshoe to drop. She made an attempt to calm herself down, realizing where exactly her stress was coming from helped with that.

There was a knock at her balcony window.

Silver was... floating outside the window, so she reached out with her magic and opened the window. She swooped into the room and the sound of bare hooves on crystal bounced to Cadance's ears.

"Do you not have horseshoes?" She asked

Silver kept her... empty smile, Cadance noted upon second glance, "Nah, not good for..." She took on a thoughtful look, "What's the material horns are made of?"

"Your hooves are-"

"Never mind, you get it" Silver lifted a hoof which glowed Silver's blue colour, "It makes it easier to channel without nails in my hoof."

Noted...

"I'd... be more interested in the idea of being able to cast like a unicorn if..."

"If it wasn't achieved with something that would make you sick, yeah I know."

Cadance didn't really have anything else to add,

Silver smirked, "Is that what you're wearing?"

Cadance, who was not wearing anything, asked, "Yes?"

Silver rolled her eyes, "Come on Little Princess. You need some kind of disguise, I'm not just going to tote a grumpy Alicorn around all night."

Ah, well, I didn't think of that

"Would you like me to give you a quick make over?" Silver said, holding out a hoof.

Cadance stepped forwards, "I would like it if you made me a disguise, I don't want you to mess with me please." She grabbed her hoof.

Silver dropped her mischievous look, "But of course, and now I can actually produce an illusion for you, instead of having to rely on biogenesis."

A cerulean wave passed over Cadance and it was then she noticed how Dusk's magic was a very similar colour to her own. She watched as the hoof in Silver's leg shrunk and turned green, and her eyeline fell to just above Silver's. She also lost sight of her horn at the tip of her vision.

When Silver let go, she turned to appraise herself in the mirror. She had turned green again, but instead of being a solid series of earth tones, her mane sported a deep royal purple, heavy braid with pink highlights that covered her entire forehead and fell as low as her chest, her tail had puffed out and covered her backside in a fan shape, and she now sported what looked like a pink allium as a cuitemark.

"Wow."

"I know right? Way better than what I cobbled together before, Allium."

Cadance chuckled, "My codename then?"

"If you want, all my disguises have their own names, ones I make for others aren't exempt from that rule."

"I can't help but notice the lack of wings or horn."

But Cadance could, unlike the previous transformation, still feel her wings and horn. She flared her wings as a test, and while it certainly felt like it worked, they were simply invisible.

Silver had walked up into view in the mirror next to Cadance, "They're still present, your large mane will visually block the glow of your horn if you feel the need to use it."

Cadance moved her head around, "How did you get the eye level to change?"

"It's an active transmission of a lens spell over your eyes."

Clever... I think

Cadance wasn't entirely sure what that meant, but it was pretty simple to understand given the context.

She tuned towards Silver, who spoke before she could, "Ready to go then Allium?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." Cadance gave a nervous smile, "Where are we going?"

"A Canterlot nightclub named..." Silver thought, "Ze Beatz?" She said questioningly?

"What? Why a nightclub?" Cadance took a double take from the mirror to the physical Silver, "And can't you not leave the Crystal Heart's shield?"

"Celestia is asleep at the moment, and a nightclub because I've been told they're a great place to find love." Silver claimed.

Cadance's mind chugged away at trying to comprehend that statement, what came out as a response was, "I wish I understood that."

Silver half rolled her eyes, "I wish I did too Cadance."

In the next moment, a corded silver and green ring appeared to Silver's side and began to spin and grow, a sheet of raw magic filling the interior that quickly resolved into a view of a grey brick street of an alleyway.

"Shall we?" Silver said, gesturing to the now open portal.

"We shall."

It was surprisingly not disorienting at all. Cadance attributed the feeling to being like singing in the shower, except for a moment so short you might miss it. They both trotted themselves into the alleyway, and the portal closed behind them, the ring simply disappearing into nothing behind them. Cadance saw a flicker of black smoke from Silver's baby blue eyes, but it was gone in the next moment.

Cadance, decided now would be a good time to share what she had thought up, while she was waiting. "You know," Silver tilted her head, to make it clear she was listening, as she checked the alleyway for something, "Even though it's odd circumstances, I am happy to go out."

"I bet you haven't had a night to yourself in a long time."

Cadance lightly shook her head, the 'illusionary' mane flopping to her opposite shoulder. "I tend to get more than I'd like, just never enough time to go and do something fun."

"Well keep in mind that while we're here together, we don't necessarily have to spend this time together. If I'm a good excuse for you to get out of your tower, then I don't mind tagging along." Silver had walked to the edge of the alley, and gestured Cadance forwards.

"Not at all," Cadance said, "I'm out tonight to get to know you a little better. I do... actually hope we can become friends."

"Among other things." Silver monotoned

"I won't lie, yes, among other things." Cadance offered diplomatically

Silver stepped out into the street, and began trotting to the side, Cadance had to quickly get used to the odd feedback from her visual in conjunction with how long her legs actually were to keep pace without tripping.

Silver, based on her comment, took notice, "I can actually make you shorter if you want."

Cadance... at first wanted to reject the idea due to the likely dangerous magic involved, but half of her mind decided to make an argument in favor of the idea.

I mean... Why not right? Dusk is an expert, and he did something similar weeks ago, and there was no side affects at all, not even any lingering magic.

Cadance pursed her lips and shrugged, "I guess..."

Silver lifted a wing over Cadance's shoulder and drew her into lock step with the herself, Cadance in the next couple of moments felt her legs broaden and shorten. Silver helped keep her steady as her height changed, then they reset gaits, and Silver let her go.

It was distinctly easier to walk.

"Thanks." She said apprehensively

"You know, I'm not gonna lie, that doesn't really look up to my speed."

They had come up on what was clearly the night club. Across the street, maybe a block down, was a lime white structure, (like all the structures in Canterlot) with florescent lights. The low thrum of bass heavy electronic music spilled from the door and Cadance could barely hear the sounds of ponies talking as they approached.

Cadance, had also never been to a night club, only ever parties at the homes of her friends, or celebrations in the village she grew up in. "I'm genuinely curious about how you even know about night clubs."

"I have my ways."

Meaning, 'I'm not going to tell you'

"Kinda regretting my choices now though."

Cadance raised an eyebrow, their walk to the building still having not slowed, "Do you... not want to go in?"

"Eh, I'm committed to the idea now, it just might be a bit more effort than I thought."

They fell into silence as they approached a large grey unicorn stallion in a smart suit in front of the door.

"Evening you two, how are you doing."

Silver took the verbal initiative, "Wonderful my good sir, and yourself?" Her tone matched what Cadance remembered as "Silver's" voice. Whereas the way Silver tended to talk to her was some blend of Dusk's voice and Silver's voice, this was purely marish in nature, and definitely held the tone of a sophisticated mare.

"It's as good as any other night out here. Welcome to Ze Beatz ladies" He lifted one of his hooves and pushed the door open for the two of them, the music and lights flooding the area.

Silver nodded to the stallion, and made her way inside, Cadance gave a quick thank you, and followed after.

There was a short hallway with a single branching door that said 'employees only' that lead into the main what Cadance assumed was the main room, as she followed after Silver, the music grew louder and she felt the density of the air increase under her wings.

They must have a misting machine

The room itself was the exact description Cadance had heard about. A raised dance floor covered in glowing panels that dominated the center of the room with a DJ table at the back sitting atop a stage. Around the dance floor were numerous recessed tables and couches organized in an admittedly interesting pattern. On the wall to the right was a very colourful blinking standing bar with a two ponies operating it.

There was a staggering amount of ponies in here. Enough that Cadance's legalese focused mind reminded her that this was definitely over the maximum occupancy for this room. She saw the telltale movement of Silver having said something, but the music was so loud that Cadance didn't make it out.

"What?"

Silver leaned towards Cadance, "Where's all this music coming from?!"

Ah right, he's from several hundred years ago

"They're called speakers!" She yelled over the echoing electronic buzzing several ponies were jumping to. "They use magnets and electricity to make sound!"

Silver fully turned to look at Cadance, "Really?!"

Cadance nodded

Silver made a 'huh' face, the actual noise being blown away by the vibrations. Cadance caught the whiff of alcohol as Silver began to take several steps forward, seemingly towards nothing, a look on her face lead Cadance to believe she had yet to decide where to go. Which resolved itself shortly.

Silver made headway towards the stairs down into the seating area, Cadance followed, her attention being momentarily disrupted as she had to duck around a mare going past on rollerblades. It looked like she worked here.

She stepped down onto the platform a body length under the dance floor towards the couch and table combo Silver had claimed, as she approached Silver was in the midst of placing a burlap sack on the table.

"What's this?!" Cadance asked over the music, which was significantly louder here. Apparently the speaker system was under the stage, meaning they were in the perfect spot for it to be as loud as possible. 

Silver pulled a green cloak from the bag and tossed it over the rounded couch, near the end "Marking a table for us, dibs right?"

Cadance scoffed. The juxtaposition of Dusk saying 'dibs' and other slang all night nearly had her laughing. "Where'd you learn the word dibs?"

Silver shook her head and rolled her eyes, "I can tell you're not going to come to this conclusion on your own, so I'll just let you know, I wasn't in stone for that whole time." She said, half shouting. "I came and went as I pleased every nine moons or so!"

garbled thought noises

"I can barely hear myself think in here!"

Silver smiled, "I know!? Isn't it silly!" Silver, after covering the table and couch with a pair of saddle bags and water, stood and stepped off the couch, "Drinks?"

Which of course was something else Cadance was deliberating, drinking. While she could and-

"Before you get all stick in the mud on me, I'll have you know that I chose this place in particular because they have fun liquids" Silver was stood in front of Cadance now, which made it a little bit easier to hear her.

"Why'd you say it like that?"

Silver walked past, "You'll see, just hold down the fort!" She called over her shoulder, leaving Cadance to take a seat and look around

wow

This was surreal, and honestly, it got her heart pumping a bit. Being out, doing something strange, wearing somepony else's fur? The scandal would stretch all over Equestria if she were found doing this normally. Her reputation of soft furred guidance for the Crystal Empire would be tarnished forever in the smear piece about her uncontrollable party lust.

It was exhilarating. It was fun. 

Maybe this won't be so bad, plus, Dusk is bound to enjoy my company more if I actually want to be here 

Cadance elected to really try to lean into the night, now that she was here at least. That was the plan, after all; have fun, make a friend.

Doesn't have to be any more complicated than that

The ceiling wasn't covered, like one of those restaurant establishments unique to the cities like Trottingham and Manehatten, the room was just so smoky and covered in flashing lights that it was likely nopony would notice. Not that anypony likely wanted too, the dancing featured jumping and shaking, mostly; ponies here seemed not to care about making an impression.

Silver returned to Cadance's view toting two... things balanced on her wings

They were stemmed glasses with a wide triangular rim shape, which wasn't the unusual part. The liquid which they roughly contained was a kaleidoscope of colours, and floated just inside the rim, functioning more like a gas than a liquid.

"They call them rainbow brain smashers" Silver said with a smile, as she slid one off her wing and onto the table for Cadance, "Oh, and remember the drink enchantment, it makes them work a little faster, so make sure you pace yourself this time."

Cadance did indeed remember, and Silver's comment confirmed something she had been mentally tossing around, "So the drinking the night I met you was a plan to get rid of me."

"Hah! Yeah..." Silver looked at nothing and smiled warmly, "Good times."

"I thought you said it wasn't a trick?" Cadance picked up her drink. There was salt sugar dotted around the rim.

"If you recall, I just re-asked you if you thought it was unreasonable." Silver took a 'sip'. Drinking from the cloud that floated in the air.

Fair enough I guess... That does sound like something Dusk would do

The drink was weird, it smelled like water vapor and chemicals, floated, and-

Lean Cadance, lean.

She tilted the glass, and took a sip.

Unlike the shots, this drink wasn't nearly as alcohol rich, it was however, spicy. Very, very spicy.

"Eghb!" She tried to cover her disgust, Cadance was not an avid enjoyer of spicy things.

Silver laughed at her from the side.

"Rainbow, I should have known."

Silver scooted next to her on the couch, her own drink balanced on her wing still. "It's not exactly a hidden feature is it Little Princess?"

Cadance rolled her eyes. 

At least you didn't taste the poison in it

"How much alcohol is in this?" She yelled over the music, which had just turned to heavy beats and static guitar thrums.

"The tender said it was a fruit whisky," Silver took another sip, "It tastes like sixty percent"

"Wait, isn't that a lot?"

"Yeah, the rainbow really hides the content no? I figured you might enjoy it."

"I can't really taste it at all, I don't really have a developed palate for spicy."

Silver shrugged, and tossed back the rest of the 'rainbow brain destroyer'

Cadance decided to take her drink a little slower, it was maybe half the volume of what she had drank that night, and Silver had claimed it was just under the same alcohol content.

"So speakers? How do they work? I'm guessing some sort of magic piston?"

What?

Cadance smiled, "Speakers? Really? That's what you want to talk about?"

"Colour me intrigued, I want to know how they work, maybe make my own." Silver shrugged

Well why not right?

"They're actually fully mechanical and electrical."

Silver raised a brow

"They use a magnet and a current to shake a piece of metal sitting over the negative side extension of the magnet, that sits on a pole."

Silver nodded

"The piece is wrapped in a wire that shakes because of the magnets and in sequence with the electrical signal sent through the wire"

"and that works?" Silver said, incredulous, "You can just reverse apply the rules of the electro-magnetic field?"

"I'm not sure what that means but yes, it does work!" Cadance took another sip of her drink, and waved a hoof, trying not to cough.

"How do you know all that?"

"My roomie in college was an engineer, her name was Sunlight, it was a hobby."

"You had a roomate? Actually, I'm cashing in one of my questions here. What's your education like?"

"Questions?"

Silver opened her mouth, but before she could,

"Oh oh! No I remember, from the game!"

Silver nodded, "It occurred to me that I don't have a grasp of how book smart you are."

"Well I'm no Twilight Sparkle, but I did finish a degree in business."

Silver half smirked, "You. A business degree?"

Cadance smiled, "I've got a decent head for numbers, plus, in college, business degrees are pretty easy."

"Well tell me all about it."

Cadance took another sip from her drink while she thought. Lucky for her, her mouth had given up trying to taste, and the drink slid back without any issues.

"Well first off, I didn't go to any fancy schools. Even though Celestia wanted me to, I... at the time, wanted a normal fillyhood."

"How long ago was this? I also have no idea how old you are."

"Is that a question?" She cheekily tried

Silver laughed, "No, I know you're around seventy to ninety years old. You might as well finish it off for me."

"I'm eighty one, almost."

Silver threw her head in an exaggerated nod, "Ah, the old eight-oh, you look obnoxiously young for that age."

"Flatterer."

Silver rolled her eyes.

"Anyways, I went to college in Dale, in Bridlepolis" Cadance took another sip, "Nothing unique, I wasn't much of a partier, going through my midlife crisis in my twenties looking like a teenager. I just studied and made a couple of friends."

"Sounds boring and pointless, did you at least learn anything useful."

"Other than applied statistics and calculus, not really. It was enough to help me keep up with Twilight, but everything else I know was on the job learning, or taught to me by Celestia."

"Statistics?"

"The study of probability."

Silver snorted and produced a stocky bottle glass bottle of something yellow, and popped the cork off the top of it.

"What's so funny."

"The idea that probability can be studied. Things, everything that is, have a fifty percent chance of happening or not."

"That's ridiculous." 

"If you say so" Silver swigged the bottle like a sailor. It was odd to watch.

You know, there might be something to that

"Explain then, the fifty percent thing."

Silver put the bottle on the table, and held up both of her hooves. "Think of it like this Allium, everything that could happen, will either happen, or not. Two options."

Cadance jumped in, "but certain things are more likely to happen than others."

Silver smiled, "Exactly my point. What is more likely, a book that writes itself spawning into existence on it's own? or a spot where exactly nothing is happening, for nothing to continue happening."

"I don't see your point."

"Life is a statistical anomaly my dear. One that you're currently living. Of course from the perspective of a living creature, certain things are more likely than other things, because your existence creates those statistical anomalies. From a non-living universal perspective, anything is as likely as anything else."

That's actually a pretty compelling argument.

Cadance nodded slowly. She was beginning to feel the light warmth from her drink. "That implies though that we'd want to measure statistics from a non-living perspective"

"In order to chart likely events with math so it could be useful, yes. Of course, you could do the same with a non-living perspective, it's just that no one has thought up the math, and published it." Silver gave her a knowing look, "You were in the debate club weren't you."

Cadance, very unwillingly, felt a blush come to her cheeks at the comment, "Celestia said it'd be good for me to learn the basic principles..."

"Celestia this and Celestia that, wasn't there anything in your education not lead by the old mare upstairs?"

"Yes... but you won't particularly like the idea..."

"Ahhhh... College romance, no?" Silver's false smile deepened, and her eyes gave a telltale sparkle, "Far be it from me to deny you the chance to talk about your special talent."

Cadance rolled her eyes, "Romance isn't my special talent."

"I am quite aware." Silver said with a more essence than Cadance was expecting.

"I dated two or three ponies in college. Nothing came of it, there's not too much more to tell." Cadance nervously took a sip of her slowly diminishing cloud in a glass.

"Surely not; you've the tendency to think, I can tell." Silver took a deeper swig. "Surely there was something you learned or did that was worth a story."

Cadance thought, and she turned towards the shaking dance floor, then back to Silver. "I learned how to dance."

"Dancing is fun." A cheshire smile from the silver pegasus

"Not anything like that," She nodded to the dance floor, "Definitely something slower."

"You're being a bit cagey about the details, something tells me there's something more to that."

Cadance smiled, "I had my first kiss slow dancing, that's all." It was a vague yet fond memory from a couple several full lunar cycles back.

Silver clapped, "Slow dancing ay? I figured you'd be more of a swing kinda gal."

"Swing?"

"The name is the music."

Well I guess that makes sense

"Also... Gal?" Cadance tried the word, "I've never heard that before."

Silver frowned, "Ugh, of course you haven't. Gal, girl, person, people. They're non-race specific terms."

"Non-race specific terms?"

"You wouldn't call a griffon a pony would you?"

"No?"

"So why do you say things like 'everypony' or 'mare' or 'stallion' per word? Lumping them together is way easier." Another swig, "It's also less racist."

Cadance considered. "I guess I just never thought about it."

Silver bapped Cadance on the back of the head with her wing.

"Hey, okay I get it."

She was about halfway through her drink, she wanted to ask Silver the return question, but she tried to consider how to broach the topic. She decided to go blunt, as there wasn't anything technically wrong with her question.

"How about you? Have any romance back in your day?"

Silver chuckled, "Allium, I'm older than Equestria. I have bloodlines."

"You mean..."

"I've had married several people, among of which I have had many children."

Cadance's thought process came to a screeching halt.

"Don't look so surprised, I was quite the Casanova back in my youth."

Cadance shook the complex thoughts from her head, "I just... It didn't seem like you."

"What, you think I don't want companionship?"

"No?"

"Well you'd be wrong then. Usually it was political. I did favor my children though." Silver gave Cadance a... strange once over.

"I just..."

"I'll hit you again," Silver joked, spreading a wing in Cadance's direction, "I will, don't test me."

"Fair enough I guess... do... are any of them still around?" Cadance tried, taking another sip from her drink. "Your descendants, I mean."

Silver made a weird expression, and tossed her head back momentarily, "Apparently. I really only had a couple of children that could procreate themselves; my... unique biology not really lending itself towards that in any useful way."

Not surprising.

As far as Cadance knew, Dusk was a heavily biologically modified pony. Pushed forwards by magic and science, along with his... curse. Which Cadance was still desperate to know the details of.

She was drawn out of her thoughts by Silver's side eye, "You promise not to do anything with the information?"

Not a difficult promise, "Promise"

"That Sunset girl, over the mirror, wouldn't happen to have the same colour of magic as I do, would she?"

She does, he's not saying

"I made sure this one I actually liked, Fire Dance Shimmer, could actually have a family that wasn't just me."

"You mean-"

Silver held up a hoof. "It's possible" but she smiled, "But maybe" and shrugged.

Cadance wasn't dumbstruck per say, but she was certainly surprised, Sunset Shimmer could have been a descendant of Dusk this whole time? 

Is that why Celestia-

"Not by any measure that it'd be any notable relation, but she might have a bit of my blood in her, if she has my telltale colour of magic; in addition to the sir name."

"Huh," was all that Cadance could get out. "What was she like?"

"Fire Dance?"

"Yeah."

"Fire Dance was a Stallion."

Cadance blinked, "Oh."

"And he was an idiot." Silver leaned over and knocked her hoof on her head, "Total bucking dunce."

Cadance looked silly, sat there with a glass in her hoof, and Silver tapping the side of her face while she gaped like a fish.

"He was endlessly sweet though, and a powerhouse if you know what I mean." Silver said fondly at first, switching up her tone near the end.

Cadance blushed, "I- I thought you were a stallion." There was a little stuttering

"Hah!" Silver sneered, "I am nothing, other than myself." She then polished whatever was left in her bottle, and continued, "And when you get to as old as I am, I promise that the idea of 'gender' will stop mattering."

She then more sullenly said, "A lot of things stop mattering."

Cadance tentatively spread a wing and wrapped Silver in a hug, seeing that Silver may need some comfort, gazing into an empty bottle the way she was.

Silver leaned away.

"Ay, your feathers are ticklish." Silver batted at Cadance's wings with her own.

"Sorry"

Silver stood, "No worries, I'ma go get myself another one of those weird drinks, you want something else while I'm up?"

Silver had a slight sway as she stood... It was a little concerning. Cadance was a little upset for the hasty retreat.

Silver elbowed Cadance as she stepped over her to get out of the couch, "I'm just jokin, you don't have a choice, no spicy things this time though."

And Silver was swallowed by the crowd.

Cadance looked down at her drink.

This is not at all what I expected from... Dusk, it almost feels far to good to be true. Is... well I guess are they actually opening up? Is this all it took?

It didn't feel like it.

No... something is still off. I just can't put my hoof on it. Dusk isn't a liar though, so I can take everything he-they say for the truth. It's just something else about those eyes and hollow smile.

She sniffed her drink. It made her wrinkle her face. Which subsequently made her frown. She was nearing tipsy at this point, and Dusk was apparently adamant that she keep drinking, although not pressuring her to drink at the same speed, Dusk was still bringing her another drink.

Alright then

She tipped back the rest of the rainbow cloud and swallowed it down. A few coughs and tingling later and she triumphantly placed the gross thing back down onto the long curved table.

Dusk returned to the table a moment after, this time she had two tall glasses that looked like beakers. They were filled with a sluicy silver liquid. Although Cadance was hesitant to think of them as liquids, it looked much more like the thing was full of white sand. There was, however, a curly swirly straw, which Cadance liked.

Dusk set it down on the table in front of her, and took a quick couple of flaps to hop over to return to sitting next to her.

"I have to ask." Cadance tried, almost hiccupping, "Whatever this is, before I drink it."

Silver was now sporting a proper flushed look, "It's a sweet drink, the counter filly called it a silver dream." Silver inhaled the rest of her new rainbow drink, having seemingly been drinking it on the way over. "It was their most expensive one, also apparently quite dense, lotta bang for your bit there." She said, roughly pointing at her own drink.

Cadance decided to express her concern, "You're going a bit fast, don't you think?"

Silver smiled and gave Cadance a far off look, "I'm looking to get properly thrashed tonight, give this new body a whirl."

"What does that even mean." Cadance rolled her eyes

"Well, unlike before, when I was rocking a non-corporeal form, I had to mentally disable myself while we were drinking to get a legitimate effect." Silver lifted the beaker like glass to her lips, ignoring the straw, and sucked up some of the... sand. 

Cadance watched in curiousity.

"Now though" And Silver made her point by stretching her wings, "I'm proper flesh and blood, got a soul anchored and everything. It's what I used your memories for." Silver quickly and roughly gestured to Cadance's drink, "Also try that, you'll like it."

She almost accidentally levitated it, but remembered. Instead, she grabbed it between her hooves and gave the 'drink' an appraising look from the opening. It didn't look any different from up close.

"Why are you so skeptical Allium? Hmm?" Silver drank more, "It's a drink I got from over there," She pointed at the bar, "It won't hurt you, not with my spell."

Lean Cadance, you're here to have fun remember?

I am distinctly worried about my company though.

That's not how friendship works, trust isn't something a pony can earn, it has to be given.

Do I want to trust Dusk?

That was the million bit question that struck Cadance like a truck. With the glass in her hooves, she looked over to Dusk.

It isn't about Dusk, Cadance. Are you going to do this.

Am I going to do this?

Silver had an encouraging look. Cadance still had the feeling that it wasn't genuine, but did it have to be? Did it matter?

Yes. I am.

"To Tartarus with it." She tilted back the beaker, and let the sluice drain into her mouth. Something in her mind told her she had to mark her decision physically, so she decided that she was going to consume this drink in one fell swoop as proof to herself for her commitment. 

Was it necessary? No, not at all. 

The drink was surprisingly good, at the very least, the alcohol was had to notice behind her already burned tounge, and the rest of it was a zesty but still sweet sugary flavor.

She drained nearly a pint of it from the beaker until it was empty before slamming the beaker down onto the table.
> -for the crazy we keep inside
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oh my gosh I can't believe I just did that.

"Woohoo!" Silver clapped her on the back with a hoof, "There it is! and I was worried you wouldn't be joining me tonight."

Cadance struggled to hear the tail end of Silver's statement over the music, and the burp caused by Silver that brought all the wonderful flavours of death into her sinuses.

Despite herself, she found Silver's excitement infectious.

I was skirting cutting loose. Not anymore.

"Whatever that was, it tasted good." Cadance said, struggling to keep the smell away

Silver matched Cadance's growing smile with a fake one.

Don't worry about it Cadance. Silver is Silver... or, Dusk is Dusk, whatever, stop focusing so much

Silver retreated her hoof from Cadance's back, and pulled a shiny silver metal container from nowhere and hoofed it over to Cadance. The thing was cool, and covered in condensation.

"Water?" She said over the noise, Silver merely nodded, and hopped back over the end of the couch, probably to go get Cadance another drink.

That's nice

She pulled the cap off with her teeth, and spat it onto the table

Imagine doing that in a meeting

The refreshing temperature and sensation of ice water filled her mouth, and she practically melted into the couch. There was a slight noise of contentedness as well, something decidedly not Princess like, which is when a thought struck Cadance in her tipsy haze.

I'm not a Princess right now.

I'm just Cadance, Cadance with a purple mane and green fur.

Just me.

Silver returned floating down from somewhere back onto the couch with another pair of drinks in tow. Another glass of rainbow for her, and another... What was it called? Silver dream, for Cadance.

Cadance inspected the drink, her half formed thoughts about newfound freedom swirling away anything she was going to say.

What does me want?

"So Cadance."

She grabbed at her fresh drink, deciding to savour this one. It was actually pretty good. Sugary sweet with a biting aftertaste. Not something she'd want in her pasta, but at the moment, it was interesting enough. Once she had it balanced, and was properly reclined, she turned towards Silver, who began to speak again once she had Cadance's attention.

"What are your thoughts on a family?"

"My thoughts?" The pressure from her sitting position made it a little hard to breath, causing her voice to come out deeper than she wanted it to.

"Yeah, ever wanted one?"

Cadance got what she was working at, "You mean having a foal."

"A child." Silver jabbed

Before Cadance could respond to the correction, Silver raised a wing and said, "Racist"

Cadance giggled, "Child then." And then frowned. "Celestia said that... Alicorns are too different from non-alicorns."

"Which is true. It's what I told her when she asked me all those moons ago."

Cadance raised an eyebrow, "Celestia asked you if she could have children?"

She snorted, that having not quite come out the way she meant.

"Heh, yeah she did. She had been trying for a couple hundred moons before giving up. Of course, this was back when medical science was as developed as 'knowing mares had a uterus'"

Cadance snorted again at the jab to older medical sciences.

"So she came to me, a bit of a user, but I let it slide for this. Told me that if anypony could figure it out, I could." Silver took a large gulp of her tall glass. "Turns out Alicorn biology just isn't compatible."

Cadance's frown deepened.

"Do you know anything about that?"

"About alicorn biology?"

"If anyone was to know about it, it'd be you." 

Cadance didn't miss the double meaning behind the phrase, but didn't feel the need to comment on it. "I don't know, didn't know that, at least."

"But you've been trying no doubt."

Cadance blushed, but didn't respond.

Me wants a daughter

Her thoughts struck out at her

So she spoke, "What's it like? Having a child?"

"I-er." Silver stuttered, and gave a quick evasive glance around the room. "Well- it, it's the most resp-" Silver shook her head, "Lemme try that again... It's the most difficult thing I've done other than Live." She put her glass down, "It's more complex than I imagined, at least at first. Although, I always thought it was worth it. With my children, anyways."

"Tell me about them" Cadance leaned over the table, a little to close for Silver; who put a hoof on Cadance's side and pushed her back into her upright sitting position.

"That's a bit personal don't'cha think?"

Cadance sipped her drink in response.

"Fair enough." Silver rolled her eyes, "I prefer keeping my past where it lies though."

Cadance nodded.

I can respect that, for now.

A light from the dance floor caught her eye, and the music stopped momentarily before the DJ said something into the microphone. There was a smattering of applause and stomping before the music and light's continued unabated.

"Guess their set is done."

Aww. I-

I wanted to dance.

Cadance leaned forwards in her seat, and deposited her drink on the table at the same time she fell forwards to sit properly. "You're unreasonably old right?" She asked Silver while getting to her hooves.

"Not a super polite way to say it-" Cadance stuck her tounge out, "But yes."

Cadance stepped out of the booth with a sway she was expecting, "Then why don't you show me the dance moves you picked up along the way?"

"Only if you show me yours." Silver said with a smirk, making her way out of the booth herself

"It's a deal."

And the two drunken immortals stutter stepped their way up to the raised disco platform full of flailing ponies, giggling as they both continued to nearly fall, only to be caught by the other.

Once they were up, Silver took a position in front of Cadance and gave her a weary smile. Cadance was unsure if it was real or not, and this time, was simply able to not care about that little detail. Shunting it from her mind, and taking a deep breath of the thrumming music vibrating up her legs, she yelled out over the activity, "Well let's see what you got!"

Silver, wasting no time at all, closed her eyes and started to bounce to the music with her wings spread.

Wondering what she was going to do, Cadance simply fell into beat with the vibrating ground, and watched.

Silver, like Cadance expected, did something ridiculous. Rearing onto her hindlegs, using her wings to stabilize herself with each swing of the bass, started to bounce and jive from left to right using her back legs only. Once Silver found a rhythm, she began to spin, into a series of steps that looked specifically choreographed for her to be leaned down to the point where she should have fallen, if not for being a pegasus. She catapulted herself back into a standing position, where she continued the bouncing steps for the series of moves by sliding in a circle around Cadance while spinning. 

Several ponies around her stopped in awe to witness the dexterity, Cadance found herself entranced by Silver's commitment to matching the beat of the wild electronic music with jumps and half steps along the deeper thrums of the music.

Once she had completed the full loop, Silver dipped under Cadance's muzzle upside down, and onto one leg, where she closed her wings and wrapped herself in a hug and spun.

Holy-

Six, seven, eight, nine rotations and climbing, Silver spun five more times before drawing the last spin into a forward lean, flipping herself under her own muzzle, and snapping her wings out at the last second and calmly drifting back down onto her back with her legs crossed, the momentum of her spinning causing her to slide lightly on the polished floor.

The ponies close enough to see erupted in chaos and cheers, ponies going into either more intense versions of their dramatic dancing in support, or stomping and cheering over the noise for Silver's performance.

Silver reached a hoof out towards Cadance in a passing of the baton gesture. The ponies on the floor followed the look to the obvious pony the gesture was directed at, and Cadance was suddenly faced with the task of topping that.

The fun part was, she felt like she could. Cadance recognized foreign dance moves when she saw them, and Minitour was something she definitely had in her repertoire.

Nothing compared to yak

Cadance began to stomp in sequence with the beats. Nothing special, just hard and heavy. She gave a woop on the third of the stomps, and then threw her back legs into the mix. Fully jumping up and down to get as much volume and power from her stomps as possible. The ponies around her, feeling the coming competition joined in the stomping in support of the disguised Princess.

Once she had dominated her entire surroundings with the rapid sounds of ponies attempting to rupture the earth, did she commit to the full series of moves.

In a flurry, Cadance flipped herself, going from one stomp, instantaneously to the next, but with a full bodily rotation, it was fast. It was primal, loud. She gave another whoop, this one louder and deeper, and flipped herself the other way, this time, landing on only her left hooves, then again, and again, each time in some different alteration sometimes giving herself time to stomp twice with her own momentum.

The crowd loved it. She loved it, the sensation of blood filling her legs, the vibrations. 

The final touch was wrapped around her neck. She ripped into whatever enchantment was holding her illusionary mane together with her magic and although the illusion staggered for a moment, her blunt force attempt to undo her mane worked. The pink and lilac furls quickly joining the fray of her rapid spinning and stomping in a whirl of colour as she began to give increasingly loud whoops with each stomp.

It was exhilarating, but not without the crescendo was Cadance ready to put a bow on her 'addition' to the dancing. She growled as she used the last rotation to throw herself bodily into the air, a noise of exertion following as she pushed off the ground and spun once over head, and twice over her side, before landing and slamming the ground three times so rapidly in sequence that it actually hurt.

She gasped, the breath having been properly removed from her lungs throughout the whole thing, and her adrenaline and alcohol laden brain demanding oxygen for it's work.

She mentally tuned back in to ponies dancing and stomping and cheering in support. Silver looked on with a neutral expression. Something which sapped at Cadance's excitement.

That is until the expression turned into a smirk, and Silver's eyebrows creased.

It was the look of somepony sizing up the competition.

It was a challenge.

You're on.

She told Silver with her expression, and her action as she walked up next to the smaller mare, and looked over her shoulder at her, "Let's see if you can handle the Mareland Waltz."

"Darling. You had me at 'Hello'" Silver stuck out her front left hoof, the one closest to Cadance. Cadance did the same with hers, and they both took a deliberate step away from one another, so that their body lengths were just opposite each other.

Then they came crashing together. Cadance spun, Silver, just a moment after, and their hooves collided in the air, both of them reared up, and practically muzzle to muzzle.

Cadance decided to try and throw Silver off balance by taking the first step, backwards, a clear smirk written across her face gave it away though. Silver dropped her first connecting hoof, and rolled with the back step, now standing completely upright and wrapped in Cadance's leading hoof, Cadance, now forced to follow, twisted with her back step, and flung Silver into a airborne roll, which Silver used to replant, and re-engage. Now back where they were, Silver took the first step, pushing Cadance's following hoof back, while stepping forward with her own leading hoof.

Before Cadance had a chance to respond, Silver repeated the action in reverse, forcing Cadance to match. Suddenly they were in a rhythm of pushing their hooves back and forth between each other, and rapidly switching lead hooves on the ground.

You think you'll get me off guard with a sudden change but- whoah!

Silver did in fact, do that, pulling Cadance's hooves up, and lifting Cadance bodily off the ground, Silver flapped with her wings and slid Cadance under her, barely half a hoof above the floor. Just after, Silver's back hooves landed on the floor at the same time that she heaved, throwing Cadance into the air and spinning around.

Cadance, decidedly trying not to use her wings to avoid any unwanted attention, fell.

Silver caught her in her hooves, her back legs resting against the floor and Silver stood upright with her wings to keep her balanced. Silver leaned in to Cadance's ear and whispered, "Gotcha"

On that, and realizing she'd been beaten, Cadance violently and humorously removed herself from Silver's grip, making sure she was planted on the ground before turning to the laughing Silver. Most ponies after seeing the clear victor, returned to their own dancing after giving several heartfelt cheers.

Cadance felt the heat on her face at the loss, but also from the alcohol, though she didn't feel like she lost. She was having far to much fun. She gently jabbed Silver in the chest, "A fluke, let's see you do that again."

"Gladly."

Silver took Cadance's hoof, and spun her away like a storm. Whatever was causing Silver to hold back was seemingly gone now, Cadance's vision nearly impaired from the speed of Silver's rapid moves. On several occasions Cadance found herself being tripped or leaned by Silver in the right directions just to help her keep up. 

To say the least, Silver tore the floor a new one, with Cadance joyfully along for the ride.

Eventually the oncoming tide that was Silver's oppressive dancing ended, but Cadance wasn't near from over, having spent enough time observing the other ponies on the floor. Cadance began to shake and bounce away the music, always keeping a smile on her face, and Silver in sight, who elected to do the same as her. They occasionally bumped and quickly exchanged challenging dance moves, but otherwise, whatever constructed competition they had, had broken down into uncontrolled dancing between the two of them.

Flailing wasn't really the right term to describe her own dancing, but she didn't mind. She was a ball dancer, not a night club enthusiast. She wasn't sure how long she danced, but she took immeasurable joy in spinning her mane like a hurricane, and shaking her backside like no tomorrow in particular.

Eventually though, the Princess of Love's party stamina wore out, the exhaustion continually making itself known at the tail end of every dance move. Eventually she had to stop, and just as she did, expecting to take quick breather and get back into it, her exhaustion hit her all at once.

Her vision swam, and she tried to yell for Silver over the noise, having lost sight of her at some point, but it only came out as a mumble as Cadance tried to blink away the nausea and tiredness.

A silver hoof found her, and Cadance idly wondered how Silver managed to get her hooves to look metallic like that, and if she could do that for Cadance's mane.

Next thing she knew, she was off the dance floor, leaning up against Silver, and slowly trotting back to their table. Cadance's whole body felt obnoxiously heavy, her eye lids specifically.

I wasn't... aware it would all slam into me at once... jeez

The single line of comprehensive thought led her all the way back to the table, where Silver wordlessly pressed the open container of ice water to Cadance's lips. She took it in her hooves and drank greedily of the refreshing substance, now not bothering to hide her moan of satisfaction.

Making a 'ah' noise as she tried to place the bottle down on the table she tried not to tumble over into the couch. She wasn't really sure if she succeeded. Silver had grabbed her hoof again and tried to banish the mental fog by shaking her head, but Silver started leading her somewhere.

Eventually the vibrant and loud room formed into a UV lit bathroom Cadance didn't remember walking into.

"-eady to go home Little Princess?" Silver said, Cadance tuning in after realizing she was speaking.

The smile stuck to her face grew as she thought of home, and she nodded slowly.

"Bathroom?" 

She shook her head

Silver started stepping on the ground and the 'Silver is casting a spell' alarm bells started ringing in Cadance's mind, urging her to observe and understand. Instead, Cadance just looked at Silver.

She wasn't really sure what to think, so she didn't. Tried not to at least.

The very recognizable portal opened up in front of her; Silver grabbed her by the hoof and led her through it. Now though, the vaguely disorienting sensation sent Cadance into a mental downspin. She was just so warm and happy, and tired. Her smile grew as she jokingly started internally laughing at how she was 'going down.' The thought never properly making it to her conscious mind, as it began shutting down.

She thought she heard shouting, but the idea was over taken by her bed, which she was suddenly in. A wave of magic, and sequentially, a warm blanket that fell over her back in addition to the cool sheets she was laying on was enough to send her into the dream realm in a deeper sleep then she'd slept in a very long time.
> Morning
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance awoke gently, and then immediately fell back into sleep. Her mind did a quick register of her state and after taking stock of the warmth and comfort of her bed and her current position, decided that she did not have to be awake just yet.

The next time she came too, she fell right into being awake, sliding away from her sleep imperceptibly. She stretched lengthwise, and pressed her nose into the pillow she had in-between her front hooves.

"Cadance?" Came Shining's voice

Cadance continued to bury herself in the covers and comfort as she slowly allowed herself to become aware. She let out a soft affirmation that she was awake, with a light inflection at the end, "mmmm?"

She felt the mattress indent on her side of the bed, which was odd. Shining usually slept on the other side. To check the state of things, Cadance opened her eyes, accepting that it was time to get up properly. 

As she blunk the sleep out of her eyes, she got a look at her husband. Shining Armor clearly hadn't slept and was standing with two limbs on the bed sheets, a look of worry and exhaustion plastered over his face.

"Shining? What's wrong?" She said as she began sitting up, ruffling her wings to move the blankets off of herself.

"I... You."

She frowned, "I'm what's wrong?"

"No I-" He shook his head, "I'm sorry, give yourself a minute to wake up."

"No no, I'm wide awake now, what's happening?"

Shining got off the bed, and began to fall backwards, Cadance only noticed after he had sat down that there was a chair behind him.

Did he... Was he awake all night? Watching me sleep?

"You came back last night." Shining said slowly, breathily, reinforcing the idea he had been up all night

Last night

"Silver just... Opened a portal into our bedroom, dragged you inside from some alleyway somewhere."

"It's ok-" She tried to interject.

"Cadance," He stopped her interjection, "You were very out of it. You didn't even hear me talk, Silver just led you to bed and you flopped and I couldn't wake you up."

Guess I slept pretty hard

"Silver wouldn't tell me anything either, just 'What happens at 'GN' stays at 'GN'" His tone turned frustrated at the comment.

Sounds like Silver

"She was just messing with you honey." Cadance looked him in the eyes, "I'm okay, really I am."

Whatever Shining was going to say next happened just a bit too slowly, and words kept tumbling from Cadance's mouth. "Better than okay... I haven't slept like that in months." She enunciated the fact by rolling her neck and her shoulders. It was true, she felt great, a bit of stretching, a shower and she'd be at peak physicality. The sun had yet to crest the horizon, but she still felt like she got a full six hours of sleep.

"I don't know what to do, Cadance."

Cadance's frown returned and her gaze softened as Shining spoke

"I feel like there's nothing I can do to help you, and-" He looked away, "You keep getting into crazier circumstances, I keep seeing you... I keep worrying about you, and every time it's..."

"How can you be fine? You came back drunk." He began gesturing, "Not tipsy Cadance, drunk."

"Silver has a spell for the alcohol poisoning." She said quickly, a little ashamed at the state she came home in, but not too ashamed. She was more emotionally distraught about her husband.

He's really upset Cadance

"That's just it Cadance. Every time something happens, or you do something, there's always something to make it okay." He shook his hoof in his other as he listed, "Silver has a spell, nothing 'technically' bad happened, nopony was hurt, no laws were broken. It's always something. Silver is skirting the rules so closely tha-"

"Shining."

"Just let me finish? Please?"

She bit back her words, and nodded.

"What am I supposed to do Cadance? I..." He deeply frowned, "Dusk is better than me, stronger, smarter, I can't protect you, and then I see you come home like that and it terrifies me."

Cadance stepped out of bed and wrapped her Love in her wings and hooves. It was a little awkward with the chair, but she had the height to make it work.

She spoke quietly, the distance not requiring anything more, "Silver, isn't better than you Shining. Just different."

Shining scoffed

"I'm sorry I worried you. I did have fun last night, I thought, 'Shining has made guard friends over a drink? Why can't I?'"

"Not friends like that."

"I actually think so Shining." She pulled away, "It worked, at least"

"It did?" He said

"Yes." She gave a hard nod, "Silver may not have actually engaged with me, I'm not too sure, but once I leaned into having fun... Well, so did Silver. She and I talked a lot. I learned a lot about her, exactly what we were hoping for."

"She?"

Cadance nodded, "That's one of the things. Apparently Dusk slash Silver doesn't really have any stable persona's."

"What does that mean?"

"Well..." She tried to put it to words, "Dusk has been a bunch of different ponies, worn a lot of literally different faces. Has lived several life times. I just don't think they have a sense of self anymore."

Shining mulled over the idea for a bit before speaking, "Like how Discord isn't any of his parts."

She nodded, "Exactly, he's just Discord."

"And at the moment, Dusk is Silver?"

"She didn't tell me that specifically, but that's what it felt like."

Shining went silent. She could feel his whirling emotions, satisfaction and relief that she was apparently safe and sound, but apprehension and fear of what was to come. 

He feels powerless to help. Powerless to keep me safe.

The two of them sat momentarily, breathing in the moment, and their short conversation.

Shining eventually spoke again, slowly, trying to put his thoughts to words as best as he could, "I want to help. I do, I... If you're right about Silver being a good pony, then it's worth it. I trust you."

"You just don't like the way it's going so far." She finished for him.

"I get that Silver isn't normal, isn't going to act normal."

Cadance gave a soft chiming laugh, "Tell me about it."

"I just worry."

"I know you do, and it warms my heart and keeps me going." She pressed a hoof over her chest and gave him the warmest smile she could.

He gave a deep sigh, "So I just need to... Let you do you then?"

"I think that I may actually have an idea."

Shining raised an eyebrow.

"But first, you're going to get up here and get some sleep. The sun's not up yet, you still have a bit before we have to get up for real." She snarked at him, and used her magic to grab his hoof and lead him into bed.

Shining smiled, and Cadance internally soared.

There it is! Good work Cadance!

The mental hoof shaking from all her thoughts celebrating the kindness she was able to show. "You can even have my warm spot" She said, climbing back over where she was just sleeping, and pulling Shining Armor into bed. She laid down next to where she knew he'd lay down, and wrapped a wing over him in the next moment. They settled in a spoon, and Shining pulled up the blankets with his magic.

Cadance's mind, having decided she was awake, rebelled at the idea of going back to sleep. So she spoke, "Does everyone in your family have that colour of aura?"

"Hmm?" Shining said, settling into the cuddle

"Your magic aura, the purple shades. Twilight has a slightly different colour, and I know your mother does too"

Shining, aware of the distance, spoke softly when he answered, "It's a unicorn thing. Powerful magical lineages tend to have similar coloured magic."

A beat passed

"What makes you ask?"

Cadance inwardly chuckled at the explanation she had, the irony of it not lost on her. "Sliver thinks Sunset Shimmer might be one of her descendants."

Shining responded by not responding.

"I know right?"

Shining softly shook his head, "I wonder about the nature of the pony he had children with."

"According to her, there were several." She added, “Which is not surprising, considering the length of Silver's life."

"How long is that?"

"I've gotten enough information to guess that she was born a couple hundred years before the Discordian Era." Cadance said.

"Hmmm, guess it's not too surprising then no..."

Cadance felt his emotions shift again. Back towards negativity.

"Something else on your mind?" She tentatively asked

Shining took several seconds to respond, but he did eventually respond, "Are... Are we going to..?"

Cadance's good mood plummeted, she squeezed him gently, "I don't know Shining. Silver said it wasn't possible."

"You talked to Silver about having foals?"

"She asked... I didn't really feel the need to lie, anypony could guess that I... Well, that we would want a foal."

He didn't say anything else.

"Celestia never had a foal. Silver made it sound like she tried for a long time before giving up."

He grabbed her hoof though, the one she had wrapped over his shoulder. Nothing unique, just a show of affection through contact.

"Did Silver tell you why?" He asked, clipped

"Genetics... Alicorns are just... Different." She recalled, however, the oddity of how Silver had gone about saying it hours prior, "Silver was odd about it though... Acted like She didn't know for sure."

"That pony is odd about everything."

She nodded, and pressed her muzzle into his neck.

"You promise you'll keep yourself safe?"

"I'll do my best Shining."

From there, they lapsed into silence. At some point, Cadance felt Shining's breathing slow, a couple of hours later, the sun came up.

After she woke her husband, and the two got ready for the day, they followed their routine; sitting together, and talking before going about their business.

There was a somber tone sticking in Cadance’s mind as they spoke, but Shining, after his nap, was seemingly either putting the emotional density of their brief conversation behind him.

Or he was just trying to ignore it like she was.

"So what's on the agenda today?" Cadance asked

Shining, who was still working his mane into place, responded with, "I've got a meeting with the patrol officers, and then I'm going to talk to our 'cultists' until lunch."

Cadance nodded in recognition, "I don't have anything to do until lunch, mind if I join you for the interrogation?"

"Of course, they seemed repentant enough because of Silver's fearmongering." He spat, "I'm sure they'll be happy to see a friendly influence."

"Silver did the right thing, you know."

"Yes I do. Doesn't mean I like her methods."

"Fair."

Shining got control of his mane, "What about after lunch?"

"Open court, and then getting further ahead of the paperwork."

"Gala's in two days."

Cadance groaned, "Don't remind me, I still need a dress."

"I'm surprised you're going at all." He quipped with a chuckle as he moved to grab his things.

She rolled her eyes, "Well I wasn't, unti-"

"Silver, yes I remember. It's been a common trend recently." He monotoned

"Sorry."

"It's okay."

"What was your idea? By the way?" He tentatively phrased, less as a question, and more as a leading statement.

"Tomorrow's schedule is clear right?"

He nodded, "Yeah, everypony is busy that day preparing for the gala; not much ruling to do."

"I'm going to ask Silver if she'll teach you defenses for dark magicks."

He raised an eyebrow

"Who better to teach you how to protect me than the one threatening my safety," She half pleaded, "Right?"

He raised his other eyebrow, and pursed his lips, tilting his head forwards for the 'really.' expression.

"She will, as well. I gave it a lot of thought."

"Silver will teach me how to fight her?"

"Yes."

Shining went to speak, but rolled his eyes instead, "I guess it's not any more weird than I expect from Silver to begin with."

"Break?" She said

"Break." He responded

To which they both spread out, Cadance grabbing a folder she needed for court in several hours that she had brought up from her desk yesterday morning. Shining made his way straight towards the door, and held it open for Cadance.

They shared a quick kiss before they went their separate ways. Cadance to go talk to Silver about a list of business, Shining to go prepare the rest of his day.



She knocked.

Like before, in front of Silver's modest abode, there was a freshly cut lawn of grass and the light sound of string instruments from the inside.

A couple of seconds went by after she knocked, before the music cut out.

I'll have to ask

Hooves trotted to the door, a beat passed before it swung open. Cadance saw the magic turn the 'door' from what was essentially a thin wall back into a swinging door.

"Well if it isn't the party princess herself. Did I not meet your 'fun' quota?" Silver looked the same, and made her quip with a sarcastic tone.

"There wasn't a requirement, I just came by to talk to you about a couple of things." She moved to lift a hoof, intending on entering, but Silver didn't move, instead taking up the entirety of the doorway.

Cadance raised a mental eyebrow.

"What things?"

Cadance, a little thrown off by the not usual behavior, but seeing no reason why it would otherwise be strange, decided to ignore it for now. "Business things."

"I was more interested in specifics."

"You just want to talk out on the doorstep?"

Silver smiled a half smile, "It's a nice morning out."

Alright, forget ignoring it, Silver is hiding something.

"Is there a reason tha-"

"Yes"

Cadance frowned.

"Do I want to know?" She slowly asked.

"I doubt it."

Ugh

"Should I know?" She tried a bit more tersely.

Instead of immediately responding, Silver took several seconds to think before responding, she took on a neutral tone after five or six seconds and said, "From that perspective? Maybe, I guess I am committing a crime, but when do I not? I'm literally a walking crime."

"Will you at least tell me what the crime is?"

Silver nodded, "Illegal..." She tensed her face, "Or well, I'm guessing illegal, I didn't chec-"

"Please?"

"Body grafting."

Oh dear

"On?" She tried, inwardly hoping for the best

Silver gave a slight shake of the head, and put a hoof to her chest, "No worries, just on myself, Little Princess"

Should I state the obvious?

Silver, noticing Cadance noticing the current lack of body grafting going on directly in front of her, bit into her own raised limb. The wound, or where there would have been a wound, crumpled and the flesh underneath flaked off into black ash and disappeared.

"This is just a projection, my body is inside." She stated, like commenting on the sunrise.

Okay... That's... okay right? Right?

Cadance, no.

You know what?

"Whatever, it doesn't matter."

Silver raised an eyebrow.

"Will you teach Shining skilled magic? The way you know it?"

Silver's eyebrow raise turned taunting, "Another favor? So soon?"

"Yes."

"Okay."

Exactly... and why wouldn't she? Right?

"Tomorrow work?"

"No, but that implies that any time would work." She said, clearly annoyed.

Guess that's that, onto the next migraine

Cadance decided to sit, assuming she was going to be here for a while, "What were those cultists you stopped doing? Magically I mean."

"Ah, I was wondering when you'd ask." Silver stepped forwards a bit more, and stood almost so that the door was closed, everything outside besides her flanks. "They were trying to get together a summoning ritual, like a resurrections charm, but more like calling the number on a card."

Cadance mentally noted a teaching tone, surprised that Silver had a different way of talking to begin with. One that wasn’t confusing or misplaced that is.

"It was a complex charged spell. It would have used a dying pony as an amplification and a spark to set off a heaping series of charged magic runes to reach into the background flux of Eternity, and draw Sombra's still living essence into our plane. Nothing complex, basically brute force summoning."

There's a phrase in there that's very concerning

"Sombra is still alive?" She said slowly

"As alive as you'd be if you were dead."

She blinked slowly, and gave Silver her best, 'unamused' look.

"And if you're talking to those cultists today, tell that Point Flare girl that I'd like to hire her." Silver began stepping backwards into the doorway.

"What for?"

I bet I can guess

"I could use a mare with her mana well and talent for elemental fire for a lot. Give her these incentives, if you would, and repeat them like this to her, exactly." Silver planted her hooves on the ground, and very seriously said, "A chance for revenge, and a horn to do it with."

A chance for revenge, and a horn to do it with.

"You're offering her a horn? And revenge?"

"Yes, plain and simple." Silver said seriously

"No tricks? No addendums?"

"Nope"

Cadance scrunched her face

"You can just give ponies horns?"

"Yup."

Okay wow. I can’t let that go.

"That's... An incredible leap in medical science Silver." Silver nodded, "I-" Cadance got her words together, "I know it's probably achieved with some gruesome process, but you just have to share how that's done. If you can do the same with wings and hooves... Thousands of ponies could go without disabilities in their lives." She finished softly.

Silver very clearly worked it over in her head. It took longer than Cadance would have liked.

"I can't argue that point, and I'm all for sharing the power of dark magic altruistically." She lifted a hoof, "But." and pointed it at Cadance, "I can't just draw attention to myself like that, you'd have to make up where you got the idea, lie basically, and it wouldn't be convincing."

"I can come up with something."

"Do you promise to share the process for the sake of helping ponies, and protect me from the obvious lash back if I am discovered?"

Cadance opened her mouth to make the promise, the idea of helping so many ponies in exchange for secrecy she was already giving urging her to simply say yes. Except...

You almost had me.

"I promise to share the process for the sake of helping ponies, and to protect you from the 'lash back' if you are discovered because of sharing."

Silver gave a heartfelt smile, and nodded, "I'll have a folder and some documents on your desk by tomorrow night." Then she shook her head, “Actually, I’ll just send them back with Shining.”

"Thank you Silver."

"Don't mention it."

Cadance stood, "Do you have any other magical insights on how to help the common pony?"

"Not any that are generally applicable no." Silver held out a hoof, "Will that be all?"

Cadance bumped hooves with the shorter mare, "Yes... and uh, good luck with your..." She glanced at the bite taken out of Silver's limb.

"Noted, Little Princess." Silver collapsed backwards into the house, falling into a pile of dust and disappearing as the door closed and sealed itself.

Taking that as her cue, Cadance turned to take flight and head back to The Spire.

She waved at a passerby before taking flight, and made sure her folder was still firmly under her wing before making haste back home.
> So you're a cultist, and the Devil came for your soul.
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The prison block in The Spire was something aside from the cafeteria that Cadance had had a personal hoof in redesigning. 

That is to say, she had had it remodeled and turned into an office in conjunction with Shining for the patrol guard. They operated independently of the Crystal Guard, and had their own command structure. Cadance had heard a little of the spiel from Shining about the Logistic Corp and how he was organizing their pony power in something that could actually be useful on the world stage.

That being said, there wasn't much work to do, Sombra hadn't kept prisoners.

The actual ponies in question had been dressed down a couple of days ago for any information they were willing to provide by Cadance and the guards. Several reports had been taken, but that was before Stone Cut had joined them all in their cells.

Apparently the stallion had to be removed shortly after as the cultists had quickly come to blows with their 'benefactor.' That landed this strictly within the confines of the royalty to handle, there were no laws for an independent power holder united under the crown to fall in with semi-loyal cultists.

Thus Cadance found herself in front of the prison cells of the cultists, with Stone Cut at the end of the hall full of bars. The cells themselves had metal instead of crystal for their lining, since it was easier to weave enchantments in aluminum.

At least, that's what the construction agency told me

Shining was with her, as well as the guard posted in the hallway, though he was more just watching.

As she walked in, one of the mares, a pegasus with a mauve coat pushed herself up against the bars. "Princess!" She said excitedly, "Are you letting us out?"

She had discussed with them release in short in return for cooperation the last time she was here. That had changed a little.

"It depends on how this interaction goes." She answered honestly, Shining nodding next to her and adding:

"We have all the facts so far, from here we need to discuss some sort of trial or punishment you're willing to accept." He magicked a couple of sheets of paper in front of himself, "I came up with several ideas that you definitely won't like, but if you accept them there's no need for a trial, if you don't, then you'll be subject to the judgment of ponies much less caring than my wife."

The ponies in the cage wilted at that, Point Flare, the orange mare in the back was still staring at the floor. She had been in a coma for a while, and was moved into the cell once the doctors deemed she would be fine. She had only nodded and complied, quietly letting herself get put in a cell.

It was also the same time Point Flare's cultist 'friends' had attacked Stone Cut

The other catatonic mare was in another cell, and was simply staring dumbly at Cadance. She had come around to talking with her friends in their cell, or at least said the observations of the posted guard. Otherwise though, she was generally unresponsive. Cadance glanced over the crystal pony, quietly wondering what had driven them to try and sacrifice another living pony.

"What are our options?" The mauve mare asked

Cadance interjected before Shining Armor had a chance to start listing, "First." She gestured to them, "I want to make something explicitly clear."

This drew the attention of the cultists, Cadance taking on her princess tone, the one Celestia had personally taught her.

"The facts say a number of things. Like how you tried to summon Sombra from the depths of Eternity, how you were willing to kill to do it." Point Flare had lifted her depressive state from the floor at the mention of 'Eternity'

Cadance changed her voice, "They also state that you were all under duress at the time, forced to do what you did by Stone Cut."

Shining piped up, "We are, however, not foolish enough to believe that any of you are innocent just because of Stone Cut's involvement."

"Which means that in addition to the laws that condemn you, you equally have some stretch of protection, regardless of what is true or not." Cadance said

Shining smirked over his papers, "How much of that protection you receive depends entirely on how easy you make this for us."

Cadance and Shining shared a mental hoof bump. The cultists, all of them were paying attention now, it was a basic interrogation strategy, give them hope of control, and see what they do. The guilty pony would reason, the innocent would flail.

"We'll cooperate" The mauve mare said, along with the nods of all the ponies in the cell, and the ones in the next cell over. Six total, two pegasi, three crystal ponies, and two unicorns, Counting Stone Cut of course.

"Shining?"

He nodded, "Your options are as follo-"

Cadance interrupted again, "Sorry, one more thing." Shining rolled his eyes, "If any of you have anything else to say, we are nearing the point where your testimony will have to be shared in a court. If you all have anything else you'd like to share with us, you must do it now."

The ponies looked at each other, Point Flare looked at her hooves and quietly said, "I'm sorry."

Shining hummed, careful not to show how far that actually got his leniency. Shattered horns were no joke. 

"Your options are as follows: You would be brought into the guard for life, serving your life sentences by serving the crown. It's better than prison; For the non crystal ponies, you could be shipped back to Equestria, and be tried there by their courts and their laws." There were several shaking heads of disapproval, which included, Cadance noted, both Equestrians and Crystal Ponies.

"You could all simply stay in your cells, and we could call deadlock on any legal passthroughs, you'd live your lives on the crown's bits, but in a cell." More shaking

"Or you we could have you work in the mines." The Crystal ponies blanched at that and Cadance raised an eyebrow.

"If you all feel like Sombra would be a better ruler, I hope that last punishment is a decent enough reminder of why my wife is in charge around here." He said tersely.

There was a scoff from down the line, and Stone Cut banged his hoof against his cell bars. "Better ruler my bare flanks Captain."

Shining bristled, but Cadance beat him to responding, "You genuinely think Sombra, the insane slave king, was a better ruler?"

Stone Cut just half snarled and shook his head, turning away from the bars and the Princess of Love.

There was a beat of silence.

"Is that all of our options?" 

Here we go Cadance

"Actually. I have a special offer for you six."

There was a quick sharing of looks between the ponies. Apparently, at least based off of Cadance's understanding of their glances, these ponies were definitely closer than just a group of cultists, and Point Flare was definitely the leading voice. Almost half the glances were directed towards her.

They eventually turned to her, somberly waiting for her to make her offer. Cadance had talked it through with Shining, and he had actually given in to the point that basically being servants to Quick Silver was a solid enough punishment.

"Quick Silver, the mare who apprehended you all, has offered a sort of... work release pr-"

"What?!" The mauve mare exclaimed.

The silent mare in the back covered her head with her hooves and started shaking. Point Flare started rapidly shaking her head.

"Is-" Cadance tried, but Point Flare interrupted her.

"Princess Cadance, I know we're cultists, I know we're criminals, but whoever that pony is, you have to destroy them."

Cadance made a face, "Destroy, I-" She stumbled over her words, "You don't remember, but she saved your life."

Point Flare just shook her head and looked past Cadance like she was staring at a ghost that had come to remind her of her misdeeds. "You don't understand."

"Then explain." Said Shining, not willing to play the long game.

The ponies, besides Point Flare and the fearful mare, looked to the ground, or otherwise away from the Princess and her consort.

"She came in like a storm." Point Flare began to speak, clearly struggling to get the words out. Cadance felt the rise of emotion from the other sides of the bars. "There were seconds." She shook her head, "Noises like... screaming foals mixed with scratching a chalkboard through a radio as she ate the light in the room."

That sobered Cadance real quick.

"I was the only one who actually saw her. When she broke my horn."

The whimpering from the mare on the floor grew, and Cadance could hear her begging.

"Every other moment was..." Point Flare clenched her eyes shut as the rest of the ponies continued to try and ignore or forget what they saw.

Cadance felt the presence of the curse Silver had alluded to. She banished it with her aura, and Point Flare took a deep breath.

"Imagine what it would look like if a pony was made of dough at the limbs." She trembled, "Stretching at the bone with jagged edges that are too unnatural to be real."

"She came into the basement like some kind of arachnid demon, screeching like Tartarus had breached the hall."

Cadance was mentally at the edge of her seat. 

"Whatever that thing is." She began stuffing sentences in between heavy breaths, like she'd just run a race.

"It came from outside so quiet that Kay didn't even notice until he was stone."

"It burst through the study wall like a manticore."

"Stole the magic from our hooves, and the light from the walls."

"It didn't care about being on fire. I only made it laugh."

"It chased us and then disappeared, but I could still hear it giggling right behind me wherever I looked."

"I broke my horn out of fear after I saw what it did to Misty."

"It grabbed her and pulled her apart, re-assembled her as she screamed."

"I saw her insides Princess."

"It came for me next, and I blew my horn in terror."

Her story lungs empty, she finished, "It just quietly laughed as I fell, certain I was worse than dead."

...

...

"That is a particularly harrowing tale." Shining said slowly, deeply.

The tone of the moment certainly changed

Cadance was speechless.

Shining was not, "Unfortunately, that's not out of character for Quick Silver."

"What." Came Point Flare, slowly taking a step back from the bars of the cell.

"You were going to murder somepony. Quick Silver stopped you. Fear tactics are something we train, and it's not uncommon."

Point Flare looked like she just swallowed a centipede the length of her limb.

Cadance spoke up, "It's also like Quick Silver to go overboard like that."

"No. No. no no no no" The mare in the corner was crying now

"You don't understand Princess, that... that! That thing! It's not a pony! It's some monster!"

Shining monotonously stated, "The stallion you foalnapped from the street was quick to call you monsters as well."

Cadance was genuinely surprised at Shining's defense of Silver.

"From the short conversation I had with Quick Silver on the subject, she's a very reasonable mare. Different, but you could learn dark magic from her." That clicked with one of them, his ears imperceptibly perked.

"Princess-"

Cadance cut her off with the wave of her hoof, "The exact words, Silver asked me to give you directly as an incentive. Her offer was, 'revenge, and a horn to do it with.'"

Point Flare went silent. Cadance watched the gear click in her mind at the idea of getting her horn back.

"My horn?"

"Silver was apologetic that a mare of your magic aptitude was hurt in such a way, she wishes to restore it for you."

A little fib, but a useful one.

Flare was stunned, "She- I... Can she do that?"

"Yes. and under her watch, you'd be allowed to study her knowledge of dangerous magics, for the crown. Not as traitors."

The cultists began sharing more thoughtful prospective looks. Even the mare on the ground stopped shaking and went back to just covering her eyes. The crystal stallion patted her on the shoulder a couple of times and said something supportive.

The mauve mare spoke up, "Can we think about it Princess?"

"Yes, of course." She turned towards Shining, and he led the way towards the cell at the end of the hall.

He showed his uncertainty with what she had just done with a single look, and she tried to pass back the same.

I don't know what I'm doing, same as you.

He raised an eyebrow as if to say, 'You're right, I don't have any idea what you're doing'

To which she rolled her eyes.

"Ugh, what do you want from me."

Stone Cut.

Shining cleared his throat, "We want a statement from you before we transport you to a high security facility in Equestria."

"Phaf, of course you do." He spat

"I see your false demeanor has faded all the way now Stone Cut."

He snarled at her, honest to goddess snarled at her like an animal. "You're pathetic." He verbally threw at her.

"Why's that?" She taunted him.

He got up on his hooves, "Why? WHY!?" he rushed towards the bars and reared up and slammed his hooves against the bars so he was eye level with her. "You turned our EMPIRE into some dingy little village! My family used to be RICH!" He slammed on the bars several times, "YOU usurped the throne from what separated us from freezing in the snow!"

Gotcha

"You get that Shining?"

"Yeeup" He said, writing down Stone Cut's subtle admission of loyalty to the tyrant.

She gave him a smile she copied from Silver. "Thank you very much Stone Cut." And gave him a solid heel turn, her and Shining simply leaving him to froth. That is until Stone Cut called her a whore.

She stopped in her tracks and her wings flared on their own. There was a mental flash through her head of violence, before she used her magic to stop Shining from turning Cut's prison cell into a trash compactor.

They left the real cultist to his frothing insanity.

The other cultists were seemingly deliberating something. The shaking mare, Misty, if Cadance remembered, had seemingly recovered, and they were all sitting around the bars talking to one another.

As they approached, there were several nods, and Point Flare stood.

"We'll do it."

Cadance, still trying not to send a stun bolt down the hallway at the yelling Stone Cut, tried to keep her cool, "Just like that?"

Point Flare shook her head, "Only if... Silver... will take all of us."

Shining gave an imperceptible nod, confirming his support of this plan.

Cadance spoke, "Then there's no need for a trial, I can clearly see who was the true driving force of the crimes that were committed by your group." Stone Cut's screaming accentuated her point.

Shining finished for her, "We'll sort out the legalese, and Cadance or myself will collect you to bring you to Quick Silver."

"Thank you for your time." Cadance said, and both her and Shining left the Empire's only prison block.



Dear Quick Silver,

Point Flare and her group have agreed to work for you, but I have several caveats.

I want updates from each of them individually, letters or proof that they are well that can be filed as official reports that they are actually being punished for the crimes they committed. Similarly, they're going to need housing and food, can your home support six ponies?

I'd also like to make clear that I don't know what your plan is for them, and would like to, in detail please. The deal I cut with them was that they'd have the opportunity to study black magics under your watch, and report their findings to the crown. Amber is drafting up the documents as an addendum that allows us to deconstruct Sombra's old traps in The Spire.

Also if you could, I'd like more of those gemstones you use to send letters, they could potentially be incredibly useful. If not only for quickly sending letters to you.

Signed, H.R.H
Princess Cadance of the Crystal Empire.



Ah, never seen you be some formal!

It was novel getting a hoof delivered letter! It reminded me of my own days as a sovereign.

Thank. You. For. That.

To answer your question, of course my home can support several ponies, and they'll be treated with the same avarice I treat myself with. Though I recall I only extended such an offer for Point Flare, I, nonetheless have a use for the other five. They will remain unharmed, and although I can't promise that I'll teach them anything, there is a strong chance they will learn something regardless.

I can arrange to have them send letters to you or a secretary while they work under me, but I won't have you breathing down their necks any more than that. Anything else you can ask me directly; on that note, I'll simply send you the spell I use to send letters with the spell to repair ponies.

See you after court when you deliver them tonight, Little Princess.

P.S. That courier, Ms. Gleam? She deserves a raise; give it to her.

> Meddlesome Pegasi
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Shining was done with his meeting in the next hour and joined her in court. Luckily, as it is currently Friday, court started three hours later than normal. Ponies knew this, so after the first five petitions or so Cadance decided to close court early and get a move on.

She and Shining had elected to teleport under invisibility, alerting the guards that they were taking the six from the cells, but otherwise intending to keep their punishment hush hush.

Cadance walked into the cell block while Shining organized the paperwork in the prison office. As she approached, the six roused themselves slowly, apprehensively. Cadance spent a moment or two just watching, whatever she thought she was going to say slipped from her mind; all that was left was the vague thoughtfulness directed towards nothing.

The mauve mare with a two tone gray mane, who Cadance had learned was named 'Grey Skies,' pulled Cadance from her thoughts. "Princess? If I may?" She said from the other side of the bars, respectfully, as it was.

"Of course."

"Will you..." She turned back to Point Flare, who nodded at the glance, "Will you protect us? From Silver? If this goes poorly?"

I can try

"You'll be safe, with or without me, but I will if need be. As will my husband." She said in a low tone.

Shining peaked his head into the open doorway leading into the metal jail hallway, "We're good to go."

Cadance turned back towards the ponies, "I'll be teleporting us all there."

Shining walked up next to her and spoke in his 'royal guard' tone, "And we'll be outside, and you will all be able to run" He paused for effect, "Don't."

There were several nods as Cadance lit her horn and began focusing. Teleportation definitely was something she could do on a good day, but an eight pony warp? 

Luckily you did the math

She had found the reference point for the Crystal Heart relative to their destination. Which meant she could manage her unique 'Loveport' as she'd been mentally calling it. She wrapped her magic around the surrounding ponies and herself, the initial targets being marked by her magic, and then she reached out for her location. The heart shone like a beacon and even though it wasn't alive, it always gave Cadance the sense that it was; it's presence said: "I am here, I Love you"

Nonetheless, her magic brushed against the beacon, and she mentally recounted the location she'd done the calculations for, with just the right amount of magic-

*pop* 

whoah

Cadance swayed a moment as her hooves tried to buckle beneath her. She was inside, specifically inside what looked like Silver's home.

"Ah! Hello!"

Oh, this is Silver's home? How did that happen?"

The other ponies in the room gathered up, each of them closing together behind Shining and Cadance at Silver's presence. The room had been redecorated to look like some foyer, or sitting room. There was a couch, a table, a throw rug that looked more expensive than it probably was, and numerous other random things that made the room look lived in; homely.

"I didn't think you all would be popping in like that, but evening nonetheless."

She felt Shining tap her on the shoulder, "You okay?"

"Yeah, that teleport took more out of me than I thought it would."

Silver was lounging upright on one of the seats with a hoofrest, there was a tea plate and pot balanced there, steam rising from it and a cup Silver had in her hooves, "Tea?" She said, not glancing at the pot to her right.

There was a silent standoff.

Silver broke it, "Oh please. That's an awful lot of fear for your new... employer" She ended with a malicious grin

To which it was, Cadance could feel the rising fear from the ponies behind her. Not active fear, but like rising anxiety at seeing something that had hurt you before.

"Don't antagonize them please."

Silver rolled her eyes

Shining spoke again with his guard voice, "This is: Point Flare, Kayfur, Rip Tide, Grey Sk-"

"Grey Skies, Hematite and Misty Scarlet, yes I know them well." Silver interrupted. She leaned back, seemingly composing herself, "Please you six, come sit." and gestured to the couches. In the same move, Silver used her magic, protruding from her hooves, to pour several cups of tea, and levitated them all to the table where she'd gestured the ponies to sit. Cadance felt the curiosity boom out from behind her, and Shining became apprehensive. 

"Ho-"

"Evil magic Shining Armor, and I'm supposed to be teaching it to you," She looked to Cadance, "Right?"

Shining hasn't seen that yet...

Cadance shook her head, "Just the defensive strategies, that's all."

Silver let out a contemplative hum, "Your tea will be getting cold soonish."

Cadance looked over her shoulder at the group. They featured general apprehension, but were slowly fading from being scared. She gave them a soft smile and a nod towards the couches. They took that as a go ahead, and the lot meandered over to the table. Misty and Hematite being the last two in the group to take seats, farthest from Silver.

Point Flare was the first to speak, "Cadance said you could fix my horn?"

Silver responded immediately, "Princess Cadance, and if she said that, she lied to you."

What?

Cadance dually questioned the correction for her title, and Silver's apparent lie.

"I can't fix your horn, it's gone. I can, however, make you a new one."

Oh... of course

Stupid Silver and her stupid word play.

Cadance mock frowned, and watched a short conversation between the criminals and the... admittedly bigger criminal.

"Will it be like it was before?" Point Flare asked

"You'll have to work up some physical resistance in the horn, since it will be fresh bone, but yes."

Kayfur, the only crystal stallion spoke up, "I think I speak for everypony when I ask: How?" He continued after a momentary pause, "Ponies ca-"

"Everyone." Silver interrupted.

"What?"

"This goes for all of you, if you're to work for me. No 'everypony' or 'anypony.' Say everyone, or everybody. Racism and xenophobia in Equestria and its territories is unacceptable. It's also very annoying."

There was a short wait before Misty, the only other unicorn besides Point Flare, spoke, "Who are you?"

Everypony besides Silver turned their gaze to Misty, who didn't shrink back to her credit.

"You must be referring to my 'attack' and I must apologize where it's due. I didn't mean to scare you all as much as I did." Silver took a short sip of her tea, "Truly a mistake."

"I struggle to see how... That could have been a mistake" Said Hematite

"Then you are short-sighted." Silver raised an eyebrow at her own quip and set her tea down.

"I'll be restoring your horn later, and for the rest of you, I have several jobs we will speak of in the morning. For now, I have business with the Princess and her Consort." Silver raised her hoof, and several conjured cerulean arrows lit up a path from the seating area into the furthest hallway. "There are some modest quarters, as well as a bunk room for those of you who would like to sleep together; please make yourselves at home while I conduct my business."

"When will yo-" started Grey Skies

"As soon as I am able, for now, go make yourselves comfortable."

There were several looks shared between the ponies before they began standing up again, and filing out of the space between the table and the couch. 

"Oh, and feel free to take that tea with you if you want."

They did not, and soon it was just Cadance and Shining.

And Silver.

Shining was the first to take charge of what was about to become a verbal battleground, if Cadance could tell from the rising tension.

"You understand that you are responsible for the safety and well being of those ponies?"

Silver, quick to retort, "I understand that I'm going to have to spend the next hour or so teaching you basic principles of magic."

"And me." Cadance said, hoping to throw her off,

"and the Little Princess apparently." Silver took a deep breath and tossed the teacup behind her as a wave of cerulean magic covered the room and everything began spinning. The couches and random tacky pictures spun and transfigured into other shapes and colours. The room itself bent inwards and outwards like it was breathing as it slowly expanded into a circle, instead of the rectangular sitting room. The walls hardened and lost their reflective transparency and the ground shifted under Cadance's hooves into powdered crystals. She felt wave after wave of indescribable emotion that passed too quickly for her to sense properly before the room groaned to a halt.

It was a sparring arena. She'd seen a couple of sand pits in Canterlot, and there was even one made with snow out in the encampment in The Empire.

"So." Silver dropped her stance low, and dug her hooves into the crystal powder. "What do you want to know?"

Shining looked at Cadance with a 'this is an absolutely terrible idea.'

Cadance hoped she could salvage the situation, "Now, Silver, we're not going to be doing anything unnecessarily dangerous right?"

"Actually, that's a good point." Silver gestured to Cadance, "Can you take fifteen steps to the side?"

Cadance did, albeit deliberately slow, keeping her eyes on Shining and Silver. After she was done, she turned to face the two of them. They stood in a triangle.

"There, now you're safe." Silver threw a blast of blue magic at Shining. He let out a short grunt of surprise, but raised a shield in time to catch the blast, the dome settling unevenly on the crystal powder floor.

"Hey!" Cadance yelled, and subsequently realized her limbs had sunk into several hooves into crystals that had solidified under her.

"First rule of dealing with any kind of dark magic user: Be prepared for the unpredictable!" Silver took flight as she spoke, and landed on top of Shining's shield, "Corruptive magics bend the mind, anyone you're fighting won't be of sound mind. You can't count on them to act normally."

Shining flared his horn and the shield rapidly expanded, throwing Silver into the air. Cadance watched as the ceiling grew away from her, stopping her from slamming into it, and instead making enough space for Silver to turn her vector into a spin. Catching the air in her wings and coming to a skidding halt on the ground.

"Second rule! Same as the first!" Silver disappeared in a flare of shadow dust just as Shining's blast flew through whatever was left. Shining's tail lifted in the same moment, and Silver shimmered into appearance with his tail in her right hoof.

Shining threw his back hooves into a buck, and his left hoof caught Silver in the jaw where it spread the flesh like a rock being chucked into a pond, his hoof sank into Silver's face, as her eyes lit up with black mist.

"Third rule." She said maliciously, as she took a leaning step into Shining's back leg. "Don't ever touch, or let yourself be touched by a dark magic user." The skin and flesh around her face where Shining's leg was embedded flicked like angry goop, trying to crawl up Shining's fur.

Silver took a step back and Shining stumbled forwards as his hoof was disconnected from Silver's grasp. He threw up a shield as soon as he was planted, and Silver dismissed whatever effect she was channeling.

"Now what did you learn?"

Shining snarled, "That you're bucking crazy!"

"Exactly! That's rule number one," Silver smiled and Cadance saw a sparkle in her eyes, "Any dark magic user that's attacking you is definitely insane; treat them like it, or their unpredictability will take you for a ride. What else?"

Shining's retort fell silent, and his snarl turned into a glare. He glanced once at Cadance. She shook her head as if to say, 'I can't help you here.' 

Despite what I'd like... I could get out of this little trap, but undoubtedly this is Silver's kind way of telling me not to get involved.

"Cmon, Shining, don't you want to show off for your wife?"

"I learned that you're a pansy that won't fight me head on." He yelled through his shield

"Perfect!" Silver said, switching to a condescending tone, "Any dark magic user that isn't completely insane, won't ever fight you directly. If you lose sight of your opponent, you're dead, or they've escaped."

Shining slowly turned his glare into a smirk of challenge, "I learned to play that same game back in basic." He dropped his shield and fired a blast which Silver sidestepped. Silver took a single hoofstep and then launched herself into the air. She twisted as she jumped, dodging Shining's second shot before diving towards him again. This time, Shining teleported to the other end of the room, and launched three bolts in sequence, two arcing around the sides, and one dead on, Silver shimmered out of existence when the bolts were halfway to their destination. They all struck the powder, and Shining threw up a shield. There were six seconds of undisturbed silence before Silver reappeared, knocking on his shield.

"And about this shield spell of yours."

Shining dropped the shield and fired a larger short range blast straight at Silver, who had to throw herself into the sand to dodge. The sight that Cadance saw next reminded her of Silver dancing. The speed at which she threw herself to the ground was turned into radial momentum as Silver hit the dirt with her wing, throwing her hooves and twisting her back while sliding across the ground like it was ice, Silver went from throwing herself down to the floor, back to standing and launching herself at Shining in less than a second.

Shining teleported at the last second as Silver went careening into a roll as she flipped and turned.

Shining fired several more blasts from the other end of the room.

Cadance watched this exchange happen a couple more times before she realized the premise. Shining couldn't take on Silver head on, and Silver wasn't going to try and do the same to Shining. He was just going to dodge until he got a lucky shot. He may have even been able to sustain it except for on the sixth clash, Silver sailed through Shining's shield like it wasn't even there, the spell folding like one would expect a piece of paper, rapidly dissolving into the air as Silver rapidly turned her dive into a halt, and booped Shining on the nose.

Shining shook his head in agitation and took several steps back.

"So about your shield."

He blasted her again. This time his mana bolt exploded in the air just in front of Silver, and Cadance saw the flickering slate gray plate of magic it hit fizzle out just as it did.

"What about it?" He huffed

"It's too easy to manipulate." Silver lifted her hoof and casted Shining's own shield. "The main issue is also its greatest strength. The fact that the shield is focused as a hard-mana projection from a single point means that the entire shield has the same stability, but the meta-magic manifold is basically just floating around in the wind."

Cadance tried to follow along. Basically what Silver was saying was that the shield was strong, but...

"So what?" Shining called out

"So it means," Silver continued, "That the actual shield can be interrupted with another spell. Anypony with enough conceptual understanding of magic can steal the energy you're using for your shield, and just use it for something else." The blue shield around Silver warbled and congealed into her hoof, shrinking down into the size and shape of a single ravioli. "Some parasitic magics are particularly useful in acting as a counter spell for 'loose' spells, since the caster can't even compensate without knowing exactly what was cast."

"Sounds like a problem I'll only have with you then."

"Yes indeed."

Shining's retort fell silent at Silver agreeing with him.

"But you should still factor in the fact that against dangerous magical opponents, your shield can be easily beaten by a foe with disruptive capabilities. If you fought Tirek when he escaped, you may have noticed that your shield did nothing to protect you; this is why."

Shining seemed to roll the idea around in his head, and after a couple of seconds, lit his horn again. This time, a new shield appeared, it was hexagonal in nature; Cadance recognized the structure as a particularly powerful 'all purpose' seven layer shield matrix.

"Ah..." Silver's shoulders went slack... "I knew the mare who crafted that spell's predecessor."

"Really?" Cadance said, from across the room.

"Yeah, say, do either of you know a 'Chrysalis'?"

Shining glared harder, and his spell dropped.

Cadance just hung her head, "I'm not even going to go there."

Silver just shrugged, "Another round?" She said to Shining, her response was getting a mana bolt to the face, sending her head over hooves into the powder. She came sliding to a halt and then her head popped up from the powder, "Whoo!" In the next moment she was in the air, and the spar continued.

After another hour of what may or may not be referred to as 'bullying' Shining into coming to several useful conclusions, Silver gave Cadance her written reports about 'spells' and they went on their way. The sun was down by the time they left. Shining was exhausted, but surprisingly content with the encounter, at least that's how he felt to Cadance.

Thus another day of dealing with Silver ended.

Heavens, I need a break
> Cadance's notes on the nature of "Pony Biokinetics" and the unique application of overcharging unicorn telekinesis
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Quick Silver's attempt at writing any sort of formal documentation of her spell work was seemingly taken as a joke, or maybe just ignored. As such, I did my best to make a cohesive description of what I could in a way that makes an amount of sense. For anyone who ends up reading this, be aware that these techniques use corruptive magics.



Unicorn Lightening:

The art of unicorn telekinesis is a good standing point to learning about racial manipulative traits. Things like earth pony strength and the unique mental characteristic of pegasi are both unique categories of magio-biological adaptations produced by the unique way specific pony races' souls ground themselves in the body.

In short, imagine how many points are on a line, that is how many grounding points a soul has in your body. To the uninformed, that simply means that the soul is "in" the body, but for someone who understands fifth dimensional geometry, the concept becomes simple when you introduce the functional dissonance of physics when filtered through the universe. Unicorn telekinesis is one of these such affects.

Different than the unique physical characteristics of the other races, the Unicorn's capability to cast telekinesis is purely instinctual and grounded in the mind. Similiar to that of an Earth Pony's uncanny ability to manipulate objects. Thus unlike most advanced spell form, Unicorn Telekenisis can be mixed with elemental and emotional casting to burn away all of the pesky rules control casting applies.

For example, normally a transportation spell of emotional context generated by greed, and the complex goal of being excited for an adventure, and thus containing the anticipation and anxiety of an adventure yet to have, can generate a non-causile spatial fold for ease of transport to a location of your choosing with a few restrictions, and at the cost of a horrendous amount of mana.

Unicorn Telekinesis has no such constraints, capable of moving anything, anywhere so long as the caster is aware of the object and the destination. The step up from a failed telekinesis spell lightly resembles prestidigitonium, and is manipulatable if you know what you're doing. Regardless of how useful and dominant emotional casting is as a spell form, breaking down Unicorn telekinesis into something manipulatable can only really function if you have a less intelligent form of energy source following your will.

To incite this power, merely begin to lift something with Unicorn Telekinesis, fill your mind with the imagery of where you'd like your message delivered too, and allow the telekinetics fail by dropping the mental focus guaranteed by stability, and trying to make up for it in power. Once the spell is suitably exploding, all that is required is a Phoenix Style mental runaround loop, the equivalent of thinking of a paradox to tie your will into the exploding spell form, with a hint of anticipation.

The result is a spell that forcefully turns whatever it was lifting into a wave of energy directed towards where ever the bound mental strata was imprinted with when you filled the dying spell with anticipation. It is subsequently more effective for smaller objects than opening spatial rifts, though it should be noted that casting this spell on large or living targets is not advised, as one of you will definitely die trying to consume the other in a wave of energy. It also has a particularly short range for this kind of spell, which it makes up for in it's versatility.

It should also be noted that while a Phoenix style run-around loop is a requirement to allow the anticipation the right formation inside the collapsing spell, there is a bit of leeway in what exactly the paradox in question is. As the direction of the spell takes subconscious cues from yourself, so long as whatever loop you create is a paradox to you, this spell should function properly. 

I like using the idea of dating as a consistent psychic energy grounding node.



On the subject of manipulating a ponies biology by force:

Starswirl postured early on in his discovery of advanced transformative magics that ponies were particularly immune to that branch of study due to the souls nature to resist the idea of it's temporary housing violently changing shape, making illusions the go to false mustache applier for generations. His postulates were generally true, as the soul tends to reject the idea of changing under the influence of another.

However, this likely evolutionary marvel can be exploited for it's intelligence.

I had theorized that if a soul was resistant to change it did not want, that it would encourage change it did want. For instance, take the life force transference theorem, which basically states that any energy transferred directly from one soul to another has a quickly closing limit on how much can be transferred in any given instance. Even the mightiest Alicorns cannot simply pump a dying pony full of magic to help them survive, it is why brute force healing spells have never become common place.

The reason for this is actually quite silly. Souls are expressly picky about what they allow inside them, what they allow to affect them. If it isn't the soul, or a direct creation of the soul, it is fought. Very similarly to how the body fights infection.

So how do you trick the soul's subtle intelligence into encouraging you to change it with energy that isn't it's own?

To put it simply, you kill the pony.

Souls very suddenly lose their picky nature when all of the grounding points in the body are suddenly  severed, and majoritively wish to return to their 'host' in order to continue living. Using a mixture of fear and pain, as well as a complex practice that can only be learned from inside the Astral Sea and fishing the actual point of death from their tangential future, it is possible to convince an unconscious pony's soul that it's host has died. From there, all you need to do is manipulate the meat puppet that is left of the host, easy enough to do with any complex matter manipulation spell, either corruptive or control based magic; I've seen harmonic magic do the trick as well.

As long as you make sure to regenerate the pony as they were, either in a repaired state before the injury, or a healthy state after the injury, the soul should take to the body. If you do not do this, there is roughly a fifty percent chance for the average soul that you have just created a lich. Please do not do that. The next step is to shove their soul back into their body. 

On average, this tends to work unless a pony has been viscerally injured over a long period, like say, gotten scar tissue from biting their lip from too long. One must also be a talented orniomancer in order to trick a soul into killing itself; in addition to having a solid grasp of hemokinesis and biogenisis. From there it is only a question of how much power and time you have. Luckily I devised a trick for fishing the latent visions of psychic death out of Eternity by simply converting surety into a psychic eminence when you cast the spell. In short, you won't have to look through infinite possibilities to find the right death for the pony, when you know exactly how they're about to die by your own will.

It is heavily recommended that anypony casting this spell on another be clearly aware that fear is a crucial element of emotion magic applied to making sure the caster is not the target of the spell. It is far to easy to rip your own soul out by accident by directing the Astral Sea to show you your own tangential fate. Fear stops this when woven into the spell. Any pony saving a life using this spell must value their own life over their target, as without the intent to truly kill, the lash back will instead rupture the sympathetic bonds that bind your soul to your mind.

A particularly stupid way to die, tricking your own soul into killing itself.



The spell form and equations Silver included as a visual aid are gruesome in their efficiency, and for the sake of not allowing these spells to be cast by just anypony; I will not be sharing said equations, and would like to equally say that anypony trying to cast theses spells without the fine tuning of the advanced spell form will absolutely suffer a horrible fate.

Do NOT try this at home.
> Ever wonder what rulers do in their free time?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was the day before the Galla; Cadance had sent Amber out to find her something to wear, and seeing as Amber was still at her desk just outside Cadance's office, it was clear she had delegated that task.

Cadance was far ahead of the curve in terms of paperwork.

Seems that pushing yourself worked out hmm?

She was idly tapping her hooves on her desk, the well crafted wooden thing was well worth the bits it had cost. Sturdy, reliable and fashionable. 

Minutes passed.

Ugh

Cadance stood and plodded over to her open office door.

"Amber?"

"Yes Princess?"

"Do you have something for me to do?"

Amber kept a straight face despite Cadance's playful tone, "Fortunately, there's no ingoing or outgoing paperwork that requires your attention."

"You have work to do there." Cadance non-specifically gestured to her desk.

"All organizational work." Amber clipped back

Cadance and Amber had a complex working relationship. One of the thing Cadance had developed with the mare by annoying her was job specificity. Amber had, at Cadance's encouragement, learned how to politely tell Cadance to buzz off when her particular talents weren't applicable to a situation. That being said, Cadance took the statement for what it actually was.

"Are you sure?" Cadance's voice filled with hope

"Yes; do you have a project you could start or work on?"

The comparison to a parent telling their hyperactive foal to leave them be was not lost on Cadance.

"I've been distracted by Quick Silver, recently."

"Maybe now is a good time to start something then." Amber had turned her attention away from her monarch, and was reading some treatise or something or other. Her response came in monotone, the final nail in the coffin for this particular conversation.

Cadance, nodding at the comment, entered halfway back into her office. Idly standing in the doorway as she tried to come up with something to do. Creativity wasn't Cadance's strong suit, but she tended to always get there in the end, in her head, she mentally listed out a couple of premises.

Construction, organization, pleasure, learning

I could go organize something... Delegate some ponies to...

She mentally failed to come up with something comprehensive to tell anypony else to do, and decided to come back to it later.

Construction efforts? Mmmmmnope. No bits for that... actually

Cadance looked down at her desk from her thoughtful pose, at little blue folder Silver had given her.

Silver can manifest crystal... permanent crystal it looked like

The folder seemingly stared back at her as if to say, 'yes, come learn all of the dark secrets I have to solve all of your tiny problems.'

Cadance was distinctly bored enough to mentally personify a folder, and decided to go for a walk to clear her head of fog. Turning and stepping out of her office, she gave a wave to Amber before making her way towards a balcony.

I could go embarrass Shining in front of his troops

They were running drills today, nothing special.

Maybe later

She passed by a maid and gave a soft smile.

Where to... Where to...

Failing on any general idea of where to go, besides not to wherever Silver was, she required a bit of peace at the moment, thank you very much; she decided to head towards the farming district on the outskirts.

Open air, plains view, good enough for me.

She spread her wings out on the balcony and got a read for the wind and the thermals before stepping over the rim and dropping into a steep glide towards the ground. Wings were incredibly useful, and even now, Cadance couldn't get over the twinge of thrill at dropping like a stone in the wind and turning up at just the last second under her own power.

Let's not, though, wouldn't want to freak anypony... anyone. Out

She pitched up her dive until she was smooth gliding and half galloping while she slowed, turning the flight into a run, and eventually a walk as she landed. She folded her wings and... walked.

The excitement of the past month or so fell into focus as she tried to sort out her feelings. Her own habit of using relaxation time to melt her capacity for interaction via mental organization wasn't perfect, but it worked. She made sure to smile and or wave at any pony that saw or greeted her as she walked. Luckily she was the 'friendly' down to earth kind of Princess, so her subjects seeing her out and about was nothing to throw a festival over.

I'll never know how Celestia does it

The crystal clinking of the road and Cadance's thoughts kept her busy until she reached the edge of the outermost ring of The Empire. Her appreciative sigh of the countryside turned into a glare at the... Crystal box that stood in a field out in the distance, some large warehouse not quite ruining the view, but annoying her nonetheless.

She giggled at her own irritation and began walking towards the structure.

Because why not? Right?

It piqued her curiosity, as it was clearly not for storing any realm of agricultural supplies, those structures were made exclusively out of metal and wood, as to not ruin the food with the strange nature of magical crystals.

So why is a giant warehouse sitting in the middle of what should be prime farming land?

Cadance didn't remember signing off on it, but nonetheless, it definitely happened, since there it was.

The fields look nice at least

She was currently treading through some short corn stalks, making a good effort to not trample them before coming towards a crystal road that separated the field. A road that led towards the warehouse. She gave it a once over, and continued on her way.

Something in the back of her mind made her wary, which didn't help when a pony towing a cart wandered up and tilted his sun visor at her. He seemingly didn't plan on stopping, so she stood in his path and smiled at him.

He came to a halt and conducted the normalized response to being stopped out in a field by your monarch. "Well happy midday Princess, what can I help you with?"

She took a step forward to close the distance, "Nothing complex, I'm just working on a little project of my own, can I ask what you are doing and what you think of it?"

He took on a head tilt, "This like a survey your Highness?"

"Sortof."

It's a survey of one, and I'm the only one that wants to know

Of course, she could have just asked directly; rule thirty five of ruling as taught to her by Celestia caused her to do otherwise. Simply put, don't act like you don't know what you're doing.

"Well ifn' that's all, I'm hauling equipment, and nails, for the surrounding homesteads."

"What kind of equipment?"

"Oh just hoes, rakes and the like. Farming equipment."

"And what do you think of the work?"

He nodded and smiled, "It's good honest work, delivering, I'll say. Keeps me out all day, pays well, and I get to see plenty on the way. Not to mention it's nice to see the nice folks out here everyday instead of doing the farm work myself."

Cadance broadened her smile into a real one. It was nice to know, regardless of the oddity of it's presence, that apparently the work was satisfying.

"Thank you very much mister?" She trailed off

"Oh, no need to mister me Princess, I'm not quite that old yet. My name's Cross Trail."

"Thank you very much for your time, Cross Trail." She stepped out of the way.

"No worries at all Princess." He began to continue, but she waved at him

"Oh, one more thing. How are you liking your stay in The Empire?"

He looked at her in confusion, "Oh! Oh I don't live in The Empire Princess. I just work here."

He makes the trip up to... What?

"Tack & Co. provides transportation for their working ponies, wherever they are. It was one of their hiring slogans" His trottingham accent suddenly made more sense.

"Are you a new employee?" Cadance tried to distract from her confusion.

"Yup, I started working here barely two weeks ago."

Oh dear... that's awfully consistent with another timeline.

"Thank you Cross Trail, that's everything I needed."

"You have a fine day Princess" He tilted his visor again and walked off.

Cadance looked back towards the warehouse with a healthy dose of apprehension.

Silver... what did you do now.

She continued the rest of the way up the road until it opened up into some sort of flat crystal yard. There were lamps for when it seemingly got dark, and plenty of carriages sitting around, transport carriages. There were a couple of what looked like pegasi chariots that had been retrofitted to carry heavier loads, and were branded with a number of slogans having to do with 'Tack & Co.'

There was plenty of activity out in the lot. Ponies were loading up carts and setting off on various different paths. There was a group of ponies in shiny vests directing the traffic, and another of a different colour actually loading up the carriages. They were pulling piles of boxes and wrapped tools out from an overhead door in the side of the warehouse on massive carts that took two ponies to maneuver properly. All in all, it was a bustling territory of activity and organization.

She walked up to it, waiting to catch someponies' eyes.

A pegasus mare with a nice auburn mane in a red vest approached her. "Hello Princess Cadance, how can I help you?"

"I was wondering if I could talk to the pony in charge?" She tried 

"That would be me, technically" She pulled out a massive smile and lifted up her limb to bump hooves, "Autumn Breeze, your Highness."

Cadance followed the gesture and bumped hooves with the mare. "Technically?"

"There's no 'main' pony in charge here, we all just do our jobs to keep everything moving. I'm a lead pony, about as high up as you can get."

"And what exactly are you up to today?"

Cadance watched the mare turn from friendly to professional, "I'm sorry but our business procedures are all 'trade secrets' and such." She tried to play it off in a friendly way, but the message was clear.

"Could you direct me to somepony I could talk to then?"

The mare hid a grimace, but nodded, "Of course, right this way Princess" and led the way towards the corner of the structure, away from the yard. There was a doorway Autumn held open for Cadance; to which she was greeted by a plush yet professional air conditioned reception. There was a blue toned crystal stallion sitting at the desk who looked up and tried to not widen his eyes as Cadance entered.

What are you so worried about?

"Hey Marine, is Galligar in right now?"

"Uh..." 'marine' tore his eyes from Cadance and looked at something behind the rim of the desk he sat at, "Uh yeah, he got in just an hour ago."

"Office?" Autumn asked,

The stallion nodded, and Autumn walked down the right hallway to the side of the desk, she opened a door, into another hallway full of doors with name tags, and the occasional glass wall with what looked like meeting rooms behind it. Despite the tight corridors, Cadance managed to not bump herself on anything.

Autumn came to a stop at a door and knocked. A keening voice called through in native Grifonin, to which Cadance realized that 'Galligar' was not a pony name.

The griffon in question, a gray and brown feathered tercel, had an old book smell mixed with chemicals. He swung open the door, inwards, and glanced at Autumn and Cadance. Autumn wearing an apologetic look, and Cadance trying to maintain a neutral outlook.

This is far bigger than I imagined

"I see." He said slowly. He gestured to Cadance, "Thank you Autumn, please Princess, step into my office."

She did, and Autumn slipped past her in the tight hallway, Cadance read, 'accountant lead' under his name on the mounted brass card on the wall.

The office was... decorated... a lot. It reminded Cadance very closely of some of the sitting rooms she'd seen in Griffonia. Galligar took a seat at his desk after pulling out a griffon style fur chair out for her to sit in.

She chose to stand.

Galligar steepled his talons, "How can I help you, your Highness?"

"I'm just doing an inspection of the grounds and its operations, Ms. Breeze brought me here to speak with you when I asked her."

Keep it together

"I know why, if you're curious." He said with a hint of sarcasm

"Enlighten me." She said with the same back

"It's because everything you just said is rat shit."

Alright

"So we're not doing the pleasantries and formality thing?" She said, narrowing her eyes.

The changeling in front of her undisguised themselves. She lifted her wings to defend herself, but no attack came.

"No. We're not, my instructions say otherwise." The changeling's voice was the normal bug-like double tone of their species.

Cadance kept herself tensed, and had a defensive force spell primed in her horn, "Your instructions?"

"Some of us get special operating procedures, for changelings, if you're ever on site, and corner us, we're to undisguise and explain a series of statements. For me, since I'm the defacto leader of the Changelings on site; I get to deal with you." The changeling put a holed limb on the bridge of its snout and sighed.

"You're going to need a good explanation. I already know Silver's got her hooves in this, so there's no need to hide anything."

"Who?" The changeling tilted it's head, and Cadance felt the spark of genuine confusion

"Uh." Cadance's mind mentally staggered in place, "Quick Silver?"

The changeling tilted its head more.

"Never mind, what are you supposed to tell me?"

"My name is Kirsha, and I don't associate with Queen Chrysalis. "

Cadance waited for more. There wasn't.

"Is that all?"

"Yes?"

Now I definitely know for sure. That has Silver written all over it.

"If you don't associate with Chrysalis, then why are you here?" Suspicion coated her voice

"I work for Tack & Co. as their lead accountant." Kirsha said straight faced.

Cadance tried to make sense of that statement, she settled on "Why" eventually.

"I've got a good head for numbers?" Kirsha tried

"No. Why do you work here? What do you get out of it?"

"I get money, love, and work."

"You take love from the ponies here?"

"No, I get paid in love, it gets taken out of my regular pay."

"Who decides that?"

"I do." Kirsha gestured at her title and name on her desk, "I'm the accounting lead."

"Who tells you what to do? Who's in charge of you?"

"I'm really not supposed to talk about that." Kirsha said, trying to shrink back into her swivel chair.

Throughout their back and forth, Cadance had slowly meandered her way forwards, and currently had her hooves on the edge of the desk. It wasn't nearly as nice as hers.

Despite what most ponies were aware of, Cadance had spent roughly three decades of her life abroad, and was thoroughly mentally immersed in the nature and culture of the races that surrounded the Equestrian homefront. Similarly, contrary to popular belief, Cadance wasn't exactly the kindest negotiator in the land; Equestria was the largest power in the world, it was leverage she had to use frequently during her diplomatic escapades, that being said,

Cadance was well versed in the art of intimidation, regardless of her general will to do it. Here though, she was completely comfortable pulling out all the stops.

She lit her horn as she loomed over the changeling, "I'm not giving you a choice." 

She had no spell charged, it was just to spook the thing.

"I don't know!" Kirsha said, fully sitting back in her chair. "None of us do! We just get instructions and organizational feedback in writing!" 

"Explain."

"There's a suggestion box!" Kirsha quickly moved her hooves in the shape of a box, "It's a daily activity we do at lunch! We pull all the papers out and go over them to see what we can improve, sometimes a sealed letter comes through with instructions from the owner telling us what to do! That's all I know about them! Honest!"

Cadance narrowed her eyes, sure she felt a little guilty at playing the 'terror' so much, but Changelings tended to fear her anyways, so why not lean into it? "And what exactly does Tack & Co. Do?"

The Changeling shook its head, "I'm not supposed to talk about that either"

Cadance snarked, "Still not giving you a choice."

The bug spent several moments deliberating its response. "We do transport, buying and selling." Kirsha said quietly, she looked ashamed

Cadance mentally back tracked, "Explain?"

"We have portal stations all across Equestria, we buy things cheap and in bulk from the source, and sell them where the demand is highest."

"And that works?"

Kirsha nodded swiftly and jaggedly, "You can buy a ton of nails from Trottingham for an eighth bit a piece, but they sell in the Empire for one."

That can't be all this is

"Portal stations? How does that work?"

"I'm not supposed to talk about that too, and I don't know, even if I could, I'm an accountant, not a technician."

"Then take me to someone that can explain."

Kirsha looked up at the visage Cadance was putting out and smirked, "Actually, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, now."

Uh oh

"You're not the only one that can read emotions Princess."

Kirsha opened a drawer and magicked a leaflet of paper to her.

It was a description, written like a stage play. It depicted the bounds of the current conversation, and the premise. It had lists of responses and things Kirsha was meant to say to Cadance.

"Whoever does own Tack & Co., read you like a book."

Cadance put the paper down on the desk slowly, "This doesn't mean that you're off the hook" She said, dropping her menacing vibe, her normal tone returning.

"Of course not, did you read the end?"

Cadance turned her gaze back to the paper




I also knew you wouldn't read the end.

1. Do not harass my employees 
2. You are being recorded by magic tracking cameras
3. I will absolutely sue your wings off of your back if you interrupt my operations

Everything I'm doing here is up to code, and besides your personal reservations about Changelings, the majority of them are kind hearted. Don't misuse my trust in you Little Princess, or I will make sure you cannot.




What kind of trust is it if you have pages of interactive media for your employees to 'deal with me'

The paper also included the instructions to show Cadance the paper, the note reading that once she read the end, she'd leave whomever it concerned alone.

Cadance wanted to make a fuss, but obviously Silver was prepared for that.

Too prepared

Cadance realized something.

This is it. This is what she's doing. It has something to do with Tack & Co.

Cadance rolled up the paper and slid it back over to Kirsha who was calmly watching Cadance with a neutral expression.

"I think I'll be taking my leave then."

Kirsha returned to her griffon form, "Goodbye Princess, it was a pleasure helping you answer all your questions."

Cadance nearly turned and said something rude, but the phrase 'most of them are kind hearted' stuck in her mind, so she simply left. That is, she also tried to spot where the 'magic tracking cameras' were, but she guessed that if Silver wanted them to not be easily visible, she probably wouldn't notice them without magic.

and a high octane scanning spell was probably not a good idea.

She trotted out back towards reception where the blue stallion waved to her with a smile.

She gave him a once over, not bothering to return the kind gesture, "Do you have one of those papers too?"

His smile turned apologetic.

She sighed and left.

At least it was still nice outside.
> The Gala, part 1
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I'm not sure I understand why this is so important."

Shining was confused, which was okay; he didn't know Silver like Cadance did.

At the moment: Cadance, Amber and Shining Armor were sitting in their bedroom covered in papers and white boards. It was the day of the Gala, and Cadance had work to do.

She shifted a paper on air ordinance laws, "It's important because this is Silver's plan." She pointed towards their 'brainstorming' white board, "Silver tried very hard to keep this hidden, and was incredibly prepared to keep me out of it."

"It makes enough sense too." Amber said, "If she can't do damage with magic without getting caught, the next best thing would be to take over politically and economically."

Cadance looked up at their board. There was a menagerie of random comments and offshoots from a bubble with 'Tack & Co.' at the center. Apparently the idea was ingenious. Nopony had done it before because bulk transport portals had range and mass issues that nopony could figure out. Obviously Silver could, and the instant transport from region to region was incredibly lucrative.

"I still think it's some sort of world conquering idea." Shining was stuck on the 'portals to everywhere in Equestria' part

Cadance nodded, "It very well might be, who knows how much damage Silver could do to every single major settlement in Equestria before we could react."

The good news is that Cadance knew that wouldn't happen. Silver wouldn't blow all of her leverage on some massive world destroying attack, because she'd still lose in the end. Silver wanted to win, permanently. Tack & Co. wasn't part of some revenge scheme, everything Cadance knew about Silver pointed away from it. 

So why?

"I don't think that's the case though. There's plenty of ways Silver could more subtly destroy Equestria." Amber said

Cadance finished, "And she'd still lose in the end, that's not her goal."

"So it's some kind of economic power grab?"

Amber shifted a paper over on the crystal floor, "A decent one at that, Tack & Co. is operating in a market that's basically wide open. With the right innovations and connections, Tack & Co. could theoretically dominate and monopolize the transport industry in just over a year."

"How many bits is that?" 

Amber grimaced, "If she takes advantage of price ranges not responding to the new technologies of Tack & Co. because of the novelty factor? She'd outpace The Empire's coffers in two."

"Surely there are laws against one pony becoming that powerful?"

Cadance shook her head, Shining had a morning meeting so he had missed that part.

"We scoured the books for it, but a combination of Silver's Noble title, a technical international company, and dual citizenship means that there's no law, ordinance or treatise that Silver is breaking. We can't pin anything on the company either."

"As far as the law is concerned, the company is an independent lawful party, subject to international laws. Silver has neatly sidestepped our ability to slow her down." Amber finished

Shining Armor nodded grimly, "What I don't get is how she got so many ponies there so fast, and trained too."

"Hoof Take industry is a hiring company." Cadance said

"A what?"

Amber explained, "It basically means that they organize hiring processes for thousands of ponies who sign up. Instead of putting up job posters, ponies give their resumes to Hoof Take, and companies just go there to hire their employees."

"And Silver bought them out." Cadance lifted up the letter she expedited from the mayor of Manehatten and magicked it over to Shining, "Apparently Silver cut a deal with the owner to hire all of their employees in exchange for exclusivity. Hoof Take works for Tack & Co. now, finding ponies to fill the workforce."

Shining took the letter and started to read while Amber spoke, "Apparently their headquarters went up practically overnight, so nopony noticed. Silver paid a construction crew double overtime and hired several architect experts from both The Empire and Equestria for the construction; the ponies worked two days straight."

Cadance slapped a hoof to her forehead, "That groundbreaking request I expedited, I totally forgot about that. They must have started practically as soon as the paperwork went through."

"Can't we pull this down for the hostile takeover of Hoof Take?"

Amber shook her head, "Because the owner is still in charge, and the investors signed off on it, no. It's an informal agreement between the two."

"So what do we do?" He asked

Cadance knew this part, "At the moment? Nothing. We can't act on this until we have more information, but we're steadily catching up."

Shining continued, his tone dropping, "I'm concerned we won't catch up fast enough."

"We have to try."

Amber spoke up, "In all honesty, there is little to be concerned about. An economic superpower located in the Crystal Empire could work for us. The worst that could happen is Silver leads the economic sector of The Empire for the next several generations." She looked up at the two royals, "That's not really malevolent is it?"

Shining frowned, "It probably won't look bad until it's exactly too late for us to do anything."

Cadance nodded

Despite what she wanted to believe, that was the truth. If Silver truly planned on doing something 'bad' then she'd wait until the absolute last moment to reveal her hoof. They had to be ready for it, especially with the amount of damage the amount of bits Silver was raking in could do. Especially in her hooves.

"The good news is that we have a lead now." Cadance shook her head, "Silver's not doing anything else big, everything we've been dealing with so far must have been lucky distractions Silver took advantage of."

"You know what I just realized?" Shining said, "She lied, she said she'd tell us the big things she was up to, like you told her." He pointed to Cadance, "But she didn't."

Cadance gave a sideways smile, "Uhhh, well...."

"Cadance"

"She was pretty clear how ambiguous the agreement was to her... I guess I just didn't ask afterwards?"

Shining put his face in his hooves.

"I suppose you'll have time to ask her when she arrives for the Gala." Amber said

Ah yes... that

Cadance had received her dress, it was a big comfy florally decorated sun dress with even greens and soft yellows, speckled with flashes of bright vibrant flower colours. It didn't really match her coat... or mane, but it was very pretty.

"Silver definitely knows I know by now." Cadance said mostly to herself, "It's worth asking, I might get some more information."

"So... Lunch?" Shining said hopefully.

They'd been here for several hours past lunchtime. Everything was closed today in The Spire for the Gala, so they had no other responsibilities for the day.

"How will Silver know when to show up?"

"I could always use that sending spell she gave me."

"Cadance, we talked about that, I don't want you using corruptive magics."

Cadance pursed her lips, "It's only half emotion..."

"Cadance"

"I can handle it, Shining."

"I know, I still don't want you doing it, full stop."

"Celestia does dark magic."

"Celestia's been doing it for a thousand years."

Cadance gestured ambiguously.

"Yes I know I just argued myself into a corner."

Amber watched the interaction break down to gestures and short phrases as the couple communicated in what she could only call 'the chicken scratch of married arguing.'

"I'm going to test it." Cadance had said with a wry smile near the tail end as she stood and grabbed a paper in her telekinesis.

Shining tried to reason with her, having lost the battle of wills. Which failed as he was impacted by the spell.

Cadance had tried to send the paper to him, which worked, as the jolt of magical electricity jumped from her horn to the paper and consumed the page into a wave of force. What Cadance did not know, however, was that the power she'd put into the spell, plus her lack of practice, had given it a 'minimum range' of sorts. The result was that the spell couldn't disengage before arriving, and instead slammed into Shining's face.

Shining rolled onto his back, seemingly knocked over by a piece of paper shredding itself on his face at a quarter the speed of sound.

Cadance covered her mouth with her hoof.

"Ow."

"Sorry."

At least it worked.
> The Gala, part 2
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was just about evening now, and Cadance had spent the majority of lunch with Shining trying to get their minds off Silver.

Shining apparently had a good handle on the guard presence. With the incoming EUP transfers, they'd actually be a military force, both internally and externally. That was good, at least from a political standpoint. It also gave plenty of ponies jobs and a positive mental outlook, which was a perfect bonus. That wasn't all Shining does though, despite his head for guard work, having been the captain of the Canterlot militia for most of his working life...

Actually... that is pretty much all he does. Guard work, or guard work adjacent

Now, Cadance was cleaning up the mess they'd made in their bedroom. They hadn't intentionally started their impromptu thought storm in their bedroom. That's just where the conversation started, and when Amber arrived, Cadance had just gone with it.

She kept the white board, she knew Shining may not appreciate it being left in their room, so she flipped it over against the wall and then stared at it for a few moments.

Yup... good enough.

She smiled at the thought. Few ponies knew of Cadance's playful side, though that came with being a Princess, and a media personality.

Plus, annoying ponies... Lightly, not the way Discord does it, was funny. It just was.

She looked out towards the window, checking the time.

I better get dressed and work my mane.

And she did. Cadance's mane had mostly regrown by now so there was plenty of strands to brush and arrange in an interesting pattern, seeing that she'd be wearing a bright rimmed hat, she'd pulled her mane up into an extravagant bun, with the edges hanging down with sparse bangs. The intent was to have the hat cover the majority of her mane, and have the shorter multi-coloured strands hang out from underneath. A little application of makeup to lighten her features from under the hat, and she was good to slip into the dress.

Moments later, Silver arrived, walking straight into their room from a magic portal. Cadance heard from the bathroom.

"Oh, Little Princess?" Silver called out from outside, Cadance made her way out and blanched at Silver's... Getup, if it could be called that.

She looks like the dumpster threw her out

Her mane was greasy, and splayed around, her fur had lost its sheen, and she was wearing her best impression at 'hobo' with several layers of dirty holed overcoats... and pants.

"You look stunning my dear." Silver said in her same posh tone she'd addressed ponies not Cadance and Shining. 

Cadance gapped

Silver chuckled, "What? Is there something on my face?"

"You"

Silver laughed a bit harder

"You can't go to the Gala wearing... looking like that."

"Why not?"

"You look like you're homeless."

"I am, technically."

"You own a house"

Somehow

"I don't sleep where I work."

"Where do you sleep?"

"I don't."

Cadance halted their back and forth, "You don't sleep?"

"Haven't for as long as I can remember. All of my forays into the dream realm are manual." Silver had dropped her joking tone.

Cadance narrowed her eyes, "You remember sleeping." She said, as an accusation

"It's not really a lie if it's blatantly obvious." Silver flippantly responded, looking around Cadance's bedroom, "Plus, why waste all this space for somewhere you only sleep in? Seems better to throw it out all together."

"Silver, not sleeping is really bad for you." She tried to sound like a disappointed mother

"Oh yes." Silver gave Cadance a playful, yet menacing look, "I am definitely insane."

Cadance frowned

"Luna wouldn't stop bothering me if I slept." Silver said, more seriously, "I can't afford the distraction. One pony princess demanding my friendship is all I have time for."

"You still can't wear that."

"Please. Little Princess, spare me." Silver tutted, "I've ruled and manipulated crowds of things far more unruly than the Canterlot nobles. I know exactly what this ensemble will do, and I plan to play the game to my heart's content tonight."

"You promise it's not just a joke?"

"I promise." Silver smirked, "Plus, you now know why I'm intent on making some connections"

"Tack & Co." Cadance said simply, to which Silver suppressed a chuckle

"Yes yes, what do you think? By the way?"

"Of Tack & Co.?" Cadance said again, to which Silver laughed fully, before covering her mouth with a hoof.

"What's so funny?"

"Nothing, Little Princess. Nothing at all." She said with a shit-eating grin.

Silver was still distant. She was very here in the same way Silver was always 'present'. She had an aura to her, but was still at least personally, keeping her distance. Distracting Cadance with light chatter and complex interaction was something she could probably do all night; something Cadance was prepared for.

Time to play

"So you're avoiding Luna?" She asked, and then tentatively tacked onto the end, "What for?"

Silver gave her another far off look. Half way between answering and not.

"Just tell me... What am I going to do about it?" 

Forceful, back off, and

"Heh." Silver gave a smile, "Fair enough; There's no reason for me to interact with her. She's learned her lesson, has her whole life ahead of her."

What you're not saying, is that you don't think she wants you around.

Or that you don't want to...

"What about Celestia?"

"Ohoho, not everything Little Princess." Silver waggled a hoof in a 'no' gesture, "Celestia's still part of the endgame, I have to deal with her eventually, and I don't want to spoil the surprise."

Despite the success, the mental gymnastics were starting to give her a headache. She could see plenty of the conversational pitfalls, it was what she didn't know that worried her.

"So they're connected? Avoiding Luna and Celestia? There's something you can do for her? Some lessons you still want to 'teach'."

Silver appraised Cadance with a proud look, before nodding simply.

Cadance racked her mind, trying to connect the dots between an economic powerhouse, a dark magician, and a millennia old part of The Sun.

"What?"

She ended up sticking her hoof in her mouth by just blatantly asking.

Silver smiled a smile far too big to be possible. "I'm going to teach her how to lose."

Drat

That was the stone wall. Of course it meant something, but she wasn't going to get anything else but that.

Silver, obviously sensing she had 'gotten' Cadance swung a hoof to the still open portal in her bedroom. "Shall we?"

Cadance mentally recovered in record time, "Actually, I was thinking chariot."

"Isn't that an hour flight?"

Cadance nodded.

Silver frowned and went silent.

"I don't know how to tell you that I don't have the energy to sit in a chariot with you for an hour and then spend the night around more children."

Cadance went to respond, but Silver cut her off

"Actually no, I lie, I know exactly how to do that." Silver met Cadance's eyes, "I don't have the patience to interact with you for an hour, followed by a bunch of children, without spontaneously combusting." Silver mimed waving some hot air over herself, "Woo there we go, that wasn't so hard."

"So you want to portal there?"

"Obviously."

"The Gala doesn't start for another two hours."

"I like being fashionably early."

Cadance's response was to look sideways at Silver's clothing of choice. Luckily for her, the smell was inaccurate to the look.

"I like being early." Silver amended.

"Want to play a game to pass an hour?"

Silver's ears perked up. "A game?"

Cadance magicked a chess board and a fold out stand to the spot they were standing on, "Do you play chess?"

"I have played chess." Silver steepled her hooves, "Are you asking to play chess against the greatest intellectual mind of this age?"

Cadance monotoned, "We're kinda doing it without the board anyways."

"You brought that on yourself."

She rolled her eyes and set the board.

What followed was absolutely the weirdest game of chess Cadance had ever played. Silver seemingly took absolutely random moves, doing things that had actually no strategic benefit for the game, and against Cadance's initial belief that she was just missing Silver's grand plan, she eventually won the game.

"Checkmate." She said slowly

"Actually you have a checkmate in two more moves, look." 

Silver moved her Princess to another tile to safety, and then magicked one of her pieces to the side, and then moved her Princess again, and then moved another one of Cadance's pieces, and that was checkmate.

"Did you let me win?"

"No?" Silver leaned forwards, "Did it feel like I did?"

"You were doing completely random things."

"Mhm."

"Wait, so it was completely random? Why?"

"Mind if I lecture you for a moment?"

Cadance nodded for her to go ahead.

"Take the example of the two forces taking the field." She gestured to the board, "In a skirmish with people in the real world, there's best choices, and good ideas, and probable counters. Too many factors for the average to manage, and for the above average to coordinate over so many people."

"In chess, however, that's not the case. Things are far more cut and dry, there's no retreat, and every force can take out any other. The possible strategy is limited to positioning only, essentially."

"So what strategy can you employ against an opponent that completely forgoes any kind of positing?" Silver rearranged to board to a state Cadance recognized from halfway through their game.

"If you had moved this piece here, I would have been able to turn the tide." She pointed to the piece in question, "But you played defensively, and waited out my random movements until I had gotten rid of my own advantage."

"You're saying that because you played randomly, the outcome of the game was random?"

"Not at all, my random movements were designed to confuse and disorient your own plan and counters. The strategy also limits your moves to being incredibly simple, lest you want to make a mistake early. That means that if you had made a mistake, I would have been able to easily wipe your pieces from the board."

Silver sat back down and shrugged, "But it just didn't happen this game."

"You try to work in wisdom to everything you do don't you?"

"There's wisdom to be found in everything, Little Princess." Silver smiled, "Shall we play again?"

They did. It was exactly the same up until the tail end of the game, Cadance played defensively, too defensively. She'd wasted too many turns moving too few pieces too slowly. 

"I win."

"You do?" The board was far from either of them checking, muchless checkmating.

"Observe carefully."

A wave of cerulean magic overtook the board and each piece. Cadance watched Silver play out the remaining thirteen moves of the game, every time she moved one of Cadance's pieces, it was definitely what Cadance would have done.

"Checkmate." The board settled

"Huh. So it happened in this game."

"Sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn't. There's no strategy to employ against it, which gives it a roughly fifty percent success rate. Just over, since I know exactly what to look for before turning the tides."

Cadance looked at the state of the board. "Why use that strategy?"

"Why not?"

Like you were expecting something else

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Her headache returned

Maybe not the best way to spend the hour

"Hey wait, you still spent the hour with me anyways." She pouted

Silver shrugged, "I don't like chariots."

She tried to rub the pressure out of her head at her snout.

"Don't look so tired yet Little Princess, we have a whole party to crash."

"Ugh, don't remind me."

"Not a fan of The Gala?" Came Silver's soft question.

Cadance looked up to see a surprisingly soft look coming from the messy pegasus

"No. I... The Canterlot Nobles have a lot of bad memories tied up with them."

"Ah. Say no more, I completely understand. An upcoming Alicorn like yourself was certainly torn to shreds the moment you appeared. Used and abused by the likes that wanted things from you, instead of wanting you."

"Yeah" Cadance felt a smile tugging at her lips, "Exactly that."

Silver kicked the table over and scattered the chess pieces across the room.

"Silver!"

She was up to Cadance and grabbed her by the hoof.

We're going now then I guess

"Let's go take some back." Silver passionately drove the comment into Cadance's mind as they passed through the portal.

They'd emerged in Silver's ice cavern workshop, Silver leading the unwilling Alicorn to the teleportation array, citing that they couldn't take the 'dark magic express' with Celestia breathing down her neck.

With a flash, they were in the palace gardens.

"The gardens?"

"Party adjacent. We can arrive on our own time."

I thought you-

"That being now; let's draw some eyes Little Princess." Silver looked her over, and then waved a hoof, Cadance's clothes transformed. What was a nature themed sundress became a nature themed moondress. The blacks and lilacs fit with Cadance's coat far better, and the triangular hat tied the look together.

“Whoah”

Silver tapped her hoof on her chin while Cadance observed the changes, a flower floated over to Cadance, rapidly shifting in colour, and Silver wrapped the levitating flower around the top of the hat, and made it grow big enough to be a proper centerpiece.

Silver produced a standing mirror, from somewhere, "What do you think?"

"I think I'll add fashion to your growing list of endless skills" She snarked.

The mirror disappeared and Silver noncommittedly said, "You pick up colour theory by accident by your third century."

"And the flower?"

"Some transmutation, with a light based enchantment, nothing bad I swear."

Cadance gave Silver an over the shoulder hug, "Thank you. It's the second nicest dress I've ever worn."

Silver was muffled beneath the bulk of the larger mare, but extricated herself from the hug regardless, clearly not enjoying it in the slightest. "Second best? I can't regale myself to second best."

"You'll have to beat my wedding dress."

"Second best it is then."

Cadance chuckled. "You know, you'd be a really good friend if you gave it a chance. Not just with me."

"I am a very good friend Little Princess." She said with a bit of edge, but not dropping her smile. "I know that plenty well, now let's get to partying. The early comers will be the first turn for the crowd."

"Lead on then."

"Oh, I was born to lead." 

With that, they walked in through one of the palace doors, into the hallway. Luckily they bypassed the entrance to the Gala, where Celestia undoubtedly was, despite her own belief that Silver was exaggerating, she was still worried about any confrontation.

They made their way past a couple of party goers wandering the palace, drawing plenty of gawking stares and one particularly funny spit take as they made their way to the actual party location. How exactly Silver knew where it was, she didn't know, she didn't even know where it was.

Maybe she doesn't. Maybe she's just pretending to know until she finds it.

Cadance never got her answer, but they did get to the ballroom. They hadn't gone all out this year apparently. There was a stage, carpet, sparse decorations, confetti, and a nice cool and smooth colour pallet in the room. "Not too shabby" she said aloud

Her mind thought back to the Zebra Sultan's decorations when she went to work out a crystal trade deal for exotic spices. 

Definitely not the best I'-

"Go grab some wine, I've found our first mark."

Mark? Oh here we go.

She felt Silver lightly tugging her over to the buffet table, so she decided to walk on her own. "You know, we can just enjoy the night, we don't have to play 'the game'" She said with verbal air quotes.

Silver stopped walking and turned to face her entirely.

"Alright." Silver grunted after rolling her eyes, "How about this?" Silver pulled out a bit, "You flip this bit, tails we relax, heads we do things my way."

With a smirk Cadance used her magic to flip the bit in Silver's hoof once from heads to tails. "Guess we relax."

Silver stared at the coin in her hoof for a split second before exploding with laughter. She tossed the coin into the air, and it fell into her mess of a mane and disappeared. "You got me good!"

Cadance gave a good natured 'Princess giggle' and Silver's intense love of her joke.

Silver's laughter petered out into chuckling, "Relax it is, though I reserve the right to mess with anyone who approaches us."

"Speaking of."

A pink mare with a very purple mane approached them, "Good evening Princess Cadance," The mare gave a short bow, "I must say, the menagerie is in an uproar seeing you again at a Gala."

"Nothing I wouldn't expect Ma'am. Cadance here is truly a sight to behold."

"And who are you?" She verbally snarled

"Oh, nopony special my dear, say, and you?"

"I am Spoiled Rich." she said, turning her nose up.

"Well it's a pleasure to meet you Mrs. Rich."

"I wish I could say likewise, this is the greatest event of the year, not an alleyway." The mare was clearly nearly gnashing her teeth at Silver. Silver, however, kept her face straight, and her tone polite.

"Say Mrs. Rich, that's a lovely gown you're wearing."

"I'm surprised you could recognize fashion at all."

"And how many looks are you getting? Hmm? Everypony seems to be looking at me, between the two of us."

Spoiled turned to look, and with that, Cadance knew well enough, Silver had just won their verbal sparring. Similarly, it's not even that Silver was wrong. There were plenty of ponies observing only Silver, even in leu of Cadance herself.

"Humph!" Spoiled lifted her nose and briskly trotted away from the pair.

"Heh" Silver watched Spoiled leave, Cadance saw the contented amusement written all over her face.

"A sight to behold?" Cadance tried

"Complimenting my own work, really." Silver turned away and walked up to the buffet

"Hey!"

Silver offered her a sparkling glass of some white wine, and fished a hors d'oeuvre on a stick off the table and appraised it.

"Do you always have to have me drink whenever we go out?"

"It helps you get out of your own head."

"Mmmm."

Cadance could sense the spell present on the cup, the same one Silver always cast for her.

I guess?

"What does this spell do anyways?"

"Hmm? The... Alcohol spell?" Silver put the hors d'oeuvre back on the table, seemingly deciding she didn't want it. Grabbed her own cup of wine and they began walking towards a table off to the side of the rug.

I don't like the way she had to think of what it was called

"Yes, and you never cast it on your own drinks."

"It doesn't work on me."

"Don't try and distract me Missy."

"You're awfully playful tonight."

"What did I just say" Cadance said with a smile

"Can't blame a mare for trying."

"Just tell me"

Silver's tone dropped hard, "I'll tell you later, seven 'o clock"

"Cadance!"

Twilight approached the two sitting at the table.

Silver watched as they shared their special greeting, smiling warmly, something Cadance missed.

"Oh Twilight, it's good to see you again."

Celestia was there, and Cadance boxed up her worry and shoved it out of her mind. Celestia was better at reading ponies than even she was. 

Careful now Cadance, steady.

"Hello my niece, who is this?"

"And what is she wearing?" Twilight said in mild disgust.

Cadance sent it, "This is my plus one, Quick Silver. She helped us uncover a dangerous plot to resurrect Sombra, and is of The Noble House of Silvers."

"And I'm wearing the most eye-catching ensemble in the room." Silver said towards Twilight, who stepped back on instinct after realizing exactly who this was.

Celestia giggled, "Eye catching is right, what pray tell is it meant to state?"

"Poverty among riches."

Celestia made a weird face, and shook her head. "Sorry, that's... I've just not hear that phrase in a long time." She smiled warmly, "You said your name was Quick Silver?"

"That's right your highness, it's a pleasure to formally make your acquaintance."

Silver and Celestia quickly bumped hooves, and began talking about nothing, as you do at parties like this. 

"Is that..?" Twilight whispered beside Cadance, who at the moment was wearing a very clearly forced stressed grin as Silver talked to Celestia.

She shook her apprehension off, "Yeah."

"Is that a good idea?"

"Yeah."

Twilight rolled the response through her mind. "Okay." She did the same banishment of her own apprehension, and smiled at Cadance, "It really is good to see you. I love your dress."

"Silver's idea."

"Really?"

Cadance sipped her wine, "Mhm."

Celestia laughed, not a princessly chuckle, but a well and proper laugh, "Oh Ms. Silver, you are a card."

"I try my hardest, your Highness."

"Well it was lovely to meet you, Twilight? Shall we?"

"Yes Princess." Twilight left Cadance's side.

"Have a wonderful night you two, that nothing won't do itself." Silver said with a wave and wry grin. 

Celestia giggled again, and trotted off with Twilight in tow.

Silver slumped over the table.

"You okay?" Cadance asked.

"She's far better than I remember." Despite her likely false exaggerated exhaustion, Silver smiled, "I'm so proud of her."

That comment wasn't for Cadance. So she didn't say anything

She actually tried to forget about it. Feeling like the first bit of emotion she'd ever seen from Silver was something so alien, and so raw that it just wasn't something she should touch.
> The Gala, part C
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What is that!" 

Cadance heard Rarity cry from across the room. Glancing over, she saw that indeed Rarity was pointing with horror at Quick Silver. Who ignored the comment, and laughed, sampling some food they'd eventually gotten.

They'd been hearing mumbles throughout the crowd about the strange mare here as the Princess's plus all night. In addition to the several ponies who approached after Celestia.

Silver's hobo getup is working

Ponies saw Celestia laughing, Cadance had been glued to Silver all night, which was apparently enough to make Quick Silver the talk of the Gala. Some were disgusted and confused, others were sure that the unnamed mare was clearly a big deal, wearing such a 'statement' and getting the attention of all three princesses in attendance.

"Excuse me! Miss!"

"I'm sorry?" Silver turned to the approaching Rarity as if she'd not heard her clearly shout.

"Miss! I-" Rarity composed herself, "Oh, hello Princess Cadance." and gave a short bow

"No need for formalities Rarity, Cadance will do fine, and this is Quick Silver, and yes. She's committing a crime against fashion."

"In my defense, I did pick the colours and shapes for Cadance's ensemble."

Rarity took a double take at Cadance's midnight floral dress, "Ah yes, well, uhm..." Rarity tried not to criticize 

Silver rolled her eyes, "Everypony's a critic"

"Maybe you could explain your ensemble to Rarity?"

Silver raised an eyebrow at Cadance but turned towards the white mare. "It's a statement of wisdom."

"A statement for sure, but of wisdom?" Rarity tried to be polite, but couldn’t help but grimace as she used her magic to levitate one of the many old coats Silver had on her shoulders.

"Poverty in riches my dear, I'm sure you know the value of bits when compared to that of what truly matters in the world yes?" Silver didn't give Rarity time to respond, "Many of these ponies wear their bits over their flanks, I, on the other hoof, know of true values, and instead choose to wear my experience."

Rarity slowly let out an "I see."

"To have so much, and yet so little." Silver said wistfully

Rarity hemmed and hawed for a moment "Yes, of course, but does it have to be spoken as 'homeless'?"

Silver laughed, "I guess not, but I couldn't come up with anything else."

Silver's dropped into a glare and focused it past Rarity.

"Uhm." Rarity said intelligently

Cadance followed Silver's glare to Discord, who was talking to Fluttershy, and... a green blob.

"I think I hear Sweetie Belle calling me, ta ta." Rarity bid a hasty retreat.

Silver was seemingly done talking, so Cadance left her alone and watched on.

Discord was being Discord, that was the long and short of it. Cadance understood the general mood. He appeared to be trying to get Fluttershy's attention, and was failing. Classic.

Silver never took her eyes off the Draconequus

"Silv-"

"Shut up Cadance."

Okay. Wow.

Silver snarled and tore her eyes away from Discord and instead started glaring at the table.

uh

"I'm getting some air." Silver's face returned to a normalized smile, and she was walking away from the table and through the crowd in the next moment. Leaving Cadance without company for the moment.

Oh dear. What to do

She wants to be away from Discord. As far as I know, they hate each other. That didn't look like hatred though, or even rivalry, that was pain.

Cadance got up and followed after Silver. She was stopped a couple of times in the crowd, but was Cadance a political gamemaster. She simply verbally maneuvered herself through the crowd with no issue, and managed to get back out into the gardens, where Silver had gone.

She couldn't see Silver though

"Can't leave me alone for a moment can you?" Silver approached from somewhere she couldn't see

"I can't be worried about you?" She tried to mix sarcasm and worry and succeeded, in her opinion at least.

Silver deadpanned a 'are you joking with me right now' look.

Recover!

Cadance tried, "So, uh, that spell?" 

Close enough!

"I said I'd tell you later, not that I'd tell you immediately at the next possible opportunity."

"I am asking you to explain it to me." Cadance said earnestly

It left Silver wordless, and she blinked away her annoyed look.

"Well I-"

There was a pitched scream. "Let me in!"

Cadance moved but was stopped by Silver's outstretched hoof, Cadance turned to Silver, and followed her pointing hoof towards Rarity, covered in green slime, and the ball of goop accosting another partygoer. The door opened and Rarity stumbled into the ballroom. Silver moved to get a proper look, as did Cadance. Making the right space between the entryway and the ball of goop.

Hey, is it bigger than it was before?

"Heh, look Cadance."

Twilight was giving Discord a dressing down, which he didn't really care about, but then Discord's attention shifted, and Twilight's posture changed.

Cadance felt a spark

No way

"Hehe, you see it too?" Silver bumped her shoulder, "My hoofwork, you like?"

Cadance watched Twilight pull Discord aside and they began talking earnestly. Discord mostly, Twilight seemingly just listened at first.

"Little Pri-"

Cadance quietly reached a blind hoof out to press over Silver's mouth, it seemingly worked, because Silver stopped talking. 

Twilight said something to Discord, and he slouched and crossed his arms, muttering something. Twilight got some air and pulled Discord's face to meet her gaze.

They shared several more words, before Discord waved her off. Nodding and seemingly calming down, he teleported away after.

Cadance stood awestruck for a moment, before turning towards Silver like a door creaking open in a horror movie. "What. Was. That." She enunciated very carefully, a slow smile spreading across her features.

"I take it, you approve?"

"Approve?!" Cadance lowered her voice, but not her excitement, "Approve? Silver! Explain that this instant!"

Silver shrugged "Well, I had a hunch, and I gave a little push."

Cadance pranced in place and flapped like a filly on her birthday, "You're joking! You're joking?"

Silver shook her head

She's not joking!

Cadance did not squee, that was decidedly something Princesses didn't do.

"How?" Cadance begged and grabbed Silver by the shoulders

Silver placating removed Cadance's grip on her. "Now steady yourself Little Princess. There's no telling what happens now, I just gave them a chance." 

"This is so incredible, why? Why give them a push?"

"So you noticed it too?" 

"I did once when I went to visit Twilight but..." Cadance trailed off

Silver smiled and tossed a hoof. It looked strange with her hobo getup, but Cadance knew what it meant.

"I have so many things to do." 

"Steady Alicorn of Love. Steady."

"How could I relax now?"

"Easy, let's go start the dancing."

They did, they were the best aside from Pinkie, nopony beats Pinkie enthusiasm.



They'd extricated themselves from the dancing ponies.

Cadance was personally surprised at the fact that Silver had only left her side the one time, before attributing that to the coin flip.

"You're quite the animal on the dance floor Little Princess. Hard beats or smooth chords." Silver said conversationally as they walked back to their table.

"Hardly, I barely exerted myself." She said, giving the smaller mare a raised eyebrow.

Silver smiled, "Maybe for the better, I don't think the ponies here are ready to see you truly throw down."

Cadance suppressed her snort, and laughed instead. "Where do you learn all of this lingo?"

"I told you already didn't I? I didn't spend all that time in stone."

"You mean you came and went?"

Silver nodded as they sat down next to each other on the cushions for their table. "That's right, I experimented, kept track of my bloodlines, and watched the new ages. I even saw you once when you were out in Minos."

"Wait... so if you kept track of your bloodlines?" She let the leading question hang,

Silver acquiesced, "Alright fine, yes, Sunset is indeed a descendant of mine. My uncertainty was a fib to keep you from going crazy."

"You certainly do that enough." Cadance smiled, "Drive me crazy I mean."

"I try."

They enjoyed a moment of silence, watching the other ponies enjoy themselves. Discord had a little corner to which he was tangoing with The Smooze under special lighting spawned from nowhere.

Cadance took another sip of her drink, the alcoholic buzz barely reaching her ears. "So this spell?"

"Ugh, Little Princess, please. Not with this again."

She laughed at Silver's over exaggeration of irritation, "Your aversion to giving me even a sideways answer is only making me more curious."

"You really don't want me to tell you." Silver said with a straight face

"Uh, really?"

"Well... you don't want me to tell you."

What does that even mean

"Explain?" Cadence said hopefully

"If I do, you're only going to get more curious." Silver monotoned

Cadance gave her a wry smile, "We're way past that now."

"It's a surprise. Something I know for a fact you want to find out for yourself."

Cadance didn't bother trying to use Silver's hints to try and work out what she meant. She was committed to weaseling a straight answer out of the mare.

"So I want to hear it, but you don't want to spoil the surprise?"

"Yes."

Cadance leaned over the table, "Tell me."

Silver deadpanned in her general direction

"Why not right?"

Silver's look continued

"Oh come on!" Cadance pleaded, "Please?"

"You're being very playful tonight." Silver slung

"You've been awfully preachy tonight too." She slung back at her

Silver huffed, "Turnabout is fair play I suppose."

"Cmon Silver, just tell me, I promise I won't be mad." She pleaded just a little more, she could tell she was making progress. Knowing how silly she was being, it was working though, and if it ain't broke.

"Don't get me wrong, I don't care about telling you." Silver lifted a hoof placatingly towards the Alicorn, "I know you'll care, so this is my last warning, ask me again, and I'll tell you."

Cadance spent a fraction of mental effort to consider the weight of Silver's declaration before settling on the running good natured humour she'd been seemingly stirring within Silver.

"Tell me." She said, less than a second after

Silver rolled her eyes, "It's a pregnancy aid spell."

Cadance's mind didn't so much as grind to a halt. Rather, imagine what would happen if you set the momentum of an object to zero relative to its planetary mass. The object hitting a relative mach eighty seven and plasmafying the atmosphere as the planetary mass flew away from it. That was a closer description.

"That's why it doesn't work on me. I'm not pregnant." Silver said evenly

...

...

...

.

.

.

With her expression completely unchanged from the moment before, Cadance's horn sparkled a wild twisting pink and blue colour from the tip. She then turned to the side and vomited onto the floor.

"Congratulations."



"I'm fine, really I am." Cadance said tiredly. 

After vomiting, Celestia had sent her to the palace's hospital; they ran a couple of quick tests, including one that had verified Silver's claim. 

I'm totally fine. I really am.

She lied to herself.

The other half of herself was screaming Pregnant! like a crazed madmare!

I'm going to have a foal!

Heavens, I'm going to be a mom...

A little pony!

Now?! I'm ruling a nation!

Pregnant! Pregnant! Pregna-

"Princess!" 

Hubauhwah?

Cadance's eyes lost their 'staring off into Eternity' look as she locked onto the doctor clapping in front of her face, "Yes?"

"Are you sure you're okay Princess?"

This was the doctor that didn't know she was pregnant. At the thought, her mind tried to go wild again, but she clamped down on the emotions for the moment.

Act like a Princess Cadance!

"I'm okay. I am, my thoughts are elsewhere."

Only two ponies knew... four actually. Counting herself and Silver, the doctor who ran the test, and the nurse who was there when the doctor gave her the news.

She had stress vomited; apparently it was something that just happened when a pony was overcome so thoroughly that their body decided a good way to knock them out of their stupor was to eject the bottle of acid violently through said pony's mouth.

I'm pregnant

"Okay Princess, the doctors cleared you a while ago, I was just a little worried. You're free to return to the party whenever you would prefer." The stallion was white coated, and sky blue maned. His name was Test Tube, leaving his title to be hilariously: Doctor Tube. Which Cadance found funny enough to keep herself focused... Pony naming conventions were very strange.

"Is the party still going?"

"They're wrapping up by now most likely. Commander Thicket came to poach some of our janitor ponies a couple of minutes ago."

"Thank you Doctor Tube."

He grimaced, "Aheh, please call me Doctor Test, if you would."

"Of course, Doctor Test"

Apparently other ponies have found that funny too.

Cadance scooted off the examination plate, and onto her four hooves. Her subconscious made her feel like her stomach jostled as her weight settled, but it was just her imagination.

I'm pregnant

A wing unfurled to cover her stomach as her mind and emotions whirled, standing in that room. That tiny examination room, meant for ponies about a half of a head shorter than her. Cadance considered responsibility, joy and fear.

There was a knock at the door, and it opened just a crack to reveal Silver sans hobo outfit; who after making eye contact, opened the door all the way.

"Hey."

Cadance just stared dumbly at the mare, "You knew the whole time?"

"Since we met. Yes. It's hard not to notice when someone is carrying two souls in their body."

Cadance flapped her mouth, her wing still cradling her stomach.

I'm going to be a mom

"You didn't let me finish."

Silver's voice changed. It deepened, and took on a more masculine timber. Softer than Cadance originally thought, quieter than a whisper. Cadance wasn't exactly sure Silver had even said anything.

"That wasn't the surprise."

Silver stood in front of Cadance with sparkling eyes.

Cadance glared back, and half gasped out "How. Could that have not been. The surprise."

"They're an Alicorn."

Cadance's mind reeled, or rather, reeled more, as the barely wind-like voice flowed from Silver.

"You won't have to bury them."

Silver had rested a limb on Cadance's shoulder, not speaking another word as Cadance let the floodgates of sudden joy wash away her fear. Silver held her for a moment, awkwardly trying to give a light hug. Cadance pushed the smaller mare away and pulled herself together.

"Shining, I have to tell him."

Silver nodded seriously and began spreading sparkling powder on the exam room floor.

She had to ask Cadance for the magic to teleport back to her cave, which sparked a series of questions from the elated Alicorn; which Silver ignored.

After, they went through a portal straight into Cadance's bedroom. Which startled the Tartarus out of Shining.

"Who?!" He jumped up and out of bed, pulling a drawer out of their dresser with his magic and brandishing it like a weapon.

Cadance giggled, "It's just us Shining, party's over."

"Us?" He glanced over Cadance's shoulder at Silver, who gave him a half lidded smile, "Oh."

"That's actually a good point." Cadance gave Silver a jokingly hard look, "Stop warping into our bedroom."

Silver lifted a placating hoof, and rolled her eyes.

Good enough

She turned back to her husband.

"We need to talk."

Shining had the 'uh oh' look quickly pass over his features

"Don't worry Armor, I didn't do anything."

Shining glared at Silver, Cadance walked up to him and pushed him onto his flanks, and grabbed his hooves.

"I-" She stuttered

"Cadance?" He tried, the concern evident.

"I shouldn't be here for this probably." Silver idly gestured, which Cadance caught the tail end of as she turned to look at the pegasus. She turned for the still open portal before freezing.

"Actually." She turned around and her left eye lit with blue magic, there was a sparkle of arcane runes in the air, and she saw Shining glow from the corner of her eye.

A short moment passed. Shinning nodded from in front of her, and Silver left. Portal twirling closed and disappearing with a silent visible pop.

"What was that?"

Shining bit his lip, "Silver gave me some advice."

"She told you?" She frowned

"Uh..." He squinted, "No... said... Husband to Husband, then told me not to tell you."

That's...

She smiled

That's really sweet

"Okay" She pulled up Shining's hooves so they were in-between the two of their chests. "I'm pregnant."

She went for the cold send. Shining's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped open. The feeling in her chest vibrated, the elation, so she said it again, and why the heck not?

Her voice came out half broken, and she felt the whispers of tears trying to return, "I'm pregnant Shining."

"HAh!" He laughed and stood, taking a step back, Cadance was baffled until he started prancing in place, "You're pregnant!" He rushed up and hugged her, almost toppling her over, "We're gonna be parents! I'm gonna be a dad!"

He hefted her up, "Oh!" and started spinning her around, they spent the next several moments in laughter, Cadance joining in with the joy.

Still mid twirl, she tried to get out between laughs, "There's more!"

Shining was too busy being happy

"I will fwap you! Put me down!"

He did, but he didn't let go, "There's more? You're not..." He smiled wider, "You're not having twins are you?"

She shook her head, "They're an Alicorn."

Shining violently began coughing, "An Ali-" He caught his breath, "Cadance!" He teared up like she had. "Cadance!"

She hugged him tighter

I knew he'd understand.
> Why is playful spelled with one 'L'? It just looks wrong to me
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance wasn't sure how she felt.

That's why she took the day off. Instead of finding something to busy herself with, or making something to busy herself with. She spent the morning after washing, meditating. She cast a couple of sound proofing wards around her office, and pulled a couple of books and an apple from 'around' for her day of physical relaxation. Mentally though...

Cadance needed to do a lot.

She'd spent the last three weeks getting hit by revelation and happenstance and more and more and more without sorting it out for herself. Just responding, instead of acting.

As she took a deep breath, and sat on her favourite green throw pillow she'd brought down from her room; Cadance thought.

Empire. Shining. Foal. Cultists. Silver. Organization.

The Empire is still thriving. Without the constant slave drive obviously the economy can get on. Satisfaction?

It struck Cadance that it had been quite a while since she'd heard anything about populace satisfaction. From Shining or otherwise. Amber wasn't a pony relations specialist, but would occasionally tell her what ponies in The Spire were thinking.

I'll have to ask around. I need to, I bet that Stone Cut wasn't self contained... Why did that happen then? The Cultists too... Were they just part of some research group? I know Shining looked into them, I'm sure he would have told me- okay so never mind. So Stone Cut hired some cultists, big deal right? Except that ponies would have noticed, and those ponies didn't tell the guards, that means they were either made silent or worse...

I shouldn't've looked over that. If individuals are rallying to depose my rule, then what of the many? Surely Stone Cut would have tried something safer if he was alone. No, his plan speaks that he was confident he could get away with it. That either means he was crazy, desperate, or right. The only reason anypony knew anyways was because of Silver.

Silver...

She skipped over the lump in her head.

I need something else to occupy my time. The Empire may be flourishing, but it's still stagnant; I'll send a letter to Celestia, see if I can get an in on the Minos Engine Pact

The MEP was a research and development agreement between Minos and Equestria for mechanical devices. Minos would build them, Equestria would fund it in exchange for the output. She didn't have a hoof in the pact's creation, but nonetheless, found good reason to get the Empire involved.

I could probably get Silver to set up a portal for me... Straight to Minos. Why have a pact when we could just have a joint research team?

...

The Empire is going to need a better school system soon.

It wasn't just because she was pregnant, that the thought passed her mind. The Empire was almost entirely adults. The number of children didn't break one hundred. It was a desperate problem that would generally be solved by immigration.

Except I don't want it to be solved by immigration. The Crystal Ponies need more reason to have foals. I'm thinking... a research institute I can turn into a college later. I'm sure Point Flare and her cohorts would want to work there. Shining could help me staff it with his buddies from CSGU. Yeah... I like that...

Cadance lifted an eyelid and levitated a quill to mark down 'school + look into populace satisfaction' before closing her eye again.

We're also going to need to build a nursery at some point, that can wait though

The feeling of being a mother welled up within her and felt her joy turn over in her chest. It was one of those softly keening sensations of satisfaction that rang in the mind. She ignored her thoughts for the time being, and reveled in the feeling.

I'm going to be a mom... I should get a book, or... something.

Cadance's mind lost a few hours just on that as her imagination let itself go. She imagined what her foal would look like, filly or colt? Who'd they grow up to be? How often would they fuss when she filed their hooves? All of those little noises and conversations they'd share as the little one grew up.

For those hours, she pretended she was already there, and lost herself in the abstract thoughtform story she'd created for herself. She laughed and laughed in her mind on picnics and kite flying they'd share with Shining, and mentally drew herself away with the thought to make the years count. To make every year count.

Still a ways away.

The story and the voices fell away as she focused again.

Quick Silver.

Her face scrunched up as she put together all the fragments she'd encountered to the forefront of her mind.

Some big company, leading to a scaling economic factors... Not to mention Silver's political investment, she's 'in charge' of a noble house... Wait... does that technically make Sunset Shimmer a... oh, hmm, didn't think about that, ah except Silver isn't... I guess she could actually be of a noble house? Does that mean all of her children and relatives are too? Never mind, not important.

She's looking for a hoof hold, that much is obvious. She already has a bit of attention and clout from showing up Stone Cut; with bits backing her, she could really start moving and shaking in The Empire... That plus her magic... 

Silver's already probably cut several deals, 'deals with the devil' no doubt. How many ponies are like Point Flare? Willing to work in exchange for something nopony else can give them? She has no short on ponypower. So what's the end goal?

She can't just take over The Empire, the Nobles would shut her down before she had the money to do it, but if she really wanted she could probably manage it with magic.

Except for her promise

She said she was here to help

Okay so theoretically ruling out bad things, what good could she be doing intentionally?

With bits? Anything... oh, so many things. The local economic stimulus will... Except her company isn't exclusive to The Empire. She hires from everywhere, all over... not just Equestria, changelings too? Oh dear, I almost forgot about... Kirshi? Kirsha? 'They're kind hearted indeed' Played me like a fiddle, but I did get something from that.

Silver's never just told me to not stick my nose into something. So at the very least I can be sure that whatever she's planning, large scale, has to do with Tack & Co.

The memory of Silver laughing when she said the name flowed to the forefront of her focus.

Why laugh? And why fake pretend to hide the humour? Hmmmm.... Nope, not getting anything out of that. If it's some joke, I don't know the context anyways. Silver could just be trying to trick me too.

Where was I?

Changelings. Silver pays them in love? 

Wait, can you just do that? If it's that easy, then why would Chrysalis attack at all? Ugh, what does it mean? Changelings are obvious ideal workers, no question why Silver would want them on payroll. Except...

Hold on. If everypony on site knows how to deal with me... Why take me to the one changeling? Breeze wasn't a changeling...

Ohhh! That conniving! Ugh!

Cadance huffed and stopped thinking about it. She grumpily levitated an apple up to her mouth and took a bite from it.

"Can't believe I fell for that."

Should I go back?

No, Silver definitely has something else prepared no doubt...

Okay.

She re-jumbled her thoughts,

Silver claims a lot, if I don't believe her intentions of goodwill, then she must have some way to circumvent the issues of political control, the Houses won't just topple, and she'll need to start there first. So I can check out their defenses while checking up on them. Defenses? I don't know, I'll work it out. Maybe if I can get them to work together more? Regardless. There's a reason to encourage the houses, I'll have to... ugh... nobles, okay.

If I do believe Silver which...

I guess that's the entire gambit then isn't it? Silver's a convincing liar, if I ever try to stop her directly, I think I may just succeed. I definitely will in the end, regardless. Which she knew, so she was playing the long game as soon as... she stepped hoof from that statue.

If she could get me to play along for long enough, then I wouldn't be able to stop her at whatever she's doing. If she's doing anything at all. It's hard to tell if her abrasive attitude is because she's actually irritated or if she's trying to 'manage' me. It could be both, which makes it the perfect visage. So what... What...

She wants me to play the long game against her, because she thinks she’ll win. She's acquiesced to spending time with me for that exact purpose, which means she is trying to manage me; which is easily seen in how she acts when we're together. Obviously it's an act, but why? Silver's proven to be a genuine genius time and time again, so why turn down my intentions? She no doubt knows for sure I want to befriend her, so why push my away?

That's what clicked in her mind

Push me away.

That's exactly what she's been doing... Keeping me at wings reach, close enough to watch, but not close enough to actually get close... But why?

The curse. It must have something to do with this 'curse' she mentioned. I felt it. Some... malignant magic that comes from inside. It’s what she brought up when I confronted her, really the only time we’ve ever butt heads and she’s fought back.

Cadance idly reached out for the sensation with her magic, there was nothing.

It made me feel my own frustration. Purely my own emotion, but how does that even make sense?

Cadance knew a heft on the subject of emotions, and their connection. Emotional casting was a kind of magic that left the caster consumed by their emotions, filtered in through magic; except in that case the weight of the emotion was always driven by the magic. The 'emotion' was just raw energy in a certain state. This 'curse' brought out the pony's own emotion into the mix. 

I can't come to any conclusions without knowing more about it. Silver being scared is a note though. Whatever this 'curse' is, finding out exactly how it works is clearly a priority to figuring out Silver. Luna wouldn't tell me. What did Silver say? Didn't... 

Of course! You dummy! Discord! Discord knows Silver, knew Silver... I'd need to find him to talk to him. Twilight mentioned he didn't want to even be near Quick Silver, and while I'm at it...

I... No Cadance. One thing at a time.

She lifted her eyelid again and wrote down 'talk to Discord!' and then went back to her revelations.

So. Empire work, get the nobles working together and put out some feelers. Ask Celestia about political stimulus. Put the works in for some management meetings, I need to talk to the Ponies, see what they're thinking and feeling. Ooo! yes, and a school, I should start laying the groundwork for that. I'll have to check with Amber for some kind of budget margin. And Shining.

Her feelings flickered

I need to talk to Shining about all of this... Silver especially, I know how he worries. Plus, he'll have a bunch of addendums.

Idea!

Leaving the apple to aerate itself on the desk, Cadance cleared it with a flap, and happily trotted out of her office to go find and subsequently bother her husband.
> I don't have a good pun for sheep, so just pretend there's one here
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance was falling vertically down the slope of a mountain. Not on the mountain, just nearby.

Now, ordinarily that'd be an issue to the average, but Cadance was going somewhere. Plus, when you've conquered the skies time and time again, falling just becomes a means of faster and easier transit.

Nearing the bottom of the distance she could fall, Cadance snapped open her wings and landed in The Spire offices. She liked it here; this is where all of the paperwork and origination for The Empire was looked over before it went to her. Regulations, 'getting back to you's', public events and even new business models all started here.

"Hey Princess!"

"Hey Rim Shot." She heard herself, turning to the stallion. He was a pegasus, even though he was a Crystal Pony, but that's not strange nowadays is it? Her perspective shifted, like she wasn't behind her own eyes.

"Nothing much Cadance, we've been busy busy down here, as usual." The stallion was chipper, but was doing his best to hide his face behind a blur.

"Don't I know it." It's a good thing Shining Armor was here, she Loved him a lot. She felt him next to her, sleeping calmly, the pressure of his body up against her right wing, like usual. He always slept to her right.

She sat up in her bed and gave a yelp, "Silver? I thought I told you not to be in our bedroom." This was her bedroom, right? It was, even though it didn't look like it. It was her bed right? So it was her bedroom, simple as that. Silver was there, or as there as she could have been. Half of her was shrouded in the shadow that blocked the detail for the rest of the room, leaving a menacing outline of the silver mare with only her too wide grin and glimmering eyes visible.

Cadance sat up all the way with her heart pumping as she saw the shadows roil. She felt the indentation in the bedsheet she made with her hoof, and desperately tried not to change it so she wouldn't be seen, wouldn't be attacked by the monster sprouting Silver. She sat there with her eyes wide open, both trying to see the danger and trying to not blink with everything she had. Blinking was movement, movement was death. She wasn't sure how long the moment stretched on for b-

Luna landed on the tiles to the side. Suddenly everything took focus.

"Is this Dusk's now chosen form?"

Cadance flopped down onto her bed again, Shining now gone, and she rolled onto her side and rested a hoof on her chest to slow her breathing.

"Cadance?" Luna asked, a little worried

"I'm okay. That was quite the scare." She looked towards the menacing form of Silver. Not so striking now; now that she could see the visual faults with her mind's design of her, "What about her?"

"Ah, if she seemingly has you referring to her as 'her', then this must indeed be her new form."

"How could you tell she was... I mean, that Dusk was Quick Silver?" Cadance clambered out of the empty bedframe as she spoke

Luna smirked, "Who else would be giving you such a fright?"

Cadance rolled her eyes, "Thank you Auntie."

Luna's horn 'lit' and the scenery began twirling around them, "Think nothing of my duties Dear Niece, they are as they are. Although, I have come for more reasons than your nightmare, I was planning to see you tonight in spite of it." The scene eventually settled into the clearing of a forest glade, with a pond of into the distance, and the borders defined by the tree line. The grass was softer than it could have been, as was the 'dirt' beneath it.

"You just happened into a nightmare by accident?"

"It happens more times than you would first assume, Cadance." Luna ruffled her wings, "I came to... speak with you again."

Was there a little bit of anxiousness there?

"About?"

Luna scuffed a hoof on the ground. It was strange yet heartwarming seeing the Alicorn of the Night acting like an embarrassed filly. "I merely wished to... continue our other conversation. It was pleasant, vocalizing my past for you."

Ah

"I'd be happy to listen to more stories Luna." Cadance smiled, and laid down in the grass, where a pillow manifested itself for her. On the same beat, a trunk which 'was' always there, sprouted itself from the grass and on top, manifested a teapot, and a couple of cups and plates. Luna came to the table, manipulating the china from a distance and sat down opposite to Cadance. Somewhere off in the distance, a bird flew and tweeted just because it could.

"I'm glad you're willing to spare the time."

Cadance cut her off before she could continue the thought, "It's honestly a pleasure. I'm glad to help, you don't need to feel so self conscious."

Luna kept her trademark resting grumpy expression "I may not, but in your presence I still find myself humbled."

"Humbled?" Cadance 'levitated' the tea for herself. It may not be technically filling, but hey, it still tastes good.

"You have taken to your Alicorn nature far better than I had. I acknowledge that you had guidance, and a stable era of which to thrive in, unlike myself. Yet, it is not difficult to remind myself that you are my equal." Luna took a drink herself after the statement.

"Thank you Luna, that means a lot to me. Now; what did you wish to talk about?"

Luna rolled a gulp of tea around in her muzzle for a moment in thought before speaking. "I am not sure how I should phrase it."

"I've got time."

Luna waved a hoof, "I simply wish to be honest, without being unnecessarily rude." Luna had more to say, so Cadance kept quiet, "Last we spoke I... May have made it seem as though Dusk Swirl, or, Quick Silver now was the sole catalyst for my... Fall. The thought that my story was inaccurate has been plaguing my mind as of late."

"Why has it been bothering you?" Cadance led

"I know you are dealing with Quick Silver, and... Well once upon a time, Dusk was a friend to me, I simply felt as though I had done his memory a disservice."

"I don't see how any of that could be misconstrued as rude, Luna"

"I was getting there."

Cadance waved a hoof in a 'go on' gesture

"I wish to not be rude to my Sister, who was the... main cause of my loneliness, and the final nail in the coffin for my fall. Dusk may have set it up, but my Sister was the one who played along in all of his plans."

Oh. She wants to talk to you about Celestia. Okay, best listening attitude Cadance

"I..." Luna took a rather haphazard sip of tea, as haphazard as you can get when details fall away like flour in the wind. "Wish not to dwell on the mistakes of the past..."

"It's okay Luna, I understand."

"Do you? Really?" The question wasn't meant to be oppressive, there was a kind of hope in Luna's eyes, emphasizing that she was actually asking the question, rather than it being pure rhetoric.

Cadance maintained her calming presence through her description, "Dwelling on the past... Yes, I do. It's hard to let go of things that you haven't... Say, 'confronted.' I've always, at least for myself, felt okay engaging with my negative emotions, feeling them first, before letting them go."

Luna mulled over the wisdom for a moment. "Tis better to feel, rather than to let the pain fester. A lesson I have learned at a cost very dear to me." She said low, and melancholic.

Cadance simply stayed, and listened. At the moment, that was all Luna needed.

"To begin, at the beginning, as such is simply the most sensible." Luna nodded, "It began... When we ascended, suddenly there was responsibility; lessons we had to learn, ponies we had to lead. I spent a long time... trying. Celestia did not, she took to it slowly at first like I did, but ruling became simply another skill in her skill set. At the time I didn't understand, but Celestia had been taking on more and more to ease the pressure off of me."

"It didn't work, I'm guessing."

"It did, which was... Me and My Sister swore we'd do things together. Always. I was failing, and she let me. She figured it just didn't matter. It wasn't something either of wanted to do but..." Luna frowned, "We had to."

Cadance nodded along

"It was only when Equestria was founded, and the dreams of a united pony race became real did I start feeling alone. It was long after my older friends had passed, and even so, Celestia simply went deeper into being a 'Princess.' She took on more responsibility, lead more ponies, became more popular, and I... Didn't." Luna took a deep breath. "I was stuck in-between ages."

"That's when the Discordian era started? When you met Dusk?"

Luna nodded, "It was an age of strife which I hid myself away in. Behind the militias and fighting beasts. Keeping the nightmares away from my ponies. I ran away from my problems as did Celestia."

"We, growing, rarely argued; and even then it was only ever such to discuss. As more of our kingdom fell to chaos, we began arguing more and more. Celestia began to detest me and my influence, and I began to believe the things she said about me behind my back."

"I heard from the nobles and townsfolk that she refused to speak of me or ignored questions of my presence; if she didn't, then it was verbally separating herself from... 'that mare'. Celestia willfully pushed me out of public view. A political tactic that I now understood gave me less power and influence. She was embarrassed of me, of my failures."

"You were very young, you can't blame yourself for everything can you?"

"I suppose not. I was only a couple decades older than you, at the time."

"Sorry for interrupting, please continue."

"It is okay." Luna did just that, "After Discord was defeated. I thought that... maybe things would change, which they did. Celestia no longer bothered me, for a time, that was enough. What had happened was she began to avoid me, making excuses about... ruling. It doesn't matter. Our relationship festered. I didn't confront her... I couldn't. She avoided me and... well..."

"Nightmare Moon happened."

Luna to her credit, didn't cringe away at the statement. "Yes. You know the rest of the story from here, ponies began to detest me, nobles scoffed at my presence in the capital. I... Lost my way, and confronted my Sister. She broke me down, sent me away. In the throws of my grief at... having felt as though I had nothing left... I summoned the Nightmare and formed a pact for power, Celestia forced the Elements upon me, and the rest is well known history."

"She forced them upon you?"

"The Elements are physical embodiments of what they represent. Brought from Eternity into material form. When she used them on me, she forced them to go against everything they were. Tis why they... broke, for a lack of better description."

"Have you talked to Celestia about this? About how it makes you feel."

Luna looked away, and her ears folded down. "I have tried. She always listens, but..."

Hmmm?

"I fear that I do not know her anymore." Luna continued looking hurt, "I have lost the years in which she grew up; became the mare she is now. When she speaks, I do not hear my sister. In her eyes lie the mind of somepony alien to me. I do not know what to make of it... of her. I do not know where I stand now."

"You're still stuck."

Luna perked up, "Yes! Exactly! Oh Cadance you do understand!"

"It's just the same as before, except of course." Cadance, trying to take advantage of the 'non' space, slipped next to Luna and wrapped her in her wing, "You definitively have ponies in this age who Love you."

"Ah." Luna settled into the hug, "Thank you Cadance. Do the words really flow to you so easily?"

"Not always. For this? Yes, you very much have a family here Luna."

Luna smiled, "Oh yes! I have heard the news of your insemination."

"Maybe don't call it that." Cadance said carefully while cringing.

"I jest, nonetheless, congratulations my Niece."

"Did you know my little one is going to be an Alicorn?"

Luna mentally choked, which transferred into visually choking on tea, "Chhurrkk- FPhat? Surely not?"

"Silver confirmed it."

Luna grasped Cadance in her wing and stood, posing, "Huzzah! Another pony to add to us in immortality! I cannot believe such a thing was possible, but if Silver claimed it, then it must be true!" Luna spun her around a couple of times before setting her down. Cadance, since her perspective wasn't locked into her own body, watched the scene with a smile.

"What, pray tell, is the little one's connection to Eternity?"

"I don't know, Silver never said."

Luna pranced in place, "Oh, Cadance, this is most exciting! An Alicorn foal? How could such a thing even be possible!?"

"I don't know anything about the subject, and I don't particularly care to be honest." Cadance truly didn't, why question the perfect outcome?

"You must tell me everything."

She did. Cadance brought Luna up to speed with Silver and the events of the Gala throughout the rest of the dream.  Cadance filed away in the back of her mind that she really needed to stop avoiding Celestia, something which slipped away as her dream fell away. Eventually the phase of waking up slipped Cadance away from her conversation and into the hours just before waking proper. Regardless, it was a very pleasant night.
> Keepin' On
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance trotted with a high step and a hum in her throat as she made her way through the Spire's halls

She was feeling good today, yesterday was spent making meetings and getting documents and legalese signed off on and cross referenced; today? Today was for doing. Cadance loved doing things, who doesn't right? Morning court hours just ended, and she was on her way to get lunch.

She turned and gave a smile just a little too big to a passerby. This was the servants alleyway, and even though it wasn't nearly as opulent, this particular route to the dining hall was faster.

Not like we enjoy opulence all that much anyways

Maybe I will one day

She mentally dismissed the random thought and kept bouncing to the tune in her head. After another minute of shmoovin Cadance passed through the false wall that led into the hallway just across from the dining hall.

Inside there was the usual menagerie of folks wandering, chatting, eating, you name it. As she entered, she wandered over towards the buffet line despite the waves she got from ponies sitting throughout the hall. The general vibe Cadance got from feeling out the emotions of the room was roughly equivalent to her own, and slightly rising towards elation; seemingly everyone was having a good day today.

She approached the counter and greeted the staff pony, "Happy midday!" She said with a smile

"Someone's chipper today" The crystal mare half teased, "What can I get for you?"

"It's hard not to be, and I'll just take the garden, biggest bowl you've got."

"I'm all over it!" She said enthusiastically. The mare used a hoof to hit the side of an upside down bowl and flipped it onto her head. She spun and went about tossing the ingredients like a pro. Cadance looked down the line to see a similar shift in energy enter the moving and shaking.

Oh

Cadance felt around the room again, and felt the rising magic and emotion.

Ohhhh!

She was definitely going to take advantage of this, the bowl was hefted over the counter, and Cadance wasted no time grabbing it in her magic.

She lit her horn with a second spell to shift the magic in the room. Using her horn like a drain to channel the latent growing energy in the air, she began to sing.

Oh I just can't help myself
the music flowin' 'round us all
So I'll just keep on Livin' as I do

She waved her wings and began trotting towards the center of the room, she missed a line, but that was okay

Never thought I'd see my eyes
Reflecting through this Love of life
Now I'll just keep on wondering what I'll do
No I'll~ never know just, what I'll do!~

She reached one of the long tables, just as the ponies started catching on, and the music started filling the room. She hopped up onto the table and kept at it, half prancing, half dancing.

The moments pass, the changes come!
I'll never stop no matter what!
Now I'll just keep on movin' till I do!

Challen~ges will pass me by
My heart will always carry through
So I'll just keep on Loving till I do!
I'll al~wa~ys be me! When I do!

The musical instrumental that followed was too well choreographed for the descriptive budget.

Cadance moved her whole body from muzzle to hips into dancing away her emotions as the ponies around her followed suit. It was far less extravagant than it could have been, which isn't to say Cadance didn't enjoy the light activity

As the instrumental slowed Cadance's voice softened as a wing folded over her stomach

The Future's hope is coming fast
The stress and work can't stop my Love
It's never been so easy to let it through

So I'll just keep on Loving~

Till I do!~

The now fully committed Heart Song swept up the crowd as the music came back at full blast and the ponies joined in for the edge of the last chorus. Cadance kept dancing as she made her way towards the edge of her 'runway' and gave a little spin and an artistic flash of sparkles from her horn as the music hit its crescendo.

Cadance stepped off the table and basked in the excitement. 

The cheers too. As much as she tried to be a humble Princess, Cadance did love the cheering.

She checked behind her, near the edge of the bench side of the table

Ah crud, I spilled my salad



After spending lunch making idle, yet still pleasant, conversation with the working ponies of The Spire, Cadance got to enjoy a flight out. Not for any particular reason, she was just in a high enough mood, and had the hour, that she felt the need to run and jump off a tall structure.

Pegasus thing.

Regardless, Cadance cleared her head and enjoyed the horizon as she circled The Spire. At least as much of the horizon she could see through the shield, the singular clouds that were bunched up around the tip of the spire that silhouetted the sky gave her a little tingle along her feather tips that told her it was a great time to soar.

It's been too long since I've done this... Just me and the sky... and I guess you, little one.

She mentally giggled as she banked to loop around The Spire again.

What. a. day.

She had a couple things left to do during the work day, but she had that spark of motivation that made everything seem possible. She glanced out towards the warehouse out in the fields and pulled that determination forwards.

It's not so menacing from up here.

As if triggered by her thoughts a voice sounded off, "Mind if I join you?"

A pair of wings caught air near her, pulling her from her thoughts. Silver was gliding nearby.

She gathered herself, "Not at all" Cadance called out over the wind, mildly confused

Silver nodded and flapped once and gained the distance up to where Cadance was gliding. They flew nearly tip to tip, though Silver didn't say anything else or even look to Cadance.

She's just messing with you. Don't let her under your fur.

Cadance shook her head in amusement and looked out again towards the horizon.

Despite what Cadance thought, Silver stayed in the air with her with no comment until she had to fly back into The Spire. Silver simply left back towards the ground without a word as Cadance turned to the balcony.



Cadance had pulled Shining Armor into her office for another dinner date, which really meant just talking shop while they stuffed their faces. Cadance had just given him the entire spiel for her idea of a college/research institute. Shining enjoyed his gazpacho while she talked, nodding at key points, but otherwise taking it all in stoically.

"So what do you think" She said, taking a breath after her blurb.

Shining immediately responded, "I think it's a great idea... I just don't know where we'd get the funds for it."

"We have plenty for the rollover once taxbits go out to get it started."

He raised an eyebrow, "You ask Amber already?"

Cadance nodded, "And I asked Cord, and checked the math myself, it's doable but I wanna think long term cost to benefit analysis"

"You sound like Twilight when you say that"

Cadance waggled her eyebrows, "Or maybe she sounds like me when she says it"

He chuckled. "Do you think it's a good idea to set up a board?"

"No, I want it to be an internally run institute."

"The nobles aren't going to like that."

Cadance let out an exhale, "I've been thinking of ways around that, but I don't have any concrete ideas."

"You could make it a military research institute" He said

Cadance gave him a look

"Hey, it's what I do. Plus, with a military institute there's plenty to fund, and we can have it run by royal guard logistics." He postured

"I'll add it to my mental list. I think short term, we will just need to let the nobles take a swing in order to have the popularity and funding to get it off the ground."

Shining's face turned from inquisitive to shifty, "You're thinking about asking Quick Silver aren't you?"

She smiled sheepishly, "It crossed my mind"

"Do it."

Cadance shook her head, taken aback, "Wait really?"

"She's going to have the bits soon, if she doesn't already; plus, I bet she knows something about running a school."

"Well... yeah but, I thought you..."

"Hated her?"

She cringed, "I wasn't going to put it like that."

"Well I do. For good reason too."

And he did, Cadance could feel as much.

Shining raised a hoof, even though Cadance wasn't intending to say anything, "Silver's not the focus of my attention, you are. I'll put her in a hole if need be, but I trust you to wrangle her until then."

Cadance mulled over the statement for a moment, "What did she tell you? Right after I got back from the Gala?"

Shining didn't seem like answering for a moment, "She told me not to buck this up for you. To hate her all I wanted; so long as it was for you, told me to be constructive."

"Oh" Cadance said intelligently

"And she was right, I made a fool of myself enough to know where I made my mistakes." He looked off to the side

Cadance tried, "Well, let's not worry about it then. I'll ask Silver tomorrow while we're out." She only slightly got Shining to think of something else, "Oh! and I also have a meeting with Cane Sugar tomorrow morning, do you have time to double up with me?" She asked hopefully

He shook his head, "Ever since you started not showing up for the morning staff meetings, I've been taking over the management issues"

"Aww... Thank you for doing that by the way" Cadance took another hefty chomp of her salad. It was a wedge salad... Salads are good.

"It's not nearly as bad as nobles." He joked

"Tell me about it."

They enjoyed the rest of their meal sans business, and spent the rest of the night losing track of time as they talked.
> Into the Jungle and through the Woods
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadance woke up early today. It meant she had to skip her morning talk with Shining, but Cane Sugar woke at just before dawn, which was just after she was meant to meet him. Luckily he had business in The Spire, so her short missive to him was sent back with a time in which she could catch him while he was going about his business.

She grabbed a notebook, just to look professional and walked out of her room when she was ambushed by Quick Silver.

"Morning."

"AH!" Cadance fully jumped to the side

Silver was leaning against the other of the double door Cadance hadn't opened, meaning that Cadance came practically muzzle to muzzle to the other pony when walking through, hence the surprise at suddenly realizing there was somepony, more specifically, Quick Silver less than a hoof from her.

"Jumpy today." Silver smirked

Cadance took a deep breath, "What are you doing here?"

Silver raised an eyebrow, "It's Thursday isn't it?"

"Yes?"

"I'm here to pick you up." 

Cadance frowned, "I-"

"You're not backing out on me are you?" Silver kept her smirk

"You said Thursday evenings." Cadance monotoned, "I have things to do in the morning."

Silver made a face, "Did I?" She looked to the side in thought and tapped a hoof to her chin

Is she messing with me?

"You don't remember?"

"Not really, I do like the word, so I may have just said it for flair." Silver shrugged, "My mistake."

"You like the word... Evening?"

"Well of course. I mean just think about the phonics right? In old equish a word like 'Evening'-" Silver made air quotes with her hooves, "Would never be a thing. With the suffix -'ing' it adds a silent 'y' before the pronunciation. Turning, 'Eve-en' into 'Eve-ning'. A whole extra vowel with no additional syllable! Fantastical no?"

Cadance stared in confusion at the smaller mare.

"Sorry. As I said, I like the word."

Is that... embarrassment?

"I... Is there a reason you're..." Cadance rolled her eyes, "Telling you not to appear in my room doesn't mean you can appear directly outside of it"

"You weren't very specific."

"Just send me a note?"

"I can do that, so what are you up to?"

Oh geez, I'm not gonna be able to lose her am I

"I've got some Princessing things to do, it shouldn't take long, but you don-"

Silver slid up to Cadance and interrupted, "What, tag along? Come now Little Princess, if there's anypony who could help you with ruling, it'd be me."

"I'm not sure I want your guidance."

"Then decide." Silver said seriously.

Cadance had a quick response, "If you're going to be like that, then no."

"Alrightydo, we can go after your done." Silver took several steps away from Cadance and twirled he wings in several circles, trailing cerulean light that sparkled into ropes and eventually ended with a wave of translucent energy taking the mare before she disappeared.

Cadance squinted her eyes, "Did you just turn invisible?"

No response.

Gamble

"I can tell you're still here."

Still nothing.

Cadance lit her horn and pressed her magic outwards like what one would expect from 'manifesting non-real forces that function like eyesight if eyesight was touch'

"If you're just gonna follow me around, you can still talk." She said sarcastically

"Darn." Came Silver's voice, "I really thought that was a bluff"

There were muffled sounds of hoof steps.

I can't believe that worked

"Don't you have somewhere to be missy?"

"Right. Please don't cause any problems."

"I won't, may I insert thought speak in your mind?" The disembodied voice said non-committedly

Cadance started walking, "That's exactly the kind of thing I would expect to cause problems, but you probably have an excuse already lined up. It's better than me talking to myself, so sure."

It's more of a reason really.

Cadance stopped in place

"Are..."

Inside please

"Oh- Uh,"

Are your thoughts blue?

Apparently, Alicorn senses. My mental presence is the same colour as my magic. Huh.

Just keep quiet please, I need to focus.

There was a tiny thumping noise, followed by silence

You didn't see it, but I sarcastically saluted

Cadance rolled her eyes.

She was nearly where she needed to be. Shadow included, but at least she'd have something else to focus on. She walked down the crystal hallways, ambiently pressing back against Silver's magical presence while trying to keep her hackles from rising.

She pushed open a door and walked into the office hall, much different from what she'd see at Tack & Co. This space was open, and covered in crystal tables and chairs. Ponies were moving to and fro, with papers, to desks, talking, the works. She walked up to the 'main' desk.

Rim Shot, a white crystal stallion greeted her from his rotating chair behind the desk, "Morning Princess, what can I do for you?"

"Hi Rim Shot, is Cane Sugar here yet?"

"He just got into meeting room four, he should be out in twenty."

"Thank you" Cadance gave him a smile and a nod. She turned to the walkway through the tables and up to the hallway that led away from the louder spaces.

A unicorn approached her from the side, "Excuse me, Princess Cadance?" The green mare waved a hoof in addition to her careful approach. Cadance turned and gave her a smile, hoping to disperse the stress the mare was supposedly feeling for dealing with her monarch.

"Hello miss, how can I help you."

Cadance's ear flicked as she heard a chuckle.

The mare stuttered over herself for a second, "Oh, well uh- I actua- Actually, I want to help you."

Reverse ask, put up to this, not nervous: passionate, spontaneous, not trustworthy: prone to make her own mistakes

The slew of thoughts Silver injected into her head stopped Cadance from responding as her mind filtered through what exactly she 'said'

"You see, me and my project team have been working on managing Equestrian integration and... Well-" The mare had long since lost her nervous tone, and smiled as she continued talking, "A lot of technology from Equestria isn't making its way into The Empire."

Cadance caught the meaning, "I understand, these things take time however."

The mare bobbed her head from side to side, "Well... Me and my team were hoping that we could... uh..." The mare glanced backwards to a group of crystal ponies, and a pegasus stallion. They all did their own version of 'pretending' they weren't watching as Cadance looked them over.

Prepare to interrupt her and ask for her name

The mare gathered herself, "Well as it stands, Sombra's rule over the Empire caused the falling off of a lot of basic amenities, everything aside from the Crystal Fair was basically stripped away from-"

"I'm sorry, but can I have your name miss?"

The mare blinked, having been verbally derailed, "Oh right, I'm Homeward, but my friends just call me Ward."

Cadance kept her princessly smile, "Well miss Ward, it's a pleasure to meet you."

"Thank you."

"You were saying?"

"Oh! Right," She gave a nervous chuckle, "The Empire lacks a lot of amenities, we have collected plenty of data comparisons for what's available. In short, The Empire needs schools."

Cadance lifted an eyebrow.

"There's only one technical place of learning in The Empire, and that's the Library, but it's more of an archive, and besides the ponies that act as teachers there, there's no group or board that's in charge of The Empire's education." The mare took a breath, "We were hoping to change that." She smiled the kind of smile that said 'oh please don't be mad when I say this', "With the right funding of course."

"Hmm." Cadance audibly hummed to cover her internal dialogue

How early are we going to get back?

Early enough for you to setup a meeting with them tonight, say: seven thirty two.

Why seven thirty two?

Picking such a specific number makes it seem like you have it all together, it'll encourage her and her cohorts-

"Princess?"

-To put a little more effort since you're slotting them in at such a particular time, rather than just 'seven thirty' or 'eight'. It gives them hope, and conveys a greater attention to this than you're actually giving.

"I'll tell you what Homeward, I have time at seven thirty two at my office tonight, meet with my aid Amber, and I'll hopefully not get caught up with my seven 'oh nine."

The mare's eyes widened in surprise, "Of course, your highness! Thank you! We'll be there."

Cadance watched the mare turn and excitedly go tell her cohorts all about the conversation they were eavesdropping on. Cadance waited for Silver to say something, but she didn't.

No quip?

No stetson

What?

noƨtɘtƨ oИ

Cadance took a physical double take as she stepped into the hallway

Did you just think backwards?

You're gonna be late Little Princess

Cadance kept moving, even though she was certain it was just her mind playing tricks on her, she felt like she could tell Silver was walking next to her.

Didn't I tell you I didn't want your advice?

Yeah, I'm still going to give it though, it was your choice to follow my instructions.

Can you at least wait outside? This meeting is meant to be private.

Of course

Cadance mentally pursed her lips

Can you please wait outside and not listen in?

Fine, be like that.

Cadance felt Silver's presence leave. She wasn't sure how she knew, but she did. She huffed once and gathered her thoughts as she came up to meeting room four. Luckily, peering through the 'crystal glass' it looked like they were going to go over a bit, and Cadance had time to put some sentences together before hoof.

Thank heavens. That mare is so distracting.

Cadance stood right in front of the door sorting out her thoughts for a minute before the ponies on the other side of the glass started to gather all of their packets and such. In short order they all exited, a few giving a deferential head nod towards the Princess as they filtered out of the room one by one. She took the opportunity to enter about mid way through the procedure, and scanned the conference room for Cane Sugar. Sure enough, the yellow stallion was there, conversing with a pinkish white crystal mare.

At her approach, Cane Sugar turned and gave a quick hoof wave to dismiss the mare, she glanced at Cadance and then left as Cane began speaking, "Ah, Princess Cadance, what can I do for you?"

"Actually Cane Sugar, today, it's what the crown can do for you." Cadance pulled a pair of chairs away from the crystal table and took a seat.

Cane Sugar lifted an eyebrow and took a seat, "How's that?"

Here we go

Cadance took a deep breath "To put it simply, The Empire has recovered. It's ponies are ready to re-enter the world stage. The crown, me, in this instance, is looking for projects to dedicate our resources to; now that we're out of the woods when it comes to recovery efforts."

"Not quite."

"That's what I'm here to solve. The Noble Houses as of far have been alone, and stand divided still."

Cane Sugar rolled her words around in his mind, "So you want to extend the olive branch then? Tit for Tat?"

"No, I'm looking for work." She chuckled, "If such a thing can be believed. I want to transfer the momentum of our recovery into a thriving industry and economy."

"It's nice to say that, but how're you gonna do it?"

Why is he so suspicious? Didn't I already answer that?

Cadance took a second to form a directional answer, "With the help of the Noble Houses, of course. The Crown obviously doesn't know everything, and the Houses have access to the land and influence that can keep The Empire growing, all we need to do is consolidate our resources."

Cane nodded slowly, "You're talking about re-united the Noble Houses." Then he laughed, "That's a grand idea Princess." Except the laugh was... sarcastic, and the way he made the statement told of something he knew that she didn't.

"Does the Noble House of Agriculture have any outstanding problems or projects the Crown might address?"

Cane's expression turned neutral again. "Of course we do, labor ponies are always in short supply, and we're losing heaps of 'bits' because the northern farms were converted into cereal farming circles."

"Why would that lose you bits?"

"Pfft, with the sudden influx of foreigners settling in The Empire, we've got a higher calorie quota to hit, it means we can't grow the crops we want; it depreciates the value of the land we can use."

Cadance nodded slowly, dismissing the way he said 'foreigners', "So in order to meet the rising food demand, you've had to cut out the more profitable seeding cycles?"

"Not just that, we don't have nearly enough crystal ponies who can grow 'em." Cane Sugar leaned forward and pressed a hoof on the table, "These earth ponies can grow some corn, but they don't know the techniques for growing hardy Crystal Grapes, or Sharded Wheat."

Of course, two problems not easily solved... clearly intentionally

"Those both seem like serious problems. Would your House benefit from outsourcing the high calorie count foodstuffs?"

"What do you mean?" He raised an eyebrow

"Obviously we would have to sort out the details, and get all of the data straight so we know where we're sending our bits, but if the Crown invested in food imports, how would that affect that particular issue."

Cane Sugar let his suspicion openly flow out onto his expression now, "And what's the catch?"

Gotcha

"Catch?" Cadance smiled, "Nothing. Giving you the hoofspace to grow the more profitable crops puts more money into The Empire. The Crown might lose bits, but I like to think of it more like 'disseminating funds.'"

Cane took a more inquisitive flex on his suspicion, "You'd simply... Invest? In my House?"

Cadance let herself show a tiny little smirk, "To restate. The Houses are important tools for the future of The Empire. I need them at their best. Any help the Crown shows to them will just be helping myself. That being said, can you give me a particularly compelling reason for why I shouldn't?"

"Not at all." Cane Sugar returned to a neutral expression and thought for a moment, "I'll..." He put a hoof on his chin and gave Cadance an appraising look, "I'll have my ponies run the numbers, and I'll make sure the paperwork gets to your desk personally"

"Perfect." Cadance levitated out her notebook and scribbled several random lines onto it to make it look like she was writing something down. "I'll keep my eye out for it. Thank you for your time Cane Sugar."

Cane Sugar nodded, and watched her leave.

As she exited, she stuffed her quill and notebook into the non-space in her mane, and looked around the hallway.

You still here?

...

"Hmm." Cadance walked down the hallway a bit more. Trying to figure out... Something, she didn't really have a good idea at to what she was doing.

Hellllooooooo?

She walked out into the open office space and gave the room a once over. As usual, everything was different, ponies didn't stay here for long, only a few had permanent desks.

Quick Silver?

Oh hey

Thank you for not stalking my conversation

I didn't really need to, I was just watching to realizing potential.

The what?

Well look around. Ponies. Lives.

She did, there were plenty of things happening. Ponies talking, chuckling, focusing.

Every second that ticks by, the world changes just a tiny itty-bitty bit, right here. It's beautiful, isn't it?

That's a surprisingly lax appreciation for somepony like you

Cadance started moving towards the exit, as to not look as though she had gotten lost in her own mind, awkwardly standing just outside a hallway and staring into space.

I work a little harder sure, and I make bigger moves, but I can still appreciate the lesser version of being alive.

The lesser version?

Don't be like that. You have infinite potential, none of these ponies measures up to the change you or I could make.

Life isn't just about your accomplishments.

Maybe not, but should it be?

The leading question broke Cadance's subconscious line of thought.

And that depends on your scope of 'accomplishments', maybe I think winning a game of hop-scotch is an accomplishment.

Cadance rolled her eyes at nothing

Sure

Well why not? In the right circumstance it could actually be a challenge, furthermore, why not view relaxing activities as accomplishments? Mental maintenance is important.

Doesn't... Doesn't that go against small things being lesser versions of... well... You know what I mean

Yeah

Cadance shook her head

So why even bring it up?

What, you want to depend on confusing my moral philosophy with hop-scotch?

Silver enunciated her quip by laughing in Cadance's head

So you did it just to annoy me... got it

Cadance fully ducked into one of the side hallways adjacent to the ornate pathways throughout The Spire. "So, what was so special you needed to bother me so early?"

Silver spoke, still invisible, "It's not that it's special. Just figured we'd want to get an early start."

"To..." Cadance's mind cringed for her, "Hang out?"

"Remember, you basically threatened me into doing this. I won't take credit." She snarked

Cadance, having located the sound of Silver's voice, gave the 'nothing' and eyebrow raise, "You act like you wanted to do it to begin with."

"Might as well give it my all if I have to."

"So?"

"Treasure hunting!"

Cadance shook her head, "Like... you... a scavenger hunt?"

Silver, still invisible, said after a moment, "We're gonna go to the unexplored jungles past the badlands. I've got a bead on a corrupted ripple that spread over Eternity from somewhere over there."

"You mean... Like... a dangerous artefact?"

"Yup!"

"Wait..." Cadance smirked, "Did you shake your head while you were invisible?"

"Uh- no..." A pause, "Shut up."

"Wow."

"Anyways, I've got a one time launch warper prepped, just a hop and a jump before we get to immerse ourselves in an adventure story." Silver's excitement was palpable

"An adventure story?" Cadance smiled at her enthusiasm

"I've been dealing with paperwork and organization and management for months Cadance. I want to go kill something, blow up a temple, and hear somebody scream 'curse you!' hopefully directed at me. It's an adventure story, plain and simple."

Cadance cringed lightly, "Maybe we could go without the killing?" she said diplomatically

"I hold the right to un-alive any non-sapient monster that tries to eat us. Anything else is situational, but I'll hold back-" Silver fake coughed, "Enough"

"You'll just do it yourself if I say no right?"

"Yep."

"Then I guess I'm in."

"Of course you are, shall we?"

Cadance held out a hoof, "Go ahead."

They flashed onto a mountain top. In the middle of a blizzard. Cadance immediately lifted her wings to shield herself from the wind and the ice as she sank hock deep into the snow. "Silver!"

"Yeah?" Silver shouted over the howling wind.

"Why?!" Cadance yelled in desperate annoyance

"We need open air for the launch!"

"Wait! What exactly does a launch warper do?" She called out, trying to spot anything besides the snow trying to get into her eyes and coating her fur.

"It's a teleportation matrix that gets around the maximum charge range for a standard teleportation spell by including momentum!"

Cadance saw the ground and snow beneath her start to glow with arcane light, her worry jumped as the concept of 'momentum based long range teleportation' settled into her mind. "We can just take th-"

Cadance's insinuation that they could simply take the Royal Crystal Train car in exchange for a couple of lost hours of the day was lost to the wind as a wave of magic exploded from the surface of the mountaintop and Cadance plus the invisible Silver went from standing in place to rapidly blipping in and out of existence while moving at Mach seven.

Cadance had just enough time to see the top of the bubble around the Empire as she broke the cloud layer while spinning uncontrollably before passing out from the G-Forces
> It stings the toes and bites the nose
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cadence let out a muffled groan into the mud.

Flexing her wings against the shrubbery she had destroyed when she landed, she took stock. No aches, or injuries, but she could still feel the light pressures from where she had impacted on her side, about as bad as falling out of bed.

She felt her ruffled wing get poked

She lifted her muzzle, hoping that her neck wouldn't ache as she moved it for the first time, and peered up through the shrub she was currently inhabiting to see Silver standing just over the edge of her sight line. The smaller mare was similarly coated in mud from top to bottom, ruining her metallic coat glaze. She also bore a worrying toothy smile.

poke poke

"I'm okay." Cadance said beginning to stand

"Oh I know, I calculated the spell's trajectory myself after all."

"Don't." Cadance stood and pressed a hoof to her forehead. "Just don't."

Something about being nearly viscerally injured drove Cadance to a level of deep seated irritation with... Everything about this.

Quick Silver widened her smile, "Remember, you brought this on yourself."

"I-! You!" She turned towards Quick Silver with a snarl but caught herself. She clamped her eyes closed and took a deep inhale through her nose, which was a massive mistake, as she accidentally sucked a globule of mud that was stuck in her fur up into her nose.

Quick Silver laughed at her as she hacked and worked at spitting out the mud

Cadance simmered with barely controlled rage

I know how this works. You make me angry, and then manipulate me.

She took a more careful deep breath.

"You still could have warned me." She tried to say evenly

Silver flipped a hoof, and turned to the jungle, "Three minutes."

"Until?" She responded hotly

"No Little Princess, three minutes of travel time. You have a prior arrangement at seven, I wanna get you back in time for curfew." Silver quipped, and started walking.

Keep a level head Cadance

She took a series of shaking steps out of the shrub she was in, trying to shake as much mud off of herself as she could from her limbs and her wings. Her first step sunk a hoof deep into mud, so she didn't try too hard.

"You're lucky I'm not opposed to getting my hooves dirty."

"I wouldn't have you any other way Little Princess." Silver looked over her shoulder, and chuckled again and Cadance's state, "Now cmon! Adventure awaits!" Silver walked off around the corner of a tree

Cadance beat down on her frustration and followed quickly after, slowing down once she caught up. She looked out into the daytime jungle glades, vines and thick canopies blocking out most of the sun. Shrubs and large clumps of uneven turf and tall grass covered most of the ground. She saw a snake hanging in one of the trees, a big one. "Do you know where we're going?"

"Nope."

Cadance took another deep breath, "Are we just walking in a random direction?"

"Yup" Came Silver's quick response, in addition to Silver looking at Cadance with a Cheshire grin

"You're really trying to get under my fur." Cadance grumbled, and tried to trudge ahead of Silver.

Ponies talk about vacationing to warmer climates, but what they don't tell you is that jungles like this? Sure they're warm, but they're also wet, and wet heat sucks. Silver kept pace and they kept moving in their straight line.

"What, does that bother you? You don't like a little friendly ribbing?" Silver enunciated 'ribbing' as she poked Cadance in the ribs with a primary feather.

"I don't consider being thrown to the other side of the world as friendly ribbing."

"You've gotta scale up, remember?" Silver laughed, "Injuring you is practically my version of a bad pun."

"You know what?" Cadance rounded on the smaller mare, "I am scaling up with you! And I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt way more than I should! You keep pushing those bo- mrmph!"

Silver stuck a hoof in Cadance's mouth, which sucked, since it was covered in mud. As Cadance backed up, Silver pushed forwards and shushed her.

Cadance heard the trudging noises of something massive through her thrashing, and glared as she used her magic to pull Silver's hoof out of her mouth. "That conversation isn't over."

Silver just chuckled and turned away from her.

You know that feeling that rises up like a pressure in your head when you're entire brain practically screams that it's time to knock someone's block off? Cadance pushed that down and used her magic to banish whatever remnants of Silver's curse where nearby. There weren't any, but it didn't matter to Cadance.

I- am so going to...

To what? What are you gonna do Cadance?

Cadance banished the line of thought and walked up behind Silver. She was peeking through some shrubbery, Cadance did the same; ahead of them through the trees, maybe twelve pony lengths was some large angry looking quadruped lizard creature, it was leaning on it's back legs and pulling leaves out of a tree to throw into the ground, it's tail was held out behind it for stabilization.

"S-" Cadance's surprise was cut off as she was telekinetically hefted into the clearing, where she promptly fell forwards trying to catch herself.

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

Her enraged half thought was cut off as the beast made an odd screeching/hissing/roaring noise, leapt from it's task, and ran at her. Cadance with her face still in the mud, backpedaled into a standing position and lit her horn. Before she could do anything an ambiguous aura of blue struck the lizard, and it stumbled for a second before twisting to the side and rushing past Cadance.

"Wha-" She said intelligently as she turned back towards Silver to see a lance of flame suddenly explode from over the rim of the vegetation and set a swath of the canopy on fire. Her eyes settled on the shrub she was just standing in, and it's currently 'disintegrated' state.

"Haha!" Silver's voice sounded out

Oh crap

Cadance lifted herself and put her hooves forward into a run back into the clearing.

Kirin!

She did a double take

Wait Kirin?

Silver was in the midst of unnaturally twisting around a lance of flame launched from the horn of one such pony. There were three others, one currently trying to deal with the massive Lizard that had thrown itself onto the Kirin's spear, the other two were chasing around Silver with floating knives.

Silver's twist ended with her hitting the ground and throwing a wave of force across the landscape, the fires were blown out, and Cadance lifted a wing over her face to stop the twigs and other improvised woodland projectiles from hitting her face.

"Cmon Little Princess! Get in on- OOF" Silver got halfway through her invitation as she was tackled and subsequently stabbed in the neck by one of the Kirin mare's wielding a knife.

Silver went down and the Kirin mare stood triumphant over the muddy pegasus right up until Silver began laughing. It started as a normal laugh, like someone had told a particularly funny story about a situation that went awry, and slowly transitioned into an 'oh god, oh please, oh no' kind of laugh that ended with an empty screaming that echoed through the trees like a banshee was being strangled

Uh oh.

The Kirin's last expression before being launched was: "Oh shit"

Cadance watched as the mare disappeared, with nothing but a hole in the tree canopy and a whoosh to commemorate her vacation from the battlefield. Silver then lifted herself up backwards from her spot on the ground, her eyes glowing blue. Her head snapped in the direction of the other knife wielding mare who was slowly backing away with wide eyes. Silver's head tilted instantaneously ever so slightly to the left.

"Fear"

Cadance felt the weaponized invisible lance of emotion twinge in her sense and she was forced into a cringe from the pain, The Kirin mare fell over, stiff and open mouthed.

The other two, the mare throwing the flames, and the mare with the pointy stick decided it was a good time to make a hasty retreat.

"Silver! Don't!" Cadance called out

Silver looked over at Cadance, her eyes no longer glowing, "Don't what?"

"Uh." She said, looking over to where the mares previously were, visually catching their tails as they disappeared into the underbrush.

Silver didn't make a move, just tilting her head to the side, waiting for Cadance to respond.

She just stared dumbly at the scene, at the mare who had some glowing black mist leaking from her eyes, and the now limp impaled Lizard creature, and then back to Silver. Who raised an eyebrow.

"Now Cadance." She smiled, and lowered her gaze, "Why would I kill the rats when they're going to lead us straight to the nest?"

"That!" Cadance pointed, "None of that! No killing!"

Silver rolled her eyes, "Nopony died Cadance" she spat out

Cadance looked up at the mare shaped hole in the canopy

"I'll catch her in a minute." Silver waved as she trotted over to the mare she'd collapsed onto the ground.

"Who... What just happened?"

"Tribe ponies. Remember, we're past the badlands, past changeling territory. The ponies down here are-" Silver used her wings to produce air quotes, "Uncivilized."

"Why did they attack us?"

Silver hefted the limp Kirin mare up off the ground, "Let's find out."

Cadance interposed herself between the two, having trotted up to the smaller mare. "Now hold on. What did you do to her?"

"I filled her mind with unimaginable terrors?" Silver said, somehow innocently

"Undo that." Cadance commanded

Silver rolled her eyes, but the mist stopped flowing from the mare, and she jerked awake.

Silver looked at Cadance, "Good cop, bad cop?"

"What?"

Silver frowned, "Ugh, whatever-" Silver turned to the mare, "Irictua msth'als-um ti."

The mare shook her head and tried to make herself small, "Mithuam, mithuam, mithuam ec'ctchi, mithuam"

Silver rolled her eyes again and shouted, "Um ti! Ether ec'ctchi Um-TI!"

The mare just shook her head more, Silver stomped a hoof and let off a wave of magic, the mare squeaked and bolted off into the forest.

Cadance moved to speak, but was cut off.

"Shut up for a second." Silver began weaving a spell with her hoof. "Heavens, you really know how to ruin fun."

I do not!

Silver loosed her spell just as the Kirin mare hit the canopy again, hitting the bubble of cerulean magic next, which slowed her descent and roughly deposited her onto the ground.

"There, happy?"

Cadance snorted, "Happier, did you have-"

"Up bup bup!" Silver walked up to Cadance and pressed a muddy hoof into her chest fluff. She lifted her gaze and locked eyes with Cadance. "Bitch."

Cadance's expression twisted, but before she could express her outrage, Silver turned and trotted off in the direction the pair of Kirin mares ran off into.

Oh she's gonna get it.

Cadance stomped after the other mare, and tried to think of something, anything to say, or yell, at the smaller mare. They ended up just trudging through the mud and foliage in silence, with Cadance angrily glaring at the back of Silver's head, while the silver pony smirked all the while from her successful irritation of the Alicorn. In her haste, Cadance didn't notice that the Lizard was gone, or the fizzle of light it disappeared into.



Their walk through the jungle didn't help Cadance calm down.

It did help her stop feeling like ripping out her own mane, but all the stress being pushed into the back of her mind still wanted out. She knew she had to break the stiff air that she'd created between herself and Silver... but she didn't want to.

Except Silver will be content to just have me be silent for the rest of this little 'trip' so I have to say something

Cadance decided not to wait any longer, "Do you have a better idea of where we're going now?"

Silver side eyed Cadance, "I thought you weren't talking to me" followed by a smirk

"Do you?" 

"Feisty. I like it." Silver snarked

"Silver" Cadance said threateningly

Silver shook her head, "If you can believe it, that was a serious compliment. 'Pissed off' looks very good on you."

Uhlgh, yuck

"Can you be serious, for a second, please?"

Silver looked straight ahead, "I just was."

Cadance huffed, "Please just answer my question."

Silver closed her eyes and kept walking after just the amount of time of which Cadance would have opened her mouth again, Silver opened her eyes and spoke, "No, but I have a good feeling about what we're looking for now"

Cadance tilted her nose in a 'go on' gesture

"It's probably some kind of hate or rage sink. Some magical device that can extract negative emotions."

"How'd'you figure that?"

Silver side eye'd Cadance again. "Care to guess?"

"No." She monotoned

"Notice how none of them went Nirik on us?"

Oh yeah...

Cadance pulled her pace up a little to get over an annoyingly spread patch of gnarled roots.

"You think they had their emotions pulled out?"

Silver bounced her head around, "The 'bad' ones, maybe."

"So... what are you going to do when we find them? Or it?"

"Probably going to blow up a temple, and make a daring escape just under the wire with the artefact in hoof." Silver joked, "And that's us, Little Bitch, you're in this too"

Cadance deeply frowned. Initially being about to smack the mare over the head quickly followed by the realization that 'Little Bitch' was actually just a twist on 'Little Princess'

I have no idea if being called Little Bitch is worse or better than being called a little bitch

She settled on, "I'm not going to help you wreak havoc and hurt ponies."

"Then go home."

"Excuse me?"

Silver stopped, and glared at the taller mare, "Nothing's keeping you here aside from your own responsibility, the same responsibility you're shirking by acting like a tiny prissy princess. I'm not sure you noticed, but that mare stabbed me in the neck and the other tried to ignite you." Silver took a step forwards and poked Cadance in the chest, "You're welcome by the way, for moving you and your filly out of the way of a Rupture Lance."

Cadance opened her mouth, Silver just poked her in the chest again, and kept going, "Furthermore, you can drop the suspicion, you told me not to kill, and I didn't, and wasn't going to. The high road your trying to take doesn't exist. So stop making a fool of yourself."

Silver's eyes narrowed, "You asked for this. I don't live smoothly. You wanna back out? Better for me, I'll even send you home, but believe it or not; I need this mental health break, and having you snarling down the back of my neck while I'm trying to wrestle the poison out of my bloodstream is enough of my patience down the drain that I may as well abort this whole exercise with you."

Cadance stomped and leaned forward into Silver's muzzle, "I'm only snarling down your neck because you're taking every opportunity to make me!"

"Oh? So you're nine years old?" Silver leaned in closer too, till they were basically touching noses, "Wah wah! The big bad Silver bully makes me angy! Whaaa wah!" Silver laughed in her face just before she leaned her weight forward and shoved Cadance, “Where’ve I heard that one before!”

"Why are you doing this!?" Cadance yelled, half in desperation

"Why not!?" Silver screamed with a crazed smile

Cadance smashed Silver's face with a blast of magic, the silver mare went tumbling backwards into a tree, which she slammed into with a loud crack, like Cadance had actually thrown a two ton chunk of iron at the tree instead of a flesh and blood pony. It felt good, and an unbidden smile came to Cadance's face.

Silver fired a beam back at her, which curved through the air around the foliage to hit her from the side, Cadance forwent lifting a shield, and simply obliterated the beam with unrelenting arcane might. The second beam she didn't see hit her in the side of the head like a slap.

"RRAAAAAAAAAGGGGHHH!" Cadance's head snapped to Silver's stupid smug face as she released a rage filled scream at being punched in the nose, she fired another blast of magic at Silver, this one was wider, it couldn't miss, it could be blocked, which is exactly what Silver did. An invisible shield absorbed the blast like it was nothing, Shining's shield, the shield that got her husband his cutie mark, the perverted version of it that that...

I'm going to kill her!

but Silver was gone, the wave of magic had obscured her for long enough that Silver had seemingly turned invisible, so Cadance let off a blast wave focused everywhere, and Silver went tumbling out of the air and into a series of branches nearby as her shadowy illusion was blown away in the wind of Cadance's magic.

Another blast, and another, and another. Cadance kept firing blast after blast of raw magic at Silver, who blocked or dodged them all until Cadance scored a lucky hit, sending Silver into the ground, several hooves into the ground.

Then she fired again. 

"BLOCK THAT!"

and again

"AND THIS!"

The hole Silver was embedded in widened and deepened as Cadance filled it with arcane death. Cadance fired and screamed until she was out of breath, until she was out of magic.

Heaving with exertion, irritation, she peaked into the hole she'd dug as the now dried out dirt and dust settled in the air. Expecting a trap, or some sort of body double or trick, Cadance tensely peeked over the rim with her horn lit and her wings spread, regardless of the protesting ache of mana exhaustion at the base of her horn.

What she did not expect was a crumpled body. Twisted from the arcane forces, Silver lay in the hole completely still

Cadance's eyes widened as her horn winked out along with her already petering rage, and she gasped.

The body in the hole weakly lifted a hoof and pointed it at Cadance

...

"Nice."

Cadance let out a tentative, "Silver?"

Silver let out a groan from underneath the light rubble on top of her. "I'm okay."

Liar

"I-"

"Just. Give me a second" Silver said tersely.

Cadance stepped away from the hole and sat back hard.

You lost it Cadance, you genuinely lost it and nearly killed Quick Silver

She looked around at the destruction she'd wrought

You also made a new clearing

Silver's hoof gripped the edge of the hole, and she rolled herself out of the hole and onto her side. "whoo." She let out tiredly, waving a hoof around, "I didn't think I'd ever get you to pop your lid." Silver smiled at Cadance

Cadance just looked at her, dumbfounded, as Silver's body stitched itself back together, her nose setting into the direction it should be facing, and her teeth reappearing before Cadance's eyes.

"How do you feel?"

"How do I-"

Her own thought interrupted her before she could finish her reflexive question

How do I feel?

Cadance's hooves ached. Her mane was covered in dirt. Her horn burned like she'd just stuck it in the oven, her throat was dry and raspy. Her whole body sang the song of exhaustion.

Except it felt good. It felt like she'd just run and won a marathon.

She felt relaxed. Sitting in the mud, in the wet air, in the jungle, miles and miles from home.

"ha." her lax face let out a tiny laugh. "Ha. Ha?" and then two more, a little harder, as a smile worked its way onto her face. She let out a huff that scraped at her throat, and the next breath carried a real series of rib angering heaves of amusement as Cadance let it all out.

"I put you in a hole!" She said in-between her laughter, which only served to intensify it, "And you wanted it!"

What is my life!?

Silver watched on in amusement herself, a sparkle dashing across her blue eyes.

Cadance carefully wiped a tear from her eye with a wing tip, trying not to push mud into her eye as she stood at the tail end of her laughing fit. She trotted up to Silver and scooped her up into a hug, "I'm so glad you're okay. I'm sorry for losing it like that."

"Felt good though, didn't it." Silver smiled and said as she leaned away from Cadance's side hug

Cadance rubbed the back of her neck, "Yeah..."

"Don't go backwards on me Bitch, you did great!"

Cadence wasn't sure how one could say 'bitch' in an endearing way, but Silver certainly did it

"It wasn't great for my pride getting slammed like a stress doll, but you sure showed me huh?"

Cadance flapped her mouth

"Cmon, did you? Huh?"

"I- I did!"

"Yeah that's right!"

"I did show you!" Cadance laughed again, "That'll teach you to piss me off!"

Silver kept up her smile, "It sure will, and next time, warm me before you blow off all that steam."

Cadance stopped her joke at the way Silver said 'next time', "Next time?"

"Tartarus yes! Are you kidding? Look at all this jazz you were keeping bottled up!" Silver gestured around the clearing. "Seems like you needed a good fight just like I do."

"I try to be more constructive with m-"

"How's this not constructive?"

Cadance sarcastically gestured everywhere around herself.

Silver shook her head and smiled warmly. "You see destruction, I see change. All those little seeds that couldn't sprout in the sun because of the trees get a chance to take the stage light now, this hole may turn into a pond in ten years, so what? Nature doesn't care how hard you hit it."

Silver took one of Cadance's hooves and looked her in the eye, "I'm not a little filly like you Cadance, I can take a hit, and you can actually talk to me." Silver said, tilting her head towards the 'destruction'. "No more going 'princess' on me, and I won't try to get under your fur to bring it out of you."

Cadance shook Silver's hooves, "Deal." She shook her head, "You know, you could have just talked to me."

"Heh, what'd be the fun in that?" Silver quipped as she stood

Something about the seemingly normal phrase from Silver stuck in Cadance's mind

She doesn't believe me

"No really... You could have." Cadance tried

Silver smiled again, "I'll keep that in mind next time."

She... Does... well I just nearly turned her into pony pudding in a fit of rage, of course she doesn't think I-

"I'm sorry." Cadance said slowly.

"I already sai-"

"No." Cadance interrupted, "For treating you like a noble, instead of my friend."

Silver didn't have a response for that, but her ear flicked to the side. "We aren't friends, Little Princess."

Cadance smiled softly, "Maybe not, but that doesn't mean I shouldn't do my best anyways."

Silver's ear flicked again as she stared blankly at Cadance. Somewhere off in the distance of the jungle, a bird tweeted. Silver stared harder. Cadance leaned back as Silver scrutinized the mare, suddenly the tone in Silver's blank expression changed from neutral to something alien to Cadance.

"Uh" Cadance said intelligently

Silver spoke roughly, her jaw shifted mechanically and her expression didn't shift. Like she was fighting herself. "I... Like... Boats..." Silver lifted an eyebrow ever so slightly, waiting for Cadance's reply.

What is happening???

"You do?"

"Yeah"

...

Silver's look intensified

"What kind?" Cadance said, verbally standing against the tidal wave that was Quick Silver at the moment.

Silver made no change to her expression, but Cadance could see, feel her eyes sparkling with hope
 
"Sailing ships... small ones, with only one or two main masts."

"Have you ever sailed one" She asked back

"Yeah." Silver's ear flicked again

"You'll have to take me sailing sometime."

Silver's ear flicked again, and then the far off look broke away, "Shall we finish finding a dangerous artefact?" Silver held out a hoof to the sitting princess

Cadance pushed her mind away from the strange interaction and let Silver change the subject

"Let's." Cadance took her hoof