Ditzy Doo fidgeted, adjusting the necklaces she wore. The Element of Kindness was a primal force of creation, residing within her and focused through the gilt jewelry that now adorned her neck. The other necklace was a simple yellow gem on a silver chain, a gift from her daughter. One was a priceless artifact. The other had cost just under a hundred bits. Ditzy Doo was proud to wear one, and treasured the other one immeasurably.

The two did not, however, want to be worn at the same time, if the way they kept catching in her coat was any indication. Even worse – from a metaphysical standpoint – the Element of Kindness’ necklace was the one making the two of them a problem, as on its own her daughter’s gift was light as a feather and always unobtrusive. One would think that the primal forces of creation would had the good sense to fashion themselves into something easy to wear. The forces of creation did not.

Still, bad though it was, Ditzy Doo felt even worse for Trixie, the only one of the six of them not to have a necklace. The blue unicorn wore the diadem that was the Element of Magic’s focus, the impressiveness of which was exceeded, according to Trixie, only by its weight, not to mention it completely lacking balance, trying to fall off her head if she tilted it too far left, right, forward, or backwards.

“Who designed these?” Cheerilee demanded in a whisper as she resisted the urge to fiddle with her own Elemental focus. The Element of Laughter was slightly larger than the Element of Kindness, to account for the fact that Cheerilee, as an earth pony, was broader and taller than Ditzy Doo. It was not, however, large enough to account for the fact that Cheerilee’s coat was additionally somewhat longer and thicker than was typical for an earth pony; as a result the focus for the Element of Laughter was doing its best to strangle her – not a very good attempt, but still considerably more of one than one normally expected from an inanimate object.

“Shh,” Trixie insisted, casting a sideways glare at Cheerilee. Cheerilee looked suitably admonished, as she remembered where she, Ditzy, Trixie, and the other three Elements – Raindrops, Lyra, and Carrot Top – were: the vast courtyard of Canterlot Castle, where the whole of the Night Court had been gathered. Specifically, the six of them were occupying a position of honor, standing in front of the great mahogany doors that allowed passage into the castle itself – and, not coincidentally, standing to Luna’s right hoof side as the Night Court awaited the arrival of the Cavallian envoy that was even now making its way through the streets of Canterlot and to the impressive front gates set into Canterlot Castle’s thick walls.

Laid out before Ditzy Doo were the assembled nobility and upper crust of Canterlot, the duchesses and barons, margraves and viscounts, and even a viceroy or vicereine here or there. Each were dressed in finery that probably cost more than Ditzy Doo made in an entire year, and it made Ditzy feel extremely under-dressed for the occasion, despite the fact that she was wearing the finest dress that Carousel Boutique could produce. The clothier that owned Carousel Boutique, Rarity, had practically jumped at the occasion to design dresses fit for such a formal gathering, even more so when she had been informed by Trixie that her budget for doing so would be essentially unlimited, as the Princess herself was commissioning the dresses that the six Elements of Harmony now wore, wanting them to look their absolute finest. Even Trixie, normally adamantly opposed to dresses for some reason that she refused to explain, was wearing one, stating that as much as she hated wearing dresses, she knew better than to go against the wishes of Princess Luna herself where the Cavallians – the oldest and staunchest allies of Equestria – were concerned.

For that matter, Princess Luna’s dress outdid even their own, consisting of a long train and cape of the deep yet translucent blue that shimmered and sparkled under its own magic, her normally silver slippers replaced by ones of deep blue with filigree that traced their way up her legs. Her mane, too, was different in appearance; while it still moved and rippled like water catching a reflection of the starry night sky, it was both longer, and thinner. Her chestplate had been replaced by a silver, glowing sash patterned like the moon, while her obsidian-black crown seemed to have grown taller.

Ditzy Doo thought that the Princess looked nervous, but was certain she was imagining things. Luna was speaking with a Night Guard in hushed tones; though Ditzy Doo couldn’t make out the words, it didn’t take a genius to figure out that the Princess was probably grilling the poor pony on all the preparations and accommodations for the Cavallians, making sure that everything she could think of was in tip-top shape.

“Hey, that pony looks familiar,” Raindrops noted, nodding out towards the Night Court. The various nobles were milling about, no doubt discussing matters of grave importance and playing their shadowy games even now.

Trixie and Ditzy Doo both followed Raindrops’ gaze. “That’s Night Light,” Trixie said softly after a moment. “Viceroy of Latigo. Probably the single most powerful noble in the Night Court. Plus his son, Shining Armor, is captain of the Royal Guard.”

“I was actually talking about the mare next to him. The one with the purple-and-white mane. She…she kind of looks like Twilight Sparkle.”

"Yeah..." Carrot Top said, "I was notcing that..."

“Hmm? Oh, that’s Twilight Velvet, Night…Light’s…wife…” Trixie trailed off, squinting at the viceroy and vicereine for a few moments, before her eyes widened in shock. As if to cement a point, Night Light happened to look up from a conversation he was having with another noble, this one an old-looking pegasus Trixie had previously identified as Vicereine Puissance. The look that he gave Trixie spoke volumes, and Trixie quickly glanced away and back to her friends. “I…I think that Twilight Sparkle and Night Light might be related,” she said softly.

“Daughter, if I was guessing, given how much Velvet looks like her,” Lyra said, stepping closer to Trixie, the other four Elements doing likewise. “You okay?”

“Not really,” Trixie said, her voice notably lacking emotion, probably because otherwise all it would have held was panic. Ditzy guessed that images of what had happened only a scant few weeks ago were dancing through her head: her rebuke of Twilight, Twilight bringing a mythical Star Beast, an Ursa Minor, into Ponyville to try and make a point about real magic, the Ursa slipping from her control and going on a rampage, and then Trixie and Twilight having to work together to banish it back to where it came – and afterwards, Twilight fleeing Ponyville and Trixie reporting the whole thing to Princess Luna, necessarily turning Twilight into a wanted fugitive in Equestria. Trixie had already come away from that looking visibly upset, as she bore at least some responsibility for driving Twilight to attempting to control a Star Beast and Luna had not been happy with her – but far more of the blame lay on Twilight Sparkle.

Ditzy gave Trixie a friendly nuzzle. “He can’t do anything though, right?” she asked. “I mean…Twilight’s the one that recklessly endangered ponies – ”

“And I’m the one that reported her,” Trixie interrupted.

“That shouldn’t matter,” Ditzy said. All she received in response was a look from Carrot Top, Lyra, and Trixie, all three of which had so far been attempted victims in the shadowy games played by the Night Court. For that matter, all their lives had become much more complicated as of late.

“Maybe you should apologize?” Ditzy asked.

Trixie blinked a few times. “Apologize? Apologize for what? ‘Oh, sorry, Night Light, your daughter brought a bear into town for Stars know what reason after I humiliated her, and yeah, she also helped me get rid of it, but that was only after she lost control, and yeah, I tried to talk to her afterwards, but she just teleported away! Great job raising that filly!’”

Ditzy focused both her eyes on Trixie. It wasn’t easy with her strabismus, and it tended to sting her eyes and make them tear up if she did it for too long, but she also noticed that she tended to get through to ponies when she did. This time was no different, as Trixie let out a sigh. “You’re…yeah, you’re right. I’m going to go and try…” she bit her lip and stepped down from the stairs, trotting towards the viceroy with notable nervousness but equally notable determination.

She never got the chance. Night Light and Twilight Velvet both noticed her approach, scowled almost as one, excused themselves from talking with Puissance, and disappeared into the Court. Trixie froze a moment in surprise, looking as though she might consider chasing them down, but then there was the sound of trumpets from the castle’s gates. Ditzy looked, and saw a white stallion dressed in ornate, silver armor – Shining Armor, the captain of the guard and apparently Night Light’s son – standing just inside the portcullis that guarded the entrance to Canterlot. He had been escorting the Cavallian envoy through the city, to the castle’s gates.

“Your Majesty,” Shining Armor proclaimed once the conversations of the nobles had died down and Trixie had rejoined Luna and the rest of the Elements on the steps leading into the castle proper. “Her Highness the Princess of Cavallia requests permission to enter Canterlot Castle.”

The request was pure pomp and circumstance, of course; even Ditzy, who hardly considered herself politically adept, knew this. Luna bowed her head. “Allow her passage, captain,” she responded.

Shining Armor bowed his head, then turned and nodded to the guards manning Canterlot’s portcullis. The message was passed along to the gatekeepers, who began opening the portcullis immediately, its thick bars rising swiftly and revealing the Cavallian envoy that lay behind it.

The first to enter were a dozen honor guards, four from each tribe of pony. Gold had never become as anathema within Cavallia’s borders as it had within Equestria’s, and as a result the guards were dressed in ceremonial armor of gold and purple, with helmets that forwent the head-crest of Equestrian armor in favor of purple-and-gold tassels, and the armor itself etched with ornate designs of lions on the prowl and eagles in flight and dragons reigning from mountaintops.

Once the honor guard had assumed positions lining the procession grounds, Shining Armor appeared again. “My Empress Luna,” Shining Armor proclaimed over trumpets that began once again, “I present to you Mi Amore Cadenza – Exarch and Princess of Cavallia!”

“Empress?” Ditzy asked softly, as Shining Armor rattled off several more titles.

“The Princess is the ruler of a few other nations as well as Equestria,” Cheerilee quickly explained in a low voice. “She’s technically the Empress of Cavallia, and Cadenza rules it in her name as her exarch. Since she’s receiving Cadenza, it’s proper to refer to Luna as Empress right now.”

“Oh,” Ditzy said, pretending to understand the need for that as Mi Amore Cadenza stepped into view. The Princess was taller than many stallions, though if Ditzy were forced to guess, she’d say that she wasn’t quite as tall as Luna herself. Like Luna, she was a true alicorn, possessing both wings and a horn, but Cadenza’s wings were longer and narrower, like those of a swan. Her coat was pink, though her feathers faded to blue at their tips, while her mane was a mixture of purple, pink, and cream. She wore a purple-and-gold dress of the same hues and gilt finery as her royal guard, with a high, flared collar and long train that started out white but gradually faded towards purple, then blue towards its end, the design shimmering with magic. Set atop her head was a three-pointed golden crown encrusted with purple gemstones.

Ditzy blinked a few times as she took in Cadenza. Gold was anathema within Equestria, but some ponies, such as Lyra, could still pull it off without reminding ponies of Corona. But Cadenza almost seemed to be invoking the image of sunset or sunrise – and she managed to do it without looking threatening. If there was supposed to be an alicorn in charge of the sun, then clearly that alicorn was supposed to be Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.

The Princess of Cavallia approached with her wings wide and a bright smile on her face. Shining Armor followed alongside, eyes alternating between looking straight ahead, and glancing sidelong at Cadenza. Ditzy was fairly certain she recognized the look he was giving her – and despite herself, Cadenza was taking note of Shining Armor as well. When the two of them reached Luna, Cadenza turned to Shining Armor to formally thank him for the escort. Her eyes lingered on his own for several seconds longer than was probably necessary, however – and her pink coat didn’t hide her blush at all.

Ditzy wondered if she’d just witnessed the beginning of a scandal. Glancing at Luna, she saw that the Princess of Equestria – and apparently Empress of Cavallia – had a broad, warm smile on her face. “Princess Cadenza,” Luna said. “I bid you welcome to Canterlot Castle.”

“Empress Luna,” Cadenza returned. She didn’t bow, which surprised Ditzy, but she did incline her head, as Luna did likewise. Her voice was light and smooth, sounding more like it came from a pony that had only just reached adulthood than a nearly millennium-old alicorn, while also possessing a notable Cavallian accent. “I am grateful for your hospitality. I hope that my time here can be spent re-affirming old bonds of loyalty and friendship between Cavallia and Equestria. I am certain that, as long as we stand together, the Tyrant Sun can present no threat to the ponies of either of our nations.”

“I am certain of this as well,” Luna said, as she raised a hoof and indicated the Elements, starting with Trixie, who seemed to have recovered from her shock at discovering Viceroy Nightlight, at least on the outside. “I should like to introduce you to the ponies who now bear within them the Elements of Harmony, who ended Corona’s attempted coup less than a day after it began. You know my student, Trixie Lulamoon, already. She bears the Element of Magic.” Luna continued down the line. “Lyra Heartstrings is a musician, and holds the Element of Loyalty. Raindrops, the weather pony, bears the Element of Honesty. Cheerilee is a teacher and bears the Element of Laughter. Carrot Top is a farmer, and bears the Element of Generosity. And, last but by far not least, Ditzy Doo is a member of the Equestrian postal service, and holds the Element of Kindness.” Ditzy endeavored to try and keep both her eyes focused on Cadenza without letting her effort show. She was fairly certain she succeeded.

Cadenza acknowledged each of the Elements as Luna named them. “I am glad to meet the six mares who laid the Tyrant Sun low,” she said. “When she escaped her prison, I feared that Cavallia would have to march to war to restore the Equestrian throne to its rightful ruler. I am glad that you made this unnecessary.”

Ditzy’s left eye slid out from her control, rebelling against the strain of holding it in place. To her relief, Cadenza didn’t react at all to her strabismus – she supposed a thousand-year-old being had probably seen far stranger things than misaligned eyes. Ditzy’s left eye, however, did allow her to look at Princess Luna. The Princess was still smiling, a soft, honest smile rather than a wide, plastered-on grin that politicians and nobility so often wore. It was a smile of contentment rather than happiness that she focused on Cadenza, one that looked familiar…

…actually, it looked decidedly familiar. It was a smile that Ditzy herself wore whenever she looked to her daughter, Dinky Doo, currently back in Ponyville with her half-sister Sparkler. It was a smile that Ditzy had seen on dozens of other mothers when they saw their children happy…

Ditzy blinked a few times as a stray thought entered her mind, one that seemed impossible, if for no other reason than the fact that Ditzy couldn’t even begin to guess who Cadenza’s father was. Then again, she wasn’t the best at history…Cadenza had, by now, turned back to Luna. “Now then,” Luna said to Cadenza, “might I suggest that we head indoors? I have had a great feast prepared for you and the rest of your envoy. I am certain that after your journey here, you must be quite hungry.”

“Indeed we are,” Cadenza said, looking behind her and saying something in Cavallian. As one, her honor guard turned and began marching forward in perfect unison, following Luna, Cadenza, and the Elements as they entered Canterlot Castle, the Night Court following quickly after.

“Hey, Cheerilee, I have a question,” Ditzy said, catching up to the teacher, as Ditzy supposed that she was the most likely to have the answer Ditzy sought.

“Yes?” Cheerilee asked.

“Is Cadenza Luna’s daughter?”

Cheerilee blinked a few times. “I…don’t know. I don’t think so. Why?”

“Just a sort of feeling I was getting from Luna, that’s all. Maybe I should ask Trixie…” Ditzy looked up, looking around for Trixie, but found that instead her eyes – both of them – were drawn to Luna, who had stopped trotting at the door to Canterlot’s dining hall and was staring at Ditzy, while Cadenza was speaking with Trixie about something or other. It was only for a moment, and Luna quickly looked away, back to Cadenza as the doors to the dining hall opened – but Ditzy felt a shiver go down her spine.

Maybe she wouldn’t ask Trixie…

---

Halfway through the feast – which contained more food in a single place than Ditzy had ever seen before, and that included the vast apple fields of Sweet Apple Acres – Ditzy had just about managed to forget about her feeling and her intent to ask Trixie about Cadenza and Luna, when a maroon-coated waiter approached Ditzy at her table with the other Elements. “Miss Doo?” He asked. “There is a message for you, from a mister Silver Script. If you would just follow me…?”

Ditzy blinked at the mention of Silver Script, the post master of Ponyville and her boss. She couldn’t even begin to think of what would have been so important that Silver Script would feel a need to contact her now, of all times. Her thoughts immediately turned to her daughter – but if Dinky was in some kind of trouble, she was certain that Sparkler would let her know.

Unless something happened to her as well…Ditzy stood, casting a nervous glance at her friends. “Is something wrong?” she asked.

“I was told that it was no cause for worry, ma’am, but that it was urgent,” the waiter said. Ditzy calmed at that, following the waiter as he escorted Ditzy from the dining hall to what seemed to be an informal meeting room, with a pair of couches and a low table, with large windows facing out and overlooking the Equestrian countryside. The room was devoid of ponies, however. Ditzy blinked a few times in confusion, turning around to ask the waiter what was going on – and finding the waiter glowing a deep, midnight blue. With a slight flash, the waiter was replaced by Princess Luna, devoid of her dress and even her normal royal regalia, including her crown. She was instead wearing a deep frown that managed to be creased with worry.

Ditzy’s eyes widened as Luna took a step forward, wings spread wide. “How did you find out?” Luna asked. Her voice was not loud, but it was insistent – and it was, again, tinged almost with panic.

Ditzy blinked. When Luna had suddenly manifested, stories of the dark games of the Night Court came to her mind, and she’d despite herself imagined that Luna, that the Princess of the Night, might be about to do any number of horrible things to her. Instead, Luna seemed more like a parent who was worried that their foal was about to find out that they were adopted.

Or really, Ditzy supposed, the opposite of that, given that Luna could be referring to only one thing. “I…I just got a feeling,” she said softly, shying away from the princess. Luna seemed to notice the effect she was having on Ditzy Doo, and backed off, tucking her wings away. “The way you were looking at her, I didn’t know, but why does…?”

Luna had looked away from Ditzy, trotting past her – giving the pegasus a wide berth so as to allow her to get over her shock, and heading over to the windows. Ditzy watched her closely. “…I’m not the only one who doesn’t know,” Ditzy surmised.

Luna looked to Ditzy, pain visible on her face. The last time Luna had looked like this, she had been witnessing her sister, Corona, the Tyrant Sun, promising her fire and destruction. “This…this is not the first time this has happened,” Luna said, turning to face Ditzy. “You are right, Cadance does not know, and I would like to keep it that way. So…so what will it take to keep this secret?”

Ditzy stared. “Cadance?” she asked.

Luna said something under her breath as she looked away. “Cadenza. I had originally named her Cadance, but her adoptive parents…” she looked back to Ditzy. “It is a very long story.”

“And there’s other ponies that know?”

“Nopony alive.”

Ditzy blinked a few times at that, backing a step away and wings raising slightly. Luna realized her faux pas immediately, and her own eyes widing. “N-not like that!” she said, holding out a hoof. “Remember that Cadenza and I are very old. The last pony to ‘get a feeling’ like you have was more than a century ago now. As I recall he died in his sleep, surrounded by friends and family, after a long and full and wealthy life.”

Ditzy blinked again at that. “Are…are you trying to bribe me, Princess?”

Luna stared at Ditzy, not answering the question. Ditzy matched the stare, much to her own surprise. “Why don’t you want Princess Cadenza to know that you’re her mother?”

Luna looked to Ditzy Doo again, as though considering. At length, she sighed, closing her eyes. “A thousand years ago…” she began…

---

Luna had told this story far too often over the centuries for her comfort. Granted, even telling it once was more than she had ever wanted to tell it. By now, she’d seen every possible reaction under the sky: surprise, grief, outrage, opportunism, understanding…it was this last that Ditzy Doo seemed to display as Luna told her of the fight with Corona, the Elements, the gathering of power, the appearance of the alicorn filly that Luna would try – and fail – to name Cadance…and then later, their first meeting, how Cadance believed herself to be Celestia returned, how she had tried so hard to make Luna believe something that she knew was untrue from the beginning, the constant struggle that Luna underwent to resist revealing everything to her…

Ditzy was quiet as Luna finished speaking. The pegasus mare could never be bribed, Luna realized now. Not over something like this. In truth, she’d figured as much from the moment she’d tried, but Luna had been surprised by ponies in the past, in both good ways and bad ones. If it kept her secret, then Luna would do anything.

At length, Ditzy looked to Luna with her left eye, her right eye having drifted off to stare at the wall. “But…” she said. “But why doesn’t Cadance know now?”

Luna resisted the urge to thank Ditzy for using Cadance’s original name – the name she’d always have in Luna’s mind and heart. The two were now sitting on the couches in this parlor, Ditzy on one and Luna on another. “What do you mean?”

“Princess, it’s been nearly a thousand years everything you told me happened. I don’t know how often Cadance has visited, but it’s got to be a lot. Not to mention I’m certain you’ve gone to Cavallia. So why haven’t you told her?”

Luna looked down, closing her eyes. She’d become quite adept at fighting back tears over the years. “Because…because the next time I saw Cadance, she’d earned her cutie mark. She was in love – with Cartasole, I'm sure you'll be happy to hear. She was so happy, and I didn’t want to risk ruining that. Then the next time I saw her, they had adopted foals, and…”

Luna shook her head. “One reason or another. I was hardly going to tell her at Cartasole’s funeral…or the funerals of her own children. She was distraught for a long time before recovering, she seemed so fragile…and then…then even after she seemed strong enough, the time was never…never right.”

“Never right?” Ditzy echoed.

Luna grimaced. “What…what if I tell her, and she hates me, Ditzy Doo? By the time she was strong enough, nearly two centuries had passed. Then the third came and went…the fourth, when I considered again…the seventh…” Luna’s wings fluttered. “I…I have grown comfortable with this routine. I hate it…but to disrupt it would change everything.”

“And that’s not good?”

“It might be. Or…or it might be terrible.” She looked to Ditzy. “I am immortal. So is Cadance. Every day we wake up with the whole of our lives in front of us. And an immortal can carry a grudge…can carry hate…for a very, very long time. She need never reconcile with me.”

Ditzy stared. “You really think your own daughter could do that to her mother?”

“I wouldn’t be her mother. I would be a pony who has chosen to shatter utterly her world view.”

Ditzy blinked a few times at that, before letting out a sigh. “Except…” Ditzy said. “Except there’s something you have to consider that you've never had to before. Corona.” Luna stared, head tilting to the side somewhat. Ditzy pressed on. “Majesty…Corona wants to kill you. I…I don’t know if she can…but even if all she could do is banish you into the moon forever…” Ditzy swallowed, closing her own eyes. “I don’t want to think about what would happen if Corona were to do that. But say she did. Then Cadance would never know. Never be able to know. And…and doesn’t she deserve to know the truth?”

Ditzy was wrong. Luna had considered that. But…but what if she did tell Cadance, and then Cadance hated her, and afterwards Corona was cast back in the sun? Then not only would Luna had lost her sister, she would have lost her daughter. She’d be doomed to eternity alone, forever. Mortals could only hold a grudge for a finite time. Their lives were short, and so they naturally sought to bring closure to their hates, one way or another – or, they would simply die and take their grudges with them to what lay beyond. But an immortal like Luna? Like Cadance? There was no need to seek closure. No need to ever get rid of the hate – and the alternative, dying and taking a grudge with one, was simply not a possibility.

Ditzy Doo had no ability to comprehend how terrifying that possibility was.

Ditzy was staring hard at Luna, both her eyes coming into focus. “You have to tell her, Majesty,” she said. “I…I won’t keep this secret. I’m sorry, but I think that Cadance deserves to know, especially seeing as Corona is back, and you should be the one to tell her, but if you won’t…”

Luna glared at Ditzy. “If I ordered you,” she said, “as your Princess – ”

“I wouldn’t do it. I'm sorry.”

The Princess of the Night drew in a deep breath, then let it out as a long, shaking sigh. She had known this day would come, known that one day she would meet a pony who couldn’t be bribed, nor made to promise her silence. And she also knew what she’d resolved to do on that day: lie through her teeth that she would tell Cadance, pretend to do so, tell the pony that she’d done so, and then from that day forward do everything in her not inconsiderable power to prevent the pony from learning the truth. Luna opened her mouth in order to begin enacting the first part of her plan. “Very well. I – ”

“And I want to be there to make sure,” Ditzy added, standing and walking towards the door of the room. “I’ll go and get Princess Cadenza.”

Luna remained seated, mouth hanging open. There were a million and one things she could have done to stop Ditzy Doo – but at the moment, she was simply frozen in place by the sheer gall of the pegasus. By the time she had recovered, Ditzy Doo had already left.

---

There were significant benefits to being a captain of the royal guard, Cadenza knew, not the least of them being that at official state functions – such as, for example, a feast put on for a visiting foreign dignitary – the captain of the guard was allowed to actually participate, rather than needing to see to his duties. In fact, he had a seat to Cadenza’s right, sipping at the wine provided for all in attendance save Luna herself, whom Cadenza knew stuck to non-alcoholic beverages until the end of meals, when she permitted herself only a small glass of wine (‘in attendance’ being a relative term, of course, since the elder alicorn had excused herself several minutes ago to attend to affairs of state).

However, very little of that had anything to do with Captain Shining Armor. She had met with the stallion several times to coordinate her formal arrival in Canterlot, with Shining Armor travelling south to Cavallia several times. Of course, when one was staying somewhere for a week after a two-day train ride, one could hardly do nothing but work the whole time – especially not if it was not one’s first trip. Cadenza liked Shining Armor significantly more than she did the previous captain of the guard, who had been a stodgy old earth pony mare who was concerned only with business and duty. Shining Armor was loyal and stalwart, but was quite young and knew how to relax, and had even enjoyed the famous beaches of Cavallia during one stay.

Cadenza had enjoyed the beach that week as well, though not for the water. She felt almost bad for Luna due to being so distracted by Shining Armor. Cadenza knew that Luna looked forward to these meet-ups every decade or so; but on the other hoof this was fundamentally Luna’s fault for choosing such an active and pleasant stallion to be her captain of the guard, and then sending the poor, unknowing soul south into Cadenza’s clutches, especially his most recent visit after being distraught at the fact that his younger sister had committed a crime and then gone into hiding, something he was in no way responsible for and yet couldn’t help but be worried about. She hadn’t intended to make significant headway with him that week, only to distract him from his pain. She liked to think that she had succeeded in both counts.

Cadenza looked to Shining Armor, taking him in. She had discovered that her special talent was love – promoting it in others, yes, but it was also something she could follow in herself. She could sense that Shining Armor was taking an interest in her – and she knew that she was taking considerably more than a passing interest in him. “Captain Armor,” she said, her formality an intentional put-on. “You are the son of Viceroy Night Light, yes? Of the Starlight family?”

Shining Armor nodded, and Cadenza could see the pride on his face at the mention of his family’s name. “Would you believe,” she said, “that I knew Starlight Shine himself? The founder of your family?”

The unicorn captain blinked a few times, before nodding. “I would believe that, yes,” he said.

Flirting was delicate game. The same thing that could draw the interest of one pony could drive another way. For example, many ponies would be unnerved by Cadenza’s casual mention of her age of nearly a full millennium. Shining Armor, however, was intrigued by it, by the opportunities it presented – not the least of which was the chance to speak to someone who had known his distant ancestor.

“What was he like?” Shining Armor asked.

“Stodgy,” Cadenza said, drawing a look of slight mirth from Shining Armor. “But quite disciplined. Very concerned with propriety. A good pony, fundamentally, but…he took some getting used to.”

“Sounds an awful lot like my father,” Shining Armor noted.

“He was Luna’s majordomo at the time, before the position was abolished. He left Luna after many years of loyal service, and Luna’s gift to him was to create him as Margrave Starlight of Hippikes, a march in the province of Xenophon. This was when Latigo was a separate state, of course, and Hippikes represented the Equestrian northeastern frontier.”

“Of course,” Shining Armor said. “This would be around the same time that you were living as a vitner in Cavallia?”

Cadenza blinked in surprise. “You know your history,” she said, honestly impressed. One of the drawbacks to being an immortal was that very little of one’s life was a private affair. After she had left Canterlot for the first time, she had in fact gone back to living with her family as a vitner. Of course, ponies from across Cavallia had come to her asking for wisdom or aid or blessings or the like, giving her very little peace as one. In the end, her accepting the title of Exarch after the old one had died had almost been for convenience’s sake than anything. Cartasole had approved, however, her then-husband having stated that she was born to be a Princess, a title that had been added to that of Exarch within a year of her assuming the position.

“It seemed like a good idea, so that I’d know what to expect.”

Cadenza raised an eyebrow. “And do I live up to expectations?”

“Mostly…” Shining Armor teased.

Cadenza pouted. She couldn’t not fish around for more information at that. Shining Armor, it seemed, was no novice at the flirting game himself, despite having only a fraction of Cadenza’s years under his belt. “Mostly?” she echoed. “I suppose now is when you say that I am more beautiful than you expected from a nine-hundred ninety-nine-year-old?”

“Well, there is that…” he said, with a great degree of casualness. “Mostly you’re just not as tall, though.”

Ooh, he was a cheeky one. “I see,” she intoned, pretending to be put off as she turned back to her meal. In truth, she was far from it. Just because her special talent was love did not mean that she had any true degree of control over it. She could identify it, nurture it, help it along until it bloomed, but she could do nothing at all to prevent it when it came along – least of all in herself. Right now, she was interested in Shining Armor, not in love, but she knew the kind of interest that she felt, had experienced it, not often, but enough, and she knew where it would go.

She had loved Cartasole with all of her being. His passing had not merely broken her heart, but shattered it into a million pieces, even more so when one by one her adopted children had passed beyond the pale. She had wept, she had cried out, she had sealed herself away in a dark cave for four straight months and just wallowed in despair at the thought of spending an eternity without them…but eventually, she had left the cave. Slowly, bit by bit, her heart had healed. She had been able to live again, eventually to laugh again…and finally, to love again as well.

She was immortal. It was in her nature to never forget those she had cared for, to always feel for them, always love them – and then to move on after their time came, still feeling for them, but capable once more of feeling for others as well. That didn’t make the feelings she’d experienced in the meantime any less real. Her special talent coupled with her age allowed her to know the signs, recognize the feelings, have a far deeper insight into the experience than a mortal being could ever have. Far from making it somehow a hollow or lesser experience, however, Cadenza found it only make it all the more visceral, all the more joyous. She understood what was happening, and could fully appreciate it for what it was.

Which did not mean that she couldn’t be blindsided every now and then. For example, she did not even notice that she was in the middle of an animate conversation with Shining Armor about nothing in particular, until the conversation was interrupted by a gray-coated, yellow-maned pegasus mare with walled eyes. Cadenza immediately recognized her as Ditzy Doo, the bearer of the Element of Kindness. “Yes, Miss Doo?” she asked.

Ditzy Doo paused, looking unsure of herself, before visibly steeling herself as though expecting a strong, frigid wind any moment. “Your Highness,” she said, bowing. “I’m…I’m actually here on behalf of Princess Luna – er, Empress Luna. She needs to talk to you about something important. And private,” she added, looking to Shining Armor with one eye. The other lingered on Cadenza.

Cadenza and Shining Armor exchanged glances. “Might I ask,” Shining Armor said, “why her Majesty would send you, and not any one of the numerous waiters, servants, or guards of Canterlot Castle?”

“She…didn’t actually send me,” Ditzy Doo admitted. “But it is important, I promise you, your Highness.”

Cadenza pressed her lips together. “Very well,” she said, standing. “I shall see her now. Please, take me to Luna, Miss Doo.”

Ditzy Doo blinked, as though surprised that Cadenza had actually listened to her, but turned, leading her on. Internally, Cadenza mentally prepared herself for anything. It was almost inconceivable for there to be an attack against her person here, in Canterlot Castle, surrounded by her own Honor Guard, the much-vaunted Night Guard, with Luna nearby, and while being escorted by the Element of Kindness – almost, but not quite. Being royalty carried with it a number of drawbacks to go along with the innumerable benefits, and one of them was the constant threat of attack, which Cadenza had experienced a few times during her reign. Not a one had ever come close to succeeding, but that was no excuse to get sloppy.

After a minute of walking, Cadenza and Ditzy Doo reached their destination, a small, informal meeting room with windows that looked out over the Equestrian countryside. Luna was inside, facing a window, but with her eyes closed, a neutral expression on her face – the perfect image of a ruler in contemplation, lacking only the regalia that went with the title. Cadenza felt her heart swell slightly at the sight, and she smiled. “Luna?” she asked, walking up next to the elder alicorn, her horn glowing as she did, banishing her own dress and regalia into nothingness for the moment – if Luna felt no need for them, then Cadenza didn’t, either. She stopped a few feet away from the Princess of the Night “You wanted to see me?”

Luna turned to regard Cadenza, staring silently for several moments, before looking past her. Cadenza followed her gaze, and saw that Ditzy Doo was still standing in the room, near the door, looking pensive.

“I’m not leaving,” Ditzy said simply. “Not until you tell her.”

Cadenza blinked a few times at such a resolute declaration of defiance towards a being that was thousands of times older and stronger than her. She looked back to Luna, who’s stoic façade had visibly faltered at that, even more so when she looked to Cadenza. “There’s…” Luna said, her voice shaking a little. She looked to Ditzy Doo again, then back. “There’s something I have to tell you, Cadance.” She took in a deep breath. Cadenza held her own, somehow sensing where this was going. “I…well, you see, a thousand years ago…that…th-that is…”

To see Luna fidgeting, faltering, shrinking back a little, even…Cadenza had never seen her act like this. Luna stopped talking, exhaling, then taking in another deep breath and looking Cadenza in the eye, standing firm, wings flaring as though she were preparing to enter into mortal combat.

“I am your mother,” Luna said.

Cadenza stopped holding her breath, letting it out slowly at the declaration. “I know,” she responded.

Luna nearly lost her balance at Cadenza’s statement, one of her front legs suddenly giving out; only her flared wings allowed for a quick recovery as her jaw dropped open. A glance behind her told Cadenza that Ditzy’s own mouth had done likewise. She inclined her head to the pegasus. “Thank-you, Miss Doo,” she said softly.

Ditzy needed several moments to react. After a moment, however, she nodded, turning around and leaving the room, closing the door securely behind her. Turning around and looking back to Luna, Cadenza saw that the Shepherd of the Moon had fallen back onto her haunches, staring with wide eyes.

“Y…you know?” Luna asked. Cadenza nodded as she sat down herself, wings stretching and retracting pensively as she did. “Since when?”

Cadenza thought. “Maybe…four centuries ago?” she asked, shrugging as she did. “My special talent is love. Not just romantic love. The love of friends, and of family as well. And one day I just…noticed the love you felt for me. Not for the first time, but I did realize what it was for the first time. But…” she looked back to Luna. “But even after I realized it, I didn’t ask. You didn’t tell me, I knew you must have had reasons…maybe you didn’t think I could handle it…maybe you didn’t want a daughter, didn’t want me – ”

Luna tried to respond verbally, but words failed her. She settled on shaking her head rapidly. “I…” she tried after several moments. “I…I had to choose. I had to choose between raising you and remaining Princess – a duty that would consume all my time, a situation under which no foal should be raised – or abandoning Equestria, raising you and letting it all fall apart around me. I couldn’t make that choice. So…so I picked a third option, flew to Cavallia…found the vitners who raised you…”

Luna’s head was bowed, and she was visibly fighting a losing battle against tears. “I’m a horrible mother. I tried to kill you before you were born, before I realized what you were. I abandoned you afterwards. I abandoned you in Cavallia and…and I tried to make you mortal. Tried to take your immortality! Tried to kill you again!”

Cadenza’s eyes were wide, her wings flared, at that. “You…tried to kill me?” she asked in a small voice.

Luna looked up, worry etched all over her face. “You…you don’t know…you don’t have a father, Cadance. You were born from a part of me that was severed while I battled Corona. A part of me that was, at the time, suffused with dark magic. That part of me was purified and changed by the Elements of Harmony, changed into you, but I didn’t know, I thought that you were going to be created as a…as some kind of monster, a scion of Tirek…I didn’t know, Cadance, I didn’t know and when I saw you I stopped myself and…and…”

Cadenza blinked a few times, considering. She had, over the centuries, tried to become pregnant numerous times. It had yet to work, and she knew from an innocuous and embarrassing question once asked of Luna that the same was true for both her and her sister. So she had always assumed that the circumstances of her birth had to be…extraordinary. But to know that Luna had tried to end her before she had even begun to live…

After a moment, she looked back up to Luna. “But you didn’t kill me,” she said. “Not once you realized that I wasn’t a monster.”

Luna shook her head emphatically. “N-no. Not when you were born. Not once I saw what you really were, realized…realized that you were, by any measure, my daughter.” She scuffed a hoof on the floor. “I was ready, Cadance. Ready to raise you as my own, but I couldn’t do that while being Princess, and I couldn’t abandon Equestria. I…I would have been a horrible mother. One way or another, I would have been a horrible mother…”

Cadenza stared at Luna. “We’ll never know,” she said softly, her own lip trembling at the statement.

Luna looked down at her hooves. “I’ve…I’ve failed you utterly. I couldn’t even leave you with your name, I tried to implant the suggestion in the vitners I left you with, I almost succeeded…that’s why I call you Cadance. I always planned to name any daughter I had Cadance. But…but you’re not. You’re Cadenza. Mi Amore Cadenza. I had no hoof in raising you, I don’t deserve to name you. I don’t deserve anything from you…”

Cadenza’s gaze remained fixed on Luna. She could feel the emotions pouring off of the elder alicorn. There were only two: love, and regret, each of them in torrents large enough to drown cities. And within Cadenza, herself…

Once again her cutie mark, her special talent, came into play, helped her to understand herself, to side-step the hurricane of emotion that was fully capable of bowling over anypony else in a cacophony of confusion and pain. She could easily discern all the emotions she felt, they were all still there, but her special talent let her understand them, their source, their conclusions. She did feel anger towards Luna. Hate for what she’d done. Resentment for keeping such a secret. Horror at the thought of being killed before she’d ever lived. Empathy for the choice that Luna had been forced to make after she’d been born. Regret for never growing up with her true mother. Surprise at being born purely from Luna, with no father. Pity for the emotional wreck that her mother was in…

…and beneath all of them, a current flowing through them all, connecting them all, entwining them, directing them, the fundamental emotion she felt above any others…

Love.

Cadenza stepped forward, haltingly at first, before her wings unfurled of their own accord and she threw herself at Luna, at her mother, wrapping her hooves around the elder alicorn as tears came to her own eyes. All at once, it was as though the two were once more sitting on a hilltop somewhere in Equestria, a thousand years ago after having undergone a trial by fire – only this time, it was Luna who was seeking comfort, and it was Cadenza who offered it, embracing her mother tightly as the two simply wept into each other.

“I’m sorry!” Luna cried. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry…I’m sorry…I never should have…I’m sorry…”

Cadenza didn’t have any words or thoughts of her own. She simply held her mother close to her, crying tears of joy.

---

Ditzy Doo couldn’t help herself – she had lingered close to the door, one ear pressed to it, just in case she’d be needed afterwards, for either of the two alicorns. It was a bizarre thought, an alicorn needing aid from a simple pegasus, but from the looks of things, it had been a distinct possibility.

But, from the sound of things, the two princesses – mother and daughter – were doing as well as could be expected. Ditzy let out a sigh of relief at that. She couldn’t help but think of her own daughter, and made a mental note to, as soon as she got back to Ponyville, give Dinky the biggest hug she could. Of course, she had been planning on doing that anyway. Maybe two hugs…

Smiling and wiping a few tears from her eyes, Ditzy Doo left the two immortal, incredibly powerful, but surprisingly fragile alicorns to themselves, returning to the feast to see to her other friends.