Érōs
by Ice Star
First published
The Crystal Empress, Mi Amore Cadenza, and her aging husband Prince Shining Armor spend some time together as a happy couple. Nothing more.
The Crystal Empress, Mi Amore Cadenza, and her aging husband Prince Shining Armor spend some time together as a happy couple. Nothing more.
Only, wandering thoughts among the everyday have a way of invading the quiet moments.
Contribute to the TVTropes page! This is the fourth story in stand-alone Four Loves of Cadance continuity: (Agápē/Storge/Philía/Érōs)
Chapter 1: True Love Waits (For You to Get Up)
The short, multicolored curls of Empress Cadance's bob-cut mane spilled out across the pillow in waves that were between regal and cascading, despite their short length. She listened to the sound of icy winds outside, whooshing through the streets of her Empire, and she whistled along with the haunting melody, although softly. Her tune was merrier than the sound of the storm outside; she'd no doubt picked it up from one of the many mead halls in the Empire.
The storm was not a savage one, but Cadance knew that when it stopped there would be shoveling, snowball fights, and cocoa stands up. Ponies would be talking in the streets or watching the snow fall from windows. School time for foals would be delayed because of the morning's snowfall.
Cadance smiled a little at the thought of foals, and like the snow outside her thoughts drifted. First, they briefly went to her tiara, which rested on the nearby nightstand, but the flurry quickly strayed, this time to the castle. She thought of mornings, of a table of three and breakfasts of things both Equestrian in nature, like pancakes, and more native Crystalline meals.
Mostly, she thought of Skyla among the dripping sounds of the room. The Princess of the slowly growing Crystal Empire had been so for over fifty years, growing into a capable mare who aided Cadance in her rule.
Lying there, still trying to blink away sleep, Cadance smiled a bit wider, and the gesture was still soft from sleep. Skyla would be up right now, already seeing to the first of her royal duties, and sneaking in a few extra bits of preening when nopony was watching on this cold, slow, sleepy morning.
Sunlight was already slipping through the window, not longer dancing like it used to, but that was not much of a surprise when Cadance thought of who was raising it. Instead, she let her early morning thoughts drift back to her daughter, who could fly through the snow with an impressive strength for a pegasus - one of the few who lived this far north - and had a sharp mind instead of magic. By the time she had been a teenager, Princess 'Skyla' Somber Skies had been the one speaking over the advisor, Silver Lining, on matters about the home she loved as much as any crystal pony.
Yes, Skyla would be done with breakfast now. She was such a good girl, sort of. There was always a scheming, coy, and manipulative side to her that so many Equestrians found off-putting when facing the cool, reserved, yet sociable princess. She was very unlike her mother, with a small smirk-ish smile as smooth as her voice, a cool demeanor, occasional snide quip, and an impressive record of all the little deeds she saw you do when you weren't watching - and, of course, Skyla knew what she could get out of everything.
The damn filly was already a proper politician long before she got her cutie mark and everypony who never knew better - like the aunt she never grew close to - thought she would be a mane stylist like her friend Qilin, who she'd lead off on this little scheme and that.
And she grew up, standing with a quiet pride next to her brave, honorable, funny, level-headed father, whose love of his family was an almost amusing contrast to the vague, quiet arrogance that his daughter possessed. How she, the filly with thick tresses of stormy, dark gray-blue pinned away from her face with a unique and skillfully arranged collection of mane clips grew to only have a slim build like her bubbly, outgoing, and cheerful demigod mother that had yet to look like she ... and who really didn't want to get out of bed right now, and only just managed to reach up with a forehoof and rub the sleep from her lavender eyes.
She gave a small yawn, and gave the radiant ceiling mosaic one last look - the sun's light was playing across it nicely - and carefully sat up. The array of dripping sounds had been like a clock ticking through the night, though the I.V. hadn't had the same rhythm.
Carefully, Cadance pulled her purple mantle closer around her, shivering slightly. Some days still made her long for the southern nation she once called home, but only a little. One day Equestria stopped being her home, even if it never stopped being Shining Armor's. He was the All-Equestrian Colt still, but her heart was the Crystal Empire's.
The hospital room had a subtle luster; the crystal floors and walls reflected faint silhouette in their facets, and Cadance was able to glimpse her form in blurs of pink. The rest of the room was shown in gleams and smudges of reflections in soothing hues: rose, purple, and blue were the predominant colors. Reflections of silver metal frames from the hospital bed could be glimpsed as well, next to the few pieces of art hanging up.
In them were figures familiar to the Crystal Ponies - the legends of their heritage, now revived, were vividly captured in watercolors. Within the plain frames, painted in pastels were the distant and simplified visages of Crystalline Alicorns, immortals of the past so unlike the fabled mortal Empress who viewed their modern rendition with sleepy eyes.
No Equestrian bred resident other than Cadance herself would recognize what these figures were supposed to represent. However, ax-bearing crystal ponies with painted forms and chain mail were heroes known to many. Cadance knew them better once, when then-young Skyla told her dear mother what she thought of the stories her father read her - Cadance always was up late, or asleep early - and how he could name every champion. She was the one who recounted the tales of fearsome boats and the mysterious, shadowy tales of the equally enigmatic Ouroboros, a serpent of shadow doomed to control the Empire, as said by the departed prophet-Alicorn queen Ezmeralda.
Even now, Cadance thought there were better things to talk about over breakfast than apocalyptic fantasies, and was usually quick agree with Shining Armor about hoofball, ice archery, hockey, and other things that only held so much of her attention. Those were years she treasured.
Cadance brought a forehoof to her mussed mane and yawned. Loudly. She stretched her wings gingerly but thoroughly, not wanting to disturb her husband slumbering beside her. No matter how late he'd started waking, he still needed his rest with such frequent hospital visits.
"Shiny?" Cadance whispered, reaching out a youthful pink foreleg to better maneuver under the blankets to prod the shape of a sleeping stallion, whose century-old white coat had faded a bit, and battle scars from old conflict marked his withers, sides, and legs. "You awake yet?"
A tale of blue streaked with a lot of gray swiped out from under the covers.
In response, a smile spread across Cadance's face. "Still sleepy?"
A leg kicked out from the covers, playfully and a bit clumsily. Feebly, too.
Another tug of the mantle again. It wasn't cold now, Cadance just liked the royal purple garment. "Alright, if you're going to be so stubborn, maybe I won't be getting you any scrambled eggs with your breakfast."
And from under the hospital bed's blankets was a groan. "Cady," a tired voice rasped, "you wouldn't, would you, dear?"
Cadance's smile remained and she wasted no time in leaning forward to wrap the blanketed figure in a hug. Her mantle fell over the sterile, wrinkled blankets that had been crinkled by Shining's movement. "I'll get us the biggest, best breakfasts, yo! The nurses say that the pancakes here are good, and we're only going to be here for two weeks this time, Shiny!"
Cadance beamed at him.
Shining Armor, prince of the Crystal Empire, snored a little, but managed a yawn that Cadance's many years of marriage to him had taught her the meaning of: It's Saturday, Cady. Lemme sleep.
She did, lit her horn with blue aura, and was careful to close it quietly on her way out.
Author's Notes:
Chapter 1/3
Chapter 2: True Love Waits (To See Your Smile)
Cadance's hoof tapped the face of her sky blue acoustic guitar absentmindedly. She owned many instruments, and Shining knew she would own many more - including some that he would never see - but this guitar was quite new and not the same as the usual bass she liked to play.
Lighting her horn with a similar blue, she plucked at a few strings and ran the arcane energy through her short-cropped curls. Even this far north, the noon sun hit them at just the right angle, illuminating the blonde streaks just right, and Shining liked that. Reminders of a land he once called home could be found anywhere, and often where he least expected.
The sports were different. Here, jousting was all the rage and ice hockey too. Stories and legends lacked the elusive Starswirl the Bearded that many foals whispered about with excitement - a lone sorcerer, a mystery, and even Twily no longer spoke of her old idol. In the Crystal Empire, their great heroes were Crystal Alicorns and ponies of the past, Cadance, Shining himself, and Spike.
And Spike? He now slept in the Gemheart Mountains, slumbering and collecting a hoard of his own.
Shining cleared his throat, and his magic reached for the ale next to him. The crystalline mug was carved with images of shieldmaiden mares - a tradition Equestria was foreign with, the Equestrian Royal Guard being unified and traditionally male and for anypony who identified as such. He sipped his drink calmly, the only thoughts on his mind being the taste of ale, a dislike of hospitals and how he savored every moment out of them, and of course...
...Cadance.
Of course she would be on his mind often. She was his wife, his one and only, his love. She was a demigod too, with a centuries long lifespan. She was going to live beyond a normal pony's two hundred years.
Sometimes he thought about that.
Sometimes a bit often.
Maybe today was one of those days.
"Dear," Shining said when Cadance still hadn't played anything, "is something wrong?"
Cadance's purple eyes were now trained on him, with the barest hint of concern that he could recognize before anypony else when he saw her look like that. "No, Shiny. Just haven't thought of what I wanted to play." She pats the face of the guitar with a forehoof and lets the sound sink in. "Are you feeling okay?"
Another sip. It was a slow day, a day to relax. He was no Twily, but he'd have to work out the knots of his thoughts sometime. Maybe later. "Mm-hmm, yes dear." It wasn't a mumble but he spoke quietly and quickly enough.
He watched as Cadance scrunched up her muzzle. "Are you sure you're doing okay, Prince Brooding Armor?"
Shining sighed. "Yes, Candybutt-"
A hoof thumped the guitar in surprise. "DON'T CALL ME THAT!" his wife shrieked.
Shining felt himself smile, and it occurred to him that was the first smile he had given all morning. To Cadance. To himself.
And then he heard a quick guffaw die in his throat and a giggle.
He mouthed 'Candybutt' in her direction, and she plucked a couple guitar strings in irritation, her muzzle still scrunched as sunbeams danced across it, casting stripes of light along her pink coat.
Another guffaw escaped Shining, sounding half like a cough. But he was smiling. His horn lit up with his magenta aura and he scratched his mostly gray beard. Did they need any words? He didn't think so.
Cadance smiled at him again, for what must've been the twentieth time this morning, and the gesture was still sweet. "You know what? I think I what I'm going to play-"
Shining's smile stuck. "You do? What's it going to be, eh?"
"Why don't you wait and see?" Cadance poked her tongue out at him and Shining even heard himself snicker. Today was certainly shaping up alright, wasn't it?
"Fine," he said, voice oozing unsubtle mock-impatience, "keep me waiting forever."
For a split second, there was a slice of silence between them that both understood, and then earnest, bubbly laughter from Shining's teasing wife.
"You won't be waiting forever," Cadance mutters, her cheerfulness unabashed by the slight slip, but there's still a sigh in her voice.
And the pause stretches, flowing thickly between them in the crystal-walled parlor. Shining wonders what shrewd Skyla, soon to rule once his Empress Cadance retired, will be doing this cold morning in her wing of the castle.
Maybe only he thought it a little cold today, even after all his years in the Empire.
Cadance splits the silence with a hum and his name. "Shiny?"
"Mhm?"
"Are you gonna listen?"
His smile is still there. "Yes, Cady, I'm all ears."
From across the room, a burst of blue aura tugs at his mane, pulling the lock as she shoots him a stink eye that Shining Armor always thinks would be more natural on Luna, since Cadance always makes it look too playful.
She then adjusts the guitar in her forehooves and leans back against the walls that Shining often found to be chilly even now, and the white outside the window acted as her backdrop.
"Anyway," she said, posed over her guitar, "here's-"
"Cady," Shining said, blue eyes lighting up and foalish whimsy causing his ears to prick forward - though not as quickly as they used to. "Look outside."
She turned around, mouth opening and the breath of a question never spoken fogging the window.
But she smiled a little wider when she saw the new snowflakes falling toward the ground below, dusting their empire with an echanting layer of white.
Chapter 3: True Love Waits (Just For You)
Shining Armor was not a stallion to sit by and contemplate the stars. Like most of Equestria, he barely gave them a second glance... or, at least that was the way things used to be. Ever since the First Longest Night, there was a night culture to Equestria that hadn't been there before. Astronomers, astrologers, night-painters, other artists, musers, poets, and more flocked to the quiet night hours that the day's social butterflies lacked. His days as a guard carried reminders of the parties that would spring up, the light from such events seeping from buildings, only to be drowned by the shadows. Still, he wasn't one for stargazing. Even as a member of the guard, he found better distractions on night shifts than the night sky, like daring a buddy to lick a lamppost on a chilly night, or whistling along with park crickets on a warm one.
There were ponies like Twily, who had always relished in the daylight tried to understand the darker times merely by drifting to different lights - the stars - with all the logic of the daytime world. She measured, charted, and squinted at the pinpoints of light that were stars, as though she could understand them without imagination or any thoughts beyond charts, rules, and all orderly things.
But for the longest time, Shining Armor had never been like that. He didn't wonder about star-crossed things, and he didn't ponder constellations. It hadn't ever been a habit, to stay out late and just look out at the night in silence before.
And now? Being a different nation entirely from Equestria, and predating it by thousands of years and more, the Empire's different culture never had an era that shunned the night. This resulted in the Crystalline subjects - even when they were returned - to have a far more balanced culture than even modern Equestria, with an active nightlife and night-culture to compliment those of the day.
Somehow, Shining Armor found a little bit of himself swept up in that after all his time here, ruling over ponies so different than those he was raised with, and yet now they were so familiar.
Here he was, standing out on the same balcony he observed his first Crystal Fair from, quietly looking up at an indigo sky studded with stars and the tri-colored ribbons of the Northern Lights, produced from the Crystal Heart itself. With a dark, lonesome sky like this filled with chill and isolation, maybe that's why the crystal ponies were never afraid. Sure, the coats of a true crystal pony were resistant to most of the Arctic cold in ways that even the hardiness of the pegasai of the south could not compare to, but they sat here, with the stretch of space yawning above them - something the slightly earlier nights exaggerated - and they were on top of the world. How could they not revel in this?
As a colt helping a young Twily set up more than one Junior Astronomer telescope kit, the stars had always looked so far away from where they twinkled in the sky, and those stars hadn't grown closer to him in the years since.
Lately, he'd been staring at them a lot. They were balls of fire and gas millions of miles away, if his tired mind was correct. No god he knew ruled the stars, and if one did and really could, they were not of this world, his world. Luna, the Reapers, Discord, and all the other gods could not govern the stars or shape them, and yet every one of those stars and each possible world drifting around it was just as mortal as he was.
Mortal.
No matter how silent the night would seem, thoughts that he previously gave no mind to had a way of roping themselves into Shining Armor's mind and staying there. That was a frequent thought, and he felt the echoes of it often.
He liked to be matter of fact about the whole thing, so he'd narrow it down to facts, and nothing but those indisputable things.
Shining Armor knew death was natural for mortal beings. Shining Armor knew that ponies only lived two-hundred and thirty years maximum if they weren't demigods, thus enjoying a solid maximum lifespan. Shining Armor thought about living longer. Shining Armor did not want to live forever. Every time he looked at Luna, and laid eyes upon the Equestrian ruler, he would want to ask what being eternal was like, but never could. He didn't know how she could rejoice in that, and he couldn't begin to comprehend what it would be like to watch worlds wither underhoof as ages passed, remembering everything and every creature without time's perceptions playing with her immortal mind, and telling her that ten centuries was no more to bear than ten seconds, no matter how many billions of years had passed. Though, he was only assuming that the last one was correct. With Luna, he made many assumptions.
He couldn't ever get that, he didn't ever want that. Such an experience was truly mind boggling, but there were some occasions, where he would stand near her - never next to her - and try to look into eyes he could never understand for only as long was polite. He never could bear longer than that, and then he would have to use all his will to see as much of her as he could understand, for she kept so much hidden, and not ask her how she wasn't the loneliest creature in all the world.
But he never did.
Maybe she could see it in his eyes. Knowing Luna, she probably already knew. She just never said anything. He didn't either.
Sometimes, it was impossible for Shining Armor to be around Luna, no matter how well she got along with Cadance. She was a cold mare, a mare he could never read, and when he looked at her he saw this alien equine and not a mare's body. She was quiet. She was more terrifying than beautiful, and he knew that she would outlive every star that would ever be, and she did too. She never hid it, and somehow that gave Luna Galaxia a power that her sister didn't have because Celestia never stopped feeling like a pony over an Alicorn.
Luna was the only one who ever made Shining Armor feel like a child after all his years, and she did it without even trying.
Here he was, standing out under the sky and feeling the faint chill of what was, without a doubt, Luna's night, and his thoughts were on the stars. Looking at them made him feel young, but thinking about them made him feel old.
Maybe he was used to it.
The soft touch of feathers draped over his back and hugging his withers, pulling him toward the warm lover who he had quietly allowed to sneak up to him was something he was used to as well.
"You're going to be drained in the morning, Shiny," Cadance whispered, nuzzling him softly with her velvety muzzle.
Shining cracked a smile out of instinct. "Yes, dear, I know... I just can't sleep."
Cadance didn't reply immediately, but eventually, Shining heard her whispering gently in his ear again. "A bit for your thoughts?"
Nuzzling Cadance, Shining mulled over what his reply would be and how he would communicate everything in his mind to Cady. He knew she would understand. They often always knew when something was on the other's mind, but it was hard to guess what.
"You... Cady... I won't have much longer - with you." There was no question to it. The old stallion sighed and the night winds ran through his faded beard. "And..." He paused, trying to think of what fit best, what came next in a sequence instead of cursing how eloquent not-so-little Twily could be, and that he still fumbled so.
"And?" Cadance prompted gently. Her purple eyes gleamed in the dark, reflecting all the glimmers of the crystal around them, and starlight too.
"...I was thinking about how everypony but them-"
Cadance's quizzical stare begged for elaboration.
"-gods, that is, are going to outlast all the stars... and even though you're no goddess-"
In retaliation, the demigod mare booped her tired husband upon his muzzle suddenly.
When he laughed softly, she smiled, and for that moment, everything was certainly quite peaceful.
But Shining had to break that barrier if he wanted to get anywhere.
"...You're still going to outlast me..."
And with that, the silence resumed between them, heavily weighing upon both husband and wife.
As it rolled on, Shining's heartbeat played in his ears, a nervous repeat that he hadn't heard in a long time. Cold sweat touched his brow and he prepared to say whatever words of heartfelt consolation popped into his mind first but-
Cadance sucked in a shaky breath first and looked at Shining Armor with a shimmer of worry and melancholy bared to him in her eyes. Even in the dark, he knew that the sudden sorrow of his wife that was so plain to him was all his fault.
"Cady..." he began, his owns eyes wide and his body teetering with each step backward from every guilty thought on his mind. "Cady, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean it like that-"
Ugh, was that really the best he could do right now? That was the excuse of some love-addled colt, not a stallion of his station who really cared about such a noble wife, one who had been as loyal to her husband as he was to her.
"Would you wait?"
His ears pricked forward to catch the sound of that melodious, mournful whisper. Had he heard right?
The soft rustle of fabric could be heard and the next thing Shining Armor knew, Cadance's purple mantle was draped around him and that same soft muzzle was nuzzling his cheek sadly. Two long, familiar forelegs wrapped around him, pulling him into a hug that was warmer than the mantle's fabric.
"Would you wait for me?" Cadance whispered into his mane.
Wait for her...
Right then and there, Shining Armor wanted to bring a forehoof to his face. Of course, of course. How could he think about the whole thing like that, shoving everything into such a conventional box?
He would be the one to die first. He would be the one leaving her.
Shining Armor would be the waiting one.
Finally reciprocating the embrace, Shining Armor pulls his empress, his wife, and his Cadance into a hug, running a forehoof through her candy colored curls, whose colors he knew in the dark even if he could not see them.
"Of course, Cady. I'll wait just for you."
She nodded quietly, pulling him closer and they both turned their gazes to the stars in silence, waiting for morning to come.
Author's Notes:
It wouldn't be a story be me without some kind of reminder of mortality.