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// The Looking-Glass fractures, but I still see you. 
// Story: The Life and Times of a Bit Monger 
// by KarmaSentinal 
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“Hello? Yes, we’re here. Just a minute!”

These were the words Cadance heard through the door while she waiting for the pony to answer. 

After her sudden departure from the castle, Cadence had assumed one of her more ‘outgoing’ forms she used when wanting to avoid drawing attention- a rare occurrence. With her mother wisely choosing to leave her be, the disguised alicorn wandered through the city to clear her mind and gather her thoughts. This little venture drew her through Canterlot’s Marketplace, snaking back up to one of the few parks in the city, before turning onto one of the few ‘roads’ reserved for ponies with just a few too many bits. 

One of Canterlot’s more refined residential living areas known as New Light. 

Growing up, Cadence had always loved the city names and how they reminded her of Celestia or acknowledged her in some form, but now the names seemed tacky. Too flank kissing to be honest. Yet, while trying to distance herself from her mother, Cadence ended up coming back to one of her neighborhoods in search of the comfort she sought. 

The clipping of hooves hurrying to the door grew steadily louder until the heavy breathing of a slightly out-of-shape mare turning the door knob drowned the world around her. Two jiggles loosen the knob out of the frame, breaking the barrier that separated the still disguised alicorn from her objective. 

“Hello. Can I help you?” a unicorn answered the door, her dulled chalk hued fur contrasting brightly against the door’s vibrant green paint. 

“Yes, you can Mrs. Velvet.” 

“You have me at a distavange Miss…? 

“The one married to your son.” Cadence smiled “Hello mom.” 

The statement revealed everything to the suspicious unicorn, nearly causing her to stumble backward in shock.

“NIGHTY! CADENCE IS HERE!” 

Cadence quickly rushed inside, nearly pushing Velvet aside to prevent anypony passing by from seeing her.

“Not so loud!” She hissed as the green flame tore through her disguise to reveal the pink alicorn underneath. 

“Careful with the rug dear!” Velvet reminded her daugher-in-law as she closed the front door. 

Now in her familiar pink form, Cadence casually began taking in the room around her with a foal like glee on how little had changed. 

The living room used to entertain guests and themselves still housed the two faded blue couches she had sat on when Shining brought her over to formally announce their relationship. Looking closer near the leg rest, Cadence could make out the repair when Twilight accidentally ran her horn through trying to ‘save her BBBFF from the strange mare’. 

Next to the two couches were the two corresponding coffee tables being held up by the stacks of books Velvet and Light used in their respective research. How the tomes remain in excellent condition despite being on the floor for years led Cadence to believe either an enchantment was placed on each individual book or the floor itself. 

It would explain why the floor was always shinny and spot free.

Looking toward the walls, she found the same pictures that told the life story of this family. When they were young, married, had foals, family reunions, iconic moments of the foals growing up, and some of the more recent events- Shining Armor and her wedding. 

‘None of Twilight’s wedding.’ Cadance noted, still uneased by how hard this was still affecting Velvet. Unlike the wall that held pictures of Shining and her, there were none of Twilight after leaving for Ponyville. 

“Oh dear! It's SOgood to see you.” Velvet shouted with glee as she practically tackled the alicorn with a hug.  

“Believe me, I feel the same way.” Cadence returned the hug with a similar excitement, lifting the older mare off her hooves. 

“Cadence!” 

“I’m just so happy.” she gave a small whirl with the mare still in her hooves before setting her down, both mares laughing from the contagious feeling of glee brightening up the room. 

Night Light came downstairs around this time to find his wife and daughter-in-law giggling  uncontrollably about something. He waited until it seemed they were about done before going to greet them. 

“Hello Cadance.”  

“Dad.” She greeted the stallion with his own firm hug. 

The three ponies shifted their attention from greeting each other to moving to the kitchen where the dining table was located. Cadance and Velvet took a seat while Light opted to put on some tea, giving the mares a chance to catch up.  He was content listening to them exchange the gossip between them, just happy to see how Cadance brought the spark back into his wife’s eyes. 

He had just filled the kettle with water when he heard his name. 

“Pardon?” 

“I said, do you remember when Cadence and Shining invited us to the Crystal Empire?” 

“How could I forget?” He placed the kettle on the warming burner, before turning to address his wife and daughter-in-law. “ That was an adventure worthy of a novel.” 

“Please hon.” Velvet rolled her eyes with a slight exaggeration to pronounce the absurdity of it. “Even Daring Do couldn’t get caught up in that mess as ridiculous as that, now Ahuizotl on the other hoof…” 

“Why would he ever leave the humid jungles for the blistering cold of the Empire?” 

Night Light and Velvet turned to their daughter, waiting for the other to speak up when the older, unicorn author took up the task. 

“That’s the question isn’t it dear?” Velvet asked as she began brainstorming a possible new title, using her family to bounce ideas off. ”Maybe it’s takes place after book #28, right after losing The Nightmare Instruments to Daring…” 

“Isn’t that the one where she had to stop Ahuizotl from gathering the cursed instruments of Nightmare Moon?” Night Light asked while opening the cupboards to grab three cups for their tea, looking for the jar of sugar as well. 

 “I thought that was the plot of the spin off ‘Heirs of the Dark Orchestra’, when followers of a dark cult used siren magic to bend ponies to their wills?” Cadence chimed in. While not completely familiar with all the books, but having read enough of them to remember most of the series plots.

“Close, but not it. They infused the magic into their instruments while The Nightmare Instruments were cursed artifacts used to awaken many of The Nightmare’s generals.” Velvet quickly got up from the table to rush into the living, where small curses were carried on the back of  the wind. 

Cadence and Night Light face each other silently asking what was happening when a loud cry of excitement broke the silence, and a heavy set of hooves carrying their owner back to the kitchen. Velvet came hopping in with two folders bursting with loose papers. 

“It’s here somewhere.” she spoke more for her own sake than that of her listeners, while using her magic and hooves to sort through the two folders. 

Night Light watched until the kettle began whistling loudly forcing him to focus on preparing their drink while Cadence was left with the task of ‘helping’ Velvet find whatever it was she was looking for. This meant the alicorn was stuck sorting the sheets deemed ‘not it’ into two separate piles to return to the folders at a later time; Velvet quickly tore through the dwindling folders, Cadence casually skimmed some of the sheets until she read a spoiler of an unnamed Daring Do book before shifting her attention to Velvet. 

“What are you looking for, mother?” 

“It’s the outlines for both books…” the mare raised a sheet to better read it before setting it on the table away from the rest “... so I could reference them for this new idea.”

“You’re really serious about this book.” 

“Of course I am dear, this is the first real inspiration to hit me in two years. I still get fan-mail asking when the next book is coming out, and now I might have a real answer!” 

“Well, I say this calls for a celebration.” Night Light declared as he levitated the three cups and saucers onto the table, placing them toward his end to give his wife all the room she needed. 

Cadence and Velvet’s ears twirled up at suggestion and what it could mean.

“What kind of celebration?” Cadence asked as she abandoned sorting the sheets, while Velvet found the last sheets she had been looking for. 

“That depends on the two of you, but I’m feeling cake might be in order?” 

“Cake is good.” the alicorn spoke up, only to be turned down by the matriarch of the family.

“What kind of cake?” Velvet questioned as she began collecting the excess sheets from Cadence.

“How about lemon?”  she shook her head at the suggestion. 

“How about carrot? Chocolate?” Once more she shook her head no, causing the alicorn to slump onto the table. Having known the family for years Cadence knew the couple well, and how picky her mother-in-law could be meaning the cake might not happen if the mare couldn’t decide what she was in the mood for.  

This left little for the alicorn to do as her ‘parents’ increasingly became irritable by the lack of progress.

From her spot on the table her eyes roamed from Night Light to Velvet and back again as they countered the other’s suggestion with another one of their own. 

While annoying for her, Cadence did find the odd habit enduring for the simple reason the two were still able to act like the foals they were when they first met. It showed all that preaching from her side hustle as a romance author was right, that the key to a lasting relationship is by building a foundation upon the rules of the playground- name calling. 

“...or the love of a good argument.”  she thought as she quietly began sitting up, watching her two parent-in-laws switched gears. 

The disagreement over which cake flavor to get had been abandoned for the more classical schoolyard game of name calling. Any rational pony would be trying to prevent the conflict from escalating further, but Cadence knew these two and noted how their words weren’t ill meant. The air used to expel them wasn’t laced with malice, or an intent to cause harm, but were flung with the intensity of a foal playing. 

This meant her departure from the table went unnoticed. 

Cadence left the kitchen, leaving Velvet and Night Light to their word game for the quiet sanctum of the living room turned office/storage. Being careful not to knock over one of several stacks of books, she made her way through the organised cluster to the stairway that led to the second floor.

As she climbed the stairs, the alicorn noticed her parents had shifted their focus once more from name calling to what sounded like a business meeting, but of what she couldn't hear very well. This is supposed to be a vacation, and by her mother, Celestia, won’t ruin it with more business talks. 

Appearing on the second floor only made the transition more apparent when her parent’s random conversation became nothing more than muted sounds in the dead silence. Up here held the other three rooms in the household which were correctly used as the family’s bedrooms; to her left were two doors with the right having a single door, meaning the foals had the rooms on the left while the parents took the right.

The first door directly by the stairs was a room she was very familiar with. Only three steps were required to reach the door, and  with a single flick of Cadence’s magic propelled the door open to reveal a room far different than she remembered. 

Where the Noble size bed used to be were two desks of similar styles, but different makes with the one directly in front of her being designed for actual work. A leveled top made from magically reinforced wood to support even more folders with paper bursting out, two empty ink jars, an inked caked quill resting in one of the jars, and two book drafts in various states of edits left open for good measure. 

Besides having eight drawers the desk was as basic as could be, but the second desk parallel to it was anything but a basic desk. This desk just by appearance alone strutted an elegance born from wealth being hoof-carved from Imperial Red Oak imported from the other continent. Its similarity with the old, but well worked first desk led the alicorn to believe it was a special commission on Velvet’s part to eventually replace the old one. 

Until that time, the two desks would work together in service of their owner.  

Cadence eyes left the desks for now to scan the room, but found nothing else out of the ordinary besides being composed of old furniture she had seen since her foal sitting days. A single tall, and narrow bookshelf was nestled in the opposite corner where it displayed a few first editions of the original Daring Do short stories, many reference books covering history, math, pegasus flying techniques, art, pony, griffon, zebra, and buffalo mythos, but  very bottom shelf held only three albums. 

These albums the alicorn recognized as the complete family photo albums ranging from each of  Velvet's and Night Light's grandparents, to their own foalhoods and adulthoods, and finally their own life together. The fourth album was a rumor at this point, but if it were to ever manifest would likely contain the histories of both their foals and their spouses life. 

Shining Armor loved taking pictures when he could, and stored them in a simple fabric lined box should he ever get the call from his mother. 

This sort of pattern repeated itself with the other furniture in the bedroom turned office, mostly with the many photos hanging all over the wall. Right above the desk were two family photos, the first being of Night Light, Velvet, a early teen Shining Armor, and a very young Twilight. By their age, Cadence would guess it was right before she was hired to foal sit Twilight by suggestion of her mother. Celestia found the idea enduring to have her daughter watch over her newest student, but looking back a certain unicorn stallion might have been the main reason. 

“He still looks like a dork.” she said with bemusement, recognizing the pose he struck as something from one of his table game.

This happiness immediately faded when she turned to the second photo that hung over the newer desk- another family photo. This time all the ponies were considerably older, Velvet and Night Light carrying a little more weight around the waist, a few more wrinkles around the eyes, and a tad more graying in the mane while Shining Armor had filled into his role as Captain. No longer looking up, Shining had reached the same height as his father with the addition of some toned muscles like an earth pony, the flowing mane of an unicorn noble, and the disciplinary form of a pegasus. Truly a magnificent specimen enough to still make the pink alicorn weak in the knees all these years later.       

A wonderful picture on its own, but it was who wasn’t in it that ruined it. 

Standing next to Shining Armor was his newest bride, and the very same pink alicorn standing in his old room turned office. At the time of the photo, she wasn’t aware of what was happening behind the scenes until nearly two weeks later, but her LSBFF wasn’t present. Cadence remembered asking about her absence and their uncomfortable looks and shotty response should have screamed something was amiss, but she chalked it up to being busy. 

Since that day, she only saw Twilight twice before losing contact with her for the last four years. 

“Something needs to change.” Cadence stated as she glanced at the first photo of the family, eyes settling on the little filly excitedly laughing. “I miss my little sister so much.” 







The trek back to the castle was hindered by several detours, made by Luna’s insistence. 

“Think of the foals.” she told Twilight while still disguised. 

This was taken as a jab against her as a parent, but as the three of them followed her friend found the accusation was completely unjust. The route taken weaved through several side paths that avoided the main, more crowded route and led them on a sightseeing tour; she felt the foal’s excitement as they quickly ran underneath and between her legs, their earlier timidness forgotten at the new sights and smells. 

Her younger years spent living in Canterlot had been composed mostly of her studies in Canterlot Castle with Princess Celestia and home...  

Now her time was spent between running her research institute and her family. A life she wouldn’t trade for anything even if it meant losing one to gain one. 

“This path leads to a favorite spot of mine Twilight. One I discovered by mere chance when helping a foal conquer their fear of the desert pit.” 

“A desert pit?” 

Luna nodded. “Yes, the box of sand next to the foal exercising equipment.” 

“Oh! You mean a sandbox.” Twilight corrected, finally understanding why a foal would be dreaming of a desert. 

“Perhaps, but the concept of willingly submerging yourself in sand eludes me.” She commented as they made another right turn, ignoring more looks as they walked by. 

The new path was much the same as the earlier ones, only this time more ponies began appearing forcing Twilight more on the defensive as her foals continued drawing attention. Unlike the train station, no pony outright called her names or bothered them feeling the simple glances were enough to sate their curiosity. 

“How much longer?” 

“It's just a tad further if I remember Running Light’s directions.” 

“Why are you insistent on showing me this park?” 

“Simple my dear friend, foals enjoy parks.” 






Princess Luna, still disguised as a pegasus just released from a long night at the office, the manebun began fraying from the ‘long hours’ of paperwork. That touch being the insistence of her personal secretary to give the guise a more subtle and realistic touch to help avoid too much suspicion. The little patches of matted fur only improved the look of an overlooked night shift, and by the looks not aimed her way proved the disguise was working for the moment. 

“Twilight, you are restless.” Luna noted as the two mares watched the zony foals chase each other a gallop away. 

“Tell me more of Cadence.” Luna shifted her eyes from the foals to the other pony occupying the bench, scanning her posture for any obvious signs of discomfort and when she found none decided to reveal what she knew. 

“You knew my niece longer than we have…” She caught a slight twitch of the unicorn’s eyes “...yet my own experiences with the commerce baron has unearthed little to explain her origins.” 

“The official response stated Celestia had found her orphaned while touring the Northlands during rumors of increasing wildlife attacks.” Twilight sat up and crossed her forehooves, never taking her eyes off her foals as she did so. 

Luna returned her attention to the young mother next to her, noting how her posture had relaxed only slightly. Now that the topic had been turned to a problem that relied on an actual discussion not involving her family, she began opening up more. Twilight's right ear twitched once before continuing with her point. 

“Like many ponies I’d accepted this as fact for many years, but after certain events have begun questioning its authenticity. A few noteworthy instances come to my mind, I had brushed them off as the product of two ponies in love when I was younger. Now a little older and having experienced the joys of being a pony in love, I have safely concluded Cadence is an alien or the two of them have very selective tastes.”

“A being from my very own stars? Now that would be something dear Twilight, but perhaps you are simply like myself?” 

“What do you mean?”

“That you are too old fashioned.” Instead of an overly expressive rebuttal or the bodily expressions of an embarrassed mare, the unicorn only continued to surprise the disguised alicron. Twilight only closed her eyes, the only time she took her eyes off the foals, and nodded. 

“I’ve been told that a few times, mostly by AppleJack.” 

“You have matured gracefully young Twilight.” This earned a slightly snort of amusement from the unicron. 

“I’m nearly 30 years old princess.” 

“And I quickly approach the point of being classified an ‘Age’ by historians, but you don’t see me acting the part, no?”

“Was that a joke?” Twilight asked as she tried hiding back her own laughter at the absurd idea. 

“Unfortunately, it is not a jest. it During an academic gathering, one of the young scholars lacking the proper respect for their seniors made the comment of measuring my accomplishments as a period of history to better follow them. The jest became lost as a few of the more prestigious members viewed the jest as an efficient way to condense my life into a couple of pages.” 

“That’s terrible Luna.” 

“Indeed, but thankfully many assumed it was a joke being overused and they quickly lost support. Still, the audacity bristles the fur when I think of it, but enough of this talk.” Luna gestured to the foals who by now had spent most of their energy for the moment and were resting by a tree. “Maybe we could continue this discussion in my chambers?” 

Twilight had matured greatly in the last several years, but during this time of personal growth had also developed a less traditional sense of humor thanks to her husband. She had opened her mouth to make a joke by habit, but caught herself before she could embarrass herself. 

“That sounds great.”