Nearly a thousand years after her sister's fall, Celestia finds she may not be so alone after all, when a little alicorn ascends in the distant village of Florentina.
On a quiet Spring afternoon, young Mi Amore Cadenza makes a life-changing decision when the Princess of the Sun comes to visit.
8.6/10 from the Reviewer's Mansion.
Rated Really Good by Ghost Mike!
3/5 Stars from Loganberry's Louder Yay!
A standalone piece in the Spectrum-verse. TV Tropes page here!
Based off the prompt "Arrival", posted by Gay For Gadot, from Bean's Writing Group.
Edited by VoxAdam, proofread by Bean, Bicyclette, Mykola, TheIdiot, RanOutOfIdeas, and Gay For Gadot. Thanks, everyone!
Cover by Jun1313.
Featured from 21/02/2021 to 25/02/2021.
Chapters (1)
Glad to see this on the site, Sledge! You have such a lovely narrative style that makes your stories so engaging and fun to read.
Really love your take on both characters, as well as the world-building in this. Another easy fave!
I took one look at the cover art and all I could think was...
🎵 There's a pink rose in a village, I'm going there to see...
Lovely little story.
well this smashed straight into my headcannon and replaced it utterly, great story
Well, this was delightful. :3
10690225
And thank you for the help, Gadot
Very much appreciated, and glad you enjoyed all the little things in it!
10690339
Aw, I'm honoured
Glad you liked it so much!
10690317
10690366
sledge stop writing stories that are so good that they screw my mind over
10690708
This is a nice story and rings what little we are told about Cadance well. Always been my head cannon she was Amore's daughter spirited away from the Empire after her mother was dethroned as somehow cast into the future. Just make Amore more closely related to Luna than Celestia. This tale still fits there but gives her home village a bit more character giving it a name and putting in a Earth Pony dominated nation.
10690968
Glad it fits with your headcanon
I aim to be mostly compliant with canon, while still expanding on it.
Though, regarding Amore, stick around; In Night's Garden, which eventually covers Luna's family, may or may not show her and her relation to Cadance as well...
Anyways, glad you liked it
10691005
Can't remember the fic but it had a origin where a old knight of the empire fled with Cadance at the moment Sombra cast his spell to banish the empire. They where at the edge of the spell and the knight cast a teleportation spell when caught in the edge of the banish and sent them though time and space. The Knight suffered magic backlash and managed to carry Cadance to the village and only got to say her name before he succumbed to the damage the backlash caused.
A quite interesting look at an oft overlooked part of recent Equestrian history. I hope if I ever try my hand at my long-conceived, never-written Cadance life story, it will come off as well as this.
This was, in a word, phenomenal. You have a wonderful descriptive style in your writing, and I felt like I was getting to know every background character and name you dropped by the way Cadenza was recalling them. Really good stuff.
10691048
Go for it! Cadance is underutilised, I think, and I'm glad this piece has inspired you!
10691130
Thank you! Glad to have satisfied.
Aw
Well, this was good. An interesting expansion on Cadance's canon backstory. I like the world-building you did around her home country. I always just assumed that she was from some nameless village in the Equestrian midlands, but given her Italian-derived name, having her come from an entirely different culture somewhere overseas actually makes much more sense.
Just one correction, for you future reference: Equines have coats, not fur. Fur's much thicker.
10691990
I was worried that it could come across as info dumping 
but yes I had a lot of fun working out the country, without using a horse pun for it.
Glad the worldbuilding went smoothly
Thanks for the heads up, I'll keep that in mind regarding coats!
The story is great but the map is down right gorgeous. Every time I saw the view of the city in the show, I always wondered which parts were the palace and which part is the city.
10692322
The artist for that piece is Plainoasis! They make wonderful art
Great read. Though is this implying that Amore and Radiant are descendants of Luna
10692522
Oh, they are here indeed, making Cadenza Luna's distant descendant, and hence why she's capable of dreamwalking like Luna in this continuity.
Ooooooh, nice custom horizontal rule!
I assume it's night, so that would be the Moon outside, then. He knows.
I think... I think Celestia mulled over what words to say for a very long time.
They were, after all, not meant for Cadance, not originally... Or so I think.
Ah! Of course! Sunset is still here. Visiting Wallflower's parents' flower shop, eh? A little bit of continuity to tie three stories...
It's the little details; lovely and quaint they are, and yet highlight your skill that you should blend them in so naturally.
I could sing your praises, Sledge.
Let it not be said that the Princess is heartless. She cares, oh so very much.
Ad she hurts all the more for it, no matter how she locks it away.
A very important tale, though nopony knows just how important.
Nice art of Canterlot you have there. There's a version with Twilight in the bottom-right corner, you know?
A lovely story, Sledge. No less could come from you.
It's also a nice look at how Cadance came to Canterlot. Always great to see more into the Spectrumverse, that deep and expansive web of mysteries.
This story, however, showcases Celestia as much as Cadance, and the more I see of how compassionate Celestia is, the more it makes the Empress tragic. Oh so tragic. What could bring one so low...
I must spread the Sledge's brilliance, and what better way to do that than to dangle insight here and there into the little, quaint details which make this story not just good, but warm?
- MLP: FiM
- Equestria Girls
- Romance
- Drama
- Slice of Life
In a quiet little flower shop down a Canterlot street, Sunset Shimmer finds an unexpected face from her past. One who'd rather not be forgotten, twice over.Chapter: "Interlude – Child of Crystal"
- MLP: FiM
- Dark
- Adventure
- Drama
Secrets come to light when a human appears, and the Equestrians learn of a world under siege – by none other than themselves. Caught in a web that binds the great and humble alike, can Lyra find what part she’ll play in the fate of three realms?If you read this, you should read the whole story. It's great! Not much more to say about it. Length to rival Austraeoh and depth to compete with The Enchanted Library.
It's worth every last word, and let me tell you, there are a lot of words.
10691130
I commend your evidently refined and enlightened taste!
Want more of Sledge's wonderful writing?
This story is, I personally believe, the best showcase for Sledge's "wonderful descriptive style". I've tried before to describe it, but it's just so... instinctive and fundamental that it's hard to explain but you know it's good.
- MLP: FiM
- Adventure
- Drama
- Slice of Life
A timeless alicorn from a bygone era, tasked to watch over the land of Equestria, begins to question her place in it as the world changes and time passes.10692562
Always look forward to your comments
Of course
Aye. Celestia and Kibitz are close friends, methinks, and I wished to convey it as such.
All she wanted, for a thousand years, was to have her sister back.
Celestia, beneath the decorum and formality, is a kind mare, no matter how much it costs her.
In about thirteen years... well, it'll come to play, won't it?
One needs not to read Spectrum in its entirety, yet every little detail counts.
You have to wonder, of course, how far she's fallen in another timeline...
10692576
10692583
You're very kind
But yes - all my stories save for one use the same headcanon, to create a coherent little 'verse
A point to note, however, is that Spectrum diverges the timeline after S3-4, so none of my stories set after that point (Moonbug, The Dreamwalker's Lament, and Little Shop Down Canterlot Road) are part of Spectrum. Take of them as what could have been, though, if the war never comes...
As for everyone else not in-the-know, consider The Rose of Florentina a standalone semi-sequel to the interlude Yutah mentions
That one tells the story of Cadance and Prismia in full.
10692527
That’s cool, I always figured Amore was older then the sisters judging by the book (which isn’t canon anyway so not the best frame of reference).
But considering this is your own continuity is doesn’t matter, look forward to see how this plays out
10692723
Stay tuned for more from Luna's side of things.
My writing partner and I like to weave all the disparate parts of canon together into one cohesive verse
A lovely read! I quite liked the little glimpse we got of Oleander and Cadence's hometown; it feels so idyllic.
And while she is understandably in a very minor role, I liked Sunset's inclusion here. She must have been Cadence's contemporary, and knowing her unreformed character, must have taken the appearance of a new alicorn poorly. Too bad the showrunners kept FiM and Equestria Girls so separate; I would have loved an episode showing Cadence and Sunset together!
10692923
images-wixmp-ed30a86b8c4ca887773594c2.wixmp.com/f/d041fac9-ff34-449b-87fd-6bf859b904e5/d8nsta2-e4332fdd-3c83-45eb-868a-2dab713fe79b.png/v1/fill/w_1024,h_720,strp/sunbrat_shimmer_by_archeopony_d8nsta2-fullview.png?token=eyJ0eXAiOiJKV1QiLCJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiJ9.eyJzdWIiOiJ1cm46YXBwOiIsImlzcyI6InVybjphcHA6Iiwib2JqIjpbW3siaGVpZ2h0IjoiPD03MjAiLCJwYXRoIjoiXC9mXC9kMDQxZmFjOS1mZjM0LTQ0OWItODdmZC02YmY4NTliOTA0ZTVcL2Q4bnN0YTItZTQzMzJmZGQtM2M4My00NWViLTg2OGEtMmRhYjcxM2ZlNzliLnBuZyIsIndpZHRoIjoiPD0xMDI0In1dXSwiYXVkIjpbInVybjpzZXJ2aWNlOmltYWdlLm9wZXJhdGlvbnMiXX0.t-r0ky4ymyz7E_aZ2vHEqxxkL0MyFETe9nqdI5Vw9-o
It's an interesting dynamic few have written about. My friend Ice Star has written about it though, and I for one find it a rather compelling read
- it's over here.
All in all though, glad ya liked it! Maybe one day, I'll shine a spotlight into Sunset and Cadance's relationship. All I have figured out is that Sunset is simply unable to understand how a pegasus could be an alicorn before she did, prodigious unicorn student of Celestia that she is...
Well, this goes straight into my all time favorites bookshelf
It was a nice little story, I shall have to read some more of your stuff (and totally not procrastinate on my own stories)
10693333
By all means, I hope you'll enjoy my humble work
EDIT: And good luck with your own stories!
10693373
Well, this one was really heartwarming, so we'll see what the others are like.
And thanks! Just stop getting distracted and buckle done again xD
You flesh out these characters so well in such a short amount of time. Bravo!
10693683
This was a really interesting expansion of Celestia and Cadance's meeting. I liked how you incorporated many bits of side-canon.
I will say I was surprised to see this is apparently a spinoff of some multidimensional invasion story, though, lol.
10697950
10698770
It does seem strange, doesn't it? But when we (me and my co-writers) wrote that story, we committed plenty of time in making sure the Equestria shown is in-depth, so it doesn't seem like a collection of plot devices. That involved making sure of its cohesiveness, and I gotta say we ended up really enjoying weaving in many side materials (comics, chapter books) to create a coherent verse. And, despite all appearances, we focused way more on the Equestrian side of things than the human side, hence why you see me run around writing little stories set in Spectrum's Equestria, heh.
Glad you enjoyed it! Again, was really fun weaving in a few bits and pieces from canon, like having Kibitz as Cadenza's tutor, or Sunset as being around Cadance (and quite jealous, too
)
camo.fimfiction.net/DdbEQ1QXVvh3d3OqDxbS5BwrX4cPdFydHzLd-s9fRNI?url=https%3A%2F%2Flh3.googleusercontent.com%2FLLkr398xpSktNgPYZOrjJd_Qa3TlwBqSDxjKWJ6boyL3wAJMUwm0kCirH2j2ZPieh6mlgpI5FDBIYBrPS-YSjP0OHnDrCRdSg--23IHiyPq0NOWC2sPJlPtSQ4o4MF49BidUAkZq that is just Beatutiful,
My favorite moment that we never see on canon, and you've done well with it here. Thank you for sharing your vision!
10716686
Oh my
and thank you for one of this piece's inspirations 
The Princess of Love needs more... well, love.
Glad you enjoyed it!
10716686
Like Sledge, I find it a surprise and a delight to see you comment upon, nay, fave this story.
Both your Lady Prismia and the Princess-Goddess and Cerulean Voice's Essenza di Amore were major inspirations - not only in Sledge's crafting of The Rose of Florentina, but in my own "origins story" chapter for Cadance on Spectrum last year, within the same continuity.
It's a regrettable testimony to how making Princess Cadance an alicorn was an executive mandate by Hasbro, considering neither the series nor even most of the supplementary material build upon what should have such a profound effect on the backstory. After all, if Cadance became an alicorn, isn't it significant that for a few years before her sister's return, Princess Celestia had such a companion?
Thank goodness for fanon.
~Vox
10719284
Thanks for your kind words! Agreed on all counts that there were some obvious expanded universe story ideas that they never took advantage of. On the gripping hand, these blank spaces give lovely fan works like this one here a place to live. Once again, nice work here, Sledge.
A review, for you!
10771244
Huzzah! Thank you, I'll check it out
This is absolutely beautifully written. I've been sitting on this a while and glad I got around to reading it. Well done.
10788938
I really enjoyed this little view of Cadance's origin. The fandom needs more Cadance stories.
10827407
Too right! The Princess of Love needs more... well, love. I've been contemplating if I ought to expand on this story with a full blown sequel, utilising material from both here and Wallflower of Canterlot (which partially covers Sunset's perspective), but unfortunately the backlog is a mile long, gah.
I just want to start this off by saying your prose is some of the best I've seen. You really nail the mystical feel in your writing, especially the dialogue. It feels just down to earth enough to be understandable, but regal enough to have that special fancy flair. It's a pretty hard thing to pull off, and you did an outstanding job.
Like the little mention of how Sunset is friends with a family of gardeners. Guess you had to sneak her in somehow, ehh? Speaking of Sunset, I like how you don't actually get to see her say anything. It makes her thoughts on Cadance and the whole alicorn thing a mystery, but it would be out of place if we didn't atleast see her, which you noticed and responded accordingly.
One of my favorite things is the town and region where Cadance lives. It blends so well with the rest of Equestria while feeling like its own place. The names are just so cool. Also small little aside, the continuity of Kibitz as an advisor over your stories is pretty fun.
The big talk between the alicorns is great. The tension is right in the middle, not too crazy, but just enough to keep you wondering. Celestia almost leaving Cadance in Florentina is the best scene, hooves down. And when she goes back to give her a hug... Ooooh, it just gets me.
Really great story, with amazing prose, descriptions, characters, and so many little details that just fills it with life. Bravo!
Howdy, hi!
I adore this story. The characterization of Celestia's loneliness and Cadance's good nature are just so wonderful. An absolutely pleasant read from start to finish. The village and its residents were a delight to learn of and I can clearly picture this village along the coast of pony Italy. You described it in such a way that made the town so vibrant.
I continue to adore how you write Celestia. Still one of my favourite depictions of her. Her clear loneliness and want of connection through Cadance are so earnest and I relate to that need for connection so much. This story is truly just beautiful in its prose and execution.
Thank you very much for the fantastic read.