Mirror's Image

Chapter 2

"Sunshine, sunshine. Ladybugs awake." Cadance sang to herself. "Clap your hooves and do a little shake!" She had been singing it the last half hour, memorizing the childish rhyme. Just in case Twilight asked for it again.

The real Cadance had been a wellspring of information about the purple Unicorn. One of the reasons she had decided on taking her form as a disguise.

Cadance looked in the mirror. Shining Armor's parents had a nice place, in the middle of downtown Canterlot. Though she didn't quite understand the need for such a small mirror.

She loved mirrors.

They showed her what she looked like. What she wanted to look like. What others saw when they saw her.

Foolish ponies, fawning over her beauty and title. Her lips pulled into a grin, sharp canines visible.

If only they knew what lay underneath the fluffy pink coat. Flames flickered in and out of existence around her form.

Would they still flatter her if she had a coat as black as the night? Would they complement her on an uneven, hole riddled mane? Probably not.

She knew that they would cower before her. That they would turn to violence and move against her in fear.

And fear wasn't that interesting to feed on. It did nothing to still her hunger. It always kept her longing for more.

"Sunshine, sunshine." She sang, her voice slightly distorted. "Ladybugs awake, clap your hooves and do a little shake!" The rhyme was downright terrifying in the way she told it.

"Just one more day, my Amaryllis." She said, fixing her disguise once more and dispelling the wards on the room. "Then we will be together at last."

-

Cadance could hear the door unlocking, signaling the return of her soon to be husband and his sister and parents. "That was one awkward Nightmare Night." She heard Shining Armor say with a laugh.

"You were the one that put me up to it Shiny." Twilight grumbled. "I was five and dressed like Daring Do, I didn't know better."

"How long did the fire brigade need to get you out of that tree? Two hours?" The white stallion teased.

"Three." Twilight grunted. "Three hours! And I didn't get any candy out of it either."

"I remember when you were dressed like Princess Celestia." Twilight Velvet said with a smile on her face. "You were so cute. And you had Shining Armor with you as your royal guard."

"Shiny took his role a bit too serious ." Twilight stuck her tongue out. "He didn't let me do anything fun. Barely got any candy too."

"Hey, I had to protect my princess, didn't I?" Shining Armor defended himself. "Who knew what lurked behind all those doors?"

"Ponies." Twilight said. "With candy. Free candy! That's the best kind of candy!"

"Sounds like the four of you had a good time." Cadance had been listening in from atop the stairs, only now making herself known.

"Hi Cadance!" Twilight said, forgetting about the candy discussion. "And yeah, we had fun! We went bowling!"

Shining Armor nodded. "We had fun. Thank you Cadance, you were right. I really needed to get away from things for a bit. Spend some time with my family."

"Hope you enjoyed it." Cadance said with a sweet smile. "Because after tomorrow, you'll be all mine."

Shining Armor laughed at that. "Of course dear."