[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Once upon a time, in the magical land of Equestria]], there was a young pony princess named [[Characters/FriendshipIsMagicThePrincesses Mi Amore Cadenza]]. She's one of the only [[WingedUnicorn Alicorns]] in all of Equestria, so she lives in Canterlot Castle where she's surrounded by servants and luxury, and receives her tutelage from Princess Celestia, the only other known Alicorn and ruler of Equestria. Cadance has everything she could ever need to be happy.

However, she is most definitely not.

Cadance knows Equestria isn't her home. She knows that she has a destiny as a Princess. And she knows that Princess Celestia hides important information from her about her past. When one day Cadance can't take enough, she begs Celestia for a real political station, on befitting a young princess of Equestria. Eventually, Celestia relents, and Cadance is appointed Envoy to the City-State of Cloudsdale. These are the stories of how Cadance grew into the mare she is today.

The ''Cadance of Cloudsdale'' series is an ongoing {{Fanfiction}} project by [[http://www.fimfiction.net/user/Skywriter Skywriter]]. Set a few years before the cartoon proper, it is a collection of [[ShortStory Short Stories]] detailing Cadance's life as an ambassador to Cloudsdale.

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!! The short stories, in order of publication:
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/72096/how-to-remove-a-unicorn-tooth How to Remove a Unicorn Tooth]]'' gives us a day in the life of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, who considers her pampered existence to be a gilded cage. Desperate for some responsibility, she implores Celestia for a position and, after a series of startling events, gets it.
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/97996/lady-prismia-and-the-princessgoddess Lady Prismia and the Princess-Goddess]]'' details the end of Cadance's centuries-long upbringing in the secluded hamlet of Reduit. An invasion of phantom-like snakes leaves everypony drained of vitality. The young Cadence, somehow unaffected, ventures outside for the first time in her life in order confront the witch controlling them, and, in so doing, earns her cutie mark and also comes to Celestia's attention.
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/101102/a-princess-by-any-other-name A Princess By Any Other Name]]'' is a much more humorous story set during Cadance's teenage years. Here, Princess Cadance engages in an epic battle with [[ObstructiveBureaucrat the Equestrian Bureaucracy]] [[SeriousBusiness in order to change her name from]] Cad''e''nce to Cad''[[SpellMyNameWithAnS a]]''nce. It's also a crossover with [[FanFic/TheEquestrianCivilServiceSeries the Equestrian Civil Service series]] by [=GhostOfHeraclitus=].
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/113255/a-lot-to-think-about A Lot To Think About]]'' is a short scene chronologically after most of the cycle. On the eve of the Royal Wedding, Cadance ([[LateArrivalSpoiler actually Queen Chrysalis]]) is alone and aloof. As this is Celestia's last chance before Cadance begins a new stage of her life, Celestia takes it upon herself to apologize for the missteps she made during Cadance's upbringing.
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/135052/the-first-time-you-see-her The First Time You See Her]]'' begins with a PerspectiveFlip of Shining Armor's scene in ''How To Remove A Unicorn Tooth'' and covers the ensuing hassle as he tries to report it to his higher-ups. Cadance eventually asks him to become her retainer, and they travel to Cloudsdale where all may not be well. However, (metaphorically or literally) meeting Cadance for the first time is merely the FramingDevice for the continuing story, taking place from the perspectives of many characters and spanning over a thousand years of time. Completed on November 11, 2014.
* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/155407/in-the-bleak-midwinter In The Bleak Midwinter]]'' is a one-shot set either after or near the end of the cycle. Cadence, after a conversation with her majordomo, realizes that the Crystal Ponies have no concept of a positive winter holiday, and wonders if she's worthy to rule such a long-suffering population.
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/302814/spa-and-order Spa and Order]]'' follows Cadance through her arrival in Cloudsdale and her search for comfort while dealing with paparazzi, annoying diplomats, and an alicorn metabolism stuck in overdrive. Completed on August 30, 2017.
* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/384044/mi-amore-influenza Mi Amore Influenza]]'' is a one-shot set after ''Spa and Order''. During Cloudsdale's version of Hearts and Hooves Day, both Shining Armor and an ill Cadance wrestle with the question of what love means to them and how it affects others in their lives.
* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/547686/everyone-knows-its-cady Everyone Knows It's Cady]]'' finds Cadance on the hunt for a job, after giving away her royal stipend to send a filly to flight camp, and getting an unexpected offer that leads to a misadventure in the Everfree Forest. Completed on February 4, 2024.

!! Semi-canon [[RecursiveFanfiction Recursive Fanfictions]] which are set in the universe:
* ''[[http://www.fimfiction.net/story/110558/dont-let-the-princess-drive-the-celestial-phaeton Don't Let the Princess Drive the Celestial Phaeton!]]'', written by [[Fanfic/TheFlightOfTheAlicorn Ponydora Prancypants]], is a SliceOfLife story set during Cadance's adolescence in Canterlot. Cadence, in a fit of teenage foolishness, tries to leap across a too-wide gap and only lives because her small wings cushion the fall. This prompts Celestia to send her away to learn flight. It is marked "In Progress," but [[DeadFic has not been updated since 2013]].
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!!These stories provide examples of:

* AdaptationExpansion: ''Lady Prismia and the Princess-Goddess'' takes [[Literature/TwilightSparkleAndTheCrystalHeartSpell the one paragraph of Cadance's origins]] and turns it into an entire story, though some liberties are taken to stay consistent with the first story.
* AdorablyPrecociousChild: Twilight Sparkle, as "a young professor." She finally lets her child side emerge after her loose tooth comes out, tearing up and needing an embrace from her foalsitter.
** Cadance as well, from what we see of her. Not even the threat of being killed stems her optimism.
** Twilight again, in ''The First Time You See Her''. See CallForward.
* AmnesiacHero: Since Cadance is the focus of the story and has no idea what happened to the Crystal Empire (or herself, for that matter), she qualifies.
* ArtifactOfDoom: Lady Prismia's amulet, the jewel embedded cut from [[MagicMeteor asterite crystals]]. Just like the [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E5MagicDuel Alicorn Amulet]], it makes the wearer stronger but also corrupts them in the process, and can only be removed by the wearer.
* BeleagueredBureaucrat: Dotted Line in ''A Princess By Any Other Name'', stuck between having to deal with a temperamental teenage Princess and a ridiculously complicated Royal Name Change Form [[spoiler: that was actually fake. Celestia apologizes to Line for all that she went through]].
* BigEater: A recurring element for Cadance and Celestia, due to their fast metabolism as alicorns. Celestia is better at keeping herself under control in public, but Shining Armor catches both of them gorging themselves in Chapter 3 of ''The First Time You See Her'' - [[spoiler:and they are incredibly messy eaters.]]
** In ''Everyone Knows It's Cady,'' Cadance is introduced to the gastronomic overindulgence that routinely goes on in Cloudsdale high society. Ponies stuff themselves with food, vomit into a conveniently placed basin or chamber pot, then do it all over again.
* BlackComedy: In order to emphasis the necessity of removing of her loose tooth immediately, Twilight shows Cadence of a drawing of said tooth falling out while she sleeps, slipping down her throat, and then causing her to choke to death. Twilight even cites how her drawing counterpart has little x's in her eyes to signal how she's dead as a hammer.
* BrainwashedAndCrazy: [[spoiler: Lady Prismia, actually. Her amulet amplified the negative aspects of her personality, causing her to be ostracized from Equestria when she became unbearable and driving her to steal love so others can't be happier than her. She gets better]].
* BrattyTeenageDaughter: Cadance in her teen years, resenting Celestia for the restrictions she places on her and throwing her weight as a princess around to try to make the Bureaucracy move faster.
* BreakTheCutie: Cadance realizes that the Crystal Ponies have undergone this, and worries she doesn't truly deserve to lead them.
* BrickJoke:
** Dotted Line wonders out loud why she'd ever have to notarize Princess Celestia's signature when it came to royal name changes. [[spoiler: Turns out, that step was very important, because Cadance later forged Celestia's signature in an attempt to secretly change her aunt's name to "Mrs. Big Stupid Meanie No-Pants Sun-On-Her-Butt"]].
** Shining Armor mentions enjoying an erotic novel where a 'nubile young alicorn maiden rises mystically out of the sea-foam, wings beating and horn gleaming like a beacon, the chill water dampening her mane and perking the teats at her belly.' When he's assigned to Cadance's guard and she takes him to visit the ocean, before naturally going for a dive, guess what happens?
* BullyingADragon: Lieutenant Hot-Button chews out Master Sergeant Thunderous when the sergeant is too blunt in informing Shining Armor he has a special assignment. Right as Button notices [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere his fellow officers suddenly gaining an interst in the complexity of the ground's texture]], Thunderous explains politely that besides the fact that he is a longtime friend of both of the two's commanding officer and has served for longer than Button existed, the orders came directly from the afformentioned commanding officer and Button is grossly overstepping his authority.
* CarnivoreConfusion: Cadance actually grew up on oyster supplements, and as such, is fond of eating seafood despite being a largely-herbivorous horse. Centuries of social tradition set by the vegetarian Celestia means she's reduced to sneaking anchovies when Griffins visit the palace.
* CassandraTruth: Cadance's father, the Snow King, became very paranoid later in life, believing he was being stalked by "insect ponies who could transform into other ponies at will." He was vindicated in his suspicions, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 1000 years later]].
* CallForward:
** Cadance literally can't remember where she came from, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1 since it's King Sombra's spell removing all traces of the Crystal Empire's existence]].
** Celestia is not amused when Cadance jokes that the older Alicorn acts as if Nightmare Moon might swoop down and gobble Cadance up.
** Cadance mentions to Celestia that Twilight Sparkle[[note]]future student of Celestia and widely considered a magical prodigy[[/note]] is very studious, and will someday become a great user of magic.
** [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS1E2ElementsOfHarmony Celestia will need a very special pony to help her stop Nightmare Moon in the future]]. She assumed Cadance was this pony, but she eventually concludes it will be someone else.
*** She can't find this pony because [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure she so completely distorts destiny itself]] that she can't find her with divination magic.
** Changelings are mentioned, as Sister Thistle identifies their emotion-eating magic being used by Lady Prismia.
** Twilight Velvet muses aloud that children are often more insightful than one would think, while ignoring her daughter, currently babbling away on how Shining's going to be a prince someday, and live in a castle far away.
*** Twilight manages to give an incredibly emotional encouragement to Cadance in the first story... and is completely right.
* CerebusRetcon:
** Downplayed. Shining Armor's uncle's sash was used in "A Canterlot Wedding" as a throwaway prop to show the Impostor Cadance's ControlFreak nature as she demanded it gone. here it's revealed it was actually a war medal from the Pegasi passed down from Shining Armor's ancestor, who earned it for the suppressing a rebellion in Cloudsdale.
** Played straight with the full version Cadance's MeaningfulName, Mi Amore Cadenza, or 'My Love Song' in Pegasopolian. [[spoiler: Auric gave her the name from the phrase Princess Ladybird repeated when she crossed her DespairEventHorizon, "''L'mi'amore distrugge tutto,''" or "''My love destroys everything''." She watched her Empire fall, her husband murdered, and her first daughter turning against her as a direct result of her pregnancy, though Ladybird blames herself for falling in love when she should have remained aloof. Exhausted and broken, she gives birth to Cadance and dies in the process, 'Mi Amore' finally destroying her.]] Good thing the 'Cadenza' was added.
* CheerfulChild: Cadance as a filly. She doesn't let her village being hit by a HatePlague dampen her spirits too much, [[spoiler: and redeems Lady Prismia pretty much through her optimism and kindness]].
* TheChessmaster: Cadance shows early signs of this in "How to Remove a Unicorn Tooth," planning a way for Twilight's loose tooth to come out with a minimum of trauma. The two make homemade Popsicles from pureed strawberries, putting them in the freezer just long enough to become firm with a little bit of give. Cadance shifts from licking hers to biting it, expecting Twilight to do the same; sure enough; Twilight's tooth sticks in the ice and pulls free when she bites. The cold numbs the pain, and the red color hides the blood.
* ContinuityNod: Dotted Line, the BeleagueredBureaucrat from ''A Princess by Any Other Name'', makes an appearance in the third chapter of ''When You First See her'', as Shining Armor and fellow officers work to protect his offices from that strange flood of salt water from the ceiling.
* CovertPervert: Twilight Velvet, a bestselling author that keeps a cozy little office where she lets her creative muses flow, writing stories like Daring Do [[BreadEggsMilkSquick and tons of erotica]]. Very, very explicit erotica.
* DeathByChildbirth: [[spoiler: Princess Ladybird, after days of hard, frigid travel with hardly any nourishment, coupled with having crossed the DespairEventHorizon, finally passes on having delivered Cadance.]]
* DisproportionateRetribution: Lady Prismia was banished from Equestria because her boyfriend ''grew bored of her'' and told an enormous lie about her that resulted in said banishment, delivered personally by Princess Celestia. [[spoiler: But then {{Subverted}}, as Prismia's personality was changed bitter and resentful due to the ArtifactOfDoom she started wearing, and her UnreliableNarrator status means she was likely banished for a real reason]].
* DistantFinale: ''In the Bleak Midwinter'' could qualify, as it's set after the events the cycle concludes, instead being set after Cadance and Shining Armor are married and they're performing their duties as the rulers of the Crystal Empire.
* DramaticIrony:
** ''A Lot To Think About'' runs off this, as it's Celestia apologizing to Cadance over all the ways she's failed to be a good surrogate parent. Of course, Cadance is actually trapped in a cave a few kilometers underground, and it's Chrysalis insisting that it's all going to be okay.
** Auric's TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to Shining Armor.
* TheDreaded: When Shining Armor reports spotting a distinct griffin tailing himself and Cadance, his superiors are sent panicking once they realize who it's Auric [[NamesToRunAwayFromReallyFast Turncoat]]. It's remarked how he's appeared throughout the centuries randomly, committing multiple counts of ''regicide'' and then waiting out several life sentences. Naturally, they fear the worst when he's spotted following Equestria's youngest princess, but it turns out he's [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold friendly, but mean]].
* EmotionEater: Lady Prismia summons invisible, neon-green snakes that steal ponies' love from their hearts to gather it all for herself. Cadance, being the paragon of love, is immune to their effect.
* EndOfAnAge: Chapter Eight of ''The First Time You See Her," showing Auric Turncoat's fleeing from the Crystal Empire during Sombra's violent coup, the Empire's pregnant alicorn Princess Ladybird in tow. In his haste to find Ladybird a midwife, he lightens the wagon load of all Crystal Empire artifacts, losing the last physical reminders of the Crystal Empire's existence when it is [[HiddenElfVillage sealed away]]. And as a final nail on the coffin, [[spoiler: Princess Ladybird dies giving birth to Mi Amore, leaving the Crystal Empire's legacy gone]].
* EntertaininglyWrong: When Auric Turncoat sees Shining Armor, he only sees yet another mortal pony destined to lead an accomplished, though ultimately meaningless, life. Countless ponies have fallen for Cadance before, and Shining Armor will be no different, probably going to be a mere memory centuries later, and certainly not her "schmoopy-woopie pudding pie." And finally, having only observed Cadance from a distance, sees her only for the effects she has on the world, ultimately finding her down-to-earth personality irrelevant. Basically, the exact opposite case of what would happen.
* EroticLiterature: Twilight Velvet is a bestselling author thanks to these, which her son Shining mentions makes him feel uncomfortable.
* FireBreathingDiner: Cadance briefly becomes one after drinking a cocktail whose ice cubes are made from hailstones that contain Poison Joke pollen.
* FisherKing: The Crystal Castle is the downsized version of this trope. Shining Armor knows that Cadance is in a worried mood when his horn catches on a chandelier, so finds his wife to comfort her.
* FootnoteFever: There are tons of footnotes in ''A Princess By Any Other Name'', adding more tidbits of humor for those who keep track of what the footnotes reference.
* GenkiGirl: Cadance as well during her extensive childhood, once demanding all of the monastery staff perform a dance over and over again before her Nap-Nap time.
* GildedCage: Reduit, though Cadance was too young mentally to realize it for what it was for centuries. Eventually it's replaced by Canterlot Palace, though Cadance grows up enough to begin to resent it, and the plot kicks off due to her attempts of escaping it.
* HatePlague: The [[BlackMagic changeling spell]] Lady Prismia casts on Reduit takes ''all'' of their love away, making Cadance's caretakers bemoan wasting their existence dedicating themselves to her, villagers ignoring everyone else, and ponies not showing up for work due to not caring about their jobs anymore.
* HiddenElfVillage: Reduit, a small hamlet hidden from the world. Cadance lived most of her life sheltered in a monastery there.
* IJustWantToBeNormal: Cadance in her earlier years, but she's come to terms with her situation later in life. When she first invited Shining Armor to be her PraetorianGuard for her visit to Cloudsdale, she mentioned being sick of being called "Princess" by everyone and asks informally and politely if Shining will accept her offer instead of simply ordering him.
* [[IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming Idiosyncratic Chapter Naming]]:
** ''Spa and Order'' (parts of a public bath in ancient Rome)
** ''Everyone Knows It's Cady'' (constellations)
* InnocentlyInsensitive: Cadance in ''In The Bleak Midwinter'', when making preparations for Hearth's Warming Eve. The symbols she hung to celebrate a warm, festive holiday confuse the Crystal Ponies, [[DeliberateValuesDissonance who see winter as a time of bleakness and suffering]] and assumed Cadance was giving them a SecretTestOfCharacter (that, or she had gone completely crackers).
* InsecureLoveInterest: Shining Armor at first, viewing Cadance as extremely out of his league, due to her being an alicorn and a princess. [[SavedByCanon He's obviously over that mindset by the main series, and we see that paradigm shifting pretty early]].
* JabbaTableManners: Cadance and Celestia's table manners are so atrocious that Celestia assigns higher security to their dinners than their government duties because of the major scandal that would ensue if those regal ponies were caught. However, Celestia machines events so Shining Armor gets a first-hand view, mostly to eliminate his preconceptions that the royal alicorns were goddesses rather than actual ponies.
* LiesToChildren:
** A young Twilight Sparkle gushes as she asks Shining Armor what meeting Celestia personally was like. He had just been a victim of another one of [[TheChessmaster Celestia's schemes]] which required him to fight his way through several guardsmen on bogus orders to catch both Celestia and Cadance [[JabbaTableManners gorging on like pigs on their dinner]], and realized Celestia was an enigma that he'd never solve. He finally decides on telling her that Celestia is really beautiful and regal, but has terrible table manners.
** {{Inverted}} in that same scene, as Shining reads Twilight [[ChildProdigy some Quantum Physics textbooks]] as her bedtime story, and the young needs to dumb the jargon into something her older brother can understand. Twilight admits it's a gross oversimplification.
* LoveAtFirstSight: Shining Armor fell for Cadance hard after she bumped into him and yelled furiously after leaving Shining's house. He regularly fantasizes about her and hopes desperately for the chance to meet her again, which [[SavedByCanon he obviously gets]].
* LoveMartyr: Princess Ladybird, Cadance's mother and Alicorn of Fecundity. One of the original alicorns, she repeatedly ignored advice to not fall in love with mortals, the world and herself suffering greatly for it each time, [[spoiler: and Ladybird's final act of love with giving birth to Cadance ending her life]].
* LukeIAmYourFather: Or sister, rather, [[spoiler: as Chrysalis turns out to be. She's literally a changeling child, born twisted and monstrous thanks to the dark magic spells Princess Ladybird was under at the time of conception. From the side effects of the spell, Chrysalis couldn't feel true love at all and yet needed it to survive, and her true form was concealed with multiple illusion spells. Eventually, when ladybird announced her second pregnancy, Chrysalis grew jealous and vengeful and so sided with Sombra during his coup. Cadance never finds this out, however, and it's unknown if Chrysalis is aware of their relation either.]]
* MasterOfIllusion: Lady Prismia's specialty. Her illusions are indistinguishable from reality, and she claims she can kill by terrifying somepony until their heart gives out.
* MoodWhiplash: In the first story, the narrative reads like a cutesy slice-of-life piece, with Cadance helping Twilight remove her tooth. [[spoiler: Then, having a semi-nervous breakdown following Twilight unintentionally hitting some emotional buttons, Cadance runs off and nearly freezes in a snowstorm. Cadance's situation improves, but the serious tone remains]].
* MistakenForSpies: Cadance angrily tells off Cadet Shining Armor [[CrashIntoHello when she runs into him while leaving the Sparkle residence]], thinking him sent by Celestia to monitor her. Celestia says it best:
--> '''Celestia''': The young guardstallion you startled outside the Shine residence was Twilight Velvet's son, on his way home after an unexpected reassignment. He is not a spy of mine. He was outside the house ''because it is his house''."
* MundaneMadeAwesome: As a fresh officer, Shining Armor received orders to deliver Cadance a package, and literally had to fight through several experienced guardsmen just to bring Cadance [[spoiler: her baby book]].
* MysteriousProtector: Auric Turncoat elects to take on this role for Cadance, one final act of devotion for his closest friend. Both protector and protectee being nigh-immortal makes the job easier.
* MysteriousWaif: Cadance fits the definition to a T. Her home magically disappeared nearly a millennium ago, she's surrounded by mystery with her WingedUnicorn-ness, odd aging, and shrouded past. Finally, Celestia took her under her wing, to help Cadance discover more about her past.
* TheNeidermeyer: The extremely-green Second Lieutenant Hot-Button gets very unpleasant with a veteran sergeant as he comes to retrieve Shining Armor for a specific task. It's mostly bluster as nobody present respects what theoretical authority Button possess.
* NeverGrewUp: Played Straight, but then averted with Cadance. She was literally the princess of the Crystal Empire. As in, the one that disappeared 1000 years ago. When Celestia found her in an isolated monastery, she was only a filly. Once Celestia brought her back to Equestria, she continued developing normally.
* NonIndicativeFirstEpisode: Sure, it involves removing a tooth from a unicorn's mouth, but that event is definitely one of the least significant plot developments, even in its own story.
* PleaseDontLeaveMe: Though immortal, Auric Turncoat managed his first few centuries fine thanks to his companionship with Princess Ladybird, another immortal. As he flees with her from the Crystal Empire, Ladybird falling into despair and convinced of her impending death, he begs her not to die and desperately reassures her that she's strong enough to survive. [[spoiler: Sadly, she does leave him.]]
* PlotCoupon: Shining Armor's great-uncle's breastcollar with a built-in cloudwalking enhancement. Cadance needed a Royal Guard escort to guard her for her visit to Cloudsdale, and Shining's possession of it added him onto the list of candidates to be chosen. Effectively, that sash allowed Shining Armor and Cadance to get to know each other and falling in love.
* PornStash: {{Downplayed}}, but Shining keeps an erotic novel about alicorns (written by his mother, no less) under his bed for "personal use."
* ThePowerOfLove: Cadance learns early on how powerful love can be, [[spoiler: redeeming a bitter old witch by explaining its true meaning in a few words]].
* PraetorianGuard: Shining Armor becomes one for Cadance for her visit to Cloudsdale. As we know, [[BodyguardCrush they end up falling in love and marrying]].
* PrecociousCrush: Cadance once foalsat Shining Armor when even she as a young princess could easily carry him like a baby. Shining guesses that's where his crush on her started, [[LateArrivalSpoiler and we know how that ends]].
* ReallySevenHundredYearsOld: Princess Cadance, actually. Not that she remembers much of it.
* TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: The mysterious griffin Auric Turncoat delivers one to Shining Armor, telling him why Princess Cadance is far beyond his league and his mortal life won't amount to much, and the sooner Shining realizes it, the better. Of course, [[DramaticIrony it ends up being refuted handily later]].
* RecursiveFanfiction: Yep, they're out there. So far, the original author embraces them.
* RetiredBadass: Celestia had her fair share of combat in the past. She obtained the projecting crystal seen in [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E1TheCrystalEmpirePart1 The Crystal Empire - Part One]] when Sombra stabbed most of it into her. She still won.
* RightHandVersusLeftHand: Early in his officer's career, Shining Armor is assigned to deliver a parcel to Princess Cadance despite the fact his authorization is not considered valid by the guardsmen protecting her. Eventually, he needs to fight his way through them and pray that Celestia will pardon him when he reaches her. [[spoiler: Actually, it was all just a SecretTestOfCharacter]].
* RubeGoldbergDevice: Twilight designs one to pull her loose tooth in "How to Remove a Unicorn Tooth." It involves (among other things) a ceiling fan, a flywheel, and twine or dental floss, and is to be triggered by pushing a lamp off her bedside table.
* SavedByCanon: Cadance never dies in any of these stories, no matter how dire the situation may be. Because she appears in the main series.
* SecretTestOfCharacter:
** [[spoiler: The over-the-top, ridiculously complicated name change process in ''A Princess By Any Other Name'' is actually not that over-the-top and ridiculously complicated. Rather, Celestia added a convulted mess on top of the already-valid name change form to test Cadance on her ability to deal with stressful and unfair situations. Cadance fails miserably]].
** [[spoiler: Shining Armor is tasked by Sergeant Thunderous with delivering Cadance's baby book back to her, but is warned ahead of time that the Royal Guards in between him and the Princess won't accept his authorization to pass. Shining is forced to disable them and rush into the room and beg forgiveness before the guards catch up to him. Shining actually passes this test, as Celestia wanted to test his devotion to helping Cadance]].
* SeenItAll: Auric Turncoat has this view, having lived and traveled the world for over a thousand years, but ultimately {{subverted}}, as quite a few future developments would take him off-guard.
* SelfInsert: The subject of Cadance's bedtime story is a young princess who was taken in by her aunt princess after her kigdom disappeared, and is sad with her situation but is happy when she gets to foalsit a wonderful filly. Even as a filly, Twilight knows who the princess actually is and gives surprisingly good, if painful, advice.
* SesquipedalianLoquaciousness:
** Twilight is obsessed with becoming the best student ever, so she inserts advanced vocabulary into as much of her everyday speech as she can. It's definitely one of the more endearing examples of this trope.
** Filly!Cadence spells "ant''i''deluvian" with her building blocks. At the end of the chapter she has corrected this to "ant''e''deluvian"
* SexySurfacingShot: In ''The First Time You See Her'' as a teenager, Shining Armor once read an erotica novel his mom wrote, and he was particularly intrigued by the description of a female alicorn flying out of a lake, and how the water flowed sensually down her attractive body. Years later, Princess Cadance (herself an alicorn) dives into the ocean to get some seafood--and when she flies back out, she doesn't understand why Shining Armor is so flustered at the sight.
* SmugSuper: Auric Turncoat has shades of this, [[spoiler: as he discounts Shining Armor as 'inconsequential' compared to immortal beings like himself and Cadance. Over time he seems to have forgotten that, himself included, plenty of immortal and legendary figures themselves began as average, mortal beings.]].
* SnipeHunt: Sergeant Thunderous sends Shining Armor to deliver a parcel to Princess Cadance "with Harmony Level clearance," which would be trivial if not for the fact that nobody is permitted to disturb her during dinnertime and the clearance level is so new that the hulking Royal Guardsmen protecting the dining room don't even know what it is. [[spoiler: Turns out, there was never a "Harmony" level clearance in the first place]].
* SpoilerTitle: Much drama arises when Celestia denied Cadance's request to be an envoy to Cloudsdale. A look at the title of the series dispels it.
* StealthPun: When Auric and Shining Armor see Cloudsdale for the first time, the griffon remarks that "[Cadance] is going to rip into this city like a comet." Considering he knows the circumstances that gave Cadance her name, he's saying "'My Love' is about to destroy everything."
* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: Finally fed up with the Bureaucracy after learning that her current name-change petition was invalidated due to a technicality, Cadance demands Dotted Line just skip to the end and authorize the form. [[spoiler:The final page is actually just a letter from Celestia explaining that this is a SecretTestOfCharacter and that she'd be very disappointed in Cadance if she forced her bureaucrat to ignore the rules]].
* TomeOfEldritchLore: Cadance's '''baby book''', which emanates a Lovecraftian aura at all times, has malevolent spirits that whisper to Dotted Line to free them of their imprisonment, and causes an inexplicable leak of salt water from the ceiling of Line's office.
* TrademarkFavoriteFood; Cadance loves rarebit, a dish consisting of melted cheese served over toast.
* UniversallyBelovedLeader: The Crystal Ponies ''adore'' Cadance, thanks to her caring nature and the past few rulers being insane, absolute tyrants, or absolutely insane tyrants. When the Crystal Ponies realize how upset Cadance is how their culture has no positive winter holidays, within an hour they draft a resolution to introduce a new, happy holiday.
* UnreliableNarrator: Lady Prismia when explaining why she was banished from Equestria, claiming that her lover eloped behind her back and then slandered her out of Equestria when he grew bored of her, and that Reduit ostracizes her. [[spoiler: Cadance correctly surmises that Prismia's ArtifactOfDoom altered her perspective on her treatment and that Prismia outright lied about Reduit ignoring her plight, as she prefers to seethe alone with her amulet]].
* UnskilledButStrong: The only magic Shining Armor has ever been able to use is basic raw force, and he's become an expert at conjuring shields and barriers.. He compares himself to an artist who can't learn any other medium besides foals' crayons, but adds that because of all the practice he's had, "I am ''damn'' good with crayons."
* WhoWantsToLiveForever: [[spoiler: Auric Turncoat was an average griffon who, ages ago, incensed Discord, who made him immortal for a laugh and then promptly was imprisoned, leaving none able to reverse the spell. As his culture shifted and all of his friends (even the immortal ones) died on him, he admits he's growing exhausted of it all. Eventually, [[PurposeDrivenImmortality he found new purpose as the silent guardian of his best friend's child]]: Princess Cadance, naturally]].
* WomanScorned: Lady Prisma, a bitter hermit who decided to steal Reduit's love after her lover cheated on her and she was banished from Equestria.
* WouldHurtAChild: Lady Prismia had no problem casting [[AgonyBeam pain-inflicting]] spells on [[spoiler: and almost slaying]] Cadance, who was a filly without a cutie mark at the time. [[spoiler: At least when she's {{Brainwashed}}. Once Prismia comes to her senses, she's very remorseful]].
* WrongGenreSavvy:
** Auric Turncoat predicts Shining Armor's future with hilarious inaccuracy, centuries of immortal experience having biased his judgement.
--->'''Auric''': "I happen to be all about what the Princess feels. And I also have a longer view on this issue than you can possibly comprehend. You cannot afford to be distracted, and [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS2E26ACanterlotWeddingPart2 she cannot afford to have her emotions tangled up by falling in head over hocks with a mayfly.]]"
** And about his family:
--->'''Auric''': "You, your parents, your siblings, your eventual children; you all are all destined to lead very little lives..."
** Perhaps about his parents, who are of minor renown, [[Recap/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagicS3E13MagicalMysteryCure but his sibling]]...
** Even Cadance gets into this, as she can't detect a shred of magical power in Twilight and assumes she'll end up become a (genius) theorist rather than a master of all magic like she wants.
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