Twilight was, in the smallest possible amount of words, confused. She had been called by Celestia on a matter of some urgency into Canterlot, but the Princess had also been instructed to come alone. Now, after two hours sitting in the throne room with Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, she was beginning to consider the possibility that her mentor had called her here for no reason other than a practical joke.

She stood, stretching for a moment, and then glanced over at the two sisters, both of whom were still just barely moving at all, occasionally flattening a spot on their immaculate manes. Twilight sighed almost inaudibly and sat back down, but her boredom was interrupted by a trumpet blast sounding just outside the doors. She looked over at the three older Princesses, and seeing that they had genuinely happy smiles on their faces, her curiosity began to grow. The doors swung open, revealing the royal trumpeter (a bit of an unnecessary title, in her opinion), who stepped in and began to announce the news.

"Presenting: The Honorable Prince of the Earth, Terra!" Twilight's eyes bulged and she looked back at the three elder Alicorns, who were both now well out of their seats and were in fact halfway across the room by the time Twilight had gained her footing to follow them.

She stopped cold behind them as a truly massive pony stepped through the doors, his silhouette casting a shadow almost twice as big as Celestia's. His coat was a dusty tan color, not unlike well-baked clay. It shimmered, like his sisters' coats, giving him an air of majesty even more than his sheer size. His mane and tail, unlike Celestia's and Luna's, did not flow effortlessly on the air, but instead were cut short. His mane came only a foot off of his head, and was a shockingly dark green with deep blue accents, the same as his tail, which came down only to about two feet above his fetlocks.

Despite all these unique features, easily the most impressive testament to his power was the massive set of muscles he was possessed of. His build reminded her of a show she had seen once, where a single pony had lifted four tons with nothing but his hind legs, then tossed the weight into the air and caught it on his front hooves. In a word, he could have been called mountainous.

The impressive air surrounding him was almost shattered as all three of the eldest Alicorn Princesses tackled him with hugs, the four of them becoming a pile of warmth and happiness. He grinned softly, hugging them all back in his gargantuan embrace. Celestia, after a few moments in this group hug, peeled herself off of him and stepped back, looking him up and down as he spoke to Luna, stepping away from the group entirely.

"Luna...words cannot express my joy at seeing you again. A full millennium..." Luna grinned, tearing up a bit with happiness as she leapt back into Terra's embrace.

"I have missed you greatly as well, Terra. I only wish I had had the foresight to not allow such a travesty to begin with." Terra pulled her away from his chest, shaking his head.

"Blame has been placed upon you for far too long. Anypony in Equestria will give the same answer when asked of Princess Luna. She is kind, loving, and gentle. The only exception, of course, being Nightmare Night." Luna blushed and chuckled a bit as Terra's attention turned to Cadence, who seemed to have been waiting on this moment for some time. The royal air simply melted from his expression at the sight of her and changed into a familiar look. Twilight knew that look from somewhere, but she was too shocked by all of this to recall it properly. "It has been far too long, my lovely little princess."

This particular behavior struck Twilight as odd, considering she was Cadence's sister-in-law. Her loyalty to her brother took over for a moment and she stepped forward, attempting to speak to the newcomer for the first time.

"Excuse me, Prince Terra?" The new Alicorn stepped away from Cadence to look upon Twilight, turning his head just slightly to the side.

"This must be the famous Twilight Sparkle I've heard so much about. I knew she was good, but to be an Alicorn at such a young age...you've outdone yourself, 'Tia." The massive pony lowered his head to Twilight, a gesture which she returned quickly and straightened up again, starting her question a second time.

"I'm very sorry, Prince Terra. It's just that...I never knew there were any other Alicorns in Equestria. I certainly didn't know that any stallions were Alicorns." Terra laughed, a booming sound that echoed jovially through the room.

"Oh, of course there are. Who did you think Cadenza's father was?" Twilight's jaw dropped as the impact of the statement hit her, and she glanced back and forth between her sister-in-law and this gargantuan, commanding mass of pony that stood before her.

"Wait...what?" He chuckled at her disbelief and turned to one side, gesturing to Celestia and Luna.

"Well, you already knew my daughter was their niece. How far of a jump is it to make?" Twilight's mouth fell open even wider, leaving her gaping and gasping for air.

"Wh...Wait...You mean..." Terra stepped back a few paces, wrapping an arm around Celestia and Luna.

"Yes, Princess Sparkle. These are my dear sisters." As Twilight attempted desperately to wrap her head around this prospect, Terra turned back to Celestia. "She's taking it well, wouldn't you say?" The Princess of the Sun chuckled at her student's stupor, but her brother continued. "And with that in mind, my own protege should be arriving very soon. I left him a few hours behind to deal with some lake deity that was demanding sacrifices. He should be along any moment now." Terra glanced around the room, one eyebrow raised. "Speaking of absent ponies, where is Astrum?" Luna started, having some insight into the issue at hand.

"He said he'd be just a bit late. He says that a few of his charges were recently seen to be moving to unauthorized locations, so he had to change his normal route." Terra nodded.

"I can relate. Here's something for you: did you know that Duniac Rock Snakes have been working their way up from Saddle Arabia? I actually ended up riding one a decent portion of the way here. Taming them is quite a trick, let me tell you. You have to actually pour lemon juice onto their skin, which isn't easy to get at through almost fourteen inches of scales. Then the only way to steer them is to hold a bottle of milk right out in front of them. They'll chase after the milk as a cure to the irritation from the lemon juice for days, even weeks."

By now, Twilight had regained her power of speech. She stepped cautiously up to the group, gulping once before she spoke again. Terra turned to her, one eyebrow raised and one corner of his lips raised.

"Sir...you're Celestia's brother?" He chuckled lightly.

"Luna's as well, young lady. To be frank, I'm surprised they never informed you of my existence." She continued, her voice just a bit shaky.

"Then...that makes you my uncle in-law?" He thought about it for a moment, then nodded.

"I suppose it does. But let's save celebrations for when your other uncle gets here." Twilight took an exasperated breath, but before she could voice her confusion the entire castle began to rumble. Terra turned about, smiling knowingly. "That would be my apprentice."

They all trotted over to the window, and as they glanced out the Princesses' jaws dropped. Outside the window there lay a gigantic worm/snake hybrid, huge enough to wrap twice around the entire mountain on which the city sat. The creature seemed completely dormant, and on top of it stood a single pony, a mere speck from their vantage point. He lifted one hoof, waving it in greeting, then leaned forward and placed something white and bottle-shaped into the massive creature's gaping maw before sliding off and starting toward the castle at a gallop.

Terra chuckled as they stepped away and the three females stared incredulously at him. "I guess he found himself a ride as well. I'll have to talk to him about bringing the Dunian Snakes this far north, though." Terra strolled over to the other side of the room, followed after a few seconds by his sisters. "He's an enigma, truly. Never in all my travels have I met anypony with his level of strength or skill. He has the capacity to be legendary, but his lack of confidence is a devastating detriment." Just as Terra finished speaking, the doors swung open once again, and this time in their opening stood an underwhelmingly small Earth pony.

He was a lime green in color, with a bubblegum pink mane and a uniquely toned body that was entirely covered from the neck down by a fully black bodysuit. Every inch of his body was outlined perfectly through the material, illustrating just how tight the clothing was. He stepped forward, bowing to both Celestia and Luna, then turning to Terra and Twilight and repeating the motion. "My apologies, sir. I ran across a pack of Dunians on my way up here, and I only just managed to separate the alpha from the group. Without him, they'll likely head back down south." Terra nodded, stepping out from between his apprentice and the group of Princesses.

"I'd like to introduce my protege of two years now, Fighting Might. Might, I'm sure you know my sisters and my niece." Fighting Might nodded to the group of them, smiling just slightly.

"It's truly an honor to meet you all. I can't tell you how much I've been looking forward to this visit." Twilight nodded back, unsure of what to say. All she could really focus on was how short he was. She tried her best not to smile, but her humorous mood was quickly changed when, on his way toward her, Fighting Might's hoof sunk into the solid marble floor accidentally. He cringed, trying to withdraw it carefully, but marble dust and chips scattered in every direction. Twilight resolved then and there not to trifle with this pony in the slightest, and so was left speechless as he approached a bit more cautiously to avoid crushing any more floors.

Luckily, Fighting Might seemed to have her speechlessness covered with his own shock. "Pardon me, milady, but are you not Princess Twilight Sparkle? Bearer of the Element of Magic?" She nodded, somewhat proud that her name was so well known. "Tell me, aren't you friends with Pinkamena Pie?" She raised an eyebrow curiously, answering the question more to see where this was going than for anything else.

"Yes, we're actually very good friends. Why?" He gave a light grin.

"Just asking. I did a lot of my training at the Pie family rock farm, so if she was around I was going to let her know how her family was doi-" He stopped cold, spinning around to Cadence and narrowing his eyes. He took a quick step forward, then turned around again, facing Terra now. "Sir, I know you're much more adept than me at this, but...have you noticed a secondary magical presence?" Terra pursed his lips, smirking at his student.

"Only a few seconds ago. You're getting much faster at this, Might. Now, can you tell me what that might be?" Fighting Might looked around, his ears twitching about on top of his head.

"It's...small. Just barely detectable in a room full of Alicorns, but..." He turned once again to Cadence. "Just as I originally thought, it's definitely coming from Princess Mi Amore. I can't identify it, though." Terra's smirk grew rapidly into a grin as he approached his daughter, dwarfing her utterly with his massive body.

"I didn't expect you to. You're skilled, Might, but you're not incredibly experienced. No, this is something you haven't seen yet." He stepped alongside his daughter, placing an ear to the top of her ribs and showing a few teeth in his smile.

"What is it, then?" Terra lifted his head, wrapping one arm around his daughter and smiling at Fighting Might.

"It would seem that I'm going to be a grandfather." Fighting Might's mouth dropped open in happy shock.

"Incredible, sir! Congratulations, to both of you!" Cadence blushed, grinning somewhat shyly as her father turned back to her.

"Now, if I may ask...who is the VERY lucky stallion?" Fighting Might's smile dropped into a look of concern almost immediately at the tone of his mentor's voice. Cadence and Twilight both started simultaneously, but after a few seconds of word-mingling Twilight backed off, allowing Cadence to fill her father in.

"He's a former captain of Celestia's royal guard and Twilight's brother. His name is Shining Armor, and we happen to be married and quite thoroughly in love." She listed off the last item with a bit of a proud flourish. Terra's eyes narrowed.

"I must say, Cadence, you certainly have a knack for picking the most interesting routes of life. First, you became an Alicorn, next you became Princess of Love, now you've married the brother of the Princess of Friendship, who does not share your immortality. Quite a risky business, this. I would know." Cadence glanced at the ground in an odd mixture of shock and shame, but her father quickly placed a hoof under her chin and lifted her head back up to meet his eyes. "I didn't say any of it was wrong. Tell me, how long have you been married?" She blinked a few forming tears away and began to smile just slightly.

"Almost three years." He nodded approvingly.

"And does he make you happy?" She nodded without hesitation, and Terra released her chin with a warm smile on his face. "Then I won't say another word about it. Immortal or not, Alicorn or not, the memories that we make are all we'll ever have when the rest of it falls apart. It took me a long time to come to grips with that, and I'm glad you've come to the understanding before anything drastic happens." There was silence for a few moments as they all considered this.

The silence was broken quickly, though, by a massive shaking that lasted a mere five seconds and was over as quickly as it had started. Terra spun about, facing the door with a grin on his face. The door swung open quickly, smoke rolling in from the outside dramatically. Two figures stepped through it, one just a bit smaller than the other.

As they came through, one was revealed to be another Alicorn, white in color with black spots all across his mane and coat. The mere sight of him was almost blinding, and the only thing that kept all onlookers from seeing spots was the distraction of the smaller unicorn next to him. He was solid gray in color, wearing a pair of dark sunglasses and smiling confidently around the room. He knelt quickly to the royalty in the room and Terra glanced over at Twilight.

"Princess, allow me introduce your other uncle." He gestured with a glance to the white Alicorn. "My brother, Astrum."

So, this is a new story...yeah. I have to be honest, this one has been in the works for longer than any other story I've done since ever. I'm that guy who has to make the connection with Cadence, since we already know Celestia and Luna are her aunts. Personally, this is one of very few occasions where I simply don't care if it's canon or not. Cadence is related to Celestia through her father Terra, and yes, there are two male Alicorns. If you want to take a wild guess as to what Astrum's job is, feel free to leave a review. I'm guessing it's not difficult to figure out, but swing for it anyway.

Well, I'm done ranting. Feel free to leave a review, I'm OfficialBacon, and I'll see you in the next one.