Hello, everyone! Thank you for being so patient with me...just got back from spring break, and I've got the next chapter all set! Enjoy!

Cadance and Shining trotted together by the waterfall. "Isn't this place amazing, Shining?" Cadance asked.

"Yes, it's very beautiful," Shining replied. "But I don't get something…you've been alive this whole time…why haven't you ever come back?"

"Oh, well…I needed to get out, find my own life," Cadance lied as she jumped into a makeshift hammock. "And I did. And it's great."

"We've really needed you back home," Shining told her.

"No you don't, what could I do?" Cadance asked. "Besides, I'm not the queen, Nightmare is."

Shining frowned. "Cadance, Nightmare let Discord and his gang have free range of Canterlot."

"WHAT?!"

"They've run amok. Everything's destroyed. There's no food and no water. Cadance, if you don't do something, everypony's going to starve!"

"Well I…" Cadance frowned. "No, I can't go back."

"Why not?"

"You wouldn't understand."

"What wouldn't I understand? All I know is that we need you!"

Cadance shook her head. "No, no, Hakuna Matata."

"WHAT?"

"Hakuna Matata. It's something I've learned here. Look, bad stuff happens, and there's nothing you can do about it."

Shining frowned angrily. "What happened to you? You're not the Cadance I remember!"

"You're right, I'm not," Cadance agreed bitterly. "Are you satisfied?"

"No, just disappointed."

Cadance smirked. "You know, you're starting to sound like my mother."

"Good," Shining muttered. "At least ONE of us does!"

Cadance growled angrily. "You think you can just gallop in here and tell me how to live my life? You don't even know what I've been through!"

"I would if you would just tell me!" Shining replied.

"Forget it!" Cadance flew off.

"FINE!" Shining stormed off.

Cadance landed in a field and paced back and forth angrily. "He's wrong. I can never go back. What would it prove anyway? You can't change the past." She glared up at the stars. "You said you'd always be there for me!" She hung her head. "But you're NOT! And it's because of me!" She started to cry. "It's my fault…it's all my fault!"

As Cadance cried, she heard a female voice chanting something in some sort of unusual tongue. She looked over and saw a zebra, balancing on her head on a staff, and chanting. Cadance rolled her eyes and walked away. Zecora chuckled to herself as she watched the young alicorn walk.

After a bit, Cadance collapsed sadly. As she did, she heard Zecora, still chanting. "Ugh…oh come on, would you cut that out?"

"Don't be silly, my young friend, if I cut it out, it will grow back again," Zecora replied cheerfully.

"Creepy zebra," Cadance mumbled. She noticed that Zecora was trotting right behind her. "Would you PLEASE stop following me? Who ARE you, anyway?"

"The better question to pursue is who are YOU?" Zecora asked.

Cadance sighed. "I thought I knew, but now I'm not so sure."

"Well I know, isn't that swell? It's a secret, so quietly I tell." Zecora whispered the same Swahili chant to the alicorn.

"WOULD YOU QUIT SAYING THAT?!" Cadance shouted. "What does that even MEAN, anyway?"

"The saying's meaning is clear as the sky. It means you are a silly zebra, and not I."

Cadance eyed her oddly. "I think you're a bit confused."

"I am not confused, my little star. For you do not know who you are."

"Oh, and I suppose YOU do?" Cadance asked amusedly.

"I sure do, don't be silly. You are Celestia's filly."

Cadance gasped and turned to see Zecora, who was starting to gallop off. "Wait! No! Please, come back!" She followed the zebra to a rock, where she was in a meditation pose. "You knew my mother?"

"Ah, a question like no other. But the correct form is, I KNOW your mother."

Cadance frowned sadly. "I hate to tell you this, but…she died. A long time ago."

Zecora laughed. "Wrong again! She is alive. I shall show you how she thrives." She galloped off into a nearby woods. Cadance tried to follow quickly. "Hurry up! No delay! Follow old Zecora, she knows the way."

"I'm trying! Could you slow down!" Cadance huffed and puffed as she ran. "Wow, I need to lay off the chocolate-covered strawberries for a while!" She ran until Zecora halted and held up a hoof. "STOP! We are here." She led her to a grassy area surrounding a small pool. "Look in, the answer will be clear."

Cadance blinked and peered into the pool. However, all she saw was herself. "That's not my mother…it's just my reflection."

Zecora chuckled. "I see you have little trust. To find your mother, look harder you must." Cadance obeyed. As she did, she began to see traces of her mother. "My words are quite true. For you see, she lives in you."

Suddenly, there was a quiet voice coming from above. "Cadance…"

Cadance gasped and looked up. "Mother?"

A vision of Celestia appeared in the heavens. "Cadance, you have forgotten me."

"No! Never! How could I ever forget you?"

"You have forgotten who you are, and so have forgotten me," Celestia replied. "Look inside yourself, Cadance. You are more than what you have become."

"How can I go back?" Cadance asked. "I'm not the same as I used to be."

"Remember who you are," Celestia responded. "You are my daughter, and the one true queen." As her daughter watched, Celestia's voice and face became fainter and softer. "Remember…"

"No, please! Don't leave me!"

"Remember…"

"MOTHER!"

"Remember…"

"Don't go." And with that, as quickly as she had appeared, the vision of Queen Celestia was gone.

Zecora came back. "What was THAT? The weather is completely bats!"

"Yeah," Cadance agreed. "I think the winds must be changing."

"Ah, how exciting. Change is a very good thing."

"Yeah, but it isn't easy," Cadance sighed. "I know what I have to do, but going back, I'll have to face my past. I've been running from it for so long…" Suddenly, Zecora whacked Cadance on the head with her staff. "OW! Geez! What was THAT for?!"

"Doesn't matter, it's in the past!" Zecora laughed. "Oh, and what a blast!"

"Well, it may be in the past, but it still hurts!" Cadance replied. She rubbed her head to make sure that the zebra hadn't broken anything.

"Ah yes, the past can hurt, and push you around in the dirt. But as I see it, when it's your turn, you can either run from it, or learn." Zecora swung her staff at Cadance, who this time ducked. "You see? So what are you going to do?"

"Well first, I'm going to take your staff!" Cadance used her magic to throw the staff away. Zecora chased after it and turned to see Cadance running. "Hey, you! Where are you off to?"

"I'm going back!" Cadance called.

"Good! Go on, shoo! This area does not need you!" Zecora laughed.

The next morning, Bob and Larry were huddled together, sleeping. As they snoozed, Shining approached them. "Hey! Wake up!" Bob yawned and opened his eyes...to see a unicorn staring back at him. He screamed, waking up Larry, who automatically screamed as well.

"It's OK, it's OK, it's just me, Shining Armor," Shining told them. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you guys."

Bob gasped. "Don't EVER do that again! Ponies...ay carumba!"

"Have you guys seen Cadance?"

"Isn't she with you?" Larry asked.

"She WAS, but she left," Shining replied. "Now I can't find her anywhere!"

There was laughing from the bushes. They turned to see Zecora. "She's not here. Have you not learned? I am here to tell you; the Queen has returned."

Shining smiled. "I can't believe it! Cadance has gone back!"

"What?" Bob asked. "What the heck is going on here? Who's the zebra?" He looked over at the bushes, from which Zecora had disappeared.

"Cadance has gone back to challenge Nightmare," Shining explained.

"What?" Bob asked.

"Nightmare."

"Who had a nightmare?" Larry asked.

"No, no, no, it's her aunt."

"The zebra is her aunt?" Bob asked in confusion.

"NO!" Shining yelled. "Cadance has gone back to Canterlot to challenge her aunt and take her rightful place as Queen of Equestria!"

Bob and Larry looked at each other. "OH."

Woo-hoo! Cadance is going back!

Yup, this is why I don't use Zecora a lot in my stories, despite how awesome I think she is and how much I love her...rhyming everything is a pain in the flank! Cora, I don't know how you do it!

Next chapter, Cadance goes back to Canterlot to challenge Nightmare Moon. Ooh, exciting!

All my best, DiscordantPrincess.