Red, Red Wine (Closed: Invite)

[SteelEagle]

The vineyards of Roam were famous across the entire nation of Equestria. So many varieties and flavours dancing on the tongue spoke to the generations of work that went into them. They were passed down from father to son, mother to daughter, and it showed. The names of the brands and wines produced from this land were known far and wide. Neighples Familia, Gattinara Pegasi, and Parolo to name just a few. They were all different and unique in their own ways but what they shared was the belief that they were the best and the certainty that they were competing against those worthy of their best efforts. Ponies purchased their wines from across the nation. Most importantly, at least in days such as this, ponies came to them for the chance to see how it was done.

It was rare that Neighples Familia Winery opened itself up to the public, but then again, they had grown successful recently. So much so that local government had made a big deal about it, a big enough deal that word had spread and somepony had invited royalty to come and visit. Once that had happened, all the other vineyards in the area had desperately asked to open up their vineyards. Chaos. Eventually, it was decided (much to Neighples Winery's chagrin) to make it a wine tasting event for the attendant royals. The best wines flowed from the most prestigious and experienced vineyards in and around Roam. Despite being the location and no longer the central billing alone, Neighples Familia Winery was excited to showcase the best they had to offer.

It was going to be a wonderful experience. Sadly, the Trottingham Flu struck. One by one the experienced workers at Neighples Familia Winery went down with it. Soon only the farmhooves in the Vineyard were left, as they had not dealt with the clients responsible for bringing the illness into their lives. Only one mare was left. She had requested this day off the day it had been announced, had even planned an out-of-Itaily trip. The first she had ever taken as a worker at Neighples Familia Winery and only the second time she had ever planned on leaving the province. Alas, all others who could guide the guests through the Winery and taste testing were out, and the Vineyard workers weren't necessarily the best tour guides.

Barbera Red, like it or not, was going to have to work the worst possible day.

*******

She prepared herself well. She always took good care of herself and had impeccable good standards and grooming, but she had certainly gone all out. Everything on her had a naturalistic sheen of subtle beauty outlining her features and complimenting. She wore nothing, preferring to allow the natural world to blend in with a natural mare during a natural day. Just another day on the job. Ignore, if you would, the three glasses of wine she had at breakfast and another she had mere moments before the guests were due to arrive. She was just taste testing, not stress tasting. Never stress tasting. She had gotten over that years ago.

She would meet the guests near the entrance to the vineyard. First would be the taste test at the Winery itself with all the various brands. Then a tour, followed by a return to the Winery and the second half of the taste test. You didn't want to mix the flavours too much. Time to settle, to allow the palette to reset, was only fair to the second batch. Hopefully the Royals would understand.

[Blueblood]

If there was one thing that united the the members of the Sparkle family, it was love.  If there were two things that united them, they were love and research.  And while Shining Armor was nowhere near as obsessive or exhaustive in his approach as his sister Twilight Sparkle, he was still, like her, the son of an author and a scientist.  So of course, when faced with making a public appearance surrounding a topic he hadn't much prior experience with, the unicorn would take the time on the trip down to read up.

 

"My big mistake,"  Shiny remarked to his wife as he hauled a large bookbag in with them as they boarded the train, "Was asking my sister to send what she thought essential."  He was able to laugh at the family foible, even as he pointed it out.  Indeed, the bag contained everything from a basic guide on how fermentation worked to scholarly journals detailing the economic impact of viticulture surrounding Canterlot over the past few decades.  The worst part of it was, that any part of it might actually be essential, depending on the sort of conversations they got into.  Royals were always on the job!

 

"Excited to be going back to your roots, Cady?"  He asked, after setting all the bags in place in their Royal Sleeping Car.  "I've never actually been to Roam before; what do you remember about it?"

 

**~**

 

Train rides were pleasant opportunities for the Royal Family to spend a little time together in at least semi-privacy.  It was the main reason that they took them, even though they had flying chariots or airships at their disposal that made trips much faster.  Even trains were getting faster these days, though, and the Express from the Crystal Empire soon ate up the miles between the Frozen North and the eastern coast of Equestria.

 

Once the royals disembarked, the madness would begin.  Swarmed by photographers, escorted by guards, the whole mad parade careening down the dusty road to the Neighples Familia Winery, where the guests of honor would be disgorged upon the porch.  For his own part, Shining could only offer a slightly apologetic smile to the mare who had come out to greet them.  A strangely... familiar looking mare.  The stallion tilted his head, for the life of him unable to pin down what it was about Barbera Red that seemed so familiar...

[Bellosh]

 

Ah, there was nothing quite like going on vacation in Itaily with your darling husband. Well, after you ignore the swarms of attendants and paparazzi to deal with. Such was the life of Princess Cadence, whose attempt at a clandestine visit to her birth land were foiled when a blabbermouth crystal pony leaked the details to the press. It turned out that despite not having been back to Roam in years, Mi Amore Cadenza was something of a hometown hero over there. By now however, the pink princess knew what to expect whenever the burden of fame came crashing down.

 

"You bet I'm excited, Shiny!" That had been what Cadence giddily told her husband back on the train. "Oh, I can't wait to experience it all again. The gondolas of Roam, the smell of the vineyards... it'll just be like being a little kid again!"

 

Beginning this vacation, there would be a wine tasting event at the Neighples Familia Winery. Being that this was a Itailian-sponsored publicity circus and all, the royal couple would be offered wines from other local vineyards as well. Cadence would have preferred a more private affair, but eh, she'd manage. It wasn't like she was risking an ambush by hostile reporters or vengeful ex-queens on their journey.

 

The smile that Princess Cadence used to greet Barbera Red almost matched Shining Armor's to the T. The alicorn too felt a sense of deja vu; unfortunately, Cadence's memory of the potential ponies in her pre-princess life were nowhere near up to par with those of assorted experiences. Heh, funny how the mind works. "Oh um, hello Ms. Red." Getting her royal act together, Cadence offered her hoof for shaking. "I'm Princess... Mi Amore Cadenza," Cadence thought using her full name just this once was a suitable shout-out to her Itailian roots; "And this is my husband, Shining Armor."

 

Cadence noticed the quizzical expression on her stallion's face. "Psst... Shiny," she whispered; "Offer a hoofshake....."

[SteelEagle]

Barbera Red wasn't nearly drunk enough for this, but she kept herself in good order, Good enough. Her tail twitched, her eye twitched. But it was likely just a nervous tick of a nervous pony meeting royalty, right? Celestia above, Barbera really hoped they thought that. For all intents and purposes this had the potential to be the most awkward day of her life, not to mention one of the most ceaselessly dramatic. She needed a raise after this and extra days off, no matter the result. She just wanted it to be over, but in order for that fantasy to happen, she needed to get to it.

Her son-in-law by nature if not nurture seemed to pick up on something. It was clear in Cadance's face as well. Okay, they needed to drink and they needed to drink now. Her daughter offered a hoof-shake and Barbera took it, bowing politely afterwards. “Oh, I know who you are! We here in Roam, and indeed here at the Winery, have been looking forward to your visit for some time,” Barbera said, her voice more flinty and husky than when she was Cadance's mother. An accident a few years ago had actually meant she couldn't speak for a few months, so this was much better than anything. “You as well, Prince Shining Armor. Truly an honor. But we shouldn't tarry, many things to do and see here.”

Which was true, so she turned and started walking and talking. “Here at Neighples Familia Winery, we pride ourselves on producing the best wines, with the best process, and the best people...yadda yadda, standard business public relations shtick that I'm sure you hear all the time, being royalty and all. The core of it is that we love what we do and we do it well, which we think you'll be able to taste when you get all that choice grape-juice to drink from!” she laughed, finding humour in how silly the entire wine industry was. Indeed, you really could just call it adult grape juice as far as she was concerned. As they walked they passed by the vineyards, glistening with grapes and the other necessities of the industry stretching off into the distance, the sun dancing off the thin veneer of moistness that seemed to permeate it.

“I'm here for whatever you need and to answer any questions you may have,” she finished, hoping to get to the winery itself and put drinks into the both of them as quickly as possible.

[Blueblood]

"Oh!"  At his wife's prompting, Shining Armor offered his hoof for Barbera to shake.  He always felt a little bit foolish when his wife had to call on him for basic lapses like that; he was a guard captain, darn it!  He was supposed to be on the ball!  "It's good to meet you as well; we've been looking forward to the trip, as you've probably guessed!  We don't often get a chance to take time off like this."  After shaking her hoof, Shining offered his own to Cadence, as a gentlecolt to escort his lady.

 

The stallion took a deep breath from the breeze that wandered through the grapevines as they walked along.  Already, the atmosphere was doing him some good; even the most urban of unicorns had some part of them that felt at peace in a more natural environment, and Shiny was in no way as prissy as a certain other Prince...  He opened his eyes, smiling wide at their hostess' disregard for needless formalities.  He was with her there, having been roughly introduced to the byzantine regimen of royal protocol upon his marriage.  It probably wasn't any easier for Cadence after her ascension, but at least she'd had time to grow into it!

 

"I did have a question, actually..."  He paused, about to ask why she looked so familiar, but it seemed a rude subject to broach so early, so he redirected.  "Are the grapes you grow here native Itailian varietals, or do you use a lot of the Prench ones?  I know some wineries near Roam are more traditional than others."

[Bellosh]

 

Although there might have been something vaguely recognizable about Babera Red's appearance, her voice didn't register with any of Princess Cadence's foalhood memories. Whew... now the alicorn didn't have to worry about being a goofball for failing to recognize somepony she ought to have known. It was also nice to see Ms. Red had an air of irreverence too. Already, this wine grape juice tasting event was looking up!

 

*SNIFF* *SNIFF* Smelling the grapes brought back more recollections of Cadence's youth; how she spent summer days galloping around vineyards with the other kids who lived nearby. Ahhhhh... so nostalgic!

 

"I was just wondering," the alicorn had a question of her own; "How many varieties of wi- *COUGH* ...grape juice will we be sampling today?" She and Shining would have to pace themselves wisely given the press vultures buzzing around them.....

[SteelEagle]

She couldn't help but smile as she looked at them. Her daughter. Her son-in-law. Their easy attitudes and playfulness belied their royal bearings. How lucky was she to have confirmation that her daughter was not only all right, that she was safe and sound and beloved truly and deeply both nationally and personally, but was thriving? The stallion, the Prince, seemed a fine and good sort who already knew the, “yes, dears” of a proper marriage. It was good to know she had been right to do what she did, because she doubted she could have done anywhere near Cadance the justice she deserved.

Her gaze lingered a moment longer than intended, but then she snapped out of it. Questions to answer!

“Now that is truly heretical talk,” she said with a laugh to cover up her pride being wounded by the mere mention of Prench grapes in local wine, “that would get you tossed out of many wineries in the area. Everything we use is of native Itailian growth. Prench grapes have their uses, but bolder tastes demand bolder flavours from grapes. I won't make light of the Prench wine industry's elegance, but we make a stand that says that you should expect to enjoy your glass of wine as a beverage as well as a relaxant, not just enjoy the symbolism of it,”

As to the wine being tested, it was a good question. “Eight varieties from other Wineries, four from our own. Holding it here had to have some advantage, no?” She trotted excitedly up ahead, her cutie mark half-covered by her straightened wings, “I believe you'll enjoy it. For all the fierce competition we have in this business, I'd say that we produce the best and finest wine in the nation, and that the competition is why,” she said, her voice getting somewhat lower as she finished. Her mind ran back to her own failed winery, everything she had poured into it...and everything she had lost as a consequence of her monumental failure. She needn't remind herself of it; the evidence was walking alongside her today.

They arrived, and she opened the door to the winery itself. More importantly, the tasting room. The wines were laid out and cooled, or warmed, depending on the winery's preference. She trotted over and got three glasses out, pristine examples of Itailian nobility's favoured glassware. She started pouring wine. “So, both of you drink wine on a regular basis, or only for a special occasion?” She asked, pouring out a wine she was a fan of but knew was the lesser of the collected varieties. It had a lot of nice flavours but lacked any honest grace. Not a perfect wine but it was all relative; it was still a superb example of the style.

[Blueblood]

Shining joined in Barbera's laugh.  "Didn't mean any offense!  I just recall that most of the wineries around the Equestrian Highlands use Prench grapes; probably because most of the winemakers originally came from there.  But I can definitely sympathize with the desire to have a local, tasty drink.  Up in the Crystal Empire, we have quite a few crystal fruits that make very good wines and juices!  Ideally, they would be a good export, but we're about 1,000 years behind the rest of the world in production techniques, and importing foreign talent would inevitably mean importing foreign fruit, which is sort of the opposite of what we want to do."

The stallion's voice was easy and pleasant, but Shining Armor was just as aware as his wife that the Press was hovering.  Might as well give them something worthwhile to write about.

 

Upon arrival at the tasting, Shiny pulled out a seat for Cadence, like a gentlecolt, before taking his own.  The glassware was of fine, crystalline quality, which both the royals could appreciate, having acquired a taste and knowledge of crystal in the preceding years.  "I'd say more of a special occasion, but I've found that special occasions occur quite often when one's royalty.  Much more so than when I was just a guard officer, at least!"  He laughed again, raising his glass to toast his wife's.

 

"To all the roads that brought us here."

[Bellosh]

 

There was a brief moment where Princess Cadence believed that Shining Armor's big mouth led them into an embarrassing gaffe, but Barbera Red seemed to laugh the Prench grape thing off. With that crisis averted and Cadence's question answered, it was now time to actually begin the wine testing... soon enough anyway, once her husband stopped providing quotes that could be taken out of context to inflame outrage. "We don't want to import foreign fruit"... really, Shiny? Clearly, the Crystal Prince was obviously no match for Cadence's blue-blooded cousin in the diplomatic arena.

 

"Which isn't to say that nopony in the Crystal Empire eats imported fruit," the alicorn princess instantly clarified without tarnishing her smile; "It's just our hope that within the next couple years, we'll have the means to more widely distribute our agricultural goods to the rest of Equestria. As for how we go about that goal, every option's on the table." Would that avert cries for a regional tariff war? They'll see...

 

A celebratory toast couldn't come soon enough. Cadence's glass chimed against Shiny's; "To all the love that binds us together!"

[SteelEagle]

Well, nostallion was perfect. She knew that better than most. It didn't unnerve her or put her off that he misspoke so commonly. After all, she had followed his career, knew who he was, and made sure to read up on everything she could when the marriage was announced. He was a fine stallion, captain if the guard from a family who seemed to have something special about them. But nopony was perfect, and she would forgive the silliness of his overtalkativeness. For all of the possible faults a pony might have, a slight nervousness was acceptable. Didn't mean she wouldn't poke him a little bit about it.

“Somepony sounds like a nervous drinker...” she whispered conspiratorially, her voice sounding more like it did years ago as she did, the timber of it all not harming her more fragile vocal cords. “Don't worry, I know what you're trying to say. It is true that a lot of places use Prench grapes, and I'm sure soon we'll be discussing Crystal Empire grapes. For now, a toast- to the roads taken and the experiences shared,” she said, taking a sip. It was well-flavoured and crafted with excellent, even if it lacked a certain grace.

“This is from the Itailian Highland Winery. Well-made, well-thought of, a favorite amongst the people. Of all the wines we test today, this is the most affordable.”

[Blueblood]

Information warfare and covert operations were not Shining Armor's forte, as anypony familiar with his wedding could tell you.  A good soldier does not a good spy or diplomat make.  *And this is why Royalty should get married.  We can't do this alone.*  He gave a slightly sheepish smile towards his wife for covering his gaffe, burying his ire for the reporters listening in.  It just wasn't fair what they did, taking things out of context when they had witnessed the whole thing.  Too bad his suggestion of 'random full-body changeling infiltrator checks' had been shot down.

 

Ah well, time to drown the sorrows of power in the fruit of the vine.  Having toasted the glass, he took a sniff and a sip, as the book he'd read on the way down had recommended.  "Hm... not bad.  Feels a bit puckery on the tongue, and... tastes like there's cherries in there, too."  Of course, that didn't mean that there were actually cherries in there, but it was still kind of amazing how many flavors you could get out of just grapes.

[Bellosh]

 

Yet again, Princess Cadence had experienced a sensation of deja vu for the tiniest fraction of a moment. But all memory of it swiftly vanished as she took a sip of the Itailian Highland wine. It was here that the Crystal Princess betrayed her true nature as somepony who was no connoisseur of fine drink. "It's... it's alright!" Cue a nod and an eager smile; "Yep, I think I notice a hint of cherry in there, oh yeah definitely." Looks like Shining Armor will be taking the lead for this wine tasting. Thankfully, the wine itself wasn't very tolerable, that was a plus.....

[SteelEagle]

Cadance had never showed an interest in wine, no matter what her mother said. Non-alcoholic varieties were popular amongst Itailian youth and Cadance drank it only ever out of obligation, never because she seemed to like it. Even when Barbera made her own drinks for Cadance to try the little filly never bought it. Oh she smiled and said it was good but that was because she had always been a respectful and sweet filly, not because she liked it. Barbera always saw through it. She always appreciated it.

Barbera allowed her smile, thin and wiry and speaking of joy and regret in equal partnership, to linger a few moments more than intended before she pulled herself back to the task at hand. The task? Getting the two royals to appreciate everything the winery had to offer. “Good palate, Prince Armor. They did use cherries. Unusual for a wine, but that brand has a history of making odd but not unpleasant choices. Speaking of odd but not unpleasant...” she said, pulling out new glasses and a new wine. This one had a darker color and when she popped the cork it had a powerful aroma. One of apples.

“The Apple family have a branch out here and they produce an apple wine. Such wines don't have a sterling reputation globally, but the Apple Family Select is truly a fantastic addition to any collection and one I'm happy to show you today,” she said, remembering the little advertisement she had to read for every wine like she had just memorized it. Which she had, minutes before she had arrived at the winery. She poured three glasses of the admittedly impressive wine. Apple wines were considered 'commoner' fare, or 'farmer fare'. But the Apple Family Select was as good an Apple Wine as Barbera Red had ever had.
 

“To successes remembered...and a few that aren't!”

[Blueblood]

Shining smiled over the rim of his glass at Cadence.  It had been a bit of a surprise to him to find out that he possessed the more sophisticated palate between them (though that wasn't saying much).  It made sense, though; Cady had been a farm girl, while Shiny had been born into at least minor nobility.  But, alicorn ascension paid about as much attention to social class as drill sergeants did, which was to say, not two shakes of a ponytail.  Probably for the best, all things considered.

 

"Oh, so they did use actual cherries?"  Shining was a little bit surprised, having prepared himself for having to deal with deceptively crafted vintages.  "I suppose that makes sense; you make wine with whatever fruit you have.  That's what pretty much everypony in history has done, even where they couldn't grow grapes."  An appropriate enough comment, considering their next wine.  An Apple family specialty, one which the stallion approached with a high degree of curiosity.  He'd had the signature Cider before, practically everypony who was remotely connected to Sweet Apple Acres had by now, but how was that different from this wine?

 

One sip was enough to tell him.  "Hm, well, it's not carbonated like their cider is.  Not as sweet, either, but there's a... density of flavor there.  A lot of different kinds of apples went into this, though I couldn't tell you what they were."   Not being an apple himself, he couldn't say anything more than that, and he was certain Cadence couldn't either on the subject, so he brought up another one.

 

"To successes remembered... what do you remember about growing up here, Cady?  You haven't talked about it a lot, so I'm guessing it's not much."

[Bellosh]

 

Princess Cadence was sorry she couldn't do more to contribute to the wine discussion. Truly she was. For the princess however, her idea of a good drink was a Whiskey & Cola. Alcohols in their more raw forms never quite agreed with Cadence's taste palate. It was here that Shining Armor came to the rescue with a question for his wife to talk at length about.

 

"True," Cadence sipped her glass of Apple Family wine; "I just remember blurry images, really. Feelings..." The alicorn gasped; "Pony feathers, I can't even recall how my own mother looked like anymore! I know she was supposed to be beautiful. She was also filled with kindness... and sadness....." A hint of lingering melancholy; "That's about it, I guess. I was really young back then, and I haven't seen nor heard from anypony from my foalhood ever since I became an alicorn princess. But ehh," Cady shrugged indifferently; "All I can do is hold on to what foggy memories I do have, and they tell me I loved living here in Itaily when I was first going up!"

 

After flashing a fond smile of remembrance, Cadence switched the subject; "So Barbera; that's your name, right? How did you get started in this winery business?"

[SteelEagle]

It took all of her considerable self-control for Barbera Red to not collapse into a pile of tears as she listened to her daughter, as estranged as one could be but with the same blood and smile as ever before. How desperately she had wanted to hear that Cadance's memories weren't tinged with sorrow, that she remembered something positive about her youth. To have that confirmed was beyond marvellous- and the lack of sadness in her voice told Barbera that she had been right, vindication by happiness, even if it felt like she was having her insides churned about in a blender. That feeling was magnified by how Cadance didn't even remember what Barbera had looked like. Happiness. Sadness. Beautiful? Barbera smiled and looked down, allowing her mind to wander briefly in the locked caverns of her memories.

Barbera was cursed to remember everything. Every little diaper, every time her daughter had babbled and told her momma she loved her, every time she laughed as Barbera had tickled her. Every late night and early morning of regret, every time Cadance wanted to draw and Barbera went through the motions, dead tired as she was. Watching Cadance learn to walk, learn to fly, learn to be the best filly anypony had ever seen, learn to make do while momma was working. Every dinner hastily made. Everything and more, every moment and every pain, every joy turned on itself. To be blessed. To be cursed. Oh Celestia did she remember everything, and did she live with regret over it all. Love hadn't betrayed her; she had betrayed love for Cadance's own good.

Her eyes watered and she fought them back down, her senses aflame and squirrely, an anxious energy that threatened to break down that she had to contain. She wiped her eyes with a smile and then her eyes back up at Cadance. Land's sake, had she turned out right. “Family. Always had a taste for this, and I wanted to do well by my family, hope to make them proud and comfortable,” she said, her eyes turning away from Cadance as she continued speaking. She downed her drink and turned to the Prince. “Fourteen different kinds of apples, based on what I've read, including several varieties they spliced together, very hard to do,” she said, slowly but surely regaining her confidence.

“So, how'd you two first meet?” She asked impishly, though it was hard to hide her curiosity. She had followed them from afar for so long but she had never learned just how her daughter and Shining Armor had met. That was...after her involvement with Cadance had ended, after all.

[Blueblood]

During Cadence's recounting of foalhool memories, Shining Armor's attention was focused on her, leaving Barbera some time to let a little sorrow slip through unnoticed.  It would be altogether good for her to take the opportunity; as Shiny knew all too well, even a big strong stallion couldn't keep tears -ahem- 'liquid pride' bottled up forever.  And for him, specifically, it wouldn't take much on Barbera's part to tug on his own heartstrings.  A soldier's head could still be paired with a soft heart...

 

Once his wife asked their host a question, Shiny turned back to her, just missing the wiping of the tears.  He nodded and smiled at the mention of family, "I understand.  After becoming a father myself, I found my perspectives on what I did and why shift.  That is, after I had time to actually think; the first few months with Flurry were really crazy!"  He laughed; he could do that now, given that he, Cadence, and the Crystal Empire was no longer in danger from their newest princess.  "Hadn't realized until then how much I was willing to sacrifice for somepony, or how much my own parents sacrificed for me and Twily.  They tell me it was all worth it, though, whenever we visit."  He blinked.  "Say, Cady, do you know where your mother lives?  It'd be a shame to come down all this way and not pay her a visit too, after all!"  Oh, Shiny, so innocent are the daggers you drive into the poor mare hosting you...

 

Placing his glass down, he was about to ask for the next tasting, when Barbera asked him a question.  He paused, memory racing back to an immortalized moment.  For a moment, his face was impassive, before splitting into a grin much too large to be dignified.  "Well!  It was after I moved up into secondary school; I had a lot going on then, between ROTC, my weekly O&O group, and hoofball practice, that I couldn't watch my little sister most evenings.  So, Princess Celestia assigned Cadence as her babysitter, and I met her when I came home from... wow, I can't actually remember what else I had going on that day.  You were so much of a stunner, everything else just kind of..."  He waved his hoof, whiffing through the air in a gesture of dismissal.

"It all kind of built from there, really.  We first bonded over Twily, and then started hanging out more with each other, when we could.  Got a little harder to maintain contact after we took up our duties, with me in the guard and her growing into a Princess, but we managed it and, well, here we are!"  Shiny's tone indicated that there was nowhere he'd rather be right now.  "You could almost believe in destiny, the way it all turned out, with her coming all the way from Itaily to Canterlot, and then just being assigned to babysit my little sister.  I couldn't imagine my life without Cady in it; though I sometimes wonder what would have happened if she hadn't left Itaily."  

 

The stallion's brow clouded over, troubled at the thought of never having his special somepony in his life, before his imagination leaped to the rescue, presenting a mental picture in gentle watercolor.  "I can almost picture it, actually.  The captain of the guard, accompanying Princess Celestia on a diplomatic tour of the area, catches a snippet of song over the hedges and walls."  Smiling now, with eyes half lidded, he leaned over towards his wife as he continued the narration.  "He follows the sound, looking over the stone to find the prettiest of pink pegasi, singing sweet arias among the grapevines..."

[Bellosh]

 

Like Shiny, Princess Cadence missed the moment where Barbera Red teared up, reflexively sharing a brief glance with her husband at the mention of "family". After sharing a laugh about the hazards of raising a baby alicorn, the mare couldn't offer a satisfactory answer to the next question thrown her way. She sighed; "Even if I wanted to see her again, nopony's heard from Amore Della Familia ever since she sold off her vineyard years ago. Trust me, Princess Celestia looked into it back when she was sending out our wedding invitations. Not even a recent tax filing from her could be found! The truth is... Mama doesn't want to be found, and respecting her wishes is probably for the best." Cadence tried her best to sound nonchalant; her mood always tended to sour the longer her thoughts dwelled on the mother she barely knew, and the alicorn didn't want to encourage Shiny to probe further into a mystery best left unexplored.

 

Good thing for Cadence that Ms. Red was a master of immediately pivoting to fluffier topics! The story of her relationship with Shining Armor was definitely more up the Princess of Love's ally, and she showed it by lovingly locking her foreleg around one of her stallion's own. All the while, Cadence's eyes wore the same lovey-dooy expression that was usually reserved for lovesick adolescents. Even as Shiny's descent into an alternate fantasy-timeline caused his wife to blush tremendously, the mare couldn't help but mirror the smiling face of her partner. "Oh, Shiny you..." she wanted to playfully chastise the stallion for his transgressions, but staring at his gorgeous cerulean eyes for too long decimated the mare's resolve.

 

Instead, the Love Princess did that what came most naturally to her. Her free forehoof reached out to cusp her husband's cheek as she leaned over to give his muzzle a Kiss of True Love. And being that this was True Love's Kiss, Cadence's lips lingered on their target and kept pressing deeper. Her wings shot upward to express her contentment, the alicorn not caring at all (or perhaps merely forgetting) that somepony old enough to be her mother was watching the two lovebirds.....

[SteelEagle]

Barbera's breathing came in heavy and steep, though she did her best to contain its expansion in her stone-hard chest. It almost felt like a knife was being plunged innocently into her heart again and again. Never deep enough to be instantly fatal but mortal to her soul all the more for it. Her eyes did everything but stare at them at first but then she couldn't help it. It was lovely and it was awful. It was dreadful and joyous. The competing hailstorms of declarations and information that flooded her were almost too much for a little mare like herself to handle, but she did the wise thing. She submitted herself to their love and allowed herself to feed on the warm tendrils of their dual and intense affections. It was a facsimile of the thing she had denied herself so long for the greater good but it would have to do. It was the only thing holding her back from a collapse.

Cadance was right. She didn't want to be found. As much as it hurt her to live in such a manner, she had contented herself with it. She could live her simple life and rest easy knowing a better mare than her with more to offer had ensured that her daughter had reached her full potential. She could choose to wallow in everything she had missed, or she could instead celebrate it through their remembrances. They were so vivid. She almost felt like she was there with them, and could see it as plain as day on their faces.

“Okay. Okay. So,” she said, trying to regain her composure. As she did she fished for new glasses and the next vintage. It was a good one. They were all good. Some great. Most didn't matter to anypony outside of wine circles but such was the case today when winos and winnots were to mingle. She got the three glasses and put them down hard with a metallic click and then searched for the next drink. This one was one of theirs. “This one...uhh, this one is Neighbbilio. Full blooded with great aromas. One of our own- it stands for an old word for nobility in old Itailian. A nice brink orange hue...” she whispered slightly above a dull tone, as if just to herself, pouring all three quickly. She poured a little too much in her own cup, letting a little bit dribble off.

She quickly raised it.
“To...success?”

[Blueblood]

Perhaps it was because he was such a strong family stallion, but Shining Armor simply could not understand why somepony wouldn't want to be found by their family.  Oh, sure, he'd had times when he would have preferred not to have talked to, say, his parents, but that was usually due to feeling guilty over something he knew there was going to be trouble for.  But no matter how bad it ever got (which admittedly was never that bad; Shiny was a good colt), he knew his parents would forgive him, and that they would always love him.  Of course, that didn't make facing up to those he loved after messing up was ever easy, and he supposed that Cady's mother would feel really terrible after how things turned out between them.  *But does she really think that Cadence doesn't love her any more?*  Shiny didn't think so himself; he knew his wife well enough to know the hurt that lay below the nonchalance, and the love that underlay the hurt.

 

Love... It came in all forms between all sorts of ponies.  But he would still maintain there was something special between himself and Mi Amore Cadenza.  'True Love,' they called it, though it seemed too cliche a name for whatever it was.  He could feel it in their kiss, though; that falling away of the world as his attention was fully taken by the alicorn, just as his lips were fully taken by her own, just as his heart was fully attached to her own.  But, he was also the practical one of the two, and even though he wanted nothing more than to wrap his forelegs around her and really go at it for a few minutes or more, he was still aware of the audience they had.

 

"Easy now, love."  He pulled away to say, still stroking her cheek.  "Save the fireworks for after dusk, hm?"  He chuckled, turning back to Barbera.  "I love this mare.  Did I mention that?  I don't think I make it clear enough, sometimes."  He grinned and winked at the two mares, holding out his glass for a refill.  He raised it, more hesitantly this time.  "To your... health?  No seriously, are you OK?"  That was a lot of wine; their hostess certainly hadn't stinted herself on her own portions.  "Think we ought to take a break after this one; you look as if you might need to walk off the buzz a bit."

[Bellosh]

 

If Princess Cadence's cheeks weren't on fire before, they were now when Shining Armor had to bring his love back to reality. "Ooops," the alicorn chuckled while pulling away; "I got carried away there, didn't I?" Goodness, to think of a life without her White Knight to give love to and be loved in return...

 

Barbera Red, though? She wasn't looking too hot, which Shiny picked up on. A switch turned on in Cadence's mind, and like that, Mommy Mode was engaged. "Do you feel fatigued, Barbera?" She set down her refilled glass, giving Ms. Red her full concern. "Any aches? Nausea? Runny nose?" Worst case scenario: the local Trottingham Flu outbreak that Cadence read about in the papers had just found its latest victim.....

[SteelEagle]

Barbera looked at the two of them, happily married and joyous in their own near-perfect lives. She couldn't bring the day to ruin, the day to a standstill, because of her.“No, I'm fine. I'm just so-” she said with a smile that quickly morphed, her lip quivering and finally breaking into a gentle sob, allowing herself a brief moment of truth. Her hoof went up to her face and hid her eyes, how little she could bare it all, and held her mouth as sternly as she could to stop the wracking sobs. But Barbera was a mare of strength or so she believed. She wiped herself free and even though her lower lip was still quivering, she pushed through it. “-h-happy to see that t-true love remains. Always been a b-bit of a softie for such, heh,” she said with a choking chuckle through a sniffle.

She was almost breaking entirely, and she didn't have much left. She finished off her glass and smiled at them. “S-so, what do you think of this one? O-one of our better ones, I think. You...must agree, yes?” She asked with an earnestness that was compelling in its sincerity. She wanted to change the subject with all of her strength but found the hallowness behind catching up with its vast, voiding chasms. “Aged...beautifully. Nice hue. Pinnacle of that style of wine, don't y-you think?”

[Blueblood]

All Shining Armor was assured of was that Barbera didn't suffer from any physical ailments.  It was pretty darn clear, however, that their host was not OK.  From her words, Shiny would guess that something like a divorce had happened sometime in her past, an event leaving a bitter pill of cynicism lodged in her heart.  He'd seen Cadence interact with ponies like that, in her duties as the Princess and Avatar of Love, and the surgery was never painless.  Wine was the traditional anesthesia for such pain, but it made poor medicine...

 

"Mm...hm."  Shiny nodded at their host, looking over his glass at his wife.  This was her area of expertise, should they prod further?  On the one hoof, it wasn't necessarily their business to interfere with the private lives of others.  On the other hoof, the Royalty of Equestria had recently embarked on an initiative to better connect with the common pony, and this seemed to be where the rubber was meeting the road.  Whether or not they could help, or would only open old wounds without healing, well, he would defer to the expert.

 

In the meantime, no reason not to taste the wine.  He sipped, and had to stop himself.  That was... strong, not in the alcoholic sense, but in the tannic, like tea left to steep a little too long.  The flavor, beneath that, was very nice, and it lingered long after the liquid itself had passed into his throat.  He smacked his lips a few times, remarking.  "I think... this sort of needs to be taken with food, maybe cheese, or something.  It's very good, but I don't think it should be alone."

[Bellosh]

 

Much like her husband, Princess Cadence suspected that their host must have had gone through a divorce. Such an event could conceivably have been relatively recent given that the older pegasus mare was struggling to maintain her composure. But unlike Shiny, Cadence wasn't prepared to let things slide and pretend this wine tasting would proceed as planned. A nasty parasite was clearly eating away at Barbera Red's heart, thus it was the Princess of Love's royal duty to eradicate it!

 

Of course, the alicorn didn't expect Barbera to swallow her pride that easily... but Cadence had a trick up her sleeve. A polite sip of the new wine followed, then with a big smile... "Say, I don't mean to toot my horn, tehehe," Because horn jokes never got old; "But did you hear that my Dear Cady column is now syndicated in Long Kong? One of my first letters I received from there was from this stallion who I think is an Imperial Watcher in love with his Empress... you know, like REALLY in love. Shiny here can relate to that. But yeah, I get all sorts of letters from everypony, and overall I have a blast responding to them all!"

 

Forcing herself to down the rest of her wine glass, Cadence conspiratory learned in towards Barbera as if she had drunk too much and was being more loose conversationally than she ought to be. "You know, *hic*, if you ever wanted to ask me something about relationships and get an in-person response... well, here's your chance!"

[SteelEagle]

Barbera Red couldn't imagine a life without having been involved in the wind industry. She loved it so dearly. The rich flavors, excellent processes, the tides of texture and the warmness of the feelings they could generate. The names that could go across the nation and the histories they shared, lineages dating back generations, bottles older than most- it was such a wonderful industry. She was proud to be a member of it. It was a lifelong dream and one that seemed so hard to accomplish, so rewarding when she briefly sniffed it. She was very, very proud of her attempts. Almost too proud, it seemed.

It had cost her so much. She bent her every effort to making her own winery and saw it crash and burn around her. In the face of such issues, the place she now worked- who had once been a competitor, if a benign one- bought her out and prevented her from becoming completely destitute. But in that time she had lost so much. Her pride, her dreams, and worst of all, her daughter. And that was or the best. Cadance had done so much more without her than she could have with her. Barbera would have been an endless sea of weights weighing down somepony who deserved to soar so high.
 

And here she was, soaring so high and here Barbera was, sunk so low. Her daughter was loving and radiant and Barbera knew full well what a drunk mare looked like and knew her daughter was putting on a show, because her daughter wanted to help. She was as perfect a daughter as could be hoped for and Barbera lacked entirely the ability to stop her maternal instincts any longer. Lower lip quivering, she put her glass of wine don slowly and gently, her upper lip quaking in a smile.

She then latched onto the alicorn, pulling her in for a big hug, openly crying into her beautiful mane. “You're even-HIC-better than I had hoped, -HIC-my little Songbird,” she cried out loudly, her daughter's old pet name rushing back to her as she held her close for the first time in decades.