"Stupid royalty... stupid Shining Armor..."

Cadance muttered, crouched beneath a bridge on the outskirts of the Crystal Empire. It turned out the citizens she once ruled over had little love left for her—or for Flurry Heart. Even though she had nothing to do with the situation spiraling the way it had, it didn't matter to them. Cadance felt filthy—not just physically, after eight days of homelessness—but as a mother. How was she supposed to raise Flurry Heart like this?

What future did they even have now? Sure, she pretended the cruel words didn't hurt—but they did. Deeply.

Eight days ago, the DNA test that Celestia and Luna had ordered—without Cadance's knowledge—had arrived. Unfortunately for Cadance, Shining Armor had been the first to get to the door. He eagerly opened the envelope, clearly treating it as a joke. "Hope my percentage is higher than yours, Cadance!" he chuckled, scanning the document—until his smile vanished at the last line. Silence fell across the room as the truth sank in.

Twilight Sparkle snatched the paper from his hooves and scanned it quickly, her expression shifting from confusion to disbelief. "I think you might've misread it..." But her words trailed off as she saw the truth in the results. Before either princess could speak, Shining Armor stepped forward, voice shaking with fury.

"You've been cheating on me, Cadance?!"

"No! I love you, Shining! I never cheated—there must be a mistake, maybe somepony's DNA was similar—"

"Cadance... DNA is unique," Twilight said quietly.

"Then they mixed it up! The results are wrong!"

Celestia sighed, her face unreadable. "Cadance, the samples went to my most trusted specialists. I doubt there was an error."

Shining Armor stepped even closer, his voice heavy with betrayal. "Who is he, Cadance? Did our marriage mean nothing to you?! You carried that foal, calling it ours, when she never really was!"

Cadance took a breath, her voice shaking. "Fine. I never wanted to tell you this... but you're infertile, Shining. I knew how much you wanted to be a father, and I couldn't bring myself to tell you the truth. I... I went to somepony else to make it happen. I'm sorry."

Silence gripped the room. Flurry Heart let out a soft coo—blissfully unaware of the storm around her.

"I want a divorce," Shining Armor said flatly.

"Shining, please—"

"No! I don't want to hear it, Cadance! It's over!"

The divorce destroyed Cadance. And thanks to laws she herself had once helped enforce, she lost everything: her kingdom, her title, her wealth. Everything except Flurry Heart. The whispers began immediately. "Princess of Lies,""Whore of the North,""Too much love to give." Even crueler words were aimed at Flurry Heart.

Cadance begged for the slander to stop—but nopony listened. She sent letters to Celestia, Luna, and Twilight—pleading for help. But each rejected her. "I'm sorry, Cadance. It would only make things worse for you here...""You'll have to face this alone."

After seven days of homelessness, Cadance could barely sleep, keeping watch every night to protect her daughter. Hunger gnawed at her, but she refused to eat—Flurry came first. They were both filthy. All Cadance wanted was a warm crib for her daughter and a roof over their heads.

"Stupid DNA test... stupid everything..." she muttered bitterly.

And then she remembered. The stallion she had convinced to help her conceive Flurry, just once. It had been meant to be a one-time thing. No contact. No involvement. But now? There was no choice.

Cadance stood, holding Flurry tight, slinging the remaining baby formula over her back. "Mama... where Dada?" Flurry Heart asked.

"We're... on vacation, sweetheart. Everything's going to be just fine."

Minutes later, she arrived at his cottage. It was late. Hopefully nopony else would see her.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Open the door! Please! I know you're home! You must have heard about the DNA test..."

She tried to stay calm—but her frustration quickly broke through.

"I swear, open this door right now! If you don't, I'll barge in! You're Flurry Heart's parent too—and I need a place to stay!"

She waited, breath held. It had been years since she last saw him. She barely remembered what he even looked like...