Quest for The Forbidden Lover(WIP)

Don't know if this has been done before because I'm not going through desuarchive to look at every thread, Princesses need some loving too, so here goes a prompt for anyone who might find this interesting enough to pick up, because I don't trust myself to make a green that isn't a oneshot. This prompt may be a bit long, because I'm not good at shortening shit while maintaining the core idea.

Part 1

>Be Cadance
>Princess of love
>A new batch of men has come through the portal this week, waiting to be paired with the mare of their lives
>Poor guys, having to live their lives in a world where females don't feel real love for their men
>You have already sorted through most of the men with the help of the Crystal Heart, showing what mare is best suited to what human
>And you're starting to work on the last human of the group
>Someone named Anonymous
>Or just Anon, as you prefer to call him
>Yesterday he had his heart read by the Crystal Heart
>He sounded pretty skeptical when you told him to touch the crystal and have his heart read
>He thought he was going to fill some form or answer some questions
>Nah
>… well
>You did ask him a few questions though, because the reading process takes a few minutes and it’d be awkward to just stand there, so you strike a chat with the humans you go through
>And you actually used ask questions as the matching method though
>Seemed more logical to pair up men and mare with shared interests and stuff
>But it didn't work out
>So you decided to go with your gut, and a little bit of cheating via Crystal Heart
>You're the princess of love after all, not the princess of logic
>Anyway, getting off track here
>It usually takes a day for it find a mare compatible with a man
>Which means today you're getting the results
>You can't wait to know the lucky mare who’s getting a husbando in the next few days
"Alright, Crystal Heart, show me Anonymous' soul mate"
>The gem's center started to shine, before the name of the mare popped up with regal lettering
"Daybreaker?"
>You read out loud for yourself
"Never heard of her"
>Kind of a weird name too
>What is she, a super villain or something?
>You can't help but let out a very unladylike snort at the thought
>Yeah right, like the Crystal Heart would pair an innocent man with an evil pony
"But only a name, though? Are you getting lazy on me? Show me where Daybreaker lives"
>The name on the center of the crystal fades, only for an image of Canterlot to pop into existence in its place
"Okay, now show me Daybreaker"
>Once again the image on the crystal fades out and the image that fades in is-
>Celestia?
>You take a moment to reel back
>Yeah, it IS her, sitting on her throne, looking bored out of her mind
>Why is the Crystal Heart showing you Celestia?
"I said, show me Daybreaker"
>Celestia's image starts to fade out
>Oh thank Celestia
>That was probably just a-
>And Celestia's image shows up again
>You bite your upper lip in frustration
>This never happened before
>Just who is this Daybre-
>That name…
>And it keeps showing Celestia…
>Masaka!
>Looks like you’ll have to be princess of logic one more time
>Gulping down a lump in your throat, you look left and right to see if there isn’t anypony around to hear you
>Not a soul
>Good
>Okay, there’s nothing to worry about
>You’re only overreacting
>You’re sure of it
“Crystal Heart, show me… Nightmare Moon”
>You whisper the last part
>The broadcast of Celestia’s throne adventures fade out
>Please don’t be who you think it is
>Please don’t be who you think it is
>Please don’t be who yo-
>It’s Luna…
>She’s on the Crystal Heart right now
>Sleeping in her bedchambers with her husbando
>…
>Lips pursed, your eyes wander around, as if the answer to your newfound problem would just show up
“Shit”

--------------------------------------
I decided to continue this myself, because why not, I said it was going to be a prompt, but I actually liked the idea enough to work on it some more. Don't expect consistent updates though, I have the terrible tendency of writing at my own, very slow, leisure, and sometimes even drop writing a story entirely because I don't feel like writing it anymore.


Part 2

>”Absolutely not!”
>That was a lot of self-control auntie, you could almost hear the Royal Canterlot Voice
>Thank your auntie you put a silencing spell on her bedchambers after you both got in
>After having a good idea of who Daybreaker might be, you came straight to Canterlot to speak privately with your aunt
>You left Anon back in the Crystal Empire, instead of bringing him along
>Poor guy thought you were going to tell him about his mare when you showed up
>You had to make an excuse
>You couldn’t just tell him who she was
>Especially when you don’t even know if it’s possible to bring Daybreaker without the apocalypse coming along as a bonus
>The look of disappointment when you said the Crystal Heart had yet to reveal his future partner almost broke your non-Crystal Heart
>But you can’t tell him anything unless you’re one hundred percent sure this is possible or not.
“But why not?”
>”Why not? Pfft, she’s asking why not”
>Okay, that was a bit rude
>But before you can even say anything you reel back when she’s suddenly pushing you back with her face
>”Cadance, are you listening to yourself?”
>You don’t know what to say, so you just nod
>That seems to be enough for her to pull back
>”Then you must know how insane your request is”
>You mean, yeah
>Potentially unleashing evil in the world on purpose for the sake of love and making Anon and this Daybreaker happy is pretty dumb and illogical in hindsight
>But as you said
>You’re not the princess of logic, you’re the princess of love!
>You don’t deal with numbers, common sense, or facts
>You deal with emotions and feelings
>And as long as you live your eternal life, nothing will stand in the way of love god dammit
>You mean Celestia dammit
>Those human mannerisms are rubbing off on you
“But auntie, even if it’s dangerous, don’t you think it’s unfair to deny Daybraker a chance to be happy?”
>That look on her face isn’t good
>But this is your job, and you can’t back down
“I mean, sure she can end up destroying the world as we know…”
>Oh boy, she looks even angrier now
“Buuut… this could be a good chance to reform her…”
>Make sure to give her your best smile Cadance
>Stop twitching, you damn lips, else she’s not gonna take you seriously
>Auntie then closes her eyes and takes a deep breath
>”Cadance”
“Yes!”
>Are you through with her, this easily?
>”In the off chance that I’d accept your mad request
>”How, in my name, do you expect this to work out?”
>You open your mouth to answer only to realize you can’t
>And you don’t know how, in her name, this would work out
>”From your face I’m sure you have realized that Daybreaker and I are one, and we share the same body”
>”And I am NOT willing to let her control MY body just so she can have a date and be happy while I have watch everything, locked away in her PSYCHE!”
>You reel back and rub your ears at her outburst
>Auntie sure looks pissed
>She’s even tapping into her Royal Canterlot Voice at random intervals
>Which is actually really off, now that you think about it
>She never acts like this
>In any other circumstance she would just be a little peeved, but not outright angry
>There’s got to be something more
“Auntie, why are you so against this?”
“Aren’t you the one telling us to teach the value of friendship and such?”
“Letting Daybreaker discover the joys of love could mean one less problem for us to deal with in the future”
>”Because, my dear Mi Amore Cadenza”
>She said your full name
>She never says your full name
>And she’s speaking through her teeth
>This is not good
>”I just don’t want to, how do these humans say it? Feel like the third wheel”
>That’s a pretty strained smile you got there auntie
“Auntie, why do you mind? You’re always so joyful whenever somepony gets a chance to be happy”
“Why are you so frustrated now, all of a sudden?”
 >“Frustrated?”
>She looks you in the eye
>Uh-oh, I think I pushed the wrong button
>Auntie doesn’t just look angry anymore
>She looks downright offended
“Frustrated? Hah, I’m not frustrated, why would I be frustrated?”
>Auntie circles you like a predator waiting for the perfect chance to pounce
>”I mean, it’s not like you, the Princess of Love, just asked for a private conversation, giving me false hope, only talk about how Daybreaker, of all ponies, is somehuman’s soulmate, while I still don’t have a lover!”
>Oh
>Ohhh
>You suck air through your teeth
>So that’s what that was
>She’s jealous
>Luna also having her own human probably doesn’t help things
>This must suck for her
>This would suck for anypony actually
>What would the humans say again?
>Oh yeah
>That’s bullshit
“But still, that’s not fair, aun-“
>”Not fair?!”
>With a golden glow creeping the corners of your sight, your whole body lurches forward and you butt heads with your Auntie
>”I’ll tell you what’s not fair, Cadenza”
>Not Cadenza…
>“Having to sit on my ass all day, every day, for the past thousands of years, talking to a bunch of butt licking nobles and arguing with inept politicians, only for the day to end, and realize that unlike my sister, I don’t have a man to hold me tight and tell me how much he loves me, and make all this bullshit I go through every day, worth the wait at the end!!”
>”And then you dare come into my castle, to talk about letting my evil half take over my body, just so she can get what I don’t have!?”
>….!
>Holy mother of-
>Owie!
>Auntie launches you back with her magic
>Thankfully, her target was her bed, where you bounce a couple of times before coming to a full stop
>You… you never knew she felt like that
>And you were so inconsiderate
>The way she spoke before her outburst kind of gave away she didn’t like the idea of her evil half somehow having a husbando before her
>But you didn’t notice
>You kind of wished you were the princess of logic for a moment
>At least if you were, the signs would’ve been obvious
>And now trash doesn’t begin describe how you feel at the moment
>You look at your aunt to see her breathing heavily
>Her usually gently flowing mane now moving at a more erratic pace
>And on the corner of her eyes you could see tears forming
>Taking notice of this, she rubs her eyes with her hoof, and closes her eyes, taking deep breaths to calm herself
>It doesn’t take long for Auntie to compose herself before starting to walk toward the door
>”I think we’re done here, Cadenza”
>Wai-NO!
>This isn’t over
>You can’t go back emptyhoofed
>Anon will be devastated
>You scramble out of the bed and rush to the door before she could reach it, effectively blocking her way out
>Unless she decides to teleport
“Auntie, you have to unders-“
>“Drop it”
>You wince
>She never uses a tone this sharp
>Oh yeah, she’s very mad at you
“But-
>“I said drop it”
>You wanna drop it
>A mad auntie is a scary auntie
>But you can’t let Anon down
>So you shake your head like a stubborn child
“Cadenza, I sa-“
“No, I’m not gonna drop it!”
“Please, just listen to me”
>If she’s going to listen, you have no clue
>You’re too scared to make eye contact at the moment
>But it’s now or never
“I know the idea of Daybreaker having a man waiting for her infuriates you, especially when she probably doesn’t even deserve one”
>Mustering all the courage you have, you force your head up to meet your aunt’s fierce glare
“But are you really going to deny somehuman’s happiness just because you don’t have it yet? This person dropped everything he had back in his world for this, and you’re just gonna refuse to give him a chance to be happy?”
>Her gaze softens a bit; you’re starting to get through her
“This isn’t like you, auntie; you’re not this selfish, please”
>The way her gaze lingers on you send shivers down your spine
>If Auntie had hands, you bet they would be clenched tight right now
>But you see her blowing air from her nostrils after a deep breath
>That’s a sign of her trying to be reasonable
>At least one sign you had to notice
>“Alright, what do you have in mind?”
>You gulp a lump your throat and try to think how you can convince her to let Daybreaker out
>And fast too, otherwise Auntie will just dump you here and go back to her royal duties
“What if… we separated you and Daybreaker into two entities?”
>Rather than a very angry scowl, you get a, angry scowl and a lifted eyebrow
>An improvement, at last!
>”And how do you plan on doing that?”
>You didn’t think this far
>The plan was made on the fly, after all
“Well… there must be a spell that can do the trick, right?”
>She doesn’t look convinced
“The archives have so many book and scrolls, there must be something there related to multiple entities living in one body, right?”
>Yeah, that sounds about right, with so many of them, there’s bound to be some-
>”No there isn’t, I’ve read every book, and every scroll in the archives, front to back, at least three times”
>Archives are out of question then, what next?
>Think, Cadance, think
“Uhh… what about the old castle ruins in the Everfree Forest?”
>Yeah, there’s definitely someth-
>Oh c’mon, don’t shake your head like that
>Not even in the old castle?
>This isn’t good
>This isn’t good at all
>And auntie is starting to make her way past you and toward the door again
>“It seems you’re out of options Cadenza, our get together has been… less enjoyable than expected”
>Stop talking like that, Auntie, your choice of words hurt
>This is not even your fault
>It was the Crystal Heart who picked Daybreaker for Anon
>But it feels like it is your fault
>Because you’re and one relaying the news
>And you’re feeling even worse now
>“But I believe we must part ways for now”
>Fuck, fuck, fuck
>Think harder, Cadance!
“WHAT ABOUT TWILIGHT!?”
>Ow
>Your ears
>You’re still not used to Royal Canterlot Voice
>But you got your reaction
>Auntie stopped and turned her head to look at you
>And she looks completely uninterested in what you have to say
>”What about her?”
“Twilight is so smart, she could think of a spell that could separate you and Daybreaker, and, uhhh, Starlight! Yeah, Starlight Glimmer, she also very smart, the two of them together can definitely cook up a spell to solve our problem”
>Don’t stare like that, please
>Why did Anon have to draw Daybreaker out of the millions of ponies in Equestria?
>You guess it was only a matter of time till it happened, but still
>”Who knows? Maybe you should talk to her, and we’ll see what happens”
>Wait, just like that?
>No back and forth this time?
“Y-yeah, I’ll see to that…”
>The two of you stand there in awkward silence for a full minute
>During this time you see a multitude of emotions flare through auntie’s eyes before she closed them and finally gives you a curt nod
>”Well, if you excuse me, I have a nation to run, have a good day Cadance”
>With a heavy sigh, she turns back to the exit
>For a fraction of a second you can see something glistening on the corner of her eyes before she turns completely to the door and making her way out
>You really fucked this up, didn’t you?
>You’ve never seen Auntie so… defeated before
>Not even actual defeats got to her like this
>She probably doesn’t even want to see your face anymore, either
>So much for being the princess of love
>You feel like you failed her
>You wonder if she blames you for this
>No, that’s stupid
>Of course she wouldn’t
>Auntie is not this unreasonable
>She knows you have no control over who the Crystal Heart chooses
>She’s just upset, that’s all
>Years of being alone are getting to her, and seeing everypony happy with their human partners doesn’t help
>Sigh
“This is going to be a long quest, Daybreaker”
>You make your way out of the room, and toward the castle’s front gates
>You have a train to catch
>Destination? Ponyville
“And I hope you make Anon the happiest man on Equestria”

--------------------------------------

Part 3

>”Absolutely not!”
>You and Spike wince back
>Like teacher, like student, you guess
>”Geez Twilight, you don’t need to yell”
>You got that right Spike
>What’s with Alicorns overreacting to you asking to release a potential murderous psychopath?
>”Here’s your tea, Cadance”
>He hands you and Twilight tea before making his way out
“Thanks Spike”
>Before taking the train to Ponyville you sent a letter to Shining with a few tasks
>First
>Tell Anon that his match might take longer than anticipated, and that you’re sorry it couldn’t happen any faster
>Second
>Keep Anon distracted for the time being
>Play games like Ogres and Oubliettes
>Or those vidya games some men bring over
>Be a bro, like they would say
>Honestly, the reaction of some human men to just the possibility of not being matched were… not ideal
>Yeah
>Some of them are real desperate for companionship
>Anon doesn’t strike you as the desperate type, though
>He looked sad when you talked to him, yes
>But not to the extent some other had
>So hopefully he won’t do anything drastic to himself
 >And third
>While you’re busy trying to find a way to get to Daybreaker
>He is to match every man, or group of men, that comes through the portal, with a mare
>You taught him how to use the Crystal Heart, so it’s nothing new to him
>Now where were you again?
>Oh yeah, Twilight Sparkle
>After doing the usual greeting upon meeting her
>The both of you headed to her library, where she promptly told you no
>Obviously
“Gee, why not?”
>You take a lazy sip out of your tea
>Spike keeps outdoing himself, this is some good tea
>”Why not? Pfft, she’s asking why not”
>She really is auntie’s student
>”Cadance are you listening to yourself?”
>Okay, that’s it
“Yes, I am, and yes, my request is insane!”
>Oops
>That came out a bit more aggressive than you intended
>But seeing Twilight’s confused face is pretty funny
>Took the word right out of your mouth, huh?
>“W-well, if you know that, then why come here to ask it all the same?”
>Really Twilight?
>It’s not like your cutie mark is a dead give away
>You point a hoof to your butt anyway
>No need to waste air with something so obvious
>”Oh, right, I forgot, heh”
>You get a pass because your nervous laughs are just too adorable, Twilight
>”But still, separating Celestia from her evil half, for a human? That’s crazy!”
>”Don’t you realize how dangerous that could be?”
“And that’s exactly why I came for you, Twilight”
>Another dainty sip, there ya go
“You’re the only pony I know who is smart enough to think of a solution”
>”And while I’m flattered that you think so highly of me, why not ask Starswirl instead? He’s more knowledgeable in magic than almost any pony I know”
>You take another sip
>Uh huh, Starsw- what?
>You hold the warm tea in your mouth, and slosh it around
>Thinking about what you just heard before gulping down
> Starswirl…
>As in, Starswirl the Bearded?
>Should you be worried about Twilight’s mental health?
“Twilight, Starswirl is dead”
>”No he’s not”
>You’re about to correct her when you see her smile innocently
>She’s… she’s not lying
>”It’s quite the story, heh”
>”I’m surprised Princess Celestia didn’t tell you”
>You stare at the mare sitting on the sofa across your own
>Rubbing her head nervously
>Auntie didn’t tell you anything about this
>Why didn’t she tell you anything about this?
>Are you being left out?
>Questions for later
“Anyway, Twilight, aren’t you the princess of friendship? Give Daybreaker a chance, you gave Discord a chance”
>”For starters, Discord isn’t a violent psychopath!”
>Damn, she’s right
>He’s chaotic
>But only for fun, he never hurts anypony
>Even when he was evil
>At least not physically anyways
“Ehh… point taken, but think about it, this way”
>She arches an eyebrow
“This could mean another Alicorn princess, imagine having two Celestias?”
>This piques her interest somewhat
>Gotta play this right
>Twilight has always licked the floor auntie walks on
>No way Twilight, of all ponies, would deny having two Princess Celestias around
>Even if one of them isn’t actually like the Celestia you all know and love
 “Wouldn’t it be great? Two different facets of Celestia for you to talk to”
>She taps her hoof on her chin
>”Hmmm, it does sound fascinating”
>Yes!
>“And having insight from both of them could lead to great discussions”
>Oh yeah
>You got this on the ba-
>“But it’s still stupid, and I’m not gonna do it”
>flips_table.jpeg
>You don’t know what .jpeg means
>But you heard some humans say that term when something doesn’t go their way
“You won’t do it because you don’t wanna do it, or because you can’t?”
>”Both actually, I have no idea how I’d be able to separate Daybreaker from Princess Celestia”
>You open your mouth
>”EVEN, if I had Starlight helping me!”
>Aaand you close it back
>”And even if I did know how, I wouldn’t do it, it’s simply too dangerous to make Daybreaker her own living being”
>You were about to tell that with so many books on her library, there’s no way she couldn’t have one with a spell that deals with the subject of your current quest
>But this is Twilight you’re talking, remember?
>She must’ve read all of these books, at the very least, ten times over
>You have to try a different approach
>But what…
>Think Cadance, think
>Damn it, you can’t think of anything!
>”Well, if this is all, I think you should get going Cadance”
>No!
>You don’t have to get going
>You have to get Twilight to help you
>”You have to tell the bad news to this human, that you can’t match him with a mare”
>Damn Sombra’s soul to Tartarus, you’re not breaking Anon’s hea-
>!
>You got it…
“Oh, that’s a pity then”
>Play this right, Cadance, don’t screw it up
>The right voice tone and you’ll have Twilight in no time
>”It is, I can’t imagine how hard it will be for this human to-“
“Oh, not that Twilight, that’s a pity too, but there’s another thing…”
>Close your eyes
>Turn your head to the side
>Make a sad face
>You know Twilight won’t resist and will ask w-
>”Is something the matter? What is it, Cadance?”
>Gotcha
“Oh, it’s nothing, it’s just that…”
>Pause for dramatic effect
>”We now have to destroy it all to make more room for the men coming through the portal…”
>She doesn’t need to know you had an inn built to house the incoming humans
>Make her think they stay at your castle
>You hear the sofa shuffling under Twilight’s weight
>You bet she’s leaning forward in curiosity and dread
>Yes, gotcha indeed, she’s all over your words
>”D-destroy what?”
>She asks, gulping nervously, wondering what has to be destroyed thanks to her choice
“Oh you know, Sombra’s study, full of all sorts of notes, information and books collected through the years”
>You hear a deep breath intake and turn your now open eyes to Twilight
>Dear auntie, you’ve never seen Twilight’s eyes bug out that much
”And since you’re not interested in helping me, I guess I’ll go through with burning everything do-“
>“LIKE HAY YOU WILL!”
>You wince close your eyes, rubbing your ears of the ringing
>That as a royal Canterlot voice alright, first time you’ve heard Twilight use it
>She’s a natural, that’s for sure
>Now that you got her hooked, you just need to pu-
>And she’s not on her sofa
>Why is hot air hitting your neck?
>Turning your head you’re face to face with-
“Oh shi- Twilight!”
>You lose your magical grip on your tea
>But Twilight saves it the nick of time and places it on the tea table
>She doesn’t stop breathing down your neck though
>And with a glare to boot
>You can’t help but reel back to get some space
“Stop that”
>You push her face back with your hoof
>And that seems to be enough to pull Twilight out of her funk with a head shake
>She even puts a hoof over her mouth, muttering an apology after realizing what she has done
>Apology accepted Twilight
>It’s not like you’re staying here
>Now where were you? Oh yes
“Like hay I will?”
>She gulps
>Time to go for kill
“But Twilight, didn’t you say you weren’t helping me even if you had the means to?”
>”Uhh…”
>Contain that smirk Cadance, or she’ll catch onto you
“And if you’re not helping me, why should I keep all those books and scrolls lying around when I could just get rid of them”
>”Uhhhmm…”
>Ohh, you’re so mean, making Twilight fidget like that
>But you can’t stop now
“Especially when those books and notes of Sombra’s could contain so much information on dangerous magic, never seen by anypony in hundreds, maybe thousands of years”
>”Hmmmmmm…”
>Oh my auntie, she’s actually shaking
>You’re starting to feel bad right now
“An-“
>”Alright, stop, I’ll help you!”
>You resist the urge to hoof pump
>It wouldn’t be educated to commemorate right in front of poor Twilight
>Can’t stop that smirk though
>That one’s staying, and you’re sure it’s pissing her off
>”In two conditions!”
>She raises her hoof to your face
>Almost poking your snout
>”First, you’re NOT touching anything inside that study with the intent to harm, EVER!
>“And once we’re finished, you’re giving all that material to ME!”
>Sounds reasonable, you were already gonna give it to Twilight one of these days anyways
>You thank auntie you didn’t, otherwise you wouldn’t have material to bribe her with
>You nod, which in turn makes her a little less frustrated
>”And second, you have to promise me things will be under control, and nothing will go wrong, this is still too dangerous”
“Twilight, we will have four Alicorns, me, you, Auntie Celestia and Luna, I think we can subdue Daybreaker with all our magic combined”
>She’s still glaring at you
>“Promise”
>Okay, alright
“I promise nothing wrong will happen and no one will get hurt”
>”Pinkie promise”
>You sigh and roll your eyes
>Still, better do this right now and prevent Twilight from suddenly growing common sense and back out
>How was it again?
“Cross my heart”
>You cross your hoof over your chest
“Hope to fly”
>And flap your wings
“Stick a cupcake in my e-OW!”
>Ow, damn, that hurt
>Not to self: Take off the gold horseshoes before doing a pinkie promise
>Twlight glares at you more before smiling to herself and nodding
>You watch as she jumps off the sofa and make her way out of the library
>”Starlight, Spike, pack your stuff, we’re going to the Crystal Empire!”
>Her yell reverberates from the all over castle’s hallways
>And you can’t help the smirk from creeping up your face again as you finish your tea
>You could care less that it’s cold by now
>Mission accomplished
>New ponies want to join party
>Twilight Sparkle
>Starlight Glimmer
>Spike
>Accept new party members?
>Absolutely

--------------------------------------

Part 4

>”Remind me, why are we doing this again?”
>You look away the book you’re currently reading to respond, but Twilight beats you to the punch
>”Because, Starlight, somepony here couldn’t catch a hint and just let it go”
>Giving you the dirty look, huh?
>Is that how’s gonna be Twilight?
>Okay then, alright
>File that for later, Cadance
>Be Cadance, by the way
>You have successfully bri-
>Convinced
>Twilight and her two housemates to come to the crystal empire to search for a way to separate Daybreaker from Celestia
>Despite being genuinely ecstatic to research old books on magic left by Sombra
>You could feel a certain animosity from Twilight
>Directed toward you, of course
>Maybe bri-
>Convincing
>Convincing her the way you did wasn’t exactly the best way to get things done
>But it’s not like you had a plethora of different options considering what you have to work with
>You did what you had to do
[spoiler]>Bully Twilight into submission[/spoiler]
>Find a way to get Twilight and Starlight to help you
>Mostly Twilight
>Any animosity she had for you almost vanished as soon as you three made it to Sombra’s study though, and she witnessed how big and packed the place was
>Easily as big as your castle’s very own library
>Even Starlight was getting excited at the prospect of learning more
>You’ve never been so thankful for a bonus that comes with the package
>Spike is another bonus, but he can’t help you at all
>He’s coming because Twilight didn’t want to leave him alone
>He really likes hanging out with humans though, so it’s all good
>Something about how humans get him
>I think it’s because the men can be just as snarky and sarcastic as he is
>Or maybe it’s how relatable they are with how back in their world their love was unrequited
>Just like Spike’s love for Rarity
>Poor Spike
>His day will come
>Not today though
>Today is the day of finding out how to give anon his match
>So you just huff and raise your nose
>No need to get your feathers ruffled by Twilight’s comment
>You’re all here for a reason
>So back to the book you go
>”And the pony we’re trying to get to, is Daybreaker?”
>”Yup”
>You hear Glimmer taking a deep breath
>”Why did I agree to this again?”
>You take your eyes of the book again an-
>“You didn’t, I brought you with me because other than the Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna, you’re the only one who dealt with Daybreaker before”
>You can’t help but turn an ear to their little chat, some useful info might come out of it
>“I didn’t even know she was real, I thought she was just a figment of my imagination”
>”Well, from what you told me, she did show up only after Princess Celestia appeared in your nightmare, so maybe it was the Princess’ magic manifesting itself as Daybreaker in response to your fears?”
>”Princess Celestia isn’t exactly proficient at managing dreams like Princess Luna, so I wouldn’t put it behind as being inexperience”
>Yeah nope, none of this will help you in the long run
>This is just some trivia
>”Well, that does sound like a plausible explanation”
“Girls, we’re not here to chit chat, we’re here to study”
>This got the both of them to shut up real quick
>Twilight has an automatic reaction to the word study and immediately dives her head back to the book she was doing her research on
>Starlight didn’t look to amused with you cutting her conversation short though
>Despite being stupidly smart, she’s not as eggheady as Twilight
>But a sigh came right after when she realized she had no choice in the matter
>You were not letting her get out of the Crystal Empire until you’ve either find what you’re looking for, or read through every book and find nothing
>”This will be the stupidest thing I’ll ever do if it goes through”
>Think you didn’t catch that, Starlight?
“Not as stupid as creating time paradoxes and plunging the world into chaos”
>You mutter to yourself
>But with just enough volume for Starlight to hear you
>And hear you she does, sinking her head further into the book, and splaying her ears back as soon as the words left your mouth
>Twilight gives you a disapproving look, and you realize you screwed up
“Umm, sorry, I didn’t mean to”
>You don’t know if she heard you, but if she did she’s clearly ignoring you now
>She just keeps her head down on her book
>You look back at Twilight and see her shaking her head before going back to her own book
>Way to go, Cadance
>First you got Auntie depressed
>Now you got Twilight mad at you, and Starlight feeling guilty
>What’s wrong with you?
>You’ve been acting out of character
>Is the stress of working everyday with matching men with mares catching up to you?
>No, that can’t be, pairing them up always fills your heart with joy
>Maybe…
>Is the possibility of not being able to get Daybreaker and Anon together messing with your head?
>You try to shake the thoughts off your head and refocus on the book
>You have no time for this, Cadance
>There’s a man waiting for his mare and you’re not failing him
>And with the vast collection of information surrounding you, and two of the biggest minds in Equestria working together
>You feel this is will be over in a jiffy
>…
>…
>Okay, maybe a jiffy was bit of big exaggeration
>You three have been camping on this damn study for about five days now
>And have made a whopping zero progress
>Progress in finding what you want, that is
>Because the atmosphere around you three have been getting progressively worse
>Starlight refuses to talk you after your little tongue slip
>No matter how much you try to apologize, she keeps playing the silence game
>Twilight’s getting more and more annoyed as the days go by, and nothing came up in the literal dozens of books she had read
>And Twilight is still pissed over what you said to Starlight, and has kept conversations to a minimum
>To top it all off, the both of them are exhausted
>And you haven’t even began with how you feel
>Angry
>Depressed
>Frustrated
>You name it
>You swear you’ve read over twenty of those Auntie forsaken books front to back and you still didn’t find shit
>You have found some screwed up stuff, but nothing about splitting two beings living in the same body
>You’re on your wits ends here
>It’s kinda shocking that Sombra’s study of all things doesn’t have anything on it
>Wasn’t he some sort of psychopath?
>This would be right up his alley
>But nope, only your regular morally ambiguous magic that isn’t that big of a deal aside from a few spells
>Like the book you just read, there’s nothing useful in it
>Only runes and seals
>Why are runes and seals morally ambiguous?
>Because their effects are permanent as long as the runes or seals aren’t damaged
>With a flick of your magic, you casually toss the book to a pile that’s being growing increasingly larger
>You’re so tired though, that you didn’t realize you overshoot the book and it-
>”Ow!”
>Went straight for Twilight’s head
>”Okay, that’s enough!”
>She closes a scroll the was going through and stands up, popping her stiff joints
>”Starlight, c’mon, we’re going back to Ponyville”
>Wait, no!
“W-wait, you can’t do-“
>”Can’t do what? Go back to my home?”
“You can’t just give up like that!”
>”Yes I can, and I’m doing it right now, I’m done with this, let’s go Starlight”
>She does a 180º and trots straight for the door, with Starlight in tow
“Wait, no!
>You teleport in front of Twilight, blocking her way out
>And she doesn’t look happy; she’s openly glaring at you now
“Please, I need your help!”
>You have to move to the left and right to keep her from going around you
>When Twilight’s and Starlight’s horns start glowing, you don’t think twice before releasing a spell on the room
>The glow on their horns fizzle out after you put up a magic nullifying spell
>And now Twilight looks even angrier
>”Cadance, what are you doing?”
“You can’t go, you promised, remember?”
>”No, YOU promised that nothing bad would happen”
“And nothing bad has happened”
>You know you got Twilight, because you’re technically not wrong
“Don’t you want all of this?”
>You wave your hoof to the waves and waves of books and scrolls scattered around the floor, and still sitting neatly on the shelves
>“This isn’t worth the effort, Cadance, we’ve been here for almost a week and haven’t found anything, it’s useless”
>Useless?
>This isn’t useless, is it?
“This isn’t useless, Twilight, this is for a good cause!”
>”Good cause? Cadance, if this doesn’t work out as planned we could put Equestria in grave danger!”
>You try to argue, but your friend’s having none of that
>”I get it that this is your job, and you’re supposed to match any pony with any man no matter what, but this is insanity”
“So that’s it, you don’t you care about these men, do you?
>Looks like you offended Twilight here
>“Of course I do, that’s why I think this is insane”
>Before I can inquire she’s already onto me
>“When there’s a point in time where I have to choose between the safety of all the ponies and humans in Equestria, or matching a man with a demon that can destroy everything, I’ll pick the first option!”
>“Besides, we’re just wasting time here in trying to find the answer for the impossible, there is no soul splitting spell, or whatever!”
>”We’ve already gone over all the book scrolls that deal with multiple personalities, or souls inside one body, and not a single one of them had any information about how to split them apart”
>You can’t argue back
>There’s no way to prove that what you’re looking for does, in fact, exists, when there’s no historical evidence of anything similar to it ever happening
>You believe it does, but Twilight doesn’t share the same belief
 “Please, do it for me”
>”Do it for you!?”
>Oh jeez, she sounds more pissed than ever
>Twilight gets face to face with you
>”Cadance, I know you offered this study for me as a deal to get me to help you, but also tried to help you because you’re our friend”
>She taps your golden collar repeatedly
“But you’ve been extremely rude and condescending, bossing us around, not letting us rest, and just overall being unpleasant to be with”
>You what?
>No, that’s not right.
“N-no I haven-“
>”Yes you have”
>Starlight chimes in
>”Ever since we’ve started researching for… whatever you’re trying to achieve, you have been forcing us to work nonstop, I’m sorry Princess, I know is important to you, but… we had enough”
>Oh Celestia…
>”C’mon Starlight, let’s get Spike and go home”
>No…
>Nononono
>This can’t be happening
>You need their help; you’re a catastrophe with high level magic
>They’re not going away
“No!”
>Your magic surges and you seal the room from the inside
>Twilight tries to open the study’s door with her own magic, but once again, all she manages are some sparks out of her horn
“I’m not letting you out!”
>You yell, your magic once again surges out, pulling everything to the center of the study, chairs, tables, lamps, and of course, the many books and scrolls littering the floor and shelves
>Even Twilight and Starlight get pulled
>Oh wait, shit, you shouldn’t react so casually to that
>Your friends yelp out loud as they’re suddenly pulled to the center and are buried underneath a pile of furniture and books
“Oh no”
>You‘ve done it Cadance, you hurt your friends
>Good job, you imbecile
>You quickly use your magic to levitate everything from them
>”Ow, ow, ow”
>Twilight and Starlight have some bruises on them
>Nothing too serious
>But nothing that prevents you from feeling like shit
>You practically assaulted your friends like a stubborn child because they didn’t want to help you
“I’m so sorry”
>Twilight sends a glare your way and looked ready to chew you out when her ears flicked toward the fireplace
>And then yours flick to the same direction, and you hear it
>A set of clicking echoes from behind the walls of the now deadly silent room
>It sounds like some sort of machine, or a mechanism
>Finally, with a final click, the walls around the fireplace slowly retract into the floor and the chimney raises a few hoofs up, revealing...
>Ohhh shi-
>”What the…“
>Starlight mutters
>”A secret passage?”
>Twilight is the first of us to regain her bearings
>Sombra, you sneaky bastard
>You wonder if there are more of these secrets in your castle
>”But how?”
>”Over there Twilight”
>Starlight points to a bookshelf with a single book still hanging in there thanks to a metal shaft holding it from falling
>You make your way to said book and push it back, causing the fireplace to reassemble itself
>So there was a lever in here all this time?
>How come no one ever noticed this?
>You’ve sent some maids here to clean this place
>Just because it was once Sombra’s, doesn’t mean you’ll let it get dirty
>Huh? What’s this written on the spine?
“How to detect…”
>!!!
>Geldings!
>”Princess, what was it?”
>Oh snap, is your face that shocked?
“Nothing, it was nothing!
>You pull the book and open the passageway again
>”Are you su-“
“Absolutely, why don’t we see what’s up with the secret path, eh?”
>You push the two purple ponies into the dark pathway
>Their groans of protest do nothing to stop you from shoving them into the newly revealed doorway
>Now you know why no one ever found out
>Who’d even touch, let alone read, a book with a title like that?
>Sombra was smarter than you gave him credit
>”A staircase?”
>You hear Twilight comment
>Just like she said, there’s staircase spiraling upwards
>No one is going up though
>Not Twilight, not Starlight, not you
>And for good reason
>This IS a hidden passage in a room used by Sombra of all ponies
>Who knows what kind of malevolent and downright sick stuff he had that needed to be hidden even from his own staff
>But you can’t go back
>If you do, the wonder duo over there will probably lose interest and want to go home again
>So like the big mare you are
>And obviously not feeling the least creeped out by the near pitch black, and old, evil looking spiraling staircase
>Nope
>Not at all
>You take the lead and head up the stairs, careful to not tri-
“Wah!”
>And collide face first onto the floor, of course
>Ow
>Your ear swivels back when you hear chuckles
>Glad to hear you two are enjoying yourselves
>Maybe this will ease the atmosphere somewhat
>You don’t to keep dealing with a pissed Twilight
>Quickly pulling your face from the floor, you make haste
>Don’t want to them seeing your embarrassed face
>With the two purple-lights in tow
>And no trips and falls this time
>You lead the way up
>The path is fairly lengthy, but soon enough you three reach the end
>Where a tall wooden door, with weird swirling designs engraved on the wood
>And purple smoke seeping from underneath it
>Not ominous at all
>You gulp down a lump in your throat before pushing the door with your hoof
>It’s stuck
>Of course it would be stuck
“Twilight, Starlight, a little help please?”
>Be sure to be nice to them Cadance, you don’t want them to turn tail and leave
>With all three pushing the door, it takes no time it to open
>Not in the way you expected though
“WAH!!”
>The wood breaks under the pressure and you’re sent flying into the room’s floor
>Ow, you didn’t expect the door to be that old
>This day isn’t good for your health, that’s for sure
>Huh, weird, you could swear you had opened your eyes
>Wait, no… your eyes are open!
>Oh sweet Auntie you’ve gone blind!
>“Wow, it sure is dark in here”
>…
>You knew that
>And in no time a small light source makes itself known
>And it’s Starlight’s horn
>Partially illuminating the now not so pitch black, but still very dark, room with weird purple fog on the floor
>Ohhh, your spell doesn’t reach this place
>You hope they don’t realize thi-
>“Alright, looks like we can use magic again”
>Damn you Twilight, you perceptive pony you
>You hoped they’d not realize it since they basically use magic on instinct
>”Now we can teleport out of here, Starlight”
>Uh-oh
>Think, Cadance thi-
“What is this?”
>No, really, what is this?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_U7iuUVfQec
>Now that your eyes are fully used to the lighting in this place
>You can see the room looks like some sort of lab
>There are bookshelves, tables containing multiple notes and chemistry equipment on them, glass vials and artifacts
>The vials littering the shelves were either full with some weird, unknown contents, or empty
>All having different sizes to accommodate for the different types of contents
>You swear one of the things inside of these glass vials looked like a fetus and it sent chills down your spine
>And not just vials, a multitude of different artifacts, all giving off an ominous vibe, like you were supposed to stay the hay away from them
>Even the purple duo over there stopped trying to get away the moment their curiosity kicked in
>One of the books is then encased in a purple glow and floats to Twilight, who immediately began to leaf through it
>Of course it would be Twilight to be the first try them out, when it comes to knowledge she’ll eat up anything that can offer it to her
>You watch as her face going from amazement, to terror, and then amazement again
>Only for terror to set on her face once again
>S-should you get worried?
>She the picks more books and the notes on the table near the chemistry equipment, and quickly leaf through all of them
>And her face only grows more and more terrified
>“These books…”
>The glow on the books dissipate, making them fall onto the floor unceremoniously
>Oookay… there’s must be something going on, Twilight doesn’t treat books this carelessly
>“They’re about…”
>Her face has a strange mix of amazement and horror that you find hard to explain
>Like whatever she read was both incredible and sickening at the same time
>“… they’re about…”
>In one go, her horn shines brightly and illuminates the entire room
>Not so bright Twilight, are you trying blin-
>And your words die right in your mind
>Because in the end of the room is a transparent crystal with a Pony sealed inside of it, a small colt
>That looks just like Sombra

--------------------------------------

Part 5

“What the fuck…”
>At this point you don’t care about your tongue slips
>The sentence of human origin is just too perfect not to use right now
>Even your two purple friends agree by slightly nodding their heads, still in trance by the absurdity displayed in front of you all
>It’s a small colt
>That looks just like Sombra
>Sealed inside a crystal
>Locked away in a fucking secret lab
“What the fuck is that!”
>Shit, shit, shit!
>What the hell is this, Sombra’s offspring!?
>Supposed to be Sombra 2.0 after adulthood and rule the kingdom with an even bigger iron hoof!?
>Or is it a clone meant to take Sombra’s place after he died so he could continue ruling just like Sombra did!?
>Seems like your yell pulled the two geniuses out of their funk because their faces now went from bewilderment to horrified faster than the speed of light
>Twilight is shaking her head in disbelief like a spaz while Starlight is freaking out
>“Is that Sombra? He’s still alive? I.. how-what!?”
“Twilight, explain!?”
>C’mon Twilight, pick that jaw from the floor and answer the question
>You don’t wanna have to deal with this fu- damn prick again
>”I-I don’t know…”
>Oh geez
>Oh man
>This can’t be happening
“Didn’t you just read a bunch of books and notes!?”
>”I-I did, but I don’t know if this is the actual Sombra or… “
>Or what?
>Don’t you dare stop now Twilight, spit it ou
“WHAT IS IT?!”
>You like to think you have every right to raise your voice
>After all, it was you and your husband who had to deal with Sombra’s ass before Twilight showed up
>So you don’t give a damn that she flinched back over being yelled at, you want answers
“Well?!”
>”I… t-those books and notes were dark arts, and were about the ins and outs of creating…”
>Why’d you stop Twilight?
>“Creating…”
>That’s a pretty big gulp you took Twilight
>”C-creating artificial bodies”
>….
>Oh fuck, you don’t say
>“A-according to these notes, Sombra knew he was no immortal like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, and that his time would eventually come, so he researched ways to keep himself alive for centuries, maybe even millenniums, and this is what he found..”
>This what?
>Say it Twilight, what was it?
>“These books, they’re books on Dark Arts and Magic, more specifically about how to create an artificial blank slate body, and methods on transferring his soul into another vessel”
>Hot damn
>You knew Sombra had a few loose screws in his head
>But now Twilight just confirmed he was one sick fu-
>!!!
>Wait a moment
>Did she just say…
“So there IS a way to get Daybreaker out of Aun-“
>”Shut up, Cadance”
>Shut up now
>”As I was saying, he was creating an artificial body so that he could transfer his soul to it once he got too old, and repeat the process infinitely throughout the centuries, and, in a way, achieving eternal life”
>That’s… that’s a pretty scary thought actually
>Just imagining what would happen if any random pony with not so noble intentions got their hoofs on this knowledge makes your skin crawl
>Basically anypony can live forever using this method
“Is there more to it, Twilight?”
>”Well, the rest are the specifics on how the artificial body works, and how it has to be maintained”
“Well, don’t leave us hanging, go on”
>Twilight gives you a dirty look
>She knows you’re only asking because this might be the answer you three were looking for downstairs
>But she concedes and starts talking anyway
>You wonder why she’d do it instead of outright refusing this time
>She was ready to jump ship with Starlight not even ten minutes ago
>“Anyway, the artificial body can have a soul transferred to it anytime. If the body is still blank when the transfer happens, it will start to mutate into the appearance of the soul’s original body appearance, and will fully transform in a month.
>”Which means, if Sombra transferred his soul to the blank body, it eventually would look like his normal self?”
>”Exactly, Starlight”
>Hmmm
>So it would take a month for the body to turn into Daybreaker after the soul transfer
>Wait a minute
>Does Daybreaker even have a soul?
>You know she’s an entity that lives inside Auntie Celestia, but does she have a soul also?
>Shit
>You might need to dig deeper into this
>But for the time being, you keep on listening to Twilight
>”So would that mean he wouldn’t have all of his powers as soon as he transferred bodies?”
>Nice catch Starlight
>This could come in handy, if Daybreaker can’t have full access to all her abilities, then that means you and Anon would have at least a month to get through her before she achieved her true form
>”I assume that would be the case, Starlight, the notes do hint at it, but they don’t say if the user is completely incapable of using their abilities after the transfer”
>Drat
>“Either way, there’s one problem with this method, from notes I read, it looks like you can’t make a teenager, or adult body from the start, you have to make a foal, which means if one wants to have their soul transferred to the body of an adult pony, they’ll have to wait all the years it would take for the body to mature. And in order for the body to mature from a foal to an adult, it has to be constantly maintained and looked after, or else the body will die from lack of nourishment”
>What?
>Oh, don’t you make that smirk Twilight
>So that’s why she explained it either way
>You know what she’s thinking, and she’s mocking you
>She knows how pointless it would be for you to make one of these artificial bodies for Daybreaker, only to have Anon wait fifteen to twenty years to get his match
>Shit
>“There’s another thing though, and I think this is important to share with you girls. In the notes Sombra wrote, it says that one can streamline the transferring process by injecting the young artificial body with their DNA, and with time the body will mutate into a body similar to the donor’s as it matures, so that by the time the transfer happens, the body will be fully functional from the start”
>That sounds the kind of stuff Sombra would do
>By the time he’s too old, the new body, already having his physical traits and possibly magical trace, will be ready as soon as the transfer ends, instead of having to wait for the mutations to occur
>”However”
>Twilight gulps a heavy lump in her throat
>You don’t like the sounds of that
>”If not looked after continuously  after the DNA injection, the artificial body might gain a soul and consciousness of its own, if a specific spell isn’t applied to the body at least… once a week”
>You don’t like the sound of this
>You don’t like the sound of this at all
>Is Twilight actually, seriously telling you, that the foal sealed inside that crystal might be alive?
>Like, actually alive, and not just ready for transfer alive?
>A foal that’s the splitting image of Sombra?
>You… you don’t even know how to react to this
>What should you do?
>You can’t just… do away with it, can you?
>You mean, it’s just a foal, it probably doesn’t even know who, or what it is
>It only so happens to look like Sombra, but you doubt it knows anything about his upbringing or who Sombra even was
>Especially since it’s frozen in crystal
>You bet that if you took him out of that crystal, all you’d get was a small colt that doesn’t know who he is, where he is, and even how to speak
>But…
>But it could also be a new Sombra in the making
>What’s there to prevent it from growing into cold and ruthless like Sombra?
>What is there to prevent it from becoming bitter at the world around like him?
>And what is there to prevent him from gathering a small band of loyal cultist and stage a coup to try and overthrow you and the other princess?
>You lightly bang your head on a nearby shelf, making some books fall to the floor
>Oh Auntie, why is all of this so complicated?
>…
>!!!
>That’s it
>Auntie!
>You should definitely tell Auntie about this
>She’ll know what to do
>She always knows what to do
>Even if she leaves everything for Twilight to handle
>You just hope she still isn’t pissed at you, or anything
>“…ou think Cadance?”
“I-wha-“
>You shake your head
>Were they talking to you?”
>Were you so focused on your thoughts?
>”I said, what do you think Cadance?”
“About what?”
>”About the colt in the Crystal, what do you think we should do?”
“Well, what are your own thoughts on this? I want to know what you think before making my own thoughts known”
>The two purple friends look at each other before shrugging and nodding
>Starlight takes a step forward to meet your eyes
>“I think we should get rid of it”
>Wow, Starlight!
>Sure, yeah it’s possibly a little Sombra in there
>But it’s still just a colt, how can you think like that?
>Oh yeah, former villain…
>”And I think we should consult Princess Celestia about this”
>Agree 100% percent with you, Twilight
“I agree with Twilight on this, I think we should tell Auntie, she’ll probably know what to do with him”
>Starlight doesn’t look too thrilled about the idea
>But its two princesses opinions against her pleb opinions, what can she do about it?
>”I think you two missed the part where you realize we could have a potential Sombra trying to ruin everything again?”
>Apparently she can try to argue
>Not the she’s wrong, but-
>”Still, Starlight, we can’t condemn a foal for the sins of the father”
>Took the words out of your mouth
“Besides, that can’t be Sombra. We actually faced and defeated him, there was no time for him to transfer his soul … I think”
>You tap your chin in wonder
>Sure, it wasn’t THE Sombra in the flesh back then, but you’re pretty sure that if he had made the transfer there wouldn’t be any dangerous Sombra to worry about after the Cystal Empire reemerged, only a tiny little colt Sombra
>”I guess…”
>Oh, Starlight, don’t be like that, not everypony gets what they want
>Just look at yours truly right here
>Trying to find a way to match what could be described by some as just an idea with a real person
>And success has yet to show its pretty face
“Alright, now that we decided what we’re going to do with the colt in the Crystal, is there any more information this whole soul transfer shebang?”
>You expect Twilight to go full lecture mode like she always does
>Instead she shakes her head
>Twilight, why are you doing that?
>”I can’t, the books and notes I read were only about the artificial body and how Sombra was making preparations to transfer his soul into one”
>Damn
>If you had fingers you’d snap them
>Humans and their superior forelimbs, how you envy them
>The things you could do if you had hands
“Well, I guess we should get to reading then”
>Encasing some books from the shelf in your magic, you pull a free table and chair, and dump them all on it
>You don’t hear hoofsteps of smart purple mares coming to assist you though
>What’s up with that?
“What are you staring at, aren’t you helping me?”
>Oh no, don’t you two look uncomfortable now
>”Well, we’re still not too keen on helping you after you… you know… threw the whole study on us”
>Oh
>You hiss through your teeth
>Yeah, you forgot about that
>”And we still wanna go home, we’re tired and hungry, and we don’t want to deal with any of this anymore”
>Starlight says with finality and does a 180º toward the door you three busted, not even waiting for Twilight
>C’mon girls, don’t do this!
“B-but why not?”
>You scramble out of your seat
>”Cadance, are you not seeing this?”
>Twilight waves her hoof toward the lab, and Starlight stops at the door to wait for her
>“Do you seriously want to read further into… this!”
>Yeah
>… kinda
>If it means finding a way to finally get Daybreaker and Anon together, then sure
>As long as it doesn’t involve having to create a foal and having to take care of its body for twenty years
>You already have Flurry Heart
>You don’t need another baby
>Even if this another baby is just a soulless husk ready to be possessed
>…
>That’s kinda fucked up
>You get why Twilight doesn’t want in on this, now
>But still
“Well, don’t you?”
>By now you know how Twilight ticks, and you know when to press her buttons
>And just like you expected, Twilight doesn’t know how to respond
>She now looks pretty conflicted, and for good reason
>This shit was made for her
>Dozens, if not hundreds of books and notes about old, forgotten dark magic, just ready to be accessed at any time?
>Yes it comes from a mad pony, but Twilight would be lying if the desire to dig deeper wasn’t there
>And it’s not like she lacks any self-control, or common sense, she knows when not to push her boundaries
>… sometimes
>Then again, it IS a lab made by Sombra to conduct experiments less than morally ideal
>You’re pretty sure creating a living body, yet keeping it soulless on purpose via magic spells is something that would get you to that hell place humans talk about real fast
>If Auntie Luna caught on to this she would blast this place to oblivion along with the entire castle section
“Please Twilight, I beg you, you’re the only one smart enough to help me with this”
>You bow your head all the way to the floor
>Ew
>Ew
>Ew
>The floor is all dusty and grimy
>And you’re pretty sure you don’t want any of the the ominous purple smoke getting into your system
>So make sure to keep that mouth and nostrils shut Cadance
>Being grossed out apart, you manage to keep your head down, wouldn’t look too convincing for Twilight if you pranced around in disgust
>“Hey, what about me?”
>Oh yeah, there’s Starlight
>She’s pretty smart too
“Uhh… you too, Starlight”
>You can hear a huff, but you can’t see any Starlight
>Not that it matters, the only one who matters is Twilight
>“But… why me?”
>You take your head off the floor to look at the one you foalsat when she was little
>“Why do you need my help so much? Can’t you do any of this research on your own?”
>Why she asks?
*sigh*
>Well, it’s obvious, at least for you
>You’re not exactly the cream of the crop when it comes to book smarts or magical prowess
>You’re an Alicorn, but that doesn’t mean you were automatically turned a prodigy when you became one
>It just downs on you that out of all the Princesses, you’re the most inept one
>Even Starlight, who’s just a unicorn, would completely overwhelm you in a magic duel
>Tartarus, even your little Flurry Heart already showed more potential than you ever did
>And she’s a foal for crying out loud
>It kinda makes you feel like some underachiever
>Like you had horseshoes to fill, and was given all the tools to not just fill it, but overflow it
>And you still managed to come out with fucking nothing
>Is this how humans feel?
>Gosh, no wonder they’re so desperate to start their lives over
“Twilight, I’m not a magical genius like you, I’m just a mare who’s special talent is spreading love and matching couples, I can’t do any of this stuff without messing up”
>Being honest is your best bet right now
>No way Twilight will take any of your lame excuses anymore
“Anything about science, or any level of magic higher than intermediary spells is too much for me to handle without something going horribly wrong thanks to my lack of skills”
“This is why I go through such lengths just to match a couple, because it’s the one thing I’m really good at, and if I fail, I feel like…”
>’I’m worthless’
>But you can’t bring yourself to say that out loud
>You don’t like the look Twilight has on her face either
>Kind of a mixture of pity and disbelief
>”Cadance… I didn’t know you felt like that”
>Probably can’t believe that the Alicorn in front of her isn’t a capable spell caster
>And at the same time is self-conscious about her high place in hierarchy despite the lack impressive feats
>But it’s the truth. You suck at high level magic unless your aunties are involved to assist you
>Twilight looks like she has something to say but you cut her right away
“And aren’t you the one who made me promise nothing bad would happen? Well, you’re my guarantee, because I know that with you helping me out, nothing, and I mean nothing, bad is going to happen”
>Twilight looks indecisive
>Even Starlight over the door looks pensive
>She’s thinking over your words, the both of them are
>C’mon Twilight, make the right choice
>Biting her lower lip, she looks back at Starlight, as if asking for advice, only to get a shrug instead
>Twilight then turns back and looks at you directly in the eyes, and you steel yours
>No point in telling her all that if you have doubt in your eyes
>And here it goes; she’s taking a deep breath
>“Alright”
>Yes!
>She gets to your face and taps your golden collar
>“But only one more chance, got it? Don’t blow this up!”
>Yes, absolutely!
>”Starlight”
>You can hear an audible sigh coming from near the door, and the sound of hoofsteps coming in your direction
>”If you want to go back to Ponyville, go ahead, I’ll stay with Cadance”
>”Oh! Uhh..”
>That stops Starlight right on her tracks
>And now she is the one who looks indecisive
>Don’t worry; you’re not the only one surprised at Twilight’s move
>Didn’t expect her to dismiss your other purple friend either
>“I… w-wow, really?”
>Only getting a nod in response, purple pony Nº2 looks over to the exit, and then at you two, before raising her hoof and rubbing the back of her head
>“W-well, I… uhh, I think I should stay too, with all the effort I put into this, I think I should at least see it to the end…”
>I can see that scrunched face Starlight
>You can’t fool anyopony
>Either way, that doesn’t matter
>What matters is that they’ll still willing help you after how you mistreated the two
>And you just can’t contain yourself
>”Eeep!!”
>You pull the purple duo with your magic and give them a hug
“Oh, thank you, thank you so much!”
>Starlight squirms in embarrassment, but you don’t care
>You’re too busy pulverizing their spines
“Yes we know, we love you too Cadence. [spoiler]A little bit less than a week ago, but still do[/spoiler]
>Don’ you worry, Anonymous
>Your wait is coming to an end, because you, Cadance, is one step closer to getting Daybreaker
>The thought makes you all giddy and you hold your two friends even tighter
>You muse about how great it is to have friends over your own friends pained grunts

--------------------------------------

Part 6

>”So, how do we do this?”
“We research, Starlight, just like how we were doing for the last four days”
>”Hooray…”
>If you’re gonna be this bitchy then you should’ve gone when Twilight told you to
>No one’s forcing you to stay this time
>Not that you were forcing them before, of course….
>Heh….
>Twilight accepted the deal; it was not like you had a knife to their throats or anything
>Ahem, getting sidetracked here
“I doubt the blank artificial body thing is the only way we have to rip Daybreaker out of Auntie, there must be other methods”
>Other less fucked methods too
>Anything that doesn’t involve creating a living body and keeping it soulless via magic spells
>Why was Sombra such an edgelord?
>Man, your vocabulary sure has grown after men started coming from their world
>Not for the better, but you like to think you’re a tiny bit more articulate with insults
>”Well, the notes left by Sombra are over a thousand years old, and the books seem to be even older, some dating from maybe five thousand years”
>”It wouldn’t be too farfetched to assume that the artificial body experiments were created way after the soul transferring spell, which means Cadance does a point”
>You do?
>You mean, yeah you do
>Of course you have a point
>”I mean, why would somepony even create a spell like that if they couldn’t cast it?”
>”But how do you know the date of these notes?”
>”Because any scientist worth their salt jots down the date of their experiments, Starlight”
>Did Twilight just praise Sombra?
>And she noticed it too, quickly babbling out an excuse
>”Oh, I-um…”
>Twilight hisses through her teeth
>”I don’t really like to admit it, but…”
>She just raises a hoof and waves it around the room
>Oh yeah
>This whole lab is definitely the work of somepony who knew exactly what they were doing
>Years and years of hard work and experimentation that led to the colt inside that crystal
>And you three were about to tear this place down
>Not literally of course
[spoiler]>You fucking wish it was, though[/spoiler]
>You did promise Twilight all of this would be hers once you’re finished
>But right now this place and everything in it is property of Mi Amore Cadenza
>And you’re gonna read all these books until your eyes bleed out
>There’s a mare that up until a week ago you didn’t even knew existed that needs her man
“Alright then, let’s do this”
>…
>By the maker, it’s being three days already!
>Oh dear Auntie, why have you forsaken your poor niece?
>You just wanted to pair up two love deprived beings together
>It’s a noble cause, isn’t it?
>Sure, you made Auntie cry
>And bribed one of your best friend into helping you, and then treated her like a servant
>And is kinda dabbling into dark magic and morally detestable arts that’d make ponies question whether you should even be allowed to walk freely without psychological supervision
>But it’s still a noble cause nonetheless
>However, the world’s apparently conspiring against your love crusade
>As if telling you that what you’re doing is a bad idea and you stop
>Pish-Posh world, you won’t stop
>Who does it take you for, a loser?
>You’re the only one allowed to call yourself a loser
>To the rest of the world you’re gonna be a winner
>Yeah, Daybreaker is a villain, so what?
>You’ve seen mares who were condemned for heinous crimes like murder, slavery, torture, and whatnot turn a new leaf after meeting a man
>And she will be no different
>You’re not giving up
>You’re finding a way to get those two together no matter what
>Even if it means freezing Anonymous
>Even if it takes the rest of your eternal life
>You. Will. Match. Th-
>”I found it!”
>YEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
>”Oh my Celestia, it actually exists!?”
>-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
>”Yes, I can’t believe it either, Cadance was actually right for once”
>-EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE-
>“Cadance, shut up!”
“-EEEEEEEEEEEEE-!!“
>You clamp your mouth shut
>Oh, jeez, did you scream out loud?
>Now that’s embarrassing
>But you don’t give a damn because Twilight has found it
>Hot damn, you can’t even control your legs and keep yourself from prancing in place like a complete dork
>Because you don’t give a damn, Twilight has fucking found it
“What are you waiting for?”
>You go sonic fast and zip across the room to Twilight’s now uncomfortable face
 “C’mon, tell us what it says”
>She pushes my face back with her hoof
>”Easy there”
>She says, floating the book up to the wooden table and motioning you and Starlight to follow
>”I’m not one hundred percent sure this is what you are looking for, but so far the contents have matched with you specifics, find a way to take Daybreaker out of Princess Celestia, and give her another body that isn’t an artificial one”
>She pulls three chairs with her magic and you three sit down on them to read the book with Twilight
>Soul Power, huh? Fitting name for a book that deals with soul transferring shenanigans
>”Okay, so here’s what it says”
>”The art of transferring a soul from one body to another was created by the cult of the Ever Living, a cult of ponies who venerated the Princesses of the Sun and Moon for their eternal life, who all wished to attain the same divine gift of living till the ends of time”
>Jeez, what a bunch of sad little ponies
>Eternal life isn’t as great, guys
>It sounds great on paper, but then you realize that you’ll outlive nearly everypony that you love
>Like how you’ll outlive Shiiiiiiii-
>-it
>You better stop before you get depressed
>“So, in order to reach their dreams of an ever living lifespan, they studied and researched for years. Discoveries were passed on for the next generations, who went on to expand upon them, and come closer to unveiling the secret to eternal life. And centuries later, they developed the method that would give them, not an immortal body, but an immortal presence. They developed a ritual that that allowed them to transfer their beings into another body, Pony or otherwise”
>Ohhh, you’re getting so close to your answer you can taste it
>You don’t really get what they meant by presence, but you can almost taste victory
>And it tastes like ominous atmosphere and-
>Oh wait, you’re breathing through your mouth
“What else does it say, Twilight?”
>You mush your cheek against your purple friend’s face
>You wanna take a look at the book too, not just listen to Twiggles
>“Be patience Cadance”
>She takes another gander at the book, humming while doing so
>”Okay, so the presence part doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, and it doesn’t explain it in full detail so far, but I assume it means it doesn’t necessarily transfer souls, but more like, you yourself, as a pony, as an entity, into another body”
>Oh, you get it
>Kinda
>More than you did before, that’s for sure
>“Alright then, let’s continue”
>She clears her throat
>“There are a total of two key items required for the ritual to be executed. First and foremost, a Soul Stone is needed”
>A Soul Stone?
>For a ritual that isn’t ‘necessarily about transferring souls’ as Twilight put it, it sure has a lot of soul in the names, huh?
>Soul Power
>Soul Stone
>What? Next, you’re gonna tell moi that the name of the ritual is actually called Soul Transfer?
>Let’s see, let’s see
>…
>It’s Soul Transfusion
>You almost got it
>There’s an unhealthy amount of uncreative names here
>”The Soul Stone is a magical artifact that can only be found in the depths of the Well of Spirits, a well that houses the souls of all the ponies and creatures that… *gulp* perished while imprisoned in Tartarus, waiting for redemption”
>… you’re not really liking the way this is going
>”A Soul Stone is made when a soul residing in the Well of Spirits starts to harden once the soul finally accepts there’s no redemption to be had, turning into a solid rough gem. The rough gem then must be taken to a lapidary, to cut and polish the gem into a proper Soul Stone”
>Along with this fucking depressing description, there’s a hoof drawn picture of a Soul Stone in its rough and lapidated state.
>The rough gem is a long, wavy and wispy piece of rock, almost like a trail of smoke that took a solid form
>While the Soul Stone is an oval gem
>You’d say it’s a very beautiful looking gem
>If it didn’t have an Aunty damn pony’s skull swirling inside of it
>Seriously, that shit looks terrifying
>You’re sure the humans would find it super cool, though
“Oookay… what else does it say, Twilight?”
>”The second key item is…”
>What, the second key item is what?
>”T-the second key item is…”
>Uh-oh, you don’t like sound of Twi’s voice
>Guess you better read for it yourself then
>Hmm, need a vessel for the soul/entity to be sealed, ‘kay
>But not just any vessel, alright
>To complete the ritual it is needed the body of a pony on the-
>Oh fuck!
>“The second key item needed for the ritual is a vessel. But not just any vessel, to complete the ritual it is needed the body of a Pony who is in the verge of death…”
>Thank you for picking up the slack Starlight, you’re not so sure you wanted to hear it though
>A pony on the verge of death? This is fucked up; the ponies who made this ritual were fucked in the head
>They’re like Sombra before Sombra was even a thing
>Tartarus, if anything Sombra might’ve even been part of this insane cult at one point
>Would explain this hidden lab
“Does it explain why it needs… that?”
>You ask Twilight, but she doesn’t respond
>She’s completely out there
>Not even poking seem to bring the mare out of her funk
>”I… think it does”
>Starlight said, pulling the book over to her with magic
>Seems like she decided to pick up after Twilight indefinitely, who’s just sitting there, still processing what she just read
>Starlight’s taking this pretty well, all things considered
>You’d think that she would be at least half as shocked as Twilight, but nope
>Oh yeah, you forgot
>Former villain
>“It says here that in order to complete the ritual, a near dead body with an extremely low survival rate is needed because it is at this point where the body’s spiritual defenses, the book’s saying, not mine, are at its lowest, and the pony’s soul is at its weakest, allowing for the entry of another presence, or soul, or whatever you call it, without resistance or immediate rejection”
>Okay, alright….
>So, it doesn’t sound AS bad as you thought it was
“A-and why is that?”
>You ask out of morbid curiosity
>”It says here that a dead vessel becomes completely sealed from outside spiritual and soul manipulation, including the Soul Transfusion ritual. If I were to assume, I’s say it’s probably due to there being no soul, along with its bodily functions ceasing to work. It would explain why the Artificial Body had to be kept alive via magic spells and nourishment up until the ritual. If its body stopped working then another one would have to be made from scratch”
>That makes sense, you guess
>It’s a dead body; it shouldn’t suddenly start working again just because there’s a new soul in it
>Why are you thinking about dead bodies so fucking casually?
“I-is it possible to perform the ritual on a completely healthy vessel?”
>What are you thinking Cadance?
>You better stop Cadance
>“… yes, but there’s a catch, if the Soul Transfusion is done on a very much alive Pony, all you would get is this Pony, but with a soul sealed inside its body. There’s also the chance of an immediate rejection, with the transferring soul being stuck in the living plane until it dissipates”
“And what would happen next?”
>“Depending on who it was, and how it acted on its original body, it might manifest itself during big emotional moments, be them anger, distress, sadness, happiness. But always temporarily, it’ll never become the dominant presence in the body”
>You gulp
“And can you explain again why we need a near dead pony?”
>Starlight raises an eyebrow and looks at you funny
>You don’t like the way she’s looking at you right now
>“Yes… we need mare on the verge of death because the soul of a dying pony and its body’s spiritual defenses are at its lowest, and are too weak to resist being overpowered by the transferred soul, or entity”
“And what happens when you perform the ritual on a near dead pony?”
>Aren’t you getting a little too curious here Cadance?
>Why don’t you just stop already?
>You should’ve done that back when you discovered this damn lab
>But here you are, digging the hole deeper
>”The transferring soul snuffs the vessel’s soul out of existence, effectively killing the body’s original owner, while the new soul takes over”
>*gulp*
“A-and what happens next?”
>Damn it Cadance, what the fuck are you saying?!
>“Next you need to heal the body, the ritual won’t stop the body from dying, so a team of extremely qualified spell-casters and medics on call are needed to perform any emergency procedure, it really depends on the body’s state on the time of the ritual”
“Is that all?”
>”No, if the ritual succeeds, the body will mutate to have the appearance and body structure of the transferred soul in due time, just like with the artificial body. But that’s not all there is to it. The book also says in the chapter’s summary that the chances of the ritual succeeding are low, very, very low. And if the ritual fails, whatever you tried to transfer will roam the world as a spirit until it dissipates into nothingness”
“I-into nothingness as in-
>”As in, it will cease to exist, forever, not even the soul of an immortal pony can survive roaming the living plane without a body, and not even reincarnation becomes available for this soul, it’ll just be erased, same happens to the soul that dies out after successful ritual”
>By the maker, this is just…
>Do you even want to go through?
>Are you really willing to proceed with this ritual?
>It is all so…
>>Yes, yes you want, Anon is counting on you remember?
>Wha- Yes, but… this wrong
>>And leaving Daybreaker trapped inside of Auntie forever, not ever knowing what it feels to be loved, isn’t wrong as well?
>Yeah, bu-
>>But what? What’s the issue in taking the body of a Pony who’s already dying anyway? It’s not like she’ll ever survive if what the ritual asks for is anything to go by. If anything the pony and her family would feel honored that her body can become the vessel of a new princess
>But what about the success ra-
>>This is an Alicorn we’re talking about, heightened senses and bodily functions, remember? Faster healing factor will definitely kick in and bump the success rate considerably. There’s absolutely no chance of her dying on us, or the ritual ever failing, especially when you have Twilight and Starlight to perform it for you
>>Besides, since it would take time for the vessel to fully mutate into Daybreaker’s body, and for her powers to fully develop, and in the meantime, Anon could convince her not to kill everybody before her powers come back
>Y-yes, you’re right…
>>No Cadance YOU are right
>Yes
>I am right
 “S-so all we need is a Soul Stone and a near dead pony? Doesn’t seem so hard”
>Pick that jaw from the floor, Starlight
>You don’t know how many germs there are in this filthy lab
>And a little to her side, Twilight still looks out there; you swear you saw one of her ears swivel in your direction though
>”I-you- what was that?”
>The second purple genius shakes her head, clearly confused by your choice of words
“I said that finding a Soul Stone and a near dead pony sounds simple enough”
>You jump off the chair and stretch your limbs, using your magic to float the book next to you and look for the picture of the Soul Stone in its rough and lapidated states
>The polished Soul Gem still looks super creepy, and you bet it’ll creep you out no matter how many times you stare at the picture
>Starlight looks at you like she saw a serial killer just murder one of her friends right in front of her face
>”Y-you’re actually going to through with this?”
“Yes, I am”
>“E-even after all… THIS!?”
>She waves her forelegs around, motioning for the entire lab surrounding you two plus the shell shocked Twilight
“Absolutely-”
>“ not…”
 >Something interrupts you
 “What?”
>Not?
>Who said tha-
>Oh, Twilight is finally getting out of her funk
>“Absolutely not”
>The low tone she used to speak immediately gives you red flags
>Twilight turns her eyes in your direction, and boy, does she look angry
>”Cadance, I’m not allowing you to continue this madness”
>She jumps off her own chair and trots
>No, scratch that
>Stomps her way up to you
>All the while glaring in her direction
>“Can’t you see this isn’t right?”
>Yeah, you can
>But what else can you do? You’ve searched and researched, and this is the only way you have found to match Anon and Daybreaker
>It’s not like a solution to your problem is gonna drop from the sky right into your lap
>This is the only choice you have, either go through with the ritual, or give up
>And you’re not giving up
“I can, but this is also the only way”
>Twilight’s glare intensifies as she leans forward on the tip of her fore hooves and stares into your eyes
>”Then don’t”
>Don’t?
>As in, don’t do it? Give up?
“Twilight, I can’t just giv-“
>”Yes you can!”
>She nearly screams in your face, at this point she’s pushing you back with her forehead, your horns crisscrossing as she does
>But you can’t let her push you around, and you stop her charge, trying to push her back also
>Geez, she’s got a hard head
“Twilight, you have to understand I’m doing this for the happiness of Anon and Daybreaker”
>”And I’m telling you this has to stop, I’m not siding with you anymore Cadance, and I’m not letting you continue with this inequine ritual!”
>Twilight’s getting angrier and angrier
>And the angrier she gets, the more nervous YOU get
>You’ve never seen her like this before, and it’s making you uncomfortable
>Twilight should never have this expression of anger on her face
>Maybe a little miffed, but not straight up mad
>You’re starting to have second thoughts about this
>No, stop that
>Don’t doubt yourself, this is for Anon and Daybreaker, keep that in mind
“Is it really that bad, to get a dying Pony to perform the ritual?”
>Twilight looks at you like you just grew a second head
>That kind of sounded better in your mind
>”Yes, yes it is Cadance, what in Tartarus are you saying?”
“But if she’s dying already, wouldn’t we be giving her body, like, a second chance?”
>She finally lets off the pushing and takes a few shaky steps back
>Her face slowly morphing from anger to a horrified glare
>Behind her, Starlight looks just as horrified, with a drop of confusion in there too
>”Even if that’s true, you’re still willing to kill an innocent pony that can still survive and live a full life”
>K-kill an innocent pony?
>Are you really willing to kill a civilian?
>You thought that since the pony in question couldn’t possibly survive, it wouldn’t be an issue
>But if she can survive, you’d just be taking away her second chance
>Y-you can’t just give up though, you have to think of something else
>Think Cadance, think
 “T-then why don’t we get an elderly mare on her last legs, I-I mean, it’s not like she’ll have much lo-“
>”CADANCE ARE YOU FUCKING LISTENING TO YOURSELF!?!”
>The entire room shakes from Twilight’s Royal Canterlot Voice, with the glass vials and containers exploding and spilling their gooey contents all over the place
>Even the crystal holding the colt cracked under the pressure of her yell
>She doesn’t look angry anymore
>Twilight looks absolutely pissed
>Why do you feel your foreleg moving on its own?
>Looking down, you see that it isn’t just moving, it’s shaking
>Your whole body is shaking, actually
>Snapping your eyes toward Twilight gets you an immediate step back
>A-are you afraid… of Twilight?
>!
>T-twilight!
>You yelp as she picks you up with her magic and slams you against the bookshelf
>With a ton of force
>The impact leaves you out of air as the old wooden planks break apart and the books rain down around you
>You try to move only to realize that you’re still under Twilight’s magical grip, being pressed forcefully against the broken shelf
>S-scratch that, she looks downright livid
>”Oh my Celestia, Twilight, what are you doing?!”
>Starlight’s shocked yell falls on deaf ears, for Twilight only has eyes for you, and those eyes scream rage
>“Just take a moment and try to listen to the… the… INSANITY YOU’RE SPOUTING!”
>“You’re talking about taking somepony’s life, forever, even in afterlife, like it’s nothing but a chore!”
>She pushes you even further into the broken wooden structure, the sharp broken remains of the shelves painfully jabbing your soft back skin
>”And disrespecting that pony’s family by putting the body through a black magic ritual, and refusing to give them the chance to make a proper funeral”
“T-twi” you manage to let out as a gasp of air
>”All so you can give one guy. ONE. SINGLE. PERSON. A fucking mare to date? One that’s a threat to all of Equestria, at that?!”
>You gasp as the wood pierces your back and draws blood, but Twilight’s pressure don’t give you enough air to scream
“T-twilight, stop…”
>You can feel the corner of your eyes water in both pain and fear
>This isn’t Twilight; she never acted this way before
>”Cadance, no! I am not letting you follow through with this! This is so wrong on so many ways; I can’t even name them all!”
>”And if you’re still willing to go through with this, then I’ll have to stop you, even If by force!”
“Twilight, please, you’re hurting me…”
>You manage form a full sentence, and that looks to be enough to get Twilight off of you
>She drops you flat on the floor unceremoniously
>And you cough and gasp for air, while using your own magic to pull the piece of wood that pierced you in the back
>Thankfully, it was a small piece of wood
>…
>While you try to stabilize your breathing, you feel them
>You feel her eyes glaring holes on the back of your skull
>You dare not raise your head and face those livid purple orbs once more
>Preferring to keep your vision completely focused on the dirty, grimy floor for now
>You dare not even raise yourself, only leaning on your forelegs, still trying to catch your breath
>”So, what is it going to be, Cadance, will you stop? Or do I have to fight you?”
>Your breath hitches in your throat, and your eyes widen in shock
>Fight?
>F-fight you?
>Oh dear Faust, i-is this how far you have gone?
>So deep into this whole mess that Twilight is willing to fight you?
>You slowly look up to meet up with Twilight’s face
>And you see it, you see it, and you don’t
>You see there’s small shred of remorse on Twilight’s cold, hardened face, in the form of small tears on the corner of her eyes
>She’s not sorry about hurting you, but you can see she doesn’t want to do this either
>However, you don’t see any signs of her backing down
>Twilight knows what she said and she’ll follow through if you step out of line
>Step out of the line…
>Oh Faust, what were you thinking?
>Were you really planning on taking somepony’s life just to carry out your promise?
>Looking at her in the eyes is impossible
>The shame doesn’t let you
>S-so this is it…
>The end of the line
>All that hard work for naught
>You wished Twilight was wrong
>Oh, how you wished she was wrong
>And that you were right
>That this whole thing wasn’t as morbid and wrong as it is
>That it was just a simple task
>But she’s right, she’s always right
>You can’t do this
>… Anonymous…
>How are you even going to explain this to Anon?
>You promised you’d get him to meet his match
>You promised yourself that you wouldn’t let him down… but you can’t fulfill it, this is just too much
“I… I’m sorry Twilight…”
>You can feel hot, wet trails running down your cheeks
”I just…”
>You must look like a wreck right now
>All the buildup tension, and stress, and fear of failure that you held back during the last week tears through your emotional barrier
>Your body rocks as you can’t hold back your sobs anymore
“I’m sorry Twilight… I’m sorry Anonymous…”
>Flinching when a pair of hooves suddenly cradles your head
>You look up to see Twilight’s visage of anger gone, replaced by the shedding of her own tears
>Pulling you close, she holds your quaking figure against her chest, and all you can do is throw your forelegs around her and hold her tight
>Bury your face on her chest and cry

--------------------------------------

Part 7

>You knock on the ornate crystal doors to your friend’s bedroom
“Cadance?”
>Pressing your ears against the door, you try to listen to any sound coming from inside the room
>But alas, all you get is cold silence
“Please, talk to me”
>…
>Still nothing
>You sigh loudly as you step away from door
>Be Twilight Sparkle
>Princess of Friendship
>You don’t feel very deserving of said title though
>Three days ago you confronted one of your best and oldest friends over her increasing obsession over matching the human Anonymous and Princess Celestia’s evil half, Daybreaker
>At first, while a bit skeptical, who wouldn’t be, she wanted to release an evil potentially even worse than Nightmare Moon, all so she could date a human
>But nonetheless, you agreed to help her find a way to separate the Princess from the evil within her after Cadance promised to give you all the books and scrolls left behind by Sombra
>You’re a bit ashamed to admit it, but after she offered them you jumped at the opportunity
>It’s not every day that you gain access to ancient magic and historical records, even if they do come from a dubious source
>However, after days of researching, and finding some very unpleasant things along the way, you were starting to have second thoughts about it alongside Starlight
>But Cadance wasn’t, she was dead set in finding a way, anyway, to bring Anonymous and Daybreaker together
>Inside that lab, you were still optimistic enough to think that you could find a way to help Cadance without resorting to something so extreme, but that wasn’t the case
>The tipping point for you, however, was when you heard Cadance so casually dismissing taking the life of another pony so she could perform the ritual
>That was just too much for you
>You just snapped
>You knew right then and there that if you didn’t knock some sense into her head, Cadance would only continue to spiral downwards until a disaster happened
>And the way she would try to make excuses only continued to set you off even more
>You don’t think you have ever being that angry at someone before
>You didn’t want to do it, hurting your friends is the last thing you’ll ever want to do
>But you don’t regret hurting Cadance, she was way past the line of what is acceptable, and you needed to push her back, even if had to do it by force, else she’d just keep going
>After your little scuffle, Cadance realized what she was about to do and broke down right in front of you
>Which in turn nearly broke your heart as you tried to comfort her
>And it all leads to this
>Cadance isolating herself in her bedroom all day for the last three days
>You’ve never seen her so… devastated before
>Even when she was a prisoner at her own wedding, she didn’t look this dejected
>She doesn’t talk to anypony, not even Shining; she only stays in her room doing nothing
>She doesn’t even come out to check on Flurry Heart, leaving all the responsibility of taking care of her foal to Shining Armor, the castle’s maids, and sometimes you
>You don’t approve of this attitude, but considering Cadance’s current state of mind, it might be for the best
>Else she ends up doing something she’ll regret because she wasn’t paying attention
>Every few hours or so you come to try and talk to her, but she never responds back
>This time it will be different though
>With a flick of your magic, you unlock the door and delicately open it, stepping into the dark room
>Every window curtains have being closed, painting the room in a black color, where the only light source comes from the door you have just opened
>And if it wasn’t for said light shaft, you wouldn’t see a thing in the now barely lit room
>And most importantly, you wouldn’t see Cadance’s bed, where a lump can be seen hidden under the blankets
>You trot up to the side of the bed to see her head poking out of the covers, lying softly on her pillow and staring at the covered window
“Cadance…”
>You call her out with a whisper, stepping up in front of her
>She looks up to you and…
>Oh dear
>You don’t like how depressed those eyes look
>There’s not a drop of passion in them
“Cadance, please, just talk to me”
>She looks at you for seconds that feel like minutes, before turning her back to you without saying anything
>Another sigh escape your lips as you try to think what to say next
“Look… I know how important the whole thing is for you”
“I get it, it’s your talent, and your responsibility as the Princess of Love, I’m the Princess of Friendship, and I too feel the same way you do when things doesn’t work out regarding friendship”
“The feeling of failure, like no matter how hard you try it just doesn’t work out in the end, because sometimes it isn’t meant to, no matter how much we want to”
>You lean forward over the bed’s edge and nuzzle the back of your friend’s head
>Her once soft and silky locks were now frazzled and filthy
>She’s even been neglecting herself, which only makes you feel worse
“But you can’t just stay here forever, hiding yourself from the rest of the world, waiting for things to solve themselves”
“Everypony is worried about you, Shining, the castle’s staff, even little Flurry Heart misses your loving touch, all because you refuse to leave the room and face your problem”
“I know it’s painful, but you have to move on, to accept that just this once… things aren’t meant to be”
>Her body rocks slightly as you hear her sobs
>Oh dear, you didn’t mean to make her cry
>But you can’t stop now, Cadance needs to hear this, she can’t just keep isolating herself
 “And you should start by telling Anonymous the truth, it’ll hurt him, and it’ll hurt you, but I’m sure he’ll understand if you explain it to him”
>You pull yourself from your friend and wait for an answer
>Something
>Anything…
>… please…
>But all she does instead is use her magic to pull her blanket over her head, covering all of her body from head to hoof
>You let another sigh escape your lips
>Not saying anything, you just back up from the bed and make your way out of the room, closing the door on your way out
>This time it wasn’t different
>Cadance looks deadest on cocooning herself in the dark and ignore everything and everypony that tries to interact with her
>You could make a sarcastic remark about how mature she was being, shutting herself in like a filly
>But you’re too upset about the whole thing to care
>No more upset than she is, that’s for certain
>Without realizing, you have already arrived at your intended destination, the bedroom you’re sharing with Starlight and Spike
>Despite telling them they were free to go back to Ponville, the both of them still decided to stay behind for you
>The thought brings a small smile to your face as you open the doors and enter your temporary chambers
>The clicking sound of the the doors opening were enough to pull Starlight and Spike out of whatever they were doing, both look your way, but only Starlight walk up to you
>“So, how did it go?” Starlight asks
>You sigh for what feels like the billionth time today, and shake your head negatively
>”Then why were you smiling just now?”
>Were you?
>Oh, Starlight must’ve seen you smiling when you entered the room
“I was smiling about something else unrelated to Cadance”
>“So Cadance is still down on the dumps, huh? That sucks”
>Spike speaks out loud from his spot in the room, lying on his bed, reading one of those weird black and white comics some humans brought with them
>Mangos? Manges?
>You tried reading one, but it wasn’t to your tastes, and reading from right to left was a bit jarring
>Honestly, you don’t know what Spike and Fluttershy find so fascinating about them
>Maybe one day you’ll find one that’s actually good, and find the answer to that
>You actually frown at Spikes poorly worded phrase, but you have to remember he doesn’t know what happened. Only that Cadance is sad for some reason
>”If she doesn’t even want to talk, then what should we do?”
“I don’t know, Starlight”
>Deciding to lay down for a bit too, you make a beeline for your bed
“Wait, or keep trying to get an answer out of her, maybe?”
>Getting onto the bed, you plop down on your side with a pomf
“We’re bound to get to her if we keep trying, but I think she’s just getting more upset with me”
>”And why would Cadance be upset with you?”
>Spike pulls down his menga and looks at you with an inquisitive eye
>Do you even tell him what’s going on?
>Maybe you should, you trust Spike not to spit everything out to Anonymous
“Well-“
>”Twilight accidentally delayed Cadance’s plan to match Anonymous, when she wanted it to happen as soon as possible” Starlight interrupts you
>“Oh, okay then” Spike brings his mangi up
 >”It’s not hard to believe Twilight screwing up like this once in a while” he commented out loud, flipping a page of his comic book
>That’s a bit rude
>You don’t screw THAT much
>… just sometimes
>Your bed shakes a bit under the weight of something climbing on it, shaking you out of your thoughts as you look up to see Starlight plopping herself down by your side
>”I don’t think it’s a good idea to tell anypony else about what’s actually going on”
>She whispers to in your ears
>”Imagine how Anonymous would react if somepony accidentally slips their tongue and tells him he can’t be matched, just like that?”
>You suck some air through your teeth
>Yes, that wouldn’t have the best of results, this is a matter that should be treaded lightly, can’t just have somepony slip up and spill the beans
>From what you’ve seen so far, Anonymous doesn’t sound like the type who would make a big deal out of it, but all it needs is the wrong way relaying the bad news to trigger some unpleasant reaction out of him
>”Which is why I think you should talk to him, I’m sure you can make him understand”
>You shake your head at Starlight’s suggestion
“I would, but I think Cadance needs explain everything to him by herself” you whisper back
“Not only because it is her responsibility, but because doing so means she’s finally accepting she can’t help Anonymous, and is ready to move on”
>Starlight nods in acknowledgement before climbing off your bed to go for her own
>Now all you have left to do is wait for dinner, with nothing in-between to keep your mind occupied from worrying about Cadance
>You could go back to Sombra’s study and indulge yourself on all those books and scrolls just waiting to be read until dinner time
>But after the whole colt in the crystal and morbid soul transfusion ritual thing, you’re not touching any of that with a ten foot pole, at least not so soon
>You might even do what Cadance originally intended and just burn everything down, books, lab, and all
>Your skin crawl at the mere thought of burning books on purpose, but considering their contents, it might be for the best
>You guess a nap is in order then, you’re still pretty tired over the whole debacle, and constantly worrying over Cadance isn’t getting you any less tired
>…


>…
>Dinner was pretty standard stuff
>You let your mind wander back to it while trotting back to your room
>You made small talk with your friends, Shining, and Anonymous while you all ate the delicious food prepared by the castle’s chefs
>Your brother and the human seemed to hit it off pretty well; they’re practically best friends now
>Hay, Shining’s even letting Anon live in the castle instead of the Inn
>At first Shining was there only to keep Anonymous distracted and be the temporary matchmaker, as per Cadance’s request, while you three were busy trying to get Daybreaker
>But throughout the week a genuine bond of friendship formed between these two
>And since friendship is your shtick, you can’t help the big smile on your face whenever you saw the two of them having fun together
>You’re so used to the sight of men as lovers to mares, that it was a breath of fresh air to see some male friendship between men and stallions
>Not only that, but it also showed you that men can live a normal life in Equestria with next to no social hurdles at all, even if they’re not matched with a mare
>With the way they to adapt so well and so quickly, it almost feels like they were made specifically for Equestria, but were cursed to live in a world where their species is the only sentient one, with females who don’t appreciate them
>You were about to turn a corner when
>”Twilight”
>!
>You know that voice!
>Doing the fastest 180º you have ever performed, right there in the middle of the crystal corridor is none other than Cadance in all of her filthy and undignified glory
>Disheveled mane, ruined eye shadow, tear stains, bags under her eyes, grimy coat and mane, and overall a look that would sure to get Rarity fainting on the spot from shock alone
>You don’t know what to say, you’re honestly too surprised to even see Cadance standing, let alone out of her bedroom
>But there she is
“Cadance…”
>You finally respond back, in the most cliché way possible, but you still verbally confirm you acknowledged her
>She stares at you, and looks like she’s about to say something, but stops and turns her eyes to the floor in shame
>You too don’t really know what to say, for the last three days you’ve been trying to talk to Cadance to no avail, and then she suddenly shows up like this
>”I’m-“
“Cadance-“
>You interrupt one another
>Boy, this is awkward
>But you still raise your hoof and motion her too speak first
>Cadance moves her sight back to you, before taking a deep breath
>”I… Twilight, I’m sorry”
>Sorry?
“Sorry for what?”
>”For everything”
>She says softly, slowly stepping up in front of you
>”For how I bribed you, for how I treated you,  for how I hurt you, and for going so far out of line that I even considered…”
>You see her shivering under her skin, you’re pretty sure what she was gonna say
“I’m sorry for reacting to all this like a foal, and… well; I guess I owe a lot of apologizing around here, don’t I? Not just to you, but to my husband, and my baby girl too”
>There’s a small smile on her face, one that reminds you of the Cadance you know, and that puts a smile on your face also
>And without warning, you pull her into a hug
>Cadance stiffens for a second, but soon relaxes in your hold and hugs you back
“It’s okay Cadance; you just wanted what was best for Anon”
>”It’s still not an excuse for the way I acted”
>While holding you even closer, you can feel her body rocking just slightly
>The wet feeling on your shoulder is enough to tell you that she’s failing to hold back her tears
>“I… I ‘ve been thinking over what you told me earlier today”
>Your breath hitches for a second
>“And… I think you’re right”
>And you release a relived sigh
>”My family, my friends, and my subjects are worried, and for me to just sit in the bedroom all day, doing nothing because I’m too afraid to face my problems, and worrying them so needlessly, is not fair for them”
>”It’s just like you said, Twilight, I need to move on”
>Her grip around your shoulders tightens a bit, before vanishing completely, and soon you’re being stared at dead in the eyes by a pair of teary, but determined, purple orbs
>“Tomorrow I’m gonna talk to Anon, and explain everything to him, and apologize for not…
>A heavy sigh escapes her lips
>“For not being able find him love”
>”I just hope he understands, and forgives me for deceiving him all this time”
>You hug your friend once again
“I’m sure he’ll understand, Cadance”
>She wraps her forelegs around my shoulders once more
>”Thank you, Twilight”
>…


>…
>Once again you find yourself in front of Cadance’s bedroom
>Yesterday night, after dinner, she told you that Anon was going to be getting the bad news the next day
>Which just so happens to be today
>As for the reason why you’re again in front of Cadance’s room?
>Not to say that you don’t trust her, but you want to make sure that she’s gonna keep her word and notify Anon of everything that happened in the last days
“Cadance?”
>You knock on the huge ornate doors, but you don’t hear anything
>She better not be locking herself on the room again because she’s too afraid to face her responsibilities
>With your magic you unlock the door and step inside into the dark room to see
>That it’s not actually dark
>Huh
>The room is all tidied up, the bed is made, Princess Celestia’s sun illuminates the room with its bright rays of sunshine, and there no dismayed Princess of Love inside its perimeter
>Only thing out of place are the empty carts near the bed
>Which means Cadance kept her word!
>Nice going Cadance
>Not that you doubted her or… anything
>Hehe
>*cough*
>Anyway
>Despite telling you yesterday of her plans for today, you still expect her to be saddened over having to break Anon’s heart
>And to keep Cadance distracted from her own thoughts about the matter, you intend on finding her and spending the rest of the day with your former Foalsitter
>When you find her, that is
>Not being in her room automatically made it harder for you to track her down
>Why couldn’t she just return here after speaking to Anon? It’d be so much simpler, otherwise
 >Exiting the room and locking the door behind you, you start your hunt for the Princess of Love
>First off, you go to the royal kitchen
>Both to look for Cadance, and because you’re hungry. You haven’t had breakfast yet, so it’s a two for one deal if you manage to find the pink princess there
>Well, you don’t find any princess here, but you do find some delicious croissants fresh out of the oven
>You have eaten croissants before, but these ones are, to quote Rarity, simply divine
>Gotta give props to the head chef’s human match, his skills in the kitchen are top notch
>Sometimes he speaks in a language you don’t understand, and his mare gets all flustered
>Said something about the language of love
>When asked, the head chef does comments that earlier today Cadance did show up, and asked her to get her a bunch of food
>Like, a bunch of food
>A “Shitton” of food according to her husbando
>And bring it all to her room while she finished preparing herself for the day
>That explains the carts
>You knew Cadance was sort of neglecting herself, but you didn’t expect starvation of all things
>Or maybe she’s getting a lot of food to help her cope with having told Anon such depressing news?
>Letting herself go by stuffing her belly with tons of food is not exactly a good thing, even with an Alicorn’s superior metabolism
>Besides, Ice Cream is the go-to ‘I’m sad and I need to indulge myself with junk’ food, [spoiler]patented by Rarity[/spoiler], and there isn’t a single tub of Ice Cream missing from the kitchen
>Maybe she’s gathering as much food as possible and is planning on bailing out on you?
>…
>Pffff-
“Haaaa-hahahaha!”
>You laugh out loud, scaring the two cooks out of their wits for a second there
>Yeah sure, like she’d ever do that
>Anyway, kitchen gets checked out, no Cadance in here
>Completely ignoring the weirded out looks thrown your way, you turn in place and leave the kitchen, but not before picking up two more croissants with your magic
>Where could she be now?
>The dining hall definitely not if the head chef said the food was delivered to her Cadance’s room
>Bathroom also seems to be out of question as the chef also said Cadance was preparing herself for the day ahead
>And the bedroom and kitchen are, of course, marked off your mental checklist. No reason to go back to any of these places after you just came from them
>Cadance did say she wanted to apologize to your brother and niece
>Shining might be busy right now, so Flurry Heart’s room it is
>Maybe you should’ve gone to your niece’s room first; it is right next to Cadance’s after all
>But your hunger spoke louder
>Retreading the way you made to get to the kitchen, you walk a little further after reaching Cadance’s room to get to Flurry Heart’s
>You open the door gently, in case she’s sleeping, you don’t want to wake up the foal
>You poke your head through the big enough crack and with scam the room with your eyes
>The room is dimly lit, which makes sense if someone is indeed sleeping here
>But still no Cadance
>You could just back off and be on your way
>But since you’re here already, why not take a look at your cute little niece?
>You don’t have many chances to see her, might do it now that you’re a head into the room
>With soft steps, you walk up to the crib and look over its rail guards to see your niece sleeping adorably
>Awww
>You do your best to keep that ‘aww’ inside your head to not wake her up
>But holding back the need to kiss that squishy little cheek is too impossible for the moment, and you lean down, touching your lips to her adorable face
>Leaning back, you end up furrowing your eyebrows when you notice the small smile on your niece’s muzzle that you didn’t see before
>You know this smile, this very specific smile, Flurry Heart only smiles like this when Cadance puts her to sleep with her special lullaby
>And Cadance only sings that lullaby when she’s… leaving for an unspecified period of time
>…
>Backing away, you leave the room and gently close the door behind you
>No, this isn’t it. It definitely isn’t what you’re thinking, Twilight
>Cadance just sang the song because it has been some time she did it for Flurry Heart. Yeah, she commented she does this sometimes, not specifically for when she’s going on a trip
>Nothing to worry
>You guess you should go find Shining Armor now, if there’s anypony who definitely knows where Cadance is, it’s your big brother
>You don’t even notice your quickened pace
>The trek is a little longer this time, after all, the Royal Guard’ barracks are on the outside of the castle
>You could go see if he’s by the Crystal Heart, but you know for fact this week haven’t had any humans, and he’s still waiting for the heart to process the results of the last batch of men
>So he’s most likely at the barracks, possibly with Anon
>The barracks are pretty empty, but that’s to be expected, most of the guards are on duty at the moment, not to say that there aren’t some Royal Guards around here, of course, those must be waiting for their shifts
>And just as you thought, there are the two of them, training in the middle of the training grounds
 >Well, more like Shining drilling Anon into the ground with exercises, it seems, you can only hear the yells because there’s a circle made up of off duty guards on the sidelines, obstructing your view and shouting loudly as well
>“Is this the best a human can, do!? Huh!? I expected better of your stupid race, how do expect to woo the ladies when you can’t even do a fucking push up!!”
>You furrow your browns upon hearing your brother scream obscenities from afar
>Yeah, you get it, this is par for the course when in the military, but you still think this is too far
>Especially when Anon isn’t in the Royal Guard, he shouldn’t be treated like one
>Being racist, even if not serious, is still not nice
>And he just got the worst possible news a man coming to Equestria could have possibly gotten
>You quicken your pace, you need to see what’s going on, and possibly stop Shining from severing his friendship
>”If this is your best then pack your shit and go back to your world!! We don’t need faggots like you tainting our Equestria with your pathetic essence!!”
>Okay, that’s it, Shining you’re going too far there
>You finally get to the circle and start pushing aside the guards while muttering excuse me left and right
>But what is this you’re hearing? They’re cheering and urging him to do better
>”C’mon Anon, are you gonna let the Captain trash talk you like that!”
>”Don’t humans have any pride!?”
>”Only five more to finish this rep, man, you can do it!”
>”You better not lose. I’m betting good money on you winning this!”
>”No one told you to bet shit!”
>Okay, that was Anon, after you push past the guards, you see Anon doing pushups and-
>My goodness, there’s a pony the size of Big Mac lying on his back!
>“Who allowed you to talk, Anon!? Give me more twenty just for uttering a word without my permission!”
>“Fuck you Shining, I wanna see you do pushups with a big ass horse sitting on your back!”
>It takes a lot of effort, but Anon is actually, albeit very slowly, doing the push ups
>Anon looks unusually determined here
>Poor Anonymous, he must’ve taken the news pretty hard, and is trying to keep himself as distracted as possible
>While he does so, you can’t help but notice the small muscle definition of his arms
>He isn’t the fittest looking human you’ve seen. Hay, you can even say he’s a bit out of shape
>But if this is what Shining and Anon have been doing every day, then in roughly two months’ time…
>Stop licking your lips Twilight
>You’ll get your turn soon
>N-not that you want a husbando or anything, of course!
>”I can take on many Stallions on my back without flinching!!”
>A sudden wave of silence washes over the training grounds as everypony, including yourself, stare wide eyed at your brother
>Even Anon and his cargo stopped midway through his push up to look
>Shining, of course, didn’t realize until ten seconds of silence, when closed his mouth with both hooves in shock
>…
>Pffff-
>You stick your hoof in your mouth and manage to keep it to yourself, but the rest of the guards don’t feel like holding back
>”AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!”
>The entirety of the royal guards burst out laughing, falling down, rolling, pounding the floor, you name it
>Anonymous laughed so hard his arms couldn’t hold him anymore and he fell on his face, and groaned in pain after the pony fell with him
>Even Shining couldn’t contain himself and laughed just as hard with the rest of his soldiers
>It took the whole lot an entire minute to calm down
>With anon being chewed out by the guard who had bet on him
>Taking some deep breaths to prevent yourself from laughing all of a sudden, you trot up to Shining
“Shining”
>You call him out
>He turns your way and smile, closing in the distance between you two even faster
>”Ha-Hey there, Twily” she says between uneven laughs
“Can we talk?”
>He lifts an eyebrow but doesn’t ask anything, and shrug his shoulders in what you can only guess is a why not
>“Hey Anon, take five!”
>”Fuck off”
>Shining laughs some more, before leading you to a more secluded place a few meters away from the rest of the group
>He finally stops and turns to you, only to reel back a bit
>Probably because of the face you’re making right now
>”What?”
“So, is this how you spend most of your days with Anonymous?”
>”Of course not”
>You lift an eyebrow
>No more is needed
>”Yeah, okay, most of the time. But he asked for it, and it’s not like we’re in immediate danger to have every single unit up and alert”
>Uh-huh
>This time he looks truthful though, so you’ll give him that
>”Anyway, what is it you wanted to talk to me?”
>Oh yeah, you came here to ask where Cadance was, and you kinda forgot when watching Anonymous doing pushups
“I wanted to ask you if you’ve seen Cadance”
>”Cadance?”
>You nod
>”I haven’t seen her since I woke up this morning. She was still sleeping, why?”
>…
>What?
“Wait, so she didn’t came here today?”
>Your brother leans to the side his head in confusion and scratches his ear
>”Should she?”
>Oh boy, your bad feelings are coming back full force
>”Also, now that you touched on the subject, can you tell me why was Cadance so out of it lately?”
“W-what do you mean?”
>Please don’t make any more questions. You don’t want to lie to your brother
>”I mean how in the last few days she basically locked herself in our bedroom and wouldn’t come out no matter how much I begged her to”
“Ummm”
>Think, Twilight, think
“She’s just… tired! Yeah, really tired, you know, Anonymous’ match is a very special pony from a kingdom far, far away, and she’s very tricky to work with, so all this time Cadance has been trying to make negotiations with my help, and we haven’t reached a deal yet”
>Please buy this, please buy this, please buy this
>”I see, so is she, like, a Princess something?”
>He’s buying it, roll with it Twilight
>“Yes, actually, that’s why it’s been so hard to contact her, she lives very far away from here,  and we’ve been negotiating all this time. Cadance wants her to come here and see Anonymous for herself, but she doesn’t want to make the trip here and then go back when it could take two full months”
>”I can see why one wouldn’t want to make a trip like that, being a Princess and all. Two months with no leader is just too much, it could lead to a disaster”
>”But why not just send Anon then?”
“Becaaaa….”
>C’mon Twilight, think of something
“…aaause she’s has to be…”
>Pick your words very carefully
“… registered by the… Crystal Heart?”
>You offer the best ‘please buy this’ smile you can make
>Which suffice to say isn’t really that great
>Your brother furrows his eyebrows, and leans forward with his head turned, making you unconsciously lean back
>Oh dear, he’s not buying it
>Stop sweating Twilight, he’s gonna smell your recently discovered deceiving nature
>”Wow Twilight, I didn’t know you knew that about the Crystal Heart”
>He smiles and leans back
>wat
>”For a moment there I thought you were hiding something from me”
>”I thought I had you with that last question, but you were spot on”
>He laughs out loud
“Yeaaaaeeh…”
>You laugh nervously, rubbing your leg with your hoof
>”Anyway, why would Cadance come down here?”
>This one you might as well tell the truth, it’s not informative enough to get him suspicious anyway
“She told me she was going to apologize for worrying you so much. I need to talk to her, so I sorta expected you’d know where she was”
>”Oh, well, okay then, I hope she shows up later then. If not, then I’ll talk to her before we go to bed”
>You hear the joints in his neck popping as he turns it left and right before facing the group of Royal Guards
>“Now if you excuse me I have, I have an Anon to groom into the perfect husbando material for whoever this mysterious Princess is”
“Wait!”
>Your brother turns back to with an inquisitive look
“Don’t tell Anon his match is a Princess, it’s… supposed to be a surprise”
>He flashes a smirk and a hoof wave before cantering back to the group of stallions and one man
>*Sigh*
>You slowly make your way out of the barracks, dodging and waving any incoming Royal Guard that might be coming back from duty
>Once you reach the Castle your walk turns into a trot
>Which becomes a canter
>And then finally sets into full gallop
>Sprinting down the halls of the castle full speed ahead, there’s only one thing in your mind
>Sombra’s hidden lab
>In no time you reach the still messy study and use your magic to pull the book lever that opens the hidden passageway by the fireplace
>Passage open, you step over the fallen books and broken furniture and rush into the dark set of stairs leading to the start of all your current problems
>Finally getting into the ominous lab, you pick every book from their places on the shelves, tables and the ground with your magic, and circle them all around you as you read through each of their titles
“Where is it… where is it?”
>You keep repeating the phrase to yourself like a mantra, throwing away all your belief in facts and science, hoping that any deity hearing it will help you in this time of need for just this one moment
>And finally you read the title of the last book
>It’s gone
>They’re gone
>Your magic s grip on the books vanishes, letting them drop to the floor
>And you feel your legs go weak as you stumble onto one of the wooden shelves, using it as leverage
>The information on how to access Tartarus and the steps to the Soul Transfusion ritual are gone
“… Cadance, what have you done?”

--------------------------------------

Part 8

>“The Gates of Tartarus, the entrance to eternal confinement”
>”Guarded from the inside by the mighty Cerberus to prevent any individual from ever trying to escape, Tartarus serves as a prison for those who have done deeds so horrifying, even their own peers look down upon on them with scorn”
>”A place of hate and misery, where the wicked are left to rot for the rest of their lives for their crimes committed upon society”
>You close the book in your magic grip after reading enough and put it back inside your saddlebag
>Be Mi Amore Cadenza
>Also known as Cadance
>Also known as the Princess of Love
>And most likely to be known as utterly fucking insane from this day forth
>You have read enough for now, and if you keep it out in the air like this, the book will get drenched by the snow, and you won’t be able to read anything
>You certainly don’t want that happening when you still need it for later
>The scarf you’re wearing can barely keep you warm in the cold climate as you continue to trudge through the isolated snow filled valley far, far away from the kingdom of Equestria
>Yeah, it’s really fucking far away, if you thought Yakyakistan was far away, oh boy, you’re in for a treat
>You had to use multiple teleportation spells in succession to reach this end of the world as fast as you could, burning through your mana pools like a hungry homeless pony
>If you hadn’t brought some magic restoring potions with you, you wouldn’t make it through the first few miles without fainting from exhaustion, because there was a lot of ground to cover
>Now you must be thinking? Cadance, why’d you do something so stupid?
>Well, who wants to be caught? No you, that’s who
>If you went by hoof, flying, or train, you’d easily be caught by Auntie Celestia, Auntie Luna, or Twilight
>A chill running down your spine both from the cold, and the fear of being caught red hoofed reminds you to wrap the scarf snugglier around your neck, shoulders and withers
>And you thought the ice and snowy mountains surrounding Crystal Empire were cold, this shit is even worse
>You wonder just how humans deal with this type of environment when they have next to no fur on their bodies, they wear clothes even when the day is hot, a place like this must get them to look like balls of cloth and fabric
>Which is admittedly pretty funny when you think about it
>Now, why are you in this no pony’s land in the first place?
>Because you’re about to open the Gates of Tartarus to do what is guaranteed to be the stupidest, most idiotic, and downright mental thing you’ll ever do in your ever living life
>Find a piece of rock
>You’re gonna get in there, get a Soul Stone from the Well of Spirits, and get out
>Easy peasy lemon squeezy, right?
>Ye- no, not really
>You can’t get in there, get the thingamajig, and just up and leave
>That’d be too easy, and things are never easy for this Princess of Love gone rogue
>No, you can’t because the gate only stays open for ten minutes before closing off for a month
>One. Fucking. Month
>Apparently it’s a failsafe, in case a recently convicted pony is sent to Tartarus and the Cerberus somehow fails to prevent its escape.
>If that happens, the gates themselves will be sealed shut for the duration of a month preventing the pony from making an escape for freedom
>By the time gates are ready to be opened again, whoever this pony is will have no strength to try and escape again due to lack of energy, since food is so scarce in Tartarus
>And the stress of having its complete and undivided attention into surviving the place will have taken a toll on the pony’s body and psyche, of course
>And it’s not like this pony would be able to open the gates anyway, the amount of magic and strength needed to even budge it is ridiculous
>Yeah, this place is definitely not for the faint of heart
>Which is why you came prepared with your trusty saddlebag, enchanted to carry more shit that it’s actually capable of, and stuffed it with as much food , first-aid kits, and the aforementioned potions, as you could possibly cram in it
>Can’t keep relying on your superior Alicorn physiology, can you? Recovering faster than normal ponies is no excuse to slack
>Why first-aid kits instead of health potions, though?
>Because this isn’t a game; health potions don’t exist, what are you, dumb?
>Hopefully you won’t need to use those first-aid kits, ever
>You feel like you forgot something very important though
>But no matter how hard you try you just can’t seem to remember it
>Well, it doesn’t matter, if you can’t remember it that’s because it probably isn’t really THAT important
>As you approach the gate, you gulp down a lump in your throat as you take in its gargantuan size and intimidating presence
>You had seen how massive it was from afar while trekking through these mountains; you could even see the top of the gate poking from behind these mountains, a testament of how big it actually is
>But from up close it’s… colossal is the only word you can come up to describe it
>It’s easily as tall as your own castle, hay, it might even be taller; you don’t doubt that
>And you got a tall ass castle, the tallest between all Princesses
>A rectangular monolith made of the blackest of obsidians, with ominous engraved marks running down its length, drawing the outlines of, funnily enough, a gate
>And at its base, two cylindrical altar looking thingies on the corners of the gate
>They are the levers that open the gate, believe or not
>Before opening the gates, however, you look back the way you came from, and reminisce the things you had done in order to get here
>You lied
>You lied to your best friend and fellow Princess right on her face
>You made her believe you truly had given up and moved on from your objective
>Only to bail out on her and leave the castle without anypony noticing
>You didn’t even say goodbye to your own husband
>Too ashamed to lie to his face that you were going to go meet Anon’s match and bring her to the Crystal Empire like you originally intended to do
>Not really a lie, that’s what you plan on doing, but it’s not the entire truth either
>It doesn’t make you feel any good doing it
>In fact, you feel like the biggest piece of shit
>You know Twilight is absolutely correct about everything she said
>But this is something you need to do
>You made a promise, and you plan on keeping it
>Unlike most of the human males that come through the portal
>Anon actually had a life that many would find enviable
>He had a good job that paid well
>A loving family that supported him
>Many friends to spend time with
>Yet he gave up all of that because the only thing he truly valued he was unable to obtain in his world
>True love
>Despite having a good life, he was still unhappy with it
>If Anonymous can give up on everything he had back in his world just for the chance of finding real love
>Then how can YOU just give up and tell him all he did was for naught?
>As the Princess of Love, it is your job-
>No, your obligation to help him
>You’ll gladly deal with the consequences and punishments later, after he’s united with the mare his heart is reserved for
>Taking a deep breath, you roll your shoulders and pop your neck in preparation
>Once in there, you can’t go back for a month
>You step up closer, right in-between the two cylindrical altars, and close your eyes in concentration
>You focus on your magic and two glowing tendrils of wavy mist shoot out of your horn and arc towards the altars
>You have to do just like the instructed by the book you took from Sombra’s lab
>Grab the handles on top of the altars, pull them up, and once they’re pulled out, you turn the left and right levers counter clockwise, and clockwise respectively
>The whole process is very difficult indeed; it feels like those levers weight a ton
>If it weren’t for you being an Alicorn you don’t think you’d be capable of pulling anything at all
>Turns out the levers are also shaped like cylinders, how original
>Having the levers out and ready to be turned as instructed, you prepare for the real difficult part
“This is gonna hurt, I can feel it”
>You instinctively close your eyes as you turn the levers
>But upon hearing the clicking sound, nothing happens
>You open your eyes again to look at the altars for a moment, thinking the book was a ruse
>When it suddenly hits you
>Your bloodcurdling scream echoes loudly throughout the entire the valley; and you nearly drop down onto the fluffy snow as the levers drains you out of your magic through the tendrils
>On instinct you dissolve your magic grip, and you fall on your side onto the snow, breathing heavily from your mouth
>Never before have you been so glad to wear little on the cold
>The freezing snow will cool you down
>Because by your Auntie you’re hot, and sweaty
>What was that!?
>You gulp down large quantities of air, trying to calm your breathing down as much as you can
>The book said that the gate would suck your magic, and that it would hurt, but that was something else entirely
>You can’t even describe it because it went down so fast
>You just felt a spike of pain as soon as the gate started absorbing your mana like a black hole, and you ended up letting go the moment you were struck
>With your breathing finally stabilizing, you turn your eyes to the two altars
>The levers are still up, but you can see them slowly turning to their original position
>And no doubt will sink back into the altars as soon as they finish spinning
>Oh no, you’re not pulling them up again, no sir
>With shaky legs you pull yourself up to a standing position
>You reach inside your saddlebag with your magic and pull out a round glass bottle filled with blue liquid before throwing it onto the snow and pushing it down until only the mouth and neck were out
>You’re pretty sure it’s a good call to cool that thing down before opening the gate
>Taking a few deep breaths to completely subdue it to normal levels; you shoot the tendrils of magic back at the levers and grab a firm hold on their handles, preventing them from turning any further
>Shut your eyes, keep yourself focused, what is your motivation?
>You’re here to get a Soul Stone, a key item in your grand scheme of uniting Anon and Daybreaker
>And you’re not letting a dumb gate prevent you from completing your objective
>Gritting your teeth and tightening your muscles, you brace yourself in a wide stance for the incoming pain after turning the levers back in place
>Wait for i-
“GUUH!!”
>It takes all your will power not to scream bloody murder for a second time as the gate starts draining your mana all over again
>Celestia, it hurts so much!
>It feels like you were set on fire, everything burns on the inside
>But this time you’re prepared in both body and mind, and there’s no way this hurdle won’t be jumped over
>No matter… how much… it hurts
>You open your eyes and look at the levers to see that there’s a glowing bar with the color of your magic raising from its base to the top, and it’s barely one fifth of the way through
>You can only grunt in frustration at this point; and pain too of course
>But you gotta suck it up; a couple’s love life hangs in the success of your self-imposed quest, weakness is not an option
>It takes minutes that felt like agonizing hours, but lever finally fill up with your magic, and you no longer feel the hot stabbing pain of having your mana ripped from your insides
 >The snow suddenly looks so cold and inviting as well, you think you’re gonna-
>*Pomf*
>Ummm, yeah…
>Rub that face on that snow Cadance, rub it all over
>Celestia have mercy, your muscles can barely work
>Fucking muscle spasms only makes the sensation worse
>You never felt this physically and magically drained in your life
>Even when you actually had all of your magic removed from your body once
>So you’re just gonna sit here and rest for a moment
>No wonder your aunts, more specifically Auntie Luna, are in charge of opening the Gates and sending ponies to their life long prison
>Any Royal Guard would probably faint before the process was even halfway done, and a normal pony would turn into a vegetable on the spot
>Shining and Starlight could probably have a go at it and succeed, but would be knocked out instantly after
>You’re so damn lucky you’re a fucking Alicorn, never before have you been so glad to be one
>Your ears suddenly flicks when it picks up a sound of gears turning, and you move your head from its spot on the snow to see the levers quickly turning back to their original position
>Aw shit, not again, you followed the procedure all the way through, that’s bullshit
>You try to get up again, but you’re hurting way more than last time, and can’t do much besides watch as all your hard work turns to-
>Something different?
>The levers sink back into the altar, but as soon as they do, the engraved markings on them, similar to the ones on the monolith itself, start to glow with your magic’s cyan color
>Turning your head toward the gargantuan obsidian gate, you see the engraved markings slowing being filled with your cyan magic from the base to the top
>The gate like image engraved on the monolith standing out even more, confirming that yes, it looked like an arching gate was drawn on the monolith
>And soon enough, before your very eyes, the drawn gate on the monolith glows a white color and a portal to the place you never before thought you’d return to opens
“Tartarus…”
>You speak under your breath
>You did, you actually did it, you madmare
>You opened the gates to Tartarus
>However, as much as it feels great, staying here is this freezing, yet enjoyable snow is not the smartest of ideas
>That gate is going to close in a few minutes, and if you don’t get in there before it does, then bye bye Soul Stone, and hi there Auntie Celestia, that’s a pretty angry scowl you have on your face please don’t kill me
>Because you’re damn well sure that your Auntie is coming after you, either her or Twilight
>And you’re damn well sure that either of them can beat your ass into submission in no time and drag you kicking and screaming back to Canterlot for some questions regarding your sanity
>So with the effort of a thousand earth ponies combined, and aching muscles ready to snap and tear at any given moment, you stand up on your four legs
>Stretching your legs and rolling your shoulders to alleviate the sore muscles is a go too, wouldn’t want to go tumbling down because they hurt too much
>With the little magic you have left, you pull the round bottle from its spot inside the snow, by now it must at the very least be a little cold, and hopefully freezing
>Pulling the cork with your teeth, you spit it out after a loud *POP* and bring this bad boy to your mouth, drinking its blue contents voraciously
>Mana potions don’t taste the best, but you’d be lying if any freezing cold drink wouldn’t do wonders to the raging inferno that are your insides right now
>And boy, does it comes in hoofy
>You can already feel the effects of the potion taking place inside your system
>In five minutes tops you’ll be good to spam magic spells to your hearts content just like usual
>Except for long distance teleportation spells
>Those suck
>Eying the opened gate up and down, you take another deep breath in preparation
>This is it, the point of no return
>Not just physically
>If you go ahead
>If you step into that portal…
>All of your friends, who knows what you’re doing right now, will never see you in the same way ever again
>And not for the better
>Your relationship with Twilight, Starlight, and your aunts will never be the same from this point onwards
>You just hope they’ll keep it all to themselves
>Imagining Shining looking down on you with disappointment in his eyes sends shivers down your spine
>But none of it matters anymore
>You’ve made up your mind already, Cadance
>Without any more delay, you step up toward the open gates
>The time has come, and so have you
>Walking through the portal sure felt weird, like you walked through thin veil of… something
>It doesn’t look like it, but there’s an invisible, barely tangible magic field covering the entrance
>And not even a second after you went through the field, the portal shuts down with a loud bang, scaring you out of your wits
>Doing a 180º, you see the same monolith from before, only this time with a huge glowing rune over the engraved image of a gate
>You may not have the most reliable knowledge on runes, but you’re pretty damn sure that means the gate is sealed shut, and won’t open until a month’s time hits
>You turn around again to look at the place you were once locked away at
>And it looks just as shitty as it did back then
>Welp, no coming back now, you’re stuck here for a month, better start searching for that Well of Spirits
>You pull the book from your saddle bag, and trek forward while reading the necessary information
> So focused on looking into the exact info you need, that you don’t see shadow starting to cover your figure until you hit head into something
“Uff”
>You put the book back and rub your forehead, only to freeze when you hear a growl
>Oh-Uh
>Looking up, there it is, none other than the three-headed dog, guardian of Tartarus, ball lover, and angry as fuck, Cerberus
>All of its three heads roar in your face, covering your face in gross giant dog drool
>But your surprise, and disgust, quickly morphs into confidence
>Getting past it is well within your realm of you know how to get past it, Twilight told you of the time she teleported Cerberus to Ponyville and how the town dealt with it
>You may be no Fluttershy, but you do have the means of temporarily dealing with this canine behemoth
>All you have to do is…
>…all you have to do is…
>You dig into the saddlebags for a bit
>Okay, where is it?
>You rummage them with your magic but you don’t find the-
>!
“Aaaargh”
>You groan out loud
>So that’s what you forgot
>The rubber ball
“Shit”

--------------------------------------

Part 9

>You’ve been in this place for… how long now? Days? Weeks?
>No, definitely not weeks, you’d know if you were stuck here for weeks
>Because you wish you were stuck here for weeks; that would mean you were halfway through your mission and halfway through getting out of this fucking place
>There may be no day and night cycle in Tartarus, but you still have a good grasp on yourself to know that there hasn’t been a week yet
>A watch would come in hoofy though, at least it you give you a better grasp on time
>You’ve been wandering Tartarus for a few days now, maybe three, or four… you think
>That’s what it feels like for you, you’re no Auntie Celestia or Auntie Luna, but you spent enough time with the two of them before to know a thing or two about time without having to rely on any celestial body’s position
>It’s all about the internal clock, they said
>When you feel sleepy, it’s most likely around nine to ten PM, which is the time you usually go to bed
>Since you slept a total of three times since you got here, then you must be on your fourth day
>You were lucky to actually find places to sleep, or rest
>Because so far every single sentient creature inside this damn place is out for your blood
>They don’t like your Aunts, like, at all
>Especially Celestia
>Before Auntie Luna’s return, Auntie Celestia was obviously in charge of condemning and banishing criminals and extremely dangerous creatures to Tartarus
>And the overwhelming majority of criminals living on Tartarus right now were banished by your Aunt
>These guys see you’re an Alicorn, and correctly assume you’re related to the Princesses in some way, much to your annoyance
>These guys don’t even care if you have never heard of them before
>They want to hurt you just to satisfy their twisted sense of “retribution”
>Which basically meant you had to split your time between four overall objectives
>Reading more information on Tartarus and the shit you need to retrieve
>Look for the Well of Spirits
>Look OUT for anypony trying to get the drop on you
>And find a safe and secluded spot to rest and/or sleep
>So far so good, nothing major has happened other than you avoiding encounters and combat at all costs
>No way you’re fighting any of those deranged psychopaths
>You may be an Alicorn, and have super pony strength and magical capabilities
>But you wouldn’t be caught dead wasting time and energy on pointless fights when you resources aren’t infinite
>Especially when they’re here for a reason, you don’t fuck with those guys
>No sir
>Self-defense is reserved exclusively for do-or-die situations, if high tailing out of a tough spot isn’t doable; then these bastards will get their damn fight
>And thankfully, you’ve managed to escape from all these lunatics
>They did gave you quite the chase though, but your wings and superior Alicorn physical prowess outlasted their normal… everything
>It also helps that while most of them are weak and starving; you’re full of energy thanks to the food you brought along
>Speaking of food
>You’ve seen some of them eying your shit
>They know there’s something in those saddlebags that would make their stay in this Auntie forsaken land a little, teensy-weensy bit more bearable, even if only temporary
>So you have to make sure nothing happens to your cargo; else you’ll truly be fucked
>Because there’s no sun and moon, there’s no such thing as booming, natural plant life
>Which means no hay, or fruits, or vegetables to eat
>Which means no fucking food at all
>Only rocks, dirt, and more rocks
>Maybe a water stream, or a lake here and there
>And then some more rocks and dirt, with the odd dead tree giving Tartarus a picturesque feel
>So, when they have no natural source of food, what do you think they do?
>Yeah
>You found out for yourself, and it wasn’t very pretty
>Not that there aren’t wild creatures living in this place ripe for the picking
>But when push comes to shove, well, just know that those fucks aren’t very picky
>You should add ‘look out to not get fucking eaten’ as the fifth overall objective
>The closest thing to a tree they’ll ever get in this place, as mentioned before, are dead trunks
>At least they’re good for making fire whenever it gets too cold
>Saves you the trouble of wasting mana by summoning actual fire
>Having a soldier for a husband sure came in hoofy
>Shining insisted on teaching you survival basics in case your magic ever failed you
>And putting those teachings to good use, you have
>No mana depletion or hunger for you
>You only hope it keeps this way till the end
>…

>…
>Shit, fuck!
“Sooo… you three gentle…gryphons looking for something?”
>Good job Cadance, you fucking done it now
>All you had to do was be on your way, keep quiet, and let nature run its course
>But noooo, you just had to go and interrupt the three dangerous and hungry gryphons from getting their prey
>All because it just happened to be youngling of whatever species your auntie banished here who got separated from its pack
>In the middle of a plain stretch of land with next to no places to escape or hide other than a few rock formations and a chasm on the horizon no less.
>Damn your motherly instincts
>That thing is probably gonna die by itself anyway and you still put yourself in danger for it
>At least you can be relieved over the fact that you still retained a modicum of decency
>You shoot your assailants the least nervous smile you can muster
>But they sure as hay don’t care about your smiles
>The three gryphons in front of you slowly approach your cornered position
>You tried running away, but these guys are surprisingly fast
>And you bet your ass they’re even faster when flying
>And look surprisingly healthy too
>Compared to the Ponies, Minotaurs, and Changelings you’ve seen so far of course
>Damn predators and they meat based diets
>Tartarus is like an all you can eat buffet for them
>”How’s it gon be, pretty pony?”
>The gryphon in the middle asked you, stepping up closer
>”You made us lose our hard earned meal”
>Hard earned?
>That little… whatever it was, could barely outrun them
>If anything they were looking for an easy snack
>”How are ya gon compensate?”
>He punches the rock you’re corned against and-
>Holy shit, is that hole that he just made?
*gulp*
>Leans his head close to yours, and you shrink back
>Respect the personal space please
>”How did a sweetheart like ya ended up in a place like this anyway?”
>Back the fuck off!?!?
>Alright mister
>Let’s make one thing crystal clear
>Only my husband gets to call me sweetheart
“Well… what do you want?”
>You wish you’d say that to his face of course
>But igniting their wrath upon thy soul is not exactly a good strategy
>You do seem to have the element of surprise though
>They have yet to claim you’re an Alicorn, so your guess is that they haven’t noticed your wings underneath the saddlebags
>“What Ah want? Hmm, ya see, missy… we’ve been here for…”
>He snaps his talons and looks up in wonder
>”Ten years, boss”
>”Yes, ten years... bucking hay, ten years!?”
>He looks back at his partners in crime with crooked eyebrow
>Meanwhile you’re thinking how Equestrian swears sound kinda silly and try hardy compared to human swears
>Is this how you used to swear?
>Man, having humans around sure influenced your vocabulary more than you realized
>”Think so boss, s’been so long I wouldn’t doubt it”
>The ‘boss’ removes his fist from the rock wall and turns back to his companions
>“No way it has been ten years, Ah remember being kicked here by that whorse Celestia like it was yesterday”
>”I think it’s been six”
>”No one cares about what ya think, Grant”
>Oh shit, are they ignoring you?
>You look to see the three of them and they totally are ignoring you; arguing about how long they’ve been in here
>Maybe you can slip away while they’re busy being idiots
>You slink down the wall and crouch on the floor
>Gotta go stealthy
>One hoof at a time, you make it away from them as quietly as possible
>Good thing THIS time you didn’t forget to store away your regalia in the saddlebags
>You’re almost ninety percent sure they’re the reason you were immediately assumed to be related to your aunts
>But now that you don’t have them on, they can’t tell shit because your wings are hidden under your bags
>Now all you have to do is sneak OUT!!-
>“And where do ya think you’re going, sweetheart?”
>Something pulls you by the tail, and soon enough a claw grabs your side and turns you around on your back
>Now you’re staring at three gryphon faces hovering over you
>“Did we allow ya to leave? Ah don’t think so, there’s still a lost dinner to be paid”
>”Lunch, boss”
>“Shut yer trap, Gilver”
>”Shutting up, boss”
>”Now…”
>He brings a claw to your face and slowly caresses your cheek
>You can’t help but shiver in pure disgust
>His touch just reeks of…
>Malice? Perversity?
>Shit, you can barely even describe it
>It just feels so wrong
>”… how’re ya gon make it up to us?”
>His claw traces your neck, and slowly climbs down to your chest
>You have to hold down your hoof with all your will; else you punch this fuck in the face and get struck back with rock piercing punches
>Hopefully his underling aren’t as strong, it’d be a bitch to fight off that strength times three if a brawl happens
>And no matter how hard you can hit with those hooves, even as an Alicorn, a hooffight with a gryphon is plain stupid
>Also, you’re pretty sure those claws ain’t there just to look menacing
>So you decide for the next course of action
>You don’t care if you’ll waste mana anymore
>Teleporting your ass out of here is far more important than picking a fight
“Well, for starters…”
>You give the three of them the sultriest smirk you can muster
>And immediately they fall head over heels for you
“… I’m not giving you shit”
>You horn glows the usual cyan color as you prepare to teleport the hay away from here
“Ta-TaAAAh!”
>OOOW, YOUR HORN!
>”Do ya think we’re stupid, missy?”
>Kinda, yeah
>You mean, the three dumb-dumbs have yet to notice your cargo
>One would think the first thing they’d be doing is inspect the saddlebags
>You hiss and groan, the grip on your horn getting tighter
>Feeling your body head and body move up, you can only assume he’s pulling your head to his eye level
>You open one shaky eye lid to see the leader of the bird trio leaning closer to your face
>”We crossed paths with plenty o’ Unicorns before, we know ya can’t use yer fancy, schmancy magic with a hurtin’ horn”
>Of all the things they could’ve known…
>A unicorn’s weakness just had to be one of them
>How you wish ascension would negate that, but nope, still sensitive as a motherfucker
>”And we also know they don’t work for quite a few days after they’re broken”
>What!?
>No!
>NONONONONONON-
*CRACK*
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGGH”
>The yell could be heard from a mile away as you scream your lungs out in pain
>You hit the floor, cradling your head and rolling into a ball as soon as the gryphon lets go of your horn
>Teary eyes shut, gritted teeth and labored breathing are the best you can do to try and mitigate the horrible pain on your horn and head
>By Celestia… it hurts so much
>He didn’t even snap it
>Only squeezed until it cracked, but it feels a dagger was plunged right into your skull
>Why didn’t you just teleport when they we bickering? You fucking mongoloid bitch
>You were trying to save mana, now you can’t use magic at all
>You hear laughter to your right, and before you can react, a claw holds your throat and forces your head against the floor
“What are you *guh* gonna do to me?”
>You ask between grunts
>Your breath hitches the moment you feel the tip of his claws on your throat, poised to tear your artery out
>”Ah don’t know… hmmm?“
>As if feigning indecisiveness, he cups his beak with his free claw and hums in mock wonder
>Wrapping your hooves around his front leg, you try to pry his claw off of your throat
>Unfortunately, all you succeed at is making him squeeze your throat even tighter
>”What should ah do, boys?”
>”Let’s eat her boss, she’s got a lot of meat on those flanks”
>Fuck *guh* off
>Your ass… is not that fat
>”Indeed she does”
>Your skin crawls in disgust the moment you feel something sharp rubbing your flank
>Keep that claw… for yourself
>You try bucking him, but as soon as you pull your hind legs for a kick a second pair of claws grab them by the hooves and shove them onto the floor
>”But I think it’d be a waste to just eat her”
>Celestia dammit!
>He keeps caressing your flank
>His intentions are crystal clear from his touch alone, and it sends a shiver down your spine
>Motherfucker’s just deliberately stalling at this point
>Reveling on your increasing horror
>You try struggling your way out
>But wrestling under theirs grips is useless, all the two of them do in response is hold you down tighter
>”What is this, don’t like when Ah touch you there?”
“Fuck… you…”
>Cursing him between your breaths probably won’t sound any intimidating
>But fuck him, you needed to let that out of your system
>He raises an eyebrow, but soon enough an infuriation smirk forms on his beak
>”Ah don’t know what that word means, but thank ya kindly”
>You keep it to yourself, not like any words are going to affect him anyway
>A glare is all you’re allowed to do when there’s a sharp claw ready to rip your throat open at any moment
>”How about robbing her, boss?”
>”Robbin’ her?”
>This bird bitch was lusting so hard he still didn’t notice the saddlebags?
>That just makes you struggle even further, making them hold you down tighter in response
>”Oh yeah, she does have them saddlebags”
>”Maybe later, we take them after we’re done with her”
>Oh, you’re so glad they’re gonna loot your potential corpse
>Makes you feel that much better
>“Let’s play with her”
>The third gryphon of the group speaks out loud
>You don’t like the implications of his suggestion
>”Oho, that does sound like a good idea”
>No it doesn’t, you bird fuck
>”It’s been some time since we played with a pony as pretty as our little sweetheart here, has it not?”
“Let go of me, you creep!”
>You try struggling again, but the gryphon with the wonderful idea of playing with you grabbed your front legs
>Forcing them onto the ground just like your hind legs
>And now you’re completely restrained, no amount of struggle is enough to free yourself
>”Nu-uh, sweetheart”
>He leans down while you do your best to lean your head back
>His stupid looking beak almost touching your lips
>You can even smell the horrible stench coming from his beak
>“You reap what ya sow”
>He lets go of your neck with a laugh, leaning back and circling you
>Your eyes follow his movements like an eagle; unfortunately you’re not in the position to strike like one
>You’re at the mercy of these three, and only a miracle will help you when you can’t even use any spells
>”Now”
>He stops by the underling holding your hind legs down
>“Let’s inspect the goods, shall we, boys?”
>Your breath stops in your throat the moment your legs are pulled up and spread apart
>Oh, nonononono
>Hay no!
>C’mon Cadance, you’re an Alicorn for Celestia’s sake, you shouldn’t be this easily overpowered
>What’s the point of being one if you can’t even defend yourself!?
“Nnnnnrgh!”
>Your grunts permeate the air while you wrestle with the gryphon for control over your legs
>Thank Luna you have a tail covering your private bits
>Those are for Shining’s eyes only, you stupid bird
>For a split second you manage to pull your legs closer, but the boss gets in on the action and grabs one of them with both claws
>Each only pulling a leg is… cheating
“AaaaaaAAAAAARGH!!”
>With all the strength you can muster, you yank your legs out of their grips and buck them right in the kisser
>The shock apparently was such that the one restraining your front legs even loosened his grip; just enough for you to pull back your forelegs, giving you the much desired chance to escape
>That was no miracle, but you take what you can get
>Finally, freedom, now all you gotta do is turn around and book it the- Fuck!
>“Where do ya think you’re going, sweetheart?”
>He-you-what!?
>You just bucked him in the face; he was behind you a literal millisecond ago, now he’s blocking your way in front of you?
>That’s bullshit!
>And it seems he wasn’t the only one, the rest of the crew started circling around you as well
>Having your surroundings blocked off by deranged gryphons isn’t an ideal circumstance by a long shot
>You might end up having to reveal your Alicorniness to them if you intend of losing them
>Or maybe not
>If you play it smart, you can lose them and fly the fuck away before they see your wings
>Yeah, let’s go with that for now
>”Look out boys, this sweetheart here’s packin’ quite a buck on those pretty little hooves of hers”
>You take a hesitant step back after hearing the boss
>Whenever he opens his mouth to call you sweetheart you just feel yourself getting sicker
>”But ya know, I don’t mind it one bit”
>He chuckles, slowly making his way up to your position in the center of their formation
>“Huntin’ down prey is always more… satisfactory, when they fight back, ain’t it boys?”
>He licks his beak, making you shudder for what feels like the millionth time
>You gulp down the lump in your throat, eyes darting left and right, anticipating any incoming movement
>On instinct, you turn your head after hear scraping, and see one of them… scratching the rock floor?
>But why-
“Gahh!”
>Your entire body is sent flying off after a sharp pain on your side
>The tackling gryphon wraps his front legs around your torso and pushes you onto the ground
>As the two of your roll on the floor, you time the moment just right to kick him off of you and snap back into a standing stance
>And immediately leans your head back, dodging a claw swipe intended on ripping your face out of your skull
>Jumping back, you put some distance between you and your attacker, and when seeing movement on the corner of your sight, duck down to avoid getting tackled again by the same flying gryphon from before
>Then you high tail the fuck out of there
>”What the-!“
>You’re better off trying to outrun these three, staying for a straight up fight is just stupid, they’re gonna eat you alive
>”Runnin’ won’t help you sweetheart, ya already tried, remember!?”
>Yes it will, just wait and see
>With adrenaline pumping in your veins, the pain in your head even subsided as you put more effort into galloping the hay away from them
>Powerful wing beats reach make your ears twitch, and you turn your head just enough to see the trio taking flight
>Nice, it’s not like you needed more shit to deal with or something
>The first one dives in for with his claws poised to take a chunk out of your back, with the other two following right after
>A side step prevents your head from flying off, and a dodge roll into a gallop nearly rewards a charging gryphon with concussion if he didn’t u turn from so close to the floor
>Whatever, second killer bird avoided, you turn your head back anticipating the nex-
>Wait, wasn’t there supposed to be a third one?
>Your question is answered the moment you look back forward, and your face meets with a clenched fist head on
“Uuagh!”
>Your body is sent reeling back, twisting in the air before sliding on the rock floor and littering your coat with scrapes and scratches
>You feel something leaking out of your nose as well, but time to check wounds is a luxury you don’t have
>Shaking your head out of any dizziness as fast as possible, you stand up just in time to jump over a low claw swipe from a flying gryphon, and then duck to evade a second gryphon aimed at your head
>A shadow and a war cry warn you of the danger from above and behind respectively
>Looking up, you see the third gryphon dive bombing your way with his front legs and claws outstretched for a piercing attack
>And behind you the first one you jumped over is on his way to grab you
>Rising on your hind legs, you side step at the last second and snake your forelegs under his stretched leg and wrist, spinning on your hooves and throwing him onto the incoming gryphon
>They cry out when colliding with one another, and fall on the floor in a tangled mess as you take this as your chance to make another run for it again
>Thank Celestia for having a soldier for a husband
>You’re never skipping Shining’s self-defense lessons ever again
>”This one’s quite tricky to catch, ain’t it boys? I’m actually having fun for once”
>If this is his idea of fun, then you’d hate to see what isn’t
>You keep your ears turned back to warn you of any incoming sounds to avoid while your eyes are busy looking for anything that can help you lose them
>Either you’ve been running for too long, or faster than you’re sued to, because the chasm in the horizon is much closer than you expected it to
>And near it there’s a big rock formation, just wide and tall enough to keep you hidden
>If you play your cards right, you can use the formation as cover to make them think you accidentally ran straight into the chasm
>Hopefully your acting skills are up to snuff
>With a reinvigorated drive, you speed up your gallop, trying to keep as much distance as you can from these bastards
>Lucky for you, they look very confident in their abilities to immediately give chase
>Just a little more, you’re almost there
>There!
>It’s showtime
>You turn your head back and give them the most terrified face you can muster before booking it even faster while still looking back
>You reach the rock formation and instantly turns, getting out of their sights for the moment
>Stopping on your tracks, you continue to run in place, softening your clip clops until
“AAAAAAAAAAA-“
>”What the-!”
>You hear the signal
>Quickly freeing your wings from behind the saddlebags, you take flight while still screaming and land on a higher perch in the formation
“-AAAaaaaaaaaaa-”
>Keep up the show Cadance, lower your tone believably
>Below you, the gryphons fly past the formation straight to the chasm, landing on the edge of the cliff and looking down
“-aaaaaaa….. suckers”
>You whisper the last bit, allowing yourself a smirk
>It’s well deserved, now all you gotta do is turn around and-
>“Ah agree”
>Wha-!
>Turning your head rewards you with a rock shattering punch to the face
“GAAARGH!”
>You yell as your body rockets straight towards the gryphons at the chasm
>You hit the floor head first, unable to right yourself as your body flails and rolls uncontrollably
>From the corner of your eyes you see a jutted rock approaching and close them instinctively
>But instead of feeling pain you feel a bump and your rolling slows down into a slide
>Opening your eyes you see your saddlebag sitting there, right on the edge of the cliff
>Nonononono
>Don’t you dare let that bag fall Cadance; you can’t afford to lose your rations
>Crawling as fast as you can, you reach the edge and stretch your hoof just in time…
>To see the bag’s weight pull it down the chasm
>You look down with a stretched foreleg, watching in despair the bag falls into the darkness below
>To add salt to injury, it hits a jagged piece of rock on its way down, ripping it open and spilling all the contents out
>Half of your shit
>Gone
>…
>M-maybe you can still salvage it?
>You do have wings. You can go down there right?
>Of course you can, just go down, and pick anything that’s still salvageable and fly back u-
“Uff!”
>Somepony grabs a hooffull of your mane and pushes your head down onto the ground
>”Who’d thought the pretty pink pony was an Alicorn?”
>The gryphon the pulls your head so hard it spins your entire body onto your back
>”Ya know, this makes things a little bit different, sweetheart”
>He straddles over your torso, his front legs blocking you from rolling left or right
>”It was Celestia who put us in this here prison, and ah hate her for it”
>He brings one of his claw to your face and clenches it in anger, his knuckles cracking from the intensity
>“And ya remind me of her right now, which is pisses me off”
>He moves his claw to your side and grabs your wing, stretching it full and takes a good, long look at it
>”Ya know, ah always hated pony wings, especially Celestia’s massive wings”
>He clenches your feathers in his claws
>“If it wasn’t enough to rule the lands, yall ponies want to rule the skies too. Well…”
>You don’t like the tone of his voiAAAA-
“-AARGH!”
>”The skies are gryphon territory”
>He yanked off your primary feathers, the bastards…
>Now your plan of salvaging your stuff is shot
“AA-NNNRGH!”
>You block the scream by clenching your teeth
>”Make sure you remember that”
>You didn’t even see him moving for your other wing
>Shit, shit, shit
>Now you’re magicless, and flightless
>Good job, Cadance, you fucking dumb bitch
>”Now, ah think it’s time to play, ain’t it, sweetheart?”
>You pull all the snot on your nose and spit a good gross ass one on his face
>It’s even mixed with your blood from that sucker punch he gave you
>Fuck him, and fuck everything, you don’t care anymore
“I would rather die than let you have me, you psychopath”
>He gives off a deep chuckle before rubbing off the spit, probably thinks your reaction was funny
>”Well, ah can arrange that for ya, after we’re done here of course”
>His claw snaps to your neck and chokes you down
“Guh…”
>”Now, be a dear and stay still”
>Fuck, shit, is this it?
>It can’t just end like this, you have a mission dammit
>But… it’s not like you can escape now
>Horn’s fucked, wings are trashed, and you’re sandwiched between three horny psychos and a chasm so deep it’s a death sentence falling into it
>…
>You take the chasm
“Nnnnngh”
>”Ah ah ah, trying to jump down?”
“Anything is better than being here with you three”
>Choking you down harder, he moves your head to look straight at him faking a hurt expression, with a claw over his chest and all
>“How could ya say somethin’ like that? After all we’ve been through together”
>He starts chuckling to himself, and soon enough his underlings join him before he starts with the real evil laugh
>“AAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA-huh?“
>He and his underlings stop in confusion when the ground floor beneath their feet and claws starts rumbling
>They look at each other, wondering what’s going on and what could be making the floor shake
>An then you hear it
*ROOOAAAAARR*
>Like a thunderclap, a powerful roar the entire stretch of land, scaring all of you out of your wits
>And before anyone can even react properly, a massive black mass sprouts from the chasm below
>And you can only watch in terror whatever this thing’s great width gets accentuated more as it grows, and grows in length the higher it goes, until it finally stop to look down and…
>A-and…
>…
>Oh shit…
>You can’t stop your jaw from opening dumbly
>It’s… a Tatzlwurm
>But different, bigger, a hay of a lot bigger… and scarier
>That thing is as long as the gate you crossed
>And it isn’t even all of it; the rest is hidden inside the chasm
>A different breed?
>It looks generally the same, but its entire body is covered in black scales, and instead of the flower style mane, it has a long flowing white mane, not unlike those found in Manticores
>Is this the type of creatures your Aunt banished to this place?
>Oh Celestia, now you’re fucked for real
>“What in tarnation…?”
>The gargantuan worm looks at the four of you starring dumbing with your jaws wide open and eyes screaming with horror
>Then it roars once again, opening it’s disgusting maw and shooting out three tentacles to your group
>So fast were these tentacles, you didn’t even see them make their way before the three gryphons surrounding yelped in pain when wrapped by each by the torso, limbs and throat
>You look close to the tentacles and are shocked to see that even those aren’t identical to the one you say back with Twilight
>Because these have tiny hooks all around them
>As if the thing wasn’t scary enough, it needed those to terrify you even further
>The giant worm pulls the three screaming gryphons from you and onto the air
>You’re still paralyzed with fear, and can only watch as the ones who attacked you struggle in vain while at the mercy of a beast at least over a hundred times bigger than they are
>You can hear the leader is yelling something to the worm, but they’re so far up in the air you can’t make sense of what he’s saying
>Before you can even try to make sense of it, the unintelligible yells you heard were replaced by piercing screeches of pain
>Your eyes widen in shock and horror as they witness the tentacles twisting his body before ripping it apart into wet chunks
>A fountain of blood and guts spills out; and all you can do only watch in paralyzing fear
>Holy shit!
>Holy fuck you’re gonna die!
>Why didn’t you listen to Twili-
>NO!
>This was your choice, and it was for a good cause
>Your only regret should be not finishing your mission
>And that’s the only regret you feel right now
“Aah!”
>You yelp on instinct when something wet hits your head and body, forcing you out of your current train of thought
>You shouldn’t busy yourself with internal monologues. You have to get the fuck out of here!
>Just fucking stand up and book it, run as fast as you can while that thing is busy…
>You shiver
>… tearing your would be rapists to shreds
>Even if they were fucked in the head, you wouldn’t wish this kind of fate on anypony
>So you run, you run as fast as you can, faster than you have ever ran before
>Your hard breath hurts, your legs burn, your head’s pounding, everything fucking sucks, but you can’t stop running
>You need to at least find somewhere to hide, somewhere no one will find you, and where you’ll stay safe
>You don’t even know if the Tatzlwurm is following you or not, because you’re too terrified at it to look back
>Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, you find yourself face to front with one of the many rock formations in this Celestia forsaken place
>You lean your head on the rock, and tries to stabilize your erratic breathing and taking big gulps of air along with it
>You don’t even know if this thing can help you, but it’s your best friend right now, lending its rocky shoulders for you to rest
 >And after looking around it for something useful, you find a crack on the side, just big enough for you to fit in
>You enter by walking backwards into the crack, and squeeze yourself deep into the hole
>Your sight is limited only to the crack you came from, where a soft light shaft cuts through it
>And finally, finally, you allow yourself to properly rest
>And… and…
>… you can’t stop the tears from sliding down your cheeks
>Dammit, what the hay was that!?
>You just tried to save a baby creature, how did everything go so wrong?
>Your horn is useless were almost raped, and then a monster comes out of nowhere and just kills everything in front of you
>You…
>You wanna go home…
>Back to your husband… back to your daughter… back to your friends
>You close your eyes and sob to yourself, trying to find comfort in the safety of your hole
>You don’t know for how long you cried, but you feel a little bit better now
>Auntie always did say crying when you’re sad makes you feel better, even if a little
>You bring a hoof up and rub the tears off your cheeks, finally allowing yourself to open your ey-
>…
>Wha-
>Red?
>You look at your hoof, and then you bring the other, and it too is red
>Oh dear
>You turn your head down and that’s enough to get your breathing all erratic all over again
>Everywhere…
>Everywhere you look on your body… it’s covered in… blood and bits
>The once pink coat is now covered in a thick crimson layer of blood…
>And just like that the images of the three gryphons being torn to pieces in a vicious showcase of gore comes back full force
>How the hooks pierced their bodies
>A-and their screams of agony as the Tatzlwurm slowly twisted them until they were ripped apart
>And then… and then
>Their guts and blood showering your body… the part you didn’t remember because you were petrified with fear
>It happens before you even notice, the bile rises from your throat, and you puke all the contents of your stomach on the tiny space you squeezed yourself in
>Covering your coat with a another layer of viscous liquid, only a sick brown, instead of a vivid crimson
>You can’t control your breathing, your vision blurs, the pain in your horn comes back all at once, and your body sways left and right befor-
*Thud*

--------------------------------------

Part 10

“Hmmm…”
>What… happened?
>Why were you sleeping in this tight crack in the wall?
>Why does your head hurt so much?
>Why does your wing hurt so much?
>And why are you so hungry all of a sudden?
>You close your eyes and yawn the sleep away, rubbing your eyelids with a hoof
>Funny, you don’t remember your hoof feeling this crusty
>Opening your eyes, your heart stops at the sight in front of you
>Red?
>No…
>Dull crimson on your hoof
>And just like that, the images of your last run in with the locals pick that moment to start flooding your head
>The gryphons
>The attack
>The Tatzlwurm
>And…
>A-and…
>You bring your other shaky hoof up and see that both of them caked in a crusty layer of blood and your own puke
>A sudden wave of nausea courses through your body, and forces you to gulp down more of your insides rising up your throat
>You remember everything now
>And the feeling of utter despair and dread you felt back then makes itself alive in your heart once more
>You breathing become shallower and you can’t stop shaking as you lean against the initially cold walls of the hole
>They feel strangely very warm and inviting as you try to find comfort in them
>What the name of Celestia have you gotten yourself into?
>Just how stupid have you been to think you could just waltz into Tartarus like that?
>You nearly got yourself… violated… and killed in a single day
>Is this what you signed up for? Pain and suffering?
>It all just comes crashing down on you
>You…
>You don’t want to be here anymore
>This is too much
>You are lost and scared
>Your horn and wings will be useless for at least three weeks to come
>And half of your rations are lost
>You want to go home
>Go back all the way you came from and wait for the gate to unseal itself so you can open it
>Back to your husband, your daughter, to your friends and your kingdom
>Back to your usual routine of ruling the Crystal Empire and matching couples
>Hopefully, after you get out of this place, you can beg Aunt Celestia and Twilight to forgive you for your transgressions
>You doubt they’d be easily persuaded, especially after you lied and broke Twilight’s trust
>But you’re sure if you showed them how truly sorry you are, they won’t punish you so hard
>Maybe a month in the dungeons
>Or having your Princess status temporarily revoked
>You deserve it; you ignored their pleas and went on this stupid mission anyways
>You’ll take anything they’ll throw at you, it doesn’t matter
>What matters is that you’re getting out of here right now
>With a grunt, you push yourself off the wall, and slowly crawl out of the hole that have kept you safe
>As soon as you get out of the confined space, you lose your balance and fall down muzzle first onto the floor
“Uugh”
>Feeling something trickling down your nose and onto your lips, you lick whatever it is to feel the metallic flavor of blood on your taste-buds
>You rub your nose with your hoof and yep, it’s blood alright, at least it’s yours, and not somepony else’s
>Grunting in exertion, you manage to push yourself back to a standing position
>A slight wobble prevents you from staying completely still, forcing you to constantly find your hoofing, unless you wanna kiss the floor again
>Celestia, for how long were you asleep?
>All your legs feel weak, like you haven’t been active for days
>Hay, that might even be the reason why you feel this frail
>You have been unconscious for at least over a day, of that you’re sure
>If you plan on making your way back, getting the feel of your legs is a priority
>Bumping into a threat while wobbling around like a drunk won’t help you
>At this point your stomach also reminds you that you are, in fact, hungry from the meals you skipped while you were conked out
>So not only is your body weak, but you’re also hungry
>Good thing you magicked the saddlebags with a preservation spell, wouldn’t want your food going bad, now, would you?
>And you can try to fix your two issues just by eating something
>And that’s what you do, you fill your stomach, and right after you walk laps around the rock you spent what you assume to be two to three days in there to get the feel on your legs back
>As much as you wanted to stuff your face, you’ll have to go easy on the food
>Half of your rations are gone, so you can’t have a regular sized meal
>You’ll have to get used to eating more meager portions, or else you risk wasting it all before getting out of this shithole
>You stop your laps and get a feel of your legs, give them a feel shakes and stomp on the ground
>They’re not wobbling anymore, nor is the rest of your body
>Good
>That means it’s now time to get out of here
>Fuck this place
>You’re not staying here anymore time than necessary to make your way back
>And with your mind set, you set out toward the same way you came from
>Making sure to avoid at all costs the chasm
>One run in with that Tatzlwurm is more than enough for you
>Surprisingly, retreading your steps through the long stretch of ground has so far given you no problems
>Especially considering how crazy this place is
>No lunatics showing up
>No wild monsters wanting to tear you apart
>Just you, your stuff, and a bunch of nothing
>And that’s how it goes for the next one, or two days, you guess
>After sleeping for so long, your internal clock is all jumbled and you can’t make heads or tails of what is night and day anymore because of it
>After all, there are not day and night cycles in Tartarus, only… whatever red sky means
>And you hadn’t felt tired of sleepy for quite some time after waking up in that rock
>So you’re gonna say one day, because you had to and sleep once
>It’s still surprising that nothing has showed up
>Your only guess as to why, is the Tatzlwurm
>That thing is massive, and pretty much impossible to miss
>Anyone with half a brain would stay clear of this place after seeing that monstrosity pop out of the chasm
>And if they somehow missed seeing it, they certainly heard, or felt, its earth-quaking roar and took is a signal to stay the hay away
>So, here you find yourself
>Crossing the deserted plains of that stretches for miles upon miles
>Luckily for you, you remember the direction which you came from
>This place may not have a sun, or a moon, or stars
>But it does have a pattern in its fake sky
>And following that pattern you can keep track of your position, and the direction you came from
>One of the perks of being taught by your aunt
>Celestia’s no Auntie Luna, but she knows her stuff when it comes to celestial bodies and using the sky and stars to navigate oneself
>Meaning all you have to do is keep using the pattern in the sky to guide you back to the path you took to come down here in the first place
>Pretty simple stuff for yo-
>Your ears suddenly swivel to the sides and you stop dead on your tracks
>You hear something in the distance
>Turning a few more times, they finally stop at a specific direction and you hear what sounds like galloping, probably a pony, and something else
>Not wanting to be in the end of a beating or even worse, you quickly scan your surroundings for anything that can be used to hide
>In this flat terrain, you find a rock about the size of a bear, lying sideways on the hard floor a few yards away from your position
>With nothing better to use as cover, you dash to the rock, jumping over and hiding behind it, lying flat against the floor, with your back pressing against the rock
>You wait a few moments, just listening closely to the sounds your constantly swiveling ears are capturing
>The galloping sounds, and whatever is following its source, get closer and closer to where you’re hiding
>Your breathing quickens and your already terrified heart rate accelerates even more in response, beating against your chest in anticipation
>And a powerful sigh escape your lips the moment the volume of the sounds starts getting lower, possibly telling you that whatever was making them are now moving away
>If you keep bumping into shit like this, your poor heart won’t stand the pressure, forever living or not
>Taking a few deep breaths to slow down your racing heart, you decide to peek over your cover, in the overall direction of where your ears are pointing toward
>You want to see the source of those sounds
>It takes some time to see it, but there it was
>As you assumed, in the distance you see a pony, a stallion, desperately running for his life
>He’s trying to widen the gap between him and a pack of creatures resembling Timberwolves
>Only these timberwolf look-alikes were skeletons rather than wood monsters, with a bright red core inside their ribcages, each bigger than a Manticore
>Despite the fear immediately running up your spine at the sight of the terrifying timberwolf look-alikes, your heart still racing heart immediately tells you to help
>And as expected, your body reacts to the commands instantly as you jump out of your cover
>…
>Or that’s what you believe is what would happen
>Your heart screams for you to move, to go help the stallion
>But your frozen body refuses to listen to it
>Choosing instead to listen to your head, as your mind play back images of the events you went through but days ago, over and over again, like a broken record
>Images of the conflict you found yourself in, a consequence of you following your heart and sense of morals
>The gryphons
>The chase and the fight
>The worm
>And…
>You feel a shiver run down your spine, making your whole body tremble in fear
>All of them come back highlighted front and center in your mind
>As if it was a big glowing sign, telling you in bold, bright red letters
>”DON’T”
>Preventing you from moving a muscle toward the running stallion
>Instead, you find yourself slowly standing up and moving backwards, away from the attack taking place
>You’ll still see them if you walk backwards though, so you turn around and start walking away
>Your steps are slow and heavy, and more than once you have to fight yourself to turn around and help the stallion
>Ignore it Cadance, just ignore it
>Remember the last time you tried to help somepony
>Remember that your Aunts only locks criminals and dangerous creatures in this place
>Helping isn’t worth risking your life
>Especially if he decides to chase you after saving him
>There’s no predicting what might happen
>So, go straight Cadance
>Just keep on going an-
>”Somepony, please help me!”
>You hear the terrified screams in the distance, and do your best to ignore it
>Shaking your head, and willing yourself to continue your way without interruptions
>It becomes harder and harder as the stallion continues to plea for help with bloodcurdling yells of desperation
>Each leg feels like it weighs a ton, and your walking speed grows slower with each step
>You mustn’t stop, keep pushing forward Cadance
>You cringe and shut your eyes tight on instinct when you hear the sound of pure agony followed by deathly silence
>But without missing a beat, you keep trudging forward
>You… you’ve learned your lesson the last time
>If you want to make it out of here alive, to see your husband, and your daughter… and your friends again
>You… have to think for yourself and ONLY yourself
>Self-preservation is your top priority
>A-and, you mustn’t cry either
>Never forget it Cadance
>Your legs buckle and collapse under your weight, making you fall down on your knees
>Where you proceed to cover your face with your hooves, trying futilely to stop your tears
>Never forget it
>…

>…
>It’s been… two days, you believe
>Two days since you ignored the stallion begging for help
>Two days since you’ve been traveling your way back and avoiding encounters as much as possible
>And two days since you’ve started to lose empathy for this place
>The last two days have been taxing on your mind and feelings
>After all, you have never left anyone to just die before
>Good or bad, your aunt taught you everyone is important and worth saving or helping
>But you guess she didn’t count Tartarus
>Or maybe YOU didn’t count Tartarus
>Those teachings were so ingrained in your head you didn’t even take into account that there is a reason why all these ponies and thousands of other living beings are stuck here in the first place
>And you had to learn the hard way
>And learning the hard way is never good for the mental health of somepony
>Especially when this somepony have their ideas and life lessons flipped on their heads like you had
>Now you just… don’t care anymore
>All you want is to go home, beg your aunt for forgiveness, and live your life with your husband and daughter, and matching couples that doesn’t involve doing any of this shit
>You’ll take any punishment your aunt will dish out
>You’re sure Celestia is incredibly mad with you; and for good reason too
>Your only hope is that regretting your decision, giving up and begging for forgiveness will lessen your punishment
>At the very least, you can take solace in the fact that it will all end soon, punishment or not
>The way back has also been rather uneventful
>Not a lot happened
>Which works wonderfully for you
>You don’t want to be facing any monsters or lunatics again
>At least not so soon
>And you hope it continues that way till the end, as farfetched as that sounds
>But even if there are no prisoners or monsters out here
>There’s still one problem you’re currently facing right now
>Something you ended up forgetting with all the mess that’s been happening around you lately
>You forgot that to reach this place you flew down pretty tall cliff
>So now you find yourself starring down at said cliff in front you
>Looking to your left and right only rewards you with more cliff
>Going into the horizon, stretching wide as far as the eye can see, and probably even more than that
>Wider than the cliff is tall
>So you got two options, Cadance
>You walk along the cliff’s length for Celestia knows how long and risk wasting all your rations and finding something or somepony that could kill you in your weakened state
>Or…
>As insane as it sounds, you can try and climb the cliff side
>It’s pretty much an impossible task given the fact that unlike humans you don’t have hands and fingers to climb stuff
>And you’re no Pinkie
>Defying the laws of physics is not in your realm of possibility
>But it’s not like you have a choice in the matter
>Walking around is not an option
>Especially when it could spell more harm coming your way
>Climbing the cliff is the safest route
>But without your wings or your magic, what should be an easy task is now an achievement in the making
>Pony hooves weren’t made to climb vertical walls
>And while it is true ponies had a certain level of dexterity with their hooves, climbing a cliff and holding a mug of cider are not comparable in the slightest
>If only you had something to help you up
>Something sharp enough to stab into the wall and pull yourself up
>But you don’t have anything like-
>Wait
>Shoving a hoof inside your remaining saddlebag, you rummage around until your hoof hits something cold and metallic
>Pulling out the object, you’re presented with the opportunity you were looking for
>One of your golden hoof guards
>It’s not as pointy as your Aunt’s, but the metallic protective hoof-wear’s more than enough for what you’re about to do
>Being magically enhanced to resist damage and wear
>Shoving your hoof inside the bag again, you look for the second hoof guard and quickly pull it out
>With the two guards in hoof, you raise yourself on your hindlegs, and connect the soles of the guards to your hooves
>Did you mention they also magically stick to your hooves? To keep them from falling down when you fly
>It was a charm applied to them by the royal smith
>They sticks to your hooves no matter how you place them as long as you have magic to maintain them
>With your improvised climbing tools ready, you punch the wall, stabbing the guard into the rock
>You give it a little tug to see if it slips out easily, and to your relief it doesn’t
>Then you do the same with your other hoof, before pulling yourself up
>One foreleg after the other, you climb the cliff-side and use your hind legs help to push you upwards using any rocks sticking out, careful not pull the guards too hard and lose your balance
>And up you go…  for minutes
>Climbing the cliff as awkwardly as a pony can
>You’re not sure if it was perspective or not, but the cliff didn’t look as dauntingly high from its base
>You stop for a moment to catch your breath, steam coming out of your nostrils at a rapid pace
>One of your hind legs hand over a protruded piece of the cliff, giving you much needed leeway for the rest, and to not put pressure on your forelegs.
>Taking another breath, you look down to access your progress
>You’re pretty high
>That’d be a very nasty fall
>Thankfully the grip on your hoofguards won’t let up anytime soon
>Alright, rest done, you continue your way up, there’s still much to climb
>Pulling the hoofguard from the cliff, you pull yourself up and stab it higher, and do the same with the other
>One foreleg at a time
>You repeat it many times in your head like a chant
>Hoping the rhythm will somehow help you in your climb
>And keep you distracted from the height
>One foreleg at a ti-
“Aaaaaaah!””
>You yelp as the grip on one of the hoofguards lets go and you’re left handing by one foreleg
>Shit
>Don’t panic
>It just slipped
>It must’ve been sweat that’s all
[spoiler]>BUT HOOVES DON’T FUCKING SWEAT![/spoiler]
>You just gotta pull yourself up and plant the base of your hoof on the guard-
>Aaaand it doesn’t stick
>It isn’t working
>Why isn’t it working?!
>You stare in shock at the hoofguard like it killed your husband and daughter
“Don’t tell me the charm’s stopped working now of all times?”
>You mutter under your increasingly rapid breathing
>Is it your horn?
>Broken horn means no magic, so it can’t feed on your magic anymore?
>Your breath quickens as you realize you have no way of saving yourself from this
>Even if you could climb up, it’s the rest of the way is too long, and the charm would give out before you reached the top
>And with your buster horns and wings you can’t do shit bu-
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA”
>Your other hoof slipped!
>FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FU-
>…

>…
“Urgh”
>A groan escapes from your lips when you wake up
>Your head hurts, a lot
>And so does your back
>Trying to stand up rewards you with more pain from your back and a hiss from your lips
>Lifting your head is all you manage
>Did you black out from the fall?
>Even opening your eyes feel like a massive undertaking
>And honestly, you don’t wanna because you know what you’ll see
>But you have to anyways
>And opening them gives you the exact sight you didn’t want to witness
>The base of the cliff
>This time all your stuff is scattered all around you
>Either they fell down from your bag as you fell, or the impact made them all jump inside the back and out of it
>Anyway, you don’t care
>Your head hurts
>Your back hurts
>Your everything hurts actually
>Not just your back and head
>But your feelings
>Your drive
>Everything crumbles in front of you
>The head you had so much trouble lifting from the ground slams back in the ground in defeat
>Smacking against a wet puddle you can only assume you be your blood
>Most likely leaking from the stinging wound you feel on the side of your head
>You’ll just… stay still for now
>Yeah, maybe rest some; wait for the pain to go
>You can’t go on, not like this
>At least your legs aren’t broken
>You take a deep sigh
>In your blind need to justify your status as the Princess of Love and help someone you put yourself in this situation
>This is your punishment Cadance
>You feel like whatever your aunt’s punishment would be is nothing compared to this
>And yet, when you show your face in front of Celestia again you’re sure she’ll eat you alive
>That is, IF you ever manage to get out of this place
>Because so far your attempts have been met with undisputed failure
>A deep breath in defeat and another pain in your chest is all you do before you let your eyes wander around you
>Looking at the place that might be your home for the rest of your life until something kills you
>Or someone comes looking for you
“Heh”
>You chuckle, one without a single shred of mirth
>If someone ever comes to your rescue it would be too late
>You’d be already be a victim of the dangers of Tartarus by the time they show up
>Something does catch your eyes and they stop their aimless wander
>With a grunt you lift your head again
>On the floor right under your head you can see a bit of the blood you assumed the wet pool to be earlier, but that’s not what got your attention
>Lying a few feet away from you is the item related to all the trouble you’ve gone through
>That damn book
>Your eyes narrow and you feel anger build inside of you
>This stupid matching couples shit is why you’re here, why you left your family and friends
>Why you doomed yourself
>You wished you listened to Twilight and Celestia
>But as you remember why you’re here, other memories start seeping into your consciousness
>The memories of a man who came to your aid seeking companionship
>A man who left everything just for a shot of finding love
>…

--------------------------------------

Part 11

“Alright, next up is… Anonymous?”
>A clipboard shrouded in a cyan colored mist floats in front of you as you read the rather uncommon name that’s next on the list
>It’s been months and you’re still getting used to human names
>But this one is weird even by human name standards
>Anyway, your job is not to judge ponies, or people in this case, by their names
>Your job is to find mares for them, and Anonymous is the next in line to have his heart read by the Crystal Heart
>A quick word with one of your Crystal Guards, and he quickly leaves to fetch the weirdly named human for you
>They all stay in an inn
>You had it built just to house men that came through the portal
>They usually came in controlled batches
>The other side makes sure to only send a group per week~month
 >So the inn never overflows with tenants
>Meanwhile you swipe the sweat off your brow
>What?
>Having human hearts read and matching men to mares is not an easy task
>Did you know sometimes you have to go yourself to the mare and convince her to give a chance to the human?
>The overwhelming majority of lonely mares are aware of the matching program and are ready to give it a chance in case they’re chosen by the Crystal Heart
>But some from more distant lands aren’t aware of it yet
>And there are also mares who feel content on being single
>They don’t want to have a stallion companion, let alone a human one
>Degenerates, you say
>Every mare should have a mate
>“Princess Cadance”
>At least they’re honest with their feelings, you guess
>Can’t really fault them for choosing to stay single, even if you disapprove
>”Your highness, I brought Mr. Anon”
>Unlike those human females
>Deceptive
>Untrustworthy
>THO-
>“Princess!!”
“I… what?”
>You shake your head when you hear your title being called
>Turning your head to whoever’s calling you, you find the Crystal Guard and the human you asked him to fetch
>Anonymous
>He’s… as average as you can get in terms of male human looks
>You’ve been around humans enough to have a certain degree of knowledge over what makes a man physically attractive
>And he’s… okay
>A bit on the pudgy side
>Okay, definitely a bit overweight
>But not fat, fat
>But hey, you’re not here to judge
>You’ve managed to successfully match worse looking men to mares with no problem
>Because no matter how ugly you are, love always prevails
>This Anonymous guy will be even easier, no problem
>”I have brought Mr. Anonymous as requested”
“Oh, yes”
>A cough in your hoof
“Thank you. You can go back to your post now”
>The guard salutes you and with a 180, he leaves back to his post
“Now… Anonymous, correct?”
>You turn to the human who’s next to be read by the Crystal Heart
>”Sure am, ma’am”
>Would you look at that, a man who doesn’t sound nor look nervous
>That’s pretty rare; a lot of them usually look ready to fall apart when they meet you
>This one looks very motivated
“You sound determined”
>”That’s because I’m a man on a mission”
>You raise an eyebrow, now that’s the first time you ever heard sompo- eh, someone, in this case, state something like that
>”I came here with the sole intent of finding the love of my life”
>Yeah, you like the way he thinks
>“A mare whom I’ll love unconditionally, and who’ll love me just as much”
>Yeah, you really like the way he thinks!
>”A mare whom I’ll have a loving family with!”
>HAY YEAH!
>NOW YOU’RE PUMPED!
“Alright then, now put your hand on the Crystal Heart”
>”What?”
“To have your heart read, of course, you didn’t hear that from the other guys?”
>”No, I wanted to come as clean as possible, no surprises”
>Oh, this one human sure is unique
“Well, you have to place your hand on the Crystal, and let it read your own heart”
>He looks at the magic jewel with a skeptical gaze
>Like he doesn’t believe what you’re saying
>Or that he finds it stupid
>Probably both
>”It’s not like, a questionnaire or something?”
>He scratches his head in confused
“Well… “
>You bite your upper lip
“It was, but we soon found out that method is not as consistent as having the heart search for a mare”
>”I see… it’s still kinda weird, but I can roll with it”
>Still getting used to magic, huh?
>He doesn’t need to tell you, you can see it in his eyes
“What are you waiting for, go for it, weren’t you the one saying you wanted to find love?”
>”Hell yeah I am!”
>Without a moment of hesitation, he places his hand over the crystal
>…
>…
>”Okay, now what?”
“Now we wait, it takes time”
>You give him an innocent smile, he looks unamused though
“C’mon, don’t give me that look, I wish it was lickety-split too. I’m the one in charge of staying up all day meeting humans and matching couples”
>He continues with the unamused look for a few seconds before shrugging his shoulders
>”How long are we talking?”
“A couple of minutes at best”
>He nods and hums
>Ten to fifteen minutes can be considered a couple, right?
>As he keeps his hand glued to the crystal, his head starts going left and right, eyes wandering around the now enclosed base of your castle
>It’s usually open for ponies to wander around and about
>But when there are men to be read, the curtains are dropped
>Ponies like to stare when the Crystal Heart is doing its thing, and it makes the humans anxious
>As Anonymous keeps looking, he starts whistling a tune you’re unfamiliar with, most likely trying to distract himself
>It’s catchy, you’ll give him that
>You, on the other hoof, purse your lips and paw the ground
>Gold hoof guards clinging at the crystal floor non-stop
>You always hate this part
>It’s so awkward
>They never start a conversation; they just stand there waiting for it to end
>What, too shy to speak with a princess?
>You’re the ponies’ princess here, not even Twilight is as sociable with the citizens as you are
“We can talk you know!”
>You blurt out, making Anonymous jump a bit
“Geez, don’t makes things awkward like that”
>”Sorry”
>His shoulders sag a bit
“No, don’t be”
>You sigh and wave a hoof dismissively
“It’s just that every time this happens, the human comes, greets me, puts the hand on the heart, and then wait in complete silence”
>You can see his face wince a bit, probably realizing he was about to do the same thing
“It’s kind of maddening”
>He looks at you with a sympathetic look, before smiling
>”Well, alright”
>He turns his whole body in your direction; hand still firm on the Crystal, which is already starting to glow a bit
>”What do you want to talk about?”
>Oh
>What do you wanna talk about indeed
>Usually you’re the one asking
“Well…”
>You tap your chin, thinking over what you’ll ask
“What was your reaction when a portal between our worlds opened up?”
>He hums and rubs his chin with his free hand
>“At first I thought the news were just shitting with me”
>You’d cringe at the free use of the swear, but at this point you’re desensitized to it
>You learned that human males are very in touch with their inner rudeness
>”I mean, how can anyone believe; from my world’s perspective at least, that a portal to a world full of techno-colored talking ponies who fly or shoot lasers existed?”
>Yeah, you guess taht from their point of view it’s pretty farfetched, it’s not like they have magic
>”But then I saw your Princess, Celosia-”
“Celestia”
>You hold a snort
>Celosia
>”Yes, Celestia. She showed up with a group of guards to greet us soon after the news of the portal opening hit us and I just couldn’t believe my yes”
>Yes, you remember
>Celestia and a group of Royal Guards immediately went investigate the portal
>She went herself instead of sending in Twilight, in case a more diplomatic approach was needed
>Turns out her hunch was correct
>“After that I became entranced by the mere existence of you all, and magic. I mean, you shouldn’t even exist, according to common sense”
>Wow, rude
>You can’t stop the frown on your face, but he doesn’t mind it
>”But you exist, and all this exist, magic fucking existed. All this time it existed and wasn’t just fiction, it was like a dream come true, even if I myself can’t use magic for being human”
>”So yeah, you can say I was pretty much floored at the thought of another world, especially when Princess Celeste-
“Celestia”
>Don’t laugh Cadance, hold that giggle back
>”Yeah that, basically welcomed any human to visit Equestria at any time”
>You remember that too
>Didn’t take too long for you and the rest of the princess to kick all the human girls out and enchant the portal with a THOT filter though
>When the human girls started showing up because everything was cute, they began having affairs with stallions all over the place
>Even married stallions
>That caused quite the shit show, forgive your tongue slip
>Quite a lot of married mares nearly cracked some skulls
>Surprisingly, for being considered the horniest gender out of the humans, the males were much more subdued, showing genuine attraction for Mares, and not just sexual curiosity like the human females toward stallions
>And you, being the Princess of love, soon took notice of the overwhelming amount of single human males
>And the overwhelming amount of single mares
>And had a wonderful idea
>Put two and two together and BOOM
>Matching Program officially founded
>It helped that mares had developed quite the genuine attraction for human males too
>There was a catch to the filter though
“I see, I guess if I were on your horseshoes I’d be pretty skeptical and then amazed too”
>”Amazed is underselling it”
>The filter prevented any living being from traversing the portal from Equestria to Earth
>Neither you nor the rest of the Princesses knew what went wrong with the enchantment, and are incapable of reversing the enchantment
>Meaning all humans are essentially trapped in Equestria for the rest of their lives until you find a way to reverse it
>You shake your head at the thought
>It was a huge blunder, and you got many human males trapped in Equestria who didn’t want to stay in Equestria , something you four still haven’t forgiven yourselves for
>But getting sad at your mistake won’t do any good
>Besides, Twilight’s working fulltime trying to reverse the spell
“Okay, so if you’re here, it’s because you want to have a marefriend, as you obviously already stated”
>”Yup”
>He nods almost immediately
>”Not just a marefriend, I want a wife”
>You’re really liking this man, you think you’ll visit him from time to time
>His priorities seem right up your alley
“When news that we had the matching program hit you, how did you react?”
>His smile falters a bit, but he doesn’t drop it at all
>”I…”
>Oh…
>You hiss
>Touchy subject?
>”I heard about the matching program barely a week after it started, and my first line of thought was to come rushing to Equestria”
>Oh!
>But it’s been months since the program started
“So why didn’t you?”
>”I… well, I had a good life on Earth, and giving up on it was something I’d never even think about if the portal never opened, and the program never started”
>”I have a loving family that supported me through all of my life, as much as they could, I had many, many friends that also supported me through thick and thin, and I spent many years studying and working hard to get a job in the business that I love. I was paid really well too; I had pretty much the life anyone would ask for. Family, friends, a job that I genuinely loved, and well off financially to never need to worry about money…..”
>He pauses for a second, a slightly unfocused look on his eyes
>“… and suddenly I was thinking of giving up on all of it”
>Anonymous clenches his free hand and looks at me in the eyes
>“Because… even though I had a good life, I never found what I truly yearned for”
>…
>Love
>You don’t even need to be the Princess of Love to understand that
>He wouldn’t even be here if it wasn’t for it
>”I never had much luck with women, you know? No matter how hard I tried, I just couldn’t hold a relationship, there was no spark, dare I say”
>He looks down on his free hand and clenches it
>“It took me many months to gather the courage to even tell that to my family and friends, and obviously, I was met with skepticism”
>There’s no smile on his face anymore
>Just a thin line for a mouth
>“They didn’t agree with my decision”
>Your eyes narrow a bit at that
>Were his friends...
>His eyes widen when he sees yours narrow
>”Not that they were against ponies, or were racists or anything”
>He waved his free hand negatively
>“It’s just… they knew that if I passed through that portal, I’d never come back, they heard the reports, and they didn’t want me to leave from their lives forever”
>”They tried their damn hardest to convince me to stay, but in the end it didn’t work. I had my mind set”
>Wow, you just…. wow
>You never expected to hear something like this
>All the other humans seemed very content on leaving their old lives behind in search of a new, fresh start in Equestria
>From your conversations with all of them they seemed like they never liked to live on Earth to begin with and were more than happy to leave it all behind
>[spoiler]Most of them also kind of looked like losers who had no life to begin with[/spoiler]
>Like they didn’t really have any attachment to anything to make their decision a regretful one
>But Anonymous is different
>He had to abandon everything he worked for
>His family
>His friends
>His life
>Just for a shot at finding love
>So much he yearned for love that he would gladly settle down for a being from a completely different species
>You gulp down a lump in your throat
>One that’s pretty hard to swallow
>”From your face I guess you think I’m a piece of shit right? Leaving my family behind to pursue a selfish desire”
“What! Anonymous, no! I-”
>”Please, call me Anon”
>Anon…
>You bite your lower lip
>Something glows at the corner of your eyes, pulling you out of your stupor
>The Crystal Heart is fully glowing right now
>Which means the gem have completely read his heart
>You sigh
“You can take your hand off the Crystal Heart now”
>He slowly pulls his hand from the jewel, clenching and opening his hands slowly
>”So what now?”
>He asks, his voice full of hope
“The Crystal Heart will now search all over Equestria for your soulmate, it usually takes a week or two for it to get any results; I’ll have a guard call you when it happens”
>”I see, thanks”
>He looks down, maybe a bit disappointed that it doesn’t happen right away
>But the disappointment quickly fades away to give its place for a smile
>”Well, I guess all I can do is wait; right?”
“Yeah…”
>You rub your leg with your hoof
>You feel so awkward after hearing his story; you don’t know what to say
>And he’s there waiting for you to say something, but nothing comes out
“Well, that’s it I guess, it was real nice meeting you Princess, I hope we can meet again soon, real nice talking to you”
>He waves a hand and turns around to leave
>As you watch him go, something inside you urges your body to act up without your command
“Anon, wait!”
>He stops, and turns around with a curious glance
>Probably wondering what you want
“I don’t think you’re selfish”
>His eyes center on yours as you try to find your next words
“You shouldn’t feel selfish for wanting to be loved, and I think your family understands your decision, and even if they don’t like it, they’d still support you”
>His curious glance turns into a small smile
>A grateful one
“Also. I’m so sorry, I’m part of the reason why you can’t go back, an-”
>“Don’t be, I believe I made the right choice”
>Your eyes widen in shock
>“Like I said, what I yearn the most I couldn’t get back on Earth, and I trust you’ll help me get it”
>You’re left speechless as he once again turns his back on you and treks away
>This time leaving the base of the Crystal Castle for good
>You can only watch the crystal floor he stood on
>Once again, you catch a glow from the corner of your eyes and look at the glowing Crystal Heart
>You bite your lower lips as you stare at it
>Watching your image on its reflective surface narrowing its eyes in determination
>This Anon guy
>He trusts you enough to blindly thrust his future in your hooves
>You have to help him, no matter what
>It must’ve not been easy to give up what he had to in exchange for love
>So no matter how hard it is, you’ll not give up on him
>…
>…
>...
>Shit
>You pace around the Crystal Heart
>Shit again
>In a moment like this you’ll ignore your inner tongue slips
>Shining looks worriedly at you as you continue to pace around the Crystal Heart
>If you continue you’ll make a circle shaped trench around the magic gem
>You suddenly stop and start biting your hoof
>After removing the hoofguards of course
>”C’mon Cadance, it can’t be that bad?”
>You send him a glare that shuts him up immediately
>Pursed lips and all
>Why are you nervous?
>Well, apparently, Anon’s match is the evil side of your Aunt, the entity known as Daybreaker
>You know absolutely nothing about her
>Hay, you don’t even know if she’s actually an evil half
>That’s just you assuming
>But when you said Nightmare Moon, the Crystal showed you Aunt Luna
>So you assume your assumption is correct to assume
>After all, if Luna has an evil half, why can’t Celestia?
>It makes sense right? They’re sisters after all
>And now you’re waiting for Anon to show up
>But what are you gonna tell him?
>It took more than a week for the results to drop
>And during that time you decided to visit Anon some
>Get to know him better, that conversation really made you more curious of him
>And you two became fast friends
>So, as his friend, you don’t want to just up and go
>Oh hey, the results are in; your match is possibly a murderous god pony haybent on destruction and world domination
>How the hay are you even gonna explain it to him?
>Can you even explain it to him?
>A hoof rubs your chin in wonder
>”Your highness, we have brought Mr. Anonymous”
>You skeleton nearly jumps out of your body in fright at the guard’s word
>By your Aunt, they should be spies not guards
>Oh, wait, Anon is here?
>Shit, you’re not ready
>Pardon your language
“Oh, umm… hey Anon”
>You give him the best smile you can muster
>Unfortunately it’s not a very good one
>”Hey there, Princess”
>Thankfully he doesn’t seem to notice your nervous state
>You hope…
“You can go back to your post now”
>You tell the guard, who salutes and trots away while you turn to your husband
“Shining, can you go with him?”
>He leans his head to the side and scrunches his brows
>”Why, there’s nothing for me to do wi-“
“Go. Now.”
>”Yes ma’am”
>Shining gives you a curt nod and canters away
>You sigh and run your hoof through your mane
>You look at Anon, who now looks a bit worried about you
>Drat
>You hoped he would keep smiling
>Well, you gotta say something
>”Something wrong, Cadance?”
“Umm…”
>Damn, if you say yes he’ll suspect of something
>If you say now you’ll sound like an idiot when you tell him the bad news
>Try to avoid answering that with a positive or a negative response
“By now you probably know why you’re here right?
>Yes!
>That cheers him up on the spot
>And it tears your heart out that you’ll have to give him bad news
>”Of course, it’s been over two weeks, and you told me you’d sent a guard after me when the Crystal Heart found my match”
>Oh Faust, he looks so happy and excited, why do you have to do this?
>You do your best not to cringe, and it appears to be working because he isn’t looking at you funny
“About your match anon…. sheeeee’s not available at the moment”
>Oh no
>Nononononono
>Don’t give you that look
>Aw, c’mon
>”Wha-what do you mean?”
>His excitement falters into confusion, and a little bit of sadness
“You see… your match can’t be accessed right now… it’s gonna need more time”
>You can see him trying to process what you’re saying, and doing his best keep himself in check
>That’s a lot of self-control
>Other men would’ve flipped out in his horseshoes
>”But why?”
“Because she’s from very… very far away; like, very far away”
>You try to make an excuse
“Like another continent altogether, one that probably doesn’t know about the matching program”
“And there’s a chance she might be unavailable forever”
>Oh, don’t make that crestfallen look or else you’ll start crying
>Celestia dammit, why is it always so hard to give out bad news
>”Oh… well, okay then. I guess it can’t be helped”
>He rubs the back of his head
>He definitely does a good job at not sounding sad or disappointed, but you’ve worked with enough humans to know what he’s truly feeling
>And it’s not like he should be that sad, you didn’t rule out his chance completely
>Even though you did say it has a chance of not happening
>He threw away everything for this Cadance, don’t you break his heart
>”Thanks anyway, Cadance, I know you did your best. Guess I’ll be staying here, since I can’t go back home, I just hope I can adapt”
>No, fuck that attitude Anon!
>Pardon your language
>You pull his head down to your eye level with your magic and hold the sides of his head with your hooves
“Anon, Anon! Listen to me, this isn’t the end of the world, it’ll just… gonna take more time”
>You don’t even care how funny his face looks smushed between your hooves
“But you don’t have to worry, because I’ll get into contact with your match, and I’ll bring her to you, no matter what, you hear me?”
>He nods slightly, a little bit of hope shining in his eyes
“You abandoned everything just for this, and not just as the Princess of Love, but as your friend, I can’t let you down like this. I’ll do everything in my power to get your match, you hear me?”
>He nods even harder between your hooves
“No matter how long it takes, no matter how much it takes, no matter what I have to do, I promise I’ll get her, and I’ll make you two meet each other, and it’ll be awkward at first, and then you’ll go on romantic date with her, and then I’ll register you two as a match with the Crystal Heart, and then you’ll marry her, here in my Castle, I’ll make sure of that, and I’ll watch that marriage, and my husband will cry a lot, and then you two will have a bunch of cute little foals, and I’ll bring Flurry Heart to play with them, and you’ll live happily ever after, you got that!!!”
>You breath heavily after your… rather insane motivational speech now that you think about it
>Even Anon looks flabbergasted
>But beneath his vision of shock, there’s hope in his eyes
>A ton of hope shining like a beacon of light
>So much hope and happiness that he can’t hold himself and he hugs you, his head resting on your neck
>”Thank you so much, Cadance. You don’t know how much that means to me”
>He holds you really tight, but it doesn’t hurt, because he holds you with care
>Don’t cry Cadance
>“I know you’ll do it, because you’re the best Princess. I’ll wait for as long as necessary, even if it takes years, because I trust you can do it, you’re the Princess of Love after all”
>Now you can’t hold yourself and wrap your forelegs around Anon’s torso and rest your head on his shoulder
>Don’t worry Anon, you’re gonna get Daybreaker, and you’ll finally find your long awaited love
>You promise
>…

>…
>You can’t stop the tears from cascading down your face
>That’s right; you promised Anon you would get Daybreaker no matter how long it took, no matter what it took
>Anon had thanked you profusely, and claimed that no matter how long it took, he’d wait for you to return with his match
>He must still be waiting, patient and hopeful that you’ll deliver on your promise
>And here you are… giving up on it
>Because you’re scared
>Because you’re weak…
>Your jaw clenches in frustration as tears stream harder from your eyes
>When did you become such a coward?
>Willing to shatter someone’s heart for your own benefit
>That’s…
>That’s not the attitude of a Princess at all
>You were not made an Alicorn Princess for nothing
>Celestia made you one because she saw your compassion and love for all living things
>And you’re disgracing her decision with yours
>In frustration, you lift your right hoof and punch the rocky ground beneath you, cracking the floor with your enhanced Alicorn strength
>How could you even think about giving up?
>That’s not who you are
>In the corner of your eye, you spot the book once more
>Taking a deep breath, you rub the never ending stream of tears with your hoof to no avail, before crawling towards it
>As you reach the ancient book, the withered pages feel rough as your uncovered hoof slide across it
>With your pony dexterity, you grab the old item and stand up on your four trembling legs
>Staring at the pages covered in information and instructions, you close the book and put it back inside your saddle bag
>Collecting the rest of the supplies that fell from it, you take a look at the cliff-side you had just tried to climb
>You shake your head and turn your back against the intimidating cliff
>Instead, facing the way you had just come from
>There was a nagging feeling on the back of your mind
>Your head turns just enough for you to see the cliff-side from the corner of your eye
>Urging you to leave this place
>To abandon everything and just make a beeline to the exist
>But as tempting as the thought of leaving this place as soon as possible is
>Your promise to Anon, and sense of duty as Princess of Love spoke to you louder
>So with another deep breath, you steel yourself to the journey ahead
>You have a mission to complete, and a pair of lovers to match

--------------------------------------

Part 12

>After gathering your bearings from your flashback
>And remembering you had some first aid kits that you immediately used to clean the wound on your temple
>You set out, once again, in your quest for Daybreaker
>Too bad you can’t clean yourself up
>Your pink coat will be covered in dried up blood and puke until you can find a body of water
>Another shiver makes itself known down your spine from remembering that your current look is the proof this place is fucked
>But this time you’re not letting yourself get shaken by it
>Not so much at least
>It still sickens you, but you can’t let it become a deciding factor in any of your future encounters
>Anyway
>With your newly found drive to find the Well of Spirits, and get a Soul Stone to perform the Soul Transfusion procedure, you journey deeper into Tartarus
>So far you have yet to find it
>And you don’t think you’ll find it any time soon
>The book you brought with you contained more info, but it was more about the ritual itself than the location of the Well of Spirits
>It just says the Well of Spirits in the depths of Tartarus
>But the depths of Tartarus could be anyway
>Like
>Literally the depth of Tartarus, underground or inside the chasm that homes the giga-Tatzlwurm
>Or depths as in, very far away inside this Celestia forsaken place
>So instead of trying to look for the information the book doesn’t have, you decided to read more about the ritual and how it works from
>Not while making your way there of course
>Without magic you can’t float the book and read while walking
>Acquiring knowledge is something you can only do when it’s time to eat or sleep
>Managing your time properly is key, the only way you’ll get the stone and get out of Tartarus as soon as possible
>And by as soon as possible you mean by the time one month since you got here hits you want to be right beside that damn gate to open it
>So your schedule has basically been traveling, avoiding encounters as much as you can
>Ignoring your sense of justice
>You don’t want your near death experience happening a second time
>Let this place tear itself apart from the inside Cadance, and ignore it as it does so
>Taking a few minutes of rest because walking for hours on end can be tiring
>When you feel you absolutely need to eat, you find a secluded spot to hide so nothing can jump you, and you eat only the absolute necessary
>It’s during this time you’ll take the book out and read it
>After that you go back to traveling and avoiding more Tartarus inmates
>And when you feel it’s almost time to hit the hay, again you’ll find a secluded spot, read some more of the Soul Power book, and then actually hit the hay
>You’ve been doing this for a few days
>And you had many close calls from either dangerous creatures or those your Aunt banished
>But each of them only makes you more proficient at avoiding them
>Not that that’s a good thing, one should never have to go through this and grow more experienced at avoiding death
>But unfortunately you are
>And, unfortunately, or fortunately depending on your point of view, you’ll need that experience
>Aside from the close calls, you feel like you’re getting closer
>Not to the Well of Spirits, but to at least something that’ll point you in said direction
>You hope
>Call it a hunch
>The environment around you isn’t even the same plain, desert like stretch of land with rocks
>You’re now at a place you’re very familiar with
>Well, you’re getting there
>The actual prison within Tartarus
>When just banishing isn’t enough, and the banished have to be kept locked away
>Yeah, that mountainous-esque region you were chained at with your Aunts
>With narrow pathways and staircases were a single slip of your hoof could spell your doom
>Maybe not
>You did survive a pretty nasty fall from that cliff with nothing but a cut on your temple and a hurting back
>It hurt a lot, but you survived, and that’s what matters the most
>You‘d still prefer not to fall from these pathways once you get there
>After all, without your horn and wings you’ll be stuck down there until your feathers can grow back, or you can use magic again
>Somewhere in those platforms-cell thingies must be someone who knows where the Well of Spirits is
>Yes they may be a hundred, even a thousand times worse than the average banished criminal
>But if your bumps into super villains taught you anything, is that they can be very reasonable
>Sometimes
>While your average crazy criminal here will jump you as soon as they can and try to take your shit or try to kill you
>Somepony like, you don’t know, Chrysalis, or even Sombra would probably strike a conversation instead of trying to take you out as soon as they can
>It’s super villain stuff, you don’t know why, but they like to talk
>If the ones actually locked away on these platforms are like these two, then maybe you can extract the info you need on where the well is
>Because like you already mentioned, the book doesn’t tell you were the fucking Well is, so this is your best bet, second being continue to wander aimlessly around Tartarus until you find it
>The book did teach you more about the Soul Stone though
>The Soul Stone works as a sort of satellite
>Yes, you know what a satellite is; being around humans for so long triggers the desire for knowledge sometimes
>And they taught you about this wonderful box called a television, where you could watch recorded or live plays, and even news
>And it was thanks a machine called satellite that picks up some waves or some shit from their place of origin, and transmits them to the televisions
>The Soul Stone works in a similar way, where it picks up the soul, and transmits, or transfuses it, in this case, into the next host
>Without the Soul Stone to absorb the soul and later redirect it to vessel, a Soul Transfusion simply isn’t possible
>Why isn’t it possible?
>Because they tried, and it didn’t work
>All the cultist managed to do was turn a ponies into a soulless husks because there were no Soul Stone to keep it contained and redirect it toward the body
>It just got whisked away, floating aimlessly until it dissipates into nothing
>The research did take generations to be finished, many unnecessary
>And fucking dumb, you might add
>Sacrifices had to be made in order to create the final version of the ritual
>After learning the purpose of the stone you set out to discover if any lapidary could cut the stone into the oval gem you needed it to be
>Turns out this part was not as complicated as you thought it would be
>You thought you’d need some specific lapidary to polish the stone for you
>But nah, any professional will do
>There are no specifics techniques or stuff like that
>Just plain old lapidary lapidating the stone
>So after getting the stone and jumping ship from his hole
>You can just take the stone to anypony competent at polishing gems and you’ll have your working Soul Stone ready to momentarily house, and redirect a soul towards a dying body
>There was also more information on the Soul Stones you wished you didn’t read
>Like, the fact that after decades a rough Soul Stone dissolves by itself, allowing the soul of the individual trapped in Tartarus to finally go into the afterlife, and then resurrect into a newborn foal or whatever creature it was before dying
>What an awesome information, doesn’t make you at all feel even more like a piece of shit
>You’re pretty much damming two souls to eternal damnation and no chance of reincarnation
>But at this point and time you really don’t care too much anymore
>As for info on the well of spirits, it is the most basic, fucking vague info you could ever get
>What you want, and need, to know was where in the fuck was the Well of Spirits
>But it doesn’t say, it says what the well looks like, not where exactly in Tartarus it is
>The one info you needed exactly right and the book doesn’t have it, all the other info you could’ve read later, even after leaving Tartarus
>But the one you need? No, fuck you apparently, that’s what you deserve for doing what you’re doing
>So your best bet is to keep looking on hoof
>And that’s what you’re doing now, walking in a random direction, hoping you’d find that damn Well
>You know what it looks like, so it’s only a matter of identifying it from afar
>…
>Kinda
>You actually don’t how it truly looks like
>The illustration on the book is too vague to serve as a hint
>The only info it has on the Well that can somewhat lead you do it
>All it shows is a circular hole with a lot of water in it
>No diameter, no circumference, no size, no nothing
>Most basic visual description you could get of what you were looking for
>You assume the Well is actually a lake and not a well from the how wide looks, at least in your opinion
>And it’s called a Well because… you dunno
>So sooner or later you might bump into it IF, your plane of extracting info from an quote unquote, inmate, doesn’t work
>There doesn’t seem to be many lakes in this place at all, so that might be the only one
>Which considerably streamlines your journey
>If you see a lake, it’s jackpot, simple as that
>Welp, looks like your musings have to be cut short
>You got to the “prison” part of Tartarus
>And you spy with your little eyes a Cerberus guarding the entrance from your spot
>Just peachy
>As if one isn’t enough, there are two
>And this time you’re as unprepared and outmatched as you can get
>If your horn and wings weren’t trashed you could just pop into one of the platforms holding some malevolent being, or just fly over the Cerberus
>Because funnily enough the three headed dog isn’t small enough to walk through the pathways and staircases to follow you if it saw you flying over it
>Or smelt the dried blood still clinging to your coat
“How the hay am I gonna get past it?”
>The Cerberus is not located on the entrance, but at a platform in-between the pathways that lead to it, and to the first cell-platform, which is what you’re gonna call them from now on because you honestly have no clue what they’re actually called
>So the dog is pretty much stuck in this platform just big enough to house it, meaning your only way of getting in is through the narrow pathway it can’t follow you through
>But if you do go through the pathway it WILL see or smell you
>And will fucking block your way to the next pathway that’ll lead you to the other cell-platforms because of how big it is
>Unless there’s some way to distract it enough for you to book it to the other side of its platform, you’re pretty much stuck and will have to go back to just wandering aimlessly and give up on your one chance of maybe getting some concrete information on where the Auntie dammed Well of Spirits is
>You mean, you could throw some of you food at the corner of the platform and hope to whatever deity that haven’t given up on you yet that the Cerberus will take the bait, giving you ample time to make a run for it
>But do you really want to waste precious supplies just to get past the Cerberus?
>If you still had both halves of your saddlebags, your answer might’ve been yes
>But now that your shit is much more limited you can’t just throw away food
>It’s not like you have much of a choice though
>But you still don’t wanna go with that plan, there must be another way
>You rub a crusty hoof on your chin as you thi-
>!
>Looking at your blood covered hoof, an idea suddenly forms in your head
>You take out one of the few remaining first aid kits from your saddlebag, and from the little bag you take out the roll of tape, same one you used to cover the wound on your temple
>Next, you unfurl your wings
>Cringing at the state they’re in, you search for any feathers that might need preening, and promptly remove them
>Not like they would serve you or anything when they’re already broken
>With four bloody useless feathers removed, you search the ground for anything that is light enough for you to through all the way from a distance the Cerberus can’t see or smell you,
>But heavy enough to not overshoot the platform the dog’s guarding
>And you just managed to find it
>A stone, around your head in size
>Pocking the stone, you tape the feathers to it, and hope to Celestia your plan works as you stand on your hind legs and take a pitcher’s stance
>You need it to land on the platform, and for the dog to lock on to the smell of dried blood
>The smell will hopefully be enticing enough to distract the beast just enough for you to rush through the platform as fast as you can
>Alright, Cadance
>Take a deep breath
>On the count to three
>One
>…
>Two
>…
>THREE!
“Rargh!”
>A grunt leaves your mouth as you toss the stone, and watch as it flies up in an arc, goes down as gravity takes place and…
>Yes!
>It lands on the platform; and near the edge as well!
>Fuck, you’re good
>You should play ball
>The Cerberus’ head snap toward the sound of the stone clacking to the floor, and as soon as its nose picks up the smell of blood, it runs straight toward the stone
>That’s your cue
>Run, Cadance, run!
>And make a run for it you do
>Hooves clip clopping loudly against the stone pathway and stairs
>Thankfully it seems too entranced by the smell to notice you yet
>But as soon as you reach the Cerberus platform, the three headed dog hears you coming and turns around, before baring its fangs and charging for you
>Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!
>Put some more effort into your gallop you crazy Alicorn!
>Else you turn into dog chow
>The thunderous steps of the massive mutant bulldog shake the floor as it quickly catches up to you
>C’mon Cadance, you can do it!
>You didn’t come here to become dog food!
“YAAAARGH”
>Putting as much strength on your leg as you can, you make a dive for the pathway just as the beast was about to take a bite out of you
>You hit the stone floor as you land on your chest, heart beating at a million miles per hour
>Turning onto your back, your heartrate slowly decreases as you pat around your chest and realize you’re still alive
>Raising your head greets you with the sight of the Cerberus glaring and growling at you
>And of course, you can’t help but smirk and throw him a raspberry
“HA! Dumb dog, you’re not getting this flank so easily”
>You stand up on your shaky legs and pat your flank, flaunting your victory
>That is, until you notice the chunk of red that’s supposed to be pink, purple and cream colored strings on the center head’s jaw
>You look at your flank and nearly faint as realize a good half of your beautiful tail is now gone
>Looking back at the three headed dog, you see the beat spit it like some disgusting piece of trash, and give out a smirk of his own, before turning back to the center of the platform
>On that little shit, you oughta-
>No
>No
>Inhale
>Exhale
>No
>You did what you wanted, you got past the Cerberus
>Any consequences are irrelevant
>You completed the objective, now the rest of the way is free of three headed demon mutant bulldogs
[spoiler]Doesn’t make you any less mad Celestia dammit, that was your tail! It could’ve at least eaten it! How dare it spit your tail out like that?! The nerve of that mutt!![/spoiler]
>Doing a one eighty, you face toward the first cell-platform, hoping to find someone who can give you some information about the Well of Spirits
>Making your way up the stairs, you’re met with a very familiar sight
>There’ no one here, unfortunately, but the place brings you vivid memories of the time Tirek locked you and your aunts here
>These were very unpleasant times
>Nowhere near as bad as what you’re living through right now, but you don’t want that happening ever again
>Still, nothing to see here, next cell-platform please
>You walk straight through the cell and onto the next pathways
>Before you lay a series of interconnected pathways and stairways leading to a multitude of these cell-platforms
>Thankfully, no Cerberus
>From here you can also see which ones have somepony locked or chained
>There aren’t many, but you’d expect that
>Sombra or Chrysalis level super villains are a rarity, despite Twilgiht fighting them every now and again
>And when Twilight deals with them, they usually flee, are reformed, or straight up disappear
>From your spot, however, you do see what you think is a pony in the distance, and that’s where you’re going
>Climbing down the staircase, and you make your way through the interconnected paths and crisscrosses, noting that shit’s so confusing that from the first cell-platform, you stood above all the other cells, but now your under all of them, and can’t see the pony anymore
>You still have the cell locked in your sight, but you wished you’d be able to see what you’re possibly going up against
>Even if whoever is locked or chained can’t do jack to you
>You know for a fact the chains in this drain the magic of the user in a second flat
>Your magic was already drained before being locked here
>But you still felt as if the chains were trying to suck your non-existent magic anyway
>As you climb up the stairs leading to the cell you’ve being heading for, you’re treated to a sight that shocks your core once you reach the threshold
“CHRYSALIS!?”

--------------------------------------

Part 13

“CHRYSALIS!?”
>Your jaw drops to the floor at the sight before you
>Chrysalis
>The changeling queen
>Is chained up to the floor by the holes of her legs laying down on her stomach with her legs folded under her barrel
>Quite literally, there are shackles locked between the holes in her legs
>But, wasn’t she free? You’re pretty sure she escaped after Starlight and her rag tag group reformed her hive
>How’s she even here?
>Did one of your aunts hunt her down after she ran away and locked her up here?
>That can be the only explanation for this
>Without her hive to back her up she’s practically defenseless
>But why did she look so uninterested and bored until you called her out?
>Chrysalis in question now looks at you with a raised brow and an expression that looks almost… offended?
>You’d assume Chrysalis would be a little more absolutely livid upon seeing you
>She hates your guts with all of her heart after you and Twilight put a stop to her plans of taking over Canterlot
>”Chrysalis?”
>She asks, before her eyes spark with realization and she face hoofs
>”Ugh, don’t tell me that little bug actually did take over my hive?”
>Wait, what?
>”Faust dammit, I knew that would happen after my exile, I just hopped it wouldn’t”
>… Chrysalis???? slams her head on the floor, hard
>Dafuuuuuuuuuu-
>”The hive’s a mess right now, is it not?”
>Y-you don’t know what to say
>So you just go
“Eh… kinda?”
>You still don’t know what to say
>She raises an eyebrow again, ushering you to further elaborate
“Well… Chrysalis kinda isn’t the leader of the hive anymore, after they were reformed”
>Not-Chryaslis’ eyes blink in succession, clearly confused by what you just stated
>”Reformed?”
>She leans her neck and head forward, turning her head and giving you a sideways look
“Yeah, they’re not love stealing changelings anymore, they can generate their own love”
>Not-Chrysalis’ eyes widen in shock
“They’re now even friends and allies with us ponies”
>The look on her face is quite funny, between total disbelief, and a little bit of disgust, horror, and outrage
>”Urgh…”
>She groans; closing her eyes and rubbing her temples with her hole covered hooves
>“Now I’ve heard everything. As if there weren’t enough reasons for me to hate her, Chrysalis let’s this happens to my hive”
>As the supposedly not Chrysalis and ex-queen of Thorax’s hive processes what you just said
>Your shock takes a step back and lets you analyze things with a more level head
>And your surprise, you notice that the changeling chained up in front of you isn’t, in fact, Chrysalis
>Despite the similar outward appearances, and the color of her carapace is the exact shade of black, her mane is shorter, a deeper shade of blue, and is slicked back instead of falling down her face
>Her wings also look bigger, and her horn’s less distorted, she lacks that crown looking thingy on top of her head
>And she’s got more holes and in her legs, like, almost up to her barrel, rather than just at the base of her legs
>Now you wonder, who IS this changeling?
>Aside from, well, being the supposedly ex-queen of Thorax’s hive as she already mentioned
>Curiosity prompts you to ask who she is, and what she did to get her get not only banished to Tartarus, but also chained up
>Being chained up is like a privilege, it means Celestia considers you dangerous enough to be a threat to the entirety of Equestria, if not the whole planet of Equus
“If you’re not Chrysalis, then who are you?”
>She stops rubbing her temples and opens her eyes to look straight at you
>The opens her mouth, ready to answer when you notice taking a closer gander at you, then leaning herself to the side, eyes still scanning your body before returning to her previous position with a small smirk tugging at the end of her lips
>“What is a Princess like you doing here anyway; got yourself banished?”
>And she ignores your question, because of course
>She raises a hoof to her mouth to hold a single ‘Heh’ before continuing
>“Gosh, I wonder what sickening crime you committed to have Celestia exile one of her own”
>You shake your head and try to explain
”No, no, no, you got it wrong”
>She leans her head in confusion
“I didn’t get banished; I came here on my own accord”
>Her mouth opens, revealing her sharp fangs, but she doesn’t say anything, and then closes it
>She repeats the action a few times, and each time she’s looking as if you have grown a second head until she finally says something
>”You’re not the sharpest tool in the shed, are you?”
>She deadpans
>“And look at you, by the maker, what happened? Did you take a dip in a fountain of blood thinking it was wine? These nobles, I swear, and I thought they were crazy back in my day”
>You can only puff your cheeks in frustration
>She’s just trashing you on stop!
>Who does she think she is?!
>But you release all that sucked in air and release it through your nostrils and calm yourself
>You’re not here to fight or argue Cadance, you want info
>Info you’ve been stalling to get
>To be honest, as much as the changeling have been bugging you
[spoiler]>Ha! Get it? Because she’s… okay…[/spoiler]
>Actually speaking to somepony who ISN’T trying to kill you is doing wonders to your mind’s stability and health
>”Also, I’d like you to stop calling, or comparing me to, Chrysalis”
>Sure ex-queen changeling mare/bug thing whose name you still don’t know
>You actually feel a bit of your sanity coming back, despite being in a conversation with a potential murdered and warmonger
>…
>You really going the deep end here, aren’t you?
“Well, you still haven’t answered my question”
>Still lying on the floor, the lays her flank and hind legs sideways, while crossing her forelegs
>”Chrysalid”
>One fucking letter off
“Wow, even your names are similar, it’s rather uncanny actually”
>”Well, yeah, she’s my daughter after all”
>SHE’S HER WHAT?!
>Your eyes bug out at this tidbit of information
>”You’re Chrysalis mom!?”
>You nearly shout out
>“Yup”
>B-but….
“But you said you hated her!”
>”Just because that little skank is my daughter, doesn’t mean I have to like her!”
>You flinch back in response to her harsh words and eyes full of hate
>That is so wrong on so many levels
>“And it’s not like I didn’t try, Chrysalis just didn’t want any of it”
>She hacks and spits on the floor, as if trying to spit on her daughter’s own image
>“To her, I wasn’t a mother, just an obstacle. All she desired was my throne and control over the hive, and made it clear any given moment”
>”When I realized she held no affection for me, I stopped caring about her”
>She waved he hoof lazily in the air,
>That’s… that’s really sad
>You’re a mother yourself, so even if you two are fundamentally different both as species and in your ideals, you kinda feel for her
>Just imagining Flurry Heart growing disdainful of you tugs at your heart like nothing else
>Doesn’t help that you can actually feel she’s not being completely truthful about not caring for Chrysalis anymore
>Princess of Love, you know
>Don’t need magic when it’s your special talent
>You wonder if she ever managed to love her daughter, she’d end up like Thorax and his hive
>Too late for that, you guess
>”Anyway, my turn for a question”
>That snaps you out of you funk
>”What in the name of Faust would induce you to get in Tartarus on purpose?
>You’re about to answer before she continues
>”Like, are you genuinely stupid?”
>That’s not very nice
“Too much to explain, and I don’t have time for it”
>You try to avoid answering her question, you just want yours
>”Oh, but I have all the time in the world, I’ve been here for Faust knows how long”
>She cracks her shoulders and neck
>“Be a dear and relieve me of my boredom, even if for few minutes”
>You were about to say no
>But man, she’s probably been here for decades, even centuries, if not fucking millenniums, maybe a little conversation won’t hurt
>And Celestia knows you also need it too to keep you from going crazy in this place
“Alright”
>You sigh and sit down, then proceed to lie on your chest
“Maybe one conversation won’t hurt, here’s how it all started …”
>…

>…
>”Wait, so you mean to tell me that you entered Tartarus, by yourself”
“Yes”
>”To find a Souls Stone”
”Yup”
>“So you can match whatever a human is, and the evil side of Princess Celestia, who’s an entity with just as much, if not more power than the princess of the sun herself?”
>Yeah, that’s pretty much the gist of it
“Uhum”
>Chrysalid licks her lips and looks at you with her most ‘Are you serious, now?’ look
>“Are you sure you don’t have a few missing neurons in your head?”
>Can’t really stop the scowl on your face right now
>She giggles, holding a hoof to her mouth as she does so
>She’s doing this on purpose, just to rile you up
“Yeah, yeah, I’m stupid now, but let’s who’s stupid when I successfully reform the evilest mare in the world”
>A heavy, faked cough catches your years
>And you look at the changeling to see a deadpanning ex-queen pointing at herself
“Well, you’re not a mare, now, are you?”
>Chrysalid looked ready to retort, before bumping her hoof against the floor
>”Point taken
>Ha, gotcha
>You not the only one with banter skills miss ex-queen
>Anyway, you think you wasted enough time talking to her already
“Alright, now that we’ve talked can you answer me another question?”
>Chrysalid taps her chin, eyes looking up in fake wonder
>”Should I, or should I not? I do have a busy schedule after all”
>You hold back the urge to face hoof
>”It depends on what it is, I’m wise and all, but I’m not an all knowing entity”
>Okay that’s fair
“I need to know where the Well of Spirits is”
>She humms, tapping her chin once again
>”You did mention this Well in that crazy story of yours”
>Please stop saying shit about your quest
>It hurts your feelings
>”I CAN tell you…”
>Your eyes widen in victory, you’re finally getting your-
>“If you can answer some more of my questions about the outside first”
>FUCK!
>You face-plant  against the floor, hard
>“Hahahaha! I’m sorry dear, but this is just too much fun for me to just let it end like this”
>She lays her head down over her crossed hooves, looking at you expectantly
*Sigh*
“… shoot…”
>”Alright, so, how did you meet my good for nothing daughter?”
>You cringe at how casual she insults her daughter
>But still takes your head off the ground to answer her question
“When I was going to marry my husband, Chrysalis foalnapped me, kept me locked in a cave, and tried to marry him in my place, to feed herself and the hive off his love”
>The ‘not bad’ muttered in front of you does not keep the frown from forming in your face
>”Your husband must be one hell of a stallion if he could feed the entire hive”
>At this you can’t help but hold your head high in pride
“Of course he is, Shining Armor is the best”
>”And I assume she failed at her task then?”
>She tries to hide the smirk on her muzzle, purposefully letting you see it
>Jeez, she really isn’t fond of that Changelling, is she?
“Yes she did, one of my friends broke me out and showed everybody the impostor that was Chrysalis”
>Just remembering the memory makes you growl to yourself
>“About my hive then, what happened exactly that got it… reformed”
>You can hear the words rolling inside of her mouth, with a little bit of disgust mingled in
>As if she’s trying to digest the concept
>Like mother like daughter you guess
>Both of them would rather be evil even if it has more noticeable negative drawbacks to the hive apparently
“After Chrysalis managed to successfully foanap all of Equestria’s sovereigns, a ragtag team of two unicorns, a draconequus, and a rogue changeling stormed her hive and beat her with the power of love”
>You wait for a reaction, but none comes from her
>Chrysalid just looks at you with such a nothing face that you wonder if you just broke her with that little description
>That is, before you see her cheeks puffing out and the queen quickly putting a hoof in her mouth to stop herself
>”PffffffHAAAAHAHAAHHAHA”
>She breaks out in laughter, slamming her hoof on the floor
>She keeps going for a whole ten seconds non-stop before trying to control her laughter
>”Ha, ah, are you-ha- serious?”
“Yes…”
>You start slowly
“Thorax, the rogue changeling, showed the other changelings that they didn’t need to steal love or any other emotions from other beings to survive, and that giving love was just as effective, if not better”
>Her chuckles still permeate the background as you continue the story, albeit a little slower than before
“After that, I assume he transformed? I don’t know, I couldn’t see it, but Thorax kind of evolved into this Changeling that looks nothing like you or the other changelings, and after seeing him free of needing to steal love, the other changelings followed him and evolved like him, leaving Chrysalis the only one rejecting the idea, and running away, effectively making him the king of the Changelings”
>You wish you could still use magic to show her what the evolved changeling looks like
“They all live a happier life now, they can be friends with ponies, and they don’t need to steal love or emotions anymore, since they started giving love, instead of taking it”
>Chrysalid’s still recuperating from her bout of laughter, but she looks less entertained
>”Heh, so that’s what happened to my hive, huh?”
>She sounds depressed, but not as much as you’d think she would
>”Yeah…. I guess that’s for the best”
>Now that takes you by surprise
“Wha- but a moment ago you sounded disgusted at the idea”
>Chrysalid looks at you straight in the eyes, and you can see she’s not joking this time
>“Princess, I grew up, and lived many, many years of my life believing changelings could only steal emotions to survive”
>She gives you a raised eyebrow, and a half smile, but there’s no mirth
>“You could say my lifelong beliefs were questioned, and were met with initial disgust, but when I think about it, isn’t this for the better?”
>Her half smile turns into a slightly regretful one
>”They’re happy, happy than they ever were with me, and they don’t need to starve anymore. As much as it clashes with what I thought was the right way to lead the changelings, I can’t say it’s worse than how they used to live before”
>Her body rocks slightly with her chuckles
>”I guess the years alone, with nothing to do but think, have mellowed me out. If I were still the same as the day I was banished, you can bet we wouldn’t even be having this conversation”
>Wow
>She’s so much different from Chrysalis, yet apparently was once just like her
>You wonder
“What did you do to be sent here, locked up no less?”
>You thread carefully, she may seem level headed now, but what if asking that triggers some memory that makes her go crazy
>”Didn’t you want to know about the Well of Spirits”
>You still do, yes
“I still want to, but… talking to you, got me curious, you know?”
>You give her a shrug and an innocent smile
>”Well, if you want to know. I waged war against Celestia and Luna’s empire many millennia ago”
>Celestia and Luna’s empire?
>Your jaw drops
>That means she must be as old as your aunts herself if Luna hadn’t turned into Nightmare Moon yet
>And she’s been here all this time?
>”I tried to take over their empire in order to expand my hive, and have ponies slaves who’s emotions were ripe for picking at any moment, I myself was very fond of fear and sadness, and so were the drones under my command”
>War? Now you understand why she would get chained down here
>”It was a very bloody battle that took months to end, and had most of my hive exterminated, and Celestia and Luna’s army down to but a dozen combatants”
>You gulp, that’s a lot of deaths
>”But in the end I still lost, my daughter fled as soon as things started turning south, and so did my drones, choosing to side with her in order to survive. My pride, however, wouldn’t let me leave the battlefield without victory, and I tried taking on the princesses myself”
>”And, well, the rest is history”
>The ex-queen shrugged her shoulders
>”Celestia beat me down by herself, and banished me to this place, where I’ve for over three thousand years if my memory doesn’t fail me”
>That’s… that’s a lot of time
>You wouldn’t wish that for anypony, even your enemies
>…
>Okay, maybe one of them
>”Don’t look at me like that”
>She sighs, rubbing the back of her head
>”I don’t need, nor do I want, your pity, what I did was irresponsible and rash. I thought that having the advantage in numbers would give me victory, and all that cost were the lives of thousands of my drones”
>”After years in here, I can safely say that my punishment is more than deserved”
>You don’t want to believe it
>Because she’s a changeling and they’re naturally deceptive
>Specially one that looks so much like Chrysalis
>But at the same time Thorax and his hive exist, and they’re your friends and allies
>Chrysalid looks and sounds genuinely regretful of her actions
>”I guess you want to know about the Well of Spirits now, right?”
>She breaks you out of your train of thought
>And you can only nod dumbly
>”Well, the Well is located… I don’t know”
>She shrugs her shoulders
>What?
“What?”
>”I don’t know where this well is, I’ve been chained up since the beginning, remember? I can’t roam around”
>A lot of effort is put into not face hoofing yourself
>But you fail, and soon after a smack’s heard, alongside a giggle in front of you
>Of course she wouldn’t know
>By your aunty, you’re so stupid
>You’ve been wasting time this whole ti-
>”But I do know one who can answer you that?”
>Your hoof left your face as fast as it smacked it
“You do?”
>You stand up and rush towards the ex-changeling queen
>Invading her personal space and shoving your face against hers
>”Of course”
>She gives a genuine smile
>Is she really just gonna help you like that?
>”There’s this old goat who used to roam around Tartarus on his own, only to suddenly show up around here inside a cage.
>Details, miss queen, details
>Give them up
>”He’s been in Tartarus for even longer than I have if I’m not mistaken, and since he used to walk free, there’s no way he doesn’t know where this Well of Spirits is”
>You squee and hug the bug queen
>Her yelp of surprise is the most adorable thing
>And you get even happier when she wraps a hoof around you, even if reluctantly
“Thank you so much, Chrysalid”
>She might not be able to use her magic, or feel and suck any emotions
>But you hope she can at least feel this little demonstration of gratitude
>”Okay, that’s enough, stop, you’re making me feel weird”
>You pull away with and grin at her
>She doesn’t look that amused, however
>Only a tiny little bit
>”The old goat’s cage is located on the highest platform…”
>She raises a hoof dramatically
>”… that way”
>And she points it to a specific direction without even looking
>From your spot even at the center of the platforms, with one of the two rock arcs blocking the view, said platform towers it even from the massive distance it
“Thank you again, Chrysalid”
>You bow your head to the defeated queen
>”No, I should be thanking, Princess, I haven’t had this much fun in ages”
>She smiles genuinely
>But the statement only brings up the truth of reality
>Which turns your smile in a slightly sadder one
>She seems to notice however, and looks to remediate that immediately
>”Now get going, you pony Princess you, don’t you have a pair of lovebirds to match?”
>You nod, and bow your head in thank again before going on your way
>When you’re about to hit the pathway however
>”Hey, Princess”
>You pause and turn around to face her
>The ex-queen doesn’t turn you face you though
>”That program of yours, do you believe it could ever find a companion for her?”
>Her? Her who?
>She tilts her head just slightly, allowing you to see the tip of her muzzle and mouth
>”Do you think Chrysalis can ever find love?”
>That comes off as a shock to you
>Yet you can feel it again
>There it is, that small pint of affection you managed to catch earlier
>It’s very tiny, and is overwhelmed by the disdain and disgust she feels for Chrysalis
>But it is there
>And it brings a small smile to your face
“Who knows, if she’s willing, I’m sure she can not only find love, but be able to love back”
>It’s very tiny, but you see a small smile on Chrysalid’s face, before she turns her head, preventing you from seeing it
>”I see”
>After that, she stays quiet, and you take that as your cue to leave
>She may not have given you the information you needed
>But she directed you to somepony who apparently have lived in Tartarus for far longer than she have, and probably have the location of the Well of the Spirits
>Who’d thought you’d find someone like her in this place
>Like she said, the many years in this place must’ve mellowed out her heart
>Many years isolated with no one but yourself will have your mind wander through topics you’d never think before, and maybe change your view on life after reflection
>It kinda makes you sad that Chrysalid have to live an enteral live locked away in this place
>She could probably be reformed if given a second chance
>Auntie would no doubt instantly reject the idea if you ever brought it up to her, though
>The Chrysalid she knows and the Chrysalid you know are two completely different changelings
>She’d think Crysalid was just putting up an act to fool you, or that you were going crazy from being stuck in Tartarus
>You shake your head
>Unfortunately there’s nothing you can do to help her
>And it doesn’t seem she wants to be helped either
>You leave the platform and follow the instructions to the cell holding this old goat she talked about who knows a lot about Tartarus
>Guiding yourself through the maze of pathways and staircases, you find yourself again climbing up a set of stairs before reaching your destination
>The highest platform of the bunch
>The sight you witness, despite surprising, gets a different reaction out of you than the one you got from seeing Chrysalid
>Your eyes narrow in rage and genuine hate
>You hate Chrysalis; and always will
>But you can understand why she did what she did; she had to feed her hive, which is an admirable reason, albeit with not so acceptable methods
>But him
>He’s just rotten to the core and you wished you’d never have to see his ugly face again
“You…”
>Tirek

--------------------------------------

Part 14

“You…”
>You call out the bastard who sent you to this fucking place after failing to steal yours an your aunts’ magic
>As you approach, the ‘old goat’ in question looks up from his spot on the floor of his cage
>Looking more bored than enraged, lying sideways with his cheek resting on his knuckle
>Of course, after seeing an Alicorn, his head immediately snaps to attention, eyes narrowing in your direction; with what you can only guess is hate, rage, disdain
>”You…”
>Yes, you
>One of the three Princesses who were imprisoned by this douchebag,
>One of the three Princesses wh-
>”Who are you again?
>He ask, scratching his goatee
>And leaving you flabbergasted
”Y-you don’t remember me?”
>He doesn’t remember you
>What?
>HOW!?
>He-you-wha-?
>All the rage you had felt moments ago just poofed out of existence with a mere question
>You… you feel offended
>He shouldn’t have forgotten you when he had spent so much time looking for you and your aunts for your magic
>How dare he forget you?
>”Should I?”
>He rests his head on his knuckles once again, completely uninterested in you
>Any interest he might’ve shown before dissipated into boredom once more
“YES!”
>You scream
>Grabbing the cage’s bars and try to shake them
“You wanted our magic, remember? You were looking for the three of us”
>He raises his unused arm and lifts a finger
>”No, I was looking for Celestia and Luna”
>He then points said finger at you
>”And you were just… there”
>He shrugs
>Just there?
>Your eye twitches
”I’m the Princess of Love, Mi Amore Cadenza, ruler of the Crystal Empire!”
>How could he just forget that?!
>“Oh”
>Enlightenment comes upon his face
>“I remember now”
>Finally
>Some damn respect-
>“You’re the irrelevant one”
>…
>You flinch so hard, your eyes close and you take a step back
>That… that hurt more than it should have
>“Your presence was so underwhelming, I barely even registered you were there, to be honest”
>Ow…
>You flinch again, both internally and outwardly this time
>That was a low blow Tirek
>Way to make your already unstable confidence as a princess worse
>”You were more like an extra than anything”
>… fuck you…
>”What are you doing in Tartarus anyway?”
>He asks, shoving the smallest finger on his ear and spinning it
>”Didn’t you get rescued by that purple Princess pony, Dusk Twinkle or something”
“…Twilight Sparkle…”
>You correct him quietly
>He pulls the finger out and flicks out whatever got stuck in it
>”Yes, Twilight. Didn’t she rescue you?”
“… yes…”
>”And what are you doing here? Got yourself banished?”
>For somepony who was the living, breathing vision of rage back in Equestria
>He sure sounds surprisingly calm and relaxed
>You’d expect him to try and get you from the bars
>But nope
>He barely bats an eye
“I’m looking for a place called the Well of Spirits, and I came here because a… friend”
>You can consider Chrysalid a friend, right?
“Pointed me here, saying an ‘old goat’ probably knew where it was”
>At the mention of old goat the, well, old goat, grunts in annoyance
>”Old goat, blergh”
>His disgusted face tells you enough
>He probably even knows who is the friend you mentioned just by calling him that
>”But to answer your question, yes, I know where the Well of Spirits is”
>Oh he knows
>HE KNOWS?
>”I’m assuming you’re looking for a Soul Stone, eh? No one looks for the Well of Spirits to take a dip in the well, unless they’re stupid of course”
>Instantly forgetting the mean words he threw at you literal moments ago, you grab the bars and shove your head inside the cage, making the old looking, decrepit Tirek recoil in surprise
“Please, tell me! I must know where it is!”
>He takes the best thinking pose he can from his spot on the floor, carefully stroking his goatee
>”Sure”
>He shrugs
>”It’s not like I have anything better to do”
>YES!
>“But what is in for me?”
>FUCK!
 “What do you mean?”
>You glare at the goat… centaur… man thing who doesn’t want to willingly give you the much needed info
>“You know what I mean; you don’t think I’ll just give you the information all willy-nilly, now, do you?”
>You nod
>He face palms
>“Those ponies, I swear”
>Wow, rude!
>Not all ponies are like you
>…
>Damn it Cadance, you’re starting you bully yourself
>“No… what’s your name again?”
>He forgot again?
“Cadance”
>You replay, giving him the shortened version of your name
>He raises an eyebrow at your now different name, but doesn’t dwell on it further
>“Right, Cadance. *cough* No, I won’t give you the information you seek like just like that, you have to do something for me first”
>Your eyes narrow at the possible problems a
“And how do I know you’ll keep your end of the bargain?”
>You turn your head and give him a suspicious side glance
>“Not much I can do from inside a cage, now. Can I?”
>Tirek shrugs his shoulders
>As much as he can do it from his spot on the floor anyway
>Okay, now think this through Cadance
>You tap your chin in wonder, he’s kind of right, what can he do while stuck in a cage?
>Giving it a few strong taps, you can feel this thing is meant to take a massive beat down and look like it was nothing but a breeze
>You’d try using your magic if your horn weren’t fucked
>But assuming this cage is made from the same material as Chrysalid’s chains, then Tirek have zero magic in his body
“Alright”
>You sigh, after a bit of thinking
“Go on…”
>That certainly got a reaction out of him, making him snap his head up and look at you incredulously
>“Wait, really? That easily?”
>You wish it wasn’t
>But you’re getting desperate
“Not like I have much of a choice, I ran out of options”
>You between your clenched teeth
>“Well then, what I want you to do, is find me an item of mine”
>An item?
>This just went from very suspicious to very, very suspicious in a heartbeat
“It isn’t something that can get you out of here, is it?”
>He snorts, almost as if you offended him with your unwillingness to trust him
>Humph, these villains, you swear
>”Of course it’s not”
>He huffs, a stream of smoke coming out of his pierced nostril
>”Chains and cages like these can only be affected by the magic of whoever imprisons whoever in this place”
>Tirek pinches the bridge of his nose with his bony fingers
>”For crying out loud, how do one even think of getting into Tartarus while knowing nothing about it?”
>Okay, all this bullying is getting old
>You let Chrysalid get away with it because she was just joking around
>Tirek, on the other hoof, is clearly insulting for the sake of insulting
“Alright, ALRIGHT! I’m dumb, glad we could get this out of the way”
>You snap at him
>Oh don’t you smirk like that you old bag of shit, you’re the one who’s gonna live the rest of your eternal life stuck in this Celestia forsaken place, not Princess not-so pretty-pink-anymore pony here
“An Item, right?
>He nods
“Seems easy enough, where can I find it?”
>He lifts a bony finger again, going on explanation mode, you guess
>“In my old cave, the place I used to live before I escaped and got dragged back, there’s an orb in there, round, made of crystal, that allows me to see what’s happening on the outside, and I’d like to have it back with me”
>You lean your head in confusion
“Why would you want an orb that lets you see Equestria when you can’t get out?”
>Once again, Tirek rests his face on his knuckle and uses the other one to stifle a yawn
>“WeIl*yawn*. If I’m gonna spend the rest of my immortal life stuck in this place, I at least want something to keep me entertained. Equestria is ripe with catastrophes just waiting to happen, you know?”
>Can’t really disagree with him on that one
>You glare at him some more
>This… this asshole who’s been screwing with you the whole time
>And he’s the only one who knows where that damn well is, so you can get that damn stone, leave this damn place, get it damn polished, and finally match Anon and Daybreaker
“Alright, deal”
>You sigh in defeat
“Splendid”
>Shifting position, he now lays on his stomach, and rubs his hands like a greedy merchant
>Or a Jew
>[spoiler]The humans told you that these Jew people, whoever they are, do that a lot[/spoiler]
“My old cave is located in that direction”
>He points his arm to somewhere behind you
>Please don’t make you come back from where you came from
>When you turn around, you see that it isn’t, so you sigh in relief
>In the distance, very, very far away, you can see a colossal mountain towering over absolutely everything in sight
>It’s so fucking far you wage it’ll take at least a week of non-stop walking just to get there
>You gulp
>”See that mountain?”
>[spoiler]You can climb it?[/spoiler]
”What about it?”
>You ask, not really wanting an answer though
>Knowing what’s gonna come out of his mouth
>Only a slimmer of hope in you believes he’ll not
>”That’s my house”
>CELESTIA DAMN IT!
“The whole mountain!?”
>You ask, exasperated and already cringing in anticipation so you won’t when he reveals that the whole thing is his old ho-
>”No”
>Oh thank your aunt
>Then it makes searching ea-
>“Only the very top”
>*Thunk*
>”So your mission is pretty simple”
>*Thunk*
>”Bring me the orb”
>*Thunk*
>”And I’ll tell you where the Well of Spirits is located
>You stop banging your head against the bars and send him a glare, to which he completely ignores
“Promise you’ll tell me where is if I bring you this orb?”
>You take a deep breath and pull your head from the bars, looking at him with one of the most serious stares you have ever given
>”Yes, I promise”
>He gives you a smirk, only making your eyes narrow even further
“You better not be deceiving me”
>You wish you knew some mind reading spells right now
>Not that they would work
>Busted horn, after all
>But if you could, and you knew, you’d try to extract some info out of him to see if he’s telling the truth or not
>Although this cage would probably nullify your magic anyway, only making it useless unless you could free him
>Which of course you won’t do, even if you could
>You may have done tons of downright mental things in the last weeks, but freeing Tirek is on a level of retardation you’re dead set on not achieving
“Okay”
>You let out a sighed okay, and turn around to face the overall direction of Tirek’s home
>His platform is so high up compared to the others it gives you ample view of the scenery
>And what waits in your path isn’t pretty
>And… is that another Cerberus?!
>Yeah, there’s another one, on a platform much like the first one you saw when you got to this place
”How many of these dogs are there?”
>You mutter to yourself
>“Five”
>You raise an eyebrow and turn your head back to see the old goat sticking a finger up his nose
>Ew
>“One guarding each of the four entrances of this prison, and one guarding the gates of Tartarus”
>Oh, okay
>That’s nice to know, you guess
>Another sigh leaves through your nostrils and begin your trek toward what could possibly be the tallest mountain in Tartarus

--------------------------------------

Part 15

>Huff
>Puff
>Huff
>Puff
>Oh dear Auntie
>You can’t handle anymore
>You need a breather
>But if you stop right now you’re gonna slide all the way down
>Just keep up and, you’re almost at a rock shelter
>Or whatever the fuck they call it
>Just… some… more…
“Uuuugh”
>Your grunts of overexertion permeate the arid air around you as you finally pull yourself to some horizontally straight piece of floor and flop onto your back
“Haaah…
>You pant and moan in tiredness
>Fuck, you need water
>And some ground air
>You dare not look down and see how much progress you have made, because if you do…
*gulp*
>Well let’s say that knowing you don’t have your wings to back you up yet won’t help calm your nerves
>But you know you’re tall
>Because the air is fucking hard to breath here
>Less oxygen and all that jazz
>Rarefied air if your memory isn’t failing you
>Those classes sorta soared over your head
>Sorry Auntie, she’s a dear and you love that Alicorn to death
>But her fucking lectures are boring as shit
>No wonder Twlight was the only one who managed to follow through with those classes of her, that nerdy, egghead pony
>She even introduced you to an old classmate of hers, who was a literal palette swap of Twilight
>The only differences being that she wears glasses
>She’s ALMOST as nerdy as Twilight
>But seems to show a lot more constraint than your fellow princess when it comes to studies and researches
>Now anyways
>According to Twilight she used to be worse than her
>Now Twilight is worse
>Sucking a few more chunks of low pressure air
>You carefully roll onto your tummy and stand up
>Fortunately, you have managed to climb almost the entire mountain
>It helps that unlike that shitty cliffside, the mountain isn’t fucking ninety degrees vertical
>It’s a slope
>A very steep slope
>But as slope none the less, and that you can climb up with way less hardships
>Just keep a steady hoof, and watch where you’re stepping
>Now the climbing the slope part is done since you reached the final part of the-
>Actually, now that you’re probably on one of the tallest places in Tartarus
>Maybe you can actually try to spot the Well from your height
>Fuck going back to Tirek for him to give you instructions
>You’re tall as fuck, nothing will stop you from spotting the Well of Spirits a-
>-aaaaaand the fog won’t let you…
>You lick your lips in annoyance
>[spoiler]Can’t see shit captain[/spoiler]
>Somehow you didn’t notice the massive fog, or whatever, covering the upper part of the mountain
>That’s probably because you were too busy literally hugging the wall and dragging your face across the entire climb, begging yourself not to look down, and praying not to fall off
>Well fuck, looks like you’ll need Tirek’s help one way or another
*Shiver*
>And you better go to his cave right now because it’s getting cold
>And from your little experience with high places
>The higher you get, the colder it gets
>So you fish your scarf from your saddlebags, one of the few things you haven’t managed to lose yet
>After tying the warming fabric around your neck and shoulders, you make way toward Tirek’s cave
>From this point onwards, literal climbing isn’t needed, because there’s a pathway doing laps around this massive mountainous monster
>It takes a few minutes for you to finally… not reach the cave
>You stop when you see the rock beneath you start to gain a thin layer of snow
>Well damn, you knew things were gonna get cold, but now you know that cold is nothing but an understatement
>Fishing the rest of your hoof guards, you put them on your hind legs to at least try and keep your hind hooves warm
>It’s better than nothing considering you only have an incomplete set after your failed attempt of giving up and escaping like a bitch
>Not anymore, you’re only getting out of here with a Soul Stone in hoof or Celestia helps you, you’ll start tearing this place apart with your magic once your horn heals up
>Ignoring the snow, you continue your way up the stone/snow track, going up in wide, lengthy loops because this mountain just have to be wide as hell
>At the very least the path is wide as well, meaning you don’t have to carefully measure your steps so much
>It isn’t until many minutes later that the hike starts getting difficult
>Because it started fucking snowing
>Actually, snowing is calling it lightly
>You have your wings held tightly against our sides with the saddlebag’s belt, while hugging the wall as much as you can because of a damn blizzard
>So strong is this blizzard, in fact, that it was starting to push you back, as if the mountain itself didn’t want you getting to the top
>Hugging the wall means both holding yourself from being blown away in case it gets even worse
>And guiding you, because the snow storm is so thick you can’t see shit
>You just hope you’re getting near Tirek’s home, because it’s too cold, and you don’t have anything on you aside from the scarf and hoofguards to keep you warm
>What you wouldn’t give for mug of hot chocolate right now
>Your scarf is no longer covering just the base of your neck, and with the end hanging off your shoulders back
>You wrapped that shit all around your neck, head, and muzzle, just leaving your eyes free
>Not that it’d matter anyway, since you can’t see anything on this blizzard
>All you can do is drag yourself along the mountain wall hoping you’ll find Tirek’s home soon
>And this soon doesn’t come soon enough dammit
>How long is this path?
>Seriously
>It’s been what; an hour you’ve been doing laps around this mountain?
>By this point you should’ve reached the ca-
“IIIAAAAHH!!”
>A yelp escapes your lips when your body suddenly stumbles into the mountain, and you fall flat on the cold ground
“Ooof”
>You grunt on the floor, nursing your poor chin as you slowly get up
>Looking around, you see yourself right at the opening of a cave
>And you gasp lightly, eyes alight with hope
“Is this it?”
>The cave goes further inside the mountain, and you quickly rush deeper to see if your hunch stands correct
>A few seconds later you find the highly sought after home
>And it looks… okayish
>You pull the scarf off your face and let it hang down from your neck and shoulders
>You shouldn’t expect any better; this is fucking Tartarus after all
>But considering this IS Tartarus… it doesn’t look too shabby
>Looks like an actual home to be fair
>A poor pony’s home
>But a home none the less
>It has a poorly hoofcrafted stone table without equally poorly hoofcrafted stone chairs
>With his size and body, chairs would only be a nuisance
>On one of the corners is what you can only guess is a chest where Tirek’s belongings must be
>It’s made of carved stone and is closed up by a stone slab
>The orb you’re looking for must be there
>But back to being nosy about other ponies houses
>There’s also a furnace built into the wall, that also doubles as a fire place
>Hay, he even carved a head sized hole all the way to the outside to prevent smoke from filling the place
>A guy like Tirek is definitely into cannibalism
>You’re sure of it
>Those fangs and sharp teeth aren’t for show
>And there’s also a few more miscellaneous things
>A rudimentary bathroom
>Which is just a carved up room with a hole so deep you can’t see the end of it
>Because of course it’s gonna be a hole, how are you gonna make a functional toilet in Tartarus?
>A large stone slab, the size of the cave’s entrance, by the cave’s entrance
>Likely to seal it from the inside from whatever danger decides to show up and protect from the cold
>Because it’s still really cold here
>The cave might be deeper into the mountain, but the raging blizzard definitely manages to push its freezing winds into the place
>Every surface so far is cold as hay
>Anyway, there’s another equally poorly hoofmade shelf built into the mountain walls holding many scrolls
>You approach the shelf to take a look at the scrolls and cringe in disgust when you see they’re made of skins
>Pony, griffin, minotaur, it doesn’t matter; you see ripped hides from many different creatures, there’re even dragon skins
>Geez, you don’t fuck with decrepit, magicless, Tirek it seems
>Or maybe those were done before he became old and weak
>Dude did spent a gazillion years in this place
>More than likely he grew weaker with time and-
>OH YOUR SWEET MERCIFUL AUNT, IS THAT A BED?
>You zip toward the ‘bed’ with speeds that’d make Rainbow Dash feel inadequate of her abilities
>You mean; it’s not a bed bed
>The ‘frame’, much like the shelf and furnace is a hole built into the wall
>With a lot of fur covered skins over it to make it cushiony
>It looks fucking disgusting
>But you’d be dammed it this also doesn’t look like the most comfortable thing you’ve ever seen ever since you set hoof in this fucking place
>You look at the bed like the maker himself bestowed upon you a divine gift
>Fuck that orb, you can look for it alter
>And Fuck Tirek too, he’s not going anywhere anyway
>He can keep waiting for all you care you need this rest ASAP
>Without much thought put into your desperate actions
>You pick up all the scrolls in the shelf you were inspecting just a moment ago
>There aren’t many, but what they lack in quantity and make up in length
>And these lengthy scrolls go straight into the furnace
>With a well placed kick, you procced to break a leg of the stone table, giving you a bunch of fragments, when just two are needed, to which you pick up
>You rip some fur out of the bed’s skins and voila
>You have all the ingredients needed to start a fire
>Shit’s cold, and you ain’t gonna sleep in the cold
>Using the survival training Shining gave you for emergencies
>You hit the two stones together until you get sparks that lit the fur into a small fire
>Blowing it lightly as to not extinguish the flame you just made, the fire slowly grows bigger and wilder
>Now all you have to use the stone in hoof to push the fire into the scrolls and woosh
>Yeaaaaah!
>That’s a nice flame
>Going to leave a terrible stench of burnt skin, but who cares? Not you, that’s for sure
>You wait a few moments for the place to warm up before heading for the bed
>Without a shred of hesitation
>Showing once again how fucked you’re gradually getting
>You throw yourself into the cozy, fuzzy bed
“Aaaaaaaa…”
>The satisfied moan just leaves your mouth instantly
>It’s so comfy
>You stretch all of your limbs, neck, legs, wings, hearing as they all pop, leaving you all tensionless
>Shuffling the contents of the bed around your body as you dig yourself deeper into the mounds of dead skin and fur
>You’re surrounded by dead ponies and many other creatures Tirek murdered to make this bed
>But you don’t care, not at all
>For now, at least
>You’re too tired for this shit
>Sleep now
>Guilt later
>…

>…
*Thunk*
>”Ah-wha-“
>The sound of a heavy object hitting the floor scares the old gold awake
“Here’s the orb, just as promised”
>The look of bewilderment on his face, you like it
>The kind of look from somepony who expected nothing only to get proven wrong
>It fills you with a bit of pride
>The orb in question is, well, a round, smooth, crystal like object colored blue
>It pulses a purple color from time to time as well, giving it a pretty cool look if you’re honest with yourself
>After waking up from the best sleep you had in the last three weeks and a half, you believe
>You filled your stomach with your increasingly low food, and went to that stone chest to find the orb
>Quite easy to find it, honestly
>The chest wasn’t that big, and it wasn’t that filled
>The other stuff in there were broken weapons and the skull of many creatures
>After getting the orb and a furry skin coat big enough to cover your body, you made it out of the cave and the mountain
>Climbing down the mountain was easy
>And kinda fun too
>You made your way down snowy path until there was no more snow, and proceeded to slide down the massive slope part of the mountain
>Careful not to trip and roll down, of course, and using your still healing wings to slow down whenever you went too fast
>Speaking of wings, they’re healing quite nicely
>You still can’t fly with them, but gliding seems to be an option from now on
>”So you did it, huh?”
>He yawns and scratches his chin
“Of course I did”
>You pump your chest in pride
>It took two fucking weeks to go and return
>Your supplies are getting are decreasing by the day as well
>You have to hurry
“I just don’t know if this thing is working”
>You comment, scratching the back of your head
>Of course curiosity got the best of you, and you tried to activate the orb to see what was happening on the outside
>More specifically, Shining and Flurry Heart
“I tried to use it but nothing happened”
>He snorts smugly
>Well sorry if I don’t know how to make the thingamagig I’ve never seen before start up
>”Of course it won’t work, it starts by voice, command, or my touch”
>By voice, command, and touch?
>So it’s kinda like those cellphone thingies the humans have?
>”I enchanted this orb to only work with me, look”
>He reaches his lanky arms across the bars and grabs the orb
>Lifting it up to your eye level, he says some weird words you never heard of before and the orb lights up
>Soon, on its surface, an overhead view of all of Equestria is shown
>Just like the Crystal Heart
>Are they perhaps made of the same type of crystal?
“Wow…”
>You look at it, entranced, imagine having a Crystal Heart that shows you what you want without having to read hearts and search for ponies
>You shake your head though
>This isn’t what you’re here for
>You got the orb
>Now you want info
“Okay Tirek, I did my end of the bargain, now tell me, where’s the Well of Spirits?”
>He looks at you with chin jutting out forward, then looking up
>Don’t think it over, just say it you old goat
>”Well, it’s only fair, a deal’s a deal”
>Yes!
>Do it, do it, do it!
>”Just like my home, the Well of Spirits is located at the top of a mountain”
>As if sensing your rising despair he continues
>”It’s nowhere near as high as the one I used to live in”
>You sigh in relief
>”It’s in that-”
>He points at a direction, the total opposite of where his home was, before he starts fiddling with his orb
>”-direction”
>You look there and see not just one, but many mountains high and short, in the distance
>And to makes things worse, they’re all very far from one another
>Meaning it could take days, even weeks to inspect all of them and find the one you’re after
“But how will I know which one is which”
>You ask, still looking in the distance
>”The Well of Spirits is the only one that have smoke coming out of the top”
>You lean your head to the left and right, but see no mountain with a smokey top
>”You won’t see it from here, the smoke itself is very thin”
>You swear you heard him also call you an idiot, but you’ll let it pass
>You’re not the one stuck here forever, after all
>”When you get close enough, you see the smoke billowing from the top of the mountain, that’s where the Well of Spirts is located”
>…
>Well this is it, you guess
>The final obstacle of your journey
>After getting there and getting a Soul Stone, all you have to do is make all the way back
>It looks like it’ll take a few days-worth of traveling to get there
>Hopefully by the time you do get to the Well, your wings and horn, or at least one of them, will be healed
>Either just flying or magic is good enough for you
>It’d make the journey back to the gates of Tartarus much easier and faster
>”You know, I’m surprised you actually made it back here”
>Huh-wah?
>You hear him call you from behind, and you turn to face the caged villain
“What; didn’t expect me to actually do it?”
>You puff your chest in pride, the smug washing over the place in droves
>There’s nothing more satisfying than making a villain admit they were wro-
>”No, I know for a fact you Alicorns are incredibly resilient, even one as unremarkable as you”
>Ow, you wince
>”What surprised me is that, I purposefully didn’t mention I had plenty of scrolls in my home”
>Yeah, you noticed that, the smell was pretty bad when you burned them to make a fireplace
>But it did keep you warm, leading to your absolute best sleep in Tartarus
>”They were diaries, or logs, whatever you may call them, and one of them had the location of the Well of Spirits written on it”
>…
>Wut…?
>But you…
>”I thought that once you got there you’d end up reading them and going straight to the Well of Spirits, leaving me here, bored out of my mind without the orb”
>…
>…
>W.h.a.t.!?
>”But you grabbed the orb and made it all the way back here instead”
>…
>…
>…
>”I guess a Thank you is in order, so, thank you”
>…
>…
>…
“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-“

--------------------------------------

Part 16

>One hoof at a time, Cadance
*huff*
>One hoof at a time
*puff*
>Carefully and methodically
>Don’t me hasty, Cadance
*huff*
>You don’t want to slide down the mountain, Cadance
>You don’t want to hike it all the way up again, Cadance
*puff*
>Hold yourself from hurrying it up, Cadance
>You’re almost there, Cadance
>You can taste victory, Cadance
>It wouldn’t be cool to lose your hoofing and slide all the way down, Cadance
>But….
>It’s literally just there
>Just a few more minutes away
>You want to make them seconds
>And it can happen if you hur-
“AAAHH!”
>You lose your grip on the slope and slid down a few meters down, before managing to catch yourself
>Slamming your head against the slope beneath you
>You mentally chastise yourself from losing focus
>You gulp a dry lump
>Okay, rest for a bit
>You pant heavily, puffs of white smoke more than visible coming out of your mouth
>And sweat drips down your face and into the rocky slope
>Evaporating into sweaty steam as soon as it touches the rocky ground you’re standing on
>And much to your charging, said sweat also trickle down your to hooves, making them slippery as a motherfucker
>Much like you did back on Tirek’s mountain, you hug the slope as close as you can to prevent yourself from sliding all the way down
>Oh yeah, did you mention the heat this place is giving off?
>That’s why you’re sweating so much
>A combination of being extremely tired, and being fried alive by the heat waves
>Tirek’s mountain was cold from top to bottom, with top being extra chilly
>But this Well of Souls is letting out heat like a blacksmith’s forge
>You’re just halfway through the climb for the Well
>Assuming Tirek didn’t fuck you over
>And it feels like you’re inside of a sauna
>If the sauna’s the internal mechanism broke and started expelling excruciatingly hot steam
>The likes of which just standing within could damage your body
>But you’re an Alicorn, so you can handle hotter than hot steam
>Doesn’t mean you enjoy it
>It has just made the climb even fucking harder for you
>You don’t even know if this is the right mountain and you’re doing this bullshit because you believed the words of the asshole who chained you in Tartarus and tried to kill all your friends
>But this is also the only mountain with smoke coming out of the top
>While making your way through the general directions of the mountain range
>Much like Tirek said
>The smoke only became visible when you were around halfway through because of how thin it was
>Hay, you only managed to see it because of your superior Alicorn senses, from your enhanced Pegasus eyesight
>If you were a Unicorn, or an Earth Pony, or maybe even a regular Pegasus, you wouldn’t see shit unless you got closer
>No offense, but being an Alicorn is just straight up better
>You got stronger magic than most unicorns, save a few
>Thinking of you Starlight
>And apparently the now not deceased Starswirl
>Stronger body and physical prowess than most Earth Ponies
>And overall better flying skills, climate handling, and eyesight than most Pegasi
>Anyway
>Considering you were facing the wrong mountain when you noticed the almost impossible to catch smoke spewing out of the top of one of them
>If you were either Unicorn, Earth Pony, or Pegasus you’d have to spend many days, maybe weeks just looking for the right mountain
>Now back to this fucking mountain
>You continue to pant heavily as you take a breather
>You almost want to smile
>After all, you’re nearly getting to the end of this madness
>But the fact that the info was given by Tirek out of everypony still entices a little bit of justified doubt in your heart
>However, that can only be confirmed by getting to the top and facing the music
>So up you go
>One hoof at a time, Cadance
>Careful not to slip again
>One
>Two
>One
>Two
>You chant in your head
>Keeping both mind and body focused on the task at hoof
>You’re nearly there
>You can even see a glow from the top
>No way this isn’t it
>Just a few more steps and you’ll finally reach your objective
>Hopefully
>After what felt like an eternity
>You reach the top of the not as high as Tirek’s, but still a pain in the ass to climb, mountain
>You hook a leg over the edge, and then the other, and then use your hind legs to push your head up the edge that separates you from your goal an-
>…
>Holy shit
>You stare flabbergasted at the sight before your eyes
>That smoke you were seeing wasn’t just smoke
>They’re… they’re souls floating around alongside vapor
>And the water
>It isn’t water at all
>It’s souls
>The contents of this well… lake, whatever, are the actual souls themselves
>Looking just like water, and slowly flowing in a circular fashion
>It looks more like a volcano than a lake, or a well, actually
>Only instead of lava
>It’s just spirits
>With a grunt, you push the rest of your body over the edge, and into the margin of the Well
>Still panting from fatigue, you crawl to the edge of the well and dip a hoof into the well
>Only to quickly retract it immediately with a hiss and in shock
>Not only is it piping hot
>But it feels like actual water
>Same feeling and consistency
>But none of that getting wet shit
>Holy shit
>A place like this is unreal
>You’re looking at, at the very least, thousands, if not tens of thousands of souls
>All confined to this place
>Most, if not all, creatures your aunties condemned to living the rest of the lives in this hayhole until they died
>You’re sure to see them in a different light from now on
>With shaky legs, you stand up and look down at the glowing fountain of spirits before you
>You remember what the book said
>The Soul Stones are located at the bottom of the well
>This well that’s literally bubbling from the heat
>You don’t wanna do this
>But you have to
>Your horn’s still trashed
>Which sucks
>If it were still working you’d able to just float one out of the Well
>But it’s not, it’s still healing
>And you feel it’ll be fully healed in a week or so
>But you’ll waste all your food if you wait it out here
>And you’d have to make all the way back in one go with no food
>But, you don’t have enough mana potions for consecutive teleports until you reach the gate
>Not to mention having to open the fucker from the inside out, you’re gonna need those mana potions
*gulp*
>Be strong Cadance
>You try to say to yourself as you unbuckle the single remaining, trashed saddlebag, only letting the belt stay around your barrel
>You’ve gotten this far, don’t you dare chicken out
>Your wings are mostly healed at this point
>So you can use them swim faster
>Get to the bottom fast, and get out fast
>You can do it, Cadance
>Just ignore the pain
>You’re been through a lot
>More than anypony would have without losing their mind
>Pain...
>You can resist the pain, Cadance
>Your breathing gets more erratic and you barely notice
>Unlike the other times where pain was inflicted on you
>You’ll be inflicting this upon yourself
>Be strong, Cadance
>Remember why you’re doing this
>Just clench your teeth hard and-
“JUMP!”
>You dive into the searing hot well with a splash
>Eyes instantly shut down and your body contorts into a ball from the pain as the bubbling hot soul water surrounds your whole body from every possible direction
>But you can’t stop
>Beating your wings and swinging your forelegs as hard as you can
>You pull yourself further into the depths of the well as best as you can with your eyes closed
>Going as fast as you can
>Ignoring the pain as much as you can
>The only thing helping you being that you’re an Alicorn and you are naturally more resistant
>Doesn’t make it any less painful
>You feel your muzzle hit something
>And a quick eye opening reveals exactly what you’ve been looking for
>The Soul Sone, a bunch of them at the bottom
>You grab one
>Or at least you try
>They’re too stuck and intertwined between one another for your hoof to circle around one and pull
>The space is too tight
>Moving up to the next, you also try to pry it off the bottom
>But this one too is fucking stuck
>Same for all the next ones
>You can’t even wrap your legs around them to pull
>Damn you hooves, you wish you had hands right now
>You close your eyes again and grunt inside your mouth as the pain gets worse by the second
>Making you contort into a ball once more
>But as you do, your wings brush against your saddlebag’s belt
>And it hits you right there
>Unbuckling the damn thing as fast as you can
>You slide the end between the space your hoof couldn’t, and tie it around the stone
>Ignoring any warnings your head might’ve given you, you stomp your hind legs onto the well’s bottom, clench your teeth on the other end of the belt and PUUUUUUUULLLLLL
“GRRRRRRRRRRRRGH”
>Your burbled grunt is all that can be heard
>Hind legs and wings are brought to their limits as you use all your remaining strength to pull the stone
>C’mon
>You don’t want a budge, you want the entire thing
>C’MON YOU FUCKING STUPID PIECE OF ROCK!!
>With one final pull, you finally managed to dislodge the damn thing
>And immediately start swimming your way back to the surface
>Beating your wings faster than you have ever before, the glowing surface gets nearer and nearer until
*GAAAAAAAASP*
>You take in as much air as you can with a belt held in your mouth
>As soon as you surface, you throw your body to the edge and climb over the margin
>You roll into a ball and hold yourself tight, trying desperately to soften the pain in any way you can
>No amount of first aids will help you
>All you can do is tough it out
>Your uneven breath and pained grunts is all that can be heard in the following minutes
>Hay, not even minutes, might as well be hours, you don’t know how long you’ve been there trying your damn hardest to stallion it up
>Just contorting left and right, rolling into a ball, arching your back, you name it
>Finally, after what felt like ages your Alicorn physiology kick-starts and you feel the pain dissipate
>Very, very slowly
>Still in pain, you roll onto your back and tried to suck in as much air as you could
>Each rise and fall of your chest sending sharp pains through your whole body
>Like somepony’s stabbing you with hot needles all over
>Still, you look at the tied up soul stone you managed to grab
>Holding it up by the belt, you look at the wispy looking stone dangling around your hoof, just like it was portrayed in the book
>The sides of your vision begin to waver and blur
>You feel snort on the back of your throat before you start chuckling
>And then laughing
>And then sob
>You cover your eyes with your other leg, in a failed attempt to prevent tears from spilling out from your eyes as you laugh and cry out at the same time
>You did it
>You finally did it

--------------------------------------

Part 17

>After taking around a day or two to rest from diving in the searing hot… souls…
>And not at all crying your heart out during all the time
>You finally
>FINALLY!
>Started your journey back to the gate
>Because you got the antie damn Soul Stone
>The cause of all your suffering and strife, finally conquered
>It’s over, it’s finally over
>From this point onwards it’s just going back all the way you cam
>And surprisingly enough, you got no burn marks
>As hot as those… souls were… well, souls, not water
>You’re still trying to get how souls have liquid consistently
>You’ve got no idea if it’s because it wasn’t actual water, or if it was your Alicorn-ness that prevented you from getting any permanent scars
>Unfortunately though
>Despite the watery consistency of the souls
>It still wasn’t water, so not only were you not wet when you came out
>You’re still covered in crusty, dried up blood and puke
>Much to your charging
>It could’ve at least washed out all of this dried up blood
>Well, not that it matters much anyway
>After you leave this place you’ll take a dip in the first lake you see and immediately wash off all the dirty, grime, blood, puke, and any other disgusting substances covering your coat and mane
>And to your immense relief
>Your wings finally healed up
>The removed feathers grew back and now you can actually start flying again
>Your horn so far still a no go
>However, you know it won’t take long for it to fully heal as well, as you can feel your magic slowly returning
>But having your wings back make things so much easier
>The first thing you do is fly back to the prison section of Tartarus and fly over one of the four Cerberus guarding cell-platforms
>Your first visit?
>Tirek, surprisingly enough
>”Oh, it’s you again”
>The old goat barely gives you a once over before his eyes go back to his orb
“Yes it’s me again”
>You can’t keep the smile off your face
>And you can see that it irritates him
>Maybe he didn’t expect you to come back
>Or maybe he wanted to die on the way
>But you don’t care, you came here for a reason
“Well Tirek, surprisingly enough, you didn’t trick me like you did Discord”
>He goes ‘eh’ and shrugs his shoulders, still staring at his orb
>Whatever it is it must be interesting if he doesn’t keep his eyes off of it
“So I came here to thank you”
>You bow your head
“Sincerely, thanks for the help; if it weren’t for you, I’d still be wandering this place like a lost filly”
>He raises and arm and waves it dismissively
>”Whatever, you got what you wanted right?”
“Well, yea-“
>”Then stop bugging me and go your way”
>Huff
>The nerve of the old coot
>Even after being thanked he still acts like an ass
>Guess it can’t be helped
>So you shrug your own shoulders and fly straight toward another cell-platform
>The one holding a friend
>Maybe she doesn’t consider you one
>But you damn sure consider her a friend
>Flying above the pathways, you spot the cell your friend’s being held
>And make a dive for it
“Chrysalid!”
>The ex-changeling queen head turns your way and her eyes widen as soon as you dive bomb and glomp her
>Wrapping your hooves around the changeling you give her a very tight hug and a nuzzle to her neck
“Aaaah, what! No! Stop! Stop!”
>Chrysalid tries to push you off of her but you don’t let go
>Then you start kissing her on the cheek for good measure and she yelps even louder in embarrassment
>”Naaaaaaaah!”
>And then she finally turns off
>You can even see smoke coming out of her ears
>Looks like you broke her
>You giggle a little and continue to hug her until she finally wakes up again
“Thank you so much Chrysalid”
>You stop your playful hugging and hold her more seriously this time, nuzzling her neck as you do so
>That gets her to stop fighting off the hug
>”W-what are you talking about, Princess?”
>The ex-queen squirms in your hold
>You can’t see her face right now, as your head is resting on her shoulder neck
>But you can feel emotions, not just love
>And she’s blushing in embarrassment, that’s for sure
“Thanks to you I could finally get what I’ve been looking for”
>Her uneasiness slowly deteriorates before her forelegs slowly wrap around your barrel
>You can feel she’s very confused, and because of her changeling instincts, she doesn’t understand if she’s supposed to like or hate this
>Her mind seems to tell that she should hate this, based on her experience as queen
>Yet her body yearns for affection
“If I never stopped to talk to you, I would never be able to find the place I’ve been looking for”
>”I… well, I’m glad I could help, but could you maybe stop?
>You can, but you won’t
>”This is so strange…”
>Her voice lowers as you feel her head move to rest on your shoulders
>”Not even… not even my daughter hugged me before”
>Chrysalid’s forelegs tighten around your barrel ever so slightly
>Her body starts trembling, as she buries her face on your shoulders
>Son enough you start to hear a sob
>Oooookay, you didn’t want to make her cry
>It was nowhere near your intent
>You just wanted to thank her and maybe make her feel some of your joy
>But you can feel this is for the best
>For the first time in thousands of years Chrysalid has an outlet for all her inner turmoil
>You’re not gonna ruin this for her
>…

>…
>After leaving an embarrassed and flustered Chrysalid swearing that she wasn’t crying
>And promising you’d do everything in your power to take her out of Tartarus
>You continue your journey back towards the gates that will lead you to victory
>The travel was fortunately uneventful
>Even if you felt like you were being watched a couple of times
>Which is fairly regular to be honest
>You felt yourself being watched tons of times and some of these times you were jumped by some lunatics trying to kill you
>The sensation happening again isn’t anything new
>And hey
>Your horn finally healed up
>HU-FUCKING-RRAY!!
>Your wings and horn are back to working condition, and you couldn’t be any more excited
>You were so happy you immediately took flight and flew straight towards the gate
>No more beating around the bush baby
>You were just waiting for the moment your horn healed for you to do this
>No way you’re facing that Cerberus without your magic
>The one guarding the gates is the biggest of them all, easily twice as big as any of the four Cerberus guarding the four entrance points of that prison section of Tartarus
>But now that you have your magic all you need to do is put it to sleepy and boom, Cerberus down
>Not teleports
>Absolutely no teleporting you, or him away
>Teleports take too much magic, only geniuses or prodigies can master it very early to the point of spamming the damn thing like Twilight and Starlight
>You’re no genius, nor prodigy, you gotta practice to master teleportation, and unfortunately you never have the time with having to run an empire, be a wife and a mom, and match humans to mares almost every day
>Twilight gets it easy, she’s a Princess but her duties boil down to reading all day, telling Starlight to fuck of- you mean, sending her on friendship tasks, and read all day
>So you’ll need to conserve as much magic as you can get
>Because turns out you only have one mana potion remaining
>You thought you had more, guess they were all gone when half of your shit went down the chasm with that giga-tatzlwurm
>Still
>One is more than enough
>You’ll put the big boy to sleep
>Open the gates
>Drink the potion
>Cross the gates
>And dive straight into that fluffy snow just waiting on the outside
>Hmmm, yes
>All that cold, soft snow will do wonders to your sore muscles
>Specially after that dive in the Well of Spirits
>With reinvigorated determination, you beat your wings with great force, rocketing yourself toward the massive obsidian construct in the distance
>This is it, you’re finally getting out
>Nearing the gate, you catch sight of the giant Cerberus and narrow your eyes
>Before you ran past him to save magic and stamina
>But this time he’s going down
>Down to dreamland that is
>You’re not gonna hurt a dog
>You’re not that far down the rabbit hole
>Sliding on the ground as you land, you stop just a few meters away from the behemoth
>Your hooves clacking scraping on the rocky floor catch the dog’s attention almost immediately
>The head closest to you faces your direction, before the Cerberus’ entire body turns towards you and it rushes like a bulldozer
>But you’re not intimidated this time
>You faced worse, scarier things than a mutant three headed bulldog in your journey through this Celestia forsaken land
>Any fear the Cerberus could get out of you is now non-existent as you shoot a simple spell out of your horn and watches as the bulldozing bulldog bull-rushes straight into the floor
>The deafening sound from the proceeding collapse of the giant dog reminds you of a building getting torn down from the inside out and falling onto itself
>You even felt the earth quake beneath your hooves
>That dog ain’t getting up anytime soon
>That’s a simple, but powerful spell that puts anyone it hits to sleep for at the very least an hour
>Well now
>Target down, time for the main event
>Circling around the Cerberus, you stand in front of the obsidian gate that at least a month ago gave you the most excruciating pain you ever felt in your entire life
>Even taking that dive at the Well of Spirits didn’t compare to having your magic forcefully sucked out of your body
>Now you gotta do it again
>…
>Breath in Cadance
>Two magic tendrils fly from your horn all the way to the levers
>Breath out
>You pull the absurdly heavy levers up
>Breath in
>Turn the levers
>Clench your teeth
>Don’t screeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee-
“HHHHNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGH”
>Holy shit
>It hurts just as bad as it did before
>Don’t let it go Cadance
>Just close your eyes, clench your teeth harder, and try your best to ignore the pain
>After minutes of enduring having your magic literally sucked out of your body
>And you gasp when the gate finally stops sucking your magic
>The levers fill up completely and go back into their cylindrical containers
>Fueling the gate with your magic, as the cyan once again starts to fill up the markings engraved on the obsidian monolith
>Panting in exhaustion, you pull out the last remaining mana potion from your saddlebag with your magic and drink thirstily
>It’s not cold like last time
>But it does wet your dry lips and feels great down your throat
>It’s gonna take a few minutes for the effects to take place
>But the fact that you’re still standing shows how much tougher you’ve gotten since your journey began
>Now all you need to do is cross that gate and say goodbye forever to this pla-
>!
“Guh”
>You stumble forward a bit, bottle falling from your magic grip and shattering against the floor
>Without understanding much except the sharp pain in your chest, you look down to see the end of a blade perforating your ribcage all the way from your back, before falling to your knees
>Amidst the pain very slowly catching up to brain, you hear a voice behind you
>”Leaving so soon, Princess?”

--------------------------------------

Part 18

>”Blurgh”
>The wet cough does nothing but send the crimson, iron flavored liquid you’ve gotten so familiar with straight to the floor
>The blade struck right where belt was located, the worn fabric of the belt, and weight of the bag doing the rest of the job in ripping the belt of, sending the bag to the floor
>Spilling its now meager contents out
>It happened so suddenly you can barely register any pain
>Blood drips from the newly made wound, forming a small, but slowly expanding puddle beneath you as you rack your brain for what the hay is going
>Your jaw clenches like never before, doing its best to not let out a bloodcurdling howl of pain as your brain finally processes you’ve been pierced from behind
>And you nearly scream out again when the blade is forcefully ripped out of your body, leaving the wound even more open, letting blood flow and drip at a faster rate
>”Leaving so soon, Princess?”
>You hear a feminine voice behind you
>And turn your head ever so slightly to see who the culprit might be
>Standing on top of a rock formation, you only see the silhouette of a unicorn
>With two blades shrouded in blue mist
>Mist that glows with just enough light for you to see a wide grin on the unicorn’s face
>”That makes this host very, very sad”
>Says the unknown unicorn with the most mocking tone you’ve ever heard
>Turning yourself fully while holding a hoof to the wound in your chest, you start taking in her feature as best as you can from the illumination given by her magic
>Dark blue coat like aunt Luna’s, riddled with marks, to which you assume are scars
>And a filthy white mane, pulled back in a ponytail, with two long fringes and a pair of sideburns framing her face
>Her body type is unlike the average mare’s
>She’s taller, more slender, and her facial features are sharper and less rounded
>She’s got the physique similar to that of an Alicorn
>Not unlike that of Fleur De Lis mare
>Or even yourself
>This mare looks oddly familiar for some reason, but you can’t make a connection as to why
>As already mentioned, she’s got two floating stone blades by her sides
>Rapiers if memory serves you right, with each handle shrouded in a cyan blue glow
>Just like your own
“Well… sorry if it bums you out, but I need to go”
>You try to respond with as much wit, but it isn’t as effective when you wince and hold back a grunt; just talking is making the wound on your chest hurt
>”Even after relishing on all the pleasures of Tartarus?”
>You’re inclined to say yes, but you don’t want a reaction out of her, so you opt to stay quite
>She jump down from her high ground and lands gracefully a few meters from your position
>Allowing you to take her appearance a little better, and even her cutie mark
>Her cutie mark is an upright bass, or a cello, you don’t know, with a rapier crossing it like a bow
>No, not crossing, slicing it in half
>You don’t want to know what her cutie mark means
>“At least, let me go first”
>What?
>”I’ve been stuck here for at least two decades, you can have your chance later, after all, you can live forever”
>She gives you a stupid grin, knowing full well what she’s asking for is mental
>And no, you can’t, and that grin displays she knows that well enough
>No with this injury, you can’t, you’ll bleed to death, and you have no way to heal yourself
>No amount of living forever can heal up a chest wound like this, even being an Alicorn can’t prevent you from dying
>Only from dying as fast as a normal pony
>Two, three hours, is what you got
>If you manage to get out first and get her stuck here, you can at least teleport yourself to the nearest town, even if such jump takes up all your mana
>At least from there the townsfolk will know what to do and get you to a hospital
>Watching her carefully, you take a pained step back once again, while this mare starts rounding you like a shark sizing up its prey
>”I know this is the last you’ll ever hear of me, but allow me to introduce myself nonetheless”
>She says without stopping
>”My name is Midnight Blues”
>The dark blue mare places a hoof over her chest
>Midnight Blues
>Midnight Blues….
>That name rings a bell, but you can’t quite put a hoof on it
>“And thanks to you, I’m getting out of this hayhole”
>Oh hay no, she’s here for a reason, and whatever reason it is, you’re pretty sure it’s bad enough
“N-no, you’re not”
>Beating your wings, you make a mad flight towards the open portal
>Your hurt, but flying is less painful than walking or running right now
>And you intend on that to your adva-
“Gaah”
>A sudden pressure in the air sends you plummeting towards the floor, sliding just inches from the glowing portal
>The impact makes the pain from your wound echoes throughout your entire body
>”No I’m not?"
>She smugly remarks, tauntingly approaching you with a glowing horn and a raised eyebrow
>You try to extend a hoof, trying to crawl your way out, but she just pulls you back roughly and recklessly with her magic
>Dragging your open would along the dirt
>"Princess, you’re in no shape to tell me what not to do”
>Still pulling you, she casually passes by and makes a beeline straight towards to the open portal
>Oh no, she won’t
>Using the last bit of magic you still have before the potion’s effect start to take place, you summon a massive crystal wall all the way to the top, blocking her exit from Tartarus just as she was about to cross the portal
>And leaving you completely dry on mana
>She stops midstride, staring at the crystal construction from top to bottom and back to the top
>Glowing sword in tow, she uses one to tap the crystal wall, as if inspecting the thing
>You watch as the unicorn takes a few steps backwards, and horn glowing before she lets loose a blast of magic
>The magic missile explodes on contact, and the ensuring smoke covers an entire section of the wall
>Until it discipates and reveals not even a scratch was made
>You can help but huff out a smirk despite your sorry state
>Good luck, bitch
>Those crystals are the real deal, only you can make them disappear
>Only your aunts have the fire power to brute force their way, and tear it apart
>”Well…”
>She mutters, slowly turning toward you, eyes showing no amusement
>After all, you just cut off her only way out
>“Ain’t this a thing?”
>She sneers
>“All I’m asking is for you to let me go ahead too, nothing bad will come from it”
>Nothing bad your flank
>The moment she sets hoof on the other side you’d be stuck here
>You don’t give a shit how many years she waited for a moment like this, but you’re up here with Tartarus
>Besides she’s here for a reason; whatever she did was heinous enough for your aunt to exile her to this awful place
>And her name still rings around your head
>It’s at the tip of your tongue, but you still can’t quite remember
>Anyway, you can’t just let her go like that
>As much as you want to just so you can get away from this place as soon as possible
>You’re still a Princess
>And just Princess of Love or not, you still have a job in upholding justice and punishing the wicked
>That’s usually your aunts’ job, but Celestia always did tell you that one day you would have to make decisions like this as well
>And she taught you right
>You can’t let her go
“My aunt banished you here for a reason, and I can’t just let you go free like that”
>Her eyebrows shot up for a moment before they go back down into a scowl
>”So you’re Celestia’s niece?”
>He scowl turns into a grin as she licks her lips
>”Well, this makes things a little more interesting”
>She faces you completely, stone swords twirling in her magical grip
>Your eyes narrow as your legs spread just slightly
>”Oho, what is that stance, you think you can take me on?”
>She rolls her shoulders and pops her neck, giving you the smuggest grin you’ve ever seen, while you’re barely able to keep yourself still
>All pain and fatigue finally adding up after only Celestia knows how long
>When you reached the gate the sign was already gone, meaning you’ve been here for at least a month already
>You know you can’t take her on
>She’s looks surprisingly well rested from how casually she throws magic around, despite being in Tartarus for longer than you have
>While you’re on the brink of collapse
>That crystal wall stunt took literally all you had
>And the effects of the potion need at least five minutes to fully take effect
>Until then you’ll have to use every little ounce of the potion you can as they slowly refill your reserves
 >You can’t fight her
>The best you can do is stall her and wait until your magic is refilled enough so you can take down the wall and teleport your flank out
>If she needs somepony to open it for her than it means she either doesn’t have enough magic to open the thing, or can’t take the physical toll without fainting
>You can’t take her on right now, but you’ll do your best to keep her occupied
>You still got your wings after all
>”So, no chance of ever changing your mind?”
>Her line only gets you to widen and hold your stance as firmly as you can
>”Well”
>She shrugs
>“If you insist”
>And immediately charges forward with both blades ready to slice you
>Your eyes widen at the speed in which she dashes towards you, and barely evade the attacks, before hearing Midnight muttering to herself
>”It’ll be fun playing with you”
>Oh fuck, she’ one of the crazy types
>Any thought you could’ve head is interrupted when she spins in place and bucks you on your chin, sending you flying back before hitting and rolling down the floor
>Putting a hoof out to stop your momentum, it might’ve not been the best idea as it puts so much pressure into your shoulder joint dislocates
>But any yelp or scream had to be postponed when you look up just in time to lean back and avoid a sword stabbing the ground right where your head used to be
>Rolling into a standing position, you unfurl your wings and take flight
>Flying up, you beat your wings as hard as you can to widen the distance between you and the crazy unicorn
>While trying to sooth the pain in your leg with a good rub, you almost don’t notice the sword flying in your direction all the way from the ground
>You swivel to the left barely in time, gaining a cut in your right cheek, a and fly off to the left as the second comes rocketing towards your position
>Only for a flash to appear in your front, blinding your sight and stopping you dead on your tracks, where you receive another drop kick to the head, sending you barreling towards the floor
>Shaking the dizziness, you open your wings and pull yourself up just in time to not hit the floor and make a u-turn towards the sky
>Midnight is right there, using her magic on the bottom of her hooves, like platforms to float in place, swords by her sides once again
>”Pretty nifty trick, huh? ”
>She says out loud, taking a few as if she’s on solid ground
>As much as the situations doesn’t call for giving credit to the enemy
>You’re impressed
>”Now”
>Midnight calls out
>”We can still make an agreement, we cross the gate at the same time, you don’t tell Celestia, and I won’t hurt you anymore”
>Like hay you’re gonna agree to that
>Letting a maniac leave Tartarus is out of question
>You might want to get out of here as soon as you can, but letting this bitch out?
>Only over your dead body
>Upon seeing in your eyes that you’re not giving in to her requests, she just sighs and twirls her swords again
>”Fine, but just so you know, only dodging won’t get you anywhere”
>Of course you know that, but you’re just stalling her
“We’ll see about that”
>You respond
>Adrenaline fueling your body to the point the pain in your chest’s wound feels more like an annoyance
>Once again, she sends her swords rocketing toward your direction, forcing you to shift positions and fly around the stone missiles
>You flip, swivel, loop, and u-turns, sharp turns, barrel rolls, you name it
>Every possible fling trick you know to keep the rock swords from skewering you from any direction
>All the while your brain can’t stop racking about her name
>You’ve heard or read it somewhere
>”C’mon, is this everything you can do!?”
>She taunts you, sword nearly stabbing you in the flank
>”You’re an Alicorn, put up a damn fight!”
>You avoid another slash, but this one nicks you in the back
>”Last time I fought one, she beat me so hard I wasn’t even conscious when she threw me here!”
>She fought your aunt?
>Why does it sound so familiar?
>A flash’s glow from behind interrupts your train of thought, and instincts tell you to duck
>Lowering your head rewards you with not getting hit by a kick to the back of the head
>Doesn’t stop her from quickly darting for your mane with her magic, spinning you around her, and throwing you towards one of her waiting swords
>You swivel just in time, but gain another cut your barrel as a result
>Nothing deep, but the damage keeps piling up, which is bad
>Very bad
>Your dodges start to get sloppier, and your altitude lowers by the second
>You’re getting tired
>The slashes come out just as fast before, and they’re starting to nick your body as you barely dodge them
>Damn potion, just do your job
>You can feel some magic back, but it’s not enough to trop the wall and teleport next to it
>Sometimes Midnight herself dive bombs towards you when her swords keep you busy
>And without time to react you have to cross your good foreleg to block her kicks
>For a unicorn she sure can hit hard
>This game of cat and mouse continues, dodging her slashes, and blocking her punches and kicks, making you more tired and getting you more injured with small gashes until-
>!
>You remember now!
>Midnight Blues, the famed assassin who tried to take your aunt’s live when you were but a little filly
>It was all over the news back then
>An unicorn assassin, wanted all over Equestria, known for taking the lives of multiple targets of varying social positions, but generally politics and nobles, and always leaving without a trace, infiltrated the Royal Castle and tried to assassinate Celestia while she slept
>Only it wasn’t Celestia’s room she had found
>It was yours
>In the dark she saw your multicolored mane from under the covers and confused it for Celestia’s
>If your aunt’s random sudden bursts of future seeing ability hadn’t kicked in, you’d be dead right now, for she had rushed into the room and immediately fought the would be child killer
>The mare you’re fighting right now is the same who almost killed you over twenty years ago
>”Think fast!”
>Huh, wha-!
>You hear a scream from behind you, and turn to see the mare dive bombing you again
>With a broken concentration and coordination, you don’t find the time to fly away, and pull up your right front leg to block the incoming attack
“GUH!”
>!
>You look down, but don’t understand
>Blood seeps from between your lips as you continue to stare confusedly at the mare
>You’re… blocking her
>”Idiot…”
>The mare in front of you dissipates, giving place to a sword stuck in your gut
>”I knew you’d try to block that”
>Hearing a voice above you, turning your head rewards your face with a magic powered punch that sends you rocketing toward the ground beneath
>Your body bounces hard on the floor, cracking it on impact, and driving the sword deeper into your gut before it snaps in half
>All that adrenaline keeping you from feeling your wound is gone, and now you have three holes, one on your chest, the connecting one from the back, one in your barrle, and everything in between to deal with
>And it all hurts like a motherfucker
>Midnight floats down by your side and rips the rest of sword out with her magic, spilling your blood all over the floor
>She casually inspects the broken stone blade and with an annoyed huff, discards it by throwing it away
>Meanwhile, all you can do is curl into a ball and hold your gut
>”Tsk, tsk, tsk, how disappointing”
>She shakes her head
>”I expected more from an Alicorn, to be honest”
>With a kick, she flips you onto your back and stomps your wound
“AAAAAAAARGH”
>The pain is immediate
>Midnight looks toward the crystal wall and then you
>”I assume that wall is kept up by your magic, correct?”
>You just grunt wrap your hoof around her own, trying to pull the offending member off your injury
>What that does, however, is convince the mare to push harder into your wound, making you squirm in pain
>”So if I weaken you, it’ll go down, right?”
>No it won’t, it’ll only go down if you magic it away, or die
>But you’re not saying that, you’re not that stupid
>”Who’re you anyway? I’ve never seen you before; I thought Celestia was the only Alicorn”
>She almost killed you and she doesn’t even know who you aaa-
>Aaaaarrgh!
>She takes her blooded hoof off your wound and holds your mane with her magic, pulling your head to her eye level
>All you can respond are grunts and moans of pain
>”I asked you a question, my dear”
>She brings a hoof up and slowly pushes your wound open with her hoof
>”NnnnggghaaaaAAAARGH”
>You try to hold back the scream, but you can’t it hurts too much
>She keeps going for a full ten seconds before stopping leaving a panting, grunting mess
>”So?”
“I- nnnggh- I’m Princess… Cadance”
>You nearly cry out between pained moans
>”Princess Cadance? Never heard of you”
>She… literally almost killed you when you were a filly…
>That statement itself hurt more than any wound for some reason
>Is this how… is this how forgettable you are?
>She drops you to the floor, but holds you down against the floor with her magic
>Preventing you from curling into a ball again
>“Do you even have a theme like Celestia?”
>She taps her chin
>What is wrong with her?
>Your rapid breathing prevents you from answering immediately
>But when you see her lift a hoof to hit you, your voice is found
“W-why are you doing this?!’
>That gives you a raised eyebrow from her
>“Well”
>She licks her lips, rolling her eyes innocently
>”At first it was because I want that wall down, and kicking you a bit might do the trick”
>She kicks your side, but you hold a grunt
>”But then you said you’re Celestia’s niece. She’s the one who put me DOWN here, you know?”
>As she says the forceful down, Midnight kicks your face so hard a blood covered tooth flies off your mouth, bouncing on the floor leaving tiny puddles of blood on its wake
>”So I want a little revenge, petty as it is”
>She chuckles to herself
>“Anyway, do you have a theme or not?”
>She sounding a little more impatient
>Your eyes dart to the crystal wall and the portal
>Reminding you it is still far from reaching ten minutes and your magic to be refilled
 “Why… do you wanna know that?”
>You ask between your breaths
>”Kind of a habit of mine, I’ll admit, I like to know about my targets”
>She shrugs nonchalantly
>”But obviously I have no file to read here, no document, letter, nothing detailing the job”
>She leans down, looking at you in the eye
>”So I have to ask personally, that’s all”
>Midnight pokes you on the nose, and shove your face to the side before standing up
“I- I’m the princess of… l-love”
>You stammer out
>”Princess of love?”
>She looks at you incredulously
>You… you don’t like that look
>Midnight stares at you some more before she bursting out laughing
>Don’t… laugh…
>She laughs so much; her hold on you is even released
>Allowing you to turn into your stomach and curl into a ball, trying to suppress the pain with all your being
>No matter how much you can suppress your physical pain, hearing her laugh about your special talent just makes it hurt even more
>”Princess of Love, are you serious?”
>You hear her calling during her howler
>While she continues to laugh, you finally gather strength to ask your own question, trying to ignore the rising feeling inside you
“Do… you really think you can j-just leave and live your life… again?”
>You ask between your raggedy breaths, a little more aggressively than you initially intended
>You’ve no idea if she even heard you, but you continue none the less
“C-celestia will know you escaped- nnngh- and she will hunt you down, you k-know?”
>That got her laughter to wane a little
>“Haha-ha, oh, she can hunt me down alright, but do you think she’ll have the guts to try and apprehend or kill me when I have you as hostage?”
>Your eyes snap wide open
“Hos-what!?”
>You hear her laughing again, but this time it’s laced with malice, rather than mirth
>”You really think I’m this stupid?”
>Midnight walks up in front of you and leans her head down your face yours again
>“You’re my failsafe now, my guarantee that Celestia won’t ever get close to me, unless she wants her pretty little relative back with a sliced throat, of course”
>”I were hoping you would be stupid enough to let me go through first and get you stuck, but guess even was being foolish, so taking you with me is the next best thing”
>Her unsettling grin makes itself known again
>“As long as I have you, she’ll never dare to attack me”
>What… the
>”Before, I just guessed you were just a fellow princess, because you’re an Alicorn, you know. And I knew Celestia would come to the rescue any way or the other, but now that I know you’re her niece, hoo boy”
>She pats you in the cheek
>”She’s not touching me with a ten hoof pole”
>Midnight stands up and laughs off again
“You… you’re sick”
>You spat out
>”This is Tartarus sweety, what did you expect, candy and tea parties?”
>She ruffles your dirty mane
>This… this mare
>She’s crazy
>”So what do you do as Princess of Love?”
>You feel your body go stiff as her magic takes a hold of you once again
>You don’t feel like answering
>You don’t this mare knowing about your li-
“AAAAAARGH”
>She stomps the wound on your back, the first one she made
>And you clench your teeth
>Not that it stops the blood from seeping from the hole of the missing tooth and spilling on the floor
>”C’mon, it’s not like you have anything else to do”
>She chuckles
>”Just say it”
>Not really wanting to feel any more pain you concede to her wishes
>Just hang on some more Cadance, when your magic comes back, you’ll just blast off into the portal and leave her behind
“I… I can feel the feel the *guh* the love between two ponies…”
>You huff in pain; just talking is talking a massive toll on you
“And I’m responsible for matching single mares with…”
>Don’t Cadance
“… with…”
>If you say she’ll laugh
>You don’t want her making fun of your talent anymore
>”With whom; single stallions?”
>You can feel the mirth coming back to her voice
>You don’t like it
>She rotates her hoof on your wound, and you squirm in agony under her vicious handling
“With… human males!”
>You gasp out
>Her hoof stops moving, but she’s doesn’t remove it from your back
>”…”
>What, not saying anything?
>”Heh, okay, assuming I know what human males are”
>You don’t like that laugh, not at all
>”That’s got to be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard”
>…. stop it
>”No seriously, you’re an Alicorn princess, whose job is to play matchmaker?”
>She barks out loud again, arrogance seeping from her voice
>…. stop that, your talent is not dumb
>”Celestia is the great monarch of Equestria, supreme leader of an entire nation, can move both the sun and the moon, most powerful pony in the world, with a massive army at her beck and call”
“… shut up…”
>You mutter
>Stop comparing you to your aunt
>You’re not a shitty Princess…
>”And all her niece can do is match ponies?”
>She takes her hoof off the wound on your back and goes back to ruffling your mane
>”Why, aren’t you a cute one? I bet Celestia’s real proud of you, the bright sun of her day, the Princess that plays matchmaker BHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHA”
>This… this bitch!
>”Don’t tell me you’re here because you tried to match someone inside this place?”
>… shut up…
>Shut up
>Shut up!
>”Not only is your talent dumb, you’re just as stupid as well, to get into Tartarus willingly”
>Your special talent’s not dumb
>Y-you’re not stupid!
>”HAHAhaha, my, are you trembling? So it is true!”
>Keep laughing…
>Keep laughing!
>”Did I hit a nerv-“
>Midnight didn’t get to finish her sentence
>Because she’s too busy eating your hoof to say anything

--------------------------------------

Part 19

*POW*
*WOOSH*
*CRASH*
>”Gaah!
>Midnight gasps in pain when her back collides with an upturned piece of rock, cracking it in the process
>The same one she back stabbed you from
>Her back slides against the formation and falls sitting on the floor, mane dropping around her shoulders, free of their now ripped bindings
>Not enough for her, however, for she just brings a hoof to her muzzle and rubs off a trickle of blood from her lips
>”Not bad, looks like the Princess have bi-“
>Not enough for you too!
>Rocketing from your spot, you cock a hoof back and try to drive her skull into the rock formation
>Only for the assassin to teleport out of the way
>You manage to drive something into the rock, alright
>Your right hoof, shoulder deep into Midnight’s last location, with cracks running along its length
>”Well, would you look at that”
>Turning your head, you look at the unicorn mare standing behind you, a few safe meters away
>A soft tug of your leg reveals it to be stuck
>”Who would’ve thought you had it in you?”
>Forcefully pulling your hoof out causes the entire formation to crumble and collapse in front of you before you turn to face the assailant
>”I was beginning to think you didn’t know how to fight”
>Your only response is grabbing your left foreleg, and push your dislocated shoulder back into place, before rolling it and craning your neck
>The popping of your joints echoes through the general area
>It would’ve sounded menacing or unnerving to the mare in front of you
>If Midnight weren’t so sick in the head
>And if you weren’t so mad
>You charge towards the cobalt mare with your hoof cocked back once again
>But she side steps your punch, trying to slash your barrel
>And she would’ve if you didn’t place both hooves on the floor and flipped away from her
>Landing from your flip, you rush towards her again, only to be side stepped once more
>And for another attempt at your barrel to be made
>Only instead of flipping away, you swivel in place
>Dodging the slash, and giving you an ample opening to
>”Guugh”
>Punch her in the gut
>It hurts, doesn’t it?
>You’re not your aunt but you’re still an Alicorn
>You’re dealing with enhanced earth pony physical strength
>Stumbling back while holding her stomach, she swipes her sword, but with a beat of your wings, you widen the distance between you two
>Not done yet with her, you widen your stance and fire a magic blast with the little mana you have refilled
>Fuck waiting for enough magic to replenish to escape
>You’re gonna beat her up, and then you’re getting out
>Midnight, however, showing she’s no slouch, charges her stone blade with magic and cuts your blast in half before her horn glows again
>The only indication that something was about to happen was the ground beneath you shaking up just slightly
>Before rock spikes started jutting out of the floor
>You barely managed to flip away from the first one, gaining a gash on your shoulder
>But the next ones were promptly dodged as your flipped away from the continuously rising rock spikes before taking flight and avoiding them altogether
>You look at the gash on your shoulder, and it looks worse than the nicks you received from Midnight’s swords
>A whistling sound, however, breaks your inspection as you look forward to see the sword rocketing towards your face
>You lean your head and cleanly avoid it
>But a flash in front of you blinds your eyes just enough to not prevent a knee from striking you in the chin, blowing your head back
>Unfolding your wigs wider, you stop the backwards momentum before you lean your whole body forward and send a punch towards the floating assassin
>Said punch, however, wasn’t meant to be as she raises her own foreleg to deflect it to the side and strike you give you a taste of your own gut punch, to the open wound at that
>You clench your teeth and hold the pain, kicking her in the ribs
>Midnight responds with a haymaker to your face, and you answer with an uppercut
>The exchange of blows ends with the two of you locking hooves and headbutting each other
>Horns crossed as you glare into the eyes of the mare who not only tried to kill you, twice, but trash talked your talent, and everything you stand for
>All the mares and men you helped
>All the work and hardships you put yourself through
>All just…
>Which only fills you with so much anger
>”What’s the matter Princess, got a lot less talkative… all of a sudden”
>She smirks, trying to push your head back
>But it doesn’t budge
>It wouldn’t budge because you are stronger than her and she knows it
>”Don’t tell me you’re mad I made fun of your job?”
>She smirks, thinking she’s been smart and smug
>Except you your head back and headbutts her
>Dazing her just enough to knee her in the gut
>”UUUurgh”
>She grunts and holds her stomach with both front legs, an expression of pain on her face while you wind up another blow
>When a punch to the temple is about to hit, she teleports and appears right behind you
>Kicking you in the back of the head and sending you flying down
>With the help of your wings, you straighten up in the air just before hitting the ground, and back up see an incoming sword flying your way faster than usual
>However, how fast the blade goes doesn’t matter when you beat your massive wings and fly off to the side, letting the sword cut the air by your side and plunge itself into the ground, before  you rush towards the floating mare with both hooves stretched forward
>Only for her to teleport away
>This continues for a few more moments
>With Midnight teleporting in and out of your way
>And every time you try to land a hit, she teleports again before getting potshots at you
>Why can everyone teleport better than you?
>Hearing the flash behind you, you raise your foreleg, predicting and preventing a kick from hitting you on the side of your face, before elbowing her on the gut
>”Ooof”
>and proceeding with a spinning elbow with the defending foreleg to her temple
>”Aaargh!”
>Before she can fly off to the side, however, you hold onto one of her hind legs like you mean it
>You see her trying to use her magic to probably teleport again
>But you give her leg a good squeeze, hearing the bones beneath her skin and flesh crack under the pressure
>That might do the trick of throwing off her magic as you hold her
>”AAARGH”
>She grunts before exclaiming
>”Let… GO!”
>If you insist!
>You start spinning in place, making her spin around alongside you
>The two of you spin until you become blur, where you let go of the mare and she rockets straight towards the hard floor
>You’d assume she’d use her magic to slow her descent, but not only does she do that, she swivels in the air, to avoid, once again, the blade rushing straight to your face
>You’re starting to get really mad at that sword
>Flapping our powerful wings, you easily avoid the missile of a blade and go instead straight for the mare still gathering her bearings on the floor
>Flipping in the air, you aim your hind legs instead, for a drop kick
>But she sees you barreling towards her and backflips out of the way
>Lucky for her
>Because if she didn’t you would’ve broken her spine harder than you broke the ground with your kick
>Your legs get stuck in the rubble, but nothing that a good pull doesn’t resolve the problem
>It dislodges a few loose rocks along, not that you care though
>The only think you care now is Midnight
>Looking at the cobalt mare, you can see her looking tired already
>There are bags under her eyes, blood dripping from her nostrils and lips
>And of course, erratic breathing
>Not that you can blame her
>Taking direct hits from an Alicorn is not for everypony
>You’re surprised she isn’t puking blood right now
>Or that you didn’t snap her neck with that first punch
>This Midnight is definitely stronger than she looks
>But she’s also lucky
>Your magic still haven’t restored completely, so you’re pretty much stuck with literally beating her with your hooves save for the simplest spells like that magic blast
>But magic blasts require proper aiming
>Something you’re not very good at while moving or against moving targets
>You’re better off just punching the shit out of her
>”Guess I was wrong about you”
>Midnight speaks between her heavy breaths
>”You’re quite the tough cookie, aren’t you?”
>If she’s trying to butter you up to make you slip she’s got another thing coming
>Her muzzle contorts into a smirk and she widens her stance
>”But you’re still not beating me, if it were your aunt I’d be out cold in seconds, you’ve still got a long way to go”
>You get it, your aunt is powerful
>Undeniably so
>Hay, the only reason why she gets cheap-shotted so much is because she’s afraid of her own overwhelming power
>The glow on Midnight’s horn immediately sends you red flags, and you side step just in time to evade getting impaled from behind by a sword for the third time
>The shrouded blade continues flying and stops beside its owner, twirling by Midnight’s side
>Almost like it has a life of its own
>The mare looks like she’s about to say something
>But you don’t want to hear anything, so rushing again you do
>Like a repeat of the same tactic; she side steps and tries to slash your barrel
>You do a hoofstand and ready yourself to flip away from her range
>Only this time Midnight drops low and sweep kick your forelegs before you do
>And try to stab your gut again, if didn’t you arc your back down and kicked the sword down with your hard hoof
>Keeping the momentum, you land on your hind legs and uppercuts her chin, blowing her head and body up, getting her up to her own hind legs
>That must’ve shaken that brain real good, because she’s showing no signs of reacting
>You continue with a haymaker and a punch to the gut
>Punch after punch, you keep her body propped up, not letting it fall back
>But when you go for another shot to her temple, she finally does something and ducks before wrappings her forelegs around your offending leg and flips you over her shoulder head first
>It took until the last second for you to swerve your head just enough for your horn not to suffer
>And back is her sword, ready to stab you in the throat if you didn’t roll away
>Rolling to your hooves, you try a point blank blast of magic, tearing the ground in front of you apart, leaving you nearly dry
>But Midnight manages to teleport out of the way just in time, and goes for your most obvious blind spot, your back, where she’d succeed in slashing your head off by the neck if you didn’t dive roll away
>She did managed to shorten your mane with that stunt, not like you care enough though
>She follows through, though, and doesn’t let up, trying to cut you any way possible as well as combining a few hoof-to-hoof moves
>Wielding a sword with magic and going for a hoof fight at the same time is quite the deadly combination
>You counter, duck, dodge and weave a multitude of attacks, getting a struck by a few punches and nicks, but nothing anywhere near as bad as the holes in your chest and back
>More importantly, she looks very tired, what was once an erratic breathing turned into heaves as she desperately gulps for air during her onslaught
>She tries to go for a straight punch, but you lean to the side and get into her guard, using her momentum to cross counter her punch with your own straight
>Midnight’s head’s blown so far back you almost think you snapped her neck, until you see her horn glow and you flap your wings just in time to fly back and evade the blade eviscerating you
>Both of you fly back, though one not by her own accord
>Midnight falls on her back, and immediately flips herself back on her legs before wasting no time using her magic to propel herself at you, seeing that hanging back was not helping
>You, in turn, copy her action and rush towards her
>Her horn glows and spikes rise from the floor beneath you, but you evade all of them effortlessly, spinning and swerving out of the way
>When she nears you, everything slows down
>Her sword is already poised to strike, and her following slash could’ve been fatal, for it was aiming directly at your jugular
>If you didn’t raise your right foreleg to block
>The blade drives down on your leg, almost slicing off a piece of your flesh
>And it would’ve, had you not tensed your muscles so hard it stopped the blade from continuing its way until it slashed off a chunk of your leg
>The look of shock on Midnight’s face and her immediate freeze seals the deal as you flick your leg and shatter the rapier in half and time returns to normal
>You bull rush through her now nonexistent guard and stab your horn through her heart
>And just like that, the fight ends
>You drive your hooves into the floor, ripping the ground apart as you slide down to a dead stop, panting and heaving in fatigue
>Lifting your head is hard, now that you have a slightly convulsing body attached to your head
>Her fresh blood drips down from the newly made wound and washes your face with the familiar crimson substance and drops to the floor beneath you
>This time however, it doesn’t faze you
>The gurgling sound above reminds you that you still have a living unicorn impaled on your horn, and with a flick of your head, you throw her off your horn, letting her body bounce nearly lifelessly against the floor
>Surprisingly, Midnight’s not dead yet
>Maybe you didn’t hit her dead center in the heart
>Or maybe she’s just that tough
>Anyway, it doesn’t matter
>You won
>There’s no need to fight anymore
>You don’t think Midnight will even get up after this
>So you just turn around and face the crystal covered gate
>In a few minutes the portal in the gate will close and will keep you stuck here for another month if you don’t go through the thing
>And this time you don’t know if you’ll manage to survive of you do get stuck here again
>You also really need to take care of these injuries
>The adrenaline from the fight’s still running high, keeping your pain tolerance at maximum
>Looking down at your right leg, you wince when you see the injury that last stunt you pulled gave you
>You now have piece of open flesh hanging, almost like a flap
>Not deep enough to see bone, but still pretty nasty looking
>Nothing some magic stitching, magic healing, lots of bandages, and multiple dressings won’t resolve
>It’ll leave a scar, but you won’t die over it
>And the broken blade’s still there, the half that that nearly sliced a chunk of your leg off, lodged in your leg
>Bringing it to your face, you take the blade between teeth, and pull it off your leg with small wince, before whipping your head and spitting it behind you
>Looking around, your eyes wander as you try to spot the saddlebag that got separated from you in this whole situation
>Finally you see the bag and walk towards it
>As you approach it though, you see the Soul Stone spilled out, still intact, but seeing the stone triggers a memory for a brief moment
>>“The second key item needed for the ritual is a vessel. But not just any vessel, to complete the ritual it is needed the body of a Pony who is in the verge of death…”
>Starlight’s words echoes around your mind
>And you immediately turn your head back to see the squirming mare doing her best to stay alive
>You need a near dead pony
>With no way of survival
>Midnight is near dead….
>… and no way she can survive…
>Using as little magic as possible, you pick the belt and saddlebag, and tie them around your barrel as best as you can
>And with an unsettling automatic response
>You do a one eighty and walk toward the downed mare, drowning in a pool of her own blood
>Hearing the clip-clops of your steps, the assassin turns her head and looks at you
>Her eyes look glassy, like life is slowly slipping away from her body
>But even in this state, as the looks at you, she can’t help but smirk
>Maybe she finds something funny?
*Cough*
>She pants and coughs heavily, blood flying out of her mouth, and onto the pool of blood from her chest wound
>”What… gonna finish me off or something?”
>You say nothing, and continue to stare at the mare
>She’s not there yet, you cannot rush the process
>And it’s not like you can do it anyway, you still need for your magic to replenish
>Any moment now you’ll be good to go
>While you look at her, you notice her cutie mark again
>The upright bass, or cello, whatever
>With a rapier for a bow slicing it in half
>Looks like she noticed you looking at her cutie mark
>”What… *cough*wanna know about my cutie mark?”
>No, no you don’t
>”It is rather strange isn’t it?”
>Yes it is, but you don’t care about that
>You’re just biding your time, waiting for your magic to refill, and the best moment to take her
>So go ahead, keep talking
>”My parents… they were musicians… and they wanted me to-”
*cough*
>She coughs up more blood, before turning on her back, trying to get a more comfortable position
>”-to become a musician like them… so they taught me how to play instruments”
>Is she really going to tell you the story of her cutie mark?
>You don’t care about that
>You wanna wait it out, but hearing her voice does nothing positive to your current mental state
>But you guess you’ll give her at least that much
>She’s about to die anyway, and will die in a way that she’ll never come back
>Ever
>”I got real -guh- good with the cello and the bass, but it never showed up”
>She looks almost nostalgic
>You look back at the portal and estimate how much time you got left
>Maybe six, five minutes at best
>By now your magic is finally coming back full force
>”It wasn’t until a show for charity I was a part of… in a museum if memory doesn’t fail me”
>You guess you know what happened from there
>”A group of Gryphons robbers invaded the museum during the show –cough- and tried to steal as many valuables as they could”
“And one of them just happened to be a rapier you used to kill of the robbers, getting your cutie mark”
>You take a wild guess
>Finally deciding to speak after giving her the punch that started the fight
>From the way her eyes widened a little, you hit bullseye
>”You can be pretty sharp… when you want to… huh?”
>She gives you another smirk
>It’d look better if her teeth weren’t caked in her own blood
>”Yeah… that was the -cough- gist of it”
>She admitted
>”I killed a robber who tried to attack me for being in the way… I grabbed the first thing I could with my magic and…”
>She motions weakly for her cutie mark
>”After that, I just discovered my calling… the feeling of slicing flesh with a blade was… unparalleled”
>She smiles nostalgically
>And you can only sneer in disgust
>”I couldn’t hold myself after that… so I became a hitmare… during the day I’d kill it with music… and at night I’d kill with a blade”
>Midnight starts laughing at her joke before she starts coughing more and more
>Blood spilling from her wound and mouth
>”Well… I-guh- I guess this is it, eh? Second best results isn’t all that -cough-bad”
>She manages to laugh a little, before a coughing fit stops her again
>Near dead and still arrogant
>This mare is impossible
>”I’ve been here for… I don’t know, months? Years? Decades? –cough- I’ve lost count, I hate this place, you were my last chance at freedom, if I failed, I would just end it myself”
>She laughs again, ignoring the pain from her wound
>”But you ended it for me… heh, see you in the… afterlife”
>She has the audacity to give you a victorious smirk, like somehow, in the end, she still won
“There will be no afterlife for you, Midnight Blues”
>You decide to speak again
>”Tch, what do you… mean, of course there is”
>She gives me another weak smirk
>“There’s the afterlife, and then reincarnation… you know, that stuff”
>She tries to wave her hoof dismissively; a pained whine is enough to get her to stop, however
>”Maybe I’ll -guh- even get to reincarnate into a decent pony… unlike you”
>Unlike you?
>You guess she’s right, knowing what you’re about to do, even if she doesn’t
“I know, what I’m saying is that you won’t get that luxury”
>And it appears Midnight Blues was counting on waiting for her petrified soul to decay and allow her to proceed to the afterlife, and then, reincarnate
>Well
>Too bad
“Do you know what this is?”
>With your hoof, you pull the rough soul stone out of the downed saddlebag and casually throw it in the floor in front your attacker
>The rough gem clicks and clacks on the floor, not a single nick or scratch, displaying how resistant those things are
>She looks at it and narrows her eyes
>”It’s a rough Soul Stone… what about it?”
>You keep staring at the dying pony in front of you with a steel gaze, when her eyes widen in realization
>“N-no, you’re planning on doing a Soul Transfusion?!”
>Oh, so she knows what a Soul Transfusion is? No need for you to explain it then.
>Seems like this pony’s even more wicked than you thought
“I can see you understand where I’m getting at”
>You start to circle her slowly dying body, seizing her up like a predator to its prey
>Like how she did to you earlier
>Eyes never leaving her form, for even a fraction of a second
>It’s sickeningly fulfilling watching her fearful gaze
>She’s afraid of YOU, not the other way around
>As much as you hate it, now you understand why she liked it so much when you squirmed before her
“Right in front of me, I have a dying pony with no chance of survival, on the last thread of her life, one that’s a dangerous, sick criminal, whose life boils down to taking and ruining lives of innocent ponies for personal gain”
>You spit on the floor right in front of her, a mix of saliva and blood that splatters on the floor and hits her in the face
“I’ve thought this over multiple times while in here, and despite having a clear objective and running straight ahead towards it, I still felt something pulling at the back of my mind, saying that I shouldn’t kill an innocent pony, no matter how weak or old it was that its chances of living any longer were next to zero”
>Midnight’s already pale face become even whiter as the fear intensifies, as she does her best to crawl away from you
“Dooming an innocent soul to be completely erased from existence is not something I’d like to do, yet I was willing to do it anyways”
>She crawls very slowly, her wound so deep and lethal, that every movement of her leg had the Unicorn clenching her teeth in agony not to scream
>Leaving a trail of blood in her pitiful wake
“But, here you are, in such predicament, the predicament I needed a pony to be in”
>You won’t let her get away though; you’ve come too far to let a chance like this just slip between your hooves
”So tell me”
>Casually stepping up to her slowly moving body, you stomp on her back like she did to you, making her scream in agony
“Why should I do that, when I can just take you instead? No one will miss you; no one will even remember who you are. And look at this side, it IS a good compromise, you’ll become the vessel of a princess who’s going to be part of a very, very happy couple, and I won’t stain my hooves with the blood of the innocent”
>She pants and heaves, blood dripping from her mouth, before turning her head just enough to meet your eyes
>”You’re-cough- you’re Celestia’s niece, she wouldn’t raise you to be like this… she’d never raise a murderer”
>Looking up, you tap your chin, which makes her eyes widen in fear and remembrance
>It does remind her of a certain somepony, doesn’t it?
“You’re right, she didn’t… but neither did your parents, did they?”
>You can see her eyes flinch in response to your back talk
>“N-no, y-you wouldn’t do this”
 “I would, and I will”
>Midnight’s horn suddenly lights up and she takes the one broken blade you threw away in a magic grip and pulls tip first it directly to her head
>But you intercept her attempted suicide just in the nick of time, overpowering her magic grip with your own
“Ah, ah, aaah, can’t have you dying on me now, can I?”
>Is your only response to her attempted suicide, before you concentrate magic on your horn for one last spell
>You step away from Midnight Blues, and her body suddenly starts to be encased in crystal starting from her rear legs
>“No! Nononono! P-please, have mercy, JUST KILL ME, DON’T DO IT! “
>Midnight pleads desperately, but you ignore
>”PLEASE DON’T DO THIS TO ME, I’M SORRY!!”
>The crystals are on her chest now, and soon they’ll encase her whole body
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-“
>Her ear piecing shrieks of horror cease in an echo as soon as the crystals reach her muzzle
>Midnight’s bloodshot, tear filled eye give you one last look of terror before she’s completely encased in a cyan crystal
>There, that should keep her wound from getting any worse and from dying
>You don’t want her dying on the way back because you didn’t keep her on the brink of death
>Taking another look at the pony, all that’s left is the frozen image of a mare horrified by something, imprisoned in a crystal not unlike the colt found in Sombra’s lab
>With your job done, and nothing else to do here, you use your telekinesis to float the hunk of crystal prison to your side
>The gate is still open, and if you don’t hurry you’ll get stuck in here for another month, and you sure as hay don’t want that
>No more Tartarus for you, no sir
>Your steps are slow, and your breathing ragged
>Looks like your body is finally collapsing
>This fight took much more from you than what you actually could give
>Having already gotten past your limits, you continue to do so by walking into the portal
>This is it Cadance, you’re finally going home
>You have all you need for the ritual
>Circling around the sleeping behemoth that is the Cerberus, you face the gate for hopefully the last time
>With a glow of your horn, the crystal wall recedes into the floor, revealing a shining light that nearly blinds you
>Its glowing portal, arcing in the shape of a gate illuminates your bruised, tired, and battered body with like that almost feels divine from how white it is
>Taking a deep breath, you close your eyes, and cross the thing veil separating Tartarus from Equestria
>It takes a few steps, but you finally feel the texture and softness of snow beneath your hooves
>When you open tired your eyes, however, you’re met with rather unexpected sight, a sight you’re too tired to even react accordingly
>A tired, yet angry scowl is all you give to the military camp stationed just outside of the gate and the dozens of Royal Guards, decked out in winter gear, positioned in a semi-circle in front of the gate, and consequently, you
>Spears poised, ready to attack
>In the center of them, stomping your way?
>Princess Celestia herself

--------------------------------------

Part 20

>The gates to your aunts’ throne room, flanked by two Royal Guards
>It suddenly looks overwhelmingly imposing and intimidating, things it never were before
>They’re not even that big, yet they seem so; much more than the gates of Tartarus itself
>It’s been a week since you left the place with Midnight’s crystalized body
>After being assumedly apprehended by the royal guards and taken back to Canterlot, you have been kept under watch the entire time ever since you woke up
>You can’t even go to the kitchen to grab something to eat without at least three Royal Guards tailing you at all times
>Your injuries have been taken care of, and continue to, as a doctor appears every day in your room to dress your wounds
>The crystal holding Midnight’s body have been stored somewhere in this castle you believe
>Celestia haven’t spoken to you once the entire week
>Neither have Luna, nor Twilight
>Both of them have been here waiting for you to return the entire month and a week you’ve been stuck in Tartarus
>But have yet to speak to you
>Apparently they weren’t waiting for you, but for Celestia to get you back after she went with an entourage to the snow filled mountain rage surrounding the gate
>You don’t know if they really don’t want to talk to you, or if Celestia forbade them
>And now she sent a maid to fetch you
>You assume she waited this long because you were in no way, shape, or form, fit to even walk around
>You had fainted moments after you crossed the gate, and your wounds were too severe for her to immediately demand an audition as soon as you woke up the castle’s hospital
>Celestia must’ve taken care of you with a healing spell right then and there in the camp before bringing you to Canterlot
>But now that you are well enough to walk around, she called for you
>The aforementioned maid left already, leaving you alone in front of the closed gates with ornate gold slates surrounding the entrance and the guards flanking your sides
>Gates that were supposed to feel warm and welcoming now give off an aura of dread
>You know she’s there, on the other side, just waiting for you
>And you know she’s calling you to negotiate your punishment
>If there’s any negotiation at all
>After what you did, you’ve no doubt Twilight told Celestia of everything
>Sombra’s research
>The ritual
>Your unsettling willingness to proceed with said ritual
>Lying and deceiving not just Twilight but your husband, Shining, as well
>Opening the gates of Tartarus unauthorized
>And now murder
>She knows what Midnight’s body is for, you’re sure of it
>Celestia is not dumb, quite the contrary, she might be the wisest pony you have ever known
>She has extensive knowledge on about any subject
>And is capable of picking up on pretty much any clue, as small as they are, and make a correct assumption on the spot
>Gulping down the lump in your throat, you take a deep breath before your horn glows and the doors are shrouded in your magic
>No need to open it entirely, just push it enough for you to pass
>And open it you do
>But as soon as you pass through the gate, the cyan mist covering it is overtaken by a golden one and the gates are closed shut with a deafening slam
>You flinch, eyes closing and ears dropping in response to the ear piecing slam of the gates
>Soon enough, you’re overtaken by pure silence
>Opening your eyes reveal the throne room in all of its lengthy glory
>On the other end of the room, sitting on the throne by herself is none other than your aunt
>Princess Celestia
>On the sidelines, sitting side by side, are Luna and Twilight
>None of the three are looking at you, only directly in front of them
>Intense stares adorning their faces, as if glaring at something
>Or somepony
>Not wanting to postpone what is possibly your punishment even further else you deepen the wrath of your aunt, you finally move your legs
>There’s a small limp to your steps, but none of the three seem to care
>If they do, they don’t show it outwardly
>Despite stepping onto the carpet leading to the throne, the utter silence on the room makes the muffled steps sounds like somepony pounding their hooves against concrete
>Each step reverberating through the throne room, unsettling you even more
>Finally, you stop a few meters in front of the throne
>Celestia, still looking straight forward and not at you, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath
>And upon opening them, her magenta colored orbs are right on top of you
>”Cadance…”
>You flinch back at the tone of her voice
>To say she’s angry would be an understatement
>She’s beyond the level of unbridled rage, having settled down on something worse
>Cold fury
>At least she’s still using your nickname
>”Do you know why I called you here?”
>You gulp down another lump in your throat
>Your eyes wander to the side for a brief moment to catch a glimpse of Luna and Twilight looking at you before going back to Celestia
>At least they’re not ignoring you anymore
>You try to speak, but words fail you
>So you settle down with just a weak, limp nod
>”Then you know what you have done”
>Not finding the strength to face your aunt anymore, you angle your head down and give her another weak nod
>How pitiful of a visage you must be
>So terrified you willingly bow your head in what can only be submission in the eyes of the uneducated
>She must’ve not heard you, because she continues
>Hammering down what you have done, so you’ll never forget
>”In your blind pursuit to match the human Anonymous and the pony… Daybreaker”
>You can hear her voice straining just from having to say that name
>”You have, lied to your fellow Princess”
>You flinch when you see Twilight glare at you from the corner of your vision
>”Abandoned your empire”
>Your eyes widen slightly in realization, you did abandon your empire
>Oh dear auntie what were you thinking leaving it in the hooves of your husband and Twilight
>None of them knows how to run an empire
>”Abandoned your family”
>Abandoned your family…
>This one hits you hard
>You did leave them behind
>You were coming back of course, but she’s correct when she says you left your family behind in search of Tartarus and the Soul Stone
>”Opened the gates of Tartarus”
>Your eyes close as Celestia continues to list the horrible things you have done
>”Plans on partaking on illicit acts”
>You can only assume she’s talking about the ritual
>”And is planning on murdering a pony”
>This one also hits your hard
>You… you did not only try to kill Midnight, but you still plan on doing it
>Granted she also tried to kill you
>Celestia still doesn’t condone murder in any capacity
>The worst she does is exile, never execution
>”How do you plead?”
>She asks
>You continue to go silent
>How do you plead?
>Never, in your eternal life time, you’d ever expect Celestia ever using that statement against you
>Such a thought never even crossed your mind
>Yet here she is, asking you that question
>Because you fucked up
“I…”
>You start, trying to find words
“… guilty”
>You sigh, breathing heavily
>Best to be honest
>There’s no beating around the bush
>Celestia knows everything
>She knows what you did was wrong, you know what you did was wrong
>You KNEW what you were doing was wrong
>And you went and did it anyway
>”If the verdict is guilty, then I shall give you your punishment”
>She doesn’t even ask for Luna or Twilight’s opinion on the matter
>It’s just you and your aunt
>This is it Cadance
>The end of the line
>Everything you worked for is now over
>And you couldn’t even tell Anon how sorry you are
>Anon… Daybreaker
>Your eyes widen
>No, it can’t end like this!
>”Princess Cadance, you are hereby-“
“Please!”
>You shout, suddenly looking up at her, interrupting her judgement
>Celestia, in turn, looks at you like you’ve grown a second head, and you feel fury once again bubbling inside of her as the openly scowls at you
>You’re not deserving of having any word on the matter and she knows it, better than anypony else
>Even Luna and Twilight look surprised at how much anger Celestia is generating toward you, rather than your sudden outburst
>But you still have one final task and nopony will prevent you from trying your hardest to complete your goal
>If she, or anypony, wants to stop you, then they’ll have to kill you for that
>It doesn’t matter if you need your aunt specifically for the ritual; you’ll knock her out if you must
>Because you’re not stopping for anypony, not even Celestia
“Please, I beg you auntie, just…. just let me get them together”
>You kneel down and bow your head until your horn touches the floor
>Auntie on the other hand, continues to glare at you with the intensity of a thousand suns
>You can’t see it because you don’t dare look up and make eye contact with her
>You’re all princesses, but Celestia is the top mare, and she’ll make you remember if you dare forget it
>And once again she’s making sure you remember where you are in the pecking order
>That thousand sun intense glare? You can feel it, and you know you’re in deep shit now, there’s no walking around it
>What surprises you the most is how she didn’t just straight up banish you back to Tartarus, or the moon, or the sun
>She just stand there, with the coldest, yet most furiously scalding gaze you have ever seen her show
“I know what I did was wrong… there’s no denying it. But please… give them a chance; I don’t want to break Anon’s heart… “
>Your voice cracks as you continue your plea
“Don’t make me go back to the Crystal Empire just to tell him he left everything behind for nothing”
>Twilight and Luna are there as well
>Staring at you with equally disapproving expressions, you can see it from the corner of your eyes before they face the carpeted floor once again
>Though, theirs are nowhere near the level of Celestia’s
>The two princesses turn their heads toward the pony who holds the biggest amount of political power in the country for to proclaim her interrupted judgement
>Assuming the same thing as you, that Celestia will completely ignore your pleas, and send you straight to Tartarus, or at least imprison you on the dungeons
>…
>The silence is unbearable
>The wait is unbearable
>The pressure is unbearable
>What is she waiting for?
>Just say you’re gonna get sent to the moon, or the sun, or back to Tartarus
>So you can blast this place with enough magic to knock all three down, grab Celestia and make a run for it
>”…Fine”
>”WHAT!!/WHAT!!”
>Both Luna and Twilight yelled at the top of their lungs, their combined royal Canterlot voice nearly shattering the mosaic glasses of the throne room
>Meanwhile you look up with a shocked gaze, you begged but you never expected her to adhere to your request
>“Sister, art thou out of thy mind? Agreeing to Cadance’s pleas is insanity”
>The shock was such that Luna even slipped back to her old speaking ways
>”I have to agree Princess, how can you jus-
“Silence!”
>Your aunt bellows, loud but not overly so, however, the tone of command and finality in her voice got both of them to shut up immediately
>To see even Luna quiet down and sit up straight is enough to tell you that aunt Celestia is way past her patience’s limits
>Never throughout the entire trial had Celestia ever taken her eyes from your form
>These magenta colored orbs filled with a multitude of negative emotions
>The fact that Celestia can still keep herself in check under so much emotional pressure only serves to highlight how truly strong of a mare she is in comparison to you, Luna, and Twilight
>”Under TWO conditions I’ll allow you to perform the ritual, do you understand?”
>She states with finality in her voice
“Yes!”
>Yes, anything
>Whatever they are, as long as you can bring out Daybeaker, you accept!
>“Very well”
>You gulp down, wondering what is she gonna do
>Lock you up in a dungeon?
>Banish you to one of the celestial bodies
>Send you back to Tartarus, although third one might not be a good idea
>You did manage to leave
>But she can chain you up, prevent you from leaving forever
>“You are to have your magic sealed away forever”
>Your eyes widen
>Wha-
>Your… magic?
>Forever?
>No… she can’t!
>You turn your eyes to her, and reel back in shock and fear at the sheer animosity her own eyes are directing toward you whole being
>Can’t even help the step back you make
>This isn’t Auntie Celestia you’re talking to anymore
>This is the Princess of Celestia, the highest political and magical power in Equestria
“I… I…”
>You gulp, and slowly bow your head
>Accepting your fate
>You did say you’d accept anything
>And… it’s not like you don’t deserve it either
“I accept”
>”Good”
>You flinch at the speed and coldness of her response; she doesn’t feel an ounce of remorse
>“The second condition is that you may never utilize the Crystal Heart, and match men and mares, for the rest of your life”
>Wha-!
>No
>Nonononononononono!
>She can’t do this; this is all you have left
>You turn your head toward her, this time not flinching against her gaze, as you meet it with your, albeit shaken, own gaze
 “B-but-”
>”BUT NOTHING CADENZA!”
>The whole castle shakes on its foundations, glass mosaics windows breaking from the pressure of her Royal Canterlot Voice, and their shards clinking and bouncing loudly against the marble floor of the Throne room before stopping completely
>You hear two thuds on the outside of the throne room and can only guess the two Royal guards keeping watch from the other side fainted from the sheer pressure
>And you took a massive step back on instinct, somehow wondering if she was going to hit you for daring to oppose her judgement
>Celestia’s flowy mane and tail starts moving erratically, not dancing wildly like fire, but the slow calming flow was replaced by raging movements not unlike that of a storming ocean
>”Cadenza, I shouldn’t even be giving you a second chance considering what you have done. I should just banish you to the sun for the rest of your life; you are clearly a liability and a danger to everypony around you …”
>You close your eyes in shame
>”Including your family”
>And that makes you want to shrink until you become nothing but a speck of dust
>“But you still have a husband, and a daughter, both of which don’t know the things you have done, and I assume it will stay that way, for it would destroy them should they learn the truth. And I don’t want to see my nephew and niece hurt because of you”
>“So I’m giving you the chance, you can live your life with them, be a ruler, a wife, and a mother, without your magic, and never coming close to the crystal heart, or matchmaking ever again”
>Celestia rises from her throne takes heavy stomps down the staircase toward your form, magenta eyes narrowing with burning fury
>You can’t even take a step back this time as you’re petrified by her incoming presence
>Reaching your smaller, frozen body, she leans down and looks at you straight in the eyes
>“Because if you do, I’ll know, and I’ll not be so merciful a second time”
>Your aunt states rather calmly, but you know better
>There’s an underlying feeling of great fury and colossal disappointment in her words
>Her mane moving so wildly doesn’t help in make you feel any better either
”B-but Shining will notice I can’t use magic anymore, and he’ll also notice when I stop matchmaking”
>You try to be reasonable, but from the look she gives you, the words have no meaning
>She just leans back and gives you a non-convinced raised eyebrow
>“Then make up an excuse, isn’t that what you’ve been doing for the past month? Lying behind his back?”
>You flinch, and look away in shame
>“One more won’t hurt anypony. Just say that my… cousin…”
>You see her expression sharpening with rage and disgust
>“Princess… Daybreaker’s…”
>Celestia can’t help but spat out her evil side’s name
>“Nation was in a war, being victim of an attack from a rival nation, and that you unfortunately had to take part in the war when it reached her main kingdom. In the ensuing battle, you lost your ability to use magic, and therefore your connection with the Crystal Heart was lost, preventing you from matchmaking ever again. The war was won, but the kingdom was in ruins, so this is why Daybreaker is going to live on Equestria with… us… from now on, instead of taking her human back to her kingdom”
>You could feel throughout the entire lie she made that Celestia wanted nothing more than just scream in rage and despair
>You will never understand what it feels to be second fiddle to your own evil half
>And you hope you’ll never get to
>”That’ll even give you an excuse about your injuries”
>Your eyes wander slowly towards the multitude of red tainted bandages covering your body
>You’re gonna heal up just fine, but there will be marks, many marks
>When you came out of the portal, despite being poised to attack, you remember the Royal Guards all recoiling in shock upon seeing your miserable state before you fainted in front of them
>All the small nicks, slashes, gashes and wounds that covered your body, all attained throughout the whole journey through Tartarus have all healed up already, thanks to Celestia’s and the doctors magic healing, but your leg and the holes on your chest and back are gonna take more time
>After everything is done, all you’ll have left will become flesh colored marks on your not-so-pristine-anymore pink coat
>No matter how many baths and showers you took, its original vibrant tone never comes back
>It is gone, same for your now shorter mane and tail
>Like you’ve been forever tainted by the horrors of the world, and can’t wash it off
>The injuries on your back, chest, and leg all had to be stitched and bandaged after your internal injuries received intensive magical healing care, making you look like a victim of war, those are going to leave massive, noticeable scars
>The doctors said that the internal bleeding was so bad you should’ve been dead
>Looking at the imposing visage that is your aunt, you slowly nod once again in acceptance
>And she looks back, expecting you to try and interject with anything else for her to immediately reject
>When you obviously don’t, she nods ever so slightly
>”Good”
>She turns around and you face her backside, mane and tale slowly flowing back to its usual speed
>”We’ll perform the ritual once you’re in better shape”
>Without even facing you for that last statement, she leaves the throne room
>Possibly going toward her own quarters
>You look at the other two Princesses in the room
>And as soon as your eyes meet theirs, they avert their gazes, refusing to look back at you before also exiting the room
>Leaving you all alone
>…
>That’s fine
>That’s alright
>At least they won’t have to see you crying

--------------------------------------

Part 21

>The location was dark, and the only source of lighting were the torches on the walls
>Their flames dancing wildly, making all your shadows flicker in place and their light shine on the reflective surfaces
>Celestia concluded that doing the ritual on a secluded place was the most optimal course of action
>For obvious reasons
>Don’t really want somepony walking in on the four princesses performing some unholy ritual and start tattletaling around
>So you’ve all chosen the crystal cave underneath Canterlot
>This place brings you all sorts of bad memories, and makes you want to leave immediately
>But honestly? There’s no better environment than here to perform the ritual, so suck it up Cadance
>You faced Tartarus, being stuck here was a walk in the park by comparison
>The caves are far enough from the ears of the curious
>And has been abandoned for eons, meaning no pony to show up
>It’s the perfect place for the ritual
>It’s been another week since the trial
>And things with your aunts and Twilight have gotten… better?
>Celestia still barely speaks with you, but at least Luna and Twilight didn’t avoid you outright
>You asked Luna if she could take the Soul Stone with to a lapidary for you and surprisingly she agreed
>Said that after careful deliberation, despite the actions you have done, the fact that you went so far to reform a villain for a human male was indeed very noble
>Your intention isn’t exactly to reform the villain, but hey!
>If it gets Luna to help you, she can believe whatever she wants, and seeing that she herself have a human husband of her own, she can somewhat relate to this
>Giving her the gem and a picture of the shape you want it to be, alongside exact dimensions, and off she went to a lapidary
>Twilight… you wanted her to help you with the preparations, seeing she’s the most fit for the task
>It was a bit trickier to convince her, but telling her that she could be the first in maybe thousands of years to perform a successful Soul Transfusion AND reform a villain - you’re gonna roll with that now, thanks Luna –was enough to get her by your side, albeit still hesitantly
>Twilight still disapproves, but when you told her the vessel comes from a pony who tried to assassinate you when you were just a filly helped ease Twilight’s mind somewhat
>So now here you are the four of you
>Celestia stands on the right side of a circle written on the ground with white chalk
>Adorned with complex text in a language you don’t understand, but from look on Celestia’s face, she knows what they say, and what they say ain’t pretty
>On the left side of the circle is the crystal holding Midnight Blues
>You’ll break the crystal only when the ritual starts
>The timing has to be correct
>If you crack it open too early, Midnight Blues will die before you can even start the ritual
>Meanwhile, you, Twilight, and Luna surround the circle in a triangular formation
>Having read and re-read the spell multiple times, Twilight is one hundred percent sure to get it right, while you were busy learning a different kind of spell for this occasion as well
>Luna floats the lapidated Soul Stone to the center of the circle and keeps it afloat
>The flickering flames of the torches make the swirling pony skull inside the gem more terrifying than it already is
>Finally it is your turn
>Flicking your head, your horn glows, and the block of crystals began cracking
>Beside you Twilight is ready to perform the spell on Celestia
*Crack*
>The crystal prison holding Midnight Blues breaks apart and the first thing anyone hears is the scream you had interrupted when encasing her in crystal
>”-OOOOOOOO! STOP, DON’T DO THI-“
>And you quickly shut her mouth again; squeezing her jaw shut a spell
>Holding her down with your magic, you intend on keeping her awake for this
>If you knock her out with a sleeping spell she might just die right there
>You could heal her with a spell after that, but then you’d need to nearly kill her all over again later
>And you don’t think any of your fellow princesses would appreciate that, be it against an assassin or not
>Both Luna and Twilight flinch at the sight of the desperate, squirming and grunting mare in your magic hold, reddening eyes pleading, begging for you or any of them to not go through with this
>But it is too late for her
>Celestia on the other hand, keeps her emotions in check
>If she feels disgust toward your actions you can’t say
>But you see her eyes quickly flicking toward the mare by her side; and widening ever so slightly in recognition and narrowing then down, before she sets her face into another forward emotionless stare
“Do it Twilight”
>You call out to the moderately perturbed mare at your side
>Shaking her head out of her stupor, Twilight’s horn glows with its trademark purple color and she starts chanting the spell
>You tune out her chanting, focused on keeping Midnight Blues from squirming too much, else she starts losing too much blood and dies before the process even begins
>The wound is already leaking blood on the floor, thankfully not onto the writings or the circle
>You don’t know what would happen should the blood mix with the chalk and erase it even if just a bit
>And honestly you don’t wanna know
>Soon, Twilight’s chanting ends, and a beam of light shoots out of her horn straight towards Celestia’s collar-less chest, who recoils back with a grunt
>Her eyes widen in shock, and you see the muscles of her slender neck tensing when her jaw clenches
>This is the part where Daybraker will be ripped out of Celestia
>And it will hurt
>On the corner of your eye you see Twilight starting to look like she’s having second thoughts about this
>And a hard cough and a glare from you keep her in check
>Celestia’s and Midnight’s weak grunts are the only sounds made in the isolated environment
>Midnight’s though, is because she’s quickly loosing blood and getting limper in your hold
>Soon, you start to see something floating off of Celestia’s body
>A bright hot orange colored aura, almost like a ghost, with the general shape of a pony being ripped out of Celestia’s body and getting absorbed by the Soul Stone floating between the two mares
>When the soul is completely removed from Celestia, she falls down to her knees and then to her side
>The Alicorn heaves like she just came back from a marathon in the desert, as sweat drips all over her body, making her white coat glint and reflect the fire’s lighting
>You see that both Luna and Twilight want to stop what they’re doing to assist their fellow princess, but you’re having none of that right now
“Focus, you two!”
>You say out loud with surprising authority in your voice
>And the two stand straight again
“Now transfer Draybreaker’s essence into Midnight’s Body, Twilight”
>You request and the purple pony obliges
>Using next part of the spell, Twilight shoots the stone with a second beam of light
>Seconds later, the same orange aura that left Celestia’s body, leaves the stone and starts entering Midnight’s
>As soon as the process begins, Midgnight’s slowly dying eyes widen more than Celestia’s and she squirms with more ferocity than ever
>Her grunts get louder and louder, starting to sound like screams muffled like a pillow
>You’d feel sorry for her, the pain must be unbearable
>But she did stab you twice, tried to kill you twice as well, and is responsible for your heavily injured body
>The grunts get louder and louder as Daybreaker continues to invade and override Midnight’s body with her soul
>What comes next is a shock to you as Midnight manages to break the magic bounds on her muzzle and lets out what’s possibly the most agonizing scream you ever heard in your life
>”AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-“
>You quickly look to the side to see a terrified Twilight ready to drop the spell at any moment
“Twilight, don’t stop, focus!”
>Her horn keeps shooting the beam of light as her eyes jump from the stone, to the screaming mare, and to you
>You pump more magic into the same spell and shut Midnight’s trap once and for all
>A look at her face reveals tears cascading down her bruised cheeks and eyes rolling to the back of her skull
>Until the rest of Daybreaker finally breaks into Midnight’s body, shattering the Soul Stone, and leaving a completely limp body on your magic hold
>You slowly set the limp body down to the floor, hoping that everything went smoothly and she didn’t just die on you, while Twilight and Luna rush to Celestia’s aid
>You were going to check on your aunt too when you hear a grunt, it sounded like Celestias’s, but didn’t come from Celestia
>All four of you turn your heads to the slowly standing body
>You watch, sweat dripping down your forehead in anticipation
>The pony stands up on her shaky legs, stumbling more than once until finally settles in a moderately stable stance, and slowly opens her eyes, revealing a dark red sclera surrounding a golden iris, containing a pupil unlike any you have ever seen before
>It was like a cat’s, but forked at the bottom, giving it an incredibly exotic look
>There’s no mistake; that has be Daybreaker
>Celestia certainly looks petrified at the sight of the pony’s eyes, so she must be
>The recently awakened pony looks confusedly at her surroundings
>Eyes wandering to you, Twilight, Luna, and then setting on the downed Celestia
>She looks at the white alicorn with as much shock as Celestia looks at her
>But before she can even attempt to do anything you close the distance and punch the incomplete Alicorn in the head
>Knocking her down for good
>The three princesses beside you watch slack-jawed as you punch out the recently freed Daybreaker
>But you care little for their reactions
>Your horn glows and a magic circle formed by runes expands beneath the body of the downed not-princess of the sun
>Only for the runes to suddenly crawl from the floor and onto Daybreaker’s body before disappearing on her current dark blue coat
>There, that should keep her magic sealed for now
>You turn your head toward the three still shocked Alicorns, Celestia though, have a tiny, barely visible, little curve at the end of her dropped jaw, pointing upwards
>Looks like she enjoyed seeing Daybreaker get her lights punched out
“C’mon you three, if we don’t heal her right now she’ll die”
>That breaks the princesses out of their stupor as their horns glow alongside yours, covering the downed future new princess of Equestria with a multicolored glow
>It takes a few minutes but most bruises on her body shrink, but don’t go away entirely
>Same goes for the hole in her chest; the directly under her heart
>It shrinks but doesn’t go away
>The hole in her heart however, where most of the healing was focused on, is gone; of that you’re sure
>All of her scars will stay though, since they’re technically not injuries; the healing spell doesn’t count them as such
>And the new one on the chest, that one will stick out like a sore hoof If Daybreaker’s coat isn’t white like Celestia’s
>You also have to send her to the hospital wing for through checkup, and possible surgery
>But any danger to Daybreaker’s life have been avoided for the moment
>After that healing session, you, Twilight and Luna fall on your haunches in tiredness
>Healing, much like teleportation, consumes a ton of magic
>But the fatigue can’t keep the massive grin off your face
>You did it, Cadance
>You fucking madmare, you actually did it