//------------------------------// // Interlude: Cadance (I) // Story: Pony Courtship Rituals // by Codex Ex Equus //------------------------------//         Cadance turned away from the deactivated crystal ball, stomping across the room of her small apartment. She tried taking deep breaths, mirroring the motion of her chest with one hoof, but even her go-to calming technique could do nothing when her teeth were clenched tight enough to crush boulders. Giving up, she scooped a pile of darts up in her magic and began to peg them into a picture of Chrysalis that was pinned to a dartboard across the room.         Why does Chrysalis have to ruin every... single... thing?! With each word, she slammed a dart into the picture with a wall-rattling thump.         First had been her wedding. The day she'd dreamed of since even before becoming a Princess and the literal embodiment of love. The day that should have been perfect. Instead, she'd been kidnapped, knocked unconscious, locked in a cave beneath Canterlot, half starved, had her husband-to-be brainwashed and nearly stolen from her, had her Aunt knocked out and imprisoned, and to top everything off, the kingdom that was her responsibility had been taken, however briefly, away from her.         But that hadn’t been enough. Oh, no. Now Queen Chrysalis was back, attacking Cadance’s family once again, this time going after her very own sister-in-law. Cadance’s shock at reading Shining Armor’s letter about Twilight’s marriage had quickly given way to a burning, molten anger, as she contemplated all the horrible ways the changeling had warped the minds of those closest to her. She’d immediately made plans to head for Canterlot to free them, only to be hit with another shock as a wedding invitation arrived less than a day later. Clearly the corruption had spread further than she’d thought, and so she had spent days readying herself—girding her mind with spells to resist whatever tricks Chrysalis tried this time, fortifying her body with powerful shields, and steeling herself against the prospect of Chrysalis using her own family against her. To her surprise, Chrysalis had sought her out as soon as she'd arrived in Canterlot. Cadance had agreed, and spent hours scouting out the meeting location, preparing wards, planning escape routes, and getting a feel for the type of ponies in the tavern to see if any were changelings. With a deep breath, senses on full alert, suspicious and cautious of everything, she had gone in to meet Queen Chrysalis face-to-face.         What she had been met with instead had been the cruelest, most twisted joke of all: the changeling actually thought she was in love with Twilight. It would have been funny, if it hadn’t been both so sad and so incredibly dangerous. As long as she held the delusion that she was capable of love, Chrysalis was a threat to Canterlot and everypony in Equestria. Motivated solely by a lust for power, the Queen had come within a hair of conquering the kingdom. But if her 'love' was rejected, if her despair and anger caused her to start lashing out, if it became personal...           Chrysalis had explained everything that had happened: her wedding to Twilight, Twilight's confession that she wasn't actually in love with Chrysalis, and Chrysalis's declaration that she would win Twilight's heart. As she'd listened to the changeling's story and plea for assistance, a plan had crystallized in Cadance's mind. She would give Chrysalis advice… advice that would prove to Twilight once and for all that the changeling was incapable of love, that she was as uncaring and callous as Cadance knew she was. It was the best chance to get the whole mess cleared up without violence; the changeling’s illusion of love would force her to accept Twilight’s rejection and she would slink off back to her hive, and everypony would be happy.         And the near-collapse of that plan was what had Cadance so infuriated. The changeling had had the arrogance, the sheer, unmitigated gall, to reject her advice. Her, the Princess of Love herself! The first date had gone perfectly. Chrysalis had done everything Cadance had told her to through the magical earring, being her usual cold, dismissive self. Convincing the changeling to leave in the middle of the meal had taken some doing—she’d had to spring that idea on Chrysalis without warning, because if she’d told her beforehoof there would have been nothing but argument, followed by a failure to actually accomplish the task. But by giving her the order in the middle of the dinner, she’d been able to pressure Chrysalis, ordering her to either leave or make do without advice. Reluctant and dragging her hooves, Chrysalis had complied, and Cadance had spent the rest of the night giggling with glee at how well everything had gone. But the next day, disaster had struck. Panicked by Twilight’s letter, Chrysalis hadn't even bothered to consult with Cadance before heading out to abduct the Princess and take her on another date. And somehow, somehow, she had actually managed to come up with a meaningful and romantic date, completely undoing all of Cadance’s work from the night before. She might have even made ground on tricking Twilight into loving her! Cadance had been livid, and had verbally torn a strip off Chrysalis’s hide—well, carapace—but the changeling had just nodded sadly, acting apologetic while still stubbornly refusing to admit she was wrong. Things had not gone well after that. Every bit of progress Cadance made was undone by Chrysalis either refusing to obey her commands or going rogue on a date and ignoring repeated orders to stop treating Twilight with kindness. Cadance reprimanded Chrysalis each time it happened, but there was a limit to how far she could go. No matter what she threatened, she couldn’t actually abandon the changeling to her own devices. She hadn’t even dared trying to push Chrysalis into doing something as extreme as leaving Twilight during a date, either. If she had, and Chrysalis refused, the changeling might have figured out how powerless Cadance actually was in their relationship. So she had to sit there, watching through the crystal ball and fuming, as the changeling pretended to love her sister. As the changeling pretended she had a heart. Cadance sighed, trotting over to pull the darts out of the board and inspect the picture. In it, Chrysalis was snarling—for some reason, she was always snarling in every photo that was taken of her—and thanks to the darts, she currently had more holes in the picture than she did in real life. Cadance let the picture fall in a nearby trashcan, and pulled another off the tall stack that stood nearby. She’d already gone through half of them over the past six months. Three broken dartboards also lay littered about the floor of the small apartment—they were at least somewhat more sturdy than the photographs. She didn’t truly hate Chrysalis. And she knew, for a fact, that the changeling did have a heart. After all, she clearly cared about her children more than anything; Cadance had heard her talk about them often enough to know that was true. But the idea that a changeling could love a pony was ridiculous. Ponies produced love, and changelings consumed it. The end. It was a relationship that only went one way; reversing it somehow was unthinkable. There was no hate in Cadance’s heart. None at all, she assured herself firmly, nodding. But there was an order to the world, a place for each pony, changeling and other creature. Nowhere in that order did changelings love ponies. She didn’t begrudge the changelings the love they ate—after all, her love was for all the creatures of the world, even if they were parasites, and it brought her nothing but joy to know her love was so, well, loved. But changelings loving, rather than stealing and consuming love, was just… unnatural. It went against everything she knew about their kind. Besides, as Princess of Love she had a duty to make sure her love was used wisely and responsibly, and to make sure ponies loved who they were supposed to love. To make sure that they would love ponies (or other creatures) that would return their love properly. That, more than anything else, was what this was all about. She’d already planned Twilight’s love life out for the next half century, and nowhere in that plan was Queen Chrysalis, or any changelings at all for that matter. Sunset Shimmer coming through the mirror portal in Cadance's very own castle had been a stroke of luck; she'd convinced her aunts that Twilight should follow through alone, and the newly-minted Princess had been able to have her first little fling on the other side. Cadance had even arranged for Twilight to get together with the Flash Sentry of this world afterwards, and had watched with approval as they drifted apart after the first little spark of interest. That had been a nice, safe way for Twilight to experience a bit of romance. After all, Twilight had a long road ahead, and at the end of it lay the Princess of the Sun. Celestia thought she was being subtle about her little crush, but she couldn’t fool the Princess of Love, and Cadance could think of no better gift for her aunt than the pony she loved. Or, maybe Princess Luna would be the pony for Twilight. There could be a certain coolness between the two at times, but Luna's gratefulness to the pony who had saved her from her own jealousy was abundant and obvious. It would be easy, too; a night spent stargazing, their hooves touch, their eyes meet… and then magic is made under the night sky. For that matter, there were any number of ponies that were appropriate for Twilight—ponies, or griffins, or dragons. Even Discord was a better option, for Celestia's sake. Because the point was, none of them were changelings. They would love Twilight the way she deserved to be loved, and they would deserve the love that Twilight would give back to them. Queen Chrysalis could do neither of those things. Yes. She had a plan, and Chrysalis’s appearance in it was merely an anomaly that she would correct, whatever it took. It’s not like Twilight, or anypony, could ever love Chrysalis anyway, she thought with a shudder, stretching out on a couch to relax before the most important date of her life. Nothing that changeling did could endear her to a pony. Why, just look at how she had acted during a simple walk in the park… The night was warm, cooled by a breeze that pushed a few wispy clouds across the sky. Luna's moon seemed brighter than ever, and the stars twinkled cheerfully as they looked down on Canterlot Central Park. Between the park's trees, ponies walked, many of them couples out for a romantic stroll, but most just there to enjoy a beautiful night. "See? Isn't this nice?" asked Twilight with a hopeful smile, ignoring the invisible circle around them that the other couples wouldn't cross into. "Oh yes, walking through a field with trees is… I believe the word you would use is 'woo'", replied Chrysalis dolefully. "It's a park, not a field with trees," scolded Twilight. "How can you not enjoy this? The night is beautiful, the grass is green…" "I will admit this night is quite pleasant. The Moon Princess does good work." Twilight turned, a glare forming on her face, and Chrysalis held up a hoof hurriedly. "She said I could call her that!" Twilight held her suspicious gaze for a moment longer, then gave a small nod, and Chrysalis surreptitiously let out the breath she'd been holding. "But yes, I am enjoying the night. Luna has said she may let me design the stars one night, and I look forward to it." "She actually asked you to do that?!" gasped Twilight, and let out a small 'squee!' when Chrysalis nodded in puzzlement. "It was years before she asked me to! Oh, I'm so happy to see you learning about friendship!" "Friendship is… pushing it a bit far," said Chrysalis uncomfortably, looking away. "We merely like spending a little bit of time together, doing things we both enjoy, talking…" "That is friendship, you big silly changeling!" Twilight gave Chrysalis a push on the shoulder, and she turned away. "I don't want to talk about this anymore," Chrysalis said grumpily. "Fine, fine." Twilight rolled her eyes, but she had a happy smile on her face. "Let's talk about the grass, then. What don't you like about that?" "Look at it!" cried Chrysalis, with a vicious jab of her hoof towards the side of the path that sent a couple sitting under a tree running for cover. "It's green! Such a hideous color!" "But… I've never seen anything more green than the inside of your hive, and you're almost half green—" "Those are proper greens!" declared Chrysalis imperiously. "The greens of my eyes, my mane, my shell. The green of slime, shimmering gently on a hive wall, the green of a pod filled with a fresh victim—" "Okay, those are all good greens," Twilight said hurriedly, glancing around at their fellow walkers, who were now shying away more than ever. "What's wrong with the grass's green?" "It's… plant green." Chrysalis shuddered. "Disgusting." "Okay, you don't like the grass. Fine." Twilight humphed angrily. "Maybe we should just call this night off right here, then." "I would be more than glad to," sneered Chrysalis, and Twilight spun to face her, face shocked and hurt. "No, wait! I mean… don't leave. Please. I do like it here. Because you're here." She smiled pleadingly, the ear that she wore an earring in flicking as though shooing away a fly, and finally Twilight smiled back. "Okay. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that anyway. And… I like being here with you too." Their eyes met, their smiles deepening, and Chrysalis's ear began fluttering like a flag in a gale. After a moment, they began walking again, side by side and closer than before. Eventually they reached a fountain. A statue stood upon its stone plinth, depicting Princess Celestia and Princess Luna rearing up, hooves held to the sky as though blessing their city. And, in a bizarre and hilarious touch, water sprayed from their mouths. Twilight knew for a fact that both Princesses had overlooked that little fact prior to the fountain's construction, and that Celestia had been trying for years to get 'that abomination' removed from the park. But here, in the night, it didn't look so bad. The water that arced up and then drifted down in a spray danced in the light from the nearby lampposts, seeming almost to glow on its own. Twilight smiled happily at the sight, and trotted ahead quickly to lay on its edge. "Come on," she said, beckoning Chrysalis over with a toss of her head before turning to trail a hoof in the water. "This is perfect," whispered Cadance in Chrysalis's ear before she could move. "Splash her with water when you sit next to her." "What? But, her dress—" "Yes, it will get all wet!" said Cadance triumphantly. "Get her mane, too. Try to get her as wet as you can before she finally leaves." "I-I don't know… I don't think she likes getting wet. I mean, you ponies have all that fur…" "Trust me, she'll like it if you do it," Cadance said with confidence. "Make sure to laugh at her, too." Chrysalis still hesitated, shuffling her hooves, but suddenly a mischievous smile grew on her face. "Actually, I have an even better idea," she said with a smooth chuckle. She slunk closer to Twilight, creeping along with her belly nearly on the ground, then suddenly lunged forward and shoved her with two hooves. The Princess flew into the fountain, thrashing and sputtering, and Cadance had to lean back from the crystal ball and put her hooves over her mouth to smother her laughter. That was a better idea! Twilight got her hooves under herself and stood up, water running off her back in streams, her mane and dress sticking to her body. She glared down with puffed out cheeks at Chrysalis, who was rolling back and forth on her shell and laughing like a madpony. "And just what do you think is so funny?" growled the dripping pony. "Insult her!" cried Cadance, having gotten her own laughter under control. "Make a joke about her!" "I'm laughing," said Chrysalis, pushing herself up on one hoof to smirk at Twilight, "Because I always thought you were a bit of a drip, and now I know for sure." "A drip, huh?" said Twilight with a glare, her horn glowing. "Well, I don't think I'm the only one…"                 Chrysalis blinked, realizing that the fountain seemed to have suddenly stopped running. She looked up, into an enormous ball of water held in Twilight's magic. Futilely, she tried scrambling to her hooves, not even coming close before the entire ball fell straight down on her.         Dripping, Chrysalis rose slowly above the edge of the fountain, water beading on her carapace. Her mane hadn't been affected much by the water, aside from sticking to her face, but her tail now drooped to the ground and lay in a puddle. She glared angrily at the smirking pony standing in the fountain.         "Looks like I was right," said Twilight smugly.         Chrysalis held her glare for a moment longer, then spoke three furious words.         "You are dead."         She launched herself at the soaked Princess, who squealed and tried to run away. She was too slow, though, and Chrysalis caught her and dunked her head in the water. Chrysalis pulled back to gloat at Twilight as she sputtered and laughed, which gave the Princess the opportunity to kick the changeling's forelegs out from under her and send her tumbling down into the water as well.         Cadance shuddered again as she recalled that horrific scene. Chrysalis had actually been trying to drown Twilight, and laughing as she did it! Luckily, Twilight had been able to fight back until the changeling had finally relented and let her scramble out of the fountain. Even then, Twilight had been so traumatized by the experience she'd been too scared to try and leave Chrysalis's side, and she'd been forced to spend several more hours with the changeling before finally making her escape.         The worst part had been the next few days, although Cadance hadn't learned so until later. After getting wet and spending the night out in the air, Twilight had caught a cold and been confined to her bed, shivering and coughing. It had broken Cadance's heart that she hadn't been able to help her, and instead Twilight had been forced to make do with Chrysalis. The things Chrysalis had done while trying to take care of Twilight had been horrifying to learn. The fact that Twilight still hadn't told Chrysalis to get lost was absolutely baffling to Cadance. At this point, she was putting it down to Twilight's sheer terror of the changeling, her fear at what Chrysalis would do if she were shunned. Celestia knew the changeling was violent and erratic; there was no telling what she might do if her fictional 'love' were thrown back in her face.         There was one other possibility she'd been considering: some kind of subtle brainwashing, maybe a poison or venom of some sort. The leftovers of Twilight's food she'd managed to get ahold of hadn't shown anything, but it was possible Chrysalis was biting her while Cadance wasn't watching, or maybe exuding an invisible gas of some kind. They also seemed to spend a suspicious amount of time looking into each other's eyes, and she couldn't rule out that Chrysalis was hypnotizing her during those moments.         She had to figure out how Chrysalis was tricking Twilight like this. There was no other way that monster could get real love, and if taking it away from her was what she needed to do, well then it was perfect that her revenge could be such a delicious bit of ironic justice—         No, no! Cadance put a hoof to her forehead, taking a deep breath. This wasn't about revenge. This wasn't even about Chrysalis. It was about one thing and one thing only: Twilight.         She had to save Twilight. She'd known Twilight since foalsitting her when she was a filly, she was her sister, and on top of all that they were good friends. She owed it to Twilight to save her, to free her from the changeling's clutches and find her somepony that could actually love her. Not only was it something she had to do as a friend and family member, but she was the Princess of Love. It was her responsibility, her duty, to see that Twilight and Chrysalis were no longer together, making a mockery of the very concept of love. It didn't matter what she had to do to stop them, either; she had justice and righteousness on her side.         She pushed herself off the couch, getting to her hooves and trotting over to the table that held the crystal ball. She stopped once in front of it, gazing lovingly at its shining surface, and reached out with a hoof to gently caress it.         "Don't you worry about a thing, Twilight." she whispered softly. "I'm going to save you."