CLOSING ACT
Twilight pulled a mega all-nighter in her royal library. She combed through every book she had looking up the curse Chrysalis had cast on Courier, and much to her disappointment, it really did look hopeless. “I don’t believe this!” she cried as she peered through the last pages.
“What’s wrong?” asked Starlight.
“There really is no known cure for this curse.” answered Twilight “Courier was right-- if we try to break the curse on him, he really will die.”
Starlight’s blood ran cold.
Spike was outside the doors to the library, “Man! That’s just rotten. It means he really will never be able to feel romance.”
The ladies felt extremely upset for Courier.
“Is he still in jail?” asked Spike.
Twilight nodded, “But my brother and Cadance and are actually trying to work on a pardon for him. They’re trying to convince many ponies not to press charges against him, but I doubt it’ll work.”
Cadance and Shining Armor were gathering signatures in a petition to help Courier. They got loads of signatures from all the couples that Courier helped, and there were lots of couples.
More than half of Ponyville was in love thanks to him, and even though the crushes now realized who really wrote those letters, they didn’t care, really! Courier helped them open their eyes and give their dates and crushes a try which helped them become closer than ever.
Then again, there were also the ponies that were still outraged at Courier for parting their manes and publicly humiliating them.
“I say burn him at the stake!”
“Hang him by his neck!”
“Throw him in a pit of hungry dragons!”
Cadance and Shining Armor were infuriated, and though they understood the ponies had every right to be angry, “You brought this on yourselves!” Shining scolded them.
Cadance agreed, “Look at yourselves! You coldly rejected dates who liked you without even giving them a legitimate chance, and you laughed at and teased those who had no dates!
While I cannot approve of Courier’s actions, I think you all ought to be ashamed of yourselves!”
Some of the ponies did feel ashamed, but the rest were unmoved, and in the end, they still would not sign the petition.
“Never mind them,” said Shining Armor “Maybe we have enough as it is.”
Unfortunately, all their efforts were in vain. The police just couldn’t let Courier out, no matter how many ponies petitioned. “We cannot let emotional understandings affect our legal duties.” said the captain “The law is the law. I’m sorry, but that’s that. Even you have no authority in this, Princess.”
The couple felt upset, and Courier called to them from his jail cell, “I told you not to bother!” he scolded “And even if you got me out of here, it won’t be any better because of the curse, and even more so, everyone knows who I am. Many of them wish to hunt me down and cut me into pieces, the same way I did to their manes!
I have nothing to gain either way!”
“No!” Cadance said approaching the cell.
“Cadance!” cried Shining Armor.
Cadance looked right into the cell at the miserable pony, “I told you, we’re not going to give up on you! We want to help!”
Finally, Courier lost his patience, and he stood up and slowly began to approach her, “There is one thing you can do for me.”
“What’s that?”
Then, quick as a wink, Courier leapt over, reaching through the bars, and grabbed her by the neck and held her against the bars tightly. All at once, the curse began to shock them both horribly, and they both screamed and yelled in pain!
“CADANCE!!” cried Shining Armor.
“STOP THIS!!” shouted the Captain, and fired a magic blast from his horn, blasting Courier back into his cell.
Cadance fell to the ground feeling weak and tired. Her alicorn strength and magic kept her strong.
Her husband caught her as she fell, but Courier was still being shocked by the power from touching Cadance for so long, and he wasn’t as strong as Cadance was!
“COURIER…!!” Cadance cried, but it was already too late. The shocking had blasted him so hard, and he was vaporized into a pile of dust on the floor of the cell.
“Sweet Celestia!” murmured the captain. He and the couple were devastated by what just happened, but regardless… Courier was gone.
“I can’t believe he did that.” said Shining Armor.
Tears fell down Cadance’s face.
The couple saw no choice by to return to Twilight’s Castle, and you can bet, everyone was devastated to hear of what happened.
“He just up and killed himself?!” cried Rarity “How could he do such a thing?”
Shining Armor sighed “I guess he was just too upset and too miserable to carry on-- living all that time and not being able to love anyone. I don’t think I could live with myself either.”
Twilight felt very upset. “He wouldn’t even let us try to help him.”
“Poor guy.” said Starlight.
Cadance felt the most upset, feeling it was her fault. In some ways it ways, “I should never have gotten near him. I should’ve remembered he’d get hurt.”
“It’s not your fault.” said Rainbow “He was the one who grabbed you. You didn’t make him do it.”
Knowing this did not make Cadance feel any better. “That’s only part of it.” she said “The friendship mission… it’s failed.”
Her husband suddenly remembered, “That’s right, we did blow it.”
No one could say anything to argue with that.
“You tried your best.” said Twilight.
Cadance’s features hardened, but not in anger, but in determination. “I’m going to continue Courier’s work.”
“What?” Spike said. The others all felt the same as they gawked at her.
“Not like that,” replied Cadance “I’m not going to put on a costume and prowl, but Courier inspired me. As the element of Love and Joy, I should help other ponies with their love problems. I can help them to realize and give many a chance, and if others are going through a rough time I can console them, and question those who are wronging them without punishment.”
Everyone seemed to like the idea, and Shining Armor agreed to help her every step of the way.
A few weeks later, long after the royal family returned to the, Crystal Empire, Cadance well carried out her promise. In addition to her royal duties, she counseled couples or potential couples and tried to work out their problems, and even asked those to write her letters, almost like how Princess Celestia used to ask for Friendship Reports.
The mail piled up like crazy, and yet she spent endless hours going through them, while at the same time doing her other work and taking care of her baby too.
“Maybe you should take a break.” Shining Armor suggested.
“I can’t,” said Cadance “I promised I’d help these ponies, and I meant it. I owe it that much… to Courier.”
Her husband understood, and admired her devotion, “Just the same… you should rest.” And he covered her with a blanket, and watched as she fell asleep at her desk. He pecked her warmly on her head, and then went off with Flurry to let Cadance sleep.
Still, even Shining himself couldn’t stop thinking of Courier. “I guess that’s just sometimes how it ends.”