Cadence still remembered the first day she slacked off.
“What are you doing?!” her mother shouted.
Cadence laid on the couch watching TV. Her bagging eyes and stiff wrists spoke for themselves.
"Don’t you want to become the greatest pianist ever?" her mom continued.
"I do, but I need a break," Cadence pleaded.
"Did any of the great earth pony pianists take breaks?"
The answer was yes, but her mom never believed her.
After another three hours of practice, Cadence stepped onto the stage of the Canterlot Opera House and played II. Etude in A Minor by Philip Glass. It was one of her favorite pieces, but its slow and sublime soundscape relaxed her body and mind. When she finished and received roaring applause, she fell over on the piano and passed out. There were four other pieces on the program.
She woke up several hours later to a furious mom. The aristocracy present in the audience stomped out of the hall, tarnishing her reputation. Her mother barely spoke to her for a week.
No venue in Canterlot would host her anymore, even if she rented the place herself. Her career ended at the age of fifteen.
After months of stagnation and self-pity, Cadence gathered whatever money she had left and bought a train ticket to the Crystal Empire.
— — —
Saul peeked through the entryway to the throne room. Shifting back behind the wall, he nodded to the captain. “Thanks for the help.”
The captain saluted back. “Mind if I head back to the clinic? I got some beaten up friends back there.”
“That’s probably a good idea. Things might get nasty in here.” Saul turned toward Color as the captain trotted away. "I'm gonna need your help."
Color raised an eyebrow. "That's a change of heart."
He pointed to her right leg. "I'm not letting you use that."
"But…" She poked her leg brace. "I've never done it with my left before."
"Learn quickly, I want you to walk normally again." He pointed toward the entryway. "Three of them are at the base of steps. Another one on the steps has a keyboard and is about to play it. Once that starts, I’ll dash out 20 feet and keep the three busy. Knock the keyboard over and pull Flurry here if you can."
“Wait, you can pull with that spell?”
“Yeah, um…” He scratched his head. “Think about dragging magic out and back into the glove. Just try your best, I’ll see what I can do.”
Color slipped the glove over her left hoof. "That it?"
"You’ll figure it out."
Music echoed into the hall as Saul tapped Color on the head and dashed into the hall. The music and earplugs covered up his footsteps, blocking his presence.
Once he stopped and raised his hands, Color turned the corner and aimed her hoof at the keyboard. Two circles appeared on the keyboard causing it to thrust against the wall smashing to pieces. Both Color and Saul aimed at Flurry, but black goo poured out of the human and blocked both of their views.
“I guess Slip was unreliable after all,” the human noted, contracting the goo and letting it flow around him. The goo levitated as if suspended in the air.
With a clear view, Color bit her lip and guided the magic out of her hoof and back into the glove. The mental image Saul gave her struggled to form in her mind. Slowly, a circle appeared on Flurry as she dragged across the floor toward Color.
The shuffling of flurry caught the ear of the human, causing him to turn his head. Saul smirked and electrified his hands, sending a shock through the ground and at the three. Rusty and Headset jolted, falling to the ground. The human, however, continued to stand after a brief twitch.
“Did you expect me to go down so easily?” the human taunted, slowly raising his head.
“It was worth a shot,” Saul conceded. “Wasn’t my goal anyway.”
Confused, the human glanced to his side, noticing Color pick up Flurry and carry her into the hallway. The brief moment he didn’t pay attention was enough for Color to drag her over.
“Turns out the best solutions solve multiple problems at once,” Saul noted.
Black goo shot out toward Saul in a line, pinning his right arm to the wall.
“Cadence?” the human called.
“Uh, yes?” she responded poking her head from behind the throne.
“Make yourself useful and get these other two up. Somepony has to go after Flurry.”
“Somepony?” Saul extended his left hand at the human. Before the circle fully appeared, the human retracted the goo and created a wall separating them while unpinning Saul’s arm.
Cadence trotted up to the two unconscious ponies, shaking their faces. Rusty stood up after some prodding but Headset showed no sign waking up.
Saul pointed his hand toward Cadence, but another line of goo shot toward him, forcing him to dive and dodge. Cadence helped Rusty to the hallway before Saul could stand back up.
“You know, there aren’t many human spells out there,” Saul taunted as he stumbled to his feet.
The goo flowed around the human in a swirl, ready to shift at a moment’s notice. “Don’t expect to get out of this room easily.”
Saul checked his arm, not noticing any serious injury. “That goo, I can’t recall a human spell like that.”
“What about it?”
“That wouldn’t happen to be a Fate Dance, would it?”
— — —
Color limped down the hallway with Flurry draped over her back. Her leg brace creaked under the stress of two ponies. Hoofsteps echoed down the hall, signaling her to limp faster.
She stumbled through the closest door and fell into a library. The hoofsteps grew louder. Whether she liked it or not, this was her battleground.
After setting Flurry down on a chair, she slid a small bookcase in front of the door and analyzed her surroundings. Bookshelves packed with books lined the walls. A few tables and chairs sat on the floor. Next to an empty and half-painted bookshelf sat two cans of paint, one pink and the other purple.
She looked around again. “Don’t tell me this all I have,” she muttered. Another look, and it was confirmed.
Frustrated, she leaned against a bookshelf and threw a book. “What the hell am I supposed to do with this!?” Stumbling back to her hooves, she felt the bookshelf tip before rocking back and forth and settling back down.
“Wait?” She turned around and pushed the bookshelf, feeling it tip again. “They’re not screwed in?” A crazy idea popped in her head.
— — —
“Door’s blocked,” Rusty grunted, pounding on the door. “I guarantee she’s in there, though.”
“Just break it down already,” Cadence scoffed, leaning against the opposite wall.
“If you wish. Don’t complain if you have to pay for the repairs.”
“When,” Cadence corrected.
“I guess.” Rusty’s Half Ax materialized on his back. With one swing, the door split apart. With another, the bookcase behind it snapped in half, clearing a path for them.
Rusty and Cadence tiptoed into the room. Darkness shrouded the room, the only light source being the doorway. Glancing to the side, Cadence noticed a severed cable coming out of the light switch. Flicking it on brought no light.
Rusty pointed to a purple mass on the other side of the room. The darkness obscured the colors and shape. “Is that Flurry?”
“Check it out. I don’t care about Color as long as we have Flurry,” Cadence commanded.
Rusty nodded before sneaking across the room. A pile of books covered the purple mass, further obscuring it. A few feet away from it, Rusty stopped. The purple looked off.
“A bookshelf?” he mumbled, seeing purple paint strokes that resembled a mane. A fainted snicker whispered behind him as a wall of books descended on him, the shelf falling suit.
He swung his ax in time to split the shelf apart just as a second shelf fell on top of him. Unable to recover from the swing, the shelf buried him with books and flopped on top of him, knocking him out.
Cadence froze in shock. Turning around, another bookcase fell and blocked the entrance to the library. “You must be confident, trapping me in like that.”
A voice around the ceiling. “You’re gonna undo what you did to Flurry.”
“Oh really? You think I can just do that?”
“You’re not leaving till you do.”
Cadence looked around, moving toward the center of the room. “You’re tipping over the bookcases with your glove, aren’t you?”
No response.
Cadence grinned and adjusted her hair. “Perfect Melody is definitely not a combat Fate Dance, I admit. However, you’d be foolish to think I need a keyboard to use it.” Two bracelets appeared on her forelegs as she hummed a haunting tune.
Color, hidden behind a bookcase, felt her forelegs legs move without her control. Clenching her muscles, she tried to fight the movement but to no avail, her forelegs reaching out to drag her into the open. With a kick, she tripped herself with her hind legs and knocked over the bookcase.
Cadence grinned. “There you are.”
A new melody and Color’s left hind leg pushed her into the open. Her right foreleg regained control, but the brace kept it nearly useless.
The tune intensified as Color’s left foreleg and right hind leg pushed her up, trying to stand. Squirming, she tripped herself with her left hind leg and plopped on the floor. She realized something. Two limbs were all Cadence could control.
Color’s left foreleg and right hind leg pushed her slowly towards Cadence. Passing next to a table, Color lodged her leg brace onto its leg. Her right hind leg struggled to move her and the table.
“So be it,” Cadence mumbled, humming a dissonant melody.
Both of Color’s hind legs shifted and pushed, moving her and the table. However, she smiled, muttering “checkmate.”
Color stretched out her left hoof, now free, and activated her glove. A shelf behind Cadence fell over and crashed into the ground, causing her to jump and turn around.
When she regained her senses and turned back around, Color sat down with her left foreleg extended toward Cadence and a glowing circle on her glove. Cadence froze in shock.
Color grinned. “I knew you had something up your sleeve, I just had to figure out what it was.”
Cadence flew back, bouncing off the wall and landing in a pile of books and broken wood. Her still body indicated unconsciousness.
Color examined her left foreleg. Placing weight on it hurt, but not nearly as much as it did with her right leg. She could’ve pulled something, but that wasn’t a big deal.
She limped behind the bookcase and pulled out a still sleeping Flurry. Dragging her out into the middle of the room, Color flopped down on her back beside Flurry and panted from the pain. “I don’t know about you, but I’m done for the night.”
A couple of minutes later and she calmed down, nearly about to pass out.
“Waiting on you, Saul.”
— — —
The human laughed, throwing off Saul for a second. “I was told you’re an observant one. Try me. What else can you deduce?”
Saul stepped back and stroked his chin. “That depends. Your hair color looks unnatural, your clothes look weird, you’re undocumented by the AUN, and your power is strange. You wouldn’t happen to be a PL, would you?”
The human looked confused. “A what?”
“Nevermind. Didn’t think it would work but it was worth a shot.” Saul threw his hands behind his head, stretching them out. “Thing is, I know what the answer is. I’m just confused about how and why.”
“Spit it out. I’m curious.”
Saul glared. “You were a pony, weren’t you?”
The human laughed hysterically. “I’m surprised you didn’t claim I stole it!”
“Your clothes and hair color suggest otherwise and you would still be documented. Plus, I know someone who has, and he’s not like you.” Saul widened his stance. “Are you confident enough to tell me why?”
“Shouldn’t it be obvious? You of all people should know why especially after traveling with her!”
Saul froze at the mention of Color and put the pieces together. Color’s father was one of the reasons they were here. “What about her father?”
“It’s the flaw of the Fate Dance! The pony body is unsustainable without its cutie mark, but the human body has no need for it.”
Saul placed a hand on the metal disc attached to his belt and pressed a button, priming it. “So, you want to join humanity?”
The human laughed. “Not really, but that’s a conversation for later. Besides…” Black goo shot from underneath Saul, grabbing the disc and holding it above him. “I’m not letting you get out alive.”
Saul smiled, placing a hand on his watch. “There are some funny things about the Magic Pulse Device, or MPD.” Blue light emanated from the disc as it powered on. The human froze in shock. “I can trigger it with my watch. Doing so would leave us both magicless and I’m pretty sure you don’t know how to fight without your magic.”
The human tried to move the goo but Saul raised his arm, placing his finger on a button. Saul continued. “However, you might be surprised to learn that when this device fires, it will permanently damage any cutie mark within a five-meter radius. If I assume the goo itself is your Fate Dance, then you don’t want me pushing this button.”
The human backed up, looking around the room. Saul continued. “I thought about sparring with you for a bit, but I’m a little beat up and I want to end this quickly. Either do what I ask or I push this button.”
Suddenly, the goo tossed the MPD to the side causing Saul to push the button. Before the MPD fired, the human used his goo to propel himself to the door, retracting as much as he could as blue light filled the room.
Saul stepped to chase after him but stumbled as his thigh winced in pain from the earlier battle. A couple limps later and he adjusted to the pain enough to jog.
Chasing the human down, Saul darted as fast as he could out of the castle. Outside, he scanned the surrounding courtyard for the human. He wasn’t around.
Saul swore he was fast enough to catch up to the human, especially since the MPD fired and prevented him from using his goo. But no matter how much he scanned the area, he couldn’t find the human.
“Did he…” Saul didn’t know how to internalize the thought he just had. “…change back?”