//------------------------------// // 8. The Price of Love // Story: Toxic Love // by Silvermyr //------------------------------// Cadance sat in her room alone, quivering in terror and feebly hugging a pillow. Tears flowed freely from her eyes and matted the bed where she sat. She sniffled and whimpered, vulnerable as a newborn foal. And she was alone. She was so terribly, terribly alone! The silence felt like it was crushing her skull! With a pitiful sound she looked up and at the door out of her bedroom. Hours had passed, and Twilight was not back yet. She had gone directly to start working with extracting the dark magic from Shining Armor, and Cadance had resorted to confining herself alone in this room. She tried not to think about her husband in mortal danger, because if she worried about him then she loved him, and that would make him worse. So Cadance sat alone, thinking of nopony. She suddenly wished she knew how to meditate. She would give nearly anything not think right now. She could not even have her little filly, the light of her life, with her. Cadance was assaulted by a pang of worry for her little foal, followed by an even worse pang of fear. Was she okay? Was this working? Did this fear too count as a type of love? Was she slowly poisoning her filly too, just by laying here, thinking this? ”Help me…” Cadance whispered quietly to whoever might listen. ”I can’t do this… I don’t want to… I can’t do this anymore. Please, help me… anypony, help me…” But no help came, and Cadance looked away from the door. The tormenting silence returned. She managed to endure another minute before she truly felt her mind starting to break. She could not do this. She shambled up from her bed and paced the bedroom. Anything to have some sound and something to do besides just crying. The longest she could walk without turning around was eight steps, twelve if she stretched it. All the while she still hiccuped and sobbed. She bit her lip hard enough to feel a metallic taste in her mouth. ”Cadance? Are you okay?” Twilight’s voice was the sweetest sound Cadance had ever heard. She whipped around, absently aware that she must look like a total wreck. ”Sh-Shining… is he…?” she asked with a thick, shaky voice. ”I have not been able to remove the dark magic, but I managed to contain it. He is not in danger right now,” Twilight looked at Cadance, hesitating slightly. ”But we still need to find some way to get Sombra’s enchantment off of you. That enchantment is the root of this whole mess. As long as you still have that…” ”…being loved by me is a death sentence,” Cadance replied glumly. ”Do whatever you need. I would rather be dead than live like this anymore.” Twilight looked at Cadance, long and hard. When she looked away, she sighed. ”I have an idea. If it works we could save Shining Armor the same way. But I will have to ask Starlight and Sunburst to help me. Celestia and Luna too. And we will have to evacuate the empire…” ”Evacuate… the entire empire?” Cadance had never imagined the enchantment on her was that powerful. Was the entire empire in danger once they started prodding at it? Just what was Twilight planning? Not that it mattered. Cadance just nodded. It was past time she revealed her mistake for all the world to see, including Celestia and Luna. She would accept whatever punishment they decided for her. She only hoped they would still let her take care of little Flurry Heart. Cadance sat in a meeting room in the Crystal Castle. Twilight, Starlight and Sunburst had all left to prepare whatever they were planning to remove Sombra’s taint from her. Shining Armor, meanwhile, had been evacuated from the empire alongside the rest of the crystal ponies, together with Flurry Heart. Aside from herself and Twilight’s team, there were only two other ponies left in the empire, sitting right in front of her: Celestia and Luna. Cadance did not know what reaction she had expected from them when she told them everything, but she knew it was not this. Neither of them had said a word. They simply looked at her and each other, their expressions unreadable. It was all Cadance could do to keep her hooves from shaking as she awaited her judgement. ”Sister, art we certain Twilight Sparkle shalt be able to resolve the unholy benediction imprinted upon Princess Cadenza?” Luna asked, though she stared out in space when she said it, not truly seeing Cadance or anything else around her. ”If Twilight says she can, then she can,” Celestia said simply. Luna nodded. ”In that case, we shalt have to turn our attention to what must be done afterward,” Luna looked directly at Cadance, and she looked back. She felt small, infinitely small, as if Luna’s gaze held all of space and time, and it was all focused on down on her. ”Thou hast besmirched the alicorn race through thine actions, Princess Cadenza. We cannot speak for our sister, but know that in our eyes, thine title art revoked and thine dignity scattered. We do no longer consider thine judgement pure enough to befit a Princess of our realm. Let it be known that from this day forward, thou art considered a fallen princess in our eyes.” ”I…” Celestia looked helplessly between Luna and Cadance, her eyes revealing an excruciating pain. Cadance suddenly felt like she was drowning in shame. How could she have done this to Celestia, the kindest, friendliest, purest pony ever to grace the world? She was the cause of the pain in Celestia’s eyes. Cadance wanted to vomit. She wanted to rush into the shower and scrub her coat so hard the shame in her came out. She did not deserve to be an alicorn. She did not deserve to be a princess. She did not deserve her daughter. She did not deserve her husband. For the pain she had caused Celestia, she hardly even deserved the very air she breathed. ”…cannot agree, sister,” Celestia said quietly, a lonesome tear glittering like a diamond as it fell from Celestia’s cheek. ”Cadance has made a great mistake, but she is not a bad pony. Her intentions were pure. I know she would never wish this to happen.” ”Thou art entitled to thine own considerations in this matter, dearest sister” Luna said. ”However, for the future of Equestria, we wishes to broach the subject of the fallen alicorn’s daughter.” Cadance’s breath caught in her throat and her heart rate quickened. She forced herself to remain still. ”For it is our belief that young Flurry Heart oughtest be placed under thine care, as a student in the revered school for gifted unicorns. The filly is clearly a magical prodigy, and her education must be considered of utmost importance. We cannot with honesty in our heart consider the fallen Princess Cadenza a pony whose hoofsteps are to be followed. As such, the care of the young one should to befall another, more honorable pony.” ”Luna, I cannot request she parts from her daughter. Such cruelty hardly makes us better than the fallen king of this empire. I cannot consider it.” Celestia’s tone was hard, cold. ”Dear sister, we mean no disrespect,” Luna said calmly. ”And thou would be remiss in thinking this is our cruel idea of a punishment. Tis but what we believe to be the best for the realm. We do stand for what we said: Flurry Heart could be a force of good to our world, as Twilight Sparkle has already been. However, with Flurry’s great powers comes also a risk of a terrible adversary one day. What pony she turns out to be shalt depend upon the ponies she learn from; this is certain. Can thou look us in our eyes, sister, and tell us that thou think Princess Cadenza is the right pony to carry this mantle?” Celestia sat silent. Cadance felt her heart beginning to sink. This could not truly happen. She did not deserve this! She had wanted to save her husband! She could not loose her foal in the process! ”Yes, sister. I think she is.” ”Then let is be so. We… I hope with all my heart that we shall not have to regret this day.” Cadance let out the breath she had held. She had hurt Celestia beyond imagination. Luna probably would not speak with her for years after this. Twilight too felt betrayed by her actions, Cadance could tell. But she would still have her little foal and her husband. And she would make sure her little Flurry never made a mistake like the one she had. That would be her way of answering for her mistake, by teaching her filly to be a good princess. Cadance could not turn back time. Her mistake was already made, and the only thing she could do was to learn from it. But the future was unwritten. She could still change the future for the better, and that was what she would do. They stood in the throne room, just where Sunburst had instructed them. Twilight, Sunburst, Starlight, Celestia and Luna all stood at the tip of a pentagram that had been painted on the floor. Cadance stood in the middle of it, trampling nervously with her hooves. ”Riiight… right, right, right…” Sunburst mumbled as his eyes darted from the scene around him down to a parchment he held in his magic. ”Okay, I think this would be it. We should be able to do it like this.” ”Do what, exactly?” Starlight asked. ”What are we trying to do here?” ”Well, I probed Cadance’s magic carefully," Sunburst said. "Whatever Sombra did it not only attracts dark magic, but also joins it with Cadance’s magic. We need to do this in two steps- first we need to remove the attraction enchantment, then we need to purify the magic already inside Cadance.” ”Can that actually be done?” Starlight asked hesitantly. ”I have never heard about a unicorn’s magic itself becoming tainted.” ”I will use the same spell we used to hide the alicorn magic from Tirek.” Twilight explained. ”We rid Cadance of her magic, pull it out in the open and makes it dissipate into the crystal castle.” Sunburst continued. ”We don’t know much about how king Sombra’s magic works, but we do know that when it comes into contact with the crystals of this empire, it coagulates into the crystals associated with him. When we put Cadance’s tainted magic inside the castle, the taint should coagulate too, leaving Cadance’s own magic. Then we can give it back to her. We basically use the castle and the surrounding empire as a dark-magic filter. We still need to clean up the leftover dark magic, but that is much less dangerous than trying to remove it from Cadance directly.” ”Your plan is a clever one,” Luna said. ”I stand ready at your command.” ”As do I,” Celestia said. ”Lead the ritual, Sunburst.” Sunburst nodded and pushed his glasses further up his snout. ”Let’s go.” His horn began to shimmer and a golden ring of magic appeared around Cadance. Twilight followed suit. She closed her eyes and began channelling a ray of magic into the ring, which promptly expanded outwards and changed color to an ethereal white. Starlight, Celestia and Luna joined a few moments later, delivering more and more magic into the thin ring swirling around Cadance. It shone with a searing, painfully white radiance and looked like it was spinning fast around her. The casters continued to channel more and more power to the ring, though Cadance could see them sweat and strain to keep the magical ring intact. ”…Okay… I’m doing it!” Sunburst called through gritted teeth. Then the ring contracted into a blinding white disk around Cadance, before it fully disappeared into her. It felt like she was back in Sombra’s cell. Her entire body screamed in agony as the runes inscribed on her suddenly began to burn in an ashen light. Less than a moment later, the fire in her body was gone. She felt numb, lightheaded. Her vision was unfocused. The floor under her hooves felt like it was moving. Breathing too felt harder than usual, like there was a chain wrapped around her chest. Worse than all that though was the incomprehensible emptiness she felt. It was like her soul had been sucked up with a sponge and then wrung out, leaving only a bleak vacuum behind. ”It worked. That’s got to be her magic!” She recognized the voice to some degree, but it sounded like the speaker stood very far away. Cadance shook her head in an attempt to get ahold of what was happening around her. She felt the floor at her side and realized she must have fallen somehow. She looked over towards Twilight just as a ray of furiously pink magic struck the floor in front of Twilight’s hooves, disappearing into the castle. Not a sound was made. It was like the world itself held its breath. The silence stretched on, but Cadance felt the atmosphere in the room shifting from anticipating to confusion and finally, worry. Something was not what it was supposed to be. ”What is happening?” Twilight’s voice was barely more than a mumble, but in the compact silence it was loud as a thunderclap. ”We should hear the dark magic crystalizing all over the empire. It is not supposed to be this quiet…” Sunburst furrowed his brow and lit up his horn. ”Cadance’s magic is spreading through the empire, as expected… but the dark magic is… gone?” ”Magic does not disappear,” Luna said grimly. A tremor, sharp as a whiplash shot from the ground and up the castle. A deafening peal of breaking glass ricocheted between the crystal walls, drowning out even the screams of surprise from the ponies inside the throne room. Slivers of crystal fell from the ceiling, long and sharp as razors. A wave of similar sounds struck the castle from everywhere at once as the crystalline constructs all over the empire felt the sudden shockwave and started to splinter. Cadance’s ears gave out to tinnitus almost immediately and the waves of sound hit her almost like physical projectiles, tripping her again. ”What is this!?” Twilight screamed and narrowly dodged a sliver from the roof, big enough to impale her. ”What is happening!?” Celestia’s golden magic flared, catching the falling crystals and gently lowering them to the ground. The rumble and cacophony of breaking glass started to fade. Cadance staggered up and stumbled towards the balcony. What had happened to her empire? The other ponies evidently had the same idea. They burst out of the room and stopped in their tracks as they saw the devastation. Not one building still stood. Wherever they looked, all that was left of the once glorious empire was a pile of colorful rubble. The roads too were fractured, long cracks crisscrossing over them. All the crystal trees too had been swept aside and laid in splinters over the ground and about the ruins of the buildings. Cadance turned around and looked up at the castle itself. It still stood, but it was fractured everywhere she looked, the once beautiful surface now marred with angry reflections as the sun scattered in the million cracks that now crisscrossed the castle. ”How is… this possible?” Starlight asked quietly. ”This… was not supposed to happen.” ”Thank goodness we evacuated the empire,” Twilight whispered. ”I thought the worst we would face was Sombra’s crystals starting to appear…. but this is… how could it happen?” ”Why, it is simple, really.” Cadance felt her heart plummet and her legs beginning to shake. She turned around. Sombra stood in the throne room, looking around at the broken keep with a wry smile. Twilight, Sunburst and Starlight all reacted at the same times, sending rays of magic at him. They passed straight through him, not even fazing the dark pony. ”In truth, I am surprised you let yourself be tricked so easily, Celestia. I thought you had figured out my relationship with the dark magic at this point.” ”What art thou insinuating?” Luna said, her wings spread and horn lowered. ”I am like you, Luna, Celestia. That is what I am insinuating,” Sombra’s grin was unbearably smug. ”I hope you still remember some of what I taught you about magic: You can think of it like a pit in the ground. If a ball is placed on the edge, it will roll down if the slopes are steep enough.” Celestia and Luna watched Sombra warily. ”Dark magic may be special type of magic, but it still obeys fundamental magical laws. For example, it is attracted to other dark magic, just like other magic is attracted to you alicorns. But there is no dark alicorn… there is only me.” ”The dark magic we released! It went to you!” Twilight shouted, her pupils contracting to pinpricks. ”But-! But-!” ”Correct. In that cell you put me in, my ability to attract magic was severely crippled. I used Cadenza as a way to lure the dark magic close. When you unleashed it just now it was close enough to break through your cell… to me.” Sombra eyed his opponents, his hellish eyes lingering a fraction of a second longer at Cadance. ”I shall take my leave. But fear not: the rightful king of this empire will return in due time. I promise you that.” ”Thou shalt never harm another pony again, Fallen King!” Luna called with her Royal Canterlot Voice. ”This we solemnly swear!” ”My word is good as gold,” Sombra replied. Luna spread her wings and lowered her horn. Her eyes glowed completely white as she unleashed a flurry of ethereal rays of light as Sombra. The dark unicorn in turn let his horn flare in an ashen aura of wrongness. Shadows rose from underneath him, groping his legs and red cloak. Just as Luna’s lights made contact, he turned into smoke and disappeared.