The next week of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza’s life was hectic, to say the least. Spending every waking moment maintaining her shield of love around the Crystal Empire meant that she hadn’t slept since they had first arrived in the empire, and had only eaten when her stomach could no longer bear the hunger pains.
As she felt herself waking up from yet another sleeping spell, Cadance let out a small groan before looking up at her husband. She stared at him for a moment with her exhausted violet eyes, getting a look of concern from Shining Armor in return.
Eventually, he asked her something, breaking her out of her daze. "Do you need anything, Cadance?"
She tried to respond, coughing at first but eventually rasping out an answer. "I-I'm sorry, I'm getting thirsty again. Would you mind getting me some tea?" Shining Armor gave her a small salute as he trotted to the kitchen, and she smiled. Even when she felt as helpless as she did right now, he could always find a way to make her feel loved; And at times like these, when the fate of her entire homeland depended on the love in her heart, that was all she could ask for.
Still, she knew she couldn't hold out like this for much longer. Her being the embodiment of love didn't matter, as there was no denying how exhausted she was. Everypony around her could see the light and hope fading out of her eyes, and the way she could barely stand up by herself for more than five seconds at a time.
No matter how tired she was, Cadance knew that she had to keep on being strong; She had to keep fighting for her rightful place in her kingdom, for her empire and its citizens. Unbeknownst to most of the crystal ponies who lived inside the empire, right outside of her protective barrier was their former dictator king, whose mere name brought panic and could never be spoken inside these borders again without emotional consequence.
From the outskirts of the empire, King Sombra glared down at the pink alicorn, licking his lips fiendishly at the thought of how much he was going to enjoy the fruits of his labor once his plan set into motion. She was trying to take his kingdom and his slaves for herself. None of that bothered him in the moment, because he had a plan.
He waited until the shield was temporarily down, gathered his massive black form, and crossed into the empire, landing directly in front of his empire's false-heiress. He stared down the pink pony, who was practically crumbled under his hooves, and he grinned menacingly at her; Love was weakening. It was time for Fear to take hold once again.
She didn't make a sound at first, barely having enough strength to glare at him. That was a mistake. He shot a small beam of his multi-colored magic at her, and she was instantly under his spell, her eyelids drooping half-shut as she was thrust into her worst nightmare.
It was her wedding day, or it was supposed to have been, anyway. She was back in the caverns beneath Canterlot, or, rather, she had just escaped from them. She rushed for the door, sections of her untamed mane blocking her eyes. She hears her aunt's voice coming from the other side, but she doesn't hesitate, knowing full well what was going on. As she entered the hall, she tried and tried to get closer to Shining Armor, only to be drowned out by the crowd, who was also focused on swarming the newlywed couple.
"Congratulations to the both of you for such a beautiful ceremony."
The other Cadance faked a smile. It was mixed with just the faintest hint of a smirk however, probably because she had noticed her "true" doppelganger standing in the back of the crowd. "Thank you, auntie. I couldn't of done it without your help." She drew Shining Armor's face closer to hers, going in for another kiss on the lips. Surely Princess Celestia could notice the difference in his eyes, so why hadn't she done anything?
Why did Chrysalis have to ruin her special day? She crouched herself down on the ground, sobbing into her hooves. This day, which was supposed to be the most perfect, most special day of her entire life, had just been taken from her right in front of her very eyes.
Thankfully for Cadance, the nightmare ended soon after that, King Sombra seemingly losing the pleasure in torturing Cadance with her worst fears.
Shining Armor saw his wife hunched over and immediately ran to protect her, very nearly losing his grasp on a teacup in the process. "Cadance? Cadance, are you alright, sweetheart? Why are you crying?"
"It's-it's nothing, Shining." Cadence hated lying, especially to him, but there were sometimes she had to do it; Shining Armor was already busy protecting her from everything else, the last thing he needed was another burden on his shoulders. She weakly dried her eyes with one hoof, getting herself back into a steady position with the other three. I just remembered some things that I'd...honestly rather forget, is all." Shining Armor knew what she meant by this, and he quietly held her tighter. No matter what, they would always be together.
It was about an hour later when the last of her magic faded from her horn, the shield finally giving way. Despite her rapidly declining state, Shining Armor was waiting loyally by her side, Twilight searching furiously for the ancient crystal artifact.
Her castle was quickly covered in pitch black obsidian, the light of the heart falling straight downwards, with Spike jumping and fumbling to reach the Crystal Heart. The light of the heart was bright and bold, recharging Cadence’s energy. “Shining…” She panted. “This is going to sound crazy, but throw me off the balcony, please.”
“What? Cadence, you can’t fly right now, you barely have any energy as it is.”
“Trust me. The time is right.” Putting his trust in Cadence, he picked her up and held her over his head, throwing her forward with all of his strength. She glided across the darkening sky, the energy of the Crystal Heart tugging her forward. “Behold! The Crystal Princess has returned!” She heard a voice below her say, the crowd of crystal ponies admiring her victory over King Sombra.
As the Crystal Heart was placed back in its rightful spot in the center of the empire, Cadence flew to the middle of the crowd with her energy restored, and began to speak to her new subjects. “The Crystal Heart has returned. Use the love and light within you to ensure King Sombra does not.” As ribbons of light shot from the tip of the castle and color was restored to the once forgotten empire, Cadence flew back up to the balcony with her body becoming crystal, her husband tackling her in a hug. The two waved to the crowd of their adoring subjects, who cheered in the streets and returned the same affection for their new princess and prince-consort.
At last, they could say the worst of it was over.