Ardent was brought before the leader of the grunts that released her. The leader was similar to how his forces were dressed and they both had the same coloured fur. But this one looked more like an ape in comparison and had cloven feet as well as a big pair of horns. The ape jumped towards Ardent and crouched before her, like he was studying her.
"Uh...What are you supposed to be?" the ape asked Ardent.
"Ca...denza.." Ardent weakly replied "..Ar...dent...Cadenza.."
"Nice to meet you. I'm the Storm King."
The Storm King lent out his hand like he was about to perform a handshake. Ardent just stared at the hand, to which Storm King pulled it back.
"Yeah, it's kind of a name in progress. Going through a rebrand you see."
"Re..brand?"
"Yeah. Kind of a marketing thing. Speaking of which, can I get you anything?"
"Water. And food."
"Done. Hey! Someone get this unicorn some Storm King-brand water! And maybe a bag of potato chips while you're at it!"
One of the Storm King's servants quickly ran into another room to get food and water. In the meantime, Ardent observed her surroundings. It appeared to be a throne room with two doors on each side of the throne, one with a sun theme and the other with a moon theme. The room had a blue tint towards it, possibly due to the weather. She also noticed a trio of alicorn statues behind her, two of which resembling Celestia and Luna. They were perpetually frozen in terror. The windows showed various colourful pictures of the sun, the sea and the land.
The servant ran back into the room with a bottle of water that had the Storm King's face printed on it and an open bag of what appeared to be flat, dry potatoes, also with the Storm King's face on it. Consumed with thirst and hunger, Ardent quickly, and rather messily, devoured the snacks and drank all the water in the bottle. She looked at the Storm King, who was a little surprised by how quickly the refreshments were consumed, and turned away in embarrassment.
"Do forgive me. It has been a while since I have drank or eaten."
"Meh, table manners are overrated anyway. So,what is it that you did that got all these cute little ponies to lock you up, throw the key away and even build a brick wall in front of you? Must have been real bad!"
"I was charged with murdering my beloved and sentenced to ten years in the dungeon. I didn't mean to, though. It was just that my hallucinations got worse and there were these monsters and-"
"Boooooring! I was hoping for something cooler like threatening to blow up the world or something."
"Thou find my pain to be amusing?!"
"Not really. But before I have you chained up to a cart like I did the other guys, could you tell me if you have any special magic powers or anything like that?"
The Storm King's insensitivity was starting to get on Ardent's nerves. Nevertheless, she was willing to tolerate it for the sake of courtesy.
"If thee must know, I was a healer before my imprisonment."
"Ooh, I need one of those! Good thing I got a guy that can help us out here. Jerry!"
Another one of the Storm King's brutish servants entered the throne room. He was hopping on a pair of crutches.
"Jerry here stubbed his toe while rounding up the other cute ponies. Maybe you could, oh I dunno, use your healing magic or something?"
Ardent looked at Jerry. While mending a broken toe is slightly beneath her, it was a nice change of pace from curing ponies and other creatures of the plague. She trotted towards Jerry and focused her magic into his toe. Her magic was a darker aura than it was before and, while Jerry's toe healed, it quickly mutated into something horrific. Jerry roared in agony as the rest of his body transformed into a nightmarish abomination. Ardent stepped back in horror while Storm King looked on in delight.
"Now that's what I call making someone better! Haha!"
"Oh no. This wasn't supposed to happen!
" What wasn't?"
"I was meant to heal him and instead I bestowed my own ailment upon him!"
"And what kind of 'ailment' would that be?"
"The Tenebray Disease. A plague that ravaged Equestria during my time as a healer. How long have I been imprisoned if thou has't no knowledge of this foul malady?!"
"I dunno. Ask your princess over there."
The Storm King pointed to the statue of Celestia. While she wasn't that fond of the princess, Ardent was horrified by the implications that the Storm King turned the previous rulers into stone and usurped them. Is this what she had become now? A monster under the service of a tyrant?
"Your majesty, may I be excused? I require some time to reacquaint myself to the land that has forsaken me."
"Sure, go ahead. Be sure to come back. I need a little monster maker like you. Ooh, 'monster maker'! I like the sound of that."
Ardent made her way towards the door. But before she could open it, the Storm King jumped right next to her with a badge in hand. The badge was black in colour and had a cyan pair of what appeared to be either horns or lightning bolts.
"Just a heads up. You'll probably need this. Thought I'd tell you just in case any of my guys lock you up thinking your a regular schmoe pony that needs enslaving. Ciao!"
Ardent walked across Canterlot. She was surprised at how much it has changed in her absence. Gone were the cottages and the marble buildings with columns for days, instead replaced with tall white houses with purple roofs. The windows and roofs of most of the buildings she saw were damaged and broken, possibly as a result of Equestria's new king laying siege onto the land. There were lines of ponies attached to a long rope and muzzled up, with a handful of the Storm King's forces overseeing them. While she felt bitter about being locked up longer than she should have, it saddened Ardent to know that most of the ponies she encountered didn't deserve to be enslaved. A parchment blew in the wind. Curious, Ardent decided to pick it up. On the parchment was a map that led to a tree supposedly made of crystal. Fascinated by the appearance of the tree, Ardent followed the map.
After a careful trek into the Everfree Forest, Ardent entered the Cave of Harmony. In the centre of the cave was the crystalline tree that she had seen on the map. As she stared in wonder, the tree projected what appeared to be a magical manifestation that resembled Star-Swirl.
"Star-Swirl?" Ardent asked.
The Star-Swirl projection shook its head.
"What art thou?"
"I am the Tree of Harmony. I am using the form of your mentor in order to communicate with you, Ardent Cadenza."
"How doth thee know of my name?"
"I have foreseen your arrival. You wish to be enlightened on the events that have transpired in your absence."
"How long have I been imprisoned for?"
"More than a millennium. Star-Swirl would have come to free you after you have served your sentence but, due to one of his own allies becoming a creature of darkness known as the Pony of Shadows, he, his allies and the corrupted stallion were imprisoned in limbo."
Ardent looked at the tree in shock. She had been imprisoned for far longer than a mortal pony should and yet she is still alive. Her malady must have made her immortal.
"You missed out on many events during your imprisonment" the tree continued "Such as the uprising of Discord and King Sombra, the fall and banishment of Princess Luna and the ascension of one of your own descendants, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza."
The tree projected an image of the princess, and then showed her current petrified form. Ardent remembered seeing the statue in the throne room. She suddenly felt a sting in her heart. She should have been happy that her own flesh and blood lived a full life after her imprisonment and her beloved's departure, long enough to spawn little ponies of his own. And yet, all she felt was anger. She wanted to be happy but all it did was remind her of her own misfortune. In a twisted way, she was almost glad that her descendant got petrified.
"One of my descendants ascended to alicorn status and I didn't?"
"Yes. Most ponies refer to her as Princess Cadence. But she was not the only one to ascend in your absence, as a unicorn she once foalsitted by the name of Twilight Sparkle became the Princess of Friendship and the Element of Magic. She was also a pupil of Princess Celestia and helped redeem Luna with the rest of the Elements. Along the way, they have fought and even recruited many foes to their side."
The tree projected images of the many battles these supposed element bearers have fought and the victories they obtained. Since Star-Swirl, like many ponies back then, were more into action and practical solutions rather than simple negotiations, Ardent was pleased that the ponies wielding the elements have chosen more peaceful solutions to most of their conflicts, even if they sometimes resort to the power of the elements. But that left one question on her mind.
"So, if this sixtet of ponies have saved Equestria time and time again, even bringing salvation to a fallen princess like Luna, where does this leave me?"
The tree gave Ardent a look of sadness.
"While you have done many great things before your imprisonment, I'm sad to say that fate has other plans for you. To spread darkness across the lands is what your true calling in life is."
"What?"
"And then, to purge the Tenebray disease from this world forever, the element bearers will use their power to destroy you. There is no other way."
Ardent turned away and looked at her reflection in one of the many crystals within the cave. The reflection was a corrupted visage of her usual appearance. The whites in her eyes were pitch black and her irises were an unnatural yellow. Across one side of her mouth was a pattern on her face that almost looked like a smile. She gazed at what the crystal showed her in despair, which quickly turned to rage.
"So I'm not the saviour of ponykind, but its sacrificial lamb. Born only to die by the hoof of the heir apparent of somepony who had everything handed to her. That is the fate the gods have chosen to bestow upon me?!"
"Unfortunately so."
"But the element bearers managed to turn a spirit of chaos and disharmony to their side! Surely, they can do the same for me!"
"You saw for yourself what the plague had done to your ability to heal others. The only way for you to do any good now is to lay yourself bare and allow yourself to be sacrificed. I'm sorry, Ardent."
Ardent looked back at the projection of Star-Swirl and, in her newfound rage, blasted at the mirage with all her might. The projection disappeared in a flash of light, leaving Ardent all alone.
Then she saw Future Wonder and Star-Swirl standing behind her. While she knew deep down she was hallucinating again, she now desperately wanted answers from them, even though they were merely illusions.
"Did you two know about this?!" Ardent asked angrily "That I was meant to serve as some sort of sacrifice?!"
She trotted towards the illusion of her deceased lover.
"Did thou keep this from me, Wonder?!"
She then turned towards the Star-Swirl illusion.
"And what about thee, my mentor? Did you know?!"
The illusions disappeared, leaving Ardent alone again.
"ANSWER ME!" Ardent cried out before kneeling onto the floor.
Ardent was left broken by these recent revelations. What has she done to deserve such a grisly fate? What sins did she commit that needed to be atoned for with this act? Did she not suffer enough when she was left to rot in a dungeon for more than a millennium?
In the end, she was nothing more but a prisoner of fate.