//------------------------------//
// Prisoner of Love 
// Story: The Return of the King 
// by MisterEdd 
//------------------------------//

The pink mare in the reflection of the crystalline armrest stared back at Princess Cadence, peering closely at her and scrunching up her muzzle. Nope, her eyes remained their normal shade of purple and her mouth had a lack of fangs, much to her own relief. Her examination by both Princesses Celestia and Luna determined that the awakening of her dormant half-umbrum side had to have been activated by an intense burst of dark magic, namely the energy given off by Sombra's resurrection. Umbrums were natural receptacles for dark magic and Cadence, being a half-breed, had unintentionally repressed her capacity to wield the unholy art. Thus, when her dark magic side was opened, she was unaccustomed to it and nearly lost control as a result. 

Royal physicians and conjurers worked tirelessly to help Cadence restrain and ultimately gain control through a mix of spells and meditative techniques. She could now call upon her reserves of dark magic without risk of falling victim to the temptations, not that she'd ever want to use dark magic now or in the foreseeable future. Just briefly transforming into "Princess Persephone" to trick Sombra was terrifying enough so she would only use dark magic in a true life-or-death emergency. In a strange way, using dark magic made Cadence feel closer to Sombra, connecting her to him only she could as his blood relative and a small part of her reveled in the display of her newfound power. As a princess, however, her obligation was to Equestria and not to herself.    

"Message from Canterlot, Your Majesty."

Cadence's head snapped down from her throne to gaze at the grayish-blue crystal pony.

"Thank you, Zirconic," she beamed, her cornflower blue aura encapsulating the scroll and bringing it hovering over to her. She waited until Zirconic had left before breaking the seal and unrolling it, interested in whatever news came from the capitol. 


Dearest Cadence, 

It has been far too long since you and I have had a moment for just the two of us, with our respective royal duties necessitating our attention. If you are not too busy, then I would be elated to have lunch with you here at the castle. I know things have been tense to say the least but I hope to see you again soon.

Love, as always,

Auntie Celestia


Cadence perused the letter again. Everything seemed...off. The calligraphy, though penned in Celestia's usual flowing style, was a tad jagged in places, almost as if she were digging in too hard with the quill. Then there was the general aura of the parchment. Thanks, as it turned out, to her half-umbrum heritage, Cadence could not only detect the emotions of other living beings, but could actually experience the emotions of objects they'd recently come into contact with. The letter was soaked in anger, sorrow, envy, guilt and heartache, enough to make the pink alicorn's head spin.    

"...Things have been tense..."

Following Sombra's second return, the past few months had Cadence feeling more stressed and conflicted than anything else in her life preceding this. Discovering that one of Equestria's worst villains was your biological father would've been terrible enough and would've filled an entire book with how earth-shattering such a revelation it was. But then it turns out that Princess Celestia, Cadence's supposed aunt, the one whom she trusted and depended on since her teenage years, was actually her biological mother and had been lying to her since the very beginning. How can anyone in her position expect to go back to their normal life after this? Just because Cadence had forgiven Celestia for her deception didn't mean that she'd forgotten it either. 

Still…

As both the co-ruler of the Crystal Empire and the Princess of Love, Cadence was expected to show kindness and affection towards everypony, setting a positive example for her subjects to follow. Regardless of any feelings of consternation, she had a duty as both a princess and a daughter to be there for her "aunt" in her time of need. Besides, how often had Celestia come to her aid? This was the same Celestia that came charging in to rescue her when she was being held captive by Sombra, despite being out of her element and magically outmatched by the dark lord. If that wasn't a show of love, Cadence didn't know what was.   


~*~


"Right this way, Your Highness," the pegasus royal guard stated respectfully, leading the young alicorn down the sprawling corridors of Canterlot Castle. Not that she needed it. During her princess training, Cadence had come to live in the castle and spent many hours exploring it, dedicating every nook and cranny of the old structure to memory. Nevertheless, she appreciated the act, even if it under Celestia's orders and followed the pegasus to the royal dining hall. 

Enormous double doors swung open, revealing light purple walls, white marble columns, and checkerboard black and white tile floors. Even after all these years, the room remained the same. Celestia was something of a stickler to change, referring to herself as a "traditionalist" and favored keeping the castle's décor as it had been since even before her reign. Still, at least she allowed minute alterations to accommodate Luna's return,     

On the right side of the long table, Celestia turned in her seat and grinned.

"Hello Cadence! Come and join me." She then looked down at the royal guard. "Thank you, Gallant True. You are dismissed." 

The pegasus bowed reverently, stating, "Yes, Your Highness," before turning and shutting the doors behind him.    

Cadence slowly took her seat. Even without her empathic abilities, she could tell that Celestia's motherly smile was forced. Sure, she her joy at seeing her secret daughter was genuine but it was tinged with an undercurrent of anxiety and uncertainty. There was also strong love bubbling up inside the older mare, love that was not reserved for Cadence, that much was clear.  

"So, erm, how-how are you?" 

Celestia's smile wavered and she sighed. "To be honest, terrible. I'm..." She paused, twirling a hoof in the air. Finally, she stammered, "I'm still in l-love with S-Sombra."  

Silence briefly overtook the room. Cadence forked an eyebrow. "Is that all?" 

The white alicorn's jaw dropped. "You...you know?" 

"Well, I am the Princess of Love. I knew before you did." 

"O-oh, well, now do you see the problem?"  

Scratching her chin, Cadence ruminated on this. The last time that she'd seen either Celestia or Sombra was back in Sombra's room after his second run-in with those corrupted guards. Despite the circumstances, it was actually a nice moment given that this was the first time that she was in a room with her birth parents without them trying to kill each other. She read their emotions, shockingly detecting long-buried but not forgotten love within Celestia. Sombra, on the other hoof, was radiating a swirl of emotions that nearly knocked Cadence on her flank: anger, regret, vengeance, a smidgen of conflicted affection. But no love, at least, not active. 

There were traces of love still in Sombra's heart for Celestia but it was more for the mare she used to be rather than she was now. He still cared for her, but that was it. His love was now reserved for another instead, a certain purple sister-in-law of Cadence's. That was a confounding issue for another day. For now, she had to deliver the news to her mother as gently as possible. 

"Celestia, the thing is, Sombra doesn't...he doesn't love you."     

Looking off to the side, Celestia tapped a hoof atop the tabletop. She took in several breaths before meeting Cadence's gaze again. "But...he could...right? Sombra could love me again, right?" 

It killed Cadence to dash the hope in those pink eyes but it had to be done. "No, he's...in love with somepony else. I'm so sorry."    

Celestia gazed down at her hooves. "It's Twilight, isn't it?" When Cadence failed to answer, she nodded bitterly. "I knew it. Thank you, Cadence, for your honesty." 

Cadence made her way to the other side of the table and wrapped Celestia in a tight embrace, petting her head with a wing like the sun-princess used to do for her when she was younger. Numbly, Celestia returned the gesture, burying her face into her chest. Small gasps exited Celestia's mouth, her chest heaving in rhythm with her sobs. As much as Cadence enjoyed her position, helping ponies to find their mates, it was feeling the heartbreak of somepony else that sometimes made her regret being the Princess of Love.  


~*~


At that moment, time didn't matter to Celestia, neither did the cold or the dark as she remained standing motionless inside the dungeon cell. Nearly two hours had passed and she'd not moved a muscle as she loomed over the sleeping stallion. He was still so handsome and despite everything that'd passed between them, her heart still ached for him. She remembered the night that Sombra had called for a truce under the condition that Celestia enter the Crystal Empire alone. Once there, they met atop the castle's tallest spire and after a heated argument, they fought a brief battle before giving into their passion. It was there and under the light of the pale moon that they united as one, resulting in not only Cadence's conception but her own eternal love for the dark king. 

Red eyes slowly opened and Celestia stiffened, hoping that their owner would fall back to sleep. 

"What is it with mares watching me sleep?" 

Well, so much for that. "H-hello Sombra. Sleep well?" 

Sombra shifted into a reclining position. "What are you doing here, Celestia?" 

Even with being a foot taller and standing, the mare somehow fell much smaller than her prisoner, who continued to glare at her with annoyed contempt. 

"I was wondering..."

Sombra rolled a fetlock impatiently. "Yessssssss?"  

Celestia stamped a hoof down. "You said that you never stopped loving me. Was that a lie?"

The umbrum's expression softened somewhat, clearly not expecting this inquiry. He contemplated this for a few minutes before replying, "It wasn't. I was being completely honest. I still love you, Celestia but I'm not in love with you. Things have changed between us." 

"So," Celestia gulped, "You're moving on. Just like that?"

Sombra stared perplexingly at her. "Why not? You did. I was gone for a millennium and I know you've had several husbands and many children during that time." 

"That was different!" Celestia roared. "I was lonely. Do you think I wanted to send you away, to just meet other stallions and love them, all the while remembering what I did to you?" 

"I was lonely too," Sombra replied coolly. "What, did you think that'd I would just run back to you? I wanted a connection and I found it."

"With Twilight?" Celestia's rage vanished, replaced instead with hurt. "Why did you choose her?"

Taking a cue from her, Sombra calmly stared up at Celestia. "She talked to me. You never tried to ask questions or get to know me as I am. Twilight offered me what you never did: friendship." 

Celestia hung her head low. "Sombra-..." She started, reaching a hoof out to him.

"It's over, Celestia. Our time is done. Accept it."  

The offered hoof dropped uselessly to Celestia's side, her mind reeling from those nine simple yet destructive words. She sniffled as the tears started to streak down her alabaster face. 

"As you wish...Sombra."