//------------------------------// // Episode 134: A King's Judgment // Story: Equestria Girls: Friendship Souls // by thatguyvex //------------------------------// Episode 134: A King’s Judgement King Sombra said nothing, not a single word while Twilight went over the events that transpired at Camp Everfree. She spared no detail, not even her involvement with Adagio’s vassals in the mission to free Ember from the Soul Reaper’s hidden field lab, or the nature of the brief alliance she’d struck up with Starswirl after the conclusion of their battle. Sombra had given her leave to make her own call on field decisions and had already known about the plan to free Ember as part of the deal for Adagio acting as an informant on Las Noches, and the only one present who wasn’t a prisoner who didn’t know about any of this was Filthy Rich. Much to Filthy Rich’s credit, while the shock of what he was hearing was clear in his eyes, he had the self control to keep his own peace while Twilight was making her report. Likely he was smart enough to surmise that the lack of surprise on Sombra’s face indicated that the Quincy King already knew the details of what Twilight had planned to do and had authorized it. Whether Filthy Rich agreed with it was another matter, but there was a shrewdness in his eyes that said that the man who’d already accepted fighting along a Soul Reaper could also grasp there were probably valid reasons his King would permit the newest Sternritter to also collaborate with the Arrancar. Gladmane and Spoiled Rich looked far less accepting of the matter, but the sick looks on their faces might have also had a lot more to do with the fear of their upcoming fates rather than anything Twilight was saying. The last thing Twilight covered was the negotiations that had occurred after the battles were done, including the suggestion Discord had made concerning an invitation for “peace talks” with the Captain Commander of the Soul Reapers.  Once she was done she remained upon one knee, waiting for Sombra’s response.  Seconds slipped by slowly like dollops of cement sliding down a wall. Sombra carefully clasped his hands behind his back, his dark red eyes making a series of calculating flicks around the assembled group as his black brow furrowed. For a time the crackling licks of flames from the fireplace was the only sound in the room to accompany the panicked breathing from Spoiled Rich and the shorter, quiet breaths of the rest. “Peace talks...” Sombra finally said, his voice filling the room with its rich presence, “After all this time? Ah, but it isn’t Scorpan who has asked for it, but this man, Discord. I know of him, but have not the pleasure of meeting him. I only know the reputation, and some of the experiments he created in the Twelfth Division. Hmm... I’ll shelve that until later, Twilight. If Scorpan even accepts, I might entertain the notion, but we’ve more pressing business.” The room darkened. No, to say such would suggest a dimming of the light. What happened was that the walls bled darkness, the floor grew to pitch black like a night sky absent of stars. Sombra’s reiatsu choked the room with a sick feeling of oppressive fury, and for a second Twilight felt a moment of stark naked terror as she saw in Sombra the wrathful King that had caused many of the Quincy to fear and revere him as their only true ruler. This wrath was not directed at her, however, but at those prisoners arrayed behind her.  Spoiled Rich made a sound that Twilight didn’t even think a dying animal could make, and Glademane, for all his affected poise, turned pale as death as his eyes went wide with unmasked fear. Only Sapphire Shores remained unaffected, an almost blank look of patient bliss on her face, so utterly filled with Cadence’s Lust that unless Cadence commanded it, nothing could truly sink in. Sombra’s voice was dark ice cracking like a whip, “Many are the things I will forgive among my subordinates. Failures can be redeemed. Foolishness can be educated. Overreaching ambition can be curbed. Inexperience trained away. But treason!? Betrayal!? And for what!?” His stabbing gaze hit upon Glademane, “Greed and envy of a family with more status than your own?” That frozen look turned upon Spoiled Rich, who curled in upon herself, “For mere lust and idiotic laziness?” But then that look moved to Sapphire, and raw pain joined the fury in his eyes, “But worst of all... oh Sapphire, how could you have been so utterly blind? The gift I gave you was such a precious thing, and I knew how proud of it you were, for it came from me and that made you cherish it so. You, above so many, I have trusted for so long to be among those I could call not merely a servant, but a friend. Was it I who was blind, even more than you, to not see what you might use your gift for behind my back? And to think that Twilight Sparkle, of all people, was a threat to me? Even if I believed it, nothing wounds deeper than knowing you didn’t trust me enough to tell me what you saw. Now, with Cadence’s power flowing through you, I hesitate to trust any answer you’d give me on just how often you’ve done such things without my knowledge.” Cadence very hesitantly cleared her throat and said, “My King, while the Lust might twist her perceptions to do whatever it takes to please me, I can still order her to explain her motivations in full. She would still provide truthful answers, I believe.” At Cadence’s voice Sapphire shuddered, as if just hearing Cadence’s words were a balm to her, and her eyes lit up as she quickly spoke, “Oh if it will make you happy, Cadence, I’ll tell Sombra everything! Just tell me if that is what you want.” Sombra sucked in a deep breath, running a hand over his face, “I know I gave you your Schrift, Cadence, and I know its capabilities, but... to see her like this is painful. Even I didn’t know the true strength of the Lust. Sometimes the powers we Quincy bear is a horrifying thing, if only we could only exclusively use them upon our enemies. Damn it all, I have to hear it. I have to know why. These ones,” he made a disgusted gesture at Gladmane and Spoiled Rich, “Have easy if banal enough motivations to understand, but Sapphire Shores I wish to have clarity upon before rendering judgment.” “If I may,” Twilight said, drawing Sombra’s attention, “I understand your anger, but I request that before you make any judgments, upon Sapphire or anyone else, that you speak to all three, and listen to counsel on what judgment should be given.” A momentary look of bemusement tinted his otherwise darkly angered eyes, but Sombra gave the briefest of nods, “As you were the victim of this plot I’ll consider your council, but do not mistake me, Twilight. The actions of these three is treason by any measure, and I am not in my most merciful of moods. I’ll indulge in hearing what little of value the lesser two of this plot have to say, but only after I hear from Sapphire Shore’s own lips why she became the ringleader of this plot to steal your life. Cadence... give the command.” “As you wish, my King,” Cadence replied, rising and turning to Sapphire Shores. Twilight could see the way Cadence’s face was held in a stiff mask concealing her own unease, along with the way she kept her hands in tight fists at her side.  She’s afraid, Twilight thought, Of Sombra. Even if it isn’t her being judged, just being near him when he’s like this... It was clear on the faces and body language of all present. Spoiled Rich’s bloodshot eyes, and the way she curled in on herself. Glademane’s sweat coated features and pallid skin. Filthy Rich seeking to look at no one, least of all his wife, as he kept his gaze fixed like steel upon the floor in front of him. They were all afraid of their King’s wrath, and Twilight didn’t blame them. She felt it too, and had a sinking sensation in her chest as Cadence gave Sapphire Shores the command to explain her motivations in full, for Twilight sensed there was a truth here even she hadn’t quite heard. She had her suspicions, based on what Sapphire had said, but it felt as if Sapphire had omitted details as well, and Twilight felt a stab of fear at what those details might be. Not to mention how Sombra would react to them.  When Sapphire Shores began to speak it was with a confused reverence struggling to manifest in her features and voice, as if the feelings she had for Sombra were so ingrained in her that they warred with even the potency of Cadence’s Lust. Love for her King and Savior clawing to be heard under the deep fog of artificial love from the Schrift tinted her voice with a hoarse pain. “I wanted to kill Twilight Sparkle because I believed that she would be the one who would end your life, Sombra. The gift you gave me showed me such visions within the tides of reishi interactions that I thought I could see the future, plain as sunlight glinting off the river. I killed many because of such visions.” Sombra’s eyes twitched, “How many?” “Answer him truthfully, Sapphire, anything he asks,” Cadence encouraged, gulping, and Sapphire nodded haltingly.  “One hundred and twenty two. I kept count, over the years. Each was someone who I foresaw would take actions that would harm you, or the Quincy as a whole. So I eliminated them. Sometimes with assistance, as with my attempt on Twilight Sparkle, other times on my own. Always kept secret from you, to ensure you would not be burdened by knowledge or guilt.” A soft grunt escaped Sombra, like someone had punched him in the gut, but he shook it off instantly and said, “You hid your actions well, considering I never suspected... Well, let’s focus on Twilight. Precisely how did you know she would supposedly kill me? I know that your visions are not entirely accurate at all times, hence why I’ve only ever considered them an asset in terms of an advisory role, not absolute gospel.” “I held more faith in them than you, Sombra, for they never failed me in the past,” Sapphire said, her silver face trembling with erratic tics, “Never so much as with Twilight Sparkle and Radiant Hope.” That second name struck both Twilight and Sombra like a cold slap of ice water. Twilight had guessed Radiant Hope was involved in Sapphire’s actions but had not known precisely how or why other than Twilight’s tie to her as a partial reincarnation. Sombra’s dark visage recovered from it’s shock and a rumble of thunder came from deep in his throat, “What does my wife have to do with this?” Sapphire Shores couldn’t comprehend his anger, as if the Lust deflected any awareness of it, but the confusion from her own twisted emotions still left her hesitating before answering, “Radiant Hope... I was so wrong about her. I loved her and hated her for all she was to you. Loved? But I love Cadence-” “Focus, Sapphire,” Cadence said, “For me; answer the King’s question.” “Yes, mistress, of course. Radiant Hope was the source of the trouble. The vision of Sombra’s death came from her.” “Impossible!” Sombra blurted, “You’re target was Twilight Sparkle, and she was not born until centuries after my Radiant Hope was stolen from me by the Soul Reapers! Are you trying to tell me that the mere portion of Radiant Hope’s soul that dwells within Twilight Sparkle triggered your visions?” “No. Not Radiant Hope’s soul. Her child’s.” If the previous words had been a cold splash of water, this was like a sudden dip in the depths of the arctic. Sombra turned into a frozen pillar of stunned silence, while Twilight felt her mouth open in numb shock. Child? Radiant Hope’s child!? But wouldn’t that also mean-? “You speak the truth,” Sombra’s voice was hollowed out, but filling in with denial and pain like a trench floods with water under a rainy deluge, “How can you be speaking the truth? Radiant Hope was... with child?” “Yes,” Sapphire Shores confirmed, “It was that which triggered my vision. An heir to the Quincy throne would be born, I saw, and this heir would lead to the end of the Quincy King. I saw that line of reishi terminate so clearly. I felt so sure. So certain that I did nothing when Radiant Hope’s life was endangered.” Sombra actually stepped back, one hand floundering to grasp the edge of the parlor’s table to steady himself. For all his great power, there was nothing shielding him from the words he was hearing, and it was obvious they were landing like hammer blows. Even the power in his voice ebbed to that of a man grasping to understand what he was hearing, “Why didn’t she tell me? Wait, endangered? You knew Radiant was in danger that day!?” “I foresaw it. I knew she would die on that day without assistance. The threads of reishi made it so clear, when I visited her at the hospital. I didn’t have to do anything. I just had to leave and be on my way, and wait for things to take their course. No one would know. My visions come and go, so none could question why I didn’t see, although I did. I didn’t want her or the child to die, because I knew it would hurt you, but I thought they had to die, in order for you to live.” Everyone else in the room was aghast. It was clear that neither Glademane or Spoiled Rich had been told any of this, because their faces bore absolute shock as plain as anyone else in the room. Cadence looked nearly sick, her hand unconsciously going to rest over her stomach.  Twilight only looked a smidgen less shocked because somewhere in the depths of her logical mind she’d already started to put a picture like this somewhat together, based upon some of the rambling things Sapphire had said during the battle. The truth was right there, now, and one last piece needed to be fit into the whole picture.  Sombra’s pained shock gave way to a murderous scowl, “My wife... my wife! You could have saved her, and left her to die! I held her very soul in my hands, felt it rip from me when the Soul Reapers took her! That was all because of you!?” His sword of condensed reishi was in his hands and he took one mountainous step towards her, death in his eyes. Twilight was between him and Sapphire Shores in an eyeblink, hands held out. “Wait!” “For what!? Sapphire Shores has confessed to crimes beyond even the attempt on your life! I will have justice for my wife! My child!” “But why did she target me?” Twilight said, “Think, Sombra! What does Radiant Hope’s death and Sapphire’s prediction about your child have to do with me!?” He blinked. The fury remained, but Twilight saw his mind working things through, and in a very quiet voice he slightly lowered his blade and asked, “Sapphire... what happened to my child’s soul?” Sapphire Shores looked at Twilight, and nodded, “She stands before you. That was why I targeted her. The heir who would end her father, or so I thought.” Sombra stood transfixed, his eyes slowly turning to Twilight as they drained of fury and were replaced with dumbfounded shock and a mute, struggling spark of recognition. His mouth worked mutely for a second, and his sword lowered further until it fell from his hand and vanished into reishi particles around him. Twilight was only marginally less surprised at Sapphire’s confirmation, having only just worked it all out herself. She saw Sombra piece it together in his head, and for the first time she saw a bleak moisture waver in his eyes as he raised a hand towards her. “My child? My and Radiant’s...?” He almost touched her face, came within centimeters of caressing her cheek, before Twilight raised her own hand and touched his wristed gently to halt him. She tried to keep her voice level, almost analytical, but it was hard, “If what she says  is true, then along with that piece of Radiant Hope’s soul, I also ended up with the unborn child’s in me.” “The base,” Sapphire said, “The child’s soul would be the base, with Radiant Hope’s fragment layered atop.” “Is that possible?” Cadence said, eyes like wide, crystal pools as she looked between Twilight and Sombra, “How could we have not known?” “A soul so small and fragile,” Sombra whispered, still staring at Twilight as if she was a star and he was just discovering the night sky, “I’d never have felt it, even if it had entered me before reincarnation. And if it was still attached to Radiant’s soul, it’s even less likely I’d have sensed there was another present. Twilight, I...” “But, what does this make her?” asked Filthy Rich in a flabbergasted voice. Before anyone else could answer for her, Twilight felt a sudden urge, a need, to make something clear herself, “It makes me nothing different from who I am. I’m Night Light and Twilight Velvet’s daughter. By blood, and by rearing. By coincidence I have a stranger soul than most, but that doesn’t change anything. Does it, Sombra?” It felt cruel to put that question to him right now of all times, but nothing would get done if they spent too long in shock over these revelations. Twilight felt like she was reeling over a precipice, yes, and the feeling had to be that much worse for Sombra, but whatever the truth was she wanted to affirm that in her eyes she had only one father and mother. She could see the struggle in Sombra’s own eyes, and the hard waver in his voice as he forced himself to speak calmly, “Yes... yes you are right. Among Quincy, whose souls reincarnate within our own ranks, no man or woman can claim blood relation to a soul that reincarnates outside their own family. That law... must apply to all equally, including the King. My daughter’s soul you may bear, but I cannot claim you as my own.” It hurt him to say that. She heard the rough edged pain in his voice as he said the words, the slow manner of his speech making each word feel as if it was being dragged out of him. This wasn’t going to be the end of the matter, she knew. The way he was looking at her, with a new depth of intensity, told Twilight that she and Sombra were going to need both time and more than these few words to sort this matter out. Twilight even agreed that they would need a longer talk about this, but at the same time she had to affirm to herself who she thought of as her parents. A twist of spiritual fate didn’t change who she was. However, she also heard Midnight’s voice mutter inside her head. ”Makes you wonder just how many souls make up ‘us’. Maybe it isn’t ‘you’ who’s Sombra’s lost kid, but...” Twilight flinched slightly at the words, ”Midnight, what are you thinking?” She felt her other self huff out a laugh, ”Don’t worry about it. Still got to see what the ‘King’ here decides to do about what he’s heard. I’m still smelling an execution coming.” There certainly was still an unmistakable aura of barely constrained violence and rage bubbling beneath the surface of Sombra’s features. The darkness in the room had hardly abated, and now that he was faced with one heart wrenching revelation after another that darkness had taken on an unstable quality. Tendrils of shadow were wavering up in the air, as if eager to grasp at the flesh of the three conspirators, and the heat of wrath was rekindling in Sombra’s eyes as he looked to them once more. “So this makes your crimes even worse, doesn’t it? It isn’t simply the daughter of my most trusted General and his wife that you sought to destroy, but the reborn soul of your King’s own line. Sapphire Shores, no matter how convinced you were of the danger to me, nothing justifies what you have done. This is beyond anything I can forgive.” Sapphire Shores’ expression of confused conflict briefly gave way to a moment of clarity as she nodded, “Forgiveness was never in my mind. I did what I did knowing the cost, both then and now. I regret your pain, and I regret failing, but not the desire to protect you, although now I can only seek to serve Cadence as my mistress. If she demands my death at your hands, I’ll not resist.” “Sombra, wait,” Twilight said, and he gave her a sharp look. “I admit I’ve come to value your advice and thoughts, Twilight Sparkle, but do not presume to stand between me and delivering justice for my wife’s death!” “She didn’t kill Radiant Hope. She may not have saved her, but that’s not the same thing as killing her with her own hands,” Twilight said, not moving from between Sombra and Sapphire, not that her positioning would make that much difference if Sombra decided to take action. With his Absolute he had control of the space within the room. Twilight’s Variable might have been able to interfere with it to a degree, but not if Sombra got remotely serious.  “A split hair that means little to me,” he replied with growing impatience, “I do not have the one who struck Radiant down in my grasp, but I do have the one responsible for my being unable to reach my wife in time to save her. Give me a single reason worthy of sparing her life.” “The Quintessence.” “What of it?” Twilight sucked in a breath and stepped closer to Sombra, looking up into his eyes with her own even glare. Inside she was terrified, but she’d long since grown used to controlling her fear. She confronted the storm before her unflinchingly.  “You can’t control what shape a Schrift takes upon granting it to another. The Q will become something else entirely in the hands of another. Sapphire Shores has committed crimes, yes, and she will be punished for them, but consider that she already has lost her freedom both physically and mentally due to Cadence’s own Schrift. She has no life to look forward to aside serving Cadence faithfully until death. Keep her in that service, and retain the power the Quintessence represents. We have enemies, Sombra, who will not care about her crimes, but will likely be quite happy to hear the Quincy have lost one of their most powerful Sternritter. Let her atone, even if only a little, for the wrongs she has committed by living out her days still serving our cause. Taking her life will do nothing to ease your pain, the suffering she caused you or me, and only weaken the Quincy as a whole. So please, I’m asking you to spare her.” He looked utterly soured by her words, perhaps because he was actually thinking them through and not allowing his anger to override his impulses. And the pain in his eyes had not faded. If anything her words only seemed to injure him more as he looked at her and closed his eyes with a heavy sigh, “Now I know why you remind me of Radiant so much... speaking with the same restraint and level head... you inherited so much from her.”  “Sombra...” “Enough!” he said, “You’ve made your point! Sapphire Shores is already dead, effectively. Her body still breaths, her soul trapped in flesh, while her mind remains locked by chains tighter than any prison I could condemn her to rot in! So be it, she shall live, such as it can be called ‘living’. Cadence, she is in your charge now, from now until she dies in your service. Be certain to make good use of her.” Cadence paled slightly, but saluted promptly, “As you command, my King.” “Now,” Sombra said, “What of you two, I wonder?” He turned his attention to Gladmane and Spoiled Rich, who both shrunk back from his gaze. Sombra chuckled darkly, “My humor is most absent at the moment, and if my wrath is not to be vented upon Sapphire Shores, for she is if nothing else still useful... what then should stay my hand from two who are far less useful to me?” “Sombra-” Twilight began but he raised a hand towards her and held up a finger. “Shh. You asked that I hear them out. I shall do so. But that is all. Now then, speak, traitors.” Spoiled Rich beat Glademane to the proverbial punch, all but plastering herself to the floor and speaking in a bawling tone of barely coherent stammers, “I-I-I beg mercy, my King! I was f-forced to help Gladmane! He... he told me if I didn’t help him that he’d k-kill my daughter!” Gladmane’s eyes turned towards her in disbelief, “That’s an utter lie! I’d never hurt Diamond Tiara. She’s my blood, after all! I only went after Twilight Sparkle because it was a good chance to weaken Night Light’s family standing and open up opportunities for my own.” “That’s your defense?” Sombra asked, incredulous, and Gladmane, despite the fear of sweat on his face, held his head up and nodded. “My King, you’ve never done anything other than encourage competition between the Quincy families. Take the feud between the Hooffields and McColts! You’ve known that fight’s been brewing for generations, but you never once tried to step in. Why? Because fighting and struggling between us is what’s kept the Quincy strong. Each family vies for power, wealth, prestige, and that’s been the case since forever! I grew up as a little boy hearing stories from my father’s knee about how our family rose up from common stock to become among the best, and we did it by knocking down our competition one after another. Only families stronger than mine were Rich’s here, and Night Light’s. Then the little prodigy here shows up, and I thought to myself that was a little too much talent in one family. So when Sapphire came to me about her little plot, I jumped at it, especially considering Sapphire offered to use her Quintessence to help my family grow even stronger. Far too good an opportunity to pass up.” “Hmph, and what of this... woman?” Sombra asked, gesturing at Spoiled Rich. Gladmane shrugged. “Didn’t even intend Spoiled to get involved. Me nailing her on the side was unrelated to any of this, but damn if the woman, when she caught wind of what me and Sapphire were up to along with Hoity Toity, she felt like she was helping out.” “N-no I didn’t, I was forced!” Spoiled shouted.  “The hell you were!” Gladmane snarled, “Ticked me off royal when you nearly screwed the pooch when you went after the kid in the damn Silburn itself! Hoity and me barely covered up your tracks after that! You should’ve stayed out of it, Spoiled.” His anger gave way to a moment of actual regret as he went on, “If you’d just stayed out of it, you’d have been fine. Filthy wouldn’t have found out a damn thing. Now look at us. I tossed the dice and lost the game. I can accept that. You? You shouldn’t have even been at the table in the first place. Pfft, my own fault, I guess. Should’ve cut you loose after you popped Diamond out, but I just couldn’t say no to you.” Spoiled Rich’s mouth quivered and she looked tearfully at her husband, “Filthy, please, say something. I... I don’t want to leave Diamond Tiara by herself.” Her words raked at him, from the way Filthy Rich shuddered, and he didn’t look back at her, but instead looked at Sombra with dull eyes, “My King, my I ask a boon of you, as a loyal Sternritter who has served you faithfully for many years?” Sombra looked back, gave the smallest of nods, “Ask, Sternritter M.” Filthy Rich took a halting breath, steadying himself, “I ask that I be allowed to divorce my wife, but in so doing I also ask that you allow her to live. Strip her of rank, title, and privilege. I don’t even want her in the Strafbattalion. I ask this not for myself, but for my daughter. I want my Diamond Tiara to still be able to see her mother, even if I can no longer view Spoiled as my wife. Grant me this, and I shall ever remain your loyal subject, to the end of my days.” While Spoiled Rich was stunned to silence, Sombra only took a moment to consider the request before nodding again, “Your request is granted. Spoiled Rich, as King, I officially annul your marriage to Filthy Rich, and strip you of the rank of first-class soldat of the Quincy Vandenreich. You are cast out, and forbidden the use of any Quincy power in your new life as a civilian.” Spoiled simply... sat there, sagging with glassy eyes, like one drained of life as she looked at her shaking hands. Gladmane said nothing, lips tight. Then Sombra turned to him. The two stared at each other for a long few seconds. To Gladmane’s credit, he did hold Sombra’s gaze, if only through profuse sweat dripping down his face as he awaited judgment. Sombra let out a tired, ragged sigh. “Oh do stop sweating, damn you! If I was going to take your head off, I’d have done it by now. Ambition is one thing, but your actions are beyond any grace I’ve granted ambitious fools in the past, even the Hooffields and McColts. Unlike Spoiled, you still have use in the Strafbattalion, but no longer as Sternritter W. I’ll find a more worthy recipient for that Schrift. I strip you of your rank and family titles, and be glad that is all I take. Serve in the Strafbattalion with something approaching honor, and you might regain favor... but don’t count on it.” “I, uh, appreciate the whole keeping my head thing.” “The less you talk from now on, the more likely that remains the case,” Sombra said with an utter dearth of humor in his voice, “So silence may serve you best now. Also, considering I have no intention of being gentle in the removal of your Schrift, it is a tad early to count your blessings, Gladmane.” That caused Gladmane to swiftly shut his mouth and turn into a silent statue. Sombra’s form began to glint with an outline of strange, ethereal light that broke out from the shadows that normally clung to him. Twilight felt his spiritual pressure intensify. “What are you doing?” she asked nervously, but Cadence touched her arm, drawing Twilight’s attention. Cadence’s face was grave. “The Auswahlen,” Cadence whispered, “You remember receiving your Schrift. You saw it then, in part.” Twilight did recall that when Sombra had given her the V Schrift that an unusually bright light had flowed from him and into her, shaping the ‘V’ symbol and infusing it to her soul. She had been curious about it but hadn’t pressed Sombra for details. Gladmane’s reaction to the light seemed wholly different than seemed warranted. Before she could ask further questions, however, the light stabbed forth from Sombra in an arcing pillar, flowing up and then crashing down upon Gladmane. This was nothing like the gentle wafting of light that Twilight had experienced when she’d been granted her Schrift. This was a violent, storm-like blurr of searing light that hurt her eyes. The spiritual pressure of it was sharp and tearing, like a cutting wind. She heard Gladmane scream, and saw him standing transfixed in the light. It was over nearly as fast as it began, the light snapping back towards Sombra while ripping forth a torrent of light in the vague shape of a ‘W’ from Gladmane’s chest. Gladmane himself was left standing with seared flesh across the left half of his body, the stink of it filling the room. Filthy Rich looked as if he was forcing himself to look anywhere other than at Gladmane, while Spoiled Rich barely stirred from her near catatonic state. Gladmane was still alive, but he collapsed in a twitching pile of pained moaning. Sombra, eyes flat, said, “How fortunate for you to have survived that. Others have not shared such luck in the past. Cadence, I’m entrusting you with the incarceration of the prisoners until they can be moved. Filthy Rich, given circumstances I’m providing you with a leave of absence so you can make arrangements for yourself and your daughter.” Filthy Rich let out a ragged sigh as he saluted, “Yes, thank you, my King.” He strode out as fast as etiquette allowed him, not sparing so much as a glance towards his former wife or friend. Cadence composed herself and said, “With my King’s permission I’ll take them to be held in the east wing’s guest rooms, and tend to Gladmane’s injuries. Sapphire Shores will guard them.” “Very well,” Sombra said, and paused, raising an eyebrow as Twilight cleared her throat, “Yes, Twilight, is there something else?” “Actually, several things,” Twilight said, glancing briefly at Gladmane, “Although if he needs treatment first...” Sombra waved a hand, “He survived the Auswahlen. The burns won’t kill him. For awhile, at least.” Twilight grimaced, then quickly shook her head, “Then I’ll make this quick. There’s a few loose ends that need dealing with before we wrap this up. First and most importantly, Sapphire Shores, I need to know what you and Hoity Toity did with my friend Sour Sweet.” At Cadence’s nod, Sapphire looked at Twilight and said, “She is alive and being kept at my estate, in the chapel’s attic. I can disable the wards keeping her there if you like.” “When exactly did Hoity Toity replace her?” Twilight asked.  “Not long after the battle at Las Noches, while the majority of your circle of friends were recovering in the hospital wing.” Twilight nodded, “Alright, you said you no longer believe I’ll be responsible for Sombra’s death. What changed? What do you see, precisely, now?” “My perspective changed,” Sapphire said, eyes now glued to Sombra, “I saw an end to the King. That has not changed. I still see your presence in his life ending his reign as King. However, I no longer believe that means he will die. He will simply no longer be King.” “How is that possible?” asked Cadence, “He can’t simply cease being our King.” Deep lines of thought etched Sombra’s face as he leaned back on the table, arms crossed, “That is enough for now. We shall see to freeing young Sour Sweet from captivity as soon as possible. Cadence, see to getting a message to Night Light and Shining Armor. We will meet with them at the Silburn by tomorrow evening. Also, get some rest. A woman in your condition should not push herself too hard.” Of course the note concerning Cadence’s pregnancy had come up during the recounting of events, although Sombra had made no comment on it until now. Cadence blushed slightly but saluted, “I shall. Come Sapphire, let’s get these two situated.” Sapphire responded by all but picking up Gladmane and Spoiled Rich herself to haul out of the room, readily obeying Cadence’s commands. Before Cadence left she gave a questioning look back at Twilight and Sombra. “Twilight and I have other matters to discuss,” Sombra said simply, to which Cadence gave a reluctant half-bow and left the parlor with Sapphire and the prisoners in tow. That left Twilight and Sombra standing awkwardly in the darkened parlor. Slowly, with a partially embarrassed look on his face, Sombra consciously withdrew the shadows that had seeped from him and siffused the parlor until they merged back with his own form. Silence passed in slow, heavy seconds between the pair, neither seeming able to conjure words to cut through the wall between them. Finally, Sombra said, “Aren’t you going to ask me about the Auswahlen?” Twilight flinched slightly, awkwardly adjusting her glasses, “After seeing it twice now, I think I can form a hypothesis on the basics. It appears to be an extension of the way you take in Quincy souls, only applied directly to Schrifts and it’s the mechanism by which those powers are both granted and taken from individual Quincy.” “A dry way of putting the ability to both elevate or spiritually eviscerate my subjects,” Sombra said with a hint of bitter irony, shaking his head, “I’ve even used it as a means of execution in the past. I went easy on Gladmane when extracting his Schrift. Had I not been, a charred skeleton might be smoking in the center of this parlor right now. I doubt Night Light would appreciate the new decor.” “Sombra,” Twilight started to admonish, but he quickly went on. “Which is why I must thank you.” “For what?” she asked, taken slightly aback. “If you hadn’t been here, those three traitors would be dead. And... you’re right, killing them would change nothing, and cost the Quincy more than we’ve already lost. So again, thank you for staying my hand.” “You really would have killed them?” Twilight said quietly. Sombra’s eyes closed, his lips pulling back in a snarl of residual anger as his fists tightened. “Most assuredly. I still want to, in part. Gladmane is right that I encourage competition among the Quincy families, but he damned well knows that casual assassination is not a part of that, and I’d have lost no sleep over removing his head from his shoulders! Spoiled Rich... I only spared her for the sake of Filthy and his daughter. He still loves her. I can see it. He was right to divorce her here and now before she could whisper enough excuses in his ear to win him back. This way the hard break will help him get clarity, and hopefully the daughter will come to understand why this all happened. But yes, a child shouldn’t lose their mother so early in life, even if that mother is a damned bit...” he glanced at Twilight and coughed away the word he was about to say. Twilight glanced away, “I should thank you, too, for listening to me. For a second I wasn’t sure if you were going to.” “Don’t think I wasn’t sorely tempted. Especially with Sapphire...” Sombra swallowed, taking in and letting out an unsteady breath as he looked at his hands, “I still can’t believe she did all of this. To you. To Radiant Hope. And all for me. Out of simple fear for me. God... how did I not see it coming? All those years.” “You were close to her?” Twilight asked with a hint of caution. “I saved her life when she was just a child,” Sombra said, “And even then I saw in her eyes the way she worshiped me for it. At the time I thought it an endearing trait, something like hero worship. I never guessed it went deeper. That she’d be envious of Radiant like that. I trusted Sapphire Shores, Twilight. She was such a diligent, hard working girl, who earned her place at my right hand. When she earned her Schrift, and it blossomed into such a power, I was proud of her almost like I would have been for a sister. I had utter confidence in her, never doubting her loyalty. How blind was I?” “That’s not blindness, Sombra, that’s just trust,” Twilight said, coming over to rest by leaning on the table next to him, looking up into his pained features with understanding eyes, “It’s nothing you should feel ashamed of. It’s not your fault that she took advantage of that trust. I don’t even think she realized she was hurting you instead of protecting you. Believe me, after what me and my family have been through, I know a bit about trust issues.” “Hmph, but the problem is that my trust issues lead to many people dying, Twilight,” Sombra said bitterly, “People I am honor bound as King to protect. Sapphire killed so many without telling me a thing! All to ‘protect’ me and the Quincy. What good was my trust in her if she didn’t trust me in turn!? And... and because of that I lost Radiant. Radiant and...” He looked at her and then sharply looked away. She was silent for a moment, then carefully laid her hand atop of his. “I’m truly sorry, Sombra. I don’t even know what to say. It’s... hard to process.” “That is certainly one way of putting it. ‘Hard to process’...” he let out a short, bitter bark of a laugh before looking back at her, “Do you know how long I’ve dreamed of the days Radiant Hope and I lost? How I’ve often thought of what our lives together would have been if she’d survived? What... our children would have been like?” Twilight had nothing she could say to that. She tried to think of something, but her mind simply ground to an emotion choked halt and she found herself mutely shaking her head at him. Sombra smiled in a small, ghostly manner, and let her hand fall away from his. “Just a dream, of course. I meant what I said. Even the King is not above the law. I have no claim over you. That is one reason I am having Cadence summon Night Light and Shining Armor. Your father and brother deserve the truth, and to know that I will not interfere with your family. You are Night Light’s daughter, through and through. Even if you remind me so much of Radiant that it hurts.” “Am I really that much like her?” “Not in all ways, but in enough ways that would have made me proud to call you my daughter. She would have felt the same, I’m sure.” With those words silence descended over them once again. Several thoughts hitched in Twilight’s mind, first among them... “Sombra, about what Sapphire said, about me somehow causing you to cease being King-” “Nothing that bears thinking about for now,” he said abruptly, standing up and taking a few strides away from the table. “But what does that mean?” Twilight tried to ask, but he just shook his head at her and put back on his enigmatic smile, hiding his emotions once more. “None can truly know the future, Twilight, not even Sapphire Shores. Whatever may come of us, I prefer we not dwell on matters we have no way of accurately predicting. That is what caused all this trouble, Sapphire worrying over the future instead of being willing to simply face it. Let’s not repeat her mistakes, shall we?” He offered her a hand, “Besides, we have work to do. I need to hear your report on your field research, including the effectiveness of your ‘M-Cells’. Not to mention I wish to examine Soarin’s condition and determine if there’s anything more we can do for him than leave him in petrified stasis. Then I’d like to go about finding two new recipients for the X and W Schrifts. I don’t suppose you have any candidates in mind?” Twilight looked at his hand, and after a moment managed a small smile of her own as she took it, “As it happens, I might have a few suggestions.” ---------- Cadence let out a long held sigh of built up anxiety and stress, resting her head on the cold hallway wall for a moment. Soarin had been placed carefully in one of Twilight’s labs, which seemed to Cadence to be the safest place for the poor man for now. She sincerely hoped he could be saved, as she was grateful for how he’d gone so far to protect Twilight. Time alone would tell, she supposed. As for the prisoners, she’d seen to giving Gladmane some basic medical treatment before leaving him and Spoiled Rich under Sapphire Shore’s guard in what was now a heavily warded guest room. Thankfully Night Light and Twilight Velvet had spared few expenses in the building of their manor home, including anticipating the need of a ‘guest room’ that would function more like a jail cell. She wasn’t worried about the prisoners escaping. Sapphire Shores’ was effectively under her permanent control, and far as Cadence could discern neither prisoner had the heart to try and escape anyway. Gladmane was half conscious from nearly being fried by the Auswahlen, and Spoiled Rich... well, just Spoiled now, hadn’t said or word or hardly blinked since her sentencing. Cadence almost felt for the clearly broken woman. Not that Cadence’s sympathy ran very far. Spoiled had tried to kill Twilight, after all. Mostly Cadence’s heart went out to Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara, especially the young girl. To have to face so much at such a young age. Cadence didn’t envy Filthy’s position of having to not only explain the truth of Diamond Tiara’s heritage, both as a Quincy and as someone else’s biological daughter, but deal with the ramifications of the divorce. She, in some ways, understood Filthy’s choice to keep Diamond Tiara in the dark, but as much as he may have wanted his daughter to experience a normal life, not telling her the truth created an even larger problem. Cadence knew that now from her own experience with Twilight. And, resting her hand once more on her stomach, Cadence resolved not to make the same mistake with her and Shining’s child. It still hit her with a hard shock, just thinking about it. She and Shining were going to be parents. It was both a wonderful and terrifying feeling. She loved Shining Armor with every ounce of her soul, and a part of her was overjoyed to be able to bring a new life into the world with him, but... what kind of world were they bringing that child into? It was hammered into every Quincy’s mind that having large families was not just a blessing, but a duty for the survival of humanity. In that sense, she could almost understand Spoiled Rich’s actions, seeking a child by any means necessary. Cadence even wondered if part of the reason she and Shining had risked sleeping with each other that night before the attack on Las Noches had less to do with Cadence’s ‘safe day’ and more because neither of them had any problems with the consequences. She knew Shining would be thrilled to find out he was going to be a father, so there was no fear there. She was just afraid of what future her child was going to have. She wished Twilight Velvet were still alive, so she could talk to the older woman about this. Ask for advice, or just spill her thoughts to.  “You don’t look well.” Cadence looked up to see Filthy Rich standing in the hallway. He looked terrible, with a redness under his eyes that said the man had been shedding tears of his own, even if those eyes were dry now.  “I’m fine,” she said, taking another deep breath and straightening herself, “It’s been... a rough day.” A phantom quirk of a dead smile touched Filthy’s lips, “I didn’t realize you had such a gift for understatement. Congratulations, by the way. I don’t doubt  you and Shining Armor will make as fine a pair of parents as you make a lovely couple.” There was no sarcasm in his voice, just a genuine note of politeness over a deeper, pained note of envy. Cadence saw his eyes flick towards the door where Gladmane and Spoiled were kept, and the flash of deeper pain there. She cleared her throat, “Thank you. And... I’m sorry, for everything that’s happened to you.” “Hmph, hardly something you need to apologize for,” he said, still staring at the door for a long moment before shaking his head, “I still don’t know what I’m going to tell Diamond. The truth, I know, but I have no notion of how to explain all this. Why I and her mother won’t be together anymore. Or who... her father is.” “You are,” Cadence said, surprised at her own heated conviction, “You are her father, Filthy Rich, no matter what the biology of it all is! And she’s going to need you, now more than ever.”  “You’re right, of course. I know you are,” he replied quietly, “I love my little girl so much, and there’s nothing I wouldn’t do for her. I just don’t know how to get her through this when I’m barely holding on myself.” He ran a hand over his face, trying to wipe away fresh tears forming in his eyes, “It’s embarrassing to admit this to a fellow Sternritter, or anyone for that matter, but I have to get this sorted out and it seems you’re the one here, Cadence.” “It’s alright, believe it or not I don’t mind being a sounding board, Filthy Rich, and after all the help you’ve given me and Twilight today you’ve more than earned whatever you need from me,” Cadence said, moving to lean against the wall next to him, “So say whatever you need to.” He let out a short noise that wasn’t really a laugh by any definition of the term as he stood in front of her, head down. She’d seen soldiers after a battle, laying in a medical tent who looked less battered and beaten.  “You know, when I first met Spoiled, I knew exactly what she was like, right off the bat. She was self-centered, conceited, utterly full of herself, and wasn’t precisely the brightest bulb, either,” Filthy said, laughing under his breath, “But God did I fall for her anyway. She had this smile, so devilishly enticing and full of life. Like she knew how drop dead gorgeous she was and didn’t care who it pissed off. And out of all the men she could have had, she looked at me with that smile, and those burning, hungry eyes, and never looked at anyone else. She was a loudmouth, hard to please bitch, but... dammit she was mine and I loved her entirely.” Cadence waited, able to tell he wasn’t done as he sucked in a breath and let it out past clenched teeth as he began to pace, “And it was good for so long, too. Being married to her was a daily challenge, but the rewards were nights I could never forget and a feeling in my heart so light and right I thought I could die any day for our King as a happy, fulfilled man. But she wanted children. We both did, of course. And when one didn’t come, I refused to even acknowledge the possibility it might be my fault. I just assumed we were unlucky. I didn’t see how much it was digging at her, month after month of trying with no results. Then... then finally we had Diamond Tiara. I was so desperate to feel vindicated that I never thought to question why, after so long of trying, it finally just... worked.” “There was no way to know,” Cadence said, “But more importantly, she should have come to you, both her and Gladmane. It’s not unheard of among the Quincy.” “I know that!” Filthy said with fresh heat in his voice, “But it’s still a stigma. To openly admit I’m not capable of having a child with my own wife! That I needed another man to do it for me! Even if it’s not ‘unheard of’, it’s a social stigma that would’ve hung over me and Diamond Tiara for the rest of our lives. If it comes out now, it still will, Cadence. Diamond won’t be treated as an equal by other children her age, because her ‘daddy’ was cuckolded and she’s a bastard child.” Cadence’s eyes narrowed slightly, “In the past, it might have been bad, but today only the idiots and more narrow minded of the families would encourage that kind of stigma. Diamond Tiara will be just fine. Any bullies she runs into will be few and far between, and given what I’ve seen of Silver Spoon, Diamond is not going to lack for friends.” “I... yes, you’re probably right,” Filthy Rich’s anger deflated, or at least turned more inward, “I just wish I’d had the courage to confront Spoiled before it got this bad. Or I’d been strong enough to admit my fault earlier and find a surrogate donor for us before she felt the need to go behind my back. I know it’s still her fault for making the choice to hide it, and it also doesn’t have any bearing on her crime to help the plot against Twilight Sparkle, but I can’t help but think I could have prevented it coming to this. Divorcing her is the right choice, but it still hurts. I still...” “You still love her.” “Yes. God help me, I can’t take her back, but I don’t think I’ll ever stop caring about her, or missing that damn, devilish smile.”  “Filthy, you’ve made the best choices you can under the circumstances. Spoiled isn’t dead, and is in all likelihood going to live out her days in a very boring exile from Quincy society. There’s wounds here between you two that might never heal, but if there’s one thing I think I can say you and her will still have in common it’s that you both love your daughter. Focus on that, for now. Focus on Diamond Tiara. She’ll need you to teach her about the Quincy, and to still be a father to her. And she’ll need Spoiled as well, to still be her mother. So let that be the place you put your energies towards. You’re no longer husband and wife, but you’re both Diamond Tiara’s parents.” At her words, Filthy looked over at her. It took a few seconds for him to absorb what she said, but she saw a faint half-smirk form before he said, “You’re remarkably wise for someone still so young. Shining Armor is a very, very lucky man.” “He certainly is,” Cadence agreed with a momentary grin of self confidence, although it didn’t last long. The weight of the day still lay heavy upon her shoulders, and the recent revelations concerning Twilight pressed hard on Cadence’s mind. As if her troubled thoughts were written upon her face for all to read, Filthy Rich gained a more serious, controlled look on his weary face. “Although His Majesty hasn’t ordered it, I think it best we keep mum on what Sapphire Shores divulged,” he said, and Cadence blinked at him, then quickly nodded. “Agreed. Night Light and Shining should know, but it shouldn’t pass further without His Majesty's say. I don’t even know what to make of it all.” “I can’t imagine what our King must be thinking right now,” Filthy said, “As a father, the idea of having lost Diamond before she was born, only to find her soul again later... I’d be having trouble keeping my emotions in check. His Majesty seemed to at least handle it well.” “I’m not so sure he is,” Cadence said, thinking back to the entire event, “From what I was seeing, he was barely holding himself in check. I’m even more worried about Twilight. After what she’s gone through she didn’t need something like this dropped in her lap.” “She is a remarkable girl,” Filthy noted, “And I think we’re now starting to see part of why that is. I’ll be honest, Cadence, I was unsure of her at first. She seemed to me like she might not be able to handle herself or the hefty responsibilities being put upon her. I certainly know other Sternritter have been muttering over His Majesty favoring her too much.” Cadence looked ready to give a sharp retort but Filthy quickly went on, “That said, I have no doubts about her now. She helped save my daughter’s life. She led us to victory against one of the most powerful Sternritter in the Quincy’s history. She... convinced His Majesty to spare Spoiled’s life. As far as I’m concerned, Cadence, if Twilight Sparkle requires any favor of me, she has it. I will certainly stand behind her, if any other Sternritter speak more openly against her. On this you have my word of honor as a Quincy.” For a Quincy, such oaths were not spoken lightly, and Cadence felt a need to return them, placing her hand over her heart as she said, “I accept your word, Filthy, and give it back in turn. Anything you and Diamond Tiara need moving forward, any help or friendship I can give, I give it back gladly. On my word of honor as a Quincy.” He silently smiled and placed his hand over his heart as well, the mutual oath sealed between them. Despite the burdens on her shoulders, Cadence felt a bit lighter. The dangers lying ahead, the no doubt fierce battles that awaited in the future, she felt more assured that she and those she cared for may yet make it through them. Twilight, whether she knew it or not, was forging an alliance behind her, and slowly bringing ripples of change that might shake the Quincy, but also perhaps one day lead to a better future. She had influence with Sombra, and the power to confront those who might seek to end her, and was able to inspire loyalty in those she met.  And with the notion of peace talks on the horizon, something that hadn’t been breathed between the Quincy in their foes for generations... Cadence had reason to hope that the world she brought her and Shining’s child into may be a bright one indeed.