//------------------------------// // Chapter 19: Reconnect // Story: Book, Blade, and A Whole Lot of Magic // by Frustaz //------------------------------// I held back no restraint this time. I blasted the doors off their hinges, ripping bolts out of marble walls as I heaved with a volatile mixture of rage, hope, and those damn butterflies in my stomach. Twin orbs of Aeroga and Blizzaga hovered around my hand as I pushed strands of hair back into place, while the nobility, once more, ran in terror. “You have some explaining to do.” Celestia straightened up with a shiver, swallowing hard. “Whatever are you talking about, Illu-” Her voice died in her throat as a shard of elemental ice buried itself into her throne beside her.  I took a few slow steps towards her, slowly reclaiming control of my breathing, that emerald light encapsulating my chest again. I licked my lips as I tempered my eagerness for answers. “Where is Cadenza Mi Amore? Quickly now, you and I have only a few days to the duel, and I don’t think you’ll survive to make it there if you don’t fucking tell me.” The Solar Princess swallowed again. “You simply cannot come in here, making demands of me like this Illua, there are procedures!” Celestia rose to her hooves, glaring down at me. “This must stop, Illua.” Glowing spears appeared at her side, crackling with energy.  I leapt forward, pinning Celestia to her throne with one hand, my arm shaking in restraint as my sword shattered the ice with its own strike, the edge carving into Celestia’s ear. I felt the crackle of her magic spears against my sides. “You can take your procedures and ram them so far up your dusty, mateless heat hole that you might find some sense of real emotion, because your procedures are such a HUGE COCK to deal with that only one with the gravitational pull of the sun could even attract such fucked up methods!” I peered even closer to her. “The only thing holding me back from killing you right this instant in this moment is the fact I don’t want to be covered in your blood when I finally get to see her after 300 years. Where. Is. Cadenza?” I snarled into her face, before the icy grip of Luna’s magic pulled me off of the celestial bitch.  Luna yawned as she walked in, a cup of coffee floating beside her. She deposited me a few feet away, standing between the both of us, her tired gaze moving between the both of us. “Illua, you signed an agreement–” “I signed an agreement to a Duel. I, in no uncertain words, signed anything that wouldn’t allow me to harm Celestia in the interim.” “Not the point. It’s too early for this physically. Cadenza’s in Royal Ambassadors Suite, with her husband Shining Armor. Go down the left hall, take two right turns and then it should be the last door on the left.” The moment I was released, I bolted for the doors, excitement running through my veins like a fire after a cold winter’s night. Ooh, I was not expecting Luna’s intervention.  Neither was I, and frankly, I could not care less at this moment. The fact that, of all the ponies we knew, she’s not only alive, but thriving.  What are you gonna do about that ‘Shining Armor’ fellow though? As long as he’s not going to impede me from reconnecting with Cadenza, then all’s well. Ooh, just reconnecting? Nyx, she’s married now, emotions are in turmoil about that, not a good time to talk about it, perhaps tonight if you can help me lucidly dream with Luna, besides the point. It’s literally just to reconnect and hopefully get caught up before execution day. No, we are not being horny for the hot pink love pony who took our V-card in the midst of a war. My thoughts were rolling in faster than I could process them.   Aw, party pooper. Amidst my mental dialogue with my resident ghost, I slammed headlong into a brick wall of a pony, landing flat on my ass. “Are you alright?” He held out a shaggy hoof to me, causing me to refocus on the world around me. White fur and navy mane greeted my eyes. “Yeah, sorry, lots on my mind, lots of things to take care of..” I took the hoof and stood back up, brushing my skirt back down. “I’m really sorry, but I don’t exactly have a lot of time to talk.” “Oh, that’s fine, If you’re here in the castle, then we’ll see each other in better circumstances.” The unicorn simply walked off with a smile, while I resumed my warpath to the ambassador suite. Celestia slumped in her throne, her hoof going up and touching the cut, bringing blood down with it. “This. This is what I meant, Luna.” Luna stepped forward before her own eyes went wide. “She… She actu.. Oh dear mother.” Celestia nodded before casting her own healing spell, leaving a faint pink scar on her ear. “This is part of why I’m terrified of her, Luna. Unlike every other threat, she can draw blood, and her blade completely ignores the protection granted by the domains.” Celestia brought a cup of tea to her lips, one of the only survivors of the most recent encounter. Luna sniffed, and furrowed her brow. “Chamomile, mint and lavender? Isn’t that what Mother used to drink after Frustaz recommended it for relaxing?” “Yes, and for as much as we can move the heavens, I cannot relax, not especially after what just happened.” Luna sighed, and took the seat next to Celestia. “Well, I have some news, and it’s not entirely pleasant.” Luna poured herself a cup of tea, before the sound of a party popper went off, eliciting rolled eyes from the two pony sisters.  “Do tell, I’d love to know!” Discord had materialized on the other side of Celestia, deeply sunk into a bean bag chair. Luna cleared her throat whilst Celestia downed a freshly poured cup. “Oh come on, you can’t blame me for wanting to know more about the going-ons of your lives, since we aren’t at each other's throats and I’m usually off faffing around the world with a few playful tricks here and there, or spending time with my wonderful Fluttershy.” “Very well… Illua has a lot of…” Luna hummed for a second, trying to find the right words. “Illua’s current actions and instability are a combination of her history as a victim of abuse, disease, and the frailty of a human mind.” Luna took a long sip of her coffee, before letting out a deep sigh. “She’s been removed from her family, treated as a monster, and then told she’s lying to her face when she brings documented evidence upon request, and then effectively exiled once more by someone she once trusted and tried to help.”  The Night Princess’ eyes flicked to Celestia. “Then she was ensnared in stone for a few centuries, and was conscious through the majority of it, with only The Nightmare, now known as Nyx, for company. As I was informed, human minds aren’t meant for centuries of awareness, especially when forced to remain in the same position and forced to watch their enemy not only survive, but thrive and rebuild.” Celestia and Discord glanced at each other, while Luna downed the rest of her drink, before summoning another pot, looking between her cup and the carafe, before tossing the cup. Discord’s eyes glanced at the thrown cup, his brow furrowing in worry. "I really don't think you should be drinking that much, Lulu." Luna completely ignored his comment as she continued. “So, Celly, I really need to ask: After all the anguish you put yourself over sending me to the moon, why would you perform similar actions against somepony who’s not only fighting tooth and claw against their own body to stay alive, who’s lost and alone in a world that actively does not want her? There is literally one other being like her we know of, and he chose to remain asleep until his sister was supposed to arrive nearly 800 years–” Luna’s scathing words dropped off with the weight of realization crushing her like a ton of bricks. "Oh dearest heavens." Discord raised an eyebrow, while Celestia’s eyes widened as the revelation hit her. “Okay, you both know something I don’t, what am I missing?” Luna simply walked out to the balcony behind the throne. Celestia cleared her throat. “There was one other being like her that came to Equestria over a thousand years ago, back when Luna and I were young, and you were one of the dominant forces of the world. He’s long forgotten except by only those scholars with access to the forbidden section of the Library..” “Spit it out Celestia–” “BUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!” the reverberating Royal Voice from the balcony echoed through the castle, filled with fustration and exhaustion. “Ahem. Celestia, speak plainly for once, I love drama, but this is kind of critical.” Discord stood up, banishing his squishy chair. His playful aura was gone, now cupping Celestia’s face. “Tell me.” “His name is Frustaz, we mentioned him earlier, and He spoke of a sickly girl as his sister, and being brought here to find her by some individual he simply called a ‘merchant.’ As per this merchant’s instruction, supposedly his sister was to appear here centuries after he fell asleep.” Celestia said, her horn lighting up and bringing her tea to her lips in a futile attempt to calm herself. Luna returned, her once flowing mane having gone flat.  Discord stepped back and clasped his hands in front of his lips in a gesture of deep concern. “So… You mean to tell me that The Merchant in some twisted manner brought her brother here. He told you that she would appear. But yet, you did not tell Illua, or even attempt to wake Frustaz at any point?” Celestia nodded, wilting under the twin glares. Discord took a slow, deep breath. “The only one here that gets a pass is Luna, because she wasn’t even here. Celestia..." Discord sighed and ran his claw over his tuft of hair. "I’ll let Illua know, since it seems I’m the only one able to comprehend this madness, and might be able to mitigate some of this situation. Go wake him up.” Discord spun on a heel and began to walk out of the throne room. Celestia cringed, and looked away as her mane slowly faded from its prismatic flowing colors to a flat, depressive pink. “Th-there’s an issue with that..” Discord put his hands on his eyes and growled. “If you say you’re incompetent without saying you’re incompetent again, I’m leaving.” “He’s missing.” Discord turned, made a peace sign, and faded from existence, a deep frown marring his face. A note fluttered down from his previous position, with the words scrawled in rainbow text.  I’m disappointed in you. I stood outside the suite, running my fingers through my hair, and futilely trying to flatten out my skirt. My heart was thumping. It’d been 300 years since I’d seen her. God I wonder how much she’s changed, she’s probably taller, she and I were fairly close in age when I was stoned, will- Stop fidgeting and- fuck it, I’ll start this. Nyx forced me to knock.  “Hello? Who is it?” my heart jumped up into my throat as I heard the familiar voice. “You’re welcome to come in.” I grasped the handle, my grip wavering for a moment before I pushed slowly. “You’re not interrupting anything, Shining Armor’s currently getting breakfast for the two of us.”  I let go of the door as I couldn’t stop staring. She had grown. She was a few hands taller than she used to be, having grown from the fairly petite but average sized pony to a taller, slender shape, the years having been oh so kind to her. I swallowed hard.  “You don’t have to just stand there, please come in.” She glanced at me, turned her attention back to her bed making, and then whipped her head back around.  “Hi Cadenza.” I smiled as tears stung at my eyes. “Illua? You’re here?” Cadence’s face flared up with so many mixed emotions, before the tears started and she flew at me, wrapping her hooves around my neck as the emotionally charged words spilled from her lips. “I told you we weren’t ready and needed more preparations, and you still w-went after her and– ” I couldn’t make out more as she began to sob, three centuries of pent up anger, anguish, and heartbreak flowing, all the while stroking her mane. “I’m sorry, Cadenza. I should have listened, I know. We’re both here.” I squeezed her gently around her barrel, just letting her tears stain my shoulder, whilst my own tears had started to flow, as I fought the urge to sob with her. "Y-You know I needed to do something.. A-and I took the first opp-opportunity.." I stopped fighting myself and cried along side her. Eventually, the three of us had gotten control of ourselves enough to allow the very confused Shining Armor into the room, allowing him to set down the married couples breakfast. He quietly poured tea as we attempted to stifle our sniffles. I summoned a mirror, and placed it beside me, to allow my ephemeral duplicate to join us proper. I sat on one side of the low table, while Shining Armor and Cadence sat on the other.  “So.. obviously you know each other, even though I just bumped into you just a little bit ago. Would you… mind explaining? I’ve never seen Cadence like this…” the former guardspony spoke, bringing up some toast to his mouth.  Cadence and I smiled sheepishly. “H-honey, Illua, and by extension Nyx,” she gestured to Nyx in the mirror for her current partner’s context, “used to be my partner a long time ago, and we were separated in a very unfair way.” “Yeah, we used to fuck!” Cadence and I turned bright red, while Nyx simply smirked behind her cup. Shining Armor slammed his hoof into his chest as he nearly choked on a piece of toast. “In all seriousness, the three of us were a herd, while Illua would prefer the term trio. We were intimate, and Cadence was our second-in-command during the revolution.” Shining Armor furrowed his brow, glancing over at Cadence, only to return his attention to us. “I see. Uhm.. You do know that we are the married Emperor and Empress of the Crystal Empire, right?” He emphasized carefully, as if he was drawing a line in the sand. Cadence was still bright red, drawing circles on the couch.  I nodded. “I’m painfully aware, and I'm trying to not let it bother me more than it needs to.” “I’m sorry, Illua.” Cadence apologized, catching looks from all of us.  I booped her snoot. “No.” “But–” “Nope. We were stoned for a few centuries. You had every right to consider us effectively dead and move on.” I took a long draught of my cup, trying to drown the emotion welling up beneath the surface. “Besides, it appears you're immortal, and that’s something we didn’t know, so we bawled our eyes out in Ponyville already.” "Was it at the graveyard? That's something I pushed for after everything was said and done." "Of course, I needed to give my last respects for the friends I once had. Also, thank you for that, the tombstones are being maintained wonderfully." "I'd hope so." "Yeah..." Armor kept bouncing his gaze between each of us, waiting for the lull between Cadenza and I. “So you’re not here to try and take her back?” I gave the white pony a depressed smile. “No... You two are happily married. It's not my place, at least not anymore." I opened my inventory, earning a gasp from the unicorn, retrieving a ceramic jar full of strong-smelling fluid, and pouring myself a cup. "I mean, I'm happy for you, but.. Aside from the emotional processing I have to do, I only just found out that you were alive…” I downed the cup, blanching at the burning taste of alcohol. “Hey Nyx, roughly how long ago?” “I’d say about an hour ago, since our conversation with Luna ended not too long ago.” “Yeah. About that long ago.” "Wait, she didn't tell you anything?" the two royals asked in unison. "Nope, she shot at me, attempted to put me back in stone, and It took Luna visiting me in my dreams a few times to get any information about how things have changed, as well as help from the Elements of Harmony. I have literally been in the dark about your life since I escaped." I smirked a bit as I recognized Cadenza’s body language. The head tilting downward, her jaw tensing, her eyes closed as she slowly took deep breaths. Her hooves twisted ever so slightly in place, grinding against whatever surface they were pressed against. She’s mad as hell.  “Shiny, my love. We need to speak with Auntie dearest, and reiterate the importance of communication regarding her oh so dangerous secret prisoners.” Cadenza stood and began walking to the door in that eeriely calm manner, before her gaze crossed over us. "Coming?" All three of us visibly wilted, and traded a look of understanding. Oh, she’s MAD mad.