Twilight Sparkle awoke to light streaming through her bedside window and the sound of joyful birds frolicking in the branches of the library-tree. Although she was no fan of the shrill blue jays, the overall experience was very relaxing and she was tempted to stay in bed for another hour rather than immediately proceeding to breakfast and then some sort of reading. She offered herself a compromise: She would take a morning shower, which would refresh her and wake Spike more gently than a demand for food, before she did anything else.
She gasped as the warm water hit her coat and feathers. Forcing herself not to overindulge in the pleasurable sensation, she summoned a bottle of shampoo and got to work. She began with her mane, then lathered her wings, taking her time with the undersides of her feathers, just as Rainbow Dash had shown her during her “Pegasus crash course.”
At the time Dash had also made some unwanted, yet predictable, advances towards her. Though Twilight considered it, she ultimately said no as politely and clearly as possible. They parted amicably enough that day, and it turned out to be quite the happy coincidence. The event was one of several in close succession that had both awakened Twilight to her needs and eventually led her to Celestia.
Twilight mused aloud as she rinsed, the shampoo flowing off her body and wings. “I’ll have to thank Rainbow for that at some point. Though I should probably sit down and talk with her about her... commitment issues.” She frowned lightly. “She’s leaving too many ponies with broken hearts.”
Once she finished her shower and dried off she made breakfast for herself, then went to look for her first book of the morning. Maybe something lighter today, she thought to herself. Celestia’s always telling me to take it easy. Actually, everypony tells me to take it easy. She giggled as she entered the library stacks, scanning titles for inspiration as she walked.
She saw Spike standing at the top of the stairs, yawning and rubbing his eyes. “Slow morning?” he asked with a stretch. “Not that I mind.”
Twilight nodded and gave him a friendly smile. “Slow morning. I already got breakfast, so go ahead and sleep in if you want. You were up pretty late helping me last night.”
He grunted assent and nodded back, his exaggerated show of slumping his way back to bed making Twilight chuckle. She continued looking over the books, excited at the prospect of learning something new. Besides, if her morning was any indication, today was going to be another good day.
Her cheery mood lasted until her roving eye fell on the display case holding the Elements of Harmony. Twilight blinked and reflexively counted the necklaces within. “One, two, three, and my crown upstairs is... four... OH NO! SPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIKE!”
“Twilight? What happened?” He came running down the stairs, nearly bumping into her.
“Look!” she exclaimed, pointing at the case. “The Elements of Kindness and Generosity... they’re gone!”
Spike’s eyes widened and he began biting on his nails. “Oh man!” he yelped. “Do you think... Discord’s gone back to being bad?”
Twilight looked at him incredulously. “For the umpteenth time, Spike! The Elements are protected from him by Princess Celestia’s spell!” She frowned. “And I put a really high quality magic alarm on the glass! If it was moved, I would have known, or if it was teleported or phased out by someone else’s magic....” She stopped, her eyes narrowing as she thought. “That means the only possible explanation is that they teleported of their own accord.”
“But how could that happen?” whispered Spike in a tiny, worried voice.
“There’s only one way I know of,” answered Twilight as she frowned furiously at the floor, “and that’s if their Bearers summoned them because...” she trailed off, her eyes coming back up to stare in shock at Spike. “They must be in trouble! Spike, find Applejack and Rainbow and bring them here, stat! I’ll be back in no more than two hours!”
“Yes ma’am!” They bolted out the front door, Spike splitting off to the right towards Sweet Apple Acres while Twilight sprinted quickly to Sugar Cube Corner, muttering her hopes aloud as she ran. “Oh Celestia, please let nothing be wrong. Obviously something is wrong or this wouldn’t be happening, I just hope nothing is really, really wrong!”
Twilight rushed into the bakery and sighed in partial relief when she saw Pinkie behind the counter helping Mr. and Mrs. Cake.
“Oh hey Twilight!” Pinkie Pie chirped, setting some fresh cinnamon rolls on the front counter. “I didn’t think anypony could smell my sweet, hot buns all the way from the library! Want one? Princesses get discounts!”
Twilight shook her head, her expression stern. “Pinkie, your buns smell great, but we have an emergency! It’s life or death!”
Pinkie’s eyes widened and Twilight twitched internally, half-expecting an immediate outburst of surreal antics. To her relief, Pinkie took the phrase “life or death” seriously, and Twilight thought she could actually see the party pony dialing down her usual manic approach.
“Got it!” replied Pinkie with an enthusiastic but very focused nod. “What do we do?”
“You meet up with Spike, AJ, and Rainbow at the library. I’m going to go find Rarity and Fluttershy; I think they’re in trouble. If I’m not back in an hour, have Spike let the Princesses know and then search the boutique and cottage. Understood?”
“You bet!” Pinkie shouted with a salute, hopping over the counter and blasting through the front doors with a velocity that would have earned Rainbow Dash’s approval. Twilight shook her head ruefully, flashed an apologetic grin at the Cakes, and disappeared in a burst of pink magic.
She appeared in the foyer of the Boutique, wincing at the thought of Rarity berating her for popping into the middle of her work. The boutique was silent, though; glancing at the door Twilight saw that the ‘Closed’ sign was hung facing out. She pondered searching the building, then shook her head. No time to play nice Princess, she thought grimly.
Her horn shimmered as she cast a series of spells on the boutique. Her life scan revealed only Opal, fast asleep, though the cat raised her head curiously as Twilight’s attention passed over her. Her scan for sources of magic revealed nothing at all, making it clear that the Elements were not there.
Twilight gnashed her teeth in frustration and prepared to teleport to Fluttershy’s cottage. She didn’t know it as well, though, so rather than risk appearing above the thatched roof she opted to shift to the edge of Fluttershy’s front walkway. With another pink flare she was gone.
With a loud whack, the door to the cottage slammed open to reveal a panting purple alicorn. Rarity and Fluttershy looked up sleepily from where they lay tangled together on the rug. Blinking, they glanced at each other with dreamy smiles, then turned to look at Twilight.
“What’s wrong, darling?” said Rarity slowly, her tired grin faltering as she finally registered how flustered and fearful the librarian appeared. “You look as though something awful has happened!”
Twilight’s gaze raked the room frantically, her horn glowing. “Where are they?” she said sharply as sofa cushions, chairs, and finally even the sofa itself started flying around the room so she could look under and inside them.
“My... my house!” gasped Fluttershy as she watched her favorite vase fly by only to be peered into by Twilight, then set down in a corner with remarkable care given her level of agitation. “What... what is it you’re looking for? Um... maybe we can help?”
The whirling objects shuddered to a stop for a moment as Twilight absorbed what Fluttershy had said. With a grimace of concentration she carefully put everything back approximately where it had been, except for the vase, which stayed where it had been stashed.
“Your Elements! The Elements of Generosity and Kindness! They’re gone from the display case!” Twilight cried as she advanced stiff-legged on the two ponies, her mane disheveled and one eye starting to twitch. “Did you summon them? Are you okay?”
Fluttershy found herself backing away from Twilight, murmuring almost inaudibly that she had no idea what was going on. Rarity stood up and glared at Twilight, her expression stern.
“Twilight Sparkle, would you please calm down and tell us what’s going on?” said Rarity firmly. “We don’t have our Elements; why would we have called them when we were just..." her voice trailed off and she blushed brightly, glancing at Fluttershy with a helpless look.
“You were just WHAT?” shouted Twilight, her mane starting to frizz with barely contained energy.
“Um... we... we were having sex,” whispered Fluttershy, her cheeks crimson.
The room fell silent.
“Wha...” Twilight struggled but couldn’t find any words. With a perplexed expression, she continued, “You two were..."
“Well, us and Amber Dawn,” Rarity clarified with affected casualness.
Twilight’s pupils shrank rapidly and she wobbled on her hooves, the twitch in her eyes now quite pronounced. To Rarity and Fluttershy it looked like she was about to faint. Or possibly explode. Or both.
After a few deep breaths Twilight managed to speak in something approaching a normal tone, though she still sounded strained. “Girls,” she said carefully, showing far too many teeth, “are either of you aware of Amber Dawn’s history?”
Fluttershy and Rarity glanced at each other, then looked back at Twilight uncertainly. “Well, my dear... if I recall, she said earlier that she was going to explain that,” Rarity replied cautiously, “but she didn’t, so I guess Fluttershy here is the only one who knows anything.” Both she and Twilight turned the yellow pegasus.
“She... she told me about herself when she first arrived,” Fluttershy explained, trembling as she realized she was treading on thin ice but not wanting to leave her friends in such distress. “She said she was Princess Celestia’s student about a thousand years ago and invented sex magic to help ponies who were persecuted for their sexual orientation. She became an alicorn, just like you Twilight, but she lost her horn in an accident and had to leave Equestria. She’s been traveling the world ever since--”
“WRONG WRONG WRONG!!!” Twilight shouted, ignoring Fluttershy’s wince at her vehemence. “Amber Dawn did NOT lose her horn in an accident, she lost it when Celestia blew it off with the Elements for leading a bloody civil war to take over Equestria!”
“What?” Rarity and Fluttershy screamed together.
Rarity’s eyes eyes went wide with horror. “The Elements!” she shrieked, her hooves floundering in shock. “I remember now! After we... did the thing... Twilight, there was some very bad magic going on--”
“Oh, let me guess!” Twilight groaned. “First she boosted your libidos, then used a sex-themed spell of transference involving a vocal surrender mechanism. How in Tartarus did you two get into this?”
”Boosted our... but Fluttershy, darling,” Rarity said in confusion, “I seem to recall you saying that Amber Dawn was the confidant that helped you get the courage to approach me?”
Fluttershy’s heart seemed to stop and she reflexively turned away. Rarity was looking bewildered, but Twilight could sense the shame emanating from the shy mare. In a pink flash of magic, she appeared in front of Fluttershy.
“Do you have something to share?” Twilight demanded, her eyes narrowed.
Rarity gasped indignantly. “Twilight! Surely Fluttershy doesn’t have anything to hide! Isn’t that right, my dear?”
Fluttershy turned to Rarity, tears streaming down her cheeks. “Oh Rarity!” she cried. “I’m so sorry... I knew you couldn’t love me any other way... she... I asked her...”
Rarity’s eyes slowly grew wider as all the pieces fell into place. Her face contorted into a rictus of rage, her ears pinned back against her head and her teeth grinding. “Of all the things you could have done,” she snarled, “this really was the worst... possible... thing!”
She raised a trembling hoof and struck Fluttershy across the cheek, staring down her nose at the cringing pegasus. “You insufferable, selfish BITCH!” she screamed, then turned and galloped out of the cottage, her sobs puncturing the air.
Fluttershy looked on as all of her hope, joy, and happiness ran off. Unable to find her breath, her vision fell into darkness as she slumped to the floor.
--
*splash*
Fluttershy sputtered and gasped as she felt ice cold water hit her face. As her eyes snapped into focus, she found the source of her rude awakening: A furious-looking baby dragon.
“Get up,” Spike growled. The pegasus hesitated, frowning at his tone, but Spike was not in the mood to capitulate to anything. “GET UP!” he shouted.
Fluttershy shot up onto her hooves, a cursory look around revealing that she had been brought up to the library bedroom, most likely by Twilight herself. That realization helped her overcome her despair enough to move, and she turned back to Spike, whose glare had deepened.
“I cannot believe this,” the dragon hissed, his features wound up in outrage. “The first pony to date Rarity since I had a crush on her goes and breaks her heart. If you weren’t my friend--”
“Spike?”
“What!”
Part of Fluttershy wanted to be angry; she had been used horribly, and had been convinced to manipulate and betray the mare she loved. But she knew that ultimately it was her responsibility, and she had to own up to it. She looked at Spike and simply let the pain she was feeling show in her stance, her face, the droop of her wings.
“Please,” she said quietly, only barely keeping the tears from flowing, “I... I know I did wrong. I’ll face... whatever I have to.”
The baby dragon swallowed hard, though his anger remained. “Fine,” he grumbled, stalking off. “Everypony is waiting downstairs.”
Despite the cold water on her face and mane, Fluttershy felt herself beginning to sweat. Everypony is waiting, she thought. Well... I certainly deserve whatever comes of this. With her tail drooping and her mane almost covering her face, she headed downstairs to meet her fate.
All of her close friends but Rarity awaited her in the main room of the library. If she hadn’t been so depressed she would have been amazed at the variety of different reactions their expressions conveyed. Twilight was occupying her favorite cushion, distinctly less infuriated than before but still glowering. Applejack was standing next to her, a flat look on her face. Pinkie Pie was obviously conflicted, her features shifting between emotions as she tried desperately to sit still at one of the tables. The most fearsome sight, though, was stalking across the room, her flared wings and deep scowl making it plain she was the most enraged of the mares.
“YOU!” Rainbow Dash yelled at the sight of the yellow pegasus. “What the hay were you thinking?”
Fluttershy said nothing, eyes downcast as tears started rolling down her face. “Answer me!” Rainbow demanded. “How dare you abuse Rarity like that! You claimed that you loved her! Why in Tartarus would you do that?”
“I don’t know,” said Fluttershy, raising her head. She was still crying, but now she was just as angry as Rainbow Dash. As disappointed as she was by her own actions, it seemed grossly unfair that Dash would attack her over this.
“Maybe I’ve got some bad ideas about love,” said Fluttershy in a choked voice that got louder as she continued. “Maybe all I’ve managed to learn is that you do whatever it takes to get laid. After all, the first pony who taught me anything about these things left me the NEXT DAMN DAY!”
Rainbow’s eyes went wide, then narrowed into a dangerous glare. She leaned back into a launch stance, her wings snapping once in warning. “Oh you are not pinning this on me--”
“RAINBOW DASH!”
Four heads turned toward Applejack, who rubbed her forehead with a hoof and sighed. She gave Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash a hard look. “We are all aware that what Fluttershy did was more than a bit wrong,” she said sternly. “But you, Ms. Dash, shoulda known that something like this could happen! Some ponies like a mare that will give ya... a nice tug or a rub, without any romance and all, but there are a lot of ponies that want some real affection.”
“I don’t have time to write up some flippin’ terms and conditions!” Rainbow growled, then paused and turned to Twilight with a quizzical look. “That’s what it’s called, right?”
Twilight raised an impatient eyebrow, huffing her breath out of one nostril. Before she could answer, Rainbow continued her protest. “Look, are we here about my sex life or the fact that Fluttershy made a deal with an exiled alicorn coup-leader?”
Fluttershy’s eyes grew huge, her wings quivering with tension as her anger turned to tears. “B... but I didn’t know that when she...”
“When she what? Magiced your crush into fucking you?”
“DASH!” shouted an exasperated Applejack. “You can’t blame her for what she didn’t know about, even though we now know they’re related!”
Rainbow Dash paused, her cheeks pinking, but she had too much of a head of steam to stop entirely. “Well... you’re related!” she shot back.
“What in Celestia’s name is that supposed to mean?”
“GIRLS!” Twilight shouted. “This is getting us nowhere! Fluttershy!” she addressed the sobbing pegasus. Her expression softened. “I did scanning spells on you and Rarity, so I know what sort of magic was cast. Why did you make a deal with Amber Dawn? I know you were misled about her past, but why would you have her use sex magic on Rarity?”
Fluttershy breathed deeply and closed her eyes. “Because I was lonely and had a crush on her, but she was straight, so there was no way she would love me back, but then Amber said that ponies aren’t entirely straight and that she could make get Rarity in touch with her desire for mares, and it worked, but I was too scared to do anything for her.”
She took another trembling breath and squeezed her eyes shut even tighter. “So Amber said she could make me really horny so it wouldn’t matter, and all she wanted was a threesome, so I said yes and it worked and I wasn’t lonely anymore!”
Pinkie Pie, her eyes streaming, launched herself across the room and enveloped Fluttershy in a hug, not incidentally preventing the pegasus from collapsing completely. She looked at the ponies around her and said in a small, sad voice, “I know she made a bad choice, but..."
Twilight sighed loudly. “Pinkie, your heart is certainly in the right place here,” she grumbled, then looked over at Rainbow Dash. “And we still love Fluttershy, don’t we?” she asked forcefully, earning a grunt and an eyeroll in response.
“However,” Twilight continued, “we can’t just sweep this under the rug. We’ve lost two Elements, a dangerous alicorn dissident is on the loose, and both Fluttershy and Rarity were, to put it bluntly, violated!”
She turned back to Fluttershy, who was wiping her eyes. "Look, Fluttershy... you know we all love you, but it's going to be hard to trust you for a while, so consider yourself on... probation or something.” She held a hoof up to her forehead as Fluttershy nodded sadly. “And I certainly need to consult with Celestia about all this.”
Applejack nodded. “Sounds about right to me... WHOA NELLY!”
The room was suddenly filled with a sickly red light. All five mares galloped to the windows, where a strange and frightening sight awaited them.
“Oh... my....” Fluttershy gasped.
The sun was setting well ahead of its appointed time, and the full moon, glowing blood red, had been raised to the center of the sky. As the ponies raced outside the library for a clearer look they all felt a powerful psychic presence, and a voice rang out, echoing off every surface.
Citizens of Equestria, hear the words of Amber Dawn, Duchess of Los Pegasus, Princess of Lust. Your paradise has, over the last thousand years, been built upon lies and the blood of many hundreds of innocents, while the decadent nobles responsible were pardoned by the tyrant Celestia. Though you are told that you are fortunate to live in an era of tolerance, the underlying culture of bigotry has never been challenged and still stands today!
After ten centuries of exile, I have returned to free ponykind from the oppression of Celestia’s regime. So that you know I make no idle claim I have claimed control of the heavenly bodies on behalf of all ponies, and with their influence I grant you a three day gift of liberated desires. But I am kind and just as well: no foals will be affected, and none will be born of your revelry. In exchange, I command this of you, good ponies of Equestria: Rant, riot, and rut, until the plague of Celestia’s tyranny is ended!
Thus speaks Amber Dawn.
---
With a loud yawn, Discord awoke from his slumber. “Who in Equestria was that voice?” he mumbled to himself, scratching idly under one wing. “Amber Dawn, Amber Dawn... ah yes, Celestia’s student from long ago. I remember her! She caused quite a little stir while I was in that cursed stone prison.”
Stretching out his consciousness, Discord detected a massive, continent-wide disturbance in Equestria’s magical field. “Ooh, this should be interesting!” he exclaimed delightedly. He leapt up from his napping spot in the Canterlot Gardens to get a bird’s eye view of the capital city.
Amber Dawn’s message had been heard and embraced. Mares and stallions, civilians and soldiers, commoners and nobles, were all engaged in protesting, property damage, or some sexual act. Often these activities were combined, as just about everypony was either ransacking buildings while complaining about civil rights or moaning about civil rights while rutting whatever partner they could find.
It was a glorious sight to those mismatched yellow eyes.
Discord summoned a bag of popcorn and a can of soda pop. “This should be very entertaining!” he cackled, taking a hefty bite from the soda can and washing it down with a sip of popcorn.
---
“This is crazy!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed as Ponyville was slowly reduced to a shambles before the eyes of the five mares. Their friends, family, and community... all turned into vandalous, nymphomaniacal thralls by the crimson moon above. One by one as they watched the friends’ ears flattened against their heads and their tails drooped as they absorbed the extent of the chaos.
“She must have used the Elements!” said Twilight, a hoof against her chin. “There is enough magical energy in each one to equal the power of a single Alicorn if you have the capacity and skill to unlock it. She’s effectively tripled her power!”
“Quite right, Princess Twilight.”
The mares spun around to see Amber Dawn, her two-gemmed crown shining in the red moonlight, smiling triumphantly down at them from a nearby rooftop. “The Element of Generosity was quite suitable for usurping control of the heavenly bodies,” Amber chuckled as she glided down to land a few wingspans away. “The Element of Kindness allowed me to project my spell across the continent with the moon as a conduit. Any questions?”
“I have one.” Fluttershy stepped forward, her eyes narrowed in rage. “Are you in the habit of lying and using everypony you come across? Or was it just Rarity and I?”
“You go Fluttershy!” Pinkie cheered, waving a yellow banner with three butterflies on it.
Amber sighed and shook her head, though the smirk did not leave her lips. “Oh Fluttershy, you never bothered to read a history book, so how could you have known not to trust me? And further, you have me to thank for your first experience of love. Your only inconvenience is the loss of your Element, which you willingly surrendered, and a prematurely broken heart, which is the result of your own choice not to be honest with Rarity from the start.”
“You helped her do that in the first place!” shouted Rainbow Dash, earning murmurs of agreement from the others.
“I have done what is necessary to resurrect the civil rights movement,” Amber announced proudly. "You ponies have been living in this carefully controlled paradise your entire lives, and thus have no context for what it took to create!"
“No amount of context gives you the right to destroy that paradise for your personal vendetta!” Twilight retorted incredulously. “And we aren’t going to let you do any more damage!”
Amber’s smiled slyly, her tone mocking. “You are welcome to try and stop me, your highness.”
Twilight’s eyes widened at Amber’s bravado, and she pawed the ground as she squared up her stance. With a flash of her horn the Element of Magic adorned her head, and both lit with purple incandescence as she summoned a roiling ball of raw magic.
Amber’s eyes shone a bit brighter, but her expression did not change as Twilight wrapped the energy of the crown around her own power. Sure that Amber would erect some sort of shield, Twilight hoped the Element would be enough to punch through it.
As Pinkie waved a purple flag with one large star and six small ones, Twilight fired. The bolt raced toward Amber, only to fade into nothing just before it would have struck her face. All five mares gasped in shock, and Twilight saw Amber’s crown shimmering.
Amber chuckled. “The Elements are not about to fight each other, Princess Twilight. You are welcome to try again, though!”
Twilight ground her teeth together and dug her hooves in firmly. She pulled power from her deepest reserves, sweat breaking out on her face as she raised her head to fire again. Amber’s horn hummed and glowed in answer, and Twilight collapsed, screaming as her eyes and ears burned with pain, the magic she had gathered dissipating without effect.
“TWILIGHT!” the other mares cried, rushing over to her.
“I don’t think so!” Amber shouted, and all but Twilight were thrown back by a burst of telekinetic force. She walked up to Twilight and stood over her with a wide, gloating smile.
“Sex magic isn’t my only talent,” Amber laughed as she tossed her red mane. “You, Twilight Sparkle, just got a sample of my anti-horn spell. Did you know that if you modulate your horn frequency to that of another caster, their spell will be canceled? Painfully, as you are realizing right now.”
“Fascinating,” Twilight groaned, then quickly tried to teleport away. The pain returned, lashing through her face and neck, causing her to scream once more.
“Nuh uh uh!” Amber snickered, her horn shimmering again. “I’m sorry, but I already gave you two chances. A third would be... well, a bit too generous.” Her expression darkened. “Now come with me, your highness. We have much to discuss.”
With a brilliant flash of scarlet energy, the two alicorns disappeared. As the burst of light faded, the four shocked mares who remained found themselves alone in a town full of the panting and screaming of lunatic ponies.
---
Far off in the Crystal Castle, under the blood red moon, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza found herself assaulted by a unicorn of the Canterlot Royal Guard contingent. With a grunt and a kick she knocked the stallion off of her and onto the stone floor. She grimaced in sympathy, but the delirious pony had tried to mount her from behind, and was still hard even as he lay groaning on the floor.
Before Cadance could catch her breath she heard one of her maids, an earth pony from Canterlot, galloping at her while panting heavily with lust. With a sharp cry she spun and kicked her in the gut just as Shining had taught her. The maid gasped and slumped over Cadance’s leg, her eyes rolling back into her head as she slid to the ground. The previously felled unicorn stirred and looked at up her avidly, prompting Cadance to deliver a kick to his head that knocked him out. Finally she had a moment to orient herself, confused by the attacks in spite of Amber’s broadcast.
A minute later three more maids, this time Crystal Ponies, galloped into the room. Cadance reflexively assumed a battle stance, but eased up when she saw that they lacked the insane look the ponies from her Canterlot detachment had possessed. “Your Majesty!” a blond-maned mare exclaimed. “Are you all right?”
Cadance sighed. “I’m fine, Hearth Fire. Where is my hus... Prince Shining Armor?”
“His highness was engaged in conflict with Sir Flash last we saw him. He appeared to be winning quite handily--”
“Cadance!” A white unicorn in Captain’s armor limped into the throne room.
“Shining!” the princess rejoiced, embracing Shining Armor gently. “Are you okay?”
He nodded weakly, wincing as he curled a wounded foreleg against his chest. “I had to be really rough with Flash Sentry. That stallion is buff!”
“The Crystal Ponies outside,” asked Cadance, “were they reacting to that psychic command?”
Shining Armor shook his head. “Not at all! Do you think--?”
“The Crystal Heart,” she agreed with a proud nod. “This Amber Dawn’s spell is a large area of effect magic, not like King Sombra’s localized auras of fear and hatred. The Heart must be protecting the Crystal Ponies from the moon’s energies.”
“I doubt it will protect the rest of Equestria though,” Shining pondered out loud. “From my understanding, the love and light from the Heart is only a local effect which dissipates quickly in areas outside of the Empire.”
“I concur.” Cadance glanced southward, her expression grim. “I need to get to Canterlot. The Royal Sisters will need all the help they can get.” She looked at Shining with a mix of remorse and steely resolve in her eyes. “I hate to leave you here, but you must hold the kingdom alone. I’m going to teleport right now!”
Shing’s strong hoof settled gently onto her shoulder. “Canterlot is a long way away, honey,” he said gently. “Teleporting there would take too much energy... sort of defeating the whole purpose of going.”
“But I can’t take a train!” Cadance protested. “It would take too long, and the operators are probably having sex right now!”
“I know honey,” the unicorn said with a nod. “I’m going to teleport you there myself!”
Cadance’s face went slack with shock, then lit up in a tearful smile of gratitude. “You are the best husband in the world, you know that?”
Shining Armor rubbed his muzzle on hers. “I do my best. Now, stand back just a bit.”
Cadance complied, giving him an affirmative nod. Shining Armor’s horn ignited with an intense light, and a pink glow surrounded her. Cadance braced herself; she had never found teleportation to be particularly enjoyable on her own and had never had it done by anypony else.
Her eyes flew open as she felt the magic take hold with a warm tingle she had never felt before, except when.... With an joyful expression she turned to see Shining Armor staring at her, his own eyes as wide as his smile. Just before she was whisked away she saw him raise a hoof, and his voice slipped lightly into her mind: “I love you!”
In a flash Cadance was gone, leaving behind only a single tear that fell to the ground where she had stood.