//------------------------------//
// Episode VI: Tremolo 
// Story: The Rhythm Of The Dance 
// by BlackRoseRaven 
//------------------------------//

Episode VI: Tremolo
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence slowly opened her eyes, blinking quietly before she sat carefully up with a groan. But it wasn't pain so much as just... pure exhaustion. There were a few dull aches still, and her neck felt like it had a hell of a cramp in it, but mostly her body just felt... heavy, and her head didn't seem to want to lift. But maybe that was because her brain hadn't turned on yet and it just felt like a big metal weight.
She shook herself out briefly, then took a slow breath before doing her best to raise her head and study her surroundings. She was in bed, although the covers were all askew and her pillow was on the floor, which meant she'd been flailing around a lot in her sleep... but she recognized the room at least. And waking up in bed was a lot better than waking up on the floor or... well... not at all.
She shivered a little, reaching up to touch her neck as she glanced up... and her eyes caught in the large mirror mounted on the dresser across from the foot of the bed, the pink mare mouthing wordlessly before she awkwardly crawled forwards over her blankets, shaking her head weakly as she only continued to stare helplessly at... what she had become.
Her mane, her wings, her tail, her hooves... they had all turned ivory. She almost tumbled off the edge of the bed in her disbelief before managing to catch herself and stumbling awkwardly towards the dresser, grimacing a bit at how weak she felt before she caught the edge of it and leaned closer to the mirror, as if she could spot some detail in her reflection that wasn't really there, as if she could make this all just go back to normal, or wish it away like a dream, or...
“You're awake.” said a quiet voice, and Cadence glanced dumbly over her shoulder to see General Archon leaning in the ajar door, one hoof on the handle, his expression as calm as ever. And yet he looked nervous, too, as he carefully slipped inside and then gently closed the door behind himself, striding towards her as he said softly: “You'll be pleased to know that a barrier has been erected around the tower. Furthermore, I have soldiers on crisscrossing patrol paths. Pegasi keeping to the air, earth ponies on the ground all led by a unicorn officer. There are no vulnerabilities.”
“There's always a vulnerability. Your words, not mine.” Cadence murmured, even as she turned her eyes back to the mirror, silently drawing a hoof through her mane... a mane that had become straight and... ghostly. It almost floated, yet had lost all its curl, perhaps even its texture... it almost glowed, but it was lifeless. “What happened to me?”
“We don't know.” Archon said simply, and Cadence frowned uneasily over at him before the old unicorn shook his head and approached, looking over her slowly as he asked quietly: “How are you feeling, Princess Cadence? Pain, aches, fever?”
“No, no... thank you, Archon, but I'm just... tired.” Cadence murmured, even if she was a little surprised by what seemed like a hint of honest concern in his voice, that he wasn't acting purely as an officer gathering statistics. She looked at him uncomfortably for a few moments, then shook her head briefly before once more drawing her eyes back to the mirror: she just couldn't look away. She looked so... so strange. And she felt so tired and so...
Something was missing inside of her. Something had broken open, some power had burst out of her, changed her, transformed her... but it had also made this hole in her ache all the deeper. This emptiness, this... hollowness... “I... Archon, I drove Pain away, right?”
“You did. With magic like I've never seen before.” Archon reached up and calmly touched the side of her neck, and then he shook his head slowly and muttered: “Not so much as a bruise. You've been unconscious for more than a day, but that's all it was... tiredness. All your wounds have healed... maybe 'vanished' is a better word, it's like they were never there at all...”
Cadence looked uncomfortably at General Archon, who looked back at her almost grimly before he shook his head slowly and instead asked almost abruptly: “Pain said that those killed by her will also become the Brokenhearted. Is this true?”
“Impossible. She's lost her mind. You can't trust anything she says. She... she doesn't even know what she's doing anymore, Archon. She's lashing out...” Cadence stopped, shaking her head slowly and closing her eyes. “But her ultimate goal is to kill me, and to kill Sombra. She'll keep working towards that goal because it's the only thing that gives her any sense of being, even Brokenhearted. The closest she can get to happiness will come through... hurting us.”
General Archon nodded slowly as Cadence shivered a bit, then she took a slow breath and forced herself to stand up. It made her ache a little when she moved, but... it was a good kind of ache. It helped her feel more in tune with her body, like her muscles were starting to wake up and the tiredness weighing her down was beginning to lift.
The old unicorn studied her as Cadence looked back at him, and then she gave a brief smile before reaching up and rubbing absently at her neck in a nervous gesture, muttering: “I'm fine, Archon. I'm not... I'm not a Brokenhearted, if that's what you think.”
“I never said you were.” Archon replied evenly, and then he sighed softly and sat back, hesitating before saying finally: “But something happened to you, Princess Cadence, that none of us can explain. Some of my soldiers are cheering you as some sort of savior. Others are terrified of what it meant, that you came back from apparent death and drove off Pain so easily.”
“It wasn't easy. I'm not sure I could summon up that strength again, either... it... something was boosting me. The Crystal Heart...” Cadence reached up, uncertainly rubbing at her forehead before she said quietly: “It's a relic made by... my father. The last thing he did before the darkness consumed him and turned him into Sombra. Made with old magic...”
General Archon scowled a little, but then he only gestured at her to go on, and Cadence gave a brief smile before asking finally: “So do you believe me?”
“I've seen stranger things in these last few days, I suppose.” Archon replied quietly, shaking his head briefly before he sighed a little and glanced towards the doors. “Shining Armor has his concerns about that, by the way. He has... several concerns, as a matter of fact. And I have concerns of my own regarding him and his... friend.”
“Miss Take is still here?” Cadence asked curiously, looking up and feeling... funny. There was only a hint of jealousy: most of it was honest curiosity. And then she frowned a bit as she looked around the room, realizing... “So Shining... hasn't been to see me?”
“No, he's been in and out. He's helping the Changeling recuperate as well. Her injuries were extremely severe.” General Archon replied candidly, and Cadence nodded slowly, frowning a bit.
But her next question seemed almost to catch Archon by surprise, as she asked: “Is she okay? Can you take me to see her?”
“First tell me about the Crystal Heart.” Archon said calmly, and Cadence nodded a little before grimacing and reaching up to brush her mane quickly out of her eyes. Yes, this was going to get annoying quickly.
“It was made to erase the corruption in the land and keep out the Brokenhearted... a lot of the damage Sombra did was repaired by the Crystal Ponies while they were in the ether, but there was still... contamination, so to speak. But much of that was destroyed by my powers, while I shielded this little nation from this tower; the rest of it was wiped out when we put the Crystal Heart in place.” Cadence stopped, then looked down and silently rubbed a hoof along the floor, sighing softly. “He wanted to save them, General Archon... I guess... my father was a little like you. He saved them... even if they didn't deserve it.”
General Archon frowned at her, tilting his head as the faintest hint of surprise showed in his eyes at how bitter she sounded. “You were hailed the Crystal Princess, and were a loving, compassionate ruler to these ponies while you and Shining ruled this little kingdom. And as far as I recall, you were hesitant to leave here in the first place. You only came back to Canterlot because of Sombra's reemergence, at Princess Celestia's request.”
“Yes... and I felt at home here, I always did. And I loved my people, I did.” Cadence smiled faintly, looking up and saying softly: “Not all my memories are happy ones. They... they haven't brought me peace and understanding. They've just... reopened old wounds.”
“Then stop wasting your time with the past and focus on the present. We have two problems in the here and now that need addressing: Pain and Sombra.” said General Archon coldly, and he turned away before stopping and looking over his shoulder, saying slowly: “Although so far... we've seen no trace of Sombra. Only Pain...”
“No, he's close. He can't enter the barrier, though... Pain can only pass through it because her body protects that... that darkness inside her from the energies of the Crystal Heart.” Cadence stopped and frowned a little, lowering her head in thought for a few moments before she murmured: “The body protects the broken heart... but my magic can still awaken her emotions. Maybe a broken heart can be mended...”
“Focus on the subject. Now, until Sombra makes his presence known, I am disregarding him. He cannot enter this kingdom, and even if he could, the positive energy in the air would destroy him. Correct?” Archon barely waited for Cadence to acknowledge him with a nod before he continued briskly: “As for Pain, she is a very real threat. We may be able to contain her, however: regent Blueberry has offered to provide us with several crystal-based traps that should be strong enough to hold her while we figure out what to do with her. On the same hoof, unfortunately, he has failed to provide a time frame for when exactly this crystal traps will be prepared.”
“She's not much stronger than she was in life, and she's losing her discipline and her mind. She's Brokenhearted and she's... Brokenhearted.” Cadence bit her lip, not knowing how to explain, but fumbling for it anyway: “The Brokenhearted can be created two different ways... by Sombra's infection and by... great pain, great suffering, and see-”
General Archon only held up a hoof, saying distastefully: “I'm not interested in your pseudo-science, Cadence. What I care about is whether or not we can kill her.”
Cadence smiled briefly, feeling a strange mix of exasperation and relief before she muttered: “It's funny, Archon. You're the only pony I've ever met who can make me feel better by being such a jerk. But yes, we can kill her... she's not invincible, even if she seems to be. She's not immune to magic, she's losing her mind, and even her skills as a fighter are waxing and waning. We can't underestimate her, but we can't overestimate her either.”
Archon looked at her for a few moments, and then he finally gave a short nod before saying finally: “Fine. We have to track her down and destroy her as soon as possible.”
“Capture her. We'll capture her, Archon. Then we'll see what happens when the Brokenhearted are exposed to the Crystal Heart's focused power.” the mare replied quietly. Archon scowled at her, but Cadence didn't flinch, only looking up with a slight, thin smile. “One of two things will happen, Archon. And either of those things will ensure she's no longer a threat to us.”
The General frowned darkly, and then he shook his head and muttered: “I'm not going to waste my time arguing when we don't even know where she is. For all we know, she may have left through the barrier to hide in the blizzard. The Changeling claims that Pain will remain close, however: she claims to have useful information for us, but I don't trust her.”
“How did Miss Take get involved, anyway? Pain seemed focused on her.” Cadence asked curiously, tilting her head. And again, she sensed a bit of surprise from Archon, even if Archon didn't so much as twitch.
“Apparently the Changeling was hired to retrieve the Crystal Heart. She also seems to be under the impression that Sombra is lurking somewhere outside the kingdom... although I don't trust the word of either a psychopath or a thief.” replied Archon distastefully, and Cadence sighed a little, giving the stallion a dry look for a moment before she moodily brushed a hoof through her ivory mane, shivering a little at the sight of it. “Focus.”
“I am focused. And I also wish you would refer to Miss Take by her name. She deserves that. She deserves...” Cadence stopped, looking down before she smiled briefly, eyes flicking back up as she asked quietly: “She and Shining... they're really getting along?”
Archon studied her for a few moments, and then he leaned forwards and frowned a bit, asking moodily: “And you're actually relieved by that, aren't you?”
Cadence looked down and nodded a little, and then she sighed a bit and reached up to rub at her forehead and murmuring: “I... I went against everything to rescue Shining Armor. I thought... no, I knew I loved him back then. I still do, in a way, but... we've always been such good friends. Such good friends... but I don't know if we're good lovers. Not because of Miss Take, but because... who we are... we aren't who we are on the outside, inside.
“He's a Captain of the Guard. He's strong, handsome, dashing, a little weird. But he's better at being a Prince, really, and he really... he needs someone who needs him. And me... Crystal Princess, but I was always... I always have been a fighter. I don't want to sit back and struggle with decisions. I want to dance and sing and be out there, fighting to make things better.” Cadence stopped, then she looked down and whispered: “I don't need him. Not like he needs me to. But I'm not like that, Archon. We promised we'd be together until the end, but...”
Archon sighed, hesitated... then he dropped his head forwards before he reached back and dug under his armor. Cadence frowned a bit, and then the General extracted an old, torn photograph, looking at it for a moment before holding it out to Cadence.
She took it, looking down at the picture of a smiling mare: it was blurry, hard to tell the details, yellowed with age, but all the same her smile was what Cadence saw first, lit up the whole picture. She looked up at Archon with surprise, but he only gave her a brief smile himself before he said softly: “I loved my wife. More than anything in the world. I didn't become a soldier because I believed in my country... but she did. She believed in the Princesses, and she was proud of me when I became a member of the Guard. She told me to do my duty, protect the nation, and she'd always be there.
“She always was. Every day, she always was... until she couldn't be there anymore.” Archon hesitated, licked his lips as he glanced almost worriedly to the side, and then he took a slow breath before returning his eyes to Cadence. “I wasn't like her, Cadence, growing up, but loving her made me a better person, like she was. I wish I could say I was as good to her as she was to me: I wasn't. Pride got the better of me, like it does a lot of us, Cadence. I had to be the best. I forgot I became a soldier because I needed a job and it made my wife feel proud of me.
“I started to feel that I didn't need her. She went through that for years, until we just stopped talking to each other. My colts grew up without a father. I continued to fight, getting medals, completing operations, earning victories. One day, we were like two strangers in the house together.” Archon looked down silently, and then he shook his head briefly as he reached up and stroked a hoof over the edge of the grainy photo. “And a week later, she was dead. She and my boys...”
Archon shook his head slowly, saying softly: “In the past, I didn't always look out for my soldiers first. The mission was all-important... and one went particularly badly. A dragon attacked a village to the west, and I decided to send two platoons to destroy it, instead of evacuation: I wanted to send a message to any other dragons that there's a reason they leave us alone.
“A whole bunch of... of kids, really, they came back in bodybags. But I think it was the fact that I didn't... spare them a word, give them the respect they deserved.” Archon shook his head slowly, muttering: “I said to one of the ponies present, I said to him: 'if he had really wanted to grow up to be like me, he shouldn't have let that dragon kill him.'”
Cadence looked silently at the old unicorn as he shook his head again, then he murmured: “I should have let the poor bastard punch me. Instead, I stopped him when he took a swing at me and had my officers shove everyone out. I didn't want to waste my time explaining what had happened.
“A bunch of them got drunk and angry, and that night they went to my house. We were supposed to be having a family dinner but... of course I wasn't there. Just... my wife, my sons, my kid's wife, his grandson.” Archon bit his lip. “My kids... tried to keep them out. And they decided that since they'd lost their kids...”
Archon shook his head slowly, then he glanced up and murmured: “I thought I didn't need them. Then I came home and found out only my grandson and my daughter-in-law were left alive, and... well. I found out too late how much they meant to me after all. Because suddenly nothing mattered but them. For months, nothing mattered but their memories. For months, I was just in limbo on extended leave, trying to make up my mind whether I deserved to live in misery for the rest of my life, or if I should kill myself and slink down to hell where I belonged.
“Then I found out my grandson was being put up for adoption. He was with a foster family. I didn't make too good an impression on them at first, being drunk and covered mostly in my own vomit.” Archon gestured distastefully at himself, then he shook his head slowly. “But I would have done anything to get him back. Absolutely anything. I came back a week later, cleaned up, sober, doing a temp job in the administration office while they assessed me, made sure I could still handle my position. They decided to give me a chance.”
Archon stopped, then he reached up and gently took the picture back from Cadence, calmly tucking it away beneath his armor again before he sighed softly and said quietly: “I still don't spend enough time with my grandson. But I write him letters every night, and I can make sure he's with good people, in Canterlot. And I'd do anything for him, Cadence. He's not just my grandson. He's all that I have left of the people I thought I could live without.”
Cadence was silent as she looked at Archon, and the General looked back at her before he shook his head quickly and muttered: “Anyway, don't be stupid like me. Don't think you can just abandon everything, and don't forget that it's not your decision alone. A relationship is between two people. When it goes on long enough, gets serious enough, you don't get to just say goodbye when your reasons amount to 'I want a different flavor of ice cream.' The other person has a say too.”
The winged unicorn gave a brief smile, then murmured: “I thought that you didn't want to play marriage counselor, Archon.”
“I don't.” the old stallion said shortly, and then he shook his head before muttering: “I have enough trouble with both you and Shining Armor as it is, that's all. The last thing I need is a marital spat and gossip flying around.”
“Whatever happens from here on out, Archon, I... I think Shining and I will figure it out together.” Cadence murmured, dropping her head, and then she bit her lip as the General grunted and turned away. She resisted as best she could... but just before he reached the doors, she couldn't help but blurt: “And you understand why I... I have to save my father, don't you?”
General Archon sighed quietly, looking over his shoulder at her and saying moodily: “I understand your desperation, Cadence. Let's put it that way. Now come on: we'll talk on the way to Shining and the Changeling... I mean, Take.”
“Miss Take.” Cadence smiled a little all the same, nodding and shaking herself briskly before she strode up beside him. Her body was starting to loosen up a little, at least, and she felt like some of her strength was coming back... like just maybe the world was starting to make sense, too.
She looked at General Archon... and then winced when her horn sparked faintly, the stallion frowning at her moodily. But she felt... an almost paternal concern for her, hidden beneath that almost-scowl, and the mare smiled as she looked awkwardly up and murmured: “Sorry. My magic's still acting a bit funny, that's all. It feels like I keep... connecting to people. Or at least, reading their emotions.”
Archon looked at her moodily, and the mare sighed as she strode up beside him, saying dryly: “Don't worry, General Archon. Your terrible secret is safe with me. No one will ever know that you're really just one big softie.”
Archon gave her a sour look, then he shook his head shortly before saying in an annoyed voice: “Let's just go and see your husband and the criminal he's so fond of.”
“Thanks, Archon. Be a jerk.” Cadence said moodily as he pulled open the door, and then she sighed when he bowed her through, the mare rolling her eyes and dragging herself into the hallway. She looked back and forth, then suddenly froze up as she saw inexplicable, impossible things, ignoring Archon brushed as he brushed past with a grunt that probably meant 'follow me.'
Archon halted after a few moments when he realized the mare wasn't moving, rolling his eyes before he turned around... and tilted his head at the sight of the mare, losing some of his gruffness as he asked uncertainly: “What is it?”
Cadence didn't reply, continuing to look around with disbelief as trembles ran through her body, her horn sparking faintly before she gritted her teeth and clenched her eyes shut, the faintest of whimpers escaping her lips. Archon walked quickly back towards her, frowning as he looked sharply around himself, but he saw nothing apart from the pair of guards standing uneasily at the doors and a single earth pony that was walking away...
“I... I see...” Cadence shivered violently, then slowly opened her eyes, breathing hard as she rose her head and looked back and forth, trembling. She could see glowing patterns filling these halls, with thick lines of energy that pulsed like veins running along the floor and ceiling. They were so intense they hurt her eyes just to look at, maddening enough on their own even without the ghastly visitors lingering through the corridor.
Ghosts: it was impossible, but there were spirits and specters and phantasms of all shape and size. They were empty, and it was their emptiness that made their terrible, not the deformities, the gaping and bloodless wounds, the twisted and looming forms that so many of them possessed. They didn't seem to care about either the ponies or the physical constraints of reality, passing through surfaces as carelessly and easily as they did living, breathing, real people...
Cadence clenched her eyes shut... but even when she did that, she couldn't escape them. Their presence was like a droning hum in her ears, and she could feel their presence in her crawling skin, in the shivers that ran down her spine and the thrum of her horn.
What the hell were they? Why was she seeing them now? What did this mean? The mare trembled violently, breathing hard and covering her face as she tried to escape their miserable presence, as she struggled to shut out these... these terrible, empty things.
Archon grasped her shoulder and shook her once, then he leaned forwards and said quietly: “Either tell me what you're seeing, or shake it off. We don't have time for this. And you can't afford to look any more vulnerable than you already do.”
“I'm not... vulnerable. I'm not weak.” Cadence muttered, shaking her head shortly before she cursed under her breath, and then she shivered before biting her lip and opening her eyes, forcing herself to face reality, looking back and forth with a tremble at these dozens of awful, hollow spirits lining the glowing passage. “Ghosts.”
“Ghosts don't exist. You're seeing memories again.” Archon said, and then he winced when Cadence grabbed him and glared at him, shaking her head sharply.
“No, these aren't memories! These things, they're...” Cadence looked back and forth, cursing under her breath as her horn sparked painfully again before she closed her eyes tightly and whispered: “They're all over the place. They're... so empty, they're just... spiritual husks. And there's these... paths of energy, all over the floor, runes all over the walls...”
Archon frowned at this, looking back and forth before he said slowly: “I don't see anything. And I don't sense anything, either. Not magic, not anything else.”
The mare laughed weakly, shaking her head slowly before she murmured: “I kind of already got that you... that no one else was seeing this. They're... they're awful. They're so sad, so warped, so... and yet the energy I see everywhere, it's so bright. It seems to be attracting them, like moths to a flame...”
“Pull yourself together, Cadence.” Archon shook her roughly, and the mare winced before he pulled her around to face him, looking down into her eyes coldly. “This is no time for this. If they can't hurt you, if all you're seeing is lights and shapes, then just raise your head and move forwards. You have no other choice, do you understand?”
Cadence glared at him, but then she only gritted her teeth and nodded shortly, slowly forcing herself to straighten as Archon turned and said quietly: “No matter how difficult it is, you have to face your reality. No matter how awful these things you're seeing are, or just how strange... you can't turn away from it just because you find it unpleasant. You don't get to shut down when you know it's nothing but... shadows. You pick yourself up, and you keep moving.”
There was silence for a few moments, and then Cadence took a slow breath before starting down the corridor, and Archon nodded firmly as he fell in pace beside her, turning his own gaze ahead and asking calmly, as if nothing was wrong: “Are you having trouble controlling your magic?”
Cadence wanted to be childish and either not answer or punch him. But she did her best to swallow both these instincts and instead only concentrated, her horn glowing slightly before she grimaced a bit in pain as it sparked, disrupting her focus. “I think I overused my magic, that's all... it just... aches.”
Archon grunted, and then he glanced over at the winged unicorn for a few moments, studying her silently. Cadence kept her eyes forwards, but then bit her cheek and glanced over at him, finally giving a faint smile. This was why she got along with Archon, she thought: he pushed and pushed, but more and more, she was seeing that beneath his cold exterior, he did care. She just wished he'd learn a little bit of tact.
“I'm okay.” she murmured, and then she shivered a bit and looked ahead, glancing back and forth and stumbling only a little when they passed through a shade... but it didn't pay her any heed whatsoever, and that made it a little easier to keep going, even if she could swear she felt a tingling against her body. But that was likely just a trick of her mind...
“You'd better be. You're a Princess of Equestria. As it is, these changes...” Archon stopped, then he shook his head slowly and sighed a little, asking finally: “Will you consider staying out of this?”
Cadence simply shook her head, then she grimaced and flicked her head to the side to get her mane out of her eyes. She glanced back and forth uncomfortably as they continued down the corridor, wondering silently where all of these ghosts had come from... what they were all doing here, and why they seemed so fascinated by the runes and the energy thrumming through the walls...
Archon cleared his throat loudly, and the mare blinked and awkwardly looked over at him before shaking her head hurriedly and mumbling: “Sorry. I... you know that I can't, though. This is my fight, Archon, this is... personal.”
The General grimaced a bit at this, and then he shook his head briefly before muttering: “All the same, I can't believe I'm letting you do this. It strikes me as being completely idiotic. Especially since at the moment you don't even seem capable of taking care of yourself, not to mention your performance has been... lackluster, from what I've seen.”
The winged unicorn sighed a little, but couldn't help but agree all the same as she dropped her head, murmuring: “I hate you for saying that, but I hate more that... it's true. I keep making stupid mistakes. I keep letting my emotions get the better of me. And I just... I can see it all so clearly in my mind, feel it in my body, but... I can't make myself moving like I should be. I honestly don't know why, either. I just...”
She stopped, then sighed softly as they reached the end of the hall curving, before she shivered as Archon strode through several unseen ghosts to shove a set of double doors open, the stallion saying distastefully: “Perhaps it's because you're meant to be a princess, not a soldier.”
“Perhaps it's because I've spent so long thinking poise, dignity, grace, poise, dignity, grace, and pretending to be something I'm not.” Cadence mumbled, and then she shook her head quickly before striding quickly through the doors, into another hall. And there were spirits and glowing veins here, too... except when Cadence glanced to the left, she realized that the markings didn't continue in that direction, and it was almost completely devoid of specters.
Cadence frowned uncertainly as Archon strode down this passage, and then he scowled and looked over his shoulder, asking moodily: “What now? More 'spirits?'”
“How can you not believe in ghosts after seeing the Brokenhearted?” Cadence asked crankily, and then she shivered a bit before turning her eyes back towards the glowing vein of light thrumming under her hooves, following it to where it passed out of sight beneath the wall opposite. And she realized... “And no, the... there's no markings down this hall, they're only... around where I'm standing, in this area, I mean. I think... these veins of energy are what's attracting the spirits. But I don't know why that would be...”
Archon frowned at her, and then he looked down for a moment before saying almost grudgingly: “This tower is a magical amplifier, correct? Assuming you're not just insane, Cadence... maybe these so-called 'spirits' are attracted to the energy being amplified throughout the tower.”
“They changed the outside, but the inside, the core is still the same...” Cadence said slowly, looking up as a strange feeling ran through her mind. “You're right. They're being drawn to the positive energy being channeled upwards and empowered by the tower... that must be what these veins are, the rails that carry that magical force...”
Cadence rubbed slowly along one, and Archon looked at her for a few moments before saying moodily: “That's all very fascinating, Princess Cadence, but it's also none of our concern for the moment. Let's keep moving: you have the physical world to worry about right now.”
The mare glared over at Archon, but then she nodded grudgingly before striding over to him and muttering: “I bet you were always really fun at parties.”
Archon only scowled at her, but Cadence was far from intimidated by it as she followed him towards a staircase. They walked on in silence, soldiers saluting them every now and then and employees of this tower-castle nervously greeting Cadence as she walked by, but none of them quite dared approach... and Cadence had the feeling it wasn't just because of Archon.
It hurt a little. Cadence tried her best to swallow that, to rationalize it out, but... well, it was harder than she thought it would be. So it was a relief when they reached the medical wing, even if at the same time, she couldn't help but feel incredibly nervous as she stepped into the room, taking a slow breath and doing her best not to give into... well, either the bad or the good emotions as she saw Shining Armor gently helping Miss Take walk back towards her bed at the end of a long row on one side of the room, the half-Changeling laughing a little even as she shyly almost hid herself against him.
“Captain Armor, your wife is here.” General Archon said bluntly, and Shining stumbled and almost threw Miss Take across the room. Thankfully, the Changeling managed to catch herself against her bed, tossing a glare in Shining's direction as the ivory unicorn spun hurriedly around and saluted sharply, his expression somewhere between strained and horrified.
Cadence only awkwardly rose a hoof and waved lamely at him, and Shining smiled awkwardly back at her, the two studying each other uncomfortably before they hesitantly approached each other. The two stopped, looking silently into each other's eyes before Shining half-rose a hoof, and Cadence rubbed at her own foreleg and blushed a bit as she glanced away, almost hiding behind her mane.
There was silence for a few moments, and then Shining finally awkwardly hugged her with one foreleg, and Cadence dropped her head and smiled faintly... but couldn't even bring herself to return it, to even lean into him. Not because she didn't care, she didn't want to, but he felt so... so tense. She could feel his emotions, too, this close... and there was so much confusion, a hint of anger, a kiss of betrayal, and the sense that he wanted to slip away...
He drew back, looking half-disappointed and half-relieved that she hadn't returned the embrace, and the two looked at each other silently before Archon strode past them and to the foot of the Changeling's bed. Miss Take was just climbing carefully in, and she was careful not to look in the General's direction as she did so, even as she murmured: “You can wait a moment, dear, I'm sure. I just need to get myself settled, then we can begin the interrogation.”
“I'm not here to interrogate you today. The Princess was concerned about your health.” General Archon said calmly, gesturing outwards with one hoof. And Cadence took this chance to slip away from Shining with relief, the ivory unicorn slowly turning around and biting his lip as he looked uncomfortably at the two. “But make the pleasantries quick. We have business to discuss.”
“Are you okay, Miss Take? You fought hard against Pain... I owe you.” Cadence said quietly, stepping up to the foot of the bed and smiling as she leaned over it.
Miss Take gazed back at her... but her green eyes were really the only thing Cadence could make out. She was wrapped in a heavy robe, and she had a shawl and a bonnet wrapped around her neck and head, hooding her face and hiding her features from view. “Oh, darling, that wasn't for you. But we do make a good team, don't we?”
“We do.” Cadence smiled a little, and then she asked softly: “Do you think that maybe you could take your hood off, Miss Take?”
Miss Take shifted uncomfortably, and Shining Armor quickly stepped up beside the bed, adding gently: “But you don't have to if you don't want to... right, Cadence? I'm sure she... understands.” Shining hesitated, glancing over at his wife with an awkward smile. “You know, about... not wanting to talk about everything.”
His tone was half-accusatory, half-forgiving, and both sides of it came with slivers of condescension. Cadence shifted uncomfortably at this, looking over at Shining and wishing he'd just... ask her the goddamn question if it was bothering him so much. Maybe that was why she got along so well with Archon: Archon just bluntly said whatever was on his mind and didn't dance around a subject, trying to avoid the conflict as much as possible while acting all... hurt-feelingsy.
“Why don't you pull the curtain, Shining? Then we can talk about things with a little more privacy.” Miss Take murmured after a moment, and Shining Armor nodded and smiled at her... then looked awkwardly over at Cadence before he cleared his throat and turned with a mumble.
His horn glowed, quickly pulling the privacy curtain around the bed: it blocked off the foot and the side that faced out into the hall, so it at least meant no one would be able to see them, especially since Miss Take's bed was in the back corner. Cadence was glad for that herself... maybe as glad as Miss Take was, as the half-Changeling said almost hesitantly: “Okay. I... I suppose you would understand me best, Cadence. It's... strange, isn't it, darling? It seems we're rather similar after all...”
“More than I thought, but... I guess I never really thought about it in the first place.” Cadence said softly, and then she hesitated as Miss Take began to carefully undo the fastenings keeping her bonnet and shawl in place, before asking almost impulsively: “When you were an assassin for the hive... how did you learn to fight, to move the way you did? Most Changelings are... well...”
“Drones, dear. But the drones are controlled mainly by pheromones and instincts. They're good cannon fodder, but without the benefit of their minds, they're very... shall we say... silly.” Miss Take said softly, and then she smiled faintly as she pulled away the coverings from her face, murmuring: “But individuality, of course, would be dangerous to the Queen.”
Miss Take rose her head calmly, although there was almost a terror in her bright green eyes. Of being pitied, of being rejected: Cadence thought she was starting to understand that herself. But there was still a strange sort of pride and beauty in her mishmashed, chimeric features, made of unequal parts mottled skin, thin hide, thicker carapace, and with a single dark hole in her forehead like a staring socket.
Her mane had been neatened a little, but it too was unkempt and coarse, impossible to tame. She reached up, dark hooves at the end of discolored, jagged limbs nervously toying with her long hair even as she asked Cadence in a voice that only shook a little: “And what about you, darling? How are you holding up? I'm not the only one who's taken a few whacks this last while, after all.”
Cadence smiled briefly, then she reached up and rubbed at her face, before... deciding to simply be honest. “I don't know. I'm scared. I'm exhausted. I know that I'm not fighting at the level I was even when Shine and I fought Sombra and the Phoenix Guild in Canterlot, and I can't entirely explain why. And I'm... I'm seeing things. I'm seeing ghosts, Miss Take.”
“Well, sweetie, you did die.” Miss Take said softly, and the winged unicorn flinched a bit... but then swallowed and nodded slowly, even as Shining Armor looked uncomfortably over at Archon , and the General scowled moodily. But no one argued or tried to rationalize it, and Miss Take smiled quietly before she dropped her hooves together and looked down at them, murmuring: “I was born after the Queen took a particularly handsome captive and made him into a slave. This kind of courtship, with someone from outside the hive, produces offspring like me, instead of drones. But the Queen must always be careful, because we're born with the characteristics of both races... and an immunity to her control. In fact, we can even exert influence over drones ourselves, and we can breed. We're... princesses, I suppose you could say.”
“So you have sisters?” Cadence asked quietly, and then she tilted her head and frowned a bit. “And your mother is Chrysalis?”
But Miss Take only smiled in amusement at this, shaking her head and clucking her tongue. “No, no, darling. Chrysalis is not the Queen. Chrysalis is my bratty little sister. She's rather temperamental, takes much more after our dear mother than I do.”
Cadence stared in disbelief as Shining Armor's jaw dropped, but General Archon only scowled and said distastefully: “That would make sense, if you hadn't called her your 'younger' sister. Why don't you have a hive of your own, then?”
“How the hell does that make sense?” Shining asked incredulously, looking over at Archon... and then hurriedly saluting and raising his head, adding quickly: “Not to question you, sir, just interested in your uh... assessment of the situation!”
General Archon gave Shining Armor a foul look, then he shook his head slowly and explained almost irritably, as Miss Take looked on with a warm smile: “For one, her tactics. Members of her drone army were able to infiltrate Canterlot in spite of your shield. Even disregarding the fact that the bulk of her forces was left outside of the shield even after she gained complete influence over you and could have easily slipped them inside of Canterlot, her drones did nothing to harm us until she was discovered.
“Once discovered, her drones attacked our soldiers head on. My question is why? We had no idea who or what they were at the time. They could have easily remained under cover and sown chaos in our ranks. They could have poisoned us or disabled countless defenses, created vulnerabilities across Canterlot. But instead, they gave up almost all of their advantage to strike us head on. It comes across as either supremely arrogant, or the product of someone extremely sloppy and inexperienced in the art of war and combat.
“Chrysalis herself was not native to this area. She came here seeking food, implying that she had no food supply of her own, or it had been exhausted. I imagine that only an incredibly-greedy hive would quickly exhaust its food, if at all. I further imagine she left your mother's control to start her own hive in new territory, correct?”
Archon looked over at Miss Take calmly, and Miss Take quietly applauded him, giving a warm smile before she said softly: “Very close, darling. Chrysalis calls herself a Queen, but she's no Queen Mother. Her hive is still small and weak: the Queen Mother's is its own small nation, really, and there are many more varieties of drones and... other nastier things there. She, like many of my other siblings, must all bow their heads to the Queen Mother... unless they want to be destroyed, of course.”
The General nodded calmly, then he turned his eyes moodily back towards Shining Armor, saying almost codescendingly: “See? Furthermore, Chrysalis was brash. She revealed herself, she failed to properly secure her prisoners, and most of all, she underestimated the power of the very thing she claimed gave her the power to defeat Celestia: love.”
General Archon looked calmly over at Princess Cadence, who smiled faintly and glanced awkwardly at Shining Armor. Shining looked back at her silently, and Miss Take chuckled quietly before looking down at her own hooves and murmuring: “You're very intelligent, Amadeus Archon. Even more so than I was ever told.”
There was silence for a moment as Cadence looked curiously over at the ever-stoic General, but he didn't show even the faintest hint of surprise at the fact Miss Take apparently knew his full name. It made Cadence wonder curiously what other little secrets Archon might have... and how much Miss Take actually knew about each and every one of them.
But she was brought back to reality as Miss Take looked up with a small smile and said kindly: “But look here, I still haven't answered poor Cadence's question. Changelings feed off emotions, but we can also take memories. Those we feed upon... deeply, over multiple sessions... we can start to learn their skills, take on their abilities. No, I would not become a great artist if I fed upon one painter... but if I fed on several artists, of the same profession and of great skill, I could certainly learn to paint. And of course, skills that don't require a creative bend are learned much faster and much better. Picking a lock, for example, is all very straightforward.”
Miss Take stopped, then she reached up and silently touched her forehead, saying quietly: “But unfortunately, with my Third Eye gone... I'm very much... weakened. You see, because my father was a Pegasus, I was born without a horn. So a special stone was made for me, from the remains of Changeling horns: stuff of a slightly different material than yours is, darling. This was implanted into my forehead, and it didn't just let me disrupt your magic... it made it much easier for me to change my shape, enhanced my abilities... and... I must confess I became rather dependent on it. It's been a long time since I've had to change my shape by myself.”
She looked down, then shook her head briefly before giving a small smile. “But haven't I rambled on enough now? General Archon, you said you had business with us all, correct? And oh, Cadence, please feel free to sit, there's plenty of room on the bed, darling. Don't strain yourself.”
Cadence glanced back at Miss Take, smiled... and then shifted a little, realizing that... well... everything was weird. She and Shining were standing awkwardly next to each other, and General Archon seemed more like an old friend than a sour old warmonger, and she and Miss Take were... they were, well...
Cadence winced as her horn sparked, and she felt Miss Take's emotions... real emotions, warm emotions, and... sad ones, too. Things that made Cadence look at her silently for a few long moments before she bit her lip and leaned forwards, asking quietly: “What's your real name? Because I... I don't think you're a mistake at all.”
Miss Take smiled warmly up at her, and then she chuckled quietly and touched her own breast, murmuring: “Darling... I never expected to hear that from you, but... I suppose that I'll certainly take it without complaint. Even if...”
She turned her eyes towards Shining Armor, prompting him silently... but Shining only shifted lamely and looked uncomfortably away, making the Changeling sigh. But it wasn't as exasperated as it was... tender, and entertained, and patient, far more patient than Cadence thought she could be with her husband, before Miss Take said softly: “My name is Metanoia. But that's such a silly name, isn't it? I much prefer Miss Take. It's cute. And it's the name my favorite stallion came to know me by.”
Shining Armor mumbled and looked awkwardly away, and Cadence smiled briefly before she sat down on the bed, the two looking at each other silently before Miss Take sat up a little and reached out, gently taking one of Cadence's hooves as she murmured: “Please don't hate me, dear. We Changelings... we feel very deeply, you know. That is why emotions power us.”
Cadence shifted and looked away, and then she rubbed at the back of her head before murmuring: “I guess that part of me wants to hate you, Miss Take, but... I really don't think I can. It wouldn't be fair, and... I look at you and...”
“We're very much alike. Creatures of love and conflict. We exist to fight and protect and sacrifice for the things we care about most, don't we?” Miss Take smiled slightly. “Even if I happen to spend most of my time collecting pretty things, and you ended up in the role of a princess. But I think we can both become better ponies, can't we?”
Cadence smiled faintly... and then Archon cleared his throat loudly and said irritably: “I think you two have wasted enough of our time now with your idle chatter. Take, I have only one question for you: are the Changelings going to complicate our missions further?”
“Oh, darling. I'm a rogue agent, but one little Changeling is no threat to the Queen Mother. And certainly, Electra and Chrysalis and some of my other siblings are less than fond of me, but they wouldn't dare try and harm a hair upon my head... they know I can disrupt their control of their drones, and I used to regularly spank my little sister's bottom whenever she got too mouthy.” Miss Take smiled kindly, bowing her head politely to Archon. “They won't threaten you. The Queen is perfectly at peace with me, so long as I don't establish a hive. I've always been her dear mother's favorite, you know.”
“Alright.” Archon stopped, looked down for a moment, and then he grimaced a bit before looking up and saying slowly: “Princess Cadence, Captain Armor... if you will both vouch for her, then perhaps we can find a way to replace her Third Eye temporarily. An amplification gem won't let her use antimagic, but it should make her useful to us.”
“You're kinder than you act or speak, Amadeus Archon. I appreciate it, and you have my oath that I'll do everything I can to help.” Miss Take looked up at Cadence, smiling faintly and squeezing the hoof she was still holding gently. “I've taken something precious from you, darling. I would like to do all I can in my power to repay you... although, certainly, there's quite a bit of self-interest here, too. I have no doubt that Pain will hunt me down if she gets the chance.”
“Yeah...” Cadence looked awkwardly away, then she smiled briefly over at Shining Armor, who shifted lamely, but did his best to smile in return to her... although it was uneasy, and nothing but a reflected expression. She didn't really know what to feel about that, any more than she thought Shining Armor knew what he was feeling himself.
But no, they had to be serious right now. They had to put everything aside and concentrate, and... that would take her closer to the one thing she thought would give her happiness and closure, too, the winged unicorn taking a slow breath before she bowed her head and said finally: “I guess that I should... tell you all my story now, though.”
Archon nodded shortly, and Shining Armor frowned nervously as Miss Take squeezed the winged unicorn's hoof... and it was funny. That felt so natural, and Cadence had spent... so, so long hating her, being jealous of her, angry at her, but... maybe because of what had happened, maybe because Miss Take represented... an easy way out, maybe because of her emotional connection... oh, who the hell knew? She just knew... “Thank you. I trust you three so... I'll... do my best not to leave anything out.”
Cadence looked back and forth, and then she lowered her head and said quietly: “My story starts... a thousand years ago, when I was just a little girl...”

The morgue in the basement was cold and silent: zippered black bags, containing the dead bodies of the soldiers that Pain had killed, sat across several metal gurneys, waiting to be placed in simple coffins and shipped back home once the train was repaired.
It was painfully bright, yet all the more haunting because of it: there was no shade, no niche, no escape from the sight of sterile death, trapped in the metal cabinets, cloaked in those black bags, gleaming in the tools set neatly aside on the desk and shelves, and all of it reflected in the large mirror mounted above the sinks.
Except something wasn't entirely right: the mirror seemed to darken, blackly reflecting the room as a strange, minute tremble shook it on the wall. And slowly, the reflected room began to distort: while reality remained perfect and pristine, in the reflection the room aged and transformed, tiles shattering along the floor, bricks falling out of place from the wall, cabinet doors clanking open and exhaling dust and rust into the air.
In the reflection, the lights flickered wildly before several of the bulbs shattered, and only one was left glowing dimly, weakly, struggling to exist. The only things left unaffected were the bodybags on the gurneys... and in the reflection, two large, hulking shapes slowly approached these, burning with hatred, their eyes glowing with soulless malice.
“Sibling, listen to the master...” rasped one of them, as it approached the bodybags in the reflection. And its twin nodded rapidly as it walked around to the other side of the table before seating itself and facing its twisted brother.
“Listen to the master, sibling.” it whispered back, and then they both reached forwards, grasping the top of a bodybag in the reflection. But in reality, dents formed in the thick material, rippling strangely before the monsters in the mirror both yanked savagely, and in both the twisted other-world and reality, the bodybags were torn asunder, revealing the heads of the corpses inside.
The monsters looked at each other in their reflected world, grinning widely, and then they both grasped the head of a corpse. And the mirror trembled violently as the two leaned down, rasping eagerly as the two corpses on the table in reality shivered, dark veins spreading through their husks...
Cracks tore through the trembling mirror, every broken shard darkly reflecting the morgue as the two corpses jittered and shuddered on their gurneys... and then suddenly they both opened their eyes, grinning coldly as darkness spread along their bodies. Muscle bulged and hide tore as toxic energies burned through their flesh, the wings dwindling and rotting rapidly away from the backs of both as they dragged themselves free from the bodybags like monstrous insects tearing loose from their cocoons.
They both crashed to the ground, writhing for a few moments and rasping unintelligibly before they slowly, carefully picked themselves up. Their bodies were heavy and bruised, wretched with the pains of lingering death: blood had dried in their veins and pooled in their stomachs, muscles had atrophied and loosened only slightly with the new vitality pumped through them, the necromancy that powered them was taking its sweet time in restoring the natural senses to these newly-undead.
The two looked at each other, and then one rasped almost eagerly: “Em pleh, gnilbis.”
“Gnilbis, em pleh.” the other growled in agreement, and the two took shuddering steps towards each other before they both lunged suddenly and violently, burying their claws into one another's bodies, biting and ripping savagely.
Blood splattered in all directions as they tore ugly wounds across each other's forms, rolling back and forth as they laughed as they ripped and tore through one another's bodies: there was something hideously-playful in their cruelty, as they knocked over the gurneys and smashed each other into walls, tearing up the floor as they bit and grappled...
“Sinister. Dexter.” hissed a voice, and both twins immediately halted in mid combat, looking up and staring at the broken mirror. Many of the pieces were now glowing with darkness, and two of the larger chunks thrummed with poisonous green energies, staring like eyes out of that hellish black face on the wall.
The twins quickly shoved themselves apart and scrambled up to their hooves, bodies splattered with blood, but their wounds rapidly healing, filling with new, stronger flesh. They both almost eagerly approached the broken mirror, almost drooling as they stared up at it like obedient dogs.
And after a moment, Sombra's voice ordered in a whisper: “Go... kill. Kill. Kill the heart. Kill and destroy. Ruin... everything.”
Sombra growled, a low, long sound, and the twins growled eagerly back in response, nodding violently before their master's presence faded from the mirror. But many of the shards remained dark, thrumming with evil energies, and the twins – on instinct more than anything else – both began to yank  down pieces of shattered mirror like fruit, shoving them into their muzzles and swallowing them whole, heedless of the jagged edges.
“Hey, what's going...” A pony shoved through the door, scowling... and then he stared in horror at the sight of the twins as Sinister and Dexter both looked over their shoulders at the newcomer. Cruel grins spread over their faces, and the pony trembled violently before he staggered backwards and attempted to bolt-
One of the monsters smashed through the wall right in front of him, roaring eagerly and reaching out to seize the pony by the head before he slammed him cruelly down into the ground. The pony screamed, then tried to kick uselessly as his back legs were seized by the broken hooves of the other deathless creature.
Sinister yanked in one direction, and Dexter the other: the result was a sick popping, a tearing of hide and flesh and body, and then a broken corpse slung to the ground, literally pulled to pieces. The two monsters laughed loudly, echoing one another's chuffling, almost explosive 'ha's!' before they both grinned viciously and turned their eyes down the corridor.
They loped forwards, leaving behind the corpse as they headed swiftly through the corridor: they paid little heed to the ponies they passed, trampling and tossing aside those who weren't able to get out of their way fast enough.
“Treah eht leef I! Pu, gnilbis, pu!” growled Sinister, and Dexter nodded fervently to his brother as he licked his lips hungrily.
“Pu, gnilbis, pu! Treah eht leef I!” he echoed eagerly, and both brothers skidded to a stop, looking back and forth before Dexter leapt towards a nearby door and sank his claws into it, flexing them once before he tore downwards and ripped it off its hinges like it was made of cardboard.
He tossed it aside, then hurried into the stairwell with a growl, Sinister following and snapping at his heels once as they clambered up the steps eagerly. Then, without slowing, he smashed into the door at the top of the stairwell, knocking it flying across the corridor beyond as he leapt out with a roar that terrified the ponies present.
Sinister followed him out, glaring back and forth before growling and starting down the hall, simply running over a mare that got in his way before batting aside a pony in a lab coat like he was made of straw. Dexter followed a moment later with a rumble, swerving in his own path to crush the skull of the stallion that had been knocked aside and then biting viciously into the side of another pony trying to press himself into the wall as he ran by.
They burst out into the evening air, looking hungrily back and forth before Sinister roared and gestured sharply towards the tower: it was only a short distance away down the cobbled street, although shrouded now in an immense, cylindrical forcefield. But the twins only grinned eagerly, giving another chuffling, echoing laugh at the sight of the forcefield before they both set themselves.
Hungrily, they lunged down the road, sprinting over the stone, passing like demons over the dimly-lit streets until they reached the edge of the barrier protecting the tower. They both smashed into the barrier wall with enough force to send cracks ripping through the glass-like energy.
The twins glared at the barrier, then they both stepped forwards and sank their claws into the damaged forcefield, grinning and growling unintelligibly. But as they pushed slowly forwards, a blackness began to spread through the wounded area of the shield, like rot: in only moments, they had created a large, black wound in the forcefield where the energy had become sludgy and corrupt, and both monsters easily pushed themselves through this, stepping calmly into the tower square as their bodies smoked faintly from passing through the toxic hole they'd opened.
The twins strode almost leisurely forwards, moving in unconscious step with each other, chuckling their terrible, echoing laughter as they both grinned darkly and strode towards the center of the square. Their eyes stared coldly through the soldiers already hurrying to form a defensive line, and didn't even seem to see the forcefield protecting their prize; all they had eyes for was the Crystal Heart.
“Gnilbis, si ti ereht.” rasped Sinister, licking his teeth greedily as he lowered his head forward, hunching up his broad, scarred back.
“Si ti ereht, gniblis.” growled Dexter in agreement, nodding hungrily in return to his brother before his eyes flashed as he looked forwards, the two continuing their almost lazy approach.
“Stay back!” shouted the unicorn officer in charge, and then he gritted his teeth as the creatures continued to approach, saying sharply: “Alert General Archon! Unicorns, prepare to concentrate fire!”
The unicorns gathered behind him all anchored themselves, horns glowing as the officer in front did his best to repress his shivers. But these things approaching... he had no idea what they were. They were malformed, monstrous, titanic beasts that were wearing faces he almost recognized...
And there was no more time to question, to fear, to do anything but react as he shouted desperately: “Fire!”
Five beams of light shot out from the horns of the unicorns, smashing into Sinister and driving him backwards with a howl as Dexter stumbled to the side and snarled in surprise. Slowly, the rays of light forced the monster down, pinning him beneath their magical force.
Dexter roared, but a moment later, the Pegasi launched themselves into the air and sharply flung the objects in their hooves down at him: glass baubles exploded against the monster's body and snared him in nets of energy, the beast flopping onto his side and flailing against the magical restraints tightening around his body. Other Pegasi were already moving forwards around Sinister, starting to lower a large control collar around his head.
One of Sinister's claws suddenly shot up, the monster catching the large metal ring, and the Pegasi lowering the collar both stared in shock before Sinister yanked it free from their grasp, then roared and suddenly leapt up to his broken hooves, the unicorns all shouting in shock as their magic was repelled and recoil burst along their horns. The officer in charge began to open his mouth to shout an order... and then the collar slammed into his maw, nearly tearing his lower jaw off and sending him flopping backwards with a scream of agony.
A moment later, Dexter snapped the netting of energy writhing over his body, snarling as he hauled himself to his broken hooves before he swatted a Pegasus that got too close like a fly, sending it crashing bonelessly to the ground with his armor and one wing flayed apart. He roared loudly, but the other Pegasi hurriedly withdrew as the unicorns scrambled to protect themselves and their comrades, several setting up magical barriers while Pegasi grabbed the fallen and pulled them quickly to safety.
Sinister and Dexter both only grinned, trading looks before one of the twins suddenly leapt forwards and smashed through a barrier like it was cheap glass and not concentrated magical energy, the unicorn that had cast the spell rearing back in shock before Sinister seized him by the shoulder and yanked him forwards, biting deep into his throat. Blood burst out over the monster's face as he tore to the side, and then he laughed loudly as he slung the corpse down, calling mockingly to his brother: “Doog etsat yeht!”
Dexter growled at this, then suddenly ran forwards, ignoring a bolt of magical energy that bounced uselessly off his hide. The unicorn that had fired the magic missile staggered backwards, staring in horror as Dexter ran straight for him... then suddenly leapt over him, instead snatching a Pegasus that had been hovering above and watching helplessly.
The Pegasus was slammed back-first onto the ground with a crunch, going limp: his quick death was one last macabre stroke of luck, as a moment later Dexter plunged his maw down and tore into the pony's stomach, ripping through skin and tearing out organs before he licked his lips and looked up at his brother, answering: “Doog etsat yeht... drib ekil era yeht!”
“Ekil drib era yeht.” Sinister's teeth flashed cruelly in a grin, and then he and his twin laughed loudly as the Royal Guard withdrew, stumbling into as tight a wall as they could in front of the Crystal Heart. But none of them knew what to do as the monsters both looked slowly up, licking their lips again as they started slowly forwards.
Sinister crunched a fallen helm under one claw, and Dexter strode carelessly through the corpse of the Pegasus, leaving bloody prints behind as they slowly advanced on the soldiers. They both grinned, eying their new prey greedily...
And then both twins suddenly stiffened up, their bodies quivering before they both slowly looked over their shoulders. Their eyes locked on a mare who was standing only a dozen feet away, trembling hard, but with such intense hate and anger in her eyes... and oh, they both remembered her. She looked different, but they remembered her well.
Slowly, the twins turned around, baring their fangs in their wide grins, eyes glowing and bodies flexing as Sinister whispered: “Reh llik dluohs ew. Treah eht osla si ehs. Reh s'ti,”
“Treah eht si ehs. Reh s'ti. Reh llik osla dluohs ew.” agreed Dexter with a slow nod, and then the two shared a look before they both roared and shot with breathtaking speed towards the mare.
The mare, however, only closed her eyes for a moment... and time all-but-froze for her, as she turned the split second in reality into an eternity in her mind. She didn't know how, entirely... she only knew that her father had taught her there was always a moment to spare, if you didn't panic. That if you held onto your focus, anything and everything became possible...
Cadence's eyes opened, and she gazed silently out at the square. She saw the faces of the ponies, all terrified and hopeful and ready to do their duty with honor, even if it meant their death at the claws of monsters like these. And she saw the Crystal Heart, what they were protecting with their lives, which seemed to resonate with her and whisper into her mind when she gazed upon it.
And of course, she saw Sinister and Dexter... but she didn't just see two mangled monsters, she saw the vicious, Brokenhearted barbarians that they had once been, filled with so much hate and rage and malicious magic that they had become hollow and evil things beyond even Pain. And unlike Pain, their emotions, their conscience and regrets, who they had really once been... all of that had been burned away centuries ago, and drowned in evil magic and necromantic tampering. Her magic wasn't going to have any effect on them. There were no real emotions to key into, to throw off balance... just hatred that masqueraded as happiness when they inflicted pain on others.
She was scared. But this was her fight, more than it was anyone else's: the moment she had felt her father's dark magic, she had broken off the awkward, uncomfortable conversation they had been having upstairs and hurried down here, as fast as she could. And now here was the proof that Sombra was close, and that he had regenerated his powers as well.
This time, however, she wasn't going to just send these two monsters back into their dark, deathless exile: she was going to put a stop to them, once and for all. And Cadence gritted her teeth as reality went back to normal, the twins leaping at her with terrifying speed and broken hooves extended-
Cadence flung herself down on her back, kicking Sinister savagely in the throat and seizing Dexter by one foreleg, using the kick to launch herself into a sharp half-roll and slamming the monster down on his face with a sickening crack. The twins bounced in either direction with roars of frustration as Cadence pushed herself sharply to her hooves, and then she quickly leapt on top of the closer Dexter as he started to shove his way back up to a standing position.
The monster snarled in frustration as the winged unicorn landed on top of him, the pink mare wrapping her forelegs around his head, then gritting her teeth and briskly twisting. Immediately, Dexter yelped and flopped to the ground... but she could already feel his body shivering, starting to snap the broken vertebrae back together: she knew she only had seconds before Dexter was back on his hooves.
So without waiting, she spun around and leapt towards Sinister, who was already charging at her. She caught him by surprise, managing to slip her foreleg around his throat before he could react, and then she gritted her teeth as she lunged past and slammed him cruelly down on his back, the monster's body bouncing once against the concrete before she leaned over him and slammed her hooves in a vicious volley against his breast.
Sinister snarled, then swung a foreleg out, managing to slap her away. She hit the ground with a wince, but rolled quickly back to her hooves, breathing hard and narrowing her eyes as she watched the monster flail on his back for a moment before he rolled over as his bones visibly began to snap back into place, the beast not even seeming to be aware that she had caused him any damage...
And she could hear Dexter behind her, growling at her angrily... but not attacking, not yet. Instead, the twins began to pace around her, and she thought that they were communicating with each other in some bestial, primal way through their body language, their grunts and growls, as she simply kept herself at the ready.
Then she grimaced a bit as she saw General Archon and Shining Armor both emerge from the doors in the base of one of the tower's supports. Archon was scowling darkly, looking unfazed even by these creatures, while Shining had his teeth grit, starting forwards-
“I can handle them!” Cadence shouted sharply, and both unicorns halted as Sinister and Dexter glared furiously at the winged unicorn. She looked back at Sinister coldly, the stallion almost right in front of her, while she could sense Dexter standing directly behind her... but she refused to show any fear, to back down from either of these monsters, as she said added suddenly: “But I need a mirror! You remember, right, Shining?”
Shining Armor frowned uncertainly at this, then he shook his head when Archon looked at him, the ivory unicorn muttering: “I don't see why she needs a mirror, though... they had little pieces of mirror inside of them when we first fought, and breaking the mirror shards killed them.”
“She must think she knows a way to counter the magic. Do as she says, Captain Armor.” Archon ordered sharply, and Shining nodded... but then hesitated, staring at Cadence for a moment. Remembering how hard they had fought together side-by-side that day... how she had saved his life, and how much he owed her. How once upon a time, their love had saved an entire nation from a Changeling invasion...
“Captain Armor! Go!” Archon shouted, and Shining Armor winced, then gritted his teeth and concentrated as he turned around, focusing on one of his sister's favorite spells before he vanished from sight with a loud pop. Archon glanced over his shoulder with surprise at this... but then gave a thin smile before he turned his eyes back ahead, roaring over the growls and hisses of the twins: “Cadence! Do not make me intervene this time!”
Cadence gave a faint smile, shaking her head slowly before she spread her ivory wings, grimacing as she felt a strange... thrumming in them. Her horn sparked weakly, but the mare kept all her focus on the twins, who were pacing around her again, rasping to each other... almost arguing, it sounded like.
She let them: the more they focused on her, the better. The more they forgot about, ignored everyone else, the safer this fight would be. The mare looked coldly back and forth as Sinister and Dexter gave growls in unison as they came to a halt flanking her, and her eyes narrowed after a moment as she said quietly: “You two were never really ponies, were you?”
Dexter grinned, and Sinister growled before the two suddenly lunged at her from either side. But fearlessly, Cadence leapt straight up and flapped her wings once, launching herself out of range of the monsters... or so she thought.
Dexter hit the ground first, and immediately dropped low: Sinister landed on his back before his twin leapt upwards with a roar. Cadence barely had a moment to react before Sinister launched himself into her like a cannonball, seizing her shoulders and biting viciously at her neck.
The mare just managed to yank her head out of the way as she snaked a hoof up between their bodies, punching Sinister under the jaw. But she was being dragged down by him, and she could sense Dexter readying himself to pounce, the mare gritting her teeth before she forced both her forelegs up and slapped the monster's claws loose from her bloody shoulders.
Sinister began to snap at her with his jaws as he started to fall, and Cadence slammed a hoof viciously into the end of his muzzle, knocking him flopping head over heels towards the ground with a howl before he crashed into his twin on the way down. They hit the ground in a tangle of limbs, snarling and clawing at each other before they managed to shove apart and glare furiously up at Cadence.
“Gnilbis, reh llik!” snarled Sinister, and Dexter parroted his brother angrily: by now, though, Cadence only grimaced, not caring what they had to say, since it all amounted to same thing anyway. Words mashed together with bare coherence by monsters that barely possessed a mind between them.
She hovered in the air, watching the way they clawed at her, then shivering as a memory came back: her father's face, her father's smile, in a psychiatry ward in the days before such a thing even existed, where these two monsters pretended to play with toys and blocks and blank looks on their faces while inside, inside, they counted down to the moment they would try and attack-
The attack came, both suddenly lunging in memory and reality, and Cadence shouted a denial before she dropped from the air and slammed both rear hooves with a crunch into Sinister's face, while at the same time bringing her front hooves down in a cruel tomahawk against Dexter's skull. Both monsters were knocked crashing back to the ground, and Cadence landed a moment later on all four hooves, breathing hard and staggering backwards to a ready position as she shivered.
She couldn't let that happen again. That was her losing focus, letting her mind go haywire, but even if she was tired and her horn wasn't working right, she couldn't lose that control, get sloppy, stop fighting at her level because... goddammit, because she was that much better than these two monsters! Forget everything else, forget what they would do if she couldn't stop them: she was supposed to be a warrior, a protector, and a destroyer! She was supposed to be a force that could inspire fear in even the Valkyries, let alone...
Part of Cadence's mind went blank, even as the rest boiled with anger and pride. But there wasn't any time to make sense of it, to guess where those thoughts had come from: there was only time to use that warrior's pride she had never fully understood, and make it sharpen her senses, focus harder on the task at hoof, and guide her body and her mind as Sinister and Dexter both began to run at her again, roaring like the black wolves of hell...
Sinister leapt at her, sweeping a claw out to try and tear her legs out from under her as Dexter leapt high with a snarl, trying to preempt any attempt to evade: but instead, Cadence caught Sinister's claw sweep with both front legs, gritting her teeth as she half-turned and flung him savagely upwards into Dexter.
Brother collided against brother, the two flailing through the air before crashing to the ground in a painful heap... but to Cadence's shock, Sinister yanked himself free of the pile, kicking off his sibling with a roar and diving straight at her before she could react.
A claw tore down into her side, knocking her sprawling and sending up a spray of white feathers as her wing was torn almost in half. She hit the ground and skidded before cursing and throwing herself backwards to avoid his other claw pinning her, then she kicked both rear hooves up as his jaws bit savagely towards her.
His head was knocked back with a spray of blood, the beast staggering, but he almost immediately lunged forwards again, leaping overtop her with a growl and trying to pin her under his heavy body. But Cadence slammed a vicious volley of blows up into his breast, every blow hitting with enough force to make the goliath's body shake before she snapped her horn sharply upwards and blasted the surprised monster off with a powerful flash of light.
He was knocked crashing onto his back, howling and flailing wildly, and Cadence gritted her teeth even as she rolled back to her hooves and staggered a bit. Her head was swimming, and she couldn't even explain what she had just done: she had just reacted on instinct, and that magic had burst out of her...
Dexter disrupted her thoughts by charging at her with a roar, and the mare looked up before gritting her teeth and running forwards. She leapt over the monster as he tried to swipe him with her claws, running quickly down his spine before dropping on her stomach behind him and slamming a hoof into the back of one leg.
The monster fell painfully to one side with a snarl, and it gave Cadence all the time she needed to back quickly off from them both, as Sinister and Dexter both righted themselves. The mare looked back and forth with a grimace, eyes narrowed dangerously... and then she gritted her teeth as Archon's voice rang out: “I've seen foals fight better! Either focus on your targets or get out of the way!”
Cadence flexed, spreading her wings as best she could: one hung limp and dripped with blood, but the other almost glowed as she locked onto the twins. They were slowly approaching, their paths crisscrossing as they came towards her with dark growls, and the mare took a slow breath before she said quietly: “I am not afraid. I refuse to be afraid of either of you.”
She gritted her teeth, feeling such hate and anger, and welcoming them both. Letting those emotions in... it made it easier to want to hurt these two, to focus on how she could delay them until Shining Armor came back. Then her eyes narrowed as the twins stopped and looked at each other, before they both grinned coldly.
They looked back at her, and one mocked as he scratched a broken hoof against the ground: “Reh llik ew llahs? Gnilbis, semag gniyalp pots ew dluohs?”
“Gnilbis, reh llik llahs ew. Semag gniyalp pots dluohs ew.” confirmed the other, and they grinned at each other before they both suddenly turned and ran forwards at the same time, and Cadence's eyes widened in shock as they curved in perfect synchronization towards her: it was like they had abandoned their animal selves, suddenly moving with precision and pride.
They flanked her and leapt at her from either side: Cadence knew already there was no escape to the air, even if she could force a good boost from her damaged wings. Instead, she snapped her horn down and gave a raw yell as she tried to summon up that alien magic on desperation...
And instead, a massive dome of flames erupted into being around her, Sinister and Dexter colliding with either side of this and howling as they clawed wildly at the almost-solid fire before it suddenly burst outwards in a fiery wave that knocked them both backwards. They bounced painfully across the ground as Archon strode forwards, his eyes cold as he said icily: “Enough. You've had your chance to deal with them.”
Sinister and Dexter both rolled to their hooves, snarling in fury as Cadence cursed under her breath. But there was no time to argue as Dexter lunged at her, the mare narrowly ducking under the swipe of his claw-like, broken hooves before she caught him by the wrists. He roared and shoved forwards, but Cadence moved with him as she bared her teeth, dropping onto her back and slamming both hind legs into his stomach in a bicycle kick that carried them both in a roll and left her pinning the larger monster, Dexter gargling and snapping his jaws wildly in the direction of her face as he fought to yank his forelegs free from her grip, but her rear hooves were digging deep into his stomach, giving her the leverage she needed to stop him from yanking loose.
Sinister, meanwhile, charged straight at Archon... who only glared in disgust before he snapped his horn sharply upwards, and a blast of fire exploded from the ground beneath the beast, knocking him into the air with a squeal as he flailed his limbs in all directions. Archon's horn gave a bright flash as his eyes narrowed, before he flicked it sharply forwards at the apex of the monster's flight.
A sphere of intense flames burst into life around the monster, muffling Sinister's howls as it began to churn and twist violently, becoming like a miniature sun that crushed down on the monster inside it with both intense pressure and extreme heat. It lit up the entire night, overpowering the glow of the Crystal Heart and the lamps mounted along the bottom of the tower, all eyes staring with a mix of awe and horror before Archon coldly snapped his horn down.
The fireball dropped like a meteor, crashing into the earth: the heat was so focused, so intense that the stone floor of the square literally splashed upwards, reduced to molten slag by the sheer heat before the focused inferno vanished, leaving only a charred, smoldering corpse laying inside the crater, burned to little more than a charred skeleton and a few melted pieces of glass.
Cadence stared in disbelief over her shoulder, then cursed when Dexter suddenly swung a claw up and knocked her staggering backwards, the mare gritting her teeth before she spun around when the monster lunged at her, slamming both rear hooves viciously into his face and knocking him backwards with a gurgle as she used the kick to launch herself a short distance away at the same time.
She spun around, readying herself... and pillars of flame erupted in a cage around Dexter, the monster looking back and forth with a snarl before the bars of fire twisted themselves suddenly around, snapping around the beast's limbs, body, and throat. Dexter roared, jerking himself back and forth... and then Archon gave a thin smile as he strode up beside Cadence, saying icily as his horn glowed with focused power: “Our goal is not to put on a show or take out our pain on the enemy. It is to destroy whatever threatens our nation as quickly as possible.”
Archon flicked his horn, and Dexter's roars turned into a long, drawn out wail as he burst into crimson flames, writhing helplessly back and forth as his body rapidly began to char away and visibly dwindle beneath the all-consuming blaze.
And then a horrible, rasping chuckle rose up from behind them, and Archon's eyes widened in shock before he looked over his shoulder disbelievingly at the sight of Sinister crawling slowly up out of the crater, black, hideous not-flesh twisting rapidly into place over his mangled skeleton, soulless, glowing white eyes glaring out at the General.
The monster growled, flexing slowly as it dragged itself out of the crater, body reforming almost entirely... and throughout its mangled form, Cadence could see the glints of glassy mirror now, before these gleaming shards were covered by dark flesh. And in moments, they were no longer faced with a warped, distorted corpse, but instead a horrific monster with a spongy black hide and jagged, hooked claws, toxic saliva oozing from its gleaming white fangs.
And with a roar, Dexter tore free from the flames behind them, staggering as Archon cursed as his magic was disrupted, recoil bursting over his horn... but the old stallion barely twitched, to his credit, even he bared his teeth at having lost his focus. Cadence narrowed her eyes, stepping past him as he spun around to face Dexter, and they stood side-to-side, each sharply watching a monster as the winged unicorn asked in a mutter: “So can you admit you might have just made things worse?”
“Then I'll help make things better. I'll restrain one, you pin the other. And we'll both hope that Shining Armor gets back here soon.” Archon muttered, and then he hesitated only a moment before asking quietly: “Are you sure you know how to stop these things? They seem even more resilient than Pain was.”
Cadence only smiled wryly, looking ahead and replying as Sinister grinned at her, and Dexter shifted eagerly forwards: “I think so. My... my father will guide me.”
“For all our sakes, I hope you're right.” Archon muttered, and then he set himself before shouting fearlessly: “Soldiers! Maintain a defensive perimeter around the Crystal Heart and do not move to engage-”
“Eid dna pu tuhs!” Dexter shouted almost gleefully, roaring laughter as he charged straight at Archon, but the General only scowled darkly and turned his sharp, cold eyes on the monster, ignoring the sound of his brother echoing his words and Cadence leaping to meet him.
Archon didn't move so much as a muscle even as Dexter swept a claw in... and it tore only a thin scratch along his cheek before the monster shifted all his weight forwards onto this, leaning down into the old stallion's face with his fangs bared in a wide grin, hollow eyes blazing with hatred. Archon's hard gaze met the monster's eyes icily, and Dexter laughed loudly before suddenly opening his jaws and lunging forwards-
A blast of flames smashed into the monster's open maw, and Dexter staggered backwards, howling as he shook his head violently back and forth, smoke pouring out of his jaws before Archon flicked his horn again, a short arc of energy shooting from his horn and colliding directly between Dexter's eyes. The monster flinched, then growled as he looked up, not noticing the glowing red dot now pulsing distinctly on his forehead before Archon said contemptibly: “You're nothing but a savage.”
Dexter leapt forwards, and Archon simply flicked his horn, a wave of red flames walloping into the monster's side and knocking Dexter staggering before Archon's horn glowed brightly, more bursts of red lightning shooting from his horn and smacking into the monster's hide, leaving distinct, pulsing red dots wherever they hit. Then Archon smiled thinly as Dexter turned with a vicious backclaw, ducking smoothly under the talons before he quickly sidestepped, head raised high and proud, his eyes glowing with determination and focus.
Cadence, meanwhile had managed to lure Sinister a short distance away to prevent the brothers from suddenly ganging up on either of them. He was attacking viciously, but back to playing cat-and-mouse with her: it seemed that now that they had a new playmate, Sinister and Dexter had renewed their interest in drawing out the fight before they killed them.
He swept a claw at her, and Cadence caught his foreleg before flinging him down on his side and twisting savagely, snapping his forelimb. The monster snarled in frustration at this, but quickly dragged itself back to its three working limbs before slowly holding its injured foreleg out to the side: with a few sickening, loud pops, the limb regenerated, and Cadence's eyes narrowed: they were healing even faster now.
She felt her wings trembling, and her horn sparking, and she didn't know what either meant: she didn't want to fly, and she didn't seem to be able to control that stupid, weird light magic that kept bursting out of her at the last moment. She glared across at Sinister before the twin suddenly lunged at her, sweeping both claws down, and Cadence winced as she leapt back before the monster suddenly bolted at her and caught her by the neck.
He hefted her into the air, then slammed her cruelly down onto her back, Cadence gasping as Sinister loomed over her... and memory overlaid reality, the mare feeling like a little filly again as she stared with terror up into the face of this Brokenhearted barbarian as he looked down at her like she was... like she was some toy, some treat, some worthless piece of meat he was taking pleasure in stripping the value and dignity from...
Her horn sparked, and then Cadence snarled before she slammed a hoof viciously into the monster's throat, and Sinister gargled and staggered backwards... but at the same time, he snarled and half-spun, yanking her off the ground and flinging her across the square. She crashed painfully down on her back, rolling over her broken wing and gasping at the pain before she looked up as Sinister came barreling towards her like a freight train.
She felt a charge run through her body, preparing her magic... but to harm, or protect? Was she a killer or was she a defender? Her eyes widened at these thoughts as she realized why everything was so jagged, why she was having such a hard time focusing-
The monster crashed into her and smashed her cruelly into the air before he reached up to catch her by the shoulders and fling her face-first into the ground with a crunch. Cadence bounced backwards... then gasped as Sinister seized her by the mane and hefted her up in front of him, the monster grinning cruelly at her...
She wasn't helpless. But she was conflicted. And that conflict inside her kept making her stumble, kept blocking her own ability to call on that strange magic inside her, except when it burst out on instinct...
Slowly, her eyes opened, and she saw Sinister leaning down towards her, his jaws stretching wide to swallow her up, gobble her down the endless abyss of his throat. Teeth waited to grind and crush her, the tongue to constrict and scrape the flesh from her bones with its bitter caresses...
Time seemed to slow as she felt herself focusing, and she clenched her eyes shut: she fell down the rabbit hole of her mind, knowing she didn't have any time and yet at the same time, she had all the time she needed. All she needed to do, after all, was find... herself.
Because that was the problem, wasn't it? She was fragmented: she was a princess, and she was a warrior. She was a best friend and she was alone. She was a loving daughter, and she was a betrayed orphan. She honored her heritage, and she defied everything she had been taught. She cherished her past, and she cared about nothing but the future. She was alive... and she was nothing but a ghost.
At the heart of it all, she was two very different people: the person she had been born as, and the person she had been taught to be. On one hoof, there was what her instincts told her to do, and how she could maim and hurt and kill the enemy... on the other, there was everything her father had taught her, to love, to cherish, to protect even at the cost of her own life... to become the person that all her friends, the closest thing she had to family, looked up to and loved, until they had seen that other, darker side of her...
She fell through memories, feeling the seconds ticking by, seeing fragments like a thousand pieces of twinkling glass floating through her mind all around her, each with a different face, a different voice, a different image scribed upon it...
And then Cadence looked down as she saw another shape looking up at her: a dark, terrible, evil shape... and Sombra gave her that smile her father had always worn, and looked at her with love through the miasma that bled from his eyes, her father reaching a hoof up towards her and saying quietly: “We all have to find our own path, mi amore. Do not forget, it is not just how we act that defines us... it is what we do, and why we do it.”
Cadence fell towards him, stretching her hoof out desperately towards this darkness that was still her beacon, still her guide, still the brightest thing in her life...
And then her eyes widened as she felt the pieces click into place in her mind: defender, destroyer, friend, wanderer, warrior, even princess... she was all these things and more. Even when they conflicted, they were still pieces of her, written on her very soul: even the worst parts of her, she could use for good. Just like those parts of her that strove to be so good were doing nothing but getting in the way right now, making her question herself, hesitate, delay...
Then memory shattered around Cadence, and she looked up as Sinister bit down towards her, the mare cursing and snapping her horn down at the last moment to deflect the monster's bite before she put as much energy as she dared into one violent blast of magic.
White light smashed into Sinister, knocking him sprawling with a howl of misery as she tore backwards and free from his grip to land on her hooves. She felt cold and sharp and ready... and for the first time in her life, it felt right as well as natural. There was no hesitation, no fear of what she was becoming, nothing but a readiness to do whatever it took to stop these monsters... and with that, it felt like some great, endless well of power had opened up inside of her, as she said coldly: “I know how to stop you. I know you don't care, that you'll pretend you don't even understand me... but I'm giving you and Dexter one chance to leave.”
Sinister slowly picked himself up, his body steaming faintly before he bared his teeth in a cruel grin, looking coldly over at the mare as he replied greedily: “Htgnerts su evig lliw traeh eht. Traeh eht ruoved lliw ew. Traeh eht llik lliw ew.”
Dexter stopped, then parroted mockingly to Archon, the monster heedless of the glowing red dots pulsing over his body: “ Traeh eht llik lliw ew.  Htgnerts su evig lliw traeh eht. Traeh eht ruoved lliw ew.”
Archon gave a thin smile, and then he simply flicked his horn as Dexter began to step forwards: immediately, the crimson dots all glowed brightly before they exploded in a tremendous, unified blast of crimson hellfire, Dexter screaming as he was flung to the side to crash bonelessly down in a broken heap. Almost half of his body had been completely incinerated, leaving nothing but a broken stump of limb on his right side pawing uselessly at the air, his features melted and his jaws howling in indignation and the closest thing to pain these monsters could feel.
He was already rebuilding himself, however, and Archon grimaced before his eyes flicked up as there was a distinct crackle of magic. His eyes locked on Shining Armor as the ivory unicorn appeared in a burst of light, grimacing as he rushed forwards before dropping a massive, heavy old mirror in front of himself and bracing it into a standing position with telekinesis. “Cadence!”
“Shine, face it towards me!” Cadence shouted, and Shining Armor slowly began to swivel the mirror towards her as Sinister looked sharply over his shoulder. And then the monster's eyes widened as he stared into the mirror... and a barbarian that Cadence remembered all too well stared back, covered in blood and scars and markings that had been seared into his flesh all along his left side.
Cadence smashed into Sinister while he was still distracted, the mare slamming both hooves down into his skull to knock him flopping forwards before she leapt over him and seized both his rear legs, dragging him sharply backwards before half-spinning and flinging him hard through the air. But Sinister almost gracefully spun his body to land on his claws like a cat, snarling at her as his eyes blazed. “Kcab og ton lliw ew!”
“Oh yes, you will.” Cadence growled, setting herself, and Sinister roared before charging at her.  But Cadence leapt forwards fearlessly and slammed a hoof across his face with enough force to knock him to a stop, the monster's eyes bulging before the mare slammed a second hoof up under his chin, sending him rearing back before she jumped into the air and smashed both rear hooves into his stomach.
The monster was knocked sprawling on his back, but he hurriedly rolled and turned, trying to get out of the mirror's path. But Cadence smoothly dove forwards and slammed a hoof into his side, the monster's body twisting slightly before she jackknifed him and seized him around the waist, yanking his heavy form with her to slam him cruelly down on his other side.
He roared and turned towards her in a rage, swiping a claw out, and Cadence dodged this before ducking under another grab, then waiting for the monster to try and pounce on her. And the moment Sinister did, she ducked low and then leapt upwards, twisting her body gracefully at the same time to catch him around the middle before she tossed him like she would a sack of potatoes.
He flew through the air, flailing wildly... then crashed back-first into the top of the mirror. It shuddered with his impact, cracks forming through the glass, and Cadence winced at first... before her eyes widened as she saw a ripple pass through the reflection, reality distorting as the monster sat slowly up... then hissed in shock as several shards of glass ripped free from its back, sucked into the mirror as the surface began to ripple like liquid.
Cadence ran straight at the monster, then leapt up and slammed both rear hooves into his face as she flapped her wounded wings as hard as she could to give herself all the extra power she could dredge up, knocking Sinister flopping backwards. And this time, he passed through the surface of the mirror... but where he did, his body distorted as the creature that had been reflected in the image passed back out.
And Cadence leapt forwards, seizing this displaced, stunned barbarian around the neck and gritting her teeth as she yanked him forwards, tearing him loose from the reflective surface: as he was torn out, the rest of the monstrous Sinister was sucked in, vanishing into the depths of the rippling glass as his counterpart was flung away.
The barbarian crashed down on his side, then bared his fangs as he rolled sharply up to his hooves. Cadence trembled as she stepped up in front of him: this barbarian from her memories, who she could feel hollowness and hate emanating from. He was Brokenhearted and furious and probably still strong enough to kill most ponies without even a thought... but she wasn't most ponies. She knew how to kill the Brokenhearted now that his protection was stripped. And she owed this son of a bitch.
Dexter, meanwhile, had regenerated enough to claw his way up to his jagged talons, staring across at his brother before he trembled and then arched his back like a cat, turning towards Archon and hissing: “Kcab og ton lliw ew!”
Archon only smiled thinly, then shouted calmly: “Captain Armor! The mirror!”
Slowly, Shining forced the enormous, cracked mirror to revolve towards Archon, and Dexter looked sharply over at this before roaring loudly: unlike his brother, however, he turned to bolt for the mirror, likely intent on destroying it before he could be claimed too.
“Stupidity.” Archon focused, horn glowing brightly before he flicked it sharply, and a pillar of flame erupted out of the ground in front of the mirror before it snapped suddenly down, seizing around Dexter before yanking him viciously through the air and flinging him sharply straight towards the reflective surface.
The monster smashed into the mirror, bouncing off it with a gargle... and then howling and scrabbling wildly at the ground as several chunks of glass were torn out of his spongy body, sucked up into the rippling reflection. Dexter clawed wildly at the ground as his hindquarters were pulled back into the mirror next, before he slowly began to pull himself forwards... until the pillar that had flung him lashed forwards, becoming a concentrated stream of hellfire that launched him straight back through the rippling surface.
The monstrosity vanished... and a second barbarian Brokenhearted was ejected violently from the mirror as it shattered in a burst of dark magic, the pony crashing painfully to the ground and bouncing several times before he rolled to a halt in a smoldering pile.
He began to climb up... and then only watched with something like half-remembered horror as Cadence crashed into his brother, the mare slamming a volley of blows across Sinister's face as the barbarian staggered backwards with screams of pain.
She slammed an elbow down on the end of his muzzle, shattering it, before another hoof smashed across his eye, cracking bone and blinding him with blood. He hit the ground hard on his side, and Cadence didn't stop, leaping on top of him and pounding a vicious series of blows down into his breast, the barbarian shrieking as she snapped his ribs like twigs and shattered his breastbone into fragments, her eyes glowing with hatred, her horn thrumming with cruel light.
A hoof slammed down, and Sinister's back arched as bloody tears flew from his ruined eye, screaming in pain and humiliation and terror before the mare's second hoof plunged down, crushing, tearing... and then ripping as she tore her hooves to either sire, the beaten barbarian's chest wrenched open with a great splatter of blood.
Cadence plunged her hoof down, tore through organ and veins and muscle, glaring down into the barbarian's staring eye before she ripped back... and tore his heart free from his chest in a splatter of blood. It throbbed in her hoof, pulsing wildly with the fear it still felt before Cadence gritted her teeth as her horn glowed brightly, and a moment later, the pony's heart lit up with the same ghastly white aura before it simply exploded in a splatter of blood and merciless radiance.
Sinister screamed on the ground, his body convulsing before that same glowing light spread through his entire form, the monster grabbing at her desperately, screaming, pleading for a mercy that never came before he erupted into white flames. He spasmed beneath her, but she only looked down at him, watching him callously until the Brokenhearted finally fell limp, grabbing weakly one last time at the winged unicorn before he slumped, dead.
Cadence calmly pushed herself away from the charred remains of the monster, looking coldly over at Dexter... and embracing the coldness, and the hatred, and the anger inside her. Right now, this was the part of her she needed, to finish these monsters off. She couldn't hesitate. She couldn't stop. She wanted... revenge.
Dexter trembled, this mighty Brokenhearted stumbling backwards as Cadence quickly approached before he bared his teeth... but it was a gesture of fear, not of violence. His body quaked as he tried to set himself, and he half-rose a claw as the mare drew close... but fearlessly, she strode up in front of his face before reaching up and grabbing him under the chin, jerking his head down as she said harshly: “How does it feel? All the pain, the suffering you monsters caused... my father died, trying to protect scum like you. And I wish every day he'd saved himself instead of saving the world... even if I know he never would. My father was a good king.”
There was silence for a moment before Cadence's horn lit up with that merciless radiance again... and then Dexter hurked, his eyes bulging, his body flexing, staring disbelievingly down at the mare before she slowly tore her hoof free from where she had buried it in his breast. She looked coldly down at the weakly-pulsing heart in her hoof, then she tossed it to the ground before her hoof burst into white flames and she stomped it savagely, saying in a quieter voice: “Now go to sleep. There's no place left in this world for you or your kind.”
Dexter gasped, then slowly fell back on his haunches before he burst into white flames, staring at Cadence. And Cadence rose her eyes, meeting Dexter's, looking into them and watching him die... and part of her reveled in it. Relished her vengeance... even as the other part of her hated herself for what she'd had to do, and was only glad that she was able to make it quick.
Finally, Dexter's charred corpse collapsed, breaking into pieces: there was little more left than black dust and ashes, the mare looking down at this silently for a few moments before she took a slow breath and rose her head, trembling quietly as she looked up and said finally: “I know who I am. I know what I am. I'm... I'm two people. I'm Cadence, and I'm someone much older. Someone who wasn't even really a person at all, but... a weapon...”
“You were cruel. You were vicious. But you were also precise.” Archon said almost reassuringly, striding towards her. And Cadence only smiled faintly as she looked over at him and shrugged slowly before lowering her head.
Then she glanced up as she heard the quiet click of hooves approaching, and smiled briefly at Shining Armor as he looked at her uncomfortably. She looked back at him, licking her lips slowly, and then she murmured: “I'm sorry you had to see me like that, Shine. I'm... I'm sorry about a lot of things.”
“Me too.” Shining Armor said in a low voice, and then he hesitated before stepping forwards and saying a little more firmly: “I want to work through things with you, okay? I'm never really there when you need me... you're... always saving me. But I think I can be, even if... you scare me a little. This whole thing... scares me a little. It's a lot to take in.”
“It is.” Cadence smiled briefly, glancing down for a moment before she looked up and said quietly: “Sinister and Dexter won't be coming back. I don't think they ever escaped the ether, where Sombra banished the Crystal Kingdom to... but he was able to forge a connection with their souls all the same, and give the m a way to take on form in this world. But with a big enough anchor like that mirror became... reflection reflected the real body.”
“Letting you trade their copies for the real thing.” Archon looked grimly over at the pieces of shattered mirror, shaking his head briefly. “You made a wild, stupid guess, in other words.”
Cadence smiled briefly, then she looked down and said quietly: “Sort of. I just... it's in my mind. Sombra... my father's memories, all his experiments, his spells and magic... it's all in my mind. All the things he did, all the things he tried to... to protect those stupid, stupid savages...”
“Hey, Cadence. Hey. It's okay. Now come on, being so hateful... that's not usually your thing.” Shining Armor said quietly, leaning in towards her... almost hesitating, but only because of the static between them. And when Cadence glanced up at him and didn't push him away or step back, he smiled a bit more, leaning closer and saying softly: “I get that you're trying to be all strong and hardcore and all that, but you know Twilight's going to be all upset if the mare she likes to secretly watch bad romance movies with comes back too tough to pretend to cry with her.”
Cadence smiled a bit more at this, and then she straightened a little and reached up, silently brushing her white mane back before said softly: “No, that's just... another part of me. I feel like a puzzle that's finally coming together, but it's made of... all sorts of different little pictures; some are good, some are bad, some are happy and others are... well...”
“Painful.” said a soft voice, and Cadence grimaced and looked sharply over her shoulder as Archon gritted his teeth and Shining Armor looked up in surprise.
Pain was standing calmly near the forcefield that protected the Crystal Heart, the line of soldiers all spinning around, readying themselves to defend the artifact, but the Pegasus didn't seem to even notice them as she gestured outwards and whispered: “See? Those I kill... become like me. Killing them is the only way to make them know my suffering... to make them understand.”
“Pain... they didn't become Brokenhearted because of you.” Cadence said quietly, and then she calmly strode forwards, gesturing slowly to the soldiers to wait.
She gave the soldiers a wide berth, and stopped some fifteen feet away from Pain, the two looking at each other before Cadence gestured towards the corpse of Dexter, saying quietly: “That was one of King Sombra's minions. An evil monster. He was Brokenhearted, yes, but he was also infected with a terrible darkness and had a terrible enchantment protecting him... they both did.”
“Don't speak to me like I'm a child.” Pain said coldly, and then she closed her eyes and shook her head slowly, continuing softly: “No. I've had time to think... and to heal. Your powers... they hurt me badly. My wounds took a long time to regenerate... my mind, even longer. But I thought about it, Cadence, and I think I understand.”
Pain looked up, studying her intently before she leaned forwards and said with strange confidence: “You are like me. A Brokenhearted. That's why you can hurt me. And that's why killing you only made you stronger... the more we're hurt, the more we endure, the stronger we Brokenhearted become. I watched this battle... until you used that strange magic to weaken them, those Brokenhearted were growing more and more dangerous with every attack you landed against them.”
“Pain, that doesn't make sense. You don't become stronger. You don't... change, like they did. You're Brokenhearted, but you're not like they are.” Cadence tried to reason, and then she bit her lip and reached up silently to touch her own breast, bowing her head forwards. “And... I am not Brokenhearted.   I am... I am a lot of things, but I'm not that.”
Pain smiled thinly at this, shaking her head slowly before she said softly: “You don't fool me at all. I know who you really are. I know what you really are. Brokenhearted... but what are you after? You revel in the fighting, in suffering, and you claim to be here to stop Sombra... and yet you destroyed what should have been your only possible link to him, and you defend this silly Crystal Heart that keeps him at a distance... or so you say.”
“I have a better connection to Sombra than you would understand, Pain, and I'm going to stop him in my own time.” Cadence said quietly but firmly... but she kept herself calm, almost relaxed. She knew better than to be aggressive with the Pegasus: right now, Pain was as close to lucid as she ever got, and while that made her more dangerous, it also made her less willing to leap into a fight.
She could probably kill Pain right now... but she was still getting a grasp on her new powers, and she knew that Pain wasn't just going to stand there and let herself get beaten on like the twins had. Pain, furthermore, didn't have their tunnel vision... the erratic Pegasus might break off and attack Shining Armor, Archon, or any of the soldiers if she started to lose her mind to that whirling maelstrom of hate and emptiness inside her...
The Pegasus studied her, and Cadence kept herself... calm. Quiet. Head bowed, almost humble. Gentle and as non-threatening as possible, while still ready in case of a surprise attack. She felt like she was being eyed by an angry predator, which was taking its time sizing her up, deciding whether she would be fun or not to kill.
And then, finally, Pain sat back slightly and shook her head slowly, saying softly: “No. You want this game to continue forever... this pain to be everlasting. But while I want others to suffer as we have... you want all these worthless ponies, these pieces of easily killed, weak meat... to bask in your glory. Like you are some kind of goddess... like you deserve great praises and rewards for enduring this sufferance. But you could end this at any time, couldn't you?
“I even wonder if you are not secretly in alliance with Sombra...” Pain gestured calmly at the ground, and Cadence's eyes sharpened. She seemed to be indicating something, something below the earth... and that made the winged unicorn shiver even before the Pegasus said quietly: “You ruled the Crystal Kingdom for a time, did you not? Do you know about the ruins beneath this place?”
“You found a way inside?” Cadence asked uneasily, and Pain gave a thin smile, as if she had just scored some kind of strange victory.
“Yes, I did. There are many entrances, in fact... hidden in places where only these vapid ponies would be so foolish as to miss them. Many are locked, but they can be forced open. The place is old and strange and metal, but... you know all about it, don't you?”
Archon and Shining Armor both looked at Cadence: one frowning and hiding his concern, the other nervous and trying to hide his deeper worries. But for the moment, Cadence only looked back at Pain evenly before she said quietly: “That's a dangerous place, Pain. That's not a place you want to go.”
“You are in no position to make demands.” Pain said calmly, and then she leaned forwards and added quietly: “I know that it is your secret rendezvous with Sombra. The deepest doors require magic to open, and beyond them, I hear him, Cadence. You attempted to trick me, to lie to me, but I have discovered your secret: that you have Sombra down there, waiting to let him in, to glory in either a mock battle, or kept as some secret, forbidden pet. And yet you call me pathetic...”
“You are pathetic, Pain.” Cadence said before she could stop herself. And the Pegasus narrowed her eyes at her, but Cadence only shook her head, taking a slow breath and trying to settle her nerves before she locked her gaze with the Pegasus' own dark eyes, trying to shift the topic away. “You can end all this now. You don't have to surrender. We don't have to fight. All you have to do is close your eyes and go to sleep, and the pain will be over.”
There was silence for a few moments, and then Pain chuckled quietly before she asked gently: “And do you really think that tearing out my heart will be enough to kill me?”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But I do know that you can die, Pain...” Cadence shook her head slowly, then she gestured silently at the Pegasus' ashen body, which still bore several large, ugly scars. “And I think you know that, too. Otherwise you wouldn't be here, having this conversation. You wouldn't have run away when-”
“I did not run away!” Pain shouted suddenly, anger bursting up as she leapt to her hooves, and Cadence readied herself... before her eyes narrowed sharply as her horn sparked, and she felt like something... something was wrong.
But she couldn't tell what it was as Pain began to pace erratically back and forth, ranting furiously: “Outnumbered, unprepared... all I did was move out of your reach, which was to your benefit! I gave you another chance! I waited until the time was right to come and strike again... it's something you should thank me for!”
Pain whirled suddenly towards Cadence, striding towards her, and Cadence gritted her teeth as she prepared herself... before her horn sparked, and her eyes widened as she realized too late that she wasn't reading any actual emotion from Pain: this burst of insanity was a cold, calmly-planned, completely-lucid act.
Pain leapt at her, and Cadence rose her hooves... but the Pegasus all-but-vanished in midair, suddenly streaking to the side and shooting past her, completely in control. Before Cadence could react, Pain had crashed into the group of soldiers and flung one of them at Archon as she grabbed the head of another unicorn, slamming him face-first into the forcefield and holding him there as she ordered sharply: “Degenerate.”
The unicorn screamed in misery as his horn sparked, used as an impromptu crystal as the portal rings reacted to the command and the presence of magic. Cadence spun around, but Pain yanked the magically-electrified unicorn off the ground and flung him almost carelessly at her, Cadence cursing as she attempted to catch the soldier against her body.
Energy sparked painfully over her frame, the mare flopping backwards with a gasp as her body went limp and the weight of the unicorn drove her to the ground. She struggled to shove him off, but knew at the same time it was already too late: Pain was too fast, and with her mind focused, too skilled and cunning for any of them to stop.
All the same, the others tried: Shining Armor attempted to leap forward, but Pain twisted around and kicked him viciously across the face with one rear hoof as she clutched the Crystal Heart against her chest, knocking him backwards. Even as he fell, he tried to fire a blast of magic in her direction, but  the Pegasus was fast: fast enough to not only dodge Shining's attack, but then drop backwards out of the way of a fireball that streaked by a moment later.
“Stop her!” roared Archon, and Cadence cursed as she flung the unicorn off her body: but she heard the defeat already present in Archon's voice, and saw that the General was already moving towards her, disengaging from the battle.
Cadence turned towards him as he approached, and the stallion asked urgently: “Can you shield the Crystal Kingdom like you did before?”
“It wouldn't work this time, General.” Cadence said quietly, looking up and watching silently as Pain flew sharply towards the barrier wall... but as she'd expected, the Pegasus didn't slow, only thrusting the Crystal Heart out in front of herself.
The Crystal Heart glowed brightly, absorbing the magic energy it was shoved into and ripping a hole through the magical wall: Pain followed it through with a single hard flap of her wings, and the Pegasi that had tried to pursue her all skidded to a halt as the wound in the wall closed the moment she had slipped through.
And Cadence gritted her teeth as she felt the positive charge of energy in the air already dissipating, looking up before she glanced down when Archon grabbed her shoulder. She heard his silent question, and she shook her head, murmuring: “I can still focus on... the magic of love, if you want to call it that. But the difference between now and then is Pain: I'll be drained and vulnerable, keeping the barrier up. Pain will take that opportunity to come in and kill me.”
“How the hell did she get through Shining Armor's... Shining Armor! How did that barrier fail?” snapped Archon, pointing sharply at the energy wall as the ivory unicorn strode towards them.
Cadence turned her own eyes to her husband, and the stallion sighed before he said finally: “Sombra could nullify my magic... those... monsters he sent after us probably had enough dark magic to break through, too. Pain must have followed them in or found another weakness. I'm... I'm sorry.”
He looked over at Cadence, and the mare smiled faintly before she strode nervously forwards as Archon muttered: “Apologies don't matter. Can you extend a barrier around the kingdom?”
“No. I've been using a lot of my strength to keep this one powered up.” Shining Armor said quietly, shaking his head before he shivered a little. “It's getting colder.”
“That's the positive energy starting to fade. The weather wards will keep the blizzard at bay, but... it's going to get colder now. And once the positive energy fades enough, Sombra will be able to get inside.” Cadence said, not knowing how she really felt about that... and then she bit her cheek before murmuring: “Unless maybe he already is inside... Pain said he was in the ruins...”
“What ruins? I was never informed of anything beneath the Crystal Kingdom, apart from a few old construction tunnels related to the sewer system.” Archon questioned moodily, turning a glare towards Cadence, but the mare only smiled a little. She knew that was his way of showing nervousness.
“Let's go and see Miss Take. I want her to hear, too, she might be able to help somehow.” Cadence said after a moment, and Shining Armor flinched, but then sighed and nodded when the mare gave him an almost sympathetic look.
Archon grimaced a bit, but then he nodded slowly himself before muttering: “Very well. But I want to hear everything, Cadence. Don't leave anything out of your story this time, no matter how big or small. And I have to know... what you are.”
General Archon looked at her evenly, and Cadence looked back calmly before both ponies looked up in surprise as Shining Armor said quietly: “She's my wife. So... so lay off.”
Both ponies looked for a few moments at the stallion, and Cadence smiled faintly, feeling a strange mix of joy and sorrow as General Archon only shook his head slowly, then said wryly: “Finally. So you're not a gelding after all.”
Shining Armor glowered a bit even as he shrank away despite himself, and then General Archon sighed before turning and grumbling: “Come on. With luck, we have until the sun rises before the Crystal Kingdom knows what's happening... but after that, we'll have to move fast. We have little time to waste.”
Cadence nodded slowly, closing her eyes and bowing her head... but she felt in her very heart of hearts that no matter what tomorrow brought with it... it would also bring her journey to its end. Tomorrow, all her questions would be answered, her past would be revealed, and she would be reunited with Sombra, for better or worse...
She only hoped she was strong enough to save her father from what he had become.