Where am I? Maybe I should-yeah! That's it! I pushed past my hooves and uncovered my eyes. Was I still being held? I..don't want to look down. Don't look down. Don't look-AH! Wait-where's the floor? Nopony's flying and its not night! Wasn't I just being held against my will? Still-the background still stays to be night. Night stars shimmer brighter than they had before-I swear, I didn't know they were that bright before now! Colors swirled together into unrecognizable and funny looking shapes as I stood around.
"Its so pretty!" I marvel. Its amazing-I never seen anything like this! Maybe I'm dead to see such a marvel or something and this was the after affect? Whatever it is, it CAN'T be real-right? I wasn't here before, and I certainly never heard of a place like this. Party Favor would have informed anypony of this place, using it as a party rink due to its strange scenery. Well, lots of things aren't real and they seem to be happening...I scratch my head at the answer."Where am I?" The scenery dimmed down if only a little. I peer around at the sudden dimness before I was met with an answer.
"Why, I never met you before," A calm voice answered, that was not what I expected. "You must be Script Spell, right?" I take a small step backward before looking around again. My eyes fell to the ground before I quickly forced them up-I don't want to see the ground. There was no ground. I take a double look just to make sure I was probably just crazy. Where the hay is that voice? Maybe Party Favor WOULDN'T use this place as a party Rink...
"E-Excuse me?!" I keep my head up, fearing the slight chance of being scared to death. Right...slight. Only slight. Of course, that can't happen..right? No-I'm not afraid at all. Not even a little. Okay, I lied. I was scared, a ton. But I know no pony can't die from being scared. That's just a saying...I hope. "How do you know my name?" The voice didn't respond for a moment.
"Hello?!" I ask again. "Helloooo?"
"Your a filly-quite young too! I can't complain; I first came here when I was a filly, too." The softness in the voice was a bit calming. Nothing expected, but what can I expect, really? "Don't be scared, its not scary here. Ok, maybe a bit for a moment, but it gets better once you get used to it." Maybe it has some maturity to it? It had some sense of maturity, like it had grown accustomed to being alone, like its in exile or something.
"Where are you?"
"Here, follow the projections. You'll see me when you reach the end."
"What project-" Suddenly the swirling colors changed into these odd moving pictures that stood on there own with grey screens. They flashed a bit-some being audible with the pictures dancing, the others just pictures. My ear flicked at the voices. They sounded very..familiar, maybe? I think I heard some of these voices before. I take a breath before starting forward, keeping my head up as my legs grow wobbly. I had to remind myself of what she said. I narrowed my eyes to see the end, but couldn't, so I decided to focus on something entirely different:the projections.
"How'd you...?" I question softly as the words escaped without warning. I peer to the side, one projection featured a pink alicorn-her fuchsia, yellow and purple mane tied in delicate rings, all covered in a veil. She looked like she was getting married or something. She didn't need the special attire, she was already prettier than I ever thought a pony could be. She was grinning as she danced something with another pony. This time, the pony next to her was a purple clad unicorn. She was very happy herself, giggling wildly as six ponies, 5 mares and 1 lone, white stallion a mane of two shades of blue, watch them in delight. One pony-a rainbow one, snickered as the the white mare simply brushed her antics off, but the other ponies seem to agree with the rainbow maned one. They remind me of the ponies I was with earlier, just in a more relaxed state. The rainbow-maned one particularly. Not many ponies have such a shocking mane.
"Sunshine, Sunshine, Lady Bugs awake!
Clap your hooves and do a little shake!"
Was that a game that adult ponies play normally? I shake my head, it must be. Adults are so weird. I pass by a few more projections, only a few catching my attention besides that odd one. One of those few being an evil looking head thing that decided to be a jerk to ponies. It didn't say where, but its all crystally in the end, even the ponies were crystal in appearance, but crystalline ponies were a simple myth. I can't be too sure of the ponies Twilight said were once rulers. I can't even suggest Twilight being here is real, they were just remnants of what was. She's supposed to be stone. Or, at least, her future self is stone. How does that work, anyway? I sigh in discontent. They were there and now they aren't. I'm not there anymore, I'm in some weird plane, I suppose. Darn it, I wish I paid more attention to my teacher that taught this subject. I decide to look at the projection once more, ignoring lingering doubts for now. That purple unicorn was there again. I took note of the pony this time. Maybe I have to look at the unicorn, or find her, more? That's why there must be projections. Objective found:find out about that pony, stat!
"Over here! Your getting closer!" She seemed delighted. I pause for a second, taking that in. She doesn't appear, but I know she's somewhere. If she's calling, then its true. I gulp as I pull myself together, hoping to just find images that would divert my attention. Anything but looking down. Most of the images that caught my attention were odd-one with a flower monster-type creature and a mismatched one too caught my attention once. The alicorn was with the purple unicorn that grew to be an alicorn, I figured so, anyways. She seemed to be less frazzled than before. Why was I happy she wasn't so haggard as she was when she was dealing with the floating unicorn stallion head? Still, even when the ponies had to deal with the chaotic actions, they weren't too upset. In fact, their bond increased. I wish I could hear them, but I didn't.
"Where are you?" She told me to be here, didn't she? She wasn't there. I was certain I was at the end of the projections until one appeared right before my eyes. A shrieked before falling on my hindquarters, tears streaming down my face at the sudden shock of it.
"Oops, sorry Script. I..didn't mean to spring that up too fast," the voice apologized. "Go through it, I'll be on the other side." I shook my head. I can't. I won't.
"What do you want with me?" I call out. "What is it that your trying to show me?" I stomp my hooves. The voice didn't answer me this time.
"Well?" I call out again, annoyed. "You can't keep doing this! I just want to-" I felt some whisk of energy gently push me forward before I tumbled inside the projection, as off as that sounds. I didn't know you can enter a projection. Still, my heart raced as my throat ached. It ached from my screams that rippled through me. I was falling. My eyes tear up. I don't want to die. I covered my eyes as I was waiting for impact.
"Wha..?" My ears flattened as nothing came. Where was the SPLAT?I opened one eye in anticipation, then another. I was in one piece. Relief spread over me, a sigh releasing automatically. I tried standing up before I felt a wetness drip from my legs. "Darn it.." Before I could dwell on my foalish behavior, I heard something that I didn't expect to hear:the smashing of glass. It broke with such great intensity that it shattered into fragments, or, I thought it did. There was no glass around before.
"Cadance, there is nothing I can do!" A voice responded to the smashing before I did. "I'm sorry...but its the truth." The voice trailed off. It sounded like Twilight, but she seemed to show remorse towards whatever caused the glass to shatter. The ponies that had those voices appeared suddenly, making me scoot backward. There stood a livid pink alicorn, her demeanor drastically different than the times I seen her before. Her hair flowing to invisible wind. Her purple eyes narrowed in contempt and...something else. It wasn't a pony emotion anymore; I haven't found a pony that used an expression quite like the one she used. She stomped again, this time before kicking away some glass as she turned away, her muzzle contorting in disgust. The other pony, the purple alicorn that could be confirmed as Twilight now, looked at her with sorrow filling her features. She looked down before attempting to get closer to the other. Maybe she was trying to reword her phrase or better the situation?
"I can't help your kingdom, Cadence. I can't bring back Shiny, as much as I'd love to, and..I'm sorry I.."Twilight looked away, tears dripping from her eyes.
"THERE WAS!" She boomed out, her voice turning into a loud shrill as she flared. Her voice reaching levels that could rival a stereo. She was facing Twilight now, but no longer was simply angry or full of contempt with that mix of something else I can't even fathom, no, she was sad. Regret was mixed in there, somewhere. "You know it yourself! If you responded faster-"
"I have my own kingdom to govern, Candance, "Twilight reminded calmly, nudging the alicorn lightly. "When I reached..."The pink alicorn refused to hear any of that. She huffed out, tears forming at the base of her eyes as she cried out in agony. The purple alicorn glanced at her, sorrow transforming into worry as she watched the other pony shutter. Her breaths were ragged in nature as her hair flowed even more wildly as each moment passed. She huffed as she pawed the ground, her face scrunched in pain for a split second.
"Get away from me..." The alicorn spat out, her eyes staring down. Twilight was taken back by this, her eyes growing bigger at each word said.
"Cadance-"
"GET AWAY FROM ME TWILIGHT!" She screamed out, her voice booming louder than before. Her magic flung out of her without even a second for Twilight to register, and she disappeared just like that. Cadance gave out a heavy breath as she looked down at her kingdom. The kingdom she almost died for, the kingdom that wanted nothing to do with her before I saw her tear. Her hoof slammed into the ground, leaving cracks in its wake.
"Princess?" A pony asked softly, she was probably some sort of maid that served only her. "My Majesty, you ok? We heard your cries, I came to make sure you are at ease." Cadance furrowed her brow, turning her head in her direction for a split second. She muttered something before she glanced up, the moon shimmering high above her.
"I...protected my ponies..." Cadance spoke softly as she cracked a little smile. "I..couldn't protect them. I couldn't protect my own family. Yet..."
"Your Majesty?" The maid asked again, worry clear in her voice. Cadance didn't answer right away, still staring at the moon.
"Why can't they just care for me like they used to?" Cadance gave out a cry of pure anger, stomping her hoof again as she backed away. She turned away from the maid, though. Back turned, looking up at the mirror-like replica of her very cutie mark. "Because I'm nothing like the savior of Equestria? Nothing like Auntie Celestia and Luna?" She urged the maid to answer, but the frightened maid shrunk back.
"C-Cadance-"
"Maybe its because most ponies don't even recognize me anymore? Not that they had prior..." She stared back at her reflection. "I saved Equestria from Chrysalis's grasp, yet ponies still dislike me. Ponies don't bother to remember ME much..." She huffed at the notion.
"No, they prefer goody-four hooves Twilight..." The air in the room felt suffocating, tense. It hadn't felt right; like I was encased in a small space. "She took away everything, and she received everything. Why? Because she's special. "
"You don't care about me," Cadance declared. She faced her with an empty face. "You don't care about anypony but yourself. Ponies like you simply trick yourself; delude yourselves to feel better. It isn't just you.."
"That is enough, Princess!" The maid spoke up, gaining ground. "You simply can not act in such a manner!" Cadance ignored her statement, focusing on her own words.
"Its everypony else as well. They don't deserve to have the love I give them. They never did. They only care about their own and themselves, never the care of others. That's how ponies are. Why should I do the same? Why should I give them my gift when they wouldn't give it back to somepony else? They don't deserve any bit of my love. They don't deserve to have any SEMBLANCE OF LOVE!" Cadance roared.This time, her wrath was so great. Her pink coat littered with bruises and dirt, glowed weirdly. Her main of three colors shimmered brightly along with her purple eyes. The maid retreated again, her eyes growing bigger as the words apparently sank in.
"You've gone completely insane!" The maid cried out in horror. Cadance merely laughed at her fear as she changed. It was as if a ball of magic enveloped her form for the worse, changing with devastating results. "Princess Cadance!"
"My name is no longer Cadance," The alicorn standing before her was no longer the Cadance that looked radiant, but of a mare that looked battered and broken down. Her coat was faded, dulled and so was her mane and tale, but they flowed more with malicious intent. Her body was like poison; battered and disgusting now. She looked like she took a beating, or died and came back like one of those cliche horror movies, her corpse too decayed to seemingly move the way it had. But she was no corpse and she was not dead. She was the monster that created our life as we knew it. "If you will live long enough, you will know me as Fractured Crystal, but I doubt you'd live long in the state you're in."
"Its sad to see in person, isn't it?" The voice spoke up. I shake off the odd sensation before backing up to see the pony in front of me. There stood that alicorn from the projection, yet it wasn't at the same time. My eyes shifted to Fractured Crystal as she took out what was let of her kingdom in one swoop, but she didn't leave empty hooved. They followed her as they destroyed other ponies, munching and killing each with some satisfaction at first, but disappointment the next minute. It made sense-they couldn't produce love so they would kill another for love, but without success. She was no longer that alicorn, though-her coat dulled and her mane less vibrant, but no where near the dullness that the monster had. She lacked wings and a horn like the legend said she had in the end. She was just a regular earth pony now. Her eyes took on a sorrowful look before she called me over to her, bringing me close with her arm. "I always feel depressed when I remember that day."
"You can't be..." The pony nodded, confirming my worst possible fear.
"Yes, I'm Fract-...no, I'm Cadance, and I..caused that mess."