Cadence begins to wear Noir on occasion around the castle, usually whenever she feels like she needs friendly support or when she may be dealing with her aunt. She and Shining begin preparing for their wedding after Cadence appeases Celestia and Noir's simple presence brings her peace throughout the early stages of planning. One night, after a particularly hectic day trying to arrange a series of particulars concerning the decorations, Cadence returns to her room in desperate need of distraction...
Cadence stumbled into her room, haggard and exhausted, but exhilarated at the same time. Despite the growing bags under her eyes, they shine brightly with excitement and hope for her future with Shining Armor. “What a day!” She exclaimed as the door closes behind her, her left hoof rising to her chest where Noir hangs from a gold ribbon that is tucked neatly under her golden neck piece. “So much done! So much left to do! It's unreal!” The alicorn collapsed onto her bed, staring up at the ceiling, one hoof draped elegantly across her forehead. “And I couldn't have made it through without you, Noir.”
The amulet against her chest chuckled softly, “I hardly did anything, Cadence. You were very... composed out there today.” His voice sounded almost disappointed, but it quickly faded away as he continued, “I can feel that wearing me gives you a large boost in your confidence, and that in turn truly negates my purpose... but I am happy that I am of assistance to you.”
“You do give me confidence, but confidence alone won't help me stand up to Celestia,” she smiled down at Noir. “You're very useful to have around and I appreciate your companionship. No pony else understands me the way you do... not even Shining...” she paused slightly, but shook her head to dislodge the thought. “But he's just as busy as I am, so I can't blame him for being less attentive recently. These wedding plans have been taxing both of us and he's Guard Captain on top of that.” A small smile crossed her lips, “I'm very proud of him.”
“I have no doubts as to your feelings for your stallion- I can feel them, you know.” Cadence can see Noir smile now, as if his presence was growing more solid in her mind, “However, I can also feel your frustration about not being able to be near him as much. I can feel that you are frazzled, and that you would like nothing more than to... what is the phrase? To 'cuddle' with the object of your desire to relieve the stress of a long, arduous day. Yes?”
“Well, yes of course,” Cadence frowned slightly as she rubbed the amulet with a hoof, “but there's nothing I can do about that. Shining sleeps down in the guard house and it would be uncouth for him to come to my chambers. This is how things must be for now... but that's why I want to be married. The sooner, the better.”
“Ah yes, propriety. How could I have forgotten such a thing... it was a very important issue in my creator's time, so it is hard to believe that it had slipped my mind. Forgive me, Princess.”
“It's not your fault. An amulet has no use for propriety, now does it?” Cadence smiled and chuckled lightly, “but I'm grateful for your concern. That you want to help me feel better, that you make an effort to help solve my problems, is greatly appreciated. You're... you're one of very few who seem to care so much.”
“It is my pleasure, Princess,” Noir paused and Cadence can feel him mulling over a thought. “And in the interest of making you 'feel better'... do you remember what I showed you before? The memories of my past?”
Cadence was silent a moment as she thought back, confusion written across her face, before her eyes widen slightly, “oh! Yes, I do remember. The memories you showed me of your creation, correct?”
“Correct- I'm glad that you remember. You were quite exhausted that night and I was not sure you were quite awake enough to recall it. At any rate, since you have been so busy today with nopony to comfort you or soothe you, I thought you would perhaps like to see more of my memories.” The unspoken words, 'and my creator' hung in the whispering depths of Cadence's mind as she smiled.
Laying back, she settled herself against the pillows on her bed and closed her eyes, “I'd love to see more of your history...” she murmured, her words trailing off into silence.
“Very well... but what to show you... that is the difficult question. Is there, perhaps, any questions about me that you would like to ask? I may be able to show you a scene that answers your questions.”
Silence filled the large room as Cadence thought about an answer, or rather a question to pose to Noir. Her words were slow and deliberate as she responded, “Well, I know very little about what you were created to do. You have mentioned a purpose before... what exactly was that purpose? Could you show me that?”
The amulet grew warm against her chest as Noir smiled again, but it was a much different smile than before. “My purpose... a good question indeed, my Princess. If you wish to know my purpose I will show it to you. Please, relax and clear your mind...”
She shifted slightly, sinking into the feathery comforter that covered her bed and into the thick pillows behind her head. After a moment, the darkness behind her eyes began to change as before, the fragments of Noir's memories flickered through Cadence's mind were spotty at first. Disjointed and incoherent flashed of places and times long since past. Cadence did her best to try not to focus on anything, lest the strange melding of Noir's mind with her own be offset and fail, but in spite of her attempts to remain unfocused, her eyes kept latching onto things. The meld was stronger than it had been before, the images in her mind as crisp and clear as if she was seeing them for herself and as a result her attention was drawn to things that looked familiar to her. A flash of a white alicorn that could only have been Aunt Celestia hurtled past her followed moments later by a black alicorn with a fiery blue mane. In spite of herself Cadence flinched and in that moment she felt the psychic link between herself and the amulet fracture, though it did not break entirely. Without a second thought, the young alicorn steeled herself against any more such moments and watched as impassively as she could.
Finally the images slowed and Cadence felt herself smile in eager anticipation as the image solidified into an exquisitely detailed memory, one so real that if Cadence hadn't felt the soft comforter beneath her, she would have sworn she was there.
An open field of green grass lay before her, its soft veridian waves rippling in a gentle breeze that she could all but feel upon her coat. The Princess's eyes darted to and fro, trying to get a better look at the landscape so she could figure out where she was, but nothing she did could change her view. I am in a memory, she reminded herself, so I suppose I can't see anything that Noir didn't see at the time. Several long seconds passed without anything happening at all, much to the Princess's irritation, but before her mind could begin to wander, a voice spoke in the memory- a mare's voice, silky and alto, that filled her ears as if the mare were speaking right next to her.
“Are you prepared to test it?” she asked, her words cautious, but her tone excited. “If you are not sure, then we should-”
The voice of Noir's creator filled her head, his deep voice echoing into her soul as if he had been lying at her back with his hooves around her in bed, “I'm sure,” he answered simply, his tone cold and dry. “Call the golems, Morningstar- I'm ready.”
For the first time the perspective of the vision shifted, turning sharply to Cadence's left to reveal the form of the mare who must have been Morningstar. She had a beautiful snow-white coat and a mane that faded slowly from blue at the roots to pink before tapering at the ends to orange. Her dark blue eyes were looking above her perspective intensely and Cadence frowned, why is she looking up there instead of at me? She wondered for a moment, oh... because she's not looking at me... or rather, at Noir. She's looking at the pony WEARING Noir. The white unicorn in the vision nodded slowly, her horn igniting with a soft pink magic that flashed brightly along the length of her horn. Noir's creator let out a sigh and turned to face the field once again, but this time the field didn't stay empty.
Morningstar's magic lanced out along the grass of the field in jets of pink lightning and within moments pieces of the idyllic landscape began to tear themselved out of the ground atop hooves made of rock: stone golem ponies, at least a dozen of them, slowly rose from the idle dirt of the field amid horrible grinding and gnashing sounds. In spite of herself, Cadence flinched again; everything was so real, so fresh that she could practically smell the churned soil and feel the crackling intensity of the magic it would take to raise that many golems at once.
Once the golems had clawed their way free of the loose packed soil, they turned their attention towards Noir and the pony that wore him. As the artificial creatures lumbered towards them, Noir's creator wasted no time on words. Cadence felt his legs move, his body working right behind her back as he darted towards the first golem in the pack, its hollow, empty eyes staring blankly ahead as it crunched is stony teeth back and forth in its cavernous mouth. Cadence had to fight the urge to cover her eyes with her hooves, but before she could have done so a flash of silver darted in from her left. The sliver of steel sliced into the golem and the construct exploded into earth and rocks, disintegrating as completely as if it had been struck with a fireball. Cadence's eyes widened as the silver object floated into view; it was a sword, a brilliant steel blade with a hilt that looked like black iron, enveloped in a midnight blue magic that held it deftly before Noir. The pony behind her turned sharply to his left, the blade flashing through the air once more to strike the nearest golem and from behind her she heard Morningstar shout.
“Use the amulet! Don't use your magic alone!”
The pony behind her sighed angrily, but almost immediately she felt something strange: a pulling sensation at the small of her back, as if the pony who wore her was... tapping into her somehow and drawing a thread of magic out of her. Cadence winced and squirmed a moment, but in spite of the uncomfortable feeling forming in her middle, her eyes widened as her perspective changed once more.
The magic around the sword suddenly grew brighter, the blue glowing as if it were about to burst into flames as the pony shifted his attention towards the next golem. The earthen construct raised its hoof to strike him, but with speed that made Cadence almost nauseous, the pony darted backwards and struck out with his glowing sword, blasting the golem into dust with the barest of strikes.
The stallion behind her chuckled as he darted forward again, moving faster than any normal pony should have been able to. His blade struck back and forth, seemingly at random, but each swing destroyed one of the golems lurching around the field, his control tight and professional.
Suddenly, the stallion turned to his right, where a group of the remaining seven golems all lumbered towards him at once. The stallion swore under his breath, but from a distance Cadence heard Morningstar once more.
“Use your magic and not your sword, idiot! We need to see how much the amulet augments your natural talents!”
The stallion grumbled angrily and Cadence felt a strange process begin to take place inside her chest: she felt the stallion's negativity flow into her, swirling around like a strange whirlpool of dark emotion inside her. At the same time, the glowing thread flowing from her to the stallion grew thicker, brighter, and more substantial. With a single motion, the pony sheathed the floating sword.
She couldn't see his horn from where she sat against his chest, but she could feel his magic growing stronger... and stronger... and stronger until, with a surge of electricity along her body, the stallion called down a lightning bolt from the clear, blue sky above, a bolt of pure white power that landed in the center of the group of golems and blasted them into earthen smithereens with a single strike. The thunderous retort from the lightning washed over her and amid the shower of stones and dirt from the former golems, she heard the stallion behind her chuckle again, a rich, deep sound that seemed to fill her up.
“Not half bad... much more than I could accomplish on my own.” She felt a lifting sensation as the stallion's hoof touched her back and, after a moment, she found herself looking into the cool green eyes of the stallion she had seen before- Noir's creator. The stallion smiled slightly and nodded. “Not too bad at all...”
The image faded and within a moment, Cadence jerked back to the real world, though as she opened her eyes, she couldn't help feeling that the room laid out before her felt less real than the memories she had just witnessed. Noir was silent for several moments, allowing Cadence time to recuperate before he spoke softly, “Does that answer your question, my Princess?”
“It does and yet...” Cadence's voice was quiet and sounded far away to her ears. She shook her head once before continuing, “it opens up so many more. Why were you created? Were you ever used for the purpose for which you were made?” She was quiet for a moment, “but- you don't have to answer these questions right now. I don't know if I could handle another foray into your memories right now, Noir.”
“A wise decision, Cadence. My memories are... powerful and I would not wish any harm come to you via them. However, I do believe I might be able to answer your two questions with words rather than images, if you would like.”
Cadence nodded and smiled, “I think I would like that.”
She felt Noir smile as well, but it was the dark, secretive smile she had come to know, “to answer your first question... I was created to use negative emotions to augment the magical abilities of ponies such as yourself. I siphon those emotions out of the pony and, in return, I give that pony access to the magic stored inside of me.” His voice grew soft and serious. “And yes, Princess... I have been used for my intended purpose... to great effect, I might add.”
Darkness seemed to swirl around Noir as he spoke in his gentle, soothing voice, but Cadence did not notice as she was swept along by her own curiosity and desire to know more about Noir and his mysterious creator.