There was just so much pain.
Everything hurt for so long.
Her horn had been cracked, because the magic backlash was funny to the mad mare. She delighted in the random sparks and surges the alicorn experienced due to the damage.
Her feathers had been removed because her tears brought a smile to the mare's muzzle. The exposed skin also left her shivering in the cold, tucked away in the deepest part of her cell to keep herself away from the monsters the mare played with when she grew bored of the alicorn's tears, of her pleas for mercy.
Her husband had been taken from her, the thing that followed the mare around empty of emotion and following her commands like a golem made of flesh. She knew he was gone. He had to be. It made it hurt less when she thought of it that way. It hurt less when she remembered it wasn't her husband who'd plucked the last few feathers from her wings. It made sense. The monsters didn't look at him, and they avoided the mare out of fear. Some still lashed out at her, driven to madness by either torture or starvation. She never saw them again after they did that.
The only monsters the mare kept fed were the largest of them, the ones that were laying the eggs. The mad mare would watch every now and again, giggling as a random pony was thrown in the range of the monsters' hooves, the monsters latching onto the pony, sinking their teeth into them and draining them of all emotion.
It was the monsters that told her Shiny was gone. They never looked at him, never hissed or snapped at him. They couldn't see him. It was like Aunt Tia had said so may years ago. Only the dead had no love in their hearts.
The mare told her of her deeds, bringing in news papers and pictures. The array she'd used to imprison the alicorns of the sun and moon, a picture of the petrified forms of the elements. A spear from the griffon capital city, given to her after she'd demanded they disarm. Her plans to invade the griffon country, then the minotaur kingdom with her mindless army, sweeping the best warriors of both races away in an endless tide of teeth and chitin, allowing her soldier to walk into the enemy cities to raise her flag.
It was so bad for so long. Then the mare got bored.
The mad mare started experimenting with the monsters, testing what was sent through the connections they shared. She forced the connections on ponies, giggling as they argued with ponies that weren't there. The mare practiced linking the ponies to the crystals she used to control the monsters. Then she brought out the nymph.
It was obvious to the alicorn what it was. It was a final insult to her husbands legacy, a final proof that the mad mare had complete control of the ponies in her country.
"Well, since you never gave him any foals of his own, I figured I'd help you two out. Oh, I'm sure mom will be happy to know she's finally a grandmother, even if it took getting a surrogate mother." The mare had told her, holding the nymph out to her. When the alicorn refused to get closer, she'd set it down on the cold floor and left, seeking other ways to amuse herself.
She'd wanted to end the monster's life. To hurt it, to make it feel pain for all the pain she'd been made to suffer. But she couldn't bring herself to harm it. Even if it was a monster, it was just a foal. An unwilling pawn in the mad mare's game. So she'd approached it, she huddled with it to keep it warm, even as she shivered in the cell. The monster's feeding had hurt at first, but the less she resisted, the more she found herself concerned with its health, the less it seemed to bother her.
Days later, the mad mare returned, citing her disappointment that it was still alive, and the alicorn inwardly smiled. She'd not let the mad mare beat her. Then the mare's frown became a smile, a smile that could freeze the very air.
"Oh, so you've become attached to it? I know a way to bring the two of you even closer."
Those words had pre-empted the resumption of the pain. First there was burning, then there was a voice, oh sun and stars above, the voice never stopped, always asking for food, always begging for warmth, and always asking for momma. It didn't stop when they slept either, the periodic chatter of a mind drifting in and out of consciousness keeping her awake for so many nights.
That was when the mare had come to her, a frown on her face. Said it wasn't fun playing with a broken toy. She'd forced one more mind on the alicorn, a giant of a monster, one whose sole purpose was keeping the alicorn and the hatchling alive. They'd been led outside, and thrown out, the mare giggling about how she'd have to choose soon. Saying she'd have to choose her own sanity and health, or the life of the hatchling. It was a monster after all. Eventually it would view her as food, and would enslave her as surely as the other one had enslaved her husband so many years ago.
Mentally wilting under the assault of two minds asking her for guidance, the alicorn began to walk. She wanted to be as far from the monsters as possible.
All of the monsters.
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Cadance snapped awake in a dark place. It was warm. There wasn't any pain. The voices were distant, quiet. She sighed in relief, her body relaxing as she realized it wasn't a fever-dream. Her aunt really had appeared before her, directing her to a safe haven. She'd met somepony. No, it was two ponies. One said he knew Luna, and the other made the voices go away, or at least she told them to be quiet.
The alicorn's eyes widened, choking as she flailed in her confinement. She was in one of those changeling pod things. She was submerged, she shouldn't be breathing. Even as she flailed, though, a familiar presence pressed against the pod. Focusing on the being, she soon recognized the form of the hatchling, pressing against the pod while squeaking out concerned chirps. Odd, considering it only buzzed or spoke what little Equish she'd managed to teach it. When did it learn another language? It also looked a little bigger than the last time she'd seen it. How long had she been in the pod?
She fought past another brief bout of panic, wondering if the nymph had brought her to a hive to be fed on. The nymph didn't have a hive. There was nowhere it could take her.
Apparently sensing her growing panic, the nymph pressed its horn against the pod, breaking the seal with its horn and reaching in for the alicorn, even as Cadance pushed towards the hatchling. Seconds later she was free, hacking up the fluid onto the floor of the hive she found herself trapped in. Even as she regained her bearing, she brought Amare into a hug. There was one creature in this world she could trust, and she was currently in the alicorns forelegs.
"We need to get out of here." Cadance whispered to the hatchling. Amare looked at her curiously, before chirping happily. The nymph then pulled her to a small jar it had nearby, offering it to the princess.
"Drink!" The changeling chirped happily, holding it out with both forelegs.
Cadance looked at the glowing jar suspiciously, not certain of the contents, but not willing to disregard the foal's ideas. Against her better judgment, she chugged the thick pink substance down, noting the strange lack of flavor. Finishing, she blinked a few times, before gasping as the energy surged through her.
Love. It had to be love. How long had it been since she'd felt her husband's focus? How long had it been since she'd watched pony couples laugh and play and kiss. Drinking the substance brought back those memories, but it also reminded her of the love of couples who weren't certain of themselves. She flushed, remembering the couples that had come to her for advice after a rowdy night, finding themselves paired with a friend they'd had no intention of pursuing romantically. Cadance looked down at the nymph and smiled, patting Amare on the head.
"Thank you, dear. I needed that."
Using a hoof to wipe a few more drops out of the bottle for consumption, she turned her attention back to her current goal. Escape. It would most likely be easier if she could use the notice-me-not spell. Taking one last glimpse around the room, a bedroom of all things judging by the linens set up on the pedestal towards the back of the room, she turned to the hatchling and prepared for an exfiltration.
"Amare, we need to get out of here. Do you understand? Outside." Cadance told the hatchling. It nodded happily and galloped towards the door. She threw it open, causing the alicorn to wince at the bang of the door slamming against the wall. Still, she shakily rose to her hooves and followed. Taking one last look around to make sure there were no observers, she cast the spell and hobbled after the foal.
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It was downright bizarre. The ponies here, they didn't act like thralls, they didn't wander mindlessly from duty to duty, or spent their days in pods. They wandered the halls, giving greetings to those they passed. Even the monsters. One even stopped and cooed at how adorable Amare was, nuzzling the little hatchling as she was passing by, earning a giggle from the nymph. It was confusing for the alicorn, and left her all the more terrified. What madness possessed the ponies to live with changelings, to treat them like their own?
She pressed on regardless, intent on finding her freedom. She passed ponies, thestrals, griffons, changelings, even strange dog-like creatures she'd never seen before. They were similar to the diamond dogs she'd read of, but they didn't seem to be the same. Finally, Amare led her to a doorway that opened into sunlight. The hatchling took off into the clearing outside, but Cadance was stopped cold as her eyes attempted to adjust. She wasn't sure how long she'd been down there, but it was long enough that her eyes were having trouble compensating for the sudden shift in lighting.
Finally able to see, she looked around the clearing trying to spot the hatchling. Eyes tracking across the newly built or under construction buildings, she spotted a large gathering of creatures, the sounds of orders being called out from powerful voices catching her ears. She barely noticed the small form of the foal darting into the crowd.
Cadance pawed the ground nervously, debating on pursuing the filly or taking her chances in the woods. It would guarantee her escape, but Amare was the one who freed her, she wouldn't leave the hatchling alone. Once more against her better judgment, the alicorn walked towards the crowd. That's when she saw them.
The first was an alicorn, nearly as large as she'd been all those years ago. He, there was no way a female had that kind of thickness in his barrel and legs, stood nearby, reading reports and conversing with two others, directing the flow of workers. His coat was dark, nearly black, while his mane was a very dark blue. He spoke with authority, but would often turn to answer questions, his voice becoming soft and loving. Most importantly, she recognized the voice as the one promising her safety days before. Even seeing the kindness he was directing towards the beings, her mind hitched on one fact.
'Nightmare Moon.'
The second that drew her attention was another monster. It was different from the others she'd seen though. It was large, nearly as large as the alicorn. Its shell was an ashen blue, while its silken mane was a deeper blue, nearly matching the alicorns even if it was a few shades lighter. The oddity was the chitin. It was nearly absent from the monster, small thin plates here and there instead of the thick plates that covered the first monster's body. Instead of the many holes over its body she'd remembered on the first queen she'd seen, its chitin was full, almost gleaming in the mid day light. It made the other queen, the one from her wedding and even those she'd glimpsed while in the Mad Queen's dungeons seems sickly and frail. Then there was its voice.
The queen spoke with a forceful authority, directing ponies with practiced ease and referring back to the small unicorn mare between the two for clarification every now and again. The changelings nearby however didn't need to be told their task. It was given to them over the link. How could Cadance know? This close to them, she could hear it. It was faint, but she could hear the queen commanding them, giving orders, even pressing against them warmly in praise. Once more, she recognized the voice. This one had promised to quiet the voices in her head.
It took all of her willpower not to scream. The monster was in hear head, and she could hear it. Could it command her like the drones? Were all these creatures under her power and unaware? Had she managed to subdue this stallion, this male Nightmare Moon?
To her horror, the queen's attention was directed to a few cheerful chirps as Amare jumped onto the platform. Both of the larger creatures smiled warmly at the nymph, the alicorn even bending down to nuzzle the small changeling affectionately. The queen's smile faded however, and she closed her eyes in concentration.
A moment later, Cadance felt a presence pressing on her mind, and the queen's eyes snapped open and locked on her, despite her spell. The dark alicorn looked to the queen in confusion, before following the changeling's eyes to Cadance's location. He squinted, trying to locate her when a sudden pressure on her mind caused her to drop the spell.
She shook her head to clear the disorientation to find a small form nuzzling her lovingly. Amare had come back up to her, probably worried about her sudden dizziness. She hugged the filly, forgetting her current location for a moment before here eyes bulged. She looked up to see all eyes on her. She panicked, dropping the nymph and beginning to cast the spell her Aunt had taught her, a panic teleport. Moments before she could finish it, she once more felt a presence bear down on her, interrupting her spell. That's when the voice came back. There was only one this time, but it was angry.
'How dare you try to use that spell! Does the hatchling by your hooves mean so little to you?' It yelled, causing the pink mare to wince at the pressure. Instantly she was assaulted by the ideas of the possible outcomes such a spell would have had on the nymph that was so close to her. Certainly it could have had no effect, but it could have dragged the filly along with her as well. She could have been hurt. She could have been killed.
'This is the thanks I get for aiding you? You panic and nearly kill the very proto queen you spent so long guarding?'
Cadance wanted to protest, she wanted to flee, but she couldn't find the will to. The queen, she was coming closer, but the physical distance mattered little. It didn't matter how far Cadance ran, the monster was in her head.
The queen stood over her, the glare fading into an exasperated frown. The alicorn soon stood beside her, looking over both of the mares with concern.
"Cadance, what are you doing out and about? You're still weak. Oh god, Luna would kill me if you managed to hurt yourself." The stallion said, inspecting the shivering mare. She couldn't run. The queen was in her head, it was over. She'd end up-
"Stop it." The queen said, causing the pink mare to recoil as if struck. "Do you think I allowed you to join my link so I could torment you? No, I did so because Cimmerian asked me to help you, and it was the only way to access the abomination that's been forced upon you. Luna sent you here because she trusts us, because she trusts Cimmerian." The queen leaned closer, lowering herself to the smaller alicorns height. "You're scaring Amare. Calm yourself, you and the nymph are safe here. Check the link, check your connection, what does it tell you?"
Suddenly the alicorn felt her connection with the hatchling increase in volume. Sensing her surrogate mother over the link clearly once more, the nymph immediately assaulted her with its happiness, its contentment, its feelings of safety. Queen was kind. Queen fed her, would feed momma too, would help momma get better. Queen treated her like one of her own hatchlings. Big pony was kind. Big pony fed Queen, so Queen could feed hive. Big pony was safe.
Cadance felt her muscles relaxing despite her lingering desire to run. Taking her slump of defeat as his signal, the large alicorn scooped her up in his forelegs, holding her tightly.
"I'll contact Luna tonight, alright? We'll get you two in a dream together, and I'll see about setting one up with Aunt Tia as well. I promise, we'll get everyone together for you, ok?" The alicorn whispered reassuringly. "It will be one big, happy reunion, and you can talk to them for as long as you need. And if you need to, we'll do it again tomorrow night. I know Aunt Tia will be ecstatic to see you again. They both talk about you. You mean the world to them."
The alicorn nuzzled her, and she once more felt the pulse of love. It was weak, but given her current state it was like a breath of air to someone who was drowning. Despite her fears, or perhaps because of them she cried, clinging to the alicorn. Clinging to the first creature to shower her with familial love in years. The voices died down again, but the pressure never stopped. It wasn't stifling though. It was trying to comfort her. It was trying to be a second pair of hooves wrapped around her mind, even as the dark alicorn's were wrapped around her body.
For the first time in years, Princess Mi Amore Cadenza allowed herself to experience the emotional cleansing that could only be found in a rain of tears, and to her shame she found it in the embrace of a stranger.