//------------------------------// // Chapter XVII // Story: Papa Gehrman // by SolidArc5542 //------------------------------// The dark had always been something Cadance hadn’t been fond of. She found it to be quite frightening from time to time. The fear of the unknown, of not knowing what lurked in that shroud of blackness terrified her. Having not slept for a day really did a number on the poor mare. Her husband was sleeping peacefully in their bed, while she had to stay awake to keep evil at bay. She could see the irony of it. Shining Armor had been in the same position not a month ago, when the Changeling threat loomed over Canterlot. He too knew how she was feeling at the moment, but he too needed his rest. He was her moral support during the day, and his love and affection for her was what kept her going. But now, standing a few feet away from her stood a creature. A creature she had never seen before. The darkness wasn’t really helping, for she could only see the outlines of its posture. It looked big, bigger than anything she had ever seen. But its height wasn’t the only thing that unnerved her. No, it was what it was carrying in one of its appendages. She could clearly see the outlines of a weapon, and it frightened her even more. Peeking her eyes at the creature, she felt a lump in her throat. “You and I need to have a talk,” it said, seemingly moving closer towards her. Cadance felt her body tense up. Her ears were perked up and her eyes were fixed upon the creature that was now getting closer and closer. Whatever it was, its posture said one thing: Dangerous. How did it enter the castle? How had she not heard it entering? She wanted to scream. She tried her hardest to get any form of sound out of her, but to no avail. “Scream, and I will gut you,” the creature threatened as it now stood a mere ten feet away from her. “I’ll make this plain and simple. Where is the Crystal Heart?” it asked. ‘Crystal Heart? What’s he talking about?’ she thought to herself, staring at the creature in front of her. “I know you stole it,” it hissed at her. “I’m here to get it back and return it to its original owner.” Cadance felt her heart quickening. She had no idea a pony heart could beat this fast. Was this because of the adrenaline flowing through her veins? “I… don’t know what you are talking about,” Cadance said, though it came out more like a whisper. “How did you get inside the castle?” she asked, regaining a bit of her courage. “There were no guards,” the creature deadpanned. “It was pretty easy to enter without being noticed. But you still haven’t answered my question. Where is the Crystal Heart?” it asked, this time a little harsher than before. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Cadance replied. “I don’t know who you are, but you’re trespassing,” Cadance stated. “I’ll have you thrown into a dungeon, or even better: Thrown into the frigid outskirts of the Crystal Empire.” With incredible speed, the creature moved towards Cadence’s throne. It moved its face close to hers, its hot breath warming her fur. “Where do you think I came from?” it asked, its stinking breath making Cadance gag. ‘Come on Cadance, you’re a grown mare! You’re an Alicorn for Faust’s sake! Show this thing what you’re made of!’ Cadance mentally shouted to herself, her courage increasing by the second. “You should have stayed there,” she smirked, her fear now completely suppressed, though she stayed cautious. “I’m giving you one chance to turn around and leave. If you don’t, then I’ll make sure you regret it.” The creature went silent for a good couple of seconds, but then it began to chuckle, it’s chuckling eventually turned into maniacal laughter. “You,” it laughed, looking down at her. “Don’t make me laugh.” It hissed at her. She was about to reply to his comment, until she felt a powerful force colliding with her stomach. The Princess of Love was sent flying into her throne. She landed on her throne, her eyes opened but her vision blurry. Her back started to ache, pain coursing through her body. Her muscles tensed up and her wings felt like they were about to fall off. Cadance coughed and her eyes widened in shock. She couldn’t see what she had just coughed up, but she could clearly feel it. Blood. Her teeth and the inside of her cheeks were stained with the sticky substance. “Oh my,” Cadance said, but was cut off by a leather shoe colliding with her muzzle. “Enough of this,” the creature said, kicking her again. “Where is the Crystal Heart?!” it yelled. “Go… to Tartarus,” Cadance hissed at him. Coughing up more blood, the pink mare looked up at the creature. Suddenly, the creature grabbed her by her neck. Lifting her up high, Cadance felt its grip tighten around her neck. “You will break,” the creature hissed at her again, squeezing what little air there was left out of her trachea. Releasing its grip around her and letting her fall to the floor, the creature kicked her before she would have hit the floor, sending her flying and colliding with her throne once again. “I wonder,” it said, stepping towards her. “How much longer you can endure this.” Grabbing her by her mane and lifting her up, the creature’s face met hers. “Where is the Crystal Heart?” Cadance glared at the creature, rage—which she had never felt before—filling her eyes. Gurgling up some spit mixed with blood, she spat at the creature’s face. “Buck off,” she sneered at it. “Do your worst.” The creature gave her a toothy smile, revealing its canine set of teeth. “With pleasure,” it said as it released its grip around her mane, making her fall to the ground. Cadance tried to get up, but she was quickly pinned to the ground by a large foot colliding with her back. Landing flat on her stomach and face first into the floor, she tried to get up again, only to be met by a series of stomps and kicks. The pain eventually took control over the poor mare, and she began to cry. She had no idea if her force field was still up, but she didn’t care at the moment. “I can make the pain stop,” the creature said, stomping on her back again. “Just tell me where the Crystal Heart is and I promise to leave.” “I-I don’t know what the Crystal Heart is. But even if I did, I wouldn’t tell it to the likes of you!” Cadance replied, glaring at the creature. “I’d rather have every single bone in my body broken, than to give you whatever information you want.” “That can be arranged, your majesty,” the creature said, stomping on her back again. Cadance closed her eyes as she felt the immense force crash down on her back. Where was her husband when she needed him? “If you’re not going to tell me, then you leave me no choice,” the creature said as it bent over and placed its axe beside him. Placing one of its hands on the mare’s side, in a seemingly comforting manner, its other hand went for her wing. Gascoigne was getting sick and tired of this. She was too persistent. But he promised not to kill her. That he would let the Great One do. The hunter traced his fingertips under her wing until he felt the bone her wings were attached to. Grabbing hold of her wing, he gave it a firm pull while also twisting it. A sickening crack could be heard echoing through the throne room. Cadance screamed out in agony as she felt the immense pain on her wing. Writhing on the floor, the pink mare began to weep. Gascoigne looked down at the broken mare in front of him. Lifting up his leg, the hunter brought it down on her—already—broken wing. “I’ll be back,” Gascoigne said as he picked up his axe and turned around, running out of the throne room. Cadance’s eyes felt heavy, her body ached everywhere and the pain was unbearable. But before she closed her eyes, she caught a glimpse of a white stallion running into the throne room. Whatever this thing was that attacked her, she knew one thing for sure: Spiders weren’t the creatures she feared the most anymore. No, the creature that had broken her mentally, and physically had taken that place. Gascoigne let out a sigh of relief as he reached his temporary hideout. Entering though the broken window, the hunter walked into the living room. His two friends were already fast asleep, and he too felt tired. Walking towards a nearby couch, the hunter sat down on it. Placing his axe beside him, he closed his eyes and let sleep overtake him. He had broken her. The hunter smiled to himself. Mission accomplished.