//------------------------------//
// Heart Attack 
// Story: Broken: Love 
// by Knackerman 
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	The monster that Cadence had become continued to cackle with every sign of delight as Sunburst and Starlight cried out in pain. "You pathetic foals! What? Did you think I wouldn't take precautions against that stupid artifact? I'm not some smoke brained imbecile like 'King' Sombra," the monster laughed. "He may have nurtured me in the hearts of his citizens, but he was ever my creature. My puppet! Not the other way around." A foul darkness pulsed deep inside the creatures crystalline form and seemed to spread throughout the throne room. "I am the Crystal Empire!" it roared as its voice deepened and the palace shook, dark energy slithering over every surface in a nimbus of purple lighting. "And the Crystal Empire... is me!"

"Who... who are you!?" bellowed Sunburst through his pain, each word costing him dearly. "You are not Princess Cadence!"

"Who...Am I!?" chortled the sable monstrosity. "I am the moment when your heart snaps in two. I am the thought 'he deserves better'. I am the force that drives you away from the ones you love even when all you want is to hold them close!" As the beast spoke it seemed to grow, its form spreading with the gloom as its shadow flooded the massive throne room. "I am anguish and heartache given form!" The palace shook again, the rays of the sun seemed to dim as the sky turned as black as night. "I am Despair incarnate! And you will know me well!"  As it grew, it lost even the slightest shape of a pony, becoming something new that towered over it's agonized victims. Four curling horns joining the one that already jutted from its forehead, its limbs and shoulders bulged with thick knotted muscle, and long crystal spines sprouted from its back running down between its skeletal wings.

In short order, the beast that called itself 'Despair' looked much like the giant Crystal Juggernaut's outside, save for it's demonic head and the three eyes of seething darkness that burned beneath its horned brow. The broken heart shaped hole in its chest only grew larger, more black filth spilling from the gushing void to sizzle on the cracked stone floor. The creatures face was almost goat like now, and a long tongue scraped past jagged crystal teeth to lap up the foul stains on the floor in a series of disgusting slurps. It was as if the things 'heart' overflowed at the sight of the unicorn's agony. As if it was  their suffering it was dining on, and it was finding the taste sweet indeed.

"How this world will tremble and sob when I reveal that their 'Empress' is nothing more than a sham! That her love is a lie! That their adoration for her is wholly unrequited!" Despair's booming laughter shook the palace afresh. "Oh I will let them know the 'Empress's light'! I will let them feel joy and rapture unknown." It grinned darkly as it loomed over Starlight and Sunburst. "Right before I rip the rug out from under them and leave them broken and condemned to an eternity of heartache and remorse! I will preserve and crystallize that moment, trapping all beneath a layer of stone as murky as their suffering hearts!"

"Why?" struggled Starlight as the pain gripping her heart at last began to fade. "Why do you want to do this? Why do you hate us so?"

"Hate you?" barked Despair with a harsh guffaw. "You misunderstand! I cherish you insipid little ponies! Equestria has more hope and love than any realm I have encountered. It makes it so easy to invert and distort your foolish little hearts, to sow that upon which I feed into your souls. Jealousy, anxiety, mistrust, covetousness, cruelty, and enmity are all ripe for the harvesting!" It picked up the pair of equines with one three clawed hand, dangling them high in the air as it rose on scaly hind legs. Its long sinuous tail slammed into the floor, sending up a shower of shattered crystal as its wings scraped the distant ceiling.  "I confess, just thinking about it has left me ravenous. I thought I might stave off my hunger by revealing my true form to that idiotic Shining Armor in a moment of intimacy. The look on his face would have been more than satisfying all on its own! But tasting your sorrow, your hopelessness as your silly little plan fell to pieces before your eyes... Snatching away that moment of hope and replacing it with purest despair! Ahh, that is all the appetizer I need for the feast that this world shall soon make for me!"

As the demonic entity spoke, a fresh wave of dark energy coursed down its arm, and set Sunburst and Starlight writhing again. They curled in on themselves, the darkness inside their crystal bodies was threatening to overwhelm them completely. Already their bodies were cracking, warping. It wouldn't be long before they broke entirely. 

A soft cry rose from the floor. Spike was out like a light, the pain he had endured was more than enough to overwhelm his tiny frame. But Flurry Heart had been shielded by the brave dragon. Now she crawled out from beneath her unconscious guardian, her eyes wide as she looked up at Despair. Her tiny lip trembled in fear, not understanding what was happening. The beast looked down at the last, and least, of the Princesses of Equestria. The monsters dark smile grew so broad and savage it threatened to take off the top of its head.

"Oh, it was a good gambit... Distracting me with the child. I never thought you'd be foolish enough to bring her to me." Despair tossed the unicorns aside. Their suffering could wait. There was an even more helpless target for the entity to exploit. "But now I can snuff out the last of this worlds hope with one stomp of my cloven hooves! Or perhaps I will take my time and enjoy the raw anguish of this child? Uncomprehending terror is a potent draft, to be sure, but it would not be the first time I have quaffed such. Nor, I suspect, the last!" The creature roared with discordant laughter as long barbed crystal spikes rose all over its body and venom dripped from its lip-less maw. Whatever the thing had planned for Flurry Heart, it would not be kind. 

"You sick twisted beast!" cried Sunburst, his voice breaking. "She's just a baby!"

"Leave her alone you parasite!" roared Starlight in a mixture of anger and anguish.

"Come here little one," the monster crooned mockingly, reaching for the child."Embrace Despair!"

"M...Mama?" said Flurry Heart haltingly, her first word leaving her trembling lips with difficulty. Tears ran down her soft face, but her eyes were wide enough for Despair to see itself reflected in their wobbling surface.

"W...what?" said the demonic creature, taken aback. "Did it... did she just say 'mama'?"

Despair recoiled as if it had been scalded. Its knife like claws coiled into its serpentine mane, as it roared in pain. Something welled up from the broken heart shaped hole in its chest, welling up through the mire thick effluence. Something bright and shining broke the oily surface. Like a bird trapped in bubbling tar, Cadence, the real Princess Cadence, struggled to break free. Baby Flurry Heart began to wail, her terrified cries like whip lashes across Despair's broad back. Cracks of white light arched from its heart, spreading like spider webs across its entire dark crystalline body. "My baby..." called Cadence weakly, as though she were waking from a deep sleep. Tears streamed from her eyes, and as they did, black filth dribbled from Despair's three hollow eyes "I'm here..." Cadence called out urgently, "I'm here!"

Princess Flurry Heart only cried louder, her voice seeming to make the cracks in Despair's body widen. Its skeletal wings scraped the throne rooms roof and its long tail thrashed against the walls. "No!" it spat in denial. "No! I am too close! I will not be thwarted by something as ridiculous as this! You are mine Cadence! You and all your misbegotten kind belong to me!" It roared its defiance, plunging its claws into its own heart in an attempt to push Cadence back under the foul sludge. Thick tendrils of putrescence rose from within and tried to pull the Alicorn back under. Her eyes, wild, swept across the room.

"The Crystal Heart!" she called. "You must use the Crystal Heart! It's the only way."

"We tried that already," protested Starlight Glimmer, only now strong enough to get back to her hooves. "It's useless against Despair!"

"No... don't aim at him!" Cadence pleaded as her head was dunked under. She rose again, gasping. "Me! Aim for me!"

"Of course..." said Sunburst as realization dawned. "She's at the heart of this! Before we only managed to expose the creatures shell, but it's Cadence's heart that the spell has to reach!"

In a flash Sunburst wrapped Flurry Heart in the embrace of his magic, pulling her away from the thrashing Despair, and cradling her close to his own heart. The baby princess quieted, and snuggled close to his chest, though fresh tears continued to spill from her eyes. Starlight used her magic to secure the fallen Crystal Heart. It had lost much of its shine, but as she brought it close to Flurry Heart, it began to glow with a soft golden light. "I see," Starlight said in awed wonder. "We have to do it together."

Starlight and Sunburst nodded, confidence welling up inside them, along with a golden light that chased away the darkness. The light washed over Flurry Heart, and the Crystal Heart as well. Even the deepest shadows melted before that soft, nurturing glow as it spread throughout the palace... Throughout the entirety of the Crystal Empire. Everywhere the light touched the edifices of dark crystal began to crumble to dust. It was as if the sun itself was spreading its warm light over a land that had known nothing but darkness for a thousand years. Despair roared, but the light had rendered it inarticulate. 

Hope had silenced Despair.

The ray of light that flowed from Flurry Heart through the Crystal Heart was of the purest, most unconditional of love. The monster faded to a smudge, then a smear, like a stain being removed from the world. There was nothing but warmth and love.

Princess Cadence lay upon the cracked stones of the palace floor. Sobbing quietly.





As the golden glow spread out from the Crystal Empire, the shadow that had fallen over Equestria began to fade. All across the land, ponies snapped out of the haze that the 'Light of the Empress', a corrupted and perverted version of Cadence's true power, had placed them under. They awoke as though from a long and restless sleep, blurry eyed and disbelieving that what had taken place over the space of the last few days had even been real. Celestia and Luna, who had been happily living as 'former' princesses, gazed at one another in shock. It was not long before they took wing from the emptied city of Canterlot and headed for the Crystal Empire.

In the Empire itself, dazed and confused ponies from all walks of life milled about, perplexed as to how they had come to the shining crystal city. They helped one another as they began the slow work of extracting hundreds of ponies that had seemed to have fallen into a wide pit. Though there were scrapes and bruises, it seemed everypony was fine. The city itself, though damaged by the short lived war between the Empress and Cloudsdale, was none the worse for wear. The Imperial Guards looked at one another sheepishly, and quickly organized as Flash Sentry made helping the perplexed ponies the army's top priority.

The Black and White Crystal Juggernaut's were the last vestiges of Despair's forces to crumble away. In their place, Discord and Twilight Sparkle looked around disoriented. Each thought the other was responsible for their being in the Crystal Empire, and their argument would go on for quiet some time before Celestia and Luna would arrive from overhead. They would laugh about this later. But now was no time for laughter.





Great wracking sobs gripped Princess Cadence as she cradled her child, their wings wrapped around one another. Spike got to his feet groggily, the pulse of warm light having revived him. He joined Starlight and Sunburst as they stood, somewhat awkwardly watching mother and daughter embrace. It seemed wrong to say anything at that moment in time. Shining Armor joined them, at last having shed the outfit and accouterments of the Crystal Emissary. With a quiet gesture, he lead the trio of heroes out of the throne room and into the hallway outside. The other Princesses, Discord, and all of Twilight's friends were gathered there. As Spike, Starlight, and Sunburst strode from the throne room each of the gathered ponies, the Princesses and Discord included, bowed their heads.

"What's this?" asked Starlight, still dazed. The power that had washed over her had wiped away even the lingering vestiges of the pain she had endured at the grip of Despair. Even so, she was not fully cognizant of her surroundings. "Why are you all bowing?"

"Because, Starlight, you, Spike, and your friend Sunburst have done Equestria a great service this day," replied Princess Celestia raising her head. "When the talons of darkness clutched the very hearts of Ponykind, you three stood alone against a terrible tyrant and prevailed!"

"We are familiar with the one whose power you faced. We most unfortunately fell under the sway of Despair once again," added Luna, her eyes downcast. "It's shadow has gripped our hearts before. We thought the creature banished, along with Sombra, into the northern wastes. He was the last to try and harness that monstrous power for his own use. We had never considered that with King Sombra's return and subsequent defeat, a more insidious foe could have lurked behind and worked his way into Princess Cadence's heart."

Sunburst spoke then, his scraggly beard bristling as his mouth was set in a look of grim determination. "Do not blame Princess Cadence! Nothing that happened was her fault! I... I should have acted," said the unicorn, his ears drooping. "She confided to me that something was wrong, but I dismissed her cry for help. I should have told the Prince there was something wrong right away, instead of keeping it a secret."

"What happened was no more your fault than it was Cadence's,' reassured Twilight Sparkle, as her friends nodded in turn. "Though it is wise to take a friends worries and concerns seriously, there was no way any of us could know what was truly happening until it was much too late. If what the Princesses tell me is to be believed, Despair is a truly relentless creature, but it's not above biding its time and striking when we are at our most vulnerable. In those moments when we have lost all hope, that is where Despair abides."

"Even so, I feel that I must extend my apologies, both on my wife's behalf and my own," spoke Shining Armor remorsefully. "I swear that I will be more vigilant in the future. It seems that not a month can go past without some disaster or another threatening Equestria. It's getting kind of embarrassing how we seem to keep finding ourselves to be linked to the cause."

"That is because we find ourselves besieged, Prince Shining Armor," interjected Princess Celestia, her eyes steely. "Though this squall has passed, I fear the true storm is gathering on the horizon even now."

"What do you mean Princess?" asked Twilight confused. "I thought that you said that the Crystal Heart had managed to banish Despair from the Crystal Empire?"

"It has, Twilight," replied Luna in her sisters stead. "But it is not the first time that Despair, or any of a host of its brethren, have been banished from the lands of Equestria. We have known for some time that enemies, far older and more ancient than any you have faced thus far have been stirring. It is why the Crystal Empire returned to us from the realm of shadows to begin with. It may also be why Cerberus abandoned his post guarding Tartarus and allowed Tirek to escape," Luna paused, looking over her little ponies. "But perhaps now is not the time to speak of such things."

"Indeed sister, this can wait until later. For now we must attend to Princess Cadence and reassure her that we hold no malice for her," smiled Celestia beatifically. 

"Is it alright brother? May we see Princess Cadence?" asked Twilight, her friends leaning eagerly forward behind her.

Shining Armor smiled and gave an awkward laugh. He could never deny his sister anything when she made that face. "Alright, let me see if she's in any fit condition to see you all. Even if she agrees, it may be wise for you to see her one at a time." The Prince took his leave, leaving the others stand around rather awkwardly in the hall.

"I wanted to let you know how I proud I am of you. All of you," said Twilight as she moved closer to the trio of Starlight, Sunburst, and Spike. "I knew I was right to put my trust in you, my pupil and assistant, and the pair of you really pulled through not just for me, but for all of Equestria!"

"It means a lot to me to hear you say that," acknowledged Starlight, but she hung her head and looked down at her hooves. "I'm just not sure we're worthy of such praise."

"Aww shucks, Twilight, it wasn't just us," admitted Spike. "It was Sunburst and Flurry Heart that really saved the day."

Starlight nodded in agreement, "We certainly would have been lost without them." She locked yes with Sunburst, and the unicorn blushed rosily.

"I didn't do much myself," contested Sunburst. "Truth be told, I believe we all owe the little Princess a debt. If seeing Flurry Heart hadn't gotten through to her mother, I don't know what would've happened."

"Be that as it may, I'm sure you all played your parts in seeing Equestria through this difficult time," interjected Luna. "It is good that you are modest, but the history books will record you three as heroes. I am most certain of it." The Princess of the Night smiled enigmatically as she stepped past their group. Shining Armor had returned. "So then, will Cadence grant us an audience?"

Shining Armor looked some what uncomfortable as he replied. "No, your grace. I'm sorry but it seems Princess Cadence only wants to talk with one pony at the moment."

Twilight trotted forward, "Say no more big brother, I know exactly what to-"

"Ahem," her brother blocked Twilight's path to the door, "Sorry Twily. Cadence said that the only pony she wants to speak to right now is... Starlight Glimmer."

"Huh?" said Twilight and her friends, even Discord looked mildly taken aback.

"That is, if you would speak with her?" asked the Prince, letting the question hang in the air as all eyes turned to Starlight.

She looked uncertainly around herself for a moment, before a certain steely resolve settled into her eyes, "If the Princess wishes to speak to me, who am I to refuse?" However, as Shining Armor nodded and turned to lead the way, Starlight hesitated. She'd barely shared more than a handful of words with Princess Cadence before. Why would she want to talk to her now? Especially after everything that had happened.  It was Spike that got her moving, by laying a reassuring claw on her side.

"Hey, it'll be okay Starlight," Spike encouragingly. "We'll be right here if you need us."

"Thanks Spike," Starlight said with a smile, that looked more sure than she felt... And stepped through the door back into the throne room.