Secrets Revealed
Like with Alice, there was a moment of silence between us before Celestia finally spoke as she looked down at me. “I see that you still have your doubts about your identity,” she said.
“A little, I guess,” I said, rubbing my leg with my other hoof nervously. “Despite all I've said, it still... I don't know... stuff lingers.”
“I understand.” Celestia said softly. “Peachy had the same problem at first. She even fainted when she finally realized that it was the truth,” she explained with a slight chuckle before her face grew serious again. “I think that she still has her doubts though,” she said, sighing. “I wish I could say that I had them too but I never had any since I learned the truth.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. I’d think something like this would cast a lot of doubt and self-identity problems… case in point; me.
“Do I have your word that you'll keep what I'll tell you secret?” Celestia asked.
“I promise.” I replied, giving a nod.
Celestia chose to answer me with a question. “Am I wrong in thinking that you still had part of your special talent as an human?”
I rubbed my chin a moment as I thought it over, recalling an earlier conversation with Alice that seemed to lend more credit to how I paralleled Cadance. “In a way, I suppose so. Ever seen the movie "Hitch"? I was sorta like that before... everything. I had a way with helping others have a chance with someone they liked when I knew they deserved it,” I explained. I’d always assumed it was just the better part of me as I always made sure the ones I hooked up were good people who deserved one-another, and always refused jerks and liars.
…Ironic, I suppose, considering how my own love life turned out…
“I didn't see that movie, sorry,” Celestia answered. “Though, like you, I still had part of my power which materialized itself in a weird way, a voice.”
“A voice?” I asked, raising an eyebrow and cocking my head in confusion. Aside from the Discord aspect I hadn’t had anything like that.
“Yes, I heard a weird voice during most of my life, giving me advice,” Celestia explained. “It wasn't until Luna confronted me that I learnt to whom, or rather what, the voice belonged to.”
“Who was it?” I asked. Celestia smiled down at me.
“The Sun obviously,” she replied.
Okay, that I wasn’t expecting. “The sun... spoke to you?” I asked.
“It still does,” she explained. “You can understand why I'm so sure that I used to be the Princess of the Sun.”
“I see... I suppose that makes sense.” I replied.
“It did leave me with another problem though... One that we both share I'm afraid…” Celestia said.
I looked up at her again, raising my eyebrow once more. “What?” I asked.
“Expectations from other ponies,” she replied, causing me to shudder a little.
“Oh... yeah...” I said, agreeing as I was already aware of what sort of responsibilities no doubt awaited me whenever… if ever… I made it to Equestria. “I'm still... Cadance was... is... ruler of the Crystal Empire.” I muttered, my voice trembling with uncertainty the more I thought about it. I didn’t have the old Cadance’s experience in royal etiquette and responsibility.
Celestia leaned her head down and nuzzled me gently, like a mother tending to a foal. “It scare me too... Before all this happened, I was a simple programmer. I...” she said, pausing at the end of her unfinished sentence as I quietly returned with a nuzzle of my own, it felt instinctive almost; in truth I barely knew her but she felt like family I’d not seen in ages.
“...Now have a whole kingdom on your shoulders?” I asked, finishing her sentence. The other alicorn nodded slowly.
“No presure at all,” she said.
“But... what's also bothered me is, I'm worried...” I said. “I remember how I...I-I mean Cadance... felt about Shining Armor... the human part feels weird liking him, the pony part I get butterflies in my stomach just... thinking about him. What if he doesn't remember me? Or doesn't want me anymore?” It had been the question that plagued my heart deeply. “You saw the episodes... you think that's something else Discord can just... retcon on a whim?” I asked, voicing my earlier thoughts almost word for word now.
“I... don't know.” Celestia answered softly, looking down. Even she didn’t have the answers…
Discord’s terrible words ran through my mind, prompting me to repeat the verses that stood out the most to me aloud. “With my deeds true love is lost, and it shall be you who'll face the cost...” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to stop but the words kept coming into my mind. “Shattered hopes and a broken heart you shall endure, in with these words my victory is secure...” I said, holding back tears as I feared what it meant for not just my past and present, but also my future. “…That's what he said to me... before...”
Celestia pulled me into a hug before I could finish. “But I'd like to believe that if he does remember, he won't abandon you so easily,” she said softly.
“Or I may just be a part of the past now.” I said, still downcast.
Celestia gave me a gentle, nurturing nuzzle again. “Even if he does leave you, you won't be alone.” she assured me.
I gave a slight nod. “I'll take the Crystal Empire back under my leadership again regardless... with or without him, but... I know it sounds corny but it feels like there's a hole in my heart now,” I said. The pain I felt there in my heart was unbearable; like a wound that didn’t bleed but didn’t heal.
“You have a great friend that will be there to help you through,” Celestia said with a small smile. “And you can always count on both me and Luna.”
“Thank you...” I said, nuzzling her again. “I'm just scared, I guess… scared to be... this... and all that comes with this,” I explained, looking down at myself. “It's weird it's like being in a stranger's body yet at the same time it feels so right to be this way. Weird and contradictory as that sounds.”
“Yet, it's the body that is truly ours,” Celestia responded, giving her wings a crisp flap. “And it does come with several advantages.”
“I suppose,” I replied, spreading out my own for a moment. “I just... the Crystal Empire... what'll I find left of it? Did Discord leave anypony alive? I couldn't protect them then, I'm worried about what's happened to them while I've been gone. There's people I care about here, people I really don't want to leave behind, but if THIS is me... I need to be back in Equestria... and make things right.”
Something I said seemed to have struck a harsh note for Celestia, as it caused her to become downcast, looking down at the floor in silence as I spoke.
“I don't envy your situation either, but you have a sister who's there for you,” I said, realizing my mistake. “...and a niece you took in as your own and helped her become more then she probably ever thought she could be. ...And she'd be happy to help return the favor any way she can.”
“I made quite a mess, didn't I?” she said at long last, her tone one of guilt and anger towards herself.
I remembered the finale. Celestia had thought Discord had reformed, he was the only chance she had at saving Equestria from the hellish beings from Tartarus. He betrayed her immediately after they had seemingly saved the day and then Equestria met its chaotic end. “...Remembering the episode, with the forces of Tartarus escaping, I don't think there were many choices.” I explained. “But still... if we're here, and there's others out there, too... many of us are still alive, and we can maybe even rebuild. No ruler's perfect. You made the choice you felt had the best chance of saving everypony from what Tartarus would have subjected them to.”
“Including being stupid enough to think that Discord could be redeemed?” Celestia asked sharply.
“I don't have an answer for that, but it was 25 years ago, and if we're all still alive, it means there's a chance to make things right and put him down for good... right?” I asked. Between what had happened to us, and what could have happened if the creatures of Tartarus overran Equestria, this seemed the lesser of two evils; though only barely.
“You are right... It's just that... It's hard not to feel guilty...” Celestia replied, seeming to calm down a little.
“I imagine. I wish I had a way to make it all better just like that...” I said, wishing the same for myself as well. “…but like I said, all we can do now, I think, is take the chance we got and try and make things right again.”
This time, I embraced my aunt. Slowly she returned it, putting her wing and foreleg around me. “Thank you…” she said softly.
“You’re welcome.” I whispered. Perhaps as time went on, I’d feel more and more comfortable this way. I’d already made a huge step today with Celestia’s help. Maybe one day, I can be as happy and loving as I once was.
A moment of silence followed before Alice returned, dressed for bed. “Is everything alright?” she asked as she walked in.
“Yeah, we were just... talking.” I said, stepping out of my aunt’s embrace and approaching my friend. “Look... I don't know how long I'll be able to stay... I'm coming to terms with this as best I can but if it's all true...” I looked down for a moment. The talk I’d had with her earlier seemed so much more likely now in what was going to happen in the end. “I may have to go to Equestria eventually. And for all I know it might be a one-way trip.”
Alice crouched down to my level and hugged me tightly. “This isn't gonna be like that one really popular fanfic with Rainbow Dash is it?” she asked.
I smiled a little as I returned the embrace. “Naw, I'm not ever gonna forget you or all we've been through.” I assured her.
“Rainbow Dash fic?” Celestia asked.
“Ask Peachy,” I said. “Or better yet Luna from what you've told me of her. I'm sure she'll explain.”
“Oh...” Celestia replied simply. Another pause followed. “Well, I should go. Good night Cadance. Good night Alice,” she said with a smile as she headed into the guest room where the filly was already sound asleep.
“I probably should, too... it's been a very long day.” I said, looking up at Alice as she stood back up.
“Okay, then. Just let me know if you need anything.” Alice replied.
“Just a blanket will do.” I said, looking over at the couch. With a nod, Alice returned to the bathroom and came back with the spare comforter for me, laying it out on the couch. I climbed up onto the couch and slid myself under the covers, resting my head on the pillow as I dug my forehooves underneath it. “Thanks for everything, Alice. You’re the coolest.” I said with a smile.
“Hey, you’re my best friend and I get to live the pegasister dream here,” she teased. “If you end up needing anything else, just wake me.”
“I’ll be fine for now, I think.” I replied with a small smile. “Thank you again.”
“Whatever you say, goodnight, Cadance,” she answered, heading to her bedroom. Cadance. I imagined myself, back in Equestria… the land recovering from the ruin Discord had left, greeting crystal ponies and helping rebuild. My mind drifted then into territory that seemed both strange yet… normal, somehow.
I lay in a soft, plush bed, but I wasn’t alone. Shining Armor was next to me, his muzzle tracing down my neck. My heart was beating fast as I embraced him with my forehooves, my wings unfolding and doing the same. He was so gentle, so caring, a gentlecolt to the end; worthy of his name in every way. We’d been head over hooves for one another since our school days and now we led the Crystal Empire as husband and wife. As the thoughts flowed through my mind like lost memories, I imagined the two of us now just laying there, the moonlight pouring through the balcony window. We smiled at one-another, there was something in our lives we did not have yet, but hoped to make possible tonight.
As I imagined all that followed, I felt my eyelids grow heavy, a small smile on my face. My hoof traced along my barrel, though I wasn’t sure why… as if I were imagining something there.
~
“Wakey-wakey.” A familiar voice sang, causing my eyes to snap open and I immediately shuddered. There, sitting in Alice’s chair donning a Victorian gentleman’s suit with a monocle and tophat while sipping tea was Discord. “Good to see you up, sleepy-head!” He said, taking another sip.
“Y-you?!” I stammered, sitting up and scooting back away from him on the couch. “B-but how?! How are you here?! I beat you!”
“You beat an aspect of me, my dear,” Discord replied matter-of-factly, the tea in his cup rising up and shaping itself into a liquid sculpture of himself that pirouetted around the rim of the teacup. “Right now, right here, this is the real me you’re talking to,” he explained.
In a flash of light, Discord and his dancing tea creation vanished, and he reappeared next to me, one leg crossed over the other as he sat back on the sofa. “No use calling for help, this is a dream.”
“But why are you here?! Haven’t you bothered me enough or are you just mad I stood up to your aspect?” I asked angrily.
“I’m here because I think you’ve treaded close enough to earn yourself a little concession from me!” he said with a grin.
“What are you talking about?” I demanded, standing up now.
“Have any good fantasies, lately?” he asked, “A few… N-S-F-W ones?”
Did he mean… what I was thinking about earlier? I couldn’t help it, it just sort of happened!
“It’s not without its reason, Cadance. While the show and its reading material had been reasonably faithful adaptations, there’s something that wasn’t entirely focused on. Here’s where you ask me why,” he said, drumming his claws on the arm rest.
“…Why?” I asked, deciding to humor him.
“Because not many remember. Twilight remembered just enough to get a teeny tiny fraction of exposure but as far as this world knows nothing was nearly so concrete as it was back when it all really happened,” the draconequus explained. As badly as I wanted to blast him out the window, his words and his tantalizing info dump stopped me.
“Twilight… what do you mean?!” I asked.
“That I’m afraid you’re not ready to learn, yet. What you will learn, though, is sure to be an equally exciting… plot twist,” he said, twirling my tail in his claw as he said the last two words.
“What?!” I demanded, angry at Discord’s continued act of dangling what he meant to tell me just out of reach.
“Perhaps it’ll make more sense if I ask you this, first…” Discord began. “Remember the dream you had when you finished reverting back to your true self?” he asked.
“Yes, why?” I asked. "How could I possibly forget it?"
“It’s not the true memory. Not all of it, anyway. There’s a tiny slice that I snipped out so I could have fun with it later!” he explained. “After all, what’s the fun of a story when everything is revealed early on?”
“I don’t understand… you mean all of that… it’s not what happened?!” I asked.
“Oh, it was, my inquisitive little princess…” Discord explained with a grin. “But it was… shall I say… the edited version. So that if you ever escaped my aspect’s influence I’d still have plenty of ammo left! As I once said, but I feel the context seems appropriate here as well… all the truth does, is make the heart ache, and sometimes a lie is easier to take!”
My eyes narrowed, my teeth grit. I was tired of the chaos god’s games. “What really happened, then?”
“Well, as critics and editors love to say, Cadance; show, don’t tell!” the draconequus declared, raising his claw and snapping his fingers, and all of reality twisted and spun around me, glowing brighter and brighter until everything was engulfed in light.
When the light faded, I found myself back in the Crystal Empire, everything once again seemed to be playing out like a memory I was experiencing but could not control, but this time I could see… myself! Cadance was standing there, flanked by her guards as Discord gleefully licked the Crystal Heart on a stick like a lollipop.
“N-no… i-i-it’s… n-not possible!” the other me stammered, backing away as Discord’s smug grin didn’t falter. Seeing myself like this was painful, the terror in her eyes… MY eyes…
The draconequus pat his chest proudly with his lion paw. “You really thought you had me there? That was no more then a shadow; put there to dupe you into that false sense of victory so I could savor the looks on you and your subjects’ faces when you realized it wasn’t over!” he declared with a laugh. “Awww, come now, Princess, did you think anything OTHER then the Elements of Harmony had even the FAINTEST chance of stopping me? Especially when, just between us, I’ll have you know I have a truly spectacular amount of love in my heart! An all-consuming love for absolute chaos!” he said with another laugh, then proceeded to lick the Crystal Heart again and smirked. “Mmm, tastes like raspberry! By the way, Shining Armor says hi.” Soon as those last words left that smug sneering mouth of his I could see Cadance’s rage building up unlike anything I’d seen before.
“Attack! Use everything you have!” the other me cried out, clearly panicked now. She and the unicorn guards fired blasts of magic at Discord, who, without even looking, simply snapped his paw’s fingers and the guards vanished in a flash of light. He then looked straight at the other Cadance.
”You know how they say love conquers all? Well I say THEY’VE never been faced with real chaos!” he declared.
“Where's Shining Armor you monster?!” the other Candance shouted furiously.
“Oh he’s FINE!” Discord teased. “For now anyway. Maybe I'll just put him up to his neck inside a giant cupcake and leave him on a roof for your subjects to see!" At that moment, things seemed different then how I remembered, especially from what he said next. "Actually I’m lying my dear! He’s already been done away with. Care to join him, because honestly, does everything in here come in blues? SO dull, you’re a royal couple, live a little! Even King Sombra with his red and black and cliché all over had better style!” Discord said with a disapproving eyeroll that involved his pupils literally rolling to the back of his head and popping back out the front.
Just then, something else different happened.
“No! Your highness! Let us hold him back! Get your daughter and get out of here!” a guard pleaded as he rushed forward and stood in front of the other Cadance, joined by six others.
Daughter? I stared in shock as the other me stepped away.
“But… you need to get out of here, too! I can’t abandon you!” the other me pleaded.
“We swore our oaths to you, Princess. Your safety is our priority,” the second guard said with a sad smile.
“So, are we going to get on with this?” Discord asked, now on a couch eating popcorn. The guards turned back towards him, their horns glowing as the other me looked at them sadly before rushing up the stairway behind her.
Another flash of light, Cadance was in another room that looked like a nursery, standing over a crib. She looked back at the doorway, fear and despair in her eyes as she reached into the crib and took out a tiny pink alicorn foal. I drew closer, it had a lavender mane with a gold stripe.
I… had a daughter? I stepped back, staring mutely at the scene that played out before me. I couldn’t believe this… but what had happened to her? I was afraid that I was going to find out very soon.
The other Cadance held her closely, tears in her eyes as she spread her wings and headed towards the window. “Skyla… don’t be scared… you and mommy… we need to go away for a little while…” she said softly.
As soon as she said those words, however, an unknown force knocked her back and the foal was snatched from her.
“NO! SKYLA!” the other me cried out, struggling to stand as the unseen force kept her pinned to the wall inside the nursery.
The foal hovered outside and seconds later Discord descended, dressed like Mary Poppins and holding an umbrella to lower himself as he took the foal into his paw and sneered at the other Cadance.
“NO! GIVE HER BACK!” Cadance screamed out hysterically as she struggled against Discord’s magic, but to no avail. Skyla began crying as Discord grinned down at her.
“Touch her and I SWEAR to Celestia I will end you!” the other me threatened, her horn glowing as she attempted to take her daughter back, only to be shocked by a current of magical energy while Discord laughed.
“There’s not a Celestia left to swear to, Cadance,” Discord said with a laugh as his costume vanished and he tossed aside his umbrella. He stroked the foal’s chin, but she kept crying, reaching for her mom. I could feel tears forming in my eyes, this cruelty, this revelation, it was all too much to take.
“Well, she’s rather fussy isn’t she? Looks like she needs a time out!” Discord said, snapping his claw and the foal was immediately encased in a crystal orb that he tossed up and down like a basketball.
“Please…” the other Cadance pleaded, tears running down her cheeks as she reached out for her daughter in vain, then looked down in defeat as Discord's magic continued to hold her in place, making it impossible for her to get to her. “…give her back… please…”
“Oh don’t you worry about her! Good ol’ Uncle Discord is gonna take good care of her! Can’t say the same for you, unfortunately…” the draconequus replied with a hearty chuckle, tapping the crystal ball and sneering at Cadance as he now hovered over her. “I’ve done away with so many others… the princesses, the elements, your precious husband… if I’m going to keep you, the Princess of Love down, however, I’ll have to make sure love never crosses your mind again!” he declared.
I collapsed to my haunches, devastated as Cadance was now too heartbroken to even bother to resist anymore as Discord said his dreadful incantation. She let out one last, agonized scream, reaching once more for her daughter as she disintegrated away and vanished completely as Discord tossed the captured foal up and down in the air while laughing triumphantly, everything suddenly disappearing into the darkness all around me as I felt myself plummeting into an endless abyss.
“SKYLA!!!” I screamed, jumping from where I’d been sleeping, awake now and shaking all over. “No… no…” I muttered, my voice trembling as I collapsed back onto the couch, curling up and sobbing quietly in the dark…
“Skyla…” …I had a daughter… something else Discord had taken from me, something to dangle in front of me like a carrot on a string... something that, like Shining, I didn’t know if I’d ever see again…
And thus the plot twist I'd been saving for awhile has finally been revealed! I'll probably resume more over the week and see about updating again this weekend if I have the time. Hope you all enjoyed this latest chapter of A Love For Madness 
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Discord .... master of kicking them back down when they try to get back up ....
So is this Skyla roughly as she is known in the toys, an alicorn foal?
Ta da dun. I'm mostly always online so just contact me when you want to continue
4093558
Yes, it is.
Cadance deserves to earn her happy ending; and I got a lot planned out for this subplot 
4093709
I'll see when I'm free, work's gotten busy so sometimes when I get home I'm too worn to think. If I feel up to it, I'll be sure to hop on so stuff for the next chapter can happen, as my muse for this story is active and going
Can't say I like the idea of a daughter, but whatever.
Discord. You sniveling, low life SON OF A BITCH!
How dare you take a foal away from her mother! You better be lucky that I'm not personally there, otherwise I would do everything within my abilities to put you down.
*Ahem* Anyway, another good chapter ShadeJak, and as you know, I look forward to the next chapter.
~ Super-Brony12
4115074
I kinda figured that with Celestia, especially given how Cadance reacted to it, but I felt I had to say something.
Especially considering the mainfic Discord not only banished, transformed, and memory-wiped everyone but also almost reduced them to non-sapient animals.... And then there's what he did in some of the side-fics (including what he did to the other surviving changeling in A New Hive)... And then in one of the other sidefics we've got a unicorn psychopath and serial killer. It seems that the moral of the story isn't that humans can be cruel, it is that people (that is, all sapient beings) can be cruel. Her slamming humans seemed a bit racist and hypocritical, considering she and many of her subjects kinda are humans now as well as ponies. Hopefully she doesn't go any further with that or I'd probably start making comparisons to Demona from Gargoyles.
4115129
Yeah, I have to say my biggest issue with the mainfic is the way he seems to be handling Shining and Cadance.
I mean, there's still hope if/when Shining gets his memories back, but if they end up not getting back together even then, well...
As I said, it would be pretty blatant author shipping considering the relationship between Shining and Cadance. I'm really hoping he doesn't go that way because that would be (in my very blunt opinion) incredibly stupid, incredibly unrealistic, and just plain bullshit. I mean, it kind of makes sense now considering that Shining doesn't have his memories back...though you'd think that he'd at least feel something like Cadance clearly does and/or everybody including him would realize "Hey, remember you got married to the long-time love of your life back before all this? And given that we seem to all be slowly getting our old memories back, maybe it wouldn't be such a good idea to jump into a relationship right now?". Especially considering that the relationship felt ridiculously forced from the start in my opinion...
Eh, if he does go the route of just throwing Shining and Cadance's relationship away I'm just going to personal consider it to be discontinuity. Like "One More Day".
4114704
The main ic is all about ponies NOT getting their memories back.
4115641
1. It has been established that the CMC side-fic is canon, and thus a relatively easy method of regaining their memories in canonical. Furthermore, the main characters are aware of this method and the only reason they haven't used it yet is because Discord promised retribution. Once Discord is out of the way...
2. TwistedSpectrum himself stated (in reply to a comment where I asked why they were acting more and more like their old selves when they apparently weren't getting their memories back) that they are all getting their memories back, albeit slowly.
So it seems almost certain that they are both going to get all their memories back, either immediately or eventually. Furthermore, they have all been having at least subconscious urges and feelings, for example Cadance with respect to Shining Armor and the Main Six with regards to a bunch of shit (shit that is far less important and meaningful to them as a person than spending many, many years falling in love and getting married and all that jazz).
So if they do get their memories back (which it seems all but certain that they are), then if Cadance and Shining Armor don't get together then I am calling bullshit. And if for some inexplicable reason they don't get the rest of their memories back then they should still be feeling some intense subconscious desire with regards to each other (much like what has been happening to Cadance in this fic).
4116309
Not to mention, the end of my last chapter shows Discord willing to restore a memory if it's one that'd cause more pain and emotional trauma to know and not be able to do anything about, though he's kept quiet about Shining Armor because unlike what he revealed, he knows how much of a royal kick in the barrel that's gonna be for her to find out for herself.
(see PM
)
4115192 Yeah, Celestia wasn't in the best mental condition at the time. Torture of a pony whom she saw the end result afterward, some personal problems with humans, and not much time to properly rest in the last few days? That kind of tainted her view point at the time. But, also notice that she have no problem with Alice.
DAMN.
GOOD LORD.
That twist hits like a truck full of lead.
(spoiler is for this fic AND the main fic.)
Especially considering that, unless her foal/filly is still alive and not totally corrupted, (s)he'll never come about again, because shining is no longer interested in her.
Huzzah, the suspense has been DOUBLED!
5195161
Indeed it has been!
Daaaaaammmeeeee!
Discord has now joined Syndrome and Janosz from ghostbusters.
5603998
Yup, thought it'd be a perfect route to go as we know Shining's kind of a foregone conclusion