The Corruption of Love

by SpearmintSonnet

A Voice of Understanding

Canterlot Castle shimmered brilliantly in the late afternoon sun, the usual white walls were painted with gold and red light as the dying sun turned towards the western horizon. Princess Celestia was careful to make sure that the sun and moon were moving in perfect harmony with each other, but unlike the last thousand years, she no longer had to do this task alone. She now had her younger sister, Princess Luna, to help her, but even after a year, Luna still had trouble keeping rhythm with her elder sister and so Celestia was often predisposed to spend evenings with Luna until the moon had fully risen.

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, however, loved to spend these last moments of the day with her Aunt Celestia and she was still not used to having their few quiet moments together interrupted by a distressed Luna. For what seemed like the thousandth time, Cadence walked sedately down the halls of Canterlot Castle alone after being shooed out of Celestia's quarters. It's just like when Twilight was first Celestia's pupil, Cadence thought with a small, nostalgic smile, but back then I could usually help Aunt Tia with whatever she was teaching Twilight. Now... she shook her head, not letting herself go down this destructive thought process. Opening the door to her chambers, she quickly stepped inside and shut the door behind her before sighing dramatically.

“It's just not fair!” she cried out to the empty room, “I can't spend any time with Aunt Tia anymore without something coming up! It's either “Your Aunt Luna this” or “Twilight Sparkle and her friends that” … there's never any time for me anymore.” She flopped dramatically on the bed and sighed, “no no... I shouldn't complain. I mean, it's not like Aunt Tia doesn't spend time with me anymore...” her eyes narrowed slightly as her hoof brushed across a small pile of discarded jewelry on her nightstand, “oh wait. I forgot. She doesn't... I just wish things could go back to the way they were before... before all this...”

“Longing for a day long since passed...” a quiet voice alien to her brushed against the back of her mind causing Cadence to sit up quickly and look around her empty room, “something everypony does.”

“Wh-who said that?” Cadence's voice wavered ever so slightly as her eyes dart around the room. With all of the spells protecting Canterlot and the castle, she had thought it was impossible for intruders to sneak inside. “Who's there?”

“Not that you're to blame, of course,” whomever was speaking to the young alicorn took no notice of her demands and continued to speak in its quiet, steady tone, “it's only natural to long for something you don't have... isn't it?”

Her ears swiveled back and forth as she tried to pin point the location of the voice, but to no avail. After a few moments, she realized the voice was in her head and speaking to her magically. Standing up, she began to walk slowly around the room, trying to locate the device that was communicating to her as no magical voice could come from outside her room, but without knowledge of a spell to direct her, Cadence searched the only way she knew how- by trial and error.

“In fact, I'd say that you...” the voice faded dramatically until, within moments of her leaving her bedside, Cadence could no longer hear the voice speaking to her. Turning around, she glanced to the only obviously enchanted objects between herself and her bed- the disheveled pile of necklaces and earrings and crowns that adorned the top of her nightstand.

“Um...” Cadence stepped over to the nightstand, “I'm afraid I missed the last part of what you said.” She began to slowly pick up and set down each piece of jewelry as she spoke, “you said that I...?”

As her magic grabbed a large black stone set into a silver backing that was curiously devoid of any chain, the voice blasted into her mind, much louder than before, “I said that you of all ponies have a right to be upset about this... Mi Amore Cadenza.”

Startled, Cadence nearly dropped the amulet, but caught it in her hoof before it could clatter to the floor, “Y-you know who I am? How would you know something like that? A-are you a pony speaking to me across a great distance?” For a long moment, the amulet remained silent and Cadence lost her temper, adding, “Answer me!” quite forcefully.

The amulet shimmered, the light reflecting off its surface shifting ever so slightly that at first Cadence thought it was simply a trick of the light, but when the voice spoke again, it was amused, “No, Princess, I am not a pony... I am something far more... interesting.” Again the voice paused, “I am what you see before you- no more than a piece of jewelry to be worn at leisure.”

Cadence turned the amulet over in her hooves, “just a piece of jewelry you say... yet how can you speak to me as you do? Either my lessons in magic finally have me hearing voices or you are more than you appear. Which is it?”

The amulet's voice was full of mirth, though for just a moment it felt as though it was not friendly, “I never said that I was an ordinary amulet, did I? But your observation is correct as always, Princess Mi Amore- I am indeed more than I appear, though I am less than I could be.”

As she listened to the amulet's soothing voice, Cadence could feel it become heavier in her hoof. A small, less magical voice in the back of her head warned her to put the amulet down, or better yet, get her Aunt Celestia to look at it, but she pushed the worrying voice away with a quiet smile. It had been a long time since she had received a compliment without the lingering, unspoken words, “Twilight could do it better.” hanging over her. So instead of setting the amulet down, Cadence lay back on her bed and set the dark stone against her chest. “You're very kind, but please, you do not need to be so formal. Call me Cadence. All of my... friends... do.”

As the amulet rested on her chest, Cadence could feel a strange... it wasn't a pulsing, more of a tingling in her chest around the amulet... and it was not all together pleasant. “And why do you think I am a friend... Cadence?” When the amulet spoke her name, it sent a shiver down her spine, though its tone was carefully neutral.

“Well... my Aunt has taught me to trust my impressions...” her voice was carefully level as she spoke and her words were slow, as if she were carefully picking them and looking them over before speaking, “and I want to trust you... perhaps if I make friends... like... like Twilight did... Celestia will pay attention to me as well.”

The amulet grew warm at this revelation and its voice became warmer too, “Aaaah... I see. You are... jealous of this Twilight... is this not so?”

The young alicorn shifted slightly on her bed, her muzzle wrinkling at the word 'jealous', “No... not jealous... precisely... I just... I miss what I had with Aunt Tia before Twilight became... what she is now. Sure, she'd been Celestia's student before, even her prized pupil, but... ever since she and her friends became connected to the Elements of Harmony...” She paused as the amulet pulsed against her chest. “You're familiar with them, are you not?”

“Oh yes... I am well acquainted with the Elements of Harmony,” the amulet's voice was heavy, as if he were frowning intently, “continue.”

“Yes, of course. When Twilight and her friends saved Aunt Luna from the grips of the Nightmare, she became even more the pride of my Aunt Celestia. Before, she would teach us together, but now that Twilight is in Ponyville instead of here in Canterlot... it just seems that Aunt Tia no longer has time for private lessons. She's either too busy with ruling, rehabilitating Aunt Luna after 1,000 years of imprisonment, or she's reading up on Twilights exploits. It's rather frustrating...” her eyes closed and she sighed, “but I suppose that is jealously... is it not?”

“It most certainly is, Princess... indeed, it is perhaps a textbook definition of jealousy... but I would implore you to not be ashamed of that jealousy, Cadence.”

“Not be... ashamed? But everything I have been taught tells me otherwise! As a Princess of Equestria I am a symbol of Harmony to my little ponies... and jealousy is the opposite thereof.”

“But is it not a natural reaction to your situation?” The amulet argued gently, its voice soothing. “Is it not jealousy with fills us when something we care deeply for is taken by another? Or that which drives us forward when another pony fills a position which we would have for ourselves?” As it spoke, the amulet grew warm again, “it is jealousy which drives us to be better than others, better than we were before... I do not see how that is something to be ashamed of.”

“Put in that light, what you say makes perfect sense... but what of honesty, generosity, or kindness? Are they not what drive us to be better? These feelings of friendship and unity... is jealousy truly among them?” With her hooves, Cadence picked up the amulet and stared into it, as if searching the eyes of another pony, “answer me truly, I beg you.”

Though the amulet did not change, Cadence felt as though she truly was looking into the eyes of another pony, “I ask you- who is it that decides what is a virtue and what is a vice? Is it the vaunted Aunt you speak so highly of? Or perhaps this Twilight who appears to dictate all things good in your Aunt's eyes? Is it they who decide virtue and vice? And if they are indeed the ones... would you be so eager to follow them?”

Cadence shook her head slowly, “again, I hear the honesty in your voice and the truth in your words... and yet...” she set the amulet back down on her chest, “and yet I am still confused. Must I choose for myself what is for good and for ill? It seems a path driven by arrogance and bound to failure! Or am I misguided in this as well?”

The amulet began to warm her chest again in a way that Cadence understood was its smile, “oh dear, sweet Cadence. You shouldn't worry yourself so much over trivialities like 'good' or 'ill'. I am certain that you'll find your way in time... but perhaps you should not overlook the drive of jealousy. It may yet lead you to your greatest triumph against those who overshadow you. And if you need a friend who is not already bound by the rules of your Aunt... you may seek me out again. I have enjoyed our... chat.”

The amulet grew cold and Cadence felt its presence recede from her consciousness. “As have I... you have given me much to think about...”

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Friendly word of advice, link to the previous story. ...Uh, this is a sequel, right?

[SpearmintSonnet]

5955707 Yes... sort of? It is in the sense that it uses a lot of the same fan-made elements that Daft came up with for his universe... but it's not because his stories have a continuity that is completely different from what I'm writing here. So I guess it's less of a "sequel" and more of a "Alternate Universe Spin-off".

I did link the story (thanks for pointing that out) since it's good for people to read that story before picking up this one.