The Elements of Love

by UnweptSchlipps

Interlude 2: The End is Nigh

It was almost midnight in Canterlot, and yet the Crystal Kingdom’s benevolent ruler was still wide awake. Cadance was alone in her quarters, with only a single lantern to illuminate the room. She had turned down her aunts’ offers of a lavish bedroom, instead preferring a simple tiny compartment in the corner of the castle. Not because she was particularly modest, but because she needed to be alone, far away from the distractions that came with being royalty. Of course, she’d never say that out loud, because that would have been rude.

The princess sat a desk much like the kind used in a regular office, hunched over as ancient words trickled from her lips. She levitated an ink-dipped quill over a parchment scribbled with paragraph upon paragraph of information. Her eyes moved rapidly across the inked paper, working at a fervent pace rivaling even Twilight Sparkle. The Tenebris Magicae et Mysteria lay open next to her, and a pile of papers were stacked on the floor, also written on. Cadance had been spending all this time translating the ancient spell tome, studying up on its secrets.

Finally, after many hours of studying, the princess flipped the book closed and placed her quill down. She let out a cute little yawn, stretching out her limbs which had become rigid from hours of staying motionless. There was still much of the book to go through, of course, but Cadance had figured she’d be much more alert after a good night’s rest. After all, even immortal dieties needed their beauty sleep.

She shuffled to her bed and took a seat, staring at a locket hanging on one of the bedposts. It was simple golden locket in the shape of heart, and inside was the picture of two young ponies still in their school days. One was a pink mare who tied her colorful mane in a braid, smiling with a mouth full of pink braces. The other had his hooves wrapped around his sweetheart, his blue mane parted neatly over his face, and his smile just oozing with confidence.

Cadance beheld the solemn memory, her lips pursed in sadness. “Buonanotte, Shiny,” she whispered, laying back on her pillow. “Essere sicuro. Please be safe.”

The love princess had only shut her eyes for a moment when a loud knocking sounded at the door. I thought this place was secluded , Cadance thought as she lifted herself off the mattress. Despite the fact that she was desperate for some sleep, she responded with, “I’ll be there in a moment!”

She tiredly made her way over to the door, opening it to find one of Luna’s Royal Guards standing by. His tufts for ears were twitching, and his arched back seemed extremely tense. The stallion uttered in a low voice, “Princess Luna requests your presence, Your Majesty.”

“So late at night?” Cadance replied, furrowing her eyebrows. “What did she want?”

“She did not tell me, Princess Cadance. Only that it was of an ‘urgent matter’,” the guard answered monotonously.

The princess yawned before muttering, “Probably wants me to tell her what I found in the book. So impatient…” After magically fixing her frazzled mane, she said, “Very well. Take me to her.”

The guard silently nodded and began to briskly march down the long, dark hallway. Cadance, with her longer than normal limbs, managed to keep up with the stallion's pace. However, that didn’t stop the pink alicorn from remarking, “Shall we slow down? What’s the rush? Luna can wait a few more seconds.”

She received no verbal reply from the Royal Guard, however he did slow down just a tad bit, which Cadance was grateful for. After all, she was much too bleary-eyed to strut around the castle in the dead of night.

They continued on in silence, with Cadance casting subtle looks at the guard strangely. Back at the Crystal Kingdom, the guards were much more sociable and, well, friendly (although she'd never tell him this out loud). And frankly, she couldn’t really remember the Canterlot guards being so formal all this time.

Seeing as though Cadance despised awkward moments, she struck up a conversation, saying, “My, I’m tired. I’ve been up studying that spell tome all night. I wonder how many spells I’ve translated in the past hour…probably at least a hundred or so. Although I’m not sure if Auntie Luna would approve me telling you this. But, oh well, what’s the harm, am I right?”

She finished with a small chuckle, waiting for some kind of response. But the guard just kept walking on with his face as still as rock and cold as ice, and his ear was still twitching slightly. Cadance continued, albeit uncomfortably, “So…did you know they had a whole chapter decided to the art of manipulation? They had this spell that allowed the user to manipulate the shadows so it looked like an actual pony! Imagine that? A perfect copy of another, created out of nothing but darkness. It’s interesting…and perhaps a bit frightening.”

Still no reply. Might as well be talking to a stone, she said in her mind. But she supposed it didn’t matter anymore, since the two had finally arrived at the large looming door of the throne room. Underneath her calm exterior, the princess was relieved that she had to no longer strike up random conversation to a rock. But of course, she only said out loud, “Well, thank you for accompanying me. I’ll make sure to put in a good word to Auntie Luna.”

Just as she was about to part open the doors, she added, “Oh…you look quite dark by the way. You should probably stay out of the sun or something.” But strangely enough, when she turned around, the guard was already gone, with no sight of him on either side of the hall. Shrugging tiredly, Cadance dismissed the stallion, figuring it was just another wierd thing Canterlot guards did.

But stranger still was when she stepped into the throne room, only to find it completely empty. No Luna, no Celestia, and even more suspicious, no guards. Shouldn’t this place always be on watch? Princess Cadance thought, scanning the room for any sign of life.

“Auntie Luna? Auntie Tia? Where are you?” she called. “Didn’t somepony call for me?”

Suddenly, a voice emanated from nowhere, echoing, “You are correct princess.”

Cadance didn’t not recognize it belonged to, only focusing on the fact that it seemed to be echoing inside her own head. She glanced fearfully around the throne room, trying to find the source of the ominous voice. “You don’t recognize me? Well, how disappointing,” it uttered. “Then again, it’s not like I expected you to remember me. It’s been quite a long time…”

“Who are you? Where are you?” Cadance uttered, hiding her fear behind defiant eyes. “Where are my aunts?”

Although the owner of the voice was not visible, Cadance could sense a wicked smile grinning down at her. With a small chuckle, it replied, “Look up.”

Despite every fiber of her being telling her to look away, Princess Cadance slowly turned her head to the ceiling. What she saw caused her to reel back in shock, and she let out a gasp of terror. There were her aunts, plastered to the ceiling, unconscious. They seemed lankier and older, looking more like impoverished peasants instead of immortal deities. Surrounding them was something she had known all too well, something from which she had barely escaped with her life. The Shadow.

Immediately, Cadance’s instincts took over, and she galloped towards the doorway, which she had left wide open. However, to her dismay, a group of hooded mages appeared from nowhere, blocking the only exit with a force field. The princess tried to shatter the magical barrier with a spell of her own, but the combined power of the mages was just too much, and the spell was quickly dispersed. Desperate, the alicorn threw herself against the solid bubble, but she met as much success as before. The alicorn harmlessly bounced off, which sent her sliding across the ground.

The throne!, Cadance thought as she scrambled upright, remembering the secret passageway. But when she whipped around, the Shadow had already spread across the opposite half of the throne room, covering the gleaming palace in its unwavering darkness. The alicorn began to fire bolts of magic into the darkness, despite the fact that she knew it was futile. Every attack was simply absorbed, and the Shadow continued to slowly creep across the floor.

Backed into a corner with no way out, Cadance could only watch as the black entity began to wrap itself around her body. The princess fought and struggled to break free, but the dark magic’s bonds were simply too strong, encasing her until only her head poked out. Defiant to the end, she refused to let out a single scream or squeal, even though fear still wracked her brain. She was brought to the center of the room, where a single being rose out of the darkness.

Like a demon from another world, a figure appeared from the dark writhing abyss. It appeared to be a pony, and a rather petite one at that. The pony wore a shroud as dark as the Shadow itself, covering its features so only its smirking mouth was visible.

The being stepped towards the captive royal, laughing wickedly at Cadance’s defeat. The princess could only utter, “You…who are you?

The shrouded pony replied, “Oh don’t worry about that…you’ll remember soon enough. But I know you, princess. All too well.”

Cadance shouted angrily, “You’ll never succeed! My Elements are…”

“Your Elements will be dealt with soon enough, Cadance,” the figure interrupted. “But as for you…I’ve got a surprise for you…”

“Are you going to kill me?” the alicorn asked solemnly.

With a cynical laugh, the pony uttered, “Don’t get too excited, my dear. All in good time.” It began to walk away towards the throne, all the while saying, “I hope you’re an evening pony, because that’s all you’ll be seeing for a long…long time.”

The figure took seat on the now darkened throne, with tentacles of darkness seeming to stem from its side. With a sinister wave, the Shadowmaster spoke, “Good night…Mi Amore."

“You miserable wench!” was all Cadance could scream when the Shadow covered up her mouth and her face, dragging her into the depths of the unknown.

Outside, the denizens of Canterlot slept soundly, unknowing of the horrors about to unfold once again.

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Short-ish chapter this time around.

Comments

[Bronze Statue]

DUN DUN DUNN

[Chaotic Note]

Holy horseapples.