MLP: The Count of Monte Cristo - The Man I used to Be (One-Shot)

by kahnac

The Lost Lovers reunited at long last

Shining Dante's finally returned to his estate after finally putting Neighefort away - just as he had done to him 14 years ago. Seeing him like that filled The Count with such pleasure that was almost unbelievable. But now it was over, and done with, and the feeling was gone. Now that Tireklars AND Neighfort were dealt with, all that was left was the greatest betrayer of the 3, and the one who was once his closest friend: Sombra Mondego. It was because of HIM that he lost his love, Cadenza Mercedes, and that she had forgotten him. Even after the promise they made to each other ages ago......before his life was destroyed forever. His punishment would be the most sufficient of the conspirators. Neighfort may have exposed him as a conspirator against Shining, AND against the crown, as well as a murderer who killed the former chief prosecutor's father. Now all that was left was to finish the job. And already he had a plan hatched for such a thing. Though it still left him wondering what he should do about Mercede's.

As soon as he did think of her, however, he heard a sound in the dark of his home. It was the sound of gentle hoofsteps walking against the marble floor. This startled Shining enough to make him draw his sword, and aim at where he pinpointed the sound. To his surprise, however, he saw that is was the very mare he was thinking of.

"Cadence." he said in half surprise, but mainly disdain.

The mare in question was in a dark dress which kept her frame concealed in the shadows from any watchful eyes. She even wore a veil to go with it. As soon as she removed it, Shining saw a hint of redness around her eyes. She had been crying recently. She drew close to the end of The Count's sword, all while he kept his stare on her ever present. "If there's anypony else you should take revenge on, it should be me." Cadenza said with sadness in her voice. "Because no amount of apologies can ever make up for the betrayal i've made towards you. So.........maybe a blade to my heart's exactly what I deserve."

Shining, however, had no interest in such a thing, and sheathed his sword. "I thought we finished out discussion in the carriage." he said, still trying to keep up the pretense.

"So did I........until you mentioned the name "Dante's". A name I never even mentioned once."

Shining's eyes narrowed, and he let out a huff as he turned away so as not to face her. He privately chided himself for forgetting how smart Mercedes truly was. Even now, he had to admit she was always smarter then him. But he would never give her any compliments now. Yet he knew he gave himself away to her much time ago. So there was little point in keeping up the pretense. "What do you want, then?" he asked in a manner which indicated he didn't want her there. She paid it no heed, and simply said, "I only want to be free of you," she chocked before continuing, "as you seem to have done with me." He turned around to look at her. "Just answer a few questions for me, please. Just a few, then I swear i'll leave forever."

He wanted to say no. Seeing her only made the pain in his heart ache all the worse. Just thinking of the betrayal she had unwittingly performed still left its mark in him. But, part of him DID still love her. Just enough to not be completely cruel, and cold to her. So he decided to just indulge her, and get it over with. "Fine. Ask your questions." Grateful, Cadenza bowed her head slightly, before taking a seat on the nearby couch. She then took the opportunity to look him over again. Now, she could truly see how much more different he was compared to the man she knew so long ago. What had happened to him to turn him into this? That was part of the first thing on her mind, with the question she had wanted so desperately answered for 14 years. "Where have you been?" She asked, sounding almost desperate. He somehow could tell by her tone that she had no idea what he went through. Maybe she was innocent in this, after all.

No. No, she wasn't. If she was, she would never have married that monster, Mondego. He had to hold it together, no matter what. "A prisoner." he said, with a hint of dread, and disgust in his voice. "For thirteen years in the Chateau D'if. And then a great many other places." He said, with his disdain not leaving.

Then he saw Mercedes' anguished expression, and it weakened the stone around his heart. Especially as the tears began to fall from her eyes. "T-...Thirteen years in the Chateau D'if?" she said with pain in her voice. She had known Dante's must have been taken somewhere after his arrest. But to be condemned to THAT horrible place? Where no mare, or stallion who is imprisoned ever returns? It was almost too much to bear. Especially with the tales she had heard of that infernal domain. And it only made the hurt for her love all the stronger, as she asked in concern, "Did you suffer?"

"Are you done, yet?" Shining asked with growing anger. Already, he could feel his emotions beginning to grow out of control. And Cadenza wasn't making this any easier. Now, he just wanted to end this before he lost his resolve. "Because i've got alot more important things on my mind right now - and they don't include you."

But Mercedes would NOT relent. After all this time, she finally had the stallion she loved back, and she wasn't going to lose him again. "What did you do after that?" she asked, rising out of her seat, with Shining's back turned to her once more.

"Much!" He said in a harsh tone.

"Then why didn't you ever come back for me?!" She asked, feeling her own anger flare for a moment.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU WAIT FOR ME?!?" he shouted, finally allowing his anger to be released. And with it, all the pain, and resentment he held in for her was set free, too. Hints of tears of his own beginning to appear as these feelings came to the surface. "Do you have any idea how I felt when I finally came home?" he asked, with that pain most evident. "I languished so many years away, barely clinging to the hope I would see you again! Oh, god, Mercedes, you have no idea how much it hurt being without you! I though I was going to die from being away from you! But then, when I finally made it back, I found out that you didn't have enough faith to believe i'd make it back. Just like everypony else. And what's worse? You married the very stallion who destroyed my-"

His words were cut off.......and his heart skipped a beat with a gasp. His eyes widened in shock as he saw Mercedes pull out something he only saw once before his imprisonment, and the end of his life as Shining Dantes. "T-the ring?" he said in a hushed, almost pained tone. Yes, indeed, it was the very same ring of crystal that Mercedes had created from her own magic. The symbol of the promise of their true love. Now, Mecedes' eyes were beginning to fill with tears again as she said, "Don't you remember what I told you - that day on the rocks, by the sea?" she said, as her voice cracked. "I swore on my life it would never leave my neck, and for 14 years.....i kept that promise." She then smiled sadly at the stallion she knew as Shining Dante's. "I will never break that promise, Shining. And I will NEVER betray you."

Shining, however, just couldn't handle what he saw, and heard. When he learned of Mercedes' marriage to Sombra, his heart had been hardened into cold, hard stone. He truly believed she had forgotten him, and moved on. Yet, here she stood, still wearing the ring she herself made, and wore around her neck to symbolize how much she loved him. And the stone covering his heart began to crack, before it completely shattered. Instead of the hate he had held inside, he began to feel something which he had not felt in so many years: happiness. But he couldn't handle these conflicting emotions, and his anguished expression ran wet with tears. "But......why?" he asked in a shaking voice. He truly couldn't understand how she could keep her promise after so long, because he only felt betrayal, and loneliness. Now, he saw he was NEVER truly alone.

"You know why, Shining." Mercedes said, trying to reach her hoof out to him. She managed to caress the side of his face before he gently took her hoof in his. And he spoke in a tearful voice, "Then, if you really do still love me........p-please! Please don't take away my hate. It's all I have left."

"No, it isn't!" Cadenza said desperately, touching her hoof to his chest, wanting to get through to him. "You've only been trapped with hate for so long, it's made you forget that there's love in your heart, still. And Hope, as well. I can still feel them inside you, Shining, because i've carried all these years......even after they told me you were dead." She then stared into his tear-soaked eyes, letting a gentle smile show as she said, "You don't have to keep going like this anymore. Please, let the hate go, Shining. Just....let it go. I have no idea what twisted designs are spinning around in your mind, but i'm begging you to stop. Whatever cruel twist of fate tore us apart, God has finally brought us back together - please, don't cast his hoof aside."

"God?" He asked, in a defeated voice which showed he was done trying to fight his feelings. Just as he was again perplexed to hear of an idealistic concept he had all but forsaken at the Chateau D'if. And yet, as was proven with the unexpected appearance of the Abbe, who saved him from his despair, it seemed as if the words of his cell might truly be carrying to reality. God is giving him justice. But he wasn't so quick to accept it just yet. "Always is it God. Can't I ever be free of him?"

"Of course not." Mercedes said, as he tears finally stopped flowing. She saw her stallion, whom she fell in love with once before, beginning to surface. And for the first time in 14 years, she felt that fate was finally smiling on them both, and repaying them for such cruelty. "God loves you, Shining. If you truly are here, it's because he loves you so much that he's helped you find the strength to live. And you can no more stop him from loving you.........then you can me from loving you with all my heart."

Shining's expression softened. And he asked in a gentle, almost timid voice, "You still mean it?"

"Yes.......now, and forever."

And at last, the two could no longer contain the love they felt. Both of their eyes began to slowly shut, as they felt a passion they had forgotten begin to surface once more. They were savoring every second of this moment. For they had been ripped from one another for too long. And nothing was going to keep them apart ever again. Soon, their lips connected, and they shared in the deepest, most loving kiss they had ever shared before. Both of them poured every ounce of their love into this single kiss. Their eyes remained closed as they grew lost to their feelings. It was a full minute before they parted, leaving the two panting lightly from a short lack of oxygen. But Dante's had danced with death for a long time now, and it held no fear for him. Neither did it for Mercedes. In this moment, nothing else mattered..........nothing except them. And with another kiss, the night would span on to allow the two of them to express their love, and just how happy they were to at last be together again.

They were truly one - now, and forever.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Shining had awakened at 3 in the morning, wrapped in his bed-sheets. Laying beside him, with a hoof wrapped around his chest was Cadenza. She, who slept so soundly, and carried a smile even in her slumber. Shining himself couldn't help but smile at the display. It was almost too surreal. He had dreamed of this moment for the span of his imprisonment. But the desire for vengeance had clouded his mind, and made him forget. Perhaps he was the one who was guilty of forgetting what truly mattered. Ever since his return, he had thought the worst of Mercedes. But she never once gave up on him. Now, all he could feel was his love, slowly but surely returning to him. Perhaps a sign that he was willing to at last move on, and reclaim his life.

Either way, he would find no more sleep for the rest of the night. Gently lifting Mercedes' hoof off of his body, and placing it on the bed so as not to wake her, Shining put his Count suit back on as quietly as possible, and exited the room. Here, in the quiet of the night, with the full moon shining down, he was left along with his thoughts. He could finally think more clearly of things without being clouded. And what he felt was his heart's stone casing breaking off to allow his true self to surface. The stallion who was loving, kind, compassionate, and forgiving. He thought the years had hammered that pony out of him. The Count of Monte Cristo was far different from who he once was, and he was happy to let the past die to cast out the pain it brought. Now, however, he found no shame in remembering the past. All of the good, and all of the bad. It was all that led him up to this moment. It led him to a chance at getting the happiness he always wanted, and truly deserved. So, maybe Mercedes was right: maybe it was time to let go of revenge. This was his second chance to truly begin again. And as he gazed upon the moon, he saw that he DID have a new chance. A chance to resurrect the man he used to be.

~I've seen a thousand wonders
I've lived a hundred lifetimes
But not until this moment
Have miracles seemed real

As fleeting as a shadow
The time goes by unnoticed
The hate that drove me forward
Is gone and I am face to face with...

The man I used to be
Dreams I dared to dream
When love was all
The innocence of youth
Like memories of truth return
To learn forgiveness

The man I used to be
Cannot be outrun
Albert' still lives
Whatever else I've done
Forever in his eyes, she'll see
The man that I used to be

And all the years will melt away
And lights will fall much softer now

For all the pain is gone
Hope is what moves on
I will be there
As near as her next prayer
As merciful as sweet redemption

Once blind, now I see
Once a slave, i'm free
Give me a star
To home would guide my heart
To resurrect a part of me
The man who I used to be!~

The end.

Author's Note:

Still not over this damned musical just yet. So I decided to expand on this www.deviantart.com/kahnac/art/… which I made a while ago.:)

And yes, as you can see, i've already had some mlp characters cast for certain roles: in this story, Tirek plays as Danglar, only as a member of the Equestrian Military like Shining Dante's. Chancellor Neighsay plays as the prosecuter, Villafort, whose father was a loyal follower of an oppressive monarch seeking to take over Equestria. And lastly, former King Sombra plays the role of the more personal betrayer, Fernand Mondego. While obviously, Cadence plays as Mercedes, since I can't imagine anypony else filling that role.^^;

But yes, this short story is based on the scene in the 2002 movie where Merceds confronts Dantes and shows how she never betrayed him. And, of course, i'm using the song from the musical which I think fits right into the moment after the two basically made love. He's contemplating how he now feels - and to put it simply, he's no longer angry. All of his enemies got their just deserts, and now Mercedes has rekindled their love, and helped him realize that he's done with all this anger, and hate. All he wants is to let go, now, be happy with the woman he loves, and finally be Shining Dantes again.:)

And let me tell you guys, I chocked up while writing this story. The musical has effected me in such a way, and every time I hear a few of their songs, I feel my emotions fluttering. And because Shining is my favorite pony, I felt some od Mercedes sadness regarding his fate. But also happy when I wrote the end. Because of there's anyone who deserves happiness after enduring so much pain, it's them.:)

MLP:FIM is owned by Hasbro

Comments

[Mkchief34]

Sniff, beautiful.

[kahnac]

Oh, thank you!:D I worked as hard as I could to make this unique, but also still carrying the same vibe and similarity to the source. I'm not sure if this really IS the right moment to put the song in, but it felt right to me, at least. The results clearly speak for themselves.:D

[damiranc1]

Nice :)

[kahnac]

Thank you. And it was nice of you to drop by, and check this out.:)

[Lets Do This]

Liked and favorited for the crossover with Count of Monte Cristo, which is one of my favorite classic books, and one of the select few I would willingly re-read just for the fun of it. And I'm talking the 1200-page original unedited version here!

But... I gotta say it, Huh? No imprisonment in the Chateau D'If? No conversations with Abbe Faria? No escape? No island of buried treasure? Just a love scene? Aw, Man! You left out all the good stuff!

Ahem, don't mind Rainbow. She likes what she likes. But it's true, you really need to provide more than just flashbacks for the reader to invest themselves in the character of Edmond/Shining Dantes, and really feel him letting go of his need for revenge.

(P.S. Just to be fair, I only finally read the Dumas original after having read Italo Calvino's much shorter version, "The Count of Monte Cristo", found in his short-story collection "t zero", which I highly recommend even if you're not into Dumas works in general. It's a quick read, covers the time Dantes was imprisoned in the Chateau, and made me want to know more about these characters and what happened to them.)

[kahnac]

9075358
I very much appreciate your thoughts, and i'm happy you liked it. But as for the technical stuff: this was only a oneshot that struck me without warning, and I made it just to see how folks would like it. So far, i'm getting alot of positive results.

AND, to tell you the truth, I AM considering just going ahead, and adapting "The Count of Monte Cristo" already. I've been making plenty of pics based on it. So it only makes sense to eventually write an adaptation of it, right?:)

[Lets Do This]

9075819
Definitely, go for it! And by all means take my comments by way of encouragement -- I want to see what you come up with!

[kahnac]

9076094
I'm very grateful. And have no fears: this is one series I HAVE to make now, no matter what. With any luck, i'll have the first chapter up in a while.:)

[kahnac]

9101499
Thank you. But as you can obviously tell by now, this was only a prototype for the ACTUAL story. This was merely an exercise of literary passion. When this song comes, the situation will be somewhat altered. Or, I guess, improved is also a good term.:)

[kahnac]

Oh, believe me: this IS going into the story. But it'll actually be fleshed out, and integrated in a manner which will blend into the story, and actually serve a purpose. All I did with THIS was reenact a scene from the 2002 movie I enjoyed so much. The final result will be semi-different.:)