(2-4) And Her Guilt
The whole room was silent for what seemed like forever after my statement. I made sure to keep my gaze fixed on the pink alicorn the whole time, Luna and Hope staring at her along with me, the former only giving me a brief glance of uncertainty. Cadance returned our looks with one of her own, trying unsuccessfully to keep her face free of the shock I could tell she felt. The ponies behind her however didn’t attempt to hide their surprise, many of them leaving their mouths gaping open, along with Twilight Sparkle and her friends.
“Is this a trick?” the former princess finally asked after a very long moment, her voice cracking badly as she spoke.
“No trick,” I responded flatly, shaking my head. “Admit your guilt and apologize, and you’ll be formally pardoned. Or maybe, having your sentence commuted would be a better way to say it, seeing as there will be other conditions.”
Another long second passed as she continued to stare back at me, completely surprised and confused. I’m certain it was the last thing she or any pony else expected, and she started to fumble over her words because of it after the silence passed.
“I- no, I- I’m not- no. I’m not guilty. I stand by what I said. I am not guilty.”
“You absolutely are guilty, Cadance,” Luna chimed in, speaking with authority. “Everypony here can see it, and you have essentially already confessed with the words you spoke in defense of your actions. And now, even after your crimes, you are being offered leniency you do not deserve. It would be wise of you to accept it and admit your guilt.”
“So this is what the rulers of Equestria do?” she accused, attempting to point a hoof at us but being stopped by her chains. “Harass their subjects into saying they’re guilty when they’re not? Send them to Tartarus if they don't?”
“You’re not being forced or harassed into anything,” I replied coldly. “You have the option to decline what we’re offering, although you should know this isn’t an offer you’ll be allowed to sit on. As Luna said, you’re being offered leniency you don’t deserve, leniency that I’m sure even Celestia wouldn’t grant to you after what you’ve done.”
She put her scowl back on and growled at us, eventually baring her teeth as her hooves shook furiously. She clearly realized exactly what we were doing, what I was doing, and didn’t like it one bit. She looked at the ground after a little while and shook her mane to the side out of her face, trying to consider whether it would be better to be sent to Tartarus or to be free and humiliated in front of everypony even more than she already was. From her expression, it seemed like she was strongly considering the former.
“What are the conditions?” she asked through gritted teeth, now choosing to keep her eyes on her hooves.
I moved to answer, but as I opened my mouth to speak, Luna broke in, “Those will be made clear after you apologize for your actions.”
The answer looked like it made Cadance absolutely angry, her face almost twisted as she growled again, the crowd taking a step back, away from her. She looked like she wanted to stomp her hooves and break the podium she stood in front of in half, and I definitely enjoyed seeing her frustration.
“I…” Cadance started before growling again. “I hate you so much…”
“You hate me for offering you mercy? Mercy that wasn’t afforded to me? To Tirek? To Luna, or Discord, or Celestia, or Cozy Glow? You’re the only pony in all of Equestria who is being offered to go effectively unpunished for their actions, and all we’re asking for is that you apologize to us and admit to your crimes.”
I was definitely trying to spin the situation against her, making sure that the crowd knew that no pony before her had gotten such treatment, had gone without facing the consequences of their actions. I wanted to foster their resentment for her, the resentment I already had, and it seemed as though it were working, given the whispers I heard in the crowd. Either she would be resented by them, or look like a fool for not accepting my offer. Although, in bringing up Cozy Glow, I did make a mental note to do something about her soon. Having fillies placed in Tartarus was not something I enjoyed the thought of.
Cadance’s growling increased in volume until she finally screamed at us, “I’m sorry!” As she screamed, she wore an expression of hate and rage that was directed at us.
“What are you sorry for?” Hope asked, speaking the way a parent would talk to a toddler. “And please say exactly what it is, if you can.”
“Raaah!” the alicorn yelled, slamming her head into her podium, breathing heavily and letting her hooves stomp against the marble floor. I forced myself to suppress the urge to laugh and kept a straight expression in the face of her anger, although I greatly enjoyed watching her trying to stop herself from throwing a tantrum. I did briefly wonder if her rage could or would change her into a nightmare version of herself, but pushed that thought aside seeing as she seemed to remain the same physically.
The room watched and waited as she kept her head face down on the podium, breathing deeply and doing her best to calm herself down. After a few seconds of watching her breathe, she looked up and spoke again, once again moving her mane out of her face.
“I apologize to you, and Shining Armor, and all of Equestria for the crimes I’ve committed and the trouble I’ve caused,” she spat at us insincerely, hatefully.
Hope gave me an expression that asked if she was serious before she told Cadance, “Look Shining Armor in the eyes and tell him you’re sorry for trying to hurt him, and tell Twilight you’re sorry for trying to manipulate her into thinking it wasn’t you that hurt him.”
She turned to Shining’s direction, who was already staring at her expectantly with a frown on his face, and frowned back at him. The anger and rage she had melted away as the two locked eyes before she looked away again, almost seeming like she was actually ashamed of herself.
“I’m sorry, Shiny… err, Shining Armor,” she told him, lowering her voice a bit while still speaking loudly and clearly. “I apologize for trying to hurt you… for actually hurting you, and I hope you can forgive me. And the same goes for you, Twilight. I don’t know what came over me, and I hope you can forgive me.” She spoke with what sounded like actual sincerity in her voice, which I thought was interesting. Even more interesting was watching Shining turn his head away from her slightly when she was finished.
“It seems there’s a heart down there,” I thought to myself. “Or maybe she’s just trying to rebuild her relationships since she's not going to prison like she thought she would be. I wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case.”
“And now Alex,” Luna told her after a second of silence.
Just as quickly as her look of anger changed into shame, it changed back into anger as she turned to face me again.
“I’m sorry, Alex,” she told me, her voice dripping with sarcasm that was very obvious to everypony in the room. “I’m sorry for all of the trouble I’ve caused you, and I just hope you find it in your heart of hearts to forgive me since everything is just all my fault. Are you happy now?”
“I will be,” I told her flatly, “once you explicitly state that you are guilty of the crimes you’ve committed.”
“I’ve effectively already said that," she snapped at me, "since I’m being forced into apologizing to you of all ponies.”
“Effectively saying that isn’t good enough. We want to hear you tell us.”
Once again she growled at us, clenching her jaw as she bared her teeth again. I raised my eyebrow at her as I waited for her to say it. It wouldn’t be satisfied unless she actually spoke the words.
“Say it, Cadance,” I commanded her. “Say that you’re guilty.”
The look in her eyes was one that told me she wanted to tear me apart. The fur covering her cheeks was starting to turn red, she was so angry and humiliated. But still, I started back almost expressionless, only frowning slightly at her, the look in my eyes telling her that I was the one who held authority over her.
After another very long moment, she angrily spat in a harsh whisper, “I’m guilty of the crimes I’ve committed,” forcing the words through her clenched teeth.
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Hahaha rekt
should have got her to list her crimes and explane them aswell but that might have been a streach
I’m guessing Shining Armor divorced her “off screen” or maybe is in proceedings for it. As the relationship seems dead at this point, I doubt even dopey Shining will fall so easily for her... again. Now the question is what does she have left to fall back on having burned all her bridges?
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True, but she doesn't care about Sombra or Alex, at least not enough to see to the wellbeing of either.
Untrue. Crystal Hope is also in that catagory, in a place above Cadance. They know she had a part and is guilty, but escapes trial and consequences via nepotism. Not to mention she shows no desire to make amends.
Oooh it was glorious!
For a princess of Love, she sure loves to Hate.
"Having fillies placed in Tartarus was not something I enjoyed the thought of."
Oh, so that's why he's taking it easy on Cadance.
How fun it was to see her act more immaturely than Flurry Heart.
We hope there are plenty of court artists to capture the countenance of Cadance.
(Spoilers to those who haven't read or seen the IDW comics)
You know, I say this is OOC for Cadence, but during the IDW comics which Sombra returns - this comic takes place after some Twilight becomes an alicorn and after the IDW comic which Rarity gets possessed by a piece of Nightmare Moon - one of the comics' parts shows that when Cadence uses dark magic to open the secret passage in the Crystal Empire to Sombra's hidden lair to confront Hope, Hope states to Cadence that when one uses dark magic, they'll get a headache which Twilight did in the show when she used it during S3 Opening.
When Hope tells this to Cadence she responds back she didn't feel a think, no headache, which Hope explained that if one has deep hate/anger or a close emotion to that within themselves, it make casting dark magic easier. This proved/showed that while Cadence is the alicorn of love, she as an individual has deep hatred within her, meaning she's a naturally angry or is can be very hateful towards others to my guess. Either way, this story itself can be a 'what if' on Cadence allowing herself to be consumed/use said hatred.
10786646
Know this is a late reply
but someone says hate and love is the same coin different sidesso yeah...