Two Ends Of A Spectrum
The gardens were beautiful. A winding marble path led Grimm through a sea of flowers, bushes, and trees all neatly arranged into flowerbeds and eye-catching displays of flora from around the world. He kept a close eye on Petal as they carried a notebook and a pencil in their small limbs, happily drawing a sketch of the bird of paradise that caught their eye.
His child had spent the last several hours happily sketching plants and copying the name of each from the little metal plaque as they did. He was certain they would bombard The White Lady with questions upon their return to Hallownest and Grimm couldn’t be more pleased. Despite his misgivings towards The Pale King or The White Lady, he allowed Petal and the others to meet with their biological parents if they so chose.
Petal had taken to Hallownest like a duck to water. Javelin, for as quiet as they were, was slowly carving out a life of their own under the watchful guidance of Herrah and her daughter Hornet. He knew it wouldn’t be long before those two requested to leave his care to pursue their futures.
Given what is to come, it is for the best. He mused and turned his focus briefly towards his other two children.
He was pleased to note that they were getting along with Hearth, the mothling adapting well to Ghost’s curiosity and energy.
For The Nightmare King, there was always something to ponder about, something to focus on, such was the scope of his domain. In the time it took for Petal to move on to drawing another flower, Grimm had assessed the situation with his three children within Equestria’s borders, made certain that his new mothling was adapting well to the transformation, and monitored the status of The Badlands Hive. Things were moving smoothly, all that was left to do was deal with the wayward Queen.
So, when someone new entered the gardens, he was immediately curious. And when he and Petal rounded a corner, he came face to face with a small, purple dragon.
The dragon, body pudgy with baby fat, blunt green spines running down the back of the young dragon’s head, back and tail looked for all the world to have simply run ahead of their caretaker. Large green eyes looked up at Grim with curiosity and wonder all babes expressed.
“Well now, what are you doing all the way out here, little one?” Grimm said and knelt to tap the dragon’s snout.
He watched Petal scurry back the way they came from out of the corner of his eye. They were never one for interacting with others. Though he assumed that they were more concerned with documenting plants than paying attention to the baby dragon. He would give his youngest a few minutes to do what they wished before he went to collect them.
The baby dragon giggled, babbling at him, and waddling a few steps forward to get a closer look at him. He smiled and with a snap of his fingers, he summoned a large emerald and gave it to the baby dragon. With wide eyes, the dragon began sucking on the jewel.
“Spike? Spiiikke!” A young voice called, and Grimm turned his head to see a purple coated unicorn filly in a yellow sundress trot down the path and then freeze in her tracks as she caught sight of him.
She recovered quickly, trotting up to him as her flight or fight instincts gave way to curiosity. Of course, it was difficult to be frightened of Grimm when he was cooing over a child.
“What are you?” the pony asked.
He chuckled as he straightened up. “I am a moth little pony, one of the bug folk. My name is Grimm.”
“…You’re a big moth,” She commented and looked thoughtful. “What kind of moth are you?”
“Bug folk do not necessarily resemble bestial insects, I am more an approximation of what a moth is,” Grimm paused as this answer only served to confuse the filly. “Though I have been compared to a vampire moth, if that helps.”
He gestured towards the baby dragon. “And you know this young dragon?”
“That’s Spike, I hatched him six months ago.” The filly replied matter-of-factly.
She what?
“…And who is looking after him?” he asked hesitantly.
“My parents?” the filly replied with a confused head tilt. “Why?”
He was torn between making sure Spike was cared for and adopting the baby himself. Though he hadn’t be in Equestria for quite some time, he was more than aware the kingdom was very isolationist in nature and other species often struggled to live comfortably, especially those that had a diet that greatly differed from pony fare.
The colonies that his scarlet changelings called home were dotted about the other kingdoms and they frequently opened their doors to all manner of people that were returning to their homeland after trying to eke out a living in Equestria. Many returned home when it sunk in that Equestria rarely had institutions that catered to non-ponies, whereas almost every other kingdom, except for Hallownest, had everything a pony could need to live comfortably.
Though, he couldn’t go telling a child that. No, that was something best saved for when his patience with The Sun finally ran out.
“Well, keep in mind that dragons require a mix of gems, metals, rocks and bone for a healthy diet.” He settled on saying.
“Huh, most of my books on dragons said they just eat gems.” The filly commented.
“And how many of those books were written by dragons?”
At that comment, the pony looked at him in surprise and excitement. “There are books written by dragons?”
“And Griffons, Abyssinians, Changelings and Bugs,” Grimm replied. “Equestria mainly focuses on the cataloguing of knowledge pertaining to magic, but in terms of an archive containing almost everything known in this world, Hallownest has the most expansive store of information. If you wish to find a book about raising a dragon, you should find one there.”
“Still,” he continued. “I am concerned, it is rare for a dragon as young as Spike, let alone an egg, to be away from the nest. You said you hatched him?”
“It was part of my entrance exams for Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.”
Grimm was at a loss for words. “The Princess’s School, here in this very building, uses dragon eggs to test potential applicants.”
The poor pony was confused. “Um, yes? I actually looked it up not long after I became The Princess’s personal student. It’s been a long-standing tradition for hundreds of years.”
“Ah, you must be Twilight, Celestis has told me about you,” Grimm said. “I’ve been told you’re bright for your age, but… Twilight, what the school is doing is taking a new-born child and using them as an object to test the expertise of other, older children simply because they are different. Dragons are not animals or pets, they are people.”
“But… I hatched him, my parents are looking after him…” Twilight’s face fell, seeing Spike in a new light. “I didn’t know!”
“But the others around you should have. If you like, I can speak to your parents while I’m still in town and offer to provide them with the information they need to care for him correctly,” Grimm suggested. “He isn’t sick, or stressed, or unhappy living with you. I am more concerned about his diet and whether he’ll grow properly. While dragons can eat pony food, one so young trying to live off it would stunt their growth in the long term.”
“Oh, yeah that might be a good idea, can you wait here while I go tell Princess Cadance? She’s looking after us while I’m studying under Princess Celestia, and I sort of ran ahead when Spike ran off…” Twilight said with a sheepish grin and darted off.
As she left, Grimm scooped up Spike and cradled the baby in the crook of one arm. The Troupe Master looked bemused at the babe still focused on devouring the shiny jewel. The life that Spike would lead, the big, the grandiose, the larger picture unfolded before The Nightmare King in a blink of an eye.
“If only your destiny lied with me little one, alas that is not the case,” Grimm commented. “I can only hope the importance of your personhood has been understood by Twilight, she is still so young herself after all…”
Spike looked up at him, entranced by his glowing eyes and gurgled happily around the emerald in his mouth. Grimm’s heart was warmed by the simple joy Spike expressed.
Saying Grimm had a soft spot for children was an understatement.
Be they lost souls he adopted, or young ones that found their way into his care, Grimm would never turn a blind eye to the presence, potential and intelligence of a child.
A wave of nostalgia heavily tinged with grief washed over him. How many times had he held his own son like this? How long had it been since The Child had been lost to him?
They looked so small as they lay unmoving in his arms, their body as cold as the icy wind and snow around him.
The Light was blinding as his brave and noble Mothling urged him to flee.
He could feel searing heat on his chitin, an armoured form shoving him into the snow as The Shade Lord’s towering, horned visage blotted out The Light…
It took Petal, having returned from their jaunt, tugging on his cloak to draw him out of memories from a very long time ago.
He could sense their concern as they looked up at him.
are you okay father?
The words felt thick in his throat as he spoke. “I am fine, my child… merely reminiscing.”
He would be fine, for their sake.
Twilight returned with a pink alicorn princess in tow. Her mane done up in a ponytail and lacking regalia or symbol of her station. Dressed in a simple white robe decorated with purple, grey, and black birds in mid-flight.
There was a moment of recognition on the princess’s face, and then she was beaming as she trotted over to Grimm.
“Uncle Grimm!”
The familiar spark, the presence of another tied to an aspect of the mortal soul danced across his senses and Grimm felt overjoyed at the reunion.
Agape reincarnated, wonderful!
“A princess? My my, still trying to work towards the betterment of pony kind I see,” he said. “Tell me dear, what name have you chosen this time?”
The alicorn grinned, in equally high spirits as him "I am Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but I personally prefer Cadance.”
“You two know each other?” Twilight asked.
Cadance nodded. “Yup! Remember when I told you that I’m older than I look? I’ve known Grimm for ages,” She opened a wing to gesture at him. “I asked Princess Celestia if we could invite him to Canterlot so we could all catch up.”
Petal held onto the end of his cloak, content to observe the conversation. Cadance noticed them and smiled at the small bug.
“Hello there,” she said as Twilight also took notice. The princess looked over at Grimm. “Does Celestia know about them?”
“She knows I have adopted children originally from Hallownest,” Grimm said. “Petal here wanted to see the gardens and two of my four children are with one of my subjects exploring the area.”
“They look adorable, Celestia adores children almost as much as you do!” Cadance said and elbowed him with a wing playfully.
“My meeting with The Sun did not go as smoothly as I’d have liked,” he admitted. “I can only hope my children will not bear the weight of my mistakes.”
A wing was placed on his back and the feel of soft fur met his side as Cadance sidled up next to him. “And that’s part of the reason why I came back, you can’t keep doing this by yourself.”
The sound of movement caught to the attention of the two adults. Twilight and Petal had sat down next to each other on a nearby stone bench. The two children had established communication by way of writing in Petal’s notebook and passing it between each other.
Spike squirmed in his grasp and Grimm gently set the dragon down, who immediately went over to join the other children by crawling up the side of the bench and into Twilight’s lap.
“I have The Troupe, The Grimmkin, The Scarlet Hive,” he politely argued. “I am not doing anything alone.”
“Uncle…” Cadance fixed him with a worried stare. “You know what I mean…”
“I know…” he sighed. “But you needn’t worry, all will be well in time.”
“I don’t think so.” The mare argued and Grimm raised a brow at her.
“Care to enlighten me?”
She left his side to stand in front of him, with a raised brow and half-open wings that suggested he was ignoring the obvious. She kept her voice low so as not to disturb the children. “I know what you’re planning Grimm…” her expression melted into one of concern. “You’re the only family I’ve ever known, and I know you and Celestia have a rocky friendship but please, don’t try and fight her on this.”
“The Sun is a blind fool,” Grimm commented quietly. “And I will not take kindly to her baseless belief that I alone am at fault. I admit, my efforts to help Luna backfired spectacularly, but Luna was too far gone when I held out hope that she was not.”
He shook his head ruefully. “A shame then, that Celestia is intent on vilifying me… She may do something rash.”
“And you won’t?” Cadance retorted.
Grimm smoothed out his cloak, red eyes pleading at the princess to understand. “...I have lived as this incarnation for far too long. Yet I cannot renew myself. This life may be my last in the mortal realm, but I am in no hurry to see it end. I will bow out when it is time and no sooner.”
“If you need help with anything, you let me know and I’ll be there in a heartbeat,” Cadance said and the two adults turned their attention to the children. Cadance spoke up, sympathetic. “Your children… Do they know?”
Grimm leaned into her. “Ghost is the new Lord of Shades, they carry the knowledge of the previous Lords… and I’m certain Hollow suspects something. The others are still not mentally mature enough to understand.”
“Hollow, as in--”
“The wyrm’s Pure Vessel?” Grimm spat. “Yes, them. I pulled their shade from their shell and left my sister to rot in the braindead shell left behind…Both she and the wyrm were fools, and The White Lady is no better for enabling what her husband did… but the rulers of Hallownest are trying to make up for their mistakes, and my children have a right to know their biological parents.”
Grimm offered Cadance a smile. “Enough talk about what has passed and what is yet to come, tell me little jewel, how goes your life among the pony folk?”
The two of them walked over to another bench opposite the three children. Cadance’s face lighting up in joy.
“Well, I’ve taken the title of The Princess of Love. I’m trying to get ponydom to be a bit more open minded and understanding. Love and empathy are experienced in so many different ways after all, that the fact Equestria only upholds a few of few of them is something that worries me as The Higher Being of Empathy and Bonds,” Cadance said as they sat down. “Most ponies think I just represent romantic love, but I encompass all forms of it, I could go on and on about the things I’m trying to change but we’d be here all day.”
She grinned. “I have been lucky though, my Special Somepony has been nothing but supportive when it comes to our relationship.”
“A potential lifelong companion?” Grimm asked. He was glad she was able to find her purpose in this reincarnation and that there were those she could rely on.
He loved hearing about the people his loved ones cherished, be they romantic partners or dear friends.
“Oh, he is an absolute dork and I love him for it,” Cadance said. “He’s also kind and has a strong sense of duty, he works as a guard here in Canterlot. His friends dared him to ask me out on a date and he put genuine effort into it. We just as good friends as we are partners, and I couldn’t be happier.”
She shot Grim a sly look. “I don’t suppose you could give me a little insight on how things will play out?”
He smirked. “You don’t need me to tell you how it will play out, I can tell from how you speak of him that your bond with him is strong.”
“I know,” Cadance replied, expression shifting into a slight frown, concern dancing in her eyes. “But you know as well as I do that there are two sides to every coin. And love and lust have been ingrained into pony culture as being part of a healthy relationship for such a long time that… I worry sometimes that romance, my love, won’t be enough.”
“And yet you ask a God of Nightmares, Passion, and Carnal Desires,” Grimm pointed out. Despite the two of them being on opposite ends of the spectrum when it came to such matters, he could understand her concern. “There are many a day where I too wish mortal kind could see the division between matters of the heart and matters of the flesh.”
He laid a hand on her shoulder comfortingly. “There is little advice I can give aside from what you yourself preach, talk to him. Tell him of your worries and face them together. If he cares for you as much as you do him, then the matter of sharing a nest will matter little to him.”
“You’re right and I know, but sometimes you need to hear things from someone you trust before going through with it,” Cadance replied, looking at him with a grateful smile. “…Maybe I should have stayed as a moth and moved to Hallownest…”
“And would you do as much good in Hallownest?”
Cadance thought on that for a few moments, staring at a flowerbed. The calm silence only broken the scribbling of a pencil on paper from Petal and Twilight’s voiceless conversation.
“No…” the princess finally settled on. “Hallownest has always been progressive, they have words to describe mortals like me, or you and that’s something I wanted to share with ponydom.”
She looked at him with determination in her eyes and conviction in her voice. “I want the people of Equestria to be that accepting one day, to change their values for sake of those they’d prefer to shun or ignore.”
“And that is what you will do, that is what you will work towards,” Grimm said. “If you ever need time in a more welcoming environment, The Troupe will always welcome you, I also have a summer home in Hallownest you are free to make use of.”
“The Nightmare King has a summer home?” Cadance asked playfully.
“It is a nice place, with more rooms than my little family needs really,” Grimm replied, smiling as he recounted how his children took to the large house out in the small town of Dirtmouth. “Petal tends to the small garden we have there, Ghost has decorated most of the walls with various artworks or knick-knacks they’ve made, and Hollow claimed the office as their own personal library. My fourth child, Javelin, prefers to stay in Deepenest or The White Palace, wherever there is access to an armoury and training grounds.”
“Aw, that sounds lovely!” Cadance cooed. “Your kids sound adorable.”
“Ghost and Hollow are somewhere on the premises with a recently metamorphosized Mothling, shall I introduce you?”
Cadance looked absolutely delighted at the prospect. “I would love to.”
He nodded. “Very well then, please allow me a moment to get in touch with them.”
With but a thought, Grimm reached out to one of his children, his simple inquiry met with Ghost’s curiosity.
Would you and Hollow care to meet my niece? Hearth is more than welcome to join us if she wishes.
Ghost’s wariness did nor surprise him, even as it warred with the small bug’s passion for discovery. He sent back reassurance along with the knowledge that the princess of love was on their side.
She will do us no harm little shade. She is the God of Empathy and Bonds. She is of The Dream, but not of The Old Light.
There was silence, and then Ghost hopped up out of a shadow, a set of white, glowing wings opening on their back. They flapped their wings once and landed in front of Cadance as their wings vanished back into the folds of their cloak.
“This is Ghost,” Grimm said to Cadance before looking over at Ghost. “Ghost, this is Princess Cadance, a fellow higher being whose domain often intersects with my own.”
“It’s very nice to meet you.” The princess said, giving Ghost a warm smile.
She was meet with Ghost’s silent stare for several long seconds. Not that Cadance seemed to mind, simply nodding back at them.
That appeared to ease any worries both father and child had, for Ghost nodded back and hopped up onto the bench to take the small, empty space on Grimm’s other side.
And just as he was about to ask the whereabouts of Hollow and Hearth, Ghost motioned for him to wait. Grimm blinked in confusion, his questioning mental prods meet with Ghost’s stubbornness, so he stared at the garden and waited.
He was not disappointed.
In a flash of red smoke, Hearth teleported into the garden, stumbling as she did. The mothling quickly righted herself and looked around as her face lit up in joy.
“I did it! I actually did it!” she cheered, a grin spreading across her face.
“Still adjusting I take it?” he asked and the ‘ling caught herself, mood returning to the passive state he’d seen from her before.
“Yeah… we’ve spent the last few hours working out how my magic works,” Hearth replied and looked at Grimm quizzically. “Are we interrupting something?”
“Not at all!” Cadance chimed in. “I was wanting to meet you all anyway. Please, call me Cadance.”
“I’m Hearth the uh, mothling,” Hearth said awkwardly and took a seat under the shade of a tree. “It’s going to be a while before this is all normal.”
“Oh, I know,” Cadance replied sympathetically. “Granted, reincarnating isn’t quite the same as metamorphosis, going from one physical form to another is always an adjustment process.”
The tendrils of Hearth’s wings moved in a shrugging motion. Hearth moved to lie on her stomach, hind legs tucked beneath her fluffy body and her front legs crossed over one another. “Well, I doubt adjusting to this is going to be any more difficult than when I molted into an adult.”
Cadance winced in sympathy. “I’ve been all sorts of bug folk over my lives… I can relate.”
“Yeah… the worst part is the change in diet…You’re an adult now, time to learn what you can and can’t eat.”
“Right!?”
As the two conversed, Grimm felt Ghost move beside him, he looked over to see them leaning forward to look around the Troupe Master. Cadance’s attire had caught their attention. He watched them rummage through the contents of their cloak before pulling out a charm and sticking it on the outside of the cloak for all to see.
The charm was shaped like a frog, purple in colour with spots of white, grey, and black across its surface. Ghost hooped off the bench and walked over to Cadance, showing off the brightly covered charm.
The mare broke off from her conversation with Hearth to look down at Ghost in surprise. “You too?”
In a small flash of blue magic, a similarly coloured butterfly shaped charm was in Cadance’s magical grasp. She pinned to her robe, grinning.
“Oh hey,” Hearth spoke up. “I know that one!”
Grimm spotted Hollow peering at the group from their place hiding in the shadow cast by the tree Hearth was seated under, interested in the conversation.
“You do?” Cadance asked. “Not many outside of Hallownest do. It’s related to a very… niche subject.”
“Something to talk about later?” the mothling suggested before she glanced over at Ghost. “Wait, would it be appropriate—”
Grimm spoke up. “Ghost’s physical development is stunted. Were it not, they would be more similar to Hollow in size as they are the same age.”
“Ah,” Hearth said. “No worries then, I’ve seen more than my share of late molters after all.”
“I could enchant some candles and have a flame mail service for the three of us?” Cadance suggested and looked over at Grimm. “Uncle, you can use it too! I’d love to catch up like this more often!”
“A splendid idea.” He agreed.
Grimm’s good mood soured as he sensed Celestia teleport near them. He turned his gaze away from his friends and family to see The Sun round the corner as if she had merely run into the group during her own stroll.
Worry twisted in his gut as the radiant smile on her face gave way to shock at the sight of his children, a friendly greeting stuck in her throat.
Hollow had sunk into the darkness out of sight.
Petal was too absorbed in their written conversation with Twilight to notice much else.
Ghost whipped around, reaching for a weapon that wasn’t there. They settled for simply staring at The Sun with the silence of The Void.
Cadance and Hearth went quiet, watching. Grimm noticed how Hearth tensed, her body language screaming that she didn’t want to be noticed.
The Steward of The Sun got over her shock, her expression schooling into something unreadable. Grimm rose from his seat and offered the mare a cordial dip of his head.
“Celestia, good of you to join us!” he said cheerfully. He would put aside his misgivings for the moment. Higher Beings had fought amongst themselves for long enough in his eyes. “These are my wonderful children, Petal and Ghost. My Eldest is—”
“Your children?” Celestia said.
“I did say I adopted did I not?”
She looked out of sorts, thrown for a loop as she fumbled to find the words to express her disbelief. Anger flashed across her face for a moment and Grimm couldn’t tell if it was directed at him or a certain wyrm, perhaps both. Eventually, she cleared her throat, the expression of a calm ruler firmly in place.
“Grimm, can I have a word with you?” she asked.
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Well, this was an adorable interaction! Shame Celestia had to show up and kill the mood.
I was a little confused when i saw that Cadence is Grimm's niece so does that mean that the Radiance had a daughter and that daughter is Cadence?
Ah yes, the good old "We're all about friendship and harmony, as long as it's our version of friendship and harmony".
It's actually rather interesting to think about how much of an entire nation could end up not even realizing that they're like this
Well, I'm getting concerned
Ace Cadance Ace Cadaece Ace Cadance Ace Cadence! Also, the conversations are by far my favourite part, I couldn't be more glad that you got carried away with them
Well, this is fun. And it's certainly been a long while since I last read a Hollow Knight fic. To the watchlist you go!
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I'll be explaining this in the future but the chapter does imply that Cadance and Grimm have spheres of influence that overlap and Cadance is from the same place as The Radiance (OF The Dream but not of The Old Light). I didn't want to bog the chapter down with too much information.
10920420
I'm glad you like it.
10920419
I wasn't sure how Ace Cadance would be accepted but I'm very happy to see the concept being met with positivity.
10920360
Yeah, I wanted to try and have it be subtle, because even though in canon pretty everyone can eat pony food regardless of species, realistically that wouldn't be the case. And ponies would view dragons as more animalistic because big fire breathing lizards.
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Dialogue and character interaction seem to be my strong suit. I'm happy people like it.