Creeping Darkness

by Bronyxy

12 Return of the Sisters

The Equestrian forces had been desperate to breach the forcefield and get to the aid of their Princess, especially when they had seen her fly up the outside of the castle with Nightmare Moon. As time ticked by, nothing seemed to happen and then suddenly a stream of rainbow energy had blasted out from the top of the castle and scorched through the inky blackness, revealing the azure skies beyond.

The guards shielded their eyes at the sudden transformation from the darkness, and once they had become accustomed to the daylight, pushed again at the forcefield, only to find that it had gone. Immediately, they descended as a swarm onto the castle and met with no resistance, the crystal ponies either displaying no willingness to fight, or having already pulled their mind control helmets off. While some guards set about freeing all those who still had helmets fitted, others headed for the top of the castle where they had last seen their Princess, but could find no trace of her.

The guards split up and quickly worked their way through the castle, one staff sergeant and his squad finding Princess Cadance in the dungeons, manacled to chains that were anchored solidly to a massive paving slab, allowing her to move by no more than a yard in any direction across the slimy, fetid floor. Her fur and feathers were filthy from days of captivity in this dank prison, but that was not all the guards noticed when they came in, for even more obvious was an anti-magic guard that had been locked onto her horn, depriving her of magic.

Despite her pitiful condition, the light of defiance was still burning strongly in her eyes, and while guards looked around for keys to unlock the cell, the manacles and the anti-magic guard, the staff sergeant briefed her on what had happened, seeing her expression lift at the news that Flurry Heart was safe.

As he was approaching the end of his narrative, a set of keys was brought in and passed to the staff sergeant, who opened the door to the squalid little cell and finished off his briefing while he set about freeing the Princess. Although she expressed her gratitude, she wasted little time in making her way up to meet with the colonels and go over what she knew of the layout of the castle, in the hope that she could shed some light on what might have happened to her sister-in-law.

Everypony could see she was in poor shape and obviously hungry, but they all admired her tenacity as she accepted nothing more than a few sips of water, before giving everything she could think of to help the guards find Twilight. Even once this was done she didn't rest, but set about planning how to return the city to normal. She was dutiful and attentive to the needs of her subjects, thinking nothing for herself, and step at a time, returning to be the ruler she had been before becoming consumed with the loss of her beloved late husband.

Mourning was over.

Cadance was back.

The guards soon got the Friendship Express running again and the railway link to Canterlot was free to open up once more, restoring communications with the outside world. Shortly, builders and labourers would come from all over Equestria to help Cadance rebuild from the damage that had been caused and, aside from the influx of all these extra ponies, things could start returning to normal.

Cadance soon got word that Flurry Heart had recovered consciousness, and the first thing she had done was to dictate a message for Twilight, telling her that Nightmare Moon was taking over the Crystal Empire. This had been the message she had been desperate to pass on when she first arrived in Canterlot, and receiving the message now, was not just too late, but it also left a lump in the throat, knowing that Twilight was still missing.

With great sadness, Cadance was reluctantly coming to the only rational conclusion presenting itself, namely that Twilight had somehow sacrificed herself in the bolt of rainbow energy that had spelled the end of Nightmare Moon’s reign of terror. In as much as she didn't want to think on it, she had to concede that if this was so, then she was left as the most obvious choice to rule Equestria, while Flurry Heart would consolidate her position ruling over the Crystal Empire.

Whilst Twilight and the Royal Sisters before her had kept order among the various minor royal families as they jostled each other for dominance, Cadance could see that if left unchecked, these squabbles had the potential to boil over with disastrous results. The last thing anypony needed right now was a series of rival power grabs to seize the throne, which would do nothing but plunge Equestria into a long and bloody civil war.

Cadance neither desired nor sought such power, but she knew that if peace were to be maintained, then this was the path she would have to follow, and moreover, follow it with conviction, lest any perceived weakness be exploited to undermine her position. With a deep sigh of sadness and regret, she nodded her head softly and steeled herself for what was to come.

After a few days of continuous daytime everywhere except for the Crystal Empire, the sun set and the moon came out amid a panoply as sparkling stars. Cadance was almost dancing on the spot like Pinkie Pie used to, with the prospect that Twilight had returned, but no sooner had the moon risen than gasps of shock could be heard echoing across Equestria. For the first time in decades, the profile of an alicorn’s head was emblazoned across the moon, confirming that one of the combatants was now residing there, but providing no clue as to which.

It was later that night when Celestia and Luna alighted from the train at the station. On seeing them arrive, Cadance gave her first genuine smile in weeks and shed a few quiet tears of relief. It was only once on her own with her aunt that she gave in to the need for a reassuring hug, and allowed her pent up emotion to flood out. Sensing their need for privacy, Luna diverted herself by meeting up with the colonels of the Night Guard and the Royal Guard respectively to catch up on military issues.

Once all matters of urgency had been dealt with, the three Princesses sat around a large table and caught up with the minor details that helped complete the picture, while they were served tea and cake. Still consumed by worry about the outcome of the duel between alicorns and the fate of her sister-in-law, Cadance prodded the cake she had been served and chased it half-heartedly around her plate, but could find no appetite.

The Royal Sisters had indeed been away exploring lands beyond Equestria, and became concerned when the day had begun to drag on rather too long. Upon their return to Canterlot, they began to pick up the pieces of the unfolding story, and then pulled rank to commandeer the Friendship Express for an unscheduled service northwards. During this journey, they were accompanied by representatives from the military, the government and NGOs, each giving their own briefings, so they could arrive with as full a picture of events as possible.

Celestia was also very upset to hear about her former student’s disappearance and her mind shot back to having taken this bright young filly under her wing all those years ago. It did not surprise her in the least to hear that she had probably sacrificed herself for the good of the ponies, but still wished she was there, just to tell her she loved her one last time. However, everypony else had gone through far more than she had, so she betrayed none of the deep hurt she felt.

Before long, the Royal Sisters asked to be shown the various sites of Sombra's dark magic and where Twilight and Nightmare Moon would have fought their final combat, so Cadance led them down the spiral stairs from the throne room and explained how the door, when it could be caught, led to the observer’s worst nightmare. She then led them to the top of the Crystal Castle where Twilight had last been seen.

A gentle breeze was blowing across the uppermost platform where Nightmare Moon and Twilight had stood. By instinct, they all looked up at the alicorn’s head on the moon.

It took Luna to break the awkward silence;
“So this is what I used to look like” she said in a tone that reflected genuine intrigue rather than any hint of malice, “I never thought I should see it for myself.”

“Yes, but who is it?” asked Cadance, “We certainly don’t want to risk releasing the wrong one.”

“Lulu, I don't suppose you can tell if two alicorns are up there, or just one?” enquired Celestia airing a concern that had been troubling her.

“I should have thought that two alicorns would have resulted in the images of two heads” she pondered, “But tis not a happenstance I have had cause to consider before.”

“If only these walls could talk” sighed Cadance sadly.

Comments

[Bronycommander]

Good joke at the end