Out of Cadance

by David Silver

17 - Cave Divers

Tempo almost crashed into a pony, so distracted was she by her recent worries. "Sorry." She helped the other pony up, her metal body proving the victor in a little contest of opposing momentums. But that pony, she knew her, from somewhere. "Have we met before?"

Twilight inclined her head at Tempo curiously, about the same look in her face. "Hm. Well, I'm Twilight Sparkle. You are?"

"Twilie!" Tempo perked up with a smile. "It is I, Tempo." She curled a hoof at herself. "It is so nice to see you."

"Tempo!" Twilight glanced away and back. "Tempo," she repeated in much more hushed tones. "You are the closest pony I know to Cadance, aren't you?"

"I take pride in it." Tempo smiled, if briefly. "Why?"

Twilight glanced around them. "Is Cadance--off? She's been so excited about the wedding, but it seems strange. I've known her for a long time, and this isn't her normal excitement."

Tempo took a little breath, despite not needing to breathe. "You noticed this as well?"

"I'm not the only one then." Twilight waved for Tempo to follow her. "This way. Let's not talk about this in the middle of the hallway." Twilight opened the door for Tempo and let her into the library, shutting it behind them. "There we go. What do you think?"

Tempo looked around, settling down with a little hum. "She is acting strangely, using abilities I never saw her have before, and--It's not like her." Tempo frowned just thinking about it. "Blueblood insists this is normal for a pony planning their wedding. I am certain, to some extent, it is. I don't think this is exactly that."

"I agree, and I think I might know why." Twilight produced a book, laying it open in front of Tempo. "The Mare in the Moon." She pointed out a specific page.

Tempo inclined her head. "Didn't you already defeat that?" She pointed up at where a moon may be, if not for it being daytime. "There is no more Mare in the Moon."

Twilight blinked before clopping a hoof to her head. "I'm very stressed right now myself. I feel like everypony is making light of what I've seen. Cadance is just not acting herself. You're the first pony to even agree to that much." She pressed her hooves together in front of her mouth. "Tell me truthfully. Did she seem off to you?"

Tempo's ears folded back. "Very off." She considered Twilight and her claims. "We agree on that. The question is, what can be done about it? I am Cadance's protector! How do I protect her from this?"

"I didn't know she had one." Twilight had been a little filly when last she knew Tempo, and never had a reason to know Tempo's protective role. "But good! Good. I need your help, please. My, uh, less wild theory is that this Cadance isn't our Cadance. Our Cadance doesn't act this way. I saw her zapping my brother with strange magic!"

"The headache removing spell?" Tempo flicked an ear. "That is a spell I never knew Cadance had."

"That one! Why everypony else thinks that's normal, I have no idea." She huffed with frustration. "The trick is finding the real Cadance."

Tempo stood up firm and tall. "That is my job. I am her defender. I will find her and make sure she's safe."

Twilight rolled her hooves one over the other. "I love the enthusiasm, but where will you even start looking?"

"I don't know, but I'll find her. I know Cadance's smell well." Tempo tilted her head as she thought. "I can track her."

"Like a bloodhound! You can do that?" Twilight raised a brow at Tempo. "You are even more talented than I remember you."

"Not exactly like one of those, but close enough. Leave finding Cadance to me." She touched noses with Twilight, smiling. "You have grown up well. I hope we get some time to talk after this."

"That would be nice." Twilight returned the little nuzzle, but they both had things to do. They parted with determined marches to see it done.

Tempo was not a pony, not biologically. She had no biology, to start. She did have mechanisms, and some of them gave her senses that a pony simply lacked. She drew in air, not to fake breathing, but to taste and sample the air, to get hints from it. She never stopped inhaling, the air passing through her entirely to pass out the other end without a problem.

That included things other than oxygen. She sampled the air for any hint of the particular bouquet of Cadance's scent. She could detect the subtle variations, but there was something different. Her nostrils flared, eyes widening. There, in the air, was a mixture of Cadance's unique and wonderful presence, laced with a spike of fear.

Tempo followed it, nose as often high in the air as she was poking around the ground, following where it seemed strongest. She eventually happened on where the abduction took place, but there was little obvious hint of the event other than the scent being at its strongest. That was a place where Cadance had been scared, she knew that, and she hated it.

"If I were somepony taking a princess of love, where would I put her?" Tempo turned from the small alcove, marching off through the castle. It was a huge, sprawling place with any number of hiding spots. She thought back to the ones that made her. They had taken advantage of such hiding places to come in and try to do terrible things. Tempo shook her head quickly. "Don't be distracted!" she reminded herself. "I must find her."

Her rump pulsed, which was an odd sensation. It hadn't pulsed before. She curled to look at it, where her cutie mark of the armored heart rested. Being a doll, her cutie mark could have appeared as anything she wanted to be, but that was the symbol she had found to be her own. She was the guardian of heart, Cadance's protector. That symbol was pulsing with urgency. "What does that mean?"

She wasn't even a pony. Her cutie mark was just a fashion accessory, or so she thought. Its magical throbbing implied otherwise. "Do you know where Cadance is?" She tentatively touched the mark. She had been told it was impossible for ponies to interface directly with their cutie marks, but Tempo wasn't a pony.

With that thought firmly in mind, she closed her eyes and concentrated, connecting to the mark. She didn't feel much, but it did seem to tug, in a direction. "You're getting smarter, I like that." She didn't have time to admire the change though, turning to gallop as quickly as she could in the given direction. "Please be alright, sister."

Her hoofbeats carried her out of the castle, down to the caves beneath. "Why down?" She considered the layout with a frown, but the scent had returned. Her poor Cadance was being scared, or had been scared? It was hard to know the difference, but, either way, Tempo knew she had to be there, and she made her way through the staggering maze of tunnels and caverns.

It was like a different world entirely, a sparkling wonderland of endless possibility. Tempo's eyes sparkled a little in that delight, but she kept to her task, nosing along the ground to follow Cadance's scent. "Cadance!" she called out in a sudden bark. "I am here. Tell me if you can hear me."

But she heard nothing but the occasional drip of water. Worse yet, she ran into a dead end. The scent stopped there, hitting a wall and no further. She had run out of places to go. "Cadance," she miserably got out as if saying her name would summon her. "Where are you?" She pawed at the wall impotently a moment before she frowned at the crystal barrier.

"I have no better direction." She twirled around, pointing her back end at the wall. "You will surrender Cadance to me, or else." What the else was, Tempo had no idea, but, Celestia as her witness, she would figure it out if she had to. She braced her forelegs and lashed out, kicking the door with all her might, as if it were the crystal's fault.

Her metal hooves slammed into the crystal with a tremendous weight. She could feel things cracking, some of them being bits of herself, but more of it being the wall. With a shattering of crystal and explosion of dust, the wall gave way to the cave beyond it.

"Tempo?" A haggard and weary Cadance stood up from behind the wall, looking at Tempo with amazement. "What are you doing here?"

Tempo bounded over, tackling Cadance into a tight hug. "I knew something was wrong. I'm glad I could find you!" She nuzzled against her, like a happy puppy reunited.

Cadance hugged Tempo with a tired smile. "And I'm glad to see you." She embraced her metal sister gently and gladly. "I was captured by some crazed thing that wants to take my place." She frowned with a shiver. "She said she'd eat Shining, because she needs him, too."

"Shining?" Tempo thought of her sweet sister and her loyal Shining. "What can she possibly want with him?"

"There's no time to ponder that." Cadance forced herself to her hooves. "We have to get moving."

"I'm right here." Tempo moved to support Cadance, only to almost stumble, barely managing to redirect her falling to crash to the stone ground without landing on Cadance. "Sorry."

"Sorry?!" Cadance was on Tempo instantly. "Are you alright?"

Tempo slowly sat up. "Kicking that wall wasn't the best idea, perhaps. I'm not as good at magic as you are, sister."

"You did more than good." Cadance nuzzled her injured sister. "Poor thing. Looks like we're both banged up now. Let's go as quickly as we can, but no faster than that, hm?"

"Yes, sister." Tempo staggered upright on three legs, walking alongside Cadance. "At least we can escape now."

A cold laugh echoed through the chamber. "I think not."

With a rush of flames, Twilight Sparkle was dropped before them, rough and with tears in her eyes. She saw the two Cadances in front of her and assumed battle stance, horn glowing dangerously.

Tempo raised a hoof. "I found the real Cadance, Twi."

Twilight hesitated. Tempo sounded just a little different than Cadance. "Tempo? Tempo! You found her!" She pounced forward, hugging the two of them with a happy sob. "I was starting to think this day would only get worse."

Cadance nudged Twilight, which was enough of a hint. The two began their traditional greeting involving waking up ladybugs. Tempo smirked at the dance. "You two are precious at times. Twilight, can you help us? Neither of us are feeling well right no--w?" She yelped as she floated in the air, grabbed by Twilight's magic. "I forgot you were so good at that."

Twilight casually moved both of her future sisters into a train cart and hopped in after them. "Let's get moving!" With a powerful magical shove, she sent them careening down wild tracks. "Um, do either of you--" She pulled upwards to clear a jump. "Know if we're headed in the right direction?"

"This is the way." Tempo pointed ahead of themselves as they made wild turns. She had no innards to throw off with the sharp movements, but she knew what fear was, and she cringed at the many close calls coming and zipping past them.

When they finally reached the entrance, Cadance was gasping and Twilight panting. "Wow, that was fun." Cadance brushed a hoof across her brow, wiping away sweat.

Twilight shivered with excitement. "We have no time! They're doing the wedding, now! Come on!" All three of them struggled to move as quickly as they could.

But Tempo couldn't keep up. "Go without me, I will catch up as quickly as I can."

Cadance hugged Tempo tightly, if briefly, and she took off with Twilight towards that false wedding.

Author's Note:

Things are progressing. It's about time for a showdown with the bug queen, I think.

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Comments

[zoruatrainer66]

Damn, it was over so fast.
That's when you know it's a good chapter!

[Samellan]

This chapter feels so rushed.
Also, it's cart, not card

[tsaukpaetra]

Major system damage, repairs required!