The Rhythm Of The Dance

by BlackRoseRaven

Episode VII: The Deceptive Cadence

Episode VII: The Deceptive Cadence
~BlackRoseRaven

Cadence sat with her head bowed, resting in front of the pedestal where the Crystal Heart had once been held. Soldiers had cordoned off the area, only letting in a few workers who were trying to clean up the blood and corpses into the area. One of these ponies was carefully vacuuming up the ashes that were all that remained of Sinister and Dexter, and others were futilely attempt to scrape away the stains of blood and char... but you could never wash those stains away, Cadence knew. She could already see... hollow things, starting to form. Shades, that were silently wandering, as if they couldn't believe they were dead...

She shivered a little, then turned her eyes back towards the pedestal. She was waiting for Archon, Shining Armor, and Miss Take. They would be joined by a small group of Archon's officers, and then they would hunt down Pain. There was only one place she could be going, after all: into the ruins beneath the Crystal Kingdom. Into the dead laboratory that likely still housed that dragon's toys and machinations...

Cadence hugged herself silently, swallowing a bit. Part of her was full of the wild hope that her father really was down there, that he was... waiting for her, or had withdrawn there because of some instinct, some vague memory that still burned in his mind. She needed to save him, and she thought she had the tools to do that... or at least... to be together, forever.

“Hey.” said a soft voice, and Cadence glanced over her shoulder before smiling briefly at the sight of Shining Armor. The ivory unicorn looked much better than he had last night... but she guessed he must have managed to sleep a little, while she'd spent most of the night out on the balcony, just gazing off into the distance, lost in thoughts and fears.

He was in his full armor, freshly polished like it had always been when they had first met, and he smelled faintly of... lilacs, she thought. She gazed at him silently, then murmured after a moment: “Took your time to wash your mane this morning, huh?”

“I wanted everything to be perfect.” Shining Armor said with a small smile, and then his horn glowed, carefully lifting a large, cloth pack from his back and setting it down in front of Cadence. “Your armor. I uh... I cleaned it for you. I hope you don't mind.”

Cadence smiled at this, reaching down and opening the cloth case before she quietly lifted her white coronet free from the bag, studying it silently before she murmured: “I haven't worn this in... it feels like an eternity. But it wasn't that long ago, was it?”

“Not long at all, Cadence.” Shining Armor smiled a bit in return, reaching up and rubbing at his face as he said softly: “They wouldn't still be talking constantly about how my wife had to come in and save me, after all, if it had been.”

“I don't know, Shine. I've had to save you a lot lately. Even if... you've done a lot of work too.” Cadence glanced down, hesitating before she murmured softly: “I know this isn't fair to you. You're an amazing person. You're a great protector of Equestria. It's not your fault that... this has been...”

“Too much. Yeah.” Shining Armor chuckled quietly, and then he smiled briefly before saying with a shrug: “But I still want to be here for you, and support you. I'm not exactly much of a cheerleader, but... I can help, still. I might not be able to keep up to you crazy mares, but I can at least defend you. And, you know, they gave me this, too.”

Shining Armor glanced over his shoulder, unsheathing a short sword holstered at his side with telekinesis, and Cadence smiled despite herself: it had a crystalline blade that thrummed with his magic energies, the stallion tilting it back and forth as he said mildly: “Apparently it amplifies the energy running through it or something. Brittle otherwise, but when it's charged with magic or one of their funny orb things, it can cut through just about anything.”

Cadence studied the blade curiously, then she reached down and picked up one of the belts of knives that made up part of her equipment, the mare smiling faintly as she said reflectively: “It's funny, but it's kind of reassuring to hold a weapon again.”

Shining Armor gave her a wry look as he spun the sword before sheathing it at his side, saying with faint entertainment: “You know, I find swords and armors as great as the next macho, tough stallion. But I wouldn't exactly say I'm reassured by them. Not when I know I'm going to be using them to go stabbing things in a matter of minutes and all.”

“Well, would you prefer to go in without any weapons at all?” asked Cadence, and the stallion gave her a pointed look before she laughed and shook her head, murmuring: “I know, I know. You'd prefer not to go in at all. And... I want you to know, Shine, that you don't have to do this.”

“I kind of do. Everyone else is going, and I can't stay behind without you, Cadence.” Shining responded quietly, and then he hesitated, shifting back and forth on his hooves as the mare began to calmly pull on her armor, even while she looked up at him in soft silence. “I... hey, let me help.”

“Thanks, Shine, but I got it.” Cadence replied gently, shaking her head briefly, and the two smiled at each other, gazes lingering, shifting slowly as they looked at each other for the longest time.

Finally, Cadence looked awkwardly down as she picked up her belts of throwing knives, slipping them onto her sides as she flexed her bracer-covered forelegs. The chainmail skirting around her hindquarters jingled quietly as she rose her head, the lightweight armor gleaming and fitting... not quite perfectly, but it was close. It was very close to what she remembered...

She closed her eyes, taking a slow breath and steadying herself as she fought not to sink into that... stranger, deeper past than she had already lived, so many years ago. She felt Shining step closer to her, felt his gaze studying her, and she shook her head briefly before swallowing thickly and not opening her eyes even as he silently wrapped a foreleg around her and pulled her close, the mare whispering: “I'm sorry. I'm just not who you think I am. I don't think I can be that Cadence anymore.”

“It's okay. We'll... work through this. One way or another.” Shining Armor stopped, then he looked out into the distance and sighed softly, murmuring: “I haven't done the greatest job there, either. It's hard, being... in your shadow, not the big strong stallion protecting his mare. And Miss Take... I guess she started to lure me away.”

Cadence smiled faintly, and then she sighed softly before pulling back, the two slipping apart and Shining looking awkwardly down at her as she looked back up. He began to apologize, and she quickly placed a hoof over his lips, murmuring: “Don't. I wish you'd always been that honest with me, Shining. And... I understand. But this isn't really the time for this, either, okay? We'll... we'll figure things out after we...”

“Save your father.” Shining finished for her, and the mare gave a faint smile, nodding to him slowly and meeting his eyes with gratitude. “Archon says you're crazy, though, you know. And as much as I like you, he scares me a lot and I kind of have to agree with him, Cadence.”

The winged unicorn sighed a little again, and then she nodded hesitantly, rubbing at her face and murmuring: “I know this is insane, I do. I just... at the same time, I have to try. I have to try.”

“No one gets left behind.” confirmed Archon's voice, and Cadence looked up with a small smile, nodding to the General as he approached with Miss Take beside him. The old stallion looked as regal and prideful as ever, his armor spotless, his expression calm and cold as he glanced over his shoulder and said clearly to the two unicorns and two Pegasi he had chosen: “Princess Cadence is in charge of this mission. You will listen to her commands, even if they conflict with my own. Is this understood?”

The soldiers saluted, and General Archon nodded briefly before he gestured calmly to Miss Take: unlike the rest of them, she was shrouded in a heavy cloak and cowl, although Cadence could tell that beneath that she was wearing a thick cloth mask and clothing that covered her entire body. “Miss Take has offered to scout ahead for us. The artificers were unable to complete a suitable replacement for her Third Eye in time, but she's been able to recover.”

“It just took a bit of time and a bit of feeding, much as I dislike to. But when the victims are willing, it makes it much easier.” Miss Take replied softly, and Cadence thought she caught a brief smile creasing the fabric of the cloth over the Changeling's muzzle. “I'm in no fit state to be seen, but the worst damage to my body has healed. I'm afraid I might be a little... wobbly, though. And I may not be quite as skillful in combat.”

“So the Third Eye really is that important to you.” Cadence said quietly, and she hesitated only a moment before leaning forwards and saying in an even lower voice: “If you want to come with us, I won't stop you. But I don't want you to feel that you have to, either.”

“Darling, but I must!” Miss Take leaned forwards, her smile clear in her voice as her bright eyes flicked towards Shining Armor from beneath her hood. “I'm not about to surrender Shining Armor to you that easily... I think I can still steal him away, you know.”

Cadence chuckled despite herself at this, and then she shook her head slowly as the ivory unicorn blushed a bit and glanced away, mumbling: “I'm not a prize, ladies.”

“For once, I agree with you.” Archon interrupted sourly, and Miss Take huffed quietly and nudged the old stallion almost teasingly with her shoulder. General Archon only gave her a mild look as Shining Armor and the officers of the Royal Guard all gaped at the mare – and criminal, at that! – daring to treat the General so casually, so... amiably, even.

“We should put all this banter aside for now. What we need to focus on right now is tracking down Pain... although from what you've told us, Cadence, the most likely place is the ruins beneath the Crystal Kingdom.” Archon stopped, then he turned his eyes towards the winged unicorn, focusing his gaze on her as he said tacitly: “I've briefed my troops on what we might have to expect, according to your words. Is there anything else they should know? Are you sure you don't want to wait for them to prepare any other equipment for us?”

Cadence looked down, biting her lip for a moment before she shook her head quickly and murmured: “I told you everything I can remember, Archon. If anything else comes back to me, I'll tell you, especially if it's important to the mission. I won't put anyone in any unnecessary danger. And I know that... we have to move fast.”

Archon nodded briefly, and then he gestured at Shining Armor, saying calmly: “I want you at the rear of the group, shielding position. Be ready to react. Understood?”

Shining Armor hesitated only a moment before he nodded briefly, saluting and managing not to sound too disappointed as he answered: “Understood, sir.”

“It's an important position. Keep your attention focused and remember to scan the area, a Brokenhearted like Pain shouldn't be too difficult to pick out with magic.” Archon almost reprimanded, and then he turned his eyes towards Cadence and finished: “Whenever you're ready, we can move out.”

“Well, there's no time like the present.” Cadence gave a brief smile, nodding hesitantly before she turned around and steadied herself as much as she could. She took a slow breath as she felt her emotions twist, not entirely sure of what she was feeling, both exhilarated and terrified with what the near future might very well hold.

She forced herself to take a step forwards, then another: one hoof followed the next, and at first, that was all she concentrated on. She strode slowly across the square, eyes forwards, not looking at anything but letting her instincts guide her, trusting that they 'd be able to find a way down into the ruins... Pain would want to be followed, after all. So she would follow, and let everything else work out naturally.

Miss Take strode up beside her, and Archon let himself trail behind, leading his small unit of soldiers as Shining Armor brought up the rear, already nervously looking back and forth. Cadence risked a glance back over the group before she quickly brought her eyes front, and she gave a faint smile as Miss Take caught her eye and asked gently: “You're that nervous, aren't you?”

“I... I am.” Cadence said awkwardly, and then she glanced over at the Changeling and bit her lip before mumbling: “I... I'm not ready for this, and it feels stupid. It really does. I mean, this is exactly what I've been moving towards... almost my whole life, it feels like. This is what I want, and what I know that I need... this... this is everything to me. So why do I want to run away?”

Miss Take chuckled quietly at this, and then the cloaked mare looked ahead and said softly: “Exactly because it's all that, darling. And if you felt any other way, I'd have to question if you were honestly aware of the gravity of the situation, and what you were getting yourself into.”

Cadence nodded a few times, then she looked down and added almost grudgingly: “It really bothers me sometimes how easy you are to talk to. Especially because the two of us... we shouldn't be friends.”

“Says who?” Miss Take smiled kindly, winking over at the mare. “We're grownups, dear. You and I are both older and wiser than we look, that's all. Oh, I'm sure it'd be much more entertaining to the boys if we were hissing and clawing at each other, but we have a... a mutual understanding for now, don't we? I'm very grateful for that.”

Miss Take paused as Cadence looked over at her with a small smile, and then the Changeling leaned towards her and added gingerly: “And if I'm not out of line, I think that you're rather grateful for me as well. You know that...”

She stopped, and Cadence looked down, then cleared her throat before looking ahead as Miss Take looked at her almost tenderly. “Let's just focus on where we're going. We've gotten along this far because we both... we have a mutual understanding, like you said. Let's not tamper with that.”

General Archon grunted from behind them, adding irritably: “Besides, I thought you were going to scout ahead for us, Take. Cadence, do you have any idea which direction we're supposed to be heading, or is this just the equivalent of fishing?”

“Please don't butt into a mare's private conversation, Archon. A polite stallion would pretend he didn't hear anything at all of our discussion.” Miss Take said mildly over her shoulder, and Archon only rolled his eyes as Cadence smiled a bit despite herself. “But I fear the General does have a point, even if he feels he must make it so rudely. Darling, where is our heading? Would you like me to go and check things out?”

“No, as long as Shining or Archon keep up scanning, they'll be able to detect Pain at a good distance. You've felt her Brokenheartedness... it's distinct. That's why she keeps slipping in while we're busy with other things...” Cadence shook her head and muttered: “It must be her instincts from when she was an assassin for the Phoenix Guild. Even if she's starting to lose herself... she hasn't completely been taken over by her... her sickness. Not yet.

“For now, I'd really prefer you to stay here, with us. Pain... she's going to be waiting for us in the ruins. That much I can be sure of. And they'll be easy to find...” Cadence hesitated, looking back up before she swallowed a little and murmured: “In fact... I think I've already found an entrance. Let's just hope it's open.”

Archon frowned a bit as Miss Take tilted her head curiously, but Cadence only smiled faintly as she looked ahead and saw... ghosts. Lingering spirits, empty husks, all gathered around a fountain... but in her vision, the fountain flickered, and she didn't see some silly, gorgeous thing of crystal spouting clean and gorgeous water, but some kind of deathless machine, powered by blood and the energy extracted from living ponies.

Crystal Ponies looked at them uneasily, but there were only a few in the area, and none were smiling. One of them was shuffling back and forth like he was trying to build up the courage to approach, and Cadence decided to take the initiative, raising her head and saying clearly: “Listen, everypony, we're going to fix this! But for now, you all need to head back to your homes, okay? Stay warm and stay safe!”

The Crystal Ponies looked at her with varying degrees of hope and relief, and slowly, most of them began to draw away. Cadence sighed a little in relief, glad that at least one thing today had been easy enough, and then she hesitated only a moment before gesturing towards the fountain, murmuring: “There's... there's ghosts here. I think they're attracted to the old machinery... there must be an entrance hidden here.”

“Let's shut the fountain off, then look for a way in.” Archon glanced meditatively over the center pillar in the middle of the fountain, where an angelic pony was poised, spitting water into the air. “I hate these things.”

“What a surprise.” Miss Take said wryly as she walked towards one side of the fountain, and Cadence smiled despite herself as she took the other. But the Changeling was the first to find the shutoff valve, turning off the flow of water before she leaned forwards over the pool and said thoughtfully: “There's quite a few bits in here. And some of them are stuck in what looks like some kind of groove... I believe, darlings, this center section can actually be moved.”

Archon grunted, then he stepped calmly over the edge of the fountain, wading through the shallow water and leaning down to inspect the grooves the mare had pointed out. “There's one way to find out.”

Archon stepped around the bottom of the statue, and then he gritted his teeth as he braced himself against it before growling and pushing. And Shining Armor and the officers all stared in disbelief as the old stallion slowly forced the centerpiece of the fountain to roll out of the way, as water whooshed and splashed around his legs to drain quickly down a hole that was revealed, secreted beneath the statue.

The stallion stepped to the side as he yanked the statue the rest of the way off of the opening, and then he looked grimly down into the revealed passage as the last of the water drained, the old stallion saying over his shoulder after a moment: “There's a ladder here, leads down to what looks like a larger passage. It doesn't look like it's been used in a long time.”

“Pain said there were multiple entrances... she must have found a different one. But they'll all lead to the same place.” Cadence said quietly, and then she hesitated only a moment before stepping over the edge of the emptied fountain, walking nervously towards the hole and leaning over it nervously.

She didn't know what she expected: a flash of memory, or some great revelation, or some... who knew what, really. But all she saw was a hole in the ground, with a rusty ladder that led down to a mucky, ugly-looking floor coated in water made slimy by all the dust it had absorbed.

Cadence hopped down into the hole, landing with a faint splash and frowning nervously as she looked down the long, curving passage that sloped deeper into the earth. “I... I don't see anything. Just a lot of dust and cement, and...”

The winged unicorn halted, then nervously strode towards the wall and reached up to apprehensively poked what looked like some kind of bulb. It was glowing dimly still, and Cadence wondered uneasily just how long these lamps had been glowing for, lighting the path only for ghosts and dust... “Anyway, there's enough light to see by. Come on down.”

Archon was the first to join her, followed by Miss Take, and three of the soldiers. Shining Armor came last, the Captain of the Guard smiling briefly up through the hole and calling: “Just keep an eye on things, we'll come back this way if it all possible!”

Then Shining turned... and almost ran right into Archon, who leaned down and said irritably: “He doesn't need your reassurances, Captain Armor. Stick to your duties: keep scanning the area with magic, and keep your eyes open. We're entering dangerous territory and if you let down your guard, it will cost all of us..”

Shining saluted awkwardly as General Archon strode back to the front of the column, then scowled as Cadence said dryly: “A bit of positivity isn't going to kill us all. Everyone needs a little reassurance now and then, Archon.”

Archon only grunted, then glanced down the corridor, asking calmly: “Do you see any of the spirits in this area, Cadence?”

“No, but there were only a few around the fountain... and since when did you start believing me when I said I was seeing ghosts?” Cadence asked almost curiously, glancing over at Archon as she gave a brief smile.

The General only smiled thinly, turning his eyes ahead and replying distastefully: “I never said I did. But nor am I going to discount a possible predictor of danger, either.”

Cadence only sighed and shook her head, before frowning as Miss Take said slowly: “But there is a certain... resonance in these halls. Perhaps you can't feel it as well as I can, but that would be my Changeling instincts... try and tune into it, darling, you're very good with emotional keys.”

The winged unicorn nodded hesitantly, and then she took a few steps forwards to give herself a bit of distance from the emotions of the other ponies, pointing her horn ahead as it glowed faintly... and then she shivered a little, whispering: “Such... such sadness. Such despair and pain and...”

A spark.

Cadence's eyes snapped open, and she had to struggle not to burst into a run, her whole body trembling before she bit her bit, then whispered: “He's here. Far, far below us... he's stronger here, because this place was protected from the positive energies of the Crystal Heart. It's dark and it's cold and it's full of sadness and pain... and we're only just breaching the surface of it.”

“I dread what must be down there, my friends... stay alert. Shining, Amadeus, and...” Miss Take looked thoughtfully over her shoulder, then smiled beneath her cloak. “Oh yes, Scrimmage and Shieldstrong, yes? You darlings will all have to be extra careful. This negativity will drain your magic faster, hurt you more... your horns will naturally attune you to it, whether you like it or not.”

“You heard Take, colts. You've been trained for this: low-energy, high-interference environment. Shield yourselves.” Archon ordered, as his own horn lit up with a reddish glow. He paused, then glanced over at Cadence, saying calmly: “And I would suggest you do the same.”

Cadence nodded after a moment, closing her eyes before her own horn lit up with a faint, warm pink glow. Then she glanced over at Miss Take as the Changeling gave a quiet giggle, the winged unicorn looking at her blankly before the cloaked mare said kindly: “Oh, nothing, darlings. Just watching you all 'sheathe your swords' reminds me ever so much of those silly little things that stallions sometimes put on their... lower horns.”

“Thank you, Miss Take, really. That's a great image.” Cadence said dryly, although at the same time she couldn't help but smile a little despite herself. Archon looked less than amused, and Shining cleared his throat as he glanced away, while the unicorn soldiers glanced at each other awkwardly.

Then Cadence shook her head before looking forwards and saying finally: “We should move fast. Pain is going to know we're coming, as long as we're shielding ourselves... and she might be able to hide in all that negative energy. There's only one presence I can really feel, and it's... far away, at the very bottom of all this...”

“Your father.” Archon said quietly, and Cadence glanced over her shoulder at him, not entirely knowing what to feel before she finally gave a brief nod. She could feel everyone's eyes on her, but she didn't know if there was really anything she could do, anything she could say, apart from... leading them down into this darkness, while hoping for the best

So she took a slow breath and turned her eyes back ahead, murmuring: “Come on. Let's go.”

The ruins were strange and hollow: there were dim, flickering bulbs placed here and there along the decayed walls, these snaking corridors made mostly of damaged stone and rusted metal. The only smells were of dust and age and inevitable decay, and even though they passed many different branches and adjoining corridors on the way down, it was easy to figure out which path they had to stay on. Their road led them down, deeper and deeper into the earth.

Cadence breathed slowly, flanked by Archon and Miss Take. The unicorn soldiers behind them were both lighting up the area around them with their horns, even though there was already enough light to see by thanks to the ancient lamps in the walls. And lastly, Shining Armor was scanning back and forth, grimacing and continuously checking over his shoulder: with the hive-like structure of tunnels, it was easy to imagine and ambush coming from behind, after all.

The winged unicorn barely heard the conversation, her head bowed, her eyes closed, her mind cycling back through memories of her past. Of her father, always willing to find time to spend with her, always so good, always so compassionate; of long before her father, when she had been...

She smiled faintly, shaking her head briefly. Those were just blurred thoughts of a past life... one that was hard to grasp, to focus on, because it was all so alien and made up of things she'd never been taught about, never even imagined existed. And yet it was real: it was where so many of these puzzle pieces she was made up of came from... even if the rest of her...

The mare shook her head slowly, looking down and licking her lips before she murmured: “Come on, keep it together and just keep moving.”

“Good advice. Take it.” Archon interrupted evenly, and Cadence flinched before the old stallion gave her a thin smile. “You're thinking too much. Or are you remembering more of your past?”

“Both.” Cadence confessed, and then she looked up before biting her cheek and hesitating. The moment she faltered, Archon stopped and held up a hoof, bringing the rest of the group to a halt as Cadence took a few more nervous steps, then paused as well, looking slowly back and forth.

“Ghosts.” she murmured: there were three of them, two of the empty husks sitting almost together in one hall, the other pacing restlessly, half-hidden in the wall of the passage it was walking up and down.

“They're...” Cadence bit her tongue, then she gestured to a path to their right, off their main path leading down. “I think that's a shortcut. There's only a few there, but I think that more will start appearing as we get closer to Valthrudnir's laboratory.”

“What was Valthrudnir? I've never heard of a dragon being as powerful as you describe. Nor do I know any that would waste their time tinkering with these toys.” Archon glanced over at Cadence, frowning slightly. “If he's still here...”

“He's not. He's gone.” Cadence shook her head quickly, grimacing a bit as she reached up and touched her face, about to add that she had no idea what he really had been... and instead, what came out, as calmly and naturally as if it was common knowledge: “He was a Jötnar. But they're all dead, all gone now.”

She blinked in surprise at her own words, touching her lips... and then, to her further surprise, Miss Take asked curiously: “A giant, like in the old vikingr legend?”

“How do you always seem to know everything about everything?” Shining Armor asked irritably from the back of the group, and Miss Take turned a pleasant, amused smile over her shoulder.

“I'm a collector of ancient artifacts and treasures of the past, darling. Knowing myth is as important as knowing fact, with things like that. I also like to read. You should try it sometime, darling, reading, instead of just looking at those naughty picture books you keep hidden in your closet.”

Shining Armor mouthed slowly at this as Cadence sighed tiredly, turning her eyes back ahead... but the banter helped to settle her down, and again she found herself impressed with Miss Take... more than she wanted to admit, really. “You really do seem to know just about everything, though...”

Miss Take only gave her a kind smile, then she leaned forwards and said softly: “That may be true, my darling, but I certainly don't know nearly enough about you, not quite yet.”

Cadence couldn't help but smile herself at this phrasing, looking over at the mare for a moment before she shook her head and muttered: “And here I thought it was Shining you were after, not me.”

Miss Take laughed loudly at this, then she shook her head and chastened playfully: “Oh, darling! As if I would ever be so greedy! No, no, now stop that. My little crush on you is nothing sexual in the slightest. While your husband, on the other hoof...”

“Shining squeaks, you know. Kind of like one of those plastic squeeze toys.” Cadence said mildly, and Shining Armor made a... well, it was a very difficult noise to describe, although it did at least help prove her point. “Like that, yes.”

The Changeling gave her an amused smile, and Archon rolled his eyes before the old stallion said irritably: “Whether or not this amuses you two, we have to focus.”

“Laughter and smiles sometimes make a journey easier, Amadeus Archon. It's a lesson you would do well to learn, darling. If you'd just learn to smile, perhaps more ponies would realize you're flesh and blood, not fire and brimstone.” Miss Take replied equably, and then she added pointedly: “Furthermore, creating a little positivity in this icky place is to our advantage, is it not? It's much harder for the poisons to creep into our minds and hearts when they're armored with warmth and friendship.”

Archon only grunted in reply, obviously not interested in debating the subject. Instead, he turned his eyes past them and muttered: “This place is different than we were in before. The lights are brighter and there's exposed piping along the ceiling. And those stains look like some kind of fuel.”

Cadence glanced towards a puddle of dark ooze that had congealed at one side of the hall, and then she shivered a bit, seeing the... poison, the vileness of that gunk as she murmured: “Stay away from it. It's... it's toxic.”

Archon scowled a little, then only nodded briefly: they continued on in silence, the group of seven slowly making their way deeper through the seemingly-endless network of passages. Cadence paused only once on the way down to stare at the sight of another group of ghosts, gathered around some wretched, melted thing that had been fossilized by dark goo pouring over it when one of the pipes above had burst, and then Archon had half-pushed her forwards, and they had continued quickly on their way. And she had never been happier for the General's presence than she had at that point, and his ability to just keep her moving forwards, no matter what.

But it wasn't much longer before the passage began to widen into a much-larger corridor, any connecting halls sealed off by heavy, rusted shutters, leaving their only way to go forwards. There were more phantasms here, wandering silently back and forth, many of them staring emptily down the hall or gazing silently up at the enormous pipes lining the ceiling.

And finally, Cadence thought she could see an end to this corridor: there was some kind of massive metal gate, laying brokenly half-open and looking in on some kind of enormous room. The winged unicorn frowned uneasily as Archon frowned, and Miss Take murmured: “That sense of foreboding grows quite a bit stronger here, my darlings. We should be careful.”

Shining Armor frowned uncertainly at the back of the group, biting his lip... and without even looking back at him, Archon said sourly: “Out with it, colt.”

The ivory unicorn winced a bit at this, then grumbled under his breath even as all eyes turned towards him, the stallion shifting awkwardly before he said finally: “I thought I got a flicker of movement. But it was above us, not below.”

Cadence frowned at this, and Miss Take smiled slightly as she looked quickly up, drawing her eyes along the pipes over the ceiling before she murmured thoughtfully: “No, not there. It would create too much disturbance. But perhaps a little higher up: Pain may be thinking a little clearer than she was before. The delusion might not be so deep as we had thought.”

The winged unicorn looked over at her curiously, and Miss Take only chuckled quietly before she said softly: “Oh, darling, I'm sure we'll find out soon enough. But colts, you should all be on guard. Especially you three officers. Pain will try and eliminate you first.”

“You heard Take. Stay alert.” Archon said coldly, and the three saluted quickly as Shining Armor grimaced, his horn glowing a bit brighter as he charged a bit more energy into the spire.

The group of seven continued to the broken shutter, Cadence inspecting it uneasily as Archon leaned past and into what looked like a large, wide room beyond. But it was only a few moments before the old stallion grimaced and stepped inside, explaining calmly: “This is some kind of freight elevator. It looks like it's seen use recently, too... see the metal flakes by those giant gears?”

Cadence frowned uneasily as she glanced towards the large, hook-toothed metal gears that seemed to feed into the wall: there were two on either side of the elevator platform, placed near the corners of the machine. She realized after a moment they were resting on special rails of some kind, the mare studying these almost nervously. “I see, but... that doesn't necessarily mean this one still works.”

“There's one way to find out. There should be a set of controls somewhere... and I assume we're heading to the very bottom.” Archon glanced over his shoulder at Cadence, and the winged unicorn shivered a bit before nodding quickly, her own instincts confirming Archon's guess.

Miss Take called to them from across the elevator, where she was examining something near a pile of rotting metal boxes. Archon gestured at Cadence quickly, and the winged unicorn sighed but nodded to him, deciding to listen to the stallion's orders for now.

She approached the Changeling, who smiled at her from beneath her cloak and cloth mask as she gestured at the set of levers and controls she'd found. “It's rather confusing, darling... but I think this switch is the brake, and this one with all the numbers must be the floor controls. These others I'm not so sure about... but they don't look like they've been toggled, either, while otherwise...”

“There's no dust on these switches.” Cadence said quietly, and then she bit her lip before looking uneasily up, realizing that the enormous shaft they were in stretched... “Do you think maybe...”

“I don't know, dear. I suppose it's possible this surfaces somewhere... maybe in an old sewer, maybe in some hidden tunnel leading into some poor pony's home.” Miss Take shrugged a bit, and then she leaned forwards and said in a lower voice: “But what I do know is that we are not alone.”

Cadence nodded slowly, and then she grimaced and looked up again, sensing... a faint movement, a whisper of someone or something. Then the mare shook her head quickly before she muttered: “Okay. Let's get moving. Are you okay to fight?”

“I'm ready, darling, to do my best to help. That's all I can promise.” Miss Take replied gently, then she reached up and touched the mare's shoulder, asking almost worriedly: “What about you? Are you feeling strong enough to fight yourself?”

Cadence hesitated, then she nodded slowly and gave a small smile. “I've always healed fast. Fighting was... it's what I was made to do.”

“You weren't made, dear. You were born.” Miss Take chastened gently, and then the Changeling reached out and calmly pulled the numbered lever all the way forwards, a rumble running through the platform beneath them as ancient machinery slowly geared up, before the Changeling flicked the remaining switch.

The platform shuddered, and then began to rumble slowly downwards as Miss Take sighed softly, rubbing a hoof silently against the floor as she said wryly: “The Queen Mother's hive is not so different from this, I'll have you know. She was not content to live in a cave or a swamp, like my dear little sister. She instead incorporated an entire city she took over into her hive... but perhaps that's a story better saved for when we escape this wretched place.”

“I...” Cadence stopped, then she suddenly smiled over at the Changeling, who looked at her curiously before the pink mare said softly: “I really hope that you and Shining Armor... you have a good life together.”

Miss Take looked taken aback, then she smiled even as she leaned forwards with clear worry in her eyes, asking softly: “And what makes you think you've lost him, darling? I may pretend that this game is between us, but we both know that at the end of the day, it's Shining's choice... and you are a dear, sweet friend to him. Hard as I am on him... I wouldn't blame him for staying with you.”

Cadence smiled faintly, then she shook her head and said softly: “And he's a good friend to me, too... but who he loved was the old Cadence. Who loved him most, was the old Cadence. And I'm not her anymore. I think everyone knows here that, no matter what they say or how they try to reassure me.”

Miss Take nodded slowly, and the two looked at each other silently before the Changeling reached up and pulled her cloth mask off, then leaned forwards and tenderly kissed Cadence's cheek, murmuring: “You're a better mare than I am, darling. But there's no going gently into the darkness, do you hear me? I don't want to win by default, anyway.”

The winged unicorn laughed a little... and then she and Miss Take both suddenly looked sharply up as they felt the thrum before Cadence shouted: “Everyone, defensive positions! Pain is here!”

The soldiers immediately fell in around Archon as Shining stepped quickly aside, making himself a lonely target to try and draw Pain's attention towards him. Miss Take and Cadence, meanwhile, both readied themselves, looking up and knowing that Pain wasn't going to be stupid enough to drop on top of Shining: she would remember his abilities from their last encounter, and she'd recognize that Archon and his soldiers were just waiting for the chance to strike.

So Pain didn't give it to them: as the freight lift slowly descended the dimly-lit shaft, Pain stayed in the shadows, out of the weak glow of the lights on the wall, her voice echoing around them as she said coldly: “You're so gullible. So easy to trick, so naïve and stupid... and now I have the Crystal Heart. Without it, the entirety of the Crystal Kingdom will become Brokenhearted, like I am. And I will use them to spread my pain to all of Equestria... and beyond.”

“You're raving, Pain. Get a hold of yourself.” Cadence said calmly... although she didn't really believe that Pain was half as insane as she was acting. She was just trying to get them to let down their guard again. To distract and confuse... well, two could play that game. “You're alone and you're dying. All the Brokenhearted eventually die. It's a slow, miserable death, but it happens to all of you.”

Pain ignored her, refusing to take the bait... and then her voice echoed around them again, seeming like it was coming from a different corner now: “Everyone will suffer as I have suffered. There will be no escape. There will be no survivors. And only after I have taken everything away from you will I kill you, Cadence... I will make you watch me kill Sombra. Your pet.”

“You know everything else about us, Pain... I'm surprised you don't know about Sombra, too!” snapped Cadence, looking back and forth before Miss Take tapped her right side firmly, and Cadence's eyes flicked in that direction: yes, there was a gleam there. “Why don't you stop hiding and I'll tell you all about Sombra, about the... the secret deal we have. How we plan to control Brokenhearted.”

It was a ludicrous lie, but at the same time, she thought she felt a shiver from above. Cadence knew that Pain was unstable, and it was something she could play off of: Or at least she hoped she could use it to throw Pain off balance, maybe even make her question what she was doing: otherwise she wasn't sure they were going to be able to escape this cleanly.

There was silence for a few moments, and that glimmer vanished. Cadence gritted her teeth, before Pain's voice echoed down coldly, the winged unicorn looking back and forth as she struggled to lock on to her position: “You're mocking me. You think you can play games with my mind. And I suppose I shouldn't blame you: my condition invites it, doesn't it?

“But this is not the world above, where... the darkness inside me is vulnerable. It writhes and weeps and fears. Now, here, surrounded by hate, all the voices whispering in my mind are telling me to do one thing, and one thing only: destroy you all.” Pain said with dangerous calm, and Cadence caught a gleam as her sharp ears locked onto the sound of a single wingbeat. “So that's what I'll do.”

A gleam, as something streaked down towards her, and Cadence snarled as she lashed her horn up, unleashing a blast of white magic... and then gaping in horror as she hit not Pain, but instead the Crystal Heart. The gemstone sparked violently as it reflected the pure energy instead of absorbing it, a white flash and blade-like streaks of light hailing down over the group below.

Cadence swore under her breath before forcing herself to try and look up through the blinding light, gritting her teeth... but then Miss Take lunged past her, the Changeling shouting: “She's trying to attack General Archon! Shining, barrier!”

Shining Armor's eyes widened before he snapped his horn blindly out, concentrating on where he'd seen Archon last and creating a dome of violet energy... but a moment later, Archon shouted angrily from inside the forcefield: “Stop, it's a diversion!”

Pain slammed down into the forcefield like a bolt of lightning from the darkness... a forcefield which had left Archon and his soldiers helpless to do anything to help the other ponies, as she gave a cold smile through the energy wall to Archon, who snarled back at her. And a moment later, the Pegasus kicked viciously off and shot through the air towards Cadence, her eyes locked on the winged unicorn that had been her true target this entire time.

Cadence gritted her teeth, spreading her wings before leaping forwards and swinging a hoof out, narrowly missing Pain's own strike. Instead, Pain's hoof smashed into her face... but Cadence's own crashed across the Pegasus' jaw, knocking her head to the side in a fine spray of blood before Pain quickly brought up her rear hooves and slammed them into Cadence's stomach.

She launched herself away... before her eyes widened as Cadence caught the tips of her rear hooves before she could lunge to safety, the winged unicorn dragging her down and slamming her back-first into the metal floor of the lift with enough force to make the elevator shudder, a moment before she snapped her horn down and engulfed Pain in a bright blast of white light. Pain let out a shocked cry of agony, but then lunged backwards, streaking through the air before she snatched up the Crystal Heart from where it had fallen, even as her body still thrummed with energy.

She rolled to a stop, clutching the Crystal Heart against her shivering form... and then she smiled suddenly and coldly as the white glow faded from her frame, absorbed into the gemstone. It steamed faintly in her grip, and Cadence's eyes narrowed sharply: Pain was using the very thing Cadence was sure could kill her to sponge up all the light energy and magic she shot at her. The Pegasus was far, far smarter than Cadence had given her credit for: she was a lot more than just cruel and cunning.

There was silence for a few moments, and then the Pegasus looked up and said softly: “Don't think about trying anything cute now, Cadence. The Crystal Heart is like any other glass prism: twist it one way or the other, and your magic will be absorbed or redirected as I desire. Feel free to test me, though: I would be more than happy to give you another demonstration.”

Cadence grimaced a bit, and then she glanced over at Archon and his soldiers as Shining Armor dropped the rear half of the forcefield. It allowed the Royal Guards to back quickly up, the unicorns in position to use artillery magic and the Pegasus hovering above, prepared to intercept Pain if she tried to go over the protective barrier.

Archon himself had his eyes locked on Pain, assessing her, his expression cold and one hoof raised, signaling his troops to stay in position. He knew as well as she did they were in a bad situation: they had to get the Crystal Heart away from Pain, but they couldn't risk damaging it or using magic. But Pain, likely, had this all planned out from the very start...

The winged unicorn looked back and forth, but apart from a few rotting crates around the edge of the freight elevator, there was nothing they could use. No cover, no distractions, nothing to hide behind... and then the mare's eyes widened in surprise as Pain suddenly leapt up and spread her wings, flapping them once to propel herself into the thick shadows above between the weak beacons of the wall-mounted lamps.

“Flare!” Archon ordered sharply, and one of the unicorns quickly snapped his horn up, sending a bright arc of light into the air that exploded into a cloud of sizzling energy. It lit up the tunnel above them... but Pain was nowhere to be seen, Cadence's eyes widening with surprise as Archon gritted his teeth, looking back and forth-

Pain seemed to appear out of nowhere, slamming both rear hooves into the back of Shining Armor's head and knocking him sprawling, the Crystal Heart tucked safely into a crude harness on her back and giving her front hooves the freedom they needed to cruelly stomp on Shining's head as he collapsed to the ground. The blow nearly knocked him unconscious as he gargled, and his barrier vanished from around the soldiers as Archon spun towards the Brokenhearted, snarling and snapping his horn out.

A blast of flames streaked towards Pain, but the Pegasus easily leapt over the tongue of flames and flapped her wings firmly, launching herself straight at Archon. Both unicorns quickly stepped forwards, snapping their horns out and unleashing twin beams of energy, but Pain smoothly twisted her body and rolled between the lasers of magic force, shooting over Archon's head and slamming like a missile into the stomach of the Pegasus Guard.

He gargled... then howled in misery as she slammed him viciously down on top of one of the unicorns, the Royal Guard's horn ripping up through his back even as the officer yelled and was knocked flat, scrabbling to yank his horn free. In the same moment, Pain's lower legs snapped up around the other officer's neck before she rolled smoothly, the twist carrying down her legs as she smiled coldly-

One unicorn's neck snapped: a moment later, as the second blood-faced officer staggered up to his hooves, Pain smashed a hoof down across the bridge of his muzzle before savagely striking into his nose, sending fragments of broken skull back into his brain. He collapsed limply only a moment after his fellow officer, as Pain calmly grabbed the wounded Pegasus by the mane and jerked him up off the ground, the Royal Guard shivering weakly as the Brokenhearted asked Archon almost pleasantly: “You can't stand losing your soldiers, can you? You can't stand your failure.”

Pain smiled cruelly as she jerked the soldier back against her, the Royal Guard gritting his teeth and gasping in pain as he clutched his stomach, blood spilling through the plates in his armor and running down his back. Pain's forelegs wrapped almost tenderly around his neck as she used him to shield her body, her eyes locked with Archon's as she murmured: “This is the same game we played before, Archon. But maybe this time you'll be strong enough to stop me.”

“General... sir, you have to-” And then Pain suddenly drove her hoof into the wound in his back, and the captured stallion howled in agony, General Archon baring his teeth in a snarl as the sound tore into his mind, his hooves digging into the steel floor as he glared with hatred at Pain.

“Let him go, filly. Let him go now, or I'm going to make you wish you were never born.” Archon said icily, leaning forwards as his horn thrummed with energy.

Pain laughed loudly... and Cadence shivered at the sound of it. The winged unicorn knew how this was going to end, and Miss Take had her head lowered, shaking it slowly in disgust and despair as the Changeling whispered: “And once upon a time, this sad creature actually had honor...”

“Honor is a failing and a mistake. It is an arbitrary set of rules that we restrict ourselves with... not a cause to celebrate.” Pain said sharply, glaring furiously over at the Changeling. “But you are not one to speak of honor. You are a mercenary and a traitor. And I'll take great pleasure in dealing with you after I've dealt with the rest of these weaklings.”

“Yeah. Good luck with that.” Shining Armor muttered, and Pain scowled, her attention wandering towards the ivory unicorn as he picked himself up from the ground with a grimace. He looked a little dazed still, but he was up on his hooves all the same... and most importantly, he distracted the Brokenhearted for a necessary moment.

The moment she looked towards him, Archon flicked his horn down, a bolt of crimson lightning shooting past the Royal Guard and slamming into her forehead. Pain snarled, beginning to crush and twist even as her head was knocked back, and then Archon's horn gave a single powerful pulse before the red dot on her forehead glowed brightly and exploded, knocking her backwards in a heap as the Pegasus threw himself forwards, tearing out of her forelegs and gasping as he flapped his wings hard to launch himself away.

Shining Armor charged in immediately, catching the wounded officer with telekinesis and guiding him as fast as he could down to his back before he ran quickly towards Cadence and Miss Take. Both mares stepped forwards as Pain leapt to her hooves... but was immediately snared by manacles of flame that locked around her limbs, ropes of fire connecting to these and jerking her viciously down to bind her to the ground as Archon said coldly: “I think we've all had enough of you. I'll be taking the Crystal Heart back, and then we're going to burn away every trace of you.”

“You haven't won yet.” Pain said softly, smiling coldly... and then she suddenly leapt forwards, pulling on her restraints as hard as she could and slamming both rear hooves into the chest of one of the dead unicorns to attempt to brace herself. Archon snarled at the sight, snapping his horn to jerk her viciously back...

And Cadence realized too late what Pain was up to, shouting a warning that came just as Pain was yanked backwards... and used that extra momentum to give the corpse beneath her rear hooves a savage kick, sending it hurtling through the air to crash into one of the enormous gears.

The corpse struck with a clang, hooking against the large teeth and dragged slowly but inevitably backwards, the others shouting useless denials and moving too late to try and stop it. And then, with a terrible, rending squelch and the sound of flesh and armor being crushed and torn, the body was crushed back against the rail, and the massive gear sparked as machinery ground together, stripped and tore...

Pain grinned even as the gear behind her hitched and tore out of place, the whole platform spasming before metal screamed against metal as the jammed corner jolted upwards and the far side of the elevator twisted, chunks of metal flying in all directions as the ancient machinery gave out. Archon was thrown to one side, losing focus on his magic, and Pain immediately took the chance to yank herself free, nimbly leaping to the air before she flapped her wings hard and launched herself straight down towards the General.

He snarled, attempting to skid around to face her as he snapped his horn out, unleashing a blast of flame... but Pain dodged smoothly past this before slamming a hoof up under his jaw. Archon's head snapped back... and then he was knocked flying through the air by a double kick from the mare's rear hooves, the back of his head striking the solid cement wall before his body crashed bonelessly down on a heap of rotten metal cargo.

Cadence cursed, leaping to the air and flapping her wings, but Pain only looked at her with contempt, flapping her own wings hard and shooting up into the darkness above. Cadence swore under her breath, horn starting to glow as she moved to pursue, while Shining, Miss Take, and the Royal Guard all struggled to stay on their hooves as the platform squealed and dropped further.

And just as Cadence began to snap her horn forwards to light up the darkness above, Pain shot out of the shadows and slammed both rear hooves into her face with a horrible crunch, knocking her streaking down to the metal floor like a meteor. She bounced painfully over the elevator, then gasped as she landed on her side on the sloped platform and found herself skidding out of control, clawing weakly at the warped steel.

The ancient machinery powering the elevator screamed as some forgotten safety measure tried to kick in, but it was too late: with a clank and a scream, the old metal around the jammed gear suddenly tore away, sending up a horrible blast of gore as the little of the unicorn that remained was turned into bloody rain and the enormous, broken gear spun wildly up through the air before crashing down, smashing and bouncing wildly across the steel platform even as it fell with a scream of stripping and tearing metal.

Cadence was almost crushed by the enormous gear, barely managing to shove herself out of the way; it bounced, and Shining looked up in horror before snarling and flicking his horn up, creating a wall of energy that he, Miss Take, and the Pegasus Guard all leapt for refuge beneath.

The gear hammered into the barrier with enough force to crack it, but it was redirected all the same, flying high and then coming down to bounce again as the shuddering platform continued to fall, continued to pick up speed on its descent, and Cadence struggled wildly to shove to her hooves as Miss Take seized Shining Armor and the Pegasus Guard staggered up to his hooves-

The scream of the falling platform seemed to rise in pitch a moment before it crashed down to the bottom of the elevator shaft with a tremendous bang, pieces of shrapnel and debris flying in all directions. The massive, torn-loose gear fell almost lazily before it hit the ground, bounced once... then came down with a final, thunderous bang that echoed up the length of the shaft, thudding to the ground like the hammer of judgment.

A few moments later, Cadence dropped to the ruined platform with a gasp, and Shining Armor gritted his teeth as he landed nearby, Miss Take wheezing as she landed beside him and muttered: “You've got to lose a few pounds, darling. It's not your armor that's heavy anymore.”

Shining Armor glowered over at Miss Take, as the Pegasus soldier slowly let himself drop through the air, clutching his stomach, teeth bared as he carefully began to settle to the metal floor. That left only Archon unaccounted for, the winged unicorn looking worriedly back and forth...

Her eyes were drawn too late back towards the Pegasus Guard as she sensed more than saw the movement, and then Pain crashed violently down on top of the officer, crushing him into the ground and savagely bringing both her hooves down on the back of his head with an awful crunch. Shining Armor shouted a denial as Miss Take flinched away, but Pain only smiled coldly and flapped her wings once, taking to the air... before she scowled in distaste when a spherical field of energy appeared around her, Shining's horn glowing brightly as he snapped: “I'm not going to let you get away with this!”

The cage of energy began to shrink, but Pain only rolled her eyes in disgust before she furled her wings and dropped, shoving her hooves into the sides of the closing walls. At the same time, she arched her back, the Crystal Heart sparking as it ground into the magic energy.

And Shining winced as he felt the cage he'd created beginning to weaken immediately: he knew that he couldn't maintain the energy for much longer, just as he knew that the moment he dropped the barrier, Pain was going to attack. He could see it in the flex of her body, almost feel it in his bones as he gritted his teeth and shivered at the sensation of thrumming energy...

Cadence leapt in front of him, and Miss Take stepped up beside her, the two setting themselves as Shining's eyes widened before the winged unicorn said sharply: “Drop the shield!”

There was no time to question or argue: there was only time to listen, Shining trusting in his wife, his friend, his confidante as he dropped the forcefield. Immediately, Pain leapt free with a snarl, then gritted her teeth and half-spun when Cadence snapped her horn down, throwing the Crystal Heart into one hoof and shielding herself with it as the mare unleashed a concentrated ray of pink light...

Happiness and hope; a focused ray of warm emotion smashed into the gemstone, absorbed into it and heating it with the energies of love and laughter. Pain bared her teeth as her limb began to steam, stalled in midair and flapping her wings hard to try and push forwards against the beam of energy before she shifted to quickly grasp the Crystal Heart in both front hooves, shoving it out in front of herself like a shield as she growled in frustration and slowly rammed her way down the beam.

Pain angled the Crystal Heart as she forced herself forwards, then smiled coldly as the area around the ponies lit up with violet radiance, bright energy washing over all present. But Shining Armor and Miss Take's eyes both widened as warmth and happiness and hope spilled through their bodies, strengthened them, let them both feel Cadence's determination even as Pain growled, so lost in her own suffering that she failed to realize the warm emotion wasn't affecting them the same way it did her: “How does it feel to be burned by your own worthless emotions? How does it feel to be a victim of your own sick games of empathy, to be forced to endure that maddening light when you know in your heart that everything is dark?”

“Pain... we're not Brokenhearted like you!” Cadence shouted, and then she gritted her teeth and leaned forwards, her hooves digging into the platform as she anchored herself and Pain's eyes widening as the strength of the magic pounding into the Crystal Heart doubled, then trebled.

The light brightened, and Pain flinched as the ray of energy grew so powerful it stopped her in place, the Brokenhearted flapping her wings as hard as she could just to try and stay aloft as her hooves steamed from contact with the Crystal Heart, even if most of the energy was being reflected back out over the ponies. The Brokenhearted cursed, then clenched her eyes shut and turned her head away, snarling in pain as she was blinded by the effervescent light pulsing out of the Crystal Heart...

“Now!” Cadence shouted, and Shining Armor ran forwards as Miss Take streaked up into the air: Pain flinched and tried to follow the Changeling with her eyes, unable to see through the neon, joyous light, and she failed to notice Shining until the unicorn was right beneath her.

He leapt up, slamming a hoof into the Crystal Heart and knocking it skywards as his horn glowed brightly and created a sticky barrier behind Pain: a barrier that the Brokenhearted was driven into by Cadence's pink ray, the Pegasus howling in misery as she was left unable to move, pinned to the wall by the ray of bright energy.

Cadence leaned forwards, channeling as much magic as she dared down the beam of pink light, Pain jerking wildly back and forth as her eyes rolled in her head and she lost all coherency, all lucidity to madness. She screamed and convulsed helplessly as emotion and warmth and light flooded through her desolate, hollow body, and Cadence gritted her teeth, trembling hard. No one deserved this kind of torment... no one deserved this kind of Pain... and yet there was nothing else she could do.

Cadence snapped her horn forwards, and a single great blast of energy streaked forwards down the end of the beam, smashing into Pain like a cannonball with enough force to send her crashing through the glowing barrier of magic Shining had created. The stallion winced backwards in surprise, then simply watched with amazement as the Brokenhearted was flung bonelessly across the platform to crash to the ground, rolling limply to come to a halt, prone and broken.

There was silence for a few moments, and then Miss Take calmly touched down, the Crystal Heart cradled in one foreleg as she said quietly: “She's far from dead, my friends. If I may be a little critical, Cadence, I think you may have only made her that much more unstable...”

“I know. But when she's lucid, she thinks too fast, she adjusts too quickly against everything we have to throw at her. She becomes vicious when she's unstable, but I think that we can use that against her, too.” Cadence muttered, shaking her head quickly as Pain twitched, then shivered violently as she slowly began to pick herself up, her eyes blazing, her mouth falling open as she breathed slowly in and out.

Slowly, the Brokenhearted bared her teeth in a snarl before looking up, her hooves digging against the metal floor as she looked at Cadence with fury and hate and... fear. And it was that fear that was driving her, that fear that was digging deep into her mind as she picked herself slowly up, whispering: “You will not buy me with your lies. You will not intimidate me with your threats. You will not cheat me with your bribes. I will make you all suffer, worse than I have... I will make the entire world suffer like I have suffered, to know the pain of losing everyone, everything that was important to you... that... that is the only way I will know peace!”

“No, Pain. Death is the only thing that will bring you peace. But you don't want peace... you just want to hurt, and take, and ruin.” Cadence said quietly, setting herself and shaking her head slowly. “But don't worry. Soon Pain... will be gone.”

Pain snarled, then leapt forwards, forgetting herself, losing herself to the darkness and the hate inside herself: she forgot her years of training, her countless successful battles, her dozens of humiliating defeats. She forgot everything, now nothing but a living puppet of hate and darkness and suffering... and Cadence almost felt sorry for her as she calmly leaned forwards and then simply flicked her horn.

Pain cried out, covering her face with her forelegs, blinded and scalded by the flash of light that washed over her. Cadence immediately slipped in front of her, seizing the Brokenhearted's crossed limbs before she slammed her cruelly down into the ground on her front, and Pain cursed and scrabbled for her hooves before Cadence smoothly seized the mare by the head and twisted violently as she used it like an axle at the same time, snapping the mare's neck as she landed in a straddle across her back.

The Brokenhearted went limp, but only for a moment: her body immediately began to heal the damage... except Cadence didn't allow that process to more than begin before she viciously slammed her hooves down along the top of the Pegasus' vertebrae, cracking bone and disjointing her spine before she rose one hoof high and gritted her teeth.

Pain's body struggled to heal as the mare bucked and gargled beneath her, giving Cadence all the time she needed to summon up that purging, cruel, not-quite-holy white magic. Her raised hoof burst into ivory flames, and the mare glared down at the back of Pain's head before she slammed a single blow down, tearing through flesh and bone with ease to smash into Pain's heart, the Pegasus howling in misery as her whole body arched...

The Brokenhearted suddenly bucked forwards, Cadence wincing and grabbing at the mare's shoulder with her free hoof before Pain seized it with a snarl, yanking with all her might to fling Cadence off her back. The winged unicorn flapped her wings on instinct more than anything else, just managing to tear herself free and launch to a safe distance even as Pain clawed wildly after her, heedless of the dark ichors bleeding up out of her back or the foam running from her jaws as she screamed: “You can't kill me, Cadence! You can't break my heart because I have no heart!”

Pain grinned viciously, then sat back, slamming her own hooves against her breast hard enough to leave deep gouges. Cadence bared her teeth as Shining and Miss Take both hurried to ready positions on either side of the mare, before all three stared in horror as Pain tore her own chest open with the ease of drawing back a set of curtains... and still grinning, still insane, consumed by darkness and hate and rage, Pain dug her bloody hooves into her gaping chest and wrenched out her tortured and half-burnt, pulsing heart.

Pain crushed the organ between her hooves with a gasp... then trembled weakly, staring down at her destroyed heart even as her chest began to fill with dark flesh, slowly healing shut. Ribs snapped back into place and bruised skin sewed itself shut over spongy tissue, before the Brokenhearted mare slowly looked up as she simply let her heart fall from her hooves, whispering: “I am immortal. I will never die. I will be Pain... forever...”

Cadence gritted her teeth, her features tense, but her mind... shocked. The last thing she had expected to see was that... even more, that Pain was still on her hooves. She had no idea what the hell they were going to do now, now that Pain had just torn out the only part of her that Cadence could think to target...

“Maybe if we... maybe if get a killing blow to her brain...” Cadence muttered, as Miss Take only shivered and Shining Armor set himself, drawing his sword with a flick of his horn. But he was unable to hide the way the blade trembled in his telekinetic grip, just as Miss Take had her body low, nearly shaking in her hooves...

“Cadence, there... you and I both know that will simply not work.” Miss Take whispered, looking fearfully out from beneath her cloak at the monster, as Pain hugged herself and trembled violently, her eyes rolling in her head, looking like she was completely unaware of her surroundings... but oh, all of them could feel that growing darkness, that horrible, evil hostility rising up from the mare, more and more... “Such ancient magic... every action has a reason behind it...”

The winged unicorn gritted her teeth: Miss Take was right. She had been burning more than the physical heart with her magic, but she needed that to operate through, to serve as the key through which she could pump that cruel magic through the Brokenhearted, to break the darkness that empowered them and burn the spirit as much as the body. She didn't entirely understand why, but she knew it was true, all the same...

But Pain's heart was dead and nothing but bloody muck on the ground now, and Pain herself... was changing. Maybe not outside, but inside: the darkness was consuming whatever few fragments of this former Pegasus had been left, transforming her from the miserable but perhaps even honorable member of the Phoenix Guild that Cadence had first met, into nothing but an animal, cruel and vicious and filled with hatred...

Pain barked suddenly, then gargled, head twisting back and forth before she bared her teeth, grinning and mad and hungry. Drool leaked from her jaws as her hooves flexed slowly, dropping forwards as she eyed the ponies in front of her before rasping: “Yes. She finally shut up. We rule her now... violence, hate, entropy. That pesky pony is gone. And you are powerless to destroy us. You cannot burn the soul that no longer exists, reaper.”

“Reaper...” Cadence shivered a bit at this, frowning uncertainly before she shook her head quickly and whispered: “No, I didn't harvest or help gather souls... my job was different... my job was much crueler, to keep them in line, to punish...”

“You will not punish us!” Pain suddenly shrieked, and then she leapt to the air and shot straight at them, Cadence surprised by her speed, her ferocity, the sudden outburst of this dark thing-

Shining Armor reacted in time: whether because of training or because he was so high-strung, he didn't know nor care. His horn snapped down, and a barrier appeared between the three ponies and the Brokenhearted: but when Pain slammed into it, the barrier warped, becoming almost sticky as it allowed Pain to stretch it like plastic before it suddenly curved inwards and wrapped itself rapidly around Pain's body, sealing her in a cocoon of energy that flopped bonelessly to the ground.

Pain writhed in frustration and fury as Cadence winced, then looked suddenly down at the Crystal Heart before asking sharply: “Wait, can you focus your magic through this?”

Cadence's eyes widened, and then she quickly took the Crystal Heart with telekinesis, raising it in front of her horn and beginning to channel her magic, gritting her teeth as she hoped beyond hope she was right about this...

But then Pain suddenly tore free of the energy restraining her with a howl, exploding up from the cocoon of magic and making Shining Armor wince in pain as recoil burst down his horn. The Brokenhearted shot straight at them just as Cadence leaned forwards, focusing her magic through the Crystal Heart to light up the entire area with its warmth-

Pain smashed a smoldering hoof into the Crystal Heart, sending it flying through the air to bounce through the half-raised shutter door leading out of the broken elevator, and Cadence staggered with a curse before Pain seized her by the face with both hooves, grinning down at her with madness and hate and pure, hollow nothing in her eyes. Cadence looked up with horror, seeing that the Pegasus was gone, that the darkness had taken on a hideous life of its own: she had truly become... Pain. “I won't let you ruin this for me! And neither will me or me or me!”

Pain slung Cadence backwards by the face and attempted to sloppily kick her: the winged unicorn easily warded the double-kick off, however, deflecting the attack to the side as she threw herself safely out of the way. But Pain only laughed loudly, gleefully as she hovered only a few inches above the ground: after all, even if she'd lost all of the former abilities of the Pegasus body she'd taken over, she still seemed nigh-invulnerable... and insane enough not to care even if something did threaten her life.

“You have to hurt me! You have to try and stop me! Don't just cower there, like cowards!” Pain darted down at Miss Take, who winced and deflected two slapping, almost-mocking strikes before Pain tried to grab her. The Changeling easily rejected the grapple, then smoothly ducked under a wide hook to seize the Pegasus by one wing, twisting it viciously and tearing her out of the air to slam her down on her back.

Pain swore, then kicked Miss Take fiercely backwards with both rear hooves, the Changeling gasping in pain as she staggered away. Shining Armor was in front of her in only a moment, however, as Cadence grimaced and glanced sharply over her shoulder: she could see the Crystal Heart, gleaming, just out of reach...

But then her attention was drawn back to Pain as the Brokenhearted lunged, swinging her hooves down... and she squeaked as Shining sharply parried her forelegs with his sword, tearing large slashes through them before the blade stabbed through her throat as the Pegasus' eyes widened.

She was left dangling, forelegs going limp and pawing her hooves an inch or so weakly above the ground, a bit of blood dribbling out of her mouth as she gurgled... then suddenly grinned and lunged forwards, the tip of the sword ripping out the back of her neck as she bit savagely at Shining's face.

The stallion cursed and winced backwards, then flinched in pain and shock as Pain wrenched herself hard enough to the side to tear the blade free from his telekinetic hold, even still buried through her neck as it was. Then she lunged forwards, clawing her hooves at the stallion, jaws snapping wildly at his face-

Miss Take caught Pain around the muzzle and forcefully clamped her jaws shut, then she twisted cruelly to the side: with a loud snap and a spurt of blood, the Brokenhearted's neck was broken and the sword was forcefully ejected from her torn-apart throat. Her body went limp, eyes rolling in her head as Miss Take looked at her grimly, saying coldly: “Very rude, darling. We keep our mouths to ourselves unless asked otherwise.”

The Changeling flung Pain's body to the ground as Shining Armor hurriedly swept his sword up, then he slashed it down as he grit his teeth, meaning to behead Pain... but all he hit was a hoof, cutting it into pieces but only making Pain grin as she almost teasingly shoved the sword backwards, her wounds already almost fully healed as she whispered: “I am indestructible. We are invulnerable. You called us parasites, reaper-pony, but we are so much more than that: we are the seeds of destruction. We are the infection that will bring your world to its knees. We are-”

Light flared around Pain, and she scowled for a moment before bands of flame lashed forwards and tightly latched around her limbs, the mare snarling in surprise before her eyes snapped towards the sound of slowly approaching hooves.

General Archon was bleeding heavily from a large cut down one side of his skull, half-limping on a clearly broken leg... but his eyes burned with fury and outrage as he bared his teeth at Pain, before barking: “Captain Armor! Escort Take and Cadence out of here, now! Retrieve the Crystal Heart and return it to its rightful place, that is our mission here!”

“Archon, we can stop her if we work together!” Cadence almost pleaded, beginning to step forwards... and Archon snapped his horn to the side, and she flinched as Shining Armor was forced to throw himself backwards to avoid being roasted alive by the wall of flames that burst into being, cutting them off from the wounded General and the Brokenhearted.

“Close the door on your way out. You weren't born in a barn, were you?” Archon muttered, and then he flicked his horn, and the wall of flames slowly began to roll forwards, forcing the trio backwards towards the ancient shutter.

Cadence stumbled, backpedaling and staring through the flames as Pain only threw her head back and laughed loudly, then grinned, twisting her head around as she rasped eagerly: “Do you want to die that badly? Greedy greedy greedy! We're so eager to spread our pain to you, let us free, let us free now, they're gone but you're still here and we want you to share in our glorious suffering!”

Archon bared his teeth as Pain struggled wildly, yanking back and forth against her tethers before she managed to rip one hoof free from a fiery tendril, and the old stallion cursed as he heard arguing, shouting from beyond the wall of fire. They weren't closing the shutter... and Pain, laughing, insane Pain, kept being drawn towards the sound of voices...

Archon gritted his teeth, then suddenly snapped his horn to the side, and Pain squealed as the remaining tentacles of fire jerked her viciously off her hooves before flinging her through the air. She smashed loudly into the far wall, but Archon had already turned his focus towards the shutter, gritting his teeth as he focused on the roaring wall of flames burning beneath the gate before he snapped his horn suddenly upwards as it pulsed with power.

The flames flared upwards, becoming almost solid as they hammered against the shutter with enough strength to make it shake violently, dust hailing down from the ceiling as it rattled and banged and stuck itself to the metal. And then the clinging fire suddenly jerked downwards, almost ripping the shutter loose from the doorway and bringing it crashing down, the flames whooshing outwards in a gasp and spreading the magical, all-consuming flames up over the walls and along the edge of the metal platform.

General Archon spat to the side, then calmly turned around, even as he let the magical flames slip loose from his control. The flames would burn themselves out eventually... but the magic powering that hellfire would last for at least thirty minutes before the energy fueling the fire started to dilute. And fire was a savage, passionate beast: thirty minutes would give it all the time it needed to burn everything in elevator shaft to nothing but ashes.

Pain giggled as she stumbled to her feet, head twisting back and forth as she panted hungrily, and Archon only surveyed her calmly before he said contemptibly: “You're nothing more than a rabid dog. Look at you... you used to be a warrior, didn't you?”

“No, we never were... but you're talking to the pony who isn't here anymore, right? Well, that fleshbag is gone... she ripped out her heart. Because even a broken heart serves to dam up the darkness, just a little, just enough...” Pain giggled quietly, then leaned forwards and whispered: “But you know all about broken hearts, don't you?”

“I know that a broken heart can be mended, too. Unless we're too weak to accept our failings and our weaknesses... unless we're too weak and stupid to seek a solution.” Archon smiled thinly, saying with sour mockery: “I suppose that makes you the penultimate failure.”

Pain snarled, then she lunged forwards and slammed down in front of Archon, hissing a question to him as her eyes blazed with rage: “Oh really? Then what does that make you, old stallion, the ultimate loser?”

“No. That's you, after I turn you to ash.” Archon replied unflinchingly, his horn lighting up as he lowered his head forwards, and Pain laughed loudly... then flinched in surprise when a gust of burning air blasted past her, hot and harsh enough to shrivel the hairs of her mane and sear her body and wings.

Burnt feathers floated down to the ground as Pain snarled, then lunged forwards and struck out at Archon: but the stallion only swung his broken foreleg up, baring his teeth as agony flared through his body even as he stopped the blow.

Pain laughed loudly at him, her eyes glowing before she drew her hoof back and slammed it viciously once, twice, thrice, again, again, again into the old stallion's broken limb, not even trying to break his defenses, only trying to cause him more agony as she asked teasingly: “Are you that eager to hurt? Are you trying to make us smile? Do you think we'll pity you if we play this little game?”

“No game, Pain.” Archon growled, and then he dropped his hoof when the mare tried to punch him again, and her eyes widened in surprise as he caught her attack and crushed down with a grip that was like iron, his horn blazing with magic intensified further by the agony in his body, his eyes glowing with anger. “I'm not like you. I don't run away from the punishment I deserve. I take it and use it to make myself stronger, and burn away every trace of weakness... weakness like you.”

Archon snapped his horn down, and Pain gasped as a cyclonic wave of flames tore just past her shredding her mane to embers and turning her shoulder and one wing into nothing but charred ashes that were carried away with the hot rush of wind that followed the infernal wave. She snarled, then turned back towards Archon... before stumbling stupidly sideways as her wounded shoulder and back both glowed with faint orange light.

She caught her balance raggedly, staring down at her shoulder as it pulsed and refused to heal, mouthing wordlessly before turning a furious and terrified glare on Archon... but the General only smiled cynically back at her, asking contemptibly: “Where's your immutability now, Pain?”

Pain gave a furious howl in response before leaping forwards, swinging her hooves out wildly with all the power she could muster; but even limping, Archon kept his head cool, not allowing the agony in his limb to distract him as he easily ducked backwards and swayed smoothly out of the way of each and every attack.

He wasn't going to let anyone or anything stop him from doing this: not Cadence, not Pain, not his own failings. He didn't need toys or ancient artifacts to get this job done: he only needed his own strength, his own magic, his own honor. He only needed to be ready to die the way he had lived: fighting with fire, burning everything that got in his way to ashes and dust, until there was nothing left.

The Brokenhearted bared her teeth before lunging at him, and Archon slipped to the side and smoothly caught her around the neck with his good foreleg, slamming her face-down into the floor. Pain quickly leapt to her hooves and began to spin with a flap of her wings... or rather, her one remaining wing, the other stump twitching weakly and doing nothing to help her balance as she cursed and staggered stupidly instead of whirling around.

Archon took the opportunity to blast her backwards with telekinesis, towards the spreading flames, and Pain clawed at the floor for balance before she managed to halt herself and glare furiously. Her body shook with fury as her wounds continued to pulse with eerie orange light, the mare whispering: “You can't do this to me. It's not possible.”

The old stallion chuckled dryly... before coughing and leaning to the side, blood splattering out of his jaws. And Pain's eyes widened before she grinned almost gleefully and lunged forwards, charging as fast as she could straight at the unicorn-

Archon simply flicked his horn down, creating a large, pulsing red mine in front of him that Pain trounced right into, and it exploded with a tremendous, focused blast of flames that launched the Pegasus backwards in a flaming heap.

She crashed and rolled several times, then snarled and clawed up to her hooves, shaking herself briskly out and literally shrugging off the worst of the damage... but where the blast of flame had managed to clip her open wounds, the burns had spread further and eaten away more of her body. All the same, though... “You're dying. You're dying! You'll die before you kill us!”

“A little thing like death isn't going to stop me from doing my duty.” Archon replied coldly, and then he flicked his horn out, and Pain barely managed to fling herself out of the way of a flare of flame that became a roaring fireball. Pain lunged out from behind this, charging straight at the stallion, but Archon only dropped himself to a ready position as the mare shot towards him, his horn glowing and dragging the fireball after her...

Pain lunged at him, and Archon caught her, baring his teeth as they grappled and she viciously tried to twist his broken forelimb: but he managed to force it forwards to seize her by the shoulder. Still, she hammered blow after blow against the side of his limb, hissing in fury... then screaming in pain as the enormous fireball smashed into her back before beginning to pull her into the crimson blaze.

She grabbed at the old stallion wildly, trying to cling to him or pull him in with her, but he only grimaced and almost disdainfully flicked one foreleg up, knocking her limbs free as he limped backwards on his broken foreleg. He spat to the side as Pain was sucked back into the crimson globe, shrieking and clawing helplessly as she was pulled to the center of the miniature red sun before Archon slowly turned around as his horn glowed brightly, even as sweat rolled down his body and blood dripped from his mouth, even as burns began to spread over his own skin, as he dug deep into his own vital energies...

Behind him, the crimson sun grew, pulling in the magical flames from around the room to feed itself, the crackle and roar of the blaze drowning out Pain's miserable screams. It grew larger and larger as it rose slowly higher up the shaft, the raw heat enough to make metal quake and crack, the force emanating form it creating a sound like a dragon's roar that ran up the throat of the elevator.

The red sun glowed... and then crushed suddenly, viciously inwards, becoming no larger than a red mote of light that glimmered brightly for a few seconds before it exploded in a tremendous gush of hellfire that coated the walls and rained down over the floor.

Archon stood among it all, ignoring the slivers of flame that tore over his body and burned his coat, left charred streaks over his form as he slowly lowered his head. His broken limb trembled for a moment, and then Archon silently held it up as he watched, almost distantly, as his hoof was rapidly devoured by a glowing orange light that reduced what it passed over to embers. But nothing came without a price, as he'd learned: fuel was needed for any flame.

The General closed his eyes as he calmly sat down, and then he looked up through the burning elevator as the fires spread all around him. Ashes and embers danced through the air as the metal beneath his hooves began to melt and crack, but Archon barely felt it; he tasted smoke and heat as he breathed through his dry mouth, but he saw little: one eye refused to open, and the other was nothing but blurs and images that couldn't be real...

But all the same, Archon smiled briefly as the fires spread around him, and he thought he felt a hoof touch his back, a voice whisper a silent 'thank you' to him, as the flames slid themselves almost soothingly, protectively around his body, growing higher and higher as they warmed his form with the promise of peace...

And outside the shutter, Cadence cried out Archon's name as she trembled violently, and then she looked over her shoulder as Miss Take reached up and gently squeezed her shoulder, saying quietly: “It's over, darling. Come on now. We can't stay here any longer.”

Cadence trembled a bit, and then she closed her eyes and dropped her head forwards, whispering: “It's... why didn't he...”

“Stallions. They have to save the day.” Miss Take gave a faint smile, and then she gently turned Cadence around, the winged unicorn shaking her head weakly before the Changeling said softly: “Now. We still have a job to do, don't we? Archon would want us to focus on that.”

The winged unicorn took a slow breath, and then she nodded a bit as she looked across at Shining Armor, who smiled faintly and held up the Crystal Heart in one foreleg. “Are we going to... can this save Sombra, or...”

“I don't know. I hope so.” Cadence murmured, and then she shivered a bit as she looked back and forth slowly. Yes, she could feel the negativity, the evil... it was powerful in these halls, and it wasn't much further before...

She shook her head, then strode slowly away from the two, moving almost on autopilot as her gaze focused on the end of the hall. There, she could see a wide, semicircular room, with a pair of massive, armored doors at the far side. They were both marked with the black profile of a dragon's head, ancient, rusted-out chains hanging in shattered pieces around the armored gates. There were old pieces of what had likely once been massive locks and seals as well, laying over the dusty floor... but these too had long worn out, and left the gates sealed only by the single reinforced locking system in the door itself.

Cadence stopped in the middle of the open room in front of the doors. She looked back and forth, seeing two other enormous halls open to either side, likely leading to other elevators, and another honeycomb of passages beyond that, which would take them back to the surface. She wondered just how expansive these tunnels were, how many secrets they held... what might lurk through them even now, alone and wandering and forgotten...

A mournful wail came through the doors, and Cadence's eyes widened as her head snapped towards this. She trembled violently, then bolted suddenly towards the doors, throwing herself against one of the colossal armored gates as she shouted: “Father? Father! I'm here, Father!”

Silence greeted her... but it was a tense, sharp silence that made her ears hum, sensing that something was on the other side of the doors, listening, waiting eagerly. Cadence trembled violently, and then she pushed herself quickly away from the gates, breathing hard and looking uneasily up over them: they were massive, thirty feet high, almost ten feet wide, and all held shut only by that single, inviting lock that was all-but-begging to be opened...

“Cadence, wait, let's stop and think about this, okay?” Shining Armor said quickly, and Miss Take worriedly strode up to the mare's other side, the Changeling trying to make Cadence take a step back... but the winged unicorn refused to pull away from the door, barely paid them any attention even as Shining continued in a reasonable voice: “There's no need to put ourselves in danger here. Let's put together a plan and... honestly, I need-”

“I need this.” Cadence said roughly, and then she pushed away from the door before her horn glowed brightly, and before either Shining or Miss Take could stop her, she plunged it into the lock and channeled her energies into the ancient mechanism.

There was a loud series of clicks and clanks as dusty machinery began to gear up, Cadence gritting her teeth before flinching in pain and staggering backwards as the doors almost rejected her, cursing under her breath. She looked up sharply, then laughed weakly as the gates began to rumble slowly open, and Miss Take and Shining Armor both staggered backwards as the Changeling shouted: “I hope you know what you're doing!”

“I'm doing what I have to... what I need to!” Cadence snapped, breathing hard as she watched the thick, armored doors rumble apart, the mare leaning forwards and shouting through the spreading gap: “Father! Father, I'm here, I'm-”

A black shape shot out from between the doors and tackled her backwards, driving her to the ground and sending her skidding some ten feet over the floor on her back before it pinned her savagely. Cadence gasped in pain, but it wasn't shock or pain or fear she felt as she looked up and saw Sombra standing on top of her, snarling down at her.

She went limp beneath him, trembling, but smiling. Their eyes locked, and even as Sombra growled at her like an animal, even as he crushed down on her, trapping her beneath his body, there was a flicker in his eyes. Even as he bared his fangs, he didn't lunge; even as he pressed down against her and his body thrummed with darkness, that poison wafted up and away from her instead of spreading down into her body, as the mare whispered: “Daddy.”

Sombra stared at her, and she stared back... and then a blast of magic hammered into the dark creature, knocking him away, and Cadence flinched in shock before sitting up and shouting angrily at Shining Armor: “Stop, let me try and get through to-”

Sombra roared loudly, then streaked forwards, leaving a tail of darkness behind himself as he tackled Cadence to the ground and crushed her into the floor. The winged unicorn gasped in pain before his hooves seized her by the mane and yanked her head back, his teeth lunging down-

“No!” Shining Armor snapped his horn out, blasting Sombra backwards with another bolt of magic energy... but Sombra became nothing but a formless shadow in midair, whipping around with terrifying speed and streaking like smoke straight towards Miss Take before he reformed in mid-lunge, tackling the Changeling onto her back. She cursed and caught him by the face as they rolled several times, struggling to keep his jaws from snapping shut around her neck before she landed on her back and managed to kick him off.

But again, Sombra became formless, smoky shadow, twisting through the air before reforming on his hooves, his eyes glowing with malign energies, his teeth bared in an animal snarl before he rasped: “Kill... devour... mine...”

“Daddy!” Cadence shouted as she stumbled up to her hooves, and Sombra only roared at her in response, the mare trembling before she shook her head violently and stepped forwards, crying out: “Fight it! You have to remember who you are! Serenite, you were-”

Sombra charged at her, leaving a trail of darkness in his steps before he slammed into Cadence and knocked her into the air, then leapt up and simply crashed into her as he propelled himself in a streak of darkness up into the ceiling, with the mare trapped against his body. She smashed back-first into the roof with a gasp of agony before he flung her bonelessly to the ground, the winged unicorn bouncing limply once before Sombra dropped down on top of her.

“That's enough of this.” Miss Take said curtly, and then she ran forwards, Shining swearing and tossing the Crystal Heart aside as he drew his own sword and followed quickly in her wake.

Sombra was stomping viciously up and down on Cadence with enough force to crack the floor around her body, and the mare still wasn't fighting back against him, wasn't even trying to defend herself: it filled Shining with hopelessness and frustration. After all, if Cadence refused to fight, they wouldn't be able to use the Crystal Heart, and he didn't think he and Miss Take were strong enough to take on a monster like Sombra alone with the condition they were in...

The beast looked over his shoulder with a snarl as the Changeling approached, and then his horn glowed brightly before large, gleaming spikes of black crystal formed in the air around the Changeling. But without slowing, Miss Take smoothly leapt into the air and revolved her body as the spikes shot at her from all sides, narrowly scraping past her form and ripping holes only through her cloak before she easily shrugged the cloth off and flung it sharply into Sombra's face.

He staggered backwards, clawing at the cloth blinding him, and Miss Take mercilessly leapt forwards and began to slam focused blows down into his covered head, driving him steadily backwards and away from Cadence.

The winged unicorn trembled on the ground, rolling over onto her side and hugging herself... but it wasn't from the physical pain, oh no. It was from the fact that she couldn't... feel her father at all inside Sombra. Had she just been kidding herself this entire time? Did he really exist now only in her dreams, were there no fragments of him left alive inside that monstrous, broken shell...

Sombra roared, and the cloak burst apart in a blast of black flames before he leapt forwards; he was slammed to the ground before he could tackle the Changeling by a slash of Shining Armor's sword, however, the monster hissing before Miss Take leaned forwards and resumed pounding hoof after hoof down into Sombra's features as Shining Armor leapt onto the shadow-stallion's back, attempting to pin him or at least force him down-

The beast roared, and a shockwave of dark magic knocked both Shining Armor and Miss Take flying. And before the Changeling could recover, Sombra had already lunged up and snatched her out of the air, slamming her down into the ground and pinning her under his hooves as his jaws snapped at her face.

Miss Take narrowly caught the monster's muzzle between her front hooves, gritting her teeth and struggling to hold him back as he bore forwards, crushing down on her stomach and making her struggle not to flinch even as the breath was driven from her body. She trembled as his fangs slowly came closer, the mare leaning away with a hiss...

Then Shining Armor slammed bodily into Sombra, knocking him loose before the ivory stallion slashed his sword down as Sombra whirled on him, tearing a white streak across the shadow-beast's face and driving him backwards. Shining pressed the advantage, slamming the pommel of his sword down into Sombra's skull and keeping him staggering before he stabbed fiercely towards him, but Sombra parried the thrust with his horn, suddenly grinning before he snapped his horn forwards and blasted the ivory stallion backwards with a wave of dark fire.

Shining skidded on his hooves, snarling and beginning to lunge... and then Sombra's grin stretched wider, and Shining's instincts cried out a moment too late: before he could react, three large spikes of black crystal slammed cruelly down through his back, the ivory unicorn's body going rigid as he gasped in shock, frozen in place by pain and dark magic.

Sombra started forwards as Shining's sword fell from the air... but before it could hit the ground, Miss Take caught the weapon in her jaws and lunged, slashing the blade through the shadow-beast's throat. Sombra lurched to the side with a gargle of pain as his eyes bulged, while Miss Take smoothly spun around and this time dove beneath the dark stallion, slashing the blade out to cut Sombra's front legs out from under him and send him crashing down onto his side.

She spat the sword out into one hoof as she leapt into the air, flapping her wings once to boost herself higher before simply letting herself fall, seizing the blade in both hooves and driving it down into the stallion's body.

Sombra howled in pain, convulsing on the ground before he snarled and flicked his horn sharply, and Miss Take gritted her teeth, struggling to hold the blade in place before she shrieked as the sword was ejected in a burst of black light from the stallion's body, knocking her sprawling backwards. And then Sombra grinned as the sword lit up with hellish black radiance, twisting itself around to point at Miss Take before it shot towards her like a missile.

Shining Armor leapt into the path of the sword, snarling as he snapped his horn out and created a barrier of energy: the sword buried halfway through this, vibrating violently as Sombra rolled up to his hooves, then grinned cruelly before his eyes blazed, and a wall of black crystal spiraled into being around the pair, their eyes widening as the crystal curled like claws towards them before Sombra rasped: “Die.”

The black stone crushed inwards from all sides, suffocating all light and energy as it fell around the two. Cadence stared from where she was sitting, trembling hard and unable to move, unable to react as Sombra slowly approached the imploded heap of black stone, grinning cruelly and reaching up to touch it... before his glowing, smoldering eyes slowly turned towards Cadence, and he growled a single, hungry word: “Mine.”

Cadence trembled hard, and then she gritted her teeth as she picked herself up, tears leaking from her eyes as she whispered: “Forgive me, Daddy. Forgive me for being so weak. Forgive me, Shine, Miss Take, Archon...”

Sombra slowly lurched around towards her, then he licked his lips as he strode forwards, his eyes glowing with eagerness as Cadence dropped her head forwards... then gritted her teeth before her horn thrummed with white energy, her wings spreading and flapping once before they lit up with the same near-holy radiance, Sombra snarling and flinching to a stop. “No more! I won't let you destroy my father's legacy! I won't let you ruin everything he stood for!”

The dark stallion only roared in response, leaning towards her before Cadence lunged forwards, snapping her horn out to blast the stallion with an ivory flash of energy. He howled as he was disoriented, before the mare slammed forcefully into him and smashed her hooves in a violent flurry back and forth across his face before she dropped under a wild bite and lashed one wing out.

It slashed through Sombra's leg like a blade, and he staggered backwards with a hiss of pain as he clutched at the wounded limb, trembling for a moment before bursting apart into black smoke and streaking across the room. But Cadence became like white light as she lunged after him, flapping her wings hard as they moved like lightning.

They crashed together, Sombra's terrible darkness taking on the shape of a roaring black drake as he slashed at her, Cadence like a swift, beautiful and yet cold white bird as she smoothly twisted out of the path of his wild attacks before smashing across his face: and then again, both of them lost cohesion, streaking across the room, white and black blurs of magic and supernatural fury that smashed against each other and bounced off the ceiling and the walls before they finally tore apart and landed some ten feet apart, glaring furiously at one another.

Sombra roared, snapping his horn up, and the broken locks and pieces of old, decayed metal scattered across the floor all lifted into the air, dark energy crackling over them before they turned to black gemstone shrapnel. Cadence cursed, dropping to the ready as she spread her wings, her horn glowing and infusing them with white energy on instinct before Sombra lashed his horn forwards and sent a cyclone of gemstone blades whirling towards her.

Cadence snapped her horn out, blasting a hole through the storm before she leapt forwards with a snarl, flapping her wings sharply to launch herself like a missile into the tunnel she'd carved, her wings wrapping tightly around her body as she streamlined herself. She spun violently as pieces of black stone hammered uselessly against her energy-charged wings, before she smashed out the other side of the maelstrom and spread her wings, bruised and slashed and gouged, feathers flying as she dropped towards Sombra like a stone.

He leapt up to meet her... and was smashed across the face by a brutal punch before Cadence swung both rear hooves sharply forwards and caught him in the jaw with a double kick that sent him flipping violently backwards to land with a sickening crunch on his face. He bounced and rolled limply away, but then suddenly burst apart into shadow that streaked high into the air, striking up into the ceiling as he reformed upside down, his teeth bared in a snarl, his eyes glowing with hate as he roared at her with fury.

The roof around him transformed into dark rock as Cadence's eyes widened, the ceiling shaking before cracks tore through the gemstone and chunks of black crystal ripped themselves free from the roof around the stallion.

Sombra roared, leaning forwards and pointing down at her, and the chunks of black gemstone floating around him vibrated sharply before they shot at Cadence one after the other, the mare dodging back and forth and cursing as they exploded around her in bursts of dark energy, searing her body and keeping her off-balance.

She looked up too late as Sombra himself leapt down from the ceiling, and the mare cursed before leaping backwards, flapping her wings hard: white feathers burst free from her wings before shooting forwards in streaks of white light, hammering like darts across Sombra's body.

He howled in misery as he was sent crashing to the ground, scrabbling wildly at the floor as white cracks pulsed visibly through his dark body. And Cadence panted hard as she backpedaled, her muscles aching, her body demanding rest as the glow faded from her wings and her horn: but at the same time, she felt like she wasn't even in control of her own body anymore, like it was doing all of this and more on autopilot...

Sombra picked himself up with a snarl, and then he roared furiously at her, a wave of raw, dark, hateful energy bursting out of his body and negating the white magic that had poisoned him. His wounds vanished as he straightened, growling low in his throat: he seemed indestructible, inexhaustible, unconquerable, and Cadence shivered as she felt the hate and dark energy in the air only growing more and more.

But he didn't attack: they faced each other, teeth bared, eyes locked, bodies tense and trembling. They were trapped by each other's gaze, animal darkness snarling at fierce light...

And Cadence trembled before she leaned almost desperately forwards, shouting as Sombra arched his back and hissed at her: “I know you're in there! I know that you have to be in there, and... please, please fight it! Please, Daddy... I won't leave you behind!”

Sombra growled at her, then hissed and twitched before he suddenly whimpered, head twisting back and forth... and Cadence trembled violently, daring to take a step forwards. Immediately, however, Sombra's head snapped up and he roared at her, flexing his body, blazing with malicious energy.

Cadence stumbled backwards, and Sombra stepped after her, maintaining the short distance. The mare's mouth went dry as she slowly looked to the side, trembling for a moment as a strange idea came to mind before she took a slow, careful step towards the open double doors.

Sombra stepped after her, and Cadence licked her lips as she carefully took another step... but any plans she had were ruined a moment later, as she heard a distinct crackling. It filled her with both joy and a strange sense of frustration and despair as she looked over her shoulder, and Sombra snarled before the black gemstone surrounding Shining Armor and Miss Take shattered in a blast of magic.

Shining wheezed as he shook himself out, bruised and battered but none the worse for wear. And Miss Take was only smiling grimly, shaking loose from the torn cloth she had wrapped around her body before she asked sharply: “Have you used the Heart?”

“The... the Crystal Heart...” Cadence's eyes widened as she looked towards the gemstone: she had almost forgotten about it. But it was a wild chance: that pure magic was designed to erase the infection that Sombra was a living incarnation of. If she wasn't careful, she could destroy him completely... but what choice do I have? I... it might be the fastest way...

Sombra snarled at them: he didn't seem to understand what they were talking about, but the fact the pair had survived and reentered combat was driving up his aggression again. He stepped forwards, growling low in his throat, and Cadence shivered before she said sharply: “If we work together, we should be able to pin him down! We need to weaken him first... once he's lagging, I'll leave him to you two to hold down while I get the Crystal Heart, understood?”

“Just signal me, darling. I'll understand.” Miss Take said calmly as she dropped to a ready position by Cadence, and Shining Armor gave a brief smile as he stepped up on the Changeling's other side. “He seems to find it difficult to concentrate on more than one of us at a time. Let's use that to our advantage, shall we?”

Cadence answered by running forwards, and Sombra hissed at her before he snapped his horn sharply up, black spikes of crystal ripping up through the floor to try and impale the mare. But the winged unicorn zigzagged sharply, bolting between the jutting gemstone before she leapt forwards and slammed both her hooves down into the back of Sombra's neck, leaping over him.

He spun around, lunging at her, and Cadence caught his grab before she flung him to the side and slammed an elbow into his eye. He snarled in frustration, then tried to lunge... and roared when something grabbed him from behind and stopped him, shaking himself wildly back and forth before attempting to slam a hind hoof into the Changeling that had caught him by the back legs.

And with ease, Miss Take caught the kick before twisting savagely, snapping the limb like a twig. But Sombra barely seemed to notice, only hissing as he jerked himself free and staggered to the side, starting to spin towards her-

And Cadence slammed an elbow into the side of his neck, making his whole body go rigid before she smashed both front hooves down in a tomahawk against the back of his skull, sending him face-first into the ground with a crunch. But she knew it would only stun him for a moment as she quickly backpedaled, shouting: “Here! Here!”

Sombra roared as he clawed up to hooves, ignoring Miss Take completely as he spun towards the mare and leapt at her... and then he snarled as he was caught again from behind by Miss Take, half-falling on his face and scrabbling to tear free.

Just as he leapt up to his hooves, however, Shining Armor smashed into him like a freight train, knocking him flying to the side before he gasped as he slammed into a wall of energy the ivory stallion had created... then screamed as Shining Armor drove his crystal sword through his side to pin him like a bug to the wall before the ivory unicorn leapt backwards, horn glowing brightly as the barrier of energy became a crushing casket.

Sombra writhed inside the box of magic, the sword making it almost impossible for him to concentrate his magic or shift his weight around as the pressure steadily increased around his body. And Cadence shivered at the sight of this before she gritted her teeth and spun around, making a run for the Crystal Heart.

Shining Armor cursed as Sombra's body began to bleed smoke and darkness that tainted his own magical energies, making it harder to concentrate as the sword started to shudder violently from where it was buried through the stallion. Miss Take ran forwards and grabbed the hilt, trying to hold it in place as Shining put more of his focus towards maintaining the crushing coffin even as he felt the strain growing higher and higher...

Animal Sombra sensed the weakness, and his eyes snapped open before he roared, dark energies blasting out of his body in all directions and knocking Shining Armor staggering as Miss Take was flung backwards with a gasp of agony, barely managing to hold onto the sparking, crystalline sword. She landed in a crouch beside Shining, then quickly flung the sword up to him, the stallion catching it with telekinesis as the Changeling leapt into the path of the monster as he charged at them.

She tried to grab him... and Sombra ducked low before slamming his curved horn upwards, hooking it into Miss Take's chest and making her gasp before he flung her up into the air. The Changeling flew skywards with a limp gurgle before Sombra caught her in his jaws by one rear leg, shaking her back and forth like a vicious dog as Shining cried out, then lunged forwards with a snarl. “Let her go!”

Sombra grinned cruelly, glad to oblige as he flung Miss Take towards him like a cannonball, but the ivory stallion leapt forwards and caught her fearlessly against his chest. Sombra lunged eagerly after her, but even as he fell backwards, Shining Armor slashed his sword out and caught the monster across the face with the reaping slice, knocking Sombra flying to the side with a howl of agony.

He crashed down to the ground and rolled brokenly a short distance away as Shining Armor landed on his back with a curse. He looked quickly down at Miss Take, but she only smiled faintly up at him, whispering: “You fight better when you're protecting someone...”

Shining Armor smiled faintly as he gently laid her down... then he slowly stood up and raised his sword high as Sombra clawed his way to his hooves, glaring at them. “I hesitate when it comes to hurting other people. I always have... I'm not like that.

“But I don't hesitate when I'm protecting the ponies I care about.” Shining Armor dropped his sword to the ready, as Sombra roared furiously at him, but the ivory stallion didn't so much as flinch as he said calmly: “Just rest, Miss Take. I can handle holding him off.”

Miss Take smiled radiantly up at his back, blushing ever so slightly... and then her gaze sharpened, the warmth turning to fear as Sombra lunged. But even if she was afraid for him, she believed in Shining Armor too, with every fiber of her being...

And the ivory stallion moved gracefully and confidently as he stepped forwards to meet Sombra, smashing the sword down in a short series of quick slashes that forced Sombra back, before he gritted his teeth as his horn gave a sharp pulse, a round shield of energy forming around one foreleg. The stallion blocked a bite from Sombra with this before smashing him across the face with it, knocking Sombra back another step before Shining drove the pommel of his sword viciously into one of the shadow-beast's eyes.

Sombra staggered backwards, howling in misery and shaking his head wildly back and forth, and Shining swiftly leapt forwards and scooped him up on his shield, snarling in effort as he half-turned and forcefully yanked Sombra through the air to slam him cruelly down on his back. The shadow-beast bounced with a hiss before rolling quickly over... only to immediately be caught by another lash of Shining's sword across his face, knocking him rearing backwards.

Sombra staggered away, then roared and snapped his horn out, blades of black gemstone shooting up from beneath Shining Armor and making the stallion wince as he hurriedly leapt backwards. Then his eyes widened as the spikes of dark gemstone tore out of the ground before launching themselves one after the other at the ivory stallion.

Shining Armor rose his shield quickly in front of his face as he slashed back and forth with his blade, shattering several of the large missiles of dark stone as the smaller ones exploded against the shield of energy uselessly. Sombra came lunging after the hail of spikes, but Shining Armor was prepared, ramming his shield forwards-

Sombra became a streak of shadows that whipped past Shining Armor, the stallion's eyes widening before the beast reformed on the other side of him and lunged onto his back, slamming his hooves down into his spine and driving him down to the ground with a grunt. And then Shining's eyes bulged before he howled in agony as his violet armor rapidly began to turn to black gemstone that crushed and tore and bit into his flesh like a living thing.

The ivory stallion snarled in pain, then suddenly rolled over and thrusted his sword fiercely upwards, stabbing it through Sombra's breast as he reared back. And Sombra howled in agony as the blade tore deep into his chest, before Shining Armor lunged forwards, shoving it forwards with both his hooves and a raw blast of telekinesis.

Sombra staggered backwards off him, stumbling in front of the armored doors as he gargled, his eyes blazing with energy and his whole body shaking... and then he looked up weakly as Cadence shouted, voice raw, eyes filled with tears: “I won't fail you this time, Daddy! I won't fail you!”

Her horn blazed with pink energy as tears streamed from her eyes, the Crystal Heart glowing brightly with her energy before Cadence snapped her horn forwards, sending all the energy she could through the gemstone amplifier. And it pulsed with power before a single, focused ray of glowing light shot through the air and hammered into the hilt of the crystal sword buried into Sombra's breast, the stallion screaming as the warmth, the brightness, the antidote to his poison was channeled and amplified further through the blade, ripping past the darkness of his body and into his heart and soul.

Sombra's body crackled with energy as he was driven backwards, dust hailing down from the ceiling as the world shook with the power of the magic before there was a great and terrible blast of radiance, a final merciless flash that blinded everyone present. All Cadence was aware of was tremendous recoil surging over her horn as the Crystal Heart was flung from her grasp, and a moment later she hit the ground in a numb heap.

There was silence, and slowly, the light faded as Cadence crawled up to her hooves. Shining Armor and Miss Take were both slowly standing as well, and the winged unicorn trembled before her eyes locked on the sight of Sombra.

He had been thrown beyond the double doors, and now lay in a broken heap in the darkness of the room beyond. He was in a spotlight of warm light, radiated from his body as he gasped weakly for breath... and Cadence didn't hesitate, bolting forwards without a look at the Crystal Heart or her friends, running through the ajar doors to her father's side.

She dropped beside him as Shining Armor and Miss Take watched silently from a distance, giving her privacy... but even if they had been right beside her, Cadence wouldn't have noticed right now as she carefully lifted her father's head and turned him towards her.

The crystal sword had shattered, and she could see pieces of it were glinting with radiant energy, fused here and there into the not-quite-flesh of his body. And he felt so... so warm, and so familiar, as she looked imploringly down at his face, silently reaching up to stroke his mane away from his eyes as she whispered: “Daddy...”

Silence... and then Sombra's eyes flickered before opening. They looked at each other for a few moments before a faint smile crested the king's lips, and he whispered: “Mi amore.”

“Daddy!” Cadence trembled, then hugged him fiercely, burying her face against him as tears flooded down her cheeks. And she felt him silently wrap a foreleg around her... but even with the joy, there was fear and sorrow and... oh, he felt so weak... “D-Daddy, oh, okay, we're... we're going to get you out of here now, we're going to take you to a safe place and... and-”

“Shush, Cadenza, shush now. I need you to listen to me now, daughter.” her father whispered, and Cadence trembled as she straightened a bit, looking down at him silently. And gently, his hoof slipped down to take one of her own, the stallion smiling at her faintly even as he said quietly: “The darkness in me... it's already taking over again. And I will not risk... poisoning the world with my presence. It is... it is a blessing to see you one last time, mi amore, but now... we must part. I am weak, and before the darkness in me regains its grip on my mind and body, you have to take this chance. You have to kill me, Cadenza.”

“No!” Cadence shouted, staring down at him with horror before she shook her head violently. “N-No, no, I won't lose you, I won't-”

“Cadenza.” the king said gently, and Cadence fell silent before he reached up and silently touched her cheek, smiling at her faintly. “I'm sorry. This isn't fair to you. But the darkness in me will not stop until it has claimed you... it... has never known mercy, or love. It can't. And I have hurt you... too much. I have hurt this beautiful world too much. Please end the suffering, for both of us.”

Cadence trembled violently, and then she licked her lips slowly before silently laying her father down and slowly standing. She nodded weakly a few times, then clenched her eyes shut before looking over her shoulder, whispering: “I... I love you, Daddy.”

“I love you too, mi amore.” The king closed his eyes, bowing his head and resting his hooves across his chest before he whispered: “The Crystal Heart, Cadenza. Before it's too late. It will ensure that... that not even my memory will remain.”

Cadence trembled hard, then she looked slowly up, and stared weakly around as she realized there were countless specters and phantasms, all watching silently. The mare swallowed thickly, gazing over them seeing among these hollows the ghosts of ponies she had known countless years ago... those restless dead, destroyed by the darkness that had taken over the Crystal Kingdom, waiting for... what? Revenge? Justice? How could they ever hope to achieve either when the real root of all of this was long gone, and her father was nothing but... but a scapegoat...

The winged unicorn silently turned around, striding slowly back towards the entrance... and then she halted, looking out, seeing Shining Armor and Miss Take both waiting for her, watching respectfully, quietly. She didn't think they even realized that they were holding hooves, sitting together... such a good couple. Such a right couple, better than she and Shining had been. And he could even still be a prince, technically, couldn't he?

That thought made Cadence smile faintly, and she leaned up, settling a hoof against one door... and glancing up in surprise at how easily the massive gate shifted. It was huge and solid, but without the lock to keep it shut, moved freely.

Then her eyes roved silently back over her shoulder to her father, where he lay, peaceful and silent. She looked at him, noble, self-sacrificing... when had anyone ever sacrificed for him? He'd saved these... these scum that had become the Crystal Ponies, even though they had been nothing but murderous barbarians. He'd allowed himself to be written down in history as a tyrant and dictator. And now here he was, ready to die at his own daughter's hooves, and apologizing for it...

Cadence looked back out towards Shining Armor and Miss Take, who looked so good together. Then she looked again over her shoulder at her father, before smiling faintly and trembling as she slowly turned her eyes back forwards.

The two looked worriedly at her, but Cadence only shook her head before she said quietly: “Take care of each other, okay? This... this is the way things should be.”

And before either of them could speak, Cadence grabbed both of the colossal armored doors and shoved forwards as hard as she could. They slammed closed with a tremendous boom that drowned out the shouts of both Shining Armor and Miss Take, and their hooves made little sound as they ran forwards and pounded against the metal, as Shining desperately tried to open the lock... but Cadence knew that lock had been made by her father. It would only open for a pony who could key into her father's magic.

She turned around, and saw her father staring at her. And Cadence smiled faintly at him before she whispered: “It's okay now, Daddy. I'm... I'm going to stay with you. You've given up enough for the world... let me give something up for you. This... this is all I want, anyway.”

Cadence strode forwards, then she silently reached up and hugged her father tightly around the neck, as the king trembled... before she felt his forelegs return the embrace all the same. She heard him whisper that old nickname for her... and then his grip became tighter, and she felt his body quake as that evil they had called Sombra rose up through the king...

They pulled apart, and it was the darkness that looked at her, bared its teeth at her... but Cadence only smiled in return and gently grasped his shoulders. And Sombra looked confused... before he suddenly snarled and yanked himself away before streaking upwards, landing on a tall machine of some kind at one side of the open room and glaring down at her balefully.

Then, without a word, he was simply gone, as the audience of ghosts all looked almost accusingly at her... but Cadence only closed her eyes and sat silently down with her back to the door, knowing that sooner or later... he would come back. He would come back, and whether or not she had done the right thing didn't matter: she'd done what she'd needed to for herself.

She was his daughter. And he was her father. And they would never be apart again.

Comments

[TheWraithWriter]

Is this Taken with Cadance as Liam Neeson?

If it is, I will give you this many penguins.

[Arzoo]

From the description, I'm imagining this is one of those "we need to win a dance contest to raise enough money to save X" type stories. Heh.

[BlackRoseRaven]

3965931

That's not a horrible way to describe the start of the story. Then from Chapter Two on it gets much crazier.

[TheWraithWriter]

3966821 images.wikia.com/ponymondawndusk/images/c/c9/Discord_YES.gif

Take this penguin!
lovethesepics.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Emperor-Penguin-Chick-Snow-Hill-Island-Antarctica.jpg