The Mare, the Monster, and the Castle

Shining acted like nothing was out of the ordinary as he spent time at home. Early into my affair there were times where I wished I could act like that again but that ship sailed so very long ago. In a way, Sombra left a mark on me. He colored my outlook on this marriage. I had a husband who loved me without question, but he spent weeks or months away on assignments. Sure he could give me a wild night, but it’s lost some of the magic it once had.

With Sombra there was always some risk. There was always a chance that somepony would hear me call his name to the stars in bliss. Always a chance some guard would notice us as he rutted me while I was gagged on the throne. I didn’t need him to demand it, he owned me in a way my husband was never brave or willing enough to try.

With Shining, it was always the same. No risk, no kinky sex, just some foreplay and he’d mount me. Sometimes he was too fast leaving me to finish up on my own. Still, it was safe with him, both intimately and publicly. Sombra had his agenda while Shining had his unwavering love.

“Cadance,” said my husband. “Is everything alright?”

“Hmm,” I blinked and gave him a smile as I refocused. “Everything’s just fine. Why, is something bothering you?” It had already been two weeks since I last sent Sombra back to his cell. While I may be physically away from him, there was no denying his warning still resonated in my head.

“Are you sure? You were just staring off into space.”

I was done running from the truth anymore. If it destroys our relationship then so be it. “Shining, I have something I need to tell you.”

Shining nodded and looked at me with his dopey clueless look. “What’s wrong Cadance?”

I pulled him into a tight hug and tried to focus on what I wanted to say. “It’s not something you’ll want to hear, but please let me talk. Shining, I’ve been having an affair.” I could feel the full weight of his body against mine; that he was in shock. “I’m sorry Shiny, but it was in the heat of the moment and I felt weak.”

Slowly, he wrapped his forelegs around me. “Do I… do I know them?”

There were tears in my eyes, I knew just how hard I struck him and it felt like my guilt had torn his heart out and was getting ready to beat it to death. “Yes, he leaves an impression.”

“He’s bigger than me?”

“I meant you have a hard time forgetting him.”

“Why did you do this,” he blurted out as his grip on me tightened.

“I told you, I felt weak. You were gone for three months with no word. I was afraid you were gone.” I fought my way through my own tears just to tell him. “He kept telling me you had to know about the truth sometime and I just buried it with my guilt.”

“Who is it Cadance? Was it one of the guards?”

I sniffled. “No, I called him once my worries began to affect my duties as a princess.”

“Called? What do you mean ‘called’?”

I nodded as I held him as tightly as I could. “I used a summoning spell to call him.”

“A summoning–”

“I found a book of spells in the castle. There were warnings about summoning anything, telling you to have a plan and to make sure it’s airtight. Well, I did and I used it to help me get refocused on my duties. He was forbidden to influence my leadership in any negative way. To offer assistance when I asked. Most importantly, he wasn’t allowed to lie to me.”

“So you had sex with him?”

“Eventually I had to uphold my side of the bargain. In return for everything, he said I would bear his foals. I agreed to that only because I imposed so many harsh restrictions on him.”

He let go of me and pulled me away, letting me see just how upset he was. Tears were streaking down his muzzle and he really did look as if somepony hit his head pretty hard. “Who is it Cadance?”

“The only stallion I could think of with any leadership skills. I called on King Sombra.”

Shining was devastated, and I felt like I just rubbed salt in the wound on his psyche. “He’s supposed to be dead!”

“Shiny, aside from when I summon him, he’s imprisoned in Tartarus. He can’t leave indefinitely and he helped me get the Empire back on track. While you were gone he became the shoulder I cried on when I had to make a hard decision. Nothing’s wrong here, the Empire hasn’t turned into a police state. There had been a group of criminals that tried to establish themselves here, but thanks to some improvements he suggested I make to patrols, they were found and imprisoned just as they began to get comfortable.”

“Cadance, he’s dead!”

“At first he was just a phantasm Shining! It took time for him to become solid. I put it off for so long. I just – I didn’t want to disgust you further by mating with a dead pony. He may as well be just as alive as you or me now.”

“So it took him three – I remember that mission, has he been lurking around in the castle for nearly two years?”

“I can send him back Shiny and he’s never stayed past sunrise. At least until two weeks ago, and even then it was just once. I told him he could stay and I thought that maybe I could find the courage to tell you if he did.”

“So he’s just better than me at everything isn’t he?”

“He reminds me about everything I do. He’s harped about telling you about this since I first called him, back before we even made the deal. It’s always the bad things I’ve done. Sometimes he tells me about something good, but it’s rare and he twists it so it sounds bad. At first I thought he just didn’t have anything nice to tell me or anything to reassure me that I did something good, but as we learned more about each other I learned that he was trying to keep me from going down his path. His experience can be invaluable Shiny, we can both benefit from it.”

“So he is better!”

I felt lost in my misery, not because I was trying to defend Sombra, but because I was so scared. “No! He’s not! He’s everything I don’t want you to become, but look at yourself in the mirror. You’re turning into him just by being angry! He knows he’s a lost cause so he tries to guide me back into the light.” I tried to recompose myself before continuing. “We’ve tried to have foals before this and it’s never worked. Now it’s just so clinical that sleeping with him feels like what we used to be. We experiment, try new positions, new things to make it feel exciting. Well, I experiment with new things, he tries to find out if I like it.”

My husband wiped his eyes and worked to recompose himself. I won’t lie, it seemed like a losing battle for a while but he eventually managed to succeed. “So what do we do now?”

“Like it or not, I have to have at least one foal that has him as the father. It’s the part of the deal I have to live up to. After he went back to Tartarus the first time I did more research, just so I knew everything about what I got myself into. If I don’t live up to that much, it goes onto our children. If they can’t do what he wants, say we only have colts, then it lays dormant until there’s a compatible match but by then he might not be bound by the rules I imposed.”

“What happens after you have it?”

“Well, he has to follow my terms until that foal is an adult, then I can say that our deal is done and that sends him back to suffer for eternity.”

“Or until some other pony summons him.”

“Do you want me to call him so we can hammer everything out? I mean, yes I might have to give myself to him and you might not be too happy about that, but–”

“Just call him so we can get this over with,” he responded bitterly.

“Alright,” I replied, my voice barely louder than a whisper. As I focused on my lover, the guilt I felt made the spell itself almost unbearable. After several minutes, I knew I managed to endure the casting but my horn felt like it was on fire.

~~~~~

To Sombra, it seemed like an eternity passed before his cell door swung open. With a content smile, and the heckling of his fellow inmates, he left eager to find out just why he was being called once more.

~~~~~

As Shining paced impatiently I thought only of the slowly subsiding pain. Summoning him was never like this. It was always tiring, but I never felt so much pain.

“Where is he?”

“I asked him before and he has to travel from Tartarus to the Empire. He makes the best time closer to night since he can just travel by shadow that way.”

“Or he can use magic like any normal unicorn worth his wizardry,” echoed the familiar voice of my lover as he emerged from the shadows.

It drew more than my attention as Shining stopped mid-pace. “You–”

“I see that this is why you called me from my prison Cadenza.” His voice was even, cold, perhaps even detached. “Are you alright?”

I tried to say I was, but nothing came. I nodded as I struggled in vain to say it.

“She’s not your plaything Sombra,” said Shining adamantly as Sombra advanced on us.

“She’s afraid,” Sombra continued in his even tone. “She doesn’t want to show me any affection with you here, nor would she show you any with me present. I won’t be offended Cadenza, so please speak your mind. I know you still love him.”

“I do,” I muttered as I tried to stand. I wanted to be near him. I wanted to kiss him. What love I had for my husband was all that rooted me in my place. What eventually released me was the gentle caress of Sombra’s hoof.

“I do have feelings for you Cadenza,” he said as his tone softened. Each syllable seemed gentler than the last. What some ponies might consider aversion, I knew he still acknowledged Shining’s presence. “What we have shared cannot help but bring about such a thing but I suspect he has a far more solid place in your heart.”

“What makes you say that,” asked Shining as though he was fighting just to get a word in past Sombra.

“Her melancholy as the days wear on in your absence. She tries to bury it, but I’ve some experience in rooting out such things. My resume should tell you what particular skills I have when it comes to the mind. Everything from scare tactics and propaganda to memory suppression and indoctrination. I would not harm her with my skills, even if I wasn’t forbidden to.”

“What if you could, why wouldn’t you use your methods to make her yours?”

“It would be easier to make her think it was her idea of course. Doing something like that falls into the forbidden category as well. On that note, tying her has been especially taxing on me as the contract takes time to realize why such a thing is happening. Tell me, what do you call a submissive ruler? No, seriously, I’ve no idea. Anyways, your problem is you threw your wife into the hooves of a unicorn who used to make a career out of mind games because you couldn’t say that you have a wife to take care of.”

“But–”

“I’m not playing mind games. I’m making sure that you are aware that even a pony who stepped into this relationship late, one who deals with irregular time in a prison that you can only reach through a crack in the ground, knows the truth. Now, I suggest calling for me when you need me and leave Mr. Jealous out next time. If the husband who actually cares about you still exists Cadenza, then he is welcome.”

As Shining opened his mouth, Sombra disappeared with a thundering crack. All that was left of him was a scorch mark on the floor.

I scowled. “Couch, now!” It could’ve gone better and it certainly might have. I felt as though Shining only heard what he wanted to hear, even if he had little chance to say it.

“But–”

“You are staying on that couch until I’m not mad at you.”

“Cadance I–”

“Three. Words. Now!” I wouldn’t forgive him that easily, but the least I could do was let him say it.

“I’m so sorry.” He bit his lip before throwing himself in front of me. “Please forgive me!”

“Couch,” I yelled as I stomped my hoof.

~~~~~

Sombra scowled as he returned to his cell, ignoring the fanfare he had grown accustomed to.

“So, something happened didn’t it,” asked Tirek from the next cell over.

“If you want to keep your head on your shoulders you will remain silent. Anything further and I won’t be the only dead prisoner in this wing,” his glare shifted towards Grogar’s cell, “that goes double for you necromancer.”