Interrupted Cadance

Interrupted Cadance

A Tarnished Silver Story by HamGravy

Chapter One: The Sound of Something Breaking

“Do you ever miss her?”

Princess Luna had not been prepared for Cadance's question. It had sprung up suddenly, like a hidden attacker, emerging from its hiding place between casual sips of tea on a warm spring afternoon.

The High Princess of Equestria did her best not to betray her surprise. She calmly took a bite of her sandwich, taking perhaps just a bit too long to chew and swallow it, before she replied.

“Princess,” she said. “It is so rare that you and I are able to enjoy each others' company in a casual setting, especially on such a beautiful day. Can we not enjoy our lunch without being reminded of unpleasant matters?”

“You're right. It is a beautiful day,” Cadance said. “Her sun is shining so bright...”

“Mi Amore,” Luna said. “Please.”

“I'm sorry,” the younger princess said as she looked down at her teacup. “I was only asking.”

Luna looked to her side, toward the center of the palace garden. There, surrounded by flowers, stood a beautiful marble statue of Princess Celestia in the act of raising the sun. The statue was over three centuries old, yet looked almost brand new. By royal decree, it was cleaned and polished regularly.

“Her presence lingers everywhere,” Luna said. “It has been months since my sister fell, yet there are still times when I enter the throne room and almost expect to find her there, conducting the business of state as if nothing happened.”

“That throne is yours now,” Cadance said. “You deserve it far more than she did.”

“In all honesty, I am thinking of having it replaced,” Luna replied. “It is...not to my taste.”

“So you don't miss her?” Cadance asked.

“What my sister did was unforgivable,” Luna replied. “When I think of what she allowed to happen...the suffering she inflicted upon generations of children...”

Luna shuddered, as though caught in a blizzard.

“I am ashamed of Celestia. I cannot even look at her image without feeling anger and disgust. And you ask if I miss her?” Luna turned away from Cadance.

“I miss her with all my heart,” Luna said.

Cadance lowered her head sadly. “I'm sorry, Princess,” she said. “I had no right to ask that.”

Luna shook her head.

“I miss her, too...” Cadance said softly. She leaned back in her chair and looked up at the bright blue sky.

“She was the one who gave me this horn, after all. Without her, I'd still be a normal Pegasus. Every time I use magic, or just catch a glimpse of my horn in the mirror...”

“It reminds you of her?” Luna asked.

“Not just that,” Cadance replied. “I feel connected to her somehow. This horn is a part of me, but she created it. I used to be so proud of that fact...”

Cadance sighed.

“All I ever wanted was to be just like her.”

Luna finished her tea and placed the cup gently back on the saucer.

“Then do so,” she said.

“Excuse me?”

“Think of the times my sister inspired you,” said Luna. “The times she showed compassion, wisdom, or love. Think of that Princess Celestia. And strive to be like her.”

Before Cadance could reply, Luna raised her hoof.

“No,” she said. “Allow me to retract that. Do not strive to be like her. Strive to surpass her. To be the paragon that she only pretended to be.”

“Princess...” Cadance said. “How could you ask that of me? I'm not some kind of eternal ruler like she was. The alicorn gift only lasts a hundred years. I was born a normal pony. And I'll die as one.”

“That is why it must be you,” Luna said. “You know something she and I never can.”

“And what is that?”

“Limitation,” the night princess replied.

Cadance responded by getting off her chair and giving Luna a silent, respectful bow.

Why did her back suddenly feel so heavy?

“I do not wish to overwhelm you, Mi Amore,” Luna said. “But as long as we are on the subject of your duties, I have a favor to ask.”

Cadance smiled. Luna noted mentally that her expression seemed more than a bit forced.

“I believe you have met most of the ponies who assisted in the destruction of the Circle, have you not?”

Upon mention of the Circle, Cadance's smile vanished.

“Yes,” she said. “I knew Sweetie Belle already; she was one of the flower fillies at my wedding. And of course Twilight Sparkle and I go way back. And Twist...”

“I believe the two of you have become friends, have you not?” Luna said.

“I'm just helping with her therapy,” Cadance said. “When I think of the awful things that were done to that dear little foal...”

Cadance grimaced. “She's getting better...” she said. “But that's just it. I don't think she'll ever stop getting better. It's never going to end for her. For any of them. There's so little I can do to really help her...”

“Twist has spoken to me about you,” Luna said. “She says you have made a great difference. Thanks to you, she has finally returned to school.”

“Really?” Cadance's sad expression evaporated in an instant. She clapped her front hooves together happily. “Oh, that's wonderful news! We've been working really hard to get her comfortable with being around large groups of foals again. I taught her a mantra to help her let go of her fear, and remind herself she has nothing to be ashamed of.”

“Yes,” Luna said, smiling. “She mentioned it during our last talk. And it is your success with her which leads me to ask this favor of you.”

Suddenly Cadance's back felt heavy again. But she thought of Twist, finally confident enough to return to school after all this time, and she returned a confident expression to Luna.

“Tell me, Mi Amore,” Luna said. “What do you know of Silver Spoon?”

*******

I remember very clearly the moment when I fully realized just how broken I am.

It happened the night the Circle fell. Styngian was about to take Rarity away, so Sweetie Belle was saying goodbye to her sister. I had walked away from them, to give them a little bit of privacy. But it was no use. I couldn't stop looking in their direction.

I remember Diamond Tiara was speaking to me at the time, but I don't think my mind processed the words. They were just sounds, rushing past my mind like meaningless little gusts of wind. I didn't mean to ignore my friend. Not after I had spent months wishing to see her again.

But I had already said my goodbyes to Miss Rarity. They had been short, direct, and oddly tender. She had told me how sorry she was for all that she'd done to me. I told her I forgave her, and that I hoped she found peace.

And then I left her side. I like to think that I did it with enough grace that no one could tell how monumentally difficult the simple act of walking away from Rarity was. But I had no other option. The longer I spoke to her, the harder it became to leave her.

So I stood there on the soft grass of Fancy's estate, while Diamond Tiara whispered incomprehensible noise into my ear. I stood there, and I watched Rarity embrace her little sister for what could very well have been the last time.

Then the sisters broke their embrace, and I heard the dragon's voice, echoing through the sky like words made of thunder:

“It is time, Rarity.”

She nodded, and gave her sister one last kiss: a platonic, sisterly peck on her forehead. It seemed so unlike her. But I guess that was the point.

Then Sweetie sadly walked away from her, and Styngian lowered one of his massive claws for Rarity to step into. She fit easily in his palm.

It was when he picked her up that I lost my composure.

“He's taking her away...” I said.

“Silver?” Diamond asked. It was the first thing she had said to me that registered. “What did you say?”

“He's taking her away!” I said, starting to panic. “He's going to take her and then I'll never see her again!”

All my resolve, all my carefully practiced shows of dignity, all vanished in an instant. The dragon was spreading his wings, with Rarity cupped between his claws. He was about to fly away with her.

I wasn't thinking. My mind had shut down and there was nothing left of me but a storm of emotions. Fear. Panic. Confusion.

And love.

“STOP! BRING HER BACK!” I screamed as I ran toward the dragon. “MISS RARITY, WAIT! I STILL NEED TO TALK TO YOU!”

The dragon began to flap his wings, creating a powerful wind. It knocked me over.

So I stood up, and, with all my might, began to run against it.

“MISS RARITY, DON'T LEAVE ME! PLEASE!” I screamed. “I STILL LOVE YOU!”

I looked up at Rarity, and she gave me a sad, gentle smile. And in her eyes, I saw something I had never seen before.

I think it was pity.

I kept running with all my strength, until suddenly, I stopped. There was a weight around my forelegs, holding me back.

“Don't do this!” Sweetie Belle said as she held on to me. “Don't go back! Remember what you said to her before! You don't need her anymore!”

“Let me go, Sweetie!” I shouted desperately. “SOMEONE STOP HIM!”

The dragon had left the ground.

“MISS RARITY!” I screamed as Styngian rapidly ascended. “I NEED TO SEE YOU! I NEED...I need...”

The pressure around my forelegs was gone. In its place, two little legs gently wrapped themselves around my chest.

Sweetie Belle was hugging me.

“It's okay,” she whispered. “She's gone.

“We're free now.”

The word echoed in the back of my mind. “Free.”

For the first time in nearly a year, I felt like I didn't belong to anyone. Not to Rarity. Not to Fancypants. I was my own pony. I was free.

And the prospect terrified me.

“I'm sorry...” I whispered. “I thought I was finally over her...”

“I wish it were that easy, Silver. Believe me. But don't worry,” Sweetie replied. “You'll get there. We both will.”

I heard a rustle in the grass then, and realized that Sweetie and I weren't alone. My little outburst had drawn the attention of nearly everyone on the grounds of the estate. Princess Luna, the Gallery foals, and Twilight Sparkle were all staring at me. The foals seemed more confused than anything else, but the two grown mares wore expressions of sad concern.

“Silver...” Twilight began. But I wasn't looking at her.

I was looking at the one pony who hadn't turned and stared at me.

Diamond Tiara had her back to me. She alone hadn't turned to watch my breakdown. For a moment, I thought she had done so to spare my feelings.

But then she turned around, just for a moment, and then looked away again.

I'll never forget the way she looked at me that night.

She was ashamed of me.

And she had every reason to be.

I looked down at the ground, too humiliated to look any pony in the eye. My voice was barely a whisper when I spoke.

“Help me...” I said. “Someone...please...”

“Do not worry, child,” Princess Luna replied. Her normally serious voice had a soft gentleness to it as she spoke. I didn't tell her, but it reminded me of her sister.

“Every foal who has suffered at the Circle's hooves will get the help they need. You have my word, Silver Spoon.”

I nodded, then softly nudged Sweetie Belle so she would let me go. She did, and I collapsed on the grass.

I lay there, crying softly, for what felt like hours. I didn't speak to anyone, and kept my eyes closed the entire time.

When I finally opened them, I saw three ponies sitting on the grass by my side.

Sweetie Belle, Twist, and Diamond Tiara had been sitting with me in silence. Diamond's expression of shame was gone, replaced by a warm smile. A smile shared between all three of my friends.

“We'll get there,” Sweetie said. “We'll get there.”

On the train back to Ponyville, I asked Diamond how she went from refusing to look at me to sitting next to me on the grass.

"Because Sweetie Belle held you back," she said.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"I didn't realize it until after you began crying, but what Sweetie did should have been impossible," Diamond said. "Remember second period anatomy class? Even a weak Earth Pony is three or four times stronger than a unicorn. And Sweetie can't use magic. So there's no way she could have stopped you. Not if you had really been fighting her."

A smile crept across my lips as I realized what Diamond was saying.

"You're closer to getting better than you think, Silver," Diamond said. "Just wait and see."

I embraced my friend as Ponyville came into view outside our window.

It's been four months since then. Four months of weekends spent at Canterlot's newly opened Home For Victims of Foal Abuse. The doctors say I'm a special case. They say I can't live here like most of the Gallery foals do, it's not good for my recovery. I need to “experience autonomy” by going to school back in Ponyville during the week. It's important that I have a normal childhood, they say.

I try to humor them. But it amazes me that they don't realize that it's far too late for me to ever be normal again.

The pattern is always the same. Each new therapist will ask me to tell them about school, my friends, my favorite books or music. Normal things. I guess this is meant to put me at ease.

Then they ask me about my relationship with Rarity. So I tell them. I hold nothing back.

That's when the cracks begin to form.

After that it's never the same. My therapists start to feel uncomfortable around me. They stutter when they speak to me, they avoid my gaze.

It's not their fault, I guess. They're trained to deal with fillies who were abused completely against their will.

They don't quite know what to make of a foal who walked up to her abuser and begged for it.

Maybe it's the way I tell them about it. I honestly don't mean to sound so excited when I talk about the things Rarity or her friends did to me. I know what they did to me was awful. And I truly want to overcome my past and move on.

But I can't pretend I didn't enjoy myself at the time. And, try as I might, I can't hide how much I enjoy recounting the memories.

Once we hit that point, it's all over. The next weekend, I'm suddenly assigned a new therapist. And the cycle begins again.

Today, I'm in a small room at the Home For Victims of Foal Abuse in Canterlot. I'm waiting for the arrival of my fifth therapist in four months. I was told, more than once, to be sure I was on time, because this particular pony's time was extremely valuable.

I look at the clock on the wall. She's over an hour late.

Desperate for something to do, I lie down on the couch and close my eyes.

I don't mean to think of Miss Rarity. But, like so many other times, she appears in my mind unbidden.

I can feel her standing over me. She's not really there, of course, but it's easy to pretend. I just have to remember that strong, all-encompassing presence.

She never needed to make a sound for me to know she was there. I just knew. The air in the room would feel just a tiny bit different. My heart would start to beat a little faster. I would shudder with anticipation, a split second before my conscious mind realized she was there.

Everything was different when Miss Rarity was in the room.

At first I thought she must wear some scent, some subtle perfume which I was picking up on without realizing. As it turned out, Miss Rarity hardly ever wore perfume. It made her sneeze. Her, of all ponies.

I mentioned that to Diamond Tiara not long ago. She burst out laughing, in that melodic, slightly malicious way of hers.

Moon, how I missed that laugh.

I know I should fight it. I shouldn't be thinking of Miss Rarity, not again. Not when all I want in the world is to get over her.

But sometimes the only thing in my life that makes sense anymore is how good it feels when I imagine she's standing over me while I rub my cunt...

I can hear her voice in my mind as I start. “What exactly do you think you're doing?” she asks. “Did I give you permission to touch yourself?”

“I'm sorry, Miss Rarity,” I whisper. “I just need it so badly...”

“Disgusting,” she says. “Can't you go one minute without acting like a cheap little whore?”

“That's right...I'm a whore...” I say, a little louder. “And whores get fucked and abused because that's all we're good for, isn't that right, Miss Rarity?”

My cunt is soaking wet now. I can't control myself anymore. I start push my hoof inside...

“That's quite enough out of you,” Miss Rarity says. “I'll make you pay for disobeying me, you worthless slut.”

“How?” I say, almost breathlessly. “How are you going to punish me, Miss Rarity? Are you going to whip me? Beat me? Tie me up and blindfold me, so I don't see it coming when you burn me with your iron? Choke me until I pass out, then have one of your stallion friends fuck my unconscious body?”

My mind zeroes in on that last idea. The memory of that particular evening – what little of it I remember – comes flooding back. I hear the wonderful sound of my wet cunt being fucked as I start moving my hoof in and out even faster.

It's to be my third orgasm of the day, and it's barely past noon. I wish I could say my sex drive has decreased since Miss Rarity left, but it's only gotten stronger.

I know I can't keep acting like this. I don't want to keep longing for a pony who hurt and mistreated me, who brought so much pain to my friends.

But right now, there is only one thing in the world that matters: I need to come, and the only pony who can make that happen is Miss Rarity.

“Do it, Miss Rarity! Make me suffer!" I cry out. "I need you to make it hurt!"

CRASH!

I'm snapped out of my reverie by the sound of something breaking.

I open my eyes.

A light pink pony is standing in the room, her mouth agape in shock. The remains of a broken coffee mug are on the floor.

I'm so shocked and embarrassed that I reflexively say the first thing that comes to mind:

“All of the other therapists knocked before entering the room.”

The pony covers her eyes with her wing as she speaks. “I'll, um give you a moment to make yourself decent,” she says.

I'm so surprised by her presence that I don't notice her horn until she magically gathers up the pieces of her broken mug.

An alicorn. Dear sun, it's Princess Cadance.

Suddenly I feel very, very small.

“Well,” says Cadance, in a shaky, nervous voice. “I can see we have a lot of work to do.”

SOUNDS TO LISTEN FOR NEXT TIME:

Tea being sipped

A pony sighing

The unearthly whistle of a magic spell

An angry accusation being made

by a filly

to a Princess