Chapters Author's Note
Just a note -- a lot of people are frustrated at this story's ending. Just thought I'd warn you. Even today I'm not really happy with how I ended this. đ
But hey, no sense dwelling on the past
Part 1: The Royal Orders
"Would you please explain to me why two fully armored guards are escorting me through the Crystal Palace? I probably should get back to the games."
"Royal orders, sir," one of the guards reply.
Ugh. Great. You were really busy sitting in the stands complaining about how you hate sports. At least, when you were in the stands you had popcorn.
"Fine, I guess. I hope this doesn't take long or else Twilight and the others could get concerned about where I am," you reply.
"How long you stay here is entirely to the discretion of Princess Cadance."
"Princess Cadance? Really?" you inquire.
âThat's correct," he answers.
You look straight ahead and nod. A moment of silence follows as you follow the guards to where ever they are taking you.
"That's the pink horse right?"
A harmonious groan comes from the guards.
"Why is this one important again?" he whispers to his partner.
"Heck if I know," The other replies under his breath.
"Hey!"
"Yes. She is the pink one."
"Shit. The married one. I guess my devilish charms won't worm me out of this one,â you joke.
The guards look to each other and sigh.
"Oh come on guys. Lighten up. It's just a joke. Of course I know who she is. Jeez."
They halt in front of two large wooden doors.
"This is it, Anonymous."
"Alright. Let's get this over with, I guess," you sigh to yourself.
"If I may add though,"
You place you hand on a door handle and look at the stallion speaking to you.
"Yeah?"
"Just... Don't do anything you might regret," he says.
You eye him carefully. He seems concerned, his eyes pleadingly looking at you.
"Uh... Ooookay. Thanks."
Okay. Officially weird now. You honestly weren't concerned before now. Suddenly what waits behind these two doors concerns you. You pull the door open and slip inside. The sound of quiet sobs instantly reaches your ears. Oh shit. You shut the door quietly.
"Uhhh. Princess Cadance?"
Cadance sniffs loudly and wipes her tears upon hearing your voice."O-oh. Anon... Good. Good. Thanks for coming. C-come over here. I-I want to talk to you."
"Uhm. Okay."
Is she... crying? Can princesses cry? You take quiet, measured steps to... the bed? Why are you in a bedroom? Tissues are scattered throughout the room and the Princess's royal regalia is tossed into a pile on the floor. Cadance lies in a mess on a bed made of some form of purple, velvet-like material. How long has she been laying here? How long has she been crying?
As she unfurls herself on the bed out a fetal position, she keeps her eyes on the floor and takes long, wavering breaths. Each shallow breath sounds like it could erupt into tears at any moment. She continues to rub her eyes with a hoof and sniff as you approach her, mascara running down her face.
"I-It's... It's just... I caught him... with some guard," she sniffs. "I was wondering why he didn't want to be around anymore. "
You hold your tongue as you move to console the crying Princess.
"I-I should have known... He was coming home late. Barely talking... I was always so worried about him. B-but, he never cared at all!"
Cadance leans over into her hooves and bawls into her hooves, losing what little composure she has left.
"I'm... sorry, Cadance,"
She's taken this much to confide in you. You might as well call her by her first name. It's only respectful.
"B-but, now it's my turn." Cadance says, trying to regain her composure. "I'll show him that TWO can play this game. I'll show him."
"Cadance... I don't think..."
She turns her rear to you and presents herself to you, dry as a whistle, small pools of tears that collected on her hind legs running down them.
"Please..." she begs.
"No. This isn't right."
"I-I DON'T CARE!" She orders you. "Please! J-just rut me. RUT ME!"
She covers her face in her hooves as she sobs into the floor. You take a deep breath. Now you know what you are here for. You walk up to the pink princess and pick her up into the air.
"W-what are you doing? S-stop. Rut me! I-I order you!"
Pulling the alicorn into your arms, you hold her tightly to you. Her body lays limply into yours as you feel her tears bury into the shoulder of your shirt. Cadance's body begins to shake as the last straw was pulled. Her cry isn't loud, instead, it's silent, her face buried into the crook of your neck and her mouth open, too speechless to say even a single word. The muscles in her frame give away, allowing you to gently guide her to the ground, but your hold on her remains tight as you sit on your knees. Her tears pool on your shirt and her hooves cling around you tightly.
"W-why? Why doesn't he want me, Anon?" she whispers through the tears.
You stroke her hair and gently shush her.
"Why doesn't... Why doesn't he love me anymore..."
"Shhhh," you quietly mutter. "Don't talk like that..."
She grips you tighter.
"Why doesn't anyone love me?"
You tighten your grip around the mare and stroke her hair. That's when every last ounce of willpower drops from her body. Her cries fill the room and her body convulses with each sob. All you can do is sit there and hold her. And whisper something that you only pray will be true.
"It'll be okay. I promise."
You hold her for what feels like hours. Hours you were more than happy to give up. Her sobs only come in short bursts of tears. Slowly you help her to her hooves.
"Here, let's get you into bed. Sleep is good."
The Princess simply nods and you place your hand on her back as she slips under the covers. You grab a bunch of the tissues on the ground to clean up a little. As you head to the trash can to throw them away, you see two empty bottles of wine sitting at the bottom. Ooph. That explains the clinging smell on her.
"Anon?" she asks weakly.
You turn to Cadance and return to the bed, sitting on the side of it.
"Yeah?"
Cadance looks down to the floor again, then back to you.
"W-would you... do something for me?"
"Anything," you say, trying to be supportive.
The pink alicorn bites her bottom lip and takes a deep breath.
"Would you... lay beside me... as I go to sleep?"
Okay Anon. Calm down for a second. A married mare wants you to lay beside her as she falls asleep. This is wrong. But, this make up smeared, watery eyed mare has had her heart broken. She needs someone to help her through this. And, well, she summoned you. It had to be for a reason.
"Yeah. I'll do it."
For the first time, you see a slight smile etch on her face.
"T-thanks."
Cadance scoots over and you kick off your shoes, climbing under the covers and laying on your side. The pink alicorn curls herself into a ball and pushes herself into your chest. You lay there, slightly unsure of what to do next. This isn't really right. There is no way you would take advantage of her... so there's that... But the way her body lies against yours and the way she cried into your chest.
You can't help but feel something tug from the inside of your chest, seeing her lay beside you. Perhaps that's why you reached over carefully and put your arm around her. Yet, you couldn't explain why she took your arm and wrapped it in her hooves, like a young filly holding a teddy bear. You were happy to be there for her, when she needed it the most. But the question lingers on your lips... Why you?
You've met Cadance a few times. Every time through Twilight. She was always very chatty and kind. The Princess only really seemed to care about others... from what you knew. You thought that was just part of the territory. Maybe it even was. But even then, all of that time, worrying about others before herself. It must grate on her. She never gets to do what's best for Cadance.
The alicorn's breathing regulates and her body radiates warmth. Through the pungent smell of alcohol, you smell something else, something like freshly cut flowers. You couldn't help yourself when your ran your hand through that silky smooth hair one more time. This is what was best for her right now. Time to herself. Time to reevaluate and recover.
Shining . How could he do this? Love works in mysterious ways... but he's married. Why... if it were you... You blink for a moment.
Anon. Get ahold of yourself. Shining isn't you. You are the random guy she begged to rut her, while she was probably drunk. With a sigh, you look over her dirtied face. What are you going to do? You listen to the silence the room provides, only broken by Cadance's breathing. She looks so peaceful this way. That's when a muffle is heard from outside.
The walls are too thick for you to understand anything, but ponies are definitely outside Cadance's door. Oh shit! What do you do? What if someone comes in? Shitshitshit. You look to the pony, then to the door, then to the pony again. Then back to the door that is slowly opening.
Game over.
First, a white horn pokes out of the door. Then a deep blue mane. Then the rest of a white stallion body.
"Hey Cadance... I-"
He freezes, staring directly at you. You stare back at him.
"What the..."
"Prince Shining... I told you not to-" A guard tries to explain.
"WHAT IS THIS!" he screams.
Cadance stirs awake and looks up.
"Here I am, trying my best to make things right, when I walk in on this !"
"Go away, Shining. Please." Cadance says, looking away from her husband.
"No! This makes you just as bad as me! How could you do this?!"
"You tell me why YOU did it?" Cadance sniffs. Is she... not going to tell him that you didn't...
"What is wrong with you," Shining barks at Cadance. "You are a Princess. Do you have any idea what that means?"
"Yes, Shining. I'm the Princess of Love . And I thought I knew what Love meant. Until you proved me wrong. Nothing's been the same since you slept with that other mare!"
The room goes silent. The guard quietly backs out of the room as Cadance rises to her hooves on the bed. Her breathing quickens and her brow furrows. Shining growls under his breath. He looks from you to his wife. Then back to you.
There have been a lot of points in your life when you felt unwanted. Like the time that you first arrived in Ponyville being the only human. Or the time that you were bored in Twilight's library and kept bugging her as she was reading. However, this... was a whole new level. This single glare seemed as if it was meant to strike you down where you stood. As if that if the stare was hard enough and long enough, that you would simply die where you lay. You can only hope but wonder if Cadance even going to explain this? This really isn't what it looks like.
The growling becomes louder as a vivid purple aura envelops his horn and shoots a beam at you. Without time to react or room to move in your bed cover prison, the magical enemy surrounds you. With a gesture of his head, you are launched from the bed and get sent flying across the room.
"SHINING!" Cadance cries.
The wall smashes into your face, and you feel your nose become significantly shorter. As your body bounces off the wall, like a child's toy, blood shoots out of your shattered nose. That's when your vision is covered in purple.
You feel your body lifted into the air and spun, facing the ground. Shining's eyes connect with yours, filled with hatred and anger. Your body propels to the ground at blinding speed. The wind is knocked out of you an a small bloodstain covers the floor where your head collides. Pain ripples through your chest and breathing is significantly harder. Your arm twists in a way you didn't know it could and it becomes as limp as a noodle.
"Anon!"
A bright flash of blue light fills the room and Shining is knocked to the floor, the purple aura fades away as gravity does the rest of the work. You close your eyes and your muscles tighten, preparing for impact. But the floor doesn't come as hard as you expected it. Instead, it was rather soft. You open your eyes to find yourself enveloped in a light blue light, which fades after you lay on your back.
With a cough, blood splatters on the floor and the guards rush in.
"Get a doctor for Anon! Now!"
A guard looks over to Shining.
"What about the prince, Princess?" the guard asks.
"I don't care. Just get him out of here..." she commands.
The guards help Shining to his hooves as you use your still functioning arm to wipe the warm red liquid off your face.
"GggrrraaAAAHH!" Shining growls, turning around to face you one last time, his horn radiating with energy.
You cringe and try to edge away from him, but pain shoots up your broken arm as you try to move it. Cadance stands over you and a bright blue energy field protects you and her from... him.
"Get out of my kingdom," she says.
He stares at the Princess with pure, unadulterated hatred. His gaze returns to you one more time. Shining Armor turns and walks away from the two large wooden doors, as blood leaks out of your nose and onto the floor. Your chest feels like it compresses on itself, causing you to hack and cough. Hurried hoofsteps approach the room, and belong to two ponies that step inside, One nurse unicorn mare and the other a guard that was posted outside.
"Oh my Celestia... What happened in here?" asks the nurse.
"You are not allowed to speak of this to anypony," the guard tells the nurse sternly.
The nurse looks over the blood that runs down the walls, and pools at the base of your face as you desperately try to breathe. She nods silently and approaches the protective blue bubble that Cadance holds up over the two of you. Her face is contorted in anger, like a mother bear protecting her cubs, as she stands over you.
"Princess... I'm here to help the human."
The princess simply continues to stare outside the door, her face fixated on who could be ready to spring an attack the moment she lets her guard down.
"Princess?"
Cadance looks at the nurse, her threat redirected. The nurse takes a few steps back.
"I promise I won't hurt him... We can move him to a private room," The mare attempts to persuade Cadance.
Her breathing begins to calm and the bubble slowly fades away from the two of you. Cadance steps off of you and the nurse takes a few steps closer to you to examine the damage.
"Shattered muzzle on first glance... possible broken ribs... I think..." Whispers the nurse.
"You think?" Cadance says angrily.
"I'm sorry Princess, I've never cared for a hooman before."
The pink alicorn nods and looks around the room. "Where can we move Anon?"
"There is a room just down the hall. One bed and reserved for V.I.P. player injuries. It'll be the best care we have," the nurse assures the Princess.
"Perfect."
Maybe once it stops feeling like you are breathing in pepper spray with each breath, you might notice how comfortable the silk sheets feel on your back. Before the nurse left you and Cadance alone in this new room, she braced your arm, made you drink some form of foul tasting yellow medicine and peeled off your shirt while they try to discover some way to help your nose and chest. Human-sized braces are on an extremely short supply in Equestria. Go figure.
As you take slow, calculated breaths Cadance hasn't moved an inch from your side. You turn your head to face her and she moves a hoof to your cheek.
"Did I kick his ass?"
A slight smile flickers on her face.
"Oh yeah. Totally did." You mutter to yourself. You chuckle, but it feels like a thousand burning coals fills your lungs, so it rapidly devolves into a coughing fit.
âYou have to be more careful, Anon..."
With a nod, you return to your breathing pattern that hurts the least.
"Right."
Cadance opens her mouth to say something, but closes it, shaking her head. You return your gaze to her.
"What?"
"Nothing."
"Don't lie now," you look into her eyes. "I know you were going to say something."
She looks down at your beaten frame and her breathing quickens slightly.
"I did this to you..."
"Hey. No you didn't-"
"If I didn't call you down here, none of this would have happened. You would have been okay... and, and..."
With your good arm, you reach your hand up and place it on her cheek, turning her face to look you in the eyes.
"It's okay."
"But look at you. You're-"
"As strong as a horse," you reply.
She stares at you in concern, or perhaps it was your choice of words.
"All of this will heal with time. I'm much more concerned about you, Cadance."
The princess moves a hoof up to the hand on her face and caresses it.
"How are you holding up?"
Cadance sighs and thinks over her words carefully.
"I'm tired, Anon."
"Well, let's fix that," you mutter to yourself.
Although it makes your body feel as if it were on fire, you carefully grunt, moan and shift yourself to the edge of the bed. With a light pat, you motion for her to lay beside you. It's a fairly large bed, letting her easily climb up next to you. She studies the delicate and partially broken features of your face. You smile, but your mind gets the better of you. If this is going to go any further, you have to know. For your own sake.
"Can I ask you a selfish question?" you wheeze.
"Anything," she answers with a smile.
"Why me? Out of any other pony or animal you could have called, you chose me. Not that I mind... just why?"
She bites her lip.
"It's hard to explain..."
"Well, I can promise I'm not going anywhere."
She lightly laughs. At least your jokes are still effective.
"One of the first things they taught me as the Princess of Love is that no pony has a 'one' that they are meant to be with. There is no such thing as the one. Anypony can marry somepony else, even if it's for the wrong reasons," she sighs. "It was really hard for me to understand, until I watched a marriage crumble while studying to be the Princess of Love. I watched them fight, and fight, and fight... and I never understood why they couldn't just leave each other."
You watch as her expression becomes more pained.
"I remember thinking to myself... Why? Why do they keep saying such terrible things to each other, then try to patch it all back up? It was love. The power of love binds two ponies together so strongly that even the most hateful and mean words don't immediately break it's bond, even if it isn't shared by both ponies."
She looks to you.
"Does that make sense?"
You nod, but you aren't sure what it has to do with you.
"As I studied more, I began to learn spells and tricks that I swore to never use for my own personal use. Ways of seeing how compatible two ponies were... I figured out quickly why not. I would study ponies out on the street and see how compatible the couples were, out of curiosity.â
She lays her head on a pillow beside you, relaxing a bit more.
"I found that compatibility has nothing to do with love. Ponies will love anyone their heart tells them to, even if it isn't the right one for them. If ponies would come for advice or to see how compatible they were, I would answer honestly, but it was almost never taken seriously. Their hearts already made their decision."
Cadance turn her gaze back to you.
"Until, one day when Shining and I had one of our own fights... I can't remember why... It was probably something silly, but I remember being so... mad. Twilight was going to introduce me to you that day, since you were new in Equestria and... I couldn't help myself."
She looks away from you.
"I looked at how compatible we were." You stare at her. Curiosity eats at your insides, but you know you shouldn't press too hard.
"I've... never felt a compatibility that high before."
Silence fills the room as Cadance sighs.
"I suppose, that's when everything fell apart. We began to fight more. He wasn't home as often... and you began to invade my thoughts... and dreams."
She slightly chuckles.
"Even though I only met you once, I already knew so much about who you were as a person from one little look. My heart was trying to find ways to love you, or the idea of you."
Cadance looks back to you.
"That's when it became clear to me why the spell isn't supposed to be used for yourself. I found myself wanting to ask Twilight to bring you along when she visits. I was trying to find an excuse to invite you to the Crystal Empire. I let my marriage fall apart off of some crush." You look into her eyes.
"It wasn't fair to anypony. When I found out about... about...."
Gently, you place a good hand on her side, a quiet look of understanding.
"I didn't know who else to ask for help. I didn't know what to do. So I let my heart decide," she whispers. "None of this is fair to you either though... and I'm sure all of that sounds absolutely terrible and I wouldn't blame you if you call me a terrible pony for it."
You shift in your bed, trying to comprehend the words you just heard.
"Well, I can't say that I would have done the same thing... but I will say that I don't think I blame you."
Cadance looks at you in disbelief.
"Really?" she asks.
"Well. Yeah. You were angry and made a mistake. It wasn't really cheating, but you opened your eyes and looked around if grass was greener on the other side. I suppose in your case, it was."
She looks into your eyes as you tell her your honest opinion.
"Under the circumstances... I don't think anypony could really blame you," you say.
Her eyes begin to water and she tries to wrap her hooves around you. The searing pain returns, causing you to gasp for breath.
"Sorry! Sorry. Sorry..."
"It's fine... just, gentle."
Cadance pushes her body closer to yours and lays a hoof over your stomach. Cradling her head into your good shoulder, she closes her eyes.
"I love you, Anon."
A new form of tightness forms in your chest. You've only really talked to this mare for over several hours. But, I suppose being the Princess of Love has it's own set of rules.
"I know you aren't sure... and it's okay. Just... do you think you could give me a chance?"
You look down at the alicorn's silky smooth hair and waft in her scent. The smell of fresh lavender fills your senses and a strange new feeling that you haven't felt since you came to Equestria. If you tried to describe it, you could only describe what it reminds you of.
Home.
Your mind trails back to the words of the guard. Don't do something you'd regret Anon. This won't be an easy road. You have to commit yourself to her. Shining could reappear at any moment and do this to you again. Or worse.
She looks up at you with hope filled watery eyes. You bite your lip.
"I'm sorry... That wasn't fair of-"
"Yeah." She looks into your eyes. "I want to give this a chance."
Cadance moves her body up closer to you. She cranes her neck over you, bringing her face closer to yours, and plants a delicate kiss directly on your lips. Warmth spreads throughout your body and your chest begins to flutter. That's when you knew. You knew that for the rest of your life, you would never regret this decision. Cadance snuggles back into your side and closes her eyes.
You know what? A nap sounds awesome right about now. Wrapping you arm under her head, you close your eyes and let sleep take you and Cadance far away from the Crystal Empire.
Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter. As you enter the quiet sitting room, Twilight immediately begins her interrogation.
"So, why donât you tell me what happened, Anon?" Twilight asks skeptically.
"Twilight, I swear, I really don't know that much. I only know-"
"Did you make love to her, Anon?" she asks you bluntly.
She stares directly at you as she awaits your answer. Her face was filled with anger, pain, but her body language spoke a different story. Twilight's legs trembled as the seconds of silence must have felt like years to her. She was terrified of your answer.
Just what had her brother told her? Was it the truth? Or what he thought was happening? Why was Twilight so wrapped up in this? What answer could you give that struck fear into her?
"No, Twi. I did not make love to Cadance," you answer in a firm, calm tone.
Twilight lets out a sigh and looks to the ground. Her expression relaxes and she seems to regain some slight composure of herself.
"You really mean it, Anon?" she asks again, but this time in a much more relaxed way.
"It's the honest truth. I swear it," you confirm. "But things are really weird right now, Twi. I really could use a friend to help me through this."
Twilight shudders and pauses at your words.
"The problem is, I'm not sure what is going to happen. Wheels have been set in motion that I don't know how to handle. This might have never happened in Equestria before," you continue. "In a sense, your brother is right. Cadance and Shining's relationship is falling apart. At least... that's what it seems like to me."
The Princess looks up to you and pauses, studying the features of your face.
"Tell me what happened. Tell me your side of the story. Tell me as much detail as you can remember," Twilight says.
With a nod, you take a quick inventory of the room you were in. It seemed to be a lounge area, filled with complimentary refreshments for the VIP attendees for the Equestria Games. There were luxurious red matching couches and chairs, while the floors still matched the signature royal marble with exotic rugs.
"It might... be best to sit down for this. This isn't a fun story," you comment.
Twilight nods, but her expression only grows more concerned as she flicks her tail. Limping over to one of the couches, you set your crutches on the floor and sit down to try and rest your leg. Twilight opts to lie down next to you on the couch instead of taking the chair beside you. What can you possibly tell her that doesn't incriminate you?
If you tell the whole truth, then she might just think the truth is some lie. On the other hand, if you try to pass off your love for Cadance as just a friendship, you could get caught with her and eat your words later. It's best to start with the truth and then ease into the emotions.
"Well, I suppose it started when I was sitting in the stands with the rest of the girls. I just got back there after we discovered that they wouldn't let me sit next to you in the royalty balcony. These two guards claimed that Princess Cadance needed to see me. I figured I wouldnât have been summoned if it wasn't important, so I went with them," you began.
She nods as you pause to ensure comprehension.
"Then, they lead me to her and Shining's private chambers. I instantly knew something wasn't fully right, but I didn't really feel like I had another option. So I went inside and she was completely distraught."
Twilight stares at you as you stop to ponder what to tell her next. Do you share that she wanted you to be her revenge to Shining? Do you mention that Cadance did the compatibility spell on you? Why is it so hard to talk about your new found feelings for the Princess with Twilight? You almost have to ask yourself, what would Cadance want for you to say?
"So, I did what anyone should do. I tried to console her. I listened to her. She wanted someone to hold her as she cried... and well, I did."
The words sat on your tongue like bile. Not a lie, but not necessarily the whole truth. Twilight opens her mouth, but looks away from you, her face becoming more downtrodden. Did she figure it out?
"Is something wrong?" you ask.
"It's nothing. Keep going," Twilight says.
"You're a terrible liar, Twi," you reply, pressing a bit of yourself onto her. "I always know when you are."
She looks back to you and shakes her head.
"I just don't like that you did that," she answers.
You pause and consider her words. What does that mean? She doesn't like that you held Cadance in your arms as she cried? Perhaps that was a large step out of bounds for a married mare, but given what she had just shared with you before you did that... Well, it changes things.
"I suppose you are right. If I didn't do that last part, I might not be in this mess."
Which also is only half true. She likely would have set her beautiful eyes on you at one point or another. It just wouldn't have been while she was married. Twilight remains silent and doesn't react to your words.
"Should I keep going?" you add.
Twilight replies with a short nod.
"Well, then Shining barges in and gets the wrong idea, then beats me half to death. If Cadance didn't stop him... I don't know if I would be out and walking right now. I might not have even woken up..." you speculate.
"Well, can you understand why?" she asks you.
"Of course I can understand," you immediately respond, placing you face in your hands. "Who wouldn't understand? That doesn't make me hate him less for doing it."
Twilight sighs and shakes her head.
"Right."
"So, then I get rushed off to the hospital and Cadance watches over me as I passed out. I woke up. They gave me these crutches and then I walked out. Cadance said we would talk to Celestia about the situation and go from there," you conclude.
Twilight thinks over your story carefully.
"The two of you are going to go talk to Celestia?" she asks.
You pause and try to remember her words. Was it, 'we' she said, or 'I'? On second thoughtâŠ
"My bad. I think she said she would go talk to Celestia," you answer. "Why? Is there something wrong with that? I trust that she would tell Celestia the truth."
Twilight opens her mouth and then promptly closes it. She ponders her words then shakes her head. "I suppose not. Celesta would be the expert in this situation."
"Yeah. I'm just not sure what I should do. I mean, a part of this feels a little... off," you explain. "I think Shining is hiding something important."
"What do you mean?" Twilight asks.
"I mean, this all seems to be completely out of the blue," you add. "I mean, you are close with Cadance and Shining... did you see any sort of hint or sign to this?" Twilight looks at the ground and ponders to herself.
"I don't think so. Not really," she says, still deep in thought.
"Not really?" you reiterate.
"Well," she continues. "Now that I think about it, Cadance was trying to find ways to get out of the Empire more often and she mentioned Shining had been working longer shifts, but I never seemed to have trouble getting in touch with him."
"Really?" you ask. It sounds like Cadance's story might check out then. If Shining was working longer hours as a cover up to go and see somepony else...
"Yeah, I guess I never really thought about it up until now," Twilight adds. "It's a little bit funny."
That's when the thought occurs to you. Maybe if you can prove Cadance's story, then all of this will become a lot easier to handle for everyone involved. If you can prove Shining is cheating, maybe getting a divorce will be easier for her and that would open the path for you to be with her. Or at least, make your hidden affair more acceptable
"Well, what did Shining say? What did he say happened?" you drill Twilight. She remains silent for a moment and then looks back to you.
"I don't know how much I can really say..." Twilight mutters.
Her brother probably swore her to secrecy. They're siblings, so of course they are going to confide in each other and he fed his lies to her. Maybe you can convince her to tell you what story he's trying to uphold. Maybe you can levy that you two have been best friends for such a long time, that you wouldn't tell a soul. Even Cadance.
You open your mouth, but close it and run a hand through your hair. What in the world were you thinking? You can't just manipulate someone like that. That's disgusting.
The situation was clear to her, but not to you. She was on her brother's side and you were on Cadance's side and the overall story sounds fishy. The mistake you made was telling her what you thought happened, so she could feed it to her brother. But... on the other hand, you saved your friendship with Twilight.
"Well, you told me what happened, so I'll tell you what I know for sure..." Twilight says with a sigh.
You turn to her and place a hand on one of her hooves.
"Before you do, I dunno if it's a good idea for you to tell me. If your brother wanted to keep his story confident... then maybe you shouldn't share it," you explain.
Twilight's hoof feels warm around your hand as she smiles at the simple gesture.
"The problem is, I'm not even sure if it's right. My brother hasn't lied to me before. At least, I don't think he has, but something is missing in all of this and it doesn't make sense. He told me that Cadance told him to stop by the room and then he saw you two. He assumed the worst, got defensive, and then fled when he was threatened by his wife," she explained.
That's hardly a story at all. That's essentially cliff notes of your story.
"I mean, I know it's not much, but it was all that I could seem to get out of him. He told me to stay away from her, but if both stories are the same then why would both sides not want us to know what's really going on?" Twilight says. "I mean, it's speculation, but something just doesn't seem right."
Because Shining is a cheater, Twilight. She has to accept that. The words scream in your mind as you grow more irritated at Twilight's naiveté.
Cadance wouldn't have been crying like she was if she were lying. Unless she was some sort of professionally trained actress, or something. She could easily look the part, but you doubt she had that sort of training.
"I can see what you mean from a logical standpoint, but honestly, I don't think Cadance is the liar here..." you explain.
"Why not?" Twilight explains.
Warmth spreads through your chest as you remember holding Cadance in your arms as you thought of a way to explain the situation to her. The way she panicked when Shining opened the door seemed to also stick out. If she knew Shining would be coming back, why would she panic when he opened the door? There's no way that any of that was planned.
"Simply put, I just think there are some things you just can't fake," you explain. "The way Cadance acted didn't reflect her pulling some sort of terrible scheme. Plus she doesn't even fit that profile. Wouldn't it make more sense that Shining had a moment of weakness and got himself in a situation he couldn't untangle himself from?"
Twilight eyes you carefully, skepticism growing on her face and placing her hoof on top of your hand.
"Well, can we at least agree that something isn't right here?" she asks.
"Definitely. Something isn't right," you agree.
"Then, I think we should try to figure out what's really going on," Twilight states.
A chill runs through your soul. Twilight is one of the most thorough ponies you know. When her mind is set to something, there isn't a single problem she can't solve. This means, itâs only a matter of time until she found out that you and Cadance werenât really just patient and therapist.
"I suppose it would be good to help clear one of their names... or both of their names," you reply while trying to keep your cool.
"It's more than just that now, Anon," Twilight replies with care. "I don't want the world to think that you are some sort of adulterer that is tearing apart what the Crystal Empire thought was a happy marriage. You wouldn't do that."
Her words cut through your heart like a knife. Maybe you should tell her about your feelings now instead of later. If she just found out now, then maybe there would be fewer repercussions later when she finds out herself. You remain silent as she looks at you expectantly with a determined smile. Twilight will find out if she dug hard enough. It would only be a matter of time.
"Right?" she asks, unfurling her wings in confidence. She wants you to confirm your story of half truths.
"I didn't make love to Cadance-"
"Right! So we need to clear your name, Anon," she says confidently, pressing your hand firmly.
"I do really like her though," you mutter.
She freezes and her grip on your hand loosens.
"And she kissed me," you sigh. "There's no point in not telling you the full truth."
Twilight pulls her hoof away and her mouth opens slightly. Her wings slowly fold back into their resting position.
"Oh," she says, her tone filled with defeat.
You look up at and see how hard she's taken that you didn't tell her the full truth right away.
"I'm sorry. I should have just told you everything from the start... I just thought it might have been a bit much," you add.
She looks back at you with a worried expression.
"Did you kiss her back?" she asks, a glimmer of hope remaining in her voice.
You stop and remember the taste of her lips on yours and an involuntary smile grows on your face. Turning to look back at the ground, you try to remember what happened during that moment. She kissed you and... and... The heavens sang and you felt like you could fly. You felt empowered; strong enough to take on armies just to keep her safe. But did you kiss her back?
If she tried to kiss you again, would you? Definitely. Then that's just as good as kissing her back.
"Yes," you answer softly. "I don't really want to end what her and I have either. Whatever this... thing is. Plus, if it became more official and public... I would like that, but I can't really do any of this if she's married."
Twilight's mouth closes and her tail loses its sense of liveliness as her gaze moves to the floor.
"Oh... I see," she mutters to the ground.
"So, I want to help her get rid of Shining. She made it sound like he destroyed her," you continue.
"I don't believe that for a second," Twilight immediately interjects.
A silence wedges the distance between you two. In this moment, you've never felt less close to your friend in your whole life. You almost wish as if you could reach out, pull her close, and console her; Just so you can tell her that you're sorry that all of this is happening and that you'll end it immediately. Maybe at another time, you would have, but now the situation is different. Thoughts of Cadance swirled through your mind like an addiction.
"But, what I still don't fully understand is, why you?" Twilight asks with a choking voice, anger slowly poisoning her tone.
You pause and purse your lips. Should you tell the truth? She's your best friend, why wouldn't you? Plus, she will probably find out sooner or later.
"Cadance mentioned she knew some sort of compatibility tester spell... or something. When she used it on me, she found out that we were really compatible. Now, here I am," you explain.
Twilight's expression fades and turns to look at you curiously.
"Compatibility spell?" Twilight asks.
"Yeah, that's right. I mean, it makes sense to me. I don't really understand how all this magic stuff works, but-"
"No, Anon. I've read almost every book of magic I could have laid my hooves on," Twilight begins. âAnd I've never heard of that sort of spell before. I've heard of love potions and love poisons-"
"Cadance would never poison me," you interrupt Twilight. "She wouldn't hurt a soul."
Twilight eyes you carefully, but continues on. "In all of my research as Celestia's student and with access to her private spellbook collection, I've never heard of that spell. Don't you think that's odd?" she asks you with a hint of irritation.
What is she trying to say? She just doesn't trust Cadance. Which, considering the compromising position Cadance put herself in with you, it makes sense, but that doesn't mean she doesn't tell the truth. She just immediately believes her brother with no facts.
"Well, you never know. Maybe you missed one," you retort.
"That is the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard you say, Anonymous," Twilight spits at you.
Anonymous? She hasn't called you that since you first met her. Twilight rises from the couch, her wings outstretched and brow furrowed.
"Something is wrong here and you aren't willing to see it," she continues. Twilight's attitude is really beginning to grate on your nerves.
"Well, I think everything is painted pretty clearly, Twilight. You just aren't willing to accept it," you retort. "Shining isn't telling the whole truth."
"Well, I'm tired of you calling my brother a liar!" she yells, turning back to you.
"I'm tired of you calling my marefriend a liar!" you shout.
The words escape your mouth and then hang in the air like a cloud of smoke. Yet, you have no desire to change that. Now itâs out in the open. Twilight just looks at you in lasting silence. You can feel your heart pulse red-hot blood through your veins as you stand in direct opposition of your best friend.
"So, this is the way it is," Twilight says angrily.
"I guess so. I'm going to get proof of Shining's adultery and prove Cadance's story," you growl to her.
"Well, I'm going to clear my brother's name and prove that Cadance is lying to you, then maybe you can snap out of this... Whatever this is," Twilight retorts, turning away from you and stomping out of the lounge. The door loudly slams shut behind her. You growl as you clench your fists. Why can't she just be happy for you!
After all this time that you've been trying to find love in Equestria, it finally falls into your lap and your best friend can't even be happy for you. What's her problem? You slam your fist into the plush pillow and run your hands through your hair. With a sigh, you close your eyes and shake your head.
You shouldn't have done that to Twilight. That was a mistake.
Opening your eyes, you see the carpet on the floor and your two crutches. Well, now the best thing you can do is try to try to prove Cadance's truth. Not to prove Twilight wrong, just in case there is any doubt among the public. If there was one thing Twilight was right about, you don't want to look like the guy that broke up a perfectly happy marriage. So, the solution is simple.
If you can find the truth, then Twilight will have to admit that she's wrong. She would probably be upset at first, but she would likely come around. Maybe.
She couldn't be mad at you for forever.
You hope.
Grabbing your crutches, you place them under your shoulders and carefully ease yourself up. Now then, if you were going to attempt to find incriminating evidence for Shining Armor, where would you look?
How dare he? How DARE he?! Something is clearly wrong here and he is just refusing to see it. Compatibility spells don't exist!
At least, none that Twilight knew of.
The best person to know about love type spells would be... Not an option, but Celestia and Luna might know.
Twilight stomped through the halls to Cadance and Shining Armor's private quarters. She thought that the best place to find any sort of evidence would be at the scene of the crime. Her wings were fully extended and she grated her teeth with each step. The mare felt as if she were punching the very ground on which she stood with every hoofstep. Each one a punch that wanted to land directly in the center of Anon's dumb, handsome face.
How dare he?!
Water slowly welled in her eyes as she tried her hardest not to remember the times the two of them spent together and loving every second of them. Now he's in the clutches of another mare. A married mare, no less. Even worse, her sister-in-law and one of her closest friends.
Twilight's heart felt as if it were leaking from being repeatedly stabbed by a dull dagger of hatred and fire. As much as it hurt, she knew she couldn't give up. Something isn't right here and the only pony willing to get to the bottom of it was her. The full truth hasn't come out yet and everypony involved deserves to know.
At very least, Anon deserves to know.
Her pace slowed as a tear ran down her face. What if this will make Anon happy? Shouldn't she be happy for him? She loved him.
He seemed so happy now. He was happy with her as well. Except, she couldn't tell him the words that choked at the very back of her throat. She hoped, somehow in the back of her mind, that the stars would suddenly align and he would find the love he craved for right in front of him all along.
"For being such a smart mare, you can be so thick-headed sometimes..." she whispered to herself.
She closed her eyes and sniffed. Maybe... if she said something sooner...
She stood alone in the hallway of the Crystal Arena as the crowd cheered outside as if they were cheering for them. Cheering for Twilight's pain. He's gone. She lost her chance to have him for herself. Her breathing quickened and her wings slowly relaxed back into themselves, cradling her in a much needed hug. But, it wasn't just her crush she lost. She might have just lost her best friend.
Why did she have to yell at him?
He's just caught up in his emotions and not seeing reason. This... could probably be said about her too, now that she thought about it. She shook her head and took a deep breath. Now isn't the time to focus on emotions.
The two of them are friends. Anything can be worked through if both sides are willing to try. But, that's not the most important task at the moment. She is going to have to think logically in order to get to the bottom of this mystery. Something is going on between Shining and Cadance and nopony is telling the truth.
Down this path might be the closure she needed to get Anon out of a mistake he might regret for the rest of his life or something that will just hurt her even more. That's the risk she's got to take.
The risk she wants to take.
'I have to figure out Cadance's lie and clear my brother's name,' she thought to herself. 'Not to prove Anon wrong, but just to make sure...'
Then, her subconscious took over. To make sure what? To make sure the feelings between Anon and Cadance were genuine? What are she trying to prove? That she wouldn't be a better lover to Anon than Cadance?
With one last sigh, she trudged forward. No, she had to prove that Anon isn't making a huge mistake. Maybe, if she's lucky, she can pull him out before it's too late.
You stare at the exit of the lounge, then look down to your crutches.
"Well, now I gotta figure this shit out," you mutter to yourself.
Carefully, you hobble your way to the door of the lounge with the help of your crutches. Your eyes look down to the doorknob which impedes your path.
"Great."
Leaning on your left crutch, you use your right hand to turn the knob and open the door. Once you pull it open a little bit and it opens directly into your body. Great job, genius. You've been outsmarted by a stupid door. Why do these have to be so hard to open?
Letting go of the door, you move out of the way of the door's path. Leaning on your right crutch, you turn the knob with your left hand and push the door open with some extra force. Regaining your grip on the crutch, you step into the doorway's path and it closes gently on your back. Inching your way out of the doorway, you finally make it into the hall.
Congratulations, Anon. You learned how to open a door. Now you can prove your marefriend's innocence.
Now then, where would Shining Armor leave anything incriminating? Looking to the left and to the right, you try to decide on a direction to go. How would you know where Shining would have something stashed away? You could check the bedroom, but why would Shining hide something in plain sight? Sure, it may be one of the least suspected places, but it was also the most daring.
You could try to figure out where in the stadium could be a secret-hideaway for a passionate moment... but that could be anywhere. There has to be something concrete, that you could show the Princess, and not just hearsay. You could try and interview some of the guards to see if any of them did something with Shining... However, there's no guarantee any of them would tell the truth.
Except...
That one guard, when you entered the bedroom. He told you not to do something you'd regret. That guard might know something. It was like he knew what was about to happen. You have to find him. He may be your best shot at getting some definite answers.
Turning to the left, you make your way down the hall. The first step would be finding a guard. If you can find a guard, then maybe you can find the guard's HQ room is, figure out the name of the stallion that was on duty and find a way to find him. Until then, you just have to be sure to keep everything as quiet as possible. Not a single other pony can know.
You hobble down the corridor in silence, your mind clustered with many questions at once. Twilight isn't usually one to herself involved with drama. Normally that was Rarity's job.
You could understand her wanting to be a supporting sister in a time like this... but going explicitly to prove you wrong? That's just... unlike her. She normally always seemed to be on your side. Going out to lunch together... Hanging out just to hang out... Having serious intellectual discussions... Twilight is never one to act on gut instinct and not fact.
So what made her feel differently this time? What's got her so wrapped up in all of this? Shaking your head, you push your mind to something else. You can't afford to think about non-relevant things at the moment. The sooner you figure out the truth, the sooner everything gets resolved.
Then... then what happens?
All of your things are in Ponyville. Would you stay in Ponyville for awhile? How would dating a Princess work? It would probably be way too soon to move into the Crystal Castle, but damn would it be nice. The idea of all that nice food made your mouth water. You probably wouldn't ever have to work again. Plus, you would be able to sleep directly beside her every night.
The idea hangs in your mind for a moment as your pace slows. How long had it been since you've been out of the hospital. It felt like an hour, maybe two. There wasn't a way to be completely sure without a clock. You shoulda checked before you left that lounge.
Cadance said to meet back at the room in two hours. There might not be enough time to search too hard, especially in the shape you are in. Pausing in the middle of the hallway, you hear the crowd cheer outside and sigh. If you don't have much time, then you might as well head back now. Who knows how long it could take you to get back to your room on this leg.
How in the world are you going to be able to do any research without having the ability to even walk normally? How could you defend yourself if Shining ambushes you if you can't even open a door? You are so boned.
Turning in place, you begin to lumber your way back towards the room. Which was in the opposite direction that you were walking. Great. Just the icing on the-
"Anon!" calls out a happy, familiar tone.
Stopping to look over your shoulder, the Princess of Love trots towards you.
"I was just heading to the room to meet you," she says with a smile.
"Yeah, I was just making my way there too. How'd the games stuff go?" you asked.
"Oh, boring things. Turns out I only needed to stand around as Celestia and Luna did most of the work. I swear, that's the worst part of being the third wheel. I'm happy Twilight became a princess too. Now maybe her and I can be tasked to some bigger tasks," she answers.
You look at her with a smile as the two of you turn toward the resting room where it all began.
"You think that running a country is a smaller task?" you ask. Cadance chuckles and shakes her head.
"Ever since Sombra left, the country basically runs itself. A few signatures there, an odd decree or judgment call there and the crystal ponies barely need my help. It's almost like they just need somepony there to pat them on the back and tell them good job. Like, heroes. I'm able to be their heroine," she answers.
"That's a rather elegant way of putting it," you reply. "Had you thought about that before?"
"I think I copied that from a book I read," she answers with a smile. "And then I put it into a letter to Celestia after things got settled in the Crystal Empire. So, by now it's ingrained into my brain whether I like it or not, like a catchy song." You chuckle and shake your head.
"You know, you could have totally claimed that it was your own and I would have been impressed. Now I'm just going to give you a hard time and ask if what you said was taken from a book," you tease. The Princess's face scrunches then her gaze turns to you.
"Not everything nice I say is from a book," she persists.
"Which one was that from?" you ask, trying to keep a straight face.
"You should be happy it's not nice to hurt someone on crutches," she retorts.
The two of you walk by each other side by side and with bright cheerful faces as you make your way to your destination. You turn to look at her, wondering if this is what it'll be like... when it's all over. Her streaked, flawless hair bounces gently with each of her strides and her smile perfectly lines her face. She turns to you, slightly blushing.
"What's up?" she asks gently.
"Nothin. Just thinkin," you reply.
"About what?" she asks.
"I just think... it's a little funny. We've spent such little time together and we just... fit," you answer. Cadance chuckles and returns her gaze to the path in front of her.
"Maybe it's a sign," she coos. You return your gaze to the path in front of you, smiling.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," you answer. "I just wanted to make sure I wasn't the only one that..." Cadance shook her head gently.
"Not at all. It's a little weird for me too, but I like it," she replies.
"Me too," you answer. Cadance turns down the same path that the guards took you down to send you to her chambers. It was hard to believe it was only a matter of hours ago.
"So, uh. How are we going to talk to Celestia about this?" you ask. Cadance looks back to you with curiosity.
"We?" she asks. You look back at her, your brow furrowing.
"Well, you know. I figured it would be better if we told her together," you said. "I mean, if I wasn't there, what would it make me look like?" Cadance looked forward and quietly thought to herself.
"I hadn't really considered that before..." she answered quietly.
Was Cadance adamant about doing this alone? If so, why? Here the two of you were, talking about how the two of you just seem to work and then she tries to distance herself the next second. What was she thinking?
"Is that a problem?" you ask curiously. She stops and turns to you, looking up and down the hallway the two of you stood in. You halt as well and turn to her, expecting an answer.
"Listen, Anon. We're in tricky territory right now... the more we're seen together, the more questions could be raised," she answered.
"But, I mean, we're going to get this resolved as quickly as possible, right?" you replied. "If we get it out in the open, why does it matter? I mean, not the citizens, but Celestia and the other Princesses. They are going to find out anyway, so why not be forward with them?" Cadance sighed and shook her head.
"I guess you're kinda right... but I'm still worried about the ponies of the empire finding out. Plus..." she trails off, looking away from you. You study her troubled expression as she turns back to look into your eyes.
"I have no idea how to tell Twilight... if Shining hasn't already told her some sort of lie. I'm worried I might lose one of my closest friends," she sighs.
Biting your lip, you remember the way Twilight was accusing Cadance of betraying her brother. That time might have already passed... Unless you can reveal the truth, that is. Cadance looks back at you, her usually calm expression painted with concern. Moving a hand from a crutch, you rest a hand on her cheek. A smile gently forms on her face as she presses into your caress.
"It's all going to work out. I promise," you coo. "I'm going to do everything I can to get this set straight." She nods and the confidence returns to her eyes.
"We are going to go everything we can," she replies.
"Together," you add. Pulling your hand back for your crutch, you lean up straight and turn back to the room with your forbidden marefriend.
"So wait, why are we going back to the room, then?" you ask. Cadance sighs and her positivity drains.
"To get what will make our talk to Celestia really easy..." she answered. You look to her with equal parts concern and curiosity.
"What is that?"
"It's something that I found... I don't think he knows I found it yet. I didn't want to move it or he would know that I found it," she replied. âIt proves that... he was with somepony else.â
"Oh... I see," you replied.
A part of you wanted to drill for what the evidence was, but you could see how much it hurt for her to talk about. Maybe it would be better to not press for details. Plus, you will probably see it soon, once she recovers it.
"So, what will we tell Celestia?" you ask. Cadance shakes her head slowly.
"I'm... really not sure yet. I think the fact that we're... well, this, doesn't seem to be something we should parade. I figure we should stick to the facts and keep it short. I'll tell her everything that I know and give her my evidence... then see what happens from there," she says.
"I think that sounds like the best we can do," you mention. "I can say that once you shared all of the information with me, that I encouraged you to share all of this with her." Cadance nods in reply.
"However, she's going to ask a question about that," you add, "and I think you know what it is." She turns to you with a miserable, questioning gaze. You can tell it's really stressing her to go through this.
"She's going to want to know why you didn't go to her sooner," you conclude. Cadance looks to the floor and sighs.
"Yeah," she replies sullenly.
So, why didn't she? Come on Cadance, answer the question. It had to be more than that she had a crush on you. Why now, at one of the heights of the Equestrian year, with so many spectators and possible eavesdroppers in close vicinity?
"She won't like my answer..." she answers. Your gaze remains transfixed on her, as she looks to you, nearly pleading not to say it out loud.
"You'll have to tell her the truth," you add. Cadance nods and sighs.
"I know. I know," the princess concludes.
As the two of you approach the private quarters, some of the nervousness begins to settle in again. Twilight was excited to introduce you to the ruler of Equestria earlier today and that didn't seem so daunting. Now the circumstances have changed and now you worry about coming off as the brutish ape that you used to be mistaken for. The same image that Shining is going to try and pass you off as to bolster his lies.
"Alright. Let's just grab our things and get to Celestia. The sooner that we can talk to her, the sooner this can all get sorted out," you say, more for yourself rather than your marefriend.
Cadance nods and the handle glows with a gentle, light blue light. The door pulls itself open with a loud creak.
Alright, Twilight. Stick to the plan. The first thing she should do is meet up with her brother like she promised. Shining let you go hear Anon's side, like she asked... but things don't seem to be adding up. Anon wouldn't lie... but neither would her brother, right?
Then why do the stories seem... different.
The only thing she could do was go and ask her brother to clear things up. Plus, she needed to stop and do some research on this 'compatibility spell', and if it really did exist. At a brisk trot, she moved towards his and Cadance's quarters. Shining had mentioned he wanted help getting some of his things out of that room, so her best shot was there.
He wasn't sure where he was going to put them yet, but as long as they weren't there. Thoughts of Anon swirled through her head as she made her way to her destination. What irked her the most about Anon's story... was how it began to make a few of the pieces line up. She could still remember when she first introduced Anon to Cadance. To him, it was just supposed to be a simple lunch to have a friend get to know another friend. But, not to her.
Cadance was going to try and help her try to discover a way to win his heart. Yet, after she introduced him to her, Cadance seemed to be at a total blank for ideas. After that, her average time in between letters increased by two whole days. Two. Whole. Days.
So, in a way, what he is saying makes sense... but, something still doesn't seem right. One of the two of them would come to her if there was a problem in their marriage. They would have to! It would just make sense. You're their sister in law!
Twilight groaned and stared at the floor as she made her way to her destination.
Either way, she needed to find some answers. The best place to start would be with herbrother. She didn't press him too hard because he was so upset when he came to her. Most of what he said was a jumble of words anyway. Now, she needed to get a clear story from him and try to piece together the facts. However, how would he react? Would he feel betrayed that she didn't trust his words at face value?
She sighed as she made the final turn into the VIP living quarters. To be honest, she wasn't entirely sure who was telling the truth. Everypony just wanted her to be on their side. How could she choose a side when she don't know all the facts? All of these important ponies in her life are at each others' throats and she couldn't even have the solace of her crush or her best friend to comfort her.
At least, when things get tough, family is always there for you. Right?
"I suppose I'll find out," she whispered.
Twilight approached the doors to the private room and turned the handle. Twilight pushed her way inside and instantly spotted Shining levitating fancy clothes across the room and shoving it into a large ornate trunk.
"Hey, Shining," she called to her brother as she closed the door behind her.
"Hey, Twiley," he replied sternly, keeping his focus on his task at hand. She placed one hoof in front of the other as she watched him furiously toss item after item into the chest. What could she even say to him? She'd never seen him this angry before. How could she possibly relate? Sure, she may have lost herr crush... but losing your spouse? The one pony that he was closest to in all of Equestria?
"How... are you holding up?" she asked. He remained silent as he stopped to survey the room. Shining set his furious gaze onto Twilight.
"I don't even know what to think at the moment. This has all been happening too fast for me to comprehend," he said quietly.
Twilight took a few steps closer to him and took a glance towards the trunk.
"Just some clothes from the palace?" she asked, trying to tip-toe gently into asking him to reiterate his story one more time.
"Yeah. Just some of the essentials. My guard uniform is in the guard's quarters. I'm going to probably stay there tonight," he said, returning his attention to his work.
"How can I help?"
"I, uhm. I don't know. Just talk. I guess," he groaned, grabbing another set of clothes and pushing the dresses to the other side of the massive closet with more force than necessary. Twilight looked to the floor as she tried to think of something to say. Maybe the best thing to do right now would be to keep him distracted.
"Have you written to Mom and Dad lately?" she asked.
"No, I haven't," he said bluntly. "How are they?"
She looked back up to him, grateful he didn't sound like he was dying a slow and torturous death.
"They have been concerned you hadn't written lately. They were going to come out and see my in the next few weeks. Maybe you would want to join us for a weekend?" she asked cautiously. He looked down to the bottom of the closet and tossed a box into the trunk with his pink magical aura.
"Yeah, that sounds nice. Any chance to get away would be great," he answered, moving over to the bed and sitting on it. âI might even go stay with them for awhile.â
He placed a hoof on the back of his neck and rubs it, staring at the floor. Moving to her brother, she sat on the bed beside him.
"You could probably talk to them about anything that's on your mind... or me," she said. "If you wanna talk about it... at least in more detail than last time."
He sighed and buried his face into his hooves.
Twilight looked up to the walls of the room and spotted a massive bend and small hole that was in the wall of the room. It roughly resembled the shape of the human. Looking back down to Shining, she wondered how Anon could have withstood an assault like that.
"I just don't know where it started to go wrong..." he began, his tone filled with grief. "I mean... maybe we haven't had the easiest marriage... but we had each other..."
She scooted closer to him and placed a hoof on his back.
"How were things hard?" she asked.
Shining shook his head.
"You already know. I mean, on our wedding day she was kidnapped and I didn't even know until you saved her. From then, I devoted myself to ensure I kept her safe. Things seemed to be wonderful, even when we had to cancel the honeymoon to protect the Crystal Empire. At least that time I was able to be there to protect and support her. After that... I don't know. I was bored just being a prince, so I took a leading guard position. We got caught up in all of our day to day tasks that we never rescheduled a honeymoon."
Twilight nodded along to his story as he searched between the tiles on the floor for a hidden answer to his problem.
"Then... I don't know what happened. I had to pick up some extra time with the guard to train new recruits. She said she was fine with it... but she began to become more distant. I wasn't sure what it was. I began to try to do nice things for her, just to be sweet. It just seemed like she wasn't enthusiastic about anything. I couldn't get her to open up or talk to me. She just maintained that everything was alright..." Shining looked down at his hooves and ran one through his hair.
"I even thought... maybe I would man up and offer something that I knew she wanted, but I wasn't ready yet for... a foal. I mean, I was worried we wouldn't have enough time, but it it would have made her happy..."
"Shining-" Twilight began.
"Yeah. I know it was stupid to think that a foal could have saved things, but I was desperate. I couldn't think of anything else," he sighed. He turned and looked at the bed the two of them were sitting on.
"Then I walk in here... and here she is... with him. It boils my blood just to think about it," he whispered.
Twilight's heart ached and muscles hurt to see her brother hurt this way. The one pony that she always looked up to and admired, her BBFFF, destroyed in a matter of hours; Internalizing his pain from the rest of the world so that nopony had to worry about him.
"I just wonder... if there was something I could have done differently in the beginning..." he quietly mumbled.
"Shining. I don't think it's a good thing for you to be in here," she said.
All he is going to do in this room is beat himself up and hurt even more. The best thing to do would be to get him out and try to get the rest of the story after that. Shining looked across the room, starting from the bed and tracing the invisible path to the broken drywall.
"I suppose you are right..." he sighed. "I'll just get even more miserable to be around."
"Now don't talk like that," she said with a smile and your best cheerful tone. "I want to be here for you. That's what little sisters are for."
Shining turned to you and faintly smiled. Maybe the years of being around Pinkie are beginning to pay off.
"You're right. Thanks, Twiley,â he answered, life returning to his voice.
Leaping off the bed, Twilight trotted over to Shining's chest of things with her best smile.
"Is there anything else you need to grab? Until all of this is over, you can stay in my room," she replied. Shining weakly rose to his hooves and looked around the room.
"I... think that should be everything. I can't think of anything else..." he said.
Twilight approached his open chest and channel power into your horn to begin to levitate his things.
"Good. That way you won't have to come back to here and see the painful memory. Now let's-"
But before Twilight could finish, she paused. The final item that Shining tossed into his chest laid open and scattered across his crumpled clothes. A box, with it's lid tossed aside and carrying several developed pictures, sits on top in a mess.
"Get out of here..." she finished, her curiosity rising.
Taking a few of the pictures, she tossed them back into the box one by one. Quickly, she glanced at each photo as she returned them to their container. A picture of her and Shining. A family portrait. A training exercise with a younger him and his fellow new recruits. A smile curled on your face, viewing the photos that Shining valued the most.
Until you find a wedding picture of him and Cadance. That one was placed in it's home facing down.
"Alright, let's go then," he said, turning to focus his attention on twilight. Grabbing the last photo, she stopped to take a quick glance. When she sawthe picture, her blood ran cold.
"Twilight?" he questioned. âWhat's wrong?â
"What is this?" she asked quietly. "And who is the mare in this photo?"
He stared back at her, standing up straight. She held the picture up to him, showing him in his guard uniform, while another mare with ice blue eyes, a scarlet mane, and fur as white as snow, laughed together at a bar as she wore his helmet. There was no mistaking that the photo was recent. Plus, she wore crystal armor that every guard in the castle used.
"I promise, I can explain," he said quietly. Twilight looked at photo again and flipped it to the other side, unable to process what she just found.
"A night I'll never forget," she read aloud. "Signed by a 'Melody.' Who is Melody, Shining?"
"Twilight, I promise I can explain, let's just get out of this room-â
"No, I think I want you to tell me now," she said, her blood heating up.
How could this possibly be different than it looks? Is it just a close friend? Anon's story is beginning to all add up.
"Twilight, please. I'll tell you. I just don't want-"
How dare her brother not tell her the full truth?! If there was one thing that she was getting tired of, it was all of the secrets and lies. However, that meant the only person who hasn't lied to her yet is-
The doorknob rattled as the two of them turn to the entrance to the room. Quickly, Twilight hid the picture in the ruffles of her wing feathers. The door opened slowly...
to reveal Anonymous and Cadance, entering together. The two paused as they stepped inside and exchanged stares at between Twilight and her brother. The room went deathly silent as she turned to her brother. His frame tensed up and a fire burned in his eyes. Shining's body began to tremble, but not in anger. It was as if he were struggling to simply remain calm.
Twilight's gaze turned to Anon, who took a few steps back the instant he saw Shining. Cadance quickly stepped in front of her crush, to block him out of her husband's direct path. Goosebumps formed on the back of Twilight's neck as she walked slowly to her brother.
'This is bad. Very, very bad,' Twilight thought.
She had to try and diffuse this situation before it escalated. Last time, Anon was injured. Nopony else should make a mistake they can't reverse today. Certainly not while she was in the room.
"We were just making our way out. Weren't we, Shining," she said to him with a leading tone, getting directly in between him and the hateful glare of his wife. Shining looks from her, back to them, then returns to Twilight.
"Yeah. We're getting out of here," he muttered.
His horn lits up in pink energy and the trunk slammed shut as it slowly lifted into the air. He walked towards the door firmly. His eyes only focused on exiting the room, rather than the two sets of eyes that glared him down. Cadance and Anon stepped inside the room, towards the broken wall, to get out of his way. Shining stepped into the hallway, then turned back to Twilight with a deadly stare.
âComing?â he asked. Twilight nodded and place oned hoof in front of the other. Slowly she followed her brother's hoofsteps. The picture felt as if it were burning a hole in her wing, but Twilight wasn't sure if it was worse than the knife in throat from the glare. The glare of the other couple in the room.
Are they the ones telling the truth?
She stepped into the doorway of the bedroom and looked back to her two friends. Hopefully not... former friends. She opened her mouth to say something, but she couldn't find the words. Should she give them what she found? Should she talk to Anon? Could she ever talk to Anon after all of this ends? Could she bear seeing Cadance holding and protecting the human that she loved?
Say something, Twilight. Anything.
âLet's go,â Shining muttered as he turned away and moved towards her room. With a glance to her brother and one last look to Anon... Twilight found that only one word crossed your mind.
"Sorry," she muttered, the door to the bedroom quietly closing in front of her.
The door closes with a click behind Twilight as she leaves the bedroom. Sorry? What in the world was she sorry for? Your gaze turns to Cadance, who immediately moved between you and her husband as a protective shield when she saw your attacker. Her eyes are stern, focused on the door for any sign of a surprise attack.
"I think they're gone," you say to the Princess. Cadance's tense body relaxes at your voice. She lets out a sigh and lowers her flank on the ground to sit.
"Yeah," she answers distantly, still focused on the door. Hobbling closer to her, her gaze moves to ground in reflection.
"What's on your mind?" you ask, placing your hand under her face and lifting it up to eye level. "Talk to me." The mare's deep violet pools stare back at you, attempting to mask a world of concern that leaks through the corners of her face. She shouldn't have to worry about what's going on behind her back any more. You would do anything to crack open those concerns and let them free.
In this room, should be the proof of his infidelity to seal the deal. Whatever it is. All you have to do is find it and all of this can be over with.
"It's just... seeing Twilight like that. We were so close..." she starts, her voice trying to conceal a sense of hurt, as one would attempt to pass off a bad cramp as nothing. "I knew that if I went to talk to her about everything that happened, she would get involved and try to make things better... but now I'm just worried that I lost her as a friend, too." Her eyes move from the imprint on the wall of your body, to the spot where she protected you from his onslaught.
"She's trying to be supportive of her brother," you reply softly. "Family has to come first... right?" Cadance looks back down to the marble floor.
"I suppose so... the closest I have to family is Princess Celestia. I never really knew my parents. I was found in the woods when I was a foal and... Well, that's for another time," she answers. "I understand why... it just doesn't stop it from hurting."
You move closer to her and wrap an arm around her, while your other clings to a crutch for balance. Cadance buries her head into your chest and you can feel her horn cradle itself on your shoulder for support.
"I'm sure everything will work out fine. Twilight never abandons her friends," you say.
However, do you really believe that yourself, Anon? Do you think that after your argument and determination to prove her wrong, she is going to forgive you for all of this? What if you are wrong? What if Cadance is playing you for the fool and she's been right all along? Would you be able to look her in the eye and apologize, hoping everything will go back to normal? Or what about the other way around? What if you are right? Would she be able to do the same?
Your gaze looks down to the alicorn in your arms and your heart flutters like a baby bird seeing it's mother come home. Or, is this now your life? Is the short-term hurt going to outweigh what you might have for the rest of your life?
The alicorn holds you closely as your mind races with possibilities of things that could possibly go wrong, but you slowly feel your concerns wash away with a gentle wave of reassurance. Her soft, silken hair acts as a pillow for your head. You take a deep breath and waft in the delicate scent of fresh lavender growing in a blooming summer prairie. It filled your head with visions of a bright sunny day, picnics and making shapes out of the clouds that pass by.
"You know... you smell nice," she says, rubbing her cheek gently against the fabric of your shirt. Really? Thank god for deodorant. It's almost like... you calm her in the same way that she calms you.
"You smell nice too," you whisper. "I think, I could get used to it." She lets out a contented sigh, but breaks the hug to focus.
"We need to find those photos," Cadance says while approaching the closet. "Now, when I found them... they were sitting in a box..." She trails off as the doors to the closet light up with a gentle blue glow and the doors open wide.
However, the closet lies half empty, a near shadow of it's former self. What was once stocked by the helpful staff of the castle and brought to this facility for the events of the game, has been torn apart as a result of clothes being ripped off of hangars and empty holes of what used to be organized weekly attire left it bleeding and empty. Cadance's body shivers as gravity begins trying to pull her down to the ground so she couldn't get back up.
"Oh no..." she whispers, her pupils dilating. She pushes the clothes to each side of the closet and looks deeper inside as you move closer to to her.
"What's wrong?" you ask, half expecting the answer.
"I think he took them. The photo of him being with... her," she answers, pushing personal belongings aside as she frantically searches. "It was the only proof I had... The guard doesn't work at the castle anymore, so I can't find her to have her attest for her actions." Cadance stops and turns to you. "You don't think he took it in that chest, do you?" she asks. You nod almost instantly.
"He has to be covering his tracks. Why did the guard get fired? It's really suspicious that this other guard is just suddenly gone," you reply.
"Something about bringing on too many recruits. I don't know," she sighs, sitting down and rubbing her head with a hoof as if she suddenly grew a migraine the size of Ponyville. "That wasn't really what I was paying attention to when I was filled in on the news."
"Right... sorry," you reply, hobbling to the closet and peeking inside as well. Sure enough, there wasn't anything resembling a box on the closet floor.
"Now what should we do?" you ask.
"I'm trying to think," she answers quietly. "I'm not sure there is a lot we -can- do. I mean, right now, we look like the bad ones.â You bite your lip.
She's right, it's been pretty apparent to some of the ponies that you and Cadance might be a little more than friends at this point. The guards would probably know something by now. At very least, the nurse that took care of you. If Shining got her to talk to Celestia, they could make it look like Cadance was the one in the wrong. You look up at the Princess as you consider your words. Perhaps, more in the wrong, is the better phrase. What you were doing right now with her is technically wrong. However, given the circumstances...
"Maybe we should just try... talking the situation through with Celestia. Maybe she will listen to me and understand some of this," she suggests.
"Do you think that we could convince her?" you ask.
"I don't think we have many other choices..." she says. You look from her, to the imprint of your body on the wall, and back to Cadance.
"I think there is one more option... but you won't like it," you reply. She looks up to you with concern in her eyes.
"What's that?"
"We get the photos back," you reply. "We'll have to find out where he's staying and take the box back. I thought Twilight told me he'd stay in her room and-"
"But, we have to tell Celestia something. Plus, there's no way he'd just give us-" She pauses when she sees the determination in your eyes. "Anon, surely you aren't saying-"
"I go into Twilight's room when nobody's around, find the box, get out before anyone can find me, meanwhile, you go talk to Celestia," you answer. "Time is of the essence. Plus, now it might be better if you did the talk without me, since we don't have proof of Shining-" You pause before finishing the sentence and Cadance immediately jumps in.
"Anon, that's insane. Your leg is broken. You can barely go through doors. How do you think you could pull off some sort of-"
"I don't. I can't even say I could, but if Shining roughs me up anymore, he's going to have to answer to more than you, it only puts more bad light on him. Also, we don't really have a choice. That is the only evidence you have, right?" Cadance pauses tilts her head in thought. Her gaze narrows as her mind races with possibilities, but sighs and returns her gaze to you.
"Nothing. Nothing else," she replies.
"Then that's what we will have to do," you answer, standing up straighter.
"No, it's not an option," she retorts. "I can do it-"
"And if you get caught? What then? You're digging for evidence on purpose through your husband's things to make him look bad."
"How would it make it better if you got caught?" she asks.
"I came with Twilight here on the train. We even shared some of the same baggage. I can at least say that I'm looking for something that could be mine," you answer.
"Really?" she asks. "Is that the truth?"
"Well, mostly. You know Twilight, how she doubles and triple checks everything. She knew for a fact that all of my things were removed from her bags, but I can always go back and claim I forgot something, swearing I packed it. It's a legitimate excuse," you say. Cadance looks from you, to the closet, then to the floor with a reserved sigh.
"I hate this," she says. "All of this. None of this should have ever happened." You wrap yourself around her one more time and gently kiss the top of her head.
"It's not what happens to us, but how we react to it that defines who we are." Her warm body presses against you tighter as she straightens up and takes a deep breath.
"Then, I'll talk to Celestia, and you go to get the photo. Meet here in... an hour?" she asks.
"One last little thing..." Cadance says, moving to her dresser.
"What's that?" you ask. Pulling on one of the drawers, and lifting a false bottom to the drawer, she reveals a small, decorated crystal bottle filled with a gentle pink liquid.
"High quality, imported. For the nerves," she says.
"Is this really the right time for a shot?" you ask cautiously. She looks at you with a smile.
"It's not strong. I can't hold liquor at all. After the week is over, I'm swearing off the stuff for a long time," she says. "Just for the nerves."
"Well, alright. For the nerves," you answer, hobbling over to her as she pulls out two small crystal goblets. You're sure they would probably seem a lot more beautiful and seem much more ornate if you weren't in a city made of crystal. The bottle wasn't large and was already about a third empty.
She carefully poured two small helpings into the glasses evenly and recorked the bottle, replacing it in her dresser where it was hidden from sight. She levitated one of the goblets to you, which had only maybe a gulp or two of liquid in it, and thought to herself.
"What should we toast to?" she asks. "A drink this special deserves one." You think carefully over the options in your head for a toast, but nothing seems to come to mind. Toasting to love would seem a tad too cliche. To the Crystal Empire?
"How about... to the truth. That we will unveil the truth of this situation to all the doubters and give you a second chance at living again. How's that?" you ask with a smile. She takes a moment to look deeply into your eyes as a smile slowly returns to her face.
"I'll drink to that," she says.
She levitates her goblet to yours they tap each other with a light clink. Bringing the liquid to your lips, you are immediately overwhelmed by the taste of strawberries and cranberries mixing together into array of alternating tartness and sweetness. You would never guess that there was alcohol in the drink by it's flavor. That said, you were never one for those fancy wine tastings that Rarity had, so after it looked like you truly appreciated the flavor, you gulped it down.
"Mmm. Really, fruity," you answered. "It's nice." Cadance nods, then takes the goblet from your hand and replaces them both on the dresser.
"Alright then. Let's do this,â she says.
After the door closed with a thud, Twilight followed her brother in silence. Shining stared ahead with an expression of stone, unblinking and deep in thought. She held tightly to the picture that was nestled in her wing feathers. What did this picture mean? Has he been lying to her? At very least, he's been hiding something. How can he be hiding something from her?! Still!
Twilight felt that she had been doing everything she could to help him, and he still wouldn't give her the whole story. Anger burned in her chest as she trotted behind him, staring daggers at his back. One step at a time, Shining led the way to Twilight's room as his belongings floated in mid-air.
"Are we going to talk about what just happened?" she asked quietly.
"What's there to talk about?" he asked.
"The two of you barely said a word to each other."
"What is there to say?" he answered.
Her gaze returned to the floor as he trudged onward. Even when he was rejected from the guard for the first time, he never acted like a jerk. Even when Twilight didn't approve of Cadance when she was a Changeling Queen in disguise, he wasn't this harsh. There was acid in his words and spite in his voice. Shining wasn't a hateful person. Then why was he acting this way?
What changed? What does the picture mean? What could he have done to have Cadance latch onto Anon so hard? None of this makes sense. It ate Twilight from the inside out that the only person willing to be completely honest with her was Anon.
Even then, there was no way that he knows everything either. Yet, with every step she took, the image began to become clearer and clearer. She just needed to hear Shining say it.
Her eyes focused on your brother as the two of them approach Twilight's room. Of course, with enough beds for Twilight and the other girls. The only pony who could tell Twilight the full truth about what is going on is Shining. She wouldn't blackmail him... but with this photo, it'll be hard for him to lie his way out of telling the truth. Even then, it's only the part of the truth that he will be willing to share.
At this point... she didn't care how terrible what he did was. She just wanted the truth. The lies needed to stop now.
With a pink glow, the doors to the room opened and Shining entered. Twilight followed him into the room as he sat his things down against the far wall and leaped onto one of the six nearby beds that were reserved for her friends. Closing the doors behind her as she entered, Twilight moved towards her brother, taking the picture out of her wing with the purple glow of her magic.
"So, what are you going to tell me about this?" she asked coldly, displaying the evidence. Shining looked up to her and groans.
"What do you want me to say?" he asked.
"The truth. Everything. You've been shutting me out and hiding too much from me. I can't help you if I don't know exactly what was going on between you, Cadance and whoever this is."
Shining sighed and buried his face in the mattress.
"If you don't tell me, then I won't help you," she said.
"Fine. You want everything? Every tiny detail? Fine," he said, rolling over and sitting up to face her. "Everything I already told you was true. Everything felt like it was falling apart. We had less and less time together. The spark was fading. I was too tired to really do anything to and mend it, so I just didn't try."
He ran a hoof through his mane and sighed, looking away from his sister.
"One day, I met this mare named Melody. She was a new guard. Mare guards never tend to stick around long once the stallions start to single them out. I wanted to make a difference and ensure that it didn't matter what gender a pony is, a guard is a guard."
He shook his head in shame before continuing.
"All I was doing was to try and be friendly and make her feel welcome, but we ended up really just... connecting. I dunno. It was really weird. I hadn't really felt that way since the academy. She picked up the work of a guard like she had watching the drills her entire life. I saw a lot of myself in her, so I began to mentor her a bit. I saw a lot of potential."
Twilight nodded as she looked at the picture and studied the smiling face of the white mare with the crimson mane.
"It's pretty customary to take the new recruits out for a drink after they pass training. We went out for drinks and it was just like... Just like..." Shaking her head in disappointment, Twilight walked over to her luggage and looked for a bag to carry some things; Her mind working on a plan of action for what to do next.
"Like magic?" she suggested with a sigh.
"It was almost more than that. I can't remember all of it... but I remember I didn't wake up in the castle. I woke up in some bed in a rent-a-room and she was gone. It didn't take much to piece everything together."
Shining sighed and looked to the floor.
"When I got back to the castle, Cadance wouldn't even say a word to me. She'd barely look at me. She knew why I didn't come home. I smelled like somepony else. I looked like trash. She knew. She didn't know who, but she knew. I regretted it. I regretted it so much. I promised to make it up to her. That I would do anything. That it would never happen again, but the damage was done."
Shining looks back to the floor, deep in reflection.
"Is that everything?" Twilight asked, pulling out a messenger bag that she brought from home. "No secrets?"
"Yeah. That's everything. I cheated. I messed up. If I could take it back, I would, but I can't, so all I can do is live with it. She left the guard the next day. Stopped showing up to shifts without a word. The guards couldn't find her as a normal civilian either. It's like she just... disappeared. They gave me this picture because they knew we were friends. I don't think they know, but they could just be quiet about all of it. I'd almost be sure that a few know, but won't say anything."
She sighed and shook her head. He did. He directly hid all of this from her. Shining cheated and tried to make himself look like the victim to you.
"Shining, I'm really disappointed in you," she told him flatly. "However, it doesn't make what Cadance is doing with Anon right either, while the two of you are still married."
He stared at the floor and sighed.
"Do you think I can save this? Do you think Cadance and I can ever go back to normal?" he asked. Twilight bit her lip, knowing the difference between what's realistic and what he wants to hear.
"I don't know. Maybe," she answered in her best attempt to have him not lose hope, but be honest. "I'm not sure if she wants to, based on how she's acting."
"Right. I mean- Yeah. You're right."
With a sigh, she took the picture of Shining's mistake and placed it in your bag. This... completely supports Anon's story. But, one thing still isn't apparent to you. Why does Anon and Cadance's story have so many weird things in it? What is a compatibility spell? Why can nopony find this mare?
"I'm going to hold onto this for now. Once I have the full picture on what's going on, I'll decide what to do with this," she said, referring to the photo. Shining sat up and looked at her with a glare.
"Wait a minute, why don't I get-"
"I don't think this is 100% your fault, Shining. I mean... The pieces still aren't completely adding up," she answered. "While this is here, it's only going to show people the picture they want to see and there has to be more than just this."
Shining looked at you uneasily, then resigned his eyes to the ground, accepting his fate.
"I don't know what to do," he grumbled. "But, I trust your better judgment. Alright."
"I'm going to fly to the castle and do some research on a few questions I have regarding these stories."
"Questions?" Shining asked. "Questions about what?"
She looked over to answer him, but held her tongue. Does he really need to know about the details about Anon and Cadance? It seemed like it would only hurt him.
"The stories line up, but both of the parts seem to have missing pieces," she replied. He froze, his muscles tense.
"What do you mean?" he asked. "I thought that everything was pretty set in stone? My goose is cooked, Twilight. Once they prove what happened with Melody-"
"That's only going to happen, when I let it happen," she answered calmly. He stared at you in surprise.
"When?" he asked.
"When. I'm not going to hide this, Shining, but if you want to give this to Cadance and Anon yourself, I won't stop you."
He looked at you, then to the bag. The stallion shook his head.
"I can't. Not yet."
Twilight turned away from him and headed to the balcony window.
"Fair enough. Get some rest. By the time I'm back, I think this whole ordeal will finally be settled," she said confidently.
Her words didn't seem to calm her brother. On one hand, she didn't intend to. How could Shining cheat on Cadance? Shining wasn't that kind of stallion.
He looked from you, to his belongings. With his magic, he opened the trunk and carefully levitated his small box of pictures to him.
"I'll see you when you get back," he said weakly. Twilight pushed down on her wings with all her might, the force pushing her into the air. With another strong push, she set her course for the nearby Crystal Castle. Where, sitting deep inside Cadance's private study, hopefully was a few answers about love magic.
"Be careful, okay?" Cadance asks gently as the two of you step outside of her bedroom.
"I've got this," you reply. "I'll be in and out of that room, with the proof, in no time." She examines the features of your face closely as she takes a step towards the Princess balcony of the games.
"I just hope you're right."
"Go ahead and talk to Celestia. I don't expect that to be a fun conversation to be a part of," you add.
"Alright. One hour, meet back here," she says.
"Deal." She takes another step away, but turns back to you and wraps her hooves around you in a tight hug. "I'll be fine, Caddy." Pulling back, she wears a wide smile.
"See you soon," she says.
"See you soon," you answer.
She makes her way towards her objective as you turn towards yours. Alright, Anon. You can do this. Just put one crutch in front of the other. With a firm grip, you limp forward through the wing of VIP rooms. Twilight took you to her room earlier yesterday and the two of you just hung out. So, you know exactly where you're headed.
Hopefully, your guess that Shining is going to stay in Twilight's room is correct. Although, It's possible he could be going to stay in the guard quarters. If he did... that would make your task ten times harder. First things first, though. You have to get to Twilight's room and not get caught.
However, the halls are quiet and the guards outside Luna and Celestia's rooms only watch you as you pass by. They've seen you with princesses the last few days. Surely they don't see anything suspicious in you casually strolling the hallway of VIP rooms. Other than this time you are in crutches.
That said though, the crutches are getting a little easier to use. Of course, you couldn't run if a pony tried to chase you down, but you could at least navigate the grounds a little bit faster. With her door in sight, you sigh in relief as there is no guard posted. Twilight and Cadance were likely supposed to be out on the balcony right now, which would mean their rooms should be guarded.
However, during Cadance and Shining's drama, the guards to their room must have been dismissed. Twilight still wanted a little bit of freedom from the Princess title, so she didn't want guards posted. At least, for right now. Which gives you the perfect chance to strike.
Approaching the door, you hear only silence on the other side. Looking back down the hallway, you watch to see if the other guards are still watching you. They remain at attention, staring forward without a word. Perfect. It's go time.
Leaning in, you press your ear against the door to listen for any sort of sounds from the inside. Only silence replies to you. You take a deep breath and take a step back. Alright, this is it. Placing a hand on the door, you quietly pull it open and carefully place a crutch in it's path to prevent it from closing on you. Carefully shuffling your weight, you push yourself into the room and take a quick survey of the situation.
The room was almost empty, with the exception of the luggage of Twilight and your friends. You quickly spot Shining's luggage on the far wall as you scan the rest of the room. Then, you see the blue maned stallion, laying on Twilight's bed, curled into a ball. You hold your breath as your muscles tighten. Of course.
Of course he would not only be staying here, but would be resting in the room at this very moment. That's just your luck. But, you have to get to that luggage. Cadance is counting on you.
Watching him carefully, he doesn't stir from his slumber. Maybe if you play this right, you can end up getting the pictures without him waking up. Or... maybe it's too risky. What if he wakes up? You have crutches that clack on the floor every time you take a single step.
Scanning the floor, you look for the quietest path. The beds are all lined against the walls of the room. Covering the majority of the floor was a large, colorful rug that was just a few feet away. That would probably mask the sound of your movement. You look to the luggage again and find one of the trunks opened. If you looked in that one, you could probably check it out without making too much noise. Looking back to Shining, he hasn't even moved a muscle.
You check the bedside table as your heart drops. Sitting directly beside the bed he laid on was a small, rectangular box. It was probably big enough to hold pictures. Knowing your luck, that's probably the evidence that you need to collect. It would only make sense, if you needed to keep something safe the best options are to hide it or keep it close to you. You take a deep breath and let it out slowly.
This might be your only chance. There was no way you could steal something from here if a guard was posted. If Shining is here and trying to protect evidence, it would only be a matter of time that one would show up. You shake your head, in disbelief of what your about to attempt. This is the worst idea you've ever had, Anon.
Slowly, you make your way into the room, ensuring that when you press the crutches down the floor, that you let them down softly and then gently eased your weight onto it. Turning around, you gently let the door close by slowly pulling away the crutch. With a gentle click, the door returns to it's home and you look back to Cadance's husband. The azure maned stallion doesn't stir in the slightest. Perfect.
Slowly, you work your way onto the carpet. You'd tip-toe if it wouldn't horribly throw off your sense of balance. Setting one crutch on the carpeted area, you carefully make your way onto the safe zone. You let out a deep breath as a bead of sweat slowly forms on your forehead. Step one, complete.
You quietly make your way over to the bed-side table where Shining sleeps. Your blood boils just looking at him. He did this to you. A terrible idea enters your head for a fraction of a second.
He hurt Cadance. He's asleep. This is your chance to get back.
Shaking your head, you toss the idea from your head. What are you? A monster? You're better than that, Anon. At least, you think you are.
Standing at the edge of the carpet, you freeze as you stand a mere 3 feet away from your prize. You can do this. Just take it slow. Carefully pressing down on the first crutch, you pull yourself forward one pace. With another glance at Shining, you carefully shift your weight to your crutch and place the next one forward.
It hits the ground with a quiet thud, but it rang in your ears for what felt like a century. Shining refuses to budge an inch from dreamland, setting you more at ease. With one last shift of weight, you move your last crutch towards the dresser and pull yourself closer to it. Standing in front of the small box, you take a quick glance at Shining and see a small picture being held in his hoof. There's no way you can take that one.
However, if you're lucky, there's more than one. You reach out and slowly open the small box of pictures. Reaching inside, you pull out less than half a dozen pictures and carefully browse through them. You look carefully at the first one.
Shining and a unicorn Twilight smiling for a professional photo. Your gut clenches with you see Twilight. If she saw you now, rifling through her brother's belongings-
You close your eyes as you shuffle that picture to the back. Breathing slowly out your nose, you open your eyes to focus on the task at hand. You refocus on the picture of the Sparkle family. Shuffling that one again, before you had the chance to study Twilight's face, you find a picture of Shining with several recruits. Perfect.
You scan the picture carefully, but... there aren't any mares in this picture. In fact, this looks like Canterlot in this picture and Shining looks much, much younger. Moving to the next picture, you find him and the same stallions decorated in official entry-level guard uniforms, bearing the Canterlot crest and lined up for some form of ceremony. These must have been when he first joined the guard.
Are these what Cadance wanted? Shaking your head, you move to the next picture, which had the younger him and his fellow young recruits out of uniform, playing cards and drinking cider. Maybe this one? Maybe this night got too crazy? Except as you study the picture closely, there are still no mares.
Maybe it was actually a male guard and it was some weird misconception? Maybe Shining plays for both teams?
Moving to the final picture, you find a picture of him and Twilight at Twilight's coronation. Your heart lurches as you recognize the scene. You took this picture for Twilight. Shaking your head, you place the final picture to the back, returning to the front. These are certainly private pictures that Shining would want to keep safe.
Except... there's one problem. Nothing looks out of place. Much less anything that indicates some form of cheating.
You shuffle through the pictures over and over again, trying to find any sort of sliver of evidence. Panic fills your mind as you strain to look through the pictures for any form of wrong doing from Shining. Then, you look back down to the picture in his hoof. That must be it. But, there's only so much you can do.
Shining wouldn't attack you, but then he'd know for sure that you would've stolen these. Looking back into the box, nothing else sits inside. There's only one other option. Shoving the photos in your pocket, you gently close the box and turn 180 degrees towards where you entered.
Now, the only thing you can do is to try and get that last picture that Shining has from Twilight.
"Anon."
Your heart drops as you freeze in place at the recognizable masculine tone.
Run.
You try to move your crutch forward, but you can't seem to control your arms.
Run.
"Don't leave just yet," Shining says.
Slowly, you turn to him in horror as he sits up in bed, his eyes opened wide. Was he awake the whole time? Was he just studying what you were going to do? Did he have any intent on harming you? He gets out of Twilight's bed and his horn begins to light up with pink magic. You close your eyes and wince, prepared for the onslaught.
"If you're going to take all my precious memories from me, you might as well take my favorite one," he says softly.
A weak pressure is applies to one of your hands holding the crutches. Opening your eyes, you look back down to your hand to find a picture, enveloped in a pink aura, seeking to be held in your hand. You look up to him.
"Why?" you ask. He sighs.
"I'm done hiding all of this. I can't run away from my mistake. If you're going to take all of my pictures, take this one too. I don't think I'll need it anymore," he says solemnly.
You reach out and grab the picture he holds out to you. Turning it over, it's a picture of Shining in a spectacular suit and Cadance in a beautiful white and gold wedding dress, locked in a deep kiss. Guilt settles in your stomach as you look at the gift you've been given. You look back up to him as he looks at you in a combination of anger, disgust, but resignation. He looks as if he has simply... given up. If the circumstances were different...
Well, there's no point in really thinking about it, is there?
"I'm going to confess to Celestia. I think, she deserves it," he says. You sigh, looking down at how happy Cadance is in the picture.
"Thanks," you reply.
You turn away from him and head towards the door slowly, not having a reason to try to be quiet anymore nor the energy to try to be.
"Uhm," he says.
You look over your shoulder as you open the door. He looks at you in the eyes and stands up straight and confident.
"Do you think you can make her happy?" he asks.
You stare at him, trying to understand what his end game might be. Is he trying to guilt you? To get into your head? Well, there's no point now. The game is over. You have all the pictures.
"All I can do is try," you reply sternly.
Turning away from him, you push through the door, allowing it to close shut behind you with it's own weight.
Twilight flapped her wings hard, putting as much distance between herself and the stadium of the Equestria Games as possible. The air that rushed past her was fast, chilly, and caused her eyes to water. Normally she wouldn't fly at such an intense speed, since she didn't have the luxury of learning how to fly when she was a foal. However this was a matter of major importance, so she toughed through the pain.
It was time to get to the bottom of all of this nonsense. The Crystal Empire passed by underneath her, with it's many streets, citizens and guests decorated to the max for the long awaited Equestria Games. Even the weather was being prepared special for the big event. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and everything seemed absolutely perfect. At least on the outside.
Inside that stadium, built special for these games, was scandal between the royal wedding couple. Shining was lying to his wife. Cadance to her husband. And they were lying to themselves about not loving each other anymore. They had to be.
How could everything have fallen apart so quickly? Was their love for each other really gone? Are they going to let one mistake be the cause of ruination for their marriage? Had they even really given the other the chance to talk it through? Instead, her sister-in-law just calls Anon, the human she knew Twilight had feelings for-
Twilight felt her wings flap harder and her teeth grit she endured the chilly winds on the flight to Cadance's private study. The pain Twilight felt trying to endure the high altitude winds wasn't unwelcome. She knew she had to get there as soon as possible. And if she got the wind in her eyes, well then everything would seem absolutely normal on the outside. So, she couldn't slow down.
The ponies below shouldn't see a trembling Princess. Especially if they look up to see if it's about to rain. Instead, Twilight tried to focus, instead of letting her mind wander to her human. There had to be an answer. There had to be some piece of the puzzle that was still missing. Shining wasn't the type of stallion to cheat on a mare. Cadance wasn't that type of mare either.
At least, not that she knew.
There had to be something else. Even then, their marriage couldn't have just deteriorated this fast over just this. The two of them would have tried to talk it out and make things work. Cadance is lying and she knows it. Twilight just wished she knew how she was lyin.
She let out a sigh and examined the Crystal Palace that grew nearer with every flap of her wings. She hoped that with a little luck, maybe there was still some sort of clue to everything that's has happened. Maybe something on compatibility spells. Or even, the lack of existence of them. At least, then there would be something.
Twilight's eyes locked onto the left-most spire of the castle. There.She had only been there once, and it was after the battle with King Sombra, but that was where Cadance's secret library was.
The Princesses had to keep certain books and tomes safely put away from where those who would misuse them could get to. Twilight and Cadance were no exception. Except that Twilight had a really hard time deciding what books were special enough to her to consider a place in a 'secret library.'
The window was custom made by the glass experts of Canterlot as a wedding gift to her. Adorned in whites, blues, pinks, and a myriad of other colors, was a recreation of the scene when Shining and Cadance drove off the Changelings during their Royal wedding. Their love was so strong that they defeated a whole army with just their own combined powers. Twilight examined it carefully and failed to see anyway to open it easily from the outside.
"Well, if wouldn't be secret if anypony could get in," she sighed to herself.
Twilight's horn glows with a bright violet magic and seeped into the window frame from the edges. She pushed her magic through any little tiny hole she could find in the lining and focused it to a the lever on the other side. Once she had enveloped it in a tiny purple aura, Twilight lifted and unlocked the window as gently as she could and pulled the window open just a crack.
'Alright, Twilight. Stay quiet,' she thought to herself.
She couldn't afford to get caught snooping in the secret study of another Princess. Even if was a Princess too. Each study was supposed to be a sanctuary for it's owner; a small part of the world that only they were supposed to access. This usually meant keys or some sort of magical barrier was to be put in place so other ponies couldn't break in. Which put Twilight on high guard as she tried to peek inside. Putting her eye into the crack, she quickly scanned around for any signs of Cadance or trap.
The room was completely unlit with the exception of the colored light streaming through the stained glass window. The walls are lined with shelves upon shelves of books on the lit wall, and a desk where several books sat was pushed against a far wall.
'It... looks like the coast is clear.'
Pushing the window open more, Twilight slipped herself in and closed the window behind her.
'Keep your guard up, who knows what could happen,' she thought to herself.
One last look around confirmed that the study was completely empty. Which meant that the easy part was done. Now the hard part was to figure out what secrets this room was holding. Twilight let her horn glow with magic, lighting up the room that only darkened as the sun began to set for the day.
The study was now in complete view, revealing a few cauldrons along another wall even more rows of books, a few suits of male and female crystal royal guard's armor, and of course the portraits of Cadance and Shining that hung on the walls. Twilight solemnly looked over each one, biting her bottom lip at the memories they contained. The first one was Cadance and Shining's wedding portrait. The next was a picture of them sitting side by side, on the Crystal Throne, just after they defeated Sombra and restored order to the Crystal Empire. Then, the last was a picture of the whole Sparkle family. Twilight, Shining, Cadance, plus Mom and Dad.
Twilight sighed and looked away from the last one, unsure of how much longer the title 'Family' would be accurate. If she really wanted Shining to leave, why did she still have these portraits up? It's not like Shining would ask questions. Twilight pondered this question as she quietly made her way to Cadance's desk.
Tons upon tons of books, plus a map of Equestria and the Crystal Empire, were littered all over the top of the desk. Each book opened to different pages with different markings and notes written in the margins. Twilight tried her best to repress a gag at Cadance's tainted method of writing notes inside these books, but failed.
Steeling herself to her task at hand, she focused on the first book in front of her and brought it into focus. 'The Culture and Heritage of the Griffin People, Abridged.'
So, she was studying for the guests of the Equestria Games. That makes sense, but it doesn't add anything to this problem. If anything, it could make finding a book that she was searching for harder to find. Setting the book aside, Twilight reached for the next one that's closed.
"Mysterious creatures in Equestria, Sixth Edition"
Well, that's odd. Why did she keep this up here? It's not particularly uncommon. Turning the book over and over in her hooves, Twilight noticed a few pages were folded inside. A shiver ran down her spine. Focus, Twilight. Maybe if all of this ends well, she could critique her on her note taking.
Opening to one of the folded pages in the back, she noticed that it's the Appendix for the all of the H words in the book. In the middle of the page, there's a large circle with written in the middle: 'No Human.'
Human? She was trying to look up details about Anon? Maybe she was onto something here. Flipping a few pages forward, monkey is circled three times. Bingo.
Twilight skipped to the page for Monkeys and it detailed a section on Primates and other similar creatures. Most of it was pretty typical science fare, but one underlined area caught her eye. In yellow highlighter, the passage: 'Through psychological testing, we've found that primates generally react very strongly to emotion and imprinting based magic.' was clearly marked.
Emotion based magic?
Were these the spells Cadance cast that Anon was mentioning? It's a start, but it doesn't add much. We just know that Cadance was interested with Anon and his species. Maybe something else on the desk holds the answer. Now if she found a book that detailed compatibility spells... That would mean that-
Twilight paused, shaking her head. Well, then... she would have to try and be happy for them.
Twilight's muscles felt weak and her tail sagged at the mental picture of Anon holding Cadance in the arms that she dreamed of, but she did her best to push on. She flipped through the book one last time and found another folded over page. Changelings.
She gasped, taking a step back and letting the book fall to the floor.
"It would all make sense," she muttered.
But wait. Wouldn't Cadance be prepared for another attack? She would have learned from past mistakes and have been ready for another changeling invasion. But what about Shining? He did attack Anon. That's extremely out of character for him. But Cadance would have noticed that he was acting really differently. So, as long as one of them was prepped for a Changeling invasion, it seemed unlikely that it was Changelings.
Plus, nothing else points in this direction.
Twilight knew she'd have to find more proof if it pointed to Changelings or anything else. Setting the book back down, she looked through the rest of the stacks of books on the desk.
'The Romantic Tales and Tragedies of Past Princesses.'
No.
'Making Your Marriage A Happily Ever After.'
Nope.
'Pushing through Hardship for a stronger, better Marriage.
Nuh-uh.
'101 Ways to Spice up the Be-'
Twilight set the book aside without casting it another glance.
There has to be something else.
If anything, these just support Cadance's story.
She was trying everything she could to make things work and to bring the two of them close together again. At least, these books would probably have been what Twilight would have tried. Twilight looked carefully at the map, but the only markings on it were of each of the cities and towns that were participating in the Equestria Games. She paced on the tile floor and moved past each of the shelves of the books, quickly scanning the titles.
Cadance certainly had all sorts of books in her study, rare and common alike. History books, Science books, and spell books of all kinds, including advanced offensive, defensive, healing, transformation and even dark magic.
'Wait one second. Dark magic? Cadance wouldn't...' Twilight thought to herself.
But it didn't stop her from approaching the shelf. She paused to look at the books of dark magic, but to her relief they had seemed to have grown a thick layer of dust over them. It's probably safe to rule that out.
With a sigh, she moved down the shelves trying to find some sort of lead. After skipping more history tomes about the Crystal Empire, Twilight arrived at the shelf she had been waiting for. Directly next to the cauldrons was Cadance's dedicated shelf to the Magic of Love.
Starting at the top shelf, Twilight looked through selected historical texts where love magic was used to overcome great evils. The next shelf was all books dedicated to theoretical physical sources sources of love and the extents of their power, including how it related to children. Then, the third shelf down was exactly what Twilight was interested in.
Spells that utilized love magic.
This shelf had very little dust on it and it seemed that books all over it were out of place. Which meant that they were being used and referenced often. This was a good sign for Twilight, maybe there was still something she could find. Grabbing a few promising books, she found a nearby stand near the cauldron that was already being used to hold a few books. Twilight took her books and moved to the stand, taking the first one that caught her eye: 'Spells of Passion."
She opened directly to the appendix in in the back and began scanning through each of the spells and terms used in the book, trying to find anything that's synonymous with compatibility. Except, there's nothing.
Picking up the next book and flipping to it's appendix she repeated the process, but there was nothing there either. Grabbing another book, she checked it's contents, but there was also not a single mention of a compatibility spell. Twilight grabbed book after book, checking the appendixes, the tables of contexts, flipping through the pages quickly, but each one held the same number results as the last.
Which could only mean one thing. There was no such thing as a compatibility spell. Which meant her gut feeling was right.
How could magic enter the minds of two completely separate ponies, dissect their personalities, and create some... made up number that could tell if ponies were good for each other or not? There's a lot of weird things in Equestria, but there is one thing that magic can't do, it's that. In fact, that's why there was a Princess of Love, to try and make these decisions herself instead of through magic.
The only other possibility would be if it was a spell of Cadance's own design. However Twilight knew Cadance was never good at making her own spells. Those times she had her as a babysitter and Cadance tried to do her homework was proof enough of that. The fire department had both the Castle and the Sparkle home on speed dial.
So, if Twilight ruled out those possibilities, Cadance was completely making up those spells to fabricate a lie. And if the spells were a lie, then there had to be something else. This was a small hole, but the lid wasn't blown off yet. There was still something she was missing. But what?
All the proof of trying to save the marriage was right there. Unless, this was all being planted by her. Except, Shining said that she was trying to save things as well. It's a really intricate plan if everything's being planted. And Shining isn't lying to her anymore either. So, maybe it's just the part about Anon that's false?
Twilight sighed and placed the books back on the shelf with more questions than answers. Sitting down, she scanned over them in the quickly darkening room, to see if there were any she hadn't already read.
"Maybe... maybe I'm just wrong," she said aloud to herself, breaking the prolonged silence in the room.
She sighed, looking around the room and at the setting sun.
"Maybe Anon just loves her, and they really are good for each other. If they're happy now... maybe I just shouldn't get involved. Maybe there really isn't anything going on here and I'm just making this out to be something it's not."
Rising to her hooves, she headed over to the desks and placed all the books back the way she found them.
"I just..."
Her muscles trembled again she no longer had the wind as an excuse for the water falling from her face.
"I just wish he was happy with me and not her," she muttered.
Twilight blinked a few stray tears out of her eyes and felt the warmth leave her body. She really blew it. Since she couldn't tell him how she really felt, she lost him. He's gone none now. He'll never, ever be her Prince. He loved her sister-in-law, not her. All of the nights spent together, the hangouts, the books they had read together...
It just meant nothing in the end.
He didn't see Twilight that way. Taking a deep breath, the purple alicorn thought over what she had to do next. She guessed the next thing to do would be to apologize to Cadance for snooping in her study, return the photo to her, and... and...
Leave Anon alone, forever.
For her own sake.
Twilight sniffed and shook her head. The very idea made the bones in her body ache and her wings sag to the floor.
'Alright, Twilight. It's time to buck up and be a big girl,' she muttered to herself, hurt staining every word.
Twilight looked around Cadance's desk for a tissue to blow her nose. When nothing was on top of the desk, she opened the drawer of the desk, then paused. There was an envelope in the first drawer she looked in. And it had her name on it.
How did she not think to look in the drawers? Well, it doesn't matter.
She pulled the envelope out and examined it carefully.
In Cadance's best cursive, "Twilight Sparkle" was written on the front of the letter. The envelope certainly had a little more than a letter in it, judging by the bulge in it.
'Well, it's addressed to me. I might as well open it. It's not like I can't get in more trouble,' she thought.
Twilight carefully undid the adhesive stamp on the note so she could reseal it if necessary. She pulled out the source of the bulge, a small vial of golden liquid, and what looks to be a letter. Opening the letter first, she read it carefully.
"Dear Twilight," it reads. "If you've received this letter, that means there has been a lot of conflict, confusion, and hurt feelings during the Equestria Games. I'm sure it's been very hard on all of us, but I need you to perform this task. Do not tell me when. Do not tell me how, but after the Equestria Games, you must have Anon drink this. It's tasteless, odorless, and will take effect with minutes. He won't be hurt any more than he already is. I promise."
Twilight looked over the cryptic message one more time. More than he already is? Wait, when was this written? When was Twilight supposed to receive this letter?
"I'm sorry that I'm not strong enough to do this, and that I must ask you to perform this task for me, but it's for the greater good of everypony. I'm putting my faith into you. - Cadance."
Twilight examined the bottle of golden liquid carefully. What is this stuff? Cadance's letter said it would make Anon hurt. Why would she ever hurt Anon? Why was this letter hidden in a place where she should never be? Now there were even more questions.
But these are the correct questions, ones that might be easy to answer.
Rising to her hooves, Twilight examined the bottle in the light of her horn.
"I don't think I'm going to be leaving soon..." she muttered, looking around the room.
Grabbing a candle from across the room, she used her magic to light it.
"Now then, if I were a potion, I'd be born in a..."
She turned, hooves instantly knowing their destination.
"A cauldron."
Looking deep inside, she found that both cauldrons were completely empty. With a hum of disappointment, she looked back to the book stand that she were examining the spell books from before. What happened to those books that were already sitting there. Sure enough, there were two books sitting on the stand, waiting to be read, both opened to specific pages.
Grabbing the top one, she looked at the opened page. Twilight dropped the book after reading the first line.
"The Draft of Love at First Sight"
A love potion. Cadance has been brewing a love potion. But, why? She read through the pages voraciously.
"The contents of the potion would create a three-dose, twp serving potion that will deepen the drinker's love for each other. The potion will require hair from both of the drinkers. Each dose must be drank by both party from the same batch of potion and at the same time. All three doses must be drank with 24 hours to take full effect. The third and final dose will make the love permanent, unless the same brew of potion is also used to create the light golden antidote. If only one drinker drinks the antidote, only the drinker of the antidote will be released from the effects of the potion."
Twilight looked at vial she took from the letter earlier. Sure enough, it's golden. This is an antidote to a love potion? A love potion she's giving to Anon!
Shoving the vial into her messenger bag, along with the two books on the shelf, she realized there may not be much time. Twilight turned on her hooves and headed for the door, antidote tight in the grasp of her magic. That's all the proof she needed. At this point, it doesnât matter who cheated.
Twilight needed to save her Anon.
And who knew how much time she had left before they take the final dose. Pushing the windows open with ease, she stopped.
Wait a minute. These secret studies were supposed to be protected by some sort of magic. Why was there no defense that she had to break through?
Shaking her head, she leaped out of the window and spread her wings for flight. There's no time for that right now. She needed to get back to the castle as soon as possible.
Panting for breath, the balcony to Twilight's VIP room hovered in the distance as the light faded completely from the sky. Time is of the essence. She had to get to Anon as soon as possible. With a beam from her horn, the entrance to Twilight's room opened and she zoomed inside. Landing hard on all four hooves, Twilight immediately looked up.
"Shining!"
Scanning the room, she immediately spotted her brother. He laid on Twilight's bed, staring at the ceiling, unmoving or reacting to the new guest.
"Shining, we have to go!" Twilight shouted. "There's no time to explain."
He rolled his head, looking at her with concern.
"What? What's so important?"
"We have to go! We have to go find Anon!" she said, as she trotted to the door.
He sighed and rolled over.
"No."
"Come on, Shining. We have to do this! I think Cadance is drugging him!"
"Cadance wouldn't do that," he said. "At least, I don't think she would."
"I have proof though! I know she is! She has to be!"
"She's gone, Twilight. I lost her. I messed up and now I have to pay the consequences. Can't you see that? It's already hard enough for me to accept as it is. Worse that I can't even remember that it happened."
That's it. Trotting to Shining's bedside, a fury rose within Twilight. She couldn't afford to be wasting this time.
"Just go, Twilight."
She raised a hoof in the air.
"There's no point any-"
The hoof came down as hard as it could across her brother's cheek. He sat up and stared at her violently.
"One of my friends is in danger. I can prove that your wife is up to something, and it might finally explain everything that's been happening, and you just want to give up?"
Silence fills the room as the two of them glared at each other.
"The brother I knew would stand up to injustice. He would never take no for an answer. If life shoved him, he'd shove right back and do it with a determined smile. We finally know how to figure all of this out and you want to just lie here in your own misery?"
His muscles tensed up, his attention hanging on Twilight's lecture.
"I know you've been upset and confused about all of this. And you deserve to be sad, but if you want your wife back at all or want to have one last shot at a happy ending, you need to get off that bed and help me find your Wife and my human. So, are you going to snap out of it, or what?"
Twilight's body shook with anger as she stared at the stallion. He raised his hoof above his head and slammed it down on the bed.
"Let's find a guard. They should know where they went," he said in a low voice, rising to his hooves.
"There's the Shining I know," she said, turning to the door.
"Mind filling me in on what's going on?" he asked, rising from the bed as she galloped towards the door.
"I'm still fuzzy on some of the details, but I know for a fact that Cadance is poisoning Anon with some sort of love potion," she answered as Shining followed behind.
Twilight dashed down the corridors as swiftly as she could, making turn after turn trying to find a guard.
"A potion?" he said. "Do you think she's been feeding anything to anypony else?"
"I dunno. Maybe? I don't know how she could have given me anything. I've barely seen her with all of the planning of the games."
"I see her almost every night for dinner," he said. "Turn up here. One should be posted by the Princess balcony."
"Good idea. Have you noticed anything weird lately? Random emotions? Sudden swings in health?"
Making a turn towards where she learned all of this news earlier today, sure enough, a guard stands at attention.
"I don't know. I suppose I've been really moody? Angry. Sad. Do you think she was giving me something?"
"I honestly don't know," she replied. "Sir! Sir Guard."
"Princess Twilight. Prince Shining Armor," the guard answered, standing at attention.
"Tell me, where has Princess Cadance and Anonymous the Human gone? We need to speak to them immediately,"
The guard thought for a moment, then nods.
"They just left to go to a local tavern. I believe the same one we had the party at, Sir. It was right after she spoke to Princess Celestia about a private matter."
"Thank you so much. Let's go, Shining."
Quickly, the two of them galloped towards the nearest set of stairs as the guard called after them.
"Is everything alright, Princess-"
But his voice faded as the two of you push down the stairs of the arena.
"Where is this place, Shining?"
Shining remained quiet.
"Shining, I need you to set your feelings aside and tell me exactly where this place is."
"It's about a block away from the Stadium. Depending on when we left-"
"We'll be there in time," she interrupted.
'I have to be. There's no other choice. I can't afford the alternative. Even if you do have an antidote, I only have one.'
Her muscles felt numb as she strained her body to the limits of their physical endurance. A prickly hot sensation burned the back of her throat as she panted for air. Shoving through security, the crystal ponies, griffons, and other Equestrians watched with muted curiosity at the two's sprint into the town.
"Which way?" she asked Shining.
"Left. Go left and then take a right when I say."
Jumping into the street, she galloped even harder. Cadance can't take him. She couldn't take him. Twilight loved him too much. She'd scrawled his name in the margins of too many of her notebooks. There had been too many dreams about being wrapped in his arms.
'I refuse to let Cadance take my Prince away from me,' she thought selfishly. 'Even if it's the last thing I do as a Princess.'
"Go right!"
Turning hard, Twilight bumped into a tourist mare wearing a lime green sweater.
"Sorry!" she said hastily, continuing to run towards the tavern.
Cadance is going to have to own up to what she's been doing. It's time to finally find out the truth. The real truth.
"This one. On the right," he said painfully.
Twilight locked her eyes on the door. There's no way she was too late. He has a broken leg. They couldn't have been here very long. Cadance didn't give him the final dose yet.
Please.
Twilight charged to the front door as a few smoking stallions out front stared at her in surprise. Leaping towards the door, she placed a hoof on the door and forced it open, pushing herself inside.
"Anon!"
Cadance looked indescribable.
The dress seemed to bring out every one of her most beautiful, delicate features. The smile she wore framed the entirety of her blushed face, which was done in gentle pinks to bring out the deep violets in her eyes. You could sense a feeling of carefree joy in the picture, that sort of joy when there's no other worries in the world that could have possibly plagued her mind at the moment and wouldn't for the rest of that night. The lights were down and every single pony in the picture watched in awe at her.
And him. Her husband. Shining.
You take careful steps down the hall, holding the box of photos with your crutched hand, while looking at the photo with your free hand.
She's so happy. While you hadn't noticed it at first, you carefully used your thumb to cover up Shining in the picture. Maybe there would be some sort of chance to help her get back to that after all of this is done. With a sigh, your arm falls to your side as you make your way away from Twilight's room.
All of this has been such a massive tax on her. Hopefully now that you've got Shining's photos, they'll help her case. Then, it's just a matter of getting the divorce finalized. However, the real win is getting Shining to admit to cheating. If he does that, then the two of you don't need any sort of pictures.
She'll be happy. You'll be happy.
And all of this will get to have a happy ending.
You smile at the thought. Yeah. Things will be great after all of this is over. There'd be all the mornings the two of you would be able to wake up beside each other. The late nights the two of you could spend in the garden. The 'detours' from political journeys to see the sites of faraway and exotic lands. Of course... there'd also be a wedding.
Your grip on the picture of her in a gown tightens.
Does that count as bad luck? Seeing a picture of a bride's previous wedding? Oh goodness, what's her family like? Does she have family other than Princess Celestia or Princess Luna? A part of you pauses, and breaks your haze of consciousness to stare forward and ask yourself an important question. It's totally not weird for a guy to freak out and mentally plan a future wedding... is it?
âŠ
Nah. Of course not. And if so, then screw being normal.
The cake would need to be amazing, but you're sure Cadance probably has connections for that. Of course there would need to be a decorator... but well, Princess connections. Uh. You guess the castle would be the best place for it to be. Maybe you wouldn't have that much to actually plan. You tilt your head up as you saunter, pondering to yourself what you could contribute.
Well, you can stand around and look pretty. Aw yeah. That's one.
You could... invite people! Yeah! Number one on the list would be-
And then, the unexpected jab to the gut. Guilt. The pain radiates through your body and slows you down. Twilight.
If she'd go.
She probably hates you now, because of all of this. You were the final wedge to drive her brother and his wife apart. That's not the kind of thing that you just 'forgive'. At least, not right away. But, a deeper part of you feels hurt for another reason you can't put your finger on. Why were you so upset that you wouldn't see Twilight again?
Sure, she was your best friend... And the two of you hung out all the time. And went on amazing, unforgettable journeys together through reading books. And spent more than a few late nights counting the stars. But, it was all just friend stuff. The only love you've felt, heck... ever truly felt... was this.
There was something about Cadance that was absolutely perfect.
She had absolutely no flaws, no drawbacks, no negative qualities that put her in a bad light. Whatever struggles you would face in life, you felt you could work through them with her. For her.
But the idea of being left alone by Twilight? Forever?
You blink your eyes and clear your throat, taking care of the weird mist in your vision. It's fine. Twilight's just a friend. You love Cadance.
As you approach the door to your and Cadance's room, you begin to wonder how her journey went. Was she successful with speaking with Celestia about the divorce? If she was able to get it approved by Celestia, or even approved if we can provide evidence, then this would all be over.
The two of you could be together, officially.
Of course, the press would have a field day with it, and some wouldn't approve. But, the good news is that there aren't any kids involved. At least there's that.
Placing your free hand on the door, you open it in your own careful, gimpy way and step inside.
"Hey, Babe!" you call out.
But, there's no reply. The room was empty and left precisely the way you left it. The bed was still unkempt. The closets were still open and had evidence of being thoroughly searched. Wine bottles were still in the trashcan, mixed with used tissues. And the large dent in the wall was still the centerpiece of the room. With a sigh, you make your way towards the bed to sit down.
The last thing you'd like to do is keep standing. A dull throb radiated in waves up your leg the longer that you stood. But, you did what you had to do.
You have all the pictures now. At least, all the ones you could find. If Shining took or hid some... well, there's not much you could have done. Placing a hand on the sheets of the bed, you ease yourself around and recline on the angel-soft mattress where you held your love. Closing your eyes, you can faintly smell that aroma of flowers that was on her mane, and the way that her fur felt against your skin. And the way her lips felt against yours.
You chuckle at the thought, bringing your hand to your lips and laying back on the bed.
And soon, you'd be able to relish those sensations everyday. It's hard to believe that it's all been in such little time. But, you suppose that's how these things happen. You meet someone in passing from a friend one day, not even thinking twice about it. Then, next thing you know, a spark forms and then the two end up dating. Everything was completely natural.
Why, just yesterday-
And then you stare at the ceiling, cutting yourself off again. Wait a minute. You sit up. Just yesterday, you weren't thinking about her at all.
Not even in the slightest. Much less romantically. You look down at your hands.
In a single day, you're going to give you're whole life to a mare? Somehow, you don't feel particularly worried about that.
"Wait a minute..."
You look up around the room, trying to think critically for a second.
"What do I know about Cadance?" you ask yourself.
Well, for starters, she's a Princess. Looking to the side of your bed, you see the pictures that she wanted you to find. Opening the box you flip through to see the many assorted pictures of Shining and his family, but none of Cadance.
Putting the wedding photo in the box, you mentally inventory the next piece of info. She's married. For now.
Looking around the room, you realize that there's almost nothing here to give you any clues about who she is. You don't know what she does in her free time. You have no idea what she likes and dislikes. You don't know about her past. You don't know about her family. All you know is that she's a Princess and likes wine.
Some kind of wine.
Which isn't a lot to go off of, since the different types of wine that exist might as well be different countries in the world, since you have no idea what differences are for some of them. No, this was a huge deal. A warmth spread through your body as you took a deep breath. Well, there would certainly be a ton of time to get to know each other better after all of this is over, right? It wouldn't be in secret or behind anyone's back.
So, it would be healthy and totally not cheating.
And, if down the line you found something that you didn't like about her, or her spell was wrong... then the two of you could always break up, right? No matter what, this wedding is bad for her and is doing her harm. Getting her out of this terrible situation is the correct, gentlemanly thing to do.
Wait a minute.
Why -wasn't there- anything to worry about all of this happening in a day?
That's literally one of the biggest things to worry about.
Romeo and Juliet from that one book did the whole 'Love at First Sight' deal and ended up dead. And you're allergic to dead. Once again, some sort of warmth filled you and the thought just seemed to push itself out of your mind. All you could do was think about Cadance. If she was around, you knew that everything was going to be okay. You could just feel it.
Just then, the door to the room opened to the sound of hushed, familiar voices. You listened carefully and were just able to make out what felt like closing remarks.
"You realize that my Sister and I will be speaking with Shining Armor about all of this," says a low motherly voice.
"Yes. Of course. Naturally," Cadance says
"Divorce is very serious. No Princess has ever done something like this before. However, if your marriage has truly become as bad as you describe..."
The door is pushed open wider and there is a long, silent pause.
"That is where he smashed the human," Cadance says.
"So we've come to realize," said a younger, but more regal tone.
With a gasp, all of your muscles tensed. It's the Princesses.
"Where is Anonymous now?" Celestia asks.
"I'm not sure. Keeping quiet, I think," Cadance replied.
"I see. He will need to remain quiet until everything is officiated."
"Even then, the media will be all over you," Luna adds.
"I understand, but that's something we will have to endure," Cadance says.
"Well, then. There's nothing more to be said. If you provide us proof or he admits that your story is true, then we will proceed with the annulment," Celestia says. "Until then, Luna and I have much to think over."
"Thank you. Both of you. So much," Cadance says as quiet hoofsteps echo out of hearing distance.
A silent moment passes as Cadance stays outside, holding the door open, but not looking inside the room to see you. She sighs and steps in with a solemn expression etched on her face.
"Hey," you call out, sitting back up.
Her head rises, and the alicorn's eyes lock to yours. The frown on her face runs a full array of emotions from shock, to surprise, to pure glee from seeing you.
"Hey there!" she replies. "Did you just hear all of that?"
"Just the last part, I think. The important part. Sounds like you've gotten the clear."
"Yeah! So it seems. We just need Shining to cooperate, I guess," she says with a sigh. "Did you find the pictures?"
You proudly hold up the box. She gasps and gallops up to you, taking the box with her magic.
"How did you get this without anypony noticing?" she asks.
"Well, uh, about that. He kinda... let it happen."
She gives you a weird look before opening the box and pulling out the pictures.
"The one he was trying to hide was the one on top. He really didn't want to let it go."
Grabbing the first picture, she turns it up to face her. Cadance's pupils shrink and her whole body seems to sag, as if she was suddenly stabbed in the chest.
"Oh," she says defeatedly. "This one, huh?"
She pushes it to the back and begins to look through the others. A silence fills the room as you try to mentally process the amount of pain that she just tried to hide from you. You open your mouth to say something, but find your voice dry. She doesn't spend long on each picture, but sniffs when she gets halfway through the list. You could tell when she reached the end of the list, when she repressed the same, strained look and shoved them all back into the box.
"That was all you found?" she asked quietly.
You nod, unsure of how else you should react.
"I see. Well, it wasn't there. The photo," she said with a sniff.
She made her way closer to you and crawls up on the bed by you. Cadance looks up at you and shakes her head, forcing a smile onto her lips.
"Heh. Look at me. I'm a mess."
She brings a hoof to her eyes and dabs them, trying not to look you in the eye.
"For some reason, I thought all of this would be easy. Well, easier. Because-"
But she stops herself short and looks to the floor. Raising a hand, you place it on her back and gently stroke her fur up and down from the base of her neck, to where her wings began.
"Hey, this is hard for everybody... it's okay," you say, trying to help.
She looks up at you with a smile, but her eyes return to the floor.
"Right, I know. Just. I dunno. I'm not sure how to say everything I'm feeling, I guess."
A silence falls between the two of you as her head reclines to the mattress. Your hand finds it's way up her neck and into her mane, placing her tiara aside.
"I don't... honestly know how to help," you say. "I mean, if I knew how to... I would. In a heartbeat... but, I know I can tell you how I feel. If you wanna hear it."
Her eyes make their way up to you, but she doesn't say a word. Your hand moves down to her rosy-pink cheek.
"That you're strong, wise and beautiful. I'd do absolutely anything for you, should you simply ask. I have total confidence and faith that we'll get through this. No matter how hard it may get. I'm here for you and I always will."
You chuckle to yourself and look down.
"You know, I know I said this morning that I just wanted to give this a chance, but I suppose I was just trying to be modest."
Swallowing the nervousness that built in your throat, you take a deep breath.
"I love you, Cadance," you say, looking into her eyes.
A smile unfurls on her face as she raises herself closer to you. Her eyes close and your stomach leaps to your throat. Then, your lips connect and a spark in your heart morphs into a burning fire of compassion. Your eyes close as you feel a hoof wrap around the back of your head. Wrapping your free arm around her, you run a hand through her mane, pulling her in closer as your lips close and reconnect with a wet kissing sound. A joy wells inside of you, knowing what this surely meant.
No words needed to be said.
She loved you too.
She'd been waiting so long for this moment to finally go from a fantasy, to being real. Cadance was yours.
And you were all hers.
The alicorn broke the kiss and leaned back, her ears perked.
"Well," she began with a giggle. "I think this calls for a celebration, don't you think?"
"Sounds like a great plan to me, got anything in mind?" she asked.
"How about," she says, rising from the bed. "We get out of here and spend some time away from all of this drama? Start with a bar or two and see where the night takes us?"
"Hey! That sounds great to me. Lead the way."
You grab your crutch and carefully ease yourself up, while Cadance moves to the closet. Once you have your balance, you look over to her to see she pulls out a small bag and places it over her back.
"Bringing something?" you ask.
"Why, yes," she says moving to her dresser and opening one of the drawers.
Carefully, she pulls out that same bottle from earlier and places it into her bag.
"Won't they have drinks -at- the bar?" you ask teasingly.
"Well, I don't suppose you have many bits on you, do you?" she teases.
You check your pockets to find them completely empty.
"O-oh. Right."
She snickers at your display and gives you a warm smile.
"Don't worry. I'll cover it. I just figure we might as well save the money."
"Hey, that works for me," you reply.
She stops to take a look at herself in the mirror as you grab her tiara from the bed.
"Oh, did you want this?" you ask.
Cadance turns to examine the tiara and thinks for a moment.
"You know what? I don't think so. In fact," she says, kicking off her special shoes. "Let's keep it casual."
Tossing the tiara on the bed, you continue to hobble over to her.
"Sounds good. I'm not sure if I ever saw you without the whole 'royal getup' before."
"Really?" she asks, taking off her necklace. "Spoilers. I'm still a pony."
You mock a gasp of shock, which makes her smile.
"Alright. I'm ready. Are you- Oh right. Your leg," she says, looking at your injury.
"Hey, I don't mind walking. Really," you say.
"Oh, no. there's no sense in going on a long walk. Let's inform a guard that I'm leaving, and then teleport there."
"Inform a guard?" you ask.
"Well, I'm still a Princess," she says, walking up to you and placing your hand on her back. "The guard needs to know where I am, or they go into a panic. The Princess Balcony isn't too far, let's just tell the guard stationed there, and we should be able head there immediately.
Following along is slow and arduous, but on the bright side, Cadance got all of the doors for you. Once you stepped into the hall, the conversation fell quiet. You took quiet, occasional glances at Cadance, but she seemed deep in thought. It was almost as if she were in some sort of trance or autopilot.
"Is everything alright?" you ask.
Her concentration breaks and looks up to you.
"Oh! Uhm, yes. I was just really wondering where the picture of Melody went."
"Melody?"
Cadance faltered, looking for a way to respond while still focusing on what was in front of her.
"Yes, the mare Shining cheated with."
"How do you know the name of-"
"He said it in his sleep," she interrupted.
"Oh. I see. Uhm. Sorry."
Great job, Anon. Now you've upset her. You alternate glances between the floor, the opposite wall, and Cadance's face, simply in an effort not to stare.
"Hey, uh. Sorry for dredging that up."
"It's fine," she said with a sigh. "It'll all be over soon. I hope."
The silence filled the hall again as you limped beside her. Something was on her mind. You knew it.
The way her ears were partially folded, the lack of life in her tail, the lack of spring in her step. If she was so ready to celebrate and enjoy the benefits of their hard work, why did she seem so sad?
She turned to look at you, but then focused back in her trance. Her lip quivers, like she wants to say something, but can't bring herself to. The Princess's eyes move to the ground as the two of you begin to approach the final turn to the balcony of the stadium.
"Anon..."
"Yeah, babe?"
She starts to say something, but stops and shakes her head. A quiet moment passes in silence before she rose her head and slowed her pace.
"You'll... still be with me. After all of this, right?" she asks.
"Of course I will, Hon. There's no way I'd leave you."
She looks back at you, a forced expression of calm trying to cover the silent tells of insecurity.
"Even... Even if something happens after all of this, you wouldn't leave me all alone?"
You smile and pull her closer to you.
"Nothing could ever pull us apart. You're stuck with me, babe," you reply with a warm smile.
She chuckles, looking away.
"I hope so."
She hopes so? What's that supposed to mean? Why is she acting so strangely all of a sudden? Maybe it's all just delayed feelings from all of the troubles of today? Yeah, maybe that's it. She'll feel better once she let's loose a little bit.
Turning the corner, her entire posture changes. She stands tall and firm. Each step becomes calculated and even distanced, and her expression is rock solid. Even without her regalia, her mannerisms echoed and maintained that of a Princess. She locked onto a guard and almost pulls you towards him.
"Good Evening," she says to the soldier as you approach.
"Good Evening, Princess Cadance. Will you be watching the final games of the evening?" the guard asked.
"No, I don't believe so. I'll be spending some time in town with my human friend, Anonymous."
"I see, thank you for the update, Princess. I'll forward it to the rest of the guard."
"Please do so," she responded. "Also, what was that place that the guard tends to congregate at?"
He looks at her curiously.
"Why, it's Honeycrisp's Pub down on tenth. Some of the best ciders and wheat ales in town."
"Thank you so much, I believe that is where I will make my first stop."
"Would you like for us to send some security there to-"
"There will be no need, thank you sir for all of your work," she said with a smile. Then, as soon as you felt a light blue aura of magic surround you and you looked to Cadance, the world went black.
And new colors filled your vision in an instant. It was just as if someone flickered the lights in a room with no windows. Except, the entirety of the room changed in the seconds that it turned to light.
"There! Piece of cake," Cadance says. "Feeling alright?"
"Uh... yeah. I could probably use a little warning next time though."
You looked over your body and took a mental inventory. Everything seemed to be in it's proper place. You had your crutch, your clothes, your leg was broken, but that's nothing new.
What was new, was that in front of you stood a rather large tavern with several stallions smoking tobacco outside.
"This is the place," she said.
"Looks nice enough. You know, a good place to start the night."
"Sort of my thought exactly."
The Princess took careful, deliberate steps forward and you followed her. Her vision still remained focused and didn't move from the door. She opened it with her magic, and you stepped inside behind her. The inside of the bar was simple enough. Several booths lined the walls of establishment along with several large tables in the middle where stallions played cards or simply drank in groups of friends. And of course, there was a long bar where griffins, ponies and diamond dogs alike all mingled and discussed the results of the day's games.
Only a few eyes rose to examine the two of you as she made her way to the bar. You followed along beside her, immediately spotting a table near the door where it wouldn't be as hard for you to walk around in. As you headed towards the back, you noticed in the back that there were several doors, at least two or three that had signs marking 'vacancy' or 'no vacancy.' Interesting, they must use this place like an Inn as well. With all of the games, you're sure they must be making a killing.
"Sir, may I have two glasses, please?" Cadance asked to the barkeep.
A disgruntled crystal stallion looked up, baffled by the request, but his tone changed quickly at seeing the Princess.
"Well. Now I'm used to serving Royal Guards, but never Royal-TY," he said. "Just two glasses?"
"For now, thank you," she said.
Cadance turned to you and gave you a smile.
"Dear, won't you find a booth in the back where we can talk a little privately?"
You nod, turning towards the booths in the back and limping towards them. There was one tucked right in the corner of the bar. But, it was in just the right spot that you could see the door, in case Shining decided to use some guard power and change his mind about being kind to you. As you approach, you notice it's even clean, except has the usual wobble that a well-worn table at an older establishment would have.
Reclining into the booth, you set your crutch on the ground to finally get a moment to rest your foot. Finally, a little peace and quiet. And you get to spend it with Cadance. What could possibly be better. Speaking of, the Princess wasn't too far behind. Holding two glass mugs with her magic, she sets one on the table in front of you and one across the table.
"There we go! Now this is more like it. No stressful stadiums. No hard decisions. Just a little time to relax and get your mind off of things."
She nods silently, taking off her bag and setting it on her bench of the booth. Cadance sat in her seat and looked at her glass carefully, studying it for what seemed like an answer to a question on her mind. You sat up straight and looked at her.
"Listen, I know I probably shouldn't... but something's really bothering you ever since we left the room. Is everything alright, babe?"
She looked up at you, then down to her glass.
"Cadance?" you ask again.
"It's just..."
Her hoof trembles as she raises it into the air, then wraps it back around her glass.
"Have you ever had the feeling that you're making a terrible mistake? But you feel like it's the only option you have left?" she asks without looking up from her glass.
You look at her with concern.
"What do you mean?"
She opens her mouth, then shakes her head, opting not to say a word.
"Listen, if it's about the divorce. He was cheating on you. You know he did. You have proof he did. You'd just be miserable if you stayed with him."
She remained silent and didn't respond.
"I know it's going to be hard, but just try to not think about it. You know this is for the greater good, right?"
Then, she raises her head. That struck a chord. She looked you in the eyes, with a weary, tired look.
"Anon, I..."
She shakes her head and her horn lights up with magic, pulling the bottle out of the bag and placing it on the table in front of you.
"You're right. I should just try to not think about it."
You smile as she hastily pours the contents of the bottle into the two glasses.
"That's the spirit!" you reply.
Grabbing the drink, you raise it into the air to propose a toast. She looks at the pink fluid in her mug for just a moment, then raises hers into the air with magic.
"To the first night, of a brand new life," you say with a smile.
Cadance smiles weakly as the two glasses make a light clink. Then a much louder bang echoes through the bar.
"Anon!"
You and Cadance turn your head simultaneously. The purple alicorn bursts into the bar and scans the room quickly.
"Twilight?" you asked in disbelief.
Her head whips to you immediately. She gasps, then shoots a bright purple bolt of magic directly at you.
For just a moment, time stood still.
The bolt of purple energy soared through the air for what felt like an eternity. Anon simply watched in horror at the beam of light that flew towards him. Cadance gasped, still reeling from the shock of the unexpected guest. Shining followed along, confusion written on his face as he saw the attack head towards Anon.
The bar was silent. Every patron viewed helplessly as Twilight attacked Anon. A glass slipped out of the bartender's hand and fell in the same slow motion that the beam soared in. The liquid poured all over the ground, splashing and creating ricochet trails of drink across the floor. In those tense moments, everyone knew what was to come. All they could do was watch.
Cadance tried to light her horn to launch a defensive, but Twilight was too quick. The energy landed directly on it's target. There was a crash of glass that echoed through the whole establishment. Anon yelped as he pulled his hand away and pink liquid fell onto the table mixed with broken glass shards. Cadance's jaw dropped, eyes wide at the result of Twilight's attack. Twilight stood tall, anger etched in her features, wings spread and approaching their table. The bartender's glass hit the ground, shattering across the wooden floor.
Then, time resumed.
"I would like for everypony to please leave," Twilight announced to the bar.
Twilight took step after careful step towards Anon and Cadance. He was probably already under the influence of the potion.
'Which dose did I destroy?' she wondered to herself. 'Two? Three? Does she have more?'
After a second of hushed whispers, the ponies in the bar quickly filed out, each in their own varying degrees of distress and confusion. Cadance stared at Anon, then back to her glass, still filled with pink liquid. Tears filled her eyes as she began to shake.
"Now then," Twilight said, as the last pony left the bar. "I have questions. And nopony's leaving until I have some answers."
Cadance sniffed and held the glass to her lips. Twilight's horn lit up quickly, but Cadance slammed the glass on the table, spilling the contents over the remains of it's sister glass.
"What's the point?" she muttered under her breath.
"What the hell is going on?!" Anon piped in, rising from the booth.
"Sit down, Anon," Twilight said.
"No. I want some answers too. How about, 'Why the fuck did you attack me?' for starters."
"Fine. It's because she's been lying to you. You're not actually-"
"Twilight," Cadance said firmly, interrupting her. "May I at least be the one to say it?"
Twilight stared at the pink princess warily, but stopped her advance. Shining walked forward and stood beside Twilight, staring directly at his wife. Anon turns to Cadance, who turned to face him, her eyes darting around the room, trying to find the words to say. She opened her mouth slowly, choosing her words carefully.
"Tomorrow... everything is going to be different," she said.
"W-what? What do you mean?" he replied.
"Tomorrow you aren't going to be in love with me. I know you won't."
Anon stepped forward towards Cadance and knelt before her, taking one of her hooves. Twilight flinched and looked away.
"That's not true. You know that's not true. I promised I'd-"
"I've been poisoning you, Anon," she says shakily, looking away from him. "The pink drink wasn't alcohol, it was a love potion. Twilight figured it all out before I could give you the third and final dose to complete it's effects."
Anon remained still, holding her hoof, staring intently at her. Twilight took a few steps forward.
"And since... since I'm under the effects too, then I won't love you tomorrow either, if I don't drink the final dose, sitting in front of me."
Anon looked from her, to the glass, then back to her.
"But..." he said, searching for comprehension. "No. I had feelings before we drank the potion together. If it takes multiple times, we only drank it once."
"When do you remember first having feelings, Anon?" she asked.
Anon looked to the floor and searched his mind for when he could have possibly began to realize he loved Cadance.
"Well, the hospital. After I woke up."
Cadance sighed and closed her eyes.
"I carefully poured the first dose down your throat as you slept. I intended to do it when I called you to the room, but Shining changed that."
Anon stood up, breathing quickly and taking a step back.
"Wait. No. Wait. I love you," he said desperately.
Anon stood straight and lunged for the final glass of potion. But it was quickly shattered by a bolt of energy. Light blue energy. Twilight and Shining gasped.
"There's no point anymore, Anon," she said. "It's done."
Anon took a step back, shocked.
"B-but, I love you."
"I know, sweetheart," she says sadly.
Anon begins to tremble as Twilight then stepped forward, her brother in tow behind her.
"Please. Cadance. Explain what's going on."
Cadance sighs and a feint, pained smile curls on her face.
"Well, I honestly don't know how to begin to explain..."
A silence fell between the four as Twilight stood resolutely in front of Anon.
"I... I suppose I should start by saying... all of this is my fault."
Shining stepped forward to say something, but Twilight glared at him. He stepped back, keeping his mouth shut.
"I never meant for any of this to get as out of hand as it did. None of this was ever supposed to happen. I was just trying to make Shining happy, and-"
"Make me happy?" he scoffed.
"Shining!" Twilight interjected.
"No, I deserve it, Twilight," Cadance said. "I'll let everyone say what they want to say... just, let me say this, first."
Twilight looked to the other two and nodded to Cadance. Cadance sighed and cleared her throat, scanning the broken pieces of glass for any sort of way of explaining what happened.
"This country... almost runs itself," she began. "But the guard is needy. Very needy. Shining worked long hours, all the time. We got to see each other less and less. I mean, sometimes work has high demands of you. It's happened in the past to both Shining and I. One week I could be on a trip to some strange land, while the next week Shining could be off for a military exercise. It was just life for us. But, we never minded. Things were fine. It just made the time that we spent together all the more precious."
Shining stood straight, furrowing his gaze as she stopped to look at him. He nodded.
"It's true."
"But... something changed after the wedding. It could have been the constant stress afterward for both of us, or defending the Crystal Empire, or just adjusting the a new lifestyle, but we never had time together anymore. You'd think that getting married would mean more time together, and... I mean, we were."
She sighed.
"But, even when we were together. We were alone, in our own ways. He was tired and wanted to go to bed. I was lonely and just wanted to talk. To snuggle. Anything. The late nights only seemed to get later for him when he said he would be taking on some new recruits... and I just wasn't sure what to do," she sighed.
She looked up at him.
"Never once did I question how much I loved him. Never once did I ever want to hurt anyone. I just wanted to find some way to spend more time with him. Any way to spend time with him. So, I went to my study and thought. I thought carefully on what I could do. I didn't want to ask him to leave the guard. He loved it so much and would probably get bored from having nothing to do. So, I figured... If he wouldn't come to me-"
Twilight gasps.
"The armor. The transformation spells," Twilight said.
Cadance nodded.
"I would come to him."
Twilight grabbed her bag and pulled out the first book, a manual for making love potions. Then took out the one behind it. The book that was directly under the potion book.
'Pony Transformation and Self-Disguise: A Guide for Unicorn Spies' A type of book that would be banned for the general public, but would be allowed to Princesses and specific individuals.
"So, then, you were Melody the whole time?" Twilight asked.
Shining stands dead still and looks at her as if he was seeing his wife for the first time.
"What?" Shining gasped.
Cadance stepped out of the booth and took a deep breath. Her horn glowed with bright, light blue energy. The aura from her horn slowly crept across her whole body from head to toe. Then the colors of her mane changed to a single shade of crimson from the roots to the very tip, and her fur turned into a deep white. As her wings disappeared into thin air, she opened her eyes to find their violet shade turns into a bright blue cyan. The color of her magic.
"The spell even allowed me to change my voice," Melody said.
Shining's legs gave underneath him as he sat down, trying to comprehend what he's seeing. Twilight pulled out the picture from her backpack and sure enough, the resemblance was remarkable. Down to the eye color.
"Was that the picture?" she asked.
"Yes," Twilight said. "Why did you want it so bad?"
Melody sighed.
The white fur on her slowly peeled off and fall to dust as pink took it's place again. The red of her hair faded away back to shades of gold, pink and purple. As Cadance's wings reappeared, the blue in her eyes changed back to purple.
"You would think that it was me trying to solidify the divorce I was trying to setup, but there was another purpose," she sighed. "To make me hurt."
Twilight took a step back and looked down at the picture.
"See, I decided to not tell Shining that I was living two lives. I'd disappear and turn back into myself whenever I had royal duties, but when I wasn't needed, I'd come back as Melody. I've watched Shining exercise, practice with the guard, and I've watched guards protect me since my coronation. I knew all the routines. I could perform all the moves. If anything, it was harder to try and make mistakes to look new. Heh, but Shining always said he saw potential in me. And, well. It made me happy. I was finally getting attention. I was worried if I told him that I was actually Melody, I would get special treatment from him, and it would build resentment from the other guards."
Cadance took a deep breath and shook her head.
"For awhile, it was perfect. When he'd get off shift, I'd change back to myself and fly to where we had agreed to meet up. Of course, he was still tired, but I didn't mind so much anymore. I had already spent most of the day with him. So, I let him sleep. I didn't realize I was making him... fall in love with another mare."
Shining looked up, raising a hoof to interject, but opted not to say anything.
"The Melody personality and my actual personality began to merge. It got to a point where I wasn't separating the two anymore. I may have looked differently, but I was just being myself. I wasn't thinking about creating mental distance anymore. I didn't realize what was happening until there was an exceptionally fun day we had... but then when I was myself, Shining didn't want to talk about it. I realized what was happening and I didn't know what to do. So, I stopped. I stopped being Melody for awhile."
Shining nodded along, like things were beginning to make sense to him. Anon grabbed a chair and sat down, placing his face in his hands.
"But, then... not seeing him at all anymore... it hurt so much. So much. I decided... that, well. If I could keep my distance far enough, maybe this was okay. I just wanted to spend time with my husband again. I know I should have said something. I know. I just... I just..."
She sighed, looking at the floor.
"I suppose it doesn't matter why. It probably just sounds like excuses."
Shaking her head she looked up to Shining.
"Melody went back to be promoted from a recruit to a full guard. I just wanted to be with Shining again. After the ceremony, we all went out for drinks. Here. We played cards. I'm terrible at cards. But we played all night," she smiled. "All night. In one of those rooms back there. The guards get rowdy sometimes, so it was so we'd all be quiet."
She chuckled to herself and looked to the floor.
"But, when I woke up the next morning as her. As Melody. In bed. With him," she stutters. "I... didn't know what to do. I wasn't okay with this anymore. I didn't remember anything. I flew back to the castle before he woke up and... I tried to figure out what I could do. I needed to make things right. Somehow."
Cadance opened her eyes.
"I couldn't stop thinking about how terrible I was. I made my husband fall in love with another mare. To the point that... he'd cheat on me. Even if it was myself. I knew that I was the terrible one. I was the horrible mare that tricked her husband to cheat on her. On accident. I was the worst wife... ever."
She sniffed, then shook her head.
"So, I decided. I decided to come up with a plan to set him free and make myself miserable."
"What?!" Anon said.
Shining shook his head, still in shock. Twilight sat down too, unsure of how to react just yet.
"I told myself... convinced myself that Shining would get over me. And Melody. He'd be happier and better off with some other mare. So, Melody disappeared. Without even a trace. Her armor is even up in my study, were nopony... well, almost nopony can access it," she said. "I thought that by doing that, maybe he'd grow to hate Melody. Then... since I already knew what happened... I just had to find some way to make Shining hate me."
Cadance went quiet and the empty bar was still. She, for the first time since this morning, pleadingly looked to her husband.
"So, I forced myself to try and do what I thought would make you hate me. I targeted the human. Who isn't even a pony and was very close to Twilight. It would cause controversy. I kept Shining's infidelity under as close of wraps as possible. No pony in the castle was ever to say a word. However, mine? Would be everywhere. I would have been the unfaithful Princess. I made a love potion, to try and make it even slightly genuine. But... I wanted a potion that wouldn't let me forget how I felt about Shining. I wanted to hurt. It was my punishment."
Cadance sighed.
"Because. I never stopped loving him... but I thought he didn't love me. So... I'd set him free. But, there was a problem. Then Anon would be stuck under my love potion."
Anon looked up at his name, his face filled with confusion and sadness; his posture and liveliness broken.
"So, I created an antidote. A dose that would release him. I put it in a place that only two ponies could get to. Twilight and Myself. I knew that Twilight would probably try to figure out what was happening and try to stop this. I wouldn't have a chance to get back to the castle till after the games and the study was the first natural place to look. And, once Anon and I were fully under the potion's effects... I didn't trust myself with giving him the antidote. Because... I only made one dose."
The room was quiet once more.
"Why?" Twilight asks.
"Because, then you would set Anon free, and I would feel the pain of losing two of my loves. I wanted to hurt. It was my punishment. The pictures of them would always be a reminder of what I lost. And the picture of Melody, a reminder of how terrible of a pony I was."
Cadance sat up straight.
âI had to get myself completely intoxicated to even begin to set everything in motion, but... once the potion started, it all became automatic."
She closed her eyes and looked to the floor.
"So. Now that the potion will wear off by morning and everypony knows... I don't know what to do next. I thought what I was doing was the right thing... but, in the end I just ended up making everything worse."
She looked to Twilight.
"I was wrong in not coming to you and asking for advice when I needed it. I just felt so alone. I didn't feel like I could turn to anypony... no matter how close they were to me."
Cadance turned to Anon.
"I... I used you. I poisoned you, used you, and led you on just to make myself hurt. I know in the morning, you'll probably hate me... and, well. I just hope someday you'll forgive me. If not... I understand. I don't know how I will forgive myself for all of this, either."
She turned to her husband and opened her mouth, but choked on her words.
"I... I."
She closed her eyes and began to tremble.
"If you still want to get a divorce... I understand."
Tears formed in the alicorn's eyes and dripped to the floor, mixing with the pink potion.
"I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I never once meant any of the terrible things I said. I just was trying to make you the happiest, even if it would make you hurt right now. We'll tell the truth. Everypony can know. It's not your fault. I'm sorry. I just wanted to be a good wife. I just-"
She bit her lip and stood up straight, doing her best to swallow her emotions and look serious.
"So, that's it. That's the truth. No more secrets," she concluded.
Cadance's listeners were silent. Twilight looked down at the photo of Shining and Melody, happily drinking together. Her gaze moved to Cadance and she furrowed her brow.
"I don't think I'm the one who's important here," she said, rising from her seat.
She searched through her bag for the golden antidote and handed it to Anon.
"I'm going to wait outside," she said, more to Anon than anypony else.
Twilight then turned her back and walked to the front entrance, but stopped to look at the three of her closest friends. Then, she stepped outside of the bar, letting the door close behind her. Cadance looked to Anon, who held a vial of potion in his hands.
"That will undo all of the effects of the potion right now," she says. "You'll be completely back to your normal self again."
Anon turned it over in his hands, then looked up at her.
"Can I just ask you one thing? Just one question? Will you give me the complete truth, no matter how brutal it is?" he asked.
She nodded to him.
"Was... any part of what we had genuine?" he asked.
Cadance flinched like she was punched in the gut. She took a deep breath and sighs.
"I honestly... was upset at how weak the potion was. Even now I can only think about Shining. I'm sorry, Anon. I never... really felt anything," she said. "It was all an act. A cruel, awful-"
Anon took the lid off the vial and downed it, then tossed the glass on the floor, letting it shatter. Rising from his seat, he stormed out of the bar, slamming the door behind him.
And then, it was just husband and wife.
Cadance looked to the floor, resigning herself to whatever punishment awaited her. Shining stared at her, trying to take everything in. He looked to the floor, trying to collect all of his thoughts, while unease filled the whole room. The feeling hung in the air like a toxin, making Cadance only more and more tense. She looked up at him.
"Please say something," she pleaded.
The silence only continued.
"Shout at me. Curse at me. Something," she said. "Hit me if-"
"Stop," he said sternly.
She looked at him, closing her mouth.
"I can't tell you how mad I get when I hear you be harsh on yourself. When you do that, you're being mean to my wife, and I won't stand for that."
Shining sighed and rubbed his forehead with a hoof.
"And I'm not going to do any of those things. I'm not going to give you more reasons to beat yourself up. This isn't just your fault. It's mine too," he said.
"You don't... remember anything from that night, do you?" he asked.
"No," Cadance said quietly.
"I remember just a little bit, but I think it's one part that you don't remember. I don't remember how the night ended... but I know I told Melody something very important to me."
Cadance looked up at him, realizing it was her turn to listen.
"I've quit the guard," he said. "I've been off of it for awhile."
Cadance sat up straighter.
"But you love the guard."
"Not when it's keeping me away from the pony I love," he said.
"Oh," she replied.
The room went silent as the two looked away from the other. Cadance sniffed her nose, then gazed back at him.
"Now what do we do?" she asked.
He looked up at her.
"I don't want a divorce," he said.
"Neither do I," she said.
The two went still again, looking away from each other. Each feeling miles apart from each other. Cadance took the first step forward, her hoof crunching on broken glass. She winced, but pressed forward until she was next to her husband. He looked at her as she stood beside him.
"Do you want me to leave?" she asked.
Shining moved one of his hooves around her neck and pulled her in close to him. Cadance's eyes went wide and her wings opened in surprise, but she wrapped her hooves around him, then her wings as well. The two held each other close, trembling in each others hooves. Feeling each others pain. Feeling each others sorrow.
But trying to take the first step forward.
The Equestria Games came and went without any other incident. Cadance and Shining were extremely hard to get a hold of, but they were both together. In fact, they were inseparable. None of the press noticed anything odd about the royal couple, nor did they question why Equestria's favorite new Princess seemed to be absent from many of the events after that fateful evening. Rumors spread about her human friend, Anonymous, going missing and that she was searching for him, but rumors are just rumors are just rumors. Nopony ever knows what's actually true or not.
Why would anypony believe a rumor?
"All aboard for Ponyville! 9:00am to Ponyville will be departing shortly!" called the train attendant, watching the platform for anypony who still needed to board the train.
"Uhm, sugarcube."
"Just five more minutes," Twilight said.
"I don't think he's coming," Applejack said.
"Just... five more minutes. I'll meet you inside with the others."
Applejack looked at her friend with concern, unsure of what to tell her.
"Alright," she said. "If you say so. It just hurts seeing you get like this. Are you sure that there isn't something you wanna talk-"
"No. Not yet."
The earth pony eyed her friend curiously, but nodded her head.
"Ahm goin to join the others. Ah'll see you on the train."
Twilight nodded, but she wasn't focused on Applejack.She was scanning the horizon intensely, just as she turned the whole city upside down to try and find Anon. After he stormed out of the bar that night, he just... left. She chased after him for awhile, but he screamed that he just wanted to be alone for awhile.
So, she let him go.
But that was almost five days ago. Where was he? A deep fear sat in the pit of her stomach. Now the last train to Ponyville from the Equestria Games was about to depart. She could always wait another day, but the other girls were ready to go home. They didn't know what actually happened.
To them, the most drama they knew about was some big ball of ice. She'd been covering the best she could for Anon, but if things got too out of hand, then the tangled web of white lies would fall into itself. Applejack was already beginning to doubt Twilight and she knew it. Twilight sighed, remembering everything that had happened to him. To her. To Shining.
The royal couple talked to Twilight almost every day after that night. Both together and privately. There was a lot of trust that needed healing and Celestia put them in touch with a counselor she knew that could keep a secret. Or, at very least, could be paid to keep a secret. But, it seemed as if the royal marriage might be healed someday and nopony would be the wiser.
"Princess Twilight?"
She turned on the spot in hope, but was disappointed to see a stallion in front of her.
"We're finishing boarding right now," the platform attendant said. "We need for you to get on the train."
Twilight made one last scan of the horizon, but couldn't see any sign of her Anon. She sighed, then nodded. Twilight stepped onto the platform as the doors closed behind her. Anon needed space. She was willing to give him the time he needed in order to get his bearings. Twilight moved down the hall, glancing into each of the rooms, reflective of her current state in life.
One room had a family, who's parents were entertaining their son and daughter. Another had a young mare and stallion talking to each other. Maybe about the games? Maybe about a future date they would have? Maybe about what they'd do when they got back home?
She sighed and continued her path to her train cabin with the girls. Maybe she should just tell them all what happened. Honesty is usually the best policy. Plus, she trusted them all to keep a secret. Even Rarity, though she tended to eat up drama and gossip.
She glanced into another cabin, but stopped in her tracks. Inside was a human, staring outside of the train window, sitting alone in his car. Twilight moved to the glass door, and took a moment to look at Anon. He clearly hadn't shaved in a few days, but his clothes weren't dirty. He looked tired more than anything else. Not the sort of tired when you don't get enough sleep, but rather the sort from emotional drainage that comes along with going through tense drama.
The sort of tired that just makes you fed up with the world.
Twilight placed a hoof to the glass, feeling her heart ache for her human. Anon turned his head, hearing the tap on the glass and Twilight could see recognition painted on his face. He lightly smiled, but turned his gaze back to the window. Twilight wondered to herself if that was an invitation to enter, or if she should still stay away.
There was a lot she wanted to say to him. Like, 'WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?' or 'YOU WORRIED ME SICK!', but she knew that this wasn't the time for such things. That would come on a lighter, happier day.
Twilight bit her lip and looked down at the door handle. Then slid the door open.
Anon didn't react as Twilight stepped inside and shut the door behind her.
"Hey," she said gently.
He grunted in response, still looking out the window. She moved closer to him and sat down beside Anon, trying to study his body language.
"How are you holding up?"
He remained silent for a moment, then exhaled slowly.
"About as could be expected, I suppose."
"Right," she replied, looking to the floor. "That's good. I guess."
Anon seemed cold and distant, though Twilight sat within inches of him. She could reach out and touch him, but she wasn't sure if he was even really there.
"Do you... wanna talk about it?" she asked. "It usually helps."
He remained silent as the train lurched into motion, and the train made it's way back on it's natural course.
"I'm not sure. I don't know where to start."
Twilight placed a hoof on his leg and leaned closer to him.
"I'm here for you, Anon," she said. "You can talk to me about all of this."
He broke his gaze from the window and looked to Twilight. A tangled mix of hurt and confusion was behind Anon's eyes, hidden from view but boiling just beyond the surface.
"I'm not sure what hurts more," he said. "That everything just disappeared in a few short hours. My feelings. The relationship. Everything about her. Or knowing that I was just a tool in some game. I feel used and vulnerable. Played like some sort of toy that was played with for a day and then tossed into the trash when I lost my shine."
He sighed then looked back out to the window.
"I just... feel unwanted. I guess," he sighed.
Twilight studied Anon carefully as he looked out the window. She closed her eyes and leaned herself on his shoulder.
"I think you're pretty cool," she said softly.
Anon smiled weakly. Twilight sat up straight again, trying to give her friend the most comforting look she could muster.
"Do you want more time?" she asked.
Anon remained silent as the landscape out the window moved by. The only sound in the quiet cabin was the thumping of the train on the tracks. Twilight nodded then stood up.
"Alright, I'll just be a few cabins down if-"
Anon grabbed her hoof and turned to her. Twilight suddenly felt Anon's presence. He looked up at her and his expression had changed. Anon was focused on her, his eyes had a sense of desperation. A sense of longing.
"Please don't go," he said.
Twilight smiled, holding his hand with her hoof and sitting back down.
"I'll stay with you as long as you want me to be."
Anon smiled and took a deep breath, looking away from the window and instead at his friend. And Twilight's fears slowly faded away, knowing that her Anon would finally be coming home.
The funny thing about the train they were riding on was that it was never meant to go very far. It was a two-way short train that would deliver ponies from Ponyville to Canterlot. However, due to the large migration of citizens to the Equestria Games, the train was veered off of it's course for a short period of time. Yet, now it was heading back to Ponyville, worn and tired, but back on track.
Epilogue: The Forgotten Night
Melody had her cards face down on the table, and wore a smug grin. She looked like she had all of this figured out. Her confidence radiated to the other three stallions at the table, including Shining Armor. The other two guards kept looking over their hands, and checked back to the cards in the center of the table.Shining wasn't sure of his hand either, but he tried harder to not show it.
Instead he focused himself at studying his competitor. Melody had became an amazing friend to him the last couple months of her training and he was proud that she was finally graduating, but that was the last thing he was focused on right now. He was focused on her ice blue eyes, trying to find any sort of movement or nervousness. He watched the way she held herself, hooves folded in front of her, confident. He studied her face for any sort of twitching.
Shining wasn't sure if he was actually beat or not.
He didn't have too many hands left in him. At some point, he has to go home to Cadance.
He had something to discuss with her.
He reached to his bottle of cider and downed the last of it, then set it on the floor beside him. Except, 'set down' might be too gentle a phrase. 'Tossed' might be a bit better.
Almost all of the ponies at the table had put down at least six drinks that night and the biggest offenders were Melody and Shining. Heck, for most of the night, the guards were having a competition of who could collect the most bottles.
Melody and Shining tied.
There was a photo to commemorate the occasion and it was sitting right with Melody's pot of chips.
"Oh fine, whatever," one of the guards groaned. "I've got to watch the Princess during morning shift tomorrow, so I'll make this my last one. All in."
"I guess if that's what we're doin, then I'll go all in too," the other guard chimed in.
"Dude, you skipped me!" Shining interjected.
"Eeehhh, whatever," the last guard said. "Melody's been cleaning house with her bluffs all night. I don't think she has it."
Shining looked back at Melody, who smiled at him mischievously.
"Come on, Shining," she said with a hiccup. "You in? Or out?"
Shining exhaled and studied her again. There was nothing. No signs. He couldn't find a tell on Melody all night.
Shining groaned, then tossed his cards into the middle.
"I'll try the next one."
"All right, read 'em and weep," Melody said proudly. "Straight flush."
The other two guards groaned and tossed their hands in the middle, showing a two sets of two pair.
"Welp, that's it for me," one guard groaned.
He tried to stand up, but immediately stumbled over himself.
"O-ok. I got this. I'm gonna walk home. I'll talk to everypony later."
"How about I help you home, Cedar. I'm not too bad," the other guard said, helping his buddy's hoof around him.
"Thanks, man. I owe you one."
As the two stallions exited the back room of the little pub, Shining called after them.
"Don't worry about the tab, guys. The Guard has it covered."
The two guards exited without a second word and the door shut behind him, leaving Shining all alone with Melody. He looked at her carefully as she downed her last drink and swayed in her seat.
"I'm having so much fun!" she said with a wide smile. "One more hand. Please?"
He looked down at his chips, compared to the large mass she's compiled.
"I don't even have close to enough chips for an all-or-nothing hand."
"Oh... come on!" she said with a wide smile. "Where's the fun in that."
Shining sighed.
"Alright, but I'll make this interesting. All my chips and a secret, against all of your chips and the photo."
Melody looked down at the photo, then back at him.
"You're on!" she tossed everything into the center of the table as Shining gathered the cards.
Shining couldn't stop looking at Melody. There was something in the way she talked, something in the way she moved and acted that just felt right. There was some quality that he couldn't put his hoof on, but this mare brought butterflies to his stomach.
And he knew it was wrong.
He asked himself why he was still here. Why was he still spending time, all alone, in a back room of a dingy pub, with a mare that made him think... things.
He shook his head and focused on shuffling the cards in front of him. On top of a massive pile of chips in between them was a single quick-develop photo. A photo of him and Melody, arm in arm, celebrating the night. He smiled at it, knowing he probably couldn't really keep the photo. If Cadance saw it, well.
Those are some questions he'd rather avoid.
But he knew what he had to do and tonight was when he was going to do it. He cracked open a new drink, and so did she as he dealt out the cards. He already put the other five cards of their game on the table. While there wasn't a lot of point for rounds of betting, he could still build up the tension. Shining looked down at his cards and smiled.
This was a good hand. A great hand.
He set down his cards to find Melody was already confident and staring directly at him.
"Reveal?" she asked.
Shining blushed, but he tried to stay focused as he revealed all five cards on the table. He did the math in his head for what his hand was. After a quick minute, he smiled and looked back at her.
Three-of-a-kind.
Not the best, but certainly not bad. He studied her carefully, unsure of how to proceed. Her eyes were still laser locked on him. But then, he noticed something. Melody's right ear twitched.
A full range of emotions went through his mind as he leaned back in his chair. That tell. There was no way.
He needed to be home right now.
"I fold," he said, tossing his cards onto the table.
"What?" she said in shock. "That quickly?"
"Yeah. I already know who won. There's no fun in it."
Melody eyed you quickly and stood up.
"But, don't you even want to see?"
"You had nothing. You were bluffing. I know it," he said it confidently.
Shining turned over his cards and Melody eyed him carefully. She turned over her cards and showed him that she had nothing.
"How did you know?" she asked.
Shining smiled and rose from his seat.
"I knew, because my wife has the exact same tell, whenever we played games as kids. And on that note, I think I better go."
Melody rose from her seat, almost tripping over herself.
"No! Please! I'm having so much fun. Please!"
Shining sighed and moved around the table closer to Melody.
"Listen, Melody. You're a great friend. I'm having fun too. But look. It's almost 1AM. I'm married. Do the math. I have to go home," he said.
She looked down at the ground and hiccuped.
"Then, at least tell me your secret," she said. "You lost, so tell me your secret. I wanna know."
Shining sighed.
"Alright. You won't like it though," he said.
She looked up at him with those wide, ice-blue eyes, hanging on his every word. Shining felt a fire burning in him that he immediately tried to put a damp towel on.
"I'm quitting the guard."
"What?! But you love the guard!" Melody said.
"Yeah, but not when it's keeping me from the pony I love," he said. "Plus, I think I know what my real dream job is."
Melody sat down, trying to absorb the new information and to recapture her sense of balance.
"Dream... job?" she asks.
"Yeah... I've been thinking about it more and more. I love the guard... but I think I'd really love to be a stay at home Dad. I've been dreaming about it lately, actually. I just haven't been sure how to tell the 'boss' you know?"
Melody looks up at you, with an unreadable expression. Is she... happy?
"The point is, I don't know what you think is going to happen here tonight, but I've got my two weeks in. You probably won't see me anymore. That's probably for the best."
"Shining," Melody said tenderly.
"I'm going to go talk to my wife and try to make some things right. Things have been rough lately and it's time for me to do something about it."
"My Shining Armor..."
Shining sighed and shook his head. He swayed on his feet, the room spun way faster than it should as he moved toward the door.
"On that note, I have to go. Goodbye, Melody."
"Shining, I'm not Melody," she said.
Shining stopped and turned his head.
"Melody was never real," she said. "Hold on, hold on."
Melody tried to control the magic in her horn, causing blue sparks shot out in varying bursts of energy.
"No wait, hold on. I can do this," she said.
"Melody, you're drunk. You can't do magic. Just go home."
"I can't go home!" she said. "I can't change back!"
Melody stuttered while looking for words.
"Remember the nights when I'd would come over to take care of Twilight?"
Shining's stomach dropped.
"When I'd put Twilight to bed, the two of us would go downstairs when your parents weren't home. All alone."
He stared at her intensely.
"Then, the two of us would play Hyper Spacebattles until ten minutes before the parents were supposed to be home? It was because downstairs had a better atmosphere and wouldn't wake Twilight. The two of us got caught once by your parents, but it was because I had rolled a 20 and everypony else thought that we were fooling around."
Shining turned away from the door.
"How do you know that?" he asked.
Melody smiled as she tried to stand up.
"Because I'm Cadance," she said. "It's my secret. I've been disguising myself so we could spend more time together."
She swayed on her feet and fell on the ground. Shining tried to trot over to her, but he found that walking was way more difficult than he remembered as well.
"Alright. I think it's time to me to sleep this off. This is ridiculous."
"I would love if you'd be a stay at home Dad," she said. "I miss you so much. So much."
Shining helped Melody to her feet.
"Alright. It's time for you to sleep this off too. You'll have your wits about you in the morning," he said.
He picked her up into his hooves and helped her lay down on the bed.
"Do you believe me? Shiny?" Melody asked.
Shining sighed and closed his eyes.
"I'd rather not take that risk."
"Do you love me anymore?" she asked.
Shining looked at Melody carefully, as she stared up at him.
"I only love my wife," he lied. "I'm going to head home. Sleep well."
He headed for the door of the room, but stopped as he reached the handle. Quiet, just by the bed, was the sound of sobbing. A sound he recognized as clear as day. The pattern, the breaths, the intervals, the hushed tone and way it was buried into a pillow. It was the sound of a princess trying her hardest not to let anypony else know how much she hurt inside.
And he'd only heard it once before.
He turned to the bed and eyed Melody carefully. The tell was the same. The cry is the same. She knew a private story that only you and your wife knew.
"Cadance?" he slurred.
The mare turned in bed to stare at him, and she smiled.
"Shiny. My Shining Armor."
He chuckled and left the door alone.
"You know, I suppose it makes sense."
He stretched his hooves.
"But I'm way too bad for this. Let's talk about everything in the morning, huh?"
Melody nodded and closed her eyes. Shining moved to the bed and clumsily climbed in. Melody moved closer to him, but he pushed away.
"Still, better not. Not... while you're like this."
Melody chuckled to herself.
"Right. Good night, Shining."
Shining closed his eyes, unsure of how to respond.
"Good night, Cadance."
The sun shines through the only window of the tiny, cramped room. Melody turned over in bed, gradually rising herself out of slumber. Then, the dry mouth hit. She groaned, because as she sat up, the headache struck as well.
Rising to her hooves, the mare groaned as she began walking straight ahead, dazed and groggy. But she wasn't able to get too far before she was greeted with a wall.
Then, her eyes open wide. This was not her room in the crystal palace.
Melody turned on the spot to take in her surroundings. This was a dingy, run down hotel room in the back of a pub.
She gasped, as she saw her husband laying in bed, resting peacefully. But when she looked to her hooves, she didn't see the meticulously cared for pink fur. Instead, she saw the average, uninteresting whiteness of her guard disguise. Cadance, took a few careful steps away, trying to remember anything about last night, but the soreness of her head made trying to remember difficult and nauseating.
Her breathing quickened as she remembered being alone with Shining in this room. Being held in his arms. Her eyes widened. Did they...
She felt her world crushing down around her.
Shining... cheated on her.
With, herself. And she caused it.
What had she done?
Melody's horn glowed with energy as she opened the window to the room, transforming herself back to her true form. Spreading her wings, she looked back at her husband.
She had to do something. But, she didn't know what. Not yet, at least.
With one swift motion, Cadance took to the sky and flew out of the room. Her eyes filled with tears and regret.
Author's Note
It's been a long road. A very long road. Over a year, in fact, for this story to go from beginning to end. However, now it's complete. Thank you everyone who stuck around until the very end. I hope everyone is satisfied with the ending and please let me know what you think in the comments. Cadance stories are kinda my thing, so if you really like seeing Lovebutt at her best and worst, consider hitting that little follow button. If not, it's all good. I hope another one of my stories may catch your eyes one day.
Thank you so much for reading Something You'd Regret
