Cadance stared at the ceiling of their royal chamber.
Of her royal chamber.
It wasn’t his anymore. It’d never be his again.
She could hear the shuffling of the Crystal pony servants in the halls beyond her door. They came in, performed their duties, then left, leaving their Empress to the solitude she so desired.
It was not fair. Why would he do that? How could he do that to her?
Taking that spear, leaving her all alone. She had held him in her forearms, as she watched the light leave his eyes. He whispered of his love for her as he bled out.
Stupid foal. She would have survived the attempt on her life. He…
He did not.
Swift and bloody vengeance had been dealt to the assailant, and once his accomplices had been rooted out, they too had seen the headspony’s axe.
Justice had been served, her vengeance had been dealt… but it had done nothing to sate the hollowness she felt from Shining Armor’s passing.
“Y-Your Highness?” a petite crystal mare asked, as she stuck her through Cadance’s chamber door. “Princess Celestia and Princess Luna are here. Shall I—”
“Thank you, Amethyst, but please tell them I will not be seeing anypony today.”
Cadance rolled over, burying her muzzle in his pillow. She could still smell his scent faintly in the silk. One day, it too would fade.
One day, she would have to deal with his passing. One day, she would have to stop pushing her aunties away.
One day, she would have to move on.
Thankfully, Luna had agreed to take over Cadance’s duties, and was willing to act as Empress-Regent during Cadance’s extended sabbatical.
Cadance returned to Canterlot with Celestia, but had secluded herself to her old room.
This was where she and Shining Armor shared their first kiss.
This room was where they had first made love.
This was the first room they spent together as husband and wife.
There were so many firsts to remember. And now, so many firsts that would never come.
Their first foal.
Their first grandfoal.
Cadance had always known that she would be parted from her husband one day; thus was the double-edged sword that was their immortality. She had come to terms with it, but it had always seemed like it would be some day, long, long into the distant future.
Five years.
Five years as husband and wife.
It wasn’t fair!
She was supposed to have years with him. Decades… maybe even centuries!
But no, those years were stolen from them, by instigators within the ranks of the Crystal Nobility who demanded a crystal pony be returned to the throne.
She would have given up that throne, in an instant, if she could have her Shining Armor back.
She would give anything.
Cadance ran her hoof across the engravings carved into the marble plinth. Above her stood the solemn looking statue of Twilight Sparkle.
“Hi, Twilight,” Cadance spoke, looking up at the statue. “I… I guess Celestia has already… already told you the news.”
The statue said nothing.
“I wish you could have been there, Twilight,” Cadance said, sniffling.
The statue said nothing.
“You could have… you could have stopped it.”
“I suspected that was why you had come,” a disembodied voice spoke. “You did not come after the funeral, you did not even come to tell me what had happened yourself.”
A snarl rippled through the air.
“No, I had to hear it from one of the guards as they passed by!”
An unnatural silence filled the courtyard.
“Not Celestia, nor Luna, nor yourself deigned it important to come and tell me, his sister, of what had happened. If it were not for Spike’s visits…”
“Celestia still hasn’t come to see you?” Cadance gasped. “But it’s been—”
“Three years, seven months, nine days, thirteen hours, fifty two minutes and twelve seconds,” the voice answered, bitterly. “Yes, I am well aware. Oh, she’s come to see me, alright, but never to speak. She only comes to look upon her greatest failure.”
“She doesn’t—” Cadance started.
“Why are you here, Cadance?” Twilight’s disembodied voice asked.
“Y-you know why.”
“Say. The. Words!”
“I… I want you to bring him back, Twilight,” Cadance said, no more than a whisper. “I need to see him again.”
“Then you will leave here disappointed,” the voice replied.
“Why‽” Cadance screamed. “You could break out of there… in an instant! We could have him back, Twilight.”
“I will not break out, Cadance; I will serve my sentence.” Twilight sighed. “Please, speak no more of this folly. Grieve, Cadance, grieve… and move on.”
“But you brought Rainbow Dash ba—”
“What I brought back was not Rainbow Dash, and you know it!” Twilight yelled. Silence settled in, as Twilight calmed herself. “I was wrong, and that is why I accept Equestria’s judgement.
“Turn away from this path, Cadance,” she said softly. “Look at me, and see where that path leads. Please… by the time I am released… you will be my only family left.”
Cadance turned, ready to walk away.
“Cadance?” she asked. “When you are ready, please, come visit me again… A millennium is a long time to spend alone.”
The alicorn trotted away, without looking back.
“Your Highness,” the guard said, bowing low. “We have a visitor.”
“A visitor? And who is this… visitor?”
“Empress Mi Amore Cadenza, of the Crystal Empire,” the guard answered.
“Cadenza?” the mare laughed. “Well, now isn’t this a surprise?”
Cadance dragged herself slowly through the dimly lit halls.
“So, Princess, to what do we owe the pleasure?”
“I… I come with an offer,” the ragged pink alicorn replied. “Love, more love than you could ever need.”
Her horn sparked, and the room was saturated with love so thick, its occupants almost fainted.
“Interesting,” the mare responded. “And what do you want in exchange?”
“Shining Armor.”
“Ahh,” the mare said, as she stepped off her obsidian throne. “Now I understand. Of course, if you keep your end of the bargain, I am willing to comply.”
Queen Chrysalis stalked towards Cadance, a predatory sneer across her features. Green flames sparked around the queen as she was replaced by the visage of Shining Armor.
Cadance galloped towards her husband, wrapping her arms around the stallion, ignoring the guards as they readied their spears.
“Shiney,” Cadance cried as she peppered his face with kisses. “Never again! Don’t leave me, ever again!”
Chrysalis drank deep of the love pouring from the alicorn, and shared it across the hive.
“Don’t worry, mi amore,” Shining Armor replied, licking his lips.
“Never again.”
