Breakup, Breakdown

The night was a cold one. Surprisingly chilly for early spring, as if the weather council had some left over cold to get rid of after the winter. It was cold right up until the point where Shining Armor had slid into bed next to his wife, and snuggled in close. A long, hard day of training new recruits for the castle, and his reward was sleeping next to a literal goddess of a mare. Life was good. Life was very very good, and those were his last thoughts before they tumbled into nothingness and sleep overtook him.

The next several hours were relatively peaceful. The Crystal Empire slept safe and soundly after Sombra had been banished (again), and secure in the knowledge that they were well protected by their new princess and highly trained guards. The Empire was at peace.

So when Shining armor found himself wide awake at precisely three am with a cold chill of magic choking the air in the room, he knew that something was wrong. Something was very wrong. He sat up in bed, peering through the darkness and froze.

As a castle guard, (The captain no less) Shining Armor knew his room inside and out. Part of his training to 'secure' the area before going to sleep, regardless of how much it irked Cadence. He just could never fall asleep until he knew the doors and windows were locked tightly. He'd come to know every shadow in his room, every square inch of darkness that could hide potential attackers, or places used for cover. He knew the shape and size of his furniture, and the blotchy, lumpy shadow in the corner was not among the recognized shapes.

"Cadence...Wake up. Cadence," Shining whispered, keeping his eyes trained on the figure in the corner. A prank perhaps? Something the new cadets were put up to? He'd been especially hard on one of them this afternoon...what was his name? Night Slash...but the boy just had so much potenti-The shadow moved.

Shining armor sprang into action instantly, throwing out a powerful beam of light from his horn to illuminate the room- but nothing happened. Try as he might, he couldn't produce a single spark of light, and that's when a low, haunting chuckle drifted casually across the room.

"No, no, no. Lets keep the dramatics to a minimum, shall we?" the voice hissed. Shining Armor swallowed a lump in his throat. The fear, the apprehension, the sensation of powerlessness and the unknown? All of it quickly shifted to one feeling he knew all to well: Hatred. He knew that voice.

"You," he snarled, as the figure slowly slipped from the shadows. Swinging her hips with a gentle sultry tone, and an alluring purr spilled from her lips. Emerald, glowing eyes slowly flickered into view- slit pupils like a cat, and casting a horrifying illumination into the room. The changeling queen Chrysalis now stood before Shining Armor, and she delighted at Shining's reaction. His face turned pale, and he immediately glanced over at his wife, then back to the creature sharing the room with him.

"Me. Nice to see you too, sweetie. You know, you never call, you never write, I'm beginning to worry about our relationship, Shiny," Chrysalis whispered, casually climbing onto the bed next to the struggling knight. He couldn't move, try as he might. The air was stuffy with intense magic and even with all of his training, Shining found himself helpless to the creature next to him. She could do whatever she wanted...

"There IS no relationship!" He snapped. Chrysalis gave a low hum of a chuckle and reached out to stroke her hooves daintily across his mane.

"Well, not with that sort of attitude. I do miss our time together. Shame you had to leave me at the altar...well...blast me off the altar...into another country," She said flatly, leaning in even closer. Shining Armor gave a dark hiss and struggled furiously against the magic holding him. He glanced over at Cadence again and narrowed his eyes.

"What have you done to her?" he growled. She gave another low hum of a chuckle and waggled one of her hooves dismissively.

"Oh, nothing terrible. Just a little sleeping spell to ensure we get a little time alone together to talk. I've been talking with my therapist, lovely girl, and she tells me that I need some closure. Do you know what it's like being dumped at the altar? It hurts right in here," She explained, pointing at her chest. "But doctor Xir'icis'ixior, (we call her Jenny for short) says persistence is key. You don't just let a good stallion like you drop out of your life! Who cares about little things like marriage and uncontrollable hatred. Those feelings don't hold a candle to how much we love each other!" she purred. He shook his head, doing his best to lift an arm and shove her away. Away from him. From them. But his limbs felt like lead. At this point he wasn't sure if she was just teasing him, or had gone completely insane. Didn't matter.

"Stay out of my life!! I'll tear you to pieces!" He snapped. Chrysalis gave a quiet tsk and put on a mock pout, turning away and crossing her arms, like a hurt girlfriend.

"They said you were violent. But I told them you didn't have it in your heart to hurt others. They said not to marry you. That we'd turn into a domestic statistic. Seems like they were right. Oh, but Shiny, I don't care if you're terrible to me! We can get through this abusive relationship! Maybe a little therapy, some anger management classes, oh, sweetie, we'll make it through this one way or another, I promise!" Chrysalis squealed, wrapping her arms around his neck and cuddling him close like a teddy bear. He tried to pull away, snarling and hissing at her, but it was to no avail.

"We will have to give you an attitude adjustment. Things are going to change if we're going to make this work, darling. Oh, and she has GOT to go...unless you're feeling kind of freaky and want some three way fun..." the changeling chuckled, pointing her hoof at Cadence. Shining armor gagged at the idea, wildly shaking his head.

"GUARDS!!" he cried out. Chrysalis giggled quietly, her grin widening dangerously slow and she leaned down to rest her nose against his own.

"Ooooo, I like the way you think, you naughty boy. But your guards are sleeping too, just like little Cadence here, " she purred. Shining gave a snarl again, twisting his head to point his horn in her direction, only to have it casually pushed away.

"I'm sorry Shiny but if we're going to get back together, we're going to have to curb this temper of yours. But I suppose it is getting late, and this is a lot to take in, so maybe it's time I take a little walk. Let you think on it, clear your head. I'll get back to you and we can make dinner plans, hmmm? Sound good baby?" she snickered, and leaned in to kiss Shining Armor on the nose.

"Trust me, I'll see you around, honey," she cooed, and with that Shining Armor sat up in bed, gasping wildly. The sheets were twisted around his legs, and he frantically glanced around the room.

"Cadence?!" he almost screamed, reaching out to wildly shake his wife. Cadence gave a groan and turned over, slowly sitting up in bed and peering at her husband with bleary eyes.

"What? What is it?! It's...ugh, it's 4 am...Shining..."She groaned. Shining Armor frowned, peering at the room again. Nothing was different. No green eyed monster peering at him, and making bizarre statements about a none existent relationship. It had all been a nightmare.

"N-Nothing...I...sorry, I had a bad dream, go back to sleep, honey, we'll talk in the morning." He groaned, trying to shuffle himself back down and under the covers, but he knew full well he wasn't getting back to sleep.