Twilight makes sure no one is following her before turning down a shadowed hallway. She tiptoes quietly down to the end of it, coming before a door. This door isn't like any others in the palace. This door is worn and faded and peeling and coated with mold, and Twilight swallows the lump of disgust in her throat before pushing it open. The door leads to a dark room with no windows. There are random odds and ends -mostly baby or child paraphernalia- strewn everywhere, such as a pink broken alarm clock, an old Barbie doll, a baby's dress, and a cradle.

"Cadance?" She calls into the dark room.

A figure covered in blankets on a bed sits up.

"Shining is that you? Have you come home?"

Twilight shakes her head, "No Cadance. It's just me. Just Twilight."

"Oh," Cadance lies back down, "When is he coming back?"

Twilight walks over to the bed and sits on a stool next to the bed. She can't bring herself to look at Cadance. Partially because Cadance can spot a lie from a a mile away, -the last time Twilight tried telling Cadance the truth, Twilight had been sent to the hospital with several bad cuts and bruises- and partially because the sight of Cadance makes Twilight dry heave.

Cadance's formerly glorious red hair is matted to her head and greasy. Her skin is sweaty and dirty and covered in acne. Her teeth are yellow or gone. She hasn't showered in five years, and if it weren't for Celestia's special disinfectant that Twilight sprays on Cadance once every while, she'd be covered head to toe in dirt.

"Soon, Cadance, soon," Twilight says.

Cadance smiles, "Oh good. I want him here when the baby is born."

Twilight swallows a lump in her throat and forces a smile, "He will be."

Twilight would never tell her the truth, that Cadance, in her manic days, had stabbed her stomach, killing the baby and wounding herself to the point of near death. Twilight had arranged a C-Section to get rid of the corpse, because Cadance forgot everything she'd done in her manic stage a few weeks after.

Cadance flops back down and pulls the blankets over her head. Twilight knows that's her cue to leave. As quietly as she can, Twilight tiptoes out and shuts the door.

As she walks away, Twilight clenched her fists. She misses Cadance. Even though she's just down the hall from Twilight, she still misses Cadance. She misses her brother too, but she'll never get him back. She hates visiting Cadance. She hates it, because it reminds her if who Cadance used to be and if that day, that horrible day.

The memory comes back in thick abrupt flashbacks.

The horrible revolt from Luna.

The invasion of P.A.R.T.Y.

Shining Armor struggling to climb onto the carriage to safety.

Cadance screaming at him to hurry.

Shining suddenly stopping.

Shining coughing up blood.

Shining falling forward.

A knife sticking out of his back.

Scarlet blood pooling everywhere.

Screaming.

Screaming from her own throat.

The dead stare of Cadance's disbelieving eyes.

Tears from her own eyes.

Cadance slumping to the floor.

Screaming at Shining to wake up and Cadance to snap out of it.

Amidst it all, looking up and seeing her face.

The face of the devil leering at her with its massive head of fiery hair and icy sapphire eyes.

And the sharp sharp memory of the promise Twilight made to herself that day. End the devil. Silence that manic laughter, permanently erase the leering grin, get the image of its face out of Twilight's brain. She will kill Pinkie. She'll do it if it kills her.

Author's Note

I would like to point out that, yes, I have made Spike's last name Sparkle, because everyone in this story will have last names. Rarity's is Belle like Sweetie Belle, and the Apple Family's last name is Apple. I know that is kind of ridiculous (I mean Applejack Apple? Apple Bloom Apple?), but makes a decent amount of sense. I hope you enjoy! Sorry the chapter's short and stupid. I'm pretty stressed 'cause of some stuff going on at school, so sorry for the abruptness and uselessness of the chapter. I'm not posting a chapter tomorrow or Sunday, because I'm pretty busy.