A Shoulder to Cry on

by CT-6591-6210

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Dark, Alternate Universe, Sad, Drama
Length: 9936

Rainbow loves flying out during the night, because it gives her the freedom to soar without receiving any complaints. But, something's not right, for Rainbow sees a familiar pony crying near a beautiful lake, and what's coming up will be horrifying.

Rainbow Dash is a Pegasus pony who absolutely Loves flying, and the night is one place where she is allowed to express it without receiving complaints from Mayor Mare, or from the rest of the town so to speak of.

But on a cool Summer's night such as this one in particular, Rainbow Dash senses that something is wrong, very wrong. For near a very beautiful lake in the middle of White-tail Woods, great sadness dwells from Empress Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, who just happens to be crying with a broken heart. To Rainbow, she believes it's just apart of her mood swings from her Pregnancy. However; as she stays with the young Alicorn Empress, trying to comfort her, she discovers a horrifying secret, and the events leading up to it. And it will be up to Rainbow Dash to help Cadence anyway she can, even if it's just simply being there for her.

*Takes place after Season 5 Episode 19, but with a twist. All Episodes afterwards will not exist in this story whatsoever.*

*Warning! This story is rated Teen for use of Language.*

*Oh, and PLEASE don't forget to rate and/or comment. I'm open to any feedback, but be sure to keep the comments civil.*

Published 1970-01-01 00:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2016-10-25 05:36:51 UTC

Chapter 1

On a cool and relaxing Summer night, Rainbow Dash was flying over the White-tail woods at blinding speeds. And she was enjoying every minute of it possible, with a smile of amazement plastered onto her face. If one thing was certain, Rainbow Dash loved to fly, more so than the Wonderbolts. She loved the sense of thrill and wonder of just getting off the ground and soaring as high as she can into the blue skies and getting lost in all of it's beauty for hours. She loved having the wind in her Prismatic Mane when going really fast. And she most definitely loved accomplishing her signature Sonic Rainboom, which was a ring made out of Rainbows that would spread outwards until stopping at a certain distance. And the best part of it all, on nights such as this one, she could fly as much as she wanted without any issues, weather duty and managing, and most certainly, any constant complaints from either the townsfolk of Ponyville, or Mayor Mare to be precise, the only one who always looking for something to constantly bitch and complain about.

Five minutes later, and Rainbow Dash was ready to get back to her cloud home and see how Tank was doing before going to sleep. But before she could dash on home (no pun intended), she heard the faint sounds of someone crying. "What the? Where is that noise coming from and who is it from?" Rainbow asked in her head, curious to find out who's crying and why. The cyan Pegasus listened closely to the sound with her ears, and found out that it wasn't far off from her location. She was then terrified when she saw where the sound was, for she saw a beautiful lake before her. "Oh no. Whoever is crying must be near the Lake! That can't be good. I have to stop whoever he/she is before it's too late!" With a new goal in mind, along with great amounts of determination and concern to motivate it, Rainbow Dash rocketed towards the lake with great speed, but not fast enough to cause a Sonic Rainboom, praying that she wasn't too late.

Rainbow Dash finally arrived at the lake, taking only two minutes to get there. She landed immediately in order to save whatever strength was in her wings she had left and trotted carefully to where the crying was now. To the Athletic Mare's horror, she was now looking at the one and only Empress Mi Amore Cadenza, Twilight's sister-in-law, and the current ruler of the Crystal Empire, who was currently all alone. And she was a mess, from the heavily unkempt mane and tail, to her rib cage showing, clearly indicating that she hadn't eaten anything in days. But how was that possible? Cadence and Shining Armor both said that she was Pregnant, so that meant she would have to have a Huge appetite in order to keep her unborn child strong and healthy, along with morning sickness.

But what did this all mean? Did she lose the baby shortly after the pre-baby shower? Did Shining Armor leave her, or had he died from some kind of ambush while on their way back to their beloved kingdom? No, the latter option would be possible because Reason 1: He made an oath to always love and tolerate Cadence while trying to protect her from all sorts of evil such as the Changelings or King Sombra, who'd died after his return. And Reason 2: If he were dead from being ambushed, then it would be reported and everyone who knew him greatly would mourn over his death. The only real option was that maybe, just maybe, the Baby was a miscarriage and Cadence didn't want Shining Armor to know, so she must've teleported here to do just that. Though to Rainbow, if Cadence did teleport here, that meant she would've tried to drown herself if she was near this lake in the first place. That though was enough to have tears start coming out of the cyan Pegasus' magenta-colored eyes. So she decided to approach the sobbing Alicorn, giving away her position. Though she would've figured out that Cadence knew her position because of her Love senses.

"Hey. Are you alright Ca...Cadence?" Rainbow spoke with an uncharacteristic soft tone, choking back when mentioning the Alicorn's name.

Cadence suddenly perked her head up, "Who's there?" she said, trying to hold back any remaining tears she still had.

"Cadence, it's me. Rainbow Dash." She replied worryingly.

"Well, how do I know it's really you, the Rainbow Dash who performed the Legendary Sonic Rainboom at my wedding and not some Backstabbing Asshole Traitor? Huh. How do I?" She snapped at Rainbow's direction, suddenly seething in anger and suspicion.

This was the same anger and suspicion Rainbow Dash had when she accused Twilight of being a spy on the same day Nightmare Moon was defeated shortly after her return, and when Princess Luna was reformed. Now she remembered that certain event, and it was scaring her, because she was now on the receiving end of the accusations. More tears were coming out of her eyes and starting to stream down her face, but she wiped them off, knowing that she had to try to stay strong. Not just for her own sake, but also Cadence's sake as well.

"Because if I were a Backstabbing Asshole Traitor, then you wouldn't be still alive at this minute. Plus, I'm a very loyal mare Cadence. I'd never leave my friends hanging when they need me the most, that also means you as well. I came here because I heard you crying and I saw that you were upset about something." The cyan Pegasus managed to answer, still trying to be strong for Cadence, who was now charging up her horn for what seemed to be an offensive spell.

"Show yourself then!" Cadence barked, using the Royal Canterlot Voice, "Show yourself and prove to me that you're the REAL Rainbow Dash! NOW!"

Rainbow Dash was now completely terrified, almost to the point where she could start running away and cry herself to sleep, kind of like Fluttershy in the old days. But no, she was determined to stay and help Twilight's sister-in-law, so she did what she was told and revealed herself to Cadence, who now had her bloodshot eyes fixed on her directly. The cyan Pegasus managed to choke out a sentence while trying to not sound the least bit scared.

"Here...Here I am Ca...Cadence. it's g...good old Ra...Rain...bow Dash. The fastest mare in all of E...Equestria, here to he-oof...," She stuttered nervously before suddenly being tackled by Cadence, who was now hugging her furiously and began apologizing to the Pegasus constantly.

"I'm sorry, I'm so, so, SORRY! I'm sorry that I didn't believe you from the start. Please forgive me Ra...Rainbow Dash!" Cadence screamed, but Rainbow patted her on the back, trying to calm her down. All while having a sad smile on her face.

But in her mind, she said: "Why would she assume that I would betray her and try to kill her? I know that mood swings in Pregnancy can get scary, but not THIS Horrifying. Gee, thanks a lot Twilight, I guess those stupid books you gave all of us didn't prepare me for Pregnant Alicorn mood swings."

After some unknown amount of time, Rainbow was still hugging Cadence while the latter was still apologizing. Eventually, the pink Alicorn had released the cyan Pegasus, trying to keep a smile on her face for the mare. Then, said Pegasus broke the silence, "Cadence..." she paused, trying to regain her confidence, then she continued, "what...what are you doing out here by yourself instead of being at the Crystal Empire with your Husband?" Cadence then turned towards Rainbow with a look of hate plastered on her face, catching her off-guard.

"Shining Armor? You do not speak of him. He's the reason for all of this. This is all his fault. It's. All. His. FAULT!" She roared in her Royal Canterlot Voice once more, causing the mare in front of her to have her pupils shrink to the size of little ruby dots, before realizing her mistake and looking away, silently sobbing to herself yet again.

But Rainbow Dash recovered in just three seconds before trying to pat the Alicorn's shoulder, "Hey, Hey. Don't get yourself down like this Cadence. Besides, I don't think it's really your husband's fault for getting you Pregnant..." as she was talking, she didn't know that Cadence was trying to block out the noise, all while her face was starting to turn a bright, rage-filled red. Almost to the point of just going berserk and destroying the whole world in fact. But the cyan Pegasus still continued to talk, "...And no matter what, both you and Shining Armor will get through your Pregnancy together. Heck, you'll even have your own little baby that you can call..." now she had noticed that the Alicorn Empress of Love looked like she was ignoring her, and Rainbow stopped talking for a moment until she uttered one last word, "Cadence?"

Then, Cadence exploded, unleashing all of her rage in just one sentence, "I. Am. Not. PREGNANT!"

There was nothing but complete silence now, for Rainbow Dash was completely speechless. She didn't have any words to say at the moment, along with the rest of the forest, for now everything had just stopped dead. And the only noise that was being made was Cadence's breathing. Of how loud she was, she had to take several angry breaths through her teeth in order to stop trying to break her own voice, all before the cyan Pegasus, out of fear and not courage, softly spoke like her best friend Fluttershy.

"Wh...What?"

"I...I was never Pregnant to begin with Ra...Rainbow Dash. It was...It was all a lie," Cadence started wailing uncontrollably now, her tears forming little waterfalls.

"WHAT?" Rainbow responded, completely horrified by this sudden revelation, "WHY? Why would you do this?" She asked, almost ready to cry herself with tears starting to stream down her face.

"Shining Armor made me. He made me lie to you guys," Cadence answered.

Now Rainbow was beyond pissed. Shining Armor? Twilight's Big Brother? So that's why his wife said that all of this was his fault. But that only raises more questions like: "How could he do this to Cadence and Twilight? And Why?". But her thoughts were interrupted when the crying Alicorn continued.

"You know that I would never do anything to hurt you nor Twilight, but Shining said to me that it was the only way. I didn't believe him, but I knew if I refused, he would turn me over to the Guards saying that I was Queen Chrysalis in disguise," She said while still crying, thus earning more comfort from Rainbow Dash.

"I can't believe he would be able to do something so awful!" Rainbow yelled, "Why?"

"Because about a week ago, we found out he was...Infertile. He was so angry that he almost hit me with a whip."

*GASP!*

"And after we got back to the Empire, I tried to convince him that we should've adopted a little foal to call our own, but he didn't listen to me at all. I suddenly realized that the love for my dear Shining was never 'true love'. It was only fake. So three days ago, I called my personal guard, Flash Sentry, and told him everything. He was shocked at first, but he believed what I said. So he went to gather the other Guards while I dealt with Shining. I was so heartbroken that I became furious, so I took my anger out on Shining Armor. He planned to attack me first by charging me, but I casted a magic sword that clashed with him. The duel was long, but I won in the end by cutting off the traitor's horn, though not without getting injured in the process. And after Flash and the Crystal Guards took him away, I informed my Empire about Shining's treachery and decided to teleport to Canterlot. But since I wasn't in the best condition, I accidentally teleported here instead. And that's when you found me after several minutes, just sitting here and crying like a little foal that I am. I'M A TERRIBLE PONY RAINBOW DASH!" Cadence finished with one last wailing of despair, still hurt over what happened during the week.

Rainbow wiped her own tears and scooted over to the Young Empress, extending her right wing to comfort her and to give out a caring nuzzle on the neck, "Cadence, I know how painful it is to lose the one you love dearly. Even if it's temporary."

*GASP* "What Happened?"

"Well, it wasn't really like a breakup or a terrible accident, but it was when I discovered that my pet Tortoise, Tank, was going to hibernate for the Winter. I couldn't stand it, so I tried to stop Winter from coming to Ponyville, but it backfired. After Twilight, Fluttershy, and the others tried to help, I just lost it. I bawled my eyes out like a big baby and just cried non-stop. It was horrible, then I came to realize that Tank had to hibernate for the winter and I let him rest under a tree where he would stay warm. Though it wasn't permanent, and I know that Tank was my pet, but that doesn't mean it would hurt less. My point is Cadence, though I've not experienced the kind of heartbreak you've dealt with, I know how much it hurts. And all I can do for now is try to help you get back upon your hooves before getting back to the Crystal Empire."

"You...You will?" Cadence asked excitedly.

"I will" Rainbow answered, earning another hug from the Crystal Empress and returning the favor.

"Thank you Rainbow Dash, THANK YOU!" Cadence cried with her tears being those of Joy for once, and not sadness.

"Hey...um...uh..." the cyan Pegasus began.

"Yes...Rainbow Dash?"

"How about we go back to my Cloud Mansion and get to bed. It's pretty late out here, don't you agree?" she asked, looking up at the dark skies. The pink Alicorn nodded.

"Awesome! Can you fly?"

"Maybe, but I think I have enough energy to teleport both of us there. Can you describe it?"

"It's the only Cloud House that's very close to Ponyville. It has Rainbow Waterfalls, can't miss it."

"Ok, here I go. Though you may want to hold on to something."

"Oh, right. Sorry."

As Cadence and Rainbow Dash teleported out of the Whitetail woods, they soon arrived at the front door of Rainbow's Cloud Mansion, followed by the two mares going inside and closing the door immediately after they opened it.

"I'll give you the Grand Tour tomorrow Cadence. Right now, I gotta set up a blanket and a pillow if I-"

"Rainbow Dash?" Cadence said tiredly.

"Yeah. What is it?" Rainbow asked her royal guest.

"Can you stay with me? Or at least until the week is over?"

The cyan Pegasus thought about it for a few seconds, deciding to give the pink Alicorn some much needed company. "Of course."

"Yay!"

Cadence clapped her hooves together and followed Rainbow upstairs and into her bedroom, where Tank was sleeping on.

The two Mares got onto the Queen-sized bed and wished each other good-night, for things were about to begin tomorrow and on through the week.

To be Continued!

Chapter 2

Rainbow Dash's Cloud Manison

Rainbow was sleeping soundly next to her guest for the week, Empress Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire, or Cadence. It'd only been about three hours since she found out about her dilemmas, so the cyan Pegasus had contemplated her thoughts on what the pink Alicorn's words. From Shining Armor's infertility, to his wife's divorce by losing his horn to her, the young mare's thoughts about Twilight's brother were anything but pleasant.

"I can't believe it! That son of a bitch was...ugh...I can't even think straight without getting furious! Bet Twi's not gonna be happy with what-"

"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

But, her thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a sudden wail coming from the left side of her bed, followed by constant kicks and wing beatings on her back, which were strong enough to give her some bruises, despite how resilient the cyan Pegasus was usually. So immediately, Rainbow woke up, turned 180 degrees, and looked with her tired out eyes to see that it was Cadence, tossing and turning while screaming and sobbing in agony, and was also having a horrible nightmare, one that actually happened.

"NO, PLEASE! MAKE IT STOP, MAKE IT STOP! WHY SHINING WHY?! WHY'RE YOU DOING THIS?"

As Rainbow Dash covered her ears to lessen the pain, she felt her tears underneath her eyes, for it pained her to see a Ruler of Equestria in such a state like this, even more so than Princess Luna was during the Tantabus Incident. She knew she had to wake up Cadence before she was plagued by any further nightmares. So Rainbow moved her foreleg to try and tap Cadence's shoulder, but as she caught a glimpse of Tank walking towards the distraught Alicorn, she stopped, trying to get the tortoise's attention.

"Tank. Tank! Tank, get over here right now!" she half-whispered, hoping that it would be enough. Sadly, he just continued towards the flailing Alicorn as fast as he could, though really, he was going really slow. Frustrated by Tank's ignorance, Rainbow Dash quickly got off the bed to avoid getting more bruises from both Cadence's right wing and legs, still trying to get him to go to sleep. But as she approached the Alicorn's side of the bed, Rainbow saw that Tank was actually trying to comfort her, because Cadence suddenly felt his hard shell and clutched it tightly on to her chest, still shaking around furiously while the tortoise was hiding inside.

"SHINING! PLEASE...MAKE IT STOP!" Cadence shouted, forcing Rainbow to cover her ears again. Several minutes later, the cyan Pegasus had now only heard small sniffles and sobs from Cadence, and Rainbow quickly looked up from the floor to see something she'd never seen in her life.

The Alicorn Empress was now holding on to Tank gently while he nuzzled her neck for support. While this had left Rainbow teary-eyed, the older pony was now waking up, slowly opening her eyes to not only see the friendly tortoise with a soft smile planted on his face, but also,  the cyan Pegasus standing next to them both, about a few feet apart at best.

"Oh, um...uh...Hi Rainbow Dash," the pink Alicorn said sadly, her voice was all croaked from the commotion earlier, "Um..." she started before noticing Tank, "Is this your pet Tortoise, Tank?" Rainbow only nodded, but also cleared her throat before she spoke.

"Yep, he's like family to me. Oh, and if you're wondering, he got up to comfort you while you were having a nightmare,"

Cadence listened well, but suddenly remembered the nightmare she had. But instead of breaking down again, she focused her bloodshot eyes on the Pegasus before wiping any tears she had away and deciding to talk to her.

*Sigh* "Rainbow, I guess you already know about what that Nightmare was. But, It's more than just a sudden betrayal. To be honest, I believe it was all about to crumble at some point. But I was blinded by how much I loved Shining, so I didn't have a grasp on reality until after the party at Ponyville," she stated while lowering her head, having the now shocked and confused Pegasus climb up onto the bed and wrap a wing around her and nuzzle her cheek.

"Wh...What do you mean by that?" She asked in a tone equivalent to that of a concerned sibling.

"Well, what I mean by that is...here, let me show you," as soon as Cadence finished, she lit up her horn, turned her head to face Rainbow, and casted a spell on Rainbow Dash, bringing her into her own mind.

Cadence's Mind:

As Rainbow opened her eyes, the first thing she saw that surprised her was what looked like to be a dreamscape similar to hers, but with the colors of Cadence's mane organized to look like a sunrise, and a hallway of doors not too far from where she currently was. Next, she saw Cadence looking down at her with a small smile on her face, which was no longer stained with tears.

"Where are we?" the cyan Pegasus asked, never losing the shocked expression she had.

"We are now Inside my head Rainbow Dash. For this is where I will show you the truth," She said in a voice that sounded ghostly, but welcoming and gentle as it always was, "Please, follow me if you wish."

Rainbow was confused by the last part of the pink Alicorn's sentence for a moment, until she realized that she was still laying down, causing her to giggle nervously and blush in embarrassment. Once she was up on all fours, Cadence led her through all of the doors that detailed every single dream that she ever had in her life. Dream of the past, present, and future. Of course, all of these doors were unlocked save for the one at the very end of the hallway. This one had about two dozen chains wrapped around it, six regular locks to prevent the chains from falling off, and even a special lock at the center with Cadence's cutie mark on it.

"Wow, tight security huh?" Rainbow asked in her usual cocky grin, chuckling to herself.

"This was recent," the older Alicorn replied, "Fortunately, I can just as easily disable these locks with just the right spell," She then turned her head towards the Pegasus, "Alright, after I disable the locks, follow me. Do you understand?" She asked firmly while still keeping her gentle tone.

"Yes, I do."

"Prepare."

Cadence then aimed her horn at the central lock and shot a key spell on it, forcing the other locks and the chains to fall off immediately afterwards. Once the last chain fell off, the door opened by itself as if it were possessed, and the two mares went inside, ready to face what was ahead of them. But when she followed the pink Alicorn, Rainbow Dash found herself looking at what appeared to be the throne room of the Crystal Empire, but it had a small projector in the middle that casted an image of a black rectangle with a white triangle pointing to the right.

Now Extremely Confused, the cyan Pegasus asked: "Uh...excuse me...Cadence. What's going on?"

"What do you mean by...oh. I see now," she suddenly had a look of realization on her, and facepalmed, or facehoofed herself, "Oh right. I totally forgot. Rainbow Dash, this place is where I play all my memories at. Whenever I want to view multiple memories from my life, I go here. Much like you go to a place in your mind that allows you to play your memories, Right?"

Rainbow was about to retort, but then remembered the memories of Tank's Hibernation and the events leading up to it. Looking at the pink Alicorn again, she could only nod in agreement and hang her head in defeat.

"Aw, don't let yourself get down Rainbow. There's nothing to be ashamed of," Cadence then extended her right wing over the cyan Pegasus' back, and ending at her athletic toned belly, providing extra warmth to her. The younger Mare only looked up at her and blushed furiously, turning her coat to purple in an instant.

The pink Alicorn then looked over to the black rectangle and lit her horn, causing Rainbow to look in her direction and see that the white triangle had now turned into two white bars that were parallel to eachother, and Cadence's most recent memory started playing from the beginning.

Scene 1: The Western Crystal Hospital

The Nightmare began with Cadence and Shining Armor at the waiting room of the Western Hospital of the Crystal Empire, with smiles that were plastered onto their faces. Later, the doors that lead to a hallway and further down the Hospital were busted open when a deep and gruff voice spoke out.

"Empress Cadenza! Captain Armor! Please come with me to room 117 for your appointment."

The Royal Couple got up to their hooves and immediately approached the source of the voice, a Crystallized orange Unicorn with a black mane, a Doctor's coat, which concealed his Cutie Mark. When the two lovers stopped in front of the Doctor, he was the first to speak.

"Ah, your Majesty,  welcome to the first of several Hospitals within your ever-growing Crystal Empire. My name is Doctor Igneous, and I will be your Doctor for today."

"Thank you Doctor Igneous," Shining Armor said, replacing the smile he had earlier with a serious look, "My wife and I will explain everything once were somewhere more..." he then whispered to Igneous, "...private."

"Oh, I see. Let's get going, shall we?" Igneous asked, earning nods from both of them.

As Doctor Igneous was leading the happy duo, Cadence turned her head right by 90 degrees to see a very nervous expression on her husband's face.

"Shining, are you sure you want to do this?" The pink Alicorn asked, "You don't look like you really want to."

The white Unicorn looked at her with a sad smile and sighed a deep breath before answering her question, "I have to Cady. If I don't, we'll never really know if we're able to have kids or not."

"Oh Shining," Cadence simply giggled, "There's nothing to worry about. Even if we can't have kids, we can always adopt a foal of our own, so it's not the end of the world, alright?" She then reassured the Unicorn by wrapping one of her wings on his back, earning a small smile from him.

"Alright, I won't freak out about it." Shining said, nuzzling his wife. Though deep down, he was hoping he would have kids with Cadence.

Once they reached room 117, Doctor Igneous ran some important tests on Cadence and Shining Armor, tests that would determine if they were able to have a foal. The procedure went on for about thirty minutes until the Crystal Doctor was finished, gathering the results for the Royal Couple. Once he got their attention by clearing his throat, he began to speak with a clipboard being levitated by a crimson aura.

"Well, I've got good news and bad news. The good news is, your majesty," he gestured to Cadence, " is that you're able to bear a child," now, he was looking at Shining Armor with a saddened look on his face, "The bad news is that Captain Armor cannot be the Father."

*Double Gasp*

"Wh...What do you mean Doctor? Is it be...because I'm an A...Alicorn?" Cadence asked, tears already filling her eyes to the point of streaming down non-stop.

"Yeah, what kind of joke are you playing Doc? Because we're not really laughing, are we?"

"Shining?"

"Both of you, Please!" Igneous interrupted, getting the Royal Couple to calm down before continuing, *Sigh* "Your Highness, you're able to have almost every Stallion you come across get you Pregnant, whether it'd be an Earth Pony, a Unicorn, or a Pegasus. But you can't have one with your husband is because...uh...because"

"Because WHAT? Tell me Doc, Why can't my wife have a child with me?" Shining Armor yelled, making both the Crystal Unicorn jump and Cadence sobbing quietly to herself.

"Well, it's because you're...how do I put this...you are infertile," The Doctor said sadly, while looking down at the ground and levitating the clipboard towards the white Unicorn with his crimson aura, "Here are the...*Gulp*...results for the test."

Shining Armor quickly snatched the clipboard from Doctor Igneous with his left foreleg, causing him to yelp, and studied the results. Cadence tried to look at the results alongside her husband but he refused to let her look, clearly not wanting her to be ashamed of him. Then, as soon as he finished reading the results, Shining threw the results back at the Crystal Unicorn's face and teleported out of room 117 immediately, leaving a tear-filled Alicorn behind.

As the Clipboard landed on the floor after making contact with Igneous' muzzle, Cadence slowly trotted to where it was and levitated the object to her level to read it. After she finished reading everything on the piece of paper, she gasped in disbelief and was starting to have tears come out of her eyes, for this information just terrified her. The doctor heard the weak sobbing coming from his Empress and walked to her side, putting one of his forelegs on her back to comfort her, for the results had indeed read that Shining Armor was in fact, Infertile.

"My Empress, I'm so sorry, I wish it wasn't true, but sadly, it is," he said, patting one of the most benevolent Alicorns of all of Equis on the back. He then gave Cadence a copy of the results and asked: "Would you like to keep one for yourself?"

Cadence then looked at the copy and thought for about thirty seconds before answering to the Doctor.

"Yes Doc, I would like a copy," she answered weakly, levitating the piece of paper with her horn and surrounding it in a sky-blue aura, replacing Igneous' crimson aura. "Do you have an envelope that I can use Igneous?" The crystal unicorn only looked at his desk and levitated a medical envelope towards them both. The Alicorn then put the copy into the envelope, sealed it, and gave the kind Doctor several bits before teleporting from room 117 and to the Crystal Palace.

With one last look at where Cadence was, Igneous sighed and muttered to himself before levitating the bits, "I hope this ends well for them both, or else we're in for a long set of changes."

Cadence's Mind:

After Flashback Cadence teleported out of the Hospital, the other Cadence lit her horn to pause the memory, giving Rainbow some time to let what just happened sink into her own mind. Afterwards, the cyan Pegasus finally spoke out what she thought of so far.

"Wait. So he just teleported after trying to hide the answers from you?" The Alicorn only nodded, allowing Rainbow to continue, "So that's his reason for hating you now, just making everything worse for the sake of keeping his pride in check? No offense Cadence, but unless there's a specific reason why, that's actually kinda lame, even for him."

When Rainbow finished, she groaned effortlessly, clearly unimpressed by what Shining Armor did, but the Crystal Empress responded by tapping with her foreleg on the younger mare's shoulder, getting her attention. The cyan Pegasus was about to start talking, but as she looked into the Alicorn's eyes, she could only tell, that through all the sorrow, pain, and suffering that she'd gone through (plus, she remembered about what she told her after the discovery), that there was more to the whole story. Cadence then lit her horn to play the memories again, right where they stopped at.

To Be Continued!

Chapter 3

Scene 2: The Royal Bedroom

It didn't take long for Cadence to reach her destination via teleportation, for she was already in her throne room seconds after being in the Western Hospital. Now all she had to do was find Shining Armor and convince him that they could still adopt a foal with permission from her aunts. So she trotted quickly through the Castle halls and to where the Royal Bedroom was at, and most likely, Shining. By the time she reached the bedroom, Cadence found her husband crying on the King-sized bed with his head covered by one of the pillows, all of which made her want to cry right next to him. But for reasons she didn't understand, she hesitated and stood where she was.

Cadence wanted to move, but at the same time, she didn't want to. She struggled not only physically, but mentally as well, for her mind had two sides trying to dominate the other and tell her what to do. 'Go on, go to him,' one side of her would say, while the other told her: 'No, don't go to him,' as she was trying to fight it off, she found that Shining had jerked his head in her direction and pointed an accusing hoof at her while holding a whip with the other.

"YOU! You fucking WHORE! How could you do this to me? I wanted this to be perfect and YOU RUINED IT!" He yelled, his itchy and bloodshot eyes have replaced sadness with rage. At this point, Cadence was no longer struggling to make a choice, for now a new option was being presented. So in no time afterwards, the Empress of the Crystal Empire had to fight back, even though she didn't want to.

"WHAT?! What am I being blamed here? You know this isn't my fault Shining!"

"SHUT UP! Not everything has to be about you."

"This isn't about me Shining Armor, this is about having a family. A family that we can still have if we just adopt a foal from-"

*CRACK*

A nearby vase was shattered by the sudden motions of Shining Armor's whip, interrupting Cadence.

"NO! I didn't want to adopt a foal in the first place. I wanted to have a foal of our own, and yet, nothing seems to go wrong for you but everything seems to go wrong for me."

"That's not fair, I was Kidnapped by Queen Chrysalis just a week before the wedding and still, I sometimes have nightmares about the wedding fiasco even on to this day, just like you Shining. I say there is NO reason to-"

*CRACK*

Another Crack interrupted the Alicorn Empress, and another vase was broken. Though it was a bit closer to her this time.

"Yes there is a reason Cadence! In fact, there are a few I can think of."

Cadence did an equestrian facepalm, or facehoof, "Come on Shining, you're being ridiculous."

*CRACK*

After destroying yet another vase that was near his wife, Shining Armor continued, ignoring the pink Alicorn, "First, if you were a Princess, and I was Captain of Celestia's Royal Guard, then why did you give up your title of Princess? It's not apart of Equestrian Law to do such a thing!"

"Shining, Please. I chose to become Empress because of two things: One is that these ponies need someone to lead them on the right path. Two is to Disprove that only Princesses have good hearts. I want to show everyone in both Equestria and The Crystal Empire that even Queens and Empresses, along with Kings and Emperors can be good rulers towards their subjects. Plus, being a Princess in an Empire, it just doesn't work like that. Plus I talked with my aunts after Sombra's Death and they pretty much said that The Crystal Empire is not apart of Equestrian Territory, so I'm not breaking any laws at all."

"Well, Why do I always seem to be incompetent against everything while you're always better at taking down threats like Queen Chrysalis and King Sombra?"

"That's not true. We worked together to take down Queen Chrysalis and her Changelings with our love and King Sombra when you threw me into the air to catch Spike and the Crystal Heart. Plus, you did your best when trying to stop that giant ice cloud from crashing down on us at the stadium before Spike jumped in to save the day, and-

*CRACK*

A fourth vase was hit by whip, causing yet again, another interruption.

"That proves nothing, and you know it! I was brainwashed by Chrysalis, twice, got my magic nullified not only by Sombra, but I lost all of it by Tirek's powers as well, no thanks to that Discord freak, plus I always fucking cry at weddings, Remember?"

"Yes, I do, but-"

*CRACK*

A final whip strike was made, but nothing was hit. Instead, the whip had almost struck Cadence's face. But by how loud it was to her ears this time, she had to cover them in order not to hurt them again. But before Shining Armor yelled at her again, he tossed aside the whip, indicating that he was done using it.

"SHUT UP! I had enough of you, being better than me at everything. This time, I'm taking the lead!"

Cadence was now startled by what Shining Armor just said to her, and she wasn't really ready for what was to come.

"Now, If you want to continue being Empress, I suggest that you do whatever I say, Chrysalis!"

By the time Shining had hissed the Changeling Queen's name with venom, tears were forming from the Alicorn's eyes.

"Wh...What?" She stuttered weakly.

"That's right. If you don't do what I want you to do, then I'll tell everyone that you're Queen Chrysalis and you'll either be arrested, or executed if I gave the order," Shining said, no hint of joking to be found anywhere. At this point, Cadence began to realize something she completely ignored for so long. But before she could dive deeper, Shining spoke again.

"So, what's it gonna be? Hurry up  whore, I haven't got all day!"

Faced with no other option for now, Cadence answered: "Ok, I'll do whatever you want," it really pained her to say that, "what do you want anyways?"

Cadence's Mind:

As the memory was paused a second time by Cadence, Rainbow Dash was enraged by what she saw. From what she heard hours before, it sounded horrible. But now, now that she'd been given the chance to actually see it for herself, well...

"ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME SHINING ARMOR!" She yelled, her loud voice had carried even more fear and power from itself, even Luna's own Royal Canterlot Voice would make a run for it's money. Cadence was also terrified by this sudden outburst, but she still understood why, so she let her continue, "THAT IS JUST DOWNRIGHT EVIL! I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE INFERTILE, IT'S STILL WRONG AND IT'S SOMETHING  THAT I HOPE THAT YOU'RE ASHAMED OF IN WHATEVER CELL YOU'RE ROTTING IN! AND IF I EVER SEE YOU WALKING OUTSIDE OF YOUR CELL AGAIN, I WILL DO A SONIC RAINBOOM SO POWERFUL, THAT YOU'LL CEASE TO FUCKING EXIST! DO YOU HEAR ME YOU WHINY, SADISTIC, AND COWARDLY MOTHERFUCKER! DO...YOU...HEAR ME!"

Rainbow Dash had finally ceased her yelling, taking in deep, long breaths to calm herself down.

"Are you...Are you good now?" Cadence asked softly.

The cyan Pegasus turned herself to look at the pink Alicorn in front of her before blushing a deep shade of crimson and sheepishly laughing and saying: "Hehe...sorry about that Cadence, I just couldn't hold it in, could I?"

"It's okay Rainbow Dash," she giggled, "there's no need to be embarrassed about any of that," Cadence then stroked her back with her right foreleg and a deep sigh before continuing, "Besides, I've seen this coming from when these memories of mine were playing in the first place."

"You...You did?" The cyan Pegasus asked.

"I knew that you seeing what Shining Armor did would infuriate you. But I didn't expect that your voice would rival Auntie Luna's," she said, now looking at her own memory again, wearing an angry scowl at her former husband, giving her something to talk about, "Though really, Shining's plan would also infuriate you as well."

Rainbow was surprised to hear that there was more to Shining's sudden betrayal than what she was told, so she asked in an angry manner: "WHAT! What is it? What could he possibly hope to a...wait a minute! He wanted a foal, so I guess he wanted to-"

"Well, at first, he said he didn't want to adopt, but later on, he told me that he changed his mind and said that after my 'Pregnancy' was over, he would adopt a foal and claim it was..." she hesitated before finishing the sentence in a rush, "ours."

Rainbow felt like she was going to be sick for a week after hearing that, but she remembered Cadence mentioning that Flash Sentry, Twilight's potential love interest and Boyfriend was involved in helping the young Alicorn Empress.

So she spoke, "Hey Cadence. You said earlier that Flash Sentry helped you, Right?" The pink Alicorn nodded, "Well, why did he agree to help you anyways? It's not like he had a personal grudge against Shining Armor or something."

"Well Rainbow, that's coming up right now," she then lit her horn at the screen after saying: "You'll see the reason why Flash decided to help me in the first place"

Scene 3: Crystal Palace

Four days later, and both Cadence and Shining Armor had just gotten off the train from Ponyville back to the Crystal Empire and back to the Palace. Of what Shining Armor wanted for Cadence was to tell Twilight , Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Applejack, and Spike that they were having a baby, even though that wasn't the truth. More so, it was a ploy to have the two adopt a foal in eleven months after the 'Pregnancy' was over. This had made Cadence sick to her stomach already, but for now, she would have to stick with it until the time is right.

*A Few Hours Later*

After sneaking out of bed for some 'Pregnancy Cravings' at Midnight, she caught a gold Pegasus with a blue mane and tail. That Pegasus was none other than Flash Sentry, one of her personal guards, who was trotting on patrol. Cadence knew that if she had to stop her husband, she would need to get help, quick. Luckily, Flash was usually someone that Shining never liked all that much. It was mainly because he was dating Twilight Sparkle, Shining Armor's little sister, Cadence's sister-in-law, and the Alicorn Princess of Friendship. So the Alicorn Empress approached Flash normally, having him turn his head to see the one he was sworn to protect. He trotted up to her and with a fake smile to hide his concern, he spoke.

"Good Evening my Empress. What are you doing up so late?" He then bowed to Cadence, but she in return shrugged it off.

"You don't have to bow Flash. I actually came here to speak with you, of all ponies," she responded, having the gold-armored Pegasus stand up before his Empress.

"You do? I mean uh...of course Milady."

Cadence only giggled while watching him trying to sound confident, but then she had a serious look on her face, notifying him that now she meant business.

"Flash, I...I have something to confess," She paused for a bit before continuing, "But before I confess, I want to ask you a simple question."

"You can ask me anything Emp...I mean uh...Cadence. But if you have something to-" Flash started to ask, but was cut off when Cadence blurted: "How's your relationship with Twilight?" This had caught the young Stallion off-guard, for whenever he would hear the name Twilight, his wings would always stiffen for some reason, and he wasn't really sure why, for all he knew that he would both smile for the newest Alicorn, and groan at his wings for stiffing up at the first place, much like now.

"It's going...uh...pretty well your Majesty," Flash sighed before continuing, "Forgive me for I still wish your Husband would just lighten up for once and let me visit her from time to time, because his overprotective nature is really making me angry. And I, I just...I just love her. I do, I really really do love her. Even if she was only a Unicorn, or even a different species such as a Griffin or a Minotaur, I would still love her to no end. And no one is going to tell me otherwise, not even Shining Armor himself," he finished, not willing to hide any sort of anger from the older Alicorn. By the time he finished, he was waiting to get scolded, for he'd lowered his head in shame, ready to take the worst of it all. But instead, Cadence just simply wrapped her forelegs around his neck, and her wings around his body, leaving him very confused. "Uh, your Majesty, are you-"

"Shhh...You don't have to say anything, because I know you love her dearly," she interrupted, tears filling her vision, but she didn't care, "I'm just...so proud of you Flash. And I know you'll be a great Husband some day. Unlike...Unlike others that I..." but she couldn't finish, for now she was sobbing quietly on Flash Sentry's shoulder, her tears staining his coat and shaking uncontrollably as if she were freezing.

"Oh no," Flash muttered, before asking the pink Alicorn, "Yo...Cadence, what's the matter? Did something happen between you and-" but she interrupted him once more.

"Yes...Yes something did happen. Shining Armor...he...threatened to either have me arrested or executed," The gold Pegasus was now shocked by this revelation, but the mere mentioning that it was Shining Armor, Ex-Captain of Celestia's Royal Guard, committing such a heinous act had infuriated him. Without wasting time, he hugged her back and had asked for the full story on what happened.

"Well, it all started about four days ago..."

*10 Minutes Later*

"...And that's what happened." the pink Alicorn finished, drained of any tears she had, but was still sobbing quietly, trying not to make a commotion out of it all.

"I always knew there was something wrong with that son of a Bitch, even from when the royal wedding happened!" Flash hissed, clearly enraged by everything Shining had done.

"Yes. I...I should've known better than to marry him," Cadence admitted, shocked at the sudden realization that hit her like a meteor, the one that she'd cast aside ever since she was a teenager, "I...I don't love Shining anymore."

"You, you don't?" Flash asked, clearly hoping that was what he heard correctly.

"No, I don't love him anymore. My love for him was a...it was all a lie," she said, no longer sobbing, "I...I was so blind to all of it that my...my natural talents were also fooled," now she was more pissed off than she ever was before.

"Flash Sentry,  I have a new assignment for you."

"What is it your Majesty?"

"I have a plan to expose Shining Armor for the Gilded son of a Bitch he is, but we'll need to wait for the right time to execute it."

"What is the plan anyways?"

"Simple, we need to alert the Crystal Empire. My subjects really only listen to me, not Shining, so here's how we're gonna do it. I send you a royal decree that allows the guards to listen to you. Then I will distract my ex-Husband. And Finally, you and the Guards will come arrest Shining Armor for his crimes."

"But, we'll need evidence if we want him in prison."

"I'll see if he has a journal that I can send, it just might be enough, I hope"

"But not now?"

"Not now, just maybe a few days later. That's all."

"I'll get started tomorrow your Majesty. And Good night."

"Good night Flash Sentry. I'll meet you when it is time."

Soon, the two Non-Crystallized Ponies bowed to each other and went their separate ways.

Cadence's Mind:

Once again, the memory had paused, but Rainbow Dash had something important to say: "So, that Son of a Bitch can't even let his little sister fall in love with someone that's already in love with her?! What an Asshole!"

"I agree, Twilight deserves happiness, and I think that someone that loves her for who she really is, and not just because she's an Alicorn Princess, is that happiness that she needs. Though I'd like to let her decide if she likes him or if her heart leads her to another Stallion."

"Really?" Rainbow asked before she grew nervous, knowing that she was talking to an Alicorn Empress nonetheless, "I thought you were gonna force her to choose him, because...you know, Alicorn of Love and all that stuff."

But Instead of being cross with her, Cadence just laughed instead, laying on her back and clutching both chest and belly to avoid running out of breath too quickly. The cyan Pegasus was confused at first, but quickly gave a soft smile before the pink Alicorn got back up on her hooves and took a few deep breaths.

"Whew, that was...hilarious!" she exclaimed.

"It...It was?" the confused Rainbow Dash asked, earning another giggle from her taller friend.

"Of course Rainbow Dash. And I would never force anyone to choose their potential spouse. I'm not like that at all," she stated, "And really, I only get involved if the couples themselves come to me for advice or when I cast a spell reminding them why they fell in love with each other in the first place."

"Well, that's kinda cool, and I can see why you trust Flash to help you. But why would Shining Armor want to separate them in the first place?"

*sigh* "I don't know. Even if he did have a reason, I still wouldn't be able to come up with an answer since I was blinded only by my love for him."

"Yeah, but I believe he's trying to be the overprotective type, even though he can't always be there for her. Especially since he's in jail now."

"That maybe the reason why. But speaking of Jail, I suppose I should tell you everything about what happened several hours ago, shouldn't I?"

Rainbow nodded.

"I'm only gonna warn you just this once, this part might be a bit too unpleasant, even for you. So if you see somethings you don't like, just let me know, alright?"

"Are you kidding, I'm the one and only Rainbow Dash. I'm confident that I can handle a few disturbing images," She said with her usual cocky attitude and smile, while also flying up and doing a loop-de-loop before landing on the ground in a graceful style.

"Very well then," Cadence said, "Prepare yourself," she lit up her horn, but not without having a few tears in her eyes, and began playing the memory one more time.

To Be Continued!

Chapter 4

Scene 4: The Crystal Palace

Three days Later:

Trotting through the hallways of the Crystal Palace on a normal, sunny afternoon, a young Private Flash Sentry was waiting for when Mi Amore Cadenza would call him. It'd been three days since the pink Alicorn Empress herself told the gold-armored Pegasus about what'd happened over the week, what with her false Pregnancy, her Husband's change of nature, and how to stop him. Flash could only wait for Cadence to summon him, for a direct assault on Captain Shining Armor would only get him arrested.

As he continued through another corridor, two Crystal Pony Soldiers could be spotted galloping towards the recruit, one male, and the other female. As Flash's ears picked up the fast pacing of hooves, he looked to his left and found the two armored Unicorns to be stopping, all while getting closer to him. Eventually, they skidded to a halt about two feet away from the Pegasus, eventually stopping to catch their breath for a good minute or two.

With no time to waste, the gold and blue-maned Stallion responded immediately with: " Hey, good afternoon guys. What can I do for you two today?" He asked, pretending to not know what's gonna come out next.

Then, the male Soldier replied with an energetic tone: "Private Sentry, we're here to escort you to the Crystal Throne Room. There, our Empress will wish to talk with you personally," he finished before the female Soldier started to speak.

"We don't know why, but we could only imagine the possibilities at the least. Are there any Questions?" She'd finished, her tone somehow had a hint of concern in it, which puzzled Flash, but he didn't show. But instead of letting curiosity get the better of him, he'd simply decided to answer her question.

"No Sir. I don't have any questions at this time!" Flash replied, saluting to his comrades with his right foreleg, "Lead the way," he said before trotting between them.

The Crystal Throne Room

A few minutes later, Cadence was seen anxiously sitting on her Throne, staring at the Massive Crystal Door in anticipation all while the room was also occupied by several Crystal Soldiers, a few advisors, and a dozen service ponies, who were all shifting their focus on both their Empress and the large door with great concern.

Before that, the room was recently filled with many noises that consisted of yelling, arguing, and multiple hoof stomps. Apparently, there was supposed to be a meeting on politics and other stuff that hardly mattered in the rules of Monarchy.

However; one of the two Soldiers that were sitting right next to the Crystal Monarch had noticed his Empress wasn't paying attention to the meeting, instead focusing her sights on the door. Concerned, the Soldier leaned a little towards the right, willing to successfully whisper in her ear without drawing too much attention. Surprisingly, Cadence leaned her head a little towards the left, trying to get into hearing range of the Soldier, while her ear perked up. The Crystal Stallion took this as a sign that she wanted to listen to whatever he had to say and began talking quietly to the pink Alicorn.

"Your Highness. I don't mean to offend, but may I ask why you are staring at the door?" The Alicorn only nodded lightly while giving a soft look that said 'None Taken', allowing the guard to continue, " Well then, what is your reasoning behind it? Is there someone or something important arriving soon? Is it Captain Armor? Or are you...uninterested by this meeting?" Unfortunately, the last question was a little louder than the other three, for it turns out that almost everyone in the room heard it and looked at their direction with gasps and looks of shock.

"What is the meaning of-" exclaimed one of the advisors (an Earth Pony who had a grey mane and pale-violet crystal coat) who's clearly past his prime before he was interrupted by the sound of the large Crystal Throne Room entrance opened, revealing two more Crystal Soldiers, and the one Cadence wanted to see, Flash Sentry.

Immediately, everyone turned towards Sentry's direction, either giving out looks of confusion like the Other Soldiers and the service ponies were, or of annoyance at the now approaching trio, coming from the advisors. But Mi Amore Cadenza smiled before speaking.

"Why hello there Flash. I'm glad to see that my Guards have found you."

Flash simply bowed to her Highness, in which she'd kindly gestured for him to stand.

"Everyone, I'm afraid this meeting will have to continue for another day. You may-"

"What? But...excuse me your highness. I'm sure you realize that this meeting is-" the Elder advisor protested before being shot down by the same pony he was speaking to.

"Is not going to end nor ignored, it's only going to be put on hold for now," Cadence said sternly while still holding the soft and gentle tone she'd always had, "Right now, I've brought young Sentry here to talk about another matter. One that is urgent and cannot be ignored. And I also recommend that everyone here stays, for this is also a matter that involves the Crystal Empire itself."

Cadence's Mind

Cadence suddenly paused the flashback, confusing Rainbow Dash.

"Hey wait. Cadence, why'd you stop the Flashback? We were just getting to what you had planned." The Prismatic Mare said poutingly.

"Well..." Cadence wore a nervous grin, "It's actually to talk to you about something. Something to confess actually."

This'd puzzled the Cyan Pegasus even more, but she'd tried not to show it, "Ok then...if you need to confess something, then do it," She responded with a more relaxed tone. The same tone Rainbow had used to help her younger sister, Scootaloo, smile whenever she felt down.

"Y-you won't get mad at me for it?" She asked surprisingly.

"Nope, unless you want me to that is," Rainbow said jokingly, which had the pink Alicorn giggle for a bit.

"Rainbow Dash, to tell you the truth, I...I..." she started, but paused, darting her eyes to the left and the right before inhaling a deep breath: "I actually kind of lied when I said I had a duel with Shining Armor!" she blurted out quickly, slowly looking down with her eyes closed afterwards.

"What do you mean?" The Cyan Pegasus, sounding more serious than she'd intended, causing the pink Alicorn to shake slightly.

"Well...what I mean is...uh...umm...well..." she was stuttering now, which made her companion feel uneasy from how she spoke to her.

It pained Rainbow to see Cadence feeling this down, perhaps more so than how down she herself was before and during Tank's Hibernation. She then felt both her eyes getting wet and her sight a bit misty, which she'd tried wiping away, but...

"...I lied about there being a duel Rainbow," she finished.

Regaining herself, the Pegasus gently offered a wing to her, which the young Empress accepted kindly. After letting Cadence get used to the extra warmth, Rainbow asked her: "Why?" In a soft tone, confusing her friend.

"Huh?"

"Why'd you say there was a duel between you and-" she suddenly had a hoof with a golden slipper shush her at mid-sentence. When she couldn't speak, the hoof stopped blocking her lips.

*sigh* "Listen Rainbow, I don't really know why I said there was a duel but..." the pink Alicorn paused before continuing, "...I guess the real reason why I lied is because...because...beca-"

"Because why?" The cyan Mare had asked slowly.

"Because I always heard about how you would try and make your events seem more 'exciting' from either Twilight or Pinkie Pie, and...the truth is that I...I guess I didn't want you to think I was boring as-"

"Ok Cadence, I think I get it now," She interrupted.

"Y-you do?" Cadence asked confusingly.

She affirmatively nodded.

"The-then you're not mad?"

"Eh...a little, but not a whole lot. Either way, it wouldn't convince me to leave you out in the woods all by yourself."

*gasp* "Really?"

Another nod was given by the cyan Pegasus.

*whew* "Well um...Thank you then Rainbow Dash," the pink Alicorn then nuzzled Rainbow's neck, with her returning the gesture. They'd stayed like this for several minutes before the two of them broke off gently.

"So...I guess your real plan is what's coming up on your Flashback then?"

"Hmm...Oh, right. Almost forgot about that," Cadence then turned to the flashback, which was still paused, "Guess we'd best continue where we left off then."

And with a flicker of her horn, surrounded by a sky-blue aura, the flashback resumed.

To be Concluded

Rewrite?

Yeah, you saw the title, and I'm not shitting you guys here, nor am I willing to piss you all off. It's just that I feel like that's the best option I got. Sorry if I'll be disappointing you guys, and I don't like making you sad, but the truth is, I'm honestly not too proud of the direction that this story has taken, and I want to start over from scratch. What do you guys think?