Another round of coughing shook her entire body. The tall alicorn with the creamy coat staggered over to the desk, taking every step as though her bones ached just to stand. Her long, pink-red hair had lost most of its shine and now hung loosely around her bony frame. Her wings drooped: even holding them up was painful for her, as evidenced by the frequent winces that escaped her mouth as she staggered across the purple carpeted floor.

Suddenly, the scenery changed: instead of a grand stately room filled with the finest crystal and silver, she was walking through a field of grass in the shining sun. Before her was a great checkered picnic blanket, with bowls of ice cream atop it. An earth pony with a white coat, long, sunshine yellow hair, and the cutie mark of a treble clef enclosed within a heart was laying on his side atop the blanket; he was watching a small pink unicorn filly running through the grass in the distance, giggling as she chased butterflies across the meadow.

But then she shook her head and the fever-induced dream vanished, along with her husband and her daughter. She was back in her quarters in the Crystal Palace, and still faced with the monumental task of making it to the desk. Panting, she continued on her quest. The journey from the great bed with the large blue sheets decorated with snowflakes to the grand desk carved from crystal in the corner, a mere ten feet, took her almost five minutes.

She clambered into the cushioned chair with a grunt of effort and paused to catch her breath. There were heavy bags under her blue eyes, which were dull with exhaustion. The moonlight through the great window in the wall behind her fell on her body, illuminating her cutie mark: a yellow heart. Panting, Princess Vero Amore lit up her horn in a blue aura. Extracting a pen and a sheet of parchment, she began to write hurriedly.

Celestia and Luna,

I am afraid that this may be my last letter. I am not much longer for this world; it is taking most of my strength just to write this letter.

As I sit here in my empty bedchambers, I cannot help but think back on the time when we were fillies, romping about in the fields, making the Royal Guards chase us across half of Equestria, and driving our poor mothers up the wall. Back when we could play at being Princesses. Even all these centuries later, it still brings a smile to my face, to think of the three of us without a care in the world.

I can still remember the day when your mother repeated the accident that had transformed her and my mother and blessed you with your wings. I can picture the two of you now, zooming around laughing, with our parents frantically chasing after you and trying to keep you from smashing everything in sight. Not long after, my mother gave me my wings as well. We both thought they were such a wonderful thing! How could we know the burdens that we would have to carry on those wings?

I had hoped to give Cadenza her wings myself. I had hoped that we would have more time to prepare, more time together. But time has run out.

I have been listening and watching in silence as my Empire was slowly stolen from me. Sombra has been taking over the Empire, piece by piece. He maneuvered himself as my Prime Minister with quick solutions to our economy, earning my trust. He lobbied for more and more power, convincing us all that it was in our best interests. He expanded our military and prepared us for a war. A war against you.

And he murdered Canzone. He killed my husband. I heard him brag about it to one of his generals, saying how he had arranged that accident. I could chalk it up to one of my many fever dreams, but no: I know this was real.

This is my dying wish, my sisters in spirit, a promise that I beg you to keep: protect my daughter. CADENZA MUST NOT RETURN TO THE CRYSTAL EMPIRE. SOMBRA CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO TAKE HER.

Keep in her Equestria. Tutor her. Prepare her to be the Empress. And most of all, keep her safe. Do all the things for her that I cannot.

Amore paused, breathing hard from the exertion. Her eyes fell on a photograph in a silver frame on the desktop. The picture showed a pink unicorn filly sitting in the grass, smiling and giggling as a group of butterflies danced around her, a bright swallowtail alighting on the tip of her nose. Coughing heavily, Amore took up the pen once more and continued to write.

And Cadenza, my daughter, I have this parting message:

I have loved you since the moment you drew your first breath. Nothing could ever extinguish that love, not even death. I have watched you grow from a little innocent filly into a brilliant, gentle, kind, and wise young lady. Words cannot describe how proud of you I am.

You will be afraid. You will feel like you are alone. You will think that you are lost. This is all normal; these are all the things that I felt when your grandmother Speranza passed from this world and the crown of the Crystal Empress fell to me.

But you are smarter and stronger than you know, my daughter. Your wisdom, your kindness, your love and hope, these will never let you down. They will guide you when you feel lost, keep you strong when you feel weak.

Cadenza, your mother loves you. Your father loves you. Your grandparents love you. Aunt Celestia and Aunt Luna love you. The Holy Mother loves you. You will never be alone. Not even death can keep us from being with you in your heart. Believe that, my daughter. Believe and be strong.

Your Loving Mother,

Princess Vero Amore.

Tears dripped from Amore's eyes and fell to stain the parchment. Rolling up the letter, she enwrapped it with her magic and the letter vanished, transported across the nations to her sisters in Canterlot. She reached out with a bony hoof and picked up the photograph. More tears fell from her face as she raised the image to her face and kissed the facsimile of her daughter, hoping that her love would be strong enough to carry itself through time and space.

"Mother," she prayed, closing her eyes and hugging the picture to her breast. "Please take care of her."

She sat there, alone, rocking back and forth, the room dark and silent save for her heavy breathing. Slowly, her breathing became deeper, her tempo slowing.

With a clatter, the picture fell to the floor, and she collapsed against the desk. Her chest heaved with breath a few more times, and then Princess Vero Amore, the Crystal Empress, was still.

Author's Note

Princess Amore appeared in the MLP comics, specifically in FIENDship is Magic #1 and in the Siege of the Crystal Empire arc. I adapted her for use in the Noireverse, which included turning her into an alicorn.