Cadance The Crystal Princess

Crimson Chaser, Night Shadow, Flash Magnus, Rockhoof, Nimbus Dash, Grimhoof, Dew Nourish, Stormfeather, Ironclaw, Gilda, Pharynx, Furx, and Yeth exited the bar they had been sitting in for the last few hours. The streets of Canterlot ahead were mostly empty, save for the patrol of the Royal Guards, Elite Royal Guards, and the Crystal Imperial guards. The thirteen figures headed down the street in the direction of the castle, their footsteps echoing in the quiet night.

"So, now what are you guys going to do now?" Night asked the crystal ponies and creatures.

Nimbus rubbed the back of her head, glancing at her companions. "Me, Grimhoof and the others will get our gears and then join the others in patrolling the capital for anymore attacks from the Storm King and his army."

"The princesses and the leaders had deployed multiple patrols throughout Canterlot and the surrounding area. They are hardly going to leave the city undefended after what happened, you guys worry too much.” Flash stated.

"Well, the last time we didn't worry too much, Storm King and his army attacked Canterlot and almost killed Prince Shining Armor before he was forced into retreat." Grimhoof countered.

Crimson, who was leading the group, stopped. He sighed and turned to look at the crystal ponies and creatures before giving them a sympathetic look. "Look, you guys need to stop beating yourself up. You couldn’t have known the Storm King would do that.”

“Let’s… let’s just get back to the castle, all right?”

They walked the rest of the way in silence until they finally reached the castle. Both the castle and the capital was under lockdown after what happened, Royal Guards, Elite Royal Guards and the Crystal Imperial guards filled the streets and the courtyards, along with dragons, yaks, griffons, kirins, changelings and hippogriffs. They roamed the corridors in a coordinate effort to be on lookout for any Storm King's airships or scouts and stop them from trying to flee the capital to give information to the king.

As they entered the castle grounds, Dew broke the silence. "I have to admit, I have never seen this many guards in one place before."

"Yeah, can't blame them though." Furx said. "After what had happened, both the princesses and the leaders can't take another attack like this again."

"That reminds me..." Stormfeather turned to Gilda. "How's Gallus and his friends?"

"They're a bit shaken up, especially Silverstream and Ocellus, but they are alright." Gilda replied.

Ironclaw sighed in relief. "That's good to know. Those young children doesn't deserve to go through the invasion, let alone witness what happened to Prince Shining Armor."

Rockhoof nodded his head in agreement. "Aye, that's for sure. And it's a good thing that the princesses deployed multiple patrols throughout Canterlot and the surrounding area. While his army took a pretty heavy hit, the Storm King will come back again with even more forces to conquer the capital."

"Yeth was wondering if the princesses have send the recon teams again to look for Storm King's stronghold?" Yeth asked.

Rubbing the back of his head, Pharynx answered. "Yeah, both Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had decided to send the recon teams again, but this time my brother Thorax and the others will also be sending their own recon teams to help out and find the stronghold faster."

"Well, that's good to know. The more teams sent out, the better chance of finding the Storm King's stronghold quicker." The lunar guard captain agreed.

The group nodded their head in agreement and walked in silence. They opted to use one of the side entrances for shortcut, taking them into one of the castle’s courtyard. From there they entered the castle proper and quickly made their way through before reaching the armory.

At the entrance of the armory, the group saw Au Hasard and Midnight Blossom conversing to Flash Sentry, Mallow Sear and Sunwing before the two bat ponies saw them and stopped to greet them.

"Hi guys, didn't think you would dropping by." Hasard said, stepping forward. He, Midnight, Mallow and Sunwing embraced each member of the crystal group one by one while Crimson, Night, Flash, Rockhoof, Gilda and Pharynx stood behind.

"Yeah, we figured we'd get some gear and join the patrols." Nimbus stated before gesturing the group behind to come forward, to which the group did.

"Guys, meet Solar Guard captain Crimson Chaser, Lunar Guard captain Night Shadow, Flash Magnus, Rockhoof, Gilda and Pharynx." Grimhoof introduced them to the four figures.

"Night Shadow? I heard of you. Your ancestor took over my position after I was gone for a thousand years. I'm Au Hasard. And this is Midnight Blossom, Mallow Sear, Sunwing and Flash Sentry." Hasard introduced him self and his friends to the group.

Night widened his eyes in surprise. "You're captain Au Hasard? I heard from Princess Luna that you used to be her captain before you disappeared from a patrol a thousand years."

Hasard chuckled, extending a hoof to shake. "Well, it's good to see the lineage continues. Princess Luna told me you’ve been doing an excellent job in my stead."

The lunar captain extended his and shook Hasard's hoof and smiled before glancing at Midnight.

"And you must be his wife." Night stated.

Both Midnight and Hasard stared at him for a couple of seconds while the rest of the crystal ponies and creatures tried to contain themselves, but couldn't help letting out a stifled laugh.

"What? What's wrong?" The lunar captain asked with an arched eyebrow as Midnight groaned and rubbed her face with her hoof while Hasard rolled his eyes.

"I'm not his wife. I'm his sister." Midnight blankly stated.

Gears in Night’s minds started turning as he processed her words. Realization dawned on him, and his face turned a deep shade of red, causing the group to laugh while both Midnight and Hasard simply chuckled.

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Princess Amore walked through the halls of Canterlot hospital, having to finish helping Queen Seraphine's out in assembling the changeling queen's recon team.

The guards within hospital patrolled the hallway, waiting for any signs of the Storm King and his army. A scenario that had luckily not yet played out.

As Amore approached the royal wing, she briefly passed Twilight and Celestia being led by Luna as they headed in the opposite direction.

The three princesses noticed her presence and exchanged respectful nods, acknowledging each other silently as they continued on their respective paths.

When she approached, the guards standing idly by the entrance noticed Amore and quickly saluted before relaxing and standing aside to let her past.

The Mane 5 and Spike stood just outside the door to the Prince's temporary residence, and they stopped their conversation when they spotted Amore. They stared in her direction and an awkward silence ensued, before Amore moved forward towards the door.

As she passed, the group each gave her a nod before they returned to their conversation.

As Amore pushed the door open, her heart tightened in her chest as she spotted her daughter sitting beside her husband with various machines surrounding him as Cadance stared at Shining.

Amore slowly closed the door behind her before noticing Twilight Velvet and Night Light sitting on the other side of the bed, the mare was asleep as her head rested against her son's shoulder while the stallion sat beside her, gently caressing her mane.

Amore coughed softly to get the group in front of her their attention, causing the three ponies to look up to see the tall unicorn.

"Mom!" The Princess of Love silently called out before rushing toward and embracing her mother while the Prince's parents stood and watched the scene as Amore embraced her daughter.

After a few minutes, both the mother and the daughter parted ways before Amore looked at the parents. "You must be my daughter's husband's parents. I'm Princess Amore."

Night Light smiled weakly at her. "Princess Amore. It’s an honor to meet you."

Twilight Velvet, having woken from her light sleep, approached Amore slowly. Much to Amore's surprise, she was quickly enveloped in a hug by the mare.

"Thank you... thank you for saving my son..." Velvet whispered, her voice breaking with emotion. "I'm just so glad that he's alive."

Amore returned the embrace, her own eyes welling up with tears as Cadance and Night Light watched the scene.

"I had ensured he recovered." She assured her, her voice steady despite the lump in her throat. "Your son is strong, and with all of us by his side, he will pull through this."

They stayed in the same position for a while before parting ways and the group each took their respective seats around Shining.

They stayed silent for a couple of minutes staring at the sleeping form of the Prince before Velvet broke the silence.

"Twilight told me what happened to you a thousand and five years ago." She began, her eyes meeting Amore's. "It must have been incredibly hard to send your daughter away to save her from King Sombra and tried to defend your empire from him, only to be petrified and have the pieces of your body scattered across the world by him."

Amore sighed, her gaze distant as she recalled the painful memories. "It was the hardest decision I ever had to make." She admitted. "Sending Cadance away was the only way to ensure her safety. I fought with everything I had to protect the Crystal Empire, but Sombra's magic was too powerful. Being petrified and scattered was a cruel fate, but knowing my daughter was safe from him gave me the strength to endure it. And I would have remained petrified and scattered if it wouldn't for the Crystal Imperial guards and other races."

Amore sighed again, this time deeper. "Cadenza, Mr and Ms Sparkle." She began. "I promise you, that the Storm King who did this to your husband and your son will pay for what he did, and end him. That is promise I wouldn't break."

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Tempest Shadow grumbled to herself as she laid in the bed within the confines of the dungeon. It's been five days since she was thrown in here, both her left foreleg and hindleg were bandaged up.

How did this happen? It was supposed to be easy... She thought to herself as she shifted in the bed.

Her mind replayed the events leading to her downfall. The plan had seemed foolproof: invade Canterlot, capture the princesses, and deliver them to the Storm King so he could empower his Staff of Sacanas and finally fix her horn. Yet, everything had quickly spiraled out of control. The unexpected arrival of three ponies and her subsequent defeat at their hooves had turned her meticulously crafted plan into a disastrous failure, causing her to be captured and thrown into the dungeon.

Tempest clenched her teeth, frustration bubbling inside her. She had always prided herself on her meticulous planning and execution. Failure was not an option in her line of work, yet here she was, wounded and imprisoned.

A soft clanking sound drew her attention to the cell door and her eyes widened in shock and surprised when she saw King Crestwing along with two of his guards approached her cell.

"You..? How are you alive? Storm King and I stormed Mount Aris and ended you!" The lieutenant exclaimed as she tumbled out of the bed in shock.

The King of the hippogriffs narrowed his eyes at her. "I managed to escape to the Frozen North despite my injuries where I was saved by Princess Amore before I was frozen in the frozen wasteland."

Tempest struggled to process his words. The Storm King had assured her that the hippogriffs had been defeated, their forces decimated, and their kingdom reduced to rubble. Yet here stood their king, very much alive.

"I don't know why you decided to work the Storm King, but if you continue to work with him, you will be no better than King Sombra who petrified and scattered Princess Amore and enslaved the crystal ponies." Crestwing bitterly continued.

The lieutenant immediately flinched back, her eyes widened in shock as she processed the fact that the king of the hippogriffs had compared her with King Sombra, his word cutting through her like a blade.

"I'M NOTHING LIKE SOMBRA!" She angrily yelled at Crestwing.

"Actions speak louder than words, lieutenant." The king said calmly. "You may believe you are different, but aligning yourself with the Storm King shows otherwise."

Tempest seethed with anger, but the truth in Crestwing's words gnawed at her. She had justified her actions for so long, believing that regaining her horn would make everything right. But now, she faced with the consequences of her choices and the suffering she had caused.

"I did what I had to!" The lieutenant said, her voice trembling with anger. "I wanted my horn back, and the Storm King was the only one who offered to do it for me! He was the only one who even seemed to care!"

"We all make mistakes, but this doesn't excused your actions. Beside, if the Storm King really cares for you, why didn't he rescued you when he launched the second attack on Canterlot? He could have sent some of his soldiers to free you while his main forces focused on the battle in the square." The king of the hippogriffs asked with an arched eyebrow.

Tempest backpedalled as if struck.

As much as the lieutenant was loath to admit it, she knew Crestwing was right. She had convinced herself that the Storm King's promise was her only hope, but now she couldn't ignore the glaring inconsistencies in his actions.

"You can believe me or not, lieutenant. We will find the Storm King and put an end to this. It's only a matter of time." The king of the hippogriffs said before walking away with his guards, leaving Tempest alone in the cell.

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Twilight, Celestia and Luna were walking down one of the many corridors in Canterlot castle, en route to somewhere only Luna knew.

"Shining Armor's condition hasn’t changed, the doctors are keeping an eye on him.” The lunar princess informed both the Princess of Friendship and the solar princess.

Twilight sighed. “All we can do now is hope for the best, until then I intend to find Storm King and end him.”

Luna looked at her sister in concern as she remembered what had the Princess of Friendship said after Celestia told her.

The lunar princess turned her head to Twilight. “Well Twilight Sparkle, I have something that might be able to help with that.”

She pointed towards a small door at the end of the corridor they walked down, before stopping in front of it.

“Why are we stopping here? Luna, what did you do?” The solar princess asked.

“Nothing. I have done nothing, but something happened while I was about to visit you..." Luna stated.

Both alicorns looked at the lunar princess incredulously as she opened the door to reveal a sparse room with a single table in the centre. Sitting at the table, a hedgehog was restrained with a pegasus and a crystal griffon standing beside him watching him.

The Princess of Friendship and Celestia widened their eyes. "That's... that's the hedgehog who announced the Storm King and his lieutenant! How did you managed to get him?!" The solar princess exclaimed in surprised while Twilight stared at him before looking back at Luna.

"I didn’t." The lunar princess replied calmly. "He approached me as I was leaving for the hospital. Apparently, during Storm King’s second invasion of Canterlot, he fell off the airship when it was struck by the red crystal dragon and survived the fall by landing on the nearby bushes. He had been hiding in the courtyard for a day before he found me. He said he wanted to surrender."

"Really?" The Princess of Friendship's eyes narrowed as she turned to glare at Grubber, who wilted under the intense gaze of the lavender alicorn.

Luna nodded. "He told me that what the Storm King and his army are doing is wrong, and he wants to put a stop to them. He's willing to provide us with information."

Celestia nodded. "Luna, get Amore and Cadance and bring them here. I will personally talk to him once you bring them here."

“I will, but there was one piece of information he mentioned specifically he could provide us…” The lunar princess stated.

“And what is that?” Twilight asked, her eyebrow arched in curiosity.

“He knows where Storm King is residing and where him and his army's stronghold is." Luna revealed.