Cadance The Crystal Princess

Tempest sat in the corner of the dungeons, thinking about the words King Creswting had said to her while worrying about Grubber who had remained silent to her.

Its been twelve hours since the hedgehog had been brought into one of the cell. The lieutenant had tried to talk to Grubber, but he didn't answered her, instead chose to keep quiet.

A soft clanking sound drew her attention to the cell door and Tempest looked up to see Princess Celestia in full armor covered with dry stain of bloods, along with two of her guards, in front of her cell.

The lieutenant stared, her confusion evident as she took in the sight of the solar princess’s bloodstained armor. Why would the Princess be here, in such a state, and what did it mean for her and the hedgehog?

Celestia's gaze met Tempest's, her eyes no longer soft and comforting but hardened by the harsh realities of war. After a moment of silence that hung heavy in the air, the solar princess spoke, her voice steady but laced with a solemn finality.

“The Storm King is dead.” Celestia announced, her words cutting through the tension in the cell like a blade. “Almost all of his soldiers died fighting to the last against the Equestrians. They were relentless, refusing to surrender until the very end. Those who survived eventually laid down their arms, but it was a costly victory.”

The lieutenant eyes widened, the weight of the news crashing down on her. The Storm King—dead. The tyrant she had served was gone. But before she could fully process this, the solar princess continued, her tone unyielding.

“Grubber...” Celestia began, her gaze softening slightly. “He told us everything we needed to know about the Storm King’s whereabouts and the remnants of his forces. He gave us all the information willingly, without hesitation.”

Tempest felt a jolt of shock. Grubber, her loyal companion, had cooperated with their captors? The thought of him revealing everything was almost too much to comprehend as her mind raced to grasp the solar princess’s words.

The lieutenant swallowed hard, forcing herself to meet Celestia’s gaze. “What happens now?” She asked, her voice tinged with a mixture of defiance and resignation.

The solar princess held her gaze. “Now, Tempest, you will face the consequences of your actions. You have committed grave wrongs, and there will be severe punishments. As for Grubber, his cooperation will spare him from the worst of it, but he, too, will be held accountable.”

Celestia pulled back. "My sister and I will be seeing you during the courtroom once it's date has been decided."

The solar princess turned and walked away with her guards, leaving Tempest and Grubber alone in the cells.

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The next day

The sun shined brilliantly, almost blindingly to the ones in the royal wing, through the curtains as Princess Cadance, Twilight Velvet, Night Light, and Spike sat beside the still comatose Shining Armor lying on the bed.

It's been a day since the assault on the Storm King's fort and the death of the tyrant king. While the citizens were relieved that the king were no longer a concern to be worried about, the four didn't cared about that as they were worried about the stallion on the bed.

The royal wing’s doors being opened caught their attention and they turned their head to see Twilight, Flash Sentry, and Amore walking into the room.

“Twilight!” The dragon called out as he dashed toward her, wrapping his small arms around her foreleg. She leaned down, hugging him with her left foreleg, a soft smile on her face as the others watched quietly. After a few moments, they gently broke the embrace, and the group moved further into the room.

"How's Shining?" The Princess of Friendship asked her sister-in-law as she, Spike and Amore took their respective seats around the bed while the lieutenant stood beside his girlfriend.

The Princess of Love shook her head. "Nothing. He's still in a coma."

Twilight sighed before she went quiet, staring at her brother. The room fell into a heavy silence, the weight of worry and exhaustion palpable.

“So...” Night Light broke the silence. “I heard that you, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, and my daughter managed to put an end to Storm King and his army.”

Amore nodded her head as she sighed deeply. “Yes, we did. Although your daughter and lieutenant Flash Sentry were the ones who slayed Storm King. What's left of his army surrendered after they took too many casualties from our army and us."

“They’re currently imprisoned in the dungeons, along with Tempest Shadow and Grubber, awaiting court martial at a later date." Flash reported.

Night Light absorbed this information with a solemn nod before turning his attention to his daughter. "Twilight dear, are you alright? You’ve been through so much...”

The Princess of Friendship looked at both her parents. "I'm... I'm alright. Just wishing that it shouldn't end with killing Storm King."

The lieutenant draped a comforting wing over his girlfriend, giving her a light nuzzle. Her parents exchanged a quiet, knowing smile, fully aware of the bond between their daughter and the lieutenant, something Twilight had confided in them recently.

Velvet tilted her head slightly, curiosity in her voice. "What took you so long to get here, Twilight?"

Twilight exhaled slowly, gathering her thoughts before she began to explain. "After the battle, we departed from the Storm King's realm to Klugetown and help the princesses and the leaders to oversee the treatment of the injured. While I was there, I encountered Capper—he’s the one who tried to sell my friends and me to his boss when we were searching for help from the hippogriffs. He told me about the state of Klugetown after the Storm King's defeat, how it’s struggling to stabilize."

The Princess of Friendship continued. "I spent a few days discussing the situation with the princesses and the leaders. We decided to send a team of Equestrian and Crystal Empire officials and an ambassador to Klugetown to help bring some order and support the town’s recovery. The town will be outfitted with an embassy as a base for any diplomatic mission and to assist any Equestrians who decided to travel there or live there."

Amore nodded. "Celestia, Luna, me, and the leaders believe it’s the right course of action to ensure stability in the region as well as help the citizens living there to recover from the Storm King's rule."

The room fell silent again. The weight of everything Celestia, Luna, Amore, the leaders, and Twilight had been through hung in the air. Both parents exchanged worried glances.

"Twilight..." Cadance began, breaking the silence. "I know how hard this has been for you, for all of us. But right now, we need to focus on Shining. He's strong; he always has been. We just need to keep believing that he'll wake up."

Twilight nodded, though her eyes remained on her brother, her expression conflicted. "I know, Cadance. I just... I wish I could do more. I feel so helpless."

"You’ve done more than enough, Twilight." Amore said gently. "We led the charge against the Storm King, and now we’re helping to rebuild the world he tried to destroy."

Flash tightened his wing around his girlfriend, offering silent support as she fought back the tears threatening to spill over.

Suddenly, a soft groan echoed through the room. Everyone's heads snapped toward the bed, their eyes wide. Slowly, Shining opened his eyes to find himself surrounded by everypony and dragon who were all watching him expectantly.

"Cadance? Twily? Spike? Mom and dad?" The prince croaked, his voice weak.

"Shining!" His family all shouted at once, glomping his already weakened body, which threatened to turn into dust at the contact, while the lieutenant and Amore stood aside and watched the scene.

“Ow! Hey!” Shining croaked out underneath the mass of bodies, who all retracted and gave him sheepish, apologetic smiles.

Tears of relief were welled up in the Princess of Love's eyes and were threatening to spill as she clutched his hoof tightly. "Oh Shining, I thought you wouldn't wake up."

"We were so worried for you, BBBFF." The Princess of Friendship tearfully said.

“Worried for me? What happe-" The prince began, but then he froze as the memories came flooding back. Storm King, the second invasion, the spear. It was then he realised that he had been in a coma.

“Oh dear Celestia, I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you like that, I-" Shining started.

"It's alright, Shiny. You saved me from getting speared by the Storm King." Cadance interjected. "But please, don't do that again."

The prince smiled and nodded his head before he widened his eyes. "Wait! Storm King! What about-"

"He's gone." Amore quickly reassured Shining. "He wouldn't be attacking us anymore."

“W-what do you mean?” The prince asked, confusion evident on his face.

Twilight winced slightly. “All will be explained later, for now just rest.”

Shining arched an eyebrow at her, but decided not to press the matter. He nodded, sinking back into the pillows. "Alright, I will."

As they all stood around the prince, the relief was palpable. After everything they had been through, the battles they had fought, and the fears they had faced, one thing became clear to them all.

Everything was going to be fine.

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Two weeks later

The Princess of Love moved through the hallway of the Crystal Palace, her husband walking beside her.

"I heard from Twilight that the Friendship Festival will be back on track tomorrow to not only celebrate the unity, but also the end of the Storm King's threat tomorrow at Canterlot." Cadance said.

Shining chuckled. "Well, after the Friendship Festival got postponed for a week and being prepared for another week, it's good to know that the festival will finally happen. I think everypony could use some good news after everything that’s happened."

The Princess of Love nodded in agreement. "The past weeks have been difficult for everypony. It will be nice to have something to celebrate. Auntie Celly and Auntie Lulu told me that Twilight have been working tirelessly to make sure everything is perfect. She want this festival to be a symbol of hope and unity for all of Equestria."

The prince’s smile widened slightly. "It sounds like it’s going to be a grand event. I just hope Twily isn’t overworking herself. She tends to throw herself into her duties when she’s stressed."

"She does..." Cadance agreed, her voice tinged with concern. "But Flash and the others have been keeping an eye on her. Plus, she has Spike, and you know how protective he is of her."

Shining chuckled softly. "Yeah, Spike’s always been there for her. He’s grown up so much."

The two came to a stop just outside the throne room.

"You know, I think it was good idea to allow your mother to rule with you. She deserved it after a thousand and five years of being petrified and scattered before being rebuilt." The prince said.

The Princess of Love smiled. "Well, it took me and my aunties a while to convince her, but we finally did. And I’m glad we did."

Shining chuckled again. "Glad you and both the princesses managed to convince her. Now, I do believe you got nobles to meet."

“It’s mostly the leaders from various races coming over for diplomacy, only a couple of nobles are coming along to ‘see what all the fuss is about’.” Cadance nuzzled her husband's neck, who returned the nuzzle. “But yes, I better get going. Until now all negotiations have taken place in Equestria so this is fairly major.”

The prince pulled back. "Alright, I'll be waiting for you at Flurry's room when you finished."

Shining gave his wife a kiss before walking off to help out the Crystal Imperial guards.

After watching her husband go, the Princess of Love turned to the throne room's doors and pushed them open.

On her new throne at the end of the room, Amore smiled affectionately when she spotted her daughter. Amore dismissed Commander Hurricane and Clover the Clever, who nodded to Cadance as they passed.

"Good morning, Cadenza. Did you sleep well?" Amore asked.

The Princess of Love smiled. "I did, mom, thank you. Is everything ready?”

"Yes, everything is ready." Amore stated as she smiled back at her daughter. “Now come; let us ready ourselves for the leaders' arrival."

Cadance nodded her head before approaching her own throne and sat down.

Amore looked on at her daughter with proud eyes.

‘Oh Artic Spirit, wherever you are I know that you are as proud as I am. Thank you, for everything.’

The Princess of Love looked up at her mother and returned her smile, before looking towards the door expectantly, the leaders due to arrive any moment.

She sat up straight, channelling the regal posture her aunties always made.

And when the leaders and the nobles entered the throne room, they were met with two princesses waiting for them.