Bankrupt Love: Finding Friendship

by The-Follower-of-Luna

Rating: teen
Tags: Dark, Alternate Universe, Thriller, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Queen Chrysalis, Romance, Suicide / Self Harm
Length: 19655

The first step to love is friendship, and finding it can be hard, especially when you have centuries of not getting along to get over.

Two gods of old that walk the world in secret have found each other by accident. Now enemies of old will walk a world that no longer needs them together; will friendship take the place of a century-old rivalry, or will old memories and past grudges make that friendship a hardship? Either way, the world they live in waits for no pony, and time will continue on, with or without them.

Published 2025-01-14 02:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2025-02-15 06:17:25 UTC

The Morning After

Author's Note

The next installment is here, I wrote through the night and into the day to get this done, and the next chapter is already in the works. I am on a army deployment at the moment which is both good and bad for time. I don't to a whole lot but when do have to do things it get bad.

I have looked over the chap to make sure that it is good to go, as always something always slips through i am already looking to fix the first story because i keep finding crap wrong with it. other than that enjoy the read every pony.

The Morning After

Chapter one: The morning after

Cadence

When one thinks of retired gods, they see them resting in a grove or hidden away in a cavern that the world has forgotten about. They sit in silence and bliss without a worry in the world to bother them until they are found by an inspired youth that drags them into a world that needs them more than ever. That was a nice thought, a good story to tell the youth of the world; foals needed something to believe in. The truth, however, was much more brutal.

The first few decades that the princesses had were just like the stories; they had the wealth of hundreds of lifetimes to keep them secure in their little hideaways, but no amount of planning can prepare for everything, and time can whittle down even the largest of mountains. The cottage that was the hideaway of the Alicorns for so many years was soon absorbed in the ever-growing cities that dotted all of Equestria. The once easy life turned harder and harder as time passed. Then Twilight lost the crown, and control of all that was Equestria was given to the council.

At first this didn’t have too much of an effect, but as more time passed and the council that might have once respected the old gods faded, and the last little light that they enjoyed disappeared. What little land they owned disappeared, and the wealth they once held rendered moot. That’s how the real story goes: gods homeless and adrift because the world no longer believes in them. Nothing but a speck of dust in the whirlwind that is the world that is no longer theirs, forced to adapt.

Cadence moved from her small bedroom in the apartment that she could barely afford, the once great changeling queen sleeping in her bed. The bar was no place for them to reconnect, or to talk at all really, but by the time Cadence got them to her small one-room apartment, Chrysalis was dead tired and passed out just from sitting on the couch. Cadence managed to magic her into the small bedroom after that, laying her down and tucking her into the covers. It wasn't much, but she was sure that it was more than enough for Chrysalis.

She looked over at the clock that was mounted on the wall, reading the bright red number that it displayed, 0341. She gave out a sigh and planted herself barrel-first on the couch. She had to be awake by six so she could get ready for work. Even after all this time, one thing might as well have stayed the same: Cadence hated Mondays.

Chrysalis

It was the sound of running water that awoke the sleeping changeling. Her first thought was panic; she searched the bed, thinking that she had fallen asleep with her latest catch, her fog-covered brain not remembering the events that happened last night, her hooves tangled in the bed sheets as she toppled off the alicorn-sized bed with a bang. Panic as in full force as she struggled to free herself from the blanket prison, only to stop as the bathroom door on the other side of the room opened, flooding the dark room with light.

The flood of light shed more light on the situation and redoubled the panic that Chrysalis was facing, her black chitin reflected the light, her bug-like wings buzzing as her long black legs fought an unknown enemy. Her breath quickened as her mind let her know that she wasn’t even in disguise. She was about to get caught in her true form; this could happen again. It was then, as her racing mind was leading to a full-blown panic attack, a pink magic wrapped around her struggling form.

Chrysalis closed her eyes and waited for that scream that would come; she had not been caught in a long time, but she would never forget, long ago, when her body was not used to the hunger and weakness that would pain her from the lack of food. She would slip into sleep with her hunt of the night, and then in the dead of night, while she slept, her magic would fail and her glimmer would vanish. She would be awoken to the screaming of a pony that had a monster in bed. It was always a mad dash to escape the attacks after that.

So it came as a surprise to the floating changeling when the magic that enveloped her stayed gentle; the attacking blows that she expected instead freed her tangled legs and placed her and the now folded blanket on the bed. The scream that she thought she would hear was instead a question from a both amused and very concerned voice: “I heard the fall from inside the bath; are you okay?” The voice was familiar yet not at the same time, like something that sat at the very back of one's head. Chrysalis's ears flicked as her mind started to wake up; she listened to the hoofsteps on the carpeted floor.

She dared to open her eyes, cracking them just enough to get a look at who was now standing at her bedside. Her mind came to full attention at the sight as memories of the night before played in her mind like a fast-forwarded movie. The bar, the meeting, the love, the forgiveness—everything rushed into her head and hit her like a ton of bricks. She sat up on the bed, staring at the concerned Cadence in front of her. She then looked down at the bed and back at Cadence; she didn’t. There was no way that they, her eyes filled with panic at the thought. Chrysalis might have been desperate, but there was no way that she.

The calming voice of Cadence hit her ears once more. “Hey, hey, look at me.” Chrysalis looked up slowly, her eyes coming to meet Cadence’s as she moved in closer, coming to rest at the foot of the bed and right in front of the changeling. She slowly placed her hoof on Chrysalis’s shoulders. “I want you to take some breaths with me; just take some slow, steady breaths.” Chrysalis did as she was told, following the soothing voice as she calmed her breathing. What was just a few moments felt like years to the changeling, but in the end, the onset panic she felt was calmed. It wasn't gone, but her once rushing mind calmed long enough for rational thought to take root.

She closed and opened her eyes, readying a torrent of questions, only for Cadence to answer said question as if she could read Chrysalis’s mind: “No, we didn’t do anything.” Her voice was the only sound of reason in the room at the time, leading Chrysalis out of the hole her mind had dug: “We came back to my place to catch up, but you passed out as soon as we made it back.” Cadence moved back, letting Chrysalis have a little room, and turned on the light.

Light flooded Chrysalis’s vision as she got a look at the room that she had slept in; calling it small wouldn't even begin to describe it. It had just enough space for two ponies of the size they were to move about. The bed that she sat on took up most of the moving room they would have had; there was a dresser on the end of the bed, one that looked nearly ancient, and as Chrysalis looked a little more closely, it had as many preservation enchantments as an item could have. Other than that, the room was sparse; old posters of the Royal Guard hung with care, also preserved to Tartarus and back.

The walls of the room were a dull white, grayed with age and lack of care, the carpet much the same, having seen many owners over the decades of use and an uncaring landlord. While it had problems, it was the home of the goddess of love, and what little there was was more inviting than most of the city on its best day. Chrysalis was now calm an thinking straight, faced Cadence for the first real time that morning, taking in the sight of the dripping wet Alicorn that had come to her rescue, she didn’t even know what to say; last night was hard enough, but now adding on this morning, what should she do?

Cadence

Her alarm went off with a vengeance right at the time that she had set it for, 05:55, waking the sleeping Alicorn like she wasn't a god that could smite it for just existing. Cadence, much to her annoyance, rolled over like she was in bed to turn the alarm off, only to fall off of the couch and face plant into the floor. That had woken her up more than the alarm had, and with a groan, she turned the blasted noise off, letting her check the phone the alarm had been set on. The screen shone to life, giving off a light that was akin to looking at the sun at high noon, blinding the poor mare, who was forced to squint through the pain to turn the brightness down.

No notifications; that was good at least. She made to stand up using her magic to hit the light switch to light up the kitchen-living room combo that was the main entrance to her apartment. It was here that her daily routine started, with a practiced ease that only came from doing something for years. Multiple things happened around the room at once. The older coffee maker in the corner of the kitchen sprang to life, pouring out the dark liquid that paved the way for a functional society; next to it, the radio was tuned to the weather for the day, letting Cadence know the state of the air in the city and the predicted cloud moment.

As sad as it was to say, the magic that was once used to control the weather was long forgotten and phased out for more autonomous ‘control’ at the cost of more randomness. Why pay a weather team to plan every little detail and carry it out when you could just leave it up to itself? Cadence shook her head at that; the council had deemed the weather service a waste of tax money. She could still remember when most of the cloud factories in Cloudsdale had their funding cut and were told to automate. She thought that the pegasi were going to riot. Cloudsdale's economy has yet to recover from the loss of jobs. Even after all of the campaigns promising to fix the problem, it seems in the end all they did was trade one form of noble for the other when the council came to power, for the pony by the pony was nothing but lies when it came to the lower class. Cadence listened as she danced around the kitchen putting together a small but filling breakfast, making an extra plate for her new guest still sleeping away in her room.

She let her mind wander what this could mean for her now; last night had kind of just happened. The meeting wasn't planned, and while that was okay, it did make her think about what would happen now. She wanted to help the changeling queen, but at the same time she couldn’t help someone who didn’t want it; forced help would only make her shy away from any real help that was offered, but at the same time she couldn’t just let her wander through the streets not knowing when the next time that she might eat would be.

She moved from the kitchen with a piece of toast stuffed and dangling out of her mouth as Cadence made her way over to her bedroom door. She hesitated slightly; was it out of nervousness or fear? What might she find on the other side of the door? She had, in all intents and purposes, let a changeling into her home. It would seem even after all this time she couldn’t fully let go of the past; she choked down the rest of her toast and willed her resolve forward. The door opened a crack, just enough for a spear of light to enter the room. Cadence peeked in and saw nothing but the sleeping form of Chrysalis.

The thoughts of fear vanished in that moment; looking at the sleeping form, she looked so... meek wasn't the right word; maybe peaceful, just lying there, still covered in the blankets, mumbling to herself while she slept. Cadence felt a sharp stab in her conscience; there was nothing she could do about it now; she would just have to do better. She pushed the door open further before slipping into the room and closing it behind her, plunging the room into darkness.

It was with light hoof steps she walked through the darkness, making her way through in a way only someone who knew the exact layout of the room could, even though it really wasn't that big or cluttered. It was only a few short hoofstep later that she found the door that she was looking for, slipping into the small bathroom. She hit the switch on the wall close to her, bringing the room into the light. It was small, just enough room for her to turn on her hooves. Faust, how she missed her old bath.

She didn’t really have time to think of the past as she turned on the shower, letting the water heat slightly before stepping in. She would have to be fast; the morning was already going slow thanks to her wandering mind, and she couldn’t afford to be late. She moved with purpose as she lathered herself with soap and shampoo, doing her best to hit all the spots that the grime might build up on. The hardest part was always her wings, as the tiny shower that she used barely had room for one wing to spread out, let alone two of her alicorn size.

She had just stepped out of the shower when she heard a loud thump from inside her room. Chrysalis must have woken up; she continued to dry off until she heard the sound of muffled struggling and decided to see if her new guest was okay. She hung her towel on the rack, intending to come back for the cloth. The thought, however, died as soon as she opened the door and laid eyes on the fully panicking changeling. Cadence's mind flashed back, replacing Chrysalis with a young Twilight amidst one of her many daily panic attacks.

The scene corrected itself as Cadence forced herself into the present; she carefully reached out with her magic, picking up the struggling changeling ever so lightly, just enough that a strong enough struggle would break the hold. When the changeling didn’t free herself from the hold, Cadence used it to remove the cover and place both of them back on the bed. She also used that time to walk to the bedside, making sure that her hoof steps made enough noise for the on-edge Chrysalis to hear. She needed to calm her down, and to do that she would need for her to trust her enough to do that.

She spoke softly, asking a simple question just to see how she would react, not wanting to scare the panic changeling any more than she was “I heard the fall from inside the bath; are you okay?” Simple was the name of the game here; she wanted to help ground her, not overload her, yet even then she didn’t get an answer. She approached slowly, taking in the shaking form that not long go was trapped and too frightened to even free herself from the sheets she had managed to wrap herself up in. oh Chrysalis Cadence thought looks like you are just as frightened as I was.

Cracked eyes meet Cadence, a good sign; she went slightly tense at the sight of her, but for her panic state, that could have been normal. Cadence was flying blind after all, never having dealt with a panicking Chrysalis. It surprised her when she shot up suddenly; sitting up like a vampire pony rising from a coffin, she sat bolt upright, looking Cadence down with a manic look. She wanted to do nothing more than back away and give space, but the poor mare in front of her needed her more than ever now.

She placed herself right in front of Chrysalis, watching as her eyes went from herself to the bed and back to her. Cadence did need to be psychic to pick up on what she was thinking; she worked fast but carefully, placing her hooves on her shoulders to help ground her as she spoke, “Hey, hey, look at me.” Chrysalis’s eyes slowly came to meet hers; the helplessness that they exuded made Cadence's heart ache. She pushed forward "I want you to take some breaths with me; just take some slow, steady breaths.” Luckily enough, Chrysalis followed the instructions, bringing in normal breaths “and letting the calm take root in the chaos.

Chrysalis would have questions; she had woken up not even remembering where she was and who she had been with, enough to think that she had bedded with her; she needed to get the answer to that one before the doubt would set in: “No, we didn’t do anything.” She kept her voice soft, doing her best to soothe out what stress and panic was left: “We came back to my place to catch up, but you passed out as soon as we made it back.” She let that sink in for a moment. Chrysalis would need time to think and ground herself, and to do that she would need something to look at other than what she would see in the thin ray of light that came through the bathroom doorway.

Cadence moved away with some reluctance and used the tip of her wing to turn on the main room lights; they flared to life and gave color to the world around them. A tiny world, but a world no less. She watched as the eyes scanned, taking in all they could. That was good; it meant that she was focusing on the world around her and not the one in her head. Cadence let this go on until Chrysalis looked as calm as she was going to get. Now instead of looking panicked and care out of her mind, she looked like she just didn’t know what to do, much easier to deal with in Cadence's opinion.

Sadly, this little clam-down session took up most of the time that Cadence would have used to get ready, so now she had to deal with both an awkward changeling and not being late to work. She opened the dresser at the foot of the bed, feeling Chrysalis’s eyes follow her as she did so. “I am really sorry to do this; I know that you have questions.” She pulled out a work uniform that consisted of a white button-up shirt with a gray vest. A name tag sat above a small chest pocket that read SILVER LINING CREDIT MANAGER. “You are more than welcome to stay here until I get back.”

Chrysalis

To say that she was at a loss for words was an understatement; she watched as the pony who not only a few seconds ago had calmly walked her down from her panic attack looked on the verge of her own, running around her room getting ready for ‘work’ in a manner that would have made a Wonderbolt blush with shame. When all was said and done, you could have never believed that the dull gray unicorn with a boringly pale green mane was once the Alicorn of love. She just looked so average, so unsuspecting, so, well, normal. When did they, the rulers of nations, fall into being normal?

By now both of them had left the confines of the small bedroom and made their way into the loft area, not that that sported much more room, but it was still better than nothing. Most of the conversations they had as Cadence got ready were one sentence replies or quick quips, nothing that was rude, but I did show a mare that was more than in a rush. So Chrysalis sat there with a fork in her magic as she played with the breakfast that was offered to her. While yes, she did need solid food to support her body, most of her energy came from feeding off love, so imagine her joy when the toast that she took a bite out of had a little of both.

She always laughed at the expression that the secret ingredient to most foods was love, but in this case it seemed to be true; with a little more gusto, she nibbled at the food, doing her best not to gobble breakfast down like a dragon with a hoard of gems. It was when she had a small piece of egg in her mouth that Silver Lining, aka Cadence, thought it best to make a very brief and unplanned goodbye, all in a very rushed tone that didn’t match the boring look she now wore. “Um, there is my number on the counter if you need to call me; the phone on the wall still works; there is an extra key under the number in case you have to leave; PLEASE lock the doors; I have already had one pony try to break in.” She looked around as if she was making sure that she had everything she needed.

“I should be back around five, so until then feel free to have free rein of the place; my home is yours.” Chrysalis did her best to swallow the egg that she was still chewing so that she might be able to speak, but before that could even happen Cadence's eyes shot to the clock on the wall before letting out a wail, “OH DEAR FAUST, I AM GONNA MISS MY BUS,” before nearly ripping the door off its hinges and zooming down the hallway. “HAVE A GOOD DAY, SEE YOU LATER.” was the last thing Chrysalis heard before the door closed itself and left the changeling in an empty apartment with her half-eaten breakfast.

Chrysalis sat there for a moment trying to take in all that had happened over the morning now that she had some peace and quiet, not that she minded the pink alicorn, as it was her home. She ate slowly, taking in her surroundings. She had been in many apartments over her life, and she could positively say that this was the standard setup for low-income housing. It had just enough space for one pony; they were not often placed in the best areas of the city, and the landlords that ran the places were the worst of the worst. Although for all that she said this seemed like it was one of the better ones, the walls still had paint, the carpets didn’t have fleas, and this one even had a window…. That led to a brick wall.

It was still better than she was doing; having a home was better than hopping from room to room with a nameless pony each night, fighting to stay alive in the underbelly of the city. She ate a little more quickly after that, and with her newfound strength, she had two full meals back to back and carried the dirty plate to the sink with her magic; the sink was empty other than one other plate and a pan, but having taken food from her host, Chrysalis set to washing them. The task wasn’t a hard one, so it took less time than she would have liked, leaving her with nothing to do but wait.

Normally when she was brought home by one of her targets, and not to a motel, she would snoop through the house. She would search for anything that she could take and disappear into the night with; that was not an option here. Cadence was more than a target, and she had been brought back to her home out of a newfound trust. She was a wanted guest, and that came with rules, rules that Chrysalis didn't really know. Even when she was queen, she didn’t really have guests, not to mention that she was never an invited guest because of, well, her being a changeling.

Chrysalis made her way from the kitchen into the very small sitting area. For its small size, it was cozy enough for a pony of her size. The love seat that she sat on wasn't the most comfortable, but who was she to complain? The small television set had caught her eye. It was an older model, big and boxy, not as streamlined as the flat models that lined the streets of the more wealthy districts. Chrysalis reached out with her magic, turning the dial on.

The box sprang to life; its volume was on the low end, the channel showing the news for the day. A mare stood outside of the capital building for New Canterlot, a thick cloud hanging over the area as most of the creatures that walked the street moved with a purpose, wanting to avoid the rain that was coming. She was talking about some new bill that had just passed through the council chambers. It was with a slight camera shake that the capital disappeared in favor of a brown-furred pony in a long blue cloak and dirty blonde mane.

Chrysalis did a double take at the stallion; she knew him; he was a meal that she had recently taken from. Chrysalis beat herself over the head as she listened more closely to the news anchor. “Here's one is now,” her voice was full of authority Chrysalis was sure that she didn’t have; news ponies always thought they had a right to know everything. “Councilor Royal Scroll, is it true that a bill was just passed to cut funding to the Crystal Palace Preservation Fund?” The news mare was practically standing on the stallion as she waited for his answer.

With a mic shoved in his face and the look of a pony that wanted to be literally anywhere else at that moment, the councilor signed and then spoke. His voice was harsh and unforgiving, his answer straight to the fact and nothing more: “Yes, and while it might be a shame for such a bill to go through, I and the other councilors feel that it is a waste of money to keep up that rickety old castle when it could be going to bigger and better things.” He almost looked proud at that answer until the news mare shot back.

“What of the history that the castle holds and the artifacts that it houses, and what project is the funding being routed to ,as the city's project manager, Golden Apple, is still facing counts of embezzlement of government funds and is waiting for trial?” The string of questions locked Royal Scroll down before he did what all career politicians did: refuse to answer questions.

“Be that as it may, it was decided by the council and will be placed in more than capable hooves.” Royal Scroll stated as he picked up his foreleg and checked his watch, “Now I have no more time for questions; I am already late as it is.” With a turn, he sauntered off.

A bright purple unicorn took his place, her hooves full of papers. “Sorry about the councilor, every creature; he is just a bit under the weather lately.” She straightened her glasses as she spoke; her voice was both young and old at the same time, like she was putting on an act for the camera. “His office is more than willing to take any questions or concerns; please just follow the proper channels that are provided.” She was about to say more when the councilor's voice shouted from off screen.

“Will you hurry up, Twinkle? I don’t pay you to lollygag.” The purple mare shot offscreen, doing what Chrysalis could only assume was a struggled run to catch up with the attitude with legs that was her boss. Chrysalis paid little attention after that; most of the news after was sports and weather anyway. Her mind was still stuck on the fact that the Crystal Palace of the Crystal Empire was still standing, or was at least, as now what little funding was keeping it standing has been cut.

While the news wasn't life-changing for her, she did remember that it used to be the home of Cadence; she could only hope that the pink mare wasn't taking the news too hard.

Old ghosts

Author's Note

I need you guys' opinions on some of the experimental writing. I probably won't do the texting thing again.It was really annoying to edit and to write, but I felt like it added a little bit more to this chapter

I need to know if you guys like switching povs. I kind of like them for how I get to write the story, but if it gets tedious or annoying or too hard to track, just let me know.

Other than that, this is the next chapter. I don't know when the next one will be out. I have an idea for the actual story and how I wanted to go but getting it mapped out and everything is taking a little bit longer. I've never had a story explode this much before, and i'm not gonna lie. I want to live up to the expectation you guys have and it's kind of scary. Enjoy the read every pony

Old ghosts

Bankrupt Love: Finding Friendship

Chapter Two: Old Ghosts

Cadence

Cadence wasn’t late for her bus; thank Faust, she had made it to the bus spot just as it pulled up to a stop, letting off then picking up the residents of New Canter lot. She boarded quickly, scanning her bus pass and finding a seat in the back of the bus, right next to what looked like a griffon who was down on its luck. She did her best to look the struggling creature in the eye; long ago, her heart would have won over, and she would have slipped the creature some money to help. Today, however, she didn’t have the money for hoof outs.

It hurt her more than anything, not being able to help those who really needed it, but she couldn’t help them if she couldn’t help herself, not even to speak about the changeling that she left back in her home. She had enough on her plate, sadly. The bus finished loading and pulled forward, causing the creatures on board to jerk slightly as the magic engine pulled the bus along. Cadence thought about the times that the Equestrian rail system was the most advanced travel they had; the coal engine was at the forefront of locomotion.

She looked around, her eyes scanning past the glass windows of the bus and into the roads of New Canterlot; she still expected to see drawn carriages instead of the magic-powered ones that lined the roads. She wanted to enjoy the arcane tech that came from this world she lived in. Equestrian science had advanced much since the times of old. She watched the cluttered streets as metal carriages rushed passed each other at frightening pace, there was still that voice in the back of her mind asking that one question, had they had grown too fast, fixing problems that were never a problem in the first place.

Just after Twilight was removed from the throne, when ponies could still remember the time when the weather was moved by pony hooves and the sun and moon were raised with magic alone, the historians of the world came together to write a report on the history up until then. The book was almost impossible to find today, and anyone that read it thought it to be nothing more than a fool's story, but to those that read it at that time, it was a work of art.

It did, however, bring up a point that Cadence still thought about: at one point in the book, there was a chapter on the stagnation that came with having the same ruler for thousands of years. She wanted to deny that they could have done that; they just wanted the best for their little ponies. Yet she couldn’t help but also think of all the times that they had the chance to grow as a society and either Luna, Celestia, or Twilight solved the problem for them. It made her wonder if they held back all that the world could have been.

The buzzing of her phone brought her back to the real world once more. Cadence pulled it out of the pocket she had on her vest and unlocked it; her home screen came into view. It was a picture of her as Silver Lining with three other mares, one a bright purple unicorn with a dark pink mane done up in a bun, a set of glasses perched at the base of her horn. A smile spread over her face; as she was wedged between the other two.

The mare to her left was a dark blue with a black mane; most of her fur and mane, however, was covered by a red hoodie that she refused to take off, and a set of permanent dark bags hung from her eyes. She looked like the living dead, drinking from an entire pot of coffee the moment the photo was taken. The mare to the right had a bright white coat and an almost glowing yellow mane, to anyone that just looked way her in passing thought she was the brightest pony in the city, Cadence could see the forced slime however, and she too had bags under her eyes. In between them all, of course, was her.

The photo was an old one, back when Cadence had made the Silver Lining disguise; back then it was just supposed to be like all of her other fake lives, simply a means to an end. That was before Celestia and Luna went missing, when times were not better but definitely happier. She and Twilight looked for years, trying every lead, overturning every rock. Nothing came up; the only way that they knew that they were okay was because the sun and moon set like they were supposed to.

A second buzz pulled her away from the photo and to her scroll app; she opened it, looking at the latest message that had been sent to her. Two little red dots sat over the name Twinkle. She used her magic to push down on the screen, opening the conversation.

Twinkle

Hey, are you awake?

Please tell me you aren’t watching the news.

Twinkle is typing…

Cadence typed out her response before Twinkle could.

No, I am on the way to work.

What's the matter?

Did something come up?

Twinkle is typing…

Cadence closed her app, swiping over to the news app that her phone had. With a click, it opened, and she nearly dropped it when she read the headline.

Council passed bill: The end of an era?

Late last night, with an astounding unanimous vote, a bill was passed through the chamber ending the funding for the Crystal Castle preservation program.

The world felt heavy as Cadence’s mind went into overdrive; the funding was being cut. That wasn't… what happened to… Her mind went from thought to thought too quickly to contain even one as she fell more and more into a pit of grief. She read the next three texts that came through in rapid succession.

I am so sorry.

They just wouldn’t listen.

Is it okay for me to come by tonight?

Cadence typed out her response in three short texts.

I have work today.

I get off at five.

won't be back until after six

Cadence's brain wouldn't let her get out anything more than a short answer; she knew that this day would come eventually, but not so soon. She had done the math; all the wealth that she sacrificed shouldn’t have run out by now. What was the council doing? Her thoughts were on the verge of a spiral when her phone rang. She looked at the caller ID. It read Home Phone.

Chrysalis

She hovered in front of the phone that hung on the wall. It was an older model, one that hadn’t been used in years, maybe even a decade or two, yet for it to be in this home almost felt right. She took the phone from the wall, her eyes darting from the number pad to the paper that had Cadence's number on it. She held it on her magic, staring at it like I was a snake that would strike her at any moment.

She said to call her if she needed anything, and after watching the news, something in the back of her heart had been eating away at her; she knew better than any creature alive today what it was like to lose a home, and with the news being in the headline, there was no way that Cadence had missed it. She dialed the number slowly. She didn’t seem to be out of it this morning, and Chrysalis would have been able to taste the sadness that this kind of news would have caused.

She had to assume that it came out after she had left the house, meaning that her friend—were they friends?—was out there dealing with the loss of her home without anyone to understand. The phone rang once, twice, and was answered soon after the third. The voice on the other end was strained; gone was the prep and panic of the morning the two had replaced with a somber tone. Chrysalis didn’t even have to be near her to taste the grief that rolled off the mare.

The hello that she said was more than enough to give way to how she felt; there was a hint of betrayal that made its way through the sadness. Chrysalis was glad that she had called; now all she had to do was something that she had never had to do: comfort some pony. Her mind was both racing and frozen at the same time; what should she say, and what should she do?

She licked her dry lips, finally getting a thought out: “I was…” she paused. “Are you…” She forced herself to breathe. Why was this hard? She had ruled a nation; she attacked Canterlot; she was the last of the changeling queens. She found some of that old confidence, what little remained. “I called to make sure you were okay,” the sentience came out with less of the nervousness that stopped her earlier. It was a waiting game after that.

As she waited her own thoughts turned against her. Great job Chrysalis? she shook her head. How can you help her if you can't even talk? She was about to have a fight with herself when Cadence’s voice came from the other end of the line, killing the self made argument that she was having, “thank you,” the voice was tired this time, but for some reason not as sad.

Chrysalis was confused. “you’re welcome,” she said with a voice that hinted at that confusion. Cadence must have picked up on it because a sound came from the phone that Chrysalis had never heard her make before, a giggle. It wasn't super happy, but it was a giggle nonetheless. Her face heated for a moment, but Chrysalis got a hold of herself. “I am not okay, but this is something that I saw coming, maybe not so soon, but coming none the less” she was tired at the end of the sentience her age showing more than it ever had before.

Chrysalis sat there for a moment dazed at what she did, trying to figure out what she had done. All she did was ask if her was okay, and that made her feel better. Was that just how ponies worked? For the longest time, she didn’t even care to think about it; they were, after all, nothing but a meal to her. She had changed over the course of the night, maybe not much, but enough to make her want to find out.

Chrysalis found herself now asking herself what a pony would do, how would they comfort a friend in a time of need, she spent so much time hiding among them that you would think that she would have learned this by now, yet her mind could come up with anything. She thought back to the times when ponies accidentally cared, when friendship was what ruled the world; they just talked, didn’t they? They couldn’t just gloss over the problem, though; Chrysalis at least knew that wasn't healthy for any creature.

She found her voice a moment later, talking about the problem might help the both of them; Chrysalis did, after all, have questions. “You saw this coming,” she asked. She had never thought that her empire would come to an end until it did; even in her worst nightmares, she never saw her castle falling into ruin by the hoof of her own subjects.

There was a stiff laugh, not bad, and not as nice as the giggle earlier. The laugh reminded Chrysalis of when she was younger and missed something during a lesson that her mother found amusing. “Nothing lasts forever, Chrysalis; it's a lesson that we all learn sometime.” Chrysalis bowed her head; it was a lesson that was hard to learn, one that a long time ago she learned with her own fall. Cadence had seen all of this happen; it was only right that she would learn from it.

All that still didn’t help the feeling she knew that Cadence must have been feeling; even if it wasn't her current home, it had been in the past, and memories of a nest didn’t fade as easily as one might think. “I just wanted to say…” What did she want to say? Chrysalis stopped for a moment to think about it. Cadence thankfully letting the changeling get her words in order, “I know what it is like to lose a home; I am sorry.”

Cadence was silent for a moment. “Thank you, Chrysalis, really thank you.” Chrysalis smiled at that; she had helped. A warm feeling spread through her chest; it was an odd feeling. She had helped ponies before, but never out of kindness, more out of necessity; this was a wholly new feeling. “While I have you on the phone, I have something to tell you.”

Chrysalis’s curiosity was piqued at this; she had called for help, but now Cadence had news for her. “What is it?” she asked, her voice hinting at how she was feeling. There was a pregnant pause before Cadence spoke her voice was more cautious and calm “Twilight will be stopping by later, I don’t know how she is going to react to you” Chrysalis’s eyes dilated, and fear went through her.

In the past she wouldn't have been too scared of the purple alicorn; she had, after all, taken down Celestia in her prime. She was, however, no longer in her prime, and the purple mare had more than enough reason to hate her just as much, if not more so, than Cadence. Cadence must have seen this coming, as her next words came out fast, with a tone that was filled with as much confidence and authority that could come from an immortal alicorn.

“Hey, it doesn’t matter what happened in the past.” She tried her best to smother the spreading fire “Twilight wont do anything to you while I am there to stop her” she let that sit for a moment “If I can forgive you, she can to” that helped little to the panicking Chrysalis, but she had saved her from the streets last night, Cadence had feed her and brought her back to her home, and feed her again, so to not take her at her word would be an insult, Chrysalis would just have to trust her in this.

Cadence let out a sigh. “My stop is coming up soon; I have to go.” Chrysalis listened as Cadence spoke. “Thank you for calling; it really did help.”

“I am glad that I was able to help.” Chrysalis had meant it as well; she had faked so many emotions over the millennia. To a changeling, they were nothing but food, yet now she was feeling them, honestly feeling what she had long faked. She was not used to such a thing.

Cadence let out a quiet expletive before speaking again. “Faust this is my stop, I will be home later talk then, have a good day” and then hung the phone up with a click. That just left Chrysalis holding her dead phone line, in a house that she had been invited into, with a pony that promised to protect and help her. Some changeling she turned out to be, and yet she had a feeling of happiness. She held the phone in her hand, letting out a silent but just audible “Have a nice day” before she hung it up.

Flurry Heart

The world they lived in has gone to shit, and it felt like she was the only one doing anything about it. She had grown up in the stories of her aunt Twilight fighting off hordes of Equestria's enemies so that they could live in harmony. What of now, though? The ponies that the alicorns had so long watched over were destroying themselves, and they did nothing about it. She refused to be a bystander in this world.

Aunty Twilight had all but given up when the council had taken her crown. What the ponies wanted, she could see some of the wisdom in that; they weren’t tyrants, but for her own mother to give up the sovereignty of the Crystal Empire to these upstart reformist nobles that claimed to be for any pony but themselves, she and all the others had a falling out after that. They saw the changing times; they saw a world that didn’t need them anymore; Flurry Heart saw a world that needed them more than ever.

That led her to today; she had the story that would break her. She stood in front of the capitol building of New Canterlot, the heart of the ever-growing city, where the corrupt and powerful made the decision that would benefit the upper class at the cost of the lower. She stood waiting to confront the bastard that was about to take the only real home she had left from her. Councilor Royal Scroll had just pushed through a bill that was cutting the last of the funding to the preservation of the Crystal Palace.

She hadn’t become a news pony for nothing; it was stories like this that mattered the most. Most ponies forgot that the Crystal Castle was even a thing, but to her that didn’t matter. She stood in front of the camera, her disguise staring back at her as she looked at the test screen on the van that they rode in to get here. She had chosen one that would stand out on screen; her yellow fur and orange mane made her pop out on the screen for any pony that was scrolling through the channels.

The news channel that she ran was a small one, but it still reached those who looked for it. The pony behind the camera raised his hoof above his head, counting down until they were live; at zero, the red light at the top of the camera turned green; they were live.

“Good morning, New Canterlot,” she spoke out into the microphone. Her voice was steady and authoritative; years of watching Auntie Twilight holding court came into use as she spoke to the ponies of her own court, the court of truth. “I am your host, Crystal Inkwell. Today is the Monday of the third moon, in the one thousand and first year in the era of the council. The time is six am.” She pushed through the introduction, wanting nothing more than to get to today's story; appearance was everything to the camera, however, and she was forced into the role.

“I am standing outside of the capitol building right now, where last night the council held a meeting to decide on the fate of a bill that would cut all remaining funding that was dedicated to the preservation of the crystal palace.” She took a breath. She needed to be strong now; she could show weakness at a time like this. “For those viewers that don’t know, when the Crystal Empire gave its land to the council in good faith and partnership, they formed an agreement that would preserve the capital of the Empire due to the historical importance of the building and for the artifacts that are held within its walls.”

She took a breath. “This was due to the fact that the first prince of the late Crystal Empire is also buried on the castle grounds; it was the last wish of the late princess that his grave be respected for all that he did.” She turned and pointed a hoof at the council building. “For the last six hundred years, the council has upheld its agreement, until last night, when in a meeting the current council, known for its controversial policies, passed a bill to cut the funding.”

She turned back to the camera, her face sullen. “Without that funding, the Crystal Palace that has stood the test of time for thousands of years will fall into disarray. I ask you, dear viewer, is the redirecting of funds as important as breaking that long-held promise and displacing the final resting place of one of Equestria's last great heroes" Crystal Inkwell Bowed her head in silence for a moment as to let the question sink in with a crowd that wasn't there.

She raised it a moment later. “I am here today to get the opinion of the councilors that pushed this bill through.” She turned and pointed a hoof at the brown-furred pony that looked like he was rushing to get away from the camera. “Here is one now.” Not today, Flurry Heart thought as she nearly tackled the pony blocking his path of escape as the camera got eyes on him.

She forced the microphone into his face as she asked her own question. “Councilor Royal Scroll, is it true that a bill was just passed to cut funding to the Crystal Palace Preservation Fund?” She waited for him to answer, for him to admit that promise that they were breaking. The councilor glared daggers at her; she did the same. He straightened himself up and spoke. His voice sounded confident, but she knew it was hollow words from a hollow stallion.

"Yes, and while it might be a shame for such a bill to go through, I and the other councilors feel that it is a waste of money to keep up that rickety old castle when it could be going to bigger and better things." She would have killed him if she could have gotten away with it. She hated how proud the fool looked; if he had wings, they might have been spread in false victory. Time to knock him down a peg.

“What of the history that the castle holds and the artifacts that it houses, and what project is the funding being routed to as the city's project manager, Golden Apple, is still facing counts of embezzlement of government funds and is waiting for trial?” she shot back. Golden Apple was a sore spot for Royal Scroll, and she knew it. He had almost got dragged down with that idiot.

She wanted him to act out, to do something that she could hit him with; to her dismay, however, he was smarter than his counterparts that walked the capital halls. He dodged the questions with all the grace of a wendigo on the run. “Be that as it may, it was decided by the council and will be placed in more than capable hooves.” Royal Scroll stated as he picked up his foreleg and checked his watch, “Now I have no more time for questions; I am already late as it is.”

Flurry Heart's rage could have leveled a mountain; it didn’t help that the traitor took his place. Twilight sparkles glimmer TWINKLE took her place in front of the camera, spieling the same crap she always did; why she defended that waste of space, Flurry would never understand. It was only after the councilor called her way that Flurry looked at her, mouthing out the word traitor as they locked eyes.

She turned back to the camera after words, not letting Twinkle give a reaction. “As you can see, every creature, dark times are on the way for New Canterlot, as our leaders go back on old promises and destroy the past of our great nation.” She let a moment pass. “For those with us, this is the end of this breaking story. If any other news comes up, you will all be the first to know. I will leave you with our main office with the rest of today’s news.”

The green light on the camera disappeared, and the pony manning it started to pack it up. She stood there for a moment just thinking. She hadn't talked to her mother in years; she must have heard the news by now. Twilight would have told her. She knew they still talked, and this wasn't something that Twilight would keep from her. She walked over to the news van, opening the passenger door and pulling out her phone. Opening it, she checked her messages; nothing that was super urgent. She opened the contact that was labeled Cadence.

The last message was from two years ago; it was from her mother. It went unreplied to, of course. No matter what, I am proud of you, she read it to herself. She went to type something but couldn’t find the words; maybe it was time for them to talk again; maybe this would be Flurries chance to make her mother see the world how she did. “Comet, I need you to drop me off somewhere on the way back to the station; I have someone to see,” Flurry yelled this over her shoulder, not even looking to see the reaction. She knew he heard; he always did.

Chrysalis

This was the first time that Chrysalis had gotten to relax in a long while. After she had called Cadence, she went to take a shower in the small bathroom; it was far from the nicest she had ever bathed in but wasn't by far the worst. All of the lights turned on, the water was hot, and the water pressure was stellar for the age of the building. She went easy on the soaps that Cadence had; it seemed that while the ex-princess cut corners in some parts of her life, expensive soaps were not one of the cuts that were made. Some of the ones that she spotted must have been at least a month's pay, if not more.

She remade the bed that she had slept in that night, feeling bad about messing it up in her panic this morning; however, she found that Cadence had done most of the work while she was getting ready this morning. That left her with little to do for the rest of the day other than to sit around. Cadence had left her a key in case she wanted to leave, but Chrysalis wasn't in the mood to don a disguise. She would use this time to regain her strength. That mostly just left reading or watching TV.

Cadence's living room had a small bookshelf, and to no surprise, most of the books in her collection were romance and, very much to her surprise, a little smut, having found Fifty Shades of Neigh behind the Dusk Dawn book series. She had read a little bit of Fifty Shades, but she found it rather distasteful; she had definitely read better. It still helped pass the time faster than doing nothing, and before she knew it, the locked doorknob rattled and unlocked itself. It was not Cadence nor her disguise that opened it but the news mare.

They stared at each other for a long moment, Chrysalis laid out on the love seat reading, the news mare standing in the doorway rendered speechless and frozen; there they had the stare down for the ages until Chrysalis broke the silence: “If you are here to rob the place, I will stop you. I owe the mare here a great debt." She made to stand; while she might be weak by alicorn standards, she could more than easily kill a normal pony. It was then that the glimmer that Flurry Heart was wearing faded and left a stunned Chrysalis in its wake.

Chrysalis blinked at the sight; there was no way that a glimmer had tricked her. She narrowed her eyes; maybe this was the glimmer. She scanned the mare in front of her; nothing. This was another alicorn. How many did this make now? Chrysalis took a step back as the unknown took a step forward. She was just a head shorter than Chrysalis but not quite as small as a normal pony.

She looked like a young Cadence, yet Chrysalis could see something else in her she couldn’t quite place, something that she had seen long ago; maybe it was the blue streaks that slipped through her pink mane or the lighter white pink feathers that lined her wings. The alicorn stopped right in front of Chrysalis, who had hit a wall just a few steps back after backing up. They stared each other down, hard eyes meeting Chrysalis’s.

Flurry was the first to speak, her voice soft, a juxtaposition to the hard stance she took. “Mom always did like taking in strays.” Chrysalis looked on in stunned silence as the alicorn backed off after that, making her way over to the kitchen, digging through the cabinets for something that only she knew. Chrysalis’s mind played catch-up.

Her voice came out low and surprised. “Mother,” she stepped forward, “as in Cadence.” Chrysalis could see more than see the resemblance, but who was the father? She looked closer at the mare that moved with grace through the kitchen as if she lived here, her magic finding a kettle without even looking. Chrysalis’s mind scanned her new interest, and then it hit her: the blue in the mane, the white feathers, the I can kill you without thinking look—only one other pony had that look, and he was long dead. That narrowed it down to one other pony, Flurry Heart. The last time she had seen the alicorn, she was barely able to walk without falling over.

Here she is now, so much like her father from all those centuries ago. Flurry's voice broke through the spell that had been cast on Chrysalis, making her look away from the alicorn. “It's not nice to stare, you know.” Flurry was right, of course, but she also wasn't seeing a ghost from the past every time she looked at herself. A screaming kettle sounded a moment later. Chrysalis didn’t know what was happening until a cup had floated it was over to her, soon followed by Flurry Heart, who pushed the changeling over so that she could have a seat on the love seat. Chrysalis watched the alicorn take a sip of her tea.

A sigh escaped from the mare as she placed her mug down on the small coffee table in front of them. “So where is Cadence at?” Flurry asked in a confused voice.

“She is at work; she said she would be back later.” Chrysalis replied; she took note of how she said Cadence instead of mom or mother this time. “She was in a rush and didn’t give a time. Chrysalis took a sip of her tea, doing her best not to make this awkward. She was again lost on pony formalities when it came to friendly banter; give her a target to seduce, and she would have them like putty in her hooves; have her try to make a real friend, and you might as well tell her to put that same pony on the moon.

Flurry let out an irritated sigh. “Let me guess, she still has that silver lining cover story.” Chrysalis nodded her head in the affirmative, causing a rant from the pink mare next to her: “This wasn't how it was supposed to be; it was nothing more than a hobby.” Flurry stood up, her anger building, flooding the room with a black and red cloud. “Celestia wouldn't have wanted this for her.”

Chrysalis sat back and listened to the mare as she raged, “Nothing is as it should be,” using her magic to take the delicate cup of tea from her warpath. “They keep acting like everything will work out, but it won't.” Flurry Heart sat back down, taking the cup back and taking a sip from the tea sitting there in the quiet. Chrysalis did not know what to say or do. That was becoming more and more commonplace over the day.

Flurry Heart looked to Chrysalis with an odd look, like she finally recognized who she was. “I thought all the changelings bit it a long time ago.” She waved over Chrysalis. “I guess if anyone was to survive, it would have been the queen. I am surprised Mom took you in.” She sipped her tea, waiting for the changeling to say anything.

Chrysalis though out her response taking a tentative sip of tea, she was not a tea drinker, it in all honesty tasted like hot leaf juice, but she knew for some reason the alicorns dank the stuff like water. “I don’t know why either” she let slip “I found her last night; she fed me and brought me back here.”

Flurry Heart smiled just a little. “Like I said, she always did take in strays.” She looked to a family photo on the wall; it was old, very old, and showed a picture of a happy family, two alicorns and a white unicorn, all standing in front of a crystal palace that shone in the summer sun. “they told me stories about you, how you ruined their wedding, tried to take over Canterlot.” She turned back to face Chrysalis, her hard eyes of stone glaring down. “I don’t have anything against you, but if you so much as look at Cadence wrong…” She leaned in close. “I. WILL. KILL. YOU.”

The message was more than clear to Chrysalis; she opened her mouth to speak when the apartment door opened, and in walked the topic of conversation. Cadence stopped and stared at the two; she only looked at Chrysalis for a moment before her eyes froze on Flurry. A mix of emotions came from the two, happiness, sadness, and betrayal; it was clear the two of them had something happen. Chrysalis could feel the pressure; if Cadence hadn’t been blocking the door, she would have tried to make a break for it; an argument between alicorns was not something that she wanted to find herself in.

A slight glint of hope passed through the eyes of Cadence as she fully stepped into the room, closing the door behind her as she made her way into the kitchen, pouring herself a mug of tea. Using the counter as a table, she placed her mug down. “It's good to see you again, Flurry.” Her voice was kind and soft; a sorrowful undertone spoke more to the relationship.

Flurry Heart responded with all the warmth of a block of ice, nodding her head, “Cadence."

Cadence flinched at the response, but she was able to keep most of her composure, her hurt expression only showing for a moment. “I hope that you have been well.” She didn’t get a reply, but she had known that would happen. The next thing that came out of Flurries mouth did come as a surprise, however. “Mom,” the voice had taken on a softer tone, broken and deflated, like the mask of anger was too much to keep up. “Can we…” Chrysalis could tell she was trying to find the words. “Can we just talk in private?”

Cadence looked to Chrysalis, who simply tended to her cup of tea; she was not going to get involved in whatever this was. She heard a sigh escape from the older alicorn. “Let's talk in the bedroom.”

Project Divinitas (2.5)

Author's Note

I wont lie, when I started this I didn't know what path I wanted it to take. I didn't know what stakes I wanted in this story, Is it just a normal romance? could it be a little more exploring on the world and the growing relationship? Could I give it a villain, a reason that the world is shite? Could that ruin this story, maybe, but i like a big villain. It helps drive the plot along I think it nice to have some one to blame for things if just a little.

It also gives me a reason for all these ponies that for so long have gone their own way, a kick in the but to realize that they cant just sit on the side lines anymore. the next chapter will go back to our rag tag group of gods, what they plan to do, and how Chrysalis and Cadence will handle whats coming.

also, for those that have read some of my other stuff, Royal Scroll is an oc that shows up a lot, usually as a good guy, that is because he is my oc, he is me, and when I wrote Bankrupt love he was kinds just a place holder, sadly not anymore. So I guess I am my own villain, who could have thunk. Anyways enjoy the read, let me know if i have ruined this for anypony, and have a great day.

Project Divinitas (2.5)

Bankrupt Love

Chapter 2.5: Project Divinitas

Royal Scroll

This entire city was going to burn; hell, this entire world had to burn after he came to power; it was made of ignorant, intolerable, stupid creatures. They went on doing nothing day to day but feeding the endless machine that was Equestria; they were all too simple; they didn’t see the bigger picture; no pony did, not even his fellow councilors. He did, though; he saw the truth; he KNEW the truth about the magic that they ruled over, about the world they lived in.

He made his way down a long hallway; it was in a mix of brutalist and minimalist architecture, white fluorescent light shone down from the high ceiling, reflecting off a floor so clean it looked like a mirror image. Royal Scroll walked alone, yet every so often he would pass a dip in the wall where a security guard was stationed. They were, of course, privately owned; he could use the council guard for this. No, they wouldn't understand what needed to be done.

He made a turn when he reached one end of a hallway and started down another, following it to the end. It was a maze of hallways to anyone that didn’t know the layout of the building basement, something that was designed on purpose, for if anyone found what was here, the plan of 10 generations was doomed.

All too soon, Royal Scroll came to a stop at a large metal door; it was heavily reinforced, and nothing but a spell powered by an alicorn could get through it. He didn’t need an alicorn to get through; however, he approached a panel that was on the wall, bringing his hoof to the number pad. With a steady motion that came from memory, he punched in the password and then waited.

The door opened quickly for its size, making very little noise as it did so. Scroll smiled as he stepped through, letting it close behind him. The lights in the room came to life, bringing the once pitch-black room into focus; computers and arcane engines both came into view. Royal Scroll made his way deeper into the lab; this was his family's magnum opus, the project that would remake the world as they wanted.

Long ago, alicorns ruled this world; they controlled all: the ponies, the weather, and the very heavens themselves. They were gods among mortals, but they were too stupid to do anything with it. The very first version of the council saw this; they took control. They saw what the world could really be; they pushed the pony race forward, reaching ever greater heights of power and magical science, to free themselves from the ever stagnant alicorn rule.

Oh, how they grew! They grew and grew; they didn’t need those old gods; they were outdated, but sadly they weren’t irrelevant, no. They just had to have the one thing that the mortal ponies couldn’t have; they would always need them for one reason: to control the heavens, for without them they wouldn't have the day, or the night, or stars. No matter how far pony kind progressed, they would always have to rely on those higher than them, whether they knew they did or not.

They went into hiding centuries ago; by the records of the old council, they just gave up what powers they could and faded into the background, keeping up only the most important duties. Royal Scroll knew, though; he knew that no pony could just give up the kind of power they had forever; they would wait, buying their time until the ponies would crawl back to the old way.

He would not be crawling back; however, he saw what every creature didn’t: he saw what they could achieve with just mortal hooves alone, and this project was the peak of that drive. Royal Scroll scanned the room, making sure that all of the equipment was functioning properly; even if one piece was out of place, the whole operation could come crumbling down. When one operated in the realm of divinity, there was no room for error.

It was only after he was satisfied with what he saw that he moved into the center of the room; here is where the magic happened, where ponies would finally earn the freedom from those who had loomed over them for eons. Five large vats sat arranged in a circle, each one sitting at the point of the pentagram that was carved into the floor of the room. Two of the vats were filled; machines beeped and buzzed, taking in information that no mortal mind could comprehend.

Arcane batteries hummed with power as they drew from a source that would never run out; at the end of the day, they would be drained of that energy, used to cast a complex spell that would come twice a day, for all time, and that was just that one spell. He had grander plans, but for that he needed more power, and for more power he needed the other alicorns. History had recorded that five were in existence; he just needed to find them.

The oldest of the five, he took with ease; they fell into his trap just like he thought they would, for all the age they held, gods could be such simple creatures, especially when they had morals. Spread a few rumors, find a few lost artifacts that could be a danger to the modern world, and they would poke their little heads out of hiding just long enough to clean up the mess of their own creation; the problem with living for so long is that there was always a mess to clean up.

The hard part was capturing them; they were, after all, gods, even if they themselves didn’t think that they were. You couldn’t just throw them into a cell and hope that they would stay; they had to be contained in a way that no pony ever had. His great-great-great-great-grandfather started this project; his son vowed to finish it. They both died before they could see the fruits of their labor.

This was his family's hidden legacy, buried deep in the mountain of old Canterlot, just below the mansion that once housed the greatest noble family in Equestria, the crest of which was displayed on the furthest wall, a yellow four-sided star overlaid with a blue one forming a compass shape, each star end pointing to a different pony's portrait, the largest being the very top one, the oldest known founding member of the house, Prince Blueblood. The family motto was under that, all written in old unicornian magicea, invebimus potestatem.

It was here and now that the saying gained its full meaning; Royal Scroll looked over at the two full vats, in which sat the ruler of the sun and the ruler of the moon, or former rulers at least. A monitor beeped, text flowing at an impossible-to-read rate as the once docile machinery around the room sprang to life. Royal Scroll removed an old pocket watch from inside his cloak, checking the time, 0700, on the dot. It was sunrise.

He watched as he put the watch up, as the complex systems of computers and arcane batteries did what before was thought impossible for anyone but the two in front of him and raised the sun while lowering the moon. It was done with a level of efficiency that could only be gotten through technology; the age of the alicorn was truly over; now all he had to do now was tie up loose ends.

The room died down as the magic formula was finished, and the regeneration process of the lost magic began. Bubbles filled the vats as the wires that covered the two sleeping ex-gods dragged the power out of them forcefully, refilling the now empty arcane batteries. It was a slow process for now. Once he had the others, it would only get faster, and with more power came more opportunities. It was when the bubbles filled the tank and covered those inside that Royal Scroll saw himself, and his family's greatest shame, the one reason he himself didn’t carry the Blueblood name; the reflection that stared back at him was that of an earth pony.

He felt anger; damn his mother and her worthless genes. While it mattered little for the nobility of today, it was a black mark on him and his house. To not be born a unicorn might have well been a death sentence; he had made up for it; he had outworked his sibling tenfold, and when his father needed a successor, he was the only option. It was to his irritation that it was only thanks to an old world item that it was possible.

Royal Scroll made his way over to an arcane battery in the corner of the room. Separated from the others, he reached his hoof up to the clasp of his cloak, removing the gem that was housed in it. His family had taken it from the royal vaults after the council had seized power, convinced that only they could keep it safe. They did in fact keep it safe while using it for their benefit. Royal Scroll placed the gem into the battery; it took in the latent power, adding it to its own.

It didn’t take long before he was placed back in the slot; Royal Scroll felt the all-too-familiar rush of power; he breathed in, doing his best to contain the feeling. It was impossible to describe the feeling, the rush, the power. He breathed out a red glowing vapor of magic coming out with his breath as he did so. He had the power, the magic that for so long was out of mortal hooves; it was all his. He cleaned his mind; no, there were still others.

He had to focus; the other alicorns were still out there, plotting. He had to strike first, or all this planning would be for nothing. He had drawn out Celestia and Luna with secrets that didn’t need this world knowing; their long past made it more than easy to find something that would have them like putty in his hooves; the others would be much harder. There had to be something; what would they care about after all these years?

He could lure them in with Celestia and Luna; he had known that they had been looking for them, but that had a bad idea written all over it. He wanted them mad enough to fall into a trap, not to be on a war path; maybe all he had to do was draw them out one at a time. The weakest first, then he had just the ammunition he needed for the old princess of love.

The Crystal Place was still under council preservation; it was high time that the funds be moved to something more important, like a new house or maybe new walls for the council chambers. The current ones were almost 10 years old now; they could use a new look. He would have Twinkle write up a proposal for a new bill; if she did well, maybe he would give her a bonus. She was a good mare, a hard worker. It reminded him of when he was younger; maybe after all was said and done, she would have a place in his new world.

He pictured that for a moment, his mouth growing sour in taste when memories of better times flashed in his head, a white-furred pegasus with large wings and a long, flowing mane. He stomped out of the room, his mood ruined. Of all the times he would think of her, it would have been when he was almost happy. He marched through the basement levels all the way back to the flying carriage that waited outside in the crumbling streets of old Canterlot. The pilot having started the magic engine not long after he boarded, taking him back to the city.

He would drink tonight; he would forget about her, about the broken promises. He was in control now; nothing would change that—not destiny, nor fate, and especially not the so-called gods that walked his streets. He would have them; he would make them his, and then it would be a world where everyone was equal, with him just a little more equal than all others. He had his pilot drop him at the edge of the city; he would walk to a bar that he knew no pony would find him at. He would drink to forget, and by the end of the week, the legacy of an empire would crumble, and he would have a new house guest.

Meetings

Author's Note

Hello everpony it took a while but here is the next chapter, please enjoy, have a nice hearts and hooves day. no current time table for the next chapter.

Meetings

Bankrupt Love

Chapter Three: Meetings

Cadence

Cadence and Flurry Heart both sat on the bed in her room, having dropped her disguise taking her original form. This was a meeting between her and her daughter, a disguise, no matter how much apart of her it was had no place here, luckily enough Flurry agreed to give her time to change. That just left them here in the room sounded by the silence they had yet to break.

Cadence didn’t know what was going to happen, the last time she and Flurry Heart had talked it ended in argument, and a bad one at that. She had said many things that she hadn’t meant. This would be the time to make for the past, if the changeling in her loft area had any indication for the level of forgiveness that she had, today she would regain her daughter. She could only hope that Flurry could forgive her mistakes as well.

They sat there for what felt like hours as one waited for the other to make the first move, it was Flurry Heart that gained the courage necessary to take the first step some mother you are Cadence thought darkly as she embraced her daughter with the first hug in over fifteen years, why either of them let it go on for that long she didn’t know. They sat there fro that one moment, holding on like the world was about to end, a silent tear flowing from closed eyes.

Cadence was the one to break the hug, as much as it pained her to do so, they had to talk. Flurry Heart was just as resistant to letting go, they separated, and went back to sitting beside one another on the bed. Flurry looked around the room then back to Cadence “The room hasn’t changed” she stared at Cadence “you haven't changed”Cadence picked up a little disappointment from the voice.

Cadence wanted nothing more to gloss over that, had she not changed? It had only been fifteen years, that was barley time to start a habit, she had grown content were she was, while it could always be better, there was nothing that she could really do “I haven't seen a need” she spoke as a mumble, not very happy with her own answer even though it was the truth.

“isn’t a need” she asked in a surprised voice “have you been out there” Flurries voice was full of concern “ponies are barley just surviving, they don’t have time to live, they work from sun up to sundown, friendships are nothing like they used to be, and there is almost no love left” she stood up her eyes pleading, filled to the brim with sorrowful pain “Cadence…. Mom they need us more than ever”

Cadence looked away from her daughter with a shy face, a grimace on her muzzle and shame in her eyes “I know” the response came slow, and forced out as she spoke, it was something that had to be said, but it was only the first part “but” she started looking her daughter in her eyes as she did. The light that once shined with hope was slowly fading into despair.

The words died, Flurry Heart taking up the slack that had formed in the conversation, her voice was heavy, her tone holding the last of her hope that the conversion might go her way “but what” she chocked out those words. She kept her eyes locked with mothers. Cadence tried not to shy away from the look.

Cadences voice was soft, almost distant as she said what had meant to the first time “it isn't our place to help them” she looked away “not anymore”

Cadence could feel the anger that washed off of her daughter, Flurry has never been good at containing her emotions at the best of times. This life that they now lived was far from the best for the young alicorn, this was far from the worst that they had even been through, but that was still enough to being out the monster. Flurry took a stance of defiance, and a Cadence knew what was coming.

Her voice dripping with fury, finally having a target to take out her ire on “are you just gonna sit here and do nothing while they destroy themselves” Cadence watched as Flurries horn flared with magic as the chest at the end of the bed flew open with a bang, a large tome floating out as she magicked it over to the two of them. The book opened and flipping through pages at a a speed that a normal pony could have hoped to even follow.

The two alicorns however saw ever page that flipped past, pictures of ponies long dead, letters that any historian would kill to get their hooves on slipped past them, centuries of memories of better times, a history of when the world was made up of their little ponies. Cadence was caught in a stupor, she hadn’t opened the book in so long, she hadn’t wanted to face that past, not after trying to drown it so many nights in a row.

Cadence was thrown from her thoughts as Flurry spoke again “did they not need our help” she flipped the last page of the book that held anything of importance, a family picture, not one of blood relations, but of kinship none the less. It was just outside of the castle of Canterlot, it was the transfer of power to Twilight, it was one of the last times that all of Equestria had so many important ponies together in one place. It would be the last picture that she had of all the elements, of Twilight not mourning over the loss of her friends.

Cadence reached out with her own magic taking the book from Flurry, flipping back a few pages to one held a picture of the Crystal Empire, it was a picture that was taken right after the defeat of King Sombra. The whole of the Empire was in celebration, a group of worn out ragged looking ponies that had fought to save it stood out in the crowd. She remembered that day, they had saved them yes, but at what cost.

The ponies of the crystal empire would rely on the protection of Equestria from then on, she would lead them yes, but from that moment on, she was so much more than a ruler. She had been seen as a god, what would happen if they did such a thing today, the alicorn in this age was more than just a myth, what would happen if they reveal themselves now. What would the population of today's world think of them.

She thought on if they even had the right to come back after so long, had they not given up their throne so long ago? Did they not have the chance to fight back against the very ponies that threw them from office? They ruled, and they ruled well all the way into the end, they of course were not perfect, no pony was, but in the end perhaps they ruled for too long.

Her eyes must have shown what she was thinking, Flurry Hearts face was one of held back anger, they had had this same argument before, and the end was just the same. Cadence wished not to act, and flurry wanted nothing more than to save those around her, consequences be damned. So there they meet again, so far way and yet right next to the other, mind and body separated by a distance and opinion.

“we have to do something” Flurry Heart said both determined and dishearteningly. Cadence knew the reason that she wanted to help the ponies around her, she was raised thinking it was her duty to help those around her. However that past was now long gone, their duty to the people that they ruled all those years ago has long ended.

“what would you have us do” Cadence responded, maybe this would be the chance to teach her a lesson, she wanted to help and that was fine, but she would have to plan this out herself. Cadence would let her see how impossible this all was, these ponies were not the same ponies that they ruled all those years ago, they had grown past them, grown past the crown that had been held over them.

Flurry Heart paused,cadence could tell that she was thinking, it was a long moment that stretched into a deafening silence. Cadence let out a sigh, “we would have to reveal ourselves, be it to everyone, or just the council” a serious look took the place of the calm one that was on her face not but a moment ago “how do you think they would react, how would any creature would react”

Flurry Heart couldn’t answer, Cadence took the silence and continued to talk “after we have every pony either running in fear or groveling at out hooves then what” her voiced was raised no quite yelling up in a harsh tone that left no room for a counter attack “what of those that don’t want our help, are we going to force that on them, drive them from the only home that they know”

Flurry was on the back peddle as Cadence spoke, only regaining her footing as she yelled back “Celestia and Luna would hav…”

Cadence moved from the bed, both of the alicorns in the room were standing, facing one another, anger and sadness burned in the both of them “THEY’RE GONE” she screamed it out. Cadence voice lowed as she slumped onto the bed “they aren’t here anymore” she looked sadly at her daughter. The facing of shinning armor looked back at her for a moment, fading away with a simple blink.

Flurry took a deep breathe as the world around them both came crashing down, silence fulled the room as both mother and daughter sat on the bed, they held each other up. They had this same argument before, and it had ended just like this before, Celestia had been there the first time, to mop up the tears that would be shed for days after, helping both sides. She wasn't here this time, and cadence couldn’t loose Flurry again.

Flurry spoke before Cadence could, her question was one that Cadence had been waiting on but still wasn't ready for, who could be ready to explain that she was going to lose the last place she had left of her father. “do you at least have a plan for dad”

Cadence knew that she was about to fully break her daughter, this was a hard lesson for any pony to learn, more so for an immortal like themselves. She hugged Flurry tighter as she let out a sigh “we both knew that this day would come”

That was not what Flurry wanted to hear, she hid her muzzle in Cadences neck like she was a foal all over again. A sniffle broke from her muzzle, tears spilled leaking into her very words “please, mom, please, not this soon”The weight of the world pressing down on her as she came to terms with what was happening “please, I cant” she choked “I cant loose dad again”

Cadence wrapped her hooves around her sobbing alicorn “I am so sorry honey”

Chrysalis

Chrysalis sat apon the love seat, still taking sips of the tea, the others having left her alone as they went to have a talk that she wanted no part in. She was in all terms an outsider right now, she could only guess at what was being talked about and had little care in the matter. She stopped after her third forced sip, tea was never her thing, she made to get up, taking the three cups that lined the table and brought them into the kitchen.

This was not something that Chrysalis was not ready for, she had been warned that Twilight Sparkle would be stopping by, that she could handle, a mother and daughter with emotional issues was not some thing that she wanted to touch with a pole of any length. This was the kind of thing that took a shrink to fix, and she was no shrink.

That left her alone as the two talked in the room, it was to her misfortune that the walls in this apartment were paper thin and she was forced to listen to every word that was said between the two. She did her best to ignore it, if Cadence or Flurry had wanted her to hear they would have talked about it out here. She did cleaned the dishes once more, it was a quick action only having the three glasses.

The cup levitated in her magic as she dried them, using a towel that hug on the counter, after she dried a cup she placed it back on the counter, not know where Flurry had gotten the fine china from. The first two went by with out problems, it was the third cup that became a problem, when it hit the ground shattering as Chrysalis’s magic fizzled for a moment. She stared at the broken china on the ground.

She went to use her magic only for the green glow to fizzle out once more, it would seem that she did have as much strength as she though she had. With a annoyed grunt she danced around the shards that marked the floor like a mine field, all the while looking for a broom to clean up the mess. It was as her eyes left the floor that the bottom of her front hoof found purchase on a sharp shard of tea cup.

He let out a curse as she jumped away from the offending glass shard launching herself into the the very small table and chairs that made up the dinning room set, with a crash her and the furniture fell to the floor. The embarrassed and bleeding changeling laid on the ground for a moment as she mind came to terms with what had just happened, the stinging in her hoof and the ache of her now bruised chitin making her feel even more stupid as she curled into a ball of pain,

she laid like that for a moment until the opening of a door forced her into the real world, at first she had through that Cadence and Flurry heart had heard that had happened and come out to she if she was ok, it was only when she opened her eye sand looked into the face of one very surprised Twilight Sparkle. They locked eyes for a moment, Chrysalis couldn’t even look away as they stared at each other, both of them going through a range of emotions.

Chrysalis gave sheepish smile, as Twilight’s became one of anger Not good Chrysalis thought as she did her best to scramble from her place on the floor.

Twilight sparkle

Today’s start was one of many surprises, Twilight had come to expect anything from this council that now ruled Equestria. They had brought many reforms to the world that she once lived in, but when she had woken up this morning at her usual time of 0530, she had not expected to be meet with an email detailing the dismantling of the Chrystal castle preservation program. She had nearly spit out the pot of coffee she was chugging from.

Twilight had to spend five minutes just getting her breathing under control again to read the whole email, it had turned out that she hadn't even gotten to the worst part, the further she read read the further her stomach sunk. It jumped back into her throat when she saw who the council had placed in charge of finalizing the plan, Fizzy Twinkle. She wanted to rip her mane out at that. This was Ponyville all over again.

She would have to be in charge of tearing down another piece of her world, she couldn’t keep doing this, it was one thing to leave that world so that it may lead itself. She knew that things would change, that is how life worked, but to be the one that had to break down that world that she once knew, that she had cared about was something of a torture. Twilight had thought about leaving it to some one else, but deep down she knew that she would have to be the one to do it, because if she didn’t, what was left of the wold that she once knew would be thrown to the wayside.

The melt down had taken up most of the time she had that morning, leaving her almost no time to get ready, she dashed around the large cave she called home. She was the only one that lived outside of the city, if only for the massive purple and green dragon that also called the cave hone. Twilight made her way around Spikes sleeping form, not even trying to be silent as she dashed around, at one point she would have tried to be more careful with the sounds that she made. That had been centuries ago when he would actually wake up.

Spike had long past the age of a light sleeper, once his dragon heritage of sleeping through anything but a war at their front door kicked in, he could sleep for days on end. Twilight left a note on the pile of gems that would be his meal for when he woke up, he had been sleeping for a week at this point, twilight would have worried sightly if his hibernation cycle wasn’t so soon, it would seem that she was loosing her faithful assistant once more for a few decades.

It was something that she had gotten used to, time was some thing that they had in spades, although she did miss the simpler years when they were younger and had more of that time to spend together. Twilight let out a sigh as she walked to the mouth of the cave, the entrance to her home was enchanted to keep out the elements and unwanted guests, to anyone who wasn't wanted they would just see a cliff face. To her it was noting more than a transparent glimmer, it felt like walking through a light mist as she made her way out onto the plateau that was her front lawn.

The mountain she called home was the same mountain that they removed the sleeping dragon from all those centuries ago, a mountain that once over looked the small Ponyville that so many called home. That was along time ago however, the once quaint village had been replaced by the ever expanding New Canterlot, from up on high the city seemed so small. The lights of a million souls danced the dance of life, going about daily routines.

It was a sight to behold, any yet she can’t enjoy it as much as she once could, the candles that once shone with a light glow had been replaced with the harsh glare of neon and harsh electric bulbs. She let out a breathe into the cold morning air, a puff of steam leaving her muzzle as she did so, she lit her horn wrapping herself in her light pink magic. In a short cast spell her large alicorn stature was reduce to that of a small unicorns. She opened her closed eyes not having realized that she had closed them, for a split second she could have swore the saw it, the old Ponyville.

It was nothing more than an old memory coming to the surface, she shook her head clear, she didn’t have time to be in the the past, right now more pressing matters weighed her plate down. She reached out with her magic putting on a saddle bag that she had carried out with her earlier, with her alicorn body most bags wouldn't fit her, with her smaller size she could now wear it with comfort.

She opened the left side making sure that all the papers she would need for the day were present, it took less than a minute for her to be content, and moving to the other side, pulling her phone out of the pocket. Twilight used her magic to unlock the device, going directly to her emails. The email that had awaited her this morning was still on top making it easy to find it. She opened it once more, copying the text into is own file before attaching the document to a different email and sending it to a reporter she knew would love to have it.

Her and Flurry heart haven’t been getting along for a long time now, it was something that Twilight had made peace with, Flurry was an emotional person and felt that twilight had betrayed them when she got a job working with the very council that took their homes. Twilight understood her point, and even though her niece hated her now, she would help her as much as possible. They had the same goal after all, just different outlooks on how to go about it.

Twilight checked the time, she had to meet councilor Scroll out side of his office in less than ten, she put up her phone, returning it to the saddle bag. She took one more look around the mountain top before she lit her horn, pushing power into the teleport spell that would put her into the alley way that was just a stones throw from her place of work. If this morning was anything to go by it was going to be a long day.

Later that day

Twilight hated when she was right, which is funny because she was right more times than not. She Slumped on her office chair planting her face into the wood desk that took up most of the small office space she had. Damage control had been the most stressful part of her day, she knew that Flurry Heart would take the bait she had sent her, what she didn’t account for was the reaction that Royal Scroll would have.

She had know that the pony had been in a foul mood sense he went on his weekend retreat to one of his many houses, but even this was a little out there for the councilor. She had been answering calls all day about what the Crystal preservation program was, where the money was going, who would be in charge, and that was only after messaging a distraught Cadence. She pushed a long breathe out through her teeth. A knock sounded at her door.

She lifted her head “its open” she responded with a loud but soft tone of voice. It was very different being what could only amount to a glorified secretary than the ruler that she had been before, and in all honesty she felt bad for all the years that she caused stress to the handful of ponies that stood by her side planning her days. The door opened relieving a rather large pony in a three piece suit and top hat.

Twilight had to hold back a cringe as the older earthpony wattled his way into the office, he was a more, how do you say, stuffy pony. Age was not kind to the councilor, his once vibrant white coat was now just a dull gray, his mane and great handle bar mustache having falling victim to time as well, casting white veil over him. His voice was as soft as a pit of gravel and as pleasant as griffon talons on a chalk board, years of smoking the pipe that dangled from his muzzle wrecked his lungs, not helping his rough voice as he often coughed when he talked. Even with all this he tried to live up to the vibrancy of his past youth.

He coughed once, clearing his voice just enough to be understood as he stopped in front of Twilight’s paper covered desk “ah, lady Twinkle, what luck to run into you this late”

Twilight tilted her head at that and looked over at the laptop that was on her desk, the time was slightly after five, it was indeed late, even for her. She had a habit of being the hardest worker where ever she got a job at, it was something of a problem, no matter how hard she tried to work just as much as those around her , the work just seemed to fly by, before she knew what happened she had done a weeks worth of paper work in a day.

It seemed to be even worse of a boon to have here, while all the other councilors have assistants they weren't half as competent as she was, and in the end, she had councilors knocking on her door to file paper work they didn’t want to do, or need that extra hoof they didn’t have. That brought her to moments like this. Twilight broke out one of her most fake real smiles, replying to him with a tone that took many years to master. It was the nobles way to say, happy to see you, but also what to you want.

“Councilor Top Hat, a pleasure to see you as always” she put herself back into the role of Twinkle she used her magic to clean her desk off quickly, straightening up the mess of papers in a flash leaving then stacked and organized. The whole time never taking her eyes off her new guest “I had simply lost track of time, what can I do for you”

The councilor took the greeting in stride, he was part of the old families, one of the last great noble houses that had held control even after all this time. He knew the game and how to play it, he moved to stand in front of the desk, ignoring the chair that was pulled out for him by Twinkles magic. He let out small chuckle as he sucked on his pipe letting the smoke leak out of his muzzle “always work with you Fizzle” he coughed once more, his large form landing in the seat behind him as he caught his runaway breathe “it can be bad for a mare as young and beautiful as you”

Twinkle scrunched up her nose at the smell of the burning tobacco that assaulted her, she used her magic to remove the smoke, putting out the pipe in the process “so can second hoof smoke councilor”. The councilor looked only slightly annoyed that his pipe had been put out before he came too.

“ah yes, I always forget that you are not a fan of smoking” his hoof came up to the pipe taking it from his muzzle and placing it in a pocket on the inside of his suit “how you deal with the stress of working with Royal Scroll I will never know”

Twinkle had to hold back a snort at the verbal punch, it was a common feeling that the stallion was impossible to work for, he had standers that were as high as the sun, he went through no less than ten secretaries before she had taken the job. Even then it felt like even with her paper work prowess there was always a back log of thing to sigh or do.

“as I said councilor just lost time” Twinkle spoke as she moved some of the paper work that was inside one of her drawers to the top of the desk, she had a feeling that this is what the older councilor was here for. He had come to her with a request a mouth ago, he needed some one to reword a bill that he wanted to get through, Twinkle didn’t really work with bills often, most didn’t end well for anybody but the rich, but never let it be said that anypony of the Fancy pants family didn’t care about the lower class.

As soon as the paper hit the desk the older pony took them in his hooves leafing through them at a fast pace, he mumbled to himself as he read through, smiling when he got to the end “prefect as always Fizzle” he folded the document and placed it into his suit with his pipe “speaking of Scroll, any news on why he has a storm cloud over his head”

Twinkle was used to this by now, politics was the same as war for some ponies, and information was worth its weight in gold to the right hooves. She gave a shrug “he was fine before he went on his weekend retreat” she started to put up her own papers wanting to leave after the conversation came to an end.

“a retreat you say” the old stallions eyes gleamed “ heard anything about it”

Twinkle held her lips, debating on whether or not to tell, when it came down to it Top Hat was the closet thing to a friend that twinkle had, and if not friend than an ally. It was wanting to keep that trust strong that broke the seal “I heard he went to one of his family houses, in old Canterlot”

The gleam in Top Hats eye seemed to double “old Canterlot, always knew he was part of an old family, but not that far back” he reach a hoof into the jacket pulling out a golden hair pin, it was of course high quality. He placed it on the desk “for all the hard work you do miss Twinkle”

Twinkle knew better than to fight the gift, it was a good sigh after all, she would of course play it off “for me councilor, how did you know my birthday was so soon” it wasn’t and they both knew.

Top Hat laughed as he made to leave, standing from the chair and making his way across the office, Twinkle following suit, opening the door for her as they both stepped out of her office “I always take care of my friends lady Twinkle”

Twinkle faked a blush, she went to say something as a griffon approached them, a worried look on his face as he made a bee line for Top Hat, who gave a final nod to twinkle “it seems that I have other maters to attend to, have a nice night” with that he walked away with the griffon, talking up a storm about what ever matter demeaned their ever rare attention.

It was with that Twilight was free, she walked her ways through the mostly empty hallways of the capital building, doing her best to dodge anymore conversations that were necessary, she had plans tonight. It was with quick hoof steps that brought Twilight outside of the building and the busy streets of New Canterlot. The loud sounds of shuffling bodies and magic carriages echoed all around her as soon as she hit open air, it was a chaotic mess that would make Discord blush with pride.

Twilight danced through it with grace, all the while keeping her eyes peeled on the road, soon she found her target a yellow taxi cab. She moved out onto the very edge of the road, brought her hoof up to her muzzle and gave off a whistle so loud it caused the street to go silent for a moment, letting the small unicorn hail the taxi that caught her eye. The taxi came to a stop in front of her, with her head held high she magic the door open and climbed inside.

She was greeted by the very familiar shouting of a yak “WELCOME TO YAK TAXI” Twilight smiled at the greeting “WHERE DOES PONY WANT TO GO”

Twilight buckled herself in “corner of twenty third and fortieth, please” she watched the yak press a button as they pulled out into the street, the red bit counter in front counting as they made their way through the crowed streets. Twilight turned her attention way from the price of the ride to just staring out the window and thinking. She would love to just teleport like she does to work everyday but the risk was to much just for easy transport. While magic was much more wide spread than it was a thousand years ago, the teleportation spell was still just as rare if not rarer.

So her just popping in and out of reality as she wished would definitely bring more attention than she wanted down on her. The only reason that she used the alleyway outside of were she would greet Scroll in the morning was because she warded the alleyway with a notice me not spell. If she did that for all the places in the city that she needed to go to creatures would start to notice ironically. If one was exposed to the spell to often they would start to build up and immunity.

Twilight hadn't even noticed that she had neared Cadences house until the cab came to a stop “PONY PAY NOW” the Yak in the front seat yell over their shoulder as Twilight pulled out a black metal magic card in her magic passing it to the Yak. They scanned the card, handing it back to Twilight “PONY HAVE NICE DAY”

“you as well” Twilight responded in kind stepping out of the cab and making her way down the street, it was one that Twilight hated to walk through at night. It was by no means a low income part of town, but that didn’t stop the beggars and street thugs from cluttering the back alleys, one had to mind their step after sundown. She come to the entrance of a apartment complex, the building was gated and locked to Tartarus and back, designed to keep out all those that didn’t have a key to get in.

Twilight fished the keys from her bag, making her way through the gates and front door. The building security waved her down, stopping her at the check point that he was housed it, flipping up his cap that covered his eyes “well if it ain’ Ms Fizz”

Twilight smiled as she stopped walking turning her gaze over to the ragged stallion, his light blue uniform was disheveled, his dark brown coat making it stand out even more as he moved to stand, taking his hooves off the desk they had been resting on. He removed his hand brushing a hoof through his silver mane straightening it out, placing it back only when it looked like he made some decorum of professionalism. Twilight let a small giggle slip “good after noon Night Watch”

“here to see Silver lining” Night Watch asked

“yes, it been a while we need to catch up” Twilight responded

“She got in not even thirty minutes ago” Night Watch opened up the check point door letting Twilight through “she seemed to be in a rush”

Twilight lifted an eyebrow at that, she hoped it wasn't for her, she didn’t want to stress Cadence anymore than she already was “did she say anything to you”

“nope” Night Watch said with drawing out the word “just blew through her like she had a devil following her”

Twilight’s anxiety flare for a split second as her mind went through all the of things that could have happened to her sister for her to rush back. It could have just been that she was rushing to get here before Twilight but she had a feeling that it was worse than that. She pushed past Night Warch as she made her way into the building proper “thanks Night Watch”

Night Watch had already made his way back to his desk, kicking up his back hooves “have a nice night”

Twilight almost didn’t hear the parting words, her legs already carrying her down the hallways and up the sitars to the Cadence floor, the whole way up her panic morphed into more and more bad thoughts of what might have happened, with all that has occurred today she had a feeling that she wouldn't like what she was going to find. Somewhere along the way she didn’t even realize that she had dropped her Twinkle form.

The door to Cadence room came into view and Twilight already had the key out and waiting, she stopped right in front of it, should she knock. She took a breath, letting her racing heart calm down, she was making a mountain out of a mole hill again. She raised her hoof to the door, inches away from knocking, when a loud crash came from inside the room, the key was in the door in a flash, and the door sung open.

Twilight took in the sene in front of her, shattered glass covered the floor, red blood dotted the floor, a black furred figure laid in a pile of furniture groaning in pain. Twilight's eyes narrowed as she looked closer at the now moving figure that looked back at her. Fury Spiked into her very being as she recognized the figure that laid on the ground, and all the pieces to the puzzle came to her at once.

She lit her horn preparing magic blast.