Scene 2: The Royal Bedroom

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

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

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

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

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

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

*CRACK*

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

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

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

*CRACK*

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

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

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

*CRACK*

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

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

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

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

*CRACK*

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

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

"Yes, I do, but-"

*CRACK*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Cadence's Mind:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Scene 3: Crystal Palace

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

*A Few Hours Later*

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*10 Minutes Later*

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

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

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

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

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

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

"What is it your Majesty?"

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

"What is the plan anyways?"

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

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

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

"But not now?"

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

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

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

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

Cadence's Mind:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rainbow nodded.

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

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

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

To Be Continued!