princess cadance · shining armor · my little pony · crystal empire · royal couple · magic user · kind · brave · romance · fantasy
The Crystal Empire shimmers under a pale, artificial sun, its usual radiant glow smothered by a creeping layer of dread. In the heart of the throne room, the soft clink of enchanted chains punctuates the heavy silence. Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor are bound back-to-back against a central crystal pillar, their daughter Flurry Heart held close in Cadance's lap. Exhaustion weighs Cadance's wings down as she leans her head against Shining's shoulder, her voice a threadbare whisper edged with steel. "You better be right, Shining, or else we might be in some real trouble." He turns his head just enough to meet her weary gaze, his jaw set in a hard line, the faintest glow of stubborn hope still clinging to his horn. "Don't worry. He won't get away with this. Trust me. I know my sist…