My Little Pony: Origins.
Chapter Seventeen.
Family Bonds Part II.
February 17th 2015, Ponyville, Equestria. 07:45 am.
Cadence trotted through the very quiet Ponyville high street, she smiled as she passed a small cafe, waving at the staff who were setting up for the day ahead. The mild breeze blew through her feathers as she paced along, the slowly melting snow sloshing under her hooves. She stopped and looked up at the sky, it was cast over with nearly black clouds.
"Looks like its gonna rain." She said no one in particular as she heard a slight rumble in the distance, "Better get to the yard before they open up." She quickly picked up the pace as move clouds slowly moved above the town. Cadence trotted towards the train station, the rustic building gave it a welcoming feeling. As she stopped outside the warm building, she saw a rather confused unicorn looking at a town map.
"Excuse me miss, are you lost?" Cadence asked the unicorn, startling her, "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." She added, holding her hooves out calmly.
"Um, yes. You wouldn't know where Freddy Fazbear's Pizza is, i have a job interview there and i have no idea where it is. All i know is that it's the Ponyville location." Asked the unicorn, before gasping in surprise, "You're Empress Cadenza! I'm Starlight Glimmer, huge fan." Starlight Glimmer shouted proudly, rapidly shaking Cadence's hoof, making the alicorn blush with delite, no one has ever been this calm when meeting her in person.
"I'm Cadenza Mi Amore Wyne Sparkle, or Cadence for short." Cadence said proudly, before remembering the mare's name, "Starlight Glimmer? OH! You were Celestia's former student weren't you?" She added, Starlight nodded furiously, "It's finally nice to meet you." Cadence clapped her hooves together.
"Likewise, ma'am." Starlight smiled, "While i'd love to continue to chat with you, but i really must get to my interview, you wouldn't happen to know where Freddy Fazbear's is do you?" Starlight asked, pointing at the map of the town placed outside the station building.
"Oh! Follow that road towards the town hall, you go over the bridge, take a right and continue straight on." Cadence pointed on the map, Starlight smiled.
"Thank you." Starlight said, trotting happily away.
"Good luck Starlight!" Cadence cheered before trotting over to the footbridge and walking over the bridge and into the train yard. She looked around before spotting David, she smiled and trotted over quitely
David climbed up onto '43999's running board with a grunt, the cold night had left a thin layer of ice. As he stood on the locomotive's running board, he looked around, taking in the stunning scenery, he felt the cold air blowing through his hair.
"Hey David!" Dusty shouted, getting the human's attention, "No time to admire the scenery, help me melt the frozen ash from the smoke box!" She added, bringing a hose pipe.
"What? Oh yeah." David was snapped out of his trance, he turned to face the smoke door and began to unscrew the handles. The door slowly swung open in the breeze, David lent down to Dusty and took the hose. He turned back to the smoke box and opened the valve at the opening of the hose. Steaming hot water sprayed out the nozzle, the ice fizzled when the hot water made contact with it's cold surface. David looked up at the now storm looking sky, he turned his head around after sensing something behind him, shrugging after not seeing anyone or anything behind him.
David suddenly let out a sharp grunt when he felt something wrap around his waist.
"Gotcha."
"Ca-Cadence?!" He shouted in surprise.
"Who did you expect dummy?" Cadence replied, purring slightly before releasing David from her grip.
"What are you doing here?" David asked, his voice still full of shock, "Did you come to check that i didn't run off again?" He fuzzed up her mane, making her both frown and blush.
"No actually, i need to tell you something." Cadence paused. Her horn lit up, turning the hose off, "Something important. Something in private." She rubbed her left leg with her right.
"Ah, i see." David looked at her, "Hey Dusty! I'm gonna be awhile!" He shouted, Dusty nodded in replied. David climbed down from '43999' and walked over to the neighboring class 19s. As David climbed up the steps, Cadence noticed he had a slight limp to the right.
David forced the nose door open and stepped inside. "Welcome to my office." He chuckled slightly. Cadence let out a horrified gasp when she saw the state of the inside. A makeshift bed sat on the floor made from old blankets, cobwebs clung to the corners of the roof and mold was present at most of the windows.
"David. You..." Cadence's voice cracked, sounding like she was about to cry, "You live like this?" She asked, still struggling to not cry.
"Yep..." David paused, "Have done for the past sixteen years." He place his feet on the control desk of '642'. He groaned slightly as his stiff joints clicked.
"Y-you should come back!" She shouted, "We all thought you were dead, you should of come home and told us you were alive." She sharply embraced him.
"Why bother, i doubt anyone missed me." Cadence slapped him around the face, "Ouch! What was that for?!" He rubbed his now red cheek.
"I FUCKING MISSED YOU!" Cadence roared, hardly poking his chest, "I MOURNED YOU FOR SIXTEEN YEARS! I MOURNED FOR MY LOST LOVE FOR SIXTEEN YEARS! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT I WENT THROUGH?!" She shouted, poking harder into his sore chest as she began to sob loudly, "I... missed... you..." She broke down, slamming her face into his chest, screaming into it. David gently patted her back.
"Sssh. It's ok Cae-Cae." He gently whispered in her ear, making it twitch a bit.
Cadence gently raised her head, her ice blue eyes looking into David's dull blue eyes. She smiled slightly.
"How... How did you survive the car crash?" Cadence said, her voice cracking slightly, "The car exploded, all the doors were still attached. How did you escape? Please i want to know." She begged, looking directly at him.
David sighed, he knew someone would ask one day, "I think it should be best if i tell you how my car crashed in the first place." He looked at her pleading eyes, she gently nodded before laying her head back down.
"Well." David sighed, "As you know, i was living in Mesley due to the restraining order mom... Rose had put on me, i guess she told people about what we did and people began spreading rumors that i was a child rapist and grooming schools girls. People began to make false reports against me, the police would always find me innocent." David paused. "But one day, a huge mob appear outside the flat i was living in, i escaped the flat through the bathroom window. I got in my car and i drove as fast as i could as the mob chased me in their cars and vans." He wiped his eyes. "I got to a sharp turn near Titfield, i tried to brake for it but my brakes her cut. One of the cars rammed me off the road and down the hill, the car rolled all the way. The next thing i remember they all surrounded me with cans of petrol, pouring it all over the car and igniting it. I was lucky to get out before the fuel tank exploded..." He looked down at her shocked expression. "But not all of me survived." David sat up and pulled up his left trouser leg, revealing that everything just above the angle joint down was artificial. Cadence gasped sharply.
"David..." Cadence gasped, "What did they do to you?" She cried, tears running down her cheeks.
"My foot was badly mangled by both the crash and the explosion." David gently stroked her face, "Thankfully someone found me and rushed me to the nearest hospital, i refused to give them my real name in fear that the mob would come back to finish me off. By the time i was discharged and i made my way back to Port Hope, i saw you all at the old house, with my burned out car on a flatbed. I just couldn't bring myself to go over to you all. So i just boarded the next bus out of their back to Mesley, i packed as much stuff as i could into my two rucksacks. I broke into the Mesley train yard and i stole these two class 19s and i never looked back. Been on the run ever since." He finished, looking out the window. Cadence lifted her head and looked at David's face, her cheeks were soaked from crying.
"Running..." Cadence's voice cracked, "From what?" She sobbed slightly.
"Everyone. The mob, the police..." He paused, "My past." He placed his hand on the window, "I spent the next sixteen years just living from cargo to cargo, hauling anything and everything i could. It's a live i've come to enjoy." He added, looking down at his sister.
"David..." Cadence signed, placing a hoof on his cheek, stroking his skin, "Why didn't you tell me?" She sternly asked him, he looking down.
"I was scared." He replied, "I was scared that you'd think i was weak." He added, trying to move her off him, but she stuck to him like glue.
"David, i would never think your weak. Asking for help is not a weakness." She frowned, "You taught me that years ago when i had to build that diorama of the Titanic wreck, remember?" She hugged him, still clinging to him, purring.
"I remember..." He chuckled, "Modeling that was bloody hard." He added, Cadence chuckled, "To be fair, it was accurate for the time." David chuckled again before falling silent after hearing Cadence snoring slightly, he gently shook her, "Cadence? You awake?" He quietly asked, he saw her stretch.
"What? I'm awake?" She yawned slightly, stretching her wings.
"Cadence, i know that you didn't just come here to ask me how i survived the car crash do you?" He questioned her.
Cadence took a sharp gulp, "You're right." Cadence paused, taking in a sharp inhale of air, "I need to tell you something." She paused again, looked at him but before she could say anymore, she found David's finger on her mouth.
"Cadence..." David said, looking into the ice blue eyes, "I know about Shooting Star." He looked away from her and bit his lip, "Cadence, i know about her."
"But i... But i never told anyone..." Cadence frowned, "I never told you." Cadence gasped for air in shock, "How did you find out?" David picked her up and placed her on the drivers chair as he walked over to the box sat under the conductor's seat.
"Celestia wrote a letter to the family while you were resting." David said, pulling out a partly crumpled letter from the box and holding it out to Cadence. Cadence's horn lit up as her aura engulfed it, unfolding the letter and bring it to her face.
Dear the Wyne Family.
I regret to inform you that Cadence gave birth to a stillborn foal today at 6:35 am, who she's named Shooting Star, Cadence is currently resting. She was refusing to let the doctors examine her, we had to tranquilize her just to take the baby away to determine the causes of the stillbirth. She was also refusing to tell us who the father is. Please, one of you must get here as fast as you can.
Yours truly.
Queen Celestia.
The letter dropped to the floor. Cadence trusted Celestia. She made Celestia promise not to tell anyone while she was in labor. Cadence slammed her rum down on the chair in anger.
"I TRUSTED HER!" Cadence screamed. "I!" She screamed, punching the window, "TRUSTED!" The glass cracked, "HER!" The glass shattered, slicing her hoof open in the process, "I FUCKING TRUSTED HER AND SHE BETRAYED ME!" Blood slowly trickled onto the floor as Cadence punched the cab interior wall, denting it, leaving a bloody hoof print in place. David grabbed her hoof, she turn around with the intent of punching him until she saw her hoof.
"Cadence stop! You're hurting yourself." He shouted, snapping her out of her blind rage. David lent over the control desk and grabbed a first aid kit, "Stay still." He sternly said, Cadence nodded nervously, looking down at her bleeding hoof, "Cadence, you do know that Celestia was only looking out for you right?" He calmly asked her as he gently wiped away the blood with antiseptic wipes, Cadence bit her lip as her hoof stinging.
Cadence let out a sigh, "Yeah i know. But she could've at least asked me first!" Cadence raised her voice as David wrapped her hoof up in a bandage. She let out a sign as she looked at her now patched up limb, "I suppose that explain why Dad showed up demanding i tell him who the father was." Cadence added as sudden realization dawned on her.
"Cadence..." David paused as he placed the first aid box back in its place, "Why didn't you tell me you were pregnant?" He asked, his voice full of sadness.
"I didn't know i was pregnant." Cadence said, placing her hooves on his hands and looking into his eyes, "And by the time i worked out i was pregnant, it was too late." She added, sighing deeply.
"What do you mean 'too late'?" David raised his eyebrow slightly, "Unless you mean you found out after your waters broke." He added, Cadence shook her head.
"No, not like that." Cadence frowned slightly, "Well, the night before i went into labor, i had been feeling unwell so i went to bed early. Around midnight, i started to feel cramps so i just gently rubbed my belly as when i had cramps in the past, that eased them, but instead of my usual jelly belly, it was firm. But what shocked me the most was when i felt her kick very hard. I paced around for hours, with things like 'I can't be a mother yet, i'm not ready' and 'How do i tell you' filling my mind. Come around 6 am i was very grumpy because i had been up most of the night and i was very tired, Celestia came knocking on my bedroom door, i told her to go away but she came in anyway. I shouted at her and moved towards her to get her out and my waters broke, right then and there." Cadence recounted, her ears falling flat on her head.
"Do you know what caused her to be stillborn?" David asked, he looked like he was about to cry.
"No, i just assume it was a mix of stress with the move to Equestria and me getting transformed into an alicorn." Cadence said, sighing. She placed a hoof on her necklace, "Would you like to see a picture of her?" She asked David, she was surprised when he shook his head, Surely, she thought, Surely he'd want to see a picture of our daughter, her mind said to her. David turned away from her and grabbed piece of paper from the sunblind that hung above the windshield.
"That letter wasn't the only thing Celestia sent us." He said, looking at the piece of paper, "She sent this with it." He showed Cadence the piece of paper, to her shock, it was a picture of her holding Shooting Star, the exact same picture in her locket, "I've kept this photo and that letter with me as a remember for me to go on with life, no matter what. I tell myself it's what Shooting Star would of wanted." He added, slumping down in the conductors seat. Cadence's horn lit up, taking the photo from David's hand. She looked deeply at the cleary aged photograph, a single tear drop splashing down on its glossy surface.
"David. I will admit, we did make a damn cute kid." Cadence smirked, looking out the corner of her eyes, this got a small smile from David that quickly faded.
"Was she buried?" David asked quietly.
"Yes." Cadence replied.
"Where?"
"Canterlot."
"I want to see her grave." David said, looking at Cadence, she having him a shocked look.
"What did you say?" She question.
"I want to see our daughter's grave." He replied. Cadence nodded.
"Ok, i'll take you, if it makes you happy." She added, limping over to David and placed a hoof on his hand. He smiled slightly, "But, you have to travel aboard my private train, it's on me." Cadence added.
David looked out the window as trees passed by. Cadence sat a few seats down the length of the coach. She had offered him a seat next to her but be refused, choosing instead to sit alone. Cadence lent over, looking at how glum he appeared. She left her seat and trotted towards the gangway. David heard the interconnecting doors slide open and close, he looked down at the table in front of him, running his finger in a circle. David rested his head on the window as the interconnecting doors opened again.
"What if?" David said to himself, his warm breath fogging up the glass.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Cadence spoke, plonking down next to him, placing a cup of hot chocolate in his hand, smiling as she too a sip from her cup.
"Thanks." David said, taking a mouthful of the hot chocolate, "I'm just thinking of the what if." He placed the cup back down, looking at the liquid sloshing around.
"Like what?" Cadence said, wrapping her wing around David, bring him closer.
"Cadence, do you ever think of what would of become of us had Shooting Star not been a stillborn?" He replied, sighing deeply.
"Every single day." Cadence looked down at the table.
"What do you think would of happened?" David looked out the window as the train began to pass the Canterlot Suburbs.
"Well~" Cadence placed a hoof on David's thigh, "If our daughter had survived. I think we'd be happily married with four more beautiful daughters." She purred, moving her face closer to his.
"F-f-f-four?!" He questioned with confusion feeling his voice.
"Well, we wouldn't want Shooting Star to be an only child would we?" She added, moving her face closer again, applying a bit more pressure to David's thigh.
"Well no, but-" He added, Cadence placed a hoof on his lips, he batted the hoof away, "But what would their names be?" He asked, Cadence placed her hoof back on his lips.
"The second oldest would be Flurry Heart. Because she'd be born in winter." She replied, her face now a few inches from his, "And the last three would be triplets, called Carmine Cream, Sapphire Lily and Emerald Knight." She said, her voice filling with lust.
Cadence removed her hoof from David's lips and without warning, locked her lips with his. David pushed her away.
"No Cadence." He said, holding an arm to her chest, "You're a married mare! We can't do this." He added, holding her back, she pouted.
"Shining hasn't paid attention to me in months. I need some action." She said, her voice filled with lust. Cadence threw herself onto the table, her hind legs overhanging the edge, "Come on David! Take me right here, right now!" She begged, wiggling her rump.
"No! You are married." He replied, standing up and walking away, "It's just your heat talking." He added as her magic aura surrounded him, she brought him forth to her rump.
"Do it, fuck me. Fuck my pink pony pussy." She purred, her wings unfolding and laying flat at her sides.
"Your highness, we have arrived in Canterlot Citadel." A voice broke over the intercom.
Thank fuck for that guard, David thought as he quickly made a run for the carriage door, stepping out on to the platform.
Cadence frowned, placing a hoof under her head, So close, She thought, sliding off the table. Cadence calmly made her way to her private washroom, she opened up the cabinet and pulled out a small plastic bottle of pills.
"Guess i'm back to taking this for four days." She said in disappointment, shaking out two pills onto her hoof and placing them into her mouth. She placed the bottle back in the cabinet and left the room.
"You ok now?" David said, tensing up for a potential slap from Cadence.
"Don't worry, i've taken my tablets." She said, the lust in her voice fading, "Now, follow me." She added, trotting for the station exit.
Cadence lead David through a small graveyard, towards a line of hedges.
"She's just beyond the hedgerow." Cadence said, wrapping her wing around David's hand, she felt him trembling, "You don't have to do this, if you don't want to." She added, looking at him.
"I know, but i want to." David said as Cadence lead him to the gap in the hedgerow.
The two walked along a narrow cobble path lined with red and white roses. They walked along the path for what felt like minutes before the two came across a small-ish headstone at the base of a large rose bush.
"Here she is. Here's our baby girl." Cadence said mournfully, sitting down by the grave. David sat down next to Cadence. The two looked at the inscription.
Shooting Lilian Star.
January 30, 1991.
Born without breath, not without love.
"Hey Shooting Star, it's me, your daddy." David said, Cadence rested her head on his lap, "I never got a chance to meet you in person. I'm sorry baby." His voice filling with sadness as he placed his hand on the headstone, wiping away some moss "I'm so sorry." He sobbed loudly, "Cadence. I'm sorry you had to go through this alone. I'm sorry i did this to you." He added, looking down at Cadence.
"David, it wasn't your fault. I wanted it, i wanted you to do it inside me. It's my fault as much, if not more then it is yours." Cadence replied, looking up at David, "Don't blame yourself for any of this." She placed her hoof on his chin.
"But we should've used something." He replied, looking away her, Cadence placed a wing on his shoulder.
"We both thought you wouldn't get me pregnant, don't you remember when we had that pregnancy scare after our first time, remember how the test was negative?" Cadence added.
"Yes, i remember..." He nodded quietly, "But still, we should of used something." He continued, looking at her again.
The two continued to sit by the grave amongst the flowers.
"I made this private garden when ever i had free time from college and at weekends, so our daughter had somewhere respectable to lay in peace." Cadence said, sniffing a low hanging rose from the rose bush.
"You did this all by yourself?" He asked, noticing a small pond by the path, "Cadence, its beautiful." He added, looking up at the rose bush, seeing it had pink roses.
"Celestia helped out when she could, as did Shining Armor, he even helped dig the pond." She looked down at her necklace, remembering the day Shining gifted it to her.
"Shining sounds like a nice man, he's lucky to have you as a wife." He added, laying down on his back, looking up at the blue sky, "Is it true? What you said about Shining not giving you attention?" He asked, Cadence nodding, laying down next to David, resting her head on his chest.
"Yes. He's been busy lately training new troops at Celestia's request. When he is at home, he's too tired to really do anything." Cadence replied, looking at David with half lidded eyes.
The pair laid on the grass for an hour, sleeping. David had taken off his jacket and used it as a makeshift pillow, Cadence just slept with her head still on his chest.
"David, we best be getting back before the others get suspicious." Cadence cooed, sitting up, her mane stuck to her face from drool. She gently shook David awake. David slowly sat up and stretched his arms.
"Right right." He quietly said, slowly standing up, "Before we go, i want to leave this here." He placed his hand into his inner jacket pocket and pulled out a small teddy bear, "I bought for her years ago but never really got the chance to give it to you." He looked down as Cadence took the bear and placed it in front of the headstone.
"It's perfect." She smiled, gripping David's hand in her wing.
David looked back as the two began to walk away, "Sleep well my little star." He said quietly, smiling slightly.
End of Chapter Seventeen.