Meanwhile, in the Crystal Empire, Cadence was making arrangements to have her hair done, since she would be in attendance at the Autumn Evening celebration, and she would need to wear the Crystal Empire Traditional Royal Headdress. At that moment, Shining Armor walked in the room.
"Hello, Cadence," He greeted.
"Hello, dear," Cadence replied with a smile, which almost disappeared when she turned and saw her husband's face. "What's wrong?"
"Well, nothing, I hope, but Princess Celestia has summoned me to go to Manehatten early to help with security for the Autumn Evening Celebration. I hope you don't mind."
"It's perfectly fine! You're still the captain of the royal guard, after all. I'll be able to handle things here."
"Alright. See you in a few days, then." Shining Armor gave his wife a quick kiss, and walked out of the room.
Cadence waited until the door closed behind him, then went on with her arrangements. After a while, she was alone in the throne room. She began focusing on a letter she was writing to her sister-in-law, Twilight Sparkle. She never heard the window open, and barely noticed the figure that crept through it, until it approached her, and gave a low, sinister laugh.
Cadence turned from her letter and gasped. "No… not you…" But no matter how she fought, she couldn't avoid being overpowered by the creature.