Icefall

by Burningbloom78

Even Love isn't Enough

"Is there something the matter, Flash?" Princess Cadance asked. "You look pale. Is Snowy okay?"

"Yes, she is," Flash answered, sounding grim.

"But your face conveys something is amiss," Cadance commented. She trotted up to him and placed a wing over his back, but only to remove it quickly out of surprise. "Flash, you're shaking! What's troubling you?"

"Rosey," Flash answered simply, his voice suddenly gruff and despondent. "She won't be able to work for a couple of days."

Cadance sighed heavily and guided Flash to her couch and told him to sit. Flash obeyed and sat on one of the soft cushions, but his mind was so rattled by Rosey's condition, he hardly noticed how comfortable the couch was.

"I heard about what happened," Cadance started in an airy whisper. "How is she?"

Flash Sentry shook his head. "She's getting worse with each fit. She had another one, but there was no warning like there should've." His front hooves were shaking. "There was blood this time, and it was in front of Snowy."

Princess Cadance put a hoof to her mouth in silent shock. "Is Snowy... How much did she see?"

"Too much," Flash Sentry answered gravelly, rubbing his eyes. "She's right outside waiting for me."

"She's a loyal friend," Cadance said, grinning faintly but stopped when Flash didn't smile. "Flash..."

"She's dying from that accursed magic," Flash growled through gritted teeth. His eyes were alight with a barely contained fury. "That tyrant did this to her..."

Flash was talking about King Sombra, the previous ruler who reigned over the Crystal Empire before he was defeated and imprisoned in the ice by Princess Celestia and her sister, Princess Luna. When the empire re-emerged, so did Sombra, who tried to regain control over the empire but failing after Spike and Princess Cadance was able to defeat him.

King Sombra was described as a ruinous tyrant who enslaved the citizens of the empire in iron-clad chains; a monster with the power to wield dark magic. He was ruthless, and his vile penchant for bestowing anguish on his subjects was merciless and without limit.

Princess Cadance didn't reply. She knew what Flash was talking about and shuffled uncomfortably on her cushion.

"That vile magic of his did this, causing Rosey to suffer," Flash snarled with venom dripping from every strained word that came from his mouth. He gazed at Cadance. "Is there no other cure for what Rosey has?"

Princess Cadance hanged her head in defeat. "Sombra was as crafty as he was evil," she started, her eyes shadowed and troubled, "devising failsafe after failsafe, trying to return to power in some way. Even when he was defeated again with the rest of the villains and Grogar, a part of me will always suspect he'll come back. The cure for Sombra's dark magic curse is gone. Rosey is the last one alive afflicted with the curse."

"But it can't be true!" Flash Sentry exclaimed, distressed. "Are you absolutely sure there aren't any left here? There could be some outside of the Crystal Empire. I can't let Rosey die from this!"

"I have sent guards to scour the cave over and over, time and again, but finding none of the spark lilies," Cadance said. She looked away from Flash's pleading stare. "Sombra razed the entire area so horribly that the flowers won't regrow. And no, there is no other place in Equestria or beyond that may contain the flowers. They were created here, and now they are gone forever."

Flash Sentry didn't relent. "But there has to be a way to regrow the flowers. Isn't there a book or something that documented what the spark lilies are and how to grow them?"

Again, Cadance shook her head. "Any record of the spark lilies and how they can be created are missing, most likely destroyed by Sombra so no pony could figure out how to grow and use them. Not even Sunburst knows, and he spends most of his time in the library; he practically lives there. I have asked him to look for any signs, any record, anything, but he hasn't come to me yet.

"We have an inkling of why they were made. The flowers were created by what we believe to be an alicorn eons ago with the sole purpose, as it seems anyway, of healing and removing the most sinister of curses. We don't know how this alicorn created the flowers or with what magic they used. The complete history of the flowers is unknown because of Sombra."

"What about the ponies of the empire?" Flash Sentry asked. Cadance gazed at him questioningly. "Most of the stallions and mares from a thousand years ago are still here, remember? A lot of us came back when the empire resurfaced! Somepony would have to know!"

Princess Cadance was silent for a moment as if considering, but then she shook her head. "That's not possible."

Flash gaped in shock. "Wh-what do you mean?" he sputtered. "Why not?"

"Flash, no pony remembers much of anything before Sombra's dictatorship," she said. "The memories of the crystal ponies were affected in some way; they can barely remember anything of their past except for damaging recollections of Sombra's cruelty, and those are memories they wish to forget.

"And that's not all. Sombra's influence still reigns inside their minds, haunting them with a dark menace. When most are told to remember anything under his rule, they ended up shuddering and convulsing, shutting their eyes with faces twisting as if they were in terrible pain. They aren't able to tell us much of anything, let alone something useful. We can't rely on them, and I would rather not resurface such painful memories my citizens try to bury ever again..."

"But I can remember parts of my past just fine," Flash Sentry said hastily, but then his voice faltered a bit. "Sure, I can't remember everything...but I remember my time with Rosey perfectly!"

Princess Cadance sighed, despondent, her eyes growing dark. "The love, hope, and light between you both, even at a young age, was powerful enough for you two to retain some of your memories, but you never underwent the dark magic curse like she did.

"If anything, Rosey would know something, but she could have a much more violent reaction than anypony else because of what Sombra did to her, so I never tried for fear of something...horrible happening to her."

Flash stamped his hoof on the crystalline floor. "We don't have much time left twiddling our hooves," he spat, but he sounded on the verge of crying. "I love her... I can't let Rosey die like this! What are we supposed to do?!"

Princess Cadance gazed at Flash Sentry; there was pain across her face. "I can feel the love you have for Rosey. She loves you as well, and it pains me to see you both suffer like this. There isn't anything any of us can do for her.

"The cave the spark lilies once thrived in is too badly scorched; the area is still smoldering even after all these years. I'm afraid that love cannot shine a path for us to tread on this time; we're lost in the dark, stumbling and tripping."

Flash Sentry had sunk into the soft cushions, his angered face shifting to an expression of defeat and sadness. Cadance was right. There was nothing she could do. No pony could.

"Am I supposed to watch the mare I love die in front of me?" he asked no pony in particular. "To see her blood soak her beautiful coat? To hear her struggle to breathe her last breath? What am I supposed to do? I've always helped her, cared for her, but only for her to be taken away from me like this. Isn't love enough?"

"Oh, Flash... I'm so sorry," Princess Cadance whispered. "She still has time. We'll keep searching for another way, I promise."

Flash Sentry gazed into Cadance's eyes for a long while before dipping his head in silent agreement. He got up from the couch, bowed respectfully, and exited her chamber.

Outside the princess's chambers, Flash Sentry noticed Snowy sitting quietly a couple of feet away from the door gazing at nothing. She seemed to be murmuring something as if she was talking to somepony. Flash shook his head; he was just imagining things. He quickly put on a small smile and called for her attention.

Snowy's ears wiggled as she spun around as if surprised and looked at Flash with full focus. He wondered why she looked that way. Had she overheard what he and Princess Cadance spoke about and was hiding it from him? Maybe, but it didn't matter. It wasn't as if she could do anything to save Rosey.

"I'm back," Flash Sentry told her, his voice straining, as the white filly scampered to his side.

Flash Sentry felt Snowy lean against him, offering some semblance of comfort. It wasn't much, but he appreciated his little friend's sweet gesture.

"Are you hungry?" he asked Snowy. "You were training all day today."

Snowy gazed at Flash silently before shaking her head. "Not hungry. I'm...tired."

Flash Sentry instinctively picked up and hoisted Snowy gently on his back and made his way to her bedroom.

"I'll bring you a tray of food later tonight," Flash said quietly. "You're a growing filly and you need to be fed, and as your bodyguard, it is part of my duty to see you well and healthy."

"Okay," Snowy murmured. She sounded a tad grudging, but she seemed to be too tired to argue. "And thanks for the ride, Flash..."

"No problem," he told the filly, but then he lowered his voice so she couldn't hear. "At least there's something I can do..."

"And Rosey will be okay; I promise," she said, causing Flash Sentry to halt for a moment before continuing forward.

"Thank you, Snowy..."