~Chapter 7: The Lurking Horror~
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~Flurry~
It came less as a surprise, more of a shock when Flurry heard the sound of laughter echoing across the walls. Somepony was down here - and she found the voice to be oddly familiar, but was still one she didn't recognize. Deep, gravelly - bordering on guttural and with an unusual echoing quality to it. What was else, this wasn't the kind of laughter that anypony would find joy or humor in. Oh no, this was an ugly sound.
"Who's there?" Flurry repeated, her eyes darting from one end of the cavern to another as she fell back against the wall. She could only see twisting shadows from the glow of her horn. "Who are you?"
"Someone from the dark." The voice answered. A shape flitted across the edge of the glow - just outside her field of vision - then vanished before she could follow it. "And who are you, little filly?"
"I'm Fl-Flurry Heart." She replied, trying to stand upright and be brave - but her voice was shaky. She mentally slapped herself. She was a princess after all. "Daughter of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Cadance."
The voice answered back, "I know of them. But I did not know they had a daughter." A pause. Then she felt very cold - as if somepony was baring into her very soul. "You are an Alicorn, I see."
"Yes." She said, confidence rising. If this unknown... well, thing knew her parents, then chances were they were a friend. However unlikely. "And I'm the heir to the throne of the Crystal Empire. But you haven't answered my question. Just who are you?"
"Someone that your father is quite familiar with. As is your... Great Aunt, Celestia." The voice sounded almost sad at that statement. When it spoke again, an edge of suspicion crept into its tone. "Why have you come to this place?"
"I came looking for my friend." She explained, remembering her purpose. "His name is Midnight Shard, the son of Sombra."
The voice seemed to be in shock. "Sombra!?" The name echoed through the cavern, loud as a thunderclap - so much that Flurry felt her ears ache. "Sombra is here? Where is he!?" The voice boomed, now unbearably loud. "WHERE? TELL ME!"
"I don't know..." Flurry said in a small voice. She bit her lip. "I just found these old drawings. I don't know if he really is here or not."
Silence now. For several minutes, Flurry sat there - staring into the darkness with a growing sense of trepidation.
"Are you... alright?" She asked meekly. "Did I upset you?"
The voice seemed amused. "Upset me?" An unsettling chuckle. "Little filly, you should know your friend is the son of a betrayer."
"Betrayer?" She felt a sudden rush of anger and confusion in equal measure. She leaned forward - minutely driving the shadows back. "Sombra is a brave, honorable pony - and he's working to be better!" Ominous voice or not, nopony was going to disrespect her friend's father like that!
Another chuckle. For the briefest of moments, she could make out the gleam of what appeared to be fangs reflected in her horn's glow, making the shadowy figure even more foreboding. Oh, if only she hadn't asked her father to read her all those monster stories! Those were filly stories and always ended happily, but this wasn't a story. This was real. Whatever lurked in the darkness was very real - and clearly it had some kind of grudge against Sombra.
Her mind pieced it together. Sombra had once called himself the King of the Monsters. This thing called him a betrayer.
"Are you an...Umbrum?" She asked hesitantly.
"Umbrum?" The voice sounded curious now. As if the word was foreign to it. "No. But I know of them. And Sombra was once their champion. Do you know this?" It didn't wait for her to answer. "You are young and naive. There is much you do not yet comprehend. Well, no matter." The voice seemed to be fading now, as if its owner was moving away. "When you see him again, give Sombra this message: He has proven fate can be changed one way. Perhaps it can change back. Farewell, little princess. We will meet again."
"Fate can be changed? What does that mean?" Flurry asked, but somehow, she knew the source of the voice was gone. The tension in the air seemed to lessen. Even her magic's pale glow seemed brighter now that the figure in the shadows was gone. With that, she decided it was time she left too. Her parents would probably have found out she was gone by now - and they would be worried sick.
As she started back the way she came, her eyes scanning for any other lurking dangers, a single thought kept repeating in her mind. Just who, or what was that thing?
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~Shining Armor~
In the years between his daughter's birth, Crystalling and now - Shining Armor had never dreamed he would revisit the Frozen North, much less lead a squad of his finest troops into the thick of it. These were, hooves down, the very best soldiers in the Crystal Empire. Unlike the rank and file troops that were meant for lesser duties like patrols, guard-duty and the like, these were combat-trained and meant for high risk missions where only the elite would have the slightest hope of succeeding. Even if he ordered them to charge straight into the meanest Dragon's lair or try to take on a Bug-Bear single-hoovedly, they would do it without hesitation. Their discipline meant that they scoured the icy wastes without a word of complaint or even so much as a shiver.
Their mission now was quite simple - Locate Flurry or Sombra and bring them back to the Crystal Empire where her mother now waited for them. After which, Shining and Cadance's mission as her parents began: Ground Flurry for the rest of her life.
Well, maybe that was a little too harsh. A month or two might suffice. Flurry was willful after all - and she had a growing infatuation with young Shard. Understandable, given that was probably what Cadance was hoping for when she came up with the idea of introducing them, but never in Shining's wildest dreams did he imagine that Flurry would throw herself into something like this over it.
Returning to the matter at hand, he was about to order his troops to regroup when one of them signaled to him.
"Captain Armor!" A pair of Pegasus guards named Search and Rescue called over the gusting wind. "We think we've found something!"
"What is it?" Shining asked, trotting over.
"A cave of some kind, it looks like." Search replied, pointing with his hoof - down at what appeared to be a deep crevice in between the glaciers. "It appears to lead quite a long way down."
"Good work, Search." Shining said. "Any sign of Flurry?"
"No, sir." Rescue replied. "But if there was a place anypony would want to be staying out of the cold, this would be it."
"If I were to take a guess," Search said, "this hole would appear to be about twenty-thirty stories down. It leads right into a narrow space in between the ice formations. Good protection against the wind and the snow. What's more, I can definitely smell something foul down there."
Shining nodded, knowing better than to doubt them.
The only members of the squad that were twin brothers (or indeed related by blood) - Search had an uncanny gift for tracking - while Rescue had nerves of steel and never-say-die spirit that made him well suited to the task. Normally it was close to impossible to tell them apart given they looked almost exactly alike - especially when in their armor, except for their Cutie-Marks. Search's resembled a skylight, whilst Rescue's was a lifeboat.
Whether their parents had conveniently named them for their talents or not, Shining would never know.
"Hold on, sir." Search said. "I can hear something approaching."
"You're quite the blood-hound, brother." Said Rescue wryly. "If only you were born a dog instead of a Pony."
"Shut up." Search muttered. He leaned his head closer to the crevice's opening. "I can hear the beating of wings. Powerful wings."
As if on cue, the three stallions were surprised to see a white and purple blur zip past them and ascend into the sky. Before any of them knew what was happening, that same blur landed right in front of them with such impact force that it scattered the snow around it.
Shining opened his mouth in shock as his daughter appeared before him - safe and sound. A little dirty from what he guessed was a nasty fall, but otherwise completely unharmed. When she saw him, she gave him a look that was a mixture of sadness, pain, even a hint of fear too. He wondered what she could possibly be scared of, but that thought was soon lost as fear and protective instinct gripped him tight.
"Father," she began slowly as she seemed to notice the sternness on his face. "I know I disobeyed you - and for that, I am sorry."
"Are you hurt?" He rushed forward and put his forelegs around her.
"No, just a little rattled."
"Good." Shining Armor felt relief wash over him before it was quickly replaced by anger, so swift and intense he nearly choked on it. "Then you are in SO. MUCH. TROUBLE!!!"
He was about to chastise her further when he saw the tears forming in her eyes. The splitting image of his own, he immediately felt guilty for it.
"I am sorry, Father." She said, lowering her head. Her voice had taken on a whimpering tone. "Please, I just wanted to find Shard again. That's all. I never meant to make you mad."
A split second later and Shining Armor wrapped his legs around his daughter and embraced her tightly. Before he knew it, tears had formed in his own eyes; though they froze before they could leave his cheeks.
"I was just so worried about you." He said in between sniffles. "So was your mother. I know you care about Shard, but you have to think before you act, Flurry. If something happened to you... I'd never forgive myself."
She pulled away and looked up at him, concerned. "Why? You didn't do anything. I did. I ran away from home."
"You're my only daughter, Flurry." Shining replied, wiping the icicles from his eyes with a hoof. "I love you and your mother more than anything. And as a Captain - as your father and Cadance's husband, I'd have to keep you all safe."
She nuzzled him again, putting her head against the barrel of his chest - her legs wrapping around his back in a great hug. He returned it gladly and held her for what seemed like hours, though truth be told it was only a few minutes.
"I love you too, Daddy." She whispered. "And I promise, I won't run away again."
"Good." He said, feeling his anger bleeding away. "Now come on, let's go home. I'm sure that Shard and his family will be there by now."
"There's a problem, Captain." Said Search, gesturing to the wasteland around them. "The wind's picking up. Without air recon, there's no way of knowing which way to go."
"And without knowing how far we are from the Empire, there's no way of knowing where to send a distress signal." Said Rescue. "But I'm sure you'll find a way out of this."
"You're quite the idealist, brother." Muttered Search. "But then, you have gotten us through worse, Captain."
"Right." Said Shining, wondering only for a moment if that was sarcasm or not before deciding he didn't care. "Where do we start? We can't teleport, because we can't see where we're going. You two can't fly in this blizzard - and this weather is too erratic and uncontrollable." He looked down at his daughter as an idea formed. "Flurry, have you any ideas?"
"You're asking me?" Flurry asked, incredulous. "I'm only six years old!"
Ignoring the snickers of the guards, Shining leaned down onto one bended knee and looked at Flurry straight into her eyes.
"You're an Alicorn and a Princess. If you're going to one day lead the Crystal Empire, you need to know how to get out of a bad situation. From here on out, we'll follow your lead."
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~Flurry~
It came more of a surprise, less as a shock when Father told her they would follow her lead. Even Search and Rescue looked at each other in surprise when it became apparent that he was sincere. He really was going to ask her for advice! Even after the way she disobeyed him and made him worry.
"Okay, first thing..." She struggled to remember her lessons from Aunt Twili. "First thing is stay calm."
He nodded. "Good. Next?"
"Next, we need to figure out a plan of attack." It slowly started to come back to her. "Know our enemy and ourselves."
"Keep going." Said Father, giving her a grin. "What's next?"
"This weather's too erratic as you said. Too uncontrollable. Normal Pegasus weather control won't do it. We'll need to... improvise."
Again, both guards exchanged glances.
"Captain," began Search, "are you sure this is a good...-"
He was interrupted when Flurry abruptly fired a beam of magic just past his shoulder - so close it nearly singed a few hairs off his coat. His eyes went as wide as dinner plates.
"...idea?" Rescue finished for him with a grin.
"What are you doing, highness?" Search asked, more surprised than frightened at the display.
"I want to try something." Flurry said, narrowing her eyes and readying another beam. "Just give me a second. I need to concentrate. This is a lot harder than it looks."
"Easy, Flurry." Her Father urged. "Aim the beam where you want it to go with your horn. Line it up with your sight and release, just like I taught you. Whatever you're trying to do, I believe in you."
"Thank you, Father." She said before she shut her eyes. With that, she concentrated - feeling the wellspring of power deep within her. The core of her energy - it was like trying to force a lake through a straw, but she managed to channel that power into something far more focused than her usual wild blasts. From Aunt Twili, she learned advanced magics and to concentrate that power through her horn.
The fact she was an Alicorn meant she had enormous magical reserves, but it also meant she had to balance it out with the other two pony aspects. This time though, she felt the three sides in perfect harmony with each other. Her Earth Pony magic meant she could feel the ground beneath her hooves - even though it was buried under tons of ice and snow. From it, she drew strength and steadiness. From Applejack she had learned to keep her balance and learn to anchor herself in place for casting particularly powerful spells - and to 'feel' the material of the ground under her. With all that strength running through her - she felt as stout and immovable as a mountain - and no matter how much the wind howled, the mountain would not be moved.
Finally the Pegasus part of her could feel the ebbs and flows of wind - the varying speeds and humidity in the air. The fact it was so cold meant it was harder to sense, but she remembered a trick from Rainbow Dash.
"Remember, ice is just frozen water." She had insisted. "Ice melts in the sun. Even if you can't control the weather, you can still buck the clouds and make it sunny again!"
With that, she took aim at the clouds and let it rip.
A massive beam of golden light fired from her horn - shooting past the stunned guards and Father - straight into the sky. It connected with the first cloud and immediately dispelled it into vapor, though it didn't stop there. The beam kept going and going - piercing and dispelling every cloud until it was out of sight - its energy expended. It took a few moments for Flurry to stand upright, but the effect was immediate.
The wind had slowed to a crawl. The clouds were parting and allowed a bit of sunlight to shine down on them - making it clearer. And when she stood up - Flurry realized she was standing in a puddle of newly melted snow. Cold water pooled at her hooves.
"That was amazing!" Both guard twins said in unison.
"How did you do that?" Asked her Father. "Even Celestia and Luna couldn't do that!"
"It just came to me." Flurry said cheerfully. Then she turned her expression serious. "Now come on, we've got to get home before the storm comes back."
"Flurry..." Said Father abruptly, his mouth agape. He pointed to her flank with a hoof. "Look."
There, newly formed on her flank was a Cutie Mark unlike any she had ever seen: A pair of wings outstretched over a heart made of clouds - and just beneath the heart, there was what appeared to be a half-moon and a half-sun.
"My Cutie-Mark!" She exclaimed. "But what does it mean?"
"It's the Crystal Faire today." Said Father. "And tonight will be the night of a lunar eclipse."