//------------------------------//
// Nightmare 
// Story: The Bonds of Family 
// by KidatHeart5 
//------------------------------//

	The next morning, Flurry Heart slept soundly in her bed. There was a tremendous amount of heartache the previous night, so when Flurry had retreated to her bedroom, she cried as she prepared for bed. She wanted to sleep off the heartache, so the moment her head had hit the pillow, she fell into a deep slumber. 
Knock-knock
The light rapping on the door managed to bring Flurry out of sleep, if only a bit. 
Knock-knock
There it was again. Maybe it was Skyla coming to apologize for the blow-up last night. 
Knock-knock-knock
“Yes, I’m coming,” Flurry wearily said as she climbed out of bed. 
She went to the door and opened it to find…a royal guard. 
The princess was surprised by this until the guard said in a near-urgent tone, “Your parents wish to see you, Your Highness.” 
Flurry did not like the sound of that at all. It meant that something was wrong. As she made her way down the hallways, countless thoughts bounced around in her mind. What if her grandma told her parents about Skyla’s blow-up? What if Skyla made herself gravely ill? What if there was a new threat made against the Crystal Empire? Or what if…Skyla was captured?
The young princess opened the doors to the throne room and found her parents staring out a window. When the royal couple turned to face her, she softly gasped. The worried look in her father’s eyes and the runny mascara smearing her mother’s eyes were never good signs. 
Flurry asked while trying to control the growing panic in her body, “Mom? Dad? What’s wrong?”
Shining Armor solemnly told her, “It’s Skyla. She’s…vanished.”
Flurry unconsciously let out a gasp. She asked, “Has she been captured?”
Cadance shook her head, “There was no ransom note, no sign of a break-in, nothing to suggest a kidnapping. We fear that she may have…run away.”
Impossible! Skyla would never run away, not if she was the heir to the Crystal throne! This was not like her, this could not be like her! She knew that her duties were in the Crystal Empire. She wouldn’t have just up and left the kingdom and her family without saying good-bye! No. There had to be more to this. There just had to be. 
Even though Flurry was shell-shocked all over, she went about her morning as normally as possible. She knew that Discord was out looking for her, but he hadn’t returned with her yet. Could something have happened to either Discord or her sister? Flurry thought of the possibility that Skyla did run off, but she got kidnapped in the process. If this kidnapper had anything to repel or disable Discord’s powers, then that would’ve explained why he didn’t come back with her as soon as possible. Flurry just wished she knew what happened to the both of them. 
She walked to the window and wondered where they were. As she looked out, she found that she could suddenly see miles away. Her sight rushed through Canterlot and then Ponyville before reaching the Everfree Castle. By a window, to her surprise, was a familiar figure looking outwards.
Flurry gasped, “Skyla!” 
Abruptly, she found herself back where she was before. What just happened? Did she gain a new ability to see far off, or was it a vision like her mother and sister would have? She decided to look outwards again and try to see the Everfree Castle. Unfortunately, it didn’t work this time, so Flurry knew that she had a vision – a very handy vision. She knew where to find Skyla, so she started to trot back to the throne room. 
However, she skidded to a stop once she realized something. Her parents would be too afraid to let Flurry leave home to bring her sister back. But what if Skyla was in trouble? Surely, the guards her parents would send would be too late by the time they would reach the Everfree Castle. She had to do this all by herself, without anypony knowing about it. 
She walked back to her bedroom and took out a disguise from her closet. When she slipped into the clothes to hide her wings, she put a bandana on to cover most of her bunched-up mane and sunglasses over her eyes. After she opened the window, she took a deep breath. She then climbed onto the windowsill and jumped out. Swiftly, she enveloped herself in her yellow aura, floated down the wall, and then got behind one of the legs propping up the palace. When she landed in the dais, she peeked out to see if anypony saw her. Luckily, no one did, so she casually walked down the main street. 
She thought it was odd that everything seemed less shimmery than normal. When she saw that everypony had worried looks on their faces, she remembered why. She looked back towards the Crystal Heart and saw that it was dimmer than usual. She knew that Skyla’s disappearance caused much worry to affect everyone and everything in the Crystal Empire. The fate of the Empire further motivated Flurry to get to the Everfree Kingdom and save her sister.
As she continued down the street, Flurry Heart started wondering to herself. What was odd about last night? Besides the blow-up and Skyla running away from the ballroom, there had to something else. Then, it hit her. Flurry saw her sister talking with Baroness Gourmand at the Crystal Gala before they went out the doorway, so what if it was that talk that made her leave in the first place? But what could Zesty have possibly said to Skyla?
When Flurry thought back to the blow-up, she remembered that Skyla had snapped about not being queenly enough and how her sister would be a good replacement. Maybe what Zesty said to Skyla caused her to doubt herself. Even if she didn’t know for certain, Flurry had to bring Skyla back home and remind her of who she was. When Flurry reached the train station, she went behind the building and took a deep breath. She had to do this, for the sake of the Crystal Empire and possibly all of Equestria. She activated her magic and teleported as far away as she could. She was hoping to arrive at the Everfree Castle, but she was only half a mile farther than where she previously was and could still see the train station.
She groaned, “All right. Looks like I’ll have to do this the hard way.” 
She kept teleporting every half-mile until the Crystal Empire was no longer in sight. At that point, Flurry disposed of her disguise and flew up towards the sky. She knew she had a long way to go, but she wasn’t giving up until she reached the Everfree Kingdom. 





The sun was setting by the time Flurry reached the Everfree Castle. She had to stop to rest at Canterlot, no matter how hard she wanted to resist. However, the aching bones in her wings and her diminishing energy were too great for her. To make sure she wouldn’t be seen, Flurry had ducked behind a bush and rested there. Thankfully, nopony even seemed to notice her there, so after she renewed her energy, she took off again without detection. She knew that stopping to rest meant losing valuable time she could’ve been saving her sister, but she wouldn’t have continued on otherwise.
Now that Flurry had arrived at the Everfree Castle, she saw that the sky had become blood red from the sunset. She saw two silhouettes by the front doors and trotted up to them. She instantly recognized them as the guards, who were now lying down next to the entrance. 
Flurry pleaded as she tried to nudge them awake, “Hello? Hello?! Wake up, please! Wake up!” 
Their coats seemed to be warm, so Flurry was relieved that they weren’t dead. Still, why wouldn’t they wake up? She opened the doors and found the inside of the castle to be very dim. A twinge of fear tugged at Flurry, but she knew that if her sister was somewhere in the castle, then she would brave scary hallways just to find her. 
“Hello?” she called out softly. “Are you here, Skyla?”
Suddenly, her hoof ran into something. She gasped before she looked down and braced herself for the worst. To her surprise, it was Discord, who was lying down and unconscious like the guards!
“Discord…” Flurry breathed. “What happened to you? What happened to the guards?!”
At that moment, she saw a flash of lilac light down the hall. She quickly ran towards the source and it vanished just seconds before Flurry found herself in the throne room. The vast room was just as dim as the hallways, if not a little brighter. 
She looked all around as she called out, “Skyla? Are you here? Please come out. I want to take you home.”
When she heard the clopping of hoofsteps, Flurry turned towards Starling’s throne. 
Skyla stepped out from behind the throne and sneered at her sister, “Why, if it isn’t my little sister who’s come to mingle with the common folk.”
Flurry didn’t understand what she meant, so she asked while keeping her guard up a bit, “Skyla, what’s going on?” 
“Oh, you know exactly what is going on…” Skyla gave a glare that chilled Flurry’s soul. 
Flurry softly asked, “I don’t understand. What did Zesty say to you?”
“She has helped me a great deal, for she had helped me discover your true intent of stealing my place in the Crystal Empire!!”
The alicorn was stunned that her sister would assume that. She denied, “No! I would never do such a thing! You are my sister!”
She replied coldly, “My vision said otherwise.”
Flurry’s eyes shrunk as she breathed, “Vision? What vision?”
“It does not matter, for I will make sure it never comes true…”
Skyla’s horn lit up in a medium purple aura and chains flew from both sides of the throne room. They tightly wrapped around Flurry and refused to free her from their grip. 
Skyla explained, “These chains will keep you bound for as long as you have evil in your heart.”
Flurry couldn’t believe what she was hearing. What had her sister become?! 
She grunted in an anguished voice, “Skyla, why are you doing this?!”
“Because there can only be one heir in the Crystal Empire, and that heir…WILL BE ME!!!!”
She stomped her front hooves as she emphasized the last part. Cracks that formed under her hooves snaked upwards to a window above Skyla. When the whole window became cracked, glass sprung from the frame and scattered all over the floor. The moon shone brightly through the broken window and moonlight flooded the throne room. 
Skyla pulled out a vial and said, “I will ensure the safety of my kingdom and continue the legacy of the rulers before me.” She then barked coldly to Flurry, “And you will never be a threat to anyone for as long as I live!” 
The unicorn took off the stopper and lifted the vial to her lips, drinking its contents. Suddenly, she gagged and bent over in pain. Flurry wanted to run to her sister’s aid, but before she could even try to break free of her chains, darkness swirled around Skyla and enveloped her. Flurry gasped as she witnessed the horrific scene happening before her eyes. The fiery sphere that held Skyla prisoner soon released a tall, dark pony. 
Her eyes became red with hate and her pupils became slit with menace. Her long, flowing mane was black with a single vivid mulberry stripe. Bat wings sprouted from either side of her body and fangs sharpened in the mouth her cackles sprang from.  As soon as the threatening pony landed on the platform maliciously laughing, Flurry’s heart dropped when she realized who it was: her own sister! When Skyla stopped laughing, her eyes darted to Flurry and anger replaced evil delight on her face.
“Now I will do what I should’ve done a long time ago,” she said as her horn became enveloped in a red aura. 
When Skyla shot her magic at her sister, Flurry cried, “NO!!”
Unexpectedly, she disappeared in a burst of yellow light and reappeared near the overarching skylight above. 
Skyla sputtered, “But how…?” 
She growled as she attempted to hit her sister again, but Flurry flew out of the way in time and landed roughly on the debris-ridden floor. She heard hoofsteps coming towards her and saw her darkened sister emerging from the dust clouds. 
Flurry rasped as she weakly got up on her hooves, “Skyla, I’m not going to fight you. We can work this out together. We’re sisters!”
Skyla scoffed, “’Skyla’? I am Nightmare Sky! And I know exactly how to work this out…” She lit up her horn again as she shouted, “I DESTROY YOU!”
When she shot her magic at her younger sister, Flurry flew up and out the hole in the skylight.
Nightmare Sky smiled menacingly, “And where do you think you’re going?!”
She flew up after Flurry and tried to hit her again, but the alicorn still evaded her. A chase then ensued around the castle exterior as a group of familiar ponies emerged from the Everfree Forest. 
Nova Rose cried as she pointed her hoof towards the sky, “I see her!” 
Suddenly, one of the red rays of Nightmare Sky’s magic hit Flurry in the chest. She yelped before she fell into the ravine. 
The group – consisting of Snow Pea, Little Button, Mothball, Screwball, Roller Blade, Skater, Apple Butter, Blaze, and Nova – all gasped, “Flurry Heart!”
Snow Pea commanded, “Blaze, Nova, go down to see if she’s all right!”
Roller Blade finished, “We’ll handle this newbie monster.”
Nightmare Sky heard a loud whistle and turned to see seven ponies looking up at her.
Screwball taunted, “Hey, freako! Try to catch us!”
She then blew raspberry at Nightmare Sky as the other ponies shot rocks at the dark alicorn. When they ran into the forest, Nightmare Sky gave them chase over the trees. After Blaze and Nova Rose peered out from a bush to see if the coast was clear, they teleported down to the ravine. Flurry was so still that they feared that she might’ve been dead. 
Blaze shook his cousin, “Flurry? Flurry, are you still there?! Flurry, answer me!”
When the alicorn groaned awake, the two unicorns gasped in delight.
Nova sighed in relief, “Flurry Heart! Thank goodness you’re all right! We thought you were –“
Blaze confidently remarked, “Well, I didn’t. I knew she was still alive.”
Nova shot him a dubious look.
Flurry asked wearily, “Where are we?”
Blaze answered, “Down in the ravine…and luckily away from the eyes of that evil monster.”
Flurry said sadly, “She’s my sister.”
Her cousin and friend became surprised by this development.
Nova asked, “But how? I thought she was taken.”
Flurry shook her head, “She wasn’t taken. She came here on her own free will and…” her voice shook with both trauma and sorrow, “…turned herself evil.”
Suddenly, they heard screams up the ravine.
Blaze said, “Uh-oh. Let’s hide.” He teleported the three of them near the Tree of Harmony. “There. We should be safe here.”
Flurry fretted, “But what about my sister? How can I stop this?”
Nova looked up and got an idea. “We could use the Gem of Harmony!”
Blaze and Flurry faced her and asked, “What?”
“Maybe we can use the Gem of Harmony to turn Skyla back to normal.” 
Blaze thought, Dang! Why didn’t I think of that?
Flurry took a deep breath and said calmly, “All right. I hope it works.” 
She flew up to the center of the tree and lit up her horn. The Gem of Harmony became enveloped in her magic as it slowly left its place at the center of the star. When the gem got within a few inches of her, flashes of many colors began to shoot from the relic and loop around her at a fast speed. When the flashes became fast enough, Flurry was enveloped in a pink force field. Nova and Blaze watched in wonder as the alicorn flapped her wings and made her way out of the cave. They followed her outside to see her ascending into the night sky. 
When Nightmare Sky flew in front of Flurry, she groaned, “You again?! This time, I end you for good!”
Flurry’s tears fell at the heartache of seeing her sister so twisted and cruel. Still, she had to do this, to protect Equestria and bring her sister back. When Nightmare Sky shot a red blast at her, Flurry had to push aside her sadness and concentrate on the Gem of Harmony. The relic lit up and released a ray of rainbow light that clashed with the dark magic. No matter how hard Nightmare Sky tried, the rainbow kept pushing her magic back until…
“NOOOOOO!!!” she cried as the righteous light overwhelmed her.
Flurry watched in shock as the rainbow carried her sister to the moon. When it reached its destination, a mark in the shape of a pony’s head formed on the heavenly sphere’s face. This was never what she wanted. She only wanted to return Skyla to normal, not send her to the moon! What if Flurry was evil like her sister said she was going to be? Maybe this was only the beginning.
When Flurry Heart landed on the ground, she was so heartbroken and numb that she almost didn’t notice the collective gasps of her cousins. She saw they were shocked by something and looked down at what they were seeing. At first glance, it seemed like shattered glass in front of her. But when she inspected it closer, she drew her head back in shock and gasped. The broken shards had once made up the Gem of Harmony!