//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: The Endless War // Story: To End a Cycle // by Obsedian_Flame //------------------------------// To End a Cycle Written by: Obsedian Flame Chapter 1 The Endless War Hay 22, 3672 8:00 PM Dear Diary, I am unsure of how to express myself as of late. The events of this last month have left me deeply distraught. I feel more conflicted now than I ever have in the four and a half years that I’ve written in this diary. Perhaps I should write about the recent events that have me so flustered lately, and maybe then my thoughts will be easier to portray. Two weeks ago today we defeated Lord Sombra, once again banishing him to the cold north. It was a taxing battle, and many of the guard fell to his wrath and hatred. It pains me deeply to see our Ponies suffer and loose so much. My thoughts and prayers are with the wounded families, and I wish I could simply take their pain away. Since I was born, Sombra has been a continuous evil that has plagued our Ponies and the Crystal Empire as a whole. We seem to be cursed to forever be at conflict with him, and though he has never yet successfully conquered the empire, he gets closer to victory each time. It seems that with every defeat he grows stronger, and his hatred for us along with it. As a foal, I remember him invading the empire and taking my parents and I prisoner to his will as he attempted to cast our Ponies into slavery. Luckily, however, we had help from Princess Twilight and the other Elements of Harmony. With the power of friendship, they managed to seal him away. 4 Years later though, the Empire was once again threatened by the Dark Lord. He came by surprise and managed to overpower Father’s protection spell. Once again, however, he was stopped just in time by Princess Twilight and the elements. Since then, he has returned 7 times, and has nearly conquered the empire 5 of those times. Every time he is banished his power and anger rises, making him even more of a threat. Now the Elements of Harmony are even having a tough time disposing of him. His recent attack was very nearly the end of the Crystal Empire. It took the combined effort of all of Equestria to ward him off. Even Princesses Celestia and Luna had to get involved after their retirement. We’ve also found that he is building some form of army to combat the royal guard. Strange disappearances have been escalating as of late, and we no doubt know that he is responsible in some way for this. Mother, Father and Aunt Twilight have been looking into solutions for the problem, but each is just as unsuccessful as the last. There is simply no spell, incantation, or power known to Equestria that has the ability to permanently destroy the Dark Lord. Despite having encountered him so much, there is so much we do not know about Sombra. The only record of his past is in the form of a journal found deep in the catacombs of the Crystal Castle. It tells of his origin and struggles as a young Colt. I will not disclose all the details within the journal as much of it is quite disturbing, however, there was something that caught my eye. He talks of another important Pony, a mare by the name of Radiant Hope. According to him she was his first and only true friend, and it seems he cared very much for her until his tragic downfall. I simply cannot shake the feeling that there is more to the Dark Lord than the monster we see threatening us. Perhaps I should change topics, this subject is quite depressing. Yesterday I was visited by my best friend Luster. It was refreshing to see her again as it has been some months since we last met up. This is mostly due to the War with the Dark Lord, however, I still feel guilty for not at least writing to her in all this time. Regardless, seeing her and her parents took a great load of stress off. Aunt Twilight is truly right that having friends solves nearly every problem. Luster and I mostly talked about her studies with Aunt Twilight. She’s come a long way from the times when she had little to no friends, and I’m proud that she’s put in the effort to better her social skills. I told her all about the war. It must have been hard for her to listen to as she frequently looked disturbed, no doubt due to fear. It was also good to see Sunburst and Starlight once more. They’ve been fantastic mentors to me and the least I could do was to extend a warm welcome and to show them what I’ve learned in recent years. The last time I saw Sunburst was the day I got my cutie mark. He always believed that my power and talent came from the goodness inside the Crystal Heart. He was correct as always, and since then I’ve spent a lot of my time learning of my connection to the artifact and how I can control the power it gives me. Perhaps I can use it as a tool if Sombra were to return soon, though I hope I will never have to. There are many more things I could write about, however, my mother has scheduled a meeting for tonight with Princess Twilight as well as some other high profile Ponies from all over Equestria. I do not yet know what the meeting will be about, however, I have a feeling that whatever it is will not be good. I will wrap this entry up and head to that meeting. Who knows what’s in store. -Flurry Mi Amore Cadenza Heart After setting down her quill, she stood up from her chair and stretched her limbs after having sat for so long. As much as she tried to keep her entries short, things didn’t seem to work out that way, especially considering the recent events. Regardless, she knew she had to make her way to the meeting soon, so she headed over to her closet which contained the many dresses and royal garments she’d typically wear. She slipped on her metallic shoes and collar along with the Crown her parents had recently gifted her. It was her most treasured item, and was very symbolic of her character. Even having a small but detailed engraving of the Crystal Heart on it’s center, very similar to the engraving on her collar. Before leaving her chambers all together, she took a look in her mirror to check if there were any imperfections on her face. After noticing that she had forgotten to put on eyeliner, she quickly took out her makeup kit and properly outlined her eyes making her already stunning features even more noticeable. As she was making some finishing touches, she heard a knock on her door. “Coming!” She said as she closed the makeup case and stored it in the drawer bellow the mirror. She opened the door with her magic, behind it was a strong, handsome aged stallion with a coat of white and a graying mane of blue, her father Emperor Shining Armor. “Hi Flurry, I just came to check up on you to let you know the meeting is starting soon.” She put a hoof to her face, “Dad, you know better than anyone that I can remember a deadline for an important meeting.” He nodded with a smile, “Of course. I just thought I’d also accompany you there. It’s been a while since we’ve spent some time together, and I thought this would be as good a time as any.” “It’s been four hours Dad…” She replied with a raised brow. He nodded again without his smile faltering “Four hours that I’ve missed my lovely daughter, come, let’s walk together.” She shook her head with a smile, but obliged and joined her father at his side. If there was anything that she’d taken away from him, it was to never ignore spending time with one’s family. “I was going to ask, why dress so formally? It isn’t like you’re attending a wedding or something. Even your Mother isn’t going all out on the makeup this time.” The elder Stallion asked. “I don’t know. I really just like to look my best all the time. It makes me feel more dignified I guess.” She answered with a smile. He shook his head with the same smile, “I suppose old habits never die. But regardless of what you put on, you’ll always be the most beautiful Mare in Equestria.” She blushed at the compliment, “Even more than Mom?” She asked in response. He nodded, “She would absolutely agree. There’s no one in Equestria who we’d ever love more Flurry.” He stated proudly as he placed a hoof over her back while they walked through the Palace corridors. “I’ve looked all through Starswirl’s ancient texts Cadence. I’m sorry but there’s just no information about how to permanently vanquish Sombra.” Stated the Princess of Friendship with a concerned voice. “I refuse to believe that! There must be something we can do! You two managed to defeat him when he first rose to power! Can we not stop him the same way again?” Asked an even more concerned Empress Cadence. “I’m afraid not my dear Cadence. When Luna and I confronted him, it took all we had, and even then, the loss was so great that the Crystal Empire has only recently fully recovered from it. And since then, Sombra has increasingly become more resilient to our traditional methods. Princess Twilight is correct. We simply do not know enough about the Dark Lord to be able to effectively stop him.” Answered the wise Sun Goddess. The pink coated Alicorn sighed in despair, running a hoof through her long wavy multicolored mane in frustration. Twilight noticed her sister-in-law’s depressed state, and joined her, placing a hoof on her shoulder in reassurance, “Hey, cheer up Cadence! We’ll find a way to get through this. As we always have!” She stated in an optimistic tone. Twilight’s optimism always helped to put Cadence’s mind at ease. There had never been a problem she and Twilight had faced that they could not solve together. And she would be damned if she let this one demoralize her anymore than it already had. To make things better, out of the corner of her eye she watched as her husband and daughter walked in. She stood up from her chair and greeted them both, placing a kiss on the older stallion’s cheek, to which he returned. “Flurry? You know it’s just us for this meeting. There was no need to-” “It’s okay Mom, Dad said the same thing. I just like to look my best all the time.” Flurry interrupted, having read her Mother’s mind. “Hmm, that seems to remind me of someone I know…” Celestia stated with a smirk as she peered over her shoulder at her younger sibling. Luna looked away in embarrassment. “Pfft, it was one time Tia. And besides, you never told me we were going white water rafting! You only said we were going on a fun vacation!” Everyone in the room proceeded to laugh. It was a good refreshing break from all the negativity and a much needed breath of fresh air. “So who are we still waiting for?” Asked Flurry, looking around and seeing that nearly everyone was already present. “Probably Sunburst. Am I right?” Asked Shinning Armor with a small sigh. “It’s Sunburst.” Answered everyone else, again prompting laughter. It was true, the orange coated Unicorn Stallion had a knack for arriving late to important occasions. It wasn’t due to a poor memory, in fact it was quite the opposite. Sunburst was known to be difficult to deter when engrossed in his studies. So much so that the whole world could be on fire and he likely wouldn’t notice if he had a spell book in front of him. Regardless, just seconds after the group stopped laughing, the Orange coated Unicorn suddenly teleported into the room looking incredibly flustered and stressed. “Has the meeting started yet!? I’m terribly sorry I’m late, I swear it was because of the book of Socratooves! I was nearly done when Starlight had to remind me-” He stammered sounding almost out of breath as he recounted his end of the story. “It’s perfectly fine Sunburst. You’re actually just on time as it turns out.” Explained Empress Cadence while shaking her head at the Unicorn’s antics. He laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. Calming his heart rate, he took a seat at the round table and awaited the meeting to begin. The pink coated Alicorn Mare cleared her throat and started, “As I’m sure you’re all aware, I’ve called this meeting to discuss the future of the Crystal Empire.” Everyone nodded in understanding, prompting her to continue, “I’d like to first thank you all for once again helping us to rid the empire of Lord Sombra and his forces. I fear though that this is hardly the last we’ve seen of him. Before the meeting started I was conversing with Twilight and Aunts Celestia and Luna about ways that we can permanently dispel of Sombra. However, we keep arriving at a dead end. Sunburst, do you know of any spells capable of vanquishing Sombra once and for all?” The Unicorn sighed and shook his head in denial, “I’m sorry Cadence, but I’m just as clueless as anyone else. There just isn’t enough knowledge about Sombra’s kind to deduct what can destroy him.” She too sighed yet again. They were back where they had started, still without any proper plan on how to prepare for the Dark Lord’s imminent return. The meeting carried on for another half an hour, with the group sharing ideas and possible solutions, unfortunately each being as unachievable as the prior. Flurry merely listened, reserving herself as she let the more experienced Ponies handle matters. However, the longer the meeting dragged on, the more she thought of a different solution. Eventually, an argument broke out and the group began to dispute amongst themselves. It was hardly orderly, almost as if Discord had simply let everyone take a piece of his magic. Flurry could not stand to hear bickering, especially not from Ponies all considered family. She tried her best to ignore it, but it was no use, they were far too engaged in the moment to notice her obvious discomfort. Shinning, however, did notice as he had been fairly passive in the conversation. “Are you alright Flurry?” He asked. She shook her head, “No. If they keep arguing we aren’t going to get anywhere. I think I might have a solution if they’ll listen.” He nodded and attempted to get the group’s attention, but it was no use as they were far too focused on the argument to notice him with his much more calm voice. He shrugged and just replied, “I’m sorry Flurry, but you might have to wait this one out. You know how they can get sometimes…” This was not good enough for her though, she had an idea that she thought would be a better solution than any of the ideas being tossed out by the others. “Excuse me everyone but-” It was fruitless, however, as the others could not hear her over the tone of their own voices. It got to a point where Flurry nearly snapped, “ENOUGH!!!” She shouted boldly to get the attention of everyone else. It seemed to work as she drew the gaze and silence of everyone else. It felt very weird to interrupt ponies in a higher position of power than herself, and she felt a bit awkward afterwards. But regardless, she rolled with it while she had everyone's attention. “Look, if we keep arguing we aren’t going to get anywhere.” She stated, looking around the table. “I believe Flurry is right. Do you perhaps have a solution to the matter at hand?” Asked Celestia from across the table. Flurry looked over at Shinning who nodded in approval and pride at how his daughter was becoming more mature and wise. She also nodded and proceeded, “Thank you, I believe I do.” She waited a moment and contemplated what to say next, “All we’ve been discussing is a violent solution to the problem. But what if there’s a more peaceful option?” Everyone raised a brow, “You mean like negotiation? Flurry, Sombra is absolutely not one to be reasoned with. He’s just a mindless, maniacal, tyrant. There’s no negotiating with a monster such as himself!” Argued her Mother. “But we’ve never tried it before. How can we be sure if we’ve never tried?” Flurry countered logically, making a fair point. “You raise a good point Princess Flurry Heart. However, you must take into account Sombra’s ambitions. He wishes not only to rule over the Crystal Empire, but to enslave your subjects and induct them into his own army. He attempted this before Tia and I stopped him a millennia ago. And when he did not get his way he cursed the Empire and the Crystal Ponies along with it.” Reasoned the retired princess of the night. “That may be so, but there must be something else that he craves for besides just power. After all, at one point he was a pony just like any of us. There must be something else that he wants. And I believe I know what it is.” The young Princess stated confidently. “What could that be? He’s never shown any interest in doing anything besides conquering the Empire.” Stated Sunburst. Flurry nodded, “That’s what we’ve seen from him, but I believe there’s more to the Dark Lord than his shadowy terrifying form. I believe he craves something else. I believe he wishes to be loved.” … All but one of the Ponies were flabbergasted. No one said a word for a long moment, making Flurry feel uneasy. She knew very well that the others would not approve of this idea, but she hadn’t expected them all to be so shocked. “Flurry… You can’t be serious…” Trailed her Father from beside her. She nodded, “I am absolutely serious Dad.” … “Flurry… I… Sombra has no love for anypony. Nor has he ever. He rules through fear and intimidation. The opposites of love and compassion.” Her Mother explained with a very concerned expression. “But Mother, you must know this isn’t true! In his own personal diary he claimed that there was a Pony that he loved. Or at least cared for.” She once again argued. “Flurry, that was ages ago.” Answered her father. “Yes, but it still confirms that he can indeed feel love to some degree.” “Then what do you propose we do about it? I highly doubt anyone in Equestria could ever love such a monster.” Stated Sunburst. She hated to admit it, but her mentor had a point. It was incredibly unlikely that any sane pony could ever have feelings for a tyrant that craves world domination. She looked around the table. Everypony’s eyes were on her as they awaited an answer. And she had that answer, just not one that anypony would agree with. She took a deep breath before looking to her Mother, “I’m going to ask Sombra to marry me.” … The next period of silence was longer than all the others. Flurry watched as many of the others’ expressions either shifted from concern to pure horror. All but two of the members that was. “Flurry, have you gone absolutely mad!? You can’t marry that monster! You don’t even love him! And he certainly does not love you!” protested Shinning in a much more stern tone than before. “I agree with your father on this Flurry. This is an absolutely insane idea.” Cadence added. “But it-” “No! As your father I forbid it!” Shinning ordered almost in a falter, as his tone sounding more emotional while he slammed a hoof into the table in attempt to keep some sort of control. “Shinning is right Flurry! You can’t do this… It… It will never work!” Cadence stuttered, her own tone matching her husbands as they each got out of their seats and stood together in an act of defiance for their daughter’s crazy idea. Flurry knew they wouldn’t approve of this, but she had to convince them otherwise. She’d taken into account all the other options. This was the ONLY one that could work. “Mom, Dad, I know you don’t agree with me, but hear me out-” It was no use, however, as her parents had already made up their minds without letting her get a word in edgewise. “No! We aren’t going to say it another time. We will not allow you to do this Flurry!” Commanded Shinning with tears in his eyes as he interrupted her. Both parents looked like emotional wrecks as they stared at their daughter looking for any possible sign that she was simply telling a bad joke. But they could find none. Flurry was absolutely sure about this. And it terrified them not only as rulers, but as parents. Flurry herself got up from her chair and returned their stare. She then approached them and embraced them both in a hug. “Mom. Dad. I love you both, and I respect your wishes. But I have to do this.” She stated as she herself got emotional as well. “No you don’t. We can work something out. It doesn’t have to be like this-” “Yes Mom, it does. You said yourself that there aren’t any other options. I have to do this. I owe it to our Ponies to try.” She interrupted with a single tear escaping her left eye. “Flurry, you don’t owe anything to anypony. Don’t throw your life away just because you think you have something to prove-” “Dad, I do owe them. I owe it to them to protect them, and to stop this conflict. My own needs are insignificant compared to the needs of so many other ponies.” Flurry replied, now regaining confidence as she broke the hug and continued to stare at her parents. “She’s right. As much as it pains me to say it, this might be the only way to stop Sombra’s cycle of hatred and violence once and for all.” Answered Princess Twilight who had also gotten out of her seat and approached the others. “Twilight…” Cadence trailed as she looked to her sister-in-law. “My successor is correct Empress. And as the former Princess of Love, you of all Ponies should understand why.” Added Celestia from beside her former pupil. Both parents sighed in defeat and looked to their daughter once more. Flurry’s expression was determined. She would do this even without their consent if she had to. And they knew they could not stop her. “I’m sorry Mom. It’s the only way.” Flurry stated before again hugging them both. “I know sweetheart. I know…”