A Long Time Ago...
Concentrating carefully, Flurry gently returned the pane of glass to the top of her desk, sealing the piece of parchment inside, which would hopefully protect it from the elements for the foreseeable, and perhaps unforeseeable, future.
With the Crystal Empire's population now down to three, the weight on the Crystal Princess' shoulders was getting heavier. She looked out her bedroom window, at the darkened streets as the sun dipped below the horizon. The winds outside were only getting stronger and colder. No fireplaces or lamps lit the windows of the buildings below, and snow was even beginning to accumulate at the base of the crystal structures. The last train out full of Crystal Empire citizens left two hours ago, and save for Spike, Princess Luna, and herself, the city was completely empty. Even her Crystal Guards had departed, much to her Captain's reluctance.
Commanding her subjects to permanently abandon their homes, along with everything they had built here, had absolutely been the hardest thing she had ever done in her entire reign. She mentally kicked herself for longing for excitement for all those years. Every hoof step she made through the castle echoed off of the walls, and every room she checked during her inspection was an exclamation to the fact that she had just ordered hundreds of ponies to abandon their lives and homes to head for an uncertain future down south. She kept telling herself that having them remain here would have been certain death, and that she had chosen the best case scenario for them. But it still weighed heavy on her heart.
Spike and Luna had been making preparations with the relics that had come up on the train, and for her part, Flurry had been reading up on Sunburst's research on the Crystal Heart, hoping that the knowledge would prove integral to whatever Luna's ritual was. The Princess of the night had warned her against the route she had chosen, so now she was beginning to worry about what would happen if things went smoothly, and worse, if things didn't go smoothly.
For the last six hours, she had checked every single room in the castle, making sure it was empty. After checking on the last two other inhabitants of the Empire, Luna suggested to Flurry that she go get some rest, and that things would be ready soon.
So here she sat, alone with her thoughts, wondering if this would be her last night in the Crystal Empire, in Equestria. Would this work? If it did work, would they have time to get down south? Would there be anything remaining of the Crystal Heart if it managed to generate these crystals that she had seen in her dreams?
The more she thought about it, the more uncertain she became. If they failed, at the very least, she gave the Empire's citizens a head start, even if it was prolonging the inevitable. At the end of all of her thoughts and fears, this had to work, or else everything was lost.
Taking one last look at the parchment under the glass, she returned the quill to the inkwell she had set on a side table, and got up from her seat, and walked over to her bed. Slowly removing her crown and setting it gently on her night stand, she climbed into bed, and curled up underneath the wool comforter. She took another breath, and the emotions churning inside her spilled over as tears ran down her cheeks as she softly whimpered, sinking her head into her pillow.
"I wish you were here, mom..."