//------------------------------//
// Flurry Heart's Plea 
// Story: Forgotten: The Frozen North 
// by milesprower06 
//------------------------------//

For Sunny, it was all beginning to come together.

The Crystal Heart protected the Crystal Empire through the love its citizens shared with one another. The ruler must have turned the Crystal Heart into the race crystals that she and her friends had tracked down. But without the magic of the Heart, the harsh weather of the region overtook the city, most likely leading to its evacuation. After what she had seen, she didn't want to assume anything, but she wanted to explore more of the castle, to try and glean anymore info on who that might have been. She had obviously seen the crystals, so what had the Heart done? Kept her in limbo for however long? Or did it take an avatar of Sunny back in time to converse with this mare to let her know their efforts had, eventually, succeeded?

Izzy told her she would explore the third floor while Sunny made her way up to the fourth, and it immediately started feeling like Princess Twilight's castle again. Empty, frozen hallways, and icy rooms that were a bit better preserved than things in the forest, due to the surrounding climate. The raging storm surrounding the valley also probably kept less adventurous explorers away.

But to be fair, most others were likely less equipped than they were too; being essentially sponsored by Maretime Bay's biggest employer made getting this far north a bit more manageable.

Coming to the next door on her right, she found it open, and peered inside. It was another bedroom, but this one appeared more ornate than the others they had come across so far, which seemed to be single bedrooms or guard bunk rooms. A large bed, two bedside tables, a dresser with a mirror, and a large desk underneath a frosted-over window that overlooked the city. There looked to be a walk-in closet attached to a dressing room as well over on the far right side of the room.

Sunny's attention was drawn over to the desk on the left side, under the window, where a crown rested. It looked like a silver flower, petals rising straight up, with sapphires set around the entire circumference. Gently nudging the crown was all she needed to confirm that the crown was frozen to the desk. She lifted the flap of her left saddle bag, and pulled out a hoof-held blowtorch. She ignited it, and slowly ran the flame across where the crown met the desk. When the frost and ice was sufficiently melted, it came free, and Sunny took out a large piece of cloth, carefully wrapped it up, and placed it in her right saddle bag along with the Crystal Heart. She then noticed that there was something underneath the glass panel that made up the top of the desk.

Writing?

Continuing her work with the blowtorch, she slowly defrosted the center of the desk's top panel, revealing a rectangular piece of parchment. She pulled out her phone, made sure her LED headband wasn't going to create a bad reflection on the glass, and took a picture of the letter, then read silently...





To whomever finds this letter,

I won't presume to know who you are or what you're doing up here; perhaps a citizen of this fair city that is hopefully returning home, or a descendant. I hope it hasn't been too long. While I have not personally witnessed any of the unrest down south, the very mention of it breaks my heart.

I do wonder what the accounts will be like. To see what the collapse of Cloudsdale must have been like firsthand when it came down on top of Canterlot, or Ponyville as it was slowly overtaken by the Everfree Forest. Every report I have received in the months following have only described the situation as worsening.

While I yearned to join my evacuating citizens, I believe that it is my destiny to use the Crystal Heart to banish the Windigos to oblivion before they can end life everywhere. Ponies shouldn't cooperate together under threat of a frozen fate; they should do so because they love and care for each other.

If you find this, and the lives of Equestrians are still dire, I implore you; learn to love each other again, please. Princess Luna, Spike, and the crystal ponies sacrificed their home so that all of you would get that chance.

Sincerely,
Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire





Was that one of the Princesses that she had seen in the Crystal Heart's chamber? Luna or Flurry? What about the rest of the crystal ponies? Had they integrated into the splintering groups of Equestrians, and had their traits fade over the following generations?

"Hey Izzy?" Sunny asked through her headset. "When you're done on the third floor, I need some help up here. I've got a pretty fragile letter here underneath a glass panel, and I need some levitation magic."

"Sure thing, Sunny. Be up in a few minutes."

Sunny gave a soft, somber smile as she gazed down at the letter.

"We did it, Princess. It took longer than we all would have liked, but we did it."