Flurry Heart growled in frustration and kicked a book away from her, then felt extremely guilty and ran over to see if it was alright. She sighed and brushed off the cover before setting it gently on a pile before returning to the hidden room in the Castle of the Two Sisters.
Nothing. She let out a growl and sank defeatedly to the floor. Absolutely nothing.
She should have expected it. After all, her aunt had done the same thing - search every book and scroll for a way to rescue ponies from Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow - and come up with no results. But Twilight Sparkle had her friends - five ponies and a dragon who stuck by her side no matter what, who were willing to die together. The bond that Twilight and her friends had sometimes made Flurry ache inside, wishing she had something like that.
But she didn’t. And she had a sinking feeling that she never would.
Sunny did, she thought. Sunny and her friends… Sweet Celestia, I wish I had friends like that. I wish I had somepony to count on. She took a deep breath. Everything she ever had was gone now. And she was scared. She was alone, and the only ponies she could count as friends…
She couldn’t protect Sunny.
Flurry winced as she recalled the memory. They were right. She was a pitiful excuse for a princess. She made problems worse instead of fixing them. Perhaps they should leave her behind and go after Sunny on their own. Then they might actually be able to find her without Flurry dragging behind and slowing them down by making mistakes…
She should have spotted the fact that coming there was a trap. She should have found a cure for Sunny’s strange behavior. She should have kept her from leaving. She should have at least gone after Sunny and defeated those three villains right then and there. She knew where they would be - stars above, she was a terrible princess and an even worse friend. She couldn’t do anything right, let alone protect her friends. And how could she protect them if she was so scared of him that she couldn’t say his name, couldn’t even think about him without her heart freezing over in fear.
“Are you okay?”
Flurry jumped and looked over her shoulder to see Izzy stepping around a pile of books and steadying it with her magic. “How did you get here?”
“Teleported,” the unicorn said modestly, shrugging. “It’s really because of Sunny - she found a letter in her journal from her father and was so excited that she insisted I at least try it so she could get to Zephyr Heights faster.” Surprisingly, her ears didn’t droop and her eyes didn’t fill with sadness like the other ponies’ did whenever they mentioned Sunny. Izzy noticed Flurry looking and said, “It’s easier to talk about her then pretend she didn’t exist.” She sat down next to Flurry. “Are you okay?”
“Oh, yeah, I’m fine,” she lied. “Just… looking.”
“For answers.” Flurry’s head jerked up as the unicorn finished her sentence. “About Sunny and how to get her back.”
“How’d you know that?”
Izzy drew herself up proudly. “I have a very good sense for what other ponies are thinking and feeling. It comes from living in Bridlewood for my entire life, being the only cheerful one while everypony else was so sad all the time, and seeing other ponies’ sparkles.”
“Sparkles…” Flurry frowned. “What are sparkles?”
“Well,” Izzy said, adjusting her footing, “I used to think it was a measure of a pony’s emotions - brighter when you’re happy, dimmer when you’re not. But then we discovered Princess Twilight Sparkle’s castle in Bridlew - the Everfree Forest, and that had a sparkle, so I think it’s connected to one’s magic as well as your emotions. Kind of like… showing what potential you have.” She gave Flurry a small smile. “And your sparkle is very dim right now. So I think you’re feeling defeated, alone, and thinking about Sunny.”
“Wow.” Flurry let out a long, low whistle. “That is scarily accurate.”
“I was always afraid to really think about what somepony’s feeling, and even more so to tell them,” Izzy admitted sheepishly. “Back in Bridlewood, everypony was kind of feeling the same thing, so that was kind of boring, and when I went to Maretime Bay, I figured out that earth ponies thought unicorns could read minds, and that probably wouldn’t go well.”
“I think it’s amazing,” Flurry told her, and the two shared a smile. “And, yes, I was thinking about Sunny,” the alicorn admitted, using her magic to levitate a book towards her and open it, flipping through the pages. “I can’t find anything about how to help her.”
Izzy put her hoof on the top of the book and gently pushed it down from in front of Flurry’s face. “I don’t think the solution to Sunny’s problem can be found in a book,” the unicorn said. “I think it comes from within. Sunny always believed - she does believe - in friendship and harmony. If there’s any way to help her, it would be that.”
Flurry sighed and reltented, pushing the book off to the side. “I’ve been thinking about Sunny’s wings and horn. How does that happen?”
“I honestly have no idea,” Izzy admitted. “I was hoping you could tell us? Sunny thinks it’s because she’s supposed to represent unity and friendship between the three pony tribes, and that’s why, but you’re saying nothing like that has ever happened before for you?”
“Special ponies turn into alicorns,” Flurry explained, “but only when they’ve earned it… or when they steal magic from others. But all I know is that, once you become an alicorn off of non-stolen magic, it’s permanent - the wings and horn never go away. That’s what makes Sunny so unique. Her’s come and go as she pleases.” The alicorn blew a frustrated sigh and leaned back against the stone wall, her eyes closed. “I wish I knew why and how.”
“You and me both,” Izzy said jokingly. “Maybe we’ll never really know for sure.”
Flurry opened her eyes and stared at the purple unicorn. “You’re a smart pony, Izzy Moonbow.”
Izzy blushed. “Thanks, but I’m not as smart as you. Or Zipp. Whenever you get all science and magicy, it’s like you’re speaking a different language.”
One of the walls inside the secret room suddenly slid to the side and vanished, depositing Zipp, who carried a book under her wing. She stopped when she saw Flurry and Izzy, causing Pipp, who was right behind her, to bump into her and send both of them sprawling. The book Zipp had been carrying went flying through the air, and Izzy caught it with her magic before it crashed to the floor.
“Oof. Sorry, Zipp,” Pipp muttered. “Now, can you please get your wings off of me?”
Zipp sighed and rolled her eyes. “Yes.” She somehow managed to take off, hovering over her younger sister as she brushed herself off. Zipp turned to Flurry with an apologetic grin.
“Sorry. I just wanted to return this book.” She looked around and froze. “Where is it?”
“Izzy has it,” Pipp said, pointing to the unicorn, who had opened the brown leather-bound volume and was absently flipping through the pages.
“What’s it about?” Flurry asked curiously, trotting over and reading it over Izzy’s shoulder.
“Just some kind of journal,” Zipp explained, looking slightly embarrassed that she had been caught returning it. “I found it when we were leaving and thought it looked interesting, so I brought it along to look at.”
“The Journal of the Two Sisters,” Flurry whispered, taking the book from Izzy. “I wondered what had happened to it.” She looked up and saw the question in the other ponies’ eyes. “This was written by Celestia and Luna, the first alicorn rulers of Equestria, when they were younger,” she explained. “They wrote down everything - arguments, solutions to problems, anything they were feeling. My aunt found it, and it inspired her to write a journal with her friends about the friendship lessons they had learned. This journal remained here in the castle, though.”
“That’s in pretty good condition for being over a thousand years old,” Pipp commented.
“Yeah,” Flurry muttered, flipping through it. She stopped at the last page - an entry written by Celestia:
I just sent my sister to the moon.
My only sister, my sweet little sister whom I swore to protect at all costs…
I failed her. I failed our parents, I failed everypony. I didn’t see the warning signs, I didn’t help make the situation better, I didn’t do anything about it until it was too late. I was the source of the problem - if it wasn’t for me, she would still be here. Equestria deserves a better ruler than I. And because I didn’t do anything - because I failed her - she was consumed by darkness, and I had to get rid of her. I had to do it… I hate myself for it.
I’m sorry, Luna. If you ever read this, know that I am so, so sorry. I wish so many things could have been different. I love you, little sister.
The passage was faded from age and smudged with what looked like tears.
Flurry had heard the story of Nightmare Moon many times from Celestia, Luna, her aunt Twilight and her friends, and even the version that was told to fillies every Nightmare Night. And yet it had never occurred to her how close that situation was to the one she was in.
Celestia felt like she failed her sister when she let - made her turn into Nightmare Moon, forcing her to banish Luna to the moon for the next thousand years. Flurry felt like she failed Sunny when she failed to help her friend when she was in trouble, allowing Sunny to be taken over by Equestria’s worst villains and kidnapped. And Celestia had never given up hope that her sister could come back - and Flurry wasn’t going to give up hope, either.
Izzy was right, Flurry thought with a smile. The real answer comes from us - our love and hope and friendship.
“Flurry?” Zipp asked nervously, approaching the princess. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve figured something out.”
“I think,” Flurry began slowly. “I think I know what to do about-”
“What’s that?” Pipp suddenly asked, her ears perking up. The other ponies froze; ever since the trap Chrysalis, Tirek, and Cozy Glow had set with Sunny, they had learned to respect Pipp and her attention to detail. She often caught things that the rest of them missed.
“What’s what?” Izzy asked nervously, stepping towards the entrance to the Hall of Princesses.
“That… that sound.” Pipp shook her head. “It’s coming… it’s coming from the throne room.” She turned to her sister. “Should we investigate?”
“We have to know what these villains are planning next,” Zipp said, lifting her head. “Izzy, go back to the lighthouse with Flurry - me and Pipp will go check this out. They’ve already got Sunny,” she hurried on as Flurry opened her mouth to protest. “We don’t know if they want you or not, and that’s a risk I’m not willing to take.”
“But what if they see you?” Izzy asked, looking scared for her friends’ safety. “You won’t have somepony with magic to get you out of there.”
“I’m very sneaky,” Zipp contradicted, tossing her head. “Trust me when I say that I’ll be fine.”
“No,” Flurry said as Izzy nodded and lit up her horn, teleporting away. “I’m going with you. I’m not sitting in a lighthouse while you guys risk yourselves. Trust me when I say that I’ll be fine.” She spread her wings and lifted into the air, flying towards the tunnel that led them to the throne room. “Besides, I know how to get there, and you don’t.”
The three princesses flew down the hallway, avoiding walking to minimize sound. When Zipp cautiously poked her head into the throne room and declared the cost clear, Flurry lit up her horn, causing a glowing yellow sheet to spread across the entire room, scanning it.
“We’re good,” she whispered. “Whoever was here has left.”
“Guys?” They whirled around at Pipp’s fearful tone. The younger pegasus pointed a shaky hoof at the center of the room. “What is that?”
Flying forward to investigate, Flurry made her horn glow brighter. The sunny light reflected off of a huge black jagged crystal that had forced its way through the floor, causing the stone around it to crack and upend.
Flurry felt her heart stop and her blood freeze over. Her breath came out in short gasps, and her wings suddenly stopped flapping, making her plummet to the floor.
“Flurry?” Zipp soared underneath the alicorn and grunted as her full weight hit her. She soared into a controlled landing and deposited Flurry on the ground. “Stars above, Pipp, she’s shaking,” Zipp told her sister, unable to keep a layer of fear out of her voice. “Do you think it was a trap?”
Pipp flew down and grabbed Flurry’s shoulders, shaking them gently and then more fiercely. “Flurry? Flurry?”