//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: Flurry Heart's Story: Oh, Mother, Where Art Thou? 
// by AleximusPrime 
//------------------------------//

Luna walked through the ‘dreamscape’ to find any child that needed comfort from their nightmares.  The doors leading to each dream seemed to be fine until she came upon a door with a red glow behind it.  She opened the door to see a dark environment with thick foliage.  She stepped inside and instantly recognized this as the Everfree Forest.  Not knowing whose mind this was taking place in, she decided to search.
“Hello?” she called.
The only sound came from peepers and screech owls nearby. Luna then heard heavy breathing. As she got closer to a nearby clearing, the sound of crying could also be heard.  She saw an unkempt child walk by in the forest with a dark black cloud of mist around her.  It was a small pegasus filly with a peach-colored coat and messy blue hair.  Her cutie mark was a rook chess piece.
“Cozy Glow?!”
“It’s too late, Princess Luna.”
Cozy looked up to the princess with tears streaming down her face.  Her eyes had slit pupils.
“What has happened to you?”
Cozy sniffled and then began to smile wickedly as her eyebrows moved down.
“Oh, like you don’t know.”
The smoke began to spin around Cozy.  The expression on her face turned sad again.
“No…NO!  WAIT!” she called out as she was lifted in the air.
“This is what you wanted, little one,” said a voice that sounded like Cozy’s voice, but deeper.  “We had a deal after all.  You follow me; I find you some parents.” 
The smoke finally consumed Cozy Glow.  Luna started to have flashbacks of the time she transformed into Nightmare Moon.  She stepped back and watched as a dark alicorn took shape with bat wings and purple wavy hair.  Its teeth were long and sharp and it had red sclera with orange irises.  It grew a red blade-shaped horn and adorned itself with silver regalia.
“COZY GLOW!” screamed Luna.
The monster before her began to laugh.  Luna’s heart beat faster and faster.
“Princess?” said a voice.
Luna immediately leapt and woke up.  She had been seeing a flashback of the time she discovered Cozy’s transformation earlier that morning.  Her vision was blurry, but as her eyesight adjusted, she saw several Crystal Empire guards before her.
“Princess Luna, are you all right?” asked one guard.
“What…what happened?” Luna asked as she stood up.
“You were knocked unconscious for quite some time.  We thought you were fighting the Sorceress, but we are pleased to say she seems to have left.”
“She’s already gone?  What about all the parents?”
“They are safe.  We led them into the cata-”
“SHHH!  We must be as quiet as we can.  Stay out here and keep watch.  I must check on the others now.”
Luna put her hoof on he guard’s lips and whispered to him. She then cast an invisibility spell and took off flying towards the castle.  In a few seconds, she found the building with the entrance to the catacombs. Unfortunately she could not teleport herself down there since she didn’t know what it looked like, so she would have to continue on foot.  Before entering, she looked to see if the Sorceress was around.  There was no sign of her, so she closed the door behind her and rushed downstairs past some guards who let her in.  As she made her way down the stairwell, she finally came to a door that led to a huge room full of crystal ponies.  The ponies were all huddled up and quiet.  Luna’s entry startled them, but they were relaxed to know it was not the Sorceress.
“Luna!” Flurry whispered loudly.
“Flurry, Spike, is everyone safe.”
“Yeah, we’re just waiting for her to leave.”
“The guards are saying she has left.  I don’t trust she has, so we must stay down here until we know for sure.  Not to fear.  If she comes in, I will-”
“HAHAHAHA!” laughed the Sorceress as her voice echoed throughout the room.  “You’ll do what, Princess?  I would thank you for showing me the way in, but I already knew they were here all along, I just needed to wait till they were all right where I needed them!”
Everyone gasped and looked to the center of the room to see the Sorceress appear.  In an instant, there was total panic.  Ponies screamed and rushed for any tunnel entrances leading out of the room, but each doorway was covered in smoke and already starting to swallow up the parents.
“NOOOO!”
Luna shouted and lunged for the Sorceress, but the Sorceress teleported to another spot.  Luna fell to the ground and got back up to see where she was, but at this point, it was already too late.  The spell had been cast and all of the parents were already gone.  The children everywhere were screaming and crying.  The Sorceress continued to laugh maniacally. Luna overcompensated and threw herself onto the Sorceress, teleporting them both back to the outside so that their battle would not harm the children.  Luna hollered at the top of her lungs and hurled repetitive magic blasts from her horn, pummeling the Sorceress.  The Sorceress used a shield spell, but the barrage was too much.  She finally opened her eyes and fired a beam back at Luna.  Luna was so enraged she did not think fast enough to put up her own shield.  She was knocked into a building, weakened by the impact.  After she fell to the ground, the Sorceress fired a beam at the building to bury Luna under the rubble.  Before it could hit her, it was held in place by a magic aura, but its color was yellow and not Luna’s magic.  The Sorceress looked to the side to see Flurry using her magic near the entrance with Spike behind her.  Flurry could not hold the rubble much longer, so Spike rushed in to pull Luna out before Flurry exhaled deeply and let it collapse.  Spike held Luna in his arms and set her down.
“Luna, are you okay?” he asked her.
“I…I have failed…” Luna wept.
“Hehehe, you most certainly have!” said the Sorceress.  “As you can see, I’ve inherited the little brat’s cunning nature.  I’ve got all the time in the world to do this; regardless of how long it takes to wait for them to trap themselves like rats.  I’ll kidnap every parent in Equestria if it takes a thousand years!”
Just as she finished speaking, a dark beam of magic made of random colors and electricity was fired at the Sorceress.  She was sent crashing into a nearby building, causing crystals to fall down on her.  Flurry, Spike, and Luna looked up to the sky to see a silhouette of a caped figure against the sun as the clouds parted.  As it came into view, they all saw it was Discord in a superhero costume.
“Have no fear, citizens!  Discord is here!” he said, heroically.
Random ponies that were watching out of their windows started cheering for him.  Discord landed and blew on his finger like a smoking gun.
“Oh, thank Harmony!” shouted Spike.
“Discord!” Flurry said as she rushed forward to meet him.
“Flurry, sorry I’m late.  This ‘Sorceress’ is hard to track, but I just got word from Twilight that she was in the Crystal Empire.  Looks like I showed up just in time.”
“Actually you’re too late.  She’s already taken all of the parents from the Crystal Empire.”
“Don’t worry.  Once I knock her out for good, I’ll fetch those parents.  Then we’ll send this thing straight to Tartarus, or maybe we’ll turn her into stone.”
“Uh…Discord…” Spike said, nervously.
“You don’t know who she is yet, do you?” Flurry asked.
Discord looked quizzically at them.  The crystals that had buried the Sorceress then began to move and she emerged.  Her armor had disappeared and her cutie mark was now visible.  It had turned red, but it still had the same shape as Cozy Glow’s rook chess piece.  Discord took one look at her flank and gasped loudly.  
“COZY GLOW?!  No…no, it can’t be!”
“Surprised, Discord?” the Sorceress said.
Discord’s outfit disappeared.  He walked backwards and clutched his chest in horror.  He looked to the others and shook his head back and forth.
“This changes everything.  I can’t…I can’t send her to Tartarus.  I can’t turn her into stone.”
“Yeah, I figured you wouldn’t have the strength to do that again.  You’ve let yourself get far too soft even after everything I did to you several weeks ago.”
“Luna, what happened?  Is this…is this what Nightmare Moon was like?”
“Yes,” said Luna.  “She has been infected by a nightmare.  She cannot be reasoned with.  I already tried.”
“Discord, can you stop her?” Flurry asked.
“I…I don’t know if I can.”
“Can you at least rescue the parents?” Spike asked.
“Well…I guess I could try…”
“DON’T YOU DARE!” the Sorceress said, with her horn glowing.
Discord panicked and disappeared in a flash of light.
“NO!  STAY OUT OF MY PRISON REALM!”
The Sorceress used her own teleportation spell to go after him. Everyone waited for a few seconds.
“Uh, did it work?” Spike asked.
Suddenly, Discord reappeared and fell to the ground.  The Sorceress appeared above him and fired a beam, which he barely managed to avoid by teleportation.  He reappeared next to everyone else and struggled to stand back up.
“Discord, what happened?” Spike asked as he helped him up.
“I can’t do it.  I don’t even think I was able to find her realm.  She came right in and attacked.  I’ve underestimated her power and I don’t want to hurt Cozy.  Everyone, I…”
Discord looked again at the Sorceress.  She used her magic to make all her regalia reappear. She smirked and cocked her head both ways to crack her neck.  Clearly Discord was not powerful enough to go head-to-head with such a beast.  He was never able to sense how powerful Nightmare Moon was, so he always wondered if she was more powerful.  While the Sorceress did not have the ability to bend reality the way he did, she had clearly outclassed him in brute strength and firepower.  The negative feelings that came from Cozy’s loneliness emboldened the Sorceress to a high degree.
Discord took a few steps back as Luna, Flurry and Spike looked at him.  A great fear came over him.  The Sorceress didn’t seem interested in getting revenge on him like Cozy did when she had the Alicorn Amulet, but he wasn’t afraid for his own life, he was simply horrified over what had happened to Cozy Glow.  He could not face her for fear he would hurt the true Cozy underneath.
“I…I can’t.  Forgive me.”
Discord vanished again, leaving everyone behind.  Luna, Flurry and Spike all turned to the Sorceress. They could do nothing but stare. Even their most powerful ally could not stop her.
“Hehehe.  Coward,” the Sorceress mocked. “Well it looks like I’m done here in the Crystal Empire, at least for now.  If I missed any parents, I’ll come back again.  I’m sure in about another twenty years, some of these children will grow up and become parents themselves, and I’ll pay them a little visit.  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have more moms and dads to snatch. Fare thee well, fools!  AHAHAHA!”
Her horn glowed and she vanished in a burst of black and red smoke.  Her laugh could still be heard echoing until it faded away.  Luna noticed that some of the children had come up from the catacombs and saw what had happened with Discord.  In a few seconds, their cries could be heard growing as the guards directed them out.  Other guards and random citizens rushed in to tend to the children.
“Now what?” Spike sighed.
“Now we muster the Elements,” Luna replied, firmly. “They are our only hope.”
“Won’t she just go after the teachers the way she did when she had the amulet?” Flurry asked.
“She doesn’t seem to care about capturing anyone but parents. Thankfully none of the teachers have children of their own so they will not be targeted.  It’s almost as if she’s forgotten about the Elements or perhaps she thinks they won’t work again.  The Sorceress said she inherited the child’s intelligence; I wonder if she inherited her knowledge as well.  Either way, the Elements are the only way I can think of to exorcise a nightmare demon.  They took Nightmare Moon out of me; they can do the same for the child.”
“And after we do that?  What will happen to Cozy?  How do we know she’s alright?” Spike asked.
“I visited her in her dream a few hours ago right before this all started happening.  She was weeping bitterly.  Just as the transformation started, I could see the look of fear on her face.  It was the same look I gave when I became Nightmare Moon.  Cozy Glow is suffering.  I haven’t a single doubt she wants nothing more than to be free of this possession and apologize for all her misdeeds.”
“So…she can be redeemed?”
“I think she already feels that way deep down, but her body is overtaken by the Sorceress.  We need to stop it.”
“She didn’t sound like she was ready to apologize the last time I spoke to her, but I had just accidentally disintegrated her fake parents,” Flurry added. “I just really hope Mom and Dad are okay.  I’m sure the real Cozy Glow wouldn’t want any of this.”
“We need to get back to Ponyville.  The Elements are still being kept down in…well, just in case she’s still listening in on us, I won’t disclose their location right now,” Spike said, cautiously.
“Flurry Heart?” said the captain of the royal guard as he approached Flurry.
“Captain Onyx!” Flurry responded.
“Flurry, don’t forget, you are the heir to the throne. Both your parents are gone, so that makes you our princess regent.”
“Oh darn.  I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Come, Princess,” said another stallion nearby named Aventurine that was one of Shining Armor’s trusted advisors.
“Sir Aventurine, please, I want to be of help.”
“You have a duty to help your people here.  The Elements of Harmony will take care of the Sorceress. Now come.”
“But I-”
“It’s all right, Flurry,” said Luna. “Your people need you. We will gather the teachers and take care of the Sorceress.”
Flurry looked to Spike and Luna and then to the guards and advisor behind her.  She hung her head and sighed.
“All right.”
Flurry walked over to the advisor and stood next to him. Luna then prepared a teleportation spell and Spike put his claw on her shoulder.
“We’ll be all right, Flurry,” Spike said.
“Be careful.  When you’re done, tell Cozy…I forgive her.”
Flurry watched as Spike and Luna disappeared.  She wanted so much to come with them, but it was too late. On this day, she would have no choice but to act in place of her parents, and she was not ready for it.


Spike and Luna appeared in front of the Crystal Castle in Ponyville.  The clouds were rather dark there too.
“Poor Flurry,” Spike said. “Can’t they cut her some slack? She’s only a kid.”
“Younger ponies have become kings and queens in the past after their parents have died before,” Luna responded. “Flurry Heart is a smart girl for her age.  She will do fine.  For right now, she is only acting regent.  If we have the Sorceress taken care of soon, things will return back to normal.  Let’s be thankful Twilight Sparkle is not a mother.”
“Still, the fact that we’re losing all these parents is bad enough.  And you heard what she said: she’ll come back years later for these children when they become parents too.”
As Spike finished speaking, he saw Smolder land a few yards away with the rest of the teachers behind her.
“So we heard there’s somepony causing trouble,” she said, crossing her arms proudly.
“We here to stop this Sorceress pony!” Yona shouted.
“Oh you guys got here just in time!” Spike replied. “Quick!  The Elements are inside!”
“Come on guys,” Gallus told the others. “There’s only one way to stop this monster!”
“Uh…do they know yet?” Spike whispered to Luna out of the side of his mouth.
“Do we know what?” asked Silverstream.
“We’ll tell you inside!  Come quickly!” Luna called as they opened the doors and rushed into the castle.