//------------------------------//
// Chapter 29: Flurry's Quest 
// Story: Glowing in Everglow 
// by Darkmoon9 
//------------------------------//

Diary of Flurry Heart

On the way back to our cottage, Chrysalis had some very interesting but shocking news for me. She had been able to confirm that Cozy Glow was none other than Ruby Rook, first born of Princess Cadence and my long-lost sibling. My mother only reluctantly told me the story when I was a young filly, about the Princess who was kidnapped and never seen again, it was believed at the time that she had perhaps been killed by Chrysalis, which wouldn’t be all that  surprising honestly, even the Chrysalis I know was not opposed to killing, even an innocent baby, if it got her any closer to her goals. But she insisted she had no reason to kill Ruby Rook, as keeping her alive would have granted her people a great source of nourishment. Chrysalis didn’t kill her at all but lost her in the river when she was being pursued by guards, or at least that was what she claimed.  

After meeting up with Tirek and Twilight at our cottage, we began the long journey towards the Foundation Stone. Chrysalis made sure we all had weapons and armor. Chrysalis clad herself in chain mail, me, a heavy breastplate, Chrysalis took a morningstar with her while she handed me a warhammer. Tirek and Twilight insisted they did not need equipment, but after some arguing with Chrysalis, Tirek decided to put some chainmail on, Twilight still refused, claiming that armor interfered with her magic. 

The first couple of days of travel were uneventful. Other than having to get used to sleeping outside on a bedroll, it was a much more primitive way of sleeping than my bed in the Crystal Empire Royal Palace, or even my bed at the cottage. But I had heard other children talking about how fun it was to go camping, something I was never allowed to do as a Princess, so I guess this was a way for me to experience what I had been missing out on. While I was less than pleased with my bedroll, as the ground beneath me felt hard and uncomfortable, the sounds of owls and other nighttime birds were able to lull me to sleep, they reminded me of Princess Luna, someone I was very fond of as a child, she had been foalsitting me together with Twilight from time to time. 

Soon we entered what Twilight called Gem Gnoll territory, abandoned since an earlier conflict called the Gem Gnoll war. I asked Twilight about that war, and she told me a story about how my sister, Cozy Glow, united many of the Turves clans, an act instrumental to winning the war. Seems like my sister was a force to be reckoned with, I would love for her to serve me and my kingdom after everything was said and done. Yet however clever she was, she could never be my equal, as she was not an alicorn. Unless she could find a way to become one once again, like she did after she used the Bell of Grogar.

Soon, as we reached a forest, where we were ambushed by a group of dog-like bipedal creatures, they were rather similar to the Diamond Dogs of my home realm, only they had the outward appearance of hyenas. A group of four of these creatures stood back and fired arrows at us while 2 enormous dogs, many times the size of a pony, charged us. This was an opportunity to show everyone what I learned. Tirek began with absorbing the energy from the land surrounding him, leaving the nearby forest and the grass at our feet dead and lifeless, Tirek used this energy to fire a blast of unholy flames at one of the bigger gnolls, severely wounding it. The two big gnolls came charging towards us, Chrysalis prepared to meet it with her morningstar, which she hovered in front of her using telekinesis and she used her magic to engulf it in a sinister green fire. I decided to engage the wounded troll and struck it using my Warhammer using telekinesis, just like Chrysalis has taught me. I could feel the bone cracking beneath it as I swung, and I felt a great sense of satisfaction as it did. Was I enjoying this? 

The archers decided to fire a volley of arrows at Twilight which she fortunately deflected using a magical shield which surrounded her. Twilight responded with teleporting close to the arches and unleashing a wave of magical energy, killing two archers and wounding the remaining two, who attack Twilight in desperation, this time the arrows struck true, and Twilight was wounded, but still standing. At this point in time, Tirek fired another powerful blast at the big gnoll I was busy fighting, killing it instantly, the charred remains fell to the ground with a thud. Part of me was disappointed that I didn’t get to land the killing blow. But that disappointment didn’t last long as the other big gnoll charged at me, but I remembered what Chrysalis taught me and easily sidestepped their clumsy attacks. Chrysalis decided to flank the creature and hit it with her flaming mace, the flames searing its flesh as the mace crushed their bone. I heard another blast as Twilight killed the remaining archers. I tried to swing my hammer at the creature in front of me, but I was reckless, and the strike missed. Fortunately, before the creature could retaliate, Tirek eliminated it with a blast of energy. 

After the fighting was over, I rushed over to Twilight and healed her wounds using my magic. My aunt was thankful, complementing me on my skills.  Twilight also complemented Chrysalis and Tirek for their quick thinking, as the creatures known as Gem Trolls had very powerful regeneration that could only be shut down by fire or acid. After dealing with the ambush, we continued our travels. About a day or so later, we finally reached our destination, a hill on which the Foundation Stone was buried, but it seemed we were just in time. As a congregation of ponies made of metal were in the process of digging it up. Chrysalis immediately decided to attack the group. But as we approached the congregation of Clockwork ponies, I could hear an incantation from the shadows around us and a great ball of fire engulfed us. Tirek and Chrysalis were quick on their hooves and managed to dodge most of the flames, but me and Twilight were hit by the full force. We were both barely standing after the flaming ball subsided. I felt great pain as I had burns everywhere. I looked in the direction from where I heard the incantation and I saw a single changeling with black carapace, like Chrysalis, clad in a dark cloak with a hood partially covering his face. I assumed this had to be Cipher, the assassin that wounded the king and queen, as well as my sister, it was time for payback.

Tirek fired another blast of energy at Cipher, but the nimble assassin dodged the clumsy beam. At that point four clockwork ponies with raised weapons rushed at me, I tried my best to dodge their attacks, but one spear glanced my chest, fortunately I was wearing a breastplate, so the attack was nullified. But I didn’t know how long I could keep this up as I was already weak from Cipher’s fireball. I decided to cast a spell to encase myself in crystal in order to protect myself from their attacks. Taking the form of a crystal dome made from blue and pink crystals. 

Chrysalis engaged Cipher and enchanted her weapon with the green fire I had seen yesterday.  Cipher turned his attention toward Chrysalis seemingly surprised and asked her:

“Why is a fellow doppelganger, a queen no less, fighting for Taralos? The royal family has mistreated our kind since the very beginning, only Prince Swift Blade has promised us equality.”

Chrysalis snorted in response:

“If you truly believe that you are dumber than you look, the prince just wants to use you, he has no intention of keeping his promise. The only one I trust in this regard is Flurry Heart and perhaps Cozy Glow, I would rather have either of them on the throne than Swift Blade or Shining Horn. ”  

After hearing that response, Cipher uttered an incantation and seemingly vanished into thin air. Chrysalis used her magic to summon a swarm of insects from the ground to track him down.  At this time Twilight teleported close to me and fired a lightning bolt at the clockwork ponies, killing most of them, with only 2 remaining. I decided to use the time I had while still being encased in crystal to cast a healing spell on myself, healing most of my burns. Tirek and Twilight managed to eliminate the other two clockwork ponies using their respective magical blasts. Now only Cipher remained. 

But at that point, we were hit by another fireball, the crystal protecting me from most of the blast, but the crystal shattered, and multiple shards penetrated my flesh, it stung like crazy. Yet I was in a better state than I was when I had the burns to deal with, if the crystal barrier had not been protecting me, I would have been a goner. The flames also consumed the insect swarm, and Twilight, who slumped to the ground, mortally wounded. Chrysalis was fast enough to avoid most of the blast, and Tirek was fortunately out of range altogether. Chrysalis charged at Cipher and her weapon glanced the assassin, inflicting a minor wound. Tirek fired another blast at Cipher, but he was able to dodge this one as well. I decided to help out Chrysalis, flanking the assassin, casting a spell on myself that created a nimbus of light that would turn away most physical attacks. 

At this point Cipher cast a spell that created five illusory doubles of himself, making it hard to narrow down which one was the real Cipher. At the same time, reinforcements arrived on Cipher’s side, another clockwork pony, this one crackling with lightning, who immediately fired a lightning bolt at Tirek, who managed to dodge most of the bolt, but he was still heavily wounded from the electricity. Tirek attacked back, but the lightning clockwork pony managed to dodge his blast. I tried to swing at Cipher, but he managed to parry the blow using his dagger. Chrysalis tried to attack him about the same time, but narrowly missed, but destroyed one of the illusory images he surrounded himself with. Now only 5 Cipher’s remained. Unfortunately, the second lightning bolt from the clockwork pony hit Tirek and he was down for the count, I hoped neither him nor Twilight was dead, I would miss both.  In rage, I attacked Cipher with everything I got, but I was only able to hit a mirror image.  At that point Cipher enchanted his own blade with the same fiery enchantment I had seen Chrysalis use, the enchantment appearing on the blades of the copies as well. But Chrysalis was able to see past the illusions and hit the real Cipher with her mace. Cipher was wounded, but not yet done. The clockwork pony shot lightning at Chrysalis, wounding her, she turned around to engage the clockwork pony, telling me to take care of Cipher. 

Cipher laughed, telling me that there was no way a child could defeat him, even one who possessed both a horn and wings. I was eager to prove him wrong. Seeing through the illusions and striking Cipher in the face, he cursed and unleashed a flurry of attacks at me. Fortunately, my nimbus of light absorbed the dagger’s strikes, but the enchanted flame surrounding it penetrated my defenses. I wasn’t sure how much longer I could keep this up, but I intended to fight to my last breath. There was no way some basic changeling was going to be able to defeat me, me, an alicorn princess. Chrysalis was able to hit the clockwork pony in the face, but it’s metallic shell enabled it to absorb some damage. It attacked back, but Chrysalis was able to dodge its blows. I continued trying to attack Cipher, but this time I miscalculated and hit another mirror image, but they started to become rather few, as only 2 images remained. Cipher started to attack me in a frenzy, but I was quick on my hooves, using my wings to gain extra maneuverability, so I was able to dodge his attacks. I followed up with another hammer to his face. Unfortunately, the clockwork pony was able to strike Chrysalis, channeling lightning through her body until she lost consciousness. 

Now with me facing down two powerful opponents, Cipher smiled, knowing he had the upper hand. But I still had a trick up my sleeve, I fired a missile of positive energy at Tirek, lying on the ground a bit further away. The missile healed some of his wounds and Tirek was back into the fight. His first act was to drain the life from all the plants in the environment, making the grass on the hill dead and lifeless, he used this energy to further heal his own wounds and then gathered energy, and then fired a blast at the clockwork pony, which managed to destroy it completely. Cipher howled in rage and attacked me with several quick strikes, this time one penetrated the nimbus of light, allowing the dagger to pierce my flesh. I fought through the pain, I was still standing, if barely. I struck back, but I only managed to hit another mirror image before I lost consciousness. 

Diary of Tirek

Truth be told I didn’t know what I was doing here, I had once been one of Equestria’s greatest enemies, the one and only Lord Tirek, who had come to those lands to steal its magic in the name of my father, King Vorak. Now I was fighting side-by-side with a pony Princess and a Changeling Queen, both of which were somehow dear to me. Such shameful weakness. While I was still powerful, I only possessed a shadow of my former power since I came to these strange lands. Unable to absorb magic from living creatures, I had discovered a way to draw power from the surrounding lands. When that metal pony that crackled with lightning managed to catch me with a lightning bolt, I thought I was a goner, and I would have been if it wasn’t for the Pony Princess called Flurry Heart. When her magic hit me, I suddenly woke up and rose up, ready to face the metal pony once again. I drew as much power from the environment as I could, draining it of all life in order to heal my wounds and empower my magic. I managed to destroy it with little effort. I immediately surveyed the battlefield, Chrysalis laid on the ground not too far away from me, fortunately I could still detect life coming from her, which put my worries at ease. These feelings were unfamiliar to me, why did I care so much about her? I know I wouldn’t have been concerned in the past. Chrysalis used to tell me that bonds made us weak, too reliant on others, yet, if it wasn’t for Flurry, I would likely be dead. Flurry herself laid on the ground a bit further away, under the hooves of Cipher, the changeling assassin I had heard so much about. The same person who’s the reason Cozy had been trapped in a hospital bed for weeks. Flurry was still alive, even if barely, a powerful poison eating her from the inside, I had to finish this quickly. Fortunately, Cipher, in his moment of triumph, appeared quite distracted, raising his blade to finish off Flurry. 

I decided to exploit this opening and fired a beam of dark energy at Cipher, having to to decie in a split second which of the three Cipher’s was the real one, but I was lucky and hit him right in the chest and sending him flying backwards. Cipher cursed, casting a spell to make himself invisible, before retreating from the battle. We were victorious, although at a very high price. I immediately rushed over to Chrysalis’s side and used my magic to heal her the best I could. The magic I commanded was very different from the holy energies of Flurry Heart, but even dark magic could be used to reknit flesh and heal wounds. Even if it did have a price, to heal the life force of another creature, you must take it from elsewhere. Fortunately, I had more than enough vitality after absorbing the life of every plant in the surrounding area. After Chrysalis regained consciousness, she looked around and immediately told me to check on Flurry Heart. If I didn’t know better, I could have sworn she cared about the filly. Fortunately, I was able to restore Flurry to consciousness as well and we both turn our attentions to healing Twilight. I didn’t quite know how to feel about that, we could just leave her for dead, this old enemy of mine, yet she was Flurry’s aunt and she would be quite upset if I left her for dead. It was fortunate for her that Cipher’s fireball didn’t kill Twilight outright, but it had been close. Even with our combined efforts, we couldn’t make Twilight regain consciousness, but she was still alive at the very least. If we could get her back to Vil and a proper hospital, it was likely she would make a full recovery, at least eventually.

Now we only needed to finish the job we were sent here to do. We finished digging out the Foundation Stone, a project already halfway done by the clockwork ponies. After that was said and done, I put Twilight and my back while me and Chrysalis cooperated with moving the enormous stone a few miles to the south using the ropes we had brought with us, where it would hopefully not be discovered by our enemies. The stone was little much for my physical strength, especially empowered by the life of the surrounding area, which was now a dead wasteland. After that, it was finally time to return to Vil. It would be the first time for me to enter that city, hopefully the residents wouldn’t be too hostile to an enormous red centaur, Chrysalis was fortunate enough to have a disguise, I envied her on that point.