//------------------------------//
// Doing the Right Thing 
// Story: The Four Alicorns 
// by KidatHeart5 
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	20 years had passed since Shining Armor died. The reign of King Sombra and his queen was a bit shaky at first due to inexperience, but once the couple got the hang of it, it was a fairly peaceful rule. Thanks to Flurry Heart’s secret tutoring and Teardrop’s guidance, Sombra and Hope co-ruled the Empire with fair but gentle hooves. Their lives were further sweetened by the births of their two children, Dark Frost and Gleaming Grace. 
Dark Frost was born on a snowy night and to their shock, he had a flowing black mane like his father did when his Umbrum side was revealed. Teardrop was called to the Empire to help remedy the situation and created magic from snow and the tears of Sombra and Hope. When Dark Frost chewed on the handkerchief, his Umbrum powers were converted to that of snow and ice. He still had the black flowing mane, but it was now dotted with snowflakes. It reminded Teardrop of the sparkles in Celestia’s and Luna’s manes, so she took an immediate liking to him.
Gleaming Grace followed her brother eight years after he was born. She was the spitting image of her mother, although her colors were a little lighter than Hope’s. Both children were like the siblings Flurry never had. When the royal children learned to keep Flurry’s presence a secret, they became the best of friends. When Grace celebrated her 6th birthday, she wished for Flurry Heart to become her sister. Sombra and Hope granted her wish by adopting Flurry Heart into the family and announcing her to the Crystal ponies. True, she still had to hide her wings, but the feeling of being among the ponies in broad daylight again was wonderful. 
Finally, Flurry Heart could actually live like a princess instead of hiding behind castle walls all the time. Strangely enough, she was unaccustomed to it for a while, but she eventually managed to get into the lifestyle. Still, she missed her father and wished she could have any memory of her mother. She admired her mom from the stories ponies and books told about her, but she wanted to actually see her, to meet her for the very first time. Of course, she had Discord to blame, but ever since that encounter at the Crystal Faire many years ago, she couldn’t quite hate him as much as she did before she met him. If he had at least three thoughtful children with his kindhearted wife, then he couldn’t really be all that bad, could he? The other ponies didn’t seem to think so.
Every time reports poured into the Crystal Empire or Flurry heard the local gossip, ponies always seemed to badmouth Discord. The only thing that kept them from rebelling was that Teardrop helped co-rule with him…to an extent. Ponies thought that as long as she was their empress, there was a glimmer of hope. But Flurry Heart already saw that glimmer of hope when she saw the genuine smile on Discord’s face at the Faire. If he truly loved Teardrop and his kids, then maybe he could become good and release the alicorn princesses from their crystal prisons. Flurry knew that her mother was the Princess of Love, so maybe she had a bit of love magic in her as well.





“Surprise!”
Flurry jumped in her bed at the shout and looked up to see Gleaming Grace on top of her. She gasped for breath, “Oh, Grace! I didn’t expect you to startle me like that!”
“Startle you? I wasn’t trying to startle you, silly! I wanted to surprise you! Do you know what day it is?”
Flurry smirked, “Like I wouldn’t know what day it would be.”
Just then, the door opened and her adopted family stood in the flooding light. They said, “Happy birthday, Flurry Heart!”
The alicorn smiled, “Thank you. Thank you, everypony.”
Grace asked, “So, if you’re an alicorn, how old are you now?”
“Well, let’s just say in alicorn years, I’m 16.”
“Hey! She’s the same age as you now, big brother!”
Dark Frost chuckled, “Imagine that.” 
Hope said, “Come on, Flurry Heart. You don’t want to spend your birthday in bed, do you?”
Flurry said happily as she got onto the floor, “No, I don’t.”
Sombra said, “Then let’s celebrate our special princess!”
Everypony in the Empire celebrated Flurry Heart’s special day with her. Even though she had to hide her wings, she had a good time seeing the sights of the kingdom. She loved it all, especially since she got to spend her special birthday with her subjects. She was sad that her parents weren’t here to celebrate her birthday with her, but she knew they would always be in her heart. Although her father was gone, Flurry knew that her mother could perhaps be saved. She knew what she wanted to do, but she was pretty sure her adopted family wouldn’t like it. 
That evening at the castle, the royal family sang “Happy Birthday” to Flurry Heart as the candles on her cake were being lit. 
Grace then shouted excitedly, “Make a wish! Make a wish!”
Without wasting a single moment, Flurry blew out every single candle in one breath.
Sombra remarked, “That was fast.”
Hope asked playfully, “So what did you wish for?”
The queen had expected Flurry Heart to say she couldn’t tell them, but this time, Flurry answered, “Don’t you remember? Ponies aren’t supposed to tell their wishes, but I’ll make an exception in this case.”
Sombra and Hope exchanged glances that read Uh-oh.
Dark Frost asked in confusion, “What is it?”
Grace jumped up and down as she said, “Yeah! Tell us, tell us, tell us!”
Flurry Heart gave a small smile before it faded. She said, “I wished that I could set everything right in Equestria.”
Hope said, “But that would mean…”
The alicorn nodded, “Yep. I want to go to Discord’s castle, win his trust, and somehow convince him to free the imprisoned princesses.”
Grace pleaded, “Flurry, don’t go! He’s too scary!”
Sombra said, “I have to agree with Grace. What if your wings are discovered while you’re at his castle?”
Flurry Heart went over to a widow and peered out of it. “It’s a risk I have to take. For the Crystal ponies, my birthday was just a glimmer of joy before Discord’s Polka Dot Jubilee. But for me, my birthday marks the day he took my mother and aunts. 80 years ago, this very day was when everything changed.”
Grace asked, “I don’t get it. If Discord took over the day Flurry was born, why couldn’t he have his jubilee today?”
Sombra explained, “The day Flurry was born, Equestria wasn’t quite within Discord’s grasp yet. Several cities rebelled against him before they finally surrendered a week later. Thus, the anniversary of the start of Discord’s rule falls on the week after Flurry’s birthday.” 
Dark Frost said, “Oh-kay. Now that we’ve had this history lesson…” He turned to Flurry and asked, “…why would you want to face Discord himself?”
Flurry faced him and said, “Believe me, I don’t want to expose my identity as an alicorn, but if it means freeing my mother and aunts, then so be it.”
Hope asked nervously, “You’re not really going to just tell him you’re an alicorn, are you?”
“Of course not! I want to win his trust first. But if my cover gets blown, I’ll think of something.”
Sombra said, “But even if you do win his confidence, he will never agree to free the princesses and your mother. If I was Discord, I’d know that the princesses would punish me for the wrongs I had done, maybe even turn me to stone again. I could see that he’d be pretty scared of that.”
Flurry nodded, “Especially since he has a wife and six kids. I’ve seen it in his eyes and his smile. I know he loves his family very much. If we’re on the same page regarding that, then he might agree to release my mom and aunts.”  
“But only if they agree to spare him.”
“Trust me, if he cares about his family very much, my mom and aunts could agree to let him off the hook, provided that he would be on good behavior.”
Hope thought for a moment and then said, “Test him.”
Flurry asked, “What?”
“Test him to see if he has any love for his family. If he doesn’t care about them very much, come back to the Crystal Empire and we’ll try to find a way to defeat him.”
“But if he does care for his family?”
“At least try to convince him to release the princesses.”
“But I’d have to tell him my mother is Princess Cadance, and that means…”
Sombra finished, “…revealing you’re an alicorn.”
Flurry ruffled her wings a bit as she looked at them and said, “I’ll only do that after I win his trust.”
Dark Frost asked, “But what if he finds out before you win his trust?”
It made Flurry uneasy, but she calmly stated, “Don’t worry. I’ll think of something if that happens.”
Sombra put his hoof on Flurry’s shoulder and said, “Flurry, this will be a dangerous undertaking.”
Hope added, “But we know that this might be the only chance anypony will ever get to free the princesses. So I say…go for it.”
Dark Frost smiled, “We have faith in you, Flurry.”
Grace said, “You can do it.”
Sombra then said, “We can’t stop you no matter what we do.” He chuckled, “Nopony else can, either. Save Equestria, Flurry. Save it and your family.”
Flurry Heart bowed her head and said, “Thank you, Sombra.” She then faced everypony in the room. “Thank you, everypony. Your love has given me strength just as it had my mother. I just hope I can save Discord, too.”
The royal family was unsettled upon hearing that, but they knew that this was Flurry Heart’s mission and they had to trust her and her judgment. 





The day after her birthday, Flurry Heart wrapped her wings around her torso and put on a blue sundress to cover them. She also packed her bags with the help of some servants. Just then, a maid stood by the door and asked, “Are you ready, ma’am?”
Flurry sighed, “As ready as I’ll ever be.” 
As soon as the maid left, the alicorn put her hooves on her bed and sang, “What will this day be like? I wonder…What will my future be? I wonder…It could be so exciting…to be out in the world…to be free…My heart should be wildly rejoicing…Oh, what’s the matter with me?”
She looked out her bedroom window as she sang, “I have always longed for adventure…to do the things I’ve never dared...Now here I’m facing adventure…Then why am I so scared?” 
She walked away from the window and sang, “The Emperor Discord himself…What’s so fearsome about that? Oh, I must stop these doubts, all these worries…If I don’t, I just know I’ll turn back…I must dream of the things I am seeking…I am seeking the courage I lack…
“The courage to stand up with reliance…Face my mistakes without defiance…Show him I’m worthy…and while I show him…” She lifted her bags with her magic as she sang, “I’ll…show…me…so…”
She made her way through the castle as she sang, “Let him bring all his problems…I’ll do better than my best…I have confidence…he’ll put me to the test...but I’ll make him see I have confidence in me…Somehow, I will impress him…I will be firm but kind…And all his children – Heaven bless them – they will look up to me and mind me…”
She continued to sing as she stepped out on the dais, “With each step, I am more certain…I can restore Equestria…” She waved to some Crystal ponies as she sang, “I have confidence I’ll end hysteria…They’ll have to agree…I have confidence in me…”
She skipped in the street while she sang, “I have confidence in sunshine…I have confidence in rain…I have confidence that spring will come again…Besides which, you see, I have confidence in me…
“Strength doesn’t lie in numbers…Strength doesn’t lie in wealth…Strength lies in nights of peaceful slumbers…When you wake up, wake up! It’s healthy, all I trust I leave my heart to…All I trust becomes my own…” She then trailed off when she reached the two tall red crystals, “I have confidence in confidence alone…”
When she saw the train station, she was filled with hesitation. Would she be able to do this? Would she be able to just get on the train to Ponyville and go to Discord’s castle from there? 
Remembering what happened to her mother, she uttered, “Oh, help.” She sang timidly as she took small steps towards the train station, “I have confidence in confidence alone…” She then sang stronger as she trotted towards the station, “Besides which, you see, I have confidence in me-e-e-e-e-e-e!”
She gave a shout as she tripped over the topmost step to the platform. Everypony looked in her direction and gasped. 
A voice asked, “Are you all right?”
Flurry looked up to see a light phthalo blue Earth pony stallion with a poofy light brilliant raspberry mane extending his hoof to her. She took it and said as she stood up, “I’m fine. I’m just a little distracted about going to Emperor Discord’s castle.”
The ponies around her and the stallion gasped. 
When they began to whisper nervously, the stallion said, “Well, that’s a coincidence. I’m going there myself to help plan the big bash Discord wants for his Polka Dot Jubilee.”
Flurry then realized something. “Wait? Are you the pony who helped plan the celebration for my birthday yesterday?”
The stallion answered, “Yep.” He then bowed as he said, “I’m the one and only Sprinkles, Your Highness.” He said when he faced her again, “If you want, I can be your escort for this trip.”
Flurry said, “Well, I did make it a point not to have escorts come with me. But since you offered, how could I say ‘no’?”
The train whistle blew and the conductor shouted, “All aboard!”
Sprinkles said, “Care to take my hoof, milady?”
Flurry chuckled, “I’ll be glad to.” When they went to the conductor hoof-in-hoof, Flurry explained, “He’s with me.”
The conductor bowed, “As you wish, Your Highness.”
After the twosome sat down and their bags were brought for them, the train left the station and began making its way to Ponyville.