Chapter 5: Out of the Cold.
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~Shard~
If there was one thing that Shard would remember in the years to come after he had found Amore's last piece, (besides the fact it was restoring a princess and earning his Cutie Mark in the process) it was just how much happier his father seemed to be. The gentle smile he had remained plastered on his face - even when the wind began to pick up again and made them all shiver. When they reached the ice cave they had stayed in for the last few days and decided to call it a night, he seemed utterly, palpably content. He and Mother agreed they would return home first thing in the morning with the Amore statue in tow.
Good thing too, as the Crystal Faire was only two days away and Flurry would probably be waiting anxiously for his return.
The thought of Flurry kept Shard up late that night - even when he rolled up into his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. He wondered if she was thinking of him at that moment - but he realized it was far more likely that she'd be asleep. Being a princess meant that Flurry would soon have to start being groomed for her royal duties. That meant she would have little free time - though he supposed that, like her parents, she would still try to find time to spend with him whenever it was allowed. He was her best friend after all - and nopony could take that away from them.
A terrifying thought entered his mind - one that made his heart beat faster all of a sudden. What if Flurry had made a new best friend while he was away!? Nopony could have more than one best friend - could they? Would that mean that Flurry would forget about him? Who would he play Archaeologist with, especially now that he had his Cutie Mark?
What am I saying?, he thought as he calmed down; taking several deep breaths. Princess Twilight had five best friends - and a Dragon for an assistant after all, though he wondered which of them was the closest to her. At least she kept them all close - and if Cadance's stories were real, they had saved Equestria dozens of times over - always together. According to Twilight, their bond was unbreakable - which meant they'd all stay best friends forever.
Shard wondered if what he shared with Flurry was the same. An unbreakable bond - best friends forever. But then, forever was a really long time - even longer than the thousand years joke that his parents told each other.
The more that Shard thought, the harder it became for him to fall asleep. Soon he couldn't bear to keep his eyes shut. With a sigh, he sat up and looked around the cave. It was the same as it had always been the last few days: Cold and full of ice crystals of every color that glinted in the dim light of the protective magical field that Father had cast to keep out the worst of the blizzard. Mother said it was beautiful - saying that it reminded her of the Crystal Faire when the Empire lit up with light and love - and reflected off every surface.
"Shard?" Mother said, stirring from her sleeping bag. "What's wrong, sweetie?"
"Nothing, Mother." He replied. "I just can't sleep. I keep thinking about Flurry."
She smiled. "My boy is growing up so fast."
Shard stared. "What does that mean? I'm four years old. Of course I'm growing up."
Hope laughed. "I guess you'll just have to figure it out for yourself." With that, she stood up and trotted over to him - then she sat down. "So, tell me - what's on your mind?"
He hesitated. He tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat. Usually he felt he could come to his mother for anything. This time though, he wondered if she'd really understand. She was best friends with father her whole life before she married him, she had explained - which wasn't all that different than having a best friend. It just meant they lived and slept together and had Shard.
(When one time he asked where he came from, indeed, where all foals came from, he got the same response that he'd be told when he was older.)
"I'm just wondering..." he began awkwardly. He swallowed hard and gathered himself. "If Flurry's alright. She's my best friend after all. Being a Princess can be lonely - especially when she's going to one day be in charge of a whole Empire. What if she's forgotten about me? What if she gets..." he gulped. "...a new best friend?"
Mother put her foreleg around his shoulders. "Shard, my son. You..." He held his breath in anticipation for what came next. "...have nothing to worry about."
He exhaled sharply and looked up. "How do you know?"
"I met your father when I was a foal. He became my very best friend - and even though we..." she hesitated a moment, "spent time away from each other for a long time, we still remained the best of friends. When we met again, Sombra and I still loved each other. And do you know why? Because we both had hope that everything would turn out alright. And it did. Your father proved he was still the stallion I loved when he decided to search for Princess Amore and took me along with him." She looked down at him. "When a stallion and a mare love each other - that's when they have foals. The exact process... well, that's going to have to wait."
"Why?" Shard asked, curious.
"Because that's a grownup discussion and you really don't want to hear it at your age."
"If you say so, mother."
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~Flurry~
Waiting for Shard was the hardest thing that Flurry had ever done. In the first few days after he'd left, she barely spoke to anypony. Food offered was barely touched. She often sat in her room, staring out the window at the horizon - hoping for the day when the train would return - carrying Shard and his family.
A full month passed without result and Flurry became more and more worried. She had tried to appeal to her parents to send a detachment of the royal guard to search for Shard - but they declined, stating it was more important to keep faith.
"And if I know Sombra..." her father had said before he put a hoof on her shoulder. "-He's probably on his way home right now."
It made her feel a bit better - to the point where she started eating for real again, but another week passed without word. Finally, the day came when she decided enough was enough and made a startling announcement to her parents right in the throne room. Fortunately, none of the court was in attendance - as she'd asked for a private audience.
"You want to go to the frozen north?" Shining Armor exclaimed. He stomped his hoof. "Absolutely not!"
"Why not? I'm an Alicorn and a Princess. I can go wherever I want." Flurry protested.
"You are strong, Flurry, but even you can't stand up to that blizzard." Said her Mother. Cadance stirred and looked to her husband for support.
"The frozen north is a dangerous place." He urged. "Even Celestia and Luna working together could barely slow its advance. That was when you... well, accidentally...-" He trailed off for a moment, as if embarrassed at the memory.
"Destroyed the Crystal Heart." Flurry finished for him with a nod. "I know. Hope said that Mother told her that story."
Ignoring the surprised look that her father gave her mother, Flurry trotted closer to her parents and looked straight into her father's eyes. Like hers, ponies often said, they were gentle blue and full of innocence. Yet there was also a firm, unyielding quality to them now. Shining Armor knew how to be an excellent parent - and Flurry loved him for that. And he knew how to be a wise Prince, and the Crystal Ponies loved him for that. Yet, he didn't understand what it meant to have lost a best friend.
Every day since Shard's departure, Flurry felt strangely... empty. Like a piece of herself had gone missing.
"Please, Daddy?" Flurry asked again - in a voice that she knew her father would have to agree to. She completed the effect with wide, misty eyes. "Shard is my very best friend. I'm really worried about him."
For a long moment, her father hesitated and looked to his wife. She sat on her throne with a guilty expression - biting her lower lip and averting her eyes. Shining Armor looked back at her - his eyes almost a mirror image of his daughter's. His face had grown lined from stress - still handsome despite his age. Rather like Shard, she noticed, but in a different way. Where Shining Armor's face and muzzle was long and pointed - Shard's was square - almost blocky in its shape, but that just made him more striking, especially when he smiled. When he smiled it lit up his whole face - making him positively glow with happiness.
Unfortunately, there was no smile on her father's face. Had there been, Flurry would have joined in - as she loved to make her parents happy. His jaw clenched and his heavily lidded eyes narrowed in resolve.
"No, Flurry."
Just two words - and instantly all her hopes went down in flames. She understood why he had said no, but that didn't ease the pain - nor did it stop her tears from falling. A sharp hiss of breath and she turned away from her father - tears streaming down her cheeks. Without another word, she stormed out - ignoring her parents' protesting calls.
It's not fair! She thought, despairing. It's not fair! It's not fair!
She galloped through the corridors until she reached her room. With a single bolt of magic, she forced the door open - ran through and slammed it shut. Locking the bolt behind her, she sank to her hind legs in grief.
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Several hours later and all her tears had dried, though she was sure her eyes were bloodshot from crying, her mind had cleared. She had sat first on the floor - weeping, but gradually moved to the well furnished bed in the corner of the room while she thought out a plan. In the space of all the time that had passed since her confrontation with mother and father, nopony had disturbed her. Likely they thought to give her space - that she needed time alone to come to terms with her grief. Therein lay her only hope to see Shard again, or to find out if he really was okay.
She knew it meant disobeying her parents, but it was worth it. This was her best friend - and she was going to help him - one way or another. To any other pony, the most difficult part of all this would be making her mother and father understand - but given who they were, she knew they would. They rarely ever stayed mad at her - even in the worst of times. They liked to jest that compared to her Crystalling where she nearly froze the Empire - nothing could possibly upset them. And if she were to get caught in the act - at best, they'd only scold her for making them worry. At worst, she would be confined to her room for a few days.
It took her a fair few hours to get everything she needed for the journey ahead - but she knew that traveling to the frozen north would be the hardest undertaking of her young life - and Alicorn or not, if she was unprepared - she would not survive. Remembering a lesson from Aunt Twilight, she had made a mental list of everything to pack for a cold journey.
Loading everything she would need into a bag, she tied it with a flourish of her telekinesis. Thanks to Rarity, her control of that branch of Magic was pinpoint.
When she was ready, Flurry approached the window - but before she opened it, she hesitated. A whim struck her and she obeyed. Levitating a quill and paper - she wrote down a letter. When it was finished, she sealed it and placed it on her bed.
Turning back to the window, she opened it and squeezed her body through. It was a tight fit, especially given how wide her wings had grown, but she managed. Once outside on the sill, she spread those wings and took flight. In an instant, the cold night wind began to blow through her mane - and her sharp eyes could make out individual scenes across the city from high above. Here and there, she glimpsed Crystal Pony couples out for a late-night trot. Others, like the merchants were packing up their wares of fruits and crystal flowers. Every so often in the alleys, she could make out the scenes of colts and fillies at play - making trouble as all young foals did.
Rather like Shard and herself, she mused as she turned north and picked up her speed.
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~Shining Armor~
He stood for what seemed an eternity in front of Flurry's door, waiting for the sound of his only daughter's tears to subside. When it finally did, he realized he had nearly fallen asleep standing up. Then there was only silence. He started to approach the door and stopped to gather his thoughts. Flurry had grown into a willful filly - not unlike her father - and to a slightly lesser extent, her mother. Unlike Cadance though - Flurry didn't quite grasp the idea of compromise. She had no trouble seeing the brighter side of a bad situation - but when it came down to matters close to her heart, she was all emotion and little restraint. But then, that was what it meant to be young - and to have a crush.
He didn't doubt that what his daughter felt for Shard was growing to be more than simply friendship. Powerful that link might be, its older twin was something his wife presided over - and he shared with her as well. He recognized the telltale signs that the little Princess was starting to fall for the colt - much in the same way that Cadance had for him all those years ago. It wasn't something that bothered him, truth be told, but it was a matter that complicated their relationship quite a bit.
Shining Armor had always tried to be the best parent he could, but Flurry was growing up now. She was a filly - fully six years old - and nearly at the age when she'd start to dream about fairy tales romances. Once she made up her mind about Shard, there would be no hope of changing her mind. At the very least, he thought to explain that real love was patient - that it took time - but there was a lingering feeling that told him that this was going to be anything but easy.
No doubt she had locked her door tight, but being the former Captain of the Guard and now a Prince had advantages. A simple spell of unlocking, followed by his hoof to the knob and the door swung open easily.
"Flurry, dear? It's me." He announced. "I just wanted to see how you were..." he trailed off as he poked his head around the door.
An empty room greeted him. The window was open - and there was no sign of his daughter.
"Flurry?" He called, suddenly beset by panic. "Flurry, are you here!?"
Out of the corner of his eye, he caught glimpse of a rolled up scroll. Hoof trembling, he took it and opened it - his eyes flying across the page. Definitely Flurry's magic-writing.
Father,
I know I disobeyed you, but I have to know if Shard is okay.
I promise, I will return as soon as I'm able.
I have this feeling that if I leave now, I might catch up to him.
He's good at finding things.
Maybe he'll find me before I find him.
Whatever happens, please don't send the guard after me - and don't try to find me.
I want to show that I can handle this on my own.
I am an Alicorn - and a Princess.
Please understand.
Love to Mother and to my Aunt Twili.
Flurry."
Shining Armor looked over the letter once more to ensure he had read it right, then bolted through the door - fast as his legs would carry him - his mind afire with worry and doubt.
Flurry had run away into the frozen north.
The frozen north.