Legends Never Die: A New Age

by bookhorse125

Prologue: Frozen in Time

Princess Mi Amore Cadenza nervously paced her room, flinching at every howl the Windigos made. Something had to be done. The citizens of the Empire had already fled down south in fear to escape the freezing temperatures, and her husband… Cadance swallowed. She would not think about Shining Armor. She would not. She couldn’t afford to.

The protective shield around the palace proper shuddered as the Windigos launched another volley of freezing cold winds. Cadance gasped, then stopped as her horn glowed brighter, reinforcing the magical protection she had set up around the castle. The Crystal Heart would protect the Crystal Empire from the North’s brutal weather, but it was next to powerless against hate-fueled creatures such as the Windigos.

How has this happened? Cadance asked herself, resuming pacing. How had Equestria fallen so far? She mentally rewound the events of the past few years, remembering…

Something was wrong, and Cadance knew it from the moment she saw her younger sister-in-law’s worried eyes, despite her instances that everything was fine. Sure, things were tough for the ruler of Equestria, regarding her friends, but this was something entirely different, and Cadance couldn’t figure out what it was… until she walked outside to get some fresh air.

A pegasus and a unicorn were shouting at each other in the middle of the street, a crushed pastry at their feet. The argument became heated, and the pegasus launched himself at the unicorn, who lit her horn in defense. She shot lasers at the pegasus to ward him off that Cadance knew were harmless and just for show, and he tried to swoop down and frighten her with every pass, like he was going to carry her off to eat her. Passerby looked on with fear, and before long, all pegasi and unicorns were fighting each other, while earth ponies backed away warily. Somepony insulted them for being weak and pathetic, and all the earth ponies ran away.

Cadance lit her horn and tried to pull ponies apart, screaming and crying for them to stop, but they refused to listen. Eventually Twilight came and pulled her away, and Cadance knew from just looking at her that this was what was worrying her husband’s sister so much - and she knew that there wasn’t much hope that they could stop it.

Months passed, and Cadance could feel her magic weakening with each passing day. She noticed the increase of cold, dangerous weather that plagued the North, though the Crystal Heart should have kept out all the worst. She tried to keep her mounting anxiety hidden from her subjects… and from her daughter. But that was how she lost her husband…

The mountain groaned, and chunks of rock pierced the snow around her. She shouted to her husband, hoping he could hear her, but the wind snatched her words away and swirled up to meet the peak. The cold slowed her thoughts, making her brain sluggish and unresponsive. A pile of snow landed in front of her, followed by more, and before Cadance could react, a huge wall blocked the path in front of her. With a yell, she blasted it with her horn, melting the snow, but the freezing wind froze it again, turning a wall of snow into a formidable barrier of ice.

Tears welled up in her eyes and froze on her cheeks, and Cadance thought about everything up there - everything she had just lost…

Snow continued to plummet down, and the thin barrier of rock finally gave way as a huge white wall of ice and snow hurtled down the mountainside at frightening speeds. Cadance shouted for her family, her daughter, her husband, and cracks suddenly appeared in the ice wall. Hope flaring inside her, she blasted the cracks with her magic, and a young alicorn mare tumbled out.

The face inside the hole in the ice looked out at her with love, and as Cadance reached for Shining Armor’s hoof, the rushing wall of snow enveloped him, and he disappeared-

Cadance gasped as a howl broke her out of her trance. She couldn’t afford to go back there - not now.

“Mama?” came a quiet voice, and the Princess of Love spun around to see a young mare, barely full grown, walk into the room, her pale pink coat and multi toned curls dusted with snow. Her cyan eyes were full of worry and concern. “There’s somepony outside… I think they’re going into the mountains.” Her voice shook as she said it. The mountains were dangerous - they were past the Crystal Heart’s protection, and the WIndigos’ evil magic turned already lethal conditions even worse.

“Thank you, Flurry, sweetheart,” Cadance said gently, trying not to scare her daughter anymore than she already was. “Were you outside again?” The young mare hesitated, then nodded, a few snowflakes falling off her wings and onto the floor. “Remember to stay inside until the Wind- weather dies down.” She brushed past Flurry Heart and walked to her room, her hoofsteps echoing in the empty hallways.

“Mama? The weather’s not going to get better, is it?” Flurry Heart asked, trotting alongside her mother. “Those things out there - they’re Windigos, aren’t they? Aunt Twilight told me about them. Mama, something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean, sweetness?” Cadance asked lightly as she opened the door to her chambers. “This is just a big storm - I’m sure it’ll clear up soon.”

“Mama-”

“Everything’s going to be fine, dear. Aunt Twilight just has a few things to clear up down in the south, and everything will go back to normal.”

“Stop trying to hide things from me!” Flurry Heart cried, teleporting in front of her mother as the doors opened. “I’m too old for you to pretend like nothing’s wrong, Mama! Something’s going on in the south, I know it! Ponies are fighting, they’re splitting up, the other creatures have already retreated back into their kingdoms, the Windigos returned, and nopony’s going to be able to stop them on their own!” Her voice broke as tears began to well up in her eyes. “I can’t just sit here while the world falls apart around me. I won’t be able to live with myself if I did.”

“How did you know?” Cadance snapped, her violet eyes flashing dangerously. Flurry Heart took a step back in shock. “How did you know about that? Flurry Heart, tell me right now.”

“M-me and Luster… we were just… talking,” Flurry stammered.

Cadance took a deep breath. “Flurry, dear, it’s true that things are a little rough right now, but things will get better, I promise. It may take a little while, but things will get better. Trust me. Go back to your room now, and we’ll discuss everything when I get back.”

Without another word to her daughter, Cadance threw open the doors to her balcony, leaped off, and soared to the outskirts of the Empire. Once she passed through the magical barrier, she shivered in the cold for a brief moment before casting a spell to heat the air touching her coat, keeping her warm. As always, her magic seemed far away and hard to reach… Cadance strained her mind to remember when that had started…

A crack, a flood of snow, a pain-filled scream-

Cadance shook herself out of the memory. She scanned the ground beneath her, searching for the pony that Flurry Heart had pointed out. After the cursed cold began to finally pass through her magic and gnaw at her numb hooves, she spotted a bright pink glow coming from directly beneath the circling Windigos above them. Surprising even herself, a small smile came to her lips as she realized who it was.

“Cadance,” the purple alicorn said as the Princess of Love touched down behind her. “I was wondering how long it would be before you came looking for me.”

“I know what you’re planning, Twilight,” Cadance said, and the ruler of Equestria turned to look at her. There was a grim determination in her eyes that told Cadance that what she was about to say wouldn’t make any difference, but she had to try. “Please, you can’t do this. What will Equestria do in your absence? What will I do? And Flurry Heart, and-” She choked back a sob as her mind strayed to Twilight’s lost brother. Surely she would blame her for not saving him-

“It’s the only way.” Twilight Sparkle turned to look at the equine creatures circling above her. “I have nothing left here.” Her voice sounded so heartbroken, so full of pain, that Cadance was shocked that the Princess of Friendship wasn’t crying. Then she realized that her sister-in-law probably had no tears left. “My friends… they’ve all left me. Everything I stand for is slowly dissolving. I know you heard about Celestia and Luna… and Discord. And my brother…” She took a shuddering breath. “I don’t blame you. It wasn’t your fault.” Her normally calm violet eyes filled with such hate and anger that Cadance almost didn’t recognize her. “It was theirs.”

Cadance nodded her head in resignation. “Do what you must.”

Twilight sighed. “There are a few things, though. I suppose you’ve felt magic growing fainter?” The other alicorn nodded. “I fear that soon, our magic will vanish. The magic housed in artifacts, however, will last a bit longer - though perhaps not as strong as it used to be. Everything I have done - my friends have done - will most likely be forgotten. I will do everything I can to preserve it with my last few days, but something more certain should be done about this. Somepony to retell the stories. And I will need you to get me out of here. My daughter… she is waiting for me in Manehatten - Maretime Bay. Please… let me see her again.”

Cadance nodded again, though she wasn’t quite sure what Twilight meant by the first two requests. How was she supposed to -

Then she looked into the alicorn’s weary eyes, and she knew what she must do.

Twilight’s horn lit up bright magenta pink, attracting the Windigos’ attention. Cadance stepped back and cast a protective shield around herself as the three Windigos swirled around the ruler of Equestria. Ice began to creep up her hooves, but Twilight fought it off. Her magic swirled around her and lifted her into the air. Her huge violet wings began to grow fainter, and it seemed like time was rewinding. She shrank in size until she was the size of a regular pony, with three glowing balls orbiting her. Finally, a huge blast from the Princess of Friendship obliterated the Windigos, replacing them with a large holographic projection of a magenta six pointed star, surrounded by five smaller white ones.

She collapsed to the ground, along with three crystals. Cadance didn’t get a very good look at them, but one looked like spread wings and was a teal green, while the other resembled a unicorn horn and was a dark purple. As soon as they touched the snowy ground, they vanished in a tiny burst of light. The only crystal left was shaped like a perfect circle. Cadance dropped her shield and ran up to her sister-in-law. She was too weak to do much more than open her eyes, but when Cadance said through tears, “It worked,” she smiled before falling asleep.

With a jolt of shock, Cadance realized that Twilight’s horn had vanished as well, and all that remained of one of the most powerful ponies in Equestrian history was an exhausted earth pony who had just sacrificed all her magic for ponies who would forget about her and tear down all she had built.

Lighting up her horn, Cadance teleported both Twilight and the final remaining crystal to her desired location, and herself back to the Crystal Palace. She scoured the library for the rest of the day, feeling her magic growing weaker and weaker with each passing second. Soon she wouldn’t be able to lift a book, let alone perform the spell that was required of her. Finally she stumbled across an ancient spell book and was able to find something close enough to what she was trying to accomplish that she could twist it a little to fit her needs.

“Flurry, dear?” Cadance gently rapped her hoof on her daughter’s door. “Come out, sweetheart. We need to talk.”

Spreading her wing over the younger mare, she led her down to the Crystal Heart, rotating slowly in place like it had been for years. Outside, the wind howled and blew under the heavy curtains surrounding the room. There wasn’t much time left.

Reaching deep down inside her to find her last vestiges of magic, Cadance lit up her horn and blasted the Heart with cyan magic. The Heart absorbed it and glowed brighter. A shield flickered into existence around it, forming a bubble. Cadance sighed. The easiest part was over. The hardest part was next. It’s for her own good, she consoled herself. It’s for all of our own good.

“You know what the Crystal Heart does, yes, my sweet?” Cadance asked Flurry Heart, who looked confused.

“It protects the Empire,” she answered immediately.

“Correct. And now, it can protect you.”

Shoving down the feelings of guilt within her, Cadance pushed Flurry forward. Surprised, the alicorn stumbled, the tip of her wing brushing against the bubble. It reacted instantly, lighting up and reaching out tendrils to wrap around the princess, pulling her inside. Once she was, the shield dimmed to its original semi-transparent state.

“Mama?” Flurry Heart said, feeling fear wrap cold tendrils around her heart. “What’s going on?” Wherever her hooves touched the magic shield, it lit up white. She pressed her hooves against it, trying to push her way out, but the bubble was strong enough to not allow her to pass through.

Cadance gave no indication that she heard her, but she folded one of her wings over her heart - her and Flurry’s way of saying I love you.

Frost began to creep into the room at an alarming speed, and freezing winds blew the curtains away. Flurry felt herself getting drowsy, but she fought to stay awake, tears streaming down her face, screaming for her mother. Ice began to creep up the Princess of Love’s hooves, reaching cold branches around her that froze her in their embrace. Cadance opened her eyes one last time to see her daughter wailing and screaming as if her heart had just broken in two. Mi Amore Cadenza closed her eyes, and the ice crept over her face, freezing her completely.

Flurry Heart watched, now unable to make a sound, as a cold wind shattered what used to be her mother. She finally collapsed, giving in to the exhaustion she had been feeling ever since she had entered the bubble, closed her eyes, and the last citizen of the Crystal Empire fell into a deep, deep sleep.

If anypony had walked in during the time at which Flurry was asleep, they would have seen a pale pink mare sleeping soundly beneath a glowing Crystal Heart, all suspended in a blue bubble floating above the ground.

And so the last alicorn slept soundly until she felt something inside her reawaken - something she had lost but hadn’t noticed leaving her - and she felt the need to reawaken with it. Whenever she had tried this before, she had been unable to force herself into consciousness, but now she was surprised to feel her eyes blinking open, her sluggish brain beginning to work again. She gasped as she sat up, and the magical bubble around her suddenly dissolved, dumping her onto the ice-cold floor.

Flurry stood up and shook herself out, looking around for her mother… and then remembering what happened to her. Once again overcome by shock and grief, she sank to the floor, but no tears came. She must have used them all before.

Taking a shaky breath and standing up, Flurry pushed aside one of the heavy velvet curtains, which was covered with snow and frozen stiff. This she found a bit strange. The same could be said for outside the palace. Where there once were streets were now wind-driven drifts of fine, powdery snow with tall crystal formations poking up out of the glittering white. But she could see the Crystal Heart’s protective shield glowing above everything… But that wasn’t the only thing in the sky. Brilliant lights were dancing across the clear expanse of blue, all kinds of rainbow colors and lighting up the sky just as well as the sun. But these hadn’t come from the Heart - Flurry felt something different about these.

Glancing back at the Crystal Heart, which was slowly spinning in a circle once again, she remembered the magical bubble her mother had forced her into. Had she shrunk the Crystal Heart’s shield so that it only protected Flurry? Had it kept her frozen in time until it was safe to come back? If so, how much time had passed?

Knowing only one pony who could have the answers for her anymore, Flurry Heart lit up her horn and teleported to Canterlot.

Author's Note:

Hey, I'm back! A little early, too...

Flurry Heart wakes up on the second time magic returns, not the first, because the second time was the final time.

Discord saw no more reason to live after Fluttershy left, so he retreated to his own realm of chaos and has never come out. Nopony knows if he’s still there.

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Comments

[Phetiamwantip]

What a very interesting new story, bookhorse125. I'll be willing to see how this story goes. Imagination is the beginning of creation. You imagine what you desire, you will what you imagine and at last you create what you will.

[Yoshifan30]

Whoa this is a really Wild start of a story so apparently Cadence less worried about this whole situation that the 3 tribes of ponies and creatures are starting to fight with each other things have escalated so quickly and with the wendigo's appearing she was so worried about her daughter but when she found twilight she use all of her power to make up all the three crystals and she sacrificed her magic and herself to do that but then Cadence also make the ultimate sacrifice as well she used the last spell to send flurry heart away from danger knowing that the freezing cold consume her and flurry heart remember that her mother is gone and her aunts and looks like she woken up in the future of the new generation and she needs to know what's going on is heading for Canterlot