Legends Never Die: The Return of the King

by bookhorse125

Shadows on the Horizon

The sun rose that day in all of its glorious splendor, just as usual, bathing all of Equestria in its rays of warm, golden light. Even the most shaded places were warmed as the sun cleared the horizon. But Flurry didn’t feel the new warmth. Every part of her was shaking with cold and fear.

Because for the first time in her life, Princess Flurry Heart of the Crystal Empire was terrified out of her mind and she had no idea what to do.

She sat, curled up in a ball, off to the side of the clearing in which her friends had made camp, her wings wrapped around herself and her eyes closed, trying to block out the memories rushing into her head.

Him, bursting into her room with an evil smile-

Him, dangling her by a single hoof in front of her parents-

Him, forcing her and her family into chains-

Him, standing in front of her parents as they were forced to bow-

Him, controlling every last citizen of the Empire while she was forced to watch-

Him, pushing them to the side and causing jagged black rocks to sprout up around them-

Him, sitting on the throne with the Crystal Heart was suspended over his head, laughing-

Him, casting his fear spell on her aunt and her friends-

And then there were the stories, the tales she had heard so many times that now came alive in her mind in a whole new light.

Him, enslaving the entire Empire for his own selfish greed-

Him, forcing the innocent ponies of the Crystal Empire to fight for him-

Him, being trapped in the ice and bringing the Empire down with him-

Him, coming back, forcing her mom to work day and night to protect the Empire-

Him, creating a trap that ensnared her aunt in a cage of black crystals-

Him, hurtling towards the Crystal Heart, his eyes wide with hunger and greed-

Him, returning from the ether to take what he desired so much-

Him, destroying the Tree of Harmony and enslaving all of Ponyville, Canterlot, and Equestria-

Him, nearly obliterating everything that her family and their friends had worked so hard to build, not caring for another soul other than his own, bent on destruction and revenge, and now he was here, he was going it all again-

Flurry shivered and opened her eyes, glancing over at her friends, who were huddled together on the other side of the clearing, discussing what to do in hushed voices. Flurry was happy that she was not a part of this conversation - the last thing she needed was more reminders of how bad things were.

“...should keep looking for Sunny,” Hitch was saying, a hint of desperation in his voice. “We’re so close! We’ll find her, and then we can all go defeat Sombra together-”

“We’ve been here for a week,” Izzy interrupted, “and we’re no closer to finding her than flying to the moon. Besides, she said that… she said that she didn’t want us to come find her.” She stole a glance at Flurry. “Plus, look at her. Her home is in danger - that’s all she has left. We can’t just… not do it.”

“But if we had Sunny,” Hitch continued, “we’d have two alicorns on our side - Sombra wouldn’t stand a chance. We’ll defeat him better and faster if we find Sunny. She’s our friend - we can’t just abandon her.”

“But Flurry’s our friend, too,” Izzy protested. “And I don’t know about you, but having an all-powerful shadow pony in the mountains who’s left alone makes me feel like something worse is going to happen.”

“I agree with Izzy,” Zipp spoke up, lifting her head and meeting Hitch’s glare with her own fierce look. “We can’t just leave this Sombra guy unattended, and we promised Flurry we’d get her kingdom back. Letting it get overtaken by a villain seems like the opposite of that.”

Her comment had a rousing effect on the other ponies. Pipp, who clearly wasn’t sure who she agreed with, now looked certain that she stood with her sister on this one. Sprout, who looked like he was agreeing with Hitch, nodded and stepped over to Izzy and Zipp’s side. Seeing that he was outnumbered, the sheriff let out a frustrated growl under his breath.

“If you won’t help me look for Sunny, then I’ll do it myself,” he decided, turning and dashing away into the trees.

“Hitch!” Izzy called after him, but he didn’t turn back. She moaned and turned back to the other ponies. “I didn’t think we would have to split up over it,” she whispered. “I hate it when we do that.”

Zipp spread her wings. “I’ll go look for him and talk some sense into him.” She took off before any of them could say another word. Izzy still looked uncertain, but she turned to see Flurry still curled up under a tree, trembling like a leaf, and she trotted over to her, putting her hoof around the alicorn’s shoulders in an attempt to comfort her.

“It’s going to be okay,” Izzy said softly. Pipp and Sprout also approached her, to show their support. “We’re here for you. We’ll help you get your kingdom back from King Sombra - everything’s going to be fine.”

“No,” Flurry whispered, in a voice so quiet they almost couldn’t hear it. “No, it’s not going to be fine.” She took a deep breath and sat up straight. “King Sombra is a pony of shadows and darkness, and he stops at nothing to get what he wants. Even banishing him into the ether doesn’t stop him for long. There’s… there’s no way to defeat him permanently.”

“Then we’ll find a way,” Sprout assured her, rolling his shoulders back. “We’ve dealt with worse things-”

“But he can control you,” Flurry told them, desperation and panic seeping into her voice. “And not like Sunny - all he has to do is cast a spell, and BOOM, you’re under his complete control while living your worst fears in your head! It - it’s awful-” She broke off with a sob, burying her face under her wing. Her friends exchanged concerned glances. Pipp sat down on Flurry’s other side and put her wing around her. When Flurry finally surfaced, her face streaked with tears, her voice was punctured with hiccups.

“I - I don’t think I’ll be able to face him,” she cried. “He - he t-took everything away from me, and wh-whenever I s-see him, I - I remember all the things he’s done… the terrible, terrible things he’s done…” Another sob built up in her throat, but she forcefully swallowed it. “I’m sorry…”

“Don’t be,” Sprout told her fiercely, lowering his head so that he was eye level with the distressed alicorn. “The hardest thing to face is our own past - and any ponies that may be associated with it. But if we don’t - if we tell ourselves we can’t do it, if we keep trying to run away from it - it’ll keep catching up to us. Facing it is the only way to defeat it for sure. And, sure, it’ll come back and haunt you occasionally, but each time, you get stronger, and you know that you’ll be able to face it. I did it - I think you can do it, too.”

Flurry hiccuped and wiped at her streaming eyes. “Y-you think so?”

“I don’t think - I know.” He offered her his hoof, and she took it, and Sprout pulled her to her hooves. The alicorn was still very wobbly and leaned against Izzy for support, but she was standing, an improvement over a few moments ago.

Just being on her hooves again was enough to make Flurry calm down, though her head felt dizzy, like it was spinning in circles. She wobbled a bit and took a step to steady herself, nearly ending up face planting into the ground again. After a long and unsteady excursion, the four ponies found themselves seated around the dead campfire as the sun climbed higher into the sky, waiting for Zipp and Hitch to come back.

Flurry sighed. “I don’t like leaving Sunny behind - she’s an amazing pony - but I want to get home as fast as possible… to see what’s going on. Even though I also want to keep flying until I drop so that I never have to see him again.” She wrapped her wings around herself and shivered, though it was quite warm out.

“I know what you mean,” Izzy said, yawning and rubbing her eyes - it was clear the unicorn wasn’t getting very much sleep. “That’s how I feel whenever there’s an evil new villain on the loose. I want to know what we’re up against, but I’m getting a little tired of saving the world.”

“It doesn’t allow for much room for other hobbies,” Pipp agreed, glancing at her cell phone, which was sitting on the ground beside her. “Or any time for other hobbies.”

Flurry Heart shrugged. “At least the evil world-dominating villains gave my aunt and her friends some time between the heart-pounding magical battles for the sake of the world. They would have one fight, wait a couple weeks, and then have another one - repeat.”

Sprout poked at the dying embers with a stick. “So! Flurry. What… what can you tell us about Sombra?”

As always, the very sound of the name was enough to freeze Flurry’s blood, but she took a deep breath, reminding herself that she was with friends, and that Sombra was far away - though the thought that she would have to face him eventually didn’t help.

“All I remember is that he’s awful,” she said, “though that’s probably not very helpful. Nopony knows where he came from, but we do know that he’s lost all mortality - he gave himself completely to the shadows. The only way to defeat him - at least for a little while - is to trap him somewhere. Celestia and Luna trapped him in the ice - but that made the Crystal empire disappear completely for a thousand years. Every other time, he’s been expelled into the ether, usually by the Crystal Heart.

“But defeating him isn’t easy. He knows what can stop him - the Crystal Heart, so his first action is usually to gain possession of it - no, his first action is to imprison the ponies who could stand up to him. His second action is to gain possession of the Crystal Heart.”

She shivered. “With the Elements of Harmony in possession of the Legion of Doom, and you guys all kind of new to the whole magic of friendship thing, the Crystal Heart is probably the only way we can defeat him.”

“Then let’s get the Crystal Heart,” Pipp said, and Flurry winced at how easy she made it sound.

“But it could be anywhere,” she explained. “He could hide it and set a trap for anypony who tries to retrieve it, he could have it right over his head so that you would need a really good distraction to get it, and then you have to activate it - you’ll need the love and light of the Crystal ponies to do that, and now…” She swallowed and forced it out. It was the truth, and she’d better get used to it. “Now there’s none of them left.”

“It’ll be okay, Flurry,” Sprout tried to comfort her, patting her hoof. “We’ll think of something.”

“We always do,” Izzy chimed in, giving Flurry an encouraging grin. “Maybe it’s not as bad as we think - maybe the Crystal Heart has enough magic left in it to defend against King Sombra. Or maybe he hasn’t made it up there yet.”

“I wish it was,” Flurry whispered. “But the Heart wasn’t able to defend itself when it had all of its magic, and I felt that the Crystal Heart and the Empire itself was in danger. I wish it were any other way, but…” She shook her head, looking down at her hooves. “I know this sounds pretty hopeless, so I understand if you want to stay here with Hitch and keep looking for Sunny-”

“Are you kidding? We’re coming with you,” Sprout asserted, and Izzy and Pipp nodded in agreement. “You’re our friend, too, and we’re not about to let you go charging into battle alone.”

She gave a small smile, her heart filling with warmth at their support. “Thanks, guys.”

“But…” Pipp stole a glance at the sky, wishing her sister was here. “What do we do?”

The feeling of hopelessness began to creep in again, and Flurry lowered her head. “I don’t know.”

Author's Note:

Final chapter for today! Had to skip some class to finish it (don't tell my teachers).

Constructive criticism is appreciated. Thank you for reading!

Comments

[Phetiamwantip]

You're welcome, bookhorse125. It was great, and I like your book cover it looks amazing!

[Yoshifan30]

Oh boy everbody are the edge right now flurry heart is still having her p t s d about King Sombra how he terrorized her kingdom and almost destroying her aunt and her friends and their imprisonment her parents and things did not make things better because hitch is starting to lose his patient and I get it but little does he doesn't know that Sunny got herself out of there and basically he argue with them and now he's basically just ran off to find her by himself but Zipp follow him so he doesn't get far like I said everything is starting to fall apart but Sprouts and the remaining ponies try to reassure her that everything is going to be okay the only thing is on the world are they going to stop him and they still need Sunny's help I guess we'll find out next time

[AllenVth]

Don't worry Flurry. Hitch is just stressed that he wasn't able to protect Sunny like he wanted to.
You might not be the element of magic, but you got friends by your side. Time to take the kingdom back.