Chapter 1: Hello, Goodbye and Hello
Rain poured upon an already scarred battlefield as thunder tore across the skies of a desolate wasteland Equestria. The sky itself was a blanket of grey reaching out into the infinite distance, while what mountains remained in the background began crumbling in on themselves, as a strange violet mist seeped into the earth causing the very surface to crack and spread. Gaping chasms began to emerge as the condition of Equestria only grew worse with each passing second. The land was dying, and from any sane perspective, there was nothing more that could be done. All the inhabitants had either lost hope ... or already journeyed to the coast for evacuation in an effort to escape.
But as the very world around them tore itself apart piece by piece, two ponies remained at the center of this wasteland. A unicorn and an alicorn, while the unicorn laid defeated in the hooves of the alicorn who looked down upon her. This unicorn was a pale shade of purple while her mane was an ethereal starry mist. Wrinkled bags underlined her eyes showing her apparent exhaustion, while blood as dark as her mane trailed down the side of her lip. She looked up at the alicorn with a sense of melancholy, and sadness. "What will you do now?"
The alicorn who appeared to be a young adult mare, had a passive and equally distraught gaze as she held the unicorn in her hooves. Her expression was stern and serious, as she spoke in an empathetic tone. "I will do what I have to. That's all there is to it you Dummy."
The unicorn seemed lost in the alicorn's gaze, lost in understanding her reasoning. "Why?" At this moment she turned her eyes towards the sky as her struggle to speak became more apparent. "Why sacrifice it all for ponies who never cared for us in the first place?" She needed to take a brief reprieve. "They never understood your worth, y-your care for them. Saving them means nothing, b-but ... I guess there's no convincing you anyways." She slowly began to close her eyes, while her breathing came to a slow. "I guess in the end you will have your perfect world. I wonder if I will too." She paused again, this moment being longer than the last. "I want to see her ... Flurry."
Flurry Heart kept her same composure as she only nodded to the unicorn. "And I'm sure you will. She'll be waiting for you."
The unicorn cracked a tired smile as hushed laughter escaped her muzzle in the form of weak raspy breaths. "You always knew how to make me feel better." She then let off one last response. "Don't keep me waiting ... Dummy." And the color soon faded from her eyes as her body fell limp, and came to an unresponsive still. Her ethereal mane fell to the ground, losing all the mysticism it once had, lifeless.
Flurry Heart lowered her head as she pressed her forehead against the unicorn's. "Sleep well, Tanny." With that she lowered the unicorn's head to the ground as she slowly wobbled to all four hooves. It was then it was revealed that Flurry Hearts chest had been blackened by a magical blast which penetrated through the entirety of her torso. She went into a hacking cough, as she managed to recover after a few seconds. She struggled with her movements, as she turned around and wheezed, trotting forward a few feet then falling. She went into labored breathing as she raised her head. J-Just a little further ... Flurry. Come on, push yourself! She slowly rose to all four hooves again. As her body trembled and she gritted her teeth, she dug deep within herself to past memories. Memories that pushed her nonetheless.
Princess Nightmare Moon smirked at Flurry Heart with satisfaction as the two faced one another in a broken throne room. Both the sun and the moon hung in the sky as she let off a hushed snicker. "And so the chosen one comes before me. Will you destroy me as both my sister and your parents tried to do before? Will you fight for a society that has dubbed your alicorn heritage as a curse?" She raised one hoof in the form of a gesture. "What is there to gain from your perspective child? Even if you destroy me ... you will never find your peace."
Flurry Heart spread her hooves on all fours into a combative posture, as she was only a child back then. A grade school filly.
Princess Nightmare Moon continued with amusement. "You will spend your life searching for answers. You too, will fade."
As the thunder continued to echo across the desolate plains, Flurry Heart now descended a earthen ramp leading towards the entrance of a cavern. Halfway down the way, her body became frail yet again as she ended up stumbling and falling to her side. She tossed and tumbled the rest of the way down before hitting the flat surface and grunting in pain. Once again she repeated the process of rising to all four hooves as she peered deep into the blackness of the cavern before her. Determination was ingrained on her features as she snarled.
Queen Chrysalis stood at the peak of a long cliff as she looked down upon Flurry Heart who was surrounded by an indeterminable amount of changelings. "Ah well if it isn't the last alicorn. The prodigy and savior herself, Flurry Heart. How many years has it been? Here to wipe out our very existence? Is that what harmony has been contrived as?" She closed her eyes and smiled. "Survival of the fittest?"
Flurry Heart whom was now a young adult at this time had a serious gaze as she peered up at Chrysalis.
Queen Chrysalis found satisfaction in the alicorn's stare. "Well then ... Flurry Heart. Force upon us, your ... harmony."
Now much like the unicorn whom she comforted mere moments before, Flurry Heart was the one defined by her exhaustion. Leaning against a wall for support, she continued deeper into the cavern as she held a hoof against her chest and attempted to breath normally.
In a hazardous snowy wasteland, Flurry Heart practically buckled beneath the massive force and weight of an oncoming wave of darkness. As she was protected by a small magical barrier, she held up a crystal heart which radiated magic, defending her as she struggled to find an opening. As she continued to hold on, soon flaming green eyes with blood red pupils made themselves known, only to be accompanied by a deeply sinister voice. "I can sense your doubt and anger ... your struggle for motivation. You grow weary alicorn."
Flurry Heart gritted her teeth as she kept her head lowered and continued to use her magic to protect herself from the darkness.
The voice continued to analyze her. "You are a prisoner in your own world. You forsake shadow, yet it plagues you so."
Flurry Heart closed her eyes halfway as she casually glanced into those fiery green eyes, not saying a word.
And those eyes continued to find fascination in her. "Your world is dark and cold. But what do you fear? I wonder..."
Flurry Heart came to a still as she finally arrived at her destination. There at the distant end of the cavern was a dead tree. So deep beneath the surface and tucked away from the rain, there was only silence now as Flurry Heart stood there, taking a moment, to think.
Lord Tirek grinned as he looked down upon a broken and beaten Flurry Heart in the middle of a scorching village. The land surrounding him was bathed in his destructive fire. "When you are gone the world will continue to turn. Power is ever fluctuating Alicorn, it passes from one individual to the other at a moment's notice. You will disappear and I will rule, change is the only definite factor..."
Flurry Heart still stood in the cavern as she looked upon the husk of the dead tree with a deep numbness. She slowly trotted up to the tree as she placed her hoof upon it and began rubbing it gently. She turned her gaze upward with a blank expression, exhaling. "I'm sorry." She lowered her head with a troubled frown. "I'm sorry I failed ... I won't be able to protect you after this. So ... I guess this is goodbye."
Though the tree could not speak back from its lifeless husk, there was a steady sudden wind which coursed through the air.
Flurry Heart smiled up at the tree. "Please take care of them." Her horn slowly started to glow as did her body, radiating magic. A stream of memories echoed through the fragments of her mind as she slowly closed her eyes and continued to pulse with harnessed magic.
Flurry Heart was sitting upon a bedside with her mother. She was a small filly at the time as she looked over a picture with her. She blinked a couple of times as her mother, spoke about the pony in regards to the picture. "She was kind and gentle like you Flurry ... she was your Auntie Twilight." An apparent but tucked away grief was obvious upon her mother's face. "A sickness took her away from us." But she smiled then despite still feeling hurt by the loss. "But I know deep down she watches over you, she will always be with you. Always."
And Flurry Heart in that moment, ignited with her harnessed magic, shattering as her very essence brought the dead husk of the tree back to life. Life bloomed around the now crystallized tree as shrubbery and foliage emerged from the earth, rapidly spreading.
Only an instance later there was silence again as the scenery had changed entirely, and in that silence, crystal dust trickled down from where Flurry Heart once stood. The tree was now beautiful and vibrant, as the coursing winds had come to a stop ... as did the rain.
Flurry Heart had no way of determining whether the peace brought by her decision would last but ... she still did not regret it.
Flurry Heart sat with the strange starry maned unicorn in the middle of a field at night. Together they stared at the stars.
The starry maned unicorn sat as she had her forehooves wrapped around herself. "Flurry ... can I ask you a question?"
Flurry Heart's eyes grew wide as she let off a humored chuckle and smirked earnestly at the unicorn. "Anything. You know that."
The starry maned unicorn became serious. "Do you ever want to run away? Don't you ever feel trapped in this place?"
Flurry Heart raised a brow in sudden confusion as she seemed a little thrown off. "W-What are you even saying Tanny?"
The unicorn turned her gaze downward in bitterness. "Let's leave this place behind. Let's find our own perfect world."
And Flurry Heart's eyes opened wide as she felt the comforting touch of fresh grass beneath her. Her mind was blank as her confusion was paramount and she looked towards a beautiful bright blue sky. She was in the middle of a forest and saw what appeared to be pegasus fluffing up the clouds. It was the arguably the strangest thing she'd ever seen. Flurry Heart slowly leaned up as she blinked a few times and glanced around, noticing the forest she was in was also quite vibrant and colorful. W-What? I'm alive? She slowly rose to all four hooves cautiously as she patted herself down and found she wasn't wounded either. What's going on? How did I manage to survive that?
"Scootaloo! Stop being such a jerk! Get back here!" A childish ranting voice rang out.
Flurry Heart raised her head as her curiosity was piqued then and she slowly began trotting forward towards the noise.
"Hahaha! Come on catch me if you can! Getty up!" Another childish voice replied.
Flurry Heart came to the edge of the forest as she peeked through the trees and saw two fillies wearing capes frantically playing with one another, as one of the fillies kept what looked like a red piece of cloth away from the other. There was a third filly who watched the other two with apparent unease, as Flurry Heart even noticed there was a small village in the background. What in the hay is going on?