Escaping the Shadows

"For there cannot be joy without anger not order without chaos. So Serenity and Fury held the balance of Equs between them."- Loyalty

Darkness, how long had that been all she had known. And silence, it was so quiet it was deafening. Her dreams flickered around her as nothing more than memories caught in the void. A fire, a laugh, somepony called out to her. Darkness, that was all there was now, and the waiting. Always waiting, for how much longer did she have to wait? Many years ago her sister had imprisoned her in this darkness, she still remember her friends pleading for her release just before the spell took hold. Why? Her sister had no need to betray her. Why when her family turned against her did her friends still stand beside her? There was no light in this place, no magic, no color, no hope. She could feel the dark pressing against her, suppressing her, demanding she sleep.

For once though there was something else. A fracture in the binding? Yes! There was a break! It was the smallest of things but it was there! The dreams faded around her and her eyes snapped open. She pushed against her prison with her mind first, testing it, when it only bent she forced her hooves under her and pushed up trying to stand for the first time in centuries. It cracked, she heard it crack, a noise in the silence! It wasn't enough though the spell hadn't collapsed even if it was fracturing. She pushed harder but it didn't give way anymore that it already had.

She had been trapped in this prison for far too long if the attempt of escaping killed her so be it she would stay in exile no longer! Her mind cleared of the fog that had clouded it for the first time since her banishment and she charged her horn, determined to be free. Pain scorched her body as the dark tried to steal her magic but she refused to relent. One more push, one more thought, she poured all the power she had into one more burst of strength, the pain almost knocked her cold. The barrier bent, fractured and finally it broke.

Her own magic seared around her in a crazed inferno burning everything in its path, a crater dented the earth beneath her and chunks of rock where sent flying through the air. The darkness had left her and she was free. She didn't have time to be glad that the night ruled the sky so the sun couldn't burn her eyes, which were far to use to the dark. The power around her may have lashed at her and her body burned like fire from the over exertion after so long of being still and silent. She didn't take in any of those things, for one thought ruled her mind above all others. She was free!

She screamed in glee and pain. Her body tried to lie down demanding rest but for the moment that didn’t matter; all that mattered was that she was free.

Eventually her mind turned to wonder how long she had been trapped and the number came to her as if it had always been there. She let her body take her to the ground as tears over took her, fifteen hundred years was far too long there was no telling what she had missed or what had become of the world, but at least she was free now.

And as she sobbed, unable to decide if she was thrilled or devastated the magic that had brought her out of the void spiraled into the air in a pillar of emerald light.

In their castle in Canterlot Princess Celestia and Princess Luna stood on a balcony enjoying a night alone together when Luna took notice of a light coming from the north.

She raised a hoof and pointed "T-Tia is that?"

Celestia followed her sister’s gaze until her eyes also rested on the fading light. For a moment both sisters stared, transfixed, it was not until the light had disappeared in its entirety that they reacted. Luna spun around to summon the guard together, Celestia called for a quill and paper intent on sending a letter to her niece as well as her one time student.

Finished baring orders Luna turned to her sister "We will have to get there before she does." concern lased the words, and she glanced over to the north again

"We will." Celestia's voice came out much more confident than she felt.

They had failed once they could not fail again.

"I will finish gathering the guard if you will get a train, you're sending a message to Cadence correct?"  Luna who had moved to the edge of the balcony, pumped her wings in prep for flight. Celestia stood with the quill and paper that had been brought to her writing frantically.

"Cadence first then Twilight; I will get us a train sister."

"What of Twilight's friends?"

"You know as well as I that the elements of harmony cannot help us here."

Luna frowned "Do you think she'll turn the elements back to their original state?"

Celestia looked up from her paper and gave her sister a thought full look.  "You knew her better than me, what do you think?"

"I think she would berate us for being lazy and argue that the world has nothing of any interest without conflict and change."

Celestia smiled and shook her head “I would not put it past her.” Luna nodded with a smile of her own and flew down to the gathering solders in the courtyard below without another word.

Night had turned to day in the tundra before she found the strength to pull herself to her hooves.  Her eyes roamed the landscape taking her surroundings in. Which way do i go now? Her gaze fell on the rising sun. If I'm in the place we fought then the Crystal Empire is due north. She glanced north before turning the other way. That would make the Two Sisters Castle southish Her eyes turned north again and she started walking. Due north is way more specific than southish and the empire should be closer aswell.

The air was biting cold; it was however a mild discomfort for somepony like her. It couldn't really do any more harm than hunger or thirst and since she didn't need to eat or drink that wasn't much. The real problem was the landscape, it was boring and with nothing to occupy her mind it was hard to focus. She kept tripping on clumps of snow or hidden rocks, and a face plant into the soggy ice cold snow might have been funny the first time but by the ninth it was grating on her nerves.

She tripped again not five steps from the last spot she had fallen, luckily she caught herself this time. Irate she stopped to glare at the white fluff beneath her hooves. If I continue on like this I will never get to the empire! Very well then cursed frost if thou wishes to trip me thou will have to put up more effort. She eyed the landscape ahead of her as an idea of how to keep herself occupied bubbled to the forefront of her mind.

With a leaping bound she took off at a gallop. Her wings buzzed on occasion to hold her up a bit, making one jump here and there a bit longer than the others. On a normal day she would have just flown to the empire, but flying took magic and she was taped out. She sprinted from one spot to another, leaped to the next, twisted in the air, and then shot off to the next spot she had picked out. It was a simple enough workout. One that had her practicing dodging and pouncing while she zigzagged across the tundra. The only time her attention turned out of the workout was when she glanced up to make certain she was still headed in the right direction. Her mind was caught up in making sure that she kept her footing in the slick snow, and that she preformed each move with the same precision she would have before her banishment. The joy of it had her giggling and then outright laughing. It was perhaps because of her glee that she didn't notice the cliff in front of her until she had leaped off of it, though she would forever argue that it had been a trick of the light playing on the snow.

For just a moment she was free falling, but it only took that moment for her to add the cliff to her routine. She bounced from one rock that was sticking out a little bit to another until she was close to the ground at which point she spring boarded off the cliff face and into the snow below.

"Hey, up here!" the sudden noise caught her off guard and she spun toward it to see a pegasi drawn carriage descending toward her. She shook herself off and trotted in its general direction. It touched down a moment latter the two armored pegasi pulling it brought it to a halt in front of her. It was crystal, implying it was from the Empire, but that wasn't what caught her attention A pink alicorn stepped out of it along with a white blue maned unicorn. The alicorn held out her hoof smiling.

"My name's Cadence, my aunt Celestia sent me to find you, this is my husband Shining Armor."

She tilted her head slightly at the alicorn's diction. Of course t'would make sense for ponies of a different age to use a different dialect. "We- no I. Is that right?" Cadence nodded and she continued "I am Fury, t'is a pleasure." She shook hooves first with Cadence and then with Shinning Armor who seemed a little hesitant.

Cadence gestured to the carriage "Why don't we continue the introductions on the way to the Crystal Empire, there's no reason to stand around out here." Fury nodded in agreement and, after they all got into the carriage, the pegasi took back to the air. Fury fidgeted trying to get comfortable in the small space but feeling somewhat claustrophobic. For a while silence reigned. She was contemplating whether to break it or not when Shinning Armor spoke up.

"So you’re a changeling?" He asked the question careful as if wary of her response. Cadence shot him a look but Fury got the feeling more disapproving at the question itself and less the fact that he had spoken. That implied some equality between mortal and immortal which did not exists in her time, not that she minded it was actually kinda nice. She was so busy contemplating the implications that she almost forgot she had been asked a question and needed to respond.

"Oh um..... no? What is this changeling thee speakith of?" Cadence seemed to relaxed Fury hadn't even realized she'd been tense but Shining Armors eyes where suddenly laced with suspicion.

“The proper term now a days would be "you speak of".” Cadence corrected with a warm smile, Fury nodded in gratitude and mouthed the words to herself.

"Bug like pony, shape shifter, feeds on love." Shining Armor listed the attributes of a changeling looking her up and down pointy, and ignoring the exchange with Cadence.

Fury looked back at her blood red insectoid wings and her tongue ran over her fangs, she was aware of the differences between herself and a normal pony but her wings, teeth, and curved horn where it. She considered what he said for a moment before the realization of who he was talking about hit her. For a few seconds she sat there trying not to laugh but she had never been good at holding her emotions in. Soon she was cracking up. Despite Shining Armors glare and Cadence trying to pretend she didn't know either of them it took Fury a good while to calm down.

"I am sorry, t'is funny I had not thought the curse I had placed on my sister would hold this long."  She covered her mouth with a hoof in an attempt to keep from laughing again.

"A curse?" Cadence had suddenly taken an interest in the conversation.

"Yes, when my sister sought to seal me away t’was naught I could do, I had not expected her to cast a banishment spell on me and by time I realized what had happened t'was too late. However I have never been a good loser, I cursed her just before my banishment was completed, but perhaps I should tell you the story from the start."

"Princess Celestia I came as soon as I could!" Twilight trotted up to her mentor, it was clear she had packed frantically and gone straight to the train station in Ponyvill, the train she had gotten off of had just arrived. Her mane was frazzled and her left eye was twitching.

Celestia looked down on the youngest princess with very well concealed amusement. "You got here just in time; we’re about to leave, Luna is already on the train." Twilight nodded jerkily and Celestia stamped down the urge to laugh.

"What's the problem exactly?" Twilight asked nervously, Celestia smiled at her.

"We will tell you on the way, come on it looks like Luna's fifty odd guards have finally boarded." Celestia walked over to the train with Twilight at her tail, the station itself was all but abandoned, the guard flocking somewhere will do that to a place.

Twilight followed Celestia into the train car where Luna was laying on a bench with a book floating in front of her. The fact that it was not the royal train that they had boarded was not lost on Twilight, it was probably out somewhere being used be some dignitary but the fact that they hadn't waited for it to get back spoke a lot for the situation. Nopony said a word until the train left the station at which point Luna snapped the book shut with a satisfied huff before floating it over to Twilight.

"Read this, it should cover the basics."

Twilight looked over the book and frowned "This is the story of your banishment I already read this."

"It's not" Celestia said with a smile "Though the author of that book was greatly inspired by this one."

Twilight frowned and opened the book. "Once upon a time, there were two sisters who guided every creature in the land.  The elder of the two represented love and peace while the younger represented rage and war. Each took a stand where they where needed and gave way to the other when they were not. And so the two maintained a balance throughout the land between the good and the bad in the world.  But as time passed the elder became jealous of the younger,  for while every creature her as a friend her sister commanded fear and respect. One day the elder could take it no more, she wanted everyone to have the same respect for her they held for her sister, and so she attacked her, to try and take that respect be proving herself the stronger of the two. The younger, made angry not by the attack but by her sister forsaking her duty to uphold peace in favor of fighting, would not relent and the creatures of the land feared it would be a fight to the death. The younger was the more experienced combatant and thus won the fight, but when the moment came she could not deliver the final blow. And so the elder took advantage of her sister’s hesitation and sealed her away somewhere in the northern tundra. The younger only further enraged used her last moments with clear mind to place a curse on her sister. And so both spells took hold. The younger of the two fell into a trance like state in her prison waiting for the moment when it would weaken enough for her to break free. The elder however found herself transformed where once she had had a beautiful grey coat she now had jet black chitin, her legs became riddled with holes, her voice warped, and worst of all food offered her no sustenance, only the love of others satisfied her in any way. If she would not value love on her own, her sister was determined, even in exile, to force her to. Lastly her name was taken from her, while it could be spoken no one could say it in her presence, their lips would seal themselves and their voices would catch in their throats. Without the sisters to guide war and protect peace the land raged out of control and eventually fell to the spirit of Discord itself." Twilight blinked and looked up at Celestia but before she could say anything Luna spoke up.

"I actually wrote that book many years ago it is, perhaps, ironic that somepony came across it and used it as inspiration to write about my banishment. Never the less Serenity and Fury where close friends of ours"

Celestia frowned "They fought for days and everyone thought Fury would kill her sister in the end, she was never the sentimental type."

"I only wish she had done something perhaps we would not have lost her, yesterday Celestia and I noticed a light shoot up in the north"

"We have reason to believe that Fury has finally broken free, in which case her sister will be after her."

"If so it is of the up-most importance that we aid Fury however we can, when Serenity betrayed her nature she broke the Spirits of Harmony leaving only the elements in their place but Fury never turned her back on her duty."

"While Serenity commanded the Spirits of Harmony Fury commanded the Spirits of Disharmony"

"You have met one of them, Discord claimed his brothers and sisters went to sleep until Fury woke to reclaim her command"

"Fury will likely reawaken the Spirits of Harmony as well, but in doing so place them right back into her sisters control."

"She will view it as her duty to help restore balance but her sister is no different now than she was then, she cannot awaken the Spirits of Harmony herself because she forsook them when she attacked Fury."

"But Fury can and if she dose a battle will begin again between the two."

“Thought to be fare they will likely fight no matter what, its just that the fight will be much more devastating with all of the Spirits fighting as well as Fury and Serenity.”

"When Celestia and I fought we created the Everfree forest when Serenity and Fury fought they created the frozen north."

"If they fight again there is no telling what they will destroy."

Twilight stared at the two of them to make sure they were done and then spoke up "So these two are just as powerful as you two?" Luna nodded."Then what are we supposed to do?"

Luna smiled, it was a weak smile but still a smile "Whatever Fury asks, this qualifies as a state of war, any fight between immortals dose, and there for tradition demands she be placed in charge, besides she is a friend and this is her fight I will do what I can to help but the decisions are hers to make" Celestia nodded in agreement.

"Great how long before we get there?!" Twilight yelled in alarm as Discord appeared seemingly out of now where.

"I do not recall calling you here Discord" Luna said with narrow eyed glare.

He gave her a cocky smile in return "You didn't, she sent out the call for us over an hour ago I figured I’d hitch a ride with you lot I should get there only a little ahead of the others."