-Crystal Empire-

Cold.
Bitter.
Alone.
A failure…

Those four thoughts ran through the broken husk of the mare formerly known as Princess Mi Amore Cadenza, but she no longer deemed herself worthy of her title. She was now just a pony shaped void, nothing inside her but the all-consuming darkness of depression. Her once lavish mane and coat now was thin and tattered, strands of both lay scattered with the fragments of the Crystal Heart that she now considered her final resting place.

”I have failed…” The broken mare thought to herself as she lay in her own vile mess wastes. The strength to move had long since left her as she ignored the tarnished crystal floor, now dark garnet from all the blood she had lost. “I failed my aunts… I failed the ponies I was supposed to protect… I failed my husband… but most of all I failed my little Flurry Heart…”

A violent, but weak, cough thundered through her body, making her feel like she was going to shake apart. However, she did not fight it, instead embracing the darkness that started to encroach the extreme edges of her vision. A warm smile came across her muzzle at remembering her early life, but it vanished once she reached her current predicament.

“Everything is my fault, and I am solely to blame…” Another cough, and the darkness advanced further. She could practically feel the last of her will being drained from her, but she was ready to accept Death’s embrace, knowing her Aunt Luna would guide her soul to the Pony of the Damned safely and Cadance wanted her nightmare to end.

“I am a horrible pony… and I am sorry Flurry…” Just as she was about to give up, a voice called out to her.

“Mommy!” The voice the called through Cadance’s darkness was unmistakable, but she had trouble actually believing what she had heard. Hearing the doors open, Cadance glanced up and if she had the strength her jaw would have dropped.

A tall figure stood in the doorway, the light from the hall reflecting through the figure’s outstretched wings like prisms, each individual feather only amplifying the effect across the long-disgraced floor. At first, Cadance thought that Luna was just putting on a show as she had came to carry the tattered fragments of the former Princess of Love’s soul away to the afterlife. She was proven wrong when the figure closed the gap and tightly hugged her.

“Please don’t die mommy…” Flurry pleaded, herself on the verge of an emotional breakdown. Since her changes started, her hivemind connection had grown stronger, so Chrysalis and each of their drones could feel just how torrid Flurry’s emotions were and they each knew to back off. “I’m here now, and I am so sorry for the way that I had acted…”

“Flurry?” Cadance asked still unsure of what was happening, no longer trusting her own eyes. “Is that really you? No, it can’t be, after all Auntie Lulu promised me sweet dreams… guess this is my last before I pass over.”

“Please don’t talk like that momma, and yes it is really me.” Flurry said as Shining and Chrysalis, who Flurry had darted ahead of once they teleported to the castle, finally managed to make their way to the room. By this point, Flurry was practically sobbing. “There’s no need for you to feel guilty about what happened, I overreacted and I wish that I hadn’t been so foolish!!”

Cadance managed a weak smile as she looked Flurry in the eyes, and even with the slitted irises, Cadance realized this was no dream and Flurry was actually holding her. “I am afraid the time for that has long since passed my daughter, but I do accept your apology… but I’m afraid this is the end. Goodbye Flurry… I love you…”

The room grew darker as Luna suddenly teleport into the room, the feeling of death hanging in the air like a thick fog as Cadance closed her eyes. Both Shining and Chrysalis put a hoof on Flurry’s withers as she bitterly broke down. The mix of regret, despair, sadness, and self-hating coming off Flurry was making Chrysalis ill, but she fought against it for her wife’s sake.

“I am sorry we had to meet again under these circumstances Flurry,” Luna said in a solemn tone as she came over to the group. “but you now why I am here, so it is time for you to say your final goodbye.”

“NO!” Flurry suddenly boomed, and it was obvious to everypony she was in the depths of denial. “There must be something I can do!”

“Flurry…” Luna said in a comforting tone, one that Flurry ignored as she channeled her inner Twilight, thinking of ideas to try and bring her mother back. “There is nothing you nor I can do, just be thankful that you got to see her before she passed.”

“True…” Shining said laying down by his departed wife. “However, it won’t be long before me and the Empire meet a similar fate.”

Her mother’s death had crushed Flurry’s spirit, but the thought of losing her father and everypony in the Empire obliterated it into dust. Words became impossible for her, each dying in her throat as the sobbing increased. She felt as if the world was closing in on her, all of her past actions mounting her and jackhammering her soul. The more depressed she became, the more she wished that death would visit her, that way she could have her parents forever.

“Flurry,” Chrysalis said as she held her wife, and feeling just how deep in depression the AliQueen was temporarily muted Flurry’s connection to their drones. “now you know how I felt the night my own mother died… Those are the three most powerful words to a changeling, because as everypony knows we feed on love. I always was taught that we as a species could collect love but not give it, but you proved that was wrong. I love you Flurry, and if there is anyway I can help you cope please tell me.”

“Wait…” Multiple lightbulbs went off in Flurry’s head as she processed what Chrysalis just said. “Chryssy you are a genius! I’m now half changeling queen, or so I think anyway, but combine a love flow and channel it through the Crystal Heart fragments…”

“Might reverse the effect and save Cadance’s soul, bringing her back to life…” To Shining’s and Flurry’s surprise, it was Luna who spoke it before narrowing her gaze. “It is a long shot, and you only have one shot, but it just might work; you better hurry because I don’t have much time to me stalling.”

“Got it.” Flurry then closed her eyes and concentrated, her horn igniting in a mix of emerald and gold as a pink mist flowed from the horn tip and into the fragments. “I am a firm believer that when one’s time is up, it’s up, but I think that my mom’s should not have been over so soon. After all, life always finds a way, even when the odds are stacked against it.”

“Do you know what you are doing Flurry?” Shining asked as he observed a hot pink tendril come from him, Chrysalis, and Luna and into Flurry’s horn. The effect was instantaneous, for the mist thickened into the consistency of a heavy dew.

“Magic…” Flurry’s tone was cross, showing she wasn’t pleased with Shining nearly breaking her concentration, but she managed to stabilize the complex web of spells so she could explain.

“Basically a mix of Alicorn and Changeling spells, both similar but having a different purpose.” Flurry briefly paused, continuing only after her father nodded that he was following along. “Chryssy and our drones taught me how to collect love to be used in an emergency situation, which is what the tendrils are. However, it is on a split alternating flow, what I am drawing from the three of you is being channeled through me and sent into the Heart fragments.”

“Considering I do not feel drained, it shows that you are using only the ambient love for you that we are giving off on our own,” Chrysalis noted, highly impressed with how calculative Flurry was being in a pinch, and she believed Flurry would give Twilight a run for her bits. “Then, combined with your own love for your mother. the fragments convert it into something that can be used to possibly save Cadenza.”

“That is correct Chryssy.” Flurry said as the pulse increased between the fragments, making her quit talking so she could hold the magical webbing together.

The fragments grew brighter and brighter, getting to the point that they became hard to look at as Flurry continued the spell. The minutes seemed to flow like molasses, feeling more like hours, and Flurry was about to give up until a bright flash filled the room. When they all could fully see again, the sight before them made their hopes soar.

The Crystal Heart was back fully mended, shining brighter and radiating more love than ever before. The room brightened as a pulse left the Heart, as if it was alerting the Empire to its triumphant return, and was followed by a load cheer from the ponies outside. In the room, however, the mood was the complete opposite.

As soon as the Crystal Heart had started back it’s beat, Cadance had been surrounded by a veil that sunk into her. At first, Flurry and the others were thinking that Cadance’s eyes were going to open at any moment, but after a few minutes of her not opening her eyes, Flurry looked down in disbelief.

“Dammit!” Flurry said as she stomped her hoof, the force of the strike reverberated through the floor and made the room slightly shake. “That should have worked!”

Luna was the next to speak. “To be fair Flurry, what you tried was completely experimental and done on a whim, the chances of it were virtually zero.”

“Yeah well… it didn’t work,” Flurry said bowing her head as she turned to walk out. “Now if you all will excuse me, I’ve got funerals to plan for…”

Flurry left the room and started down the hall as Luna started the spell to help ferry Cadance’s soul, not wanting to actually see it done. She stopped mid step when she heard shocked gasps coming from the room she left, and when she looked behind her Chrysalis was approaching her.

“Flurry!” Chrysalis said as she slid to a stop. “It’s your mother, your plan worked!”

“It did!?!?” The words flew from Flurry’s mouth as she bolted back into the room, When she saw her nothing looking back at her, a bright smile shined on her face. “Mommy!”

“Well done Flurry,” Cadance said on the verge of tears as her daughter tightly hugged her. “not only did you save my life, but also your father’s and each of the Crystal Ponies as well. I am so proud of you…”

“Thanks mom,” Flurry said while nuzzling her mom. “is it fair to say that my banishment will be overturned?”

Cadance gave a weak nod. “Overturned, stricken from record, and act as if nothing happened. You, Chrysalis, and your entire hive will be welcomed into the Empire with open hooves as a sign of my gratitude. Although I am curious, why do you have changeling characteristics?”

Flurry mentally sighed. “That’s just it mom, I have no idea how exactly this happened, although Aunt Twilight suspects that it had something to do with your pouring out the last of your will.”

“I have a good analogy for that…” All eyes fell on the Luna at those words. The Princess of the Night was casually sharpening a beautiful midnight blue scythe, trimmed in black, that bore her cutie mark on the blade. “When a supermassive star goes into its death throes, it “burps” away the outer layers of its atmosphere, then its core collapses and starts the Type 1b supernova process. The result, in this equivalent scenario, would be a neutron star.”

“Mom’s soul…” Flurry said interrupting. “and the spell web I did was like an accretion process. Which is the same thing that sparked my own changes.”

Luna smiled. “That is correct, and good job remembering what me and Tia taught you. Now, seeing as how I have no business here, I must be away. I need to visit the Land of Nod to rest for my rule tonight… farewell.”

Luna teleported away, and with her leaving the feeling of Death disappeared as well. Shining and Chrysalis moved to help Cadance to her hooves when she attempted to move, failing due to prolonged inactivity. This made Flurry’s changes all that more apparent, the fully matured body Flurry now had was a half a head taller than Cadance, but still shorter than Chrysalis. A mix of lean, powerful muscle and smooth, polished chitin filled her out nicely and gave her every mare’s dream body, one that Chrysalis was mentally drooling over.

Flurry’s face looked like a halfway mix of changeling and pony, complete with a Queen’s top and bottom fangs and a deadly curved horn, was intimidating to look at and would help strike fear in any foe that she would have to face. The biggest thing that drew attention was none of those, instead it was what rested on her flanks.

“Flurry…” Cadance said staring at her daughter’s flanks, but in a way that would have been interpreted another way if you did not know the two. “Y-you got your cutie mark…”

“I do?” Flurry asked confused before looking at her flanks herself, and when she did, her breath caught in her throat. On her flanks was a heart of similar size to her mother’s, but with several differences. First, most of the heart was a vibrant emerald green, surrounding a smaller blue heart in the middle. The right side of the heart bared a changeling wing, the left an alicorn wing, both a sleek glistening black that shone in the light like a polished stone.

“A blend of species in perfect harmony…” Shining said as he put his hoof to Flurry’s cutie mark, and to his surprise he could practically feel the love waves coming from it. “Seems your destiny has now been laid before you the Flurry of my heart, now it is up to you what you chose to do with it.”

“She isn’t the only one who has changed,” Cadance abruptly said. “I see there are no holes in Chrysalis’ mane, tail, legs, wings, and horn.”

All eyes turned to the changeling in question, who was staring at her reflection in the full length mirror, a hoof pressed to it. Not only were there no holes, her chitin shined like never before, all signs of life-long battles had also been erased.

“You ok Chrysalis?” Shining asked as he made his way over to her, who seemed to be frozen in shock as Flurry supported her mother’s weight.

“Yes I am Shining Armor,” Chrysalis finally said after a few minutes pause. “I just never have been so… full. That is why I have no holes, not only is my hunger gone, so is the hunger of every drone in the hive.”

“Love conquers all Chrysalis,” Cadance said with such sudden authority everypony in the room jumped. “It is just how you use it that determines if you succeed or fail. As for me, the love I have for my family fuels the Crystal Heart. When I drove Flurry away, I was heartbroken under the crippling pain of guilt and that was a factor in the Heart shattering. As for you, you used it in a negative, selfish way. Your driving force was not bad, you were just trying to provide for your drones.”

“Cadance I-“ Chrysalis was cut off by a firm look from Cadance, and she knew better than to argue it.

“Let me finish Chrysalis…” Cadance tone once again turning soft. “You just went about it in the wrong way, nothing more than being misguided. I bitterly hated you for everything that you did to me, and you really can’t blame me for feeling the way I did, especially with the circumstances involved. When Flurry claimed to reform you, I thought that it was just part of your games to continue tormenting me. However, I see now that I was in the wrong, you two deeply love each other, something that I can sense as the Princess of Love. That being said... I ask you, Queen Chrysalis of the Changelings, for my forgiveness.”

“I accept your apology Princess Mi Amore Cadenza of the Crystal Empire.” Chrysalis said as both leaders smiled. “After all, it would be wrong for me to hate my mother-in-law.”

Cadance chuckled. “That is true, but now we need to focus on more important matters. The Crystal Ponies will be expecting me to make a public announcement concerning why everything suddenly seems back to normal. As it stands, I am far too weak to do so, and despite Shiny having the title of “Prince” he really has no say-so regarding the affairs of the Empire itself.”

Chrysalis nodded. “I do recall that while impersonating you, his official, legal title is “Prince Shining Armor, Royal Consort to Her Royal Highness Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.” Basically he is in charge of the military only, in addition to helping you with more “private matters.”

“Exactly,” Cadance’s cheeks, in addition to Chrysalis’ had a light blush on them when the changeling mention the more personal part of Shining’s duties, one they both knew the other enjoyed. “that being said, to you remember the other part of that particular law?”

For some reason that Flurry did not know, but had a strong feeling she was not going to like, all the color drained from Chrysalis’ face. “You can’t possibly be serious Cadenza! For crying out loud, you just revoked mine and Flurry’s banishments, how do you think your subjects will react to what you are suggesting?!?!”

“Seeing as you are now part of the royal family, just call me Cadance or mother, either will work just fine.” Cadance smiled at the shocked expression Chrysalis gave her before continuing. “Yes, your concern is very valid, but if I assure them everything is going to be fine I think it will work out.”

“Umm…” Flurry was nervous, a feeling that she did not like at all. “Just what law you are referring to?”

“You aren’t going to like it…” Cadance, Chrysalis, and Shining said in unison as they proceeded to tell Flurry the plan.

Author's Note

Feeling a bit better so I have been working on this. Unfortunately, my editor Penalt has been sick (Get well soon pal), so this chapter was just going by my eyesight so I apologize for any errors in it.

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