Chapters Flurry Heart's first birthday
"YAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!", Starlight screamed as she awoke with a startle one morning.
Twilight and her friends rushed in, to see her breathing heavily. She looked flat-out TERRIFIED!
"What is wrong with you, Starlight?", Twilight asked.
"TERRIBLE NIGHTMARE!!", Starlight screeched.
**
Starlight and the Main Six woke up in a dark cavern, tied up in what seemed to be slime. The cell quickly became lit, and Queen Chrysalis stormed out of the shadows with a snarl on her face.
"YOU WILL PAY FOR WHAT YOU DID!! TURNING MY SUBJECTS AGAINST ME!! IF THAT IS WHAT YOU DO, THEN I WILL PUNISH YOU!!", Chrysalis hissed loudly.
Twilight watched in horror as Chrysalis extracted Flurry Heart from a disgusting slimy restraint. Charging her magic, she began to zap poor little Flurry. Twilight burst into tears when she saw that Chrysalis had killed her little baby niece.
**
Twilight shuddered as Starlight described her dream. She soon used a calming spell, and Starlight recovered from her high anxiety. She'd never heard about a dream like this. It was terrible for her to visualize, and she almost scared herself.
Flurry Heart's first birthday
The next morning, Cadence and Shining Armor got up to get the final touches in place for the party. The party was scheduled to start at 2:00 pm. So, Twilight could spend a small amount of time with her niece beforehand. Trixie chose to wait until the party started to see Flurry. The little one was still sleeping when Twilight went to the palace. However, Flurry had been scared by a terrible dream.
"WAAAAAH!", she cried as she woke up.
Twilight calmed her down quickly, and began to pick her up. Flurry began to cry again as she felt something mushy against her skin. Twilight was about to sing to her niece, when she caught a nose-withering stink. Gagging, she understood why Cadence had given her a gas mask. After putting it over her mouth and nose, she laid her crying niece on her changing space. After disposing of the used diaper, she cleaned Flurry's delicate skin. After strapping a new diaper on, Twilight blew a raspberry to make her niece giggle.
"Happy first bithday.", she said in a musical tone.
Flurry's eyes popped open as she stretched her little hooves upward. "Aun Twilie!", she cooed.
Twilight nuzzled her and took her to Cadence. Then, she rejoined her friends outside.
**
Two hours later, it was party time. Celestia arrived with her guards, as the trumpets blared to begin the party. Brandon had volunteered to present Flurry Heart to the guests. Cadence motioned for him when the time was right. He walked out with a smile on his face.
"BEHOLD, THE BIRTHDAY FILLY!!", he cried as he held Flurry up for all to see.
Little Flurry wore a pink dress, with multicolored frills, and ballet shoes on her hooves. Brandon nodded to Twilight, and she lit her horn. A small, gold birthday crown materialized on Flurry's head. Brandon smiled as he handed the baby to her parents. The audience cheered and clapped as Pinkie fired off her party cannon to begin the celebration. Trixie gushed when she saw how cute Flurry Heart was.
Flurry Heart's first birthday
Enraged, Brandon put on his flight harness, deployed the wings, and took off to pursue Chrysalis. She saw him take to the air, and began to fly faster. Brandon shot a grapple line from his wrist mount and caught onto Chrysalis. Working his way up, he began to fight her in the air. He put her in a daze for a moment, and then dropped down to perform a small procedure on Flurry.
"This may hurt.", he warned as he pulled out a syringe that was designed to give an injection with a powerful speed.
Flurry closed her eyes and braced for the sticking.
"WAAH!", she screeched.
Brandon pressed the button, and injected a probe into her skin. This was not a tracker though. This probe was designed to detect the presence of wetness or mess in her diaper. The probe was joined wireless a with 5-minute timer. The timer would warn the holder, by telling how much time was left before Flurry would get diaper-rash. He then proceeded to continue fighting Chrysalis. Unfortunately, she kicked him down to the ground, damaging one of his wings in the process. Flurry Heart began fussing and panicking, because she thought Brandon was going to fall to his death. Luckily, Brandon had implemented a feature into his gloves that was on the crew's spacesuits. They could fire blasts that would turn into platforms. He fired one, and pulled out a gun. Aiming at Chrysalis' rear left leg, he shot a probe, which had an automatically wrapping strap on it. The strap secured the probe tightly, and he jumped off the platform after fixing the wing on his harness. After returning to the Empire, he showed Celestia the radar of where Chrysalis was going.
"Now we know where she is going.", Twilight said cheerfully.
"Yes, and we will be able to rescue Flurry.", Starlight added.
"I am counting on you. Save my baby.", Cadence said through sniffs.
Thorax volunteered to assist with the rescue. They took off and followed the radar, until they reached a cavern deep in a snow covered mountain. This had to be her hideout. Brandon and Link readied their guns and instructed the ponies to go in first. They would cover them from behind.
Flurry Heart's first birthday
During breakfast, Spike felt as if he had a terrible stomachache. He gave an abruptly loud belch, and a flame shot from his mouth. Twilight shielded her pancakes, and watched the flame turn into a snowflake. Excitedly, she opened it up.
**
Dear Friends and Family, You are invited to the Crystal Empire for a special event in three days. Our daughter, Flurry Heart, is turning one year old. Please be so kind as to bring presents for her, and enjoy the games that we have planned to have for you. This will be a great day.
Signed, Princess Cadence and Shining Armor
**
Twilight began to get a gift ready for her niece, as her friends scattered and did the same. Starlight went to tell Trixie about this, and got a surprise herself.
"I got an invitation as well. I have never seen Flurry Heart.", Trixie replied.
"Well, there is always a first time.", said Starlight.
Flurry Heart's first birthday
On the way to the Crystal Empire
A day and a half later, the friends got together, and prepared to go to the Crystal Empire. However, heavy snowfall in the recent start of winter had covered parts of the train tracks. Since the tracks were not clear yet, they fired off a signal. Brandon and Link saw the flare and headed to Ponyville. The friends piled into their allies' snowcat and quickly got going.
"We are on our way there ourselves.", Brandon explained. "Cadence has been worried about the possibility that Queen Chrysalis might try to drop down and crash the party. The rest of the Lemurian Star's crew is already there. Thorax and the Changelings will be there for protection as well."
Twilight understood this very well, and she decided to have them discuss what they were giving Flurry Heart. Applejack revealed that she had made a new cradle, only with richer and darker wood. Wood like this was harder to find in their orchards, because it was so rare. Rainbow had made a new mobile, but she only showed it to them in a picture. This way, Pinkie could not make the mistake of knocking a piece off. Rarity was embroidering a new baby blanket for little Flurry. This one was designed to hold in heat very well. So much so, that if Flurry had been unwrapped for two hours, it would still be warm. Fluttershy had gotten some stuffed animals to put in Flurry Heart's nursery. Pinkie had selected several coloring books, and multiple colors of crayons for them. Starlight had picked out a royally decorated pan-flute. When played softly, the music would serve as one of the most soothing lullabies, known to anyone. Even if played near a baby that was fussing and crying as loudly as possible, they would settle down and go to sleep. Last but not least, Twilight had found a jeweled pacifier, and some beautifully faceted gemstone decorations for a bed. Applejack said that the gems would go nicely with the cradle she had made.
"Crystal Empire, dead ahead.", Link said over the microphone.
Night was falling. They looked out the windshield, and saw the crystal palace. They were starting to get excited when the snowcat came to a stop. Thorax met them as they went through the gates. He quietly told them about what he was giving Flurry Heart. They were led to their rooms, and they went to bed for the night.
Flurry Heart's first birthday
After everyone had eaten and had some cake, Flurry Heart began to open her presents. Due to her young age, she simply opened them with her magic. She cooed excitedly when she saw the richly colored cradle that Applejack had given her. Cadence was in awe when she saw the mobile from Rainbow Dash. Flurry clamped hard on her new stuffed animals from Fluttershy, a clear indication that she loved them. She got very excited when she looked through her coloring books from Pinkie. Cadence smiled warmly at Rarity when she saw the blanket she had made. She was equally excited when Flurry opened the pan-flute from Starlight. Starlight explained how well the flute worked, and Cadence became excited. Flurry giggled happily when she saw the gems that her aunt had found to decorate her new bed, and she popped the pacifier in her mouth.
"I had a feeling that she would like the gifts we got for her.", Twilight said with a warm smile.
Cadence nodded, and Flurry went on opening her gifts from the changelings. She opened Celestia's gift last. She had given her a set of solid 18k gold hairclips, decorated with rare "Sun Gems". These gems were the hardest ones to find in Equestria. They would materialize one day per year, at the summit of Mount Aris. Even better, is the fact that they emit their own light, and have small flames that dance around their edges. Cadence was overjoyed that Celestia had finally found these gems, and that her daughter could wear them in her mane.
Suddenly, the sky turned darker than it already was that evening. Queen Chrysalis dropped out of the cloud cover, and flew down at the ground.
"CHRISTIANS, OPEN FIRE!!", Brandon and Link screamed as loud as they possibly could.
Laser rifles broke the silence as the soldiers began to defend the Crystal Empire. Chrysalis was forced to fly out of her pattern, but she eventually reached her target. Kicking Celestia to the ground, and knocking Link down, she flew straight for Cadence. With a cross between a hiss and an evil laugh, she snatched Flurry Heart out of her mother's hooves. Flurry began screaming and crying at the top of her lungs, as she tried to reach for her mom.
"FLURRRRYYY HEAAAAAART!", Cadence screeched.
"NOOOOOOOOO!!!", Twilight cried through tears at the same time.
Flurry Heart's first birthday
They searched the dark cavern with flashlights and lit horns, but they could not find Flurry Heart. Suddenly, Chrysalis dropped down and captured the ponies. Brandon and Link promised to save them. Link shadowed Chrysalis, while Brandon kept looking for little Flurry.
"Did you really think you could barge in and save your niece?", Chrysalis hissed at Twilight as she bound her with slime.
Brandon was about to turn back and search another corridor, when he heard Flurry start crying loudly. He then felt something vibrate on his belt, and looked down. The device connected to the timer was alerting him of a detection.
**ALERT!! RASH IN PROGRESS CAUSE: MESS
The timer began to count down from five minutes. Growing frantic, Brandon ran toward where he could hear the crying getting louder. Simultaneously, he called Link who was working on breaking the ponies out. He had stunned Chrysalis, but he knew it would not last long.
"Link, this is Brandon. Flurry Heart has messed her diaper, and is on the brink of getting a rash.", he reported.
Link saw Chrysalis beginning to regain mobility. He pulled two bow-knives from the back of his belt and pierced her eyes out. Then he punched them into her heart, killing her instantly. He then motioned everyone to follow him to meet up with Brandon.
Flurry Heart's first birthday
Brandon spent three minutes looking for Flurry Heart. When he found her, he could see her strapped to a table, and lying on her back. However, the door was locked with two seperate mechanisms. Working quickly, he got the first one off in thirty seconds. The other lock was trickier, and he was almost done, when he felt rapid vibrations, and saw the red lights blinking on the timer. He realized that Flurry had gotten a rash. He was not fast enough to get the locks opened in time. After removing the lower restraints, he began to change her. At this point, she was crying in pain from her rash. After cleaning her skin, he applied a rash cream that he had formulated to instantly stop it. She stopped crying when she no longer felt pain in her skin. Taking off the other restraints, he picked her up and rushed to join Link and the others. They got on their plane, and flew for the Crystal Empire.
**
Celestia saw the plane in the distance and became excited. She ran to tell Cadence and Shining Armor that the Christians were returning. When they touched down on the runway, Brandon walked to Cadence and held Flurry out to her.
"Mama!", she cried happily, stretching her hooves toward Cadence.
Cadence took Flurry in her magic and cradled her.
Five hours later, Brandon lit off fireworks to conclude the birthday party. Cadence called a meeting later, to discuss strengthening the security in the empire. Everyone voted "Yes", and the stronger, stricter training began. They hoped that they could protect Flurry Heart better this way. No one was certian, but they did not give up hope.
