The Abyssal Requiem

The next morning, Flurry Heart was woken up by a knock on the door, causing her to accidentally tumble out of bed.

“Princess! You’re going to be late!” the voice shouted.

After regaining her senses, Flurry Heart realizes that it was none other than Starlight Glimmer, the caretaker of the castle. Turning towards the clock, it read 7:30 AM on the dot. Immediately panicking, she shouted,

“Hold on a second, Aunty Starlight!”

Flurry Heart dashed for the door and opened it. Immediately, Starlight bursted in, causing Flurry Heart to get hit by accident. The former briefly looks around for her in a panicke manner before spotting the latter on the ground seeing stars. Without warning, she picked up the princess and said,

“Come on, Flurry Heart! You need to get ready! Those piano lessons aren’t going to play themselves, you know!”

“Aunty Starlight…?” Flurry Heart asked in a dazed voice.

“Don’t dilly-dally! If we’re late, you’re gonna get an earful from your parents! Especially me…” Starlight said in a fearful tone.

Flurry Heart raised an eyebrow at Starlight, followed by a disapproving look on her face.

“Look, Aunty Tempest is busy with guard assignments and scheduling today. So I have to fill in today since she is busy. And Sunset being busy with meetings today isn’t doing me any favors.” Starlight said, scratching the back of her head.

“Can’t we just do something fun for today…?” Flurry Heart asked in an annoyed tone.

“Which one of us is the princess?” Starlight countered.

Flurry Heart lowered her head in defeat and started getting ready. While she was busy preparing, Starlight noticed a picture frame on Flurry Heart’s drawer. She walked towards it and it contained a picture of Spike and Twilight with Flurry Heart when she was still a foal. Starlight grabbed the picture with her hoof and just looked at it. Tears silently poured as she could feel the memories rush back to her from before the Abyss took over. The feeling of longing was intoxicating and Starlight wanted nothing more than to go back and fix that mistake. But after everything that happened, it was too late. But just as she was swimming in thought, a fully-dressed Flurry Heart tapped Starlight on her shoulder, scaring her out of her wits.

“I’m ready, Aunty Sta-! Are you… crying…?” Flurry Heart asked, confused by Starlight’s actions.

“Some dust got into my eyes.” Starlight said as she wiped the tears away.

“The maid dusted everywhere before I entered my room.” Flurry Heart said, not believing Starlight’s story.

“Look, this isn’t the time to cry. We need to go.” Starlight said as she grabbed Flurry Heart.

“Ow! I’m going!” Flurry Heart said in an annoyed tone.

After leaving the castle, Starlight took Flurry Heart all the way over to school with no delays and dropped her off. A lot was going through Starlight’s mind when she saw the picture, but she made sure to keep her secret safe from the young alicorn. And even then, she could hardly keep her emotions tucked away after the memories started flooding her mind. But regardless, she did her duty and was prepared to head back to the castle. But before she could leave, Starlight shouted,

“I’ll get you something sweet if you behave yourself! Okay, princess?”

“Yay! I’ll be a good girl! See you later, Aunty Starlight!” Flurry Heart shouted back before entering the school building.

“I know you will…” Starlight said before turning around.

As she walked back to the castle, she looked up at her broken horn and touched the chips on her forehead. Then she remembered what happened after what Midnight did to her during the Abyssal Invasion. Immediately, she blocked that horrendous image out of her mind. Then she said to herself,

“Life was much easier when I still had my horn…”

Having walked most of the way, she saw a nice hayburger stand on her right. Deciding to stop for a quick bite, she bought a full meal and sat at a park bench before eating her lunch. When she was finished, she walked back to the castle where she was greeted by Sunset Shimmer.

“You were almost a minute late.” Sunset said in an annoyed tone.

“And I needed to drop Flurry Heart off.” Starlight countered.

“Starlight, this is an important event and you’re a part of this. If we want this to work, everypony needs to be involved. You understand, don’t you?” Sunset asked, trying to lecture the former.

“She does. She just doesn’t enjoy condescension.” a voice called out.

They turned around and it was none other than Tempest. Walking over to the two unicorns, she asked,

“Why was I called here?”

“I’ll explain everything once we head to the meeting room. Come on.” Sunset said as she pulled them with her.

Reluctantly going along with her plan, Starlight and Tempest followed her into the meeting room where they were greeted by dozens of business ponies, including Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon.

“Now that everypony is here, please be seated. I would like to begin this meeting with an idea for the ten-year anniversary since the day we defeated the Abyss. Would you care to show us your powerpoint presentation, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon?” Sunset requested, looking at the two mares.

“Of course, Sunset Shimmer. We have the portfolio right here.” Diamond Tiara said as she grabbed the portfolio.

The duo immediately rose out of their chairs and walked towards the powerslide with a portfolio containing the presentation. After loading the powerslide with their pictures, they stood at attention and faced the table.

“As all of you are already aware, it has been ten years since we’ve defeated the Abyss and we have very high expectations for this upcoming celebration of our victory. So this is how we’ll kick off the celebration for this momentous occasion. We’ll…” Silver Spoon said as she started explaining the celebration.

. . .

An hour later, everypony clapped at their plan for the celebration. Even Starlight and Tempest seemed impressed by how well-spoken and thorough the presentation was. But there were a few things that lingered on their minds. So Tempest rose out of her seat and said,

“There’s something that I need to ask and it’s not about the celebration. But it’s about the outside threats that still exist in Equestria.”

“What about the threats, Tempest?” Sunset asked.

“Objectively speaking, this party will most likely be the biggest event that has occured since the Abyssal Invasion. Which brings me to my question. What will we do if outside threats are drawn to it? How will we fight back if we were to be attacked?” Tempest asked.

Hearing this sparked murmuring amongst the meeting attendees. Some have sided with Tempest’s side of the argument while the others opposed it. But attempting to mitigate the concerns, Sunset said,

“We will do what we have always done, Tempest. The Abyss was the biggest threat that we have fought against and if there were any threats, it’d be mostly some of the creatures who had survived the Abyss’s purging before it died. And even then, it wouldn’t matter as we have dealt with foes far more powerful than either of us.”

“But even so, we need to be prepared in case the worst comes to pass. If we don’t have a coherent plan to counter it, it could be a lot worse than the Abyssal Invasion.” Tempest countered.

“I’m sure you already have a plan for that. After all, you were once the commander of the Storm King’s army. I’m sure you have no issues with any of the soldiers protecting us?” Sunset asked.

Hearing this struck a nerve in Tempest. She wanted nothing more than to push Sunset into a wall and make her retract her statement. But she swallowed her pride and let it slide.

“No, Sunset Shimmer. Just be ready in case an attack were to occur.” Tempest said, trying to keep her temper in check.

“Then we are in full agreement. We will form teams and begin planning tomorrow morning. This meeting is adjourned.” Sunset stated.

After everypony left, Tempest walked over to Sunset and pushed her against a wall, prompting Starlight to intervene.

“What was that all about?” Tempest growled, feeling angry over Sunset’s rude behavior.

“I was just stating the truth. After all, you did work for the Storm King.” Sunset said.

“And what about you? You wanted to take over Equestria with a half-baked scheme of using teenagers as your army!” Tempest shouted.

“Girls! That’s enough!” Starlight shouted, trying to shove them away from one another.

“And you! Why were you being so quiet during the meeting? Did you have nothing to say about the presentation? Or did you just enjoy watching us destroy each other like how you enjoyed tearing everypony apart for equality?” Tempest shouted.

“What does that have to-!” Starlight shouted before hearing a zap across the room.

The three turned around and saw it was Cadance. Immediately, they stopped fighting and bowed before them.

“While I am not sure what happened here, I will not tolerate any form of bickering and you will not tear each other inside this castle for any reason. Do I make myself clear?” Cadance said in a firm, icy tone.

“Yes, Princess Cadance.” they said in unison.

“When you are done reconciling with one another, one of you will pick my daughter up. I have other matters to attend to. Finish your duties.” Cadance said before leaving the meeting room.

When Cadance left the meeting room, they immediately calmed down and looked at each other. Then Starlight said,

“I’ll go pick Flurry Heart up. You two have so much to do for tomorrow. I’ll-”

“We appreciate that you enjoy playing mediator, but you need to say something before something happens. That’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re stronger than this, Starlight.” Tempest said, having calmed down.

“Plus, there’s gonna come another time where you have to make an important decision. And it won’t be something you can just reverse. You will need to be ready for that when the time comes.” Sunset said in a serious tone.

Instead of saying a word, Starlight simply nodded and left the castle to pick up Flurry Heart. When she was finished with her task, she immediately took her home before preparing dinner. After they were finished eating, they got ready for bed and immediately went to sleep for tomorrow.