“Ready or not, here I come!”

Flurry Heart called out as she uncovered her dazzling blue eyes and turned around. The large hallways of the crystal palace she called home contained not hide nor hair of her aunts or uncle. With a smile that revealed her shining soul, the young princes took flight with her large wings and began zooming through the halls, her eyes scanning every pillar and door.

“Aunty Starlight? Aunty Trixie? Uncle Sunburst?” As expected, no answer came. It wouldn’t be a good game of hide and seek if they willingly gave themselves up. She was about to teleport around to see if they had stumbled upon some of her favourite hiding places, but remembered she was sworn to not use her magic in this game.

On and on she searched, but as the minutes dragged well over what felt like an hour, she was beginning to grow concerned. Not only that, but she hadn’t seen a single palace worker or guard during her search. She landed, frantically running to and opening doors, yet finding nopony.

“Aunty Starlight?! Aunty Trixie?! Uncle Sunburst?!” She yelled as she ran. “Somepony?! Anypony!” Realising something was now definitely wrong, she abandoned the rules set upon before the game and her horn flared in an aura of golden light. She teleported to every room she could think of; the kitchens, the dining room, the palace library, and finally the throne room. Every single room was empty. As anxiety began creeping in beneath her white coat, she looked up and noticed the sky outside. Instead of the unusual brilliant blue with glowing auroras, it was an ominous red colour. Concerned, Flurry ran to the balcony and looked out at her home.

Her blood froze.

The Crystal Empire, an oasis of peace in the chaotic world she had grown up in, was in total anarchy. The walls surrounding the city had been torn down, and hordes of monsters of all shapes, sizes and descriptions flooded in. The guard were fighting valiantly, but it was clearly a losing battle. And the citizens… the stallions were being slaughtered, but the mares… they were being molested, raped, and abused. All the horrific rumours she had caught the workers whispering were true.

As she backed away in horror from the sight, a flying monster akin to a cycloptic sphere with tendrils trailing it, rocketed towards her. As she screamed and curled into a ball, a voice cried out to her, one she faintly remembered.

“FLURRY, NO!”

Flurry bolted up out of her bed, her eyes scanning the darkened area for the monster. As the sound of her rapid breathing filled her swivelling ears, she found herself back in her bedroom. Her eyes adjusted quickly thanks to the light of the dancing auroras outside her window, but nothing moved. Taking a moment to slow her breathing, implementing her mothers’ breathing technique, the young princess slowly clambered out of bed and to the window.

Beneath the dazzling lights in the starless sky, the ponies of the Crystal Empire slept soundly. Well, as soundly as they could without the guiding hand of her great aunt Luna protecting their dreams. Beyond the streets and buildings of her home, there was the refugee district; built to accommodate those lucky souls that had managed to escape the hell that the lands to the south had apparently become. Even now, as it had been for Flurry’s entire life it seemed, the clouded skies hanging above Equestria glowed an ominous dark pink. The district, as well as the rest of the city, was encircled by three thick walls patrolled by soldiers loyal to her day and night. Only the path north up Mount Everhoof and leading to the reclusive nation of Yakyakistan remained open, though the gruff yaks hadn’t been in contact for years apparently.

As she observed her small world, Flurry caught her reflection in the mirror. Her silky-smooth hair fell to her shoulders where it curled slightly, a violet colour with a light blue streak running through it and her matching tail. The long-sleeve blue pyjama top and pants she wore covered most of her slender body, though nothing in her wardrobe would ever be able to hide her wings. She had been told they were large even at birth, and that none of the other alicorns ever had them that big when they were born, assuming they were born with wings as she was told her mother and aunt Twilight Sparkle hadn’t.

Flurry’s youthful features fell at these thoughts. In the nineteen years she had experienced, she had been told so many great stories about her family and their friends. How they had vanquished mighty enemies. How they had saved Equestria time and time again, and how there were four other alicorns in the world besides her. Yet growing up, she couldn’t match up the stories her aunt Starlight would tell with the reality of her life and those of her subjects; trying to live their lives knowing another attack against the Empire would come, and fearing it might be the one to finally break through.

But that could never happen… right? Flurry thought to herself as she made her way back to her bed and curled up beneath the sheets and blankets once more. She closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind, hoping her dreams wouldn’t immediately return her to her previous nightmare.

“Flurry? Equis to Flurry Heart? You in there?”

“Huh? W-What was that?” The princess shook her head before focussing on her friends sitting across the table as well as her surroundings.

She sat in a plush booth in one of the few diners in the Crystal Empire. The Rock Candy Bar, one of her favourite hangouts. Though it was decently filled with ponies during the lunch rush, the two that sat opposite her were of greatest importance. The Cake twins, Pound and Pumpkin. Both had beige coats, but that was where the similarities ended. Pound was a pegasus, his messy brown mane matching his eyes. His unicorn sister Pumpkin, meanwhile, had pools of a brilliant blue hue serving as gateways to her caring soul. Her orange mane was partially pulled up in the back in a ponytail with a sky-blue bow. The Cakes shared a knowing glance before looking back at Flurry with concern etched on their faces.

“Hey, are you okay?” Pumpkin asked, a hand sliding paste their recently emptied plates and coming to a rest on top of Flurrys.’ “You seem… I don’t know…”

“Weird?” Pound answered, for which he winced as something most likely impacted with his shins beneath the table. This was backed up by his unicorn sister frowning at him before turning back to Flurry, her expression shifting back to concerned.

“I was going to say out of it. Is something wrong Flurry? You know you can tell us.”

Flurry sighed, a hand brushing her mane out of her face before shooting a small smile back at her friends. “I’m, I’m fine. Really.” The disbelieving looks the twins levelled at her instantly crumbled that façade and she sighed again. “Okay, I’m… I’m just tired, alright? I’ve been having trouble getting sleep lately.”

“Bad dreams?” Pound asked, leaning in.

“Here and there,” she sighed. “But it feels like… In each one, it keeps involving something about…” she looked around to see if anypony was paying close attention. Aside from her assigned guard that day, one Flash Sentry, currently watching on from a few tables away, no one looked like they were listening to them. “They keep bringing up Equestria, and… I think…” Flurry’s resolve faltered slightly, but a light squeeze on her hand and an encouraging look from both Cake siblings gave her the strength to push through. “I think I keep hearing, or sometimes seeing… my mom.”

Immediately the two friends’ eyes lit up, and their jaws slowly dropped. Neither said a word for a moment before Pumpkin leaned in. “Do… do you think she’s trying to… call out to you or something?”

“I’m not sure,” Flurry shook her head. “I’ve had these dreams since I was little, but they used to only be an occasional, you know? Recently, though, it’s been happening almost every night. It’s… It makes me miss her…” Again, the twins shared a concerned look. One of the initial things that drew the three together as friends was the fact the trio were all missing their parents. While many shared their pain at having loved ones missing back down in Equestria, being around the same age united the three, and made their bond that much stronger. So, as if to prove this, Pound and Pumpkin both scooted along the curved booth they sat in and sandwiched the alicorn in a hug. Flurry returned the embrace with both her arms and wings, grateful to have such caring friends.

“Have you talked to your aunts and uncle about this?” Pound asked as the three untangled themselves from each other.

Flurry shook her head. “No… At least, I think maybe Starlight knows something’s up, but she hasn’t approached me about it yet.”

“Hey,” Pumpkin spoke up with a comforting smile. “If you need us there when you want to talk to them, just let us know.” Flurry Heart returned the grin, and looked over to see the young pegasus stallion wearing one as well.

“Well,” Pumpkin went on, standing up from their booth. “How about we bake ourselves up a big batch of cookies to help get your mind off these dreams? Sound good?”

“Sorry sis,” Pound said as he slid out from the seat. “I promised I’d meet up with Button Mash and Rumble for a training session.” The results of said training were evident as Flurry joined them standing and walking towards the exit. Beneath the white shirt and denim jeans the brown-haired pegasus wore, Pound Cake’s body was quite muscular. Not enough to get into bodybuilding, but there was a large reservoir of power hidden in each of his limbs. This served yet another contrast to his sister. While Pumpkin didn’t have a figure Flurry would consider fat, there was some extra padding across the form hidden beneath a green sundress and her own pair of darkened jeans. Especially around her thighs and hips.

“Yeah, yeah. Go get buff, Macho Colt.” Pumpkin teased. “Flurry, you in for cookies?”

“Yeah, sure.” With that, the three paid their tab for lunch and Pound Cake flew off towards the western side of the city. This left Flurry and Pumpkin to enjoy a lovely little stroll to the twins’ abode, though with a subtle flicker of her magic, the princess could tell that Flash was following them from a good sixty feet away. This drew a slightly irate groan from the alicorn. “I wish he’d stop doing this. I mean, I’m nineteen years old for Celestia’s sake. I can take care of myself.”

Pumkin Cake dared a glance behind before trying to calm Flurry’s ire. “Well, he’s probably only doing it on orders from your aunt, right? No need to get mad at him, is there?”

“But then that just proves that Starlight doesn’t believe in me either.” Another heavy sigh. “Sometimes this place feels like a gilded cage, Pump. I just… I just want to do something to help. To prove that I’m…” The alicorn spared a look at their surroundings. Any of the ponies that came close offered a warm greeting, as was expected of encountering a princess. While Flurry had gotten used to it over time, and was now grateful her aunts and uncle helped not become a spoilt brat, it ate away at her self-confidence. Made her feel like a figurehead.

“Everypony talks about how my parents were so brave for saving the Empire when it returned, for going down to Equestria to try and help save them. I just…” Flurry gripped her arms, holding herself as if to prevent a public breakdown. A hand on her shoulder brought her looking back at Pumpkin, the sympathy and concern impossible to miss. The unicorn brought her in for another hug, one Flurry tightly returned.

“How about we get you home instead?” Pumpkin suggested. “I’ll stay with you for as long as you need.” Flurry merely nodded, and allowed her friend to guide her back towards the palace.

Flurry woke up to find herself alone.

Her fears of isolation kicking her adrenaline into overdrive, she stood up and discovered two things immediately. The first was that she was in a void of darkness. Whisps of grey drifted through the air almost as if this world were a fillies’ darkened sketchbook, but outside of her surprisingly radiant body, there was nothing else around.

The second discovery was that she was naked. Flurry’s face instantly gave off its best impression of a tomato as her slender frame, C-cup breasts, decent hips and thighs and unspoiled sex were on display for anything within the darkness to see. An embarrassed “Eeep!” echoed out into this abyss as Flurry covered herself; her tail wrapped around the front to cover her pussy, while her large wings helped obscure her chest.

“Help me!”

As Flurry tried to control her breathing, she heard it. A familiar voice once more cry out to her. She had heard it many times before, in each of the dreams in which the Empire fell to Equestria’s hordes. She scanned her surroundings but saw nothing but an endless sea of obsidian shadows.

“H-Hello?” Flurry called out tentatively, still unsure if this was friend or foe. Along with her breaths, her swivelling ears also heard a mixture of slithering and scuttling sounds. Of shadowy whispers hiding within the darkness surrounding her. A few uneasy steps back, something grabbed at her bare flanks. Shocked at the contact, Flurry took flight, her arms moving to cover her breasts. Her senses went into overdrive, but still any potential threats remained hidden.

“Help me!”

Again, the voice called out, but this time Flurry saw something. Off in the distance, against the sea of shadows, a flickering pink light shone like a star. The young princess heard the voice emanating from that direction and shot off towards it. As she flew, she heard the sounds from before increase and give chase; bestial roars and calls following her as she raced away. It felt like the distance between her and the star kept growing, so Flurry channelled her magic and vanished in a pop of golden light, reappearing a fair distance ahead of her previous position. She teleported again and again, gaining ground towards the light until finally she could make out a figure within it.

What she saw brought her to a standstill.

There, being swallowed by the very darkness itself, was a mare. She was beautiful, her coat glowing a vibrant pink in the void. Her long mane of purple, pink and gold fell around her face as she struggled against being sucked into the darkness itself. She looked up and violet eyes met her blue ones, recognition and, perhaps, a slither of happiness. In that one instant, Flurry knew. It was her.

“…Flurry Heart…”

“…Mom…?”

Before anything else could be said between mother and daughter, the darkness bulged around the Crystal Empire’s former ruler. She reached out for the free alicorn, and Flurry rushed in to try and save her, only for something to coil around her leg and draw her backwards, watching her mother be devoured by the shadows.

“NOOOOOOOOOO!”

Again, Flurry shot out of her bed, reaching out for something not in her room. As she panted from the severity of what she just witnessed, movement in her peripheral made her jump back slightly. Instead of a monster, however, it was the worried face of Pumpkin Cake.

“Flurry? What’s going on? What happened?”

As the alicorn just sat there, her surroundings came into clearer focus, as did the memories leading up to now. The pair of mares had gotten some food from the royal kitchen and decided to have a quiet girls night. Given their long friendship, Flurry’s caretakers didn’t bat an eye at the suggestion. The pair had fallen asleep, given the auroras that flickered in the night sky outside. Flurry turned back to see Pumpkin still waiting for a response with a concerned expression. Before she could muster a response, the doors to the bedroom opened and in burst Starlight Glimmer. The older mare rushed in, making a beeline for Flurry. One look at the princess lowering her arm and gaze as she tried calming down brought Pumpkin into Starlight’s sights.

“Pumpkin, what happened?” She asked, clearly struggling to control her tone as she slowly sat on the bed next to the mare she considered a niece.

“I, I don’t know,” Pumpkin replied. “I just woke up when I heard her scream and-”

“It was Mom.” Both unicorns now looked at Flurry Heart, her eyes seeing something they weren’t. She looked up; her expression torn between multiple emotions; panic, fear and loss, but also hope and determination. “I saw Mom… she… she needs help. We need to save her. We need to save her now.” As Flurry talked, eagerness, or perhaps desperation drove her to speak faster.

“Hey, Flurry, calm down-”

“No!” Flurry shouted, cutting off her aunt as she teleported over to her clothes drawers, searching through various articles for something in a frenzy. “She was calling out to me, crying for help. She’s been fighting for so long and I’ve sat here doing nothing. I… I can’t leave her there, not while we’re sitting up here just hoping things change for the better.”

“Flurry, calm do-” Pumpkin spoke up, but like Starlight, the princess cut her off.

“No! I need to do this Pump! I need to save them. Nopony else seems to want to!”

“ENOUGH!” A blast of teal magic flowed out and froze the princess. She looked over to see Starlight holding her in place, a tired look on her face. Flurry, realising how this looked, how she’d acted, stopped trying to get out and stood there as she was released. Starlight strode up to the alicorn, tears threatening to break through despite the cross look on her features.

“Do you think you’re the only pony in this Empire that’s lost someone? The only pony in this room that’s lost someone?” At this, Flurry fell silent and looked away, only to see Pumpkin. This made the guilty feeling double in her stomach and she closed her eyes before a gentle tug caught her attention. Opening her eyes, she saw Starlight lift her muzzle to look the young princess in the eye. Her aunt’s gaze displayed no further anger, but rather a deep sorrow and fragility that was rarely seen. “I failed to protect Ponyville, Flurry… Pumpkin and Pound lost their parents, just like you. We also lost the other princesses, your parents, the Elements Bearers…” It was easy for the younger mares to hear Starlight’s voice choking up, but neither dared interrupt her as she pushed on. “I-I wanted to go down there so many times to save everypony, but… but…”

Starlight’s expression morphed into one of despair as the dam walls finally broke and she fell to her knees, tears streaming down her cheeks. This wasn’t the first time Flurry Heart had witnessed Starlight lose her composure, but by no means did it not shock her to the core. She shared a glance with an equally uneasy Pumpkin Cake before kneeling and gently hugging the unicorn; one she returned with twice the tightness. She just cried and cried into Flurry’s shoulder. After a few minutes, Flurry pulled back and looked her aunt in the eye.

“Aunt Starlight… I, I’m sorry. Sorry to you too, Pumpkin. But… I can’t stay here anymore. I can’t stay here doing nothing while the rest of Equestria suffers, especially if ponies we care about are trapped in there. I know you want to protect me, and I appreciate it, but I’m an adult now. I can take care of myself. I want to go rescue them. My parents, and all the other ponies trapped in Equestria. Besides, you Pinkie Promised you’d help me find them, remember?”

Slowly, recognition filtered back into Starlight’s eyes. The promise she had made to the young princess years ago, and a Pinkie Promise at that. She let her head lull down.

“I still don’t like it…” she finally spoke up, her throat sore from the crying. “But… nopony breaks a Pinkie Promise, and you are an adult.”

Hope filtered into Flurry as hope filled her eyes and voice. “Really?”

A long sigh escaped Starlight before meeting Flurry’s gaze. “Yes, but you are not going alone.”

“I’ll go with her!”

The two kneeling ponies looked back to see a Pumpkin Cake near tears herself standing bolt upright with her arm raised. As she held this pose a second longer, she started getting embarrassed, but a small laugh sounded from the senior unicorn as she stood and gave Pumpkin a hug.

“Thank you, Pumpkin, but we’ll need more help than that.” Starlight explained. “What’s more, this must be Flurry Heart’s decision. She’ll need ponies that will be the greatest benefit on this mission.” She looked between the two ponies, seeing uncertainty but also excitement flittering across their faces. “We can sort out the details in the morning. Right now, however, I think all three of us need to get back to sleep.

“After all, if this mission is going to become reality, then the real work starts tomorrow.”

Author's Note

Flurry Heart's Stats:
Purity: 3/3
Will: +3
Strength: +3
Defence: +3
Speed: +5
Magic: +4
Equipment: N/A

Welcome one and all to this new and hopefully entertaining adventure!
Now, like the blurb said, this is an interactive story, where your votes will help determine Flurry Heart's journey and, ultimately, her fate.

However, when it comes to the voting, we'll be doing things a little bit differently than last time. In the previous story, I had kept the voting open until the next chapter had been published, but that compelled me to pump the chapters out as quick as possible and resulted in some writers block and a small amount of burn out near the end. This time, we'll be doing it a bit more structured.

After each chapter, there will be a selection of things to vote on. You will be given a week from when the chapter goes live to cast your vote before the polls close. After that, I'll then spend the next week creating the next chapter, meaning we can expect a new chapter every two weeks. While this might seem like a long time between uploads, this hopefully gives enough time for everyone to vote, and I'm not rushing like crazy to get chapters done as soon as possible.
As for the different options, they will vary depending on which route the story takes, but will generally fall into one of these three catergories;

Action: Pretty simplistic, this helps determine what path our adventurers take on their journey.

Companions: This won't be a frequent option that pops up, but should one or both of Flurry Heart's companions fall to lust, then a vote would come up on who to replace them with. There could also be instances of our adventurers finding new possible companions out in Equestria, and it'll be up to you to determine whether or not we trust them.

Items: Pretty similar to the last story, although these items will be equipment that helps Flurry along in her journey. Items will also be found during the travels and you will decide if it's worth keeping them.

With that out of the way, here's the first batch of options;
Action:
Crystal Train
Sky Chariot
Teleportation
Companions (please pick two):
Starlight Glimmer
Flash Sentry
Sweetie Belle
Bon Bon
Vinyl Scratch
Pumpkin Cake
Pound Cake
Sparkler
Button Mash
Rumble
Items (please pick two):
Crystal Armour
Crystal Sword
Crystal Horn Ring
Enchanted Boots

I hope you enjoy this new journey and, as always, happy voting!