Prologue: The Last Light of Happiness
The Crystal Empire glistened in the mid-morning sun as its royal family climbed into their carriage for Princess Flurry Heart’s coronation parade. Flurry smiled and inhaled the fresh summer breeze. Throngs of thousands upon thousands of ponies lined both sides of the wide cobblestone streets of the empire’s capital city, cheering and chanting Flurry Heart’s name. The fifteen-year-old alicorn began to wave to the crowds as the carriage set off. The massive diamonds on her new tiara shimmered almost blindingly in the sunlight, and her pink and blue mane blew gently in the breeze. She had never felt so proud before. For the first time in her short life, the fact that she was a princess began to truly sink in.
Everything changed with six deafening bangs. Flurry screamed and instinctively ducked, squeezing her eyes shut as the shots rang out. Her father’s lifeless body fell on top of her, momentarily knocking the air from her lungs. Her heart dropped into her stomach as something slick and wet began to pour into the floor. As she finally managed to lift one of her forelegs, Flurry screamed; her coat was covered in blood. Two more loud staccato bangs filled the air, and the filly’s world went black.
Flurry opened her eyes slowly and blinked a few times. Everything around her was white, and whatever room she was in smelled strongly of alcohol and floor cleaner. As she looked around, Flurry saw a blurry pink figure, which came into focus sharply after she blinked a few times.
“M-mom?” Flurry whispered. Her throat felt dry and scratchy, and her eyes had crusted over. Cadance, who looked more disheveled than Flurry had ever seen her, jumped up from the chair next to her daughter’s bed and grabbed Flurry’s hoof.
“You’re awake!” Cadance sobbed, grabbing Flurry and holding her tightly. Confused, Flurry pulled back and gave her mom a questioning look.
“Where am I?” the filly asked, rubbing her eyes. As she tried to sit up, a sharp pain radiated through her chest and stomach, and she winced.
“You’re in the hospital, sweetie,” Cadance replied, gently rubbing Flurry’s back. “You’ve been in a coma for a week. Your dad… your dad was assassinated,” she said before pausing to inhale shakily, then swallowing audibly to stifle her crying. “He jumped on top of you to shield you from the bullets, but you were shot in the head. Though you didn’t suffer from any significant brain damage, the doctors had to put you into a medically-induced coma for all this time to keep you safe.” Flurry’s eyes widened as she began to piece everything together.
“Wait,” she said slowly, a horrible tightness growing in her throat, “so dad is… dead?”
“Y—yes,” Cadance replied, her voice breaking. “As it turns out, you will be able to attend his funeral tomorrow.” A wave of nausea hit Flurry like a speeding freight train, and she began to retch into the bucket that sat next to the bed. No. No, he can’t be dead. I need my dad. This is just a terrible nightmare, and I’ll wake up in a few minutes. She shook her head furiously and pinched herself, trying desperately to wake up from what had to be the worst dream she had ever had. It took a good ten minutes for Flurry to completely understand that this was no dream; unfortunately, it was her new, devastating reality. Flurry vomited until nothing else could come up.
“No,” she screamed, repeatedly punching Cadance in the chest as her mother stood still and tried to block her from getting out of bed, restraining the filly. “He’s not dead, mom! You’re lying! He’s not dead! You’re a liar! I’ll never believe you! He’s alive!” Cadance stood still and allowed Flurry to release her pain, then she pressed a button and a nurse came into the room. Flurry felt a tiny prick, then everything faded to black once more.
When Flurry woke up again, she wasn’t as disoriented as before. She was reminded of her terrible reality immediately. Her father was dead. Her life would never be the same, and she was terrified.
Before Shining Armor’s funeral, the family gathered in one of the castle’s state rooms for his visitation. His closed casket was draped in his royal standard: A cloth that displayed half of the Equestrian flag on its left side and half of the Crystal Empire’s flag on its right, with his cutie mark in the center. Twilight Sparkle stood in the center of the room, keeping Cadance and Flurry close to her side. The crowd of mourners became silent and parted to make a path for Princess Celestia and Princess Luna as the royal sisters entered the room. Celestia’s eyes were teary as she pulled Cadance in for a hug. Flurry greeted Celestia next, trying with all her strength not to lose her composure in front of everypony.
“You know we’re here for you if you need anything,” the white alicorn whispered, kissing Flurry’s head. Flurry nodded, unable to speak in fear of breaking down. Luna hugged Flurry, tenderly brushing a stray lock of mane from the filly’s forehead and tucking it behind her ear as she pulled back.
“You’re more than welcome to stay with us if you ever need to get away from everything,” the lunar princess said. “My sister and I know what it’s like to lose parents too soon; we were about your age when our mom and dad passed. I know you probably feel like you have to look after your mom right now, but don’t forget to take care of yourself, too. Have you eaten today?” Luna’s question caught Flurry off guard, and she shook her head.
“Come,” Luna said, ushering Flurry over to the nearby table of hors d’oeuvres. She fixed a plate and a cup of water for the filly and sat her down in an armchair.
“Eat,” Luna gently urged the younger princess. “I know it probably doesn’t feel possible right now, but you have to remember to eat and take care of yourself. I can sense your exhaustion. Your nightmares have been relentless lately, have they not?”
“Mhm,” Flurry murmured with a nod. “I have nightmares every single night, Auntie Luna. I haven’t slept well since I woke up from my coma. Sometimes I wish I were still unconscious. I wish…” her voice broke. “…I wish I had died instead of my dad.”
“No, Flurry, don’t say that,” Celestia said sternly. “The loss of one’s child is infinitely more painful than the loss of one’s spouse. A parent should never outlive their child. I know that your mother is indescribably thankful that you survived the attack. Right now, she is trying to come to terms with the death of her husband, her best friend, her soulmate. On top of that, she knows she still needs to be there not only for you, but also for your Auntie Twily, who just lost her big brother, and your Grandma and Grandpa Sparkle, who just lost their only son, their firstborn child. Please be patient with your family, Flurry—especially your mom. I know she’s doing the best she can. Why don’t you both come and stay with us in Silver Shoals sometime? It would give you a nice change of scenery.”
“That sounds wonderful, but I don’t think mom will want to come, and she definitely won’t let me travel alone. Not anymore,” Flurry said sadly. “She hasn’t allowed me to leave the castle since my dad was killed. She’s started to treat me like a little filly who can’t look after herself. It’s like she doesn’t trust me anymore.” She huffed in frustration and levitated a carrot cookie, which she munched absentmindedly.
“I don’t think she’s treating you this way because she doesn’t trust you,” Luna mused. “You’ve proven to everypony that you have a good head on your shoulders, and you will make an excellent empress one day. I just think whenever she looks at you, she still sees that newborn filly who broke the Crystal Heart at just a few days old.” A small grin lifted the corners of her mouth. “I remember when I first met you. You were so very tiny. Your Auntie Tia and I used to take turns foalsitting you. It’s been so much fun to watch you grow up into a beautiful, kind, intelligent young mare. However, I think your mom still sees you as the little filly that you once were, and she only wants to keep you close and protect you, because that’s what a good mother does. She just lost the love of her life, and she’s not going to allow herself to lose you, too.”
“But that’s so selfish of her,” Flurry said. “I’m not that little filly anymore. I’m fifteen years old, and I need her. I need her to stop hiding in her room. I need her to hold me and cry with me. I need her to tell me that we’ll get through this together, and that no matter what happens, we’ll be all right. She isn’t the only one who’s suffering. What about me? I’m still trying to cope with the fact that I’m going to miss out on a lifetime of special moments with him. I won’t get to see him in the crowd when I graduate from high school and college. He won’t be there to walk me down the aisle and give me away on my wedding day. I’ll never get to see him hold his grandchildren for the first time. She may have lost her husband, but I lost my dad.” Her voice broke as she was struck by the reality of her own words, and she finally gave in to the crippling anguish that poisoned every fiber of her being. Flurry collapsed into tears in Luna’s hooves. Luna hugged the filly tightly, nuzzling her as if she were a tiny foal. The two sisters cried with Flurry as they absorbed everything the young alicorn had just said.
