\--WARNING: Depression, Hard Disassociation.--//

The reaction to the news had caused Luna to act much closer to how Flurry expected her to act in the first place. With her words immediately creasing the alicorn’s brows and her mane subconsciously flaring out and brightening as she questioned her with barely contained anger, “And why would that be the case, Flurry? Have you been keeping something from us?” She warned with squinted eyes.

Flurry nearly jumped at the sudden, cold tone, quickly shaking her head vehemently as she waved her hooves wildly. “No! I-I just thought of it! I completely forgot in the moment.”

Luna’s mane returned to normal as she sat inches from the filly with scrutiny and said, “Explain, now.”

“I-It was right after he… blew the castle up. I-If I hadn’t said something, he would’ve done it again—it might’ve even been worse!” She explained panickedly.

“What did you command him to do?” Luna asked slowly.

Flurry winced as the words left her mouth. “I told him to stop using magic… It was the last… command I gave.” She admitted with a whine as she held her hooves up to her eyes, “I-I didn’t… I didn’t think this would happen…”

Luna harshly sighed as she felt the stress of the situation reach her. “Lovely, that’s just great…” Luna stood up as she gritted her teeth, turning her back on Flurry.

“W-What’ll happen to him? Without magic?” Flurry asked tentatively.

Luna shook her head, as her voice was as cold as ice. “Besides not being able to function at even the bare minimum expected of a pony? Who knows…” She stomped her hoof harshly and said, “I can’t make predictions since we do not understand how your magic works.”

Flurry wilted visibly under the gaze of her aunt as she turned around and practically towered over the filly. “Ponies aren’t supposed to be magic-less; the effects on them are already harsh enough. But with him being a construct of your magic? For all we know, he could be slowly deteriorating. He could lose his mind, partially or entirely. For all we know, he might end up releasing all of the energy you’ve contained within him in a singular, magnificent explosion that wipes Equestria off the map!”

Flurry’s eyes widened in horror. “R-Really? That could all happen?”

“Yes, really!” Luna finally yelled, unable to contain the harsh emotions running through her. “But we don't know! I don’t know Flurry. And you don’t know either; how could you know? A child shouldn’t have such powers.” She said it dejectedly, placing a hoof against her head with a long sigh.

Flurry had recoiled against the wall, hiding behind a few pillows, as her body began to shake and she cried, “I’m sorry…” She repeated it again and again, like she had right after her mother had yelled.

Luna took a minute to gather herself before standing to her hooves and looking down with a serious expression at her niece. “If you’re as sorry as you say, then help me.”

Flurry almost immediately shot to her hooves with wide eyes and a nod. “I’ll do anything, auntie!”

Luna nodded curtly. “You will be attempting to recreate the exact scenario in which you ‘created’ Kieran.”

Flurry stood in shock with a gaping muzzle. “W-What? But…”

Luna interrupted her swiftly, “You must learn how your magic works now. If Kieran were to be recovered—today even—how would you help him? Would you stare at him blankly and command him more? Release him from whatever pact you’ve forged with his soul without a clue as to how?”

Flurry just shook her head in pure confusion. “I… I don’t…”

“Exactly,” Luna remarked with a huff. “Until you know how your magic works, I want you working tirelessly. Creating puppets, commanding them… Figure out your limits and where they end.”

Flurry looked shell-shocked. “W… Wha… How will I know when I’ve figured any of that out? And what if I accidentally bring some other soul over to our world like I did with Kieran?”

Luna just shrugged, “Your magic is yours, and yours alone to understand. None of the rest of us alicorns had an instructional book on how our alicorn powers work.” She made way for the exit. “As for any possible souls you bring over? I’m sure they’ll be ecstatic for a second chance.”

“B-But Luna! Isn’t that irresponsible!?” She watched as she opened the door. “And where are you going? Am I supposed to do this by myself?” The flustered filly seemed to panic.

“We’re past the point of being irresponsible, little one.” Luna shot back with a raised brow, “I’m off to find your parents. Good luck in your training.”

As the door closed behind Luna, Flurry just sat there on her bed in pure shock at the request, her breaths coming in deep, uneven bursts. It wasn’t long before the door opened again, and her guard, Silver Drift, walked in solemnly. “Is there anything I can do or get for you, dear?”

Flurry continued to calm, her breathing evening out as it was replaced with butterflies in her chest. Silver watched curiously as a large and nervous smile crept upon the filly’s form, her eyes darting around as her mind moved at a hundred miles a minute.

“I can actually help…” She muttered to herself excitedly.

Her head shot up. “Silver!” She said loudly, causing the old mare to jump in shock. “I need my journal from my room! Quick!” She nearly flared her wings out in excitement, quickly wincing in pain as her broken wing moved within its cast.

Silver opened her mouth to counter, but quickly closed it with a sigh, “As you wish.” She remarked as she exited.

Flurry began to think of the possibilities. Luna was harsh, but correct in her statements about how little she understood. She had previously run from figuring her magic out; it had terrified her when the puppets had become so lifelike. Her mother had no reason to force her to continue learning, since she had also agreed that it was rather unsettling.

But she didn’t have a reason to hold back anymore or to shy away from the reality of her magic and just what it could achieve.

Now, she had a reason—a reason to venture back out into the unknown depths of her magic. And maybe even figure out exactly what her alicorn domain was. The prospect itself was enthralling.

But not nearly as much as the prospect of saving Kieran, bringing him home, and giving him a proper life, no longer under her unknowing command.

Her horn thrummed to life as she closed her eyes, concentrating on the depths of her magic she’d shunned for so long. “I’ll figure it out for you, Kieran. I’ll save you, brother.” She whispered to herself for motivation.

It didn’t take Luna long after she left the castle to find Cadance. Her magic was pouring out of her at such an amount that you’d think she was a beacon in the night. But the incredible yet terrible energy pouring out of her was not positive; for her, at least, it sent a chill down her spine.

Tracing the magic, Luna found herself on the absolute outskirts of the Crystal Empire, with one hoof already outside the barrier.

Luna swooped down towards her, being careful not to startle her as she landed about ten hoofsteps away. “Cadance.” Luna called out simply.

Cadane turned quite instantly, a slightly stunned look on her face that was barely visible through the flood of tears going down both her cheeks. Her cheeks were red, and there were visible bags of stress under her eyes. “Luna? Luna, is that really you?”

Luna quickly approached, putting both her hooves on Cadance’s shoulders. “You aren’t that far gone yet, niece.” Luna still had her magic sight on and couldn’t help but absentmindedly stare upward in awe at the magic pouring out of her like roaring rapids into the sky, which was lighting up with the brightest aurora borealis she’d ever seen. “Though that could certainly change…” Luna absentmindedly muttered.

“Luna!” Cadance said hysterically, falling to her haunches as she gripped the lunar alicorn desperately. “You have to help me.” She practically begged.

“I will, dear, I will.” Luna reassured her, leaning down to pull her into a hug using her wings and all. “What are you doing so far out here?”

“Looking for Kieran!” She practically said incredulously, as she began to ramble panickedly, “I’ve scanned every single nook and cranny of the empire! I.. I’ve tried to detect his magic… I… I’ve asked everypony I’ve seen and… and…” She looked up with desperation, “He’s just—nowhere!”

Luna knew better than to drop the bombshell of Kieran’s lost magic on her, at least at the present moment. Instead, she opted to rub Cadance’s back. “Calm down, Cadance. You can’t search in a frenzy like this.”

“And why not?” Cadance said back in utter confusion, “My foal is missing Luna!”

“Because,” Luna said with a sigh, “you’re releasing so much magic in your panic that you’ll exhaust yourself before you can even find him.”

Cadance, for once, looked up and widened her eyes as the rush of magic poured into the sky. And she willingly closed off the connection to her horn to stop the flood. But this only caused her to collapse even more into Luna with a new set of tears: “I just wanted to use a light spell to find my foal; is that too much to ask?” She sobbed.

Luna nuzzled the back of Cadance’s head. “I want to find him just as much as you.” Luna reassured her.

Cadance kept staring down at the snow, so Luna gently pulled her head up. “How are you going to convince Kieran how much you love him if you end up exhausting yourself?”

Cadance huffed, “I’ll just say, ‘Look at how tired momma is from trying to find you,’ while trying not to cry, and hopefully go from there.” She said it with a small smile tugging at her lips and a bit of laughter as she sniffled and wiped more tears from her eyes.

Luna huffed a laugh as well. “Ah, the guilt trip may work. But I think I’d go for something more reassuring, niece.” Luna remarked.

Cadance shook her head. “It’s not a guilt trip if I’m losing my mind, is it?”

Luna sighed before retracting from Cadance, “Alright.” She started, taking hold of the situation, “What have you tried so far?”

Cadance huffed and began to think, “Well, I started with magic detection, but his signature faded the further I followed into the snow. So I started looking everywhere, trying to detect him with my own magic, and well… you saw how that ended.” She rubbed her foreleg sheepishly.

Luna bit her tongue at how his magic was gone; therefore, the detection spell wouldn’t have worked in the first place. “How about… showing me where it first ended?”

Cadance nodded, taking flight slowly to lead Luna back into the city. It was a relatively short flight, especially at the pace that Cadance had set. They hadn’t even been four hundred hoofsteps from the main entrance when she landed. “Right here.”

Luna forced magic into her eyes again, and sure enough, there was a steady trail of familiar magic, the likes of Flurry’s. It already looked faint and wisp-like, until it finally tethered off and snapped like a thread right in front of where they stood. Oddly enough, there appeared to be only the faintest hint of something in the surrounding area.

Cadance began to pace around the area again with anxiety. “See? Right here, he just seems to… disappear! I don’t get it.” She continued to analyze every inch of the trail, saying, “There aren’t even any hoofsteps because of this… Celestia forsaken snowstorm!” She growled with anger.

But Luna was busy analyzing the area. He could’ve walked many paces afterward if this was simply the area where his magic finally dwindled into nothing. Luna walked past Cadance in the same direction his trail would have kept going. Cadance tilted her head and went silent as she followed Luna with intrigue.

It wasn’t much farther that it became clear there wasn’t a whole lot to go off of. The area of snow they were in was perfectly untouched; in fact, it was quite overly perfect…

The only oddity was a small pile of snow off to the side, which would’ve been quite an oddity to have appeared completely naturally. There wasn’t anything for the snow to drift onto; it should’ve been perfectly flat.

Luna lit her horn up with a radial magic detection spell so that Cadance could look around as well. Cadance hummed curiously. “Is there something wrong, Luna?”

Luna shook her head and approached the small pile of snow. “Isn’t this odd? If he had kept wandering this way, the snow would surely be more uneven. And this mound of snow right here? I highly doubt Kieran stopped to build a snowman.”

Cadance looked around with wide eyes before humming, "Yes, that is quite odd.” Her eyes suddenly snapped onto the snow mound with horror. “Is he under there!?” She panicked, and she ran ahead of Luna.

Luna took a step back in shock as Cadance flung hoof-fulls of snow after hoof-fulls in every direction. Only to stamp her hoof dejectedly in annoyance when she realized there was nothing there.

Luna walked up beside her to look in the same spot, her horn alight with the detection spell.

But after she’d approached, it became abundantly clear that there had been something here. The smallest of things, but distinctly familiar, was a set of rather large snowflakes that had yet to melt. But encompassing them was the faintest residual energy of a certain… being... One that they had previously thought was on their side.

Luna heavily felt the emotions that were now washing off the younger alicorn in waves. And it even sent a chill down her own spine at the sheer hatred inside the energy.

Cadance picked up one of the snowflakes and glared at it before crushing it between her hooves. Her words sounded like a threatening warning from a mother bear to any potential nearby looming predators. Using the royal canterlot voice for what may well be the first time in her whole life, and shocking Luna as she didn’t even know her niece was capable.

…

…

“DISCORD!”

…

…

“It’s morning, it’s morning! Wakeupwakeupwakeup-”

“Can you shut it?” Ivy pushed Rue away from her face with a groggy moan, and Rue nearly fell off the bed in response.

“It’s Hearth’s Warming!” Rue countered in shock as he watched his sister’s face turn from grogginess to alertness in an instant.

She shot out of bed in an instant, hopping down from it quicker than a jack rabbit. “First one down is a rotten egg!” Ivy called as she ran for the door. Outside, the voices and excitement of many of the other foals were already apparent and quite loud.

Rue groaned, “That doesn't even make sense!” He called, carefully jumping down and running for the door.

As he did, he glanced over at the other bed in the room, where a gray lump still resided. Kieran’s front legs were dangling off the side of the bed as his head poked out from underneath the blanket. It was as if all of the life in his eyes was absent, his eyes looking duller than the color of his coat. The foal hadn’t even looked up or seemed to budge at all when Rue stopped nearby.

Rue felt a pang in his heart as he slowly approached the bed. “Hey, are you alright, Ashy?” He asked carefully, with a tilted head as he got closer, “It’s Hearth’s Warming.” He remarked quietly, sitting at the base of the bed and looking up.

It took a few moments for the other foal to even react, and when he did, it was with a mild expression of fear that quickly washed away when they met eyes. “O-Oh… It’s just you.” He said in relief.

“Are you okay?” Rue said a bit quieter, putting a hoof up and touching his dangling leg.

Kieran quickly retracted it at the feeling, looking terrified for another moment as his head sprung up. With a bit more light shining on his face, Rue easily noticed just how dark the bags under his eyes were. And Kieran still hadn’t answered the question, only opening and closing his mouth as he stared at Rue with a mix of confusion and worry. “Ashy..?” Rue said it a bit worriedly.

Kieran quickly laughed, “Y-Yeah… yeah! I’m okay! I’m great; don’t you worry.” He said, forcing a reluctant smile. Kieran quickly reached his hoof down a bit more and ruffled Rue’s head. “Go have fun, buddy. It’s chri- I mean… Hearth’s Warming.”

Rue smiled back and quickly nodded, turning and walking for the door. “You coming, Ashy?” Rue asked excitedly.

Kieran just waved his hoof dismissively, “I think I’ll take a bit. Don’t wait for me.”

Rue gave a definitive nod and a short wave before running out the door and down the hall. His excited giggle and voice quickly met up with one of the other foals outside the room.

Kieran watched as he left the room, and the moment his presence was gone, so was his fake smile. Replaced again by the hollow expression that encompassed his whole face. Eyelids barely hanging open, dark bags under his eyes, and a frown so deep that it felt like even the sun shining into the room was avoiding him.

His foreleg quickly went back to dangling over the side of the bed again. The sound of laughter and cheers from downstairs was but a vague backdrop that he tuned out. Each time his eyelids drooped, he’d quickly jolt himself back to consciousness with a fear-filled gaze of horror before returning to counting the lines on the wooden floorboards.

His head swirled with every thought imaginable.

“When will they kick you out too?”

“Good job being a waste of space.”

“No wonder everyone abandoned you. Look at yourself.”

He felt weak and useless. And knew that at least one of those was true.

None of the thoughts truly caused a reaction from him. They were used only to keep his mind active so as not to fall asleep. If he didn’t fall back into the clutches of the same hellscape of a dream, he didn’t want to have to deal with facing the princess of the night.

How could he? He was miserable, and nothing she said would help. Would she reprimand him? Say that she never cared in the first place?

He didn’t know, and neither did he care anymore.

So he continued to lay there, wasting away under the covers in a stranger’s home, in someone else’s bed.

Wondering if it could possibly get worse.

“Alright! Everyone open their presents on three!” Rose instructed everyone. The five youngest foals barely were able to contain their excitement, as the older foals were already examining the parameters of the present to guess what it could be.

They all counted down together, until Arbor cheered, “Let ‘em rip!” He called with a hearty chuckle.

The room quickly turned into a mess as each foal went for their gifts ravenously. Sage and Heath giggled as their twins struggled to open them with tiny hooves. Flitter leaned in towards Ivy, who seemed to be struggling and getting angry. “Hey, hey, open it from the creases. Like right here.” She instructed, showing Ivy the corner of the gift where it was folded.

"Thanks, Aunty,” Ivy said quickly, going back to tearing it open.

Sage beamed as she filmed Ivy and Rue tearing their first gift open. The floor was already littered with wrapping paper from all the surrounding foals. Ivy finally got hers open and rocketed up with excitement. Sage giggled. "Ivy, what’d you get?”

Ivy excitedly held up a new stuffed bunny in excitement. “A bunny!” She said excitedly.

Sage quickly panned over to Rue, who was very slowly pulling the gift wrapping apart. But he was doing so with a thoughtful and unsure expression. Sage tilted her head and stopped the video, bringing the camera down to look at him with a tilted head. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

His eyes widened, and he looked at her for a moment with a sigh. “Ashy hasn’t come down yet…”

Sage’s own eyes widened. "Oh, I completely forgot…” she said with a deep sigh before looking at Rue again. “Did she seem alright? She was sick last night.”

Rue just shook his head absentmindedly before returning to opening his package as Ivy practically pushed him out of the way to help him open it.

Sage and Heath looked at each other worriedly. “Ya thinkin’ she’s feelin’ left out?” Heath guessed.

Sage’s smile turned downcast. “I think she’s feeling a lot of things. Poor dear…”

Flitter’s curiosity took hold of her, and she leaned in. “So what’s up with this Ashy filly? I know you told us about everything that happened in the Crystal Empire last night…” She trailed off with a somber note, “But what happened to her?”

Sage made sure the foals were all distracted with their first gifts before she turned with a serious expression of worry. “I’m not sure I even know myself…” She said with pursed lips, “Well, when we got seated in her cabin, she was traveling alone… and acting quite odd and unnerved. I couldn’t blame the dear, being seated with some random family and all…”

Heath hummed with a nod. “An’ then Rue noticed she was injured.”

Flitter tilted her head in surprise as Sage nodded, leaning in closer to whisper, “She had a cut, half the length of her left foreleg! It was nauseating!”

Flitter’s brow furrowed with concern. “And she didn’t say anything?”

They both nodded as Sage sighed harshly. “She kept it to herself and tried to cover it up. Which is baffling; it could’ve killed her if there hadn’t been a doctor on board!”

Heath hummed deeply, “An’ that ain’t all. Little’un had a run-in with the guards ‘n Ponyville. Gave her quite the scare.”

Sage nodded swiftly, “Yes! It was so odd! She saw one of the guards and immediately froze up… I found her in the bathroom right after, curled up on the ground and whimpering.”

Flitter sighed, taking a moment to watch her siblings and niece and nephew begin to ask their grandparents for their next gift. She put a hoof to her forehead to rub the confusion away, and stuck her tongue out slightly in thought. “Hmm, do you think she’s been… maybe… abused?”

Sage and Heath looked at each other evenly but gave her a shrug as Sage clicked her tongue. “She’s skittish, but I didn’t see any other bruises or anything on her. And I’ve already tried urging her towards those questions, but she caught on really quick and shut me down.”

Flitter huffed, “Did you try writing to her parents at all?”

Sage’s shoulders dropped. “Admittedly… no. But it’s entirely doubtful she would’ve agreed. Ashy’s just… quiet.”

Flitter looked over the rest of her siblings for a moment before sighing, “The quiet ones usually have a pretty good reason…” Heath and Sage sat in silence for a moment before Flitter stood from her spot on the couch and said, “I’ll go talk to her. To at least see if she wants to come down for breakfast.”

Sage’s eyes widened, and her voice seemed unsure. “Are you sure?”

Flitter nodded and stretched her neck and wings, giving a confident answer, “Of course I am! I’m a professional at this.” She remarked playfully.

Sage huffed a laugh. “You need to teach me some of that, then. She froze up on me every time.” Sage seemed downcast at that as she hung her head.

Flitter just shook her head. “You’re a good mother, Sage. But maybe that’s the entire reason why she’s shutting down. It isn’t your fault.” Sage smiled at that.

Heath tipped his hat that he’d gotten somewhere, "G'luck, sis.”

Sage’s eyes widened. "Oh, could you take her something for me?”

Sage relayed where it was to her, and Flitter quickly nodded in response. Flitter carefully stepped over all the foals, new toys, and wrapping paper without a single worry. The foals below her calling out playfully and trying to get her attention. But she paid them no mind, taking a quick stop in the kitchen at Sage’s instructions before she headed up the stairs.

Once she got to the large oak door in the hallway, which was just barely cracked open, she sat on her haunches, attempting to avert her eyes from spying inside. She gently knocked on the door. There wasn’t a response, so she attempted to call out softly, “Hey, Ashy, I know you don’t really know me. I just came up to check on you. Are you alright?”

She tilted her head and leaned in with an ear on alert. She heard quick shuffling from inside, but after a few moments, she was met with a response. “I’m…” Kieran cleared his throat, going back to sounding hoarse again. “Just tired still.”

Flitter glanced back at the glass of water and bottle of pills she’d brought up with her that she was holding with a wing before turning back to the door. “Okay! That’s fine; I’ve got your medicine, though. Can I come in?”

There was a long, worrying pause of silence before she heard the small voice, “Yes…”

She gently pushed the door open, stopping to analyze the room for a moment. The floor was littered with remnants from the twin's bed, but that was to be expected. The large window in the back of the room was wide open, causing the room to feel much colder than the rest of the house.

Kieran was in the bed, lying down normally with the covers folded over him messily.

Flitter moved slowly as she entered, but still energetically, as she set the glass of water down on the bedside table, removed a pill for the foal, and set it next to it. “No wonder you’re still tired! That morning chill makes ya never wanna leave bed!” She chirped, walking over to the window and quickly closing and locking it.

When she turned back, Kieran was looking nervously at her, and even more so when she noticed his glance. “Go ahead; I won't bite.” Flitter said softly as she gestured towards the medicine with her wing. “My name’s Honey Flitter again, if you don’t remember. Heath’s my brother.”

She couldn’t tell whether the foal was completely disinterested in her words, scared of her, or just feeling too sick to interact back. Flitter carefully sat on the floor, a few feet from the bed. “If you take your medicine, we can go get some breakfast?” She offered with a smile, “My mom is making plenty of pancakes with daffodil syrup! They’re probably done by now.”

In any normal foal, that would probably cause some sort of reaction. But to her surprise, Kieran just sat there in silence, preferring to stare down at the quilted pattern on the blanket. She tilted her head slightly and tried speaking even softer: “I’m sure you’ll feel better if you take your medicine..?” She offered yet again.

Kieran looked slightly to his right at the glass of water and pill before slowly gazing back down at his hooves. Staying completely silent the entire time. There was something about the look of the foal that struck her as off; she didn’t really look that sick over all. Most foals would be whining or contorting their faces in discomfort and would jump at the potential to ease the feelings.

But Kieran wasn’t.

She quickly noticed the bags under his eyes after that, and the general look of vacancy across his face sparked worry in her mind that she continued to mask with her features.

Taking a few careful steps forward, she settled herself right by his bedside. The foal’s eyes flickered in her direction, and he even flinched ever so slightly at her actions of sitting down. Flitter leaned in a bit. "Hey, are you okay?”

Kieran looked up at her, as if processing her sudden appearance, before he forced a smile and nodded. “Mhm… thanks.” He said quietly.

Flitter instantly saw through the facade of a smile, but curiously hummed at the foal. She vaguely remembered hearing shuffling when she entered, and a question sparked in her mind: “Did Rue and Ivy open the window?” The foal visibly wilted before nodding his head.

Flitter didn’t really understand the wide range of reactions and things she was noticing from the foal. But she did know one thing for sure: “You need to take your medicine, little one. Yeah, it tastes bad, but you'll feel way better.” She said softly.

“I-I will…” He remarked back shortly, looking down at his hooves dejectedly.

Flitter sighed. “If you need help, you can just ask, Ashy. Your hoof is injured, and I’m never confident in my grip either when I’m sick.” She paused for a second to see if he’d ask first, but he hadn’t. “Do you need help, Ashy?”

She got a solemn and barely perceptible nod. But that was good enough for her as she swiped up the pill and glass in her wings, bringing them to her hooves, where she gently offered the pill. Kieran quickly took it, and Flitter held the glass up to his muzzle, where he swiftly drank at least half of it.

When Flitter had set it down, she instinctively began to stroke his back gently with a wing. “There, better?”

There was a small nod as Flitter leaned in, wing still covering the foal’s back. "Now, how about breakfast?”

Once again, that same anxiety-filled expression covered his face, and Flitter sighed that she wasn’t going to be able to get him to move from the room. “Want me to bring you some?”

Kieran gave a very hesitant nod, and Flitter took that as her leave, collecting the glass of water and heading for the door. She returned to her jovial voice, “You’ll love momma’s pancakes. I’ll bring you up a glass of orange juice to go with; I’ve always loved that combination.” Once she reached the door, she looked back worriedly as he returned to the same vacant expression. “Be back soon.” She said, closing the door.

As she shut it, she stood there for a minute and mulled over the entire interaction. There was something prickling in the back of her mind, as if she should know what it meant. But she decided that it wasn’t something she could decide just yet. She didn't want to jump to conclusions, or scare the foal into answering uncomfortable questions.

Shining Armor just couldn’t believe what was happening. What was still happening.

Trudging through the deep snow that had accumulated while the barrier was completely down. He was filled with a deep feeling of regret and a sinking feeling of despair at his missing charge.

Even through everything that Flurry did, Shining couldn’t help but feel like all of this was at least partially his fault. ‘You didn’t try to connect with him enough; you weren’t there for him.’ He thought with a sick feeling in his gut.

‘He didn’t trust you, you weren’t enough of a father for him.’ The thoughts in his head were absolutely eating him up with guilt. Of course he knew it’d be silly to think that his actions could’ve changed the outcome. Flurry’s magic was so enigmatic, nobody could’ve predicted everything.

But he still felt like he’d lost and that he’d disappointed his new foal. And the feeling caused tears to form in his eyes as he continued to ceaselessly call his name in the snow-filled streets.

The most he got were vague, pitiful looks from some of the guards as he passed by.

But he wasn’t wandering aimlessly; he did have a destination in mind. As the view of the train station came upon him, along with a newly arrived train. It was nearly three in the morning, but the train had been delayed due to the damage. But now the train was here, and he couldn’t ignore its guests.

As he walked up to the platform, he sat with a tired stare as he watched most passengers leave the train. Half of them were royal guards from Canterlot, here to help with recovery. Most gave him some form of respectful salute before continuing on past him.

But they weren’t who he was here for.

“Oh, Shining…” A voice spoke slowly with sorrow as it exited the train.

Shining’s mind snapped out of its decaying stupor as he looked up. Twilight Velvet and Night Light were exiting the train. And his mother quickly ran over to embrace him, saying, “Shining honey, it’ll be alright. You’ll find him, dear.” His mother quickly reassured him as she put both hooves against his face.

Shining quickly embraced her back. “I…” His voice cracked as he fought back more tears. “I hope you’re right.”

His father quickly came to his side and rested a hoof around his back as he pulled him in as well. “Don’t worry, son, we’ll help.”

Shining hugged him as well before quickly nodding and wiping tears from his eyes. “Cadance probably needs to hear this more than I do.”

Velvet sighed deeply. “She must be devastated…”

Night Light hummed in agreement as he looked around. “Cadance wasn’t lying in that letter about all the damage…”

“Where is she?” Velvet inquired.

Shining sighed and shrugged. “She went out searching as well.”

Velvet narrowed her eyes. “You let her go out on her own?”

Shining harbored a small smile. “I think I’d only slow her down. Not that she asked for me to join her; she said splitting up to find him would be faster.”

Night Light huffed, “Probably not thinking rationally. She needs someone with her to keep her calm.”

Shining sat for a moment in silence before sighing sharply and grabbing their bags from the ground and setting them on his back. “Here, I’ll escort you back to the castle.”

As they walked in relative somber silence, Velvet couldn’t help but ask, “How’s Flurry?”

Shining held his head downward, “I… probably devastated?” He guessed, “I… I couldn’t go see her. I… didn’t want to see her after it happened.” He said guiltily as shame washed over him.

Night Light patted his back and said, “It’s okay to be upset, son. Just don’t push the other one away because of what happened, alright? She’s probably hurting just as much.”

There was a long stretch of silence as they walked somberly back to the castle. Even as Shining looked around constantly for any hint as to where he could be.

…

…

“DISCORD!”

Buildings shook, the ground shook, and for only a flash, there was an eruption of very angry magic coming from where the castle was.

But the word left no curiosity in the imagination.

By the time the rumbling had ended and the three had uncovered their ears with their hooves, Night Light and Velvet gave a supreme look of worry to each other. “You didn’t say anything about Discord being involved…Is Cadance alright?” Velvet remarked as she took a deep breath to shake off the shock of the yell.

Shining’s voice came out between a growl and gritted teeth: “He’s not supposed to be.”

His parents could only race to catch up to him as Shining took off through the streets in a gallop.

Even with no idea as to what was going on, Shining couldn’t help his own rage from building in his chest. He’d never heard Cadance use the royal canterlot voice.

Come to think of it, he’d never heard the voice used with so much power behind it ever.

What has Discord done? Was he responsible for all of this? Or was Cadance simply calling on him for help? That was doubtful, as Cadance never really trusted him in the first place. And the rage-filled burst of energy was hard to ignore.

Which meant that Discord had angered Cadance this much by doing something to his foal, his colt.

Oh… if only Shining was an alicorn.

Discord would never be able to handle his fury; a million years encased in stone wouldn’t be enough.

Author's Note

Sorry for the pain this chapter may have caused... Exceptional pain.

Trying to be quicker about chapters, I really don't want this story to last until another real-life Christmas passes by.

Also, not that I'm bored of this story... but I'm ready for it to end in like the next few months, hopefully. I've got at least 2 other story ideas burning a hole in my head (that aren't the Misplaced Wings rewrite). I have a yearning to do them eventually as well. But I have to pace myself, unfortunately.

Don't worry; none of this will affect Fateful Flurry. More just me ranting that the output of my mind's ideas compared to the physical output I can urge out of myself isn't FAIR.

See you soon.