Auto-imported from (2407401)

She was empty. She felt numb, but not because her legs were broken. What she'd give to feel something again.

A knock at her door disrupted the cold silence. She didn't even blink, staring quietly at the ground. A few moments passed before she heard a voice.

"Flurry?"

She couldn't bring herself to respond.

"It's me," the voice said, pausing, "Love. Can I come in?"

Silence. After a moment, she could hear Love's hooves shuffling on the ground.

"You know, it's only been 3 weeks. Nobody expects you to bounce back right away," Love said. It was odd, even now, hearing sincerity in her voice.

She was glad Love didn't come inside. She didn't want to be seen. In this horrible moment, she felt glad her sister knew her boundaries.

She could hear Love's sigh through the door. "You know, Flurry…" she began, "I want you to know that I'm here for you. If you ever want to talk, or" she continued awkwardly, "…anything."

More silence. Every muscle in her body was still. It would take everything in her to respond, so she didn't. She wanted to tell her sister how much it meant… but in truth, it meant nothing. She couldn't feel anything, as much as she wanted to.

"Squirrel's waiting outside, okay? Just tell her when you're ready and she'll be there," Love continued.

There it was at the mention of Squirrel's name, she felt something small. Her friend was here. Flurry's head finally turned towards the door, hearing the handle click.

Love poked her head inside. "No one's saying it's easy, Flur. I know it's hard. But… let's both just try to enjoy this today, okay?"

"You're right," Flurry finally spoke, her mouth dry and bitter-tasting. She looked at her sister, barely able to make out her image. "I'll be there soon."

Love nodded once, then quietly closed the door. Flurry's head dropped down again. With a shaky hoof, she reached up to pull a pin out of her hair. She'd already had her makeup on- a maid came in earlier to help her. Her eyes were swollen. It hurt to blink.

Her short fur clung to her face as tears flowed down her cheeks.




Squirrel carefully pushed her friend's wheelchair down the crystal blue carpet. Flurry sat quietly, able to identify from a distance that the splotch of pink fur was her mother. It was harder to tell who was who between Love Letter and her father- her sight was still blurry from the incident.

As the crowd settled, the ceremony began.

"Princess Love Letter, come forward." Cadence's voice echoed brilliantly throughout the castle walls. "Today, we celebrate the princess of the Crystal Empire. And I couldn't be more proud of my daughter," Cadence's voice shook a bit- she was hiding her pain behind confidence. "When the existence of our Empire was threatened, when our people- and our family- faced loss, Love Letter never gave up hope. Thanks to her leadership, I see a bright future for our Empire. Of course… there would be no Empire without Princess Flurry Heart."

Flurry looked to her mother, their eyes meeting. She didn't know her name would be mentioned in the ceremony.

Cadence continued. "Let us not forget the deeds Flurry Heart has done for us, or the hardships she has faced to protect us all. She and the Crystal Heart will always share a connection, one that brings us balance, and one that keeps us safe from harm. There is no way we can ever repay her for all she's done- but we can follow her example of service and sacrifice. While she heals, the Crystal Empire remains strong." Cadence took in a breath. "Flurry Heart," she spoke quietly. Too quietly, almost, at least for a ceremony. "We vow to do everything in our power to live up to your name. You've set an example for all ponykind, and we hope to follow it."

Flurry forced herself to smile. Her mother's words were lies, Flurry knew it.

Cadence turned back to the crowd. "It has been an honor to serve you," Cadence began. She seemed to be choking on her words, struggling to get the next part out. "And it is with a heavy heart that I've chosen to step down as your Queen."

Gasps filled the air, followed by murmurs- Cadence patiently waited for the commotion to settle before she continued.

"But it is also my honor to officiate the princess who will help lead us in a new path. Queen Love Letter of the Crystal Empire." Music filled the room- it was overwhelming and beautiful all at the same time. Flurry watched as her mother crowned her sister.

Everything that she'd ever hoped to be. She could really feel it now- the shock, the regret, the anger. How she wished she'd never picked on her cousin that first time when they were kids. She couldn't have known it would lead her here. All of this- it was meant to be hers, and she'd had it. She'd had it for so long. She was no princess now. Maybe she never had been.

The shock seemed to leave the room- Love was just as adored as Cadence was, it was no surprise that her introduction as Queen would go over well.

Flurry felt alone, even with her best friend standing beside her- Squirrel who'd come all the way from ponyville just to be here with her. She felt empty again, useless, worthless.

As the chanting of ponies drowned out all other sound, Flurry felt her cheeks wet with tears.




Tl;dr: Flurry Heart goes into a pit of depression after the loss of her horn. Three weeks pass and the Crystal Empire needs some sort of hope- so Cadence decides to step down, and Love Letter becomes the new Queen of the Crystal Empire.


quick notes:
- Flurry grows out of her curly hair once she's a toddler, but since it's so iconic she has it styled like that regularly. She hasn't bothered to care for herself in weeks- so here, her hair is straight, like it naturally is.
- All three alicorns are affected by this incident (Flurry Heart, Cassie, and Panther). More on that coming soon
- Love's definitely… a little "weird," and she definitely had her own plan on how she'd make it to the throne, and while she was never expecting it to be this easy, she still feels a little compassion for Flurry. Things were never meant to play out like this- Love just got lucky. She doesn't even need to pretend to feel bad for Flurry, what happened to her really does suck, and Love knows it. They're still sisters, despite everything.
- Flurry and Squirrel have been best friends since childhood

Upvotes at import: 26 | Stars at import: 14
Posted previously at: 2020-07-25T07:01:42