18 years into the future
Flurry Heart's POV

The pieces of my plan are falling into place. By now my parents should be in Canterlot soon with my great aunts, meeting with the King of Yakyakistan. I spent years on this plan, ever since I was fifteen and first got my hooves on a dark magic spell. I felt real power for the first time in my life. My parents had always told me once you do a dark magic spell, it corrupts you. Even if it is a simple small dark magic spell it will turn you into a shell of your old self. I don't care what my parents said. They have just shielded me from my true power!

I realized I had a thirst for power deep down and it made me realise, I don't want to be the perfect queen of the Crystal Empire. I don't want to be the epitome of purity and have ponies adore me and worship the ground I trot on. No… I want the opposite of that…

I always hated being the heir apparent to the Crystal Throne. I absolutely hate my subjects thinking that Princess Flurry Heart will protect and love them.

I realized something I had never known before: I was envious of my younger sister. Why would I be? Skyla can just trot around without a care in the world since she's not the heir to the throne, when I have the entire weight of the world balanced on my shoulders. Once I am done, I can finally be free...

Oh, if ponies knew what I am really like, they would know King Sombra should be the least of their worries.

I flipped a page in the book, 'The History of the Crystal Tyrant: King Sombra’. King Sombra, no matter how short his reign of the Crystal Empire was, he had good plans for the future. When documents written by the crystal usurper were discovered, they showed he would brainwash his subjects to be his army when he invaded Equestria. The subjects would be puppets for him to, 'play’ with. Thanks for the idea, Sombra.

I slammed the book shut and put it back into its original place in my bookshelf. My horn glowed as I used my telekinesis to move the bookshelf out of the way for me to enter the secret vault I constructed years all those years ago.

I opened the door, smiling as I caught sight of the closet where I kept my armor. I trotted up to the closet, opening the door. I forged the armor myself and it was made out of the very rare metal adamantium, which my sword was also made from. Adamantium could slice through dragon scales like butter and easily kill an alicorn.

Adamantium is silver in color, but using my magic, I turned the armor black as night. The armor is actually very reminiscent of Nightmare Moon's. I grasped the armor in my aura and slowly put on the chestplate and horseshoes. The armor actually has some of my dark powers stored. If I couldn't activate my magic somehow the armor would back me up.

Everypony should be asleep by now — in the dead of night nopony would see me. Now it was time for step one. My horn glowed and I closed my eyes in concentration as I prepared to teleport myself.

When I opened my eyes, right in front of me was the powerful ancient relic, the Crystal Heart. I was glad for my mother and father's stupidity to not guard the only thing protecting the Empire from the ice and snow. I grasped the Crystal Heart in my magical aura. I snarled when glancing over to my cutiemark. It showed my ability of wielding the relic and my magic over ice and snow. Me, being the Princess of Crystals was like a cruel joke.

In a flash of light, the Crystal Heart was gone, hidden deeply in the castle, never to be found. In the corner of my eye, I saw a bright light. I at first scowled as I turned around to see my younger sister and her friend, my mentor Sunburst's daughter with Starlight Glimmer, Starburst. They saw me somehow. But I smiled once I realized I could kill them together.

“Flurry, what are you doing!? Where's the Crystal Heart!?” exclaimed my sister.

“What are you wearing?! What's going on?” asked Starburst.

I simply glared at my sister as she took a few steps toward me. “Don't you dare take another step!”

Skyla stopped in surprise. “Flurry-?”

“Did you think I'd really just stand there and grow up to be the perfect little queen, huh Skyla? While I'm pressured to be some benevolent ruler, you just trot around not having a care in the world, knowing you wouldn't have to lift a hoof to help the Crystal Empire!” I interrupted.

“Flurry?”

“Shut up, Starburst!” I blurted out, the two ponies in front of me still dumbfounded. “No more… I'm done...” I muttered.

It's amazing what a little dark magic can do. I activated my dark magic, making my ice magic even more dangerous. I shot out ice. Ice as black as night went towards my sister and Starburst’s hearts.

The two mares let out a blood curdling shriek as the ice shards punctured their hearts, and they fell to the ground, crimson blood oozing out of their wounds. I simply stared at them. To my surprise, Skyla was still barely alive while her friend was already dead. Well, Skyla is an alicorn like me so she has extreme durability.

I didn't even suppress my triumphed grin as I trotted in front of my younger sibling, avoiding the pool of blood she was lying in. Still using my dark magic, I began to draw out Skyla's magic, causing the younger alicorn’s eyes to shrink to points.

The color mostly fades from the irises, the pupils clouding over as well. The magic is streaming into my horn as I feel myself getting stronger and stronger, and my younger sister’s cutie mark—a crescent moon—fades from her haunch along with her life.

Skyla’s blood spilled out of her fatal wound as I could see her eyes gazing up to see my own betrayal, and confusion filled her dull eyes. That was the last thing she did as without her magic, her alicorn durability faded away with it.

The Crystal Ponies — no, my loyal and faithful army — no doubt heard the commotion and were walking up. Time for the next part of the plan.

The Crystal Castle was now a thing of deep gray–purple peril, tipped and studded with lethally sharp barbs and crags. Much, much better. It was very similar to when King Sombra was in charge. I wiped some of my sister's blood from my hooves as I stepped out onto the balcony.

It was the same balcony where I’d been shown to the Empire not long after I was born. The torches flared up purple, green, and white fire at the railing. As I looked down — again just as before when Sombra was ruling — a long, lusterless line of crystal ponies trudged past, forelegs shackled and connected one to the next by chains running through the collars around their necks. The Crystal Guards, already corrupted didn't hesitate to strike the crystal ponies if they stopped trotting.

Oh, it never seems to amaze me that nopony thought I would do this. But my plan has been in the works for years. I have the power of another alicorn in my hooves now. I flirt with the idea of taking down my great aunts. Making them die a slow, painful death while stealing their magic.

I look to the left as I see a stallion crystal pony chained in another line filled with many others of his kind, he gets a helmet clapped onto his head by one of my guards, obscuring everything but his ears; a black crest of hair stands up on top, and a sick green light comes to life in the eye slits. Then the guard move onto the next crystal pony in the line.

I awe in amazement it's… it's absolutely beautiful. I chuckle as many of my subjects stare at me, Equestria's new princess, in disbelief before getting corrupted. Neigh, not princess. I never cared for that title. I never understood why my great aunts and mother took the title of Princess when they ruled superpowered nations. Now that the power is mine, it was only proper that I set things to rights. To this day I will forever be known as the Queen of all of Equestria, Flurry Heart.

Cadence awoke with a loud gasp, sweating bullets. Yet another nightmare. The same one as last night, the night before, and the same for years. She hasn't had a good night's sleep ever since drinking a potion that Zecora gave her to see what happened on that fateful night. It felt just like yesterday when she saw in the eyes of her eldest daughter’s rise to power.

Bright light surrounded and assaulted Cadence's senses as she quickly shut her eyes. Her cloak and saddlebags were gone. She could sense an inhibitor ring around her slender horn, blocking out any of her alicorn powers. This wouldn't normally be a problem to the Princess of Love as during the war she had been in and escaped from situations like this. But this was different as she was so heavily restrained she couldn't even move a single muscle. That plus not being able to observe her surroundings.

The pink alicorn gritted her teeth as the thought of her adoptive granddaughter blinding her with her dark magic. Even though her sister-in-law did everything she could to restore her eyesight, she was still extremely sensitive to bright light.

Well, she could understand the heavy restraints. It's not everyday somepony tried to murder a princess... and nearly succeeded.

Cadence tried once again to bulge but her restraints rendered her completely immobile. She gritted her teeth, but now wasn't the time for frustration as she needed to get out of here and kill her daughter by whatever means necessary even if it takes her life. Even without her sight, she still had her other senses. To her left she could hear beeping in time with her heartbeat. The Love Princess could hear some shuffling of papers and some soft hoofsteps coming hear her.

“Oh, Your Highnesses!” Exclaimed a feminine sounding voice. “I-”

“Is she awake?” Rudely interrupted what Cadence presumed was Princess Luna.

“Luna, tone!” scolded a motherly tone what could only be associated with Princess Celestia.

“Sorry,” mumbled Princess Luna.

“Excuse my Aunt Luna, Doctor, and may you please leave as we have some.. business with her.”

Cadence froze as she recognized that voice, her heart rapidly beating. It sounded just like her only younger.

“Of course, Your Highness.” The doctor quickly left the infirmary.

“Now don't be stupid, fool. Do remember to not try to do anything funny,” warned Princess Luna. “Oh, and that inhibitor ring not only takes away your magic and has a confession spell cast on it. Lying to us is completely impossible. Now open your eyes I want you to face me.”

Cadence bit her lip. “I-I can't it's too bright and I have sensitive eyes since I was once blinded.”

“Oh? Very well,” said Princess Celestia.

Cadence sighed in relief as the light was died down and she could finally open her eyes only to see the three princesses before her were glaring down at her.

“Talk. Who are you?” demanded Cadence’s past self.
“I am Princess Cadence from the future,” Cadence gritted her teeth. Damn that confession spell.

“So our theory is true…” said Princess Celestia. “How did you come to this time?”

“The same way Starlight Glimmer messed with the timeline.”

“Why? Why would you want to k-kill Flurry!?” Cried out Cadence's past counterpart.

“Cadence…” soothed Celestia, putting her hooves on her adoptive niece’s shoulder.

The past counterpart of Cadence took a deep breath. “I want to know why?”

Future Cadence took a deep breath. “You want to know why?” She hissed.

“Tell me,” demanded Past Cadence.

“Shining and I...” croaked out the Future Princess of Love, clearing her throat she continued. “We had another daughter. Unknowing to us Flurry Heart was extremely jealous of her younger sister since she wasn't the heir to the throne and had more freedom. The bitterness in her heart had made her turn to dark magic and she got hooked on it. The dark magic corrupted her and...and…”

Future Cadence chewed on her lip. Looking up she saw the impatient stares of the three princesses before her.

“Go on,” ordered Princess Luna. “What had happened?”

“One fateful night, eighteen years into the future Shining Armor and I went on a train to Canterlot, but it had complications, making us late for a meeting with the King of Yakyakistan. Then I thought it was inconvenience, but it ended up saving my life. During that train ride Flurry Heart, so drunk on dark magic killed my younger daughter, turned the crystal ponies into her brainwashed army, destroyed Ponyville, killed thousands-”

“STOP IT!”

Future Cadence stopped, bewildered as the pony who interrupted her was herself.

Past Cadence marched up right up her future counterpart. “You're lying!” She spat.

“I am not!” defended Future Cadence. “Look at me! I am telling the honest truth!” Future Cadence just knew that her past counterpart would deny everything she had said.

“Cadence...” Celestia stepped right next to her adoptive niece, trying to calm her down, reaching her hoof out to the Princess of Love's shoulder.

“NO!” exclaimed Past Cadence, slapping her adoptive aunt’s hoof away. “I know she is lying! My Flurry Heart would never do such a...a… a-atrocities!” She stormed out of the infirmary, furious.

“Cadence!” Shouted Celestia, going after her niece, but she stopped to look at her younger sister.

“You go, Celestia. I'll stay here,” said Luna, tearing away her glaring at future counterpart of the Princess of Love.

“Okay…” muttered Celestia, rushing to find Past Cadence.

Luna turned around, her attention solely on Future Cadence. “Now then we have some business,” she glared at the pink alicorn.

Future Cadence chewed on her lip. She needed a plan, fast. The future depended on it. They made a mistake making her be able to see.

Author's Notes:

See the x-men reference?