Twilight Sparkle sat before the Friendship map, conflicted.
The exhausted alicorn skimmed through the many letters sent to her by fellow allies that were all asking her the same question: what are you going to do, Princess Twilight?
Frankly, her answer was that she didn't know.
She groaned and rubbed her eyes, which had bags under them that might have been there for weeks. With the ongoing war, Twilight wasn't able to get a good night's sleep for quite some time.
And it seemed to have taken its toll on the princess. Her purple hair was disheveled, and a stray piece that continued to fall in front of her eye of the same color didn't help her mood. She was paler than usual. She rarely left her place on the throne where she answered the mass of letters that just kept growing and growing.
Twilight answered a letter from her brother. The captain of the Royal Guard told of how their enemies weren't giving up the fight, and the search for his daughter, Flurry Heart, was still underway. The writing was scrawled, probably because he was distraught and anxious and the same time. Shining Armor had many responsibilities, not unlike his sister. He told Twilight he missed her, and was looking forward to seeing her again at the next Meeting of the Council.
Twilight smiled a bit at the last part, and levitated a quill. She wrote back that she misses him too and she wishes to see him again also. With her magic, she sent it away and it dispersed in a few pink sparks.
After she did this, Twilight was reminded of her number one assistant, who was fighting battles alongside the dragon kingdom. Spike used to send Twilight's letters to Princess Celestia at the time when Twilight wasn't an alicorn. When she wasn't a princess with tedious work that always needed to be done.
When she was with her friends.
Twilight forgot about responding to the many messages, and she reminisced about the past. She remembered when she and her friends first wielded the Elements of Harmony. They defeated Nightmare Moon, bringing back Princess Luna, and Twilight Sparkle then realized how important friendship was, and how it was never wasted.
That was a long time ago.
In the present time, her five friends were somewhere else, helping in the war. The war.
Twilight didn't realize she had zoned out completely until the sound of doors opening reverberated through the throne room and brought her back to reality. She turned her head, still clouded, to the source of the loud sound. A young guard galloped in, slowing down to catch his breath. He was in front of the princess now. Twilight stepped off her throne.
"Princess Twilight," he addressed, "A letter for you."
She raised her eyebrows, wondering why this letter was being delivered directly to her. Twilight figured it must have been very important. He took a scroll from his bag, giving it to the alicorn, and Twilight lifted it from his mouth. She read the short note through her purple magic, and the sleepiness from earlier evaded her eyes.
"Miss? Is everything alright?" The guard asked.
He had a reason for asking that. Twilight Sparkle had an expression of pure astonishment and panic mixed together.
"Y...yes, everything is fine." She regained her composure, but still couldn't believe what she read.
After so many years, Flurry Heart had been found.