//------------------------------// // Chapter 5 // Story: The Lost Crystal // by ChAoS pOnY //------------------------------// Chapter 5 "Does anyone know when the sun is suppose to rise?" Sweetie Belle asked as they finally arrived at the library. "The sun has already risen, but it's light is being blocked by the moon being in front of it in order to create a false night." Sweetie Bot explained. "Normally this would not work on other worlds, but due to the sun's small size and orbit around the planet, the illusion of night is 80% effective with the north and south polar regions receiving the remaining 20% of sun light where it is least effective due to the sparse population and inhospitable environment. Obviously Nightmare Moon decided an extended eclipse was the best way to achieve a psychological advantage of making her threat of eternal night appear real, but it is only sustainable for a week or two before she causes an ice age combined with server damage to the planet's ecosystem and mass extinctions occur." She told them as they entered the darkened library as her eyes lit up to provide light while giving the room a cursory thermal scan. "Since this happened during one of the hottest days of the year I give it 36 hours at the current rate of temperature loss before the drop in temperature causes the first snow to occur, but it can be extended out to 72 to 96 hours if the weather patrol pegasi increase the cloud cover in order to retain as much heat as possible for as long as possible, like using a blanket to hold in heat. From there it will be a race against time until too much heat is lost and all life on this planet is threatened, dependent upon the efficiency of the pegasi's weather control capabilities and barring any interference by Nightmare Moon." Finally she spotted the light switch when she heard a crunch of something being stepped on behind them and two clangs and thuds before being hit with a round, flat object from behind. Spinning around, she caught the frying pan as it came at her head with her hoof and was confronted by a bipedal reptilian wearing pillows tied around it's waist, a pot on it's head, and wielding the frying pan as a weapon. With a quick tug she yanked the frying pan from it's claws and took a bite out of it. The thing's mouth, nostrils, and eyes only showed up in thermal and a better scan told her nothing. It had a panicked in it's eyes as it opened it's mouth and blasted her with fire before everything went dark. Spike watched as the metal pony's head melted and it slumped to the floor. Falling on his tail, he quickly scrambled backwards from it in a panic as the glowing metal began to flow back into the body and drag the frying pan with it. In seconds the pan was gone and it's head reformed. It's eyes glowed red as it rose from the floor and stalked towards him, growling, hissing and screeching in something that caused the back of his brain to itch in away that screamed he should know this. "That is the fifth weapon system I've had to sacrifice today to repair damage from being attacked and I've only been attacked twice today in the last hour, Draconian, and I really liked my spike launcher. It was the first weapon I created with using native materials and I proud of my chemistry work on the explosive spikes using nanotechnology to harvest glucose and gluten from native sweetened confections and a few household chemicals." Sweetie Bot loomed over him with a frown as he coward, paralyzed with fear. "And you don't understand draconian common do you? You're a foundling dropped in your egg on an inhabited habitable world and left to fend for yourself until your instincts kick in and you kick start a one draconian technological revolution with a genetically encoded tech base knowledge on how to take anything from a stone age society all the way to a star faring, galaxy spanning empire in one generation." "Don't kill me!" Spike finally blurted out. "I will not end your life at this time draconian. The treaty forbids me from intentionally doing so once you have been identified as a foundling unless you attack me again." Sweetie Bot switched to Equestrian and explained before asking, "Do you plan to attack me again?" "N..n..no." Spike stuttered. "Then help me make these two comfortable and then explain why there is a draconian in the library." Sweetie Bot said as she walked back over to the light switch and turned it on. "Um... What's a draconian?" Spike asked as he pulled the pillows off of himself. "Draconians are one of the oldest and most respected races in the multiverse. They first emerged around...." Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo floated in blackness on one of Sweetie Belle's disks. "Where are we?" Scootaloo asked. "Well your both knocked out on the library floor, but since you were touching when it happened you both got pulled into the Kessho." A voice said as a door appeared and she flew through on one of her disks with a frown and all four arms crossed. "Don't mind me, I am only here to make sure someone remembers to behave herself" "Prasiolite!" Sweetie Belle yelled as she flew her disk over to hug the crystal goddess. "Hello Sweetie," Prasiolite said as she hugged her. "and it is a pleasure to meet you, Scootaloo was it? Normally I would offer tea and cake, but your fight with Nightmare Moon has rattled a few of the others and one in particular took control and brought you to her area when you both got knocked out. I would have been fine with easing you into meeting her, but she insisted and convinced two of the others to back her on this one. So now..." Suddenly from below blue flames began tracing their way across the darkness leaving behind a floor made of tatami mats. Then the flames raced upwards revealing walls of wood with intricately carved posts depicting hundreds of smiling, laughing foxes. When they reached a certain height a second layer to the room formed as a walkway raced around the second floor and four stairways descended to the first floor with the fox theme continuing with the foxes chasing each other up and down the bannisters and around the second floor along the walkways railing. The entire time the flames sounded like a yipping kind of laughter and giggles as it flowed up above them to another walkway as yet more stairs descended to the second floor. Above them they watched flying buttresses form the ceiling as flames forced them down to the floor while chandeliers formed. Once on the floor they saw that the flames were now at work creating alcoves in the wall as either shelves or small side rooms. In the middle of the room a short table and large cushions for sitting burned into existence before an intricate tea set and dozens of strange round treats on plates formed on the table with place cards for each of them. Then a female voice that seemed to come from nowhere said with a giggle, "Please take your seats and by all means enjoy the show." Then the drums began and Prasiolite groaned and yelled, "IT'S NOT EVEN FROM THE RIGHT CULTURE FOR WHERE YOU COME FROM!!!" "I DON'T CARE!" The voice yelled from the second floor as the chandeliers rose towards the ceiling and the drums stopped. "Or would you prefer another song that is not appropriate for young children?" "NO!!!" Prasiolite yelled before calming down and calling out, "Yoshima, please continue with your song." "Thank you Prasiolite." Yoshima called back from above. "Are they always like this?" Scootaloo asked Sweetie Belle. Sweetie Belle just shrugged and said, "I have no ideal. I have only met Prasiolite and whoever this Yoshima is I haven't met her yet." "And the doctor Bon Bon took me to says I'm screwed up." Scootaloo grumbled. "The voices in your head get into arguments with each other." "You're just jealous that my voices are cooler than your voices." Sweetie Belle said before they both stuck their tongues out at each other and giggled. That was when the drums started again and blue flames appeared on the second and third floor walkways and a voice sang out, "Jai Ho!" As the flames became dozens of the same blonde haired bipedal creature with fox ears and tails in short blue robes and katana swords at their sides, dancing and singing together to the song as they made their way down the stairs. Then they all started to merge as they danced towards the table until only five remained. Finally the song ended as the last four merged with the one who then bowed as Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo clapped their hooves together and her tail separated to become five tails. She then sat down on her pillow and blew a small puff of blue flame that caused the tea to begin serving itself before saying, "Hello, I am Yoshima the Kitsune goddess and I am glad to meet you both and glad someone enjoyed my entrance. Unlike a certain goddess, I didn't try to ruin someone's first impression of her. Of course when you spend the last few dozen eons as the only goddess of an entire universe you tend to be a bit self centered." "Yoshima! We do not talk about that type of thing in front of our guests!" Prasiolite growled. "No, you told the rest of us not to discuss certain things with Sweetie Belle just so you could micromanage and control things, like every monotheistic deity I've ever met, and then left to go meet her for the first time before we could tell you what we thought of your ideal." Yoshima said. "So now you have to deal with us telling her certain things you would hide from her, like the likelihood of her friend here dying on this adventure without our help." "What?!!" Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo both yelled. "The Kessho is stronger when we are together. A polytheistic deity like you would spread the power to thin." Prasiolite said. "If we divide up the power and they get seperated when they need the full power the most..." "They can't die until the day they give up the Kessho of their own free will. That means they will then have to find each other to use it's full power." Yoshima countered. "Besides, they will be linked, but able to develop a smaller number of powers to their fullest instead of dividing their time between several different sets of powers and never fully mastering a single one." "Um... Do we get any say in this?" Scootaloo asked. "Yeah, because I really don't want Scootaloo to die." Sweetie Belle added. "Oh don't worry, at it's full power the Kessho can even bring people back from the dead." Prasiolite explained, only for Yoshima to laugh at that. "Why don't you tell them how long it might take to master every single part and power of the Kessho? Or maybe explain that that power is one of the Kessho's ultimate powers and requires all six of us to agree to use it and how difficult two of the others might be unless it is something big enough to get their attention?" Yoshima asked mockingly, before turning to the girls and saying. "Don't mind our arguing, we do it all the time. It comes from us coming from two different traditions of divinity or godhood. I was raised in a pantheon or family of gods before I was given my first universe and created my own pantheon. In a pantheon we may argue and get on each other's nerves, but we are always there for each other and may the multiverse help anyone who threatens one of us because if you'll have all of us coming down on you with the wrath of the gods we are." "And I was raised by my father in the tradition of monotheistic or a single, all powerful god. People find it easier to deal with just one god for all their needs instead of having to remember which god is in charge of what. Trust me, you don't want to pray to a fire god when you need a water goddess instead. Sure, it might be difficult doing everything by myself and trying to answering as many prayers as possible, but I have the strength and power of an entire pantheon." Prasiolite told them. "She right about being more powerful, but with friends and family to share the work it is much easier to help as many as possible and less prayers go unanswered because of it." Yoshima added with a thoughtful look before breathing out blue flames into the air that became a knight in armor fighting against an army. "Think of it like a single hero with the strength of a thousand men fighting an army. Yes he will win eventually, but he will be very worn out because of it." They watched as the knight finished winning only to sit down while breathing hard. Then the army reformed and the knight was replaced by several samurais who began fighting the army. "Now imagine a group of heroes, each with the strength of a hundred, fighting that army. Yes they will be tired, but since they can give each other small breaks here and there, they can keep going better than the single hero who needs to sit down and regain his strength before going on." The samurais finished the fight and slowly helped each other walk towards a castle, as they walked each one stood straighter and walked easier as they went. The flames finally disappeared when they reached the castle gate the knight was holding open for them. "It isn't that one is better than the other, but that one is easier while the other has more power in one single spot. Which brings us back to you two." "Simply put, do you want to be a single, very powerful hero Sweetie Belle, or share the power with others, like Scootaloo?" Prasiolite asked. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo began whispering back and forth for a few minutes before Sweetie Belle hugged Scootaloo said, "I want my friend to come with me, so definitely share." Suddenly music began playing as Yoshima jumped up and split into five versions of herself, each with one tail each as they began dancing and singing while Prasiolite groaned and did a four handed face palm. The Kitsune was right And the rock was wrong. Because I'm so awesome And you're a stick in the mud. The Kitsune was right And the rock was wrong. Because I'm so awesome And you're a stick in the mud. As they watched, the Yoshimas blew out flames and one became a pony sized fox and another a grumpy looking Kitsune version of Prasiolite as the rest became human versions of Sweetie Belle, Sweetie Bot, and Scootaloo. All around them was confetti and balloons falling from above, only to disappear as soon as they touched something while the tea set and snacks danced on the table. I got my amazing fox fire shape shifting And I can make my clones. I do awesome illusions And animate all sorts of objects because... The Kitsune was right And the rock was wrong. Because I'm so awesome And you're a stick in the mud. The Kitsune was right And the rock was wrong. Because I'm so awesome And you're a stick in the mud. I get an amazing pegasus And she's such an awesome filly. I'm going give her my fox fire And the world is in for a big surprise. From Manehaten to Cloudsdale And everywhere in between because... The Kitsune was right And the rock was wrong. Because I'm so awesome And you're a stick in the mud. The Kitsune was right And the rock was wrong. Because I'm so awesome And you're a stick in the mud. The Scootaloo felt something tugging on her tail, but saw nothing was touching it. "Uh oh, I think we're waking up." Sweetie Belle said when her tail moved as if being tugged on. The music stopped and everything went back to normal as all the Yoshimas returned to normal and merged next to Scootaloo. "I guess this is where we say goodbye until the next time you go to sleep." She said as everything began to get wavy. "If you need me in the real world just call and I can come out to play for a few minutes, but the fox fire won't work until it recharges afterwards." With that she glowed blue and hugged Scootaloo before everything went dark for a second and when the lights came back on Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were gone. "Think they will be okay?" "They should be fine as long as the lizard doesn't hit them again." Prasiolite said as she walked towards a green door in the wall. "I'll leave you alone..." "Do you want to stay for tea?" Yoshima asked, not wanting to be alone. Prasiolite thought about it before turning around and walking back to the table saying, "Sure, my room is boring when I'm by myself." Scootaloo Perks: Blue Skies Smiling On Me- You've unlocked the blue power of the Kessho (level 1). You can now summon Kitsune fox fire for various effects and when using this power you gain fox ears, with enhanced hearing, and two fox tails, with enhanced balance and agility. Kitsune Fox Fire Effect: 1 Girl Army- You can split off a Kitsune tail for a clone to help out. Only one clone per each additional Kitsune tail. The tail will automatically return if the clone is defeated, but you will feel drained and sick at your stomach for a few minutes afterwards. Kitsune Fox Fire Effect: Costume Party (level 1) School Play- You can shape shift into others, but you've must have seen them or a depiction of them at least a few times, your size remains the same, you can't use species or tribal related powers and abilities, and you must learn to walk bipedal to use a bipedal form. Kitsune Fox Fire Effect: Hollywood Dreams (level 1) Low Budget B Movie- You can create dozens of quick easy to see through illusions or take your time and create one extremely well made illusion. Kitsune Fox Fire Effect: It's Alive! (level 1) Child's Play- You can animate small inanimate objects for a short period of time. Kitsune Fox Fire Effect: Fire Breather (level 1) Birthday Candle- You can blow out short bursts of Fox Fire. Sure it's not very hot, but if you concentrate you can make a floating ball of blue fire to light up a very small area and follow you for a short period of time. The fox goddess- Yoshima has finished moving in and has a nice new home in your head and you can visit her when you sleep. Yoshima's Home is unlocked. The Fox Goddess Unleashed- You can call upon Yoshima at her full power to help you in the real world, but she can only manifest for a few minutes before she must return to her room and you will lose the blue power of the Kessho until it recharges. Link In The Chain- Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo are now linked together through the Kessho and can not die until they willingly give it up, but they can still get hurt. Achievement: Quest For Knowledge (level 1) Completed- The Golden Oaks Library location is now unlocked. Off To See The Lizard- Spike has been located and can find information for you in any library location. You Can't Fight City Hall- Avoid Mayor Mare's wrath by relocating to any location but the town hall. New Quest Unlocked: Spike?- A dragon hatchling? A draconian foundling? A secret llama spy? Solve this mystery to unlock Spike as a playable character. Pending... Chain Reaction- With Scootaloo now linked to the Kessho you will need to find 4 more individuals to link to the Kessho to unlock more of it and it's full power. Red Pending... Yellow Pending... Orange Pending... Purple Pending... Nightmare Who?- Gather information on Nightmare Moon, her forces, weaknesses, and locations. Pending... Are We Missing Someone?- There seem to be several individuals missing, you might want to look into that. Pending... Ticking Time Bomb!- You have less than 96 hours to save the world before it becomes a planet sized freezy pop. 95 hours remaining...