//------------------------------//
// Chapter 33 - Crystal Empire 
// Story: The Lost One 
// by thedarktome 
//------------------------------//

The Guards kept their eyes on the abandoned Crystal Structure just like they were ordered to do by Princess Cadance. Some pulled out binoculars, looking through some of the broken windows that something would more than often move past, casting a shadow. The Lieutenant hummed and lowered his own binoculars, trying to figure out what a bunch of foals were doing in an abandoned house. "Anything?" He turned to the voice of Princess Cadance behind him.

She urgently walked over and stood next to him. He hoofed over the binoculars to let her peer through and answered, "Multiple signs of movement inside the building. I can't tell how many exactly, but I saw eight different forms and mane colors."

"Interesting. I sent for an expert. If I know her as well as I do, she'll be here in a few seconds." Someone tapped her shoulder, getting her to lower the binoculars, look over, and nearly shriek. The Mystery Mare was looking her right in the eyes through mesh eye holes. Cadance held a hoof over her chest and took a deep breath. Then spotted Twilight peeking over the Mystery Mare's shoulder.

Rainbow motioned with her hoof for her to explain. So Cadance nodded and pointed towards the run down building. "Five foals so far as we can tell in there. If you're going to investigate, stay quiet. They may just be a poor family. Possibly hostile because of that filly's bruises."

Rainbow nodded then turned invisible, ready to begin the task. She ran out of the alley and into the street, walking around the building and towards the corner leading to the backyard. Once out of sight, Cadance turned to Twilight, Buff, and Scootaloo. "Scootaloo, we could use your help too. Since you were possibly in the same position as these foals, you can maybe calm them down if they are in fact aggressive, and ask questions since you've been in this situation. Just listen to me, okay?"


***


Rainbow Dash stopped at the corner of the building and shimmered into view. Even though the building was a solid crystal, she could still make out movement inside. A lot. Converging on one spot that were probably the stolen apples. But she could only make out so much outside. She needed to get in. Now. Without making any noise.

Rainbow Dash sighed and jumped into the building's uprooted backyard. Either these ponies were using the bathroom out here, or it just smelled naturally terrible. She was going with the former. There was a wooden door in front of her that was definitely unguarded. Based on the fact that nopony wanted to  be near this literal wasteland. So she quietly and casually pushed it open. The hinges squeaked as it rotated, revealing what seemed to be a really quiet and creepy kitchen that was no longer in use. The first thing she spotted was a stove that has definitely seen better days. The floor was worn down, the lights in the ceiling were dangling, and the building was packed. She could tell just by listening. But she needed an eye inside.

So Rainbow immediately creeped in and quietly shut the door behind her. Then turned back around towards the dark kitchen, greeting it with a deep breath. Without making a squeak, she slowly moved towards the doorframe that had a door ripped off its hinges. Her hoofs made soft sounds along the crystal when she stopped at the edge and listened in. It sounded like they were still eating, save for the pony groaning and hissing.

"Stop moving, you're making it worse," a filly said. Rainbow heard a rip then another hiss.

"Well it already bucking hurts!" Another filly yelled. Rainbow took note of her language. There was no telling how long these foals have been alone. Didn't matter right now though. Using an invisibility spell, Rainbow walked out from behind the door and into what seemed to be a living room in the past. These...are a lot of foals, Rainbow thought. There had to be at least thirty in the large living room alone. But from what she could hear, there were more up the stairs. Two levels. A challenge.

Rainbow backed into the kitchen and used her magic to create copies of herself. Four of them, dressed in the same outfit as she was. After they were created, they looked over and focused on her. The original pointed out the door and whispered, "Stay invisible and surround the room. Create a silent containment spell. I'll handle upstairs. Let's move." Rainbow turned on the spell once more and soundlessly walked out from the kitchen, heading for the stairs. She walked past a couch that held three sleeping fillies across from the circle of eating foals. She spotted who was doing all the moaning and groaning earlier. A filly with a gray coat, a light red mane and tail in it with a single gray streak. She looked like somepony beat her up.

There was another filly beside her patching up a wound on the gray filly's right hoof. "You need to stay inside, Gray Fire," she warned. "Or else this is going to break and we'll have to start over again."

"I can't stay inside," the filly known as Gray fire responded spitefully. She grunted and stood back up. "Somepony needs to look out for everypony here. And that pony is me. I do what I have to do. Broken leg or not. We need more food." Rainbow quickly turned and silently made her way up the stairs while Gray Fire walked towards the front door. She was determinedly limping towards it, ready to do another task. Instead, she bumped her muzzle into the containment field. Bouncing back, she rubbed her muzzle. Yelling, "Ow! Huh?"

Everyone in the room stopped eating—and snoring—and looked up at where Gray Fire was feeling...the air. Gray Fire pulled back her good hoof and hit what seemed to be the air, creating a black ripple that they all noticed. Gasping, everyone walked over to where she was banging on the containment field, creating more ripples. They all started complaining and crying out.

"What is this?!"

"I don't know!!"

"Can we get out?!"

"Try the kitchen!" The fillies and colts headed towards the kitchen and hit another wall. "We can't get out!!" Gray Fire declared angrily. She turned around and yelled, "Who's the pony that put us in here?! Show yourself!!" A puff of black smoke later, a unicorn filly from upstairs was deposited downstairs in the middle of the room, eating an apple. Not even noticing that Rainbow Dash had moved her. Gray Fire gasped and narrowed her eyes. Then bumped past the other foals and up to the eating foal. She grabbed her hooves, making and pulled her up to look into her eyes by surprise. "Let us out of this field! Right now!"

The filly froze and glanced left and right. Then looked into Gray's eyes and asked, "...huh?"

Before Gray Fire could ask, another foal, this one a pegasus like her, was deposited on top of her, forcing her flat onto the ground. This one was reading a book at the time she was deposited. But stopped once she realized the brightness of her book had dimmed. She looked up in concern and then checked out her surroundings. "Wait a minute... How'd I get down here?" She asked.

"Get! Off!" She looked down and yelped, jumping off and hovering in the air as more and more foals were deposited in the living room. Gray Fire stood up and looked around at the overly crowded room filled with over forty five foals. And none of them could move. It was getting a lit hot. She looked around and yelled, "What is going on?!"

Everypony began talking at once, not even noticing the mystery mare slowly creeping down the stairs. Except the foal that was fixing Gray Fire's hoof. Keeping her fear-filled eye on Rainbow, she poked a hoof into Gray's side, grabbing her obviously furious eyes. Ignoring them, she pointed at Rainbow who was staring directly at them. Gray followed her gaze and paled. Soon after a few more seconds, the chaos stopped and everyone stared at each other. Rainbow at the foals, the foals at Rainbow.

Rainbow sighed deeply. Then lifted her head towards a corner of the couch and waved a hoof. Her copies shimmered into view, their hidden eyes trained on the foals who were frozen. Finding them defenseless, Rainbow walked towards the front door and pulled it open, letting in the light and waving a hoof. Then turned around and walked back inside, leaving it open. She stood to the side and kept her eyes on the foals while two Royal Guard strode in. Followed by Princess Cadance, Twilight with Scootaloo on her back, and Princesses Celestia and Luna, who arrived after a letter was sent by Cadance. The foals didn't even move as they looked around.

"By faust," Celestia whispered as she gazed at all the foals, who in turn stared back. Celestia sighed and asked, "What happened here? Mystery? Any idea?"

The Princesses turned to Rainbow Dash who answered by shaking their head. Then deadpanned, "They don't seem like a family, Cadance."

Twilight looked up at Scootaloo and whispered, "Do your thing."

Scootaloo gulped and timidly jumped off her head, landing on the cold  and dark crystal floor. Then walked towards the foals before one of them bumped past the others, limping into view. Scootaloo stopped and looked her over. Then asked, "Where are you from?"

Gray Fire backed up and asked, "Huh?" But Scootaloo couldn't hear her. She turned to the Princesses and shrugged.

"Oh! Right!" Rainbow yelled, then motioned to her copies who stopped the spell. This time the Princesses were able to hear their breathing.

Satisfied, Scootaloo turned back around and asked, "Who's the community leader?"

"Me." Gray Fire limped out of the group once more and asked a question of her own. "Who are you?"

"I'm Scootaloo. I was the community leader at the camp in Ponyville."

Gray Fire gasped and whispered cautiously, "Your....parents were...."

Scootaloo bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah, I...I don't like talking about it. How long have you been here?"

"Maybe four years now. But before this point, nopony really seemed to notice us! It was really weird—ow!!" She sat down and looked at her injured hoof that was fit with a stint. She whimpered and added, "We've been doing a lot to try and get ready for the upcoming winter and were preparing this area for it maybe three weeks ago. I had fell after fixing the ceiling from falling planks and...broke my hoof."

"Oh dear. Guard, let's get these foals away from this unstable building," Cadance ordered. "Everypony outside. If you need help to walk or move just ask." The Guard stepped to the side while the foals began to move. Meanwhile, Rainbow walked up to Gray Fire beside Scootaloo, scaring her enough that she backed away, nearly hurting her hoof even more.

Scootaloo squeaked and said, "It's okay. She looks very intimidating like this, but she's really not. Trust me." Rainbow bent low and allowed Scootaloo on her back. Once she was comfortable, Scootaloo waved to Gray Fire invitingly. "Come on, she won't bite."

"I-I can walk, thank you," she replied. Then began limping towards the door. Rainbow rolled her eyes and stood back up. Then scooped up Gray Fire and tossed her on her back. Once she landed, Gray Fire held an expression of horror, frozen in fear.

"Yeah, I forgot to mention. Mystery gets what she wants," Scootaloo added. Rainbow sighed and turned around to walk outside while the Guards investigated the building. But before she did, she extinguished her copies, turning them to black smoke. She spotted Cadance speaking with Twilight, Celestia, and Luna. Probably about where to place these foals. She walked towards the circle of other foals and laid down, listening to Scootaloo and Gray Fire. It seems they were already kicking it off, based off their excited chatter on her back.

Gray Fire leaned in and whispered, "Is that her name?" The two jumped off and slowly walked towards the rest of the foals, leaving Rainbow alone. She watched them walk away and a bunch more guards arriving with chariots and medical supplies.

"You know..." Rainbow turned towards the voice of Princess Celestia. "You do not always have to hide. Last time I checked, nopony knew of Rainbow Dash in the Crystal Empire."

"True," Rainbow responded. Then turned back to Scootaloo who was hugging Gray Fire while she got her hoof looked at. "But I do not like taking chances. At least with my identity. What are we going to do with them? We can't leave them in the street and forty five foals at the hospital is pushing it. That's even more than Ponyville."

Celestia hummed and looked towards the castle in the distance. Then back at Rainbow Dash. "Well Canterlot has more than enough room to house them," she suggested. "There are plenty of empty rooms in the castle. I am also aware that Manehattan has a lot of room too."

"More than enough, but why Manehattan?" Rainbow asked in confusion. The other Princesses and Twilight walked over to listen in. "Why do they have to leave their home?"

"Well besides them not having any place to go," Twilight answered. "Or the fact that the Therohs are still here somewhere, you're the only pony in all of Equestria that can fight them. That and to protect these foals."

Luna pressed a hoof against Rainbow Dash's mouth and said, "Before you ask, let me explain. Whoever is commanding these Therohs have political power. Political ponies get all the news surrounding Equestria on their desks all the time everyday. This pony is dangerous and if they so much as hear about these foals speaking about what happened, or if this situation gets enough notice..."

"Then the foals also become expendable," Rainbow assumed. She sighed and turned back to the foals who were being checked out by medics. Specifically Scootaloo who was holding Gray Fire's hoof while she was painfully injected with painkillers for her hoof.

"Right," Twilight responded. "Their records of existence have already been expunged. It wouldn't really matter to this pony if they were completely gone. This pony obviously wants everything kept absolutely quiet. Not even a squeak. Even though this was a huge event in Ponyville, Celestia had to ask the press to not put out anymore news about it."

Rainbow took a deep breath and stood back up, eyes still on the foals. She growled and yelled, "Fine! Bring them to Manehattan, but not my mansion. I already have Scootaloo and... Gray Fire."

"Wait, you're taking in Gray Fire too?" Cadance asked. She was obviously confused.

Rainbow motioned towards Scootaloo and Gray Fire, who was following Scootaloo around like she was her older sister. "They may have just met. But I can already tell they're not going to just leave each other. So... I'll take her back to my place and have her settle in there. Maybe Scootaloo could get some questions answered and I can find a pattern in these attacks. Buff?" The muscular pony was at her side in a second, saluting like a soldier. "Get Squirt on my train. Along with her friend. Take them back to the mansion. I'll already be there. If you need any bits, you know where to find them. The pass for the train is already in your bag. Twilight, you're with him. Keep them company okay?"

"You got it!" Twilight responded. Then motioned with her eyes towards Celestia.

Rainbow jumped in recognition. "Oh! Right! Celestia, I was hoping .."

Celestia chuckled and waved a hoof in her direction. "I'd be honored to attend your unveiling, whenever it may be."

"Maybe a month from now," Rainbow guessed. "These ponies will drop everything just to see a few new paintings."

"Hold on!" Everyone turned to Luna and Cadance, who were bearing offended expressions. Luna pointed a hoof at Celestia and asked, "She gets a formal invitation but we do not? How ghastly!"

Rainbow sighed and held a hoof out to them in a presenting manner. Luna and Cadance instantly perked up and answered her unasked question, "Of course we'll go, thank you sooo much for inviting us!"

"You're welcome," Rainbow deadpanned.