//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: Arriving // Story: Yu-Gi-Oh! Equus X Zexal // by moviemaster8510 //------------------------------// “It’s your Equestrian magic that allows you to see me,” finished Astral, floating alongside Yuma and explaining his visibility to Daring Do. “That’s quite interesting,” said Daring Do. “And to think, there’s another planet with sentient beings on it visible to the naked eye.” “It’s a lot to take in,” said Alex, “but you seem to be taking it well.” “Please,” said Daring Do. “With the adventures I’ve had, surprises are few and far between.” “Wow!” squealed Rainbow Dash. “I still can’t believe that I’m walking right next to the Daring Do!” “Is she really going to guffaw over me the entire time?” Daring Do asked quietly to Twilight. “Don’t worry,” said Twilight. “She should be getting over it soon. Just don’t be surprised if she wants to make friends with you.” “I hope she knows I’m not interested with those types of ‘friends.’” “Not like that,” giggled Twilight. “She just really looks up to you. I’d want to stick by your side if I was as big of a fan of you as she was.” “I suppose there’s nothing wrong that…” “That’s the spirit! Hey, what’s that?” Just over the horizon, a blue dome became visible to everyone, leaving everyone marveling at it. “We’re here!” exclaimed Daring Do. Shark revved up his motorcycle and began to speed up. “Hey!” shouted Yuma. “Where are you going?” “Inside. If it’s any warmer in there, I’m going to get out of this frozen hell.” Yuma and his friends began to run too, followed by the ponies, and then Alex and Tom sped up on their duel runners as well. As Shark reached the dome, he entered it as if the dome was made of suspended water. The other humans and ponies entered next, with Alex and Tom being the last to enter. Along with the feeling of warm sunlight hitting their bodies, refreshing them, each creature, minus Daring Do, was astounded at what they saw. About half a mile from them was a city with buildings and houses made from red and blue crystals. In the center of it, where all eyes were now laid, was a tall, white and blue palace that glowed as the sun illuminated it from behind. Along with it, the sky was virtually cloudless and the ground was covered in rich green grass, several trees, and bushes spread out around the area., “Sparklarific!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie. “It’s beautiful!” sighed Tori, taken in by its majesty. “It’s even cooler up close!” said Alex. “So cool,” exclaimed Yuma. Astral also marveled over the Empire’s beauty. Tom pulled out his phone and snapped a picture before putting his device back into his pocket. “You won’t believe where I’m spending my summer vacation,” muttered Tom to himself. “Come on,” beckoned Daring Do. “Shining Armor and Cadance are waiting.” They found a path in between two red, crystal pillars with a trio of floating crystals hovering over the path. Without hesitation, the group took it all the way there. As they continued to travel, the path became a blue road, also seemingly made from crystal that sparkled like schist. Sightseeing was all but inevitable, as each creature turned their heads in every direction to look at the architecture and the ever approaching palace. “It’s gorgeous!” squealed Rarity in excitement. “Absolutely gorgeous!” Upon reaching the palace, they walked underneath the building, which resembled a white dome that was supported by its legs. Several more roads from across the kingdom seemed to connect to the center, where a large, white snowflake was designed onto it. “Wow,” exclaimed Hart. “It’s so pretty!” “Isn’t it cool?” asked Kite, gently taking his coat off of his brother and placing it back on himself. The underside of each of the archways leading to the center was a royal blue with crystalline linings carved from them. The walls were painted with light blue swirls that almost reached the top of the dome. On the inside of each of the large legs that supported the palace were blue doorways with diamond encrusted art above it. Each doorway came after a short flight of stairs that matched the doors. Rarity stuttered as Alex, Tom, and Shark parked their vehicles next to one of the staircases. “There are no words!” she shouted, her eyes sparkling like the floor she stood on. “Rarity,” said Shark, going up the stairs to the doors, “calm yourself. We’re here to help Twilight’s family, not gawk over the architecture.” “Besides,” said Rainbow Dash, walked towards the stairway, “it’s nothing special. Just another old castle to me!” Rainbow Dash’s words hit Rarity like a boulder as she struggled to find the right words to retort. “Another old castle?!?” she yelled. “Have you lost your mind? Just look at the craftsma–” She was interrupted by her Equestrian friends laughing at her expense. Upon realizing that Rainbow Dash’s words were merely a ploy to rile her up, Rarity calmed down. “Very funny,” she said flatly. As the ponies walked up the steps, Shark held the door open as Yuma and the other humans filed into the building. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Inside the massive, crystalline throne room, with crystals ranging from white, blue, and purple, sat Cadance. She looked exhausted as her horn continuously glowed, looking like she would succumb to slumber at any second. Shining Armor sat next to the throne, monitoring his wife as she struggled to stay awake. The dark crystal fragments still remained on his horn. He then glanced out of one of the many windows that encircled the room, hoping for a visitor soon. Like clockwork, the door opened, from which Daring Do emerged. Shining Armor and Cadance shot up at the sound of the door opening, and were relieved to see her. “What is it, Daring?” asked Shining Armor. “I have some ponies who are very eager to see you,” she called in a sing-song voice. Twilight and her Equestrian friends flooded into the room, eager to see the two. Upon sighting Twilight, Shining Armor and Cadance lit up immensely. “Twily!” he cried, galloping towards his sister. Twilight and Shining Armor met halfway and held each other in an embrace. “I’m so glad you’re here!” he said. “Anything for my big brother,” answered Twilight. As Alex, Tom, Yuma, and the rest of his friends poured into the room, Twilight galloped up to Cadance as she called her name. “Twilight!” exclaimed Cadance as they stood face to face with each other. They then accompanied each other in a childhood poem, complete with choreography. Sunshine, sunshine, Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves, and do a little shake! They giggled, happy to be in each other’s company. Cadance’s magic in her horn soon began to fade, causing her to strain to keep it back up. Kite couldn’t help but notice that outside, the sky turned from its serene blue to the grey blizzard that they emerged from. “One of these days,” said Cadance to Twilight, “we need to get together when the fate of Equestria isn’t hanging in the balance.” “Don’t think you forgot us!” shouted Alex to Shining Armor with Tom walking alongside him. “Guys!” Shining Armor shouted in joy. “You came too!” Alex and Tom gave Shining Armor a hug, followed by one to Cadance as well. Shining Armor looked towards the rest of the group, smiling fondly at the ponies while giving a glance of unfamiliarity to Yuma and his friends. “Hey, Alex,” spoke Shining Armor. “Who are those guys?” “Right!” said Alex. “Cadance, would you mind coming here?” Cadance and Shining Armor followed Alex to Yuma and his friends. “Guys,” said Alex. “These are our new friends. They came here from another world when the Crystal Empire appeared.” “That’s... interesting,” said Shining Armor. “Could I get your names?” “I’m Yuma Tsukumo,” said Yuma, giving his open hand to Shining Armor, who allowed Yuma to grab his hoof and shake it. “It’s great to meet you, Yuma.” Shining Armor then went to Shark, who looked at him in his usually cold stare. “And you are?” asked Shining Armor. “Just call me Shark,” he answered. “I’m not the best one with greetings, but just know that you can trust me.” “Alrighty then.” Cadance was finishing her greetings with Tori when she went to Kite, Hart, and Orbital. Hart looked up to Cadance in wonder. “Hi,” she greeted to Kite. “What’s your name?” “My name is Kite Tenjo,” explained Kite. “And this is–” Cadance knelt down to Hart’s gaze, interrupting Kite’s introduction of his brother. “And what’s your name, little guy?” asked Cadance. “I’m Hart,” he said, blushing slightly. “I think you’re really pretty.” “Aw, thank you!” Hart then began petting her neck, amazed at the smooth, satin-like feel of her coat. Cadance giggled as Hart’s smile grew wider and wider. Kite himself couldn’t help but feel warmth in his heart seeing the two of them like that. Cadance then stood up and looked to Orbital. “And what are you?” she asked. “I’m Orbital 7,” it answered, “Kite’s personal servant.” “I see. It’s very nice to meet you all.” Shining Armor and Cadance then both caught Astral in the air, hovering above everyone as he observed his surroundings. “I assume you like the look of the castle?” asked Shining Armor, breaking Astral’s concentration. “As a matter of fact,” said Astral, “the architecture is fantastic, especially for a race who constructed it with their hooves.” “Well,” said Shining Armor, “magic can be very helpful in those regards.” “Indeed.” “Might I ask for your name?” “My name is Astral. I am a companion of Yuma’s.” “Is there any reason why you look so, pardon the term, alien?” “I am in fact an alien from another world. There’s nothing offensive to me about the term.” “Wonderful. I’m Shining Armor, and this is my wife, Cadance. It’s great to meet you, Astral.” “My sentiments exactly,” said Astral with a smile. Cadance wearily walked over back towards the throne. “Cadance?” asked Twilight. “Are you okay?” “I’m just so tired, Twilight,” she moaned. “I’ve been keeping this spell up for a little more than twenty-four hours. It’s a taxing job to say…” She began to swoon before she caught herself. “…the least.” “Cadance has been using her love and light to protect the empire thus far,” explained Shining Armor, “but she hasn’t slept since we got here, and her appetite is gone. I want nothing more than to help her, but that King Sombra countered my magic before I could have the chance. Now she’s the only one keeping whatever attacked us and whatever attacked you at bay. And it doesn’t seem like she has much time left.” “That’s why we’re here,” assured Twilight. “Why we’re all here,” vouched Applejack, which was followed by a prompt, “Mmhm,” from the rest of her friends, including the humans, Orbital, and Astral. “Well, with Cadance putting all her strength into keeping her spell going," said Shining Armor, "and me trying to keep an eye on signs of trouble in the Arctic, we haven’t been able to gather much information from the crystal ponies.” Upon the utterance of the final two words, Rarity’s face lit up like a Christmas tree, shoving her hooves into her cheeks. “Crystal ponies?” she shouted, giggling with anticipation as she then grabbed both ends of her curled mane. “There are crystal ponies?” Everyone stared in confusion at the crazed Rarity, Shark in particular looking upon her outburst with scorn. Upon reading everyone’s faces, she awkwardly settled down and redid her mane. “Um…” she said, prompting Shining Armor, “please, continue.” “But we have to believe one of them knows how to protect the empire without having to use Cadance’s magic.” Twilight thought hard about a solution, but an idea came to her, putting a smile back on her face. “A research paper!” she exclaimed. “Huh?” questioned Shining Armor. “That must be part of my test: to gather information from the crystal ponies and deliver it to you! This is going to be great! I love research papers!” “Yeah,” sarcastically said Rainbow Dash, nudging Pinkie Pie with her arm, “who doesn’t?” “OOH! OOH! OOH! Let me guess!” exclaimed Pinkie Pie, putting her hand in the air before speeding towards each of her friends as she frantically guessed. “Is it Spike? No, no, no. Fluttershy! Yuma?” “You’re right about that,” said Yuma, somewhat offset over Pinkie Pie’s exuberant energy. “YAY! I win! I win! I win!” “Don’t worry, big brother,” said Twilight, ignoring Pinkie Pie as she wrapped her arm around Shining Armor’s neck, “I’m really good at this sort of thing.” “Then have at it,” urged Shining Armor. “I have full faith in you and your friends.” “Come on, everypony!” beckoned Twilight as she made her way towards the exit. “Let’s find some crystal ponies!” As Twilight and her friends, Rarity acting especially excited, made their way towards the exit, Shark stood by to wait for Tom. “Did she just say 'everypony?'” Shark asked. “It’s their way of saying everybody,” Tom answered. “You get used to it.” With that, Tom and Shark made their way out of the room as well. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Twilight knocked on the navy-blue front door of a red building. Spike, Alex, Yuma, and Astral accompanied her. A mare opened the door. She had a smooth-looking light blue coat with a silky, but droopy mane that looked brushed in the front and curled on the neck. Her cutie mark was a golden feather. The shine in her blue eyes looked crystalline in appearance. “So that’s what a crystal pony looks like,” mused Astral. She looked very sullen, that is until she saw Alex, Yuma, and Astral. She then became very frightened and tried to go back into her house. Upon closing her door, Twilight put her hoof in the door, wincing as the door slammed on it. “Please!” stammered the crystal pony. “Go away!” “Jeez,” shouted Yuma, “we’re not going to hurt you! Calm down!” “He’s being honest,” said Twilight more calmly. “Now please, I need to talk to you.” The pony sheepishly opened the door and slowly came back out. “If you’re concerned about these other creatures behind me, I just want you to know that you can trust them.” “Alright,” she said in a much more lethargic voice. “A thousand years have passed since the empire disappeared; things have changed since you’ve been gone.” “What?” she said, her voice devoid of surprise. “I know it’s hard for you to comprehend, but I need to ask you how we can protect the empire from King Sombra. It’s very important.” “I… I…” Everyone leaned in. “I can’t remember,” finished the crystal mare. “Are you sure?” asked Twilight. “Absolutely sure?” “I’m sorry. I wish I could help you, but I can’t seem to remember anything before the time King Sombra came to power. And I don’t want to remember anything about the time he ruled over us.” The mare then shuddered, haunted by a sudden memory of King Sombra’s reign. “Perhaps King Sombra must have wiped these ponies’ memories before he caused the empire to vanish,” said Astral to himself. “Have we really been gone a thousand years?” asked the crystal mare. “Yes,” confirmed Twilight. “It feels like it was just yesterday…” “If you think of anything,” said Alex, “even the smallest thing…” “Of course.” The pony then slunk back into the house, closing the door. Twilight and her friends proceeded to leave and go down the road. “Well, that was a total bust,” said Spike and Yuma in unison. “Maybe the others are having better luck,” said Twilight. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Shark and Daring Do stood by and watched Rainbow Dash roughly interrogate a crystal pony. She was cream colored with a drooping mane and tail of two different shades of purple. Her cutie mark was a pink fleur-de-lis. Tom sat on the floor, pinching the bridge of his nose over the fruitlessness of the interrogations. She looked unpleasantly shocked as Rainbow Dash nudged her with her elbow and picked her up as she questioned her. “A way to protect the empire,” she asked roughly. “Do you know anything about it or what?” The pony tiredly walked away from Rainbow Dash as she hovered over her. “I wish I could help you,” said the crystal pony. “Really.” Rainbow Dash, ever the resilient mare, flew back over to the pony. “Hold on!” called Rainbow Dash, lightly punching her chest, hoping to urge and answer from her. “You gotta’ know something.” The pony continued to walk. “But I don’t have any information,” the crystal pony answered. Rainbow Dash laid a hoof over her face and grimaced. Shark, angry over the lack of information, stormed over in front of the pony before she could walk off. “You!” he called. “King Sombra is going to come back here and destroy this place if you don’t give us any answers!” “King Sombra?” she asked, more terrified than ever. “Oh no!” The pony then galloped off, leaving an irate Shark behind. Daring Do began to get angry as well. “Both of you!” shouted Daring Do, causing Rainbow Dash and Shark to look at her. “If all you’re going to do is intimidate the ponies into answering you, than don’t bother questioning them at all!” Daring Do left them both in a huff. Tom stood up, positioning himself by them. “Jeez,” said Rainbow Dash to Shark and Tom, “and I thought Daring Do was going to be cool.” “To be fair,” answered Shark, “you were a bit rough on her.” “Says Mr. ‘Doom and Gloom’ over here.” Shark ignored her comment as they all walked off to find more ponies to question. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Fluttershy stood in the middle of the street as crystal ponies of various colors and genders walked by. They all looked as sullen and depressed as the ponies that Twilight and Rainbow Dash interrogated. However, Fluttershy’s timid behavior was getting her nowhere. “Um,” she quietly said, “excuse me…” No pony paid her any attention. As a stallion approached her from behind, she nervously backed away. “Oh, hello,” she said to him. “Um, I was just wondering…” Knowing that she wasn’t getting anywhere, she found a mare and a stallion sitting at a café table with a large, pink umbrella shading them. The mare was purple with a golden coat and a cutie mark of an island with a single palm tree. She had her left arm on the table, resting her head on it. The stallion was an ice blue with a mane that had two shades of bluish-green and a cutie mark of a bow and arrow. The bottom of his jaw laid on the table. As with every other crystal pony, they looked miserable. Fluttershy began to walk up to them sternly, then fluttering her wings to rise above them as she raised her arm with an angrily determined face. However, she immediately backed out, reverting to her docile behavior. “Ooh,” she sighed, “oh, that’s okay, um, you all look really busy.” Fluttershy began to fly backwards until she felt herself bump into someone. Fluttershy turned around and squeaked in fear, becoming calmer when she realized that she bumped into Tori. “Oh,” Fluttershy panted, “Tori, it’s you.” “Fluttershy,” addressed Tori. “Have you found anything?” “Nope. How about you?” “Me neither. No one here can remember a thing.” “Really? Well, I guess that takes care of that! Let’s go.” Fluttershy flew off, leaving Tori behind. Tori sighed in frustration, putting her hand to her temple. Unbeknownst to the girl, Pinkie Pie, dressed in a black sweater with a mask sewn onto the neck, leaped above her from rooftop to rooftop. The mask she wore had holes solely for her eyes and ears. On her forehead, she wore a pair of gold goggles with orange lenses and a brown band. From the top of a blue building, she spotted a pair of crystal ponies looking at the palace. One of them was a mare with a desaturated fuchsia coat and a mane and tail of two shades of blue along with a jade-green fleur-de-lis cutie mark. The other was a desaturated blue stallion with a golden bow and arrow cutie mark. His mane and tail was identical to the mare he stood next to. “Time to gather some intel,” she stated. After fastening a rope to the building via a grappling hook, she grabbed onto the rope and rappelled down. “It just feels like something is missing,” said the mare. “I know,” agreed the stallion. “It looks the same, but it doesn’t feel the same.” “Because it isn’t!” whispered Pinkie Pie loudly. Upon looking up, the two ponies saw the pink mare hanging upside down a foot or so above them as she hung from the rope. “Ah!” shouted the crystal mare. “A spy!” Upon being spotted, Pinkie let go of the rope and fell to the ground. The two other frightened ponies galloped for their lives down the street. “A spy?” questioned Pinkie Pie with genuine confusion. “How did they know?” Upon sighting the goggles on her head, she placed them over her eyes. “Oh! They must have noticed my night vision goggles. Ooh, night-visiony!” She then proceeded to turn around and flee, only to smack right into a crystal pillar that was jutted from the ground, knocking her on her stomach. Kite and Hart just happened to catch the end of the commotion, having come from where the ponies galloped off to once they saw them running. “Pinkie Pie!” scolded Kite. “Quit goofing off and get some answers!” Pinkie Pie stood back up and went to Kite, getting in his face. “I wasn’t here, got it?” she whispered before she took off again and out of Kite and Hart’s sight. “Pinkie, I swear…” mumbled Kite, putting his hand over his face. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Rarity walked down the street. Her body sparkled like the city streets, and her coat was mottled like a cut diamond. Her mane, while still curled, was much poofier and her curled tail was tied at the base. She also sported a pair of long, purple earrings. As she strutted down the street, she began to flip her mane. Unbeknownst to her, a group of crystal ponies crowded around the normal looking Rarity as she flaunted her body and hair around. Clearly, the white unicorn was in some kind of trance. “And when you flip your mane,” she said, “it simply must create a rainbow of colors. Ah, wouldn’t I look just magnificent? So sparkly!” As she continued her daydream, the other ponies began to back away, fearing for her sanity. She still continued to flaunt until a voice snapped her out of it. “How’s the questioning coming along?” asked Tom’s voice. Rarity opened her eyes, finding herself face to face with Tom, Shark, and Rainbow Dash. “The questioning!” she exclaimed, desperate for an answer that she knew she didn’t have. “I haven’t been able to find out anything!” “Tell me about it!” exclaimed Rainbow Dash. “All of these ponies are clueless!” “Oh, good!” “What was that?” asked Shark. “Um,” stammered the nervous Rarity. “Let’s go find Twilight!” Rarity galloped off, embarrassed by her lollygagging. Shark ignored it as he went towards Rarity’s direction, Tom, and Rainbow Dash following her. _________________________________________________________________________________________ Twilight, Alex, Spike, Yuma, and Astral waited underneath the palace as their friends began to reconvene from all different directions. Everyone but Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Orbital 7 were around, but they relayed their progress anyways. “I got nothin’ so far!” said Rainbow Dash, defeated. “Shocker,” mumbled Daring Do. “Me neither,” confirmed Rarity with a turn of her head. “A real snipe hunt if you ask me,” said Tom. Twilight looked dismayed until she saw Fluttershy approach her. As Twilight smiled, Fluttershy met her with a nervous scowl. In one swift motion, Fluttershy pulled a zipper from the top of her head, shedding her skin to reveal that it was Pinkie Pie in disguise. Everyone, especially Hart and Kite, were surprised by this action. Pinkie Pie scooted next to Twilight and whispered in her ear. “My cover has been blown!” she whispered to the still shocked Twilight. “I repeat, my cover has been blown!” Pinkie Pie ran away, becoming nothing but a pink blur as she disappeared from the area. “Ookay,” Twilight awkwardly said. The real Fluttershy walked towards the group. As she stepped in the discarded Fluttershy costume, she stepped off of it, frightened. “Sorry, Twilight,” said Applejack, approaching the group along with Orbital, “these crystal ponies all seem to have this collective amnesia or somethin’.” “But,” interrupted Orbital, “one did say something about a library.” Everyone’s faces changed from disappointment to surprise at the revelation of this information. Twilight, however, couldn’t contain her joy as her eyes widened. “A library?” asked Twilight, rushing to Orbital and placing her hooves on its face. “Why didn’t you say so?” “Uh,” spoke Applejack. “Thought he just did.” “Good job, Orbital,” said Kite in his usually stern voice, issuing a squeal of joy from the robot. “Then let’s not waste any time!” said Twilight. “Let’s go to the library!” “If it’s no trouble,” said Shark, “I think us humans should stay here?” “What?” asked Alex. “Why?” “Yeah,” agreed Yuma, “why can’t we come too? We’re doing our best here!” “I understand,” explained Shark, “but many of the ponies we talked to were skittish with talking to us, us being rather alien to them and all.” “Come to think of it,” said Alex, “several ponies locked themselves in their house right when they saw us. If Twilight and her friends went alone, they’d be much more receptive of them than they would of us.” “Then it’s settled,” stated Applejack. “You and the humans keep Shining Armor and Cadance company while we gather some more information.” “Sounds like a plan,” said Yuma. “Then let’s go!” called Twilight. Twilight and her Equestrian friends headed off to find the library while Alex and Yuma began to walk towards one of the kingdom’s four entrances, prompting the others to do the same.