A squirrel hurried around the snowy plains. There was a mild blizzard, and he could barely move without a wind pushing him several steps back. He had buried supplies of food under the grass over the winter, and needed to find them in the early morning light. Last winter had been particularaly harsh; the rodent could barely find enough to sustain himself in the snows, and he was sure other squirrels would be up, also looking for food buried under the ground. Suddenly, two dark shapes descended upon the squirrel. He tried to run, but a sharp, cold beak grabbed onto his tail to prevent him from running. A black, harsh claw pinned the creature down.
"Well, well, well," Croaked the first raven "What 'ave we here?"
The squirrel's eyes darted around, looking for any way to escape. He noticed something large in the distance, and squeaked in fear.
"It's a noisy little creature, isn't it?" screeched the second raven.
"Never tried squirrel before," cackled the first. "I've heard they don't have much meat on 'em."
The squirrel, although unable to respond, could understand every word of what the birds were saying. The large, black eyes of the squirrel in the snow widened in fright.
"Might as well kill it now; It's the best we have this winter," Screeched the second, as he opened his beak over the squirrel's head, and he revealed a dark red interior to his mouth.
Suddenly, there was a sound like an earthquake, and a huge, green reptillian foot with four claws thudded into the ground. The ravens squaked in terror and flew away, allowing the squirrel to scamper to safety.
Limlung trekked across the wide, open field. By his side was the former Kelpie Moonswift and they were both following behind Starswirl. Limlung felt slightly dazzled; he had not seen the outside world ever since he was a hatchling: he had had enough gems in his cave to sustain himself for a very long hibernation, and since most of the gems a dragon eats are transferred to its scales as a form of protection, he did not get overweight. The unicorn Moonswift had proved herself to be very aimiable in his eyes; she was very curious about what it was like to be a dragon, and she always seemed very impressed by Limlung's tales, which made him pleased. For instance, he would give descriptions of his gem hoard, or tell Moonswift stories of dragonfire, and how it had magical properties.
Starswirl, however, would keep very quiet and not initiate or become involved in any form of conversation. This prompted Limlung to bring up a question to Moonswift.
"Does the Wizard behave like this often?" Asked Limlung, in the quietest growl he could muster.
"The Wizard?" Replied Moonswift. "Oh, Starswirl. Yes, he isn't really very talkative. But I thought you knew him before me?"
"The last time I met Starswirl," Replied Limlung "Was when I was but a small creature, newly birthed from the egg. I have little to no memory of those ages past. You know Starswirl far better than I do, my little pony."
Suddenly, the Starswirl stopped. Moonswift and Limlung halted, as Starswirl looked down at the ground, then around him, as if remembering some kind of archway or gate.
"What is it, Starswirl?" asked Moonswift "Are we in danger?"
"Not yet," replied Starswirl "But we are on a very important site."
"Where are we?" asked Limlung.
Starswirl looked around sadly, but all he could see was miles of snow, stretching for eternity.
"We are standing on what was the enterance to the greatest and most bountiful empire in Equestria." Said Starswirl.
"Was?" said Moonswift.
"The Crystal Empire," continued Starswirl blissfully, seemingly ignoring Moonswift, "Was a beautiful city, with crystal spires reaching into the heavens. It had huge amounts of crystal magic in it:so much that the inhabitants appeared to be made of crystal themselves, and this magic kept the entire empire warm throughout the year. This magic was so powerful that the emotions of the ponies that powered it would be transmitted throughout all of Equestria, and it was The Crystal Empire that was the main way Harmony could be brung to Equestria."
"But Starswirl," said Moonswift. "You talk about the Empire as if you were there. If such a city did exist, there is no trace of it now, and something that big must have taken thousands of years to vanish completely."
At this, Starswirl grew mournful.
"Alas," he said "That would be true, if it was not for the destructive power of dark magic."
"Dark magic?" repeated Moonswift.
"There was an evil unicorn ," explained Starswirl "by the name of Sombra. He was the Empresse's most powerful magician, and her most trusted friend. The works of magic he created were amazing enough to rival even my skill. But in his works of study, he looked too deeply. He saw the power and stregnth he could gain from dark magic, which, when combined with the magic catalyzing crystals, would allow him to perform feats beyond imagination. It gave him a lust: a lust for control. Control of the Empire, control of everything he could lay his hooves upon. So one night, when the emperess was sleeping, he snuck into her bedchamber and attempted to murder her."
Limlung and Moonswift listened in horror.
"The emperess, however, awoke and saw Sombra, levitating a spear in front of him. He fired it at her, but she was an alicorn, so she managed to fly out of the way, leaving the spear stuck in the matress. She was just about to fight back, when Sombra unleashed his most powerful spell: the spell of fear. When the empress looked into his eyes, she saw nothing but her worst fear, being played out in her head. Nopony knows what she saw, only that the once great and noble alicorn was reduced to nothing more that a quivering Filly on the ground, and Sombra dispached her as she lay on the floor. The next day, he proclaimed himself King Sombra, and ruled the Empire under an iron hoof."
"How do you know all this?" Moonswift asked.
"The Empresse's cook," replied Starswirl, "Learnt of Sombra's scheme. Sombra, however, intercepted him and forced him to watch, stunned with a spell of muteness and concealment, as his beloved leader was assasinated in front of his eyes, being unable to lift a hoof."
"Then what?" Whispered Moonswift, as the blizzard winds whistled louder "How did the Empire vanish?"
"The two princesses," said Starswirl. "Learnt what had befallen the Empire, and took it upon themselves to try and save it. They confronted the Dark wizard, and after a long battle, managed to lay a spell on him that turned him into nothing more than a non-corporeal spirit, being destined to haunt the nearby Mountains forever."
Right on cue, a howling, mournful wind sung past the company. Moonswift jumped.
"However," continued Starswirl. "Just before the Princesses could finish he spell, Sombra screamed a curse which caused the very Empire itself to retreat into the ground, along with all its crystalline inhabitants. The princesses flew away, their mission a success, but at a terrible cost. For this allowed malevolent spirits such as the creature Discord to rise in power, and the Princesses had to resort to another way to keep evil in check; a way they have kept hidden even from me."
Starswirl turned towards the North.
"But our destination is not in the site of a disappeared Empire. It is in the Crystal Mountains."
Starswirl staggared forwards, followed by the pink unicorn and the green dragon.