The Unknown Crystals

by Khanstantine

Prologue

Prologue

Drip. Drip. The sound of liquid dripping into a larger source filled the night. There was no moonlight. The liquid did not glisten here, here in the Everfree forest. As the stalactites steadily dropped the liquid into the pool, a tired and thirsty animal made its way into the cave.

The animal saw the liquid, and prepared to lap it up. It paused, sensing something wrong with this liquid. The animal's night eyes saw a glow around the liquid. This was certainly not water. Whatever this was, it was ancient and mysterious. The animal left, meaning to find a better source of refreshment.

By chance, the cave had an opening where, rarely, some moonlight or sunlight could get through. As the moonlight filtered through, the pool shined, its color orange. But also, along the mouth of the cave and all around the inside, were pristine orange crystals. They sparkled beautifully, certainly a delight to any eye.
These crystals happened to be located right near the entrance of the Everfree, where possibly somepony might accidentally discover them. That is, if that pony were to venture in at all. Only a few brave or ignorant ponies might find this spot. But what were the chances of that?

These crystals and the liquid were very ancient, and had an unusual effect on whatever touched them. It was a magic unknown to anypony. Although, some had a close second. An Age Spell might have been somewhat like this magic, but not fully.

The Age Spell was merely the start of one of the most complicated branches of magic known to ponykind. Only true masters of magic could get it right. But with the crystals, this magic was far more potent and complex. An Age Spell could turn back the clock, or fast forward it. These crystals went in one direction, but much more slowly.

An Age Spell did not usually effect the mind, but the crystals? They always did. They changed the mental functions of whatever was unlucky enough to touch one. Unlike physical change, the mental changes were unnoticeable by the victim. The worse thing was that with an Age Spell, transformation took barely a minute. But the crystals? They took a long time, but potent enough to do the job.

Unfortunately there is no cure for these crystals, as they have never been discovered by anypony save one. But Sombra knew not what enchantments these gemstones held, and did not find out. These crystals had kin, a purple variety. But those kind had gone extinct over two thousand years ago. They could have been a cure for their orange cousins, but they are one of the rarest of all things, and none have ever been found.

The orange crystals are extremely rare also, but still exist, if barely. Not many creatures could find these crystals, only dragons, with their natural love for gems. And luckily for them, their iron scales protect them from the magic. But if eaten, dire consequences follow.

Nothing in Pony History has ever recorded such crystals. Not even the princesses knew of them. Which is why if they were discovered by anypony, that pony would be best off not touching nor saying anything of these magical stones.

But, as cliché as this sounds, that is not what happened. A dragon did find these crystals, and protected by his scales, brought them to his friend. Said friend sensed the magic within them, and did not touch them. That friend warned everyone. At least, she thought she had.

One certain pegasus had not been present, and no one knew that the pegasus hadn't been warned...

Author's Note:

This is MY trademarked Orange Liquid/Dust! No stealing it! I made it up! Anyway, Thanks for Reading! I hope you enjoyed. Sorry if it's short. Hard to stretch out a prologue without ruining it.