> Memory in the crystal > by ShadowStorm7 > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- > Ride to the Crystal Empire > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ThunderSword It was a beautiful sunny day in the Crystal Empire, all was bright and we see two ponies in the dinning room one was a unicorn stallion and a pink alicorn. The stallion had a sheild and star for a cutie mark the pink alicorn had what seemed to be a heart made of crystal. There names were Shinning Armour and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza or Princess Cadence, they were having a nice breakfast and conversation about their son ThunderSword and his first Crystal  Fair festival. All of a sudden hoofsteps are heard coming down the stairs and the stallion and mare stop there discussion and turn there head to the colt standing in the door way. The unicorn colt has a white coat just like shining and a blue and violet mane. He enters the room and sits in the middle of his parents, the colt sits eating his favorite cereal Wheat Crisps. ThunderSword looks at his dad. "May I be excused to help set up for the fair?" Said Thunder Sword wondering how the stallions in his unit handling being in the royal guard but he says nothing so he is not criticized by his dad. "Yes" His father and mother say in unison. He finishes his breakfast quickly and goes to help set up for the fair. Aqua Night The train rolled into the station and came to a jostling stop. Aqua Night stood up and looked out the window and gasped, She rushed off the train and entered the Crystal Empire. She walked around and looked at everything. Wow, she thought this is awesome! She walked around some more and right in front of her was a huge blue crystal castle! It was THE Crystal castle! She took her camera out of her bag and took a lot of photos of it. Directly across from her was lots of crystal ponies helping set up for the fair. There, she spotted a white unicorn colt. He had blue and purple mane and he was also helping set up. Now, she had seen him in pictures but she couldn't quite place him. She knew that she'd seen him once before but she didn't know where. She walked up to the colt. "Hi, I'm Aqua Night" the mare said "I'm ThunderSword" He replied "Are you here to help set up for the fair?" "Oh um... Yes!" She hesitated before going on " What can I do to help?" "Can you help put up these flags!" He asked Aqua Night took the flags with out hesitation while she looked around for a good place to hang them. When she found the place after she hung them up, she looked around for the cute colt whom had givin her the flags. When she found him she walked over to him he was talking to some crystal ponies. The colt she had met was certainly cute. Aqua night tried hard to get the colt out of her head she knew perfectly well why she was here and that was for business. Aqua Night had a business being a professional photographer. She was not going to let love get in the way of that. Aqua Night finally racked together all the courage she could get and walked up to him. "Hi, again. What's your name?" Aqua Wish says confidently "Hello, I'm ThunderSword" He replies back "Need help?" "Oh, uh if you please. I'm trying to just see everything the in the Crystal Empire"  Aqua tells him "I could give it to you in a nutshell, or if you'd like I can give you a tour" ThunderSword says looking around "Okay. Is it okay if I help with the decorations for the crystal fair?" Aqua asks him glancing from place to place "Sure" He replies "Here you are" He says activating his magic and levitating a bunch of flags and other things into her hooves. Aqua Night flew up and found a nice spot to hang the flags, she races back down to where she first saw the nice stallion and asked if there was anymore she could do to help set up for the fair. "So, are you still up for that tour tomorrow?" Thunder asked walking up next to Aqua. "Yeah, of course! I'd love too. Thanks for doing this. The crystal empire sure is a buetiful place to be, especially in the summer!" Aqua told him. Aqua thought that the stallion was cute but she wouldn't tell him that, also they had only met that day and its not as if I like him, like him. Maybe I could have a great friendship with him though. She thought to herself. "Well, my mom had a crystal cutie---" He stopped mid sentence. "Is something wrong?" Aqua asked him as he stopped walking as well. "Ignore what I just said, that was really stupid. I didn't know what I was saying for a second there. "Okay, don't worry. I'll forget you said any of that and made yourself look stupid!" Aqua Night let out a laugh as she 'forgot' what he said. "So, actually here is the crystal hotel. So I'll see you tomorrow I guess." ThunderSword walked her to the door and stood there for a second. They both stood there staring at each other. "Well, yeah. I'll see you tomorrow then. Um, meet me outside the crystal castle and from there I'll show you around." "Yeah, yeah, um I'll see you tomorrow then." Aqua Night smiled a nervous smile and glanced around. "Thanks for walking me to the hotel." She added. ThunderSword walked backwards tripping over his own hooves he stumbled. Getting right back up again he looked around and rushed off. Aqua Night closed the door to the hotel and leaned against it. She took a deep breath and sighed out. "I just need some alone time." She said to herself as she checked herself into the hotel. > Internal Struggles > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- ThunderSword I saw the door to the hotel close, I start heading back to the Crystal Castle knowing that if I tell my parents about the cute mare I met they will ask him a ton of questions. Well, at least it's not Aunt Twilight that is asking me the questions or I would be in the Castle for hours upon hours,  a small smile was beginning to make it's way on my face. As I walk I can't stop thinking of Aqua Night and how she treats me. I mean, all my life I had been bombarded with questions about what it was like to be a Prince and how my life was, and what it was like to live in a castle but to me I don't want to be giving answers to stupid questions like that, for me  it feels good being treated like any other colt, and Aqua's cute smile and her soft voice. That's what made me warm and tingly inside. I shake my head trying to stay focused, all my life, mares have been trying to get close with me, only because I'm royalty but yet this mare... this mare seemed special. I continued to ponder more, it seemed as if the more I walked the more I began to wonder if she would go for a stallion like myself if I told her who I am related to, but I knew that will make it more complicated so I will keep the fact i'm a Prince a secret I want her to like me for who I am and not whom I'm related to. I come to the entrance of the castle, I shake off the events of the day and enter my home sweet home, I walk up to the kitchen and there is a note taped to the fridge from his Mom and Dad. He scans the note and reads "Gone to check in on your Guards, will be back in time for dinner. Love Mom and Dad" Thunder sighs and realizes he's home alone. So for a change he goes out and plays in the sun and for once doesn't worry about training, he smiles to himself and  wonders what Aqua Night is doing. Aqua Night I look around my room and exhale sharply. I never have been the type to feel romantic or cute. Heck, when I was younger I would throw a fit if I had to wear a dress. And it's not like this is the first stallion I've met, I've met lots of them in my life, but none like  ThunderSword. Yes, maybe she had a relationship with them but none of them lasting more than a month, and nothing serious moreover, no kissing, or anything, just talking, but then why do I feel so different around ThunderSword? She questioned herself.  He made me tingle all around and made me feel special. I am not the type of mare to get girly on you but heck I ama mare so I have a valid excuse on this.   "I need to get ThunderSword out of my head" If I didn't bad things could happen, I knew that for sure. The only thing was I don't really know how to get him out of my head. Tomorrow, he's going to give me a tour too! Which I do appreciate but that isn't going to help me get him out of my head. I came here for one purpose and one purpose only, Work. Yeah, it's a bummer but as a professional photographer I had a job to do. And she was determined not to let some cute stallion with dreamy eyes get in the way. There you go again Aqua Night. I thought to myself. I really need to go home, but I have a job to do. "Let me see, if I can just get a little more photography in before bedtime, I'll be golden!" I really don't want ThunderSword to notice me, but who knows maybe he went home. Hopefully.  I sprang to my hooves and galloped around the room, gathering my fedora, camera, and sunglasses. Since it's getting dark it maybe less likely that anypony will notice me. I just need to get a little bit of photography in. I put on my fedora and hung my camera around my neck. I took a deep breath and opened the door. I peeked outside and looked both ways only to see normal crystal ponies, but no ThunderSword. I walked to the Crystal Castle , I took a few more pictures in a different lighting of the castle and they were pretty good. I saw a silhouette of a unicorn walking inside the Crystal Castle, in the dim lighting I couldn't really make out his face but he saw me and waved. I quickly ran behind a crystal house. I decided that was enough photography for one day and decided to go back to my hotel. I was tired. As I walked back to my hotel I tried to think who that could've been waving to me from inside the Crystal Castle? I was too tired to put a hoof on it. I came to the hotel and reached my floor. I got into bed but I just couldn't fall asleep. I tossed and turned all night trying to put the pieces together. I tried to put my mind on other things too, but this... this just didn't add up. I tried to fall asleep but every time I did start to doze off my mind started to wonder. WHO  was that just randomly waving? > A questioning Relationship Status > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- Aqua Night I look around my room desperate for something to do, I walk over to my window and look down upon the quiet Crystal covered kingdom that was so quiet there was not even a peep of noise, which for me was a big difference from my little apartment on the fourth floor in Manehatten. I walked back to my bed, took some deep breaths and got under the covers. I closed my eyes and drifted off to sleep. I woke up and looked around my room, "Omigosh that was a horrible dream" I tell myself as I walk over to my vanity and brush my hair. "Hehe, at least it wasn't real right?" I tell myself looking at my reflection in the mirror. I refer to my bad dream last night that had something to do with changelings and ThunderSword being kidnapped by them, but I couldn't quite remember the full dream. Just one little snippet of the dream. "Omigosh!" I almost scream at the top of my lungs. I totally forgot that ThunderSword was giving me a tour of The Crystal Empire!" I run over to my bed and look at the clock on my nightstand. "Oh! My! Gosh!" I tell myself not taking my eyes off the clock. "Where was I supposed to meet him?! And at what time was I supposed to be there?" I say to myself trying to wrack my brain from yesterday. "Oh god! I look at my vanity again. I begin to open the drawers frantically. "Ah, no, no, no, NO, NO" I start pulling papers out of the drawers like a manic. I keep pulling out papers. "Yes! I found it! It was here all along! Yay. " I look at the piece of paper in my hooves. "The Crystal Cafe, got it, 9:30AM. I look back the clock, as I read 9:23AM. "Ah! How did time fly?! I'd better get going, if I want to meet ThunderSword at the Cafe!" I grab my camera and the camera bag and stuff the camera in the bag and run out the door. I run downstairs and into the lobby. I run out through the automatic doors and run onto the crystal sidewalk. I reach for the outside pocket of the camera bag for the map. "I stick my hoof in the bag and search around. "No!" Oh goodness gracious! I left it in my room, didn't I?" I turn around and start running back into the lobby and run up the stairs. Running out of breath I keep running up more and more stairs. Out of breath I make it to my room. Tired and breathless I open my door. "Wait what?! Why won't the door open? Where is the keycard? I search frantically for the keycard. "Oh no! This day could not get worse? Could it?" I look around for something to help me. "Maybe they have a spare keycard in the lobby!" I run downstairs to the lobby and out of breath run up to the main desk cutting off the pony that was about to check - in. "Do you have a extra keycard to room 4B?!" I ask them looking at the pony behind the desk desperately! "Hmm... let me check." The pony walks to the back room leaving me waiting. Suddenly a voice comes from behind me. "Could you not?! I was in front of you and you ran RIGHT in front of me" "Oh, I'm sorry it's just I have to meet some pony in four min---" "Lucky you! We have a spare key!" The pony hands me the key and nods. "Thank you SO much!" I rush back upstairs and get to my floor. I put the keycard into the slot and the door opens. "I could really go for a nap." I say as I walk in the door and look around the table for the map. "Found it!" I grab the map and throw it in my bag. "Great, I still have time to make it! I have three minutes to spare." I run outside and take out the map. I look around for a marking point so I know where I am right now. I find my checkpoint and start running and following the map. I run down the street and take a right and then pass a nice little Farmers Market, a sales pony offered me some carrots but I had to pass. I would've really liked to see the market though, it's so small and looks so cute. Look around at my surroundings and look at the map. "Okay, almost there." I beg myself to hold out a little longer while I try and find the cafe. He said it would be near the Castle and I'm near the Castle, but where is the Cafe? There, right beside me is a nice little cafe and the signs reads The Crystal Cafe. I walk inside and look around for a familiar face. I can't find him though. I walk up to the counter. "Hi, can I get a table for two, seated outside?" I ask a waiter. "Sure ma'am" A pony takes me outside and pulls out a chair for me. "Your seating for two." I settle down and calm myself down before ThunderSword comes. I take a deep breath and wait at the table for his arrival. ThunderSword I look around for any signs that Aqua might be around, I sigh as I peek outside from the restroom, I hold my breath because Aqua Night was in the cafe and asking for I overhear her asking for a table.I pray that she does not choose to wait inside. Fully aware that if I walk outside of this bathroom ponies will probably notice me. At least I hope that nopony notices who I am, I take my chance and move stealthily behind a wall. l look around and see a table that I can hide under, I make my move and as I slide underneath the table it makes a clattering sound. I pray to Celestia no pony heard that and I watch as Aqua Night goes outside. As I notice Aqua night leave I slide out from underneath the table and  move from my hiding place. As I do I notice that ponies are turning to me and looking at me and..... bowing! Something of which was not according to plan! I don't want to draw attention to myself, I blush and quickly race out of the cafe, I bump into Aqua Night sitting at a a table for two by herself. I keep blushing as we sit at the table and talk about life and other stuff. I look around nervously to find that other ponies on the street are staring at me and bowing. I keep watching all the ponies that come and go and bow at me. "Is something wrong?" Aqua asks me. "No, I was... Enjoying the view! Isn't it beautiful?" I say extending a hoof to the other side of the street so she can't see all the other ponies that are bowing at me. The waiter comes back to take our orders and as he does I notice he bows. "What can I get for Prince ThunderSword today?" He asks. I look at Aqua Night and put on a nervous smile, I try my best to keep smiling and look at her but she seemed just as confused as I was nervous. I blush and turn towards the waiter. "You must have me confused, I'm Not Prince ThunderSword, I'm just Thunder...." I look over at Aqua Night who is looking at me all confused. "Sword, I'm just Thunder... Sword." I scratch the back of my head and turn to Aqua Night. "What will you be getting? Maybe we can share something?"I ask her. "Maybe, but I'm still deciding." She replies and looks back at her menu. "I think we need a couple of minutes" I say to the waiter and turn to Aqua. The waiter bows and walks away. "So, where were we?" I ask Aqua Night. She looks at me. Clearly not amused. "We were at the part where you were telling me why he called you Prince? "Haha, very clever. Very funny. Very amusing. "I look at her.I try to look around for something to distract her with, but nothing comes to mind. "Look ThunderSword, I don't want a relationship that is based off lies." She gets up and puts her hooves on the table and stares at me angrily. "I want a true pony. Some pony who doesn't lie or make excuses, and you trust me right?If you trust me then tell me why did he call you Prince?" > Complications > -------------------------------------------------------------------------- I glance over nervously at Aqua Night, it seems as if her mane would set on fire and her eyes would pop out at any moment I sigh. I really, really didn’t want to admit this to Aqua, we’ve been getting along so well so far. I just know she’ll judge me if I tell her, but I know now that I must. Not only because I feel bad but because this is something I think she should know, maybe she wont take it well an maybe she will but I just know that no matter what I have to tell her. I finally have the confidence to face Aqua who sends me a questioning look. I guess I can’t hide it from her forever. “Yes I am a prince. My Mother and Father are Shining Armor and Princess Cadence, as for my aunt is, well, Princess Twilight. I was keeping it a secret because ponies only really only want me for my title and not my personality and I’m head of the Royal Guard here as well. I just thought you would be like everypony else and only want me for being a Prince and not for who I am. I was tried being judged, not to mention being bounced from every mare to mare to mare in The Crystal Empire I wanted to keep it from you because I didnt want the same thing to happen, I really like you Aqua Night and I’m so sorry, can you ever forgive me?” I say with a small smile showing her my sparkling white teeth. My family is embarrassing enough as it is, and having the mare I really like find out is even worse, especially when I have been keeping it from her for all this time. She may never forgive me. Pinkie pie is always popping up someplace or another and Twilight’s just a HUGE egghead who always makes me embarrassed! “I really am sorry Aqua Night—— “Why didn’t you tell me?! Why did you insist on keeping this such a big secret!” Aqua protested. “Aqua, please all I wanted was for this thing we have between us to keep going. That’s why I didn't tell you. You and me, I feel that we have a great relationship. I didn’t want to ruin it with genealogy!” I hope she forgives me, I watch as her eyes go from mad to sad to understanding. “I’m sorry, I really like you ThunderSword. You're awesome. I don’t want you for your title, I don’t want you for your family heritage, I don’t want you because you're related for awesome ponies known around the globe, I want you…. Because you're you! That’s really all there is to it. I don't want you because of anything else or anyone else. You're a fascinating stallion and I love you!” We share a brief moment of silence together. “Come on, I know a great park! We can sit on the benches and talk, or have a nice stroll!” I say to Aqua Night getting up and grabbing her hoof. “Come on!” I tell her holding her hoof and running through the crystal streets. Aqua Night I let him take my hoof and guide me through the crystal streets. He guides me to the Crystal park and we both sit on a bench. I smile, “You’re smile’s really cute!” He tells me. “Thanks, you’re cute in general.” I respond back. I giggle and turn back to admire the beautiful park. “I glance over to LightningSword. Should I tell him? I question myself silently in my head. My thoughts pinging back and forth in my mind. As I debate what to do I hear a voice. And I know it’s not in my head. “Aqua?!” I feel a hoof on my shoulder. “Huh?!” I bounce back to reality. “Yeah, Lighting?” Are you okay?” He asks me, Oh brother I think to myself, I can hear the concern in his voice this time. I feel my head go light. “Uh, yeah, yeah— Um, Actually… no, nothing is okay, Thunder.” I tell him the truth. “What’s wrong? Oh, wait, is it because of my title? The secret I’ve been keeping since we met?” He glances over nervously afraid that I may say yes. “No, NO. Of course that’s not it! It’s that I have to go back, tomorrow. you know, I mean I was only here for work and then I found you, and I mean yeah, we have an awesome relationship and all but I was only here on a business trip. My train leaves tomorrow.” I can’t even bring myself to met his eyes but I know he is looking at me. Thinking. Tears well in my eyes “I’m sorry.” I say to him. He hesitates to respond at first. “It’s okay, why can’t you stay here?” I look up at him, “Because, I have a lot going for me.” “That’s okay, if you move here you’ll have tons of opportunities!” I shake my head “ThunderSword, please… walk me to the train station, tomorrow.” I get up, I can’t face him anymore, now that I had to break his heart. I walk back to my hotel pondering in my mind if what I just said to him was right or not. “Tomorrow is another day.” I tell myself and open the door to my room.