//------------------------------// // The Crystal Empire Part 1 // Story: Awakening // by punisher143 //------------------------------// “Is she still alive?” “Looks that way. She’s not fully here though.” “Something must have interrupted her coming here. She’ll probably be stuck in between for a while. An awful fate.” “But probably useful. If she ever comes fully here, she’ll have questions.” “She’s fading. Waking up on the other side I suppose.” “I can’t wait to see where this goes.” “Nothing has changed here, but when it does you guys will be the first to know.” “I know Ma’am, but… Captain Armor is really insistent on knowing how she is. She is his sister after all.” Rainbow sighed and was about to say something when a groan interrupted her. She looked behind her at the bed and the now stirring Twilight on it. “Well lucky you, you get to do your job. Go tell Shining Armor that Twilight’s waking up.” “R-right!” the guard said and, with a quick nod, took off down the hallway. Rainbow closed the door and walked over to Twilight. She gave a small sigh of relief when Twilight rolled over to face her. “Twilight! How are you feeling?” Rainbow asked as Twilight opened her eyes, which caused her to jump a little and say, “Wow orange eyes!” “What about them?” Twilight asked before coughing from how rough throat felt, “And to answer your question, pretty awful.” “Well, that’s a lot better than dead.” Rainbow said and sat on the end of the bed. “No arguments here,” Twilight agreed before coughing again. After it was done she noticed the bed she was lying on and looked around the room. “Where are we? It’s certainly no snowfield.” The room looked like a pretty spacious guest bedroom, with the bed she was lying on along with a small couch below a window looking outside. Most importantly was that the room seemed to be made of some kind of crystal. “I’ve never heard of the place, but it’s apparently called The Crystal Empire or something,” Rainbow said with a shrug, “You ever heard of it?” “No, that’s a new one to me,” Twilight answered before cringing in pain as her front leg cramped up. “Darnit, I need to stretch out a little. How long have I been out?” “About a week.” “A week?!” Twilight yelled in surprise before closing her eyes and shaking her head. When she opened them her eyes were back to their normal purple color. “That’s… surprising. What happened anyway? I remember Carver, but nothing after that.” “Yeah, I don’t know what he did to you, but it didn’t look fun. Are you alright?” Rainbow asked. Twilight got up off the bed and started stretching out her legs and moving her neck around. “I’m a little stiff and tired, but fine otherwise. Why don’t you fill me in on the week I missed? Starting from when I lost consciousness.” “Ok. So you passed out…” “Twilight!” Rainbow yelled, but the still unicorn didn’t respond. This caused Rainbow to struggle harder against the tentacle binding her hind leg. Even then, it had an iron grip on her leg, which left her with one course of action. With Carver focused on Twilight, it didn’t notice Rainbow extend one of the blades on her forelegs and swing it at the tentacle on her leg. The blade cut right through the tendril, leaving Rainbow free to fall to the ground where she deftly landed on her hooves. Carver only noticed Rainbow when she got the other blade out and charged at it. She let out a scream as she swung at Carver’s face, the blade digging into the area round its left eye. While it roared Rainbow swung the other blade at the tentacle holding Twilight up, severing it and forcing the beast to drop her. With Twilight free, Rainbow quickly landed between her and Carver with one blade ready. The beast grasped at its face and stared angrily at Rainbow. “You hurt me.” “I’ll do more than that,” Rainbow replied and lowered her form closer to the ground. Carver lowered its claw and said, “See that you do. My task is done; all I have to do is wait.” Its form started to melt as a shadow on the ground where, once completed, it shot away and vanished in the blizzard. Rainbow tried to follow where it went, but inevitably lost track in the whiteout. She let out the breath she had been holding and retracted the blade before rushing to Twilight. “Twilight! Are you ok?!” she shouted and shook Twilight, getting no response. “Oh no, don’t you dare be…” Rainbow pressed her ear against Twilight’s chest and listened very closely, sighing in relief when she heard her breathing and heartbeat. Rainbow sat up and looked around, seeing only snow and the occasional mountain through it. “We have to get out of here,” Rainbow said and started moving Twilight onto her back. Once she was safely there Rainbow picked a direction through the storm and started walking. “You walked the both of us out of that blizzard?” Twilight asked in awe. “And a little while after that,” Rainbow replied with a nod, “once I was sure it was safe to fly I took off and got us as far away from there as possible.” Rainbow hopped off the bed and started pacing around the room. “We travelled about two or three more days before I happened across Shining Armor.” “Shining Armor? Wait, we’re still north of Equestria right?” Rainbow nodded in answer, “Why would he be up here?” “I don’t know, but Princess Cadance is here too. She’s been checking in on you a lot over the last few days. Whatever’s going on has to be big.” “Let’s hope it’s nothing like the wedding.” The door opened just then and the two mares were faced with Shining Armor, who took only a second to see Twilight before he wrapped her in a hug. “Twily, you’re awake!” he said hugging her even tighter, “Do you have any idea how worried I was when you came here like you were?” “I can… feel it…” Twilight gasped out as she struggled in her brother’s grip. “I don’t think she can breathe like that,” Rainbow chimed in, which led to Shining Armor letting Twilight go with an embarrassed laugh. “I told Twilight about how we got here.” “Right,” Shining Armor said and looked at Twilight, “You are lucky I found you when I did. She was about to collapse from exhaustion.” “Thank you,” Twilight said giving her brother a grateful smile, “So would you mind explaining where we are and why you and Cadance are here?” “Right, that. Let’s go meet her in the throne room, I’ll explain along the way.” Shining Armor started out of the room when Twilight realized something. “Wait, where’s my cloak?! My bags! Oh no, I had so many important things in them, I don’t think I can recreate all of it!” “Twilight, chill out!” Rainbow said before directing Twilight to a corner of the room, “They’re right over there with my stuff. They haven’t been touched since we got here, so don’t worry.” “Right, I just…” Twilight took a deep breath and turned to follow Shining Armor and said, “Let’s go.” Her brother nodded and led the two mares out into the hallway where he stopped momentarily to speak to a guard outside. “You can return to your patrol now Private Sentry.” Shining Armor looked back at Twilight and added, “And thank you for letting me know about Twilight.” “Yes sir!” the guard replied and gave a salute before walking down the hallway. Shining Armor noticed Twilight’s curious look and gestured at the retreating guard. “He’s a new recruit and one of the volunteers who came with us here,” he explained and started walking again. “Hm,” Twilight nodded and asked, “So what is this place?” “The Crystal Empire. Princess Celestia said that this was a very important place a long time ago. The city lies on top of one of the origin points of Equestria’s magical ley lines.” “If this place is so important, why haven’t we heard about it?” Rainbow asked as they stopped in front of a large set of doors. “That would be because of the old king.” Shining grabbed the doors in his magic and opened them. Beyond them the group found themselves in a large hall, the far end of which had a throne. Once Twilight saw that Cadance was sitting on the throne she ran ahead of the group to meet her. The older mare smiled when she saw Twilight and got up to meet her a quarter of the way. “I’m glad to see you awake Twilight,” Cadance said once Twilight was close enough. The two mares exchanged a quick hug before separating and starting their ‘sunshine’ dance. “Have they always done that?” Rainbow quietly asked Shining Armor. “As long as I can remember,” he answered and approached his sister and wife to be as they finished. He gave Cadance a kiss and said, “I was just catching these two up on the situation. I just got to Sombra.” “Sombra? Is that the old king you mentioned?” Twilight asked. “Yes, and he was an awful ruler. He was a master of Dark Magic and enslaved all of the citizens of this empire. If he had gotten his way, he would have brought a horrible war to Equestria.” “There’s no way Princess Celestia and Luna would have let that happen!” Rainbow shouted, taking off into a hover. “They didn’t,” Shining Armor said. “When they found out what was happening, they confronted him and used the Elements of Harmony on him. It worked, but Sombra took the Empire and its citizens with him to wherever he went. That was over a thousand years ago.” “And it has only been a couple weeks since the Empire came back,” Cadance added. “Not too long after we left Stalliongrad then,” Twilight said and asked, “What about Sombra?” “He came back too,” Cadance said and gestured at her lit horn, “but I’ve been able to keep him out of the Empire for the time being.” “When we came in there was a huge shield over the Empire, like back at Canterlot during the wedding,” Rainbow said and pointed out the window. Twilight walked over and saw the crystal buildings of the Empire shining in the midday sun. A very nice, spring day for the so far snowy north. “An illusion sky?” Twilight asked. “Yes, to help the Crystal Ponies,” Shining Armor said, joining Twilight’s side. “Sombra left an awful mark on all of them; even barely thinking about him is enough to cause them pain.” “That’s horrible.” “Yeah, but as long as the shield is up he can’t get in. The same goes for your little problem.” “My… wait, what?!” Twilight shot an angry look back at Rainbow who shrugged in response. “We disappear for almost a month and the next time they see us we’re wandering blindly in a blizzard and you’re knocked out. What was I supposed to say?” Rainbow defended. Twilight held her gaze for a moment before sighing and saying, “Exactly what you did. It can’t be helped.” “What I don’t understand is why you didn’t say anything back in Canterlot,” Shining Armor asked drawing Twilight’s attention. “If you had told us, we would have-“ “I know,” Twilight interrupted and looked out of the window, “I was scared. That thing… it’s already attacked one of my friends and whatever it did to me knocked me unconscious for a week. I don’t want to know what it would do if it got to you or anyone else.” “Twilight…” Shining began and tried to get Twilight to look at him which didn’t work. “I don’t know if I would have done what you did, but I can’t change that now.” He placed a hoof on his sister’s shoulder, which finally got her to look at him. “Just… promise me that you’ll let me know in advance before you leave?” Twilight smiled at that, which her brother returned, and she nodded. “That won’t be for a while though,” she said and turned back to Cadance and Rainbow Dash, “I want to help.” “Told ya,” Rainbow said and flew over to Twilight’s side to pull her into a hug, “We just can’t resist these kinds of things!” “Thank you Twilight,” Cadance added with a grateful smile, “One of these days we might even be able to see each other when the fate of Equestria doesn’t hang in the balance.” “Right,” Twilight replied and pulled herself away from Rainbow Dash, “although I don’t know how much we can get done by ourselves.” Shining Armor and Cadance exchanged a glance and Twilight saw Rainbow smirk. “Wait, don’t tell me you…” “Yeah, we did,” Rainbow answered. “Geez this place is a mess,” Pinkamena said stepping over one of several cracks in the floor as she advanced toward the only other pony there, “You don’t clean up for guests do you?” The purple unicorn sighed and turned to Pinkamena and asked, “And do you act like this every time you go into somepony’s home?” Pinkamena shrugged in response and Cheshire continued, “You’ll have to excuse that, we’re still recovering from a very nasty attack. I’m sure you know what I mean.” Pinkamena stopped in her tracks and looked around carefully. “You mean that thing is here?” “I don’t think so; it attacked Twilight, but Rainbow Dash managed to stop it before it got too far. I’m keeping my guard up, just to be safe.” “Good idea. Anyway, I have some news for you.” Taking Cheshire’s silence as a sign, she continued, “Pinkie got a letter from Princess Celestia earlier today.” “Really, about what?” “Well, we’re getting drafted again in helping with some monumental crisis or something that you two managed to stumble into. We have a habit of doing that, you know?” “I’m aware. So Pinkie and the others are coming to the Crystal Empire?” “And Spike.” Cheshire smiled and said, “That’s good. Given what’s happening up here, we’ll need all the help we can get.” “It’ll take a while, a day or two maybe, but we will be there. So don’t do anything stupid before then, ok?” Pinkamena turned and started walking to the edge of Twilight’s mindscape. “Can do, and be sure to give Pinkie our regards.” “Sure.” Pinkamena gave the unicorn one last wave before leaving entirely. Cheshire looked around one more time before refocusing on the task at hand. “So what are we going to do while the girls get here?” Rainbow Dash asked as Twilight rushed through the castle halls towards the room she was staying in. “We need information, anything we can find will be helpful. And if we can get anything from the Crystal Ponies that would be great.” “That won’t be easy. I’ve seen some of them and they always seem like they’re half asleep or something.” “That’s probably how they deal with trauma,” Twilight stopped in front of her room and tapped the ground with a hoof, “and I can’t blame them if Sombra is half as bad as Shining Armor and Cadance said.” “I wouldn’t know. I think I can handle asking around if I can rope one of the guards into helping. What about you?” “Well, that library Cadance mentioned sounds good. I’ll look there for anything that can help us. If you can, can you ask Shiny for someone to help me too?” “No problem. What’s the worst you can get?” “Private Sentry reporting ma’am! How can I help?” “…Who? Never mind, I’ll get it soon enough. Did Shining Armor tell you what you’re helping me with?” “I’m supposed to help you with research into the Crystal Empire right?” “Yes, though your work for the most part will be going through this library,” Twilight motioned at the many book shelves surrounding them, “finding any books that look like they might help, and bringing them to me.” “That seems easy. Anything in particular you’re looking for?” “General history and anything related to the culture of the Empire. If you also happen to find a manual for defeating an old king turned demon, that’ll also be great.” “Sorry, I think I left that at home. I’ll start over here.” The guard proceeded to walk to the other end of the library while Twilight settled in at a table with some books she had already picked out. She picked up the first one when a familiar voice in her head gave a small laugh. ‘What is it?’ “Nothing, just something funny I remembered.” After waiting a few more seconds for anything else, Twilight shrugged and opened the book. Meanwhile, Rainbow Dash was doing her task of asking the population about anything with a tagalong guard. Unfortunately their search wasn’t getting very good results. “I’m sorry that I can’t help anymore,” the crystal pony said and flinched a little, “but if I try to remember…” “That’s alright ma’am, our main concern is your health and safety. Thank you for your time.” The crystal pony nodded at the guard and walked away from the guard, who sighed and looked at her companion and sighed before saying, “She was the third one and they all gave the same answer. It’s been like this since we got here Miss Dash.” “That’s ok, we had to try at least,” Rainbow replied disheartened, “So they all say something like that?” “Yeah, though some of them are faring better than others. A couple of them have actually mentioned a festival of some kind, even though they can’t remember how it went.” “Well if anypony can find out about that, Twilight can. She lives for all that studying stuff.” “I hope so, that library in the castle is quite large. There must be thousands of books in there. At least Flash Sentry is helping her out.” “…Who?” Rainbow asked. “…Flash Sentry, the guard.” “Who?” “A-are you serious? You talked to him this morning, and every other morning in the past week!” “Huh. I guess he didn’t leave much of an impression.” Almost immediately after Rainbow noticed a Crystal stallion walking along, who Rainbow made her way towards with a call of, “Hey, can I ask you a question?” The guard sighed and whispered, “I had to draw the short straw, didn’t I? This is going to be a long day.” And it was a long day; for Rainbow Dash talking to a lot of Crystal Ponies, the guard watching her do that, and Twilight reading every book she could manage. When Rainbow Dash checked on Twilight when night had fallen, the unicorn was still nose deep in a book. “So how’d your day go?” Rainbow asked when she got to the table, which drew Twilight’s attention away from the book. “Well enough, I suppose,” Twilight replied and closed the book. “There isn’t much to go on and Sombra seemed to be a very careful pony. Unless I strike the metaphorical mother lode, I don’t know what we’re going to be able to do.” “I found another one!” Private Sentry called out and flew over to where the two mares were with a book in his hooves. “What is it?” Twilight asked taking the book from the guard. “I flipped through it a little and it looks like it’s about some kind of festival held here. I don’t know if it’ll help, but culture is culture I guess.” “Hm, interesting,” Twilight mused before setting the book on top of the pile and standing up. “I’ll look it over tomorrow. Thank you for the help Private.” “It’s no problem ma’am. I hope you sleep well tonight.” Private Sentry gave both mares a salute before walking out of the library. Once he left Twilight started to follow when Rainbow Dash stopped her with a wing. “Are you feeling alright?” She asked. “Huh? What do you mean?” “Maybe I’m just paranoid, given all that’s happened, but it’s not really like you to get tired from reading. So are you ok?” “I’m fine, Rainbow Dash. I guess I’m more tired than I thought it was. I’ll feel better tomorrow, really.” Twilight walked past Rainbow and out into the hallway. The pegasus stared after her for a moment before sighing and following her out. “Oh, she’s back.” “Oh, that’s wonderful.” “Who… who’s there?” “And she talks too. That’s an improvement right?” “Not really. My hopes aren’t high for this one, just as they weren’t for the others.” “Others?” “I won’t waste words on you yet. Prove to me that you can handle what’s happened.” “Don’t worry about her; she’s not the best at talking to others. Now, can you remember your name?” “Name? It’s… it’s?” “Don’t try and force it. Let it come naturally.” “No, I remember. It’s… Twilight.” Twilight woke up that morning feeling better than she had when she went to bed last night. She got out of bed and was in the middle of stretching out any kinks she may have had when someone knocked on her door. “I’m awake,” Twilight called out. The door opened to show Rainbow Dash in her traveling cloak. “Good morning Rainbow. Why are you dressed like that?” “Morning Twilight, and would you believe your brother wants me to help pick up the girls?” Rainbow Dash said and motioned back to the door where Shining Armor waited in similar winter gear. “What? Why Rainbow and not any-“ “It was her idea,” Shining Armor interrupted, “She wouldn’t stop bugging me when she found out they were coming today.” “Really? And you’re ok with that?” “Of course not, but she wouldn’t leave me alone about it.” “I’m not going to sit here when I have a chance to make sure my friends get here safely. I’m sure you’d do the same right Twilight?” “Well, of course I would, but you know it’s dangerous out there right?” “Which is why I’m going with your brother.” Twilight saw Shining Armor roll his eyes a little behind Rainbow Dash. “Hey, don’t worry,” Rainbow said setting a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder, “I had a look at Sombra on our way in a while back and he’s easy to outrun. We’re just gonna get the girls and come back.” Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash and then her brother, who shrugged at her, before she sighed and said, “Alright Rainbow. Just be careful ok?” “Yeah, I will.” Rainbow patted Twilight one last time before moving past Shining Armor and out into the hallway. “I don’t feel totally ok with this,” Shining Armor said after a second, “Are you sure you’re ok with her going out there?” “I trust her,” Twilight replied with a nod. “Ok, then I guess I’ll just keep an eye on her. We shouldn’t be gone for more than an hour.” He gave Twilight a hug and walked out to follow Rainbow down the hallway. Twilight, with nothing more to do, left to get some breakfast. “So, can you tell us about the-“ “For the last time Applejack, the letter won’t change every time you read it.” This must have been the fifth time Spike had to explain this and he was starting to get tired of it. “Twilight and Rainbow are at someplace called the Crystal Empire, something’s happening there and they need our help, and they’ll explain when we get there.” “Yeah, I got all of that. It’s just…” Applejack glanced at Rarity sitting next to her. “I’m just making sure there wasn’t anything else.” “If there was, I would have told you. I understand what you mean though.” Spike rubbed an arm and looked outside at the blizzard outside of the train. ‘What are you doing out here Twilight?’ Soon the train came to a stop at the only station this far north and the five mares and Spike stepped outside. They all looked around the empty platform, nothing but snow beyond it, and all looked at each other. “What gives? I thought someone was going to meet us?” Applejack asked, keeping a hoof on top of her hat to keep it from blowing away in the wind. “Maybe we got here early?” Spike offered, moving just a little closer to Rarity. “I hope that’s all it is.” Applejack led the way with everyone else following behind as they advanced through the snowstorm. The strong wind was causing general discomfort for everyone, the cold doing no favors either, and Applejack found her hooves were on her hat more often than the ground. After about a minute the group saw someone walking toward them through the snow. As he moved closer he became clearer and they recognized the unicorn. “Shining Armor?!” Spike shouted and waved at the unicorn. Once he was only a few feet away the unicorn lifted his goggles off of his eyes with his magic and waved at the group. “I’m glad I found you guys so quick,” he said looking around him into the storm. “Now where did she go?” “She?” Rarity asked looking past Shining Armor. “I came out here with Rainbow Dash, but I must have lost her in this storm.” Shining turned around and gestured for them to follow. “I’ll send a light up to guide her to us, but until then we need to get moving.” “Rainbow’s out here?” Fluttershy asked barely audible in the blizzard. Shining Armor concentrated his magic before sending a bright orb into the sky. Once it was up he started leading the group through the storm. “Is it always like this up here?” Applejack asked being the closest to Shining Armor. “This storm has been going on for a while, but I’m not sure it’s natural,” Shining Armor replied, “I’m starting to think this is Sombra’s doing.” “Who?” Pinkie asked. “The bad guy, to make a very long story short.” Shining saw something move in the storm and stopped. “Oh please be Rainbow Dash,” he said lighting up his horn. The figure got close enough for him to see it clearly and, once he recognized it as Rainbow, sighed in relief and dimmed his horn. “There you guys are,” Rainbow said looking behind her, “We should get back as soon as we can, I saw one of those things out there not too long ago.” “Which one?” “Does it matter?! They’re both bad news! Hi girls.” Rainbow waved at her friends at the last sentence. “Hi Rainbow,” Fluttershy said returning the wave along with Pinkie. “I suppose you are right about that, we do need to get back now. I’ll take the lead ok?” “Fine with me. I’ll watch behind us then.” Shining Armor nodded and moved ahead with the group behind him. “Is Twilight here?” Spike asked Rainbow when they settled into a steady place. “Yeah, she’s back at where we’re going. I’m sure once we get there she’ll rush to meet us.” “Undoubtedly she’s looking for a way to solve the problem, correct?” Rarity asked and got a nod from Rainbow. “And what about this Sombra fellow?” “Well…” Whatever Rainbow was going to say was interrupted by a loud roar from something. Everyone looked behind and saw some giant black thing approaching. “That would be him right there. TIME TO RUN!” The group didn’t hesitate at all as they took off in a full gallop, none of them daring to look back to see just how close Sombra was behind them. After a mad dash through the storm the shield that covered the Crystal Empire showed through the snow. “Over there! You’ll be safe in there!” Shining shouted behind him. “No matter what, keep running!” He checked behind him to see everypony nodding in agreement, along with Sombra rapidly gaining ground. Thinking fast, Shining moved out of the way of the group and shouted, “I’m going to try and stop him for a minute!” “What, are you crazy?!” Rainbow shouted at him. “I’ll be right behind you, but we have to get them to safety first!” Rainbow growled a little before saying, “Fine, but I’m coming back for you once they’re safe!” Shining nodded and turned around to face Sombra while Rainbow and her friends continued to the shielded city. As the wall got closer and closer, they pushed themselves faster until they passed through it. Once out of the blizzard everyone but Rainbow Dash collapsed in the street and relished in the heat. “Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Spike,” Rainbow quickly counted off, “Ok, that’s everyone. I’m going back for him!” Rainbow then charged out of the city back into the blizzard, leaving her friends to catch their breaths. Pinkie was the first to get her breath back and said, “Well, that was fun.” “For a given definition dear,” Rarity replied and looked up at their surroundings for the first time. “My word…” “It’s so beautiful,” Fluttershy gasped. “I’ll say,” was Applejack’s contribution. “Where’s Rainbow Dash?” Spike asked looking back at the wall they passed through. Immediately after he said that Rainbow Dash flew through the wall with Shining Armor in her arms right over them and landed a few feet from them. “Oh, there she is.” “Rainbow!” Pinkie shouted and rushed to Rainbow’s side and helped the pegasus up. “I’m alright Pinkie,” Rainbow said and looked down at Shining Armor and winced a little. “I can’t say the same for him though.” “Ugh…” Shining Armor groaned and climbed onto his hooves and looked up at his horn, and saw that it was covered in some kind of black crystal. “Well that explains why my horn hurts so much.” He tried to cast a spell, which only caused his horn to spark and for him to flinch in pain. “Magic makes it hurt even more. That’s not good.” “We should hurry and get you back to Princess Cadance and Twilight. They might know what to do about that.” Shining Armor nodded and started walking to the castle with Rainbow Dash at his side. “Well girls,” Applejack started, “let’s go see Twilight about what we need to do here, and make sure Shining Armor will be alright.” “I hope he’ll be alright,” Fluttershy said quietly. Once they waited for Spike to climb back onto Rarity’s back the group followed Rainbow and Shining to what they figured would be the castle. “So, what is this festival about?” Private Sentry asked as he looked down at the book Twilight was reading. At least she was nice enough to put it down on the table. “Once the girls get here and we get started it should work. It is just a festival after all,” Twilight said while scanning the pages. Details of food stands, events, general layout of the festival, and more than a few pages about an instrument called a flugelhorn were in the book. What got her attention the most was the event at the end of the festival. “Have you ever heard of a Crystal Heart?” Twilight asked. “Nope. It doesn’t look too hard to make one though.” “Something to talk to Rarity about then.” The door to the library opened and a guard walked toward Twilight, looking quite worried. “Miss Sparkle, Captain Armor has returned with your friends!” the guard said. “But… he’s hurt.” “What?! What happened?” Twilight got up from the table and walked to the guard. “Where is he?” “He’s in the throne room with Princess Cadance and your friends.” The words barely left his mouth before Twilight was out the door and running to the throne room. Whatever thought she may have had before was replaced only with concern for Shining Armor. Soon enough she was at the large doors to the throne room and threw them open. “Shiny!” Twilight shouted when she saw her brother and ran to his side. Her brother looked up at her and gave her a weak smile. Twilight looked him over and gasped when she saw what happened to his horn. “What happened out there?!” “We ran into Sombra on the way back,” Rainbow explained from behind Twilight, “Shining Armor stayed behind to stall him while the rest of us got to safety. I dragged him back in, but his horn was like that when I found him.” “I can’t use my magic like this,” Shining Armor explained, “it also hurts a lot too.” “You dummy,” Twilight scolded as she examined the black crystal on her brother’s horn. “I’ve never seen this kind of crystal before.” She glanced over at Cadance, who looked more exhausted than she had yesterday. “We’re running out of time.” “Are things really that bad?” Twilight turned to the source of the voice and, after taking a second to take in that Applejack and her friends were actually there, let a smile out and shook her head a little. “They could always be worse,” she said as she walked over and pulled Applejack into a hug. “I’m glad to see you all.” “Yeah, same here,” Applejack said returning the hug. As soon as they let each other go, Pinkie Pie launched herself at Twilight, knocking her off her hooves. “You big dummy!” she shouted nuzzling her face into Twilight’s neck, “You scared us to death when you two disappeared like that!” “I’m sorry Pinkie,” Twilight said and gasped when Pinkie hugged her tighter. “Can you let me go? It’s hard to breath.” “No.” Rainbow Dash couldn’t help but laugh at that and said, “What’s the matter Twilight? Can’t handle Pinkie’s uncontainable love?” “Not when she’s choking me!” Twilight replied, giving another groan when Pinkie squeezed her again. “Yeah, she’s been getting better ever since… whatever happened to her,” Applejack said and walked over to the pair to separate them. “Anyway, I caught everyone up on what’s going on Twilight,” Rainbow said once they were all up on their hooves. “All we’re missing is whatever plan you came up with.” An awkward silence fell over the group, mostly because Twilight was glancing at Pinkie Pie awkwardly. “So, what’s the plan?” “Well, I do have a plan of sorts. It’s a little unorthodox considering how serious the situation is, but-“ “Is it a party?!” Pinkie asked bouncing excitedly. Twilight stared at her for a moment before saying, “A festival, but that’s close enough.” “Yes, I knew it! Pinkie Sense is back!” While Pinkie bounced happily around the group Twilight turned to the others. “There’s a book in the library detailing everything about the festival that we need to know. I was in the middle of going through it when I heard you were here.” “Alright then, let’s go see what we need to do then,” Applejack said looking back at the others who nodded. “So, where’s the library in this castle?” “I’ll show you the way,” Twilight said pointing at the door and starting walking with the others following. Except for Spike, who stayed behind for a moment. “She didn’t even notice me,” Spike said sadly. “It’s not your fault,” Shining Armor reassured Spike, placing a hoof on his back. “You know how Twilight gets when she’s really focused on something.” “Yeah, you have to drag her attention away to even get a word in.” Spike nodded and looked at the double doors again. “I’m going to talk to her. Will you two be ok?” “Of course,” Shining said with Cadance nodding in agreement. “We’re counting on you guys.” Spike nodded again and ran after Twilight. “Like I said on the way, the festival seems relatively easy to set up,” Twilight explained as her friends looked over the book about the festival. They had all settled into a chair around the table, all of them with their attention on Twilight or the book, with the occasional glance when Private Sentry brought another book over to the table. “Any questions before we decide on what to do?” “This Crystal Heart thing, what were you going to do about that?” Applejack asked poking the page about that. “I was hoping Rarity and I could work to make one. I wasn’t sure how complicated it would be, so I wanted to get her opinion on that.” Rarity picked up the book and carefully examined the drawing of the Crystal Heart, her mind already going through the process of sculpting one. “It doesn’t look difficult,” Rarity said after a minute. “It might be a little off, but I’m sure nopony would mind. There’s plenty of crystal here, so we should have enough to get a good one.” “We don’t need absolute perfection with this. The sooner the better, but we also can’t afford to be sloppy.” “I’ll do my best darling. With your help, it should be done by tomorrow morning.” “I’m not sure if we can get the rest of the festival set up by then though,” Twilight mused. While lost in thought she barely registered the door to the library open and Spike walk over to the table. “Hi guys,” he said once he got there. “Hello Spike,” Twilight replied and lifted the dragon onto the table with her magic. “So about the food stands and the sport events…” “Pinkie can handle the sweet stands, I’m sure,” Applejack said as she glanced at Pinkie, who nodded in agreement, “And I’ll handle the rest of the food stalls. Come to think of it, aren’t you pulling double duty with that instrument Pinkie?” “It’s called a Flugelhorn, and yes I am.” Everyone couldn’t help but stare at how proud Pinkie sounded at that. “That leaves me with the sports,” Rainbow said. “It’ll be amazing, so you don’t have to worry at all.” “Well, I’ll leave that to you then. And if you need help from the guards, all of you, don’t hesitate to ask.” Everyone nodded and Twilight glanced at Fluttershy. “I’ll be alright by myself,” she said simply, which everyone nodded too. “What about me?” Spike asked. “You’ll be helping me, of course,” Twilight replied before asking, “Now, are there any other questions?” When everyone shook their heads ‘no’, Twilight nodded and said, “Good, now with that out of the way...” before lifting Spike up with her magic and bringing him into a hug. “Oh Spike, I missed you so much! How’s my number one assistant doing?” “Fine, until now. Can you loosen up a little?” “And he was worried she had forgotten about him,” Rarity commented with a smile. “Like that would ever happen,” Rainbow replied and flew up into a light hover. “Well, I gotta get to work. Those tracks aren’t going to build themselves.” “Yes, we certainly will be busy for the next while,” Applejack said with a sigh. “Which reminds me, Twilight…” “I know,” Twilight said slackening her grip on Spike slightly, “We have a lot to talk about. But that will have to wait.” “Just making sure, especially after last time.” Applejack stood up and looked around the room before asking, “Wait, where’d Pinkie Pie go?” “She left a little while ago,” Fluttershy replied, “I think she was talking about flugelhorns on the way out.” “…I’m going to make sure she’ll be alright.” With that, Applejack ran out of the library as fast as she could. “Come on Fluttershy, I’ll show you where the animals are,” Rainbow said landing next to Fluttershy and placing a hoof on her shoulder. The shy pegasus nodded and stood up to follow her friend out leaving Twilight, Spike, and Rarity left in the library. “Are you almost finished Twilight?” Rarity asked, smiling at just how long the hug was going. “Another minute,” Twilight responded as she started nuzzling the dragon she was holding. “Twilight, really, I missed you too, but isn’t this a little much?” Spike asked struggling a little in Twilight’s grip. When it became clear he couldn’t escape he sighed and mumbled, “Oh forget it,” as he wrapped his arms around Twilight’s neck. Eventually Rarity and Spike managed to convince Twilight to let him go and get started on their tasks for the festival. It would be a long day for everyone as they all got to work on their respective tasks. Applejack managed to find Pinkie Pie already in full throttle handing out baked goods and flugelhorns she got from somewhere. After a minute of dragging her away the two of them, plus some guards along the way, got started on the food stands. Naturally, Pinkie’s jump start did help spread word about the upcoming festival. “Applejack and Pinkie are certainly on the ball.” In the middle of all of this was Twilight with Spike on her back dutifully writing down her thoughts and checking of a checklist she had come up with earlier. “Pinkie especially.” “Especially after the wedding,” Spike chimed in, “I guess seeing you and Rainbow helped a lot. How are you two doing with that monster by the way?” “Still ongoing.” Twilight stopped to watch a group of Crystal Ponies watch a stand going up. “It’s a lot older than we thought though, and any leads we have about it are long shots at best.” Twilight sighed and added, “Well, I can’t do anything about that. Take it one step at a time right?” “I suppose. Do you want to go check on Rainbow and Fluttershy?” Twilight nodded in response and the two made their way through the Crystal Empire. All around them were Crystal ponies watching the preparations, a couple of them actually looked shiny and happy at the preparations. ‘Something to ask Cadance about later,’ Twilight thought as she passed by a group of guards. In the distance she could see Rainbow flying around an area up ahead, which Twilight started heading toward. Apparently Rainbow saw them on the way because she dove down to meet them. “Hey Twilight, checking up on me?” Rainbow asked once she was close enough. “Yes, I just got done with the stands Applejack and Pinkie Pie were building. How are you doing?” “Great, naturally. Those guards are certainly a lot of help with getting thing’s set up.” “What are you setting up again?” Spike asked waving a quill through the air. “Jousting! There are a bunch of other events planned, but that’s the one I’m looking forward to the most.” “Do you have anyone to actually help with that?” Twilight asked, with Rainbow’s silence being the only answer she needed. “Well, I’ll let you worry about that Rainbow. Have you seen Fluttershy?” “I saw her a while ago, and I think she’s done already. There were a lot of animals. What about you and that heart thing?” “Rarity is working on that, since there’s only so much I can do to help with that. I’ll have to check on her later.” Twilight looked around the street before asking, “By the way, have you seen Pinkie Pie? I haven’t seen her all day and I only have Applejack’s word that she’s out here.” “No, I haven’t seen her. Why, you think she’s getting into trouble?” “Not really, but I would at least like to know where she went.” On the other side of the Crystal Empire, Private Sentry was patrolling the streets since he was one of the few guards not assigned to help with the festival. During his patrol he noticed some bushes moving. Deducing that bushes shouldn’t normally move, he figured some miscreant was sneaking around and moved to intervene. Alas, upon moving to investigate, all he found behind the bush were hoof tracks. “Huh, whose hoof prints are these?” he wondered out loud, earning a couple confused looks from some passing ponies, before setting off to follow the tracks. This took about thirty seconds, traveling through bushes, mud puddles, and one under construction falafel stand until he heard something tap around the corner of a nearby building. “What was that noise?” he wondered again before very slowly facehoofing and walking around the corner. There he found not a miscreant, but a table with a cupcake on a plate and a note with his name on it. Naturally curious he looked around before picking up the note and reading it. ‘Thanks for looking after Twilight and Rainbow before we got here. That cupcake’s for you, and it’s your favorite! Have fun! -A friend of fun “My favorite? What?” Private Sentry wondered and looked at the cupcake. He set the note down and picked up the cupcake and, after a moment of careful examination, shrugged and took a bite of it. It took a second to register the flavor, but when he did he stared wide eyed at it. “Red Velvet? How did…?” After a moment of deliberation, he shrugged and took it to eat on his patrol, unaware of a certain pink pony watching with delight. “Yes, another successful operation!” Pinkie said proudly. “I suppose,” Pinkamena said in her head. “Wait, I wasn’t paying attention. Where did you get that suit?” Pinkie looked over herself at the black spy suit she was wearing, complete with utility belt, grappling hook, and all purpose goggles. “It’s me,” was all Pinkie had to say on the matter. “Grrr, I hate that that’s a rational explanation. So who’s next?” “Well, I’m sure Pinkie will be alright wherever she is,” Rainbow reasoned and looked behind her. “I should probably be getting back to work while there’s still daylight.” “Alright Rainbow, we’ll see you at dinner.” Twilight and Rainbow nodded and the pegasus took flight and headed toward the sports area. “So it’s just Rarity left, right Spike?” Twilight asked. “Unless you want to check on Fluttershy, yeah,” Spike replied. “Hm, I guess a small check wouldn’t hurt,” Twilight said with a nod and started walking down the street. She took a few steps before stopping as a headache tore through her. It was bad enough to cause her to stumble to her side and hit a wall. “Twilight, are you ok?!” Spike called from her back. Twilight was about to answer when another jolt of pain hit her and the world changed in front of her. The sky turned from a rich blue to a deep purple, the sun growing noticeable darker while still noticeable. All the Crystal ponies had vanished and had been replaced with odd shadows of something else. They were everywhere around her, with the only exception being in the middle of the street. It was crouched over looking up at the sky, but very clearly was meant to stand on two legs. It seemed to notice Twilight and turned to look at her. “Poor thing,” she heard it say condescendingly before standing up to its full height and started walking toward her. “Twilight!” The sound of Spike’s voice brought Twilight back to reality, the sky returning to normal and the crowd surrounding her again. And in front of her was a very concerned looking baby dragon. “Are you alright?” he asked looking Twilight in the eye. “I… I’m fine,” she said moving away from the wall she was leaning against and rubbed her head again. “I don’t know where that came from.” “I don’t think you should be up on your hooves anymore. That looked really bad.” “I really am fine Spike.” Seeing Spike’s worried look, she added, “If it happens again I’ll go see one of the medics.” “Hrm…” Twilight hated seeing Spike like this, so she leaned down and nuzzled the top of his head and said, “I’ll be ok, really.” She lit her horn up and lifted the dragon back onto her back, where he settled into a comfortable riding position. “Let’s check on Fluttershy and then go see Rarity. One way or another I’m not staying on my hooves much longer.” “…Alright Twilight. And I will take you to a doctor if that happens again.” Twilight looked back at Spike with a smile and said, “Thank you Spike,” before moving through the streets again. Despite what she put up on the outside, the image of that creature would stay with Twilight for the rest of the day. “I’m done!” Rarity exclaimed upon entering the dining hall where everypony was eating. All assembled, which included Twilight and her friends, Spike, and Princess Cadance and Shining Armor couldn’t help the surprised looks they gave her. “Really?!” Rainbow shouted from her seat, “Well don’t keep us waiting! What does it look like?” “It’s not my best work,” Rarity admitted as she sat down, “but rush jobs never are. Hopefully I can make it look better for tomorrow.” “I’ll go with you to help,” Twilight said wiping some food off her mouth with a napkin, “And how is everyone else doing?” “I’m all done, thanks to the guard’s help,” Applejack said and glanced at Pinkie, “And I guess Pinkie is done too. Where have you been all day though?” “Spreading happiness of course,” Pinkie replied, “And I got my tasks done too. I’m eccentric, not lazy.” “No one was accusing you of that,” Twilight replied and looked at Rainbow and Fluttershy. “I’m done,” Fluttershy said quietly. “The animals were very helpful.” “I’m still working on it,” Rainbow said rubbing the back of her neck. “The grounds are done, but I can’t find anypony to help with them. I might have to snag a couple of guards to help.” “The sport events aren’t until later in the day, so you’ll have plenty of time to find a solution,” Twilight said, earning a nod from Rainbow. “Is there anything else Spike?” “That’s it for planning,” the dragon replied, “and we got some Crystal pony volunteers to help with running stalls, so that’s good. I can’t think of anything else besides the Crystal Heart that needs our attention right now.” “I agree, and that’s what we’ll focus on for now. Everyone else can take a rest if they need to.” “You girls are amazing,” Princess Cadance interjected, drawing everyone’s attention. “I heard about your work at the wedding and now this. You all certainly know how to work miracles.” “It’s… nothing like that,” Twilight said trying to hide a blush. “We’re just well organized.” “Whatever you call it, it’s incredible,” Shining Armor said, “putting together a festival like this in less than a day. I’m proud of you all.” “Aw, it’s no problem,” Pinkie Pie said with a wave of her hoof. “But we’re not done yet,” Twilight added, “Tomorrow is going to be the hardest part.” She pushed her plate away, stood up and said, “I’m going to make some last minute checks. Is the Heart in your room Rarity?” The white unicorn nodded in answer. “Then I’ll start there. See you all tomorrow.” Twilight walked out of the dining hall and, once she was out, Spike gestured at the door with a gem in his hand and said, “I know that look. She’s going to be up all night.” “Ugh, and she’s just gotten better too,” Rainbow said and stood up from the table. “I’ll go keep an eye on her,” she added as she darted out of the room. Her friends watched her leave and, for one reason or another, found themselves losing their appetites. The next day the festival was open for business and the Crystal Ponies were starting to enjoy themselves again. Since Rainbow had nothing to do until later that day she found herself helping hand out balloons or whatever, an act which certainly was helping cheer them up despite what she would have thought earlier. “Hey Rainbow!” The pegasus perked up at the sound of her name and looked around until she saw Applejack walking toward her. Rainbow waved at her and handed a balloon to a Crystal Pony, who literally brightened up and trotted away to get something from a food stall. “Busy working huh?” “Yeah, pretty much. I’m running out of balloons though, so I’m going to have to get some more soon. How are things going everywhere else?” “I just got back from where Twilight and Rarity were placing the Crystal Heart. Apparently it’s supposed to go on some pedestal over at the palace.” Applejack paused to wave at a passing Pinkie Pie, who was in a cardboard box for some reason. “So you need any help here?” “If you’re offering, I’ll take it.” They turned their attention to the passing crowds and started handing out balloons until one came up looking intently at a red balloon. “I don’t suppose… I can have that one?” she asked pointing at one. “No problem,” Applejack said and gave her a red balloon. The mare stared at the balloon for a moment. “I… I remember…” she closed her eyes for a moment while her body shined and gained the amazing luster that the other crystal ponies gained once they found their happiness again. “I remember! I remember what I did!” “What you did?” Rainbow asked, naturally curious. “Of course! I was the master of records for the Crystal Empire.” “That sounds like an important job,” Applejack commented. “Of course, anything important to the Empire had to be filed by somepony.” She looked around at the festival and gasped in awe a little before asking, “Did you put all of this together?” “Us and some friends,” Rainbow said and added with some pride, “it was easy. We even have a Crystal Heart centerpiece for later.” “Well I’m certainly impressed. I can’t wait to see the Crystal Heart; I can’t believe you found it!” “It was no problem! After all… what?” “Like I said, I can’t believe you found the Crystal Heart! We all thought it had been lost because of the last king, but with it back everything will be alright.” Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared a quick, mutually dismayed look before Applejack, “Say, what exactly is the Crystal Heart? You know, just so we know.” “It’s the Crystal Empire’s greatest treasure. It’s the focal point for all the magic in the empire, which was a devastating loss as you can imagine.” She didn’t notice the look Rainbow Dash and Applejack shared and asked, “So where is the Heart? I would like to see it as soon as possible.” “Oh, you’ll get to see it later. Why not go over there and have some falafels. They’re amazing you know.” “Well I am pretty hungry. The heart can wait for an hour I suppose.” With her on her way Rainbow turned to Applejack. “I’ll look after here, you go tell Twilight,” Applejack said pointing toward the castle. “They’re at the very bottom, you can’t miss them.” Rainbow Dash took off immediately and shot toward the castle. When she got there she saw Twilight, Rarity, and Spike looking around and at the ‘Crystal Heart’ they made and, more importantly, the tarp they had been keeping the thing under so it can be out of the public eye. When Rainbow landed she grabbed the tarp and threw it over the heart, checking behind her to make sure no Crystal Ponies saw it. “Rainbow, what are you doing?” Twilight asked and paused when she saw Rainbow’s worried expression. “We’ve got a serious problem.”