We were on the train heading to the Crystal Empire. We were told that it would take a couple of hours to get there because we had to go through the city of Canterlot. Sonata decided to rest through the trip, while Princess Luna was chatting with Adagio, sharing the hard times she had to go through when she was Nightmare Moon. I took this time to talk to Aria in private, seeing how her father was a hero to the city.
“How are you feeling?”
“I…really don’t know,” replied Aria. “I find out that my father killed our king, but it was to save the city from the curse that I was able to carry.”
“Remember that time we first talked together?”
“Of course I do. You asked me if the powers I had were more of a curse than a gift. Looks like you were right all along. None of us knew it was a curse that we were carrying. And now my family had to pay the price for what I thought was right.”
“You didn’t know what was going on in the first place.”
“I should have. I thought it was silly to become a siren, and yet, I went through with it. I should have looked into it some more. I should had seen what my father was able to see. He always kept a clear head when problems came up, and I wasn’t able to do the same. Now, all I have left from my father is a coral sword and trident that he always carry with him on his patrols.”
“Sometimes, we can’t see the real picture. We think we’re doing the right thing, but we never know if we are until it happens. We learn from our mistakes and move on. I’m sure Sunset Shimmer had to do that a lot after the Fall Formal. Now it’s time for you to do the same.”
Aria started to look down. “You think I can do so, after all the bullying that I’ve done to the school?”
I placed my hoof on her chin and raised her head so that our eyes met.
“If Sunset was able to do it, so can you.”
Tears started to form from Aria’s eyes as a smile came across her face. She rushed up to hug me, which I was able to return that hug.
“I’m glad that we were able to meet, even if we had to crash into each other,” Aria said as she let out a small laugh.
“I’m glad that you were able to open up to me when you felt like you were at your worst.”
Aria pulled back so that our eyes met.
“And I thought Sonata was the worst,” said Aria
“You thought everyone else was the worst,” I said.
“At least you’re not,” said Aria.
We both started to get lost in the moment, before someone else made a noise. We looked to see Adagio looking at us.
“I’m sorry. Did I ruining the moment here?”
Aria looked at me and said, “You know, I think Adagio is the worst.”
“Hey, I’m right here,” said Adagio. “Besides, we just entered the Crystal Mountains, so it won’t be long before we arrive at the Crystal Empire.”
Adagio walked off, leaving us alone again.
“Looks like you finally get to see the Crystal Empire,” I said.
“I know. And somehow, it’s thanks to you for making this happen,” replied Aria. “I wonder…what if we never met? I mean, what if we arrived in your world a thousand years ago, and not at your current time?”
“You think there was a reason you arrived in our time after a thousand years have passed in this world?”
“I wonder if it was fate that made this happen.”
I started to think about it…again. “We talked about this before.”
“And you had your theories about how we got here, even if they were weird,” replied Aria.
“Well, I am a geek. Weird comes with the territory.”
“And that’s why I love you for it.” Aria gave me a kiss on my cheek before walking back to join the others.
I decided to do the same.
We saw the winter snow falling outside the train. Sonata decided to open the window and stick her head out. We thought she was letting the warm air outside, but it wasn’t as cold as we thought. Princess Luna said that it was due to the Crystal Heart that keeps the extreme cold away. If I ever want to take a winter vacation, I’m coming here with Aria at my side.
The train finally came to a stop at the station. We started to walk off the train, leaving our items behind, since our visit wouldn’t be long. When we were on the station, we were met by a white stallion with blue hair. Princess Luna greeted the stallion.
“Good day, Shining Armor.”
“Good day, Luna. Twilight and Sunset are already here waiting.”
Princess Luna looked at us. “I was able to send a message to Spike to have Twilight and Sunset meet us here. By the way, this is Twilight’s brother, Prince Shining Armor.”
“I didn’t know the Crystal Empire had a prince,” said Sonata.
“That’s because the Crystal Empire was lost for a thousand years after King Sombra took down Princess Amore and enslaved the kingdom,” explained Adagio. “Of didn’t you forget about the diary that was brought to us for Gears to look into.”
“Oh yea. I totally forgot,” Sonata said with a smile. Adagio and Aria just shook their heads.
“You must be Gear Works,” said Shining Armor. “My sister has told me much about you.”
We started to walk into the Crystal Empire and noticed that there was signs of damage in the kingdom.
“What happened here,” I asked.
“The kingdom was attacked by the Umbram over a week ago,” explained Shining Armor. “We were lucky to stop them after all was lost. Cadence was able to expose them for who they were, but we were overwhelmed when they attacked.”
“How were you able to defeat them,” asked Aria.
“You’ll soon see why,” he replied.
“Have they returned?” Princess Luna asked Shining Armor.
“Just this morning. But they have had little success in finding the remains of Princess Amore.”
“I’m sure they will find them in time,” Princess Luna replied. “But it would be nice to see her again.”
We were wondering who they were talking about, but knew that we would find out soon. We made our way into the castle and made our way to the main chamber, where we saw Twilight and Sunset waiting for us. Three other ponies were also there. One was a pink alicorn sitting on the throne. Another was a purple unicorn with blue hair. And the third was a gray unicorn with black hair.
Princess Luna introduced us to the alicorn. “Everypony, this is Princess Mi Amore Cadenza.”
All four of us were stunned…because we were trying to take in her name. And that was when Princess…what’s-her-name stared at Princess Luna.
She got the message and decided to correct herself. “You may refer her as Princess Cadence.”
“Thank you for coming,” Princess Cadence replied. “We received your message, and are in works on something that can help keep the shards safe from harm in your world.”
“Thank you,” I replied. “It would be a great weight off of our shoulders.”
“I am glad that we are able to help. Now, I like to introduce you to some friends of ours. This is Radiant Hope,” which she pointed to the purple unicorn, “and Sombra,” which she pointed to the gray unicorn.
“Wait, you mean the Sombra that tried to take over the Crystal Empire,” asked Aria.
“The Sombra that is a part of the Umbrum?” asked Adagio.
“The Sombra that…that tried to take over the ponies here?” All three of us looked at Sonata. “What? What did I say?”
Sombra responded with a laugh and said, “Yes I was the Sombra that you have heard of, but I’m no longer an Umbrum. Just like you are no longer sirens.”
“You know who we are?” asked Adagio.
“We do,” replied Radiant Hope. “And you must be Gear Works, the one who solved the mystery of Sombra and the Umbrum.”
“I learned that there was still good inside Sombra, but I wasn’t able to learn about the Umbrum,” I explained.
“That would be me,” replied Adagio.
“Only because you learned about it from Queen Chrysalis,” added Aria.
“Who is still out there at this time,” said Twilight.
“She’s still alive?” asked Adagio.
“Yea, and has been a pain in the rear all this time,” explained Twilight.
“She’s not one to give up, that’s for sure,” said Adagio.
“I don’t mean to change the subject, but how come Radiant Hope is still alive?” I asked. “When I read about her in Sombra’s diary, it happened over a thousand years ago.”
“Yea, she’s not even an alicorn,” added Aria.
Radiant Hope explained. “That’s because after Sombra was banished and the Crystal Empire was lost, I went searching for any signs and found the Umbrum who were imprisoned in the crystal mountains. When I went into their world, I wasn’t able to age a single day. And I thought they were peaceful creatures and I thought We could only see.”
“But you found out that they were dark magical creatures when they are exposed to magic,” replied Adagio. “Chrysalis told me about them and what they feed on. It’s something that could kill the changelings and maybe poison us as well, when we were sirens.”
“But now we were able to banish them once again, thanks to Sombra returning the Crystal Heart to its place,” Princess Cadence explained. “But it left some damage to our kingdom in the process.”
“So, I read that Princess Amore was turned to stone and shattered to pieces,” I said. “Have you been looking for her since then?”
“We have, and have made little progress in our search,” explained Sombra. “We were hoping that the Crystal Heart can show us where to search, but it has had no effect on our search.”
“We know that it can repel evil from the kingdom and reveal a pony’s destiny. It can even repel the harsh weather from this kingdom,” explained Radiant Hope.
“I remember that the mirror that we use to travel to the human world can also reveal a pony’s destiny,” explained Sunset. “A destiny that I didn’t know how to follow.”
“A mirror? What is this mirror that you’re talking about?” asked Radiant.
“It was a mirror that my sister kept from Star Swirl after he banished the sirens to this human world she speaks of,” Princess Luna explained.
“There were even other mirrors that had access to other worlds, but those ones were destroyed,” explained Twilight.
Radiant Hope placed her hoof on her chin. She said to herself, “Star Swirl. Where have I heard that name?” Then a light bulb went on inside of her. “Of course. I remember now. When I was younger, there was a Star Swirl who came asking for Princess Amore’s help with a problem he was dealing with. I never caught the details, but I saw him leave with a mirror that was created with the magic of the Crystal Heart.”
“Is that even possible?” asked Twilight.
“I believe so,” Princess Cadence replied. “That why work is being done for a small chest to hold the shards. Once we provide the magic of the Crystal Heart, it should repel anyone who plans to look for them. This will keep the shards safe from harm.”
That was when I started to think again. The idea that the Crystal Heart helped created the mirror made me wonder. I started to remember the details that Twilight gave me about the Crystal Empire and how Sombra placed a curse on the kingdom when he was banished. And for some reason, I started to connect the pieces.
“Aria, do you remember how you went through the mirror?” I asked.
“Well, we were in the middle of a performance when he appeared again and used his magic to shock us in through the mirror. The next thing we remember is ending up in an alley in the city.”
“Do you remember when you arrived?”
Aria looked at Adagio and asked, “I think it was two to three days before we saw the Equestrian magic in the sky, right?”
“I think so.”
“Wait a minute. That would be around the time I came here to steal Twilight’s crown that had the element of magic on it,” explained Sunset.
“What are you trying to explain?” asked Twilight.
“I think I know how they might have gotten here during our time instead of over a thousand years ago,” I said. “What I need to know is how a curse was placed on the kingdom when Sombra was defeated.”
Sombra thought for a moment, then said, “I think I was able to use the ground that the Crystal Heart is connected to and have it enter a kind of prison, kind of like how the Umbrum was imprisoned in.”
“But when we asked the crystal ponies when it returned, they remember being enslaved a little while ago,” said Twilight.
I thought some more, then thought of one idea that never crossed my mind before. “Suspended animation. Why didn’t I think of it sooner. I now know why the sirens were kept in hiding for over a thousand years. They were trapped in suspended animation inside the mirror.”
“What are you talking about?” asked Aria.
“Think about it. What if the mirror was to act as a prison, just like the crystal mountains. When Star Swirl caste a spell on the mirror, it acted like a prison to capture all evil. Instead of sending them to our world, it entrapped them in between both worlds, like a prison.”
“And when Twilight’s crown went through the mirror, it must have freed them from their prison and send them to the other world at a different location,” explained Sunset. “That’s why we never learned about them until they showed up at the school. Gears, you’re a genius.”
“I wouldn’t go that far, but I think that could be the best explanation for how they arrived,” I said. “It they were pushed in, then they would have arrived in our world during the middle ages. How they would survive could have been found in history books, it that was to happen.”
“Wait a minute, I’m using a magic book to allow us to travel between both worlds,” said Twilight. Would that have the same effect as well?”
“I think it’s because there are two magic books that we use to communicate with each other. Point-to-point travel,” explained Sunset. “Star Swirl never had an exact point for the sirens to travel to, and there wasn’t a statue for them to come out of long ago. Only when the school was founded.”
“But how do we know it that’s what really happen,” said Sonata.
“I don’t think we will ever know,” said Aria. “And right now, I could care less. What happen in the past is now in the past. That’s all I care about.”
“Well, right now, you are here and free of the siren’s curse. That’s what matters the most,” said Twilight.
“I think we gave the others time to have the chest ready. Let us head down and see if it is ready,” Princess Cadence said.
So all of us walked down to the main square under the castle. One of the crystal ponies came to me with what looked like a hand-held chest made out of crystal. I sat down and held the chest on my hooves, and all three princess caste their magic on the Crystal Heart, which sent a bean of light to the chest that I was holding. From what they told me, it would be connected to me, meaning that only I can open and close it. And the crystal is unbreakable, which works for me.
Now that we got what we came for, it was time to leave and make our way back to the human world. This time, Twilight and Sunset joined us on the crystal train back to Twilight’s castle. Once we walked up to the mirror, it was time to say our goodbyes.
Adagio walked up to Twilight and said, “I’m sorry for my past actions, Twilight. If I’ve knew the truth, then-”
Twilight raised her hoof. “Don’t be. This was also new to me as well. If Gears haven’t told me about this, then we all would have never knew the truth behind the lies. The Kraken is no more. That’s all that matters. Plus, the info that you told me weeks ago gave us an advantage in reveling the Umbram’s true form. Now all is great again.”
“That is until another magical problem shows up without us knowing,” said Sunset.
As all of our belongings were placed in bags, Twilight walked up to me and asked, “How does it feel like being a pony?”
“Well, it was a unique experience. Walking on all fours is one thing. Having gills while underwater is another. But I’ll feel better when I’m standing on two legs once again.”
“Well, I can see how different ponies and humans are, and while learning how to walk on two legs and have hands was a new experience, having to learn how to use these things when I got them was challenging enough,” Twilight said as she was referring to her wings.
“I guess you weren’t born with those,” I said.
“Nope. But I’ve gotten used to them now,” Twilight said while flapping her wings.
“Well, it’s time to go,” said Sunset.
“Until we see each other again,” I said. “Just don’t forget to write.”
“Oh don’t worry. I always write to you guys in my book,” said Twilight.
Sunset, Adagio, and Sonata had their things and walked through the mirror. Me and Aria grabbed our own items and just looked at each other.
“Ready Aria?”
“Ready Gears.”
At that point, we walked through the mirror together, heading back home.