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// Chapter 7, Searching An Empire of Crystals 
// Story: Saving The Crusaders 
// by The Blue Bandit 
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Chapter 7, The Crystal Empire
Cotton Candy, Pop Rock, Thorax and Little Strongheart stared out at the sight in front of them and their jaws dropped. None of them had ever seen the amazing city that was the Crystal Empire not even Cotton who’d travelled all around Equestria. Although each of them would love to sightsee their sights were however set on somepony else King Sombra the evil villain who had fillyknapped the crusaders.
“Where would they be?” Cotton said.
“Sombra was thought to be destroyed by the Princess Cadence and the dragon named Spike who walks among the six valiant mares” Pop Rock said.
“Of course he wouldn’t just announce his return and we don’t know what he’s up to but he’s got some of the most courageous ponies in Equestria” Thorax said.
“We can’t trust anypony except the Princess she may be able to help us, the other two might have told her about the current situation” Strongheart said.
Thorax had disguised himself and they walked the rest of the way to the Crystal Empire in a line not knowing what was next for them. They entered the city of crystals a short while later and were greeted by the Crystal Ponies who thought it was a bit strange that they’d appeared out of nowhere. Cotton Candy lead the group to an alleyway and they stood where they were out of sight and where nopony else would see or hear them talking.
“Why are we here?” Strongheart asked.
“Because we’re going have to split up in twos and search” Cotton replied. “There’s no telling what’s going to happen next.”
“Ok then we’ll come back here when we’re done searching” Pop Rock said.
“Agreed I’ll go with Thorax and you two can go together” Cotton said.
“Great” Thorax said.
Cotton and Thorax headed towards the castle while the other two hit the town going separate ways from each other. Cotton lead ahead as Thorax slowly crept behind sensing the love of the citizens of the Crystal Empire wanting to feed on it and take it for himself however he manage to restrain from doing anything. Cotton however was scared about what would happen after they finally save the crusaders and what her place would be without having the circus to tie her down.
The two arrived at the entrance to the castle and quickly slipped inside after they noticed that there were no guards preventing strangers from walking inside. The castle of the empire wasn’t unlike the other buildings as it was made of crystal however it wasn’t like the other buildings as it was elegant and unique. There was no doubt that the castle was one if the main beauties of all of Equestria and nopony who’d ever visited it had ever disagreed with the decision. 
“Ok we can’t get caught snooping around the castle it may draw attention to us, and if the Princess knows that we’re coming then she will come to look for us” Cotton said.
“Ok I suggest we look around Sombra must’ve had places in the castle where he could go to do his evil activity when he was king” Thorax said.
Cotton and Thorax crept silently through the hallways of the castle and came across a locked door and the both of them were intrigued by it. They couldn’t open it by force however Cotton used a bit of her magic and after a minute of trying to open it, it finally opened up and the two went inside the room. The door closed behind them creepily as they excited the hallway and entered the used to be locked room where secrets may be uncovered there.
“It’s really dark in here” Thorax said.
“Yeah there’s no windows and using my magic now would be dangerous for both you and me, it needs to cool down” Cotton explained.
“Wait there’s a light over there” Thorax pointed out.
Cotton walked over to the area that the light came from and found a gemstone that was unlike anything she’d ever seen before. She touched the gemstone gently and her horn lighted up purple even though she wasn’t using magic and then when she turned around Thorax noticed that her eyes we purple too. Thorax stared as Cotton reverted back to her own appearance but was scared and curious about what had just happened with the gemstone.
“Are you ok?” Thorax asked taking a step back.
“Yeah I’m fine what just happened to me?” Cotton asked.
“Your eyes and magic turned purple like the same colours as the light colour from the stone it was weird” Thorax replied.
“Can we not mention this to anypony it must’ve been a reaction to magic in the stone” Cotton said recalling her image in the dream she had but still kept it a secret from Thorax.
Thorax grabbed the gemstone however he didn’t have a reaction to the magic that was in the stone which made him both curious and worried for his friend. He held the light up with his hooves while Cotton searched around the mysterious room hoping to find any clue where the Crusaders and the Mane six were being held captive. After going through endless drawers of emptiness and cobwebs the two finally found a small box in a cupboard. Cotton pulled out the box and Thorax opened it to reveal a necklace that had a massive black stone in the middle of it however Cotton sensed something odd about it.
“Ok let’s get back to the alleyway as quick as possible no detours this has something magical about so I suggest we find out what it is with the others” Cotton said.
“Yeah sure” Thorax said.
Meanwhile Strongheart and Pop Rock were in the public library of the Crystal Empire after having a thought that there may be a book that could help them find out where King Sombra was based. Pop Rock and Strongheart had looked through many books reading about certain artefacts of the Crystal Empire. There was an artefact on the same page as the magical earrings that belonged to the ruler before King Sombra. It just happened to be a necklace that could lead you to Sombra and it’d been made by Princess Celestia years ago but had gone missing during an unsuccessful capture mission.
“Strongheart look at this” Pop Rock quietly said.
“This could be the holy grail that we’re looking for to save the captives” Strongheart replied.
“Just what I was thinking” Pop Rock said.
They were about to leave the room and head back to the alleyway when three guards entered the room and began to talk to the librarian. They hid behind a bookshelf quietly as they found that it was strange that there were three guards coming to the library especially since they may not be trusted. However as the two listened they knew that their fears had become reality as the guards explained why they were in the library.
“We’re sorry to intrude we’ve received some worrying news that there is four unexpected guests in the empire” One Guard said.
“Apparently they looked like trouble and we aren’t looking for trouble in our friendly empire” Another Guard said.
“Well we had a few unexpected visitors earlier but I think they left” The Librarian replied.
“Ok well we’ll be checking the entire library sorry” The third guard said.
Pop Rock and Strongheart backed away and looked quietly for hiding places across the library however they both ended up at the storage cupboard at the back. They both opened the door quickly and walked inside hoping that nopony would’ve spotted them and that they were safe inside. They both crouched under a table and were both feeling a bit paranoid that they would get caught by the guards who were searching for them and it would be horrible.
“Ok what happens if we get caught?” Strongheart asked.
“Then we run” Pop Rock replied. “Unfortunately Cotton isn’t here save us this time.”
“Well I have noticed that you do rely on her magic quite a bit” Strongheart pointed out. “You barely ever use your wings but Cotton uses her magic every two seconds.”
“I guess you’re right” Pop Rock said.
They silenced and listened to the sounds that were going on outside as the guards grew closer and now they were close. The guards had been searching around every bookshelf and every nook and cranny except for the cupboard in the back of the room where they’d all reached. Pop Rock was shaking while Strongheart’s eyes closed and then the door opened wide and the guards stared into what they thought as an empty storage closet.
“They aren’t in the building, they must be somewhere else” A Guard said.
“Come on let’s get going before our leader grows restless” Another said.
After the guards left the library Strongheart and Pop Rock got up quickly with the book and crept out of the building. The two headed towards the alleyway without getting caught luckily Cotton and Thorax were both there and waiting for them with a box in Cotton’s hooves. They gathered in the shadows and began to explain what they’d found while they were apart and were hoping that they’d found what they needed to rescue the captives from the enemies.
“We found this necklace that’s really mysterious and there’s a vibe of magic that I can feel coming from it” Cotton said.
“Wait let us see” Pop Rock said.
Thorax took the box from Cotton and opened it up showing the others the necklace that they’d found in the room in the palace. Pop Rock opened the book to the page that they’d bookmark and compared the real necklace to the picture of a necklace in the book that was illustrated. They were exactly the same necklace which meant that they now knew what the necklace was and how it could be used.
“Wow that’s the necklace that if used can track down Sombra and where he is the crusaders and the others will be near” Strongheart said.
“How do we activate it though?” Cotton asked.
“That’s the problem the necklace requires dark magic and well I doubt any of us has the capabilities” Pop Rock replied.
“I believe that I may know where we can find some dark magic, it’s not powerful but I’m sure it’ll be fine” Cotton said as Thorax stared deeply into her eyes.
“Really where?” Thorax asked.
“It’s not far it’s in the basement of the spa” Cotton said.
They all quickly and quietly left the alleyway and headed towards the back entrance of the spa where Cotton knew there was a basement since every spa was built in a similar way. She opened the door and the others followed her inside and crept down the stairs that were right next to the front door. They were then met by a door but Cotton told them all that they should wait while she unleashed the dark magic and activated the necklace so that they’d know where Sombra is.
“Are you sure about this” Thorax said.
“Yeah I am sure” Cotton said. “Give me the stone”
Thorax gave Cotton the stone wrapped in fabric and she walked inside the room with both the stone and the necklace. She laid the stone on the table and hung the necklace on a hook against the wall and prepared herself for what was about to happen to her and then worried about it. She wasn’t sure about touching the stone at first but then remembered that her reason wasn’t debatable as there were young fillies in danger.
Cotton touched the glowing gemstone and felt her eyes change colour and that her magic had also felt different. She aimed her magic at the necklace and it the black stone in the middle and blasted it and then an image projected onto the wall and she let go of the stone and stared at it. The image was of a mountain and then it zoomed into the top and then at the other side there were buildings and then Cotton saw Sombra standing in front of a massive amount of changelings. Then the image disappeared but the necklace fell onto the floor and smashed into millions of pieces making a very loud noise.
“Cotton what’s going on?” Pop Rock said coming into the room.
“I think I know where Sombra is” Cotton replied.
“Really where?” Strongheart asked.
“I believe that King Sombra and the changelings are on the other side of the Crystal Mountains and that may be where the captives are” Cotton answered.
“Ok well let’s get there as fast as we can” Strongheart said.