//------------------------------// // Present Day Interlude I // Story: The Crystal Changeling // by Zoljen //------------------------------// “Sir?” Shining Armor turned slightly at his desk, looking up from his paperwork to look at Scope. The unicorn looked calm, but the two guards beside him looked worried. Shining grinned slightly. “Report Scope.” “There is a dragon outside the Crystal Empire. He wishes to speak with you and Princess Cadance.” Scope answered calmly, making Shining blink. “Uh, okay. Why?” “I do not know why. I was only informed from the two here that a dragon was asking for you two. Shall we go see him?” “Sure, go inform Cadance to meet me in the lobby.” Shining turned back to his paperwork. “I could use a break from this anyway.” “Yes sir,” Scope and the two guards beside him saluted, then cantered off to retrieve her. It only took about 20 or so minutes for them to be gathered in the lobby. Scope and Shining were already waiting when Cadance trotted in. “Which entrance is he waiting at?” Cadance asked as Scope saluted her. “Currently the train station guards are keeping an eye on him.” Scope lowered his hoof. Cadance nodded slowly. “Shall we?” The stallions nodded in response before the lobby shifted to that of the train station. The guards at the station turned and saluted the trio, before focusing back on a young blue dragon. The dragon was just calmly sitting, a satchel next to him as he had conversed with the guards. Once the trio showed up, he straightened up and saluted them as well. “Prince Shining Armor and Princess Mi Amore Cadenza,” The dragon bowed before the pair, then looked at Scope and grinned, and saluted him as he straightened up. “And Scope, we meet again.” “Tesla! I wasn't expecting to see you here.” Scope grinned as he gestured for the guards to relax. Shining looked at Scope confused while Cadance winced slightly at her full name. “You know this dragon?” Shining gestured to the dragon as he kept an eye on Scope. “We met during my vacation to Griffinstone. He brought one more to the family reunion.” Scope turned to Shining, as Cadance stepped up to the dragon. “Tesla… Crystal mentioned you,” Cadance sized the young looking dragon up and grinned. Tesla blinked and focused on Cadance. “You mean, Princess…” He trailed off, a grin starting to sweep across his muzzle. She nodded slightly, then squeaked as the dragon picked her up in a tight hug. Shining quickly looked towards his wife and gasped, as Tesla set her back down gently. “Sorry, Your Highness, it’s just….” “It has been more than 1500 years since you last saw her. Yes. She is not here though,” Cadance looked away for a moment, before looking at the train station. “She is on her way to Canterlot. We could provide…” “No thanks, I can fly myself there,” Tesla grinned as he stood up and bowed. “Thank you for that news, Your Highness.” “Please, call me Cadance.” She returned the bow to him. “Okay, Cadance. You continue to take care of this domain, along with your husband,” Tesla looked at Shining, who had trotted up to his wife’s side. “And Scope, tell Topaz I say hello.” “I will, you take care of yourself, Tesla.” Scope saluted the dragon. The dragon returned the salute, before turning, grabbing his satchel, and taking to the skies in the direction of Canterlot. “Should we tell Princess Celestia that she is about to have company?” Scope asked, looking at the pair of royalty before him. Cadance shook her head and giggled. “He’ll take a few days to get there, besides, she could use the gentle surprise.” Crystal stepped off the train in the Canterlot station and looked around. She silently took in all the large sights as Twilight stepped up to her side. “We can sight see on the way to the castle, I'm sure you want to meet the Princesses.” Twilight grinned as she started forward, the girls following her to the doors. Talon stepped up to Crystal next. “It’s a lot to take in, I know.” “Ponies make everything big.” Crystal spoke softly as she started to follow the crew. Talon grinned and followed after her. Once outside, Rainbow Dash and Talon hovered a little from the group. “We have to check in at the Wonderbolt Compound. Try to not get too lost in the history lesson girls!” Rainbow Dash chuckled as she waved, before zooming off with Talon following as best he could. The girls managed to walk a few blocks towards the castle before Crystal stopped and looked at it. The girls had been traveling slowly, to let her look around and at the sights, with Rarity pointing out all the shops they could visit later. Crystal took a few steps towards it before another sight caught her attention, making her smirk. Twilight stopped and stared at the sight before her with confusion. A tall white alicorn stallion was doing his best attempt at trying to capture what looked like a little lizard. The little gold serpent like quad-winged lizard was darting to and fro at each of the stores down this cobblestone street. “Jin! Get back here, you’re scaring ponies!” The stallion yelled as he chased the little dragon around. “What's this?” The little dragon almost sang as he zipped around before finally getting caught in a red glow and floated over to the white alicorn. “Aww, did some god finally remember he had magic?” “Yes…” The stallion growled lowly as he looked at Jin. The dragon only grinned in response before some giggles caught their attention. The pair looked over and saw Pinkie Pie bouncing their way, humming a tune. Behind her trotted Rarity, Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy. “Put him down Shiro,” Twilight commanded softly, making the white alicorn look back at the dragon. “But he…” He started, before another voice caressed his ears. “I see the little lizard is still your sense of humor.” Shiro and Jin quickly turned to see Crystal step out from behind Twilight. Jin was the first to speak up after a few moments of silence. “Well! I see somepony finally got over being stoned! Erk!” He grunted as he got unceremoniously dropped as Shiro turned to fully face Crystal, his eyes narrowing into a glare. Twilight blinked and took a step away as Shiro stomped up to Crystal, his glare only getting returned by hers. Shiro stopped a yard or so away and leaned down slightly towards Crystal, who kept glaring back at him. They remained silent for a few long moments as all the ponies around them watched, waiting. “How do I know you’re Crystal?” The unicorn and alicorn glared at each other until the unicorn was engulfed in flames to reveal the changeling beneath. “You are a blunt bag of bones whose jokes are as sharp as the stones you tread upon, sir.” Crystal calmly stated. “The only thing sharp about you was your knowledge on how many ways to kill a pony.” Shiro’s eyes narrowed further into the glare, “And how many was that?” “One: decapitation. Because even if stabbed through the heart, you could still be healed with magic.” Crystal stated matter-of-factly, getting blank stares from everypony present, including Pinkie Pie. The silence that followed seemed to stretch on for what felt like hours until finally Shiro grinned and pulled Crystal into a hug. “Uh oh,” Jin started up, floating up and landing on Twilight’s head. “He’s smiling. I suggest we run for the hills.” “It is good to see another familiar face, sir.” Crystal sniffled as she hugged Shiro back. “How long has it been since you last saw me?” Shiro asked softly as he let Crystal go after the short embrace. “For me, two weeks. For you, fifteen hundred years. Give or take a decade.” Crystal sighed softly, looking away for a moment. Soon after a little gold drake filled her vision, making her look towards it. “Far too long, if you ask me Cryssy,” Jin grinned as he hugged her snout. “Welcome back, we have a whole new city to show you!” “All in due time, Lord Jin. I have to meet with the Princesses first.” Crystal took a few steps around Shiro, before Twilight cleared her throat. “Actually, Crystal, we are kind of early. We can explore the town first,” Twilight grinned widely as Rarity practically bounced up. “Yes darling! We can go get you a dress and…” “Soldier mares don't wear dresses.” Shiro grumped as he turned to start back towards the castle. “They do, just to annoy you.” Crystal stuck out her tongue in Shiro’s direction, making him turn sharply and glare. “I can still take you, you know.” The mares looked back and forth as Jin just sighed. “As much as I’d like to see the god of grumpiness get his plot kicked, Canterlot isn't going to become another battlezone.” “She hasn’t beaten me!” Shiro growled lowly at Jin. “I recall her beating you at least twice, once before her rise, and once after. You considered it cheating because ‘she is a changeling.’ Or something like that.” Jin stuck out his tongue at Shiro, who only glared harder. “She caught me off guard!” Shiro stamped a hoof down. “That isn't what I saw when I watched. She actually beat you, with your own weapon of choice too.” Jin smirked as Shiro growled lowly. Crystal shrugged gently. “I am sure he would win now, unless he has been sitting on his plot the last fifteen hundred years,” Crystal smirked slightly. “I mean, I do see he has gained a little bit of weight to his flank.” Shiro growled a little louder as Crystal kept jeering. “I would not suggest we fight here, last time we spared after my rise, we leveled the courtyard.” “And gave Strength a new window to boot!” Jin laughed as Shiro reluctantly sighed. Twilight blinked as she looked down at Jin. “So, who won?” She asked, drawing the attention of Shiro and Crystal. “Well,” Jin starts up with a soft grin. “Shiro will say it was him, Crystal will say it was her, but really… Strength ordered them to stop otherwise there wouldn't be a castle to rule from, ya know?” “So, when you say after your rise, you mean…?” Twilight trailed off as she looked over Crystal. “I will get to that part in due time, Your Highness.” “Oh?” Jin floated up and looked at Crystal. “Are you regaling the young Princess with a story?” “Yes Lord Jin, I am currently telling these ponies a story of how I came to be the mare I am now.” Crystal calmly watched Jin float onto her back. “I promise to behave if I can add commentary.” “HA!” Shiro guffawed once as he pointed at Jin. “You can't behave for more than a minute at best!” “I can too! I had to, to keep your boring old flank entertained while we stayed in those dusty ruins!” Jin merely grinned widely at Shiro who huffed and looked away. “So, what was the last part you mentioned?” “I had just been introduced to Lord Shiro, when we brought in Quake’s body and explained the situation.” Crystal explained, making Jin chuckle and get comfortable on Crystal. “Good, after you get introduced to the Princesses, we can resume!” Twilight and Rarity led Crystal and Jin around, taking a scenic route through the town and even browsing through a few shops. Shiro reluctantly followed along, lagging behind the group and sitting outside the shops that he didn't want to go in. After a couple hours, they shared a meal at a local shop before making their way to the castle. Crystal stopped to gaze up at the castle, looking over its pristine white towers. The castle had a few small scorch marks still, and it looked like some pegasi were painting those white to get rid of them. Crystal raised an eyebrow and looked to Twilight. “What happened? I had seen some damage along the streets, was there a war?” Twilight stopped in her tracks and sighed, she looked over her shoulder at the changeling with a frown. “There was, a few years ago. Most of the damage is gone by now, but some scars still remain.” “Oh, I will not pry any further.” Crystal followed Twilight and the other girls through the courtyard up to the main doors. Crystal took her time to look around, the inside certainly looked better than the outside. Everything was neat, prefect, and white. She was eventually led to the throne room doors, where a pair of guards stood at attention. Crystals eyes lingered on one, as they both saluted Twilight. “Lode? What are you doing guarding the doors?” The young princess asked the guards. “I, er… showed up one of the unicorns during combat practice.” Lode grinned sheepishly as he relaxed a little, rubbing the back of his neck. “Showed up? You deflected his magic into Commander Dusk Chaser’s face!” The other guard spoke up as she turned slightly to face Lode. “I said I was sorry! I even offered to apply a little numbing spell to it!” Lode sat and raised his hooves defensively. “Right, I’ll have to hear this another time. Is Day Court done?” Twilight asked calmly, earning a nod from the pair. Lode looked over the others, before stopping on Crystal and tilting his head, as he raised an eyebrow. “She’s with me, Lode.” Twilight spoke before Lode could say anything. He merely nodded and stepped back, allowing the mares, along with Shiro and Jin, entry. Crystal slowly entered the long throne room, each of the pristine windows catching her eye. Each one of past events, mostly about the Element Bearers, but a few were of other ponies. Like Cadance and Shining Armor together, and a new one that looked like a Wonderbolt, standing heroically on a cloud with what looked like a training compound under him, though clouds were under that. The compound looked like it had small propellers attached to it, and it drew her attention the longest as she slowly trotted past it. She had never seen anything like it, though she also hadn’t seen a train before. Equus certainly changed a lot in 1500 years. Her attention was brought to the thrones as she detected large quantities of curiosity, and the two alicorn mares transmitting it like beacons. One was white as snow with a tri-colored mane of green, pink, and blue, that flowed as if on a breeze. The other was as dark as the night, with a matching mane that twinkled like the night sky full of stars. Crystal looked between the pair as she stepped up and bowed formally. “Rise, erm,” The white mare started, before scrunching her face slightly. “I suppose I can't call you my little pony, huh?” “She does hold the same rank we do, sister.” The darker one chuckled softly as Twilight stepped up next to Crystal. “Allow me to introduce Crystal,” Twilight grinned, before turning slightly and pointing at the white mare. “Crystal, that is Princess Celestia, and that,” she moved her hoof to point towards the darker one. “Is Princess Luna.” “A pleasure to meet you both, Your Highnesses.” Crystal remained bowing for a few moments longer before straightening up. She looked over each one as they grinned and bowed slightly back to her. “You both certainly look like your parents.” “You remember our parents?” Celestia blinked, looking confused for a moment. “I only met them on a few short occassions, though I did become familiar with Lord Nox after my rise.” “Your rise, as in when you became part alicorn?” Celestia questioned as she looked the still disguised changeling over. “Yes. He helped me to learn to control some of the power, along with Grey Pilgrim. But that is a story for a later time. Twilight should get you two caught up, if you are interested in hearing it,” Crystal gestured to the purple mare beside her. “She has taken extensive notes on my story thus far.” “Oh yes, we are!” Luna grinned widely as she bounced in her seat. “We always like a bit of history.” “Then, perhaps, tomorrow I can resume my story. It is getting late and I would like to retire for the night,” She paused to look around. “If you have a spare room for me, that is.” Twilight nodded and started back out the throne room, “Yes we do! We have quite a few guest rooms open. You’re welcome to stay in one of those.” Crystal followed her out, along with the other mares. Once they were out of earshot, Celestia leaned over to Shiro. “Does she always speak that formally?” Shiro nodded with a soft sigh. “Ever since her rise, I think she took on too much of the alicorn that offered,” Shiro looked down the throne room towards the door. “I still see a part of her within that changeling.” “What happened?” Celestia straightened up, looking at Shiro. “She will tell in due time.”