//------------------------------// // Crystal Madness // Story: Starlight's Great Adventure // by Discord The Narrator //------------------------------// Some time later, they finally arrived to the Crystal Empire, but they found it like an abandoned house: there was nopony besides them. "Normally, this place is full of crystal ponies, but I don't remember why." said Discord. "The Crystal Heart has so much magic, so everypony must protect it, because it can happen anything with the Heart." said Starlight. "I remember that. With Twilight's help, I saved not just the Crystal Heart, but all the Crystal Empire. I did that some time ago, when it was attacked by King Sombra." told Spike, remembering the moment in which King Sombra almost won. "Of course, I had some help. Heheheh." Starlight already knew that, but Discord was surprised and amused at the same time. He tried to think about that while he was eating a box of popcorn (including the stripes of the same box). At some point, they started to think what could have happened when they discovered the trap they just got in. In just a couple of seconds, ponies started to appear, surrounding them. They were the crystal ponies, but they looked so different... Red eyes... Zombie-like behavior... It was clear: they were monsters too. ________________________________ "Right. Midnight Sparkle said that the meteor spread its dark magic to all of Equestria." said Starlight. "Tell me. We don't have to fight them, do we?" asked Spike. "When we are done with you, there won't be anypony to remember your story!" "Okay, we need to fight. Get ready." demanded Discord. The next moments were tiring for the three of them. The crystal zomponies attacked them from all places. But they didn't have it so easy. With Spike's determination, Discord's fun and Starlight's magic, the battle was looking bad for the zomponies. Even when they attacked in groups, they barely scratched Discord's belly, which made him laugh. "That tickles! Hahahahaha!!" said Discord, before firing some pies against them. After some minutes of fight, magic and more pies, the zomponies retreated, leaving our friends alone once more. ________________________________ "Okay. Now that we dealed with that problem, which one of these is Sunburst's house?" asked Discord. "Maybe... Yes... I think I remember it from the last time I was here!" answered Starlight, with pride on her face. Instead of walking, they ran because there wasn't going to be long until the zomponies returned. After a couple of minutes looking between streets and houses, they found the way to Sunburst's house. Starlight knocked on the door, but there was no response. "Maybe he is not inside. Maybe he is a zompony too. Or maybe..." said Starlight. "Maybe he is deaf." finished Discord, approaching the door. Spike and Starlight prepared themselves for Discord's great knock, but somehow, he slipped his arms and mouth under the door, materialized a megaphone and shouted: "SUNBUUUUURST!!! WE KNOW YOU ARE IN THEEEEEEEERE!!! COME OOOOOUT!!!" And five seconds later, a confused (and barely deaf) Sunburst appeared on the door. He opened it a little, revealing Discord's face. "Ugh! What do you want? You nearly got me deaf!" demanded Sunburst. "Open more." said Discord. Sunburst did that, revealing Spike and Starlight. "Oh! Hello there! Come in now!" said Sunburst, making them enter inside his house. ________________________________ "It's so good to see you, Sunburst. We thought you were a zompony." said Starlight "We? Please..." said Discord. "I'm glad to see that we are not the only survivors of the meteor. When the meteor stroke Ponyville, its magic started to spread around, so I casted a shield to protect me. Then, I hid in my house because out there is really dangerous with the other ponies being infected." "But those are not zomponies. They look evil, with red eyes and that, but they don't eat other ponies." explained Sunburst. "Still, we can call them 'zomponies' without any problem." said Spike. "Wait. You said 'we'? Are there more survivors?" asked Starlight. "Yes. Cadence, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart! They are in the palace right now! Like me, they summoned a magic shield against the meteor's magic, but they are trapped because some crystals are blocking the doors!" explained Sunburst. "Okay. We need to save them. And then, we will go to Ponyville and see how is the panorama in there." said Starlight. ________________________________ So the group got out carefully and quietly, because they didn't know if the zomponies would come back. Eventually, they arrived to the center of the Crystal Empire, where the palace was. "So there it is." said Spike. "I saw it so many times, but it is still amazing!" admitted Discord. "We need to find an entrance. If we don't see any not-crystallized door, we will have to break them." said Starlight. So they began to search around the palace for an entrance. If it was just Starlight, it would take so much time to find it. But Sunburst, Spike and Discord were there to help, taking just a minute to find a crystal-covered entrance. "Look at those crystals... They look... Delicious..." said Spike. "Are you sure?" asked Starlight. "Let him do it. Dragons have a special taste in crystals and gems. I think it cannot be a big problem." said Sunburst. "Okay. Here I go." said Spike, preparing his teeth. ________________________________ And Sunburst wasn't lying. Being really hungry, Spike took a few minutes to eat the crystals, revealing the door. "I'm impressed..." admitted Discord. "But there could be more blocked doors, so let's hope you still want to eat." Fortunately for Spike's stomach, there was just one door left. When Spike ate all the crystals blocking it, the door opened, revealing Cadence, Shining Armor and Flurry Heart, who were surprised of Spike's hunger. "Wow. A dragon beating my magic." said Shining. "I forgive you." responded Spike. "That's because the crystals were made from magic capable of beating other magic, but too weak against a dragon's mouth." explained Sunburst. "Okay. So we are ready to go to Ponyville." said Starlight. "We still have a problem, Starlight. The train was destroyed by the CMC." said Discord. "Then, what do we do?" asked Spike. Everypony thought about it, until Cadence talked. "If we combine our magic, we can repair the train and take it!" "Then, don't waste more time. Let's go back to the Wastelands and find it." said Starlight. ________________________________ After a good walk at the Crystal Empire's streets, some fights with zomponies and the Wastelands, they found the crashed train. "To think that the CMC did this... That's horrible..." said Sunburst. "How is Twily, Starlight?" asked Shining. "She transformed into some pony called 'Midnight Sparkle', and she is the responsible of this madness." answered Starlight. "My Celestia..." muttered Shining. "Let's just combine our magic with this spell I have here. It should work." explained Sunburst, showing the spell to Starlight, Shining Armor, Cadence and Discord. Meanwhile, Flurry Heart and Spike watched as they charged up all the magic needed to restore the train. When they finished, Discord teleported to the locomotive to try and make it work. A couple of seconds later, his voice boomed. "All aboard!!" So they did as told, and took the train to visit whatever was Ponyville right now. ________________________________ And that mare smiled as she continued to play a song on the organ, inside that creepy and ancient castle...