Chapter 24
1,000 Years Prior…
What a miracle the Crystal Empire had been. For over two centuries, the residents of the realm had worked hard to bring the beauty of the outside world to the frozen north of the world. No ponies had ever even bothered before with the permafrost… and there were rumors windigos would devour any who even managed to start a settlement. Yet here, against all odds, a humble farming community had managed to take root around the massive crystal spire that pointed towards the break in the cloud cover over the tundra wasteland. Fields were being tilled in the ancient town by skilled earth ponies, pegasus blacksmiths and craftsmen created all the tools and armors they could ever need, and the unicorns managed their generous supply of the almighty energy crystal. Perhaps soon, their wealth and success would even make Equestria jealous!
One of the largest farms in the country, perhaps its oldest, was built over almost the entire eastern section of the empire, so far that the gates ended just a mile from the palace grounds. The fertile soil and bright southern exposure made the land perfect for farming grain, just as its owner, the wise old farmer Fall Barley predicted. A gentle and compassionate earth pony stallion, the elderly laborer with a mane of gray and coat of blue smiled as he looked at the tall blades of wheat that covered his property. The golden sea of grain was getting close to being ready to cut down with his vast collection of sickles passed down to him by his own father. Yet, neither the delectable grain nor his collection of the best tools bits could buy was his true prize in life.
His old eyes moved over to what really mattered to him, his own daughter, Autumn Wheat. His last remaining family member, and his only foal… the lovely mare who would carry on the legacy and tradition of the oldest farm in the Crystal Empire. Her coat was as white as the finest alabaster, and her wild mane of Amethyst with layers of royal purple flowed behind her… as much as her hair ribbons allowed that was. It made Barley’s heart swell with pride to see his daughter so interested in agriculture as himself, and he couldn’t help but smile as he watched her sharp robin’s egg blue eyes dart back and forth towards the ground, searching for any weeds that might be sapping off the crop.
“I think we’ve gotten them all, honey bunch,” he laughed coarsely, his age starting to damage his voice, “there ain’t much left for us to do until after we’ve cut it all down.”
“I know daddy, I’m just… well, I want this to be the best harvest we’ve ever had,” she said, a bit morosely, “it’ll be the first one… without mom.”
Fall Barely walked up to his daughter, careful to crush as little of the tall grain as possible, “Aw, Autumn, I know you miss her so much… so do I. But you know, love is what’s kept this Empire and our crop alive. We should be happy remembering her.”
“I guess,” answered his daughter, shedding a few tears, “I just feel so alone!”
“Well, you’re getting older,” answered the kind farmer, smiling, “do you think maybe it’s time you started making eyes at the stallions?”
“Oh dad!” she laughed, pushing him away and choking on her previous tears, “Come on. I’m not putting anything off.”
“When you feel ready, kiddo,” he answered, a twinkle in his eye, “but hey, since we are all done here with the crop for today, you should go have fun with your friends anyways. I’ll have supper on by the time you get back.”
“All right,” Autumn Wheat responded, smiling, “I’ll bring something home for ya.”
Barley smiled, his wrinkled face still showing the joy he held instead, “I’d love that. Have a good time, sweetie.”
After carefully leaving the field of grain belonging to her family, Autumn trotted happily down the country path towards the still-growing village near the Crystal Palace. She had planned on bringing her father home some nice flowers cut from a friend’s garden. They had all been very supportive of her recovery since the loss of her mother, and would likely be willing to part with some extra roses or lilies to keep their house fresh.
The dirt path was lined with tall bushes growing fresh raspberries, which of course attracted some of the sweetest songbirds on the planet. High above, the thermal barrier projected by the Crystal Heart made the existence of everything below possible, and sometimes Autumn Wheat couldn’t help but stare at it in wonder.
A rustling came from one of the bushes ahead, making her stop and stare at the shaking plant. Being cautious about ambushes on the way to the market as her dad had warned her since foalhood, the earth pony prepared herself just in case she needed to attack.
Lowering her head and scraping her hoof, she shouted, “Come on out of there, you!”
“Easy, I don’t mean any trouble,” came a gentle, masculine voice.
The bush parted, and out stepped a graphite-coated unicorn pony, with slicked back hair as black as the night sky. His jade green eyes met hers while he exited the bush, but what struck Autumn Wheat the most about her new “guest” was his cutie mark, a cluster of red crystals in a dark black rock.
“Hey!” she said, “You’re one of those Shadow Ponies!”
For a year now, the Crystal Empire had been receiving visits from bands of ponies outside the thermal barrier. Not Equestrians, for they were odd in that they all had the same exact style of cutie mark, clusters of crystals of a different color. In addition, the majority of their kind had coats of various shades of gray and black, which ironically was contrasted starkly by their social and outgoing behavior when they visited the empire.
Every few weeks, a large group of the foreigners would arrive outside the barrier, asking for entry so that they could trade with the locals. Some of the wealthier residents were not too thrilled with the idea given their dark appearance and lack of totally unique cutie marks, but the Shadow Ponies always seemed to have cartloads of magical tools and vanity items that the Crystal Empire sorely desired. As a result, these humble outsiders were permitted entry just to trade with the locals, although they strangely never sent a single political representative to establish anything permanent.
“What are you doing here?” Autumn Wheat demanded to know, “You’re trespassing on private land!”
“I know, and I’m sorry,” he answered, “I wanted to know what life is like inside the Crystal Empire! It’s so beautiful here!”
A bit stunned, she raised her head and asked curiously, “What about your home? Isn’t it pretty there, too?”
“It’s nothing like here,” answered the stallion honestly, his eyes scanning over every inch of her body, “we’ve got farmland like this, and thick forests, but… mostly just huge crystals. I find it rather boring outside our city.”
Autumn Wheat could see his embarrassment over having been caught going through the bushes, and the fact that his graphite colored coat was turning a bit red.
“You liar,” she scoffed, smirking at him, “I think you find something else pretty here!”
He cleared his throat and answered meekly, “Well, I suppose I do, Autumn Wheat. You Crystal Ponies are so beautiful, with your colorful coats and unique flank markings. All we have are different colored eyes, crystals, and hair… if we’re lucky.”
“Hey, how’d you know my name!?” she asked, startled that she might be getting stalked.
“Oh!” he gasped, “I may have spent some time with your friends before I, um… came here. I have something for you.“
She raised an eyebrow, “Ya do?”
Reaching into a bag tied around his waist with his aura of magic, the unicorn nodded, “Yes, here you are...”
Out of the bag came a small silver box with a drum on the top, small bumps covering it. A large key stuck out of the side, and a comb of sorts sat at the base right where the bumps would meet the tongs. Winding the key, the mysterious stallion set the box down on the road in front of the mare, and slowly the drum turned. As the bumps hit the tongs, a peaceful, relaxing tune played for the mare, who recognized it instantly. It was Goodnight My Joyful Foal, an ancient lullaby passed on from bard to bard from Equestria to within the Empire.
But for Autumn Wheat, the history of the song meant so much more, “My stars… this is the song… my mother used to sing for me at night, when I was a filly,” she said slowly, tears coming to her eyes, “how did… how did you know?”
“As I said, your friend, Pearl Bow, told me everything,” he answered gently, “you have such wonderful friends, Autumn Wheat.”
“I know,” she answered, “I… I can’t thank you enough for this gift, stranger.”
“Sombra...” he answered, smiling, “my name is Sombra. I must be honest, with you, Autumn. When I first came here to the Crystal Empire, I saw you in the town square, and I knew I had to meet with you.”
“That’s a bit strange,” she answered, blushing a bit.
“Perhaps, but of all the mares I’ve, um, gotten to know,” he continued, starting to sweat a bit, “you are perhaps the most beautiful, and the most hard working!”
“So all of this just to win my heart, huh?” she asked, standing firm and cold.
Sombra took a deep breath and answered, “Yes. I have developed feelings for you.”
To his surprise, she loosened up and batted her eyelashes at him, “You sure do talk funny. But ya know something? If my friends like you, and you went to all this trouble just to give me something that reminds me of mom… well, you’re worth something!”
Autumn Wheat tucked the music box into her own saddlebag, eager to show it to her father later. She then moved in close to the Shadow Pony, her eyes half shut, and Sombra moved in himself, expecting the most sweet of affections. Unfortunately, she stopped short and brushed off something from his coat.
“You had a raspberry thorn stuck in ya,” she laughed.
Sombra gave her a look of disgust, but Autumn Wheat winked at him, non-verbally asking him to follow her into town. Rolling his eyes, and wondering why he’d decided to fall for such a silly mare, he gave a disgusted snort and trotted to catch up with her.
“Daddy’s gonna have my hide for this,” she thought, “I’ve got something for a foreigner!”
She brought him to the center of town, then just a sprawling village of stone walls and thatch roofs, the marketplace near the palace bustling with activity as the local farmers sold their wares to each other and prepared what they couldn’t sell for shipping outside the empire. Sombra made sure to smile at his kin whenever he saw another Shadow Pony, some his closest friends gave him a nod of approval seeing him with such a beautiful local mare.
“Your kind are so unique,” she said to him, “I never even knew there’d be ponies out there with the same cutie mark! Don’t you all have different talents?”
“We do,” he answered smoothly, “but there are many more things about us you have yet to learn. I’m sure I could tell you, if you’d be willing to tell me a little more about… this land.”
Autumn didn’t follow, “Huh?”
“The story of The Crystal Empire? How this magnificent palace was built?” Sombra asked, smiling as he lifted his head, getting a fantastic view of the Crystal Palace, light radiating from the massive tower’s center.
“I’d love to tell ya the legend of how we came here!” she laughed, “It’ll be the perfect thing to talk about at the little tea house we’re goin’ to.”
When they arrived at the cozy shop, just a simple place with a few wooden tables set outside, Miss Wheat was greeted by the local tea farmer. She looked a little concerned about the presence of the foreigner at her shop, but Autumn had been a long-time consumer of her teas, and was reassured quite thoroughly that Sombra was harmless. Soon the two of them were sitting down comfortably at the wooden table, sipping on a nice minty brew with the town life moving around them. A few of Autumn’s friends passed by, and the other mares, dressed in their traditional bows and gowns, giggled as they knew their plan to get the two ponies together had worked.
Sombra couldn’t help but wave in thanks, and returned his attention to the cup of tea in front of him. Using his magic, he took a long sip from the chipped clay cup.
“So how’d you meet my friends anyways?” she asked curiously.
He responded, “Well, when I spotted you in the marketplace first, you were brushing your hair by the public well. I was told to kindly keep my tongue from hanging out of my mouth by your best friend, Sashes Bright.”
“Yup, that’s Sashes all right. Any stallion who’s ever had something for me has had to talk to her first,” she sighed, shaking her head.
“I’m sure she only meant well,” he answered, “but a lot like the music box I crafted for you, I made her a gift as well. A set of fine combs carved from the crystal of my homeland. As you can imagine, she was very grateful for it.”
“You made those for her? She was bragging yesterday about a strong, handsome gentlecolt who gave ‘em to her,” added Autumn, feeling a warm sensation in her heart, “she said she’d… introduce us.”
“Perhaps hiding in the bushes was the least polite way to do it, but your other closest companion, Thistle Whims suggested that,” he chuckled, taking another swig, “you have the most endearing friends, truly, Autumn Wheat. I hope she enjoys that light rune I made for her, she did complain about her inability to find her way around at night, after all.”
His complex language, his smooth voice, his great hair and kindness to her friends… Autumn felt as if there really was quite a lot to this stallion. Maybe her daddy wouldn’t want to bury him in the fields after all!
Sombra caught her staring into his green eyes and smirked, “Is something wrong?”
“So um, the story of the Crystal Empire!” she said slowly, blushing brightly, “Sorry, I was trying to think of it.”
She began her story after clearing her throat, “Well it’s kind of a legend, but… long ago… there was a beautiful unicorn princess named Agape Crystalline, a pony who loved everyone unconditionally no matter what they looked liked or who they were...”
“The princess led a small kingdom of faithful ponies who dug for their magical crystals in the mountains. Every day, they left their home in the south and braved the horrible cold to mine in the north. It was sometimes very dangerous, and princess Agape spent a lot of her time healing the frostbitten.”
Sombra leaned in, staring into the deep allure of her eyes while she went on with the lore of her homeland.
“...and one day, the princess found a shy, but dutiful stallion who fought with the same love and passion she did to ease the pains of her ponies. They married, and had a single daughter and son. The son’s name was a royal name, quite hard to understand, but it meant Brotherly Love.”
“One day… a very evil sorcerer with the head of a goat came, and challenged the Crystal Ponies. They fought back bravely and won, but Brotherly Love was struck by the sorcerer, turned forever into a pillar of crystal. The prince and princess, along with their surviving daughter, were left in grief.”
Sombra wasn’t sure a lot of it was true necessarily, but the passion with which Autumn spoke made him feel even stronger about his love for her.
“The pillar lasted for a few days, buried in flowers for the lost prince. But one day, when they returned, the pillar had vanished, replaced by a large cut crystal in the shape of a heart. Filled with magical power, perhaps the spirit of the lost Prince itself… the Heart began to act on its own, cutting a path of warmth through the frozen north. The Crystal Ponies followed the magical heart, until it came to rest near the mountains, where in a blaze of light and magic it formed the land you see here!”
Autumn noticed her “date” was dozing off a bit, “SOMBRA!”
“AHHH!” he shouted, jumping up a bit, “I’m terribly sorry, Autumn… I was, staring at the palace. Where the Heart is now.”
“Oh!” she answered, looking back over her own shoulder, “Yeah, forgot about that. The Palace was built as a place to protect the Heart and let its power be shared across the entire Empire! Course, I dunno if there ever really was a Prince Brotherly Love or anything like that. But we came here in the cold with that magic Heart, and it made it a great place to live!”
“Indeed,” agreed Sombra, aiming to butter her up, “and it has helped to raise some of the most loving, understanding ponies I have ever met. Including you, Autumn Wheat. Such beauty and love comes from you, such passion into your grain. Will you...”
He felt her hoof pushed against his lips, silencing him. Sombra’s heart burst with joy, knowing she would agree to what he was going to say next, but not wanting to make a big deal out of it.
“Woah, um, Sombra… I think I need you to at least meet my daddy first before it gets all serious,” she answered, cheeks turning red, “I’ll… I’ll definitely want to see you again though, tomorrow! Please wait for me!”
She got up from the table and left, feeling happy and very much in love on the inside. But despite the time she lived in, there were still a few formalities and customs to go through, at least concerning her dad.
Sombra, on the other hand, reclined back in his seat and whispered, “I… I’ve finally found a mare I can call my own.”
Across from him, walking down the street, moving the commoners out of the way, was a powerful aristocrat by the name of Lattice. Her curled, bouncy hairdo of white and light blue held up with bright orange head ribbons stopped moving as she did, having heard what that disgusting stallion had just said about one of her citizens. The mare’s bright pink coat seemed to clash with her mane and long tail held in place with yet another ribbon, but her purple eyes really completed the mess of colors she was. Although the Crystal Empire lacked a princess at the moment, she considered herself to be the de facto one given her wealth and influence in the city council.
And unfortunately, she wasn’t nearly as loving or understanding as her predecessors.
“That foreigner just tried to court Miss Autumn Wheat?!?!” she thought to herself, “Those Shadow Ponies are trouble, I just know it! They must be dealt with before they start mingling with the Crystal Pony bloodline!”
With hate in her heart, she felt the warmth of a ray aimed at her from inside the spire. Ignoring it with the assumption it was just the hot afternoon sun, her wicked mind began concocting a plan to deal with her hated enemy, and she refused to look at the “ugly” Sombra any longer as she trotted back for the Palace.
Sombra took notice of the rich mare, and felt a twinge of anger, having picked up on her disgust from even that distance. Perhaps the majority of the Crystal Ponies would never accept his kind, but he was determined to succeed no matter what the odds were.
“I will wait for you, Autumn Wheat,” he resolved, standing up from the table, “tomorrow we will meet again. I don’t care what others think of us, we will make this work, together! It is what your Empire stands for...”
“Love...”