//------------------------------//
// Chapter 18: The Crystalling 
// Story: Redemption 
// by Mystic_Knightwolf 
//------------------------------//

As the months rolled by, Blueblood had his mind on the Crystalling Ceremony that was to take place shortly after the birth of Cadence and Shining Armor's daughter.

Over the months that led up to that event, despite their new bond, Blueblood and Shining still didn't have much occasion to meet up. Not because they still harbored dislike for each other, far from it, but as princes, they had duties to uphold. Blueblood was a master wielder of magic, tutoring Trixie, a prominent public figure to attend parties and occasionally listen to the day court, an appointed ambassador once he made light of his friendships with the other races, and a guardian to Equestria, though that role never really needed to be exercised. Not by him, anyway. 

Shining Armor was the co-ruler of an empire and had to deal with all the duties that came with the title, whether that be hearing the people in the court, managing the guard, the treasury, the stadium, and so on. But on top of that, he had the Crystalling to prepare for and the bundle of joy that brought forth the need for the ceremony. 

A week ago, Blueblood had received an emergency letter from his friends in the dragon kingdom, calling for his help in dealing with wendigoes, as they had little defense against creatures that embodied the freezing cold. Celestia and Luna were distraught to see him go, so close to the birth of his niece, but Blueblood was adamant, refusing to ignore the call to help. But he did promise to return in time for the ceremony.

And speaking of, there was still a whole laundry list of things to do the day of, but progress was steadily being made with the added help of Trixie, who arrived at the crack of dawn with the princesses to see the little one. 

When it was time to meet Twilight, Starlight, and the girls at the train station, however, Cadence was the one to greet them. There were bags under her eyes and her mane was a mess, but she still had an infectious smile that spread to Spike and the girls as they arrived.

But once they talked, the pleading tone in Cadence's voice couldn't be ignored. "Hi Twilight. Did Blueblood make it with you? Please tell me Blueblood was able to make it."

But Twilight was only confused. "He's not here? Didn't the princesses and Trixie get here earlier?"

"Well, they did, but Blueblood promised he'd come back to Equestria in time for the ceremony." But that begged another question. "You don't know?"

"I... guess I don't. Where is he? Is he taking a trip?" How could Blueblood miss one of the most important days in his sister's life? For his sake, she hoped it was for a good reason...

"About a week ago, he left to help his friends in the dragon kingdom. We haven't heard from him since."

"Oh, that's terrible." 

"That's just so... so... unfortunate."

"What they hay is he doing in the dragon kingdom?! He knows today is the most important day of your life!"

"I'm sure it was for a good reason..."

"What reason can it be that can overrule meeting your own niece?"

"He'd better be here! He should be here!"

Of course, it was Applejack to be the one to talk her down. "Girls, let's jus' all calm down! Now, we all know Blueblood ain't the type uh' pony ta turn up missin' unless it were fer a good reason. If it's som' like his friends bein' in trouble, who're we ta stop 'im?"

And it was Twilight to get everypony back on track. "Applejack's right. Did he at least say what he was leaving for?"

"He just said he had friends that needed his help. He didn't tell me or anypony at the castle the details. Aunt Luna said he wanted us to focus on the ceremony. That's all we can do now." 

"I can say with certainty that Blueblood now is not a pony to break his word. I, for one, have faith he will make it in time."

"Rarity's right. Let's move on. I can't wait to see my niece!"

XXXXX

"But I thought alicorn wings had to be earned through some great, princess-worthy deed!" It was safe to say that everypony, Rarity included, were utterly blown away by the display of wings and a horn on the little foal.

"Yeah. How can ya jus' be born with 'em?" Applejack inquired, unable to piece it together herself.

"The birth of an alicorn is something Equestria's never seen."

"Suffice it to say, Celestia and I were unicorns before we inherited day and night. The little one here is beyond even our understanding." 

But that gave Twilight food for thought. "I thought you and Luna were both born alicorns."

Celestia shook her head. "Not until we inherited the heavens."

"We were but unicorns until then, Celestia and I."

"Okay, I am... made of questions right now." Leave it to Rainbow to speak the mind of everypony in the room. "Like, what was goin' on before you guys?"

As interesting as it would be to indulge the girls and their curiosity, it went without saying that they had more pressing matters to attend to, evidenced by the happily laughing and giggling winged ball of pink that Cadence had managed to catch with her magic. Celestia smiled. "It... is a discussion for another day."

Luna nodded. "I agree. Today is a celebration for the little one. Alas, it would not be fair if we spent our time worrying about our family origins or our absent prince, as pressing as the matter may be."

"Right! So, back to the little one..."

"I bet she's a super strong flyer and an ultra powerful magic user!"

"As far as super strong flying goes, I know all about it!"

"And Trixie, Starlight, Blueblood and I can keep tabs on her magic!"

"Trixie should mention that in the short hours before you arrived, we've come to learn that her magic is at the very least twice as strong as any unicorn foal. But let us not get ahead of ourselves. Parenting comes before flight and magic. And with a large family of aunts and uncles, biological or otherwise," Trixie gestured abroad to all in the room; Shining and Cadence, the princesses, as well as Twilight and the girls. "She can look forward to a very happy life."

"I can't agree more, Trixie." An elated Cadence then looked to her husband, bouncing the foal in her arms. "Shining, can you take care of things while I go get ready?"

XXXXX

Rarity nodded in satisfaction as she had just finished freshening up Shining's mane with a handy brush.

When the prince saw Cadence and the royal sisters arrive at the Crystal Tower's sanctum, he ran up to join her. "Okay! I chose the honor guard, picked the purity crystal, and I know exactly who I want to be our crystaller!" With everypony's help, preparations seemed well underway. "So, all we need is..." Drat, he always forgets the last thing on the list...

Cadence wasn't amused. "The baby?"

That was it! "Right! Twilight should be-"

"We're here!" Twilight cried as she, Pinkie, and the baby showed up on the scene. Twilight was the only one walking, while the foal was flying loops in Twilight's magic bubble, not even Pinkie Pie's weight being enough to keep her down.

"She's a reeealy strong flyer." Pinkie pointed out, evident to the aerial acrobatics she was taking part in on account of the foal she was holding.

Smiling, Cadence ignited her magic, creating another magic bubble from Twilight's, separating Pinkie Pie and the baby. But whereas Pinkie cheerily waved to the little one as she floated back down next to Twilight, the foal didn't want to be separated from her new friend. 

Her lip trembled, tears welled in her teal eyes, telltale signs of a baby about to burst into tears. Cadence held her hoof out to catch the crying infant to comfort her, but what she had in store was more than anypony could have prepared for.

In a wail loud enough to shatter the bubble she was in and shake the heavens, the infant cried out, the sound rippling across the sanctum, all ponies present struggling to keep from being blown away. 

But that wasn't the worst of it. After the wail had died down, everypony looked to see that the Crystal Heart at the center of the room stopped spinning. Hearts sank as cracks climbed up and all over it, and before a reaction could be made, it shattered, sending shards raining allover the floor under it.

"This does not bode well..." Luna murmured.

"I'm guessin' that this is gonna make it hard to do the Crystallin'?" Applejack piped up, inspecting the shattered remains.

"It's worse than that." Twilight started, moving over to the curtain that separated the sanctum from the outside. "Without the heart, the Crystal Empire's about to be buried under a mountain of ice and snow." She pulled back the curtain with her magic, and off in the distance, dark clouds and howling winds already began encroaching upon the kingdom.

"We need a miracle..."

XXXXX

"Push them back, my sister!" Celestia cried as she and Luna did their best to hold back the storm.

Ice and frost covered them horn to hoof, they were nearly encapsulated in ice, yet they kept the fight up. But try as they might, their magic was no match for the untamed and unruly winds and dark clouds of the storm. They were engulfed in seconds.

XXXXX

Sunburst cradled the alicorn foal as Cadence and Shining gave her a loving kiss on each cheek before joining their horns together, beginning the Crystalling. The giggling foal glowed with an awe-inspiring radiance as she floated up above them for the crystal ponies down below to see.

Rarity presented the purity crystal to Sunburst, who took it within his magic and announced, "Citizens! May I present the newest member of the Crystal Empire!"

The ponies cheered on and adored the majesty before them, awestruck by baby within the light.

"She's beautiful!"

"Oh, it's just so moving!"

As the Crystal Ponies bowed in respect to the newest member of the Crystal Empire, the streets below them glowed a bright crystal blue that spread throughout the entire kingdom. 

With the purity crystal, Sunburst touched it to the ground, absorbing the manifested love and adoration from the streets of the empire and its ponies, and hurried inside to conclude the ceremony.

XXXXX

As the intact Crystal Heart absorbed the now full purity Crystal, it too glowed a blinding light as it reformed with nary a crack on its once more flawless surface. The Crystal Heart was spinning again. The Crystalling was complete.

But there was still one thing.

"Why didn't the storm leave?!" Starlight panicked as the black clouds were still hanging outside.

She looked to Sunburst, who was also panicking. "The Crystal Heart should be more than enough! I have no idea what's going on!"

"Trixie may have a reason why." the former showmare pulled back the curtains to show that overhead, ghastly, ghostlike creatures rising and dipping through the clouds, keeping the storm alive above the kingdom. "Wendigos."

"That's impossible! There can't possibly be a higher concentration of love than here!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Maybe the storm was enough to draw them in?" Celestia tried to reason.

But before anyone could act, what sounded like a thunderclap shook the earth, the deafening noise cutting through even the screeching winds of the storm still raging outside. Everypony looked up into the sky to see what appeared to be a ring of fire, one that burned red.

But once the shock of the first thunderclap died down, dozens more sounded in quick succession, like an all-out fireworks display. Rings of red, orange, purple, and even green burst into existence all around the sky, each ring large enough to encircle several homes. And then there was one last thunderclap. A blue ring burst into existence, wide enough to hoop the spire, and it was directly in front of it. But unlike all the others, the ring was of magic instead of fire.

What everypony saw next froze them where they stood if the ongoing storm already didn't.

Dragons. Lots of them.

Each fire ring, numbering in at least a dozen, brought forth a dragon, one fully grown with wings and a body large enough to cast shadows over entire streets. 

The blue magic ring was the last to bring forth an occupant. But rather than a dragon, what came through it was much larger. A fortress, gleaming a gold, metallic finish, came through the portal, dwarfing all the drakes that flew around it, some even finding a perch among the earthy island the structure was built on. 

Whether the ponies down below were fascinated or to terrified to move was anyone's guess. But there were no draconic shrieks that would typically be taken as a sign of hostility. Just.. a lot of big dragons flying around. 

Rainbow flew off to chase Fluttershy, who streaked back into the spire, but unlike the other ponies present, who were either frozen or dumbstruck, Twilight's eyes widened in realization. "It's Blueblood!"

Cadence looked up, fixated now. "Blueblood?"

"That's his castle!"

Shining was at a loss for words. "He has a castle?"

"It's a long story." Twilight was grinning ear to ear now.

"Uh, if Blueblood has a castle, ya mind tellin' us what they hay he's doin' with a bunch a' dragons?" The question had to be asked.

"Perhaps these are the friends he set off to help, and they are returning the favor." Luna reasoned.

Everypony looked up, and one of the dragons, dark blue scales, black armor, with horns not unlike a ram, flew off from the floating castle and began barking commands. Everypony in the empire could hear the order, "Clear the storm!"

In following with the command, each dragon dove headlong into the black clouds, and in short order and many lights and spectacles later, the storm receded.

The floating castle's front turned to be face-to-face with the Crystal Spire, and as its drawbridge lowered, a lone figure, from the ponies' distance, a speck of white, stepped forth and disappeared in a flash of blue.

Blueblood appeared before them. "I... take it I'm late."