//------------------------------//
// The Crystal Mission 
// Story: Flash Sentry, Crystal Darkness 
// by Banshee531 
//------------------------------//


A Thousand Years Later...


A month had passed since the invasion of Canterlot.

One month since the Changeling Queen Chrysalis had kidnapped and replaced the Princess of Love, in an attempt to weaken her fiancé so he could not perform the shield spell that protected the royal city. Luckily, the Princess of Love Cadance, had been saved by her now sister-in-law and honorary brother. With her help, Shining Armor was able to use his spell to banish the invading changelings and the wedding could go on without a hitch.

Now a month later, we find ourselves in the canyon outside Ponyville. In the rock formation is the young Defender of the Peace, apprentice knight Flash Sentry, standing in the center with his Celestic Gear Lightbringer in hoof. Standing several feet away from him were his teammates and fellow Defenders of the Peace, Iron Core with Piecemaker and the young jakhowl Springer.

Iron grinned as he spun Piecemaker in his hoof. "Hope you're ready Sentry."

"Yeah," Springer was stretching his body out in preparation, "because we're not going easy on you."

Flash smirked a confidant smile before spinning Lightbringer around, resting the blade on his shoulder. "I wouldn't want you to." He closed his eyes, only for them to shoot open two new blank eyes. "Theta Mode!" he yelled before glaring at the duo, giving them a 'come on' stance with his hooves. "Bring it on!"

"It's brought, ya wuss!" Iron cried as he pointed his weapon at the pegasus. "Iron Lance Fury!" A barrage of iron projectiles shot off the spear's tip, all aimed at the orange pegasus. Seeing the projectiles, Flash spun his sword one more time as the smirk on his face grew. He already knew how to dodge every shard of iron. Cocking his hoof, Flash spun his blade around him at high speed, instantly destroying everything without even taking off.

As he destroyed every last piece, he saw a new threat running towards him. It was Springer, yelling as he raised both of his paws as they started glowing before turning into a three clawed weapon. "My turn! Steel Paw!" Springer leap forward, both paws now swiping at the defender. Flash quickly blocked the first two blows, only to flare his wings as he suddenly took to the sky before Springer could do a third swipe.

"Flash Cutter!" Flash yelled as he swung his glowing sword, unleashing an energy wave at Iron.

The earth pony raised his weapon. "Iron Guard Shield!" The spearhead transformed into a shield, blocking the attack instantly. Seeing the block, Flash started to frown before he felt something under him. He looked down, only to see an Aura Blast coming his way, causing the pegasi to drop down to dodge the sphere.

However, this was what Springer wanted, as he created a bone-shaped staff of energy. "Bone Breaker!" As the weapon swung downward, Flash blocked again with his sword. But as he did, Springer's right paw let go of the bone and created a Steel Paw. He quickly swiped at Flash, only for Flash to suddenly spin in the air, kicking the jakhowl in the head with his back hoof.

"Nice try bud," Flash said as he flapped his wings, still slightly suspended in the air. He watched as Springer land on the ground, creating a Bone Breaker as he did while Iron started prepping his weapon. Flash cricked his neck, ready to go another round before-

"FLASH!"

Flash froze midair before looking towards the source of the voice. There, he saw a rainbow blur flying towards him at high speed, eventually coming to a stop mere inches away from ramming into him. It was Rainbow Dash, which Flash gave her a curious look. "What's up Rainbow?" He asked as they slowly glided down, turning off his Theta Mode.

Rainbow took a deep breath before pointing to the town behind her. "Twilight sent me. The two of you have been called to Canterlot."

Flash raised an eyebrow at this. "Ooookay. Did the message have any details on it?"

Flash, along with Iron and Springer, watched Rainbow think for a moment, only for her to shrug her shoulders. "Wasn't really paying attention until Twilight asked me to find you."

"Of course you weren't," Flash sighed before motioning to his back. "Come on, buddy." Springer quickly hopped on as the defender took to the sky, Rainbow and Iron close behind them.

One transition to the library later...

Flash opened the door to his home, only to be greeted with the sight of the rest of his friends watching Twilight Sparkle rush around the room in a frantic panic. The sight made him want to sigh, but instead, he stepped up to Applejack while pointing at Twilight, "How long has this been going on?"

The cowpony shook her head. "Since dat letter showed up. Since then, she's bin looking for everything she thinks she needs for the test."

"What test?" Springer asked next, hopping off Flash's back.

This time, it was Rarity who answered. "Princess Celestia's letter said she had a test for Twilight and she also wants Flash to come along as well."

"Me?" Flash replied, pointing to himself, "Why would Princess Celestia need me to help Twilight with her test? You know, besides the part where I'll have to calm her down at some point before goes to Canterlot."

Rarity just shrugged. "Not sure darling. Perhaps the test is something extra important?"

"Bah, no way." Flash waved his hoof dismissively, "I've been around long enough to know that any test Princess Celestia gives Twilight is probably no big deal. Heck, one of Princess Celestia's 'tests' back in Canterlot ended up being a simple din-urk!"

Flash let out a yelp as he felt a very familiar, yet painful sensation. It was his ear, all wrapped in Twilight's magic as she pulled him towards her. As Flash grabbed his pain-filled ear, Twilight finished her pulling and began sniffing the stallion. That is, till she showed a face of pure discomfort as she grabbed his neck with her hoof. "Flash...Shower, now!"

"Seriously?" He asked with a deadpan look, rubbing his ear.

Twilight gave him a hard stare, air blasting out of her nostrils. "I'm not having you ruin my chances of passing because your stench knocks the Princess out!"

"But Twi-"

"NOW!" Twilight screamed, causing him to start backpedaling. As he did this, Twilight's magic let go of his ear as she turned around, restarting her mad rush to get everything she needed. "AUGH! I just wasted more time! Where are my quills?!" she yelped before instantly finding them, placing them in her magic as she started levitating them and some books off the shelf. "No, no, no, no, no! AUGH! I need the Magical Compendium Volumes one through forty six...WHERE ARE THEY?!"

Iron tiphoofed up to Flash and whispered. "Shouldn't we stop her?"

Flash gave the earth pony an 'are you serious?' look. "Iron, have you not met Twilight Sparkle? Only Princess Celestia herself can stop her when she gets like this." he said as he pointed back at the purple unicorn, only to see Spike get flattened by the books she was looking for.

"Err...good point." Iron grumbled, rolling his eyes at the sight.

"Flash cards!" Twilight yelped as rushed over to a drawer, magicking out several stacks of cardboard. "Spike!" she tossed them over to the recovering baby dragon. "I'm gonna need you to quiz me...on everything! Everything I've ever learned! NOW!" She glanced back at the stack and saw that they reached to about half way to the roof, only to frown. "That isn't gonna be enough cards." She spun back around and yelled again, "Shower! NOW!"

Flash rolled his eyes again as he motioned himself towards the stairs. That is, till his ears picked up Spike's voice.

"Twilight, calm down. It's just a test."

Flash froze and turned back to the two, knowing what was about to happen.

"Just a test?" Twilight said before rushing at the dragon, grabbing him in a pure manic manner. "JUST A TEST?!" Spike tried to get free, only for Twilight to keep yelling in his ear. "Princess Celestia wants to give me some kind of exam, and you're trying to tell me to calm down because its just a test?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!"

Spike's eyes shrunk as he got free and grabbed a bunch of pillows and a helmet, answering in a meek tone, "Uh...yes?"

Flash winced at his answer, knowing exactly what Twilight's reaction was going to be. Realizing that he didn't want to be in the same room now, he flared his wings and tried to reach the bathroom. That is, till he heard Applejack say something before Twilight let out a loud cry. The next thing he knew, he was suddenly pinned to the floor as the library was magically blasted into the sky, only for his body to hit the ceiling as the building quickly crashed back into the ground. Once the shaking stopped, Flash peeled himself off the roof and looked down, only to see nothing but books, which had all been thrown off their shelves due to Twilight's outburst. One by one, his friends dug themselves out of the sea of hard back bindings, none seeming to have been hurt in the process.

Chuckling at the sight, Flash responded, "Surprisingly, this isn't the worst thing I've seen her do before a test."

"SHOWER!"

"But you just-"

"SHOWER! NOW!"

One Hour Later...

A now fully cleaned Flash was sitting at the train station, his friends all sitting beside him while Twilight rechecked all her things for the twenty-fifth time. The only ones that weren't there were Iron and Springer, as Iron was not called upon and said he would keep collecting the 'Flash keeps skipping out on his job of being the town's guard' tab. Springer on the other hoof, had agreed to look after Scootaloo since Flash was not sure how long he would be gone. Once they boarded the train and it made its way to Equestria's capital, Flash watched as Twilight was now trying to reread nine books at once while being quizzed by Spike. He and the rest of their friends were sitting several rows back, Flash making them move over there so they would not disturb Twilight and suffer her wrath.

A few minutes in, Fluttershy broke the silence. "Should we um...be worried about her?"

Rarity nodded in agreement. "I don't know darling. I will admit I am worried...I haven't seen her this stressed since the 'Want It Need It' and 'Time Travel' incidents."

"She's fine," Flash assured them, waving his hoof dismissively. "She always gets like this when a test approaches. Believe it or not, when we were younger, she would read twelve books at once to prepare. That and uh...practice her magic on me and Spike at the same time."

Applejack let out a long sigh at the sight of her friend. "Does dat girl ever relax?"

Flash chuckled at the question before putting his hooves behind his head. "Not when there's a test she needs to study for. Heck, I'd bet 10 bits that Celestia only told her today because she knew if she told her a week ago, Twilight would be so tired from studying, she'd fall asleep on the test paper." They all laughed at this, only to see Canterlot in the distance out the nearby window. Flash hopped off his seat and motioned to his friends. "We're almost there. We better make sure Twilight doesn't forget anything."

They helped Twilight pack everything up as the train entered the city limits. As it pulled to a stop, the seven ponies and one dragon got off the metal machine as Twilight rechecked everything one more time. She tried to do another, only for Flash to tell her that if she did it again, she's be late. This was enough to make her get going, which they soon arrived at the castle gates.

"Okay," Twilight said once they got close to the giant building. "Flash and I will head inside, you girls will have to stay out here. Sorry."

"That's alright sugarcube," Applejack assured her, patting her friend's back.

"Yeah," Pinkie nodded in agreement. "We'll just go to that awesome Jazzy Juice place again while we're waiting on ya. Heck, after you pass, we'll party till we puke."

Rarity's face became one of disgust at hearing that, only to change back into a smile at her two friends. "Good luck darlings. Whatever it is Princess Celestia has for you, I'm sure you'll do marvelous."

Twilight nodded, gulping at the same time. With this, their friends turned around, walking away to the restaurant. Only Spike remained, wanting to offer his support to Twilight. But as Twilight saw her friends walk away, her whole body shivered in fear, her heart doing backflips. That is, till she felt somepony place a wing on her back, causing her to turn and see a smiling Flash.

"Let's go," he said, causing her to shine a small smile back. Nodding again, the trio went inside, though Spike had to stay in the lounge of the castle while Twilight and Flash reached Canterlot Tower, where the note from earlier told them to go. There, they saw the royal pony sisters Celestia and Luna, standing by the tower's newest stain glass window that depicted the defeat of the changelings, admiring the work of art. Flash also spotted his mentor Grand Hoof, standing a ways off. The look on his face showed Flash that whatever was about to happen, it was going to be serious.

Then, they looked back at the sisters, which had Luna currently talking to Celestia in a slightly depressive tone, "Are you sure about this sister? You do understand what is at stake here, do you not?"

"I do Luna." Celestia replied, leaning down as she put her wing over her sister. "That very reason is why you must not go there right now. Please understand this."

"I..." Luna tried to reply before letting out a long sigh. "Very well. I understand why you're doing this. I'm sorry."

Celestia proceeded to give her sister a small hug as she replied, "I know you miss her, but we must do this first. Alright?"

"Yes sister, I understand." Luna said as she returned the hug. A few seconds later, the embrace ended as Luna then leaned back with a half smile on her face. "I just wish I could go."

"I know. But we must trust them for now, alright?"

Luna nodded back, "Very well. But after this is over, I'm going to-"

However, Luna's words would be interrupted by the sound of Twilight coughing, getting everypony's attention. "You wanted to see us? To uh...give me a test?" Twilight asked, only for Luna to turn and walk past them with a look of slight unease crossed with sadness on her face. The look made Flash feel uneasy, but Twilight didn't notice as she levitated her heavy bag off her back. "I brought my own quills and plenty of paper to show my work." She dropped the bag, causing its jam packed content to fall out and unfurl a scroll along the ground. It was so long that it filled the gap between them and Celestia. Flash turned to his best friend and saw her panicking face.

"Sorry, sorry!" She tried re-rolling the scroll, completely forgetting that she could do it in three seconds by using her magic.

Luckily, Celestia did not forget and did so. "This is a different kind of test Twilight. This test is about something of truly great importance, much more than a quill and paper." she returned the scroll and everything else to the bag, her face not changing the already serious look on it. "The Crystal Empire has returned."

The two young ponies gave her a confused look.

"The crystal what now?" Flash asked her.

Twilight meanwhile, pulled a bunch of books out of her bag. "I'm sorry," she said frantically as she opened one of them. "I-I thought I'd studied. On no, I don't think there's anything in any of my books tha–"

"There wouldn't be. After all, few remember it ever existed at all." Celestia interrupted before Twilight could go into her third panic attack today. The purple unicorn looked up and saw Celestia motioning them to follow her. Soon entering the throne room, Celestia levitated a crystal off of a podium as she continued her explanation, "Even my knowledge of the Empire is limited." The floating crystal in front of them exploded with light, which then turned into a holographic image of a round city with a large crystal castle at its core. "But what I do know is that it contains a powerful magic."

"So what happened to it?" Flash asked as he and Twilight looked at the image in awe. They saw images of many earth ponies whose coats seemed to glow, all looking happy.

Celestia let out a long sigh as she shook her head. "That...is a tale of tragedy. For you see, one thousand years ago, King Sombra, a unicorn whose heart was black as night, took over the Crystal Empire." The image changed to show the city go from being a near utopia to a terrible looking place covered in black crystal spikes. The castle had also transformed into a black, spiked fortress, causing the duo to gulp at the ugly sight. On top of the building, they saw the image of a unicorn with a gray coat, black mane and a curved red horn. He opened his eyes to show that they were a combo of red and green.

"I'm getting a Lightning Blitz feeling here," Flash muttered as he remembered his former foe trying the same thing with Canterlot.

Celestia nodded. "Indeed. And much like Lightning, he was defeated with the help of a Royal Knight." The image showed another of the ponies, this one a unicorn mare whose coat and mane where differing shades of red. "This is Ruby Scarlet, the first and only citizen of the empire to have ever been inducted into the Royal Knights. She was the one who kept Sombra at bay, allowing my sister and I to strike the final blow." Everyone watched as the image of the Royal Sisters flew over the city, their horns glowing as they unleashed a united blast that struck Sombra down. "He was defeated. Turned to shadow, and banished to the ice of the arctic north." They watched as Sombra transformed into a shadowy cloud, which was blown away and sealed under the ice.

"Incredible..." Twilight gasped, blinking at the sight.

"Yeah...no kidding." Flash agreed, crossing his hooves in slight surprise. "So uh...what happened to the Empire? Wouldn't something like this be a major historical event?"

Celestia let out another sigh, her large frown still showing. "Though Sombra was defeated, it was not before he was able to put a curse upon the Empire. A curse that caused it to vanish into thin air." The hologram returned to its crystal form, which Celestia lifted into the air. "Now, let me explain the magic of the Empire. First, if the Empire is filled with hope and love," the crystal glowed a rainbow of colors, turning into a shining light illuminated beyond the holographic city. "Those things are reflected across all of Equestria."

Flash and Twilight stared in wide eyes at this, shocked at the amazing sight before them. That is, till Celestia tapped her hoof, getting their attention. There, she let out a low growl as she continued. "However, if hatred and fear take hold..." Her eyes suddenly turned bright green, her horn sparking a purple magic that struck the crystal. It changed into a colorless gray before projecting a shadow that moved over to the two ponies. Suddenly, bunch of black crystals shot out the ground, surrounding the two before Celestia shined a beam of light, instantly destroying the dark magic. The two turned back to the princess, only to then see Grand Hoof walk up next to her as Celestia then said, "Which is why I need your help in finding a way to protect it."

Twilight's eyes kept getting wider. "You want us to help protect an entire empire?!"

Celestia nodded as she returned the crystal to its podium. "It is, as I said, a different kind of test. But one I'm certain you will pass."

"What about me?" Flash asked as he pointed to himself. "Where do I come into this?"

This time, it was Grand Hoof who spoke. "Your mission is to help keep the empire safe until Twilight can find a way to permanently protect it. That, and there is also somepony there that I wish for you to meet. Ruby Scarlet."

Flash titled his head in confusion. "The knight who helped beat Sombra? Isn't she like...dead? You did say this happened a thousand years ago, right?"

Celestia shook her head, "No. The curse displaced the entire empire out of time. As such, everypony inside the empire has not aged a day. To them, it will be like only a day has passed when the curse ended."

Hearing this, something clicked in Flash's head. "She's the lost knight, isn't she?"

Celestia smiled, nodding. "So you've heard about that. Yes, Ruby is the lost knight."

Flash blinked at this, his head now lost in thought. As he thought about all the new information, Twilight spoke up, "Alright, how do we begin the test princess?"

"By joining Princess Cadance and Shining Armor in the Crystal Empire," Celestia explained as she began walking past them.

"My brother's there?" Twilight asked as she started following the princess.

Flash was about to follow, only to feel a hoof on his shoulder. It was Grand Hoof, who then asked, "Okay kiddo, what's wrong? Why ya lost in thought?"

"Huh?" Flash hopped in place, his eyes going wide at his statement.

Grand chuckled at the sight. "Come on lad, I've known you long enough to know how you feel from a single look. Now, what's the problem?"

Flash let out a long sigh. "Yeah...sorry. I'm just wondering...well, why send me? I mean, something like this, it seems like the kind of thing a real knight should be charged with. I'm just an apprentice, and you want me to protect an empire? I'm not ready for something like that. And also, why not send Iron? This is right up his alley."

"True," Grand agreed, nodding.

"Then why pick me for this?"

Grand placed both of his front hooves on the young pegasus, looking him straight in the eye. "Because protecting the Empire is only half of this mission."

Flash blinked, confusion on his face. "What's the other half?"

Grand stepped away from the pegasus and started walking down the hall, Flash on his heel. "I chose you for this because you have a power that you've barely scratched the surface on."

Flash tilted his head again, thinking about what he meant. "Wait...do you mean the power that protected me from Discord and Chrysalis? But I don't even know what that is, let alone how to control it. I mean-" He would have kept going, but hearing Grand chuckle made him stop.

"As impressive as that is, that's not the power I was talking about." This statement made Flash go blank, his mind now completely lost. Seeing this, Grand patted Flash's side with his hoof, "I'm talking about your ability to make friends."

Now Flash was really lost. "Come again?"

Grand chuckled again, shaking his head. "Good grief kiddo, you should know this by now." He put his hooves on Flash's shoulders again, "Listen lad, the knight Princess Celestia mentioned earlier, Ruby Scarlet, she has been gone for over a thousand years. The knights from her era are all gone, their descendants lost to time. Despite this, with all the danger that has been threatening Equestria lately, we need her to rejoin the Royal Knights."

"Ooookay." Flash replied, rapidly blinking. "And uh....you want me to make her join?"

"That's right lad. Out of all the knights and apprentices, you have the unique skill to make almost anypony trust you. You were able to make Iron open up to others, something even Sky couldn't do."

"That was more Fluttershy than me."

"But you were there as well." Grand shook his apprentice with his hooves, still glaring at his eyes. "I know you can do this."

Flash stared at his mentor for a few seconds, the statement of trust melting into his mind. That alone was enough as Flash gave his teacher a confident nod. "I won't let you down."

Grand chuckled again, only to then give his student a snarky smirk. "I know you won't lad. That and if you do fail, I'll make sure you'll never become a Royal Knight."

"Gee thanks Grand." Flash deadpanned, rolling his eyes.

"You're welcome. Now, you better go ahead and find your friends before heading off."

Flash nodded and flew out of the first open window. A few minutes later, he was at Jazzy Juice, as his friends were already there, even Twilight and Spike. Twilight turned to him. "Where have you been?"

"Grand was just giving me one of those obligatory mentor speeches. I'm guessing the princess gave you one too." Flash saw Twilight nod in agreement. "Alright. I'm guessing the others are up to speed."

"Kinda," Rainbow shrugged, slightly glaring at the purple unicorn.

"We'll give you more info on the way," Twilight replied as she motioned for them to leave. "Let's get to the train station. Trust me, this is gonna be a long ride."

They all nodded in agreement before turning to head to the station, ready to go on yet another adventure that would determine the fate of Equestria