//------------------------------// // And As The Dust Settles... // Story: Little Choices // by Skijarama //------------------------------// “Anything yet, girls?” Rainbow Dash called out from her cushion on the second floor of the library before peeking out over the edge to look at her friends below. Her left wing was once more bound to her side by bandages at Fluttershy’s behest. They had been at this search for several hours now, and during that time Pinkie Pie and Wind Whisper had met back up with the rest of the group and the sun was starting to dip for the horizon. Thus far, outside of being examined by Fluttershy (who made meticulous use of Doctor Horse’s notes), who had bound her wing back to her side with some bandages she had had the foresight to pack when they were leaving Ponyville, Rainbow had been sitting on the sidelines by Twilight’s request and doing nothing. She was stressed, tired and had an injured wing. Despite all of her protests, Twilight had insisted that Rainbow sit out their search for a while to rest. Down below, Rarity huffed with frustration and looked up at Rainbow Dash. “Nothing over here,” she called up before turning to the next page in her book. She lightly gasped and wrinkled her nose when a small cloud of dust was knocked up into the air from the movement. “Oh, I really wish I had brought a duster with me or something…” “We get the picture, you don’t like dust,” Pinkie chimed in before looking down at her own book and frowning. “I don’t either. Unless it’s dust bunnies. Those are fun. But yeah, I haven’t found anything either. Nothing helpful, anyways,” she turned her book around. “I did find some funny jokes in this journal, though! Whoever this guy was, he had a good sense of humor!” Twilight sighed and shook her head while closing her own book and stifling a yawn. “I haven’t found anything that could help us, either. Most of the locations that I find references to are either really easy to get to, completely in the open, don’t even exist anymore, or too far away to be good options...” “Well that’s really not helpful,” Rainbow grumbled and retreated back from the rail. “We’re sitting ducks here!” “We know that, RD,” Applejack called up before thumping the book she was looking at closed and glaring at the cover. “We’re doin’ our best.” Silence consumed them after that, with everypony continuing their search. At one point, Thorax came trotting out of one of the aisles with a scroll held carefully in his mouth. When he reached his table, he unrolled it, revealing it to be a map, then studied its contents with bored eyes. Those eyes lit up, however, when he spotted something… different. “Huh… What’s the ‘Crystal Empire?” he asked quizzically. “Crystal what?” Rainbow raised an eyebrow and lifted herself back off of the cushion she had been resting on. Looking down from the edge once again, she found that Twilight and Applejack were also heading in Thorax’s direction, curious looks on their faces. “The Crystal Empire,” Thorax reiterated while poking the map with his hoof. “It’s on this map, marked as a city with its own sovereign territory up on the edge the frozen north. It looks kinda important, but I’ve never heard of it.” “Me neither,” Applejack muttered while getting a closer look at the map. “Weird… ah’ve heard of lotta places, considerin’ how many of my relatives live all across Equestria, and ah have never heard of that place before, and it’s definitely not on any modern map of Equestria that ah’ve ever seen…” “Huh… The Crystal Empire, huh? Hmm… might be worth looking into. I’ll get started looking for other references or information on it,” Twilight stated before turning to head for the history section of the library. “The rest of you keep checking for other leads.” There was a general vocalization of agreement, and the group scattered to continue their search. “You called me, your highness?” Pharynx announced his presence carefully as he trotted into the throne room of Canterlot Castle, doing his best to keep the anxious tremor out of his voice. He looked around at the room, curiously taking it all in. He hadn’t been inside of it since the battle and he couldn’t help but note how the three princesses of Equestria were all suspended and comatose in thick green pods that dangled from the ceiling. Those pods glowed with a slowly pulsing green light, indicating the special enchantments woven into them to harden the shell and make escape extremely difficult. Queen Chrysalis stood by the enormous hole in the wall that Celestia had created when they began their battle, looking out over the city beyond with an unreadable expression on her muzzle. Her ears twitched somewhat when Pharynx spoke. “Yes, Pharynx. I was hoping you might have some… insight, for me,” she said cooly, looking at Pharynx out of the corner of her eye. He shifted back and gave a low bow, awaiting her to continue. She did. “Not long ago, It was brought to my attention by several of the drones that worked with him that Thorax had mysteriously... gone missing,” she then turned to face him more directly with a scowl upon her face. “And the night after I hear of this, Princess Rainbow Dash and one of the other wielders of the Elements of Harmony came marching into the castle on a direct route for the throne room, presumably on a rescue mission. They didn’t waste any time or take any side-paths, either, as if they already knew where my most precious morsels are being stored…” Pharynx tried to hold a straight face, but the small bead of sweat forming on his forehead betrayed his nervousness. Chrysalis’ frown grew darker. “So, I would like to know if you have any idea where your little brother went, and why?” Pharyn stiffly shook his head. “N-no, my queen… I don’t know…” he said in a shaking, weak voice. Chrysalis narrowed her eyes dangerously. For several moments she glared down at him, then made a show of slowly reaching a forehoof up to touch the still healing cracks on her cheek, making sure that Pharynx noticed the motion. “How… disappointing… I had been hoping to find them so that I could pay that lavender maggot back for how she humiliated me, andI had hoped you could keep a better eye on your own little brother… especially after all of that talk you made of your confidence in him and his loyalty to me.” “Forgive me, my queen,” Pharynx apologized while lowering his bow to the point that he was practically laying on the floor, his muzzle touching the partially shredded red carpet beneath him. “I made an error in judgment… I am sorry, and I swear it will not happen again.” Chrysalis looked at herself in the reflection of what was left of one of the stained glass windows, then down at Pharynx with a small, sweet smile appearing on her face. “Indeed, it won’t happen again,” she said in a comforting coo, slowly sauntering towards him. “I know you won’t let me down again, my loyal Pharynx… after all…” she placed a hoof on the top of his head and started petting him like he were a dog. “...you value the position and respect that you’ve earned for yourself far too much. Letting me down would…” she leaned down so that her muzzle was right next to his ear, grazing her fangs along it. “Jeopardize that almost luxurious life of yours… wouldn’t it?” “Y-yes, of c-course, your majesty…” Pharynx stuttered out , trembling and quivering under the gentle touch of Chrysalis’ hard hoof pressing into his head, and her breath and her teeth on his ear. “I promise, will not fail you. I’d do anything for you…” “Good boy,” Chrysalis murmured directly into his ear before standing back to her full height, using his head as a stepping stone as she did so. Despite the pain that pierced his skull from that contact, Pharynx refrained from even so much as breathing, too afraid of his queen to risk showing signs of weakness, especially now that she was angry with him. Chrysalis eyed Pharynx critically for several moments, then turned her back on him. “Now, I have a special mission for you.” “Mission, your majesty?” Pharynx asked and hesitantly lifted his head so he could look at Chrysalis. She casually glanced back over her shoulder at him and flashed him a sadistic smirk. “Yes. I want you to hunt down and find your runaway little brother of yours, and bring him before me to answer for his betrayal.” “But, my queen,” Pharynx licked his lips, his mouth suddenly going dry. “I… I don’t know where to look, or even where to start. I’m not an infiltrator or scout. I’m-” Pharynx’s words hitched in his throat when green fire erupted along Chrysalis’ horn, and she turned on him with fury in her eyes. “YOU ARE MY DRONE!” she roared furiously, encasing Pharynx in her magic and forcefully hauling him to float before her in the air, his front legs pinned to his sides. She snarled angrily into his face, her lips curled back to reveal her teeth. “And I thought you just said you would do anything for me! So unless you were lying to me, then I expect you to start somewhere! I couldn’t care less what your position in the hive is, you are a drone, and you will serve your queen without question, so if I tell you to do something, YOU DO IT! Do you understand?!” “Y-yes!” Pharynx gasped in terror, nodded quickly. He instinctively squirmed in her grip as adrenaline began pumping through his veins and his heart hammered against his ribs like a blacksmith working on his newest masterpiece. “My sincerest apologies, my queen! I spoke out of line!” “You are doing a lot of apologizing today! How about I give you a reason to be sorry?” Chrysalis snarled before her mouth opened wide. Pharynx’s eyes widened in shock, then horror when he felt something inside of his chest being tugged on. Indescribable agony erupted all across his chest and inside of his stomach, making him thrash and let out blood-curdling screams as a steady stream of pink energy flowed out of his chest and into Chrysalis’ mouth. His body twitched and convulsed for several seconds, his screams never letting up until Chrysalis ended her spell and dropped him to the ground in a weakened, trembling heap. She glared down at him with disdain and anger. “Now get on your hooves, Pharynx,” she barked, kicking him in the ribs as if he were little more than a piece of stray trash. “Get up and bring me your little brother so I can deal with him. If you return to me empty hooved, or if I find that you went missing as well, then the pain you just suffered will seem like the highest form of bliss compared to what I will do to you!” Pharynx looked up at Chrysalis, trembling and gasping for breath. Chrysalis scowled bitterly down at him. He was always so proud and sure of himself, a stoic and professional warrior of the hive. Now he was curled up and sniveling beneath her wrath. Exactly where every creature before her belonged. Chrysalis bared her teeth when he remained unmoving. “What are you waiting for? GO!” He didn’t question her this time. With his tail tucked between his legs and his lungs struggling to take in air through his terrified, panicked gasps, Pharynx got onto shaky and unsteady hooves and galloped frantically from the throne room, leaving Chrysalis behind to glance at sideways at her reflection in the mirror, where she could still see that blasted crack. “The Crystal Empire was an independent city-state that had strong political ties with Equestria,” Twilight recited from the book she held to everypony else several hours later, all of them gathered around one of the tables that had managed to go unused during their search for information. “Apparently, they were close allies with Equestria and had a powerful enchantment that let the empire reflect the emotional state of its population across the surrounding environment for miles upon miles. This allowed for unprecedented levels of harmony and coordination between the main pony races in Equestria, and mitigated border friction with the Griffins.” “Oh, it sounds like an absolutely divine place!” Rarity said, looking like she was swooning at just the idea. “And with a name like the Crystal Empire, it must have been a fabulous place!” “But what happened to it?” Rainbow asked with a frown on her face. She put a hoof on the table and glanced down at the map that was spread out on the wooden surface, her eyes resting on the Crystal Empire in the north. “I mean, mom never mentioned it to me. Did something bad happen there?” “Yeah, it did. That’s one of the few things this book actually talks about,” Twilight continued while turning to another page in the book and setting it down. “The book doesn’t go into a lot of details about the ponies who lived their, their culture or traditions, or even the city itself. I guess they were a reclusive group. But the book does cover what happened to them,” she then pointed at one of the pages and the illustration on it. A pony, a unicorn by the looks of it, with a dark grey coat and a pitch black mane and tail. His horn was curved and came to a fine tip, and he was dressed in plate armor and a flowing red cape. “This is King Sombra… who he is, where he came from and what his goals were aren’t known by the author, but apparently, he took over the Crystal Empire sometime before Luna turned into Nightmare Moon.” “So the Empire became a bad place, then?” Pinkie asked with her muzzle scrunching up. “Pew, no thanks.” “It’s more complicated than that,” Twilight Said before turning to the next page. “It says here that Sombra was overthrown, but that just before his defeat, he somehow ‘took the empire with him.’ The entire city and all of its inhabitants just… vanished.” Applejack gasped audibly and trotted over to Twilight’s side. “Say what?” she asked, looking over Twilight’s shoulder at the page with wide eyes. “Yer sayin’ he destroyed an entire city before bein’ taken out?” “Not destroyed,” Twilight corrected before pointing at the page again. “It vanished. There weren’t any ruins left behind. It’s like the whole thing was just erased from existence. Then Sombra was, according to this, turned to shadow and banished to the snow of the frozen north.” “Turned to shadow?” Fluttershy asked uneasily, playing with her mane to vent some of her nervousness. “What does that mean?” “I… don’t know,” Twilight eventually sighed in defeat before closing the book and putting it down, looking disappointed. “But that’s all I was able to find. It’s not really a good lead, is it?” “No, it’s not, but thanks for trying,” Rainbow stated with a small nod. She then shifted and looked up and out the library window before cringing when she saw the moon starting to come out. “Ooh, it’s getting late. We should probably put out our candles and get some sleep.” “Oh, before we do that,” Pinkie suddenly called out, having slipped away from the table at some point. Everypony looked over at her and saw that she was right next to Starlight Glimmer’s pod. “What do we wanna do with this? It’s kinda…” she sniffed it heavily, then stuck out her tongue in disgust. “Ew. It’s kinda gross.” Rainbow went stiff, looking at the pod uneasily. Starlight Glimmer was in that pod, and every time Rainbow had passed by her, she had felt that burning on the back of her head, felt the anger Discord had stirred in her bubbling back up to the surface. Even though she knew full well that Starlight was innocent. “...We… uh…” she stammered, her ears going against her head. “Rainbow Dash, we need to let her out,” Thorax said simply from her side. When she looked at him, he leaned over added in a whisper: “If she was being held in the throne room, it’s because she was deemed a large threat. Large enough that the queen wanted to deal with her personally. If that’s the case, she’s probably really powerful, and we could use some powerful help right now.” Rainbow slowly nodded, then looked across the table at Twilight and Applejack. Both of them gave slow nods of encouragement. They were right. They needed the help… she just hoped she could keep her emotions under control. The last thing she wanted as an encore of her performance from the train. She took a deep breath. “...Okay, fine. We’re letting her out,” Rainbow sighed, then looked down again. Carefully and slowly, she dragged herself over to the pod. As she went by, Twilight fell into step next to her, offering her a reassuring smile and nudge. “We’re all here for you, Rainbow,” she said quietly when they finally came to a stop. “Don’t worry. We won’t let anything bad happen to you,” she then draped a foreleg over Rainbow’s back in a comforting side-hug. Rainbow nodded gratefully to her, then looked at the pod critically, studying it for weak points. After a few seconds, she carefully lifted a hoof and prodded the transparent front of the pod, testing its strength. It was thick and strong, but it bent a little under her prodding and felt kind of like wax if it were slimier. After a few more seconds, she threw caution to the wind. With a grunt of exertion, she pushed her hoof into the barrier with enough force to rip through it, allowing green slime to spill forth from the tear and splatter across the table and the floor. It bubbled out in egregious amounts, staining Rainbow’s hooves and foreleg even as Twilight jumped back with a grossed-out yelp. With another grunt, Rainbow gave a hard pull and ripped the pod the rest of the way open, undeterred even as yet more green slime and some foul-smelling, unidentified fluid splashed against her chest and legs. She then reached into the pod and carefully hooked her forelegs under Starlight’s so she could haul her out. She felt the back of her head heating up and those words echoing in her head again. Make her pay. Rainbow grit her teeth and shook her head. No, she wasn't going to listen to that again. The last time she had, she had almost ruined everything. With a long and tense groan from the resistance the pod was offering, she finally pulled Starlight out of the pod, the contents within squelching and crunching as she slipped so. Pinkie Pie trotted forward and helped Rainbow by taking Starlight’s hind legs, keeping them from hitting anything too hard. “Ugh, gross!” she whined when her hooves came into contact with the green mush. “Just get her on the floor,” Rainbow snarked out through grit teeth, stumbling back a little bit. Soon, Starlight Glimmer was set down on her back on the library floor, her body still dripping with green slime and putrid liquids. Rainbow Dash looked down at her for several long seconds. She puffed out a breath and tore her eyes away from the unconscious unicorn, choosing to look over at Thorax instead. “Any idea how long until she wakes up?” she asked him simply. “Oh, uh, not long, probably,” Thorax replied while cantering up. “...That’d be my best guess, at any rate.” Rainbow looked at Starlight’s unconscious body again, then looked down at the floor. “...Right. Somepony get her a blanket and move her to one of the couches or something,” she muttered before looking down at her hooves. “I’m gross… did anypony spot a washroom on the way here?” Despite the tense atmosphere, Twilight managed to smile at Rainbow Dash, feeling her heart swell with pride. Rainbow was handling this extremely well. Of course, Starlight still had to wake up...