//------------------------------// // 8. Crystal Party Jam // Story: Order-naries: Storm-chased // by CTVulpin //------------------------------// Ashen Blaze made a pleased noise as he and the twins stepped into their guest suite in the Crystal Empire castle and saw two comfortable-looking couches waiting for them. Ash ran to claim one of the couches all for himself, stretching out on it and sighing, “At long last, I can relax.” “Really?” Soul Mage asked as he and Gold Heart took the other couch. “The only reason you’ve been a stressed-out, guilt-wracked workaholic all your life is because you didn’t have access to that particular couch?” Ash rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, make your jokes,” he muttered. He lifted his head and looked directly at Soul. “The hard part’s over now,” he said. “Sure, simply being near the Crystal Heart hasn’t fixed Cadance, but we still got her here and the Storm King’s not breathing down our necks anymore. Shining Armor’s assigned the Empire’s best magic scholar to researching a counterspell to Cadance’s petrification, and somepony’s going to be along shortly to deal with this,” he touched his broken horn gently. “With the Storm King off chasing Changelings, there’s nothing more for us to worry about.” “That’s optimistic of you,” Gold Heart said with an approving smile. “No worries about how Gale and Loopy are doing in Canterlot?” “Nah,” Ash said with a dismissive wave. “Considering how many airships were pursuing us, I doubt there are enough soldiers left to give those clever ladies much trouble.” “What about Ember?” Soul asked. “Ah, right,” Ash said, giving himself a light smack on the head, “I forgot she’s still a prisoner. Well, once Cadance is fixed up I was thinking we’ll need to do something more… conclusive about the Storm King. We can rescue Ember then. Er, you two will, at least,” he added, tapping his horn with a rueful smirk. “That’s fair,” Gold Heart said, nodding. There was a knock on the door, and an aquamarine crystal mare wearing a nurse’s cap and carrying a small teal crystal entered the room and walked straight to Ash, who looked at the crystal and the nurse’s lack of other kit with guarded curiosity. “Hi,” he said. “Hello,” the nurse replied with a gentle smile as she stepped closer. “Let’s take a look at that horn, shall we?” “By all means,” Ash said. The nurse grabbed his head gently in her hooves and leaned in close to examine the splinted horn. “It’s been having a doozy of a day,” Ash said conversationally. He frowned as a thought occurred to him. “Has it only been a day?” he wondered aloud. “Given the present states of the Princesses…” “Time is hard to track when the sun hasn’t moved,” Soul said in agreement, “but, I don’t think we’ve been at this much more than twenty-four hours. Maybe thirty. Point is, I don’t think the land has quite reached ‘baked by the sun’ crisis mode yet.” “Hold still,” the nurse instructed Ash. “This splint needs to come off.” “But I just got it back on,” Ash protested. The nurse ignored him as she put one hoof on the end of Ash’s horn to hold it in place while quickly undoing the splint with practiced speed. As soon as the splint came off, the nurse grabbed the crystal she’d brought in and pressed it against Ash’s horn. The crystal glowed and started to grow, first encircling the break and then spreading to encase the entire horn and form an anchoring base on Ash’s head. “Ah, good,” the nurse said “that actually took better hold than expected. The crystal is charged with healing magic to repair your horn faster, and you should be able to manage light telekinesis without hurting yourself. Don’t try anything more complex, though or you may cause yourself permanent damage. I recommend you come back in about a week so we can check on your progress.” “Yes ma’am,” Ash said, saluting. “You have my eternal gratitude, as does whoever invented this crystal.” “You’re welcome,” the nurse said with a satisfied nod and smile. “Have a good day, and remember: get a check-up in a week.” She left the room, and as soon as the door closed Ash started rubbing the crystal cast lightly. “Is that making you itch already or something?” Soul asked. “No,” Ash said, dropping his hoof quickly, “It’s just… kinda fascinating. Oh, and before I forget,” he looked at Heart and Soul with a humble expression on his face, “thank you both for putting up with me through all this today.” The twins both gave their friend surprised looks. “What, you mean the angst about your horn?” Soul asked, and then waved it off. “You had every reason to be a grouch, man.” “You’ve actually been handling it quite well,” Heart added. “If this had been even just a couple years ago, I think you’d have gone into Meis Mode after the Storm King broke your horn off.” “Most likely, yes,” Ash agreed with a sardonic smile. “I owe most of that mellowing to you two and Gale, you know, so thank you again for putting up with me. Through everything.” “No worries, Ash,” Soul said. “We’re all practically family at this point. In both good times and bad, we’ll have your back no matter what.” A comfortable silence fell over the room for a few minutes, but eventually Ash sat up with a grunt and declared, “I can’t actually just sit here while there’s a spell to untangle. Shall we go see how Sunburst is coming along on fixing Cadance?” “Sure,” Soul said, getting up. “It’s the perfect excuse to raid this castle’s library.” “Of course it is,” Heart said with an over-dramatic roll of her eyes. The trio left the room, but before they could take another step a Crystal Guard came cantering up to them. “Mr. Ashen Blaze,” the Guard said, “Prince-captain Shining Armor needs to speak to you right away, down at the Crystal Heart.” “Ok…” Ash said hesitantly. “Go on, Ash,” Soul said. “You can meet up with us at the library when you’re done.” Ash gave Soul a little pout. “I see,” he said, “the lure of a library is too much for you. What happened to ‘we’ll have your back no matter what?’” Soul snorted in amusement. “I see,” he said, “you need Heart and me to shield you from the terrifying sight of Shining’s gratitude. Don’t want to get any ‘liquid pride’ on your coat now, do we?” Ash cuffed Soul on the shoulder, beating Heart’s obligatory wing-slap to the head by half a second. “Fine, I’ll catch up with you two later,” Ash said, and then followed the guard down the hall toward the main doors. As Ash came down the stairs and started to round the corner to the Crystal Heart courtyard, he heard a voice that gave him pause. “So, this Crystal Heart is the key to the very existence of your kingdom?” the speaker asked, “How interesting.” “No,” Ash said is a small voice, rushing into the courtyard to a sight that confirmed his fear: the Storm King, with a squad of satyr soldiers behind him, was standing there chatting with Shining Armor and within lunging distance of both the Crystal Heart and the petrified Cadance, who had been left by the Heart on the off chance that such close proximity would free her before a counterspell was found. A zeppelin was moored on the far side of the courtyard, where it would have been out of sight from the part of the castle Ash had been in. “Skvetchte...” Ash swore as he ran over and threw himself between the Storm King and Cadance. “How, how, how?!” he exclaimed. “We left you goats chasing shadows over the tundra!” The Storm King gave Ash a condescending smile. “Did you really think those decoys would fool me for long?” “That was the hope, yes,” Ash deadpanned. He glanced over at Shining Armor, who was starting to look mildly concerned. “And you let him in,” Ash said. “I did,” Shining said, giving the Storm King a hard, suspicious look. “He said he was only chasing you because you stole something from him, Ash.” Ash rolled his eyes. “From a certain perspective, I suppose you could say I did,” he said. “Take a guess as to what it was I ‘stole,’ though,” he added, glancing pointedly at Cadance. Shining glanced at the petrified princess as well, and then leveled a deadly glare at the Storm King. “Hey,” the Storm King said, shrugging, “my people captured her fair and square, and she’s rather crucial to my plans. I’m perfectly justified in trying to reclaim stolen assets. That’s how war works, you know.” “You are just a petty warlord,” Ash growled, taking up a braced stance and pointing his horn at the Storm King. Shining Armor assumed a similar stance, and cast a protective bubble around himself, Ash, and Cadance, and then another one around the Crystal Heart for good measure. Ash nodded slightly in approval, but then looked up at his horn and sighed. “I should go get us some back-up, Shining,” he said. “I’m not fit for combat right now.” “My shield will let you out,” Shining said, nodding slightly while keeping his eyes locked on the Storm King. Ash turned to head back to the castle entrance, only to find that while he and Shining had been focused on the Storm King, some of his soldiers had sneaked around to flank the ponies from behind. They were all outside Shining’s barrier, but their positions gave Ash no way to get past them without using magic. Ash eyed the two satyrs closest to him for a moment, wracking his brain for options. “Skvetch,” he said at length, turning back to face the Storm King, “we seem to have reached an impasse here. We’re outnumbered and surrounded, but Shining Armor’s shield can keep you from getting in for days if need be. We won’t need to wait that long, though.” The Storm King smirked and lifted his staff above his head. “Agreed,” he said simply before swinging the staff down so that the glowing gem set in it collided with the shield. The shield shattered like thin glass and Shining was driven to his knees by the magic backlash. The soldiers immediately leaped forward to restrain the two unicorns. Sighing, Ash didn’t bother to resist. “You said your name was Ashen Blaze, right?” the Storm King asked, stepping a little closer. “I’ve faced entire armies that didn’t have as much spunk and endurance as you.” He used his staff to lift Ash’s chin until he was looking him in the eye. “I thought I could use that when we first met, but...” He let Ash’s head drop. “Now,” he continued, “I think you have a little too much spunk. I’ve already learned not to rely too heavily on creatures with powerful ambitions of their own. I couldn’t entice you to join, and I apparently can’t break you, so-” “I give up,” Ash said. The Storm King blinked. “Come again?” Ash looked up and into the Storm King’s eyes. “I. Give. Up,” he said. “What, do you take me for a zealot or something? I have no way out of this. Checkmate, you win. I’ll only ask for two conditions: show mercy to the Crystal Empire by leaving the Crystal Heart alone, and take me back to Canterlot with you. I’m... morbidly curious how things will play out there.” “No,” Shining Armor protested, struggling against his captors, “we can’t surrender, Ash. I can still...” He started to focus his magic, but one of the satyrs whacked his horn with the back of its hand, disrupting the magic. The Storm King looked at Shining with mild annoyance, and then reached into a pouch on his belt and pulled out a glowing green ball. The satyrs holding onto Shining quickly released him and stepped back as the Storm King threw the ball, which exploded into a cloud of green smoke and turned the stallion to stone. “As for you,” the Storm King said, turning his gaze on Ash and letting silence hang in the air for a tense moment. “How can I trust that you won’t try anything if I agree to your conditions?” “I value the integrity of my word above all else,” Ash answered. “And really, is there anything I could do at this point that would accomplish anything other than delaying what you’re going to do for more than a second?” The odds of the twins or the Guards realizing what’s happening here in time to do anything aren’t great, he added to himself, so my best bet is getting you to Canterlot where Gale and Sam can re-balance the game. Soul Mage made a disappointed sound as he reached the end of the final shelf in the castle library – a room that barely deserved the label, in his opinion. There were more empty walls than shelves and only four free-standing shelves which didn’t even reach the ceiling, and every shelf was only half-full at best. “This is easily the most disappointing royal library I have ever witnessed,” he declared. “That’s not saying much, dear brother,” Gold Heart said with amusement, “considering that we know Twilight Sparkle.” Sunburst looked up from the scroll he was studying. “You also need to consider that the Crystal Empire was locked in limbo for about a thousand years,” he said, “and it was under the control of King Sombra before it disappeared. Most of the books that were in this room had to be removed because they were either outdated or… dangerous. I may also have borrowed a large number of the remainder and, uh, keep forgetting to bring them back,” he added with a nervous chuckle. “All of those facts are valid,” Soul said, “but do nothing to change my...” He trailed off as he peered out the window and saw the distinctive shape of the Storm King’s zeppelin below. “Heart,” Soul said slowly, “could you come over here and give me a reality check, please? Because I’m seeing something that should not be where it is.” Heart came over, took one look out the window, and then ran her hoof down her face with a long sigh. “How does he keep doing this to us?” she asked. “I dunno,” Soul said, “but he’s down on our level now, at least. And only one ship that I can see.” “What’s going on?” Sunburst asked. “Trouble,” Heart said. “Is the spell ready?” Sunburst looked his scroll over one last time. “Well, I know how do this one,” he said. “Whether it will work on the Princess...” He shrugged. “It’ll have to do,” Soul said, unlocking the window with his spirit tendril and throwing it open. “Stormy’s getting on the ship, and he’s got Ash and two stone ponies in tow.” “Soul Mage,” Heart said, giving her brother a flat look, “you better not be thinking of pulling what I think you’re going to pull.” “Well,” Soul said, leaning out the window slightly, “not from this height.” Heart sighed in relief. “Once they’ve gained a little altitude, however...” Soul added, and Heart groaned. “Look,” Soul said in a more serious tone, “if we go the sensible way, we’ll never catch them. Give Sunburst a lift, would you?” “I do not like the implications of this conversation,” Sunburst said. Heart placed a comforting wing around Sunburst’s shoulder. “Welcome to the club,” she said. “On your mark, brother.” “Get us airborne,” the Storm King ordered as soon as the petrified Cadance and Shining Armor had been brought on board. “Let’s get out of here before any more ponies decide to play hero. No more delays; I will have my ultimate storm!” The soldiers rushed about to their duties, save for two that remained on guard over Ashen Blaze, and the zeppelin soon began to rise into the air. “All this effort just to be able to cobble together a bit of bad weather?” Ash asked blandly. “Too cheap to import a pegasus team or something?” The Storm King rounded on the unicorn with an angry snarl, but before any more words could be exchanged, a golden-yellow shape plummeted to the deck from above. “Kemoooo...” Soul Mage cried as he descended, then tucked into a roll to shed his momentum and bring him up next to Ash before springing to his feet and flailing at the satyr guards with a pair of spirit tendrils as he completed the battle cry: “Kiyaski!” Both guards collapsed into soul shock as the unicorn’s attack found their marks. “Where the skeb-” Ash began, but then grinned. “I mean, perfect timing, Soul. And full marks for the dynamic entry, even though you did steal my battle cry.” “Thank you,” Soul said, bowing dramatically. “And the score from the satyr judge?” he asked as he straightened up and gave the Storm King a cheeky look. An angry sound escaped the Storm King’s throat and he swung at Soul with his staff. Soul high-stepped backwards to dodge the blow, sticking his tongue out. “A five then?” Soul asked. Distracted by Soul Mage’s buffoonery, the Storm King didn’t notice that Gold Heart had flown Sunburst down from the castle, setting the unicorn near Cadance and Shining Armor. “Work fast,” Heart advised Sunburst before rushing over to aid her brother by kicking the Storm King in the leg, forcing him to abort a second swing of his staff. ‘What the-” the Storm King exclaimed, looking down at Gold Heart and then spotting Sunburst starting to focus magic into Princess Cadance. “Hey, idiots!” he bellowed at his soldiers. “Sound general quarters already! Repel boarders!” A bell started clanking, several of the deck crew stopped their tasks, and many more soldiers started emerging from below decks carrying weapons. Heart and Soul backed off from the Storm King and placed themselves between the massing soldiers and their own allies. “Two against… a lot,” Soul noted. “How long do you wager we can hold, Heart?” Gold Heart glanced at Sunburst, who was gritting his teeth as he continued to weave the spell to free Cadance. “Not long enough,” she said, resigned. Suddenly, a section of the deck exploded in a geyser of purple fire and Dragon Lord Ember flew up in its wake. “Finally got out,” she said in a tone of venting frustration, going into a hover just under the zeppelin’s envelope. She looked around, spotted the ponies, and gave them a cheerful wave. “Oh, hey there!” she said. “Did you guys get captured too?” “Yes and no,” Ash answered, pointing to himself and then the twins. “We could use some more help, if you’re willing.” Ember surveyed the deck and nodded, eyes locked on one satyr soldier in particular. “Oh, I’m willing,” she said, dropping to the deck and cracking her knuckles as she stared down the army. “I’ve got some payback to give out.” She spat a tongue of flame at the soldier she’d singled out, and then braced herself to meet the first couple of soldiers that charged at her in response. Soul Mage nodded in appreciation as Ember made herself the most dangerous target on the ship, and then jumped back as the Storm King’s staff narrowly missed taking his horn off. “Forgot about me?” the king asked. “Hardly,” Soul responded, wrapping a spirit tendril around the staff. He strafed around as the Storm King tried to pull his weapon free, angling the tug-o-war away from Ash and the petrified ponies. “Hey, Ash?” Soul asked in a conversational tone as he leaned back against the Storm King’s pull, “Do you think it’d be ok to break this stick?” Ash peered around Shining Armor’s petrified form, studying the blue gem in the staff’s head for a moment. “It doesn’t seem to be linked to anything,” he said at length, “nor even particularly thick with magic. I still wouldn’t break it right next to myself, though.” “Basic precautions, got it,” Soul said. “Heart-” “I don’t think so!” the Storm King said, lunging toward Soul, trying to throw him off balance. The unicorn let himself fall back and rolled out of the charging satyr’s path, keeping a firm grip on the staff with his spirit tendril the whole while. Soul leaped to his feet with a quip on the tip of his tongue, but a sudden intake of breath brought the battle to a momentary stop. Heart, Soul, and the Storm King all looked over to see Princess Cadance blinking owlishly as Ash helped steady her and motes of stone fell away from her pink coat. “What’s...” Cadance murmured, looking around in growing terror at the sight of the Storm King and his soldiers. “Steady, Madonna Cadenza,” Ash said in a calming tone. “We’ve got everything under control.” The anger on the Storm King’s face reached a level that threatened to set his fur on fire. He let go of his staff with one hand and reached for his pouch of petrifying bombs. Gold Heart seized the chance, headbutting the Storm King in the back. The tall satyr stumbled, and his staff fell from his grip. Soul pulled the staff in close, looked it over, and then broke the gem off with a stomp. “Ready, sis?” Soul asked, lifting the gem in his spirit tendril. Gold Heart swept the Storm King’s legs out from under him and jumped onto his back when he fell prone. Planting one rear hoof on the king’s head, she stood up and readied an Element Wheel. “Pull!” she said. Soul hurled the gem over the side of the ship and Heart sent the Element Wheel after it. The disk of whirling energy cleaved the tumbling gem in half, and the pieces spun away from each other and out of sight without so much as a spark of light. “Woo!” Heart said, pumping a hoof in the air, “First try!” The Storm King grunted, planted his hands on the deck, and surged to his feet, throwing Heart off his back. “Enough!” he bellowed, clenching his fists, “I- oof!” He went down again – on his back this time – as Soul tackled him from the front at the same time that Heart flew in to get him in a choke-hold from behind. Working together, the twins pinned him to the deck. “I won’t... yield,” the Storm King gasped. “I’ve conquered half the world; I won’t lose to a couple of simple ponies!” He tried to break out of the twins’ holds, but then a pinkish light coiled around his body and transformed into chains. “We’re hardly simple,” Shining Armor said, shaking dust out of his mane as he completed his spell. He then sent out a pulse of light that drew the attention of everyone on board, putting an end to Ember’s fight against the half-dozen soldiers that still stood against her. “This battle is over,” Shining announced. “Your king is captured. Stand down at once, or you’ll have more than just one dragon to deal with.” There was a momentary pause, and then the satyrs threw down their weapons and put up their hands. Heart and Soul backed off from the Storm King and stood next to each other, catching their breaths, and then Soul smirked and gave the Storm King a light kick. “Sorry to rain on your parade, thunderhead,” he said, “but your storm’s passed! Forecast for tomorrow: clear skies with a high of a hundred and ten, due to angry solar flares!” He flashed his cheeky grin around the ship, getting only blank looks in return. “What?” he said. “He’s called the Storm King! I’ve been preparing to drop a burn like that ever since he introduced himself. Though, what would have been just a passing breeze in Canterlot has grown into category 3 hurricane of puns!” Gold Heart sighed and gave her brother a light smack upside the head. “And that,” she said, “just made it into a category 4.” “Gee, really? Thanks,” Soul said, giving Heart his goofiest fake-flirty look. Heart raised her wing to smack him again, but then lowered it and hugged him instead. “Not to spoil the sibling moment,” Ash said, “but we should probably be getting this ship back down to earth and start dealing with that lot,” he pointed a hoof toward the satyrs, who were starting to shift restlessly under Ember’s intense monitoring. An hour later, Cadance, Shining Armor, and Ashen Blaze gathered in the throne room to discuss business. “Equestria owes you another debt, Ash,” Cadance said. “You and your friends managed to put a stop to a threat that nearly brought the kingdom to its knees. And at significant personal cost,” she added, looking at Ash’s broken horn. “I appreciate your gratitude, Madonna Cadenza,” Ash said, “but we’re not done yet. The Storm King’s out of play, but this isn’t chess. Canterlot may still be occupied, there’s a small fleet of airships out there that don’t know their leader’s been captured, and there’s still the matter of Twilight and her friends fleeing from Tempest Shadow.” Shining Armor nodded. “Gale and your other friend are in Canterlot now, though, right?” he asked. Ash nodded. “So at least something’s being done there,” Shining continued. “Twiley and her friends can take care of themselves, so as much as I want to rush to her side and protect her, we should focus on the closer issues first. As to those airships-” Flash Sentry burst into the room, ran up to the group, and saluted them. “Pardon the interruption Your Highness, Captain, uh… sir.” I should get myself a formal title, Ash thought idly. “I have urgent news,” Flash continued: “The remainder of the Storm King’s airships have been sighted near the western border of Hivetown.” “Well,” Ash interrupted with a chipper tone, “at least we won’t have to go hunting for them.” Flash shot Ash a slightly nervous look. “They’re, uh… the ships aren’t flying the Storm King’s flags anymore,” he said. “Instead, they’re flying a flag of a black heart on a Changeling-magic-green field.” Ash, Cadance, and Shining all blinked slowly, processing the information. “Does the Changeling Hive have an official flag?” Ash asked at last. “I suspect they’ve just adopted one,” Shining Armor said. “And they’ve taken the Storm King’s entire fleet. Come on.” He galloped out of the room with his wife and Ash hot on his heels, headed for the Empire’s border.