Restoring an Empire
May 15th, 2013
"So, were you able to find out any information from the Crystal Ponies at all?" Fluttershy asked as we both walked back towards the crystal castle.
"What do you think?" I replied, nonchalantly.
"Nothing at all, too?" she said.
"Yep. Every single one of them mentioned that they couldn't remember anything about the empire before King Sombra. He's most likely the one behind the Crystal Ponies amnesia." I said.
"I agree. I just hope that the others were able to find at least one Crystal Pony that knew something. I can't imagine that Princess Cadance is doing okay at the moment." Fluttershy said.
"Me too. We should probably move a little faster, now that you mention Cadance." I said.
Both of us made haste and continued onwards until we met up with everyone else underneath the castle.
"Were you two able to find out anything useful?" Twilight asked.
"No." both Fluttershy and I replied, shaking our heads.
"I thought so. Not even Rarity or Rainbow Dash could find out anything." Twilight said.
"The only bit of information I could get out of em' was this library that's not far." Applejack shared.
"A library? Well, why didn't you say so?!" Twilight said with excitement.
"Uh... I thought I just did." Applejack said.
"Oh, right. Sorry, I'm getting carried away. So, where is this library at? I bet you a million bits we'll find something useful there." Twilight asked with a toothy smile.
"I'll show ya'll the way." Applejack said.
"And make it quick. Twilight looks like she's gonna pass out from excitement," I joked around. "Wait, where's Pinkie Pie at?"
"Over there." Rainbow replied.
Pinkie Pie wore one of those beige colored secret agent outfits complete with a fedora and a fake mustache.
"You sure you don't happen to know anything on defending the Crystal Empire from evil?" Pinkie asked in a surprisingly deep voice.
"I told you already. I can't remember anything besides King Sombra's reign. What agency are you representing anyways, Agent McMuffin?" the crystal pony asked.
"Of the... Royal Bureau of Crystal Defense." Pinkie made up.
"Sounds a little fake to me." the crystal pony said.
"Pinkie, you can cut the interrogation, we're going to the library." Rainbow said.
"It appears my colleagues need my assistance at the local library. Good day, ma'am." Pinkie said before rushing away from the crystal pony and ditching the clothing behind a wall.
"Good to go!" Pinkie chirped.
Applejack led the way to the west part of the empire to the library, where it stood on one of the main streets that led to the Crystal Castle. Leading up the stairs to the entrance stood a pair of griffon statues on each side on blocky pedestals. Once we entered, I noticed at how huge the interior of the library was. Three floors of towering bookshelves stocked with thousands of books were all the eye could see. Aside from that, it had a nice smell to it, if you know what I mean.
"Hello?" I called out. My voice echoed throughout the room, but there was no response.
But on the other hand, Twilight was in book heaven.
"I just... I don't even know what to say... There are no words." Twilight said, absolutely mesmerized by what she was seeing.
"Ahem. May I help you?" a librarian asked as she approached us.
"Yes. We're looking for a book." Twilight replied.
"We have plenty of those." the librarian replied.
"You do. You really do." Twilight sighed in awe.
"We're looking for a history book. Somethin' that might tell us how the Empire might've protected itself from danger back in the day." Applejack clarified.
"Yes. Of course. History, history.... Ah, yes." the librarian began.
We stared at the librarian in anticipation for an answer, but she paused and started to look confused.
"Which is where, exactly?" Twilight prompted.
"I... I can't seem to remember. I'm not sure I actually work here." the librarian said.
"Ugh." Rainbow groaned, stretching her face downwards with her hoof.
"We'll just take a look around. I'm sure we can find it on our own." Twilight said.
"Let me know if you find anything." the librarian said before walking away.
"Sooo, where exactly are going to start at?" I asked.
There was brief silence as everybody looked onwards at the massive library.
"Just go all out and find a book that can at least provide with information on how the Crystal Empire protected itself. A history book would be great, though." Twilight said.
"Sounds simple enough. Well, despite all of these shelves and how high up they go." Rarity said.
"Let's just worry about the lower shelves first." I said.
"Nah, it's cool. Fluttershy and I can check out the higher shelves in a flash." Rainbow said.
"Thank you. Okay, let's get to it." Twilight said.
We all dispersed to the lowest level of the library to begin our search for any useful information. I pulled out a few random books from one of the shelves and placed them neatly on the shelf again when they weren't any use for us. Twilight, on the other hand, overzealously levitated rows of books off one of the shelves, quickly examined them and set them in a pile on the floor. Rainbow Dash, on the other hand, was a bit more destructive and just tossed the books onto the ground, and one almost landed ontop of me.
"Hey, you're dropping all the books, Rainbow!" I called from below.
"I know that. Here, catch this one." Rainbow said, dropping a book into my hands.
"Hmm. 'How To Crystalize Matter.' Sounds scientific and magical." I thought when reading the front cover.
"What's that you got there?" Twilight asked as she continued to inspect her books.
"Just some how-to magic book." I replied.
"Ooh, I might save that for later," she said. "How's everypony doing so far?"
"Nothing to report." Rainbow said.
"Me too." Fluttershy said.
"I ain't got nothin'." Applejack said.
"Nor do I." Rarity said.
Pinkie Pie then popped her head out from a pile of books that piled up about five feet.
"If I had a bit for every book that wasn't the correct one, then I would be one rich pony." Pinkie said.
"Alright then. I was just doing a quick check up, y'know. So, just yell out if you find something." Twilight said in a fast pace.
"We know Twilight." I said.
"Okay. Good." Twilight said before resuming her search, but speeding up whilst biting her lip.
The search for any kind of book that would give us answers dragged on for about ten more minutes. Twilight was becoming more increasingly wary as time went on, most likely because she's stressing over Princess Cadance and that dark unicorn waiting right outside the shield.
"Uh, anyone else startin' to think this is a lost cause?" Applejack asked.
"I don't know," I said, darting my head at Twilight. "But I still want to keep looking for a book."
"Yeah, I guess so, too. But we've been searchin' in the H's for twenty minutes or so." Applejack said.
"Wait, this is it!" Twilight exclaimed with joy.
"Really?" Spike asked.
"Yes! 'History of the Crystal Empire.' I just hope it has the answers we need." Twilight said.
"Well, open it up and see what it says." Rainbow prompted.
"Not yet, Rainbow Dash. I need to report this back to my brother. Spike, come with me." Twilight said.
"What about us?" Fluttershy asked.
"I want the rest of you to wait in the royal meeting quarters right across from the throne room." Twilight instructed.
"Alrighty then. We'll might ya' there." Applejack said.
Everybody then made a mad dash up the stairs and bursted out through the doors of the library and into the Crystal Castle, as well. While Twilight went to present her finding with Shining Armor, the rest of us waited next to a round table. About five or so minutes later, Twilight entered the room along with Spike carrying the book along with him. And out of the blue, Twilight began to sing. To sing about the situation at hand.
"Princess Cadance needs our help. Her magic will not last forever. I think we can do it, but we need to work together. We have to get this right. Yes, we have to make them see. We can save the Crystal Ponies with their hist--." Twilight began before pausing to look at me.
I stood there across from the table with a shit-eating grin on my face and slightly sniggering at Twilight.
"What's so funny?" Twilight asked.
"Nothing serious. It's just that you guys break out into random musical numbers at times. I know it's part of Equestrian culture, but I just find it humorous. No offense." I explained.
"Oh, I see what you mean. I'm also guessing that random singing isn't part of your culture?" Twilight said.
"Um, sure. Yeah. Not in your guys manner." I replied.
Everyone laughed to that.
"We get it. If it kinda weirds you out, we'll save it for another time. I mean, I'm not much of singer myself, if that makes you feel any better." Spike said.
"Cool." I said with a nod.
"What does the book have to say?" Applejack said, bringing the situation back at hand.
"First of all, the book clearly states that Crystal Ponies renew the love and unity within the empire every year with the celebration of The Crystal Fair. This renewal is what protects the empire from any kind of danger or harm," Twilight explained, turning the page to the next. "These next few pages explain on what the Crystal Ponies preferred over a thousand years ago while the Crystal Fair was going on. Apparently, the Crystal Ponies liked attending jousting events. For pride, they flew the Crystal Empire flag during the fair. Also, a delectable treat that was loved among all were Crystal Berries. These can be found on the outskirts of the empire. Speaking of the outskirts, you can also find the famous mini ewes out there. Those were used for the petting zoo. And there was also a popular instrument known as the Flugelhorn. It was easy to play and everypony loved the sound of it."
"I like that sound of that already." Pinkie Pie remarked.
"And lastly, the Crystal Ponies loved and honored the lyrics of their anthem. That also adds up to the unification within the empire," Twilight finished. "It may seem like a lot, but if we all work together to pitch in and restore the Crystal Fair, I know we can save the Crystal Ponies and stop King Sombra."
"And we will." I said.
"King Sombra's got nothing on us," Rainbow Dash said. "Oh, and where was that jousting stuff at? I wouldn't mind hosting that along with Fluttershy."
"Wait. Me?" Fluttershy mumbled.
"Sure, Rainbow Dash. You can get combat armor and spears with safety tips in the armory." Twilight replied.
"Awesome. I'll head over there now. Fluttershy, you can go and find those ewes for now." Rainbow said.
"Good idea, Rainbow Dash." Twilight said.
"Oh, of course. I'll get right on it." Fluttershy said willingly with her ears perking upwards.
"Applejack, Pinkie Pie, can you two go out in the fields and collect as many Crystal Berries as you can?" Twilight asked.
"We gotcha' covered, Twilight." Applejack replied.
"Excellent. Spike, Caleb, and I will go out and set up the stands and fair tents. And for a reminder, we are kind of on an unpredictable clock due to Princess Cadance's state. Just try to be quick and precise and we'll meet up to pitch up everything." Twilight said.
With that, we all went to attend to our duties.
Spike, Twilight and I managed to locate where the tents were located and all the posts that we had to pound into the ground in order to keep them up. Well, we didn't really need any hammers for the posts because I just plunged them right into the ground, so that made things easier. The progress began to pick up more once everyone else returned from what they needed to do, which was almost an hour.
Rainbow and Fluttershy were a big help with hanging up banners and fair decorations that would require a ladder. Everyone else and I went to find the food vendors inside one of the Crystal Fair storage sheds that weren't far from the castle. We set those up along the sides of the streets and stocked them with the food item that was designated for that stand. However, the food stand was the least of our concern. We had to raise the empire's flag, stock up on crystal berries and flugelhorns, flocked the ewes into the petting zoo, readied all the armor and the jousting sticks, set up some games, everything. We just had to get everything right because if the Crystal Ponies didn't get out of their amnesic state and restore the love the unity of the empire, we're screwed.
But after all the hard work, the fair was finished and everyone met up in front of the castle. Twilight looked in awe and impressed to what our teamwork had created and accomplished.
"It looks amazing! I don't know how I could've done this without your help," Twilight praised. "One last check to make sure everything is in place, and the festivities can begin!"
"What's is this thing?" Applejack inquired about the crackled stone artifact in the shape of a heart.
"The last page of the book mentioned a Crystal Heart as the fairs centerpiece, so I used my magic to cut one out of this crystal block." Twilight said as she showed us the page.
"Nice work, Twi. Think we're ready to get this fair up and runnin'." Applejack said.
"That I agree with, Applejack. Let me just report back to Shining Armor real quick and I'll announce the commencement of the fair." Twilight said.
"What should we do?" I asked.
"Stay down here and help out the guests once they arrive. I'm betting there will be a big turnout. Oh, and I'll need to take Pinkie Pie with me for her flugelhorn... skills." Twilight said.
"I'd be honored to blow my flugelhorn, Twilight." Pinkie said.
I shuddered.
While Twilight and Pinkie were inside the castle, the rest of us split up to different sections of the fair, but still remained close to each other as we waited for Twilight's announcement. And, we all knew it was about to begin when we heard that dreaded flugelhorn bellow pierce through the air. Twilight then walked onto the castle's balcony with Shining Armor and Cadance.
"Hear ye, hear--." Twilight started before being interrupted by Pinkie Pie blowing the flugelhorn at the wrong time.
"Come on, Pinkie." I shouted from below.
Pinkie poked her head over the railing of the balcony. "Sorry about that."
"Hear ye, hear ye! Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor do cordially invite you to attend the Crystal Fair!" Twilight declared.
Those words worked like magic. The Crystal Ponies emerged from their houses and some walking the streets turned their attention to the fair. Quiet chattering began for a moment before something extraordinary happened. Their expression lit up with happiness and excitement, causing their gray-shaded coats and manes to turn into bright and vibrant colors just like that.
"Alright, they're getting their colors back!" I thought in relieve.
Applejack went over to welcome a crowd of Crystal Ponies that approached the fair, about twenty of them. I stood out like a sore thumb as I stood in the middle of the street, so it was no surprise someone would notice me. A small crowd of ponies examined me from a distance before cautiously walking up towards me.
"I saw you out in the streets earlier talking to those six mares earlier. I don't mean to be rude, but what are you?" a mare said, hesitantly. The crowd sort of leaned in to listen to my response.
"I'm a human. My actual name is Caleb Lee Barlow, but you can just call me by my first name. This is actually my first time in the Crystal Empire and attending the Crystal Fair. I even helped set it up, too." I said.
"Oh, well that was really nice of you, Caleb! I'm Autumn Gem. The mare right behind me is my friend Fleur De Verre. And I believe that one mare back there is named... Elbow Grease, is it?" Autumn said.
"Mm-hmm. I know my name my sound a little icky, but I'm not affiliated with grease, F.Y.I." Elbow Grease said.
"No, you're okay, and it's nice to meet you all. Say, can I interest you guys in a pouch of crystal berries? Free of charge since, y'know, of your one-thousand year stasis and everything." I said.
"Sure! I love crystal berries!" Autumn said, followed by the crowd agreeing with her.
After I gave everyone a pouch of berries, I stuck around by the stand while monitoring the Crystal Ponies. It's interesting how a bite of food or just the experience of their past culture can raise them out of their low-spirts and into their high-spirits in an instant. Still, I haven't seen any of them in their final form yet.
Things were going awesome for about fifteen minutes, but the tables were beginning to turn when Rainbow Dash came flying right after me.
"Caleb, I have to tell you something really, really important." Rainbow said. She sounded rather concerned, so I listened to what she had to say.
"What is it?" I asked.
"Remember the crystal heart that Twilight carved out of block? Turns out it's a real artifact." Rainbow said.
"Oh, it is? Does anyone know where it's at?" I asked.
"That's the thing, Caleb. Nopony has no idea where it's at and the crystal ponies are already starting to get nosey about. If they find out that crumbling block is the crystal heart, then there goes our hopes of unification." Rainbow explained with a worried expression.
"Well that's an unfortunate turn of events." I said, gritting my teeth. "How the heck are we going to keep that a secret?"
"Right now, we're working with what we got. Applejack has the block hidden underneath a purple tarp." Rainbow replied.
"At least it's hidden." I said.
Out of nowhere, the sky quickly began to lose it blue, peaceful atmosphere and was replaced by the dark grey clouds of the arctic north. The Crystal Empire was instantly shaded and snowflakes started to blow in. But asides from that, a howl echoed from the distance. Rainbow and I knew what was happening right away.
"Oh, shit!" I exclaimed.
"What's going on with the sky?" a crystal pony quivered.
I had no idea what to say. I remained silent.
"It's just an irregular weather pattern! A lot of stuff has changed over one-thousand years!" Rainbow said.
"But what was that sound supposed to be?" the crystal pony asked.
"Must've been the wind. I've heard the wind make a sound like that many times before." Rainbow replied.
The crystal pony looked unsure before trotting away from the area.
"Phew. That was a close one." Rainbow said.
"Yeah, but we still have the giant pillar of shadow that wants to enslave everypony right outside the empire!" I exclaimed.
But out of dumb luck, Rainbow and I noticed the shield protecting the empire regenerating. Turns out Cadance had enough strength to bring up another shield. Shit, I give her credit for conjuring that shield. Rainbow then flew upwards to check if King Sombra got in, and to my relieve, he was too late. Thank God.
"Okay..." I said, letting out a sigh.
"I'm gonna let Twilight in on the crystal heart situation." Rainbow said.
"That would be a good idea." I said.
"But before I go, can you round up some Crystal Ponies for the jousting match that starts in thirty minutes?" Rainbow said.
"What, are they going to participate?" I asked.
"Pfft, no. For the audience, you dope." Rainbow replied.
"Oh, duh. Alright, I'll try to get some ponies to attend." I said.
"Thanks, bud." Rainbow said before speeding off towards the castle.
I never really convinced anyone to attend an event before, so I decided to just channel this random motivational speaker I've heard about who goes around Equestria. I then came up to a group of Crystal Ponies and worked my magic on them.
"Excuse me, but have you fine ponies been craving some action and thrills of a jousting tornament?" I asked in a quick, husky and deep voice.
"Now that you mention it, I haven't been to a jousting match in quite some time. Sure, I could go for some jousting! Is it being held at the grandstands?" a stallion said.
"You bet it is! And I like the way you think! Match starts in thirty minutes, so get your seats now before you're too late!" I said.
The group of ponies smiled and trotted off into the direction of where the grandstands were located. I didn't even know there were grandstands, so I got lucky there. I continued with the whole act, gathering a good amount of attendees for twenty-five minutes until I just stopped and went off to help out with something else.
When I walking back to the castle to check up on the crystal block, the sky flashed between normal and this shade of light-brown for about a milisecond, repeating for about three times.
"C'mon, Cadance, don't stop just yet." I mumbled to myself.
I could also hear these weird sounds throughout the air. It must've been King Sombra on the other side because these sounds seemed to be growls mixed in with a faint, sinister chuckle. But once the sky began to frequently shift between blue and brown, I could clearly make out King Sombra's vocal tone even though he was far away. That made me a little nervous, so I decided to just run to the castle instead.
Upon arrival, there was a huge mob of crystal ponies surrounding Applejack. They were all chattering about the Crystal Heart. I knew I had to help out in some way, so I just stepped over and weaved my way through the crowd in order to get to Applejack.
"Why the hell are they all deciding to ask about the Crystal Heart now?" I asked in a hushed volume.
"Because I think they might be catchin' on to the fact that I've been suspiciously guarding the crystal heart." Applejack replied, also hushed.
"Great." I said, examining the area for anything to direct the ponies attention to something different.
"Oh, Jester, we could use some entertainment over here!" Applejack called out to Pinkie Pie, who was wearing a jester outfit.
Pinkie Pie blew the flugelhorn instrument in order to get the attention of some of the ponies in the crowd. She then demonstrated her juggling skills with four flugelhorns.
"That should keep some of them busy." I said.
"Hopefully. We just gotta get this crowd dispersed." Applejack said.
Both Applejack and I noticed Rarity maneuvering through the crowd of ponies until she met up with us. Judging by her look, she was stressed out.
"What's up, Rarity? Things going just as crappy as us?" I asked.
"I am running out of weaving material for the traditional crafts booth! I just made a hat out of three pieces of hay and a drinking straw!" Rarity replied.
"And how did that work out?" I asked.
"I made it work. But still!" Rarity said.
"Forget about the craft booth. Looks like the majority of the attendance are wanting to see the crystal heart. Just help out me and Caleb with the crowd." Applejack said.
"Very well. I hope we can convince these ponies to shoo." Rarity complied.
"It's gonna be fine. These ponies are gonna power up the Crystal Heart when the time comes, and we won't be needin' Cadance's magic anyway." Applejack said.
"I sure hope that time comes soon! I don't think I can even keep this party going on forever." Pinkie Pie said as she continued juggling, now running along a rainbow beach ball on her hind legs.
Pinkie Pie suddenly began to lose her balance and slipped, sending her back first onto the ground and sending the ball upwards. I quickly noticed the ball heading straight for the crystal block and caught it just before it could make impact.
"Careful." I said as I tossed the ball back to Pinkie.
"Yeah. All part of the act, everypony." Pinkie said.
Again, the sky flashed a shade of brown in a more rapid pace and King Sombra's malicious intent laugh could be heard throughout the empire as clear as day. I noticed everyone in the crowd gasp or slightly cowered in distress, some even ran away from the area.
"Crystal Heart..." King Sombra lowly uttered.
"T- t- that's him! He's back!" one crystal pony stuttered in fear.
"I thought you said that he wasn't here!"
The stallion I talked to earlier at his home looked right at me.
"But I didn't say anything about him being in the empire." I tried to explain.
At this time, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie had ran to the door to the castle and signaled me to follow them inside.
"Uh... Excuse me." I hesitated before running to the door and up the stairs to the castles balcony.
On the balcony, Cadance lied in her husbands forelegs. She was weak, almost drained of magic and couldn't muster enough strength to get up. As I looked out over the empire, every single structure was either corrupted by dark magic or just beginning to, as well as the castle. Way out in the distance, I could make out King Sombra as he surrounded the shield with his shadow form.
"Just don't ya'll worry your pretty, little Crystal heads. He can't get through that shield." Applejack assured, but it was a poor choice of words.
"I don't think they believe you..." Rarity mumbled.
"I don't know if I believe me..." Applejack agreed.
A few seconds after she said that statement, the shield that was protecting the empire weakened and just faded away. Cadance's horn aura was gone and she was drained of her magic. The empire was now completely exposed and everyone below was panicking.
"God, you spoke too soon!" I said.
"No, no, no! Please, not again!" I heard a mare plead.
All the Crystal Ponies ran around the streets, some went into their homes to hide, and some just didn't know what to do. But, they all stopped and looked up once King Sombra stretched out in his shadow form over the empire and looked down upon the Crystal Ponies.
"My crystal slaves...." King Sombra greeted to the Crystal Ponies, still using that intimidating tone. The Crystal Ponies looked up at him in horror, some even dropped down and covered their eyes out of fear. "Yes... Look upon your king, my slaves, and despair."
"Hey! Up here!" Spike shouted from atop the castle.
"Was that Spike?" Rarity noticed.
"What are you doing up there?!" I shouted back.
"I got it! I got the crystal heart!" Spike said.
King Sombra then stared at Spike and growled at him. "That is mine!"
The dark unicorn shot himself underground and moved towards the castle at a fast pace to cover the distance between him and Spike. His movement could be seen by a column of shadow that moved along with him and dark magic crystals sprouting from the grass. Once in a good range, he emerged upwards and was headed straight for Spike in the form of a gigantic black crystal. Spike must've got spooked because he slipped, dropped the crystal heart and was now hurdling to the ground. I felt my stomach drop.
"Spikey-wikey!" Rarity squealed.
I tried to see if I was able to catch him in some way, but he was too far out of reach. The closer that King Sombra got, the more his shadow form disappeared. He now retained his physical form, an evil unicorn, and rode the crystal all the way up. I shot my head at Cadance and her wings.
"Help him!" I blurted. "Please get up, Cadance!"
Cadance managed to open her eyes slowly, but shot wide open when she saw Spike and the real crystal heart plummeting to the ground. She unfurled her wings audibly to get Shining Armor's attention. He knew what she was intending. And so, Shining Armor lifted Cadance off the ground with his hooves and stood up straight onto his hind legs. He brought her backwards and just threw her right at Spike with her wings spanned outwards at an incredible speed. It looked as if it was going to be a three-way tie. There was Sombra coming in on the left, Spike on the right, and Princess Cadance oncoming in the middle. But by just a few feet, Candance was not only able to snatch Spike, who was close to being impaled by the black crystal, but also the Crystal Heart.
"Yes! Nice throw, Shining, that was one in a million!" I said with joy.
Everypony on the balcony cheered and praised Shining Armor, which he took without question. In the sky, Cadance swooped downwards to the ground and landed underneath the castle.
"Behold! The Crystal Princess!" a crystal pony pointed out.
"The Crystal Heart has returned. Use the light and love within you to ensure that King Sombra does not." Princess Cadance declared.
And just like magic, The Crystal Ponies instantly transformed into a sparkly, transparent state, their true form. Every single one of them got down to a bowing position and the streets below illuminated a baby-blue glow and King Sombra took notice to this.
"What? No. No! Stop! Stop this at once!" King Sombra demanded.
But it was no use. There was great, big flash of light as if an energy bomb just went off down below. Waves of unified love flowed outwards as far as the eye could see. It passed through everybody on the balcony, turning us into our own crystal forms. Even myself! I was taken back at first, but man, it was so surreal.
"Hey, we're all shiny!" I said.
"Oooh, sparkly!" Pinkie said.
But obviously, the unified love of the empire wasn't going let King Sombra stay any longer. When the magical shockwave absorbed into King Sombra, everything got bright, but I could see the silhouette of him realizing what was happening to himself. It was over for him. He just let out the loudest scream of defeat I've ever heard and just blew into a million pieces. No gore at all, just little fragments of his body and armor.
With the unification wave reached outwards, the castle started to vibrate. It wasn't too violent, but also not too gentle. This is because all of that concentrated magic was being absorbed by the castle itself and sent to the spire where it all shot up into the sky and dispersed in nine different directions for miles. It looked strikingly similar to the Aurora Borealis, but the colors swapped with blue, a shade of dark pink, yellow, and a bit more wavy. This also destroyed any dark magic corruption that influence the structures, sky, and the surrounding area. But most importantly, love and unification now filled the empire once more. The Crystal Empire was now restored.