//------------------------------// // The Crystal Nutcracker // Story: Fairy Tales of Equestria // by VioletRose13 //------------------------------// Once upon a time in a manor in the city, there lived a beautiful young mare named Sunset Marie. She lived with her parents and her two rambunctious little brothers, Snips and Snails. Every year, the family always held a big party at their home to celebrate Hearth’s Warming Eve, Sunset Marie’s favorite time of the year. It has always been her favorite holiday because every year she got to invite her closest friends and favorite relatives to the celebration. And that time did come again. It was Hearth’s Warming Eve and the three siblings were waiting patiently for their guests to arrive, mostly Marie. And soon enough, their patience was rewarded; ponies all came pouring in. Uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, and even a close friend or two, all splendidly dressed; here they came for the happiest and most wonderful time of the year. Once everypony had settled in and got themselves comfortable, they all gathered around in the gorgeous den which was wonderfully decorated with ornaments, knickknacks, trinkets, and garlands in various shades of red, green, and silver with a grand evergreen tree decorated just as fabulously while being surrounded by beautifully wrapped and perfectly placed presents and gifts as the centerpiece. But before anypony could get their hooves on a gift, it was time for the games to begin first. Every mare and filly received a stallion or colt for a dance partner and they all danced around the room in perfect synchronization; the bright colors of the mares’ dresses bringing more color to the den while the handsome smiles of the stallions brightened the moral. That was when something out of the ordinary happened. A strange mare wearing a black cloak and a top hat appeared and stopped beside the tree. Everypony silently gasped and huddled close together away from the cloaked pony, unaware of what was now happening. The mare removed her cloak and hat and Sunset Marie smiled enthusiastically; she immediately recognized the stranger as her beloved Godmother Twilight Sparklemeyer. Magical things always happened when she came to the house. “Twilight! It’s so wonderful to see you again!” Sunset Marie cried, embracing her godmother tightly. “It’s so good to see you too, Marie.” Madam Sparklemeyer said with a beaming smile. “You’re at least a head taller since the last time I saw you.” “I can’t believe you came! For a minute, I thought you weren’t going to come this year.” “And miss a chance to visit you and your family again? Pfft! Never! Something just came up and I had to take care of it, that’s all. But I’m here now, so no harm done.” “Well, now that everypony is here for the party, let us continue with the festivities!” Marie’s father, Flintlock, declared. “Quite right, darling!” Marie’s mother, Autumn Sun, added. “Twilight, would you please care to show us a bit of magic?” “I’d be delighted to. Everypony, gather around.” Madam Sparklemeyer said, nodding her head and closing her eyes. Soon, the den was illuminated with the natural magenta light of the Alicorn’s beautiful magic. Without missing a beat, fireworks and sparks began flying out of the mare’s horn, lighting up the room and the faces of the many excited guests. Her lilac face was serene, her eyes focused on the lights above her head, making occasional glances to the brightly wrapped packages tucked in her saddle bags. When her performance was over, everypony cheered and applauded like mad. The mare smiled warmly and looked back at her baggage. "Don’t worry. Everything will fall into place." She whispered, smiling to herself. “That was wonderful, Twilight!” Sunset Marie cheered as she approached her Godmother. Madam Sparklemeyer quickly covered up her saddle bags with her cloak as her Goddaughter came closer. “I’m glad you enjoyed it, dear.” She said. “Hey, what’s that?” Marie asked, cocking her head to the side to see the saddle bags under the black fabric. “Oh, this? Just a little something special for the occasion.” She held up the bag and opened it revealing presents. Snips and Snails gasped when they saw it and ran over to Madam Sparklemeyer. “You have presents?!” Snips exclaimed. “Gimme, gimme, gimme!” Snails pleaded. “Boys, stop that! Don’t pester her.” Marie protested, using her magic to lift her brothers off of the floor and away from her Godmother. “It’s okay, Marie. It’s just about time for gifts anyway.” Madam Sparklemeyer said as she used her magic to levitate six beautifully wrapped boxes. She gave one to Snips and one to Snails. “Here you are, boys.” She said politely. "Yay!" The two colts exclaimed as they began tearing the wrapping off the presents. "Snips! Snails!" Autumn Sun hollered, taking the packages from her sons’ hooves with her magic. "You two have to wait until morning!" "No, no! It’s okay. They can open them now." The mare assured her. "I think children should open at least one present on Hearth's Warming Eve." Autumn sighed in defeat, smiled, and gave the colts back their gifts so that they could finish unwrapping them. "How was your trip, Twilight?" Flint asked. "Long." The Alicorn bluntly stated. "Where did you go this time? I want to hear all about it." Marie insisted, for she loved hearing about her Godmother's travels. "Oh, you know, the usual places: the Smokey Mountains, Maretonia, Mt. Aris, the Crystal Empire. Then I picked up your gifts." "Oh, wow!" Snips said in awe as they each held up a tin soldier. "Snails; look! New toy soldiers for our collection!" “That’s awesome, Snips!” The two rushed to the glass cabinet, opened it and took out a pink winged pony soldier with purple eyes and blue hair. "Commander Dash!" Snips exclaimed, speaking for the toy in his hoof. "It appears you have some new recruits! We need to put them through training right away!" “You’re right, General Firefly!” Snails added, voicing a blue winged pony with cerise eyes and rainbow hair. “Where should we start? Wing-ups for the Pegasi or running laps for the Earth Ponies and Unicorns?” The rest of the family chuckled at their behavior. "These ones are for you two." Madam Sparklemeyer said, handing two packages to Flintlock and Autumn Sun. "Oh, thank you!" Autumn said in gratitude as she opened her tiny box. "Oh my!" Flint marveled, lifting a golden pocket watch out of his package. "Is this real gold?" Madam Sparklemeyer nodded her head. "I got that in Manehattan." "Twilight, it's gorgeous!" Autumn exclaimed as she put an emerald bracelet on her left foreleg. "That was from the Crystal Empire." Twilight replied. "You really shouldn't have! I mean these must've cost a fortune." Autumn said. Twilight lifted her hoof and scoffed. "Money is no object when it comes to friendship." She smiled at her goddaughter. "I actually have two gifts for you, Sunset Marie, and you have to treat them both with the best of care." Marie raised an eyebrow in interest. "What are they?" Madam Sparklemeyer led her to the couch and handed her a small, red package wrapped in a sea foam green ribbon. Marie opened it and gasped. Inside was the prettiest necklace she had ever seen! It had a golden chain with a pale red, jeweled sun pendant. "It's beautiful!" She said in wonder. "What kind of jewel is this, Godmother?" Twilight smiled as she put the necklace around her goddaughter's neck. "This is a very rare Daybreak Ruby. I saw it in the shop and thought it would look beautiful on you." "I love it, Godmother." Marie said, touching the sun pendant. "Thank you." "Now for my second gift." She said, giving her a blue package. "Hey!" Snips scowled. "How come she gets two presents?" “Yeah!” Snails added. “No fair!” "I gave you each five soldiers. By simple arithmetic, you two received the most presents." That didn't seem to wipe the jealousy off the young colts' faces. Marie peeled back the wrapping and opened the box. Lying inside the box was the figure of a unicorn stallion, only it was made of a large sparkling gemstone. He wore a royal blue coat with golden buttons, a tall blue hat, dark blue trousers, black boots and a belt with a miniature sword. His face was pale yellow with blue eyes and a Persian blue mane. His mouth was huge with bright white teeth painted on it. Sunset Marie carefully levitated the toy stallion out of the box. "Oh, Twilight." She whispered. "He's so handsome!" She blushed. "I mean…" The Alicorn chuckled. "It's okay, sweetie. He was carved rather well, don’t you think?" “I’ll say he is.” Marie answered, looking back at her crystal doll. "What is it?" Snips asked curiously. “Yeah, what?” Snails added. "It's a crystal nutcracker. Here, I'll show you how it works." "Twilight, isn't Marie a little too old for dolls?" Autumn inquired. “Nonsense. I’ll need some nuts.” The Alicorn said as she levitated a small bowl of nuts onto the nearby coffee table. She then took a nut from the bowl. She placed it inside the nutcracker's mouth, pulled down the lever sticking out of his back and the shell cracked inside the crystal jaw. Madam Sparklemeyer took out the nut and popped it in her mouth. Marie excitedly grabbed another nut and tried the same thing. The parents and the other guests decided to leave the children with their godmother and set the table for dinner. “This is wonderful! Thank you, Twilight!” Marie said before giving her godmother a hug. “Hey, that looks cool! I want a turn!” Snips exclaimed, standing up. “Me, too!” Snails added before standing up after his brother. Then, the two colts grabbed the nutcracker out of Marie’s hooves with their own magic. Their sister pulled on it and they pulled back. “Hey! What are you doing?!” She demanded. “We wanna play with it too!” Snails argued. “Yeah! You should share!” Snips added. “No! Stop, you’ll break it!” “No we won’t!” Snails flicked Marie’s horn with his hoof to deactivate her magic and Snips snatched the nutcracker. But soon, Snips’ magic accidentally turned off and the nutcracker fell to the floor with a crash and its jaw immediately broke off. Sunset Marie gasped in shock, picked up the crystal doll, and looked at it in her hooves. Her head rose and she glared darkly at her brothers. The colts backed away with nervous expressions on their faces. "Oops." Snips squeaked. Their lips quivered. "Sorry, sis…" The colts said in unison. "Ugh! I knew you'd break it! You two are never careful with anything! All you do is break things! You’re impossible!" Marie ranted, stomping her hoof on the floor. "Sunset Marie, don't be so hard on your brothers. They're only children, after all." The Alicorn said sternly. "Whatever. That thing is ugly anyway. C’mon, Snails. Let's go play with some real soldiers!" Snips huffed as he and his brother stood up. “Right behind you.” Snails answered as the two colts walked away. Marie scowled at her brothers and then looked sadly at her nutcracker. "Poor thing." She took the green ribbon from her first gift and wrapped it around the nutcracker's head, holding his jaw in place. "There. All better." She said with a smile. Madam Sparklemeyer smiled at her goddaughter's compassion towards others, even to her toys. "You know, there's a story behind this nutcracker." “There is?” Marie asked. “Yes. Would you like to hear it?” Madam Sparklemeyer asked. Marie, who always loved a good story, nodded and sat beside her godmother. “Have you ever heard the Legend of the Nutcracker Prince? It’s a tale as old as United Equestria itself is, though these days hardly anyone knows it.” “No, I haven’t heard of it.” Marie said, rather intrigued. “In the old days of Equestria, there was a kingdom on the outskirts of the land. The ruler was a unicorn princess who was known for being a bit… selfish. She was very vain, stingy, spoiled, and she held very little regard for her fellow monarchs, much less her fellow ponies. Her name was Princess Sterling Silver and she definitely wasn’t one of this Kingdom’s better monarchs… like her successor.” ‘I can imagine. She sounds dreadful.’ Marie thought. “On the day that she was looking for a stallion to wed, something terrible happened to the Princess. One of the suitors had cast an evil spell upon her, making her as hideous as he was.” “What do you mean?” Marie asked. “You see the suitor himself was a hideous creature that no pony, especially not the princess, would ever want him. As ugly as he was, he was still powerful and he was obsessed with dark magic and ancient curses. The only thing that could break the spell was the Corundum Nut, the most powerful nut in the world. A young unicorn stallion, a prince managed to crack the nut and feed it to the princess, turning her as beautiful as she was before. But that didn't stop the creature. He cast another spell on the poor prince, turning him to crystal, and the princess, repulsed by his disfigured appearance, banished him from the land forever. After that, the monster started an uprising, overthrew the princess, forcefully took over the kingdom, and crowned himself the Storm King.” "Oh no!" Marie said, glancing down at the nutcracker. "So the Storm King turned that poor prince into a nutcracker? This nutcracker?" Twilight nodded. "Yes, the very same. And the only way to break the curse is true love’s kiss. That was why the Storm King attacked and took over after the Princess banished him. So he could never find someone to love him as he was." "This Storm King sounds horrible!" The Alicorn sighed. "Indeed, but anypony would act horrible if they hadn’t been shown any kindness in their life." She put her hoof on her goddaughter's shoulder. "You must protect this nutcracker at all costs, Sunset Marie. The Storm King won't let him live like this forever. He wants revenge and he’ll do anything to receive it." Marie smirked. "That is a great story, Godmother, but you don't really expect me to believe all that, do you?" Madam Sparklemeyer sighed and smiled softly. "No, I don't. Still, you'll take good care of him, won't you?" "Of course I will." Marie replied as she rose and walked over to the toy cabinet. "I'll even introduce him to some of my other dolls." Twilight watched with a smile as Marie interacted with her dolls. Her smile faded for a moment as her eyes fell upon the nutcracker. "Soon. She's the one. I know it." She whispered. After dinner, Sunset Marie was so tired that she fell asleep on the couch, the crystal nutcracker tucked tightly under her foreleg. Her mother and godmother both smiled as they watched her sleeping peacefully. "Maybe we should put her to bed." Autumn declared. Madam Sparklemeyer shook her head. "And ruin her dream? No, no; let her sleep." The unicorn sighed and nodded in agreement; still, she wasn't going to let her only daughter freeze. She took a wool blanket from the couch and draped it over the sleeping mare. As Marie’s parents left the room, Twilight stayed behind and used her magic to carefully remove the nutcracker from Marie's grasp. She closed her eyes as she cast her spell and removed the green ribbon. Then she moved the nutcracker's jaw to check that it was back in place. As she gently returned the nutcracker to Marie, Twilight glanced at her goddaughter's sleeping face. Her horn glowed again and her magenta aura engulfed the sun pendant. ‘Just in case.’ She thought. When the lights dimmed, she leaned forward and whispered to the nutcracker, "Trust me, she's the one." The clock struck midnight: the Witching Hour, when magic is at its prime. The tiny fire still burning in the stone hearth glowed on the figure of the unicorn mare sleeping on the sofa. “And so it begins…” An unfamiliar male voice rang through. On the stroke of twelve, an army of dark figures wearing silver and red armor and carrying weapons began to emerge from a tiny mouse hole in the wall; these figures were not mice, but shadowy creatures in the shape of mice. They marched quietly into the parlor and stopped, as if waiting for something. Then another creature emerged from the hole, far taller and larger than the shadow mice and a toy pony. He was a creature that stood on two legs with silver fur, neon blue eyes, two large horns from either side of his head, and large sharpened teeth, almost like fangs. He was dressed in black body armor and a large black crown in the form of a helmet on his head. It was the Storm King himself. His cyan blue eyes squinted as he looked at the sleeping mare on the sofa. He paused as he got a look at her face. "Pretty little thing, isn’t she?" He mused. "Almost feel sorry that I have to get rid of her." "Leave her alone!" The Storm King gasped as an all too familiar yellow and blue figure hopped from the daybed and onto the floor in front of the King and lashed out a sword from his belt. It was the Nutcracker. "You!" The King shouted. "Have at thee!" The Nutcracker challenged. "Leave the mare alone!" "Stay outta this, you miserable little punk! Even in this form, you’ll always be a thorn in my side.” “And a thorn to you I shall remain, beast.” “I was merciful turning you to crystal rather than just killing you. Let me go about my business and it will stay that way!" "Your quarrel is with me! Stay away from Sunset Marie!" "Newsflash, kid; I’m not really here for her. I’m here for you. So how about this? After I shatter you into nothing but useless shards, I kill her and take over your little kingdom." "Over my dead body!" "Why? What's she to you anyway? Don't you already have a wife?" "You know that I never loved Sterling! I never had somepony to love all because of you!" "Oh yes, that's right." "If you want Marie, you’ll have to get through me first." The King rolled his eyes and groaned. "Fine, whatever." He then reached into his belt and he pulled a large sword out of its scabbard and pointed it at his opponent. "I’m flexible." He swiped the blade at the nutcracker, but he quickly ducked out of his swing. The Nutcracker’s horn then began to glow brightly, making his crystalline body sparkle all the while. Soon, an army of toy soldiers and other random toys from the nearby toy cabinet was standing right behind the nutcracker. “You wanna do this the hard way, don’t ya? Fine. Let’s PLAY.” The Storm King said with a snarl. And soon battle broke out in the parlor. Swords clattering and screams and shrieks of soldiers echoed throughout the room as both parties fought. The sound of the foes fighting was enough to wake Sunset Marie. Her eyes fluttered open as she wearily lifted her head to see what was making the sounds. She moved her hoof around the sofa as she realized that her nutcracker doll was gone. She lifted the blanket and pillow, but couldn’t find him. Then she heard another clang and spun around to see her nutcracker over by the fireplace, fighting a frightening looking pony his size. She shook her head and shut her eyes. “What the hay? This must be a dream. It has to be.” But when she opened them again, the strange battle was still going on. Surrounding the two foes was an army of tiny shadowy creatures in armor. The whole scene was bizarre to the young mare. "Did I… did I hit my head or something?" She questioned, putting her hoof to her head. She didn't know what was going on, but it frightened her that this horrifying creature was trying to hurt her Nutcracker. The enemies' swords were pressing against each other and the Nutcracker was losing the struggle. Determined to save him, Marie raced over to the battle. The shadowy mice, toy soldiers, and the other toys scrambled so they wouldn't be stepped on by the large pony. "You've lost your touch, bucko." The Storm King sneered. He screamed and dropped his sword as he was surrounded by a faint red light and was snatched up off of the floor. Sunset Marie brought the creature to her furious face. "Leave him alone!" She bellowed. "Ugh!" The Storm King groaned. "Oh yeah, I forgot about you." He was angry at her, then he smirked at the giant mare. "Now, don't you think you should pick on someone your own size?" His sword suddenly turned into a magical staff and before she knew it, Marie was engulfed in a black magical aura coming from the gem in the staff. She dropped the Storm King as he grew bigger. She glanced around and saw that the whole room was getting bigger. No, she was getting smaller! The shrinking stopped when she was about the same size of the nutcracker doll. "What… just happened?" She asked, nervously looking around her. She looked up as she heard the creature chuckle darkly. He now towered over her, about twice or thrice her size. "Not so fearless now, are we, my little pony?" He sneered. She backed away as the King slowly approached her. "A-are you… the Storm King?" She stammered in fear. "Ah! So you've heard of me. Then you must know why I'm here." "You're here to hurt my Nutcracker, aren’t you?" "Hurt him? Ha! I’m afraid I’d be doing way more than that, sweetheart." The Storm King reached out his claw to grab Sunset Marie, but her necklace glowed and a bolt of electricity shot out of it, shocking the King’s hand. He shrieked in surprise as the Nutcracker's sword twisted itself into his tail. He whipped his head around and growled at his foe as he was spun around by the crystal toy. "You'll have to go through me first, ugly!" The nutcracker declared. The King narrowed his eyes as he tried to get his tail free. "So be it!" He growled. "Run!" The nutcracker cried, looking at Marie. Marie didn't hesitate and slipped away from the monster King, running at top speed. "No!" The King screamed while shielding himself from the nutcracker's blows. "Minions, grab that mare!" Marie screamed in terror as the mice chased after her. She skidded to a halt as a hoard of them blocked her path. The nutcracker saw her plight and looked over at the toy cabinet. "Soldiers!" He called. "Protect Sunset Marie!" Marie was amazed once again as her brothers' tin soldiers and all of her other old toys charged toward the mice with either swords or cannons. "Attack!" One of the soldiers commanded. The soldiers attacked the mice with the mice fighting back with all their might. Marie used this distraction to escape and she hid under the sofa. She heard a cry and turned to see the Storm King leading her nutcracker toward the fireplace. A few more steps and he would be burned alive! Marie gasped as the nutcracker's sword was pulled out of his grasp. The King then pointed his blade at the nutcracker's throat. "It's over." He chuckled. Thinking fast, Marie removed one of her slippers with her magic and threw it hard at the Storm King. It hit him square in the back of the head and he let out a surprised cry. "Ow!" He shrieked, spinning around. "Who threw that?!" He growled when he saw Marie run from his sight. Meanwhile, the nutcracker scrambled around for his weapon. "Idiots!" The Storm King howled. "I’ve told you to get her!" He sighed as he put his hand over his face. "Do I have to do everything myself!?" The nutcracker charged the King from behind, but he managed to turn around just in time. He used his magic to throw the Nutcracker against the wall. The nutcracker lay on the floor in pain; parts of his body were cracked in some places. "Sorry to cut our battle short, Your Highness." The Storm King smirked. "But I have an annoying, meddling mare to catch." "No." The toy uttered, attempting to rise. The Storm King began to pursue the young mare, leaving the Nutcracker behind. As soon as Marie saw that the Storm King was after her, she searched frantically for a place to hide. She then looked up at her old dollhouse sitting under the tree, which was the size of a real house now. She activated her magic and teleported herself to the house’s door and she slipped inside, slamming the door shut behind her. The dark King chuckled at her action. "Silly little filly, thinking she can hide from me." He ran into the house after her, smashing the door in front of him. He scanned the doll-sized room he was in, trying to determine which piece of toy furniture the pony was hiding behind. "Where are you, my pretty?" The King called in a singsong voice. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!" With one swift motion, he turned over the toy couch and found nothing underneath. He pushed over a chair but was again unsuccessful. "Come on. I won't hurt you. I'll make sure no harm comes to you." He kicked the table with his hind legs, but that, too, was empty. Meanwhile, Sunset Marie was pressed up against the wall of the tiny closet. The darkness of the small room startled her and she had to stand on her hind hooves to fit, but she was more afraid of the creature lurking outside. What did he want with her? "In fact, why don't you make things easy for us both and just hand yourself over to me to save your precious Nutcracker Prince?" He called out. "Your choice." She held her breath as she heard him stop outside the door. "Fine, suit yourself. If you won't give yourself up and save your friend, I'll just have to keep hurting him until you do." She gasped in fright. She realized her mistake too late and put her hoof to her mouth. The door flung open and the Storm King grinned a wicked, fanged smile at her. Marie screamed in horror as he snatched her up and lifted her off out of the closet and closer to his face, staring at him dead in the eyes. "Let me go!" She yelled, furiously flailing her hooves around trying to hit the King. "My, my, my." He snickered. "You're a feisty little thing, aren't you? …I hate feisty." She didn't listen and persisted in trying to wrench herself out of his grasp as he flopped her over his shoulder and carried her away from the dollhouse. Outside, the Nutcracker was trying his best to get back onto his hooves, but due to his severe injuries he couldn’t. "Somepony, help!" He turned at the sound of Sunset Marie's voice and saw the Storm King carrying her toward the mouse hole. "Marie! NO!" The nutcracker cried. He tried to stand up again, but to no avail. "Somepony! Save her!" Soon, Sunset Marie used her magic to lift her slipper off of the ground and she threw it again. The King yelped as he once again felt the slipper hit the back of his head. He turned around and searched for the culprit. "Who keeps doing that?!" He demanded. Suddenly, he lost his grip on the mare, who landed on the floor with a thud. She looked at him and her horn lit up again as a beam of magic shot the dark King, zapping him right on the hind quarters. "Take that, you jerk!" She cried as she got to her hooves and ran to the Nutcracker’s aid. The Storm King shrieked as he felt the beam hit him in the behind. "Why, you little brat!" He grunted between his teeth. "You will pay for that!" "Leave her alone!" The nutcracker managed to scream. The King turned his head towards the two ponies and he brought out his sword. "This mare is really starting to get under my skin." He growled as he ran over to the ponies. He towered over the couple and looked at them with a look of disdain and rage on his face. Marie stood strong, not letting her terror cloud her thinking. “You stood in my way ever since I arrived, you pesky pony. This is where it all ends.” Sombra muttered. He grabbed Marie’s foreleg and his staff lit up with black magic. As soon as he did, light pulsed from the nutcracker’s horn and he grabbed his sword from the floor. There, he thrust the blade into the King’s chest through his armor, striking him in the heart. He shrieked and cried out in pain as the cold blade was withdrawn from his body; he dropped his staff which caused it to break on contact with the hard floor. The Storm King suddenly fell onto his side with a thud and he muttered something to the couple before losing consciousness, “You crystal pest.” The room was deathly silent, no pony or toy moved. The mice creatures gasped and surrounded their King. They lifted his corpse off of the floor and they took him back to the mouse hole. The evil and tyrannical Storm King was dead at last. Marie looked back at her Nutcracker, holding his weak body in her hooves. “Oh, my poor Nutcracker.” She whispered, stroking his mane. “Don’t worry, Marie. I’m just stone.” The nutcracker muttered as he stroked Marie’s face. “No, you’re not. I know you’re much more than that to me… my prince.” It was there and then that Sunset Marie tearfully bestowed the nutcracker with a passionate kiss. As she did, her pendant began to glow as did the crystal stallion. Marie didn’t seem to notice because her eyes were shut. But soon, she felt a hoof touch her face. She opened her eyes and she saw that the nutcracker had been transformed into a handsome unicorn stallion who was smiling warmly at her. She gasped. "Are… are you… the Nutcracker Prince?" Marie asked with wide eyes. “I am. And thank you, Sunset Marie. You’ve released me from my curse.” The pony said as he offered her his hoof. She took it and stood straight. “So the story IS true?” “Indeed it is. But now the Storm King is dead and I’m finally free. So… do you want to come with me?” “Where?” “Someplace special.” Sunset Marie’s necklace glowed again and both ponies were bathed in a bright light as they closed their eyes. When the light vanished, Marie opened her eyes to see that she was standing in the middle of the most exquisite and lavish ballroom she had ever seen in her life. It seemed to her that everything around her was made of sweets and candy. “What is this place?” Marie asked. “My home, the Land of Sweets.” The Prince said. “Ah, my Prince!” A new voice cried. The couple whipped their heads around to see an absolutely radiant Alicorn pony standing at the top of the grand staircase. She spread her massive white wings and brought them down, flying into the air and softly landing on her hooves in front of the two ponies. She seemed to tower over both of them. “Your Highness, you’ve returned! And your spell has been broken! At last!” The pony exclaimed before giving the Prince a hug. “It’s so wonderful to see you again, milady.” The Prince said, hugging the mare back. “And who is this?” The mare asked, pulling away and looking at Marie. “This is Sunset Marie, milady. She’s the pony who set me free.” The Prince answered. “Is she now? Well, it’s a pleasure to meet you, my dear.” “It’s nice to meet you, too. And who are you?” Marie asked. “Oh yeah, sorry. Marie, this is the Sugar Plum Fairy, a good friend of mine.” “A pleasure. Well, now that we have introductions out of the way, your subjects are waiting for you, Your Highness.” With a simple wave of her horn, the Sugar Plum Fairy transformed Marie’s nightdress into a lovely sea foam green ball gown with matching shoes while the Prince’s old uniform was turned into a Persian blue and golden suit with black and royal blue boots to match. And each atop their heads, a golden crown glistened like the sun. The ballroom doors suddenly flew open and enormous crowds of ponies and toys of all kinds poured into the room surrounding the Prince and Marie. They cheered for Marie and congratulated her for bringing their Prince back to them. That was when the Prince took her hoof and bowed his head before asking, “May I have the next dance?” Sunset Marie smiled warmly, honored that a real prince would be so forward with her, and she accepted his offer. Marie had never learned to dance before, but it didn’t seem to stop her from gliding across the floor with her Prince by her side. As the pair of them danced, the other ponies and the toys could only stare at them in happiness and joy, none more so than the Sugar Plum Fairy herself. As Marie and the Prince gazed into each other’s eyes lovingly, it seemed like this was all a wonderful dream come true. “Marie?” The Prince asked, kneeling before the mare. “Yes?” Marie asked. “Will you stay here with me? And be my Princess?” He asked, holding her hoof in his. “I… I don’t know what to say!” Marie exclaimed. “SAY YES!” The crowd cheered. “Oh, how I’d love to… but…” Marie’s happiness soon faded and her smile turned into a frown. “But what, my dear?” The Fairy asked. “What’s the matter?” The Prince added. “Nothing. I mean… I love it here, but this is where all of you belong, not me. I belong in Equestria. I love you, Prince, I really do, but I can’t stay here forever. My friends and family need me and I need them. I’m sorry, I really am.” “I understand.” The Prince solemnly said. But soon, the toys and the ponies in the crowds suddenly either began to freeze or disappear into thin air completely. Marie didn’t understand what was going on. “Sugar Plum Fairy, what’s going on? What did I do?” She asked as she ran towards the Alicorn. “It’s not your fault, Marie. Just go do what you want to do. And none of us will begrudge you for it.” The Fairy said before vanishing in a bright yellow light. Marie looked back at the Prince and tried to run to him, but she suddenly met the gaze of a familiar and horrific face. It was the Storm King. Marie screamed and backed away from the creature. He appeared to be holding his chest wound with his claw and parts of his body were somewhat turning to stone as he limped towards her, his broken staff helping him stand up and walk like a crutch. “YOU?!” Marie cried in shock. “I thought the Prince killed you back in the parlor! I thought you were dead!” “I’m sorry, my dear Sunset Marie, but if I told you I wasn’t… you would be hearing a lie.” The monstrous King snarled at the mare. Marie tried to hold the Storm King off by throwing various sweets and pastries at him and blasting him with some of her magic, but her fighting him only made him angrier at her. As Marie tried to fight him off, the Prince began to vanish with the rest of his subjects, parts of his body deteriorating into white smoke. “Marie.” He said weakly as he fell to the marble floor, trying to crawl over to Marie. “Get away from me! I said stay away from me! Leave me alone!” The young mare demanded as she was throwing a tray of cupcakes at the King’s face. “You have ruined everything I’ve worked for. My plans, my spells, my reign, my world. And now… you will PAY!” The King roared as he withdrew his sword from his belt. “Marie.” The Prince managed to croak before disappearing entirely as well as the rest of the crowd and the Fairy. Marie then backed into the balcony railing, realizing that it was a dead end. She screamed and covered her face with her hooves, preparing for the King’s sword to strike. But then, the Storm King fell to his knees and he finally came into contact with Marie’s necklace. It burned his chest greatly, causing the wound in his chest to cauterize in the very instant as though the jewel itself was red hot. He howled in agony. Marie brought her hooves under the Storm King and she flung him off of her body and over the balcony causing him to land with a loud crash onto the unforgiving ground below. He was never seen by pony eyes again. Breathing heavily, Marie looked back into the ballroom, only to see that everypony was gone. “Nutcracker! Nutcracker, where are you?!” Marie shouted with tears in her eyes. “My Prince! No, don’t leave me!” She could just hear the Prince’s voice faintly saying: “Sunset Marie… I love you.” “I love you, too, my Prince! Please don’t go! Where are you?! Tell me where you are! Answer me, please! Where are you?! NUTCRACKER!” Marie abruptly awoke early the next morning with a cold sweat and tears in her eyes. She frantically looked around, but nothing was found. The Crystal Nutcracker was gone. She looked at herself and saw that her ball gown was gone. She also noticed that she was back in the parlor of her own home. She got up and looked around the toy cabinet but the Nutcracker wasn’t there. She desperately looked all over the messy parlor, hoping to try and find him. “Nutcracker? Where is he?” She asked, still trying to comprehend the events that happened the night before as she searched. “Sunset Marie, you’re up. Happy Hearth’s Warming.” Autumn Sun said as she and Flintlock entered the parlor. “Mom? Dad?” Marie stammered as she turned her head to look at them. “Wow. The mice must’ve had a party down here last night or something.” Flint said, looking at the horrendous state of the parlor. “No, dad; it wasn’t a party at all. It was a war.” Marie blurted out. “The Crystal Nutcracker was fighting the Monster King who shrank me with a dark magic spell!” “What?” Autumn said, confused. “Marie, what in the name of Equestria are you talking about?” “I’ve never heard such a story.” Flint added. “No, it’s not a story! It really happened! I swear!” Marie insisted. “Present time!” Snips and Snails shouted as they ran into the parlor. Marie stopped them and looked at them sternly. “Snips, Snails, did either of you take my nutcracker?” She demanded. “Why would we want it?” Snails asked. “Yeah. It’s just a dumb chunk of rock.” Snips commented. “No, you’re wrong! He’s really a prince, I mean a king! He’s technically a king now! An evil creature cursed him and took the Nutcracker’s kingdom for his own!” She explained. “It all happened last night, I swear! I saw it all!” “What the hay are you talking about?” Snips asked. “I think our sister has finally lost it.” Snails whispered to his brother with a giggle. “Where’s all this coming from?” Flint asked. “I’ve never heard such a thing, even from Twilight.” Autumn added. “Godmother.” Marie whispered as she grabbed her scarf and ran out the door. Sunset Marie was now more determined than ever to find out the truth about the Nutcracker Prince and the events that happened the night before. She ran through the snow covered streets of the town until she reached her Godmother’s toy shop. She frantically pounded her front hooves on the door, demanding to be let inside. “Twilight! Twilight! I need to talk to you! It’s important! Let me in! Open up, please! Open the door!” She screamed. The door suddenly opened and Madam Sparklemeyer was standing in the doorway. “Sunset Marie?” She cried. “What are you doing out here? Come in. Come in.” Madam Sparklemeyer let her goddaughter into her shop, closed the door behind her, and looked at Marie who was now in tears. “Oh, Godmother, it’s the Crystal Nutcracker. He’s gone!” She said in between sobs. “I have to know the truth. Did you personally know the Nutcracker? Was there really a Storm King? Is this lost kingdom a real place? Oh Twilight, I have to know, I just have to know!” “Hey, hey, hey! Slow down, dear. Slow down. It’s okay, it’s okay.” Twilight said, comforting Marie as best she could. “No, it’s NOT okay! My Crystal Nutcracker Prince is GONE!” “Aunt Twilight? What’s going on?” A new voice called. Marie’s ears perked up at the voice; it almost sounded familiar. She looked up and she almost gasped when she saw that it was a young unicorn stallion with a pale yellow coat, blue eyes, and a Persian blue mane and tail standing behind her and Madame Sparklemeyer. He looked at her and his eyes widened, she did the same. Twilight turned around and she smiled warmly at the young stallion. “Marie, I don’t believe you’ve met my nephew, Comet Tail. Comet, this is Sunset Marie, the daughter of some dear friends of mine.” The Alicorn introduced politely. There was a long moment of awkward silence between the two ponies before Twilight casually backed out of the room to give the two ponies some much needed privacy. The stallion slowly approached the mare before him; he took her hoof and kissed it gently. “Hello, Sunset Marie. It’s very nice to meet you.” He said politely, blushing furiously. “Hello. It’s nice to meet you, too.” Marie said kindly, blushing as much as he was. “This may sound strange, but… do you wanna dance?” Comet asked. Marie said with a wink and a sly smile, “I’d love to. Besides, I can’t say ‘no’ to the King.” So, Comet took Marie’s hoof in his own and the two ponies began to dance around the little toy shop together in a romantic manner; Madam Sparklemeyer was watching them from a nearby hallway. She smiled, winked at her nephew, and whispered, “See? I told you she was the one.” She smiled for she knew that from then on, Sunset Marie and her Crystal Nutcracker Prince would live happily ever after.