The Elements of the Crystal Empire

by star-girl


Chapter One: The Crystal Faire

Sunset closed the book she had been reading, blowing a stray lock of reddish hair out of her face. The Great War was so fascinating! The sheer idea of an alicorn having enough power to go up against the world's armies was so ludicrous that a few modern scholars had completely discredited it, calling it King Sombra simply vying for attention so that he could keep his throne. Sunset had been enraged when they had come to her for proof, being his personal student and all, but King Sombra said the majority of the populace didn't agree, and as long as it was the majority he would keep his throne.

She levitated the book back onto the shelf and pondered for a minute. It had said that the alicorn sisters would return after a thousand years, and the thousandth Crystal Faire was today. It had been established as an anniversary of the defeat of the sisters, and while normally Sunset discredited prophecies as a bunch of fanciful nonsense, the sisters were powerful, and crashing the thousandth Faire seemed like exactly the type of thing that they would do.

Hmm.

She decided to consult with King Sombra on it; he had always welcomed questions of any kind. He would be in the Remembrance Hall right now, where the lives given in the War were celebrated. Presumably at Queen Chrysalis's plaque, as she had been very noble in her efforts to subdue the sisters before the curse.

"Your Majesty?"

King Sombra turned and gave her that smiled that could light up a room. "Sunset! How many times have I told you to refer to me as Sombra?"

"Many times," she admitted, "but I feel more comfortable calling you your majesty." She came to sit beside him at Chrysalis's plaque. "I have a question. Is it possible that Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker will return? The prophecy, the magic, and the dates all line up."

Sombra's gaze suddenly turned very intense. "Sunset, my dear student. You know that as my prodigy I trust you completely, but you simply must stop reading those dusty old books!"

He burst out laughing at Sunset's expression. "I have a job for you: you are now Official Organizer for the Crystal Faire. But you must also make some friends! You will become miserable later in life when you don't have any acquaintances, at the very least."

"Yes, King Sombra," Sunset said, resigned - but she also noted that Sombra had refrained from answering the question. "I shall start on my task immediately."

She trotted off.


Sunset was in the town square with her dragon friend, Flame. She was a red dragon with orange spikes, and the underside of her wings were also orange. She was only a baby dragon, but she was Sunset's number one assistant. "Sunset, you should really take His Majesty's advice. I mean, he of all people should know what's good for you!"

"As a citizen of the Crystal Empire, I will do my duty, but that does not include making friends, Flame."

Flame deflated. Sunset could be very stubborn and hotheaded at times; it took a lot to change her mind about something. "Sure, Sunny. First on the list: food. Someone named Sugarcoat should be taking care of that."

Sunset pointed her hoof towards a booth called Sugarcoat's Café. "I think that's where we need to go."

Sugarcoat had a great sense of marketing. Her shop was located near the light show, which would occur just before lunch and last for an hour. When the hungry ponies flooded out, the first thing they would see was her bakery.

Sunset and Flame walked in, triggering a little bell just above the doorway. A purple pegasus with light blue mane and tail (and glasses) was behind the counter. "Hi, welcome to Sugarcoat's Café! I'm Sugarcoat, how may I help you?"

"Hello, my name is Sunset Shimmer. I am the organizer for the Crystal Faire this year, and I understand you're the main provider of food."

Sugarcoat smiled. "Yup, that's me!"

"Great! Can I inquire about . . ."


Sunset had been pleasantly surprised by Sugarcoat. She was professional, polite, and clean, which she had not expected a café owner to be; then again, she didn't really go to cafés, so she didn't know much. Sunset had never really had mutual respect for anypony, even her younger brother Sunburst, but then she had met Sugarcoat.

It was a weird feeling.

"There's supposed to be somepony named Indigo Zap clearing the clouds," Flame reported, startling Sunset out of her reverie.

Sunset glanced up at the spotless sky. "Well, she's doing a great job," she said, grinning.

"Did somepony say my name?" A pegasus inquired. She had a peach coat with a blue mane, and her goggles where settled on her forehead.

"Are you Indigo Zap?" Sunset asked.

"The one and only!" Indigo exclaimed, grinning. "And who might you be?"

"I'm Sunset Shimmer, Official Faire Organizer, and I understand you're the head of the weather team?" Indigo nodded. "Great! We're there any complications?"

"Nope," Indigo said. "Just a few storms headed our way that we had to ward off, but other than that it's been fine."

Sunset acknowledged her with a nod of her head. "Great. It seems everything is in order here, so I'll be on my way."

"Bye!"

"Bye."


"Lemon Zest is supposed to be in charge of the music," Flame said as they walked.

Sunset hummed. "You know, Flame, everyone I've met so far seems pretty cool. I didn't think I would ever meet someone that I would say that about."

Flame smirked. "Sunset Shimmer, are you making friends?"

"Wha-no!" she defended, trying to save her reputation. "I am doing no such thing."

Flame shrugged. "Whatever you say. Anyway, this is supposed to be her house," she said, gesturing to a yellow crystal one, "and she's most likely going to be inside composing."

Even from outside, Sunset could hear traces of a catchy tune from one of the latest Countess Coloratura albums. She raised a hoof and knocked.

"Heya!" Lemon Zest popped her head out the door. "What can I do for you?"

Sunset was getting tired of repeating the same thing over and over. "I'm the official festival organizer, and you're supposed to be the music person, so can I come inside to listen to some of the things you've picked out?"

"Sure!"

Sunset wasn't sure how Lemon did it, but she was an absolute god at composing. Every time she felt herself getting tired and bored, the music swelled back up again with some new, unique beat. Lemon Zest herself was a funny, bubbly person and was a unicorn just like Sunset. She even volunteered to be the stand up comedian, and Sunset had no doubt that she would play the part perfectly.


In this same fashion, Sunset met Sunny Flare, who decorated the Grand Hall of the castle with stunning paintings of weather. She depicted sunshine perfectly, and Sunset felt like she was actually in a thunderstorm when she looked at Sunny's painting of said weather. She was extremely generous and even sold one of her paintings to Sunset at half price!

She also met Sour Sweet, who wasn't doing anything in particular but was just an all-around helper. She was famed for selling the best fruits, but escpecially crystal kiwis and strawberries, in town. Sunset sampled one, and her mouth almost exploded with flavor. It was just so . . . delicious!

Sunset was certain nothing could go wrong; it was a perfect day.

But life's like that. It lures you into thinking everything is fine so you're not on your guard and as slow as honey . . .

. . . and that's when it strikes.