//------------------------------//
// Ripped apart - Part II 
// Story: Crystal Note - Where life leads us 
// by TalkingToMyself 
//------------------------------//

Three mares stood in the throne room of the Crystal Palace. Rose Quartz, advisor and confidant of Princess Cadance as well as head of the Crystal Council, stood next to the currently empty throne. This was her usual spot whenever she assisted the Princess during audiences or meetings. Today, she only took this spot out of habit, a little piece of security and normality on a day that threw the world out of order.

The two mares in front of her also struggled with regaining their grip of life again. Crystal Note was still distraught as she had been present when the two bodies had been discovered. Right now, she was leaning heavily against Opal Waves, a mutual friend to the sisters and the two ponies who had passed. Opal Waves had rushed to the mine as soon as she heard of the accident. When she had seen that Flint, her husband, was not hurt, she'd offered her support to Crystal Note and Rose Quartz instead. Now, she had her hooves carefully wrapped around the crystal unicorn, but the tragic of the events left her run out of tears as well.

The three had just gotten the latest report just a few minutes ago and tried to digest the news. Lieutenant Flash Sentry had flown off to Canterlot to personally inform Princess Cadance but even though he'd be faster than a train, it would take the pegasus guard a while to reach them.

Out of the three mares, Rose Quartz seemed the most composed, but her wavering voice betrayed her calm posture

"She wanted to surprise her husband on their wedding anniversary. With homemade lunch. And nopony could have expected a cave-in, so they just let her in. Out of all times for something like this to happen..."

She trailed off for a moment, then sighed deeply

"All things considered, it's a little wonder only two ponies died. We still don't know why the cave-in even happened. It could have been a lot worse."

Crystal Note sobbed loudly and glared at her sister, then added with an angry voice

"And the bad news is, two ponies died anyways."

Rose Quartz frowned and took a step towards them but hesitated at the glare. She realized she’d not done a very well job of choosing the right words

"I didn't mean to... yes. You're right, of course."

Crystal Note buried her face against Opal Waves, so she didn't see Rose Quartz' posture slump and her ears drop down in shame. Opal Waves gave her a sad, understanding smile and this time, the older mare closed the distance and sat down on the other side of Crystal Note. As soon as she could feel the hoof on her shoulder, Crystal Note turned around and gingerly tucked her head under her sister's chin. Rose Quartz immediately pulled her a little closer at the three mares sat in silence for a while, gaining comfort from each other's presence.

Opal Waves was the one who started talking after a some time

"How are we going to tell their daughters?"

Both sisters-in-heart froze and turned her head towards the lilac mare

"Daughters?"

Opal nodded and closed her eyes

"Crissy, I'm sure you know the twins, Sweetie Tooth and Velvet Heart."

Crystal Note's eyes went wide and filled with tears again

"Dear stars... they're always with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. I think they are a year younger than Ocean and Flurry Heart, right? Heavens, no..."

She didn't resist as Rose Quartz pulled her into a tight hug and new tears made their way down her cheeks. Opal Waves had her eyes still closed to prevent just that

"Eight months younger. We gave them our foal stuff when Ocean grew out of it and sometimes, their older daughter would foalsit Amber and Ocean. Glass Slipper just turned thirteen."
"Thirteen...?"

Crystal Note's voice broke and she searched and found Rose Quartz's gaze, the sisters staring at each other with barely hidden pain and sadness

"Even younger than we were when we lost Dad."

"Sweet Celestia..."

Opal Waves just nodded again. Out of the three, she was the only one who was a mother herself and just thinking about her children was enough to pinch off her chest.

After another minute, Crystal Note climbed back on her hooves and wiped the last tears out of her eyes. Her coat still had a grey colour, but her eyes almost glowed with determination

"I'll go and tell them right away."

Both mares at her sided blinked and Opal Wave's mouth hung agape

"Are you sure that's the best thing?"

"Maybe we should wait until..."

Crystal Note shook her head and took a step forward towards the door, then turned around to face Opal and Rose

"No, we need to tell them now. If we wait any longer, it will only get more painful, for them and for us. They'll wonder where their parents are and when they hear the rumours in town..."

She shook her head and stepped towards the door

"We need to tell them and we need to make sure somepony is there to take care of them when they realize their parents won't be coming back."

Opal Wave shivered as once again, Amber and Ocean's faces flashed through her mind, crying their eyes out, but then she shook her head and stepped next to Crystal Note

"But you're not going alone."
"Absolutely not."
Rose Quartz was at her side again when Crystal Note turned her head around, her eyes shining with the same determination she had shown herself

"We'll do what we can to help."

With that, the three mares left the palace and Opal Waves lead them to their destination.





Many ponies watched as three mares left the palace. Everypony cleared their path as they walked through the streets, staring ahead with saddened expressions and lack of any brightness in their coats and manes.

Most crystal ponies had at least heard rumours and understood, but none approached them or stopped them to talk. Those who were yet unaware of the tragedy quickly caught up.

After minutes that seemed like hours, the small group reached one of the branched streets of the residential district of the city. They approached one of the smaller homes and Rose Quartz knocked at the door. The ponies from the neighbouring houses watched through the windows, soon many of them stepped out of their homes and gathered on the street in small groups. They watched as a teenage filly opened the door and a few words were said, then the three mares followed the filly inside.

The ponies watched and waited, they exchanged a few worried words. Most of them still couldn't process all that had happened, that two of their fellow ponies would never return home. After a couple of minutes, they heard yelling from the small home. It sounded angry at first, then desperate and after some more time, just sad. In the end, the only sounds that could be heard were those of sobbing and crying from multiple voices. 

The ponies stood silently and watched from afar. If they had peeked in through a window, they would have seen three fillies crying their eyes out, the teenager from before and two fillies who were so young they didn't even have their cutie marks yet. The three sisters clung on each other, surrounded by the three mares who kept the fillies in their middle, a feeble attempt of comfort, as well as a desperate try not to let the fillies be overwhelmed by the feelings of loss and loneliness.

Eventually the sun set down and the day found an end, even if the crying would not for a long time.