//------------------------------// // The Chrystaling part 4 // Story: The Little Pony Legend: The Crystaling and To Where and Back Again // by MaggiesHeartLove //------------------------------// The atmosphere was getting colder and colder by the minute, the storm clouds were fast approaching and now their only form of protection was currently shattered into a million tiny pieces. Rarity's ears lowered in despair, "So… not only can we not take part in a fabulous ancient ceremony, but we're also about to be frozen solid!" "I don't understand." Asami voiced out, "I thought the Crystal Heart couldn't be destroyed so easily! Even when I was NightMara the most I could do was curse the thing!" "That's because you aren't an alicorn." Korra corrected, "Our emotions are incredibly powerful. Since the baby's magic is unstable, and the Crystal Heart is powered by emotions added with powerful magic, it overloaded the thing!" "So, it's just reacting to the baby's mood?" Flash asked. "It appears so." Leilani said. "Without the Crystal Heart's magical protection, the entire city's about to become a winter wasteland!" Twilight exclaimed, her voice dripping with fear. "But what about when King Sombra ruled the Crystal Empire and the Crystal Heart was missin'? The city wasn't covered in snow then!" said Applejack. "The Heart wasn't missing." Korra stated, "It was still in the castle. King Sombra had just hidden it." "I'm afraid Korra is correct, and the storm clouds are already forming." Celestia said, her amethyst eyes looking up at the clouds which she pointed with her hoof. Lightning cracked from above, illuminating the sky as the clouds drew in closer and closer. Rainbow Dash flew upwards, pounding her hoofs together. "I can totally fly up there and bust those puppies! No problem!" she said with confidence before preparing to fly out there, only to have the curtains close due to Leilani's magic, stopping the pegasus in her tracks. "I wouldn't advise it, Rainbow Dash." said the alicorn queen, "Those storm clouds are not like the ones you know."" Princess Luna looked on in concern, "This far north, the weather has a will of its own, and now it will only grow stronger, enveloping everything in its path." "Including the Crystal Empire!" Cadance said, her eyes widening in fear as she held her baby close. "And us along with it!" Twilight added, equally terrified. Pinkie Pie rushed to her side, hugging her while her teeth chattered, her body shaking in fear. "Can't you guys put it back together?" Mako asked Korra and the rest of the alicorns. "If alicorn magic broke it can't it also put it back together?" "I'm afraid it isn't that simple." Leilani replied, "It's not always easy to fix a broken heart." (~) This visit wasn't going as Starlight had hoped. From a corner of the house, Spike frantically kept on trying to go over the list to find a solution, but nothing here seemed to be of any help. Well, they were helpful advice, but not for this specific situation. "There's gotta be something…" the dragon said frantically as he searched, but there was nothing here that could help Starlight to deal with a father and son argument. "Why did I even consider coming here? You'll never change!" Sunburst yelled at his father, now standing on his two legs while slamming his hooves onto the table. "You think it's easy to watch my son waste his life away?!" Blazing Saddles yelled in response, his yellow face turning red due to his anger. "You've been doing that since you were a foal, wasting time with this filly when you could have been studying and becoming stronger!" Blazing Saddles exclaimed in anger, pointing his hoof at Starlight Glimmer. "I always knew she was a bad influence on you!" Starlight felt in immediate pang in her chest. She always knew Sunburst's father didn't like her, but this was the first time he had ever came close to saying it. "Don't you dare talk to Starlight that way!" Sunburst flared his nostrils at his father, breaking apart the teacup and causing the tea within it to spill all over the table and drip to the floor. "This is between you and me, Dad! I'm sorry I'm not the powerful wizard you always wanted me to be, but I couldn't spend the rest of my life wasting my talents on trying to be something I'm not!" "That's because you quit while you were ahead!" Blazing Saddles said angrily, "You could have been a great wizard, probably the best, I just don't understand why you don't want this!" "Maybe because it's not what I want, it's what you want!" After a brief moment of silence, Sunburst sighed and walked away from the table, approaching his friend. "I'm sorry, Star. Let's get out of here." he said, leading Starlight towards the door. She really didn't deserve to tolerate his father's behavior. This was between them, not her. Starlight levitated Spike, who was now wrapped around the list from top to bottom and carried him outside along with her. Sunburst looked back at his father once more, narrowing his eyes. "Goodbye, dad." he said before slamming the door behind him, leaving Blazing Saddles to huff to himself. Once outside, Sunburst took a moment to release his frustration by breathing in deeply. He looked at his best friend with regret, his ears lowered and pressed against his head. "I'm really sorry you had to see that." "It's okay. I can see now why you were so hesitant to come here. To be honest, I thought it was that you were embarrassed for him to see me." Sunburst's ears perked up in surprise. "What? That's ridiculous! I really do appreciate you coming here. It means a lot." his words made the unicorn blush. "I don't regret you coming, but I was also worried about what my dad would say about you and…I was afraid you'd regret coming." "I don't!" Starlight insisted, "I'm just sorry this didn't turn out like the visit you hoped. What either of us hoped." "It's not your fault. My dad's always been…stubborn. He just can't accept the fact that I don't want to use my magic the same way he does." "But you're just as good at him, even if you do use your magic differently. When we were kids you knew more about magic than I did." "Knowing much is not enough to be good at something. I was taught to use magic to better myself, and when I tried doing it like that I could never cast the right spell. It took me a while to see it but, I eventually realized I was always at my best when I was helping you." the statement made the female unicorn blush. "That's when I knew what my cutie mark really meant. It's funny, you spent most of your life thinking you've found your calling, when really you've been looking at it the wrong way." "I know exactly what you mean." Starlight said, "For so long, I blamed cutie marks over us splitting up, but really it was because I had my own insecurities to work out." "I wish I could have been there for you more, and I'm sorry I wasn't. Maybe if we had stayed together you could have helped me figure out my way instead of waisting all those years searching for a lost cause and I could have helped you…" "Not become totally evil?" Starlight said with a bashful smile, which only made Sunburst and her chuckle. The past was behind them, and if Sunburst was ready to start anew, then so should she. She was given a second chance, a new start…a new name, and Sunburst had already found his, now he was helping guide Starlight through hers. "Come on, let's go get something to eat. On me." Sunburst suggested. And good thing too, they needed something to get their mind off of this craziness. As the three friends walked away from the house, the door creaked open and Blazing Saddles watched in sadness as his son grew farther and father away yet again. (~) The storm clouds were approaching fast and cold air blew against the curtains, making Twilight tremble from the colds. "There must be another way to restore the Crystal Heart!" she exclaimed, "A spell or something?" "Perhaps." said Princess Luna, "But it isn't something that any of us know." "The library here at the castle is nearly as extensive as the one in Canterlot." said Cadance, as she handed her husband the baby. "There's a good chance we can find something there!" "Can you guys hold off the storm?" Mako asked the three alicorns. Luna nodded her head, but still looked on with concern. "Yes, for a time, but even our magic will eventually succumb to the power of the Frozen North." Leilani spread open her wings and flew upwards, "We will do what we can, but you must hurry. Come, my daughters." the queen flew out of the palace with the princesses close behind, ready to fight off the storm as hard as they possibly could. Leilani took the first blast, releasing a powerful beam from her horn. Celestia's horn glowed brightly yellow, releasing a powerful flame at the storm, causing many of the clouds to disperse. She and Luna worked together, alongside their mother to fight this faceless menace. But, as powerful as alicorns were, even they were not fully invincible. Twilight watched the scene unfold, peeking through the curtain before turning back to her friends, primarily her boyfriend, Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Fluttershy. "I don't know how long it will take to find the right spell, but you should probably tell the crowd outside to get somewhere warm!" "And try not to mention the Crystal Heart." Cadance said, "We don't want to start a panic." Applejack gave the princess a salute, "Yes, ma'am. C'mon!" she said, leading the others to face the awaiting crowd. Korra turned to the remaining members, "We're gonna need all of your help. The crystal library is enormous!" "You can count on me." Mako said. "Me too." Asami said with a nod. "And me." said Shinning Armor while carrying his baby. She started to giggle and disappeared in a flash of golden light, reappearing right on Pinkie Pie's face, causing her to shriek and yank the baby off of her. Shinning Armor quickly rushed in to catch his child before she fell, but she only teleported away. "Where'd she go?!" the father frantically looked around for any sign of the baby, as did his wife. They heard the sound of distant giggling and Cadance picked up on the sound by twisting her ear a bit. "This way!" she called out, running into the palace with the others right behind her. (~) After leaving Blazing Saddle's house, Sunburst, Starlight and Spike stopped to but some snacks. Sunburst was currently purchasing them from a nearby stand while Starlight and Spike stood beside a crystal fountain. The unicorn sighed sadly. "Well, Spike, looks like my biggest fears came true." "Aw, it's not your fault. I'm the one who said we needed was this list." the little dragon said in disappointment before blowing fire at the scroll, bursting it into flames. "It's not the list, Spike. Or you. Or Sunburst. I'm the one his dad doesn't want being friends with his son." Starlight looked down in depression. "Not that I blame him." Spike's ears lowered in sadness. Starlight really did try to be a good friend to Sunburst, and she was, and yet she was still being hard on himself. She was still hung up on her past that she couldn't see what was right in front of her. The little dragon refused to let her think this way any longer. Starlight wasn't the same mad for revenge pony she was, and even then it was all fueled by insecurity, fear and pride. She was starting anew, everyone was giving her a chance, but she had yet to give herself a chance. "Well, Sunburst obviously thinks you're worth being friends with." Spike said, smiling compassionately as he placed a claw on Starlight's leg. "And not just him, Twilight, Korra, Team Avatar, the Airbenders, Tenzin, the kids, and don't forget about P'Li." A soft smile formed on Starlight's face. "How can I? She understands me almost as well as Sunburst does." "Ya see? You've already got plenty of friends who know you've changed, and they accept you. And I do too!" Spike surprised the unicorn with a hug. "Everyone else is giving you a chance, but you also got to give yourself one too." Starlight felt her heart swell up. Spike was right, so many folks had open up their arms to her, showing her that even though she had made mistakes they still gave her a second chance. Maybe she had yet to fully work over her own doubts and insecurities, but maybe instead of wallowing in the past, she should have done something she should have done many years ago… Trust your friends. Starlight hugged Spike in return, feeling a lot better about herself and her future. "Thanks, Spike. It really does feel good to have friends, even if one of them has dragon breath." she said with a playful wink Spike exhaled against his claw, seeing his own breath. "Uh, that's not dragon breath. It's freezing!" It was then that the two took notice of the disturbing shift in weather. Once, it was bright and sunny, and now snow was falling all around them. Sunburst returned with the snacks being levitated with his magic, shivering due to the cold. "Oh, you're right!" Starlight said, looking at how the falling snow was beginning to accelerate. "Where did all this snow come from?" Sunburst asked, "I thought the Crystal Heart was supposed to keep the cold weather out." "It is…" Spike said, pondering, "unless something's happened! Come on!" (~) Back at the palace, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack and Flash Sentry stood before the large crowd already awaiting to see the Crystalling. The weather continued to get colder and colder, but the crystal ponies barely felt it. Their coats were pretty much used to the cold, and the snowflakes didn't surprise them. Every now and again when the weather outside of the empire would get too much some snowflakes would fall, but so long as the Crystal Heart was activated there really was nothing to worry about. But these ponies didn't know about the Heart, and the group's orders were not to inform them about it. Which proved to be their toughest challenged when it came to getting the ponies out of the area. "We're just saying that it might not be the best idea to stay outside!" Rainbow said, trying for what felt like the twentieth time she tried to get them to leave. "I camped out all night for this spot! I'm not about to just give it up!" one very, very stubborn female crystal pony said, sitting on her beach chair, crossing her front hooves, refusing to leave. Fluttershy spoke next, attempting her own approach. "Still, when you think about it, the view is just as good a little further back, like... inside your house?" she said with a hopeful smile, but her attempt were in vain for the ponies only continued to complain. A male crystal pony, wearing a hat and jacket with a variety of pins on them, said, "The Crystalling ceremony is one of our most sacred traditions! And when that foal is held before the Crystal Heart, I plan to be as close to the action as possible!" "Honestly, I don't know if there's gonna be a Crystallin'." Applejack said. Flash Sentry stepped forward, hoping they would listen to a royal guard. "The truth is, the baby's an Alicorn and her magic's a little bit…unpredictable, so you might not want to be that close after all." "A baby Alicorn?" the stubborn female crystal pony said in awe. "Wow, I can't wait to see that!" "Oh, those little wings are probably so cute!" said the Pin Pony, already gushing over the baby. "I know, right?" Rainbow Dash face hoofed herself and groaned in annoyance, "Look, I am a hundred percent sure the Crystalling isn't happening." The group looked up once they heard the sound of explosions coming from the castle. Beams of yellow light came shooting out from various spots inside the castle, illuminating the darkened sky. The crystal ponies marveled at the sight. "No Crystalling, huh? Then why are they starting the fireworks show?" asked a mustached male crystal pony, prompting the others to start cheering. Rainbow face hoofed herself again and landed onto the ground, flat on her stomach while covering her face. Fluttershy compassionately comforted her friend. Flash and Applejack shared the same worried looks, while saying in unison: "We're dead." (~) Inside the Crystal Library, Cadance, Twilight, Korra and Mako continuously searched for a spell that could help them. Cadance and Korra hovered over the upper shelves, reading various book covers, but none seemed to be of any use. Mako searched the lower shelves while Twilight speed read as fast as she could to find the right spell. All the while Shinning Armor tried desperately to catch his little daughter, who giggled as she flew all around the library. "Young filly, come back here!" the tired father said as he chased after the child. Pinkie Pie also chased after the baby filly by hopping after her, trying to appeal to her playful nature. "Come to your Auntie Pinkie Pie!" Twilight closed one book and placed it on the "rejected" stack before opening up another. She continued this processes for what felt like forever. "Bridle Buck's Boat Chants, Hayhoof's Intonements, Mystic Maps and Mazes…" the princess groaned in frustration, "Anything up there?" "Not yet!" Korra said as she hovered over the highest shelf, levitating around twenty books at once, and carrying a few in her hands. Mako poked his head from one of the lower shelves by brushing a few books aside, "Still looking! Any luck, Cadance?" "No. I'm not even sure how these are organized!" Cadance said as she frantically searched the shelves. Her daughter appeared on one of the shelves and Cadance attempted to slowly grab her, but the child let out another sneeze, releasing a powerful light beam to which Cadance quickly flew downward to avoid. The baby teleported from the shelves and down beside her aunt Twilight. Shinning Armor chased after her. "Shining Armor, I thought you were taking care of the baby!" Cadance said. "I'm trying!" her husband called out as she turned a corner to try and catch his little girl. Every time he thought he finally had her, she just teleported herself right out of the way and reappeared in the opposite direction. Trying to catch her was like trying to grab a moth in a snowstorm, which might as well be the case. The baby giggled, having the most wonderfully fun time flying around the library. Her laughter died down when she spotted Rarity blocking her path, levitating a butterfly net beside her. "Gotcha!" she called out, ready to use the net…except the baby just teleported away and reappeared behind the unicorn, completely avoiding the net. "Or not…" The baby giggled once more, flying all around the library, only to have Asami jump down from one of the high shelves and grabbed hold of the baby with her own butterfly net. However, because the baby was stronger than she appeared, she continued to fly around the library, while inside the net, and dragging the heiress with her. Asami screamed as she held on tightly to the stick of the net while Rarity and Pinkie Pie chased after her to help. Starlight, Spike and Sunburst entered the library, surprised to see all of the commotion that was happening. The princesses and Mako were searching for various books while the others were trying to keep the rambunctious little rugrat steady. The baby eventually broke free of the net, finally releasing Asami beside the stairs, where Pinkie Pie came galloping down chasing after the child, only to slide and crash into a pile of books. When the baby shot another energy beam, Sunburst immediately shielded his two friends, the three of them ducking down from the blast. "What is going on?!" Starlight asked, still feeling very confused as to what was happening. "You want the long or the short version?" Pinkie Pie asked was being dragged across the floor by the baby who held onto her back leg. "Short?" Pinkie Pie then started explaining, rather quickly while still being dragged across the floor. "The baby's an Alicorn and she accidentally destroyed the Crystal Heart, so Twilight, Korra, Mako and Cadance are looking for a spell to put it back together and save the Crystal Empire from turning into a giant wasteland of ice and snow." Starlight and Sunburst blinked in surprise. "Oh." they said simultaneously. Mako was beginning to loose hope, there wasn't a single book around here that could be of any help. Until his eye caught sight of one very old looking book with golden trim and old velvet material, adorned with a decorative symbol of a shield with a horse shoe with several flags and stars behind it. It also contained a lock that required a key. Thankfully for him, the lock was open. "What about this?" he asked, showcasing the book to the three princesses, "Trotter's Tome of Reliquary?" Twilight levitated the book and placed it on the table. She opened the book and skimmed through the pages. She smiled once she landed on a particular page. "I think this is it!" she said, showcasing the page to Korra, who took the book in her hands, reading the words out loud. The Avatar smiled. "Spell of Relic Reconstitution"! Yes!" Korra wrapped her arms around Mako's neck, kissing his cheek, causing him to blush. "Babe, you're a genius!" Cadance sighed in relief, "Thank you, Mako. I can't believe we found it!" "It's a good thing, too!" Twilight said, equally relieved. "Without this, I don't know what we'd do!" she said with a smile…only to she shocked when her nice appeared before her, causing the stack of books to fall before flying away. "That's it!" Asami said, finally fed up with all of this. She jumped onto the table after the baby, leaping forward like a ninja and tackled the baby alicorn to the ground. The two rolled on the floor as Asami held the child tightly, shielding her with her arms. Once they stopped, Asami sat upright, holding the baby. The little mischievous pony was still giggling, treating everything like a game. Asami sighed in relief, "Okay, you're caused enough trouble for one day, little cutie." "Nice catch, Asami!" Pinkie complemented. "Thanks." the heiress said with a satisfactory smile, only to be replaced with a look of pure terror when the baby released yet another powerful sneeze, a beam of yellow came shooting out of her horn, the impact causing Asami and the child to be pushed back. Rarity countered the blast by levitating a mirror, causing the beam to direct at Shinning Armor, who quickly created a shield to deflect it, which in turn caused Sunburst and Starlight to deflect it with a force field when it was coming at them. Mako instinctively pulled Korra and Cadance out of the way just as the beam came shooting at them. Twilight ducked under the desk, briefly forgetting she was still levitating the book Mako had found….leaving a gigantic hole right through it! "Ooooh…crud." Asami said in dismay, while still holding the baby. Twilight's ears lowered, her irises shrinking and her wings rising, "That spell was the only thing we found in the whole library that was even close to what we needed!" "I'm so sorry, Twilight!" Starlight said, feeling awful for having partly caused the beam to hit the book. "It's not your fault, Starlight. None of us were expecting any of this." "Seriously? Nobody was expecting the birth of an alicorn here?!" Mako exclaimed, earning himself a few dirty looks from the others. "Sorry." "Do you think you and Korra can remember the spell?" Cadance asked her sister-in-law. "We only read it through once!" Twilight exclaimed. "Well, if anypony can exactly remember something she read for the first time two minutes ago, it's you, Twilight." Rarity said with confidence. "And Korra, you're a master at memorizing spells." Mako said. Korra and Twilight exchanged concerned looks, but they did make a good point. Twilight was good at remembering words on a page, and Korra could pick up a new spell in a snap. "We can try." Twilight said, "But I'm not sure how long it'll take." A cold wind came in through one of the holed of the castle, created by the baby's magical blasts, followed by several traces of snow. From the hole they could see the dark clouds zooming in quicker and quicker as the wind blowed ferociously like a hungry beast. "Is quickly an option?" asked a nervous Pinkie Pie. "I'll help if I can, but we should evacuate the city just in case!" Cadance said while Asami handed her the baby and she placed her on her back. She turned to her husband, "You need to lead everypony to the train station before the tracks freeze over!" Shining Armor nodded, "We will. But between you, Twilight and Korra, I'm sure you'll remember the spell." he said. The married couple touched horns in farewell. Mako turned to his girlfriend. The two shared a loving embrace. "I know you can do this." he said as he held her close. He kissed her forehead before bursting through the library doors open and running out to warn the public with Shinning Armor, Rarity, Pinkie Pie and Asami close behind. Twilight levitated a quill and a scroll and began writing down what she could manage to remember from the book before it got friend. "I only hope this spell is the one we need." she said. "That makes two of us." Korra said, sitting beside her to try and remember what she read as well. "Is there anything we can do?" Sunburst asked the Avatar. "I don't think so." it was then, Korra remembered one little detail, "Wait, Sunburst you studied at Celestia's school of magic, right? Surely you must know a spell or something that can help us!" Sunburst lowered his head in regret. "I'm sorry, Korra. I don't." Starlight pondered for a moment, then gasped in realization, "But I think I know somepony who might!" "Who?" "Your father!" Sunburst's eyes widened. As much as he didn't want to face his father again, she was right. "You're right!" "Who is your father?" Cadance asked. "Blazing Saddles! You must know him, he's a professor." Cadance looked at the male unicorn curiously, "I'm afraid I don't know the name. But, if he's as knowledgeable as you say he is you should bring him here." Starlight and Sunburst nodded and both galloped away to retrieve Blazing Saddles, in hopes he would have the solution to their problem. Once they left, the sky roared and thunder boomed down. From the glass window they could see the alicorns, still fighting against the storm before completely disappearing from their view, the mother and daughters becoming engulfed by the clouds. (~)