Chapter Twenty Three.
Unity.
"Why in Equestria are we following the human exactly?" Sproute fumed, nearly smacking his head on the steering wheel as the Sprouticus rocked around violently, following close behind David's car as it travelled off-road.
"Because." Sunny spoke, gripping the stair tightly, "They know the way to go. Besides, my mom is riding with them." She added, teeth jittering around in her skull.
"The giant alicorn that wanted to rip my throat out?" He added while sweating nervously, "Yea... I'll just do what you ask now." He chuckled nervously before a jerk from the Sprouticus caused the stallion to smash his face into the steering wheel, "Fuck!" He screamed.
Meanwhile, at the head of the pack, David, Pipp and Opaline weren't fairing much better. The violent rocking of the car was making Opaline feel very dizzy. "Are you sure this is the correct way?" David asked, trying his best to stay on the current course.
"Posi-posi..." Opaline groaned, resisting the urge to vomit all over the back seat, "Positive." She finally managed to utter.
"Dear Amore, I feel like my teeth are about to fall out if we continue this." Pipp spoke through gritted teeth while holding onto her seat as if she depended on it dearly for her life, "How much farther?" She turned to Opaline. The alicorn mid vomiting out of the back window.
"Not... Not much longer." Opaline said, as if on cue, the rocky path ceased, "Finally." She groaned, cheeks a dull green.
"Now, that's better..." Pipp let out a sigh, loosening her grip on the seat, "Hey, David?" Pipp asked, "Think you can teach me to drive thIS thing when you're free?" She added, looking at him and fluttering her eyelids cutely.
"Sure, we can start now." David spoke smugly, taking his hands off the steering wheel.
"Ah!" Pipp screamed, grabbing the wheel with her hooves as the car lurched to the right, "Don't do that!" She punched David in the chest angrily.
"Come, sit on my lap." David patted his leg, Pipp thought for a moment before slowly crawling over, gently sitting down on his leg, "Now put your hooves on the steering wheel nicely and gently." He added, "Treat the car with respect and it will respect you back." As he spoke, the engine roared.
"Ok." Pipp replied, keeping her hooves on the wheel, mimicking the position David would have his hands placed.
"Now, that's the horn." David said, pressing down on the centre of the steering wheel. Pipp jumped slightly as the horn let out a long beep, "This." David then pointed to the stick to his left, "This is the gear shift."
"So many gears... I gotta tell my mom about this..." Pipp thought to herself as she looked at the number of gears printed on the top of the shift stick.
"Now, try changing gears." David spoke, gently lowering Pipp's left hoof down onto the top of the gear shift.
Pipp followed his instructions and changed from gear 4 to gear 5, "Looks easy but it’s hard." She chuckled as the car sped up a little bit.
"See? You're driving." David chuckled, kissing Pipp's neck.
"Hehe, easy there tiger." She giggled, nuzzling him and kissing him on the cheek, "Opaline is watching us…" She looked back at the alicorn.
"Hehe, let her watch." David replied, holding Pipp tightly against himself.
"Young love..." Opaline thought to herself, rolling her eyes at the scene playing out before her.
*25 Years Ago*
Argyle and Opaline softly nuzzled each other, a sleeping Stellar lay between them.
"She’s just so tiny, dear." Opaline cooed, gently stroking the purple locks of the sleeping foal.
"Yes, but she will grow up to be a strong and confident mare in the future." Argyle softly spoke as he kissed Steller’s Forehead, "Just like her mother." He added
As they sat in each other's embrace, a knocking came from down the hall, "I'll get it." Argyle said quietly, kissing Opaline on the cheek as he gently placed Stellar in her cot. The blue stallion hummed a little tune as he trotted down the hall towards two large oak doors.
"Welcome, King Ezekiel..." Argyle spoke proudly, only to fall silent when the pony at the door was a king at all, "You're not King Ezekiel?" He added, adjusting his glasses.
"I am Princess Haven of Helicon City." Haven spoke calmly as if she had rehearsed those lines all her life, "I have come in my father's stead due to some, shall we say, issues with the royal court. The two guards behind me are Zoom and Zephyr." Haven added as they both waved at Argyle, "May we come in?" She asked in a gentle tone.
"Sure, come, come." Argyle gestured, standing to the side as the three pegasi walked through the door, "So, Your Highness." Argyle said.
"Please, just Haven." Haven said in a calm tone.
"My apologies, Haven. I am curious to know how life is for you as a royal, a princess and to be in the public eye most of the time, mind telling me how it is?" The blue stallion asked, pulling out a journal.
"Well, I could say it’s hectic as many reporters will ask questions regarding even the tiniest things related to the royals, but despite that, I would say this is my first time outside the palace walls officially, so it’s quite amazing I would say." Haven put her hoof to her chin.
"Argyle quit asking our guests questions." Opaline's voice called out down the hall.
"Hehe, sorry dear..." Argyle rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment, "It’s a thing I do, I can't help it, hehe." He chuckled.
"Ya big dork." Opaline smiled to herself as the three pegasi entered the main room, "Welcome to my home your Highness." Opaline bowed before the Princess.
"It is I who should be the one bowing." Haven stuttered upon seeing the alicorn before her.
"I may be an alicorn." Opaline chuckled, "But I am far from royalty." She added, biting the inside of her cheek. An ear twitched as she heard Stellar stirring in her sleep. The alicorn turned on her heel and trotted over to the cot, gently placing a hoof on the foal's cheek as Haven peered over the top of the wooden frame.
"Can I hold her?" Haven asked, before instantly regretting her words, to her surprise, the alicorn nodded softly.
"Yea... Go ahead, but be gentle." Opaline smiled as Haven slowly and gently carried the small foal and gently rocked it.
"Awww, she’s such a small bundle of joy." Haven chuckled, "What’s her name?" She looked up at the alicorn.
"Harmony. Stellar Harmony." Opaline smiled softly as she sat down on the couch, gesturing for Haven to sit down next to her.
"Hey, that could be you and the Princess one day, aye?" Zoom smiled, nudging Zephyr, "I heard you two last night." The mare smirked.
"W-wha, what?" Zephyr stuttered, "What are you talking about Zoom?" He darted his eyes from left to right, "N-n-nothing happened last night." Zephyr began to sweat.
"Dude, you smell of her perfume, and don't think I don't see that love bite mark on your neck." Zoom pointed towards a red mark on the side of the stallion's neck.
"Alright fine you caught me but you can’t tell anyone alright? Yes, she asked me to sleep with her cuz she felt scared of the night." Zephyr said as he sweated, "And, one thing led to another..." He trailed off.
"Dudeeeee, I shall keep it a secret, it’s safe with me." She winked, "But, you got a white stain on your belly." She winked before trotting over to Argyle, "Excuse me, you got a bathroom or a shower room here, Zephyr here needs a wash." Zoom grabbed Zephyr.
"Yeah, the shower is down the hall, the first door on the right." The blue earth stallion pointed towards a second hallway.
"Thanks, now, Zephyr. You're coming with me and you're gonna obey it, got it?" She looked at Zephyr sweating.
"Fine if you insist on this quick bath session." Zephyr mumbled to himself. Soon the two guards found the correct door.
"Okay, here's some spare soap and a spare towel I brought with me." Zoom passed the items to Zephyr, "Now don't get any ideas while you're in there." She winked, "I'll be outside if you need anything, okay?" She added as the door shut behind Zephyr.
"Ok, Mom..." Zephyr groaned to himself, mocking Zoom's voice.
"Hey, I outrank you, dude." He heard Zoom's voice from the other side of the door.
"We're the same rank, idiot." Zephyr rolled his eyes as he turned the shower on.
"So, are we the first ones here?" Haven asked softly, to not wake up the foal in her hooves.
"Yes, the unicorn should be here in a few hours." Argyle replied, adjusting his glasses, "If you don't mind me asking, can I have a look at your crystal?" He added, adjusting his glasses once more.
"Of course." Haven smiled, before carefully passing Stellar back to Opaline. The young Pegasi royal trotted over towards her saddle back, quickly pulling out the Pegasus Crystal wrapped in canvas.
"I-It's beautiful." Argyle said with amazement as Haven removed the canvas, the teal crystal reflecting the candlelight as colourful patterns danced around the room, "It definitely puts the Earth Crystal to shame." He chuckled, pulling out a circular pearly white crystal.
As if on cue, the two crystals began to glow faintly in the presents of the other. Haven and Argyle, as if on instinct, slotted the two crystals together. The crystals began to glow brighter.
"I don't feel any different." Haven frowned, flapping her wings as hard as she could.
"That's because we still need the Unicorn Crystal, my dear." Argyle chuckled, "But, if they're glowing this much now, imagine how bright they'll be when the third one arrives." He added.
*Present Day*
"What are they even doing?" Sunny asked herself as the car ahead of them slowly drifted off the path into the long grass.
"Ok, you two love birds, eyes on the road." Opaline spoke up, breaking up Pipp and David's kissing sessions.
"Oh glitter!" Pipp let out a startled yelp as she swerved the car back to the road.
"To the Crystal Empire..." David said, letting out a sigh as Pipp moved back to the passenger seat.
"Why so glum?" Opaline asked the human as he looked towards the road ahead, "Soon, you'll be reunited with Cadenza and Shooting Star, isn't that why we're even out here?" She added.
"Yes, while that is great..." He sighed, trees flying by the window, "It's just..." He eyed Pipp out of the corner of his vision, her chubby belly poking out from behind her extremely fluffy wings, "I just feel like my heart belongs to someone else, and, what if Cadenza and Shooting Star aren't alive?" He added.
"You can't think like that." Opaline replied, "Sure, it's a coin toss if they're alive, but you mustn't dwell on those thoughts." The alicorn added.
"You know, that isn't exactly helping..." He groaned, headbutting the steering wheel in frustration.
"All I'm saying is that, don't give up hope just yet." Opaline smiled, pointing towards the horizon. Ice and snow lay ahead.
"Ice and snow won't exactly help if the Empire isn't there." David rebutted.
"It’s in there just somewhere, we must look closer if we are to seek the empire itself!" Opaline declared, clenching her hoof as if she had just commanded her troops into battle.
Pipp turned back towards David, "If you want my opinion." She smiled softly as she placed her hoof onto his heart, "If we want to find it, we must not waste any more time and move quickly." She added, kissing his cheek. It pained her to say those words, but she knew it was something she would have to accept if David’s family were indeed alive.
"Ok, let's do it." David sighed, quickly shifting into top gear. The car lurched forwards as it quickly sped up, David looked up at the crystal as it dangled from the rearview mirror, "Ok, Opaline. Tell us when we cross the border." He spoke, looking at the alicorn's reflection in the mirror.
"They're speeding up." Sunny pointed out to Sprout as the distance between the two vehicles grew.
"Don't you think I know that?" Sprout mumbled to himself, "Not much we can do about it, we're in the red now, any faster and we'll shake apart." He added, pointing to the speedometer on the dashboard.
"We don't exactly have much of a choice." Sunny continued as the gap grew.
Sprout looked at the ground ahead, then at the dashboard and finally at Sunny, "Let's do it." He added, shifting the throttle forwards as far as it would go. The Sprouticus roared as it sped up, the speedometer needle moving well into the red zone.
"Any time now, Opaline." Pipp said, looking out the window as grass and trees gave way to snow and ice.
"We should be crossing over..." Opaline closed her eyes, tapping into the magic around her, "Now!" She shouted, eyes snapping open with a white glow.
David and Pipp focused on the crystal as it jiggled around on its chain, but nothing seemed to happen.
"They're gone..." David sighed, placing his head on the steering wheel in defeat. The car slowed to a stop, the Sprouticus pulling up alongside.
"David..." Pipp trailed off before hugging him tightly, "I'm so sorry..." She whispered, nuzzling him softly. She let out a pained yelp as David shoved her away from him, he grabbed the crystal off the mirror and exited the car.
Zipp's ears twitched at the sound of Pipp’s pained yelp and rushed like lightning to the scene where he saw David exiting the car, "HOW DARE YOU HURT MY SISTER!" She screamed, charging towards David, only to be stopped by Pipp.
"Zipp! Calm down." Pipp held out both of her forehooves, "All he did was shove me." She reassured her sister as David walked away from the car, crystal dangling from his hand, "David, what are you doing?" Pipp asked wide-eyed as she turned towards the human as he swung his arm back.
"THIS WAS JUST A WASTE OF TIME!" He shouted as he threw the crystal far away into the snowy wasteland.
"No!" Zipp and Pipp screamed in unison before taking flight after it.
"Awwww is the little human gonna cry now?" Sprout said in a mocking tone, "Quit being such a baby." He added before getting a sharp punch to the back of the head from Sunny.
"Not the time asshole!" The orange mare screamed in anger.
"Where is it?!" Pipp shouted, shifting her hooves through to snow, trying to find where the crystal landed.
"Hold on." Zipp spoke, pulling down her visor, the screen glowing a blue as she scanned the snow around her. She quickly locked on to a faint heat signature, "There!" Zipp pointed towards the source of the heat.
Pipp ran over to the spot and dug through the snow, she pulled her hooves out, and the crystal dangled from her hoof, she quickly pressed it to her chest, "Found ya..." She spoke to herself.
"Pipp... Look..." Zipp trailed off, Pipp looked down at the crystal as it started to glow, "It's... glowing..." The white pegasus added, pulling up her visor.
"THEY'RE ALIVE!" Pipp shouted, holding the crystal high into the air, "DAVID! THEY'RE ALIVE!" She flew over to the human, knocking him over in the snow.
"I'm at a loss for words..." He said, gathering his thoughts as Pipp dangled the flashing crystal above him.
"You give up too easily, my love." She giggled, before kissing his lips.
"I really need to get a spray bottle..." Zipp groaned at the display of love before her.
"You'd think the snow would cool her off..." Sunny rubbed her chin as she watched Pipp and David kissing.
"Ok." Zipp rolled up a snowball, "Break it up you two." She threw the ball straight at Pipp, bulls eyeing her right to the back of the head.
"YEEE!! ZIPP!!" Pipp screamed as a chill ran down her spine, "What was that for?" The pink pegasus whined like a toddler as she rubbed her now sore head.
"No more kissing." Zipp frowned, "Pipp. You are now on a kissing ban." The older pegasus sister smirked.
"Ok, ok." Sunny chuckled, stepping forward so a fight wouldn't break out, "We better get moving, we don't know how far away the Empire is from here."
"Sunny's right..." Pipp sighed, looking at the snow under her hooves.
"Right, so, Pipp, you're riding with us now." Zipp smirked, grabbing Pipp and dragging her into the Sprouticus.
"Urgh! Fine!" The pink mare moaned.
End of Chapter Twenty Three.