The Crystal Empire
Inside the palace, Princess Cadence was pacing back and forth at a dangerous rate. She had been anxious to learn of her sister-in-law and friends' progress for quite some time but had received no word as of late. Because of this, several thoughts plagued her mind. Were Twilight and the others safe? Have they fallen? What terrors awaited them? Just as she was thinking more and more, a certain yellow pegasus arrived, escorted by two royal guards.
"Princess Cadence!"
"Fluttershy!"
"I... I need..." the pegasus said, panting.
Cadence didn't need to hear the rest; she immediately knew why Fluttershy came. They went directly to the Crystal Heart.
"You have arrived, Fluttershy," the voice of Cid spoke.
"Y-Yes... Everypony in Ponyville is panicking and... I just couldn't wait any longer for my friends. Where are they now?" she asked.
Using the powers of the Crystal Heart, Cid looked deep into the world of the four youths and discovered Twilight and the others unconscious.
"The others have successfully restored three of the Crystals, but they have paid a high price."
"Princess Twilight..." a voice called out.
"Huh?"
"You and your friends must go see Doga."
"Wait!"
Just then, a familiar voice made itself known.
"You and your friends have come so far, Princess Twilight. We are most impressed."
"Just who are you really?! Why are you tormenting me?!"
"As we had stated before, we intend to plunge this world and yours into a state of everlasting darkness..."
"No..."
"Yes... No one--not you, your friends, or even the Warriors of the Light--can stop us. For we are... the Cloud of Darkness."
*music fades out*
Twilight immediately sat up and opened her eyes. Panting, she looked around and found herself in what appeared to be a room within an inn like the others she and her friends had seen. She hopped off the bed, opened some drawers to look for any belongings and looked in the mirror to find herself wearing a frilly white cloth under green sleeveless armor, and on top of her head was a small, black pointy hat.
How... how and when did I change clothes...? Twilight thought to herself. Unless... Unless I've been granted a new job by the Crystal of Water.
In the lobby, she found the rest of the group waiting. They, too, were granted the powers of the Crystal. Spike wore the armor of a dragoon, instantly reminding her of Ricard Highwind, who risked his life to save her and Spike from the evil Emperor Mateus. Rainbow Dash, too, was decorated in the dragoon outfit. Rarity was also the same as Twilight herself, dressed in the same outfit. Pinkie Pie was somehow given the abilities of a black belt, and Applejack was dressed as a viking. To her surprise, Luneth was dressed as a dark knight, similar to Leon. Arc was dressed in the attire of a bard, complete with a scarf around his neck and a bandana with a feather attached. Refia, like Applejack, appeared in the viking. And finally, Ingus was made the same class as Twilight and Rarity.
Although they were granted new powers and abilities, not a single one of them was in the mood to celebrate, not even Pinkie Pie or Rainbow Dash.
"We've only known her for a short while..."
"But she still sacrificed herself for us."
"So, where do we go now?"
"We need to head for the continent of Dalg, wherever that is," said Luneth.
"Huh? What makes you say that?"
"Just before I woke up, I had this strange dream--no. It was more like, like... a vision of sorts."
Deep within his subconscious, the boy Luneth received a visit from an old woman.
"Warriors of the Light," she said.
"...? Wh-Who's there?" he asked.
"You must seek out Doga... He is the only one who can help you defeat Xande... Seek Doga on the continent of Dalg..."
"Wait...!"
"And that's what happened. When I woke up, we, well..."
"You can tell that the Crystal of Water had given us new jobs," said Pinkie Pie. "I really wish we'd gotten them under better circumstances..."
"Yeah, you're right," said Rainbow Dash.
"But we must not let Aria's sacrifice be in vain," said Ingus. "We must move on."
"I've got so many questions," said Twilight. "Like, how'd we get here in the first place? And where ARE we?"
"This is Amur, the City of Water. Gramps found us in the temple and brought us here."
"Gramps? Are you talking about...?"
"Yep... We told him about Aria, and..."
"He took it... pretty well," Rainbow added with a sad smile.
"Strange thing is, we've been sleepin' like logs for three days straight, and the world's been gettin' back on track 'round that time," said Applejack.
"No one remembers having their time stopped. It's as if it never happened," Refia added.
Twilight rubbed her chin in thought.
"Oh. lookie here! A Magic Key!" Pinkie pointed out.
"Where'd you get that, Pinkie?" asked Rainbow.
"Remember when we went to Gysahl? I bought a few there."
"A few?"
"Just so you know."
After strolling through the village, our heroes come across a child near the entrance. At first he was afraid, mainly of the ponies and dragon accompanying the humans.
"It's alright, little one. We won't hurt you," Rarity assured the boy.
"You... you sure?"
Arc stepped forward, sympathizing with the youth. "It's true. We don't mean any harm."
"Can you tell us about this village?"
"Well... I suppose. One of our village legends says how four warriors will appear to banish the overflowing light and darkness."
"Banish LIGHT and darkness?" said an incredulous Twilight.
"HO!"
The Warriors of Light turned around seeing four bald, middle-aged men arriving and striking strange poses.
"Who the hay are you guys?!" said Rainbow Dash.
"You asked for the Warriors of the Light?!
"Woooooo!"
"That's us!"
"Oh, it's true, it's true."
"What?" Twilight said in a deadpan manner.
Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack each raised a single eyebrow, not believing what these men had said for one second. Pinkie Pie could barely contain her laughter.
"What's that all about?" asked a disbelieving Luneth.
"Oh, the peanut gallery?" the boy said, chuckling. "Those old guys think they're the four legendary warriors!"
"Yeah, sure," Rainbow Dash answered, rolling her eyes. If those guys were pegasi, I wouldn't recommend ANY of them to try out for the Wonderbolts. They'd probably mess up the very first day!
"Inconceivable," Ingus muttered.
*music fades out*
Refia cleared her throat.
"So... What shall we do next?"
"Let's get to the Enterprise and--" Twilight's eyes widened. "Wait a minute... Does anyone know where the Enterprise is?"
The others reacted accordingly. Ever since the battle with Kraken, none of them knew what had happened to their vessel.
"If you're talking about that ship, it's right over there on the docks."
"Thank you."
"But..."
"But... what?"
The group went towards the area where the Enterprise was docked, only to find it chained to the shore.
"What the what?!" said Rainbow Dash.
"Who did this?!"
"If there's a village elder or mayor, we should go talk with him."
"Agreed," said Ingus.
The group returned to town and found the village elder Gill. He wore a blue hooded robe and had a great, bushy gray beard.
"Who's there?"
"No need to panic."
"Wh-What?! Are my ears playing tricks on me? I thought I heard..."
"We know, we know. Talking ponies and a dragon," said Twilight.
"We're the Warriors of Light, and these our friends. They came from another world to save ours."
The elderly man rubbed his head, trying to absorb the information.
"We've just found our airship, the Enterprise, chained to the ground. A golden chain is keeping it afloat," said Rarity.
"A golden chain?"
The heroes nod.
"If you're looking for the key to the chain, it must be in the hands of one man. His name is Goldor, and he resides in a golden mansion he named after himself."
"A large gold mansion owned by someone named Goldor? Who'd have guessed?" Twilight said sarcastically.
"Not me," said a smirking Rainbow.
"Me neither," Applejack added.
"So how do we get to his mansion?"
"No one can, not without Levigrass Shoes, unfortunately."
"You see, Goldor Manor can only be accessed by means of Levigrass Shoes which allow their wears to cross a bottomless bog that helps protect it."
"Oh?"
"There's only one chance. Why don't you visit the owner of the Levigrass Shoes? Her name is Delilah and she dwells within the sewers beneath this village. Here's the key."
"Thank you," said Arc. Unfortunately for some...
"Oh, no... I am not going down into the sewers," said a disapproving Refia.
"Likewise," Rarity agreed.
"Not even to save your adoptive father? Or Equestria?" Twilight countered.
"I can't believe we are in the sewers," Refia complained.
"Likewise," said Rarity.
The filth of the sewers permeated the air and penetrated everyone's senses; everyone held their noses in disgust.
"To think whoever we are looking for is living in such a repulsive place."
"Yeah, and it's not a bunch of masked, pizza loving mutant turtles or a wise, old rat."
The group looked at Pinkie Pie as if she had lost her mind. Again. Disregarding the pink mare's remarks, they pressed onward. Rarity and Refia in particular held their breaths. Navigating through the underground, rank chambers, our heroes found something they did not expect to see...
"HELP!!"
...was the group of four men they had met earlier. Apparently they had overheard the party's conversation about the Levigrass Shoes and, hoping to prove themselves the true Warriors of Light, went into the sewers before them. The men only found themselves cornered by four Gigantoads.
"What are you doin' down here?" Rainbow asked incredulously.
"It-It's too much! TOO MUCH!! Please!"
Our heroes let out a collective sigh of annoyance.
"We must aid them!" said Ingus.
"RIGHT!"
The party then charged and stood between the four men and the monsters. One of the Gigantoads leapt towards Rarity who stopped it from licking her.
"Keep that tongue to yourself!"
She then tossed it to the ceiling; her aura faded, allowing the toad to fall onto the ground and hard. It quickly got back up only for Applejack to strike with a hammer.
"That'll teach ya varmints!"
Observing the battle from a safe distance, the four old men realized they were out of their league and that the ponies, dragon and human children risking their lives for them were true heroes. Earlier they were bragging to everyone that they would be the ones who could save the world, but once they were surrounded by those giant amphibians, they were hopelessly outmatched.
The Gigantoads were defeated, and Rarity and Spike found their strength had increased as a result. The four men, humbled, approached our heroes.
"A hearty helping of thanks upon you!" one of the men said.
"Huh?"
"He's saying 'thank you.'"
"Yeah... We thought we were done for!"
"We thought we were the warriors of legend... But I guess we weren't. Oh well, that's settled." another chuckled nervously.
"We advise you to head back to town for your own safety," Ingus said sternly.
"And try not to get yourselves killed, okay?" Applejack added. "Y'all were pretty reckless."
Venturing further into the sewers, our heroes fought against several more monsters including Gigantoads, Twin Ligers, Black Flans, and what came to be Rarity's most hated by far, a Darklegs--a giant spider. With the monsters defeated, the Equestians and Warriors of the Light came across an old woman in a brown robe.
"Excuse us," said Twilight.
"Eh? Who are you, and what do you want with old Delilah?"
"It seems she is the one we seek. We must ask her about the Levigrass Shoes," Ingus whispered.
Luneth nodded in agreement and told her about their adventure. The old woman responded by laughing in a condescending manner.
"Hey, what's so funny?" said a displeased Rainbow Dash.
"Everything, of course! Turnip-squeezing kids like you, the four warriors of legend? And small pastel ponies and their pet dragon, aiding them because of so many bad dreams? HA!"
"Don't push it, lady..." Rainbow growled.
"No matter. Here are the Levigrass Shoes you seek. Here, catch!"
"Huh?"
"Watch out!"
The group dodged to different sides; the shoes exploded upon impact. They turned to see the so-called "warriors."
"What the hay's the big idea?!"
"I distinctly remember Ingus telling you to return to town," said Rarity.
"And how'd ya know these shoes were fake?" asked Rainbow.
One of the men stepped forward and said, "We only wanted to help."
"Yeah, we've seen Levigrass Shoes before, but those didn't look anything like them!"
The group then glared at the now nervous Delilah.
"Are you tryin' to pull a fast one on us now?!" said Applejack. "Ah hate charlatans!"
"Now, now..."
"Allow us, please," said one of the four. He then approached the elderly woman. "Delilah, these four kids and their animal friends are the real heroes. In fact, these kids are the real legendary Warriors of Light!"
"Delilah, please give them the Levigrass Shoes!"
Regaining her composure, the old woman rubbed her chin with her finger. She then came to a decision.
"Well, if it's you asking, I don't have much of a choice, do I? Fine, take them."
She then took out another pair of shoes. Everyone stood guard, but when the shoes hit the ground, there was no explosion this time. These were the real Levigrass Shoes.
"Now we can cross the bottomless bog!" said an elated Luneth.
"Thank you," Twilight said, addressing the four men. "To think after all you've been through, you've actually shown us you can be brave."
"That took real guts," Rainbow added.
"Oh, it was nothing," the apparent leader said modestly. He then told everyone told hold on to each other as he cast the Teleport spell, bringing them straight back to the village.
With the Levigrass Shoes, our heroes left the sewers (much to Rarity and Refia's relief) and proceeded to the bog that led to Goldor Manor. Using their new footwear, the humans were able to cross the deadly marsh while the ponies, thanks to Rainbow Dash's wings and Twilight's magic, floated across without any problems. And just in front of them stood the mansion of the man who chained the Enterprise. Surrounded by a large mountain range, the mansion was indeed solid gold as the village elder described. Steeling their resolve, the group opened the gates went inside.
Everything within the manor was just as it was on the outside: gold. Solid gold.
"Oh. My. Stars! Everything here is solid gold!"
"Duh...! The text already said that, Rarity!" said Pinkie Pie.
"What 'text' are you talking about?"
"The line right below the Goldor Manor sign of course."
Disregarding the pink earth pony's remarks, the group began their trek through the mansion. Using the Magic Keys, they unlocked several rooms and even found shining swords which they couldn't use, given their current jobs. And after several attacks from golden monsters, they came across something unexpected.
"Is that...?"
"A CRYSTAL?! HERE?!"
Our heroes were elated to see the Crystal of Earth in front of them... Most of them, rather. Twilight and Rarity felt something was off about this crystal.
"Halt!"
The voice belonged to a tall man in gold armor. The helmet he wore was--surprise--golden as well.
"So, you're Goldor, I take it?" said Luneth.
"No one touches my treasure; especially this beautiful golden crystal! It is my pride and joy. When I heard of your exploits, Warriors of the Light, I had your airship chained to the ground."
"Excuse us," said Twilight.
"What do you--"
Shoving the man aside with their magic, Twilight and Rarity inspected the crystal. To their surprise, they felt nothing.
"This is NOT the Crystal of Earth at all!" Rarity declared.
"WHAT?!"
"What are you talking about? It's right there!"
"This is just a golden crystal. Nothing more!"
"Can't you all feel it?"
"No...!" Luneth said, then realizing. "So... It's not really--"
"Of COURSE IT'S REAL! This crystal is MINE!" Goldor exclaimed in fury. "And I have no intention of letting you have it."
"You can keep this crystal, but you still have something we want!"
"Try and take it if you can!"
Rainbow Dash groaned. "Will you please just give us the key to the airship? We don't wanna be drawn into some pointless fighting!"
"NO! All this gold is mine! Mine! Mine! MINE!!"
With one hit on the head from Applejack's hammer, Goldor's helmet cracked and the man fell unconscious. They searched him and found precisely what they expected: the key to the chain holding the Enterprise.
"Now then... Shall we?" said Rarity. With the key in hand, they proceeded to exit the manor. Though one question remained: where was the real Crystal of Earth?
Amur
As our heroes stepped into the village elder's house, the elder himself stood up and greeted them warmly.
"Welcome back. Were you successful?"
"Yes," said Ingus. "And we have discovered a crystal within Goldor Manor. Alas, it turned out not to be authentic."
"But we've got what we need to get our ship back, and we're going to find the real crystal," said Luneth.
"That's good. Now... here's something to help you in your quest."
From his robe, the village elder pulled a scrolled paper. Unraveling it, Luneth discovered it was a map of the entire world.
"Thank you."
"You are more than welcome. Now go, and set things right."
And with that, the Equestrians and the Warriors of Light unlocked the chain holding the Enterprise, boarded the ship and set sail. It was decided they should head for Dalg and seek out the mysterious Doga of whom the equally mysterious woman spoke in Twilight and the Warriors' dream. But first, they had to travel to other locations. So they found a small village on a small land just east of Amur.
The village, situated on the small island, was a tranquil town. In the center lied a river flowing with water. Rarity closed her eyes, taking in the sight around her and sighing in content.
"What a wondrous place," she said.
"It sure is," Refia agreed.
"I could stay here forever if I wanted to," said Luneth.
"Ya know we got some things to do, don't ya?" said Applejack. "Now I don't mind bein' here for a while. It sure is pretty, but we're still tryin' to explore the rest of this here surface world."
"Applejack's right," Twilight sighed.
After touring around town and purchasing all necessary items and selling the swords from Goldor Manor for a vast amount of gil, most of the group elected to sleep for the night, though Twilight declined.
"Ya sure?" Pinkie asked. "We should at least get 40 winks and--"
"NO!"
*music stops*
The group flinched as Twilight yelled. Realizing her mistake, Twilight held her hooves to her muzzle and hung her head in shame.
"Twilight...?"
"I-I... I'm sorry. I don't... I don't think I can sleep anymore. Not with all these horrible dreams...!" she sobbed.
Refia and Applejack walked over and wrapped their arms around the weeping alicorn; the rest of the group followed.
"You're not alone, Twilight. You're not alone," said Spike.
Twilight sniffled and closed her eyes, letting her tears roll down her cheeks.
"Thank you... everyone..."
Meanwhile, back at the Crystal Empire...
Fluttershy had just learned of her friends' travels to the world that was once covered in darkness; she had also learned of the apparent fate of Desch who risked his life to save the Floating Continent and the water maiden Aria's sacrifice to protect her friends. She wept softly, for the news reminded her of Josef and the dragoon Ricard Highwind, who put their own lives at risk to protect her, Twilight and the others from their previous journey. Cadence pulled the yellow pegasus into a comforting embrace.
"Why... Why do so many people have to die...?" she asked herself.
"That is not all," said Cid. "I fear that Twilight is suffering the most from these nightmares. And if she cannot overcome them..."
Fluttershy and Cadence didn't need to hear the rest of that sentence. All they could hope for was the best and that their friends could come out of this unscathed.
The next morning at Duster...
The Equestrians and the children awoke and discussed their next destination. With an agreement reached, the party left the village stepped aboard the Enterprise once more. The group noticed a large city to the east, but before they could do anything else, a loud boom could be heard. The Enterprise had taken damage from a large cannon below.
"Brace for impact!" Luneth shouted, as everyone else screamed. Losing power, the airship rapidly descended into the ground and crashed upon impact.
