//------------------------------// // One last hope // Story: The Crystal Museum // by Miner //------------------------------// The next display we saw featured a giant dragon-like creature with no wings. It had blood-red scales and two rows of teeth. Battle scars and wounds line its whole body making it look more like an Undead Dragon than a Mythical World Eater. Its size easily dwarfs the castle with its mouth wide open as it tries to bite down on Canterlot with the four princesses ready for battle charging their magic. But what stood out was that Twilight was holding onto what he thought was the Crystal Heart, but it turned out to be something else. He's never seen that crystal artifact before. Perhaps it's something that she made later on in life? But whatever the case may be, it looks like Misty sure knows what it is, judging by the shocked expression on her. Her expression reminds him of the time when they found out there was a changeling within the Crystal Empire. Good times. A frown comes to his face as this thought drifts through his mind. Now that he thinks about it, no matter where he looks in this castle, there doesn't seem to be any mention of the Crystal Empire. He remembers the guide mentioning the battles against King Sombra, but she never mentioned a word about where the battles took place. It's almost as if somepony erased it from history for some reason. How odd. He's going to have to look into this later. “Huh,” Misty notices that something is on his mind, “What’s wrong Aaron?” “I am not sure. But I am getting the feeling that some pony went through a lot of trouble to not only hide Canterlot but something else,” The Guide clears her voice getting everypony’s attention, “And here we have the four princesses of Equestria taking on The World Eater as it tries to destroy Canterlot,” “Excuse me,” Aaron said, “but what about the rest of the elements of harmony?” “Pardon?” “I mean this battle determines the fate of all of Equestria does it not?” The Guide nods, “So why are only the princesses fighting when all their friends should be joining them in this fight?” “I don't know the details,” She says looking up in thought, “but I believe it had something to do with not wanting them to die,” “Ok, What about Discord? I am sure that he could have flattened the creature into paste before it knew what happened,” “He tried,” The Guide replies without a moment of hesitation, “What?” “According to our records,” She pulls out a small notebook near one of the displays before going over it, “Discord did indeed try to take on The World Eater and failed. I believe they mentioned that the World Eater was absorbing all the magic around it like a sponge,” She shows him a picture of the World Eater eating magic energy from Discord like some kind of cartoon drawing, “So, whenever Discord would interact with it. It was slowly siphoning off all his magic just by him being near it. To put it simply, the best he could do was slow it down,” She puts the book away as another random thought comes to her, “And I believe there was a mention about him being sent flying back into Canterlot during their last confrontation.” Aaron's left eye twitches as he tries to process this, “OK so we have a monster that eats magic like Pinkie Pie goes through cupcakes. And judging by the title it can also eat anything else if it wanted to?” “Well yes and no,” Aaron groans in distress hearing this, “Elaborate,” “You see although The World Eater does have the ability to consume anything it wants. However, it prefers to consume the living before it consumes the non-living if you will,” Aaron proceeds to pull out his face in disbelief, “You got to be kidding me. The World Eater is a picky eater,” he says in dumbfounded as other ponies nearby agree with him, “Indeed, it is. You see The World Eater will eventually consume the world, but that will be the last thing it will do after it consumes all life on Equestria,” The Guide moves to a nearby wall showing a map of Equestria with many red ‘X’ on cities across the land, “Princess Twilight learned about the creature's habit and used it to their advantage of how to fight it. However, that discovery wasn't made until after we lost major cities to the creature,” She proceeds to point to some of the cities on the map, “Rambling Rock Ridge, Appleloosa, Manehattan, Dodge Junction, and many more. Many ponies lost their lives trying to flee from the creature.” She sighs before moving back to the display of the fight for Canterlot, “This display shows the leaders of the ponies' last stand against the creature,” “Ok. But how did they win?” One thousand years ago, After The World Eater consumed every creature in Tartarus, it broke out and started destroying one city after another. Growing in size and strength every time it would. In some cities, civilians were fortunate enough to evacuate before the creature entered the city limits. However, not all inhabitants of the city were willing to give up their homeland without a fight. What followed was a war unlike anything Equestria had ever seen before. Proud warriors of every race would stand to fight the creature. Only to suffer the same fate as those locked in Tartarus. Every time they would seriously injure the creature and victory was within reach. It would rise again from death’s door to consume all that lies before it. Desperate and risky plans were implemented hoping to gain an upper hand of the creature. Using forbidden techniques, along with using creatures like the Windigos and The Pony of Shadows. But all proved to be worthless as they too fell victim to the creature. Even a desperate attempt from the Element of Kindness, Fluttershy, to try to reason with the creature was all in vain. After fleeing from the jaws of death. Fluttershy was able to confirm that it was a wild animal with only one thing on its mind. To feed its never-ending hunger. Until it's satisfied, it will stop at nothing to consume all of Equestria and every creature that would call it home. Those living through this nightmare would think that was going on for months, maybe a year. That the battle was still raging on with no end in sight. But the truth of the matter is. It has only been one week since the creature broke free of its prison. At Canterlot, Ponies and creatures from all over Equestria crowd the streets as they desperately seek aid, food, shelter, and refuge. Volunteers of Ponies, Griffons, Yacks, and many more moved quickly to help those that they could with whatever they had left. Guards stand alert looking for any signs of the creature as a familiar purple dragon lands in a cluster of ponies distributing supplies. After the ponies thank him, he takes off back to the supply tent in Canterlot’s gardens, “I'm going to need more cases of water,” Spike says as he drops his empty bags ready for a resupply, “Hold on Spike,” The Supply Sergeant says as the medical officer bustles through paperwork next to him, “We're already low on supplies as it is. Unless it's for a medical emergency all water is being rationed out at this moment,” “Then where's the nearest water source I'll gather it myself,” Spike grabs his bags before starting to fill them with empty containers, and prepares to leave the tent as the Sergeant speaks up again, “Before you start flying off again. I thought you'd like to know that a group of refugees from the Dragon lands have just entered the city,” No sooner had he said that Spike was already out of sight forgoing his bag in his wake. The Sergeant shakes his head as more ponies enter his tent, “Can't blame him. I would have done the same,” Spike flies high over Canterlot until he spots where is looking for. A small gathering of Dragons near the entrance of the city, mostly of younger Dragons. He touches down and starts greeting the Dragons before a young orange drakaina exits the group to hug him, “Spike is so glad to see you OK,” she says as he returns the hug, “Smolder, it’s good to see you as well,” He breaks the hug before looking around and noticing someone is missing, “Where is Ember?” The Dragons look away saddened at his question, “She refused to give up the Dragon Land without a fight,” Smolder replies rubbing her arm and remembering the last time she saw her, “She fought bravely until the very end,” Spike is shocked by the news of losing another friend. But before he could say anything, a younger blue dragon no bigger than Spike was ten years ago, walks up to him holding a staff with a red gem on the end offering it to him, but he refuses to take it, “That is not mine,” “It's always been yours, Spike,” Smolder insists, “You may have given it to Ember, but you have always been the right ruler of the Dragons,” Smolder and the other Dragons kneel before him, “Dragon Lord Spike,” Meanwhile, in the war room of Canterlot. The last remaining leaders and representatives of the Equestrian Alliance gather to discuss a plan of action. Prince Rutherford of Yakyakistan, Gilda from Griffinstone, Queen Novo of Seaquestria, Princess Cadence of the Crystal Empire, and finally Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria. A heavy heart comes over Twilight as she looks at the remaining empty seats next to the table as the meeting starts. “What are we going to do about this creature?” Prince Rutherford yells slamming his hoof into the table and shaking it, “It consumes everything! None of my Yacks have been able to hurt it for long before it bites their heads off! Isn't there anything that can stop it or better yet kill it?” “Currently we're still looking into that,” Twilight tried to reason with him, but he was having none of it, “You need to do better than that Princess Twilight Sparkles! Need I remind you what has already become to one of our allies because of it,” “Enough Prince Rutherford,” Princess Cadence stands up for her sister-in-law, “We were blindsided by the creature's sudden appearance just as much as the Changelings were. There was no way any of us could have been prepared for such a devastating creature.” “You ponies are all talk. I call for action!” “And do what?” Gilda scoffs at him, “Send more of your Yaks to die for nothing?! Oh, wait you already did!” “Hold thee tongue Griffin! Least I rip it out of your mouth!” Gilda stands up and flares out her wings ready for a fight as they stare each other down, “I would like to see you try!” “Enough!” Queen Novo shouts silencing the room, “Bickering amongst each other is not going to solve anything,” “Queen Novo is correct,” Rutherford secedes as Gilda huffs to herself before taking her seat, “Princess Twilight where was the creature last seen?” “According to reports it should be somewhere in the Everfree Forest right now. Currently, Discord is engaging in battle, but I don't know how long he can hold it off,” “So even the Entity of Chaos cannot defeat the creature,” Gilda slumped into her chair, “We're all doomed to die,” “Princess Twilight is there nothing we can do about this thing?” Queen Novo asks for everypony in the room, Twilight looks to her side where she keeps a bloody blue rag with yellow stars on it, before looking at them, “I have an idea of how to combat the creature,” “Well then spill it,” Gilda demands, “what is your idea?” “I will feed the creater-“ “Are you NUTS!?” Gilda and Prince Rutherford shout together, “LET ME FINISH!” Princess Twilight Bellows shakes the whole castle before composing herself as everypony duck under the table for safety reasons, “After studying the creature. I learned that it absorbs magic much slower than it would absorb anything else it consumes. In theory, if we feed it an absurd amount of magic in a short period, then it should self-implode killing the creature.” “That's not a bad start,” Gilda says before a thought occurs to her, “but where are you going to get that much magic?” A guard pony enters the room pushing a cart inside the room covered by a large cloth prompting Twilight to get out of her seat to move next to it. She dismisses the guard before addressing the others, “I will harness all the magic in Equestria and concentrate it into a New Element of Harmony,” Twilight uses her magic to pull the cloth off the display case to reveal a dull crystal inside, “I call it the Unity Crystal,” Their reactions were a mixture of surprise, concern, and awe at the Unity Crystal. Gilda was the first to speak, “So, you're making a magic bomb?” Twilight rolls her eyes at that comment, “Yes, I'm making a magic bomb,” Gilda chuckles at this before Twilight continues, “Originally The Unity Crystal was meant to help cultivate magic to reach new levels of power. I got the idea after studying how Starswirl crafted the original Elements of Harmony and how they evolved. I was originally going to use it to help creatures without magic gain their own unique form of magic. However, to craft the Unity Crystal, it will come at the cost of every single creature in equestrian not being able to use their magic until the process is complete.” “You want to steal our magic like that tyrant!” Queen Novo speaks angrily as Twilight tries to calm her down, “No, I would never do that,” She covers the display case before taking her seat, “It's one of the main reasons why I never went through with the plan. Too many creatures in Equestria rely on their magic. For me to take it all away for selfish reasons wouldn't be fair to them. That is why I called you all here,” “You want us to give you permission to take our magic away to make this Unity Crystal correct?” “Yes,” “And hypothetically speaking,” Princess Cadence says, “what would happen to our magic if anything happened to the Unity Crystal?” “Then our magic would be lost forever,” “So, on one hoof we have a monster that's going to consume everything,” Queen Novo says holding up her hoofs to look between them, “and on the other hoof we have a gem that could destroy our very way of life if it ever gets damaged?” Twilight confirms this as Queen Novo sighs, “Princess Twilight although I am certain you are confident in your plan. Do you have a backup plan in case something goes wrong?” “As much as I would like to say that I do. The truth is the matter is that I don't. The Unity Crystal is all that I have left. If it fails, then we have no choice but to abandon Equestria,” “And how would you do such a thing? Last I checked this creature was known as The World Eater for a reason. Won't eventually find us?” “That's only if we stay in the Equestria,” “Explain yourself,” “I can send some of our civilians to a world without magic. They'll have to start all over again from scratch, but they will at least be safe far away from the creatures’ reach. And the other options I'm not too sure about,” “Just say it,” Gilda says in annoyance, “I can have Discord send civilians to the chaos dimension and return them when all is well,” “And what about those that do not wish to leave Equestria?” Prince Rutherford says as other ponies look at him as if he has grown another head, “We can send them to The Crystal Empire and activate the curse that banished them for 1000 years once more,” Twilight says much to her sister in laws shock, “they should be safe so long as there is an Equestria to return to,” “I'm sure they won't be happy to hear that,” “I'm only stating options I'm not saying I'll do this,” Twilight says reassuring her sister-in-law, “the only other option would be to send them through our new evacuation the tunnels. Each tunnel is enchanted with magic crystals to provide enough energy for everypony to get out before the tunnel shuts down due to the lack of magic. It'll give them a chance to run away with whatever time they have left,” “Okay, I can understand why you would have ponies use the evacuation tunnels or the disappearing city trick,” Gilda says, “But why not just send everyone to these other dimensions instead? All things considered those sounds like the better alternatives,” Twilight shakes her head, “There is no guarantee that every pony that enters these other dimensions will be able to return to Equestria. With the lack of magic in one of them, there might be a chance that those ponies may be trapped in there forever,” “Now why in Equestria would that happen? I mean Discord can always bring them back from his dimension. So can’t he also bring back those sent to the other one?” “Well, that's the problem,” “What are you going on about?” “For The Unity Crystal to be finalized I will need Discord’s magic as well,” “Are you nuts?” Princess Cadence says, “Why in Equestria would you think mixing Harmony Magic with Chaos Magic is a good idea,” “It's the only way I can guarantee that the World Eater will be defeated. There was no guarantee that Harmony Magic on its own would be enough to destroy it. I'm also going to be drawing magical power from other magical creatures and items to ensure that we hit it with everything we have. We can’t afford to mess up,” “So, this is an all-or-nothing strategy,” Gilda says, “But how will you make sure that you don’t miss your highness?” “I will have to get close,” “Sounds like you want to do a suicide mission,” Twilight was silent as the others looked at her in shock, “It is a suicide mission,” “There is no other way,” “Can’t you have somepony else set off the bomb instead?” Princess Cadence says as the others agree, “The Unity Crystal is too complicated. They would know how to set it off, without destroying all of magic as we know it,” “Well then can’t you teleport out of there before it happens?!” Queen Novo says, “All of my focus and effort will be on the Unity Crystal. I wouldn’t have enough time to get clear before it goes off. I can't risk accidentally taking the Unity Crystal with me before it goes off inside the creature,” “Did you say INSIDE the Creature!” Princess Cadence says in disbelief, “You are going to let that thing EAT YOU!?” “I will have a magic shield protecting me long enough for the bomb to go off,” Twilight says putting on a brave face, “I will be the last creature the World Eater will ever eat ever again. But I am going to need everypony’s permission to do so. Otherwise, we will have to abandon Equestria. What says you?” Later on, that day, Princess Twilight teleports back to her private room in Canterlot as her oldest friend waits there for her. “How did it go?” Spike asked leaning on the wall holding the Dragon Lord Specter, Twilight was taken back at the sight before her knowing what became of another one of her friends. She takes a breath before catching him up to speed, “I got their permission. We will go ahead with the Unity Crystal, with some minor changes to the plan,” “Meaning?” “Meaning that as a precautionary measure,” Twilight says before laying down on her bed to rest, “We will be evacuating civilians through the other dimensions, to the Crystal Empire to be sent away and having some go through the tunnels. While I start working on the Unity Crystal,” Spike pushes off from the wall walking to her, “Twilight there's something that's been bothering me since you brought up this Unity Crystal stuff,” “What's that?” “Well let's say even if you get all the magics required to kill this thing. How exactly are you going to make sure that it kills it? Last I checked when Discord blasted it with a giant laser it did nothing,” He mimes the motions of shooting a laser with the staff, “What makes your unity crystal different?” She looks away not being able to bring herself to look at him, “I'm sorry Spike but I can't tell you that,” He crosses his arms already knowing what she means, “Because you know if I did know, I would try and stop you right?” “I'm sorry Spike, it's the only way,” “No, it's not!” He yells standing his ground before his best friend, “Your Princess Twilight Sparkle. You are the Greatest Hero to ever roam Equestria. And any of your friends would lay down their lives for you. Why do you have to do this?” “Spike if I don't do this then ponies are going to die.” “I know that!” He says as tears fill his eyes, “I just want to know why it has to be you!” “She's not going alone Spike,” A voice calls out behind him as two Alicorns enter the room, one of pure white and the other a navy blue, “She will have help,” “Princess Celestia, Princess Luna you're back!” “It’s just Celestia and Luna, Dragon Lord Spike. We are retried remember?” “Right,” Luna walks to one of Twilight’s workstations seeing the blueprint for the Unity Crystal, “This Unity Crystal idea is fascinating. Are you certain it will work?” “I'm about 70% positive that this will kill The World Eater,” Twilight says, “That is if it doesn’t eat me before it goes off. But for this to work we're going to need to get close,” “And how close are we talking here?” Celestria says joining her sister at the workstation, “Close enough that I can touch its tongue,” “I see,” Luna says looking back at Twilight, “so suicide mission,” “Unfortunately, yes,” Twilight looks away in shame, “And why not send one of your subjects to do so in your stead?” “I could never live with myself if I ordered one of my dear friends to sacrifice themselves because I was too scared to do it myself,” Twilight gets off the bed, “this is something that I have to do,” “And what of your friends and family?” Celestria says raising an eyebrow at her, “Have you told them about this?” “Not yet. They wouldn't understand,” “So, this will be the end of your reign?” “If this can save the ponies that I care about,” Twilight says with confidence, “Then I'll gladly give up my life protecting them,” “Well said Twilight,” Princess Cadence entered the room, “However there is a problem with your plan,” “What is that?” “I am going with you,” “WHAT NO! Cadence you are not coming along with us! You have a family to take care of! Think about your daughters! They will need their mother! And what about Mom and Dad and Shining!” “And watch as my little sister-in-law gives up her life saving all of Equestria when I could have been by her side? Never? It's my duty as a big sister and a Princess of Equestria to defend our home and our little ponies,” “Shining Armor is not going to be happy with this,” “No Twilight no he will not," She sighs knowing that the end of everything is coming sooner than she would like, "How much time do you need before the Unity Crystal is ready?” “With all the evacuations and the magic we will need. It will take me about three days to finish. Two days if Celestia helps me,” “That is enough. More than enough time,” Celestia speaks up, “Then it is settled. We will regroup once we have set our goodbyes. In two days,” Before they could leave there was a small sound in the distance before it got louder followed by something crashing into something. If they were paying attention sounded awful like a high-pitched screaming filly, "What was that?"