//------------------------------// // Chapter One: The Arrival of a Celestial // Story: Spiders and Magic: The Kesshōkage of The Crystal Empire // by ElementBrigade //------------------------------// Chapter One The Arrival of a Celestial [Unknown Planet] Somewhere within the deep vacuum of space located in a different dimension from planet Earth, there is a planet that the Otsutsuki Clan claimed as their own to call home. It was once a planet that was inhabited by another race of people, but due to the clan’s ongoing goal of godhood, the previous inhabitants and any life that was on the planet were turned into chakra fruits. It is here that our story begins with a scholar of the clan, who is currently looking through the archive deep within the large house-like palace of the clan. For the past couple of years, she had been engrossing herself in trying to find a way to achieve godhood without the use of sacrificing entire planets with intelligent life on them. So far, she has managed to prolong her life by eating chakra fruits from planets that didn’t have civilizations on them, just plant life or animals. But even that wasn’t enough for her in her case. No, she needed something that didn’t take years to cultivate…and without having to use her kama to take over a new body. “Seriously, you mean to tell me that they have years upon years of information, yet they don’t have a quick way to reach godhood without the need of sacrificing?” Nanako asked as she tossed another book to the already tremendous pile of books next to her. “For a mighty race we sure don’t do well with retaining useful knowledge.” “You think we would waste time on useless information when we can just continue with what we’ve been doing for countless eons?” said a sly voice. Nanako looked over to her right and dawned on an annoyed expression to see Urashiki floating next to her with a grin on his face. “What do you want, Urashiki? Can’t you see I’m in the middle of something?” She said while reaching for another book and began skimming through it. “Come on, can’t I visit my favorite family member during my time off? I thought we were close seeing how we’re both lower-ranking members~” “By favorite, you mean to tease me to the point of making me angry and chase you around the place.” She answered before looking over at him. “Which I’m not going to do given how you got me in trouble.” “Oh come on, when have I ever gotten you into trouble?” Urashiki asked as Nanako deadpans at him. “You mean the time when you set off firecrackers in my room while I was asleep?” “In fairness, I was dared to do it by some of the less serious members of the clan.” “Or how about the time when you set my favorite video games on fire? Do you know how hard it is to sneak onto earth and get the latest piece of gaming hardware, or internet connection!?” “I was ordered to do that. You can’t fault me for that.” “Normally I wouldn’t if you didn’t laugh like a madman who just kicked a puppy. Speaking of that, that’s next on the list of things you did.” “...I’m not apologizing for that one.” “Oh you can go…um…jump into space or something?” She asked which caused Urashiki to grin even more. “Whatever! Just leave me alone with my research!” “You’re still looking for alternatives to godhood? While I don’t care for what you’re doing, you do know the other clan members aren’t going to tolerate it, right?” “It’s not like I’m going against them or anything. I’m just doing a bit of research into alternatives other than what Shibai had done before leaving to a different plane of existence.” “Don’t know, but if you think about doing something that would go against the entire clan’s great will, then you know they’ll have one of us kill you. And I prefer not to have my favorite punching back to have to die a horrible death or worse.” Urashiki before floating off to someplace else within the palace they were in. “Just thought I give you a fair warning~” “Like I didn’t know that.” Nanako thought before tossing the book she was looking into to the side. “I don’t see what’s so hard about changing up a generational process that could use a lot of changes. It shouldn’t be that hard, right?” As she reached for another book to look into, she noticed that this book looked different. Compared to the black, gray, or white colored book, this book was pink and had a picture of a crystal heart on it. The alien girl blinked in surprise as she examined it. Given how strict the rules were in the palace. Having something like this would end up having the person be sent to jail or have this book turn to ash. Curiosity got the better of her and she decided to open the book to have a peek of what was written inside it. “Long ago, in the land of Equestria, there was a kingdom to the north that was made entirely of crystals. As in its appearance, the Crystal Empire was a kingdom that was made entirely of frozen crystals of all types. Led by their leader, Princess Amore, the kingdom was on the fast track to peace and prosperity.” One turn of the page and some images coincided with it. Images of what appeared to be Equine creatures. Some looked normal while others were made of crystal. Some had horns. Some had wings. Some had both. Most had neither. However, things took a dark turn real quickly as Nanako continued to read. “However, this peace was short-lived. One of the delegates in Amore’s court, Sombra, attacked the princess in a coup to seize the power of the throne. However, as Amore was beginning to fade away, she cast a spell on Sombra, turning his heart into a crystal. Along with that, came her final words to the Mad King.” “You will live as long as the heart is in your possession and your magic will forever be bound by it. When someone other than you claims the heart, your reign will fall and you will fall with it!” “Horrified by the prophecy, Sombra acted swiftly, hiding the empire with his magic. Now, the empire is said to have been all but lost.” “Seriously, that’s it?” Nanako said after turning the next page to see that it was blank. “All that build and there’s nothing else? What kind of book is this?” She said in annoyance and was about to toss the book to the side. That is until she notices something lighting up on the page. She soon blinked in surprise upon seeing ink bleeding onto the page. “But the story is not over…One hero. One that has been shunned by the likes of her kind will be chosen… and bring the end to Sombra’s tyranny. Who is that hero you ask? Well…That is you. Nanako Otsutsuki.” “...Wait, how does this book know my name!?” Nanako yelled as she was about to close the book, but it was too late. In a split second, a flash of light burst out of the book as it engulfed her in a veil of light. The light soon vanished as the alien girl and the book were gone. [The Empire of Crystals] “Anypony who is out during the curfew will be placed under arrest, and be taken to the dungeon for questioning!” The streets of the Crystal Empire were crawling with guards, enforcing the evening curfew that was strictly placed on the city. It put fear into the hearts of Mares, Stallions, and children alike. Nothing was ever the same since the current ruler, King Sombra, took total control over the Crystal Empire. His greed and thirst for power led to the corrupt king taking over total control of the once-peaceful kingdom. Many times before, he had said that this was to protect the ponies. But there was nothing to protect the people from. He has said many times before about a rebellion against the empire and that the curfew was to catch any rebels. But over time, it soon became apparent that these, like everything else the king had said before, were nothing but lies. But, no matter what was said, Sombra still accused numerous ponies of treason. All for just speaking against the king. The tyrant's reign needed to end, but the people were missing one thing. Somepony to lead them. Somepony to guide them. Somepony to save them…well it wouldn’t be a pony, but something from out of this world. Nanako’s vision slowly returned as she found herself lying in a pile of snow. She slowly began to pull herself up from the ground as she looked around to get her bearings straight. At first, she thought she was in a snowy area on Earth due to how cold it was and the snow she was lying on. But the moment she made her way out of the dark alleyway she was in, she noticed that buildings were made out of crystal, not stone or wood. “Yep, I’m no longer in the palace…or on earth.” She said before staggering her way into the streets of this place made out of crystal. The girl noticed that she was still holding onto the book she found, but noticed that the book was a pale pink and worn out for the most part. Nanako quickly opened the book to find that the pages didn’t have anything on them. They were blank. No words, no pictures, nothing. As she flips through the pages, she soon notices a page with words on it as she reads it. “This is all I can do, brave soul from the stars.” “What the hell is going on?” She asked before seeing more words appear on the page. “All will be explained in time, yet my time has ended. For now, your journey begins by looking up.” Nanako blinked upon reading this as she looked up. Upon looking up, she blinks in surprise upon seeing a giant castle made out of crystal glistening in the pale moonlight. It was the same image that she saw in the book she was reading. “Okay book, start explaining yourself. Why the hell am I in the Crystal Empire that I read about in the book?” She asked as the book said nothing. “Hey! Don’t ignore me! I asked you a question!” No matter how many times she tried, Nanako couldn't contact whoever or whatever the magical being was in the book. “...Don’t think this is over whoever you are that brought me here!” “HEY! WHO’S OUT THERE!?” yelled a gruff female's voice as Nanako turned her attention behind herself after hearing a pair of footsteps heading her way. “And this place has guards…great.” She said before quickly flying up high into the air. The moment she was in the air, she noticed a small group of armored ponies making their way to the area she was in. “See anything?” asked the female pegasus as a female earth pony shook her head before noticing a sword lying on the ground. She soon walked over to it and began expecting it before picking it up with her mouth. “What are you looking at, private Amber Foxtail?” “I think somepony of the guards dropped their sword, ma'am.” The earth pony said as the pegasus captain walked over to examine it. “...What kind of knight carries around something like this?” She asked before pulling the sheath off of the blade. A whistle escaped her lips upon seeing the craftsmanship of the blade and how smooth it looked. “Must be one of King Sombra’s treasures that he gave to one of the knights here. If it’s on the ground, then they either lost it or were killed off by him and he didn’t care to take it.” “Should we return it to him?” Amber asked as the pegasus stared at her with a flabbergasted expression on his face. “Are you joking? Do you want to have your head on a pike or something? It would be best not to tell him and just say that the blacksmith made it for you.” She said before motioning for Amber to follow her. “Meet me in my chambers tonight. We need to talk about something important for tonight.” “Yes ma’am,” Amber said before placing the sword onto her sash as she quickly followed after the pegasus and the group they were with to the castle. As they were walking, Nanako groaned in annoyance due to her losing her weapon like that. While she did have many other weapons in her inventory, she did prefer something that wasn’t so highly advanced in case she was in a position where the scientific ninja tools wouldn’t be available for her at the time. “Suppose this would be a golden opportunity to get some information from this planet’s inhabitants. That and some answers to what I need, seeing how the book isn’t going to help.” Nanako said before making herself invisible as she quickly and quietly followed the group of ponies to the crystal castle.