//------------------------------// // Chapter 9: The Crystal Empire // Story: My Little Senshi // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 9 The Crystal Empire Shining Armor sighed. "It will be ok." Twilight couldn't help but disagree with him. She bit her bottom lip and looked at her brother, very concerned. How could he protect Cadance without his magic? How could he protect any of them? The empire? Wasn't this technically his empire as well? Even if she disregarded his marriage to Cadance in Equestrian times, Small Lady and Helios had been married long ago, long before it was Small Lady's time to reign. He was her consort. "Come, this way," Shining Armor said. Twilight sighed and followed him. Although she was deeply concerned for her brother, she couldn't help but push that aside for the moment, as she took in with awe the beauty that was the Crystal Empire. It was vastly different from the Crystal Tokyo she saw in her memories. Crystal Tokyo had been a metropolis city. The Crystal Empire seemed more serene. Lush greenery was all around, the sky within the force field was a crisp, robin egg's blue. Quaint houses and shops began to line up along the streets, and in the centre, was a magnificent crystal palace. It was tall and slight, and looked much like the palace Twilight saw in her memories. This one piece was the only thing that remained from their older lives. As they walked towards the palace, Twilight caught glimpses of the pony residents. Their manes, though shiny, weren't what she had expected. They seemed shimmery, yet faded. All of their faces were glum, and they all seemed to walk with some hesitation or hunch. "Not very crystally, are they?" Rainbow Dash murmured. "These ponies have been through a lot," Shining Armor said. He paused, and glanced towards Fluttershy and then back to Twilight, "as I'm sure Princess Celestia told you." Twilight nodded in comprehension. She knew what he was talking about. Princess Celestia explained that the ponies here had actually been trapped by King Sombra when they were still humans. Throughout their whole pony lives, they had been enslaved by him. If Twilight had been enslaved for thousands of years, she would be looking pretty glum as well. Shining Armor led them into the palace. Upstairs, in the main throne room, Cadance sat on a mighty throne, her head held high. But as they got closer, Twilight noticed the circles under her eyes, the constant light of magic around her horn. Cadance gave them a weathered smile. "I'm so glad you could all make it," Cadance said. Twilight gave Cadance a concerned look. It hadn't even been a full 24 hours since they had learned of their sailor soldier lives. Cadance had just been in the Crystal Empire for a few hours. And she was already so beaten down. "Cadance, what's the matter?" Twilight said, "Why are you so weak? You haven't even been here that long..." "I know," Cadance said, "But we had trouble when we first arrived here. Because we did not leave right away, right when the empire reappeared, the evil out there had already taken over most of it. Shining Armor and I had to force our way in, and much of my energy is spent. And now, I must keep up this constant shield, should that evil try to break in again." "We were going to take turns maintaining the shield—but now..." Shining Armor trailed off, as he glanced up at his horn. Cadance stepped forward and nuzzled him. "Do not worry, Shining Armor, I will be alright," she said softly. "You can't hold this up forever," Shining Armor said, "Twilight is right. We haven't even been here a full day. There has to be some other way..." "The only thing we can do is to defeat the evil out there. Stop it before King Sombra fully returns," Cadance said. "And that's why the Elements of Harmony are here! What can we do to help, Princess?" Rainbow Dash asked. She gave Cadance a salute that Twilight thought was a bit over the top. "Long ago, the crystal ponies had a way of protecting the empire themselves," Cadance said, "Some sort of magic they used. They could bring up the shield, and keep the cold out, and whatever else laid beyond their borders." Twilight closed her eyes for a moment. A flash of Crystal Tokyo appeared, a flash from the 30th century. She could see four tall beams of light, a shield erected around the palace. But when she looked closer, she saw the beams of light came from her and the other three inner senshi. This had been when Small Lady had gone back in time to find help. They were the ones who had protected the city. How could they do that now? "Will the Elements of Harmony work...? To protect the empire?" Twilight asked. She couldn't ask what she really wanted to, not with Fluttershy among them. A stab of guilt passed through her when she thought this. She hated hiding things from Fluttershy, but she wasn't one to disregard her orders. Before Cadance answered, Twilight also turned her head slightly to Rarity. Rarity gazed past her, but shook her head sharply and quickly. "No, they won't," Cadance answered, seemingly to understand Twilight's real question, "Maybe... maybe once, long ago, they could have. But now, the power comes from the crystal ponies. Except, I'm not sure what that power is." Twilight frowned. What could they do? Cadance sighed loudly. She walked back over to the throne and slumped into it. "Shining Armor, dear... why don't you show them to their quarters?" Cadance asked. "You're too weak to stay on your own, I should stay by your side," he said. "I'll stay," Twilight piped up quickly. Shining Armor nodded. "Alright then, girls, let me show you wear your rooms are," Shining Armor said, "I know it's been a long day for you. I'm sure you'd like to be somewhat settled before we try and figure out this conundrum." Twilight nodded in secret to the others as Shining Armor led Fluttershy and them away. Once she was sure they were out of earshot, she walked over and sat in front of Cadance. "How are you really doing?" Twilight asked. Cadance took somewhat of a heaving breath, as though she were fighting back tears. "I'm terrified," Cadance said, "Terrified, and yet relieved at the same time. The Crystal Empire is back. You don't know how long we've waited for this—how long I've waited for this. My kingdom is finally back. So many lives were lost fighting for this empire, and all of its inhabitants have been imprisoned for so long. I thought it would never reappear, and I'm so glad it has. "But I'm concerned at what cost it has reappeared. What's going to happen? Another war? Are we going to lose the remaining scouts? What if Helios falls? I remember how broken my mother was... she could barely carry on. Even now, she gets so lost sometimes. I think the whole Nightmare Moon thing was somehow related to her grieving, but she never wants to talk about it. Never wants to talk about him... It's just too painful. I'm not sure I could ever go through what she did. "And King Sombra... he's just... obsessed. Obsessed. If you could remember, Twilight... you would cringe. I still have nightmares sometimes. It's even worse than when Prince Diamond was obsessed with my mother, if you can even remember that." Cadance sighed heavily. She closed her eyes for a moment and then recomposed herself. "You remember that the main four of you erected the barrier around the castle in Crystal Tokyo, when it was in trouble. It won't work the same any more. Your senshi powers are essentially intertwined with your Elements, and therefore, the power that the four of you shared is gone. It's moved on. It was passed onto the crystal ponies, in hopes that they could protect themselves from King Sombra and wherever their exile was," Cadance said. "We know that at one point it worked and it worked well. The empire had reappeared quickly at one point and was sustaining itself quite nicely. But then, just as fast as it had come, King Sombra reappeared, took over, and it vanished once again. "I don't know how they did it. Nopony seems to know how they did it, it was so mysterious. At that time, we tried to keep our distance from the Crystal Empire, because we knew it was a trap, a lure. This time, we want to ensure that it doesn't disappear again, and that King Sombra is defeated for good." "Wait... our senshi powers are now intertwined with our Elements?" Twilight asked, "I thought our Elements were six of the seven rainbow crystals?" "Luna and Celestia did not tell you? Your powers are now part of that mixture. The Elements of Harmony, that power, is the first level. They must be used together. Once you have harnessed that energy, you can push through, onto the second level, that is your senshi powers. They can be used individually. And the third level, is when both the power of the Elements and your senshi powers come together, along with the seventh, and make the power of the Silver Imperial Crystal," Cadance explained. "How are we to tap into our senshi powers without awakening Saturn?" Twilight asked. "She cannot tap into her power if she is not awakened as a scout. She would be unaffected, possibly knocked out," Cadance said. "Would she be ok?" Twilight asked. "Yes, of course," Cadance said. Her voice softened, "I know it seems like we are being extremely hard on Fluttershy. But please, trust me, we do not think any less of her. We are merely afraid of her. Believe when I say that we want no danger to come to her. Hotaru was—and always will be—one of my best and dearest friends." Twilight nodded, flashbacks of Rini and Hotaru flipping through her mind. "So, what should we do now?" Twilight asked. "You must find a way for the crystal ponies to put up their own barrier," Cadance said, "Without it, I will have to keep up the barrier. And if I am putting up the barrier, I cannot fight. And if I cannot fight, we cannot access the power of the Silver Imperial Crystal." Twilight nodded. She stood and turned to leave the room. She then paused, Cadance's words ringing in her head. She turned her head back and looked at the pink alicorn. "You hold the seventh Element?" Twilight asked, the math adding up. "Yes."