//------------------------------// // A New... Friend? // Story: Trixie's New Life in the Crystal Empire // by Yukito //------------------------------// I stir about in my bed for a bit, as if trying to find a comfortable position to sleep in. Truthfully, I’m actually trying to make myself uncomfortable, so that I won’t drift off into sleep. The nightmares haven’t gotten any easier, even with Appletini’s word that I don’t have to go back to Equestria. I still had that same dream, where every town I had ever visited, and every pony I had ever met in those towns, gathered around and took turns berating me, laughing at me, and finally, banishing me to that cold, lonely rock farm. “Hey,” Appletini calls out to me, making me bolt up and charge my magic on instinct. A big mistake, since doing so immediately takes its toll on me. I was so drained yesterday that I fainted, and it’s not as my body has had much chance to recover. Not with those dreams keeping me up. “Ow… Don’t startle me like that,” I say, my voice raspy from my parched throat. She must have expected that, because she was already offering a glass of water to me as I spoke. “T-Thanks…” Carefully, I take the water from her hooves, and examine it for a second. It could be drugged. She might be planning to sell me out to the Royal Guard, or maybe she wants to do something weird to me in my sleep… Shrugging, I bring the water to my throat, and down the whole glass in one go. Who cares if it’s drugged, or poisoned, or whatever? At this point, I hardly have anything to lose. Quite frankly, I’d rather try some of that crystal nectar right now. That stuff was good, though maybe if they removed the whole ‘not getting drunk’ thing from it… “Breakfast?” Appletini asks, taking my glass away from me as soon as I finish it. I look down to see the tray that she was holding. On it is a stack of pancakes, with some kind of red, sparkly liquid on top. “It’s crystal red berry pancakes. They’re really good.” Is everything in this place made of crystal? “What about the ponies?” I mumble to myself. “Huh?” Oh, shoot. I’ve gotten used to speaking my thoughts out loud. A side effect of spending a whole year in isolation. “Nothing. They look good, and smell great.” She smiles, but I can tell she’s not satisfied. “C’mon now. You’re a stranger to these parts, so I understand you may be a little confused here-and-there. Like we were when we saw you use magic without your hooves.” I look down at her hooves. They aren’t glowing, which means she isn’t using magic right now. That’s right, she said yesterday that ponies in the Crystal Empire only have magic related to their talents. Does that mean they can’t even do simple levitation unless it’s included in their special talent? “If there’s anything you’d like to ask, go ahead. I’ll answer anything to the best of my abilities for you.” “Then, why is everything here made of crystal?” “What do you make things out of in Equestria?” “Wood, stone, marble… Y’know, materials that are good for building things.” “Well, here, there isn’t much of that stuff around.” True enough. I can vauegly remember a distinct lack of trees (living ones, at least) when I was running for my life yesterday. Wait… “I saw plenty of trees in the field outside of town.” “Crystal trees. Just like all the plants and animals living in the Empire, besides us, they are artificial trees made of crystal.” Appletini places the tray of pancakes onto my bed. My stomach rumbles, so I decide to take a bite while she continues her story… These are good. “We use them for photosynthesis, and for decoration purposes. They make good building material, sure, but the magic crystals found in the mines further north from here work better, and create the barrier that separates us from the icy wasteland outside.” “So that’s what it is.” I pick up another pancake, and quickly wolf it down. I don’t even care if I’m in the presence of another pony right now, I had forgotten what good food – real food – tastes like. “And these ‘crystal berries’ are just like natural berries, I take it?” Appletini nods. “Because there is no life out here, besides the magical ice wolves, we must create our own life instead. The Crystal Ponies weren’t always magical creatures; we used to just be regular Earth Ponies. But I think being exposed to the magic of the crystals in the Crystal Empire for so long changed us. Evolved us into a whole new type of pony.” “I see… I think.” Appletini giggles, and gently pats my head. I don’t particularly like it, but I’ll bear with it for now, since she’s offering me shelter here, and even giving me this great breakfast. “Don’t worry, just know that you’re safe here. The cold outside can’t reach you as long as you’re inside this barrier, and neither can whatever troubles you faced in Equestria.” “… Don’t you want to ask me about it?” Appletini pulls back her hoof, and shakes her head. “I’m a complete stranger, hiding from the Equestrian Royal Guard, and you’re not at all curious as to-” A knock at Appletini’s door cut me off, and gave both myself and Appletini a start. With a soft giggle, Appletini gets up and starts to move towards the door. “Don’t worry about it. You’re frightened, and alone. That’s all I need to know.” I watch as Appletini leaves, so shocked that I had stopped chewing my next pancake halfway. I hear voice from downstairs, and try to listen carefully to hear what they’re saying. One of the voices is without a doubt Appletini’s, but the other one I’m not too sure about. That stallion from yesterday, maybe? I try to move out of the bed I’m in and get closer to the door, to see if I can hear them more clearly. I take my first step out of bed… and a wave of dizziness hits me suddenly. My body suddenly feels cold outside of the bedcover, and I not feel a throbbing headache all of a sudden. My nose itches, and I let out a few sneezes, each one increasing the pain in my head and making me realise just how sore my throat is. I manage one or two steps forward, and then my legs suddenly buckle under my own weight, forcing me to collapse onto the floor with a loud thud! A few seconds pass, and I remain helpless on the floor, simply groaning as I hold my head in my hooves. I hear the sound of a door opening, followed by hoofsteps running towards me. “Trixie! Are you okay?!” Stop shouting. It hurts. “Holy cow! You’re burning up!” I feel myself being lifted up, and can see the floor beneath me moving farther away. “Let’s get you back in bed, quick!” Stop. Shouting. “My, I thought you said she was doing better,” a new voice says. A male one. Her visitor? I manage to lift my head up, and look in the direction of the voice. I was right. It is indeed that same stallion from yesterday, whose name escapes me right now. All I can really focus on is the ringing in my ear. “She was, but then, she hadn’t tried getting out of bed yet.” I feel a warmth enveloping my body, and something soft touching against my coat. Looking down, I can see Appletini placing the bedcover back over me, and tucking me in, as if I were some foal getting ready for bed. Well, in this state, it’s not like I can fight back. “You should really stay in bed for today, Miss Trixie,” that stallion says, and I can tell he’s now walking closer to me from the sound of hooves clopping against the floor, which I guess is also made of crystals. “The cold up here isn’t like the cold in the rest of the world. It’s much more dangerous. After all, it’s been tainted by Sombra’s miasma.” “Sombra?” I ask, out of curiosity. “Our last leader,” Appletini explains to me as she places her forehead against mine. Why is she doing that? She’s too close. I don’t like it. “He came to power one thousand years ago. A Unicorn from the west, who suddenly appeared without warning, overthrew our king, and forced his wife and daughter to flee to Equestria for safety. After that, he forced us to mine more and more crystals, so that he could use their power to attain immortality.” Immortality? How ridiculous. Whoever this Unicorn was, he was certainly a fool. Immortality isn’t real; everything has to end at some point, after all… Wait. “Did you say… that that was a thousand years ago?” Appletini nods. “Then… you have been leaderless for one thousa-” A few coughs escape my throat, and I take a moment to have another drink of water. “For one thousand years?” I refuse to believe that immortality is real. “Well, it’s complicated.” Appletini lifts my head up for a second so that she can reach down and fluff my pillow. “When King Sombra fell, he took the Empire with him. Actually, until just a few months ago, we were locked away in a deep sleep, in the Arctic North.” “But enough about that,” the stallion says, interrupting Appletini’s history lesson, which I was actually enjoying. “Miss Trixie, I’m afraid we have some problems. You see, it seems that word of your arrival has spread around the Crystal Empire rather quickly… and now, the Royal Guard is coming to collect you.” I suddenly bolt up to say something, but the pain from earlier returns with full force, and all I can do is sit there in that bed, clutching my head in pain. Appletini steps forward. “I won’t allow them!” The pain in my head is still there, but now, I can only stare at Appletini with wide eyes. Surely I misheard her. I know she said that I wouldn’t have to go back, but… there’s no way she could actually mean to fight the Royal Guard for me, is there?” “We don’t really have much choice. She crossed the border illegally. She’s to go back with them at once.” “… Trixie? Would you like that?” I quickly shake my head. I can’t go back there. Anything but that! “That’s all I need. I won’t let them take her against her will. And what about you, Azure?” Ah, right. That’s his name. “Can you just hand her over to them, knowing that she has no desire to go back there.” “Like I said, we have no choice. We have to-” “Well then, in that case, I’m going to call in that favour you owe me!” Why is she defending me so passionately? That’s not how the story goes. Trixie walks into a town, ponies recognise her, then gather around to take turns belittling her. Calling her names, laughing at her humiliation, mocking her, maybe the occasional tomato… But there’s never been a character in that script that defends Trixie. So why? “Aw, come on, Tini! Don’t do this to me…” “I want you to distract them while I sneak Trixie out! I’m gonna take her to your house so that she can recover. I expect you’ll cooperate, and not reveal her location?” “… She really doesn’t want to go back? Why not?” “I don’t know. But I do know one thing: she’s scared.” I’m right here, and I can hear you, you know? “She’s scared, and alone, and wants to stay here. And I will not let them take her without a fight!” I see Azure look over to me. His eyes seem to be heavily focused, as if he’s examining every last detail of me. “… Fine.” Did I hear that right? Now another pony wants to help me? What is wrong with this place? “For now, I’ll cooperate. Since it’s so important to you. But, I want the full story as soon as she gets better. Understand?” I can tell that that last question was directed at me, and I weakly nod my head to acknowledge that I understand. OW! Even slight movements hurt. “Right, then I’ll go and distract the guards.” Azure turns around and walks outside of the bedroom. Meanwhile, Appletini wraps her hooves around me, and lifts me onto her back. With minimal effort. Either she’s one strong mare, or the lack of eating these past few months has made me so light that she just didn’t need to put much effort into picking me up. “Don’t worry, Trixie. I don’t know what your reasons are, but I won’t let them take you away.” “… And how do you intend to get past them?” “Oh, that’s easy.” Appletini walks towards the fireplace in the room, and reaches a hoof towards one of the crystals poking out. Suddenly, the wall next to it opens up, revealing a spiral staircase leading down into who-knows-where. “These secret passes were installed all over the Crystal Empire when Sombra first appeared. Not that we ever managed to use them; as soon as he became King, we were simply too frightened to even dare try to defy him.” I have so many questions that I want to ask her. Why is she helping me? Why is she so passionate about it? Why doesn’t she ask me many questions? Does she have any medicine to remove this building headache? So many questions… but for now, I think I’ll just settle for resting on her back as she leads me away. He coat is quite comfortable, and her mane has a pleasant, soothing scent coming from it. I’m able to relax like this, just lying on her back. Besides that bed, it’s probably the most comfortable thing I’ve lay down on since that incident with the ursa minor… “Heads up,” I hear her say, so I turn my head to see what she was talking about. A low hanging stalactite comes into my view, and inches its way closer and closer as Appletini keeps moving… Oh n- THUNK!