//------------------------------// // Sixth Lesson- Crystal Clear // Story: The Magnificent Six // by Paradise Oasis //------------------------------// Sixth Lesson- Crystal Clear "Hello?" Twilight asked, as the pony servant opened the door for her. "My name is Twilight Shine, and I'm here to see Emerald Ray?" "Welcome to Ray Chalet, fraulien." The stern earth pony bowed, his face showing no emotion. "The meister is expecting you." "Thank you." She replied gratefully, stepping inside. Twilight had come to the crystal pony noble stallion's private estate, to spend the day having Emerald show her around the crystal pony district of Misty Mountain. Although she was loath to even sped more than five minutes in the creepy stallion’s presence, the unicorn kept reminding herself that she had to be impartial, and give the crystal ponies the oppourtunity to present their case for the mysterious artifact of power. Trotting out of the foyer, Twilight made her way into the much larger entrance hall. Looking around, the filly noticed several lovely crystalline sculptures around the room, depicting elegant crystal mares in the most... provocative of poses. Shuddering, Twilight turned her attention towards the miniature, neo-gothic styled rotunda that topped the room off, delicately painted frescoes adorning the crystalline ceiling. "Oh my." Twilight whispered to herself. "This is all so incredibly... gaudy." "Yes, it is all magnificent, isn't it? Modeled on the ornate domes of the old Crystal empire palace." Emerald Ray whinnied, coming down the spiral staircase behind her. "I always love to surround myself with things of beauty." "Ummm, it's great." Twilight lied, relieved the crystalline stallion hadn't heard her previous comment. "Well, as promised, I'm here to let you show me around." She told him nervously. "A fact for which I am grateful, my dear." The stallion kissed her hoof, giving the poor filly the feeling a wolf was drooling over her. "I am sure will be convinced by what I have to show you." "I'm... sure it'll be an experience I'll never forget. "Twilight admitted, as she followed the snooty stallion back out the door. "By all means, please lead the way." .... "As you may know, we crystal ponies are the descendants of Crystal Empire refugees from the north." Emerald explained, as the two ponies trotted down the Crystal district's main boulevard. "The survivors came here with our ruler, Princess Mi Amore Di Cadenza, after our beloved empire perished in the Grogar Wars." "Tornado told me about that." Twilight replied, looking away from her unpleasant companion. "He said that the Crystal Pony nobility fled with Cadence to Misty Mountain, and left the poor commoners to their fate." "Yes, well..." Emerald Ray snorted indignantly. "I believe it best to let the crystal ponies speak for themselves." Twilight looked around at all of the glowing crystalline shops, and shining and glowing surfaces everywhere. As they walked, Twilight noticed all of the glistening, translucent ponies who trotted by, bowing politely to the filly as they passed by. The females' manes were done up in Greek-style buns, long ribbons woven into their long manes. Twilight had to admit they did look lovely, and decidedly far less creepy than the stallion she was traveling with. "Ah, and here is our first stop." Emeral Ray announced, as the approached a small purple domed building decorated with pink hearts. "The crystal beauty salon! I've arraigned for the beauticians to give you a wonderful makeover!" "Well, I suppose a makeover would be nice." Twilight replied, as the two trotted through the opened doors. "I've been so busy with all this chaos since I left home, I haven't really had any time to- AIEEE!" Quickly yanking the surprised unicorn though the door, a purple mare and a silver mare threw her down onto a massage bed. The silver one immediately started working over Twilight with her hooves, while the other mare went about working on twilight's hooves with a red polish. "She has a lovely pink coat." The purple mare noted, opening a jar. "I think a no. 7 would blend nicely with her color." "Hey! What are you- ow! ouch! owie! AHHHHH!" The poor filly shrieked, as over the next hour she was plucked, poked, prodded, nd had her mane painfully pulled in different directions as the mares worked her over. One massage, hair wash, and perm later, and Twilight found a very different filly looking back at her in the mirror. "Wow, this actually looks wonderful!" The now prim filly exclaimed. Her own mane was now done up in a woven greek-style bun, and a purple ribbons were woven into her mane and tail. Her coat seemed far glossier than before, though she hardly looked as crystally as the mares around her. "You ladies did an amazing job!" "We're not done yet!" silver one trotted over at a weird looking lamp, and pointed it at Twilight. "We use this on the tourists. Say cheese!" POOF! A bright light filled Twilight's vision, and when it died down, it took a second for the filly's vision to adjust. "Hey! What was that for?" But as the filly looked down at her hooves, she noticed they had become transcluscent. "Holy horsemaster! I-I've become a crystal pony!" "Merely a temporary change, my dear." Emerald Ray smiled, leaning back against the wall behind him. "Those enchanted crystal lamps are what keep us charged with crystal energy, whitout the presence of the crystal heart to channel our love into." It looks nice, but oddly disturbing, too. I resemble a glass figurine on my grandma's shelf. Twilight thought to herself, examining her reflection in a mirror. I wonder if I still have internal organs? I'd rather not know, actually. "Thank you... I think." Twilight replied uncertainly, as the two trotted out of the salon. "So... what now?" Her question was answered as he led Twilight over to a read crystalline dress shop across the street. A several minutes later, the two emerged with Twilight wearing a poofy purple ball gown, complete with petticoats and clear glass slippers own her hooves. "There you go, you look magnificent!." Emerald Ray complimented her. "Just like you were a real princess yourself." "Oh my, this is exquisite." Twilight exclaimed, looking over her new wardrobe. "You're sure you're not trying to influence my decision, junker Ray?" "Moi? Not at all!" The stallion replied innocently. "I merely want you to look your best, as I show you around our fair community." Next followed an exquisite meal at one of the district's finest restaurants. The green translucent stallion held the door for the filly, then pulled out her chair as she went to sit down. The dapperly-dressed waiters served Twilight the freshest of salads on plates of the finest silver, and sipped hot chocolate form a golden cup. "Well, when you crystal ponies entertain a guest, you really do go all out." Twilight commented, wiping the milk mustache from her mouth with a levitated napkin. "But if you have things so well up hear, why do you need all of that extra power from the amulet?" "We may look like we have everything we need here, my good Twilight, but keeping ourselves in this happy state is more costly than you can know." Emerald explained. "With the power of the Crystal Heart forever lost to us, we must rely on those lamps you saw in the salon, in order to sustain our crystal energies." The stallion, sitting across the table from Twilight, shook his mane sadly. "But the unicorns whose energy keep the lamps charged, barter with us harshly for their magical services." "And if you had that medallion and it's power, you would no longer have to rely on those unicorns for your life-giving energies." Twilight replied, understanding what the crystal pony meant. "It would be good for the crystal ponies to not have to rely on the goodwill of other ponies for your well-being." It was at that point, that Twilight Shine looked around at all of the other crystal ponies in the restaurant. Happy stallions and their wives, sparkling under the light of the chandelier as they laughed and talked together. Over in the far corner of the dining hall, she noticed a little crystal pony blowing the candles out on his birthday cake, and his parents and friends sang and hoof clapped in celebration. These ponies do deserve the chance to be self-sufficient Twilight thought to herself. Just then, a little filly in a dress and damsel hat came galloping across the room, and bumped into the table, hitting her head. "Ow!" The little filly cried out, stumbling back, and rubbing her head with her hoof. "Oh! Little one, are you all right?" Twilight got up from her chair, and knelt by the little filly in concern. "Yeah, I'm okay." The small yellow crystal pony replied, looking around quickly. "Say, have you seen that mean old dragon around here?" "Dragon?" Twilight asked in surprise. "What on earth are you talking about?" "I'm a fairy princess, and the bad old dragon's chasing me!" The little filly exclaimed. "Oh no! Here he comes now!" "Rhar!" A small colt in a dragon-colored hood, obviously the fillies brother, came galloping up and chased the little filly around the room, both of them giggling. Their parents, embarrassed at the public display in the restaurant, tried their best to shush the two little foals up. "It's so wonderful to she such youthful and energetic children so eagerly at play." Emerald commented, having been watching the whole scene with amusement. "It would be such a pity if that little filly had her princess fantasies cut short by a lifetime staving for energy." Twilight only stared after the two children, saying nothing. .... To finish off the evening, the crystal stallion took the filly to a ball that was being held that evening. Putting a hoof around her back, Emerald Ray took the filly out on to the dance floor, and glided her around during a waltz. The two ponies moved gracefully about, as the based slow music drifted across the crowd of crystal equines. "Is this not magnificent, my dear?" Emerald Ray asked, as he dipped Twilight towards the floor. "I must say, you do dance divinely." "You're not to bad yourself." She complemented him back, for a creepazoid. "I've always wanted to dance the waltz with a stallion." "What, has not Tornado taken you to a waltz yet?" Emerald scoffed. "Why, that stallion should be paying more attention to a lovely filly such as you!" "Actually, the two of us have both been very busy, what with all the harmony bearer training." Twilight said defensively. "I'm sure we'll have plenty of time together, after this whole mess is behind us." "Perhaps the two of you will." He replied, as the dance came to and end. Trotting over to the refreshment table, he poured her a glass of punch. "Speaking of which, have you given any thought to your decision on the medallion?" "Well, you've made a very good case for the crystal ponies, to be sure." The pink unicorn replied. "But I really need to see the regular pony side of things before I can make a final decision." "Actually, I think you should spend some more time amongst us crystal ponies- stay with me at my chalet awhile, see what our community has to offer." Unseen by Twilight, the shifty stallion slipped a strange pink, bubbling liquid into her drink. "In fact, I think it would be simply divine for our case, if a Junker like myself were to be courting the harmony bearer of magic." "Umm, thank you, I'm really flattered by your suggestion." The ninteen-year old unicorn replied, creeped out even further by his forwardness "But I believe that might make my decision a bit biased, don't you think?" She quickly downed the punch she had given him. "Besides, I might already have a very special somebody." Suddenly, Twilight Shine's eyes turned all swirly, and she hiccupped a pink heart-like bubble out of her mouth. "Uh... I... uhhhhhhh...." The filly stared longingly at Emerald, as a dark smile spread across the stallion's face. "Actually, I think you'll find you can't help but agree with me." Stepping forward, the stallion placed a kiss on the filly's mouth. "And if that unicorn trollop can deal with Tornado, she and I'll both get what we want!" Leading Twilight back onto the dance floor, the crystal pony couple joined in on the next waltz.