//------------------------------// // 5: Crystal Kingdom // Story: Equestria's Beginnings // by Nightshade2012 //------------------------------// Crystal pony, yes, that’s what I said. Like from the Crystal Kingdom far, far to the north of our little town here. You see, back then there were no crystal ponies. They had never existed until this moment in time. They’re common now, but back then, there was no Empire. Hush now, let me tell the story... -- “She’s a... a crystal pony!” the page pony gasped out to the princesses, who then wore twin expressions of bewilderment and shock. “I swear, Your Highnesses, she came to the palace with her coat sparkling like I had never seen, and she... You must see her!” The sisters exchanged a glance before Celestia nodded, slowly retreating to her throne. She had this expression when she dealt with people in court sometimes that Luna called her “princess face” behind her back. Luna might have had the title “princess” in her name, but it was Celestia that ruled Equestria. She was firstborn, and Luna was only princess by right, really. It was Celestia that dealt with affairs, and Celestia that sat upon the throne. Luna took up a spot beside her sister’s throne, where she always stood during these sorts of things. She glanced up at her sister momentarily before looking ahead in her place below the throne. The doors at the end of the hall opened slowly. Dusk came in and bowed before stepping back. A unicorn mare stepped in after him, smiling at the princesses. She was a light pink color with a bicolored purple mane and deep purple eyes. Before she had left Canterlot, Crystal Heart had looked like any other pony. Now she had returned, and what Dusk had said was true. Her coat shimmered and sparkled, and not just because she’d given it an extra fine washing before coming. It almost looked like, if one was to rap on her side with a hoof, she would be hard as... crystal. On her flank was a white cutie mark of a heart made of crystal, symbolic of her name. She stopped a few lengths from the throne. She did not bow. “Crystal Heart,” Celestia said, her tone not near as friendly as Luna was expecting it to be, “what has happened to you?” “I discovered quite a bit of... interesting magic in the mountains of the north, Your Highness,” the pony before the princesses said softly. “The mountains harbor crystal, and near the peak of the world, I found a most fascinating piece of land. The north is all snow and wind and ice, except for this one place at the peak. It was sunny and warm and full of life...” “This is all very good,” Celestia interrupted, “but what does it mean for you, for Equestria? Why have you returned in such a state? Why have you not shown the proper courtesy to your leader?” “Your Highness, I tested the magic of the north on myself,” Crystal Heart said with a smile. “It transformed me to this. I am just as I was, except now I am crystal! I have found my true calling, Princess, and I have come to ask you to relinquish your hold on the north mountains.” “Excuse me?!” Luna gasped, silenced by a look from her sister a moment later. “Why would you ask such a thing?” Celestia demanded. “My sister and I rule Equestria. All its lands belong to us. We are the sole rulers here.” “Ah, yes, but... I no longer wish to abide under you, Your Majesty,” Crystal Heart said simply. “I have discovered my true calling, and I intend to follow it. With all due respect, I believe that only a crystal pony can lead... a Crystal Kingdom,” she said. The princesses were silent, staring down at the pony before them. “Leave us,” Celestia said. “We will give you your answer tomorrow morning, Crystal Heart. Dusk, see to it our crystal friend has chambers for the night.” “Of course, Your Highness,” the page pony said, bowing. He led Crystal Heart from the throne room quickly, shutting the doors behind him. For a while afterwards, there was silence in the throne room. Luna watched her sister get up and go to the windows. They had changed and developed over time. One of the depicted the first three ponies of Equestria, others the many feats of those after them. They had become something her sister leaned heavily upon when making decisions. Usually, if it was not in the window, Celestia was loathe to do something. “What are your thoughts, sister?” the white alicorn said softly. Luna went to stand by her sister’s side in front of the empty window. “I believe you rely too heavily on Father’s magic to make your choices,” the moon princess said bluntly. “His windows only reveal things after they have happened, not before. You need to learn how to lead without them, Celestia.” “I can lead without them!” Celestia snapped, whirling to face her sister. Luna did not flinch; she stood still in the face of her elder sister’s wrath. “I am the princess of Equestria, every pony looks up to me!” “They do,” Luna agreed with a nod, walking away. “They look up to you, sister, not the moon princess that gives them night and stars. Tell me, Celestia, what are your thoughts about Crystal Heart?” Celestia seemed a bit stunned by her sister’s words, but she hung her head after a moment and heaved a great sigh. “I do not know,” she admitted. “I do not want to give her the land she desires. We were meant to be the only rulers in this land, Luna, you know that... If I give her what she desires, will that make her what we are? A ruler, a leader, an alicorn? Do I risk that...?” “I believe she won’t become so high as to be an alicorn,” Luna said quietly, walking up towards the throne. She seemed to regard the chair for a moment before she went to her spot beside it and turned towards her sister. “I believe you cannot know for certain what will happen if we give her this... Crystal Kingdom she desires so. She is not the same pony she was when she left us, Celestia, you must be able to see that.” “Something in the north changed her,” Celestia agreed after a moment, walking towards her sister. “She saw something and it changed her a good deal. I'm not talking about the crystal coat, either. She was so quiet before she left, I never thought she’d stay so long in the north... I’ll do it,” she whispered. “What?” Luna prompted. She wanted to hear it on her own. “I’ll give Crystal Heart her mountains and this place she found in them. There will be conditions, though.” “Of course,” Luna sighed softly. She gazed out a window to the city below, with its ponies going about their days as usual. “She cannot have an Empire without subjects,” she pointed out. “Many of our subjects might leave to be hers. What do you say to that?” “I... I suppose I’ll let them,” Celestia said after a pause. “If I stop them, they’ll just want to go more. I want to be a good ruler to them, I want them to want to stay with me... with us, I mean.” Luna only nodded and set off to go bring the moon and start the night. -- The next morning, the princesses sat in the throne room and waited for Crystal Heart to be brought to them. She arrived much as she had the previous day, and once again did not bow to her rulers. “Have you made your choice, Your Highness?” the crystal unicorn asked with a pleasant smile. “I have,” Celestia said with a short nod. “Crystal Heart, I will grant you all of the northern mountains. The ponies that might travel up there will be under your protection, and you will be to blame if they are hurt while in your territory. However, you shall not bear the title ‘queen,’ as you might hope,” she added quickly when she noticed how Crystal Heart’s expression was changing. “You will bear the title ‘princess,’ as my sister and I do. You will continue to obey me and Luna, albeit with more freedoms than the average subject. Am I clear?” “Yes, Your Highness,” Crystal Heart said with a slow dip of her head. “I thank you kindly for your generosity. The Crystal Kingdom will always be a friend of Canterlot.” Don’t we all hope so, Luna thought from where she stood watching the proceedings at the throne’s side. Sometimes she wished she was sitting there on the throne, but she knew her place. It was below her sister. “You may go,” Celestia said. “Our blessings go with you. Good luck, Crystal Heart.” The princesses watched the crystal pony rush off, knowing that was probably the last of her they’d ever see. “You did right,” Luna murmured in the silence that followed. “I can only hope so,” Celestia sighed wearily, stepping down from the throne. “I can only hope so...”