//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Crystal Fair // Story: My Little Senshi // by sister_mike //------------------------------// Chapter 11 Crystal Fair "The answers are all here! I am positive that if we put on the Crystal Fair, we can help the crystal ponies and provide the energy needed in order to keep King Sombra at bay," Twilight said. She and the others stood in front of Cadance and Shining Armor. Twilight levitated a big book in front of her and began flipping through the pages explaining the Crystal Fair. "It says here that it was put together by their first queen, and it became their most important tradition. First queen...?" "Of course... the Crystal... Fair," Cadance whispered, barely audible. "They are referring... to me... as their first queen. I was supposed to be... their first queen in a supposedly... peaceful time in the solar system. It was supposed to be the beginning of a new era... of peace. That is why... I created the fair. How could I... have forgotten?" "It's ok my love," Shining Armor said. "You are too weak to remember such things. I should have remembered it too." "Everything is here in the book. The other scouts and I should be able to pull it together," Twilight said. She didn't like how weak Princess Cadance was looking. She barely had the energy to speak. "Well..." Shining Armor said slowly, "If you girls believe you can do it, it's worth a shot. It does sound promising." "We'll start right away." "Alright girls," Twilight said. She met with the others in an adjoining room. "Princess Cadance needs our help. Her magic isn't going to last forever. She's really weak." "Oh my," Fluttershy said quietly. Twilight nodded sympathetically. "We can save the crystal ponies with their history. We need to get this fair just right, otherwise it might not work," Twilight said. She began to flip through the pages. "It says here that they liked jousting. Rainbow Dash, I'm putting you in charge of that." Rainbow Dash nodded. "Rarity, I need you to make a bunch of flags that look like this," Twilight said. She held up the book and showed it to Rarity. Rarity studied it for a moment and then nodded. "Fluttershy, I need you to work the petting zoo." "Petting zoo?" Fluttershy asked, her voice on the tip of excitement. "Tiny ewes," Twilight said. "Applejack, Pinkie Pie, you two start collecting crystal berries, and start turning them into sweets. We can do this you guys—things don't need to get complicated." Twilight gave four of her five friends a look. And they nodded back in comprehension. Things didn't need to get complicated meant that they could fix this without resorting to the Elements of Harmony. Without resorting to their special scout powers. Without resorting—ultimately—to waking Sailor Saturn. The next morning everything was set up. Streamers and flags hung from rooftop to rooftop, stalls decorated with balloons sold sweet treats, and a generous size petting zoo sat just off to the palace. Twilight stood in the middle of the town square and took a deep breath. "This looks amazing!" she said. She couldn't keep the smile off of her face. This was going to work. It had to! They had everything set up down to the last detail! "Uh, what's this thing?" Applejack asked. Twilight turned. Applejack prodded at a crystal pedestal sculpture with a crystal heart sculpted on top. "The last page in the book mentioned a crystal heart as the centre of the fair. So I carved one out of a crystal block," Twilight said proudly. She was quite fond of the crystal carving. She'd really taken her time and made sure it looked really nice. "Nice thinkin'!" Applejack said. "I think we're ready to get this fair goin'!" Twilight ran into the castle and up the stairs. She stood with Princess Cadance and Shining Armor and gave Pinkie Pie the signal. Pinkie Pie, standing on the balcony overlooking the empire, winked. She then took in a deep breath and blew into the flugelhorn. An ear-shattering sound came out, and Twilight tried not to cringe. Maybe they would leave the flugelhorn out of the rest of the fair. "Hear ye, hear ye! Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor welcome and invite you to the Crystal Fair!" Twilight shouted. Slowly, crystal ponies began to emerge from their houses. And once they heard the words "Crystal Fair" Twilight saw an instantaneous change in a few of them. A few of them had changed back to their normal, vibrant, crystally selves! By just hearing about the fair! Wait until they actually experience it! Twilight thought. "Come on in, y'all!" Applejack said from below. "We've got drinks and food that way, games that way, crafts over there, and the crystal heart down by the palace." Murmurs came from the crystal ponies. Twilight smiled to herself and raced back down. She didn't want to miss a thing! She watched as Rainbow Dash tried a little too aggresively to mingle with one of the crystal ponies. Twilight smiled to herself and rolled her eyes. She started to walk towards Rainbow Dash when she overheard two crystal ponies talking amongst themselves. "Seeing all of this... It almost makes me remember a time before the king," one of them said somberly. "Me too," the other said. They both paused and looked at each other. And then suddenly, they beamed brightly and changed. "The crystal heart!" they said in unison. "Do you really think they have it?" the second one asked. "Of course we do!" Rainbow Dash said, just as Twilight approached. "Can't have a Crystal Fair without the crystal heart, amiright?" "Of course you can't," a pony said from behind. Twilight and Rainbow Dash turned to see it was the librarian. "The whole purpose of the Crystal Fair is to lift the spirits and warm the hearts of the crystal ponies, so that the light within them can power the crystal heart, so that the empire can be protected! I am a librarian!" Rainbow Dash and Twilight looked at each other. "What's that about powering the heart?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I just can't believe you found it!" the librarian said, as she transformed back into her crystally self. "King Sombra said that he hid it somewhere we would never, ever, find it! I just hope it's still powerful enough after all these years!" "Oh no," Twilight whispered. She and Rainbow Dash looked back at each other and then turned towards the fake crystal heart. Rainbow Dash jumped into the air, grabbed one of the bigger flags and flew towards the heart. Twilight raced after her. Applejack stood beside the crystal heart and gave Rainbow Dash a weird look as she covered it with the flag. "What are you doin'?" she asked. Twilight tried to catch her breath as she caught up. "We have a serious problem."